Peace Allows Eternal Freedom (Open)

[Leira]

Leira sat infront of the computer, her eyes scanning the screen for the information she had been looking for. It wasn't anything to do with a mission or her own personal training, it was only something to ease her imagination, which seemed to run rampant when she didn't have the facts straight. This was a relatively simple search, finding information about the Mandalorians. She had allowed herself to become completely drawn into her search, when her focus was suddenly broken by the arguments of two young Padawan over the location of a particular planet. She stood, pulling out a small disk from the computer and wandering over to them.

]"Hush young ones. Manaan is situated right there," She said, pointing to one of the many planets on the screen, "Please, if you do have a disagreement, don't argue about it, stay peaceful and ask for a second opinion."

She walked away, heading through the bookshelves to the door at the other end. She walked out of the Archives, knowing that her focus was broken now. She sighed before walking eastward towards one of the small Gardens in the temple.

Once there she sat down on the grass, looking over the data she had collected. She spoke quietly to herself, "Why do they continue to fight, when they are always defeated. If they were peaceful beings, they would lose less homes, posessions and lives to war. It makes no sense that they want these problems."

She sighed once again as a group of younglings came into the Garden, practicing their lightsaber combat. This time, however, she stayed to watch their basic usage of Shii-Cho. She smiled at the eagerness of the group, even if their intent wasn't matched with skill yet. Whilst they were practicing, she looked upwards at the sky, watching the speeders. The truth was, she was bored, and all she wanted was something to do, or someone to talk to.

[Dutch]

Sitting behind a tree just behind Leira was an old regular of this particular garden. Steam wafted lazily from around the tree, the pungent, rotting smell of Rylothian Ginger tea easily apparent to any nearby sentient with a nose. Whiskers nearly trembling with excitement, Sage Master Ozzril Ackbar took his first sip from his favorite pale green ceramic cup, then sighed gently in relief as the tea ran down his throat. Classes had just ended for the day, and the Council Member wanted nothing more than to reach inner peace outside, with a cup of his favorite tea of course.

Not more than a few minutes that he had been there, did he feel several new presences, younglings, padawans, and a single Knight. He knew this presence, though he hadn't felt it since she was very young. He chuckled as he heard her speak, Ozzril opening his mouth into a Mon Cal smile before responding.

"The Mandalorians are a warrior culture, they're economy, government, family life, everything, is based on fighting and conquering. Not out of hate or revenge, but out of survival. Leira dear, it is good to feel your presence again..."

After he spoke the elder Mon Cal rose to his feet and stepped around the tree, walking bare foot to the young knight and smiling down at her, cup still held in his right hand as he took another sip of the rancid tea.

[Leira]

She smelt the Rylothian Ginger Tea before she heard his voice, standing with a smile and a low bow as Ozzril came closer to her. She pushed back her hood before saying, "Master Ozzril, it has been far too long." She smiled at him before saying, "But that is exactly my point, why have a culture built on death and destruction, for whatever death and destruction they cause, they always end up worse than what they were before hand." She returned to her sitting position on the grass, looking back to the younglings.

"I thought I could see a touch of your training in them, Master Ozzril. This one, the small one, you've tried to teach him the benefits of using your opponent's strength against them, haven't you?"

She looked back to him with a smirk before saying, "Though, I must admit, I seemed to lean that way after your training too, Master." She watched as the younglings continued sparring, their slow attacks aimed with the utmost concentration and effort, yet resulting in very little. "Though, with their age I would expect them to be a little bit quicker."

[Rugs]

I do so love slow days, thought Locke Nemsee as he made his way through one of the halls of the Temple. It was good to have some time to relax in between missions and training with his padawan. As much as he could relax, anyway. As an Investigator, he spent most of the free time he had out on the streets of Coruscant, looking for information about criminals, gangs, slavers, or anyone else involved in devious activities. Now he was returning from such a trip, with the satchel he always carried when he went information hunting slung across his right shoulder. He was making his way back to his quarters, and the shortest way get back would be to cut through one of the Temple's gardens.

As he stepped into the garden, he saw a few younglings milling about; nothing out of the ordinary. But as he continued in, he spotted master Ozzril Ackbar, along with another Jedi he didn't recognize. Or maybe smelled Ozzril would be a better way to put it, because the unmistakable smell of his tea assaulted Locke's nose before he saw the old master. He wrinkled his nose, and started to make his way over to the two, and was able to catch bits of the conversation before he arrived. "Mandalorians," he said as he sauntered over, doing his best to smile in spite of the horrible smell from the tea. "Now there's a cheery folk. What could be the reason for talki-" He had to turn around as the smell of the tea forced him to cough. "What could be the reason for talking about them?" When he finished talking, he turned to master Ozzril and said "Hello, Ozzril, nice to see you and your, uh... tea again."

He looked at the knight and nodded. "I don't think we've met before. I'm Locke Nemsee, pleasure to meet you."

[Leira]

Leira's gaze changed in response to the new voice, finding the person who had spoken almost immediately. "Oh, I was just trying to understand them better." She said, looking at the new Jedi before them, "A pleasure to meet you, Locke, I'm Leira Cral." She said with a smile, her large blue eyes lingering on him for a moment before changing their gaze back to the younglings.

"It doesn't seem like that long ago I was one of those young ones practicing in the gardens." She said quietly, "But now I have to accept, that I am just getting older. Be careful, Ozzril, I'm catching up." She smirked playfully as she finished talking.

[Dutch]

{OoC: Dun forget posting order Leira, Dutch, Rugs}

Ozzril smiled and turned an eye to Locke as he approached, yet another student gracing his presence. So many students had passed through his life,each one unique, each one special, and all successful. He chuckled gently at Leira's comment about the students, his golden eye turning to the younglings who waved at Ozzril. He waved back and said

"It seems even in my teachings of Shii-Cho, my Soresu shines through... perhaps that is why former students such as yourself are learned in Soresu... And those younglings have had more Force training than saber training I'm afraid, the sheer amount of young ones that have graced us are... a bit overwhelming for this old man. But anyway, young Locke, how does this day find you? Well I hope."

The Mon Cal laughed heartily at Locke's reaction to his tea, non aquatic member's reactions to it always entertained the Jedi. He motioned for Locke to join them and sat down next to Leira, taking a deep drink from his tea. Ozzril laughed heartily at Leira's tease at his age.

"Dear, when you get to my age, I won't be around for you to tease me anymore. But speaking of getting older, when will you take your first Padawan Leira? Locke already has taken one on, and I think you'd be a fine teacher."

[Rugs]

Locke nodded in response to Leira's greeting and shrugged a bit at Ozzril's."I'm well enough, thanks." He slipped his satchel from around his shoulder and dropped it to the ground by his feet, and listened as Ozzril and Leira talked. "Heh, now Ozzril, there's no need to talk like that. I'm sure by the time we're your age you'll still be alive and kicking."

Locke nodded once more as Ozzril asked Leira when she might take on an apprentice. "Ah, yes, an apprentice. Truly a good thing to do. Although, after I selected my own, I was a nervous wreck until I actually met him. But he's a good kid, with a good head on his shoulders. I'm sure he'll be a fine Jedi one day." He smirked a bit. "And not just because I'm training him, either" as he talked, the smell of the tea continued to assault him, and before long he had to ask. "Ok, Ozzril, I find myself increasingly... curious as time goes by to know... What exactly is that, uh... very..." Thoughts ran through his head as he tried to think of a word to describe the master's tea. Obnoxious. Pungent. Disgusting. Terrible. Deadly. Frightful. Horrible. None of those would do though. "...very... interesting smelling tea of yours?"

[Leira]

Leira folded her hands together inside her cloak, pulling it tighter around her body in a reaction to the cool gust that had just brushed across her. She flicked her head, flicking her fringe away from her face. She looked up at Ozzril as he suggested she should take a padawan. She looked down for a moment before speaking quietly, "Well, I'm not sure if I'm ready for a padawan yet, Master Ozzril. I'm only twenty-three, and I haven't experienced much, so I'm not sure how much I could teach a padawan." She looked back up to the two Jedi as she spoke.

Before Ozzril could answer, Leira said suddenly, "It's Rylothian Ginger Tea. For most of us, it is defineately an acquired taste." She looked at the cup in Ozzril's hands as she spoke.

[Dutch]

Ozzril nodded as the pair spoke, taking another sip of his tea as the Master listened. Indeed it was a daunting task, parting your knowledge unto another, and for some, it might not be for them. But Ozzril had an eye for teachers as well as students, and he knew one day, Leira would make a good teacher.

"When the Force feels you are ready, young Leira, I'm sure a suitable apprentice will show themselves."

The Jedi nodded and turned an eye to Leira as she spoke of his tea, the Mon Cal chuckling at her explanation.

"Rylothian Ginger is more than just a root, young Locke- it is fermented for three weeks until it goes sour, then seeped in oil for another week. It makes a very strong tea that more aquatic members of society enjoy, what smells and tastes terrible to you, is like a warm cup of chocolate to us..."

Ozzril sighed with pleasure as he took another drink from his cup, the tea already more than halfway gone now. He stood slowly before finishing the last of his tea and stowing it in his robe before smiling at the two knights.

"I'm afraid my tea has made me a bit peckish, tell me, Leira, Locke, will you two join an old man for some food? I hear the Republic has graced us with an Ortolan chef as our new head of culinary affairs in the temple, and I hear he makes an absolutely fantastic Mon Calamari seaweed stew..."

Ozzril gestured for the two to follow him, the older Jedi's posture more slumped than it should be, but regardless, he placed his hands behind his back, and walked bare footed towards the garden entrance to the temple.

[Rugs]

Locke hid a grimace as the old master mentioned Mon Cal seaweed stew. "Why, that sounds wonderful, Ozzril," he said wryly as he bent down to pick up his satchel and put it back on around his shoulder. Though I'm surely not going to eat any of that seaweed stew... He respected the old master a great bit, but their difference in species left Locke a bit... wary of Ozzril's tastes.

As he started to follow Ozzril, he thought about the recent events that were shaking the galaxy, and more than anything, recent developments that had set the Republic on the warpath. "So, what do you think of the new Chancellor so far? And of the Republic being at war..." He trailed off at the end. Maybe not the best subject for smalltalk, he thought. But it was already out. "It'd seem like we're in for some dark times. Unless we can somehow stop the Sith encroaches before they reach too far in. But even so..." He paused, waiting to hear what the other two might have to say.

[Leira]

Leira stood gracefully, pulling the hood of her cloak halfway up her head, enough to see the front of her head and her face, but hiding the rest. She looked at Ozzril for a moment before saying, "Not sure about the seaweed stew, but I'll be sure to eat something." She smiled, falling into step beside the two men.

"War is, unfortunately, unavoidable. People give into human emotions such as greed, jealousy and anger, and it takes them spiralling onto a course of action. Luckily for us, all wars come to an end eventually." She said as they walked through the temple, "I think that there are more important things to worry about as a part of this war, like the protection of civilians, and the occurence of Dark Jedi."

[Dutch]

{OoC: Hey, I'm in a couple too many threads for me to keep up in, you two go on, I'll be excusing myself, after this post, Ozzril will be gone.}

As they walked Ozzril nodded slowly as the pair spoke, taking in their words with silence. It wasn't long before a small female Rodian approached the trio timidly, the Master recognizing her immediately.

"Ah, young Padawan Neeta, what brings you away from Master Hyuts this fine day?"

The elder Mon Cal opened his mouth in a Mon Cal smile down at the small rodian, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. She looked away before finding her voice and saying timidly

"M-master Ackbar, I'm afraid youngling Geisu is considering leaving the Order to find his parents... Master Hyuts is with her now, but he says she'd only listen to you, Master."

The old Jedi growled thoughtfully for a second, reaching up to stroke at his whiskers thoughtfully. To hear one so young wanting to leave was disappointing, but for attachment reasons was never a good thing. He nodded to the young Rodian and turned an eye to the Knights.

"Locke, Leira, go enjoy your meal without me, I ave much more urgent matters to attend to I'm afraid..."

Sighed the old man before placing a hand on the Rodian's shoulder and the two walked off towards the youngling dorms, hopefully to convince a young one not to leave.

[Rugs]

Locke waved off he old master as he walked off to attend to the youngling. He sighed heavily as he listened to Leira's words. "I certainly hope that when this war comes to an end, it will be a good end for the Republic. Wouldn't be very good for us if we lost a war. Especially for us, as Jedi." He closed his eyes for a moment as he thought. "The protection of civilians is important, yes, as is the hunt for Dark Jedi, but I fear this war may become one of survival if the Republic, and the Order, fail to act soon enough. Already worlds are falling or defecting to our foes, and we have yet to respond..." He looked at Leira for a moment before continuing. "We can't let the opportunity to end the war before it turns into something very dark pass us by..."


Locke stopped talking for a moment, and almost tripped over his own feet. "Look, I uh... don't mean to sound war-hawkish, but I think if we act now, we can stop the Sith before it's too late. Before we get bogged down in a long war, y'know?" His stone grey eyes turned to Leira, and he awaited her response.

[Leira]

Leira watched as Ozzril wandered away with the padawan before saying, "Oh, I do hope that everything turns out ok in the end. It's quite sad someone so young wants to leave." She then returned her attention back to Locke, listening to his ideas about the war, and what they needed to do to ensure a favourable outcome.

"The only problem with that, Locke, is that once we become an aggressive party, we may find it hard to stop." She looked at hime before continuing, "So many people have thought the same as you, and ended up for starters becoming no better than their opponents, and then even falling to the Dark Side." She sighed, picking up a plate and moving along, the line, selecting various foods that were available.

"I do understand where you are coming from, and we do need to take action, I just think that we should be controlled about it, encourage the Republic to do as much on their own as they can, and where they can't, or there has been a crime comitted, then we should take part." She said, looking across at Locke.

[Rugs]

Locke scratched the stubble that coated his jaw as he went through the line, listening to Leira's words. Her words were wise, and there were certainly dangers to be wary of. "Aye. That's where the danger for us is, in the threat of falling." As paused as the two sat down at a table and continued. "But, we will be expected to lead and to assist, as we always have for the Republic. Besides, more than what we bring to a fight in our own natural abilities, we are a moral boost to the soldiers. It helps a lot to know you've got a mystical energy-sword wielding warrior with you, y'know?" He bit into a bite of his food; some sort of meat covered in what looked to be gravy. It was decent enough. "But I don't know. I don't make such decisions, so I'll trust in the wisdom of the council. But your points were very wise, I must say. How do you resist the emotions that can lead to the Dark Side when doing something that naturally gives you over to those emotions? Well, clearly you'd have to be careful, but i fear that even so, we may lose a some good members of the Order. And to more than death..."

Locke looked up and shook his head to clear it. "Anyway, that's enough melancholy for one day." He took another bite of his food. "This is pretty good, I have to admit. Though, between you and me, I wasn't really sure of what I'd do after Ozzril recommended this. I'm a little... wary of his tastes." He laughed wryly and waited for a response from Leira.

[Leira]

Leira didn't hesitate in tasting the food she had selected for herself. She was open minded like that, always willing to try new things. She smiled at Locke's comment about Ozzril before saying, "Well, I do admit that his species do have some rather unusual tastes, but just remember, our tastes seem unusual to him as much as we are disgusted by his." She pulled her hood back again, running a hand through her hair as she talked.

She looked around the room, looking at all the new faces, "There is hardly anyone here that I recognise these days." She said, her eyes flicking from one padawan or youngling to the next.

[Rugs]

Locke nodded as he took another bite of his food. The meat was good, and tender; it was growing on him as he ate more of it. "I suppose you're right; he probably does fine our tastes strange as well."

He looked around at Leira's words and noticed the same. "I guess you're right," he said with a chuckle. "Though I'm usually too busy to really notice any new faces. Still, it's good to see some new faces, though at times it seems like we have more students than Jedi who are able to take them on. But I'm sure that will change with time."

Locke picked up his drink and downed some of it, and as he set the glass back down on the table, he said "So, tell me a bit about yourself. Have any interesting stories or anything like that from your time as a padawan?"

[Leira]

Leira took another small mouthful of her food as she listened to him talk. It was true. There were more students than teachers, and she began to feel obliged, almost guilty, to take a padawan learner. She continued to eat until she was asked about her time as a padawan.

"Well, my master was a Jedi Sentinel, and he mainly focused on simple matters such as border disputes. I accompanied him on many of those." She told him, deciding not to mention the fact that as a Padawan she had killed her twin brother in a lightsabre duel.

"My time was relatively standard, I suppose you could say. How about you? Do you have any interesting war stories?" She asked with a smile before taking another mouthful of food.

[Rugs]

Locke laughed at Leira's question. "Ok, I guess I may have deserved that, though really, I'm not the guy you want leading troops. My place is in the shadows, seeking out the more obscure threats to the Republic. And do I have any stories?" He laughed again. "I've got more stories than I know what to do with."

Locke leaned back, and thought for a moment. "Let's see... there was the one time we had to escort a merchant caravan that got ambushed by pirates... That mission was a disaster. I got cut open by a piece of burning metal from an explosion. Almost killed my." He grimaced at that particular memory; it wasn't a fond one. "Still got a scar across my back from it. That wasn't too terribly fun. Or there was the first time my master had me try to construct a lightsaber. I was young, and still in that stage where I thought I knew everyting, and he insisted that I wasn't yet ready. I insisted I was. So he took apart the one he was letting me use, and told me to put it back together. One thing you should know about me is that I'm not a mechanically gifted person, at all. So when I put the thing together, it somehow almost exploded. There were sparks everywhere, and it was making the most awful noise..." Locke chuckled warmly at the memory. "Needless to say, I didn't question his wisdom in that area again."

He leaned forward and took another gulp of his drink. "As for my past, I was..." He stopped suddenly remembering that his father was a merchant that fell out of business into being a drug addict, and his mother sold herself on the streets of Nar Shadaa. "Actually, some things are better left unsaid. Sorry, my mouth got out ahead of me." He looked down at his plate sheepishly and waited for a response.

[Leira]

Leira reached out, placing her hand over his when he faltered at the end. She smiled supportingly before saying, "Don't worry, Locke. Everyone has to have something to hide about themselves, otherwise everyone would know you aswell as you do, and you wouldn't be an individual." She pulled her hand back, taking another mouthful of food.

"Well, I was born on Alderaan to a Dark Jedi and an aristocrat. I had a twin brother. My father managed to track down my brother and turn him to the Dark Side. After my father died, I went with my master to Alderaan." She spoke as if she was distant, "I killed my brother in a lightsabre duel."