Ask Best Friends

[Alexandria Voran]

A small shuttle burst from hyperspace above Thyferra. Alex held lightly onto the control. No pomp or circumstance, no big fancy ships. She was alone with the exception of a co-pilot astromech. Carrick would not meet on a world with a Temple, and it was had to blame him. The ISC Secretary of Defense had a spotted history with the Order. That was to say nothing of the government he served. Alex understood the ISC’s position, but times were slowly changing. She had managed to patchwork together a working alliance between the Order, the New Republic, and some worlds within the FWA. If she could manage to thaw relations with the ISC that might give the Sith pause. Her goals shifted rapidly. Removing the Sith seemed less and less possible but a temporary truce would by them time. She just needed a big stick.

Alex had taken the necessary privacy precautions to hopefully ensure the meeting remained private. She wore ordinary clothing in favor of typical robes. Synthweave black pants and lose blouse. The Morellian Jedi had set the shuttle down at on obscure space port and chosen a middle of the road restaurant to meet. She prayed the tabloids would be finally kept at bay. Out of extreme caution she wrapped the Force around her face until she was seated at the table.

Now, all she had to do was wait. Alex had meant it when she told Carrick she would help find President Throne without a favor in return. She did not intent to ask any favors now. What she wanted was just a conversation. A chance to show him, and the ISC, the Order learned from the mistakes of the past. Oren had done some truly foolish things but slowly others had repaired those mistakes. She just needed a chance.

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Meeting with the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order would have been a sign that he had done something wrong when he was younger but now it just meant that the Jedi Order needed something. Specifically that they needed something from the ISC and they wanted to try and lean on the fact that he had the least antagonistic relationship with certain members of the Order out of the ISC leadership.

That this lack of hatred toward the Jedi had resulted in several complaints from people within the ISC was something that Carrick had to live with. The kidnapping of President Thorne had shown that, sometimes, the Jedi could be willing to throw themselves into helping even the people who detested them.

It was enough that Carrick agreed to meet with Alexandria Voran because of it. The woman was important enough on the political side of things that he couldn't simply ignore her but sending regrets was always an option. He had decided to forgo sending regrets and avoiding the meeting however, if only because he wanted to see just what it was she wanted from the ISC.

He didn't ever think that the two groups would be friends.

Carrick arrived at the restaurant without fanfare and with the minimal amount of security possible. Reiel would murder him herself if he went devoid of security so he had restricted it to a single shadow. Upon entry he was hurried through to a section of the restaurant kept quiet.

"I'll have a Corellian Highball." he ordered from the waiter as he was seated, "Put the lady's drink on my bill, please."

As the drinks were prepared he settled into his seat.

"Rather clandestine, Alexandria." he noted dryly, "Do I need to worry about the former Chancellor getting jealous?"

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex thrummed her fingers while she waited. She felt the twinge of Carrick in the Force shortly before he arrived. The Secretary of Defense ordered his drink and she followed. “Fuzzy Tauntaun, please.” A common misconception was they were all stuck up holier than thou religious zealots. She would not conform to that trope. And she would certainly let Carrick pay. Being a Jedi rarely entailed vast riches. Ale watched the bartender for a moment before facing her companion. “Cute…I’m very much tired of a certain tabloid reporter.” A small half smile pulled at her lips. “I believe President Thorne and I agree on that.” The cease and deist letter had made the rounds. Arcturus Hadley knew how to gin up public support.

“Before you skewer me, I’m not here to ask any favors.” Much to her embarrassment, Alex had done nothing to help find Emryc besides getting a gun pointed at her. “Besides, even if I was, we managed to accomplish nothing in our search.” She ran a hand through her hair. “And this is not about the Sith.” The Darkness was constantly on her mind. The Republic was ready to fight, along with many of Free Worlds, but the ISC was a different beast. She needed to earn some measure of their trust. “I’ve read the files and listened to the holocall...”

She thrummed her finger again. The drinks slid across the bar, and she took a sip of the refreshing citrus of the Fuzzy Tauntaun. “But I’d like to hear it from you. If you’re willing...why you left the Order.” The Order Carrick left had changed. Slowly they were evolving into what they were meant to be. If she could help him see that, maybe there was a path to mutual understanding.

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Well Carrick couldn’t blame her for her drink order – in their kind of professions, being able to decompress was an important skill. Usually Carrick himself was loathe to actually drink alcohol but sometimes it was expected of him and sometimes he just didn’t care enough to avoid it. It was healthier than smoking his stress away so he would consider it a win.

“I’m blessed that said reporter doesn’t seem to think I’m interesting enough to smear – I mean, cover.” He joked back lightly as he paid for the two drinks, “Maybe anonymity will serve me well going forward hmm?”

He snorted in amusement at her wording and he couldn’t help but quip.

“Take no offence, Alex, but you’re not my type. No danger of skewering.” He joked back before sobering slightly, “I almost sense a ‘But’ incoming…”

There wasn’t a but just yet but he was willing to bet there would be at some point during the conversation. Two people of their political standing didn’t just sit around enjoying drinks and banter like old friends – there was always the undercurrent of their roles and there always would be. Sipping at his own drink, he listened attentively as she asked him a question he had been asked a lot during his time as a politician.

It was bound to happen, after all, as the only member of the ISC upper echelon with Force Sensitivity and training.

What a delightful contradiction of ISC morals and beliefs he was.

“The Order I left didn’t care to involve itself with the wider Galaxy as anything but a mildly beneficial parasite. It existed because of donations and residual goodwill from citizens across the Galaxy and gave back so very, very little.” He sighed ever so slightly, “I left because there was so much more the Jedi could do that they refused to do out of fear. Fear of sliding into the same roles as they held in the Old Republic… fear that guided them to be almost isolationist. And every day I was lectured about not letting fear guide my actions?”

He actually rolled his eyes.

“Inaction and hypocrisy were what pushed me to leave. An enlightening meeting with the last of my direct family led me to politics. So now it’s my question…” he leaned in slightly, “Why does it matter why I left?”

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

A grimace crossed her face at the mention of said reporter. It was an unusual sight on Alex but her dislike for the fictional reporter ran deep. “And here I thought this was a date.” She quirked an eyebrow before taking a sip of drink. The conversation rapidly sobered. That is what she had wanted…it was hard to hear all the same. Alex did not interject or disagree with Carrick. She simply sipped her drink and listened. Something the Order had failed to do too many times. His question hung in the air for a moment. She tumbled her response over in her mind. “It matters because I think you were right.” Her mood shifted as she leaned slightly forward.

“Oota was a good man and a great Jedi. I am not half of what he was…but the galaxy changed, and we did not.” Alex sighed. “We were so few for so long, that when we finally had the stability to do something we became paralyzed by the past. No one wants the pondering Jedi of the Old Republic returning but we’ve gone too far the other way.” She shook her head. They’d all made mistakes and only a few had tried to fix it. Too few. “The Sith are dangerous…you know that.” The Morellian Jedi ran a hand through her fair before leaning back. “But they cannot be our sole focus. Darkness has risen because we failed to meet the needs of the galaxy. Poverty, inequality, crime, the AMS virus…we were stagnant for too long.”

They were meant to be an example but often failed to be that example. “We have been better, but I know it is not enough. I don’t expect the ISC will ever fight the Sith unless provoked, which Andruil has been smart to avoid. There are other things we can accomplish together.” She would not have the Order consumed by war. She’d made that promise to the Council and intended to keep it. They had to be more. They had to be better.

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Well if this was supposed to be a date he was glad that they had gotten that out of the way - it was bad form to talk about someone else you were obsessed with during a date and he counted reporters in that. Of course it was just a joke, just a light-hearted comment to open the dialogue and he appreciated it. At the very least it was confirmation that Alexandria Voran wasn't going to be as needlessly preachy as some of the other Grandmasters of the Jedi Order.

Taking a sip of his drink, Carrick wouldn't pretend to not be surprised that she seemed to agree with his reasoning behind leaving the Order. But at the same time?

"Doesn't matter to me if you think that or not."

Putting it bluntly? His reasons for leaving were valid as far as he was concerned and her agreeing with them, while surprising, didn't change his own opinions. Just because she had some self-awareness didn't mean that all sins were forgiven or even that he believed she had the necessary willpower to make the changes she professed to want.

He sipped his drink and, noticing it was getting a little low, he signaled the bartender for another as he listened to Alex as she spoke. She spoke a good game but all she had done was agree with him - he was certain that this was the part where her pitch for a New Jedi Order came in and he was interested in a nostalgic kind of way.

"The Galaxy has moved on while the Jedi stayed still and the result is that large swathes of the Galaxy have, frankly, grown tired to asking." he responded calmly, eyes shining ever so slightly in the lower lighting, "You can only cry out for help and be ignored so many times before hope turns to anger. Until people start realizing that they don't need you to come off your high horse to fight their battles for them."

The people of the Outer Rim especially but certain sections of the rest of the Galaxy were the same. Hell, the general population of the Galaxy was more divided on the topic of the Jedi than they had been at the end of the Clone Wars. Still, he couldn't help but add a nastier comment as well.

"Oota was an old fool who might as well been deaf and dumb for all his impact on the Galaxy outside his chosen family of the Jedi. You're really going to have to try harder if you're not half the person he was."

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Minds weren’t changed in a day. She knew the challenge she faced with Carrick and the galaxy at large. Alex was under no delusions how difficult the path ahead would become. Words hurt but, in the end, that was all they were. She was too old and had been through too much to rise to the bait. Besides, Alex suspected Carrick truly felt that way. His parting with the Order had left a bitter taste in all mouths. She would not begrudge his feelings towards Oota. He was wrong but what good would pointing that out do?

“I ah, did not set foot in a Temple for almost sixty years.” Slowly, her mental walls began to come down. “I thought the Order was broken beyond repair, focused on the wrong things. I spent almost every one of those days in the Outer Rim trying desperately to fix what I could.” She took a sip of her drink. “I promise I have a point.” The Grandmaster flicked her fingers to order another. “Oren found me and convinced me the Jedi were changing. He asked me to come back to help…what a lie that was.” Alex shook her head slowly as the second drink arrived. “I watched us make all the same mistakes again until half the Council was dead or missing.” No one knew where Oren ended up. Hannibal was gone. “Someone I cared for showed me we could be better if we actually put people first.” She shrugged. “We’re trying.”

The Grandmaster rolled up her sleeves to show the scars from rolling in the mud with Vizim on Taris. “I got these on Taris, a few others from Byblos, my ears still ring from Ossus.” Her mental walls were gone. She wanted Carrick to see she was hiding nothing. “But it is not just about fighting the Sith. We won’t change anyone’s mind in a day, but we can be better if given the chance.” There was no instant fix. Not now, not ever. "I can't take back what we've done or how we've failed...and the galaxy knows we have. But we can try and set things right."

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Carrick had not been prepared for a philosophical debate.

As much as politicians liked to believe that they were deep thinkers, capable of tapping into the sub-conscious will of their peoples? Quite a few of them were uneducated and even more of them were dumb. The difference between the two being that uneducated didn't mean that they were unintelligent or incapable, just that they didn't have the diplomas or other forms of institutionalized learning under their belt. Of course those who were dumb were entirely beyond help and deserved to be shot out of ships at lightspeed but his thoughts digressed.

The point was that he was rather out of practice when it came to debates on philosophical and Force-based matters due to a lack of recent experience. It was a novel experience but not one he was keen to revisit much in the future he would admit to himself. He raised an eyebrow at the mention of her wandering, both in the historical sense and in her speech. Carrick didn't hide the small smirk when she added that she had a point.

Well good that she was self-aware about it.

He handed the now empty glass back to the server as they set down his second drink. Carrick did he the courtesy of listening, really listening through both the Force and physically, and let himself feel what she was trying to convey. Rather than giving rise to any greater sense of understanding or even anger, it just made him feel tired as he pulled back.

"You're speaking as though the Jedi Order is asking for a second chance from the Galaxy... but you're not." he tapped the side of his glass as he eyed the liquid, "Because it's not the second. Not the third and not even the hundredth chance though is it Alex?"

Carrick took a sip of his drink.

"I can promise that I'll be more open-minded to this next chance, fine. But that doesn't really solve your issue, Alex." he pointed to her, "Your temples and your influence are in the FWA, NR and some neutral spaces. There's a reason for that - you will have to convince the public of the ISC that you can deliver even basic accountability and stability before they'll so much as do more than spit on you. And I am beholden to them."

He raised his glass in a toast.

"To a democratic society."

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex felt Carrick’s exhaustion pulse in the Force. A feeling with which she was too familiar. Life had been easier when she was free of responsibilities. Her path was not meant to be simple. She’d lived eighty years of doing whatever she wanted, ignoring the greater galaxy. In that time, she managed to convince herself the good she did on a smaller scale was more important than returning to the Order. The truth was harsher. She had been selfish…just as many Jedi had been selfish. Carrick’s disgust and the mistrust of the people he represented, was earned. Only by accepting that reality could she change it. “Oh I know. We’ve fucked up for thousands of years…” There was no point in denying it.

“But, we have managed to do good across all that time. There is a path to the Order serving the galaxy as it should.” Alex shrugged. “I’m probably an idiot for thinking I’m special. That I can set us on that path…someone has to try Carrick…and at least I understand we have failed.” She took another sip of her drink. “We have wrongly ignored the Consortium because we have always failed to face those more critical of our choices. How can we show them we trying, and willing, to change?”

As Carrick raised his glass, she would do the same. “Democracy.” Her gears were churning. She wanted to be different. No. Needed to be different. The Dark side was consuming the galaxy, but the galaxy did not seem to care. Endless war solved nothing. They had tried that for centuries and one side always returned. Was there not another path? A respite no matter how temporary? If she gathered enough strength, could she not force peace? The questions often outnumbered the answers.

@Nefieslab

 

[Carrick]

Well she could accept that they fucked up on a regular basis for many years so it was a start. The first step to fucking what was wrong with the Jedi Order was to accept that there was a lot wrong with it and there had been a lot wrong with it for a long time. Of course, it was just the first step. Alex seemed inclined to take the extra steps but he would believe it when he saw it actually taking effect.

"Trying is all you can do."

He knew it was a terrible piece of advice but that wasn't because he was trying to be difficult. The difficulty was because of the state of the Galaxy and the enormity of what she was asking. How could she changed hearts and minds within the ISC? Within the rest of the Galaxy? It wasn't something he could say because those same hearts and minds were not a monolith.

Carrick ran a hand through his hair.

"You just have to keep trying and actually succeed in some of your endeavors. Sorry to say it, Alex, but no one backs the losers and right now? You're losing." he pointed to her, "Win. Win and for the love of the Gods keep your people from acting out. Keep doing that consistently is all the advice I can give you, bad as it is."

There was no good advice to give, though he accepted he had probably given her pretty shitty advice by anyone's estimation. He nodded to her as they toasted to democracy and knew that he had given her a lot to think about and not any of it easy to digest.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

“Yeah…” She paused. “Winning…” Alex took another drink, the smile on her face dragged from sadness. “Let me pretend we’re friends for a minute.” She used to have friends. Now they were dead or exiled. “I’ve never taken a life, and I never will…I know what winning requires.” Her eyes flicked down. “I fear what that will make of us.” She shook her head again. “But those are my problems.” She took one last sip of her drink before waiving to the bar tender. “Make sure he tips you well, he’s good for it.”

Alex stood and breathed easily of the Force. With terrible ease she erased the alcohol from her body. The Force slowly wrapped around her body to hide her exit the same as it hid her arrival. “Thank you…I mean it.” She was not a perfect person, perfect Jedi, or perfect leader. But she was earnest, and she did try. “If Thorne will meet with me. It’s past time I stopped avoiding that conversation.” A resigned smile would be the last thing he saw. “I know how it will go but as you said what can I do?” She shrugged. “I have to try.” Alex nodded and swept from the bar. The Grandmaster pulled the Force in closely. Her life was a lonely one.

Max was gone. Drow rightly exiled. Indy too busy to be seen. Vahn hunting in the shadows with Sevrin. She hadn’t seen Yavin in months. She walked this path alone. Silently, she wondered how long she could keep it up…as long as need. There were no easy answers, Alex. Only difficult choices. You knew that when you took the job. She just had to keep walking.

@Nefieslab