Hoth: Blood and Ice

Kat was trying to look for the Turtle, seeking out the Pantoran senator. The hour was growing late, but it felt like a thousand things needed to be done before turning in for the night, and she trusted that Durasay Mixo had a similar thinking as he had a reputation for being a man who liked to keep himself busy.

Durasay was seated on a crate, adjusting the helmet in his grip with a tool. Steam vented from the coupling at the neck connection, the heating system working harder to keep him comfortable.

There was a sense of somethjng, a heaviness in the air, and then the approach of someone. The tool was set down, and then the helmet to the side.

"Master Jedi." He looked up, "your royal highness, I suppose is more approriate." Durasay stood up, and bowed at the waist. "How may I be of service."

"Senator Mixo," she said respectfully, though a wry smile was visible on her features, her cheeks red from the cold. Like him, there seemed to be internal heating going on from her armor, judging from the faint wisps of steam around her neck. "Not that we need such formal titles out here, of course. Just Katarzyna is fine, really. No need for ceremony given the circumstances."

"I was hoping to speak with you a little? Given the... circumstances we're in, working alongside the Empire for our mutual survival and common goal... I was wondering if you, as a senator, and decorated warleader, would be able to help in promoting better cooperation between the two sides?" While she was being truthful in that request, Kat didn't really conceal that there was more on her mind.

"I haven't been a Senator in years. My days as a politician are over, your high... Katarzyna." His smile was genuine, even as he corrected himself to the more casual then. "Durasay, if we're going to dropnall formalaties." As he moved to better converse, the hilt from his lightsaber swung gently at his left thigh.

His lips pursed slightly, contemplating. "I suppose that is now why I am here. Thought it would be just negotiating with pirates, but the Force has brought us all here. You can rely on me." He nodded his head.

"That's not why you're here, though."

Blue eyes did flicker to the lightsaber, which was indeed a curiosity. But for now, they needed cooperation and not suspicion with eachother, and she reminded herself to not start probing through the Force with someone else who was also clearly a Force user... she had sensed it before, and it was why she had approached him. Among other reasons.

"... It is correct," she confirmed, giving a single nod. "We... all of us, are in more danger than we know here. Not just the planet, or the pirates, but there is a greater danger still. The late Grand Master guided me here through the Force, for this purpose. To make sure that we can all face this danger." Her face was set with determination. "For the sake of the galaxy. I have heard from others who served on Bankor that you were once someone who was able to inspire the troops for the greater good then... I believe you're someone who can do so again."

"I've felt it...I've seen it. Glimpses, with startling clarity." His Yellow-Amber eyes looked to hers, nodding softly. "Something is coming, and you're right. It threatens us all. Something, or someone, calling itself the Dragon." He breathed in deeply. "A threat that some thought gone, but it was only biding time."

Durasay smiled. "I don't know if I'm much of an inspiration. But I know how keenly morale can make or break any situation. I'll do what I can with that, don't you worry, Katarzyna."

"You have seen it?" that caught her interest the most. She sensed his power with the Force, but to hear someone speak of the approaching danger with such clarity was a surprise.

"The Dragon, that is new to me... the Grand Master, she said that when the Emperor was killed, it unleashed him from his physical form and dispersed his spirit, but 'they' - this new threat - has been growing in the Force. It seems to be related to the Sith Emperor somehow. And this planet, and us here, are the ones who will face this danger first."

Kat spoke with a quiet resolve and determination. "We must be the dawn." She repeated the words of Resmi, knowing that if they could not be united, there would be no dawn. "As you say, morale can make or break us all. We need to be united in purpose."

"In dreams. Visions. They've been growing in intensity since our trip here." Durasay stretched his neck one way, then the other. There was an audible pop as he did so, before he rolled his shoulders back.

"Wizard. Came here to deal with pirates, and instead we get a new existential threat." There was a small laugh. "I'm getting too old for this poodoo," he sighed, then met her eyes again, "It may have been related to the Sith Empire, but what I saw... the Dragon is very much against them now. I saw his two greatest warriors... his children... striking down Sith and Jedi alike."

He looked to the various bays, the tension from mixed forces palpable in the air, "Even if it's hesitant, us working together... it might be the only shot we've got."

The Sith Emperor being against the Sith was oddly ironic, and yet also fitting, considering the Sith's habit of dog-eat-dog mentality.

"I will try to speak with some people in the morning that might be able to approach the Sith more successfully than I might. They too need to be made aware of the threat, if we are to stand a chance. I trust you can do the same with your contacts too?" Durasay did after all fly with a crew of what seemed to be mercenaries, so she assumed he knew different people than she did. "And you're hardly that old, Durasay," Kat remarked with a smirk. "Still young enough to sign up for a humanitarian mission to Hoth of all places, no?"

"I can speak with Senator Saresh. She and I go back to Bankor." Durasay mused, "And get official permission to engage in diplomacy with the Sith." There was a small smile, "Experience with age, and having lived a lifetime already. During negotiations with the Hutts back on Nar Shaddaa, the Sith Empire had paid for my services to speak to the Hutt courts on their behalf. Before I was a Senator. So there's at least a touchstone there."

"You're right. I could have stayed home with Verash, and the children. But I'm needed here, and I don't think the Lady Organa would want her husband to shirk duty and responsibility."

"Just as I could have stayed home with husband and child as well, yet here we both are," she shared a smile with him that spoke of the longing they both felt for their loved ones back home. Hopefully safe and sound, tucked into their warm beds.

Seeing that they had an understanding and a common goal set before them, Kat nodded to the lightsaber at his hip. "Is that something you acquired on Nar Shaddaa? I always felt your strong connection to the Force, Durasay, but that alone doesn't produce a lightsaber." There was no enmity or hostility from her, but genuine curiosity. Perhaps something to be expected from one who had taken it upon herself to help those who were Force Sensitive but not exactly Jedi-candidates.

"No." He shook his head. "The crystal was a trophy from Bankor. A Sith agent named Dynos Val. He... had hurt someone I was close to. A team of us, including Master Jedi Tethys Carrack, weere after his master and a young Padawan who had been led astray. I was there for revenge."

He picked up the hilt. It was extremely ornate. Chromium blue plating, that matched some of the nicer details of his armor. Inlaid with aurum, the patterning matched his armor as well. It seemed perfectly built for his hands.

"The construction was slightly before my arrival on Alderaan. I studied my adversary's hilt over the years. Slowly taking it apart, learning the mechanics. And when it was time, I forged my own."

He watched her reaction. "As far as study of how to wield it, I've always been interested in ancient texts. No formal training, so I'm more of a brute, using the close in fighting training for vibroswords from my time in the military. I have mastered the Falling Avalanche, however."

The ornate decorations seemed... fitting, for him. A reflection of his personality in a way, as lightsabers often became. Her own was well-cared for, but its wear also showed that it had seen a lot of use since its constructions.

"Impressive. Not many would be able to do so without proper guidance, and the Falling Avalanche is considered an advanced technique," her eyebrows did rise with some surprise. "Have you learned more defensive methods of using the saber? It is, by all means, an incredibly deadly weapon... but it is incredibly valuable for defense as well."

Kat reached out with an armored hand gently, holding it in the air in a gesture to feel for Durasay's presence in the Force, reaching out with her own spirit and being. "... May I?"

"No. I've focused on training myself in my armor for defense." A flex of his arm. He seemed to almost ignore the weight of the armor as he adjusted. It looked more well worn, pieces replaced over the years, but the craftsmanship was exquisite.

He watched her hand, and stood a bit straighter, relaxing. Letting himself simply be in the Force. "You may."

Such similarities there were between them, and yet also so very different, Kat reflected. With his permission, she opened herself up to the Force and let down her mental guards, allowing them both to simply feel the presence of the other.

In the vast ocean that was the Force, Katarzyna was like a peaceful current, moving in harmony with the ebb and flow. Like a clear sound in a choir. Motherly. Caring and nurturing. Yet also firm and unbroken, like a tree with deep roots that would bend in the wind, but not break.

Durasay was the eye of a storm. Inwardly calm, yet conflict raged about him. While it was tempered, and seemingly controlled, there was an edge there. The faintest feeling of something dark. In gray center, he stood, an unstoppable juggernaut, moving inexorably forward.

A Dark Knight.

Yet being in her presence, that darkness seemed to fade and dim, swallowed up by the Force, as his posture relaxed, and the breathing was deep.

The connection eased, and Kat felt she understood more about the former Senator than she could ever learn through words. "There is much trouble surrounding you, Durasay. I would caution you not to let it consume you... but I don't wish to sound like a preacher nor a recruiter. That you have come very far in understanding the Force on your own is evident, that much I can tell."

She regarded him with an easy smile. There was pride on his behalf for how much he had learned with no teacher, along with understanding. "When we return to Alderaan, you'd be most welcome to study with our Paladins, if you wish. Consider an open invitation."

"We'll see. I do appreciate the invitation." He was genuine. And the Paladins weren't necessarily Jedi. Given the training he had had, he did have a distrust of the order.

A distrust that made it that he and Verash agreed to not let their children be taken.

"You're no preacher, Katarzyna. I've heard from plenty over the years. I'm more worried that I'd risk spreading that trouble to your Paladins. I wouldn't want to rub off on them. But learning is... a lifelong journey."

"It is a never-ending journey indeed," she chuckled as she nodded in agreement, put at ease by having shared this brief connection through the Force. "I don't think you'd be a bad influence. Duke Zeno is a frequent visitor, and he was trained and raised by the Sith after all. If anything, I think it is valuable to understand and learn. Not learning how to fuel yourself with darkness, for that goes against the purpose of my founding of the Paladins, but it is easier to navigate the dangers with knowledge than with ignorance."

Her gaze drifted to the saber hilt again, before looking up to the much taller Pantoran. "I'd be honored to spar with you some day, if we do get the time. I think we both could learn from one another."

"Anytime. I'm always wanting the practice." He nodded in agreement with her. "I hope you won't be offended by my crude strength. It's not elegant." Durasay chuckled a bit at that. "Then again, dealing with pirates and other n'eer do wells, you don't really engage in many drawn out duels."

Looking out towards the giant hangar bay. "Typically a big show and they run and hide."

Kat smirked warmly, nodding in a way that conveyed that she knew what he was talking about. "A lot of pirates are all talk and no substance. I've dealt with a few in the Outer Rim before, travelling with my master, and later on my own as a Knight."

An armored hand waved off the concern. "No need to worry about it. Elegance is for the Makashi-specialists, though it is a marvel to watch how they move their saber as if it was a work of art. As for myself, I'm specialized in the defensive form of Soresu. Combination of finesse, tactics, and strength. I was taught to fight to defend, not to attack."

"I've always ascribed to the philosophy that the best defense is overwhelming offense. If you strike quickly and in such a manner that the enemy can't retaliate, then there is nothing to defend from. Though a strong defense isn't something to be scoff at. Two sides of coin." The mention of traveling with her Master... he paused for a moment.

"I may take you up on your offer of studying with the Paladins. Perhaps seeing what they are about. Not so much for myself... but my children, they both are strong in the Force, I knew it the moment they were both born. I intend to teach them myself, but more perspectives are always good." He looked away for a moment, contemplating something in the distance, before returning his attention to Katarzyna.