fandomhighdorms | The salle- Monday evening

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The salle- Monday evening

Sia had expected something very different from this place, and so far she was pleasantly surprised. She'd feared that she would be secluded away and bored, and that her training would suffer in favor of being protected when she knew she was perfectly capable of defending herself. Instead she was taking classes that might be of some actual benefit to her, the, ah, relatives she had met so far weren't so bad, and finding the salle while exploring today had come as a relief.

She'd found some remotes in a locker somewhere and figured that if it wasn't guarded somehow, no one would mind her using one. And if they did, then they should have done something about it before she borrowed it. Then she set it up for some drills, pulling her hair back before igniting her lightsaber and getting to work.

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Anakin wasn't entirely surprised to hear the familiar sounds of a lightsaber-and-remotes drill as he approached the salle with his own lightsaber and remotes in hand, but he was curious about the unfamiliar Force presence.

He paused in the doorway to watch for a moment -- Force knew, he always got cranky when someone just barged in on him in the middle of a drill.

Sia could tell someone was there, but she waited a few moments for a slightly more opportune time to pause the remote and turn towards him. "Yes?"

"Don't mind me, I'm just watching," Anakin said easily. "There aren't too many other Jedi around here, and I don't recognize you."

Sorry about the 'Jedi' assumption, Sia.

"I'm not a Jedi," she told him, though she didn't sound bothered about the assumption. "I may make a sign."

"You're not?" Anakin . . . looked like he had no idea what to do with that piece of information. "But --"

He gestured vaguely toward her lightsaber. Look, it wasn't red, what else was he supposed to assume?

"I'm an apprentice Imperial Knight," Sia explained, shutting down her lightsaber. "With all the Force sensitives here, I can not be the first."

Well, you were, Sia.

Sorry, Sia. So sorry, but Anakin's eyes went wide. "Imperial Knight?" he echoed in a tone of extreme disbelief. "I must've been sucking exhaust fumes, because I can't have heard that right."

"You did," she said, matter-of-factly, though that reaction did get an eyebrow raise out of her. "Marasiah Fel. And you are?"

. . . Fel?

"Anakin Solo," he replied. "I've never heard of an Imperial Knight before."

And yet another name Sia vaguely recognized. Tonight she was going through the directory to see who exactly she should prepare herself for.

"We're a bit past your time," she explained. "Also it appears we're slightly related, then."

Yeah, the only Fel Anakin knew who was in any way connected to Force users was Jag.

Which was a strange concept, if he connected the dots, and it made his head hurt.

"I'm not actually asking how," he admitted. "I'm still stuck on the Empire having Force users who aren't Sith."

"Definitely not Sith," she said firmly. "Though I'm not sure what I could say that would make the concept any easier."

Anakin ran a hand through his hair, chewing on his lower lip as he thought. "You could give me an idea of what exactly the Imperial Knights are?" he suggested. "Detailed history lessons not necessary."

"It's simple," she began. "The purposes of the Jedi and Imperial Knights aren't that dissimilar. But where Jedi-" What was left of them. "-serve the galaxy at large, the Imperial Knights serve the Emperor."

Sorry, Anakin's brain.

Anakin's brain? Definitely hurt, because he dug his fingers into his hair and grimaced.

"This is hard for me to think about when the only Emperor I can think of is Palpatine," he muttered -- not hostilely, at least.

Right, he would be closer to that end of things than hers.

"We do not use him as a model," Sia assured him. She decided against telling him that they'd coexisted with the Galactic Alliance for years, because... That was past tense as of recently.

Also that would only lead to more confusion, since the Galactic Alliance was, well, just after Anakin's time.

He was quiet for a few moments before he finally nodded. "Not the same Empire as the one I know from history, then."

Well, there was still technically a Sith in charge of it, but...

"Not in practice, no. In fact, one of the purposes of the Imperial Knights is that if the Emperor were to ever turn to the dark side, if he can't be brought back, he will be killed," Sia said, conversationally. "There are ways in which we'd rather history not repeat itself."

La la la things Anakin really didn't need to know.

"Really? That's --" Anakin paused. "Huh. Surprisingly enlightened."

No offense, Sia. Empire-friendly rhetoric had never been a part of his balanced everyday diet.

"Is learning from others' past mistakes really so surprising?" she asked.

Anakin opened his mouth to say that yes, it was, but stopped and actually thought about it with an effort that was practically visible.

"No, I guess not. But it's much farther in the past for you than for me, I think, so we were bound to have different perspectives on it."

"What's it like, where you are now?" she wondered.

"A mess." The last few messages he'd gotten from his family hadn't sounded very promising, and Anakin frowned. "We're still scrambling for ways to deal with the Yuuzhan Vong. I gather, from my cousin and the older version of my sister here, that we'll figure it out eventually, but that makes now more frustrating."

"It isn't reassuring to know that there's an end to it?" She thought she would love to know that there was a way to defeat the Sith and restore the galaxy.

In reality, though, she probably wouldn't be so thrilled if she found out how they did it.

Much like Anakin wouldn't love knowing the details of how this war ended?

"That part's reassuring," he explained. "It's just that knowing that, and knowing we're not there yet, makes now feel like waiting forever."

Sia shrugged, saying, "Sometimes you have to wait forever if you want to ensure things are done right."

She'd been in exile for four years. Thoughts like that kept her sane.

"I guess." Anakin clearly didn't like that concept, and decided to change the subject. "So how come you ended up here?"

"Supposedly this place is safer," she answered. "I've heard this is a common reason."

Anakin half-grunted in agreement. "That's why I'm here too." Not entirely, but he still wasn't thrilled about it. "It's not boring here, exactly, but when it gets eventful it's probably not in a way you're used to."

Well now she was curious. "Such as how?"

"Small, furry creatures trying to gnaw your ankles off?" Anakin suggested. "A few weeks ago the island got overrun by a lot of pesky little creatures that started crossbreeding and turning hostile."

"I'd been told about the attacking bears," Sia said slowly. "But this is new information."

Weird, new information.

"There were also the dolls following everyone around or just appearing and staring at them," Anakin added helpfully.

"Why?" She thought it was the obvious question.

Well, so did Anakin.

"I have no idea." Yes, he was grumbly about it, because why wasn't there a rational answer? "This place likes to defy logic every now and then."

"That part I can do without," she decided. "The relatives and timeline differences are strange enough, I can do without the creatures."

"You said you were vaguely related to me," Anakin remembered, and whistled softly. "Has anyone warned you about the gremlins?"

"Small green things with hallucinogenic venom that will not be allowed to bite me no matter how misunderstood they may be?" Britta.

Of course.

"Small green things with hallucinogenic venom that think my family is an especially tasty treat," Anakin replied. "If anything's misunderstood, it's why they like the taste of Skywalker so much." ~~Ohgodsonotdirty.~~

"You're saying they target you?" Sia actually looked amused at that, poor thing.

Yes, be amused now, Sia.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did," Anakin admitted.

"That probably wouldn't apply to me," Sia said. "Whatever attracts them has to be diluted in me."

Yeah, they're getting you anyhow, sweetie.

"I guess we'll find out eventually," Anakin replied.

Don't be smug about that, Anakin. Just because they haven't gotten you yet doesn't mean they won't get you with a vengeance.

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The salle- Monday evening

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