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Author Topic: Legacy of the Aether  (Read 69899 times)
TheDutchman
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« Reply #150 on: February 20, 2018, 02:11:12 AM »

All of the foreshadowing...every single clue, subtle and overt...the expanse of what we've seen, implied, been told, and guessed...all for what?


For one of the best damn payoffs in print!

Truly spectacular chapter!  And interwoven in the action, a sweeping drama the transcends the mere confines of the Jedi Order or even the Aethans!  This will have galactic ramifications indeed! 

Lovely Aesop, that: don't rely on one thing as the sole measure of one's attributes. 

This.  Was.  AWESOME!

Fantastic job LSG!
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Karmack
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« Reply #151 on: February 20, 2018, 03:11:04 PM »

Sadly, none of the Jedi who heard Valens give Kimar the out lived...

Darth Kreia....  oh but she is worth a study.  It's long, but this explains a lot...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO5Zzdi3W40

Hmm.   Research...   ;-)  Thanks for the link!
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Master Singer of the Mak'Tor

Illyiss
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There are shadows darker still...


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« Reply #152 on: February 20, 2018, 08:15:01 PM »

Hmm.   Research...   ;-)  Thanks for the link!

Welcome.  It popped up in a rotation while I was researching something one day, and I almost clicked past for the length, and was glad I sat through it.  The poster offers some well thought out and researched insights.
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Darth Pandæmis

Peace is a lie...

Jedi Council of Ohio

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Lord_S_Gray
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« Reply #153 on: February 20, 2018, 09:36:17 PM »

Thanks Guys!
At moments like this I find myself rooting for the Aethans, not the Jedi.

But that's the point, right?

That is the point exactly, for Kimar to Lose Valens has to Win, just like earlier for Soryu to win Jarys would have to lose, how does one pick between such characters? who is the lesser evil?

He gave Kimar a chance to set things right, and Kimar (being the worm that he is) rejected that chance, and at the same time, sentenced a lot of Jedi to death. That's all on him.

As most of you noted, this was just as much about Kimar as it was Valens and Jarys...when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object.

at any rate to show my appreciation for your comments....

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Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Lord_S_Gray
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Force Alignment: 428
Posts: 1903



« Reply #154 on: February 20, 2018, 09:40:29 PM »

Chapter 35
Milaea
Cold, clinical white, slightly glossy reflecting her image back at her.  She could feel the deaths of the Jedi…one by one they were lost to the second greatest weapon the Aethans had ever made themselves into that bore the name Valens. 

A part of her told her she should be up there…helping them…that she was the only one who could do anything about this…yet she didn’t…she just stared at her reflection.

She knew…somehow…what Valens had told her was true…that her mother…her father…had been taken from their home…she could recall moments from her infancy…her mother…

The reflection shifted before her intense gaze…another face like hers…but fuller, more rounded cheeks, energetic, playful eyes…her mother…Cilina…but worry crept across her features…fear…annoyance…despair…forced to slave away for…yes she remembered the Bith…

Valens…he had rescued them…she recalled the voice of Yoda…sending her and her mother away…a red black tide of energy…a distorted face…she had cried as she was ripped from her mother…a hideous Quarren and Dathomiri looked over her…but they left replaced by the face of…not her aunt Shilea…but the tortured abomination that lived in her body….Sevra.

But there was more behind that…a blood red…a darkness...she had been trapped…trapped for a long time…but that was not her…or not her as she was now…the prison…it was like a black abyss that separated the two lives…the one before then…

The quiet beeps of medical equipment chimed in time to the death of another Jedi far above her.  Her vision started to resolve back to the present…but she needed to see…see for herself what her heart told her to be true…she closed her eyes and entered the blackness between her lives…shifting through the quagmire of centuries…

She found herself in a dream she had before, not a dream…a memory, the people…her people surrounded her, called her names of glory and power…Aethenaea, Aertemisaea, Aephrodaea…she was like a goddess to them…

The room was white, she was red, the women were beautiful…all there to satiate her lusts…and when she tired with them she had Valance…she held the women’s minds enthralled as she used them…but she didn’t control Valance that way…he was lesser…yet the only one strong enough to resist her…

She lay back onto the cold black stone, Valance stood over her red lighting from his fingertips as her consciousness slipped into the altar, plunging into a deep black bath…as she rose it was into a body of burning energy…now he was on the altar, she was on top of him…her body…was so much more than it had been now…he couldn’t satisfy her anymore…the room was littered with women passed out trying…she needed to remake him.

She poured the red lightning of life into him…but he was stuck…caged as an infant in the diamond forged of his own carbon…she had rushed her calculations…misjudged the process…it wouldn’t have mattered…but.

Sith had found them, their legions looted and killed as their Armada scorched the earth behind them, for every Aethan killed thirty Sith died…but they were one world against an empire.  She looked down from the mountains as her People died…they turned to her…

She slew thousands, tore dreadnoughts from the sky, broke their spines and immolated Masters and Lords with mere thoughts…still they came…

Upon that mountain as the sky burned, she told the few who remained to hide in the valley, this she could shield…no more…She poured out all the power the aether and the generations of Genetic science had given her…the Armada was ripped to shreds, the legions burnt to a cinder…but she was dying…

Dark wet air in the cave they had brought the altar, Valance an unconscious babe sealed in a diamond prison upon it…her body was falling to pieces…she let her consciousness slip into the altar…into the abyss….
***************************************************************************************************

Her eyes opened…grief poured through the temple halls…it had been...hours, the fighting was over…for now.

She looked at her hands…Valens was right…she had been remade in this new body…she was not just the blazing shameless, brutal, manipulative Aethena, or the terrified baby Milaea rent from her mother and a father she never knew….she was both of them combined through…by some eldritch necromancy…she had the powers and memories of both…

They were not separate…they were her…

Just as she was the product of Jarys and Cilina, so she was also the child of an innocent baby and a carnal Goddess.

She was Milaea. And she was no longer afraid of that.

Yet the question remained.

She knew who she was, she knew what she was, she knew the extent of her power…

But how and for whose benefit would she use it?
***************************************************************************************************

She only slowly recognized that the infirmary was filling with people, pain, despair and fear. 

She noticed her legs and backside were sore for sitting too long in the same position as she stood and started to move around.  They were so afraid. 

She paused by the nearest bed as a wounded Sephi was lowered onto the bed, a large black cut marred her purple forehead and trailed dark blood across her face. 

The Padawan on staff already looked haggard as he absently washed the wound and sloppily applied a bacta pad that wasn’t quite big enough to cover the gash.  There was a shout further down the room and he rushed to assist.

Such pain…such fear…She had done this on Vyth and she didn’t really know why anymore…for the Order, for the Light? 

She couldn’t undo that…the Sephi noticed her and their eyes met…

But she could fix this…though her calm was more the result of shock and the numbness that follows trauma it was still a calm she could share with the shell shocked Sephi.  She took the lavender hand in her pure ivory fingers and let the calm and peace flow to her…

If she was using the force to heal at the same time it was not consciously, the gash on her forehead not covered by the bacta patch slowly turning pink and closing, settling from a raised scar into a rosy streak of clean fresh skin. 

Yet pain remained in her the horrific after images of a walking wound in the force and a giant who roared like an animal, she leant forward and kissed the woman’s forehead, fading from her mind the active memory of what she had seen. 

The Sephi’s deep eyes flickered under heavy lids till finally she passed into a sleep free from the terror her waking hours had tried to instil in her.

She continued down the line of beds, pausing at each one, just standing beside the sometimes thrashing, sometimes screaming, and sometimes catatonic figures.  She felt such sadness for them…such sadness for herself at having once caused such terror…

A thought that was not a thought in her heart, barely a whisper that told her she could heal them all…no just physically but emotionally…

And so she would stand there beside them as the doctors hurried about seemingly oblivious to her presence at first until they had to stop their ministrations because they were simply not necessary…every moment she stood near someone they seemed to recover more and more to the point they simply fell into dreamless slumber.

People were talking to her, asking her things, calling her things…

Miracle, Angel, Saviour…

Didn’t they know what she had done? No they didn’t…what did it matter…she was capable of both…creation and destruction, life and death…to wound and to heal.

"Your choices determine your actions, your actions determine your self, yourself shapes the galaxy around" Soryu would say

Here and now she chose to heal.
***************************************************************************************************

She didn’t know what time it was when she returned to her room, but Sofa was waiting for her, she literally leapt forward and pulled Milaea in deeply and tightly,

“Thank the Stars you’re alright,” she sobbed, she had been crying, her night black hair was loose the strands around her face wet with tears

“Where were you sweetie…I’m so glad you’re alright…”

She could feel how worried Sofa was, feel her concern…feel her using every method she to keep from falling apart…but more than anything else trying to understand what this all meant for the two of them…her love for Valens conflicting with her horror at what he had done…

But Milaea knew how that would be resolved…she knew how and to whom Sofa would assign the blame before she did. 

She felt herself pulled down slightly as Sofa kissed her forehead.

“Mili, talk to me, what’s going on,” she said as she pulled her onto the bed that served as the only place to sit in the small room, patches on the walls and new furniture still evident from when she had nearly blown it apart with her last nightmare…

Her Last Nightmare…it would be the last…now that she knew…now that she had seen into her own memories…she had nothing to be afraid of anymore.

She leaned her head back against Sofa’s breast,
“Mili…it’ll be alright Mili” Sofa went on stroking her hair

She was tired…but she let what little energy she had left wash over the both of them,

“It’s alright…” Sofa repeated drowsily

No it wasn’t, she thought, as she faded along with her, wrapped in each other’s arms,

It hadn’t been alright for a long time…

But maybe…if she could let this peace and comfort she felt here and now flow to everyone…maybe it could be.
***************************************************************************************************
Logged

Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

Illyiss
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« Reply #155 on: February 20, 2018, 10:09:16 PM »

And there comes a point where every parent, every architect, every creator must step back, hold their breath, and see what they have made choose what it will be.  Years upon years, with bodies beyond count, plans and machinations, a grand scheme, actions in motion across an entire galaxy, and for all his careful planning, all his machination and control, Valens cannot force this outcome.  He gave Mileae strength and power beyond measure, merged her with the closest thing to a goddess ever conceived by sentient species, and for all that, she is her own person.  Now that person knows who, what she is, and who, what Valens is.  She's seen, twice now, and the pain, grief, death, and suffering it entails, is not what she chooses.  Another moment, perhaps she will choose differently, but for now, she chooses peace, healing.  Somewhere, deep in my mind, is the nagging notion that Kimar may be the point of balance yet again.  If he comes down on Mileae harshly, or reacts like the petulant child he is, she may yet turn.  If he chooses to keep it to himself, or to take the path of remedy, the Jedi may yet retain her heart.  Then there is a wholly different path; Mileae may yet leave the Jedi and their decline in hubris, but not take Valens and his path of blood, yet take from him the shining possibility of the future he has set before her, and their people, and lead them upon a more peaceful path.  Even if she has to do what she must to protect that life for them; but then, perhaps that's been Valens' plan all along...
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Darth Pandæmis

Peace is a lie...

Jedi Council of Ohio

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Karmack
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Light side points please.


« Reply #156 on: February 20, 2018, 10:47:14 PM »

Illyiss has the heart of it.  Millaea is still in the decision point, has not committed to a path.  Her knowledge of who she is and what she is will change her perspective, but only in that she now has the self-confidence to actually choose.

And also as Illyiss said, I fear that Kimar will be the catalyst of choice.  To the woe of the Jedi...
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TheDutchman
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« Reply #157 on: February 21, 2018, 12:37:40 PM »

Powerful chapter LSG.

Impressive; CH.34 was an incredible treatise on the sheer violence that one of the most powerful Force beings could bring to bear; but with Milaea she becomes the proverbial Yin, using her vast powers to heal.  You've always like dichotomies and here is the result in spades! 

And even with all of that, Milaea still vacillates as she thinks upon her newfound epiphany as something more than just "Milaea" indeed more than the goddess...
Wonderful writing!  I really like when characters who think that they've been given two choices instead take a third option  Smiley

Looking forward to reading what comes next!
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My sabers:Zearic's Aldrnari, Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, AS; Zearic's shoto, Apprentice v4 w/Obsidian, AS; Graflex SE w/Obsidian, GB; Archon v3 (modded w/ activation box) w/Obsidian, CG; Dark Sentinel v4 w/Obsidian, BR; Sentinel LE v4 w/Obsidian, GB; Initiate v5 w/Obsidian, AS; Sentinel LE v4 stunt, EG; Aeon LE v4 stunt, FO; Dominix v4 stunt, BR; Aeon v3 stunt, SY

Lord_S_Gray
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Force Alignment: 428
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« Reply #158 on: February 21, 2018, 11:23:53 PM »

Chapter 36
Soryu
The Situation room was large and quiet, the shadow of defeat lying as heavily as the sting of betrayal.  The Council at around the central dais were blue lit consoles showed the footage from the Ginii Spaceport and the East Hangar alongside various details of the two…

Destroyers.

Valens he knew all too well, the Sith of Cygrat now identified as “Jarys” leader of an elite squad in the Sons of Kessel he had met all too recently, his joints and ribs still sore from the introduction.

Kimar leaned heavily on the central projector table, his face still bruised from Valens backhand, horn cracked and skin glistening with bacta-seal gels.

“There can be no doubt, we are facing the Sith Lords following the Baneite Rule of Two…which is master and apprentice is irrelevant both must be destroyed,”

“Our first move must be….”

“No,” replied a strong clear voice,

It was only as all the eyes and visual receptors suddenly flicked to him that Soryu realised he had said it,

He briefly closed his eyes…there is no emotion there is peace…there is no ignorance there is knowledge…two maxims that they had failed to put in place throughout this whole situation and he must remind them of now,

“No to what Master Soryu?”

“No they are not Sith…we have no evidence of that, their motives are unknown but their actions show no indications of an attempt to dominate others…they have only acted defensively,”

“Defensively!” he stabbed his finger toward the replaying fragment of Valens stabbing two Sentinels in the back

“You call that Defensive!”

His heart was pounding, but he had to go on, assumptions and jumping to false conclusions has lead them to this disaster, reacting to events emotionally could not continue or more Jedi would be lost.

“Think, this Jarys only appeared when Master Neirai confronted him on Cygrat, only fought when she attempted to arrest him, exactly the same thing happened on Santooine and now Ginii port – we sent an armed force to bring him in and he resisted…he is a member of the Sons of Kessel!”

The blank looks on the faces of all the Masters except Yoren meant he needed to explain to them – EXPLAIN to the Jedi order what it meant to try and arrest a member of the Sons.  They had fallen so far he sighed.

“There is no situation, absolutely no situation in which one of the Sons would ever, ever allow himself to be taken away in chains or locked up….” He knew he was doubling his words but the point had to get through.  He gazed at Kimar
“Why Valens helped him…I don’t know…but it doesn’t look like it was planned”
Ha paused for a moment to redirect his thoughts
“We have failed…we have misread the situation, we heard the words Sith Lightning from Milaea and panicked, failing the Order, failing ourselves”

Kimar’s gaze like iron flowed into his words,
“WE have failed!  You and Yoda failed by bringing in the Sith spy Valens, training him!  Your willingness to accept unorthodoxy has led to the deaths of over twenty Jedi and seventeen Mak’Tor including your friend Odjina at the hands of this Monstrosity”

His stomach sank, Odjina…no…it wasn’t possible…why would Valens…

Means, Motive, Opportunity he quickly thought…means…until seeing the footage from the East Hangar he would not have believed Valens had the means to defeat Odjina…that was one…Motive, Opportunity…why would he go to Vyth…no one knew about it…he’d suggested it to Odjina because it was off the beaten track…let alone motive…

It fell into place…only one man had the Motive and Opportunity – the same man who controlled the Means directly…he struggled to rein in his anger…but he had to
There is no emotion there is peace
There is no emotion there is peace
THERE IS NO EMTOTION THERE IS PEACE

“YOU - You sent him there didn’t you, you told him where they were!” he shouted back rising to his feet, the dam that held back years of frustration finally bursting

“YOU sent him to kill the Mak’Tor…not enough to Exile them…you sent…Monster…you’re the Monster” his hands were shaking with barely suppressed rage

While the other masters started to lean backwards, Kimar pressed forwards

“I do what is best for the Order in all things!  I saw the danger of the Mak’tor, their weaselling into control over various planets, establishing so called ‘healing centres’, they are creating a militarized Theocratic terrorist network!”

All attention turned to the Grand Master as he flooded the force with confidence and determination,

“I saw the danger this Jarys posed and followed the protocol deploying you and Gurrlum to seize him – a protocol both you and Yoda helped design after the disaster of the archives project saw twenty Jedi killed by the Quarren and his psychotic witch Sevra!”

He surveyed the room with a dominant gaze and powerful presence that supressed any argument before it formed a sentence in the speakers mouth

“I saw Valens betray us and I moved to arrest him immediately, everything I have done has been in line with protocol, if I have failed in anything it has been in severely underestimating our enemy and severely over estimating our own ability!”

Soryu couldn’t take any more

“Don’t you see that is the problem! We instantly turned to force to solve our problem”
Whilst Kimar spoke in terms of ‘I’ Soryu would only speak in terms of ‘we’ no matter their divisions the Order was one, they were ALL responsible for each other’s decisions.

He felt the anger welling but poured it into serenity, into wisdom, into compassion,

“Instead of taking time to think, to learn, to speak and understand, following the true path of communication, dialogue and compassion we panicked and attacked! If that is protocol then our protocol is wrong, and continuing to follow it will not make things any better!”

His breath was ragged from the emotion, he could feel his own conflict in the force about him…he needed to steady himself…but he could not allow this to continue any longer.

“We have failed the Order…each and every one of us has failed…and the Order has suffered in turn,”

Kimar sneered, “Save your sermons and self-flagellation for your acolytes Soryu,”

“Enough!” called Yoren rising up, “this bickering is pointless,”

“We need to focus on what is frelled up, not who frelled up!” He gave the whole assembly a condemning glance,

“We focus on the Now…how we got here…” he eyes darted to Kimar then Soryu,

“We can consider later…right now the Rancor is on the loose and we need to reign it in before anyone else dies”

Soryu felt himself sink as rage turned to shame that he had acted so rashly just now…it was an outpouring of anger at so many things he had seen going wrong over so many years…

Yoren brought up a map of the area around the Temple,

“We’re co-ordinating with the CSF trying to trace where they went, orders are not to engage…teams of three Jedi scouting the under levels again orders not to engage…”

As Yoren explained the search efforts progress, Soryu settled himself back down, this was getting too much for him to take…he suddenly thought about Sofa and Milaea…they hadn’t been on the list of the dead thank the Maker…truly he would’ve sensed if anything happened to either of them…but Sofa…he knew about her and Valens, he had always known…what would she think…what would she do…

“Does anybody have any leads on where they might be, potential resources or fall back positions or their motives I haven’t already covered” Yorens’s voice pulled him from his reverie

Soryu felt the eyes of the room burn upon him…

He felt the strain of being pulled in two directions…he had one clue that could shift the investigation…yet he could not put Sofa in danger…nor could he betray the Order by remaining silent

“I may have a lead…it is tenuous but I will speak with the contact immediately,” he said quietly

“And who is this lead Soryu,” Kimar growled

He had to play this carefully…the tightrope between betraying the girls he loved like daughters and the Order was starting to wobble beneath his feet

“Master Neirai had…discussions…with Knight Valens at length following his return from Vyth – concerning her apprentice who was just knighted- she might know something…” hopefully that would work

“Have her brought before the council,” Kimar said bureaucratically

“No!” Soryu’s quickly interjected before steadying his tone,
“She’ll be more open if I, as her Master go to her informally…as a first step”
He could not risk her being interrogated by the Council about her relationship with Valens…if she were taken into custody Valens might be provoked into trying to rescue her…the cycling images from the hangar showed exactly what that would result in.

“Very well…” Kimar allowed
The force settled and calmed as they agreed on how to continue the search, but spiked once more as Kimar explained his plans with regard to releasing information

“So far we have explained to the Media and the Senate the events in the hangar were part of a live fire exercise…our slicers have back cast formal advice to the CSF dated a fortnight ago to make it appear they were informed but overlooked it,”

“Surely they won’t believe that given their losses,” Yoren replied incredulous

“It is the least worse option…we cannot have the city in a panic and we must not be seen to be weak or divided in the eyes of the Senate or the galaxy…” the Grand master continued

“To that end, all footage from the massacres is to be deleted save for copies that I myself will keep,”

The force echoed with concern

“Is it wise to censor this information?” Torfun queried “surely as the champions of Truth and Jus….”

“Would you rather more fear and panic spread through the ranks?” Kimar interjected with another question,

“Just look at it…” he stared at the holo on repeat of Valens using six Jedi like punching bags after he had used a null field to snatch the force from them, beside that another cut of Jarys and Valens brutalizing any Jedi they could catch as the lucky ones ran from them. 

Soryu couldn’t decide if the fact the holo-cams had been unable to capture the reported force void, force illusions and force ‘Roar’ as they called it made the viewing more or less terrifying. 

“If the Order at large sees this…it will create a cancer of fear…it will only be a matter of time before it is leaked to the press and as overwhelmed as we are now…how much worse will it be if this is playing to raucous laughter in every dive from here to Soccorro…” Kimar concluded

There was a logic to the Grand Masters words…the Jedi were only seven thousand against hundreds of trillions…their mystique – or spectral fear factor one might unkindly call it – was a part of their arsenal that kept the thugs and gangs wary of going too far and risking Jedi intervention…

The holo-footage could not record the force illusions, void, the manipulation of the emotions of the Jedi …all a non-force user would see is one man slaughtering fourteen Jedi, three huge explosions, then joined by another to kill ten more as over twenty others fled in absolute terror – and all this in the Temple itself. 

Instead of backing down at the site of a robe and glimpse of a sabre, a thousand more gangers, smugglers and pirates would be emboldened to try their luck against the all too mortal Jedi.

He didn’t like it…but his fury was spent…it was a bitter medicine to inoculate against a greater disease spreading…but he felt no less sickened for gulping down.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The darkness of recent events cast a pall across their celebration. 

Even the standard lighting of Sofa’s room seemed dim as he sat across from her and Milaea.  He had come to congratulate her of being knighted…but somehow that all seemed so…beside the point now. 

Still…he reached across, opening his palm,

“I wanted you to have this,” he offered Milaea the small wooden circle with a sword coming from a star in the centre,

She took it with little enthusiasm, he had heard she helped out in the infirmary after the  -could it be called a battle – at any rate amongst the fearful chatter in the halls about the ‘battle’ were small lights of stories about the young female who had healed nearly two dozen wounded Jedi just by standing near them.

“Apparently it’s made from the bark of a special tree from the lost world of Ahch-To…” he began but there was just no helping it

“Maybe we should talk about it…get it out in the open,” he said finally
“We have every right to feel saddened…betrayed by…” he didn’t know whether to say Kimar or Valens,

“Betrayed by those we trusted...but this is the time we need to trust in the Order the most…”

“I trusted in the Order on Vyth,” Milaea said quietly idly looking over the wooden medallion, “Trusted the Grand Masters instructions…the councils judgement on the Mak’tor…” she looked up, “After where that lead me how I can ever trust them…”

Sofa gently stroked her back, he couldn’t really respond to that…he could only see the escalation of the fracture the expulsion of the Mak’Tor all those years ago had caused…and it broke him to see Milaea had been used to carry that out.

“The Order is made up of imperfect people…but we can’t make it better by giving up trying to change it…” he finally replied

She nodded, but she still looked uncomfortable, this conversation was not going anywhere endearing. 

“I need to go…” Milaea said standing up, Sofa looked at her concerned,

“You alright,”

“Yeah just…girl stuff…” she replied her hand on her stomach.

“Thank you Soryu,” she said as she went past, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, leaving him and Sofa in strained silence.

“Sofa…do you have any idea where Valens might have gone…” he broke the hush

“You think I’ll know because I’m frelling him? You think the answer to catching him is between my legs?” she snapped,

“Sofa…”

“No, I don’t care, I’m sick of this…I’m sick of what this is doing to us all, Milaea’s having to kill Mak’Tor, Kimar is trying to kill Valens, and you’re getting into fights with the Sons of Kessel…And I…”  she paused for a moment collecting her thoughts,

“I’m sick of pretending, Yes I’m in a relationship with Valens, you’ve know it for ages, I shouldn’t have to hide it, I should be able to wear what I like, go where I like, have sex when I like.”

“Sofa, you shouldn’t say these….”

“Who cares?” she leapt up and headed to her wardrobe, “What are they going to do try and kill me like with Valens?  Oh sorry I meant arrest”

“Sofa, Valens is sick, even Milaea said so…”

She turned and gave him a dark look, “And why do you think that is?  They pushed him and pushed him and pushed him, do you even know half the things Kimar asked him to do…do you know how many people Kimar sent him to kill for his chums in the Senate…it’s amazing it took him this long to snap.”

She scrounged into her wardrobe and pulled out a set of black negligée that was well beyond what was considered contraband.

“See this…this is what I want to be able to wear, something that makes me feel good and sexy instead of these drab robes  - I want to enjoy the freedoms we’re meant to be fighting to protect!”

She paused her rage subsiding into a calming mantra she muttered under her breath as her eyes stared at the black lace.

“I was never cut out for this…you always knew it…that’s why you never stopped me sneaking out when I was a teenager, ignored my nail polish and make up, never turned Valens and I in before…”

She looked him deep in the eyes, the look of a daughter pleading with her father to finally accept she’s a grown woman.

“And that’s why you won’t stop me leaving now…” she stepped up toward him and placed her hand on his cheek,

“You know I love you…but I want my own life…my own family…not some rank in an Order I just don’t believe in anymore,”

He nodded slowly, he understood but this was not the time

“Sofa it’s too dangerous, I don’t want you to get hurt…Valens isn’t who we thought he is…”

She shook her head,

“I know who he is…I don’t understand what’s happening with him but I know he won’t hurt me…and honestly…this is the best chance to end this before anyone else dies…we’ll go away together, just vanish....”

He knew she was right…Trying to arrest Valens was a fool’s errand and could only lead to more deaths…he just hoped Sofa could convince him….

He nodded as she tossed the negligee back into her cupboard and stepped over to hug him…if she succeeded he might never see her again…

This was a time for raw honesty, even with himself, something he had kept secret for too long

“Maker Bless and keep you,” he prayed as he held her tightly.
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Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

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« Reply #159 on: February 22, 2018, 12:38:55 AM »

Wow...  The aftermath is at least as chaotic as the attack itself. 

First thing that popped out at me was Kimar's description of the Mak'Tor.  I loved the way he sees them as religious zealots setting up a "militarized Theocratic terrorist network".  I mean, who can argue against stamping something like that out?  :-)

I feel for Soryu.  He needs help, and he's essentially alone.  Millaea and Sofa are about to bail, and they'll be seen as somehow corrupted by the "Sith" when they do.  Kimar will interpret Sofa's views as coming from the corrupting influence of Valens, an influence allowed by Soryu and tacitly approved by Yoda due to his involvement in bringing Valens into the Jedi in the first place.  The internal politics are indicative of an organization on the verge of collapse, but all they can do is fall back on orthodoxy.

Well woven, my friend!  I am greatly anticipating the reunion of Valens and Jarys with Millaea and Sofa...   
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« Reply #160 on: February 22, 2018, 02:30:56 AM »

Standing over the holo-vid, blatantly deviating from the code itself as his emotional reaction is launched at the rest of the council, Kimar demonstrates his loosening grip on sanity.  Blame, blame, blame, fault, fault, fault.  His finger pointed desperately at any target that took the sights off of him and his role in these things.  He even deigned to use the Force to influence the council.  No, to manipulate the council.  Soryu, finally having had enough, no longer able to hold back his own tide, stands, the impassioned voice of reason, of loyalty to the core of the Order, and Kimar throws it back on him, and on a master not present to defend himself, Yoda.  Defending his actions against the Mak'Tor, he accuses them of forming a terrorist network, by setting up healing centers.  When healing the unwell is a threat to your Order, it is likely that the terrorists in play IS your order.  Then, as the aftershocks still spread out from the event, more bottles, long corked, come undone; Sofa, standing for her beliefs, her desires, her needs, and telling Soryu that she is done, leaving the Order, an order she has not believed in for some time.  Milaea (hey I got it right this time, damn lysdexia) not even comfortable talking about her mind on it with the two of them, or at least not with both together, excuses herself, and where her mind is carrying her is yet a web of potential futures fracturing into the Force ahead...
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« Reply #161 on: February 22, 2018, 03:48:36 AM »

Wow...  The aftermath is at least as chaotic as the attack itself. 

First thing that popped out at me was Kimar's description of the Mak'Tor.  I loved the way he sees them as religious zealots setting up a "militarized Theocratic terrorist network".  I mean, who can argue against stamping something like that out?  :-)

I feel for Soryu.  He needs help, and he's essentially alone.  Millaea and Sofa are about to bail, and they'll be seen as somehow corrupted by the "Sith" when they do.  Kimar will interpret Sofa's views as coming from the corrupting influence of Valens, an influence allowed by Soryu and tacitly approved by Yoda due to his involvement in bringing Valens into the Jedi in the first place.  The internal politics are indicative of an organization on the verge of collapse, but all they can do is fall back on orthodoxy.

Well woven, my friend!  I am greatly anticipating the reunion of Valens and Jarys with Millaea and Sofa...   
Standing over the holo-vid, blatantly deviating from the code itself as his emotional reaction is launched at the rest of the council, Kimar demonstrates his loosening grip on sanity.  Blame, blame, blame, fault, fault, fault.  His finger pointed desperately at any target that took the sights off of him and his role in these things.  He even deigned to use the Force to influence the council.  No, to manipulate the council.  Soryu, finally having had enough, no longer able to hold back his own tide, stands, the impassioned voice of reason, of loyalty to the core of the Order, and Kimar throws it back on him, and on a master not present to defend himself, Yoda.  Defending his actions against the Mak'Tor, he accuses them of forming a terrorist network, by setting up healing centers.  When healing the unwell is a threat to your Order, it is likely that the terrorists in play IS your order.  Then, as the aftershocks still spread out from the event, more bottles, long corked, come undone; Sofa, standing for her beliefs, her desires, her needs, and telling Soryu that she is done, leaving the Order, an order she has not believed in for some time.  Milaea (hey I got it right this time, damn lysdexia) not even comfortable talking about her mind on it with the two of them, or at least not with both together, excuses herself, and where her mind is carrying her is yet a web of potential futures fracturing into the Force ahead...
THIS is why I LOVE reading about the Aethans: while their moral barometer is highly skewed towards their favor we now see that the Jedi--even Soryu!-- will ignore "what is right" if it suborns the welfare of the Order.  Is it right?  Wrong?  I say "both."
Once again, outstanding storytelling!

Every sentence read, I had to slow down, just because I wanted to find out "what's next?!"

Oh, two parts in particular that tickled my fancy: the reference to Ahch-To and that Soryu is a believer in the Mak'Tor Maker   Grin
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« Reply #162 on: February 22, 2018, 04:50:37 AM »

Oh, two parts in particular that tickled my fancy: the reference to Ahch-To and that Soryu is a believer in the Mak'Tor Maker   Grin

I have to agree, those two nods were PERFECT and amazing.  The second really giving a whole dimension to Soryu that just makes... Sense.
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« Reply #163 on: February 22, 2018, 02:53:30 PM »

I have to agree, those two nods were PERFECT and amazing.  The second really giving a whole dimension to Soryu that just makes... Sense.

Agreed.  generally a really solid moral compass generally comes from a source that is extrinsic to the one who believes in it.  Usually a source that is believed to be deity.  This is true of the Aethans as well as the Mak'Tor.  :-)   One big problem with the Jedi is that they only have "the force" as a guide - and its ambiguous at best.
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« Reply #164 on: February 22, 2018, 09:35:44 PM »

Just in case any thought two Aethans running around Coruscant wasn't enough...

Chapter 37
Kiraea
Valens message was a short as it was urgent, “Now”. 

She’d made good time to Coruscant in her small Chiss craft, and headed straight to the apartment, only to find….no one home. 

Bored she poked around the rooms, Valens small neatly folded collection of clothes, books on Physics, Starship Design, Economics, The Collected Poems of Illyiss, a few holocrons and strange totems he’d saved from the dusty vaults of the Temple and curiously a fluffy black and white stuffed Ewok with a sad expression and blue hood that had ‘Hug Me I Need help’ stitched on it.

Then Sofa’s – whom Valens hadn’t even let her meet for some reason – underwear, a few dresses and casual outfits, cosmetics, jewellery, fashionable magazines, “Ta'a Chume'Dan Style Today – Get Hapan chic for your home or office”, Holo-discs for bands like the Blazing Comets that hadn’t been popular for ten years or more in a draw with…ooh toys…

But the unmade bed interested her the most…she knew Valens scent but the female one smelt…Aethan…human females didn’t give off pheromones like that…she knew very well they were almost tasteless – fun when Kiraea wanted a living toy…but tasteless…

There was no way Valens would be having sex with Milaea so whose pheromones were they. 

She mused on the question as she tried on various bits of Sofa’s wardrobe…hmmm Sofa had a larger bust, Kiraea just couldn’t fill the tops out…it couldn’t be Sofa’s pheromones she was only human…though Valens had mentioned Milaea had done something to her….

Could Milaea have?  No she wouldn’t even think something so gross.

Finally the apartment alarm signalled someone approaching, she headed out to the entrance way to find Valens and…

“Jarys!” she beamed rushing up to hug him…the blood and grime of Coruscants under levels streaking his armour inadvertently ruining the pure white chemise she was wearing.

“Kiri, you’re so…” he arched back to look her over, “…grown up…still losing your shoes though…”

She offered a slightly saddened smile as Valens dipped his head in remembrance, her older sister Yorna had always been on her about losing her shoes, always finding them for her…always amazed she could wriggle out of them no matter how tight she tied the laces…

“We have so much catching up to do!” she started, “So what happened after…”

“We’ll have to do it later Kiri…things…aren’t going well…” Valens interrupted
She realised who was missing,

“Where’s Milaea?”

“She’s still with the Jedi…running into Jarys meant…” Valens sighed defeated,

“I had hoped to slowly tell Milaea the truth, guide her gradually…she was already past the Jedi…but events…got out of control…I had to move fast and she didn’t take it well…”

He poured a stream of understanding into the aether for her to pick up on, much more efficient than telling the story, Jarys added his own pieces in turn…she understood…

The Jedi had attacked them both and were now keeping her confused little sister Milaea away from her in their hideous Temple.

They had to die.
*******************************************************************************************
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Lord_S_Gray

Surik: "Kreia, what are you—are you a Jedi, a Sith?"
Kreia: "Does it matter? Of course it does, such titles allow you to break the galaxy into light and dark, categorize it. Perhaps I am neither, and I hold both as what they are, pieces of a whole."

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