Private Knight of a Different Kind

[Jasper Kai'el]

Knight of a Different Kind
Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Aelina Corsanis

Jasper was very accustom to introducing padawans to the NJO these days, but a knight was an entirely different scenario. It was an arrival from the recently fracturing Ashlan Crusade, a matter which he frankly knew very little about. Jasper really never took the time to go out to many allied parts of space, with the exception of some brief dips into the Silver Jedi Concord. Still, they were a Jedi nonetheless, and Jasper had a duty to assist them in adjusting during a time of no doubt chaotic transition.

But still, his thoughts about what the Jedi of the Crusade were like were pretty rampant in his mind. Jasper had gotten the idea that they were a lot like a much older order; A time of Jedi Warlords and Armies of Light. Along with that, there were tales of strong devotion, extreme devotion to code, and other things of the sort. The name Crusade didn't come from nowhere, after all. The obvious fear was that this new knight would arrive and find him far to soft, ridiculing him for his informal attire or his causal posture or something of the like. Jasper, of course, was always ready to be judged, but something about the idea of being lambasted by a new arrival to the NJO just seemed highly embarrassing. In other words: A bad time. That didn't really matter. He had a duty to fulfil, after all. It was just going to be a matter of time before he knew if he was going to regret accepting said duties.

The young knight was still confident. He stood on the steps of the temple telling himself that he was most likely overthinking it, and that those stories were really just stories. Nothing more. It was going to be fine.

All he needed to do was not screw things up.

 

[Aelina Corsanis]

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Knight of a Different Kind
Jedi Temple, Coruscant​

Shani could feel the warmth of Ashla as she walked up the stairs of the Temple, Though the scars of time and battle could also be felt surrounding this sacred spot, the sheer presence of thousands of Jedi and the will of Ashla working through them was enough to drown out the shadow of the Bogan, Shani wished the entire galaxy could be so, or at least the rest of this wretched planet. Though she normally would forgo footwear, there is no point here, where miles of duracrete and thousands of levels separated her from the ground below.

Making sure her katana was securely fastened to her belt - even after leaving the Blades, losing her sacred sword would be a dishonor worth than death - she contineud up the stairs to meet the Jedi whose image had been sent to her datapad - apparently her welcoming committee. Seeming to be around the same age as she, Shani immediately began to size up the man, his well built physique belying a warriors gaze and his right arm having been replaced by a mechanical prosthetic.

Offering a polite bow to the gentleman, she offered her greetings. "Shani Tari, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Jasper Kai'el

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[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Aelina Corsanis

"Shani Tari, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Jasper Kai'el," he greeted with a half salute. "Uh, likewise."

Well she seemed cordial at least. That was a good start. Jasper eased up a little before continuing.

"Well," the knight continued, "I'm sure you've already touched base with the council before your arrival, but we're always happy to open our doors to other Jedi. There's just a few things to touch base with here before you can start headin' out into the field. Basic facility-tourey things. That sort. There's a few locations you'll be frequenting, so it's best to get familiar with them."

He gestured for her to follow, turning to begin making his way up the steps. At this point, he had some questions of his own about the current state of the Ashlan Crusade. He frankly hadn't been keeping up with it's status.

"So..." Jasper began, "It seems a bunch of people are jumping ship from the Crusade. I'm afraid I haven't been keeping up with it for some time. Uh, think you could give me the rundown?"

It was a good way to pass the time as they went between locations in the temple. They had a lot of walking ahead of them.

 

[Aelina Corsanis]

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Knight of a Different Kind
Jedi Temple, Coruscant
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Shani regarded the man, more specifically the presence he had in the force, for a moment before following him up the stairs and into the massive edifice that was the Jedi Temple. While she wasn't honestly too surprised at his curiousness of the goings-abouts in the former crusade, which had seen her wander her way coreward until she found home in Coruscant, his rather forward attitude about it did take her slightly aback.

Taking a moment to collect her thoughts - quite frankly to even be able to make sense of the whirlwind that had been the last few months, she carefully answered his question as they walked. "The cracks were already forming even a couple or so years ago. A power struggle brewed between the Prime Minister, the Church, the Kaiser, tempers flared, disagreements got heated. Even with Ashla's blessings a state can only survive that for so long."

She thought back to the home she'd left on Nathema, the blades scurrying to shore up and strengthen their defences for the Chaos while sending their best and brightest, like herself apparently, to bring Ashla's light to the galaxy in its time of need. "My order anticipated far worse than what happened - I was concerned that we might even have to turn our swords on fellow Ashlans fallen to the dark side - I can't speak for any outside my order, but when the Crusade began to fragment and its grip on the outlying systems faded, many of us younger knights were sent coreward by my master - to find a new home, and to help the sister orders, such as this one, to bring Ashla's light to a Galaxy much in need of it."

Jasper Kai'el

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[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Aelina Corsanis

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"That's... rough," Jasper remarked with a frown. "I'm glad you weren't forced to turn your weapons on your allies."

Jasper wasn't a fan of betrayal, so former friends making grabs for power and tearing each other apart was certainly something that bothered him. Trust was a pretty important thing for him.

"Well," he continued, "I hope that isn't something you'll be required to do here any time soon. The Galactic Alliance is fairly stable all things considered, given the multiple fronts we find ourselves between."

That aspect was certainly a head scratcher, but Jasper would take the stability any day. It came with some nasty side effects, but not ones that were unmanageable.

"Right then," the knight nodded, getting back on track. "I figure we'll just run by the important stuff. The hangar, briefing room, training halls. The basic facilities you'll be in and out of a lot while you're here. Then you can get back to doing... well, probably what it is that you were doing before hand. The galaxy still needs Jedi out there."

That was certainly going to be a constant. Until the end of time it seemed, so long as there was somebody out there twisting the force to their own will.

 

[Aelina Corsanis]

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"Life can be rough, sometimes. It had just started to be home - but it's far from the first home I lost. So long as I'm not forced into shedding blood unnecessarily, I've seen far worse." Negativity and fear had been her worst enemy in the past - made her paranoid, drew her into her self, nearly destroyed her. Part of her personal trials to knighthood was to defeat this - and learn to trust others, and most importantly herself. She chose not to dwell too deep on these thoughts though. It would only hurt her efforts. "I should hope - it seems even in these days when all seems to collapse around us, the Galactic Alliance stands as a immovable monolith in the core."

As they started the tour through some of the important stuff, a thought occurred to Shani that there were a couple of things in particular she wanted to see - namely their facilities for meditation. Perhaps idiosyncratically for a Jedi, she prayed for Ashla to make its will known regularly, and a quiet, force-filled room to do so, like the Cathedral back at home, would do wonders - and she wondered if the Room of a Thousand Fountains, known for housing the same bamboo she used in her flutes, had been rebuilt. "Could you also show me the temple's facilities for meditation - I, um, commune with the Ashla on a regular basis, asking for guidance. It would do me well to be acquainted with the best places to do so, here."

Jasper Kai'el

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[Jasper Kai'el]

Coruscant, Jedi Temple
Tags: Aelina Corsanis

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"Could you also show me the temple's facilities for meditation - I, um, commune with the Ashla on a regular basis, asking for guidance. It would do me well to be acquainted with the best places to do so, here."

"Of course," Jasper nodded. "There's a few good locations. The gardens are a natural pick for most. There's also the Kyber Arch... a chamber filled with the kyber of fallen Jedi. Most avoid it cause they find the thought to be... Well, let's just say they see it as a rather grim reminder of the sacrifices the Order has made. I find it to be quite peaceful myself. It's good if you have no qualms with being existential."

That was what it was in the end of the day. Fear of loss. It was natural, ultimately, even in Jedi. There was no time to dwell on the matter. They were off, first passing by the hangar. It was a vital location for all Jedi, the means in which they'd go from location to location.

"Well, this is a good place to start," the knight decided. "Hangar is pretty self explanatory. If you're traveling a lot, you'll be in and out of here constantly. I'm set up in here a bit more than most. My freighter is just at the end of the hangar. I'm... not really much for the Temple's housing. No space to work. Regardless, you'll probably wanna familiarize yourself with the space. It may be best to pick yourself up a starfighter as well. I've always been one for more custom vessels, but we have a few good ones. I'd recommend the X-02, but there are plenty of other vessels to choose from."

Would she travel often? Shani certainly didn't seem the type to stay in one place for very long. She certainly had an active air about her. Not that it mattered, really. Just curiosities that had sprung up in his mind.

"What did you do for your previous order?" he asked, sort of on a whim. He had a bad habit of doing so.

 

[Aelina Corsanis]

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"Thank you. I'll have to check out these gardens especially," Shani was much more attuned to the natural flow of Ashla's warmth through living beings, perhaps they would offer a sanctuary from the deafeningly silent duracrete wasteland outside. Offering a nod and a thankful look in her eyes, Shani's eyebrows raised at the mention of the Kyber Arch. Despite her rather strict beliefs regarding the taking of life, Shani wasn't as bothered by death as many were, only by depriving someone of a chance at redemption. "Death is just a natural part of life, necessary for our souls to rejoin with Ashla. I see where some call it grim - but it brings me peace - to imagine being wrapped up in Ashla's warm embrace."

As they passed the Hangar, Shani took a quick look around, looking at the variety of starfighters and freighters and other ships each set in their bay and being tended to by mechanics, jedi, and droids. She'd been known to use the Limulus-class in the Crusade, though she honestly was hoping to find an option that would be better suited for taking prisoners or carrying dangerous artifacts - she had a little bit of settling in to do before worrying about that, though.

The Togruta was caught off guard by Jasper's asking about her job with the Blades. It was a fair question, to be sure, and one that she certainly expected at some point - but it came seemingly out of nowhere as they started to leave the Hangar. "I was trained as a shadow - I believe it's the same mission as here, hunting dark sided acolytes and their artifacts - We were about the only sub-order that reported directly to the Grandmaster, rather than a Grand Cross, She was my master and taught me to specialize in alchemical corruptions, the perversion of nature the dark side produces like sithspawn and ritualistic artifacts," She gave a couple of affectionate pats to her sword, "Maksur here sees me through that task."

Jasper Kai'el

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