"How's that?" Rey held the pad up and the master gestured to ST-51.
The droid peered at the careful lines and circles and answered in his soft tinny voice, "A significant improvement from yesterday."
Ka'Mar nodded but Rey frowned, "I don't understand why I need to learn to write if all I want to do is read. When will I ever need to write?"
The master sat back in his chair beside her bed and considered, "I understand, Lady Rey-"
"Don't call me-"
"-that you are a pilot."
"Yes."
"And a mechanic."
"Yes."
"And do you find that being a mechanic- that is understanding the inner workings of the machines you pilot- makes you better at piloting?"
The frown deepened, "I suppose. Knowing how far you can push an engine or how a wing will hold up to a sharp climb lets you pilot a craft to its limits."
"The idea is similar. In understanding the inner workings of creating something to read, you can understand the works themselves better."
"How?"
"If you know how a sentence is written, or how a paragraph is constructed then you can see the choices the writer has made more clearly. And those choices will tell you something about what they want to communicate to you. The same way that in a conversation the things people don't say are as important as what they do say."
Rey sighed and flopped back into her pillows, "For someone who claims that they aren't a Jedi, you certainly talk like one."
His voice was amused, "And how does a Jedi talk?"
"Talking to a Jedi is like trying to stab a sand flea with a knife."
He laughed outright at that. "To learn we must first understand what we do not know."
"Now you definitely sound like a Jedi."
"How ancient do you think I am, Lady Rey? The Old Republic was gone before I could remember it."
She sat up slowly and studied him, propping her chin up in her hand. His violet skin was pale and gently wrinkled. His eyes were covered by a strip of fabric. How old was he? She couldn't say. She didn't know that many Twi'Lek. His left lekku was missing, almost a third of the organ gone. She took a breath, "The- he said you'd teach me anything I want to learn."
"Yes, or if I don't know I will find you a teacher."
"What do you know about the Old Republic?"
"Ah, that is an interesting subject. But also a very large one. What specifically do you wish to know?"
"How did it fall?"
He nodded slowly, "Let me do some research. I know some but I want to be thorough."
Laying back down, she sighed, "Alright."
He reached out a hand, and the droid stepped to his side to offer a steadying presence, "I will return tomorrow."
In that moment, he seemed old enough to have witnessed the birth of the Old Republic.
"Tomorrow we're landing on Dureshk." She reminded him.
"Are we?" He looked surprised, "In that case, I'll meet you in the garden."