Unexpected Visitor [Daniel]

[Kaie]

Zarak Nine

Having traveled with the New Republic vessel to this world now exploding into an all out conflict, Kaie found herself setting up a triage unit and field hospital as the fighting between the two countries had now engulfed a third with their dispute. Caught in the middle, the locals in the nearby town were victims of this conflict and she hated seeing the wounded children and others who were defenseless in this sort of thing. Some wishing more land or influence over natural resources didn't seem to care who got hurt. Keeping her mind on the task at hand instead, the Guardian could hear the comm traffic between the New Republic army units in the field, not that far from them now. Protected by it's own security platoon, the collapsible modular buildings blended well with the terrain as they used the nearby hills for some protection.

"Ma'am," one of the nurses called as Kaie looked up from the elderly man who's leg had caught some shrapnel during a nearby firefight. "We have an emergency that just came in," the nurse glanced to one of the younger nurses in training. "Continue finishing up here."

Rising, Kaie let the lower ranked medic take over, then followed the nurse to the next room where a flurry of activity got her back into the mode. "What have you got?"

"Young child, eleven, massive hemorrhage to the abdomen and the surgeons are already backed up."

"Alright," she hurried to the bedside and noted the young boy who's color was leaving him rapidly. Placing her hands over the long wound across his belly, the white witch focused all her energies on the damage. Flowing through the Jedi, the Force began healing the internal organs first, working to seal off the worst areas, now that the shrapnel had been removed. Closing off all the chaos around her, Kaie knew that she had little time to save this boy's life and worked feverishly to help him survive.

[Daniel Aldan]

War had always had a certain allure to Daniel, who was very familiar with it. Bothawui, Kashyyyk, Thyrsus, Dathomir, Korriban, and other places. All of these worlds had been scarred by conflict recently, and Daniel had been involved in every one. Now though, with his allegiance no longer to the Sith, he did not rush blindly into battle, seeking merely to test his skills. He waited, used conflict if only he had to, and reserved his abilities for situations that called for them. This was one of those places.

Zarak Nine was at war, and the New Republic was involved. This would be none of his business, but the New Republic had recently allied with the Jedi, allegedly in a non-combat capacity. Hence the reason that Daniel now walked the world, not too far from a town that was fast becoming a battlefield between the two belligerents. The Penumbra wished to know exactly the scope of the Jedi alliance with the New Republic, and this was the place to discover it. If the Jedi were involved on the battlefield, and if they were aiding the Republic in a combat role, then the Penumbra wanted to know. And so, here he was.

He had not yet donned his mask, but he did so now, becoming the Marauder. His Force Aura was hidden by the jewelry that was embedded in the mask, which was certainly handy when he might stumble upon a Jedi at any moment, and if he did, he did not want them to sense him coming. Not that he was there for a fight, though the lightsabers on his belt might give the opposite impression. This was a recon mission, not a raid, and his goal was not to be detected at all.

Climbing through the hills in his form-fitting armorweave suit, which would provide protection from glancing blaster shots but not much else. Of course, he didn't expect to have to put it to the test. He ducked down behind a boulder as he came upon a medical tent, about a half mile out, guarded by a platoon of soldiers. If there was a Jedi on the world, this would be their primary objective, he guessed. Providing medical care to the wounded. From a small pouch on his belt, he withdrew a pair of electrobinoculars, and began to spy on the tent.

He noticed details, such as the number of troops, the type of building, the patients who came in and much more. But he did not see a Jedi, which was interesting. He spoke into a small commlink, vocalizing the information he had discovered, and then replacing in on his belt. He continued to observe the medical tent, until he heard a shout from behind him.

"Hey! What are you doing?" The words came from a soldier that had discovered him. Cursing himself for not first making sure there were no patrols around, Daniel stood and dropped the electrobinoculars, even as another soldier came to join his comrade. They raised their rifles. "Stop right there."

He had no way of explaining this, as they no doubt believed him a spy. But neither could he allow them to arrest him for espionage. Only one way to handle the situation. Raising his hands as if he was surrendering to the soldiers, the Templar instead grasped their weapons with the Force, ripping them away. Before they could recover from their shock at being disarmed to swiftly, Daniel was upon them, and Aurum was in his hand, bursting to life. The golden blade flashed, and carved a deep furrow in the chest of the nearest soldier, ending his life quickly. Grabbing the other man with his right hand, he pulled him forward and impaled him as well, then dropped him. Both soldiers had been dispatched swiftly, but there was no way to be certain that the Jedi had not felt their passing.

He returned to the electrobinoculars, and with one of the recently deceased soldier's blaster pistols, destroyed it, leaving no evidence behind. Then he turned, dropping the weapon and making certain that the blasts had not been noticed by the platoon of soldiers. Fortunately, they had not been. He would have to leave now, and move to another part of the battlefield, and hopefully find definitive proof of Jedi involvement in the war, whether it was in combat or otherwise.

[Kaie]

Taking her time healing the young boy, Kaie then took a moment as she sat back and massaged her temples. Though she had done this many times before, the toll that it took on her was something that she had to get used to. It was the price she paid for saving lives, she mused and dropped her hands as lids opened once more.

Handing her a water bottle, the lead nurse grinned as she moved to the boy's bedside. "Sure wish we could do that."

Uncapping the bottle, she nodded as the Jedi took a drink. "So do I."

Sighing, she took another long moment to rest before the next patient. Turning to scan the room of other patients waiting for the surgeons, made comfortable with medication or general anesthetic, she felt something odd in the air for a moment. Brow furrowed lightly as she concentrated on the feeling, knowing that the Force sometimes warned her this way of danger. Though she could hear nothing going on outside, Kaie would keep her senses peeled from that moment on.

Moving from one patient to another, she did her best to heal the light wounds and let the doctors do their job. After a half hour, she moved to the ICU tent adjoining this one and noticed several bodybags being loaded into the LAAT's main door. The price of war, she mused sadly.

"...found these two up in the hills with strange burn marks across their torsos," the soldier informed as Kaie glanced toward him and the nurse that he talked to. Moving closer, she glanced to the opened body bags laying on the floor near the crated supplies. Crouching, she recognized the cuts immediately, her heart sinking at the sight.

Rising again, "How far away?"

"About a klick west of here, up in the hills."

Torn between staying here and now hunting a possible Sith, Kaie hesitated for a long moment.

"Why," the nurse inquired worriedly.

Turning from them, "Close the bags up and don't talk to anyone else about this." Moving hurriedly to the platoon commander, she found the lieutenant seated at a table with a comm and sensor operator. "Lieutenant, we have a problem. I need the Benevolence to do a full sensor sweep of this area, out to a mile in every direction."

Looking up to the Jedi, his face revealed his concern, "Why, what are they looking for?"

"Anyone that's in an area that they don't belong. Probably alone."

[Daniel Aldan]

Daniel knew that he could not escape. The bodies had no doubt been discovered, after the dead soldiers failed to report when asked. So now his presence was known. He held no fear of the New Republic soldiers; he had killed many of them before and he would do so again. Only a Jedi would be a match for him, and he had to know if one was nearby. So, taking a risk, he reached out in the Force, searching for another presence, only to abruptly stop when he felt it. A Jedi, one as strong in the Force as he had been when he was a Sith Lord. He could only hope she was too busy in her work to have noticed the presence he had just broadcasted, but he doubted that. And so it would be a fight. No matter, he had fought Jedi before, just as strong as she, and emerged the victor.

Still, he could hope to avoid the battle. Not out of fear, but not wanting to compromise the mission. His best chance to do that was to hide. And so he kept moving, going farther away from the medical tent until he found a small alcove, where a natural rock ledge provided enough cover for him to crouch underneath, and be unseen from above, and unseen from the ground unless one was looking for him.

[Kaie]

Pacing uncomfortably in the post-op part of the large tent, Kaie hoped that her suspicions were wrong, but the cuts on the two soldiers could have only come from one type of weapon. Something that she knew all too well. Radio traffic came in sporadically, mostly about the wounded civilians coming to the makeshift field hospital, the LAAT's that brought them in flying only feet above the ground, using the nearby hills as cover in order to ensure that the enemy only miles from them wouldn't ever find the cluster of wounded.

Turning to her, the lieutenant shook his head. "Their sensor operator says they noticed nothing out of the ordinary. I'll keep my men on high alert though, even more than they are already. But, without your training, there's little else we can do other than make sure that patrols are doubled up from now on."

"That's alright, I'll keep my senses open and hope that they don't plan on attacking us here." She still hated that these two lost their lives without any defense against this mysterious Force user. However, if the hospital was their goal, the best place to be was right here. Having more wounded to tend to, she knew that her orders from the council was to defend only. She wasn't here as a combatant and had to keep that in mind.

Soon, another LAAT landed outside and she moved to the doorway to see more soldiers being brought in, their wounds being minor and surprisingly light for what she expected. Heading to the cluster of chairs and cots, the men and women were then prepped for second aid.

"LAAT went down near a school and we got caught in a crossfire," one of them revealed, his nerves still rattled. "Who the hell buries their garrison in the middle of a school?"

Kaie listened as she helped him remove his web gear and shirt, then began going to work on the burns and removing small shrapnel from his side. "War makes some people do strange things," she admitted.

"Just glad there weren't any kids there when we arrived," he glanced down to the damage and the realization started to set in, tears welling in his eyes. Sighing, the pain started to announce itself and he winced as she worked, doing her best to be quick and careful.

"There are a lot of innocents that are saved because you're here." Her mind divided between a possible Sith threat and now taking care of patients, Kaie continued keeping herself open to the Force, the hours passing like wind...

[Daniel Aldan]

Daniel stayed hidden, laying low and trying to figure out the best way to escape the dangerous situation he was in. He had not seen any patrols so far, and so he took the risk of leaving his cover, and bolting for the next hill. He made it would being detected, and continued slowly moving through a small thicket of woods. When he heard voices, he stopped.

It was another patrol. The Templar cursed under his breath. He waited, to see if they would continue on, but they did not. This time there were four of them as well; clearly a precaution after he killed the previous patrol with such ease. He could not stay in the woods; he had to keep moving in case the Jedi was honing in on where he had been, and following his tracks from there. He waited another minute to see if the patrol would go, and thereby escape their fate but they did not. And so, he resolved to do what must be done. It was strange. It was not so long ago that he would have relished killing the men, and not have even attempted a peaceful resolution. How things had changed.

He rose from the thicket when the men turned to watch an explosion down towards the town, and thus had their backs to him. As the sounds of war muffled his steps, he closed in on his targets, drawing both of his lightsabers as he did so. When he had gotten into range, he raised the weapons and brushed the activation triggers. The two golden blades burst from their handles, immediately impaling two of the soldiers as they did so. Before the comrades of the deceased could react, he shut the weapons down and then brought them back to life again, impaling the other two. All four men were dead in mere seconds, and with no time to defend themselves.

Now this would certainly draw the attention of the Jedi, and so Daniel had to be moving. He replaced his weapons on his belt and took off at a run, heading deeper into the hills.

[Kaie]

Grabbing a bite to eat, Kaie reclined in the shadow of a small awning set up outside, nestled between the main hospital structure and the hills behind. Taking in the quieter scenery, she felt it hard to truly relax knowing that there was still a murderer out there, yet not one that chose to hit the seemingly less well defended station. Obviously having a different goal meant that they were a bit more powerful than most and more disciplined.

Green eyes scanned the rugged terrain, broken up more by trees here and there as the next LAAT flew toward them, keeping it's path only feet off of the ground and seemed to be coming straight at the small group of nurses and doctor. Slowing, the pilot soon banked it to starboard and set the large, bulky gunship down. Medics and troops began unloading another group of bodybags and under the whine of the repulsor engines, Kaie watched as the team medic aboard the LAAT explained the situation with the bodies. Nodding, the sergeant motioned into the main tent as eight others began carrying them inside.

Walking over to her, the sergeant waited for the gunship to take off and soon disappear down the shallow cut in the terrain, then turned to her. "Four more, apparently cut down with the same type weapon. They found them just a bit ago south of here in the hills." He turned to head inside with his men, "Thought you'd like to know."

Sighing, Kaie stood up and finished off her water, "Thanks." Time to go hunting, she mused. Following him in, she moved to the interior sleeping area for the medical staff and continued to her small footlocker, opening it as she crouched. Taking out her saber and web belt, she closed it again and headed back outside. Hating to leave the team here without her help, she began jogging southward knowing he had a big head start already. First she would investigate the site of the latest murder, then go from there. The Guardian knew that she had to stop this menace before they killed anyone else that was trying to save a whole society here on this world.

[Daniel Aldan]

Daniel continued on his journey, knowing that the bodies of those he had killed would have been discovered by now. He had to, at the very least, get away from the war zone. If he was to face a Jedi, he wanted to do so away from where she could call on Republic reinforcements. A Jedi, he could fight. Republic soldiers, he could fight. Together, he did not like the odds. Climbing through the hills, he avoided a patrol; not wishing to draw any more attention by killing more. He was hoping that he could escape unseen, but he doubted it. His lightsabers had left very distinctive marks on the bodies, and they would know a Force User was among them.

His ship was many miles away, far away from the battle and hidden in a clearing where it would hopefully not be found. He was making his way towards it, moving slowly in order to stay hidden from any more patrols. All he had to do was get to it, and he could escape the world without having to engage a Jedi or kill any more Republic troops. That was the plan, anyway.

[Kaie]

Closing her eyes, once reaching the obvious site of the murder, Kaie opened herself to the Force and felt the ebbs and flows as the emotions now permeating the ground and surrounding area came into focus, giving her a fuller picture of the events that occurred here. Pain, surprise, anger, fear, and desperation all hit her one after another, almost to the point of being overwhelming to the white witch. Already having an open heart to those in pain, her green eyes welled as she took a deep breath and tried to keep herself composed.

The face of the one that took their lives was now etched in her mind as she then turned and watched the direction that he ran, using Farseeing to follow the murderer. Up into the hills he ran, using the Force to get as far as he could from the scene of the crime. Another to his account today, she mused. Now having a direction, she was a bit confused as to why he was running. A Sith would've no doubt waited for the next group or at least pushed further toward the hospital if that was his goal. Then she thought about it as she began moving toward the taller line of hills: He was baiting her.

Having never backed down from Sith before, she wasn't about to start now and then pushed the Force now flowing through her body freely into her legs. Sprinting up the hillside, the Guardian did her best to follow the path that he left behind, footsteps being easier to follow in the dusty terrain. Avoiding rocks and other obstacles, Kaie soon crested the rise and slowed her pace, casting her gaze down the opposite slope. Farther down and to the southwest she could see a large garrison full of vehicles and buildings, its perimeter lined with a thick wall of circular containers full of earth. Towers and bunkers protected the outer defenses and she hoped that he hadn't gone that way, then cast her view southward....

[Daniel Aldan]

Daniel was still moving, avoiding patrols and was finally far from the zone that they were in. Which now left just him, and the Jedi. He kept moving, but suddenly he felt a gaze upon him. Donning his mask, he looked to the north, and saw the one hunting him. And he knew that she had sighted him. He had hoped to avoid battle, but that would not occur. So now he took his best chance to minimize the forces brought against him, and spoke into her mind, finding her presence in the Force.

I know you seek me, and you wish for me to pay for the death's I caused. If that is so, come forward, and meet me alone. Do not call for backup. If you do, then you know as well as I that even if you succeed in capturing or killing me, many soldiers will die. In fact, I will target them first. Face me on your own, and I swear that when I prevail, I will not harm any more soldiers. He projected. He hoped she would agree to his statement, and notice that he was clearly confident in his chances of victory, as he told that her that when, not if, he prevailed, then no more soldiers would come to harm.

[Kaie]

Permeating her mind, the confidence that this one exuded didn't surprise her as the Jedi Guardian listened. Being a Sith, she imagined him not being so noble, which was a bit confusing. There had to be more to this whole situation, she mused and flicked off her comlink so that the unit that she was attached to wouldn't track her out here and come looking. Clearing her mind, she opened herself to the peace of the Force and moved down the hillside, around clusters of scrub and large rocky outcroppings until Kaie eventually neared to within eyesight of the other Force user, keeping five to six yards between them.

Studying the uniquely dressed male, she couldn't discern his race though with what he had done, it didn't matter. "Why did you kill those men?"

[Daniel Aldan]

"It was an unfortunate necessity. I did not desire to, but nor could I allow them to detain or arrest me." The Marauder replied, having now adopted his Penumbra identity. "I tell you true, that if I am allowed to leave then no harm will come to any more on this world." He stated, but he knew she would not accept the olive branch offered. She was a Jedi, and she believed in a clear and stark moral code with no room for any grey area. She would try to arrest him, of that he was sure. The Dark Side was already flowing through him, and his twin lightsabers were on his belt, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice.

[Kaie]

Still confused, her brown furrowed lightly as he spoke, weighing his words with what she had seen and the man she saw before her. "If you're so willing to leave here without incident, and you're obviously a Force user, then why not just avoid them altogether? You wanted to take their lives just like you're not that eager to leave me here alone. What I can't understand is why you're bothering to say so. Sith would've attacked me already, ambushed on the way here, unless there's something else going on," she mused aloud, glancing once more toward the distant base which housed a local unit not affiliated with the fighting going on beyond these hills that they stood on now. Still having the vision of the melodies being massacred by the two Sith brothers, just to challenge the Jedi, Kaie vowed to never let that happen again.

She failed to be fast enough to save the harmless beings on Yavin IV, she wasn't going to be negligent of the New Republic Army or the locals either. "One of the things that Sith don't lack in is pride."

[Daniel Aldan]

"I did not want to take their lives, of that I assure you. The first two discovered me, and left me with no other option. Similarly, with the others." He said, and then continued as it was clear that she did not believe him. "Jedi, think for a moment. I passed a dozen patrols on the way to here. I could have killed them all, and you know damn well that none of them could have stopped me. If my plan was slaughter, why would be heading away from where I could kill the most soldiers? Not to mention, what reason would I have to kill them beyond preservation? I bear no ill-will towards the men, nor you. But I am going guess that you do not feel the same way." He told her.

He saw her glance towards a base, he could feel the presence of the people within, and if needed, he would use it as leverage. But for now, he hoped to be able to either talk or fight his way out, no his own. The Templar allowed his twin lightsabers to drop into his palms from the holsters under his sleeves, but he did not activate them, not yet. He was showing his readiness for combat, and he hoped that would be enough deterrence.

[Kaie]

Green eyes studied the obvious male hidden behind a unique mask and noted the subtle moves with his hands also, the hilts of his sabers now vainly hidden in each palm. His words still confused her and it seemed that she had found an independent. As large as the galaxy was, she wasn't totally surprised that there may be another Force using faction out there somewhere. The silent breeze lingered for a long moment as she weighed his words.

He obviously felt cornered. "You're obviously a man of honor and by what I've seen and heard so far it's clear that I was mistaken in you being a Sith. My apologies. The peace of the Force is what I strive for and the death of those men should've been avoided altogether, but perhaps you haven't been trained in those abilities." It was going her best judgement, but perhaps an arrangement could be met without one or both of them needing healing. "Give me your word that you'll leave here without taking another life, needlessly."