Tied Together With A Smile

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie's face turned to a smug smile. "It's okay that you're a super lightweight." Ignoring the fact that she had basically taken drink for drink with Aela, but that wasn't the point. "After all, you cheat most of the time anyway." Her tongue stuck out between her lips towards the Jedi. The few crates Aela snooped around in thankfully had been the general supplies, otherwise she may have discovered what her Padawan had been planning. The majority of the supplies all fit in a single crate, albeit a bit larger than the others.

Within the crate were all the necessities for cave diving: Harnesses, rope, latches, pulleys, rappels, crabs, etriers, clips, gloves, rollers, anchor plates, everything.

"Keep your paws out of there, you." She said, glaring towards Aela. "You can wait until we get there to see."

What was that old saying? Patience is a virtue?

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Psssh." Aela said with a wave of her hand.

Patience was a strong point of hers, at least when it came to most things. With mysteries? Not so much. She didn't like it when she didn't know what was coming. It made her feel as if she was being left out. Of course this was all supposed to be something for fun, not a warzone, but she still couldn't help but be curious about it all.

"I need to know what you're getting me into." Aela said with a simple shrug. "Can't just be waltzing all over the place."

She shrugged.

"I'm important, Jedi Marshall and all that." Of course, Aela didn't mention that they were probably going to remove the position from the Order all together, Jamie didn't need to know that. For now she needed to leverage her imaginary authority in order to find out where they were going.

"People see me on Lujo doing the wrong thing..." She shrugged again. "They might get the wrong impression."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Mhmm." Jamie mumbled, propping herself up on one of the crates, her feet swaying forward and back as she watched Aela snoop around like a child. "I think you actually can just be waltzing all over the place, because you're a Jedi." The blonde watched as Aela opened the last of the crates containing the aforementioned equipment, shaking her head at the girl's impatience. And people said Jamie was impatient. Aela was just as bad, if not worse! "But don't let that fancy title get to your head. It's already big enough." Jamie giggled at her own ingenious crack towards Aela.

Inside Aela would find all of the supplies, and likely be able to piece together what it was for. Jamie had two natural talents, cave exploring, and fencing. Obviously the equipment wasn't for fencing, nor would she drag Aela halfway across the galaxy for a sparring match. No, what was on Lujo was, according to a number of accounts she could find on the HoloNet, were a series of difficult, yet beautiful caves, several with naturally glowing lagoons deep within. The pictures Jamie had seen were mesmerizing.

She wanted to share the experience with someone important to her. As of now, those people were short numbered. Aela could handle it, and she was special to Jamie. It only made sense.

"I'm not going to tell you what we're doing with it until we get there, not matter how much you ask, Miss Impatient."

Aela Talith

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Can you blame me?" Aela asked simply. "All of my patience gets used up with you."

She smirked at her padawan.

Eventually however she decided to follow her students directive. It was clear that Jamie was trying to do something nice for her, and digging around in the back of the cargo hold would likely make it worse. She frowned for a moment, and then took a seat onto one of the containers.

"Jamie." Aela said quietly. "Come sit for a second."

Now was maybe not the time to talk about this, but it had been on her mind as of late.

With the New Jedi Order now doing a bit of shuffling and reorganizing it was becoming more and more clear that her role in things was becoming...smaller. The position of Jedi Marshall was either being removed or liquidated, and she was nearly out of the Order anyway, so she figured. Her lips thinned slightly. Before making any sort of decision she wanted to speak to Jamie, and to her mother. The latter would be difficult, but she was pretty sure she could reach her parents with a strong enough signal booster.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie squinted, crinkled her nose, pursed her lips, and shook her head towards Aela. No reply came though, just the silly, mocking gesture. That was all the comment warranted, after all, feigned scorn.

Uh oh.

Come sit for a second?

This was a talk. She knew the tone, the girl's expression, the way she looked at the blonde. She had seen this back when Aela had first berated her about Bastion, for rushing Villa and injuring herself, for not listening.

"What did I do!?" The student cried out, half expecting a scolding from the Jedi, the other half expecting some kind of desire to further discuss one of her many various troubles recently in her life.

These kinds of talks were never good. Jamie half cringed, eyes falling on Aela already half ashamed of whatever it was she had done wrong.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Hmm?" She looked confused for a second.

"No no no." Aela said with a smile. "It's nothing you did."

The Pdawan could put that to rest. Jamie had been through a lot lately, more than anyone had a right to endure. Kurt, her family, Vrak, Suravi...or whatever that woman was called. All of it had been a massive strain on her. She didn't want her own weight toppled onto the girl, but she couldn't help but at least talk to her about her issues. They were Master and Apprentice after all, and even though Jamie wasn't officially a part of the Order she was still important to Aela.

"The Jedi Council is considering the removal of the Jedi Marshall rank." She told Jamie quietly.

For a second she paused.

"I may..." This was harder to put in the words than expected. "I may take that as an opportunity to leave The Order."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Oh." She immediately relaxed, hopping off the crate and jumping up onto the one Aela was sitting on. Her hands extended outwards behind her as she turned to listen to what the Jedi Master had to say.

Again she repeated herself upon hearing what it was that the Talith girl wanted to speak about. "Oh." Jamie wasn't quite sure what to make of, or say to that. "I see."

What's that mean? "So you're considering leaving because of the dissolution of your role?" To be fair, Jamie still wasn't entirely sure of what the role of a Jedi Marshall exactly was, in comparison to say, an ordinary Jedi Master. As best she could tell, it gave her a little bit of additional influence and access to privileged data, though being a part of SIS likely granted her more clearance than anything the Order received, at least in terms of information and resources.

"Or was there another reason?"

She hoped it wasn't anything she had done, even if Aela had assured her it was nothing on her part.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Truth is I've been considering it for a while." Ever since Coruscant actually.

The conversation that she'd had with Jacen had really sparked the sentiment though. "I don't care about the title."

She never had.

"It's just..." How did she put this without sounding selfish? "I've been fighting for so long, pretty much ever since I was a kid. I fought the One Sith, other Sith Orders, now criminals on an almost daily basis."

She sighed. "I'm getting tired of fighting Jamie."

Aela was still incredibly young, comparatively anyway, so perhaps she was just being a bit naive when making these claims, but she felt worn out. Maybe it was the politics, maybe it was the New Jedi Order itself, she didn't know, but she knew how she felt.

"What do you think?" She asked quietly.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

What does it matter what I think?

The girl shrugged. "You have to do what you think is right." That was the simple truth.

"I didn't decide to learn how to control the Force because I wanted to rescue the galaxy. I want to protect my home." That was the gist of it anyway. "Everything in between is just the path to get there."

Jamie knew she needed to train, knew she needed to travel to accomplish that. To be able to have disciplined training. That wouldn't happen at home. Sure, eventually through trial and error she would learn how to control it to a degree, perhaps stop common criminals. But that wasn't the goal. She wanted to be The protector of Naboo, if and when it became necessary. Even as young as she was, she knew that meant she had to get stronger, both mentally and physically. She had to demand more of herself than self-training.

That meant learning what Aela would teach her, while she was willing to teach.

"I am just curious why you decided to teach me, if you didn't want to continue."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She shrugged. "I never thought I'd actually leave."

Aela had considered it before, but she hadn't thought the time would come for...years. The idea had always been there at the back of her mind, she knew that at some point she would go her own way, she just hadn't expected it to come to her so soon. Perhaps that was her being naive again, or perhaps she had just been hopeful.

"Teaching you." She said quietly. "Doesn't have anything to do with it."

Jamie had never really been taken as a padawan on purpose, or rather she had never intended to take her on. It all just sort of happened. She didn't mind it, and of course the younger girl had now become much like a Sister to her.

It wasn't Jamie that was pushing her away. "You still have a lot to learn, and if I do leave the Order i hope that you stay with me in some capacity."

She smiled.

"Whether that's as my student." She still held the rank of Master, whatever that meant. "Or my friend."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie brushed away non-existent wrinkles from her shirt, fidgeting with her feet while she thought about what to say. This was a big decision, one that she was certain Aela had taken quite a bit of time to consider and calculate what to do. That was obvious by the mere fact that she had been considering her move since before she had taken Jamie on as a student.

"If your heart isn't there, it's not there." Her answer was pretty simple.

Jamie knew what it was like doing things you didn't have your heart set on. "I'll be at your side regardless." She didn't quite have any other options either way.

"Friend, student, whatever you need me to be." She gave the older girl a warm smile, placing one arm around Aela's back, and giving her a half hug.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Well, that was something. "I'm not sure yet."

Aela admitted quietly.

"It's a big decision." She wasn't just playing off her own ego when she said that she was important. She had been a part of the New Jedi Order since it's inception, and her departure would likely cause more than a few ripples within the Order itself. "I have to talk to my mom still."

She looked at her apprentice.

"But I'm glad you'll be with me." There was no telling that the future held, not for her, not for Jamie, not for the New Jedi Order. She wouldn't leave angry, she would most certainly not feel any disdain towards her former comrades, but she felt that it was simply getting to that time.

Time for her to go out on her own.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Your mom?"

She wondered why her mother required consultation for the decision. Jamie had originally left her home because of her parents. She would hardly convene with them over decisions she made for herself now. She fought for that independence. Perhaps it was different for Aela though. Perhaps there was a reason she needed the guidance of this woman to make such a decision.

But if that was what Aela needed to do before making the decision to leave the Jedi Order than it was what she needed to do. It wasn't Jamie's place to tell her otherwise. She nodded, hopping down from the crate to turn and face Aela directly. "If that's what you need to do. But I will definitely be there to support you however I can, despite my own lack of stability."

The blonde had no delusions that her life was a chaotic sith storm.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"My mother was a part of the Old Jedi Order, the one in the Galactic Republic." She stopped for a second and looked at Jamie. "Before it was awful."

Back when they had succeeded in destroying the Sith Empire. Her mother had fought bravely as a Jedi Shadow, and Aela trusted her opinion above all others, even that of her fathers. Kira always seemed to know what the right thing to do was, which was really what Aela needed in that moment.

"I think talking to her would help me...but she's in the Rishi Maze with my father right now." Her parents 'vacation' was rather unfortunate for her. They would come back if there was an emergency of course, but Aela would hardly qualify this as one. She just wanted to talk to her mom before she ended up making a decisions. She knew that their ship had a holo-transceiver, so really it was just a matter of actually reaching them.

That would be hard though.

She let out a sigh. "I'll have to decide soon enough."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie didn't quite understand what Aela meant by before it was awful. She assumed it had something to do with Suravi's takeover of the Republic and everything within. Did that really extend even to the Jedi Order? That was a subject she felt was best left alone. Perhaps some things were better left in the dark. Whatever happened there was largely irrelevant to her training as a Jedi.

"I see." There was a simple nod. "Is there a way to contact them through the comm on board the ship?" She wasn't sure whether or not Aela could reach her mother using the standard ship array they had on the old freighter or not, but figured it was worth offering if she wanted to get that out of the way before they arrived on Lujo.

"Can I do anything to help?" It was really the least she could offer.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She shook her head. "Not this ship."

They would need a signal booster...a very very big one.

"Don't worry, when we're done here I'll head back home to Borleias." Her actual home, where she had grown up. "We have an array there that should be able to reach them, hopefully anyway."

She shrugged.

Aela knew that this decision wouldn't be an easy one, and even after she made it things would only get more complicated. If she left the New Jedi Order she would have to decide whether or not to stay with the SIS, then if she decided not to stay with them she would have to decide what else she wanted to do, which of course she had no idea of her choices. It was an odd, and incredibly annoying situation.

"Not really, you've done all you can." She gave Jamie a reassuring smile.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie knew what Aela had said was meant well, though she couldn't help but feel like she had in fact done absolutely nothing. She made an offer to be by her side through whatever it was she decided to do, but was that really all that much? Aela had a big family, all of which likely supported her by the sounds of it. The words of the student would pale in comparison of importance she was sure.

She smiled back, just for appearance sake.

"Okay." She kept the smile going. "When we're back then."

It was a bit funny to Jamie that it was now Aela that needed some help taking her mind off of some heavy things in her life. Perhaps this would serve that purpose, otherwise she'd feel twice as terrible for wasting her time on some ridiculous trip into the wilds of Lujo.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She offered her padawan a smile.

This had been on her mind for quite some time, and although she had told Jacen about it a little while ago she still felt better having told Jamie. Despite her large family, it was sometimes difficult to talk to any of them about these sorts of things. They would all be understanding of course, Micah would make a jab or two but support her, Kaili would be outright helpful, and Maleah would likely entice her to explore jungles. The same went for her parents.

Sometimes though, sometimes talking to them was difficult. If only because she wanted to present an image of herself to them that she decided.

"How much longer do we have on this rustbucket?" Aela asked, knowing that Jamie likely wouldn't have an answer. "I feel like with every shake we're just a little bit closer to blowing up."

The statement was only half a joke.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Don't say that!" She exclaimed. "There will be no blowing up!"

Her head shook violently from left to right, the freely hanging blonde hair rocking back and forth in front of her face. "But to answer your question, I don't know. Maybe ask the pilot? I'm not sure which of us know less about starships and navigation." Though she was willing to bet that she was the worse of the two, if for no other reason than her complete ineptitude at piloting even the most basic of land speeders.

"Why? Are you that eager to figure out what we're doing?"

The girl poked her tongue out at Aela.

"There will be plenty of time when we get there, don't worry."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"I don't like ships!" She repeated her words from their earlier conversations.

Her head shook.

"Especially ones like these." Aela sniffed the air for a moment. "I can practically smell the fuel leaks."

That prospect was entirely too uncomfortable for her. If she was going to die she didn't want it to happen in a place like this, it was miserable. She wondered how freighter captains did it, living on tiny little ships that had no space, the ones that were seemingly falling apart. She shook her head slightly. "I'll tell you what."

Aela looked towards Jamie.

"If I leave the Order." Which seemed more and more likely now. "I'm going to get a nicer ship than this."