Private Girls Just Wanna Explore

[Persephone Dashiell]

TYTHON

Casaana | Ashlan's Embrace
​

Feet touched the ground, exiting the small vessel as they landed at Hope's Peak Starport. No longer allowed on public transport, 'Zee' had flown herself and Cassi to Tython. Persephone had heard much about Tython, most notably it was a Jedi-centric planet. Even odder to herself was the fact, at least according to her research, the Jedi often protected the Ashlan Crusade historical sites, their cities, some of the archives. Persephone didn't quite understand why yet. Far as she knew, the Ashlan went on a quest to eradicate the Sith from the galaxy. Were the Jedi, at one time anyway, using the Ashlan for their own cause? Letting the group take the losses all in hope they could benefit later?

All questions she didn't know answers to. Persie had been tempted to ask Casaana but something told her the girl, who was still in her own training, most likely didn't know the answers. If she had a inkling it may only be surface level.

Part of the reason why they were here. Persephone wanted to gain access to the Archives to compare what she saw on Salazar's Rest. A mural she had found and carefully mapped and noted. A mysterious piece of her research.

Walking towards the city, Persie looked around, curious.

"Things look clean....the city is still bustling. I doubt all of the citizens are Jedi or followers of Ashla...yet." Persephone paused, looking at her friend. "Where do the credits come from? Upkeeping monuments is expensive. Citizens pay taxes, of course."

A small pause, cautious to broach the subject.

"Do you think, maybe secretly, Jedi are funding the cause? Ashlan Crusade? Things seem quiet but there are other ways to fight in the galaxy. Spread of propaganda and knowledge, just to name two."

 

[Casaana]

Casaana made a non-committal noise back at Persephone's question. She'd been a little surly and on edge ever since learning of her friend's planned destination. Her mood worsening as they drew nearer to the planet. "Cleaning droids are cheap, and politicians like to keep things clean. Like it's a reflection of themselves." Which might have sounded like deeper wisdom if she hadn't sounded so grumpy.

Tython had always been a deep-core world, and the planeshift hadn't done much to change that, other than maybe bring her sometimes home of Kattada closer to it. At least both worlds were now firmly away from Sith space. The young Jedi involuntarily shuddered at the thought, despite the light wool poncho she wore over what she'd insisted were her exploration clothes.

She glowered at a passerby and hiked her pack further up on her shoulders. "Come on, it's a long walk to the Empyrean," She said and glowered at the large structure rising over the city in the distance for good measure. "And who knows? There are so many orders and factions, schools and enclaves. I'm in at least five, two of them are even called 'The Jedi Order.' I think even the Ashlan called themselves Jedi? So I guess they were funding themselves?" She tried not to take her mood out on Persephone, she really did. Hopefully the other girl could see that.

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Persephone wasn't sure what was eating at her friend. They hadn't seen one another in some time, life tended to get the the way. Casaana was busy with apparently five different Jedi groups for starters. She was busy with finishing school, her education, internships....squeezing time in for anything seemed impossible for the both of them it seemed. Maybe Casi was just burnt out. Stressed. Persephone wasn't sure when Jedi 'advanced' but maybe her friend was close to such a milestone.

"Five? That seems like a lot."

Adjusting the straps on her rucksack, Persephone fell quiet after that comment. She had more questions but kept them to herself. Sun was beating down upon them as they advanced closer into the city. Zee was following at a respectful distance for once, perhaps sensing the fact the other teenager was in a bad mood. Persie wasn't going to pry. That was just counterintuitive.

The building they were heading to loomed large in the distance. Imposing. The Archives. Persephone wasn't even sure if she would be granted entry. If not there were ways - credits always talked. So did sneaking in. Lost in her thoughts, her head remained on a swivel, looking for anything interesting or out of place. Not that she would be able to tell.

 

[Casaana]

Persi got a shrug back from her friend in reply. She'd actually been in a lot more than five, but some Orders, like the Silver Jedi, weren't really a thing anymore. Moving around had just become a thing she did as she searched for a place to belong. At least before she'd joined the Royal Naboo Republic, now the High Republic. Very friendly, very welcoming sort. Still didn't have a Master.

Along the way to the Archives, a street vendor caught her eye and she dipped off towards it. "Hey, can I get those sunglasses? And do you have any peezos?" She pointed to the ones she wanted while digging through her pockets for her credstick. Bogan may have been below the horizon, but the dark moon's presence was like a loadstone on her mind. An ever present reminder pressing in on her. So maybe a little jolt of energy would lift spirits and help her get her mood under control. At least it'd help after the night of terrible sleep she'd had.

Returning to her friend, new glasses shading her eyes, she offered Persephone the open end of the little tube. "Peezo?"

Persephone Dashiell​

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Persephone waited patiently for her friend to return, looking at Zee and shrugging, a silent beat passing between them. Zee had never met Casaana so there was no baseline for the droid. Herself though found the behavior a little concerning. Not enough to pry yet but enough to have some sort of concern. Even more concerned when Casi returned with some pills, offering a 'peezo', the naming of which she thought could use a little work.

"No thank you."

Persephone had spent her childhood watching a mother addicted to various substances live. Or try to live. There had been long stretches where Persie had fended for herself, from finding food to keeping her clothes clean. It had left a mark to the point she was wary when her adoptive parents drank, which was hilarious from the outside looking in considering their property contained a hobby vineyard. Yet she had never seen Myra or Makai drunk. Life for her was stable. From what she could tell watching them with Phoebe, they actually wanted to be involved instead of treating children as a nuisance or afterthought.

There was absolutely no way she was going to end up like her Mama. No way she was going to end up like her good-for-nothing father.

"If you want to go back to the ship it won't bother me. I'm used to adventuring alone."

Poking through the archives wasn't for everyone. Persie had brought along Casi because the girl was a Jedi and, from what she could tell, Tython was historically a Jedi planet. Having a lack of the Force, it was hard to find common ground at times with the Jedi kids she came across. This had seemed like a good compromise.

 

[Casaana]

Wait back on the ship? Where there were no distractions, just the unceasing pull of the dark moon on her consciousness. Not after coming all this way and the build up after learning of heir destination. "Noooo," she said and pulled a face, one side of her mouth pulling back into her cheek as she tried to come to grips with herself and being here and knowing she was bothering Persephone. "Sorry I'm bothering you. I want to help, I'm just not in a good place right now." Which was the truth in multiple ways.

She capped and pocketed the peezos, looking at the city though her new shades as they walked through it, remembering the war. Most of what she'd seen had been on the moon of Bogan, but from what she remembered, the fighting had been pretty intense everywhere. But the city seemed pretty normal to her. People were about, streets clean and maintained, either the war hadn't made it out to the mountains or the people had rebuilt.

Casaana repressed a little shudder and ran a calming exercise as they approached the archives. Entering the atrium, she presented her identification at a likely looking desk. "Padawan Casaana Cú Chulainn out of Kattada and The Jedi Order. We were hoping to look up a few things in the archives." She explained by way of introduction to a kindly looking woman. Then she looked to Persephone and back, wondering if that would be enough to get them in or if her friend would need to open up about her purpose here.

Persephone Dashiell​

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"You're not bothering me in the slightest."

Persephone went to ask what was wrong and immediately closed her mouth. It seemed if Casaana wanted to tell her the issue then she would have just said something from the start. She found it difficult to gauge what was on the others mind. Not that Persephone considered herself a reader of the people, Casi just seemed closed off.

During their walk to the library, Persie kept quiet. The teenager didn't even make commentary to Zee about their surroundings, although she wanted to. The city was clean and vibrant but also quite normal. It was difficult for her to believe a main portion of the Ashlan Crusade was still based on the planet. Yet Persie reminded herself the galaxy was large and frankly she had learned the hard way it was easy to get lost in the shuffle.

"You two appear too young. Knights only. I apologize Padawan, perhaps you should return with your Master."

Persie wasn't surprised. What she had learned from Balun Dashiell was the Jedi were protective about the kids reading or experiencing too much of the darkside. Ashlan Crusade had actively sought to eradicate the Sith, which meant there had to be secrets and lost locations just waiting to be re-discovered. Locations that would be dangerous for those with the Force.

Silently, Persephone reached into her pocket and pulled out credchips. Manicured nails slid them across the information desk, nearly a thousand credits worth, give or take the location.

"How about now?"

Not waiting for an answer, the teenager breezed past the librarian, moving into the archives, craning her head up at the massively tall ceilings.

 

[Casaana]

Wait, what? Cassana's eyes whipped from Persephone, to the keeper of the desk and back again. "Persie!" She whined in surprise, but her friend was already pressing one. "Sorry about this, I'm actually studying for my knight exam," she fibbed while apologizing to the woman before turning to catch up with her friend with a skipping step, muttering under her breath. "And I'm supposed to be the brash one."

Pulling alongside Persephone, Casaana reached out to her friend's shoulder while smiling. "I might get to like this new, adventurous you. But haste, now, could spoil days of preparation." She was a little worried that she might have missed something about Persi in her own grump. Or had actually upset her despite her friend's insistence she hadn't. Or maybe it was like Casaana had said, and she was simply extra eager now that she was so close to this thing she was searching for.

Persephone Dashiell​

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Pausing to take it all in, Casaana had quickly caught up with her in, worried about their haste. Head tilted down from taking in the beautiful soaring ceilings and leveling with her friend. Brow furrowed a moment as she thought about Casi's words. Of course they didn't want to rush into anything right away.

"So you're saying I shouldn't have bribed that librarian? How else were we going to get in here?"

Persie supposed they could have found a way to snuck in but that seemed counterintuitive with an entire planet's worth of Force Users around. Persie was fairly certainl they could sense people, if her memory served correctly. Either way, they were in now and now one had followed them yet. Just to be safe, she motioned for Casi to follow, disappearing down one of the towering rows of information.

"Alright, I think we need to find a terminal to search at. Far too many rows in here to be wandering aimlessly. Might draw even more attention on us that clearly we don't need..."

Moving through the row, Persephone assumed some kind of search terminal might be centrally located. Other things still weighed on her mind.

"The bribe was really that bad? What, you guys can't take credits?"

 

[Casaana]

Oh now Persie was worried about drawing attention, after dropping a dozen credsticks to bribe the desk lady! "And I'm supposed to be the brash one," Casaana muttered under her breath after letting her go, giving Zee a pleading look. She just hoped the lady wasn't calling someone right that moment. Though she was sure she was. Still she followed along until they found the terminals Persephone was looking for.

Sliding into the seat before the other girl could. Casaana hit a key to wake up the screen. "Log in," She rolled her eyes and rebooted the terminal into the bios, putting it into a recovery mode to create a new user. Then she simply logged into the terminal with it. "There we go, what are we looking for anyway?" She asked. Persie had probably told her a time or two, but she was just coming out of the Tython malaise as the energy from the earlier peezo began lifting her spirits.

Persephone Dashiell​