Ask [Vanqor] Finding Help

[Oren Zapan]

The galaxy had taken a turn for the worse, war was breaking out among the outer rim, causing things to stir into full scale conflict. In truth, the Jedi Master should have seen it coming, he should have done more after the battle in the Coruscant prison, but the Jedi had grown conflicted--the loss of Nash had effected the Jedi, and it took considerable time for the Master to overcome this, to abandon the attachments and feelings, and to let go.

He had spent months away in the unknown regions of space, studying and planning, training himself to become the Jedi that was needed, the one the galaxy needed. But, Oren knew that it would not be all on him, generations of Jedi were working to prevent the sins of the past to begin again, but it still hadn't come fast enough. They needed all of the Knights and Masters, they needed to unify.

So, Oren found himself upon a Crystaline planet in the Outer Rim, Vanqor, there wasn't much, it was arid, cold and hidden with predators in the vast stretches of unhabituated portions. But, that was not to say that the cities were empty, no they were from it. Crime was heavy in certain areas, for no Republic or centralized government system seemed to dare operate within the confines of the planet--making it the perfect place for a Jedi to set up camp. Covered in a grey cloak, Oren would linger among the crowd, looking and feeling out for the knight.

tag: @Marx Agar

 

[Alexandria Voran]

The Force was like an old friend…no no…that wasn’t quiet right. Too cliché. The Force was like a lost lover…no…not right either. The Force was family, always there watching over you, guiding you through your most difficult times. The Force listened and would be heard, all you had to do was reach out and the warm embrace of the Light would follow.

Yes…that was right. The Force was family.

Alexandria Thayless Voran wandered the streets of a small town sandwiched between two rising mountains. She shivered and pulled her robes closer. Poverty had not vanished as the galaxy prospered. Oh, she knew of the rising tide of Darkness. Alex didn’t live in a hole, but she found herself more useful elsewhere. She was no swashbuckling hero. She left that to the younger generation of Jedi. No. That simply was not who she was.

The Order had made these mistakes before. They became consumed with their fight against the Sith. They sought nothing else and forgot their true duty, to care for those who needed them most. That was why the galaxy had turned on them. That was why they had been forgotten. That was why there still not welcome in so many corners on so many worlds. She would not forget that duty. Alex kept wandering.

She wore nondescript fraying brown robes and simple synthweave clothes beneath. Her saber was carefully tucked into a sleeve, the Force whirling around her. There was nothing to mark her a Jedi unless you looked very carefully. One of the Council members had arrived on Vanqor for something important she assumed. Frankly, she knew very little of the Council members and certainly never interacted with them. Yet, Alex would perform her duties.

Her lips turn up slightly as she felt the brush of the Light against her senses. She turned to see Master Zapan scanning the crow. Her smile widened slightly as she approached, her voice low. “Master Zapan, what brings you to my shrouded corner of the galaxy?” Truly, she could not fathom what would what have brought the Councilor this far into the Outer Rim.

@TWD26

 

[Oren Zapan]

The Jedi Council member would offer a faint smile on his charred lips, his white force-eye seemed off putting to most, but the Jedi Knight seemed to not pay it any mind. Together the two would make their way through the streets, Oren's eyes shifting to see the many citizens huddled in various tents and camps.

"I'm someone that travels far and wide," the Master would say with a bit of a chuckle, "I've been to many places, I've seen many things. In truth, I've come to see what it was that you were up to." He'd place a hand on her shoulder as they walk, "How are things? Do you find the force's will pulling you to these locations still, or have you changed your mind?"

tag: @Marx Agar

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex cocked her head as the Councilor spoke, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes quickly flicked up and down his body. He didn’t seem the peaceful type. You didn’t get those scars meditating in tranquil gardens. Alex did not live under a rock, she knew Oren Zapan’s reputation. She knew exactly what he had done. They likely shared very few views on the Order and the Force. She was older than him by at least a few decades, but age didn’t denote wisdom.

“The Force has always called me to the less fortunate…they need us the most.” Alex brushed aside her robes, revealing the silver tube of her saber. “This is for show more than anything else.” She laughed quietly. “I’m not hiding…but I…I don’t want to fight a war.”

The Force tugged on her mind. Pulling her towards something. Her eyebrows rose in unison. She turned down a side street as Master Zapan followed. “I have served the Light faithfully for nearly 60 years and I will continue to do so.” The Force kept pulling her down this street. What was that she sensed. “But I won’t become something I am not. Perhaps I am not what the Order needs, but this is who I am.” The terrifying truth was the Force had not been calling her to the Outer Rim.

Alex had not felt the firm confidence of that call in months. Her life had once been clear. Now, the waters had begun to muddy. She rounded the corner again and found a small huddled group against the cold. They appeared to be standing around something…wait…someone? She reached out in the Force, but it was vibrating with strong emotions. It was impossible for her to tell. Alex turned to Master Zapan and shrugged, she started to trudge forward.

@TWD26

 

[Oren Zapan]

Oren listened to the knight as the two of them walked along the road, his hands hidden beneath his sleeves--no sense of judgment peered upon his mangled face. Only a curiosity for his fellow Jedi. He thought on her ideals, her feelings, and thoughts--considering them for a long time.

"A Jedi's life is sacrifice and service. We are to live among the people, aiding them and helping those who cannot defend themselves." He'd say with a nod, "It's funny, most take defense to mean attacking, or something physical. Defense is more than swinging a saber to protect a child. It can be aiding someone who cannot afford treatment, walking a child with a hurt leg--there is so much that a Jedi is..."

He would pause as he turned to her, "And soldiers are not what we are. Luminous beings, pure of light, one with all of life." His hand would reach to give her a pat on her shoulder, "Things aren't looking well, the Sith have seemed to rise again, destroying planets, and leaving people across the galaxy in grave danger. We cannot afford to become like our forerunners. We cannot lose our way, but the galaxy will need our help."

He would motion her to join him at a seat that sat along the road. "I've come to you, to ask you on your thoughts--you live among the galaxy, among the people. How do you feel we should tackle this issue?"

tag: @Marx Agar

 

[Alexandria Voran]

A small laugh escaped Alex. “Master Zapa, I have been a Jedi for six decades but never sniffed the Council or the title of Master.” She didn’t know the Councilor, but she felt a strange familiarity. They were connected by the Force. Perhaps that was it. If he had truly come here seeking her thoughts, she might as well be honest. “There is a reason for that…I don’t exactly think I fit into the luminescent being category.” Alex was far different from the gutter child whisked away from Coronet City, but she was lightyears away from holy. “I am a deeply flawed women who was blessed with an extraordinary gift.” The Force was a gift. There was no deny that, but she had no idea why the Light had chosen her all those years ago.

“I don’t believe the Force gives us some secret wisdom or sage advice…” She paused, her face twisting in concentration. “No, I try to live my life with a good heart and help those I can.” It certainly didn’t make Alex a notable Jedi, or even a particularly good one. She lived her life in obscurity but the people she helped were the better for it. “The Darkside is unnatural, a route to power that is a perversion. I don’t know how to stop a people who want nothing more than to destroy us.” That was truly what she feared. “We will never understand them…war feels inevitable…” She ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know how we change from all the times before.” That was the truth. Their ancestors had been good, true, Jedi. They had still failed.

The Force hummed around them. She frowned. That was unusual. The city was typically quiet. This had the feeling of something else, something building. Her eyes turned skyward. What trouble could be brewing this far out?

@TWD26

 

[Oren Zapan]

Oren couldn't help but smile towards the Jedi, her honesty and vulnerability at that moment was commendable. He had often felt that he was not worthy of being a Jedi during his time as a Knight, he felt as if he had constantly failed his students, his friends, and even his lover. So much pain and grief, yet so much happiness and life came from his existence.

Even Lilith and Talak had been redeemed and found the light, but the new Sith were far more dangerous and the Jedi path seemed to be repeating. The Council member had learned of a plan to attack Sullust, and the Guardians as they called themselves seemed to clamor for the chance of war.

"You sell yourself short Alexandria," he'd say quietly, "The force is strong in you, it flows through you and your actions. The good you have brought upon this galaxy is not something that can be measured." He would offer a mechanical hand to her, allowing her to take it and feel the grooves and imperfections, "The force is not a gateway of power, it doesn't make us greater than the rest of the galaxy. It is life, and I am sworn to protect it, nurture it and see it continue on."

"Those who walk down the path of the darkside are twisted and broken, some by choice, many were never given the chance. In the end you lose who you were and only seek the destruction of the galaxy and life itself. I'm afraid my studies on our past only shows me that this cycle continues, and it will continue long after you and I leave this life."

The Jedi Master would give a simple sigh, "But, we can bring balance and a goodness to this life, to those around us. I don't need soldiers, but I need people that be there for the galaxy when they need it, to provide a smile and to take the pain and fears of this galaxy's people and burden it on their shoulders."

He would look out across the endless stars that filled the city, "You can feel it, the uneasiness of it all, the galaxy is slowly changing, and with it our Order. I do not know much about you, but I do sense a pure and well intended heart. We will need more like you, than those who seek to blindly fight. I would like you to return to the Temple, learn more of our peers, and take them with you on missions."

The Jedi Master would stand with a soft sigh, "I feel something is coming, but I do not know what. But I do know I will need your help, and you and I will be good allies in preventing the failures of the Jedi to repeat again."

tag: @Marx Agar

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex took the hand offered to her. She ran her fingers along the grooves. Her eyes slid across Oren’s face. Perhaps she had misjudged the Councilor. Her experience with the ranking members of the Order were always brief. They seemed the powerful light wreathed beings of the stories. They seemed to be the ideal, so much unlike her. Alex was a former drug addled mess born from drug addled messes on Corellia. She had never truly felt a part of the Order. Jedi were perfect, and she was anything but. That perhaps was another failing. She judged herself too harshly. “See, that was wise.” Alex laughed again.

“That is wisdom that escapes me at even my best moments.” That much was true. She was not gifted with words. The Force began to flex and shift around her. She could almost feel her path changing. “We are going to war…we both know that.” Alex shook her head. There was almost no point in denying it. “But we can’t allow the Order to become what it was before, little more than a loose organization of warriors. We must be more than that. Otherwise, the galaxy will turn on us again.” This she knew to be true. Alex’s journeys throughout the Outer rim had shown her the dangers of losing sight of the common people. That was who the Jedi were meant to protect.

There was hesitation in her voice when she spoke next. “Ah…a request I cannot turn down.” The Order was not as militant as it once had been but there was a structure, a structure that could not be ignored. “I’m afraid you may find me a poor teacher, I don’t always play well with others.” She held up a hand to stymie any retort. A risky move with a member of the Jedi Council. “But I will do as you ask. The Force is pulling me home, I can feel that. Fear has kept me away but I cannot deny the truth any longer.” The Darkness was rising and they could only defeat it together. “I will not train killers. I will show them what I know.” Alex nervously ran another hand through her hair.

“I’m eighty years old…hard to believe…there is a tremendous amount for me still to learn.” A hard truth to accept. Her own training was nowhere near the finish line. She had so much more to learn of herself and the Force.

@TWD26