Private The Other Side

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim-Ragal
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

Ingrid, since she had her own source of income, has always supported orphans, orphanages, and many other institutions or scholarship applications. She typically did this on Nelvaan and later and actual on Kalidan, but also on countless other planets where it was needed. It was precisely because of such an incident that she also came to Zakuul, where countless children were under state supervision, because a great many were orphaned when NPC Treasury 's government was overthrown and there were also fighting on the planet.

Children were among the few individuals where the woman did not necessarily show the strict military side of the world, but the more direct side. Partly for this reason, she also brought Kveld, who was just so popular with children. They hugged, stroked, scratched the wolf's belly, or just got a kiss on the head. Despite the sithspawn huge size, they were only frightened at first, but after that he became a community favourite.

Ingrid watched the kids play with the wolf a little further from the door. It is possible that Kveld was a sithspawn, but there was no evil or dark side in him nonetheless. The woman was simply not able to save the animal’s life, only in this way. The kids, the woman still really wanted their own child, but life was even harder and more complicated now than ever.

Luckily, she had her eggs frozen, but she didn't know if, in her present state, as a Force Entity, she would be able to get pregnant at all, or if so, what kind of creature she would give her life to. She would have to talk to the two men about this later, even though she knew Adrian was sterile, so only Tubrok could be considered a father. It’s not as if such a topic has arisen with the Sith Lord, and at the moment she just wants a child from Tubrok anyway.

The director of the orphanage left her alone a few minutes ago to come back because she had something to do right now. So the woman was just waiting for her return, in the meantime she was busy watching the game as well.

​

 

[Mathieu Brion]

A daft hiss could be heard as the freighter released pressurised air whilst landing on the platform. The Padawan looked to his droid, Milou, "We're finally here, Milou" he said as a meek smile grew on his lips. Several happy chirps ensued as the droid expressed excitement over finally having arrived - Mathieu could only agree "And it's for a good cause too. Do you feel like guarding the ship while I'm away?" The question was not met with the same enthusiasm and the little droid let out a cranky protest, causing its owner to let out a light laugh "Alright, don't worry, you can tag along."

After the duo had completed the landing process and turned the ship off, Mathieu and Milou debarked from the ship along with a hover cart loaded with supplies and toys. It was not much in the grand scheme of things - for it was Mathieu alone who was donating it with his own savings and he could only do so much. Still, it was sure to make a difference and that was enough for him.

He had called the orphanage in advance and it was not long before the director came to meet him and offering for him to pay them a visit. Both Milou and Mathieu had been looking forward to getting to meet with the kids - for few things were better than seeing their faces light up into bright smiles - of course there was never a guarantee that they would, but one could always hope.

What came next was quite the surprise - for he felt a somewhat familiar presence but he couldn't quite put a finger on who it was. Upon entering the building, his eyes went wide. After first seeing the large wolf, he then saw a familiar face "Ingrid" they had been enemies in the past, and considering her affiliation with the Eternal Empire, it might have been natural for him to assume that they were still enemies now. But instead of showing hostility, Mathieu raised both arms and showed her his empty palms in a two-handed wave. From the outside, it looked like a greeting - but what he actually wanted was to show her that he was not holding any weapons in his hands. He was a Jedi and he wanted peace - especially among all the children.

While Mathieu took back control of the hover cart and continued to walk closer to Ingrid, his droid Milou flew over to the children and the large creature they were playing with, letting out a few cheerful chirps before investigating the beast.

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim-Ragal
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

As she waited, she felt the familiar presence. Because it was vital for her to remember such things in her work, her immediately recognized that it was the young Jedi she had met on Voss and Anzat, Mathieu Brion. She found this really surprising, after Zakuul had fallen far enough away from everything, though the Eternal Empire was close, but apart from that, every other place was very far away.

When the young man arrived, Kveld also raised his head and looked at the woman. Ingrid just nodded to her to deal with the kids, so the wolf continued to pay attention to them. She then turned to the young man, who addressed her. The Overlord still didn’t like to be not called at the right rank, especially since she was in military uniform. True, when she could do this she wore this. It’s not that she didn’t want to be in beautiful and elegant clothes, but she loved it when she could wear them for a reason, for example to impress Tubrok and/or Adrian.

”Mr. Brion!” she nodded at the young man.

When the Jedi showed he did not have a weapon, the woman did the same. She didn't bring any weapons here, even though she didn't really need them. But she didn’t want to cause trouble here, after all, she was here because of the kids, it was in this place they, the kids were important, not the conflicts.

”What are you doing here at the end of the world, Mr. Brion?” she asked in her usual cold and military voice, nevertheless, there was no hostility in her voice.

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Her actions made him feel satisfied. She showed that she was unarmed and that was a good start. Perhaps even a better one than he could've hoped for. Still, she was formal, addressing him as "Mr. Brion" instead of just "Mathieu", and her tone carried the same cold and to the point feeling which he had come to grow familiar with over the multiple times that they had met. Still, he would not let that stop him. The first time they met, they fought, the second time, they argued - in his eyes, there was hope. Hope that they would now be able to find peace.

Not knowing that she preferred being more formal, Mathieu continued as he just had and moved closer as she wondered what he was doing so far from home. "I sat on a fair bit of credits" he said, smiling with a innocent sense of happiness. Raising his one arm to scratch the back of his head, he let out a brief chuckle "You see, I'm not very good with credits. Tend to spend them all on stuff way too fast. So a lot of the time, I donate it"

Mathieu sat down next to her and parked the hover trolly in front of him "Here, have a look" he said, showing her the contents, displaying some toys, a few books, necessities and then a big pot "I made a stew, got the recipe from a Neimoidian" he said, nodding at the pot without doing anything to lift the lid off. "What about you then? I didn't expect to see you here." There was no hostility in his voice - for now, he was just curious and was trying his best to have their meeting remain friendly.

He eyed her with a bit of playful curiosity, trying to break through whatever tough external barrier she was putting up. Finally, he spoke up, sounding pretty happy as his tone remained soft "You've got a soft spot for kids, don't you?"

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

Ingrid, it was usually like this, it was really unusual for her not to behave that way. If she didn’t do that it would have been weird. Anyway, with others where they are seen, she has always behaved that way. Even with her husband and her fiancé. She was always raised to pay attention to her behaviour, even whenever she was acting. She wasn’t really surprised that the young man wasn’t good at financial things, it needed a lot of talent.

”You may want to consider getting a lawyer on your own who can help you with financial matters. Even if you donate, it doesn’t hurt to make sure you have your money left, don’t get into debt. And if you invest your money, you will be able to donate later.” she said in her usual cold voice.

She watched the padawan distribute food to the children and talk to them. When the children left Kveld, the wolf first sat down and then lay down peacefully to wait for them to go back to him. The red-haired woman turned to the young man when she received the question. The other really didn’t know almost anything about her, the young man didn’t look for her even after they had already met twice on the battlefield.

”I have been supporting hospitals, orphanages on this planet since Darth Tacitus and the First Order drove out the previous Empress. Sometimes, when my time allows, I come in person.”

That was the pure truth. And the question touched on a delicate point. Ingrid was not even twenty when she once became pregnant and lost her child. She’s wanted it ever since, but was she sure what would happen if she lost another one again? However, she did not confess this to anyone, even Tubrok and Adrian had a very hard time, and Cal knew. And now it was something, different than a human… shook her head and then spoke to give a detour answer.

”In the culture where I come from, we deal with orphaned children, they are very important to the clans because they are the future. In addition, I feel obligated to repair the damage caused by my Emperor.”

 

[Mathieu Brion]

It was good advice. Lawyers usually did seem to know what they were doing and he was sure that they'd be better at managing his economy than he was. And Ingrid was a very successful person, there was really no reason to doubt her here. "I suppose I'll have to go get some new friends then. I don't know any lawyers" he said, nodding to her whilst sending a friendly smile. Soon, Mathieu would proceed to distribute the stew among the children before sitting back down with Ingrid, letting his gaze fall out over the room as the small once ate.

"I can imagine that you're a busy person" he said, still letting his gaze linger by the children rather than looking at her. It was not out of disrespect - he simply enjoyed seeing them so happy, both getting to fill their bellies and seemingly rather enamoured by the large wolf-like creature that the woman had brought with her. The large Morellian's shoulders fell as he let out a small breath before looking to her. His eyes were warm, just like his voice "It's very kind of you to do this. They deserve the best" he said, nodding to the children.

Mathieu nodded along as she spoke, telling him of her culture and how they used to deal with children in vulnerable positions. Then she mentioned the damage done by her Emperor causing the Padawan to freeze for a few brief moments. There were some levels where he and Ingrid seemed to be able to find common ground - and others where they would probably be locked into conflict - something which he hoped to avoid "I'll spare you my thoughts on the political side of things" he said, letting out a chuckle before adding a brief "We're kind of getting along here, aren't we?" He smiled for but a moment before speaking once more "I think that's an admirable way of approaching this. It must be good to have some power to accomplish some good, right?" he said, knowing that his own resources were still very limited.

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

”Another piece of advice, lawyers are not your friends, they never will be. They are loyal as long as you can pay them. It is rare when this is not the case. Or a person who doesn’t think that way.”

True, it could really be called a friend. Nevertheless, it was ironic that Ingrid would have entrusted her life to her fiancé, and she had done so several times, but she would not have allowed him near her business affairs. Life was weird, as were these things. It is a question of points of view. She didn’t want to recommend lawyers because the boy couldn’t afford them and they probably didn’t work much in that part of the galaxy anyway where the padawan lived.

The fact she was very busy was a rather mild expression, if it hadn’t been for Kessia and at times not the two of them working on matters at the same time, it is possible that they would never have done anything. Even so, she worked through the night, with little sleep, lots of caffeine, or caffeine pills. There was no other way to solve this. Especially by loving to oversee everything.

”Well yes, wars, expansion, to leading the Eternal Empire takes quite a lot of time.”

Especially since she always puts work before privacy, for her work was always first. There were those who were jealous of this, fortunately her two men accepted it. That made it all easier. She didn't intend to react to the kindness, as if she hadn't heard it. She wasn't in such a close relationship with the man to say thank you to him for this.

”But I heard the life of a Jedi isn’t exactly boring either. Mainly because of the growing threat by the Bryn’adûl.”

She looked at the man as he began to mention political things that he would rather not say. In fact, the Overlord has heard quite a bit about what Jedi politics is like or how they think about it. Most things were pretty disappointing about it, but she was interested.

”If you have already mentioned it, I would also be interested in your political views on this. And I’m not interested in power, in any way, I don’t even think about it in that form…”

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Mathieu's gaze fell as he went into deeper though. The woman recommended that he get a lawyer to help him manage his finances but then, she did not seem to endorse befriending them. After a while, the large Morellian's gaze went back up to her "Do you mean that..." he trailed off as he took another moment to think over her words "That I should get a lawyer but keep them at arm's length?" he asked, trying to deduce what she meant.

It was hard not to chuckle - his comment on her being busy had mostly just been as a courtesy in regards to her speaking of her limited time. But then she replied to what was actually keeping her busy. The Padawan appreciated it. She was willing to be open when she really didn't have to be. His face lit up with enthusiasm when she mentioned how the life of a Jedi probably wasn't boring. Mathieu's mind immediately went to training sessions and small tasks with his fellow Padawans - but that was not what she was referring to. A more grim expression then made its mark on his face as he gave her a nod. Mathieu had been on Nar Kreeta himself and experienced the horrors of fighting the Bryn first hand.

His mouth moved, but he simply couldn't find the word. It was hard to speak of it for the impressions were still so real. The pained cries for help from his fellow warriors, the bloodthirsty charge of the Bryn horde and the thought of all those lost in the recent defeat. The young Morellian's gaze fell as he let out a sigh "No. No, I suppose it isn't boring" He looked up at her with a meager smile, more to comfort himself than and brighten the mood a little bit.

And then they entered the subject of politics. Mathieu quickly raised is hands, showing her his palms whilst blurting out "Oh, no, that's not what I meant! I just didn't want to risk ending up arguing again." A friendly smile spread across his face and he tilted his head to the side, just a little, "I'm not that hard to predict, you know. I want the root out the darkness, spread the light. Let people be happy and free. Let resources go to science and healthcare instead of endless wars."

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

In fact, she didn't really think she was going to corner the young man with the lawyers. The man suffered more with this than when he fought the Voss with a copy of the woman. Yes, if someone wasn’t specifically at home on such issues, it was hard. Ingrid had learned this, yet she thought she was a much larger jackal than the battlefield. Here they wall up in an unfair environment, if they are seen as weak, there is not much opportunity to fight, like jackals or necrophagous, they strike down.

”Exactly. it may not seem so, but the financial realm is dirtier and worse than Tatooine, or Nar Shaddaa’s darkest cantinas. It is enough to show weakness and devour a person alive.”

Since she was still speaking militarily and coldly, it was impossible to know if she was just joking or serious. She meant what she said seriously, but it was a good question, even for her, what the young man would think about it. She watched Padawan's face as thoughts and perhaps emotions ran through him as he thought. What the man replied made clear he was there on that planet. She couldn’t be entirely sure, but the woman had been involved in enough wars for someone to recognize this.

”You were there, weren't you?”

She asked, still without emotion. Nodded, yes, the subject of politics can actually bring out the worst possible out of everyone and has caused more debate in every part of the Galaxy. She knew exactly that this could lead to wars at the galactic level. But this wasn’t a conversation right now like those where politics goes bloody.

”It’s just a conversation, not a battlefield like before.” She said in a slightly softer, kinder voice to encourage the Padawan. ”And if the light side means exactly the same bondage to someone as the dark side to you? It is precisely because of this view that I find both sides equally bad.”

 

[Mathieu Brion]

A meek smile grew on his lips as she confirmed what he asked. "I'll look into it" he said, grateful for her advice. It was funny how things could change - not too long ago, they had faced each other in a rather hostile environment and now she was advising him on how to keep his economy. With a warm voice, he looked her way "That was nice of you, Ingrid. Thank you" he said, still sticking to her first name rather than titles and what-not.

The conversation continued. It seemed like the woman could read him like an open book. But then, he was not all too good at hiding his thoughts and she had probably been to hundreds if not thousands of high level diplomatic meetings. It still took him by surprise, however, that she could guess that he had been there in the thick of it. His mouth opened and once more, no words came out as he still searched for what to say. Remaining silent, he simply nodded before sending her a shy look. Her voice was still emotionless and it was hard to tell where he had her, but in a way, it felt good that she saw and perhaps even cared. For now, he remained silent, however - it was a burden to for him to shoulder and they were not close enough for him to take the initiative and share his pain with her. At least not intentionally.

Soon, he could hear how her voice turned more soft. Less emotionless and more kind. It was a welcome change, for now, he felt like it was much easier to make an actual connection to her. Mathieu had hoped to avoid politics and in a way, Ingrid seemed to respect that. She still wanted a deeper discussion - but instead of speaking of actions and people, they would not speak of a more philosophical matter, and that would, hopefully, be easier. Summoning his courage, Mathieu nodded, just a little longer than what was normal "Okay, Ingrid, I will try. I will try to give you my view"

After being quiet for a little while his eye went up "Where do I even begin?" he asked before recomposing himself "Okay, so, I believe that the Lightside is good and that the Darkside is bad. It is probably because how I view them, you see, from my point of view, the Lightside is based on peace, harmony and balance. When I stay true to the light, I don't wish to strike someone down or to cause other people to suffer. My view of the dark is that they are our opposites. I have seen it with my own eyes - how easily they go on the attack and how they sometimes don't care for the suffering of others. I am against that. Sure, there may be examples here or there of when people have not stayed true to the light, but I think that this is the essense of it" his voice remained calm throughout. Ingrid had managed to make him feel safe enough to express himself openly without doing it harshly or argumentatively. He just said what he thought and looked to her to see if she agreed.

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

For Ingrid to be able to read in others and learn very easily, doing so was a top priority. She was a spy and an agent, so this was her original occupation. Learned all this for many years to be able to do this. This was precisely the reason why she always made sure nothing could be read from her own body language. That's why she seemed distant and untouchable. The woman didn't really need more, because the listening and the other reactions were very talkative to her.

But in the end, it seemed that the kinder, more direct voice had brought success and the young man would still be talking about politics and what his views were. She listened intently to Padawan's words and nodded at the end before speaking.

"I experience the exact opposite. So far, not a single Sith has tried to kill me because I don’t think like them. But all the Jedi immediately think of me as the Sith and want to kill me just because my Empire is in alliance with the Sith Empire. That's exactly what you did on Voss just like Beltran Rarr . But you weren’t the first of these and probably not the last."

Pointed to this, with a similar emphasis as when she encouraged the boy. There was no resentment or negative emotion in her voice. She just talked and was really curious.

"And I? I may feel neutral in most cases because I have controlled my emotions as well or better than a Jedi Knight or Master even without Force, yet I still use the Dark Side. True, I don’t use my own emotions, I use others. But that makes everyone think of me as a user of the Dark Side as well. I don’t enjoy the suffering of others and I don’t kill others for fun, just those I absolutely have to. True, I'm not a Sith, but would I be so bad too?"

She was really curious about that now. Was never interested in the theological side of the Force, that the light and dark sides had to fight. It was so insignificant in her eyes, this was one of her views what made Adrian like her because she didn’t see the Force as a religion.

"The world is not only back and white."

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Mathieu let out an audible sigh as she brought up Voss. The two never seemed to be able to agree on anything when it came to Voss and this was another one of those instances. "Well, we were in a warzone, tasked with taking the Tower of Prophecy and you stood in our way. It was more about the war than your ideals in that particular instance - but even then, we didn't attack you first - did we? I seem to remember us deciding to try to walk past you instead of attacking you, at the expense at the lives of numerous Rangers." The Padawan had allowed his tone to rise - but he was still calm, still in control.

Letting out yet another audible sigh, Mathieu let his shoulders fall as he leaned back "Sorry - we're not here to fight. Whatever you think happened or I think happened, that's not what's important. Not in this discussion." The Padawan allowed his gaze to rise up to the ceiling before letting it fall back down onto Ingrid "What I tried to do was to define what both sides meant to me. A person is not a servant of the light simply because they claim to be one, at least not in my eyes. They are not a servant of the dark just because they claim to be so either. The Lightside, the Darkside, it's so much greater than any of us. It's more like a fact that we have to adapt to than a social construct." A humble smile grew on his lips as he finished the sentence - it was not the most deep thought ever presented, far from it. But to Mathieu, it felt like he had said something profound - something which he didn't expect from himself. Maybe she wouldn't agree with him. Maybe she would. But at this moment, he felt pretty good about what he had said. About the thoughts that he had shared. And for what it was worth, he hoped that the more abstract path was one which would help them avoid too many disagreements.

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

" Beltran Rarr would have been able to kill everyone in there. My fiancé was in the building, who is one of the leaders of the Sith Empire, a member of the Dark Council. I hope you understand why I didn’t want you and the captain to ever reach the building."

Since that was just the past, there was no problem telling him who she was defending there. Another issue is that even then she did not know that her real fiancé was not there, only a “clone” who eventually died before her eyes. Later, when the woman left the planet with members of the Karza’arana and met her real fiancé, she slapped the Sith Lord. At the time, she had no idea that about half a year later at the siege of Dantooine, she would lose Adrian, only this time really.

Didn't say Adrian's name, it was pretty well known about the connection between them. Ingrid spoke completely calmly, her voice not rising; it seemed to her that she was more in control of her emotions than the Padawan his own. Listened intently to what Mathieu was saying. The boy had almost seen it, told the truth, but in the end he hadn't. Did he know, guessed, or just didn’t say it because he was a Jedi and couldn’t say it?

"That’s why I think of the Force as a chain, the Force beats into chains, no matter how you believe you’re free, that’s not true. It binds you, chains to itself, expects this adaptation you meant. We are not free, it is just an illusion. Those who do not have Force are much freer than us. The Force deprives us of our free will and forces everyone into eternal war. Everything and everyone plays the way it wants. Bigger than us, maybe. But that doesn’t mean we have to bow our heads at it. This is my opinion on this."

Here thought for a moment, then looked out over the city and finally back to the young man.

"Sometimes I play with the idea of what the Galaxy would be like without Force, that at least the wars that stem from who is on which side or how they view the Force would end…"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Mathieu nodded. He knew what Beltran was capable of - or at least so he thought. At least he had sympathy for what Ingrid might have thought that the man would have done - if Mathieu would have let it transpire was another question. Still, here, he could honestly let her know that "I understand the predicament you were in. Anybody in your position would be hard pressed not to act" his voice was one of sympathy, for he really did understand what a tough spot she had been in.

A soft smile started to grow on his lips as she spoke. While still didn't seem to agree completely, they stood much closer to each other than one might have expected at the start of the conversation. "The force... chains...." it was a concept which he had heard before - although, it was not good company in his opinion. Still, it was not impossible to see what she was getting at and as he leaned his head to the side with a shrug, Mathieu let out a humble "I suppose you could see it like that. It is similar to nature - like gravity. There is nothing we can do about it, it's just there and limits what we can do. But we can adapt to it and live with it." In all honesty, the large Padawan felt somewhat confused by it all, but seeing as they had an open discussion, he was willing to share his thoughts freely. While Ingrid was no servant of the light, at least according to herself, he did not think that she wanted to corrupt him.

Another smile spread across his face as she mentioned a galaxy without the force. "It is hard to imagine" he said, knowing how important it was to him and so many others around him. "People do often find causes to wage war, whether they are force users or not." he said, unsure of whether the lack of the force would truly mean that there would be peace or not. But then he continued "I just know that, there has been nothing that have made me want peace more than when I first entered a warzone after having opened myself to the force. The pain and suffering I could feel, it was horrible." Mathieu let out a heavy sigh as he finished his thought "Empathy is so much easier when you have the force. I don't see why anyone would want to continue fighting after that."

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

The Voss was really interesting, didn't even go there to fight, just for a date. Along the way, she learned of the impending attack. Everything that happened after that was a history. If she had told them there that Adrian was inside, she would not have managed to keep the enemies away as much as she would otherwise. There was no good solution there. If she just stepped aside, Karza’arana would probably kill everyone, but that would have been a senseless massacre.

True, Ingrid was not a Light side Force user, but neither was Sith; she did not want torture or the similar things to get someone to serve the Dark Side or any other side; no, she wanted to show the truth to someone else. From this, if one saw this, there could still be on the Light Side and not necessarily become a prisoner of the Dark Side. Nor was the woman, she was able to use some technique used by the Lightsiders, but she also used the Dark side abilities as well, yet she was neutral most of the time. Smiled for a moment at Padawan's words.

"Only gravity will not destroy and devour you, and the Force can do it. Last but not least, gravity is hard to use for anything without technology, with just a single thought or click."

Said somewhat kindly, pointing out that there is a difference between the two things. Ingrid nodded, knowing it might be hard to imagine, but she wondered what a Jedi would think. Nodded again when the boy mentioned the ongoing wars, she was aware of that, but even then…

"There would always be wars, there would always be disagreements. But at least it was not Force Users who would decide these, but average people. They always rule everything, they stand above everyone, even the Jedi. Soldiers obey them, you because they, you the Force is with them. It would not be the case that someone would go ahead and be able to kill millions or destroy cities with their will alone. Wars and the world would not be mystical anymore, but tangible. When I was not Force Sensitive I thought a lot about this topic…"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

"Oh" the innocent gasp escaped him as she pointed out how the force and gravity could be rather different. His eyes gazed up into the nothingness of the ceiling while he let out a sigh. Mathieu's wide shoulders fell and he let out a "That's a good point" while seeming to be rather deep in thought. Eventually, he let out a careful "So, the way I explained it, it was kind of like a force of nature. A physical law. And the way you see it; it is more like a beast or perhaps even a deity. But just think of gravity - It's always there, you always have to abide by its rules. Sometimes, it can pull you along on trips you don't want to go on, and sometimes, it can work in your favour, when you utilise it to your advantage. The force is just like that - but on a different level." Mathieu paused for a few moments before letting out yet another sigh, in a way, it almost seemed to be in defeat "But who are we kidding? The force, it is far too grand and illusive for someone like me to understand. I don't even know if the Masters understand it fully"

Then they moved on to talk about wars. Unfortunately, Mathieu did not quite understand what Ingrid was saying which made it hard for him to respond with much more than an awkward smile, a slight shrug and an almost embarrassed "Uh-huh?" whilst scratching the back of his head.

Through the corner of his eye, the large Padawan noticed how the stew he had brought was starting to run low. A genuine smile spread across his lips as he temporarily broke from the deeper conversation they were having to appreciate the good that was being done. "It looks like they were hungry" he smiled, nodding down at the ever emptying pot that still laid on the cart. Without much more thought to it, he let a question slip "So, what are your thoughts for the rest of today? Got any other projects for them?" with a quick nod, he made clear that he was referring to the children when he said 'them'.

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

"I am not a religious woman, so I do not think of a deity at all because such beings do not exist. But you are not mistaken in thinking of the Force as something living thing. After all… isn't it the Jedi view that everything merges with the Force after their death? I mean, will everyone be one with it?"

The woman summons quite a few demons and reads books, documents about the Netherworld that she knows that most of them really become one with the Force, but some keep their consciousness; they will be the demons. For this reason alone, Ingrid would not compare the Force to any physical law. But nodded at what the Padawan had said, fully understanding what the boy was thinking.

"I understand what you mean, I only studied a lot of science, including physics, when I was younger, so it’s a little hard to find a parallel with gravity."

Admitted it with a faint smile, sighed at the next one, it seemed too complicated what she had said. How can she explain this more easily?

"So without Force, wars would not be controlled by “demigods” just because they have Force. But average people… who are not driven by the Force to destroy the other side. Perhaps a more rational half of the people would show up. Sure, there would always be reasons for war, but, it would be different."

Didn’t want to give specific examples, it was enough to look around the galaxy for all this now. Meanwhile, the kids also finished the lunch that Padawan brought them. Thought about the question, in fact, Ingrid wanted to talk to the headmaster, and she hoped Kveld would take the kids by then, but the man hadn't come back yet.

"I don't know, but I think Kveld will be happy to catch them, or he will run against them in a running race, in which he then loses. Or were you planning something outside of lunch?"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Letting out an understanding "mm" with a nod as she noted that she wasn't religious, Mathieu listened as she spoke and in a way, described how she saw the force. While he wasn't sure what was correct and what wasn't, still merely being a Padawan and not an studious one at that, what she said was sensible. To her question, there was little more for him to do than the shrug "Honestly, I don't know." his gaze fell as he spent a few more moments thinking about it "I've heard Masters say it, but I don't know why that is. And then, if they do become one with the force, do they still stay alive, in a sense? Give a body enough years and it will eventually become part of whatever planet it rests on too." he said, genuinely not knowing what the truth was. He had opinions, sure, but he had not studied the deeper mysteries of the force. As for her comment on the parallel with gravity, he merely smiled, accepting that it could be hard to make the parallel - it was a hard subject to ponder on overall, so it hardly came as a surprise.

When she tried clarifying what she meant, he seemed to get a better understanding of it, nodding along as she spoke. Letting out half a chuckle, he leaned his head to the side, thinking that their current thought exercise was close to impossible. "I mean, maybe?" he said, keeping a humble tone as he produced a futile smile "I haven't seen many societies which aren't affected by the force at all, so it's hard to truly imagine how that would be. But I won't pretend that force users always make good decisions. There have been way too many conflicts for that to be true. As for if we didn't have the force? I just don't know. Maybe it would be better - maybe it wouldn't."

It was nice to speak to the woman - the leader of the Eternal Empire - she behaved very differently now from when they were on the opposite sides of a battle. Mathieu chuckled softly as he looked over to the children, Kveld and Milou. A smile grew on his lips as he looked over to her "Not really. Maybe see if they need a hand with something. Fix a faulty power coupling or have a look at a wobbly chair" he said, keeping a lighthearted tone to indicate that it was just a few examples of what he could try to do. "I even brought a few tools" he continued as he gently kicked a box on the hover cart he brought to show here where. "As long as I don't disrupt someone's nap" a happy smile grew on his lips as he joked before standing up and stretching "What do you say, wanna have a look around and see what we can do?"

Ingrid L'lerim

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Lady Ingrid L’lerim Ragal Terassi Vandiir
Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire, Overlord of the Eternal Empire, the Emperor's hand, Lord Commander
The Red Witch; The Night Queen, Director of Blackwatch; Baroness of Vengard, Head of the House L’lerim, CEO of the HPI Consortium​

Location: Orphanage, Zakuul City, Zakuul
Equipment: Brynja coat | Hersir Imperial Uniform | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | G1 OmniLink | Soul || Kveld
Tag: Mathieu Brion

Ingrid was really surprised that the young man didn't know the details. He seemed old enough that if he was interested in something about the Force, he would read it afterwards. Or maybe the Jedi don’t allow young people to have such knowledge? Nodded at the young man's words. Starting from herself she wanted to learn as much knowledge as possible in the shortest time possible to understand what had come into her possession. True, the woman did not become Force Sensitive so long ago; okay, once cheated, but otherwise she was already at master level.

"Yes, something like that. But aren't these taught to you? I mean… When I became Force Sensitive, I wanted to know all the theoretical knowledge as soon as possible, even before the practical knowledge. Be aware of the nature of the Force, what can be achieved with it, what are its limits, disadvantages, advantages. I believe that without comprehensive theoretical knowledge, it is not worthwhile to engage in practical training. In no field. Based on your words, I assume the Jedi Order doesn't think so, right?"

Did not know this in such detail, she hoped that now she could expand her knowledge in such a field as well. At the next, the young man finally understood what the woman was thinking. However, at the answer she chuckled softly because it was actually much easier to avoid the Force than anyone would have thought. It may have been there in everything, but there were few who could use it. The proportion of such persons was negligible compared to the other persons the galaxy was full of. It seemed to Ingrid that if someone was Force Sensitive then they couldn’t avoid the Force, but if they didn’t, they could easily.

"In fact, if you’re not a Force User, it’s easy enough to avoid situations where this would come to the fore. I speak from my own experience. Roughly seven or eight years ago, I knew so much about the Force that tricks could be performed with it, or massive destruction. So much, nothing specific…"

There was nothing wrong with having to help with something, she had done everything for most of her life and now, as a regent, she had no problem with having to get her hands dirty. It probably wouldn’t be any different later, not to mention that as an agent she had to understand a lot of things, so a little packing or mounting wouldn’t have been a problem for her either. There was nothing that could be done, Kveld stole the show from everyone.

"All right, let's look around to see if they need help somewhere. Kveld stays here, takes care of the kids, and I don’t think the kids would let him go anyway." With that, walked out into the hallway, even asking a question. "When did you start studying to be a Jedi?"

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Mathieu let out a long "Uhhhhhh" upon being asked the question. He was hardly the right person to speak of the Order's learning curriculum or any learning curriculum for that matter. And with that, he spoke with a tone which would reveal just how unsure he was on the matter "I think it varies from person to person, uhm, maybe? I'm sure some know it better than I do but, uhh, yeah... I don't" as for the second part of her question, he produced a shrug and admitted "You should really ask the Assembly about that stuff, I'm just a Padawan, I don't know what the order's view on knowledge and learning is." They had been open and honest so far and so, he produced a smile and at least tried to offer her a "I can tell you that I prefer the practical over the theoretical myself" with an innocent tone.

Ingrid had a good point. People sensitive to the force might have been common where Mathieu was - but then, he tended to be in a Jedi Temple a lot. But in general, the galaxy had a much higher portion of non-force sensitives than force sensitives, just like she said. But then, he wasn't sure of whether it was true that they tended to not be present "Well, force sensitivity isn't really a binary yes or no, is it? I didn't find out that I was force sensitive until recently and before that, most non-force sensitive outsiders would have thought of me as non-force sensitive too"

It was with a happy nod that he acknowledged that she agreed to come on the walk. It would be good to have something to do, for while he had been enjoying talking to her, he was itching to move about a little. Sitting still for long swaths of time could be hard and he often found that it was stimulating to move a little. As they walked, she asked when he started to study to become a Jedi, causing him to think hard "Has it been a year yet?" he asked, squinting as he pondered on the timeline. "Well, if it hasn't been a year yet, it will have been in a few months" he chuckled. The missions he had been on could indicate that he had been there for much longer, but the truth was that he was still rather new. But then, he had good morals when he joined, some training with the Soller Navah as well as having worked as a Mercenary for some time. The three factors combined gave him a good head start.

The facilities were relatively well taken care of and as they walked through the building, Mathieu couldn't help but to notice that it was rather hard to find something that needed fixing. Eventually, they came across a faulty power coupling. "There" he said, calmly moving towards it and carefully removing the panel before opening the tool kit. "Would you like to have a go at it?" he asked, figuring that he might as well offer before starting to do it all himself.

Ingrid L'lerim