Why Must We Fight?

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie scrambled up the ramp of the ship, turning back only once to check on Aela before her left hand grabbed hold of the frame, pulling herself up and into the ship. Her blue eyes scanned the immediate area within. The ship was fancy enough, all things considered. It wasn't the most expensive ship she'd ever been in by far, but it was also by far not the cheapest rust bucket either. She decided it was fine enough. A long exhale escaped her lips as she set down her bag between her legs and dropped down against the far wall facing the ramp. The girl allowed her head to fall between her knees and closed her eyes for a minute or so.

They weren't in the clear just yet, but they were almost there, and that was almost as good for the time being. Aela would be along in short order, and then finally, finally they'd be free of this damned planet. Their captive rescuee would be brought back to Sullust for debriefing and interrogation. Jamie would be able to get proper attention for her wound, and eventually, hopefully, continue training so that in the future these types of injuries would be preventable. She felt entirely embarrassed that she'd rushed in and nearly got herself killed for no reason. The harsh words awaiting her for that display were sure to follow shortly after they got off world. Jamie was already preparing for that.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

It was time to go. There was no way she was spending another ten minutes on this planet. Aela headed up the ramp quickly, practically jumping up the odd carved in steps as she was quickly followed by the soldiers who had surrounded her only a moment ago. Her eyes fell on Jamie for half a second, then fell on Zven. ”Get us off this planet.”

The order was forceful, showing just how tired she was of all of this.

”Make sure everything is put away and in place.” She told the others as they quickly headed out to check on all the systems within the ship, Bjorn following along with Zven to act as co-pilot. ”You.”

She pointed to Jamie. ”Find a bed, lay down. We’ll talk later.”

Aela was well aware that her Padawan was still likely suffering from the effects of the poison that she had been stabbed with. That of course didn’t mean they wouldn’t have a conversation about the entire incident later, but for now Aela just wanted to get off this planet and make sure that they were all safe.

Oddly enough, despite their luck so far upon this world, they were able to do just that.

Not ten minutes after Aela had given her flurry of orders the Ship took off from the small starport, breaching the atmosphere and making it into space without any issue from the authorities.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie lifted her head just long enough to mumble out an Okay, before Aela stormed off to bark orders at the rest of her men. The girl lingered where she sat for some time before actually getting up. By the time she had, they had already taken off. A few minutes of stumbling around through the inside of the ship she finally managed to locate what looked to be a sleeping quarter.

Finally she thought, allowing herself to fall onto her back atop the bed. Without any kind of blanket atop her she simply allowed herself to close her eyes, exhaustion and relaxation overcoming her in one sweeping wave. Not even two minutes would pass by before she had entirely passed out. The realization that they had actually gotten away from Bastion gave her the necessary reinforcement that it was actually okay to sleep.

Of course, she knew judging by the tone in Aela's voice earlier that some kind of backlash for her actions was on its' way...

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Blissfully, the blue-blurred lines of Hyperspace sat in front of her as she sat on the small observation deck of their new freighter.

Aela couldn’t quite comprehend what had all happened back on Bastion. Somehow they had been discovered early on, somehow Joran had gotten wind of his daughters plots, and somehow they had managed to escape. They had failed all of their original objectives, and yet somehow they had still completed their mission successfully.

The Jedi Marshall couldn’t quite believe it, but she was thankful nonetheless. ”Okay.”

She said to herself with a heavy breath, shaking thoughts of the past and looking more towards the future. They were nearly out of Crusader Space now, and in a few days time they would be back on Sullust. Joran was successfully contained in one of the cargo-hold rooms, Jamie was resting, and the men of the 5th Legion were making sure that they would make it out alright.

There wasn’t much else to do now, well, besides one thing.

Without any hesitation Aela slipped off of the small acceleration couch, heading down the sharp corridors of the Freighter and quickly reaching the room that Jamie had chosen to fall asleep in. With a heavy thud she knocked on the door.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Sleep was a commodity, one that Jamie, up until now, had become quite used to having. Unfortunately for her, as of late, whenever she seemed to manage a moment of peace for that commodity, it was stripped away by something. In the case of most recently, it had been Aela constantly waking her up for one thing or another. And to make things worse, she never did it politely. Either a blanket was torn away from her, or she was yelled at to wake up, or, like now, the door of her cabin was being slammed against by a fist that Jamie could only assume belonged to Aela.

She tried for several seconds to simply ignore the banging, as if by chance Aela would just give up and wander away for a while longer. As stubborn and persistent as Jamie was, Aela was equally stubborn and persistent on the opposite side of that door. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of hearing the same spot on the door be hit time after time after time she mustered up the energy to open her eyes just a bit, clear her throat and mumble some kind of incomprehensible groan to alert Aela that she was at the very least, alive in the room.

Ugh. Just let me sleep dammit!

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

It wasn't that she wanted to yell, she wasn't going to either, that was something her mother had taught her.

Soliael had at times gotten...frustrated with the four Talith Children, but Kira had always tempered his ire. Aela's mother had early on taught the lesson that raising ones voice was never the best option, not when civil discussion and actual talk was on the table. Besides all that, Jamie was hardly a child, she was a grown woman with a boyfriend and experience in this galaxy. That alone meant Aela wasn't about to admonish her like she had just knocked over a cup.

The door slipped open with a wave of her hand.

"We need to chat." Aela said simply as she stepped inside, watching a barely cognizant Jamie on the bed. "About what happened back at the Manor."

This wasn't something she could just let go. "You can wake up a bit first though."

She nudged the other girl gently with the force. What Jamie had done was brave, admirable, but incredibly stupid. Villia had been a dangerous foe, and Aela had told her explicitly not to engage the girl. There was a stark difference between her capabilities and those of the young padawan, something that was shown when Jamie had been stabbed by the poison blade and just seconds after Villia had been laying on the floor unconscious with several broken ribs.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie couldn't hold back the groan of disinterest in the subject. Of all the things she really didn't want to talk about, this was at the top of the list.

Hands pushed back the few blankets covering her upper body before moving to rub her eyes some. This was hardly going to be a discussion where she had much input save for feeling like she did the right thing and repeating herself over and over. Even if she had the opportunity to repeat the mistake she knew she would have, because idly standing by wouldn't be something she could allow herself to do. The only alternative would be to train more so that she didn't end up dead. But standing to the side would never be okay in Jamie's eyes.

"I know you're angry. But I didn't have a choice. I wasn't going to just stand there. It's not me."

She slowly slid herself upwards so that her back rested against the wall.

"It might have been stupid, but I had to try."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Trying nearly got you killed." Aela said simply. It was true, too. Jamie had nearly died because of what she had done, and if it had happened Aela would never have been able to forgive herself. She understood why Jamie had done it, she very likely would have done the same thing, but still there should be clear boundaries. At the very least a simple understanding that she couldn't just rush in and do whatever she pleased whenever she pleased.

It couldn't work that way.

"I had the situation under control." She spoke the truth again. "I didn't tell you to go because I thought you couldn't handle yourself, I told you to go because I knew that Villia likely wouldn't have allowed it. The moment her attention had been turned I would have been able to take her down."

The girl had been a good fighter, but it had been exceptionally obvious that she was a terrible narcissist. She would never have allowed Jamie to take even two steps, all Aela had needed was two seconds of the girls attention off of herself...and well the end would have been incredibly quick. Villia had been a trained assassin but she still hadn't been a force user, on top of that Aela had fought dozens of Sith Assassins during her time with the Alliance, one...well one wasn't a big deal.

It was when there where many that caused problems. "I'm not going to throw either of our lives away by putting you, or me in unnecessary danger."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"As did trying to save me the other night by rushing back into that manor. But you still did it, alone, didn't you?" She smiled just a shade, enough to reveal the slimmest glimpse of teeth beneath her lips. It wasn't that she was contesting what she'd done was wrong. It was that she couldn't in good faith simply run away, even if Aela wanted to use that to bait the woman into a misstep.

"You put everyone else in danger because of that, and yet you still went. It's not so different."

Jamie was certainly obviously grateful that she had, otherwise she very likely would have died, but the point was all the same. Aela had just been successful in her reckless endeavor. Surely she hadn't always been though. Nothing always goes to plan, as was made clear back on Bastion just hours before. "Besides, you still got your man, and we got away. Isn't that all that really matters anyway?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

In a way, Jamie was right. Her actions had been just as reckless as Jamie’s, though of course the stark difference was their level of training. Aela had been training to use the force ever since she’d been eight years old, and before that she’d used the force naturally. Jamie was vastly different from that, having really only touched the force very recently.

She frowned for a moment.

”The difference is, I’m better trained.” Aela tried to put this a bit more gently than she had been thinking. ”You’re right, I was reckless, but I knew what I was doing and I knew what would likely happen.”

That was her thinking anyway. ”This isn’t about me yelling at you for what you did, it’s more...a lesson on communication.”

If they were going to be padawan and teacher, then they needed to form an understanding. It wasn’t like Jamie had done what she’d done out of anger or hatred, she had simply wanted to help.

”We need to be aware of one another. Our capabilities and what we can do.” She said simply. ”We need to know when its time to fight back, and when it’s time to let the other person handle things.”

Hopefully she was getting her point across.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

With a defeated groan the blonde nodded and mumbled out an "Okay."

As much as she wanted to argue her side there was little point in it. Aela was better trained, like she said, though Jamie wanted to make the argument that no matter how well trained someone was, there was always the unpredictability in a situation. Sure, Aela likely would have handled the fight, but what if she didn't? What if some random, unaccounted for act occurred?

In Jamie's mind, she still did the right thing, even if it looked to be the wrong thing.

"Okay." She repeated again, pulling the blankets up over her lap and fidgeting with her fingers. She felt like she was back home in that moment, being scolded for something she knew was right, but in anyone elses eyes was the wrong thing to do.

Hindsight and twenty-twenty she assumed.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela nodded her head. That was at least a small step. She knew that things would eventually move in the right direction between the two of them, communication being more important than anything else. The next step for the both of them was beginning Jamie’s training in earnest. The side-trip to Bastion had been all well and good, but it was hardly proper.

”We’ll be on Sullust in three days.” Aela said, moving the subject towards the future.

”I’ve already contacted my grandmother as well as the SIS.” The conversation with her grandmother had gone about as one would expect, with the older woman somewhat grouchy about the notion of having Aela running around Dxun, but in the ended she had told her Oma she wouldn’t be visiting Isis and that was enough to settle everything. ”We’ll be heading to Dxun a day after we arrive.”

As soon as they handed off Joran and Aela could procure a new ship.

She wasn’t eager to simply sit around and wait, and she was more than willing to bet that Jamie wasn’t either. Dxun would be where her Padawan’s real training began, lessons on more than just simple meditation and controlling pain.

Dxun would be far more...advanced.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Okay." She repeated once more, nodding in affirmation. "What of the mean time?"

Jamie was curious as to whether or not she'd be able to rest more appropriately during the trip back to Sullust, or if Aela had planned on putting her through more vigorous training along the way as well. The girl wasn't quite sure how much more abuse her body could likely withstand without having a bit of downtime in between. As it were she had only slept a handful of hours, and her body was still quite sore.

"What's the plan for when we arrive on Dxun?"

She had no real concept of what or how Aela had planned to teach her while they were there, short of their brief conversation back on Bastion.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”We won’t be doing any training while we head to Sullust.” Aela was still acutely aware that Jamie was struggling against what had happened to her just a few days ago. Poison, especially the type that she had been with, was not to be underestimated. The Jedi Marshall doubted that Jamie would feel one hundred percent for several days yet. It was best that she rest while she could. ”Dxun will be harsh.”

That wasn’t to be understated. ”The planet is not a pleasant place, and it is best that you be ready for that.”

Aela sounded very serious. Dxun was nearly as bad as Thral when it came to worlds of death. Nearly everything on the moon wanted to you dead, and everything else...well everything else would eat you after you were dead. Aela had only been there a few times before, and each time she’d either gone with her sister or her grandmother. Those were good memories, but still the planet wasn’t anything to joke about.

”When we get there things will move...fast.” She explained. ”We’ll make camp, hide our ship as best as we can, and then start your real training.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The audible sigh of relief hearing Aela state that there would be no training between then and Sullust could hardly be ignored. The tension in Jamie's neck and arms faded almost immediately, and one could swear she thanked the Force judging by the tilt of her head upwards and the muted words of gratitude she spoke to nobody in particular. With that settled she turned her attention back to Aela, noting the stern tone to her voice as she spoke of Dxun.

Jamie was a bit familiar with the planet, though she had never been. She understood it to be a moon of Onderon, often referred to as the Demon Moon, though she wasn't quite sure exactly how well that name suited the place.

"Do people live on Dxun? Or is it just kind of a wilderness full of predatory species and poisonous flora?"

And how fast is fast training?

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She shook her head. ”No one lives there permanently.”

At least not anymore.

”The Beast Riders used to maintain outposts there, the Mandalorians had a camp once, and even the Sith occupied parts of Dxun at certain times, but that was a long while ago.” Aela said as her face once again grew somewhat stern. Dxun was not a place to be joked about. That world was dangerous, from the highest mountain to the lowest valley. ”Most of the planet is populated by creatures dangerous enough that even I won’t mess with them.”

Not when she had another choice.

”I won’t lie to you, that world is dangerous.” They would probably be okay as long as they were careful. Recklessness was the killer of most people who ventured to Dxun. There were ways of making a safe camp, or safe enough, and Aela intend on following every guideline that her Oma had ever taught her.

”But.” She began. ”That danger will help. You’ll learn quickly there, that I can promise.”

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"I see." She said before a heavy yawn broke her train of thought. "Was it abandoned because of the dangers? Or were they forced out by some other reason?"

Jamie was curious to know if this place was so very hostile that it was simply not worth the risk of attempting to make a life for one's self out there. Surely there had to be someone living there. Isolated hermit types always made their homes in places deemed uninhabitable by the majority of the galaxy. She had heard rumors people had lived in the swamps of Dagobah, while others sought refuge on Belsavis and other frozen worlds like Hoth. The thought sent a shiver through the young blonde.

"I'll be careful. Well, more careful than I was back on Bastion."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

”Depends on the group.” Aela shrugged. So many over the years had settled on Dxun and left that it was rather difficult to say why they left.

”The Sith abandoned the world because The Republic came. The Mandalorians were only ever there to hide for a short time, and the Beast Riders managed to situate themselves better on Onderon.” Why stay on a planet that meant certain death in the wilds when you could go somewhere easier? People in the end would always choose the easiest option open to them, Aela always would and she was pretty determined. ”Perhaps there are some who still live within the wilds, but no one I know of.”

Another shrug.

Dxun was an odd sort of mystery, not the sort of place you were going to go if you wanted a relaxing vacation. The moon held many secrets because of that fact, of course, her family was aware of many of those secrets, but even their line didn’t know everything about Dxun. She frowned for a moment and then continued on. ”Either way, we’ll be alone.”

The chances of running into anyone were astronomical.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"I see." She said, laying back down. "Good to know."

Jamie had more than enough company to last through the next few months. Any more unfamiliar faces and she might actually die, be it from physical trauma or her nerves in overdrive.

"That will actually be a rather delightful change. At least with carnivorous creatures I already know their motive. People are dodgy and difficult to read sometimes."

That was true whether they were trying to kill you, depose you, or otherwise ruin you. Politics, war, or social hierarchy, it was all relatively the same when it came to that sort of thing.

"Have you already sent word to the SIS that we're on our way back? I'm sure they'll be happy to hear, at least partly, that we have what they were after. Even if it cost them a bit more than they had expected."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"They know." She said with a smile.

The Director had been rather annoyed at the bottom line of it all, but...well they'd accomplished the mission. It had cost twice as much as budgeted and nearly set off an inter-galactic incident, but in the end Aela had done exactly what she had been sent to Bastion for. That was what mattered in the end, and thus no one could complain. Now they would be headed to Dxun, a mission that was not sanctioned, nor even on the SIS' radar. This was just for Jamie.

"Our stop at Sullust will be short." She reminded Jamie. "Just a day or so."

That way there was no getting distracted. "If you want to message Kurt, or your family, I would do it now or when we get there."

Dxun wasn't exactly in the black when it came to communications, but there was no telling what would happen when they arrived. There could be a storm, their comm-array could be destroyed, a Drexl could eat their communicator. Dxun was such a chaotic place that quite literally anything could happen. Aela wanted to make sure Jamie had a chance to do what she wanted to do.