Private Quiet is the Tiger's Home

[Jonyna Si]

​

Ran Dom Kuun, home tree of the Denik, had always been a pretty active space port, even during the days of the first Republic. While by no means a thriving city, it acted as a small rest stop for weary travelers who looked to see the open savannah of Cathar, or the deep jungles of the Equator. of course, it was also home to many of note to the people of Cathar. It's branches, towering up to six thousand feet at it's highest canopy, acted as a highway for it's denizens, natural climbers who grew up in these branches.

Namely, Jonyna Si. Hero of the Rebel Alliance, Founder of Si Tech, and Jedi Knight. She had once again returned to her childhood home, a little nook in the trunk of the tree that had been gifted back to her by her tribe upon her return from the great beyond. She had agreed to meet with Kahlil Noble here, hoping to show him the way she had been raised. Much of Cathar culture was different from the rest of the galaxy, especially the jedi way. Though Cathar were expected to become jedi should they be born with the gift of the Force, it was almost always an uphill struggle.

The Denik had taken the effort to start up a stew, waiting for her visitor. This wouldn't be his first time here, but it would hopefully be his first time without conflict. Then again, if Hilal decided to show her face on Jonyna's home turf, the cathar might not be so kind as she was last time.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

He hadn't been back here since the incident with the Mandalorian. Kahlil frowned at that thought. He really needed to make more time to visit the other worlds. Especially the worlds with a large Jedi presence. It didn't do any good to be a council member couped up on Coruscant and forgetting that there were other types of Jedi all across the stars. There was a lot of figuring out for him. The importance that Jedi remain different.

They were not a uniform or some type of culture replacement.

Thankfully, Cathar tended to be on the taller side. While not as tall as the Epicanthix, the fact he didn't have to duck through another doorway was a welcome relief as he entered the building. "You cook?" He made his way into the kitchen, idly sneaking a peak towards the stew. Kahlil was, for better or worse, always a fan of good cooked food.

"I didn't know that."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"Spent twenty years fending for myself under the Empire. Yeah, I learned to cook." Jonyna said with a slight smirk of pride. "That's Wark meat with local herbs and some city-tree fruit. Threw in some bantha meat as well. Made it the way my dad taught me. He was the hunter of the family, so he cooked all the meals." She blinked, realizing he wouldn't know what a Wark was. "Warks are like....big antlered creatures from here. Make for great steak."

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

That made sense. When there wasn't anywhere else to go, learning how to cook for yourself was often the best choice. It's why he learned how to cook, anyway. "Sounds majestic. Smells delicious. I might have to try my hand at hunting one to cook myself some time." Of course he was going to have what she made right now, though. He found a spot to sit, letting himself relax just a tad.

"Have there been anymore problems with Mandalorians here?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"Not yet, at least. I heard they're doing a thing over on Mandalore recently, so they're definitely in the area." She said that with a bit of hesitation. "I assume you saw the article the news put out about me? Hilal Vizsla tried murdering both my padawans on Ukatis, along with a bunch of civilians. Broke my arm. It's still a little sore...you're welcome to that stew by the way. I've been working on it all day for your visit. Never let it be said that the denik don't know hospitality."

tag: Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I see some of the news, yes." That was part of his duty to the Order, in some ways. Keep up with the Jedi he could so he knew who might need help and where he could help. So much work, especially with the war. It was good she and her Padawan's were fine after such an encounter.

"It took a bit before I could see that segment though." He'd been blinded during his own encounter during that battle. The wonders of modern medicine, truly. "But, don't mind if I do. It does smell awfully good." He smiled a bit, got up to scoop himself a bowl before taking a seat again.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"You okay? I didn't hear about what happened on the other planets that got attacked much." Jonyna inquired as Kahlil Noble tasted the stew. Savory Wark Beef chunks that seemed to melt in your mouth alongside City-Tree fruit that seemed to taste of a mixture of peach and yam, all slightly spicy with infused herbs.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Lightning can be very bright when you focus a lot of it into one spot."

He chuckled a little before taking a bite of the stew. And sighed happily. Food was always good, and this was certainly delicious. "I got the people out, but I wasn't able to stop the Mandalorian's objective of destruction. They wanted to disrupt everything they could, no matter who was caught in the crossfire."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"One of these days we need to go on the offensive. Si Tech has been pumping out as much as we can to help counter the mandos." Jonyna frowned at the thought. "Else they'll just keep hitting us and causing damage against innocents. I've seen this kinda thing before. Stunts like what Hilal did last time we were both here are gonna become more frequent on unsuspecting worlds. they're already painting the GA as the aggressors..." She paused, letting out a sigh. "But this is why I'm not a senator. Maybe I'm just an old rebel who doesn't fit in the modern galaxy. At least, that's the vibe you gave off last time we talked..."

Tag: Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"A Jedi should never seek to kill when there is an alternative. We're not soldiers." That was the only point he'd wanted to make before, and he still stuck by it. "A Jedi has to be able to adapt, though. Whether it's from being an old rebel in a galaxy where there is no Empire to rebel against, or to rejoin the fight when war once again breaks out and threatens to kill many. The Mandalorians made their choice, and no matter who they are they will be stopped."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"No, but we should be heroes. When the galaxy burns once more, it should be a jedi's duty to put out the fire. Even if that means using fire to fight it." No longer was she going to be on the backfoot.. Now, she felt confident enough to at least make a counter argument. "The jedi my people worship did such, and I believe I should too. Jedi are protectors, yeah? Well, sometimes protecting means you have to take out the threat. Mandos aren't gonna 'redeem' themselves, they're a horde of war loving conquerors who once glassed my planet and forced my clan to near extinction. I can trace all 3 million Denik on this tree back to one group of 600 Denik. You said it, we've looked for alternatives. The GA has offered them terms, now we're at war. I don't see the point in offering them mercy when they're slaughtering our civilians, burning our planets, and trying to murder our children."

Tag: Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I killed at least four dozen Mandalorians in their assault on our borders. Some I never even saw. I did not do it to be a hero. I did not do it to be worshiped by your people, or any people. I did it because it saved the lives of those the Mandalorians would've blown up and slaughtered for simply being there. You think I'm arguing against you, Jonyna. But I haven't been." Kahlil took up another spoonful of the soup, smiling as he took another bite. It really was good.

"I've already been handling the Mandalorians where I can, and sent out other Jedi to do the same while the Alliance figures out it's next path for attack. Because it's what must be done. But a Jedi should never be worshiped. Especially not for violence."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"And that's why I invited you." Jonyna said simply. "Lemme ask you this. What do you think Ran Dom Kuun means? The name of this tree. This city. Take a guess, it's from your wife's time." Jonyna's tone was now curious, wondering if the master knew this story. It was ancient history to most, a question on a test for jedi knowledge. But to the Denik...it was everything. Their entire culture.

Tag: Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I wouldn't know. I don't speak the language." Kahlil raised a brow. Valery's time of the Old Republic was centuries after the Mandalorian slaughter of the Cathar, so he wasn't sure waht she was talking about.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Despite Jonyna's misinformed sense of time, she did have a point to make. "Scar of Kuun. In reference to the scar that Knight Sylvar gave to Exar duing the Great Sith War. When the Mandos came, and all we had left was hope, we prayed for Sylvar, the hero of our people. Then the jedi came, pushed the mandos back. Even that was decades after Sylvar's death, it felt like our prayers had been answered. Now..." She motioned Kahlil Noble to follow her as she walked to the door of the small house.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Sylvar. I know of them. They came here, home to Cathar, to find peace and serenity after such a long war. Only to be celebrated as a hero and lauded as a savior." Kahlil stood as he followed. He'd done some research on the Cathar as he could, just to try and understand more. It didn't truly help.

"I'm not sure the point you're trying to make, Jonyna. I can understand if your people worship the Jedi. There are many who do. But a Jedi should never seek to be worshiped. Even the Jedi your people worship would certainly be disappointed to know she is."

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"I never said I was trying to." Jonyna said simply. "Sylvar knew the same thing I did. The same thing every Cathar does. The heroes of Cathar, the heroes of their tribes, are ordained as sages. To Cathar, we expect all who are born with the gift of the Force to follow the path of a jedi. It's not just a choice, it's...a burden. To be a jedi, it's the greatest honor a cathar can be given by the hands of fate." Those last three words seemed to be spoken originally in Catharese, though obviously Kahlil Noble could understand them, even if the deeper cultural meaning of the word was lost. As they exited the house, Jonyna looked up, above the house, to a mural carved into the trunk of the tree itself above the small carved hut. Kahlil had seen it as he came in, two jedi stylistically fighting a sith of some sort. "Sylvar had her own, it's a couple hundred miles from here...or at least, that's where it was before the mandos came."

The Cathar frowned, looking at the mural. "I came back to this when I came out of the ice. It's tradition to carve the great deeds of sages into the tree itself, to remind all of the lofty expectations our ancestors set for us. It's our way of dedicating the deeds of the past. It's me, and...my mom. When I came home the first time, everything was smiles and rainbows...but the Empire tracked us there. Kidnapped my sisters. We had to fight off two Inquisitors together. It was...nice to fight alongside my mom. She took me in as a padawan then and there. Told me her story as a Shadow." She looked to Kahlil with a frown. "I didn't ask to be given this, or the title of Sage. Don't feel like I've earned it yet. But with my disappearance, everyone assumed I had gone off and died to the Empire. My sister went on to join Luke's NJO. Turns out she eventually got to Jedi Master. Her mural is deep in the equatorial jungle. Now there's Si offspring all over the place. Now I'm just trying to live up to that. The Hero of Cathar, in the darkest moment of the Jedi's history, depending on who you ask."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"You don't want to be worshiped as a hero, but you want to live up to being the Hero of Cathar. You're not making sense, Jonyna. What is it you're trying to tell me?"

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"I'm trying to tell you I never had a choice. From the moment I was born, I was expected to be a jedi. To live up to what Sylvar set as the ideal for what a Cathar should be. And when finally, I found my way back, I had done my best to be that, even when I didn't know what being a jedi was. I invited you because I wanted you to see the culture I grew up in. Like I said, when the dust settled and the Mandos got pushed back by the jedi, there were only 600 of us or so left. Everyone in this tree knows me, and my family. And they know everyone else. Maybe not by name, but by family. On Coruscant, no one knows who you are on the street. On Cathar? You can't go anywhere on this tree without someone recognizing you. That's the culture I grew up in. Now they want me to be their sage, a giver of wisdom. I don't know if I can be that, if I can't even agree with one of the heads of the order I'm supposed to be a part of."

She looked up to the massive canopy above them. "Before I went into the ice, I would've been thrilled to find my story carved into this bark. But now? It just feels...hollow. Like I didn't earn it. I wanted to start my own Order. My own sect of the jedi. A new start, apart from everything they were before. Me and my boyfriend, we were gonna start a family, start a new life, help the galaxy heal from the cancer of the Empire. But now? I can't be just another knight in the pack. Someday...I wanna be in your position. That's always been the dream, and yet..." she looked back to the master jedi. "...part of me wonders if I'll ever get that. You don't seem to like me, or my culture's ideals. To us, fighting without mercy is what's expected. On a hunt, you don't expect your prey to show you sympathy. I understand your want to offer redemption, but I've seen what the mandos see as righteous. Their ideals, they see war as only a chance to prove themselves to other mandos. It doesn't matter who gets hurt along the way, it's only about their own personal glory. You don't redeem that."

Tag: Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"When I was born, or well, when I woke from a cloning vat, I was to be a vessel. A back up if my father's current body died so he could house his soul and continue his life. I wasn't the only one, but I was the one he kept close." Kahlil kept his gaze on the wall, a frown soft on his lips.

"I am Kahlil Zambrano. Prince of the Epicanthix. Scion of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Carnifex, who's reigned as the God King of the Epicanthix for over half a century. The Zambrano name, my face, on Panatha, among my people, there are none who don't know who I am. My culture, my people, are warriors. We've conquered countless civilizations under my family name. Where Mandalorians would burn their enemies to the ground, we assimilate them. Their culture, their way of life, it's all made Epicanthix. We prize beautify over everything. Have you seen Mandalor, recently?"

Kahlil paused before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a holopad, swiping through some of the images before an image of Mandalore hovered above it. Half the planet looked as it always did. The other half, strip mind and destroyed miles deep. It was deep, jagged lines of exposed earth where land, cities, homes, had once been. "My father is responsible for this. They sought peace, once. And because of it, my father betrayed them, slaughtered them by the billions, and razed their planet before strip mining it for Beskar. You want to be on the council?"

He clicked off the pad. "I wouldn't recommend it. Not all of my people are those who follow my Father. I help lead the group of the Epicanthix that reject him and try to preserve our way of life that wasn't perversed by my family. And not all Mandalorians are like those we fought only recently. If you can't see that, if you can't look past your own biases and think for yourself and not the way your people groomed you to think, you will not be on the Council. Your people's beliefs, the beauty they make, I respect. I love this wall. I love that they preserve their heroes, even if I don't agree with the fact that a Jedi should be celebrated as such."

He turned his head back towards Jonyna.

"But you are a Jedi. You must be both. A Cathar, and a Jedi. Right now, you're only choosing to be Cathar. When you can find a way to balance both, that's when I could see you on the Council. If you think that I don't like you though, that's also wrong. I think you're fantastic. But you've a lot to grow on still. You must grow beyond your culture, and your history and the time you left. I had to learn that the hard way, and I'm not big on telling people what they have to do. It defeats the purpose of people learning. But I do want to help you. So, there's your hint. Find yourself as you outside your people, and outside the Jedi."

Jonyna Si