New kid on the block

[ezra_of_lothal]

WHO: Ezra and anyone, shipmates especially welcome
WHERE: Network and hangar
WHAT: Introductions and settling in
WHEN: Mid Feb/first few days after Ezra arrives
WARNINGS: Some discussion of violence and body horror

.
A. Network [Video]

So, I'm new. My name's Ezra Bridger. I'm from Lothal, if you know where that is.

Mr. Vanth recommended I go by the hangar, so I'll be doing that in a little while, if you want to say hello face to face. It looks like I'm assigned to the Vanquish. Whatever that means, in a practical sense.

I guess my first question is - what needs doing around here? I have some experience scavenging and setting up base in only sort of habitable spots, but this situation doesn't quite fit anything I've done before.

How are we doing on, oh, food?

B. Hangar

He can see why people might congregate here. It's a relatively enclosed, defendable space, and the ships have systems that are probably easier to maintain than the entire infrastructure of a mostly abandoned city. And it's familiar to him, too, sharing ships about this size with a handful of people.

On the other hand, before he joined the crew of the Ghost, he'd had an entire communications tower to himself. It had taken him a while to get used to sharing a cabin with Zeb, and adjusting to all the demands of being part of a crew.

He hasn't made up his mind, which living situation he's leaning towards, here and now. He plans to pitch in, regardless, that's nothing wrong with having some space to himself again.

Once he actually lets himself onto the Vanquish, he's very open about looking around, and a little more cautious about touching than he'd been years ago, the first time he really was on a ship. Years of Hera being particular about her ship have made their mark.

Anyone he come across, he tries to shoot them a friendly smile.

Comments

[out_of_order]

"Most of the creatures I've come across have been hostile, but I've managed to make a few friends," Cal says. "Not really my specialty though." He knows some Jedi have that affinity though, and Ezra's certainly coming off as one of those.

"I've only really just recently gotten back to the level I'd been before everything. I had to relearn a lot of things." Surrendering? "Except you weren't really surrendering," he mused with a lopsided smile as he put things together. He lifts his hands in a shrug. "Well, it might not have made it along with you anyway. It seems like the Agrii limit what comes along with people. I think I was lucky to still have BeeDee. I had a lightsaber before I got here but...it wouldn't have been much use."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Shattered crystal?" Ezra asks, wincing in sympathy and thinking of his first lightsaber.

[out_of_order]

Of his memories from before he was brought to Agra 10, that one is the freshest. Cal nods slowly, still unsettled by the experience. "...I was on Dathomir. I've been traveling with another Jedi- seeking out a holocron that has a list of Force sensitives. The key to finding it was hidden there, and I think it was some kind of test."

He remembers the shadow of his master, the harsh words. Cal closes his eyes, shaking his head. "...I failed."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I've been to Dathomir, briefly," Ezra says, thoughtfully. "I don't know what it was like then, and I know the people who lived there weren't Sith, but it felt...very Dark while I was there. Are you sure it was the sort of test you were meant to pass? Or even would want to?"

[out_of_order]

"Dark about covers it," Cal says, the smile that flickers on his face a short-lived one. Dathomir hadn't been a pleasant place to visit. Being chased by the undead without having a weapon to defend with had definitely made it worse, but even that hadn't stung nearly as much as what he'd faced in the ruins of the Zeffo tomb.

"I...I don't know. After that, I was't sure about anything." It's a difficult thing to admit. Being here has given him time to think, to reflect, but if what he's heard from those who have gone and then returned, it might not matter so much. "I just knew from clues left by another Jedi that an astrium was hidden there, and it would open the vault where he hid the holocron. ...there was another astrium, but an Inquisitor got her hands on it before I could."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I don't know what an astrium is," he admits. "But that seems like a strange place to hide the way to a Jedi holocron to me. Assuming it was a Jedi holocron. Maybe it wasn't your mistake, or not your mistake alone?"

He's still not completely sure what Master Yoda had been thinking, telling him to find Malachor. Ezra knows he'd pressed the ancient master hard for help to fight the Sith, and made a lot of mistakes on Malachor and afterwards, and that's all on him, but - he still wonders. He and Kanan, and even Ahsoka, had learned a lot from the fall out of Malachor, too. Maybe Master Yoda had caught a glimpse of the long view.

"I have to ask though," he says, pointing to the hilt. "What's that, then?"

[out_of_order]

"Honestly, I've never heard of one either before then. The Jedi Master who hid the holocron- his name was Eno Cordova. I guess he was really interested in ancient history and so a lot of the places I've been to have ruins of a people known as the Zeffo. They studied the Force, and had these massive tombs..." Cal shakes his head. "I don't think Cordova meant for anyone to go to Dathomir, but the astrium I tried finding on the planet Zeffo was, like I said, taken by an Inquisitor. Not sure if you're familiar with them but they're not good news, and the last thing any of us want is for the Empire to get their hands on a holocron of Force sensitive children."

It's easier to say now, being in a place that's virtually outside of any time he knows, maybe even completely removed from any familiar galaxy. He wouldn't have that luxury otherwise, and the Empire moved quickly.

At Ezra's question, Cal glances at his hip with a breathless laugh. He unclips the sleek thing from his belt. "This? A replacement. Obviously I'm not going to find any kyber crystals around here. But I found something that seemed to work well enough for a focus. There's...just a slight problem." At BD-1's pointed beeping, he concedes with a dip of his head, "Okay, maybe a little more than a slight problem- which is why I'm not going to switch it on while we're inside a ship." It might not be that bad, but he figures it's better to be safe than sorry.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra gestures towards the scars across his cheek. "Inquisitor. And I've helped hide babies they were hunting for, so I get it."

He eyes the hilt a little more dubiously. "If it doesn't sing like kyber, I think I'd stick with something ranged, myself." He doesn't mind blasters, as a rule, but wielding a blade he couldn't feel in the same way would be weird. "I'm guessing that's not exactly the problem you mean?"

[out_of_order]

Cal winces at that. "How many of them are there? I know there have to be at least nine- I managed to take care of the Ninth Sister back on Kashyyyk." Somehow.

Looking at the lightsaber again, he shakes his head, although with just a slight quirk of a smile. "Not exactly. The crystal I found is basically a raw version of what the Agrii made the rods they used to power things here. Soooo...the side effect it has when I turn it on is that things that run on power tend to get boosted slightly." A beat. "...and it makes metal glow."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"I'd say that's a hitch," Ezra mutters. Yeah, blaster sounds like a better and better idea.

"I've seen four inquisitors at various points, although I know they're all dead now. And uh. Darth Vader. But that guy's in a scary class all his own. The first time I saw him, Kanan and I managed to drop a walker on him, and he got back up like it was basically nothing. The second time, he took out my first lightsaber in seconds. I'd have been a goner if Ahsoka hadn't swooped in and grabbed his attention."

[out_of_order]

Four inquisitors. Cal grimaced. It was hard enough facing one, although he suspected Trilla would be way more difficult than the Ninth. His brow furrows at mention of Darth Vader, the name unfamiliar to him, but worrying all the same.

"Worse than an Inquisitor?" he asked. "...a Sith?" He'd never met a full-fledged Sith back in his galaxy so wasn't sure how they'd compare. The one he met here had been...decidedly different than what he'd expected from the things he'd heard, but speaking with Obi-Wan had made it quite clear the Jedi's feelings upon those who wielded the Dark Side.

He blinks as the rest sinks in. "Ahsoka... Tano?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Full on Sith. Goes with the Darth part, is my understanding." Maul had said 'formerly Darth', about himself. Although as far as Ezra could tell, in the end, all that meant was he had done awful things to serve his own ends rather than the Emperor's.

Then he nods. "Ahsoka Tano. As of a few days before I wound up here, she was alive."

[out_of_order]

"Guess he's been busy with other things to go after a random padawan," Cal sighs, relieved but no less concerned that someone like that is lurking somewhere. "Think I'd rather take my chances with the Second Sister."

News about Ahsoka being alive is also a relief. "I didn't know her personally, but I'm glad to hear it." It's always good to have that confirmation that there are others still alive out there.

[ezra_of_lothal]

"It's not just you," Ezra tries to reassure. He could talk about the older version of Master Kenobi on Tatooine, or talking to Master Yoda through the temple on Lothal, but between the a general caution about secrecy and not wanting to overwhelm Cal, that's not for right now, he decides.

"And people here - they know you're a Jedi, right?"

[out_of_order]

Those words mean a lot, especially coming from someone who's probably farther ahead in the future than he is. Cal may not remember it later, whenever the Agrii decide to send him home, but just the confirmation that there are others is encouraging. He swallows, looking grateful for that reassurance as he nods.

"...yeah. Well, those I've really gotten to know, anyway. I only got this finished recently." He clips the lightsaber back onto his belt. "I wasn't the first person who could use the Force, though. There were a couple of others here before me, but they've been sent back, I think."

[ezra_of_lothal]

"It almost sounds like someone's cycling through people to try to find the right skill set," Ezra muses.

[out_of_order]

"Maybe," Cal concedes with a shrug. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme nor reason for who leaves and who stays. "There used to be more from our galaxy. Some from a long time before even the Clone Wars." He chuckles a little. "It was also kind of strange that until I came here I'd never seen nor met a Chiss before, and here I've met three."

[ezra_of_lothal]

His eyes narrow a little. "Chiss. Blue skin and red eyes, right?"

[out_of_order]

Maybe they're not so rare as he thought? But it is a big galaxy, and who knows where Ezra's been. Cal nods. "Yeah. You've met one?"

[ezra_of_lothal]

"Just the one, and I don't think it's widely known what species he is." But Kallus, former IBS agent had known. "Grand Admiral Thrawn. He was in charge of the fleet blockading Lothal. We were kind of in the middle of a stand off when I got pulled here."

[out_of_order]

"...."

There's obvious recognition of the name for the look that crosses the padawan's face. "...he was here, him and another Imperial." Both had long since vanished, presumably deposited back to whatever timeline they'd come from.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Ezra stares backs. "Uh. Are there Imperials here now?"

[out_of_order]

Cal raises his hands in placation. "Oh no, no- they've been gone for some time. A lot of the people that were from more familiar territory to us have... It was just me and a pilot named Poe Dameron for a good while. He's from further along than either of us."

[ezra_of_lothal]

He breathes out in relief. He wonders if Cal is deliberately not mentioning Master Kenobi being around.

"Still, that's...interesting I guess isn't the right word. Seems like the definition of hero is, um, flexible."

[out_of_order]

"With the Agrii who can really say. There's already been proof of communication issues," Cal admits with a shrug. "The other Chiss that had been here claimed to be a Sith. And then there was another person who didn't say he was a Sith but he wielded a red lightsaber. I guess there's little point in wondering now since they've all gone."

He scratches his head. "But I guess someone's figured our galaxy's a good one to fish around for people to pull in, because since then we've had quite a few show up in the recent...months?" Keeping track of days here is difficult.