thefinaljedi | 20th Transmission: Episode III: Revenge of the Fourth Wall (Catchall)

[Luke Skywalker's usual routine isn't really altered by the presence of newcomers. He's got a wedding to attend, but beyond that he'll be doing his usual parkour runs along the rooftops of Luceti, working on the farm and helping out around the Clinic. Good Spirits is another likely place to find him in the evenings, having a cup of hot chocolate.

[Rei's routine is somewhat broken up by the stream of newcomers and Law's wedding, but when she's not working at Tsukino Shrine she'll be around Luceti's village shopping, eating, and taking care of daily life. Sailor Mars does make an appearance at the Battle Dome as well.]

[Saori goes through life as normal, though these new people are certainly exciting! She'll drift around Luceti on a cloud, watching the people coming and going with obvious interest. This many strangers is definite a sight to see, and she's looking for people that she knows or who seem to be showing an interest in the odd lady flying on a cloud.]

[Anko is a little bit put off by all the newcomers. She'll be in the bakery, basically gorging herself on sweets, and if anyone tries to come near the dango they might find themselves dealing with an irate ninja, a poisonous snake, or both. Once it gets dark, she heads over to Good Spirits for a drink or two. Which might make her happy and social. Or it might make her even more irritable...]

[OOC: This is a catchall for Luke, Rei, Sailor Mars, Saori, and Anko. Just let me know which you want in the header, or if you don't care I'll decide randomly.]

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[Oh Mara. Never change. Ever. And her not knowing about Palpatine's clones helps a good bit with time. She's from at least three years ago, maybe four.]

Because time can be a odd here. Whatever aspect of this...reality...pulls us to it seems to have little regard for temporal symmetry. I'm from a few years after you, most likely.

[Which...would explain her attitude. Not hostile, not friendly, and certainly not someone who'd council him after the events on Byss. After a pause, he gives her as friendly a smile as he can manage. Guess he'll just have to win her over again.]

It's good to see you, Mara. Even if the circumstances could be better.

[The explanation draws a deeply skeptical look from her.]

Well, that's a new one. [And if he were a better liar she'd call bullshit, but a long, assessing look -- and a carefully light Force touch -- tells her that he's pretty convinced.]

Bad circumstances seem to come hand-in-hand with you, Skywalker. I'd say so far this isn't as bad as Wayland, at least. [So far. That assessment could be subject to immediate change.] So, you're going to tell my future or something like that, huh?

You're one to talk, Mara. I can't count the number of times trouble's seemed to follow you around like your own personal mynock. [He can't help that people keep dragging him into stuff.]

And no, I'm not. Unless you want me to, it's not my decision to make.

[Oh, don't even get her started on that one.]

Are we really going to have this argument? Because let me tell you something, I'll win.

[That said, there are bigger priorities at play.]

So give me the briefing on this place. Weird temporal disconnects, hell -- how did I get here? And what's with all the wings?

No, we're not having this argument. Because it's not an argument.

[A simple statement of fact, Jade.]

The long and short of it is that it's a different reality. Sort of like we just fell through another layer of Hyperspace and into a different Realspace than our own. I'm sure you're familiar with the theory, though nobody's ever really managed to apply it. Nobody knows how we got here, or where the wings come from.

[He sighs]

They're a liability. If they get cut off, then you die, period. And they're sensitive. [He flexes his own, covered by his robe.]

Yes, I'm familiar with it. [Which doesn't really explain how it happened to her, when she was minding her own business on board a ship that doesn't seem to have come with her.] That doesn't really cover all the bases, but I'll take it for the time being.

If it were anyone but you telling me this story, Skywalker.... [Wings. On humans.] So they're just.... grafted onto you and there's no getting out of it?

It's all I've got, Mara. [He snorts.] I've been here two years. I haven't found a way to get rid of them, or get out of here, yet.

[And at least she trusts him. Because Luke? Lying? Never...]

[And it's pretty tempting to throw some caustic commentary onto that, but Mara holds her tongue, studying him for a moment before replying. He doesn't look like a man who's been held prisoner for two years. But that doesn't mean much; the range of human responses is wide, and he's a Jedi.]

Two years, huh? And just how much of a prison is this?

It's a bit of a gilded cage, honestly. We're given about fifty kilometers of space that's largely our own. Most of the time we're left to our own devices, and food is transported in via some sort of matter-transference technology. The barrier keeping us in here is impenetrable from the inside, and the nature of captivity here is fairly abnormal.

Mostly, we're the subjects of various odd social experiments, and occasionally we're conscripted to fight a group just called the Third Party. Death cultists without much sanity behind their actions.

Impenetrable, huh? Sounds like a fun trip. [And she's pointedly looking to see if he's got his lightsaber on hand. Impenetrable to that will have her worried.]

So it's an enforced vacation with all the fun of the last couple trips you've taken me on.

[Luke doesn't leave home without it, and he's carrying two in fact. If she looks closely, the second one resembles Vader's lightsaber. A birthday gift from his father when he'd turned thirty the previous year.]

As I recall, Mara, the first few were your idea, and I was a captive tourist. But that's right.

[He shrugs]

Think of it this way, at least it's not Dathomir.

I wasn't the one who decided to make a break for it on Myrkr. That one's all on you.

[It's more reflexive than anything else, but that's Mara - arguments over trivialities to cover her need to catch her balance. She should know better than expecting it to work for long on Luke, though.]

There's always a 'could be worse,' isn't there? [Not much comfort, that.]

There always is. Think of it this way...no rancors, no Sith, and you've at least got me?

[He can't help but laugh at the thought of this Mara relying on him for anything.]

And my parents.

[She starts to laugh at that sally -- "at least you've got me," with the situations he's gotten her into -- and how reliable he's been in the middle of those messes, there's at least something slightly genuine about the reassurance.

But his next words stop her cold.]

... Please tell me that was a joke, Skywalker. [It hasn't been that long since she listened to the Noghri operative rumble on about son of Vader. If it's a joke he's making now, it's in spectacularly poor taste, but she's hoping it is all the same.]

[Luke shakes his head and smiles warmly, completely expecting that reaction at first. He'd had that one, himself, the first time]

No, it isn't. Remember how I told you about timelines being strange here? My mother and father are both here, from before the founding of the Empire. It's not Vader, it's Anakin Skywalker.

[It's a pretty semantic difference, she thinks. Vader or proto-Vader. Not much better. But Luke seems to find this acceptable, and parent-child relationship or not, sunny idealist or not, she's pretty sure he would take the situation seriously if it warranted it.]

You'll forgive me if I'm still cautious. But... [A pause, and then she continues, quietly.] A chance for you to make some good memories, I suppose.

20th Transmission: Episode III: Revenge of the Fourth Wall (Catchall)

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