Halls of Healing

The teenager cursed herself for how she had adressed the younger woman. She hated her own insecurity viewing at as a weakness not to know how to react to people. She was rather relieved when the female Jedi spoke. She looked at her recognizing her status and nodded towards her and the male she had just introduced as Frantz. For a short glimpse she also eyed the Zeltron aknowledging his face from the silvery vision. Tilting her head she realized that one of the two would probably have her lightsaber and activated it. In a club! Her face didn't give away any emotion but she cringed inwardly. It was stupid but she felt hurt in her dignity when she realized that strangers had touched her belongings and even separated them from her. For a moment she wanted to say something but she feared that it would be seen as childish.

"Masters of the High Council. So you do speak for the whole Order. Hm, Mike Frantz, a master of the High Council, you seem to have problems withs the infirmary? I guess I have never thought a Jedi would drink.
Mei Ondreyu, a healer. I fear I have... confused her to say at least. My apologies but I've never been around so many Force users and your auras are... well think of meditating in silent contemplation and suddenly hundreds of voices start shouting all at once and even if you focus one of them you can't understand a word. As for the rest: Sorry but I don't know your names. I... I am Anshara. Anshara Va... My last name isn't important. But to comfort you: I'm not a Sith. No Jedi either but I follow Ashla mostly."

She started putting on her clothes. Rather functional garment of a dark grey with several pockets and a hooded cape. The clothes had been cleaned. She tried to get used to the smell of them. A part of her liked the new scent while another part missed the smell of home. Or at least the places she had been. With a finger she followed the stains of her own blood on the clothes and her hand went up to touch her own face. Moving the shards that still shielded her to one single place and dropping them to make the clean up easier she hovered one shard before her face. Looking at her mirror image she touched her cheek remembering the sound of the cracking of her own bones. Placing the shard on top of the pile of other shards she then turned towards the Jedi.

"You might have no reason to trust me but I have to fulfill my duty. I remember what has happened and time might be of importance when a minor Sith can afford to hire Sith Assassins from the cult of the 'Bloodrain of Bogan's Lust'. Especially for the fact that the cult is considered to be extinct for about thirty years by now. My lightsaber would come in handy but I go down there unarmed and alone if I must. I won't allow drugs created by the use of Sith Alchemy be spread in the underworld of any city. My fa... my master wouldn't allow that and so I shall neither."

Now that she had been given some time to adjust, Anshara seemed to be much more coherent and revealed her mission, or at least part of it. It seemed that the information the old man had given Terra before disappearing was accurate, as was his reason for giving it. Anshara had gotten roughed up quite badly while investigating so maybe it was a good thing that he had told her. She still didn't know what to make of the name he had given her, but if they were going to investigate anyway, then that information might reveal itself to them in time.

Judging by what Nik was saying to the girl, it seemed he was thinking pretty much the same thing Terra was. Despite the unresolved tension between the two, she had to agree with what the Zeltron was saying.

She nodded slowly."Please let us help you."

She looked at the Zeltron. Handsome but then again the whole race was handsome. Dangerous as well as they could enchant most beings unaware or falling for seduction. She knew a little about the race but it was the first time she saw a Zeltron. She tried not to shiver being slightly anxious he could try something. On the other hand she wasn't sure if it wasn't what she actually wanted. As he returned her lightsaber those thoughts were gone. She closed her fingers around the hilt and smiled a bit. Complete again at last. Anshara was aware that she hadn't said anything to Nik by now and as he called her Lady Shadow she couldn't help but wrinkle her forehead in confusion.

"Erm, thank you?"

She listened to all of them. Silently and allowing herself to calm down, build up her self-discipline and focus. She made notes in her mind and pondered about the beacon. Her thoughts returned to the compliment. She had never seen herself as beautiful or the like. All she had ever wanted was to be good enough. To be her father's best student and someone he could be proud of. She had seen him being sad when he thought she would be sleeping. Sad and lost.

Snapping out of it she looked at the councillors and thought before answering. The teenager chewed on her lower lip while she tried to think of a plan. If her father was here he probably would have told her to stop it. Somehow he wasn't a fan of this little habit. She had an idea, pouted, nodded and smiled as she looked up.

"My training is about learning from my mistakes. Well if Jedi Knight Arreni and his helpful friend are willing to come with me, I'm not alone anymore. As a matter of fact entering the building might be more dangerous by now if no one has had an eye on it but... I'm sure someone is watching over it. I know it for I have a good idea who placed the beacon on my body.

A Sith. Or at least a disciple of the dark arts of Bogan. A Bothan named Serrak. His powers were not that impressive. Mainly focused on mind affection and Sith alchemy. Most often he worked for large cults or Sith Lords but he had his own information network which he created around his drug and slavery trade. He worked with a hutt but that hutt vanished a few months ago. The public believes that Choddla returned home and is taking a vacation. The truth is that the syndicate has put out a bounty on his head and he went into hiding. Serrak is dead by the way. If his physiology isn't too different of that of a typical bothan I cut through his heart in the warehouse.

As for the plan to enter: it's a trap. Not for me I guess but for someone else. Funny as it is: the main entrance will probably not be booby trapped. As well as the hole I've been entering through. So three teams entering from different angles could help. Anyone of you proficient with explosives?"

Jade listened in silence, thinking of potential solutions to the problem. The idea she most enjoyed brought the barest hint of a smile to her lips. Terra Kiros had been a padawan for many years now, performing well in various situations. She had already completed two of her Trials, and recently her new Master had been considering options for the remaining three. It was time that Terra should experience more fully the responsibilities of Knighthood.

"Anshara, given the circumstances of your rescue and the amount of time you have been unconscious in a bacta tank, if this lab in the underworld does expect a Jedi visit, they are already fully prepared by now. This is not ideal, but it is the way things stand." She raised a hand placatingly, "This is not to say that you are forbidden to go." She knew that the girl was only lately arrived in the Temple, even more recently she was conscious. Given her lone wolf background, she knew that Anshara was going to find it difficult to fit in here at first. She was used to operating alone. "I am meaning that you should be fully recovered. And do you think that one who has destroyed a bacta tank and ended up crouching in a corner of the floor is ready to enter a combat situation?"

"I am not disparaging you, but I am responsible for the lives of those who go with you. It is my duty to see that they are not thrown away negligently." Over her lifetime Ael Jade had commanded many people, and she had seen comrades die. It was not something she ever took lightly. "It will make no appreciable difference whether you leave now or in some hours, but it may make all the difference to your success."

She looked at Nik, and then at Terra. Deep down she knew Terra was ready to move on, and she was confident that when it mattered, Terra would recognize this for herself.

"Given the state of the Order within the galaxy right now, and the recent resurgence of an Empire under the command of Sith Lord Sinistra, formerly of Dark Tide, more recently our ally in the Mandalorian Jihad, proclaimed Emperor, the Jedi Order has not the manpower to enable a sweep of the entire underworld in order to wipe out all that may be evil." She did not know how Anshara would take this news, given that she seemed to be a driven zealot at this point, but hopefully she would mature quickly. For herself, the latent corruption on this city-world was a major reason that she never felt truly at home here, even within the historic confines of the Jedi Temple itself. It was easy to forget the reality of life outside the Temple precinct when surrounded by millenia of Jedi history. "A strike team has a more likely chance than an army against this lab. Particularly if it is rigged for someone else."

Something about that trap niggled at the back of her mind, but for now it did not crystallize further.

"Terra, you, Nik, and Anshara will go and assess the situation." She turned briefly to Anshara, including her in this, "Terra Kiros will be in overall charge, she will make the decisions. As Jedi, you will rely on each other. But, and mark this well, if things go south and you are not able to rectify them, get out. No heroics. There is nothing to be gained here from meaningless sacrifice. Save that for the upcoming war."

Her chin lifted slightly as she stepped over next to Terra and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. Green eyes met the younger woman's gaze solidly. "You can do this Terra. You are a Jedi, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"Nik, I need a word before you all leave," she spoke to the Zeltron knight, then, with a final squeeze of Terra's shoulder she folded her arms in front of herself. "As it is only late morning, I suggest you get a few hours sleep, particularly you, Anshara, eat something, and then head out just before the onset of evening when you will be less remarkable in the crowds as the city comes alive."

She smiled at the woman who later on would be revealed as Terra Kiros to her and smiled at her. Her eyes sparkled a bit out of amusement, secret knowledge or something else.

"Oh yes, someone else, someone with more experience and able to enter the place in a way I couldn't even imagine. A... ghost."

Anshara listened and wanted to argue. Her mouth opened and closed again as she simply accepted the words of the Jedi master. She tried to surpress the sigh knowing that she wasn't able to conceal it to the fullest of extents. It was so hard to speak with Jedi. In the opinion of the young woman they were all born into a society of rules and molded to fit in. Of course not all of them were solely filling up that post but still. It frustrated the young woman that they weren't able to understand the state of mind she was in. Or at least the dedication she had for that situation. Also... she was the only one responsible for her own life. That was what her father had taught her. Wander off alone and you are on your own.

"Lord Sinistra you say? That is an interesting turn of events. It could... balance things and bring peace. For a while at least. There will be attempts to assassinate Sinistra, if you want order you should probably..." She stopped in mid-sentence and lowered her head looking at the floor. This wasn't a discussion with her father about the balance of the Force and the senseless wars that were going on. Here she was amongst the Jedi and she felt like it was not up to her to speak her mind.

Listening again she was a bit relieved when she heard that that the other girl would have the command. Also she was glad to now have a name to her face, while the master was still nameless to her. Anshara was fine with not leading anything, the Jedi were so different and by now she was quite insecure on what would be seen as an insult and what would only be viewed as a child's perspective. She had faced Sith but this was different and her father had refused to talk about the Jedi. All he had ever said was that they followed their way and sometimes they had a hard time seeing anything else. Anshara herself wasn't sure about what the Jedi saw and what they didn't see and standing on a fighting ground with not knowing the rules caused her to be meekly.

As the shock of the presence of so many Force-users wore off and scaled down to be a disturbing headache, as the anxiety of the chance that her father could be found and hunted turned into a fantasy and the excitement of having her things back and being able to return to her mission became more rational thinking something changed. She watched as the master and Nik agreed to their private talk and she realized that there was a bond between Terra and the master. She realized that she probably had offended the councillor named Frantz. But what hit here was that she was all alone. For the first time of her life she wasn't able to contact her father or uncle. For the first time she felt other Force users sharing a bond and she wasn't hunting them. She knew no one and she had no idea how to talk to the people around her. All she knew was that she was an alien amongst them. She felt like having a lump in her throat and quickly hid any possible tear by rubbing her eyes like she'd do when being tired.

Lost and lonely after her adrenaline started to fade she had to try two times before being able to adress Terra and when she did she was kinda sheepish: "Mistress Kiros could... could I have a word with you?"

Terra smiled a little at Anshara's thanks, though she hadn't really done a whole lot during the rescue, other than just watch for trouble. More of interest to her was that the old man who had spoken to her was apparently Anshara's father. It had seemed like he had been dying when they had spoken, but Terra wasn't sure if he had died or not. Maybe now wouldn't be the best time to bring that up...

She paused for a moment as she thought of a place she could take Anshara so the girl could feel more at ease, but there probably wouldn't be very many places for them to go that were sheltered. Terra wasn't concerned about Anshara just running off anywhere but she didn't think it would be a good idea to leave the Temple in any case. She could feel the girl's unease, as well as the sense of loneliness, and she knew what that felt like.

She nodded slowly."I know what you mean. I could take you to the Room of a Thousand Fountains if you like. It's much quieter there."She shrugged."Otherwise I don't really know any other quiet places here."She looked Anshara in the eye."I know what it's like to suddenly find myself in a strange place...I know that can be really hard. So...wherever you want to go and talk. I'll do whatever I can to help you, OK?"

His eyes remained locked frozen on a point beyond all viewer, his breathing came in sharp shallow gasps, his face a frozen picture of horror, anguish and sorrow.

Months now this had gone on, the young male oblivious to time at present. There were moments between the repeated night terror in which he would wake and ask his where about and a few other simple questions before drifting off again, and so this scene played out three to four times a day, each time he would be told the same, he would comforted, subdued if need be and once more would slip into his comatose state.

Yet something seemed to shake him loose of his reprieve, be it the beings around him or a certain aura; his state of course was beyond help, all the Jedi could do were to keep him comfortable, the brain being such a complex structure, it was decided that it be best to let it sort itself.

The boy started, his head lurched and his eyes snatched toward the blurry face that swam before him.

"You; did you see what happened, My Master........"

His voice grew tight and trailed off, a single sliver of a tear slid down his cheek. Everything was so incoherent, the blur between reality and dream had been shattered and no doubt it would take weeks if not months for him to piece his life back together, to feel safe enough to sleep again.