No Place, No Home

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Location: Jedha, Jedi Temple


When she was told to get this order out, Ash hardly believed it, but it had come from Arda herself. Something had happened, but what? Well, that wasn't for the knight to know. She had her orders, and she was going to see them carried out. Moving through the hanger, things weren't exactly the example of calm and order, in fact it was pretty chaotic. Things needed to get done and fast, and the sad truth is there weren't enough hands on deck. They'd get this done one way or another though, frankly there wasn't a choice. In between calling up supply officers, arranging for transports, and directing several angry flight controls towards Arda or Tycho, Ash had gathered fellow jedi to help quicken the efforts, not to mention it would be good team building for them; least it helped her when she was still a padawan.

Turning back to a create of power cells, Ash looked over the manifest that had been hastily typed up before signing off on it. "Alright people, we still have alot of work to do. Keep to your teams, if you have an issues come to me and we'll find a solution." She announced to the busy hanger, though she was sure they were already doing what they could. This was alot to take in. She took a moment to sit down, gripping the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Everyone had their own tests ahead of them, and this one was to be hers.

@Insalius

 

[Omnis Waszylla]

"Jeffries, go on down the hall and make sure the comms equipment is well under way, and if not try to get them to give some hustle. Farra, make sure this wing has any non-engraved Jedi symbols or writings fully removed. We don't want to give anyone reason to hurt the locals by not picking up our trash." Omnis gave the two Padawans a smile and a thumbs up, watching them run off to do their own tasks. This kind of thing was to be expected, the Mandalorians not a people that were known for making idle threats or messing around, so the Jedi was making sure that these orders were followed with the utmost urgency. Having never put down roots after leaving Coruscant all those years ago, this kind of transition would be easy to go back to wandering among the stars. Not everyone was as fortunate, though, especially the two locals that were now following his commands. He'd make sure to talk to them and work through their problems, especially the emotional ones. Neglecting any part of them would possibly cause darkness to fester inside, and he just cared about them as people, if no other reason was needed.

As for him, his task was heavy lifting. Using the Force in the way he had always best used it he augmented his strength, carrying heavy power cells and other disassembled equipment to where the ships waiting to carry them away were sitting. He did all of this with a smile on his face, his own slowly encroaching exhaustion not letting him slow down when being watched by others doing their work. He was a symbol, one he'd made himself, and he wouldn't let the hope people had be diminished by seeing him start flagging under the pressure. No, he couldn't let that happen now. It'll be a tough night and painful few days, but he'd do his best for the Jedi and the locals of Jedha both. If they were going to cause innocents to potentially be caught in the crossfire by staying then he had no problems with them leaving. New bases could be found anywhere. Lives couldn't be replaced.

@Algarus

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Seeing the power cells off, Ash's attention was drawn towards someone struggling to get one of the grav lifts to work, as a shipment of rations was left unable to be moved onto a supply. "One moment, I can take this." Ash announced, before closing her eyes and reaching out with the force, as she would lift the case up and walk with the case until she was onboard, setting the case down as she did so with the rest of it's kind. "Alright, that's loaded. Secure it all down and get ready to move, I'll see what's wrong with the lift." Turning back to the crew, she waved them on, as she would move to fixing the malfunctioning grav lift. Pulling open the housing compartment for the device, Ash was met with a puff of smoke, as it became rather clear that his lift had seen the last of it's days, it needed a new circuitry put in; something Ash didn't have on hand. Shaking her head, she pulled out a data pad and put a note in for maintenance to give the lift a once over once they were settled at their new base; if it would even matter by then was a different question.

Ash moved towards one of the flight coordinators, as the man seemed to be in some level of distress; which was a calling card for Ash to arrive. Forcing a smile to her face, Ash stowed the datapad away, moving towards the man as she was prepared to get yelled at once more. "Yes sir, what's the issue?" "The issue is that this evacuation order is ruining the schedule for the training crew today, what are we supposed to do? The new recruits are already behind schedule." Ash mentally face palmed as she couldn't grasp how the man didn't see an opportunity being presented before him. "This is the perfect time for them to start training, get them out there to help the crew, just because they can't load up ammo doesn't mean they can't learn teamwork and coordination." The coordinator scowled at her, before shaking his head and walking away, she thought she heard a 'Yea, whatever' but she paid it no mind. Everyone was tense now, no need to start taking offense at what folks were saying. Having defused another situation, Ash moved on through the hanger, as the first pair of ships were starting to take off.

@Insalius

 

[Omnis Waszylla]

It was as Omnis was finishing loading up the comms equipment that Jeffries had made sure was disassembled that the Jedi realized he had some onlookers. When he turned to speak to them, he recognized all of them as being part of the local governing body in Jedha City. The looks of concern on their faces was something he had expected, feeling their worry through the Force at the same time. "We've all seen the broadcasts, and we thank you for the sacrifice you're making..." Their leader, a venerable old woman who had been one of the most compassionate people Omnis had ever met. He could hear her trail off, knowing she wanted to say more yet didn't want to be rude or ungrateful. Reaching through the Force he tried to follow that concern to its core, the emotion strong enough for it to be found quickly. Ah, yes, that made sense.

"Don't worry, this isn't just some ploy to let us use this place in secret, still putting you al in danger. I have some of our boys out right now making sure there's nothing Jedi-related that will be left when we're gone, and we won't be returning in just a few weeks after we think the heat is off. Oh, some of the larger pieces of equipment aren't feasible to be moved, so feel free to use them as you see fit. An odd gift, I know, but it should still be useful." Having discerned her concerns, the others in the coucnil began to murmur with each other with guilt written on their faces. They could tell he spoke truthfully and that they had doubted him and the Jedi was something they were ashamed about. The woman bowed, grateful for the honesty. She took the council away, to look through the temple at what would be left for them and to plan. She was ever one to strike while the iron was hot, something that made Omnis confident that they would be okay after the Jedi had left.

@Algarus

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Next up on the list was wounded that the temple had taken in, thankfully the list was pretty low, but they would have to be transported out with some of the prized jedi knowledge they had managed to collect. Ash would have prefered to put these things on the first shuttle out of here, but sadly that's not how organizing an evacuation worked. "Alright, be careful with your loads everyone, the second round of transports are in bound!" Ash thankfully had an intercom given to her now, as she halted the loading and medical teams, as the shuttles began to slowly settle into the handle. This brought back memories of her padawan days, back when she still had Ayasha by her side. She greatly missed the woman, but in some way, her master was still with her in the force. That bond they had shared would never diminish, even though her bonded sister was beyond her sight. "Alright, first group load up, second group in the hole. Come on people, we are on the clock."

@Insalius

 

[Omnis Waszylla]

The larger pieces of equipment were taken care of and the locals were mollified, for the moment. Jedi Knight Ashlyna was taking care of the personnel and with making sure the wounded were evacuated in short order, the roar of the transports taking off telling him that the task had been completed. At the very least the wounded would be able to live to fight another day. Omnis found himself in the command center of the base, downloading what information they didn't want to broadcast to be intercepted onto data cards the would carry on his person. Even he didn't know exactly these cards contained, though he could guess they were some of the Jedi's secrets as well as information crucial to the functions of the GA. It couldn't fall into anyone's hands other than theirs, lest their brothers and sisters in the cause be put in danger. Once he as done with the collection of information he purged the computers of all of it, physically destroying the databases when he was done just to make sure a skilled slicer didn't find a way to get snippets of information from the now blank computers. He sighed as he exited the room for the last time, having spent a good amount of time there over the years. Well, the fight still wasn't done. They were almost finished, at the very least. Just a few more tasks and Jedha would be completely evacuated.

@Algarus

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Group by group, as time ticked on, Ash kept track of the logs and what was going where with who. It was exhausting, clearly last time when she had dealt with this she got the easy job. How the heck did her master manage this so well? Still, she wasn't exactly wet behind the ears for this sort of thing, she practically grew up in a spaceport for crying out loud. Injured were packed up with whatever jedi relics they could salvage in time.

The flight computer's would have their data transferred over, then would be purged, as another team was taking the flight and logistics data onboard the transports, as it's respected technicians would board as well.

This place had been destroyed once, and Ash feared that it would be destroyed again. The jedi didn't have a temple when she had joined an order and they had managed just as well. The galaxy wasn't ready to accept it's defenders, and that was their right, but until then they would wait for their chance to come back into the light, show they weren't the threat they posed to be. She could only guess the jedi knight who sought peace with the Mandalorians had failed, and now this was to be how the order was to survive. But those were thoughts for later. As of now, Ash pushed the thoughts aside, as the injuried and relics were finished being loaded up, now was for the rest of the personnel. Taking the intercom system and raising it to her lips, Ash would announce the next wave of evacuees. "Alright, will all personnel please stand by. The next wave of transports in enroute, please stay out of the hanger and wait until your group number is called." Yes, the order would live on, so long as it's members held the tenets in their heart.

@Insalius

 

[Omnis Waszylla]

As the final personnel were leaving on the transports, Omnis made his way through the different parts of the temple to make sure everything was cleared out. Already there were scavengers trying to find scraps left behind, though the Jedi didn't stop them from their searches. It was just the natural way of things, and this place was no longer theirs, anyway. They wouldn't find anything, though. They'd had enough time to take everything of value that wasn't literally nailed down, those immovable items now belonging to the city anyway. If the Council wanted to deal with the scavengers, that would be up to them. He trusted their judgement in these matters. The sun was beginning to set as he finished his inspection, everything that had made this place a temple having been removed and now traveling off planet. As to where they would go, well, that would be an adventure for sure.

"Ashlyna, everything is clear on my end. We should be done here. Head to my fighter, it should be the last craft left. Thanks again for your help. We'll find a new home." He figured she would be feeling as heavy-hearted as he was, so some words of encouragement would be good. He headed towards the hanger, taking one last look at the temple that had been his home. In time, it would belong to others as a home as well. For him, home was where his family in the Jedi was.

@Algarus

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Seeing that the rest of the personnel were on board, Ash ran down the rest of the roster, making sure that was everyone. There would be a skeleton crew here to clean up before taking the red eye flight off world, but for now, it seemed they were safe. Hopefully Tycho was already onboard the fleet, she certainly hoped so. But she could worry about the general later, as Omnis' voice came over her comlink. He seemed to have finished his side of the work, for which she was thankful. This entire ordeal was a pain, but it seemed they had managed to get everything of importance out. "Understood Omnis, awaiting your arrival. Still in the main hanger." Ash sighed stowing her data pad as she looked around the rather hallow hanger now. They would find a new home, somewhere out there. It was just a matter of time. Taking in a deep breath, Ash would pace around the hanger, her robes fluttering in the wind. She could almost sense the barren halls of the temple, hearing the haunting winds that blew through it's corridors. A sense of sadness threatened to over take her, but the Kyber crystal around her neck warded it off. Her ride would be along soon, and then she would be off. So long as her friends were safe, they would find that new home wherever they gathered. No amount of firepower could keep that from happening.

@Insalius

 

[Omnis Waszylla]

Omnis turned on the engines of his Starlightning, painted in the most obnoxious color scheme that looked like a red floral print shirt. He helped the Ashlyna into one of the spare seats, the others filled with some other personnel that had some last minute tasks of their own, and closed the canopy. "I know this has been hard, guys. Thank you for all the help, and I get the feeling we'll see this place again someday. For now, though, all this moving has left me famished. Who wants to get some food? I'll treat!" It was when the conversation turned to what meal to have for the evening that Omnis smiled, glad that he'd been able to turn away from the heartache-inducing topic of being forced from their temple. There would always be more, Force willing. He just hoped that the Mandalorians wouldn't harm the populace, now that they were gone. He lifted the fighter up out of the hangar and out of the atmosphere. When the star lines appeared as he jumped to hyperspace, he knew that Jedha Temple was now fully abandoned. They'd followed their orders as best they could, now the future was up to the Force, as always.

/endthread