Private One Free Padawan With Minor Defects

[Brander]

Tags: Ran Serys



Brander had heard a new Master was visiting the Temple. Thankfully, Veridia had not been exposed to the same kind of turmoil some other enclaves had suffered, leaving the handful of students and denizens in relative peace out here in the far reaches of the galaxy.

He had heard some rumors about her, but he didn't know what to make of any of them… He hadn't seen his own Master in some time, not after the fall of Coruscant and the scattering of the New Jedi Order's Jedi. There was so much happening in the universe… but he still wanted to learn. Maybe, just maybe, this particular Master might take an interest in teaching him a thing or two.

She was very different from his former teacher, if the rumors he had heard were true… but perhaps someone of scholarly pursuits would be better suited to him. He was uncertain if he could even catch her interest; after all, he didn't have much to offer as a good student. He didn't use the Force like the others, and it seemed that was an important part of being a Jedi… a requirement, almost. One he lacked severely. He was looking for a green skinned woman as he walked through various sections of the temple trying to spot her.

 

[Ran Serys]

The Veridian Jedi Temple was, in Ran’s opinion, stunning. It was a well guarded secret even amongst the Jedi, and Ran could see why. The Head Master of the Academy, Tirin Raene , and the Jedi that called the temple home, did well to keep it from harm. Younglings roamed the halls in pursuit of knowledge. The injured and sick recovered both slowly, speedily, and reasonably. The Knights and Masters who tended the infirm and taught at the academy looked revitalized in a way that Ran hadn’t seen since the dissolution of the New Jedi Order and the Galactic Alliance. She was grateful she had the chance to see it, albeit briefly, before needing to move onto the next place.

It was one of Ran’s first nights at the temple when she decided to familiarize herself with its layout while taking a stroll under the light of Veridia’s three moons; Tsuki, Kōri, and Hikari. It was during this time of night that the temple began to grow silent. Younglings and younger padawans were sent to their dormitories. Older padawans, Knights, and Masters who hadn’t been training were attending to their studies or turning down for rest as well. Ran, feeling restless continued on with her stroll turning down hallways and walkways, she hadn’t previously. She passed by a series of classrooms and stopped in front of a lightsaber workshop.

She looked at the lightsaber that hung from her belt. She maintained it regularly, and at that moment the Slivian Iron hilt had just had a fresh power cell installed. She had no need to go into the workshop, so instead she sat down on a bench in front of it. Looking through the open window bays behind her and out into the Veridian Landscape. She sat there and waited, but for what she didn’t know. Then the sound of footsteps came down the corridor. A red haired and tan skinned teenager, not in the traditional robes of a Jedi, was at the opposite side of it with what she thought was a look of recognition on his face.

“Hello,” She waved. “I am Jedi Master Ran Serys.” She said confidently. “And who might you be?” She squinted at the teen as the moonlight that filled the corridor had not yet hit his face.

Tags: Brander
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[Brander]

Tags: Ran Serys

Finally, he found her from a distance and started toward her. Brander halted as soon as she addressed him. There was an awkward pause as he thought about what to say in reply.

"Oh… Uh… Hello… Master Serys?" Then he offered her a not-too-practiced bow that looked uncertain and stiff.

"My name is, uh…" He paused, looking up, not quite certain whether he should straighten from the bow. His name was like a nickname; none of his brothers, nor he himself, had ever really had names, and his was not the most normal name, at least as far as he'd come to understand.

"Brander," he answered slowly, moving to straighten. "Padawan. Technically." He winced a little at his own wording.

"I mean… I am a Padawan. I just haven't seen my Master in some time..."

His eyes drifted toward the lightsaber workshop, then back to her. It was easier, for a moment, to look at tools and half-built hilts than at the Jedi Master he had spent half the evening searching for.

"I heard you were visiting. I was hoping I might speak with you, if you had the time."

 

[Ran Serys]

Ran Serys bowed her head to the teenager in front of her in kind. She barely noticed his uncertain and markedly stiff bow. She found it true that many a padawan reacted to a foreign Jedi Master in such a way and therefore paid it little mind. What she did focus on were the pauses, mistakes, and corrections in his speech.

She wondered about the “Technically.” She wondered what happened to Brander’s Master. Masters didn’t often leave their padawans behind for long, not without notice anyway. Although in the turbulent time they were living in, in the wake of fallen orders, it did happen.

“Hello, Brander. I do, in fact, have the time.” Ran confirmed looking up at the padawan. “Join me,” She patted at the empty spot on the bench beside her. “And don’t keep me in suspense. What is it that you’d like to speak to me about?” Ran continued, unsure of what the padawan might have to say, but interested in hearing it. She just hoped he’d speak more candidly and confidently.

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[Brander]

Ran Serys
Brander looked oddly surprised by the gentleness of her tone as he straightened out, then even more bewildered by the request to join her. He stared at the bench for a moment, glanced to her, then back again, before finally moving to sit beside her. He made a point not to settle too close, leaving a careful measure of space between them.

He fussed with one gloved hand and shifted his gaze down to the floor before looking back.

“Um… thank you, ma’am,” he offered quietly as he settled into place.

She was quite direct, it seemed, in wanting to hear him out, and the weight of her undivided attention only made him a little more nervous despite himself.

He drew in a heavy breath and let it out, as though making up his mind, then lifted his gaze more fully to her and tried to maintain eye contact.

“I was hoping… to ask… if you would need… or want a student,” he murmured softly. “I… don’t think my master is going to return any time soon.” He offered the words lightly, though there was something small and bruised beneath them as if his teachers absence had been weighing on his mind.

“And I’ve been trying my best with learning what I can here, but… I would like to study under someone directly. That is… if you wouldn’t mind.... m....maybe we would work well together? ”

He fussed at his glove with a semblance of nervous uncertainty perhaps expecting rejection.

“I know I’m not much to look at, and I can’t really do much of anything with the Force. I’m not a skilled duelist either, but I promise I’m a hard worker... and I promise I’ll be diligent in my studies.”

 

[Ran Serys]

Ran squinted at Brander as he spoke. Not because she didn't trust his words, but because she was trying to get a sense of the young man in front of her, and she did. He spoke quietly in tone and volume. He fidgeted and could not look her in the eye without some effort. She could sense his convictions. He was wanting of the things he claimed, probably more so than any other Padawan Ran had heard declare ambitions. Yet while those convictions seemed stronger than anything else in that moment, there was also an undercurrent of sadness. It seemed to Ran that Brander might've been in mourning, even though his words fell short of that fact.

As doubtful as Brander might've been in his Master's return, Ran somehow doubted it even more. The galaxy was becoming a more turbulent and dangerous place for a lone Jedi. Ran had felt it in the months she'd been traveling the star lanes alone. It was one of the reasons she had come to Veridia, to the temple. She wanted to not be alone, to have some structure, and to feel safe, even if just for a moment.

She wondered looking at Brander if he ever felt safe. He was asking for a new teacher before he even knew the fate of his current, and he was quick to acknowledge his shortcomings to a virtual stranger. Ran found it all very telling, and while there was a possibility that she had misread the young man before her, she found herself feeling a sort of kinship with him. In some strange way, it felt like she was looking into a mirror. She wasn't quite sure why it felt that way, only that it did, and she trusted her instincts. They had gotten her so far, and she was sure they'd take her even further.

Still even sharp instincts had to be questioned. Ran exhaled heavily through her nose while she looked at Brander and then almost as if through him. She turned and craned her neck to look at the night sky beyond the windows. Her gaze lingered on Veridia's three moons. She was thinking. Contemplating. Deciding. Not meaning to keep Brander in suspense, yet still taking a long moment before speaking.

"You seem a very forthright young man, Brander. If only a little guarded," She began after another long exhalation, which she hoped didn't come off as too hesitant. "I'm sure wherever your Master is they would wish you to keep furthering your training." Ran knew what it was like to spend months away from a padawan. Sometimes the relationship was akin to a parent and child, or at least in Ran's limited experience of family that was how it seemed. She knew in that, the distance and uncertainty could be hard.

"So I will teach you what I can, until your Master returns. Should they return." Ran felt cold with that correction, turning back to face Brander.

"Should we get word of their return or their fate, we can reevaluate then." Ran found herself promising. She had come to Veridia for a moment of peace, and what she got was a new student. "If you can accept those terms, I will take you on as a padawan learner. You will travel with me. You will train with me. My assignments and undertakings will be yours as well. What say you, Brander?" Ran asked solemnly.

She had never taken a padawan so quickly after meeting one before, even if they came with a caveat.

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[Brander]

Tags: Ran Serys

Brander remained quiet as she spoke, trying not to look too much like an impatient young hopeful, doing his best to brace for rejection.

But rejection never came… That alone let a small note of surprise soften his expression, though he did not agree to her terms right away. Brander remained still, and pensive, turning her words over in the silence between them. He could not rightly say what had become of Aadihr Lidos . That thought had plagued him more than he cared to admit, a question left sitting in the back of his mind that he could neither swallow nor set down.

The blind man had promised to train him for as long as Brander was willing to learn; but if Brander gave up, he had to put his ambitions of using the Force behind him entirely, and try to live a normal life instead.

In his Master's absence, he had done what little he could. He read what he could reach, and listened where he was allowed to linger. He studied the Code, the purpose of the Order, the old warnings about the Dark Side, and how self-discipline and balance were held in such high regard for the Jedi path. He meditated until his thoughts frayed thin with that same stubborn hope that maybe the Force had not turned away from him entirely.

"I'm still willing to learn," Brander said at last, in a hushed tone. His hand curled faintly over the edge of his glove, hiding the mark beneath. "I don't think standing still counts as keeping my promise to him to keep trying to learn…" He offered faintly.

He hadn't given up on his side of the promise, and yet his Teacher was no longer around to confide in or learn from. Perhaps that, in itself, was always the test, should the Knight never return… Brander couldn't say. If he showed up, Brander would acknowledge him as his teacher regardless of what may have transpired, leaving them separated.

"Your terms are reasonable and generous… I can agree to that.... Is there anthing else you require of me... Master? "

 

[Ran Serys]

"Require? No." Ran answered. "You've satisfied the condition I have for training you, but before we begin I do need to know more. More about you and also what you want from me. There are things I'm curious about." Ran continued. "Chiefly among them, why me? I'm sure I'm not the first Master or Knight to pass through here, and I surely won't be the last. Why did you ask me?" Ran stood up from her spot on the bench and stepped closer to the moon facing window.

She wondered if Brander had asked her to be his Master on behalf of a shared knowledge of Ancient Jedi History, or perhaps it was about her expertise with a lightsaber, maybe it was her skill as an artisan, or the renown of the Serys family name. Or maybe Brander had already asked others and Ran was just the first to say yes. She didn't think she'd mind his answer any one way, but still she wanted to know.

With his answer, she turned back to him and volleyed another question. "What kind of Jedi do you strive to become, Brander?"

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[Brander]

Tags: Ran Serys

Brander tilted his head curiously at that.

"Oh… well… I feel like the Masters here are already rather busy. I do not want to intrude on them, or distract them from their present duties. I would rather be helpful than a hindrance."

He hesitated, uncertain if he was wording this correctly, or walking straight into some complete social blunder.

"Forgive me if this is too rude or blunt… but you seem to be one of the few Masters who might have time to deal with me."

He offered the sentiment carefully, his uncertainty plain in the small pause that followed.

"I am told you were well respected in the New Jedi Order, and that you have taught before. I think… if I am being honest, that might be better... My knight was suffering problems far greater than I feel I could assist him with... I just don't know how to help alleviate or understand his inner demons enough to be of use... As far as I know he only ever taught Aris Noble before me and I am uncertain how well they were doing together... "

Brander shifted slightly, trying to gather the thought before it slipped away from him letting out a heavy sigh.

"Master Rayne has not had much luck keeping long-term students, and he is often cloistered here, busily tending to the running of this temple. He does not venture out much. Knight Zenth does not often leave the Headmaster's side, and when he does, his missions are more… physically active than I fear I have the skill to assist with. Master Vex has a student, and he seems quite content to tend the gardens and keep the grounds here." He looked down for a moment, fidgeting with his glove, then back again.

"None of them seem like the right kind of teacher for what I want to do." He tried to explain it, though the shape of it felt difficult to place into words.

"I… want to be a Jedi who helps others. My brothers and I did not really know about the greater galaxy until Jasper Kai'el found us in that facility on the Forest Moon of Endor." Brander's voice softened.

"I want to be out and about. I want to feel like I am helping people who may not believe help will ever come. Perhaps it is not my place to say this, but I do not wish to be so idle."

 

[Ran Serys]

With more information, Brander's story became more clear. With the mention of Aris, a Jedi that Ran knew well enough, she realized she had known Brander's Master for quite some time. She had failed to stop him from making a terrible mistake once, and it was a mistake that neither of them had truly paid for. On some small level she could understand Brander's struggle, as she was reminded of her own frustrations with the man. Still she hoped he was well wherever in the galaxy he was or wasn't.

Brander's list of prospective masters counted those of the Veridian Temple & Academy, Jedi who were far too focused on the needs of many to focus on just one. She nodded and waved her hand to illustrate she understood his point. Whether Ran would be the right kind of teacher for him remained to be seen, but the more she listened to Brander the more she grew optimistic.

As a Jedi, he just wanted to be of service. Many Jedi felt this way, including Ran. However, she had taken to this goal after what seemed like a long time into her Jedi career. She smiled slyly believing it a good sign that Brander had made it his goal from the beginning. "You have chosen an admirable way of being, Brander," Ran observed. "Because while worthwhile, helping people is a harder thing to do than believed. It is why the Jedi, many Jedi, make it their duty and life's mission. It was not always my mission, but now we are aligned."

While Brander's answer had satisfied her question, it also had brought on more questions. "Come," She pivoted, inviting him to walk with her. "Tell me more of your origins. I want to hear of your brothers, and this facility, and of Master Jasper Kai'el ." With her invitation to walk and talk, the conversation between the new Master & Padawan was able to flow freely without the stakes of acceptance or rejection.

Tags: Brander
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[Brander]

Tags: Ran Serys

Brander stood and padded after her, sharing his experiences of being raised as one of the little Force-sensitive soldiers utilized for combat; a grotesque thing, considering he and his brothers had so often displayed success in their regenerative properties, born from strange experimental gene splicing. They had not even seen the sky before Jasper showed up that one fateful day.

He told her of how Alexandros , also known as 'Maverick,' had been one of the first finished products, and had managed to disappear. Later, they learned he had escaped, and upon hearing of their liberation, had taken it upon himself to care for the slew of other siblings.

Brander shared that their interests had brought them to reside on Roche, where Alex seemed to live when he was not working with Nyles Kote as a mercenary. It was Alex who provided his various brothers with the means to support their interests and helped them find livelihoods beyond what had been predestined for their existence.

 

[Ran Serys]

Ran's instincts had told her that she had found a kindred spirit in the form of Brander, and when he revealed his past as a genetic experiment to her it all became clear why. She too had been a genetic experiment and she too had escaped that life to one day become a Jedi. As Ran listened to Brander's story she couldn't help but remember her own. She found some comfort in not being the only experiment among the remaining Jedi. Their origin could be an isolating one, or at least Ran found it to be.

She had been double Brander's age when she was liberated from the experiment's overseers, and the experience had stunted her in so many ways. She felt short of human, and with the things she'd done up to that point, she felt more like a monster. It had taken years of unlearning and learning, years of good friends and worthwhile adventures filled with atonement and redemption to get her to this point where she felt like she was who she was always meant to be.

Brander and Ran were different though. Where Ran exuded a want for redemption beneath a complex guilt in the earliest moments of her Jedi career, Brander seemed to exude a strong will born from the desire to achieve a supreme goal, or at least that was what Ran had interpreted. Ran hoped that meant that Alexandros had spared Brander from a life of many of Ran's challenges.

"I'd like to meet this Alexandros one day." Ran replied simply before sharing her own story with Brander.

She recounted her first thirty years living as Subject 19. From the time she was a baby, she was poked and prodded by Sith scientists intent on manipulating Ran's genes. Sith sorcerers attempted to mold her mind to suppress her connection to the force and create a more subservient and dominant, experimental, super soldier. She told Brander of how they succeeded for a time. She told him about how she had been a prisoner in her own body, watching as her hands committed atrocities on orders from the Sith. There was no control and no fighting it. From the backseat of her body she knew little of the world beyond, but the force was with her and she knew evil was being done to her and done with her.

She explained how the moment of her liberation was a battlefield accident and that a major blow to the skull was all it took for her to gain her freedom. Years of force suppression had drawn the arrow back and when she was free and let loose she became a wellspring of the force. She overcame her Sith Captor on that battlefield and fled the war of that time. She became a Jedi to atone for those atrocities committed by her hand although she was never meant to feel the guilt of those actions. She also told Brander she had her own set of experimental siblings, and that in her quest to free them she shed the moniker of Subject 19 and found the name Ran. She decided to save the rest of her story for another day. She had gained many more stories of adventures and growth since but she decided she'd share those later.

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