Faction A Spurious Starlight | Jedi High Council

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
HEAD ARCHIVIST'S OFFICE
​

The morning correspondence had been arranged on the neat wooden tray at the corner of the desk in the Head Archivist's office.

It was a duty that Sela Basran had started to dread ever since the imbroglio surrounding Lorn Reingard and his bombshell meeting. As far as Sela was concerned, every enflamed word, every cross glance, every parting of the ways was a gift to the Sith currently running rampant through the galaxy. Sela herself had been unable to attend the meeting due to responsibilities elsewhere, and she counted it as a blessing. She had enough information from second-hand reports that she trusted to piece together a reasonably clear picture of what had occurred.

The notes had begun that same day. More reports. Fallout.

A schism in the Jedi Order. A self-inflicted wound. And both sides were right in their own way. It was the worst kind of family dispute.

Sela's eyes settled on the notes in her inbox for a few moments and then she set about taking her time making tea. A little something to soften the blow of what was sure to be more bad news. The ritual soothed her, so by the time she sat she had a steaming cup of tea in one hand and a plate of toast in the other, both of which she set down in front of her before she collected the papers from the inbox.

The first note was good news, which was rare enough in these times. A development on the contents of the Nightfall Register. She read it twice, jotted a note on her blotter, and set it aside. The next was a note from one of her associates from the Amaxine Vault adventure, the promising young Knight who had agreed with Knight Reingard but who didn't wish to burn bridges. Sela made a note to reply with the afternoon post. There were a few more notes concerning literature she was hoping to obtain for the Sanctuary, another regarding a research project she was undertaking.

The last concerned a resignation from the Jedi High Council.

Fitting, perhaps, because in just a few moments' time she would be heading for a meeting of that self-same Council.

Sela opened the note and read it. She could see that it was designed to be inflammatory, to be taken as seismic, and it might have been in the hands of someone slightly more... more. She wondered if that would be a topic of further conversation at the council meeting; Sela rather hoped not, but it might be unavoidable. Still, Sela was of the view that there were much more pressing matters, including some items that Sela herself had placed on the agenda. It wouldn't do to be displaced by... this.

She put the note in a drawer and rose, finishing her tea in a final gulp, then gathered her cloak and headed for the door.

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
​

​

HIGH COUNCIL CHAMBER​

Sela Basran entered the Council Chamber briskly a few minutes before the meeting was scheduled to come to order. Her eyes were inexorably drawn to the seats of the Councilors who would no longer attend, and she sighed inwardly. This was going to be an unbearable day. She cleared her throat and approached Ala Quin and offered a slight bow. "Good morning, Grandmaster. I understand if our agenda must change today due to, ah, present circumstances. However, I would like to update the Council, at a minimum, regarding our last conversation with the Chancellor regarding the Sith prisoner, if there is time this morning?"

Ala Quin | Colette | Vodet | Vizion Trozky | Briana Sal-Soren | Romi Jade


​

 

[Vodet]

This was going to make his job harder. Vodet understood that there were challenges to being a Jedi, hell he had so many challenges in his younger days that he just figured he could burden anything. But Jedi leaving the Council? A schism?

He saw some of the fall out even in his own Enclave. The holdouts from the Way of Starchaser (™) were leaving in droves, cruisers and carrier-cruisers taking off to join the fight against the Sith. They would be, of course, welcomed back to Kattada, as they always were, but it cast darkness in the water.

The Sith were predators, they would smell the blood.

He was in the Council Chambers when Master Sela Basran entered. The room was far more quiet today.

 

[Ala Quin]

Her soul ached.

Barely had she had time to get over Lorn's leaving her, and now she had to navigate what could amount to the end of the Jedi Order within the Republic. Her time as Grandmaster had been eventful to say the least. But no one had warned her of the emotional toll that this would take on her.

Despite physically not being much beyond her mid-20s, the bags under Ala's eyes, and the ever persistent frown creasing her previously joyous countenance, aged her significantly beyond the number on her records.

Sela's words snapped Ala out of a mini-spiral. "Hmmm?" She said, catching up with what was said as she turned to face the woman that would likely do a far better job at this.

It took half a moment longer for Ala to realise that Sela was asking about the prisoner, Ella Nova. Ala simply nodded in approval. "There is much to discuss...but perhaps with only five voices speaking on the matters things might be more efficient?" It was a poor time for humour, and it did not land even with Ala.

Walking to her seat, Ala slid up on the much derided cushion of her Grandmaster's seat. She did understand why Lorn hated them so, it was more the attack on the Council's supposed comfort and lack of action. But it was so much better than getting a numb butt. So much better.

"Speak of the prisoner first. And then we officially remove those Council members who have requested removal...or forfeited their seat...and then you can all tell me how I did it wrong, and I gladly take your counsel. These are uncharted waters...and I admit to feeling bereft of sailing experience."

| Sela Basran Colette Vodet Vizion Trozky |​

 

[Colette]

Ala Quin / Sela Basran / Vodet / Vizion Trozky

The room felt a lot more empty than it was. Colette fidgeted with the hems of her jacket for a moment as the others spoke and did her best to keep quiet. Emotions were on high from what she could tell in the Order and last thing they needed was much the same in the council chambers.

In truth she didn't know what to make of Ella Nova. Her stay had become a bit of an ironic twist of fate. When she had arrived there'd been more seats occupied in here. For the longest time Colette had wished to just let her go and let whatever might happen happen.

Now she wasn't quite so sure.

"What are our options, really?" Colette asked and leaned forward in her seat to rest her elbows on her knees. "A lot has changed since she was imprisoned, and now… Well…"

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
HIGH COUNCIL CHAMBER
​

Sela regarded the Grandmaster gently. The woman had surely been through the wringer recently, and it seemed unlikely to improve in the near-term. Resisting the urge to squeeze the younger woman's shoulder, Sela went to her seat. "I raised the allegations against the Trade Federation of Planets that Nova brought to us and informed her that she was in our custody as a result of making threats within Jedi property." She paused a moment, gathering her thoughts. "I felt it appropriate to inform her since Nova has been seated in the Senate as a representative of the Kenari Resource Compact."

The Jedi Master spread her hands. "She has agreed to use Republic resources to investigate Nova's claims and invited us to participate in whatever capacity we decide to be prudential. I promised to bring the offer to the Council to discuss it. She has asked that we retain custody of Nova for the duration of any criminal charges on Sanctuary property, and that we offer the Republic the right of refusal before releasing her into the wild."

Sela paused again and then added: "She asks our permission to visit Nova in our detention facility, for herself or a delegate."

Sela sat in her chair and arranged her robes carefully. "I have thoughts on the other matters you raised, of course, but -- one thing at a time is probably best."

Ala Quin | Colette | Vodet | Vizion Trozky

​

 

[Vodet]

A sad day, there was a change in the tide and the current. His people had seen it before, and so have the Jedi, and they all persevered. Looking at the hilt of his lightsaber, resting on his lap, the larger hilt, a club really. It reminded him of what they all were, they were all Jedi, those who used kyber, and that connected the group who had left with the ones who remained in this chamber.

He did not care for Republic politics. Perhaps one of the things where he and Starchaser, his predecessor in a role of Jedi Connector, agreed. They were Jedi and handled Jedi business, the rest was left to others.

His thoughts were to Lorn and Zark, and others who had left the Council in recent days and hours. This was a change of pace, a change in the current, but what did it mean?

 

[Ala Quin]

The captivity of Ella Nova was a troubling knot in the Force, yet Ala found a grim peace in it. The dark side was a spreading shadow. To have one of its agents permanently removed from the galactic board was a rare advantage. More than that, it served as a silent rebuke to the dissenting voices within the Order who whispered that the High Council had grown complacent.

"I find no fault in your wisdom, Master Basran," Ala said, her voice filling the room as she emerged from deep contemplation. "Ella Nova must remain within our custody. Her greatest deception is the illusion she has woven for herself. We must be vigilant, lest her falsehoods cloud our own clarity."

For Ala, the matter of the prisoner was resolved. Visits from Vexx or a designated delegate would be permitted, but the cells remained absolute. She was secure. If only the dark side could be so easily contained, Ala thought, the realization turning her mind toward a much heavier burden.

"Regarding the matter of the Vanguard," Ala continued, her gaze sweeping over the assembled Masters. Her eyes narrowed, not with anger, but with a heavy grief. "If this Council believes my judgment is compromised by my past history with Lorn, speak now. I will not allow personal attachments to deepen the fractures already tearing at our Order."

She paused, drawing the Force into herself to steady her spirit.

"Yet, we must speak plainly. Opinions within this chamber remain divided on how aggressively we should strike at the Sith. I do not fear that debate. It keeps us sharp. But the rhetoric of the Vanguard is not born of the light. It is reckless. I have grave concerns that their passion will override their discipline, leading them down the very path of the dark side they claim to fight."

With a deliberate movement, Ala activated the console. A flickering holo-projection from a Republic security feed bloomed in the center of the chamber, casting a cold, spectral glow across the Grandmaster's weathered features. In a silent, agonizing loop, the recording showed Lorn breaching the heavy door controls of a Republic detention facility, paving the way for Acier Moonbound's escape.

"I have sought the solace of denial," Ala murmured, her voice falling to a solemn whisper. "I have told myself the Force would not allow such a betrayal. But the Force demands we face reality. And I cannot deny what stands before us."

| Sela Basran Vizion Trozky Colette Vodet |​

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
HIGH COUNCIL CHAMBER
​

Sela inclined her head to the Grandmaster in acceptance of her report on Nova's continued custody. She had another suggestion, but the conversation turned then. She shifted in her seat and made a note to continue the conversation with the Grandmaster afterward. It was possible, after all, that the conversation would be better off being observed by the fewest ears possible.

What Ala brought up next troubled her deeply.

The Vanguard had been easier to view as a temporary overzealousness, a temporary disagreement among family, before Ala played the holorecording. In the hard light of the security recordings, Sela's mouth went dry. She pushed herself up before she knew what she was doing, and she strode forward to get a better look.

The image did not improve with proximity. Her hand went to her mouth. "Oh, Knight Reingard... what did you do?" Master Basran murmured, unable to hide the horror from her voice. Her eyes flicked up, through the image, to the Grandmaster. How were they going to explain this to the Chancellor and the Senate? How could they maintain the confidence of the citizens of the High Republic if this continued?

"Do we know where they are now?"

Ala Quin | Vodet | Vizion Trozky | Colette​

 

[Colette]

Sela Basran / Vodet / Ala Quin / Vizion Trozky

A slash was all it took for two fugitives to be created. Colette couldn't help but laugh. The last time she saw Acier she had left it unsaid whether her promise to find him if he got out 'ahead of time' was a threat or not.

While she was saddened to see him fall into the embrace of his former master, she really couldn't fault him for it either. Lorn had most likely meant something to him before his journey into the darkness. Which wasn't to alleviate any kind of fault from the kid's shoulders but it certainly put an even greater weight on Lorn's.

So much for being caged.

"Two cornered wolves." She mused to herself before turning to the rest of the Council. "Lorn and the rest of our colleagues will show themselves with time. Crusades are too prideful to stay hidden, and in this case the leader is too desperate to not make some grand play of things."

"My guess is that they will be looking to send a message, either through action or through where they are based. Jedi tend to be stupidly sentimental like that, meaning we could send messages or scouts to historic Jedi sites."

"Tython is in Covenant space. Yavin sits in Mandalorian borders, Lorn would never be welcome there. Ruusan, Ossus, both are decent candidates…"

Colette was spinning her thoughts already. She leaned back in her seat and clearly began to disappear from reality. Her voice went from clear speech to a mumble and a grumble.

"... Unless they stay at the Rest…"

 

[Ala Quin]

"They disappeared," Ala murmured, the words hanging in the air. "But we should not be surprised. We know too well that we could all do the same if we set our minds to it."

The pain on Ala's face was a fracturing mask, nearly impossible to hide. A silent, corrosive question gnawed at her heart and mind, threatening her very foundation: If I cannot save Lorn, do I truly have any right to lead this Order?

Colette's musings were a necessary bitter pill. Ala listened with a passive, stone-faced exterior, letting the silence stretch before finally offering her cold, calculated response.

"We should place temple guards at the Rest," Ala stated, her voice steady despite the turmoil within. "It may be the home of the Vanguard, but it is still part of the Order's jurisdiction. If Lorn were to return there and we lacked eyes on the site...we would be absolute fools."

| Sela Basran Colette Vodet Vizion Trozky |​

 

[Vodet]

Listening to the others, now he was starting to think more of what was going. The tides and currents of the Force were in flux. Was there a rogue wave coming for the shores of the Jedi Order? Or could Lorn and the others serve as a breakwater, protecting the Order in their own way. As Waybinder, Vodet paid close attention to the other enclaves, and the wayward Jedi. He was appointed to the Council to consider those angles and as a former wayseeker himself, he would take that position very seriously. The large hardback looked to the others.

Listened.

Waited.

There were places that Lorn wouldn't go to hide.

"Shoring up the defense at the Rest is smart. I can put out an all eyes bulletin on Kattada, our explorers reach corners of the galaxy. However, they are not always the most free with their knowledge, preferring to provide some level of anonymity to those in the galaxy.

"Now that being said, our waypoint beacons, they tend to log every ship thats coming and going, and it'd be a headche to try to parse the data to remove one ship entry. Not saying that the wayward are going to be using them. But it does make navigation easier."

Thanks Starchaser.

"Also, I have to agree with the Quartermaster. Crusaders do not stay quiet for long."