Private Don't Lose Your Way

[Jyoti Nooran]

Growing increasingly concerned about Laertia Io and her rogue campaign against the New Imperial Order and the Galactic Alliance, Jyoti reaches out to the wayward knight in the hopes of reconciliation.

She sends several messages over the holonet to Laertia. While always marked as read, she receives no reply. Finally, on the final message, she laces it with a tracking daemon to ping Laertia's location. With the assistance of her technopathic friend Allyson Locke , she's able to backtrack through several obsufication relays to find the source of the original transmission, originating from a previously uncharted system within the Outer Rim.

With a small team of Shadows, Jyoti departs from Kashyyyk to the Outer Rim to finally confront Laertia before she is truly lost...

A single golden starfighter reverted from Hyperspace, quickly settling into orbit around the lush alien world. If Jehuty was easy enough to see with its gaudy golden color scheme, it was even easier to track by radar by its huge crossection - a consequence of the Ugly's mismatched parts cobbled together for speed over stealth. It was big, loud, and ostentatious.

That was the point. She had come in peace and hoped to assuage Laertia, if present, by easy detection. Still it was a huge gamble, as she had arrived unannounced. As Jehuty began its orbit, the Echani began transmitting a looping prerecorded message over clear subspace channels.

This is Master Jyoti Nooran of the Silver Jedi Order. In light of recent events concerning the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order, I am here in an attempt to reach out to Laertia Io and her associates. In your campaign to admonish the the GA and NJO for their focus on the Sith, you have ironically drifted far away from your original mission. While you debate and duel a half a galaxy away, the Bryn'adul hordes still press forward.

You need to see the larger picture. While the GA press the Sith, we have the breathing space to engage the Bryn. Perhaps this is not the ideal scenario for you, but it helps. What certainly doesn't help is you promoting division with your selfishness.

I want to see you, wherever you are, so that we can work any differences and get back to the task at hand.

Please, Listen...

That was it. Now she could only await a response while passively scanning the world for signals or activity.

Laertia Io

 

[Laertia Io]

Wearing: Hoodlum's Leathers

Armed with: De Lifte Crystal (Dual Vent)

Objective: Hear out Jyoti Nooran

With: Advanced Prototype

Nuetralizer Prototype

Arianna Belasko (Arianna's equipment: Diplomatic Gown, Subverter's Blade)

Deep within the Nuetralizer Factory hidden in a canyon surrounded by grassland steppes and white flowers, a small Apartment section that doubled as the control center had been set up.

Laertia Io lay on a sofa, crying once more since her Android Caretaker, Moya, had cut ties. Her creations, Prototypes of her Nuetralizer War Droids rested on reinforced Sofas next to her. One was a solidly built Golden Skeleton loaded with so many deadly weapons virtually no normal warrior had a chance at survival without plenty of prep beforehand. The other resembled a young woman with very fair skin and chocolate hair with mercury colored irises, seemingly wearing glossy, silvery biker leathers with black spikes on the jacket. Both were there to comfort their parent.

Arianna listened in a way she wasn't used to. She never felt the need to be snide or haughty with Laertia as she did others.

The Witch was glad in a way. Laertia was figuring out quickly who her real friends were. Like Arianna always said.

"I can't imagine how much that hurt..." Arianna said gently, though inwardly she was keeping it in the back of her mind to use it to further press for her joining The Knights Obsidian. "Is there any chance she would reconsider?"

"No." Laertia answered. "Her protocol failsafe was enabled. She decided I'm as much a threat to the Galaxy as anything else..."

"Its times like this that you need to remember what's at stake. The Jedi care about their grudge with the Dark Side, not The Bryn'adul." Arianna reminded. "Everybody finds out who they are in this business...you've just found out you're the type of person willing to do anything to see the Galaxy united against the Bryn'adul, and you are willing to make great sacrifices to see it. This is something to celebrate, my dear. It means you're evolving. It means you really do care about the fate of The Galaxy."

"Why does it hurt so much?" Laertia asked in a broken whisper.

"That is the pain of certainty, Dear." Arianna replied ever so smoothly. "It is the pain of knowing you are right even if those who love you think you are wrong--"

Hadrian, the Golden Skeleton detected a signal on loop from a modified starfighter in orbit. He had recently modified himself for wireless communication, as had Lyssa, who was in fact a highly advanced collection of Laminanium Nanites.

"Mother, a Jedi Signal is coming in, requesting to meet with you..." Hadrian said.

Laertia shot up. She had been found. And whoever had found her likely wasn't alone...

Using her technopathic skills, she set the base and every Nuetralizer in it to silent alert, with orders to prepare her warship in case an abandon base event became necessary.

"Countess, Would you kindly abdicate a moment?" Laertia requested.

The instant it was heard, Arianna's mind stopped, set to pause as her fake Dark Side aura vanished, replaced by its actual, mutated light side one, flesh melting and shifting into that of an elderly, pale woman with deep red hair and brown eyes, a far contrast from her previous blonde and youthful guise. The actual Arianna had been dead for months, her brain inhabited by an alchemized shard created by the Bright Lord of The Sith, Darth Themis , It had all but consumed a fragment of the murderously evil Witch's mind to use as camouflage when operating in CIS territory.

Of course, there were some catches. The Shard inhabiting this alchemized body actually believed she was Arianna while using her form, and thus forced to act as close to how the real Arianna had acted as possible: Manipulative. Arrogant, and Sadistic.

But not as the one actually in charge.

Vivian opened her eyes and gazed at the Black Knight.

"Is something the matter?"

"We have company. I need you to remain here as you are. If we do end up needing 'Arianna' I'd rather not have to resort to her unless necessary. Keep the base at maximum alert. Anticipate infiltration teams and station them at all possible breaching points. Hadrian, scramble those TIE Phantoms we stole and keep them ready to launch. But don't do it until I give the signal. Lyssa? You're with me."

"At once Mother. I would hope it doesn't come to violence..." Hadrian remarked placidly. "But Hope is a mathematical non-entity."

"Do be careful Laertia. They're Jedi. They have contingency plans." Vivian warned.

"So do I..." Laertia responded, grabbing her Obsidian Dual Vented Lightsaber.

Lyssa rose quietly with a serene expression that was out of place.

"Are we going to kill them like at Generis, Mother?" Lyssa asked.

"No, my Daughter. Not unless they try and arrest us...I'm hoping whoever it is doesn't try..."

A few minutes later, a simple set of coordinates was beamed to the Starfighter computer, pointing to a set of old, secluded ruins in the middle of the grass steppes.

There, Laertia awaited, calmly, with Lyssa. Her left eye, which was cybernetic, had a gray iris with a glint of gold at the center.

Her other eye, however, was no longer a matching gray. The whites of the eyes had turned bronze, the Iris a Dark Green. The teachings of Darth Themis had begun to hold Laertia's interest more and more.

The teachings of a Light Side Sith, slowly but surely taking Laertia to a new period of existence...for better or worse.

When Nooran arrived, Laertia would be standing in the middle of the ancient ruins, hands to her side, saber clipped to her belt. Lyssa leaned on a wall behind her, eyes glued to Nooran the second she stepped foot in the same space as her Mother.

"I am not familiar with you. I am also not sure why I am humoring this appeal, but just so I can have on record that I at least heard The Order's counterargument, I'll let you say your peace. Speak."

 

[Jyoti Nooran]

Equipment: Silver Shadow Armor, Sitara (Lightsaber), Chakram Shield, Puck (Astromech Companion)

It didn't take long before she received a transmission. Coordinates she assumed led to Laertia. Jyoti was honestly surprised to receive a response at all, but it was hard to ignore someone right at the door.

"I'll be down shortly," she called back, pitching Jehuty toward the provided coordinates.

Scans on the way down revealed a complex of ruined buildings, and multiple humanoid lifesigns - Laertia wasn't alone. Hanging out with the rogue knight, she could assume they also harbored little reservation about striking against another Jedi. She must remain on her guard even if coming in peace.

Within minutes, the Echani had arrived to the destitution, spiraling downward to get a good look at the ruins for every angle. Touchdown ended with the golden fighter set before the cracked steps of the temple.

"Keep an eye out for trouble," she ordered Puck before hopping out of the cockpit. The astromech whistled in acknowledgement, remaining vigilant with its Kyber enhanced sensors.

Slowly, she made her way up the stairs, taking stock of her surroundings. In any other situation, she would have loved to explore the alien ruins of the previously uncharted world, learning about the civilization that had left them behind. There were so many things she'd rather be doing right now, but there were knuckleheads she needed to address.

Up the stairs, she found none other than Laertia herself standing in wait, with at least another woman in clear view behind. She squared up with Laertia, removing her helmet to see the rogue with her own silver eyes.

She felt a taint upon Laertia, beginning to physically manifest on the knight. Knowing how Laertia had been bumping shoulders with the Sith as of late, the Shadow was hardly surprised. Still, it was sad to see with such a promising individual.

Don't let me be too late...

"You received the gist of of my message so you should understand my position. You are not alone in your desire to see a unified response against the Bryn'adul. I wish the Imperials would call a truce, and the GA throw their full weight behind the Concord. I wish there was million other things that were different. However, as Jedi we have to make due and push forward. Do you think serving the Sith Empire helps our cause?"

Laertia Io

 

[Laertia Io]

Laertia stared at her very calmly.

"It is a tragedy, isn't it?" Laertia asked bitterly, pacing about, shuddering slightly as the crystal in her hilt mostly suppressed the Migraine from her Brain Damage. "I didn't want to do this, you know. Didn't want to do any of this. But debating it with the Jedi made no difference at all. And I tried. I failed. Your minds were already made up about who you wanted to go after. Any 'Peaceful Debate' I could have offered, any critique after the fact of your already-made decision, would have inevitably led to you all, smiling, nodding, thanking me for my concerns, or rebuking my all too legitimate complaints, and going along with the plan to battle the Sith no matter what. Feth all the worlds getting swallowed up by the Bryn'adul. No, you all must conclude your feud with the Sith. By any means necessary. Don't try to tell me that's not what would have happened if I had continued debating this with you peacefully. I have seen it a hundred times, a thousand times all over the Galaxy over a long and difficult career."

(Random Cutaway of Liam Neeson punching someone)

Laertia leaned against one of the ruins.

"The Jedi go after The Sith with the same level of insanity the Sith go after the Jedi. Are you really going to tell me you don't see the pure hypocrisy of rejecting an alliance with one group of monsters in favor of another group of monsters simply because that group doesn't call themselves Sith? Do you want to stop the Sith that bad that you'll throw those worlds the Bryn'adul advance on even now to the wolves? Because all the factions engaging them right on the very fringes don't have the Manpower or the resources to do better than holding actions or evacuations. A massive strike is necessary, now, before the Bryn'adul become too strong to be stopped through anything less than the most brutal, soulcrushing measures that can possibly be inflicted."

Laertia leaned against the wall, rubbing her eyes. Weeks of exhaustion and fighting the New Imperial Order and The Galactic Alliance shown on her face. Shattered emotional health. Uncertainty. Heartbreak.

"I killed and killed and killed Sith Lords for years. Evil, vile monsters, Demons in the skin of People. I felt nothing for them. I had seen their crimes. They killed my parents. Dismembered them. I destroyed as many as I could get my hands on, same way that Ryv was doing. But for all the evil I know surely exists in the Sith, what I saw when Nar Kreeta died, when the soldiers I fought beside were all violently torn apart, that was sign that The Bryn'adul are more of a threat. Because that is the fate of every society they set their sight on: Total all encompassing Destruction. The Jedi Order has no right to throw their lives away against Sith when The Bryn'adul plan to do to the entire Galaxy what they did to Nar Kreeta."

Laertia faced Jyoti Nooran . Her organic eye was wet, holding back tears. She had nightmares all the time now.

"I don't like the things I have done. But every action I have taken, no matter how violent or cruel, was for the greater good of Uniting the Galaxy."

(Cutaway of Zod tearing off his armor and floating up for the first time.)

 

[Jyoti Nooran]

Jyoti had fight back the urge to roll her eyes as Laertia pontificated about realpolitik. The Echani had just traveled halfway across the galaxy seeking out the Rogue, just to be hit with a variation of the "for the greater good" speech.

She settled for a frown.

"So you're really going to pontificate about realpolitik with the former Grandmaster of the Silver Order? My whole job entailed striking balance between my ideals and reality. To have done otherwise would have seen the destruction of all we have built within Silver Space. I was also there at Yurb and Nar Kreeta, and saw and felt first hand the brutality of the Bryn'adul. I almost died because of it."

Months later, and she had only just regained full mobility of her left side, which had been crushed under tons of duracrete ruins. All the while, surrounded by dying screaming comrades buried with her.

Never again did she want to experience such powerlessness and despair.

"I found the actions of you, Thurion, and other Silvers at Dantooine quite disappointing and misguided, to say the least, but I could understand the logic, twisted as it was. However, you then just kept going and going even when it was apparent that the Sith Empire was imploding. Your support of the Sith Empire runs contrary to your stated rationale of pragmatism. Every time you raise your blade in service to the Sith, you merely help to delay their inevitable demise. Each delay prolongs the GA's diversions and keeps much needed resources away from the frontlines against the Bryn."

"If there is a hypocrite around, that would be you. More keen on beating all dissenting peers into submission as part of the same holy wars you apparently despise, rather than helping to foster new and stronger resistance to the Bryn'adul like others have been doing. By persusing this petty personal crusade, you are becoming everything you profess to hate."

Her frown deepened, as speaking her criticisms of Leartia aloud made the rogue's hypocrisy appear even more ludicrous.

"So I want to know. Will you continue to fight for the Sith - betraying your fellow Jedi - to satisfy your ego, or will you let go and return to the Silver Order where you are needed more than ever?"

Laertia Io

 

[Laertia Io]

"Resistance..." Laertia spat in contempt. "New and Stronger Resistance. Resistance isn't Victory. Your militaries are among the few truly, properly equipped ones that can give the Bryn'adul any fight. But you're the ones wasting resources on anything other than the Bryn'adul. I fought 'em at Dubrava. Hardly saw any Jedi there, because all the Jedi are stuck fighting the Sith. By your own admission, the only thing keeping the GA in this war with the Sith is the GA themselves. Not me. I'm not the one forcing them to double down on their bets with the NIO. They are. My goal has been to inflict such heavy losses that the GA simply isn't given a choice except to withdraw from this war while they can still remain effective enough to fight elsewhere. Most of their problems would immediately cease if they just withdrew and focused on the Bryn. Those soldiers didn't need to die against me. They were ordered to. By fools. And if my 'For the Greater Good' sentiment disgusts you so much, than you obviously aren't looking at the big picture: This war against The Sith makes no sense at this juncture, for anyone. The only one who benefits are the NIO, who will turn on you likely the instant your efforts against the Sith helped them destroy their hated rivals. Its not like I want to destroy the Jedi, or conquer the GA. I don't even want you all to permanently set aside your feud with the Sith. Just temporarily. I see things very clearly, Nooran. The only one who is really keeping the GA fighting the Sith is the vanity of Adhira Chandra . She could have ceased this madness months ago. Instead, she has recommitted with a blindness I have found especially...vexing..."

Laertia was still trying to find a way to penetrate Chandra's security to get to her...

"I am not doing this out of ego, Nooran. The GA are. The Jedi are doing this war out of Vanity. You've all been trying to kill them for Millenia and you've never quite succeeded. If anything The Order's efforts against the Sith have been an absolute disaster in this era, and especially in this current conflict. All you've managed, at best, is them splintering up and making new threats to harrass you from other angles, further draining your resources. Ossus already has come under attack from yet another Sith Splinter Faction...who gives a Feth what their name is at this point? You all want this war with the Sith no matter who it screws over elsewhere." Laertia remarked bitterly, and it was clear it was how she truly felt about the situation

"And what wouId do if I went back to the Silvers, Jyoti?" Laertia asked, fists clenching as the migraine persisted.

"What would I do, go back to taking orders from people literally so awful at waging war that after the disaster at Nar Kreeta they willingly slapped away one hand in favor of another seemingly completely uninterested in fighting the Bryn'adul? An Order that, no matter how many losses they've suffered, which could have been better spent fighting Nar Kreeta's slayers, keeps spending and wasting young lives for meaningless, empty victories on some Sith dirtball nobody gives a feth about? Ryv and the rest of you motherfethers killed defenseless children who stood no chance against you. En masse. Who in many cases didn't even have a training Lightsaber to defend themselves. Every kill I have made was in the field of battle with people trained enough and willing to kill me for standing in the way. Is that what I'd be expected to do, just going back to mercilessly, mindlessly killing Sith? Ignoring the Bryn'adul in the meantime until the Masters are satisfied that the Sith no longer pose a threat? How many will die in the meantime? Does the Order even care about the lives the Bryn'adul ruined? I'm training a survivor of one of their Genocides. Lost his whole way of life. He was a professor. He had a family and a normal life. He couldn't be less interested in fighting The Sith if you paid him. So why should I be any more interested in fighting them than he is? He has his fething priorities straight. The Order doesn't. You've become so desperate to stick it to the Sith on a long term basis you'll ignore every thing else until you get your way. What's to respect about the Jedi Order when they have such a myopic focus on the Sith? You do remember the Dark Side doesn't need the Sith to wreck destruction, do you? The Bryn'adul are everything you claim to oppose in the Sith except the Bryn'adul are far, far better at it." Laertia remarked in an acidic manner, eyes glazing over as she remembered the horrors of the Bryn'adul's gigantic worm. She heard screams of dead people suddenly and she darted her head around looking for the source for a few moments, clearly suffering a mild panic attack before composing herself.

"Tell me, Jyoti, when has wholesale extermination for every civilization encountered ever been Sith Policy? Even the fething Vong offered a sort of backhanded mercy. Even The Mandalorians didn't kill everyone they met, because they may have been ambitious conquerers, but they weren't insane. They knew some needed to be left to do business with. If I went back to the Silvers, all I'd be doing is taking bad orders I don't respect, from people I stopped respecting. And even if I went back, I'd be censured for the rest of my days. I'd have Jedi tailing my ass looking for even the tiniest slip-up. No one would ever trust me again. No one would ever bother to listen to me again at all. My opinion would never be respected, and it would always be shouted down vehemently if even the tinest disagreement was detected. Hell, even when I was on your side that's what happened anyway. What would I be going back to? A fething leesh, and smug self righteousness. Silly, stupid, feel good heroics that mean nothing to me anymore, killing Sith Lords I don't know for some nebulous conflict of philosophy that holds no meaning to me any longer, while the one enemy that truly embodies every evil of The Dark Side gets to laugh and watch us kill each other. I am numb to this feud with the Sith. Numb to it. Killed hundreds of them and their numbers are just as thick as when I started. I don't respect your leaders, or your Paragons. Ryv Karis was everything wrong, is everything wrong with the NJO, and they let him get dozens of people killed at Dantooine, Korriban, and Bastion. So, no, Jyoti. I'm not going back to the Silvers. They would force me to fight the wrong enemy, and I will not take the Barash Vow and give the Order a clean victory by my inaction. Once the GA taps out with the Empire and starts going after the real threat with all they can muster, only then would I stop killing your members and aid you, and given all I have been put through due to the GA and The Order, you bet your ass it would be a begrudging aid. Once the Bryn'adul are no longer a threat, THEN you may go back to your regularly scheduled program of fruitlessly killing each other."

 

[Jyoti Nooran]

This time, Jyoti allowed herself to roll her eyes in the face of such pomposity.

"The Galactic Alliance is a democratic republic. Whether you like it or not, their Chancellor and Senate represent the collective will of the people. If you were actually interested in swaying public opinion, then you would go to them directly to make your case rather than kill their sons and daughters. Now no one will listen to you. The only thing they see is a lone homicidal psycho caught up in her feelings with a hard on for picking fights with the NJO. A mad dog that needs to be put down. You only make them want to fight the Sith harder."

Sadly, the more she talked to Laertia, the more accurate she found the rogue's critics.

"Meanwhile, the GA actually does provide support to the SJC, and has had forces present at every major Bryn incursion. They were instrumental in our successes at Yurb."

"The Silver Jedi and the Concord have experienced setbacks, that is true. This is a new enemy unlike anything we have faced in recorded history. They do not strive to conquer and dominate like the Sith, but simply to consume and destroy. That said, we have beaten them before, and we are learning from our mistakes to get better. I do agree that we should be more proactive, and I am working to see that happen. In past engagements, I wasn't part of the Silver Order then, but now I am involved in the SJO to help set us on the right path."

Sighing, she tried to relieve herself of frustration and raised a hand toward Laertia.

"Things are different now, Laertia. Please come back. You don't even need to rejoin the order, but I would rather have you as an ally of the Jedi rather than an enemy."

Over the course of their dialogue, Jyoti had addressed the woman as a comrade, but any refusal to stand down from her twisted campaign would result in the Echani treating her as an enemy combatant.

A traitor.

Laertia Io

 

[Laertia Io]

"Don't you think I tried?" Laertia asked in a pained hiss. "I tried to get them to see!" I all but begged you idiots. I practically telegraphed what I knew would happen! And still you did not listen!"

The Black Knight scowled at Jyoti Nooran .

"You BARELY had a success at Yurb! I was there!. I fought in those streets the same as many others. The Bryn'adul gutted us by the thousands and we barely had enough to throw them back. That is not a standard for success, Master Nooran. We utterly failed at Nar Kreeta because we didn't have enough! Sporadic, partial assistance is maybe better than nothing, but more is needed...but we cannot get there with the Jedi Order constantly battling the Sith Lords, not with the refugee crisis getting worse. If my actions make them want to fight the Sith harder...that's their problem. They're committing a slow suicide. Here's an idea, Jyoti. You don't want us to try and kill each other some day? Go back to your friends in the NJO. Tell them to stop supporting the NIO. Tell them to quit throwing the lives of their Jedi away meaninglessly. There is no honor in dying fighting the Sith this time. None at all."

Lyssa perked up, receiving a wireless transmission from the hidden factory.

"Unidentified blips have been detected entering the system." Lyssa said with an unusually serene tone.

Laertia narrowed her eyes.

"So, Nooran? How many did you bring?" Laertia asked dryly, still not having unhooked her blade. Lyssa hopped down from her perch, the Advanced Prototype folding her arms.

"I'm guessing you brought at least twenty..." Laertia surmised clinically, refusing to attack unless Jyoti did first.

"Before whatever happens, happens, I wanna know...why do the Sith need to be fought when, even by your admission, The Bryn'adul are nothing like what you have faced before? How are you to learn to combat them properly and learn from your mistakes against them when half your attention is divided with the Sith? Where's the logic in that? I don't see it. I don't wanna be an enemy of the Jedi, but your approach is completely incorrect in my eyes, about what enemy warrants the most attention. I have no faith in your ability to 'make' things right. I never even heard of you before today. The worst part is, this hardline attitude towards the Sith you have? I had it too once. It was a waste of mental energy to hold it."

 

[Jyoti Nooran]

Laertia claimed she had tried to be persuasive, which almost elicited a snort from Jyoti as she recalled the exact contents.

"Ah yes, I've seen your open letters spread around the holonets. That's what brought you to my attention. Hmm, let me think of one."

You were warned. You and Ryv, the Sword of The Jedi. Yet you bring your warriors to these battles. Throw your Knights, your Padawans to die in battle against me. Your selfishness echoes across the Galaxy in your refusal to call off your war, and refugees swarm the borders of survivors from the Bryn'adul's onslaught.

"An opening preamble threatening and insulting your audience while reminding them you've already killed their kin is a great way to kick off productive discourse. In their eyes, you are little better than a terrorist. This is not the way of the Jedi."

The Echani shook her head at Laertia's battle assessments.

"Even with our forces split between engaging the Sith and the Bryn at the same time, we had more than enough. For the moment, in total terms of available resources and manpower, the Concord alone dwarfs the Bryn hordes by at least a factor of 100:1. Do you want to know what the real problem is? Every Jedi organization is filled with prima donnas just like you, running around thinking they have all the answers. Children throwing tantrums because they don't get everything they want exactly the way they want."

She raised her free hand, wiggling the fingers as she described the fractured state of the Jedi.

"This problem rears its head especially on the tactical level, every little Jedi and ground commander running around doing a hundred different personal missions while tripping over each other's feet, accomplishing little if anything."

The wiggling stopped as she closed her hand into a fist.

"Then there is the Bryn'adul. They act as one unit, operating with such cohesion that I initially mistook them as a hive mind. They understand how to collectively leverage their power for one decisive strike of pure overkill. Until we can match that level of organization, it doesn't matter how many forces are fielded from whatever number of powers, we will lose."

She had more to say, but her train of thought was interrupted as the second person with Laertia announced the arrival of additional contacts into the system. That was an indication that they had a extensive detection system established, confirming a hunch.

I was right to leave the Nightshade outside the sector.

New questions were raised, however, as she knew all the Shadows she had deployed with remained on the frigate. She hadn't even transmitted to them yet to confirm her arrival to the system. So who else was coming?

"It's only me, Laertia," She answered truthfully. "Though I could have been tailed. Perhaps more of your adoring "fans" who've been dying to meet you."

"We could wait to see what they want, or you could offer yourself to my custody without a fuss. The choice is yours. Though before they come, I want to know. Why here? What's the need for such secrecy?"

Laertia Io

 

[Laertia Io]

Laertia's mutated eye twitched as Jyoti Nooran compared her actions to a child's temper tantrum. This was another thing she detested in Jedi like Nooran: They did their absolute best to belittle the one they debated when they refused to fall into lockstep.

"Outnumbering them doesn't seem to have helped you so far. Its not Prima Donnas in your way either. And you continue to lose people in vast amounts on two seperate fronts. Two front wars are tactically unsound. You have such success against the Sith because they are familiar to you. You know them. My words to the Galaxy and your governments are harsh because I have no patience for the Flower-Talk of your short sighted politicians any longer. If that's Discourse, than I find it repulsive. You are too accustomed to the intensity level of the war with the Sith. You are in short, too complacent and familiar with them. They are a habit. You know the habit, so you indulge in the habit. The Order are addicted to fighting The Sith, which is why, no matter how many Sith weeds you pull out, they grow back in a few weeks practically. You're no closer to defeating the Sith no matter how many worlds you snatch from them. There's always just enough for the next generation to have heroic fights with and build up to yet 'another' empire. Without them, what would you do with yourselves? You ever stop and think about that? My take: you'd all go crazy without them." Laertia spat bitterly, at last openly voicing a long withheld condemnation she had formed as she had gotten older and killed more.

"I don't claim to have all the answers, Nooran. I never did. Just one. And its the one answer you can't bring yourself to accept because it leaves the people you care more about stopping than you do the Bryn'adul in power a tad longer. The Answer is this: The Bryn'adul must be stopped even if the whole Galaxy must link hands as one to do it. They must be stopped even if it means we must outshine them in ruthlessness and single minded focus. They must be stopped even if it means we have to get so drenched in their blood the Gods themselves shall shy away from gazing upon us. Your real problem is not Organization. You have no problem organizing when it comes to the Sith. The problem is you think you can treat the Bryn'adul as an army to be fought rather than a disease to be scoured from a healthy body, a cancer that will vanish only with the most aggressive of Chemotherapy applied. When you start viewing them in those terms, as something you must simply destroy, not defeat, but destroy at any cost, a vast amount of the trouble you have suffered would vanish. What I saw at Nar Kreeta will haunt me forever. I cannot forget the destruction I saw there. Will not. Because I know they intend that for the whole Galaxy. And that is an evil ambition even The Sith Empire cannot claim of themselves. They enslave. They oppress, and yes, they have destroyed planets. But even they want someone left to rule. The Bryn'adul have no use for even that. I cannot ignore such evil. It screams at me in the Force. The death echoes of Nar Kreeta follow me. I feel the death of the soldiers around me from that day like it happened thirty seconds ago..." Laertia said morosely, centering herself, preparing for whatever would happen next. "I will not ignore that evil, nor will I ignore anything that would frustrate attempts to destroy it. I will not allow the Galaxy to become Nar Kreeta, or Kubindi, or Barab. I was barely able to help anyone at Dubrava because the Jedi were elsewhere. I watched them throw babies to the flames of homes they burned down..." Laertia whispered, rubbing her face to get the horrible images she had seen when Nar Kreeta fell, prespiring out of an anxiety attack, eyes wet. "Watched the Pregnant hacked apart with axes, or stepped on by Juggernauts. You can keep playing by the rule book if you want."

Laertia scowled as Nooran said it was just her.

"Ohhh no you don't. I know how this works. I was a Jedi Shadow, you see. It's never just one. You brought a team, whether you left them outside the system and had them come in on stealth, you brought a team with you." Laertia muttered in a dry, toneless matter, wiping moisture from her eyes as she heard the screams of dead civilians in her head. "How fething predictable. Once, just once, I'd like to see one of these types actually be willing to just feth off after being told no..."

"Their energy signatures match known New Imperial Order Troop Carriers...and GA Troop Carriers" Lyssa said, getting more feedback from the hidden factory's scanners.

"I'm not going to surrender. And since you never intended to leave here without my acquiescence, I'm just going to treat you as a POW. Whether you knew about this or not you're an accomplice after the fact." Laertia snapped, clenching her cybernetic fist.

She turned to her daughter. "Lyssa, please take Master Nooran into custody. Do your best not to harm her."

Lyssa nodded, approaching Nooran with her creepy serenity.

"Master Nooran..." she said distantly, seemingly staring at something far off despite making direct eye contact with Jyoti. "Please accompany us and surrender your weapon."

To emphasize her point, Lyssa's arms morphed into silvery swords of Extreme sharpness, revealing her status as something composed of Nanites.

"I insist." Lyssa said, still with out of place serenity.

 

[Jyoti Nooran]

Jyoti let her hand drop, sighing. They weren't getting anywhere. It was clear that Laertia was going to continue on her homicidal mission. Though next time, she may have to be the one to step in.

"You can save your talking points for the Galactic Alliance. I will restate my position as being that I would prefer they prioritize the Bryn'adul over the Sith Empire and throw their full support against the former, but that I accept that looks unlikely and I will proceed with the resources currently available and make due with limited support is offered. Even if I disagree with them will not betray them as you do."

"The Bryn'adul are more than what you say. They are zealots, crusaders who charge forward with the upmost conviction that what they do is right for the galaxy, fulfilling the Will of the Force. In several ways, they're just like you when I think about it. Would that make you a different kind of cancer upon the Jedi?"

She shook her head as Laertia accused her of ulterior motives.

"There are certainly fellow Shadows close by for support, but only to ensure my safety if our encounter turned hostile..." With raised eyebrows, she glanced over at the second woman (cyborg?) now morphing limbs. Jyoti initially mistook her as another person, but with the surprise transformation she now knew that certainly wasn't the case. "It appears you may be suffering from a case of projection."

Cute toy.

It wouldn't be enough.

"Look at things from my perspective. A rogue traitor from my own order pops up all the time to specifically target and assassinate my allies and friends in the Galactic Alliance, all the while in cahoots with the Sith Empire. Finally pinged to some uncharted planet doing Ashla knows what. Could you blame me for coming with insurance?"

"It's one thing taking on the GA, but will you raise a weapon to another Silver? I will certainly resist your attempts to detain me, so that's what it will take. There's no coming back from that."

Trusty Sitara hung from her utility belt for all to see, but she had yet to make a move to hold. Also visible was a large bundle of wires, though a casual observer would probably mistake the loops as climbing material.

Killers like them knew better.

"I don't want to hurt either of you."

Laertia Io

 

[Laertia Io]

At Jyoti Nooran comparing her and the Bryn'adul, something shortwired in Laertia's damaged brain.

She heard nothing else out of Nooran's mouth. She fixed on that.

"A Cancer. You dare compare me to them?!" Laertia snapped murderously. "YOU DARE TO COMPARE ME TO THEM?! FETH YOU! I stopped them from killing Coren Starchaser at Yurb! I tried to save Nar Kreeta! I tried to buy time for the evacuation at Dubrava! I've tried to develop means to stop them from murdering so easily! YOU DO NOT COMPARE ME TO THEM!" The Black Knight shouted, eyes twitching, Brain Damage aggravating her mood. "A cancer upon The Order. Interesting choice of words. You wouldn't have me as a problem if you got your heads out of your asses and did the right thing. Lets see where your idealism takes you when they get to Sarka. Nar Kreeta was enough to get me to decide where my priorities lay. Let's see how much faith you have in following bad orders once Sarka's fate is decided."

Dark Blue, flame like energy lit ancient torch sconces, freezing them solid and dropping the temperature. It wasn't the Dark Side. Laertia had some flame like version of Cryokinesis.

"I was only going to take you prisoner before, Nooran. A few days in a blindfold and then you'd have been released at my convenience. But for comparing me to that genocidal filth when the worst I'm guilty of is what I've always been guilty of since I was a child...I'm not going to kill you. I'm just gonna hurt you really, really, bad."

She looked at Lyssa. "Daughter, please leave the room. This schutta just got herself a new lightsaber scar."

"I thought you wanted me to detain her." Lyssa asked.

"That was before she made this personal." Laertia said coldly. "No one compares me to those Genocidal Beasts. No one. "

"I shall coordinate defense..." Lyssa spoke. "Do try not to give her 'too' many injuries. They'll likely need her for the defense of Sarka when The Bryn'adul invade."

Lyssa gave one more look at Jyoti.

"I did not understand my Mother's dislike of Jedi stubbornness until just now. I would have been gentle. Delicate. You shouldn't have compared my Mother to the Bryn'adul just because your Order keeps getting bloody noses for swinging at the wrong people. Loyalty is wasted when the leaders are wrong. And they are wrong, Master Jedi, with all due respect. By helping, you help them stay wrong. You help them dig you and the rest of your faction deeper into the hole the Draelvasir will cover you up in. I can't stop what Mother does next. You really should have come alone." Lyssa said, before her humanoid form broke down into a puddle of liquid, mercury like substance and flowed out of the temple and back to the factory.

Laertia grabbed her blade, the black blade with a green aura snaked out of its main emitter and both side vents.

She pointed the blade at Nooran, going into a Makashi open.

"Nice monofilaments. You any good with them?" Laertia asked before lunging at them, with a light slicing attack. She would strip her of her advantages and then humiliate her. Nothing serious. Nothing that would maim that pretty face. A light scar somewhere to remember her by...and to remember to never compare her ever again to The Bryn'adul.