Private The Next Generation

[Valery Noble]

Council Chambers

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

Valery stood alone within the Council Chambers, staring out of the window to watch the sun rise far in the distance. She always enjoyed being up early, so she could train without being bothered and go through her morning routine before the whole Temple woke up and needed her. But today, she also had other plans for her morning — she was about to meet a young student who had arrived at the Temple recently. With how fast the Order was growing, it became increasingly more difficult to meet every Jedi, but she'd always make an effort.

It was far easier to lead people if they know who you are, and respect you.

<Master Noble, the Padawan should be arriving soon.>

Valery glanced down at the comms device integrated into her vambrace and hummed. <Send him up with the elevator when he's ready. I'm ready to receive him,> she told the guard stationed down below. Even inside the Temple, there were more guards watching her closely after what happened. She was a big target, and now she realized that she had to be more careful.

At least until she made a full recovery.

 

[Aedric]

Elevator rides always felt awkward, at least for Aedric He felt trapped, and would often be stuck in a small space with people he didn't know, or intend to get to know. However, as he was told to board the elevator, this time he only felt excitement. It was important that he made a good first impression, but the problem was, Aedric wasn't entirely sure what leaves a good impression on a Jedi. Would they want him to be respectful? Or perhaps he should try and seem self-assured and confident?

"Hello, I'm Aedric." He rehearsed, looking around for a reflective surface to make sure he looked presentable.

Once the elevator finally reached its destination, Aedric stepped out, attempting to look as self-assured and confident as he could muster. "HeLLo" He started, his voice rather unfortunately cracking at the beginning of his sentence. He glanced around confusedly for a moment, seemingly momentarily caught off guard by his own slip.

So much for self-assured and confident he thought to himself, simply stepping forth and dipping his head respectfully.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Council Chambers

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

By the time the elevator reached the Council Chambers, Valery had already turned around and stepped away from the window. She had heard it approach, and felt the presence of a young Jedi inside, so she stood ready to greet him. When he finally made his way up, she heard the voice crack, but made no comment about it at all. She simply offered a kind smile, and dipped her upper body into a respectful bow for her fellow Jedi.

"Good morning, Padawan Aedric," Valery began with a calm tone.

She stepped a little closer then, so they didn't have to raise their voices, and were able to get a better look at each other. He was only a young teen, but she could easily tell that he was Epicanthix just by his height alone. The familiar, shielded mind also gave it away to the Jedi Master who had been married to an Epicanthix man for about a decade now.

"I hope everything has been going well thus far at the Temple?" She then asked. "I invited you here because I wanted to learn a little more about you, and get to know you before perhaps bringing you along on a mission or training assignment. It's a way for me to connect better with the Jedi in the Order, and I hope you can learn from it at the same time."

 

[Aedric]

Aedric let out a small sigh of relief as she made no mention of his voice crack. Whether she hadn't noticed, or simply was being polite, it allowed himself to at least regain some of his confidence. As she lowered herself into a bow, her mirrored her action, lowering his upper body into a bow.

"Good morning." He echo'd her greeting, taking a step forward of his own.

As he took in her appearance, there was very briefly a small frown on his face, followed by his very evident confusion. In his mind, orange eyes could only possibly mean one thing, but that one thing surely wasn't possible? Naturally orange eyes certainly weren't common place, at least in Aedrics mind, but there was stranger things.

"Yeah, it's all been going well I think." He nodded, before falling silent. What should he even say about himself? He didn't have a huge amount of hobbies or interests, besides from what his parents had tried to get him interested in, but those weren't really his interests. "My names Aedric, but I suppose you already knew that, and I'm from Coruscant. Uh.. I haven't really had to introduce myself like this before, harder than I thought to think of what I should say about myself. I quite like exploring, I guess, but I haven't done a huge deal of that beyond this temple. I enjoy working at something, too, like going through drills and stuff."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Council Chambers

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

Valery blinked when she noticed a frown on his face. She had seen a lot of different reactions to her presence from Jedi she had never met before, ranging from temporary fear to admiration, but rarely did someone seem this... confused. Perhaps she wasn't quite what he expected, or what she said had caught him off-guard. Either way, she offered a kind smile, hoping it would help him feel more at ease, and listened intently to what he said.

"I'm not the best at introductions and talking about myself either," she assured him with a chuckle. "But I think that's a good start, and I'm sure I'll get to learn more with time." He didn't seem like an overly talkative type, but she wasn't really expecting any Padawan to come up here and tell a life story.

Small steps usually worked best.

"I wanted to actually bring you along on a small assignment off-world as well, or offer you training here at the Temple if you prefer that. The idea is mostly for you to spend some time with an experienced Jedi, so you can ask questions and learn alongside someone else. Whether you have a Master or not, it's always useful to learn from a variety of Jedi."

She paused and smirked a little, "That said, do you prefer one over the other? You mentioned both exploration and drills as interests."

 

[Aedric]

The assurance that she also struggled with introductions came as a relief to Aedric, and he continued to listen on. Despite his previously dismissal, her eye colour continued to bug him, and despite how much he wanted to ask about the colour, he couldn't think of how to do it politely. Any slight slip-up with his wording of the question could likely be quite offensive to the Jedi.

Both possibilities were quite exciting for Aedric, and he was just beginning to think of what would be more interesting when she asked that very question. "Uh.." He paused, mulling the question over in his head. On one hand, it was a great opportunity to be taken on an assignment, and he would probably enjoy that more. However, no amount of drilling alone would equate to a single session going through drills with a Jedi master, meaning that was probably the more beneficial offer.

"I think I would probably enjoy exploring more. I've done drills before and stuff, but I haven't had much chance to go exploring." He finally answered, not sounding entirely convinced by his own answer. His curiosity finally got the better of him, and only a moment later, he asked. "Why do you have orange eyes? I've never met anyone with orange eyes before, it caught me by surprise."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Council Chambers

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

After a moment spent in thought, Aedric gave his answer and Valery seemed to smile a little brighter. She had no problems teaching him something at the Temple, or going through some lightsaber drills with him. But she was a more adventurous type as well, so going out into the Galaxy to do something seemed more exciting. It would also offer opportunities to teach, or he'd at least gain valuable experience.

He wouldn't be missing out on training.

"Very well, I'll bring you along with me, then. I've got my ship ready, so we'll head there soon." Her smile lingered at first, but when he asked his follow-up question, Valery blinked. Is that why he was looking so confused earlier? It made sense, but she assumed that most people would be able to make the assumption that her eyes were a natural thing. If she was a Sith and nobody had noticed despite orange eyes at display, the Jedi would truly be doomed.

"I'm Keshian," Valery said with a chuckle. "Our people have very oddly colored eyes, and we can see a wider spectrum of light. So if you were worried... it's just because of my species."

 

[Aedric]

Aedric nodded as she spoke, any uncertainty in his choice falling away. Having never even left Coruscant, he grew quite excited when she mentioned a ship, however outwardly it continued to look fairly calm, but with the addition of a small grin on his face. "That sounds good, where are we going if we have to take a ship?"

He looked slightly sheepish when when she answered his question. It was as he had thought it was, a natural occurrence, but it being a trait of a species cleared up any of his confusion and curiosity. "Wouldn't say I was worried really, but just a bit caught off guard for a moment and I got curious. I assume it was probably natural, but I hadn't heard of Keshians or any species with orange eyes." He shrugged. "What does being able to see a wider spectrum of light really mean?

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Council Chambers

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

Valery chuckled when she finally saw a bit of a grin appearing on his face. He seemed like a bit more of a stoic type, but there were always some things that made people truly excited. "You'll see soon. I'm going to explain more along the way, and perhaps let you help me fly a little as well, if you're interested in that." The Bastion was a light freighter and not the easiest to pilot. It was also a home to her and her husband a lot of the time, so she wanted to be careful with it.

But no harm in letting him help out a little in a controlled environment, right?

On the topic of her eyes, she nodded, "Some students in the past were under the impression I was Sith, or even sick," Valery clarified with a smirk. "But it's nothing serious. As for seeing a wider spectrum..." she hummed in thought. "The easiest example is infrared, which your eyes aren't sensitive to, but many predators can see. Visible light sparks from very hot sources, while Infrared is from something not quite as warm, such as your body heat."

"So, as an example, I can see your body heat even if it's otherwise pitch black outside."

 

[Aedric]

The grin widened at the mention of helping to fly. Flying wasn't an area Aedric had any experience in, or any real knowledge of, but he was very much interested in learning, and if that helping ended up with him simply watching, he was excited none the less. "I'd definitely like to try help, flying has always sounded quite fun." He nodded.

"My initial thought was something like that." He muttered, before quickly adding on. "Then I thought 'Oh, I'm stupid.. That'd be impossible'."

The description of infrared intrigued Aedric, as it seemed like it would be a skill that'd be useful to naturally possess. "Are there a lot of Keshian hunters? Being able to see creatures in the dark seems like it'd make a good hunting species. Probably pretty good at stealthy things too actually now that I think about it."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Council Chambers

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

"It's very fun, and we'll have to fly a good bit. Just have to be a little bit careful - my husband probably wouldn't like it if we damaged the ship." She said with a smirk. The Bastion had always been Kahlil Noble 's light freighter, and even though he didn't get that attached to ships or objects, the Bastion was a ship they often needed and even called home. But...he also broke her speeder once and-

Valery blinked, and stopped her inner monologue to focus on the Padawan again, who luckily didn't seem too surprised about her explanation. He even asked a question that made Valery smile brightly.

Not many showed an interest in her people.

"Oh yeah, and there is a whole group of warriors as well, who often fought their battles in the dark to take advantage of it. My mother was one of them," Valery said just a little proudly, even though she never really knew her own mother. "Keshians make for good pilots as well. We can see other ships really easily in dogfights, so we don't rely on sensors as much."

With that said, Valery summoned the elevator again and gestured for it, so they could continue the concersation while they made their way down to fhe hangar.

 

[Aedric]

"I'll be careful." He nodded, before pausing for a moment. He'd always been under the belief Jedi's weren't allowed to marry, but perhaps that was a much more old fashioned belief that didn't really apply today. "Is the Jedi not marrying thing more of an old wives tale? I've always read that Jedi's weren't meant to have emotional connections, or something along those lines."

A warrior group being able to see in the dark sounded like a force to be reckoned with. Aedric knew that you could improve your sight with the force, but he doubted that ability would be able to be replicated. "My dad told me that our people tend to be warriors too, and he was supposed to be one too, but he decided to make money more normally." He shrugged, a small frown on his face, as if he didn't exactly approve of that choice. "We can't see in the dark or anything like that though, which seems like quite a shame now."

As she gestured for the elevator, he turned and made his way over onto the elevator.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Council Chambers

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

"Traditionally, Jedi were against attachments or, as they called it, external loyalties. It would distract us from our duty, and potentially drive us down selfish paths that more easily lead to the Dark Side." Valery paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Most Jedi no longer follow that way of thinking though. There is some truth to it, in that it's important we keep ourselves balanced and that we don't let emotion drive everything we do. But I believe emotional connections can have a lot of benefits as well."

"From direct support and strength in your life, to actually developing the type of bonds that we see everywhere in the Galaxy, and fight to protect. People tend to prefer accepting help from those who can relate to them." Valery stepped out of the elevator after it opened, and guided him to a larger ship in the hangar — the Bastion.

As they walked towards the ramp that slowly began to lower, Valery listened to what he said about his father and his people. It got her to smile a bit, before her smirk extended to him, "Maybe you can't see in the dark, but Epicanthix are known for their near impenetrable minds. My husband is one, and we've gone into some dangerous situations where I had to actively shield my mind, while nothing phased him at all."

"The Dark Side is something that often targets the mind, so that's a huge strength of your people. When you're dealing with Sith, but also if you encounter some of their creations, such as holocrons."

 

[Aedric]

Aedric nodded as she explained the shift in views, having only ever really heard of the traditional view. The new view had a lot of merit in Aedrics eyes, however much of it was lost on him. A lack of experience with relationships of any real nature meant that he failed to understand how those connections could provide emotional strength and support, and for a few moments, this confusion was quite evident on his face. However, as she mentioned the relatability, the confusion seemingly vanished. "That bit makes a lot of sense." He nodded. "I think it'd be a bit weird to be saved by I couldn't relate anything to, would probably just leave me feeling a bit confused afterwards." He shrugged.

As they approached the ship, Aedric slowed slightly, wanting to take in the sight. "It's big." was his main comment on the ship as they approached. He didn't know enough about ships to make any comment beyond the size of it, and that it was quite a nice looking ship.

"It's easy to forget about that." He muttered after she mentioned the Epicanthix's mental resilience. "It is quite cool though. Is all the mental mindtrick-y stuff related to the dark side? I was thinking about trying to find a holobook to read about some of that, because it seems interesting."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Council Chambers

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

Valery could tell that he was a little bit confused about one part of her explanation, and chuckled a little. "The bother bit might make more sense when you really experience it. But in a way, it's like having a very close friend who is there for you when you really need it." She paused for a moment, seemingly a little hesitant for a moment, then decided to continue anyway. "Being a Jedi can be very hard. A lot of us have lost people we've known or been close to for many years. Even when it wasn't war time."

"To have that support to get through it can really make a difference."

With that said, the two made it into the Hangar, where he stopped to take a better look. His comment made her grin, and as simple of an observation as it was, Valery had felt the same way. "It's more than just transport to us. We've lived on it for extended periods of time. It has everything you'd ever need."

The two then entered the ship, where Valery guided him through long hallways to directly go for the cockpit. Perhaps she'd give him a tour later if it was needed. "Not all of it, but most of it," Valery said in response to his question. "We can learn mind tricks, certain telepathic methods of defending ourselves, and Force illusion to make people see things that aren't there. But many of the abilities targeting the mind go into areas where it becomes torture."

"Either that, or complete control over the mind - the removal of a being's free will. It's not something we should do as Jedi."

 

[Aedric]

Aedric listened as she continued her explanation. The likening of it to a close friendship did help him to understand, and he seemed to be more satisfied by this explanation.

"Living on a ship sounds cool." He muttered as they boarded the ship. There was a small grin on his face as he imagined living on a ship, and the freedoms he assumed that would grant. "Must be nice to just be able to go anywhere you want really, and still have your home there with you." He continued, glancing around the hallways as they made their way towards the cockpit.

"I suppose I don't really need to learn those telepathic defensive stuff, unless it's worth adding a more conscious layer of protection? Seems a bit unnecessary to me though. I bet Force Illusions would be fun to learn though, but I can't even think of how that'd work. Probably quite complicated.." His voice trailed off, a look of concentration on his face, as if he was trying to figure it out at that very moment.

"Would you not want mind control for something like an interrogation? Or best stick away from it in general, as a principle kind of thing?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Bastion

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

"There are pros and cons to it," Valery said with a dip of her head. "It's nice to be able to bring home anywhere, but not having a steady home on a planet can also make life feel a lot more lonely. So it depends on what you care about most," she said with a chuckle. "I have kids, so I prefer not to move them around too much, so they can make friends more easily." It also kept them closer to the Jedi Temple, where they were most safe.

As the two Jedi walked inside the Bastion moments later, Valery chuckled at his response about telepathy, "The shielding isn't that useful, but telepathy also has other uses that still don't cross the line. I knew a Zabrak Jedi Master once who perfected a lot of these skills, and one of them included the echoing of a voice inside someone's mind to make it seem like it was coming from multiple directions. It's very disorientating, so it could get you out of a tight spot without having to fight." Avoiding having to injure other people, even if they were aggressive, was something a lot of Jedi wanted to be able to do.

That said, there were always lines not to cross.

"Mind Control is generally painful, and requires you to tap into the Dark Side to bend the will of another far beyond what is necessary. It's not something we do as Jedi. That said, we can learn how to make someone reveal information with a mind trick, or we can understand if someone is lying through Force Empathy. Highly skilled Telepathy users can pick up stray thoughts from others as well."

 

[Aedric]

"I guess so." He nodded as she mentioned life aboard a ship being potentially quite lonely. Having kids would also make it a pain, as she mentioned, living on a ship likely only being convenient while someone was young.

"I'm going to try and learn that Illusion and then the voice stuff, I think." He said, before falling silent as she continued the explanation. The archives would likely have holobooks on the subject, so it shouldn't be hard. The only issue was who did you practice mental stuff on? That seemed like it could be a whole ethical issue on its own.

"I guess that empathy thing works well enough for any interrogation then. In my head, I think I had sort of just clumped all these techniques together under one blanket."

As they approached the cockpit, Aedric began to glance around with a mix of confusion and curiosity. "How do you even start up a ship? They always look really confusing, I feel like I'd forget it everytime."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

The Bastion

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Aedric

"A lot of these abilities do fall under the Telepathy umbrella, but some are definitely different," Valery explained with a small dip of her head. Similarities between abilities was pretty common, and finding the line between appropriate use of such skills and the Dark Side could be tricky to figure out as well. But between experienced Jedi and the archives, she felt quite certain that he'd be able to figure it out.

"I wish I could direct you to someone whose an expert at it, but few Jedi really focus on the mind these days. So if you end up with questions, feel free to come to me." She'd always be able to help him in his research, or find sources of information away from the Temple. There were some benefits to being on the Council, and to having been around a bit longer than most Jedi.

The two then entered the cockpit, where Valery gestured for him to sit down in the pilot seat. For now, she remained standing by his side to guide him, but she'd be able to take over controls from the co-pilot seat later if necessary. "This datapad here has the start-up sequence if you want to be very official and run through checks. Not really necessary to do it every time, so just going through the main steps is what I'd do."

From starting up the engine, to raising the ramp and booting up every system — it wasn't too complicated to get things going. Just actually flying was not always easy. "Once everything is online, we'll increase vertical thrust and gently disconnect from the surface, before we raise the landing gear."

"Then, at low speed, we'll take her out of the hangar. Go through the first steps, and I'll help guide with the flying."

 

[Aedric]

"Thanks." He said, smiling at the offer for helping in his research. He lowered himself down into the pilot seat, immediately reaching for seatbelts and fastening himself in quite tightly.

"Right." He nodded, glancing over at the datapad to try and quickly familiarise himself with it. He hesitated for a few moments before doing anything, deliberating whether to follow through with the full checks, or do as she said, and simply go through the main ones. "Okay, so.. I should." He reached forwards, flicking on the engine. "Then.. Ramps." He muttered, flicking something else. He paused afterwards, listening carefully to see if he could hear the sound of the retracting ramps, which he faintly could over the engine.

The first two steps going so swimmingly, despite them being so hard to mess up with, seemed to relax him slightly as he settled more comfortably into the seat. He reached around, flicking on each of the systems and fully booting up the ship in preparation. He began to very carefully raise the vertical thrust, just barley raising off the ground before he glanced up towards her.

"Landing gear now, or a bit higher?"

Valery Noble