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Who: Robb Stark & you
Broadcast: Fleetwide broadcast & some action
Action: The Marsiva
When: 22nd of December

[Before he starts to talk Robb peers into the box given to him. Apparently it works like ravens only faster and without wings. And would it also mean that everyone could see him?.

He figures he should sound firm and sure. Especially in an environment he does not entirely know. Well, he knows some things but not enough to string things together properly.]

Good morrow. How did I arrive here? [He rolls his shoulders a little and moves a hand through his hair.] I have heard I am part of a show. But why is that so? [Could people really see him through this thing? He peers into the box again and for a moment anyone hearing this can see a large blue eyeball gazing at them. Finally it zooms out and Robb talks again.] I have not asked for this. There are other places where I am needed.

I appreciate all answers. The ones who are able to send me back to where I belong will not be forgotten. If it is coin you wish we can talk of that. My name is Robb Stark. [A pause. Still, he has to know so he asks the most important question of all.]

Can anyone see me through this?

[Robb is still wearing the clothes he came with. He remembers he spilled a bit of grease on his collar when he was at the Twins but it seems to be gone completely. When he looks at the direwolf pin that keeps his cloak together it seems to shine even more than it did before he entered lord Frey's great hall.

He walks slowly towards the large windows and narrows his eyes a little. He has been told about space and planets. He has been told about ships flying through space to visit said planets but the actual view is even more impressive than he imagined it to be.

His fingers tighten around the crown he is holding in his hands.]

It is a never ending darkness...

[He mutters the words more to himself than anyone who is close to him. Gods, it is even more impressive than he imagined it to be. Like the blue sky only further than that.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not common, no.

It's a Jedi weapon. I would say that "only Jedi wield them," but in practice that's... not always how it works out. There are plenty of lowlives who'll steal a lightsaber from a dead Jedi if given the opportunity.

[Her tone makes it clear what she thinks of that.]

Are they sacred? [It is not uncommon to him that some weapons belong to specific groups of people. Once maester Luwin told him of the short knife like swords the Dothraki wield back in Essos. Men who were one with their horses.]

If so it would be wise to protect them from these low lives. Bury a Jedi with their weapon. [That seems right to him. But then again, he is no Jedi.]

I wouldn't go so far as to call them "sacred," but... maybe a step below that. It's more like... they're personal. Every Jedi has to go on a-- a quest, of sorts? A journey of self discovery-- in order to build their first lightsaber.

Burying them with their owner is the custom, but... in war, that isn't always possible.

[Robb listens closely and nods sometimes. It is an intriguing story and in a way it is a relief that there are people here who belong to such a group. And despite her appearance she seems kind and knows what she is doing.]

War changes a lot. [He nods, agreeing to that, sounding like an old man when he says it.] Vows and promises mean nothing anymore. [And he definitely knows about that, since he broke the promise made to lord Frey to marry Roslin. Yet he is not going to tell about it.]

Is your realm at war then, my lady?

[Ahsoka shakes her head.] More like the whole galaxy. [Ah... hm. That might not mean anything to him.]

See all those stars outside the window of your ship? Some of them are actually not stars, but habitable planets like your own. About five percent of them, usually. Five percent doesn't sound like a lot... until you realise how many hundreds of billions of stars are out there. Anyway, all the stars around us make up one galaxy.

[That's a... very simplistic and not ENTIRELY scientifically accurate way of explaining it, but she doesn't want to get bogged down in the details.]

But yes. The galaxy is currently at war. We used to be largely united under a democratic republic... but several years ago a separatist faction gained traction and has declared war on the Republic.

[Robb blinks at the word ‘galaxy’ and nods afterwards. It would not entirely be fitting for a king to look as if he does not understand anything at all anymore.]

I have never considered the fact that Westeros is a land upon a planet, my lady. [So that would mean there is way more beyond the realm? And Essos? And the Iron Islands. And the lands behind the Wall.] But it could very well be. [He shifts a little and places the black box in front of him.] So space is everything and galaxies are things within space? And within galaxies are planets. And on planets there are many lands.

[Gods be good, it would be something to be the king of an entire galaxy.]

Your galaxy, I take? [Robb crosses his arms.] What is the reason for your war?

[Ahsoka nods.] That's right. ... On both counts.

Truth be told, iiiit's a little bit complicated. The Separatists seceded from the Republic years before the war. But then it turned out they'd been building their own army in secret, and were planning to go to war against the Republic all along. They claim the Republic is corrupt, and that they're "liberating" planets from our oppression. But it's the Seppies who are corrupt and oppressive! Their leader is literally a Sith Lord, and they invade and occupy planets whether they like it or not!

It is some sort of a rebellion then? [Robb knows jack about intergalactic wars or what a republic is or anything like that. And he figures that Westerosi war tactics do not apply anywhere here.]

And did you really not expect them to go to war? [A rebellion mostly lead to war. His lord father knows that and so does he.] I have never heard of a Sith Lord. I take it his house is rather powerful? [A pause. He thinks of Lannisters in space, shitting gold. That might very well be possible here.] Are you outnumbered? [Of course it is hard to determine which party is wrong and which one is right.]

My lord father and his best friend rebelled against the mad king Aerys and his house. [And well...he is doing something similar now.]

[Ahsoka frowns for a moment-- not at Robb, but at realising just how difficult it is to explain things native to her universe to others. The implants seem to help when she has to explain things like space travel and technology to those who have never been off-world, but they don't help when it comes to the Force.]

No-- [she shakes her head] he's not that kind of Lord.

In my world, we have what's called the Force. In every world, really-- it's here, too. It's all around us. The energy of the universe. Most people can't feel it. But a small percentage of people can. We call them Force-sensitives. Even without the proper training, some Force-sensitives can harness that power-- you've probably encountered one before at least once, even if you didn't know it. They're usually empaths, or seers, or people who can innately tell when someone's lying. Sometimes they can sense others before they see them, or they know when a loved one has died even when they're half a world away. That kind of thing. They don't usually know that they're doing it.

However, once someone attains conscious control over the Force, they can become very powerful... and very dangerous. That's why those of us who are trained, we all take vows-- to only use the Force for good, in the service of the Light; protecting others and the galaxy at large. Those of us who are more powerful than others have a duty to protect them.

But a Sith Lord is the opposite of that. A Force-user who doesn't care about the Code, who only uses the Force for selfish ends. They become corrupted by their power. Evil. Eventually, all they care about is attaining more power, and they don't care who they have to step on to get it.

You understand why we can't possibly let someone like that sit at the head of any government.

[Robb listens carefully, sometimes cocking his head a little as he does. What she speaks of sounds like sorcery and magic and a bit like the wolf dreams he has sometimes. But mostly sorcery.]

It is a war without weapons? Only where a lot of power hungry lords of this force battle those who do not use that force for evil? [Force or not? Sorcery or not? It sounds like a legit reason to start a war.] I think I do understand a little. [Sort of.] Even though there is no such thing as a Force in Westeros. [According to Old Nan there has been magic and sorcery. And tales of ghosts and skinchangers.]

At the least...mayhaps in the past. There have been stories.

[About the Children of the Forest and the Old Gods.]

My apologies, my lady. It is quite difficult to envision such matters. Sorcery...I mean.

[Ahsoka shakes her head.]

Count Dooku-- the Sith Lord I was talking about-- he keeps us busy by waging war on the Republic with his armies. So instead of being able to go after him, we're stuck constantly putting out fires as he sends his droids to invade and occupy planets that never wanted him there in the first place! Ugh. He's a real piece of work.

[She tilts her head also when Robb mentions that there's no such thing as "a Force" in Westeros.]

There's no such thing as a place without the Force. If there was... that place would have to be dead. Devoid of all life. The Force is life itself. But achieving mastery of it is pretty difficult, without someone to teach you. It's possible that the people who once knew how to manipulate it in your world have died out...

Ah! [He recognizes such a pattern.] But you should not fall for distracting strategies. Try to divide your armies. Let them be aware of the biggest host and let the smaller ones operate in secret until the time is right. I take it that droids are space soldiers of some sort?

[Robb frowns. How can one master life? To become immortal? To be able to give life to what is dead? Would those White Walkers Old Nan spoke of be masters of that force?]

That sounds odd, my lady. To control life. It is not something that can be touched. [And sorcery.] There are stories... Old Nan always told us tales of old. Before the First Men came. I do not think that exists. [Even though there were rumors about something stirring behind the Wall. Just like there are rumors about dragons.]

Droids are-- um. Robots? Do you have those in your world? [Probably not.] Oh! They're the little man-made machines that you see around the Marsiva and other ships that go around cleaning stuff up. Only, the ones we fight against are programmed for war, not cleaning.

[Ahsoka nods.]

I wouldn't say that we control it, exactly. It's more like... gentle manipulation! Seeing things in the future, moving objects through the air without touching them, and so on. Controlling life would be pretty scary! I don't think anyone can do that.

No, we do not have them. Or droids. [He chuckles a little at the thought of him commanding a large amount of robots. What folly would that be!] I take it that they have weapons, not? [If they were war-droids but what does it mean to be programmed? Scheduled for war? Robb decides not to ask after it.]

[To Robb it still sounds like sorcery and even though he tries to be understanding he cannot help to feel a bit wary about all of it. It is obvious that the lady Ahsoka does not mean any harm. She will not put a spell on him or anything like that.]

But what good will that bring? This force of yours? Why would you want to control it? Or use it? War is not about...reading minds or... [Well, being able to look into the future is kind of convenient, Robb has to admit. It would give him an advantage... And after a short silence he leans forward a little, whispering.]

Could you read my future? Not now, but...if you wish to do so?

That's right. Most droids are equipped with blasters. [Crap. She isn't sure if the augment-provided-knowledge covers what a blaster is.] Projectile weapons. Others are programmed for tactics.

[Ahsoka nods absently as she listens to Robb's question.]

Well, you have to fight when you're in a war, right? Use of the Force comes in handy during battle. You can use it to make yourself stronger than a normal human, and faster. To sense where others are around you on the battlefield so you're never taken by surprise from behind, or sense a shot before it's fired at you. In dire situations you can even use the Force to ignore pain or tiredness and keep fighting.

As for your future... I'm not sure. It's possible, but probably not by me. It's nnnnot exactly my specialty. The furthest ahead I've ever been able to see is a few days. Sensing the future mere microseconds before it happens in a fight is one thing, but-- seeing someone's life path far in the future is another. The problem with the future is, it isn't set in stone. It's always in motion. Changing. And the more time passes, the more things that can happen to change it. Does that make any sense?

Edited (missed a word) 2016-02-29 21:41 (UTC)

[They must be some sort of gun. Some version of the ones they use here so Robb merely nods.

And well, how she describes that sounds awesome and frightening at the same time. Compared to every being here Robb is the type that has been living underneath a large, medieval rock. Mayhaps he has been naive about other forces in the world. Or too afraid. Whenever he had a dream about him being his wolf he woke up feeling uncomfortable.

But it would be awesome to have such an advantage. To know when an arrow would leave a bow, when a sword leaves a scabbard, when the enemy emerges from the bushes.]

They accept such powers? They would be considered sorcery where I come from. And there are stories that it has been part of the past but... [He should have paid better attention when Maester Luwin explained him matters about history. Somehow he always found himself more interested in famous knights and warriors. The Targaryen kings on their dragons. Things like that.] ...would you be feared?

A few days could be enough. I want to go home. [Robb understands her only a little. He knows of strategies and warfare, but he is not a deep thinker. If he dies he hopes it will be a glorious death on the battlefield or something like that. Death and war are inseparable.] What must I do to make it so then? That I can go home?

The only people who have to fear a Jedi are those that would harm the innocent. The Jedi are sworn to protect all life. Our Code states that we must not harm another living creature if there is any other possible way, and that we're not to take a life unless there is no other means of making an attacker surrender.

[Otherwise, the Jedi would be scary indeed.]

... I'm sorry, it doesn't work like that. If I could just see how to go home like that, I wouldn't still be here myself.

That sounds very honorable, lady Ahsoka. [It truly is. The type of knights they wrote stories about, the type they honored with songs, those who fell in love with beautiful maidens.] But in a war...vows do not always stand and honor... [Robb sighs a little, he has learned that lesson the hard way. He forsake a vow as well and now had to bend the knee to a hateful old man and hope he was still willing to support his cause.] ...words will not stop an enemy from drawing their swords.

I take it that many want to return, is it not?

[Ahsoka nods, and she gets a troubled look in her eye that says she knows exactly what he means.]

You're right, of course. But that doesn't mean we should stop trying.

[She rubs the back of her neck awkwardly.]

I think just about everyone wants to go home, yes.

Try all you wish...it cannot be done. [Robb figures that if he would go and try to solve everything with words that his men would have turned away even before they could place a crown atop of his head.

And he has broken a vow as well. All because of the honor of another person.] Unfortunately.

[Robb utters a sound.]

Then why does no one stand up? Are these lords of Atroma that powerful?

Sometimes it's the act of trying that is more important than the succeeding.

As for the Atroma-- you tell me. They've managed to kidnap nearly a hundred people, from almost as many different galaxies, across time and space...

How powerful do you think they are?

Sometimes. But when fighting a war there is not always time for trying. [While saying this he realizes that he needs to go back as soon as possible.] It is a bit of a shame... [And so very confusing...]

Powerful...but not immortal. Or unbeatable.

[He deemed lord Tywin Lannister quite an unbeatable foe when he set out to march down to RIverrun but he managed to beat him against all odds.]

I think it is even more important to not give up hope.

... Master Kenobi used to say to me, that it's how we conduct war that distinguishes us from others.

[It's not a direct disagreement with Robb's statement, but it's certainly not an agreement either. Something else she learned from Obi-Wan.]

I agree with you there. I don't think anything in this world is immortal or unbeatable. I won't give up easily either.

[Well, war is war. It is not pleasant and it never will be. Yet, he does not entirely disagree with the words from this master Kenobi. So he nods a couple of times.]

You are surrounded by wise people, my lady.

[Her last words make him smile a broad smile. That is a good way of putting it.]

Aye. I am sure there is a way. [He hopes, he has no idea what kind of force they’re up against. And then there is the matter of this ship and space and what is a reality show] Mayhaps we can keep in contact...to exchange information. [This black box goes faster than any raven, that is for sure.]

Occupational hazard of being a Jedi, I guess.

[She smiles.]

Oh-- as to that. One of my friends wrote a tutorial on how to use the communicators. Hold on.

[She sends him the file, and Robb's communicator beeps with an incoming file transmission.] If you press that, it'll bring up a data file for you to read. It tells you about all the basic functions of these things, not just making a public broadcast.

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oops i'm sorry i thought i replied to this ages ago!

no prob!

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