Private A Time and a Place

[Elody]

The Exodus of Tython​

When bad things happened sometimes all you could do was try to move forward. Elody watched as the refugees of Tython pressed forward with what little they could carry. She was meant to be helping with the logistics of their relocation, but it was hard to focus. Nae was gone.

Nae would want her to help.

Her limbs felt heavy as she pulled her holo pad and searched the name someone shouted at her, again and again. Richard Richard Richard Anjs "...I'm sorry," she told the woman, unable to look her eyes. "There's no Richard Anjs on the refugee lists we have right now. ... but it could update," she added quickly. "If I could just have your--" Her world jostled as the stricken woman shoved passed her. It took another moment for it to register that the woman was walking the wrong way, out of the safety boundaries the order had erected and towards trouble, but by the time Elody reached out the woman was gone.

Just like Nae.

Elody stared numbly, unable to register the new voices demanding her attention.

Vilchis

 

[Vilchis]

"Padawan.... Padawan... Padawan."

Finally Vilchis got annoyed enough she reached out and flicked Elody's hair with two fingers.

"I am speaking to you, Padawan, what is your purpose here?" She had watched the brief exchange in silence. And didn't move to go after the refugee either, because that wasn't her job. Her job was setting up the processing lines and establishing supply points. Anything else was besides her and frankly a waste of time.

"Well, it doesn't matter, I am pressing you into service. The Band of the Silik needs more bodies to set up these damned encampments. So grab that crate and follow me."

Vilchis indicated one of the crates, before slinging two other ones over her shoulder.

As if it was as light as foam.

The (former) Warden didn't bother to look over her shoulder and see if Elody was following. Of course, she would be following.

Elody

 

[Elody]

Elody followed, jolted back to the present by the woman's brisk orders. There was something about that stranger that Elody didn't question-- her posture or her tone or the fact that she knew what Elody was. She obeyed and grabbed a crate, her teeth gritting against the flood of bodies that bashed up against her. It made carrying the heavy thing that much harder but that was ok. She could carry a box. She couldn't heal Typhon.

She embraced the woman's direction and set the crate down.

"Band of the Silik?" She finally echoed, flexing her fingers and looking over their shoulder. She had entered a new part of the camp.

 

[Vilchis]

And this part was much more structured.

Order in spades.

"Lord Sardun's army." Her vision grew cloudy there as she put the two crates down herself. "Or at least it was, before the damned fool sacrificed himself for his padawan."

The Galaxy didn't need another Ishida Ashina .

There were droves of foolhardy arrogant Padawans who thought they knew best. There were only a few Masters worth their salt. For every Asmundr Varobalder there were about a dozen Ryv's. Disastrous. But not something Vilchis could do anything about. She wasn't a Lord. Nor a ruler of men. Just a warden without a karking prison now.

"We assist the New Jedi Order with the chit they aren't able or willing to do. What's your name, Padawan?"

 

[Elody]

Well that caught her attention.

"Willing to do?" Elody squared up at the insinuation, her bland features jumping to life. "I'm sorry, have you seen this place? We haven't held back. We do everything for these people." The defensive words were sharp but not overly rude. She knew it was wrong speak like that, it set a bad example for the order. That wisdom was a bit too hard to put into play on a day like today.

Foolhardy arrogant Padawan 231 reporting for duty.

 

[Vilchis]

A snort there.

"Who is your Master, child? I will have a word with them about your behavior." Not too impressed by it, but also not particularly fussed either. This was the thing with these greenhorn Jedi seeds.

They were really leaning on the reputation of the Order to get through the day.

Trying to ignore the fact that the Jedi Order was a waste of space that barely got the job done. At least they were better than the Silver Jedi. When was the last time the Silvers had done anything useful in the Galaxy? Exactly. So in that sense the NJO could at least have that to console themselves with... marginally.

"Start unpacking the crates. They are full of supplies we will be handing out in an hour."

As if Vilchis was her Master.

Maybe Elody wasn't the only one with an arrogance streak.

 

[Elody]

Elody opted to not answer that.

A tug of the force brought a nearby crow bar into hand. She began to wedge the crates open, her cheeks filled with heat as she focused on her tasks. This was not the time nor a place to feel her emotions. No indignation, no pain, no fear of being reported on. Elody let a long breath stream out of her nose and pictured it all floating away.

Just like Nae's body through space.

She blinked hard and ripped the whole cover off the crate. "Feck." Small splinters of wood speckled her hand, harmless but annoying. She didn't give the woman the satisfaction of looking her way, but she didn't consider leaving either.

Orders were orders.

She began sorting the food packs by type of diet. Meat. Vegetarian. ... Synthetic Blood?

 

[Vilchis]

She squinted at Elody and the lack of response.

Brash, arrogant... childish.

This is why Vilchis had never taken a Padawan of her own. They were insufferable to deal with. And you couldn't just beat them to chit, until they behaved properly, could they?

The Warden made a note of her face. Even if she wasn't willing to divulge her name or Master... oh, Vilchis would find out. And then she'd give a piece of her mind to the errant girl's Master. "Yeah, that's good." Commenting absently as she started opening up crates herself and sorting them through alongside Elody.

"Won't do much good if the entire planet's population find their way on Coruscant, but at least we will start making a dent."

And the Alliance would have to do the rest.

"Were you on Tython yourself?"

 

[Elody]

“… yes ma’am,”

She answered, her voice thick. “Unit 134, task force blue.” They had suffered serious hits, along with one substantial gain— the civilians they were escorting survived. All of them.

It was something to be proud of, so why did she feel so heavy?

Her motions turned to sludge, echos of blaster shots rebounding through her. “…” she cleared her throat and put the food parcel she was holding down.

“You? … ma’am” she tacked on at the end.

ohone posts

 

[Vilchis]

The unit didn't tell her chit, but at least it meant the Padawan had seen action.

Knew how bad it could get.

Easier to deal with that than the bright-eyed hopefuls that only just came out the Temple. They always believed the world was all rainbows and sunshine, before reality came crashing down their heads. And you could only hope their Masters would be there to pick-up the pieces afterwards. Sometimes that didn't happen.

When you didn't have a Master having a tight grip on their Padawan?

That's when you get the Sword of the Jedi nonsense with silly funerals and pomp that were more exclusive than a trendy nightclub opening.

"Karking wish." She muttered as she stared at a vacuum-sealed package of masks and wondered what category this fit. Hospital needs, right? But it could also fit with environmental protection... what a bother.

"I was asked to assist with an apprehension and extraction mission out in the Outer Rim." The Knight sneered at it. "In other words, baby sit duty to bring a Sith Knight to prison. Maybe if I had been there on Tython, my prison wouldn't have gotten the worst jail-break in its history." It was clearly bothering her.

Most Jedi were constantly serene. Even Sardun, the Lord of Light and infamous crusader who had kept butting heads with the New Jedi Order, had been consistently stoic.

Not so for his Warden and right-hand woman.

"You manage to do some good on Tython, before it all went belly up?"

 

[Elody]

Elody's brow shot up, the padawan slowing to stare at the night in something akin to amusement. She had never seen a knight talk so brashly before, and mean it. Vilchis wasn't putting on a show for anyone.

Elody's lips quirked, then pressed into a thin line to hide her amusement. "Yes. Everyone we were escorting got out, safe." She had seen her fair share of hot heads in the ranks, but they had all been her peers desperate for chance to prove themselves and make it out there. Their behavior was something to be patient with, even pity, because it only meant they weren't yet one with with the force. Still, she couldn't help but to poke a little bit of fun.

"You must be quite the fighter then. To be capable of turning the tide like that."

 

[Vilchis]

Elody

Nodding there without noticing the amusement.

"That's good. Any good we can do is worth it. Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself." Did Vilchis really believe it? No, not at all. Not with karking maniacs like Solpsis and Zambrano running around. Every day they slaughtered scores of people. The stuff they did was a drop in the bucket compared to their mayhem.

But... thinking about that for too long could drive you mad.

Not something Vilchis would recommend to anyone, much less herself.

When Elody mentioned her prowess the former Warden looked up in surprise. Then noticed the expression. And tipped her head back, barking a laughter that boomed positively.

What kind of Jedi was she?

"Oh yeah, positive karking mountain with one arm." Flexing the metal one. "Yar right tho, probably wouldn't have been able to do chit, but... would have felt better, you know?"

 

[Elody]

"Yeah," Elody answered, surprising herself. "I know." Her throat pinched with regret. Maybe if she had reached Nae in time, she'd be here today instead.

Elody couldn't help but to linger in that possibility. What would Nae think of their success over the MAW? They had spent a better part of their lifetime preparing to go to arms, and now in one fellow swoop the Dark Voice was dead. The MAW scattered, the galaxy seemingly... saved.

For all of the pain Nae's death caused, she would be proud to know it had made the difference.

Not to mention she was now one with the force, blah blah, should be happy. Elody rolled her eyes and focused on the present. "Do you think ... Do you think that's it for them? There's been no MAW sightings since, everything has seemed to calm.

"Is this .. is this over now?" She dared to hope.

 

[Vilchis]

Elody

She squinted down at Elody in the middle of unpacking another crate.

"Over?" A shrug. "Apologize to disappoint ya, padawan, but there is no over in our duty. If it ain't the Maw, it will be some other piece of kark that decides the Darkside is a shortcut to power and if it ain't the Darkside, there will be some Imperial son o'a sch-" Vilchis managed to catch herself right before finishing that curse. Sure, she was not exactly diplomacy itself, but she knew better than to fill a young padawan's ears with too much filth... it was just hard to suppress the reflexes.

This is why she presumably had been put in charge of a prison rather than a class room.

"Point is- Maw might be over, yeah, could be. I got my doubts... religious fervor ain't that easy to completely stamp out. They may have failed on Tython, but I'd be shocked if they don't resurface. Anyway- even with them gone, there will be something else."

She went back to unpacking the crate.

"Steel yourself, Padawan. This ain't an era of peace. There will be war and more ugliness. Always. That I can promise you."