Behind Enemy Lines (Day Two)

[Jaden_Starchaser]

"Clone life is just as important as natural born life," Jaden said. "Does a clone not have eyes? Does a clone not have hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Do we not eat the same food? Hurt by the same weapons? Subjected to the same diseases? Cured by the same means? Warmed and cooled by the same summer and winter as is a natural born? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? If you wrong us....do we not revenge?"

[Akirapryde]

Frija nodded and smiled, "well spoke. And you correctly recited 'Traders of Bargess.' She slowly rose from her chair and picked up the head. "I guess we can't claim a story that transcends a thousand different cultures and has been around since before time it's self."

She laughed at the statement, "well you get the point. What it does show us, is that you are a highly educated clone. If you had said such things on my word, my father's law would have put you to death."

She walked towards him and rested a hand on his shoulder, "don't worry, it's something I plan to change once I claim my throne." The started to walk past Jaden then stopped. "If there ever was a moment where your loyalty was in doubt," she said showing him the crushed skull of Duke Saar, "those doubts have been put to rest." She bounced the head in her hand, "you have served us well, and foe that you will e rewarded."

On the roof top, Trysta heard the words that Duncan spoke, but all her mind took in was the reference to Fray and her teachings there. Her mental defenses already in taters after that happened to her yesterday, and her emotions off the rails, Trysta felt the raise of hate and anger. It was like watching a well slowly raising.

Within that well rose hot, molting memories filled with pain and hate. "What I learned on Fray," Trysta questioned coldly, her voice reflecting the rage the came with those memories. Inside her mind a hurricane of emotions kicked up by the memories collided with the innocence and purity of her restored heart. It was her first big test on her long path to redemption.

Behind her, Duncan forced his will to resist the flood of emotions that his Telepathy picked up, even in its passive state. Rage, pour rage slammed in to his mind like a giant wave slamming in to the rocks. The memories were but a blur to him, but the pain, the pain was more than clear.

"How lucky was I," said coldly as her voice twisted through her weakened connection to the darkside. "I was selected by the Head Instructor. He said my promise was in healing. That I would one day be a great healer." She let a laugh, "I soon learned the lie of the Order."

In Duncan's mind the assault of blurred images, memories continued. Though one image, one highly symbolic image took form. That of a young Trysts, maybe eight, maybe nine, dressed in her race's traditional white and gray dress. Her face and dress covered with thick black tar laced hand prints. Behind her a shadowy monster with blue eyes. His hands drip with tar as he reached for her. The little girl let out a scream so loud that Duncan had to physically cover his ears.

"I learned what real monsters are like," she said leaning against the edge of the roof. Her head hung low as she continued. "Monsters tell little girls to keep secrets or else their little sisters would be chosen."

She then turned as Duncan sensed the clashing of two powers in her. He could sense the battle between light and darkness a new. A battle he had not sense the previous times he crossed her path. "Don't tell me what's wrong when dealing with them," she cursed pointing at the scene below them. Her voice broke as she yelled, screamed. "They did nothing! Nothing! They all knew, and did nothing!" Her face filled with anger and pain, but like that wave slamming against the rocks. This emotional wave washed away years of pain and fear. It gave Trysta something she never had before, Hope...

[Akirapryde]

(OOC: Forgive my typos most of this is done on my phone.)

[Jaden_Starchaser]

"Ma'am it is as I said before. I didn't do this for a reward or for some sort of glory. He had just killed a good man named Pel, from my point of view killed my friend Dunn, and was trying to kill someone else who I can consider a friend. There has been enough good people dying that I couldn't prevent. I wasn't going to allow another," Jaden said truthfully. "Not to continue to quote the great bard, but whether you choose to continue to suffer the slings and arrows or take arms against a sea of troubles the point is a decision had to have been made. I could have just say there and let him kill Trysta, but I chose not to. That's all."

[Duncan_Starchaser]

She then turned as Duncan sensed the clashing of two powers in her. He could sense the battle between light and darkness a new. A battle he had not sense the previous times he crossed her path. "Don't tell me what's wrong when dealing with them," she cursed pointing at the scene below them. Her voice broke as she yelled, screamed. "They did nothing! Nothing! They all knew, and did nothing!" Her face filled with anger and pain, but like that wave slamming against the rocks. This emotional wave washed away years of pain and fear. It gave Trysta something she never had before, Hope...

"What did they do? What did they all know?" he asked her. He hoped that by her facing whatever had happened to her in the past she could start to deal with it.

[Akirapryde]

Trysta glared at Duncan as her anger fueled by the darkside pressed back the light. Her eyes narrowed at the question as her mind started to regain its focus. Part of her wanted to talk about it, bit she just couldn't. How could she, she had kept this secret for this long. What would everyone think of her.

As her mind considered all options, her hand slowly reached for the hilt of her blades. She walked towards Duncan, not completely sure if she should kill him or not. Rage continued to bubble over but was quickly becoming more focused. The grip of darkness had weakened on her, but it's taint was still very present within her.

She walked right up to him and starred in to his eyes, "how could you possibly understand or relate," she said coldly. The image of running her blades up his gut like he was a game being gutted flooded her mind. She had done it before when others attempted to pry in to her past.

As her last mental walls start to close her off, the darkness regained it's dominance over her judgement. She partially drew her blade to get her point across, "and if you ever mention what happened up here, I will kill you!"

Despite calls from the darkness to strike him down in her rage, Trysta resisted. She knew that Dunn and Jay were close and she didn't want to see Jay suffer needlessly. She couldn't explain why, but she cared for him. And that was enough to spare Dunn's life for now. Darkness might had returned to dominance, the internal battle over her soul was far from over.

She pushed her blades back in to their sheath, causing them to make a metallic clicking sound. She side stepped him to move to the other side of the roof. Part of her, the darker side of her, was begging him to do something foolish. To give her a reason to kill him. Any reason.

As she took those first steps from him, her whole body was ready to engage him. Her ears focused on the slightest sound that she could interpret as an attack. The same time, her heart fought back the urges that were fueled by the darkness. Her long legs allowed her to grow the distance with ease. She wanted to move quickly so he wouldn't have time to consider something stupid.

As Trysta reached the other side of the roof, she rested her hands on the wall, which marked the edge of be roof. She hung her head in sadness. She wanted to talk to someone about it. She wanted to express her pain, but she simply didn't trust Dunn enough. She slowly raised her eyes and looked over the destroyed Market District. She saw Nayla and her fighters forcing a family down the street.

Back down in the District Center, Frija turned to Jaden. "I understand what you did and why," she said. "But like it or not, you delivered to us a great moral victory. Duke Saar was a legend to the hunters. Famous beyond my wildest dreams. His death will resonate throughout the Twenty Seventh for years. This day will go down in history as the day one of the brightest stars of the Order was sniffed out."

She motioned him to follow her, "if you choose to reject my reward, that's fine. But at least see it first."

As she led Jaden through the center, the fallen Republic Troopers were being displayed in such a way that made him sick to his stomach. The level of brutality, disregard and disrespect was something Jaden could never accept. The bodies were laid out in such a way that they were frozen in time, praying to Duke Saar. Who's uniformed body was hung by its feet from a post.

From his feet, a sign in both Republic Basic and Olivanese said, 'Traitors to Olivan, the Jedi can't protect you!'

Behind that body, a rig was being finished. It was clear that a group of people were going to be hung. All Jaden could think of was Anong. The Olivan teen that he had saved during the opening hours of the invasion. During that horrific night, Anong watched her family parish. It was through his own personal courage that Anong was saved, though the loss of her family rested heavy on his soul.

The following morning, members of the Olivan Militia discovered Jaden in an Olivan Hospital. For being a Jedi and held responsible for the attack on Olivan, the Militia was going to execute Jaden. It was Anong, who placed herself between the armed Militia and a wounded Jaden. And in doing so, made herself an enemy of Olivan.

The horror of the scene just got worse as Jaden saw a family being brought to the District Center under guard. It was clear that they were prisoners and were under guard. The family consisted of a father, mother and two adolescent males.

It then hit him, the Partisans were going to make an example of them to warn other locals not to render any aid to the Jedi or their forces. Jaden scanned the scene and noticed that the Olivanese who were members of the Partisans were the most edger to get this done.

"Jay," Frija said softly, "you can choose one who will not be hanged. The rest will be hung." She turned to him, "unless you choose not to accept my reward."

(OOC: *Edited to correct Anongs name)

[Jaden_Starchaser]

Jaden walked to the family slowly, the very weight of the world resting on his shoulders. He saw the fear in the children's eyes, heard the pleading in the parents' voices. Although he could not speak Olivanese it did not take a linguist to know they were begging to spare them. He again could hear that soft seductive voice whispering in his ear, "You know you can save them. Use the Force and end them all. You'll be a hero in saving them. It'll make up for the failure that you carry on you."

He turned back to Frija. Again he heard the voice, "Answer my call. Reach out and end her life. You can save them and stop the war right here. Do it." He knew that if he did that then it would accomplish nothing. Just fuel the hate and further this planet into darkness. He remembered the 21 maxims of the Jedi Order and knew what had to be done. He spoke,"Ma'am with all due respect, but I will not pass judgment on this family. I am not their judge nor will I be their executioner. I will simply ask this. Is this the right thing to do, or will this just give justification to the enemy's thoughts of us? That we're savages."

[Akirapryde]

Frija walked up to Jaden with a smile on her face. Her walk, her mannerism and her demeanor did everything to hide the monster that Jaden knew hide within. "You are correct, young clone" she said walking towards him. "If i didn't know better, I would say you were a Jedi," she said holding the head for him to see. She laughed, "if I didn't know better." She tossed the head in the air and caught it, "but you are right. We can not be the judge of these poor people." As she spoke she motioned to the family who were now lined up by the rig. Their cries echoed as everyone watched the event unfold.

She motioned to three the Olivanee Partisans to come over, "we can't judge this family because we were never wronged by the Jedi, or their Republic backers." She turned as the man walked and spoke in Olivanese. Her speech brought a larger number of Olivanee over to where she was standing. They hung on every last one of her words. The family moved to find some comfort in each other as their cries got louder.

She turned back to Jaden, "This is the brothers, Somsak and Kulap" she said speaking of the first two Olivanee that walked up. They were no older than Jaden was, but the look in their eyes told Jaden that they had seen hell. She pointed near the Resolute crash site, "their home was over there. They lost everything when the Jedi fell from the sky."

Frija put her hand on a woman that walked up,"This is Intira," Frija said, "her husband was burned alive last month." Frija motioned to the three, "these three are all Olivanee, they have a vested interest in this war and the crimes that take place on this world. We shall allow them to be the judge of this family."

She motioned for another Olivanee to translate for Jaden as she spoke to the Olivanee in their own language. "Brothers and sisters in arms, a crime was committed against your world." she pointed to the Republic soldier who was bound and helpless. "This man, who had taken to war against your people. Take to war against your world. Who would bomb your homes, set fire to your families, was fleeing from us. Fleeing from the retribution of Olivan, sought shelter with this family!" she said pointing at the family being held. She continued speaking in Olivanee as the translator spoke in basic. "This family, these, who are of your blood. Who knew what this man and those like him did to your world, to your people. This family, attempted to hide him from us. Hide him from the justice that we were going to give him."

She motioned to the three, "these three, members of our family." She said speaking of the three she introduced to Jaden. "These three shall speak for all of us. They shall judge this family for their crimes against this world, and the good people of Olivan." She turned to the three, "you know their crime, you know that the invader was captured in their home. His wounds freshly treated. The law is clear. No one shall render aid in any form to the enemy. We, your family ask you to judge them for their crimes."

[Jaden_Starchaser]

Jaden watched as this impromptu tribunal took form. He could feel the perverse dark joy that Frija was emitting. She was enjoying every second that the family spent in fear. He had to speak. "With all due respect ma'am perhaps this isn't the time. Yes, we have just won the battle and struck a huge blow to the morale of the Jedi, but we have men wounded and twice as many missing or dead. We should tend to our wounded brethren and bury our honored dead. Besides, you said that this," he gestured to the head of Duke Saar that Frija was carrying around like some kind of demented trophy, "sends a strong message. The enemy knows now that we are a capable force. That even their mightiest heroes can be killed. However if we stay here any longer we give them the chance to launch a counteroffensive on our last known position."

[Duncan_Starchaser]

Trysta glared at Duncan as her anger fueled by the darkside pressed back the light. Her eyes narrowed at the question as her mind started to regain its focus. Part of her wanted to talk about it, bit she just couldn't. How could she, she had kept this secret for this long. What would everyone think of her.

As her mind considered all options, her hand slowly reached for the hilt of her blades. She walked towards Duncan, not completely sure if she should kill him or not. Rage continued to bubble over but was quickly becoming more focused. The grip of darkness had weakened on her, but it's taint was still very present within her.

She walked right up to him and starred in to his eyes, "how could you possibly understand or relate," she said coldly. The image of running her blades up his gut like he was a game being gutted flooded her mind. She had done it before when others attempted to pry in to her past.

As her last mental walls start to close her off, the darkness regained it's dominance over her judgement. She partially drew her blade to get her point across, "and if you ever mention what happened up here, I will kill you!"

Despite calls from the darkness to strike him down in her rage, Trysta resisted. She knew that Dunn and Jay were close and she didn't want to see Jay suffer needlessly. She couldn't explain why, but she cared for him. And that was enough to spare Dunn's life for now. Darkness might had returned to dominance, the internal battle over her soul was far from over.

She pushed her blades back in to their sheath, causing them to make a metallic clicking sound. She side stepped him to move to the other side of the roof. Part of her, the darker side of her, was begging him to do something foolish. To give her a reason to kill him. Any reason.

As she took those first steps from him, her whole body was ready to engage him. Her ears focused on the slightest sound that she could interpret as an attack. The same time, her heart fought back the urges that were fueled by the darkness. Her long legs allowed her to grow the distance with ease. She wanted to move quickly so he wouldn't have time to consider something stupid.

As Trysta reached the other side of the roof, she rested her hands on the wall, which marked the edge of be roof. She hung her head in sadness. She wanted to talk to someone about it. She wanted to express her pain, but she simply didn't trust Dunn enough. She slowly raised her eyes and looked over the destroyed Market District. She saw Nayla and her fighters forcing a family down the street.

"You're right... I'm sorry. I could never know what it's like." he told her. "It has been my experience that sometimes it's easier to share what was bothering you with someone that isn't close to the situation because they won't judge you the same as someone else you may know would."