Ask Flashpoint Coruscant Why We Fight

[Arla]

Of course, she agreed. In truth, she wanted more philosophical insight than actual practical ones, which may come as a surprise. She was both a simple woman and an enigma all at the same time. But weren't most people? Most people had many facets to what made them who they were.

They started heading to the safe zone, but she paused.

I am still fresh and your job still needs doing. We should start out clearing the spaceport, she said. Then you can alleviate your fears about me as well, she said. It was logical, and it was probably their best path forward.

Very well. Why do you bother fighting for people who are too weak to defend themselves? she asked, a very pointed question. It was clear she was not someone who was going to pull her punches.

She pressed on toward the spaceport as she listened to his answer and came to a stop at its outer edge. The vines here were thicker, and she had to assume that also meant that the strange skitterers would be here too. No doubt to alert something larger to their presence.

For a long moment she simply crouched there, watching what happened, what came and went, and looking for weaknesses or gaps.

If we move loudly, we'll draw a great deal of attention to ourselves. We should try to secure the port as quietly as possible. Are you skilled in stealth? she asked.

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako paused as well as Arla suggested a slight alteration to the plan. He mused for a moment before giving a small shrug. In truth it didn't matter to which order they took care of things. The port in question was a smaller one. This was Coruscant after all, with landing bays and spaceports littering nearly every level. He altered course and led the way to the proper one.

Her question surprised him, but only a little. He gathered she was one of those who had a more nihilistic approach to life and the Force. The question told a lot about her.

"Would you accept, 'because I am a Jedi', as the answer?" He asked as a joke, giving a quiet laugh before shaking his head. "Duty is a part of it of course." He said as he thought about it. It wasn't a question he had really asked himself before and he suspected that 'because it is the right thing to do' or 'because the force told me to' wouldn't be a answer that satisfied the inquisitive mind.

"How do you weigh the value of a life?" He asked, letting the question linger before continuing. "You can't, not really. There is no way of knowing what the future holds for each person, how many other lives theirs might touch and effect. What good or bad they might bring into the galaxy." This was all highly philosophical of course. There were many who tried to quantify the value of a sentient life. Those calculations always came out cold and short sighted.

"If strength and ability to defend oneself the sole factor in the value of a person, then the galaxy is in a sorry state indeed." He said offhand as they approached their destination. It took all kinds, and if the strong abandoned the weak during times of trouble, it didn't necessarily leave them stronger in the end. "What happens to an ecosystem if there are too many predators?" He asked in finality as if the question held the answer to everything.

And then they were there.

The spaceport was a small one, a ring around one of the various shafts that led up to the surface and out into open space. One of the landing bays was locked down, a ship and escort waiting. The place was quiet, but for the occasional shuffle and groan of one of the various beasts that lay waiting for some living things to show up for it to eat.

Arla asked if he could move stealthily and he nodded.

"Of course, I am a Jedi." He said as if that were the answer to everything. He took a moment, folding his presence over and over within himself, turning down the light that burned within him until it was just a pilot light, twinkling and ready to burst forth, but quiet and dark. Nearly imperceptible.

"We split up, go opposite directions and clear our way around the ring, meet on the other side?" He asked, dark eyes examining Arla's reaction.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla didn't seem amused by the answer "because I am a Jedi." No, she replied. Of course, that was the whole reason she was asking. Why did any of the Jedi care about the weakest people in the galaxy who threatened to drag everyone else down?

Not the sole, but impotence and ineptitude are not qualities that should reproduce. Predators are few and far between. The herd will always outnumber the predators by a wide margin, she said.

Their conversation was, of course, interrupted by the need for some actual violence.

Yes, you're a Jedi. Accustomed to confronting your opponents directly and honorably, she speculated. Had he ever cut the throat of an unexacting enemy or used a garrote to strangle the life out of someone? She guessed not.

Very well, but I think we would have better odds if we stay together, she said. More force in an area means it is easier and faster to overcome an obstacle, she said. She wouldn't argue with him if he opted to split off, and started making her way down toward the area itself.

The first creature she saw was not a skitterer but a melded monster that looked stitched together by the same dark magic as so many of these creatures were.

Arla eased her lightsaber out of her belt again and spotted two more of the same. They were slow, but looked like they hit hard, which meant they would need to move swiftly.

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako listened to her words, heard the cold harshness within them as she waved off his own so easily without considering them. She wasn't wrong, if nature were to hold to its natural course, but neither was she right.

"If the ecosystem is balanced, yes." Mako agreed, wondering if she might be surprised by that. "But if an invasive species of predator were introduced, in such numbers that the whole herd were threatened. Would they not then need a shepherd to guide and protect them? Or is extinction the preferred outcome?" He posed the question. Extinction truly was what the people of Coruscant now faced. The Abominations the invasive species that were introduced to the now fragile ecosystem of the ecumenopolis by their master. More like an exhumenopolis now, where the turned or dead were slowly starting to outnumber the living.

Mako frowned at her judgement of the Jedi. Yet again, she wasn't wrong. But she wasn't right either. He let it lie though as the time for words was ending and the time for swift action began as Mako thought about her suggestion, nodding as he saw the wisdom in sticking together. Better to hit hard in one place than to falter in two. He followed and soon they came across a trio of abominatons that seemed to be stitched together from multiple people, wearing their insides on their outsides in the middle. Pained faces gasped against the air as they waddled around aimlessly.

Mako surveyed the surroundings, noting all the possible, a downed support rigger that hung from the ceiling at a slant to where it touched the ground nearby. He gestured to himself and the ceiling, then to her. Then he made a motion with his hands to indicate coming together from below and above, smashing the foe between them. If she agreed, he would quietly clamber up the rigging, out of sight to get into position.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

She found the discussion to be rather interesting, particularly as it used the analogies of nature. Things that she found far more interesting and relatable than most of what the Jedi and Sith spewed.

She was eager to continue the conversation, but there was killing to do first. She nodded in agreement to his plan and watched as he climbed up. She took several deep breaths in and leapt forward.

Her saber burst to life, and he would see for the first time that it although it was green and black, it still somehow felt quite different than any Jedi's blade.

She carved through the first creature, leaving several cuts along its body before it finally lay dead. Then they moved on to the next and next. It took them hours of ambushes, attacks, and assassinations before the spaceport was finally cleared, and when it was, Arla had to admit she felt exhausted.

I think we can bring the others back, she said.

 

[Mako Krim]

With the affirmative nod from Arla, Mako turned and made his way up the downed support girding. He climbed swift and silent. There was a few breaths as he reached the top before he spotted Arla leaping forwards. There was no time for thought now, no time philosophy. Only action.

Mako landed quietly next to one of the other creatures as it turned towards the assailant. The Jedi's purple lightsaber burst to life and he quickly cut down the strange creature with a series of strikes that separated it into several smaller chunks. He did notice the strange lightsaber that Arla wielded, it's coloration foreign from anything he had seen or read about. The feeling that came off it was again not dissimilar to when Arla used the Force. A smokey black sensation that was like quicksilver slipping through the cracks.

There was no time to ask about it in the present however.

The two of them worked together as they cleared out the small star port. Setting up ambushes on groups of the creatures. Quickly and quietly taking down the occasional lone abomination. And sometimes just engaging in small battles that left the pair feeling worn out. By the time they were done, they had run themselves ragged. Mako drew a breath as the last of the foul creatures fell. They had cleared this area, but he knew there would be more to come.

"Agreed." Mako said as he retrieved a small water canteen from his belt and drank. It wasn't the best tasting water, but it had been filtered of pollution and purified of corruption. Wiping his lips with the back of his sleeve, he offered the canteen to Arla.

"We will head to the rendezvous point, once we will closer I will signal my allies." He said as he surveyed the carnage they had wrought. Dead abominations lay scattered about, but he knew that they had hardly made a dent when it came to the planet. He shook his head before turning and leading the way towards the rendezvous point where they would meet up with a group of former defense and security members who would be escorting the refugees.

"So, do you have any thoughts about what I said?" He asked as they walked, picking his way through some rubble to get to the next clear area. They had a little bit of a ways to go to get to the rendezvous, and as much as Mako didn't want to admit it, the philosophical conversation with the woman whom he had determined was likely a darksider had been mentally invigorating. A rare thing during the time he had spent on Coruscant.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

They had done good work, but even as Arla looked at the death that scattered the ground, she knew it was small fries. They were the underlings and peons to the real power that was here. She wondered what would happen if she fought Raze. She had been near him before, and even channeled his power through her amulet. It was... something else. It was still beyond her.

She thought back to Kashyyyk and the victory she had achieved there, but the injuries she had taken. The burn scars that still lingered on her neck. She had been careless. Perhaps she thought too highly of herself and her skill. Perhaps she was still simply playing at being truly powerful.

She put her lightsaber away and pushed the thoughts from her mind for now, instead erring on the side of patience and confidence in herself. So many of her problems had come from looking for her approval in others, but being truly free meant not worrying on those things. She had made Apex because she loved the hunt, and that hadn't changed. For now, that was enough.

Of course, she said as he asked if she had thoughts about what they were discussing, though she had to take a moment to remember where they were in the conversation.

You compared the abominations to a new predator species, and I agree. But necessity to hunt them down is not the same as the need to protect the flock. Not inherently. If the herd benefits as a whole, that is good for the ecosystem, but not ever member needs to be protected. Death is a natural part of life, she said. The latter was even a Jedi quote, though taken in a very different meaning and context than a Jedi would have used it.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

They had a short ways to go until they were close enough to the rendezvous point for Mako to comm his allies. Enough time to walk and talk. To keep their heads and eyes on a swivel for the ever present danger. This didn't stop Mako from noticing Arla's little twist of the Jedi teachings... Though he wasn't certain he would call it a twist.

"If I were here to prevent every death on Coruscant, I'd say I'm doing a piss poor job of it." He said, a grim chuckle dying in his throat as he saw flashes of the dead and dying. No. Whatever Arla believed, the Jedi did not exist to prevent every needless death. However much they might try.

"I might hold the sanctity of life higher than you, but I'm not a fool. I know I can't save everyone." There were those who had chosen to stay above for whatever reasons, those who had chosen to turn themselves over to the new Master in hopes of mercy... Those who had thought their wealth would protect them from their fates.

He had turned his back on those.

"The ones I fight to protect are those who chose life. Chose to run with the herd, to fight when alongside each other, to protect those of their own who cannot protect themselves." His voice took on a slightly snarling timber as he caught anger rising within him. He stopped abruptly, taking a few deep breaths as he centered himself. The surrounding darkness had threatened to leak into him at the slightest drop of his defenses. He would have to be wary.

"Besides, some people are hunters," He gestured to Arla as he spoke, "Who hunt the predators for whatever reason drives them, not caring about how they benefit the herd so long as they take their satisfaction." Then he gestured to himself, "And some of us are shepherds, who protect the herd and guide them towards better outcomes, so that the greater ecosystem may benefit from a healthier herd." He said as he cradles the message in the familiar language. It was all a balancing act of sorts. One that monsters like Raze sought to sit on the scales and send everything plummeting into darkness.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla suddenly found her new companion far more interesting as she felt those hints of anger within him. They were rising on their own, perhaps from the exhaustion of being here for weeks or maybe from the thoughts of all the deaths that had been caused.

No, he hadn't prevented all of the deaths, and he never would be able to. It was an impractical goal as much as it was impractical for her to think she could clear every monster on Coruscant herself. And yet, most Jedi seemed to still agonize about every single death.

You have an interesting point of view, she said after several moments more, although she didn't elaborate. At least he spoke with an intelligence that she could respect if not agree with.

At the moment, we are not at odds with each other, but the conflict arises when our goals are opposite one another, she said, her mind flipping back through her history lessons to the days of the ancient Sith Empires.

I read once about a sect of Force-wielders who rose to battle abominations during the Hundred Years' Darkness. Their motto was: In War, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice. Over the years, they ended up falling into ruin because they could never come to an agreement about one thing: was it more important to save people from the spreading darkness or stop the spread, she said. It seemed it was a question that hadn't been solved even still. If sacrificing a village would save a city, Arla would do it in a heartbeat. She wondered if Mako Krim, Jedi Knight would as well.

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako remained quiet, reserved after his little outburst as Arla commented about his point of view. Interesting. If there was ever a loaded word it was that one. And coming from the woman who he presumed was a Darksider... Well Mako wasn't sure if that was good, or bad, that she found his point of view interesting.

The comment about odds, conflicts, and goals had Mako thinking instinctively. He was fairly certain that though they were convenient allies this day, that the woman wouldn't hesitate to strike him down the next if they ran across each other on opposite paths. The part about the force user sect was interesting, and played into this to a degree.

"Did the sect have a name that you know?" Mako asked, curious. The Hundred Year's Darkness... Ancient history. It was hard to find accurate information from those days even in the most well kept of libraries and institutions.

"Their motto is intriguing. It sounds Sith in origin, though the Jedi could benefit from the wisdom of the second verse." Mako wasn't quite so sure how he felt about it as he said it. His mind was wandering back to the meeting where he had felt frustration at the lack of vigilance that always seemed to sway the balance back towards the darkness. He also wasn't sure he should be taking wisdom from something that seemed influenced by the Sith but... There was wisdom in all things, was there not?

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Mako may have been stuck in a question of how he should feel about Arla, but she had no such concerns or questions. That was the beauty and freedom of the Shadow. Those who followed strict codes of the Jedi or others like them were so hampered with the "should I" and "can I" that it all but strangled out who they were, leaving them hollow husks simply wearing around robes that said "Jedi" and little else to them. To his credit, this one at least seemed to have more thought in his mind than most.

Hm, I don't recall. I'm sure they did, but I do not remember what it was, she admitted.

Both Jedi and Sith aspects, but it ultimately tore them apart, it seems, she said. Perhaps there was a message there about trying to walk the middle line, but Arla refused to see it. She refused to believe there were limits to what she could do or who she could be.

What lengths would you go to to destroy your enemies? she asked. Perhaps that was at the core about her suspicion towards Jedi. They could fight, they could kill, they could even sacrifice themselves, but she doubted their ability to sacrifice others. And war was nothing if it wasn't the sacrifice of yourself and, yes, others as well.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

The fact that this order of force users had tried to blend Jedi and Sith aspects to achieve their goals was shocking to Mako. As far as his limited knowledge went, he wasn't aware that such a thing had ever happened. Ancient history though, and it hadn't ended well. Or so Arla claimed.

"Is such a thing even possible?" He wondered out loud. For Jedi and Sith to work alongside each other, for a greater cause. He looked at Arla for a long hard moment as he tried to deduce where exactly she fell on that spectrum. He wouldn't get anywhere with that without asking her questions however.

Her next question gave him pause, and he had to think about it for a moment. It wasn't an easy one for the Jedi. Farther than some, not as far as others. Mako was a compassionate spirit, but there was iron in him also. Born of Oba Diah and raised by a Syndicate boss the Pyke had seen and heard things that few other Jedi likely had. Was aware just how low a sentient might go.

"In battle, I've led men. Not many mind you. Some of them died. I grieved for them after it was over, but they all knew what was at stake, took up arms willingly against their enslavers." He wasn't sure why he was telling Arla this, except maybe to lay some sort of foundation for his thoughts on the matter.

"Here on Coruscant I've seen far more death than I thought I ever would. Left people to die in order to save others. Passed by those in need to achieve a goal with farther reaching effects than the here and now." He shook his head as he thought back to his arrival, the bridge they had passed over where things chased fleeing people, cutting them down while he flew right on past them.

He could have stopped everything to save them. And then the next group. And the next group. Until he and his allies were so far spent that they would never have been able to achieve what they had come for first. In the end it would have been a net loss, so few saved at the cost of information that would save so many more in the future. He was looking down now, without realizing.

"Even the most prophetic Jedi can't know the long reaching effects of every action, life saved or sacrificed... To answer your question." Mako said as he looked up at Arla with dark eyes. "Farther than most Jedi, perhaps." He paused as he considered the inverse. "Perhaps not as far as most Sith." It troubled him to think there were any Sith he might go as far as to destroy them, or the Abominations, or any enemy. He wasn't certain. He would have a lot of meditating to do once he was away from the darkness of Coruscant.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla shrugged. She didn't know if something like that was possible. Nightsisters didn't truly believe in the "dark" and "light" as they were defined by Jedi and Sith. It was too dichotomous. Even with the Fanged and Winged Spirits, they worked together in harmony.

Maybe both have their place in the galaxy, she said, though she doubted that he would feel the same.

Arla listened in silence to what he said, the pain that he felt was emanating into the Shadow, and she maintained a serious, stoic face. She didn't grieve, per se, but she respected his loss nonetheless. Death was a natural part of life, but she knew that he still suffered.

If more Jedi are like you, then perhaps there's still hope for your Order, she said. She pondered for a moment whether she should offer her assistance to him or the other Jedi. There was no Jedi she could be more open with about her past than Ezra, but he didn't exactly... well, he wasn't her biggest fan. Perhaps she should reach out to him. The truth was that she didn't do it out of the goodness of her heart so much as because of all the beings in the galaxy, the one who truly scared her was Raze, and she didn't like to be afraid.

She walked in silence as she let these thoughts run through her mind.

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako remained silent as he mulled over everything that had been discussed so far. The suggestion that both dark and light had their place in the natural order of things... It troubled him. Not because he recoiled at the thought of it, but because the more he thought about it, the more he thought it might be true.

"It might be so." He said, not wanting to admit it. Every dogma of the Jedi taught that the light was the natural balance of the Force, that the dark was a perversion of life itself. A rot on the balance of the force. But did not a balanced ecosystem also contain rot? Molds and fungi that ate away at the old and dead things, broke them down for the cycle to begin anew. Predators to keep the numbers of the herd in check, to kill in the natural way of things. It was the counter to his own argument from earlier, yet held no less truth than his own words.

"What are your thoughts on balance? Of the force, or whatever tradition you hold to calls it." He asked. He wasn't entirely certain what force tradition Arla belonged to, he hadn't pried because ultimately, it hadn't mattered.

He had to laugh as she said something about more Jedi like him being the hope of the Order. He kept it quiet, but there was much humor in it's tones.

"I don't know about that. I'm an average Jedi at best. I just follow the will of the Force as best I can, try to do what is right. But I'll pass it along, maybe someone will take your words to heart." He chuckled. He doubted he would be telling many about the events that happened in the company of this Arla. His thoughts had already started far from the typical ideologies and he wasn't exactly keen to start those discussions so soon after being surrounded by darkness. Much meditating would have to be done on the subjects before he spoke of them to others.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

What did she think about balance? That wasn't a simple question, was it? But it was one she had already begun to explain, wasn't it? It wasn't so different from that of nature.

Balance is the ecosystem of the universe. You need the proper balance of rancors and nerfs, she said. She knew there were those Clans on Dathomir who fought upheld the Winged Spirit in higher regard, and she knew that her Clan had fought against them for thousands of years. She also knew that they were perhaps a necessary part of the galaxy. Did she hate them for helping kill her mother? Yes. Would she have killed them if given the chance? Yes. Did that mean beings like that shouldn't exist? No.

But a rancor cannot be a nerf or vice versa. All the forms of the ecosystem do not belong in a single person. We each choose the path we will follow or for some, it is decided for them, she said. It was a roundabout, philosophical answer.

"Dark" and "Light" are not real concepts. They are labels we place on aspects of nature based on how we choose to see them. But we each will each have our own inclinations based on who we are and what we experience, she said.