Survival With A Pyne

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"Ah." Cenric said, then smiled slightly. "So you follow at least part of the Jedi Code then."

Jedi weren't exactly celibate, at least not officially, but by most standards they weren't supposed to form attachments. Cenric had always thought that rule was impossible to follow for most beings, and most Jedi nowadays didn't follow it at all. Of course there were a few exceptions, but they were few and far in between.

For Cenric himself it wasn't really an issue, and probably wouldn't be.

His interactions with the fairer sex were awkward by standard, as had been displayed multiple times throughout his time with Mariya. It was ironically really, since his entire species was known for their expertise when it came to communication. His friends back home had always mocked him for that.

After a few seconds passed Cenric dug into his own bowl, beginning to down the food rather ravenously now.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"An odd way of looking at it, but I guess." In a way he was right, at least in one sense, though not by intent. "And you?" She asked, crossing her arms beneath one another, laying her left leg across the empty seat to the left of her. "Do you follow that part of the Jedi Code?"

Jamie certainly didn't. Then again Mariya knew nothing about whatever Code he was referring to. Were there many Codes? Just one? Was it open to interpretation? Was it meant to be?

"How many parts of the Jedi Code are there even? Is this some manifesto? Or a loose list of guidelines?"

Mariya had never cared much about the details of the Jedi, never got that involved in the discussion with Jamie, though she was sure Jamie didn't belong to some secretive Jedi group like others. Even if she wanted to, she hadn't the time, being Queen and all more or less took all of that time from her. Master Talith she knew had been a part of an Order, but she'd only ever seen the woman a small number of times in passing, and boy was she a silent one. Brick wall type. Expressionless mostly. How they were friends she had no idea.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric flushed slightly, and then cleared his throat before gingerly putting down the bowl of stew. "I uhh...have never had the chance to..."

Finding the right word was difficult in that moment.

"Decide." He wasn't exactly sure if that was what he wanted to say, but he let that sit there for a few moments as he took another mouthful of stew. The microwaved concoction was slowly doing the work it was supposed to, soaking up the alcohol that had been permeating his brain. After a few seconds Cenric swallowed, and then almost too eagerly moved on to her other question. Eager to get away from the first half of the conversation.

"Nowadays its different than it was." The History of the Jedi Order was one subject he knew well. "We used to just be one whole Jedi Order, long before I joined, but there was a split. Silvers, New Jedi Order, Jedi Praxeum, all different, all different code."

He explained. "But all of them follow a version of the original."

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Her eyes partly bulged, "That sounds overly complicated and incredibly subjective."

Jamie definitely followed her own code of morals and ethics. Honestly based on her behavior and demeanor, she imagined her sister likely followed some kind of morbidly strict version that others didn't adopt. But who knew. Perhaps part of it was due to her role as queen, or maybe she was just more dedicated to the ideals than she needed to be, or perhaps it was just both. Mariya really had no idea.

It was the only aspect of her sister that the girl really knew very little about. Until the night Vrak arrived she had never seen the vibrant yellow glow of Jamie's lightsaber.

That was a first. And hopefully, she thought to herself, her last.

Never in her life had she been more terrified for her own safety, and her sister. The panic in Jamie's voice when she told her to run was something she would never forget, no matter how much alcohol she drank.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"I suppose it is." Cenric said with a shrug. "I was never there for when there was just one Order."

By the time he'd been able to walk there had already been a Major fracture within the Jedi, large enough that they still hadn't recovered. The reason for it was fairly obvious now. Even Jedi weren't infallible, there were differing opinions, egos, and a whole host of other problems. Cenric had been exposed to some of them, but in truth he had only ever met Jedi who fought with the Alliance and mostly shared their view. Even his own Master was one of them.

"Now everyone has to have their own way and so they just go off and do their own thing. To tell you the truth, I don't think a lot of them even know what makes them different in the first place." The young man sounded disappointed.

A shrug rolled over his shoulder.

"It's not how I imagined it." He admitted. "Sometimes it seems like the Sith are more united than we are."

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Brown eyes stared down at the empty bowl. She wasn't exactly full, but she wasn't hungry anymore either. Leaning over the table the girl pulled the cork out of the bottle of wine and poured herself another glass, intent on filling her belly with liquid fuel instead of waiting for another package to heat up. Holding the bottle out she eyed Cenric, the question to whether or not he wished for more lingering silently through her lingering gesture. After which the smuggler set the bottle back onto the table and proceeded to indulge herself in the cold liquid.

"Maybe they are." No sense in padding the Jedi prowess here. "They certainly seem to have been in this case." Referring to the attacks against the Alliance.

Not that she was complimenting them. It just seemed to be true.

"Nothing you imagine is ever quite like the real thing. Take me, for example. I'm probably the worst princess you'll ever meet."

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"I don't know about that." He was sure there was probably a few Sith Princesses out there, or at least ones that claimed the title anyway. "You definitely match in some departments."

Just what Cenric meant by that he didn't say, though he did reach over and grab some more of the wine. Unlike Mariya however he didn't stop eating his stew, in fact he continued to munch on it slowly. It helped that he hadn't eaten in what seemed like days now, and using the force in the way that he had took quite a bit out of him.

Eventually, a shrug rolled over his shoulders. "The Galaxy has been...a lot different than I expected."

He glanced up at her.

"I'd never left Lorrd before I went to the Jedi Temple." He'd never even left the main continent. "Celanon was only the fifth Planet I ever went to."

 

[Mariya Pyne]

She paused mid-sip, the rim of the glass lingering between her lips as she stared at Cenric from across the table.

A moment later she lowered the glass, forgetting to even take the sip she was just about to. "Really? Five?"

How many had she been to? "Huh. Wow. I've been to..." She started to think, counting with her fingers as she rattled off names. "Coruscant, Corellia, Celanon, Nar Shaddaa, Nal Hutta, Tython, Nubia, Byss, Onderon, Attahox, Felucia, Kashyyyk, Tatooine, Bespin, Jakku, Ryloth, Demonsgate, Mandalore, Wayland, Commenor, and so many others I could sit here all evening and think of more. But I guess that's mostly because of the kind of work I'm doing. You tend to get around more often."

In fact Mariya had been to more planets than she could recount, though most of it was hardly sight seeing. A lot of her time had been spent in secret, but on occasion she had made stop overs in planets simply for the sights, or to explore. One such planet had been Tython. That was quite the trip.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

"Lorrd, Sullust, Coruscant, Mirial, Celanon." His list was much shorter than Mariya's in fact he could literally count it on one hand. In truth out of all the ones he had listed Lorrd was still his favorite. Coruscant had been hyped up to him to the extreme. Every other youngling and Padawan had told him it was absolutely mind blowing, but in the end it had turned out to be dirty, smelly, and entirely unpleasant. Then again he never had a chance to explore.

The Padawan frowned for a moment.

"I suppose I'll get to see Naboo now too." For however briefly. "After that?"

He wasn't entirely sure. Going back to his Master was the top priority, but he had no real control as to where he and Cedric would be going. The Rebels mostly lived on a small fleet, and said fleet stayed in deep space most of the time. If they struck another Sith world Cenric would get to see that, but he didn't think he could really count that as 'being' there. A fact that made him rather sad really. "I'd like to see Kashyyyk."

Cenric admitted. "Tatooine too."

A world with just a single biome sounded interesting to him. He liked the idea, it was...simpler.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

"Tatooine is just a desert full of people desperately farming water to survive. Why would anyone want to willfully go there?"

It was anything but a nice planet. "Not to mention it's a haven for criminals, thugs, and well, people like me, except their morals are a lot more loose than mine."

Way more, in fact.

Mariya shook her head and took another sip of wine. "Go to Kashyyyk, that is an impressive world, not just for the trees that stretch to the sky, but the Wookies are quite the people. Much more rewarding of an experience than kicking around in sand dunes and running away from Tuskans and slavers. That planet is depressing."

Anyone who lived there willfully was either out of their mind, or hiding from something.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He considered Mariya's words for a moment. From what he'd heard Tatooine was a bit of a rough place. Usually controlled by Hutts and home to more unsavory characters, but he still wanted to go. There was something unique about it that he wanted to see, the Twin Suns, the massive deserts. It was appealing in a strange way.

Even if he might get shot at. It wasn't like that wasn't happening anyway. Of course the truth of the matter was that Cenric wouldn't have time for travel in the near future. He was a Jedi, he was fighting a war. With the Alliance being attacked things would only get worse for the next few months. Maybe even years. His lips thinned for a second, but then he pushed the thought away by taking another sip of the wine. Tonight wasn't the time to think about that, not when it was on the horizon anyway.

Instead he pressed on. "Maybe when this mess gets cleaned up you can be my tour guide."

He joked with a smile.

Cenric doubted that he would ever get there, but it was an idea that he liked. Traveling and seeing different worlds with no ulterior motive save for going there. It was a peaceful thought, something to look forward to.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

“I don’t think that’d be wise.” She said, drinking from the glass. “That look you get when I put someone down is telling. I don’t think this is the kind of life for you.” Cenric had been appalled by her decision to kill those Sith agents, and those guys were already just about as callous with the supposed sanctity of life as one could be. It was all she could do to imagine how he might react if some common street thug tried to rob her and she ended up shooting him. He might have a anxious meltdown.

He would be better off returning to his Jedi Order and doing whatever it was they did, including not kill their enemies.

”The places I end up don’t typically have welcome parties waiting at the landing pad, and they usually don’t like the sight of Jedi.”

He definitely wouldn’t find himself in pleasant company on Tatooine. That was for sure.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He shrugged. "Guess I'll just go on my own."

Cenric had no illusions about himself. He knew that compared to many people he was moral, maybe even good but he liked to think that some people would match him on that. He simply refused to believe that everyone in the galaxy was a bad guy. There were more people like him, had to be.

Though one thing she said did bother him. The idea that most people wouldn't like Jedi, or at least seeing them. He knew that she traveled in more underworld circles, but he couldn't help but wonder if she referred to the rest of the galaxy too. Certainly wasn't so for Naboo given Mariya's sister, but still. It was something he would have to ask him Master about.

"Though." Cenric frowned. "I suppose Ill see it eventually anyway."

Whether by his own choice or not.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

“Maybe take another Jedi with you. Traveling alone seems to net you into trouble.” The seedy parts of the galaxy most certainly didn’t like the sight of a Jedi, but traveling alone was infinitely more dangerous than having someone else watching your back. It also deterred many from attacking when more than one Jedi was involved.

Even the bravest bounty hunters wouldn’t generally try and take down multiple Jedi.

What glass of wine was she on now? Four? The tingling sensation in her head was finally coming around, meaning it was nearly time to finish that nap she’d started before arriving at Roche.

”Traveling with me will just tear at your Jedi strings more than it already has.”

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He smiled slightly, glancing at the empty cup before he let out a chuckle. "Seems like you just don't want me around cramping your style."

The young padawan let out a small hiccup.

"Would probably be a bit harder getting into all those illicit deals." Cenric wondered if there were any Jedi Smugglers out there. Men or women who had gotten tired of the rhetoric and just decided it was better to do their own thing. He was certain they existed, mostly because of the stories that the other padawans had told late at night in the barracks. It was a bit of a folk tale in that way, though really only for those fool enough to listen.

Leaning back Cenric grinned at her like a fool. "Besides, i don't think the other Jedi like me much."

He smiled as he tipped the chair.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

“I just don’t want to be there when you get shot for upholding your moral high ground, that’s all.” She said, pushing the chair outwards to make room for her to stand. “But it would also be harder to explain why a Jedi is looking to smuggle several hundred thousands of credits worth of Isotope-5 across the galaxy to a trio of rebel cells to fight a war against their governments.”

As she spoke Mariya took the empty disposable bowls and made her way to the compactor, dropping them inside before setting the utensils into the sonic dishwasher to be cleaned later. With her back to Cenric she continued, “You know the only thing I miss while I’m out here?” Maybe this was because back home running water was a normality. “Water. Showers. Sonics clean, but they don’t have that clean feel. You know?”

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

Cenric tried his best not to turn crimson as the flashing image of Mariya standing within a real water shower flashed through his mind.

His eyes closed, and subtly he laid a hand over his face as though he were strangely rubbing his face for some reason. After a second he lifted his head again, the buzz of the alcohol making him slightly dizzy as he moved so quickly. "Oh Yeah."

The Padawan said in complete agreement.

Back on Lorrd they didn't usually have sonics. Water was plentiful, and more often than not sonic equivalents turned out to be more expensive than just having some plumbing installed. Of course some families still had them, though that was generally due to their efficiency rather than cost. His own home had a plain water shower, sourced from a well deep beneath his families home.

"I've always loved swimming." He mused, drawing his thoughts towards more appropriate things. "There was a stream near my home, we used to swim there over the summers."

 

[Mariya Pyne]

“Naboo has quite a few places to go cliff jumping. The falls and underwater caves are quite something.” She recalled the night with Vrak vividly in that moment. “The night that Sith attacked us, I used one of the rapids to reach a waterfall, leaped off and let the current carry me out through one of the caverns and into the marshlands.”

That was a dangerous and incredibly risky choice, but it had worked out for her.

”There are countless rivers, lakes, and more back home. Instead of taking my classes I’d seek out new places to explore.”

It frequently landed her in trouble with her family and instructors but did nothing to deter her otherwise.

The girl turned back around and retrieved her now empty wine glass, putting it into the sonic along with the utensils.

[member="Cenric Marus"]

 

[Cenric Marus]

[member="Mariya Pyne"]

He smiled slightly, it had been a clever tactic. The Sith was probably a Mastermind of tactics and combat, Mariya hadn't stood a chance so of course she'd had to run away in such a cowardly yet genius fashion( ).

When she mentioned skipping classes he balked a little, though that would be a surprise to exactly no one. Even an idiot would have seen by now that Cenric was what most would call a complete and utter do-gooder. There was not a crime in his past, not one that he would readily admit to anyway. Breaking rules was out of the question for him.

"I'd love to see it." He admitted. "I heard read once about a pair of Jedi that went through the planet itself."

It was a small piece from an ancient archive, more of an anecdote than an actual story. Still it had been interesting, though a little unbelievable.

As Mariya cleaned the rest of the dishes Cenric slowly stood from his chair, wobbling slightly and holding himself up with the side of his chair.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Mariya watched as the Jedi wobbled about like an infant Nerf, unable to steady himself and nearly knocking over the chair in the process. It was clear he hadn’t drank much in his life. Probably another silly rule of the Jedi Code; No doing anything remotely fun. Her lips pulled to one side, a mildly concerned look on her face as he righted himself.

”Please don’t get sick on any of the furniture. I hate cleaning.”

The brunette yawned, feeling the twinge of sleep nagging at her eyes.

”I trust you can make it to your room? I’m going to finish catching up on that nap.”

[member="Cenric Marus"]