In Limbo [Idris]

[Ruby Jaxx]

​

Ruby Jaxx stood out in the tranquil courtyard of Silver Rest, a hot cup caf in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. The young woman felt out of place here, and she looked out of place, too. Dressed in black jeans with rips in the knee, a saggy tee, and ragged sneakers. Ruby liked to say that she preferred her apparel in this trendy and distressed fashion... but, the sad reality was that this was the state of her clothing. And these rags were the only ones she had.

Well, that wasn't really true. She'd been given some changes of clothing by a healer named Celeste Rigel, but the breezy tunics and wide-leg trousers and robes didn't suit her style. It was yet another reg flag; she wasn't going to fit in here—not at all.

She hung her head and sighed.

After taking a sip of caf and chasing it with a drag of her cigarette, she let a puff of clove-scented smoke drift from her lips. Ruby had a feeling that the Jedi here would look down on her bad habits, so she refrained from smoking inside the temple or the guest quarters that had been assigned to her. And for that reason alone, she spent quite a lot of time outside. The freshness of the air was odd; it was so different from Irith, the city-world where she came from.

Though it was dirty and riddled with crime, a part of her missed the hustle and bustle. There was always something to do, always some way to get in trouble. But here? Ruby wasn't so sure. She pushed at the green grass with the toe of her shoe. That healer woman kept trying to push her to interact, but that only made her seek solitude. Alone in the courtyard, she was determined to look 'cool.' But, deep down... she was lonely.

[member="Idris Rozveeil"]

 

[Idris Rozveeil]

Apart from under the hood of a broken down speeder, the cooler subterranean soil horizon, normally fingers-deep, was his happy place. For maybe stereotypical but still obvious reasons, Idris didn't tell his brothers that. Or sisters, but specifically the first. It had been nearly ten years since transitioning from hoe and pitchfork to hydrospanner and rifle, but that didn't mean the now-veteran Ranger didn't help out the AgriCorps whenever he could.

Today, he was more than happy to spend his last day of leave volunteering in the Rest courtyard as a gardener. The permanent staff accepted help from anyone - locals, Jedi, patients from the Halls, even younglings - nearly anywhere on the grounds, but there were certain places in the gardens that were typically reserved for the professionals.

But Idris? They let him work anywhere. One didn't have to read his extended service record to see that he had a very green thumb.

He himself appeared ragged, wearing a flannel with cut-off sleeves over a dusty tank top and worked jeans patched up around the knees, probably having to do with his choice to forgo a gardening pad, but none of that was out of place. Neither was the tool belt around his waist or the bucket of fresh potting soil nearby. His dogtags were tucked into his shirt, but the chain visible around his neck was the only hint that he was indeed an Antarian Ranger.

After carefully maneuvering his laser trowelful of fresh dirt over, around, and under amber fern fronds, he deposited the load a few inches away from an Alderaanian flame-lily. He handed his tool to his free hand then used his bare fingers to pack the soil loosely around the flower's leaning stem. "There," he muttered under his breath to no one. With a sigh, he weaved his way back out of the fern's clutches and stood. Hopefully that'll right ya, lil' guy, he thought, a slight smile on his face.

That and this light cigarette smoke.

Any other volunteer - Force, even the landscapers - would have probably asked the young smoker who had been in their peripherals for the last few minutes to take it somewhere else. Idris, though, knew better. The carbon dioxide released in the smoke would accelerate plant growth ever so slightly. Too much exhaust and the plants' stomata were in danger of clogging, but right now, this was just right.

He glanced over at the source instinctively as he stretched out his arms, doing a double take when he recognized her tells. "'Ey. Why that long face?" Striking how similarly he had reached out a year or so ago to [member='Eustachya'].

- [member="Ruby Jaxx"] -

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

What am I going to do now?

The question echoed in the back of her mind a lot lately. At least back home, she knew what her days would hold—even if she constantly risked getting beat up, arrested, or killed. She'd go out into the city and try to scrounge up work, and when that failed, she'd go around to local convenience stores to lift some snacks. It was predictable, but it wasn't boring. Ruby had always figured that she would join a gang on Irith and probably end up dead in a ditch somewhere.

Now, the future was wide open.

Oddly enough, this feeling of freedom caused her some anxiety. She was so absorbed in her sulking that she jolted at the sound of a voice and turned wide-eyed to see a man nearby. Ruby's eyes darted away from him awkwardly, and she momentarily pondered just turning to leave. But, really... she didn't have anything else to do.

“It's nothing,” she said, shrugging—her tough front still very much intact. Ruby sipped her caf, looking the guy over out of the corner of her eyes. He wasn't dressed like a Jedi, a fact that made her shoulders relax slightly. Ruby realized that he'd been there the whole time and had witnessed her rather glum state.

Meanwhile, she shifted slightly to get a better look at the man. Dressed the way he was, she figured that he was just a gardener. “I'm new here is all. And I don't really know what I'm doing here.” Ruby found herself saying.

[member="Idris Rozveeil"]

 

[Idris Rozveeil]

She sort of replied like her too.

Idris dropped his arms and shook out his legs, and the dirt off them, before walking over to Ruby. "Idris," he introduced, offering a sideways but charming smile instead of a handshake for a few reasons. Firstly, her own were full. Secondly, his was prickly, so he proceeded to pick a few thin splinters out of his palm.

Looking back up at the teen, Idris rose a brow just a hair. "Whatever ya want, I reckon," he replied to her admission. "Rest's got a lot to offer, take it from me. Read a nice archive or two. The youngling classrooms have daily crafts and anyone's invited. Learn to meditate. Go get brunch." While his words might have seemed by themselves dismissive, hopefully his friendly tone suggested otherwise.

Then he rubbed the back of his neck and nervously laughed. "'Less you have somewhere ta be." The last thing he wanted to do was keep a new student or cadet from her Master or CO, assuming she was one or the other. Seemed a safe bet either way, this being Silver Jedi and Ranger headquarters rolled into one.

- [member="Ruby Jaxx"] -

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby brought her cup up for another sip, but paused and eyed Idris over the top of her mug. Her eyes narrowed slightly, curious. She finally took a drink and mulled over the options he'd presented. She really didn't want to hang around with any kids, so the classrooms were out. Meditating? Well, she already knew how that would go–she could barely sit still as it was. The cafe was always a good choice, but she'd just come from there.

“Nah, I don't have anywhere to be.” she said, looking for a place to extinguish her cigarette. Normally, she would have dropped it on the ground and stomped on it. But, Idris was standing right there, in the neatly manicured surroundings that he probably helped keep tidy. So, she pinched it between her fingers, the last drifts of smoke died away.

“I'm not a student here,” Ruby said, shrugging again. “I think I'm just staying here for a while.” Until she could figure out just what she wanted to do. “You seem to know a lot about what goes on here... for a gardener.”

She might be standoffish, but she didn't want to be totally rude.

“I'm Ruby, by the way.”

[member="Idris Rozveeil"]

 

[Idris Rozveeil]

This time, a shy smile. “You’ve caught me,” he said rather sheepishly for the aforementioned reason. Still, he took his dogtags out of her shirt and held them away from his neck. “Hobbyist gardener, full-time Ranger.”

He nodded at her name. “Always glad to see new faces roll through, regardless,” he added, referring to the temporary nature of her stay. Seemed he worried for nothing. Idris loved the Order from the bottom of his heart and soul, so it was especially nice to see potential recruits or immigrants stick around, but he wasn’t a recruiter nor was the Order a slaver. “Hope ya make the choice right—”

Suddenly, the digital chronometer on his dominant wrist let off a soft series of chirps. Idris glanced down and switched it off. “Guess I’m done.” He looked back up to Ruby. “Well, Imma go grab a bite. You’re welcome to come with.”

In the cafeteria, Idris picked up a breakfast burrito and a glass of orange juice. If Ruby had tagged along, he offered to get her something.

- [member="Ruby Jaxx"] -

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby caught the glint of the dogtags as he held them out. Her gaze narrowed slightly as she tried to imagine Idris in uniform, and with a rifle or blaster in hand. Somehow, with him standing there next to the greenery in his placid gardening clothes... she just couldn't see it. This man, that had tenderly cared for the garden, was really a soldier?

Admittedly, she was lost in her thoughts and missed some of what he'd said. But the sound of his chronometer brought her back. Ruby gave Idris a small nod when he mentioned going to grab some food, but she stayed where she was for a moment or two longer. She watched him shrugged slightly as she followed. She had nothing else to do.

The only thing Ruby asked for in the cafeteria was a refill of her caf.

“I've seen some of your friends before,” she said, “Rangers.” Ruby quickly clarified. Idris had a plate, he'd probably like to sit, so she began to move towards a table. “They came to Irith–where I'm from.”

The Rangers had been her ticket off the world, too.

“What sort of stuff do you do? Have you fought in many battles? If so, I really hope you bring a gun and not a belt full of gardening tools.” A very slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth; she was warming up.

[member="Idris Rozveeil"]

 

[Idris Rozveeil]

Idris went rigid behind his glass as he rose it to take a sip. What had happened on Irith? He searched memory for an answer. When he didn't find the truth right away, the worst possible option clouded his mind:

They had accidentally bombed her family.

Frag.

But then he recalled a recent humanitarian mission to the crime-riddled urban world that he hadn't been deployed on, and slowly relaxed. In fact, he smiled at Ruby's following questions, mostly the humorous scene that popped into his head of him asking Amon to trade his combat knife for his old AgriCorps trowel.

"I leave these here," he said, answering her questions backwards. "I do take my knife, though." The large one strapped to his outer thigh. "Back at base, I have a rifle and sidearm. Don't worry." Setting down his drink, Idris folded his arms on the table in front of his tray. "Yeah, I'd say a lot. Ten years is a long time. I'm an engineer infantryman." The girl seemed interested - he didn't miss the small smile while others might - so why not continue? "Staff sergeant. I fought, um, actually, here last. Battle of Kashyyyk." Hopefully, that wasn't concerning. Last Idris had heard, the Silver defensive had knocked the United Clans of Mandalore somewhere into the galactic abyss. So hopefully that was the last of that.

Probably not, but hopefully.

- [member="Ruby Jaxx"] -

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby could have done with another cigarette, even though she'd extinguished the last only a couple minutes ago. The lack of a cig between her fingers made her fidget, but she lifted her mug to occupy herself. Ten years with the Rangers? She gave a small nod, wondering silently what it would be like to do something for ten whole years. Still quite young, she had yet to really apply herself to any job or career—mostly because she doubted that she could keep to it for long.

She raised an incredulous brow, “Battle of Kashyyyk?” Ruby echoed. Of course, she'd heard stories about this world before, and completely believed that there could have been bitter battles. But now? Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she eyed her surroundings skeptically. This was a peaceful sort of place. Like Idris, she couldn't imagine this place in the midst of a battle. She'd seen gang wars unfolding back home, but she had never really seen a war. Not really, at least, not on the scale she imagined it happened here. She was a little sad that she'd arrived after the fact; she'd missed all the fun.

“What? I can't really imagine a battle here, not with you... Silver Jedi guys around,” Ruby said, truthfully. “Like... what happened?”

She sipped her caf again and leaned forward slightly.

[member="Idris Rozveeil"]

 

[Idris Rozveeil]

Simply, a nod. Then he spoke, "Well, thanks." He took, chewed, and swallowed a bite of his breakfast he had started back when Ruby began. "We try ta keep these parts safe, but, that day, a Mandalorian strike force, real big, slipped under our nose and came a-knockin'." He stalled upon realizing that he didn't know what all to tell this girl. But if she was from gang-plagued Irith, she probably wouldn't mind - was looking for, even - details.

The truth was a good place to start, he reckoned. His truth. By no stretch of the word was the staff sergeant a glory seeker. His part in the battle may not have been many's idea of patriotic, brave, or what came to mind when they thought about the Rangers, but it had been his - and that was something. "I was with a nurse in the Halls of Healing for a minor injury check-up. It became something of an evac hub for everyone: locals, younglings, padawans."

Prennis. Last he saw her was a glimpse in a rec room that had been converted into a makeshift emergency room with a dozen beds and crude privacy curtain setups after the siege. He dared not stop; she was actively working on a teenaged padawan and he had somewhere to report to. "Which reminds me, I need to check up on her." Surely, as soon as she had put down her stethoscope or scalpel, realization had set in. Even Idris too often had to finish the battles for himself after they had been fought.

And he was trained to resist or rather compartmentalize such mental trauma. He couldn't imagine how the nurse was faring in her minescape by herself. An assist was in order.

- [member="Ruby Jaxx"] -