Death of a Marshall - GA/NJO

[Coren Starchaser]

Omai Rhen.

Jedi Grand Marshal, Weapons Master, was dead.

Lost at the hand of Sith while liberating the world of Byss for the Alliance.

And he was dead. The ruins of the Jedi Temple on Sullust was the site of the scene now. The pyre was set, the darkness against the lava flows of the former capital of the Galactic Alliance. Jedi and Fringe group members were all represented, and the Force had a somber, soft light to it today. Many of these men and women fought with Omai Rhen as he lead them to numerous victories in the service of the Alliance and the Dark Side. Many more still, were indirectly influenced by his teachings.

The Alliance had lost many soldiers as of late, including both their former Supreme Commander Nemo Ven and the Grand Marshall. It was time for a change. But that was not a comforting move to some here. Omai represented the best of the New Jedi Order, and was a driving force of the Order for years.

Several of the Jedi Masters were in attendance, including both Coren Starchaser and [member="Taeli Raaf"], who had both been there at the end, were leading the procession of Jedi who wished to pay their last respects to the fallen Marshall.

The pyre was dark, as was the land around it. This was to allow a solemn moment until the pyre was lit, and the Jedi’s body was given over to the universe. Starchaser held the Grand Marshall’s lightsaber in his hand and turned it over as he approached the pyre, watching Taeli ahead of him. Coren was here on day one, and it was only recently that he had taken up the mantle of Jedi Master, despite Rhen always referring to him as such.

Who was to lead the charge now?

 

[Oros]

A great darkness once more threatened to crush the galaxy in its grip.

Oros had known this dread too often before, and now more tangible portents of a grim future were beginning to align. News of the Grand Marshal's passing was a final nail in the coffin, so to speak. Conflict had reignited and was now threatening to drown both the Western Reaches and Trailing Sectors in sorrow. Worse yet, visions of their Order's seers grew more clouded than they had been since the time of the One Sith. An ascendant Darkside roiled like storm clouds on the horizon, obscuring more and more possible futures. If their enemy was left unchecked, soon all they would be left with was the all too precarious moment.

The Celegian Master was a pacifist, but he was also a scholar of the Force. While he did not agree with his more zealous brothers and sisters in all things, he knew there were larger concerns at play here than the needs of the few. Their Alliance was besieged by hostile powers, each enthralled by Darksiders to varying degrees, and he could not blame any Jedi of his Order for taking up arms to defend the people they had sworn to protect. Still, as he surveyed those gathered for the funeral ceremony, he could not help but wonder if they would all survive such a test of discipline.

Encased in his repulsorlift-powered life support tank, Oros had maneuvered to the rear of the gathering. He had thought of Omai as a mentor, a colleague, even occasionally a student as the Grand Marshal had sometimes come to him to gain better insight into more obscure scholarly works. But he had never been the man's soldier, and while they were amiable he wasn't sure if he had known Rhen well enough to truly call him friend. More than two centuries of life, and the sentient invertebrate found he was still quite capable of regret.

His species was naturally telepathic, and so he could feel waves of mourning anguish radiating off his fellow Jedi. Their collective mood seemed to mirror the pyre's backdrop. Shattered remains of the destroyed Sullust Temple's upper spire framed their meeting ground. And yet, while he did not possess a true form of sight as most humanoids knew it, the Chief Librarian could sense those few auras of Jedi appointed by [member="Coren Starchaser"] to remain behind and defend the nearly completed Sentinel Training Grounds.

He found some measure of hope in that thought. Even amidst the ashes of despair, his Order only strengthened their resolve to push back the Dark.

 

[Jsc]

She'd meet him once. A long time ago. A good man. A fine leader. A welcome Jedi Knight. So, she stood in the dark of the unlit pyre. Surrounded by her solemn congregation. Surrounded by the Force. Her striking blue hair hadn't been NJO since the reclamation of galactic center. But that didn't mean she didn't know a hero when she saw one. Even gone. Even now. Still with them. Still with the Force. One of us. One of us. One with the Force.

"God speed Rhen. You did good kid."

She watched the procession move. Garbed in black silence. Quiet as the wind. Reverent as the grave.

 

[Inyri Takan]

Sullest, Jedi Temple Ruins, Omai Rhen's Funeral, Unknown Time | Nervous

---

---

The small cluster of Sovereign Guardians remained relatively to the back of any procession or crowd, bleak and silent in, appropriately, black and grey robes. Inyri stood near the front of the pack, chin lowered slightly as her eyes flicked between watching the others among her and the worn pair of boots she'd chosen for the solemn occasion. With all our losses, our victories grow more hollow by the day. Briefly, she wrung her hands, hidden in the shadows of her robes. A lump formed in her throat. Anxiety and worry were emotions especially unbecoming today, a celebration of someone's life and memory, but they still found ways to weave dangerously among the throng of Sovereignty representatives. She could feel them at her back, normally a feeling that would inspire confidence and hope in the future. Instead, it only served to make the Guardian inexorably exhausted.

War does that.

And she was very, very tired, of feeling tired.

Inyri's interactions with Jedi were limited. There was Aryn, of course, but beyond that one just didn't meet too many during the day to day Sovereignty-- Or even her order's --operations. Quietly she reflected on the fact that her master had been among these ranks once. Had she been buried with these honorifics? Will I?

Funerals always bring out the best internal dialogues, didn't they? Raising her head slightly to get a better view of everything and everyone, a pang of sadness echoed in her heart. She hadn't known the man they had gathered here to pay respect to, in fact, she hadn't even heard anything but a passing mention of him prior to the invitation. but she could understand. Empathy is strong. Far too many good people were dying in this war. Re-adjusting her stance briefly, Inyri clasped her hands in front of her abdomen and her eyes lowered once more. The assembly was, for sure, humbling.

---

Spoiler: Interacting With

Nobody, right now. Probably 10-15 NPC Guardians, though.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Inyri Takan"] [member="Karen Roberts"] [member="Oros"] [member="Coren Starchaser"]

It wouldn't have been her first choice.

That was the thought going through her mind as the funeral procession gathered around the pyre Omai Rhen, Grand Marshal of the New Jedi Order, laid upon. Following the events on Byss, Rhen's body had been transported back. Wounds tended to, his best robes affixed, and all of it so he would look like the proper Jedi Master on his funeral pyre. It had even been stipulated, if he died, that he wanted to be burned on Sullust and not in the new temple on Coruscant. The man had helped form the Alliance on the world, and he had wanted his ashes to be a part of that world if he didn't become one with the Force.

Garbed in solemn Jedi robes, hood raised, her eyes darted over to Coren. He had been taking it harder than most, and even now, he couldn't stop fidgeting with the Grand Marshal's lightsaber. Was he feeling guilt? regret? Was he wishing he had been just a bit faster to save the Grand Marshal from the Sith's attack? To perhaps even have sacrificed his life to do so? Was he thinking about the Sith he had struck down with the weapon in his hands? Had he felt rage? despair? righteousness?

She was very curious, but allowed none of those thoughts to outwardly change her mournful expression. And the biggest question looming over the gathering... who would lead from here?

"Coren," she muttered, "would you like to say a few words once everyone is gathered?"

It was a subtle thing, but it was what she needed to say... to start the final part of her end game.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Inyri Takan"] | [member="Karen Roberts"] | [member="Oros"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"]

Aela stood quietly on the edges of the procession, eyes fixed forward, face impassive and stoic.

Her life as of late had been shaky at best, hopping from one disaster to the next. The events on Kraysis, Micah's injuries, her own sudden lurch that had nearly lead into a fall. Everything had gone from simple to complex, and now? Now this.

She had always liked master Rhen. He'd been a kind men, and had been the one to pull her into the New Jedi Order. It had been at his request that she had joined the Galactic Alliance, at his behest that she had fought in many of it's battles. A frown settled on her lips as she thought back to all the times that they had stood besides one another. She had considered him a wise master, a friend, but his passing did not strike her as hard as she had thought it would.

A part of her thought it was because what she had been through so recently, but the truth of it was far more simple.

Master Rhen, like herself, like so many others, had always known the risks of their fight. They had taken up their sabers in the defense of the innocent, to fight the One Sith and bring a new peace to the galaxy. They had known the fight would be hard, and they had known that death would always be a possibility. His passing was disheartening, but Master Rhen had joined with the force.

That was nothing to mourn.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Purpose. That had been the Grand Marshal's gift to him. When the Republic had been crumbled the old man had found him and drawn him into the tightly knit and focussed New Jedi Order. He had led the charge into the bunkers of Lujo himself.

Jacen had never even found out the details of his past. The disciplined mad had left little hints that it was more colourful than one would have expected. It didn't matter any more, he thought to himself. Omai Rhen could be judged on what he had achieved in the last five years. Even as they walked past the ruins of the temple he had built as a beacon to the light when the dark had spread furthest across the Galaxy.

He allowed himself to feel just a touch of sadness and regret for his passing. He cast a sideways glance at Aela, the person whose feelings he was most concerned for recently.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Surreal, that was what this was. Omai Rhen was gone. The Grand Marshall of the New Jedi Order had been removed from this world, and even his spirit was… he wasn’t sure. The man’s body remained. Did that mean he didn’t fall into the Netherworld of the Force? He looked over at [member="Taeli Raaf"] and nodded. He supposed he was one of the few people here who had been around since the beginning. The fact that he was the one Taeli approached to give a speech? There were others who had been here and been a bit more focused as a Jedi.

He could tell the likes of [member="Aela Talith"] and [member="Jacen Voidstalker"], heavy hitters in the New Jedi Order had turned out from their assignments to pay their respects.

Allowing people to have the time to grieve, and give condolence or however they celebrated the life of a cherished friend, Coren watched and waited. When the moment was right, he stood up alongside the pyre. He wasn’t a man for speeches, not like this, but he was going to try.

“There isn’t much that can be said that others didn’t already know. Grand Marshall Rhen was perhaps the best teacher any of us could have asked for. He was with the Alliance since the beginning, helping to found the Temple whose ruins we stand on. It only seems fitting to have his funeral, and the time to pay respects to him, be here. With his passing, however, it is not the end of the New Jedi Order. We will continue, our resolve and focus will remain. We will continue our watch against the darkness in this galaxy.” He nodded, turning to Taeli Raaf once more.

Times were changing.

[member="Inyri Takan"]
[member="Karen Roberts"]
[member="Oros"]

 

[Zark San Tekka]

"We have to be torchbearers. Casting the Light so we may see our path to lasting peace."​

- Omai Rhen​

​

He could hear the trumpets.

By the faces gathered he could tell the others could not, even as he moved among them unseen. Still, they sounded, more clarion call than funeral dirge.

The Light would not allow one of its most faithful servants to pass unremarked. The Force was charged here, it made his passing easier. He could feel the moment, almost as if he were really there instead of everywhere.

He looked at faces, and at first all he could see were infinite branches of their possible futures. The scope of each life, from birth to death. Eventually they resolved themselves into faces he knew, or had known. Memories what was left of him had held onto.

A white cowl draped over nothingness, garbed from the neck down in ceremonial Jedi battle plate, approached the pyre invisible to those among the living. Although he was right up against the flames, he could not feel them.

"I remember what you once told me."

In the blink of an eye he was now standing on a massive piece of Temple wreckage overlooking the proceedings.

Confusion overtook him, a curious sensation in this state of being. Master Rhen, the wisest of them all, and most dedicated. Zark waited for him, the Force waited for him, but he did not appear. Zark would know, he would feel it. Wouldn't he?

A great spirit had dared the Labyrinth of Byss, and never returned.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

@Zark @Coren Starchaser [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Aela Talith"] [member="Inyri Takan"] [member="Karen Roberts"] [member="Oros"]

As Coren spoke, Taeli waited silently to the side. Something prickled in her sense of the Force, something... odd. Maybe it was because of her training with the Fallanassi that made her so sensitive to the currents, but she could have sworn she felt the presence of another recently departed Jedi. The occasion, momentous as it was, could have been enough to stir someone from the Netherworld of the Force. Or it was the gathering of all these Jedi, quietly dealing with their memories and thoughts on the Grand Marshal.

Taeli gave a Coren a sad, but soft, smile as he finished speaking. Stepping up herself, she looked each member of the congregation in the eye first before speaking.

"Thank you, Master Starchaser," she began, bowing her head to him. "This is a difficult time for us all. We have lost not just our leader, but a teacher... a mentor... a friend. Omai Rhen might have been a private man, a driven man, but he always had time for those who needed a word of advice or a lesson. He always found the time to interact with the Padawans and younglings, to give them an example to look up to... to emulate."

She paused for a moment, giving a clearing cough as though fighting back a lump in her throat.

"He gave us purpose," she continued. "When the darkness was at the gates, he created a shining light to hold it at bay, to push it back. He recognized the dark times we live in, and that the Jedi needed to be the force to defend the galaxy from the dark tide threatening to swallow it. He never stopped in his efforts to bring peace to galaxy, even to his last... He touched the lives of each and every one of us here. When my sister vanished, and I had little left to live for, he gave me a piece of advice. He said, 'Don't let your grief overwhelm you, the guilt consume you. They are with the Force, and the Force is with us. All we can do is honor their memory and their legacy by carrying on.'"

She stopped again, looking at every Jedi here.

"We are Omai Rhen's legacy," she stated. "And although he may not be with us anymore physically, he is still with us everyday we can feel the Force. We have to honor his memory... and his mission. The darkness grows bolder everyday, and the Jedi have to rise to meet it."

 

[Jsc]

Karen gave a nod towards kind words and kind deeds. She kept her own vigil. No words and no thoughts. Just, a moment of silence for the fallen. A moment to remember. Then she took her leave. Gliding softly away from the crowd and away from the lingering currents of The Force. Returning back to the strange worlds and the stranger mysteries from whence she'd came. It was time to go.

 

[Oros]

Oros looked on at the ceremony, in a sense of course as his species didn't possess eyes, and from his position to the rear of those gathered he could perceive several attendants such as [member="Karen Roberts"] depart now that the pyre was beginning to die down. He sensed not overwhelming grief from those who departed, but rather a sense of peace emanating from one who had made their own silent goodbyes. He believed that Grand Marshal Rhen would have appreciated this remembrance of his spirit, as a time not simply to mourn his loss but to contemplate his message and seek a way to move forward.

Of course, soon this respite would be over and their Order would have to make some important decisions concerning their future. While Oros listened to the rallying words of Master [member="Taeli Raaf"], he could not help but wonder who among them would take up the mantle and succeed Omai as Grand Marshal. They had never before had to select a replacement, and Master Rhen had never appointed a direct successor at least to the Chief Librarian's knowledge.

The Celegian had been with the New Jedi Order for some time now, but he had not been there at the very beginning, rather he had come along soon after the Temple on Sullust was first established. He did not feel it was his place to directly concern himself with such matters, it was something for the senior Masters to meditate on, not a glorified academic like Oros. Realizing his thoughts had drifted, he used the Force to enhance his short term memory recall, and replayed the last few moments of Taeli's impromptu speech in his mind, syncing up with the present just as she came to a close.

His species was not exactly capable of applause, but he beamed positive psychic energy out into his immediate surroundings in a typical display of Celegian approval.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The gathered were plentiful, and some were more vocal than others. What could be said for a life lived fully? A life lived in the service of others. Coren Starchaser knew he was not going to take up the mantle of Grand Marshal, no, he had other plans for himself. He was a watchman, and he was going to do just that. Watch.

Keep watch on the galaxy, on the worlds of the Alliance, and her allies, the Outer Rim, the Silver Jedi. The people he would choose to stand with, when the darkness was overwhelming, the ones he knew could push it back. Jedi and gathered friends would be there, drawing the line in the sand, and enforcing it. That, and teaching the new generation of Jedi Sentinels, was the life Starchaser would be living.

He had to ensure no others had the fate of Omai Rhen, lost to the annals of time and space. He knew that there was more to what Rhen had left behind. Perhaps Jacen and Zark would be able to assist. Locating the last teachings of the Grand Marshal, they had to be out there. He had to find them.

Working with Taeli Raaf had been something that didn’t come easily for Coren. He knew she had a past as a Sith, but Rhen had allowed her to join their ranks. There had to be something more to her than just ‘former Sith.’ And she was doing everything in her power to help the Alliance, with eliminating Sith and Dark Jedi, including the teething Knights of Ren. It was all they needed. The people gathered here, and the scores that were in spirit. The Jedi stood, watching the gathered, and nodded.

“As his legacy, we must take up the mantle, and continue on, how he would expect. We are the ones to marshal the galaxy, and push back the dark side."