Private Questions and Futures

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic slowly walked though the stations halls. This looked familiar, and not just from his time here. The whole thing seemed familiar. The Miraluka could only guess that he had seen it all before, which he had, when he was rescued. After the time he’d spent, and the ritual, and everything.… He had some questions.

How was all this possible? How did Willow & Ivy end up here, and seeming to run all this? What was Navi Sacra about? The titles of Prophets suggested something too. That they might understand what was going on with him too. Honestly maybe too many questions to start with, but the eyeless pilot just had so many. He could see in the Force how it worked, but it wasn‘t like he could the reasons.

His biggest hope though was that they’d actually be willing to meet. It wasn’t exactly the most planned meeting of his life. Heck, even some of the rushed Rebellion meetings were more to planned than this. He was probably overthinking this.

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy were indeed easy to meet. They didn't have assistants or personal staff or any schedule to keep. Everything was done when it needed to be done. Anyone that needed to see them did so when they wanted to.

The twins spent most of their time in the Atrium, so it was easy to find them if one knew where to look within it. Chopper and Chappie kept nearby the two, keeping guard in case there were hunters wanting to kidnap them again to return them to the Hutts.

Willow and Ivy were playing in one of the streams when Kalic Daws made his way to them. They splashed the water, giggling to eachother. Overall they were quite pleased with how everything was going for them. And it was only going to get better as the number of Navi grew.

 

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic stopped for a second the moment he noticed the twins. It was always an interesting sight for him thanks to how Miraluka saw. He also couldn't help but chuckle at how carefree they seemed right now, a big leap from... well how they all were aboard that Imperial ship. Kalic would "close his eyes" for a moment before walking up, hoping he wouldn't slip away for a bit. Then again if he did maybe they'd notice.

"Prophets? Or Willow and Ivy? I don't know how this works." Yep. This was already going great in his mind. "I'm Kalic Daws. The spacer some of your folks saved a while ago, though I'm pretty sure I saw you before this station." He didn't exactly know if they'd recognize him, but he figured he'd mention it. "But, I was hoping, maybe, I could ask you both some questions, cause I've already seen so many things here that have my head spinning, on top of... other things." He wasn't sure he wanted to say yet he'd get visions. Maybe they'd figure it out, or he'd bring it up later. His mind was abuzz with questions either way.

Willow & Ivy

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy ceased their splashing as Kalic Daws drew near and addressed them. Their robes were wet along the bottom, yet they paid it no mind as they stepped out of the stream, drying their hands on them.

"Hi Kalic. Just Willow and Ivy is fine."

"We've seen you before. When we were borrowed from Broka."

"It's great to see you here. We were rescued from the Hutts too."

"So we have that in common, among other things."

"You'll be here a while, so there's no need to feel rushed in your questions."

"What would you like to know first?"

The twins bade him to follow them to one of their favourite trees to sit under. It's branches of leaves hung low like a curtain. They sat down on pillows that had furnished the area for them. Their faces were bright and eager as they focused solely on Kalic.

 

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic smiled a bit when they said there was no rush, and that they recognized him. Apparently they were borrowed from a Hutt that day. He would follow pair as they led him to a spot to sit. Nice spot he had to admit.

“Well, I guess you already answered a minor one for me, but…. How did the two of you get here, and create…. Well what I’ve been seeing since I got here. Miraluka may not have eyes, but the Force is how we see, so it’s been a sight to say the least. I saw the ritual, and some of how it happens but…. It just seems… I don’t know how to say it.” Despite his stumbling, Willow & Ivy might have noticed he seemed more comfortable. He just honestly didn’t know how to explain the feeling he had seeing you very. curious, worried, interested, and confused all at once.

 

[Willow & Ivy]

"Broka disappeared and a little while later after he was deemed lost, we knew we had to leave."

"With his protection gone, we didn't want to end up with other warlords and Hutts that wouldn't treat us as well as Broka did." Despite the fact that their movements were restricted, that they were always on guard and forbidden from touching a weapon, the twins were never harmed, were always fed well and even paid a small amount of credits for their work as advisors.

"By luck Grand Shepherd Burtch was onworld with the Lady Shii-Cho. After we saved him from some goons on one of our market visits, he agreed to rescue us and bring us here."

"It wasn't an easy escape, but we got away. Here we are safe, even from hunters that have tried to catch us and bring us back to the Hutts as gifts."

"More will try, but the Navi protects. They will keep us safe." The twins had even gone so far as to have accidently reached out to Kyrel Ren and gained his curiosity. However even that turned fortuitous, as both Willow and Ivy were marked by the Crimson Hand and granted safe passage if ever they found themselves in Maw territory. But there was a lot of shadows that way that threatened to swallow them up, so they preferred to remain on Damascus to ensure the safety and survival of the Navi.

The twins folded their hands on their laps as they smiled at Kalic Daws . "Everything in space wants to kill you. But it's the Angels or ships that keep us from death. Without them we would not survive. It's far different than being on a planet. The Angels protect and they deserve the utmost care and respect because of that."

"So we found a way to do that by enhancing the connection between Captains and their ships with the help of scientists and engineers like Viken Dobson . All of the pieces of the puzzle are here. We're just fitting them together. All of this is with purpose."

"And it's going so well!"

 

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic listened to Willow & Ivy as they explained how they got here. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit when they mentioned Grand Shepherd Burtch . Apparently the man had a pension for being in the right place to save people. He quickly got himself to stop before speaking up.

"Sorry. Burtch just seems to get around a lot. It seems like you found a good place though."

The pair would then explain what Navis Sacra exactly was. It was interesting to say the least. They basically found a way to give ships a spirit in a much more literal way than usual. By what he had figured from what he saw it was a willing thing too. He'd heard of AI, but not something like this. He looked at them curiously, thinking through everything.

"So, you basically move the spirit of someone into the ship, and then connect them to the pilot or captain with the Force? Interesting way of handling things. From what I heard the one who becomes the ship is sort of... lost though. The memories are gone. Honestly I understand wanting that at least...." He sounded a bit somber mentioning that, but looked back at Willow and Ivy with a bit of a smile on his face.

"Guess that also explain why your people are so set on saving the Starcrest, but I'm surprised a mechanic hasn't come to yell at me yet. She wasn't exactly the cleanest custom job. Took Jee all she was worth to keep things not getting cross powered by the wrong reactor, or preventing damage to multiple system that were only loosely connected."

 

[Willow & Ivy]

The twins nodded as Kalic Daws described his understanding of the Navi. It was true that the memories of the souls transferred disappeared, but that didn't mean that they were gone.

"There are some that wish for the preservation of some of their best memories. So we preserve them by recording."

"It's almost like the Jedi and Sith holocrons, although not as complex."

"But even for those that don't wish for their memories to be saved, those souls sacrificed aren't gone. Who they are remains in tact."

"If they are good people, then as Angels they will be good. And if they were bad, then their Angels will be bad." Given that much of the process utilized the Force, not only did it make the ships detectiable to being detected by Force Users, it also made them vulnerable to being influenced by both Light and Dark.

"Those that they are bonded with also have influence over how their Angel behaves. We can imagine that your own Starcrest has some quirks of her own."

"Our Keepers will help fix her up. And I think they'd only yell at you if you let her fall into disrepair once they are finished."

Willow smiled brightly at Kalic. "Would you like to be bonded with her?"

 

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic listened to to the Willow & Ivy as they explained what happened to the memories of one who chose to become an Angel. They were still them to an extent, and if they wanted their memories could be saved. That was interesting to note for sure. Kalic then heard then talk about the Starcrest.

Willow noted that the fighter probably had its own quirks, while Ivy said the Keepers most likely wouldn’t yell at him unless he didn’t keep up on maintenance. Then Willow asked if he’d want to be bonded to his fighter.

The Miraluka looked down, thinking of how to respond. He had definitely become interested in the idea of his time on the station, but there was another thing that he needed to ask, especially before wanting to go through with this.

“I might. It’s definitely interested me, but…. There’s some I need to ask though.” He would take a breath to calm down before continuing. “I know they call you prophets, so I kind of guessed we’d have this in common. After you were… borrowed by the Empress, she took me prisoner. Torture, testing…. She decided to try using Force Alchemy to take away my sight, but it didn’t work. If anything it didn’t the opposite. I started to get visions of the future. Painful too. I felt… everything. And after that she…. Turned me into a spy. Some friends helped… fix me for the most part, but I still get the visions. Only thing is now I… slip into them. I can’t always tell whether I’m in the present or not…. And I don’t know how to control it, or at least know when it happens.” He took another deep breath. “And I don’t know how that would effect anyone or anything connected to me.”

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy listened to Kalic Daws with interest. It was true that they were similar, however the extent of that similarity was far more than what he knew it to be.

Hearing his story of being experimented upon gave them shivers, for they had nightmares about such things happening to them, and it was partly what put them onto this course of their lives. They didn't want to end up in anyone's exoeriments. Hopefully their work on Damascus station and their deal with Kyrel Ren would help prevent their nightmares from coming true.

"We're sorry to hear of your capture. It is a horrible fate that hopefully won't be repeated."

"And now that you're here, you'll be safe!"

"Yes, they won't come after you here. They have no interest in Damascus."

"What you need to help with your visions is grounding."

"Your Angel can help you with that. She'll be able to utilize her sensors to help you know what is real and what is not."

"She'll wake you up if you need it and even help you to control your visions so that they can help you."

"Just like what we do for eachother. Being bonded to Angels allow others to live almost like us."

"You won't be alone. You'll always be with a friend."

Sometimes a friend was worth far more than anything else in the Galaxy.

 

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic smiled a bit as Willow & Ivy reassured him he was safe there. Honestly he wouldn’t be surprised if Ingrid had decided he wasn’t worth finding again, and while most didn’t know about his visions, it had always been a concern. He then listened as they talked about his visions.

Ivy explained that he needed something to ground him when he went into his visions, and her and Willow would play off one another as they explained that and Angel could help him with this. Mostly thanks to having sensors that meant they wouldn’t exactly have the same issue of loosing where they were. Willow then noted that this would be similar to her and Ivy. The Miraluka looked down, thinking for a moment before taking a breath.

“Honestly…. I sound like a decent idea. Give me just as much of a chance to start over and put what happened behind me as whoever would take on being and Angel. Thank you, both of you.”

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy smiled brightly at Kalic Daws . They knew that he'd become a part of the Navi. He just needed a gentle nudge in that direction. And repairing the Starcrest was the perfect nudge.

"Keep in mind that once you are bonded with your Angel, your connection will grow over time."

"You'll feel her joys and her pain. She will be like an extension of yourself."

"But it'll be wonderful! Flying into battle and defending Damascus will be quite a thrilling thing!"

"And you're welcome to watch or help out in her ascension, if you'd like. Or you can do as some have and wait to be surorised when she's finished."

"The Keepers take such good care of the Angels. They are always held in the highest regard."

 

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic smiled a bit, still not sure how to react around Willow & Ivy . He nodded a bit at the idea of helping with repairs, or ascension as the twins put it, to Starcrest.

“I’ll help how I can for sure, but I’d rather not have the medics yelling at me for that one.” He laughed a bit before continuing. “But it’ll be nice to see what she looks like after being… heavily repaired.”

 

[Willow & Ivy]

"Yes, be sure to have the okay from the medical teams first."

"We've heard that some of them are strict. But they mean well."

"Most of the people that we meet come here. It's very relaxing of a space."

"Isn't it beautiful? We prefer this over any of Broka's palaces."

Here they were guarded to be sure, but not in the same way that they were guarded by Broka's men. There was no worry that they'd try to escape or take up arms and start to hurt others. On Damascus station the only worry was that bounty hunters would try to take them away.

"How long have you had your droid companion, Kalic Daws ?"

 

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic looked around the garden-like area, smiling a bit. Ivy was right that some of them could be strict. Both Willow & Ivy would then talk about how beautiful this part of the station was. The Miraluka couldn’t help but smile and nod as he took a breath and took in the sight.

“Yeah. Never really seen something like this on a station. Might have come up here more often.” He then heard Willow’s question about Jee. How long had he had her? He smiled again, focusing his view on the twins.

“My parents had her before me, so honestly, my entire life, or when I was 15 depending on how you look at it…. There’s a reason me and the Hutts don’t get along well.”

 

[Willow & Ivy]

"Really? What reason is that?"

"Did they force you to work for them?"

"Was Starcrest injured because you escaped?"

"Oh please tell us the story..."

Willow and Ivy inched their way closer to Kalic Daws like little kids eager to hear a tale of adventure. They hoped that Kalic didn't have bounties on him too, as they did. But these days it didn't take much to have a hunter keen on going after someone.

 

[Kalic Daws]

Kalic watches as Willow & Ivy seemed to want to know his story, moving a bit closer in what he could tell was curious excitement. He sighed a bit, thinking back.

“My parents didn’t like taking Hutt cargo runs, so protection was difficult to come by. Pirates came by over Tatooine, and… well they shot the freighter down. Crash landed near Freetown. My parents… didn’t make it. They had already taught me to fly though, so got with an outfit pretty quick, flew a Y-TIE…. Oh… that a kind of fighter we always called Uglies. Cobbled together from Y-Wing and TIE Fighter parts, and I wouldn’t exactly count her as an Angel. More like a flying death trap. Flew some for the Hutts and other cartels, but never liked it so once I got the credits, got myself an old S3 Y-Wing, got some work done on her, and got her re-registered with a new name. Starcrest. After that, jumped around a few places. Fel Empire. Eclipse Rebellion. Went back to merc work and got a job against a Hutt. As you can guess by how I was found that didn’t go very well. Or way better than expected depending on how you look at it.”

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy listened intently while Kalic Daws spoke. His life was full of ups and downs. At least his constant therein was his droid companion, Jee.

The twins had eachother.

"The Hutts have long memories. Forgiveness isn't easy to come by."

"That's why we never want to go back. When we've looked, all that we've seen is blood and sand."

"But here there's beauty, and people that love us."

"And the Angels are finding their voices, so that we could all look out for eachother."

"We all are protected from war and the Cartels."

"Even those outside of Damascus are gaining interest in the Navi. Isn't that exciting?!"

Willow and Ivy beamed with excitement. They couldn't help themselves. Who knew that they could be a part of something so wonderful and grand in scale?

 

[Kalic Daws]

"Yeah. Really does sound exciting." Kalic smiled a bit at Willow & Ivy . The pair seemed to practically have joy leaping off of them the more he spoke. A little safety was nice, and the idea of the Angels was definitely something. Still, he was just a bit surprised by it all. He the looked over a bit, nodding before he spoke up.

"Are you two always this exited?" The Miraluka had to admit it was a bit infectious. Though he did start to feel a bit funny before seeing that something looked... different. Was this...? Great. No idea what this could be this time.

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy could feel the mood of Kalic Daws lifting and it was great! They looked to eachother after his question, giggled a little in spite of themselves and then turned their attention back to him.

"We are when it comes to the Navi."

"We are doing everything that we can to show that it isn't some cult, so that others don't fear it."

"The Navis Sacra faith is a way of life, similar to other forms of government out there."

"And everyone works so well together! Just look at what we've built in such a short time? That can only happen when people see the benefits for them of what they are doing."

"And fear doesn't motivate them either, but as fulfilling the want to be special."

"And they are! We all are."

"You feel it too, don't you?"