Log:The Kyber Mirror of Jedha

Desperate for any lead in finding her brother, Valeska travels to the Temple of the High Force on Jedha to peer into the Kyber Mirror she had helped reclaim.

The Kyber Mirror of Jedha

OOC Date: May 13, 2022)
Location: Temple of the High Force, Jedha
Participants: Valeska Kora, Jax Greystorm, Rey Skywalker, Bizz Bliptettjupp, Ahsoka Tano

-- Bizz --

The Temple of the High Force is quiet after hours. Brother Bizz is sweeping up dust with a spamelhair broom. Other Disciples of the Whills in red robes mull around the Temple tidying up and such. It is cold, but it is almost always cold on the Winter Moon.

-- Jax --

Jax made his way quietly into the Temple of the High Force. He didn't wear his robes but dressed as a spacer as it suited him. He quietly enters into the great hall. The jedi knight finding himself in the middle with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker on either side of him. He stands there for a moment looking at both statues studying them both. His eyes on Vader cause him to absent mindedly pull his jacket around himself tighter.

-- Valeska --

This planet, this temple, it's statues. None of it means a pile of shite to Valeska. She's here on a specific mission and she's aiming to see it through with expeditited shipping. Breezing past the decor and all else, she approach the familiar Ugnaught with the broom, lifting her helmet up and off from her head to reveal the young, black-haired woman underneath. She considers saying something outright: get straight to the point. But she holds off for a moment in an uncharacteristic moment of silent.

-- Rey --

Rey isn't terribly far behind Jax. She's wearing her white robes under a darker brown over-robe. Her hood is up and she's just shuffling casually in to the building. She's been here before.. she came here with Syrus several years ago.

Before he fell.

Now, the monk-like woman just casually strides in, and lets her eyes roam around the place. She moves to catch up with Jax, before noting Bizz, and then Val. "Hello." Rey says softly to them all.

-- Ahsoka --

Ahsoka enters quietly behind Rey, clothed beneath her hood and flowing slate gray robes trailing behind each step. It's not until she actually enters, within a few feet of one of the pair of statues, that she pauses in her approach and slowly raises her hooded head to stare at the omenous black clad figure of Darth Vader.

Memories long haunting her of the reflective glass set into that helmet flood into her mind, visibly shown on her features as they tighten across the back of her shoulders. Even beneath the cloak she wears. She can almost hear the raspy respirator in her ears as her mind goes back to the last time she saw the Creature her former master had become.

For what is only a hand full of seconds she stares, until she turns to the others gathered and fixes her hands infront of her black robes, looking over them from beneath her hood with vibrant blue eyes.

-- Bizz --

Bizz squints up at the gathering of persons. "Three Jedis and a Mangolorian! Welcome to the Pilgrim Moon." He leans his broom against a sculpture's alcove. "I was sent a message. You wish to see the kyber mirror?" He raises a hand that contains wooden prayer beads and points one finger at Valeska Kora. "I am afraid the priests of Phirma do not unveil the mirror until Reflection Day. They might make an exception and let you view it in the basement, but they usually ask for a large donation, for the upkeep of the Temple!"

-- Jax --

"Hello. " Jax says to those gathered. Though he raises an eyebrow at Ahsoka, the Corellian had not got a chance to meet her like many of the others in the order did a while back. Though the moment wasn't about him so offers a simple smile and crosses his hand in front of him. He looks at Val giving her a reassuring smile. Then back to Bizz. "What is the price, Bizz?"

-- Valeska --

Valeska's already tense expression tightens further at the mention of a donation. Apparently she is not in the mood today to entertain the concept. "I couldn't give less of a rekk about this place if I tried, Bizz. Nor about some arbitrary rules about what day it is. I just need to see it. Given that I'm pretty sure a chunk of my blood is still soaking into this wasteland of a planet, I don't think some mandatory fee is all that necessary. I feel like it was paid when we helped you in the first place, yeah?"

Both hands plant onto armoured hips, impatience taking root fast. Then again, it's Valeska. Impatience has a permanent residence. "Seriously, I don't have time for these kind of games."

-- Rey --

Rey notes the feeling of Ahsoka changing behind her, and she turns back to look at the elder Force user. Her eyes go from the Togruta, up to the statue, then back to her. Rey joins Ahsoka at her side now and lightly bumps shoulders with her. She'll show the woman a soft smile then before she'll overhear the conversation ahead.

Her brown eyes dance to Val, then to Jax, then to Bizz.

"I have five hundred credits on me, Bizz. I'll donate them to the Temple if we can all see this Mirror." Rey offers then.

-- Bizz --

Bizz sniffs the air. "Two thousand credits or more is the usual gratuity. But the reason for seeing it is also important. The last kaiburr mirror was left in the shrine of the Weeping Seer as a tribute, but also as a warning. The Seer believed she could see all ends and bend THE FORCE to her will, but she could not. The kaiburr mirror is for those who are open to THE FORCE, to allow it to guide them. They are the ones who see visions of their life paths. The mirror is for reflection, not for revenge or for finding corporeal things. Or so the priests tell me. I do not look on it."

-- Ahsoka --

Ahsoka returns Jax's greeting with a nod and an easy enough smile despite the turbulent emotions coming off her, but with Rey stepping closer and Valeska's harsh words, her attention is once more centered on the present. She shakes her head, but turns to Bizz, "While I don't share her lack of venom, I have to agree with her assessment. I will happily donate plenty to the upkeep of the Church, but perhaps we can see the mirror? Patience might be a virtue, but everyone has a limit." Her words are nice, even polite, and genuinely friendly.

Gaze shifting to Rey with a perk of her white brow. She nods absently in appreciation to the bum of her shoulder.

-- Jax --

Jax reaches into a pocket on his pouch and produces a wad of credit bills, "10,000 will cover us all then. Valeska, please, we're trying to help. Explain to Bizz your quest. It's a noble one." He riffles off the credits feeling a bit award doing such a thing in a temple of the force. "Is there a box, I should place the donation? My reason is to simple see this mirror. I have no desire other than that."

-- Valeska --

"That just sounds like a lot of drek to explain away why things don't work as advertised, Bizz. Especially the part of asking for money before a service rendered. That's bad business on the face of it." Says the mercenary. "I'm not clergy, and I'm not looking to buy-in. You made it sound like this thing could reveal truths or some drek. Can it do that or not?" Truth be told, Valeska is certainly starting to think it is the latter.

Her eyes flick towards Jax, softening just a moment, then to Rey and the unfamiliar Togruta. Thinking of the man's suggestion a moment and the overall situation, she exhales heavily shakes her head. "I'm looking for someone. Family. Taken from us decades ago by the same rekking people /this/ temple seems to revere. So forgive my candor or don't, but just being here has my hackles up. I wouldn't /be/ here at all if I wasn't so desperate for any lead. You preached on and on about this thing on our mission, Bizz. You got my attention. Do not stop me at the door and try to judge my intentions now."

-- Rey --

Rey draws in a breath then as she steps a little closer toward where Bizz is. She glances toward Jax, then toward the credits that he offers before she looks back to the monknaut. She has her theories on all of this...

Her eyes go back to Val when she hears the woman speak. "It sounds to me like meditation can yield a connection to the Kyber, which can perhaps allow a Force sensitive to see in to the Unifying Force, thusly able to acquire... visions of where loved ones may be."

She draws in a light breath before looking back to Bizz. "The Jedi of old would choose a kyber crystal for their lightsaber, when that Kyber crystal called to them. Perhaps this being a potentially large source, may yield a greater calling for such people... but. That's just my guess, having not seen it yet."

-- Bizz --

Brother Bizz's prayer beads go clack-clack-clack as they sway, dangling from his fingers as they do. To Jax he says, "I will take the donation and make certain the priests of Phirma receive it." To Valeska he shrugs helplessly. "Your people were paid in credits and iron. I owe you nothing. The mirror of the Seer is a religious experience; it is not a bounty hunter. But if you and the Jedis wish to look upon it? I suppose I will not stop you. Just remember that you were WARNED." His green eyes twinkle. He turns and starts waddling down into the crypts, leading them to where a mass of kyber crystal encrusted in rock sits. It is covered by a sheet of roughspun cloth, ready to be dramatically removed. "Here it sits. Whether the Mangalorian or the Jedis remove the holy shroud and look upon it, it is your choice."

-- Jax --

Jax eyes Bizz for a moment. His facial expression says he has a bad feeling about this but he holds the credits out to Bizz. "For the priests of Phirma. Not your beer fun, Brother Bizz." Jax looks at the priest for a moment. "Val... please take a deep breath and calm yourself. If such things like this to work, anger gets you no where." Well it gets you places as Jax glances up to the statue of Vader. "You truly want to go." He doesn't move to the mirror yet.

-- Valeska --

Anger flares suddenly, radiating from Valeska like ripples in the water from a dropped boulder. "You should watch your damn mouth and not talk about drek that you do /not/ know anything about, Bizz. This isn't a bounty. My brother---" Jax cuts her off with inept platitudes of calm. Telling someone who is angry to calm down rarely works and it's certainly not about to work now.

"If I'm not supposed to be angry, why is he going out of his way to make me such, yeah? All I'm hearing is a bunch of reasons why it won't work. After you talked our ears off non-stop about it for that whole op. Now you insult the reason I dared to even entertain the idea you might not be full of shite, Bizz."

Rey's explanation amounts to a completely different language to her. Something about atuning to a piece of polished rock? What does that even mean? Valeska doesn't bother to ask, knowing full well it wasn't mmeant for her ears anyways. Instead, she follows the Ugnaught down the stairs into the basement where the mirror stands shrouded.

Of course, she has no qualms at all walking over, grabbing said shroud, and pulling it away. She's seen the mirror before. Helped carry it a few times when it nearly fell and shattered. Now she stands there just looking at it.

-- Rey --

Rey accompanies the other down the dusty staircase. Her hands are together in front of her lap, her belled over-robe sleeves hanging short on her forearms up near her elbows.

Her eyes roam over the others before she looks to the covered Mirror. She watches Jax, then looks to Val as she rushes over toward it to uncover it. With the mirror in view now, Rey just studies it from afar. It just looks like a big chunk of Kyber... So at least Bizz was telling the truth about that much.

The words from Val have Rey glancing toward Bizz to see his reaction though before she just looks back to Ahsoka.

"Have you ever dealt with something like this before?" She asks the elder here.

-- Ahsoka --

Ahsoka follows Jax's look up to the statue of Vader, but masks whatever springs to life inside her upon gazing at the hard visage. Her expression remains stoic as they're led through the church towards the shrouded mirror and takes up a position slightly back from where Val is staring at the reflective surface, beside Rey. She watches as the Mandalorian furiously moves towards the relic, but turns to the Paragon beside her with a nod.

"Yes. Many such items." She murmurs quietly, side eyeing the still covered mirror.

"We found many such strange relics during the Clone War, but they almost always reveal truths you were neither wanting nor understand. Where it comes to the Force the answers are never easy..." It's in an instance where she's casually glancing over that her eyes become glossy.

Having caught the reflective surface, something plays out in her blue eyes. A raging battle of emotions and feelings tumble endlessly in that iron stare at whatever she sees against the reflection in the glass.

Like with the statue of Vader, seconds feel like an eternity and when she finally blinks and shakes her head, it's as if she was struck across the face. Orange skin ripples with raised hairs and a concerned expression replaces her usually neutral gaze. Pensive, dark orange lips press together into a firm, tight line across her face.

-- Bizz --

Bizz remains in the back watching. The kyber mirror itself glows with an inner light despite its polished surface; it requires no external lighting. "The kaiburr is a living thing. The Luminous were ancient beings who first discovered the kaiburr on Jedha, and their connection to the Living Force. Or so they say. It is from them that the tradition of Reflection Day was born."

-- Jax --

Jax, who for all intents and purposes, differs with the idea of a jedi bonding with their crystal in their sabers. Finds himself in front of the mirror wna not seeing anything. "It's a very nice chunk of Kyber." Then he looks at Ashoka, "It works some..." Then falls silent as the woman seems to be having a moment in the force and hopefully not senior. He looks back to Rey, "Sorta like the Messa? It's attuned and balance you don't think?"

Then looking at Valeska, he lets outs sigh, "Didn't work for you? You want me to go over the physical evidence and see if there's anything I can find the old fashion way about Tai Jinn?"

-- Valeska --

Years. Years looking. Finding clues and chasing them only to hit a dead end. Again, and again, and again. And all of them lead right back to the Jedi Order. To the Knight that took him away. A Knight that has disappeared. An Order that has crumbled in on itself -- could even be the cause of her brother's death. Yet no one knows. No one.

This thing could have been it. This mythical crystal somehow connected to whatever the hell the Force is. And if so, maybe it could have made that connection between her and this man she's looking for. Give her even just a glimpse of what he looks like. A place he might be. Anything. Anything, please!

But all she sees is herself staring back at her; watching anger fade into despair. She doesn't have to look for long as Valeska pushes her helmet over her head. <<"If it's a living thing, it doesn't have a heart.">> The emotionless T-visor turns towards Jax in regard, then to the other two Jedi standing a ways back. She has things to say; an answer to Jax or maybe a possible apology for her behaviour. But words don't come. Instead, she raises a hand to them in mute regard and starts back towards the stairs.

-- Rey --

Rey doesn't approach the slab of Kyber. She just stays back and observes. This setting isn't the kind of place where she'd want to focus on meditation in the moment. There's too many unknowns to her to delve in to it here. The mirror certainly is an impressive sight though, and some part of her yearns to have it amongst the Jedi Archives... But that is not to be.

She looks over to Val after the Mandalorian seems very put off by the lack of clear evidence for what mystery she's trying to solve. It makes Rey show a frown before she looks to watch her go, her eyes catching Ahsoka's face then.

"What is it?" Rey softly asks the Togruta, before she looks back to the Mirror herself then.

-- Ahsoka --

While Ahsoka is no longer staring t the object, it is clear she is not yet back from whatever she'd seen. Perhaps it still holds some sway over her thoughts, letting the images flicker and float across her minds eye in a way that is both familiar and uncomfortable. It's not until Rey asks that question that she fully snaps out of it... glancing over at the Paragon with a troubled look.

She shakes her head, silently indicating she can't (or wont) speak on it now.

"Later." She murmurs, following Valeska's retreat from the inner sanctum of the church with a turn of her hooded head. Not needing to sense the womans emotions to know that what she saw in that mirror troubled her at some level. Even if what she saw, was nothing.

"Give me a second." She pats Rey's arm and steps over to reach out. Not to grab Val, but lay her fingers gently against the pauldron of her armor. "You don't know me, but my name is Ahsoka Tano, and I've long been a alley of the Mandalorian's. While you do not need my help, I'm sure, I offer it all the same."

-- Jax --

Jax stands there for a moment and nods to the armored Valeska. He goes to step up and to talk to the young Mando but stops when Ahsoka beats him too it. Choosing to let the elder speak to the young woman that grew up with him but a few years younger than him. He watches the pair as he approaches Rey. His voice quiet, "I feel like I'm missing something, who is your companion?" Then he gestures at the mirror, "And What do you think? I felt nothing but I don't have the hubris to think it doesn't work. Just maybe not for me or have something to share with me at the moment."

-- Valeska --

Valeska does stop and turn slightly towards the Togruta's introductions. The reflection of her helmet, bending and warping the woman's visage with every curve and dip of its shape, not offering any kind of visions as the kyber mirror did. Just the emotionless stare that behelmeted Mandalorians are reknown for. <<"Valeska Kora. Sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances. I would say I'm not normally like this, but I don't make it a habit to lie. Though we've crossed paths at an extremely... compromising time.">>

The helmet swivels, looking towards the mirror again. Likely for the last time. Then it returns to Ahsoka. <<"I don't belong here. I know that. But I had to try. That thing--" A gloved hand points to the polished rock. "--cannot help me. But maybe it can help all of you. In the meantime, as Jax said, more conventional methods will have to be applied. I appreciate your offer and if the times comes, I'm not above accepting it. I extend the same offer to you.">>

A hand touches Ahsoka's shoulder in return; an answer to the gesture first given. <<"Sorry for the bluster--">> There's the apology. <<"--but this place does give me the willies. And I need... I need to go punch something. Or be punched a few dozen times. Jax, take care of yourself and we'll talk again soon, yeah?">> A step back then she turns and disappears up the stairs, one final statement riding on a dejected voice. <<"Thank you.">>

-- Rey --

Rey gives a subtle dip of her chin to Ahsoka, before she looks back to Jax. At his words, she speaks quietly just for him. "She was with the Jedi Order of old, before it fell to ruin." She explains, if vaguely. "She was an apprentice to Luke's father." Rey tacks that on with a little more undertone to her voice.

Her eyes dance over to the mirror then, where she lingers them. "I believe this thing is what Brother Bizz says it is. I just believe there's more to it. As there always is."

Rey sends her eyes back to the departing Val then. "Good luck." She tells the Mandlorian.

"Come on, we should get out of the city before sun sets."