Ask The Path to Balance: Humility

[Izel Thral]

Izel nodded to Isen's explanation. She hadn't expected his curriculum to have mentioned Ambria at any point. Even the new Jedi Order tended to shy away from teaching certain parts of history. No matter how important it might have seemed. "It has quite the interesting story to it actually..." She started as she picked up the bread her Padawan offered her. "I'll tell you more once we're there. But suffice to say in the meantime you'd do well to focus on your meditations, keep your mental fortitude high." She stopped to take a bite of the bread. Isen would know well enough what she meant without having to explain further. The place they were going was corrupted.

While she ate she turned to watch the young near-human do the same. The girl tore into her morsel like she was starving. And the way she spoke and carried herself... Izel didn't need the Force to tell she was reeking with fear and self-doubt. She began to wonder if she was a slave, and briefly glanced in the direction of the cockpit. The captain was still nowhere to be seen. As the girl addressed her directly Izel turned her gaze back to her. She would have been more amused by the questioning about insecticides if she weren't so concerned with the girl's well-being.

"Uh... You don't need to worry about any of that." Izel replied a bit awkwardly. She'd been to many different worlds and on many different ships and never had it been an issue before. She assumed companies took great measures to make sure their chemicals were universally usable. As for honorifics that was a bit too much for her to bear. She wasn't royalty after all. "And you can call me Izel. Izel Thral. This is my apprentice Isen Ramm." She wasn't too worried about using the word apprentice here. As far as the girl knew he could be an apprentice miner or craftsman. Such was the type of language the local guilds used. "And I don't believe you told us your name?" She asked, putting on a friendly tone. This girl raised questions that needed answering. As the Vratix continued to focus on her it sent her antennae twitching more. She was beginning to sense something unusual about her, something that set her apart from the others here. In the meantime the ship's engines began groaning as they came to life.

@Isen @Zohrael

 

[Isen Ramm]

So, a planet steeped in the Dark Side it would be. Isen wondered what lesson his master would want him to learn here. Isen didn't fear the Dark Side in battle. It wasn't the Jedi way, but he yearned for it. He looked for opportunities within the order to confront the Dark Side in battle. That was the fear- his aggression, his natural inclination to fight, the rush and emotional high he got from battle teetered on the brink of what the Jedi stood for, but was squarely aligned with what the Sith advocated. More than anything,m Isen feared being seduced by the Dark Side. Perhaps that is what is what Izel Thral would want him to confront on Ambria. Perhaps she wanted him to learn how to harness what was inside him and rebut the seduction of the Dark Side if and when it came calling to him.

He nodded to his master and said, "I understand."

After he gave the bread to the girl, most of the padawans would have some sort of visual reaction to the way she snatched the bread out of the air and tore into it like a ravenous beast would a fresh piece of meat. But, Isen was not most padawans. He certainly found it strange. Found it disheartening...like all Jedi would. But, his personality was such that he didn't show his concern outwardly.

He listened to her and his master talk, and he would say to the girl, "You don't owe me, us, anything. It's not a gift. It's a meal. We're going to be together on this trip, we break bread together on this trip." He took a bite off of his third, chewed it, and swallowed it. "Quite literally in this case, I guess."

He looked to Izel and then back to the girl. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt before you gave us your name."

@Reyn @Zohrael

 

[Yulie]

"As you wish, Izel." She would hold their names in her memory by repeating them aloud.

Yulie was relieved that she wouldn't have to fret about the cleaning supplies. There were only so many new things a person could keep track of before forgetting things, and it was important to her to not ruin what little she had going here. Her lodgings had walls, a ceiling, and warmth, which made it a sharp turn for the better. With things going her way, making them go another was a worrying prospect. Unfortunately, Izel preferred its name to a Sir or Ma'am, so Yulie made a note to avoid even using pronouns whenever that could be managed. And if Isen felt the same, it'd only be a matter of time before Yulie would get their names mixed up. She promised herself not to do that. She had to do a good job.

At least he seemed very relaxed; informal people didn't get quite as wound up over mistakes. He didn't even care about the bread! And the Captain would have to be rather unreasonable if he took issue with Izel's reasoning. But the young man would likely learn soon enough why people don't feed strays; Yulie didn't realize it, but her orbit would tighten now that food was in the equation.

"My name?" It came as a surprise they even cared to hear it. She was only the Help, after all, and most people came up with their own nicknames for one of her distinguishing features. Grey-Face, Dead-Eyes, Gaunty, something that would make them feel clever while reminding her of her unimportance. Not even the Captain had bothered to ask her name, but he kept it professional by only using words like 'You', 'Girl', or 'Kid', indifferently carrying the torch of an ongoing tradition for her last three employers. You didn't need to know someone's name to give them orders, and the whole point of explaining the comm relay was to make that even easier for everyone. Push the blue button: "It's already midday, change the damn bedsheets". Push the blue button: "There's a weird smell from the engine room, check the damn filters". Or whatever they might need. Why did they want to know her name?

"My name is Yulie." As soon as she said it, it occurred to her that they might have been bounty hunters or some other trackers looking for that supposed Jedi who upset the peace a while back. Did she actually tell anyone her name while she was working there? She'd breathed so much second-hand spice while waiting tables that she couldn't quite recall. Her weeks on the rooftops were clear in her memory, but she knew better than to eavesdrop. I'm sure my old boss didn't ask, but some of the customers tried chatting me up. She fought to remember how hard a letch would try to get to know her while she was on shift. Ugh. And I didn't even get to keep my tip money in the end.

"So, Isen, you're Izel's apprentice, huh?" Yulie sized him up. He had the body of a prize fighter, but neither the posture or faded wounds. "If I had to guess, I'd say you're a miner, going by your...shoulders..." Ugh. Guess I'm the letch this time. She thought to herself, cheeks turning a shade darker as she looked away from his muscles. "...and the good stuff." She held up the bread when she said 'good stuff' and wasn't even being sarcastic. This loaf had all the right calories baked into it, so from her point of view you'd need to be out of your mind to complain. Or rich. "But there's no way you're old enough to meet the age requirements." 22 standard years, that's what the rugged witch told Yulie when she first landed planetside. Even now Yulie couldn't believe what that woman recommended when Yulie found herself at the front of the line. "So...bounty hunters?" It was hard to imagine those guys being bogged down by strict regulations.

Yulie popped the loaf in her mouth to free up her hand as she picked up the box of cleaning supplies...or so that was meant to appear. If they were bounty hunters, she didn't want any sort of noticeable tell anywhere on her face. Gravity would pull her auburn hair as a veil as she leaned over, and any stretching of the skin would be owed to holding the bread in place. If they were bounty hunters, the whole journey could be deadly game of lothcat-and-mouse. She'd breathe a lot easier if they were just simple people making their way through the stars. She wanted to see ashen hair in her reflection, she wanted to honour her people by adorning herself in their colour once more. Most of all, she wanted to forget the planet below, but it didn't want to release its grip on her. It kept finding ways back into her thoughts, like water circling a drain.

@Reyn @Isen

 

[Izel Thral]

"It's a pleasure to meet you Yulie." Izel replied to the girl with a respectful bow of her head. Fortunately for the Dathomirian her name had never come up during Izel's brief questioning over the cantina fugitive back in the port. Although the girl's nervousness still warranted a certain degree of suspicion. "And you can relax," The Vratix went on. "We don't bite." As their conversation continued there was a slight jerk as the ship lifted off the ground, beginning to make its ascent into the atmosphere. Well, no one was going anywhere now.

Yulie's attempts at small talk however drew an amused chitter from the Vratix as she glanced between the young girl and her apprentice. "An admirer already?" She asked Isen playfully while nodding in Yulie's direction. "That training pays off quickly doesn't it?" She laughed again before turning to the girl as she asked about them being bounty hunters. Given her behavior she was clearly hiding something. Izel could tell she was trying to probe for information, and at the same time trying to conceal her features. The Vratix's antennae twitched again as she sat back in her chair.

"No, not bounty hunters." She answered, still looking the girl over for any kind of tell as to who she really was. "We're just drifters. We move around the galaxy, doing what needs doing." Honestly she wasn't really lying when saying that either, just omitting a few important details. "We have some personal business on Ambria that needs tending to." The Vratix took one more glance in the direction of the cockpit. It seemed the captain was still occupied with setting their course. As Izel turned back to Yulie her gaze became slightly more pointed. She had a feeling this girl was in some kind of trouble. Of course she could be the cause of that trouble, a fugitive from the law, but she didn't strike Izel as the type. She considered it far more likely she was someone dearly in need of help.

"And what about you?" She asked, her inquisitiveness disguised as simple small talk. "Have you been here for long? Or are you just passing through as well?" Perhaps she was just imagining things. And perhaps she was being just a little rude with all her prying. But Izel had learned to trust her instincts, and right now the Force was telling her something was strange about this girl.

@Isen @Zohrael

 

[Isen Ramm]

Continuing to slowly eat on his bread, Isen listened to Yulie give her responses. She seemed...nervous. Apprehensive. She certainly had some fear in her, but Isen also felt distrust. Not that she thought Izel and Isen were distrustful per se, but a healthy dose of concern of what, or who, they might be was present. And she wasn't giving the complete picture of herself either. That much was certain.

Isen, not the best at picking up social cues, didn't think much of the girl stumbling around the comment about his shoulders. He just figured she was making deductions. But he would answer her question about being a miner and questioning him being old enough. "Oh, I'm not only old enough. I put in enough time to retire yesterday." It was a joke of sorts, but as is with Isen's deadpan manner of wit, it was entirely possible that the joke would not be realized except by Izel who had come to know him.

He listened to Izel speak to the girl, welcome her. He didn't blush at Izel's comment about there being an admirer, but he did give her a sideways glance mid-chew. She asked good questions, necessary questions concerning the ripples in the Force and her reactions to food and socializations. He would simply wait for the girl to answer, turning his attention back and forth between the girl and his bread.

@Reyn @Zohrael

 

[Yulie]

“Thank you, Izel.” Yulie said. She did not know what more to say; it was strange and unfamiliar to be the one receiving a bow, even if only one from the head. Being ignored was typically better than getting noticed for most people of her station, yet expressing gratitude was second nature. The Vratix suggested that she relax, it too unaccustomed to what might have felt like royal treatment.

She could feel her face getting warmer when the Vratix found amusement in Yulie’s wandering eyes. The sterling smudge under her cheekbones crept towards the corners of her lips, turning mauve as Izel had a good laugh. Yulie slanted her head shyly. Evidently the creature was studying the girl attentively, and who knew what those large, insectoid eyes could see? Certainly a Dathomirian blushing behind her veil of auburn hair. Mercifully, Isen only found amusement in her deduction.

Yulie dislodged the bread from her mouth and carried on like her face was grey instead of a light purple. Stumbling over her words or making some sort of excuse would only make it worse. “Oh. Well, you look younger.” It was disappointing to hear that he was old enough to meet their age requirements. Little hairs stood up on the back of Yulie’s neck. She hoped that he was closer to her age and thought her way of asking had cleverly hidden her interest, but that giant insect had eyes the size of soup bowls and they apparently noticed everything.

Both of her guesses turned out to be wrong. They were simply riding the current of the cosmic seas, doing the odd job wherever they found work. Yulie’s shoulders sloped down as if a weight had been removed. The lifestyle of a drifter was one of uncertainty and Yulie could relate to that, so she felt a sense of solidarity with them.

In a way, she too was a drifter now, a conspiracy of circumstance driving her into the stars. She only cared that the ship pointed forward and hardly thought about where her journey would end, except that it would probably cost the last shard of kyber to get there. How does one have an apprentice in such a lifestyle? There was something out of place, but she could not put her finger on it. There must have been more to the story, but they were not bounty hunters.

“It’s my first day, so you new how it is: pretty nervous, little excited. The Captain was kind enough to make me an intern; if I do a good job, he might recommend me to the Free Spacers Guild.” Yulie answered. She had no choice but to give an answer that would be consistent with whatever the Captain would say, but Yulie felt comfortable talking to drifters. “I didn't have the chance to straighten out your rooms yet; maybe I can have the ship feel more inviting by the time you’re finished your business on Ambria.” She had no illusions that their business could take far longer than the ship might remain, but the lifestyle of a drifter was one of uncertainty. Perhaps the possibility would provide a sense of continuity and stability that otherwise might not have existed.

"I realize it's personal, but if it's not out of line to ask, what awaits you on Ambria?" She wondered if it was a funeral, but you just don't ask people that. She could have asked if someone was getting married, but if the Vratix misunderstood it for indirectly asking if Isen was single, there would be a whole new round of laughter and there was enough to gossip about already.

Yulie shouldn't have cared, she knew that. Her job was to fix the ship and keep it tidy, and important people always made it clear that asking personal questions was a social privilege that one had to be able to afford. There was just something odd about these travelers. A drifter with an apprentice. Who had more muscles than odd jobs typically asked of a man. On a personal errand to a distant planet.



@Reyn @Isen

 

[Izel Thral]

Perhaps she was just anxious, a young girl in a new position, and in the presence of a young man she seemed to be developing a crush on as well. But Yulie's body language suggested to Izel she was afraid of them being bounty hunters or some other kind of law enforcement. It reinforced the idea she might be an escaped slave, or still possibly a criminal on the run. Could she really be the one they were talking about back in the spaceport? No, she was much too small and frail to have caused that much of a ruckus... unless of course she was Force sensitive. That would certainly explain things.

Still, Izel didn't immediately start making accusations, just sitting back as Yulie explained her story of how she had just started working here and was hoping to join the Spacer's Guild. "Well, in that case I wish you luck." The Vratix offered some encouragement. "And we'll try not to be a handful for you." As the girl asked about their business on Ambria Izel saw an opportunity. If the Dathomirian was in fact Force sensitive, that would be one way to draw it out. Of course it might also be a bit dangerous given the dark side corruption present on the world they were going to, but the Vratix was confident in her abilities to protect the girl if need be.

"It's for part of my apprentice's training if you're curious." She answered a bit cryptically. "Once we get there you can come along and observe if you like. If you don't mind my saying so, you don't strike me as a particularly well traveled person. The galaxy is such a large and wonderous place, you should try to see as much of it as you can." It was a strange offer, and her captain might not allow it if she was under his employ, but Izel saw no harm in making the offer. If this girl really was what Izel was beginning to think she was, well, it was her duty as a Jedi to try and set her on the right path before she became a danger to herself and others.

Just then there was another powerful jerk as the ship presumably went into hyperspace, a concerning rattling coming from the old and mistreated bulkheads. Just a few moments later the captain lazily sauntered into the common room, leaning against the wall as he took out a piece of fruit and began to cut into it with a knife. "Well we're on our way." He informed the guests and crew. "Should reach Ambria in a few days..." He paused to look between the gathered tenets of his ship, realizing he had just walked in on a conversation. "What?" He asked curiously, with everyone's attention now on him.

@Isen @Zohrael

 

[Isen Ramm]

The captain walked into the commons as the three were discussing things, feeling each other out. He wanted to know what the topic of conversation was. Isen wasn't sure how the captain would take to his new intern chatting it up with the crew. He may have expected her to do some cleaning, fix some wires, whatever it was that a crewmate did on a ship. Isen wasn't real tech savvy or mechanically minded, but he knew enough to know that captains often wanted their crew to be working and not mingling with the passengers.

"She was checking with Izel to see if any of the cleaners would be harmful to her," Isen said. That much was true. Omission wasn't a lie per se.

The captain gave her a sideways glance. "Oh, for crying out loud, kid! Look at her! She's huge! Are you so dense that you think a ship disen.."

Isen interrupted him. "Excuse, me." The captain stopped to look at him like, 'who is this kid that interrupts the captain on the ship when he speaks.' Isen continued, "She was being kind and considerate. I think we should all be kind and considerate."

"Well, I'm the damn captain, so what I think is what..."

Isen stood up and squared to him shoulder to shoulder, and the captain quit talking abruptly. Isen stood two or three inches taller than the captain, and seeing Isen's level of fitness, having to look up to him, and seeing the cold, unflinching stare from the young Kiffar, the captain came to a very real conclusion. "I've been around different parts of the galaxy, and it seems to me, providing the customer what the customer wants is the best way to get repeat business. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Um..." The captain looked at Isen and then to Izel and then back to Isen. "Yeah? I guess so?"

With a nod, Isen continued. "I think so too. And what the customers want on this trip is a safe arrival and kindness." He tilted his head slightly to drive a point home. "From everyone...to everyone. Do you think the customers can get what we want?"

Intimidated a bit, the captain stuttered a bit, "Uh...ye...ye..yeah, of course." He smiled nervously and said, "Perfectly reasonable."

Isen stared at him for a little bit and finally nodded. "Good." The padawan looked back at Yulie. "Pleased to meet you, Yulie." He made a slight, politeful bow to the new acquaintance. Turning to Izel he said, "I'm going to get my get bunk prepared for the next two or three days. Might take a nap." Finally, he turned to the captain and nodded in respect. "Captain," he would offer before making his way to the private rooms with his bunk.

/exit thread attempt

 

[Yulie]

"It's for part of my apprentice's training if you're curious."

"...drifter training?" Yulie raised an eyebrow. What was that even like? She tried to picture it, but the Dark Side had a corrosive effect on the imagination. She possessed many skills that would themselves be useful to survive, but purifying water, recognizing good from tainted meat, even navigating by starlight failed to come to mind. The more benign possibilities dissolved before they could fully form, and whatever remained was mired in her own selfishness.

If she had to teach someone how to survive on their own, without being able to rely on a steady job or a stable support network, petty thieving would top the list. Maybe run a few scams, or devise new ways to stow aboard ships. Any moral lessons would be cynical: trust no one, always have an exit, never let a fight end on someone else's terms. But she didn't presume to have any idea what drifter training would entail, and that heightened her curiosity. Perhaps it could come in handy the next time she had to fend for herself.

"I would like that, but it's not my decision.” The ship jerked more strongly than it had before, and Yulie looked upwards, studying the panels and the cables connecting them. This was a symptom of an oversized hyperdrive. If it was meant for a heavier class of ship, the weight distribution would be outside of the device’s technical specifications. But that should shear the ship apart…unless power was being routed through the auxiliary acceleration compensator. The artificial gravity could trick the device, unless natural gravity was also acting upon it. Probably an off-brand hyperdrive. Yulie began thinking of a workaround—an inexpensive workaround.

"Oh, for crying out loud, kid! Look at her! She's huge! Are you so dense that you think a ship disen.."

Yulie clutched the box of cleaning supplies, the colour quickly draining from her face. The Captain’s tone had a Pavlovian effect on her. It was one that she had come to hear from so many men in her life. She looked down at the wobbling canisters of polish and disinfectant, neither daring to protest or explain herself. All she wanted was to do a good job, but it really was stupid of her now that she thought about it. Why would any of these be pesticides, let alone an industrial-grade toxin that could kill something larger than the Captain? Given the state of the ship, Yulie was surprised to find any cleaning products at all.

Her mind raced to find the appropriate response, the proper configuration of words to satisfy her boss. She would tell him that she understood, that she was overthinking things, and that she was ready to receive his orders, whatever they may be. Well, she would tell him that, if she were brave enough to get a word in edge-wise. Isen took issue with the Captain’s tone and was able to make his opinion clear without wasting any time to get his thoughts in order.

Yulie wished that she could speak so freely, but also wished that he hadn’t annoyed the Captain. When her boss raised his voice at his passenger, she feared what might come of it. Maybe the Captain would decide that the girl was nothing but trouble and kick her off the ship. Or maybe he would treat Isen the same way Yulie’s bosses tended to treat her.

Her fingers scrunched against the corner of the box, her nerves becoming taut. As her hand became a fist, that tension released. A crack formed in one of the caps fastened over a canister of cleaning agent, splitting right down the middle as though it had been crushed in her hand, subconsciously targeted for what she believed to have triggered this whole ordeal. Had she channeled that Force Technique out of hatred instead of fear, it would have been the Captain’s throat to be crushed. Yulie’s tolerance to her own mistreatment far surpassed what she was would tolerate for another.

Isen had the situation in control, however, and Yulie’s fears subsided. The shame remained, but her shame was not dangerous. Isen stood taller than the Captain, and it was not simply a matter of height. He was more certain in his convictions, more confident in his place. He spoke so calmly, yet Yulie could not imagine anyone messing with him willingly. His advantage was only a few inches, but the difference seemed to be several feet. If it was more than just a height thing, she longed to be able to do that, to be a subordinate but to be treated with respect.

"Pleased to meet you, Yulie." He made a slight, politeful bow to the new acquaintance.

Yulie gave a subdued smile and a light nod, her mannerisms carefully crafted to reveal her gratitude but not embarrass the Captain. She let her face go blank when Isen left.

“...Awaiting orders, Captain."

"Here you are, lists and chores. As promised." He dropped a datapad in Yulie’s box of supplies with just enough force to startle her.

Yulie shifted her weight to fish it out, holding it between two fingers in the same hand that was still holding her bread. The list was long. Her eyebrows met at the middle and she chewed her bottom lip.

"Problem?"

"I don't know how to read this language."

"Basic?” He asked incredulously. Yulie certainly had no problem speaking it. “How did you learn a mechanic's trade without ever looking at a manual?"

"My experience is all hands-on." She replied, abridging her life’s story in as few words as possible.

"Uh-huh." He said skeptically, taking a glance at her gloved hand. "Well, you're going to have to learn. The reputable guilds sure won't take you in if you can't read a contract or consult a tech manual, and you'll want to avoid the disreputable ones. As a rule, if a Captain doesn't care, it means he treats his ship and his crew like garbage." He took the datapad back from her. "I'll dictate your duties so you have an audio recording, but I want to see an effort going into learning this."

"Yes, Captain." Yulie really did not know if she should return to engine room or wait for the Captain to make an audio record of her duties. Deciding that either outcome could annoy him, she thought it would at least be better if she was doing something to make herself useful. “Oh, Captain? If I may ask…if I do well in my duties, may I go planetside when we reach Ambria?”

“Do they even want you there?” The Captain rolled his eyes. “Sure. If you can find out why my ship starts dry heaving every time it jumps to Hyperspace.”

“I’ll get right on it, Captain.” She suppressed a smile. Ambria. It sure sounded nice. She gave Izel a wave before disappearing back into the engine room. She closed the door behind her, put the cleaning supplies down, exhaled, and gently bopped her face against the wall, her face turning mauve. Could I have been more obvious!? Hey, Isen, you sure have the shoulders of a miner. Smooth, Yulie. Really smooth. Now you're going to get The Talk from a Wookiee-sized insect just because you saw a guy with the body of a gladiator droid. Thump. Thump. Thump.

/exit thread attempt
@Reyn @Isen

 

[Izel Thral]

Things became tense quite quickly after the captain entered into the conversation. As Isen explained the situation to him he was quick to turn on Yulie and start berating her. Izel would have stepped in to try and calm him down, but Isen beat her to the punch. As usual, his approach to defusing things was much more abrasive then her own, and he and the captain were soon having it out with each other instead.

"Isen..." The Vratix hissed in a low tone, trying to remind her apprentice to behave himself when her antennae suddenly twitched. Glancing in Yulie's direction she took notice of the cracked cannister and immediately recognized it as the use of the Force. So it's true... She thought to herself, now ignoring the argument going on as she began considering what to do next. So the Dathomirian was Force sensitive. And untrained. That given the rumors back in the spaceport suggested she was using her powers rather wildly as well. She would need to keep an eye on her.

As Isen finally looked back to her and said he was going to take a nap the Vratix just gave him an annoyed glare in return. As the young Kiffar exited the room she stood and turned to the captain. "I apologize for my apprentice's outburst." She told the man, who was still reeling from the experience. "He can get rather... spirited when he feels someone is being treated unjustly. I took no offense from your intern's questioning, I appreciate her concern." With that she would give both the captain and Yulie a short bow before scuttling off after her Padawan. She'd catch Isen off in one of the hallways and speak to him in a quiet but firm voice.

"I grant you intimidation can be a useful tool for avoiding conflict." She informed him. "But it should never be your go-to response to troublesome people. Doing so invites more needless conflict further down the road. I would ask that in the future you avoid being so brash. Remember what you've learned here, why people act the way they act. They are driven more often then not by their fears and insecurities, not pure evil. Think about what tactic will serve you best before acting." She paused to sigh as she looked at the floor, mulling things over before she looked at her apprentice again. "Your next challenge cannot be overcome by sheer strength or skill. You must learn to control your aggression Isen." With that she would leave him in peace as she made her way to her own quarters. It was cause for some worry. She knew her Padawan was capable of great things, but there were still aspects to his personality that concerned her greatly. Ambria would prove whether or not he had what it took to find balance in himself. And this Dathomirian girl? She was an unexpected complication to things. Izel could only hope she had learned enough herself to help the both of them.

/End Thread
@Isen @Zohrael