Private Culling Voices

[Shai Maji]

Coruscant | Jedi Temple
Tags: Valery Noble

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The disaster on Rodia was something Shai could never have predicted, and she had a variety of colourful words she would have loved to hurl at Siv and his rash decisions. But this trip wasn't for that, it was to try and quell a concern that was steadily growing in the back of her mind. Valery was on Rodia, they saw each other and they both knew what the situation meant. War was on the horizon, and they were going to be caught on opposing sides if things kept up like this. It was only a matter of time.

She needed to see her sister before it was too late. So the Wardog did what anyone would expect of her to do. Clad in her armour, Shai marched up the stairs of the Jedi temple's front door and came to a halt when a number of temple guards halted her with lightsabers at the ready. "I'm here to see Valery Noble." She declared calmly as she removed her helmet and lit a cigarette. Padawans looked on in a mixture of awe and fear, and knights watched her with a readiness she would have expected from her own kin. With the tensions between the Mandalorians and the Jedi, she wasn't too surprised by the action. The temple guards remained stalwart in front of her, their expressionless masks fixated on her every move. Was this how it felt when she stood across from someone?

Shai slowly raised her vambrace and opened a channel to Valery's commlink. "Hey, Val... I'm at the front door. By the way, these guards of yours could use some table manners." She remarked as she glared at them. "So yeah, if you ain't too busy... could you tell 'em to back off, please?" She continued, closing the channel as she flashed a toothy grin at them.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Shai Maji

"Really?"

That's all Valery could say when she showed up at the doors of the Temple to see Shai in full armor standing there. But perhaps she shouldn't really act surprised at all. This was exactly what she could have expected from the woman. Valery let out a sigh and with a gesture of her head, told the Temple Guards to step down. Younglings, Padawans and Knights were still watching, but many decided to leave it to their leader.

"This is not a great time to walk up to the Jedi Temple in full Mandalorian armor, you know," Valery then said, but after just a second or two of frustration in her eyes, she began to smirk.

It had to be Shai of all people, huh?

"It's uh, good to see you, though I wish it had been under better circumstances."

 

[Shai Maji]

Naturally it didn't take long for the Sword to make her way to the lobby, and a smiling Shai was waiting for her with squared shoulders and outstretched arms. "You should know by now! Rufflin' feathers is my favourite hobby!" She quipped with a chuckle. The moment the temple guards backed off, Shai closed the distance and pulled Valery into an embrace. "Don't be so pessimistic." She retorted almost immediately at Valery's greeting before pointing to the inside of the temple.

"You got somewhere for us to talk?" She glanced at the temple guards and the surrounding Jedi for a moment. "Preferably without the walls listening or watching us. Maybe that snazzy penthouse suite at the top for all the masters?" She flashed a wink at Valery as a hand rested on her hip. It didn't take a Jedi to realize the desire Shai had to stand in that special chamber for the council. This was, after all, her best chance at crossing another achievement off her bucket list.

Her face sunk a little as she leaned in a little. "We got a lot to talk about." She spoke with a low, serious voice. Even Shai couldn't keep up the smiles and giggles with everything at stake.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Shai Maji

Valery did not deny Shai the embrace, and after a second or two, even leaned into it. This hug served as a reminder that not all was lost with the rising tensions between their people. But it didn't mean that there wasn't a lot to talk about, so after she pulled back and Shai asked for a quiet place to talk, she dipped her head. The Temple wasn't a common place for Jedi to invite outsiders to, but this one time, Valery felt that it might be a good idea.

A sign of trust that would hopefully resonate with her former allies.

"Yeah, let's go up to the Council Chambers. Just don't touch anything and keep your butt out of my seat," Valery said with a brief grin on her face before she too got a little more serious. The weight of what they were about to discuss hadn't escaped her, so it was time to address it all.

After a short walk to the turbo-lift, Valery brought Shai up to the room Jedi Masters had used for thousands of years to lead the Jedi in the Galaxy. But rather than sit down and talk to Shai like she was a visiting Padawan, Valery remained standing and walked over to the large windows, so she could look across Coruscant's skyline.

"I wanted to thank you for helping stop the fighting on Rodia," Valery finally said, choosing to start this conversation off on a good note.

 

[Shai Maji]

A snicker escaped the Shistavanen as she followed after Valery. "Oh please, I'm gonna sit in all of 'em." She quipped. In the turbolift ride up to the council chamber, Shai was brimming with anticipation and excitement. Never in her wildest dreams would she have ever seen herself in that chamber... mostly. Waving a hydrospanner around as a kid and making noises did come pretty close.

The moment the doors opened, Shai paused and studied the room with a gentle smile. It was... quaint. Pristine. She wasn't really sure what to expect, but that didn't stop her from taking up a good angle for a photo of the chairs and the skyline outside. Her throat tightened up a little as she studied the picture. "For Ma. She won't believe me even if I told her." She remarked, just in case Valery was concerned over the photo. "Her old life's catchin' up to her. Eyes are starting to go. Dunno how long she'll have left." She admitted softly, wandering over to stand beside Valery for a breath-taking view of Coruscant.

"I wanted to thank you for helping stop the fighting on Rodia,"

"Siv's a shabuir. If it was an imperial or a karkin' sith then yeah, take 'em out back and put a hole in their head. He's quick to forget that the Jedi's been our people's closest allies for over forty years at this point. I was fightin' alongside Jedi when the Union retook Mandalore." She spared a glance at Valery for a moment. "And Kranak's also scaring me now. He's the one that sought me out and brought me back. I was planning on kicking back with Xyoz and chasing after Yuri to get him out of his habits. Kran asked me to rejoin the armed forces, help take back the territory we lost." She turned her gaze back out to the skyline, letting a moment of silence linger. "The fact that he's entertaining Siv is scaring me." She admitted softly.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Shai Maji

"Oh please, I'm gonna sit in all of 'em."

Valery rolled her eyes but quickly smirked, not just because of the comment, but also because of how excited Shai seemed to be about going up there. Granted, it was highly uncommon for someone who wasn't a Jedi to be there, but it hadn't been that long ago that Shai was a very important representative of her people. To Valery, she still was and always would be. So she didn't feel bad about bringing Shai up there at all.

It also served as a sign of the respect she still had, and hopefully would retain.

"You're fine, there's nothing special about this room, really," Valery said after Shai took a picture, though it was pretty clear it was special to some people. The idea that her mother was declining made her frown, since she had met the woman during her trip on Kestri. She had seemed so lively back then. "Hopefully she'll be around plenty long still, and I'm sure she'll love the photo," Valery said with a warm smile while her sis joined her by the window.

The words that followed at first made Valery feel some relief — Shai agreed that what Siv did was not the way to go forward. But what she said about Kranak made her frown much deeper, "Kranak, really? I was right there with him on Rothana when the Maw attacked, and now he's possibly turning against the Jedi too?" She sighed and raised a hand up through her hair.

"Why did it have to come to this? I just... don't understand."

 

[Shai Maji]

Valery was understandably taken back by Kranak's apparent involvement, though Shai raised a hand to stop her. "I'm gonna go over to him and kick his door down once I'm done here. I just... wanted to see you first. I wanted to make sure this mess wasn't causing a headache between us." She commented with a faint smile, which quickly sunk with Valery's next remark.

"I don't either. I'm... I'm scared on where this mess is going. What it's gonna mean for us, for my people... for Yuri." She looked at Valery with desperate, battered eyes. "I'm tired, Val... I'm so tired. Of all this. The wars, the bodies, the loss... If I have to draw my guns again in a hundred years, it'll still be too soon." She admitted with a soft voice.

Rather unintentionally Shai followed through with part of her threat and sank into one of the chairs. Her head rested in her palm as she closed her eyes. "I don't want this, Val. I don't want to be in this position where I'll be forced to pick between you or my people. Between my two families. I don't want to lose what I've fought so hard for to get and hold onto." She muttered, massaging her head. "I can't just turn my back and plead neutral either. I'm... I'm so tired of this. All I can hope for is the bright chance of not having to see where this mess will go." She looked up at her sister as tears began to creep into her gaze.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Shai Maji

"Between us personally? No, but..." She knew that it was going to change a lot between their people, and that could ultimately lead to a rift between them as well. Whether they wanted that rift to be there or not. Valery then watched Shai plop down into one of the seats, and even though she had joked about it earlier, Valery didn't say a word. Not with the way Shai was looking at her. This was difficult for them both, but far harder on her.

She was the one truly trapped in the middle.

"I hope this won't escalate further either, but if I look at it realistically..." she sighed deeply and frowned. "I fear that what happened on Rodia is only the beginning, and the Jedi aren't going to do nothing and watch it continue. The Alliance will fear that the Enclave's current path will turn against them too at some point and it'll be war."

Valery moved over to a chair herself and sat down. "I'm not sure if I see a way out right now, though I'm not giving up on the idea that we can have peace."