revivalproject | Log // Catch-All for April

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Log // Catch-All for April - OTA

WHO: Cal Kestis, BD-1 and you!
WHERE: Around Temba
WHAT: Exploring, fixing stuff, poking around and scavenging
WHEN: Catch-all for April
WARNINGS: N/A

Without the threat of a storm looming over them, Cal figures it's as good a time as any to try to get anything done. There seems to be plenty to see, and he's had his share of experiences when it comes to roaming ruins. The replicator project has been a success, and in no small part due to the help of Cipher Nine and Hux. What else needs fixing around here? Other than...well, everything.

Green
In the northwest part of the city he's begun clearing out one of the larger buildings. The space had seemed ample enough for a suitable work area, and the adjoining room suitable for storage. If not moving things around, Cal can be found bringing in some things, likely broken, very much salvaged, from wherever his wanderings have been.

...or you might catch him napping on a makeshift pallet in a corner while BD-1 plays around in a box of junk. Hey, even Jedi get exhausted! Who knew?

Blue
Running around some random ruins is probably training enough, but sometimes it's nice to know you're in a controlled space. The old theater looks sturdy enough, and given it's still standing as it is after so long, Cal hopes his trust in the architecture isn't unfounded.

If he's not found climbing along the sides of the highest raised rows or making impossible jumps (or heaven forbid, wall-running), he might be found at ground level at the theater's center, going through some exercises with a metal rod (probably a thin pipe) he'd found somewhere. It's far from a lightsaber and it makes him miss the one he's lost, but he goes through the forms fluidly and with as much care as if he still wields a blade of light.

Alternatively he can be found by the flood plain, looking very much like he's contemplating a swim as he wonders what the waters have swallowed up.

(OOC: Or choose your own adventure/wildcard! If you're up for doing anything else or have any ideas, tag away or PM/plurk/discord (Trilobite Punch#4073) me! :D And if action tags are more your thing over prose, I'll go with whatever your pref.)

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There was something so charmingly naive about the way Cal explained his discipline that Tony smiled and thought he might have been even younger than he looked. Not that it was hard to believe in the ideals or even a place like a Jedi temple, but kids learning swordplay for peace really felt like a playground game when Cal had a pipe to play with. This was a much different energy than Jon over there threatening a robot.

"Is it a religious thing? Knights of the Round Table concept?" he asked, because a temple could be a lot of things, but the sword element felt a lot less Buddhist monk than Christian missionary. Tony did like a knight, but they did have a very narrow view of 'peace' and, for that matter, 'people'.

Tony, please. Jon isn't threatening the little droid. He is putting him to good use recording a sinister piece of text, thank you very much.

Or at this moment he is much rather watching the replay, not quite used to this oddly ghostly rendering of the holographic recording. But it is... Interesting? Yes, he looks like a ghost. And given how terrible he looks anyway, then combining it with the tone of the brief statement... Well, fine. This might look at least remotely disconcerting.

Still. The sound is good and the words clearly audible.

"Thank you." He nods once the replay has finished and he gets out his recorder to rewind the part and play it in comparison, holding it out towards BD-1 to show the droid the difference. It's still audible, but the crackling undertone is, indeed, present.

"Believe it or not, you made the first successful digital recording of this. Well done." Just a little praise for the droid. Jon is starting to see how the little robot makes good company, though. Aside from being useful, that is. He is rather pleasant to talk to.

Maybe at one point he was naive about it, about what the duties of a Jedi. Cal reverses the grip of his 'saber', giving it a jab behind him as though to stab a flanking foe before he turns and once again grasps the pipe in both hands to deliver a powerful downwards swing.

"Some look at it that way. I'm not familiar with these Round Table Knights, if that's a thing from your world, but I guess I can see how people thought of the Jedi as a religious group." He straightens, lowering his makeshift weapon. "The Order is gone now. We were drawn into a war, fighting for the Galactic Republic as generals and commanders over their armies against the Trade Federation Separatists. That was about five years ago." He shakes his head. "Something happened, or maybe something had been happening, behind the scenes. In the end, the Jedi and the Order were made out to be traitors to the Republic."

The holorecording flickers out once it comes to an end, and BD-1 steps a little closer, rising slightly on his spindly legs like an overly curious bird as Jon brings out his recorder to play back the same recording. His head tilts, and he glances up at the Archivist again before hopping back with a pleased sounding trill. And yes, the droid does look rather proud of himself, not that he had any doubt that he would do better than the tape recorder.

His inquisitive beeping suggests if there's anything else Jon needs of him.

The replay of Jon's message drew Tony's attention again and he watched BD-1's surprisingly stable projection and wondered at the clarity of the audio that clearly wasn't the same tool that produced his voice, until Cal's slash snapped Tony's gaze back to the pipe. It didn't sound like it was long enough ago for Tony to try pressing Cal on the war, he could tell that a result like that could only mean that they had lost whatever fight they were in, or the post-war society had quickly decided to distance itself from the kind of moral shitshow that recruited kids for the meatgrinder. Five years ago Cal must have been barely a teen, he wasn't kidding when he said he had started young. Of course a state at peace wouldn't want to be associated with that behaviour.

"Are you good at it?" Tony asked instead. The way Cal moved seemed impressive and well controlled, but it wasn't like Tony had great context for what a Jedi was supposed to look like, especially without an opponent to help set a tone. How he answered could reflect meaningfully on how his training made him think of himself, though.

Jon resists the urge to pat the droid on the head for a job well done and instead just nods at him "I think we're good for now. You may delete the file if you wish."

Maintaining a somewhat uncharacteristic smile on his face, Jon stands back up and directs his attention over to the display Cal is putting up for Tony. Yes. Still impressive. He definitely doesn't want to pick a fight with the young Jedi.

He still directs a remotely playful tone towards Cal. Which still doesn't fully shed off the man's usual seriousness "I will have to relief you of BD-1 for good at some point, I'm afraid."

That peace was a lie... There are so many questions that have no answers to them, and being suddenly alone to fend for himself, Cal had no one to ask them, especially when he was suddenly made out to be an enemy.

Cal shrugs as he considers Tony's question. "I've only recently got back up to the level I left off, and then some," he admits. "Still alive so far, so I that accounts for something." He can't say he's good, not when his last encounter with his past resulted in a broken lightsaber.

Back with Jon, BD-1 beeps an affirmative, not that he deletes the recording. He rarely does that, perhaps for the idea that maybe it might be needed some day. The droid looks back over at Cal as Jon addresses him, glancing back at the Archivist himself as though to say 'well that's news to me.'

Cal looks over at Jon as well, then. He smiles crookedly. "At least you seem to have gotten used to him. I'd let BeeDee have the final say on that, but I'll admit, I'd be pretty upset if you did."

And Tony hadn't even had his chance in the competition for BD's affections. He touched his heart, scandalized, and chastised Jon, "Think about the family, Holly Homewrecker." Something told him Jon didn't have a lot of experience being the Other Man, he should have been leaving that to the professionals in the room. To Cal, he continued, "But if you're going to give him up that easily, I daresay he'll be the most eligible bachelor in town. I'd be jealous, but we could use the entertainment. Hey, BD, do you know what a rose ceremony is?"

Cal's answer to his question wasn't nearly as enlightening as Tony hoped; if anything, the most he knew now was that Cal could come across reasonably well adjusted. Which was a positive, not everyone around here had to be a live wire, and if he knew the other kids, maybe he could be a positive influence.

Jon casts a final look and a short, friendly shrug down to BD-1 before slowly walking back to the other two men, carefully pocketing his recorder on the way "To be fair, if I had to choose between Cal and myself, I wouldn't be choosing my own company either."

A simple, yet rather truthful conversation. He makes sure to maintain enough distance to Cal and his pipe, as to not disturb any potential swings "Though I appreciate that you let me borrow him. The results are as impressive as they are chilling." By which he is referring to the somewhat ghostly appearance of the holographic display.

Though he did pick up something else while recording as well.

"You mentioned a lightsaber, Cal. And yet you settle with a pipe..." A question without directly making it one.

BD-1 walks along after Jon as he returns to join the other two's company, a little hop in his step as he circles about Cal's feet before wandering over to look up at Tony with a confused beeping. Rose ceremony? What?

Cal grins at the little droid, and to Tony's words he can't help but laugh. "I wouldn't give him up, but I wouldn't want to force my company on him if he doesn't want it." He chuckles as the droid beeps a protest and skitters back to clamber up the padawan's leg to the usual perch behind him.

"You're welcome. BeeDee was eager to be of assistance too." He tilts his head. "That ...voice you were using..." Being used to the appearance of holos, he doesn't realize it might not be the same for others. Yet it doesn't quite make sense to him that Jon's own way of speaking differently for the recording would be the reason the man might be disturbed.

A blink, and after a glance from Jon to Tony, Cal looks down at the pipe in his hand. His grip around it tightens slightly, his expression going more neutral, save for the nuance of a frown that's almost hesitant to make a full appearance.

"...it...didn't arrive with me," he says, the hesitation suggesting that that fact alone wouldn't have changed matters if it had.

The approach of the droid got Tony to lean forward, hands clasped over his folded knee to answer like he was explaining fusion reactions to a toddler after they asked what the sun was. "It's where you show all of your suitors who still had a chance to make you a married man, and explain to the ones that didn't make the cut why you're not meant for each other. Stuff like speaking in tongues can be a real deal breaker for most guys." He slouched back again as BD-1 went pattering away, head cocked with an admiring grin to watch him climb again and settle like he belonged there. That was a boy and his dog if Tony ever saw one.

He didn't quite read the weight of Cal's answer about the lightsaber, though, distracted by one unmistakable detail; "You had other things arrive with you?" Obviously, Cal had his little buddy there, which made it all the stranger what the selection process was. "I showed up like I was born here. Did you get stuff?" The question to Jon was almost accusatory, like he had been in charge of what Tony was or wasn't allowed to bring with him.

"Voice?" Jon blinks at Cal for a moment, but then seems to get what he is being asked and settles with an almost apologetic look "Oh, right. That... I guess it's... I've gotten used to it, my assistants prefer not to be in the same room. It's... Something to do with these specific texts. They draw you in and you adopt their... Tone."

It may not be the best explanation, but it's a good enough try. And hopefully he doesn't have to give a full disclosure on the various kinds of statements.

Chalking that matter up to be answered, Jon proceeds to incline his head at Cal's explanation for his lacking lightsaber.

"So they didn't let you keep your weapon." Which in a way makes sense? And he casts a look over to Tony, raising a brow at the man's tone before answering his question "I had my tape recorder on me." Yes, not the most impressive piece of technology, but Jon feels better with it around.

Somehow BD-1 manages to give a perfect impression of a blank look with that explanation. Humans of Tony's world must be a strange breed indeed! Such a custom is certainly nothing he's collected in his databanks before now, and one can be sure that there is now an entry under 'Rose Ceremony'.

Cal isn't quite sure he understands the need for such a tone, as Jon describes it, but he can see why Jon's assistants wouldn't be comfortable in the same room if the way the Archivist had spoken those words earlier were anything to go by. He looks like he might ask more, but with the subject shifting to the specifics of their arrival, he lets it lapse.

He also seems mildly relieved he isn't pressed about details regarding the lightsaber, accepting the tangent with a nod. "Just what I was wearing, along with BeeDee." Honestly he's glad the little droid had been with him, and although he wouldn't have it any other way, he still constantly feels the absence of his lightsaber.

A shrug is given at Jon's observation. "It wasn't working anyway," he says. The tape recorder had been something Cal was aware of from when he first met the Archivist, so the response to Tony isn't unexpected.

Edited (whoops, too man 'nows') 2020-04-22 00:48 (UTC)

Of course Jon had the recorder on him, obviously everyone else got to travel with what they loved most in the world. Tony pouted, feeling at this moment like he would have appreciated the comfort of his own socks at least half as much as Cal appreciated his droid, never mind the Iron Man, and unable to think the disparity in luggage was anything but subjective. This was a personal punishment.

If Jon was correct about the weapon restriction, though, that could have explained the Iron Man's conspicuous absence. Not that Tony would agree with the assessment, but the Agrii were hard to pin down. Tony had to keep on pressing Cal about his discipline, though, because he just said something completely wild. "Your sword doesn't work," Tony rephrased flatly for him, the question in the arch of his brow. Had he meant 'light' as in radiation, not weight?

To be fair, if Jon hadn't arrived with the recorder, he would probably just subconsciously spawn even more of those things around him any time he needs to vent. Which he does frequently enough at least.

Though he does catch the same specific wording in Cal's phrase as Tony and he pulls up a single brow and tilts his head as if to wordlessly second the question. Is he literally speaking of a saber made of light?

It's a clarification that Cal hasn't anticipated, although he supposes he should have for how different the places they come from seem to be. He blinks as he realizes what Tony is implying, the laugh that follows brief, but unforced.

Explaining a lightsaber's the easy part, at least.

"Oh, right." The padawan scratches the back of his head, looking almost sheepish at having overlooked that detail. He lifts the pipe. "Lightsaber. The weapon of a Jedi." Among other things, if the Inquisitors were anything to show for it. "The blade is pure energy, like a beam of light. It can cut through almost anything. The power is generated from the hilt."

That wasn't much less wild, and Tony squinted and looked to Jon to see if he was buying this. Now Cal's story was really sounding like a game he played, very well-my-sword-can-cut-diamonds, but the details weren't in the top ten weirdest encounters Tony had experienced here. Jon was in the room, it was hard to ignore, and it wasn't like Tony was unfamiliar with laser cutting or a bunch of teenagers doing extraordinarily dangerous shit. If Cal looked a few years older, Tony thought, he might not have been as slow to believe him.

"Can we make one?" Besides, Tony really wanted to see it now.

"Even if we could, the real question might be, if we should." Jon comments with a dark frown "An energy blade capable of cutting through almost anything sounds remarkably dangerous." And the Agrii didn't bring them here to fight any wars as far as Jon remembers.

Or at least he hopes that isn't the case.

The padawan doesn't respond so quickly, perhaps gauging between the reactions of Tony and Jon. He dips his head in a slight nod, a partial answer to both.

"It's a weapon. The potential for danger is always there. It depends on the use and the wielder, of course." He lowers the pipe. "It does have its uses outside of combat. Slicing through doors and walls. ...I don't recommend doing so with power cables unless they're shut down." There's the flicker of a grimace, and BD-1's hooting sounds almost chiding in a way, further confirmation that the latter may have been a lesson learned through unfortunate experience.

Glancing from Jon to Tony, Cal shrugs. "The real problem would be the power source. Seeking out a kyber crystal to use for making our lightsaber is one of the tests we go through as younglings."

This time, when Tony squinted at Jon, it was still conspiratory but far more judgemental. He had no way of knowing how much Cal knew about Jon's unique proclivities and he wasn't about to be the one to spread the news, so Tony kept a knuckle pressed against his lips where he dropped his head into his hand again to catch Jon's eye, but that wasn't enough to stop him from frowning then raising his eyebrows at Jon to ask what else he might think is dangerous. At least most people knew how to react to a sword.

Cal's miscalculated defense of the lightsaber's less dangerous properties drew Tony quickly out of the accusatory aside with a chuckle to turn that judgement on Cal. "Yeah, okay, that doesn't sound dangerous, and we sure are overwhelmed with stable walls and doors around here that we could stand getting rid of," he teased. What trouble he could have gotten into with power cables with a lightbeam was a whole other matter-- unless Cal just wanted to share with them how he learned not to touch a live wire he encountered. That couldn't be right. "Are you telling me the energy is conducive?" They were going to have to cycle back to the mineral power source, 'younglings', and just about everything else about Cal's culture, Tony was realizing.

Tony's attempt at catching Jon's attention is at least temporarily rewarded and his unspoken question met with a brief scowl. The answer would simply be: A lot.

"Right." He scoffs "Nothing dangerous about a weapon capable to cut through walls. As we all know flesh and bone are no walls and therefore are perfectly safe." Yes, that accusatory tone is primarily directed at Tony "And let's not forget that apparently the Agrii already have brought people here who had little better to do than put bounties on others that were just as kidnapped as they were. We might as well equip everyone with the necessary tools to start a proper slaughter."

Does he sound maybe a little paranoid? Maybe. But only a little.

Cal makes a slight face at Tony. "It wasn't one of my better moments." But no one has to tell him how dangerous a weapon like a lightsaber can be. Given how the Archivist is so adamant about it, the padawan refrains from mentioning anything about the countless times he's had to fight for his life using that very weapon.

He goes noticeably silent when Jon brings up a certain someone, glancing away with a frown. "...I haven't heard from him since. Maybe that's a good thing. If what I heard from Hux is true, he's not someone I'd want to draw the attention of." People like Kylo Ren are what justify his caution in trusting people even in a world far from the galaxy he knows.

Oh, so Cal did just not know how to keep his distance, and Tony laughed again at that expression but put his free hand up in apology for it. Sorry, everyone learned at the own pace, it was only a little funny. He didn't know why Jon was getting on his case, though, because it sounded to Tony like he was making Tony's argument for him. He hadn't even really thought about the story Poe had told him, but that was really just another way the Agrii could be a threat to them-- it was only the Agrii, so far, who had control over who came in and out, their picks could have been very calculated.

"I'm not comfortable with the idea that most of us can't defend ourselves," Tony added, only a little pointed. "If somebody comes at me with a lightsaber, I'd rather have one in my back pocket, too. Don't try to make that a slippery slope, it's just rational. It's not like we've elected a town sheriff to keep the peace." He looked between them then, hoping either of them could correct him on that observation; a system of government would have been more solid ground to work with than individualist anarchy.

"I don't like to think we need to defend ourselves in the first place." Jon frowned back at neither of them, but clearly troubled by the mere idea. He half-crosses his arms, fingertips tapping against his own elbows in a remotely nervous fashion "Even if I had a weapon-" And for a moment he wants to ask Tony if he knows how to use a sword, but cuts himself off. He sure doesn't know how to defend himself, thank you. He has tried in the past, but so far has always failed spectacularly.

And not unlike Tony, Jon lets his eyes shift between the two other men, unsure of where a solution may lie. In the end the best he can do is offer a shrug.

"It is... True, that we are currently relying on everyone being more invested in returning home than causing trouble." But aside from that, this planet is basically a lawless land. In his opinion, adding weapons to that mix might only complicate matters.

"As far as I'm aware of, that was the only incident involving someone potentially hostile into our midst. That's not to say he would have been the most or least dangerous of anyone brought here."

The Agrii had after all brought a Mandalorian into the fold. While Cal isn't personally familiar with the beskar armored man outside of the few encounters he's had, he knows that Mandalorians were formidable warriors and doesn't doubt that the same goes for this one as well, with child or no.

"I'd rather we don't have to worry about defending ourselves from anyone or anything else either, but given how much we don't know about so much here, we can't discount the possibility that a situation might come up. Not that I'm promoting making weapons. Preparation, that's different." Cal looks between Jon and Tony. "So far, the only real threat has been the storm, and that didn't even need a weapon."

Tony picked up on what Jon had been trying to say, and clarified, "I don't think everyone needs one. Just the people who are equipped to take on the responsibility, if shit goes sideways." Just like the Avengers wasn't a open membership to the public, someone had to be prepared to defend the people who couldn't. Who that actually meant was more complicated here, assuming they were all 'he rows' as the Agrii put it, but at least Jon was self-aware enough to want to sit out the physical combat. "Back home, we've got a team on standby just in case a meteor is headed for the planet. Here, we're going to be chickens with our heads cut off." Tony's personal involvement in that team wasn't necessary information. No one else seemed to be maintaining secret identities, but he didn't even have the suit here to out him. It was worth hanging onto that one for now.

Preparation could have meant plenty of things, and figuring out who to trust in the worst case scenario was one of them. They could have still been on the same page. "What makes you so sure you should trust me not to be a threat?" Tony challenged Cal, open palm up with a small shrug because he couldn't see a good reason. As far as Cal knew, this guy who had just wandered into his practice session had a bomb strapped to him. "What about you?" he turned on Jon. "How do you know no one else is just biding their time?"

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