Log:Getting Started
Getting Started
OOC Date: August 12, 2019
Location: Skywalker Academy, Arisnar
Participants: Elrych Cometburn, Palena Maris, Rey, Zandra naMuriel
It's been almost three weeks since Doctor Aryn Cole showed up to the distress beacon transmitted on her ship. In the time since, she's traveled back to her homeworld, and then to a new one. She's never heard of the planet of Arisnar, but it's a beautiful place. It's been somewhere nice to recharge. To relax. To contemplate life beyond the monotonous day in and day out of Asteroid Mining. She's been a frequent visitor of the library, and she's had plenty of time to read while waiting to meet the woman who runs this Academy. She's also had time to come to terms with her supposed abilities. Or, rather, the fact she has them. Dressed in a simple tunic, pants, and boots, Palena steps into the clasroom to meet the Academy's leader for the first time.
Rey is poised at the front of the classroom, sort've. She's squatting down in front of the podium that projects holographic images up onto the wall behind the person giving a lesson, it looks as though she's performing some kind of maintenance on it as her neck is craned to the side and she's peering inside of its guts and inner workings.
With her right hand stuffed inside of it, Rey is wincing as she pulls a piece of mechanical part out of the interior of the podium. Its some kind of half-circle circuit board...
She realizes she's no longer alone though and her brown eyes move from the circuitry she just yanked out, and up and over to Palena. "Oh." Rey says, somewhat seemingly startled. "Hello." She knows who this is even if she hasn't met her, she's been told of her.
Rey stands up then and shows a quick and brief smile before she sets the half-circle board down and steps toward Palena, she offers her a handshake. "I'm Rey. You're... Palena, I presume? Aryn spoke to me of running across you and yours in a... rather harrowing event?"
Attempting to be uninstrusive, Palena doesn't announce herself while Rey has her arm buried into a machine for what she assumes to be maintenance. Surprising someone while they're working is a good way to get someone injured or something broken. Halting halfway into the classroom, Palena's arms lift and fold over one another until her right hand is tucked into the little pocket between the curve of her elbow and her side and her left is hooked under her right elbow. She doesn't wait long until Rey notices her. "I didn't want to interrupt and risk you bumping your head and something, so I apologize for the silence." A quick explanation should suffice to keep her presence from being seen as creepy. "Palena Maris. She rescued us from a drifting ship."
Rey shows a quick smile at the care showed toward not wanting to interrupt her for fear of it resulting in an injury and a look is given back to the podium. Rey holds her grin and looks back to Palena. "Blasted thing keeps flickering at the most annoying rate. I've had to replace the parts in it repeatedly, I think there's... some sort've gremlin living inside of it." Gremlins being something spacers often speak of when it comes to their equipment and vehicles just randomly breaking, sometimes also just called Mynocks of course depending on what part of the galaxy you're from there's likely a million other ways to refer to such a thing.
"I like your name, it sounds very... natural. Does it mean anything?" She tilts her head slightly then. "Sorry, that is probably rude of me to ask." A shake of her head is given then and there and she draws in a breath before she smiles on the subject of Aryn. "The good doctor is... one of the most intriguing people I've met in my time away from where I grew up. I'm not sure I've ever seen her sit still in one place for longer than a day's time." Its said with affection of course.
"So she's told you a bit about what we do here, and... a bit about why you were brought here?" This makes Rey lift up her dark thin eyebrows a little higher of her matching brown eyes.
"The fact that it still works at all might suggest otherwise." Palena recognizes the term, but from her answer, it doesn't seem as if she subscribes to some of the more fantastical superstitions that other deep spacers might. Rey asks after her name and Palena lifts her shoulders in a shrug. "If it means anything special, I'm not aware of it. All I know is that it's from Naboo." On the subject of Doctor Cole, Palena nods to signify understanding and that she's following along. "She seems quiet the traveler. I was surprised she picked up our signal." Then, of course, to the topic that she knew they'd arrive on. "Doctor Cole performed blood sampling on myself and the crew to check for contamination. She informed me she discovered midichlorians in mine, and apparently that means I can use the Force and be a Jedi, or something."
Rey and Palena are standing just inside the classroom. Their speaking casually to one another after Rey had been working on the podium at the front of the class, its innards partially exposed by an open compartment.
"Naboo, yes, thats what I thought it sounded like." Rey says on the subject of the other's name. "I've grown to be quite a fan of that place, I can see why its natives are as well." She summons a quick smile before she hears the bit about the blood and the midichlorians.
The part about using the Force and being a Jedi makes her show a slight grin. It reminds her of some of her own phrases along these lines when she'd first approach someone who she believed would give her extensive training.
"You're off to a faster start than I was in your place." Rey then says to Palena. "I'd not even heard the word midichlorian uttered to me before I read about it in a text." A hint of a grin shows. "Come in though, please, have a seat." Rey motions to some of the chairs at the front of the class then.
Zandra shows up, pausing in the doorway to see what is going on without interrupting. She tilts her head, offering a friendly smile to Rey and the other person she doesn't recognize. "Hey, Rey," she greets softly when there's a reasonable moment to do so. "How are things going?" A glance to the other woman, and she nods to her. "I'm Zandra or Zan most folks call me." She introduces herself, and then steps in. "Is it okay if I join in?"
"My people are familiar with the Jedi more than others. We were persecuted, after all, while helping Jedi flee the purge. Which brings me to something I want to say. I can understand if you wish to turn me away as a student after I do, but it needs saying. I will never march in protest against my own people like the Jedi did against the last Queen." Palena's gaze is unwavering and even in its fixation on Rey. She doesn't move to take a seat as offered. At the moment, it stands to reason that she may not need to. She doesn't know much about Jedi from a personal perspective. She has no clue where this stance will take her.
Reys hows a smile to Zandra when the other joins them in the classroom. "Zandra, yes of course, this is... Pelena Maris, she's interested in what we do here and is considering options with us." She motions to the other woman and then steps beside the podium to rest a hand upon it. She regards Palena when she responds to her and she gently dips her head in a nod toward her.
"I know there are many accounts of what happened then and there, and I should say as often as needs be that I was a supporter of the Queen, I was simply acting on behalf of the people who feared a First Order retribution. I've witnessed what the First Order will do, up close and very personal. They've no fear of hurting, killing, as many as it takes to make a point. They're not simply bullies, they're murderous madmen. By all accounts, they make the Galactic Empire old, look like a benevolent government... But still... I considered her a friend, and still do. I hope she's happy wherever she is now."
Moving on from that though, Rey glances at the podium, but it won't be any use to her today. She looks toward Zandra then and smiles lightly. "Zandra here is one of our up and coming initiates. She's been well on her way to learning the ins and outs of the Force that... we're all apart of, whether we learn how to manipulate it or not."
"Escorting an uninvited Gungan army contingent with tanks to the city borders and then escorting them inside without the Queen's permission seems a strange way to support the Queen. She was never given a chance to address her people's concerns. I've heard many accounts from my friends and family, who all live there, and accounts of how the Resistance refused to negotiate concerning a powerful weapon being kept in Naboo's system." She has yet to fully divert her attention to the new arrival, Zandra, but Palena at least takes a moment to look in her direction and nod in acknowledgment. Her attention returns to Rey. "I'm not here about any of that. The Queen has been run off and the Resistance now controls the system. The only thing I care about is the acknowledgment that I will not march against or do anything against my own people. As long as that is recognized and respected, I will be a willing student of this academy."
Zan inclines her head, with a small smile. "A pleasure to meet you, Palena Maris," Zan says easily. "I am doing my best to learn what needs learning, certainly." She grins though, at the compliment, acknowledging it, but then she goes quiet as she hears the information from someone on the side of the Naboo folks who were not necessarily in on things. She keeps her mouth shut on this one, though a brow arches, and her expression then goes totally neutral. "I should probably go drop my things off in my room and check on Frost," she offers slowly. "And let you sort out some of these logistics."
Rey nods softly to the words spoken to her by Palena and then looks toward Zandra. "We'll be here, Zandra." She tells her quietly before she steps around the podium and moves to a bookshelf on the wall near a window overlooking the exterior grounds of the academy. Rey reaches for a book from the shelf and she steps toward Palena and offers it toward her. "This is a compendium guide about the ways of the Jedi and the basics of the Force, its meant to be light reading material for new members who need to know more. Its yours if you'd like it." She tells the other, holding it out for her.
"Being that you're level of midichlorians is higher than the average denizen of the galaxy, this means that you've likely always 'felt' it inside of you. Like a whisper on the back of your neck, especially in moments of tension or personal danger?" She says this almost like a question to confirm it. "We all hope to be different and unique in our lives, but through the use of the midichlorians, and there-by the Force you can truly perform tasks that are unique, and can be impactful toward our... everything. Every planet in the galaxy, every person who resides there-in. You have the power to be a changing factor in their lives, with the Force as your ally, you can be a beacon of change, positive... or negative."
Palena's eyes follow Rey through every motion, from the bookshelf to moving closer to her, and her eyebrows hike up higher than their neutral resting position in response to everything that's said. She glances once at the compendium, but doesn't reach to take it yet. "Is this a basic crash course and your way of saying 'nice to meet you, you don't belong here', or is this your way of saying that you'll respect my decision? You never answered me." Palena doesn't know if this is on purpose or otherwise, but she's not ready to back down from her position. "My first experience with the Force wasn't a little tickle at the back of my neck. It was watching a creature manifest itself while we were in transit through hyperspace. It killed three crew members trying to get to me. Two of them were shredded like paper. The other was electrocuted to death. Then it came after me and I somehow defended myself from it. I thought it was just blind luck."
Palena's arms unfold and her right hand reaches out to grasp the compendium. She glances at it for a split second. "I've never wanted and I'm not looking to be different or unique. I've only wanted one thing in my life, and it has nothing to do with being able to manipulate the Force. I'm here to learn so that I don't do something horrible like hurt someone, or so that I can help people if the time comes."
Rey shakes her head from side to side at the initial question. "I've no intentions of asking you, or anyone at this Academy, to do anything they do not wish to do." She replies then. "If something comes up that you have no interest or desire to be apart of, then you merely need to state that to me... or to the others." She glances toward the doorway before looking back.
"The efforts that we're putting forth here are to be directed toward rebuilding a new Jedi Order, one that is focused on the bettering of the lives that we touch. We're studying the ways of the old Jedi Order and doing our very best to find the flaws that lead to their demise, to reform those flaws and move forward in a healthier state. This book is offered to you as a way to help you know what it is we're doing, the direction that we're going and a chance to help you know if you wish to be with us on this journey. We would welcome you with open arms, but that choice is solely on you to make. We wish to help stop things like what you experienced, and have already had a number of encounters with similar... entities since then."
"We're all learning here, together, as a team. Its the only way any of this will ever work, in fact." Rey finishes then as she draws in another gentle breath.
Elrych had arrived on Arisnar to do some work in the Library but he couldn't help but notice Zandra leaving and the presence of people inside the classroom. Slowly, the Corellian Jedi Initiate makes his way to peek inside the door way. He watches only for a moment before slipping inside to lean against the archway of the door, just inside and more on the side of the wall so others may get in and out if they need. He takes off a pair of thick rimmed and very dark black sunglasses, putting them away inside his cloak before crossing his arms through his robes wide sleaves. He doesn't interupt Rey or the New Arrival.
Palena regards Rey for long moments after her concerns are addressed. The astute gaze is just as unwavering and even as when she'd first postulated and delved into the topic at hand. The compendium now at her side is tapped methodically by her first finger, acting metronomic while thought processes churn over the information. It's every bit the stance and consideration of someone wondering if another person can be trusted. "I know nothing about the old Jedi Order or the new, or entities, or whether or not this is a journey I'm meant to be on. As long as you keep your word, though, I will study here and see what there is to learn." The rhythmic tap of her finger halts, and Palena takes a deep breath through her nose. It's let out through her mouth. "Where should I begin?"
Rey gives a glance to the doorway where Elrych is and she nods softly toward him before she looks back to Palena and she draws in a light breath. "You should begin with the book." She says. "But before that, I'd like you to spend time by yourself, here on Arisnar." Rey glance stoward the window and motions toward it. "Out in the gardens, or down by the water's edge." She looks back to Palena then. "Your first step toward a much larger galaxy is by understanding what the Force is, and what you are inside of it."
After a pause, while keeping her eyes on Palena's own. "We are beings of energy, the Force is that energy. It is all around us, ever present, it is the energy that creates life and unifies it into the solid matter that makes up all things around us. Your clothing, the floor beneath your feet, even the air that you're breathing is all created by the same energy that we, as Jedi, are here to learn from. We are not here to 'use it for our gain' we are here to listen to it, to let it guide us in our paths. It will help us, help us overcome challenges before us, and help us through hard times. By... being calm, by clearing our heads of rubbish and distracting thoughts, but simply letting the Force... the energy... flow through us."
Rey waits a moment then and she shows the woman a sympathetic smile, if a small one. "I know, this is a lot to take in at first. That is why I gave you the book and the direction of being alone with it for a time. You need to absorb this information, before you can truly begin to set down the path of preparing yourself to accept it all, to listen, learn and grow."
"Spend more time by myself. Got it." She's spent two weeks of time by herself on this planet and read plenty of books in that time. Just not the right book. Thinning her lips a little and lightly folding them in on one another, Palena's eyes drift down and away from Rey before she nods. Her hand lifts the compendium and gestures with it. "Thanks for the book. I'll go read it." She didn't find any particularly difficult concepts in Rey's brief explanation, but she assumes there's a process, and who is she to question process? Giving a final nod to Rey, Palena turns and heads for the door. Her eyes venture to the man by the door, and her eyebrows hike up once, quickly, in a gesture that is both acknowledgment and greeting in one. She leaves the classroom.
