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Laira mused on her mother's words of wisdom. Of course it wouldn't be easy at first, wouldn't be something she could just fall into instantly. If she managed to embrace the insult, it wouldn't be much of an insult. "I do like flying." It was one of her favorite things to do, and learning to ride by herself would not only set her apart from the other girls, it would make them envious. Sure they could try to hide it and act snobby, but no one else would care what they thought. "Maybe you could teach me to fly on my own when we get back from Denon?" The redhead's stormy grey eyes peered into her mother's amber brown ones, shining with a curiosity and endearment.
As much as Laira and Faith were different, Laira having taken to having a vain side young, until recently she hadn't enjoyed being prim and proper, and she cared much more for the thoughts of her peers than Faith had, they shared so much in common. They were both stubborn and fiery when they wanted to be, unwavering against others when their passions overtook them. However Faith was an experienced diplomat and her mother, with knowledge and wisdom Laira couldn't even guess at. Laira just thought she was a genius.
"Okay, I'll go get ready." She stood and hugged her mother quickly before racing off to her room to pack.
Faith smiled, "Of course I'll teach you, maybe we should teach Buir and Theo too make it a family outing. Course your father will fret some ever since that one thranta died on me." Faith just shook her head, yeah Draco had taken a long time to get passed that, sometimes even now she didn't think he had.
Laira hugged Faith and Faith returned it, it felt good to give and get a hug. If anything she said helped Laira to get passed the teasing at school without her having to take an action it was great.
"I'll meet you at the platform" Faith headed towards the platform, Ana stood there ever efficient, knew what to do when to do it and how. For a moment Faith paused reminding herself of just how important Ana was to her, she needed a raise or something. Ana wouldn't like a title she'd like something else a gesture something to hold onto.
"Ana remind me later we need to talk, OH an Laira is joining us let's be sure to let Draco know so he doesn't think she's slipped off somewhere. Faith went inside and sat down, reading over the reports, things were calming? Maybe, all Alderaanians wishing to be rescued would be at the spaceport. This should go simple, easy in, easy out.
Ana sat across from Faith, "Something wrong?"
"No, I just realized something and we need to take care of it before forget, but it has to be when we get back." A house maybe. An apartment, what would Ana like.
Laira ran off to her room, stuffing the clothes her mother had indicated into an overnight bag. One pair of trousers, her boots and two changes of socks stuffed in them, a white shirt and vest, along with the knife her father had given her. Not every princess would bother ensuring they had a weapon packed away, but then again she wasn't every princess.
Once she was satisfied with how she had packed, the redhead tossed the bag over her shoulder and rushed through the long corridors of the palace. She left a note for the nanny to ensure there was appropriate attire for tomorrow night laid out on her bed in case she returned in time to attend the Alde girl's party, but in the back of her mind she wasn't worried about missing it.
Laira turned a corner and rushed out of the palace to the landing platform with the royal vessels sitting on it. She could see the ground crews bustling about in a final mission prep of the ship they would be taking, a comfortable royal yacht that her father may have given to her mother as a present. The chromium hull glistened in the light of the sun. It was a beautiful Theed Palace vessel.
"Okay, I'm ready." She said through ragged breaths as she stepped aboard finding a seat near her mother.
Not only would the royal yacht be going but also a transport ship to bring anyone else off of Denon who wished it. Faith nodded, "Captain, time to go" Faith watched as Laira sat down.
Ana sat across from them handing Faith the latest updates, Faith knew that Laira perhaps was not ready for this but there was never a moment that wasn't geared to learn. Faith held out the data to Laira, "Here read this it will tell you the situation, and who it was that contacted us. Ana has been my right hand, my secretary and my friend since before you were born. In time, you too will need an Ana."
Faith was certain there was only one Ana but perhaps Laira could find someone equally able.
"let me know if you have questions" Class of another kind was in session.
Firestorm activated the ship's remaining pit droids and astromechs and had them man the ship's weapon's. This allowed the ship's weapons to become more effective now with a somewhat makeshift crew to man them. The ship's medium turbolasers started turning the focus of their fire on the incoming waves of bombers and fighters swarming between the planet and the two capital ships. Any ship entering the system could clearly see the wake of destruction the star destroyer left as it moved along at a slow cruising speed in orbit. The ship may have been old but it still was a force to be reckoned with, the hostile pilots had learned that the hard way.
[member="Faith Organa"] [member="Laira Vereen"] [member="Nicolas Thorne"]
" Reports! Tell me what is going on out there." Commander Boor said as he watched the dots on his screen moving around. They had nearly full control of the planet, with only a few hiccups. The few local forces still loyal to their failed government were holed up against the loyalists and the splinter group that was attempting to flee was barely managing to hold off. Those ships in the atmosphere were still there, despite his orders. One of them, a newer ship, was blocking the older ship as the planet's guns were bombarding them still. There was some stops for a bit as local forces tried to take over them, but they were back to firing in short order. The turbolasers were a threat, but the shields around the defenses were holding well enough. There was no excuse for the fighters and bombers making poor choices in the sky. Big ships were easy prey for smaller crafts, so long as the smaller crafts actually took advantage of their speed and maneuverability. Those pilots clearly were not. If they survived they would need to be retrained.
Boor listened to every report and scowled deeply. Failures, all of them. He hit the panel in front of him with both hands, causing everyone to flinch. He screamed out, " Are we all greenhorns with half a brain? Tell them all to stop playing around and get their jobs done now! Open fire on the people heading towards the ships instead of the ships if their defenses are too strong. Hunt down those Jedi with scatterguns and flamethrowers! And tell the ships to stop flying straight into the line of fire and go around it! That is pilot training 101. KARK IT ALL!" He backhanded a woman sitting near him working the com system. She went flying out of her seat to the floor with a loud thud as blood began to pour from her split lip and cuts in her mouth. He said after, " Destroy that medical area that Jedi was working at as well. Show them it is not acceptable to work with Jedi ever."
The woman tried to climb back up to her seat as everyone hurriedly moved about relaying Commander Boor's orders. He scowled at the screen as he watched the dots moving in reaction to what he ordered. A beep began to go on as all of this happened from the blocked holonet channels. The communication officer pressed a button in response to it as she got into her seat. The message sent out by [member="Suravi Teigra"] began to play over the Loyalist channels, while remaining blocked to most on Denon who didn't have a way around the block. Its message was allowed to play out in its entirety. As it went on, she was calling for a rally to her side. To beat back the enemies that had destroyed the Republic. Boor smiled more and more as it went on. It justified everything he had said and everything they were doing. It was what his troops needed to hear most right now. When it finished, Boor burst out into a deep laughter that become more and more manic as it went on. He pointed to the woman he had just hit, causing her to flinch out of sheer panic. He said, " Open all channels. I will be addressing all loyalists."
As the woman went about doing as she was commanded, Commander Boor cleared his throat. He said as the green light came on, " All Loyalists, you just heard the words of our One True Ruler Suravi. She just sent out the rally call and has given us her blessing for our operations here. We are on the righteous path, and all those who oppose us must be forced to lower their arms. If they do not do so willingly then they will by force. Jedi are nothing more than Sith who have not yet turned on us. Our One True Ruler has told us that the Sith are our enemy, so that means the Jedi are also our enemy. We must cull them from our midst before they have time to turn on us! Purge all Jedi. Purge all who refuse to bow to Suravi's rule. Purge this planet of all weakness." He made the signal to cut the feed as he finished. It was done and the sound of zealous fervor swelled to bursting as all loyalist forces began to move on their orders with no fear of death or failure.
*****************************************
The loyalist forces were filled with zealous fervor. They no longer feared their own death. They moved forward to achieve their goals, as if failure was no longer possible. Ships in space began to dodge fire and moved out of the line of fire as they rushed towards the ships. Whatever had been holding them back before was no longer effecting them. They were quickly upon each of the larger ships in their blind spots. Bombs dropping and lasers fired at the shielding and hulls. How just two ships expected to handle an entire fleet of fighters and bombers on a fortress world was unknown to all.
The troops after the Jedi began to hunt them down as if they were after the source of all their problems. There was nothing that would stop them. The troops at the docks were beginning to open fire on the people trying to board the ships instead of shooting the ships themselves. They did not stop even while under fire by the various ships around. Rockets began flying from every direction into crowds of people. Troopers equipt with flamethrowers marched into the medical tents and began to set everything on fire. The whole of Denon had turned into a hellhole as the zealots felt complete and utter justification following Suravi's message.
***********************
Commander Boor was finally pleased as his orders were finally being carried out properly. Any opposed the Loyalists would soon bend their knees or be dead in the streets. It was what he had always envisioned for the Republic. They should be the ones taking the fight to others, not the ones being victimized and demanding help from weaklings that were too afraid to answer their call. Suravi had opened up the flood gates with her speech and he was not free to order the orders he always wanted to give. Cull the Jedi, crush the weak. Others would claim they were acting like Sith, but that was far from the truth. Sith were slaves to the dark side of the force. They were slaves to no one. They were no one's victims anymore. He was pleased beyond anything he could imagine.
As Boor basked in his own self righteous gloating, one of the officers of the troopers guarding the room frowned under his helmet. He had been on the planets that Suravi had mentioned. He had seen what little she had done there, and then heard about the horrors she caused to others. Was that the kind of ruler he wanted to serve? The kind of ruler that would justify everything Boor was doing. No, this was wrong. It was completely wrong. This was not the Republic. Suravi had destroyed the Republic. If the Republic was going to move forward then they needed to be done with that arrogant, self righteous fool. They needed to be done with Commander Boor as well. He was the root of the issues on Denon right now.
The guard turned and blasted the other guards. As the sound of fire echoed within the room, Commander Boor turned around to see what was going on. He watched the bodies of his men drop while the traitor turned his rifle on him. He drew and fired as the traitor fired. They hit each other. Boor hit in the chest. The traitor hit in the gut. Boor dropped to the floor dead as the traitor dropped to a knee. He pulled off his helmet then painfully got to his feet. He moved over to the panel saying, " Open all channels. Not just our channels but every other channel we can open. I have something to say."
A few people tried to move to stop the woman as she hesitated for but a split second to begin doing as she was asked. People rose to meet those who attempted to stop the man. Fist fights began to erupt all over the room, but no one could make it to the area with the woman and the traitor as he made it to the panel. He went up to the com system and cleared his throat with pain in it. As it sounded over the channels, he took a breath then said, " Commander Boor is dead. My name is Hoper and I shot that bastard myself. What we are doing is wrong. What Suravi has been doing, what she just told us to do is wrong. Inaction by her killed the Republic. Refusal to work with others killed the Republic. We killed the Republic. We have turned our backs on everything that the Republic should have been. The Jedi left us because of that, not because they are our enemy. We turn on ourselves and spill blood when we should be coming together and rebuilding what was once so great about the Republic. If you still have a heart, a soul, then stop spilling all this blood needlessly. We should protect, not kill others. We should give our lives to defend the weak, not culling them. I won't make it much longer, but I pray that my last words reach even a few amongst you and bring this slaughter to an end." As he finished speaking, he collapsed to the floor. One last breath left his chest for his life finally ended.
**************************
As the message hit the loyalists, a mixture of emotions ran through them all. Shock, panic, anger. Some began to call for the death of an already dead man. Some began to weep openly as they dropped to their knees. Some began to press forward in suicidal marches to their death. But others listened to what had been said. The words began to sink in and they realized what it was they had done, what they were still doing. Those who realized what horrors they were doing in the name of Suravi began to turn on their brothers and sisters to try to make them stop. Those who refused to back down from their horrific path turned their guns on those who were no longer so loyal. Those who saw their friends being shot began to shoot on the attackers. Everything on the loyalist began to break out into conflict. It was pure chaos as loyalists turned on loyalists.
The maglocks on ships were disabled by a few of the repentant before they were gunned down, freeing the ships. Some defensive lines began to form as loyalists turned into defenders for those attempting to flee. Fighters and bombers turned on each other in the atmosphere as pilots picked dogfights not knowing which side the others were on. A chance for escape was opened up within the chaos of the loyalist. Hope was once more shining upon the Republic splinter group attempting to flee the carnage of the Suravi loyalists.
OOC: I want to say two things. First, this is my last post in the thread. I did not fulfill my role as your opposition as well as I intended, but I hope it was fun for everyone. I enjoyed it thoroughly and everyone did great! Secondly, everyone who has posted in the thread that is not from the faction or asked for permission know that we will not put up with that behavior. It is against the site rules and it is disrespectful. We are more than willing to allow people to join in if they ask, but only if they ask. Those who asked us if they could join can attest to this. The next time anyone tries to crash our thread we will be PMing you and if you do not respond then we will be going to staff with it. These threads are for our members to enjoy, not for you to stroke your epeen.
Laira took the data pad and began reading, or at least looking like she was heavily involved with reading the data appearing on the screen. Part of her wanted to carry her spear that her father had crafted for her when she was little, but she had forgotten to pack it. Not that she would be very useful with it, there was only so much a young girl could do to an adult, even if she was skilled and not helpless.
She glanced through the data, looking it over. She could tell the people of Denon weren't interested in the Republic her father had helped put to rest and this splinter cell could either mean trouble for everyone involved or at least something to be watched for her parents. Once she had given the datapad a cursory reading, she pulled up a game on the screen and began quietly trying to subtly play it with the data log in the background so she could tab out to it if someone took an interest in it.
"My own Ana?" She looked up, arching an eyebrow and smiling maliciously. "Hmmm, if we decide to on a Clone Ana we would have to get a flash memory module from the original." She grinned at Ana sitting across from her. Laira liked her mother's handmaidens just fine, liked her nurse too when she had been necessary, but sometimes she also enjoyed poking fun at them. "I wonder how they make those. Maybe some kind of ear worm?" She asked teasingly, earning herself a glare from Ana. Ana had been quite good to the Organa family, even the young girl, children were often said to be selfish, could recognize that Ana had sacrificed a lot for the Royal Family and had thus far enjoyed her years with them.
Laira's attention returned to the datapad for a second, "Oh no, my guy di-" She stopped herself realizing she was about to give away her secret and quickly tabbed out trying to look innocent.
Faith listened to [member="Laira Vereen"] teasing Ana who for the most part sat quietly taking it until the very end. The look was one of a scolding parent and not just an assistant to the Princess. Faith smiled she saw now harm in what exchange Ana was quite capable of handling Laira and putting her in her place.
Faith thought that Laira might be reading too much of the report until she slipped, "Your man you say?" Faith smiled, "Since you're not allowed to date yet, you couldn't have a 'man' so you must be gaming." Faith shook her head. Would she have done the same thing? Likely, flights could be boring and so could reading reports.
"Did you read the report Laira, and if so, give me you thoughts on it." Draco had been training the kids since they were little so there was no reason not to think that either couldn't assess the situation. Right? Let's see.
Nicolas and the soldiers following [member="valkren calderon"] were pushing the Loyalist soldiers back. The combination of his saber skills and their elite soldiering was proving too much, but it was all taking too much time. Nicolas needed to be at the spaceport, ensuring his people got off the planet safely. With each second, he was batting blaster bolts aside. A few had scored him, one on the outside of his right leg, and another on his right shoulder, but he pushed through the pain.
Then Commander Boor sent another message. Nicolas would never understand why people in positions of command liked to hear themselves talk. There were people actively fighting in the streets, and few had time to listen to the mad man behind Denon's anti-Republic forces. Whatever was being said, however, seemed to amp up the soldiers in front of him. The momentum Nicolas and Valkren had been having faltered as the enemy soldiers pushed back. The volume of fire increased as the enemy forgot all about fire discipline. Blaster bolts splashed across building facades, and the blade barrier Nicolas had made. It pushed Nicolas to one knee, so he could shrink the target he presented.
Then something else happened. If it had been Commander Boor or Suravi again, Nicolas might have actually rolled his eyes, but instead it was a redeemed hero. A soldier, sickened by what was transpiring, had taken out Commander Boor. The soldiers across from Nicolas and Valkren faltered. Nicolas wasted no time, with a small flourish, he sent a telekinetic push that toppled the soldiers. In the same movement, Nicolas ripped the rifles from the soldiers and approached.
"Saber One, if you would be so kind as to see these soldiers bound and disarmed. I need to get to the Spaceport." With that, Nicolas took off at a run. He figured that Valkren would either follow himself or have some of Saber team follow. They weren't really his soldiers to order, but Nicolas needed to get to the Spaceport. The wounds on his right side burned, now that some of the adrenaline had gone away. Nicolas focused, and pushed the pain aside. He could still move, so he could still do his duty.
As Nicolas approached the Spaceport, he saw small groups of soldiers. In some of them, they were all casting their arms down as soldiers loyal to Nicolas placed them in binders. In other groups, some Loyalist soldiers were being actively restrained by their comrades. Shouts that "It was all over" and "But they're traitors" were tossed back and forth. Nicolas was able to slide his lightsaber away as he approached the Spaceport, the fighting seemed to be done on Denon.
As he slid his lightsaber onto his belt, his commlink buzzed again. He picked it up, and checked it. A message waited him with yet another contact number for him to speak to. With a look around, Nicolas smiled. It looked like he hadn't been too late after all. There had been far too much fighting for his liking, but as he watched transports bank around and up, angling for orbit and beyond, Nicolas knew they had been successful. The Republic would rise from the ashes again, and this time it would be better. He would make sure of it.
Nicolas tapped in the communication code sent to him so he could contact [member="rosa gunn"]. When the connection solidified, he spoke. "This is Jedi Knight Nicolas Thorne, I was told you needed to speak to me." He spoke over the comm, then waited for a reply as he walked towards the northernmost gate into the spaceport. It was within sight now, and people, still scared at all of the fighting that had been going on, were still moving through and to the remaining transports. Nicolas would remain until the very last of their transports were off of the ground and heading for open space.
Firestorm received the message from the loyalist soldier-turned-hero and smiled, he snapped a quick salute. He then returned his focus to the battle, the Unbroken's turbolasers were directed to defend any escaping transport craft now that the loyalist fighters and bombers were fighting amongst each other in an aerial dogfight. The point-defense laser cannons would occasionally shoot down a stray fighter still trying to get a hit in on the ship, but other than that the ship wasn't in any immediate danger. A portion of the orbital defense cannons had stopped firing as well from what he could see.
Firestorm noticed a rogue bomber attempting to strafe the the hangar bay blast doors of the Unbroken, he pressed a button on the panel in front of him. A tractor beam caught the bomber just before it could get into a firing position. The bomber was brought into the docking bay on the bottom of the ship, Firestorm took an elevator down to the platform and opened the boarding hatch. He blasted the crew of the bomber with the stun setting on his DC-17 blaster pistols. He had a few droids take the crew of the ship down to the Unbroken's detainment cell block and escorted them down. Once the crew had been placed in separate cells and the each cell's shield barrier had been activated, he returned to the bridge. He kept the bomber docked as it might be of use if the future, though he would let the Jedi decide what to do with it later.
As the last of the rescue ships lifted off of Denon, Nicolas walked towards a waiting fighter. It was the one working J1 interceptor from his ship, the Azure Dawn. He quickly slid in and started it up, automatically going through the checks. He'd invited [member="valkren calderon"], [member="rosa gunn"], and others to come aboard to meet with him once they had jumped clear of Denon's system. They had to figure out where to go from here.
In the exile group that made up his fledgling Republic, they had many junior senators, ones that hadn't been privvy to the machinations of their seniors, and several of the former secretaries. The greatest coup on Suravi and the other Republic splinters was the former under secretary of the treasury, who brought with her the account codes for the remaining treasury of the Republic. They had many debtors calling on them, which Nicolas intended to work with, but they had the money to survive.
All they needed was a home, and they could start rebuilding.
Nicolas landed on his ship, and gave the order to jump the fleet to hyperspace. This was the beginning of a long road, one in which he would have to fight against the ill will Suravi and her predecessors had engendered from the rest of the galaxy. However long and difficult, he would get the Republic back on the right road.
OOC
Thank you, everyone, for participating in this faction thread. We have more coming in the pipeline, but I wanted to say that I am proud and thankful for all of you!
