LegendsLog:Opposing Forces
Old friends are reunited and Lysindria breaks the bad news to Gabriel.
OOC Date: December 26th 2019
Location: The Front Lines
Participants: Gabriel, Lysindria Thrace
The Front Lines are seeing a lull at the moment. Sometimes the nights fell into odd silences where you had some time to reflect on things. Like how great it was to survive to see another sunrise or another birthday. Jedi Master Lysindria Thrace spent a lot of her time on the front lines. The scars and the weary demeanor spoke of having seen some brutal battles. And her squad had drawn the short straw on watch this evening. Per the usual there is no sign of the Force flowing off of her. She's just dressed in her normal black robes and clothing. Her lightsabers on each hip. She keeps a careful eye trained on the patch of area she's been tasked with overseeing.
This is an odd time for Gabriel. The older figure within the Sith Order rarely makes journeys to the front lines these days; his interest in the 'War' as a whole is on the decline. Yet he still has duties and obligations to fulfill, meaning that he's here. Whether he likes it or not.
As his boots crumple on the dirt beneath, his beady eyes scour the ground for a particular item. He looks almost lost in his train of thought, squinting and trying to utilise the light of the full moon to his advantage. Covered head to toe in his own dark cloak, he looks like nothing more than just a blob shifting on the ground. The squad that's with him is nearby, albeit not directly with him. They are hanging out in a nearby alcove, taking some time off legs to recover from the days effort.
Lysindria gives a few moments time before she climbs back down from the tree she was sitting in. Better to get the drop on people somedays. Though it's there in the darkness that she senses something. Something that felt familiar in terms of the known. "Gabriel?" she looks from one side to the other in the darkness, like the former Jedi might be there. But he wasn't. "You're getting batty in your old age, Lys." she chides herself. There's another look to the group she had with her and one of the padawans look ready to follow but she shakes her head, "You stay with the rest. I'll be back. You've nothing to worry about." she tells the girl.
"Yes... Yes. This will do quite nicely." The deep voice of Gabriel rasps as he stands over what looks to be the corpse of... someone. Given the battered and decaying nature of it, it could be either Sith OR Jedi. Or even Mandalorian? Regardless, after pulling out a small knife from a shoulder-pack that hangs beneath his cloak, the figure cuts away at the corpse. He looks to be performing some sort of autoposy on the thing at first, though a closer inspection will determine that he's actually harvesting body parts. Or organs. Or... both? Ugh.
Once a few 'samples' have been deposited, a feeling nags at the back of his head. He stands in the cool, clear air of the evening to glance around himself with a suspicious and wary expression. "Hnh."
Lysindria ends up finding Gabriel at the end of his organ harvesting. The hooded woman wasn't sure if she was dealing with someone going through the spoils of war or necromancy. "What are you doing?" she asks as she looks over the decomposing corpse and then to the other hooded figure. "I'm not offering to help either. That stink won't come out of your clothes for weeks." she points out as she keeps her hands out to the sides just a little, showing she's not moving with a weapon in hand. But knowing Jedi Master's that really didn't matter.
"Oh, Lysindria... sweet Lysindria. It's encouraging to learn that the War hasn't dulled your sense of humour. Heh heh." Naturally, Gabriel recognised her voice near on immediately. Spending decades working with someone, albeit not directly, can leave that sort of memory-burn on you. "You'll be happy to know that I got none on my clothes. Everything has been securely set away."
Standing up straight, the man pushes back his hood to reveal his face. His looks have changed a bit since she last saw him. His facial hair is thicker. A bit longer. His hair in general is longer than it was back in his Jedi days. The dulled expression remains at the very least, though it's matched right now with a light smirk.
"What are you doing here on the front lines? I would have thought the Jedi would preserve their big guns for the important moments. Rather than having them waste away out here." He hardly seems to be threatening, though Lysandira will know that just like herself, it would only take a moment for that to change.
"Sometimes our sense of humor is all we have out here when we return from battle to lick our wounds, Gabriel." Lysindria tells him as she watches him. "Good. I always tried to tell people to not get death on their robes." she muses. Then she sobers a touch, "I could ask the same of you? The Sith have much loftier things that you could be attending to, do they not?" she asks. "And in the end, I'm better on the front lines than teaching in the Temple. The councilors know that at least." she shrugs to that. "Oh I'm not wasting away out here. And what about you my friend? How are you faring?" she asks him as her blue eyes study his features.
"Ah yes. The counsel. How quaint." Gabriel's smile widens considerably under the moonlight. His dark eyes look up at Lysandria's own. "Still following the direction of those that have yet to set foot off of Coruscant in years? A shame. I was hoping that you may have broken free of them in some regards." The man shrugs his shoulders.
"I am using the Sith as much as they are using me. For this relationship to work there must be a bit of personal sacrifice on either end. For them to leave me alone? I must submit to the occasional case of 'duty'. Still," Gabriel raises his arms in a shrugging type motion. "It keeps me in shape at the very least. At your question as to what specifically I am doing /here/. Well, I will keep that part a bit more secret. Safe to say it is related to exploring the Force in all the ways that the Jedi refuse to. Breaking new ground, as it were. In order to do so you need to get your hands dirty."
"But enough about me. Am I to assume that I am being flanked as we speak? Do you have orders to take me alive, my friend?"
"Someone will drink whatever it is they are passing around someday I am sure." Lys states as she looks to Gabriel. "And no, I didn't need to break anything." she tells him as she relaxes a bit. "My hands are filthy, so our others. So it's not true. Just the majority won't sully themselves." she points out to him. She looks behind her then and then shakes her head, "No, there are no orders to take you anywhere, Gabriel. Not even to capture you dead or alive." she admits. "And honestly, why would I try to kill you before I've tried to ask you to come back to the light side of the path? That wouldn't be very Jedi like of me." she murmurs with a chuckle. "I had watch duty with my squad. Something felt odd...so I came to find out what it was." she motions a gloved hand towards him. "Now here we are." she smiles.
"Really?" Gabriel seems offended by the reply that Lys gives him, a look of mild aghast befalling his features. "You have no orders to do anything with me? That pains me to hear, Lysandria. Well, I suppose that means I don't have to worry about pesky Jedi slinking up from behind me while I continue to work. Now that I think about it, in the grand scheme of things I am likely low down the list of your priorities." The subtle smile returns.
"There you go again... 'Light' side... 'Dark' side... One day you will realise, just as I did, that there are no sides. There is just the Force, Lysandria. Then there are childish interpretations of it. You could be something quite great, yet you insist on having some artificial construct chain you down."
The man chuckles darkly. "Please. Don't pretend that the Jedi wouldn't stick me in the back if they had the chance. I've seen it happen before. 'Not very Jedi like' indeed." He waves a hand.
"I suspect that this will be the last time we encounter each other on such civil terms, Lys. If you have anything else to get off your chest, now is the time. Next time I see you I doubt things will be as cordial."
"Surprise! You aren't Darth Revan, so no one gives a kriff!" Lys shrugs at that. "Revan this. Revan that. Going to stab myself in the eye." she snorts. "I'm sorry dear one." Lysindria gives a bit of a sober look to him at the look on his face. "And yes, sadly you are so far down the list of my priorities that I'm sure it's on another holo message somewhere." she muses. Then her eyes look to his, not afraid of him, "I wouldn't stab that in the back. That's not honorable. I don't care what the others would do." she hisses at him. Short fused and all. Then she straightens a bit to her full height, "That sounds like a shame, Gabriel." she tells him as she steps closer, her hand reaching up to touch his cheek, "You're at least looking well for your age." she tells him. Then her hand drops and she turns to head away from him, "Happy hunting, Gabriel. And I hope that the next time we see each other we won't murder each other in a rage." she calls over her shoulder, her long black hair whipping in the night breeze that picks up.
Then there's just darkness.
Gabriel doesn't move when Lysindria reaches out, though there is a tension that hangs in the air. It's that tension that can only happen when two opposite forces are so close to each other. The man's cheek is cold to the touch, yet at least clean. He /does/ smell of death, as expected from a man that has been gutting corpses. Yet with this tension that lingers in the air, nothing happens. "That remains to be seen." He notes at the last comment. "I have always liked the way that your heart beat, Lys. I believe it would contribute quite significantly to my research. Heh."
As she disappears, so too does Gabe. He saunters back into the shadow of a rock, where he looks to vanish outright.
