thefinaljedi | 9th Transmission: Walking a mile in another Jedi's shoes [Action/Voice]

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9th Transmission: Walking a mile in another Jedi's shoes [Action/Voice]

Groaning, Luke Skywalker rolled over in the warm sun of an early morning. Sitting up, he squeezed the bridge of his nose, blinking all around him. He was out by the lake, and he was still in Luceti. All he could remember was being woken from sleep by a loud banging at his window, and then blackness. Something felt off, that was sure, but he wasn't sure what. Shakily, he got to his feet and dazedly made his way over to the lake.

As he...looked into the lake, her jaw dropped, eyes widening. A female face stared back with the same shocked look, clad in New Feather garb. A familiar face, that of Grandmaster Sunrider, greeted him. To his further surprise the reflection began to speak, echoing through his mind. When it finished, things were a lot clearer. And so was her mind. Turning away from the water, Nomi Sunrider stared at the journal on the ground in front of her. Deep in the back of their mind, Luke Skywalker nodded in agreement. There wasn't much else to be done, if Luke was to be in control it would tax both of them. He knew she'd slipped him into a trance to spare him the pain of experimentation, and now she was willing to take his responsibilities until whatever the Malnosso had done could be undone.

Taking the journal, Nomi opened it up and Luke sent out a message in a distinctly...female voice. They agreed that not everyone needed to know what was going on...at least right away.

[Voice]
"Greetings residents of Luceti. This is Luke Skywalker, and...I'm having a bit of a situation. I was taken by the Malnosso, and I'm feeling a little weak. I am out by the lake, and if anyone could bring a spare suit of clothing, some water, and some pain killers I would be in your debt."

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[Action]

Later that afternoon, and all week, Luke/Nomi can be found around the village. Its pretty weird, even for a Jedi, so...expect lots of confusion and mostly to be speaking to Nomi. Feel free to poke at them throughout the week, just denote a day.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah, yes. The Commander with whom I spoke before. Yes, that would be similar wouldn't it?

[Nomi puts her forefinger against her chin, rubbing it, deep in thought.]

Yes and no. There's too much blending, and he is the result of a Shift...

Yes, but that doesn't necessarily make it too different...

[She trails off...]

Luke and I...we've begun to share mannerisms.

[Which was a worrisome development, if inevitable from this tampering.]

...no, it's not that different then. Offhand, I can't think of any other instances. Adele has completely suppressed her counterpart, and even insists that there is no similarity at all--she's wrong, but it's not going to help any.

There's probably others from Shifts that happened before we got here, but they're not something I know. We'd have to prowl the journals for information.

Edited 2012-07-03 05:38 (UTC)

Mmm, Levarre, the failed Jedi?

[Still stroking her chin, the ancient Jedi stood up and began to pace around the room, her wings fluttering as she did so.]

I wonder...if this has happened before...

Yeah, Levarre.

[Because she wasn't his Goldie. Not any longer. He nods, and leans back into the cushions with his eyes closed. She could pace, but he didn't want to trigger another bout of vertigo by watching her.]

...we could ask Mister Law if there has been. He's been here for a while, and knows damn near everything. There might also be something in the medical records.

[Nomi nodded to Lupin, glad that he'd decided to sit. She and Luke both knew of Red's affectations for Levarre, it was quite obvious from his reaction what had happened. Even without the Force, the slowness with which he speaks, his silence, his nodding. Its all a dead giveaway]

We could. Trafalgar Law seemed quite knowledgeable when Luke talked about him...

[It was just as well. Adele's turn of anxiety and roughness smacked him hard, and he was at work trying to find the cause now...or mitigating it before she did more damage. He smiles a little at the comment, more amused at it than he should have been.]

If there's something you want to know around the village, he probably knows it. Also, I think he's the guy who runs the Dome.

That seems correct. I will speak with him later. You have my thanks for the suggestion.

[But that doesn't stop her from pacing, a habit she'd learned from Skywalker]

Adele. Another potential problem. Has she seemed...off...to you of late?

You're more than welcome. Feel free to ask away if there's anything I can do to help.

[He lifts a hand to hold his head at her question, having pondered over the same thing himself over the last few weeks.]

She has. You can blame me for that, though it might be better to blame the Malnosso. Adele... went out of her way to prove an unnecessary point, and hasn't been the same since. There's a couple of very good reasons why I never took on lovers, Master Sunrider. One was to keep her safe. The other was to keep myself safe.

...she did more damage than she probably realizes, and has made me question my reasons for trusting her as much as I do in the first place.

[That, at least, gets a grave nod from the pacing Jedi]

I knew she'd had some difficulty with you, Luke picked up on that as well. She had an explosive confrontation with Luke and I a few days prior to the battle, over what she'd said in the town meeting.

[And his last comment draws a sharp look and a sly smile]

Lupin, don't lie to me. You've had more than your fair share of lovers.

[Lupin frowns at this.]

That was probably before I made her promise to watch out for and support you and Luke should this get mess. [His fingers tighten in his hair briefly.] Goddamn it!

[His momentary irritation subsides quickly as he remembers Adele's brief conversation with him out in the woods. She seemed better, if only by a little.] ...That wasn't the end, was it?

[He smirks at her sly comment, and opens his eyes briefly to meet her gaze.] For this life? Yeah, that's true. I was much more cautious when I was with the New Republic though.

You asked her to keep an eye on us?

[Nomi snorts out a soft laugh at that, wondering what exactly the doctor would be able to do]

Of course not. Doctor Leblanc vented her frustration at Luke and I. She apologized later, but it felt quite odd and out of place. Her mood did a complete shift in under a minute.

[and then she shakes her head, saying only a single word.]

Men...

Hey, you guys deserve emotional support too!

[It was his argument, and one he was determined to hold to.]

But it was for everyone. I didn't want to be worried about anyone here when I was in the facility, so I needed to make sure that people would watch out for each other. Especially you and Luke, with everything you two have to carry...and Adele too, because she's been letting her fears and worries control her again. It's not healthy.

[He flashes her a grin at her exasperated word, amused by the familiarity of it.] We make no sense, right? It's the same in every world.

Emotional support?

[He sounds a bit silly, saying that]

It isn't healthy, no. And its good that you were able to put distractions from your mind. But burdening someone as unstable as Adele Leblanc? I'd question your wisdom there but I'm not as intimately familiar with her as you.

[and she shakes her head]

No, my husband made sense. But he was a Jedi, and that makes all the difference.

Everyone needs someone to lean on, Nomi. Even Jedi. But no, you're right. It probably wasn' smart to ask that...but I needed to ask someone. My girl, Fujiko. She would have skittered off quickly under the pressure of it. It's...not her type of deal.

[And she was, arguably, even more unstable than Adele.]

It was selfish, I know that. But, I was trying to get her to have a little faith in me. It only seemed fair that I show some faith in her. She's strong where she needs to be, anyway. When she's not denying everything.

[He manages a small smile for her.]

...Jedi are also a different sort of breed, so that would make a ton of difference.

Fujiko, yes, she doesn't seem the sort.

[And yes, definitely more unstable]

I'm not begrudging you anything for it, Lupin. Its endearing, and probably why Luke likes you as much as he does. For a scoundrel and a thief, you've got a good heart.

[He chuckled at the comment.]

It's the difference between a gentleman theif and a petty criminal, Nomi. You pay attention to your marks, and you do what you can to protect what's yours. Even if it doesn't amount to much here, I feel better knowing that I tried.

...You and Luke. You don't need to go it alone here.

I'm not alone, you know. And neither is he. I've had scoundrels for companions before too, you know.

[Nomi smiles wistfully, remembering Cay]

Luke and I, we've got one another. Ami, Leblanc, you, the young Avatar Aang, Billy Kaplan, and a host of others.

I did not say I didn't appreciate it, you know.

I'm just being sure. This place is wierd, and it makes people forget what they do have sometimes. I appreciate the companionship too.

I don't think, even if I wanted you to, that you'd leave me alone. And Ami, she is such a sweet girl, she wants to help so much.

You're right. I like Jedi too much...and Luke's become a friend. I don't let my friends down.

An admirable trait in any man.

[Nomi returns to her seat, finally seeming to have thought out what she needed to. With a wave of her fingers, two bottles of water drifted into the room from the kitchen and settled on the table between them]

So, you like Jedi? Why is that, Lupin?

[He nodded his thanks as he took one of the bottles and cracked it open to enjoy the clean, cool liquid with some relief. At least her Force abilities weren't drained too badly by the Malnosso.]

Well, that's a little odd to explain. [He paused for theatric effect and took a sip.] About twenty years ago the films about Luke's story during the Rebellion came out in my world, and they were a smash hit. Their influence was so great that my mentor and I challenged each other to steal the reels for the next film when it came out--he won, but we got to see Empire before the rest of Barcelona. It's neat honor.

It was Luke's actions in those films, and the similarity that the Jedi have to some orders of monks and the samurai of my world, that caught my attention. Though, on a thematic level, I always preferred Han or Lando, Luke was always an admirable hero to me.

So, you can only imagine how meeting him here would have been really cool, right? Then...well. That Shift happened, and it changed my perspective. From an insider's point of view of that era, the Jedi were a call back to a different time...and, perhaps, one not as heavily controlled as the Empire. I got to understand the ideas a little bit too in working with Luke...

Those goals and ideals are ones that everyone should strive toward, not just Jedi.

[Nomi listens, casually crossing and uncrossing her legs. She's not entirely comfortable in the positions Luke preferred, but muscle memory takes over. She knew of the films, and knew that they detailed the lives of the younger Jedi in Luceti. And she'd spoken to Red]

That's good, Lupin. Its not to say that scoundrels aren't worth emulating, either. From what I know of Han, he's more noble than many Jedi that I know of.

[She smiles, genuinely impressed with his answer]