Last Stand

"Well... It's all, still here?"

Zephrin tried to sound positive. It was a valiant effort worthy of song and legend. The library/archive was not in a good way, to put it delicately.

He made a gesture that only a Miraluka would understand and walked into the wreckage. "Perhaps something still works Master." If he kept his tine cheerful it seemed more plausible.

Surely something still worked?

Aola surveyed the wreckage with a resigned sigh. "It could have been worse, of course."

She managed a smile. "It doesn't matter. A working terminal is all we need. A list of names and their status with the order. Perhaps that will be enough."

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(Computers or Education at average, 2 setback because shit is wrecked)

After a bit of searching a working terminal was found! Zephrin checked it was plugged in and the two of them got to work. After a few queries his force senses started to tingle.

"Oh, there might be something useful here."

Li-buried. Education at Average with 2 setbacks.

Net Successes: 1; Net Advantages: -1

1 success, 1 threat

It took a bit of time before they found anything. But just as Zephrin commented, Aola sucked breath in through her teeth.

"Yes. Her." She reached up, pointing at the screen.

Access to the Jedi logs, even just the few they'd brought with them, meant occasionally getting pictures of Jedi. The lightsaber they'd found looked like the distant cousin to the one seen in the hand of this woman, pictured here. One Haneul, who had left the order some years ago.

"Haneul..." Aola said, her voice soft.

That triggered a memory...

"Haneul was the name spoken by the Scout squad leader I fought earlier today. Haneul has trained us well, your jedi tricks will not work on the Coreward Path."

Aola's reaction was unexpected. "I take it this is bad news?"

Aola took a breath. "It is news." She was silent for a few moments.

Then she went on. "I remember when she left the Jedi. I remember she felt the Jedi were too passive. Did not do enough to help. I didn't know her well..."

She shook her head. "After she left the order, she vanished. I had not heard of her in some time. If I'd considered it, I would have thought she'd be fighting the Mandalorians. What path did she walk to be training them?" Aola's tone was almost wistful.

Zephrin listened and let Aola drift off into her own thoughts for a time. He held the lightsaber that Hanuel had a hand in crafting. Perhaps the feel of it would tell him something about her philosophy.

"I suspect it was a dark one. There is active and then there is destructive... Still, perhaps she can be reasoned with?" Ever the optimist.

Slowly, Aola nodded. "That will be up to her, as with all who choose violence. But we should open the door." The lightsaber, meanwhile, was silent. Whoever made it, it was little more than a tool to its most recent wielder.

Slowly, Aola shook her head, although in denial of what wasn't clear. "Yes. The Mandalorians are certainly active. But as Jedi, we need to be careful with any actions we take. It is said that any cast stone may create a ripple, but the ripples those strong in the Force make tend to be significant. Perhaps..." Aola tilted her head, considering. "I can only guess that she sees the Mandalorians not as destruction, but as change."

After some contemplation he nodded. "What do we know about her past? Perhaps there is some clue to her actions. Or something else that can help us?"

The computer was a bit beaten up but functional. Maybe there was more to be found?

A search did not turn up any information more than what Aola was saying.

"Jedi often work in pairs, whether a master and a padawan, or merely in teams of two. She worked alone." Aola shook her head. "I am not sure anyone knew what was happening with her. As soon as she became a knight, she requested that she be allowed to travel the galaxy, a sort of..." she frowned, "-warrior's pilgrimage. She wrote letters to the council sometimes, requests for action. Places where she felt the Jedi might do good. The council... sometimes considered them." Aola sighed.

She looked at Zephrin. "I can say there is no chance she is coerced. Perhaps frustration at the council caused her to choose this path. But she did choose it."

"I will remember that, if and when I face her." Although he could not be certain there was a strong feeling of inevitability about an encounter.

"I think I shall meditate on this. Would you care to join me?" The saber was returned to his belt. For a moment he contemplated his own weapon and its design, the Ilum crystal at its heart. That was something for another time though.

Indeed, some conflicts were fated, although understanding was never wasted.

"Yes." Aola said simply, nodding slowly. "I expect we shall have much to meditate on. Not just Haneul. Things continue to grow, escalate, change. I wonder at what the council might do..." She frowned delicately.

Then she smiled. "But the future is always in motion. Let us reflect on the now."