Private Dark Crystal: Win in the End

[Katarine Ryiah]

Location: New Jedi Order Temple
Objective: Speak with member of Jedi Council
Tags: Valery Noble

I stood empty handed
Like a seagull stranded
Watching all the other seagulls soar​

Months after her awakening, Jedi Katarine Ryiah travels to Coruscant to seek members of the Jedi Council. The Galactic Alliance now stands where the Republic once did, and sources tell the young Jedi that the New Jedi Order holds the location of the Jedi Council. Katarine cannot remember much of her past, which healers say is a byproduct of the long stasis she was in. With no idea what rank she held, or who she really is, Katarine is uncertain if the Jedi will accept her. Will she be asked to take the trials now? How different is the New Jedi Order than the one she remembers? The Sword of the Jedi, Valery Noble, may hold the answers for Ryiah. ​

Katarine took a deep breath as she glanced around the marble statues in the halls. They showed great Jedi and political leaders, but none of their faces looked familiar. Her deep green eyes roved over some of the people she saw walking around. She wasn't sure how to feel. After Order 66 she never thought she would live to see the Jedi Order fully restored again. Seeing the temple had made her heart soar, but there was every possibility that this order was nothing like the one she remembered, or at least barely remembered. There were big black holes in Katarine's memory. She could see flashes of her training as a Jedi, and she felt certain she had been one, but how had she survived the purge? What was her rank in the Order? Would she be allowed to join the New Jedi Order? It was the Councils decision, or at least it would have been back in the day. Now she had no idea how it worked. Maybe she was no longer fit to be a Jedi.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

A Jedi through time.

Of all Jedi in the Order, Valery understood it best — she had been born in the days of the Old Republic, and woken up thousands of years later. Katarine Ryiah had gone through a similar journey, and as with others who had gone through it, a lot of questions remained. Perhaps about the current state of things, but also about how to move forward. The Jedi have changed a lot over even just the last few decades, so finding one's place wasn't always easy for Jedi from the past.

But Valery felt confident that she could help Katarine with that.

"You must be Katarine Ryiah?" Valery asked after making her way down from the Council Chambers to meet the woman in the halls. She offered her a warm smile, and bowed her upper body to show respect.

"I'm Jedi Master Valery Noble, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I hope the journey here wasn't too taxing?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Valery Noble

---

Katarine was greeted by a tall and powerfully built woman who introduced herself as Master Noble. Katarine bowed in return.

"Master Noble, It is an honor."


"......I hope the journey here wasn't too taxing?"

She supposed the journey from the Prime Jedi Conclave to the New Jedi Order had not been taxing, but if you counted the thousand year stasis it was a lot more complex.

"It was just... very long." The corners of her mouth twitched slightly upwards at her own joke, but she wasn't sure about Master Noble yet so she wanted to be on her best behavior and get down to business.

"Thank you for seeing me today. I'm not sure if you will have all the records of the Jedi during my time period. I know I was a member of the Jedi Order, but when I try to think back all I see are big black periods. I can't recall anything of significance. I don't know what my rank was, or if I took the trials, or large chunks of my past. I imagine things have changed so much since my time though. Even if I cannot remember what is different surely many things are? Do the Jedi still live by the old ways?"

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"It was just... very long."

Valery blinked, then chuckled and offered the woman a bright smile, "Very fair," she said, clearly amused. But with Katarine explaining her situation a little more seriously, Valery put her humorous thoughts aside and listened intently. As expected, there were some concerns, but a question about the Jedi as well.

One Valery could answer quite easily.

"In many ways, we do. We follow the Jedi Code and live by the same principles for the most part. Our duty is to protect life, and we work together with this Alliance to protect the freedom it offers," Valery began. "There are differences with the Jedi of your time, however, but I believe them to be good ones. For one, we're no longer generals — Jedi of the NJO have no official positions within the Alliance."

"We're not meddling in politics, and we're not commanding armies." That was one very major thing that Valery disliked about the Jedi of the Clone Wars — they turned into soldiers above all else.

"We're also not as strict on attachments. Jedi can still choose not to engage in them, but it's an individual's choice. Myself, and many others, believe that allowing those attachments makes us far more approachable and able to empathize with people. As long as the risks are still taken seriously, of course."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Valery Noble

---

It was a relief to see Master Noble laugh. Sometimes the Council had been so serious in the old days that they came off as frightening. It was good to see that now humor could help heal, which Katharine always believed it did.

She nodded as Master Noble spoke and found herself puzzled, but hopeful. If the Jedi did not have military ranks did they still fight amongst the armies of the Republic? Or .. she supposed it was The Alliance now. There was a lot to remember. She had a million questions but no idea what order to ask them in. She also didn’t want to waste too much of Master Nobles time. Certainly some of this information would be in an archive somewhere. If they even still had the archives.

“Do the Jedi fight in wars along with the Alliance?”

She was hopeful all of the fighting had ended when the Rebellion defeated the Empire.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"They do," Valery confirmed to make sure that there was no doubt about it. "The dynamic is just very different. Jedi are protectors, so we do defend the people of the Alliance against the Sith or whatever threat comes our way. That means we'll be on the frontlines, alongside soldiers of the Alliance. We just don't command them, but work together." Jedi shouldn't be soldiers first, as far as she was concerned, so this change was among the most important to her.

"During the last war, we were quite successful with it, and now, the Mandalorians recently attacked us," Valery said with a frown. There was a lot of baggage there, and she wasn't quite ready to open up about it all.

"I wish it weren't necessary, but the Alliance is constantly being threatened."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Valery Noble

---

The Mandalorians had attacked? Katarine tried to remember back to what she knew about Mando culture. She had read there were clashes with the Jedi in the past, but out right attacks? Her head felt like it was spinning. Things were different but also the same. Would the wars ever stop? It seemed like even a thousand years in the future the fighting was still going. It was easy to get disillusioned. Yet she also sensed that this was a tough topic and that the strong Jedi woman in front of her may not want to discuss it. The details might be best left undisclosed for now.

"What is to happen to me Master Noble?

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Valery paused at that question, knowing just how important it was. When she had just gotten out of stasis, she had also spent some time to learn about the current state of the Galaxy. But after that, she had gone on a meditative retreat for over a year to center herself, and figure out her place. Later, with the help of friends and her now-husband, Valery discovered what she was meant to become in the Galaxy.

Hopefully, she could offer Katarine that guidance now as well.

"Well, I'd like to offer you guidance to figure that out. A lot of our Jedi haven't gone through the serious training that the Jedi once had in the past. Yet we still recognize them as Knights, not for the fact that they passed all the traditional trials, but because of their heart and willingness to do what a Jedi Knight is supposed to do." She offered a soft smile and then continued.

"That said, our training has improved and the new generation is getting a more traditional training, but to me, the most important thing is what you feel ready for. If you need help to figure that out, I'd be more than happy to offer it."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Valery Noble

---

Katarine listened to what Master Noble was saying and nodded. She could understand nontraditional training. After Order 66 that was really the only type of training many Jedi had, or so she assumed. She was glad to see that training was coming back though because it meant there were padawans and that the Jedi Order was once again thriving instead of just surviving. Losing your entire organization in one fast blow had been hard.

"I'd like that, I"m just not sure where to start. On my way here I heard of the Prime Jedi Conclave. Are there many splinter groups of Jedi now?"

She wondered if the Jedi Order was more fractured these days.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Valery blinked and rubbed the back of her neck, "I can't say I've heard of them, so they aren't part of the New Jedi Order. But even in the past, there were separate enclaves as well, so it doesn't surprise me." She paused and let out a soft sigh. "I don't think there are many, and I hope that the few out there don't turn their backs on the rest of the Jedi. There have been enclaves who distanced themselves almost entirely, but we are at our strongest together," Valery said with a warm smile. There had been a time when she wanted to make her own Enclave on Spintir.

But she decided against it, in favor of joining the NJO to defeat the Brotherhood of the Maw.

"We're all Jedi with similar values, after all. Luckily though, I believe the vast majority of the Jedi are with our Order, even if they're stationed elsewhere."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Valery Noble

---

Katarine had never really experienced the time when there were a bunch of Jedi groups. In the time before the Rebellion they had been more centralized but she had heard during the old republic era there was more division. She wasn't sure if that was true. At this point she was glad just to see a Jedi presence in the galaxy at all, given what she had gone through with Order 66.

"I'm just not sure how to find my path. In my time we served the Republic, but I feel out of sorts. It would be hard to serve when I don't even know what the politics are anymore."

She knew helping people was a good calling. Sometimes Jedi were basically social workers. Perhaps the galaxy needed some of that. She was not sure.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Valery rubbed the back of her neck and offered a sheepish smile, "Well, the Alliance functions similarly to your Republic in a lot of ways. Politicians are still... Politicians." She chuckled softly and let out a soft sigh while her eyes wandered around the Temple halls for a moment.

"We still serve the same values, but we just have a bit more autonomy. Without official positions, we're less likely to be blinded by power and politics, so we can commit to our duties much better." This was one thing Valery would always sound very passionate about.

"I think you would fit right in. Maybe first as a Jedi Knight, and we can observe together and perhaps offer you a more formal ceremony to be made a Master, if we all feel it's the will of the Force?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tag: Valery Noble

---

Katarine couldn’t help but chuckle at the sheepish look on Master Nobles face. Back in her day Katarine had truly hated when her duties forced her to work with politicians. She assumed this time period would be no different. Actually the separation from the politics sounded like a welcome relief.

It was a surprise that Master Noble was willing to offer Kat the rank of knight even without any evidence of her training. Perhaps things had relaxed a little to value training and experience more outside of tradition. That was a relief too. Sometimes the old ways could be stifling.

“It would be an honor to serve The New Jedi Order.”

The will of the Force was Kats main concern as well. She didn’t know if she could serve if she felt she didn’t truly deserve the rank given to her. Would she always feel like an uncertain padawan? Would she ever get her memories back? There were big blank holes in her memory. She could remember some things but others were lost.

After a few more minutes pleasant conversation a service droid was summoned to show Katarine to a room in the Temple. Master Noble would check in with Kat tomorrow after Kat had time to eat, sleep and refresh.

The room was a small dormitory room that looked as if padawan might use it and it made Kat smile when she entered as memories of her own days as a padawan came flooding back. Perhaps being surrounded by other Jedi would help with Katarine's memory.

After a meal and a shower Katarine found a fresh set of clothes placed on her bed. She was thankful because her current outfit was about a century out of fashion. The thought made her chuckle.

Before bed she sat cross legged and closed her deep green eyes. The conversation from today and the worry that she didn't know her history was weighing heavily on her. She tried to remember even a glimpse of her masters face but there was only darkness. Surely she must have reached the level of Jedi Knight?

For hours the woman sat in absolute silence, feeling the ebb and tide of the Force. She let it wash through her, into her , and over her until she was so deeply in that she may appear sleeping. Mostly when she did this it was just peaceful but today there was an image that she tried to focus on. Something about it was eerily familiar and important...

---

The Following Morning

Katarine was waiting for Master Noble outside in the Temple gardens. It felt so peaceful here and it warmed her heart. She had truly never thought she would see Jedi gardens again.

---

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"We would be honored to have you," Valery said, and both her tone and smile showed she was genuine. Even though Katarine's circumstances had meant a less than traditional promotion, she carried herself as a wise and calm Jedi. There was no doubt in Valery's mind that, as long as she felt confident in her skills herself, that she'd have a positive influence on the other Jedi in the order. From Padawans to Knights.

She just needed a little nudge in the right direction, and perhaps some help and time to get settled. That's where Valery knew she could assist quite a lot — she had gone through something very similar, after all.

"For now, let's get some rest, and I'll see you again soon."

The Next Morning

"Did you sleep well?" Valery asked after she entered the gardens and looked over at Katarine Ryiah . "It's a nice day, hm?" The winter times made even Coruscant quite cold, but there was a clear sky and only a gentle breeze. So, even for someone who disliked the cold like Valery did, it wasn't too bad outside.

A perfect day to be in the gardens.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Valery Noble

---

Katarine felt Master Noble approach and turned to smile at her. She nodded to the question. "Yes, it's very peaceful here. Thank you."

She hopped that Master Noble slept well too, but she felt a nudge to open up about the vision she had last night. Katarine was not an eager padawan. She wasn't jumping at the throat to tell the news, but the Force seemed to indicate that now was the time so she cut the pleasantries a bit short.

"Master Noble, forgive me, but I must share something. Last night I had a vision. I've been concerned about the gaps in my memory. I can't remember my training, or my time as a Jedi. I worry that if I do not feel I've earned my rank and my place within the Jedi Order my performance will suffer and I will let down those who need me. Confidence has always haunted me. Last night as I meditated on this fact I felt the pull of something familiar. Many Jedi who survived the purge recorded their deeds in memory crystals, in the hopes that future generations could piece together history and realize the Jedi were not the aggressors the Empire deemed them to be. I made a crystal too. I feel it calling to me. I think it might help fill in the gaps in my memory and help the Council see who I truly am."

She wasn't sure if that made sense to Valery but the vision had been quite clear last night. She felt certain this might help her.

---

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"I'm glad to hear it," Valery said with a smile. Katarine did seem well-rested, and Valery had managed some good sleep herself, so she was more than ready to tackle another day. That said, she did notice that Katarine had something on her mind. Perhaps something they hadn't gotten to discuss yet yesterday?

Whatever it was, Valery was curious now.

Listening intently to the story, Valery could understand her quite well. She had been blind and left with foggy memory after her time in stasis too, though not to this extent. But if there was a memory crystal out there that could help, it'd be crucial for Katarine to find it.

"Well, then I believe the Force has given you a clear path ahead, hm?" She smiled warmly. "Did the vision give you an idea about where this memory crystal could be? If so, I suggest we go find it together. If you'd rather go alone, I will fully support it, but it might be safer to go together."

"It's also a good opportunity to learn more about each other."

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Valery Noble

---

"It would be an honor to have you accompany me." She bowed and then smiled at Valery. She was quickly growing to like the woman. The gardens were humming with life and song birds. Even here on the busy city planet of Coruscant she could feel the peace that nature had to offer.

"I was found on Naboo, frozen in carbonite. Apparently the planet suffered a great Netherworld event that destroyed a lot of the architecture. The healers cared for me in Theed for three years, worried my hibernation sickness would be life threatening. At times it often was. When I finally recovered they told me the only possessions I had were my lightsabers, which had been frozen with me. I know I took the crystal with me to Naboo, but I do not remember why. I do remember there is an underwater prison there. During my time period the galaxies most dangerous criminals were kept in frozen carbon. It was a secret that many Jedi didn't know about. For some reason I went to that prison and was frozen. I think the crystal must be left in whatever ruins the events of the Netherworld didn't destroy. "

---

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

Naboo.

There was a sparkle of remembrance in Valery's eyes when Katarine mentioned the planet and the event that nearly destroyed it. Valery had been there, together with Briana Sal-Soren , whose family lived there at the time. It had been the first real thing that shook her former Padawan up, but a lot had changed since then. The planet and its infrastructure was largely rebuilt, and Briana was even looking to settle down there with her boyfriend.

Now, they would have to go back into its darker past just a little bit.

"That sounds straightforward enough. We could get some underwater gear and head down there," Valery proposed. "I have a feeling that water will have reclaimed parts of it?"

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Tags: Valery Noble

---

“I think that sounds correct. From what I understand the prison was mostly destroyed. It was built before I was born and kept secret for the most part. Some of the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy were kept there, all in carbon freezing.”

She stopped for a moment and her eyes glazed slightly. A memory was surfacing. She was in a speeder with another Jedi… a large Gungan Jedi.

“I visited there. With a Jedi Master named Ceel. He is the one who revealed the prison to me.”

She smiled at the memory. It was nice to start putting the pieces together. They hibernation sickness had caused so much damage but there was hope her memories would be restored.

---

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant Temple

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Tag: Katarine Ryiah

"Then we have our plan set," Valery said before she gently reached out to place a hand atop Kat's shoulder, "Before we go, I want you to know I understand what this all feels like. If, at any point, you feel overwhelmed, don't be ashamed to let me know, alright?" Valery asked with a sincere smile. "I went through a difficult time after I got out of stasis too, and there's one man who really helped me through it."

"He's now my husband." She chuckled, and even blushed a little while she thought back to meeting Kahlil Noble on New Cov. A memory she thought about a lot, but never lost its importance.

"I'll get the underwater gear ready for us both. You're a little shorter than I am, but I think I can find something that fits. Meet me at the Hangar in an hour?"