Star Wars: Retaliation (IC)

[Okayanos]

Former General Dan Brovil
Open Space Above Odessen

The planet Odessen appeared in the Nu-class' forward viewport as it dropped out of hyperspace, starstreaks shortening and condensing back into white dots upon an endless black canvas. Dan programmed the ship's autopilot to begin landing, following a mysterious beacon that was being projected from the planet's surface. The signal was faint at this distance, but it was a Republic frequency, one that Jedi used- or had used, Dan supposed, if they were all being hunted now. A blip on the ship's sensors indicated another vessel above the planet, another Nu-class. Dan cancelled the automated landing procedure and took the controls himself, steering his own shuttle towards the other. Dan tried first to reach out with the force, but found nothing to latch onto on the other vessel. No Jedi aboard that one, unless they were hiding their presence. He sank down into the pilot's seat, finding some inner part of himself to center his mind on, letting the old, familiar feeling of Altus Sopor come over him. To allow his connection to the force to deepen, to sink down into it, could make him more difficult to detect by other force users. For all he knew, there could be other Jedi in on the betrayal.

"This is Lieutenant Cornelius Mors from the now defunct Republic Intelligence. I come here as an independent individual. I am here to seek answers. My heart goes to those affected by the genocide carried out, it was not just, if you are hearing this and willing to answer my inquiries please respond, I am willing to land and surrender my fighting capabilities to ensure your safety.

Dan clenched his fist as he heard the transmission from the other shuttle. A Lieutenant serving the Republic, the same Republic that had ordered his own men to murder him in his quarters? Fat chance even a single word was truth. The Lieutenant had admitted himself, he was Republic Intelligence. A spy, trained liar, and assassin. If that man touched down on Odessen, any Jedi down there- if there were any- would be compromised. Dan didn't want to let himself hope that there were others, but the thought snuck into his mind all the same. He'd land himself, but first, he would give a transmission of his own.

"This is Jedi Knight Dan Brovil. Yeah, you didn't get me. Failure must sting. Anyways, your fake sympathies aren't welcome or wanted, so you can sod right off unless you want to see how the Force can rip a ship like that in half. If you land, you'll be treated as a hostile just like the rest of the Republic Army. This is non-negotiable."

After saying his piece, Dan resumed his landing. The winds on Odessen were strong, and there were times when Dan nearly lost control. When his Nu-class shuttle finally touched down, the landing was more forceful than he would've liked. But as he'd always told the 411th, any landing you could walk away from is a good landing. Dan fixed his mask in place and kept his saber un-lit but ready as he left the ship, moving toward the still-present signal coming from the planet.

[The Cyberiad Council]

Vaulik Nevest
Odessen, Wild Space

Only a few seconds were left until Vaulik's shuttled dropped out of hyperspace. His thoughts were plagued with worry. What if this was a trap? He had felt the call through the force, though. But, still... Devro's thoughts ran though is head; what was Order 66? Between Master Kenobi's message and his own anxiety, Vaulik's hand shot out at the last second, cutting off the ship's transponder. If it was a trap, maybe that would buy him a few seconds of anonymity.

The Nu-class then dropped to sub-light speeds, the Devaronian's eyes filled with the oceans and forests of Odessen. He could feel the web of Force that surrounded he planet, even from here; so much life, so much history...and pain... Getting back to the matter at hand, Vaulik fired up the ship's limited sensors. He got a few hits from above the planet; smaller ships, but that wasn't reassuring. They could just as easily be with the new Empire or whatever, rather than other jedi. Vaulik also picked up a beacon of some sort coming from near what he assumed was the old alliance base if his memory served him correctly. More ships were already landed on the surface, worryingly near the source of the beacon.

Grabbing ahold of the controls, Vaulik angled his ship into a steep entry path, choosing a patch of dense forest a few miles from the base and the other ships. His reasoning was two fold: he'd want to approach with caution, and if they were found by the Repub- by the Empire, a smart opening salvo would be to destroy their ships. By putting his a good ways away, he was planning ahead.

Now came the tricky bit. With a calming breath, Vaulik closed his eyes. With his hand on the controls, Vaulik retracted the wings, slowly lowering the ship past the branches with some Force-inspired movement of the controls until he gently touched down.

"Here goes nothing," he thought, lowering the ramp and checking to make sure he had his lightsaber, ready to run the second things turned south.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Inera Atala,
Odessen

The Entropy's Promise exited hyperspace above the mysterious world, with Norl breathing a sigh of relief that they hadn't just killed themselves. Inera looked out at the world below. Temperate, with lots of water and mountains. Good, she wouldn't need glasses for walking around. Norl pulled a monitor from up above him and began to read out data from it. Flicking a few switches, he let it run for a few moments before saying "I've got several smaller craft registering near a metallic structure on that continent, but other than that no sign of habitation. Can't really say anymore than that."

Inera closed her eyes and breathed, reaching out with the force. Sure enough, several powerful force sensitive beings were present on the world. Giving Norl a curt nod, Inera said "Take us down there. I don't feel any presences particularly soaked in evil."

Norl scoffed and said "Evil is relative."

"Fine then. I don't sense anyone who would be inherently hostile to us. Not that there should be, given the message I recieved."

"Not really sure I believe all that magic stuff, beyond you being able to lift things with your mind and such."

"Then by all means, you don't have to. Do the job you were hired for and put me down over near those other ships."

As the pair spoke, Inera's commlink burst to life. Smirking, she said to no one in particular "Well, would you look at that. Take us down Norl, these are friendlies." Norl grumbled but directed the ship down through the planet's atmosphere. Upon landing, Inera took stock of the other ships around her before turning back to Norl and handing him another large credit chip.

Norl pocketed the chip and looked around the area for a second before saying "I'd hate to see you ambushed here..."

Inera looked the smuggler in the eye and asked "I can read your mind Norl. Why do you want to stay."

The smuggler shrugged and said "Can't go back to Hoth, got nowhere else interesting in mind, might as well tag along and see some excitement."

Inera sighed and gestured for him to come along. The two entered the ancient command center and quickly found the room the signal was being broadcast from. Looking around the room, Inera recognized only one face. Without real reaction she gave a quick bow and said "Master Shan, it's been too long."

[The Imperial Republic]

Barriss Offee, former Jedi Padawan
The Republic's Judiciary Central Detention Center
Coruscant

---

She had paced her cell from back to front and front to back more times than she could count. She had counted every flicker of the yellow shielding each morning and every evening. 115 times in an hour. She tried to keep up her strength, focusing on using her body as a weight, pushing herself as the sweat beaded up on her forehead and she could feel the weakness in her muscles purge themselves from within. She was only allowed out of her cell for food, which was terrible and almost not even leaving her cell for. Despite her position in the JCDC's solitary cell, she had found comfort and a silence she grew to embrace. Talking to herself was helping and in time, she would find a friend in it. She retold herself a million times that "the Order was lost and what she did, she did for the greater good." She said it over and over again. When she wasn't counting, she was pacing and when she wasn't doing either of those, she trained. On a handful of occasions, she even tried to meditate, attempting to center herself as she used to with her master, Luminara Unduli. Luminara. A name she had almost forgotten, and a voice she ultimately had. The meditations always failed. They didn't have the same effect on her as they used to. She knew, deep down, that she was never to be a Jedi again and she was okay with that. She would never give another minute to those war-mongers, using the war to their own advantage. Keepers of the Peace? Hardly. Soldiers was now a reality for the Order. Soldiers to be ordered around at the behest of the Supreme Chancellor. She had never known the word hatred while she was a Jedi, never basked in it's pleasure. Now, she soaked in it. She hated the Jedi, she hated everything. Most of all, she hated Anakin Skywalker. The man who struck her down, the man who captured her.

That's when she felt something. A feeling of dread and sadness. It was faint, weak, but still there. It sent chills through her spine and she couldn't determine what was worse. The feeling or the reason for it. She jumped up from the thin layer of cotton they called a bed and walked close to the shielding. She waited there until one of the clones moved by on the small levitating platform used to monitor the prisoners. "Trooper? Trooper, excuse me....I....I need to get out. Please. There's something..." She stopped talking as the armored man pulled up a datapad, swiping his fingers across the screen and pulled up her mugshot. "A Jedi." He said solemnly. He let out a chuckle as he returned the datapad to the ledge it laid on in front of him.

"You know, a part of me wants to let you out. Take you up to the landing pad just so you can see that beloved Temple of yours burning as my brothers put down the last of your traitorous kind." The words of the clone shocked Barriss. Her mouth hung agape and her eyes wide as she tried to determine what he meant. The Jedi were alot of things, but traitors to the Republic? If anything, they seemed the most loyal of it's warriors.

"Wh...what do you mean 'traitors'?"

"CT-66287, leave the Jedi alone. She's on the list."

'What list?" She said, though she was given no answer as the clone chuckled again and moved off to the other cells.

"No, wait! What list!?"

Two Weeks Later

---

She could feel her body wasting away as she laid unmoving on the hard metal table of a bed. She'd gone without food for two weeks, now, and only given minimal amounts of water. She was tired and delusional and despite her failed attempts at meditation, she continued on anyway, if only to give herself a few hours away from the screaming needs of her body. Since her last conversation with the clone, a protective screen of durasteel had shrouded the exterior of her shielding, blocking out all views from the inside and outside. She had been alone, completely alone. Just as her eyes grew heavier and another bout of sleep would finally arrive, the durasteel plate hissed loudly as it slid upwards, revealing a larger platform with three troopers on it.

"Prisoner #88469-A, you are instructed to come with us." Said one of the clones, wielding a DC-15 blaster rifle. She groaned as she rose from her bed and the yellow shielding faded out. All three clones raised their rifles at her and for a brief moment, her heart raced. "Step aboard the platform slowly with your hands exposed to us." She did as asked and as she turned around to her cell, her home, the platform began to rise. The short ride upwards ended at a large durasteel bulkhead guarded by two additional troopers, their blasters also aimed at her. As the door slid open and she walked by, she heard one of the clones. "Traitor." He whispered under his breath, though loudly enough that his auditory processor inside his helmet still picked it up. She walked slowly through the long hallway, passing another checkpoint guarded by two clones and then finally, the door to the outside opened.

The heavy sheets of rain soaked the bridge leading to a landing platform, where an Eta-Class Shuttle sat, two clones flanking the ramp on both sides, though these clones wore the blue and white of the 501st Battalion. She didn't ask any questions, simply continued walking until she reached the shuttle's ramp. Walking down the ramp was a single clone, a Commander by the look of his custom helmet and pauldron. A clone known as CT-0000/1010, or "Fox".

"Get aboard the shuttle, Jedi." He said sternly. She did as she was told, but not before stepping out in defiance with these words: "I'm not a Jedi.".

"We'll find out very soon what you really are." Fox's words sent shivers down her spine as she began to ponder exactly what was about to happen to her. After a brief few moments, the clones boarded with her and the shuttle made it's ascent up into the atmosphere of Coruscant. There, she saw what looked to be a fleet, comprised of thirty Venator-Class Star Destroyers and around thirty-six Acclamator II-Class Assault Ships. Behind the fleet, Barriss noticed more ships jumping in, six Venators and clumps of Pelta-Class and Consular-Class frigates and cruisers. In her time as Jedi Commander in the Clone War, she'd never seen so many ships of the Navy at port. It was almost a dazzling sight, to see the might of the Republic Navy. What concerned her was the fact that with so many ships here at home, who was fighting the war?

"Why are there so many ships in orbit?" She asked one of the closest troopers to her, although Fox beat him to the answer.

"Some of them will ship out in the next few weeks, but most are being decommissioned. The war's over."

"The war's over? How can this be? We weren't even close to-"

"It's not your concern. Stop talking." The rest of the ride remained uneventful as the ship landed aboard one of the many Venator-Class Star Destroyers, this one known as the Albedo Brave, recently returned from the planet Bracca. After landing in the hangar, she was escorted through the ship by Commander Fox and other 501st Troopers. As she arrived to the detention block and entered a large room, square with grey walls, a single torture chair in the center and a single man standing beside it, back turned to her, a Pau'an, wearing unmarked black armor and carried what appeared to be the lightsaber of a Temple Guard. She was thrown to the ground by the clones and as they left the room, she slowly rose.

"Greetings, Padawan." the man said, turning his head slightly to the right.

"I'm no longer a Padawan." She said grimly. The Pau'an chuckled a bit.

"Ah, yes. That's right. I was there. I watched Anakin Skywalker beat you on the Temple's training grounds, smashing you against that tree. It was inspiring. Then you're little speech in front of the Chancellor. I'll never forget it. You know, I believe that in that moment, you changed me, dear Barriss." Her eyes opened wider. The Pau'an turned around.

"You were an instrumental part in all of this. And now, you're being offered something greater." He said as he reached down and took the modified Temple Guard's double-bladed lightsaber. He ignited the blade, but instead of it's usual stern and watchful yellow glow, it was of a deep red.

"By order of the Emperor himself, we are building an Order of our own. The Jedi, who had become so self-centered and power-hungry, are on the run. They tried to take over the Republic, tried to destroy everything we fought so hard for. Now, we are placed in charge of bringing the last of them to justice. Join us."

The look of confusion that she had long worn since leaving that detention center was now wiped clean. "I will.

"Good." He said before reaching out with the force and grasping her tightly by the throat. Barriss choked and groaned as she clawed at her throat, her feet no longer touching the ground.

"But your words are not convincing enough. Lord Vader will want this process done correctly." He moved her to the torture chair and slammed her down into it, it's locks and straps reaching across her as the chair straightened.

"No, please. Don't, listen to me, listen!" She begged as she could hear the chair's power systems boot up.

Her words would soon be replaced by screams and shrieks.

[Audunia]

Afon Ekker and Solia Tane
Odessen

"Thank the Force, I was beginning to fear I might be the last survivor" were the first the Jedi spoke to Afon, and with it Afon's worst suspicions were confirmed. Almost the entire Jedi Order wiped out across the Galaxy, he shuddered as he remembered the cold feeling that creeped over him when he felt the Force recoil, now he knew for sure how deep the wound was. He'd almost got lost in thought when the Jedi spoke again, which he was almost grateful for, self-contemplation came later.

"I'm afraid introductions will have to wait a moment however, it seems more of our Order have found their way here." he added, Afon nodding as the Jedi continued speaking. He remembered seeing the command centre whilst exploring the Temple, yet it seemed far too decrepit to be of any use to them, though he was willing to give it a try. Anything to make sure the Order still lived on. He caught the Jedi's glance at Solia and knew she was going to say something, but the Jedi took off before she had the chance to retaliate, something he was slightly thankful for. Following closely behind the Jedi he remained in silence, reaching out with the Force to try sense other survivors but had little luck, they were either dead or too far away..

Arriving at the command centre, he let the Jedi set about to working on the transmitter. Technology not related to battle was never his strong suit, though he was tempted to offer Solia's help, if he did not think that would start an argument.

""Nothing fancy, but that should at least hopefully help the others to find us..." the Jedi spoke, then Afon finally let himself talk.

"We've an R2 unit in our ship if you think that may be of some assistance in boosting the signal." he said, crossing his arms and leaning against an abandoned console. It was in this room that they waited a while in silence, silently praying that other Jedi had survived and were making there way here and if they did, in what state. Afon's looked down at his robes, found them frayed and some singed by close blaster marks. His boots and trousers were stained by the mud and dew on their walk. After some time waiting, he felt the arrival of people. He nodded to Solia, he drew her blaster pistol and held it tightly. The sound of footsteps got louder and hushed conversation, he almost smiled at the thought of them acting as cautiously as Afon. However, an aura shift in the force unveiled the visitors and he drew his hand from his saber just as two figures came into view.

"My name is Vrudun Tumara" the first figure spoke, a Zabrak male. Afon's eyebrows furrowed for a moment as he scanned his face but couldn't recognise him, not from the first fight at Geonosis nor during the many battles of the Clone Wars. The Jedi seemed far too young for that, almost like a child. "And this is Beli" he added as an Arkanian, equally as young looking as the Jedi walked in, yet Afon didn't sense any force sensitivity from her.

"I am glad you survived, Vrudun Tumara and Beli, I am Afon Ekker, this is Adm-" he caught himself for a moment, he glanced at Solia, seeing she still wore her Republic Navy uniform, thought slightly tattered. There was no use concealing the lie "Ex-Admiral Solia Tane." Afon's attention was draw away for a moment as he could hear more and more people slowly trickling in. He watched an another Arkanian enter and introduce herself to the Jedi, who she identified as Master Shan. Afon quickly realised that he had been speaking with Martius Shan and kicked himself for not recognising a fellow Jedi who had been at Geonosis. He pulled his attention back to Vrudun.

"Tell me, Tumara, your face is not familiar to me, to whom did you apprentice? And how did you manage to escape?"

[The Imperial Republic]

Vrudun Tumara

---

Vrudun looked to the Admiral with a suspicious gaze. Though she wasn't a clone and was apparently an "Ex" Admiral, she belonged to the same Republic that had just slaughtered countless of their kind. He wouldn't cast judgment upon her, yet, though he wouldn't allow his guard to drop around her either. When another Jedi had arrived and labeled the human male Martius Shan, Jedi Master, he was both relieved and embarrassed for not recognizing him when he first set his eyes upon him. Master Shan was renowned as a swordsman, a member of the Council of First Knowledge, and a shining beacon in the darkness that proclaimed that the Order had not yet fallen.

Tell me, Tumara, your face is not familiar to me, to whom did you apprentice? And how did you manage to escape?"

Afon's words rattled through his head as he remembered the fight on Metalorn and how close he'd come to death.

"I was Padawan to Master Jenassa Artine. We fought together on Ryloth, Mygeeto, and Umbara with the 404th Battle Corps. When I ascended to Knight, I departed the 404th and my Master at Atzerri and was placed in command of taking Metalorn." the more he spoke about it, the worse he began to feel as feelings he tried so hard to push down were attempting to re-surface. He cleared his throat.

"We were fighting at Denkoll, trying to push the Separatists out of the city to give us a foothold on the world, give us a place to establish a command center. We had just taken their Anti-Air defenses when....when..." He cleared his throat again. "My apologies."

"When my clones turned on me. I barely made it off the planet. I was heavily wounded and managed to jump to the nearest planet in a Commando Shuttle, Kijimi. By the time I managed a hard landing, I had lost consciousness. Had it not been for Beli, I would have died. I owe her my life." He said. He looked around the room.

[Audunia]

Afon Ekker and Solia Tane
Odessen

Afon listened intently as Vrudun spoke, his eyes showing dislike at the suspicion he seemed to view Solia with, even though he couldn't find much fault in it. The trauma of having what you thought were you allies turn on you would be enough to shake the resolve of any man. His gaze turned to Beli when Vrudun brought up the part she played in his rescue, nodding in some form of thanks to her. When Vrudun got caught up in speaking, he held out a comforting arm and let him continue on.

"Do not apologise, what you went through was a tremendously traumatic thing to have gone through, especially against the 404th, a effective unit if I ever heard of one. We must thank the Force that you were able to escape the clones and, not to mention, that Beli was here to assist in your recovery. Admiral Solia assisted me likewise in my escape and I too owe her my life. The Force finds mysterious ways to help us, wouldn't you agree" he said, though his phrasing was more of a statement than a question.

Behind them, Solia slowly placed her blaster pistol back into her holster and took a seat behind one of the consoles and began fiddling with the various components, hoping to boost the power, though she more wished to distract herself from the disapproving and suspicious looks she had been getting. She paused for a moment and unpinned her admirals insignia and looked at it. She remembered the pride she had felt when she had first been given it, her oath to uphold the Republic, all the battles she'd fought in, the soldiers she lost. All of them in vain and wasted emotions. Confusion and anger seeped into her mind before she placed to pin into her pocket and set back about to work, hoping keeping her hands busy would distract her emotions, she could only imagine what the Jedi could sense coming off of her.

[Dentali]

Berethon Horn
Odessen

"Well then" the voice of Berethon said echoing faintly behind the lost jedi "now that you all look a bit less likely to kill one another...". He emerged from the shadows, showing his expertise with stealth and illusion, "I feared I was the only one left, I too had the clones under my command turn on me."

Horn was almost emotionless as he spoke, years of training and practice at deception, stealth and diplomacy taught him to mask his feelings both in the force and on his face. If he had been troubled by the events of recent days... he did not show it.

[Brusia]

Martius Shan
Odessen
Alliance Base

More Jedi survivors soon began making their way into the ancient command center, and as they did Martius greeted them each with a polite bow. When the Arkanian Knight arrived and greeted him, Martius grinned and replied: "That it has, I'm glad to see you made it Inera." And indeed it was good to see that at least one familiar face had survived this "Order 66." When Afon then offered the use of an R2 unit to help boost the signal, Martius replied: "Thank you, but I am weary of increasing the signal strength too much lest we attract unwanted attention; we will undoubtedly be needing to make additional repairs however, and an astromech would certainly prove most helpful."

Martius listened as the group began talking amongst themselves, and soon reached out through the Force again to feel for any additional nearby Jedi. When it seemed all those who were near had entered the command center, Martius moved to the center of the room and stated: "Greetings everyone, for those who do not know me, I am Master Martius Shan of the Council of First Knowledge. As I'm sure most of you are aware by now, our clone forces have turned against us and have murdered most of our Order. From what I have been able to gather so far, this appears to have been on the orders of the Chancellor, who has used a fabricated 'Jedi rebellion' as an excuse to hunt us down and assume absolute power. Sadly, to do this it appears that Palpatine has abolished the Republic we have so faithfully served and replaced it with a vile Empire, declaring himself to be its new Emperor."

Martius stopped for a moment to allow everyone time to process this information. It would undoubtedly be a difficult pill to swallow, but he felt there was no good way to sugarcoat it; the survivors would need to know the truth of what happened if they were to pick themselves back up and move forward. Taking a deep breath, Martius continued: "Many of you will no doubt be wondering why I summoned you to here of all places; if you will permit me a brief history lesson, some 3600 years ago this planet once served as the capital of an Alliance forged to combat the seemingly insurmountable threat of the Eternal Empire. Organized from within these very walls, against all odds this Alliance grew in strength and succeeded in its fight to rid the Galaxy of the Eternal Empire, allowing our Republic to survive. Now, it falls to us to do the same and once again rid the Galaxy of a new evil Empire, rebuild our Order, and restore the Republic we swore our allegiance to. It will not be easy, but if we strengthen ourselves, forge new alliances, and work together, than by the will of the Force I believe like the Alliance before us we too can triumph against our new foe."

After another moment of silence, Martius continued: "Our first step should be to restore this base to working order; it is likely to be one of the few safe places left for us at the moment, as it hasn't been on any star-charts for centuries, so it will likely be our new home for the foreseeable future." Martius rubbed his eyes for a moment, still exhausted from his Force Call, and realizing many of these survivors were almost certainly in the same boat again continued: "But that can wait for the moment; I know everyone has been through an unimaginable ordeal, so for today I would like everyone to rest. Take some time to honor the fallen, talk with your new compatriots and share your experiences, perhaps take a walk and get some fresh air, but I suggest getting plenty of shut-eye, for tomorrow we get to work..." With that, he bowed slightly to the collective group and decided to take his own advice, making his way back to the former Alliance Commander's quarters to get some rest before he collapsed again.

[Okayanos]

Dan Brovil
Odessen
Alliance Base

Dan had entered the temple complex with little fanfare. He saw other Jedi, still draped in their brown robes, still carrying themselves with the dignity and grace of the masters of the temple. An Arkanian, standing and bowing with such straight posture that he wondered if she had a posture-enhancing spinal implant. The fact that she wore the armor of a Republic Commando gave Dan even more pause than her demeanor. That was not one he needed to interact with, if he could avoid her. Dan's sense of ill-belonging did not subside as others stepped forward, introducing themselves. It was as though they were all frozen in time, snapshots of the Jedi Order as it had been before the war. Were it not for the scars and armor on many of them, he would have believed that this was all a Force vision of the past. And then there was Dan, dressed more like an outer rim bounty hunter than anything that had, or could be, a Jedi. The dirt of Allst Prime still stuck to him on some parts. Dan was grateful for the mask that made him seem as emotionless as the others, as Master Martius Shan, who spoke of genocide and conspiracy, gave a speech as impassionate as any Dan had heard from the councils. He bristled as the master claimed to know that everyone had been through an unimaginable ordeal- Dan felt little assurance that any of these people would understand exactly what kind of ordeal he had been through, and was still stuck in. As the Jedi Master spoke of the strength of their order, Dan's mouth went dry as he realized that he no longer thought of the order as his. Every Jedi gathered in the temple seemed to confirm more- Dan wasn't like them, any of them. These people were not his, nor was this order.

"Share experiences..? As if a bunch of Jedi would be capable of sitting down and having a little heart-to-heart..." He couldn't picture it. Dan had sat beside Clone Troopers on Allst Prime, had taken three long years to learn what real emotional vulnerability was, and how war could bring it forth. Brutus had been more emotional than any Jedi Dan had talked with. This alliance of people that he didn't know, representing an order he no longer belonged with, would go nowhere. Dan could tell that much already.

[Dentali]

Martius Shan
Odessen
Alliance Base

More Jedi survivors soon began making their way into the ancient command center, and as they did Martius greeted them each with a polite bow. When the Arkanian Knight arrived and greeted him, Martius grinned and replied: "That it has, I'm glad to see you made it Inera." And indeed it was good to see that at least one familiar face had survived this "Order 66." When Afon then offered the use of an R2 unit to help boost the signal, Martius replied: "Thank you, but I am weary of increasing the signal strength too much lest we attract unwanted attention; we will undoubtedly be needing to make additional repairs however, and an astromech would certainly prove most helpful."

Martius listened as the group began talking amongst themselves, and soon reached out through the Force again to feel for any additional nearby Jedi. When it seemed all those who were near had entered the command center, Martius moved to the center of the room and stated: "Greetings everyone, for those who do not know me, I am Master Martius Shan of the Council of First Knowledge. As I'm sure most of you are aware by now, our clone forces have turned against us and have murdered most of our Order. From what I have been able to gather so far, this appears to have been on the orders of the Chancellor, who has used a fabricated 'Jedi rebellion' as an excuse to hunt us down and assume absolute power. Sadly, to do this it appears that Palpatine has abolished the Republic we have so faithfully served and replaced it with a vile Empire, declaring himself to be its new Emperor."

Martius stopped for a moment to allow everyone time to process this information. It would undoubtedly be a difficult pill to swallow, but he felt there was no good way to sugarcoat it; the survivors would need to know the truth of what happened if they were to pick themselves back up and move forward. Taking a deep breath, Martius continued: "Many of you will no doubt be wondering why I summoned you to here of all places; if you will permit me a brief history lesson, some 3600 years ago this planet once served as the capital of an Alliance forged to combat the seemingly insurmountable threat of the Eternal Empire. Organized from within these very walls, against all odds this Alliance grew in strength and succeeded in its fight to rid the Galaxy of the Eternal Empire, allowing our Republic to survive. Now, it falls to us to do the same and once again rid the Galaxy of a new evil Empire, rebuild our Order, and restore the Republic we swore our allegiance to. It will not be easy, but if we strengthen ourselves, forge new alliances, and work together, than by the will of the Force I believe like the Alliance before us we too can triumph against our new foe."

After another moment of silence, Martius continued: "Our first step should be to restore this base to working order; it is likely to be one of the few safe places left for us at the moment, as it hasn't been on any star-charts for centuries, so it will likely be our new home for the foreseeable future." Martius rubbed his eyes for a moment, still exhausted from his Force Call, and realizing many of these survivors were almost certainly in the same boat again continued: "But that can wait for the moment; I know everyone has been through an unimaginable ordeal, so for today I would like everyone to rest. Take some time to honor the fallen, talk with your new compatriots and share your experiences, perhaps take a walk and get some fresh air, but I suggest getting plenty of shut-eye, for tomorrow we get to work..." With that, he bowed slightly to the collective group and decided to take his own advice, making his way back to the former Alliance Commander's quarters to get some rest before he collapsed again.

Berethon took in the ruins and his new companions "Do we even deserve to survive this?" said a passing thought in his head. The Jedi were a shadow of their former selves even before the Clone Wars, and during them he had seen the real decay of the order, the complacency, the failures... even the Republic was a relic, overcome with corruption and a bloated government… they had failed so much, so much had gone wrong and went bad over centuries.... Horn could only imagine that on countless worlds the fall of the Republic was being cheered, if nothing else it was a new order in the galaxy and a giant insult to the hated leaders who led the Republic into its decline.

Horn took a brisk walk around the compound, contemplating what had happened, what it meant and what could be done.... "Perhaps" he thought in his solitude "it did deserve to fall, to have something new born in its place... but not this, and certainly not like this. Change for its own sake was not a goal worth fighting for."

He continued to inspect the grounds, avoiding the others to an extent and figuring out what could be scrounged from the ruins, but really it was just him mulling things over. Who could he contact? Where could they go? What allies did they have? What enemies did the empire have? Hundreds of hard questions, and thousands of potential answers.

[Laiakia]

Tuka Tisrygian
Odessen

Grumbling slightly, Tuka took his leave from the rest of the group, instead choosing to wander outside the complex. Passing by a section of collapsed rubble from the roof, made the Padawan think back to the master’s words and the situation that all Jedi now found themselves stuck in. The clone betrayal had only been the tip of the iceberg.

Finally exiting the base, Tuka sat down next to a middle-height tree and leant on it.

‘The order...’, he thought. ‘Everything’s fallen..’

Grasping his one of his sabers and bringing it up to eye-level, Tuka thought more and more.

‘Damn it.. What can a mere group of 9 Jedi do against such reckless hate..’, sighing again, Tuka put a hand to his head and growled inwardly at himself.

‘The Jedi have been the guardians of the Republic for millenia, and now we’re being treated like criminals or maniacs under the notion of one man! This isn’t fair!’

Now Tuka raised himself up, and in a moment of anger and loss of composure, activated his lightsaber and began violently slashing at the tree, leaving easily seen marks in the wood of the tree and causing it to fall over. The Padawan still stood there, saber in hand and breathing heavily.

Taking a couple of minutes to compose himself, Tuka deactivated his blade and began walking away, back towards the base. Casting a glance back to the fallen tree and then to his holstered saber, Tuka thought to himself that letting go and releasing some stress felt nice, even whilst he momentarily gave into something back there, though he would not admit that to anyone.

[The Imperial Republic]

A Moment of Commonality
Vrudun Tumara and Nardrashtasch

---

As Master Shan's briefing had concluded, Vrudun couldn't help but feel inspired. In a time of such wanton death and destruction, the powers of a Master to inspire loyalty, bravery and courage were not something that came naturally to a person. It needed to be earned. While Vrudun couldn't say he knew many of these Jedi and their allies, he knew about Master Shan and to have him here, well, that comforted him. It made him feel as though they would make it. For the first time since Order 66, he didn't feel like he was just surviving. Now, he felt like striking back. As Master Shan departed the room, he looked at Beli.

"If you'd like you can go back to the ship or look around. I'm going to stay here for a while and look around my new home." Vrudun said, smiling warmly at the Arkanian.

"Right. Yeah, I'll head to the Vigil. Honestly, that little hyperdrive hiccup back at Kijimi needs attention. Can't have that happenin' again. Don't have too much fun." She said, winking and smiling at the Jedi. Vrudun nodded slightly in confirmation and looked around the ancient command center, admiring the room's long forgotten monitors. Without a word, he departed the command center, walking straight down the hallway opposite of the entrance. He didn't know exactly where he was going at the moment, but it would eventually take him to the Hangar.

“I hope you can understand me?” Nardrashtasch said from behind and to the left of Vrudun. The wookie had silently approached the other Jedi, his approach deceptive in how quiet he could be if he so wished.

“If so I would like to introduce myself as I believe we have not met before while at the temple or on mission, I am Nardrashtasch,” he said.

If the Jedi before him understood him then great he decided. If not then they would probably try and point him in the direction of of someone who might know his tongue, it’d be a pain if no one here could communicate with him.

Vrudun's eyes squinted a bit as he tried to remember something from his past. He had it. Years before the Clone Wars, in the early months of his tenure as Padawan to Master Artine, they participated in a goodwill mission to Kashyyyk, attached to a Jedi Exploration Corps mission to unearth some ancient ruins alongside the Wookies. It was difficult, but during the nights, Master Artine tried her best to teach the young Padawan some semblance of Shyriiwook, if not to speak it, then to at least understand it. It was frustrating assuredly for both Master Jenassa and Padawan Vrudun, but by the end of the mission, Vrudun could speak fluent Shyriiwook. The problem now was that he'd fallen out of practice for so long and without much contact with a Wookie, much of that progress was gone. He could still understand the Wookie, but repeating his language was going to be an issue. Vrudun would attempt it anyway.

"I understand much. Hello, Nardrashtasch friend. It good at meeting one. I'm sorry by my words. My Shyriiwook not good so much as it used to be."

The hairy and huge face of the wookie before Vrudun basically lit up, it was the Wookiee’s first civilized conversation in days, no weeks, and it was a good thing to not have to communicate with crude gestures and grunts.

“Your Shyriiwook is fine young one, better than that blundering fool of a padawan than nearly crushed me anyways,” The wookie said, gesturing with one thumb towards the padawan.

“I must ask, we have never been acquainted with you but I believe I knew your master once, did you apprentice under Master Artine?” Nard asked. He and Master Artine had never been close friends however they had been acquaintances and had even fought together before,".

Vrudun nodded in confirmation. "Yes Jenassa Artine my Master. She and me fought together many battles. Wisdom she has much of. I hope live she did after clone attack."

“Artine was a fine warrior, it would surprise me if she had fallen.” Nard said, a grin transfixing his face for a half second, only a half second thought for the thoughts that came next wiped it from his face. “Though many things have surprised me in these past weeks. I have encountered those who kill without rage, sadness, or apprehension, they are a rare thing but not entirely absent from the galaxy. But before the clones turned on us I would have named such a wild scale murder by emotionless killers a thing impossible in those of living flesh and thought,” he growled.

As the two Jedi continued their walk towards the Hangar, Vrudun stopped. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Emotions were becoming difficult to suppress, but with his Master's training, he was able to keep them at bay.

"Peace to the fallen of our Order. They've moved up to the Cosmic Force. One they've become now. We honor them by striking back. More Jedi out there. Survivors needed to be finded." Vrudun said in broken Wookie speech.

“They are one with the force now yes, so much death and pain in as felt in the temple that day, it is good to know that they feel it no longer,” Nard said his own emotions locked behind an iron curtain. He of course was feeling these emotions, every living creature did, but he was not going to allow them to guide his actions or thoughts.

“Revenge is not the Jedi way young one, remember that. When striking back you must remember that we strike back to protect ourselves and the people’s of the galaxy from the menace of this new empire, not to seek redress for the wrongs done to us,” he says.

Vrudun nodded in agreement, but only to appease the old warrior. In reality, the surviving Jedi of this new era would need to adapt, if only to survive. They would need to rebuild and they couldn't possibly do that should the Empire relentlessly pursue them. No, the Jedi Order needed to go on the offensive. They've lost so much. Their home, their Councils, the best of them. Revenge is not the Jedi Way? Though he'd never share it with Master Shan nor Nard, but revenge is all Tumara could think about.

The two continued walking, reaching a pair of old and rusted durasteel doors, most likely leading to the Hangar. Vrudun closed his eyes and lifted his hand, willing the Force to open the doors.

The doors began to shake and what sounded like a gust of wind forced the doors open violently, revealing a massive chamber exposed to the outside. As Vrudun walked in, he took in the sight. The yellow markings on the floor were barely visible, dried leaves sweeping through the floor as the wind gently swayed in. Above, one of the lighting units once attached to the ceiling's durasteel support beams was now hanging by what appeared to be cables. Towards the end of the hangar on the left side, one of the catwalks above the landing areas had fallen into a mess of rusted steel and iron.

"Hmm. We've got our work cut out for us." Vrudun said in Basic.

“I will leave you now young one, I ask only that you think on what I said,” Nard said, turning to face the other Jedi. He then bowed his head slightly and smiled before saying, “We will bring peace to the galaxy once more, the people’s of the galaxy shall know freedom again,” he said.

"If I may be honest?" He said in the language of the wookies. During their conversation, he'd paid close attention to the words and their forms used by Nard and the language was beginning to come back to him.

"You were at the Jedi Temple, yes?"

“This is correct, I had been wounded and been confined to the temple to heal. I was there and barely escaped the temple with my life,” Nard said while looking away from the younger Jedi, struggling to contain his emotions for one of the few times in his life. It had become a more frequent situation recently.

“Why do you ask?”

Vrudun waited a moment before continuing his line of questions. He understood how painful it must have been, but he needed to know what happened to his former home.

"Did any escape with you? Anybody? Were you.....were you the only survivor?" Vrudun said inquisitively.

“Others escaped the temple that I know of yes, I am the only one I know of to escape the planet however,” Nard said, his emotions fully under his control once more.

"Ah. I see. I won't keep you any longer." He said solemnly, turning back to admire the view the hangar gave him.

[Audunia]

Afon Ekker and Solia Tane
Odessen

For the first time in his life, Afon had no clue what to do with himself, remaining rooted to the spot as the other Jedi and their saviours began to dissipate from the room. His entire life's meaning, his dedication to the Order and, more importantly, the Republic had been ripped apart like it was nothing. His legs felt weak as he looked at Solia, whose fiddling with consoles had come to a slow stop, holding two wires in her hands, but clearly disinterested in them. She looked up at him and, after a brief silence, spoke first;

"General, you're not looking so good. Take a seat." she said, though it felt more orderly than gentle suggestion. Afon obliged quickly, sinking into the brittle frame of the old chair, a low straining sound emanated from within, protesting at its use. He rest his elbow on one of the armrests and his head sank into his hand.

"I'm afraid I don't feel so good either" he added after a few moments, his eyes facing the central console but focused on a non-existent distance "My entire life has been dedicated to the Jedi Order and the Republic, and it was all for nought. My family snuffed out without dignity, stabbed in the back and left to rot. The Republic..." he let his sentence die in his mouth. He didn't need to finish it. Solia looked up at Afon and could see the pain in his eyes. Despite all his years, he was still never good at hiding his emotions.

"I know what you mean. All my life I wanted to see the stars, I didn't care about how, just that I got to. But with the Republic Navy, serving with you? It gave me a reason to see the stars." she replied, letting the wires drop and raising to her full height, leaning on the console and crossing her arms. "But your family? I didn't know you had one."

Afon let a small smile on his lips, moving his eyes to look up at Solia "I mean the Order. Familial attachments were forbidden, but I couldn't stop myself seeing it as such. You of all people should know that."

"I did. I just thought I'd get you to move on from the doom and gloom." she said, tentatively placing her hand on his shoulder "There's little point wallowing in it when there's things to do. You saw the state of some of these people here, absolutely shattered. They might have their facade of composure, like all you Jedi, but I'd put credits on it they're hurting just the same" she patted his shoulder, his large hand rising up to place it on top.

"Thank you, Solia, you're right. But I fear that my grief is blinding me far more than you think it is." he muttered, his head facing back to the ground "I'm really only just coming to terms with Force's reaction to the death of the Jedi. Escaping the Acclaimed allowed me to ignore it for a time, but this planet is strong with the Force. To me, that feeling of cold, darkness, and the pain has returned with a fury." he rose to his feet, however his legs were still shaky and he placed a gentle stabilising hand on Solia.

"Well do what we did on the Acclaimed and ignore it! If you don't feel like talking at least help m-" Afon cut her off before she could finish talking.

"I'm sorry Solia, but I cannot. This wound is too great, I will need time to come to overcome it." he said slowly. Solia felt her frustration rise. Had the other Jedi Masters not gone about their duties with no hassle? They felt the same thing Afon did, but they were not complaining. She angrily shook his hand off her shoulder.

"If you want to wallow about in self-pity, fine. I'm going to be useful around here and fix this damned place up!" she retorted angrily, walking sternly to the door, before facing back to face Afon. There was a million things she wanted to blurt out in anger at him, but decided it wasn't worth it and instead carried on her way. She hadn't quite realised where she was going until she remembered the R2 unit still on the ship. At least now she had somewhere to go, rather than having to walk back into that damned room.

[Lunas Legion]

IG-110 'Sphinx'
Raxus Secundus

Sphinx stared at the inactive form of his ward. The Super Tactical Droid designated Sentinel remained upright, but the head was bowed forwards, no light in the eyes. It was a similar situation with the red-marked security droids standing by the bunker's entrance, their heads bowed, their arms hanging limp by their sides.

A strange turn of events. Unexpected. His eyes looked over the command room in the bunker, searching for threats, but there were none. He turned away from his ward, peering down at the holographic map that displayed the defence fleet arrayed in the system, labels displaying the forces deployed on the planets themselves. Slowly, carefully, unused to the motions, his metal fingers changed the display, the map being downsized, replaced with a message log of communications from the bunker out to the fleets arrayed around the system.

Complete silence as of 45 seconds ago, where there should have been a flurry of reports coming in. The display was for any organics in the room to allow them to view the sheer quantity of information that a Super Tactical Droid could process, not that there were any present. The conclusion was simple and obvious.

Some weapon had knocked out the Separatist Droid Army's elements at Raxus. He was no Super Tactical Droid, but the implications were obvious. The Republic would not have deployed such a weapon unless they had forces en route to the planet. if there were forces en route to the planet and the Droid Army elements present had been shut down, the ability to resist of Raxus Secundus, and indeed the Raxus system in its entirety, was negligible. The Separatist capital would fall without a fight.

He looked to the immobile form of Sentinel. His purpose had been fulfilled to the best of his ability, and there was no more he could do here. There was no point in attempting to fight the no-doubt incoming Republic fleet. The only course of action was to retreat. Priority one, securing a route off planet. The Separatist Parliament would likely be in the process of evacuating, or if they were not now, they soon would be. If a place could not be secured through being a Separatist war asset, then a place must be taken by force.

He would do what he must.

Sphinx left the silent bunker, plans forming. He had no destination in mind; the destination was irrelevant. That would be dealt with upon arrival.

[The Imperial Republic]

The Vigil, YT-1760

---

After examining the Base's Hangar and walking through a bit more, getting a feel for the layout of the Jedi Refuge, he decided that he'd make the short journey back to the Vigil, both to sleep and check on Beli. Today had been trying and he was indeed exhausted, but he felt comfort knowing he was in the presence of other Jedi, which had become an extremely rare sight practically overnight. Vrudun walked up the ramp, entering the Passenger seating area. It wasn't fancy or had anything that stood out, mainly just two sections of sofa couches. He made his way past and into the hallway. Continuing straight would have led to the cockpit, so instead he turned right, towards the Galley, Passenger Berthing, Escape Pod, and Engineering.

"Beli?" Said Vrudun, calling out to see where the Arkanian was hiding.

"In here, Jedi." He pinpointed the voice as towards the back, right in engineering. He began to walk and as he did, his eyes turned to examine the Passenger Berthing section, where it seemed Beli would take as her own personal cabin. He continued in to Engineering, where he saw the ice-haired Arkanian, cleaning off her hands with a dry rag that once was red, now more brownish. She wore an engineer's jumpsuit, though the upper half was zipped down and tied around her waist, a tanktop shirt covering her abdomen.

"Figure it out?" Vrudun said as he smiled.

"Eh, you could say that. We won't have to worry about the ship delaying the jump, anymore. Buutt you may have to worry about the hyperdrive exploding." She said, trying her best not to smile. Vrudun kept the same face, though raised an eyebrow.

"I'm kidding. These older model Why Tees are about the easiest it can get when it comes to do it yourself ship maintenance. The hardest part is figuring out hiccups in the hyperdrive, which isn''t hard, just tedious and takes alot of time." Vrudun nodded to the Arkanian's words as he walked further in, taking a seat on an empty metal crate that came with the ship upon Vrudun's "purchase". His smile faded and he rubbed his chin, thinking on something. Beli's curious nature simply couldn't handle that look for very long.

"What are you thinking about, Jedi?" She said, throwing the rag to the floor and taking a seat in a chair she brought with her from Crew Berthing.

"I just can't shake it. All of those Jedi in there." He said, nodding in the direction of the Alliance base.

"Yeah, what about 'em?"

"All of their clones betrayed them. All at the same time. No matter what relationship any of them had with their troops, they still tried to kill them. Clones were bred to be loyal. So what could have caused every clone to kill their commanders? I just....I don't understand. For this to be Galaxy-wide..." Beli didn't speak, only nodding somewhat as she also tried to understand the situation.

"And the voice. The silhouette on Cutt's....that was my clone commander. Right before he turned, he got a transmission. A message from a hooded figure. All he said was Execute Order 66 and I could feel the shift in his demeanor. Everything about him changed. Then, he tried to kill me. It was the same for every other clone on Metalorn after that. It was the phrase. It triggered something, almost like it activated something."

"Like, something was hardwired inside of him to respond to that phrase?" Beli asked.

"I believe so. Whatever it was, it was put inside every clone. Master Shan may believe so, but I don't think we are safe, Beli."

"No-one else in the Galaxy knows where Odessen is, I thought? I mean, the Republic will just assume you all died, right?"

"Perhaps. Maybe they will forget about us. But we also need a plan if they do come here. If they do, we don't have enough Jedi to stop all of them. A single Venator can carry two thousand clones, not to mention enough ordnance and bombers to scorch this planet twice. We won't stand a chance."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Vrudun looked down at his boots as he thought of what they could do to ensure they might possibly live through an assault.

"I'm not willing to abandon the Jedi here. Perhaps we move the [i]Vigil north of the entrance, set it down in a heavily wooded area, then cover the top to keep it hidden. If the clones attack through the Hangar, which would be the easiest access point, we can defend there until we get pushed back. Once that happens, we can retreat to the ship and hopefully get away."[/i] Beli smiled as she stood up.

"Since we're on the subject of defense, follow me." She said, strutting out of the room and towards her Quarters. Vrudun followed, curious as to what she was going to show him. When he entered, he saw her open up a metal crate, the same as the one in engineering. She reached within and pulled out a DC-17M Repeating Blaster Rifle, the same carried by the Commandos of the Grand Army of the Republic. Vrudun's eyes widened.

"Where did you-"

"Yeah, I raided that shuttle while you were asleep." She said as she sat the rifle down onto her bed. She reached in and pulled out a DC-15s Side Arm blaster. Vrudun reached out his hand to take the pistol, which Beli gave to him. He inspected it from the mouth of the barrel to the grip. Brand new. Never fired. Vrudun looked up to see her holding two thermal detonators with a smile on her face. Now that he thought about it, it made sense, considering it was a special missions shuttle. Commandos always came prepared. He walked over to the crate and reached within.

"Five spare power packs, two thermal detonators, five field ration packs. No sniper or launcher attachments for the rifle, sadly. I'm glad you raided the shuttle. Now, here's the real question. Do you know how to fire these?"

"Yeah. Beli didn't sound so sure and Vrudun knew for sure she was lying.

"Let me show you anyway. We can spare a pack to help you train with the rifle. That 15 is brand new and since it never runs out of ammo, I'm sure you'll be a professional with it in no time."

[United Islands of Polis]

Lieutenant Cornelius Mors [CALLSIGN: Scarbrand]
Open Space
Present Day

Cornelius heard a garbled transmission, it sounded very hectic, frantic, and aggressive, but nonetheless a transmission. This could have been a local PDF transmission telling him to go away however. The Unknown Regions were a host to many undiscovered civilizations after all. He tinkered with the transponder for awhile to try and capture what's left of the transmission.

"Repeat, repeat. I'm reading you one by two, you're breaking up." Cornelius tried to get them to repeat.

The signal went dead. Perhaps it was a sign that this was not the place. He would leave then. At least at this point he had a new place to check, the Brighthome station. He'd prefer that over returning to Coruscant, if he had to go there he probably would have to have a chat with someone in both the new ISB and Imperial Intelligence, probably with someone the likes of that Krennic fellow too, the supposed new head of the Imperial Intelligence Direct Action Arm, or so the rumors say. With his rather treasonous thoughts he thought it best to stay away from the core worlds, there wasn't much left for him on Carida neither.

Putting his helmet back on, Cornelius switched the standard HUD to a pilot's HUD, one of the perks of the specialized armor given to them. Slowly and carefully he inputted the coordinates for the famed Jedi station, reviewing it three times over, it was perilous to be lost in space, even with the fuel and consumables being more than enough. After gaining enough confidence of not being blasted off into a sun he pushed the throttle to past maximum burn, entering hyperspace once again.

As per usual, Cornelius brought the seat down and got off of it in the modified cargo bay. Walking into the "living quarters" he set the alarm once again to go off an hour before arriving at Brighthome. He looked at the mirror of polished steel and saw himself, the armor clean for the most part except for the five strikes on his left spaulder, the reminder of his team, tired and stressed. The possibility of being found out about having no blind devotion could get him killed, not to mention the kind of security was there waiting at Brighhome. One venator? Three Acclimators? The Pride of the Core herself? He only had one way of finding out.

Lieutenant Cornelius Mors [CALLSIGN: Scarbrand]
Brighthome Station
Present Day

The alarm rang again, Cornelius reluctantly got up again. It was more than enough sleep if he was honest, he felt refreshed, but not as refreshed as sleeping on ground or on a bigger ship like the old Consular Class Cruiser they had, or his time attached to various Sector Army units and their Venators. He went ahead and grabbed a bowl of what he read as MRE oatmeal and ate it. Cold as it was, it was still food. He'd have more time to cook properly anyway, hopefully. After a quick sequence of freshening up he returned to the cockpit and got ready to exit hyperspace.

"Please be a small garrison. Please be a small garrison."

The transition to realspace brought with it the return of natural colors and the eviction of white and blue. To his surprise the initial garrison was small. For now he could see over two ARC-170s with another two landed, for some reason. This could mean the garrison don there was no more than eight, to 32 Clone Troopers, hopefully less. It took no more than two minutes to be hailed on the net for entering the facility.

"Unidentified shuttle, state your business." The voice of a Clone Trooper came about.

"This is Lieutenant Mors, callsign Scarbrand, I'm here to collect information on possible traitor hideouts and eliminate them, orders from Repu- Imperial Intelligence." Cornelius replied back, almost saying the old name of the new organization.

Silence.

Cornelius brought his index and middle finger to the two triggers of the controls. He had at his disposal six laser cannons. If he was fast enough he could take down the two ARC-170s flying in formation and then strafe the grounded ones, then take out the communications array, wherever that was. If he was fast enough, he knew he wasn't and would take immense luck to pull that off, only a few people could do it, if they were still alive from pulling off stunts like that of course.

"You're clear, Scarbrand. Proceed to Hangar One, out."

He took his fingers off the triggers as the ARC-170s flew off in a different direction and continued their patrol pattern. It was the first obstacle to get through at least. Landing was easy since the hangar he landed in was clear. The other two ARC-170s were in a different hangar, the one opposite of his Cornelius assumed. Lowering the ramp he slung the Westar - M5 rifle on his back and stepped off, however three clones came to meet him, one with a data pad in hand.

"We need your identification codes, sir." the clone in the lead spoke.

Cornelius pulled out a pen like device that went into the corners of his old dress uniform, the previous director said to keep it on them at all times since they were going in and out of sensitive buildings and areas, it made sense. He handed it over to the clone who inserted it into the top of the data pad like it were a tissue sample. Luckily he had yet to defect and it was updated, so he could still slip in rather easily, until something changed that is. After a beeping sound the clone removed the device and handed it back to Cornelius who put it back in a pouch on his utility belt.

"Thank you for your cooperation, sir." the clone said and left.

He noticed that they didn't sport any colors, a fresh batch perhaps. Regardless, he proceeded to the archive room. It shouldn't be too hard to find, or maybe it was. Brighthome was a flying library after all. Cornelius had picked out the first library hall and went straight to the central computer in the room. Opening it he searched files regarding planets first, no one would question him since he did state his intentions. He found files on Korroban, Zakuul, and other planets. They related to either the Sith or this Eternal Empire, he copied those to his data pad, maybe they could be useful, but regardless he was sure the Jedi would not be there. This still wasn't what he was looking for, he'd have to search more library halls.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Inera and Dan
Collab between ASC and Okayanos

Inera listened to Martius's speech with open ears, interested to hear what the master was making of the situation. Unsurprisingly he had a history lesson for the group. Inera had known Martius briefly when they were both younglings, but never more than as an acquaintance. With non-descript instructions for the moment, Inera let the human get his rest. If he had sent out the force signal that called the group here he had to be exhausted. Turning to a knight she did not recognize, Inera reached out with a hand and asked Dan calmly "And what's your name?"

Dan watched as the Jedi slowly began to file out of the command room. They were so easily adapting to these new circumstances, so unlike him. His thoughts were only of the homeworld he'd liberated, of those brief moments of reprieve before the 411th had turned on him. It took that long for Dan to realize he'd been clutching his lightsaber's hilt for the entirety of the speech. He could remember the times he'd handed it to citizens on Allst Prime, when one or another had asked to borrow a cutting implement, or simply to see a lightsaber up close. The memories left him staring at the weapon in his hand for a second too long, and he was thankful for his mask as he folded the lightsaber back up and returned it to his belt. "Pull yourself together, damn it." Dan admonished himself. Footsteps towards him returned him from self-insult, and he immediately regretted holstering his saber when he saw who it was. The Arkanian that had caught his eye, every inch the consummate Jedi, nearly complete opposite to him. On top of it all, she wore that Katarn-class armor, a look that held decidedly uncomfortable connotations when one considered who the Jedi had been wiped out by. He supposed it was testamount to the other Jedi's ability to control her emotions and Dan's inability to do the same that she could march around dressed like that without a thought.

"Dan... Dan Brovil." He took the extended hand lamely, feeling a kind of shame of himself. Once more, he thanked his mask for hiding expression that would surely lay his inadequacy bare. "...I spent three years in a campaign on Allst Prime. The order only came down as me and the men were leaving. How'd you survive it?" Share experiences, he reminded himself. Just because he figured most of the Jedi present wouldn't be capable didn't mean he couldn't try.

Inera nodded, not knowing of the world but understanding that fighting was brutal across the galaxy. Allst Prime, wherever that was, was likely no exception. The young man had seen things, but then again so had everyone. Looking around the room, Inera sighed before saying "Can't say I was so anchored for most of the war. I was in a few sieges during the early days, but nothing too crazy. Front Line Combat wasn't what I was so suited to. I was in charge of a Commando Unit for most of the war, flitting from place to place. A lot of espionage, but a fair bit of insurgency and counter-insurgency. Apparently I was pretty good at it because most people started to call me 'The Ghost of Arkania'. In any case, we were on a data recovery op on Hoth when the clones showed their true colors. Took me some trickery and this armor, but I killed my squad and then hired Mr. Hinkath right here as my transport off that iceball." Norl offered a curt nod. Inera continued, "Sorry if I rambled there, it's been three years since I've been able to talk to someone of the order."

"Killed your- I'm... sorry, that must have been hard." Dan doubted that it was, but he had to try all the same. He hadn't been able to make himself kill any of his men. Dan nodded at whoever Hlinkath was- didn't look like a Jedi, that one. "Three years since I spoke to another Jedi too... can't even recall if I've seen anyone here at the temple. What'd you say your name was?" He knew full well she hadn't given him her name yet.

Inera looked the other jedi up and down before replying "Inera Atala. We may have met before, though I don't recall. I didn't spend much time in the temple before the War, and then I was fighting for most of it. Spent most of my time there training rather than making conversation as well. What do you make of these ruins by the way? Interesting history behind them, one I think is more than worth remembering at the moment."

"Atala... you were taken as a Padawan the year before me. Maybe two years." He recognized the name, though not the person attached to it. Dan mulled over the history of the ruins for a moment, before deciding that he felt quite ridiculous with his face-concealing mask on while everyone was settling in. He undid the seal with a quiet hiss, blinking for a moment as the stale air of the ruin hit his face. "...It's a lot of history, and a lot of stuff around here that's too old to work. Makes me wonder if Master Shan's getting senile, calling us all to a place like this. If the Republic finds out what we're doing, and they very easily could, judging by the RI transmission I picked up on the way here, all of this history and all of us get bombarded from orbit." A heavy orbital bombardment would've been Brutus' strategy for dealing with hostile force wielders, at least. Dan wasn't enthusiastic about having his clone captain feeding information about him to the Republic's new leadership.

"I agree" said Inera calmly, "If there's one thing that my time in the war has taught me, it's that no signal is untraceable. I'm not sure what this new Empire might have up it's sleeve, but I don't think for a second that we should assume they didn't hear Shan's force signal. Not much we can do though. The entire galaxy is going to be looking for our kind and I don't fancy our odds against it. Our one strength is that we at least can form a semi-united front now."

“United front, hardly...” Dan grumbled. “Mark my words, someone is going to start a fight here over some disagreement or other.” He did not add that there was a good chance it would be one of the two of them- Dan was too divorced from the Jedi code, and Inera was too attached to it. “We’ve all been at war for three years, and just had our own troops turn on us. Emotions are high, and control low... you’re a better Jedi than me, you’ve surely sensed it too.”

Inera scoffed and shook her head "I mean, I'm not too sure about others here, but can't say that that applies to myself. Emotions are only as real as we allow them to be, and a number of us have let ourselves go. But yes, we are all on edge right now, most likely due to being hunted. I wouldn't think too much of it, we have to rely on each other to continue to move forward."

Inera shrugged and said "It's an interpretation that's correct. Us Jedi, we're an odd bunch. The force and destiny bend around us. We are the only one's not tethered by them but free to control their flow. Given the chance however those who are tethered, and even some of our own, they will try to destroy us. They've already practically succeeded. Emotions are what allow them to distract you until they're already at your throat with a knife."

"....We're not that different from non-jedi, emotions and all. I don't think looking down on them like that is going to sway the galaxy's opinion- which, currently, is that we're traitors."

"I don't think swaying the opinion of them should be too high up on our priorities list in any scenario. People are scared of what they cannot understand and even Padawans have trouble understanding the depths of the force. First we ensure our survival, then we can worry about the general opinion of the galaxy." Inera flicked a bit of dirt off of her wrist. Sighing, she continued "I'm gonna go have a look around, see if this place doesn't have archives or something." Inera began to walk out out of the room, quickly followed by Norl saying something about fixing the ship.

"....Good luck with that." Dan replied, filled with a number of unspoken replies. He watched the Arkanian leave, sighing when she was out of sight, and then setting off in the opposite direction.

[Dentali]

Berethon Horn
Jaemus, Jaemus System, Obtrexta Sector, Outer Rim Territories
K-4

Berethon had not stayed on Odessen for long after the initial gathering of Jedi. Even if the planet was supposedly forgotten by the Emperor he did not trust staying in one place for long, he felt as if they were sitting ducks. With this in mind and a secure way to contact the other Jedi in hand he decided to make his way to where he might find allies.

During the war he had been tasked with a mission on the Sepratist world of Jaemus, a fledgling rebel group had formed on the world in response to the Separatists tightening the hold on the planet and forcing the workers to produce more ships for less pay and longer hours. After strikes were violently broken up a group of workers went underground and started a guerilla war against the Separatists. Lacking funds, knowhow, and weapons it wasn’t very effective, that’s where Berethon came in. He and his commandos trained the local populace, armed them and fought alongside them for a time. They were not fans of the Republic, but they hated the Separatists more, and they certainly wouldn’t like the iron grip of a new Empire.

He arrived on the planet in civilian garb, just another refugee fleeing the winding down war and looking for work. The Galentro Heavy Works Shipyards were still producing light cruisers, only now for the Empire instead of the Separatists. Many of the rebel fighters had been detained for ‘questioning’ shortly after the Empire was declared, many disappeared or were offered positions in the new empire, but plenty had apparently disappeared into the frontier of the planet, swamps and caves and wilderness, refusing to be oppressed by yet another tyrannical power.

Horn’s hope was that he could make contact with the survivors and convince them to join him in a fight against the empire. Of course, he had to find them first.

[The Imperial Republic]

Barriss Offee
On the Hunt on Ajan Kloss

---

Shingi Gynkaff sprinted through the wet and muddy jungles, panting heavily as he ran, nearly tripping on a dead trunk. He was exhausted. For what felt like an eternity, the Rodian Jedi had been running. His once fresh and clean brown tunic was now heavily stained and caked with mud. His formerly white sleeves were ripped away, exposing his green arms. Below, his pants were ripped on one knee and his long boots were heavily distressed with tears in the soles. For a once proud member of the Jedi Service Corps, he had been brought low in recent times. In the first month, he worried about clone patrols, still sweeping up after disposing of the small Service Corps detachment. When the Nu-Class Shuttle departed without him, he found all the food and essentials he could and ran, doing very well to avoid them and had established himself in a small cave twelve kilometers away from the original dig site. In the second month, Shingi focused on the Force, meditating for long periods of time and only breaking when he needed water or food. He found a secluded area far away from his base camp and trained in the ways of his saber. He was never very good, but in times such as these, form was at the core of every Jedi duelist. It was during this time that Shingi reminisced on his days under Jedi Knight Vaulik Nevest, jumping from ruin to ruin, cave to cave. It was both enlightening and exhilarating. Had Shingi found a Master, he may have already been dead. He never agreed with the Clone War, but since he was so detached from the rest of the Jedi Order, it hardly came to mind the last three years. They were some of the best years of his life. On the third month, food was being rationed and he spent more time meditating and for a time, it would seem that he would survive this.

Until now.

Shingi came to a sliding stop, falling down on a patch of wet mud over a stone floor dating back several centuries, his mouth agape as the figure came down from above, landing directly in front of him. The assassin, of a female figure, kept crouched down, mask covering her face, but two lightsaber hilts within both her hands. Understanding that he could no longer run from this threat, he sighed deeply and stood.

"What do you want from me?" He said as calmly as he could, which came out as panicked even still. For a moment, the figure who wore black and red attire, odd symbols adorning her pauldrons, remained silent.

"Your death." With those two words, her curved hilts ignited, bringing to bare two crimson blades that hummed and began to sizzle as trickles of rain began to fall under thick dark grey clouds. It was with this discovery that Shingi was now facing a Sith, or at least he thought it was a Sith.

"So be it." Gynkaff said, unclipping his lightsaber from his belt. It's once clean and slick appearance now gave way to some wear to the silver. He ignited his green blade and took the prepared stance of a Shii-Cho practitioner. For a moment, the two stood as the rain grew heavier and heavier.

"Form One? What a pity." Barriss said as she sprinted to the Jedi, her duel blades slung behind her as she closed in. She jumped, contorting her body sideways, bringing both her blades down upon Shingi, though the Jedi replied with an effective and strong defense. Landing on her feet, Barriss continued with a savage barrage, slinging her blades at the Jedi, only to be blocked continuously. His fluid movements and strong defense told her that he transitioned to Form II so easily that she hadn't noticed.

"Good boy." She said through her grunts as the two continued with their dance of death. Barriss began to slow her attacks intentionally, allowing the Jedi to counter with some offensive sweeps and lunges, all of which were blocked. In his few offensive moves, she could have scored at least three successful blows to Shingi's torso and leg, but didn't take them. She wanted this fight to last, she wanted to enjoy the pleasure she got from it. Losing against the Grand Inquisitor and training droids were only so effective. She craved this and for her first Jedi, she wouldn't squander it. With quick reaction, she slung her head back, narrowly avoiding a green saber from piercing through her skull. Before he had the opportunity to bring the blade down on her after the dodge, the Jedi was forced back as she brought both her sabers forward, hoping one would find their mark on his neck or head. Barriss giggled as she brought her head back up and charged again. She could see the Jedi begin to slow, his breathing growing heavier. He was tired. She would end it very soon after. As Shingi thrusted inward to Offee's chest, she sidestepped to the left, turning her body to the right while blocking the lunge with her left-handed blade. With her back turned to the Jedi and his blade still locked with her left hand, Barriss bent her knees and moved down, sweeping her right handed blade up and across her head, barely missing her own head, but connecting with his.

As a portion of his head fell from his body, he dropped to the ground, the green blade retracting into it's hilt as it rolled out of his loosening hand. She stood back up. Extinguishing her own blades, retrieved the dead Jedi's lightsaber. For a moment she stood, in the pouring rain, examining it. She hooked her two blades, formerly belonging to Asajj Ventress and the Jedi's weapon.

"The target on Ajan Kloss has been terminated, my Lord." She received no reply, but understood that he had heard her. There was no further need for communication. She would leave the Jedi's body there to rot. The proof was in the lightsaber. She made her way back a full kilometer to her black, grey and red Eta-2-Actis and report back to the Inquisitorius Headquarters on Coruscant.

[The Imperial Republic]

Base Hangar, Odessen
An Enlightening Duel
Co-Post with ASC

It had been three months. Three long months of endless training, brutal physical endurance training and food rationing. None of it had been easy and the constant worry that one day they will be found didn't help. Master Shan had worn himself ragged and tired trying to teach so many students, though the fact that most of them were knights helped. Despite the lack of a Master's title, the wookie Nard had taken to helping as well, taking some of the weight off of Shan's shoulders. Being so close to obtaining the rank of Master was something he strived for and it would seem that, soon, Master Shan would grant it to him.

Along, Vrudun stood at the hangar, close to the edge, saber in hand. He focused on his steps, moving the saber over his head and coming down slowly, focusing on keeping form.

Inera entered into the hangar, her cloak trailing behind her. She was currently levitating a holocron she had found within the base's archives. Whoever had encoded it it had clearly not wanted it to be opened by just any Jedi. She had tried several times to crack it and was beginning to grow frustrated. Today she had hit her limit with the device and was returning to the Hangar to find Norl. The smuggler had stuck around thanks to the regular supply of food and relative ease of living on Odessen for the time and Inera had found him useful to bounce ideas off of. That way if there was a flaw in her though process she could figure it out by speaking it aloud. Much to Inera's surprise, she found the Zabrak Knight Vrudun practicing his saber work in the hangar.

Inera placed the holocron on a crate and crossed her arms. Observing the Zabrak through a few of his movements, she then spoke up and asked "Remind me, is that Soresu or Djem So you are practicing?"

Vrudun turned his head to face the Arkanian, deactivating his saber and returning to his ready stance. "Ah, Inera. Didn't see you come in. At current, it was Djem So. I see you've found a holocron?" Vrudun said as he eyed the artifact sitting atop the crate.

Inera nodded and tossed it into the air before catching it. "I've been digging around a few of the base archives and found it down there. It's proving troublesome to crack to say the least. I doubt even my master would have been able to open it easily. But it gives the mind something to focus on."

"Indeed". Vrudun said as he followed through with two consecutive downward strikes, focusing on his footwork. He kept his breathing under control and focused, despite Inera watching his every move. Over the past three months, Vrudun had grown to become accustomed to his fellow Jedi, even making friends with most. Being possibly the last Jedi in the Galaxy had a way of bringing everyone together, bringing them closer. Though Inera was, at times, difficult to relate to, they found some common ground. They had all found a way to work together, train together. They had become a family.

"Got any extra? I'd much appreciate something else to focus on besides practicing this form." The Zabrak Jedi said.

"Unfortunately not, however I can provide you with something a little more interesting to strike at than air." Inera reached down into her robes and drew her own lightsaber, letting her cloak fall down to reveal her armored form. The Arkanian had modified it so it no longer looked baggy on her form. Raising her lightsaber like a bat in the opening stance of Ataru, she smugly smirked at Vrudun, inviting challenge.

Vrudun smiled and shook off the brown robe. Before he ignited, he placed his hand out in front of him.

"You may want to turn the power level on that blade down a bit, eh? Wouldn't want to get cut in half in a training exercise."

Inera complied before saying "Well if you're so sure that I'll hit you then I'll do that for you. Now spark your blade Knight, let us see what you have been taught."

Vrudun smirked as he ignited his blade, also lowering the power levels on his saber, taking a traditional defensive stance. He began to move to the left, keeping his blade out in front of him, watching her, eyeing her form, looking for any sudden and calm moves. He kept his breathing under control as he waited to see if she'd make the first move.

Inera watched as Vrudun began to stalk around her in a defensive stance. Inera decided that she would test his skill in saber to saber combat, and opened with a rapid charge and up swing with her blade, aiming to hit and run past Vrudun and keep up her momentum.

Despite Vrudun's strong defense, Inera's agility made it through, contorting her blade to catch the Zabrak's shoulder. Though the power settings were turned down, the sting of the blade still caused the young Jedi to gasp a bit. The two reversed, and Vrudun responded with his foot sliding further to the right. Leaning into the strike, Vrudun slung the blade to the right, hoping to overcome her own defenses.

Inera felt her strike connect, before pain hit her as she backed away from the Zabrak. Hissing as Vrudun's saber raised across the back of her armor. Before the Zabrak could strike again, Inera jumped up and back flipped over her opponent, attempting the stike the Zabrak in the back as well.

As the strike connected and Inera made the jump over him, Vrudun dropped to a knee and held his up and pointed outward, hoping to make the block on the blade. The blades clashed, though it ended up working against him, as the edge of the tip grazed his shoulder, wincing in pain. It was a glancing blow, not as devastating as it could have been, but it was enough to jolt his body. Vrudun rose from his knee, turned to face Inera and brought his blade up in a proper "Falling Avalanche" stance. With a loud grunt, he brought the blade down squarely onto the Arkanian's awaiting block.

Inera raised her blade to block, only to feel the Zabrak's saber clashing against her own, sliding down it, and nipping at her fingers. Hissing and jumping back, Inera bounced right back and somersaulting past the Zabrak's legs, swinging at them below the knee.

Vrudun's blade clashed against hers as her strike failed. Upon meeting Vrudun's, he used his strength and slung her blade aside, hoping to keep it away long enough for what came next. After the deflection, Vrudun leveled his lightsaber directly with her chest and lunged it towards her.

Inera grimaced as she felt the blade of her opponent strike against her chest piece, filling her torso with a painful burning sensation. Without thought, she raised her blade and whipped it towards the zabrak's neck, instinct taking over her style as she attempted to land a blow.

Vrudun could see an almost alien expression slide across the Arkanian's face as she slung the blade across. Vrudun rose his blade and connected with it. Despite the lowered power settings of the blades, they continued to grind out an almost metallic-like squelching. Using his strength, Vrudun pushed the blade aside.

"Perhaps this would be a good ending?" Vrudun said, panting, but keeping his blade held forward.

Inera's frustration was held back within her facade. Had war made her soft after all? No one to truely challenge her had led to a decrease in her abilities. No. She refused to be this way. She couldn't be the weak point in the order at it's lowest point. She needed power. The holocron would surely have answers. In the meantime however, she would have to unlock it.

Sheathing her own lightsaber, Inera nodded and said calmly "Indeed. We will have to spar again some time, you are a good partner."

"As are you. Had this have been a real duel, that initial strike would have been sufficient." Vrudun said, extinguishing his blade and hooking it to his belt. He walked to his robes still lying upon the durasteel plated floor and scooped them up.

"That last strike. You tried to hide it, but I saw. It was wild, Inera." He said, hoping that it wouldn't upset her.


Inera nodded, putting her blade back onto her belt. Donning her robes she said calmly "It's a style I was training in before the War broke out. It's unpredictable."

"I understand what it is. I also understand that the form was restricted by the Order because of it's propensity to bring the worst out in it's practitioners. I don't need to tell you this, but you must be careful. We can't afford to lose you, Inera."

"It was approved by the council. I was considered an ideal candidate because of my... unique disposition. If you need me, I'm going to meditate on this holocron. Good day Vrudun." Inera picked up the glowing green object and walked off to her temporary residence in the Entropy's Promise.

Vrudun nodded in respect to the Arkanian and as she departed the Hangar, the Zabrak continued to look upon her. He could sense a shift, and even though it was minute, he could feel it. He wouldn't pursue it, though. He wasn't going to overstep, but he wouldn't forget it.

[Luxembourg-Bavaria]

Jedi Knight Jace Tholme
Days After Order 66

For Jace, the nightmares never really ended. Every day was some variation of that terrible day on Saluecami. Every day was a new fight for survival. For a few days, he had no real purpose except survival. Then, he heard the call through the Force, imploring all surviving Jedi to make haste to the lost planet of Odessen. After he felt the call, Jace got a feeling he couldn't explain, but later would assume to be the Force guiding him. The feeling gave him the coordinates to the planet Odessen. Once off of Saleucami, he would be able to reunite with other Jedi survivors.

Things went a bit sideways from there. Clones flooded the forest Jace was in shortly after that. With secrecy no longer an option, Jace was forced to kill his former allies. Cutting his way through squad after squad, he barely managed to make it far enough into the forest to escape further detection. Heavily wounded, he collapsed, alone in the Saluecami forests. If not for a nearby village, Jace's bid for survival might have ended there. As it happened, he was found by a villager and brought back from the brink of death with a few timely stims. Jace had to continue on before he could regain full strength, as he knew the clones would still be hunting him. The pursuit continued for days, with Jace barely staying ahead of the relentless clones. Eventually, he reached Taleucema, the planet's capital, also home to Saleucami's only spaceport. Once inside the city, evading the clones became easier for Jace. Urban camouflage was one of his specialties. Dodging enemy patrols was a course of habit for him. Jace easily gained access to a hangar, where he stole an ARC-170 fighter and managed to escape temporarily.

In orbit over Saleucami, Jace attempted to bluff his way past the Republic fleet, but failed and was forced to flee with a squadron of clone ARCs on his heels. They followed him through hyperspace all the way to Tatooine. There, Jace managed to dispatch the entire squadron, but his ship was heavily damaged, forcing him to land at Mos Eisley to make repairs. Once on Tatooine, he was forced to hide being a Jedi, in fear of drawing unwanted attention to himself. For weeks he worked an odd job or two around the city in an effort to earn enough credits to repair his ship. Once he had enough, he learned that the port authority was overcharging him so many credits that he had actually earned to buy a small ship of his own. Jace purchased a VCX-100 light freighter and set off for Odessen. He managed to avoid any entanglements on the first leg of his journey but ran into some problems about a week after he left Tatooine.

While Jace was making a stop at a nearby space station in order to refuel his ship, a Republic light cruiser came out of hyperspace and blocked off any exit from the space station. Clone troops boarded the station and began conducting a search of the entire space station. Jace managed to sneak his way into the station's control center and mind tricked the station's captain into attacking the Republic cruiser. In the chaos, he managed to slip away unnoticed and continued on his journey.

---

Present Day
Three Months After Order 66

Jace dropped out of hyperspace. He checked his navicomputer, making sure that he was in the right place. Sure enough, he thought to himself, this is definitely Odessen. Looking back out towards the planet, he began a preliminary scan of the planet's surface. After a few seconds, a beeping from his dashboard told him the scan was complete. Jace picked up the scanner and saw that a location was pinpointed. Zooming in, he saw what clearly appeared to be a Jedi Temple of some kind. Moving his ship down into atmosphere, Jace open his comms for a transmission.

Attention, Odessen Temple. This is Jedi Knight Jace Tholme. Does anyone read me?

[Brusia]

Odessen
Command Center
Co-post with Revlona, Anarcho, Okayanos, and Imperial Republic

3 months now had passed since that terrible day when the Order fell and the Galaxy changed in an instant; 3 months which were put to good use by Martius, the Jedi survivors and their allies on Odessen. Repairs to the old Alliance base had come a long way, and much of the ancient equipment had been repaired or replaced and was now operational; some defenses too had been placed in the event they should be discovered by the Empire, and to that end Martius also developed a strict training regimen to improve the remaining Jedi's odds of survival in the fight against the Empire. Eventually however, reading over what reports they were able to receive about the goings on in the Galaxy and pouring through the ancient texts recovered while restoring the base's systems in the hope of finding safe planets to relocate to should moving become necessary began to eat into the time Martius had to train the others, but Nardrashtasch had fortunately stepped in to help by agreeing to take over the training of the lone Padawan Tuka.

For some time, Martius had held out the hope that somewhere out there some members of the High Council had survived and would find their way to Odessen, but the odds of that were looking ever bleaker, and knowing the Order would need more than one Master to survive, he decided it was time to appoint another. As Nard had already successfully trained a Padawan to Knighthood, and had stepped up to assist in training Padawan Tuka, he was the clear first choice, and Martius arranged a small ceremony amongst the survivors to bestow Nard with that honor. In time, perhaps more of the surviving Knights could be similarly promoted, and they may even be able to form a new High Council, but for now, once those who chose to attend the ceremony had gathered in the command center, Martius used his commlink to ask Nard to join them.

“Ah, so it’s that time already?” Nardrashtasch, Wookie and Jedi Knight muttered to himself. He was sat by himself in the woods outside of the Jedi hideout, his hairy legs crossed over eachother as he had meditated. His comm link had chirped, a signal from Master Shan to him.

Nard sighed as he climbed to his feet and quickly removed himself from the woods, entering a side entrance to the hanger he had found early in their exploration of the base. It was not as if he did not want to be a Master, he just wished it had come under different circumstances. Dubbed by Grandmaster Yoda in front of the council, properly done. He would never get that now he knew, likely know one ever would again.

Nard walked into the command center of the base and bowed his head to Master Shan, looking into his eyes as he did as he towered over the man. “Master Shan, I am here” he growled.

Inera stood off to the side of the group, her hood drawn over her head. On the outside she remained as stalwart as ever, but on the inside she bristled, a feeling utterly foreign to her after so many years. Though on one hand she understood the reasoning behind Master Shan's decision, she could not say that the wookie being given the rank of Master over her particularly pleased her. In fact, it made her rather peeved. While the logic in Inera's head spoke against such basic wants, her more base instincts disagreed. The more she tried to prove to herself that her thought's were against the code, the more they seemed to aggravate her. She took a deep breath, trying to push the conflict from her mind and focus on the ceremony.

Dan could recall his own knighting ceremony, the last real Jedi ceremony he'd taken part in before the war had begun. It hadn't been the most grand affair- most of the council had been away on a mission to Geonosis, including the order's grandmaster. It had been Master Billaba who had cut his padawan braid instead, and the number of other Jedi attending had been sad, to say the least. Perhaps it had been a sign of what Dan's knighthood would be like. Compared to that, the promotion of Nardrashtasch, the Wookiee with heavy knowledge of Form IV saberstaff techniques, seemed like a much grander affair. Dan stood to the side of the group, opposite Inera. As was tradition, he had pulled his hood up, though his mask was left off. After three months of dispassionate training and exploration, this makeshift master promotion was the closest he'd felt to being a real part of something yet. It wasn't much. He felt as though he had a great many things that he could say to Nard, or Inera, or Master Shan, but Dan kept it all down. He focused instead on his lightsaber's hilt, clutched in front of him with both hands.

Standing there with the other Jedi, their hoods raised, preparing for the Ceremony had taken Vrudun back to a simpler time, when these ceremonies were common place within the Temple. He couldn't think of any other more deserving. The other Jedi, such as Inera, helped immensely in assisting Nard with his Padawan and others and in time they would be just as deserving. But Tumara couldn't short the wookie some credit. The training had worn Master Shan thin and he needed all the help he could get. Standing next to Inera, Vrudun raised his hilt in his hands to meet at chest level in front of him.

With the Knights participating in the ceremony now assembled, and the guest of honor having arrived, Martius began the ceremony. Though it paled in comparison to the formal ceremonies once held in the Hall of Knighthood, he hoped it would bring some measure of comfort and normalcy back to the survivors. When Nard bowed to him, Martius bowed in response then stated: "Step forward Knight." Waiting for the towering Wookie to kneel in front of the assembled group so he could reach his shoulders, Martius ignited his lightsaber and recited the ancient words of the ceremony: "We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions, the Force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed." Moving his lightsaber over Nard's shoulders, Martius continued: "Nardrashtasch, by the will of the Force, I dub thee Jedi Master." With that, Martius raised his lightsaber in front of his face like the other Jedi assembled in the room, and waited for Nard to silently exit the room, completing the ceremony.

The great wookie stood, his eyes gleaming with happiness at what had just occurred. He bowed his head once more before turning his back to the group and walking towards the exit.

A Jedi master, a role with much responsibility he knew. It’s not like he hadn’t shouldered much of the responsibility in the group already, being the eldest Jedi in the group, and the most experienced other than Shan, maybe more so than Shan. He wasn’t sure about the human master, it was hard to get close to the man after all and he wasn’t sure.

Finally Nard exited the room, hesitating outside the door. He wasn’t quite sure what to do next but decided to fall to a classic, he turned his body to face where the Jedi normally practiced their lightsaber play and began to make his way there.

[Revlona]

Jedi Master Nardrashtasch

Nard entered the room in which the Jedi usually practiced their saber skills. He growled as he saw who was already in the room and then rolled his eyes. Nard supposed he should stop holding nearly killing him against the young padawan, but it was a hard thing to let go.

“Padawan, time for practice,” Nard said, his growling voice carrying across the room. He had been teaching the padawan some of his tongue in the past months, enough where he could understand the Master Jedi when he needed to

Freezing as he heard Nard's gruff wookie-voice, Tuka felt a cold sweat run down his forehead. During the knighting ceremony, Tuka had instead simply been training as he saw no need for fancy titles in the current times. Turning around and facing the wookie, Tuka bowed in respect.

"Very well, Master Nard.", he spoke. "Congratulations on your promotion, by the way. You deserve it." Tuka smiled at the large wookie and twirled his two sabers.

Nard nodded at the padawan and drew his own saberstaff, the orange blade coming out one after the other in a hum of energy. “Ensure your blades are on their lower intensity,” he growled before setting his own blades to that setting and assuming his ready stance.

Following the wookie master's instructions, Tuka too adjusted both his sabers. He then twirled them again and entered a combat position.

"Your move, Master.", Tuka said, looking closely at Nard.

That was an interesting choice, to allow the aggressive master to make the first move. Well either it was brilliant or idiotic, they would soon find out Nard knew.

He came at the padawan suddenly, his Saberstaff humming as he spun it to gain momentum. His strike aiming for the padawans left shoulder blade and if it connected, and it was a real blade, would cut him from shoulder to opposite hip.

Suprised by the sudden movement of Nard, Tuka was taken slightly offguard as the towering wookie boomed foreward. Acting quickly Tuka moved backwards, though not quickly enough, and Nard's blade made a glancing blow onto him.

Yelping slightly at the touch, Tuka thanked the makers for whoever designed switches for lowering saber intensity. Grasping his sabers, Tuka now meant to go on the offensive, but with such a large opponent as a wookie, charging blindly would most likely end badly, thus the padawan decided to attempt to slide under the wookie's legs and slice towards his thighs.

Nard sees the move coming yet only barely, he quickly steps out of the way of the blow and aims a strike at the still sliding padawan as he goes by, his blade humming towards his head out of instinct before switching to aim for his back instead.

Sliding along the floor, Tuka growled internally as he missed his mark. Attempting to quickly rise, Tuka spotted Nard's blade too late, and it connected well with his back. Letting out a short, but distinct grunt, Tuka rolled hurriedly along the floor before getting up again.

Looking closely at the wookie, Tuka decided to take a chance. Closing his eyes and letting out a slow breath, Tuka grasped his right saber hard and attempted to propel it through the Force at speed towards Nard.

Nard easily swiped the thrown saber away, trying to catch it but barely missing as it flew back to his padawans hand.

Nard growled and decided it was time to try and end this, rushing to the padawan and unleashing a unrelenting series of quick strikes.

Seeing the large and rushing wookie, Tuka immidietly brought both his sabers up to defend, though with a left arm that was still quite dazed, the defense was rather lackluster. In an attempt to counter the wookie, Tuka raised his left saber too high and left quite a large gap in his defenses that became his undoing. Tuka felt himself get struck multiple times in the chest region, and then he felt his sabers fall from his hands as himself was brought down on the floor, breathing heavily.

With a heavy sigh Nard sheathed his saberstaff and clipped it onto his belt. He then planted a large furry foot onto the padawans chest to keep him in place.

“It was not a bad duel, your aggressiveness was your undoing however,” Nard growled to the padawan, “You switched your attacks so fast that it was to unpredictable, even to you. Find something that works and the, stick to it. If you would have followed up your sliding strike with further simple attacks rather than throwing your saber, the duel would have lasted longer and you might have found an opening.” He said

He then took his foot from the padawans chest and said, “Go to your rooms and mediate on the fight and what I said, next time be better,” Nard said before turning and walking from the room.

Nodding at the wookie's words, Tuka slowly got up as he watched Nard leaving.

"Congratualtions on the promotion, by the way.", he managed to say through the soreness. Tuka then procceded to collect his sabers, casting a last glance towards the wookie and sighing heavily.

[Audunia]

Afon Ekker and Solia Tane
Odessen

Solia's eyes narrowed as she peered over the data-slide she held in her hand, it's contents on ration supplies and forecasts ignored as she looked at Afon. His stark white hair had long since gone, shaved off and showing a bare tattooed scalp, while his already sizeable beard had only grown larger and wilder. Once, she knew, the prospect of trimming his beard and hair would have brought him atleast the mildest comfort and ability to focus, but now it seemed he had abandoned it entirely. His eye were frequently bloodshot and baggy from hours of slaving over the Command Centre and viewing holograms, eager hear any news in regards to the Jedi that had slinked its way to Odessen, but each confirmed fatality and Imperial Victory seemed to take its toll on him, though he vehemently denied it whenever she brought it up. He had even missed the raising ceremony of Nardrashtasch from Jedi Knight to Jedi Master.

"Isn't it expected of all the Knights to attend?" she had asked him, and he had answered with a shake of the head, mumbling near incoherently that someone had to keep watch over the Command Centre. He had even, without fully thinking it through, suggested that Solia take his place, though she was quick to point out the inappropriateness of such a suggestion and the matter was dropped shortly after.

Even when following through with the training regimen set out by Master Shan to keep himself in shape, his mind always seemed to be on the Center and any news. He'd rigged A2 to send him alerts whenever anything came through, regardless of even if he were sleeping. She'd resolved to bring the matter up to the Jedi, but they always seemed somewhat on edge whenever she was near. At the beginning she couldn't fault them, but by now it just got on her nerves. A small beep rang out, Solia asking if it were anything good on instinct.

"No" he replied after a short while "Empire's starting to spread it's fingers to the Outer Rim..." his voice trailed off and his brow furrowed in concentration. He stood up and leaned against the module, his fingers gripping the edge as he strained to listen to the broadcast. Solia linked her own earpiece and her mouth opened slightly as she heard the voice crackle through;

Attention, Odessen Temple. This is Jedi Knight Jace Tholme. Does anyone read me?

She looked up at Afon, mouthing what they should do. The look in his eyes betrayed the maelstrom of emotions he was freefalling through, trying to decipher whether or not the message was a ploy. She flicked on a hologram that displayed the planet of Odessen in a teal blue light, a small indicator blinking in orbit of the planet, showing the location of the transmission. It was alone. She looked back at Afon, whose face had hardened into thought. His eyes shot up from the hologram to Solia.

"Get Master Nardrashtasch , or Master Shan, get anyone you see!" he ordered hurriedly "Quickly!" he added and Solia shot out of the room, her hurried footfalls echoing throughout the Temple.