EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Me? Oh, I'm Kaj-Julan." He answered. The girls were strange to Julan, especially with how they spoke. They had stronger Argonian accents than he did, and it was likely that their Jel would sound at least a bit more natural than his. He wished that he could stay longer and learn more about the city, and Ariel's family, but he was sure that his parents would want to get moving soon enough. Part of him was excited to see more of Black Marsh, but the traveling itself did not sound too fun. It was apparently dangerous, and he would not even have Rhazii to keep him company.

Meesei had not expected that Ariel would have been met with open arms by the entirety of the city. With as many people as lived in Thorn, there would have to be some groups that would care enough to make their opinions known. Still, it was evident that there was not enough opposition to prevent them from having a thriving business. "Well, if you ever do find yourself in any trouble, you know who will support you. Mere coin could never be enough to repay what you did for us. Even the rest of our...kin in Black Marsh would be willing to give you as much help as you need. Any of us in Tamriel, really."

"Hopefully, you will never need any help." Kaleeth commented. "You are definitely part of our family too, though. I wish we could see you more often. I...think we do need to go, though. I want to get far enough west of here by nightfall that we'll be in territory that is familiar to me. Hopefully it hasn't changed too much since I was young."

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

The figure dropped down onto the ground, lightsaber in hand, and seemed to give a glance towards the now-disabled droids. Although, it was difficult to tell for certain through his helmet. He was in black and grey full-body armor with no identifiable markings, as well as a full helmet with overlapping plates that obscured his face. All that Mevann could determine from appearances was that he was a large male, either Human or near-Human, and that he was, of course, quite force sensitive.

For a few moments, there was silence between them as the man stared Mevann down, taking on an aggressive posture before he finally spoke. "Who I am does not matter. You are...a test."

---

"An order from Coruscant? I cannot imagine what that would be." Kresst commented with some degree of confusion. "The Republic just finished destroying half of the Separatist fleet at Coruscant, so I highly doubt they're back there again. Regardless, we are at least a week out from being able to get back to the Core at our fastest, so I doubt an extra hour or two here will matter in the long run. Hmph, perhaps the Separatists have surrendered and the war is over. Wouldn't that be some wonderful news to return to?" He chuckled.

For Kresst, emerging from the tunnel into view of the temple was quite a sight. As the Captain had described, it was a large pyramid structure. It was not the largest that Kresst had heard of, but it was still something to behold in person. For a historian such as himself, he could easily lose months examining all of the fine details of its architecture. Even to a casual observer, the pyramid held an impressive, if ominous, presence to it. Even before they had made their way underground, Kresst could feel the dark force energy that radiated from it.

As much as Kresst would have liked to take his time, the Separatist presence did put him in something of a rush. "Well, he had best get started quickly. The most logical place to start would be where you first found the relic. Could you please take us there, Captain?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Between Meesei and Kaleeth both, they smiled at the sight of the girls. Whether they were nervous or excited, all of them were simply cute in different ways. "Well, it is just a pleasure to meet all three of you. And good to see you again as well Rukeewei, naturally." Meesei greeted once they were introduced.

There was a part of Kaleeth that wanted to pick up one of the girls and squeeze them with a hug, but she restrained herself for the moment. "Now I wish we could stay longer. We will have to catch up for longer once we get back to Thorn, if we can."

Julan was the only one who looked like he had any sort of confusion, and without much thought, ended up blurting out his curiosity somewhat reflexively. "I've never met a Human with an Argonian name before. I didn't know you could have those." He said, looking directly at Danee, despite her anxiety.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rukeewei was quite understandably distracted as he shepherded the three girls from the street into the store. He was hardly able to give a glance towards Ariel before he had to stop, reach down, and grab something out of the youngest girl's hand. It looked to just be a broken piece of a ceramic pot, but he still tossed it out of the door regardless before closing it. "No, you can't have this. No picking up things from the street; you have no idea where it's been." He said in Jel sternly, though not angrily.

Rukeewei was almost completely up to the counter before he was finally able to focus back on Ariel. "Sorry, I'm a bit late. The girls were apparently hide and seek before I went to get them, so I had to..." He began, trailing off at the point where he finally took notice of everyone around him. "Oh, Sabine! And everyone else it looks like. Or at least half of you. I knew you were coming at some point, but I didn't think it would be so soon. Um...hello." He added somewhat awkwardly, obviously having been caught off-guard.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei hummed lightly to herself, her eyes still upon the now-closed vial until Ariel put it away. "Ah, I suppose that makes sense. I wondered why it seemed familiar to me. Argonian bloodwine is made with bergamot seeds. Speaking of wine, I hope your husband's business has fared just as well as your own."

The whole phenomena still seemed like magic to Julan, but he supposed Ariel knew what she was talking about. He had seen the things that could be done with alchemy, thanks to his aunt Sabine, but it amazed him that people would want to put just as much effort just into making scents. As strange as the world outside the clans was to him, there was a part of him that was curious to see more of it. "I...guess that makes sense. The city still seems weird to me, but...do you think you would want to show us more of it? The city, I mean? I never really get to see cities. Do we have time to look at the city?" He asked, turning back towards his parents.

Kaleeth sighed briefly and shook her head. "We...really don't have time for that, Julan. I'm sorry. We need to get to my village before they move, and I've known them to move as early in the year as two weeks from now. We are going to need to get going soon, unfortunately."

Julan was obviously disappointed, but he was far form giving up. "Okay, but...we're coming back here once we're done, right? Could we do it when we come back?"

Kaleeth could not help but to chuckle at his persistence. "I guess we would have time then, but only if Ariel wants to when we get here."

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

It took a few moments for Kresst to register in his mind that Mach was referring to him. He certainly had not fought with clones near enough to consider himself a "General." Aside from that, the announcement of a sudden Separatist attack had Kresst confused. "Separatists? Why would they be here? Back when they were expanding, it made sense. Potential support from the population, a base within striking distance of the Hydian Way. But now, the Separatists are reeling, a huge portion of their fleet destroyed after Coruscant. It does not make sense for them to go on the offensive here, of all places, unless...it has to be about the relic. It is the only thing here that would be enough to motivate them to risk forces on this."

There was a pause from Kresst as he stared ahead of them contemplatively. On the ship, he had usually had something of a light air about him, but now he appeared as stern and serious as any battlefield Jedi that Mach would have worked with. Combat was not Kresst's area of expertise, but that did not mean he did not understand the risks involved. "If Mevann is confident they can defend with minimal casualties, then we can press on. As long as the relic is here, this planet is going to be a target."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Whatever was in the vial was certainly strong, though at least it was bearable from a distance. Although Ariel had been talking about memories, Julan still found himself surprised by his sudden thoughts back on Bravil. He had not been thinking about it any time in recent memory, so he appeared distinctly confused for a few seconds.

"I, um, well...I remember Bravil. I remember meeting my aunt Aurana, and father's family. They were weird, but Aurana was really nice to me." Julan answered.

Meesei, meanwhile, tried to hide some of the mild discomfort she was feeling. She had been inspired with a different memory: one from much longer ago. It was not an unpleasant memory, especially at the time, but in context of her current life, it was somewhat awkward for her to think about. A great deal had changed for her in all that time.

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

Kresst made no comment towards Mevann, nor towards the Captain's comments. What was important here was the goal of claiming the Sith relic, not winning over a moral argument with the Captain. Mevann could still perform her role securing the area, and Kresst could hopefully come to an agreement more quickly with the Captain without her. Kresst, for the moment, simply gave a chuckle as he looked to the flask. "I'm afraid I will have to save the drinking for after we are done. I weigh less than twenty kilograms, and I'm sure you would be able to drink me under the table by halfway through the first round." He commented. It was not exactly true, given a Jedi's ability to deal with toxins, but it was a convenient enough statement for now.

Kresst motioned for the clone, Mach, to follow him. "Come, come. Hopefully we shall not be too long. I know your commander will likely want us to get back soon."

Following the Captain's lead, Kresst made a quick leap up into the speeder in an effort to pick up the pace. The Captain might not have been the most respectable of individuals, but he was currently being receptive enough to Kresst himself that he felt they would be able to go through with their agreement once Kresst had the relic open. Hopefully, there would be enough surviving inscriptions in the temple to discern the nature of the stone vault. He could read even ancient dialects of most languages that the Sith might have used.

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

Kresst remained calm with an outward peaceful demeanor, despite his irritation with Mevann's interjection. He held his hand up towards her, as if to order her to back down. "Indeed, I am sure you know how excitable the youth can be. She is loyal and dedicated to her cause, though, much like your men. Sometimes, we need that kind of fire to stand up against threats like the Separatists. But, I digress."

Pausing a moment, Kresst seemed to look more closely at the relics at the back of the room, though he did not move from where he was sitting. He did not need to see the minor details to recognize the shadow that the relic cast through the force. The larger issue, obviously, was the fact that the object seemed to be contained within some sort of dark side-imbued stone structure. "Yes...that is indeed genuine. I can feel it reaching out to me, but this stone structure...I did not expect it. I believe there is something within it, perhaps a holocron or some other important Sith relic, but the stone itself is also imbued with the dark side. This is a most interesting discovery, I have to say; I have never seen anything quite like it in person. It has obviously shown itself resistant to physical damage, so it is likely meant to protect whatever is contained within. An ancient safe, perhaps? Simply fascinating. My first instinct would be that the key lies with the force itself, but I am not sure what exactly I would need to do. But you say you found this in a temple underground..."

Kresst's voice trailed off as his mind began to run through his knowledge of ancient Sith lore. He climbed down from his chair and stepped somewhat closer to the relic, though still keeping a respectful distance. "I propose an exchange. You wish to understand the history of your new home, but a force user is required to open this relic without completely destroying whatever it protects. If I can examine the temple you discovered, I may be able to figure out how to unlock it. I can record and copy anything I discover about the temple and the relic, if we can open it, for your records, while we take the relic itself for safekeeping afterwards. You will be able to build out your understanding of your planet's history, and we will be able to prevent the relic itself from causing any potential harm. And I am only referring to the stone and whatever it is protecting, of course. The lightsabers are not nearly as dangerous, ironically. Despite being weapons strongly associated with force-users, they are ultimately just pieces of technology with a minor connection to the force. Fancy laser swords. I would not recommend trying to repair or reactivate them, given their age. They could malfunction. But, you can keep them with no arguments from me."

Last of the Jedi (EliteCommander and Sep)

The Captain was, obviously, getting straight to the point, and foregoing some of the pleasantries that they had been greeted with. Kresst, being the least threatening of the group, aimed to keep the attention on himself rather than his allies. He stepped up and climbed his way into a chair at the table in the center of the room, and remained both calm and friendly in his tone in his reply to the Captain. "It is the dangerous sort of artifact, I'm afraid. We would not wish to take it from your possession if that was not the case. Based on the descriptions I was given, it is an ancient relic of one of our past enemies: a sect of dark force users. Their relics tend to be imbued with their dark power, and can bring great harm to those around them. Not to mention, they can make anyone who possesses them into a target for those who seek to abuse that power. It is the intention of the Jedi Order to take the relic for safekeeping, as we have experience containing and protecting these sorts of artifacts. We can provide a fair sum of Republic credits to compensate for any inconvenience, of course."

Kresst paused for just a moment before adding one more addendum to his statement. "Though, it is true that all of this is based on the description I was given of what you uncovered. If I can see the relic, or, if you are not comfortable with that, at least an image of it, then I can positively identify if it is indeed what we have been assuming. If it is not a dangerous relic, then we can safely leave it in your care. Otherwise, I will be able to answer whatever questions you might have about it."