This War Is Not Over...

[out_of_order]

WHO: Cal Kestis and you!
WHERE: The Cal-ibration Room
WHAT: Delving into memories of the past, distant and not so much
WHEN: Throughout June during the event
WARNINGS: Star Wars!!!!...? And all that's implied with it I guess


If one isn't familiar with the interior of a Venator-class start destroyer, the surroundings might make one think they're in some kind of medical facility for the clinical white walls and floors, and only the barest of decoration in the form of a modest potted plant in a corner, an alcove with a built in desk with a pull-out chair beside it. Control panels of some sort are embedded in the wall within the alcove, a flat pallet towards the back of the room with but the bare essentials of bedding.

On the desk is a cylindrical object, a lightsaber for those in the know, but even if you aren't, it does bare the resemblance of a weapon hilt. Not far from it is some sort of handheld tool, an arc welder. Maybe the strangest thing, at least for a Jedi of any standing, is the pair of headphones that sits there off in a corner. But really, who goes poking around other people's things?

Besides, you're not alone here.

The young boy in the room doesn't look like he's even reached his mid-teens. His face is spattered generously with freckles, some almost as intense as his reddish hair, which is cut short, save for the thin tail of a braid winding just off the back of his head. He's dressed in layered brown robes of some kind, a leather belt cinched around his waist, and overall looks like he does a good job of keeping appearances fresh. There's a curious look from him as he regards you.

There is a door to that leads out to the hall, where the color palette is much the same. The corridors are wide and nearly empty, the walls interrupted by backlit panels of geometric grids, an ambient hum of power just at the fringes of one's notice. A clone trooper with yellow-gold painted accents stands idly on guard at the far end not so much on the alert as bored.

Comments

[beholding_archivist]

Has Jon ever been on a star destroyer? Certainly not. He hasn't even been in space. Maybe not point out that detail to him as he finds himself in this unfamiliar setting and takes a few steps around, instantly feeling entirely out of place.

"Well, this is... Neat." He comments to no one in particular. But a clean space like this? Well. He's impressed. Jon doesn't manage to keep his office even remotely orderly.

He then directs his attention to the boy, who looks remotely familiar, but Jon can't exactly place him "Uh- Hello?"

No need to be rude to a kid, right?

[out_of_order]

The boy offers a polite smile, a bow of his head preceding a greeting. "Hello, Archivist." He looks around at the room with a small shrug.

"It...is what it is. Suits its purpose. Sorry I don't have much to entertain guests, but usually I don't expect to have to." He folds his hands behind him, standing patiently, or as patient as he can manage, continuing to watch Jon, although only because it would be rude not to give his attention to a guest.

[beholding_archivist]

It's a little unsettling to be called out like that. It's usually something other avatars would do to mock him before doing things like kidnap him. Or simply try to kill him.

"Ah... Right." He nods, drifting away towards the desk - One of the few places that doesn't appear entirely barren. "Then... I guess we can talk, right?"

But that of course means that Jon can't entirely keep his hands to himself. And being the wise man he is, he of course picks up the unfamiliar weapon hilt to fiddle with.

[doubled_speed]

"Dude, who keeps plants in their head?"

Yeah, that's actually Tommy's first thought upon entering the space, the door fading behind him. He walks, human slow, across to the plant, considering it from this direction and that. And not touching. He's learned his lesson about touching at this point. Probably needs permission first.

"You've got the neatest head I've seen so far."

Please, just let him talk about that and not trying to kill you.

going right for it I see

[out_of_order]

"Of course," the young padawan replies. It would be strange otherwise, keeping silent, trying to ignore the other like he isn't there, wouldn't it? But as he sees Jon pick up the lightsaber, the boy tenses just a little, a fleeting look of apprehension crossing his face.

The surroundings are dark, otherworldly for the mist that makes it difficult to see anything around you. And then out of the mists steps a tall figure with lavender skin, his ears pointed, his beard trimmed close around the edge of his face. A Lassat, not that you've ever seen one to know, and yet here somehow you do. The lightsaber he holds in his grasp is a mirror image of the one currently in your hands.

Jedi Master Jaro Tapal.

At the back of your mind, you feel that this shouldn't be, because your master is dead. And yet here, because of circumstance, because of the place, the Force? Who knows, but it's something you find yourself accepting.

"Come, Padawan. It is time for instruction," he intones, and his lightsaber ignites- blue springing from both ends of the hilt. Likewise, you do the same, and for a while nothing happens, but you know he's waiting for you to strike first. And so finally you do.

He deflects easily, again and again. Yet he does not attack. Not with his lightsaber, at least.

"Your fear cost me my life," he goads. "You will always be weak."

A few times he swings, if only to push you back. Your frustration grows, you try harder. It's always been difficult to please Tapal, but this time, it doesn't seem like anything you do will be sufficient. Again and again you strike, more and more desperate to prove something. But what?

"Your will is weak. You lack discipline." Another strike. "Fear rules you. As always."

With a shout you finally strike more directly, and immediately that frustration vanishes, turning into shock as your blade plunges right through Tapal's chest.

"Yes," he says, looking down at you as he proclaims his judgment. His hands reach up around yours and the lightsaber, holding them fast, making it impossible for you to break away.

"My blood is on your hands, apprentice."

You continue to tug, to no avail, forced to continue to meet the Lassat's disappointed gaze. "You are a failure. A weakling. A traitor."

Something shatters, his hands tightening their grip on the lightsaber enough to crush the middle of it, effectively gutting out the glowing blue blade. His last condemnation hurts the most, his words like leaden weights.

"You are no Jedi."

You cry out in denial, in anguish as things begin to fade...

[out_of_order]

The young padawan smiles crookedly. "I'm sure that was always there," he says thoughtfully. "But then some things are...different. Maybe it's still there for a reason." He shrugs, giving a faint nod. Maybe he's just as curious.

"...guess I'll take that as a compliment." Really, the last thing he wants to talk about is that last encounter. That they're talking at all says a lot for whatever's happened between then and now, and Cal's glad for it.

[doubled_speed]

Are they talking? Or do they not have a choice? Tommy doesn't know. He also doesn't know how to apologize for what happened. It's hard to say you're sorry.

"Can I touch it? The plant? Any clue what in here triggers weird shit and what doesn't?"

[out_of_order]

It's a weird space to be in. Cal isn't sure how it all works, or what's expected of them, but he's willing to talk if Tommy is. He's just not sure how to go about it either.

Maybe the distraction of the room will be enough to help bridge that. He gestures for Tommy to go ahead.

"It's...hard to remember what was here and what wasn't. Just being here seems to make it inevitable that something will happen." He looks away as he speaks, knowing full well what happened here. And yet perhaps that's why he's here, because it was the last moment before things just went so wrong.

"The only thing I can think of with plants is whenever I'd go exploring planetside, my pilot friend Greez would ask me to keep an eye out for any interesting plants he could put in his onboard terrarium."

[doubled_speed]

"You've seen something like this before?" Tommy asks, shocked. "Sounds like something only telepaths should ever see."

And in his world, they're as rare as Jedi who still are alive would be in Cal's.

"I guess if I touch anything, it's gonna be the plant. The whole Ag-point and all that."

He'd genuinely become appreciative of the things.

[out_of_order]

"...not just seen. This was my room aboard the Albedo Brave. A starship," Cal explains. "I've had visions, flashbacks I guess, of my time here, but this..." He shakes his head. "This is different."

He'd been merely walking the steps of the past before. Here, he remembers things he shouldn't, and clearly it's more interactive.

"Be my guest, Tommy."

[doubled_speed]

Well, if he's being invited. Tommy grins and reaches out, his fingers stroking a leaf of the plant with very deliberate attention.

And if it doesn't take him anywhere, he's going to enjoy just basking in the plant.

[out_of_order]

And suddenly, there's plants, everywhere.

The trees here in Kashyyyk are huge, and that might only be realized belatedly for the unfamiliar for the fact that the nearby 'walls' in fact turn out to be the hollow insides of an outstretched branch.

You run towards it, jumping and somehow continuing to run along that grooved wall of bark. When it reaches an end where the bark has broken away, you leap across to the opposite wall, repeating until you've reached more sturdy ground. But then 'ground' is a very flexible term here, knowing you're already probably miles up. The Origin Tree is the tallest in Kashyyyk, but within its branches you can easily forget you're up in a tree and not just some other world.

Continuing onward, you reach a drop, and below, you see it, the great Shyyyo Bird, a revered creature that may very well be the last of its kind. And it's hurt from the literal run-in with the Ninth Sister's ship that had probably saved your life.

It's a pretty steep fall, you manage to leap down to the same level where the great creature lies. Its head alone is huge enough that were it so inclined it could probably grasp you whole within its beak. Behind you, BD-1 borbles, the desire to help the thing mutual as you continue cautiously, not wanting to spook it.

You call out to the bird as you approach, trying to keep it calm as you reassure it, unsure that it will understand words, but hopefully it will understand intentions. BD-1 moves ahead and scans the bird's wing, locating the injury, a piece of the Ninth Sister's ship stabbed right into the meat of it.

"This is going to hurt," you warn the bird, stepping towards the wing. "I'm sorry." You outstretch your hand, focusing as you use the Force to pull the ship shrapnel free. The bird cries out in pain, and BD-1 quickly expels a stim in your direction. Snatching it out of the air, you quickly apply it to the injured wing to boost the healing process, backing away immediately to give it some room as the Shyyyo bird rises. It inspects its wing and then tips its great head towards you in gratitude. "There you go. It's the least we can do," you say as your fingertips brush its head.

It lets out a joyful shriek and then pumps its large wings, taking off, but not too far. Following it along a winding branch, you find it waiting for you, and what's more, it seems to want to give you a lift. Once you've climbed aboard its back, it takes off into the sky. Below, you can see much of the planet yet untouched by the Empire, a relief that the sprawling wilderness still fights its own fight.

And then the bird circles back, and you can truly take in the Origin Tree and its sheer immensity as it towers above even the mountains you'd seen. The bird descends towards the higher branches...

[doubled_speed]

It's beautiful. There are literally no words for how beautiful it is. None. At all.

He wished he could be part of a world lie this. Alive and beautiful. The trees are limitless, and Tommy half wishes he could be there, touch this, feel this. But no, that's not going to happen.

"My world needs more of this."

Oh, fun.

[beholding_archivist]

Granted, Jon is aware by now that these things can happen, but still can't help but stumble backwards with a gasp once the memory ceases to be and he drops the weapon he has been foolish enough to pick up.

"Jesus!" He exclaims and his attention quickly falls back onto the young Padawan. Okay. Now at least he can properly place the boy.

"That- That was..." Okay. Words. How do they work?

[out_of_order]

"Kashyyyk's an amazing place," Cal nods. "It's unfortunate that the first thing to see when I arrived was the Empire's forces burning and destroying parts of the forest. They're using the sap from the trees, refining it for use in battle. Being up above it all was refreshing."

He tilts his head. "What's your world like?"

[out_of_order]

There's a pained look on Cal's face as he avoids meeting the Archivist's gaze. He steps forward only to pick up the lightsaber, turning it gingerly in his hands before he sets it back on the desktop.

"...that was just before I was brought to Agra Ten," he says quietly. "...a vision. A test, I think." He shakes his head.

[doubled_speed]

Burning the trees? Tommy looks at Cal in horror, then back toward the trees. How could someone DO that?

"A lot of Earth is covered by cities. Not all of it. I've gone to places that are jungles so thick I can barely move. But no trees that big."

[beholding_archivist]

"I- I see..." Jon says, looking back at the lightsaber "You didn't seem to do very well... I- I'm sorry." He probably shouldn't have seen that.

"Has he always been this strict with you?"

[out_of_order]

His laugh was bitter, too forced. Saying that he didn't seem to do well was an understatement. "That's why my lightsaber's broken. ...it was actually his though. He'd left it to me when... when he died..."

The padawan steps over to the bed, sitting at its edge. "He was a tough teacher. He'd push me to do things, to challenge me. This though... I don't know. I thought I was finally going somewhere. That I was on the right path to...to whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing but..."

He'd failed.

[out_of_order]

The Empire's a terrible force, and seeing the look on Tommy's face, he can only nod sadly. "It's not even just the natural resources of the planet that they're exploiting either. The Empire's forced the locals into slavery. I was able to help free the Wookies at the Imperial facilities there, and a lot of them continue to fight for their homeland."

Cal nods again at Tommy and the description of Earth. "The planet I used to live on, Coruscant, is practically a giant city itself. Layers and layers of levels. Not exactly the place to go to enjoy nature. Kashyyyk's quite the contrast. The wood from the trees is considered a treasure, the trees themselves sacred to the Wookies who live there."

[doubled_speed]

"I was never a nature fan," he admits, frowning. People, places, they mattered to him more. Temba's greenhouses changed that.

[out_of_order]

"It's easy to take it for granted. Even being attuned to the Force, knowing that it flows around and through everything. That's probably why we had a meditation garden back at the temple. To remind us. But that was a drop in a bucket compared to being in Kashyyyk."

Cal can't say for sure how Coruscant and Kashyyyk might compare. It's been too long that he's been away from the former.

[doubled_speed]

"This place is beautiful. I'm glad it's in your mind," he says, voice soft and pained. "My world... we just use everything."

[out_of_order]

The padawan smiles faintly. "It's one of my better memories," he admits. "A lot of worlds do that, unfortunately. But so long as people can realize before it's too late, then there's always a chance. And at least your world doesn't have a greedy Empire exploiting planets just for the resources to fuel its power."

[doubled_speed]

"No, it doesn't. We just have greedy corporations that people let get away with the same shit."

Not that Tommy has an opinion. At all. Nope.