Ask Starlight The Welcoming Committee

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon Baudelaire’s focus was rarely honed on a single point for long, but currently his verdant eyes were locked on the small spinning cylinder of his small batch caf roaster. Peetwo warbled something and Leon nodded, reaching over and lowering the temperature a couple of degrees. He sat back on his stool crossing his arms over his chest, and cupping his chin in the palm of his hand as he watched the tumbling caf beans spin as they roasted.

The smell of roasting caf was quickly becoming his favorite smell, well, that wasn’t totally accurate, jasmine held a commanding lead, but caf was doing its damndest to close the gap. The timer in his EZphone went off and he shut the roaster off. He pulled out the sampling scoop and took a deep breath. Not quite as robust as he’d hoped. There was an interesting nutty—

Baudelaire’s phone lit up, distracting his train of thought. A message from council member Goordya’s office appeared on the screen. He scanned the message and kissed his teeth in annoyance, “Am I the only Knight available to give tours?”

His eyes flicked to the time and his teeth found themselves kissed once again. He had just enough time to change and head directly to the temple.

Hooray.

Fifteen minutes later…

Leon casually leaned against a pillar along the perimeter of the main foyer. He pulled out his phone and started scrolling switter being sure to glance up every now and then to make sure he didn’t miss the newbie. He realized he forgot to read the Padawan’s info and switched over to the message.

Baudelaire’s mouth fell open in shock.

“Theia?”

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia was glad Ezzie was right about finding a new home; it was far from what she was used to but being around others here made it easier. She felt closer to the stars, and therefore, felt closer to her mom despite her being lightyears away. She remembered years ago, before she was even starting school, that her mom were the black matte of space between the stars, and she, the light of the stars. For Theia, it was hard to feel alone when she thought about that, though she wouldn't deny feeling homesick. Regardless, the other thing she liked about this place, was coincidently their base was called Starlight, so she was absoultely certain she was meant to be here.

After getting her things unpacked and hitting up the library, Theia was offered to have a tour and she accepted. Thinking it was going to be the jedi who said something about it, she was disappointed she wasn't going to see them again soon. Instead she walked to the main hall, still having to be careful where she stepped from the awe she always found herself experiencing. She wasn't sure who she was looking for, but she guessed it was one of those Force things, where one would just know, but when she heard a familiar voice say her name, her face immediately light up.

"LEON?!" she squeaked, excitement shot through the teen as she had to stop herself from jumping into the air with joy. "LEON! Hi!" she knew he was a jedi, but was not sure if they would ever run into each other, but she wasn't sure if Ezzie told him, "Guess what?!" she started, but she knew he could probably already guess, "I'm a pawanda..." she paused, thinking that didn't sound right, "Palawin? Padobin?" she pursed her lips, and then shook her head, "Ezzie's training me!"

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Thank the Force, Leon thought as he made his way over to Theia.

Her excitement was infectious and a smile spread across his face as she spoke, “It’s definitely Padobin,” he teased. When she said who she was training under, his eyebrows raised, “Nice! Good luck Ezzie, expects alot from those he cares about,” then in a quieter voice he said, “So, if you ever need some extra help let me know, okay?”

Once again, Leon found himself trailing along in Ezra's shadow. Koemi was MIA. Leon had no idea what happened, she’d shown nothing but promise, but at the end of the day, the Jedi demand a high price and most didn’t want to pay. He hadn’t expected it to hurt so much, but it did. She’d been one of his closest friends and her disappearance had felt more like his failure than hers…

Luckily, Leon had become adept at hiding his insecurities behind his mischievous little smirk.

“So, where do you want to start?” he asked, guiding her to a nearby directory. He scoffed realizing it was the same one he and Dash had come across when they’d initially found the place. The screen broke the temple into sections and Theia would be able to see the various areas of the temple.

Baudelaire didn’t have a preference. He was happy to answer anything she had to ask. He was just thankful this didn’t have to be some formal affair.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Padobin?

It took her a moment to process that he was teasing her, but she still couldn't find the word for what they called it here. She hoped it would come to her later, like one of those things that were on the tip of her tongue, and she was quickly learning the Force doesn't help you with things like that. Leon seemed surprised that Ezzie was training her, but she agreed with the truth he spoke about his expectations. Ezra was a realist about her training and despite these expectations, he also kept her grounded in her ideas on achievement as a Jedi. She grinned when Leon added she could come to him for extra help, and she knew certainly that would be something she will take him up on as her training progressed.

Where to start?

Theia tapped her chin, thinking, "Well, what about like shortcuts, you know, if you need to cut through to get to the other end of Starlight the quickest...and not get caught or something..." she suggested, eyebrows slowly rising as she waited for Leon's response. She had a good idea of where the important places are-her quarters, library, and kitchen, but the idea of finding something that others were least aware of seemed more entertaining for a tour.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon watched the suspicion then confusion flit across her expression and he laughed saying, “It’s Padawan, Theia.”

Baudelaire listened and as she spoke he switched the directory top down street view of Starlight’s four quadrants. To his surprise most people didn’t seem to realize just how big Starlight was.

“Alright, first of all, this station is set up on a grid system. So, all the lanes run north to south and all the avenues run east to west.”

Leon’s eyes glanced back at her to make sure she wasn’t lost and then he continued, “But this is boring, c’mon, let’s go. Now that I know I’m showing you around, I don’t have to be all official and boring,” he chuckled, heading for the exit.

As they exited the temple, the breadth of the Jedi quarter spread out before them. There was substantially more nature in this area than in others. Between the meditation gardens and the quad that led up to the front of the temple, they were practically surrounded by grass and meticulously manicured trees as they followed the main path out into the station.

“So, how weird is it to be one of us?” he asked, flashing her his patented little smirk.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia snapped her fingers in delight and as Leon finally gave her the word she was looking for, "YEAH! Padawan!" she said, now feeling satisfied that the word was corrected. She looked over his shoulder at the directory as he explained the layout, but that was too easy for her to understand, she knew how to look at a map and her eyes started to glaze over as she anticipated this would be entirely too boring. Leon seemed to catch on when he mentioned that it was boring and Theia let out a long sigh, agreeing with him.

"Show me the cool stuff around here." she suggested as they entered the gardens. She would admit to herself it was impressive, but there was something about being in space that did not make it as authentic as being on soil. Regardless, it seemed many at the temple took great care and there were certainly plants that she did not recognize immediately. She stopped to touch the petals of one of the purple flowed bushes when Leon asked how she felt about being a Jedi so far.

"Totally weird." she said, agreeing. However, it was coupled with another feeling, and the girl fell quiet for a moment, "It feels right, but, it also feels lonely." she explained as they continued through the gardens and into the station. She was uncertain how to further describe it, "Like, I am starting to make new friends, but my friends at home, I don't think they're my friends anymore." Theia explained, remembering the messages from who she called friends no longer wanted contact after learning about her being Force sensitive. The ISC did well to spread anti-Force sentiment.

"Did you go through that as a padawan?" she asked him.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

”Wow, we’re surrounded by nature while floating in space and you wanna see the cool stuff,” he teased.

Leon crossed his arms over his chest, cupping his chin in thought as he considered what he knew about Theia and what Starlight had to offer. Baudelaire had a pretty intimate understanding of the space station he’d spent weeks crawling around it’s innards and had been present for the majority of the refugee on-loading. He checked the time on his phone.

Hmmm, need to kill a little time, he thought as he landed on something he hoped she’d like.

Theia’s answer surprised him.

“It was definitely weird when I first got here,” he admitted. Lonely was an understatement. He’d landed on Brighthome and had been dumped into the curriculum of The Order with little to know introduction. He’d felt like an exchange student who showed up half way through the semester and was expected to know exactly what was going on in all his classes.

It hadn’t been great. He watched as she examined a flower and he stepped up beside her.

“I’m sorry, I know it doesn’t feel good to have to start all over. Especially not when it comes to making friends, thankfully distance and time have this uncanny ability of showing us who really cared in the first place,” he flashed her a smile, and plucked a flower from the tree offering it to her, “Luckily for you, me and Ezzie are around in case you need a reminder that you’re not alone.”

Leon turned from the tree calling over his shoulder, “C’mon, I know exactly where to take you.”

A little while little while later…

The lift doors opened revealing a massive room that was segmented similarly to the exhibitions in museums. The room was split down the middle. One side was a recreation of a Dantooine jungle, and the other was an Ice flat from Mygeeto.

“Welcome to Starlight’s Biosphere!” Leon said as he gestured for her to take the lead. “It’s technically not completed, so, don’t tell anyone I let you in here,” he added with a laugh.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Leon stepped beside her and she glanced to him before returning to the flowers; he spoke with familiarity to what she was experiencing and it brought her a sense of comfort or ease that it was not something of an anomaly to experience. She had gone through similar throughout her life, but this time it did feel different, and she was not sure why. Leon handed her a flower and the girl grinned accepting as she twirled the stem between her thumb and forefinger, watching the colors of the flower blend together as the tour continued.

This time Leon supposedly knew where to take her to show her the cool stuff and it seemed it was so far away from everything. Though, when they arrived, she could see why as the doors from the lift opened, revealing several ecosystems together in one hall. Theia stepped off the lift and paused, her eyes wide with amazement and it would seem, this was the cool stuff she were expecting.

"A biosphere?!" she seemed thoroughly impressed, "These are like insanely hard to maintain, even the Coruscant University struggled to keep theirs operational and they have an insane amount of funding." she said stepping into the jungle, feeling the humidity stick to her skin and she was certain her hair was beginning to go fizzy.

"What else will you be putting in here?" she asked.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Theia’s expression lit up and Leon knew he’d nailed it. I mean it’d be super weird if she wasn't impressed by this. It was literally two opposite environments separated by a wall, like what the hell? That’s amazing!

Unfortunately, Leon knew more than the average Jedi when it came to Starlight. He’d been involved in every aspect of it’s return to the order, but he didn’t have a fucking clue what they had planned with this thing.

“Honestly, I have no clue,” he laughed, “I know the ultimate goal is to rotate environments quarterly, but that goal is a ways off,” he answered, following her into the humid jungle.

The dense vegetation all around them was lush and every shade of green. The path they followed opened to a river running across their path. The stoney beach was tranquil as the song of the local fauna mixed with the babble of the waterfront.

Leon took a deep breath. The air reminded him of Ellora and he found himself getting a little homesick. He made a mental note to take a trip out there soon. It’d be good for him. He stepped up to the water and called a stone to his hand with the force. He flicked it down the river sending it skimming over the water’s surface.

“, pretty sure you owe me an embarrassing Jayna story for this,” he said, flashing her a teasing grin.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia was thoroughly impressed as she ran her palm along the veins of a large fan-like leaf from the jungle. She tucked the flower from the gardens earlier gently into the seam of her belt as she measured with both her hands to how large the leaf was and mentally made a note. She walked beside Leon as they came to a river, she loved being by the water and she too started to feel some homesickness, especially for Corellia, it had been years since she and her mom were able to visit. Leon flicked a stone down the river and he teased with a suggestion about a story regarding Jayna.

The redheaded smirked, "I have so many, but..." she tilted her head to the side, "Who is this Dash guy that Ezzie is just like crazy for?" she asked Leon, "Like, I don't blame him, he's pretty but like who is he? Do you think he and Ezzie are gonna get married?"

The padawan's bright eyes widened with anticipation for an answer, even if it were just a crumb of information; it would be enough for her to dig a little further. Ezra never talked about Dash, and they only time it was brought up was when she tried teasing him at the celebration not too long ago. Internally, she huffed, it was always so hard for her to find a way to tease him, usually it was the other way around.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon stooped down and picked up another rock. He drew back and threw. The stone skipped across the water and he watched it until it disappeared underneath the water’s surface. His gaze only looked away from the water when he heard Theia’s question.

A smile sliced across his face as he remembered the last time he’d seen the couple.

“Dash is great. I’m biased though,” he chuckled, “I’ve known him as long as I’ve known Ezra.”

He considered the second part of her question when an idea started to form in his mind. It had been way too long since he’d fucked with Ezra. Pretty boy was due.

“Ya know, last time we all hung out I’m pretty sure I saw a white dress,” he said absently then quickly clapped his hands over his mouth. His mortified gaze slipped to Theia, “Oh man! Don’t repeat that, I wasn’t supposed to say anything!”

She was going to repeat it. It was all part of the plan. Leon could picture Ezra’s face now. Red ear’s twitching in every direction while Dash just stares at him like, “Yeah dude, we getting married?” Ugh, it was so good. Man, it’d been months since his last prank… He really needed to bring this back. This was fun.

Keeping the bit going Leon tried to change subjects, “What’s one place in the galaxy you’ve always wanted to see?”

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Leon seemed to really like Dash, but he didn't give too many details on who he was only that he had known him as long as Ezzie. That didn't seem to satisfy the teen as she started to gather up questions about him that quickly popped into her mind. Like what did he do in the Jedi, or was he like Ezzie, who his family was, or how did he and Ezzie started dating. Her face contorted into a small pout as she started thinking, mentally noting to ask Uncle Em or Uncle Jai, they seemed to always know what is going on with Ezzie. Though any questions she had, they suddenly popped into oblivion as he mentioned seeing a white dressing.

The girl's eyes light up as Leon stumbled over his words, mentioning he was not supposed to say anything. "I can't believe he didn't say he was even engaged!" she said in a hush tone with utter disbelief in her tone. "Ok, I won't say anything, don't worry!" though for Theia, not saying anything didn't mean *not* saying anything, there was no doubt she was going to say something, probably get around the honor of silence by dancing around the topic with Ezzie.

As she settled with her excitement, Leon asked her about a place she always wanted to see one day. It wasn't really something she had considered, often if she wanted to take a trip, mom and her would go. Besides, being in ballet often kept her occupied and busy from thinking about traveling too much. "I'm not sure, where are some places you have gone?" she asked.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Baudelaire’s smile was fox-like as she turned his question back to him. Oh no, he’d expected to get a few seconds to come up with his own answer, but she flipped that shit on him instantly.

“Naboo.” he blinked. That’s where they’d met. A place he’d fucking been. “Wait, no, Nubia!” he lied, “Ugh, I always get those two mixed up.” He laughed it off, following the river he’d been throwing stones down a little ways.

“Theia, why’d you choose the Jedi?” he asked. The question had stopped him in his tracks and he found himself very interested in her answer. There weren’t many people in the galaxy that had the opportunity to choose their path. He hadn’t. As a matter of fact there were a lot of people living on Starlight that hadn’t had a choice.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia grinned as he quickly corrected himself, but she thought Nubia would be spectacular to visit one day. She knew her mom visited Nubia on a few occasions, but she was never able to go on those trips. Their ship design was one-of-a-kind in the galaxy and when they were noticed, everyone notices them and everyone knew where they came from. Even Theia would admit to herself, having a Nubian starship was an ideal and one of those things where one wished for one on their birthdays when they were old enough fly.

His next question for her gave her pause. She fell quiet for a long time as she thought about her reasons for joining the jedi. From what she understood so far, not many who were in the order had a choice, and if you were born elsewhere, you would have to join one of the darker practices of the Force. She was curious to know if there were ever those who did not have a choice, decided to walk away from the order and if it were even allowed. Regardless, the silence lasted for a long time; the trickling of the water behind them was comforting as she thought of her answer.

"I've always known it was there, even when I was little, and I don't want it to continue to be a mystery where I might hurt others by accident. I have a responsibility for it and it wouldn't do anyone good if I was reckless or inconsiderate with its power."

@Zay