Ask Aftermath

[Ezra Thorne]

A few seconds ticked by. For a moment it would appear as if Ezra was comatose, his body limp while he was unresponsive. A few more seconds later his eyes flew open and he gasped as if coming up for air after being underwater. He sat up, entirely rattled from the experience, which was a rare look for the normally stoic Jedi Master. Ezra couldn’t believe how well his ploy worked, and a part of him was surprised he was even able to attempt it. Unfortunately it was incredibly taxing and all his limbs left like jelly.

“Is it done?” He asked Vanya. They were still in the dark, dank caverns in the mounds and had to find a way out. He could sense a change from their efforts and it told him that the darkness was dispersing away. For a moment, he simply sat there and didn’t move, a hand pressing against his chest where he felt a sharp pang. In the realm of the Force it was where Raze’s mark was. Ezra was perhaps the only one in the galaxy - other than his parents - that wondered if Raze was truly gone. The entity had planted its hooks in multiple places and Ezra was one of them.

“I saw it..” He said weakly as he gazed up at Vanya, “The Eternal mask..the one that was supposedly destroyed,” Ezra said. He didn’t know what it meant, but that mask was supposedly gone forever. Why was it appearing in the Force realm?

 

[Vanya]

Vanya was momentarily concerned that Ezra was lost. That his mind wasn't going to come back from the realm of the beyond. Then he twitched and her eyes widened. His eyes flew open and he gasped for breath, leading her to feel a wave of relief wash over her.

As it was, she didn't know who of the team below had survived, and she was sure hundreds had died on the surface. All life was valuable, but the life of a friend... hurt more to lose.

Yes, I think so, she said. The initial reports had come in that the Queen was dead, and with that the bugs were beginning to scatter.

The fleet is scattering what remains of the Killiks. They've fallen into disarray without the Queen, she said. She could tell that he was rattled - which wasn't like him - and that made her wonder about what exactly had happened in there.

She offered him a hand up, knowing that her questions would likely have to come later. They were still in enemy territory.

And then he dropped it on her and her violet eyes widened.

The Eternal? Is it... what happened?! she asked. It was a little hard to swallow, but she knew that he certainly wouldn't lie to her about it. But what implications did that have?

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra allowed her to help him up, but he stood up quickly and hit his head on the ceiling, “Fuck,” He growled, forgetting that he was a very tall man in a tiny space. The endless struggle of he and his father. He rubbed his head and hunched over, pleased to hear that the Queen was destroyed. Ezra quirked a brow as she asked if that was what really happened.

“No, I thought I’d just throw that out there for fun,” He responded dryly as he started to slowly walk out of the chamber, “That thing wasn’t there by accident or by projection. If it was in the Force realm, it means it’s not destroyed,” He concluded flatly. Either the Grandmaster had been mistaken or she straight up didn’t destroy it. Between the mess with the Grandmaster and the former Chancellor, her disappearance and now this, Ezra was beginning to suspect Alex Voran of being a rather sketchy character.

He was walking slowly, almost stumbling a few times. The fight in the Force plane completely drained him, but there was no time to rest. He paused for a moment, glancing over his shoulder as he recalled her reaction to seeing the rune and the blood.

“Are you all right?” Ezra asked her quietly. He figured he may as well while there was no one else around to hear Ezra Thorne vocalize concern over someone else.

 

[Vanya]

Vanya laughed slightly at his response, no doubt amplified by the relief that they were mostly out of danger.

No, I mean what happened, she said, and as he continued his story she didn't feel... great. They had apparently driven off whatever it was, but she had no doubt - as did he - that it wasn't gone. Things like this always lingered on somewhere beyond the Force.

Well... we dealt with it today, she said, although the statement didn't bring her a great deal of joy. It was laced with "just wait until it comes back" energy that she was trying not to think about.

Small victories. Or in this case, actually pretty large victories. The Killik threat had nearly decimated the galaxy and it had taken the joint efforts of nearly everyone to break the siege.

They stumbled on, looking like a pretty pathetic pair as they limped through the hive to the surface again.

I am managing. The ritual was... fatiguing, and something I'd rather not do again, she said. Her skin still crawled somewhat at tapping into the unholy runes. It wasn't the same as resurrecting whatever was on the other side, but it felt nearly as profane, even if she hadn't been the one to do the foul deeds.

And you? she asked.

A sound from up ahead drew her attention, and she grabbed her lightsaber from her belt, bracing for a fight... and was pleasantly surprised. Rather than Killiks, it was the first of the troopers sweeping the nest, clearing it out.

Ah, Master Thorne, Knight Vanya, one of the men - a Captain by his rank - greeted them, looking them over with a discerning eye and noting that they looked a bit worse for wear.

The Killiks have been routed and are fleeing into the earth. There's a staging area on the surface. You can get food, medical attention, and transport back to the ships, he said, pointing the way out for the pair of Jedi who didn't look like they were going to be in a position to do much more fighting right now. They'd already been the tip of the spear, now it was their turn to get some rest.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra smirked as she expressed never wanting to do the ritual again, “I thought Night Sisters did rituals for fun,” He quipped, “Pretty sure I heard there’s a Dathomirian one to summon tough, strapping men to father their babies,” He mused, his tone dry enough to where it was impossible to tell whether it was a joke or not.

“I’ll live,” He stated curtly about his own state of being. Now that he was out of school, he wasn’t as exhausted nonstop. Running EZTech still took up a tremendous chunk of his time, but somehow it was still easier than being forced to write long essays and prepare for exams.

When the Captain greeted them, Ezra nodded, “Relay me a final status and casualty report on our teams to include injuries,” He said, “We will debrief once we return,” He said before he kept walking. Ezra started to head back towards his own fancy ship, though Vanya was welcome to join him if she pleased.

“So do you have a last name? Vanya Singing Tree? Vanya Dancing Rancor? Vanya Eating Pine Cones?” Ezra rattled off helpfully as he checked his chrono before he started walking up the ramp of his ship. If she followed, she would see the luxury ship was immaculate and spotless, perfectly organized. He slipped off his boots and walked over to plop down in a seat as his droids prepared the ship to take off.

“We’ll want the galaxy to know we did this,” He remarked as he gazed at her, “Curb the shitty narrative we get in the media all the time.”

 

[Vanya]

Vanya, however, did not take his meaning as a joke with his deadpan delivery. Well, there is the selection, but that's not a summoning ritual, she said.

Yes, they would both live, wouldn't they? For now. For today. But for how long? She shook the thought from her head. It was a victory, and those needed to be celebrated. Hail the victorious dead.

They had a quick debrief with the Captain, and Vanya continued along with Ezra as he headed toward his ship.

Do you mind if I come along? I'd like to brainstorm what happened, she said, not to mention he was one of the few brains in the Order that had also been putting in the time and effort to actually make changes.

I'm from the Singing Mountain Clan, she said, eyes narrowing slightly at the "eating pine cones" comment. I suppose Vanya Mountain would be the closest thing I have to a last name, she said.

She headed inside and almost felt like she couldn't sit down anywhere. Everything here was immaculate with military levels of precision, and she felt like if she sat down she was going to make wrinkles everywhere.

Wow, this is nice, she muttered. Her own ship was a multi-generation hand-me-down that was far from living in luxury. Maybe she should invest in getting something nicer one of these days. Yeah, yeah, Jedi didn't want possessions, but Vanya also wasn't a very Jedi-like Jedi.

Eventually, she settled on a seat across from him, sinking slightly into a comfy couch. Oh yeah, she could get used to this.

Yeah, I think we need to try to separate ourselves from the Council. The Jedi Order as it has been has way too much negative history and publicity, she said. I am hopeful that so many of our Order seem to be on the same page about things, though, she said.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra stared blankly at her as she stood there like a doofus, “There are no explosives,” He muttered as he calmly waited for her to take a seat. She sank into the chair and it was as if she had never sat on a cushion before. The part Sephi kept his opinions to himself, wondering if her ship was put together with spit, duct tape, and a prayer to the Winged Spirit.

He almost groaned when she started talking about what direction the Jedi should take. Ezra leaned back in his seat and gazed up at the ceiling as the ship began to take off, “Don’t you get tired of listening to yourself?” He asked bluntly, “Holding the torch this time to rally the Jedi to some shiny new cause because we tripped over ourselves yet again?” Ezra didn’t care if he sounded pessimistic. He was Ezra Thorne first and Jedi second. If more Jedi tried that, perhaps the Order wouldn’t be in shambles all the time. Everyone tried hard to stay within guardrails and to operate like a perfect Jedi and it almost always came at the cost of the basic human nature they fought to defend in the first place.

“You’re doing all this shit because no one else is doing it,” His icy gaze flicked back to meet hers as he tilted his head back down to face her, “Not because you want to. Careful you don't go from Vanya Singing Mountain to just Vanya Mountain."

 

[Vanya]

Vanya was caught off guard by his question and wasn't sure if she should be offended.

You're right, I am, she said bluntly. I'm tired of watching the bad guys win, she said frustratedly, though it was more likely she was angry at the situation than with him.

I joined up to fight against evil not to lead armies, but... she waved her hand out at nothing in particular to indicate "the rest of the galaxy" as if that was somehow an explanation. The motion was arguably comical, and she sat back exasperated into her seat, sighing and shaking her head.

I'm probably just tired, she sighed after another moment.

Do you have a drink? We had a big win today, a celebratory drink and not worrying about this sounds like a great plan, she said. One thing about her that was distinctly not Jedi was that she still wore her emotions on her sleeve.

You know this is a really nice ship. I think I need to get a nicer ship, she blurted out a moment later.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra scoffed as she called it bad guys and evil. He shook his head, “Everyone has a cause, even the other guys,” He stated curtly, “The first step is to understand why instead of attacking just because we are holier than thou,” Ezra said. He was tired of Jedi that acted like they were the beacons of the Light in the galaxy - it was all so reactive. They couldn’t stop anything from becoming ‘evil’ in the first place. He gazed at Vanya - how long before the burden of picking up the pieces of the Order would make her collapse and set her on the very path she fought against?

He smirked at her question about drinks, “I thought you’d never ask,” He said as he rose to stand, leading the way to an impressive kitchenette that had a droid manning it. There was a full bar with top shelf liquor. Ezra wasn’t big on drinking himself, but he would entertain some celebratory drinks. The droid mixed them both a vibrant, blue drink and he clinked his glass against hers, “Cheers,” He said as he took a sip.

“A nicer ship wouldn’t be you,” He said with a deadpan tone, casually taking a sip again. It was unclear whether it was an insult or compliment and Ezra wasn’t going to elaborate.

 

[Vanya]

Vanya just sighed. I don't want to argue. At least not right now. Too tired, she said. She knew that she was something of a hammer sometimes and she wondered how she would even do as a Jedi - or if she would remain a Jedi at all - if the galaxy came to peace. That was a "not today" problem.

She chuckled and smiled as he said she'd never ask, accepting the drink that he offered.

Thank you, she said, swirling the blue liquid in the glass, and watching it. It was an almost beautiful color, and she clinked her glass against his with a smile.

Cheers, she repeated. And to many more, she added on, taking a sip of her drink.

Maybe, but flying around - and living out of - a third hand junker is getting a little old, she said. Maybe the core of the issue was actually that she just didn't really have a home. Sure there were the temples and there was Dathomir but the former was... not great and the latter was too inaccessible.

Do you have an apartment or house or something that you stay in most of the time? she asked curiously.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra wasn’t entirely surprised to learn that she was living out of a ship, “You know, my father, the President, lived out of a third hand junker of a ship for a huge chunk of his life,” He mused aloud as he sipped from his glass. It was a little tidbit few knew about the President of the ISC. Ezra thought back to the infamous Ship that he and Jayna were never permitted to enter because of how precious it was to Emryc, “Pretty sure that ship was a piece of garbage even when my father first inherited it as a teenager.”

He finished his drink as the ship began to lift off. When Vanya asked where he lived, Ezra quirked a brow, “Why, you looking for a crashpad?” He asked flatly, “I rotate between places. We have several family manors, but I mainly reside on Nubia where I attended university and where EZTech is headquartered,” Ezra was surprised and pleased with how much he was entertaining small talk. Normally he despised it and began to adopt his father’s method of staring in silence when asked such questions.

“So, do you have other small talk questions to ask me as you realize I’m probably the worst conversationalist in the Jedi Order?” Ezra asked with a scoff as he poured himself another drink.

 

[Vanya]

Vanya full stopped sipping her drink when he mentioned that Emryc had just lived out of a third hand ship, making a face as she had trouble registering that.

Are you saying I could become President someday? she asked with a snicker. She'd make an absolute hot garbage president. She didn't make much of a good anything other than fighter, which was probably something that most of the Jedi would condemn if they knew her better. She was a frankly awful Jedi by most Jedi standards.

You offering me a place to crash? she asked with a quirked eyebrow. She was sure that wherever he lived on Nubia was so far out of her price range it was a joke.

Actually, I don't even know where we're flying to right now, she said, surprised that she was unbothered by the fact that she had absolutely no idea where they were going. Usually you weren't supposed to get into ships with strange men, but in this case, he wasn't exactly a stranger. She had been in his mind, after all. Quite literally.

Well... she said, suppressing a mischievous grin ...I could sit here and badger you with questions all night - and trust me I could do that - if you'd like. Or we could argue about the Jedi. Put a couple more glasses in me and you can get me all riled up. Dealer's choice, she said, draining the remainder of her glass.

She stared off at the bulkhead for a moment, just... thinking. Letting the music of the Essence play in her ears and thinking about everything that had happened. The discordant echoes of the Killiks was fading behind her, and she felt she should have been saddened and serious about the people who were out there now fighting and dying. But she was tired of being serious all the time. Tired of letting heavy things weigh her down. She wanted to just let go.

She pushed the thoughts from her head, with a roll of her eyes at herself.

I can leave you alone if you prefer, she finally said after a moment more, but something else stuck in her mind. Something she hadn't seen before. Something that was... different since they had left the Killik nest, and for the briefest moment, he would get the impression that she was looking right through him. There was a lingering connection between them whether they wanted it or not that was brought on by the linking of their minds on Byblos.

But there's something you wanted to talk to me about, isn't there? If you wanted to be alone you wouldn't have invited me along? Or was it just for my alluring personality? she said, adding a bit of humor to the end of a more serious question.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Damn Vanya could talk. Ezra had only known her to give speeches about the Crusaders, Jedi Lords and whatever other big movement she was driving. He calmly sat there sipping from his drink as she articulated the many options. She asked if he would like to be left alone and he almost considered answering yes, but she went on to ask another question. Ezra swirled the drink in his hand, glancing at the glass.

In truth, there was something. The part of Raze that existed in him was like poison. He didn’t know how to get rid of it and he didn’t trust telling the Jedi about it. He would never turn to Sith, so that left only someone like Vanya that practiced other schools of the Force. But could he really just casually broach that topic?

“Do you find your personality so deplorable that someone always needs to extract something from you for your company?” Ezra asked flatly. He couldn’t deny there was an aspect of that for him, but he was genuinely curious about her take on this. She was always focused on missions and doing things for the Order to where he wasn’t even sure who she was as a person.

“We are flying back to Starlight,” He said simply, recalling her earlier sentiment about not knowing where they were going. He was going to drop her off, poke his head in as a Jedi Master making appearances and then fly back to Nubia.

 

[Vanya]

The question that he asked next was another one that seemed like a veiled insult. Or perhaps - more likely - Vanya was just a little bit too impulsive to consider it from other angles.

Have I done something to offend you? she asked, just a hint of exasperation in her tone.

Because so far you've called me holier than thou, asked me if I find it exhausting to listen to myself, and now implied my personality is deplorable, she said. Of course, this wasn't entirely accurate, but that didn't matter it had pieces of truth to it.

If you've got a problem with me, then spit it out, she demanded. In typical Vanya fashion if she saw a problem - real or not - her plan was to just kind of charge it head on with a head full of stubbornness.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra stared blankly at her little outburst, actually entertained by it. He didn’t bother to point out that he hadn’t called her deplorable - on the contrary he was wondering why she questioned anyone just wanting to hang out with her just because. The part Sephi poured himself another drink, lips tugging towards a smirk, “You have a problem with you, not me,” He stated simply, amusement still gleaming in his eye.

He wasn’t the type to entertain moodiness, but he used to be moody himself so he could navigate it, “If I had a problem with you, do you think you’d be on my ship? I thought my reputation precedes me,” Ezra said with a disappointed sigh. He would have to work on that and remind the Jedi Order how unfriendly and unapproachable he was. He was losing his touch.

 

[Vanya]

Vanya was still all scowls as he said that her problem was with herself. What the kriff did that even mean?! Why was he so intent on causing problems where there definitely weren't any problems.

And why was he able to get in her head? Did she actually have a problem with herself? Did she ever actually stop to think about it.

More scowling.

It wasn't helping that he seemed to find this funny. Or was it helping? She wasn't sure. It was hard to argue with the fact that he was giving her a ride and had invited her along.

It was at this point that she stopped scowling and just the faintest smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.

I get it. You have to maintain your grumpy demeanor, but this is your way of saying it was for my alluring personality, she said.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra was having fun with this. Normally his interactions with Jedi saw him in some sort of teacher role and after a while it got boring. He outranked Vanya, but he didn’t feel like being Jedi Master Ezra. In fact, he was surprised he even earned that title, but he did his trials just like everyone else before him. His logic and skills aligned with what qualified for Master, but his personality was still Ezra Thorne.

“It’s not bad,” He admitted with a shrug, “Not sure why you only let Grandmaster Vanya be your whole personality, though,” Ezra said as he took a sip. This was perhaps the only time he had seen her display some semblance of emotion or traits that didn’t have anything to do with leading the charge for the Order.

“It’s not a demeanor, by the way,” Ezra said with a quirked brow, “This is just who I am. You should see my dad,” He scoffed.

 

[Vanya]

I don't think you've spent enough time around me to know what my personality is, she said skeptically. What she couldn't argue with - although she would try - was that a sense of duty and obligation had come to drive a great deal of what she did.

I doubt that'll happen, she said as he mentioned seeing his dad. It was probably strange, but to Vanya Emryc was just Ezra's dad rather than Ezra being Emryc's son. The dynamic was subtle, but she seldom thought of the Jedi as being tied to the ISC president. It was almost as if it was two separate worlds that never quite overlapped. She knew in her mind who he was, but it didn't really... feel that way.

Alright, then we should do something that has nothing to do with the Jedi, she said.

What does Ezra Thorne do in his spare time? she asked, having absolutely no idea really. Apart from some time spent together on missions, they had spent very little time together.

The galaxy awaits. Somewhere other than Starlight, she said.

 

[Ezra Thorne]

“Thank the stars,” Ezra muttered under his breath when Vanya haughtily pointed out that he hadn’t spent enough time with her to judge her personality. He wondered if she was joking when she asked what he did in his spare time. No way she was that sheltered. Ezra calmly picked up his EZPhone and tapped on its side to remind her that he was EZTech’s CEO and made all the comlinks that a massive chunk of the galaxy and almost the entirety of the Jedi Order now used.

However, the idea of going somewhere else actually sounded enticing. Ezra pondered for a moment before he strode into the cockpit to mess with the console. He applied a random generator algorithm that spat out coordinates for a planet. Within moments, they jumped into hyperspace, heading towards a random destination.

The journey was calm, but eventually they would hover over the atmosphere of the planet Roche.

 

[Vanya]

Vanya once again wasn't sure if she should be angry at his comment. That was her immediate reaction but it didn't mesh with what he'd already said.

You're weird. You have a weird way of showing affection, she said, almost more puzzled than angry. "Affection" may not have really been the perfect word for it, but it was close enough.

He tapped away on his phone to emphasize the point of the question she had asked. Oh, so when you're not working, you work. That sounds a lot like what you just told me not to do, she quipped back.

As he went up to the cockpit and no doubt gave absolutely no further thought to their interaction, Vanya pondered it. She was left puzzling over him and his... weirdness. So he said that he liked her enough to invite her, and yet he seemed quite intent on being mean to her. It didn't add up, and reading people wasn't generally her specialty, but... well, surely she could put two and two together, right?

She was gaining a reputation in the Order for being a bit of a hothead and he... well, he was the president's son and a Jedi Master. He probably never got anyone that gave him a straightforward or unfiltered answer to... well, anything.

The answer was simple: he was an onion. He had lots of layers and would definitely make a few people cry. And whether he knew it or not, he wanted someone to peel back the layers. This was the only obvious solution, and to Vanya, this turned it all into something of a game. He wanted someone to sass him back, so that was a challenge she would accept.

When he came back to the room if he looked over at her, he would notice a tiny bit of a smirk on her face, though she didn't say anything. Instead, the ship jerked slightly as it dropped out of hyperspace and Vanya now headed up to see where they had come out.

Well, she had no idea where this place was, so she pulled up the navicomputer and the atlas information on the planet.

Oh my word, more bug-people, she said with a small sigh. I swear... she muttered.

I don't know what a technocracy is but apparently that's what the Verpine are, she said with a shrug as they dropped into the queue of the ships waiting to dock at one of the asteroids.

After a short time, they were landed on one of the platforms and out into the... well, it wasn't really "night" air because they were bordering on being in space. Although the stations had their own artificial atmosphere it was... weird.

Her eyes flicked over the area and it was pretty clear she had never seen anything like this before. Starlight was probably the closest thing, and she found it once again shocking how diverse different parts of the galaxy were. There was so much to see.