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Post by DreadPirateMike on Jul 15, 2018 18:42:31 GMT -5
Ash
It had been good to get out there again.
Jaidan Shatani was, as with most of his choices and their outcomes, content with the direction his career in the Jedi Order had played out. Whereas once, he’d fretted over the choice between his heritage and his Jedi identity, over the need to find some sort of balance that honored all who had contributed toward making him the man he was growing into, he’d at last found that no choice was necessary at all. He was Lord Shatani of Kirshak province, a citizen of Eshan and the Republic in good standing. And he was Master Shatani, Jedi Watchman of the Six Sisters. That he’d embraced both so fully was unusual, perhaps, but none told him these days that he could not be both. Some sacrifices would always be necessary, of course, and he occasionally reflected on these with a sort of curiosity over what might have been. He would take no wife, and while Clan Shatani would live on as a whole, this particular family line would end with himself and his sisters. Still, it was a good life, and one he cherished as much as any Jedi could.
But if one was not careful, he knew, contentment could easily become a trap of sorts, difficult to escape once ensnared. In this, he would concede, the Sith possessed something akin to wisdom...or might, if they didn’t take that line of thinking to such a predictable extreme. Jaidan was no introspective sage, nor scientist, nor diplomat save in the rare moment of necessity. He was a warrior now living in a time of peace, and if he meant to remain a warrior, it would not do to become TOO comfortable. And besides, he had to admit that contentment or no, the total loss of the brash young Knight who loved his freedom with an unabashed joy and delighted in making all possible use of it was a very sad thought.
It was for that reason that he always kept his ears open for new missions which the Council required undertaken, and one of them had decidedly caught his attention. A Knight and Padawan had seemingly disappeared on a mission near Naos, and all attempts at contacting them had proven fruitless. Such a thing would be concern enough on its own, but out on the edge of Wild Space...well, even the High Council wasn’t completely immune to the occasional excess of their own imaginations. They wanted a Master to look into it, and so he’d chosen to oblige them.
He was relieved, if also just a little disappointed to find the mystery had a very mundane solution, one which thankfully involved both lost Jedi found intact and healthy. Their ship had simply been caught in an ion storm and forced to make an emergency landing on a planet with magnetic storms in its atmosphere which had scrambled all their outgoing transmissions. Making use of supplies from his own ship, he’d helped them effect repairs and get started back to Coruscant, after which point he’d done something entirely frivolous. A juvenile waste of time, really. He’d been out there, at the edge of what was known already, so he’d simply...gone a little further. Stuck his toe into the ocean of Beyond, and swished his foot around for the better part of a day, just because he could. Because that young Knight would have, perhaps? Regardless, he’d started his way back with a bit of a smile on his face.
He’d also started back far too low on fuel to make it all the way back to Eshan, but that was just as well. His little ship was comfortable enough, and well optimized for his purposes. It was amply supplied in provisions and replacement parts, it had a small medical bay with an onboard droid for emergencies, and even an open area with a few padded training targets for practice. But he’d not thought to stock the bar before he left, and there seemed no harm in stopping to celebrate a mission accomplished while getting refueled. Fortunately, the waystation in orbit of Nexus Ortai was only a brief hop out of his way.
And by all rights, he should find himself content once more. His legs were stretched stretched, in the literal and metaphorical sense, and now all he needed to do was finish off the mug of Corellian Ale in hand at his leisure as he quietly watched the comings and goings of travelers, observing life in all its impossible variety. Yes, a good life indeed.
So why did he feel the oddest tension in the air?
It had been good to get out there again.
Jaidan Shatani was, as with most of his choices and their outcomes, content with the direction his career in the Jedi Order had played out. Whereas once, he’d fretted over the choice between his heritage and his Jedi identity, over the need to find some sort of balance that honored all who had contributed toward making him the man he was growing into, he’d at last found that no choice was necessary at all. He was Lord Shatani of Kirshak province, a citizen of Eshan and the Republic in good standing. And he was Master Shatani, Jedi Watchman of the Six Sisters. That he’d embraced both so fully was unusual, perhaps, but none told him these days that he could not be both. Some sacrifices would always be necessary, of course, and he occasionally reflected on these with a sort of curiosity over what might have been. He would take no wife, and while Clan Shatani would live on as a whole, this particular family line would end with himself and his sisters. Still, it was a good life, and one he cherished as much as any Jedi could.
But if one was not careful, he knew, contentment could easily become a trap of sorts, difficult to escape once ensnared. In this, he would concede, the Sith possessed something akin to wisdom...or might, if they didn’t take that line of thinking to such a predictable extreme. Jaidan was no introspective sage, nor scientist, nor diplomat save in the rare moment of necessity. He was a warrior now living in a time of peace, and if he meant to remain a warrior, it would not do to become TOO comfortable. And besides, he had to admit that contentment or no, the total loss of the brash young Knight who loved his freedom with an unabashed joy and delighted in making all possible use of it was a very sad thought.
It was for that reason that he always kept his ears open for new missions which the Council required undertaken, and one of them had decidedly caught his attention. A Knight and Padawan had seemingly disappeared on a mission near Naos, and all attempts at contacting them had proven fruitless. Such a thing would be concern enough on its own, but out on the edge of Wild Space...well, even the High Council wasn’t completely immune to the occasional excess of their own imaginations. They wanted a Master to look into it, and so he’d chosen to oblige them.
He was relieved, if also just a little disappointed to find the mystery had a very mundane solution, one which thankfully involved both lost Jedi found intact and healthy. Their ship had simply been caught in an ion storm and forced to make an emergency landing on a planet with magnetic storms in its atmosphere which had scrambled all their outgoing transmissions. Making use of supplies from his own ship, he’d helped them effect repairs and get started back to Coruscant, after which point he’d done something entirely frivolous. A juvenile waste of time, really. He’d been out there, at the edge of what was known already, so he’d simply...gone a little further. Stuck his toe into the ocean of Beyond, and swished his foot around for the better part of a day, just because he could. Because that young Knight would have, perhaps? Regardless, he’d started his way back with a bit of a smile on his face.
He’d also started back far too low on fuel to make it all the way back to Eshan, but that was just as well. His little ship was comfortable enough, and well optimized for his purposes. It was amply supplied in provisions and replacement parts, it had a small medical bay with an onboard droid for emergencies, and even an open area with a few padded training targets for practice. But he’d not thought to stock the bar before he left, and there seemed no harm in stopping to celebrate a mission accomplished while getting refueled. Fortunately, the waystation in orbit of Nexus Ortai was only a brief hop out of his way.
And by all rights, he should find himself content once more. His legs were stretched stretched, in the literal and metaphorical sense, and now all he needed to do was finish off the mug of Corellian Ale in hand at his leisure as he quietly watched the comings and goings of travelers, observing life in all its impossible variety. Yes, a good life indeed.
So why did he feel the oddest tension in the air?
