Arise, Knight of the Republic (FT, CLOSED)

[The Republic Reborn]

Jedi Temple
Novus Vita, Novus Vita Star System
1 AFOC

The Meditation Chamber at the very top of the lone spire, higher even than the Council Chamber, was a place for quite thought and immersion in the force. There were several other in the temple, as well as popular paces in the nearby area, but this particular chamber was used for a very special purpose; preparing Padawans for Knighting. Almost an entire day was spent in silent meditation, searching the force for an individual Jedi’s future path. It was a traditional part of the ancient ritual of knighting dating back to the earliest days of the Order’s history, and it was an important rite of passage; not just as Jedi but also as sentient beings; after being Knighted a Jedi was free to make his own service to the Republic, not bound by his or her Master, although they were required to follow the directives of the Council when appropriate. Never the less, in the past many young Jedi elected to take a small ship and wander the galaxy for a year or more, doing what good they could wherever they were needed, whether or not this would be possible in this galaxy was unclear, and would be up to the High Council.

Lyra Akoke, a human female, knelt on the cold marble floor of the meditation chamber. She had spent the best part of the last twenty-four hours in the same position, allowing her mind to wander in the force. She had long forgotten the pain in her legs, caused by so long in the same position against cold stone; the Force had removed that pain as she dove deeper into its secrets. Although her eyes were closed she could sense each and every other Jedi in the Temple with ease, and reaching further afield she could also sense the Jedi across the planet, and indeed the entire star system if she let her thought reach that far afield. But too few, too few since the Fall of Coruscant. She sighed deeply as she sensed a presence approaching the chamber, she opened her eyes and placed her hands onto her knees in front of her. She looked up at the door in time to see her Master; Jedi Knight Galan Telenko a Twi’Lek Male, entered the room.

“It is time, my Padawan”

Lyra nodded and followed her Master from the Meditation Chamber, moving through the corridors of the Temple it was painfully different from the Temple on Coruscant, but in some ways it was similar enough to provide some comfort and continuity. They passed very few other Jedi on the way, it was after all early morning and most other Jedi were still asleep or else doing some early work, or in some cases work that had carried on from the night before. Lyra and her master were making their way to the very centre of the Temple; one of the first rooms to have been build; The Knighting Chamber, one of the most vital rooms of the entire Temple; as it was in that room that the Order’s new Knights were born, and the beginning of a great journey for all who passed through its doors. Galan went into the Chamber first, allowing Lyra a few moments to compose herself. Then she stepped through.

The Chamber was dark when she entered the room, she slowly made her way towards the center of the room, using the force to guide her. Once she had taken her position, she knelt down on one knee and waited. A few moments later the Twelve Jedi, including Galan, who were standing in a wide circle energised their lightsabers which provided the only illumination in the otherwise dark chamber. Grandmaster Alicia stepped towards her from her position and the other Jedi lowered their lightsabers, holding them at a angle to the floor as Alicia stopped a few steps away, but within easy lightsaber reach. She began to speak, as she did so she brought her lightsaber down above the shoulders on either side.

“Lyra Akoke, by the Right of the Council, by the Will of the Force, I dub thee Jedi” Alica said, at this point using her lightsaber to sever Lyra’s Padawan Braid as she whipped the Lightsaber upwards “Knight of the Republic”

Lyra took a deep breath as her braid was severed the first thing that she noted was the smell of burnt hair, but this was promptly replaced by a surge of force energy within her. She felt like her skin was tingling as Alicia spoke the last four words. The force was flooding through her body, the power of the Force that had been kept from her by the Force itself was now opening itself up to her, as a Jedi Knight. She took up her fallen braid and her Lightsaber, before looking around at the Jedi. She bowed and left the chamber. Standing in the ante-room outside she looked up at the statue of Jedi Grandmaster Yoda, she bowed respectfully before it as she sensed movement behind her as the other Jedi in the chamber emerged. They stopped and congratulated her, and offered words of encouragement and advice, including a particularly poignant one from the Grandmaster herself. Presently however she was left alone with Galan.

“You have made me proud, my sister” Galan said, emotion clear in his voice as he referred to his former Padawan as a Sister-Knight “May the Force be with you”

“May the force be with you, my Master”

Lyra took her leave from her former Master and began to make her way through the Temple, wandering the quiet corridors with an unusual feeling. Up until that point she had walked them as a Padawan, one who was in-training, now she walked as a Knight of the Republic; it felt good. She could also feel the incredible responsibility she now possessed; she was a member of a Order that had proudly served the Republic for 25,000 years, and if all went to plan would continue to do so for a long time to come. The responsibility of a Jedi Knight was immense; the actions of a Jedi could have a significant impact on the future of the Republic, one main reason being that Jedi were all too often serving as the representatives of the Republic in diplomatic discourse with other species; and that was a vital role in ensuing future security. And something that Lyra needed to read up on.

Now however, she had a ship to catch.

Republic Star Destroyer Resolute, Venator-II Class
Orbiting Novus Vita Prime
1 AFOC

Unlike senior officers in the military, a Jedi received no special attention when coming aboard for the first time, indeed as Lyra stepped down from the Eta-Class shuttle, there was only one person waiting to greet her, but it was someone that she was more than happy to see. Clone Trooper Commander CC-1804 Jax, commanding officer of the Resolute’s Regiment from the Republic Marines, stood waiting to greet her. Like all Clones on active duty he was in his white armour, which seemed like always to be polished to a shine, and although he had left his DC-15 somewhere else, he did have a sidearm strapped to his armour’s belt. She eyed this cautiously before smiling at her friend, who although technically the same as all the others around them she knew that he was different; just as each and every clone trooper was actually different from each and every other clone trooper. Whilst it had taken most military and Jedi to realise this quite quickly, it had taken painfully long for the public at large to realise this. Never the less at long last the Clones were no longer treated as expendable, although no Jedi ever had, even if this was caused by the lack of a cloning facility meaning that in time the Republic Army would gradually become a mix of clones and non-clones.

Never the less, Clones now had the same rights as a regular citizen, even if it was still taking a while for the populous to get used to what had been created in their name.

Jax was stood with his helmet under his arm, providing Lyra the view of his face, which like so many of those around the pair, but uniquely different courtesy of the personal grooming of each individual clone. He saluted sharply, and smiled.

“Welcome aboard Com...General” Jax said, correcting his mistake quickly and grinning sheepishly as they began to walk along the hanger, looking out at the flight deck underneath the massive dorsal hanger door that ran along the bulk of the forward hull “Congratulations”

“Thanks Jax” Lyra smiled as they strolled casually towards the nearest doorway to the rest of the ship “And you know full well that you can call me by my first name”

“Of course, General” Jax said dutifully “We’ll be jumping into Hypersapce in a few moments, Captain Lavere was just waiting for you to come aboard”

Almost at that second the ship’s engines increased slightly in pitch as the Star Destroyer shot away into hyperspace. Lyra decided that as she had been up for quite a few hours straight that she required rest; and thus asked Jax to pass her regrets onto the Captain, and that she would speak to him later. With that Lyra bid Jax farewell out of her new quarters, stepped inside and closed the door. She stripped off her robes and tunic and slipped under the covers, revelling in the comfortable bed linen, it seemed that Republic Officer quarters were good quality, all things considered. Within a few minutes she was straight asleep.

[The Empire Reborn]

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The words were among the core tenets of physics, and held use for many other fields as well. And even the supernatural realm of the Force was not above this simple law. For the Light, there existed the Dark. For the power to push, the power to pull. For every strike, a block. And for every Knighting, there was the Sith equivalent.

And it was to fulfill this capacity that a small ship arrived in orbit over the world of Kethis. A barren world far from its sun, it was mostly mountains and simple steppes. It was on the fringe of the space claimed by the Empire, but deemed not worthy a full-fledged colonization effort just yet. For now, a simple series of beacons served to mark to any ships entered the system that they had passed into Imperial territory, and that was it.

The ship, of course, cared nothing for these beacons. Sith, after all, moved wherever they desired.

Settling onto the surface, the ship was silent for a while, until finally a ramp dropped. Again, there was a moment of silence, and then two figures descended. The first walked with his hood up, concealing his face beneath shadow, except for the end of his white hair which peaked out, resting on his shoulders. Behind him was the other occupant of the ship, and the real reason for their presence here. She wore the same cloak, but with the hood down.

They walked in silence, their breath raising small wisps of steam--it was cold on this world. Finally, they reached their destination. A small hill, with a flat peak. They walked up, and the hooded figure drew a cylindrical device, silver with golden runes etched in. Saying nothing, the girl knelt before him. With a snap-hiss, the cylinder sprouted a blade, a meter and a half of plasma that glowed crimson red.

"Aela," the man said. "Why are we here?"

"Because I am ready."

The man smiled. "Ready for what?"

"To assume my place among the Sith."

"Indeed you are." The man raised the lightsaber. "Recite the oath."

There was a moment of pause, but then it came forth, with a conviction of someone who had firmly made their choice. "I pledge myself to you. To the ways of the Sith. I give myself to you, as your apprentice. Teach me. Lead me. Be my master."

"Is it your will to join forever with the Order of the Sith?"

"It is."

The man lowered his lightsaber to hover just inches over her left shoulder, then her right. "Then I hereby accept you. You shall be my apprentice. And from this day forth, the truth of you shall be..."

There was a pause. The man held his tongue as he probed the Force, seeking out the name that his apprentice would bear for the rest of her life. It slowly came into focus, growing more concrete until finally the man seized upon it.

"Zannah...yes, Zannah."

"Zannah." She said the word, feeling it reverberate through her. She felt it brush away the old, the girl who had been so scared, so alone. Zannah swept in and destroyed that terrified little girl, filling the vessel of her body. It was an amazing feeling.

"Rise, Zannah." She rose from the ground. The girl who had knelt before him was dead...Zannah now lived. The man held out one hand, which held a small hilt, plain silver. Zannah reached out, seized the weapon in the Force, and drew it to her hand.

"I am...Zannah." And as she activated the blood-red blade with a flourish, a pulse of dark energy slammed through the Force.

The Order of the Sith had a new member.

[The Republic Reborn]

Republic Star Destroyer Resolute, Venator-II Class
Orbiting Novus Vita Prime
1 AFOC

After hours of peaceful sleep, a Jedi Knight woke with a start, suddenly sweating cold as her mind worked around the shock that had just emanated through her consciousness. A disturbance in the force, nearby, had awoken her from her slumber. Lyra sat up, letting the thin cover slip from her form, with no friction between the soft fabric and her equally soft skin it was hardly surprising. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Appreciating the cool deck plating against her warm feet she walked slowly across the relatively small cabin to the shower unit and slipped inside, activating the device and allowing steaming hot water to flow all around her, passing over her skin and removing all the dirt and grime, and now sweat, that had compiled since her last shower the day before. The warm water and it’s massage-like effect on her skin was incredibly relaxing and it allowed her to recover from the intense force-shock that she was feeling, no doubt only made worse by her proximity to the source of the disturbance, whatever had caused it she didn’t like it.

She could sense the dark side intently, and that was not something she had hoped she would ever see again in her lifetime. She had so nearly fallen to the dark side herself; her Master had been badly injured by the Dark Jedi Ventress; she had given into her anger and used it to attack the Dark Jedi; damn near defeating the powerful warrior and sending her into flight. Only the timely arrival of Republic reinforcements saved her Master, and whilst he was sleeping the aid of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had allowed her to return to the path of the Light. In the time that had followed she had neither slipped nor faltered again on her path as it led her through life. She had faced her inner darkness and had defeated it; if only barely. Now she knew that her work had all been worth it; she was a Knight of the Republic, a Protector of the billions of survivors, most of whom could not defend themselves from the darkness that remained on the horizon; ever poised to assail the Republic once again and conspire to bring about its downfall.

Stepping out of the shower, Lyra walked back across her cabin and pulled on her tunic, strapped her belt and attached her lightsaber to it. The last thing she added was her distinctive Jedi Cloak before heading for the door. It was the middle of the night, ship-time and as a result the corridors were really quite quiet and thus she didn’t run into to many people. Some of the clones that she had served with before noted the lack of a braid and nodded their respects, some even stopped to congratulate her, but Lyra didn’t stay to chat on this occasion as she needed to get to the bridge as quickly as was possible. She ran into Commander Jax on the way up, who for some unknown reason was wandering the ships in the middle of the night. Lyra didn’t ask, so Jax didn’t answer. She promptly explained her concerns to him and the two quickly made their way to the bridge, where Captain Lavere had also been awoken from his sleep. Not that you would know it; not a piece of his uniform was out of place, he looked just like the model officer he was.

“What is your concern, Master Jedi?” Lavere asked as the three of the held a discrete conference by one of the side viewports “You sense something wrong?”

Unlike some Republic Officers, Lavere was a strong supporter of the Jedi; he had seen enough during the Clone War to show him that the Jedi were of great help to the Republic and that the Force was no mere mysticism it was an actual power; one that had saved his life on more than one occasion, at the hands of the Jedi Knight who now stood before him.

“A disturbance, in the force, nearby” Lyra explained as they accessed a computer “This system”

“You want to go there” Lavere commented, double-taking for a second “Forgive me for saying so, but shouldn’t you inform the Jedi High Council”

“I’m not a Padawan anymore, Captain” Lyra replied “I want to investigate this potential threat before I report to the Council; the Resolute will stay here, I will take a fighter and sneak in under their sensors if I can and do a recce”

Lavere tensed his shoulders slightly, as any one would when issued orders they didn’t agree with, and it was clear that he was restraining himself; but at the end of the day when the Jedi wanted to impose their authority; he was outranked in this particular matter by the Jedi who held the military rank of Jedi General when the need arose. Never the less, Lyra picked up on this; both through the force and simply from his body language. She nodded for him to speak.

“I don’t feel comfortable sending you on your own; if you get into trouble and need our help, you might be too busy to get the call in” Lavere commented “I want to send Commander Jax with you, he is ARC trained”

Lyra nodded slowly, many of the Clone Trooper Commanders of various ranks had been given additional training by the elite Advanced Recon Clones, and were thus excellent accompanists to Jedi; indeed in any situation in which Clones accompanied a Jedi, they were always joined by a Clone Commander of either of the three ranks, regardless of the size of the actual unit.

“Very well, Commander; meet me on the hanger in ten minutes”

ARC-170S Republic Starfighter
Unknown Star System
1AFOC

The ARC-170S was a variant of the venerable Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 Starfighter that served as the heavy , long-range Hyperdrive capable strike fighter. The S-variant concentrated on one thing above all else; stealth. Whilst it was by no means invisible to sensors, it was a whole hell of a lot harder to track, and that was if one could detect it in the first place. It sacrificed the Proton Torpedo Launchers as well as the aft laser cannons in favour of design features that made it less detectable; as a result of this and the removal of the aft weapons, it sported only two crew; which made it perfect for this particular mission, on both accounts. The first being that the two of them wanted to get in and out without being detected, the second being that only two of them were going on the mission; leaving a seat open on a regular ARC-170 was generally considered to be rather dangerous. Never the less, less than an hour after the disturbance, the Jedi and Clone piloted Starfighter dropped out of Hyperspace and cruised towards the planet that the Force had guided Lyra towards.

The two ignored the beacons that were detected out of hand and continued in system, flying as stealthily as possible as they approached the planet. They were soon able to put down in an area that Lyra felt was the correct place, and once they had secured the fighter they set about arranging camouflage for it; it would do nothing to protect against sensors, but a powered down fighter was damn-difficult to detect from orbit, and the visual camouflage kept if from being seen visually. As Lyra jumped down from the cockpit she pulled her hood up and began to lead the way, Jax followed a short way behind, keeping his hands on his pair of DC-17 hang blasters to be wielded duel, just like the man the Clone Troopers had been cloned from; it was not a trait copied by all clones, but it was something that Jax had picked up. The two set off in silence.

“Keep your eyes peeled Jax” Lyra said un-needed.

“Keep your force senses active” Jax shot back.

[The Empire Reborn]

Darth Solus and his newly-anointed apprentice were walking up the ramp of the ship when Solus stopped suddenly. Zannah stopped as well, almost running into him but catching herself just in time. Solus raised one hand, as if feeling for the direction of the wind.

"Do you sense it?"

Zannah nodded. "Yes, master."

"We are not alone," Solus said. He was silent for a moment as he probed the Force, seeking out this new presence. "Ahh...a Jedi. And someone else...a clone?"

He turned to her. "This shall a test of your skills, my apprentice. You have proven competent enough against droids and other learners. We shall see how you fare against a Jedi."

Zannah nodded, tightening her grip on her lightsaber. "I will not fail you, my master."

"We shall see. Go. Kill them both. Bring me the Jedi's lightsaber."

Zannah nodded. Lightsaber in hand, she turned around and ran off. She moved quickly, covering the distance between her and the Republic heroes with ease thanks to intense physical training and the aid of the Force. Soon she was on a hill overlooking the two as they walked away from their fighter. She looked at the Jedi; the hood obscured most of her face, but she was definitely female. The clone was probably male. She recalled something from the archives about clone soldiers that had been used by the Empire, in the Great War that had preceded the rise of the Emperor and the Rebirth. This one looked similar, or his armor did.

But historical analysis was not her purpose here; there would be plenty of time to examine the corpses. Leaping off the hill and landing on her feet, she drew the Force around her, a protective blanket of energy that removed her from physical view and Force sensation. The cloak was difficult to pull off for long periods, but she didn't need it for long.

She moved slowly, and waited until they had passed her. Then she dropped the cloak, seeming to appear out of thin air. Her lightsaber burst to life in her hand and her eyes shone with dark power. She wrapped the Force "blanket" around her, feeling its energy flow through her and bend to her will. She commanded the Force, it was her weapon.

"Hello Jedi," she said, conversational tone tinged with malevolence.

[The Republic Reborn]

Jedi Knight Lyra Akoke
Surface of Unknown Planet
1 AFOC

Lyra had been sensing danger for some time. Although she couldn’t pinpoint the cause, her force senses had been gradually increasing in volume as she walked with Commander Jax. The distinctive tingling feeling on the back of her neck was hard to ignore, and she had learnt a long time ago that it was best not to ignore it; each time she had, it had put her in a bad situation. She therefore wasn’t surprised when she suddenly sensed the arrival of the newly anointed Sith apprentice, once she dropped her cloak; something that Lyra took in and filed away under the abilities of this particular Sith. Jax on the other hand had no such forewarning and she could sense his surprise through the force, even if he didn’t show it outwardly in any way other than pulling his twin blasters from their holsters slowly. Lyra placed her hand upon his lower arm to stop him from shooting, not until there was no other choice of course. In contrast to her opponent, Lyra had taken no offensive action other than to lower her arms to her side, ready to channel the force if need be, but she knew all too well that if this Sith attacked her, by the time she reached her, her lightsaber would be in her hand.

In the short time that passed, Lyra reached out with the force to get an idea of what she was facing. This being was undoubtedly a Sith, rather than a Dark Jedi, but she suspected that she was a Sith Apprentice, even if that was only her intuition. Never the less although Lyra had the advantage as a fully-trained Jedi Knight, however recently that had taken place, she still knew not to underestimate the power of an apprentice and would not allow herself to become complacent. However if there was an apprentice here, it was possible that a Master was nearby, and Lyra didn’t fancy the idea of facing a Sith Lord after just dealing with his apprentice; so at the earliest opportunity they would have to withdraw and report to the Jedi Council; that above all else was of greatest import; letting the Jedi Order know that there were Sith in this galaxy and that the old menace was not as gone as everyone had thought, it nearly broke her heart to have to be the one to report this sad news back, but it was her duty, and she would not fail.

“You are a Sith” Lyra commented matter-of-factly “An apprentice if I am not much mistaken, let’s see, Darth... Zannah, ah interesting, historically Padawan of the Sith Lord Darth Bane, I wonder how you came about that name, I’d love to find out”

Lyra pulled her Lightsaber into her hand with the force, but didn’t activate it.

“But I suspect that you wish to attempt to kill me” Lyra said simply “You are welcome to try, Sith, but I recommend against it”

If the Sith Apprentice knew anything of Jedi Lightsabers, and in particular the Jedi forms of Lightsaber Combat, they would know that the Lightsaber that Lyra held in her hand was distinctive to her chosen form. The hilt was curved, allowing it to fit perfectly into her hand, and the hilt itself was beautiful and sleek and had taken many days of careful concentration to construct. It was a Ligthsaber favoured by practitioners of a particular form; the second and some would say the most graceful and traditional of all the forms; Makashi. She was the former Padawan of one whom had once been under the tutelage of the fallen Jedi Knight Dooku, and although the form and indeed the lightsaber design had received bad press as a result of it’s use by the Sith Lord, it never the less remained a deadly form. It was partially due to her skill with Makashi that had passed Lyra through her trial of skill. Lyra practiced regularly with the new Jedi Battlemaster and her skill with Makashi was substantial, and she was generally favoured to be capable of matching the skill of her master and even Dooku given time.

One purpose in choosing Makashi above the more forceful forms was to make up for her Lithe build; she was no heavy hitter and could not fully make use of the powerful strikes favoured by many, and she had not wanted to be as passive as Form III: Soresu called upon. Therefore Form II, which relied on elegance, balance and perfect footwork to outmanoeuvre an opponent, allowing a user to be fluid and concentrate on economy of motion rather than strength, favouring jabs and light cuts as opposed to hack and slash movements.

Making her more than capable in a Lightsaber duel.

Jax had taken a few steps away, knowing better than to get involved in a Jedi duel with a Sith, but he watched with careful interest and had his blasters ready if need be. He had also pressed the button on his wrist mounted panel that would send a signal back to the Resolute that they had ran into trouble and that they would probably need a quick extraction one way or another. He needed to instruction to do this, he knew that it was what Lyra had intended all along and over the years he had got awfully good at anticipating what his Jedi Commander needed at any particular moment.

It was at this point that she choose to energise her blade.

Blinding blue light emerged from the hilt, in stark contrast to the blood-red of her opponent. She then proceeded to demonstrate two unique Makashi opening movements. The first was a Makashi flourish, in which she rapidly drew an ‘X’ in the air with the tip of her blade, shortly followed by a Makashi salute; the blade brought up directly in front of her face and then swung down in another flourish. Neither of these were attacks, they were challenges to an opponent and a demonstration of the precise blade work that a Makashi user was capable of using. She then slipped into the Makashi opening stance; the blade held in her right hand, down at her side with the blade pointed down and her feet shoulder width apart.

Then she waited.

[The Empire Reborn]

Zannah had no knowledge of this "Darth Bane," nor did she particularly care. The Empire Lyra was dealing with now was not a mirror image of the Empire her Republic would have grown into or perhaps, in time, might still grow into. All that Zannah knew was this Jedi was quite confident in herself. Zannah smiled. She would enjoy destroying that confidence.

Zannah recognized the elegant moves of Makashi and her smiled grew. Her own favored form, Ataru, was of similar nature, relying on speed and movement but with much more of an emphasis on force. Zannah had yet to duel a Makashi user--this would be interesting, to say the least.

For a moment, both Force users stood there, silent. Then suddenly, Zannah punched an open palm into the air, a fist of Force energy aimed to slam Jax backwards and remove him from the fight. The pushing motion continued into a fluid spinning leap that sent her flying across the distance between her and Lyra, another blow of Force energy hurtled against the Jedi to disrupt her, and before she had even touched the ground her blood-rood blade was slashing down, both to block the strike against her legs as she landed and to pin the Jedi's lightsaber down.

And in the distance, a lone figure crested a hilltop, hood raised over his face. Settling in on a rocky seat of sorts, the master watched his student perform.

[The Republic Reborn]

Jedi Knight Lyra Akoke
Surface of Unknown Planet
1 AFOC

Whilst Lyra’s confidence was drawn from her knowledge of her ability, and more than a little from the form that she had dedicated her life to mastering, the confidence she sensed from her opponent was the standard confidence, or arrogance, one usually detected from a darksider, and in particular a Sith of any rank. This could of course be a weakness, but it depended on the user. She sensed the force push towards her clone trooper comrade but didn’t allow it to distract her, he may have dived out of the way but she knew not at this point, nor could she allow herself to become distracted. She absorbed the ball of force energy with her left hand before parrying the follow up strike with ease, taking two steps backwards as she did so. With any other style this could be considered giving up ground, a weakness, but in the case of Makashi it was an important part of the form. She followed her block up with a series of light attacks, pushing her opponent backwards as she advanced along a straight line, each parry or attack was carried out smoothly and elegantly using only the minimum energy and strength.

Even as she fought she was able to recognise the aggressive form of Ataru. She knew that it would be an interesting form to face, like Makashi it was best used against one opponent, she also knew that it relied on strength, something that she couldn’t match directly, but her form removed that problem as she relied on parrying the blade rather than blocking it; deflecting the strike and taking a step away rather than holding the blade in place. Her entire form replied on not facing the strengths of an opponent’s form directly, rather strategically reacting and then making use of one’s own form to defeat the opponent. Never the less, Lyra knew that her form was the ultimate refinement of lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat, and that in the hands of an experienced user; of which Lyra qualified, it was an incredibly difficult form to face; and unless this Sith Apprentice got the drop on her somehow, or her Master intervened, it would be unlikely she could beat her at this stage in her training.

“You have power, but not refinement, Strong strikes, but no precision” Lyra commented as she analysed her opponent’s swordplay, even as she launched another string of lightning fast strikes designed to put her enemy on the defensive and waste energy in defending, whilst Lyra again only used what was required “The dark side makes you weak”

Her attacks were designed to keep the enemy off-balance, to bleed the enemy of her energy whilst Lyra maintained a strong reserve of energy, even without drawing on the force properly. She would wait until her opponent faltered before unleashing a devastating barrage of counters and sharp, lightning fast cuts to her opponent to take her out of the fight without killing her. Ideally she would be able to take this Sith alive, take her back to the Jedi Temple for interrogation by the High Council, but she also knew that this Sith might not give her that option, in which case the only alternative was to kill her. Not something that any Jedi liked to do, but with the Sith there were no other options. It was at this stage in the fight, having just parried another string of blows, that she went for a manoeuvre that Dooku, her masters master had once employed, and whilst she would not use it to it’s full usefulness because of her nature as a Jedi, it had the potential to end the fight.

She created herself an opening by feinting unpredictably, and then striking towards her opponents lets, who would probably then use her Ataru form to try and jump over Lyra, in which case she would strike at her opponent whilst in the air, whilst a Sith would simply swipe the Lightsaber along the spine, Lyra would concentrate on only the arms in an attempt to incapacitate, or inflict shallow, but damaging cuts to her opponent. And if not, well she would move on and try something else.

[The Empire Reborn]

Zannah gave as good as she got in the exchange, parrying or dodging her opponents strikes, spinning and ducking and jumping to avoid some, using minute bursts of dark Force power to disrupt the attacks while replying with her own strong blows, not as fast as Lyra's lightning assault but much harder to simply knock away. She was moving constantly, attacking from multiple angles to disrupt her opponents concentration

"Jedi arrogance," she snarled, catching a blow on her saber and holding it before shoving Lyra back with the Force. "I've killed your kind before, and you won't be the last."

The duel continued, and while Zannah should have begun to sense fatigue, the Force came to her aid, imbuing her with more stamina and forcing the fatigue away. Her lightsaber was a a sheet of constantly moving red flame, never pausing for long, always turning parries into strikes.

As Lyra struck at her legs, Zannah did indeed leap, but not over her opponent. Instead she jumped away, twirling to land just a few feet away and on Lyra's side. With a swipe of a hand she flung a cluster of loose rocks at the Jedi's head to disorient her and then resumed her assault. Their sabers locked, and Zannah pushed hard, trying to drive her opponents blade into her eyes.

"You're weak, Jedi," she said as their blades ground against each other. "Crippled by your outdated ways. The dark side is infinitely more powerful than you could ever imagine."

[The Republic Reborn]

Jedi Knight Lyra Akoke
Surface of Unknown Planet
1 AFOC

Even as she held her opponents blade with her own, Lyra laughed in her face.

“Come now Sith, do not try to use Dun Möch on me, I am no mere Padawan you fight, I am a Jedi Knight; I have seen your Darkness and I have rejected it” Lyra said, matter-of-factly “The path that you follow is a quicker, easier path, you have neither the patience nor the will to follow the longer path, and that is why the Sith will always fail”

It was as she spoke the final word that she unleashed the force power that she had been gathering during their saber grapple. She channelled the sheer power through her arms and to her finger tips, which due to their grapple was right in front of her opponents face. The powerful force push ended the grapple and with the range being so close, would leave no chance to block and sent her opponent flying. Then she stepped up her offensive, drawing on her stamina, both what remained and the force-reserve that was just waiting. As she sped across the gap created, using the force to speed her steps, Lyra would seem to be surrounded by trails of force power; both visually and through the force, a side-effect of the force that was not flowing through her veins. True emersion in the force was a skill that only fully trained Jedi, or Sith for that matter, could call on; and indeed it was something that only a Jedi tended to do, as the Sith tended to try and control the great power that was the force.

Whilst Lyra had been using the force to guide her movements, as intuition, she now turned herself totally over to the force and it was the Force that guided her blade in her next strike. To her it was almost unreal as she felt like she was an observer looking in, whilst still retaining full control. She had unleashed her true skill in Makashi; her strikes were elegant and appeared near-constant as a result of the speed that she was moving her blade at. Attack was followed by parry, followed by counter-attack, over and over again, as she continued to use only the minimum needed to get the desired effect she would be able to tire out her opponent; who’s form of Ataru was not well suited to a prolonged engagement that Makashi tended to perform well in.

Lyra had no doubt that this Sith would grow in skill as she continued her training, and who knew perhaps one day she would be able to face Lyra on an even battlefield. But that day was not this day. Lyra knew that this Sith would never allow her to take her alive, and if she killed the Sith she would have to face the Master, and if that was the case she would face him substantially less ready to fight as the fatigue that the Force staved off would catch-up to her. Getting killed would not serve the Order, she needed to get back to the Jedi Temple and inform the Council; but at the same time her Makashi-induced state of mind would not let her back-down unless absolutely necessary.

“General!” Jax shouted “The Resolute just arrived”

Lyra turned back to her opponent, even as she parried a blow and counter-attacked powerfully.

“You speak Sith propaganda, but you have yet to see the true potential of the Lightside, which I have shown only a portion of; you may grow into a Powerful warrior, my dear, but you cannot defeat me this day, but the Darkside does not need to dominate you” Lyra said as she attacked again “I suggest you withdraw, I will not stop you, but think of what I have said, until we meet again”

[The Empire Reborn]

Zannah did her master credit as the Jedi ramped up the ferocity of her attacks. She did not waver, or even appear to react more than to take note of the Jedi's increased ferocity. And as the Jedi's blade became a blur so did she, a hundred minute and larger movements sending her hurtling around, dodging the strikes she could not counter directly.

The clone's news forced a sort of cease-fire, as both combatants disengaged. Zannah found herself breathing heavily; her body was exhausted, the Force energy increasing being the thing keeping her standing and moving and able to utilize her favored form to the fullest. But apart from that, she seemed just as energized as when the battle had commenced.

"Words hide your knowledge," she said, that semi-feral grin still on her face. This was the most intense combat she'd ever faced, and it was exhilarating in a way. "You have seen the dark side before, I can sense it. You know of its power, and you will never escape that knowledge." She laughed, pointing her saber out like an accusing finger. "How does it feel to have that stripped away, Jedi? To lose the power you but touched?"

Meanwhile, the beacons in the space around Kethis were going crazy. The arrival of a warship like the Resolute was serious business, and every single one was squawking the same thing, on every frequency possible.

YOU ARE INTRUDING ON IMPERIAL TERRITORY. LEAVE AT ONCE. YOU ARE INTRUDING ON IMPERIAL TERRITORY. LEAVE AT ONCE.

[The Republic Reborn]

Jedi Knight Lyra Akoke
Surface of Unknown Planet/Star Destroyer Resolute
1 AFOC

Lyra smiled ruefully.

“The Dark Side of the Force is tempting to many a Jedi, mercifully few succumb to its lure thankfully, but it is part of what makes a Jedi truly a Jedi; to have faced their inner darkness” Lyra commented “I pity you, Sith Apprentice; the Dark Side feeds on pain, suffering, and I would not begin to want to know what has taken you down this dark path, but beware dark apprentice; the Sith replace one suffering with another; you will never be free”

Compared to Zannah, Lyra was in much better shape; her form focused on economy of energy expenditure, so she was therefore less fatigued; although she knew full well that as soon as the Force stopped aiding her; as soon as she was out of danger, it would come rushing onto her; but it would be nowhere near as bad as the fatigue that was facing her Opponent once this was over.

“As for the Power I touched” Lyra smiled a pitying smile at the Sith “You just don’t understand do you: I am a Jedi, a Knight of the Republic, I do not seek power, I do not seek fame or fortune; I seek to use the Force for good, that is what makes us different, dark one, the power that you would so readily grasp, I reject all of its empty promises”

Lyra paused, before performing another Makashi salute.

“You may be a Sith, but you were a worthy opponent; it is a shame we are on opposing sides; you would make a great sparring partner, if not for the fact you are trying to kill me of course” Lyra commented with a wry smile “My Star Destroyer has dispatched a Gunship, but please pass on a message to your Master, to be passed onto whatever Order you have”

Lyra paused again.

“The Jedi know you are out there, we know what you are capable off and we will stop you if you threaten the Republic, or innocents” Lyra said simply “We have done it before, and will do it again, now, Sith, go”

Lyra waited until the Sith eventually left and turned to Commander Jax who looked back from behind his helmet and she could sense the concern. The LAAT/i gunship sped out of the sky and stopped a short distance away. With the force energy gradually leaving her system she could feel the fatigue of the duel, no matter how well she had economised her energy expenditure. She forced herself to keep walking to the gunship, in case her opponent was watching, but allowed herself to use the force to summon her cloak rather than walking extra steps to pick it up. Two Clone Troopers, somehow realising that she was fighting a loosing battle with fatigue, perhaps Jax had said something over a private comm channel, helped up into the main part of the gunship which promptly took to the skies and sped towards orbit, the side doors sliding closed as it did so.

Lyra settled onto a pile of ammunition crates.

“By the force I have rarely been so spent” Lyra commented with a wry grin as she rested her head against the side of the cabin “It was good practice however”

“I am no Jedi, but you did well” Jax commented as he squatted down beside his Jedi General and removed his helmet “You were bloody amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it”

Lyra smiled and clasped Jax on the shoulder plate of his armour, which had been dirtied slightly of course by the engagement. The Gunship sped into orbit and promptly landed on the Venator Class Star Destroyer that was sitting defiantly in orbit, totally ignoring the transmissions from the beacons in favour of concentrating on getting the Jedi Knight back aboard. The massive dorsal hanger doors slowly closed as the Star Destroyer heaved out of orbit and began to head towards the edge of the Gravity Well where they could make a jump to lightspeed; the last thing they did before leaving orbit was recover the ARC-170, via a pair of clones that had been dropped off by the gunship prior to collecting the Jedi.

Once safely aboard the Resolute, Lyra allowed herself to let go of the last of the Force-induced additional Stamina and sagged against the side of the gunship. She could still walk but she would need to rest pretty soon, and would be unable to make much progress. Jax saw this and, handing his helmet to another Clone, he put one of Lyra’s arms around his neck and helped her through the ship, taking some of the strain off her tired feet that had proven so vital in the precise footwork that had allowed her to thrive during the duel. Lyra was eternally grateful and between the two of them they made good progress. As they arrived outside of Lyra’s quarters, and Jax helped her inside, her wrist-mounted comm unit chirped, and upon pressing a button, Captain Lavere’s voice emerged.

“General, what is our destination?”

“Novus Vita” Lyra replied “But take us the long way back, if those Imperial Bastards decide to follow us, Id on’t want to lead them straight to our Capital”

“Do you want a communications channel to the Jedi Temple?”

“No, for the same reason, there is the chance that they could intercept the transmission; I’ll brief the Council in person when we get back” Lyra answered thoughtfully “And it allows me to get some rest”

“Very well General” Lavere said formally “Damn fine show from what I’ve heard”

“Thanks Skipper” Lyra smiled, closing the channel as she lay down on top of her covers, still fully clothed, although she had one away with her Cloak “Thanks to you too Jax”

“Any time” Jax replied “I’ll come and get you if the excrement hits the fan”

Lyra smiled and moments later she was in a deep, force-induced sleep. Jax smiled down at his friend before leaving her in peace. But although he was no Jedi, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not over yet.

[The Empire Reborn]

Kethis
Zannah smiled as the Jedi walked away. "You can't escape the dark, Lyra. The brightest light casts the biggest shadow." She considered attacking as she had her back turned, but the gunship and the clones would be too much interference. Besides, there was something about this Jedi...the battle had been so intense, so electrifying, that it would be a shame to strike her down with her back turned. her smile dipped a bit when she realized her Master might not share the same opinion.

Said Master appeared behind her only moments later. She turned and knelt. "I failed you, master. The Jedi lives." She braced for punishment, but none came.

"Yes, but you fought well, my apprentice. You show much promise." He beckoned for her to rise, and she did. "You have stood your ground against an opponent more powerful than you. You are to be commended for that."

"Thank you, master," she said slowly.

"We shall return to the Empire," he said, starting to walk. Zannah followed, though she knew she would be needing some serious sleep when this was done. Part of her training was strengthening her endurance, but Ataro was an intensive form and she felt drained. The Force kept her moving and alert for now.

"I suspect that this shall not be the last we hear of this," Solus was saying. "They have violated our territory. The Emperor will certainly pursue this further. But that is not of concern to us, my apprentice. We have much to do if you are to stand against the Jedi...and win."

Zannah nodded, determined blossoming on her face. She would train as much as was needed, and then some. She would become far more powerful than she had ever thought possible. And then, she would seek out that Jedi again.

And she would kill her.

Imperial Center
Cora Proxima
Emperor Cepho Hale looked at the report before him, holding the dataslate in one hand and a glowstick in the other. Periodically, he would take long drags from the 'stick, its tip glowing bright red, and then exhaling pale blue smoke. Emperor Hale might be the powerful Sith Lord the Empire had ever known, but he'd long since given up on dueling. That was for the others. He fought with his mind, and his words. That was how he had seized the Empire, and that was how he had kept it with overwhelming public support.

"We should crush them." Hale looked up from the report to one of the other two men sitting in his office. He shook his head.

"No, not now. Perhaps in the future, but for now, we must move slowly." Hale rose from his desk. "We shall complain, very strongly. We shall threaten force. And then we shall negotiate."

"They violated our borders, and battled Lord Solus' apprentice!" The man exclaimed.

"We will be diplomatic, Lord Cainen!" Hale snapped. "And that is final." He turned to the other person in the room. "I assume that is happening now?"

Alexandra Clintock, Ambassador of the Empire, nodded. "We've passed along strong complaints, including threats of retaliatory action. I've invited their representatives to meet with us at Harmony Station." Harmony Station was a large orbital station in orbit over Cora Proxima, which was used as a place for diplomatic meetings.

Hale nodded. "Excellent. Lord Cainen, you will accompany miss Clintock to the negotiations, as the representative of our Order."

[The Republic Reborn]

Jedi Temple
Novus Vita, Novus Vita Star System
1 AFOC

“My Opponent was unmistakably a Sith” Lyra said grimly as she looked around at the Jedi High Council in the lone spire above the Jedi Temple “She was also clearly an Apprentice; powerful but that power was raw and unfocused”

“Like many a Sith then” Jedi Grandmaster Alicia Salor commented “Do you have any other comments to make?”

“Yes, it seems that this Sith came from an Order of Sith, much more like those from the times of the Sith Wars, and not from the Order of Bane that we have been dealing with over the past years” Lyra replied “This is only my intuition, but it is my feeling that the Force would not lie on this matter”

Alicia glanced around at the rest of the High Council.

“We agree” Alicia said, matching the grim voice of the Knight in front of her “You have done well, however we do still have a problem; it seems that this Empire has protested our actions in the area”

Lyra frowned at this, although technically they had violated the territory of this Empire, she could not see exactly what grounds the Empire was working on. Never the less she couldn’t help but feel that the Council was going to ask for something that neither they, or Lyra herself, was going to be happy with.

“I’ll put this bluntly, the Republic wants us to go and deal with this situation; we are sending you and your Former Master; we want our best duellists out there if things go sour”

Lyra allowed the compliment to pass without comment, as such a thing would take her down the wrong paths.

“The Senate wants you to de-escalate this situation, and you are to do that by playing innocent” Alicia said, clearly feeling the distaste of everyone in the room “You were simply exploring the planet, you missed the communications because the comm system of your fighter was damaged, you were attacked by the Sith Lord nad only defended yourself, the Resolute arrived only because of an unprovoked attack on a Knight of the Republic”

“You want me to lie?”

“I don’t like it either, Master Anoke” Alicia sighed “But we must follow the directives of the Republic, besides it’s only the reason you were there that you are lying about”

Lyra nodded formally.

“Yes, Master, May the Force be With you”

Lyra bowed to the Council and left the chamber, moving promptly through the Temple as she gathered her thoughts. She did not like the idea of lying, it was not something that came natuarlyl to a Jedi. She did however belevie that she could hide her deception from the Imperials, and even the Sith, all she would have to do was focus on shielding her thoughts from scanning by anyone; she would be able to resist all but the strongest Force Users; such as Grand Master Salor, and if she force-forbid, came up against someone as powerful she would get herself out of the situation and meditate so that she could prevent them from getting access; she wouldn’t be able to negotiate, but it would stop the Imperials from learning the truth. She found her former Master standing in the main concourse, looking out the massive doors to the meditation garden outside, deep in thought. She bowed respectfully.

“You have been informed of our task, Master?”

“Yes” Galan replied “The Resolute is ready in orbit, it seems the Republic Navy wants to symbolise that we haven’t done anything wrong by sending the very same ship; some of their computer techs have deleted anything that shows that you went in with a fully-functional bird; as far as her computers show; the first she knew about the Imperial Claim was when she arrived in system; not when she received the telemetry from your ARC”

“You don’t like this either” Lyra commented.

“No, I do not” Galan replied “But it is the Will of the Council, come young one, we should be going”

[The Empire Reborn]

The space around the Imperial capital was littered with starships and constructs. Warships patrolled the outer edges of the system for any intruders--it was one of these patrol ships that initially detected and hailed the Resolute, directing it to where it should park itself and providing a safe pathway through the man-made maze of flying metal. More warships sat in docks, both in orbit and farther out. Cora Proxima boasted a sizable defense fleet, appropriate for the capital of an Empire that was no stranger to war. Adding in the weapons platforms in orbit and the defense guns on the surface of the city-world and there was plenty of firepower to keep the Republic visitors polite.

Harmony Station
Cora Proxima Orbit
Once the Resolute was parked in orbit and a shuttle carrying the relevant parties dispatched to the station, the visitors were greeted by a reception committee. Flanked by a full company of the Proxima Guard, a functionary whose name was neither given nor important guided the Republic delegation through a series of hallways and turbolifts until they reached the room where the Imperials waited. Harmony Station was designed to host anything from major conferences to discreet one-on-one meetings. This would be making use of one of the medium-sized rooms.

Inside, there were several people waiting for them. The first to speak was Alexandra Clintock, who introduced the Imperial delegation.

"I am Alexandra Clintock, Ambassador of the Empire" she said. "I will be representing the Imperial government. This is Lord Solus, representing the Order of the Sith. Also from the Order is Lord Kayos, and Lady Alyss is from the Inquisitorial Service."

Alexandra and Alyss were seated at one end of a table. Kayos and Solus remained standing behind them. Both Lords wore black cloaks, with hoods though these were not up. Alyss wore a red cloak, with a hood that covered everything above her nose. She emanated incredible Force energy, like standing near a roaring fire. Solus smiled a small smile of recognition upon seeing Lyra.

"Now," Alexandra continued. "To business." She indicated seats where the Republic delegation could sit opposite her. With one hand, she pressed a button on a small console near her seat, which activated a recording device--several devices, actually. That done, she folded her hands on the table. "I assume you have some cover story that your government has concocted to explain what transpired in the Kethis system. So before we proceed, let's hear that, shall we?"

[The Republic Reborn]

Jedi Knight Lyra Anoke
Harmony Station, Imperial Territory
1 AFOC

Upon arriving on the station, hell the entire system, both Jedi had felt ill at ease, this was only intensified when they encountered the various Sith Lords. They immediately erected mental shields in their minds, not wanting to give anything away to these Sith; neither in general, or on the specifics of their mission. They kept their wits about them, ready at any moment to fight their way out if they had to. They were accompanied by Ambassador Jenna Dalen, of the Republic Diplomatic Corps, who would be aiding them in their diplomatic dealings with these people; meaning that between the three of them they had full authority to speak on behalf of the Republic. The Jedi were on-hand to not only provide their own guidance and perspective on the situation, but also to protect the Ambassador; it was for this reason that no Clone Troopers accompanied the Republic delegation. Although Lyra knew for a fact that Commander Jax was sitting on the hanger of the Resolute with an extraction team, just in case they were needed; they would be deployed to allow the ship to destroy and then return with a fleet to further extract the Republic personnel before withdrawing back to Republic territory.

Lyra looked at Solus with distaste, recognizing his Force Aura as belonging to the Master of whatever Apprentice she had fought on the god-damned world that was at the center of the disagreement in this matter; not a good thing. However one thing was similar between the Jedi and the Sith present in the room; all possessed powerful Force Aura’s, both Galan and Lyra were strong in the Force, and powerful Jedi in their own right. Despite not being Force Sensitive, Ambassador Dalen was no less sharp or quick as her Jedi compatriots; she was a hard woman to trick and was well respected in the Republic’s diplomatic Corps, and indeed amongst the Jedi Order, at least those who worked as Jedi Diplomats.

All three of the Republic’s representatives remained stoney-faced during the introduction and there was no obvious reaction to the Imperial’s assumption of a cover-story over the truth. It was for that reason that Dalen refused to dignify the distinction with a response. She simply set an expression and spoke.

“At 0400hrs Republic Standard Time three days ago, Jedi Knight Lyra Anoke and Clone Commander CC-1804 embarked aboard an ARC-170 Starfighter to explore a star system, due to unforeseen damage to their communications array as a result of software problem, no communications regarding any ownership of the system was received” Dalen began “A short time after landing, Anoke was attacked without provocation or any attempt at discourse by a Sith Warrior; after an engagement Anoke broke off the engagement, despite favourable chances of victory, to allow your Warrior to report back to her Master”

Dalen paused and glanced across at Lyra who remained impassive.

“When Master Anoke was first attacked, CC-1804 was able to put in a distress call and the nearest Republic Vessel; the Star Destroyer Resolute responded, and proceeded to extract our Citizens before withdrawing from the System as per your communications request” Delen continued “At no point did the Resolute open fire on any of your Empire’s assets, indeed combat only broke out on the actions of one of your Warriors, so exactly what problem is it that you have in this matter?”

[The Empire Reborn]

"My problem, ambassador?" Clintock leaned back in her chair, a look equal parts contempt and feigned pleasantness on her face. "My problem, ambassador is what I, and the Empire, sees here is a badly covered-up infiltration attempt. You expect me to believe that you sent out a recon mission when said mission had no comms? That you have that little care for the missions you mount, especially missions with Jedi involved? Or do you just have enough of them that you can afford to lose a few here and there?" She directed a smile at Lyra, the kind of condescending and sympathetic look one gives a red-headed stepchild, and then returned to the ambassador, a word she loaded with scorn every time she uttered it.

"Let's drop this pretense, ambassador. Your team knew full well what they were doing. And therein lies the issue, ambassador. Because when I add this all up, I see a nation on our borders, espousing some ideological concepts directly in opposition to ours, sending a Jedi hit team into our borders and then, when that hit team failed to carry out its mission, sending a Class One warship into our space to retrieve them."

"And that, ambassador," she continued, leaning forward again, "Does not bode well for relations between our two governments. Because this could have just as easily been the meeting where I hand you the documentation for our declaration of war on your 'Republic.'"

Meanwhile, the Sith stood there, making no overt moves. Solus, a black presence in the Force, merely radiated contempt for the Jedi before him, as did Lord Kayos. Lady Alyss was another matter, however. Her presence in the Force was not just a single being. It was as if someone had spilled wine onto a carpet; she flooded the air between the two groups, a red tide flowing around the Jedi's mental shields like water around rocks in a stream, moving around them and seeking any crack through which it could pour in. It was like the tide coming in on a sand castle.

And it didn't even seem to be intentional. There was no overt malice emanating from her, no sense of this being a deliberate assault. She sat there, radiating...curiosity. Intense, hungering curiosity, about the Jedi, about the ambassador, about everything unfamiliar to her. And somehow, that was almost scarier than the disdain of the others.

[The Republic Reborn]

Jedi Knight Lyra Anoke
Harmony Station, Imperial Territory
1 AFOC

Delan fixed her counterpart with an withering gaze, such as one gave to a misbehaving child or an uncooperative foreign government, unless of course both were the same. Lyra could sense the contempt from the distinguished member of the Republic Diplomatic Corps. Lyra, like her former master, remained silent for the time being, keeping a careful eye on the Sith and ensuring that their mental barrier’s remained intact against the pressure that was being laid upon them. She was concerned with the direction in which this discussion was going, it was becoming increasingly obvious that this Empire was probably not going to take the truth as the answer and that could be a problem. If things broke down it was their job to get the Ambassador back to the Resolute, and doing that in the time that the ships shields could resist the entire weight of this system’s defences was not going to be easy, not by any stretch of the imagination.

“Mister Ambassador, if the Republic had engaged in a reconnaissance mission against your Empire, you wouldn’t have known about it, and I assure you If the Republic ever ordered the Jedi to carry out an assassination, the target would be dead, not that a Jedi Knight would ever carry out such a mission” Delan said bluntly “Also, the Republic has had no contact with your people, we have had no contact with your population as a whole, and the vast majority of Courscant’s population have no idea that your Empire even exists, even the Holo-Net reporters have not heard of it yet, so your charge that we have been espousing ideological concepts of any kind is in error”

Delan paused and glanced at the Sith.

“I would also remind you that it was one of your warriors that approached Master Anoke, with nothing but hostile intent and her Lightsaber, the Jedi by contrast was armed only to defend herself and did not make the first move” Delan continued “It is therefore obvious to me, and it is the position of the Republic’s government that it was the Empire, not the Republic that is the belligerent party in what should quite frankly have simply remained a diplomatic misunderstanding as a result of a force-forsaken software problem, and your threats of warfare over this matter are deeply disturbing from a political standpoint”

Delan paused again.

“It is the position of the Republic that we would prefer peaceful relations with your Empire, however we are willing, and more than capable of defending ourselves against any acts of aggression” Delan said simply “I however will not sit here and allow you to impugn the Republic’s honour in this matter, so unless you have a declaration of war to hand to me, or anything else to say to me as a representative of the Republic, this meeting is over”

[The Empire Reborn]

OOC: Sorry for the delay, this week IRL was really hectic.

"Allow me to remind you," Clintock countered, "That it is your nation that has committed the violation of our borders, that assaulted emissaries of our nation when they responded to that violation, and who dispatched a warship to retrieve them, without once contacting the Empire or making any sort of attempt to explain yourself. I suspect that if we had not called you on your warmongering actions, ambassador, your nation would have done nothing to acknowledge the aggression you displayed."

Alexandra rose from her seat and gestured to the door, which opened to reveal a small contingent of soldiers. "These men will escort you back to your shuttle. Please inform your government that the next time it invades Imperial space, a diplomatic incident will be the least of your problems."

"And," she added, "Please convey the wish of the Emperor that you keep your Jedi in line. If these Jedi assassination attempts continue, we will take action against the guilty parties and those who harbor and support them."

[The Republic Reborn]

Republic Star Destroyer Resolute, Venator-II Class
Imperial Territory
1 AFOC

The Republic contingent left the meeting room without further conversation, deciding not to dignify the Imperial threats by making a responce. Delan strode through the station with her two Jedi protectors and
advisors until they reached the shuttle. Once safely back aboard the Resolute they stopped down from the shuttle and began to make their way through the ship until they reached the bridge where they met with Captain Lavere.

“How did it go?”

“Posturing, nothing more” Delan replied “I’m tempted to fire a brace of Proton Torpedoes at that station before we leave, but it’s not worth the trouble”

“Orders ma’am?” Lavere asked.

“Break Orbit” Delan replied “Back to Coruscant”

The powerful form of the Republic Star Destroyer broke orbit and her engines flared as they pushed the massive starship away from the world and back towards a position where they could safely jump to Hyperspace. They were in no particualer mood to move quickly so it was about twenty minutes later that the warship jumped away from the system and began it’s way to head away from the Star System.

[The Empire Reborn]

Harmony Station
Clintock and Lord Solus stood, watching the Republic ship depart. Solus' hands were clasped behind him, an expression of neutrality on his face.

"That was not...ideal," the ambassador said. "But neither a failure."

Solus nodded. "We have not seen the last of this Republic," he said ominously. "I can sense it. And how many other nations sit on our borders that we do not know of?"

"I will speak with the Minister of External Affairs," Clintock ventured. "About enhancing our reconnaissance and diplomatic outreach programs. Especially vis a vis this Republic. We need more data."

"I will leave that to you, ambassador," Solus said. "I have other matters to attend to." And with a swirl of his cape and the sound of boots on metal floor, he was gone, leaving Clintock to stare into the void alone. Just who are you? she asked in the direction of the now-gone warship. She doubted the answer would remain unknown for long.

OOC-Sorry for my absence, RL was a bit hectic. Anyway, that's more or less my closing statement for this thread