Private Hope lives

[Aiden Porte]

Alderaan
Spaceport
Tags: Amani Serys

The starship cut through the clouds like a blade of silver, its engines a low hum against the tranquil skies of Alderaan. Below, the mountain ranges and emerald valleys of the world stretched in serenity, untouched by the scars of war that marked so many other planets. Yet when the vessel descended, its cargo was anything but serene.


The landing ramp lowered, and with it came the weary footsteps of men, women, and children, the displaced, the broken, the determined. Refugees of the Galactic Alliance, their lives uprooted by the grinding conflict in the Core worlds, now found themselves beneath the blue skies of a world that still believed in peace. Their clothes bore the soot and dust of flight, their eyes carried the exhaustion of survival, but in each was the quiet flicker of hope that Alderaan might be a place to start anew.


At the back of the procession stood Jedi Knight Aiden Porte, armor worn and stained with look of battle, but posture still unshaken. His presence was calm, deliberate, a steady beacon amid the chaos of lives torn adrift. The Force moved around him like a gentle current, offering comfort to those who followed. He had guided them through the turmoil of the Core, away from Imperial oppression and the ever-present shadow of war. Beside him came other Jedi that he had rescued and were also escorting those present, there were fewer than there once had been, scattered remnants from the Imperial Core who had chosen loyalty to the Order over submission to power. Their sabers rested at their sides, but their vigilance remained, watchful for danger even here among allies.

As their boots touched the floor of Alderaan, the difference was immediate. The air was cleaner, the silence profound after months of blaster fire and shuttles running dark. The Knight let the moment linger for his charges. For the first time in too long, they could breathe.

Those who came to greet them, the sight was striking: Jedi who returned not as triumphant warriors, but as shepherds, guiding the lost and displaced. The galaxy was still fractured, still bleeding but here for them, a fragile spark of renewal had begun.

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani may not have been a member of the New Jedi Order anymore, but she was not any less inclined to help those who now found themselves under the jackboot of the Galactic Empire. Her responsibilities had taken her from the council some months ago, and so her focus lied more in managing the Vonnuvi Enclave, and playing the part of Alderaani nobility. The enjoyed the former much more, but the latter demanded attention, especially given Alderaan's current position on the border of Imperial space. Not only were her own people looking for guidance, but those looking to escape occupation often found themselves drawn to the sanctuary this world offered.

At the starwort, this latest influx of refugees would be greeted by Amani herself, dressed in a pale blue dress that marked her as a member of planetary royalty rather than a Jedi. Nonetheless, her saber hilt remained visibly hooked at her hip. She was there alongside emergency responders and Senate Commandoes (she was still First Lady of the Alliance). When the shuttle loosed its passengers, those waiting moved to assist the injured, triaging and cataloguing every face they could. Amani stepped forward, drawn to a steadfast presence among those off boarding. A man who carried himself like a leader, though she did not recognize him, except for perhaps the faintest of tickling familiarity that might have carried down from one generation to the next. "Survivors from the Core?" Amani asked, "I suppose we have you to thank for their safe arrival." She glanced around at the other Jedi who had come with, before turning back to face the man she questioned.

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Amani Serys

The Jedi Knight inclined his head, not so much bowing as acknowledging her words with quiet gravity. His cloak bore the faint traces of travel, dust along the hem, the edge of fraying where months of constant movement had worn it down, but his bearing was resolute. His eyes swept the landing field, watching the healers and commandos begin their work, before settling on Amani.


"They were adrift," he said, voice even, carrying the weight of exhaustion without bending to it. "Families torn from the Imperial Core, Jedi who chose exile over submission. I only helped guide them here. Alderaan will do the rest, I hope?"

There was a presence in the Force that touched a place he couldn't quite name. For his part, the Knight seemed equally aware of her duality: the dress of Alderaani nobility and the unmistakable poise of a Jedi, the saber at her hip not for display but for truth.

The refugees moved past them in waves, drawn toward safety, toward order, toward the chance of a new beginning. Yet here at the center, it was the meeting of two paths

"The Core burns, my lady," he continued, softer now. "But the Jedi endure. Perhaps not as we once were, but still enough to bring people to shelter." His gaze drifted again across the Alderaani skies, then back to her. "And perhaps that is what matters most now."

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani nodded, "We've been accustomed to this role since even before the war started. Alderaan has and, Force willing, always will be a home for those without." It was a tradition that the Chancellor himself continued with great fervor. These people would be in good hands for the time being.

Aiden spoke of the Jedi themselves. Amani's gaze cast towards her feet in a moment of sadness, perhaps a twinge of shame. She wasn't responsible for what had come to pass, but it did not keep her from carrying the burden of guilt over what might have been. So many 'what if's swam through her thoughts. What if they had been more prepared? What if she had stayed? What if things went differently?

Would any of those 'what if's have made a difference?

"As long as there is one Jedi out there willing to help others, the Order is never gone." Amani replied, though even she saw it as more of a platitude than anything, "Perhaps it is for the best that our religion is so spread these days. Other Enclaves and Orders still stand, even when one is crippled." She studied the man more closely again, still curious of his origin, "Are you of the New Jedi Order? I don't recognize you from my time with them."

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Her assurance that Alderaan had always been a sanctuary resonated with him, though he saw the way her eyes faltered, the momentary turn toward the ground as if searching for absolution she would never find there. He did not judge her for it. They had all lost something, friends, families, Orders and the instinct to measure their own choices against impossible outcomes was a bond that linked them all.

When she lifted her gaze again and asked the question, he held it without hesitation. There was curiosity there, but also something deeper: a searching, as though she were trying to fit him into a puzzle whose picture had been lost.

"No," he said quietly, the word carrying more finality than denial. "Well, I was...for a time. I left and returned to Naboo and my fathers estate after becoming disillusioned with the New Jedi Order's ways. Upon my return to Naboo the Royal Naboo Republic was born, now known as the High Republic. I am with that order that is led by Briana Sal-Soren ."

He let his eyes drift for a moment to the refugees being escorted away, faces tired, yet softened by the promise of safety. "I'm glad they will be okay, once more I cannot thank you enough."

His gaze returned to Amani, calm but unyielding. "There are many of us, scattered, walking unseen. But we endure, as you said. So long as one stands, the Order is not gone."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

That would explain why she had not known him before. Though it didn't explain what it was that made him seem faimilar.

"I haven't seen many Shirayan Jedi in the Core. In fact you might be the first I've met in the flesh." She chuckled softly, realizing she might as well ask plainly, "I'm sorry. I haven't even gotten your name yet. Amani Serys-Organa," Regardless of if he was already familiar, she introduced herself with a slight bow, the slight mannerisms of which reflected her blending of Jedi and regal procedures.

"How is it you got caught up in all this?" It was hardly a stretch to imagine a Jedi joining the fray to help regardless of denomination, but she was curious to hear his story in his own words.

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

When she bowed and offered her name, he returned the gesture with a respectful inclination of his head, the motion more restrained but no less genuine. "Aiden Porte, Jedi Knight" he answered simply.


Her question lingered, and for a heartbeat he wondered how much to tell her. There were details that carried little weight outside his own heart, but the essence of it, the reason he stood here now, deserved to be spoken. His gaze drifted briefly to the refugees filing past them, their belongings clutched in tired hands, their faces lighting as they were welcomed by Alderaanian aid workers.

"I was caught up in it because there was no choice otherwise," he said at last, voice steady but carrying the quiet rasp of long travel. "The Core is burning under the Empire's hand. Families, enclaves, even entire traditions vanish overnight. I couldn't sit back while lives and Jedi were lost in the balance. I was granted leave to go aid Alliance and Republic citizens as well as the Jedi that were caught in the fray, these people—" his chin tilted slightly toward the procession, "—they needed someone to see them through the fire. That is what it has been, step by step. Not a campaign, not a plan. Just the choice to stand, each time, when others could not."

He turned his gaze back to her, the steel of his resolve softened by something almost vulnerable. "If that has drawn me into the heart of all this… then it is where I was meant to be."

Aiden took a deep breath and showed a small smile. "What about you, Amani Organa?"

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

There it was. Amani's eyes flickered with recognition. "Porte. Like Kahne Porte?" She looked at him more discerningly now, now having a name to put to the shared features. A son, presumably? "I met Kahne before. A very long time ago. Back when I was just a padawan in the Silver Jedi Order, if I remember correctly."

Aiden's story behind his current involvement was more or less what Amani had assumed. Aiden was walking the path of a true Jedi. There could not be boundaries or inconveniences when it came to helping people. One only needed the will to do the right thing to see it through.

"What about you, Amani Organa?"

"For some years I was the Chief Healer for the New Jedi Order. I stepped down a few months ago. I have duties to the people of Alderaan that needed tending, and an Enclave-- The Vonnuvi Encalve-- I founded and headmaster. I figured between the three, the New Jedi Order could get on without me best. Besides, it was probably about time for some fresh blood in that seat anyway," A self-deprecating smirk tugged at her lip.

"Of course, now that the Core has fallen into imperial hands, it opens up a whole new front to address. Both the Vonnuvi and Alderaan have taken steps to assist in those escaping the new regime." Amani looked at the spaceport, the goings-on around them confirming her statement, "And of course, Alderaan now has questions about its own position..." They were right on the border of Empire controlled space. And with the Alliance fractured, there was no telling how safe Alderaan would be in the long run.

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

The name struck him like a chord, reverberating down into places he did not often let himself dwell. Kahne. His father's name, spoken aloud by another Jedi, here of all places. For a moment Aiden's composure wavered, the careful calm of a Knight giving way to something more personal, grief, pride, the quiet ache of a son walking in a man's shadow.

"Yes," he said, his voice quieter now. "Kahne was my father." He searched her expression as though to weigh how much of the man she had truly known. To hear she had met him in her Padawan years stirred something bittersweet. For Aiden, his father's legacy was fragments: stories half-told, lessons unfinished, the knowledge of a sacrifice made long before its meaning could be explained. That Amani carried a memory of him felt almost like a gift.

As she spoke of her own path, Chief Healer, Alderaani noble, founder of an Enclave, Aiden listened with measured attention. Her smile did not disguise the scope of what she had shouldered. It was not lost on him that her burdens mirrored his in different ways: the shifting demands of duty, the question of where to place one's strength when the galaxy demanded it in so many directions at once.

"The Vonnuvi Enclave," he echoed softly, as if testing the name. "Your choice was not abandonment. You've only shifted the way you serve." His gaze flicked briefly to the refugees being guided away into care. "Sometimes, leaving one role allows another to flourish. Even a Jedi cannot be in all places at once."

When she turned toward the wider problem, Alderaan's perilous place on the edge of the Empire, his expression hardened slightly. The mountains beyond the starport seemed to loom taller at the thought of Imperial banners flying so near.

"The Empire spreads like a shadow over every border," he said. "It swallows systems whole, and always hungers for more. Yet Alderaan has not bent. That alone makes it a light in this darkness." He studied her for a long breath, sensing both the strength of a Jedi and the responsibility of nobility braided into her. "But light that shines so brightly draws eyes. You know this already."

For a moment he let the silence stand, heavy with the unspoken truth: that Alderaan's compassion might one day make it a target. Then his voice softened again.

"You have built something worth defending, Lady Amani. That is no small thing. And if I can help hold that line, whether as Jedi or simply as Aiden Porte, then I will."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani immediately saw how the name affected him. She wondered if indeed Kahne had passed, unfortunately she did not know the answer prior, but Aiden's use of the word 'was' more or less confirmed it, "I'm sorry for your loss," She offered, "I can't say that I truly knew him, but I knew his reputation, and I saw how he upheld it. Kahne was a good man. He's one with the Force now."

Amani didn't want to dredge up any unwanted heartache, and so she did not dwell on the matter further unless Aiden himself did. When focus turned to her own work, it was her turn to have conflicted feelings. She knew that it wasn't practical to be in all places at once, but it never stopped her from trying to be. Hearing Aiden's vaildation for her choices was, regardless, a comforting response, "I… Thank you. I have a hard time accepting it myself sometimes. I just hope I can fulfill the paths I have chosen, to make up for the one with which I parted ways."

"You have built something worth defending, Lady Amani. That is no small thing. And if I can help hold that line, whether as Jedi or simply as Aiden Porte, then I will."

"There may come a time where I take you up on that, Aiden Porte." Amani's expression then grew firmer, more resolute, "Alderaan has to be ready. Burying our heads in the sand won't make the Empire go away. If it's to have any chance of standing against the tide, we'll need to take proactive measures. And we'll need allies. A lot of allies."

Aiden Porte​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Her words landed with a quiet weight that pressed against the ache already carried in his chest. Aiden had long accepted his father's passing, but hearing another Jedi, one who had known Kahne, even if distantly, speak of him as "a good man" stirred something he kept carefully guarded. He did not shy from it. He simply inclined his head in gratitude, allowing the moment to pass without need of further words.

When her attention shifted back to her own path, he saw the uncertainty hidden beneath her poise. He recognized it instantly: the endless measure of whether one's choices had been enough, whether duty abandoned in one hand could ever be balanced by what was carried in the other. He had lived it in his own way. That his words had offered her even a flicker of reassurance was something he did not take lightly.

"You chose to serve in the way only you could," he said, his tone low but resolute. "The Order asks much, but it was never meant to demand everything. If you had tried to be in all places at once, you would have been lost to them all." His eyes lingered on her for a moment, softened by understanding. "You've given Alderaan and your Enclave strength. That is no lesser gift."

At her firmer declaration, of readiness, of the need for allies, he straightened subtly, as though the steel in her voice demanded it from him as well. The Jedi Knight's expression grew more intent, his gaze turning outward toward the horizon as though seeing the looming storm beyond Alderaan's peaceful borders.


"You're right," he said, quiet but certain. "The Empire won't be turned aside by silence. And when the tide comes, no world, no matter how proud, can stand alone." He drew in a slow breath, then looked back to her, the line of his jaw set with quiet conviction.

"If Alderaan chooses to stand, then I will stand with it. Whatever allies you gather, whatever measures must be taken… I will not turn away. Not while there is still light to defend."

Amani Serys

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani nodded in recognition of his words, finding it in herself to make peace with her choices. There was nothing she could do to fix the New Jedi Order, but she could act now to protect Alderaan. "Whatever path the Force leads us down, we will now we did everything in our power to stand against the tide. And, if it comes to it... that we did not take defeat lying down." Perhaps it was grim to speak of the future in such terms, but it was not intended as an admission of loss. She was merely trying to prepare herself for what might come. All the more reason to fight like hell.

Then, Amani's expression lightened, her poise softening, "But in the meantime, the best thing we can do is help these people. And actions speak louder than words. Shall we?"

Aiden Porte​