He found Desbre in conversation with a man he didn't recognize. He approached the two but kept a respectful distance until a moment arose where he could politely interrupt.
"Please excuse the interruption," Beltran would say, nodding to
Anse Baenshaol
Anse Baenshaol
before meeting
Desbre Gensan
Desbre Gensan
's eyes with his own.
"I apologize for being late, but I wanted to congratulate you on being Knighted. I know you've been working toward this for a long time and nobody deserves it more, Jedi Gensan."
Des stepped away from
Anse Baenshaol
as she spotted several familiar, if not very familiar faces in the crowd, but among them was the Colonel rapidly approaching and parting the people like a bullet through water. Her face lit up with a bright smile. Part of her wanted to at least give him a quick hug, but she held back. "
Oh, I didn't even know they were doing this today. I was late to my own Knighting. Wish I'd had time to get a little more presentable," she said, still aglow. "
Thank you so much for coming. I'm so happy to have you here. And to have something to celebrate. Rather than dodging blaster bolts." Finally, she drew him into a quick embrace, before stepping back. "
And congratulations on making colonel. Can't believe it took the powers that be this long to make it so." Beltran was a top-tier soldier and commander. Smart, tough, and in her mind good people. More than once her life had been in his hands, and she'd trust him still to the ends of the galaxy.
Seeing
Milya Vondar
pushing her way just behind Colonel Rarr, she shifted position so she could still converse with the Colonel but made it easy for Milya to approach. When she did, there was no hesitation. She wrapped the other pale woman into a tight embrace, holding onto her for a few moments. Relief washed over her as she picked upon Milya's state of mind through the Force. She wasn't mad or disappointed but seemed happy and enthusiastic. internally, Des let go of a figurative breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. The last thing she wanted was to upset her friend or to cause a rift. Milya meant too much to her. "
Hey you," she said, stepping back. "
I hoped you'd be here when it happened. I didn't even know this was going down today. I hadn't had a chance to catch up at all since Caltin yanked me out of here and tossed me down on Dagobah."
After a minute or so she gently excused herself from the three. She had to at least make the rounds, though she desperately wanted to catch up with Anse and Milya. There would be time for that later. Spotting
Caedyn Arenais lurking close by she made her way over to the seemingly confused Jedi. Though by now, surely things had cleared up. "
Master Arenais, thank you for coming on such short notice. I set up an invite list for when the ceremony came after I got back from my last Trial. I wanted to thank you personally. Your teachings and counsel helped me a great deal and at a time when I perhaps needed it the most."
Exchanging a few more words with the man, she eventually broke off not wanting to neglect the other guests, there were so many.
When there had been a lull in the conversation, the youth made his way toward the woman of the hour. Bowing respectfully, the boy noted, "Congratulations seems inadequate to express words on this occasion."
Basic seemed a very inflexible language. He struggled with it, but not as much as some others of his Clan. In his accented speech, the boy offered, "Since I am not good at Basic, I hope you will allow me to instead offer the words of my people," the boy offered, in his accented speech, before switching to his native tongue and supplying the obligatory blessing.
"Ama jayirar taole chu."
Seeing Jorah's smaller form milling about the crowd she made her way to the boy, flashing him a bright smile. "
I'm so glad you are here." She'd been through a lot of training with Jorah, as well as having fought for their lives together. In a lot of ways he felt like a brother to her and someone she at least regarded as a friend, despite the age gap. He'd inspired and impressed her on more than one occasion and had done much to inspire confidence and more.
At his native benediction, she bowed her head in acceptance. She didn't know the tongue much at all, but listening through the Force was enough to let her know roughly the idea. "
Thank you so much. The spirits smile upon you as well. May the Force be with you, always." She paused for a moment. "
You and I have been through a lot. And I hope at some point we'll get to do more together. Keep learning, keep growing, little brother."
Des was aware of
Sergeant Omen
and
Phalsi Drynchen
chatting in the corner. Seeing both of them she gave a small smile, paired with a nod. At Phalsi's thumbs-up, she returned it, breaking into a small bit of laughter. The girl was even more introverted than Des was, which was a little hard to believe. But here she was.
Another figure approached and Des turned, seeing Master
Jyoti Nooran
"Well done, Knight Gensan. I expect it won't be too much longer before I can call you a Master for real." A cheeky grin broke her otherwise serene expression, a reference to a previous training encounter.
The Arkanian woman felt her face heating in a blush but broke into a grin. "
Thank you, Master," she replied, remembering that day on the cliffs for Controlled Descent training. The master had practically taken over the class when the previous teacher was a no-show. It turned out to be a rather fun day of sun, swimming, cliff jumping, and ... floating.
Reaching under one of the sleeves of her robes, she presented a small black velvet bag to Gensan.
"A
gift to commemorate your promotion. May you find good use of it in the field."
A gift? That was unexpected and quite thoughtful. More than she really deserved. Covering her mouth and nose with her hands she paused for a moment, then accepted the bag. Gently she opened it to find the amulet inside. She'd seen a few around the med center at The Silver Rest but hadn't had the chance to use one. Her vision turned a little misty then. It wasn't exactly lavish or expensive, but meaningful and useful in so many ways. Clearing the lump in her throat she quickly slipped it on and stuffed the pouch into a pocket "
It's beautiful. Thank you, Master." The amulet itself rested just over her heart above her robes, catching the light on its edges and refracting a little through the inset crystals. It was everything she could do not to break decorum and throw her arms around the older Master Jedi's neck in gratitude and more for just being there, much less the gift offered.
Across the way,
Caltin Vanagor
caught her eye, watching the proceedings. Her expression sobered a little. It was hard to believe she'd made it. But at the same time, not so much. Looking back no all the pain, misery, joys and triumphs, and all she'd learned so far helped put it into perspective. She'd already seen more blood and fire than she ever wanted. Lost good people and loved ones. More than once she'd been forced to make hard choices. Save the ones she could. And though she'd not had an extensive amount of time training with Caltin, he'd done so much for her, and brought her so far. Though, that didn't mean she had to stop, now that she was Knighted. It only meant that she was set upon a new stage. Things were only going to be harder in their own way. Eyes locked on him, she gave him a slow bow of her head. She didn't need to say anything to him, he already knew.
Turning back to the crowd, she continued on, trying not to think about how many eyes were upon her, and instead just let the moment wash over her, surrounded by friends, colleagues, and friendly faces.
((
Thank you so much to everybody, both for showing up, and helping shape Desbre's path so far. And even to those that aren't here, but helped a long the way. Words can't express how grateful we both are. While Des didn't start here, this last year has been a great one in her five year journey. I look forward to many more with the fine folks within Chaos and the SJC. I couldn't ask for a better place for her to be, or for any of my other charactersa. I look forward to so many stories with you all. Hopefully a few stragglers will show, but if not, thank you all for the support.))
Thanks
