Prelude: New Digs - Chapter I

The pair of Jedi had retired to their camp after a day spent traveling through a harsh desert climate and carefully exchanging words - fortunately, only words - with the area's denizens. Akea Oahu and Lilandra Asgarde had spent their first day on Teloc Ol-sen speaking to important members of local hunter community. Although Lilandra, by her own admission, was not always enticed by Akea's community-building endeavors, she was impressed by the tact and understanding with which her master had addressed the fearsome Teloc Hunters in their village. They hadn't made much progress in recovering the Jedi signet ring they'd come to retrieve, but they did manage to obtain permission from the local tribe to explore the ancient caves where they believed the ring to be lost.

For all of the complaining she'd done about the day's earlier heat, Lilandra missed it now. The dry, unshaded climate cooled drastically during the nighttime hours, leaving the sweltering daytime temperatures a distant, fond memory. The two had built a fire and sat close to it, absorbing what heat they could. The cold-blooded Dur Sabon Jedi Knight had coiled himself around the fire, heating nearly the entire length of his body. In lieu of a log or stump, of which there were none in this stretch of desert, Lilandra simply sat in the sand, leaning back into a section of Akea's coiled body trunk. Akea found the arrangement a tad awkward at first, but conceded it was better than the alternatives. Lilandra had joked that Akea was really getting the better deal of the two of them, able to leech heat off of the warm-blooded member of the duo.

They'd stared silently into the flames for some time, exhausted by their first day in the desert and contemplating their own mysteries. A nagging question prompted Lilandra to break the silence.

"Master, would we still go into these caves had we not obtained permission from the hunters?"

Akea thought for a moment before replying to the padawan - he had to admit, she had a knack for good questions.

"Alas, Lilandra, I'm afraid not. We would have found our trip somewhat abbreviated... "

After a moment of silence, Akea let a bit of his underlying humor slip through.

"... Try to contain your disappointment."

For as serious as his demeanor often was, Lilandra had grown to appreciate the subtle sarcasm her master often displayed - she wasn't sure what it stemmed from, but few Jedi displayed it, and she counted herself lucky to be paired with one who did; it certainly helped, even if only a bit, to alleviate the tremendous rigors of Jedi training. She smirked, although did not say anything as she thought about his reply. Considering their past actions, she was left somewhat puzzled by his response, questioning their precedent.

"But, Master, we went into the temple on Ossues despite having been firmly told we weren't allowed to by the Ysanna tribe taking care of it."

Akea nodded, replying to her after a moment of thought.

"That was different. They knew of the artifact within and understood its significance."

Lilandra, further puzzled, now leaned forward and twisted her body to face the Dur Sabon, who met her gaze.

"So because the Teloc hunters don't know what they've got sitting just beneath their noses, we couldn't go and get it if they said no?"

Akea, knowing she'd have further questions, nodded in brief.

"Correct, my padawan."

Lilandra tilted her head slightly, furrowing her brow.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Master..."

Akea nodded - indeed, it was reasonable that she'd find his logic a bit backwards, and in turn, he elaborated.

"Lilandra, this is a matter of motive moreso than anything. The Ysanna on Ossus knew what they harbored; the holocron in that temple was not vital to their culture by any means, rather, they chose to prevent us from entering the temple on greed alone. I suppose, in some sense, that I am oversimplifying the situation in saying this was not a cultural matter. History was not kind to the Ysanna - it is in their nature to hoard what resources they can. Being naturally Force-sensitive, it seemed reasonable to them that they might benefit by clinging to artifacts of significance of another Force-attuned culture. However, their choice to stand in our way was deliberate - they knew of the artifact's importance to us. Furthermore, the importance of the site to them was almost entirely in its significance to us."

Lilandra, who hadn't thought overmuch about the issue, was beginning to see where Akea was going. It wasn't a difficult concept to grasp, but it also wasn't the first thing that came to mind when addressing the situation - it required careful deliberation to understand why the choices they made were correct here as well as on Ossus.

"Here, that isn't the case. The Teloc hunters do know not comprehend the nature of the item their caves conceal. To them, these caves are sacred - most often, intrusion by foreigners desecrates the hallowed ground. We should count ourselves lucky to be among the few non-Teloc sentients to enter this cave system. If they had denied us entrance, we would be violating the tenants upon which their culture was built if we had entered nevertheless. They are unprepared for such a situation. On the other hand, we simply did exactly what the Ysanna expected us do - they wouldn't have kept the temple so guarded otherwise. The distinction is subtle, but important. If we perturb the established traditions of other societies in the name of advancing our own, we are little better than our supposed enemies. Some of the strongest expressions of the Force's will rest in the traditions that span thousands of years and millions of people, connecting individuals eons apart in an inseparable bond."

Lilandra nodded slowly - she was particularly fond of his last point; it jibed very well with her Mandalorian roots. She leaned back into Akea's body trunk, resuming her former, more relaxed posture. Akea had planned to speak up again after giving Lilandra a few minutes to ponder the issue, but she beat him to the punch.

"I understand, Master."