Kal nodded at the response, and his smile widened. "It is a great pleasure to meet a respected member of the Order, Jedi Bey. I take it that you are well on your way to knighthood, then?" Kal asked, presuming that was what her somewhat cryptic reference meant.

"That's the plan, yes.  If this mission goes well, it should be my ticket to knighthood." She glanced back at the other two members of their group, the thick-headed woman and the Blood Carver.  Despite their flaws, both would likely be useful in the coming mission.  "Oh, and since we're going to be working together, just call my Mirax."

Kal nodded. "When this mission goes well, I'll make certain that Master Skywalker knows that success was entirely your fault." Kal smiled at his own statement before asking, "So how long have you been with the Jedi Order, Mirax?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:54, Wed 12 Jan 2011.

Mirax noted his optimism.  Being a bit of a realist though, she didn't exactly share it.  It was Master Luke Skywalker they were dealing with... the success of their mission depended on this whole thing being some form of misunderstanding.  If he really didn't want to be found, they likely wouldn't find him - not on their terms anyway.

"Since I was young," she replied.  "Like most Jedi my age, really.  They say the younger you are when you start, the easier it is to train you.  You been with Intelligence for very long?"


[Private to GM: My bad.]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:54, Wed 12 Jan 2011.

Kal chuckled at her question about his own history. "It seems that we are somewhat kindred spirits, Mirax. Officially I have been RMI since I was fifteen or so.  However, I've been an unofficial part of it since birth. Both my parents are RMI and have been since the end of the Separatist movement. I learned much from them, and sought to join as soon as I was of age. There was little resistance by RMI, given my skillset, experience, and parentage."

He rubbed his chin and looked back to the room they had left as if he could see though the walls. "So what do you know about Leia Skywalker? Have you trained with her much?"

[Private to GM: In case you are wondering about the part that was removed, it follows here (Mirax had said Luke started training when he was older before editing it out):

Kal paused before he turned back to the question that still bounced around his mind, "Speaking of parentage, I didn't realize Luke Skywalker didn't start as a Jedi when he was young. I would have thought that given what happened with his father, the Order would have avoided again training someone who might have developed emotional attachments before becoming a Jedi. Perhaps everything I know about the Jedi is wrong, you will have to enlighten me during our long trip. I had thought that Anakin Skywalker having a child at all was forbidden. Or maybe it's just marriage. Are you allowed to reproduce as long as you don't get married?" Kal had a confused look on his face, but was glad that he would be able to straighten out his knowledge of the Order with a real, live Jedi who was going to be trapped on a ship with him in hyperspace for a nice, long trip to the Outer Rim.]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:19, Wed 12 Jan 2011.

Mirax held her tongue.  She and Kal were not as closely related in spirit as he thought, in her mind.  She did not share the grace of knowing her parents, nor could she say she as following in their footsteps - not for certain, anyway.  Not yet.

"When I was younger, yes.  Less so in recent years.  I believe she spends more time teaching the younger padawans." When addressing Leia in person, Mirax would always call her Master Skywalker, like she had her brother. But, that would only cause confusion in the current conversation.  "Leia... she is a woman more than worthy of the respect she gets.  You saw her back there - even you could tell how strong she is in spirit.  And as a Jedi... I needn't say more than she is her brother's sister, and her father's daughter.  If you understand me."  It shouldn't have been hard.  The Skywalker name was probably one of the most well known names in the galaxy at this point, though Mirax's perspective may have been skewed a bit, as she had a direct link to it through the Order.

Kal nodded. "Yes, even one that cannot peer into another with the Force, such as I, can see how strong she is. Though even one with such substantial mental fortitude cannot deny the familial ties that bind her spiritually to her brother. By your statement, the entire Skywalker clan seems as powerful as it is troubled. That the family exists at all is something of a rarity, is it not? My understanding is that Jedi are not allowed to marry. Though Anakin was, obviously, allowed to reproduce. Is there only a restriction amongst the Jedi on marital ties then, and not on mating?"

Mirax chuckled a bit at his question.  Logically, it made perfect sense - but when you said it out loud, it sounded quite funny. "That's an interesting question.  I've never been asked if I was allowed to have sex before..." She grinned.

"Your understanding is correct, but you are thinking too specific.  The Jedi are sworn to a vow of celibacy.  That kind of intimacy creates a dangerous connection, which most fear to lose.  Fear leads to anger, and anger to hate... the path to the Dark Side." Mirax spoke almost as if reciting for a textbook; there was notably little passion in her words while reciting the path to the dark side.  "So, obviously, Anakin Skywalker broke that rule.  As you may have heard, it didn't end too well for him.  I don't know the details, but as far as I understand, it did lead to the end of his life as a Jedi."

Kal pursed his lips in thought at her answer, which effectively hid the frown that wanted to make it's way onto his features. He shook his head and spoke distractedly, almost to himself, "_{What a pity....}"

He coughed lightly before resuming his normal volume, "Uh, I was referring to the Jedi in general, and the Skywalkers in particular, not necessarily to your specific situation.  Though I guess that you would subscribe to all the vows of the Order as well. I know that things ended up badly for Anakin in the end, but I thought leaving the order was his own choice and done due to philosophical differences that he had with them. What sort of censure did he receive from the council for breaking his vows of celibacy?"


20:52, Today: Kal Wennyn rolled 31 using 1d20+16 with rolls of 15. Deception.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Thu 13 Jan 2011.

"You're taking my words too literally," Mirax stated plainly, before going on to elaborate.  She seemed to pass over his little white lie without even acknowledging it.  "This is also my opinion of what happened, based on what little I know of the specifics.  He did indeed renounce his oath to the Order and leave of his own volition.  As for the other... I believe he kept it a secret from the Jedi.  Or at least, those that knew cared about him enough to keep it secret as well."

"However, when I say it led to the end of his life as a Jedi, I meant it played an instrumental part.  Consider the original incident that led to his loss of faith in the order: the execution of Palpatine.  Surely you can agree that such a being would be much too dangerous to be left alive.  Every Jedi is in agreement in this, even I.  Why, then, was Anakin the only one who felt it wrong?"  She paused, letting him consider the question.

"I think it had to do with his relationship with Padme.  He loved her, and Palpatine knew this.  Its likely that he used this to manipulate Anakin, maybe making him believe that he could lose Padme.  Obviously, the next step would be to make Anakin believe he had a way to save her..." Mirax trailed off.  It was logical, in her mind. "Of course, Anakin stayed his hand, meaning he was able to resist whatever plot Palpatine had in mind.  However, clearly the event stuck with him, and the result led to him losing faith in the Order, and eventually leaving."

[Private to GM: If any if that seems too unbelievable for Mirax to suppose, let me know.  But, I figure Palpatine's plot was pretty straightforward, so it shouldbe all right.  Its also an opinion of course.]

Kal narrowed his eyes. "Wait, he kept a secret from the Jedi? I didn't even know that was possible....or maybe he didn't. I understand that he was affected by it, but perhaps he wasn't censured because he was both powerful enough and a hero of the Republic that no one made an issue of it. I mean, if you were to break that vow, what would be done to you? A better question might be how would anyone find out..."

Mirax raised an eyebrow.  "I would think that RMI would at least know that even the Jedi are not completely infallible.  Plus, this is mere supposition on my part, though it makes sense.  Plus, as I said, its unlikely he was able to keep it a complete secret.  But, he was a very powerful and respected Jedi... its likely that those that did know simply kept quiet."  She paused in thought for a moment, pondering the next question.

"As far as I know, you simply get kicked out of the Order.  And, of course, your lightsaber is taken away from you."

Kal nodded. "But not if you're Anakin Skywalker, then people just keep quiet about the scandal. Does that bother you at all?"

Mirax shrugged.  She had reached the end of her opinion on the matter - she didn't have much more to add to it.  Rather, she didn't have much more she wanted to add to it. "Perhaps they thought that, because he had so much potential, and because he was the Chosen One and all, that he would be able to resist.  Anyway, I don't know all the details.  It would be wrong to cast judgment on the order based on supposition."

Kal matched her, shrug for shrug. "I'm not casting judgement, just trying to learn more about the Jedi order. I have nothing but the deepest respect for what you have and continue to do for the galaxy. I've never had the pleasure of working so closely with a Jedi before, so I'm quite curious." Once his shoulders had finished the familiar shrugging gesture, he struck out in a new direction. "Since you've been in the Order since you were very young, I presume you've met Luke Skywalker? What is your opinion of the man?"

"I'm surprised you don't already know as much as me.  Doesn't RMI have a database, probably full of info on the Jedi?" Mirax cast a quick glance back at the rest of their party, then to the turbolift, which certainly seemed to be taking its time.  She actually found herself smiling from his words though - it was nice to have someone genuinely interested and intelligent to talk to. "I have.  He is... well, as I knew him, he was the very model of a Jedi, really.  Very powerful and very wise... yet approachable, and he had a strange sense of humor you couldn't help but like.  He was very much a human being too, rather than what some people made him out to be with their tall tales."

Kal nodded at her question. "Of course. I could find out when he was born, what his favorite color is, what his favorite shirt is and whether he ever had any pets. I could also find out what Crix Madine thinks of him as well as what other RMI personnel have noted.  What I can't find in our database is what Mirax Bey thinks of him. Well, until now." Kal made a show of pulling out his datapad and punching in some notes.

"But seriously, database information is no replacement for first-hand accounts of a person. What does your gut tell you about what happened with him? Or what does the Force say? Or your woman's intuition?"

At that moment, the turbolift doors hissed open. Normally the lift would have left off a dozen Jedi Padawans and a few Masters, but as late in the day as they were, the turbolift lay empty.

Claire and Mi slipped past the conversing duo, entering the turbolift before it could strand them on the lower levels longer than necessary.

Mi stepped onto the waiting lift standing his hand holding the door open for the conversing pair.  He had said little since the moment that he had joined the group which was his way.  He said little heard much, and mostly went unseen and unknown to those he was observing.  He found the philosophical discussion that Kal and Mirax were having very interesting.  He had understood that the Jedi order believed that about love and strong emotion.  It surprised him as he knew what power there was in the desire to protect, however he also knew the danger there.  If you allow the desire to protect override the basic goodness that made it be there in the first place, that was where you were walking a dangerous line.  However as always these comment stayed with Mi himself not voicing them for the others.

"I'll have to remember to ask what it says about me in there," Mirax said, stepping into the lift third from last.  Once Kal had entered as well and the lift started moving, she answered his other question.  "I would need some time to meditate on the matter at hand if you want an answer regarding the Force.  However... I'm not sure what I think, really.  I want to believe that this is a mere misunderstanding, but the fact remains that a Jedi was killed, and a potentially dangerous artifact stolen.  That, and Master Skywalker hasn't exactly done very well to preserve his innocence..."

Kal listened to her response before he shook his head, and responded matter-of-factly, "Shockingly enough, the RMI database doesn't mention your stunning beauty. I can only presume that is because the text is older, so I'll be updating it to compensate for that oversight. I will be curious to find out what the Force tells you when you do get a chance to meditate."

Kal then followed her onto the turbolift and swept his gaze across the others. He addressed them with a smile, "I don't recall that we did proper introductions. You've probably gathered that I'm Lieutenant Kal Wennyn, attached to Republic Military Intelligence."

He offered his hand in greeting to each in turn, then looked down to his datapad. "The Rodian's Kiss is about an hour away by public airtram. We don't have much time to waste, but as I mentioned during the briefing, I need to change my attire before we head there. If any of you have anything you need to retrieve, we can meet at the airtram station, or if you would like to check out the view while I don more appropriate clothing, you're welcome to join me in my quarters."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:54, Thu 13 Jan 2011.

All the while Kal and Mirax were talking, Claire kept quiet even though she was at the edge of her tolerance.  But at the mention of "stunning beauty" Claire let out a sound of exasperation.  "Yeah, you just meet him in his quarters.  Get it over with.", she advised Mirax.  "I swear you Humans mate like its a handshake.  Don't worry about your Jedi censures.  It won't mean anything; the sex that is.  No obligations, no attachments.  You just do it real quick, and get that itch scratched.  Just please, stop your pre-coitus gab.  You're making my ears bleed. Just be sure to put up the 'Do not disturb' sign on the door."

Kal arched an eyebrow at Claire's rather long speech about the mating habits of the most populous species in the galaxy, then smirked and turned his gaze directly toward her, "Well, well, it looks like there is a green-eyed monster hidden within you after all. We'll have plenty of time to explore your jealousy in hyperspace, but for now we really haven't the time. The general has said that we need to move quickly, and I intend to do so. Like the Jedi, I have certain oaths that I hold dear, ones I took when I started my official service to the Republic. I would never let a woman, even one so attractive as you, come before my duty."

Kal's smirk turned into a smile as he continued to gaze at Claire. "Now, I still didn't catch your name. If you want to keep it that way, I'll just come up with some way to refer to you. In any case, I need to get changed and we all need to catch the airtram. If you want to stay together, I'd enjoy the company, and since it's quite easy to lose your way or find trouble in Glactic City, it would probably be for the best if we remain together. However, if you're worried that you'll be unable to stay out of trouble in my quarters or if you have something you need to retrieve from your own, then we can all try to meet at the tram station nearest the Senate Building."

Claire's sudden outburst shouldn't have been a surprise, Mirax thought.  It was already clear that the woman had some pretty strong opinions that differed from the rest of them.  She also seemed to like voicing them, which was evidenced by the fact she spoke out against Luke with his sister in the same room - something you only did if you had strong opinions and didn't care what others thought.  It was commendable in a way, she had to admit.

"I would like to point out though, that your choice of words is quite bad," Mirax pointed out.  "If we humans mated like it was a handshake, then you two would not be joining us in this lift.  After all, a handshake is little more than a respectful form of greeting." Mirax grinned a bit.  Opinions might vary on that, of course. "That being said, thanks for the offer, Kal, but I will meet you at the Tram station.  I know the city quite well, after all."

With that the group splits up and eventually converges near the Senate Building Plaza, some thirty minutes later. The closest public transportation platform is at the Senate's western entrance.

Coruscant is obviously a world that has grown upwards throughout its life. Although the planet-city’s lower levels are a place that would even make a Wookiee commando nervous, you happen to find yourself in a market plaza in one of the more respectable neighborhoods. The transparisteel dome over the plaza lets in bright moolight and shows off some of the city scape around the Senatorial district. Various species mile about, going about their business, and the smell of various foods and spices fill the air, even at this tardy hour. The beings in this area seem friendlier than most, but the most important thing was the crowd which would let you blend in quickly if there was trouble.

It also posed a problem in find the rest of the group.

You may describe what they did for the last 30 odd minutes, and their arrival at the Senate Plaza.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:13, Sat 15 Jan 2011.