Galactic Alliance: Losing Faith, the Trial of Chevu Visz

[Coren Starchaser]

There was work to be done. Coren had spoken to his apprentice after the situation of [member="The Revenant"] and was a bit surprised by the outcome of that talk. When he made a chance to have a palaver with his apprentice, following the results of the one who looked eerily like the Wrath of the Dark Lord, he hadn’t expected the discussion that followed. It made him a bit concerned. Was he not teaching her correctly? Was the New Jedi Order not preparing their students and members of their ranks to combat the mental sorcery that the Sith would throw into the fray? It wasn’t quite a matter of that, maybe [member="Chevu Visz"] had made a mistake. Maybe she hadn’t.

Maybe the New Jedi Order wasn’t the place for her, but as a Commander, he had a duty to his station, and that meant a duty to the Alliance. He was going to bring the Marshal before a panel, one of her peers. That meant Marshals, it meant Masters of the Order. It meant the Grand Marshal

It meant a room that would give him hives.

“I’ve requested you here today to discuss a situation. One that has hit the Alliance and the very fabric of what we have been fighting for. It seems the Sith are not only coming at the galaxy on a war path, but also mentally, to frak with our Jedi, our soldiers, and trick them into losing inhibitions. I am not a Jedi, nor do I claim to understand how you handle situations. We need to hit this head on. Now.”

He would strip her of her rank, and throw her in the damned cells with the Sith, if that was what was needed.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Adele Adonai"]
@Members of the GA NJO
@Memebers of the GADF with a reason to be here

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

Jacen gave a slow nod, his eyes turning to the green skin of [member="Chevu Visz"]. "I must confess," he said. "I have only heard snippets of what transpired and these I have found quite confusing. I would appreciate it if Marshall Visz could plainly explain what happened - exactly what happened - to the best of her understanding."

Voidstalker was at a loss. Had the Marshall turned a Sith to the light, or had she been compromised by the enemy?

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

In his Pier 1/Ikea lavished Cell

He had collected on his thoughts through the days in the cell, a hand reached up to touch the collar thoughtfully. Whispers lingered in the halls that branched out from his cell, word that Chevu was to be put on trial today. Hate didn't occur to him, he couldn't seem to grip the longing sort of appeal of the reactionary response. Or perhaps that emotion was saved for Reverance, though even when given the chance to end him, Gabriel couldn't commit. But he grieved, just as he had told her when she stood in this cell with him. War was waged on multiple fronts, deception the tool of the Sith and particularly, the Wrath. If it wasn't useful, effective, then the Sith wouldn't use it. One might as well convict a soldier for being wounded on the battlefield. Gabriel was a tool, he acknowledged that truth, and he brought more to the table than could be readily defined. All of which, benefits and the like, could be laid at the feet of the Mirialan Jedi Marshall.

He paced, his hand running through the braided strands of black and grey. He couldn't take back his actions but he knew, deep down, that if Chevu was removed from her position: the Galactice Alliance would be less for it. He couldn't help but feel the victim now was on trial, the one who deserved accusing stood on the outskirts, waiting to hear of unnecessary condemnation. Were the ranks of the Galactic Alliance so full that they could punish all but perfection. If not, they might find themselves thinned and stretched out, no longer leaning towards the pragmatism of which Chevu had spoken. He couldn't even reach out mentally, the bars of the cell alchemically forged, containing him to this space. Turning towards the view of the hellscape of Sullust, he reached up and scratched the beard.

A twitch of the eye in response to an explosion of molten orange across black glass, he tried to not dwell. They would either ask him or they wouldn't, he couldn't help but feel they would be foolish not to. But in the same vein, he wore the face of a monster openly. They couldn't trust him to be truthful. But at the end of the day, facts are always friends, no matter the mouth that utters it.

[member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Adele Adonai"] | [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Chevu Visz, cast a sheepish glance around the room, looking down at her hands and up at the flickering light on the ceiling that badly needed changing. Anywhere but the eyes of Commander Starchaser and the other Jedi who had amassed to decide her fate. She knew that confessing to Coren, her Master, was the right thing to do, and was relieved to get the revelation off her chest. That feeling was replaced with abject panic when she found out that Coren was bringing her here to be questioned. Starchaser was livid, his blue eyes agonizingly full of disappointment and it was clear that no one really knew what to do with her. It wasn't every day that a Jedi Knight mistakenly spent the night with the the Wrath of the Dark Lord, an act that caused a schism in the continuum of his duality, and a splitting of one into two. How does one even begin to explain something like this? At the beginning, she supposed.

"It began when I was on Taris handing out food to the poor," she started, raising a humiliated gaze to Jacen Voidstalker. "A man came up to me. Gabriel, the man who's locked up here. He had an infant in his hands. Sadly the infant had passed, and the mother was beside herself with grief. Gabriel suggested the child be buried, and I helped him find a funeral home. That's how we met."

Green fingers awkwardly pinched the bridge of her nose and she took a deep breath. "He didn't look like the Wrath." she explained. "At least not the Wrath in the footage I have seen. He had cast some kind of glamour over himself to restore his mangled eye, and he gave off no dark-sided aura, no Force aura at all in fact. We, well, he arranged for the child's burial and then he took me out to dinner."

This was where the story got intensely personal for Chevu. Squirming in her seat, he tried the best she could to give only the relevant details. No more. No less.

"I saw such kindness in Gabriel. In his actions with the dead child, and in his words over dinner. I told him about the Galactic Alliance and I asked him to join us." The Mirialan resumed staring down at her hands, folded neatly in her lap. "We spent the night together in my ship." Here she stopped and turned to face Coren.

"Is it necessary to explain it in any more detail than that?"

If her ill Sullustan Master heard about this incident, which was an inevitability, it would undoubtedly push him into the great sleep.

[member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="The Revenant"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Nikola Ticon]

It wasn't often Nikola concerned himself with the New Jedi Order beyond his Master being a member and his own affiliation by way of being under her tutelage. There wasn't really much to think about beyond that mutual partnership that had sprung up, and so he rarely devoted any true thought to the matter, instead losing himself completely in his training. The only way to bring down the Sith was to better himself and therefore the Alliance as a whole. Whichever specific splinter cell he belonged to didn't matter. Ambition did, and that they had in plenty. But it seemed that such a thing had become misguided of late, after the news that had been buzzing through the Alliance inevitably reached his ears.

Never would he have guessed that it would be [member="Chevu Visz"] that brought forth this sort of commotion. Not after all she had taught him. But further prodding had revealed that to be the case, no matter what he wanted to believe otherwise. First he had retreated to the training grounds in order to release what pent up frustration had manifested itself at such an accusation proving to be true, afterwards finding solace by himself in his quarters, not emerging for hours as he devoted time to process the ordeal, time that in his mind was better spent speaking to the woman at the origin of all of this. But Commander [member="Coren Starchaser"] had beaten him to it, and so he was left alone until the meeting had been called.

It wasn't that his presence had necessarily been requested, but he was connected to the accused in a manner that ran deeper than simple acquaintanceship, and so he had arrived regardless. No attention would be paid to any protest about his being here, and he refused to leave without making his opinion on the matter known beforehand. The sheer magnitude of his obstinacy had gotten him this far, and as he sauntered into the room and pulled up a chair like he belonged, it was evident that facet of his personality wouldn't be wavering anytime soon. If there was one thing he was good at as a Ticon and a Corellian to boot, it was sticking by his train of thought with a refusal to budge in either direction.

As the tale was woven his brow furrowed slightly in concentration, and when Chevu had finished speaking he made no move to comment, instead glancing about the room at the others assembled as if in expectation of their own thoughts. This was far from the place to speak forwardly, and even he knew when to hold his tongue. Azure eyes locked steadily with the brown irises of his mentor, and he spoke only three words into her mind, "I believe you."

[member="The Revenant"], [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Exactly what Voidstalker was debating was what brought the group here today. He didn’t need to speak to Voidstalker as if the man was an invalid. This wasn’t some lesser faction, he wasn’t a lesser Jedi. The fact he hadn’t become a Marshal himself was beyond Coren, but GADF and the NJO rarely saw eye to eye on things, and the Jedi mystics handled everything their own way. And that was fine, but still, credit where credit was due.

Not that it mattered here. Coren was putting his own student on trial. Even he wasn’t sure that what she did was wrong, but intrinsically, the Sith were enemies of the state, to be fought. Not cuddled and spooned. No, it was for him, and for the Jedi, how would this set precedence. He had seen far too many Jedi, in his time starting with the Sanctum, falling prey to the pelvic sorcery that was the One Sith. That was any Sith.

“And were you aware he is the Wrath?” Guilty until proven innocent in a time of war. Especially when it came to the Sith. “And then you brought him here.” Coren was clearly none-too-pleased. The Jedi had been failing in their tasks, how many had been on trial in recent weeks? The Sith were not an animal to be left alive.

[member="Chevu Visz"]
[member="The Revenant"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Nikola Ticon"]

 

[Aela Talith]

Generally Aela held an open mind.

It was who she was as a person, it was who her mother had raised her to be. Of course, for the most part she abhorred the Darkside of the force, disliked it to a point that she had beaten one of her friends for its use. This however...this was entirely different. She didn't quite understand what had happened, and in truth she didn't really understand why it had happened. She frowned slightly, her lips thinning as she tried to wrap her head around all of this.

Perhaps Chevu had been tricked?

That seemed to make sense to Aela, mostly because she couldn't fathom it happening in any other way.

For now, she remained silent. There wasn't anything she could talk about, or rather, she did not feel fit to pass judgement just yet. She had to find out more, and so she waited for the others to ask their questions.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

“And were you aware he is the Wrath?” Guilty until proven innocent in a time of war. Especially when it came to the Sith. “And then you brought him here.”

Sarge, ever in armor, stood nearby, watching the proceedings.

"She's already said she didn't believe him to be the Wrath, which means she was unaware. I don't understand why this proceeding is being had."

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Why was the proceeding being held?

“If she didn’t know that he was the Wrath, and she was frakking him, there is talk, people say things. How much could the Sith know about our operation? I know we won’t be hidden from htem, feth, they’re probably already have people scouting our permeters. We need to know how to handle this. It’s a breach in intelligence.”

There was nothing Coren would hold higher than his war against the Sith, not lovers, not students. This was war.

“And are we going to regulate our own Marshals and Commanders, what comes from breaches like this, in the New Jedi Order.” Those final words were said such contempt it was hard to believe Coren was actually playing ball with those types.

[member="Sarge Potteiger"]
[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Nikola Ticon"]
[member="Chevu Visz"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="The Revenant"]

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

"Do you have any evidence, Coren? Or are you just imagining things in your paranoia?" This time it was Sarge's turn to let his voice grow hard - to say the man was not amused was an understatement. "Because all I'm seeing here is a man who can't see beyond the cloud of red in his eyes. That speaks more of you than it does of Chevu or the prisoner." He scoffs.

"Let people talk; we'll show who we are with how we act. And how we aren't going to act is like a pack of jackals picking at the carcass of history's enmity. Get over yourself, Coren. You're doing no one any favors today."

His attention turned to [member="Chevu Visz"]. "Leave, if you want. If he wants someone to blame he can go talk to the guy in the cell, the one who allowed us to put him there in the hopes we would see him not as a threat, but as a potential ally. But that's what happens when you're too blind to face facts, isn't it Coren? You start flinging chit at the wall until it sticks or someone tells you where the gorram refresher is."

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino was sitting in the corner, pushing his hair, or what was left of it, out of his eyes, and scratching his forehead. What exactly was going on? Disappear to track a kidnap victim for a while, stop by for a visit, and then everything's all different. People were bring on trial. Some twin of the Wrath had joined the Galactic Alliance and Coren was being his normal hardline self, now taking things to trial. But Sarge was on his case now and Veino had no desire to get involved in that. He would just sit here and wait to see what was going on before following his latest lead again.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Chevu Visz"]

"No that's quote enough detail," Jacen said, holding up a hand with a sad smile on his face. Clearly she had been fooled and seduced by a sith whilst outside of alliance space. That was disappointing. They needed to understand how he had managed to target her, what she had revealed. And then they needed to fathom what the thing in their cell really was.

There was the faintest twitch of annoyance as Potteiger and Coren exchanged words. "One of our Marshalls came into contact with one of the highest ranking Sith outside of our space. The facts will be established in a calm manner. Master Coren, if you cannot control yourself I suggest Knight Visz discusses the matter with Grand Marshall Rhen in private. This neither requires such a large audience, or is being aided by your attitude."

[member="Sarge Potteiger"]
[member="Coren Starchaser"]
[member="Chevu Visz"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Ijaat had reason to be at this trial... More than most any would know really. His biot was guarded as existing, for the most part. Word would get out, if it hadn't yet it would soon, but he did not advertise it. Coren acting like this? It disgusted him, really. Jolted him to his core that the man could be so blind and simple. War was chess, even a line soldier like Ijaat knew that. Nothing would change, and nothing would stop the facts, and as the one stopped speaking, he stood. There wasn't any booming hard voice, no passion. The Mandalorian was too far gone past exhausted and past caring, and his own mind was a fragile thing at this point. To let that much chaos in under the guise of emotion would unhinge it, again.

"I would speak."

The beskar clad warrior stated this simply, quietly. With little to no emotion in his voice. There was a moment as he let the assemblage turn to face him, and then he did just that: He spoke.

"I am of the mando'ade... So you all know how long I will hold a grudge. How blind our violence can be, when in the name of vengeance. We have razed entire systems in the name of honor, under the banner of revenge. Over mere insults, nothing more. This man? My wife and boys were drug off by the Wrath. To be sold, experimented on, or killed. I never knew. I tried to slay him on Adumar, and he beat me, and took me to Selvaris... I was tortured, beaten, experimented on and changed in ways I'm not even sure of yet. All at the hands of the Wrath. Now.... I say who I am, what I am, and what happened for one reason.... If I honestly and truly thought Chevu had any knowledge of his identity, or if I genuinely thought he was the Wrath... Do you think any of you would have stopped me from murdering them both? I razed an entire temple on Coruscant, killing both our men and theirs, because I had the slightest inkling he might have been there.... What makes you think I wouldn't do the same now? And what makes you think anyone could stop me...? And yet... Here I am, and here they are"

He gestured then, to the assembled group, his head bare, the helmet clipped at his waist bearing graven jaig eyes since the last time he had worn it, but nothing else being even slightly Mandalorian in origin.

"Sometimes, we have to look beyond our hatred, to the facts, as unpleasant and upsetting as they may be. And sometimes, we must deal with things we don't like, because it is the right thing to do. My soul aches and yearns to put a bullet in this man on the off-chance he might be the Wrath. On even the whisper he may be. But the facts do not point to it. And so, I will let justice be served. But if this court decides he is to be slain, then I am here to claim right to swing the blade. You want him watched? I will be his jailer... He will not suffer or die until this court decides he should, and anyone that acts outside that will have me to answer to. If we deal in black and white, shooting first and asking later, we will all become what we fight. "

Here he gazed at Coren, and for all there, it was clear who he spoke to.

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you...If you have proof, Commander, speak or show it. Otherwise stand down, and cease disgracing us with this show."

That said, the soldiers stepped back and sat down into his chair, rather unceremoniously crossing one leg over the other, and gestured to those running the proceedings as if giving them his permission to continue.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Sarge Potteiger"] | [member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="The Revenant"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Vaet stood farther away from the others. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]While some argued, others fought and one tried to hold peace, the Vaetling simply studied [member="Chevu Visz"] for any signs of deception - none could be found by him, which sadly did not mean a lot. All in all this conversation, this meeting, this… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]hearing[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] tired him - it made exhausted to his very bone, because this story had been told many times already. A Jedi seduced by the wiles of a handsome Sith Lord, passion reigning, boundaries cast a drift.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]It was a tale as ancient as life itself, yet Vaet was disappointed regardless. He had hoped to avoid these kind of situations after leaving the Republic and their teenage drama, but it seemed that this kind of… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]thing[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] was rampant everywhere.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]A soft sigh followed. Coren was full of anger, Sarge so quickly to dismiss, Jacen the only one with a level-head to stay [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]diplomatic.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]But in the end it wasn’t his place to speak his opinion - by the Force, he didn’t even know what to say to this, what to think, what to do. Better leave it in the hands of those more experienced in these matters, or those who think they are more experienced.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Sarge Potteiger"] | [member="The Revenant"] | [member="Ijaat Akun"] [/SIZE]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Chevu watched the proceedings with a deeply furrowed brow, but said nothing. Finally when her peers were finished, she spoke up, her voice cracking with emotion.

"I understand Commander Starchaser's concerns, and I am on trial here, not Coren. In my opinion, I should be stripped of my Marshal rank as he suggested. I was on Taris on a relief mission; I was on duty, and I lost sight of that. I should have been more careful, giving out names and locations to a stranger. I know I karked up."

It gave Chevu a small measure of solace to hear the voice of her apprentice trickle into her mindt. She was glad that the shaken faith that she'd inspired in other hadn't seemed to reach him. She smiled at Nikola in affirmation that she'd received his telepathic support. Then she continued.

"Gabriel, the man we have in the cell, is Reverance's twin brother. As insane as it sounds, he was trapped inside the body of the Wrath until our night together. Consequently, the Wrath chose to separate them into two separate bodies, presumably to purge himself of what he deemed as his weaker half. In my opinion, he is very wrong in his judgement of his brother. Gabriel is the stronger half of the two, and he knows intimate details about those closest to their shadowy Dark Lord, the Hands, the Voices. He knows their strengths and their weaknesses. He can help us bring our fight to the Sith."

She let out a deep breath. The usually reticent Mirialan was unaccustomed to making speeches and realized that she hadn't been breathing.

"He took me through his memories, and I believe that Gabriel is telling the truth. He was a victim of Reverance, just like all the countless other victims of that monstrosity."

She raised her gaze at Coren, the one her former Master told her to seek out to finish the training that he couldn't. Her onyx eyes said that she knew she had failed him, and would do anything to make it right.

[member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="The Revenant"] [member="Nikola Ticon"] [member="Ijaat Akun"] [member="Veino Garn"] [member="Aela Talith"] [member="Sarge Potteiger"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He looked around the room, he was listening, hearing the words coming from the others assembled. Was he a radical? Yes, absolutely, no second thoughts about that. The Sith were the enemy that he had chosen to fight, dedicated himself to fighting, and then the Alliance showed up. He joined up as they were targeting the Sith in and effort to reform and rescue the galaxy. He went all in, took a student, joined the service, took a posting, and the title of Commander.

And for what? For the others assembled to not take him seriously? He looked around, taking his licks from Sarge and Ijaat and standing strong. He knew what Chevu had done, he knew it was a crime. The Sith were out there, one needed to be mission centric. After this war? There would be no places for people like Coren. He would be outdated military hardware. And if it meant some families could raise their children without having to worry about the onslaught of the Sith? It was well worth his own sacrifice.

“The facts remain. Marshal Visz had gotten close, too close, to the Wrath of the Dark Lord.” He took his dogtags off and held them out to the out-dated piece of military hardware known as Sarge. “If you are all too blind to see the issue in these actions, then please, strip me of my rank so I’m no longer associated with this false outfit. She had admitted she was around the Wrath. She had gotten close to the Wrath. It needs to be handled now, before others show the same points of weakness.”

He looked over as Chevu began to speak and nodded. There they had it. Admission. “But if you’re not going to hear the truth in the situation. Then fine, take my rank, take my posting. I’ll go handle the Sith. You can sit by and let your own people deliberate what is to be done rather than taking the bantha by the horns. I didn’t sign up for a Republic. I signed up to fight the war.” He looked around to all involved. Was he a hard-ass? Yes.

Was he right in his concerns.

Definitely.

[member="Chevu Visz"]
[member="Vaet"]
[member="Ijaat Akun"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Veino Garn"]
[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

 

[Aela Talith]

So that was the core of it.

Perhaps it was because of Chevu's own words, or because of those around them, but Aela slowly came to grasps with the situation. The man in the cells below was apparently a piece of the Wrath, or perhaps a former part of him. She didn't quite understand that, and perhaps she would contact her father to seek some sort of explanation, but she knew well enough that if he had information then the Galactic Alliance would have to use it. They were in a war now, and that would be inescapable.

Aela looked around for a moment, listening to impassioned pleas, then she looked to Jacen and Master Rhen. She shifted in her chair, then cleared her throat to gather attention. She might have been one of the youngest people in the room, but she was a Marshal, and she had lead more than a few campaigns against the Final Order, that earned her some respect.

"I propose we follow along with Chevu's own suggestion." It was hard to say that, she had hardly interacted with Chevu but she knew the girl meant well and had good spirits. "I propose the New Jedi Order strips her of the rank of Marshal and confines her to the Temple grounds until some true clarity can be placed on this new figure...Gabriel."

Chevu had made an error in judgement, and for that she should be punished. Her eyes fell to Coren for half a moment, then the others. "Crimes should be punished, but crimes also require intent. Chevu had no intent to harm the Galactic Alliance nor anyone else. She made an error in judgment, and that error will have consequences."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen squared his shoulders as he followed on from Aela's announcement, taking his cue from Master Rhen. "And that is the end of the matter when it comes to decided what is to happen to Knight Visz," he said, underlining the point. "The Marshalls can deliberate in private on the matter, but Chevu will stay within the grounds for now."

This was so similar to the restrictions placed upon himself not long ago. Kept within the temple grounds, not given any access to any sensitive information. Those days had been quiet and peaceful. In a way he missed them, but the fight continued. One day, perhaps, he could live a peaceful life. No secrets, no battles, no travel.

He had a great deal to say to Chevu when the time was right. If she had leaked information to the enemy during war, then it went beyond everyone in this chamber. That was a high offence against the Galactic Alliance itself and would come with great repercussions. It did matter whether you were honestly tricked, or gave it away knowingly for money, but both were still offences against a number of laws. If she hadn't given anything away, then she needed a stern discussion - in private - from the Marshalls about conduct outside of Alliance space. He could understand what had happened, but he was disappointed. He doubted she would be allowed out of Alliance space without escort for a very long time. That could come later. It wasn't in anyone's best interest to have her berated in front of what was an increasingly large crowd, which was why Voidstalker had attempted to draw a line under the issue.

"Chevu, from your perspective, did you reveal any sensitive information to the Sith?"

 

[Nikola Ticon]

A slight frown tightened the corners of his mouth, and once again Nikola had to remind himself of his place here, lest he speak out of turn and do nothing more than exacerbate the situation. But there was only so much silence he could force upon his own thoughts. The tension was partially bled from him in a quiet sigh, but there was still a tightness in his chest even after others had spoken in defense of Chevu. It was a sensation he knew wouldn't be relieved until he finally spoke. "I don't want to speak too forwardly, Masters, but as Knight Visz's apprentice it seems correct that I should say something." That was as eloquent as he would ever get, and no doubt [member="Chevu Visz"] would have a comment for him later.

"There was a saying on Corellia that went something like 'Saltan valoramosa n telval mord', or 'Assumption is the first step into a shallow grave'. I think we should put that into consideration here, even if it can't be directly applied. None of us can say much for the exact specifics because we weren't there on Taris when everything happened. That isn't to say that Chevu isn't telling the truth, but no one's memory is infallible. That goes for everyone here, regardless of their rank." That was the most he had spoken in front of anyone within the Alliance, but much like his sister he was opinionated and not bashful when it came to vocalizing just what his thoughts on any matter were.

"She said herself that she wasn't aware this man was the Wrath. That doesn't necessarily excuse all of it, but it doesn't make the consequences as severe. And now that the two halves have been separated into different bodies it gives us time to look at everything with more clarity." Briefly he glanced to [member="Coren Starchaser"] before regarding the others gathered. "We shouldn't jump headfirst into things without taking the time to think. I agree that she should be stripped of her Marshall rank and confined to the grounds, but anything more is too forward in my opinion." There was a pause in which he flashed a smile, it hard to tell whether his next words were entirely serious. "But I am just a Padawan, after all."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"], [member="Veino Garn"], [member="Aela Talith"], [member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

And thus, [member="Coren Starchaser"] had brought them to the heart of the problem, unintentionally, likely. Sarge's voice shifted again, returning to its neutral rumbling tone. "Yes, Coren. You signed up to fight a war. But a courtroom is not the battlefield, and thus the fact you are attempting to railroad a trial like it is... well, that speaks volumes as to why this won't work." He made a motion to [member="Aela Talith"]. "My suggestion is a stripping of the rank pending further investigation. The word 'trial' has been thrown around a few times; I would sooner have people hear we're willing to wait and see everything that happened before making a solid determination."

His attention goes back to Coren. "My suggest, Coren, is to not take the same roads I have. You walk the path of the enemy, whether you realize it or not." Tone soft, wizened by experience, it was clear that Sarge was attempting to help rather than accuse. But he couldn't control the reaction he'd get. "I will speak with Gabriel. If anyone wishes to see the prisoner... find me." With that, he turned and took his exit.

What they decided to do with Chevu now was beyond him, but he silently prayed they would have the good sense to sit Coren in a corner while they actually presented evidence.