Faction The Next Step (SJC opening of Commenor Temple)

[Senari Gravis]

Naria shot him a glare, her dark gaze piercing.

If looks could kill. She pushed past him, ignoring the room and leaving it unclaimed as she moved onto the next. She was silent as she poked in and noted its emptiness. She worldlessly checked around for signs of windows, and then poked her head out of those, her lips pursed as she followed the long way down to a balcony below them.

She pushed off the ledge, the blinds closing as she move to exit again. Like before, she did not claim the room. Instead she moved onto the next, repeating the process. If he was waiting for her to speak, he'd be waiting a long time. Her lips remained pursed, holding back thoughts that Force Knows would not come on their own.

How many were in their squad now? She counted, pausing to give him another hard look.

"Listen, do you need one or not."

"Well, it is nice to have a proper place to sleep."

Senari's face was as impassive as Naria's was murderous; with everything that had gone on over the years, angry looks and piercing glares were probably the easiest things for him to ignore. "Nice to have first pick, too, isn't it? Having your choice of which of the multitude of almost-exactly-the-same rooms you want to sleep in?" He glanced into the current room they were at from the hallway, confirming his suspicion. Exactly the same as the others, only to be changed if a decoratively-minded Jedi would take it. Function over form. "Can't say I understand your selection criteria, though. Or why it is you're not letting the others choose, given that they're knights themselves. Did you get promoted to the temple council while I wasn't looking?"

He knew, of course, that that comment would get him another glare, at best. Regardless, it seemed important to him to comment on—and subtly critique—her iron-fisted method of leading the group. Even the patience of the most forgiving of friends could run out in the face of such constantly controlling behaviour, after all. "If you're trying to find a group suite, I think you'll be disappointed."

 

[Tarish Galland]

Risen

He'd only mentioned his sister to Naria, at least with any kind of purpose. Off handed remarks always caught him in trouble of explaining. "She is back on our homeworld. We only talk through holo-mail. Haven't seen her since...I got the rank of knight actually. Had a quick stop off on their way home, but wasn't here for more than the ceremony." He shrugged.

The question after that however reigned in a more serious answer.

"Reasons. I need to know why. All we have is sightings of what she has done, what has been done. Nothing about the why. What could push a padawan to such things?" He was somber in his tone, confused and angry.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Cato Harth Ayden Carter Yula Perl Acaadi

"Last I saw he was doing fine...I think he was cutting back on the bottle but..." Phalsi shrugged as she took the bottle from Yula before mimicking the move and opening the bottle. While not nearly able to get half of it down. There was an almost spray your friends with liquid moment at Yula's comment.

"Wish I had -hack cough- had heard that in my teen years." She patted her chest before coughing a little less as Acaadi explained, her eyes shifting for a second as she read into what Yula said. Maybe read into it the wrong way, but her brain went down a certain path.

"Oh, wait. Oh...no. Naw. He's still green-" She went wide eyed and made the oh no face looking to Acaadi. "No, not like, nothing intended about, your skin." She looked back to Yula quickly.

"He's still a green horn. He doesn't-uh. Hasn't-" She motioned with her free hand in a cancelling motion. "Didn't do that."

 

[Cato Harth]

Yula Perl | Ayden Carter | Phalsi Drynchen | Acaadi

The spider droid arrived beer in tow, one of which Cato gladly took from Ayden as he handed it over. He popped off the cap and lazily raised the bottle, looking at Yula, “Well, I’m sure we can find some time to discuss the ah, finer details of such a contract one of these days. Or, tonight! My schedule is flexible.”

"Well, I fulfilled my promise. I got you a beer. Credits please."

Cato laughed, slapping Ayden on the shoulder, “Nice try, smartass. Pretty sure you still owe me from our last pazaak game. I oughta start charging interest.” Leaning back in the seat, his eyes progressively glazed over as the conversation took a new turn. Gossip was fun and all, but he didn’t exactly have much of a stake in the topic. And the more he drank the more he was realizing just how tired he was. Being talkative is draining. He turned and gave a look to Ayden, who was about the only person familiar with Cato’s more reserved side. He’d recognize Cato was about to make his exit.

The Knight waited for a lull in conversation to hop up from his seat, notably lacking the energy he possessed just a few minutes ago, “Well! This has been riveting. But I just remembered I need to go, uh, run some calibrations? See you all around, probably.” He snatched another bottle of beer with the Force, “One for the road! Thaaaanks Yula.”

Cato took his rather abrupt leave down the hall, stumbling onto Naria and Senari Gravis by the dorms. Oh great, she was assigning rooms. “Sup losers,” Cato slipped behind Naria, attempting to snatch one of the room keys from her in the process, “Yoink!” If anyone was capable of both stealing from her and living to tell about it, it was him. He dangled the key in front of her face tauntingly, “Aw gee, look at you actually letting me pick my room all on my own! You’re the best big sister in the whole galaxy!” He gave Naria a big, intentionally aggravating hug before quickly unlocking the room that matched his key, “I’ll take this one, byeeeee!” And just as soon as he arrived, Cato slipped in and swung the door shut behind him. Time to be alone for a while.

 

[Risen]

Objective: Get Food
Tarish Galland

Risen nodded slowly as Tarish spoke of family. You should see her, he wanted to say — but preaching wouldn’t help anyone. “Family’s… important,” he finally said.

Tarish’s expression carried unexpected pain as he spoke of Amani. Risen hated that he couldn’t encourage him in the way Tarish could, the way Beshav did, or the witches. He could do nothing for the man who’d orate about flatbread just so Risen would feel more comfortable.

He stopped outside of the mess and turned to fully face Tarish. “Who have we ever fought,” he said, “that didn’t have some reason for what they were doing? It’s not ours to ask.” He shook his head, remembering pain. “Besides, better Jedi than her have fallen further.”

 

[Naria Harth]

Naria stood aghast, the vein in her temple throbbing. The closed door to her brother's new room occupied her entire attention. For a moment she looked ready to knock it down.

But then she let it all out in a huff. The sucker had chosen the windowless side. No sneaking out for him now.

"Funny I remember you being a lot less grating when we were kids." She shoved on past Senari their shoulders colliding as she moved onto the next room. One by one she started assigning them keypads, her gaze flickering to her brother's door every sem-odd second as she did. She wasn't typically unkind, but Senari's words had gotten to her.

"You know there is a reason for this all. What would you do if the Temple fell under attack and you were separated from us because you wanted a room with view? What would be your exit plan? Where is your support?" She slammed an empty key into his chest, having not assigned it.

"Not everything is about control, Sen. Exit plans save lives." Her nose flared with the passion of her words, her fury no less diminished. Oh yes. She was very, very serious about room selection. Don't you forget it.

 

[Senari Gravis]

Senari smiled for a moment, despite himself, at Cato's antics, before returning to the problem at hand. "There is no emotion, there is peace," he reminded gently as she started to storm around the rooms, assigning each as she saw fit. "There is no passion, there is serenity." Even if the lines from the code only served to egg her on, rather than getting her to calm down, it'd still be drawing him closer to the root of the problem either way. Of course, he wasn't particularly surprised when, in the middle of her tirade, she slammed a keycard hard enough into his chest to nearly knock the wind out of him.

One hand shot up quickly, wrapping around Naria's wrist before she could withdraw her hand from his chest, holding on like an iron shackle. "Is our little group more important than working with the other Jedi here? Are we not supposed to plan with them, support them, and be supported by them in return?" As Naria got more worked up, Senari, thankfully, managed to keep himself calm; not necessarily the easiest thing for him, given the topic at hand, but by his view, one of them had to manage to stay calm to achieve anything in the discussion.

"You're not working this out with them, you're choosing for them. That's still control, and from what I just saw before we came here, it's pushing some of them to make some very stupid decisions." He released her wrist, grabbing the key card instead. "You're afraid to lose anybody else. I am too, but you can't always stop it from happening." He pointed behind himself, back towards the common area, where all the others except for Cato were currently lounging.

"They're Jedi too, Naria. If the moment should come, don't try to stop them from being what they are. That sense of failure makes it hurt a lot more."

 

[Naria Harth]

Where the hell was this coming from?

Naria's nostrils flared, raw indignation filling her as he chided her and her leadership skills. There was really no greater insult, and her gut clenched in anger, itching to go at him for it.

It was only the creeping sense of intention bleeding from him that held him back, the force telling her something. "You're trying to goad me on right now," she stated, an airy noise of disbelief catching in her throat. What the hell would he have to gain by doing that? She stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head, a sense of exhaustion creeping through her.

Why did everyone have to give her a hard time?

"It's a damn room Senari. If they wanted to pick theirs they'd be here doing it, not ordering beer." Yes, she had heard that. She brushed past him, quick movements assigning the last of the keycards to their chosen space along the same hall.

"What do you know know anyways. You've been here for one mission. One. Hardly enough to start leveling judgements like you're Master Linx." The group's old overseerer. She beeped into the first room at the start of the hall and pressed in. This one would be hers.

"And I didn't ask for your opinion."

 

[Tarish Galland]

Risen

"Family. It's not just blood that makes a family." His eyes shot over to the large man with a smile, however small. He wasn't entirely sure where Risen stood on the matter, but these people were closer to him than most anyone of his kin other than his sister.

His following comment got a scoffing laugh and side eyes. "If you understand where someone comes from, or what shaped them, it helps if they are willing to listen."

"As for better...worse has come to us and been forgiven. Don't forget we have a former sith teaching padawans...and authority in our space." Tarish sing songed his reply with a shrug. "If we are able to forgive one, look past what they have done, wouldn't we be the same as those fallen for not trying to forgive another?"

He stretched, looking to him in silence. "We are jedi. We help. We guide. We reach out and try to connect. Try to resolve rather than fight but are more than capable of defending those who cannot defend themselves. Sometimes people need protecting from themselves, or someone stubborn enough to not give up." He spoke with a solemn tone, chewing on what he had said.

That's what we do right?

He chewed on it a bit longer before speaking again.

"We are still people though. We still trip. Still fall. Stumble. Would you hold your hand out to pick someone up, or walk past without a second thought?" A question he always asked himself before doing something. Even tough choices. Padawans were prone to thoughtless actions. Empowered by inexperience and notions of being saviors or good guys of the galaxy. His smile grew, reminding himself he hadn't gone to far from similar notions himself.

 

[Senari Gravis]

Senari raised an eyebrow as Naria brushed on past. "If they're just rooms, then why all the talk of exit plans and saving lives?" he countered, turning around to continue facing her. The quick shift to a more defensive tone did actually surprise him, a bit; he hadn't expected Naria to do anything other than level out more verbal attacks or just stop talking entirely. "Funny, I seem to remember that he started levelling judgements the first time he ever saw the group of us together, after my master dropped me off to learn with you all."

He certainly hadn't missed the resentful-sounding word choice from her earlier. Maybe if you were around more, you'd know.

"Naria, wait." He reached up, pulling something off from around his neck as he walked over to where Naria stood in her open doorway, holding it out for her to take. A small, green kyber crystal, tightly tied into the cord. "Hold on to this for a day or two; once you see how it feels, you might understand why I'm saying what I am."

 

[Ayden Carter]

Location: Common Room
​

“Nice try, smartass. Pretty sure you still owe me from our last pazaak game. I oughta start charging interest.”

Ayden laughed at Cato's sharp and witty comeback. He was always a little short on credits, betting on what he didn't or would promise to have. Plus, the game was won by a short margin. In his eyes, he really could've won. But the win did not go to him. Ayden looked back over to Cato with a big grin on his face. "Charge me with whatever interest you got. You're still going to have to wait. I promised you that I would give you those credits and it's coming. Just you wait." He said with a laugh at the end.

As time went on, the conversation seemed to take a different turn, and Ayden had predicted that Cato wasn't going sit through any more of it either. Ayden felt the same way, he was just better at sticking it out for the right opportunity. Cato's exit carried that perfect opportunity to get away and get some sleep. He got up, grabbed his half-full can of beer, and nodded to the 3 who continued to converse between one another. He did a silent wave to not interrupt anything and followed Cato towards the dorms. As Cato seemed to forcefully assign himself a room, he let Naria Harth do it for him, as she was doing the assignments anyway. As he received his key, he did a slight nod towards both her and Senari Gravis knowing that whatever they had going on he didn't want to be apart of.

He used his key to open his new, somewhat empty dorm. He took a deep breath in, trying to capture in that fresh new room smell. Always a delightful sense. He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and laid himself out on the bed, taking in the full warmth of the bed. Relaxing was always welcome to Ayden.

Cato Harth | Phalsi Drynchen | Yula Perl | Acaadi​

 

[Naria Harth]

Naria didn't want to take the crystal, frankly she was quiet miffed about the sudden and tense exchange the two were having. She wasn't use to someone standing their ground with her. The fact that it came from Senari after so long apart left her frustrated for reasons she didn't yet understand.

It had been a long mission and his words left her tense. She reached out anyways, her hand moving before her mouth could say no just to spite him. Was this all some sort of joke?

The look she leveled between the crystal and him seemed to suggest so. She didn't focus on it. Instead she shoved it in her pocket and pushed past him. "I don't have time for this. Find your own room then. I'm going back to the others."

She stormed out without another word, huffing as she went. Only those close to Naria would know where her anger represented a state of confusion, or unpreparedness. She arrived in the hall red faced, his words running circles through her heads. With quick motions and no words, she handed out the room cards to each individual. Despite Senari Gravis 's chastising, she had still assigned it for them. Her gaze skipped over the beer bottles as if they were not even there, though she huffed harder.

Finally, her attention fell to Acaadi . She stopped short, her hands void of keycards. Though his was not without his vices. Her nostrils flared. The beer bottle zipped into her awaiting hand, and finally the whole group earned the hard look of a life time.

"Ya gave it to the kid? Really?" With a noise of exasperation, she gestured for Acaadi to get up and follow her.

One more responsibility.

Hell. What was she suppose to do with this one? She glanced back at him, dumping the beer right out in the trash chute before him.

"I need a number to call."

 

[Acaadi]

"Yeah, terrible people," he said towards Phalsi Drynchen and Yula Perl before mounting 'sorry.'

Acaadi stood up and followed after Naria. He felt mildly irritated by her very deliberate dropping of the beer. However, he did not need the Force to tell that this was not the time for arguments. Naria was holding something in check. It wasn't intended for him, but if he poked her then he was going to get buried by it.

The mirialan dipped his head and sighed.

"I don't know who would be at the temple any more," he explained. "I genuinely don't. I haven't seen Master Arenais for a while, nor Master Tin'dara. And the others...Kyra, Amani...

"...Yula might be there, but she's another padawan like me. I can make my own way back there."

Now there was a stubborn light in his eyes as he lifted his chin defiantly. He was hurting, clearly so, but that had galvanised his resolve. Acaadi crossed his arms over his chest.

Naria Harth

 

[Risen]

Tarish Galland

Anguish flickered across Risen’s face. What Tarish said was true: the bond of service was stronger than the bond of blood. Easy conversation coaxed out memories better left hidden.

Risen tried to return his focus to the present — find the mess, find food — forgetting Tarish for a moment.

What he said after, though… these were heavier words than Risen knew what to do with. He surmised Tarish as he spoke, remembering a time when these ideals seemed much nearer. He seemed like he was convincing himself as much as Risen. And Risen wanted to agree. A rare smile crossed his lips, however restrained, in the following silence.

That faded. He found himself suddenly more aware of the spear he carried with him, always. Peace was supposed to be an option. Would Centin have been able to persuade Amani, had he been guided by a different master? Had he been guided by Tarish?

“I hope you can convince her,” Risen said, distant.

I’m not going back, she had said. I can’t. Not until I finish what I started.

“I really do.”

 

[Naria Harth]

Naria let the bottle clatter down the shoot, a look of shock being leveled at him as she turned around. "No chit, really?" It was the opposite from her upbringing, where structure and support had been there for her at every turn. It didn't sit well with her to hear that a coming of age padawan was left to his own devices as he was. He could have died in that cave.

Properly died.

She crossed her arms, ignoring her sticky fingers as she really studied the kid for the first time. After a long, silent moment, she jerked her chin out at him.

"Where are you with your training? I mean obviously not far, getting stuck in that cave like that-- how did you even get there? It took me a day to find that door."

Acaadi

 

[Acaadi]

"Not far enough along to not get caught...far enough along to get most of the way through that compound without being found," he said defiantly.

"Sorry," he apologised. Acaadi was too well brought up to snap at someone trying to help.

"It's been a long day, week, month," he said, looking at the floor. "I'm close to taking on the Knight trials, to answer you properly."

 

[Naria Harth]

Naria raised a brow, unflinching in the face of his 'tude.

"And your plan? Did you know what you were looking for? What you would do if you found it? You know, your escape plan, for escorting those dozen civilians back to ground without getting caught or shot at along the way? Or are you really just so good could have cover all their backs. Alone." it was not rhetorical, her fingers tapping expectantly for his response.

While her tone was level, her words spoke of a chastising that could boil skin from bone. She didn't need to yell to make him regret his oversight. The bareboned truth would do it for her.

Acaadi

 

[Acaadi]

"It was supposed to be a scouting mission..." he said, knowing he was now just making things worse with his attempt at damage mitigation. "...no one thought they were going to have all that techie security stuff."

Admittedly those were briefings he had overheard rather than been invited to. Without direction, he was left with a stubborn sense of righteousness and nowhere to aim it. It was quite the dangerous combination. Just enough talent to get him far enough into trouble that he could not get out. The mission entire encapsulated the danger he posed to himself.

Acaadi was wishing she would just yell. Those clipped tones struck him to the core, made him feel small. It was impossible to try and counter her head on.