A faulty saleswoman, (Maja Vern)

[Darth Zilti]

There was a flash of the Maja of old. Her jaw jutted defiantly and a tear was close to surfacing, her mind racing with a retort of self-defence, preparing to put the shutters back up in an instant. But credit to her that the process lasted but a few moments and she was able to control her emotions.

"I...I...I never had parents. Never. And when I was little I used to imagine what it was like to have them. And I heard others talk of their mothers or fathers and the things they'd done together. I was angry at first - angry that I'd been denied a family. Then I was jealous - I wanted what they'd had. Then both and finally...nothing. I'd forgotten my childish thoughts until now. When I think back to my time on all of those ships and I used to imagine what my mother would be like - kind and caring and pretty and playing games with me and teaching me things...well that's what you've done, isn't it. You'd be a great mother you know. The best."

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

Alex stood there, stunned. Completely and utterly as she just stared, listening to every word, replaying every word, shifting between sadness, pity, annoyance, anger, and most of all caring. It was a bit all too great of a change in the tone of the conversation but that was not that stunned her, that all she could handle as it happened to her too, what she was stunned by was the last sentence, something that ironically had been worrying her because of a certain situation she would already soon be in.

 

[Darth Zilti]

"Have I upset you?" Maja couldn't read Alexandra's emotions but she could understand a long silence. "Or offended you in some way?"

Part of her wanted to go and give Alexandra a hug - partly for her own benefit and also to offer some comfort to her host too. But she refrained - her lack of understanding of the social clues around the sharing of positive emotions held her back. So she settled for a virtual hug and waited for the kindest woman she'd ever met to speak again.

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"No, you haven't upset me, just a bit surprised is all, somewhat like what you are." She smiled and looked towards the food again before grinning. "Hey, its burning." She pointed down at the food that was still in the pan and smiled a bit wider as she lifted her hand, turning off the stove and smiling as she removed the pan from the burner.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja smiled from relief as Alexandra assured her she'd done nothing wrong. "Oh, I'm full of surprises," Maja said, a playful element to her voice. "Except to you I'm like an open book. I suspect I could never truly surprise you."

Her eyes switched to the food and grew larger than the plates Alexandra was going to place the eggs on. "They smell divine," she said as she edged closer and closer to the food - her nose audibly sniffing the air as she took in the aroma. Grabbing a fork, she looked as though she would stab anyone who came between her and the eggs.

"Now?" she asked, her eyes turning to Alexandra. Despite her relatively poor manners and her genuine hunger, she had the presence of mind to wait until invited to eat.

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

She laughed and nodded, waving her hand to the food as she herself grabbed a fork and poked into the egg. Pulling it apart she took a bite and smiled. "Very good indeed..." She smiled, looking at her for a moment, the smile wider. "So much for being tired ehh?" She stepped back and leaned on a counter, sighing as she herself was getting a bit tired.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja could contain herself no longer. She devoured her portion of eggs as if she was starving - which wasn't far from the truth in reality. The thing is, she'd been hungry for so long now that she was used to the pangs - and didn't think of it as anything other than normal. That she had any muscle left on her frame was probably;y due to the Force in some subconscious way - regulating her metabolism in case she actually starved.

Maja's nose wrinkled as she looked up at Alexandra. The woman seemed tired and guilt quickly set in. "I'm so sorry, I'm keeping you up. It's just this has been such a special day - I don't want it to end. Have you ever had a day like that - so perfect that you're frightened to go to bed because you know tomorrow will be an anti-climax by definition?"

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Don't worry about it, ive stayed up longer and for lesser reasons than this. I can stay up a bit longer than simply now and i know what you mean. There was a similar situation not long ago, where i didn't want it to end, where i wanted the day and subsequently the week to never end, but the end is only the beginning Maja. You see when it ends you will find yourself wanting it to continue even longer and will work for it, making your life better with each stride and smiling wide as you do."

 

[Darth Zilti]

"Tell me about my future.". Maja popped a hand under her chin and rested her elbow on the table. "What's it going to be like? What can I achieve?"

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"What do you want to achieve Maja? I cannot control your path no more than the grass or the wind can. Your path is your own to choose, and when you find that path that is right for you i will be more than glad to support and stand beside you. Just as i started in a cave, with a singular purpose that was put into design by someone else, i have had a hard life, but i have found the key to surviving such. And you are someone who was in such a situation not too far from mine, the difference being is it took a Sith to put me on the path that i am on. And for you, its a simple matter of this, i have given you your bridge and now it is time for you to cross it and move on to the next path, one that only you can forge."

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja understood the words but struggled with the meaning. Perhaps she just wanted Alexandra to make all the decisions for her. Either way, she sighed deeply.

"The thing is, I don't know what's possible. I want it all but I don't know how much 'all' is. It could be thing big," and she moved her thumb and first finger a couple of centimetres apart. "Or this big," and now she opened her arms as wide as they could go.

"I mean, what determines how much you can learn or do, and how do you measure it?"

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"You can't measure it, you jjust know when your end has been reached and how much further you can go after the point that you reached. Everything that happens can only be altered by your will, and the stronger it is the stronger you are in the end. Find something you believe in, find something to drive for, find anything that you can place your feat behind and that is as far as i can promise things but not always what can be truly understood in the end."

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja listened to Alexandra. The words sounded wise but she had no context for them - this was all too new for her. But one part she did understand and so she latched on to it - trying desperately to gain some better understanding of her situation.

"But what if I don't believe in anything? I thought I did. I just wanted money. Money and power. OK, that's two things." She didn't laugh at the humour of her words. Her knitted brow indicated she was taking this very seriously. "I...I...I think I want someone to tell me what to do - but what I'm hearing is that isn't how it works. And even if it did, I suspect I'd rebel against it anyway."

"Am I making any sense?

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]"

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Yes... i have a question that will determine what kind of path you shall follow in terms of your future." She stepped back and would lead Maja out of the room and towards one of the meditation rooms. Once there she would spin and shut the door before closing her eyes and focusing as two things appeared in her outstretched hands.

In her right was a light or pure white, while the left held a void of pure darkness, and for a moment Alexandra shuddered and suddenly there was two of her standing there, one being part illusion and part very very real. The Real alex remained no different from before she had crafted the illusion, her body and clothing still the same and the only difference was that the real alex held the pure white light. The other Alex was just as real, her form being the thing that was fake though. Hel, which was the name of the entity that took form through the illusion, smiled as she looked like a mirror opposite of Alexandra. Her hair was midnight black, shifting as if moving on its own and her eyes a cold crimson red. Her robes also a mass of shadows that wrapped around her and in her hands was the void of pure darkness. Once the two were Settled Alexandra would speak.

"The Force is popularly split between two things, the Light and the Dark, everything you are seeing is both fake and both very very real. But i will explain that after. I use the version more associated with the Jedi, it is called the Ashla. This version of the force is aligned with happiness, joy, love, benevolence, calmness and following a selfless code to protect those that cannot protect themselves. It is concerned with keeping your mind clear while also relying on the lighter emotions as well as being considered a the good version of the two. It also drives power from the want to protect and defend those you love... but love is a thin line..." She paused and the other version of her spoke, far differently though.

Hel's voice sounded rough and harsh, filled with all the hate and pain that Alexandra had thrown into Hel. "The Dark side of the force draws upon what is considered darker emotions. These include selfishness, greed, hate, anger, pain, jealousy, lust and most chiefly fear. Known popularly to be used by the Sith, it is due to is destructive and much more volatile nature of the form of force use. The power you will gain in the darkside will be unrestrained and much more easily gained, but not only that but power and wealth are easy things for those that follow this path..."

Alexandra would start speaking once more as she smiled. "But know that following one path is not as simple as learning each's powers. Those of the Jedi can still follow a dark path if they do not keep their path, no force power is inherently evil, it is what you do with that force power that makes you dark or good. But most do not believe in that, so you are left with the question of which path it is that you want to follow Maja."

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja followed Alexandra. That was always the problem when you asked a question – you got an answer. And you had no control over how much you were going to like it.

She watched Alexandra with awe. Stories about the Force are one thing – but seeing it? Maja held still. Part of her wanted to run when she saw what Alexandra was doing - but she decided to trust her host.

So Maja listened to the ‘Light’ Alexandra. It sounded like a soppy fairytale that parents would tell their children. It bore no relation to real life as she knew it. Benevolence? Selfless? But that was kind of how she saw Alexandra, so she was conflicted.

The Dark Alexandra resonated more – but when she heard the words they sounded wrong. Pain and fear weren’t anything she wished on others – but then greed and lust had their good points. Again, she had mixed feelings.

Alexandra had probably predicted the answer before it left Maja’s lips.

“But what if I don’t want to choose one of the other. What if I want to pick the best bits from each one? Do this my way?”

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

Alexandra smiled and the illusions vanished, Alexandra standing there with her hands crossed behind her and a smile wide as she looked at the side of the wall. "Well, then you are grey, or even as the Aing-tii put it you are one of the very levels of the force. There is a drawback though in following the path of the grey, as you will not be able to effectively use the most powerful of the dark and lightsided abilities. You will never be as strong as someone devoted to the light or the dark as a grey force user... but you will understand far more than both sides and you will come to realize that everything you do is completely as you determine. Unrestricted by your need to stay focused on one side of the force. "

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja’s brow furrowed. This concept had its good and its bad side – but then it seemed everything Alexandra had told her was like that. And she hated choices. If there was a path she was to follow, she wanted it all – or at least the parts that suited her. Being told that she could not be as strong as either side wasn’t a limit to her – it was a challenge. Wasn’t that what rules were for – to be broken?

“So do you need to know what aspects of each I like to start my training? Is there like a timetable of classes and I have to choose the ones I want? If my questions seem naïve, its because this isn’t just new to me – its foreign. I feel a bit of a fool that I don’t know and I don’t like the feeling. Not one bit."

Maja ran her finger over the already empty plate, trying to find any morsel she might have missed first time around. She yawned again. “That shower sounds kinda neat now.” She beamed at Alexandra. “I think tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life. And then the next, and then the next. Things can only get better.”

And that, more than her questions were the true measure of her innocence and immaturity.

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"How about you get that shower and turn in for the night, we can talk about your training tomorrow, and start it once you are settled in and ready to work towards your future on a full stomach, a warm shower, and a nice long nap in a comfy bed." She smiled and walked over before patting Maja on the head, eyes running over the face of the woman that was only a few years behind her in age.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja thanked Alexandra and - once the adrenaline of the day had settled down - realised just how tired she was. But the shower sounded divine.

So she made her way to the room she'd been allocated (she certainly didn't think of it as her room yet). She made straight for the shower and collected every bottle she could find and took them in with her. Maja kept herself clean but it was a basic level of cleanliness. Cold-water showers on freighters or a quick hand-wash in public facilities were the best she could manage as a rule. Now she had instant hot-water. And not on a timer either.

Every potion and sweet-smelling liquid was tried and re-tried. She wasn't exactly heavy but she felt kilos lighter after the experience. Dousing herself in deodorant and perfume, she threw herself on the bed. It was way too soft for someone who wasn't used to a proper mattress and had she not been so tired, she would have struggle to get to sleep. Instead she fell immediately into a deep slumber in precisely the same spot she'd landed on the bed.

But it was no ordinary day and therefore no ordinary night. Her latent powers had been awakened and who was to tell how they would manifest themselves? So she slept and she dreamed. And as it had been an eventful day, so it became an eventful dream. Very eventful.

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]