Seeking Solutions

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]

“Adumar…is this where we’re going?” the blonde human Amara asked.
“That’s where our contact said, yes. They said the Jedi are assisting the planet from their orbital ship,” her redheaded protector replied.
“Well, since we’re here, let’s approach nice and slowly, unthreateningly.
“I do not believe this is a wise move.”
“Noted, Zhenya. At least they’re not going to suddenly attacks us for no reason though,” Amara said.
As if on cue Faelar called. “Uhh, they’re transmitting to us, Miss.”
“Approaching ship, you are on our scopes, this is the Solace of Conviction. Please identify yourselves and your reasons for approaching. Slow to point-ten speed and refrain from hostile actions.”
“Okay, perhaps they might. I’m not always right,” Amara said with a grin. She took up the commlink.
“Solace, my name is Amara. I was directed to you as someone I can talk to in regards to finding a Jedi for training or discussion.”
There was a pause. “Very well, you may approach one of our boarding clamps. Only one person, unarmed, can board until you are cleared. Any attempt to disobey this will lead to your vessel being detached and destroyed.”
“Understood.”

Amara took a deep breath when the call closed off. “Unexpectedly militant…and sensible…for Jedi,” she muttered.
“I cannot protect you on there if you continue this foolishness,” Zhenya said sternly.
“This is what I want. Besides, they’re Jedi, they’ll at least hear me out first.” She sounded much more confident than she felt.
Soon enough the ship was close enough to dock and Amara, sans weapons, headed for the boarding tube.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The Jedi were very attentive, high level scans as the vessel approached and when the vessel docked it was met by a handful of armed security guards inside the temple ship. They went about the usual scanning of a new person they did not know, eyeing her and her crew with some skepticism. Eventually when they were satisfied with the results, they let her pass to a waiting protocol droidhttp://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/CGR-80 of ancient design that awaited her. In a monotonous voice it addressed the young woman. “Your presence has been requested by Master Leona’veras so that you may be vetted properly. Follow me please.”

The Droid turned and lead the woman through the vessel, very sparse and spartan in its appearance. Mechanics worked on the vessel in several spots, trying to repair its overworked and aging systems as they did so. The droid lead the woman to the hospital wing of the frigate, where dozens of people laid in medical beds being tended to by four or five nurses. No doctors were present and the handful of droids that were there, only a few were clearly medical droids. The others were simply repurposed. The groans and moans of the injured resounded through the trauma ward. The droid approached a relatively young, green Twi’lek, “Master Leona’veras, the visitor you requested to see.”

“I meant when I was done, but what’s done is done now.” The twi’lek responded, putting her hand on a young woman’s head. “Calm.” She whispered in a hushed tone. The woman had a very grizzly broken leg, scraps and contusions on her body and her ribs appeared severely bruised. “There was an IED on the planet, leveled a building. The worst of the victims that could survive the shuttle ride ended up here. The rest of the medical staff are on the planet.”

The Twi’lek busied herself looking over the injuries, and applying pressure to the woman’s ribs looking for a reaction. “How did you hear about us?” She asked without looking up. When the woman winced, the Twi'lek frowned at her patient. "Hand me that." She pointed to needle on a tray on the other side of the medical bed from where she was standing.

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]
Amara gave a little wave as the guards scanned her and then led her suspiciously inside.
“Yes, of course. Master Leona’veras you say? Interesting.”
She wasn’t sure why it was interesting, but it was something to say.

However, she soon came upon the Twi’lek Jedi and the unfortunate she was treating. Amara stared at the mangled person and winced. She was not squeamish looking at wounds, but she did feel empathy for the person.

When asked, Amara extended her hand and the needle flew to it. The Force was a tool to her, and so she used it as and when needed. Constant practice meant constant readiness.

“I made a brief acquaintance with a Laira Darkhold. Lovely girl. After we’d dealt with some ‘situations’ she suggested I seek you out. I seek training in healing and helping allies. And, well, I’m curious about Jedi. Who they are, what they do, and she said I should come here and see if I can learn something. I’m all for learning.”

She approached the injured woman closer, as if it was an interesting exhibit, but trying not to get in the Jedi Master’s way.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The Twi’lek set about probing the woman with the needle and syringe, jabbing it deep into the woman’s chest cavity and using it to draw out blood, possibly from the woman’s lungs. “Darkhold...” she mused, quietly. Luckily the woman was almost unconscious from the combination of her mental suggestion and sedatives. “Ah, one of the new padawans. I remember her name now.”

With the woman’s lungs draining, the green-skinned alien turned her attention to the woman’s leg, guiding the broken bones back together with the Force. It wouldn’t be healed or reattached, but it would at least be set and the Twi’lek could focus her attention elsewhere. “Well, if you are here to learn I will be done with my duties shortly.” Despite the moans from around the room of the injured that had been ferried to the ship, most of them were either already treated or no longer in life-threatening condition.

“We have precious little bacta after the shortage, so we have to conserve it when possible.” she sighed, revealing in a moment of peace. “If you have any experience in healing or medicine, please lend a hand. I suppose I can give you a crash course now and we can go in depth later.” She smiled warmly at the blonde woman, drawing out the woman’s natural regenerative process and helping directing it to the most grievous of her injuries. With that she injected a syringe of bacta into the woman’s chest. “I guess you could say a Jedi’s life is sacrifice.” Leona said with a chuckle.

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]

“Interesting,” Amara said to the last comment.

However, she moved forward to assist as best she could. She lacked any real basis in healing – that’s why she was here – but she did have some skills which might assist.
Reaching out with the Force she passed a hand over the patient’s brow. “Rest, and feel no more today,” she whispered.
Though the Jedi had calmed her with mental suggestion, Amara was able to reach into the woman’s mind and essentially shut her down for a while.
“It’s a deep trance, and she will need to be withdrawn from it carefully, but it will reduce the chance of her waking up, or unconscious struggling.”

She then set to work taking away the used instruments, restocking the cart with new supplies and offering a needle and thread to assist with any sutures which the patient needed. Medicine…at least the assisting part…she understood. She wasn’t quite so sure about anatomy as much, her efforts had been restricted to field medicine.

“I’m happy to learn anything you want to teach me. My background didn’t really have much time for the Light Side, so my attempt to find it has been much error and some trials. So I figured that since Laira spoke highly of you I’d come this way.”

She paused. “Hmm, when we have a moment I’d like to send a message to my crew that I’ve not been immediately slaughtered,” she said with a grin.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The Jedi Master didn’t seem to mind the assistance, letting Amara push the woman into the hibernation trance while she focused her presence on reattaching blood vessel after blood vessel in her chest to keep the woman’s body cavity from internally bleeding. When she was done, she sighed and pulled her gloves off, tossing them into a bin. “Sure thing hun, go get your crew settled in, I’m going to change.”

She didn’t go very far, just to the closest station to was her hands and pull the bloody scrubs from her body to reveal the tan Jedi robes. The nurses and such simply continued seeing to the wounded within, but for the most part they were all out of the woods enough that the Jedi felt comfortable leaving them in the hands of the remaining staff.

She tapped Amara on the shoulder, “When you are done we can walk and talk about whatever you’d like to know.”

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]

After a fairly intense procedure, Amara was happy to get back to her crew. As she passed through the umbilicus she saw her crew looking a mixture of concern and impassive.
“It’s fine, gang, we’ll be allowed to dock in the hanger bay. You can stay on here or they’ll give you rooms. I’ve made contact with the Jedi Laira mentioned.”
“You should be careful they do not attempt to search and seize this vessel,” Zhenya said.
“Then you should wait here and make sure they don’t!” Amara said cheerfully.
“I will do so,” the HRD said levelly.

Heading back on board Amara caught up with the Jedi Master after she was back in her tan robes. Amara’s own outfit was decidedly utilitarian, being a somewhat bland grey jumpsuit with a belt and numerous pockets. Shapeless but comfortable it did what it needed.
“Thank you for seeing me. I know it’s a bit out of the void, but I am trying to forge my own path forward now. I never had much of a formal training, just various teachers who felt the directness of the Dark Side was the best path. I’ve chosen differently, but I don’t have much to hang my hat on, so to speak…not that I wear hats much.”

“I feel the Force, I have reasonable control over it, I know how to use the Light…but not well. I would like to learn from you how to heal, how to use my skills to inspire and protect others. And, I mean, I might be able to teach you something too. Maybe….”

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Leona’veras smiled as the blonde woman returned from her crew. She had a lightsaber on her side, but it honestly looked as though it hadn’t been used in some time, and her Jedi robes were admittedly a little more form-fitting than was normal for Jedi. She was still a young woman, and still a Twi’lek afterall. “I understand. I’ve not had much dealings with the Dark Side I’m afraid, though I have encountered many that follow its guidance religiously, much like some Jedi do the Light. I’m glad you have chosen this path however.”

She smiled, gesturing for the blonde to follow her down a corridor. “Some of my constituents are more learned in dealing with it and redeeming those who have followed it. I will try my best to mentor you along this path, though.” She'd never had an apprentice of her own, so this would be a first for the young Jedi Master.

“I must apologize, as I am sure you are more powerful in the Force than I. And I’m sure you know things about the Force I do not. I am no great warrior or potent force on the battlefield. My strength is precision.” The green alien opened a door to an empty room with bare walls. Much of the ship was utilitarian in its form, lacking the grandoise structures of the Jedi Temples of the ancient orders.

“I suppose we should start with something simple, so I figured we’d do some breath control and I’ll tell you about the Jedi Code, answer any questions you have.” She dropped to sit cross-legged in the middle of the floor, patting the cold durasteel for Amara to follow suit.

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]
Amara waved a hand vaguely. “Oh I’m not a great Force user, I’m sure you know a lot of things I don’t. My main role is just fluffing around and trying not to get myself filleted!” she said with a smile.

She plopped onto the floor beside the Twi’lek. “Right, breath control. I can hold my breath for quite a while! That must be a Jedi test to prove my resilience, right?” she asked. It wasn’t clear if she was jesting or not.

“So…I’m guessing the Jedi Code is like a book or a manual? I’ve heard it referred to, it must be quite detailed.”

 

[Laira Darkhold]

“I’m sure that it is somewhere, but I meant more, let’s just focus on simple breathing. In,” The Twi’lek held for several seconds, and then exhaled for almost as long, repeating the long slow breath a few times while they sat. “Calming the mind and the body allows one to focus on the spirit.”

“I suppose you could call it a manual. It is simple in its words, complex in its meanings. I’ve found very few Jedi interpret it the same however.” The Twi’lek smiled and arched her back, stretching her arms above her head with a soft groan as she pulled the muscles and tendons as she breathed. “The one we of the Remnant teach is,

Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.
Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect.
Jedi respect all life, in any form.
Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.”

She smiled at the blonde woman, “I’m sure you have questions about what it, but instead how about you tell me what you think the words mean.”

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]

Amara did as she was instructed. Breathing was not something she ever really considered, except in cases where air was short. It was calming though, she closed her eyes to concentrate.

As the Jedi discussed the code, Amara listened attentively. When it finished she opened one eye and looked at the Jedi, as if expecting more.
“Is that it? I mean, it’s pretty to the point, so that’s good.”
Fortunately the Jedi had not used the Old Republic version about ‘there is no x, there is y.’ Amara probably would have been rather more critical of that.

“Okay, so if I understand this right, the Jedi try to use the Force as impartial observers. They believe in justice, but feel that they are not right to govern. That code implies that the Jedi are accepting of other creatures and their beliefs…so long as they don’t interrupt the peace or harm those they wish to protect?”

She rubbed her nose slightly. “I guess there’s a lot of possible meanings in these lines, open to interpretation. I’m sure I’d give a very different view of how to implement it than you!” she said with a little smile.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Leona’veras giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. “There are other codes, but the Remnant prefers what Master B’rahk calls the ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’ ideology.” The green-skinned alien straightened herself and shifted her weight around, ensuring her well-fitted robes were smooth.

“That is right. Or at least that’s not wrong.” The young Master raised her chin, “Like you said, I may have a different interpretation than you, but that doesn’t mean either are incorrect. The Remnant prefers to allow students to develop their own precise interpretation, having Masters like myself and experienced Knights, to help guide their interpretations rather than setting them.”

“As Jedi, we have a duty to help those that need it. Obviously we have to use our best judgement in different situations. There are moral grey areas, and there are times when we will have to chose a path that has no good termination. Sometimes we will be wrong, that is life. There is no perfect Jedi, just as there is no perfect person. But, we have power others do not, and owe it to them to serve them as best as we are each able.”

She breathed in deeply once more, letting her breathing reset her mind.

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]
“I quite agree, I’m not one for reading long…anything…unless I really have to! If you can’t grab me in the first page I’m just going to glaze over. I guess that’s a bad thing, but conciseness is a virtue.”

“Huh, I thought you Jedi were really into the emphatic right and wrong of things. Not morals, but interpretations. But then my Jedi knowledge comes from a very biased and hostile source…hence why I’m here today!”

Amara nodded as the Twi’lek finished. “I think that’s a fair way of handling it. The Light doesn’t mean dumb, but it doesn’t mean pushover either. Anyone who says you have to be a pacifist or a life-ist to follow the Light is fooling themselves. What you need is the assurance that violence is the last recourse and that you handle it proportionally to the circumstance. Like, I’m not going to firebomb someone who stole someone’s wallet, but if there were invaders threatening innocents I would consider it.”

She took a deep breath, relaxed.
“But I guess…how do you Jedi handle those grey areas? That’s what’s always troubled me the most. Like, when is it accepted that you need to kill someone? In combat, obviously, but…okay, what would you say if someone escaped from prison and killed again after being jailed. What would you do?”

Straight into the hypothetical, but if Amara was honest with herself this was the main reason she was here, to talk with others and learn a few other points of view.

“Hasn’t happened to me, but I came close when I caught the man who had been abusing two of his slaves I freed. They’re the two girls on my ship, well I say girl but…anyway, I didn’t kill him. I did put the fear of all that was holy in him though.”

 

[Laira Darkhold]

“Some are innately empathetic to the nature of right and wrong, but for most beings it is a thing that must be taught or trained. Like a muscle, it must be exercised or it will atrophy. There are always bad seeds in a batch, even the Jedi are not immune to such truths.”

The Twi’lek blinked when the blonde girl posed a hypothetical situation for her to answer. “There are always variables. If his existence was a direct threat to another’s, and death was the only solution one could ensure the survival of another, then I could understand.” The green alien searched her feelings and her mind. It was not something she’d ever been called upon to do.

“I’m not sure if I could bring myself to kill another on the suspicion that they would merely escape and kill again, but there comes a point where it is our duty to say enough is enough and take measures for more permanent solutions. I’m not sure where that point is, I am not sure if I can define it for every situation, but I know it when I see it.” She blushed with some embarrassment in her expression. She was more a healer than a warrior, and though she had fought before it wasn’t her strongest avenue.

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]

“I think that’s all we can do. Having a thousand rules will make you feel restricted, yet never cover every circumstance. That’s sensible. What is right and wrong does vary a lot even among a species. There’s a few things most people think is ‘wrong’, but certainly not everyone would think that.”

Amara paused, glanced at the Twi’lek. “So the other thing ‘everyone’ knows about Jedi is the whole ‘no relationships’ thing. Is that something your group adheres to? Can you explain it, even if you don’t? I mean, I get it that you might not want a personal attachment in case it gets used against you, but it seems a bit extreme doesn’t it?”

Though hardly experienced in romance, for the clone it seemed like a fairly important thing to deny one’s self, so there had to be a good reason for it.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Leona'veras smiled knowingly. Such a question was often on the minds of the younger Jedi, and one she had heard about numerous times. For herself, she had never felt the need or desire to pursue such an attachment and so throughout her teenage years and time as a Knight she hadn't had to ask anyone about their beliefs. "Our order allows relationships, with some conditions, but it doesn't exactly encourage them between other members of the Remnant. It seems unnatural to demand of young people that they be chaste and be devoid of emotion, though my personal beliefs weren't consulted when the Temple Masters decided it."

"They require that even those Jedi with families hold their ultimate loyalty to the order, not because families aren't important, but because yes they can be used against you and they can oppose the morality of the Remnant. Also, for Jedi that wish to be together, romantically," the twi'lek blushed a little at the awkwardness of the conversation, "We require that they inform the Temple Master they answer to so that he can evaluate them occasionally and ensure they aren't allowing their passion and emotions to run wild."

"It is important for a Jedi to be in control of their emotions, but emotions are something that can't be lost or removed. Even Luke Skywalker grieved when he lost his wife. Even Yoda felt guilt after the Jedi Purge. Emotions are natural, but they can't control a Jedi. She must be in control of herself at all times and not allow their feelings to blur their judgement. Even regarding those as close as family."

[member="Amara Zarides"]

 

[Amara Zarides]

[member="Laira Darkhold"]

Amara nodded her understanding. “So basically you’re Jedi without all of the silly things no one who isn’t lobotomised could follow. Honestly, I’ve been under people who want you to be an emotionless drone who are just a lightsabre and Force battery…it doesn’t end well. The greater the restriction the greater the friction. Of course, you need some rules, but trying to make someone completely disinterested…it doesn’t work.”

She knew that from personal experience. Growing up as a clone right from her first moments of life she had been unique, an individual, and her creators had tried to snuff that out. Indeed she realised now that her fate would have been brainwashing had they known that ‘soft’ indoctrination would not work.

“So...we’ve gone through all this stuff. I’m not probably cut out to be a Jedi, but I’m willing to learn from you if you’re willing.”

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"It isn't easy being a Jedi, control over one's self can be difficult, even the best of us lose control on occasion. Failure is the greatest teacher, but we should always strive to succeed in everything we do." Leona smiled kindly. Failure wasn't a kind mentor, usually it cost someone greatly whenever a Jedi failed in their duties and responsibilities. As Grandmaster Luke said, the Jedi's history is one of Failure.

The Twi'lek regarded the woman quietly while she doubted herself. "The life of a Jedi isn't for everyone. It is a long and arduous path, but if it is what you want, I'd be happy to try and help you."

"So, is this what you want?"

[member="Amara Zarides"]