Private Something Criminal

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Kaddak.

A world close to Enclave borders, once owned by the Enclave. The Enclave had steadily lost its grip on the criminal world through the years though, and now was overrun with thugs and bandits once again. Elise saw through her mother's eyes, memories of what the city slums were like. It was those memories that guided her to the crumbling ruin of an old apartment building in the middle of town. She entered through a shattered, long abandoned wall. Stepping over stones, the young Mandalorian walked into the old Safe House of her grandfather, Kranak Vizsla. This was the safe house where he met and adopted Gwyneira Vizsla. Now, Gwyneira Vizsla's child, Elise Vizsla, stood over a mildew and moth decimated couch. The Mandalorian pulled her buy'ce off, taking in the scenery of the old apartment complex. Most of the walls had brightly colored paint, old and etched away by time, sprayed upon the wall. Her mother's work. She looked up to the sky, then back down to the building. She looked to where a desk should be, but only saw a pile a rubble instead.

This place was a disaster. Clearly, after the place was compromised, it was abandoned and never used again.

And yet, Elise felt that strange nostalgia that came with seeing things through another's memories. The ache of seeing a place she had never been to, and yet feeling sadness over what someone else remembered. Elise really hated being a Shaman sometimes... She hated being Force Sensitive at times.

Mevia had told her she was lucky to be gifted... but she had no idea what a curse it could be.

She lifted her hand towards the heavens, hand reaching for the direction where she knew the ship had left this place. She wanted to go home, like they had gone to Kestri from here. But alas, Elise was no longer able to return. Just like the countless other scum on this planet... she was a criminal. A criminal of war. A traitor.

It made her want to scream.

She dropped her buy'ce on the floor, tears slipping down her face. The girl still reached out, but only the arid wind slipped through her fingers. Lifeless and dry. Elise whimpered, like a child, and grieved this mess once again. She only ever wanted to do the right thing. But doing "the right thing" only resulted in her betraying her own people and fighting her own sister. What kind of "right" was that? She had come here, chasing her mom's memories, for a taste of home through her eyes. But she only felt further away, like the criminal she was.


Jenn Kryze

 

[Jenn Kryze]

Beskar'gam
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| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | Comfort the verd'ika

"You are not going to find peace here, vod'ika. There are only memories."

Jenn's voice was... warm. Almost motherly, really. A rarity, all but unheard of even for those in her good graces. A side of her seldom seen, that almost hurt for her to show. The Alor still dreamed of founding a family of her own, raising children, holding them in her arms, watching them grow - but now, it truly felt as if she would never get the chance. Not with the war raging, and her relationship left in turmoil. They would only ever stay dreams, and although the thought pained her, she turned all of the motherly instincts within her towards others. Those who wandered from thhe path, teetering on the edge of becoming well and truly lost.

"I remember your parents", she continued, approaching the girl as she wept, slipping off her own buy'ce, if only to let her see her features. To understand that she would help her, that she was more than merely a Crusader come to judge her, to haunt her for what she had done. "Your father was a good man. I knew him, long before you were born." And with that, she reached out to rest her hand on her shoulder, bringing care and comfort with her every action.

"My name is Jenn, Alor of Clan Kryze. And you... are the spitting image of your parents. I've already met your sister when the Council was called, which means you must be Elise Vizsla. The girl who turned her back on the Enclave, and chose to follow what she believes is right." A pause followed these words, and she gave the girl a gentle tap. "Walk with me, Elise."

​

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Elise Ahana-Gwyneira ​

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Elise turned in shock upon hearing another voice. She had not sensed another presence here. But now that she was here, Elise only felt good intentions emitting from this individual. But her mother's memories also told her of who this individual was. And it... concerned her.

She seems so different now...

Then again, these were memories from some forty five years ago. Obviously, so much would have changed since then.

Elise had no idea what to expect, despite Jenn Kryze's soft tone. She flinched when Jenn Kryze called her out as a traitor, but Jenn made no attempts to engage in physical confrontation or turn her in. Instead, she touched her gently. (Elise still recoiled, due to her psychometry having a habit of activating at random. Thankfully, her Force Sense was kind to her today, and gave her nothing.) Jenn she told her to walk. And so, Elise started to walk alongside her.

As they walked, Elise called her buy'ce to herself with the Force. Holding onto it like a stuffed animal, Elise looked away as the two started down the ruined hallways. Kaddak was a notorious criminal planet, but it was quiet here. At least right now. With so many thoughts on her scrambled mind, Elise spoke in a rather disjointed, sporadic manner.

"You saw Mevia? How is she?"

The intensity in her voice could easily be heard. The worry. Despite everything, despite her lashing out and injuring her. Despite the misery, and feeling like she had failed her so... Mevia was still Elise's baby sister. And it was obvious, how much Elise cared for her little ori'vod. She teared up, looking away.

"I'm sure I have no right to ask that," Shame covered Elise head to toe, "With what I've done. But I still need to know..."

She paused in her walk, overcome with emotion. Her own memories meshed with her mother's as she spoke, "I am sure you hate me, right? My mom's memories - you were so quick to judge her."

She frowned, looking out to the decrepit buildings of Kaddak. She blinked through the tears, feeling the wind on her face as she hugged her buy'ce against her chest. Afraid, she looked away from Jenn while keeping her Force Sense glued to her signature. Elise was blinded by her self loathing, and it was keeping her from clearly feeling Jenn's emotions. But the house of memories behind them left Elise with so much pain. If Jenn was right about anything, it was that there was no peace in that place.

 

[Jenn Kryze]

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| Location | Kaddak
| Objective | Comfort the verd'ika

"Your sister is nothing like your mother, and even less like yourself", came Jenn's response to the shaman's query. "She knows only war and hate. When I spoke against the Crusade, I could feel her eyes resting upon me, burning with resentment... this war will see her consumed." There was nothing behind her voice: no scorn, no judgement, no pity. Only that calm, measured tone she often employed, speaking rather matter-of-factly.

In truth, she hardly cared to speak about Mevia. This was not why she was here, or why she had chosen to approach the young woman. As they walked, their steps took them further and further away from the ruined safehouse and the painful memories housed within. Although she controlled her own emotions with far more ease than the girl of house Vizsla, the siren was far from insensitive when her eyes came to rest upon it, or when her thoughts danced back to the family unit of Kranak, Shai, Eliz, and Gwyn. Sometimes, she wondered... about what might have been, had she chosen to stay with them. To be part of their family.

"When Gwyneira met me, I was a firebrand Crusader, and a zealous follower of the Way of the Mandalore." And with that, she stopped, opening her arms, as if to let the troubled girl rest her eyes on her beskar'gam, unchanged throughout all those years. The exact same as in her mother's unpleasant memories. "Today, I stand against the Crusade and all it stands for. I am a zealot no longer, but a reformer, a unifier. Alor to a Clan of Protectors." Even now, there was no pride in her voice, none of the fire she had once shown in the past.

"I do not hate you, Elise of Clan Vizsla - nor do I approve of your leaving the Enclave. Change is always more meaningful when made from the inside, and those Mandalorians who fight for the Galactic Alliance make no secret of their disgust for us. But you are different, aren't you? You want to protect those caught in the crossfire, to help slow our advance as we carve into those worlds. You fight to protect, not to kill. There is honor in that, wayward as you may be."

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Elise Ahana-Gwyneira ​

 

[Elise Ahana-Gwyneira]

Elise frowned with grim disappointment when Jenn Kryze spoke of Mevia's growing hatred. Guilt nibbled at her insides as she wondered how much it was her own fault. But Jenn went on to speak of who she had been... and who she was now. Her armor was nearly unchanged, but her personality was very different. And it was that genuine change that gave Elise a spark of hope. If Jenn Kryze could change for the better, why not Mevia?

When Jenn spoke of her opinion on Elise's actions, Elise could not help but respect the honesty. She knew Jenn was sincere, because she held nothing back. It stung to hear that Jenn disagreed with her actions, but at the same time understood them. And she told her that for why she fought, she had no fault.

And yet...

Elise looked down her her buy'ce. Her blonde hair flowed in the wind as her red eyes faintly glowed in the dusk. She frowned, lifting one finger and tracing it down to t-visor.

"The violence of the Enclave was only leading to destruction. That-" She looked to Jenn with wide, frightened eyes, "That's what I saw in my visions. And what I noticed in the Enclave's growing rage. There's anger there. And that never leads to good."

She looked down at her buy'ce again. "I don't want to fight my people. I didn't want to fight my sister. But I hated what I saw taking place in front of me. I had to act against it. But it..."

She looked up, memories of the battle at Kiffu replaying before her eyes. "It only lead to more pain."

She turned and walked to the nearest perch. She found the remains of an old durasteel beam and placed her buy'ce gently upon it.

"I never liked the Galactic Alliance. They are an empire disguised as a peaceful democracy. Corruption runs wild, like a rabid charhound, in their government. And the Jedi are too passive, or too high and mighty not to notice their hypocrisy. Do not get me wrong, I did not defect to protect the Alliance, but to protect the bystanders caught in between."

She looked away from the buy'ce, back to Jenn. "I regret leaving, because now I'm fighting my own family. I don't want to hurt my fellow vode, let alone kill them, either. But even if I am wayway, as you said, isn't it too late to go back now? My actions thus far are set in stone."

She looked to Jenn with a grim expression on her face, "But I cannot stand by this Crusade either. A Crusade the Enclave is completely dedicated to. And I cannot be an aide to the terrible things this will lead to."

Her eyes widened, "So much death. Death my visions told me. So much destruction they chant for at Kestri. I can't go back, because I have fought my kin. And I can't go back, because my vode will despise how my actions indirectly lead to the deaths of four other brothers. And I can't go back... because I cannot condone what they are doing either way."

She looked away, regret and shame written on her face. But also, disgust. "Kark these super powers and this game they play, when it's destroying everything in between. Pompous Jedi, corrupt senators, and bloodthirsty Mandalorians. I'm alone, against everyone and everything. My fellow Shamans understandably want no part in this mess. It's just me."

She clenched her fist, gritting her teeth as she shed tears of anguish, "It's just me."