Ball and Chain
Etain Tur-Murkan sat meditating outside in the courtyard of the Republic's Qiiluran base. She had been assigned to the planet to train the local farmers to defend themselves in case of another Separatist operation on the planet, but there had been no real indication of any such thing, so the training was proceeding at a rather lackadaisical pace.
Things had seemed like they would escalate when rumors started going around that the local Gurlanin were getting fed up with the Republic ignoring their demands to remove human colonists from the planet. Etain feared conflict would break out in some fashion, a conflict the half trained colonists would be ill suited for, but the CNS had stepped in with surprising fervor. Negotiations were apparently going on, though Etain had no idea what they were negotiating.
The Republic base was open for visits as a courtesy, but if half the rumors about Lady Ciaran's ship were true, Etain saw no reason why anyone would want to walk around their utilitarian base. So while she probably should have taken more precautions to hide her condition from prying eyes, Etain decided that the risk of any CNS visitors seeing her was worth the added peace the fresh air gave her meditation. And making her meditation as effective as possible was imperative if she wanted to hasten her pregnancy and give birth before she had to return to Coruscant.
"Well this certainly isn't what I was expecting." Etain turned in a panic at the sound of the unfamiliar voice to see an older man, unremarkable save for the blasters he wore, complete with extra ammunition. Seeing her concern, he sat down next to her and chuckled. "Don't worry Jedi, I have no intention of ruining your little secret. I assume it is a secret of course, what with the Jedi's absurdist views on relationships."
Reassured, Etain steadied her breathing. "Thank you for keeping this a secret. It is a violation of the tenets of the Jedi Order." Etain hung her head in shame at the admission of her failings.
"Good. It's an idiotic rule. They're all idiotic rules, but that one is particularly egregious." said the man next to her.
"Those rules have been upheld for centuries, and exist for a good reason. If we adhere to the rules, then we never need fear the Dark Side." She said, repeating the lessons repeated ad nauseum as a youngling.
"It's a self-destructive cycle is what it is. It denies the soul what it needs to live. I can promise you every Jedi breaks that rule to some degree. Whether it is a close friend or a secret lover, no man is an island." said the old man. "Those who do succeed in having nothing seek to compensate with excess when they eventually break. The Jedi Order points to those that fall and use them as an example of why they were right all along."
Etain opened her mouth to defend the laws she had known since she was a child, but could think of nothing. The old man continued after giving her ample time to respond, breaking the silence when she did not. "I suspect it stems from the black and white view the Jedi have on the Force. In my experience, such a model is flawed. Though I admittedly know little of the Force itself, I have treated it no different than a blaster, another tool to use, and have been just fine. Do what you want, the Force doesn't judge, only those who use it. And if they use the Force as the basis for their argument, then they are wrong."
Etain's shame at her own failures, for she could still see them as nothing else, kept her head hung low, but she began to open up to this man who hadn't judged her at all. "I plan to leave the Order after the war. To be with my son and his father."
"Do it now." he advised. "I speak from experience when I say that life is too short and life too fragile to waste even a second of it. If you worry about commitment to the Jedi, know that they would exile you for daring to love someone. If you worry about the war, know that others will fight all the same. If you do have a family, I can safely say that you will look back on it as the correct choice."
"Who are you?" asked Etain, desperate to change the topic to something less world changing for her.
"Tyro Torwin. I used to be a member of the Arcblade Fleet, a shoe-in for Adacap as a matter of fact. I passed up on the promotion to be with my wife and son. Nearly started a coup by accident before I publicly showed support for the next Adacap." Tyro chuckled at the memory, but there was pain there. "They both passed when the fleet was nearly wiped out. I escaped, and came to Coruscant, where I met Lady Ciaran. The rest is history. My one regret was not spending more time with my wife and son. Learn from an old man and don't make the same mistake."
The two sat in silence, Tyro with nothing more to say and Etain with too much to consider. Etain remained in the meditation pose, but her mind was too busy to focus on anything, even her child. She was brought out of her thoughts by Tyro's laugher. "I must say I envy your youth. We never bothered with meditation when learning the Blazing Chains, and trying to pick it up now is teaching an old bantha new tricks."
Etain laughed along with him. "It is rather boring. Most younglings take years to get even halfway decent at it." she admitted.
"Well, even if my connection to the Force doesn't get any stronger, however that works, the silence is good for thinking at least." His smile faded as he grew serious. "Have you decided on a course of action?"
Tears began to well up in Etain's eyes as the reality of her situation overwhelmed her. "I have no idea where to start. He doesn't even know I'm pregnant with his child."
"Well then you have an easy place to begin. Worry of other things later. Tell him the good news first." said Tyro.
Etain wasn't reassured quite so easily this time. "It's just, he's a soldier on the front lines, always taking on dangerous missions. It's part of why I love him, but telling him could just distract him and…" Tyro raised a hand to cut her off.
"When I found out I was to be a father, I took a single man ship that wasn't even designed for long distance travel and resolved to capture the first ship I came across. I had been maybe expecting a merchant ship, but what I came across was a Chiss battle frigate. It was the hardest fight of my entire life, and looking back I should have died a thousand times. But the knowledge that I had a son gave me something to fight for on that suicide mission. Long story short, the Arcblade Fleet got itself a Chiss battle frigate." said Tyro with a grin before looking at Etain intensely. "Tell him. He'll fight all the harder to survive, and if he died without knowing, that would be worse than anything."
Etain took a deep breath and steeled her resolve. "Thank you. I'll… consider your words."
"I suppose that's all I can ask." said Tyro as he stood up. "I must be going. Negotiations are likely wrapping up, and the Oracle will need to depart. We're all rather busy these days. I wish you best of the best of luck." With that, Tyro Torwin turned and left.
AN: Hey, did you want potential Jedi friends with that recruitment of the galaxy's best shapeshifters? Because too bad, that's what you get. As for the actual negotiations, it involves an offer to join the CNS, which then levers its neutrality to kick the colonists off world as an infringement on the Gurlanin's rights. Also, I don't support recruiting her directly as a unit since she's a mother and our last Jedi unit blew up in our face, but hey, maybe Tyro could take up an apprentice teacher or something.
On an unrelated note, I'm super pleased with the title of this one. I'd also like to take this moment to remind you that while there was no Blazing Chains kicking ass, you should support a plan that involves Blazing Chains on the upcoming turn. Just saying.
