Open Starlight Welcome Back

[Ashen Kade]

OOC: Continuation of 'Where Am I?', but any Jedi is free to join.​

For a moment, Ashen wandered the station aimlessly with Thunger (@Iorthunger) still glued to his shoulder for support. His gaze shifted between the embellished walls of the hallway, searching for any direction to the medical bay. It would still be a miracle for him to find his way among the vast corridors of Starlight, and it didn't help that he forgot to actually specify where exactly to meet with Myrell, his former master (@Volene). He may have been a Knight now but he often still acted just like a brash Padawan. Perhaps the responsibilities of being a Knight were still new and overwhelming. Or maybe he was just a tad too immature. It's hard to say but he always tried to do the right thing, which now meant getting Thunger the help he desperately needed. Which would've been simpler if he knew where the medical bay was exactly.

"So I don't really know where we're going..." He admitted to Thunger, just as he noticed a sign right in front of them pointing the way toward the medical bay. "Actually, never mind. This way." His mind was all over the place. Not resting properly for days will do that and he didn't exactly have a chance to treat himself to a nice long nap— between finding Thunger, marching through a barren desert carrying the man and getting him all the way here safely.

They slowly stumbled their way across the station. Ashe hoped he would find Myrell at the medical bay. Besides Thunger's condition, he wanted to speak to her about something.

 

[Myrell’anay]

“Master Anay? The—”

“Knight Anay.”

“Of course. I meant only to be polite.”

“Polite and dishonest. Spare it.”

The Cerean huffed. “The first bacta tank needs replaced. Should I take care of it?”

“Knight Sheracke was due to exit the second tank in eight minutes. Can you assist with his exercises? I must have a fresh look at Master Onre’s burns.”

“Yes, Knight Anay.”

“Sincere thanks.”

Barely had the Cerean knight walked away from Myrell when another being approached her, a diminutive Sullustan in white robes. The old healer almost sighed.

“Myrell! Someone is asking for you!”

“Let them wait.”

“It’s your padawan!”

That drew her attention. Myrell’anay did not have a padawan, not at the moment. Likely the Sullustan meant Ashen.

“What does he want?”

But they only shrugged and hopped away to some other task. Myrell decided to make her way to the entrance. She gave herself three minutes to be back to her post.

Sure enough, there was Ashen, unmistakable, white and gold and just a bit uncertain. On his back he carried one of the strangest person Myrell had ever seen, like fresh out of a history holo.

Before anything else she motioned for a repulsor-stretcher. “A medibed for carbonite poisoning!” she called over the din of the facility. “Immediately!”

Then she turned to Ashen. Her face was impassive, but he would have learned to recognize the hint of a smile in her voice. “Apprentice. What is...” Him. That. “What did you drag back this time?”

@Scrumppe @Iorthunger

 

[Iorthunger Broadspear]

Carbonite poisoning...
These words startled the disoriented knight. It feels like yesterday when he ensured his carbon freeze would be properly handled. Surely, he does not have carbonite poisoning, he thinks. Though, he remains still confused by the current times and the state of NiJedha.... The question: What is happening?! Is a loud echo within his skull as he stumbles throughout Starlight, clinging to Ashen's shoulder for stability.
Further confusing Thunger as he fails to come to his senses...

"Ferment some grains and mash in some bantha hides - i'll be fine!"
Thunger mutters in an attempt to hide his obvious state.
Meanwhile being impressed by the Twi’lek's quickness in identifying that he has recently been in a carbon freeze..

@Scrumppe @Volene

 

[Ashen Kade]

Ashen regarded Myrell with a teasing smirk "I don't know what you mean by ' this time ', Master." He said in an almost playful tone, pretending to be oblivious to his many shenanigans as a Padawan. He was glad to have found her sooner rather than later, his shoulder was starting to ache from carrying Thunger. "I found him under the ruins of Jedha City," he expressed with a light sigh, his playful expression quickly turning flat as one of the Padawans assisted Thunger in reaching his medibed.

He glanced towards him, still uncertain about how Thunger ended up beneath a ruin that was over a century old, and it continued to perplex him. Even more so, the man's agony upon realising Jedha's fate resurfaced memories of Ashen's own past. The anguish, the hardship, and the sorrow before becoming a Jedi, all feelings he suppressed throughout the years resurfaced and plagued him all at once.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt himself getting lost in his thoughts. He didn't know why he felt this way all of a sudden. Witnessing pain and suffering wasn't anything new to him even after leaving Quarzite, yet there he stood at the entrance of the medbay his inattentive gaze fixed on Thunger.

@Iorthunger @Volene

 

[Myrell’anay]

“It leaves a trace,” Myrell said, a simple answer to the first knight’s unspoken question. There was more, of course, the stiffness of his limbs, the need to be carried. Not to mention she’d kept tabs on her former padawan. She knew where he’d been sent. And the history of that particular moon had been another clue.

Of course, she wouldn’t tell them that. Funnier to let them think she was some kind of prophet. After all, Myrell was very good at her work.

“It is only a precaution,” she added to appease the man. “But I want to have a look. It does not need to be off by much to have ill effects after an entire century.”

By then the repulsor-stretcher she’d asked for had arrived. She guided it next to Ashen.

“Here, help me set him down.” She hoped it would bring some deserved relief. Then she addressed him.

“And what about you, apprentice? Is everything well?”

@Scrumppe @Iorthunger

 

[Ashen Kade]

Ashen was completely oblivious to the stretcher as he was lost in his thoughts, but his focus quickly returned when Myrell addressed him. "I wanted to talk to you about something, master," he said softly, not wanting to expose his troubled past to everyone present. "I've been thinking about home, in Quarzite. I thought I was over it but-" he paused, his tone filled with uncertainty and grief. "There was this... cry through the force on Jedha before I found him. I hadn't sensed anything like that before, the pain, the sorrow; it brought back all the memories." He paused, uncertain of how to convey his feelings and thoughts any further.

Needless to say, it probably wasn't the right time or place to delve into the matter either. Perhaps he could help out around the medbay for once, he thought. Maybe that would distract him long enough if Myrell was too busy to discuss it.

@Volene @Iorthunger

 

[Myrell’anay]

This was not the best time. Had it been anyone else, Myrell would likely have told them off, let them wait until she was available, in an hour or five. But Ashen was one of hers. She knew well the feeling he evoked. She could help him before the scan droid was done with the ancient Jedi’s preliminary blood analysis.

“We learn to process sorrow in time, apprentice,” she said simply. “Memories are only that. You overcame them before, lived with them. It does not mean they will not return. It means you have what it takes to overcome them again.”

@Scrumppe @Iorthunger

 

[Ashen Kade]

Ashen let out a heavy sigh at Myrell's response, he had hoped for an easy solution but knew that was unlikely. Perhaps he'd visit the meditating gardens at the Takodana temple to clear his head or maybe even venture back to Quarzite to confront his past. Whatever he was going to do, he decided to live with the issue for the time being until he figured it all out.

"Thank you Master," he smiled faintly. The medbay was still bristling with activity and while he preferred to stay as far away from the place as possible, he thought he'd land a hand to his former master. "Anything I can do to help out here before I'm needed elsewhere?" He asked, despite still being exhausted from earlier.

@Volene @Iorthunger

 

[Myrell’anay]

“You are most welcome, apprentice. Now go rest,” she added. “You did well. I can handle the medbay.”

There was always help needed somewhere, a lesson often repeated by the Twi’lek master to her students’ great dismay. And while that usually meant there was something more to do before they could rest, it came with a flipside: the tasks would still be there in the morning. Taking good care of oneself was an important part of remaining productive.

As she walked away to go find the strange Jedi and his repulsor-stretcher after his initial screening, Ashen could swear he heard another voice cutting through the facility.

“Myrell! Myrell!”

 

[Ashen Kade]

Ashen respectfully bowed his head in acknowledgement. "See you soon Master," he spoke before turning to leave. The past few days had been arduous, and he was in dire need of some rest. As he was about to exit, he caught the sound of someone beckoning Myrell, but he presumed she would manage without his assistance and took his leave.

/exit

 

[Iorthunger Broadspear]

Surrounding him are far more superior medical instruments from what he has ever recalled seeing in any facility before. It is almost as if he woke up in a more advanced age of time. Disregarding the obvious, his eyes close upon contact with the medical bed and is greeted by a brief sleep. An unspecified amount of time passes prior to his eyes reopening.

His vision is clearer than before and the stiffness of his limbs seem to have normalized. He hasn't a clue of what type of treatment he underwent in his sleep, but the physical pains have faded significantly. Thunger reaches the wires on his chest in efforts to remove them from his being, meanwhile caressing the intravenous tubes of nourishments attached to his arm.

Thoughts flood his mind. The awakening in the ruins, the state of NiJedha, the travel on Ashen's back and the new technology visible at every glance in his current vicinity.. Flashes of a thousand memories and questions dance under his eyelids as he attempts to close them again.

He extends his hand in the last known direction of Ashen and the Twi'lek, gently pushing away the medical droids in the same motion. Not finding physical contact, he makes an attempt to make a connection with them through the force. Meanwhile, calmly drifting within the force, searching for the remaining unanswered questions from his medical bed.

@Scrumppe @Volene

 

[Myrell’anay]

“Easy, easy,” said Myrell, back into the room a few moments after he triggered his sensors. She rushed to his side, gently grabbed his hand and laid it back on the medibed. “There is a lot going on in that head of yours. All in due time.” Neutral, factual as it was, her voice was somewhat comforting, like in spite of itself.

The woman stopped talking as she performed a few routine checks, but it wasn’t long before her attention was back on the curious knight. Himself a mystery. She sat beside him.

“Why do you not start from the beginning?”

@Iorthunger

 

[Iorthunger Broadspear]

Flashes of memories continue to dance within his head. His photogenic memory sharpens with the aid of his enhanced connection to the Force, thanks to maintenance on his physical form.
Beginning... ever so long ago. Childhood; discovery of the Jedi; his first training; his exile on Hoth, and his final carbonite bath which, still unbeknownst to him, was centuries ago.

Where to begin...

His panic returns, as he recalls the pains of NiJedha, shortly after his awakening. Quickly, before allowing his emotions to conquer, he calms himself.
"I am Iorthunger Daeburn Broadspear. I was knighted by Master Marl..."
Confusion causes a pause. It is clear to him that his former master has transitioned into the Force long ago..
"I was denied the rank of Master more than twenty yea..."
Twenty years.. his lack of knowledge of current time jolts a scare. The presence of that council which denied him a stupid rank cannot be felt within galaxy. They too must have entered a new realm within the Force, he thinks.
"I've trained for two decades on.."
Who cares about Hoth! None of this is anymore relevant! What about the holy city... His own thoughts further break his speech..
"I am sorry, my lady.. I do not know where to begin. My last memory before meeting Ashen was a carbonite bath in NiJedha. When released from the chamber.. it was too late!

Only hints of his path are audible in his jumbled speech. Confusion remains, despite the coming clarity of the situation.
A silent tear drop falls down Thunger's left cheek.

 

[Myrell’anay]

Carbonite, of course. Myrell had already been proven right on that front. The knight’s confusion was all the more understandable, waking up, now this. The medbay buzzed around them, the healer’s second home, but the isolated room Iorthunger had been brought to for treatment protected them from the worst of the agitation.

“Well, you survived,” she pointed the obvious. “If that was the objective like I think it was, then mission accomplished. I would even dare call it a rousing success.”

Being called my lady almost drew a smile. More clues he didn’t really belong. The woman stared at him, like she could decipher his face to find the answers she wanted.

“Twenty years ago... You would not happen to know the date, would you?”

@Iorthunger

 

[Iorthunger Broadspear]

Vivid flashes continue their display beneath his lashes. Struggling to find his own words, the healer's word, "success," caused another startle.
"I had no interest in prolonged survival or being awakened - I should have died protecting those who perished in my absence!"
Thunger's vocals snap at his perceived failure in efforts to counter any thought of his survival being a success.

Calming in his medical bed before continuing his answer..
He does not recall the method used for tracking time..
"The war with the huts took significant focus. The darkness within the order was not recognized. I felt the disturbance while training in exile. I returned and made this threat known to the order before exiling myself once again.
...NiJedha still stood at the time."

Coming to terms with the unclear reality, Iorthunger once again pauses...
"This time it seems to have lasted well over 20 years."
He lets out a disgruntled breath, sighing in frustration.

Despite the coming of clarity, he remains overwhelmingly lost in time. Hinting at historic events which have taken place lifetimes before the Battle of Yavin, often lacking pertinent context as he struggles to continue.

@Volene

 

[Myrell’anay]

The knight’s outburst found no welcoming recipient in the healer. Myrell’anay regarded him with a neutral but firm expression that usually meant bad news.

“I said the objective, not your objective, Knight Broadspear,” she said. “I have no doubt you would have preferred the glorious, preventable death.”

Funny how that hadn’t changed in the centuries since the frozen knight last ambled freely. In over two decades as chief healer, Myrell had seen enough misplaced bravado to last her a lifetime, even from Jedi. Inevitable in an Order that construed even the pettiest sacrifice as a noble, virtuous act.

But there was one thing left. One the knight deserved mercy with, no matter how brash.

“There is no easy way to say this, Knight Broadspear. What I must tell you may come as a shock, and I will be here to ease you through it,” she began. “The current year is 158 ABY. It has been nearly one hundred and sixty years since NiJedha was destroyed. With the twenty years of exile you described, that would place your birth closer to two hundred years ago, by my best estimation. I’m afraid the galaxy has changed much, since your eyes were last open.”

Here, Myrell paused, awaiting the man’s reaction.

@Iorthunger

 

[Iorthunger Broadspear]

An eyebrow is raised at the initial matching tone of the twi'lek healer. Deeming it unnecessary to exchange in a verbal counter - he briefly returns to his silence. Though, as the healer's tone softens, the significance of her words grow. Remaining silent for a time, the facial expressions of the presumed elderly knight begin to display increased confusion.

His eyes wander the immediate area. Once again taking notice to the incredible differences in sophistication of the medical facility in comparison to what he once knew. Even with his physical strength returning along with his force connection, a connection cannot be made to anyone in his past life. Disbelieving the words of the healer would simply be a case of denial - not something which will grow at this moment.

"ABY.. I do not understand this measurement for time.."


He did not have more words to give. Reflecting on the now ruins of Nijedha.. Perhaps it was only a matter of time until someone confirmed his suspicion. None of these events were near recent. He pauses for many moments prior to forming another sentence in a mild tone.

"It seems my tears are centuries overdue."

This fact does not prevent the fall of another pair of tear drops from each of his eyes.
A silence is not broken for many more moments as the healer seemingly allows him to further process her words.

"Surely, NiJedha's destruction could not have been the doing of the Hutts, could it?"
Another pause..
"Dark Jedi?"
His voice trembles to this terrible thought.. as his final tear strikes the pillow beneath him.
He did not intend to name a faction; though, he could not find a better description to the horror of the thought of a Jedi falling to darkness.

 

[Myrell’anay]

“I do not believe tears are ever late, Knight Broadspear. Even after centuries, they come when you need them.”

Her expression softened with the knight’s reaction, meaning it went from neutral but firm to neutral but understanding. Perhaps ironically, being comforting was not the healer’s forte. But the man was reaching for facts, and those she could provide. Like a bedrock she could fill to dampen his fall. A strange kind of comfort Myrell’anay understood well.

“ABY—After the battle of Yavin,” she started. Her voice, too, had something softer about it. “Which was a year after that of Jedha, in fact. For all intents and purposes, the current year is the time since you were frozen.”

She shook her head at his guesses.

“The Galactic Empire,” she corrected. “It no longer exists, though its spiritual descendants certainly do. Led and marshaled by dark Jedi, though, that much is true. Only they had cruelty to spare even without them.”

@Iorthunger

 

[Iorthunger Broadspear]

Iorthunger does not bother to wipe the remaining tears from his face as they absorb into his cheeks. Despite recalling an incredible disturbance before his centuries of sleep; surely, these events were far beyond his capabilities to prevent. A rare rational moment surfaces within his thought. He let's out a hard breath - a sigh for this cold galaxy...

"It would be an understatement to say that these times are completely foreign to me... and fortunately or unfortunately, I am present in this unknown era."
In response to the healer's formal address to him as "Knight Broadspear:" "Though, I do not know if I still fit the criteria of knight within the order."

The sound of his voice is neutral, direct in tone, and without further struggle. He remains in a resting position on his back, stiff as a board - gazing without an ounce of additional emotion. His eyes point towards the ceiling, but only untamed memories dance ferociously beneath his retina.

@Volene

 

[Myrell’anay]

It would soon be time to let the man alone to process the news, Myrell could feel it. The way he spoke less, like to spend more time thinking.

“It is always a fortunate thing to be alive,” she said. “I hope you will come to see it as such.”

Of course he was still a Jedi. The Force hadn’t abandoned him, and even the Code hadn’t changed the past two hundred years. But Myrell stayed quiet. He had to come to that realization on his own.

“Well, your readings are in order. I think you should take some time to meditate.” A pause. “Unless you have more questions for me?”

@Iorthunger