Private Pen Pals

[Auteme]

"Where is it..."

Even after spending so much time in the archives, Auteme still occasionally had trouble finding certain texts. Being a bit of a bookworm usually meant getting lost in a good book, rather than getting lost among the many stacks and shelves in the Silver Rest's library. The task she'd set herself today was a particularly tricky one -- Jedi Master Jend-Ro Quill wasn't the most public of figures, and his texts were poorly known as well. Still, after reading his public letters on the Grayson Imperium she'd determined he must have at least some wisdom; he appeared well-read and intelligent. Surely a Jedi like that would've written a few books or papers.

She'd of course gathered texts by 'Imperator Grayson' himself in an attempt to further understand the Jedi Master and what had brought him to become so much more different than the ones she'd met or read about. His writings, from what she'd read, were similar to the public letters he'd written in response to Master Quill. They were written with conviction, clearly, but the sort that could give way to ignorance or arrogance. The readings only made her want to read more of Quill's work instead.

That was why Auteme found herself in some of the back storage rooms of the archives. She hadn't been able to find much in the main area, so into the dark and dusty stacks she went, searching around. After several minutes of searching she decided to allow the Force to guide her way -- it'd never guided her wrong before. Soon enough she sensed her way towards a small stack of books. She filtered through them quickly, then shifted the stack to the side, revealing a copy of the Jedi Path -- apparently with the name 'Quill' scrawled on the front. The teenager reached out and grabbed it, but as she pulled it off the shelf something else came tumbling out.

She managed to catch the smooth river rock before it hit the ground. It rested in her hand, and for a moment she felt that it wasn't the book that had drawn her to this place. The teenager stared at the stone, and quietly thought to herself: What is this?

Little did she know, she was thinking out loud.

Jend-Ro Quill

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

<It's a rock,> said a quietly amused voice in her head. <Solitude Stone paired with one that I own. Shares a few words, mostly thoughts, feelings.>

A mental image floated up: an aging human in a small, chilly Jedi enclave, snow blowing under the door.

<Jend-Ro Quill. Where are you? Kashyyyk?> Another image: Silver Rest, where he'd left the stone in question.

Auteme

 

[Auteme]

She threw the rock.

What, some voice popping into her head along with images of someone she didn't know? It was startling. She wasn't some kind of top-tier Jedi master, immune to fear or surprise. Seriously, she'd never been spoken to telepathically out of nowhere before, especially by someone she didn't know...

But as the stone flew across the room the padawan had more than enough time to consider what she'd just... heard, and felt, through the little rock. The voice had introduced himself as Jend-Ro Quill. That was who she'd been looking to learn more about. Maybe it was secretly a Holocron, or some sort of communications device? The thought of talking directly with the Jedi Master, one on the other end of the galaxy, was quite enticing.

Auteme managed to catch the rock with the Force before it hit the ground after making a split-second decision not to run away and never enter that room again. She pulled it slowly back to her hand. "Sorry, you just..." She blinked, then stopped speaking aloud. "You startled me," she thought, hoping Master Quill -- assuming he was who he said (...thought?) he was -- could hear (no, think...?) her.

"Um... so this is... a Solitude Stone? I've never heard of those before. How does it work?" The teenager paused for a moment, before focusing on creating a mental image of herself and her surroundings. A girl, tucked away in the shelves deep in the archives. "Oh, yeah. I'm at the Silver Rest... my name is Auteme. Are you really Master Quill?"

Jend-Ro Quill

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

The explanation he sent was more concepts and images than words: a sense of several small river rocks closely bonded through the Force, sometimes stronger in pairs.

<Jedi to Jedi, spirit to spirit. No lag, no jamming, no need to check the batteries, good way to build focus and sensitivity. Simpler. Allows for a few words, easier with images and feelings.>

He sent a mental image of Silver Rest as he remembered it, overrun with defenders and recent damage. Someone always seemed to be attacking. Was the galaxy's best-known Jedi temple still a war zone?

Auteme

 

[Auteme]

That... made sense. She'd read about enchanting and alchemy, how the ancient Jed'aii infused their swords with the Force, and of course a few references to Sith alchemy. The same would definitely be possible with these Solitude Stones. This method of communication was perfect for those without mastery of telepathy or farsight, both of which could easily be unreliable in certain circumstances. Honestly, even just standing there and focusing on sending her thoughts made her feel more in tune with the Force around her -- and far away from her. "Did you make these yourself? And... not to pry, but this is Master Quill I'm speaki- um, thinking to, yes?"

The images she saw -- or perhaps sensed -- reminded her immediately of all the times she'd been caught in the middle of a battle. Of course, the first thing she thought of was the last attack on the Silver Rest by the now-defunct United Clans of Mandalore. The temple's grounds had been left largely unscathed, but all the violence and death she'd sensed that day -- caused by both sides -- made her feel sick. The next image was of the temple on H'ratth; she watched as the gunships streaked overhead towards them, the Mandalorian crashing through the wall of the library, the Sith warrior's menacing voice as it threatened her.

Everything... the crash on Toydaria, the Sith attack on Bimmisaari, every wounded person who'd ever crawled into the Halls of Healing for her help... there was always hope, but it so often felt like despair might snuff it out. But more than anything she felt tired and deeply saddened. When she realized she'd been projecting all this through the stone she stopped for a moment to calm herself again, sending a short message once she had. "Um, sorry."

Jend-Ro Quill

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

<No apology needed. The stones are a good way to learn about yourself, develop control in telepathy. But mostly I just made them so I don't have to talk to people face to face. And yes, I'm Quill, but I could be anyone.>

He projected an impression of himself, the Hoth Enclave's only permanent resident. Then he shifted the image and made himself into a cartoonized, exaggerated Darth Carnifex .

<How would you know? Some stones fell into Sith hands. Good reason to be careful.>

Auteme

 

[Auteme]

"I don't think you're a Sith," she thought. Auteme hadn't sensed any malicious intent or suspicious coming from the other person, and it seemed that this was the real Quill -- the Hoth enclave was awfully specific, and the images she was receiving were equally so. She didn't particularly know why. Maybe she was being naive, or maybe the Force was showing her the truth.

Well, she'd been wrong about this before. The teenager kept a skeptical attitude as they continued. "Not that I've met many Sith. But I'm pretty sure they don't have very good senses of humour, particularly about their emperor." The image made her chuckle. Of course, the real Emperor was a bit more terrifying.

"If you don't mind me asking, have you written any books?" Wouldn't do to get unfocused. She was still doing research.

Jend-Ro Quill

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

Auteme

<I'm not a Sith, no. But that's exactly what a Sith would say, and I'm sure there are Sith that can make you laugh. Trust your feelings. Trust the Force. As for books? None finished.>

She'd get a sense of him tapping away at a datapad laboriously, or sketching notes or diagrams on flimsiplast.

<Just ideas. Things I explore or need to say. Fingers cold. Maybe I should learn to make a holocron.>

 

[Auteme]

Jend-Ro Quill wasn't like the other Jedi Masters she'd spoken to. They were usually so self-assured, ready to fight, so wise, never second-guessing. Or at least, so it seemed. Nonetheless Quill's inkling of thoughtfulness and willingness to question was what had drawn Auteme to his writings in the first place. He was antisocial, a little odd, a little humorous... and most certainly part of the Force.

There was a short pause of thought as Auteme wandered out of the back room with the stone and back into the library. As always she went to her favorite little corner nook -- it was on the second floor, nice flat area with a few beanbag chairs and a table. Basically, anything she'd need for a good study session. She took a seat, sinking into one of the beanbags for a moment before straightening up and focusing herself. Trust the Force.

"I think you are who you say you are. Master Quill," she thought finally. There was really nothing to indicate otherwise -- she'd heard of those who could hide their presences in the Force, but still...

The image of her surrounded by stacks of books floated over through her telepathy. "Maybe I can help?"

Jend-Ro Quill

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

He laughed hard enough that it echoed around the stone enclave, and knew she could hear it on Kashyyyk. <Never thought of using the stones to work with a research assistant.> But there she was, in the library of the best-known Jedi Temple still standing.

<Would like that. Planet called Chanceuxi, little on the nose. Link between luck and the Force. If you can find anything I'd be grateful.>

Auteme

 

[Auteme]

Yep, certainly worth a try -- after all, not all knowledge could be contained in one spot, no matter how hard Auteme might try. "Do you have many books where you are?" Being all alone someplace without books would likely be the most brutal of punishments for anyone to endure. Still, Quill had said he wasn't exactly a people-person.

At this point she knew the Silver Rest's Archives like the back of her own hand (though to be fair she spent more time looking at books than her hands). With his request she rose to her feet and strode out of her corner. Only a few shelves away was the section dedicated to galactic geography. She needed to skip about six more stacks before getting to the C's, and then her real search began. She'd heard of Chanceuxi; a planet colonized by the Suerton. Aside from that there was little she could remember.

Gathering texts helped jog her memory. She chose mostly hard-copies, old books with printed paper; then she looked for the most modern information. Soon enough she emerged, carrying a small stack of data chips and paper texts. "I have a few things," she informed the other Jedi through the stone once she arrived back at her table. An image of her, surrounded by her findings, floated to mind.

"What specifically are you writing on? So I can narrow my search."

Jend-Ro Quill

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

Auteme

The kid had gathered quite a bit of reference material. Reading through her eyes seemed an unnecessary, even parasitic, infringement on her privacy. Besides, if she was going to play an active role, as little of it should be passive as possible.

<The Suertons. I read an account by a Heptooinian named Kaljach Sonmi about three Suerton brothers, gamblers. If one was in the room, win. If two, lose. If three, win everything. No indication the Lucky Three knew how it worked.>

This many words was tiring for several reasons. He left it at that.

 

[Auteme]

"Suertons..." Research wasn't exactly a quick process. There was already a lot of information she'd put on the table, and with Master Quill's direction there was even more to research. Still, it did narrow down what texts she needed to read. She quickly learned that the Suertons were not native to Chanceuxi. After a bit more searching through the library she'd collected a few texts on the Suertons themselves, and managed to find the account written by the Heptoonian.

"Hmm... Force attuned?" She couldn't really find another explanation; she'd never heard of creatures naturally being able to influence things as nebulous as probability without the Force. The image of Chanceuxi floated to mind, then Auteme imagined it more as a nexus of Force energy. Perhaps those who spend enough time there naturally gain an attunement to the Force, making them generally luckier... but that didn't explain why the Lucky Three needed to all be there to win everything. She'd never gambled, but maybe the number three really was lucky.

Unlike the Jedi Master, Auteme felt energized by her work. Learning about things made her feel better, more in tune with the Force. In the blink of an eye nearly an hour had passed, and she reported in to Quill with what she'd learned thus far. "Chanceuxi isn't the Suerton homeworld, but the Lucky Three were born there. I think their race might just have a high rate of Force sensitivity."

Jend-Ro Quill

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

Auteme

Between Auteme's commentary and the glimpses and snippets Quill gleaned, it appeared that she'd gathered a good corpus on a subject where there wasn't much to find.

<Impressive work,> he said. <Might well be right. Some species have traits - Iktotchi telepaths, Stennes Shifters, Gesaril carvers. Guess is many Suertons have a relationship with probability and the Lucky Three were especially strong examples. Sonmi writes that he learned to do what they do. Two key elements: he entered a state of flow and had to not care whether he won, jut enjoy the game. Any ideas on how to learn, test, experiment?>

 

[Auteme]

"I'm sixteen. I'm not allowed to gamble," she thought. "And I don't really play games." Part of this made her realize that she didn't get out enough. She'd traveled a fair bit, but aside from reading and exploring, what did she find fun? She'd leave things up to the Force, maybe, but luck wasn't really her thing. Had she ever really needed it?

The teenager thought for a few moments. "I'm not really sure if I could do it in the same way anyways... but maybe a dice game or something?" It'd be simple enough to try. Still, as she'd said she wasn't sure if she could achieve this 'state of flow', not caring about the game. She had to care about the game if it was an experiment. Right? This was odd.

Jend-Ro Quill