Private Pretty Kitties

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Allyson Locke

Coronet City.

The last time Jonyna had been on this planet, Jonyna had been falling in love. Falling for a woman she couldn't seem to find common ground on, anymore.

It still stung.

But she was here for answers.

When she got the encoded message from Allyson, Jonyna considered her options. There was always the option to ignore it. Put her curiosity to bed. Let it be. But Jonyna was always one to stick her nose where it wasn't meant. At least, that's what the Imperials always told her. The Inquisitors, the Moffs, the Hutts.

Instead, her response was cheeky. Just as it always had been.

It took some help from Dice, but she managed to broadcast her response through the holonet, in open space.

"See you on Corellia, Allyson Locke."

It was vague enough to not incur the SIA coming down on them, but open enough just to act as a jab at the spy. This wouldn't be some secret meeting. No, Jonyna wanted Allyson to know that Jonyna wasn't going into this ignorant. She knew the game.

Still...

Showing up in some seedy bar in the back alleys of the city wasn't Jonyna's ideal meeting place. Could've been a jungle, or a dance hall. Not some dive bar where her toes stuck to the floor.

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Jonyna Si //:
//: Attire //:

Edgefields-on-Varonat
Several days prior

Allyson sat in the hammock she had finished putting up by the river. Her comm alerted her of a new message, and as her thumb flicked through it, she grinned. It seemed as if Jonyna was more interested than she let on.

The hammock swung as Allyson stood up, forgetting how these types of things worked. As quickly and smugly as she had gotten up, the hammock flipped and she landed face first into the lush vegetation under her.

Laughter echoed quietly a small distance away.

---

Corellia, Coronet City
Present day

Corellians were loud people. They made sure that wherever they went, people knew that a Corellian was around. They were even louder when heroes, those who had fought and made Corellia proud, came home. Allyson knew the exact place Jonyna was mentioning, and she wondered if the little cat had seen the small shrine dedicated to the wiley Corellian spy.

It had been some time since she had been back, but the moment she opened the door, she realized nothing had changed. The heavy door swung open, and the crowd grew silent as everyone stared back at the brunette, wearing the first-class blood stripes she had earned during the war with the First Order.

Silence stretched until an old man stood and narrowed his eyes. "Is that-" he stepped forward, "My stars it's Allyson Locke!" The bar whispered and then suddenly exploded. The music returned, and the small crowd gathered around the woman. Hugs were shared, and small bits of memories were exchanged. It had been a while since the hero had returned. She was a legend among Corellians - even when she wasn't doing the glorified good that the Republic had drilled in her head as a youth.

A Corellian making a stand and a name for themselves was worth more to the people than Jedi or Sith - good or evil. Make Corellia proud; that's all that mattered.

When Jonyna arrived a few hours later, she found herself staring at quite the scene. A crowd had gathered at the bar, and standing on the bar, stomping to the beat of the folk song that they were all singing, was Allyson Locke, waving a whiskey in her hand and using a fork as a mic.

"Oh, Allyson Locke, with hands unclean, She stole from kings and kissed their queens!" As she said the line, she winked at one of the girls who was reaching the bar. The small bit of attention elicited a squeal from the girl as the song continued, "But never once forgot the face— Of every world she helped replace." More cheers and voices chimed in as the chorus rose, drinks spilled, and the bartender rushed to fill.

"Oh, Allyson Locke, who burned and ran, fought alone with no one's plan. A thousand names, one oath she swore— She'd never let the weak bleed more."

Allyson downed the whiskey shot in her hand and looked towards the door. A grin spread across her face as she recognized the Cathar, the only one not singing right now. Jumping off the bar, the song continued, but Allyson pulled her way from the same girl who had now tried to steal a kiss for the folk hero.

Any other time, she'd indulge, but business and someone was waiting at home.

"Jonyna, right?" Allyson laughed, "Welcome to Corellia! Home of the Great Allyson Locke!" Her arms stretched out, and she stepped forward and patted the Cathar on the back.

"You look like chit. How about a drink, and you can ask me all the lovely questions you have burning in your little brain?" Allyson shoved Jonyna along towards one of the tables. As they sat, she waved her hand, and the bartender dropped an expensive bottle of Corellian whiskey, vintage from the years before Corellia's catastrophe. Allyson slid a glass towards the Cathar and poured some amber liquid into her.

"This is the good stuff. Before they started to have to distill off the planet, luckily, we're able to do it on Corellia again—but this…" she shook her own glass, the thin liquid splashing against the edges. "This is home."

Smiling, Allyson mused as the song concluded, and the crowd settled into singing about another heroic Corellian. "What's got you so curious about me?"

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Allyson Locke

Songs about legends of their culture were nothing new to Jonyna. She was sure, somewhere, there was a cathar lullaby about her beheading stormtroopers. What more intrigued her, and annoyed her, was the noisey brunette that came towards her, and offered her a drink. Jonyna's focus was fixated on the woman, eyeing her up and down.

"You're shorter than I expected." was Jonyna's first words as she smirked, meeting Allyson eye to eye. "Nowadays, feels like it's trendy for everyone to be tall enough to hit their head on the ceiling." Jonyna's tone shifted as her focus did to the drink, before downing the glass in one go. She wasn't going to let the Corellian intimidate her with a drink. "Trying to catch up on old business as a councilwoman. You're a tricky one to research. I like knowing my enemies before I hunt them. Call it an old Cathar hunting tradition."

Jonyna's tail flicked idly, as she side eyed the spy. "I just can't figure out one thing. You finally get settled, war over, get yourself to the point where you're the premiere shadow of the NJO, take on my nephew as a padawan...then you decide to make a deal with Kuun himself, and switch sides without warning. Why?"

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Jonyna Si //:
//: Attire //:

Allyson rotated the bucket glass in her hand as she listened to Jonyna. The Cathar was more interesting than she had given her credit for. In reality, Allyson expected her to stutter and stumble over her words. But again, there weren't many Jedi willing to sit down with her and talk. Though, most Jedi didn't really know she existed. To most, she was some specter or folk legend.

She didn't mind it, but sitting and talking with someone was nice. Though the pleasantries were quick to fade away. Mid sip, Allyson's eyes watched as Jonyna slammed the priceless whiskey like it was water. The Corellian felt the world end in that moment. A single tear fell from her eye, rolling slowly to the edge of the grungy table. Her glass lowered, settling on the table - the rest of Jonyna's words muffled and drowned out by her sorrow.

Allyson exhaled slowly, her sadness tightening like a noose around her throat.

She gave a moment of silence to her fallen brother.

The sound of the bar returned, and she looked at Jonyna and raised an eyebrow. Her nephew? Allyson let her gaze wander as she tried to remember the chaos of her last sixty-plus years alive. Nothing rang a bell; the only padawan she had ever had was Zaavik, the orchestrator of his own device. His death was something she felt through the Force; it was a solemn feeling when she thought of him - there was nothing she could do, and his death was inevitable.

She took another sip of the whiskey to buy herself more time. Suddenly, she remembered. "Oh, the little guitar guy was your nephew?" There was a small hint of recognition as she recalled the brief conversation.

"Oh no, I never took him as my padawan. The kid would have gotten me killed, gotten himself killed. Not gonna have his blood on my hands." She laughed and shook her head. "Hopefully, he got to do his thing and be a musician."

Allyson nodded and then paused, "I have a feeling you're going to ask why I never actually took him on. He couldn't answer the simplest question. Why? Why do you want to be a Jedi?"

Shrugging, she took another sip and slid the whiskey bottle protectively back to herself. "Family legacy is dumb; 'just because' is also stupid. I won't waste my time indoctrinating someone into this chit."

The rest of Jonyna's questions made Allyson laugh. They were superficial goals and things that Allyson never cared about.

"War is never over. You should know we know too much. Shadows know the rumblings of the galaxy—war is never over." She shook her head and sighed as her eyes watched the amber liquid swirl against the edges of the glass.

"Also, I'm never settled - whoever told you that is an idiot, and they don't know who I am. I hated being on the Council. I hated having to sit behind a desk and yap with some idiots that are so disconnected from the galaxy and make choices that affect people without their say."

She didn't know who this Kuun person was, so she ignored the comment and laughed again.

"Without warning? There were lots of warnings. No one listened to me when I mentioned the director of the SIA was corrupt - that cost me an eye." She pointed the edge of the glass to her eye.

"Jonyna, when you're plucked from your fighter, told you can be a hero, make a difference, fight evil, bring peace to the galaxy. It's all a lie. I was seventeen and went on my first mission to Bastion."

The glass continued to turn, and her eyes focused on the way the lingering liquid clung to it, ribboning down its viscosity thick.

"I was captured for forty-five days. I escaped after forty-five days of torture at the hands of the Sith. No one came, no one rescued me. I limped my stupid arse back to the Alliance. When I got there, I was punished for going AWOL."

She chuckled with a grin.

"I didn't switch sides because over here the grass is greener or because I'm some evil secret Sith Lord - unfortunately for me, I'm still a fething Jedi, the light still clings."

Allyson shrugged and finished the glass of whiskey. Placing it down, she leaned forward on her elbows. "I left because I was done being collared by fat masters who can't see the end of their own noses, who send children to die with false dreams of a peaceful future and…"

She leaned back and shrugged again, slumping into the booth, the legendary Corellian bravado gone.

"I was just done being called a traitor when all I was doing was my job...trying to be the hero - just trying to bring the galaxy peace."

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Allyson Locke

Listening to Allyson, there was a side of her who wanted to spit in her face and tell her she was wrong. That hope for a better future still existed.

She didn't listen to that side. All she did was remember her arguments with Kraden in her younger years as a rebel. An optimist arguing with a cynic. All it had done is incite stress on a crew that didn't need it, and go in circles endlessly.

No, instead, she only looked to Allyson with pity. She saw the small things that she was sure Allyson wouldn't admit to. Small wrinkles, scars from past battles, faded with time, but still there for those who looked closely. Rarely did Jonyna's eyes meet Allyson's as she listened to the spy's words. Jonyna knew what it was like to grow up on the front line, but she had taken away something different, something so opposite.

The neverending fight.

As she sat in this crummy bar, her butt sticking to the stool, her feet sticking to the floor, she mused on it.

Evil was everywhere. It was easy to admit defeat and see it as futile.

But Jonyna knew a truth about herself.

She didn't give up. Not in war, not in life. It was a stubborn fault of hers.

"I'm sorry that happened." She said with a calm, deeply understanding tone. The tone of someone who had been through much the same, who had seen war and came out the other end. But while Allyson had come out the other end a cynic, Jonyna had come out the other end something else. Some would argue, something worse.

A radical. A woman determined to find her end on the battlefield, fighting for the good of the galaxy.

"I'm sorry you've been put through hell by those who didn't see your worth. I know it's not much, but I know people like us don't get apologies, so I offer you one in spite of that. Because, all things considered, people like us deserve one. Deserve a lot of them. Apologies from people who aren't me, who aren't ever going to give them. But I am, and...I hope that's worth something. And if it's worth something," She paused, finally looking Allyson in the eye. "I get it. Being forgotten by history while others get the fame and glory of being painted the hero. Doing all the work, and getting nothing for it." Finally, a soft smile. "But...if I'm to offer some perspective..."

She gestured to the rest of the room. "They didn't forget. My people painted murals of me on my home-tree. Sure, I didn't get to be Luke Farking Skywalker, but...maybe it's better to be remembered by a place where everyone knows y0ur name, than by a system of government that didn't care for you." Jonyna ordered another drink, before taking another sip of the hard stuff. "That's how I kept myself sane, at least."

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Jonyna Si //:
//: Attire //:

Allyson caught the look of pity on the Cathar's face. She hated it; the last thing she wanted was pity from someone. The choices were hers, and she didn't regret any of them. While others forced her hand in some situations, there were always choices and things that Allyson could have done to make things work better in her favor. Maybe that was part of growing up; life lessons were annoying.

She took another sip of her whiskey and quipped quickly before Jonyna could continue after the initial apology. "Don't pity me, please." She shook her head and allowed the Cathar to finish.

Her words were that of a Jedi, but what was unique was that she understood the war they both had to grow up in. Allyson appreciated that - there was a semblance of understanding, a middle ground both could stand on.

And yet, the woman missed the point of the ramblings of the Corellian. The fame and glory had not been the point - perhaps she worded things weirdly, but it was what her peers had sought. They had gained it, earned the titles, and were now in command, trying to make the changes the galaxy demanded.

Her thoughts fell to Valery. They were more similar than Allyson ever wanted to recognize. But their goals were always different. Valery had a charisma that Allyson didn't - maybe because she was more hopeful or came from another time. She knew what the Jedi could be, not what they were failing at.
Maybe Allyson was a cynic or just too much of a realist to understand what hope felt like.

"Luke Skywalker was kind of lame though, no offense - sounds like you knew the guy," Allyson smirked as Jonyna finished her speech. The Corellian finished the rest of her whiskey and poured another glass.

"I appreciate the apology, but it was unnecessary - I don't need it or want it. They're empty words in the long run - mostly to make the guilty feel a facade of forgiveness." Her eyes fell from Cathar's face, now focusing on how the aged whiskey clung to the glass.

"The point I was trying to make was - I don't need to be known or remembered. I know my sacrifices were things others couldn't ever fathom doing." She shook her head and smiled as the glass was brought to her lips.

"I would never ask anyone to forsake things they found precious. I would never ask anyone to abandon their families or friends to go on a mission that, in all likelihood, they wouldn't survive."

It was true that while Allyson knew that she would easily turn away from everything that made her happy to fulfill a mission, she couldn't expect that from anyone.

"It's why I was there and stuck with it for so long. I could turn away from things that anchored me and made me feel human - because, at the end of the day, I knew my role in the Alliance. Between both iterations, that never changed. For the Council, I was a tool to enact what they couldn't sacrifice good Jedi for."

Allyson paused, looking over Jonyna, almost calculating something as she did. She analyzed the woman's words and how she spoke. There was almost a need to comfort the Corellian and her sad story.

"You are right on one thing, the Alliance no, the Jedi cared about me - but that's okay, and I've accepted it. Master Jedi, I'm not meant to be cared for; it was not what I was recruited for and not what I was trained for."

Her gaze never left the Jedi's as she finished.

"I was and would always be a deniable asset. The effect that I had and the lives that were saved because I did a job that honestly should have killed me a hundred times over - that's what kept me sane." She took another sip as she put the glass down.

"What bothers me now is that my work means nothing. The Jedi never changed for the better, and instead of being left alone to do what I do best, I was denounced as a traitor, and the fall was mine."

Allyson laughed, "Chit- At least if they were going to do that, they could have killed me; it would have been easier than seeing the people I thought I was protecting sully, a name that would only be buried in black ink and secrets."

After a moment, Allyson tilted her head and looked at Jonyna again. Finally, the voice and the way she moved clicked.

"You're the Shadow I yelled at. Who almost killed me in an avalanche." Allyson's grin widened.

"So are you here to talk to me, or were you looking for an apology or praise for not having died? You strike me as someone who needs reassurance, to know that someone somewhere cares."

Allyson looked away and cleared her throat.

"I think you're trying too hard."

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Allyson Locke

Jonyna let the Corellian talk, but mused over all of it.

"Then why do you keep fighting?" Jonyna asked, a question that had rang through her head ever since she learned about Allyson. "Why keep at it?" Her tone was calm, like she was trying to figure out the why, rather than be mad about the how.

"I never got the chance to meet Luke. While he was blowing up battle stations, I was busy fighting a witch that turned me into an ice cube for 900 years. When I woke up, all my work had been erased, and he had taken the credit for being 'The Last Jedi'. The one who overthrew the empire, and gave the galaxy a new hope. Not me, some farm boy who was, yes, kinda lame." She picked up her glass, and stirred what little she had left. "So I know that feeling. I get it. But...you say the jedi never got better. I wasn't there for that, so I can't tell you if it got worse, but look at it like this. The world I came from? It didn't have a jedi order. They were all dead, or scattered and hiding. Because the Empire won. The Sith won. Is that the world you want back? I certainly don't, and I'll die fighting against it ever coming back, my life be damned."

She took a sip, this time swirling it before letting it slip down her throat.

"I'm not gonna call you a traitor, but I am gonna point out what side you picked in the end. I can't help that." She paused, smirking as Allyson finally remembered her, letting out a sigh as she took another swig. "I'll be honest, that whole mission was me being stupid. I was raised a rebel. Shows of force, that was the name of the game. There were plenty of spies, but I was never that sort. I was bricking Star Destroyers and stealing scout ships. Really, the only reason I tried to become a Shadow was because I figured that's where I could keep doing all that." That, and two other reasons, but Jonyna wouldn't admit that to a spy. "Completed my objective though, so, there's that. Didn't make me feel better about making myself look like a dumbass, nearly getting you two killed." Another swig. "I just don't understand why you keep at this. If you wanna disappear so bad, why not just do that? Find some backwater world, let the history books forget you. Get a nine to five, become a nobody."

Jonyna let out a harsh chuckle. "I could never do that. Too busy trying to do what six year old me dreamed of. Becoming a legend. Inspiring my people to be more bold, more courageous. If I'm honest, I'm too stubborn to even try. There'd always be that voice in the back of my head kicking me to help people, to get involved. Always was." She looked over to Allyson with a raised eyebrow. "Is that what it is for you? A Conscience too loud to ignore? Or is just...that feeling that the mission isn't over?"

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Jonyna Si //:
//: Attire //:

Allyson shrugged. They had similar experiences. Both watched their government crumble, but unlike Jonyna, Allyson had seen the cracks as they fell. Even as a child, she watched as the Republic struggled to maintain its false peace. Lies upon lies spread, even to the point that her own father lied to her. It was at that young age that she learned peace was just a moment in time—just calm before the storm.

She sipped her glass as she listened. She learned more about Jonyna in these moments than any dossier would have told her. This talking thing could be something Allyson could properly get behind. She was always one to be quiet and observe, but in recent years, she's put herself in front of the people she was investigating. Their lips spilled their secrets faster than those around them.

Allyson watched and listened, not interrupting the woman as she continued to talk about herself.

It was an interesting moment; proud of completing something but had an inkling of guilt for nearly killing fellow agents. Her mind had been made up, and the empty glass rested on the table.

Glory wasn't something a Shadow chased. Becoming a Legend wasn't something Jedi chased - it was something that happened, not because they wanted it. It seemed Jonyna wanted to empathize with Allyson - perhaps learn something about her that could lead the Corellian back home.

"Doing what I do - makes me a nobody," Allyson spoke casually as she rolled the glass on its bottom curves in a circle. "There's a reason we're called Shadows and why often we're deniable assets. We're supposed to be no one."

Her voice was quiet, and she remembered the speech she received before her first mission. What she did would be remembered, but not who or what she was. In documents, she'd be blanked out, her name erased, and lost to history.

What mattered to the spy might have sounded foreign to the glory-chasing cathar. It reminded her of the Sith, a thought that made her snort.

Standing, she adjusted the leather jacket and cleared her throat. The mention of a conscience made her smirk. The thought about some small voice in the back of your head trying to help guide you through the chit in your life.

"Nah, don't have one of those. If I did, I don't think I'd be able to do any of the chit I do." She put a couple of folded credits under the edge of her glass. She's learned enough, and her assumption was correct. The last Jedi she could respect was Valery - she hoped her kids took after her, but the rest were nothing more than glory hunters. Listening to Jonyna was enough for her to see that.

"Don't try to empathize with me or try to understand me. Already have one of you that does. Valery knows me like the back of her hand." She stood straight and brushed back the brown bangs that blocked a part of her vision.

"It's annoying, but that's what happens when you work as closely as we did. When you know each other as personally as we do." Allyson felt her jaw tighten, and for a brief moment, a flood of memories hit her like a speeder. Those were some of the best times she's had in a long time - a rare moment she didn't feel alone or like something the Jedi could deny.

"Valery doesn't seek the accolades she's received but is grateful. Listening to you wanting to be a legend kind of disgusts me - Jedi aren't meant to seek that or want that." Allyson pinched the bridge of her nose before continuing - maybe giving too much of herself more than she wanted to.

"For me? When I went undercover, I gave up literally everything - I just wanted people to understand and be there when I returned. That didn't happen, and it is what it is now." Shaking her head, she could feel tightness cling to her throat.

"You should want the things you do to have an effect to make things better for people - not because it would make you remembered." Allyson shoved her hands into her pockets. She knew this conversation would mean nothing to the Cathar, and it wouldn't change anything.

"The Last Jedi is Valery Noble ; she's the only one I truly respect." Turning away from the table, Allyson waved her hand as she headed towards the door.

"Keep my name off your tongue, kitty cat, or I'll come find you and turn you into a Hutt's rug."

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Allyson Locke

Jonyna just let out a sigh.

She'd had a lot of different people tell her a lot of different things about what it meant to be a jedi. Kahlil had told her they were defenders of peace. Vulpes had them her they were warriors of light. And now Allyson was telling her they were humble servents.

All it did was remind her of a conversation she had with Kraden Besco centuries ago.

"I'd make a terrible jedi."

It was what she had told him, and Giran, all those years ago.

Sitting now, as a Jedi Master, she wondered if that still held true. And better yet, did it matter?

Her want to become a legend wasn't out of pride, it wasn't out of greed, or ego. It was because, deep down, Jonyna still believed that her people needed a symbol. A legend. Humans had it easy. So many recognizable faces in the history books to be inspired by. So many people who trusted them on sight. They could go anywhere, be anything.

A Cathar was still seen as an oddity.

A furry creature that was hunted for sport by some, sold into slavery by others, for labor, for skill, for fur. Plenty of reasons to skin a cathar.

Jonyna wanted her people to stand up for themselves. Cease to live in fear.

Allyson was from a different time. A different era unfamiliar to her. But more importantly, she was from a different life.

A life devoid of trust.

Jonyna wouldn't chase her down. Allyson wasn't a threat, not at the moment.

And she knew how to fight back if they became one.