A Little More Work To Do

A Little More Work To Do
Date of Scene:	15 May 2024
Location:	Temple Archives - Coruscant
Synopsis:	Ann helps Cayde get started with defending himself to the Council.
Cast of Characters:	Cayde Alexis, Annelia Belask

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Cayde Alexis has posed:
    The morning sun is streaming in through the Archives' windows, and the staff are just arriving and getting themselves situated for the day's tasks. Not too many others about, except Cayde who seems to have fallen asleep in a study room adjacent to one of the east facing wings with his face down on the desk and surrounded by various books.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Call it the force, or happenstance, or perhaps some additional surveillance Ann hasn't admitted to, but she walks into the side room not long after.

    Not waking the boy just yet, she instead begins rifling through the books he's passed out among.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    There are various different topics, including saber forms, art, and history. But most of them are devoted to Basic language composition and usage. His datapad is partially under his hand, but the screen seems to be blank.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ever so gently, despite her general physique and such, Ann flips through one of the books for a moment before settling on a page she almost seems familiar with.

    Similarly gently, she lifts Cayde's head a moment, sliding his current book out from under it and putting this one in its place- then observes for a moment if he ends up waking up with the disturbance.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde does wake up once she starts lifting his head, looking rather embarrassed that she'd found him asleep on his face.

    [...sorry Master] he signs quickly.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "You know, when I was your age- which wasn't that long ago I guess- some of the masters considered it a sign of hard work to find students like this," Ann notes, smiling wryly and shaking her head, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

    "Just slid you a passage- transcript of a speech ggiven by a Master Thule, many years ago. Was a favourite of -my- Master's. He spoke about the true failure for the Order being if we spend lgives or surrender needlessly. That doing what we must when confronted with challenges is praiseworthy... but not at the cost of the Order's future. Might give you some ideas."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde listens and nods, looking down at the passage Ann had slipped in there and reading it.

    Although once he looks up again, that datapad is still blank...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    A faint smile from Ann, and she shakes her head. "Doesn't have to start out perfect, Cayde. Can be as easy as just spilling your thoughts onto the page, and then organizing them from there."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde glances at the blank datapad, then at Ann, and back and forth a few times.

    Problem was, he'd never thought too much of himself. Although truthfully it's not that he hadn't ever made any good progress--in fact, quite the opposite. But he doesn't exactly think about it all day.

    He sighs heavily and finally shrugs. [I have no excuses]

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Have you thought at all about Gianka?" Ann suggests, eyebrow raising. "There's clearly more going on there than a simple incidence of touching a man's mind. Something going on there, force-wise. Maybe bring a copy of the report I wrote up about your kidnapping too. I think your best move is to turn this around on how questionable these politicians have been. I don't really think it was an accident anymore myself."

    She shrugs it off, and stands again to go stand looking out of the window.

    "You know, Cayde. We talk a lot about control and safety and all that. Maybe you need to start thinking about what you -want-, rather than the things you're trying to -prevent-. Some Jedi go through that- they mistake control of their passions for having no wants or desires. But you -should- have goals related to interests and preferences. I think if you let yourself have that, the words might come easier. And it might show you to the council as a padawan that wants to contribute to the order, not one spending all his energy avoiding others' toes."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods. [She is related to me] he signs, regarding Gianka. But Jedi weren't supposed to seek out their families, after all.

    He frowns pensively. Well, he just wants to fulfill the Order's mission in the galaxy. Everything he'd been taught since a young age.

    Another sigh. <But what if it's both?>

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "We all keep careful not to hurt others- but you can't ignore the other part," says Ann simply, head shaking. "You have a little more work to do to stay safe. I had a little more to do to have the capabilities to help out. It's not always an even deck, but don't go blind to your footholds just because they're part of a steep cliff."

    "Yes, she is. And there's pretty clearly some secret there someone doesn't want out. Those Marksmen might have been asking you about caches and the chancellor, but... I'm not yet convinced there wasn't some influence there either. Think of it this way- you've got a gift for the Force like no others. If you have a cousin or sister... perhaps she is too, and it just hasn't manifested in her life yet. Think about the issues you have- then think about what someone with your power and -no- training in how to control it might end up doing. Just one reason I could see this having happened."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde nods, thinking. He pulls out the datapad and stares at it some more.

    Yes, it was true....without the Order...he doesn't know what would have happened. Something far worse, that's for sure.

    Ann may begin to see projections of some of past memories. He'd been an orphan, she knows that part. The Rangers had rescued him off of a slave ship. He hadn't been allowed to leave the Temple, as it had been deemed that his abilities were too dangerous and he lacked control. But he had eventually been allowed, because of the progress he had in fact made. Although that had only been about a couple of years ago. Did anyone really expect him to -never- slip up?

    Did anyone -really- know how it felt?

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann studies the boy for a few moments, frowning as she considers the views.

    "I don't want to be unkind here, Cayde, but I should remind you... you're a teenager. You see into people's minds, sure, but you... may want to hold off on suggesting nobody carries similar pressure in the galaxy."

    She puts hands to hips as she thinks further.

    "There was this one jedi, many many years ago... I'm likely paraphrasing here, but he commented on how most people figure they're living in the most epic, important age to ever be. Their wars are the most important ones. But in the end historians will sort the facts and arrange them neatly and the next people will have the same distance from you that you have from, say, Ulic Qel-Droma, Exar Kun, and Nomi Sunrider."

    She pauses, looking back out the window as she sighs. "I don't mean to patronize, but. You're young. You're still refining your control, and you're at an age where your emotions are raging more than they might ever do so again. It's just human biology. Nobody with more than two brain cells expects you not to slip- it's just unfortunate who the slip was with. But, for my credits? Senator's the one I don't trust near as far as I could throw him- even if that might be surprisingly far."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde gets up and goes over to the window with her, bringing the datapad. <Senator Burkenn?> That's the one he figures she's talking about. Should he try to frame it as the Senator's fault at least in part somehow?

    He looks back down at the device. It has some words on it now...

    |I am sorry...I do try...and I have progress...but would be worse if I hadn't trained...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "This is why we have knights and padawans, Cayde. Do you think I never caused trouble for my master?" she says with some amusement playing about her lips, lightening up a little with the statement.

    "I get it, Cayde. It seems... overwhelming, right now. Like you've got something insurmountable you're being asked to beat and everyone wanted it beaten a month ago. It may not be the exact same, but I've been there too. Still am, sometimes. I didn't get that obsessive over my training by being a -promising- youngling."

    She pauses again, glancing down at the datapad a moment. "All you have to be is honest. Tell them what kind of jedi you're aiming to be, how hard you've worked for it. And maybe take some time to meditate on this connection to some of the people involved- come to your own theories about why this all happened in a way that lead you to an obvious relation- whom anyone sensible would just keep separated from you to maintain the code, not try to turn against you in some addle-pated screed. And.. remember you won't be alone in this. Windu and the like might be a crusty old bag of wind with more irritability than view towards the future, but I have a few... choice words of my own to bring into the meeting."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde arches a brow at Ann's...rather harsh words regarding Master Pike.

    Not that they're entirely untrue.

    He adds "I have worked very hard" to the words on the datapad, and holds it out in front of her.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    A pause from Ann... and she shrugs at Cayde's reaction to her words.

    "I'm the last person who will claim to be a shining example of the Order, but... Windu is different after his time away. We never got along -that- well, me the unruly teen always getting injured and him the long-suffering healer, but since then he's been..."

    She lets that trail off, shaking her head.

    "I'll get you saying nice things about yourself yet," she adds more jokingly.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    That brow remains up, going up a little bit higher when she trails off and doesn't finish her sentence regarding Master Pike. And now, he's fishing in her mind. What was she going to say?

    He looks back down then at the datapad. Well, he has...like three lines. Maybe it's enough?

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann gives a look over to Cayde with a slight roll of the eyes, then shrugs it off.

    "Well, for a next step- start expanding on those thoughts. Will give you a frame of what you want to say, and might lead you to further thoughts you want to add to the list," she suggests.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns, looking back to the few lines that he has thus far. But, his mind is coming up blank. What more was there to say? The Council already knew these things, really.

    He sighs. [What else to say] he signs, shrugging.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    A quirk of the eyebrow from Ann and a smile plays about her lips.

    "Then this sounds like a good time to figure out those goals of yours and how to put them into words- then connect those to the work you've been putting in, and make comparison to how things were when you were younger and struggling all the harder. These are all interlinked- use that."

    With that, she pats the teenager's back and moves for the door. "I'll leave you to it- I'm sure you'll come up with something. Just proverbially vomit text onto the page at first if you have to to get the words flowing. Before you know it you'll just be writing, and you can delete the nonsense when you clean things up."