Ask Studying the Unstudiable

[Maya Shaan-Ti]

Obroan Institute for Archaeology, Obroa-skai​

Maya pushed and shoved her way down the stairs as the crowd emerging from the hover tram moved towards the station exit. Used to walking on the right side of the road, and running late to catch her train, she had stepped onto the stairway meant for people coming up, and she got more than a few glares, grunts, and some rather unique insults as she forced her way against the flow of the crowd. Thankfully she reached the bottom of the stairs mostly intact, and after a sheepish glance back towards the second set of stairs, the one she should have taken, and how empty they were, she could only thank the seven stars that she had made it in time. Of course that was when the tram dinged and the doors started closing, forcing her to run once more to slip in just as the doors slammed shut behind her.

Stepping into the seemingly empty cabin, she again regretted having to pick such an odd hour to access the archives. She simply didn't have the credits to buy the services of a research droid to help with her efforts, and with almost all the students and researches having left for the day she would have to make do on her own. There was the advantage that she could work in peace, and the access pass had been too cheap compared to a slot during regular hours, but the emptiness of the cabin as the tram whizzed on its magnetic tracks towards the building on the outskirts of the city did leave her a little uneasy.

She had never liked being alone, so this was not going to be fun. That was till she spotted someone else, sitting by the window all the way at the back. Letting out a sigh of relief, a smile splitting her face, she walked past a half dozen rows full of empty seats and plopped her ass down opposite the other occupant.

"Hey, pulling a late shift as well huh?" Grinning, she pulled out a small bottle of water from her satchel and took a few sips before returning her attention to her new friend. "Gotta burn that midnight oil if you wanna meet deadlines, right? Have to say though, I hadn't expected anyone else to be visiting the Force archives so late at night. Not a very popular topic of research right now, is it? You should have seen my advisors face when I told her I wanted to write my thesis on the impact of Force users on societal changes across the Galaxy." Taking another sip, she put away the bottle, pulling out a half eaten and resealed breakfast bar, a very cheap looking one at that.

"I'm Maya by the way, visiting from the University of Coruscant. What are you working on?"

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya's mind was lightyears away. She had set out from Dathomir because the Nightsisters who joined the Sith were the only ones who represented their people in the galaxy. The Sith had come and then the Empire. They had cut down so many, and she had decided that she needed to do her part to set things right in the galaxy.

That was easier said than done. The Force - as the outsiders called it - was interpreted many ways by many people. The Nightsisters were only one of many views, and she had been raised to keep her mind open. So she had set off to find out more about what the rest of the galaxy thought about these things.

Her thoughts were pulled back to the present as someone plopped down in front of her and started talking to her. That was... unexpected.

Vanya turned to look at her, a look of mild surprise on her face as the girl began to unload all her information on Vanya.

My name is Vanya, she said. How could she explain what she was doing? Nightsisters were not exactly popular around the galaxy right now, but that was primarily because of people's ignorance. Not that she expected people to stop being ignorant any time soon.

I am here to investigate different Force-using traditions in the galaxy, including the Jedi, she said. If this woman knew about these things, then maybe there was something of value to be learned from her.

Do you know anything about these benevolent sects? she asked.

@Wit

 

[Maya Shaan-Ti]

Maya almost didn't let Vanya have enough time to answer, as her mind was processing every word coming out the Dathomirian's mouth at light speed, her thought process already branching into a variety of possibilities, each leading to a new question. What her name meant. Where she came from. The significance of the markings on her face, an odd mirror of Maya's own markings. It was only the fact that Vanya responded with a question of her own that Maya was able to keep all those questions in check long enough to remember her roommate's constant reminders that some might consider her incessant questions to be a little nosey.

"Oh yeah, I spent a few weeks looking up various groups across the Galaxy. Though I was focused more on how their populations varied as the influence of the Jedi and Sith ebbed and flowed. Didn't want anyone to poke holes on my research by saying I only focused on the big two." She pulled out her datapad from her satchel and pulled up some of her older notes. Turning the datapad around to show some of her notes to Vanya, she pulled up a page with a list of some of the groups she had looked up. "Some, like the Fallanassi, seem to mostly ignore what's happening around the Galaxy, doing their own thing. Their populations staying mostly stable, though how accurate these numbers are I don't know, what with them preferring to keep to themselves. Others though are easier to track, the Matukai, the Nightsisters, the Luka Sene, there's a surprisingly large number of these groups, and they seem to end up having a lot of representation among the Jedi and the Sith." Letting Vanya look at the list, she paused as she thought more on the matter. Unaware of any connection Vanya might have with the Nightsisters, and not knowing enough to make that connection, she wouldn't even notice if Vanya had any reaction to her mention of the Nightsisters.

That was when the train stopped, having reached the research station that it connected to the main Institute. Getting to her feet, Maya, gestured for Vanya to follow. "Come on, I can show you how to set up a search parameter to get what you need. The library's AI is so old that it's almost impossible to navigate without the help of a research droid. Heh," she chuckled, as she made a connection, "you know, if you ask for information on benevolent Force sects it might actually give you better results than what it normally does. Just, try to stay clear of Grey Jedi, seems to be a topic is absolutely abhors."

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya was surprised by just how much the other woman had to say about everything. Maybe she'd stumbled onto a great resource after all and she wouldn't have to do all the digging on her own.

Some of the groups that the girl mentioned, Vanya had never actually heard of before.

What's a Luka Sene? And a Fallanassi? she asked, barely managing to get the questions out before the Togruta was off again.

The Nightsister scooted quickly out of the train, feeling eager and almost excited as she followed the other woman inside.

Grey Jedi? What's that? Vanya asked with a frown. She'd never heard of that before and it sounded ridiculous. All these off-worlders always wanted to stick labels on everything.

Are the Jedi... do they do anything? she asked. She'd heard some rumors that weren't very flattering, but given they were coming from biased Nightsisters, she had her doubts about it.

@Wit

 

[Maya Shaan-Ti]

"Hmm," Maya paused as she thought of how best to answer Vanya's questions, "the Luka Sene are from Miraluka, they help their members make better use of the Force abilities they use to see and sense the world. Most members just live normal lives, almost like an elective you take. Unlike the Jedi or Sith who treat the Force as their primary focus, if that makes sense. This way."

She pointed to the exit from the station and began leading them up the stairs to the library foyer. "The Fallanassi are more widespread, but they're all women, and believe in pacifism and only practicing the Light Side. Kind of like light side Nightsisters, who also love to travel." She chuckled at the comparison, swiping them into the foyer and leading the way to the check-in counter. "Which leaves the Grey Jedi, legend says that they were meant to be the true representation of the Force, the balance that would bring peace to the Galaxy. But their studies on the Force were lost, and Jedi and Sith alike still hunt for the secrets of the Grey Jedi." Her tone grew solemn as she spoke, as if recalling something close to her heart, a sadness she could not forget. Till she suddenly burst into laughter. "Sorry, I'm just messing with you. The Grey Jedi are kind of a running joke in academic circles. It was a big hoax, about a Jedi who could also use dark side powers. Some rich kid in the Core got rejected by the Jedi, so he spent the rest of his life trolling them, making up stories about what sort of Jedi he thought he would be. Pure hogwash, that's what it is. You should sign in," she pointed to a console next to her as she brought them to a row of screens next to the entrance to the main library chamber, "now that they make people pay to access these sections they're super anal about who goes in."

Once they were signed in, and Maya had deposited her food and drinks at a locker, they were allowed in by a lone droid manning the entrance. "The Jedi, yeah they do stuff. Guess it depends on who you ask really. A lot of people seem to think they are mostly useless, that all they do is cause trouble. I mean you would have seen the holonews, you know how it is. But reality isn't always all it's shown to be on the news." She paused, going silent for a few moments, a slight smile appearing on her face.

"I grew up on Shilli, an insignificant little world far from the Core that no one cared about. For years we were plagued by pirates, slavers, and we didn't have the means to protect ourselves. The Jedi put a stop to that, they drove off the slavers, rescued those who had been taken, reunited many a family. And since then we knew peace, I grew up with stories of those dark times, not having to face that myself. People don't think much of them, but they made a difference in my life, and for that I'm thankful."

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya frowned as the woman stated that the Fallanassi were like "Light Sided Nightsisters." It really shouldn't surprise her that the galaxy had no idea what Nightsisters were or the intricacies of clan politics.

Vanya did listen more closely as she talked about the Grey Jedi. Some of it actually sounded like what the Nightsisters taught. Balance between Fanged Spirit and Winged Spirit, working in harmony to produce a galaxy that was in the perfect cycle. Finding that cycle, however, wasn't easy.

And then the woman burst out laughing and it was a hard left turn for Vanya, but she smirked anyway as Maya explained.

It sounds like misinformation is very prevalent about all of this, she said. Her assertion seemed to be affirmed as Maya went on to talk about how things on the holonet weren't what they appeared to be. Vanya had not really done much with the holonet. She recalled being told about it by the Sisters who went off world, but that wasn't the same as being familiar or comfortable with it.

She listened as the young woman talked about the ways the Jedi had influenced her and her life. They sounded exactly like what Vanya was looking for: warriors for good and protectors of the innocent. So why did everyone think they were so useless?

What makes them useless? That doesn't make sense, she said with a frown. There's a lot of people out there who are bad and need to be killed, she said, though it was probably far too simplistic and violent of a view for most Jedi.

Her eyes started to run over all the books and holocards in the library, and her mouth fell open a bit. There were libraries in a few of the temples on Dathomir, but nothing that even came close to this. She was having trouble taking it all in and slowed her pace to a near-crawl as she looked around.

There's so... many, she muttered.

@Wit

 

[Maya Shaan-Ti]

Maya nodded at Vanya's comment about misinformation, having made that same connection herself when she had started started sneaking behind her nan's back to learn more about her mother. "To most the Force is little more than a myth, at most a religion practiced by beings they might never even cross paths with. The Jedi changed my life, yet I have never even seen one, let alone speak to one. But the Jedi and Sith make sure that the Force impacts almost every life in the Galaxy." There was just a hint of bitterness in that last statement, though Maya was quick to hide it as she continued. "So it's not really that surprising that what most people know about the Force is more fiction than fact. Go to the outer rim, and you'd think they were gods from the way people talk about them, but they're just people."

Maya was enjoying the conversation with her new acquaintance, glad to have run into someone who would save her from another night spent researching by herself. But she did take pause when she heard Vanya's response to her own experiences with the Jedi. "I..." The normally chatty Togruta was, for once, left without anything to say, unsure how to respond to such a sombre turn to the conversation. "The Jedi don't really kill, or at least I think they treat it like a last resort. I..." She paused, thinking back on something her mother had once said, and latching on to that to turn the conversation back to the realm of academics. "I suppose you could say that is part of their problem. They believe in second changes, in redemption, no matter how far someone has fallen. I guess some people would just want them to show up on Korriban and get rid of the Sith, and they see anything else as a failure. But it's never that simple, is it? Killing isn't always the answer, is it?"

This time it was the Togruta asking the questions, the conversation having brought them somewhere she had never gone before, made her think about things she had never thought about before. Which did make her more curious about just who Vanya was, and exactly what she was looking for. But before she could say anything she realized that Vanya had slowed down, taking in the size of the library. Stopping as well, a genuine smile on her lips at seeing the awe on the other woman's face.

"This is but one section, the Obroan archives are spread out across multiple buildings, most even bigger than this one. There is so much knowledge out there, you could spend your life searching for answers, as long as you know the right questions."

Letting Vanya have a moment to take it all in, she wandered over to a table and dropped her satchel onto it and slid her datapad onto the table, gesturing for Vanya to do that same if she wanted to.

"You never did tell me where you're from, I take it your school's library isn't this impressive?"

She was proud of that, following on her curiosity, but not being overtly nosy. Her roommate would approve of that.

@Phoenix

 

[Vanya]

Vanya thought about what Maya said about the Force impacting everyone in the galaxy through the actions of the Jedi and Sith. She wondered if maybe that was why she was out here. She had left her home and hadn't entirely understood why. She wanted to decrease the impact the Sith had on her world, and fight back against their control, but maybe that just meant fighting back against the tide of evil in the galaxy.

Vanya frowned as she said that the Jedi didn't kill people. That just seemed wildly impractical. While killing maybe shouldn't be a first option, it wasn't something to be entirely squeamish about. Everyone died eventually, and there were fates far worse than joining the ancestors.

Vanya thought about what Maya said about redemption, and it triggered a different cascade of thoughts in her mind. She wished she could have redeemed all of her Sisters and the other Clans on Dathomir. But she also knew she had killed before. She had just helped kill the Queen because it needed to happen for the survival and betterment of Dathomir.

No, it isn't always the answer. But it's also not always the wrong answer, Vanya said.

She couldn't help herself but look around at all the information around her. She didn't consider herself to be a fool, but she wasn't quite the esoteric academic that some of her Sisters were. Yet even she was stunned by the quantity of information here, wondering what she could have found if she stayed here for the rest of her life.

She almost didn't hear Maya talking about all that the archives offered and had to snap her attention back to the present.

I am from Dathomir, she said. I am not from a... school, she said.

I am looking for other groups who are more active in the galaxy. Perhaps Jedi, she said.

@Wit