Hoth: Blood and Ice

Omandri sat on some boxes near a view port drinking some Caf looking out at the distinct view that is hyperspace. Moving through faster than light can keep up made an interesting display to say the least.

He was probably a bit of a sight himself dressed in a fine suit of black on emerald green sitting on a storage container drinking caf from a disposable cup. The man who enjoyed simple things was still in this wrapping of a Duke of a house of Alderaan.

This mission was an odd thing for him and Omandri had simply looked to take some time looking out the view port pensive gaze indicating a mind thinking about more than just the view.

Having acquired a cup of caf herself, Kat was also someone looking to find a good spot to look at the view of hyperspace as she enjoyed the warm beverage. Unlike the Duke however, she blended more in with the other Jedi aboard the large ship, foregoing the fineries of her station in favor of the comfortable but plain brown robes of a Jedi. The hood of the robe was pulled up, though not obscuring her face.

"Mind if I join you?" her soothing voice asked as she approached Omandri, noticing how he seemed to have much on his mind.

Omandri kept looking out the window for a moment his expression not changing a pensive gaze as the blues and whites of hyperspace reflected in his eyes.

"You know living the life I have I have learned there are exceedingly few trustworthy people in the galaxy." He replied without turning toward her but then he did, giving the jedi a welcoming and warm smile "I am more than happy to be joined by one of those few I have the utmost confidence in."

"Hey Kat, royalty agrees with you." He says indicating the open space next to him on the cargo box.

Eyebrows rose slightly at the expression of trust, and Kat lowered her gaze for a moment with a small but sincere smile as she sat down at the indicated spot next to Omandri. "I'll have to strive to live up to such trust placed in me then."

With a small chuckle, she brought the mug of caf up to her mouth, not quite drinking yet. "Thank you. And being Duke Rist seems to agree with you well too, Omandri." Many of them had to rise to the challenge of new burdens and responsibilities after what happened on Alderaan with the attempted coup. "I'm glad you're along for this mission too... as a fellow person I trust in. Were your thoughts on matters of trust before I arrived?" Looking to Omandri, she took a sip of her caf.

Omandri shook his head a little "nothing you need to prove or live up to. Conclusion is already drawn. Only thing you could do at this point is prove me wrong, which I don't see happening." A light laughter came from the man.

His eyes followed Kat as she sat. He indeed looked a far cry from the rough and tumble young man she had met out in the wilds of Alderaan. He looked every inch an Alderaanian noble, hair and beard better kempt, finly tailored clothing rather than the plain, rough survival minded outfit. Time seemed not to have touched him much except for a few greys in an otherwise thick, black head of hair. He did seem a bit bigger but that seemed more in the chest and shoulders than the waistband.

But all that said, there was still a mischief behind the eyes that would be familiar, a spirit of freedom that persisted even as duty weighed him down with it's shackles of obligation and responsibility.

"No I wouldn't say so, not particularly. More just reflecting on how I ended up where I am today. Force knows no one would have pegged me for it growing up. Though I suppose in my line of work matters of trust are always on the forefront of my mind." He let out a slightly dramatic sigh "and I thought growing up with assassins was bad for paranoia, try running a house of spies."

"Paranoia was never really something on my mind, growing up on Alderaan or with the Jedi." She had felt pretty safe with her family, and with the Jedi too. "Though, perhaps I should have had a bit more paranoia, considering all that happened." Maybe if she had been more paranoid, pushed more, perhaps her uncle wouldn't have done what he did.

While she still looked like the Jedi she had first time they met, there was the small details of the life she was leading now that could be spotted. Like some of the details on her clothes underneath the Jedi robes, the hues of green on the cloth - still understated but also more embellished than many Jedi would prefer. In a way it probably fit right in with that Jedi-chic fashion trends many in the Republic favored these days. There were no signs of grey in her blonde hair, though a few fine wrinkles were beginning to show around the eyes. Not unexpected for the mother of a young child.

"Trust is a valuable thing indeed," Kat remarked, taking another sip of caf as she let her gaze wander to Omandri and then to the hyperspace beyond the protected window. "But I like to think that is what gives us strength. Not just Alderaan, but the Republic too. And also learning that we don't have to bear the burdens alone, right?" her smile was a bit more pointed now, as she did amuse herself sometimes with the bachelor-lives of Omandri and Riss.

Omandri smiled though it too had a quality about it a more inward smile though the expression was also directed at her "Some burdens yes." He agreed after a fashion.

"But speaking of those we share them with, how are things at home? Gaul behaving himself still? You seemed to have made an honest man out of him." Omandri did his best to keep up with his friends and for a while had done so with Kat as well but recent times were busier than ever and it had likely been many months since they had last spoken.

There was a brightness to her smile that often seemed to come up when she spoke of those dear to her. "He's keeping busy too, though less busy now that he's no longer the Senator representing Alderaan. Or rather, keeping busy at home with all the expectations of him there, instead of splitting his time between Alderaan and Coruscant." A part of her hoped that Niall and Alysele were handling that hectic life well. She'd have to check in on her fellow Jedi Princess when they returned from this mission.

Kat couldn't help but to chuckle a little. "I think he needed someone like me in his life. Someone who believed in him, but was also willing to push him a bit to get there. And to be honest, I think someone like Gaul has been much needed in my life too. Someone to remind me to stop and breathe once in awhile."

Amusement was evident in her smile as she regarded the mug in her hand. "Riss is someone who wants me to relax more, though she also drags me along for the craziest trips. Like going to Hoth." Not that Kat had been difficult to convince. She had in fact been quite ready to go, surprisingly so. As if she knew she had to go.

The brightness a bit infectious his own small smile gained a fraction if it. He nodded along as he listened "you two do tend to balance each other out a bit. Strange how we attract those that help us fill in what we miss sometimes. Or maybe we are attracted to seeing parts of ourselves we wished we embraced more." He thought out loud a bit "but glad you're family is finding that balance."

There was a small chuckle and a look to his own cup when she mentioned Riss "She is a very relaxed person for how much excitement she drags around." He said with a warm tone looking back out to hyperspace. He had been no more difficult to convince but not due to any inner feeling that drew him to it.

"And what of motherhood? It must be hard to take time and relax raising a child these days."

"It's quite a challenge, that's for certain," she said with a breathy laugh. "But I've never been one to back down from a challenge. And it's an enjoyable one too."

Motherhood had been a gentle awakening to more of the Force, though in ways she had a hard time putting into words.

"Is parenthood something that's been more on your mind as of late, Omandri? The legacy of house Rist...?"

The easy smile shifted at her question still a smile but a touch forced now "I would say not so much. I feel I'm far too busy to worry about such things yet. First digging the family name out of the ground, changing our whole business model, and taking over the vast majority of Alderaanian Intelligence operations. Really haven't had time to stop and think until recently and I've still been using that time on other things."

"Suppose that's one reason Giandra might be happy I'm Duke now, means she can shift that particular responsibility to me."

"I understand that," she said, her tone gentle to put Omandri at ease to let him know she wasn't going to push. "The past five years... it's been a busy time for all of us. Not only this Cunning Man business, but also rebuilding from those events. I just hope you remember to take time for yourself sometimes, Omandri. Maybe when we clear this issue with the pirates, you'll have some time to relax a bit, hm?"

Kat's smile grew, a touch playful. "Maybe I'll ask Riss to kidnap you for a brief vacation."

Omandri still had some nervous energies about him though they seemed to lessen a bit. He was happy to not have someone pushing him to get married soon. He got enough of that from Gil and his mother.

He chuckled a little "Don't even joke, she'd probably do it if she even overheard the idea."

"As for taking time for myself" He shrugged "I'm sure I'll have the time for it eventually, probably." He said with a smirk.

"So what's your take on the mission?" He said pivoting toward current business "think a diplomatic solution is actually possible here? Think we should even be pursuing diplomacy with pirates?"

"You're right," she agreed with a small laugh. It didn't take much pushing to make Riss do something like that. And knowing her, she probably already had some ideas like that.

The seriousness of their approaching mission did make her sober her expression. "Hm, I do believe it is always right to give negotiations a chance. Seeing what the Republic has brought, they might decide that it's not worth the effort to fight. Problem then is that they might just try to run, and go somewhere else to start this cycle all over again." A frown overcame her features for a brief moment. "They might become like cornered animals - dangerous, volatile."

Omandri nodded "Diplomacy is important but they already took out a civilian passenger ship killing and wounding several citizens. If they run or we work out a deal what's to stop them from, like you said going somewhere else and doing the same thing? Or attacking neutral vessals or civilian Imperial ships? This is contested territory after all." He seemed to be mentally chewing on the idea

"I'm a pacifist at heart but I've also learned that violence is sometimes necesarry to solve certain problems." He said somberly "maybe I'm just worried diplomacy sets us up to be betrayed later."

“In my youth, I was not a pacifist, I believed a swift but decisive use of the lightsaber was the quickest path to justice. Very much like Layne, but in time I saw that it was a crutch that became my only path forward. Yet sometimes diplomacy cannot be reached,” a woman’s voice said to the Panteer Jedi.

Familiar but younger.

“It’s good that you still act with words, even if they will fall on the deafest of ears.”

Sadly Omandri was unaware of the third person speaking... maybe the Jedi imagined it.

Listening to both Omandri, and the other yet familiar voice, Kat closed her eyes as she considered the options before them.

"You're right." A reply, to both.

"I will hold to that we will not initiate violence, but they must also be held responsible for their actions." Not that she believed in rounding them up and executing them, though she figured they would have a tough challenge ahead of them. "As you say, too much leniency, and they will only hurt others again."

He nodded in response thinking for a moment "it will be a complex situation. Revenge and retribution only proliferate violence and lead to a never ending cycle but I don't see how we can just let the killing of Republoc citizens slide."

He shook his head running his hand through his hair "I'll just stick to analyzing data and patching people up. I'll leave the negotiating to those brought along for it."

"I'm sure there will be plenty of work for us all to do in the end. Though I hope patching people up and swinging a lightsaber will not be the top of the list of demands of us," she said with some humor to her voice to lighten the mood, yet it was also reassuring. "But you know you always have some helping hands with me if you need assistance with healing the wounded."

Something in her seemed wistful almost. "It's good to be out here on the Outer Rim again though... I spent so much time travelling out here, with my master, or on my own as a Knight, helping people in need. Like returning to form after spending so much time on Alderaan. What about you? You spent some time wandering too?"

He nodded "yeah, never came near Hoth but spent a few years after I left the RAF travelling around. Started in poorer neighborhoods in core worlds but slowly looped outward spending most of my time in the Outer Rim. Most help was needed out there. Did spend a year or so in the Unknown Region, that was certainly interesting."

"But yeah I suppose it's a bit of nostalgia. Heading back the Outer Rim to help out. It is a bot exciting."

"You'll have to tell me more about your adventures in the Unknown Regions. I never ventured that far out in the galaxy," she said with an amused smile, always interested to learn and hear more of what others could share. "But yes... it's good, doing the most good one can."

"No one can ask for more." Galen's restless wanderings had brought him close enough to hear the last bit of conversation. "And, it sounds like there's a lot of good for us to do."

Katarzyna Panteer wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:19 pm

"You'll have to tell me more about your adventures in the Unknown Regions. I never ventured that far out in the galaxy," she said with an amused smile, always interested to learn and hear more of what others could share. "But yes... it's good, doing the most good one can."

Omandri nodded to Kat "yes well, saw a lot of interesting things there probably good to save it for an uneventful night planetside." He said with a smile.

Galen Panteer wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 10, 2022 9:58 pm

"No one can ask for more." Galen's restless wanderings had brought him close enough to hear the last bit of conversation. "And, it sounds like there's a lot of good for us to do."

As the other man approached he regarded them with a welcoming smile "Galen, welcome. Kat and I were just talking about how we had our work cut out for us. How have you been? Jameela?" Omandri had forged a friendship with Jameela over their shared love of xenoanthropology which meant he had spent sometime with Galen too of course.

"I'm a bit restless, but I'm well." he smiled. "Jameela's been well. The kids keep us busy. How are you two?" He glanced between them.

"Much the same, Galen," she regarded her brother-in-law and fellow Paladin with a kind smile. "Restless, but well. Feeling ready to be planetside again soon... even if it's going to be very very cold."

Of all the men courting princess Jameela... well, she had been cheering for her cousin, but in hindsight Kat was glad that it had been Galen that Jameela chose. They seemed so right for eachother.

"Have either of you two been to a planet like Hoth before?"