Council Chambers

Master Alora's idea is a sound one, and I do not hesitate to nod in approval of his suggestion that, should it be accepted by the Mandalorians, he be the one to act as negotiator if and when the time arrives that his idea can be acted upon.

After Master Rawkill speaks, pointing out that the Jedi have nothing with which to bid for the aid of the Mandalorians even were our Order in the position to make such decisions on behalf of the alliance we are but members of, I lift a hand and, remembering that she is merely a representative sent by the Clan leaders and therefore not likely to be able to provide an answer to the question Master Rawkill posed to her, say to Neassa, We understand, Neassa, that you will need to take the proposal to the Clan leaders in order to learn their answer, just as we, in turn, will make any allies we might find to stand with us against the Imperials aware of the opportunity to bid for the assistance of your people. If I might add one last piece of advice to that which I have already offered, it would be that you counsel your people to give themselves time to carefully make the decision they have before them, time that we will use to seek allies and make them aware of Master Alora's proposal. The Imperials may bid first, and they may well be able to bid more highly, but I would urge you and your people to ask themselves if any reward justifies helping to sow an undeniable evil throughout the universe.

"I....I'm not entirely sure about that, Morgan. I'm afraid I wasn't very nice."

Na'an had not spent much time in the Council Chambers the last time she had spent time on Felucia--or any, in fact. The Masters of Felucia had had no business with a failed Padawan, aside from letting her make use of the Medical Bay, her quarters, and the training rooms for her recovery. Those parts of the base felt more like a military installation than anything resembling the holy rooms of the Temples on Coruscant or Dantooine.  Na'an could wander about the base without seeming like an intruder; some days, one could get so lost in the crowds it was easy to imagine being forgotten entirely. 

The Council Chambers were a different story altogether. As Na'an followed Morgan into the empty theater, she found herself rubbing at a sudden rash of gooseflesh on her arms. The green crystals lighting the room were dim, their color just bright enough to make the soft fungus on the walls blend in with the stones, and in the sudden quiet one could almost hear them growing. This, too, was unlike the Temples of her childhood, but not in the way of the rooms outside. This room felt like it was breathing.

"It's...pretty, in here," she said unsteadily, taking in the full space. "Never seen a Jedi Temple with things growing on it."

Na'an swiveled, looking at each of the chairs in the circle as if trying to select one. Rather than choosing a seat, however, she felt out a divot in the sandstone floor, smooth and shiny from centuries of wear. She sank to her knees into the divot and sighed, looking oddly relieved. "So, your father. The Master. Do you know how long I'll be waiting here for him?"

"I don't like it either." Na'an sat back on her knees, the bottle in her pocket clinking against the stones. "It's just...well, let's put it this way."

She cocked her head at Morgan, flipping back her patch to show off her false eye; the pinpoint of light at its center flickered once, as if winking at the little girl. "See this lil' guy?" she said, replacing the patch. "This isn't just some surface implant. There's about thirty wires coming out of the back of this eye, all threaded right into seven different points in my brain. One wrong connection and it'd be useless--that, or make me a vegetable."

Na'an reacted to the question with the ghost of a smirk. "I actually don't have to do much. Your mama's a better neurosurgeon than she lets on--didn't even have to open my skull to install it," she said lightly, then paused to let her words sink in.

There was more than a ghost of a grin on Na'an's lips now; she visibly relaxed further into the divot, now focused fully of the rapt attention of her little guide. "Well, how do you think she did it?"
With an upward twist of her wrist, she tugged at a loose thread on the edge of Morgan's robe with the Force. When it came loose, she lifted it up to a level with Morgan's eye, and watched it twist in the breeze going through the chamber with a satisfied look. "The wires come out the back of the implant, remember," she said. "If you've got enough focus to finely manipulate a wire with your mind, you can lead it into the back of an empty eye socket, sloooooowly weave it in-between the little nooks and crannies, and then--"
She flicked her fingers at Morgan, letting the thread fly until it hit Morgan in the forehead. "Poke."

"Mhmmm." Na'an watched the little animal spit out the thread with amusement. "They tell me it took nearly a whole day--your mama held that kind of focus almost constantly for hours, and still was there to ask me how I was feeling when I woke up! I can't even imagine the kind of energy that took."

As she spoke, Na'an's smile faded a little. It was with a serious look that she met Morgan's eye again. "I was very sick back then, Morgan. It's hard to describe how sick I was, or am, really, because what made me sick is still a part of me, you know? It's still there in my head. But this little implant evens me out, lets me think around it and be....okay.

Your mama did that for me. She did all that."

She shrugged; the gesture looked oddly ineffectual for the sudden grave turn this conversation took. "I guess when someone performs a miracle for you, you tend to think of them as miraculous. And I guess I'm the kind of person that has a hard time accepting when someone miraculous makes so little effort to just keep themselves intact. So all this business with her overexerting herself so badly, not getting enough rest, just telegraphing all that weakness for anyone to pick up on and take advantage of...I overreacted. And I said some things I had no place to say." she sighed, wiping at her face in a reflexive gesture. "Gods, look at me going on just to explain to a kid why I yelled at her mother. Tell me at least I'm making sense?"

Na'an watched the little girl frantically defend her mother, her mouth setting in a thin line. "I see. So it's not the first time she's..." she made an exasperated sound, wiping at her mouth again. "I'm an idiot. Shooting off my mouth like that, I'm shocked Leigh puts up with me the way she does. I probably just made things worse."

Her body sagged deeper into the divot, as if gravity had suddenly taken a stronger grip on her limbs; the bottle's weight thumped lightly against her hip, Na'an tried to ignore it, instead following Morgan's hands as they flitted over the animal on her shoulder. She was a sweet little thing, to be sure-- more self-assured than most younglings her age had been, and somehow seeming both older and much younger than she looked. Maybe it came from being the Master's daughter. Or Adelle Bastiel's. "I bet you take good care of Doc when she's not so good, though."

Na'an's back straighted into sharp, military precision at the sound of the Master entering the room. She bowed her head in return, hiding the flush of embarrassment creeping up her neck to her face. "Yessir," she said, watching her hands twitch across her knees.

In the last three years, she had never actually spoken to the Master of Felucia. During her recovery, she'd all but actively avoided him, if only to ensure that he would not have to spend more attention than was necessary on the broken failure of a Padawan using up half his medical supplies. Adelle had always spoken kindly of him, as a good man and a brilliant Jedi, but that had made it worse, somehow. She'd left as soon as she was cleared in order to not take up the hospital bed.

"Master Calmcacil, I understand that my arrival was unexpected, and my....um, passengers caused a good bit of trouble for you. I'm sorry for that, but there was no other option. I'd like to detail why, so that you can make an informed decision as to what to do with us going forward."