Bethany says, "Thankies! I programmed the A.I. myself! And... I didn't realize adding 'master' was a requirement. Oops?"

The ship says, "Bethany prefers 'friend' over 'master' anyway. A pleasure to meet you all. Also, yes, I can sing."

Liberty says, "I agree with Mittens that 'master' is only for people who own slaves. My teacher said that my feelings aside, it is used in positive ways like how the je'daii use it... but I just can't shake how I feel about it."

When the ship takes off, Beth is able to set it to auto-pilot to the coordinates given and easily cruises there. The destination is, however, a slummy part of a city.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:35, Thu 30 Jan 2020.

Short trip is short.  And though Nathan is disappointed he didn't yet get to sing with the ship, he's not forceful enough on the topic to insist on taking time for a sing-along now that the group has arrived.

Mits bounds down the ramp, calling out behind herself, "Talking ship is way cooler than just getting a boring old off-the-shelf droid pilot.

"And no, the Master protocol is most certainly not required.

"As Mittens takes in the scenery, she wonders whether it was 'The Will of The Force' that someone as awesome as Liberty should become her friend.  (A term that even Jedi Masters struggle to understand, let alone clearly communicate.)  Is the disembodied psyhic spirit that permeates the Galaxy sentient?  If so, does it struggle to relate to corporeal creatures, unable to communicate with words like they can?  Is it suffering from Bipolar Disorder, one moment tempting good people to become monsters and in the next empowering superheroes to defend justice in the Galaxy?  Will it cause a group of desperate slum gangsters to fail to recognize the boring attire of the Jedi and hold up a group of seemingly unarmed upworlders just so they can look awesome using their superpowers to overcome the threat?

"Mittens hopes that something like that will happen so that she can show off her cool combat skill for her new friend."

Pyrus offers a ride to Liberty and explains, "Mittens likes to narrate."

Nathan follows along, inwardly grating at Mittens' narration.  Partly because he's wondering the same things, and hearing her say it out loud so bluntly is embarrassing.  Well on the bright side, her having a big mouth means I don't have to feel guilty about forcibly invading the mind of a child in order to keep her from falling to the Darkside.

  If there were any sign Mittens would become a proper Master Jedi herself, it is her experience in giving exposition.  Just look at 85% of Yoda's dialogue, after all.

  Blake is hardly any stranger to 'The slummy part of X', but still is well aware of the difference between it no longer being mandatory for him to be in such a place, and for those it remains so.

  "You wear boring clothes not for humility, but because you attract less beggars and muggers when you look poorer than everyone around you." Said the man wearing sunglasses over his robot eyes.

Liberty takes Pyrus up on his offer and gets on his back to ride him.

Liberty says, "I hope that doesn't happen. I don't want to attract attention before I've reunited with my teacher. He'd be... upset. If some goons try to intimidate us, can we please just lose them?"

Liberty looks at her rather colorful robes and then back to Blake. "Now that you brought it up, my own clothes are far from boring. Should I get changed into something else before we go on this adventure?"

Bethany says, "Don't worry about it, Liberty. My own outfit is kinda eye-catching too. We're not here for a fight anyway. We're here to make friends! So glad you like my ship, Mittens! I'm going to wear pigtails now!" and with that, Beth pulls the scrunchie out of her puny tail, then pulls her hair into two pigtails and scrunchies them in place.

Bethany is excited by the topic Mitts brought up and says, "I like to think the Force is not just light and dark, but also a rainbow and shades between light and dark besides! And since the Force is in all living things, and the universe has everything from bright light to darkest dark and so many styles of such, so too does the Force. The real question is: Is the Force what makes us light or dark? Or is it us that makes the Force light or dark? Or is it a bit of both? I really wanna know. But finding an answer to that has proven difficult."

"All your outfits are cool," Pyrus asserts.

Nathan's mind boggles at the worm canning factory that is these girls.  He shakes it off.

"While very interesting, all these questions are probably just academic when compared to averting a catastrophe."

(( https://upload.wikimedia.org/w..._of_worms_(1999).jpg ))

He calms himself and opens up his mind to the flow of The Force, expecting to be led directly to Serenity.  Assuming he's right, he'll signal the others to follow and head toward her.

Mittens is perfectly comfortable in the slum setting.  Plenty of time spent slumming around with Evil Dad while he was hunting bounties.  Only now she's free to use The Force to do the things she wasn't allowed to with an Evil Dad who was trying to keep as low a profile as a super-powered homicidal loonie could.  Things like remotely tie together the shoestrings of the mean guy yelling at some bum for daring to beg for a scrap of food.  And give him a telekinetic wedgie.  Etc.

"Mittens can't think of a better topic to discuss openly at the moment, so may as well ask: Is it personal bias that makes you want to think in terms of rainbows, Beth?  Or did you have some amazing spiritual awakening that enlightened you to this possibility?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:01, Sat 01 Feb 2020.

  "Honestly the bigger question would be if The Force can ever change.  Varying shades of monochrome or color won't matter so long as the long history of 'and then because of The Force, the most horrifically melodramatic thing happened instead of just regular horrible' continues."  An outlook only feels more certain with the implication visions of things like Alderaan exploding at the whims of some guy making speeches about the force are echos of an aborted timeline.

  "So hopefully, some day. If I am faced with a planet destroying superweapon. The force doesn't demand I tear my eyes out because it will ensure I miss if I don't turn off the targeting computer in my skull and make the shot blind."  Blake is assuming THAT was just a Freudien dream, because that would be too stupid to be a vision of an alternate timeline. Right?
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:58, Sat 01 Feb 2020.

Bethany answers Joe, "Change is the only constant in the universe. And yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same. So can the Force change? Yes! But it will be the same anyway. It's the same with the universe, isn't it? More tech, more advances. Same old stories of light and dark. With or without the Force."

Beth then answers Mittens, "Mmmm... I dunno. Bias, I guess? I like rainbows!"

Meanwhile, the Force seems to be "guiding" Nathan to a particular alley, even though he isn't really sensing anyone strong in the Force per say. But as the group turns the corner to that alley, it is clearly an alley with punks. There are neon lights advertising gambling, games, drugs, the whole nine.

Those who feel like saying they overhear it overhear a punk saying, "Chill, Serenity. I'm just sayin'."

But all the punks look at the group as they enter the alley. "What the hell..." one says, looking at the bunch.

Mits gave Blake a look that said, "Well dang!  That's one heck of a metal nightmare!"  Then said as much out loud.

She chuckled at Beth's honesty and answered, "Figured.  Still, would love to find out that you're right."

Mits overheard!  Nathan thinks he heard someone say 'Serenity,' but couldn't miss the second part.

Mits steps forward and speaks for the group.  "Greetings!  I am Mittens!  A one-of-a-kind Jedi who isn't all boring and stuff.  Glowstick twirl as proof!"

She has her lightsaber spin around above her head with telekinesis.

"Mittens is on a quest to save the Galaxy from a melodramatic calamity - the kind that will be far worse than a normal calamity!  The legendary holy warrior, Grandmaster Yoda, said that Mittens would find Serenity here, and that she would supply what Mittens is lacking.  Which is apparently not more combat training.  Seems Yoda thinks Mittens has plenty of that."

Nathan sighs.  "They're going to think you're insane instead of just silly.  Please put away the lightsaber."

He looks to the group.  "I'll buy lunch for whomever can direct us to someone named Serenity."

  Bethany likes rainbows is like saying Mittens likes Puppets.  Another constant in a changing universe.

  Now, on the one hand Blake could point out that they were already obviously talking to Serenity thanks to NPC speech bubbles.  But on the other hand, Nathan has already resorted to the big guns of Free Snacks.  So it would be a shame to waste that strong opening move.

  "Mittens, I know I trust you." In spite of logical reasons against it "But like Nathan is being polite about, most people are justifiably iffy around flying death swords."

At first, the punks looks really weirded out. Then Mittens does her thing and they laugh a bit. "The circus is in town and nobody told us! They must be the latest act at Jerry's or somethin'."

Nathan's offer didn't go unnoticed, though, and one of them says, "Oh yeah? Who wants to know? Crazy weirdo freaks? Listen, the snack offer was a nice one, but not only do we not know you from Jack, it looks like you're the kind of trouble we don't like."

One of the bigger, thuggish guys says, "Suppose we walked into your neighborhood and asked for, say, that pretty brawd with the white hair. By name. How would you feel, eh?"

Bethany says, "I'd feel special!"

Liberty is keeping an eye on Mittens, figuring Nathan will keep his eye out for Serenity.

There are about a dozen punk guys and half a dozen punk girls among them.

Mits slouches and puts the lightsaber away.

"AWESOME weirdo freaks!" Pyrus corrects, puffing out his chest and wagging his tail.

Mits busts out laughing and hugs his neck.  Beth just makes her laugh all the more!

Nathan sweatdrops at Mits and Beth.

He then puts on an apologetic smile then addresses the ladies and gentlemen, "Apologies for the awkward introduction.  Things started off just about as awkwardly when Mittens was so forward with Liberty here.

"I'm happy to see that you're protective of Serenity.  If I may offer my contact information, you can let her know that Nathan from the Academy would like her to call him on an important matter.  I would appreciate it."

He slowly reaches into his pocket with only his thumb and index finger so that it's clear he's not reaching for a blaster.  Assuming the crowd doesn't object, he'll pull out his wallet and hand it over to the big guy.

  "I mean, you don't seem like a bunch of assholes. So unless I'm horribly wrong about that, Bethany probably has the right idea there." Blake, don't tempt people into admitting they are assholes just so they can say you are wrong.

Liberty smiles at the cuddly dragon/kitten combo, but is still cautiously paying attention to what is going on.

"Alright alright..." a girl's voice calls out. Serenity pokes her head between the two guys and puts an arm around the guy who first spoke up, half-hanging from his side in a relaxed pose and puts a hand on her hip. "Thanks for covering for me guys, but these people seem alright. I'm Serenity. Whaddaya want?"

The lepi girl is wearing a black open hoodie, tight jeans and a gray t-shirt with skull and crossbones.

"AH!  Cuteness!  Bunny!  Eeeee!"

Mits flails like Kermit.  Pyrus giggles then gives Serenity a friendly wave.

Nathan puts his wallet away.  He's having a hard time keeping his cool, but is relieved that Blake's jab didn't escalate things.  Was it his abrasive comment that convinced the girl to show herself because abrasiveness is what she's comfortable with?  The mind boggles.

"Nice to meet you, Serenity.  Just a moment while I write down my answer, if you don't mind."

He writes a quick message then offers his datapad to Serenity:  "Not sure how comfortable you are with talking openly about a Jedi Master prophesying that you have an important role to play in my student's maturing.  But everything Mittens said technically is true."

Nathan then says aloud, "We were led to believe that you would not be against helping.  Unless...  we have the wrong Serenity?  If not, I guess I owe you lunch for starters."

  The sith mastery of pain allows Mittens to actually break her arms into dozens of pieces on demand for more authentic Kermity flailings.  This is the totally accurate not made up legend of mittens.

  "I have the feeling if she doesn't want to help, it would be for well meaning reasons anyways." 'Make the catgirl more mature? But why?! That would be boring!' Reasons.

Serenity peers at the message on the datapad and gives Nathan a "really?" look. But shrugs and hands him his datapad back.

Serenity says, "Well since you offered snacks, how's about we all go into Toni's and have a pizza party?"

The other punks make various happy sounds such as "yeah! pizza!" and "now THAT's what I'm talking about" and other such like.

Bethany says, "Sounds great! I love pizza!"

(Although the RP started with pizza, it does take several days to get from Corascant to Tatooine, so the team hasn't had pizza today.)

Soon, the group is in Toni's and eating some pizza. Serenity got supreme, so she has meat and veggie on her pizza. Other punks prefer pepperoni. Others meat lovers. Still others plain pizza.

Serenity sits next to Nathan. "I'm just some punk. I can't imagine why you or your ilk would wanna have anything to do with me. Prophecies or no. Don't you peacekeeper types look down your noses at punks like me?" Nom! Yummy yummy pizza.

Liberty is happily nomming a pepperoni slice while Beth eats a plain cheese slice.

Unless someone offers to chip in, Nathan puts the whole order on his expense account.  Pretty easy to file it under "diplomatic expenses" guilt free, since that's honestly what his intent was.  Keep things from devolving into violence.  And if even the tight-fisted accountants of the Jedi Order object to pizza instead of violence, he's going to raise hell.

Mittens will go for the most exotic option available.  Always on the look-out for new flavors.

Nathan starts with just plain old cheese for now.  He's of the opinion that the best way to appreciate a chef's mastery is with the simplest dish.

"'Those who look down their noses, leave themselves open,'" Nathan quotes, "Please accept my apologies if one of my unenlightened colleagues was rude to you.  The take-away is that you've already provided proof that a Jedi would have something to learn from you.

"I do not have any specifics, and I doubt Yoda does either, on how exactly The Force expects you to help out Mittens, but I can take a guess.  She's told us that she was raised by a sadistic serial killer who abused her horribly.  A Jedi Master was able to heal the majority of the mental scars, but...  Transitioning from what she grew up with to the contemplative lifestyle of a Jedi is rather extreme.  I'm guessing that one such as yourself could help bridge that chasm better than I ever could."

Mits shrugs.  "Eh.  I dunno.  I doubt The Force expects Serenity to be my therapist.  I get the Jedi Way.  It's not that hard, really.  Spout words of peace while you chop up villains with a cool glow stick.  I've got the chopping techniques down, so all that's left is to get good at the preaching."

  "Nathan is that rare special snowflake of Actually Living Up To The Intended Reputation.  When he does have to cut people in half he's not mad, just disappointed." Usually.  Sometimes he cuts them in 1/4th.

Serenity looks at Mittens and then Nathan. "Glow stick? Chop up people? What?"

Liberty says, "The lightsaber is a kind of sword where the blade is made of hot energy that can cut through almost anything. The jedi are trained in how to use it for self defense."

Serenity shrugs. "I have 19 brothers and sisters, so.. I have experience with babysitting. But disturbed kids who were abused by murderers, while that sounds tragic and something I'd actually care about, also sounds way out of my league. And why use energy swords as weapons if you're peacekeepers? Why not your own two fists like me?"

Liberty says, "Nice as that would be, I doubt you can deflect lasers with your fists. Proper lightsaber training, however, and a jedi can deflect lasers. Sometimes back at the person who fired it."

Serenity says, "Badass and all, but why not just wear armor? Like a normal person?"

Liberty says, "I've heard armor helps. But lightsabers flat-out prevent."

Serenity says, "And why kids? What gives? I've got younger sibs older than these two tykes who're talking about killing and chopping and stuff."

Bethany shrugs. "Why not? Laser fire doesn't discriminate between a child and an adult, so best to equip 'em ASAP, right?"

Serenity strokes her chin. "Alright, alright. You weirdos have me intrigued. I'll run with you for a bit. But you gotta feed me as long as I'm with ya."

Liberty leans over to Mittens with a big smile and whispers "Yay bunny... did you see how she wiggles her nose from time to time?"

Serenity then looks back to Nathan. "And to clarify, I don't have any personal experience with the jedi or nothin'. Just that authority figures in general don't like people who question authority. Which I do."

(( Doesn't need a lightsaber to block blaster fire.  Check.  Can disarm an opponent without having to use a lightsaber.  Check.  Come to think of it, Darth Vader was more ready than Obi-Wan to diffuse a deadly confrontation without resorting to killing or maiming. ))



Mits has her face leaned in her hand during the exchange, trying to figure out if she's a hypocrite to boast about her lightsaber skill, but cute nose wiggles make her squeal and flail.  So to Beth's question she buries her face in the nice lady's shoulder and says with a muffled voice, "Yes."

Nathan is trying to figure out if Mits was kidding.  Or Blake.  But either way, he's not about to get defensive of the Jedi's teachings on the justifiable use of deadly force.  As for the lightsaber exchange...  Looks like Blake's claim of people not bothering to look up even the most basic of lore is proving to be true.

"Blaster fire is apparently especially attracted to people who are Force Sensitive, I'm sorry to say," Nathan observes, "So young Jedi generally aren't permitted to leave the academy till they at least have a decent chance of surviving the violence that will inevitably find them.  Thank you, Serenity.  For what it's worth, I think it wise to question things.  Authority included.

Though he'll have a hard time answering.  The Jedi are awful vague about things like jurisdiction, search warrants, arrest authority, etc. etc.  He's perfectly aware that the police have to swear an oath to uphold the law, but he never had to.  Master's history lessons explaining why this is the case kinda made sense?  ...but only if you assume that the Jedi Order is incorruptible.

  What's more funny than deflecting a blaster shot back at someone? Deflecting a lightsaber back at someone!  Or so we'd assume.

  "Pretenses explain the robes cliche more than practicality.  No matter how dangerous or peaceful you are, people will put more assumptions on if you show up in obvious armor or not than if you are waving around a blaster or throwing speeders with your mind."

Serenity says, "It's worth plenty."

Serenity has joined your team! Music plays!

Bethany pets Mittens when she buries her face in Beth's shoulder.

After the pizza party, Serenity gets on board Bethany's craft and admires it. Bethany gives Serenity the nickle tour and asks, "We going to Planet Atollon?"

Liberty says, "Yes please!"

Bethany is the first to ask Serenity about her falling star fur pattern; Serenity claims it is a genetic thing from her family specifically and the family name, as such, is Starfall. She also says she has another falling star going from her right hip down to her knee.

Serenity is happy to chat about whatever, but seems interested in learning about the jedi, of all things.

Bethany sits next to Serenity attentively as if just as eager to be taught whatever is being told to Serenity. The way Beth wiggles her bottom in anticipation one might almost think she has a tail. But while Serenity's hips remain stationary, her tail does wag and twitch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:47, Fri 14 Feb 2020.

Nathan marvels that people have been trusting him so easily so far.  Hi.  I'm a perfect stranger.  I'll give you some unbelievable story about being a goodguy, offer no proof, then invite you to a space ship of no return.  Sure!  You're polite, so it must all be true.

"Good point, Blake."

Meanwhile, Mittens and Pyrus both are certainly in the tail-wag team.  Closest Nathan gets is the occasional stretching of wings.  He's nowhere near cute enough as an adult to flappa-flap.

"Mittens would be happy to give a full exposition of Jedi History in puppet show form, but she gets the impression that Nathan would much rather have the Jedi reveal stuff be put in a nicer light than the Crass Kitty would."

Nathan shrugs.  "I can handle boring Jedi History.  You can puppet show the fun part - The story of how we met Liberty and wound up on this grand adventure."

Mits' eyes go wide.  "Wow really?!  PERFECT!  You're not so bad after all, Teach!"

And thus, Serenity gets her answers in two very different styles.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:04, Fri 14 Feb 2020.

  Nathan rates honorary flappa-flap privileges, duh.

  After all, he's cool enough to willingly allow flail flail exposition.

  Speaking of exposition. "Any should have been obvious but isn't stuff we should know about Atollon?"

Serenity seems half-bored/half-interested with Nathan's explanation, but Bethany is enthralled! She asks the occasional key question of Nathan, some he knows and some he doesn't know.

Serenity, Bethany, and Liberty, of course, ALL love the puppet show. Liberty is laughing while she says, "Yup, that's pretty much how it went!"

Liberty says to Blake, "Atollon's mostly barren, but it's atmosphere is breathable to most races. It's covered in rock, is hot like Tatooine, but has lots of caves and such. There is a predatory race of giant spiders there, but they are repelled by sensor beacons, so my teacher should have one such beacon where he's waiting."

Serenity says half-jokingly, "We're going someplace hot? And me without my bathing suit."

Bethany says, "We can stop to shop before we go, you know?"

Serenity giggles. "Nah, s'alright." then leans towards Nathan and asks him in a quiet tone, "Does Bethany understand jokes or sarcasm?"