Private Kindness and Fury

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania
UKATIS​

The former Sentinel of Harmony didn't feel at home in a lot of places these days.

Ukatis was one of the few.

It was strange going back to a world like Ukatis. Still at risk due to it's proximity to the sith, but relatively peaceful.

The Reaper touched down as it always did. Jonyna knew who she was going to see days before. She'd contacted Cora to talk after months of radio silence. With her own crusade against the imperials, and the crusade against the sith now on the horizon, she wanted to check on the one friend she still had from the days of old.

Valery had gone missing. Amani too. Efret was gone. Jasper on his own path.

All she had left was Cora.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Ukatis Enclave

Cora watched as the Reaper touched down on the enclave’s landing pad.

“See that,” she murmured to her daughter, motioning to the ship. “Your Aunt Jonyna is in there.”

Six month old Luciana von Ascania was nestled in a sling against her mother’s chest. Young as she was, the babe had already traveled between Naboo and her homeworld several times.

Now, she watched in rapt fascination as the Reaper’s ramp lowered. Blue eyes blinked beneath a mop of dark, wispy ringlets as a feline figure descended.

“It’s been a while, Jonyna,” her mother greeted warmly. One hand smoothed along dark curls, and she smiled. “I’d like you to meet Lucy.”

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania​

Jonyna stepped off the ramp, and took a moment to just breath in the fresh air. Stale air from her ship was like home to her, she'd grown used to it, but the fresh air of Ukatis was like nothing else.

Still, she couldn't help the pattering of a trio behind her.

"Momma! Look! Baby!" Nal called, the small cathar waddled over. The trio were just over 2 now, and seemed even more mischievous than before.

"I can see that Nal." Jonyna snorted, looking to Cora. "Lucy is beautiful Cora. I didn't realize you'd been pregnant."

It might've come up before, but it'd been so long, she struggled to remember. Her mind wasn't what it used to be.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

A low, quiet chuckle rumbled from the back of Cora’s throat as the trio of Cathar toddlers approached. The last time she’d seen them had been on Refuge with Jasper, during which she’d been pregnant.

“Goodness, how big you’ve all gotten!” She knelt down so the kids could have a better look at the baby. “Would you like to say hello, Lucy?”

Still strapped to her mother’s chest, the Ukatian infant squealed with delight as she squirmed in her sling. Cora brushed a hand over dark, wispy curls with an amused little smile before her attention lifted to Jonyna again.

“I don’t know how you do it with three, Makko and I are exhausted with this little one.”

At least she had started sleeping better, which was nice. “How have you been Jonyna? It’s good to see you again.”

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania​

"Patience and more love than most can muster." Jonyna answered with a slight smile, before she let out a sigh. "I've been...better. Part of me misses the simplicity of the jedi temple, but part of me knows how miserable I was trying to keep up the charade I had going."

Jonyna looked down to her triplets, who were all utterly fascinated by the baby in front of them.

"...I feel more like myself now. Kahlil wanted me to be something I could never be. The perfect jedi. I struggle to even call myself one these days. You were always the better one. Val trained you well."

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Charade?"

Lucy cooed, chubby little limbs flailing. Cora's attention was split between Jonyna and intercepting grabby hands trying to grasp the nearest Cathar ear. For someone so small, she had grip strength for days.

"I think I just looked like a good Jedi," Cora murmured. "When I left the Alliance, I took Ukatis with me. Other member worlds began to secede after that."

Was there really such a thing as the perfect Jedi?

"But, the galaxy is in a much different state now than when we were in the Order," she continued. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Jonyna. You did the best you could with what you had - we all did."

The smile Cora offered was thin and tired, but that didn't make it any less genuine.

"You do seem more like yourself."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania​

A sigh escapes her lips, as Jonyna looks down at her kids.

"I never feel like we do enough. Twice now I've had people have no idea who I am when I bring up the NJO days. One of them was a former senator. Do you think we didn't try hard enough?"

It had been something that pinged incessantly since she'd left the GA to die. She couldn't have been there, but she knew better than to deny she wish she had been in hindsight.

"...I'd like to think I look more like myself. There's always a part of me that wonders how my life had gone if I hadn't been frozen in the ice."

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"I think we might've had more to contend with than some would admit."

Cora gave Jonyna a sober smile. Had those outside the Order been right to levy criticism? Probably. But they'd all proven ineffectual in the end.

"The Alliance was massive - and it felt like we were doing all that we could to manage issues that arose on member worlds until we just couldn't keep up anymore."

There were those who'd been burned by the Alliance for one reason or another, but Cora and Jonyna had been in it. Their perspective had a lot of emotion and sentiment attached.

"Maybe we weren't as important and we thought we were," she offered with a weary smile.

Whoever's fault it was - the Jedi, the Senators, endless red tape or the Alliance's resources being stretched too thin - they were here, now.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania​

It was probably ego that drove her next words.

"I can't accept that. The Alliance fell because too many people were more interested in lining their pockets and sitting on their hands than fighting. You saw it. Half the NJO didn't want to fight against imperials even when they were knocking on our doorstep. I mean, the fact we allowed the trade federation to keep in the alliance after their ratted us out to the Dark Empire I'll never know."

Jonyna snarled at the thought.

"...I came here for a reason. I'm joining the Vanguard. I wanted...to ask what your opinion on them are."

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora fell quiet as Jonyna spoke - not because she was taken aback by the Cathar's intensity, but because something in her wanted to agree. The Republic hasn't had good relations with the Alliance in their later stage. Sometimes, it was hard being around people who insisted that every scar was for nothing.

Lucy wasn't unaffected by the conversation. Even if she didn't understand its meaning, she understood tone. Her excited coos quieted as she tilted her head back to look up at her mother.

Seeing this, Cora couldn't help but smile. She leaned down and kissed the babe's head, but then her smile pursed in surprise.

"The Vanguard?" Jonyna hadn't been present at Lorn's gathering, at least as far as she knew. Word traveled fast, and that worried her.

"I don't know them well, honestly," she said. "But I answered Lorn's call at Shiraya's Rest. I think they're sincere, but I've seen too many groups with the same fierce rhetoric flame out."

Two fingers idly played with her daughter's hair, tracing wide, wispy spirals in thought.

"There's always the risk that they'll take things too far, but I understand their frustration with the Jedi's lack of action. That’s why Jasper and I attacked Tython.”

Cora hadn't lingered long enough to witness the shouting match between Lorn and Ala. Maybe she'd have a different opinion if she'd seen it.

"I offered my aid, but I didn't stay to see how the rest of the conversation played out," she admitted. "Have you reached out to anyone on Naboo?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania​

The troublesome trio thus far were the only ones who seemed to be oblivious to the conversation. Right now, they were distracted by the flower petals floating through the air, a common sight on a planet like this.

Jonyna however, was dead set on what was going on.

"Lorn, so far. And Rik Perris. Under better circumstances, I'd be making a joke about that. But now? I just wanna do something about the sith. The Imperial Remnants popping up like cockroaches crawling out of the walls. I've got a bounty on Sularen's head for near a million credits. Still trying to pin that man down...."

A pause, before she spoke again. "I'm trying to put something new together. The Wild Space Rebellion isn't panning out. I'm starting something else. Evolving it. I'm sick of governments trying to keep things tied to bureaucracy. I'm sick of waiting for an excuse given by politicians. I'm starting a proper galactic Resistance movement. I know you have obligations, but...if you ever want a place on it, I'd love to have you."

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora knew neither Lorn, nor Rik Perris personally. Her primary interaction with the two had come from the Vangaurd's meeting, which she'd only occupied a small portion of. Had she stayed until the end – to watch several council member's lose their seats after a shouting match – perhaps she might've had a different opinion. Or at least, a more informed one.

Jonyna's concerns rang true, and they rang personal. No Jedi in the galaxy had remained unaffected by the Sith marauding into the galactic core. Cora and Jasper had coordinated an attack on Tython for a reason, but not much had followed in the wake of that.

Lucy cooed, squirming in her sling as her mother frowned in thought and patted her little back. "How will this new resistance movement differ from the Wild Space Rebellion? Is it different than what the Vanguard is planning?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania​

Jonyna let out a breath. She knew this question was coming.

"The Wild Space Rebellion was a collection of rebel cells. Coordinated, but disconnected. the Resistance is going to be more a unified front. A navy, a military, something more structured than just a bunch of planetary groups working together. Once we get going, I plan to take back the core and hit the sith where it hurts. As for the Vanguard...they wanna keep things small. I don't. I wanna bring back some sort of galactic government that actually gives a shit about it's people. The High Republic clearly doesn't care about the core enough to do something about it, so I will."

There was a passion, a frustration in her voice. She'd had this speech in her head for years now.

Then after a moment, she calmed, and said something much more vulnerable.

"...I miss Val..."

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

As Jonyna spoke, Cora nodded along. Numerous resistance cells had popped up over the galaxy after the Dark Empire roared to life, but none had caught flame enough to put a serious dent in the Sith, who seemed to be everywhere. What Jonyna envisioned would take a titanic amount of dedication and firepower, but successful rebellions had been built from less.

It wasn't until Jonyna mentioned the Republic that Cora frowned. "I don't think that's entirely fair," she said while gently bouncing Lucy in an effort to quell her rising wines. "The Republic is in a tough spot with enemies to the north and the south. Even the Mandalorians, who they have a defensive pact with, have close Sith ties." Sighing, she smoothed both hands back and over Lucy's hair. "I helped with some of their humanitarian projects, the core is hemorrhaging refugees. They do care, they're just facing overwhelming odds. If they stretch themselves too thin, they risk ending up like the Alliance."

It was frustrating, but she couldn't blame the Republic for taking a cautious approach. It was a fine balance to walk when you had trillions of lives to care for while knives were being sharpened around you.

Despite the distance, Valery's memory still burned bright. The Jedi Master's name was enough to bleed some of the tension from the conversation.

"I do too," Cora murmured. "What do you think she would do at a time like this?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania​

Jonyna's face hardened, as she looked to Cora with a resolve of someone who had lived through hell.

"The Rebellion had nothing. Just some leftover prototypes the Empire didn't want, and civilian ships we had to retrofit into something worth a damn. You wanna talk about tough spots? We were going up against an Empire that ruled everything, and what they didn't, crime lords took advantage of. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the High Republic, who call themselves the home of freedom, and yet sit idle while the Iron Covenant are the ones doing something about it. I think it's entirely fair to criticize them for that. They have everything they need."

For a moment, her face softened, as she let out a long sigh, looking to her kids, who seem to now be distracted playing amongst themselves in the grass of Ukatis.

"...I think Val would be out trying to make a difference. Fall back on her Shadow training. Go undercover. For all we know, that's exactly what she's doing right now."

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora met Jonyna’s hardened expression with her full, collected attention. The rebel Jedi’s frustration was clear, shared by many of her brethren. By Cora, too.

“I don’t think they deserve sympathy,” she offered. “Criticism, yes. But also understanding and nuance. If the Republic focuses all of its energy on fighting the Sith, then there’ll be nothing left for the people they're taking care of. Many are refugees."

Cora stroked Lucy’s hair, fingers idling through dark, wispy curls.

“I’m frustrated, too,” she admitted. “That’s why I coordinated with Jasper to raid Tython. But I’m not sure I can do something like that so soon again with…”

While the mission had been something of a success - the retrieval of holocrons and damaging of a Covenant fueling station - it had come at the cost of leaving her infant daughter behind. What kind of life would Lucy have if her mother had died?

“A proper resistance movement would be ideal, but something like that needs resources. People, capital, ships, armaments - all of the things you know about. What do you have, and what do you need?”

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania​

For a moment, Jonyna looked back to her own kids.

"...right now, more than anything, we need people. Heroes. I get it, I have kids too. I think about them every time I go out to fight. But..." Jonyna rang her fingers through her hair, as she spoke again.

Not as a hero, but as a friend.

"I think about it like this. If we don't do something about it, then one day, they'll have to grow up the same way I did. Living in fear, on the run from those who would hunt them down, and kill them without an ounce of regret. You've seen it. The Summer Rain Rebellion came to your world, and I fought there. The Mandos, the Sith, they hit Ukatis when it was in the borders of the GA. You think the High Republic is gonna protect you better? Or worse..."

A pause, as she chose her next words carefully.

"They take them, and do what they did to your brother. Corrupt them until they're unrecognizable. I think about that, every day. I need your help Cora. To make sure that never comes to pass."