Landing Platform

Cyril lead the four guards and Fel, his stifled gait slowing them enough that Demarus had enough time to hit a couple commands on his wrist com. It would send a coded message to Mel at the back of the group, and she was discreet enough that he wouldn't have to worry about her calling attention to herself as she checked it. They walked out to the landing pad where the freighter was running, but midway across the expanse of the decking, Cyril wheeled around on Galdaart, getting in his face hissing insults.

"You listen here, maggot. Don't get comfy with your new friends. I'll see you hanging from the rafters of a cellblock here if it's the last thing I do."

Demarus tugged at Cyril's arm to drag him back from Fel's face, but Cyril ripped his arm away from the leonine piece of space trash. Demarus bared his teeth at the outburst but that wasn't close to the end of it.

"And you. You go back to that group of sycophants that carry the bedsheets of that whore on Kuat and you tell them that the Remnant doesn't listen to the guff off a Sith trollup. I don't care what your bosses are planning, Fel's ours."

That was the straw for the Cathar. His jaw tightened and he growled low at the slick haired minor bureaucrat. His canine teeth bared at the man.

"Not. Any. More."

The thing about a Cathar is how large they look because of the mane and their broad shoulders. People fear large cats, and the Cathar species were known predators. So when one bared their teeth, that was what everyone was drawn to. The guards and Cyril were looking in his face and not at his hands as he gave Mel the go.

Galdaart saw the steam building pressure from under Cyril's collar before he blew his lid, and took it all in stride when the man turned on him. Though his first instinct was to head-butt the bridge of the man's nose, he had to admit the pencil-pusher had a point, from a certain point of view. He did deserve to be here. For that, he'd receive no argument from Galdaart. But no self-respecting smuggler would allow anyone to get in his face like that without reprisal. Fire flashed behind Fel's eye as Demarus and Mel took action. 

He didn't flinch, didn't shrink back when blood was spilled. He'd been on the trigger-end of enough gunfights to know how this one was going to end before it started. Even when Cyril lay in a spreading pool of his own blood, crying out at the pain from his ruined limbs, he stood stalk-still while Mel freed his legs. Nodded once when she suggested now would be a good time to leave, and took a single step over the prone form of his jailer towards the ship, and then paused. Crouching quickly, limp hair hanging in his face, Fel dropped his head close to Cyril's -- perhaps as close as the middle-manager had ever been to one of his charges.

I'm nobody's. Least of all yours.

He punctuated the statement with a vicious double-backhand, his hands still bound, resulting in a satisfying squishy noise as something broke in the man's face. Wasting no more time, Fel resumed his path, striding quickly to the foot of the 3-Z's boarding ramp.  

Patrolling the landing platform was all but the lowest forms of punishment for those who worked at the building. Nothing ever happened here, shuttles rising and falling, self important people walking past them without a second thought. Not even sure what he was being punished for Erebus walked along a section of the platform that was filled row to row with ships. Stopping he sniffed, normally he had filters in his suit that regulated the air and gave it a metallic smell. Here at the Capitol however there was no need for that, least of all in this building. As such when he smelt copper he did a double take. When one smells death it lingers with them forever. Copper, human piss and shit mixed into a unforgettable aroma of awful clung to the air.

Gripping his rifle tighter he walked slowly his feet not leaving the ground in a shuffle. White armour flashing as he rounded the corner he was greeted with the sight of dead gaurds on of which was the warden for the prison. Shit. Forgetting himself for a moment he ran over and checked their vitals. All had died, most sat in a congealing pool of their own blood. Send a medical team to the east side of the landing platforms, we have four men down. As he waited the clone moved into a more defensible position, with his back to the wall and some cover in front of him he waited with his finger on the trigger.

No one could get inside the building without permission and the proper paperwork whoever this was had to be of importance. As the other troopers turned the corner he stepped up after signaling them. Something is fishy about this, it's like they hadn't put up a fight. Whoever did this had their trust.

*Gavin lowered his hands and shook Panno's before nodding to Anya. Many things had been happening all over the galaxy recently and this was nothing unexpected.*

"I expected as such. From the Mando crusade, to the Empire restoring itself, and all the little bouts in between, being on guard for any surprises is the normality anymore. Trust is so hard to come by now a days." *Gavin's voice was calm and smooth, not deterred in the least by the welcoming party or that they were in unknown territory to their knowledge.* "I am Gavin Phoenix. This is my adopted daughter and apprentice, Anya Syen. We, however, are not Jedi. Nor are we from the Republic. We aren't tied to any order nor government, merely obey the rules wherever we are to keep things nice and peaceful."

*Folding his arms, he thought on how to present his request. He expected in the end that they would be denied learning. If one wasn't willing to commit, some didn't even bother trying to teach. He hoped that proved different here.* "As to why we are here. For the past five years I have been training Anya on how to use the Force and how to fight should she need to. She has now become quite capable for her age and I wish to expand her knowledge. I have yet to lean her training towards the light or dark as of yet for I wish for her to gain knowledge and understanding from many different sources so that when she is finished training with me, she can truly choose who she wishes to be and who to follow. To this end, I had hoped that she can learn from the Imperial Knights: their philosophy and beliefs, how they uphold themselves, how the fight and such. I believe that no person should be bound to a fate outside of their choosing."

Well this was unexpected. The Imperial Knight blinked and for a moment saw the world through the eyes of the force. What better way to discern a persons intent than through the force. He could see their auras, neither light nor dark it was some sort of colour in between and when Gavin spoke nothing flared but the truth. Blinking again Panno wondered about the mans gaze, he seemed almost angry to be here but he made no mention of it. Perhaps this human like many other was another xenophobe. Those he could deal with, and often took pleasure in their displeasure.

Its a pleasure to meet you Gavin and Anya, I am Panno Grai'Tal Master Armourer of the Imperial Knights. If what you say is true than I feel you will be welcome here, but I hope you will be willing to be escorted around by myself. Things are not always as they seem, no matter how innocent someone says they are. Teaching eh? Its been a long time since we have welcomed someone here who was not a hopeful to join our ranks, or some Imperial dignitary. He raised a gauntleted left hand up to stroke his chin, careful not to exert to much pressure lest he crush his chin with the stolen crushgaunt.

After a few moments of consideration he sighed heavily.

Some people around here may not like it but I can teach your pupil what I can. Turning his gaze to Anya he gave an apologetic smile. There are some things though that I cant. Every order needs to have its secrets and the Imperial Knights have many of those. And back to Gavin Thats a very noble sentiment, letting others decide their own fate, allegiance and stuff. Much better than the dogmatic views of the Jedi.

If one was to look into it there was a lesson there. The way he spat out the word Jedi could speak levels of his contempt for them. On a subconscious level he disdained the Jedi. Their teachings. How they would sit and deliberate rather than act, and when they did act it happened far to late. After trillions of deaths.

But there is not much we can do here with all these ships coming down. Tell you what Anya, we have an extensive library here in this facility if you want we can start there. Unless you are more into jumping into things head first, no thought for your own safety and learning as you go.

Anya nodded as he spoke. "I completely understand. Unless one truly commits to a path, not all the knowledge that resides there can be learned. Perhaps, it is possible that one day I may return and get the chance to learn all there is as a Knight myself." Though she was young, the way she spoke, full and certain, revealed that despite her age, her ability to learn and understand was beyond her years.

Taking a moment, she thought on where to start. She had been able to quickly adapt to the things Gavin had taught her thus far, so jumping straight in didn't bother her. However, Gavin had always taken it step by step, ensuring that no bit of training was missed or skipped. With that in mind, she made her choice. "While I have no issue with jumping in head first, perhaps it would be wiser to start in the library."

Another moment passed as she recalled the position he held here and her interest peaked. "You say you are the head armorer here? You must be quite skilled. Have you made many types of weapons?"