Private There Will Be No More Mysteries

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani had been aboard Tribunal Station for long enough to know what a Je’daii was, and the more she learned, the more she found herself drawn to them. They allowed for alchemy and imbuement; they wielded Force-imbued blades; they were neutral in the Force, devoted to neither side; they were independent and made their home in a veritable fortress of a space station. All of these things appealed to her—she, who had been an alchemist, who had crafted a Force-imbued blade, who seemed destined to remain neutral, and who needed a safe place for her and her children to call home.

She hadn’t made it official yet, but she was leaning toward joining the Je’daii Order. If you’d asked her that just a week or two earlier, she’d have replied “Me, join another Force Order? Are you insane?” She had tried to be a Sith, tried to be a Jedi, and tried to be a Mystic. None of it had worked out for her. Philosophy and doctrine had long since ceased to concern her, nor did she have any investment in the conflict between Light and Dark. She only wanted the freedom to use the Force as she had in the past, without hurting anyone. If the Je'daii could offer that, she'd be happy to count herself among them.

Sitting in the gardens, she watched the kids playing in the grass. The red-haired twins Marcus and Eloise seemed to like it here, too. Really, what more could she ask for?

Qae Shena​

 

[Qae Shena]

So everyone who knew anyone who knew Qae knew that he tended to live in the gardens. Not because he was a huge fan of nature, no. In all honesty, Qae was only a fan of outside when there was water involved - he preferred starship living, because it brought him comfort with the thrum of deckplates and such. Starbases did not quite do it for him. So, next, barring a large body of water, was a small body of water. Qae liked to hang out in and/or around the water, given that he was in fact a fish man.

So, when there were kids running around the pond he was sitting by, quietly meditating to himself (and not napping, I promise), he couldn't help but open one eye ever so slightly and watch these kids have fun. It was kind of nice, to be honest - a touch of humanity in a galaxy that was beginning to feel more and more detached from reality every time Qae looked up at something new.

So, he gave up, turned himself to watch the kids frolic, and then offered their what Qae could only assume to be their mother a smile-- and yet, there was a power to her, in the Force. It was palpable. Certainly a strength all her own. His own aura was... powerful, but damaged, like the edges were rough and brittle. Certainly something different. And it wasn't a feeling he'd ever get used to.

He probably stared at her a little too long, out of his own curiosity.

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

At some point, Eloise noticed the fish man sitting by the pond, partially obscured by a scruff of cattails and reeds. “Hi,” she greeted him with a wave of her hand, before hurrying away to chase down her brother, concerned only with winning their game.

Ishani had also noticed the man, and she regarded him with some degree of natural wariness as she watched her daughter approach him. Enough that she stood up from her seat and walked over to the pond to be sure the crouching figure was not an animal of some sort. Upon confirming that he was indeed a man, she was intrigued.

“Meditating?” she asked, realizing only afterwards that if the answer was yes, technically she was disturbing him. The kids, with their shrieks of laughter, probably were too, and they might have to move elsewhere in the gardens to continue their play without disturbing this ascetic.

Qae Shena​

 

[Qae Shena]

The kid was cute, that was for sure. Even as she ran up and made her presence known, he couldn't help but smile. By contrast, his voice was deep, gravelly, almost two-tone; it was an odd thing for a fish man to be out of water. "Hi," was his response back, with a half wave, before she was off again. Yeah, it was cute.

And then over came the mother, armed with a smile and kindness.

Qae's response was equally cordial and polite, for she certainly deserved that. "No, I've been at it far too long for my liking now. Truth told I'm rather enjoying having the kids play. It's a nice change of pace for me."

Says the childless, partnerless fish man, who does not know the equal joy and terror of parenthood.

"Qae."

A simple introduction, but for the black-eyed Nautolan, it was sufficient.

@Ishwani Sibwarra

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Oh."

She glanced toward the children again, ever-watchful, then turned back to the fish man. He made what sounded like just a noise at first, before she realized it was his name, Qae.

"Ishani," she said, giving her name in return. Then, floundering for something else to say (Ishani was no great conversationalist), she added, "We're new to the Station. Everywhere I went I asked people where the safest place in the galaxy was to raise a family..." Another cursory glance toward the kids. "... and Tribunal Station was one of the answers I got. I'm not a Je'daii yet, but it does seem fitting for me to wind up here."

She nodded to Qae with a slight smirk. "I hate meditation, though."

Qae Shena