There's bright red paint all over the outside of the Corellian Sanctuary, one of those rare buildings on Coruscant that stands on its own and just two levels high. Barit Saiy tries to ignore what the paint reads as he scrubs at it.
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It makes him angry, it hurts somewhere deep inside where he's full-blooded Corellian even through three generations. Corellia is home and this is the resting of place of people who just couldn't get there, people like him. He hates this stupid planet.
A noise behind him makes him look up, and as he glances sideways he sees his dad and grandpa stop, too. There's a boy approaching, maybe five years younger than Barit, with red hair and brown robes. Maybe he's a Jedi or something.
At the confirmation, he asks why the kid wants in -- what reason do the Jedi have for being here, after all? It's not like they need help. They've got it sorted themselves.
But apparently the boy's uncle is Corellian. Barit can respect that -- it makes the kid at least part Corellian himself. He looks over at his grandpa and eventually the old man nods and says, "I'll take him."
Ben follows the old man slowly, studying everything he sees in the dim light. The doors had been forced open, he thinks, and when his eyes adjust to the darkness inside, he sees rubble scattered across the floor, signs of the damage the vandals had caused.
It's the ceiling that gets his attention, though. Most of the interior is dark. But here and there the ceiling is studded with diamonds; they look like stars. The old man explains that they're compressed from the carbon left behind after cremations. "That's the night sky as you'd see it from Corellia."
"Why?"
"Corellians who couldn't get home during the New Republic. Next best thing to resting in home soil."
Ben supposes they restored it after the Yuuzhan Vong war, and they did a good job before the vandalism. He looks around at the chunks on the floor, realising that some of the diamonds are missing from the parts that have fallen, and he frowns.
Barit continues scrubbing at the paint as he listens to his grandpa show the Jedi around. The kid seems honest enough, he'll give him that; he really wants to know about the Sanctuary. It even sounds like he's helping to clear up a little inside.
When Barit's done with his current patch of marble, he looks over at his dad and jerks his head towards the doors: can I go see? His dad eyes him, then nods and waves him off; Barit enters the Sanctuary, wiping his hands on his pants.
He stands there for a moment, watching the other two clear up, and the very fact that there's rubble to clear up makes him angry again.
"We can't stand by and let them get away with this."
He expects the answer Coruscanti and he gets it. He's been keeping his mind open to the Force but hasn't picked up anything in particular, so now he reaches out but all he can really feel is vague anger. It's not concentrated, not even aimed at a specific outcome.
Mindless violence.
Thoughtfully, he asks, "You know who did this? Then you ought to tell the CSF."
"Yeah, like they'd really take that seriously, I don't think." Barit snorts. "Not when they're looking for Corellians who planted a bomb."
He watches as the boy picks up a broom, and smirks when his grandpa takes it from him. The old man's worse than Barit himself, he knows that; he really was born on Corellia, a true stubborn native, and hates it even when Barit and his family help him with things.
The boy walks out, apparently taking the hint, and Barit follows. He sits and holds out his hand as he says, "I'm Barit Saiy."
They talk about being Corellian and taking sides, and it confuses Ben a little. He's not on anyone's side as a Jedi, not really, but Barit says everyone's going to take a side.
He says it's like the Empire all over again; that he hates the Alliance and Coruscant.
"I was born here. So was my dad. My folks own an engineering workshop in Q-65. Never even been to Corellia, yet."
That doesn't matter, though, but Ben doesn't seem to get it. Sure, Barit could live on Corellia if he really wanted to; could even move himself, now that he's eighteen.
But that wouldn't stop the Alliance treating all Corellians like scum.
Ben doesn't get it -- but he wants to, he really wants to. He reaches out with the Force -- maybe, if he can understand Barit's feelings, he'll understand the Corellians in general -- but it doesn't reveal much. Mostly anger, though there's an undercurrent of something more, something worse, and it worries Ben slightly. Why does Barit feel dangerous?
"They said on the news that the bomb went off in the room of a Corellian man over here on business."
"The government. CSF. Galactic security. They do that kind of spy stuff. If they plant a bomb and blame it on us, then it gives them an excuse to attack Corellia."
It worries Ben again that Barit appears to believe this, but he can't deny the small thrill of sharing such a conspiracy, of being treated almost like one of Barit's own -- like a Corellian.
Shrugging, Barit considers. He knows what his family and friends think, and he's smart enough to gauge most of the Corellians on Coruscant -- things don't really change much among them.
"There's a lot of us," he points out. "And enough don't want to be dictated to by the Galactic Alliance."
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It makes him angry, it hurts somewhere deep inside where he's full-blooded Corellian even through three generations. Corellia is home and this is the resting of place of people who just couldn't get there, people like him. He hates this stupid planet.
A noise behind him makes him look up, and as he glances sideways he sees his dad and grandpa stop, too. There's a boy approaching, maybe five years younger than Barit, with red hair and brown robes. Maybe he's a Jedi or something.
"What d'you want, kid?"
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"I wanted to look inside, sir. Is that okay?"
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"You a Jedi?"
At the confirmation, he asks why the kid wants in -- what reason do the Jedi have for being here, after all? It's not like they need help. They've got it sorted themselves.
But apparently the boy's uncle is Corellian. Barit can respect that -- it makes the kid at least part Corellian himself. He looks over at his grandpa and eventually the old man nods and says, "I'll take him."
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It's the ceiling that gets his attention, though. Most of the interior is dark. But here and there the ceiling is studded with diamonds; they look like stars. The old man explains that they're compressed from the carbon left behind after cremations. "That's the night sky as you'd see it from Corellia."
"Why?"
"Corellians who couldn't get home during the New Republic. Next best thing to resting in home soil."
Ben supposes they restored it after the Yuuzhan Vong war, and they did a good job before the vandalism. He looks around at the chunks on the floor, realising that some of the diamonds are missing from the parts that have fallen, and he frowns.
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When Barit's done with his current patch of marble, he looks over at his dad and jerks his head towards the doors: can I go see? His dad eyes him, then nods and waves him off; Barit enters the Sanctuary, wiping his hands on his pants.
He stands there for a moment, watching the other two clear up, and the very fact that there's rubble to clear up makes him angry again.
"We can't stand by and let them get away with this."
Reply
He expects the answer Coruscanti and he gets it. He's been keeping his mind open to the Force but hasn't picked up anything in particular, so now he reaches out but all he can really feel is vague anger. It's not concentrated, not even aimed at a specific outcome.
Mindless violence.
Thoughtfully, he asks, "You know who did this? Then you ought to tell the CSF."
Reply
He watches as the boy picks up a broom, and smirks when his grandpa takes it from him. The old man's worse than Barit himself, he knows that; he really was born on Corellia, a true stubborn native, and hates it even when Barit and his family help him with things.
The boy walks out, apparently taking the hint, and Barit follows. He sits and holds out his hand as he says, "I'm Barit Saiy."
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They talk about being Corellian and taking sides, and it confuses Ben a little. He's not on anyone's side as a Jedi, not really, but Barit says everyone's going to take a side.
He says it's like the Empire all over again; that he hates the Alliance and Coruscant.
"You live here, though."
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That doesn't matter, though, but Ben doesn't seem to get it. Sure, Barit could live on Corellia if he really wanted to; could even move himself, now that he's eighteen.
But that wouldn't stop the Alliance treating all Corellians like scum.
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"They said on the news that the bomb went off in the room of a Corellian man over here on business."
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"They would say that, wouldn't they? I bet they did it themselves."
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"What do other Corellians here think?"
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"There's a lot of us," he points out. "And enough don't want to be dictated to by the Galactic Alliance."
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Ben knew it already, but he still has to repress a shiver.
"So you'll be going back to Corellia to join the armed forces, then."
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