Where the Wind Blows

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Coruscant Starport. ​

#starport​

swervin' on dat, swervin' on dat.​

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIyuBKCF-5Q

The mishaps of Iridronia had been awkward, but also strangely strengthening. To see that much darkness and prevail was something Jedi often did, but @[member="Tamara"] said it herself: she was not a Jedi.

That wasn't to say that Tamara hadn't seen darkness. In fact, she'd likely seen more than a majority of Jedi considering her experience with the years. Everyone had their experiences with evil. If Kiskla wasn't so good at being elusive, some may consider her evil, considering the celestial that pumped through her veins. If the time came for it, which she fought against day in and day out, she could be one of the darkest entities in the galaxy. But she was fighting to be the lightest.

It was this good in her core, that made her feel guilty. On Nespis VIII she had agreed to teach Tamara, and instead dragged her through Republic space to investigate activity on Iridronia that ended up involving Sith. Most of her Padawans would have loved to be involved in that mission, but Tamara was not her student in the same respect as younglings were within The Temple. Thank goodness. So, she thought she should make it up to the time-traveller, while indulging her own curiosities. It was a win-win suggestion that had been covered in the transmission to her associate. I mean, how awkward would it be if Tamara were to show up to the spaceport expecting a 72-hour trip and Kiskla surprising her with the intentions of taking months.

There was a lot of the galaxy to see.

Besides, the councillor also had to make arrangements with Grandmaster @[member="Carn Dista"] that she would be appearing to all council matters via holo henceforth. Unless there was an emergency, she would likely be unavailable. He was right. Her curiosity could be devastating, and therefore she contained it to herself and Tamara; for the latter's benefit.

Currently, she was assisting with the ship's preparations. Not that she really knew what she was doing -- but, she'd made an effort to make the ship look less like a beacon of The Republic with a new paint job. True, most people would recognize it's make, but at least it wasn't boasting it's colours and symbols anymore. Crimson III was ready to go with perishables and etcetera!

Satisfied, she put her hands on her hips and regarded the ship with a brief nod. Cool. Now where to first?

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

"So...what's this mysterious and wonderful location we're going to?" Tamara asked, emerging from the entrance to the docking bay. She eyed the ship. "Not bad...."
She walked over to where Kiskla was standing and gestured.
"Shall we?"

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"I figure I'd leave that much up to you." The blonde replied, and obliged to [member="Tamara"]'s suggestion. One foot after the other, she clambered her way up into the curved welcoming of the Jedi vessel. At least some were more kindred to Jedi, than they were to The Republic if anything did go wrong in this little venture of theirs.

"Not only did I dictate last time, but on Nespis you mentioned you had been exiled from your past." Without hesitation, or consultation, her slender frame found itself nestled comfortably in the pilot's chair, which she spun to to face Tamara so as not to cut the conversation short. Although, that didn't ever seem to be a problem or worry with the talkative femme. "I thought maybe we could take some time to explore it, while I teach you a few things.

So. Where to first? Dathomir or elsewhere?"

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

Tamara's eyes widened for a moment, then she nodded. "I guess you're taking me at my word about the disclosure bit, huh...." she said. She seemed about to become evasive again, but with a great effort she nodded.
"Yes, Dathomir is where it all began. Set course for there...and I will show you how it happened."

She sat back in her chair. "On the way, it's only fair that you give me a run down of your own life and times Ms Grayson. I want to know more about my great and wise teacher," she said with a fond smile.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla smiled smugly and wiggled comfortably into her seat, turning it around when [member="Tamara"] let part of her barrier down. Her toes stopped the chair from continuing to swirl, and she leaned over the dashboard. The controls were like a second nature to her, not only had she been trained to be a warrior but also a pilot; although that part of her had been shelved for a little over a year. Save for that run-in on Anaxes at the naval academy. Slender digits entered Dathomir's coordinates, and the heel of her palm shoved the thruster's lever. With what would have been a roar in the hangar, a gentle purr echoed to her ears and the ship began to lift. She looked back briefly and simpered happily.

"How will you show me?" Kiskla asked, intrigued. For one, the Jedi Master could show history through an ancient Aing-Tii technique her late master introduced to her, and she honed to an art. Especially when she combined it with psychometery so as nut to entirely exhaust herself. For the next moment, she left Tamara's suggestion unanswered as she corresponded with flight control to make sure they were cleared to launch and not interfere with Coruscant's heavy flow of traffic. When the mark-125 was cleared, the ship belched from it's hangar. Lifting slowly, she amped up the speed once they reached the atmosphere. There was another minute or two of silence as the ship warmed up for hyperspace; and then it jumped.

Finally, the pilot swiveled her chair around and slapped her delicate thighs.

"I suppose it's only fair to exchange secrets." Tamara's smile disarmed her. For so many years Kiskla had been guarded. Fractions of her story were known, and there was only one who knew..most of her stories. He was nowhere to be found however, but he had a legacy of trust. And portions of his discovering who she was had been accidental, mere coincidence. In this galaxy where everything treachery and betrayal for personal advancement ran rampant, she could probably do with a few more friends. Marcello had said she was difficult to befriend. If Tamara was going to lose her iron curtain, she may as well too. It was as she said, only fair.

With a breath, as if she was about to pull off a bandaid, she regarded her companion. "Certainly you don't want the whole life and times -- do you?" Maybe, just maybe, she wanted to tell it. She never had explained the whole thing. And her first master was the reason she was who she was today. "Because I've never practiced that much of it."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

Tamara shrugged. "I'm not proposing to spend years telling you all of my movements for the last nine centuries, so I don't expect you to tell me everything that's happened in your twenty or so years. Just the highlights will do. As for how, I know you are capable of reading objects, and I have the ability to transmit mental images if I am close to another, proximity wise anyway. It's a form of telepathy, but it's not something I can do in the present, just show what I have seen in the past."
As hyperspace blurred around them she dug into her bag and came out holding a small jewel case similar to the one which held her lightsabre crystal. Opening it, she showed it to Kiskla. Inside, held in a vacuum seal, was a small token or pendant.
"It's all that's left of Dathomir to me. As you know, the whole Akala thing was a vision of what might or could have been, but those people existed...the events on Dathomir happened...even if I have now seen two alternate versions of it. But this is the last thing I have from that time so very long ago...."

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

The highlights? Hm. What were her highlights?

Blonde, mostly.

Ha-ha.

"I can read those objects because I'm a Kiffar." Highlight number one. "Although born, raised and trained on Naboo."

"If you like," Kiskla began, resting her elbows on her knees and peering into the case that [member="Tamara"] presented. "I could teach you how to revisit an event entirely." She leaned back, and twisted her long blonde hair into a bun on top of her head in a single, swift movement. As she wound an elastic around her tresses, she explained what she meant "My late master brought me to many places. One of them, was within the Kathol rift. Have you heard of it?" She waited for a confirmation or otherwise before continuing.

"There lived the Aing-Tii's home planet. And let me tell you, they weren't pleased to see us. Anyways, they have this amazing grasp of the Force. Unbelievable. We only stopped there long enough for me to understand the culture, something tells me he wore out his welcome long before -- so later, he taught me how to flow walk. Flow walking allows me to visit the past -- and can be used for the future, although I've never ventured into that realm.

I can take you back to that moment, even within the vision, where I saw you for the first time." Pause. "Or second.." she waved her hand, obviously baffled again at the way the timeline worked "However that worked out for you."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

“It can be rather tricky until you think about it logically. For me it was the first time, for you the second time. With time travel and visions it can be quite difficult to keep track of it all.”

“I have heard of flow-walking. I met someone who could do that once, an Eldorai Jedi named Malya. But you say you can do it? That would certainly make telling the story easier.”

Tamara paused, uncertain perhaps about how to proceed. The thought of her history being laid bare perhaps unsettled her.

“I…well you will see a lot of things I expect which you will not approve of, but history is not just the good but the bad as well.”

“Alright, let’s get started. Take the pendent, but be careful, and let’s get going….”

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"I'm not as pure as many think." The blonde said honestly, while reaching for the pendant. She was just smart, and rose to what occasions demanded. The occasion just happened to demand nice, kind and non-judgemental Jedi. Holy heck. How many more miscellaneous boxes did [member="Tamara"] have?

Delicately, Kiskla reached for the object and cradled it in her palm. She'd not walked for a long time.

"I need you to concentrate, and reach out to me in The Force. Expose yourself as much as possible. I’ll to the same. See if you can reach out to me on a metaphysical level. “ If she couldn’t Kiskla would compensate — but if she could, that would mean less work for the navigator.

Tamara was the story teller, and Kiskla was the enabler.

With her psychometery on the object, they were able to pinpoint a time. Because Kiskla hadn’t been at this thread in history herself, it would have been difficult to weed through all the noise to this moment. Thankfully, with her hereditary abilities, that hunt had been skipped. Finding the Force’s current, Kiskla seemingly lifted Tamara and her’s presence to catch the wave.
It was like Force-surfing!
Kiskla and Tamara were seemingly teleported to that exact time where Tamara received the pendant — and there, the two of them could see Tamara, while they themselves were nothing but translucent spectators.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]
Tamara was glad that metaphysical exposure was necessary, not literal. Unlike so many it seemed she was not inclined to indulge carnally every second day.

Reaching out with the Force she extended herself and met Kiskla’s mind. Thinking back and back, her mind took in a scene so long ago. Even now she shied away from painful memories of that time. Confident in Kiskla’s trust though she solidified her vision and projected it to the other woman.

The image was from Tamara’s own viewpoint, through her eyes, following what happened like it was a holovid.

It was always hot in summer, even in the shade, even inside. Tamara sat on the floor against the stone wall, trying to absorb some of the cool from the thick wall. Despite that the room was still stiflingly hot.
There was a click and the door opened, admitting a tall and regal woman, and Tamara immediately got onto her knees.
“So you are the new girl, are you?” she asked.
“Yes, Mistress,” Tamara said anxiously.
Unexpectedly the other woman knelt down in front of her. “Good. I am Jinxhia, and you will serve me and my family in all things. Take this and wear it around your neck so the servants and people in the city know you are with my family.”
She held out a small wood or bone carving on a leather thong.
Tamara placed it around her neck. “Thank you, Mistress,” she said warily.
“I am not a cruel mistress. Serve me loyally and you will be treated well. I’ll introduce you to my husband as well. He is your Master, understand?”
“Yes, Mistress. Thank you.”

The image faded and Tamara looked a little ruefully at the Jedi Master. “That is the first thing I really remember. Even I cannot remember everything. Akala twisted my memories and self into her delusion, as she did to you.”

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla hadn't looked through someone else's eyes before. The experience was strange, and she was at first disoriented -- this was communicated by the blurriness of the image. However, with Tamara's confident memory of these strands of time she righted herself and enjoyed the ride.

Kiskla could remember the heat. Especially with the crowd of people that had been around.

When Tamara withdrew her conscience, Kiskla grasped at the emptiness -- attempting to maintain the bond. Alas, nobody wanted to participate anymore; the thing was, if Kiskla's machinations were fine-tuned enough, she could swim through the current of the past even if [member="Tamara"] wasn't her guide. As long as the events had happened, she could visit them. It'd just take some time to orient herself. Instead, she thought of a less exhauting solution.

"Perhaps once on Dathomir, we can find another event to leverage."

Speak of the devil! Look who's atmosphere they were dropping out of hyperspace to. Apparently the trip back in time had affected real time far more than one would think. The Force was a mysterious and wondrous thing.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Dathomir.
It was the second time she had been here in recent memory. Not so long ago she had come here and met with the Singing Mountain Clan Mother. Of course, a lot had changed in the thousands of years since her birth.

As she stepped out with [member="Kiskla Grayson"] beside her, she looked around.
“It bears no relation anymore. Everything has changed. Back then I’d look up at the skies and wonder if I would ever go out there and see them. Now I know and I have. But that’s not why we’re here. Let’s go to the next part of the story…what would you like to see next…more of my life here, or perhaps how it all went so terribly wrong?”

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"I remember only a little bit of the former, but I'd like to know more about your experiences. I'm sure that will lead into how things went awry."
Kiskla spoke in a somewhat distracted manner. Likely because the planet was swarming with the darkside, and Kiskla's celestial prisoner was reaching out to the nexus. She had forgotten about that little hitch. If she was going to have to suffocate the darkness, as well as Flow Walk the Jedi Master was going to be exhausted by the time they got off this planet.

Provided they got the opportunity to leave. Dathomir was mother to many a foul creature. Like Rancors. Trained to be practical, Kiskla unclipped a small electronic reader from her belt and activated it. Instantly, the screen glowed a cerulean hue and extended it's sensors for any sort of life form around them. Beyond the local flora, there were no immediate threats.

With a blink, she peered through the rolling fog and waved her hand. The effect was similar to drawing a curtain, and with her metaphysical exertion the condensed wisps rolled from obscuring [member="Tamara"] and Kiskla's sight.

"We should be alright if we want to venture now. But we should find a secure area. I'll leave that up to you."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

Tamara seemed to sense a change in her friend’s demeanor, but she didn’t slow, not until they were safely in the mist.
Calling on the Force, the wanderer spread her hands wide, and the mist roiled and shaped itself into new and interesting forms.

“How many?” Jinxhia asked. The Kwa’s features puckered into an anxious frown.
“We do not know, my Lady. All communication has been lost beyond the gate. We have had to seal it to prevent the enemy continuing their attack.”
“How is this possible?” Jinxhia asked rhetorically. She shook her head. “You may go.” Turning to Tamara she beckoned her forward. “Do you understand what this means?”
“The enemy have taken the Shanxia Gate,” Tamara replied. She was…different…here. No longer dressed as a slave, she wore robes of an odd sort and carried a weapon at her side.
“Yes. Now I want you to listen very carefully. You are to go with the King. The Gate of Lehon must be destroyed, or these monsters will destroy everything. It is our only hope of defeating them!”
“I will go, Mistress. Thank you.”
“Then may the stars bless you, child.”
Tamara bowed and turned to go.

The wraiths of the past faded away. “There were not many humans on Dathomir then. We were brought in as slaves, oddities for the Kwa. I was the only one there with power over the Force, so they trained me to be one of their warriors. And as a warrior I went to war. I suppose that is the next story you wish me to show you?”

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Having [member="Tamara"] expose herself so readily, and begin to manipulate the memories to projections was inspiring. In her prime, she must have been a true marvel with The Force and Kiskla couldn't wait to see what else she could do. The scene played out with apparent ease, and the transactions between the woman and Tamara were presented with crisp and clear definition.
Both looked older, and the kinetic energy between the two seemed far more relaxed. Tamara had obviously ascended in the house's rankings and had earned a position of recognition. This speculation was confirmed when the raven-haired exile explained that she had become a warrior, and had been separated from her fellow slaves due to her innate midichlorian ability.

Kiskla nodded, hungry for another story.

"And this is all before the time of the New Republic?" She asked. Perhaps it was a daft question but she wanted to confirm the breadcrumbs she was following.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

“Tens of thousands of years. I do not know exactly when, but long before the Jedi, before the Republic, before the Sith. So long ago that this was the start of the Infinite Empire’s advance. Relentless in their power, they drove all before them. But, the gate at their homeworld Lehon was a key point. We believed that if we could stop them there it would buy us time. Years even.”

A sad smile. A gesture, and the grim swamp became alive with war, with screams, with death.

“We must move closer! We have to get to the gate!” one of the Kwa said.
“My King, our forces have taken severe damage! If we attack again we will have no way to escape, they are closing in!”
“We do this for our people. We must succeed, no matter the cost.”
Tamara watched this debate with some of the other warriors. Normally the warriors would look down on her with contempt as she was not one of them. On this day however they were either filled too much with a common purpose…or fear…to think this.
As the space ship came in to land their enemy was waiting for them. Rakata. Their bulbous eyes were filled with hatred, their blades dripping in gore from the last Kwa attack. Bodies and ruin lay everyone on the surface of the Gate.
Tamara entered the battle. She was afraid, but she fought with a savage fury which was totally at odds with her modern attitude. Rakatan fell impaled, beheaded, crushed with the Force or tossed aside like ragdolls. Onward she advanced until she came to a halt in a ring of enemies.
Every single Kwa had been slain, and she was all alone.
Their sibilant voices baying for blood, the Rakata closed in for the kill.
The Force filled her, and as she looked at them she struck at them, clearing her way through them until she reached the controls. The shields collapsed, and the gate began to break apart. Tamara fell pieced with many wounds, falling to the deck as around her the world went white….

Tamara in the modern era looked down at the muddy ground, remembering the bitter memories with little joy.
“So much killing. So much blood. I had great power. Too much. Too much….”

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

The fight curled into action. Dathomir of present was replaced with the living beings that were nothing but souls now, buried beneath their feet.

The scene played out, step by step and Kiskla wavered only slightly when the onslaught started. It’s not that she was a stranger to the sights of battle, no, she’d been involved in three liberations since her return to The Order. She wavered because of the darkness of the projection, as well as the planet’s nexus. As it was her chemistry, she was unfortunately susceptible to potent dosages. Still — she maintained the thread that bonded herself and [member="Tamara"], and enabled the dark-haired women to weave the visual tapestry.

She had severely underestimated her companion. Tamara was smart, that was evidenced by her tongue. But her hands? They too were capable — or they had been thousands of years ago. A trained warrior with techniques to some of those beneath Kiskla’s own command. She was going to ask why Tamara was simply of light side alignment, and not a Jedi — but the woman’s history spoke for itself. Her harboured guilt was decibels louder than the vision itself.

When Tamara of the pasts’ vision went blank, she looked over to the physical form of her friend. Yeah, friend. Kiskla was terrible with emotions, but it was obvious Tamara was feeling something substantial — responsibility, she assumed. That was one of the greatest burdens.

Timidly, only because it was foreign and strange for her to do so, she reached out for Tamara’s wrist and gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “You did what you believed would be right. It’s hard, the decisions we make in the moment. Are you alright, and do you want to continue, or would you like to just wander for a bit?”

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]
Tamara looked to Kiskla and smiled humourlessly.
“I do not feel guilt for what I did so long ago. A different time, a different place. Rather, I see looking back that I had a terrible power inside me. I still do. For all these years I have not allowed myself to use the full weight of my power, even when it has brought me near to death. I have not become the hero I could have been because I would have become the villain I know I could be. So I talk, I evade, I misdirect, I use the Force, but not to kill, not to attack. You understand, I’m sure, I sense a darkness about you, Kiskla, hidden and controlled, something in your past still weighs you down after all these years. So it is with me.”

“Have I done right by controlling myself, by never standing full in the way of evil for fear of becoming it? I have helped thousands, millions, but I never stood as a champion against the Dark Side, and I never doubted the rightness of my actions…until now perhaps.”

Tamara sighed and sat on a fallen tree. “What do you think, Ms Grayson?”

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla drew in a heavy breath while [member="Tamara"] thought aloud. The exile’s musings were complex, and ones that she wouldn’t usually want to touch with a ten foot pole. Then, alas, her opinion was asked.

Power and balance were two topics she dealt with frequently, especially after her infection by The Architects of old. They considered her a vessel, but she considered herself a warden. Having to keep their raw power under control, while never being able to maximize her own for fear that she wouldn’t be able to control the conflicting interests. This was a dangerous position. Especially for one as curious as her, who wanted to know just what might happen should she get lost in a moment. In time, in time.

That heavy breath she inhaled poured out in an equally weighted sigh and she folded her arms, cocking one hip before answering. “I’ve never been good at the religious aspects of the Jedi.” Kiskla admitted. The spiritualness of it, the oneness of the Force — “I felt it, I feel one with The Force at times, but everything else? Everything that’s supposed to be sacred?” Her blonde tresses trembled when she shook her head “I try to do what’s necessary and perceivably right when the moment demands it. Ultimately, the goal is protect those who cannot fend for themselves.

And you can’t very well protect someone when you’re dead.

What’s making you doubt a selfless course that so many would admire?"

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

“I was alive during the Dark Times, the two Galactic Civil Wars, the Vong and Legacy conflicts. I know better than anyone that being the heroine doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. They were quite prepared to hand the Jedi to the Vong to get peace, or what they thought was peace anyway. Great power comes with great exposure and great burdens. I guess you could say that I’m doubtful I could plot such a course.”

Tamara looked [member="Kiskla Grayson"] full in the eyes. "There’s also the fact I can do this…."
For the first time that Kiskla would have ever seen, Tamara concentrated and called on the Force with all her being. The ground shook, and then they were rising, standing on a pillar of rock thrust out from the earth and lifting them until they were twenty feet above the ground.

“It is wonderful to have the Force, but it is monstrous to use it fully…that is the trap,” she said, looking down at the ground below, frowning. “I hope you know how to levitate,” she said, embarrassed.