Jo🍉

->Padawan Joan Ferrara at your service!

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

[Roleplay account for a galaxy far far away, side account to @only-my-unexistent-fiances]

🍉✧ ᴊᴏᴀɴ ꜰᴇʀʀᴀʀᴀ ->

-> Padawan leaner specialized in mechanics (blue beads on Padawan braid)

-> Green lightsaber

-> Master Ist'ar Nova's pupil

-> Grand Padawan to Master Shaak Ti

-> Number 1 quesadilla enjoyer

-> Trying to make the most out of my training while simultaneously leading a battalion

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

[OOC: Oh god this is so long. I’m sorry lol, I hope you enjoy it, this is the closing chapter for our quesadilla lover on this server. Goodbye, Jo, you were a wonderful experience.]

[The following recording belongs to a no longer recognizable transmission line. It’s very likely that it’ll be taken down in a few hours, as it contains graphic content and involves situations that are not taken lightly by the new Galactic Empire.]

[Three beeps. Static. Video transmission starts.]

[The camera takes a bit to get adjusted to the light. The view is almost entirely white at first, but then slowly changes enough to make out four silhouettes. Finally, Padawan Joan Ferrara’s face comes into view. They squint their eyes in concentration, adjusting the view, then smile once it becomes something of their liking.]

[The other two silhouettes are those of their master and an arc trooper. The three are dressed in republic issued winter clothes, with the exception of the padawan’s scarf. Its patterns are something of local nature.] 

[From the perspective the video is set in, it’s evident that the padawan is the one holding the recorder, as it was their usual.]

“You guys will not believe this!” [The padawan’s face got closer to the camera in an awkward angle that made their eyes appear bigger.] “We just got news that General Kenobi is on Utapau after General Griveous. This might actually be the end of the war!"

“Padawan, who are you sending this to?” [Jedi Master Ist’ar Nova spoke.]

[The angle and position of the recorder shifted, again allowing a view of the three individuals.]

“No one, master. I programmed it for later.”

“You schedule those now?” [The trooper asked, leaning towards the recorder and probably staring at his reflection on it. He has a big star-shaped scar over his left eye, which he seems to be blind from. His hair is slightly longer than that of a usual clone.]

“Only this one. Just in case the war doesn’t end today, I don’t want to take it down later and look like a clown to my followers.”

“You do that enough already, John.” 

“Quit calling me that in front of the recorder!”

[The master scoffed, making both of them stare back at her in startle.]

“Just have faith, you two... I have a feeling things are changing.” [Her face shows little emotion, as well as her serious tone. If one got close enough to the pixels making up the image of the transmission, they’d discern the conflicted look on the chiss’s face. The woman stayed silent in thought.]

“I just assumed that feeling came from the fact we haven’t seen droids in like three weeks.” [It was the clone who answered.]

“Community work suits us best anyway.” [Then Padawan Ferrara.] “Get used to it, Tauri, we’ll be more than war machines when General Kenobi gets the job done. It’s like she said; have faith.” [Joan elbows the trooper.]

“Maybe don’t refer to us as “war machines” while the recorder is still on, Joan?” [Then the master, again. Her voice sounds mildly scolding. The recorder shifts in place, and as the padawan gets it off the holder on their wrist.]

“Right. You’re right. Sorry. I’ll see if I can cut that out later—”

[They continue to walk. The view behind them shows a snowy landscape with giant trees of red and pink leafs. The vegetation seems to withstand the low temperatures of the region.]

“We’re walking back to our camp.” [The redhead explains. The more they speak, the lower the scarf that used to cover half of their face starts to sit at. Their nose is red.] “It’s not that far from here. I mean, it wouldn’t be if we used the shortcuts I’ve found."

“We won’t risk injuries just to save time. Just keep walking, patience is a virtue.” [For the first time in the whole recording, the master’s voice is more than monotone. She laughs.]

“I know. I happen to keep getting more and more virtuous as the war goes on.” [The padawan answers. Their tone is not sarcastic, but reminiscent.]

“It’ll be over soon, commander.”

[There’s a sudden movement of the camera. The padawan stares to the side, to someone outside the frame. The clone had pushed them, lightly so, but enough to make them frown.]

“That’s the spirit.” [The master speaks, also out of the frame.]

[There’s static. The view is blurred. A few seconds pass, as the screen turns blank. It’s not a fault in your device. The transmission was interrupted, probably from an incoming one on the padawan’s own device. You don’t stop it, the video is barely halfway through.]

[You’ve heard about it in whispers on the streets, read it in conspiracy notes on forums. You might already know what it is.]

[Roughly 10 seconds pass until it resumes. By the looks of it, it takes on really close to where it left before the “glitch”.]

[The padawan stares at their device, confused, then at the other two people outside the frame.]

“What was that?” [they ask, whispering, and lowering their hand down. The angle now focuses on their winter coats and boots.] “Mas–” [They were interrupted.]

“Centauri?” [Master Ist’ar called.]

“Hey, man,” [the padawan asked, with deep concern in their voice, it wasn’t necessary to look at their face.] “What’s wrong? What are you–”

[There’s a quick flash of blue. It comes and goes accompanied by a loud and acute metallic crack sound. It’s undeniably the sound of blaster fire, for those acquainted. Following that comes an ignition, also in blue. It’s quick to appear, but it stays. Lastly, a static collision. The fire was deflected.]

[The recorder struggles to portray correctly what happens next. The sound is muffled, and the view is partially covered by snow, but what takes place in frame is sudden, quick and violent. By the looks of it the jedi has fallen off the white path, and rolled down a small hill. There’s a loud thud, accompanied by the cracking of branches and the crunching of snow.]

[A few short seconds pass when a pair of boots come into view.]

“Master?” [The padawan’s voice is heard, but they’re out of view. The recorder seems to still be held by them, from how clear they sound in comparison to the rest of the world around them.]

“Get up.”

[Their clothes and the snow create a ruffle sound. They are rubbing it off their body.]

“Master, what was that?” [They sound breathy, their voice is shaky, out of focus. They probably hit their head while falling down, or knocked the air out of their lungs.]

“I don’t know. I threw you both out of the path after he fired.” [She too is out of breath.] “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Can you walk?”

“I think so.”

“Sorry, Jo, I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay… What… What are we going to do?”

“Let’s try to reach the camp before he does. Okay? …How about we finally take one of your shortcuts, hm?”

[The screen goes blank again. There’s static. It lasts a bit longer than before. Though, when it finally resumes, the camera is no longer blocked by snow.]

[It takes a bit for the shaky sight to make sense. But there’s a chase going on. The view moves like a pendulum, back and forth, sideways, as the padawan holding it runs. Their master seems to be beside them.]

[The sound of blaster fire grows in the distance, more than one this time, like a cacophony of mismatched drumming. It echoes through the red and pink leaves of the Arkanian forest.]

[The transmission fails again, cutting itself for seconds that for the locutor might’ve been minutes or even hours. There’s no way to be sure. There’s static, prolonged. The video resumes. It looks darker now, but it’s still daytime.]

“Are you sure it’s this way?” [The master speaks, unsure. She’s out of the frame. They both are. The recorder might be back on their wrist by now.]

“I am.” [The padawan yells back. The next is silence.] “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“Just— Please, master, place your faith in me. That’s all I ask. If only for once.”

“Joan, I… Okay.”

[There’s a sigh. It’s not obvious whom it belongs to. They keep walking in silence, it lasts about thirty seconds.]

“I don’t see a path.” [The master whispers after a bit.]

“It’s another shortcut. I’ve used it several times since we got here.”

[There’s a certain weight to those words. Something in the way the padawan said it. It was a confession.]

“I thought I’d told you not to.”

“Does it really matter now, master?” [The padawan talks back, shakily. Maybe the situation is uncomfortable. It sure sounds like it. Maybe they’re just tired from walking in the cold.]

“It’s a sith library!” [Her voice sounds angry, scolding.]

“And now our shelter!” 

[The recorder raises along with their arms as they shake them up and down in exasperation. There’s blood on the snow behind them, tiny stains along their footprints.]

[Blank. Static. Resume.]

[The place is dark, dimly lit by a small fire to keep both master and padawan warm enough for the Arkanian night. The floor is clear of snow. They’re inside a place that looks familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Its floors have patterns that look like star maps, and its walls are covered by murals and bookcases of all sizes. It must be the place they discussed before.]

[They’re silent, both. Sitting across each other. Or so it seems, assuming the recorder is still on their wrist. The Master stares at the flames, her expression quietly sad. They stay like that for the whole five minutes this segment lasts. It gets interrupted by a blank view, and static. Again.]

[Another chase. There’s only one pair of boots in this one. The sun is starting to come out, by the looks of the background.]

[A loud thud. White. The padawan has fallen on the ground.]

[They drag themself over the snow, breathing heavily. The movement causes the recorder to focus on them for the first time in a few minutes. They no longer wear their wintercoat, what’s in view is their characteristic red-blue robes. There’s bruises and blood on their face.]

[There’s tears on their cheeks. They grit their teeth as they push forward, and a blaster shot is heard again in the background, echoing through the forest. They cover their head, and get out of view.]

[Static.]

[Snow. Not white. Not anymore. There’s a growing stain in its surface; dark carmine red. In the frame, there’s something. Someone’s laying off the frame, their hand is the only thing coming into view. The blood is theirs. His. The hand is gloved in black, and attached to its back is the white plastoid of a clone’s armor. He doesn’t move.]

[Powerful rays of sunlight creep through the leaves in the distance, shining their light on the snow and making it shine like stars in the firmament. It sets itself on the wide blood pool, and makes it glow with the clearness of morning. A new day has risen for the newborn Empire.]

[Static.]

[The screen goes blank, and then a very clear message appears on your screen.]

[It reads: This transmission is no longer available.]

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

I just woke up.

The sun hasn't even risen yet, I've barely slept for like two or so hours?

I think there are ghosts of some kind here.

Not necessarily the type to appear floating and go "boo!", but like I'm pretty sure there are whispers of something trapped inside this walls, and maybe even inside other things.

Can't they see I'm trying to sleep, tho.

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

Hello again!

I'm not doing another audio transmission because the signal's kinda weak here-

But I'm already at the temple and I managed to go past the first door.

Funny thing, it almost looked like the actual door (the one inside, at the end of a long hallway) was all crumbled down, but it wasn't!

I was right.

I put my lantern down on the floor and started inspecting, found some interesting looking patterns and after messing around some more, they started glowing.

The door built itself back together and it opened.

There are more patterns on the inside. I tested them out too to see if they had the same function (which they did) and concluded I won't get locked in here.

I mean, this was kind of a "public" library similar to the Archives in the Coruscant temple. So, yeah it shouldn't have any top security stuff.

Another thing I want to point out is that there are so many books written in ancient basic, which will make this very worthy! There's of course some more in what looks like an ancient arkanian dialect. Then the rest is probably sith language.

OH, and did you know (you probably didn't), that this library is 5 square kilometers big? No wonder when we first arrived I thought this was a hill.

Anyways, I'm gonna set up my camping spot. It's already getting dark and the ice covered window ceiling isn't exactly filtering enough light.

Gonna keep on updating you guys so you know I'm not dead.

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

[Static]

[Three beeps. Audio transmission starts.]

It's Padawan Ferrara, setting off for the sith library!

[Joan stays silent for a few seconds. There's sounds of snow being crushed, probably squeezed under their boots.]

Okay, uh... It's around two hours away from the fire line, if you walk at a reasonable pace, I think.

[They mumble some stuff that the communication device doesn't quite catch, but it has something to do with the amount of snow they're trying to walk past.]

Right, I'll tell you what I've heard from locals while I walk.

So, I'm probably not pronouncing it correctly, but the library is known as Veeshas Tuwan, which, I don't know if it means something. I'm not exactly proficient in sith language, you know?

[Suddenly, their voice comes out in a higher than usual pitch]

Oh! You guys can't see this, of course, it's an audio transmission, but there's a little rodent looking thing jumping around in the snow with a tiny fruit between it's paws... How silly...

Sorry, back to what I was saying...

After the end of The Great Hyperspace War, the library, along with other Sith, uh...

[Joan's volume lowers.]

What would be an appropriate term...?

Vestiges, I guess, of the sith empire, got either sealed or left to ruins or... Destroyed, by the newly formed Republic.

This library has been left frozen for many, many years, with only the main entrance being available, since it appears to be sealed on the inside to prevent its exploration-

[There's a loud thud, and then Joan's voice is heard, muffled by snow covering the microphone. It's very likely that they fell.]

Blast!

Stars, okay, got it, I need to watch my step more carefully.

[Then there comes the sound of clothes ruffling, signaling that they're up again.]

From what I've heard, I think it can only be open by solving a few puzzles or tricks of such. But only by someone force sensitive.

I'll give that a shot.

And, I know what you'll say-

"Joan, it must be sealed for a reason!"

"Joan, there might be traps!"

"Joan, are you brainless?"

Yes, I know. Yes, I know. And, no, I'm not.

Although I said this was a "temple school-ish fieldtrip", I know stuff like these are serious, and I plant to treat them as such. I also know better than to mindlessly roam around a trigger a trap. And I can't be brainless if I'm my squad's recurrent strategist.

I hope this doesn't end up in an emergency pick up, tho...

Oh right. Rotations in Arkania are 18 hours long, so I don't have much daylight left.

I'm planning on staying the night inside the library.

Sounds fun, right?

Right...

[Their breathing seems to have turned ragged in the last couple of sentences. The temperature seems to take a toll on them as they keep walking, so Joan stays silent for a bit.]

Alright...

[Their voice lowered to a whisper.]

To the five people listening to this, thanks for tuning in! I think it's time I stop talking. I need to save my breath for this.

Arkania, please treat me kindly!

Padawan Ferrara, out...

[Three beeps. Audio transmission ends.]

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

Going to explore that sith library I talked about, instead of resting like my clone medic suggested, bcs my anxiety and hyperactiveness don't let me stay in one place for too long.

You'll see, guys, you'll see.

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

I was joking around with my squad when I realized it's already been 3 years of working with them

On one hand, oh my stars, these guys are like family now

On the other... Wdym the war started when I was 14 and now I'm a few months away from turning 18?

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

Guys there are remnants of a HUGE old sith library in the planet I'm stationed at

Should I... Yk...

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

Centauri threw me into a frozen lake, I don't believe him when he saw it was an accident

How do you accidentally pick someone up and yeet then off?

Anyways

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

Just when Coruscant started feeling like spring, I got deployed to a frozen planet, again.

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

Did you guys hear about Master Yoda ESCAPING THE MEDBAY?

Like, yo, I didn't know he had it in him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Can I use this to justify my personal record?

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

The banking clan was... dissolved?

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

Uhm, so, does anyone have news on what the hell is happening with the banking clan?

I am a bit warry of asking the actual people investigating cause they'll probably say it's confidential right now, but, people must be have heard of rumors I haven't myself

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

I didn't think I'd spent life day on the front, but, well, last year it happened on space lol

So much has happened, actually, since last year...

I was looking through my transmissions while I didn't have any signal and it got a few good laughs out of me. I hadn't realized how much I ended in the med wing- (and how many I escaped from it...)

There won't be a big dinner for me since once again, the war has made it impossible for me to make it in time to the temple (rations will do the trick), but okay, there will be a next time

Next year, hopefully, this will all be over, and I will help cook a nice dinner for the younglings.

Next year it'll be.

For now, spending time with my battalion makes me feel extremely lucky, though :)

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

Hi! Sorry for the inactivity.

I had a fever that almost killed me because of some outer rim frozen planet...

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

There was a talk today, for every Padawan present to hear, and I believe something really sweet happened there.

Master Obi-Wan was explaining to the children how our beacon signal works, what the code is, and all that stuff... He said something along the lines of "it just means to come home"

And a youngling asked where we're all going, if we come from so many different places and stuff

He replied something like "your home is here, the temple, Coruscant"

And the kid's expression after that answer was just so... I can't even :(, I love younglings so much

Anyways, they now know that if ever they hear it, it probably means that war is over, and we can finally come home. To rest.

-Padawan Joan Ferrara

[wires-and-baby-wipes]

The Republic Holonet-o-sphere really doesn't speak enough about the destruction of Kromus. A whole planet, populated by billions, annihilated from orbit by a fleet commanded by a Jedi General with no stops and checks from normal human (or alien!) military leadership. Such peacekeepers of the Galaxy!

[wires-and-baby-wipes]

[snip]

Assuming you're telling the truth, then yes, the whole planet being torn apart is not likely to have resulted just from the bombardment. But that's only assuming what you say about the breadth of the bombardment is even true.

What we (the CIS public) know is that there was a fleet of Republic ships present by Kromus, they engaged in a space battle with a CIS fleet, and the Republic fleet bombarded a region in the southwestern hemisphere of Kromus. Anyone on CIS worlds can tell the results of the bombardment, because we have millions of refugees from the Kro'eval system, and that's only those who were lucky enough to have transport off-world! According to them, the CIS fleet present tried to save as many as possible, but it wasn't long before the atmosphere became too dangerous to fly in.

I'll acknowledge that it's possible that the destruction of the construction facility and the mantle drill was part of what caused Kromus to be torn apart. It almost sounds plausible, considering we're talking about a machine that was specifically designed to damage a planet's mantle. But even if that were the case, that Jedi General was the one who called the bombardment, and you can't absolve yourselves of that responsibility no matter how much you'd like to.

Anyway, it's really convenient that whatever factors lead you to think the CIS "machinated" the whole thing can't be shared. Really boosts your credibility.

[joan-loves-quesadillas]

The CIS hasn't made public, official an/or report-oriented communications on the matter either.

I'm not defending the outcomes of the conflict, or saying the republic management is full of saints, but I don't find it wise to blame the destruction of a whole planet on one single power structure either.