Ask Perspectives

[Maura Starwalk]

Shili was a beautiful, wild planet filled with endless wilderness and the occasional city. Maura had been here once or twice before, and she had been a big fan of the food ever since. Not to mention, now that she was a knight, she could go wherever she wanted. 'Right?' So in an effort to try and clear her mind from everything that was going on, the girl had taken a ship to the capital city, Corvala, to eat good food and try to have some fun.

"On your left!" She had, of course, taken her skimboard with her. Much like a runner's high, the adrenaline rush from soaring through and above the streets cleared her head and left her in a complete state of focus. It didn't leave room for her to think and allowed her to concentrate of everything around her, which was wonderful for her ADHD-riddled head and just for her in general at that moment. She had lodged up in a cheap hotel and was on her way to the markets to stuff her face with street food. She could already smell the roasting meats from here.

"< Two please. > " Maura didn't speak the Togruta language, but she knew a few words. Enough to be polite and enough to order food. She exchanged credits for the meat skewers she'd ordered, then turned around and went to head off. She didn't quite get the chance to though, as she was forced to halt in her path so she didn't run straight into a woman right behind her.

"Oh- sorry." Maura ducked to the pale-skinned woman's left, holding her two snacks in one hand and having her skimboard tucked under her other arm. But just before she mosied off, she spun right back around. Pale skin, tattoos, wasn't that- ? "Wait, are you Dathomirian?"

There were no accusations in her voice. Just genuine surprise.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya was pretty much just wandering around at this point. It felt weird to not have responsibility to home or Clan now, and she felt like this was just a waste of her time. She'd not had much success in anything she'd done so far, so ultimately she'd tried to simply sit back and let the Essence carry her where she would go.

This seemed like a strange place to end up, but the last Togruta she had met seemed to know a lot about the Essence, so maybe there was more to be learned here. That was why she had come and found little success here so far.

The locals spoke enough basic for Vanya to get by for the most part, and so she followed her nose to the roasted meat. Dathomirians were naturally carnivorous, and she couldn't deny that she was famished.

It had mostly been Togruta, and so the appearance of someone else without headtails in front of her in line caught her by surprise. What caught her by even more surprise, though, was when the girl turned and asked her point blank if she was Dathomirian.

Visible surprise registered on Vanya's face and her head turned to the side.

I... am. Most people do not know that, though. How did you know? she asked. Of course it was the facial markings and the pale skin, but that wasn't really what Vanya was asking. She was asking why the other woman knew what a Dathomirian even was.

Vanya stepped up and held up a single finger to the woman behind the counter, placing some credits on the counter as she waited for Maura's answer.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

'She is.' Maura's eyes widened, partially because she was surprised (even though she was correct) and partially because, well, weren't all the Nightsisters darksiders? Still, they were in the middle of the city on a Jedi-friendly planet, and the girl didn't look like she was looking for trouble. Hell, she was ordering from the same food stall as Maura was...

"Er, lucky guess?" Maura blinked, then figured that was kind of a shitty excuse for a response. She might as well be honest. What did it matter, anyways? "No, I uh, I've met Dathomirians before," she answered, though it was only a half-truth. She knew that the leader of Dathomir had been the Sith Empress. Everyone in the Jedi knew that, even Maura who never paid attention in her classes. Also, there had once been a Dathomirian Jedi master. 'Master Valerin.' She'd never met the woman, and the woman had also been presumed dead for quite a while, but it counted. Right? She didn't have facial tattoos, though.

"Sorry, I guess that was kinda random." She laughed as if to ease the tension, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Under her big black eyes, on her tan, freckled skin, dark shadows clung to her skin. She looked like she hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep recently, but she (hopefully) seemed friendly enough. "I'm Maura, by the way," she added. She would've offered to shake her hand, but hers were pretty occupied. "You come here to sample the street food too?"

It was natural for Maura to be so friendly with strangers, but she wasn't quite as friendly as she was normally. Not that Vanya would know the difference.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya was glad Maura gave an actual answer to the question about how she knew. "Lucky guess" was going to be most unsatisfying, but Vanya was surprised that the woman had met other Dathomirians.

Her head tilted to the side. I'm surprised. But I suppose it makes sense. How else would you know? she seemed to reason out loud.

Vanya, she introduced herself, with a small smile. As the skewer of various meats were handed across to Vanya she glanced down at it.

Not exactly, but it seems to be a byproduct, she said, digging into one of the pieces of meat. Mmm, this is good! she said, chomping away.

No, I came here because I was hoping people here knew more about the Jedi, she said. So far, no luck, she grunted.

Why are you here? she asked.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Nice to meet ya, Vanya." Maura then took a massive bite out of one of her meat skewers, sinking her teeth and ripping the meat away with her sharp incisors. She chewed as Vanya answered her second question, though she hadn't been expecting anything like what the Dathomirian would say next.

'The Jedi.' Those words clearly elicited a reaction from the girl. Her eyes widened and she blinked twice in rapid succession before they relaxed back to their usual shape and position. 'The Jedi." This time, the thought came with a little bit of a sigh. At any other point in her life, she probably would've poked and prodded Vanya to figure out why she wanted to know about the Order. But to be honest, Maura just really didn't care to go through all that. She was curious, but not particularly cautious.

"Well- " The knight paused to swallow before she continued. "What do ya wanna know about them?" she asked. With a Nightsister asking (all Dathomirians were Nightsisters, right...?) Maura should probably be more wary. But after fighting three of the most infamous Sith in recent memory - their shadows, at least - Maura just didn't give a fuck.

The girl took another bite of the meat skewer because, yeah, it was really fucking good.

"I'm just here visiting, really. No reason," she added, answering the woman's question. She shifted her position again, repositioning the skimboard under her arm into a more comfortable place.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya's eyebrow rose slightly as she asked what she wanted to know about Jedi. It wasn't really the response she had expected.

You're an expert on Jedi? she asked. It wasn't an accusation but a genuine question. It wasn't the response she had expected to receive, but something told her that there was more to this girl than there appeared.

But she also gave very dodgy answers. "Just visiting" was about as ambiguous as "lucky guess" but at least she'd gotten a real answer for "lucky guess." But ultimately, it wasn't her business what the other woman was doing here, she supposed.

I want to learn about their views of the Essence, and what they want to do in the galaxy, she said. It was, of course, a broad statement, but truthfully, she wanted to know everything about the Jedi.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Vanya was right, 'just visiting' was vague, but it was about as accurate as one could get without delving into the sort of conversation you shouldn't have with a stranger.

"Oh yeah, total expert," Maura affirmed with a nod, speaking through the skewered meat in between her sharp teeth. "I've basically got a PhD in Jediology," she asked in jest. Her head cocked slightly to the side at the mention of 'the essence', having never heard the Force referred to as such. Of course, she assumed the Dathomirian meant the Force, since other cultures had different names for it and whatnot. 'Do the Nightsisters even use the Force?' Well, surely they had to, but wasn't it totally different than what she'd been taught?

"You mean the Force?" Maura went ahead and asked, then turned and jutted her head. They were kind of standing in the middle of the queue for the food stall, so she gestured for Vanya to follow her aside. The knight repositioned her skimboard in her arm again, then finished the rest of the skewer in one more bite. She chewed slowly in contemplation, unsure of how to most accurately answer the question.

"I mean, the Jedi used to be peacekeepers," she finally answered. The idea of 'what it meant to be a Jedi' had been on her mind a lot recently, especially after the events on Coruscant. Recalling that memory, she felt her chest tighten a bit, so she glanced off into the distance for a moment. "But now we're more like defenders, I think. Show up when evil shows up, protect those who can't protect themselves... stuff like that."

She began to gnaw on the next skewer, then turned her gaze back to Vanya. "So uh, are all Dathomirians Nightsisters or just like, some of them?" She figured she was fit to ask a question back.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

A PhD in Jediology? Vanya wasn't sure what to think of that. Was she telling the truth? It seemed a strange way to say it.

Are you messing with me? she asked, her eyes narrowing as if trying to figure out what was real and what wasn't.

Yes, I think that's what the Jedi call it, she said with a sincere nod as Maura asked if she was talking about the Force.

Defenders, she repeated quietly. That seemed... agreeable. She had been raised to see the galaxy and even people as extensions of nature. Followers of the Fanged Spirit saw themselves as the apex predators of the galaxy while those who followed the Winged Spirit saw themselves as shepherds. And what were shepherds if not guides and defenders?

She thought perhaps the Jedi would end up being quite agreeable if that was what they really were.

That is perfect, she said, polishing off the remainder of her skewer in a few bites.

Of course not. Over the years people have crash-landed or been exiled to Dathomir and a few have managed to make it their home for one reason or another. None of them belong to any of the Clans, she said. It wasn't really what Maura had been asking, but Vanya didn't realize that.

So you fight Sith? Do you hunt other... hmm, Force-sects? she said, using the Jedi word for it. Do you fight the Empire? Are you all warriors, then? Do you have different areas of study? Vanya's pace of speaking was unintentionally picking up and she didn't even realize she had been using the word "you" instead of "they."

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Perfect?" Maura repeated the word just before Vanya continued on, her head tilted and her eyes studying the Nightsister curiously. 'What does that mean?'

Vanya's question kind of answered Maura's, but only left her with a plethora more. She didn't have time to think too long on exactly what she wanted to ask though, because Vanya was quick to hit her with more questions of her own. Fortunately, Maura was just as oblivious as the Dathomirian that she'd started referring to herself as a Jedi. It was correct, of course, but the knight hadn't exactly gone into this planning to instantly out herself (even if she was being far from subtle).

"Yeah, I mean, we fight Sith. It's kinda a dark-v-light thing, but like- well, I guess if they stopped hurting people we'd stop fighting them, but I dunno if that's possible. The Dark Side corrupts n' stuff like that..." Maura trailed off, absent-mindedly gnawing on the rest of her second meat skewer for a second. She wasn't exactly the philosophical type. She knew right from wrong though, and she knew the Sith were wrong.

"No, the Jedi don't hunt Force sects. I mean, if they're hurting people, maybe?" Did they fight the Empire? "The Empire? I don't think they like the Jedi but no. Unless they start going back to invading planets." Warriors? Areas of study? Maura's mind was racing with answers and she couldn't stand still and answer them. Already she was beginning to bounce back and forth from the soles of her feet to her toes.

"Let's walk and talk!" she declared, starting off and hoping Vanya would follow her, assuming she wanted answers to her questions.

"Also, yeah. The Jedi have healers, archivists, engineers, and even businessmen now, I guess. Not everyone fights." She bit down on the stick, pulled back, and ripped the rest of the meat off and into her mouth. After chewing well and swallowing, she glanced over at the girl. 'She looks about my age, I think?'

"So why are you so interested in the Jedi?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya was leaning forward now, hanging on every word. Her pale, violet eyes were practically piercing into the Jedi as she listened intently.

They battled those who preyed on others, fought for the innocent, and generally sounded like a great option and fit for the Nightsister. They don't fight the Empire, she thought to herself. The Empire had held to its word and left Dathomir after the fighting was over. She had considered reaching out to them about joining the Imperial Knights as well, but they were... strict and unmoving. They were rigid in their viewpoints.

Maura indicated they should walk and talk, and Vanya shrugged, standing up and following along. Where are we going? she asked.

A full group with differentiated roles and specialties. Interesting. And then there was the "why." Why did Vanya want to know all of this?

I am a warrior and I am looking for likeminded people to work with and fight beside, she said.

I could strike out to fight on my own, but it seems unwise, she said. Of course, she said all of these things like it was entirely normal, but most people would probably find this absurd.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Oh, I dunno. I just don't like to stand around and talk. Makes me antsy," the knight answered honestly. She could, of course. She'd made it through years and years of classes having to sit and pay attention (though she'd skipped a bunch of them), but it served her best to move when she could. "There's a cool skim park down the way. We can head in that direction!"

She'd wanted to check it out, anyways. Since Vanya seemed pretty cool - especially for a Nightsister - she didn't mind her tagging along at all.

"Wait, so you wanna join the Jedi?" She couldn't help but sound a little surprised. Everyone she'd run into had such a negative view of the Jedi that- 'No! Maura! This is good!'

"Yes? No? But uh, yeah! It's nice to not have to be alone..." Wait, had she actually said, word for word, that she was a Jedi, yet? Maybe she should do that... "Oh, um, I'm a Jedi, by the way. That's why I said I had a PhD in Jediology," she explained with a laugh. The knight adjusted her skimboard under her arm one more time, wishing she could just cruise along on it instead.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Umm, sure? she said, not really sure what that meant, but she had nowhere else to be at the moment, and she didn't mind taking a walk. If she didn't like it when she got there, she could always leave.

Maybe, she said. But I don't really know enough about them to decide. I don't want to make a foolish decision, she said.

When Maura finally admitted that she was a Jedi, Vanya stopped and looked at her, head tilting to the side.

You are not what I expected, she stated bluntly. Where is your lightsaber? she asked. From her understanding they all carried them, and she would have expected one such weapon to distinguish a Jedi when she met them. Perhaps there was also an inkling of doubt about the girl's claim as well.

How does one even join the Jedi? And what does that entail? she asked.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Well geez." Maura couldn't help but laugh at the sentiment of not fitting the picture of a Jedi. "Not all of us are stuffy old men who wear robes." She was eighteen, but she often got told she looks sixteen. Her clothes didn't mean scream Jedi either... but she was pretty damn muscular! That had to count for something, right? As for lightsabers...

"Got 'em right here." Though the Jedi was comfortably dressed in tapered sweats and an oversized t-shirt, she still found a way to keep her sabers concealed on her person. She had altered her pants to have a strap on the inside she could hook them onto. While not quite as convenient as having them strapped to a belt, it was a bit safer.

The girl pulled out two sabers. In her left hand was a sleek, modern metallic hilt with the Order's symbol lasered into the material. In her right hand laid the other. The hilt was carved from wood and was a bit shorter than the metal one, and if Vanya could sense the crystals within them, had a slightly different aura to it. "I try not to go anywhere without them," she said.

They had reached the skimpark, so Maura slowed to a stop. She couldn't hold out both her sabers and her skimboard at the same time, so she pocketed the weapons back to where she kept them and adjusted the board under her arm yet again.

"You know, I don't really know," she answered honestly. It was a little different to join as an adult than as a kid, she was sure. After all, it was easier to trust a child than an adult. Maybe all Vanya would need is permission? "I guess I could ask." Alex, Hera - they were both a message away. She had no issue blowing up either of their phones to get a quick response.

"You'd probably be a Padawan, if you did join. You'd get assigned a master and you'd learn stuff like the Jedi Code, how to use the Force, et cetera..." She trailed off, turning her gaze back to her. "I mean, can you already use the Force? It's like, different, right? What do the Nightsisters use? Are you a Nightsister?" Maura had been under the impression that Nightsisters used the Dark Side, but Venya's interest in the Jedi was challenging that.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya smirked and snorted as Maura said she wasn't a stuff old man. Fair enough, it probably wasn't so different from differences between Clans.

Vanya looked down as the girl produced the lightsabers, and her eyes lit up slightly at seeing them. She hadn't ever handled one and she had to really suppress the urge to ask if she could hold it. She knew that to many, their weapons were highly personal and sacred, and so she decided better of it.

Those are... very impressive, she said, trying to downplay her excitement over them.

They kept walking on and Vanya was now more interested than ever in her new companion. So this was an actual Jedi, then? True, she wasn't what Vanya had expected, but it wasn't smart to judge people on their appearance, was it?

Really? I would appreciate that, she said when Maura said she could ask.

Then the questions started. I should probably try to explain some things, she realized. I do, yes. I was trained in the magick of my people. I am of the Singing Mountain Clan. When the Queen took over the planet, our Clan was one of those that resisted with fatal results, she said. Vanya had grown up with the Clan Mother's stories about having faced down the Queen personally. How she was defeated and forced into submission.

The Nightsister was surprisingly forthcoming, but if she was going to find a place among these people, the last thing she could do was build it on a foundation of lies or deception.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Cool. I'll remember to do that then," Maura nodded.

Magick... Singing Mountain people... Queen... Clans... it did all sound very tribal. Very different, but very interesting. It was even more interesting to note that her clan had been against Renfry. Did they mean they were also against the Sith? Or was it more complicated than that?

"Oh okay," was her lackluster response. She wasn't sure how to react or what to say. "The Empire was on Dathomir recently, right?" She looked out at the skimboard park as a group of kids not much younger than herself banked off a vertical wall. "They were after the Queen, weren't they?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya found herself surprisingly excited about the prospect of meeting senior Jedi and potentially even joining the Order.

They were, she confirmed the presence of the Empire. I met them and their Grand Marshal. We provided assistance to the hunt for the Queen, she said, a hint of sorrow coming over her as she thought of those she had led to their deaths.

She is deceased now, and the Clans are... free for the first time in many years, she said. It was a great win for the Singing Mountain Clan, but it didn't quite feel that way. Vanya had met the Queen before. She may not have known her well, but it was... she still felt like a traitor in a way.

But it was done.

She watched the kids moving over the skimboard park, and her eyes fell to the board under Maura's arm.

How do you do that? How did you learn? she asked, head tilting to the side in curiosity.

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

'Actually, why don't I just shoot Hera a message right now?' In the midst of Vanya's responses, Maura pulled out her datapad and sent Hera (@Black Noise) several messages in quick succession:

13:32
> hey i just met this girl
> she wants to be a jedi
> she's a nightsister tho
> but i think it's fine she seems cool
> just letting you know case i think this needs u or alex's approval
> and congrats you won the coin flip on who to msg

"Oh damn. That's..." Maura wanted to say cool but she wasn't entirely sure if 'cool' was the correct response to something like that? "I'm glad you're free." The knight was not very good at empathy but since she said it, surely it was fine.

13:33
> personally i'd just let her join
> but i think you should meet her
13:34
> anyways pls lmk asap
> if i dont respond right away its cause im teaching her how to skimboard
> the jedi way ofc
> ok thx bye

After her frenzied fingers finished typing and sending the final few messages, Maura shoved the datapad back into her pocket, zipped it up, and placed her hands on her hips to answer Vanya's question about skimboarding.

"SO basically there are two kinds of skimboards. One sort can fly about on their own and the others are repulson-based so they kinda just hover above surfaces but can't fly on their own. This one can but I betcha a lot of those kids are on the latter 'cause their safer. But anyways, you basically step on it and balance to keep your center of grav-" Maura went off on her little rant, eventually dropping her board and hopping on to show Vanya.

"You wanna give it a go?" she asked, turning to look down at the Dathomirian. If she agreed, Maura would show her where to put her feet and offer to hold her hand while she was on it.

@Phoenix

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

It was not some divine intervention or will of the Force that placed Hera Albion on Shili at the same time as Maura Starwalk, it was just Maura. The Knight had demanded Hera accompany her to the world for some 'rest and relaxation!' As Maura had put it. Of course, the younger woman had abandoned Hera to go skimboarding the moment that Hera expressed an interest in going to a holodrama instead. The planet was famous for them, after all.

And Hera thought her choice was just perfect. The drama she attended was a wonderful story about lost love, old allegiances, and the power of friendship- or so Hera told herself it was. Truthfully, she had forgotten her blackened glasses back at their hotel room and the brightness of the holodrama was too much for her delicate eyes, she had barely been able to see anything. While she was on her way back to their hotel, the messages came in.

One, by one, by one, they flooded Hera's datapad. She had spoken to Maura enough to know not to respond at first, giving the younger woman time to type and send out all her thoughts. While at first she had been smiling and reading the messages, her smile faded ever so slightly as she finished. Sighing, she sent a response back-

13:38
> I'm on my way.

And she was. Within fifteen minutes, the Councilor arrived at the skimboarding park Maura had spoken of hours earlier. She looked as out of place as a Reek in a heard of nerf runts, even dressed in her oh-so-rare casual clothes. Spotting Maura and the 'nightsister,' Hera crossed her arms and waited. She wasn't scowling, but she wasn't smiling either, so her neutral expression might as well have been a scowl. It just screamed, 'Maura, what stray have you found today?'

However, that neutral expression faded to a more gentle smile as her milky eyes came to alight upon the small form of the nightsister. Hera had heard of the pain and oppressive nature of the Dark Side on the homeworld of the nightsisters, so her expression turned to kindness and pity as her mind drifted to thoughts of what this young woman must have endured. "Maura!" She called out, "Come over here, and bring your friend!"

@Phoenix @lizziie

 

[Vanya]

Vanya eagerly nodded as Maura explained how it worked, and she couldn't help but think that it looked incredibly fun. She wanted to learn, and she wasn't afraid to get a few scrapes and bruises. She eagerly hopped aboard and after several stumbles and bumps, slowly started getting a hang on how it worked. Her natural agility worked to her advantage, but it wasn't a substitute for hours of experience.

Time seemed to fly by, and Vanya found herself not only at ease with Maura, but smiling more than she had in some time and just genuinely enjoying herself. Her responsibilities on Dathomir meant that she had had little time to simply be a kid throughout her life.

While Vanya had no idea who Hera was, she anticipated she would be judging the young Nightsister, but even so, Vanya seemed utterly unperturbed. She had just stood against the Imperial army, it's Grand Marshal, and the Nightsister Queen. She was certain she could handle anything... nevermind the fact that she'd nearly had her neck snapped.

Vanya popped the skimboard up and handed it across to Maura as they were called over. Are you Maura's master? she asked. Although not particularly accurate, it was a logical conclusion to draw based on what she had heard so far.

What would I have to do to join your Order? she asked. Although she knew she didn't really know what that meant, she also knew that finding out what she had to do to get in was probably going to tell her the most she could gain about who they really were.

@Black Noise @lizziie

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera couldn't help but laugh at 'Are you Maura's master?' It was an uncontrolled chortle, entirely unflattering, but entirely within character for the Councilwoman. Smiling, she listened to the second question before replying. "Maura's master is a woman much, much older than me, feel free to call her 'grandma' if you see her and tell her I said it was ok!"

Looking to Maura and winking, she continued, "As for what you need to do to join my Order? A long series of intensive trials and tribulations that slowly break you down and build you back up into a perfect little soldier in the shape of a bald, joyless monk." Hera's statement was said 'matter-of-factly,' but the woman couldn't keep the charade up longer than a few seconds before bursting into laughter again.

"No no," She started, "The only requirement is that someone of sufficient rank approves you, and I'm the second highest-ranking Jedi alive right now. So- I say you're in! Maura vouches for you, and I trust her opinion." Of course, Hera had also gently probed the aura of the woman while she was talking, and she liked the 'vibes' as Maura would put it, that Vanya gave off. Was Hera being hasty? Of course. Naive? Undoubtedly. But the only person alive who could reprimand Hera was the Grandmaster herself.

"Welcome to the Order, little miss nightsister. I'm Justicar-Councilor Hera Albion, but please, just call me Hera. Considering how incredibly highly Maura speaks of you, I think we'll get along just fine."

By the Force it felt good to be in charge.

@lizziie @Phoenix