Private New Heights

[Ishida Ashina]

CORUSCANT | JEDI TEMPLE | ROOFTOP
THERE ARE DEAD STARS THAT STILL SHINE BECAUSE THEIR LIGHT IS TRAPPED IN TIME
WHERE DO I STAND IN THIS LIGHT,
WHICH DOES NOT STRICTLY EXIST?

Aaran Tafo + LUACH

EVERYTHING I'VE DONE CALLED INTO QUESTION
​

Ishida couldn’t avoid him any more. After Ziost he’d scolded her but spent more time figuring out how to best make the lives of Eva Betrik and her SICA squadron. And there was only so much interaction they could sustain while the medics tended to her shattered ribs and severed Force connection.

But now, she didn’t necessarily want to keep avoiding him. That wouldn't be a very conducive attitude if she wanted to continue being a part of the New Jedi Order; evading the council of a councillor.

Prolonging the inevitable was just like picking a scab off an infected wound, watching it grow back, move around on the unsettled hurt, and go through the cycle all over again.

Plus, where she had anger and hatred for his decisions, she now had curiosity.

Her purposeful wonderings had grown over several flights of stairs until she reached the temple’s rooftop. Pausing at the crest, she drew in a sharp breath of awe to appreciate the sprawling view of the ecumenopolis’ skyline. Tips of skyscrapers glittered in the natural light that beamed overhead, and filtered through the windows and structures of modern architecture. The structures that constituted Galactic City’s district that encompassed the Jedi Temple and residential sections were gleaming white (or close to) shining brightly in the afternoon sun.

It was easy to forget how beautiful Coruscant could be.

For a few seconds, Ishida was lost in quiet appreciation until someone in the traffic stream below honked angrily and drew Ishida’s attention back to the present. Instinctively, she walked forward and casually hunted for the source of the sound. The search for the agitated driver was brief amidst the plazas ringed by smooth-edged towers and spires and buildings, and was only a tertiary concern ––– something to bide her time until she approached the pair of silhouettes that had once been distant.

Aaran, she knew.

The giant fluffy creature, she did not.

“Master Tafo,” She greeted, though her eyes weren’t on the Battlemaster. Just on the fluffy thing. Which actually made approaching him easier, the pet was a welcome distraction. “Appreciating the view?”

​

 

[Aaran Tafo]

Moments of solace were becoming harder and harder to find as the days went on. He could feel the slowly growing tension spread throughout the planet. A slow, poisonous thing that was making it hard to breathe. So naturally, he tries to find some way of escaping it through meditation or other forms of relaxation.

So he came up here, a normally empty part of the Jedi temple's expansive roof, clad in more casual garb than his usual robes. A six-pack of chilled Sprite spheres one side. And an enormous furry beast on the other. His hand reaching up on occasion to give his oldest friend a scratch behind his huge ear. The action eliciting a pleased whine from Luach.

He wasn’t here to admire the view. At least not in the way most people would. Instead, his senses were cast out over the city before him. Watching the trillions of citizens scurry about performing their daily lives. The motes of light that made up their presence in the Force creating a dazzling display of criss-crossing lights that would put even the grandest of firework displays to shame.

He just did his best to ignore how disturbingly close the patterns were to forming into Shatterpoints. It was something he could feel on the horizon. Between the mounting tension in the Senate, as well as potential infiltrators from the New Sith Order being potentially anywhere on the planet. He knew that it would not be long before Coruscant became another battleground yet again.

And sadly, there was little he could do to prepare people for it. As any attempts to warn people would simply be dismissed as attempts for the Jedi to remain relevant after the war. He couldn’t blame people for wanting to return to normality. But sadly, the reality of the situation was usually more harsh then what most would expect. And vigilance would still be needed.

But good luck telling that to some people who vastly underestimate just how much damage the Stih could cause. Or what lengths they'd go to in order to achieve their goals.

So caught up he was in his thoughts that initially, he did not respond to Ishida's greetings. His empty sockets, hidden behind sunglasses instead continued to stare out onto the city skyline. But instead Luach, being the curious creature that they were. Stood up from where he had been laying at Aaran's side.

The Lurix regarded Ishida as it began to pad over towards her. Three meters in height and well over a ton of solid fur and muscle leaning in towards her, giving a few curious sniffs at the new arrival. Black, beady and intelligent eyes staring at her. His giant flat tail whacking once against the roof, seemingly in approval as his head leaned in to give her the slightest nudge in greeting.

Of course, for a beast of Luach's size, a slight nudge would easily knock someone of Ishida's frame back a few steps. But there was not the slightest bit of malevolence or hostility in the creature's movements, merely curiosity.

"Padawan." Aaran's voice finally pipped up. Acknowledging Ishida's presence. If only faintly. To say there was a measure of awkwardness between the pair would be an understatement. Not that he could necessarily hold any of her previous behaviour against her. She was coming into her adulthood. She was at the stage where she was still figuring out the kind o person that she wanted to be.

And the kind o person she might end up choosing to be is almost certainly being influenced by her Master. Sardun was someone that Aaran very much wanted to share a few words with in regards to how he treated some members of his order. But the older master was notoriously difficult to get ahold of.

As was fitting for some of the older Jedi. They acted how they pleased and would balk at the idea of answering to someone half their age. Regardless of their position. It made dealing with such individuals rather grating.

But, he could not hold any of that against Ishida. She was not at fault there; it was rare that someone ever had a choice of Master. Any of her more.... difficult personality aspects were more a symptom of Sardun's zealotry more than anything else.

"I more came up here to think than to watch." He explained, now turning to face her. His face, as always, as placid and calm as an undisturbed lake.

"How can I help you?"


Ishida Ashina

 

[Ishida Ashina]

I ONLY KNEW I WOULD BE THE STRONGEST VERSION OF WHAT I WAS FIRST GIVEN
SOMETIMES I HAD TO TRAMPLE WITH TEARS IN MY EYES
OVER THE THINGS I KNEW I COULDN'T HELP​

Ishida had greeted the Battlemaster first, and in lieu of his response, his massive companion came to greet her. It was an astounding beast, and the girl remained still enough to give it the respect necessary to establish if she were friend or foe.

People were complex and difficult for her at times, but animals all shared a similar spirit. A likeness born from the foundation of their creation and her apprehensive, protective shell cracked each time she saw one at this proximity, especially when they balanced adorableness with potential intimidation so well. And they never minced words –– she’d learned to read pets before their owners as a foundation for observation within the walls of Carp’s dojos.

A genuine grin spread through her mouth and she relaxed when the creature came in to nudge her. Initially, she had her palm facing the clouds to give it a place to sniff at first but instead, it came in against her body. Her heels took the brunt of the shift in weight, and one-two steps were forced on her position and she chuckled.

“Hi there,” she greeted again, this time to the rightful greeter, and moved back in to place small hands on either side of his furry cheeks and give circular scritches just beneath the ears. He could have easily bitten her head off, but the giant white dog-like creature seemed docile enough to just enjoy the gesture.

“What are you, big guy? I haven’t seen you before.” Back in Hebo, many visitors to her father had exotic pets and being allowed to play with them was one of the luxuries she’d been afforded.

"I more came up here to think than to watch."

She peeked back around the giant creature, and something shifted in her gut. A painful memory that The Order’s Battlemaster had been blinded, and relying entirely on The Force ever since one of the contentions during the Third Imperial War. And she’d just asked him about the view.

Well, to be fair, he could appreciate beyond his eyes –– and Ishida’s pride would keep her from apologizing at the inaccuracy of her earlier statement. Appreciating, yes, could be listening. Smelling (Coruscant, though?) or any of his other radicalized senses.

"How can I help you?"

Help.

What a horrible word.

“I wanted to ask you about Ziost.” She admitted after a few seconds of passing the potential response back and forth between her cheeks.

“About that SICA trooper.”

All the while, she kept her fingers circling in the giant dog’s fur.

“How did you know she would listen to you? How did you know to talk her down?” Her curiosity turned hot and slightly angry again, and she shoved her bottom teeth against the front lines to give herself a second before blurting out –– “They were equipped with specific Jedi debilitating technology.”

 

[Aaran Tafo]

The show of attention was all that was needed. The creature leaned into the affection, a low rumble that belong more on a starship engine than on anything living emanated deep from Luach's chest. It may perhaps take a moment for Ishida to realise that the beast in front of her was making a noise not too dissimilar to a purr. It’s somewhat ursine nature allowing it to make those forms of vocalisations when relaxed.

"He's a Lurix." Aaran answered, having heard the first question and deciding to answer for his friend who sadly lacked the ability to properly answer the almost perpetually prickly Padawan. "Very rare Force Sensitive predators from Parmarthe, my home. They sometimes bond with other Force Sensitives." Slowly, he moved to stand, leaving the spheres of Sprite where they were and instead making his way over to Ishida. Standing at the rear end of the creature, placing one hand on its side.

For a moment, Luach pulled away from Ishida to regard Aaran's presence, before letting out a slight huff, shifting its body around so the giant ursine hunter now stood at Ishida's side, laying down. Seemingly far more interested in the newcomer who seemed enamoured with him than his old friend who simply came up here to brood.

And even as it lay down beside her, its sheer size still had its head sit at Ishida's chest level, easily allowing continued scratches.

"This ball of fluff and hunger is Luach. My oldest friend. Name translates into Basic as Courage or Valor." He explained, feeling that he might as well elaborate. After all, this was probably the first time he's heard a genuine smile in Ishida's voice for the entire time he's known her. So giving her that information might help improve her mood.

Or hopefully make the rest of the conversation go a bit more smoothly. Because it seemed that Ishida was still challenging his choice at Ziost. Or perhaps simply curious. He honestly hoped it was the latter, otherwise he would lose all hope in Sardun's ability as a teacher.

"There were a few reasons why." He said, head tilting slightly. "Yes, they did have weapons meant to fight trained Force Sensitives. But that kind of equipment is commonplace in this day and age. The Galactic Alliance had quite a few tools for fighting Sith as well." He gave a small shrug. "But the reason as to why I spared them, why I tried to help them was simple enough."

"Killing them would have made no difference in the long run." He explained, holding up a hand as if to stop any potential interjections from a seemingly callous statement. "Had we killed them. They would simply be replaced. For Galactic superpowers, especially one that practices conscription, manpower is rarely an issue. All we would have accomplished is killing a few people who were only relatively minor threats to us."

He raised a finger. "But helping them. That's a different story. I help them, they stop being a threat. And, well. We add something to the Galaxy instead of taking it away." He smiled slightly. "I've been keeping something of an eye on Eva. She's integrating, considering university courses. Starting a life. Something away from conflict and war." He shrugged. "Considering what she might do. How my act of kindness could inspire her to do countless more. Which then continue to spread. Well, I consider that worth staying my blade."

He reached a hand backwards, a slight gesture and a sphere of Sprite flew into his hand. Fingers twisting the lid open as he took a sip of the cool carbonated beverage. "As for how I knew she'd listen? That was pretty easy. It was clear enough to me that she was scared. Scared of the war, scared of both of us." He shrugged again. "So, I did what I could to dispel that fear. And that works wonders. Fear, Ignorance and Hate. They're the biggest sources of conflict in the Galaxy. Get rid of them and suddenly it’s a lot easier for us to get along."

He took another swig of his Spite, letting out a satisfied 'Ah' noise. Before making a small gesture back to the opened pack of drinks. "Do you want one?"

 

[Ishida Ashina]

"A Lurix." Ishida repeated, as if saying the species out loud would imprint it permanently to her memory. At the same time, she seemed to be telling the giant bear-dog for the first time what he was with a lopsided grin.

When Luach moved around to make himself more comfortable, and more accessible, she obliged to continue stroking at the juncture between skull and ear.

"Good name." She complimented, though her tone made it sound empty. It was an easy thing to say. Good job on naming your pet something cool. "Has he been by your side in battle before?" In case the creature shifted, Ishida shrugged at him with a teasing grin. "You are big, but you don't seem very tough."

Aaran obliged her question, recounting his rationale for approaching the situation with peaceful negotiations rather than how she'd expected someone with the title Battlemaster to behave.

"Killing them would have made no difference in the long run."

She parted her mouth to speak, lifting her hand to point but was met with his open palm. With a silent pout, her teeth clicked back shut and she gave him the space for additional sentences.

If they'd killed the SICA squadron, cut through them, they could have eliminated a handful of obstacles before carving their way through to other enemies. There would have been limited friction, but instead, they'd taken the time to escort them from the field. And while Ishida had been part of that problem with her shattered ribs, she was confident she could have mustered up the strength required to at least be somewhat useful in the campaign alongside the Ashlan Crusade.

We add something to the Galaxy instead of taking it away."

She drew in a sharp breath through her teeth, shocked at the naturalness of the parallels between Aaran's rationale and Bernard's hypothesis.

"I've been keeping something of an eye on Eva. She's integrating, considering university courses. Starting a life. Something away from conflict and war."

Everything Aaran said after that was nothing but distant sounds. Unintelligible murmuring. He said her name so casually. Eva.

It was so shocking that she stopped petting Luach, and took an involuntary step backward at the immediate connection.

"I am Corporal Betrik...Eva. I'm Eva."

The corporal that had taken away her connection to The Force on Ziost was being educated, going back to a natural way of life. Becoming a citizen. A citizen that Jedi were supposed to protect. Ishida, if she were to continue on the path of the Jedi, would be responsible for finding purpose in the preservation of citizen life.

Even if citizens, students, the average person had been rotten at one point.

Could she stomach that?

Her cheeks grew involuntarily warm, and something in her gut shifted. To re-centre herself, Ishida blinked heavily twice. She didn't even hear Aaran's generous invitation to be refreshed. She was almost trembling.

"Y-you know where she is? Eva? Right now?"