Open to All TLV style post

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Network; Video]

[A young man with violet-blue eyes, blue-black hair tucked away in a bun, dressed in green tabards with orange embroidery in somewhat organic patterns, over indigo tunics appears on the network. He solemnly tucks his hands into his sleeves, and bows toward the screen.]

Hello, Barge. My name is Ezra Bridger, and I recently arrived, as a warden. [A tiny pause, and only the momentary effort to put up a smooth, diplomatic front keeps him to wrinkling his nose a little, but one might perceive the hint of trepidation in his tone.] I haven't accepted a deal. At least not yet.

[He shakes his head slightly] Because I know there might be some here who at least know stories, I guess I should say that I am a Jedi Knight. Born at the same time as the rise of the Empire, on a planet named Lothal. I'm happy to answer any question anyone may have about that.[Some of the formality and calm even to his tone begins to fade.] But I haven't been in my home galaxy since I was 18, over three years ago, for me now.

I've traveled through several - I've taken to calling them nexuses? Experienced things rather like the floods and breaches, here, among other...well the last place I was called them Trials.

[His expression suddenly blossoms into a full, bright smile, as something occurs to him.] Oh! Are there any people here who do Jewish observances? I grew up Reform, in a life; I like to keep up with holidays when I can.

[A little more soberly-] And how well is the infirmary staffed? I have some medical training. Including mental health topics.
***
[Action]

DECK - Anyone who knows anything about the Jedi won't be surprised to find him folded into crossed legged sitting on the floor of the deck, hands in green cloth gloves on his knees but palm up, and eyes closed, in meditation. Any psychic, or the like, may notice that his mind is open, yet attentive, letting everything he senses flow around and through him.

Although - If someone's attention lingers on him for long, or he picks up a sense of urgency, he murmurs, without opening his eyes, yet, "Can I help you?"

OR

ENCLOSURE - Of course there's also lightsaber practice in the Enclosure, in varying landscapes, on different days, with his green blade. Anyone who knows much about Jedi lightsaber forms might notice Ezra's personal style is a core of Form III, with some Form IV, and Form I - in other words, a mostly defensive style. Anyone very familiar with the styles of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, or Ahsoka Tano might spot some specific influences.

Comments

[artistinexile]

Perhaps your Jedi and I have had the same tutelage.

You plead for trust and understanding, yet these things are hard won, Commander Bridger. I am disinclined to give you either at this time.

You seek to remedy your mistakes with Anakin Skywalker with me?

[ezra_of_lothal]

I'm not a Commander anymore. Knight, if you must use a rank, please.

I'm less pleading and more offering my perspective on these things. I'm not surprised they aren't things you currently give anything close to easily.

I can't atone for my mistakes with Anakin, by my actions with anyone else. That's between me, him, and the Force.

I can, I hope, learn from those mistakes and do better in supporting other people who are at crossroads in how they view themselves and their path in life, due to how nexuses like this work.

[artistinexile]

You speak of graduation.

[ezra_of_lothal]

That seems to be the paradigm the Admiral is very insistent we use, yes.

[artistinexile]

An awkward fit, wouldn't you agree? Prisoners are normally reformed, students graduated.

[ezra_of_lothal]

The mix of terms is odd, agreed. I don't dislike it, on a gut level, personally.

I can't tell yet if it's simply meant to emphasize that there's not an underlying idea of putative punishment.

Or it's a disconnect of the Admiral not actually understanding the people they bring onboard.

[artistinexile]

The Admiral is a 'he'.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Noted. [And that is not a mistake he intends to make again.]

The framing bothers you?

[artistinexile]

A passing interest only.

Have you had a chance to review the lists of those who have come and gone? Of who is a warden, and who is an inmate?

[ezra_of_lothal]

Briefly. There are a few names on board currently I believe I recognize, but not many and no one I was close to any version.

Tarkin stood out, on the historical roster. The Solo family name rings a bell, too.

[artistinexile]

The Admiral is collecting Imperials as inmates.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Oh, boy, here we go.]

I've been informed by reliable sources that Tarkin was a man who delighted in having power over people and using it brutally while the Republic was still nominally the Republic, as well.

So that's two. Are there other names I'm missing?

[artistinexile]

I am familiar with Armitage Hux's father. An odious character who believed might made right.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Odious is an interesting choice of word given you once mocked making decisions based on morals, to my face, and me told that what matters is who has power.

Now, I speculated to myself, years ago, that you were probably trying to tell me something that I missed entirely at the time.

Care to explain a little more, since we don't have an Emperor breathing down our necks, and we have some time?

[artistinexile]

What matters is who has power, and what they decide to do with it.

You may have morals. You also had a power I could only speculate on, and never predict. Was it not your Force that allowed you to cast us out of Lothal in the first place?

Do you think it will be morals alone that will win you the day? While you are deciding the most compassionate choice, I assure you there are others whittling away at your defenses with only your destruction in mind.

[ezra_of_lothal]

I can't disagree with the two parts of that axiom put together. But the application is anything but simple.

Of course, morals alone won't win the day. They don't guarantee of any sort of material victory. I've always known that.

But I said it then, and I'll stand by it. The Force isn't a weapon.

It *can* be used as such. But that's unskillful use, that should be reserved for dire circumstances without better options, at best. Use it that way often it enough, and it begins to blind you to other options. I'd argue that's true of any form of power.

Sidious and his Empire was very good at manufacturing such blinding circumstances, for nearly everyone.

[artistinexile]

You think I am blind?

[ezra_of_lothal]

I don't know, Thrawn. I'm still trying to figure your perspective out.

For the record, *I* walked a path that lead to me to see fewer and fewer options, for a while. If hadn't turned aside I might have just as well, oh, strangled you to death with the Force the moment we met face to face. All it would have taken was using my anger and believing it was the best choice.

You bombarded unarmed civilians. You spoke about destroying an entire planet as being inevitable and seemed willing to be part of it. Are you satisfied with those actions?

[artistinexile]

Perhaps.

I too was faced with a series of fewer and fewer choices. I chose the quickest, most decisive path to victory. I knew your empathy, your morals would be the linchpin that an entire battle would rest upon. Is it any wonder why I exploited it?

As for the Death Star, you truly have not been paying attention if you believed I felt it either inevitable or anything I would go along with willingly.

[ezra_of_lothal]

No, I didn't mean the Death Star, or not directly. You said you *had* had no intention of destroying Lothal, but it seemed inevitable then. I remember that very clearly.

Although, also, yes, now that you bring it up. The Death Star. Why was even a whiff of that project not a break point for you? You talk like you couldn't walk away, but I don't understand. You're one of the smartest people I know. You're not even *from* Imperial space. Why was disappearing not an option?

Why couldn't you have said 'no, I won't be part of this' way before you got that point? I honestly thought for a long time that you had to be a true believer in the Empire. It was the only thing that made sense to me.

[artistinexile]

While I appreciate your belief in my ability to survive a betrayal of that magnitude, I could not walk away. Nor would I wish to.

The answer you are looking for is not simple, nor do I believe you will find it satisfying.

What do you consider a true believer in the Empire, Ezra Bridger?

[ezra_of_lothal]

I'd admit, I don't have a great definition. There's probably several stripes.

I don't think you embraced the Empire for purely personal self-aggrandizement. Although, that type isn't what I'd call a true believer.

There's those that fall for the Emperor's cult of personality.

I guess what I mean in a belief that Empire is *just*. Or at least the best way to rule a huge swath of the galaxy, or truly necessary, out of the alternatives. Maybe again, to return to that word, inevitable?

And I would define the Empire, loosely, as concentrating power into the hands of a few, through a rigid hierarchy that is ever increasingly focused on military power, using that power to both expand outwardly and terrorize its own people to maintain control.

[artistinexile]

Perhaps this is where a portion of personal and galactic history intertwine.

I did not believe the Empire was ever a force for justice. But I know that there are worse threats, even now encroaching on parts of our galaxy, that either the Old or the New Republic had no hope of defeating.

When faced with two evils, one significantly worse than the other, I chose to ally myself with the lesser evil. At the very least, the Empire is far quicker when dealing with threats and its heavy-handed methods, while overkill, certainly get the point across.

And understand that I had no intention of joining the Empire when I first arrived. Being told I was to be made a Lieutenant was not in my plan when entering Imperial space.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Ezra puzzles over that response for a while. Worse threats than the Empire, that held trillions upon trillions in its grasp?

On the other hand, if there's one thing his travels have taught him, it's that there's always a bigger fish somewhere. But then, none the bigger fish he's ever come across would truly be best addressed by military might.]

I guess I'll have to provisionally try to accept this mysterious bigger threat, for at least the sake of the conversation. Although I'm really not convinced supporting the Empire as the best option follows, even with that in mind.

What *was* your plan, then?

[artistinexile]

To remain on my exiled planet until I could seek an audience with the Emperor, then leverage my previous friendship with Anakin Skywalker to convince him it was in his best interests to let me study Republic and Imperial weaponry, and return to my corner of the galaxy. We would have let each other alone, with my species providing buffer space between the Empire's planets and the enemy I have mentioned, but with significant technological advantage.

I was meant to stay perhaps a year, no longer.