Shadows of Bankor

After the meeting had ended, Dove had spoken briefly to Xanna about some help in scavenging around for some spare parts. If Floats was gonna live the dream of a starship that could travel under the sea, it would take some work.

And it would also give her a chance to talk to the blue girl. That's what responsible moms did with their kid's significant other, right?

There was some time before she needed to leave for the Temple on the Moon. It still sounded a touch crazy even in her head. So she had agreed to spend some time with Dove. As a close friend of Petrus, and now a comrade she had fought alongside, it felt good to get to know her better.

"Yet another beautiful day on the islands. I am grateful for the breeze, but a few degrees cooler would be preferable."

"Agreed," Dove said as she fixed her ponytail up in a bun to feel some of the cooling breeze on her neck. "Bankor has really made me miss the weather on Arkania."

As well as any other world with weather control.

"How are you holding up with all that's been happening?" she asked the Pantoran as they started to move to look for anything of interest.

"Give me a beautiful tundra, or a minute on a glacier." She smiled and cast her eyes around for anything useful. After finding that crashed fighter, and the old cruiser, there could be anything around here.

"I am managing well thank you Dove. It has been a challenging time for all of us. But the force is with us, I am surrounded by friends now, and new Jedi recruits keep appearing. So I feel that this is where I am meant to be." If she had not been here perhaps Vslus would never have been able to escape the darkness. That had to mean something. Her golden yellow eyes moved to look at Dove. "And what of you?"

"You said it, sis," she chuckled in agreement. An icy place sounded wonderful as a change of pace. At least here they could cool off by the beach, so it had perks compared to Rygor.

"... Better now. It's been a rough couple of months." Dove looked up from their search to give a reassuring smile to Xanna. "It feels... better, to be doing something part of a greater whole again. Even if means butting heads at meetings like this morning."


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D7 EA Streetwise to scavenge. Boost from Xanna's assistance: 1eP+2eA+1eB+2eD 2 successes, 1 advantage

She nodded. "Yes, well. Diplomacy is usually a difficult path, and with so many different voices and opinions...but it is worth persevering." Xanna had to believe that they could rise above the squabbles.

"And I completely agree. It does feel good to part of something greater once again." The two of them spotted something gleaming up on the beach ahead.

"Diplomacy is a new battlefield for me... so I'd appriciate tips," she chuckled dryly, pointing out what both of them had spotted.

Since it was just the two of them now, Dove felt she could speak her mind more freely. "It might be wise to consider other places for Valus and Neela in the near future. After we've removed The Dictator and the space-station," she said as she looked over at Xanna. "There's tension around the Jedi's decision to forgive them, and I'm concerned that some people might try to hurt them out of frustratin and anger."

"And that's just going to be a huge setback for us all. Them especially."

"I will let you know as soon as I have any wisdom to offer." She laughed a little. "I am still finding my way, but I try to remember that we are all in this together, and we can accomplish more as a team than alone."

Her expression was more serious when it came to Valus and Neela. "Yes. Valus is already in a safer location. Both of them understand the frustration. This is not easy for any of us."

She looked out to the ocean waves. "The Valus I knew, he saved so many lives, did so much good. He was a hero. We thought he was dead, but he survived impossibly, only to find himself alone. Then Vader got hold of him..."

Dove listened, nodding gently along to what she heard. "I know it's not easy, and... well, I do want to help. A part of me do think they need to face justice for what they've done, but then it's like... by what laws? The Republic's? The Empire's?"

She shook her head. "But it's gonna be a long haul to defeat the Empire. The pragmatist in me wants to see them join the efforts to bring it down, and I know they could be invaluable allies when they have recovered enough. The soft-hearted side of me on the other hand, well, I feel like I owe it some to make sure that Valus at least stays safe."

She kept looking out over the ocean. "It is easy to demand justice, and difficult to explain what form it should take. Vader and the Emperor did this to them, where is the justice?"

She shook her head. "I was ready to take Valus' life if he could not be saved. Now he will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for what he did. Both of them have already provided what information they can, and now they need time. Putting them into the way of harm now could be...counterproductive."

"On that we agree. Which is why I'll oppose any plans or suggestions that will put them into the field."

It seemed like they found some good parts from an old ship. Maybe another thing from the Clone Wars, or the even older war that had taken part here.

"And believe me, I can understand the complication in who should be to blame." Am I responsible for what I do, or is my maker? "I'm glad you were able to save your friend though. It's a small light of hope in this big mess the galaxy is in now."

"There are remains of ships on many of these islands. Liua and I found an old fighter a few weeks ago. She did not see the point in collecting materials from it. Then I made her some clothing that can deflect weapons using bits I have salvaged. Things which have been broken can sometimes be mended, or if not not perhaps a part of them can be saved."

The conversation with Valus in her soup kitchen had flashed brightly into her mind. "Yes. Small lights of hope. Can they become a sea of stars?"

Reaching into her pack she pulled out the trust tool kit and started working on the components that could be reused. They were in surprisingly good condition.

"Nice. I wish I was as crafty as you, Xanna... I'm good at finding stuff, but I've no idea how to put it together into anything useful."

She considered the thought of a sea of stars. Where there really that many Jedi who had been turned to the Empire's side in the wake of Order 66, Dove wondered?

"... I feel like I should apologise to th--- Valus. Do you think it would be a good or a bad idea?"

"I could show you some time, if you wish?" She paused and looked at Dove curiously. "I have been helping Valus to work through those things that he will allow. There is much he needs to process. He is a Jedi though. He may have been lost for a time, but he has returned to the light. I think the better question is, do you trust your feelings?"

"I'd appriciate it," she said in response to the idea of lessons. It never hurt to learn some useful skills. She had even tried cooking again today, and there were no fires.

"... I'm probably really bad at answering the question of whether or not I trust my own feelings," Dove chuckled and looked away for a moment, towards the sea. "I dunno... from what Petrus have been telling me about the Force, and the Dark Side, it's those negative emotions that gnaw at you and drag you down that pushes you to the Dark Side. I'd hate it if what I've done would make it harder for him. If he's carrying grudges over what happened."

Dove looked back to Xanna. "I did lie to him rather extensively for some time, after all. Not everyone takes that well."

"Perhaps tomorrow evening then, if time allows?" She was always happy to teach a friend.

She shrugged at the part about lying. "He was an Inquisitor. He was crippling and murdering other beings. It is a good thing that you were lying to him Dove. But it seems to me that it will do you good to talk these things through with him."

"Oh, I'm not denying that it was for good reason - it kept him off Oraka's trail for a good while and all. But..." she paused, considering what she shared in confidentiality carefully, "even then he seemed in desperate need of having people he could trust and rely on. The Inquisitors and Command didn't seem to get along that great..."

She had some other suspicions of the underlying psychological reasons, but that became too much guessing for her tastes to voice out loud. "And knowing what he might be going through now... " Dove shrugged. "You're right though. I guess it couldn't hurt to give him a call. At worst, he doesn't want to talk with me, and I can live with that."

Looking up from her work Xanna nodded. "The Inquisitors will be outside of the chain of command, so the regular forces likely do not trust them. And it is the nature of the dark side to keep at each other's throats. So he has been alone and afraid."

She sighed and finished stripping the useable parts. "He may not feel as though he deserves sympathy, but I am glad you are willing to show him this Dove. He has changed of course, but my old friend is still in there."

Dove wasn't sure if Xanna knew she meant the Inquisitors and Imperial Command, but considering how tense the meeting had been earlier with so many misunderstandings, she didn't see it nescessary to poke at the matter.

"Sympathy is an easy thing to feel, but a hard thing to accept from others. Though the reasoning differs for most... maybe I'm sympathetic because I've done bad stuff myself." It was a hard thing, trying to be a better person. Looking after Petrus had helped with that. This would be one step further.

She gave the Pantoran a knowing smile. "It's a good thing he has a friend like you, Xanna. Not only Valus, but Petrus too. Guys need a cool-headed gal like you in their lives."