Ask First Steps

Mila Tesara

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Algarus
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
167
Reaction score
155
Ships_Desert_Star_Wars_459619.jpg


Location: Klatooine

It took some time before the sand storm had finally died down; something Mila was rather relieved to see occur. Having had cleared the sand out from around the ship, she had dropped off the resident knight who had tagged along, and was in the process of letting Fiach return home as well. Mila had tasked Brahe on retrieving spare parts for the Jabberwocky, which gave her some one to one time with the woman: with whom she suspected held the potential to use the force.

Mila was never good about the next step for explaining such a thing, even quen she had Brahe, it had taken nearly an hour to explain he had the force. Hopefully she had gotten better since then. Seeing that all looked well at the helm if the Jabberwocky, Mila moved on to find their soon to be leaving guest, hopefully she could convince the woman to stay, perhaps find a better life for herself among the order. Joining the jedi had been defining for her at that stage of her life, and she felt the same would hold true for Fiach. Wherever the woman was at current, Mila planned to at least try and offer her a place within the order. She expected the woman to be within the cargo hold, perhaps trying to ensure her speeder bike was in good enough shape to ferry her around.

@Corbeau
 

Fiach Dubh

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Corbeau
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
403
Fiach was sure the storm had passed now. She was a local after all and knew the weather better than anyone present. Yes, it had taken some time but finally she was sure it was safe to leave and once the woman that arrived last had left, she checked over her speeder. It looked fine, but sand did literally get in every nook and cranny and so she not only gave it a visual inspection, but she also took a few components apart, just to be safe. It was a very long walk back into town and she’d rather not be caught out after dark.

She sighed audibly. She lacked social skills and usually just said whatever was on her mind. But even Fiach knew when some subjects were taboo — and on these occasions she had no idea how to broach the topic tactfully. She had so many questions in her head right now, so many she thought it might explode. But she pushed them aside as she focused on the task in hand.

Aware she was alone, she began to doubt what she’d believed she’d seen and played the scene over and over in her head. She was so engrossed, she jumped as she was aware the ship’s owner had joined her.

“Thanks…and sorry,” she said. “I mean, thank you for all your help and sorry about the sand everywhere.” She pointed at the ground around the speeder that was now looking ore like a desert than a cargo bay. “It goes with the territory around here but your co-pilot did not seem too impressed by us brining it into the ship and i can't really blame him.”
 

Mila Tesara

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Algarus
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
167
Reaction score
155
Sure enough, Mila had stumbled upon the woman working away on her speeder. It was too bad Brahe wasn't here, he'd probably be jumping all over this; which was probably a good thing, that boy couldn't control himself around women it seemed. Mila waved the apology off, the sand was no issue, it'd be disposed of one way or another. The only real concern Mila had at current, was where this woman would go to once she left this ship. "Think nothing of it. Brahe needs the distraction after all, and it gives him practice in patience. It's only sand after all. Now, if it was acid I might have other thoughts." Mila chuckled at the thought, though the idea itself was rather unpleasant.

That reminded her to never go back to Vjun, their acid rain problem was just ridiculous. Mila moved forward, looking over the work that her passenger was preforming. "Do you need help disassembling it? I might not look like it, but I know my way around the hydrospanner." Mila offered a hand, after all, the girl was probably nervous about overstaying her welcome. "It was rather fortunate that you found us in that sandstorm." Mila started, eyeing over the speeder, as she gave a glance towards Fiach. "You ever think that perhaps it wasn't luck, but something else?" This was the opening line, the prodding question to lead into something more vast than the young woman could know. Or it would fall flat on it's face.

@Corbeau
 

Fiach Dubh

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Corbeau
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
403
Fiach’s smile remained throughout the conversation. She was clearly someone that had a sunny disposition and from her regular nods of assent, probably a good listener too.

Her smile widened however, at the mention of patience. “Fortunately that is something I seem to be blessed with. The path to success can be short or long — one of my fathers is always saying — and it is the destination rather than the duration of the journey that is important. I must have heard him say that a thousand times and so it has stuck in my head.”

“And feel free to help. Sand can find places to hide that you wouldn’t believe. I would normally strip it down completely if caught in the storm, but a good effort should suffice to get me back home.”


As she worked, she considered the woman’s words. One of her eyebrows raised for a few moments before returning to its normal position. “I don’t believe in luck, I believe in hard work. But people say I’m lucky — and up to a point it upsets me. Not tears or anything but it suggests that any success was purely down to fortune as opposed to skill or judgement. But if I hadn’t made it to your ship, the consequences would have been dire. If that’s luck,” she shrugged her shoulders, “I can’t say. Is good fortune something you believe in? Or karma, or some mystical force. The concept exists in many civilisations I understand.”
 

Mila Tesara

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Algarus
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
167
Reaction score
155
Fiach had a knowledge beyond her young years, that much was a certainty. It had taken Mila some time to learn these concepts that Fiach spoke of, if nothing else, she was by far more mentally prepared than Brahe. "Well your father is a wise man. You can fly a star ship until it's engines burn out and your fuel is spent. In the end you accomplish nothing." Mila knelt down by the speeder, taking hold of a a calibrator unit and removing it from the vehicle. "We can always give you a lift if you're journey is a long one. It's not exactly paradise out there." Mila commented, peaking up from over the speeder before going back to work.

She detected a hint of...was it disbelief? Refusal? It was a rather complicated question truth be told, as asking someone if they believed in fate would indeed be met with a strange look. Hearing what the woman thought of the idea of luck, it became obvious that she preferred to let her actions dictate the future rather than thinking her actions had no meaning. "That's reasonable. Your own skills should not be called into question. Certainly not. It is not by luck you fixed this craft, nor is it by luck that you are proficient with your tools." Her headtails coiled up around her shoulders, then relaxed, as Mila had found a better way to explain her point.

Though Mila didn't have to, as Fiach had struck the philosophical nail right on the head. "I believe we are all part of a river, and where the river leads us we are not to know. You could start at one point and be thrown out somewhere completely different. We call this The Force, and I think it works through all of us, even those that don't believe in it." Mila looked to the woman, smiling slightly at her. "That's what it means to use the force. You tap into the river, and while you can't change it's flow, you can navigate it's streams quite a bit easier than those who can not."

@Corbeau
 

Fiach Dubh

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Corbeau
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
403
Fiach smiled and nodded. The truth was she had two fathers, or maybe it was one? The truth was that she did not know the truth. She had been raised by two fathers — but now was not the time to explain the situation.

“I really out to strip this right down, so if you could drop me off at the edge of Treema, I can easily make my way from there to home. It may be a small inconvenience for you, but you will be able to get away much quicker than it would take to dismantle and reassemble this,” she indicated the speeder with the end of her hydrospanner.

As the woman continued to speak, Fiach listened. There was something oddly familiar about her analogy. Maybe not precisely that she’d heard it before, but that it made enough sense for the young girl to think she’d always believed it. Which made no sense and…at the same time, perfect sense. At least to Fiach.

Her eyes narrowed at the mention of the Force. It was something told of in fairy tales. Of mythical knights that were able to do wondrous things. Like hold back a storm with just their will.

Fiach snuck a glance down at Mila’s belt. The young girl was one for facts and never opinions, but sometimes real data was hard to come by. So instead, you worked on clusters. Lots of small data points that all added up to a single fact due to their very existence. Like the term, ‘the Force’ or the display she’d seen when she first arrived, and the cylindrical device that all three seemed to wear at their belt (albeit they did not sport it openly, but you could not help but notice it when around them for long enough).

Fiach paused for a long moment before asking, her voice slightly shaking as she did, “Do you believe in Jedi?”
 

Mila Tesara

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Algarus
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
167
Reaction score
155
"Nonsense. You tell me what city you came from, and I'll set us down at the outskirts. It really isn't that much of a hassle. I honestly don't mind, especially if you are unsure about the condition of your speeder." Mila stated, raising up from the floor. She wasn't about to let someone try and talk her out of doing them a service.

She detected a bit of skepticism from Fiach, clearly there was something about what Mila had said, yet the woman was curious at the least about 'The Force'. Hopefully that would be enough to work with. She remembered feeling the same way when she had spoke with Kraud long ago, back when he brought her into the order. She too was like Fiach was, full of life, doubtful of that which didn't make sense. The Force was always some sort of pseudo nonsense, at least until she felt it for the first time; then she just couldn't stop seeing it all around her.

She could feel the young woman's eyes upon her, studying her. There was a hesitation there, a lingering question that begged to be asked. Then Fiach finally asked it. Mila almost laughed when she was asked about believing in jedi, but she was a composed jedi knight, so she managed to keep such an outburst in check. It was rather amusing though, perhaps Fiach didn't know it, but she quite literally asked if Mila believed she existed. "Yes. I believe in jedi. And in case you are wondering, yes, I am a jedi as well." Mila affirmed, crossing her hands in front of her, as she looked Fiach over once more. "Brahe is a jedi as well, and you have a potential to take up that call if you so desire." The offer was laid out now, and Mila knew what would come next; the convincing.

@Corbeau
 

Fiach Dubh

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Corbeau
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
403
Fiach did not do emotions — not in the traditional sense. Logic ruled her life, along with data. Yet, despite not being able to put a word to a feeling, she could sometimes sense what others were thinking. Not from facial clues or a tone of voice, but there was sometimes something about them that told her if they were happy or sad. Right now, if pressed, she would say Mila was amused. As to the why, she had absolutely no idea. But she detected it none the less.

Maybe it was her question? Maybe she’d insulted her host, by suggesting she believed in what amounted to a fairy-tale. So, Fiach was not ready for the response.

Yet…in another way she was. It made perfect sense in a way that defied logic or fact or data points. She instinctively felt it was true — which was against her entire existence to date. But she could not deny the sensation — and she did not want to.

“I knew it,” Fiach finally said, “or rather I felt it, which doesn’t make any sense to me, but perhaps it does to you. And the other woman was too, wasn’t she?”

Feeling on safer ground now, she allowed the full message from Mila to sink in. “Are you saying anyone can learn to be a Jedi, or that I have some special disposition to become one?” She had always felt different and maybe this was the reason why.
 

Mila Tesara

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Algarus
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
167
Reaction score
155
The shift was obvious, at least to Mila. She had the girls attention now. Knowing the truth and sensing the truth were two different things, and it went even further. The 'gut feeling' and the sensation the force gave one were both unique, but learning to distinguish the two took effort. "You are a perceptive one." Mila smiled, as Fiach asked her question, though it wasn't hard for her to have arrived at the answer. "Not everyone can be a jedi. They need to be able to connect with the force firstly, and secondly they need to be able to adhere to the code of the order. As you can imagine, it takes self discipline." Mila tilted her head to the side, eyed the young woman up, and nodded once again. "You have the potential to become a jedi, if you so desired. But that is solely for you to decide. Those feelings you have? Those 'lucky breaks' you mentioned? That's you innate force potential making itself known. With training and guidance, you can do much more than feel, or get 'lucky', but again, that takes sacrifice and time." Mila took in a breath, and exhaled. It was always difficult to have these talks.

"I used to be like you once, you know that? I used to travel around the galaxy on this ship, mapping hyperspace routes, meeting new people, exploring to my hearts content. But I never felt satisfied. Not until I learned about my gift." Mila crossing her arms across her chest. "But, again, that's something you will have to decide."

@Corbeau
 

Fiach Dubh

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Corbeau
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
403
Fiach’s left eyebrow raised a few centimetres before returning to its original position. She had been labelled many things in her time, but perceptive was not one of them. In truth, she was very, very observant and stored facts and had an awesome ability to retrieve them when needed. But she let the compliment slide (for she presumed it was a positive) and listened carefully.

She nodded as she heard Mila’s words, comparing what was said to what she knew and what she had previously heard. Given all three correlated, it seemed she was now dealing in fact as opposed to supposition.

“So,” she said once Mila had concluded, “I have the ability and can become a Jedi as long as I follow a Code. As long as the Code is a cause for good, I will not have an issue with that. I am law-abiding and have no difficulty following orders.”

“And your explanation makes a great deal of sense. Near misses or doing something at just the right time — that sums up a lot of my life it seems. And I’m glad it’s not luck, but a cosmic Force that I can use, hopefully for the good.”

“So, what do I do next? I need to understand the Code of course. And what about training? I presume there is some guidance in how to understand and connect with the Force?”


She had so many more questions in her head, but decided to hold back…at least for now.
 

Mila Tesara

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Algarus
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
167
Reaction score
155
So far so good, this was already going better than when she attempted to recruit Brahe. Mila was feeling better about this whole affair, as she took in a short breath and moved to keep the speeder from separating herself from Fiach. This sort of thing was always crucial in getting the point across, when the code was explained wrong, then the whole deal fell apart in most cases. "I would argue that you are disciplined enough, it wouldn't take much for you to take to the tenants of the order." That much was true, Fiach seemed far more disciplined than even her padawan was at current. "That depends if this is something you want to do. Would you be happy living your days here, working on ship repairs, scavenging, and having a meager life, or do you long for something more?" Mila asked, curious how the woman would answer. She had her suspecions of which Fiach would answer, but you could never tell with some people. It seemed the young woman had pieced it all together, not that Mila had made it difficult to do so, but still she was working it out.

"I can train you to tap into that gift, to make it your own, and to foster hope in the galaxy with it." The Twi'lek stated, folding her hands across her chest, awaiting what Fiach might say to her offer. "But yes, there is training involved, and it is critical to undertake it. Though we each learn how to use the force in our own ways, your connection to it will grow stronger the longer you are aware of it."

@Corbeau
 

Fiach Dubh

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Corbeau
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
403
Fiach’s eyes narrowed — which was a sure-fire way for anyone to know her that she was concentrating. Not that Mila did of course — but the truth was that Fiach had many tells. Like the use of the word ‘interesting’ to mean she did not agree with whatever was said, or a raised eyebrow (which actually served many purposes depending on which eyebrow and to what height it travelled).

“To answer your question honestly and as it makes sense to me, I do not seek more. I would be happy living here and continuing to fix things. A meagre existence is not my measure of a fruitful or successful life. I do not wish for credits, or material things or the life of an adventurer. If I seek anything, it would be to find a way to help as many people as possible and to finish my life knowing I did the best I could. Which may sound a cliché, I’m not sure, but it is the absolute truth.”

“So, if that gift enables me to deliver on what I would wish to do, then I will do whatever I am required to do to enable that. And I would appreciate and value your guidance. And I am used to and accept as a matter of course hard work and embrace learning.”

“Yes, it will not be easy to say goodbye to my fathers, but they always wish me to progress and to be the best I can and so I expect they will give me their blessing.”

She paused a moment. “Is there a test I must undertake first, in case I am getting ahead of myself?”
 

Mila Tesara

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Algarus
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
167
Reaction score
155
There was a truth unraveling behind the mind of the woman before her. Fiach was perhaps more keen minded than Mila had suspected, as she could see the gears turning in the young woman's mind. She had a desire, and she had something she longed for, yet it was not the jedi lifestyle that she sought, but the ability to help in ways that only a jedi could. It was understandable, not everyone sought adventure, and nor should they become a jedi to do so; this wasn't the Navy after all. "The path you seek is humble indeed, but the road to such a life is winding." Fiach asked about a test, and there was always a test, but not what she was thinking.

"No, there is no test to take up the call, but to become a jedi will test you both physically and mentally. To some, the process is difficult. It will change your outlook on life, show you a new side to this galaxy that we live in, but you can always step away if you feel the call is too much. Just know that even if you step away, the force will always dwell within you." Mila held out her hand towards Fiach, smiling as she had done this exactly same thing many years ago, back when she accepted her call. "Take my hand, and I will show you the galaxy like you haven't seen it before."

@Corbeau
 

Fiach Dubh

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Corbeau
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
1,040
Reaction score
403
Fiach’s eyes narrowed slightly. Her two fathers had plenty of advice and occasionally it was profound, but it was never inscrutable. She suspected that the life — and especially the training — of a Jedi was littered with wisdoms that ran as deep as a mountain chasm.

“As long as my true path leads to a destination that is good and just, I shall do what is right to reach the end,” she replied. It wasn’t rhetoric she spoke, or words she thought Mila would want to hear, but what was in her heart.

“And I am prepared for the tests — or at least I believe I am. And I have never quit yet, so do not intend to start now.”

Now, Fiach didn’t do public displays of affection and certainly did not like physical contact, but working with customers in the repair shop meant she had to learn to accept that handshakes and even hugs were part of a binding contract — often more than the exchange of credits. So she took Mila’s hand and said, “I am ready to leave behind the past and begin a new life — and trust you to show me the way, although I suspect I will have to walk the path alone at times.”
 
Top