Sticks and Stones

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

"I wouldn't have the first clue how to fly for real. Maybe a telekinetic grip on myself, without wavering, ever. But metaphor accepted." Mara squinted at the droid, trying to make sense of Kaili's work. Mara knew starship engines; automata were a whole 'nother ball game. And though she wanted to see the end result, the midpoints of the process couldn't quite grab her. She opened a drawer and pulled out two small objects: a scoring tool and a flat tablet of blue-white upari crystal the size of her palm. She started etching almost absentmindedly, letting the Force guide her hand like she was holding a ship's control yoke. The concentric geometries of a kasha crystal started to take shape, influenced by the lines and whorls of Wookiee Upari-cutting. When she realized what she was doing, she blinked and looked down at the work in her hands. Making kasha out of upari...

The workshop, the castle, shuddered gently. That took her a long moment to process.

"Feth. That was my aunt's ship lifting off. Feth." She set the blue crystal tablet aside and ran her hands through her hair. "Guess she didn't want to stick around and get yelled at any more. War criminal one-oh-one, right? In case of consequences, bail?" But she couldn't quite muster up the bitterness or contempt to match the words.

"Wish I hadn't ended it like that, whatever she did."

 

[Kaili Talith]

Droid craftsmanship felt a lot like being a consultant or sys-admin at a big corporation. There were the parts of doing your job and then there were the parts in which people quite simply just expected you to be there. Did people think they ever needed Kaili? No, but when they did it was always of the greatest importance. A droid loses its hardware motivator or data debloviator and suddenly the world was about to end and Kaili had to fix it as quickly as humanly possible. She had long since stopped pretending that people cared for what she did, it was just a simple fact of life for her. As such, when Mara began to phase off Kaili couldn’t really blame her.

Her work was halted momentarily as the workshop seemed to shake. Not violently so, in fact it was more like a small tremor. Something hitting the ground, perhaps. Kaili looked up from the droid in her hands and kept her ear out in the hopes of catching the origin of the noise. There was a faint rumble, but it lasted far beyond that of the tremors and only grew quieter the further away it got, which was alarmingly fast.

“Was that a sh-” Confirmation came before Kaili could finish her sentence. She turned to look at Mara who seemed certain it was her aunt. There was a small hint of dejection there, shame or worse; guilt. Kaili’s brows furrowed in uncertainty of what to say. Her friend needed something, but what?

“Maybe she has seen what you are capable of?” Kaili shrugged. Not for Mara’s sake but for her own, to stave off the feeling that told her this wasn’t what Mara needed. “I- uh… I don’t mean that in any bad way, you know?”

“Just, you are good at what you do. It seems like you have spent a lot of time with her, and maybe she just thought to her self that... If now wasn’t the time to leave, when would that be? I mean, I don’t know how the stubborn nature of the Merrill family works,” Kaili tried to laugh. “I have only really met the one.”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"]


"That might be part of it," Mara admitted. "Makes me feel better if it was, 'cause right now, all I can think is that she left because of last night. Because she slipped up while fixing your memory, and because I went off at her about it this morning. I probably made her feel unwelcome, and I'm betting she already felt awkward or embarrassed. She's made things that can trap gods -- she's not used to screwing up."

The slab of blue stone cracked; too much pressure on the scoring tool. With a grimace, she put both aside. "Well, what's done is done. Who knows: maybe she got called away by her qo'saarai tuk'ata friends or some random part of her legacy. Dissero, Seydon, some old friend. Doesn't have to be that I yelled at her until I was blue in the face. Feth."

***​

​

The rest of the day did little to improve Mara's mood. She granted a few petitions she couldn't afford with local resources -- she'd have to get a ship to bring in some cows quietly or whatever -- and failed to combine kasha and upari. At least Kaili's project was coming along.

It was the next day (a day with a very similar kind of schedule) that Mara felt the Force warp in a way she never had before. She'd been sitting on a high-backed chair, hearing a dispute over a sawmill, when it hit her. She knew, instinctively, that her aunt was dead. That was it; no detail involved.

The next while was a blur. She traveled to Dromund Kaas at best speed, commiserated with Siobhan Kerrigan, helped finalize her aunt's estate, went to a quiet and poorly attended memorial service, and somewhere in there she admitted to herself that she actually would miss Rave Merrill.

When she returned to Kilia Four, to Castle Miriamele, she threw herself into crystal projects. The painstaking, fine-tuned effort gave her a sense of control over her life, and she sorely needed that just now.

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

Research Notes: The Golden Sun

Just past the northern end of Hutt Space, near Boonta, there's apparently a hidden waterworld called Sedri. Aunt Rave had a bunch of notes on it. In a sense, the Sedrians have a whole Light Side crafting tradition, totally unique. The Sedrians keep their secrets private. I don't know how Aunt Rave got this material. Not sure I want to know.

Their culture centers around a sentient collective consciousness, a mass of coral called the Golden Sun. The Golden Sun is intensely Force-sensitive: it has an incredibly powerful healing aura and telepathic presence, and it projects a gigantic mass shadow in hyperspace. Navicomputers register the planet as equivalent to a star. That's an intensely unique property. Not much Force-wise affects hyperspace, apart from pyronium and Dad.

There are caves inside the Golden Sun, and the caves hold golden crystals that formed from the coral. The crystals retain a portion of the Golden Sun's power when removed. It seems they have a Force-bond with the living being, one that allows Force-sensitives (local monks etc.) to access the Golden Sun's power remotely. That's another unique property. Rave was looking for something like this for ages.

The Sedrians have a "sophisticated technology based on the power supplied by Golden Sun." Their standard traditional energy weapon, the sun gun, was basically a metal tube with a specially attuned golden crystal inside. It stuns, but doesn't injure -- unless corrupted and tainted by the Dark Side. Sun guns can be used by anyone, but the crystals get depleted in that case.

When used by a specially trained Force-sensitive, the crystals can channel the power of the Golden Sun for all kinds of strange things. The traditional method is to hold the crystal in one's fist. Beams equivalent to a sun gun can be projected from the fist, and the fist can be used to block blaster bolts and dissipate other energy discharges. Other related techniques include controlling and inflicting pain, as well as healing. Each crystal must be 'unlocked' or prepared by a Sedrian priest or monk, in order to release its energy for use in a sun gun or another object. The crystals can be used to power all sorts of "work-saving items" (i.e. the crystals were the source of the Sedrians' traditional technologies' power) including healing functions. You better believe that Aunt Rave had a ton of notes on this. They all center on the idea that a sun crystal can be used to channel or produce specific elements of the Golden Sun's powers -- each power could be isolated for use by a specific crystal or set of crystals.

The priests intimate that the crystal caves also have power related to farsight and "spatial travel," but I don't see anything more about these. Probably a reference to the mass shadow that interferes with space travel to Sedri. Makes sense: the crystals serve as local channels for small portions of the Golden Sun's power.

The Golden Sun is capable of instantly healing wounds and wiping away fatigue. Sun crystals, when unlocked, have a lesser healing effect and can serve as focuses for more powerful healing.

Sun crystals can be used to power mundane technology, with the right adapters, explicitly including starships. Also worth noting that the Sedrians caught up to galactic standard tech by 10 ABY. SedriMotors Ltd. is still around.

Pretty much all sun crystal emanations involve golden light.

The notes came with a chunk of yellow, crystallized coral.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili was off to a great start as Councilor Supreme. Her lip twitched with uncertainty just as it had when she had last been in this seat. One couldn’t really believe it if Kaili had said that there was a time when her family wasn’t busy being the ideal image of family life. Sure, right now they were all the mushiest kind of hellbenders, but when Mara had first met Kaili there was a long period of time when neither Aela nor Micah would really see eye to eye on anything, and then there was Kaili right in the middle of it. She couldn’t fix it back then and she knew damn well she couldn’t fix what had just happened between Mara and her aunt either.

The girl did try though. Grabbed Mara by the shoulder and gave it a light squeeze while uttering something that sounded as reassuring as Kaili could make it. It was with little success. Mara’s storm cloud continued to linger throughout the day and in the end Kaili decided that she had exhausted all means she could think of. Time would quite simply have to work its magic on this one, which perhaps was for the better in any case.

Yet was it really? The day after seemed to drag through at an alarmingly slow pace. As the two peasants stepped up before their overseer everything had seem to have been going just about as well as the whole day had. Up until the point when it went even worse that was. Something seemed to be off. There was a sensation floating through the force, something that Kaili hadn’t felt for the better part of at least last twenty-four hours thanks to her friend’s aunt; loss, but it wasn’t Kaili who felt it,

It was Mara. Memories of the last time Kaili had felt it seemed to resurface, but she pushed her way through. The girl took a step up to her friend to divert her away from the throne and the people below it as quickly as she could. The situation with the sawmill was wrapped up, but other than that there were no other petitioners.

And then, the lord went away for a while.

With the tinge of what loss once more lingering on Kaili’s mind she would find that each night grew more and more unbearable again as the slight crack turned into something greater. It was an avalanche effect almost. Worry for Mara, worry for herself, worry for the road ahead and whatever it was ‘the force’ had planned for her.

Not that she put much stock in the force beyond that which she herself was able to do.

Mara returned to Castle Miramele once more. Somewhere between then and now Kaili had brought Henry into the castle to help her with the Robert project. Actually, that was a lie. It was to monitor her values again. Maintain her heartbeat and stress levels during sleep and to wake her up when things got out of hand.

Oh, and to have someone to talk to. That too. Kaili had never been the best at meeting new people, much less interacting with them.

“What are you writing?” Kaili asked Mara from across the room. “Ever since you came back you’ve been doing nothing but reading, writing and working on those crystals, Mara.”

“Come on, speak to me.”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

"Quantum entanglement," said Mara absently, holding two chunks of golden coral up to the light. "Like the Library Card comms. Or just an instantaneous Force bond, if there's a difference. Remote access keys. Integrate one piece with a Force construct, an amulet or something, and use the other piece to access that artifact's abilities from anywhere. Imagine one major construct with a standard Jal Shey mental defense effect, amped up, accessible from anywhere via a set of rings. That's one possible config-"

She tossed the coral on her workbench and rubbed her temples. "Tunnel vision helps," she said quietly. "Block out the things I'd rather not think about. I miss her more than I thought I would, and I feel guilty for not having the kind of relationship with her that would make me miss her more. I've never lost family before."

A long exhalation put the coral-crystals from her mind, and she turned her chair to look up at Kaili. "Thank you for covering for me, and I'm sorry all this has taken me this long to shake."

 

[Kaili Talith]

Quantum what? Kaili might have been all goody-goody with tech stuff, but that hardly meant she was the absolute best at it. Quantum physics, assuming that was what Mara was talking about, was not exactly the girl’s number one interest. She poked at droids and saw what worked, that was the extent of her knowledge. To say that she was left somewhat surprised and confused at what Mara was trying to say was an understatement.

At least until she dropped the project onto her workbench and started to rub at her temples. Tunnel vision and distraction were two very familiar concepts. Part of the stagnation that brought Kaili to where she was now. It helped with pushing away the what-ifs, and just this once Kaili herself wasn’t quite sure what to say to make things better. She knew the feeling of death but not when it came to family. She had been close, Micah could have been one of her victims, but luckily he was not.

The Talith girl let in a deep breath and set off a slow exhale.

“Yeah.” Kaili whispered. “You have nothing to apologize for. Least I could do.”

“I uh, I don’t know what to say, Mara.” The kid gave Mara an apologetic glance. “She was a unique character, I can say that much.”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Mara let out a chuckle that felt hollow. "Funny thing was, I didn't even like her that much." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "All right, that's enough sentimentality. I need to buckle down and make something. That'll get me feeling better, no question about it. Never thought I'd turn out to be this Force-crafty, but here we are."

She pulled out a couple of drawers of crystals and stared into them, seeing experiments and possibilities. She'd begun developing a process to revitalize power gems, for example, based on a handful of nearly-inert shards and a vague ambition.

After a long moment, she slid the drawers shut again.

"Or I could stop being so self-indulgent." She stood. "There's a half-ruined little fort I've been meaning to check out. Renovate it, and it might be a great guardpost for some of the nearby villages. It's just a matter of labour. Without using offworld resources, it'd take a good while, but maybe the two of us could speed things along. It's stacked-stone construction, no mortar. I'm not normally one for telekinesis, and I'm not sure you are either, but I'd imagine we could make something happen. What do you say? Want to build a castle?"

 

[Kaili Talith]

It was hard not to notice the way the mood seemed to pull the silence towards the ground. Through the force Kaili felt what Mara felt and part of her struggled not to think back on the last time she felt the same way as Mara. Kaili was just happy to be there. She couldn’t say or do much, but she understood. The silence despite how heavy it felt was something that they both needed. Which perhaps it was a bit of a paradox when you considered that Kaili had just asked Mara to speak. Perhaps now Kaili could at least somewhat understand why her parents had been so concerned for her when she was still in a far more catatonic state than that of Mara.

The young Talith stared at her friend with uncertainty. There was an urge to hug her yet the idea felt somewhat alien. Did people do that? Kaili’s mother had always been one for it, but her mother was also very physical when it came to caring for others. Kaili took the first step in her friends’ direction before she was cut-off. Mara rose up and began talking of forts. If now wasn’t the time to lighten the mood then Kaili wouldn’t ever know when the time was.

“Are you offering me a castle of my own, Lady Merrill?” The kid perked her brow and tried to grin. It wasn’t very successful, all things considered. “I only settle for…” No, the feeling just wasn’t right. Kaili shook her head, let the silence buzz. “No, no jokes. I would be happy to help you with that, Mara.”

“Anything to make you feel better, or… Well, anything.”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

In the fulness of time, a pair of shaggy pulkas took them out past the bailey walls, past a couple of villages and farms, and into the woods.

The ruined watchtower dated back to before the Dark Age, Mara explained. Some rich vacationer's passion project, clumsily designed. But the stones were precisely cut, enough that the tower had become a source of building materials. All the villages they'd passed had at least a few stones from this place. What remained was mostly buried by the weight of centuries.

Mara drew up her pulka at the edge of an overgrown clearing. Tree-roots gnarled around blocks of half-visible stone, and the lumpy ground suggested there was a lot more where that came from. The final structure wouldn't be nearly the size of the original, but there ought to be enough material here to shore up and complete one of the remaining tower stubs.

They were a good distance into the woods, so Mara pulled out her lightfoil and stroked the thin silver blade through the bases of the larger trees. That was the easy part. The time-consuming part, the bit that would stress her abilities to the limit, was the telekinetic strength required to move the fallen trees and unearth the cut stones.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Riding the pulkas still felt odd with the way it caused her butt to repeatedly smash against the saddle on the beast’s back. She observed the way people lived as they passed through villages and farms and woods and watchtowers and ruins and... Well, the list went on. Civilization on this planet still intrigued the Talith kid, the way life seemed to have found a way despite having very few of the luxuries that she cared for. Having lived in a castle for a few weeks was certainly a new experience, albeit one she most likely should have been used to if you considered exactly who she was.

At last they approached the clearing that Mara told her about. The Merrill woman went to work, Kaili followed behind her to check what she was supposed to do.

“I uh, left my saber at the ship.” She rubbed the back of her hands. “We’ll be fine anyway, right?”

All around she could see the stones that Mara had talked about They were hidden under the roots, but they were there. No denying that. Still uncertain what to do Kaili looked to her friend.

“We’re reusing the old materials to build something new, right?” She asked the obvious question. “Just you and I, or are there more people coming?”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

"Only brought...the sabre...to cut wood," said Mara through gritted teeth. Hands outstretched and feet planted, she guided the tree off to the side and dropped it. Its thud reverberated through the ground, along with a crack of wood on buried stone. Removing the tree had unearthed a number of cut blocks. Focusing, she pulled one out and set it by the wound in the dirt. Then another, and another. After a good minute or so, she paused and squatted, elbows on knees, looking over what little she'd done. She might have bitten off more than she could chew here.

"This whole area is sort of loosely patrolled by my people, in the sense that remote farms can get wind to someone with a weapon in pretty short order. I'm betting Mukami or Kolatta is somewhere within half a klick at most." Mara wiped her forehead and stood with a grunt. "We're probably safe as we can get on Kilia Four. Feth, I enjoy living on this planet. Where else would you find this kind of...honest living? Like, I'm cheating, I'm using the Force, but there's not a binary load lifter in sight, no prefab, no construction gear. When you build something, it's really you building it. I think I'm in love. Y'know? I like what it's making of me."

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

Several months later, this happened, and this. Mara and Kaili had both been off liberating and rebuilding Coruscant.

Kaili would find the castle on Kilia Four somewhat changed. Oh, externally it looked about the same, but one of the towers now held an unobtrusive high-powered sensor array, including a crystal gravfield trap. Not surprising, considering the cloaked Mandalorian ships that Mara had encountered so recently. An ugly new outbuilding held a shield generator, the serious kind. The healer's hut inside the walls now boasted a self-contained miniature medical suite, and it had seen recent use. Mara's crew -- Kolatta, Styr, Mukami -- were back on their feet with varying degrees of bandage involved.

The mood of the place had shifted, and not necessarily for the better. Mara could be found in the basement, assembling permutations and combinations of crystals and gemstones.

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

There had been a lot of time for contemplation on the way to Kilia. Between then and now there was so much that had happened which had only ever really been mentioned in brief messages to check up on one another. For Kaili things were picking up with her company, Allyson was a thing now and every now and then Kaili found herself truly questioning where the heck she lived. Yavin felt safe, for now anyway, but Borleias was always her real home. Yet to add another layer of doubt there was always Coruscant. She shook it all off in light of what had happened recently. With the attack on Ilum and Kaili’s growing hesitation to remain in Mandalorian territory she found herself torn between clashing ideals, and seemingly so did Mara.

The castle had been improved. Improved being a relative term, perhaps. It was most certainly steadier, more prepared, but it was at the cost of what some would refer to as a more ‘rustic’ appearance. It didn’t look the same, it didn’t feel the same. Bitterness lingered in the air and felt nearly palpable, anger in waves. Stifled but noticeable and a good reason to worry about the state of more than just the castle. The last thing Kaili needed was to watch her friend spiral down a pit of regret. That was what the young Talith had done the last time the two girls had met and even still she found herself struggling to get out of it at times. Her head was well above the water’s surface, but it was still far too easy to slip.

She hadn’t brought much this time. Much less than the last time. Her apparel was widely different from the local customs and the knife or dagger that Kaili had been provided with last time was still framed and hung above her chair in her office on Borleias. An employee of Mara’s came to grab her bag and Kaili gladly handed it to her. An index finger pointed towards the back of the great hall towards the hallways leading down into the basement. No words uttered, but a nod of confirmation was provided nonetheless. Kaili nodded back and hurried her way towards the workshop in which the small crab droid she had made was without a doubt still waltzing around and sorting whatever screw and bolt that it could find.

“Mara.” Kaili finally uttered as she entered the basement. “I came as soon as I heard.”

The blonde pushed a disheveled lock of hair from her sight and back behind her ears.

“You don’t need to tell me anything about what happened.” She added as her arms wrapped around her friend in a tight hug whether Mara wanted it or not. “I’m so sorry you had to experience that.”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

As [member="Kaili Talith"] hugged her from behind, Mara hunched over the workbench, looking down at her creations. Her eyes stung, but didn't water.

"Thanks for coming," she whispered. "Means a lot."

She wanted to find some way to stop monopolizing the situation, find some crisis that Kaili had been dealing with, but right now she couldn't see how to shift the topic to Kaili's needs. Kaili's needs seemed less important just now, and that was a shameful thing.

One came to mind after a second; Mara straightened and turned to face Kaili's hug. "You live in Mando territory," she said. "That little place on Yavin by the Academy, the old Shule Windspeaker workshop. Are you...I mean, is it safe? Do you have anything there you can't live without?" Your girlfriend's sort of kind of Mandalorian also came to mind, but that didn't need to be said, and shouldn't.

 

[Kaili Talith]

“No.” Kaili answered her friend’s question. “Tension’s been growing to a level I am not comfortable with. My presence there by now is nothing if not symbolical in friendship. With the death of the old Clan Head, the call for a crusade against my former nation and this…” Kaili shook her head. “I do not feel safe to go there unless I have to. Until our deal over Coruscant I pretty much had to, it was the only foundry I had available for personal use. That’s not the case anymore.”

No need to mention the Underground — or rather, the Kathol Outback — Mara was most likely made aware from her father what Kaili had been working on for them.

“I have been torn about whether I should rig it to blow or just up and leave lately,” Kaili shrugged. “Or stay.”

“The Mandalorians are targeting the Republic, I am a former Republican Citizen. If they ever caught wind of that I fear how they would react.”

“Mob mentality is hard to contain. I still don’t want to end up on a cross, you know?”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

"Not sure the Mandos have the patience for crucifixion." Mara laughed without a bit of humour and broke away to fiddle at her workbench again. "Far as I saw, they prefer their killing hot-blooded. All kinds of excuses you can make for decisions in the moment."

Pieces of crystal clicked together. "Oh, by the way," she said over her shoulder, "your brother messaged me. Said he's already in hyperspace. I told him he was welcome to visit, see the place, check up on me. Any other time I'd be giggling about his butt or trying to outdo him in alchemy. Feth." She shoved the crystal armature away and folded her arms. "Feth, but that stupid Ilum visit ate my life. It's all I can think about."

She rubbed her face and turned back to Kaili, holding out both hands. "On the one hand, I need to do something. On the other hand, anything I can think of doing would take me closer to the Dark Side than I'm comfortable with." Another dry laugh. "Last night I dreamed about hanging Mandos from trees with rope nooses, the way they deal with murderers here."

 

[Kaili Talith]

“You are focusing on obsession right now.” Kaili said and placed a firm hand on Mara’s shoulder. “Do not focus on obsession.” It could be seen as hypocritical, in a sense, to hear that one come out of Kaili’s mouth. It might not have been yesterday, but it most certainly wasn’t all that long ago that she herself had been visiting Mara with the very same mindset of guilt and regret. She had figured thing out since then.

“If you have Micah coming in, then we are three minds who can put ourselves to figuring this one out.” Kaili didn’t take her hand off Mara’s shoulder. “As your student, friend and totally-not-employee I will be here for you throughout this entire thing. Just like I promised.”

“I will stay for another four weeks if that’s what you need. I might-” Kaili couldn't help letting a chuckle through. “I might have to get Allyson over here if I do, but I will be here.”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Kaili Talith"]

Despite herself, Mara grinned. "If you bring Allyson Locke here, she will make you wear poofy court dresses and tiaras just for kicks. I hear she had way too much fun at that dressup shindig on Terminus."

Tension drained from her neck and shoulders, though it would be a while before the headaches eased, if ever. "Don't put your life on hold for me, Kay. Four weeks is an awful lot of time away from your girl and your projects. And sure, it took me months to shake off the time Lasedri's Rebel Alliance shot me in the back, but I was young and physically hurt and confused. I'm not really any of those things this time around. I know exactly what I'm doing. If the memories get too bad, I'll have you put on my aunt's gauntlet and do some work on me; I trust you. But I think I can get this under control, or I'd never have told your brother where I was, him or Chloe Blake. If I really thought I was just going to sink into a hole again, I'd have hung out here for a while, then gone home to Mom and Dad." Kaili knew Q-27 existed, but outside of Mara's family -- and Beyyr and Miktik, of course -- she was pretty much the only one. Even so, Mara didn't talk about Q-27, ever. That habit was ingrained in her.

"Master Voidstalker asked if I had...verifiable proof, or if my crew or I wanted to testify in Alliance space. I sent him some datapad recordings, but it's not much. The Mandos took the Bullet Time and all my gear. If Nefertari Sovint survived, maybe her snubfighter sensor data will be actionable. As for testimony...none of us want to go that route just yet. Is that wrong?"

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili too chuckled. Indeed, the shindig on Terminus had been an experience for all parties involved. For one, Kaili had learned exactly how deep her jealousy could go and what it could lead to. Memories were fuzzy from that evening, but she did remember the name Alec Rekali. Now that was an entirely different story. Not one that needed to be brought up in this moment.

“It’s not to put my life on hold, it’s to guarantee that you don’t do something stupid.” Kaili looked unamused. “You just told me you dreamt of hanging people in trees. I’d say that’s reason enough to stay until things have calmed down.”

“And not going through with testimony is a choice only you can make. One that I am certain that you know the weight of and what it could mean on a galactic scope.” Kaili withdrew her hand. “With the Mandalorians gathering under Ra Vizsla and the growing underlying contempt towards force-users around their parts…”

“Things are tense.” Kaili confirmed once more what she had already stated. “I can’t really visit the academy or my foundry without worry for what might happen. I’m still a republican according to my papers. They may have withdrawn their military presence and cut spending and just about everything that has with Borleias to do, but I was still raised within its borders. A has-been fact is not going to matter a whole lot of-”

Kaili stopped. She was letting her own fear take precedence.

“I’ll just-” Kaili hesitated. “I’ll just be honest with you, Mara.”

“... I don’t know what you should do.”

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]