A/n- This is the first appearance of Rutger and Lilina's daughter Marilyn! (The joke is that her name is like Mark and Lyn put together) I have an idea what she looks like, it's the description in the first paragraph, but I haven't made/found/or commissioned any references for her yet. If anyone is interested then hit me up, but I'm sure she'll have a face eventually since I have more ideas for stories with her in it. Enjoy!
The Commission Files- File #a1334 Story Time
Characters: Rutger, Lilina, Marilyn (Rutger & Lilina's daughter)
Based on: a commission by SnippyAsianGuy on Twitter
"Okay Marilyn, it's getting late. Time for you to go to bed." Rutger said softly as he picked up his five year old daughter up away from her toys. She was a cute child as to be expected from parents such as hers. She had long and straight hair just like them and it was brown, though a bit of a lighter shade than Rutger's. You couldn't tell from afar but her striking green eyes and shock of green hair on the left side of her face told you that her Sacaen heritage was still going strong as well. Hopefully she wouldn't have to face the same tribulations her past generations did because of it though.
"But Papa! I'm not tired! I can keep playing for a bit longer! Please!" Marilyn begged. Normally this would work but Marilyn needed to sleep well tonight because she was going to be around more children her age since the Lycian League members were having their annual meeting tomorrow.
"Perhaps that is true, but if you use all your energy tonight then you won't have any to play with Elinore tomorrow." Rutger countered. Elinore was Roy and Guinevere's daughter who was only a few months younger than Marilyn.
"Oh alright." Marilyn pouted before coming up with an idea to stay up a bit later. "Papa? Will you tell me a bed time story? I always sleep better when you tell me a story before bed."
"Of course, but let's get you ready for bed first." Rutger agreed. So he helped her get into her pajamas and tucked into bed before pulling up a chair so he could tell her a story. "What kind of story would you like me to tell you?" Rutger was actually quite good at telling stories, given that his father Mark had done the same for him when he was younger.
"Hmmm, oh I know! Tell me a story about what happens in the stars!" Marilyn said excitedly. "What kind of people live up there? Do they have fun adventures?" Rutger wasn't expecting such a request so he had to think about it for a bit before starting to tell the story.
"Well, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far way there were two powerful adventurers. They had magic swords that could cut through almost anything and could lift and move things into the air with their minds. One day they were travelling out in space when..."
Jedi Master Lili-Na and Jedi Knight Rut-Ger were currently travelling to the planet of Gallia on a diplomatic mission. Recently the Jedi Order had come into contact with the Tellius system of planets and this was one of the planets that reached out to accept visitors. The planet was very green and the scanners let them know it was filled with dense forests, but neither of them had any idea what the people would look or act like.
"Well, they reached out to us so I hope they are friendly at least." Lili-Na noted.
"Even if they aren't, we know our way around a fight. Especially since I'm not picking up much technological readings from the planet." Rut-Ger commented. He was the more aggressive of the two, and part of that was why he was still just a Knight when Lili-Na was a Master even though they both became Jedi at around the same time.
"Right. Don't you think that's strange though?" Lili-Na wondered. "How did they contact the Order without much technology? Maybe they have some people down there that can use the Force, that would be interesting wouldn't it?"
"As long as they don't end up being Sith, though I've always wanted to test my strength against one." Rut-Ger replied.
"I'm not sensing much Dark Side energy from the planet, so I doubt it." Lili-Na told him. "You really need to calm down about fighting a Sith, if you keep thinking about it eventually the darkness in your heart will overcome the light."
"Yes, of course, you're right as usual." Rut-Ger sighed. "I'm glad I have you around to keep me level-headed."
"And I'm glad I have you around when the fighting does start, not many Jedi Masters have friends personally trained to master advanced Juyo techniques like Vaapad." Lili-Na complimented. "Now, shall we find a good place to land our ship? There must be a decently sized patch of non forest somewhere on this planet." So they consulted the ship's computer and eventually found a safe place to land in a small clearing near the equator of the planet. The two made sure they were presentable before exiting said ship and stepping out onto the planet's surface.
"The air here is a bit thicker than normal, must be because of all the trees and plants." Rut-Ger commented, his expertise in outdoor survival showing a bit.
"But it's quite fresh as well, I always love coming to planets that don't have a lot of factories yet, it's like the planet is just how the Force wanted it to be." Lili-Na noted. "But we can admire the nature later, we need to find this kingdom somehow."
"Maybe we should be looking for smoke?" Rut-Ger suggested. "Obviously they don't have factories, but they probably still use fire to cook their food or for warmth."
"That's a good idea." Lili-Na agreed as she scanned the area. "Oh, I think I see a smoke pillar over that way!"
"Let's make sure we leave a tracker here so we know how to get back." Rut-Ger said putting one on the ship so it wouldn't get lost. Then he felt something in the Force. Lili-Na felt it too and they both immediately looked up in the air to where the feeling came from, but all they could see were a few large birds hovering over their heads. "I have a feeling we might be being watched from somewhere."
"Me as well, keep your guard up." Lili-Na agreed before they began to trek into the forest. They walked for about half an hour until they came across what looked like an animal. It looked like a very large cat and it was sleeping soundly.
"I'm getting an odd feeling from this cat." Rut-Ger commented quietly so it wouldn't wake up. "Kind of like it's hiding something."
"Hmm, well I'm sure we can ask about it when we find the kingdom." Lili-Na replied. But as soon as she said the word 'kingdom' the cat woke up and started hissing and growling at the pair, sizing them up to see how dangerous they were. In response the two brought their lightsabers to their hands and activated them, Rut-Ger's was a bright purple while Lili-Na's was the more traditional blue.
"Go on, shoo! You don't want any of this." Rut-Ger said pointing his blade at the cat to see if it would scare it off. It didn't work and the cat continued to come closer.
"It probably doesn't realize what the lightsaber can do to it." Lili-Na noted. "Here, cover me while I try to reach out to it with the Force." So Rut-Ger made sure that the cat couldn't get to her as she meditated and felt the Force flowing through her.
"Okay Mr. Cat, we don't mean you any harm so you can leave us alone." Lili-Na called out to the cat hoping she could sway it to leave. "We're just here to meet some important people on a diplomatic mission, nothing you need to worry about."
"Well, I'd say I'd have to worry about it, considering I'm one of the castle guards." The cat suddenly spoke in response to hearing Lili-Na's voice in his head. "Are you two the representatives from the Jedi Order we were supposed to be expecting?"
"We are." Rut-Ger answered tentatively. "Is this a planet full of talking cats, or are you someone using the Force to project your voice into this cat?"
"Well, considering I don't know what this Force is, I'd say probably the former." The cat sassed back. "But just to make you a bit more comfortable I'll take a form you can better understand." And with that the cat slowly transformed into a more human-like form. He still hat cat ears and a tail, but he was standing on two feet and was wearing clothes. "Welcome to Gallia, home of the Laguz."
"Laguz you say?" Lili-Na pondered. "Well, I can certainly say that I've never seen or heard of any beings like you before, it's going to be really interesting learning all about you and your people."
"Huh, that's not the response I was expecting considering the last of your type that landed here." The cat replied.
"What do you mean by that?" Rut-Ger asked since to the Jedi Order's knowledge this was first contact with this planet.
"Some people like you with the same glowing swords came around about a year ago and started messing up the forest before we wiped them out." The cat replied. "Though theirs were red."
"That means the Sith do know about this system!" Rut-Ger blurted out.
"The Sith?" The cat wondered.
"An evil faction bent on the domination of pretty much anything they set their eyes on!" Rut-Ger continued. "We the Jedi are their sworn enemies, protecting the peace wherever and whenever it needs to be done!"
"Speaking of being peaceful," Lili-Na said placing her hand on Rut-Ger's shoulder to tell him to tone it down. "we are here to see your leader and to discuss how to proceed between your planet, the Jedi Order, and the Republic of Planets at large, so if you could introduce us that would be great."
"Yes, of course, right this way." The cat said before leading them to another, larger clearing with a few more buildings and such strewn about. "We don't have much use for many buildings, we usually just sleep outside most nights unless it's raining too hard."
"Sounds like a nice life, I used to do the same before becoming a Jedi." Rut-Ger noted.
"It has it's perks." The cat noted. "Speaking of perks though, can you two transform into other forms? I only ask because the only other people we know that can speak into another's mind like you did are the Heron Laguz that patrol the skies."
"No, we're just us, nothing more than that." Lili-Na answered. "Other than our connection with the Force which is what lets us do such feats. Maybe these Herons of yours are in tune with it as well?"
"That would explain why the Sith would be interested in a low tech planet like this and why it felt like we were being watched this whole time." Rut-Ger added.
"Wait, you two could sense that the Herons were watching you?" The cat wondered before realizing what he admitted to.
"Well, not exactly, but now we know." Lili-Na replied. "Though I don't blame you, if I had Sith on my planet before I'd be wary of visitors as well."
"Hm, then I guess it's time for me to give up the act then." The cat said, his posture changing to a more regal one that made him look even larger than he already was. "I am the leader you are looking for. King Ranyre of Gallia at your service. You Jedi have passed my test and I believe that you are who you say you are. Now, let me introduce you to my royal council and we can start hashing out details about how to proceed." So the rest of the day was filled with talking and explaining how the Jedi Order and the Republic of Planets worked, but also with copious amounts of eating and getting to know each other personally. The Laguz were a really fun people and Lili-Na and Rut-Ger were having fun through all the discussion. Eventually night fell and it was time to cool off and rest.
"Do you mind if we call our ship and have it land over here so it's closer?" Lili-Na asked the king. "We don't want it to bother the natural ecosystem or anything like that."
"Of course, that's a wonderful idea, my people can take a look over it and see how your technology works first hand." King Ranyre noted. So Lili-Na used a device to call the ship to her location but as it got closer both her and Rut-Ger could sense something wrong.
"King Ranyre! The darkness is approaching!" One of the Herons called out and wouldn't you know it, two Sith with red glowing blades were riding on the top of the ship as it approached.
"Get everyone into the forest, we can take care of these Sith!" Rut-Ger told the king as he instantly grabbed his lightsaber and activated it.
"No! We must stand our ground with you if we are to be partners!" The king stated boldly. "Warriors! Support the Jedi in any way you can! Herons! Sing the galdrs of empowerment! Bards! Remember this moment for future historians!" The Sith jumped off the ship, but pretty much as soon as they did they were on the back foot since they had two well trained Jedi along with two dozen Laguz warriors supporting them. Rut-Ger didn't even have to use any of his Vaapad training to deal with these weak Force users. But it was a good measuring stick to see how strong the Laguz were and how much the Jedi themselves had grown from their training. They all made short work of the two Sith and when the fight was over King Ranyre was elated.
"You Jedi are quite strong! I'm already glad to have you as allies! I hope this can be a good and fruitful relationship for both our people." He told the two.
"Us as well." Lili-Na assured him.
"Though we might want to scan the planet just to make sure those two were the last two Sith here." Rut-Ger noted. "They are a slippery bunch and if you leave just one alive they always end up coming back. Plus they could corrupt your Heron tribe as well, and we wouldn't want that."
"Rut-Ger does have a point." Lili-Na commented. "King Ranyre, do you mind if we stay here a few extra days to make sure that no more Sith are on the planet?"
"Of course, if it wasn't for you two we wouldn't have known of those two that just attacked us! Stay as long as you'd like!" The King said. "We'll make sure your well fed and rested as long as you're here!"
"Thank you, we really appreciate your kindness your Highness." Lili-Na replied politely.
"We appreciate your strength and determination!" The king replied back. "Now, let's set you up somewhere to sleep. Is a tent alright with you two?"
"And that's where I'll leave the story for now." Rutger said finding a good stopping point. By this time Marilyn was just about to sleep but her eyes were still blinking slowly.
"Papa," She said slowly. "that was just a story about you and Mama but in space."
"Maybe, but it was a good story right?" Rutger teased her with a smile.
"Yeah, I love stories about you and Mama, you're so cool. I love you Papa." And with that statement she slowly drifted off to sleep and Rutger stood up and tucked her into bed more tightly.
"I love you too Marilyn." He told her gently before turning to the doorway and seeing Lilina standing there. So he quietly walked over and closed the door to Marilyn's room to see what she wanted.
"Magic swords that can cut through anything and people who can transform into cats?" Lilina teased him softly. "Where do you come up with these stories?"
"Hey, you know who my father was, he even met some Laguz once so I decided to borrow a bit of what he knew to make the story more realistic." Rutger smiled back warmly.
"Whatever you say dear. Now come on, we have to get to sleep as well, don't want to give the League any reason to worry about us tomorrow." Lilina said taking Rutger's hand and leading him to their room.
"Your right as usual, but tomorrow night I'll make sure to get every last drop of stress out of your body, sound good?" Rutger proposed.
"That sounds wonderful."