Private There and Back Again

[Judah Lesan]

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Wearing: xxx
Weapon: xxx x2
Tag: Ala Quin

I know I said I would be staying around for a while, but it seems the force has deemed otherwise. A report of a disturbance unlike anything we have encountered before came to my attention, and while the bombing investigation is underway, I felt compelled to investigate. The fate of an entire world hangs in the balance. When I get back we can grab dinner and catch up.

Stay safe, JJ.

Dad.

Judah read the letter to himself a few times before finally working up the courage to send it. They had already been well on their way to the planet by the time it was even written. He had tried to find his son to tell him in person, but it seemed that JJ was off on a mission of his own. Something personal from what he understood of it.

He scratched his beard as he carried himself to the galley. It was going to be the better part of two days before they reached the system in question. It would go slow. When heading out on a mission filled with the unknown, time seemed to move at a much slower pace. Judah could always feel it inch on by, dragging itself out as much as possible.

His only solace was that he did not travel alone. A kettle for hot water was put on, and Judah leaned against the counter as he waited for it to whistle. That would take longer too, so he finally pushed himself off the counter and pulled out some mugs and prepped the tea. While he did love his caf, Judah wanted to keep his mind clear for this mission. He had just the perfect tea leaves for the job.

“I’m making tea if you want some,” Judah called out to anyone who was listening.

Ala was on the ship along with whoever was under her tutelage. For now Judah could not remember the specifics of who had joined them, just that Ala was teaching them.

He sat on the cushioned bench with his feet propped up on a small table. The ship was his home more often than not, so the living space seemed much more like something found in a house or an apartment. If no one wanted to join him, he would just relax. Either way getting to know the people on board before they arrived and had to trust each other beyond the bonds of being Jedi was required would be a beneficial thing.

“It’s fresh!”​

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[Ala Quin]

Tea.

Ala's head was quickly pointed in the direction of the word 'tea'. Meditation could wait if there was tea to be consumed. Also, the call to tea time was also as much a call to socialization time. Clearly, Judah needed some quality time. Ala would oblige.

Bedecked her her increasingly preferred black ensemble with silver accents and a long white flowing cap, Ala looked less like the traditional Jedi now and more like some sort of pirate queen. She liked the fantasy of the clothes. The intimidating appearance that belied her actual nature. She could look an act tough, without having to actually go all in on being stoic.

She entered the mess area with her fingers pointed at Lesan like guns. "Pew. Pew."

"Hand over your tea or I'll make you walk the plank."

It was an old fashioned saying that meant no sense in the eons long era of space travel. But the space-ship version was much darker. She wasn't joking about chucking people in airlocks. Nope.

"Tell me there's something with lemon in it. Or peppermint. I can live with peppermint."

She was already leaning over Judah in her probably overly familiar way. Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not seeing peppermint....or lemon."

"Fine. Impress me Master Lesan. Whatchya got?"

| Ala Quin |​

 

[Judah Lesan]

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Wearing: xxx
Weapon: xxx x2
Tag: Ala Quin

“I didn’t know you were such a pirate.”

Maybe others would not have gotten the reference to older human adventures, but Judah considered himself a fan of older literature and holovids. It was an appreciation passed from his grandfather before he had passed away. It was both a proud and depressing thought at once. Mostly, it was a good feeling.

“I would prefer to not walk the plank,” he said as he looked at the woman.

She was close, leaning over in a way that seemed familiar and not very Jedi like. Judah was not going to complain, but he was also not going to be unprofessional about the situation. For the most part they were strangers, and Judah did not know how friendly she was, or what boundaries she had. She was not Valery Noble . They were not close enough for him to be his usual flirty self.

“That’s because there is no peppermint or lemon.”

He motioned to the cheesecloth and the tin of tea leaves.

“It’s a special blend from my personal stash that I had before Corellia went boom. There are a couple of spices I am not sure I can get any longer, but this is what is left.”

He shrugged as he indicated for Ala to take a seat. The water was still steaming. Judah put some of the leaves in the cheesecloth and dropped it into the mug of hot water. He smiled as he slid the cup over to where she could sit.

“Try it. I promise you’ll like it.”​

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[Ala Quin]

A tilt of the head was all that Ala gave to indicate how supremely impressed she was in the method he was making the tea. Despite the lack of lemon or peppermint, she was inclined to give the Jedi Master the benefit of the doubt. "Alright, then tea master...hit me with your best shot."

The way Ala sat on the offered seat could only be described as a 'happy plonk'.

"So. Ju-dah-Le-san."

Her head tilted again to take in the Jedi. Empathy washed across her face. She could sense that this was a man who had been places and seen things. Unpleasant places. Unpleasant things. And yet. A core of light still emanated from within. Resilience was an under-admired trait.

"Best we get the low down on one another so we know who we are going into the trenches with. Hmmm?"

| Judah Lesan |​

 

[Judah Lesan]

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Wearing: xxx
Weapon: xxx x2
Tag: Ala Quin

Judah waited for Ala to plop down, as she opted to do, and try the tea before he took a sip of his own. There was something about the particular blend which seemed to hit the spot as they would say. In his more seasoned years, Judah found pleasure in small things that he had once taken for granted as a young man. Yes, there was still a child-like quality to how he approached the world, but he had an appreciation for things which he had once overlooked.

It seemed idle small talk was the order of business for now. Ala was correct however. If they were going to be working closely together, they should get to know each other to a certain extent. Was he willing to let the other Jedi master into the darker parts of his story? No doubt she would discern that his life had not been full of puppies and rainbows or magical creatures. The runes on his forehead alone spoke of the extent of how serious he took his job as a shadow.

“Sure… what do you want to know?”

He sipped his tea once more and set it on the table.

“I’ve been a Jedi since I was a child. I have 2 children. Got married, she died, and it doesn’t matter how hard the dark side tries… I’ll always serve the light.”

There were reasons why he could say it with confidence. Were they stories he wanted to tell? Only if Ala asked. His answer might have come off as rude, but it was a very short version to insist that he had been through a lot in his life. The details of those adventures were not important, yet. Once he knew more about the situation they would be facing, once he assessed it for himself, he could decide what parts of his past were relevant to the mission.

“I’m also a notorious flirt. You should be warned.”

Judah winked and offered his infamous Corellian smirk.​

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[Ala Quin]

Ala appreciated the candor. Her smile morphed into one of satisfied bemusement. Judah wasn't one for lengthy drawn out backstory monologues. There was a certain pleasantness to this. But of course she wanted to know more. It washer nature to be inquisitive.

"I am very sorry for your loss. She must have been a special lady." Her empathy expressed through a wave of Force energy, warmth to envelop her words as they reached their target.

"Your children are blessed to have one so dedicated to the right path. I am sure they are proud of you," she said with another smile.

Sipping the tea again, Ala nodded in approval. It was certainly satisfying the itch that his pitch had created. She left the flirting comment hanging for a moment. There was no reason to pursue that line further. She would deal with it on a case by case basis if it became anything much at all. A simple playful yet restrained eyebrow raise was offered, and that was it.

"As for me. Experimented on as a child. Rescued by my mothers jilted suitor. Pursued by my mothers other...more sinister jilted suitor...experiments had left me somewhat feral. Tech was used to overwrite my personality...leaving me a fairly typical if...light...on my feet...young one thrust into the care of the Jedi. Eventually my original personality broke through...split personality battle...my created personality won out, the Jedi me...won...and then I was captured by the same scientists that had experimented on me. Well...then it was just a consciousness transfer into a non-Force Sensitive body....escape from scientists...eventual reuniting with a slightly altered cloned body...the Force is back...yay...I got stuck on a damaged vessel outside of the galactic disk...only chance of survival was a cryo pod...woke up 800 years later to battle the Bryn...have my back broken...fall in with the Ashlan Crusade for a time as I rediscovered myself and healed...only to realize that my true path has always been that of the traditional Jedi..."

She took a deep breath finally.

"...and then there are the people I have loved along the way. Zakk. Caltin. Aayla. Lynmeira. Valery. N'yssa. Yeah...the list goes on for a while..."

"...and I can talk a lot when I get started."

| Judah Lesan |​

 

[Judah Lesan]

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Wearing: xxx
Weapon: xxx x2
Tag: Ala Quin

Her story was… complicated, and yet it was simple. It seemed they shared something in common which could be summed up in a word.

Tragedy.

“Life rarely turns out to be happily ever after.”

Whether it was the view of a grizzled old Corellian, or a profoundly accurate statement based on a life full of experience, it was what Judah believed. They both had loved and lost, albeit Ala had lost many because of losing 800 years of her life. Caltin, it was a name Judah knew. He was alive, and the same Caltin she mentioned. The other names, Judah was not sure he could put faces to. Many of them were likely those she had been close to years before.

He set his cup of tea on the table and nodded.

“I have never been the subject of experimentation, but I was taken by the sith once. At that point I had already lost my right forearm in a saber fight. Razielle Van-Derveld spent days torturing me, trying to turn me, after her husband betrayed me. One by one she removed each finger from my left hand until all that remained was my thumb. What they did not know was I had a lightsaber hidden in my arm. I was able to escape and return to the Jedi.”

“For some time I spent fighting the Sith with an older faction known as the Army of Light. I was zealous. Later I would become one of the original members of the Silver Jedi Order and serve as a Jedi Shadow. I have served in that capacity for various orders, and on my own, for as long as I can remember. Valery is responsible for my return to the New Jedi Order, but there are certain of their methods I have questioned for a long time. Many of them are far too quick to kill for my liking.”

“You have spoken of this darkness, and I still am not sure I will understand what it truly is until we arrive. We may not be able to stop it, or fight it. I cannot promise success, but what I can promise you is that you will not have to question my commitment ever. I may be known as a flirt, and I do hide my pain behind a certain Corellian way and charm. But when the need comes that I be serious, I assure you I can be. You are no longer alone in this fight Ala Quin. Even if this mission requires everything I have to give, it is yours.”

Perhaps the moment was a bit too serious for both of them. Judah felt it needed to be said, especially since they had never worked together before. Part of him wondered if she had felt alone. The way she embraced Valery as if missing the care of a close friend. There was a population on this planet, and it seemed Ala had adopted their customs, but these were not Jedi. They were not her own people, even if they had become as close to it as they could be.

He took the pot of tea and refilled his cup, beginning to sip on it once more. He smirked.

“I can also talk a lot when inspired. Though I much prefer banter over serious and heavy topics. I apologize if I turned the mood somewhere it did not need to go.”​

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