Breakfast of Souper-Champions (D9, MM)

[Petrus Karath]

"Well..." Petrus said, pushing his soup around with a spoon. "There were some good ideals. Maybe they meant something once. Although if the Sixth Line was a thing..." He grimaced, waving his spoon vaguely.

Another bite. "But maybe we can do better. I don't know." Petrus grimaced. "I've sorta thought about that stuff a bit, but I'm not an expert. I'm just..." He brushed a hand through his hair, then chuckled. "I guess I should remember that I'm a Jedi Knight now, huh?"

After considering for a moment, Petrus shook his head. "No, no. I couldn't believe that the writers of Warrior's Heart have some sort of knowledge about Jedi Temples or anything." He frowned, his forehead creasing. "Maybe I should rewatch it again..."

[Dove Gray]

Dove gave him a gentle nod. "I'm not saying the Republic was without ideals, even good ones. But they got lost in a big mess of things. Do I think there should be laws, rules, and regulations agreed upon for the galaxy at large, to make it easier for the folks living in it? Absolutely. The problems arose when those points mostly benefitted the Core worlds, rather than all of the Republic... more and more power and wealth amassed in the Core." She shrugged, licking her thumb to remove some stray soup.

"Wealth and power corrupts, sadly. The Republic became too concerned with not upsetting the status quo and for many senators to maintain their status and privilegies. This is what we must avoid if we are to consider a new future, after the Empire. If either of us live to see it." Dove moved some of the last bits of veggies and meat in her soup around with her spoon. "It's also why a full-blown Resistance needs to be united, with others across the galaxy. Maybe I'm just an idealist in saying it, but we're not gonna get anywhere new in the long run if we're gonna have different groups with different ideas... that just means once the Empire is defeated, we'll just move onto fighting eachother."

Well, that was a heavy subject early in the morning. Maybe her annoyance with the earlier encounter had left ideas in her head.

[Petrus Karath]

For his part, Petrus was eating slowly but steadily. He was, after all, still a young man, with a young man's metabolism.

"Who knew you were an idealist?" Petrus smiled. "Actually, it fits you. Hmmm." He frowned down into his soup. "Yeah, I guess the main thing is to make sure that every voice gets heard. Like, really heard. Whatever group they came from, whoever they used to be." Another bite as he considered. "And I think maybe Jedi should be a part of that. But not, like, the only part of that, or whatever."

He sighed. "That sounds like a lot of work, huh? We just barely managed that with the Aznuri, and Neela..."

[Dove Gray]

"Yeah, you got that right. All the voices need to be heard, the Jedi included," she agreed, pushing the spoon around some more before deciding on eating the veggies.

She was a pretty big eater most of the time, but this morning it was going more slowly.

"As well as the voices of Neela, and Valus... and people like myself. All of us who have pretty shady pasts. A growing Resistance will attract others, who have criminal pasts, dark pasts. Hopefully, you can also save more of your kin - give them a new chance too. If we can forgive generals who've ordered razings of worlds, assassins who've worked in the dark, saboteurs, and criminals... I think we can also forgive them."

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus paused in his noisy scraping of the bowl to look up at Dove. "Of course." Petrus said mildly, smiling. "We don't punish people for their past. We give them a chance to make the best of their future."

One last bite, and his bowl was clean. Petrus slid it away from him. "Of course, that's not without condition. They have to be trying to do good. And if there's harm remaining from what they did before, well, I think they should do their best to address it."

Smiling, Petrus pointed his spoon at Dove. "And if you ask me, you are way, way in the clear, Dove. I mean, I'm not saying you're done, but that's only because no one ever is. And I guess I can't really judge, but still."

[Dove Gray]

She looked up at him from her own food, pale eyes studying him closely. "I don't really ask for forgiveness for myself, but it would be nice to know I won't be executed at the end because of all my crimes. You are in a better position to judge than I, but in the end, who can really judge us all... at least until we all agree upon what the rules and laws will be. And the consequences."

Clearing her throat, Dove decided to move on from the subject. "Anyway... what's this about this Sixth Line you mentioned?"

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus shook his head. "That's not happening, Dove. One way or another. The Jedi aren't going to be willing to work with someone who'd do that." He sighed. "I guess if some of our allies insist on executing people... well, that's where we run into trouble agreeing on laws and stuff, huh?"

"Oh." Petrus waved his hand. "They were an ancient group within the order. They were like Jedi Black Ops, and they swore an oath to serve the Republic on top of what we usually do. They even added a line to the Jedi Code, 'There is no contemplation, there is only duty', or something like that." Petrus grimaced. "Not really my thing. But, well, I am descended from one of them. I think. Oh, and a Sith." He shrugged.

[Dove Gray]

She hoped the Jedi would avoid having to work with people like that. In general, she hoped this Resistance would be founded on the ability to separate right from wrong. Perhaps then, there could be a better galaxy than it was now.

"Jedi Black Ops, huh. Now, why you say that's not your thing? You'd be good at some parts of it, you know." Dove rose an eyebrow. "Why the dark face?"

[Petrus Karath]

"Really? You think so?" Petrus frowned. "Which parts?"

He waved a hand. "Anyway, it's not so much doing those sorts of things. Although, I mean, that's not great. But it's adding the extra line that really gets me. The Jedi defended the Republic, but..." He shrugged. "We serve the Force first. You can't have two things that you serve first. Not if you want to be a good Jedi." Another shrug. "That's what I think, anyway."

[Dove Gray]

"You're a quick thinker, and a creative one too. I heard about what you did back at the apartment, when the Inquisitor showed up... how you managed to trick them and save those people." Dove smiled at the kid, a smile of pride and confidence. "Being quick-witted and creative is one of the first steps to doing stuff like Black Ops, or spywork, because you're reliant on making your own decisions on a mission - you're not soldiers who have a direct line to a superior... so you make your own calls, decide what to do to best finish the mission, regardless of the unforeseen cirumstances."

She gave a light-hearted but brief chuckle after she finished the remaining bits of her food. "Tell me, Petrus. Has the Jedi Code ever changed, or has it been the same for thousands upon thousands of year?"

[Petrus Karath]

"Huh." Petrus said. "I guess I managed that. And I felt pretty good about how I did at the prison." He blinked. "Jedi are taught to feel the Force, and then trust their instincts. I didn't think that'd be giving us skills for Black Ops." Jedi were trained to operate alone, or in pairs...

"Same. Mmm, mostly." Petrus frowned, resting his hands on the table. "There's a slight phrasing difference. 'Emotion, yet peace' versus 'There is no emotion, there is peace', and on like that. Man, did people have opinions on that." He cleared his throat, looking at Dove. "Why?"

[Dove Gray]

She shrugged at first, before folding her hands together at the table. "I'm just sayin', there's some wiggle-room. Yes, it's a tragedy what happened to the Order, but... as you said yourself, it wasn't without flaws."

"This could be the opportunity for something better to rise from the ashes of the old. You, and all the others too, can make something better."

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus considered for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. I think if we're putting the Order back together, and we clearly are, long term anyway, we gotta make sure we're doing it right. Better right, not just the same right."

He shook his head. "Change the code though? That's big. I don't know if any of us could handle that. Maybe Master Hin, if he wanted, but I'll bet he doesn't." He made a face. "I don't think Master Surro would want to."