Private Ashes of Allegiance

[Caelan Valoren]

“Even the ones killed in self-defense are regrettable. I’m a skilled combatant. I should be able to defuse a situation without killing, but I have failed to do so before.”

Granted, most of those times where he had failed to do so, he had been a teenager with nowhere near as much training and experience as he had now. Additionally, until recent times, and heavy reflection on the role of a Jedi, he hadn’t been as unwilling to kill. On Woostri he had given the opportunity to his opponent to surrender, but when they refused, he had resolved himself to potentially killing them. The same in several other battles. Now he wouldn’t do that. That was not the way that the Jedi should approach matters under any circumstance as far as he was concerned.

She mentioned something about him holding power, and he shook his head.

“Everyone who enters a battlefield holds a level of power over the outcome of the battle. Even the smallest person's actions can have repercussions for others. Yes, I am a King and have many people who look up to me, but you’re no less important in the galaxy than I am, and the actions of stealing data, especially on weapons systems, will have an impact on innocent individuals at some point in time. The development of weapons of war always does.

“I do fully believe the Empire to be a terrible governmental system, especially when led by a Sith Lord. However, engaging them in war is not the right answer. It will always lead to the deaths of those who have nothing to do with the fighting. Where innocents die, we all fail to lead. I do not believe a single life is worth less or more than another. I also believe that everyone has the right to live, regardless of their station or situation, and I cannot choose to sacrifice a few lives so that others may be free. If that is THEIR choice, then that is fine, but I do not have the right to make that choice for them.

”Instead I choose to offer other avenues for escape, such as relocation. I, and others, are willing to risk ourselves in order to help them escape from the grasp of the Empire, but we aren’t willing to force others to risk their lives. It’s the same reason our systems defense force is made up entirely of volunteers and I will never entertain the notion of forcing people to join.”

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Ines Pen-Ar-Lan ​

 

[Ines Pen-Ar-Lan]

Ashes of Allegiance
Caelan Valoren ​

Skeptical brows rose. Line had not expressed any outright full-on disagreements with him until now but that was about to change. She shook her head in disbelief as she shrugged her shoulders. "Man" her voice trailed off as she searched for words. Her eyes blankly wandered outside for a moment before returning to him. Finally, she spoke up "Look, I don't doubt that you want good things for a whole load of people, but when I say that you hold more power than I could ever dream of; and you shake your head and try to relativise it by comparing it to me-... well, I get that all things are relative but that's a bit extreme, don't you think? On the field of battle, you are empowered by the force and training from a jedi order. You move through walls and create force walls at a whim. Outside of battle, you hold sway over the economy of an entire planet. A planet!" The working class Corellian was easy to hear now - it was dominant, in fact.

She shook her head once more as a sigh escaped her. The girl crossed her arms over her chest for a few moments. Another long breath she spoke, her accent now more controlled and neutral "Look, I agreed to talk to you, and I've tried, I really have. But I don't know how much further we'll get talking about this. I don't know what more there is to say. I don't like it when people die? It's true. I just don't know where it'll get us." She paused briefly before letting out a final "So, would you mind letting me go home now?"

 

[Caelan Valoren]

“Yes, I am,” he agreed. “And there are people out there with the technology to counter that and reduce me to nothing more than a man with a plasma sword. You see the Force and think it makes me stronger or better than others. It does, in some ways, make me stronger, but that strength can be quickly stripped away, and I become less than a well-trained soldier in seconds. Do not glorify me just because of what you saw and just because I lead the people of a world.”

She was clearly upset about being exposed to the reality that her actions were just as important as his. They were, whether she believed it or not. Improving the weaponry used to harm people like those that now surrounded them was just as bad as pulling the trigger yourself, at least in his eyes, but he knew that wasn’t what she wanted, even though she was angry about it. Maybe that was a point of her status. Her accent was thick when she was angry, and he recognized it. She resented him, at some level, because of his status. Unfortunate, but fine. She was allowed to resent him.

“Yes, you may leave, as agreed.”

He pulled the speeder back out in the roadway and turned them around to head back towards the City of Devit. She was desperate to escape from what he was telling and showing her. Part of him didn’t blame her. It was a hard thing to see the fruits of what you and your government were responsible for when those fruits were injured non-combatants. He could only hope that she would think about what he said and come to a conclusion that left her far away from the Empire in the future.

He didn’t say much else as they drove to the starport in the city. Didn’t even say much when he handed her credits to secure her flight. Nor did he ask her for the data stick that she’d grabbed information on. Why? Because he wanted her to think about what he’d said and shown her and make the right decision herself, or she’d be the one to live with the consequences.

“You’re free to go, Line. I hope that we do not meet again as adversaries.”

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Ines Pen-Ar-Lan ​