Kamda

Jyvress resumed her work, this time focusing on the planet's known customs and history. She went over public records, trade route charts, exploration missions, and anything else about the region and planet itself. Finally her attention shifts to a more general study of the information...but by then she was tired and it had begun to show!

[Outer Rim and Education in this thread Rolls are viewtopic.php?f=37&t=348#p2774]

He didn't notice Jyvress at first, entering the library and heading to the section for Xenology. He began skimming through the available information before locating what he was looking for. Taking the data to a table, he sat and began brushing up on the section for Dakwoko's species. He wanted to familiarize himself with the information. Medical texts were always full with unexciting detail, but that was the most important part of this particular task today. Eventually he took a break and looked around the library, noticing the woman he had met with the two urchins days ago.

He moved to sit nearby and greeted her in library volume. "Good afternoon. Getting a bit of learning in?"

A little bleary eyed from her own intensive study, Jyvress startled at the voice. "What....who?" Her head snapped up and a little panic set in as she recognized KSF. The librarian calmed quickly when she remembered the kindly doctor. "A little light reading," She said from her little stack of data. "Reviewing some history and customs of the planet here, never know when it could be useful."

"Looks like a bit more than a little light reading," he replied with a smile. "A doctor can easily notice the signs of stress and overwork. You need to rest your eyes for a minute every now and then or you'll strain them. I remember when I first sat in the library reading similar subjects about this world."

She smiled, "Is that your professional opinion." Jyvress leaned back and stretched, "Alright...fine." She stood up, "Want to take a short walk around the stacks?"

"I'd be curious what your take on Kamda is."

"Sure," he says, standing up and leaving the text at the table. "But are you more interested in my take on Kamda or my take on Kamda's current status?"

"Let's go with both." She waves a hand in front of her face, "But...mostly the former." Her path was not with out purpose....as would become obvious when they round a corner and there....up against the wall was Jyvress's target. The source from which flowed the promise of clarity and vigor. The font of bitter joy and overflowing warmth.

THE CAF MACHINE!

"Well, I haven't had as much time as I would like to explore the wilder areas of the world, but what I've seen has been beautiful. I've gone out with some KSF patrols responding to distress calls from the desert and mountains in my time. Took a hiking vacation a few years back as well. There's still a lot here that has been untouched," he explains. "Somewhat typical worlds with younger colonizations."

"But I've spent most of my time in the city. The people here like to look out for one another. I got the first hint of that when the KSF performed an independent investigation on my behalf after my initial arrest. Cleared me of piracy charges and got me freed. That's why I joined them, to do my part helping folks in need. Every world's got it's different classes and folks in different situations, but Kamda's got a thing about taking care of it's people. Rough parts of town here are not as bad as they are on other worlds, even less than the big metropolis cities on core worlds."

He lets the lady get her caf first, before going for some himself.

"True, down on your luck and friendless on Courscant usually ends badly. Or well...really that is true for a lot of worlds. I guess it is a result of some of the shared misery the planet has had to endure." Jyvress pours herself a cup of caf then steps back to let Tosath have a turn at the machine. "Was the investigation before or after the Empire replaced the old head of KSF?" She had uncovered that much at least.

"It was very shortly after. Most of the KSF members were still salty about their commander being forced out and still held fast to their values and beliefs. It's taken time to erode them to what they are now, but even still a good portion of the force believes in the mission they were created for. But Imperials exert a lot of influence and put more compliant people in leadership positions. But that's why the Imperials had to go themselves to the mines and couldn't trust the KSF to come along I imagine. There's still a good amount of sentiment that defies Imperial influence. The force complies with basic requirements placed on them by the Empire, but they don't push too hard because that would probably lead to a massive portion of the security force leaving and reinforcing elements the Empire considers undesirable," he says, putting forth his opinion of the way things are.

"The problem with putting pliable folks in positions of leadership in the KSF is they can also still be plied by their friends and comrades to not do stupid things that would harm their friends and family. I think the Imperials feel like they have more control over the KSF than they really do, and the KSF feel like the Imperials have less control over them than they really do. It's all a political balancing act. But we're far enough from the Empire's center of power that they're not willing to eliminate the KSF and prefer to keep them around in their original mission to keep folks calm. It's terrible, but at least people aren't being shot down in the streets for perceived threats. Not really any major fighting since the Angel's, which is a little before my time here. A tense peace."

"The situation can always degrade and rapidly," Jyvress remarks taking a sip of caf, "Everyone sees the Stormtroopers and warships but the Empire, like any nation, has its more subtle elements. And when one is concerned with power sometimes a few 'accidents' and 'unfortunate occurrences' will occur to your opponents. If the KSF's current leadership is currently pliant its because that works best for the Empire at the moment."

"That's assuming of course some of those you think of as pliant aren't agents or assets for the Empire trying to lure out the more subversive elements."

"I imagine the more subversive elements tend to avoid active service with the KSF. Probably view us as puppets. I'm not going to say their viewpoint lacks merit, because even the most well meaning people can be duped into acting against their own good intentions. But I will say that the desire for most KSF members is to do right by their community. Like most paths though, there's a lot that are just in it for the check and any large organization's gonna have corrupt officials. But that doesn't represent what we want or stand for as a whole."

"I got relieved from work early today because they're expecting protests later. They're having me come back in just in case injuries occur. But if I felt for one minute that the Imperials were forcing the KSF to suppress the protestors or trying to start something, I'd be right by the people's side. The day my uniform means the same as a stormtrooper's uniform, I'll toss it. But until then, I'm going to be working to make sure it means something better for the people of Kamda."

"It's always easy to say that." Jyvress shrugged then looked into her coffee, "But its not always easy to tell when you go from public servant to public enforcer. And by the time you realize, well where else could you go?"

"And people's opinions change. Not every one who would be called subversive believes themselves such. The Empire's definition is broader then what you or I might mean. Even small sympathies are cause for suspicion."

"Harder to realize for the folks carrying weapons for sure. But when you're a doctor that's taking care of everyone, regardless of their ideas, you only become the enforcer when you refuse to treat someone. I've got the benefit of being able to watch my fellows and see if they're walking the wrong path rather than being caught up in the flurry of just following orders. But even when someone gets caught in that trap... I'm not going to abandon them. I may not like stormtroopers, and I may want to see them gone, but if I found one bleeding out in an alley I'd still try to save them. Everyone's got their own beliefs, but a healer's most important belief is in the sanctity of life."

"You'd be surprised how even those who carry no weapons can adopt the...path the Empire follows," Jyvress swirled her caf then took a sip, "I admire the noble spirit Doctor, but my own experience leaves me a bit more cynical. I may not stick a knife in a dying stormtrooper....but I won't shed a tear or lift a finger to help them." Even as she said that there was a pang of regret...but no she had to harden her heart.

"They make their choice and put themselves in harm's way. But while they may treat people with cruely I won't allow myself to lose my compassion. That is their failure, not mine, and I can't let myself become like them."

"And when the stormtrooper you treat kills someone important to you?" Jyvress asks, fixated on the swirls she was making, "What then?"

What Jyvress was able to discover, looking into the Outer-rim, is more of the nature of the trade arrangements, agreements, and disagreements of the outer-rim that lead to the base being originally built in secret. As they supplied their neighbor, Bellionas with raw material that was crucial in the ship-building process' that made Bellionas rich Kamda was protected from blatant attack in the earlier years of the war, when the need was far less apparent.

As well, as Kamda was neutral in the Clone Wars, generally, but allied in trade somewhat with the Republic they were in a position that if a major battlegroup was sent there would have been a battle in the skies over Kamda with the tabs the Republic kept on the world and the trade route.

Unfortunately, tying all of these pieces together was not as effective as she might have hoped. Research to connect separate points she believed were there didn't pan out and a potential theory collapsed. However, perhaps there was a thought that was beneficial when considering the independent nature of this base.

"I can't make the galaxy do what I want it to do. All I can do is my best. Sometimes it deals us a cruel hand. But I can't judge a patient on what they have done or what they might do. That's not what good medicine is. Now, if you put me in a situation where I have to defend myself or others with a blaster, I'm going to do my best to protect myself and and my people. But I'm also likely to try and save anyone I hurt. I can't abandon my compassion, even if the person I'm treating doesn't deserve it, because that just would just hurt me in the long run."

"I am not sure its abandoning compassion, sometimes some people...." Jyvress shook her head, falling into the old trap of her previous life. "I mean, you are a far better person then I, Doctor." She took another sip of her coffee, "So what made you study medicine and dedicate yourself so fully to the preservation of life? The decision about medicine had to have come before your kidnapping."