Faction Knock, Knock!

[Briana Sal-Soren]

There was a flicker of something behind her eyes when Colette said she'd been assaulted. Upset? Disappointment? Whatever it was, Briana was quick to snuff out the emotion before giving it the chance to breathe. Something for her to process later, when there were less eyes on all of them. Lorn’s early warning to Ala and the others, to stay out of the Vanguard's crosshairs, rang in her ears. All of them joined, aware of the possibility that the Vanguard and Jedi Order would need to cross blades, if it came down to it. Though, she'd never imagined that the invoice would come due under a prison break for a Sith. Of all things.

Acier stepping in to go on and explain that blackmail was what led to the altercation, at least answered one of her own pressing questions and filled in some of the necessary gaps, but served to hatch a million more in the process. Hadn't one of the reasons why they'd broken off, been specifically because of the over reach within the Senate, neutering them from pursuing what a Jedi ought to? The knowledge did little to ease her, replacing the previous worries with fresh, new ones.

"As you can see, even out here, the Senate is still trying to interfere." Briana said, softly clearing her throat and snapping out of her own thoughts when Acier's attention turned back to her.

"Far as being on the same side again," It would be easier if they could operate together and unified, but could they? Like Colette, Briana wanted to believe it was a possibility — she had to believe that, if she ever wanted to be with Vizion again. Even if Ala's message, and the recent actions of the last week, made that outcome seem distant right now.

"Depends. Mainly on whether the Order is going to continue letting their hands be tied by the Senate, and their bureaucracy, while the rest of the galaxy quietly burns through a policy of inaction, or not. I didn't come to D'Qar and join the Vanguard because I thought Lorn, or anyone else, was ever incapable of being wrong. I came because I believed in what the Vanguard wanted to accomplish. You say that we share the same goals, I think we do too, but the Sith are still on the Republic's doorstep. Hell, there were Sith hanging around our diplomacy center. Who knows how many more might be in Theed? Then there's the Mandalorian's out there crucifying Jedi and others, live on the holonet, and the only continued answer is patience. But there's not going to be some miracle where those problems disappear on their own. So, is the Order going to start taking the fight where it needs to go? Or will we be told to have patience?"

TAG: Colette , Lorn Reingard , Kitt Solo , Acier Moonbound , Jared Starchaser , Vornak , Her , Allyson Locke

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[Vornak]

VORNAK

Vornak had not moved. Four arms remained folded, one pair over the other, while the others talked.

He listened to Colette, then Acier, then Briana, and did not interrupt. Patience, in his experience, was what Sith counted on.

Vornak had - by this point - decided that he was not required to tear the arms from the interloper.

"I am here because when I am assaulted by a fellow Jedi, I am not going to tuck my tail between my legs and lick my wounds until I feel better about myself. I want to see who follows him. I want to see how they feel about it, and then try to understand what led him to make such a foolish decision."

The besalisk narrowed his eyes. The wattle under his chin bobbed up and down. He did not like the implication that she had come to judge the rest of them.

Vornak glanced in Lorn's direction but kept out of the conversation. Acier had suggested a private conversation and she had turned that down, so he was not convinced that the tension couldn't spill over.

 

[Colette]

Acier Moonbound / Briana Sal-Soren / Vornak / Lorn Reingard / Kitt Solo

Some slack? Colette raised a brow. Arguably it said more that he had joined after the fact and even more so that he had decided to practically become Lorn's right hand man. As far as Colette's involvement with that went there was practically no reason for her to do anything but un-cut said slack. After all, Acier might have been the only reason Lorn eventually sobered the hell up and was kept from murdering 'Her.'

And then the reveal with all the implications it had. Blackmail would make the scared do a great many things, and it would seem the Vanguard was no exception to that. A politician had forced their hand, dangled the threat to reveal their presence on D'Qar, and yet in the end it never really mattered. D'qar was a name that Colette had settled upon on the day of the attack. Her arrival had never been a question of if but when.

Still, needless to say it was a bit ironic then that Briana hoped the Order was less directed by the Senate when it would seem the Vanguard itself was even more directly dictated by someon within it than the Order was. A small but dark chuckle rumbled in Colette's throat. Her eyes pointed towards Acier, her brows rose and she tilted towards Briana as if to say it seemed irrelevant to point out.

"To speak quite frankly, I am not saying the current council will remain intact or even should." Colette said and gently shook her head. "Leadership has clearly been shaken and trust eroded. I'm doing my part because I want to ease the transitions from where we are now to what we will become, but duty can only carry me for so long."

"Either we die of stagnation or we can accept that some form of radical change is necessary. One that I am, sadly, not quite comfortable with due to my own beliefs." Colette frowned. "I'm not a fighter, but a fighter is just a part of someone who we need to have a seat on the council. My seat."

"Problem is…" Colette raised her arms to shrug in defeat. "All of our most competent fighters are right here, in this place."

"I believe the Vanguard will outlive the Order unless we change."

 

[Vornak]

VORNAK

"Problem is…" Colette raised her arms to shrug in defeat. "All of our most competent fighters are right here, in this place."

Vornak visibly relaxed. He uncrossed one pair of his arms and his magnificent wattle stopped bobbing up and down.

That was an astute observation and he felt much less concerned that he would need to deploy gratuitous violence to pacify the situation.

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Kitt Solo​

Lorn turned his gaze from Kitt back to where Acier stood among the councilors, holding his ground with effortless composure. "Hmph," was all Lorn managed. In truth, the kid was the good one here. Every aching bone in Lorn's body hoped he was actually teaching Acier something worth knowing, that all this bleeding and burning was building a real future for the younger generation rather than just dragging them down into the mud.

Another low grunt slipped past his teeth as Kitt called him out for using his throbbing leg as a form of self-inflicted penance. Maybe she was right. Maybe he felt he needed to bleed a little to balance out the mess he had dragged to their front door.

Watching her use the Force to pop the lawn chair open, Lorn eyed the invitation to sit. Then she laid down her price for dealing with their volatile prisoner: a night out with her and Starchaser.

"Isn't Jared enough entertainment for you?" Lorn asked. "I'm sure I don't need to tag along."

Despite the protest, he was already limping right beside her, keeping her company on the trek toward the holding area.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Tag: Colette Briana Sal-Soren Acier Moonbound etc
Attire: Link​

Brandyn had been in the compound for some time. In his own, practiced way, he had hidden himself from all of those about him. He had poked around, listened in other people's conversations, heard all the whispered this and thats. And over all, found himself incredibly disillusioned by it all.

Light and Force unfolded around him, revealing the darkening Jedi for the first time. He stood to Briana's left and ignored her glare.

He was the last person to deserve to give advice, and Briana in particular would likely not listen to a moment of it. But all they did was talk.

"You know...you are really doing a bang up job of helping the Order survive by being here and telling the Vanguard that the Order will fall," Brandyn called out to Colette, "hasn't your Grandmaster removed people from their seat on the Council for less than that?"

Arms crossed, he stepped forward. "Force, that sounds a mite precarious now doesn't it?"

His hand pulled free from the self-embrace to point casually at Acier, while looking at Briana. "He was a Sith five-minutes ago, wasn't he?" And she lectured Brandyn...

"You all here yapping about politics...but all this is...is Jedi politics," Brandyn shrugged before turning to walk away, "try listening to yourselves for five minutes...you might figure out the real reason the Order could die."

 

[Her]

---

Tag: Allyson Locke

---

"Didn't the Jedi teach you manners?"

Ala tried to help. For months; and she paid the price for her kindness with Lorn's blade cutting her down into the dirt.

Regret. So much regret.

"You wound me."

Her's left-shoulder hurt in Locke's presence. It had been rebuilt and was long healed to leave only the traces of a scar. Yet it ached at night, in the coldness between worlds, as Her traversed the hyperlanes and starways to conspire against the Sith, and these Jedi who called themselves Vanguard. The more Allyson spoke the more Her felt that panging sensation that wouldn't go away.

"I'd love to see you try, you're more than welcome to."

Someone less cunning, less intelligent, and far weaker than Her would have risen to the jibes wrought by this Jedi Shadow. They might have knowingly or even accidentally exposed the fact that Her had been looking for Allyson over the past three years since the Imperials first attacked Brosi; and yet the surveillance programmes that Her had built in the Tion Hegemony, the Ash Worlds and even in the Mid-systems inhabited by the High Republic had failed to yield even a glimpse of the woman now standing before her cutting jibes and barbs.

Locke was clearly enjoying seeing Her like this. But all Her could think about was how close Allyson was now. Tantalizing so. She imagined picking up the weapon that Allyson had used to shoot her during the first incursion in Thandon. To pull back on the bow and release the shot into her shoulder so that she would know what it is like to live with imperfectly.

Her closed their eyes and breathed before she lost control.

"Here I would have thought you'd be trying to convince me to let you out, set you free."

This was inevitable now.

Veruna had leveraged something over Reingard and Moonbound to bring her here to this place. Unlike with Ala and the rest of the Jedi Council, Her had leverage over those men as well. She had overheard them as they took her out of the cell, through the prison complex attached to the sanctuary, as they spoke about the Blackwall and how they wanted Her to tell them how to climb over it. Aurelian must have told one of them about what she knew and that had convinced them to attack facility to free her from the Jedi Order's captivity. But as these revelations came to mind (despite Locke's annoying tone of voice which was distracting) Her found herself asking more questions.

What had happened to the Jedi Order to make them split apart like this?

Why was Reingard, a Jedi Councillor, fighting against the Jedi and not working with them to get over the Blackwall?

And what was Allyson Locke doing here with them?

"Anyways, if you're going to make threats, then you should act on them; if not, maybe you can answer a few questions."

"Why are they keeping you? Or are you here because you want to be?"

Cunning. It was the one lesson that Ayra had taught her apprentice more than anything else. There wasn't much left to teach a fully trained Jedi Knight and a veteran of the One Sith Wars as it pertained to the ways of the Force or in combat. But to possess cunning, to have insight in those you interacted with, and to bend them to what you wanted them to do was not only a truer reflection of the Dark Side itself, but could also be far more potent than any weapon wielded by the Sith.

Bane had shed his armour to favour cloaks for a reason, and Ayra choose to follow him, after all.

"They were told that I have a way to get past the Blackwall," Her admitted to Locke while ignoring her other question. "Reingard and Moonbound want a way to get onto the other side. I do not know why yet."

It was always a mixture of lies and truthes with this woman. Obfuscation was her verse.

Her knew why those two renegades wanted to go beyond the Blackwall. It was just that they didn't know it yet.

"...It is on Haruun Kal that they are kept, buoyed above the toxic cloudsea in their floating prison..."

"But I can see that they do not need me to climb over the anomaly," Her continued to say to Locke. "Now that you are here."

As she went back to being quiet, Her considered what she knew about Locke. She tried to remember what Allyson had said when they had fought on Brosi as Her attempted to figure out why she was here.

There was something linking this woman to Reingard and Moonbound that she didn't understand yet. Her felt like coming to that understanding would become important. Standing in front of the Dark Lord was a woman who had clearly been aligned to the Sith Order, as they were invaded by the Imperial remnants, and now here she was in a hideout owned by two men who were against the Sith.

They had fought in the Oreduke Tower, on level 43. No, that wasn't right. It hadn't been a fight. To be more accurate it was akin to an assassination attempt as Locke quietly and stealthily descended from the ceiling like a spectre of the night to shoot what she must have thought, at least at the time, was an Imperial that was up to no good; and when Her survived that first shot, Locke had hunted her down through the tower until the battle ended in a Sith victory.

Only Her had been up to something good on that night. She had convinced the major Imperial brass to annex the Thandon Star Cluster. To end the Sith Empire's hold over that quadrant, alongside the other nearby star sectors between them and the Imperial Confederation, up until Allyson Locke stopped them.

"As I stand here trying to wrap my head about my would-be murderer being Captain Locke, I confess that I cannot get my head around it... Why are you fighting for them, Captain? Democracy fell. The dark-side is resurgent. It was then like it was now. Are you on their side now, Allyson?"

"I'm not that person anymore... That person died a long time ago."

"Tell me. Sochi Ru's Padawan, why are you with the Imperials... They're no better than the Sith? What makes you different from me?"

"We became the villains."

It didn't make sense.

---

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: D'Qar

Equipment:
Vanguard Robes | Lightsaber | Shoto | Cybernetic Arm | Tic

Ace's fingers slipped into his pocket, finding the small earpiece Aurelian had given him after their confrontation.

He didn't pull it out. Instead, his thumb ran absently over its surface while he listened to Briana. He'd been carrying the damn thing around since Naboo without actually listening to what was on it. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd been stalling. Maybe because once he heard it, whatever Aurelian had dragged them into would become that much more real.

For now, his attention remained on Briana. Ace found himself agreeing with most, if not all, of what she said. The Sith weren't going to disappear because the Jedi waited patiently enough. Neither would any of the other threats currently spreading across the galaxy.

One thing she mentioned stuck with him, though. Mandalorians crucifying Jedi. His brow furrowed, did she mean the Covenant, or the Empire?

If she meant the Mandalorian Empire, Ace suddenly had several uncomfortable questions for his brother. He knew Aether had his own responsibilities, his own wars, and an entire people whose actions Ace couldn't possibly keep track of from D'Qar. But crucifixions broadcast across the Holonet weren't exactly something he could shrug off. He'd have to speak with him. Later.

His attention shifted toward Colette as she answered. Ace didn't know the Jedi Quartermaster particularly well, but what little experience he'd had with her painted a fairly pragmatic picture. Still, he hadn't expected her to outright admit that she believed the Vanguard might outlive the Order.

Ace's lips parted but another voice cut in. He turned toward the newcomer, recognizing Brandyn Sal-Soren. Briana's brother. And irritatingly enough, the other Sal-Soren made a good point too.

Ace hated how easily Jedi could talk themselves into stagnation. He knew their debates stretched endlessly while problems outside the room continued getting worse. Yet somehow, standing here between Briana, Colette and Brandyn, he'd found himself doing exactly that. They were beginning to repeat history.

"He's right." Ace finally withdrew his hand from his pocket. "So instead of talking in circles... I have something."

His fingers disappeared back into his pocket, this time returning with what appeared to be a small earring resting against his palm.

"That schutta politician I was talking about? He gave me this."

Ace neglected to mention that he'd received it after arriving at the man's estate furious enough to contemplate ripping his head off. Probably wasn't relevant.

"Haven't listened to it yet." His thumb passed over the device once more. "Wasn't sure about playing it here, either, but supposedly this is why we need Her."

And there it was. Whatever Aurelian wanted them involved in -- important enough to threaten the Vanguard's secrecy and force them into Shiraya's Sanctuary.

Ace looked first to Briana, then Colette, and finally Brandyn.

"Last chance before I play the audio." He raised the earpiece slightly. "Here, or somewhere private?"

Colette | Briana Sal-Soren | Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Kitt Solo]

Lorn Reingard Her Allyson Locke

Kitt grimaced as another Sal-Soren popped into existence.

That mook was a wildcard.

One she wasn't worried about, so she and Lorn continued on their path and into the holding area.

Well, Kitt certainly wasn't dressed for the occasion of interrogation. It didn't bother her. With a sigh of resignation, she took out both her earbuds. Paused the music. She got a few lofted-brows from those guarding the holding area. It was a new kid. The others just knew her enough not even to cast her looks anymore.

Eh, maybe they were checking Lorn and his limp out. Stars in their eyes.

Kitt gave a slow shake of her head. "Jared is plenty of entertainment. It's not about him or me. It's about you trying something new. Getting out there. Hitting pause from your crusade for a few units. You-," she paused. The master empath picking up on emotions around Her that shouldn't be there.

"Was anyone else authorized to be with the prisoner? Cause we've got incoming." Kitt rounded the corner, lopsided grin tugging on her face but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Hey Locke," she drew out slowly. "Got any good bits to share with the rest of the class?"

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Kitt Solo | Allyson Locke | Her​

"I've been hitting pause on my crusade," Lorn interjected, keeping his stride slow to match her pace. "It just so happens my type of fun includes being on my own in the wilderness, and yours is lots of sweaty people dancing closely together."

He stopped the moment Kitt froze, feeling the shift in the Force an instant after she did. Security around the prisoner wasn't airtight in this makeshift sanctuary, but most Vanguard members gave the Sith a wide berth out of sheer instinct and lingering fear. Someone actively approaching her holding area was unusual.

Rounding the corner beside Kitt, Lorn slowed his hobble as they made contact with the surprise guest. He studied the unfamiliar woman with guarded eyes, unable to place her face. The Vanguard had drawn wanderers and idealists from every corner of the galaxy after his initial call, making it impossible to know every single soul who had landed on D'Qar.

"You know her?" Lorn asked under his breath, leaning slightly to keep the weight off his bad leg.

His gaze instinctively drifted past the newcomer toward the Sith resting in the shadows. Memory surged instantly: the sickening ignite of his lightsaber plunging through Ala's back and the blinding fury that followed. Fresh purple bruises still painted the captive's pale skin, an ugly testament to the beating he had dealt her before Acier dragged him back from the edge.

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

Briana knew something about relinquishing seats of power.

It'd required more strength than holding onto one when she'd surrendered her own title of Grand Master, for what she believed was the good of the Order, and there was some level of admiration for what Colette was willing to do to try and find a way to bring about reconciliation. What any good Jedi would, in the same position. Opening her mouth to respond, Briana was cut off when another voice, with a more sardonic undertone, cut out from behind her and entered the scene. Briana's own jaw snapped shut, knowing exactly who it was.

Her eyes narrowed slightly at her brother, but in typical Sal-Soren fashion, the glare was pointedly ignored as he continued on.

Then his finger shifted toward Acier.

"He was a Sith five-minutes ago, wasn't he?"

One brow lofted at him, and her lips pulled into a frown on one side, as if to silently convey that he wasn't someone who should want to go there with her. Of everyone, Brandyn was the last person with the space to invite that particular comparison. Still, she didn't rise to the bait. Their personal family drama didn’t need to be dragged out before an audience.

When Acier produced the recording, Briana’s attention shifted toward the small device resting in his palm.

“We’ve already come this far,” she said with a nod, softly clearing her throat. "And like Colette said, I think everyone here deserves a bit of honesty and to be able to understand the events of what's played out. Besides, these things have a way of coming out on their own. So, play the recording."

TAG: Colette , Brandyn Sal-Soren , Acier Moonbound , Vornak

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[Colette]

Briana Sal-Soren / Brandyn Sal-Soren / Acier Moonbound / Vornak

A practiced smile, a strained smile, spread itself thin across Colette's lips when Brandyn shared his negligible opinions.

Oh, okay, so are you going to add anything of value to that conversation then or just be an nerf herder?

The words had been chosen, her lips began to shape the first word but were cut-off by Acier. Admittedly it was probably for the better too. Far be it for someone like to Colette to intrude where she wasn't wanted and start calling the locals idiots.

Even if they really, really had it coming.

Her focus set on Acier with a quiet nod towards both him and the only Sal-Soren worth her time and respect: Briana. She had a gut feeling who this member of the senate could be but hoped to god it wasn't him.

Her tongue poked between her front teeth, her lips thinned into an uneasy frown.

"This better not be from…" She whispered to herself. Sure enough as the sound began to play, a look of exhaustion flooded her entire being. "... Him."

Asshat was playing both sides.