Yaliwen "Yal" Tor
Profession: Pilot
Age: 23
Appearance:
Force Sensitive?
Mildly - she has an innate intuition for danger and heightened reflexes, as well as a vague sense for the emotional temperature of a room. It's only particularly pronounced when she's acting on instinct, like when drunk or scared.
Equipment
D-88 Blaster Pistol (Small Sidearm, Concealable)
Metal Flask (Contains Jet Juice)
Lethisk-Class Freighter (2 Laser Cannons, 1 Concussive Missile Launcher)
Brief character bio
Grew up on Felucia. Ulwuochla khi Galush. Pa was a trader, had a pretty sizeable operation under his belt. Didn't have much ties to his roots - that was always more of ma's thing - but he had a knack for business, and he did what he could to give us a good life in a place like that. Always talked about what it could be, the potential of it all. Planet smack in the middle of a cluster of growing Outer Rim worlds. Never amounted to much above a modest life, but -
Modest life is the best you can ask for, yachiei?
For my life, it was just the four of us. Pa, ma, me, and Awarani, my little sister. We lived a happy life. Simple life. Didn't care much for the rest of the world, didn't wanna care. Then they came. They didn't seem much, bundled up in their dirt-brown robes. Hobbled older woman and a boy who couldn't have been much older than me. First thought was they were an auntie and nephew lost and looking for a place to fuel. But there was something else. Something off. Something about the way they moved, about the way they talked, that seemed a lot less unassuming. Almost - a sort of pride. Arrogance, even. It didn't sit right with me, no matter how calm they talked, no matter how much they smiled.
They called themselves Jedi.
Ma was ecstatic, of course. Vui ikmachhak khoe t'h wiucha. She'd told us about people like this, peacekeepers of the galaxy, protectors of the weak. By the way she looked at them, you'd think they were gods come down to eat at our table. Pa was uncomfortable. Shifty, trying to cut conversation short. They asked a lot of questions, and he really didn't wanna give a lot of answers at first. By the time he realized they weren't here for his business, though, he seemed to relax a bit. They were awful interested in Rani. Talked to her a lot. After dinner, they asked if they could speak with her alone, and when they came back, she was smiling like a star.
That was the last day I saw her. She was like them, they'd said. She could learn to be more like them. Do good. Inspire. Ma agreed instantly, but Pa was hesitant, til they slipped him something and said a bit in his ear. He was smiling too, then. Everyone was smiling except me. Was selfish to think it, but - I was jealous, at the time. Ma made these people seem like gods among mortals, then they whisk Rani away to be with them? I wasn't upset they took her, I was upset they didn't take me too. She got away, and I was stuck here, stuck on a backwater planet with a future of flying ships to planets I'd never visit, seeing lives I'd never have. It was unfair.
Pa took me under his wing, after that. I was his legacy now. I had to keep what he made going. He taught me to fly, how to move goods, what to say to the portmaster when they asked what you were carrying. He showed me how to patch a hull crack, how to kickstart a reactor, how to get my hands dirty when I needed to and how to hide them behind my back when other people were looking. I learned money. I learned the spin.
And I learned how miserable Pa was day in and day out. How much he relied on other people to get by. How little he scraped by. It was a tiring life, a stressful life, and the more he shared it with me, the more I wanted nothing more than to leave. I grew resentful. Why was I the one stuck with this? Why did Rani never visit?
Years had passed when we got our first message. It was her again. After all this time, it was her again. She was safe, she was happy, she was learning, and it was a hard time, but she didn't mind it. She was an apprentice now. She couldn't really talk, much, and they didn't want her visiting us. Something about commitments. Letting go and moving on. It seemed a load of womia, to me, but I was just happy to hear from her again. I was jealous, sure, but I didn't hate her. Could never hate her. She wrote sparingly, over the next few years, but I cherished every little bit we got. She talked about libraries larger than Pa's biggest ships. About learning to understand the world around you, and to sing to it, and to make it sing back. And she talked about whispers.
I didn't pay much mind to the rumors of her fellow Jedi. It didn't matter to me. Rani's life was far more important than some silly gossip. Honest, I wish I had, because the next letter we got wasn't from her. It was simple. Short. Curt.
Rani was gone.
Silly, that someone who hadn't been in our lives for years could shatter us so much by leaving again. Ma was quiet for weeks, crying in her room. Pa was angry. He turned to the bottle, as he always did, but this time he yelled. Not at us. Never at us. Just - at things. The cockpit. The stars. The mirror. He'd shout, and he'd hit the wall, and he'd grumble under his breath whenever he wasn't shouting. Me, I just felt empty. They took her, then they took her twice over. Wasn't she just an apprentice? What did that mean, to them? How was she in any danger at all?
At night, when Pa was passed out on the couch, I'd slip a bit of his alcohol, and I'd take it outside. I'd lay on the roof, watching the faint glow of the trees bleed into the sky, and I'd sip at it. And by fate, when I did, I almost felt her. It was like she was almost there, just out of reach, the perfect, sweet little Rani I used to know.
I'm not sure what the exact spark was. Pa and me had argued, I know, but we'd argued before. Maybe it was him threatening to lock up his liquor. Maybe it was the shame on his face when I told him I wanted nothing to do with any of his business. Maybe it was the hurt on Ma's face when I told her they were the reason Rani was gone. Whatever happened, that night, I left. Took some credits, took some food, took some booze, and took off in Pa's fastest ship. It was a little thing - not one he used for any big shipments - but it was something that made him happy, and I wanted to hurt him as much as I could. Was I a bit harsh?
Maybe. Was I a bit rash?
Maybe.
But when I saw the stars bleed into darkness as I jumped, I felt more free than I'd felt in my entire life.
Course, a girl needs to eat, and maintaining a ship isn't cheap. I started taking odd jobs. Courier routes. Smuggling. Shuttling people to where they needed to go. It didn't pay well, but it paid enough, and more importantly, it was my choice. If I wanted to take a week off to visit a planet I'd never seen, I could. If I wanted to work without sleep for three days straight, I could.
Back then, I thought the Jedi taking me away would mean freedom. Now, I know the truth.
Freedom's something you can only really take for yourself.
Profession: Pilot
Age: 23
Appearance:
Force Sensitive?
Mildly - she has an innate intuition for danger and heightened reflexes, as well as a vague sense for the emotional temperature of a room. It's only particularly pronounced when she's acting on instinct, like when drunk or scared.
Equipment
D-88 Blaster Pistol (Small Sidearm, Concealable)
Metal Flask (Contains Jet Juice)
Lethisk-Class Freighter (2 Laser Cannons, 1 Concussive Missile Launcher)
Brief character bio
Grew up on Felucia. Ulwuochla khi Galush. Pa was a trader, had a pretty sizeable operation under his belt. Didn't have much ties to his roots - that was always more of ma's thing - but he had a knack for business, and he did what he could to give us a good life in a place like that. Always talked about what it could be, the potential of it all. Planet smack in the middle of a cluster of growing Outer Rim worlds. Never amounted to much above a modest life, but -
Modest life is the best you can ask for, yachiei?
For my life, it was just the four of us. Pa, ma, me, and Awarani, my little sister. We lived a happy life. Simple life. Didn't care much for the rest of the world, didn't wanna care. Then they came. They didn't seem much, bundled up in their dirt-brown robes. Hobbled older woman and a boy who couldn't have been much older than me. First thought was they were an auntie and nephew lost and looking for a place to fuel. But there was something else. Something off. Something about the way they moved, about the way they talked, that seemed a lot less unassuming. Almost - a sort of pride. Arrogance, even. It didn't sit right with me, no matter how calm they talked, no matter how much they smiled.
They called themselves Jedi.
Ma was ecstatic, of course. Vui ikmachhak khoe t'h wiucha. She'd told us about people like this, peacekeepers of the galaxy, protectors of the weak. By the way she looked at them, you'd think they were gods come down to eat at our table. Pa was uncomfortable. Shifty, trying to cut conversation short. They asked a lot of questions, and he really didn't wanna give a lot of answers at first. By the time he realized they weren't here for his business, though, he seemed to relax a bit. They were awful interested in Rani. Talked to her a lot. After dinner, they asked if they could speak with her alone, and when they came back, she was smiling like a star.
That was the last day I saw her. She was like them, they'd said. She could learn to be more like them. Do good. Inspire. Ma agreed instantly, but Pa was hesitant, til they slipped him something and said a bit in his ear. He was smiling too, then. Everyone was smiling except me. Was selfish to think it, but - I was jealous, at the time. Ma made these people seem like gods among mortals, then they whisk Rani away to be with them? I wasn't upset they took her, I was upset they didn't take me too. She got away, and I was stuck here, stuck on a backwater planet with a future of flying ships to planets I'd never visit, seeing lives I'd never have. It was unfair.
Pa took me under his wing, after that. I was his legacy now. I had to keep what he made going. He taught me to fly, how to move goods, what to say to the portmaster when they asked what you were carrying. He showed me how to patch a hull crack, how to kickstart a reactor, how to get my hands dirty when I needed to and how to hide them behind my back when other people were looking. I learned money. I learned the spin.
And I learned how miserable Pa was day in and day out. How much he relied on other people to get by. How little he scraped by. It was a tiring life, a stressful life, and the more he shared it with me, the more I wanted nothing more than to leave. I grew resentful. Why was I the one stuck with this? Why did Rani never visit?
Years had passed when we got our first message. It was her again. After all this time, it was her again. She was safe, she was happy, she was learning, and it was a hard time, but she didn't mind it. She was an apprentice now. She couldn't really talk, much, and they didn't want her visiting us. Something about commitments. Letting go and moving on. It seemed a load of womia, to me, but I was just happy to hear from her again. I was jealous, sure, but I didn't hate her. Could never hate her. She wrote sparingly, over the next few years, but I cherished every little bit we got. She talked about libraries larger than Pa's biggest ships. About learning to understand the world around you, and to sing to it, and to make it sing back. And she talked about whispers.
I didn't pay much mind to the rumors of her fellow Jedi. It didn't matter to me. Rani's life was far more important than some silly gossip. Honest, I wish I had, because the next letter we got wasn't from her. It was simple. Short. Curt.
Rani was gone.
Silly, that someone who hadn't been in our lives for years could shatter us so much by leaving again. Ma was quiet for weeks, crying in her room. Pa was angry. He turned to the bottle, as he always did, but this time he yelled. Not at us. Never at us. Just - at things. The cockpit. The stars. The mirror. He'd shout, and he'd hit the wall, and he'd grumble under his breath whenever he wasn't shouting. Me, I just felt empty. They took her, then they took her twice over. Wasn't she just an apprentice? What did that mean, to them? How was she in any danger at all?
At night, when Pa was passed out on the couch, I'd slip a bit of his alcohol, and I'd take it outside. I'd lay on the roof, watching the faint glow of the trees bleed into the sky, and I'd sip at it. And by fate, when I did, I almost felt her. It was like she was almost there, just out of reach, the perfect, sweet little Rani I used to know.
I'm not sure what the exact spark was. Pa and me had argued, I know, but we'd argued before. Maybe it was him threatening to lock up his liquor. Maybe it was the shame on his face when I told him I wanted nothing to do with any of his business. Maybe it was the hurt on Ma's face when I told her they were the reason Rani was gone. Whatever happened, that night, I left. Took some credits, took some food, took some booze, and took off in Pa's fastest ship. It was a little thing - not one he used for any big shipments - but it was something that made him happy, and I wanted to hurt him as much as I could. Was I a bit harsh?
Maybe. Was I a bit rash?
Maybe.
But when I saw the stars bleed into darkness as I jumped, I felt more free than I'd felt in my entire life.
Course, a girl needs to eat, and maintaining a ship isn't cheap. I started taking odd jobs. Courier routes. Smuggling. Shuttling people to where they needed to go. It didn't pay well, but it paid enough, and more importantly, it was my choice. If I wanted to take a week off to visit a planet I'd never seen, I could. If I wanted to work without sleep for three days straight, I could.
Back then, I thought the Jedi taking me away would mean freedom. Now, I know the truth.
Freedom's something you can only really take for yourself.