destinystrings | Questions

Who: Meetra Surik and Open
Where: All around Hinoto-Ri
Summary: Meetra is trying to figure out the weather shenanigans, and generally failing
Warnings: Demons?
Hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold. The pattern was easy to see and impossible to explain. Today, particularly, it had been hot, and tonight, particularly, it was the New Moon. It was time, as far as Meetra was concerned, to go ask the demon population of the city now that she'd exhausted talking to the human civilians during the day and was fairly certain that none of her fellow guests had the slightest clue beyond this not being normal for this planet.

Meetra was trying several places. First and foremost, she asked demons around and throughout the city. Everyone had their ideas, but as the night went on, she seemed to get no closer to a clear answer, even from the elemental-themed fairies (though their opinions were the loudest). She also checked around the Mictlan (normal levels of government and weird mountain demon activity), with the night owls at the police station in Leo (above their pay grade), and anywhere else in the city that might know anything about the environment.

Barring some kind of divine or Force-based intervention, she was rather frustrated by the time the 13th Hour was approaching. Maybe she'd run into someone who'd know then, or maybe she'd just find someone to help against an aggressive demon. She did have her lightsaber with her.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"'Only kill on orders' is hardwired into his behavior core. That's why he's an assassin droid and not a wanton slaughter droid," she said. "Any attempt to subvert that would make him completely inoperable."

"Plus, I can always threaten to reinstall his pacifism module."

Not that she would ever do that. It was almost as disturbing for her as it was for him.

He shifts, clearly annoyed by the idea of an assasin droid. That's tech heresy on top of dishonor.

"Are you sure it wouldn't be best just to do that anyway?"

"Lack of free will notwithstanding, droids are still more or less sapient beings. Besides, he's saved my life a surprising number of times," she said.

Look, if she held rampant murdering against people she'd have no friends whatsoever.

He glowers quietly for a moment, considering the dark ages of technology where abominable intelligences ruled humanity, reducing them to little more than flesh-slaves.

"But what makes a sapient being worth sparing? I understand an honor-debt better than most, I would imagine, but..." He doesn't finish the thought. So many of the xenos societies he have seen were so utterly abhorrent, with the only exception being the interex, and even that was spoiled by the treachery of Erebus. His bitterness is clear for a Jedi to read, not an emanation of the darkside inasmuch as a wave of psychic pain as he remembers a war by moonlight.

"We're taught to respect all life, even that of our enemies. The Jedi, I mean."

She paused and considered that. "In my personal case, I go out on a limb and extend that to things that aren't alive, but are aware anyway. Even if they're not part of the Force, it seems like a logical progression."

"Anyway, killing cleanly in combat is one thing, but I'd never take a life or shut a mind down just because of potential danger."

"You are merciful, then."

He is quiet for a moment. "I try to show such mercy and honor as well to human opponents. I have less pity for xeno-breeds or those that would harm humanity, however."

And of course traitors and demons get the shank right out.

"We come from different enough worlds the distinction between human and alien seems arbitrary to me," she said with a shrug. "Although there are plenty of humans that feel that way about aliens in my galaxy too. Kreia was one of them, but I think that was just because she was bad at reading their minds. And if I listened to her, we wouldn't be having this conversation about mercy anyway."

"We'd be fighting?" Garviel looks almost intrigued by the idea. "Hm... she sounds something like Erebus, I suppose. A mentor that leads you to dark places. He was a viper. Would that I had slain him before he corrupted Horus."

"I think she might have wanted me to strike some kind of balance or third perspective besides 'Light' and 'Dark'," she said, thoughtfully. "Of course, she murdered a lot of people to do that, which is pretty solidly Dark in my book, but she didn't seem to want me to be her. She wanted me to overcome her. I think."

"There is no balance." He says, bitterly. "There is Order and Chaos, and chaos will corrupt."

"But isn't Chaos a natural tendency of life as much as Order is?" she asked, a bit rhetorically. She wasn't sure of the answer herself. "It's like fear. Ignoring it doesn't make it go away, and violently excising it can only do so much."

"There is a chaos, and then there is Chaos. One is the natural tendency of things to dissolve and become disordered over time, and must be maintained against. Sometimes it is beneficial, but that is a question for tech-priests, not Space Marines."

He pauses for a moment, "Chaos, on the other hand, is the forces of natural disorder writ large, supernatural, and built around uncontrolled and unbridled emotion that leads to corruption. Passion, in and of itself, is not a dangerous thing, but passion to the loss of reason is. Chaos is a representation of the various impulses and fears of humanity given form. Mostly commonly in the form of war, mindless blood-spilling daemons, though I've seen things of sickness and corruption as well, and heard tell of other sorts of corrupted... things."

As for the question of fear, he seems to be almost scowling.

"But if that's your definition of Chaos, the opposite is just as bad," she observed. "Stagnation, oppression, ideals and traditions becoming more important than people."

She thought for a long moment about how far she wanted to take this argument. "...The Jedi Order seemed that way sometimes. Fossilized. Reactive. And when they did act, it was solely for the benefit of the status quo, not life in the galaxy."

She can't help but sound a little bitter. As much as she'd followed their decisions after Malachor and respected them as individuals, she'd never truly agreed with the Council.

"Stagnation is also an aspect of Chaos. Look upon the sign of the three, and the strange daemon-kin of Nurgleth. Skeletons and restless dead."

He shakes his head, disagreeing but without real anger. This has gone into the realm of philosophy, and as such, it doesn't require blades, but words, "People are important, but so is the whole. Life in the galaxy is what the Imperium fought for. Human life that could not be blotted out, no matter how dark the night. We're fighting to change the status quo, to bring something new into the galaxy, a new order, yes, but better than the Old Night that has lasted so many thousands of years."

He notes her bitterness, "We had many within the expedition fleets warning us against becoming fossilized and reactive. Horus.... had many of them destroyed, unfortunately. Friends of mine."

He looks away, clearly mourning the loss of friends, even now.

"I always thought...well, more recently, I thought that the problem was considering philophies more important than people," she said. "Then again, it's people making these decisions, even if they claim to be acting according to a code or tradition."

"And now I've lost track of my argument," she admitted. "I guess good - for individuals or societies - isn't really self-evident."

She sighed. "I'd go harass hostile demons to clear my head, but there's hardly any around tonight."

Loken reaches up, unsealing his helm, and looks down at her with his craggy face, eyes shadowed.

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"Hmm..."

She pondered this as only a Jedi could.

"Drink? It's either that or I go home and meditate, at this point."

"So, we drink. Do you like wine?"

Garviel looks towards the city, and all the boozetoriums located within.

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