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

[ezra_of_lothal]

The Emperor is about as pure evil as a person can get, I think. He's made genocide and mass enslavement standard policy, in the name of order and peace.

And I'm pretty sure he would tear apart the fabric of time and space if he thought it would get him power. As in, I'm not exactly sure what his plan was, and what he would have gotten out of it, but he tried to use the memory of my parents against me to get me to do something like that.

It's hard to do good, when that's the guy at the top.

[doubled_speed]

Speaking from experience, time and space aren't things anyone should tear apart. At all. It's never pretty for anyone.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[He grins, ruefully.] You know, I kinda guess that might be the case? Don't worry I destroyed the um - let's call it the fulcrum for that nexus in the Force. If the Jedi of old had a technical term, I don't know it.

Something you have experience with, huh?

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, my family history isn't very respective of, you know, time or reality.

[ezra_of_lothal]

And I thought my last few weeks were pretty weird.

I don't even know what to ask.

[doubled_speed]

Usually easiest, when people talk about their histories here, to smile and nod.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Ezra's skeptical, because that sounds kind of like brushing people off. On the other hand-]

Hey, if you don't want to talk about that sort of stuff, I won't pry.

[doubled_speed]

Nah, most people just get headaches.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Probably can't be worse than some of the Force visions I've had.

[doubled_speed]

Well, what's your stance on magic, demons, babies as hands, and reincarnation?

[ezra_of_lothal]

Magic's not a completely new experience, depending on how you define magic, I guess. Jedi gets called sorcerers, sometimes, and the force wielders on Dathomir were called witches. Some of my weirdness in the last few weeks is my teacher may have been reincarnated as a twenty foot tall wolf. Or maybe just possessed it? Not clear, really.

I'm not sure what makes a demon a demon, either.

Babies as hands. Are we talking literal hands, here?

[doubled_speed]

Literal babies for hands, like, grafted on there. Wrists ended abruptly in baby tummies. It was horrible.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[He can't even fake not being grossed out.]

Who did this to people? And why?

[doubled_speed]

[Yeah, that's what he thought.]

Master Pandemonium, because he thought we were parts of his soul, and he did apologize.

[ezra_of_lothal]

I don't understand. I mean, I'd like to, but I don't.

Why would he think that, and why would it make him...do that?

[doubled_speed]

Because we were made from fractured bits of the soul of another demon. So he got confused.

He wanted to be whole.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Well, Ezra can actually see how that might be confusing. Sort of.]

Who's...we? You, and?

[doubled_speed]

My brother and I. It's quite a bit of an experience to have died for.

[What? He thinks it's interesting.]

[ezra_of_lothal]

So..when you mentioned reincarnation, you were talking about yourself?

[doubled_speed]

Yep. Me and my twin. We died and were reincarnated about ten years before we were born

[ezra_of_lothal]

[He has no idea how that works, but he's just going with it.]

So that other life, is that something you always remembered or did you find out about it somehow?

[doubled_speed]

I don't remember any of it. But I've been told about it, at times.

[ezra_of_lothal]

By people you trusted already?

[doubled_speed]

Yes. Useless to listen to strangers.

[ezra_of_lothal]

I dunno about useless, always. If I never listened to strangers, I never would have gotten to be part of my second family.

But yeah, it would probably take a lot of trust to believe something that important about myself.