The Red Shift

The Hunter had stayed in this place long enough. There were far too many sympathetic sentients here, and each second brought him closer to the knife-edge of being incapable of holding back the murderous, animal instinct that bubbled under the surface, never more than a moment away. He bit at his own lip, pausing at the door. He did not look back at the Violet one. 

I'm not sure anything I attempt to explain would sate your curiosity, Mr. Montrose. Would it be enough to say... he's the only one to ever get away? 


See you soon. 

...and he exited the Red Shift, zipping his jacket against the cold of the skip, drawing his swords, in case the locals got restless, and disappeared into the slums of Skip One

The sound of light snoring was the only indication that the man slumped over a table in a corner booth was still alive. He was surrounded by empty glasses, with his face pressed against the not so clean table, and a small trail of drool falling out of his mouth. The old Miralukan woman who had been tasked with finding him grimaced at the state of the man before steeling herself and sitting across from him. She sat for a short time, simply watching as the man slept, dead to the world it seemed, before her patience faltered and she kicked his shin under the table. All the kick did was elicit a snort of discomfort from the man, making the woman frown. With a sigh she decided to go with a wake up call that was considered a bit more... rude.

WAKE UP YUSANIS KAE!

With a brief, quiet shout of surprise Yusanis snapped upright, his head immediately on a swivel as he reached out with dulled senses. The woman grimaced in disgust as his hair, greasy and unkempt after an apparent lack of care for several days, flared out every time his head turned. The blindfold that hid his unseeing eyes was slightly askew and stained, and overall he nearly looked like a deranged hobo. At least until he noticed her presence, and no doubt the presence of the two guards sitting at the booth next to theirs, at which point his face became a blank mask. He reached out to one of the glasses before him, grabbing it and bringing it to his lips. As he wet his throat in an effort to get rid of the cottonmouth feeling, the woman cleared her throat in an attempt to gain some acknowledgement from him. She got one, as he slammed the empty glass back down and spoke to her in a quiet, rasping voice, though whether it was raspy from the drink, or simple disuse, she was unsure.

"What do you want, Seeker? I told the last three 'no,' what makes you think you'll succeed where they failed?"

The old woman gave a strained smile to Yusanis before clasping her hands together and setting them on the edge of the table as she leaned in, "Because, Kae, unlike them, I know all about you."

Yusanis immediately snorted at the statement, getting a scowl in return. When neither of them spoke for several moments, Yusanis raised his hand and rolled his wrist in a get-on-with-it motion, "Well, don't keep me in suspense. What did you glean from my file that no one else could? Was it that I'm arrogant? That I think highly of myself and see everyone else as inferior and beneath me?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” the old Seeker said, “I believe you know quite well where you stand in relation to other people.” The Seeker paused, trying to gauge a reaction from Yusanis. When none was forthcoming, she continued. “I've seen your sort before, Kae. Not common by any means, but often enough to notice the signs. You hate yourself.”

Yusanis didn't react for several long moments before letting out a snort of amusement. With a sardonic smile and a tilt of his head he replied, “'Hate' is a strong word, Seeker.”

“Oh, of course,” the Seeker replied with mock derision, “What was I thinking. Your file says you rarely feel any emotion strongly, so it clearly couldn't be self-loathing.”

Yusanis' jaw clenched slightly and his face set into a frown. “I'm not sure I appreciate your tone. You clearly don't know me as well as you think.”

The Seeker snapped back at him, “Lonely. Reclusive. Anxious. You aren't fond of yourself. You avoid initiating interactions with others but are quite welcoming to interaction with others, almost as though you're starved for it. You haven't sent me away yet, after all, even though you know the rules we Seekers operate under. But do you know what all this tells me, Kae? What it all boils down to? Hm?”

Yusanis found himself flinching at the Seekers words, a pit of discomfort settling in his stomach and growing with each syllable spoken. The insult of her words had vanished. Now he felt nothing but fear at how close to the mark she seemed to be... but that was the problem, wasn't it? Yusanis swallowed the lump in his throat, as he focused on the old woman sitting across from him, silently hoping she wouldn't continue with this. As usual, his hopes were dashed.

“You are a coward, Yusanis Kae.”

His jaw clenched and hands balled into tight fists. He wanted to shout at her, tell her how far off she was. How stupid she was. How she didn't know the first thing about him and never had any hope of understanding.

But she wasn't wrong. For a moment his mind flashed back to a moment a little over five years old. He had been meditating, seeking out a vision from the Force. He had received one. One that led him to fleeing the only home he'd ever known. Oh, the irony of that day. He'd never had the courage, the will, to leave home before. To be so distant from what he knew, from what was comfortable, was something he'd thought about before but never had the gumption to try. Then that Force damned vision had turned everything on its head!

The Seeker sat silently, observing the man in front of her, sensing the unconcealed emotions emanating from him. Odd, his file said he usually had impeccable control. There had only been a single incident reported that hinted otherwise, and while she hadn't been present for it, the statements from witnesses of the incident were telling, as was the fact that it hadn't even been a violent incident.

Well, may as well drive the point of this endeavor home, the Seeker thought.

“Return to Alpheridies, Kae. You can get help there. Help to cope with your issues. Support. Your parents miss you. Your peers miss you. The whole of the Luka Sene feels your absence. You are needed back there, not here in the armpit of the galaxy.”

Yusanis blinked, thoughts of the past vanishing as the Seeker spoke. Help with coping? He'd gotten that, apparently. It hadn't helped as much as they said it would. His own self reflection helped more than any of the professionals had. Support? Sounded nice. His parents missed him? He missed them. They'd been a constant in his life, something familiar and unchanging. Comfortable. The Seeker should have stopped there.

His peers missed him? What peers? He had rarely interacted with them beyond what was necessary. The Luka Sene felt his absence? That was a laugh. He'd barely managed entry, and he certainly hadn't been anything special within the organization. Just another face. The only thing he'd really had going for him was his propensity for noticing when others were being manipulative. Like now, for instance. The Seeker was only doing her job, he knew, but it didn't change the fact that he noticed the blatant lies wrapped up in an appeal to emotion. Nor was he unaware of the reason for all of this in the first place. They were afraid for their reputation, not his well being.

He let out a sigh as his shoulders slumped and he leaned heavily on the table, head hanging heavy. He could sense the Seeker perk up slightly, a well concealed look of hopeful anticipation flitting across her face. It fell away at his words.

“I think it's time for you to leave, Seeker.”

The Seeker blinked, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly before she gathered herself. “Kae,” she said, lightly, “You know they'll only give you one more chance after this...”

Yusanis shook his head, “That's the issue, Seeker. The Luka Sene fear their students falling to the dark side, and while I will readily admit that they do a much better job of dealing with that issue than the Jedi, they still fall short in their apparent understanding of just why it happens in the first place.”

“And you do?!” the Seeker asked, unsure of where Yusanis was going with this. The whole point of the Sene Seekers was to find those who left, who were in danger of falling, and bringing them back.

“I believe I do,” Yusanis said, solemnly. “You need not worry, Seeker. I will not fall. After all, as you said, I am a coward. And while cowardice can lead some to fall, I do not believe myself to be among those.”

“How can you be so sure?” The Seeker demanded.

At this, Yusanis looked up at her with a melancholy smile, “Self-reflection, Seeker. I know myself. Now go.”

The Seeker frowned, taking a moment to decide that she could puzzle out his words later. She was a Seeker and she would follow the edicts of the Seekers. With a sigh she stood up and straightened out her robes, giving one last appraising look at Yusanis. With another sigh she shook her head and turned, the two guards who accompanied her rising from where they sat and falling into step behind her as she walked away.

Yusanis sat in silence after the Seeker had left the cantina, the Trandoshan bartender walking by and placing a pitcher of water in front of him wordlessly. He looked at it, wishing it had been more alcohol, but poured out a glass anyway and gulped it down. Almost immediately he realized just how parched his throat was and how raspy he had sounded and quickly poured another glass, gulping it down before pouring another. He could contemplate what had just happened later. Right now he needed to sober up... and get some food. Food sounded lovely at the moment.

He turned and shouted to the Trandoshan, “Drelldel, can I get a bantha steak? Heavy on the sauce!”

Yusanis was halfway done with his steak when he froze in place, a small surge of the Force washing over him as his mind was whisked away. He didn't even have time to lament at how inconvenient it was for the Force to provide a vision in the middle of a meal before his senses were assaulted with the cacophony of battle and shouts of alarm.

“Enemy ships off the port side!”
“We're surrounded!”
“Repel those boarding parties, dammit!”
“Kae, we're losing out there! Do something!”
“I was never trained for this! I can't just decided I'm going to start using battle meditation on a whim!”
“Captain, we've lost engine three!”
“Kae, we need to rally our people!”
“I don't know how to inspire!”
“Then demoralize!”


The vision shifted.

“You're wasting your time, Seeker.”
“Am I? Your family has a history of causing... complications.”
“I am not that madman!”
“That remains to be seen.”

Then it shifted again.

“Is this the part where I say, 'Typical, Mando?'”
“Only if you want to hear 'Typical, Echani.'”
“Half-Echani.”
“Okay.”

And again

“Sorry about this, Yusanis, but my pets are hungry, and you're an appetizing meal.”
“You won't succeed, cousin.”
“Oh, Yusanis... I already have!”

And finally...

“...The name's Fel...”

With a gasp, Yusanis felt himself come back and dropped the utensil he was holding; the clattering of it striking the plate, jarring him. That had been intense... and frustratingly vague. He had only recognized one of those voices, but the sense of what had been occurring was apparent. A battle... a confrontation with a Seeker... an amiable chat with a comrade... being at the mercy of that monster... and finally...

Yusanis shook his head to try and clear his mind. Visions such as these were always so vague that they left far more questions than answers and tended to only drive one to annoyance. Besides, there was no guarantee that any of it would even come to pass. That had been something that he had learned well. The future was always in motion, so there was rarely an guarantee that a specific vision would come to pass. Still, though, the fact that the vision had occurred at all like it did warranted concern. Visions don't just happen like that unless the potentiality of the vision is certain, which meant...

With a deep breath to calm his nerves, Yusanis reached out with the Force, beyond his immediate surroundings and further out into the Skip. What he sensed was, troubling. The skip was always awash with frantic motion and the sense of people urgently making their way, but the sheer focus of these feelings centered around a handful of people was unusual... and it seemed as though all those roads were leading to the Red Shift.

This was problematic. If he was about to get caught up in something... it would probably be best to leave. Flee this place, just like he'd fled home. It would make sense, the Seeker had tracked him here anyway, so it wa stime ot move on. He frowned at that thought, and the Seeker's words echoed in his mind.


“You are a coward, Yusanis Kae.”

He scowled as he thought about those words, wondering why they ate at him so much. They shouldn't have mattered at all. He'd accepted that he was afraid years ago, so why-... ah. He huffed, feeling annoyed with himself.

“Is that the difference?” he wondered, aloud. He shook his head and sighed as he pushed the half eaten steak away from him and leaned back into his seat. With a course of action partially formed in his mind he let his focus move back to the Red Shift and the area just outside the entrance to it. He'd see what was coming his way before deciding whether or not to flee... just this once.

It was warmer inside. Silas removed his hat and set it on the bar top, and likewise his duster. Rolling up his bare shirtsleeves, he leaned against the bar, surveying the place. It was squalid, a rag-tag mixture of patched together, mis-matched furniture, bad lighting, and it smelled of sweat and desperation. He looked at Adrien, and fiddled with the earpiece he had been given. Placing it in his ear as he sees Isabelle do, he speaks in a soft voice, testing the device. At the bar. Checking in. Adrien has selected a table, and Silas looks from him, to Isabelle, to Neassa, and then turns to face the bar, nodding to the bar-keep. Something strong, please.

The Preacher continued looking around the bar, casually. There was a man sitting at a table across the bar from Adrien (Yusanis) whose eye were bound, from some sort of awful industrial accident, Silas assumed, and one or two other sentients that were nose-down in drink. When Castle spoke to him, Silas' eyes moved back to meet the young man's behind the bar. He didn't want to give away any of Adrien's immediate plans, but there was no harm in telling his own truth.

I'm Silas. I'm searching for a man. A man who took everything from my people, and gave only death and suffering. It is a long road, I am sure of it, Castle. And I do not believe I will find him here. But this is a good place to find people who know, and have been many places. So, with luck, I will find out something I did not know, and my journey will become that much shorter. And you? What brings you here?