Karran knelt at a low table in the middle of the garden at his modest homestead. A teapot rested on a bed of coals at the center of the table.
He wore a light, silk robe that danced between red and black in the light with matching pants that laced at the ankles.
He breathed in the floral aromas that surrounded him.
In the distance, he could hear the muted, thudding footfalls of Baby, his pet reek.
His Iridonian hunting hounds raced through the woodlands that surrounded the homestead, barking and yipping to each other.
He was grounded. He was centered. He was home.
The Zabrak opened his eyes, as of hoping someone would have appeared. If only there was someone to share his tea with
“I don’t know how I let her talk me into these types of things…” Ellisyn Kendis muttered to herself as she traversed one of the few forests on Selen. The large Firrerreon woman was dressed nice and casually in some light gray tactical pants and a green tank top that exposed her muscular figure, her black boots falling silently as she wandered through nature.
A low branch latched itself into Elly’s fluffy mane, forcing her to stop and detangle herself. “I swear…” she grumbled. A short time after her hair problems, she was happy to have stumbled upon some stranger’s homestead. She hated to be the type to intrude, but at this point, she just needed a break from all that nature.
She began her approach by strolling through a well taken care of garden. She slowed her pace in order to admire the scenery better but didn’t stop to really inspect anything. That is until she spotted a man sitting in the middle of it all at a low table. She paused, thinking up something to maybe say.
Ellisyn cleared her throat to try and get the stranger’s attention. “Hey there,” She started with
Karran rose to his full height, putting him at over seven feet tall plus his horns. A half smile cracked the right side of his mouth, while the left side, covered in burn scars barely twitched. His good eye burned a golden brown as he smiled.
“Welcome. I was sure that the Force would bring a visitor. I suppose my timing was just a little off.”
He offered a slight bow and gestured for the woman to take a seat.
“Please, join me if you have the time. I am Karran Val'teo.”
“Oh wow” she murmured, watching the Zabraki man stand to his full height. Elly was by no means short, in fact in most circles she was rather tall. This is one of the few moments where she got to understand how her mom feels when looking up at her.
She watched him bow, feeling a tad bit awkward. She never knew what to do whrn people did that, usually she just went for a handshake. She took that moment to assess him, noting his scars and build. He seemed friendly now but she had to be ready.
“My name is Ellisyn Kendis,” she replied. “Do you often wait outside for wandering tourists?” She was hesitant to sit and let her guard down just yet, especially with him still on his feet
“Only when I have a feeling someone will come. Otherwise I only make enough tea for myself.”
Karran knelt at the table once again. With a simple gesture he reached out toward the teapot. It lifted from the teapot, as if on its own accord and floated over to the Sith, at which point he took it by the handle and began pouring the steaming liquid into two cups.
“What brings you here? To Selen? But also to my home? You are not Arconan, to my knowledge, but I could be mistaken.”
Elly watched him kneel, her body tensing slightly when he used the force. Best to stay on his good side.
She took a walk over to the table and knelt down across from Karran “I’m not Arconan, no. I’m here on business and for some time away from home. As for why I’m here at your home? I was exploring and just ended up here. Are you Arconan then?”
The Zabrak took a long, slow, quiet sip of his tea before he responded. He savored the flavor before repeating the simple gesture and smoothly sending the untouched cup to his guest.
“I am. But I am nobody of consequence. Just a simple man making his way.”
Ellisyn accepted the cup, grasping it and staring down to the steaming liquid. She brought it to her lips and sipped, not taking much time to enjoy it and just swallowing
“You live in the forest with your own garden, covered in scars, and are a force user. Something tells me you’re anything but simple.”
He cringed at the mention of his scars. He had come a long way, but the burns still pained him from time to time, not physically, but the echoes of anguish still rang in his mind.
“You make it sound as though I am a wrinkled old hermit living in a hole on a swamp planet. I venture into the city quite often to see friends and get supplies. I also handle clan business, when necessary.”
A wry smile curled his lips.
“I would like to make a bet with you. Ten credits and a home cooked meal is all yours if you can guess what color these blades are, and by extension, my alignment and relationship to the Force.”
He reached down and picked up two lightsabers and placed them on the table.
One was a single blade, with a body and hilt carved from bone with the tooth or claw of some creature forming the pommel and a leather wrap along the body.
The other was a twin-blade saber. Similarly constructed of bone, with the same leather wrap.
Elly flinched when he brought his sabers up to the table, wary of what his next moves may be. She was taught from a young age to be careful around those adept in the force. But that isn’t something Karran needed to know. All he needed to know was she was some random tourist exploring the planet.
“Uhm… Those are lightsabers right? What colors do they even come in?” She asked
“It is rare to have a visitor who claims to know nothing of lightsabers. Please, humor me though take a wild guess.”
A smile pulled at the corner of the Sith’s mouth.
Is she bluffing? Or does she truly know nothing? Even as a child he had heard stories of the Jedi and Sith and the various colors of their blades.
“Well… hmmmm…” she mumbled to herself “Nothing more than blue or green? I always thought it would’ve been fun if they came in more than just that. But for you with how much you seem to like nature I think yours are green” she said with a bit of confidence
“I will take those ten credits, but I will still let you have an open invitation to dinner.”
He ignited the blade, allowing the red glow to wash over himself and the table in front of him. The dull roar that emanated from the blade echoed the roar of the Krayt Dragon that the crystal had come from.
“Have you seen one like this before?”
She hesitated while staring at the crimson blade. What was she supposed to do here? Sure she had met good Sith in the past but Sith didn’t get their reputation for nothing. She had to pick her words carefully.
“I have not… but I seem to remember my mother telling me that the people who have the red light swords are the ones who hurt good people.”
“Not an unfair warning, considering the actions of many my predecessors and peers. But I assure you, I am not entirely the same as them.”
He extinguished the blade and returned the hilt to the table. He carefully studied the woman across the table with his single good eye.
“How is the tea?”
She hadn’t touched it since her first sip, too many nerves “Good. The tea is good…. what do you mean not entirely?”
“I do my best to not hurt good people. But quite often, if my skillset is required, it is because violence is necessary.”
The Sith laid his hands flat on the table.
“Slavers, gangsters, genocidal maniacs, pirates.”
“Those genres of people are the type you consider good and associate with? Or those you are called to commit violent acts against?”
The Sith’s nostrils flared as he took a deep, sharp breath.
“You do not know me, so I will take the time to explain. I have never and will never have an interaction with a slaver that will end positively for them. Gangsters and pirates can be reasoned with, paid off, or intimidated. But a slaver has made a living stripping the humanity from other people, and that kind of person cannot be saved.”
“So you draw the line at the trafficking of sentient beings then? The gangsters and pirates… those that kill for profit and fun” she drummed her fingers on the table “They get a pass?”
“It depends on how much joy they take from their cruelty. Do they rob small, independent traders or galactic corporations? Do they leave no survivors or just stun the entire crew?”
The Zabrak sipped his tea.
“Nobody simply gets a pass. But some have more room to negotiate than others.”
“So what do they deserve? They being both groups.” She toyed with the handle of her cup, quite enjoying this conversation
“Slavers should be scalped and strung up. Pirates and gangsters that take pleasure in cruelty should be dealt with more swiftly. The more merciful of them should be taught their lesson, but be given the chance to put it into practice.”
He leaned forward.
“What would you do with them?”
“Nobody deserves to die. No matter what they do, killing is never the answer. So if I were in a situation where I could stop people like that, like you, I’d put them in prison where they can serve their sentence.”
“And when they are rich and powerful enough to buy their way out? Or they have put systems in place that will continue the cycles of oppression without their direct oversight? What then?”
Karran took in a deep slow breath, held it for a moment, then released it again.
“There is only one guaranteed solution to ridding the galaxy of that kind of evil. I am not trying to persuade you to follow my path, because I dream of the day where I am the worst monster in the galaxy. My only hope is that on that day, I have the presence to exile myself, or in the worst case, I have friends who will remove me in the way I have removed so many others.”
“If they’re too rich and powerful to be held then changes must be made to the system as a whole. Killing is the easy answer to everything. Monsters will replace monsters for eternity if there’s always a place for them.”
“Then I hope one day there is no longer a place for me. Until then, I will do what I do well and let better-suited people fix the galaxy.”
The Sith finished his tea and straightened his posture.
“There never has been” Elly said, pushing her half finished tea to the side. In her mind there was never an excuse for killing aside from being too weak or ill equipped to do what she saw as the right thing. “Is this how visits usually go for you?”
The Sith rubbed his chin as if deep in though.
“A stranger wanders onto my land, I invite them to stay for tea, we wax philosophical over the ethics of violence and the moral state of the galaxy…”
He paused, thinking.
“Yes, it is fairly par for the course.”
“You must lead a very interesting life then,” Elly said with a small, demeaning chuckle. She didn’t know where to go from here. This wasn’t her home, hell, this wasn’t even the star system she belonged to. She couldn’t just try to arrest the guy or anything like that. “Im sorry you feel the need to commit atrocities.”