Chapter Text
Korhan Vilton, representative of the New Republic, on a mission to see if Auratera has a structured enough government to join.
Night was difficult to come by on Auratera, Korhan Vilton was quickly learning. He had read up on the planet before undertaking his mission for the New Galactic Republic, but there was reading that his eyes would be constantly assaulted by light, then there was experiencing it. The man was Kage, his eyes best suited for underground caverns lit by glowing crystals, so he was presently wearing sungoggles to save himself constant squinting, and headaches.
Korhan was an older man, having clear memories of the Empire, and the struggle the Rebels undertook to free everyone from the grip of Sheev Palpatine. That was why he had dedicated his life to the Republic now, serving as an envoy, or really anything they needed. He did not represent his home planet, he represented the Republic as a whole, and was currently scouting this near eternally bright planet to see if they had considered joining. Nothing would be set in stone by his mission, of course, he was just planting seeds.
Seeds, it seemed, that had no soil to take root in. Auratera had been an important location thousands of years before, during the Jedi Sith War, and it seemed to never fully recover. Every village or small city he visited said nearly the same thing, that they had no planetary government, and had no interest in one. They couldn’t join the Republic without a unified way to vote on the matter, and the people did seem happy with the arrangement, something Korhan had forced himself to accept.
“If you do not want to join, I suppose I cannot justify staying away from the Senate and the Chancelor much longer,” he said to the most recent village leader, a woman who appeared to be in her late fifties, steel grey taking over her dark hair almost entirely. “I do thank you and your people for being so polite in your rejection.”
She laughed, the sound of it filling the stone room they were currently having tea in. “We have no issues with outsiders, it is hard to when they tend to just leave. Well, aside from the Jedi. One in particular. But she is kind as well, and brings Fiel Roots from the forest to trade for supplies when she stays.”
“A Jedi?” Korhan asked, leaning forward. He had likely met every Jedi at some point, though most in passing. If you considered the Force users sprinting by as he hid in a hall closet to be meeting them in passing. “Strange. There are not many Jedi left, it is rare to hear of encounters with them.”
“We barely have encounters. It began a few rotations ago. She appears, is polite when she arrives with her roots, and disappears into the forest. She is documenting the Temple.”
Korhan and his attendants thanked the people of the village before they set off into the forest themselves. Perhaps they should have left entirely, but he wanted to know exactly what was going on in these trees, and why a Jedi continued to return year after year.
Luckily it only took the morning to come upon the ancient structure, stone buildings covered in foliage whether they stood tall or lay in the dirt like discarded blocks. Half of the complex looked the same as most of the stone structures of the planets, square shapes, built with functionality in mind, simple and practical. But the other half sent a shiver up the spines of the group, the towers taller, thinner, more jagged. Every angle was sharp, but in a way that almost seemed as if it was trying to emulate the edge of a new vibroblade. The center was a large pit, the edges taken up by a staircase that spiraled down into the only darkness Korhan had seen since his arrival.
“Are you lost?” A voice called, shaking him from somewhat of a trance. He looked up to see a woman, likely in her late twenties, standing across the pit. Her red hair was cropped short, but was a bit unkept and curly, and the dress she wore was clearly of the Jedi, a deep blue peeking up from the base layer. A rounded silver hilt hung from her crowded utility belt. “This isn’t a good place to accidentally find yourself.”
“Ah, the Jedi!” Korhan called, motioning to be followed as he set off to meet her, careful to go on the side of the pit that led to the square buildings. “We were just about to leave, when we heard-my goodness,” Korhan cut himself off as he was finally close enough to the Jedi to clearly see her face. “If it isn’t Brair Redsun!”
The Jedi laughed lightly as she bowed to meet the group. “Kenobi,” she corrected as she straightened, reaching her hands out so Korhan could grip her forearms tightly, beaming at her. “But you are among those who would think of me by my father’s name.”
“Everyone, you must meet this exceptional young woman!” Korhan exclaimed, still gripping one of her forearms as he turned to face everyone, presenting Brair to them. “Brair Redsun, I’m sorry, Kenobi, is the daughter of Mathis Redsun, the first senator of Tatooine!”
“Thank you for the accolades, Korhan,” Brair dipped her head to the man before finally taking her arm back. “But I am really just a Jedi now,”
“Just a Jedi. Aren’t there like, ten of you?” One of the attendants asked.
“Hepta!” Korhan exclaimed.
“It is alright,” Brair assured him. “While there are more than ten of us, we are far fewer in number than before the Empire rose. I mean that I am only a Jedi, nothing too important to someone who has dedicated his life to the New Republic.”
Korhan beamed at her. “Thank you, but I assure you, a Jedi is something exceptional as well. Shall we get out of this light? Those buildings look much more inviting to my eyes. The uh, shorter ones,” he added, giving a quick glance to the others.
~~~
Inside the main stone building was what could be described as a makeshift camp. Very makeshift. A hammock had been set up in a small corner, a few bags of things set out in a bit of a disorganized mess, and there didn’t seem to be any cooking set up. But what it lacked in comforts it made up for in datapads, and real life books. Books, and something Korhan could only guess was used for writing. “Are you, writing?” He asked, looking at a stone table with sheets of something covered in Aurebesh laid out all over it.
“Oh yes, I am,” Brair said, letting a little pride come through her tone. “This is an ancient Jedi Temple, the other buildings were erected by the Sith.” That did explain the horrible feeling they had all experienced looking at them. “I am currently researching it in my free time. I’m the head archivist for the Order, and that also means I have to find the data and information to archive. The pit you passed, Aca’s Funnel, leads to a vergence in the Force.”
Korhan knew it had been a long time since he had seen the young woman grow up on the Senate floor, going from a young teen nearly hiding behind her father to a woman just entering adulthood, but he could never have expected her to end up here. “I would have expected you would be the waybetween for the Jedi to the Senate, not this.” He tried not to sound condescending about it.
“Every job is important to the Order. The Jedi Archives were once the most extensive in all the known galaxy. It is my life’s work to set up a foundation so future generations can continue to build upon it.” Brair explained, undaunted. “It’s been such a long time since anyone has defined me by my father, I forgot that this would be shocking at all.”
“Uh, Miss Jedi?” A voice asked from the back of the group. A man came forward, his hair as red as Brair’s, though his skin was far paler. “You said you go by Kenobi. You are the granddaughter of the Stewjoni Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, aren’t you?”
She smiled widely. “I am.”
“I had wondered how you ended up being from a planet of the Outer Rim, with such heritage from the Deep Core.” Korhan added.
Suddenly several stone chairs from around the room slid over to the group, guided by Brair’s outstretched hand and the strong presence of the Force. “I have a bit of time,” Brair sat on the floor as the others took seats in their chairs, both ankles sitting uptop her knees. “It is a story that begins in the era that we are only lately learning the truth of, the early days of the Empire.”