Deleted
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Mondder
Feb 4, 2014 12:17:25 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2014 12:17:25 GMT -8
It was not long before the guard finished the check & returned the papers, waving her onto the bus, he continues his way through the line.
On the bus, Z'har had saved Jade a seat next to him. Others continued to file onto the vehicle & before long it was full. Due to the armour plates where the windows would normally be, the only sign that they had left the citadel was the gentle rocking of the bus as it pulled forward. Once she had taken a seat, Z'har began speaking quietly to avoid being overheard by the other passengers.
-Z'har
I have found that a certain level of informality during the transfers cuts down greatly on how annoying the whole thing is to the common person.
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544 
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 6, 2014 15:52:34 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 6, 2014 15:52:34 GMT -8
Jade stepped aboard the bus, and with a grimace squished past the clump forming near the front door. Evidently nothing had changed much since she had last used a similar type of public transit. Despite the fact that an exodus should be made from the rear, there were always some malingerers immediately inside the door causing congestion for still boarding passengers.
Spotting Z'har, she made her way back to him with a cat-like grace and slipped into the seat he'd saved for her. It was unsettling not to be able to see out, as if they were being hauled away for incarceration, still, what must be endured---
She turned to him, taking in his nondescript appearance and arched her eyebrows skeptically, "It seems I am...abnormal," discussing her own affairs with a low-level security guard was not very high up on her list of things she wished to experience in this life.
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Mondder
Feb 6, 2014 16:38:02 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 16:38:02 GMT -8
-Z'har
Not too surprising there, you expect me to show interest in some common city girl?
From his tone, he was making a light joke. Of course, abnormal people compared to the galactic norm where considerable less so on MandalMine Collective installations, a side effect of policies that cared less what the being looked like & more with how effective they were at their job.
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 6, 2014 17:03:53 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 6, 2014 17:03:53 GMT -8
"You think I would show interest in a common clerk? Even so much as to invite him into my bed?" Jade retorted in kind, as she turned her head to look at him, green flame crackling in the depths of her eyes as she surreptitiously placed a hand on his knee.
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Mondder
Feb 6, 2014 17:10:42 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 17:10:42 GMT -8
-Z'har
I highly doubt a common clerk would survive long in your bed, invited or not.
This statement was coupled with Z'har slipping his arm around her waist & pulling her a little closer. This wasn't too difficult as the seats on the bus were closer to benches with molded indents. The other passengers seemed more interested in their own discussions or other distractions to notice.
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 8, 2014 10:50:09 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 8, 2014 10:50:09 GMT -8
Jade smiled ruefully, amused, flattered, but also thinking how very true that was. It had taken her a lot of effort to free herself from her past, but she had done so in a way that ensured she would never face the same situation again. A side effect of that being that she would never again see her homeworld. Still, with Z'har holding her, she did not mind so much. The cast-outness was finally fading into a dull ache that she ignored most of the time.
She leaned her head against his shoulder, settling into as comfortable a position as possible under the circumstances and wondering exactly what was going to happen on Coruscant.
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Mondder
Feb 10, 2014 10:36:34 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2014 10:36:34 GMT -8
It wasn't long before the bus reached the outer wall of the Citadel. Once there, the passengers were unloaded & guided through a twisting maze of hallways & corridors. Roughly halfway through the process, they passed through another checkpoint. Once they reached their destination, little time was wasted in having them board another replusorbus, this one a more standard model with windows. As the bus pulled away from the outer wall, many of the passengers looked back at the titanic face of the defensive structure behind them. A structure that blocked the sight of the morning sun & the Citadel itself for an impressive stretch of distance. One of those casing their eyes behind them was Z'har himself. For most it marked the edge of a foreign power, but for him it marked the edge of his home.
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 10, 2014 13:01:16 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 10, 2014 13:01:16 GMT -8
Jade didn't say anything. She could guess what Z'har was feeling as he looked back. He hadn't left Mondder in a very long time, longer than the current generation had been alive. Silently, she slipped an arm around him in a fashion that was meant to be comforting, though she realized that was not her forte.
"You'll be back," she whispered quietly in his ear, taking one of his hands in her own and twining her fingers through his.
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Mondder
Feb 11, 2014 9:10:33 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2014 9:10:33 GMT -8
He continued to star back at the massive structure, even as he pulled Jade into his lap.
-Z'har
After I left my homeworld, I never set foot on it again. This isn't quite the same, but how long, I wonder, until I will see these walls again?
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 11, 2014 10:44:24 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 11, 2014 10:44:24 GMT -8
Jade did not resist his embrace, instead thinking it wasn't exactly as if he was leaving per se, given his interesting circumstances. Still, she understood his emotional turmoil, though he probably wouldn't admit to such a vulnerability openly. He hadn't spoken of his homeworld or childhood before. What she knew of him she had learned in unusual circumstances, and she had not been polite with his memories, instead turning them against him as leverage. She couldn't find it in herself to truly regret that, as it had ended up bringing them together in the first place. However, she did not like the thought of him being in pain.
"Your homeworld?" she inquired gently, before continuing, "You'll be back, I promise."
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Mondder
Feb 11, 2014 10:55:01 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2014 10:55:01 GMT -8
-Z'har
A story for another time perhaps. I know that one way or another I will return. The questions of how & when still stand
Much of the rest of the trip into the city proper passed quickly.
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 11, 2014 11:09:25 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 11, 2014 11:09:25 GMT -8
"As soon as you determine to do so, I would think. Doubtless via one of your own transports perhaps."
She slid off his lap as they arrived within the city proper and waited for him just outside the bus, aware that he had deflected the question, though not denied her an answer ultimately.
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Deleted
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Mondder
Feb 11, 2014 11:19:56 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2014 11:19:56 GMT -8
As they unloaded from the bus, a glance around told him exactly where they where. He had, after all, visited the city itself on several occasions to establish this identity as a member of the community, albeit one of the more withdraw & private members. This was also the time to start getting into the habit of being referred to in his alias.
-Z'har
As things stand now? Yes, but it is nearly impossible to know whether some individual or group will decide to wage utter war on the MMC. There are factions that even the Admiral could not face alone.
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 12, 2014 15:37:22 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 12, 2014 15:37:22 GMT -8
Theoretically Jade knew he spoke the truth, but it was hard to imagine him out of his depth. He always seemed so effortlessly in control, well, almost always. She smiled briefly in her thoughts before the two of them headed off into the city.
"You do not have to be alone," was the only reply she could think of, and to her ears it sounded almost trite. Though, if he was willing, she would gladly be there for him, an ally in whatever situation might arise. She'd spent half a century regretting her answer to a question he had once asked her. It felt like eternity. And at this point in her life she had realized a few things, but most importantly, she was determined not to make the same mistake again. She blushed momentarily, grateful that no one else was nearby as she quickly clarified, "What I mean to say is, I am sure the Admiral has allies that he can rely on if necessary." And even that sounded wrong to her with her experience of just what such reliance and trust could lead to if it was misplaced.
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Deleted
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Mondder
Feb 18, 2014 11:36:16 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 11:36:16 GMT -8
-Z'har
Few enough that are trustworthy. Fewer still that are competent. Though there are a few that are worthwhile.
The last was stated as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Before long the domes & towers of the spaceport could be seen over the roofs of nearby buildings.
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 18, 2014 14:21:43 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 18, 2014 14:21:43 GMT -8
"You know what I mean, Z'har," she chided him gently, even as they drew nearer to the spaceport. This visit had started in a very interesting fashion, and instead of smoothing itself out, had gotten even more interesting. She enjoyed it in this case. And she definitely enjoyed Z'har's company.
She continued in a quiet tone, "You know I've got a padawan now, right?"
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Mondder
Feb 18, 2014 14:41:55 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 14:41:55 GMT -8
Ignoring her first comment, except with a slight smile. Z'har continues to show the way forward.
-Z'har
I certainly do now. I assume that I will be meeting them at some point on Corellia?
The crowds were starting to grow thicker as the pair drew near the spaceport & more of the locals got a start on their daily routines.
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 18, 2014 15:03:54 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 18, 2014 15:03:54 GMT -8
Jade slipped closer to Z'har as they passed a large family taking up quite a bit of space on the pavements and stretched to keep up with his much longer stride.
"Her, actually. Terra Kiros, formerly padawan to Master Serrin Roma, my old friend," she explained, "She's completed two of the traditional five Trials, and when Serrin left on a research mission and weeks stretched into months with no word," she shrugged, "something had to be done."
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Deleted
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Mondder
Feb 18, 2014 15:21:40 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 15:21:40 GMT -8
-Z'har
Sounds reasonable, but isn't the norm for the padawan to go with their masters on missions like that?
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Ael Jade
The Jedi Order - Corellian Jedi Academy
Posts: 1,544
Affiliation: Corellian Jedi Order
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Mondder
Feb 18, 2014 16:03:10 GMT -8
Post by Ael Jade on Feb 18, 2014 16:03:10 GMT -8
"In normal situations, yes that is the practice. But, if a Master has determined that there are extenuating circumstances demanding that one's padawan would be safer in the Academy itself taking classes with others, then there is precedent for such a decision."
Clouds flickered through the Corellian Jedi's emerald green eyes.
"In this case, whatever Serrin was up against has kept her from returning or contacting the Academy. Searches have been mounted of course, but she has not been seen again."
She had not taken a padawan lightly, in fact, in this case she had done so out of her longstanding friendship with Serrin Roma. That same friendship was what had brought her to that Academy in the first place and factored into her decision to call it 'home.'
"I saw a young Jedi who felt abandoned---"
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