On the Edge of Yesterday [TJO]

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Naboo; Theed Gardens​

11 years ago​

"Meditation will get me nowhere."

"Calm yourself, and have patience. Feel the Force and the life around you."

"Calm and patience don't get me results."

"You'd be surprised, young one."

Kiskla, a hot-headed ball of fury stomped off and left her Master to meditate in solitary among Theed's gardens.

---

Naboo; Lake Country​

present ​

Tython was rich was life, and it was nice, but Kiskla needed to be unbothered and unsought for this. To truly concentrate, she retreated into Protectorate space where she had been trained.

Now, she sat in isolation. Thin blades of emerald billowed against the flat soles of her shoes and filled her nostrils with a rich, natural scent. She was calm here. Not agitated and untouched. The sun that shone above her gently baked her already tanned skin, but not with the intensity of Kiffu.

"I hope you're right, Master." Kiskla said to nobody in particular, and the words drifted into then pleasant breeze. She was referring to a memory in her past. She'd never been fond of meditation -- but now she was desperate for answers. Ever since she joined The Jedi, and was asked to sit on the council, the Jedi had been in tumult. Questioning who they were. Too many of them felt defined by their figurehead leaders, rather than The Force. Kiskla had come to recognize this after the meeting in the Monestary System.

It was time to remind everyone else, but before she got into the business of persuasion, she had to convince herself. After sliding out of her shoes, Kiskla's bare feet touched the grass and she shrugged off her white tunic, leaving herself in pants and her training under garment. It was warm, and she wanted to feel as much as she could. Sitting next to her shoes and jacket, the young woman inhaled deeply. It had been some time since she'd meditated properly. Knight Adonai had refreshed her memory on Tython, and she hoped to tap into that wisdom now.

"Who knows." Kiskla whispered, again to nobody in particular "Maybe I'll even see you." Lids folded to cover the brilliant cerulean beneath, and she steadied her breathing. First, she felt herself. A series of organs pumping together to keep her alive. Within her, a strong current of the Force flowed; but within her own signature two more, with a power that could out-boast many, intertwined. This element of her chemistry was unknown, and here, she released her hold on everything she suppressed in order to allow herself complete relaxation.

Once she was aware of the faintest detail within herself, she expanded her field of responsibility. The grass, and each blade that swayed, the water in the distance, and each stone it trickled over, the trees, random indigenous fauna, all of it. Then, she doubled it again. The entire planet caused more strain on her concentration, but the twists and pulls of Naboo beckoned her ear to mindless conversations from Katarr to Theed. Her ethereal sense was going to get dizzy very, very soon.

This continued for a few hours until she was comfortable.

Kiskla then focused on her teachings. Looking back to the devastation of Oder 66. The conversations of then twisted in her mind-- the build up and the infiltration. Corruption and death. Anger and vengeance. For many hours Kiskla remained like this. Her physical was exposed to the elements, and her metaphysical exposed to something much worse: history. Kiskla wasn't just meditating, she was flow walking. It was difficult to embed herself into situations in time she'd not been a part of, let alone been alive for. She usually used her Psychometery to initiate the walk, but now she was going through events by linking details. It was causing her physical form to break a sweat and shiver, despite the pleasant temperature Naboo offered.

To her, the past and present was now. The future, she would remain untouched-- she needed to know more about the past first.

A tug, an inkling of suspicion demanded Kiskla's ethereal attention to a conversation that took place on Kessel. The room was aglow with confusion, and a single thread of words echoed

"We're talking of revenge, Roblio. Thanks not the path of a Jedi. Having lost so much, must we now give up that as well?" Said a woman with cropped black hair, she had then been known as Bultar Swan. The reply to her question from Master Darté came swiftly: "We strayed from the path of the Jedi when we became generals, didn't we?"

The rest of the scene faded, but Kiskla felt much grief from the bodies in the room-- there were eight collected together. They had been survivors of Order 66. This conversation was during the great purge.

Much more of this twisting and pulling began, and she withdrew her celestial claws when the Graug plague began.

Deep, heavy breaths burdened her lungs and her light eyes popped open as she crumpled in posture. She hated meditating -- it was never as calm as it was supposed to be. Ever. Or perhaps, it was because she sought the answers to painful questions. Ones that weren't easy for a youth to handle-- but she would. She would handle them.

Opinions would always be had, and they would always be voiced; that was the freedom The Republic promised. Although she was discouraged by the cowardice of the Silver Jedi, the young Master was invigorated. Her hands darted briefly along the Belova Operative Bracer on her right arm, and a holo projection came forth -- shining it's light over her as she began her transmission.

"Hello, [member="Erinyes Draclau"].

I understand you have a gift for the future. I was hoping we could meet on Coruscant in five days time -- I have a question for you, that I think only a seer can answer.

Thank you, and I look forward to your response."

Then, the blue light faded and Kiskla crossed to mount her speeder bike again. It was damp from morning dew. Apparently, night and come and gone while she had been so deeply invested in her travels back in time. Now, back to Coruscant.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Broadcast from Anaxes, where The Republic senate + council is temporarily set up.

Spoiler

Here's some music inspo. and this too

The circle of seers confirmed Kiskla’s fears, but too late. The Sith had attacked already, and the confirmation that they would do it again made the youth’s stomach twist with a slimy disdain. The Jedi would need to react, and they would need to react swiftly. She was assigned to a scouting mission to investigate where these Sith were striking from, based on a collective sources of intel and her own psychometered discoveries confirmed by the Chancellor.

Time to speak out about what The Jedi were all about — she needed to know what the morale would be like, who would stand by her side and who would turn away. The Silver Jedi were their allies, but they were not members of The Republic any longer by their own choice. Their assistance would be limited, and on the Republic’s shoulders, and into The Jedi Order’s hands this responsibility fell.

After an audience assembled in the tiny briefing room, the youthful Master of the Light stood with apparent confidence for the address. Indication of reservation through kinetic clues were concealed and shoved away in a very large pocket on the other side of the galaxy. It was available for all the Jedi to hear, and for the sake of transparency, politicians of The Republic as well. [member="Popo"] had made his wordy declaration to lift the spirits of the weary. It was time for her to make hers, on behalf of The Jedi and the Council.

“Greetings, fellow Jedi. Those of you that do not know me, I am Kiskla Grayson. Jedi Master of The Republic and Jedi Order.” The other titles were not necessary — if she earned respect, it would be given. If she demanded it, she felt it undeserved. She had been told to assert herself as a leader, but she believed it should be earned; many recognized her anyways. She continued; "After the destruction of the Sith Empire, we entered an era of what was assumed to be quiet and comfortable. However, we know this not to be true. Our enemies brewed in the Shadows, and struck out against us — hitting our home, and home to many other citizens of The Republic on Coruscant.

The Sith’s target are The Jedi. They hit the temple as their focus. It is our job to make sure that their interests do not extend beyond us by containing and eradicating this threat. As Jedi, it is our duty to make sure that the darkness that plagues this galaxy brings no harm to the defenceless. But we are not creatures of wonton destruction and brutality. We have never been, nor shall we be.

To eradicate the darkness I beseech you all to serve the light as brilliantly as you can, so there are no shadows for creatures to hide in. Inspire the good in the galaxy, and enforce the justice you know as willed by The Force.

This war with The Sith has been eternal, and the struggle will continue until the threat is thwarted. The Republic rose to The Empire in the past, and this time, we as Jedi must conquer the dark monsters that are The Sith of old. This was not a fight we started, but it will be one we end.” It would be nice for it to be as final as that — here’s hoping.

The Jedi were built on guardians dedicated to protection that could flex their well-practiced muscles. But first, it was important that the Jedi were a united whole; their conflicting interests needed to be set aside and eyes on the overall objective. She allowed an interlude of murmurs or whatever the audience wanted to follow to come. It was evident that this Order wanted transparency, and she would give it to them.

"We lost many friends and even family to The Sith already, and I for one am not willing to allow that to happen again. Not to death, nor to The Darkside. This threat cannot be met with personal outrage, nor with vengeance, nor a feeling of justification that we are marching on the ground with a higher moral foundation, and therefore eligible to fight fire with fire." She took in a breath, this part was difficult -- the part where they still had to be Jedi. That was the difficult part. It was easy to claim this as justice — but everyone had their own views of justice. As Jedi, they just had peace, and had to keep seeking that. "We are not fighting fire with fire, nor even with water; but instead cutting the oxygen and suffocating the flame before it spreads. “

She wouldn’t proclaim about keeping peace, about fighting for peace, or being peace makers. That was for the individuals to evidence without her words as their excuse. Her words were to provide an explanation for what the Jedi were to do, and perhaps even as motivation for those that wanted to bolster themselves to get ready to squish those that danced with paramours of darkness.

So, where’s the punchline? War? Friends? Floating jellyfish amidst the current of The Force, forever observing in a stale state with wan expressions?

“The Jedi Order is in opposition to the organization that call themselves the One Sith, and we will do what we can with support from The Republic to end this evil.
We won’t operate on the edge of yesterday, but instead be vanguards of tomorrow. A bright, promising tomorrow where peace is not something we need to seek in solitude, but rather it overwhelms us with it’s availability.” Big promises that demanded her to work harder than she ever had in her life — and she’d never been much of a sloth.
Aw heck it was a speech, a public address. Go big or go home.

"The recently elected council composed of myself, [member="Darron Wraith"], [member="Ben Watts"], [member="Talon Vosra"], and [member="Phylis Alince"] will ensure this comes to fruition when we all support this endeavour -- while not allowing our students and learning of The Force to fall to the wayside."