oratorical | IC Contact

I was training with Obi-Wan Kenobi for a while, but I haven't had time for lessons lately.

[And by lately, that means since like October when Hurricane Ren made landfall. Her response is a bit hesitant, because that really is some excitement, Ezra, and she's not entirely sure how to take it. She understands his excitement, certainly, but Ezra is someone who wants to be a Jedi. Leia is the opposite.

And that hesitation doesn't disappear with his answer about helping pull Anakin from the Dark Side. Not just because she believes the worst in Anakin, but also because something about Maul sounds questionable to her. She doesn't know the name or who he is, but it sounds almost too good to be true.]

He changed. You're sure of that?

Edited (wrong month) 2017-01-02 04:36 (UTC)

Oof, I know about being busy. If you want, we could double it up and do something else at the same time. Consider it the same as hanging out with me. Or... You ever sign up for stuff on the Task Board? We could do that together sometime.

[He is not to be deterred! If he can find time to train as a Jedi while fighting with the Rebels, he's sure they can work out something here!]

I'm sure. I had to trust him with my life, literally, and he didn't let me fall, and right before I came here, he was helping us fight the Inquisitors who found us on Malachor.

It certainly sounds more fun than meditating.

[She's teasing, naturally, her tone lighter and more friendly when she replies with that. Because it doesn't sound like a bad idea, if only for the chance to spend more time with a friend. Not that she doesn't see the value in meditating, but she had done so much of that with Obi-Wan, and it's not her most favorite activity. She'd rather actually be doing things instead of sitting still.

But that friendly tone drops to one more cautious and more closed off as soon as the subject of the dark side comes back.]

I don't know Maul, but as far as I'm concerned, with Anakin, the Dark Side is always there, underneath whatever face he's putting on. I have no reason to think otherwise, especially after everything he's done in our times. It has to come from somewhere.

Way more fun than meditating.

[Ezra says that with all the fervent passion of a padawan who's been assigned all too many of his own meditation exercises.]

And it'll be useful in more than one way. We'll have fun and we can both learn, and we'll get paid for it!

[There is absolutely no downside that he can see.]

As for Anakin, I'll handle it. If there's something he's hiding, I'll just keep my eyes open. But if there's even a chance here, I want to take it. [Some of his enthusiasm fades at this point, replaced with something more sober. Despite his optimism, he is still taking this seriously.] I've faced Darth Vader before, Leia. I can't take him. Not on my own, not with Kanan. Maybe not with anyone here. But we have to stop him somehow. If there's another way, I'm willing to do what it takes.

[Teasing and joking about meditating and taking on tasks is forgotten in favor of focusing on Ezra's latest horrible idea. Leia easily falls back into a more stern, no-nonsense sort of tone. Because that's what this is: nonsense. And Leia won't stand for it from Ezra.]

I've faced Darth Vader before, as well, on more than one occasion. Do you know what happened?

[It's a rhetorical question, since she knows for a fact Ezra can guess if he doesn't already know what happens when you meet up with Vader back home.]

You will not handle it. He already attacked you once, who's to say what he'll do next? I don't want you getting injured again.

[Ezra can guess, and his eyes flicker with worry over her, even though she's clearly fine now.

Worry or not, though, he's not going to just give up before he's even started. Leia may not know him very well, but she should know him better than that.]

So I should just back down and keep running every time I see him? Instead of doing something about it? Leia, I can't- I won't live like that.

Besides, this isn't just about what he might do to me. It's about what he might do to everyone here. If someone doesn't do something, who's to say who else he might end up hurting?

[Well that's the advice she gave to Luke before, so it's not like she thinks that's completely outrageous advice. Even if she knows it's different here and that there are only so many places you can run to hide from Vader, as opposed to thousands upon thousands of planets back home.]

And how long will you be living if you run into him and try to fight him on your own?

[Because realistically if Anakin were ready to fight, there's not much time to call for help.]

Death may not function the same way here, but that doesn't mean you should freely risk your life that often. He hunts the remaining Jedi, doesn't he? He may be acting almost kind now, but how long before he falls back into those orders?

I'm not looking to fight him at all! That's the point!

[Deep breath. He's earnest, but he's not looking to pick a fight here. Leia's just trying to look out for him. That's what friends do for each other.]

Look, think of it like this. We joined the Rebellion, both of us, because we were tired of the Empire pushing us around, tired of seeing people hurt and scared, tired of putting up with everyone suffering. [There's an underlying anger that heats his voice for a moment there, but stubborn determination's more prevalent.] This is just more of the same.

But there wouldn't even be a Rebellion if people weren't willing to take any risks. This is me, taking a risk for something that could make such a difference if it works. Don't I owe it to everyone out there, and at home, to at least be willing to try?

[It's not that she doesn't know how Ezra feels, because she does. She feels the same way herself. Putting aside her more complicated reasons for joining the Rebellion in the first place, she still feels the same about the Empire. But that said--]

Being willing to take risks is only half of it, Ezra. The other half is knowing when to take those risks and when to be concerned about your own safety.

[Not that she thinks other people here that don't know about Anakin and may unwittingly put themselves at risk aren't important.]

It's not just a game. Billions of people have died during the Rebellion, and we may not like it, but difficult calls have to be made. Do you really think Darth Vader can be held off without a fight?

I know it's not a game.

[Ezra's irritation rankles across the connection.]

I'm not a kid just playing around. Don't treat me that way.

And I'm hoping I don't have to hold Darth Vader off. I'm hoping to reach Anakin Skywalker instead. If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work, and I'll figure out something else to do next.

That's not what I meant. The Rebellion has changed between our times. There's a lot that's happened that you don't know yet.

[largely because she hasn't shared it with him, because she doesn't like discussing it.]

What I'm telling you is that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are one and the same. That sort of darkness doesn't come out of nowhere. It had to have always been there.

Then by that same argument, the light that was there had to come from somewhere, too! Leia, he was a hero! He was a Jedi and he inspired hope and people admired him!

[He had admired him.]

I may not know what happens in the future, but I do know what happens when people give up hope. If I can't hope that the Light can win, then what am I even trying to be a Jedi for?

Hoping for a triumph over the Empire is completely different than hoping Darth Vader still has a shred of humanity left inside him.

[Even if it's technically still Anakin they're talking about, before all the armor and the heavy breathing. But Leia doesn't care about that technicality.]

Jedi are meant to destroy the Sith. And if that light is still in him, doesn't that just make things worse? Knowing he committed the atrocities he carried out while knowing full well they were the wrong thing to do.

This isn't different. This is both.

[Argh, this is so frustrating. Ezra rakes his fingers through his hair, half tempted to pull on it. Part of him wants to laugh that he's even having this argument at all, that he's arguing for the hope of good in Darth Vader, but part of him...

Part of him wants to believe that the Dark Side doesn't have to win on any battleground - even the battleground of Darth Vader's soul. Now that the idea is there, presented by Anakin himself and supported by Obi-Wan, and by Ezra's own experience with Maul, not just pulled out of thin air, he can't bring himself to let it go.]

Leia, I've got to try. Even if it's just to say that I did try. I want to beat the Sith as much as you do. [His voice hardens.] Trust me, I want them to pay. But if I have a chance to stop those atrocities before they can happen, I'm taking it. A Jedi's mission is to protect life first, not seek revenge.

Besides, if he stops being Vader, then that counts as destroying that Sith.

[She thinks it's a futile effort and that Ezra is just wasting his time. Luke may have claimed to bring Anakin back to the light, but as far as Leia cares, it didn't do much of anything. He only turned to the light for Luke, and that light was nowhere to be found when she needed it. Her own irritation with Ezra's choices comes through loud and clear, even if she may not want it to.]

Even if it were possible, stopping or delaying his turn in his time will do nothing for our time. No matter how good he may pretend to be here, and no matter how determined you and any other Jedi are to prevent his turn, it won't change what we've already experienced. It won't save Alderaan. As far as I care, Anakin Skywalker is a lost cause.

Even if it doesn't benefit me, that's no reason not to try anyway. Turning him back would save someone out there at least some of the pain we had, so as far as I'm concerned, it's still worth it. It-

Wait, what do you mean, it won't save Alderaan?

[Leia may not have intended to snag his attention like that, but that's certainly what just happened.]

I told you that the Rebellion had changed in between our times. That's just one of many reasons why.

[She'll explain if pushed, but for obvious reasons, it's not one she wants to dwell on.]

[He might have been willing to drop the subject about almost any other world. The future is a headache they've already agreed to leave mostly untouched. But Alderaan in particular has a significance that only Lothal can match.

He has a friend there. He hasn't seen her for more than a year, but she's there.]

What happened to Alderaan?

[a friend on Alderaan, wow. You know who else had friends and family and everything else on Alderaan??? Okay no.

It takes Leia a moment to respond, but in that moment, an overwhelming icy chill of fear and grief fills the silence, but there's a hot undercurrent of anger along with it. It's a lot of emotions, perhaps, but Alderaan will always be an open wound, something that even time can't fully heal.]

The Empire destroyed it. Alderaan is gone.

[Look, he knows Leia's from Alderaan, but she's here. She's okay. His thoughts haven't spiraled out to the people he doesn't know yet.

And how can they, really, before he even knows what happened? Before that grief and anger hit him like a wall, staggering him. The words that follow are just as bad when they sink in, and if colors can be ascribed to their connection, then everything between them goes gray, dulled by shock.]

W-What? Wait... What does that even mean? Did they strip mine it? Poison it with too much waste? What about all the people who lived there?

[The thought that Leia was being literal hasn't occurred to him. Before the Death Star, who even would believe that a whole world could be blown up?]

Alderaan was a core world. They keep strip mining and waste dumping to planets less likely to cause an uproar in the Senate.

[not that she wasn't outraged by all that regardless, and there wasn't really a Senate anymore either, but that was generally how things work. The core planets are too wealthy and too important to the Empire. But she would've preferred anything to what actually happened. Destroy Alderaan's natural beauty as retaliation, but at least leave the planet there.

But they hadn't and they wouldn't and even though most times she knows better, Leia still blames herself for what happened, as if she could have changed anything. Those strong emotions don't fade at all as she continues, really only getting worse the more she has to explain.]

I mean it literally. The Empire developed a new weapon and tested its full power on Alderaan.

What?!

[He feels like a scratched data disc, just repeating the same thing again, but he can't have heard what she just said. The world around him rocks, until he realizes that it's actually him. He sits down abruptly.]

But-! They wouldn't-! That's billions and billions of people! Billions of innocents! That's a planet, and... and a Core World! Even the Empire wouldn't-!

[He might be on the verge of hyperventilating, and Leia's emotions aren't helping one bit. His mind just can't wrap around this. How can a whole planet just be gone?]

The Empire doesn't care. As far as they were concerned, Alderaan and all its inhabitants were to provide a lesson to the rest of the galaxy.

[because that's what Tarkin had said, wasn't it? That the old base on Dantooine was too far out of the way to be an effective example. A fresh wave of guilt rolls through the link at that recollection. She's not sure how she would've felt if the Empire really had gone ahead and destroyed Dantooine instead at her word. Alderaan would've been safe for another day, but Dantooine's destruction would have been her fault entirely.]

A message?!

[Disbelief and outrage rise up like a bubble through the shock.]

What kind of message did they think they were sending?! "You guys should all join the Rebellion because the Empire is a bunch of murderous kriffing bastards?!"

[Sorry not sorry for the language there, Leia. Some sentiments jut can't be expressed without it.]

[no need to excuse that language, because it's exactly what she feels. She can excuse Ezra this time.]

That was the message they wound up sending.

[because Alderaan's destruction was seen as an unforgivable offense, which it was, and many defected to or joined up with the Rebellion after all that. They couldn't pin the destruction on the Rebels, as much as they tried.]

But it was intended to instill fear and obedience into the galaxy. To show the dangers of rebellion.

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SHOULD I WARN FOR SPOILERS BELOW HERE???? If I mention Rogue One stuff? IDK

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