liriael (liriael) wrote in thegalaxy, @ 2016-04-01 22:16:00 |
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Entry tags: | jaina solo, liriael d'lander |
the stars, the lights
Who: Jaina Solo and Liriael D’lander
When:After this post but before Jacen leaves
Where: Naboo medcenter
What: Alleviating the boredom of a friend, and getting some intel
Rating: PG most likely
Status: In Progress
Rest, that’s what the doctor had prescribed, especially in the wake of the last muscle booster treatment she had received in her shoulder, to heal the remainder of the damage there. Using her shoulder should have been unthinkable, and the meds would knock any sane person out for the evening. He had slapped a pain patch on there for good measure, powered down the lights in her room, and signed out for the night, confident in his patient’s ability to follow directions. Which is why Liriael didn’t mention her planned, and now completed, mission to find a way to the rooftop of the medcenter and commandeer a chair so she could look at the lights of Theed.
It wasn’t entirely in response to the boredom of the medcenter, she reflected. Ever since she was a child, she preferred the night, just like the rest of her clan back on Malastare. It was ingrained now. She had more difficulty getting to sleep before dawn than anyone she had come across in her travels. Unfortunately, now that part was taking a toll with her new crew, and new mission, and she yawned mightily as she leaned forward and rested her arms on the railing around the rooftop. Also, it wasn’t as if she was hard to locate; after her doctor had departed, she told the nurse exactly where she was going with the promise that she wouldn’t jump off or do something similarly unusual. Perhaps there had been a little nudge in the nurse’s mind that said Liri could be trusted, but no one was going to comment on that.
Jaina had spoken to Liri on the network and she liked the young woman. She’d known immediately that she was Force sensitive but was hiding that fact. Jaina couldn’t blame her for that, she hadn’t exactly advertised who she was either. Not in this place. When she arrived at the Medcenter, she’d checked Liri’s room to find that she wasn’t in it and reached out with the Force to confirm that there was no danger. A nurse happened by and told Jaina where Liri was and how to get up to the roof. She thanked her and made her way up the stairs.
When she pushed open the door, Jaina paused for a moment and looked out over the city. The lights were beautiful, she thought. It made the place look peaceful even though nothing could be further from the truth. Spotting Liri, she made her way over and dropped down into a chair next to her. “It’s gorgeous up here,” she said.
Heavily lidded eyes did not move from the landscape, as Liri felt the presence of the other woman approaching. She had done a cursory ‘feel’ of her as she reached the roof; although she was not one of the doctors or nurses that Liri was familiar with, she was carrying no obvious malice or ill-will, and she thankfully was very present in the Force. So, she was not Liri’s unknown assailant. Assuming that this new companion was just another medic attempting to get her down from the roof, she said, lazily, “Sure is. I think I’ll stay right here for a while, but thanks for reaching out.”
Almost curious, she glanced over, and then suddenly realized who it was. Jerking upright, Liri exclaimed, “Oh, sithspit, hey…..uh….Miss Solo.” She had no idea if Jaina was another Jedi, or a master or anything, and inwardly she was cursing herself for being inattentive. What title would be appropriate, she had no idea. Now very awake, she had to laugh at herself a little. “I know you said you were coming over, but I-” Well, she didn’t want to say she didn’t actually expect her to follow through, as that seemed beyond rude, so she finished with, “didn’t think you’d head over so late.”
“Please call me Jaina. None of that Miss Solo stuff. I’m not anyone important.” Certainly not here where no one even knew her name. Not that it was a bad thing, she was kind of enjoying the anonymity. “I tend to stay up late. Flying with Rogue Squadron and always wondering when the next attack was going to come will do that to you. I also sleep with one eye open most of the time although that’s getting a little better.” She was finally learning to relax even if there was political turmoil all around her, at least she had the option of not getting involved although she was already somewhat involved and would likely become more so. Jaina wasn’t very good at sitting still.
“Jaina,” Liriael repeated back, relaxing slightly. “And I wouldn’t say not important.” Leaning back, Liri settled into the chair, matching Jaina’s pose. “I spent some time with your father. Actually, the man who will theoretically be your father someday.” She had to laugh at that, quietly. What a tricky thing, this rift. “Anyone who likes ships as much and he and I do automatically get along.” She glanced back over the skyline, still drawn by it. “Rogue Squadron...it takes some getting used to, meeting people who, before now, were just stories to me. Important stories, but just stories.” With a smile, Liri added, “I’m glad you came by. It means a lot to me.” With a grin, she continued, “Plus, you know...the boredom.”
“It feels strange to me too, seeing my parents but knowing they haven’t had us yet,” she laughed. “Took some getting used to. For them as well I’m sure. There’s also this world’s version of my mother here but I haven’t met her yet. Jacen has, he liked her which you’d think he would but even though they’re the same in theory, they’re different too,” Jaina was curious to know about the other woman’s life, what kinds of things she’d been through and also more than a little curious about her son and his fall. “Rogue Squadron is great, I loved being part of it although by the time the way was over, I had a squadron of my own. It was called Twin Suns. Named after Uncle Luke’s home planet and also because I’m a twin. So’s he but you already know that.” She shook her head. “It’s strange talking to people who know all about me yet I don’t know them. I’m starting to get used to it but it still feels weird.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t know anything about you,” Liriael replied, with a small laugh. “Your history is completely different from ours here, and it sounds like, in a lot of ways, it was better.” For one, the Jedi had not been obliterated. Inwardly, Liri squashed down a wish to have been born in that alternate timeline. How different would her life have been? “I have only spoken with your brother Jacen in passing, and he seemed like a good person, but then, I have yet to meet anyone in your family as of yet who is not. How are you dealing with being here, away from what you knew? This timeline, this galaxy...it’s a bit worse for the wear. We did not do nearly so well in keeping some of the traditions alive.” Or the people, for that matter.
Jaina thought about it for a minute before she spoke. “Well for one thing, it’s sad to me that not very many people know who the Jedi are. Or even what they are. I’m not saying that the Order is perfect at home, it’s not and even my uncle would agree. There were divisions among the Jedi about what its role should be in government, war, many things.” She paused for a moment and looked out over the city. “It really bothers me that people here don’t believe that the Rebellion happened, that all of it was some kind of a hoax. I know the First Order puts out that stuff, I’ve seen some of their propaganda and it’s scary as hell. I don’t remember the Empire of course
But I’ve heard enough about it to know I don’t want any part of anything that’s similar to it.”
“Not everyone has forgotten what, or who, the Jedi are,” Liri replied, quietly. Even though Jaina’s gaze was out on the skyline, Liri was looking at her. “On the surface, a lot of people profess ignorance, but it’s not out of disrespect or even apathy. Quite the opposite. It’s been fifteen years since the fledgling Academy was destroyed, and a lot of people, mostly children, died.” She hesitated, swallowing hard. “It’s fear. Those that have the ability to feel the Force, to use it, they have gone into hiding, or been hidden by their families. It became self-preservation to pretend that Jedi did not exist, that it was all legends, stories. Collective shame drove many species down that road. I know, I remember it.” Liri’s gaze grew unfocused for a moment. “In the wake of that, it was a palpable thing. Whispered conversations, dark thoughts. Eventually, people tried to forget. But the belief is not gone. It could be revived, perhaps. But before that can happen, the Jedi who are here need to be kept safe, Jaina.”
She glanced over at Liri. This was the story that Jaina hadn’t heard, the one that wasn’t talked about openly. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like for those families,” she said quietly. “In my world, the Academy is a safe place, it’s not like the old days where children were taken there and never allowed to see their families again.” Jaina knew Liri was Force sensitive but she hadn’t guessed her story. “Is that what your family did? Hide you to keep you safe? I can understand that, my parents would have hidden me. When we were smaller, my brothers and I were often targets for kidnapping because of who we were so we did live part of our childhood in hiding. I don’t remember everything and I’m glad that I don’t.” She hesitated for a moment. “Have you had any training at all?”
Instead of answering right away, Liri turned her gaze back to the skyline. Jaina had just gotten there, and already she was sharing things she never spoke about with anyone. Perhaps it was just the late night, perhaps everything was just catching up to her. Running her fingers through her hair, more tangling it in the wind than anything, she finally said, “In a way. I have heard that criticism before, that taking children as babies from their families and cutting off that path is cruel, that it causes more issues, but I don’t think that is true. I have a feeling that if you asked Master Kenobi, or Master Vel Aath, or those that went through it, they wouldn’t see it that way. I was on the other side of it.” Her eyes went back to meet Jaina’s, albeit reluctantly. “Imagine instead that you have a young child, too young to understand many things, able to hear every thought you have in your head, because you don’t even know that you need to shield that. Every time an adult got frustrated, or was afraid, or felt rage, but never admitted it aloud and assumed that what was on the surface, what came out of their mouths, is what was heard. That all around that child, there are those who believe those abilities, and the Force, are dangerous, frightening….evil.” She sighed, heavily, closing her eyes briefly. “Picture that, and tell me that having a child grow up around trained, experienced Jedi wouldn’t be a better path.”
She listened to the young woman’s words and tried to do as she asked. For Jaina, it was hard to comprehend. “The Force, the Jedi, they’ve always been part of my life,” she finally said. “We were taught from the beginning what it meant, there wasn’t any question that we’d be trained. Even then there were times when it scared me. I was lucky in that I have a twin brother and we share a twin bond so that helped. Now that we’re older, it’s different because we have to grow apart in ways so that we can grow up.”
Jaina stopped speaking for a minute and then looked back at Liri. “At home, Uncle Luke tried to find a happy medium. There were some kids at the Academy when I was there whose families had abandoned them because of what they could do. Some of the teachers there were aliens and they and different views about the Force, I’m glad I got the chance to learn about them. I’m sorry that you never got that chance, I can tell that you’re strong in the Force. I’m not a Master, not by a long shot, but I can tell that much.”
With a smile, Liri replied, “It sounds like a good life. I’m glad that you had that, including a family that understood.” Her tone and the sense she gave off lent her words sincerity. “Perhaps it sounds crazy to say it, but I am...grateful that there is a world where the Jedi remain, and the tradition isn’t broken. Me, I have no siblings. My parents were a little too spooked at having one sensitive child in the family.” The reply could have been resentful or bitter, but it sounded just like a normal statement. Still, when they returned back to the subject of talent, and training, Liri’s expression turned slightly sad.
“I….don’t know. I mean, yes, I know my strength, my abilities. I always have. I know that when one of Master Skywalker’s knights came and tested me, I showed enough inclination to be accepted to the Academy. But now…” Her lips were turned downward although she tried not to outright frown. “I still worry it’s too late for me to learn the Jedi path. Master Jinn said that there is a possibility he could teach me some, although he said just as I was thinking: no promises. I may never be more than this.” Attempting to lighten up, she glanced over and added, with a half-smile, “Not that I don’t do pretty well on my own.”
“Your parents aren’t Force sensitive? Most everyone that I know has at least one Force sensitive parent,” Jaina said. “It must be somewhere in your bloodline though, at least I think that’s how it works. I don’t know if anyone really knows. In my world, nearly all of the history of the Jedi was destroyed by the Empire. There were bits and pieces that remained, my uncle found some of them, but I know it goes back to the Old Republic maybe even before that.” She shrugged. “I can’t say I always paid attention in history class.” Jaina had been far too interested in more practical applications of the Force, like how it helped her in her flying.
“There are things that I can show you about how to use the Force. Especially when it comes to flying. It helps me a lot, gives me more control. The more philosophical things I leave to my brother but the practical stuff, I can teach you.”
“No, neither of my parents are sensitives,” Liri confirmed, with a brief smile. “If they were, they hid it amazingly well. In fact, no one else in my village was, as far as I know. Perhaps it’s recessive in my family. And you are right about the records being lost, and destroyed. It happened here as well. In fact, I’ve been thinking about asking those Jedi who have come through if I can start recording everything they recall….we could fill in a lot of gaps in lost knowledge.” At Jaina’s offer, Liri brightened some. “I do love flying, although my freighter is a bit of a far cry from Rogue Squadron, or Twin Suns. But I want to make sure I do this right. Master Jinn has said he will consult with the Barsen’thor about what training path would be best. I’ve no background to speak of, in the Order.”
“That would be a good idea,” she said. “Keeping a record of what people remember. That would help a lot and regardless of what the First Order thinks, the Jedi should be remembered for what they’ve done, people should know the truth.” It bothered Jaina that people were being lied to although it happened all the time and the First Order was no different from any other organization that was interested in total control.
“Your ship is yours so that makes it special,” Jaina said with a smile. “My x-wing is mine because I’m assigned to it but I don’t own it. I would love to have my own ship one day. One that I could customize the way I wanted it.” She listened to Liri’s words and then asked “Who are the Barsen’thor? I’m not familiar with them.”
“If I can convince them….” Liriael shrugged, a bit helplessly. “I’ve only met you, and Master Kenobi. There’s a gap between knowing Jedi exist, and being able to help. But I will not be deterred.” She glanced over again, the city lights reflecting off her face as she did so. “I have all my own records, which are beyond precious to me, copies of every scrap of information I could locate from intact records. Heck, some of it is just stories that someone told me, but even stories hold a grain of truth sometimes.”
Thinking of the Vagabond, Liri’s expression softened. “A ship is freedom. It’s home and family and peace all rolled into one. It had been my dream for a while, to finally have one of my own. I’m heading to Coruscant as soon as I get out of here, to get a rare part, and then it will be time for some exploration.” She half-smiled. “Well, and work. Have to pay for things, after all.” At Jaina’s final question, she said, “The name is really a title, not the Jedi’s actual name. I’ve found references to two different Barsen’thors in an intact archive on Munto Codru. You have to love the Outer Rim for having some vestiges floating around. Anyway, I don’t know much about it, only that thousands of years ago, it was a title conveyed on an especially wise Jedi by the Council. I think that it was eventually forgotten, since that’s the only reference I have ever located.” She rubbed fingers on her scalp, idly. “There is a Master here who uses the title. I haven’t met her but I’ve seen no indication that she is lying about the title. If she is who she says she is, she’ll be invaluable to talk to.”
Jaina had never heard of the title but that wasn’t impossible. She’d already discovered many things that were different here than what she was used to. “I haven’t spent a great deal of time in the Outer Rim,” she said. “Not until we were fighting the Vong. Even at that I know very little about it. I feel like I’ve been fighting for so many years that I don’t know what to do with peace and I’m only 22.” Jaina sighed. “And of course this place isn’t really peaceful and naturally I want to get involved but that’s me. I don’t like seeing people suffer and that seems very much like what the First Order wants to do. I hope….well I hope that you can find someone who will train you and that maybe the Jedi Order can rebuilt. I’ll do what I can, I can help you make a lightsaber and show you how to use it. You said you’d spoken to my brother? He would be able to tell you more about the philosophy side of it. I’m curious to know how much different things are between our world and this one when it comes to that.”
“Wait a minute, a lightsaber?” Liri immediately straightened up. “I can just….make one? With what? How do you make them? All my records kept referring to the Kyber crystals, but it was always said that not just anyone could make one, you had to actually sense or be in tune with them.” She was talking fast, caught up in the tidbit of information, but didn’t seem aware of that. “The colors aren’t just random, I could tell that much, so there has to be properties that the crystals possess that speak to each Jedi-..and wait, don’t you have to be a Jedi to even be able to use one? Otherwise, why wouldn’t lightsabers be openly made and sold on the market? By the Father Tree, you can be damned sure that people would pay a lot for that, First Order or not.” Suddenly realizing she had gotten carried away, Liri said, a bit sheepishly, “Ah...sorry. Many of my notes are incomplete at best, and I’ve been puzzling away at some. To have new information….I get excited.” Remembering that she had talked over Jaina’s question, she added, “I’ve only talked to your brother on the holonet...I haven’t met him yet. I’d like to.”
Jaina smiled at Liri’s enthusiasm. She remembered being as excited when she’d made her own lightsaber. “The Empire destroyed most of the places where the Kyber crystals grew but there are ways to make synthetic ones. My uncle Luke, the lightsaber he uses now has a synthetic crystal. He learned how to make it from some journals of Master Kenobi’s that he found. It involves a lot of meditation, putting your own Force sense into it but it can be done. Someone that isn’t Force sensitive wouldn’t even know where to begin.” She reached under her tunic and pulled out her own lightsaber. “Mine for instance, you can see that the handle is made specifically to fit my hand. Someone else could use it but it would be quite the same. I won’t ignite it because it’s just safer if I don’t but my blade is a violet color. By the time I was old enough to be at the Academy, some of the caves where the crystals grew had been reclaimed so we had real crystals. The colors do mean something yes but you’ll hear different stories about that.” She paused for a second and then decided to be honest. “They say that people who’ve walked on the Dark Side but haven’t stayed there, their blades are violet. My blade was already that color but I did fight the Dark Side after my younger brother died. I never understood how someone who believed so strongly in the Force could fall but I do now. The Dark Side tricks you, it plays on your emotions, makes you think that it can offer you peace but it can’t. So maybe my Force sense knew what was going to happen before I did but I can tell you that my blade was a darker color after all that.”
The explanation had Liri falling silent once more, absorbing this information. “A lot of that is lost,” she finally said. “The locations of the crystals, how to make one….I believe that the Master Skywalker who lives in this timeline knows how, still, as some of the Jedi at his academy possessed them. Furthermore, the Knights of Ren also have them, exclusively red ones for that matter.” She sighed, heavily. “I….worry about the influence of the Dark Side, especially as everything I do, is in a vacuum, so to speak. Until now, I’ve had very little outside influence, except for one that I did train with, for a little while. Not a Jedi, but similar.” She watched Jaina, sympathetic. “It’s not as simple as it seems, is it, to always stay on the light. When you are in a position where you are alone, or hurting, your mind and your heart can lead to places that promise safety. I know what you mean.”
Jaina nodded. There was nothing really to say. She had been vulnerable when Anakin had died and it had seemed so easy to search for something that could take that pain away. She had come back though, she hadn’t fallen but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t face a similar temptation in the future. “It would make sense that this world’s version of my uncle would know how. From what I’ve gathered, a lot of the history is the same up until the fall of the Empire. Then things are different, my brothers and I weren’t born in this world and our parents have only one child.”
“And you said old journals of Master Kenobi’s…..I wish I had thought to ask him that when we spoke.” As much as the sabers were on her mind, Liri felt another wash of sympathy for what Jaina was speaking of. “I’ve never had a sibling, so I cannot imagine,” she said, quietly. “To lose someone close to you….but in the past, the old Order, you would not even have known about him. At least in this life….you did.”
“That is true. The three of us grew up together, something that wouldn’t have happened in the old Order. In fact our parents wouldn’t have been married.” She paused for a moment, wondering how things might have been if her grandparents had been allowed to live as on openly married couple with their children. Would Anakin have still fallen? It was something that she would never know the answer to. “It’s hard to say what is best and what isn’t. I only know what I’m used to, it’s hard to think of another way.”
“I’ve only known the old way,” Liri replied, with a ghost of a smile. “Never connected much with family, never gotten attached to a person romantically. I have my crew, and they are my friends, but that’s as close as I get to anyone.” She sought a way to maybe relieve Jaina from having to answer so many personal questions. “Sometimes I think, it might be nice to not have those restrictions imposed, but then, there’s also a security in keeping to a code like that. A dedication, you could say. Of course, it could also be an excuse so I can keep flying my ship wherever I like.”
Jaina laughed. “If I had a ship of my own, I would definitely do whatever I could to keep flying. My aunt always said some of the same things you said, about how having your own ship gave you freedom, something that was yours. Even after she married Uncle Luke, she still always had her own ship.”
“She’s not wrong. I didn’t realize how much it becomes a part of you until I purchased the Vagabond. Now, I cannot imagine life without it. Of course,” she added, with a short laugh, “I live on it as well, so I really cannot imagine. Housing isn’t that plentiful on Naboo, what with all the newcomers, and every bit of credit that I can save up goes right back into the ship. It’s not glamourous, and not exactly luxury, but I like it. I don’t need much space, and it’s kept all to myself. My crew comes and goes a bit, but I think they tend to spend more time on the ship than off. The only other thing I have….had….was a speeder to get around, but it’s pretty much scrap now,” she admitted, wryly. “That damn thing that attacked me, also warped the frame. Not sure I can do anything but junk it now.”
“Do you have any idea what attacked you?” Jaina asked. It concerned her that someone had been attacked since Naboo seemed to be relatively peaceful. Then added to the fact that Liri was Force sensitive, that made her wonder even more if it was deliberate. Something didn’t add up.
“No, I really have no idea.” Liriael sighed, brushing her hair away as the wind hit the rooftop just then. “I actually spoke with Master Kenobi about it…..he came all the way here to discuss it.” She looked over at Jaina, her face lighting up at the memory. “I still can’t believe it. Anyway, neither of us have experienced anything like it, a creature that comes across as a void to the Force. And we also suspect that it might be a shapeshifter of some kind. I just cannot think of why there, and why now.”
When Liri mentioned feeling a void in the Force, Jaina’s blood ran cold. She’d experienced it and not that long ago. Could it be? Wouldn’t Jacen have been able to sense it? He’d had a bond with the world brain, if the Vong were here, wouldn’t he have known? “I know of a race that is like that,” she said slowly. “They’re called the Yuuzhan Vong. They’re from beyond the Outer Rim and in my world, we just made peace with them. They have no presence in the Force although both my brothers were able to sense them eventually, one after obtaining a weapon from them and the other after being held captive but most Force users even powerful ones like my aunt and uncle can’t feel them at all. They just…..aren’t there.”
Instead of being unnerved by the explanation, Liriael leaned forward with interest. “The Yuuzhan Vong? Can you tell me more about them? Can they appear as different shapes? Are they really strong? If you cannot sense them, are you able to affect them at all with the Force?” This was a great lead, even though Liri could sense the thread of fear. “I’ve only felt it twice. The first time, I wasn’t attacked...it was just the second time. Do you know where they come from?”