Up, Down and Sideways

[Dax Perl]

"Ah, don't call me a Jedi." Dax said, although humorously, a lopsided smile on his face. "But, it was a pleasure working with you. Even if it didn't exactly go as we had planned." Good work had been done. A cache of weapons destroyed, a Sith captured. It could've gone worse, Dax guessed.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel jumped up onto the top of the crate and landed in a seated position. It was an elegant landing but her face revealed it had come at a cost of jarring her arm.

“Thanks again. I’m just going to wait here until the cavalry arrives.” She grabbed a water container from her belt and finished the last few mouthfuls. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax nodded. "I'll wait with you. I'd feel a lot better seeing your people take the Sith with 'em. No offense of course." Of course the Silver Jedi could handle the Sith on her own. That wasn't a question. But, the man could be a bit OCD at times. He liked to know his job was done.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled. She spent the majority of her life alone – either on missions or travelling to or from one – so a little company made a welcome respite.

“No objection to you hanging around to make sure he gets picked up.” She tapped some data into a small console she removed from her belt. “Kaytoo, my astrodroid, is going to bring us some refreshments. Warm water is OK, but sometimes you need something more."

“So, while we’re waiting, what makes you dislike the term Jedi?” Her voice was light and conversational, there was no judgement attached to the tone.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax nodded bis head in thabks and then leaned against one of the many crates as he thought. How best to explain? "Well, obviously I used to be a Jedi. Well a Padawan, whatever. My master and I operated heavily in the Outer Rim, disrupting black arms and slave rings. One day out investigations wound up with a Sith killing my master and then me blasting said Sith." he told her. "I asked the Council afterwards if I could investigate a little. Something felt off. They told me not to but I did anyways. Not like I had a master to teach me anything at that moment. Turned out I was right. I went back to the Council and they told me to leave it alone again. So after that I left." The man didn't seem cross. He retold the story in a matter-of-fact tone because it was fact. Nothing would change it. "I wouldn't sit by while there was still something I could do to help people, and bring that Sith to justice."

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded. It was a common story. One that, in fact, she could resonate with many times over.

“It is a conundrum and in many ways I do not envy a Council in making such decisions. How do we define the greater good? What is important to me may seem small fry in the galactic scheme of things. But perhaps they saw a bigger picture? I am not defending their decision, merely offering a potential viewpoint.”

“But regardless, I am in an Order but one without a Council and we are empowered to make decisions real-time. I would always commend a Padawan to check on a line of action – if only for their own safety, but I would be a hypocrite if I said that I reported back for every field decision I made.”

“If there is a difference between us, it is that I am a Jedi in name. Other than that, it seems we pretty much operate the same. Broadly speaking,” she added.

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax nodded a small, sad smile forming on his lips. "Oh, how I wish that were true." Maybe a few months ago he'd have agreed with the woman. But, things had changed, and something had begun to fester within him. He wasn't very eager to learn more about the nagging needs that had formed in the back of his mind.

"Have you always been with the SJO?" the Rogue asked, redirecting the conversation. He knew some joined Orders later in life. Some left their old lives back completely, others did not. Everyone had a story.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

“No,” was Sorel’s swift and honest response. “I first joined the Republic Jedi. Back on Coruscant. Then, when the One Sith came, I moved to Ossus. Then, due to events, I travelled the galaxy with my Master. When he died, I returned to Ossus to find the Jedi gone and the Republic in disarray. I decided to travel more and stumbled across the Silver and my Master. It’s been my home since.”

She took a sip of one of the drinks that Kaytoo had brought them. “Do you have a place to call home?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The young man retrieved the drink that the astromech had brought, thanking the droid as he did so. "No, not really." he said, shaking as he spoke. "I mean, I've got the Outback. That's home. But no single place no. I tend to wander a lot."

Living as he did got lonely sometimes. All he really had were droids, but nothing beat interacting with another living being. Unfortuantely for Dax, most of his interactions with other living beings entailed making sure they weren't living anymore.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel took another sip, savouring the taste given the time she’d spent without so much as a drop of water. And then she grabbed some meds from her pocket and popped a pill, swilling it down with water. “It’ll take the edge off until I can have this arm seen to properly.”

“Anyhow. What’s the Outback?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax took a si of the drink nodding as [member="Sorel Crieff"] took the pills. "Call us rebels, dissenters. Whatever. We've been liberating the Kathol Sector from a rather oppresive government." he explained. "Good people. Strong people. They just wanna let the people decide for themselves. The world's we've freed already started setting up their own governments." the man sheygged taking another short sip of the drink, "All we can do is hope that they're better than the last."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded. “There’s the rub and the constant dilemma for Jedi the galaxy over. Liberate a nation from an oppressive regime and hand it over to a benevolent one. It sounds so simple on paper.”

“But what if the new regime turns out to be more evil than the last? Or worse still, it turns out to be entirely liberating but crime soars due to the removal of martial law? Deaths rise exponentially. Crime goes up by a factor with too many zeroes to count? All the things the dictator kept supressed are now free to feed on the weak. Is that a true step forward? Will people thank you for it?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Thanks isn't what I'm worried about." the Rogue said. "As long as the people don't squander what they've got, its all good. The KO tries to stick around though. Provide some semblance of law as the new administration is created. From what I can tell, things have gone well so far."

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled. She didn’t expect Dax to be particularly bothered if someone thanked him personally. And she hoped her point was understood.

“That’s the point. Once you liberate them, their life is in their hands. If they make a great go of it or squander it, that’s their decision to make. Otherwise we run the risk of being the great adjudicator for each and every planet. Deciding for them that they’ve made this decision correctly but this one badly. And stepping in when we don’t like an outcome. Which is why I say we have to be sure, before we intervene, that the future is likely to be better than the present.”

“And none of this is a criticism of the Outback, merely an observation. It is the same with the Silver Order. We offer protection but allow planets to govern themselves.”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

"Of course, never thought otherwise," Dax said, addressing the point of potential criticism, "Honestly though, I'm not one to get into the politics of it all. I'm a soldier, warrior, whatever you'd call it these days." The Rogue paused to take another drink. Too long in the dust, he intended to savor it as much as he could. "I just gotta trust that the ones in charge know what they're doing...what would you say is your role in the greater galaxy Ms. Crieff?"

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened to Dax. Most Jedi, in her experience, were a lot more similar than they cared to mention. Non-Jedi loved to point out differences, as if that made every Jedi invalid. Or tarnish every Force user with the brush of the darkest one they could see.

Which was a tenet of the Code of course and why they were trained to behave in a certain way – less they are seen to represent the whole Order in a less than favourable light.

“Me? I’m a Jedi. Just a Jedi. I do my best. Every day, in every way possible, I look to do something positive. Defend justice. Oppose crime. Prevent death and oppression. But these are grand ideals and can weigh too heavily on each Jedi’s shoulders. At least as I see it.”

“So I do my bit and rely on others to do theirs. And if we add up all our activity, we get something worth shouting about. Then it doesn’t matter if the ones in charge do an OK or a wonderful job. Because us ordinary joes combine to make the real difference.”

She laughed. “How did this conversation get this deep?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

Dax shrugged and laughed, a smile tugging at his lips, "Beats me. You didn't put anything in my drink now didya?" he joked. Well, things could certainly be worse. Better reasonable banter than shouting and argueing.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel chuckled. Sometimes such talk could become heavy and somewhat dry. This time around she was actually having fun. The subject was serious, but their approach was light-hearted.

“Nothing in your drink, I promise.” Maybe it was the danger of the previous encounter that allowed them to relax so fully now.

“So where next for you? Anything planned?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]

 

[Dax Perl]

The man shrugged and looked into the depths of his cup, "I don't know really. Kinda just been seeing where the Force takes me." He cocked his head to the side and looked up aimlessly. "Good and bad I guess. Gotta...sort some things out before moving on...What about you?" he asked, looking at her once more.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened to Dax. It was clear the Jedi had high morals and tended to go where he was needed, where he felt he could do most good.

In that respect they were not so dissimilar. The only difference is that when Sorel acted, she had the expectation and the reputation of the Silver Order on her shoulders.

“I guess my time is split three ways. I spend a third with Padawans, training them. Another third is on formal Silver Order business, be that missions or working with new governments. And a final third tends to be personal activity. Researching, exploring – that sort of thing.”

“Have you trained any Padawans in your time?”

[member="Dax Fyre"]