Some Light Reading

[Kane]

A Library on Alderaan --- 1000 Hours

Kane had been in this library for several hours now. Initially he had gotten some strange looks as he entered, his jacket didn't really look like one that would belong to a scholarly type of person, though at least his Vibro-Claws were well concealed up the sleeves. Eventually the curators of the library eventually got used to the old man, he had picked through several larger books in his search for knowledge.

Kane was looking for a very specific book, he had heard that there was a tome in this library (one of the smaller, less visited ones on Alderaan) that contained insight into the force. Excited by the possibility to learn of new Force powers Kane had hopped on a transport and found the library almost as soon as he had heard.

"I don't mean to be a bother, but are you aware of any books that talk about the Force?" He asked a passing librarian.
"I don't know of any specofic titles, but we have a large section containing many books on different religions." She pointed him toward the section and he thanked her before heading off to find it.

Kane found several books that interested him. Eventually happening on one with a weathered, dark brown leather cover and a symbol embossed into the cover that caught his eye. One of the books he had read earlier had touched on it briefly and he believed it had something to do with balance. He took the books to a table and began reading, saving the book with the symbol for last.

​

 

[Sheranee Saya]

When Sheranee Saya had heard of a small library on Alderaan sporting a new, extended collections of texts relating to the Force and the Jedi Civil War, the young Matukai simple couldn't resist the temptation. Not many libraries in the galaxy had a wide selection in regards to the Force and those that used, and she was sure that the few libraries that did contain such knowledge were well beyond her reach, so this was an opportunity she could not pass up. Her visit to Alderaan was about more than just gratifying her intellectual curiosity, however, as Sheranee had business of no small importance on the planet. Her order, the Matukai, had been devastated by both sides during the civil war within the Jedi, and much of their artifacts, knowledge, and culture had been lost in the carnage. She did not begrudge the Jedi their roll in the fall of her order, as that had been before her time and the past could not be undone. But she hoped, perhaps, that with enough research and hard data she might be able to regain some of that lost knowledge, and not just from these old tomes. Perhaps one day she might even recover some of what had been lost.

Of course, first she had to locate the section on the Force and religious institutions first, and given the fact that she was dressed like a repuslorboard-punk it probably wasn't helping matters, as many of the staff seemed to ignore her. After several long, frustrating minutes of trying to locate the books she sought, Sheranee was finally able to get a female librarian to talk to her, directing her down toward the section she was looking for. Her brief satisfaction reverted back to annoyance when she reached the shelves and found that someone had taken several of the texts that she was after, including both volumes Darnius Gane's History of Minor Cults and Monastic Orders.

"Kriff me." It was all she could grumble out at this point, resolving to go through the military history section first. After collecting a sizable stack of books, she made her way over to a nearby table where an elderly gentleman in a much older coat was sitting with his own pile of texts. Texts that, Sheranee soon realized, were exactly what she was after. Something told her she wasn't getting those back any time soon.

 

[Jaina Orsi]

She knew it would not be easy to find the books she was looking for, but it would be stupid to ask. She carried a staple of books, mostly warning the reader of the dark side, to the table. She would need information, not only on the dark side but the force in general, but since her master had failed her in every respect. As she sat down on the table she sensed something. Someone here was wielding the force, but she could not pin down who. After looking at the others at the table that it must either be the old human man with the books about religions or the human woman near to him. She believed to somehow know the man with the books. Had she seen him on Jedah? Well, even if he knew her he would have last seen her as a youngling. He would not remember her.
She opened a thick leather booklet that looked the most promising. The description of the first signs for dark side potential. Maybe she could use this to grow stronger...

 

[Kane]

As Kane sat reading he saw a young Matukai woman sit at his table, she had looked almost whistfully at the books he was reading, separating the tome with the symbol from the stack he slid the rest towards her. "I'm all done with these if you'd like to go through them." He said to her with a warm smile.

Then the other one showed up, a young -he supposed most people were young compared to him these days- Mirialan woman who had a book that seemed to have something to do with the Dark side. She seemed familiar to him somehow, if only distantly. He had seen so many people through his years in the archives on Jedha though, so it wasn't unlikely that he had seen her at some point.

There was a darkness to one of the women, they had both come so close together that he could not be sure who it was that exuded it but he couldn't mistake that ripple in the force. One of these girls was a darksider. Kane resolved to stay impartial for now, not letting on that he knew, he would be equally pleasant to the both of them.

 

[Sheranee Saya]

Taking her seat, Sheranee had been prepared to crack into her first book, one on the tactics and strongholds of the Jedi Order, when a grumbling voice caught her attention. The older man who had laid claim to the books she was interested in was addressing her, telling her that she could take a look at used books that he had taken and read. A kind and warming action, especially since clearly the scruffy stranger had not actually read all the books he was gesturing to, and the young Sahminan was glad for his charity.

"Thanks, I've been looking for these for a while." Taking only the texts that the man appeared to have read, Sheranee cracked open the first text in her new stack, a tome on splinter groups, sects, and cults that left the Jedi Order, Exiles included. Reading through the bibliography, Sheranee as amused by the author's clear mistake of including her hidden, nomadic order, the Matukai, in with other groups that broke off from the Jedi. The Matukai had nothing to do with the Jedi, although to an outsider they may appear indistinguishable. Texts such as these, even inaccurate ones, were not common on Sahmina given the planet's disdain for those sensitive to the Force. If you wanted to study the Force and those who used it your options were a few biased medical texts, a handful of old tomes in the back of obscure libraries, and sitting in on a public trial of a Force-sensitive. None of which were exactly educational.

Speaking of outsiders, a Mirialan woman approached the table with a small stack of tomes, all of which dealt with, rather disturbingly, the Darkside of the Force. Now, there was very little chance that an average citizen would want to study something as twisted and obscure as the Darkside, unless they operated in some dark and obscure form of scholarly research. A Jedi may show an interest in those texts, but so could an Exile, secretly trying to gather more knowledge on their own corrupted powers. Or for all Sheranee knew this pernicious looking little Mirialan was a Hutt bounty hunter studying up on how to hunt a specific kind of quarry. The advantage of being a Matukai was that one did not carry a lucrative lightsaber on her at all times.

 

[Jaina Orsi]

She was reading through the pages and could but shake her head. This book was useless. It warned force users about the first signs of dark side corruption, but was way to general and obvious. It basically said that if one bore a huge amount of hate he would fall to the dark side. It said the same about love, fear, friendship and pretty much everything else. According to this book every force user was doomed to crumble and fall to the dark side. Maybe it is right, maybe the Jedi are so pathetic that their cause is lost from the start. She sighted and took the next book. A book on the ways of the force and the many ways it could be used. There where no instructions in there on how to do it, just what could be done. She quickly gazed to the other woman before looking back on the back of her new book. She felt a bit of an unease near her, she felt so observed. Her book topics may have already raised suspicion, but she would try her best to keep them at a minimum. She skimmed through the books, reading many abilities of her interest, but stricktly kept to the first 8 chapters, only dealing the lightest of the lightest abilities, leaving the other half of the book unread she laid it down. She would read the dark side abilities later on, this book had proven to be interesting enough. She now looked though the remainders on her stash. Those books, together with the ones the others had taken, where all books about the force in the library. Clearly, she should have stolen more books when she left Jeddah.

 

[Kane]

This book was fascinating, it covered all kinds of things from falling to the dark side to redemption. Kane had never heard of anyone coming back to the light side, but to find that it was possible -though difficult- brought him a new hope for the future of all force users. This book also held sections on both bleeding and purifying Kyber crystals, though these were things that most people generally knew about it was nice to read about them in detail. This book appeared to be the second in a set of three, the first being exclusively about the light side and the last being exclusively about the dark. He would have to try and get his hands on those volumes, and perhaps see about purchasing this one. He didn't have many credits but what he did have he kept for such things.

The Sahminan woman was clever, still only taking the books she knew Kane had already read from the pule he'd offered. He had read a little of her order, but they intrigued him. He would love to have a conversation with her about it. She seemed uncomfortable around the other newcomer. "Forgive my rudeness, but i am curious why someone from a place that -to my knowledge- exclusively hates force users is so imterested in them." He said warmly.

Speaking of the Mirialan, she seemed nervous somehow. The fact that the didn't finish the books she was reading seemed odd. Kane figured she was either there to spy for some reason, perhaps a bounty hunter after a lightsaber -always a possibility since that barbaric bounty was put in place, and the reason Kane hept his saber so well hidden- or perhaps she was trying to appear less interested in the subject matter than she really was. A third option of course was that she was looking for something very specific. "Having trouble finding what you're looking for?" He asked, his old tone from his days as a librarian coming out.

 

[Jaina Orsi]

She was surprised to be acknowledged at all. The bearded man had been so absorbed by his book that she could have sworn he had no interest in his surrounding in all. "Oh, well, actually yes... I..." This voice, she knew it, he must have been on Jeddah, which ment her look fell at the other woman. If he was the Jedi, why was she so interested into her literature and so wary? "... have a hard time looking through these books. I just can't find the pages I need to find." She demonstratively closed the book with a sigh. "I really hoped to find information in this library, but it seems the books dealing with the content I am interested in are very scarce to find." By now she had a plan, and she was pretty sure that it would work. The Jedi must have noticed the tension between the two women, and she was ready to use that for her advantage. On her lap she used a pen to scribble some words on a piece of paper, trying to hide the action from the woman. She appeared to be a little younger than 30, maybe only 27, but at least ten years older then herself. "Did any of the books you have read contain something about these topics?" she handed him over the sheet. It was a grocery list, so it seemed to be a perfectly legitimate list of book topics if one did not get into a position were he could read it, but at the bottom of it she had added some words with a red pen: "Jedi Shadow, be aware, Exile here" while handing him the sheet she looked him in the eyes and nodded suggestively into the direction of the other woman.

 

[Kane]

Kane took the list from the Mirialan woman and read over it, noting several subjects that he had in fact seen dealt with in some of the books he'd been reading. He also noted that they all involved the dark side. After finishing the list He saw the note about the Sahaminan scribbled at the bottom of the paper. He looked at the Mirialan and saw her not towards the other woman. She didn't look like an exile, but of course an exile who was in the core wouldn't now would they?

Kane was however skeptical about the Mirialam's claim of being a shadow. That note was a very direct move, not exactly something one would expect from the stealthy assassins of the Jedi Order -especially when you were a veteran of the wars and had worked with several of them- "I saw a book covering several of these topics a couple shelves over." He said, pointing down the aisles.

From there Kane would wait and see if the self described Shadow would go before he continued investigating this potential Exile problem.

 

[Sheranee Saya]

That question was so loaded it could set off weapon detectors, but in a way it was quite justified. Sheranee's homeworld of Sahmina wasn't known for its forward-thinking, tolerant, or even humane policy on Force sensitives, officially marking them with badges and stamps while privately condoning lynch mobs that assaulted and killed those touched by the Force. Seeing a Sahminan woman, especially one with her burly build, elbow deep in texts about one of their planet's most hated groups probably did raise and eyebrow or two, so it was hard to blame the man. Sheranee had been prepared to reply to the elder's remark when he turned to the Mirialan and she was quick, if quite incoherent, to respond to him. She seemed tense, like she expected one of the books on the table to spring to life and try to bite her fingers off or something, and Sheranee was painfully aware of the quick little sideways glances the woman was giving her. The Mirialan scribbled something down on a page, claiming it was just a list of topics she was looking for while nodding rather clearly at Sheranee. It was clear that she wasn't just asking about a potential selection of texts, since she simply could have asked the table openly about them, but what she had actually written for the older man was a mystery to Sheranee, one she hoped to unravel soon.

"Anyway, I'm a research assistant from the Royal Conservatory in Arundas. We're trying to locate more texts on the Force and the Hundred Years Darkness to expand our own, mostly planetary collection." A bald-faced lie, but delivered as a total truth, even if Sheranee's loose trousers, sneakers, and hoodie spoke more to a parkour enthusiast than a scholar.

 

[Jaina Orsi]

She would smile. "That is wonderful!" She knew that this was an attempt to lure her away. If such a book existed i must be within the stash of books the man had lying on his side of the table. But she could not follow, why did he want her gone? He obviously did not believe her, so much was plain, but still...
"Do you remember the name of the book?" she looked into the direction he pointed. "Pardon, may I beg a favor of you? I am incredibly bad at finding my ways in these halls, I don't visit libraries that often... Could you please show me the way?" That way she would be able to talk to him.

 

[Kane]

Well there went that plan. Kane was pretty much convinced that the Mirialan woman was not what she claimed, but he couldn't be sure just yet. "I don't recall the title, but i do know where it was." As the Mirialan spoke he wrote a quick note under the table, there would be no way either woman could see the subtle movements and he kept his mind focused on the book he was thinking of to shield from any prying "eyes". The note was simple enough, merely saying this: Our acquaintance claims you are an Exile, I hope this is untrue.

"I ALMOST picked it up when I got the other books together, but these old arms can only carry so many books these days and there was sadly no cart available." He was TECHNICALLY not lying, he had carried an awkward amount of books and there were no carts to be found. The old man act was a well practiced favourite trick of his and he sold it well, even going so far as to tremble a little as he stood.

He went to put the note as if it were a bookmark in the tome he had been reading, but his 'old' and 'weak' fingers let it slip through. He used a tiny bit of force energy to direct the paper under the Sahaminan girls chair leg, this insignificant influence would be so small as to be undetectable by either of them. He picked up a different scrap of paper and tucked it into the book before tucking the book under his arm, this was a book he did not want to let out of his sight.

The note subtly delivered he gestured towards it with his eyes, his back still turned to the Mirialan so she would not see, before turning to the other woman. "It's just this way." He said cheerfully, no sign of suspicion in his voice as he led the way down the shelves. "I was once a librarian, not here of course but the memory stays sharp." He chuckled, "It dawns on me that I have not yet learned your name, mine is Kane." He said warmly.

 

[Sheranee Saya]

Oh, this Mirialan was more suspicious than a mystery meat kabob from a Nar Shadda street vendor. She was desperate to get the elderly gentleman away from the table, most likely to explain whatever she had written on that little note. After a few minutes of back and forth, the duo decided to get up and leave the table, moving amongst the aisles and shelves to discuss whatever it was they were going to talk about. Sheranee cared less about that little annoyance, however, than she did the little note the old man had slid her under the table, flicking his eyes toward the slip as it landed beneath her seat. Once the duo was out of sight, Sheranee slipped a hand beneath the table and drew up the note. 'Jedi Shadow, be aware, Exile here'.

Well, that was a disconcerting little bit of information. Was the Mirialan the Shadow? She didn't seem like it? Was the old man the Shadow? If so, why did he slip her the note under the table? Why did the Mirialan think she was an Exile, and did the old man share her concerns? Would revealing herself as a Matukai change their suspicions toward her? Sheranee was, at this moment, totally unarmed in this library, so if a fight broke out here between her and two Jedi she was going to be at a serious disadvantage. She needed to make a move soon, to do something, or this quiet evening at the library was going to get loud. Taking a pen from the table, Sheranee scribbled 'Matukai, not Exile, not enemy', before sliding the slip just under the cover of the next book in the man's stack.

 

[Jaina Orsi]

She followed the man and looked back to the woman once more. As soon as they were around the first corner he started talking. "My name is Jaina, Jaina Orsi." her voice turned into a silent whisper. "Sorry for dragging you with me, but I had to talk to you before you could do something stupid, like confront her about it" she sighted. "I am not sure that she is an Exile, but you must have felt the darkness to, and she was the only one around!" As they were walking she carefully scattered the dark side around her, making its presence weaker with every step they went away from the table. In the end leaving nothing but a taint of the dark side in the air. "I know you wanted me to go away, you probably do not trust me. I can understand that. But i feared you could make a mistake, like confronting her about it in my absence. If she were to be whom I expect her to be, such an action would have dire consequences. I really need you to trust me. After all we are both Jedi."

 

[Kane]

Kane listened to Jaina's words as they walked. It was true that he could feel the presence if the dark side grow weaker as the distance between them and the Sahaminan woman grew, something still didn't add up though and Kane stayed wary. Jaina seemed to put much importance on reminding him that she "was" a Jedi and he still did not quite believe her, but he resolved to play along for now to confirm if his suspicions were true.

"Here's that book!" He proclaimed triumphantly, taking the book off the shelf and handing it to her. Then in a whisper he added "Indeed,and we Jedi have to stick together in these dark times.What do you propose we do." Her answer to that question might provide insight to her true nature, though if she was a Shadow it may not, shadows in his experience were sometimes so fanatical they could pass easily for an Exile.

He started the walk back to their table his thoughts racing. He really did not want this to turn into a fight, he had just wanted to spend the day reading, but if it came to it he had his vibro-claws and lightsaber. And whoever turned out not to be an Exile would potentially aid him if it came to blows.

Kane still couldn't shake the feeling that he knew the Mirialan from somewhere. If her claims of being a Jedi were true that would make sense, he had curated the library onf Jedha for many years and seen dozens of younglings in the stacks. Though that didn't necessarily give credit to her claim, it didn't hurt it either.

 

[Sheranee Saya]

They were back quicker than Sheranee had expected, as she barely had time to slip back into her seat after sliding her revised note into the man's next book. Hopefully he would find it and the revelation inside wouldn't result in her getting a lightsaber thrown at her head. Regardless, she smiled and nodded to the duo as they returned, having grabbed the next book in her stack to make it seem that she had been reading the entire time they were gone. At the very least these little spy games were entertaining, like something out of an old spy holovid.

"Welcome back," Sheranee said, waving casually as the duo approach and leading with a joke. "You should probably know that your books come alive whenever you don't look at them. Might want to keep an eye on that."

 

[Jaina Orsi]

They reached the shelf, and he handed her a book. She looked at the cover, but listened carefully to his every word. She nodded in relief. He may not believe her fully, but he did not seem to reject her. She bit her lip. "If she turns out to be an Exile I will kill her. Not now, not in a full library, but later." She spoke with the way her master would have announced it, as a fact. His hatred towards the Exiles had been so great that she often did not even know if he could still be considered a Jedi. "If it turns out that she is innocent I will let her go and she must never learn that I ever suspected her. But I would have to look for the origin of the darkness that I have felt." She followed as he started walking back. "She might try to deceive us if she learns anything about us. Try to turn us against one another. It is the way of the Exiles, dirty tricks. They could look you in the eye and swear to be your fiercest ally, and still stab you in the back without a glimpse once you turn around. No matter what we do we have to be very careful." The table came into sight, she quickly changed topic. "So, this library you worked at, where was it situated again?" Hopefully he lies now, mentioning Jeddha would be a stupid idea. Moment, why do I even care? I can not get threatened by an Exile I made up myself! She sighted. By now she knew why Kane had seemed so reminiscent. He must have been the librarian on Jeddha! The very rooms she spent most of her time in before her Shadow training began. The words of the woman ripped her out of her train of thought. What had she done? What had she done with his books, and why? What was her motive? Her Paranoia was awakening. She swallowed and went back to her place. She quickly glanced over her books. "Well, personally I believe that books are the most alive if they are read."

 

[Kane]

Kane walked with the girl as she spoke. Her plan sounded exactly like that of a Shadow he had met a couple times on Jedha, so his plan to judge her honesty by her answer went out the proverbial window. "I curated a small library on Jedha just outside the Jedi temple." Someone who had trained on Jedha would know that there was not actually a library anywhere near the temple, but his answer would provide a decent enough cover to anyone unfamiliar with the planet. He wanted to ask Jaina where she had been trained, to potentially confirm his suspicion that he had seen her on Jedha. There hadn't been many Mirialan Jedi in the temple when he had run the library, so if she had trained there he could pretty much guatantee he knew her. But before he got the chance to ask they arrived back at the table.

"Indeed. Though in my time as a librarian I learned that books can -from time to time- Wander off on their own." Kane watched Jaina as he said this, a young Mirialan Jedi had stolen several books from his library before fleeing the temple, and her reaction to his seemingly playful statement could give her away.

Kane set his special book asside, still close to him and apart from the other books, and picked up the next volume from the stack. As he opened the book he saw a note. "Matukai, not Exile, not enemy" he looked up at the other woman, raising an eyebrow as he turned the page -concealing her note- Matukai? What is a Matukai doing here? he thought to himself. If that was true Kane figured he could trust her, and with no way to prove or disprove her claim he would have to take her at her word. Though why a Sahaminan would lie about being a Matukai was beyond Kane so he figured it must be true. "[I'm Kane by the way[/color], Jaina here and I had a chance to get acquainted on our trip and it wpuld be rude not to have a proper introduction with you as well." He said to the Matukai woman.

If Jaina turned out to be an Exile Kane was not looking forward to dealing with it. He would not confront her here of course, too many innocents. He hoped the Matukai would help him if it came to a fight. He didn't see any weapons on her, but as someone who had several concealed weapons himself he knew that meant nothing.

 

[Sheranee Saya]

The Mirialan was no fun, deciding to make a derisive comment rather than simply enjoy the little joke Sheranee offered. Granted, she didn't need a full belly-laugh or anything, but the sass was not appreciated. At least the man, Kane, tried to make a little joke of the situation, although given his specific phrasing and the way he looked at Jaina perhaps he wasn't making a joke. Maybe he meant Jaina was a book thief? But why tell her this? What books was she stealing, and from whom was she stealing? This just kept getting more intriguing, didn't it? In any event, Kane wanted an introduction and Sheranee was too nice to deny him one.

"Sheranee ihl Saya ab Yismara." She replied with a friendly grin. "And before you try to pronounce that whole thing, you can just call me Sheranee. I have to admit I'm curious as to why you to are here as well."

 

[Jaina Orsi]

She was taken aback. The stare, what did he mean? Was this supposed to be a sign? books can wander off on their own, what should it mean? Then she grasped it. The library at Jeddah! He knew it! Her eyes narrowed. How come he knew? She thought he was away on the night of her escape? Why had the force decided to play this cruel jape on her? She just fled half a week ago and happens to end up as a Jedi who was there at the same time. Has he been following me? Her eyes laid on the woman Have they been following me! Are they here to take me out?. Her view on the situation shifted. She did her best to stay calm and randomly picked up one of her books. As she flew over the first page barely able to speak, not able to grasp the meaning of one sentence the woman spoke up. Was Sheranee her real name? She had never seen her before, but if she were to be a shadow that meant nothing. "As Kane already said, my name is Jaina, Jaina Orsi. Pleased to meet you ... Sheranee." She closed the book and put it back on the table. "Why I am here? Well, I guess I just like libraries. My ship leaves in two hours."