[Layne Hoshin]

Sitting in the common room of the Sunset Dawn; not long before arrival; was Layne, feet casually resting on the table as she studied a datapad filled with information on Bankor. Geography, history, culture... try as she might she could not pierce the haze that had fallen over her investigation and narrow things down to an exact location.

She sighed, looking up at her surroundings for a moment. The Sunset Dawn had served her well enough in the months since she's gotten her. First liberated by her from the slavers on Kintan; she'd given it to the rescued slaves... and after Layne switched sides and started building personal alliances instead of tearing them down, those same slaves returned and gave her the ship to use for her operations from there on. Good deeds bring good rewards, is what her new master said. Or something like that anyway. The notion had some merit, she'd come to admit.

[Dapper Dog]

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The passenger yawned as he fumbled around looking for something to eat. He rubbed his eyes and then stumbled to the refresher to get cleaned up before returning a few minutes later and said, “I hate to be that guy, but are we there yet, master Jedi?”

[Layne Hoshin]

Layne couldn't be much older than the passenger she'd taken on, and she was no 'master' yet, even if non-jedi had a habit of referring to her as such. That didn't keep her from being a little pleased by being the 'superior' for a change. Lifting one foot off the table, she pushed out a chair for him.

"Bored? Or anxious?"

She idly tried to gauge his mood through the force.

"Should be a couple more hours."

[Dapper Dog]

“Not sure, bit of both I guess,” he responded honestly.

“Just glad the Republic is finally doing the right thing. This should have happened sooner, doing the right thing shouldn’t require a committee or whatever they do in government,” he said taking a seat.

“What do you think, master Jedi?”

[Layne Hoshin]

"Politics aren't really my thing," she replied, watching him for a moment. "You're not with the enlisted forces are you? You could've just left this whole mess to the professionals. You must feel pretty strongly on this to catch a transport to a warzone and risk your life."

[Dapper Dog]

"I'm enlisted, they just didn't get the memo yet and if not I'll work with the resistance, whatever it takes," he responded.

"People are suffering, if I sit by and do nothing then I am just saying that is okay."

[Layne Hoshin]

Layne got a sinking feeling, like she should've been a bit more thorough in vetting the guy before agreeing to ferry him.

"Wait, you're enlisted but... they don't... know... about it yet?"

Her skepticism was as evident as it could possibly be.

[Dapper Dog]

“My world kept spotty records and I just signed up, it’s not a big deal happens all the time. I didn’t want to miss the war due to shoddy bureaucracy,” he replied.

“I mean what would you do if you knew you had to be somewhere but everyone just sat on their hands?”

[Layne Hoshin]

"That so huh?" She wasn't fully convinced, but kind of felt like she'd lost the right to press the issue too far. If the kid was here on false pretenses, well, things would sort themselves out soon enough.

"Missing the war would mean you're *lucky*. I don't mind taking you there because your paperwork went 'missing', but you *do* know what you're getting yourself into, don't you?"

[Dapper Dog]

“Yeah my… dad was a soldier, I know what happens. Rather give my life doing something useful than sitting around pretending everything is fine,” he said passionately.

[Layne Hoshin]

"Good. My master would skin me alive if he knew I helped some kid kill himself thinking war was some glorious adventure. At least now I can say you died knowing the score."

[Dapper Dog]

“It’s the right thing to do, not like I would be the first kid to die in a conflict. I am no different than all the kids already living through the conflict, just had the luck of not being on Bankor,” he said casting his eyes downward.

“We’ll fix it and do our part.”

[Layne Hoshin]

"What'd made you take up this cause anyhow? People don't usually jump into the fray just 'cause they saw a newsreel about it."

[Dapper Dog]

"What'd made you take up this cause anyhow? People don't usually jump into the fray just 'cause they saw a newsreel about it."

He thought about and then said, “Because I am tired of reading and seeing bad stuff in the galaxy and then doing nothing. If everyone gave just a little but of their time to help out we would live in a better place. I used to think the Jedi would fix the galaxy but now I know it only gets better if we all do our part.”

“No offense, master Jedi.”

[Layne Hoshin]

"The Jedi didn't help me until I *made* them help me. I used to blame them for that. Wondered why I had to go through the things I did when there were these magical saviors around, talking big about morality and the light but failing when I needed them. But I know they can't be everywhere. I know they can't help everyone, and I know that sometimes 'help' doesn't even mean what it sounds like. And that'd all be true even if there weren't people who just want to do all the bad things imaginable... for the wrong reasons as well as the right ones."

[Dapper Dog]

“I am not sure I understand, why would you blame the Jedi?” he asked.

[Layne Hoshin]

"Because they weren't there. Because if they were, I wouldn't have been forced to do the things I did. I could've grown up, learning the ways of the force at the Jedi temple, instead of digging out rocks on Kessel until the Sith found me and made things even worse. Made to suffer and do the kinds of horrible things I did there, while there were these Jedi running around the galaxy getting to play heroes to *other* people? it was very easy to hate them for being absent from my life."

[Dapper Dog]

"So you were trained by the Sith?" he asked.

[Layne Hoshin]

"I was," she said, watching for hints as to what he thought of that revelation. "Graduated from the academy on Korriban and went on to be the apprentice and enforcer of a powerful Darth before he struck me down. He thought I was dead, used my corpse for shady propaganda, and I finally managed to make a clean break."

[Dapper Dog]

The young man was shocked and was quiet before he said, “Well if you are a Jedi now then they see the good in you. I don’t always understand them but I trust them. What’s it like coming from the other side I guess?”

[Layne Hoshin]

"Weird. Not as easy as I thought it'd be, but I'm making it work. Beats being either angry or scared all the time. The Jedi aren't perfect, and some of them can be downright insufferable, but they make for a far better life than what the Empire and the Sith offer."

There was a slight pause.

"Don't tell any of them I said that last part, though."

[Dapper Dog]

“Sure, your secret is safe with me, master Jedi,” he said a bit confused at who he could tell… well he knew one person but that would be a whole conversation he didn’t want to have.

“Revan redeemed himself, and he became one of the most remembered heroes of the Republic.”

[Layne Hoshin]

"It's not a story the Sith will tell you about," she said, "that's for sure. They'd view that kind of redemption as weakness. All they care about is what gives them power and strength, anything that detracts from that they view as a cancer to be cut out. It's a very limited view of the Force."

[Dapper Dog]

“Well that’s why we keep fighting them,” the young man responded confidently.

“One day they will fall.”

[Layne Hoshin]

"Only to be replaced again. It's not a war that can be won."