A Message to Our People (Liberty Concord)

[Revenchent]

Well, that was fun!


The New Order, under command of one Darth Vulcanus had made a timely mistake. They had targeted the Confederacy, and instead, sprung their trap on the Liberty Concord. Many men had dies in the assault, and an important young fiery redhead was nowhere to be seen.

Calico never would have left under normal circumstances, but these weren't normal. His son had lost his mind in the middle of battle, and his men needed him. The evacuation had been quick, and flawlessly executed. Casualties stood around the thirty mark, with the rest of the combatants all walking away with wounds.

Now, the Concord's fleet hung over Abregado-Rae as it tended to do. It's people were well fed and well cared for. Word of the fight had been sent to both the Fringe, and the Republic.

Freedom had won.

Now, the Chieftain of Tal'verda stood on the bridge of the life ship. His face was illuminated on screens throughout the ship. His jaw was set, and a tired look was in his eyes. His shoulders were square, and his hands clasped on top of the wooden table he spoke from.

They had received a grim reminder indeed.

"Fourty Eight hours ago, the remnants of the Sith Empire ambushed our men. Good, patriotic soldiers who gave their lives to defend out freedom. I know many of you lost loved ones: fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, children and siblings. My fiancé herself was lost during the conflict."

His expression was stone cold, his voice solid and passionate. "But we won. Their force outnumbered out eight to one, yet we escaped. We will rebuild, we will survive. Our ideals will survive." His right hand clenched into a fist as he continued. "So take heart, for you honor the memory of those fallen. We will not be conquered by cultists, Imperials, or any other force the galaxy dares to throw at us!"

He gave a long stare into the camera, before speaking once more. "We will build more ships. We will train more soldiers to defend our great people. We will never be defeated, for the only thing that can truly destroy freedom, are those who take it for granted."

And thus, his speech was ended. The cams cut off around the flotilla, leaving Calico to sigh into his hand. He sat in his office overlooking the main city within the life ship. The doors remained unlocked if anyone wished to speak with him, and they undoubtedly would.

The Chieftain bit back a sob. So quiet and small, yet so significant. With a shake of his head, he opened his private intercom. Now was not the time for grief.

"Bring Zius in Corporal. Let anyone else come who wishes."

 

[HK-36]

[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]
Although HK was not present during combat, he received the transmission and listened through it all with a heavy heart, he hated that more combat has happened, but he was glad the Concord were victorious.
From beneath the Concord flotilla a transmission was sent to the Concord ships,
"This is Observer Baron Iron Knight speaking on behalf of Abregado-Rae. We are sorry that we could not join you during the fight, as it was sudden and unexpected, we wish our Guardians were there to help save lives of your brethren. You have shelter on Abregado-Rae as always, and you have friends and allies here, as always. We shall light beacons on our mountains and sent lanterns out into the seas, as is our custom, to aid your fallen in their journey to a world where there is no war."

And so, over the next standard week on Abregado-Rae humble memorial customs would be conduct in memory of Concord troops fallen in their fight against the Sith Order.

 

[Rusken Shaxx]

Tired, exhausted, and pissed off more than a caged Rancor. The young man was detained, being held by bonds and shackles to restrain his ever-breaking mind from lashing out once more; especially after the most recent incident where he showed the exact opposite of what the Concord stood for. Raising the bar on a death toll wasn't an ideal engrained into the minds of all those whom departed from the Confederacy, no more so than the Sith and their belief that conquering will strengthen their Empire. Violent thrashing and writhing rebelled against the restraints as Zius growled and relentlessly tried to break free, cursing at the fellow Liberty Concord soldiers that stared him down with an uneasiness.

"LET ME OUT! I'LL RIP EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU APART! THE EMPIRE HAS ALREADY DECIDED YOUR FATE!"

The screams of a madman let loose, spouting threats of Imperial damnation upon the freedom-clad flotilla as the containment made it where the confused Dark Jedi couldn't break out and cause havoc. The cogs and wheels that allow the proper functioning of rational thinking were gone in the lad's brain. Years worth of stress and being unstable had finally caught up and caused an utterly detrimental time for the recovering ex-Sith. His eyes flashed with rage and an unfounded sense of hostility as he kept up the struggle, soon being grabbed by a group of soldiers as they were ordered to do so.

"YOUR LIVES MEAN NOTHING! YOUR SERVICE CANNOT TRIUMPH OVER THE SITH! WE WILL BRING YOU TO YOUR KNEES!"

Now enters a group of men all holding a well-restrained Force User, standing idle after they would move him to face Calico.

What must a father feel or think when he sees his son broken and gone? The fear in the boy's eyes screamed for forgiveness to be let free from such a hell that has persisted in stealing the identity and life of someone who never asked for such a volatile role. A mixture of untamed aggression and subtle innocence paved the face of this murderer; this lost soul. A silence would fall over Zius as he stared down Calico without a single hint of who he even was, breathing heavily as if intimidated and ready to attack.

[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]

 

[Revenchent]

Emotions warred for supremacy within the former Grand Marshal. So much so, that he almost fell apart. It was only [member="HK-36"]'s timely message that saved him. Even in this time of darkness, the Iron Knight had taken the time to offer reassurance to the people of the Concord.

He was proving to be a lifelong friend.

This helped Calico to contain his grief for the moment. They had left Keziah behind. His Keziah.

Cyar'ika.

More pressing issues were is concern now. His son, the object of his pride, love, his legacy, was falling apart. Guilt tore into the worrying father--he should have never put Zius on as a primary fighter. He should have kept the boy back as a tactician, or a bodyguard; the damage was now done.

He swallowed, and pushed up from his chair. He was dressed in the standard dress blues of the Concord, his rank of Chieftain shining on his shoulders. The man, young, yet, remarkably old when on looked him in the eye, stared at his son. Immense sorrow filled him. He didn't know what he could do, and his brothers and sisters were all dealing with their own issues.

Galaar is gone too.

"There is no Empire son." He said softly, motioning for the guards to take up positions at the door. "There's only you, me, and the Concord. Family is all we have ad'ika."

A soft sigh escaped Calico. His expression softened, and his voice cracked slightly as he spoke. "And I am your family. The Sith have no control over you Zius. You are your own man, like everyone else in the Concord."

The grieving father leaned forward, just close enough for Zius to hear him whisper. "Don't let it control you."

[member="Zius Tal'Verda"]

 

[Djorn Bline]

Canal and his men that were in his group from the skirmish with the NO all nodded and and were pumped up with each of Calico's words. In his point of vie they did technically beat the Imperials cause they had more men than the Concord and yet they reduced their numbers so much that it probably was embarrassing for the Order. After the skirmish he made his own personal fireteam from the troops that were with him. They did so much that the enemy couldn't reduced them. After hearing his brothers speech he went to his location and brought nothing with him; only his armor with no helmet.

After walking toward his destination he could hear the screaming of someone that was recognizable. Zius. He didn't know what happened to his nephew. Either he had a virus or there was something else that really screwed him up. He ran to make sure that nothing seemed out of hand because at the moment, he didn't want Calico break down.

He was finally reached Calico's office when he saw Zius acting like a monster. He then saw Calico talking to Zius. The CO would notice Canal but he didn't know how he would react to Canal. He bowed his head in shame for not keeping up to his promise on keeping everybody safe. There was now way that he could redeem himself from this failure. "Sir, I'm sorry for my failure. What's my punishment"? And kept quiet and waited for Calico's response. He didn't dare to look at his brother's eyes unless he was allowed to.

[member="Calico Tal'Verda"] [member="Zius Tal'Verda"]

 

[Rusken Shaxx]

We're never perfect people. We hold each other by the throats and scream "I hate you" just to get a point across while lovers split apart and tell one another inconvenient truths that can shatter a heart into dust. Families disown each other because the choices they made in life weren't good enough... nothing's ever good enough. The one universal trait all beings share are the tears that are shed when something is lost, something you just can't replace. A father looking into his son's eyes with a pleading notion to just come back and enjoy a life where he's loved and cared for, hoping that things will change and get better. Life demands emotional sacrifice on an altar where no love or happiness comes free without giving.

We love you... no matter what path you've chosen.

Zius stopped his resistance for one moment to look Calico in the eyes with confusion. Something within the back of his mind caused a twinge of pain to pulse through his body, a memory trying to fight its way to the top to bring the young man out of his current state. The victory of either Zius or the Sith that dwells inside was a fate to be decided by a time unknown, a seemingly endless marathon of clashing lives that neither truly existed nor experienced the embrace of forgiveness. No one had ever forgiven a murderer, why should they start? Family was torn away and replaced by cold shivers and mechanical silence and the ever-present voice that forced strength to become the light at the end of the tunnel.

Do not regard their emotions, only strike them down. Do not dwell on their corpses, walk among them. Do not show your foe mercy, destroy them.

A wave of guilt washed over Zius as his eyes became watery, his lips parting to form the shapes of the words. The boy inside was reaching outward while no one reached in, begging for help.

"You're wrong....the Empire still reigns are your lives will become the additional building blocks to make it grow..."

We're never perfect people. We harm our loved ones and watch the pain burn in their eyes as tears come out because of how unfair we can be. How cruel we can be.

The galaxy is a void of suffering for many, and nobody cares.

Your heart is merely a part of your processing, think of it as only such.

[member="Calico Tal'Verda"]

 

[Listeri Dalane]

Listeri quickly skimmed over bureaucratic nonsense, involving him and falling under trade agreements throughout Concord space. After the battle with the New Order, everything changed. Calico was gripped by grief, having lost Keziah, and Zius was acting like a complete maniac. Even his own ship was heavily damaged by artillery fire. So now he was walking by, quickly signing his name here and there, when he heard shouting from a room ahead. Quickly putting the document away, he popped his head into the door, and saw Zius, chained together, yelling and screaming about the Empire.

[member="Zius Tal'Verda"] [member="Canal Tal'Verda"] [member="Calico Tal'Verda"]

 

[Revenchent]

Never before had Calico dealt with something like this. His son's mind was, quite realistically, shattered. His heart sank as the bit declared Imperial dominance.

"Whatever is telling you that is a lie son. You stand for freedom, your freedom, and that of everyone else's. The Imperial you is gone. You're better than he was."


The grieving father risked coming within arms length of Zius, and set an hand on the lad's shoulder. Calico needed his son stable, to be himself. Zius was the rock that the Chieftain relied on, something to live for when all else was lost. Now, that seemed to be the case, and Zius was on the verge of slipping.

"You did your best ner'vod. More than I could have asks of you." He chided toward [member="Canal Tal'Verda"]. He gave a short nod, and then let his gaze drift over to Listeri. "Listeri, son, how are you? As you can see, we're working on stabilizing Zi'ika."

He made no mention of Keziah or Galaar. He couldn't, not now. "You see that ad'ika, we're all here for you."

[member="Zius Tal'Verda"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

A hand would rest on the shoulder of [member="Calico Tal'Verda"] as he spoke to his son. Turning, he would see a sorrowed and sympathetic face staring back at him. Josh DragonsFlame had forgone his hood and had come to support his friend in a trying time. He had been off-planet when the skirmish with the Order had happened... He'd been in the middle of a mission, handling a Sith Lord wrecking havoc against innocents, with Tallia Farn. Him and Farn had been successful, but he hadn't gotten back in the Concord in time to participate in the battle. But he'd heard... He'd heard of the sacrifices made, the lives lost, and he felt sorrow for not being able to help them.

He stayed silent, letting Calico console his family... Offering what moral support he could.

 

[Darth Ferus]

The Zabrak entered the room slowly, both hands down by his sides. He was there for the fight, there to help his friends of the Concord, but he was taken, captured by Darth Vulcanus. He went through torture, pain both physical and mental until he himself broke. And now he was back to the Liberty. He came for one reason, and one reason along. [member="Zius Tal'Verda"] , the ex Jedi Hunter. The Empire had heard of his betrayal to the Concord. Heard of his near fall, only to be captured by his 'father' [member="Calico Tal'Verda"] and the others of the Concord.

And now they were trying to bring him back. Ferus would have none of that, but for now he would keep quiet. No one knew of his fall. No one knew of his agreement to work for the Empire. The most people would know is he disappeared and possibly died, and that was something he would use to his advantage.

"The Empire is back? Now that's a new one. He's off his rocker mate." His voice was raspy, hoarse from the burn marks around his neck. His paling blue gaze kept true on Zius. His mind would focus, attempting to get into the boys head, to send one message.

They know.

 

[Ori'Alor Tal'Verda]

[member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Calico Tal'Verda"] [member="Listeri Dalane"] [member="Zius Tal'Verda"] [member="Canal Tal'Verda"]
Ori'Alor walked into the room shortly after, in a sweaty black tank top and tan cargo pants, coming to see how her Nefiew was doing. Ori'Alor was hit with it right out of the gate, the stink of the dark side, and not the casual darkness she herself played in or even some of the Templars had...True Darkness, the type felt around her employers with the One Sith, and the type felt around 'Krest' now. Ori'Alor had been on the diplomatic battlefields with the Sith during her time as Mand'Alor enough to know that 'stink', not to mention her first husband having been a sith. Ori'Alor ignored it though, focusing on Zius, as she kneeled down in front of Zius by Calico. The Woman didn't care about the secret or not-secret of Canal and her being married anymore, all that mattered was Zius. "Get a hold of yourself Ad'Ika." Ori'Alor said, running a hand over Zius' sholder as she spoke in a soft and loving voice "You are among family, we're not the enemy."

 

[Listeri Dalane]

Never before had Calico dealt with something like this. His son's mind was, quite realistically, shattered. His heart sank as the bit declared Imperial dominance.

"Whatever is telling you that is a lie son. You stand for freedom, your freedom, and that of everyone else's. The Imperial you is gone. You're better than he was."


The grieving father risked coming within arms length of Zius, and set an hand on the lad's shoulder. Calico needed his son stable, to be himself. Zius was the rock that the Chieftain relied on, something to live for when all else was lost. Now, that seemed to be the case, and Zius was on the verge of slipping.

"You did your best ner'vod. More than I could have asks of you." He chided toward [member="Canal Tal'Verda"]. He gave a short nod, and then let his gaze drift over to Listeri. "Listeri, son, how are you? As you can see, we're working on stabilizing Zi'ika."

He made no mention of Keziah or Galaar. He couldn't, not now. "You see that ad'ika, we're all here for you."

Listeri weakly smiled when [member="Calico Tal'Verda"] asked about how he was doing, as he walked into the room. " Eh, Im doing okay. How's, uh..." He left it opened aired trying not to bring any bad memories or anything like that. Suddenly, Listeri swiveled on his heel, and saw [member="Darth Ferus"] right in the doorway. "HOLY- How did ya escape the Sith?" He asked, slowly backing into the room, trying to give Krest some more space. Listeri, having been missing from the Concord and working on trade and miscellaneous missions, never saw him come back.

 

[Keziah Denko]

The art of healing was new to Keziah. It was something that she had only read about in books but never had tried it before. As she looked to the three wounded soldiers surrounding her the Padawan knew that she had to try. They needed her help if they had any chance of survival. She couldn't just run to the ship and leave them to die. Her rule was to always do unto others as you would have done to yourself.

Sighing she opened her measly medical kit that she had brought along with her and scanned what she had available to her. There wasn't much but it would have to do along with the little knowledge that Keziah had acquired through her reading. Grabbing the roll of gauze and a pair of small tweezers before kneeling down next to the one in need of assistance the most.

"It's going to be alright," she lightly smiled as she began to soak up the blood on his abdomen. Before she could properly access the damage she needed to clean him up the best she could. "Help is on the way. Hang in there with me." She stated as she threw the blood soaked gauze to the side. The wound was deep but that didn't discourage her at all. He would pull through, she would see to that.

A distress signal had been sent out in hopes that someone would answer her call. That someone would come back for them, that they hadn't been forgotten. She had faith that everything would be alright even as the forest began to darken.

Help me, I have three soldiers with me in critical condition who need more medical attention than I can provide. Please help us.





[member="Calico Tal'Verda"][member="Zius Tal'Verda"][member="Canal Tal'Verda"][member="Listeri Dalane"][member="Joshua DragonsFlame"][member="Darth Ferus"][member="Ori'Alor Tal'Verda"]

 

[Listeri Dalane]

A small vibration hummed on his wrist comm, as he slowly raised it up to his ear. " Help me, I have three soldiers in critical condition that nee-STATIC- 'elp us. " Listeri murmured out loud, the name of the person who sent the signal, the one who caused Calico to go into a slump, the one that changed the entire Concord. "Keziah."

[member="Keziah Denko"] [member="Ori'Alor Tal'Verda"] [member="Calico Tal'Verda"] [member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Djorn Bline]

All of a sudden Canal received a distress signal on his left arm and listened to it. He heard it and his eyes were widened as he recognized that voice. Keziah. This was his chance to redeem himself from his failure and regain his honor. He was sure that this would brighten up Calico's day and would be in a rush on getting a gunship and heading toward Keziah's position. He didn't think, he reacted and started running. "Come on, move!" As he ran toward the hangar bay. "This Canal, prep me a ship now!" and was responded with a yes, "Zealton, get the other boys. We're going on an adventure."

[member="Keziah Denko"] [member="Listeri Dalane"] [member="Ori'Alor Tal'Verda"] [member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"] [member="Zius Tal'Verda"] [member="Calico Tal'Verda"]

 

[Revenchent]

Kezzy?

The call for assistance was heard by Calico as well. The former Grand Marshal shifted slightly, and glanced over at Listeri. "You and Canal go secure her." He ordered; elation and a sense of urgency finding their way into his voice. His dark eyed gaze settled back on [member="Zius Tal'Verda"], worry stricken across his face. "Pull it together son. You're okay. We're all okay."

The Chieftain grit his teeth as he lost himself in thought. Keziah was alive--his duties were here though. As much as he wanted to go retrieve her himself, he could not leave his son like this. Not right now.

"Thank you Josh...can you go with them?" He added quietly to [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]. "In case there are any issues. Just in case." Calico had hardly noticed Krest up until now. His focus shifted to the Zabrak, a look of slight confusion and relief on his face. "Krest...glad you made it. Are you alright? We feared the worst."

[member="Darth Ferus"] @Listeri Dentiri [member="Ori'Alor Tal'Verda"]

 

[Listeri Dalane]

Listeri was speeding down the corridors, tripping a couple of times over his own feet, boxes, and passerby. He quickly slammed the button on the door to enter the hanger cursing under his breath when it took a couple of seconds to open. It finally slid open, as he speedily slid through the opening door, and like a blur, was at his ship. He opened the doors, as he began to shout into the empty space of the hanger. " EVREYBODY! INTO MY SHIP! " Listeri yelled as he ran into the cockpit, as the engine began to rumble with life.

[member="Calico Tal'Verda"] [member="Canal Tal'Verda"] [member="Keziah Denko"] [member="Ori'Alor Tal'Verda"] [member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

 

[Djorn Bline]

"Come on you! We ain't got time on waiting for your lazy carcasses!" He yelled at his team. They were equipped for battle and one of the clones brought Canal his helmet and his assault rifle. He gave his thanks to the man as they settled themselves in the ship of [member="Listeri Dalane"]. He sat in the co-pilot seat, "Let's roll, Listeri," as he ordered the smuggler to get them to Keziah's location.

 

[Listeri Dalane]

Listeri grinned widely as he flipped a series of switches as the engine rumbled even louder, and it slowly lifted off the ground. Suddenly, his joyous expression turned to one of shock, then absolute fury. " KARK! Get your soldiers to run a tracer on that signal! " He yelled, as he buried his face in his hands. " Why did she not say her location? Canal, turn on the engines, allow 2 more people on, cause that's all the space we go' left. " He told [member="Canal Tal'Verda"] , as he began pressing a couple of buttons.

 

[Djorn Bline]

"You heard him. Get a trace on that signal. And Listeri I'm not going to bring two more people cause we need space for Keziah and those troopers." The clone then listened and turner on the engines of the ship. He could feel the rev of the engines and the ship. "Are we ready now. Cause it wouldn't be nice that Keziah has to wait for us."

[member="Listeri Dalane"]