Hoth: Blood and Ice

She eyed her but saw no reason to dispute this for lack of evidence

''No need for miracle cures then. Working on the ventilation, synthesizing vitamin C and better general hygiene is the best way to go.''

"That aside..." she gave a small sigh, "...what are you doing here? Not that *I* particularly mind, but this isn't exactly what I'd have pictured you doing after that whole business back then. Helping the sick, I mean."

"Living," she said tending to the next person on her list.

"..."

She looked away for a moment...

"...just like that?"

...and then down to the ground as she asked what she followed up with the real question.

"...how?"

"Is this a serious question, master Jedi?" she asked.

"It is," she said, looking back up, "...Not literal, though. I mean... how can you just... live... after everything you've done?"

It was of course a question Layne was struggling with quite extensively herself.

Galen watched the conversation pass between the four of them.

"You all know each other, I take it. That's not surprising, all things considered. Garth, do you have anyone from your past that might show up unexpectedly?"

Layne Hoshin wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 31, 2022 7:03 pm

"It is," she said, looking back up, "...Not literal, though. I mean... how can you just... live... after everything you've done?"

It was of course a question Layne was struggling with quite extensively herself.

"I think we have very different views about my life, master Jedi," she said as she tended a teenage twi'lek girl.

"...You and I both killed a lot of people," she said.

"Yes, yes we did," she admitted. "Some deserved it, others would have in time, and some... well, cruelty exists."

"But, people change."

Galen Panteer wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 31, 2022 7:08 pm

Galen watched the conversation pass between the four of them.

"You all know each other, I take it. That's not surprising, all things considered. Garth, do you have anyone from your past that might show up unexpectedly?"

As Layne spoke to...Zash....Baesal side-stepped towards Galen and Garth to fill them in in a few whisper to not scare the civilians

''Zash, formerly Darth Zash, villain in part of our lives and had a habit of eating souls as a substitute for proper skin care.''

She side-stepped back

Galen Panteer wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 31, 2022 7:08 pm

"You all know each other, I take it. That's not surprising, all things considered. Garth, do you have anyone from your past that might show up unexpectedly?"

Garth just smirked. "Well there was this one girl on Bankor, 'fore ah met Miyi. If'n her Papa turns up, well let's jus' hope that doesn't happen."

But inwardly Garth is relieved that he's not the only one completely ignorant of these goings on.

Tethys, meanwhile, doesn't quite believe what she's hearing at first. 'Zash' is such a simple name. Surely many sentient beings in the galaxy use that same name, or similar variations of it.

As Layne and Baesal continue speaking with the woman, though, Tethys's knuckles turn pale, her fingers tightening on the handle of her medical kit. No sudden moves. Nothing she could do would be fast enough anyway, so better not to alarm the refugees.

"You... but how can it be you?" Her voice is level but a bit strangled, lacking some of its usual musicality. "You were a dark pit in the Force, ten years ago. Now you are... not."

"I got better," she said with mild amusement.

"Evidently so." One corner of Tethys's mouth twitches. It's not a particularly friendly expression.

"Why Hoth? I don't believe in coincidences. I don't suppose you do, either."

"It seemed far enough off the grid to be a welcome place to just live," she said. "But it seems the Force has not finished with me yet."

Garth doesn't understand much of what is going on, he's used to that.

But he has enough of a bond with atethys that he doesn't have to reach out to sense her discomfort.

Instinctually he steps in a little closer. "Is this that uncrossable line?" He said softly, not hising his words, but trusting Tethys to interpret the vague question.

"I... don't know," Tethys admits, in a tight voice. "Once, I would have said 'yes.'"

She turns a little, lowering her voice, and Garth would be able to see her face--and that she looks uncertain about what's going on. "This is the person who crippled the Coruscant Flame and almost took out the flagship, over Bankor. But a different face, even a different energy in the Force..."

Ten years is a long time for the average human, for most purposes, but it seems a short time to achieve such a thorough transformation.

"It's strange what you remember and forget, your faces and the fear I recall but the name of the ship... completely forgotten. But time has moved on, Bankor is recovering, and that encounter led to greater things," she said.

"Ah think some people 'member that gathering on Bankor leadin' to a lot of negatives too, specially th' locals left in yer wake. What greater good are you referring to exactly?" Garth enquires of the unfamiliar individual.

"I didn't say greater good, I said greater things," she responded. "The galaxy is a dark place, good and evil are just constructs we imagine to give our selves structure in an infinite and uncaring void dotted with specks of gas and rock."

Layne had been taking it quietly in for a few moments. Listening. Contemplating.

"...I agree," she finally said, "though... I'm still trying to figure out how to just, live, after everything."

"The events on Bankor had a significant impact on us." Galen spoke up again. "Just as the events here will. Your past is certainly a concern. But, I,m curious how one such as you feels about the things that have been happening. I assume you have some knowledge of recent events."

Galen Panteer wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 01, 2022 9:05 am

"The events on Bankor had a significant impact on us." Galen spoke up again. "Just as the events here will. Your past is certainly a concern. But, I,m curious how one such as you feels about the things that have been happening. I assume you have some knowledge of recent events."

"It's a concern to you, not to me, I lived it." She continued her work and said, "The galaxy is going to burn, but that is no different from any other era."

She really wanted to ask more, so say more. Once upon a time she would have boiled over but she was different, Zash would not elicit as much emotion as Layne did.

''I would like a word later, if you permit, but for now do you know if my suggestions regarding the flu would suffice until get out of here.''

When bothered, get down to work.