As she stepped off of the public transport into the familiar, unattractive sands of Tatooine, the scene kept playing vivid accuracy through her mental unconsciousness. The metal room had insulated the cold and resentful parting of the Vasudeva Myrrn, 2nd Lieutenant in the Correlian military. Or at least, that’s what her papers said when she transferred to the post 10 years ago, though she hadn’t seemed to age a day since. Every one of her face and physique still indicated she was not one day over 23. Her commanding officer had asked about it one day, and the only comment she had to offer was that she had a very good diet and physical routine. That was the last time he asked questions regarding her personal life- there had been a feeling of anxiety in the room that was so unnatural for a human to possess that it penetrated his generally sturdy composure and made even the stone-faced commander lose his guard.

“You’ve done stupid things before Myrrn, but nothing so blatantly against official order as this. What was running through your thick skull?” The words hung in the air before they dissipated into Palîn’s self-confident smirk. Sitting backwards in the chair, her arms resting peacefully along the back with her head propped against them, it was obvious she felt in no way threatened by the disapproval in her commander’s voice. Talk about adding fuel to the fire. “Wipe that smirk off your face. This was the last straw. Turn over your ID. I want your bags packed tonight, and your ass on the first transport that comes through in the morning.”

Those words got a reaction. For 10 years, the military had offered a temporary solace from the anxieties of failure regarding her less than civilian life. When it became clear that the Sith Order was not going to be restored, her entire reason for living and life goals had been crushed under it. That was all the motivation she needed to fade into nonexistence, but with a deep rooted desire for battle, a normal life had not suited her the way it had suited her mother. She was irritable, but when the opportunity for the military came, it had been an outlet in which she excelled. In the moment of her dismissal, the air of the room seemed to all but vanish, leaving the commander choking on his last words as her fingers gripped onto the wrought metal of the chair. If he intended to take this life from her, then who was to deny her the same privilege? It was only the fact that the evidence would lead straight back to her doorstep (wherever that may be) that restrained her. In silence, she shoved off of the chair as the commander regained his composure, bent halfway over his desk gripping at his pounding heart through the blue uniform in disbelief. The door slammed shut behind her as she stalked down the empty halls- she wouldn’t have let him see her eyes, two cuts of garnet etched into her fine features.

A bead of sweat rolled coldly down her back, dragging her out of the trance she had put herself into. By this time in the present, Palîn had drifted towards a new cantina establishment. She didn’t note the name as she passed through the open doorway and sat in the middle booth along the far wall. Picking up the menu, her eyes scanned the list of food for something that looked appetizing- military food wasn’t known for its quality. When the undistinguishable substance arrived on a plate, she made a mental note that apparently the rest of the galaxy had lowered its standards for edibility as well. But picking up the fork, she was able to swallow a few gulps before any interruptions.

“Well aren’t you the prettiest face of dawn I’ve seen around these parts.” The husky voice settled on her ears as the mediocre fellow settled into the seat across from her. The temptation to just ignore him and have him assume she was mute or deaf or some kind of freak was more tempting than entertaining him. She would have done it too if he hadn’t continued. “That uniform looks good on you. It would also look good on my floor.”

…Who the fuçk did this guy think he was, some kind of pick up artist? As she raised her eyes to meet his over-confident smile, the ire in her eyes could have run off any intelligent Jedi. But this man was neither intelligent, nor a Jedi. He was stupid, irrational, probably someone no one would miss. There was an idea that sparked her interest as a cruel smile spread over her lips as the relaxed from the tight fury she had them pressed in. “Don’t you know who I am? My name is Palîn Ak’Chazar.”

The bartender, who had apparently been eavesdropping, joined into the brawl of laughter the near-dead man emitted as he pounded against the table in near hysterics. A sort of confusion crossed over her face as she attempted to sort out the humor of the proclamation. The bartender chimed in at this point, leaning over a half polished glass he’d set on the counter. “You must have hit your head in the service. That bi†ch has been dead for near a decade, maybe longer. Thanks for the laugh though, kid, that’s the best damn things I’ve heard in weeks.”

Someone might as well have smacked her clear across the face. Dead? They truly thought that she- well Palîn, was…dead? As she tried to sort out the fact that her name was basically in the morgue book, she noticed a gentleman two booths over shifting uncomfortably. He wasn’t force sensitive, though this was the kind of behavior that she would have expected from someone of that kind. Offering a kind of foolish smile to the bartender, and then to the pick-up artist who was already walking away from her to go hit on some other barmaid, she got up and drifted over to the other booth. “May I join you?” she asked in a truly skeptical tone.

As if her voice was the song of sirens, the man lifted his eyes to meet hers. They were a crystal blue that took away her breath as she sat down beside him so that their conversation could pass between them in such privacy as would be allowed. His hands were like leather as he had them folded in his lap, from labor and age. After the first looked he had given her, he couldn’t meet her eyes again. Instead, he watched the empty plate in front of him as he began to speak. “It’s true isn’t it…You’re really her. I knew when I heard rumors about the Dark Jedi again that you were behind it. No one had heard anything for so long, that everyone just assumed that she- well, you had gone and done something stupid and gotten yourself killed. I never fully bought into it…” His breath was ragged as he looked up to see her astonished look. Dark Jedi? She had just set foot back into the real realm of the galaxy again- she wasn’t behind any of that. But if it was true that others were going around calling themselves Dark Jedi, that meant that it was an organized move.

“Perfect…I’m dead, so they’ll never see it coming…”