[open!]

[falsesmile]

Who: Ves (falsesmile) and general!
When: Day 6, afternoon
Where: The Ruined Hull
What: General exploration post!

[ The Ruined Hull has been unlocked! The go-team has been in the area for a while, the stay-team members who are so inclined have probably meandered over here somehow by now -- time to go exploring, but keep an eye on those suit power levels ♥ ]

Comments

[adamance]

[It might not be immediately apparent where her mind goes to, at least not at first. But if Anakin is able to grasp on to the Force at all, it's apparent that there is someone here that she would want to protect. But just as quickly as a thought of Clarke surfaces in her mind, it vanishes.

Lexa cannot be held back by thoughts of her right now, not when they're in here. She can't be distracted.

(No, she can be distracted by Clarke in her own time, and she's certain the sentiment is one that's shared.)]

It might be, but I'd prefer it to be a last resort. They took much of who I am from me when I arrived here, when I awoke in that pod. I don't want to lose that.

[She will always have her Flame, but she hopes to be stubborn for a while longer on this other point.]

[sandhate]

[ he tilts his head and regards her for a moment. nothing lexa has said to him has a hint of lightness in it - she's in fact so serious that it's comparable to mace windu. he has felt his being in the force feeling... lesser, not significantly but enough to tell. if it's anything like that, he understands the seriousness of it. of losing that and having the need to protect others - someone loved.

lexa doesn't seem to be the type to open up about it (like mace windus, perhaps) so he takes the first step. ]

My abilities - the ones you saw when we first met - it feels like I lost some of it when I woke up here. Is that what you mean?

[adamance]

None of my people have powers like that. [Anything unique about Lexa is genetic: her black blood, which is now apparent to many others here. Her ability to process radiation is something that she's not aware of, and she's still adjusting to the idea that the Flame—which is a central part of her identity—is also technology, albeit degraded technology.

It's a lot to absorb, but still, none of that is what she meant.]

I was a leader ... a Commander. It was my duty to look over them and help them. Being taken away will only bring chaos. It's the same for someone else from my world, another leader. She has to return to them. [But there's still a solid chance that the pods were there for a long time. Lexa can adjust to this, but Clarke may not.]

Taking our people from us is the same as taking everything.

[sandhate]

[ he tries not to think about the people he left behind - obi-wan in the front-lines without him is a terrifying thought, not to mention mace windu and the possibility of losing anaxes shipyards. ]

If your people is as strong as you, there is hope that they'll survive without you for a time.

[ it's not a compliment or reassurance. it's just fact. they'll continue for a time until internal conflict tears them apart - he's seen it happen too many times in his padawan days, a change of power is too often an ugly affair. ]

Let's focus on keeping you and your friend alive and able to defend yourselves for now.

[ a beat and then he adds ]

Commander.

[adamance]

[There's a beat of hesitation that's followed up with a quirk of her lips. It's not that Lexa had been seeking praise—she's not really the type of person who requires it—but the smile itself is acknowledgement enough of his words.]

And what of your people? Are they all like you? Or have they lost a great warrior in the process?

[Praise for praise, like a political exchange that Lexa herself can't overlook. But still, it's apparent that he prefers to take himself to his limits. That's more than enough for her to work with.]

[sandhate]

[ he doesn't know how to answer that at first, and stares dumbfounded at his feet while he thinks - obi-wan and ahsoka, and everyone else in the order, those are his people. he knows where they are for a most part, in his time. but he remembers what padme told him, what luke's life must imply.

even with the war in another galaxy far far away, he carries it with him in his rigid shoulders and defiant tilt of his chin ]

Despite their best efforts, they haven't lost me yet. But you guessed right. They are like me - with my abilities. j[ his expression softens, his gaze turning somewhere far off. ] Even if I were to be lost, the Jedi will survive.

[adamance]

There will always be someone to fight. These Jedi—are they the warriors where you come from? [That seems to be the most logical conclusion. Her first words hint to a rather dark view on life. But Lexa has a hard time hiding that. Everything that she's seen since birth has involved war. Even in stopping war, she has given reason for more to erupt again and again. It's as if people starve without it.

So, where there are wars, there are people to fight them.]

[sandhate]

Not always. We are more than just warriors. Sometimes, we're peacekeepers, response units, third party negotiators or diplomats. We go where we're needed, and we serve all living beings in the galaxy so they can find justice and peace.

[ but she's right about the other part; even if the jedi weren't fighting this blasted war, they would be fighting something else. from the star hyperspace war to the clone wars. he exhales a lon ]

Fighting isn't our only way, but if the fight is brought to us, we can and we will. I'm sure the same can be said of you and your people.

[adamance]

We'd be foolish if we said the fight was always brought to us. [Truthfully, being able to claim that seems as if someone is engaging in a falsehood. Lexa wonders if he truly believes that, or if he's only saying that because it's meant to represent him and his people better. She leans on that, in part because she's a cynic.

All in all, what he says reminds her of the Sky People, and how they always put themselves above her people, as if they were any different. That doesn't make them callous; it just means they're more experienced in finding excuses for themselves.]

My people have known nothing but war. We fight because that's what people do. We've only begun to find a different way, but nothing lasts. Still, I could say my warriors do the same as yours. Our negotiators have to be prepared for a fight, as are our diplomats. As their leader, I have to choose who's best equipped for a scenario.

[And most often, she has chosen Indra because she is both trustworthy and vicious. She once sent Tristan because she wanted to decimate the Sky People, but when it comes to matters of negotiations, she'll reach out to the slightly cooler head. (Most people would not agree that Indra is a woman with a cooler head. They would not be wrong.)]

[sandhate]

[ no jedi get themselves involved in a war where they don't belong. it's why they kept out of the mandolorian civil war as long as they did, until they were summoned. until his own master was summoned. now that he thinks about it, it feels strange to talk about the ideals the order and what it represents without obi-wan here. usually, he handles these talks as anakin's opinions are... off. ]

People willing to find a new way when the old isn't working are hard to find. [ he adds as an afterthought, ] Depending on what part of the galaxy you're in.

[ he has to take another look at her; she looks around his age, though there are humanoids that age slower. something about the way she said that - that she chooses what's best - sours the taste in his mouth and he wills himself to brush it off. ] Either way, it's all the more reason to get you - all of us home.

[adamance]

I'd say it depends on the circumstances that brought about the old ways, as well. [It's only in this new life that Lexa can realize how wrong her people were about so many things, and it starts with the Flame that lies in her body. She knows that it's proof that they knew so little, and that they let themselves get caught up in so much.]

Regardless, you're correct. That's if we still have people to return to. There is a chance that we may be wrong about that.