[Lyseil Panteer]

Lyseil was walking through the Valiant Star, going from one task to the next, because there were still things she needed to do that needed to be done in person and not over holo. Still, as she passed through the observation deck, she paused in her stride to stop and admire the view.

One of Bankor's moons, Olandis, was starting to appear from behind the planet itself as she stopped to watch.

[Tethys Carrack]

Nearby on one of the benches, an obvious Jedi--comfortable robes, lightsaber, the whole nine meters--is sitting cross-legged with eyes half closed. Actually, Lyseil might recognize her from some of the previous command staff meetings, if nothing else. As the young sergeant pauses at the window, she opens her eyes and sighs.

[Lyseil Panteer]

Lyseil noticed the jedi that she had spoken briefly with before, and from the staff meetings. "Good morning, master jedi!" the sergeant greeted in a sunny tone. Even if there was no sunrise to see here from the Valiant Star, Lyseil would always be a ray of sunshine!

"I'm glad to see you're still doing well."

[Tethys Carrack]

“Oh, Sergeant Panteer. Good morning.” Tethys’s expression becomes more alert. “Yes, I am, all things considered. Not as lively as you, though, it seems.”

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Ah well, no need to be gloomy when the day is new," she explained as a matter of fact to her own chipper mood. "Hey, have you heard anything back from the archives, yet?"

[Tethys Carrack]

Tethys shakes her head. "I am sorry, I haven't heard anything new yet. Though even the information Master Huy-Tee was able to give us on the spot was rather illuminating."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"It really was..." she nodded, "and Jedi Baesal gave me some more details on the subject." But she didn't know how much Tethys knew!

"I guess we'll just wait and see. Research like this does take time, in my experience."

[Tethys Carrack]

Tethys nods. "Baesal knows as much about this machine intelligence as anyone living, if the archivists can't turn up more. I gathered she has even communicated with it." She shakes her head slightly. "Why can't ancient technology be friendly to organic life more often...?"

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Hm, who knows? The Rakata did consider themselves a superior race, and that everyone else were slave races, so it makes sense that their technology is rather... biased in its functions?" Lyseil aired her thoughts out loud. "I just wish we could find some ancient technology that could end hunger on desperate worlds or something like that, instead of these super-weapons or doomsday devices."

[Tethys Carrack]

"Hm. I thought Baesal said this intelligence was separate from the Rakata, possibly opposed to them." Two vertical frown lines appear between her eyebrows as she considers this. "But then I imagine that either way, any such creation whose main experience of sentient organic life was the Rakatan Empire would not form a very positive opinion of life as a whole."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Ah," she waved her hand a little, smiling sheepishly, "I was mostly speaking of the majority of known ancient technology that's been found - which has often been Rakatan. Though, it would've been really nice if something like the Star Forge could've been used for something less mean than making warships and stuff. But yes-yes, the two seemed to be opposed!"

[Tethys Carrack]

Tethys nods. "If something was to be preserved from that time, why not... terraforming technology, medical devices? Anything but weapons and more weapons," she says, blissfully unaware that the answer to her question lies more in the laws of narrative than the laws of physics.

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Mhm, that would be nice." Rarely did one hear stories of someone discovering ancient medical technology.

"Speaking of weapons though... I have a question, if I may?" the Panteer inquired politely.

[Tethys Carrack]

"Of course." Tethys opens a hand toward Lyseil, watching her with an inquisitive expression.

[Lyseil Panteer]

The sergeant folded her hands in front of her, adopting a relaxed yet military pose.

"I've always wondered why the Jedi, as keepers of the peace, favor the lightsaber as their weapon. There are few weapons that can match it's deadliness, save for perhaps illegal weaponry such as disintigrators, so... I don't know, doesn't it seem a bit out of place?"

[Tethys Carrack]

"Hm." Tethys raises cocks an eyebrow at Lyseil. "Consider it from a different point of view, Sergeant. A lightsaber is accurate, efficient, deadly. If you know how to wield it well with the Force beside you, taking a life with it is trivial."

She opens both hands palm-up. "So a Jedi can never treat the prospect of violence with anything less than deadly seriousness. She must never let herself become involved in a fight unless she is prepared, on every level, to end it. A Jedi cannot ever strike first and ask questions later. I have always believed that is by design."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Hmm... I'd just think that a weapon with a Stun-setting would've been more preferred," she mused as fingers tapped against her chin.

"It sounds easy to fall into the line of becoming judge, jury, and executioner though..."

[Tethys Carrack]

"Perhaps, but that is already true of anyone well-trained and strong in the Force." Tethys shrugs one shoulder. "A lightsaber just makes it more obvious. It's a material reminder of the responsibility we hold. It's almost never lack of means that keeps a Jedi from harming others."

Her lips quirk slightly. "I once asked my first fencing master about stun blasters. He held that besides a lack of elegance--fencing teachers are all quite concerned with elegance--they have two grave drawbacks for a Jedi. First, because they are deadly to only a few beings, they encourage the wielder to use them indiscriminately instead of avoiding violence. Second, also because they are deadly to only a few beings, a large group of adversaries won't hesitate to rush a person with a stunner--the first few won't fear being shot, and sooner or later one will succeed in disarming you." She taps a finger on her knee and adds, "I imagine that is not as grave a concern for a soldier, but Jedi often work alone. And some carry stun weapons anyway, unorthodox though it is. More often those who operate within easy call of other Jedi, though."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Huh. I see! I never thought of it that way before," Lyseil nodded, finding the answers quite interesting. "Two of my cousins joined the Order when we were young, so I haven't seen them much since, but when I tried asking them, they were going on about how the weapon is a responsibility before it is a weapon. Your answer was much more enlightening!"

The sergeant seemed to have found her natural enthusiasm now, as the conversation was like a spark in dry grass. "You probably get this question all the time, but do you remember much of your time before joining the Order? I know many younglings are quite young when they beging their training..."

[Tethys Carrack]

"Some Jedi are more talkative than others," Tethys says with a small smile. "My master was the former kind, and I'm certain I picked up some of the habit."

She tilts her head slightly, thinking. "Less often than you might imagine. To some people Jedi are born fully formed, like droids from a production line. Actually, though, I remember that time quite well. I grew up in a very remote settlement and never met a Jedi at all until I was nearly finished primary schooling, so I began late compared to many students."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Heh, yes-yes, I know some people think that way," she chuckled warmly. "But you certainly heard about jedi a child, right? I remember many children when I was young dreamt of becoming jedi themselves - but the Jedi Order has often had good relations with Alderaan, so I can see that there might be some positive bias there compared to other worlds."

Especially after the Sith occupation was broken. There was a lot of positive stuff about the Jedi and the Republic on the media then. At least from what she recalled. "I admit, I did have that idea too when I was little. Thinking I'd pick up a lightsaber and go on adventure in the galaxy,"

[Tethys Carrack]

"Except for the lightsaber, you weren't wrong," Tethys points out, quirking an eyebrow. "I had heard of the Jedi back then, but they were very far away. Or so it seemed, at least. I wanted to go to a technical collegium and become a starship engineer, see the galaxy that way." She shakes her head slightly, remembering. "I knew I would leave eventually. I just didn't know how, or how soon."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Oh, an engineer," rather than saying it out of politeness, Lyseil seemed genuinly enthusiastic about it. "I never had the head for that sort of mechanical stuff, but building your own ship to travel the galaxy with does sound like quite the adventure. Did you still follow up on that dream, after joining the Jedi?"

[Tethys Carrack]

"To some extent, though I did not have as much time to keep up those studies once I went to the Temple. I have settled for working on a much smaller scale," she admits, smiling slightly. "Building a lightsaber was certainly easier for me than for many padawans. And I keep my hand in with small projects here and there. I never got as far as hyperdrive mechanics after all, but life is long--who can say whether I will someday?"

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Certainly! It's never too late to learn something new, I say," she nodded eagerly. "... Now you've got me all sorts of curious how lightsaber construction is done. It's not something I've seen in any books I've read!"