In Trying Times

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Ashla's Rest was still a small settlement.

Only a few hundred individuals had come to Tython for the colonization. A program had been set in place for several thousand more Essonians to make their way to the holy world, but for now it was better left mostly untouched. She was a particularly delicate place, and a large influx of immigrants could easily destroy her gentle balance. It suited Cedric more anyway. Coruscant was a stuffy place, and Tython's verdant and virtually untouched wilds were a welcome change.

"Looks like it's coming along well," the Rodian, Birty, mumbled as he strolled on up to the garden.

Cedric looked up from his position over the soil, slowly rising to his feet as he spoke, "Better than I'd hoped. It's been quite a long time since I've been able to grow my own garden."

"Good place for it. The village appreciates your assistance Imperator." Birty's face contorted in an attempt at replicating a human smile. Cedric fought the urge to wince at the display.

"You don't have to call me that Birty," he reminded, setting aside some of the seeds he'd been planting for later. "I'm just Cedric here. I come to Tython to get away from titles." He offered his friend a reassuring smile.

Birty just shrugged. "Whatever you say. I'm gonna check on the Nerf herd. You good here?"

"Always."

The Rodian trudged off toward the direction of the farms, leaving Cedric alone to tend to his garden on the outskirts of the idyllic little village.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"So.. Where are the Jedi?" A young boy with silver hair stared out over the vast fields of Tython. The flag of the One Sith hung high above, casting a shadow over what was once a peaceful world. The golden eyed child glanced up to his protector and bodyguard, a simple assault droid built for war. "Your father and the One Sith wiped them from this planet. There are no Jedi left. Their teachings burned."

"Oh. That's good." He turned his gaze back to the darkening sky as another of the One Sith Star Destroyers sank through the clouds. "They should all be killed."


A memory from a time so long ago now. Kahlil took a breath as he glanced up to the clear skies. The darkness that had been forced upon Tython was healed. What's more, news reached him that the Jedi had returned. The Knight had no choice but to see them in his mind. A new order, perhaps one that could stand up against his father and the Sith. That could help him stop the growing red flag across the galaxy.

Or at least, that's what he hoped for.

It only took a couple of questions to figure out where the Imperator was. Everyone seemed to know him. Respect him. So Kahlil made his way to where [member="Cedric Grayson"] was tending his garden, a mix of nerves and hope flooding his mind. Soon enough, he stood at the edge of the plantlife, silvery eyes gazing down to the Jedi Master.

"Hey."

 

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There was an oddness to the empyrean.

The daay had proven to be an idyllic one. Cedric had spent his morning explaining his role to a group of youths that attended the school within the village. The questions had been interesting, and the perspectives of children on the fledgling Imperium were both fascinating and invaluable. A training session with his two padawans had followed, though not much had come of it. He'd spent most of that time droning on about the ethics Jedi might utilize in times of war.

As the sun had become low over the skies, he'd turned to his garden. Far too often did he find himself taking life in the service of the Ashla. It was much more satisfying to cultivate it, and the Jedi found his chest swelling with pride as tiny spoutlings had begun to poke up through the soil.

But there was always that oddness, and as a stranger drew closer, that oddness turned to anxiety.

It was a presence Cedric did not know, and yet knew better than almost any other. He understood that sensation. Somehow, somewhere, a Zambrano had come to his little village.

The Jedi was preparing to reach for his lightsaber when a massive figure strode up to the garden. There was a greeting, a lack of hostility, and confusion on Cedric's part.

"Hello," his brow furrowed for a moment as he tried to understand the situation. "I thought...you're one of Carnifex's children." He stared utterly confused at the giant. There was no shadows to him, only the Ashla's comforting presence. It didn't make sense.

"Why are you here? I don't understand."

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Ah, there it was. Much faster then he was use to at least. Kahlil made no effort to hide his lineage in a hopes to foster trust, but he visibly flinched when [member="Cedric Grayson"] was the first to bring up the name of Carnifex's name. Slowly the young man nodded, offering as much of a kind smile as he could through his own confusion at the Master already knowing who he is. "Yes, I am. But I'm not like him, or the rest of my family. I suppose there's no reason to go about the subject with you already knowing who I am."

Kahlil rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, glancing around the garden mostly to distract himself for a moment and collect his thoughts. After a bit of silence he spoke up, silver eyes again finding Cedric.

"I want to stop my father's Empire, before all of the galaxy falls under his banner."

 

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A pregnant silence hung in the air as Cedric considered the man's words.

He had never met a Zambrano that was not a sycophant of the family patriarch. A handful had fallen to his blade, and he'd put a few in chains, but they never saw the Ashla. This one was different, an anomaly. He let go of whatever disdainful inclinations he might have for the man due to his family's actions, instead choosing to judge him on his own merit. It took more effort than Cedric would have liked to admit. The Zambranos were the ones that had ordered his homeworld stripped of all life, after all.

"Then you and I have the same goal," Cedric mused. He turned about, walking over to one of the hut where a number of farming equipment was kept near. He grabbed up two shovels, and tossed one in the man's direction. "My name is Cedric."

The Jedi marched back over to his garden, and began to remove some of the turf near it that had not yet been used for seedlings. "You'll have to forgive me my initial trepidation. Your family are the equivalent of devils to my people." Seemed he expected the man to start working alongside him.

He looked up from his work, a slight smile on his face. "What do I call you friend?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil visibly relaxed as [member="Cedric Grayson"] seemed to. He snatched the shovel out of the air, glancing it over for a moment before nodding and kneeling down beside the Master to start tilling the land. He was rather horrible at this though. Years on the city world of Bastion and more on his personal ship with the same name didn't give him a green thumb. Still, he tried his best to learn from watching Cedric go about it first.

"Kahlil. And.. Yes. Devils to most. Gods to some. There's no real in between." He pauses. "At least not yet."

 

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As all thugs, this was a test. Cedric’s visage was one of stone as he worked on clearing out new sections for the garden. Having another pair of hands to help was certainly convenient, and it revealed more about this Khalil’s character than the man likely realized. A Sith would not stoop so low as to manual labor, and a good man might even abstain for his own benefit. Khalil took part without word or complaint, and that went miles for the Jedi Master.

“Then let’s not speak of them further, as you are clearly not one of them.” Cedric offered the Zambrano a rare, kindly smile. Treating the child of his most hated foe kindly made something in his aging heart warm. Even in the cruelest of galaxies, there was always room for forgiveness and understanding. That he might have the capacity for such gave him hope for his people.

“Allow me to welcome you,” he paused, grunting as he ripped out a thick clump of dirt, “- to Tython.”

He paused, looking to the giant. “Do you come seeking wisdom, or solitude?”

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

​"I wouldn't say that, necessarily. My family name, it is still mine." Kahlil brushes some dirt off his fingers as he cleared some roots from the ground. A sad smile forms on the younger man's face as he picks the shovel back up to continue tending and preparing the new holes for planting. "I came seeking wisdom and a way to stop my father. And, as foolish as it sounds, change how the galaxy sees Zambrano. My father, my brothers and sisters. They all fit the role they have been given. If I can change that, maybe there'd be hope for them to find a way out of the darkness we had been born into."

The Jedi laughs and shakes his head, scratching his chin nervously. "That might be too selfish of a desire though. Zambrano is the name of evil in this day for everything they've done after all."

 

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Were it any other family, Cedric would have immediately agreed with Kahlil. The empyrean was an all together pure thing, and it sought to rid itself of the Bogan just as the Jedi did. Should a damned soul find a change of heart, they could meet with the Force's true nature, and see the error of their ways. Redemption was a possibility for anyone, even the most vile of beings. Despite his own private disdain for the Zambranos, even they had the capacity for good.

Believing that they would do so was naivete, of course, but Kahlil's presence here was a sign of change. Cedric opted to welcome it.

He shoved the shovel into the dirt, arms folding about his chest as he turned to regard Kahlil properly.

"I can't say I envy your quest," he offered a hand, "But I respect it. The only way to stop your father and his sycophants is the restoration of the Jedi Order, and the Galactic Republic. Only through unity can we stand against the darkness."

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil raises a brow as [member="Cedric Grayson"] stops digging, but takes the hand with a small smile. "That is true. The galaxy needs a way to stand against them. Though, with the CIS on one side and the Empire on the other, it won't be an easy fight at all. Anyone who could of stood against them has been wiped out time and time again." His smile fades for a moment as he goes into thought, but nods.

"I'll help where I can."

 

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Cedric would never admit it, but he was pleased to see that Kahlil shared the concerns he had about the CIS. One of the primary reasons Cedric chose to disregard the Silver Jedi was their ceaseless love for those that followed the Dark Side. They fought alongside one another on the battlefield, and Cedric could understand that to a certain degree, but they intermingled as well. In their off time, they fraternized, and they allowed their students to be influenced by the followers of Sith Lords.

It was a fast track to damnation, and he would have no part of it.

"It never was easy my friend. I've been fighting this war my entire life - my people were the first to fall when the Sith Empire rose again," he withdrew from the handshake, "I'm happy to have your help, truly. I'd offer you a place in our Jedi Order, but it doesn't exist yet. I have dreams of restoring the order to its grandeur in the times of the Old Republic, but currently only I an two other masters preside over a gaggle of students. We're more of a group of exiles than we are a spiritual body at this point."

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"We should take heed the lessons of the past, but should also forge our own path to the future." Kahlil nods slowly as the handshake ends, that hand moving to rub the back of his head. The young Jedi offers a nervous smile. "The Old Republic's Jedi failed, at the end of the day. They're order was perhaps the best of them all, but it would be good to not directly copy them. Though I'm sure you already thought of that." A nervous laugh as the giant turned his gaze to the garden.

"Even the most recent Republic that was decimated by the One Sith tried such a path, and only fractured itself into the Silvers and other such groups. My hope is to see the Jedi united once more, not under a banner of war but of peace. To stop the Sith from ruining the galaxy, not eradicate those who wield the red blade." He pauses. "Though, that may just be an unattainable dream."

 

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"I won't disagree with you on that account. There are a great many things we can learn from our predecessors, and how not to make the same mistakes they did is certainly one of them." Cedric agreed. The Jedi of the past were legends, but they were flawed ones. They had elected to focus on the material rather than the immaterial, the physical rather than the ethereal. Their fixation on reality had resulted in their blinding to the will of the force, and that had led to their eventual demise.

Not this time.

"The Jedi will not be united, not as they are. We must be reborn," Cedric began as he turned his full attention to Kahlil, arms folding about his chest as he spoke. "Most of those that call themselves Jedi are nothing more than pretenders. They have undergone no trials, understood no teachings. They are the reason the Jedi are shattered," he kept himself from saying the word Silvers, but an intelligent soul likely could have divined as much from his words. "We must let ourselves be beholden to tradition, to one another, and above all, to the Ashla. I agree with you on that the Jedi should search for an era of peace. The issue is that of our foes - the galaxy cannot be redeemed until the Sith are staved off."

He paused a moment, "Those of us that have the heart for battle should join it. The rest will remain home, rebuilding the core in the name of the people."

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"The path the Silvers have chosen to walk is one I cannot agree with. But, that doesn't mean they aren't Jedi. They have underwent many trials, though war. But it was war that shaped them. Made them undone. I cannot say a rebirth is what's needed." The young man awkwardly rubs the back of his neck now, glancing up to the sky above. He stays quiet for a moment, deep in thought before finally speaking again.

"Even the Sith can be redeemed."