For Lack of a Doorbell

[Amilthi Camlenn]

The sun was nearing the serrated horizon of Deneba's mountains and the air was perceptibly cooling, a change in atmosphere that Amilthi found most welcome. She had been walking for hours through the dusty, mountainous desert until now, finally, she stood on a ridge from which Mount Meru and the Enclave could be spotted. She had had to persuade a freighter pilot on Tatooine to make a slight detour and drop her off on Deneba for a modest fee, and had found it prudent to have him land in safe distance from the Enclave. While its existence was not an extremely well-kept secret, she nevertheless did not know the practice its current occupants kept in this regard and did not wish to interfere.

Exhausting though it was, Amilthi was very much enjoying the hike in anticipation of the satisfaction she would receive at its end. She estimated that it would take another two hours to reach the Enclave. After brushing a streak of hair out of her face that sweat had glued there, she made her way onward down from the ridge.

***​

It was already dark when Amilthi stood before the gates of the Jedi Enclave on Deneba, tired, sweaty, and dusty, but almost elated. She was dressed in clothes of coarse fabric, a pale lavender skirt, a beige tunic, and a roomy grey coat with a hood, and carrying nothing but a simply cloth bag hung over her shoulders. She might have been a simple beggar but for the quiet confidence that was evident in the way she carried herself.

She had primarily come here to petition the Jedi of this Enclave to be allowed access to their archives, thought it might be better not to speak of what precisely she was on a search for. That would be a revelation not apt to inspire trust. But her visit also bore the potential for something more. What little she had heard of this group of Jedi was encouraging, for while, as so often, war was ravaging other regions of the galaxy, this order was reputed to be supported by a young and steadfastly neutral realm and was said to seek no violent confrontations. There were other rumours too, of course, which had it that they did so only for lack of resources and were trying to build a fleet with which to become an influence in galactic politics. Sadly, in history's light, such rumours were not as ludicrously implausible as she would have liked them to be, and Amilthi was not one to confuse that which she would have preferred with that which was. Should such talk, however, reveal itself to be unfounded, this might well come be the beginning of a new phase of Amilthi's life. All by herself, there was all too little she could do to improve the world.

She stood for a minute, catching her breath, before eventually she knocked, her touch resonating in the massive gates.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]​

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

Location | Security Office, Jedi Enclave, Deneba
Participants | [member="Amilthi Camlenn"] |

Gate duty. Again.

There was a maxim among the Jedi: If you want to learn patience, learn to do really boring jobs well. Okay, not so much a Jedi proverb, but it was definitely one that floated around the student corps regularly, mostly as a means of jibing at a person complaining about the work they had to do. Prepping food in the kitchens, watering the plants in the indoor gardens, organising supplies in the medical bay. Everyone had their chores to do, and excuses weren't going to be accepted lightly. Which means, no matter how high up the ranks you get, you still have to pitch in.

They were big on manual labour at the Temple. If it could be done by a droid...chances are, it was being done by a Padawan, or one of the civilians contracted to work at the Temple. It's a lesson in both humility and getting your hands dirty, Teynara reflected, not for the first time today. And keeps things running, even if we all hate it at moments. That was the idea, realistically: being a Jedi couldn't all be lightsaber duels and telekinesis. Sometimes you have to embrace a little simplicity. And so, here she was: on gate duty.

They had a rota, pinned up in the student dormitories: every day, four different students would be picked, each on a six-hour rotation. True, local time is a little longer than Galactic Standard, but we all still stick to it even so They had to wait in the security post just inside the gate, keep an eye on the holocams for any activity, and challenge anyone who arrived without a pass. With a big red button handy to send the whole place into lockdown if that arrival should be hostile. Teynara had never seen it in operation, and hoped she wouldn't be the first one to use it.

The blonde had been watching the approaching visitor for a little while now, every since she'd triggered one of the external motion sensors and caused one of the tracking cams to lock onto her, watching her silently. She hadn't come straight to the Temple, but had found herself dropped off a ways out. Smart, really. Gives you a chance to have a look around, and to make sure you're seen before you ever get here. This was a person who was clearly safety-conscious, even if she didn't necessarily know who she was coming to see. After all, we're friendly. You've got nothing to fear unless you bring reason. Still, couldn't expect every visitor to know that.

As the visitor knocked against the gates, Teynara smiled and did her best to put on a welcoming expression, then stepped onto the projective holopad that stood central to the security office. A beam of light passed over her, moving from head to toe and then back again, scanning in her appearance so that it might be projected outside the gate, giving her a means of communicating to the person outside without having to open the gates. The projection would materialise right next to the woman, obviously a hologram, but one of the better ones, with realistic colour imagery, rather than the ghostly-blue light of cheaper systems.

"Hello there," the Padawan said softly. "You are standing at the gates of the Deneba Jedi Enclave," she informed the visitor calmly, though it seemed likely that the other person knew that already. "If you have an appointment, just tell me who you're here to see, and I'll inform them of your arrival. If not, how may we help you?"

The same rehearsed line, one they all knew, but it was standard protocol: be polite, but make sure those at the gates were always checked to make sure they were supposed to be here. How else could the Temple's residents be kept safe?

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

These Jedi certainly knew how to make a visitor feel appreciated, mused Amilthi as she looked over Teynara's holographic appearance, though one could really only credit them with bothering to install a system for coloured holograms. That the figure it was currently projecting was that of a friendly and appealing young woman was in all probability a mere coincidence; in fact, if it was not, that could be taken to be rather in contradiction to the ideals one could expect a Jedi order to hold, though pragmatic motivations could perhaps be cited when it came to dealing with outsiders.

Amilthi's eyes darted across the wall behind it in search of the emitter. It was where she assumed the camera to be, and where she was going to be looking. "Good evening", she said with a light smile and bowed slightly in the direction. As she did so, she put her hands behind her back, brushing aside her coat and revealing, as though accidentally, but in fact quite deliberately, the lightsabre that was hanging from her belt by her hip, an elegantly crafted device finished in silver metal with a grip covered in braided leather.

"My name is Amilthi Camlenn. I'm afraid I have no appointment. I would like to ask permission to access your archives, perhaps I could speak to a resident master. But if you would shelter me for the night, that can well wait until tomorrow."

Surely she would be giving no offence by assuming that the woman greeting her was not herself a master. And Amilthi wouldn't mind at all starting off with a chat with one of the younger members of the order to learn what life was like here. It was perhaps better even to begin there than to speak immediately to one of the senior members, who would have thought much more explicitly about how to present the order and its goals, but who might at the same time reveal ultimately less. Not to mention the fact that her exhausted state and the time of the day were not at all suited to tending seriously to the business that had brought her here.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]​

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

| [member="Amilthi Camlenn"] |​

The the other woman carried a lightsaber seemed a fairly obvious presentation of her credentials, and in light of that, Teynara was almost tempted to simply grant her admittance to the Enclave, given that all Jedi and those who studied the Force were welcome, provided their presence remained peaceful. Makes me wonder if I'd open the gates to a Sith, if they promised to surrender their arms and conduct themselves would courtesy in our halls. Truth be told, she wasn't sure: the others spoke of the Sith as evil, but that was the sort of cliche terminology she'd have expected from a children's holocartoon. Lacks the nuance one would expect of an actual living being.

​

As for the rest...it would be up to one of the Council members to decide if the newcomer would have access to the Archives, but as for offering shelter for a night or more, that was not a problem at all. The Enclave was still not up to residential capacity, and they had plenty of room for guests and no reason at all to turn anyone away. We can hardly call ourselves Jedi if we fail to act with charity when called for.

Coming to a decision, the blonde reached over the sent a quick commburst to [member="Veiere Arenais"] - the Jedi Master was in residence, rather than at home on Commenor, so he would likely want to drop by at some point to greet the new visitor. That done, Teynara keyed the gate's opening sequence, and hurried out of the security office to hurry down to be there when they fully opened to admit the new visitor. It would hardly be appropriate to simply let her in without talking further to her.

"Apologies for the delay there," she said calmly as she hurried down the stairs that led to the courtyard into which the gates opened, her long skirts swirling around her ankles as she moved. "We'd like to have an open door policy, but with several other Temples having been attacked and destroyed over the years, it's always considered best to have a little early warning, just in case," Teynara added with an apologetic smile. "Better safe than sorry, I'm sure you'd agree."

Now that she could physically see the visitor, the blonde offered her an appraising look. The newcomer was a little shorter in height, though only be a few inches, and they seemed to have a fairly similar sense of dress: tunic, belt, long skirt, the usual sturdy boots Jedi wore for field work. They both wore lightsabers clipped to their belts, though Teynara's was only a training weapon, useful for parrying and deflection, but incapable of causing any substantial damage. Though the other woman wore a long coat over the top of her other clothes, presumably to keep her protected from the elements. Though with the heat of Deneba, she'd probably roast long before she needed it, the blonde reflected.

"You're certainly welcome to stay as long as you'd like," Teynara continued, gesturing for Amilthi to enter the Enclave proper. "We have plenty of room, which does keep things fairly quiet and peaceful. Hopefully you'll like it here." The blonde offered their guest a slightly inquisitive glance, curious about something. "Where are you from, if I may ask? And how did you come to find us here? Not a lot of people know about the Enclave. It's not been here very long."

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi smiled softly as through the gap between the opening gates she spotted the young woman hurrying down the steps to meet her. It was quite endearing the way Teynara explained her behaviour, eloquently and without sounding unduly insecure. It was a trait that Amilthi recognised from her own youth, this assumption that understanding could be reached and the felt need to establish it. Experience had tempered this urge, as she had learnt to grasp that many were annoyed rather than comforted by explanations they might deem unnecessary and irrelevant. And indeed, Amilthi had observed the same reaction in herself on occasion. But in this moment, Teynara's words felt like kindness to her.

"I understand", she said reassuringly. "It's what you should be doing." Amilthi folded her hands in front of herself in a humble gesture, letting her robe once more fall freely around her body, and followed Teynara's invitation to enter. "Thank you for your hospitality", she said earnestly, inclining her head.

"You may say I'm from Tatooine. Even we do hear something about what happens in the galaxy, if we keep an open ear." There was something indulging in the softness of her voice and the fine smile on her lips. "Spacers are quite interested in what goes on along the Mara Corridor at least, and the rise of Commenor to the north hasn't remained unnoticed. In fact, your own group has been making a bit of a name for itself, too. And once you hear the word Deneba mentioned - where else would you come to look?" Amilthi explained, closing with a wry smile as she finally lifted her gaze from the ground to look at Teynara. "What about yourself? How long have you been here? With this order, I mean."

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]​

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

| [member="Amilthi Camlenn"] |​

Tatooine? Teynara had to admit that she'd never heard of it, but there were countless thousands of planets in the Galaxy, so she could hardly be expected to keep up with all of them. Probably one of those quieter worlds in the Outer Rim, plenty of foliage and running water, peaceful and getting by through exports of local crafts and mineral resources. She could well imagine it: filled with towns and villages where everyone knew everyone, with a small starport in the capital to help bring goods from off-world, and perhaps bring in some resources needed to support the planetary population. Sounds nice, doesn't it?

That the Order was starting to make waves was interesting, but that was undoubtedly a consequence of Master Arenais and the resources he possessed as King of Commenor: he was capable of getting the word out quietly but profoundly, so that the people who might find the presence of the Order useful would be able to find them. And here's one such example of that. That Amilthi had found her way to them suggested that she'd not likely be alone in doing so: there would be others to follow. May we live in interesting times...

"Uh...nearly a year for me," Teynara replied calmly. "I joined up after I finished my studies at University, to try and do some good." The blonde smiled in a faintly amused way that suggested she found the idea of it to be absurdly cliche, even though she meant what she'd said. "Idealistic, of course, but the reality of it is there. There are a lot of people here who just want to try and make a difference to the Galaxy." Offering a slight shrug there, the young woman gestured that they should venture further into the Enclave. "There aren't many of us yet, but we're growing steadily. I'm sure you'll meet a few as we go."

Turning to stride across the entrance hall, Teynara noticed that it would undoubtedly serve as a contrast to the outside: where the area in which the enclave was situated was mostly desert, the internal rooms were largely painted in soothing colours, with plants placed in strategic locations and running water in certain spots that allowed for a relaxing audio, something to complement the calm sense of the place. Probably expensive to maintain in some respects, but the logistics of that are somebody else's problem, she thought reflectively.

"You're already a Jedi, though, aren't you?", she asked, turning grey-blue eyes towards Amilthi, nodding towards the coat the other woman wore that concealed the lightsaber she had momentarily revealed during their earlier conversation. "You've had training, unless you came by that lightsaber by other means, but I'm given to understand that it's unusual for that to happen." And it doesn't bear thinking about what those circumstances might have been. "Where did you train?"

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi smiled when Teynara was showing a hint of cynicism about her own motivations that pointed at commendable self-awareness. "It's a good reason to do things. It's merely wanting to seem to be doing good that isn't." That was perhaps an overly harsh statement, but it reflected some of Amilthi's feelings about a class of people that a part of her detested: people who pretended to altruistic goals they did not take seriously and made no appreciable attempt at pursuing effectively. Such people were either cynics who professed such goals only in the interest of social appearances, or deluded, and Amilthi wasn't sure what was worse. In truth, they were rarely actively causing harm; there were merely opportunity costs to time and effort that could be spent so much better. That was why it was important for another part of Amilthi to be vigilant and constantly remind her of the fallibility of all sentients and the lenience and compassion they ought to be extended because of it.

Amilthi looked Teynara over, wondering briefly whether she was an actual initiate of the order or one of the - oftentimes not even Force-sensitive - volunteers who did so much thankworthy work for many a Jedi order. But the lightsaber she spotted at the woman's belt quickly resolved the question. As Teynara was saying, it was unusual to come by such a weapon if one was not trained in the Jedi arts, and she certainly wouldn't be carrying it in this place otherwise.

"Less unusual than we would like it to be", remarked Amilthi with a sad smile. She thought it likely that more than a few lightsabers had found their way into the posses of veterans or their heirs, and while they were useless as weapons, she could well imagine certain types of unsavoury characters paying for one on the black market with the intent to use them to intimidate, be it by falsely claiming proficiency with them or by displaying them as ostensible trophies.

"But you're right. I joined the Jedi Order in the days when the Galactic Republic was still at peace, though I wasn't a child anymore at the time, either." She paused for a moment. "I left during the war." Her gaze dropped to the floor, pensive. Pushing away the thoughts that were poised to enter her mind before they could even reveal their contents, she raised her eyes again to take in her surroundings more consciously, grounding her in the present and giving her a better impression of the place. The theme here was clearly not ornamentation and majesty; rather, the inner of the Enclave was designed to evoke a reminiscence of a friendly natural habitat, in stark contrast to the uninviting mountainous desert outside its gates. While no doubt not entirely trivial to maintain, the overall impression it managed to achieve was one of simplicity that Amilthi found very comforting. It was not the simplicity of necessity, of dire poverty - it was the simplicity that avoided the superfluous and allowed the mind to avoid becoming caught up in the seemingly inextricable complexities that life posed in many places. Sometimes this was a useful and healthy perspective to take - one that Amilthi was on some level quite receptive to.

Eventually, she returned her gaze to Teynara with a faint smile. "What did you study before?" she asked with interest.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]​

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

| [member="Amilthi Camlenn"] |​

​

Merely being seen to do good... Yes, that was ever a concern that Teynara had: wanting to do good often wasn't sufficient for some. They wanted the recognition, the positive light that would shine down upon their heads that announced them to the Galaxy as a good person. But that's the sort of conceit that inevitably means they'll take harsher measures to keep that facade functional. How many people would suffer for another's ego? And is that where the Jedi have been going wrong? So focused on being seen to do good that they've failed to see that all they've done is provoke evil?

She'd read reports of what some of the Jedi were up to: the battles that had taken place, both Jedi and Sith clashing in a vain effort to eliminate the other, their ancient ideological battle given new form. Is that we are now? People fighting over petty differences when there is real suffering? It sickened her to imagine that her brothers and sisters here might end up the same way. And me? Would I fight if the Sith came here? Or would I simply scold them for their foolishness, and risk their wrath? Part of her rather hoped never to find out.

Hardly surprising that Amilthi had turned her back when war had come to the Galactic Republic. War isn't what we train for. It's what always brings the Jedi to dust, she recalled. History had proven, time and again, that the Jedi were not built for war. Our most militant role is to keep the peace, not to fight as a side in a war. Veiere knew this, so too, it seemed, did Amilthi. It'll be interesting to see the two of them talk.

"I'm a xenobiologist," she said in response to Amilthi's last question, pulling her own attention back to the present, as the Jedi would have encouraged. "So I study a lot of the galaxy's different forms of life, and figure out why they've adapted as they have, what makes them unique." Teynara smiled faintly in amusement at a thought that struck her then. "Perhaps it's part of why I agree with the Jedi when they say all life is precious. A small microbe or a ferocious Rancor: they're all amazing. Unless they're trying to eat you, of course," she added with a chuckle.

That was, perhaps, her keenest reason for wanting to be a Jedi: so many interesting species were being pushed towards extinction by the constant conflict in the Galaxy, and so many lives had been swallowed up by the war machines. If I can do even a little to mitigate that, that would be more than enough. She somehow didn't imagine it would be nearly that simple: the Archives were very clear on the point that big chances only tended to come with large sacrifices, but if that's what it took, so be it. That's what Jedi exist for, isn't it? Amilthi might well understand, but Teynara was hesitant to ask her thoughts on the matter.

"What made you join the Order, if I may ask?", the blonde asked, changing the subject slightly. "You said the Jedi existed in peace when you did? What prompted that decision?" Assuming it was one, of course. Apparently the Jedi had once conscripted all Force Sensitive children to ensure that their powers were put to positive use, and to also make sure they were given the training and discipline appropriate to the Order, so as not to go Dark. "Probably the same thing that brings you here, if I'm not mistaken."

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

"Sadly, much of the life in the galaxy is, in fact, trying to eat each other", quipped Amilthi. She didn't much like the dictum that all life was precious. It reeked of a strand of thinking adhered to by some Jedi that the universe was, fundamentally, alright. That was an idea Amilthi emphatically disagreed with. She held that these were misconceptions that people had because they confused these two notions for similar-looking ones. It wasn't that all life was precious, but rather that all suffering was deplorable, which strongly weighted life by the degree of consciousness that could be ascribed to it. And reality was fundamentally very much not alright, but a Jedi should be able to accept this, in a sense of accepting that was rather complicated, if not impossible to explain in words and crucially did not entail a lack of impulse to set things right: serenity was not apathy. Of course, this impulse needed to be tempered by a keen awareness of the possibility of making things even worse and one's own limitations as agent and reasoner.

Amilthi wondered for a moment if there was a way to nudge this young student towards these ideas, or at least towards reflecting on them, but it just didn't seem appropriate. These insights required careful guided exploration of the self through meditation and discussion, and it was not for Amilthi, not yet at least, to put herself in the position of a guide here. Still, she liked to think that she wouldn't do a bad job in this capacity. She was sometimes quite dissatisfied with the way many masters taught, mixing the argumentative, psychological and spiritual aspects of education together, all clouded in unclear language tainted by those not clearly delineated areas where language truly started to fail. Amilthi imagined that once this confusion was cleared up and that which could be said was clearly separated from that which needed to be experienced, much more rapid progress was possible, especially with adult students who had more developed cognitive capacities. She was, in fact, quite skeptical of the practice of taking children into training at a young age. Having never known a different life, they often seemed to develop a less firm grasp of the significance of the Jedi ways, and perhaps that explained why they went astray more often than those who had become Jedi through choice later in life.

Which led to the question of why she herself had once made that same choice. "I wanted to explore and understand... well, myself, really. I was sixteen at the time. Later on, I got a bit more interested in the rest of the universe as well", she added with a wry smile.

She supposed one could say that on a fundamental level, her reasons were still the same. The desire to explore herself and her potential was indeed what had driven her here, although now it came with an attached ultimate purpose, or at least an additional concern besides mere curiosity, that of finding a place for her in the world from which she could have a positive impact. She was quite unsure where this place lay. But Teynara didn't need to hear any of this.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]​

 

[WolfMortum]

The Enclave of Deneba had become a busied place since the Order's arrival and early days of renovation, much of what had been within the great temple was no longer; in it's place the floors had been polished, the walls removed of the dust, webbing and the smell of decay and neglect that so many years of silence had held over the environment within. Of course, many of the Students and even the Mentor's among them hadn't had the experience to recall what the Enclave had looked like before the fall of the Galactic Republic, yet Veiere had stood upon Mount Meru and fought to defend it with his life against the forces that had invaded the world back then and he was proud to say that despite their lack of numbers in comparison, the location had been refurbished into an invigorated representation of light within the Galaxy, a home of which the Jedi Order had struggled to secure from the first of their days coming together at the temple on Yutan.

Commenor had been on his mind a great deal of late, with his wife away on business, Veiere had been forced to meditate between leadership over the Systems Alliance and his commitment to the Jedi Order; two things that often conflicted with one another though it was for Kay that he had agreed to the title of King, if only to be wed to her. The political garbage that was the rest of it all was none to his liking where as there upon the desert world of Deneba, everything was often so quiet and tranquil. Students roamed the halls void of the chaos of the politically motivated, the stress here was dulled down to priorities upon the Force and upon themselves rather than the leadership of millions or the finance of entire worlds and in Veiere's personal studies here, he was genuinely motivated by desire and intrigue where as back home, any time spent within the Palace was obligated and met with great apprehension.

He had indeed received a message from [member="Teynara Jeralyr"], though he too had had his hands fill visiting one of the class-rooms for which the younger students still under a decade old were learning about the history of the Jedi Order and his presence had been requested to offer some of his own thoughts on the subject. It had been a heart-warming experience to watch them all as they laughed and carried on; Jedi as they were, these youngling's still held a mischievous and truer sense of pleasure within the halls of the Enclave than those older and wiser to know what awaited them out within the Galaxy at large. Ignorance really was bliss when it came to studying the little ones and envying for the stress that they didn't yet carry upon their shoulders, the real weight of conscience and burden that came with dedicating ones life to service within the Force; there was good justified reason to why the Jedi Path was often considered to be the more difficult route to take in life.

A little late yet arriving none the less, he found the two younger woman conversing out near the front of the Jedi Enclave, greeting them both with a dip of his head in a brief bow, eyes befalling the new arrival for whom he did not recognize, [member="Amilthi Camlenn"]. "Making friends, I see..." He smiled soon between the two though first spoke to Teynara with a hint of approval; he was glad to see that she had taken the initiative to welcome their guest in, it very much indicative of the girls nature and her willingness to cater to others. Turning then to Amilthi, Veiere introduced himself.

"Greetings, It's a pleasure to see a new arrival...-My name's Veiere Arenais; I imagine Padawan Jeralyr here has given you the run down over the Enclave?".

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi knew that she was rather worse at reading people than many other Jedi, and tended to be on her guard in this respect - but she couldn't help taking an immediate, if provisory liking to the Jedi master who greeted her. The man's expression and demeanour projected exactly the mixture of strength and kindness, of calm and intensity, that at least some part of her apparently thought a Jedi master should possess. It might have been worth putting that part under closer scrutiny at some point, but now was certainly not the time.

She returned his greeting with a respectful bow. "Thank you for seeing me, Master Arenais. My name is Amilthi Camlenn."

Padawan Jeralyr - now Amilthi finally had a name. Not that she blamed Teynara for not introducing herself. The conversation simply hadn't offered a natural opportunity to do so, and it was a sign of humility that the young woman hadn't thought her identity important enough to being by doing so. She couldn't help thinking with some amusement that she must be quite a handful for her teacher and wondered whether that knight or master had quite know what they were getting themselves into by taking it upon them to instruct a trained scientist.

The master's question put her into a bit of a predicament. On the one hand, Amilthi had actually learnt very little about the Enclave, having been more interested in the person receiving her, but on the other hand, she had no desire to reveal that Teynara had neglected what was perhaps considered her duty. But to simply ignore the master's question was not an option either.

She looked briefly at Teynara and then smiled softly at Veiere. "I'm afraid your speedy appearance may have preempted this", she replied politely.

"I do not wish to waste your time, Master", she continued. "There is much, but eventually only so much, a lone Jedi can do and learn by herself. It is for this reason that I have sought you out to ask to be allowed access to your order's archives."

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]​

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

| [member="Amilthi Camlenn"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] |​

​

Eat each other. Well, of course? What else would you expect? Teynara often found it perplexing that so many people viewed the Galaxy as something which should be conflict-free. And yet that's hardly ever a state of nature. Conflict was natural: plants had to compete for the most sunlight in order to grow, predator-prey food chains simply demanded that one species should suffer at the hands of a dominant one, and evolution inherently required adverse conditions to spur adaptation. And we, as sentient beings, have always found other reasons to express those basic biological urges. The need to stand superior to others as a means of preserving the species ultimately could be warped by higher-order thinking, into financial greed, the need to dominate, even simple political rivalries. Why would that surprise you?

Somehow Teynara doubted that Amilthi would be particularly partial to those arguments - they were the reflections of a Xenobiologist that often had been forced to question whether one life was more valuable than another. Is the magnificent tree worth more than the weed that seeks to steal the water and minerals from the soil it needs to thrive? Do we save prey over predator, intervene in the natural order for a benign purpose? The Jedi didn't feel this way, she knew: to them, life was a thing to be cherished and preserved. Decisions of death should be left to the aggressive. Our role is only to preserve.

Master Arenais arrived before the blonde had chance to openly reflect on such thoughts: it had never really been in her nature to keep musings like that to herself, but the Jedi Master's presence cut short any possibility of further discussion on the topic. And he probably wouldn't appreciate that line of thought anyway. Whatever you wanted to say of Veiere, he was a Jedi through-and-through, so her outsider's perspective might not sit well with him. And it's never wise to upset a Jedi Master.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Master," the blonde woman added with a formal bow, appropriate for the presence of someone so exalted in the Order, particularly one that took the time to deal with a Padawan's occasional concerns, such as gate duty. "Amilthi's closing in on the point at which I become useless as anything other than an escort," she added with a wry smile. "A Jedi should be met by a Jedi, and you were a better choice than anyone I can think of at short notice."

She offered the slightest shrug, knowing that the two of them were undoubtedly both more than capable as Jedi, and likely didn't need an inexperienced student trying to stumble through the things that a more knowledgeable Jedi might need. And I can't simply point her in the direction of our Archives and bid her have fun. She needs to be cleared for such. And that was well beyond her authority, too, so Veiere's presence had a dual purpose in that respect.