Dear Rebel Alliance

[Ashin Varanin]

To whom it may concern:

I find myself interested by the position the Rebel Alliance currently holds in galactic strategy. I've watched your growth for some time; I believe I've even crossed swords with some of your operatives on occasion. We've worked in conflicting directions at times, and I've had the opportunity to get a taste of your organizational culture, your preferences and institutional limitations. Nothing comprehensive, of course: my feeling is that, although we'd have happily considered each other to be enemies, we have relatively few reasons to be in conflict. We both have other priorities.

And, oddly, our priorities are currently similar. I've been an enemy of the Abrion Corporate Authority since it was the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and when it comes to opposing the ACA, I have a proven track record of fighting faithfully alongside those who would disagree with me in other circumstances. Your operations against the One Sith also have my attention. My armed opposition to their initial rise is a matter of public record. My support for them in later campaigns was a matter of my duty to the Fringe Confederation's elected leadership, a duty which no longer binds me now that I've retired from military and public service.

It should be clear by now that I'm making you an offer. I trained the trainers of the Dark Masters that give you grief; Darth Vornskr was once my underling. I've taught many Jedi and many Sith, and I know how to separate technical instruction from alignment. I've dealt with Grandmasters and Emperors as an equal, and I am intimately familiar with your enemies for a variety of reasons that should be obvious. I doubt you have any interest in my joining the Alliance, any more than I do. I believe, however, that your existing Force-sensitive membership might benefit from professional training in core skills, and I'm willing to provide that instruction as an outside contractor, pro bono, under whatever oversight you think best and in whatever venue you name.

I recognize that you have very little reason to trust me or take this offer seriously, despite the assurances I've given. That said, you've done well for yourselves by controlling the medium and range of your engagements -- insurgency, small craft, fleet combat. If there's one thing I've determined over my long career, though, it's that the enemy will inevitably find a way to bring you to combat at a range that is uncomfortable for you and comfortable for him. In the case of the Sith, that range is generally about one to ten metres. I make no promises of turning your Force-sensitives into blademasters or powerhouse Forcewielders, and I doubt you would want your people spending that much time away from the development of their conventional skills. However, my specialties lie in lightsabre combat and in defensive Force applications, and I am capable of teaching your Force-sensitive members the skills they need to occupy, delay, obstruct, and perhaps even defeat Darksiders on their own terms and at their preferred ranges. I can do this without editorializing or compromising their existing moral alignments; a Darksider and a Lightsider swing a lightsabre in essentially the same way. I also have experience in teaching Force-attuned persons of very minor potential, and showing them how to specialize in abilities that enhance their existing skills -- improved vision, projectile guidance, instinctive astrogation and the like.

There are contacts I prize who would be angry to hear I've made this offer, and I don't make it lightly. But I suspect you recognize the need for discretion in one's operations. You have my word that no offense will be taken if this offer is rejected.

Sincerely,

Grand Admiral Ashin Cardé Varanin (ret'd.)

[member="Wan Min Brightsky"] [member="Krasnaya Xue"]

 

[Oddball]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

Time to make a deal with the devil. ​

Oddball now promoted to a much higher rank in the rebellion was skimming through messages on his new holo tablet. With another attack of geonosis looming the rebellion had exhausted nearly every resource available to them to make sure the planet didn't fall back Into the hands of the Techno Union. Too many people had died for this, good people had dice over droid foundries. It wasn't something Oddball was happy to be a part of, but after Druckenwell, after that world died he'd rather stand against the confederacy no matter what they were calling themselves these days.

And as he ran through the last message his eyes widened and he read the name Ashin Varanin, old school sith empress, leader of the fringe, someone whose name you didn't even want to hear much less be associated with. Everything inside oddball screamed at him to simply turn it away and delete the message, but he couldn't. He knew without help from her or others like her they would all die, and the Geonosians would go back to being the obedient docile little lap dogs of the techno union.

So Oddball did what he had to do, he made a deal. With his higher rank he was allowed to bring in outside contractors, and that's what Ashin was going to be on the paperwork, an outside anonymous contractor. So oddball sent a message to the woman his hands shaking with every stroke of a holographic key.

I was there, when the shipyards fell. I was on the surface. You tell me you hate the confederacy, that's enough reason for me to bring you on. Misses Varanin, my name is Colonel Oddball, you have yourself a deal. Come to geonosis when you are next available, we'll go from there.

And like that the message was sent. No negotiating, nothing, oddball didn't have time for that. There was another war coming and things like petty grudges didn't matter anymore. Lives were on the line.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Oddball"]

There was no world more certain to remind her of her old hate for the Confederacy. The stimulus wasn't the sights or the sounds or the smells which characterized Geonosis; when the memory drove home, the light drove it. The yellow sun filtered through a brown atmosphere and a haze of industrial heat. Even inside a climate-controlled ship, looking out at the Geonosian hardpack, Ashin felt like she was sweltering.

The gravitic modulator deactivated, the cloak did as well, and the Sekairo-class stealth transport appeared on the surface of Geonosis. She'd chosen to land at a crash site about half a decade old. Most of the metal had been stripped out, and most of the ragged earth had been smoothed by the elements. That left a shallow, vague crater approximately the size of a Tempus Ardet-class bulk freighter; Ashin's Sekairo perched at the edge. The surrounding land was flat and open, and the decloaked Sekairo was not small; advanced defensive sensors would be screaming themselves awake right about now. The Rebels would be here shortly, for treachery or for training. Ashin knelt in the center of the crater and began to remember.

 

[Oddball]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

Oddball was at his desk signing paperwork when the call came in about a stealth craft suddenly appearing on the planet once it's stealth fields had gone down. And to be honest it couldn't of come at a better time, paperwork was the absolute worst. Oddball was a soldier not an officer who sat behind a desk and signed away on plans about how they were going to fix an irrigation pipe or how to keep troopers from getting into trouble in the hills. He was a door breaker and a commando and he hated this job, so literally any excuse he could get he would take to get out of this cramped little office at Droid Foundry Bravo.

"Prepare the shuttle, I think I know who it is." Oddball said.

After a few minutes he was in the air wearing his old school clone officer armor of the now ancient galactic republic, an arc trooper armor set is what it could best be compared to. But a few drop ships soared above the crater where the ship was uncloaked a female form was waiting. That was her alright, even though he was force dead he could feel just the sheer weight of her presence. So the ship touched down and out came an unarmed Oddball with two of his clone brothers flanking him. They slide down the sides of the crater until she was face to face with Ashin.

"Ma'am, welcome to Geonosis." he said extending his hand for a greeting.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Oddball"]

She tracked the dropships visually, keeping tabs on their locations as one of them set down nearby. Three armored clones emerged, two of them obviously an honor guard for the one with officer's insignia. She shook the offered hand. "Thank you. Colonel Oddball, I presume. I'm Ashin Varanin."

Releasing his hand, she gestured around. "This is where the people you call the Techno Union shot down a civilian evacuation transport carrying twenty of my people and several dozen Geonosian children, along with one of their political enemies. The transport had its weapons offline and was begging for mercy at the time. I was about half a kilometre west of here, on the ground. I watched them kill my people, who were neutral third parties to the affair. So was I.

"I am not neutral now. Show me your acolytes."

 

[Oddball]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

"You'd be correct Ma'am, it's an honor to meet you." Oddball said then began to listen to her story.

He knew how that felt, loss. It was something he was familiar with when brother was pit against brother, when the people you were born and raised with were killing each other over the stupidity of politics. They deserved better than that, they didn't deserve that. But it was very seldom people got what they deserved, and oddball wasn't going to think about that much longer. Right now it was about Ashin and her arrival on this planet, she wanted to train some of the apprentices. Well she could train the apprentice, singular. Ever since the war with the one sith started the majority of force users in the alliance shifted over to the republic to aid in that war. But she wouldn't leave the woman empty handed.

"I am sorry for your loss ma'am. We lost a lot of good men the last time the union came around, not to mention the assassination of a high ranking aristocrat at the hands of Sith Lords. But if you'll follow me we'll take you to our air base where you'll find her." oddball raised his hand and spun it in a circular motion to round up his men.

The clones trudged up the sides of the crater and towards the D25 dropship. The side doors opened up and rebel troopers with various weapons in their arms stepped out and lined up in a drill formation to wait for the next ride. It would only be oddball his brothers and Ashin on this flight. The men nodded to oddball and the other ex Dreadguard clones as they walked past and into the shuttle to await Ashin.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Oddball"]

Her armour rustled and clicked against the drop seat and the bulkhead behind it. As the dropship lifted off, she watched as the Sekairo cloaked and drifted away. No point in leaving the cookie jar where the kids could get it.

"I'm familiar with your enemies," she said. "And their capabilities, to some extent. If you have a single student for me, she had better be singular. I can only train you. I can't fight a war for you."

Probably the most Jedi-like thing she'd said since Odium had reawakened her Force Drain addiction. As ever, she felt a pang, a wish that things had gone a different way. It had been a good life, more or less. She'd done her part as a Jedi, even if it meant weeks away from her daughter and wife. She would have stayed a Jedi. Odium had made other plans. And now there was no going back.

"Tell me about this apprentice, please."

 

[Oddball]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

The D25's engines roared and lifted into the air and shortly after that they proceeded to move out. Oddball looked at the ground bellow to watch Ashin's ship cloak and move out, a respectable choice but oddball could assure her that no such steps needed to be taken. The rebels weren't as bad as the union painted them out to be, they weren't mass murdering communists who wanted to drink vodka and kill capitalists. That would just be silly, so Oddball just instead decided to listen to the woman besides him.

"Wasn't going to ask ma'am. It's just nice to have someone who understands why we have to fight the union. And if it means she grows stronger for it then you have to take any little victory you can." Oddball said as the ship banked a little to turn into a series of hills where the base was located.

Her name is [member="Juwiela Melec"], Rouge leader. She's something else, never met anyone like her. She should be in the hanger up ahead." He said to Ashin then looked forward.

The ship crossed through a few hills then quickly touched down in the Airforce base's hanger. Once inside the cool metallic structure oddball got on his comm unit to have the leader of rouge squadron brought up.

"Tell Juwiela she's needed over here, there's someone who wants to meet her." oddball said and gave Ashin a thumbs up.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Oddball"] [member="Juwiela Melec"]

A slow grin settled over Ashin's face, under the helmet. He would, no doubt, hear the smile in her voice.

"I feel something. A presence I've only felt once before...when someone stretched out to me from a squadron of fighters that was trying to make some kind of a half-disguised attack run on my ship off Halm. Fringe telesponder IFFs, but unfamiliar ship makes; when I asked them what part of the Fringe they were from, they did nothing, didn't even help me fight who I was fighting. We suspected Rebel Alliance involvement in the Halm system after the fact. Apparently we suspected right.

"But fear not, Colonel. Water under the bridge."

 

[Juwiela Melec]

Just as soon as the ship touched down in the hangar Juwiela became instantly aware of its presence and those individuals inside. Or rather, individual. Her sight didn't extend so far as to include those that weren't visible through the Force itself, but once the message and its sender, [member="Oddball"], was relayed to her, the pieces fell into place. The other was a presence vaguely familiar, one recognizable from her first mission as Rogue Leader, her first time giving orders rather than following them. It had been a marginal success, but nothing that drastically altered either of the parties for better or worse. And she had left it at that, not bothering to concern herself with who that individual may have been.

Well, not until now, when she was instructed to meet the other party at the entrance of the hangar.Brushing off her many-pocketed mechanic's trousers and straightening the grey tank top she made off to rendezvous. Her outfit was far from military dress, but nothing of a higher standard had been requested. It was odd that only she had been called on, as she didn't note anyone else approaching. If this was a meeting between two now allied groups, then she expected someone of a higher rank to make an appearance. Supposedly this individual had been interested in meeting her specifically, something that was in and of itself unusual. After all, she was just a fighter pilot. It wasn't as if there was anything special about her, except maybe her supposed sightlessness.

As she arrived she completed a final cursory scan of the area, stopping once she was within conversational distance of the two. "You wanted to see me?" Something of a wry smile found her lips, her next statement no doubt directed towards [member="Ashin Varanin"] herself. "I can promise you we won't be trying to destroy your ships anytime soon, if that eases your conscience any." Not that any vessels had been destroyed the first time the two had crossed paths. But it was always nice to make assurances, especially given the reputation the Alliance had managed to gain during its short time in the apparent galactic spotlight.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Juwiela Melec"]

"Oh, it's not a matter of my conscience, Commander Melec," said Ashin with a wry grin. "And I have no ships apart from the transport that brought me here; I'm retired. I find I make a smaller target that way. That," she added, "and I'm no longer affiliated with the Lords of the Fringe, or any organization you would find objectionable. There's no conflict of interest that would jeopardize this arrangement. I'm nothing more than a fallen Jedi of a certain age.

"So. Colonel [member="Oddball"] informs me that you're the Alliance's white hope -- their only officially acknowledged Force-sensitive. You're Miraluka, I take it, so presumably Force sight is a skill of yours. Where do your other talents lie? Force-enhanced piloting, I assume? Instinctive astrogation, perhaps? Other skills? I'd like to know what I have to work with."

 

[Juwiela Melec]

Her connection to the Force was something that had always been there, just as natural as the ability to walk or breathe. Perhaps it was something she took for granted, but given her parentage the ability to wield the cosmic energy wasn't a surprising fact. It was how she was able to see, much less navigate land or space. It didn't make her anything special, and it certainly wasn't cause for this sort of attention, in her mind. After all, her talents were put to use in the air, not on the battlefield against other Force sensitives. Her time was better spent with the other pilots, not here. But she wouldn't disobey an order from command, no matter how unnecessary it seemed. The Alliance needed what assistance it could get.

"I don't know if I'd put so much stock into it. It helps me see, and that's about all I need it for." After all, an energy field didn't win any wars, the people did. To say it wasn't an advantage sometimes would be a false statement, but it wasn't as if it functioned as a trump card or anything of the sort. "I don't use it much past seeing and piloting. I can manage a bit with telekinesis, but nothing too spectacular. It's always been instinctual rather than a conscious thing." And instinct was how almost every pilot operated, regardless of designation. That was what made life among the Rogues far from boring. She wasn't quite sure if the current company would appreciate that same attitude just yet.

One shoulder lifted in a shrug, a small smile accompanying the gesture. "I fly, I'm decent at it, and that's all there is to it. If being Force sensitive makes me the Alliance's white hope, then I guess I'm not quite cut out for the job. All I do is fly starfighters."

[member="Ashin Varanin"], [member="Oddball"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Juwiela Melec"]

"Holy feth, we've got ourselves a humble one. Well, Commander, your modesty becomes you. But if you're serious about your cause, it's time to admit that the cause may be more important than your self-image. There will be times when your leaders' only hope is you - and the One Sith won't always be sportsmanlike enough to let you get to your snubfighter.

" But let's ease you into this. There are many abilities that Force-sensitive starfighter pilots have found useful. Short-term precognition. Instinctive astrogation for safe blind jumps. Empathy, telepathy, illusion, mind control. Reading your opponent's intentions, or intuiting them."