Private There's No Place Like Home

[Lief]

Could he blame them?

No... He supposed he couldn't. It was easy to sit on the outside, observing from afar, and criticize and point fingers. The reality was, when you're encompassed by your own reality, when you lived through it each and every day, it was easy to tunnel vision, to act as others have acted, and to stand by tradition and precedent.

It had taken Eliphas flying the coop, joining up with the Atale to realize just how privileged he had been. Just how fortunate he'd been in his upbringing. Caring, doting parents, siblings he only sometimes fought with, a sprawling palace to call home, and all the trappings and belongings a boy his age could ever ask for.

And that said nothing to the education and opportunities afforded to him by his station.

"I know" he finally stated, with a soft nod of his head, "It's just... Seeing it all for myself, away from the safety of my home, it's all so alarming I suppose."

Not at all the bedtime stories he'd been told as a child. Of heroics, of good triumphing over evil, of a return to stability in the wake of waning evil. Instead it was one removing another, leaving a gap for something new to rise in its wake. On and on. A vicious cycle.

A choice. That's what Kal told him. Always his choice... "Maybe" he responded, "But we're all influenced by our surroundings in some way or another. I have no doubt where I'll be expected to go, and once that becomes the norm.... What's stopping me from being just as impressionable as the rest of them? From being wrapped up in it all?"

Eliphas wondered if there was anything, really, that could stand in the way of such. Slowly, over time, it would become second nature, until he forgot he'd even had such misgivings in the first place.

Maybe he'd be proven wrong, though.

 

[Kal]

Glancing briefly Eliphas' shoulder as a team of Grey Ones transported some sort of oversized power cell through the air by way of handheld tractor beams, his attention quickly flickered back. With a thoughtful 'hmm', he shrugged.

"Nothing, really. If you walk the path of the Jedi you will inevitably be pulled into Jedi matters."

Returning to his previous telepathy, Kal prodded the man's mind meaningfully. <You will still be you, however. There is a great deal of difference between unity of purpose and slavish obedience - keep that in mind, above all else.> Even that would not necessarily be easy, of course. Duty, friendship, and morality could all be pulling in different directions.

Even more so during emergencies, when there was little time to think or reflect.

Force only knew there were plenty of those in this day and age.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Experiencing the Shadow's words in his mind had become oddly second nature to him by this point, so much so that he was barely conscious of the shift when it happened. Now, speaking back to him that way was of course another matter... But still. Maybe this whole Force Sensitive thing wouldn't be too bad if he eased into it.

Still, it was rather unnerving.

"Yeah," he said, with a short nod, "I do suppose you're right. And you... You keep away from that sort of thing? Jedi, Sith, whatever else there is out there. Remain your own entity, in spite of your Sensitivity?"

It certainly didn't look like he was tending to Jedi business here, at least, and nothing he'd done or said had Eliphas pegging him as a Sith, so...

Then again, looks could be deceiving.

Despite the heavy subject they'd just waded through, the boy found himself reaching for another small finger food. At least his fatigue had worn itself off, he certainly didn't feel like yawning every five seconds anymore.

 

[Kal]

<In a manner of speaking. I am affiliated with the Je'daii, however - a smaller order with an emphasis on balance. That said, my goals and ideals are my own, connections to my kin notwithstanding.> He had found his time among the Je'daii to be an enlightening experience, in some regards, but they had by no means made an ideologue of him.

Looking thoughtful as Eliphas tried some more of the food, Kal leaned back in his chair.

"I dare say Sensitivity is not as big of a point as you make it out to be, in this regard. The Sith in particular have been known to make use of forced recruitment, but they do so with non-Sensitives as well. Everyone else has a choice."

Which was not to say that the Force Sensitive were not more valuable and thus sought after.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

"Then maybe I'm worrying for naught."

Eliphas pondered that for a moment, scratching his chin. He supposed it wasn't how it had once been, children weren't being plucked out of their homes by either side to be drafted. It was much more the opt-in, at least with the Jedi. Else there was no way he'd have lasted this long without being drafted. His mind was certainly eased.

"Thank you, by the way," the boy said, as their conversation on sensitivity and the like tapered off, "For, you know, being so cool about all of this. I know it's probably not ideal for you all, to have a random busted ship turn up in your workstation, much less to find out it's one of your own... Just, thanks." Most would not have been so calm about it, so accommodating, certainly they wouldn't have handed him food and sat to talk philosophy.

It was nice.

"If you're ever near Empress Teta, find a way to let me know... I'd love to return the favour of hospitality. And I'm sure my Father would more than happy to meet the person who helped get me back to him."

 

[Kal]

Smiling broadly, Kal shrugged. "It seems the polite thing to do; it's not as if you came into this situation with malicious or even criminal intent. I am happy to help." The same could not always be said for his associates, of course, but they too were a relatively pleasant bunch as a whole. As far as spirits went, the Shadows tended to be at least decently hospitable.

<That said, I might take you up on that offer. Empress Teta is a fascinating world - so much history and so many people. It is somewhere that is overdue for a proper visit.> Tilting his head, he glanced towards the ship.

<Speaking of your home, it seems the Grey Ones are all but ready to finish up. This has been an interesting encounter, but something tells me you are eager to return to your family.> Not to mention dispel the belief of his demise.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

"We're out in the mountains," he explained to the Shadow, with a wistful grin, "It's so quiet and peaceful out there, easy to forget just how busy the rest of the world is. The offer will remain in perpetuity." This last part was said with a decisive nod.

Then his eyes drifted over to the ship; still a pieced together old rustbucket, of course, but somehow now it was looking as though it really was his. That meant it needed a name, right?

He'd have to think on a name while he made his way back home to Teta.

"I've been gone far too long, you're right I am eager to return home." Rising up from the seat he'd found sanctuary in, Eliphas turned and glanced over the claywrought Shadow. Dipped his head into a low bow of respect. Then offered a hand out to shake.

"Until we meet again, I wish you all the prosperity in the Galaxy."

And then it was time to board... Eliphas could only hope that it would in fact get him all the way back home...

Kal

 

[Kal]

Kal responded to the offer and the nod that punctuated it with a warm smile of his own.

This had been an unexpected interruption, but not an unproductive one. Eliphas was an interesting enough being and if nothing else, helping him uncover his Sensitivity and begin to use the gifts it conferred was worthwhile in and of itself.

<I can believe that.> Taking his hand, Kal gave it a firm shake. "May the Force be with you."

A common enough expression, but meant more literally than usual in this case.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

A shake of the hand, and then he was off... Back up the boarding ramp, into the heart of the ship, with a course set for somewhere near home. With something of a mind of its own, there really wasn't all that much Eliphas could do as it was released from the strange station it had been housed within and began the long journey back from the vacuous starless void.

Where exactly he was spat back out, he didn't know... Not initially at least. But with a course set for Teta, he felt certain he'd find those familiar mountains again soon enough.

Fin​