Loose Ends [D11, EM]

[Luth Khalan]

Luth sat out in front of a caf shop, at one of the tables set outside. Up here in the commercial district, they weren't really fans of people smoking inside the establishments so much and she didn't want to mess with the owners too much. Still, after yesterday, she desperately needed coffee and a cigarette, and it was too early for the former to be spiked.

So she waited for her guest. She'd sent him an anonymous message - Naveera would disapprove, and rightly, but... well, people in danger deserved to know they were in danger. She wasn't just going to abandon someone because she wasn't on their political side.

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain had received an anonymous message asking for a meeting... the list of potential candidates rolled through his mind as he looked at the text. His whole stay here had been a long sequence of cloak and dagger meetings with clandestine powers. One more meeting with someone who wanted to see him before he left would provide opportunity if nothing else.

As he entered the kaff shop he scanned the patrons for an inclination of who may have contacted him. His eyes fell on Luth and passed over for a second before widening slightly and returning to look at her face carefully. He walked over quietly and took a seat across from her at the little round table... words escaped him for several moments as he watched her features carefully.

"You were dead...." Was what he managed to say.

[Luth Khalan]

She put out the smoke and clipped it into a container for later, looking across at him evening. Her eyes went up to meet his, looking like her sleep had been fitful at best the previous night, even more than Asra had usually looked tired. Dark circles were under her eyes, and she was pale. "If you're thinking of Nakahti, she is dead. Well, missing, presumed dead, to be accurate. But we're not here to talk about her." She gets up. "We should walk and talk."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He nodded and stood up to walk with her. They walked out of the establishment and down the street for a few steps before he spoke again, "A persona then... 'Asra'? What is your real name?"

[Luth Khalan]

"Luth Khalan," she says. "I guess it doesn't really matter at this point if anyone else knows. Baras does." She keeps her eyes out on the crowd watching for anyone shadowing them. "Which is what I called you to discuss." She swallowed a little, expression closed. "He's got some impressive insight into motivations, that man. I was surprised."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He nodded. There was something different about this woman than Asra... similar but different. The Force moved differently around her than it had before, a glimpse of the fight two nights ago flashed across his mind as if he started to put things together in the moment.

A Jedi... or a SIS agent...

"He is a man of many talents... none of them used for 'good' unfortunately." He replied.

"What is it you'd like to discuss Ms. Khalan?"

[Luth Khalan]

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, keeping her anger in check. It's not useful, it's not useful... It was less, but the stress and anger was still nearly palpable.

"As I suspected, he knew I wasn't dead. Let me go to blackmail me to feed information back to him," she says, quietly enough that only he would hear, and even if anyone else did, it'd only be a quick word edgewise as they moved past. She pressed her lips together. "He threatened that he would take it out on the people I cared about if I didn't comply."

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain nodded as she spoke and pondered what she said. At first his features had a somewhat guarded look... but as his mind worked on the implications of her comment a slight smirk came across his lips.

"And so you came to check on one of those people before going?" He asked.

[Luth Khalan]

She gives him a sidelong look and sighed. Her voice was still quiet as she said, "I complied. For now, anyway. I came to let you know that you have some lead time, anyway, while I try to find a solution."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He placed his hand on her shoulder gently and stopped walking. Looking into her eyes with sincerity he replied, "Thank you... your loyalty and dedication impress me greatly..."

He offered a weak smile, "You looking for any help in figuring out what to do? I myself have been released from Baras' service..."

[Luth Khalan]

"I would've been better off if I'd kept my loyalty and dedication where they should've been," she says, directed more to herself than to him, looking pained. "But... thank you." She closed her eyes and said, "If I can't find a way out, this is... going to hurt a lot of people. At least I have some time while I'm on leave, but after... I don't know. So I guess I am."

[Sylvain Torsin]

"You made the choice that felt right to you... The one that your insides compelled you to follow. There are times when the decisions we make which seem to be foolish ones are guided by a power we cannot understand. I cannot adequately describe how much your actions have done for me... You are a light sent to me in a time of darkness. I do not repay loyalty and dedication with anything but my utmost effort." He squeezed his hand on her shoulder slightly and stared intently into her eyes.

"The path you walk you needn't walk alone... The Force guides it... and will bring those into your life who can help you grow stronger for the benefit of many. Your new path is a clouded one perhaps, but with aid you will find where you need to go. You have discovered your gift with the Force just recently?" He looked at her knowingly as if it was no use in hiding it from him.

[Luth Khalan]

She looks away when he brings up the Force, still uncomfortable with the idea. "Just a few days ago... Before the barge, but that was pretty chaotic..."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He nodded, "And what do you intend to do with these new skills...? I have heard the Republic is wary of adults who have not been trained by the Jedi."

[Luth Khalan]

"I don't know yet... I'm not really used to the idea of having them," she explained, still looking a bit away. "Get enough training not to be a danger to myself and others. After some mental health leave."

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain thought for a moment, "What if I could help you with that...? I have a bit of... travelling... ahead of me that could help you find control."

[Luth Khalan]

She looked up toward him, meeting his eyes again. "I couldn't be Sith, Syl." There's a level of curiosity in her eyes, though, as though she already suspects that may not be what he's talking about, just by the wording.

[Sylvain Torsin]

He nodded, "If you are anything like the woman I knew... then I know that. I think you also know me to be a bit of a peculiar Sith myself... I have no ties to dogmatic approaches to the world. But I have found a way that one can study about the Force and gain great insight and power that does not rely on either doctrine of the Sith or Jedi... a sort of middle ground. A way by which one does not have to enslave themselves to only one way of living... something that permits fluid behavioral patterns based on what is best suited for the situation."

[Luth Khalan]

Could she really be a Jedi either? She'd already tried the 'no attachments' thing - it was... not impossible, but it would take some very major changes to who she was as a person. She smiled a little at the comment about the woman he knew. "I am," she admitted. "That's... I'm interested. What makes this so different? What's the approach?" She glanced around. "We should keep going, though."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He nodded and started walking, "I came across a relic on Nal Hutta which now bears the remnant of a powerful Force user of a sect called the Jal Shey. They are primarily researchers in the Force and exceptionally gifted at imbuing mundane objects with the Force in a way that makes them far more useful... They do not adhere to one side or the other of the Force. They believe that there is time for compassion, courage, and honor but also time for aggression, deception and anger. Like a forest that grows too over cluttered with foliage... the Dark serves to clear the way for new growth and the Light nurtures and defends that which is of value but cannot defend itself.... But reliance on one solely does not create balance or true strength. It creates dependencies and habits which inhibit one's ability to sense the Force and grasp their destiny."

He gently touched the necklace he had barely showing out from his armor, "I mean to use this relic to search for powerful locations where the Force is most strong throughout the galaxy... they are called vergences and can differ between light and dark... Through discipline and training one can learn more about themselves and their purpose than alone. So like I said... this will entail a bit of travel... but could potentially provide you with something you may need. I need to remove myself from the limelight for a while if I mean to achieve what I plan to.. I may not be much of a 'Master' but I could help mentor and advise you on your journey if need be... The partnership you spoke of about Zeno... that could be a real possibility with me now."

[Luth Khalan]

She nods quietly as she follows along with him, listening and absorbing the information, turning it over in her mind. "That's... That is much more of an idea that I can get behind. Than either one, really. Trying to reject parts of yourself in the name of ideals seems to create... psychological oddities." She looked toward him thoughtfully. "I'm due for some significant leave, anyway... Studying the Force and trying to reconnect with myself... It does seem like just the thing."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He smiled, "The more time I spend on the path I am on... the fewer coincidences I see. I would be honored if you wished to travel with me As... Luth..." He paused for a moment after catching himself, "I foresee a difficult journey for you ahead; one fraught with hard decisions. The Force may have manifested itself in you now of all times for reason... And if it is an ally you seek in your fight against Baras... you know I will always stand with you over him as you stood with me. We have potentially much to give one another in that fight."

[Luth Khalan]

"Manifesting in me now feels like it's leaving me woefully underprepared for what might come, but..." She nods to herself and smiles a little. "Well, tomorrow is another day, with all the possibilities that come with it. We'll take on that fight when we're ready for it. I can't imagine we won't find something helpful together."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He smiled out of the corner of his mouth, "We will be ready one day Luth... of that I can assure you. Baras thinks he has the advantage leaving me alive... thinks it suits his purposes. He overestimates his own self-worth... and one day we will show him how much better the galaxy is without him in it."

He turned his head to look at her more squarely, "But first... we must get stronger... and hell... I know I need a moment to breathe for a while. Get out of my shell now that it has cracked around me."

[Luth Khalan]

She looks up toward him and nods, looking back to where she was going. "I've never been interested in power in particular... But it's a tool we'll need for this particular task, I think."

She sighs. "And yeah. It sounds like we could both use the time away."