New Tomorrow

[Long Gone]

“That son of a….” The words fell short as she felt the presence of a ghost nearby, one who was not only her Master in the ways of the Jedi, but was also a friend and even at one point in her life he was like her father. It was impossible for it to be him, unless someone had managed to find a way to manipulate the signature of another through the Force. One could conceal or meld their presence, but to alter it completely was impossible.


Each life form was created unique in the Force, as such it had an echo that rippled through the Force in a way that made it different from each other echo. Humans were no different and this one was a person who she had become attached to in many ways. The words of the Mandalorians fell on deaf ears as she focused intently on the force presence.


“ Ember?” She whispered through the vastness of the Force, making her own presence known, only for a moment or two. And in that moment or two, her presence was like a ripple in water. Just enough to catch his attention and bring him closer to her. “Is that really you?” She whispered again through the Force, calling out to him.

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

His step faltered, beskar bootheels arrhythmic on the ancient deck, as another mind touched his. It was familiar like a childhood memory or a dusty, spiderwebbed former home. Some bonds never truly went away, apparently, though to his perception, she might as well have been dead. Some kind of dormancy, unknown to him. If she was connected with this derelict, she remembered a better, cleaner Order and Republic.

Things could get...complicated.

Aaralyn. I'm on my way. Don't trust the other Jedi. His pace quickened, and he commed the Red Legion forces.

"This is Rekali. The woman's an old friend, so back off some. For the other one, go nuts."

 

[Antares]

He sensed the other force user's presence revealed as he stepped through the threshold and into the medbay. His lightsabeer wasn't turned on yet, but he did clench it tighter as his hands clasped each other, and were hidden by his sleeves. The expression on Aaralyn's face was one he didn't understand.

Still he reached out into the force to her and tried to understand what she was feeling.

[member="Ember Rekali"]
[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

Aaralyn raised an eyebrow as she turned to look at [member="Antares Windu"] and then the two Mandalorians behind her. There was confusion boiling over in her mind, her senses felt numb as the rush of adrenaline kicked in. She couldn't understand why Ember would tell her not to trust her own people. Why would Ember himself, a Jedi Master who had trained her in the ways of the Force suddenly make her feel uneasy. For the moment she just stood there, feeling uneasy and dumbfounded. Ripples of uncertainty projecting through the Force, hard enough to where Ember himself would feel it.

Despite the weapons being brought down to the low-ready behind her, she didn't quite get the statement. "Don't trust the other Jedi...?" She muttered as her gazed went back behind her to the Mandalorians and then over to [member="Antares Windu"]. Her amber hued orbs fell back to staring at the floor before her. As soon as she went to question why again, she felt the presence of Ember enter the doorway and step into the large dimly lit Medical bay. Her gaze snapped up in unison as he entered and her voice cried out to him, a question that was definitely inevitable. "Why wouldn't I trust him Ember!?" There was a sense of hurt in her voice and confusion that was causing her to choke up a little. Despite her training and her strong knowledge of the Force, her weakness was emotion. She had a strong emotion for Ember considering he was like a father. Seeing him brought tears to her eyes, tears that boiled up and clouded her vision. "What are you doing with these Mandalorians!?"

Aaralyn knew deep within her heart of hearts that [member="Ember Rekali"] had better produce an answer better than an "I can explain.." or she would have it in for him.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"] [member="Antares Windu"]

Medbay. Two Red Legion soldiers. One Jedi Master, one Jedi Knight. And Ember. The Solari crystal snapped to life inside his long-handled lightsabre, and a sky-blue blade extended, but down near his side. His eyes remained on Windu.

"Because the Jedi now aren't the Jedi we knew," he said evenly. "War crimes. Treason. Conquest for conquest's sake. Mass murder. I could attach names and places to each of those allegations. Two waves of real Jedi have left the Republic entirely, and left the Council's authority as well. Grandmaster after Grandmaster has left in disgust. The Jedi now are nothing but a color scheme, so all that's left for me is to defend my homeworld."

 

[Antares]

He watched the Mandalorian draw his own lightsaber, Antares didn't draw his own yet. He still clenched it tightly, but he watched cautiously and in a relaxed form. Despite how his heart felt as if it was going to be ripped out of his chest. He remained quiet for now, anything he could say would most likely make him look like a fool. But it was obvious that, eight hundred years ago that this Mandalorian had known [member="Aaralyn Deltain"].

"I have committed no war crimes, or treason. I have only fought, when the enemy has been upon our doorstep." He explained softly, and he turned around so that his shoulders were squared off to [member="Ember Rekali"].

 

[Long Gone]

"And join an enemy which swears to destroy the Republic and the Jedi much like Darth Vader did, hmm?" Her eyes narrowed at him, her hands coming down to rest upon the hilts of her sabers as she began tapping on the smooth metal. Her hands remained there as she spoke to him in a dark tone. "You think I'm supposed to buy that?" The sensation of anger started glimmering at the edges of her aura, rippling through the Force like a jagged knife. Her right hand began to shake which caused her to let go of her saber hilt, slowly she curled her gloved fingers into a fist. Her lower arm began to shake a bit uncontrollably, not too visible at first but it slowly became noticeable within a matter of moments. "You broke your oath to the Jedi and instead of doing something about the problem...you ran away." The jagged feeling became more apparent with each passing moment, no doubt Ember would feel it and maybe even [member="Antares Windu"]. Her body shifted for a moment, darkened amber orbs gazing elsewhere out of disgust. A smirk curling about her lips as she thought about her next move, but this was no ordinary smirk. It not only reflected regret of ever believing him, but of anger and satisfaction for what she was about to do. She shifted towards him again, the hues of amber having shifted to a darkened color as she stared at him with that smirk about her lips. She could see it in his eyes, one of genuine worry for what she was about to do. The expression was written on his face and in his own eyes, "Don't do it..."

And out of nowhere, she did it anyway...

Aaralyn's speed and furiosity was lighting fast as she lept ontop of him with the single punch to the face. The elder man dropped his saber as they both went backwards and hit the durasteel floor. Aaralyn moved in for a second blow but Ember was ready despite the stinging sensation in his left cheek. He quickly snatched her wrist and elbow and jerked her to the side, sending her onto her back and him ontop in one fluid motion. He took a couple deep breaths and held her arm down for the moment, staring down at the younger woman who was in borderline tears. The rippling sharp edges of her emotions were stabbing at those who could sense her emotions through the Force.

"You're a traitor!" Was all she could manage to cry out, her voice choked up. "You broke your oath! Your promise!"

[member="Ember Rekali"]

OOC Note - This auto was done with permission as I know the character and his reaction.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"] [member="Antares Windu"]

It took some doing to avoid cutting her up when she lunged -- he had a lifetime of unfortunate reflexes -- but avoid it he did. Despite the active lightsabre, and the surprise that resulted from seeing her punch a beskar-clad physical enhancement specialist a foot taller than her. He rolled off his former student and regained his feet, sabre up horizintally between him and Windu.

"Calm the feth down, Aaralyn," he said, exactly as he had in long years of training sessions. "You're new to this time. I'm trying to tell you that the organizations that call themselves the Republic and the Jedi Order have nothing in common with the ones we knew. They've spread more senseless, brutal war than the Mandalorians of this era ever had. You're judging galactic politics by names and color schemes. I taught you better than that. If you go with him, if you sign on for their cause, you'll be endorsing Sith-scale war criminals and the people who enable, protect, and support them. Master after master, grandmaster after grandmaster of this era, have all found that the only way to be a real Jedi is to leave this monstrous idiocy that claims to call itself a Republic.

"But you're an adult. So go with him, and when you find your conscience conflicted by the orders you're given and the Jedi-in-name-only that'll fight beside you, when you find yourself on the side of movements and people and organizations that endorse a brand of sneering and condescending evil -- when that time comes, like literally dozens of true Jedi Masters before you, you will leave what calls itself the Republic. You will run to the hills to save your soul and keep the peace."

 

[Long Gone]

"And what are you doing to do if I'm able to do something about this Ember and make a change from within?" She pointed at him as she stood up, breathing a bit heavy. She forgot how much Beskar'gam could weigh despite having gauntlets made from the same material. "What are you going to do when it comes time to face me in battle? You going to strike me down?" She retorted and moved over to a wall she could lean against, her arms folded across her chest. "You expect me to believe everything you're saying and just turn my back, like that?"


She brought a gloved hand out from her arms and held it up to him before he could respond, her anger was still there, jabbing at the sensations through the Force. "It doesn't matter, even if you're right, what do I have left?" She inhaled deep and bit her lower lip. She looked up at the ceiling of the Medical Bay, her boot coming up to press against the wall, bending her leg slightly. "Cameron is gone..." She managed to get out with an overwhelmed tone, her eyes were brimming with tears. "You are the closest thing I have to family and you left the Order and you're asking me to do the same thing..."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"] [member="Antares Windu"]

"Make a difference from within? Everyone worthy has tried that. And while they waited for their good influence and best efforts to bring a change that never comes, they marched to war for people who've forgotten a fundamental Jedi truth: Evil committed while serene, while feeling justified, while claiming moral high ground, is still evil, still the Dark Side." He shot a glance at Windu. "That's the path of what calls itself the the Jedi Order today. The longer you live in this time, the faster you'll see that the Light Side of the Force has called all the best people elsewhere. After their best try at fixing things from within."

 

[Antares]

The Mandalorian spoke of things that he did know, it was obvious, but Antares himself had never done the things that he spoke of. At least enough to sound as if he was a reporter who wanted to see the Republic look bad.

"You accuse the Jedi Order of being the same evil of what we fight; the Sith. But what would you have the Jedi Order do? Wait for the Sith to attack? Let innocent life that we could have protected by striking first, be lost? Some methods may have been taken too far yes, I have no inkling of an idea of what those are, but what you speak of are only generalizations. You say that dozens of Jedi Masters have left, yes, and what have they done? They left the Order only to do the same thing that they were doing. Just doing it without the title of Jedi."

He spoke of the Silver Jedi since that was the only Order that he really knew enough to speak about. What he knew about anyway, and he waited for the Mandalorian to continue. The supposed former Jedi Master.

[member="Ember Rekali"] - [member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

"Mind your tongue..." She said through teary eyes and a stuffy voice, her gaze shifting from the ceiling to [member="Antares Windu"]. "That man you are speaking to has done more in a thousand lifetimes than you could ever hope to accomplish." She heaved a sigh and pushed off the wall with her foot, her back turning to Ember as she did so.

"I can't turn my back on the Order, you and I both know that Ember." She said, a gloved hand coming up to wipe away stray tears. She exhaled roughly and inhaled quickly, turning around to face him as she composed herself. "But I can turn my back on you, as you have done to me..." She confidently spoke, adjusting herself slightly. "The man I loved as a father apparently died eight centuries ago or has forsaken me now. As a Jedi, I must learn to let go..." She unzipped the top part of the black jumpsuit, delicate fingers reached within to pull out a small necklace. As soon as the small necklace was caught in the lights, it gleamed brightly. It was a beautiful sight, one that was looked like pearlescent wroshyr branches twisted together with small Corellian diamonds crusted over the length of them. No doubt this perfect little gem cost a fortune and was a rare piece of work, she held it softly within her gloved hand as she looked to it and then to Ember.

"That same man gave this to me when I passed the Trials and said he couldn't have been more proud..." She gently tucked the necklace back within her jumpsuit and zipped it back up. "That man is gone..."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Antares Windu"] [member="Aaralyn Deltain"]
Ember's purple Vahla eyes examined Antares dispassionately.

"Ask your Masters about Contruum, about Cato Neimoidia, about Manaan, about the Unreal City, about Matsu Ike, about Syn. Terrorism, treason, thousands of innocents murdered. A term applies -- perhaps you've heard it before. The term is 'sheeple.'" He grimaced.

"Aaralyn...when you grow up, come find me. Or any of the true Jedi, the ones who left. Kiskla Grayson's one of the only good ones left, one of the few who hasn't given up on fixing things from the inside. Most of her hope, I'm told, relies on bringing back the good ones. She has a list. Names. Stories. Testimony. She may be the last real Jedi left in the Order. And she's younger than my children." He snorted. "Slim hope indeed. But she'll learn."

His gaze tracked back to Windu. "For her sake, you get to walk out of here. Get your ship to friendly skies; you'll find no welcome here. The Order made the enemies it fights today, and tomorrow. Deal with that."

Turning on his heel, he made for the door, and the Red Legion soldiers followed at his silent command.

 

[Antares]

He remained silent throughout. How was he supposed to reply such accusations, and tones of voice. He was in between two people who had loved each other as father and daughter. He couldn't come between that, especially since he had just met [member="Aaralyn Deltain"]. "Okay." Was his pathetic reply and he watched as Ember Rekali exited without another word to him.

His gaze went over to Aaralyn and he waited for a moment before he said, "I'm sorry." Probably the worst kind of words he could say in such a situation, but it were the only ones he could think of to comfort her.

"Let's get to the engine room." Better to get straight back to business anyway. "There are repair droids upon the ship, yes?" Of course there were, ships always had those.

At least the big ones.

 

[Long Gone]

As [member="Ember Rekali"] approached her, she watched him with narrowed eyes, and then without warning she reached out and grabbed the front plate of his armor, gripping it tightly with her gloved hands. The two guards walking with Ember quickly snapped up their weapons and pointed them directly in her face. Aaralyn ensured the distance between her and Ember was closed as she spoke with such lethality in her voice, causing Ember to raise an eyebrow in both curiosity and amusement. "Master, for your sake, I hope we don't ever meet on the field of battle..."


She turned her head to look at [member="Antares Windu"] and then back to him. "Now get off my ship Ember..." She let go of him causing the guards to lower their weapons. As he exited, she turned to [member="Antares Windu"] and shook her head. "Don't be, it was my mistake for not being upfront.." She held up her hand for the moment, taking a deep breath, attempting to keep her composure. "I should have warned you once I felt his presence, but he would have found you either way." She offered Antares a soft smile before taking a seat on a dusty Medical bed. Her hands clasped the edges of the bed as she took a look around the bay for a moment, nodding to his question. "The Hanger should have some service droids that can get the Hypedrive repaired in a few hours time."


Her hand came up again, laughing a bit as the thought hit her. "That is if it hasn't leaked all the coolant, if it has then we might as well forget it and just start booking it to the closest Outpost." She pointed towards the exit. "The auto pilot should be able to direct you to closest known Outpost, then again my Navcharts are outdated by several hundred years..."


Another laugh as she laid back on the bed. "You think you can handle it? I'm not feeling too hot right now..."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

That was twice he could have killed her -- she had to know that. Dead as a fething doornail. First steps into darkness never had much control; sort of a perception overload. He could have Force Lighted her, made her anger into pain, but that didn't strike him as appropriate. Instead, as she went for the last word and the big demonstrations...he left. Re-boarded his Niathal, disengaged, made sure the Red Legion boys got off safe.

She had been the last one he'd ever called family, apart from his little granddaughter. Brembla - dismembered and exsanguinated protecting Dathomir. Rach - tried and failed to disarm a nuclear warhead outside Keldabe. Certh and Benna - cut down as Jedi, fighting the Republic's war at Metalorn. Faran - slaughtered on Ossus.

He murmured to himself inside his buy'ce. "Ni su'cuyi, ner ade kyr'adyc." I live, but my children are dead.

 

[Antares]

He felt as if he knew she was trying to deceive him, but he didn't say anything. Perhaps she really was tired. His first judgements of people were never let go easily and he could only nod his head as he walked out of the medbay through the first door. It felt as if the last time he had passed through those doors had been hours ago, when it reality it had only been a few minutes if that. There had been so much tension in the room that he wasn't sure what he would do if he stayed in their.

He felt as if some of it left as the automatic door slid open.

Once he had gotten to the bridge, he spent most of his time trying to open up the sealed door through the Force, and then trying to figure out how to turn on the auto-pilot. And once it was activated, the ship was on it's way to Anaxes. The only military planet that he would have been content in going to. Even if it was a few days away via hyperspace...And probably thousands of years away utilizing sublight and impulse drives. The droids would have to fix the hyperdrive then.

Once the autopilot had been set, he got up and out of the chair and found himself wandering to the back of the ship and downwards as he headed towards the engine room. It took him a few extra minutes to actually find it. It was his first time on the ship after all, and once he had entered, he had looked around in order to find the droids. Once he had found them, he activated them through their terminal and gave them the orders to repair the hyperdrive.

Looks like that was done.

All in all, it would have probably taken him a few hours because he would have been enjoying the quiet of the corridors, thinking about what had just occurred, and finding his way through the old warship. Two hours at most, and he found himself in the medbay again. To check up on [member="Aaralyn Deltain"].

 

[Long Gone]

Aaralyn by this time had downgraded to a simple black cami and her jumpsuit bottoms, she laid flat on her back, staring at the ceiling as one of her lightsabers spun effortlessly above her abdomen. Small scars in the shapes of teardrops were exposed where the cami didn't cover her skin near her collarbone. It appeared as if she had been peppered by shrapnel from a grenade or some other type of explosive device. The very same necklace she had shown a while ago lay perfectly between her breasts and rested in between them. The gift that meant worlds to her, but now felt like a burden she had to carry, or did it? Perhaps not, it could remain a memory of how things use to be.

When life was simple...


She continued to focus on the ceiling, humming a soft tune to herself, not even looking at her lightsaber as it spun in circles. The Force naturally guided it, as she could see and feel it through the Force. There was never a need to do such a task by looking at an object, she trusted her sense and the Force to guide her. Her gaze shifted from the ceiling to Antares and then back to the ceiling. "I think I owe you a bit of an explanation..."

[member="Antares Windu"]
[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Antares]

He walked the length of the medbay until he was right beside her and he sat down on the bed that was right beside hers. He was quiet for a few moments, thinking about what she had said, and then he replied with, "you don't owe me anything." And then he frowned as if he had forgotten something while his dark gaze glanced over her body.

"The ship is on the move. The repair droids are doing their job." He said softly as his eyes travelled the length of her body and then rested upon her own gaze. "You don't need to tell me anything." He smiled a reassuring smile and then laid back himself on the bed, placing one leg upon the knee that remained pointing upwards to the ceiling. His lightsaber was planted upon the bed beside him, and he waited for her to speak if she wanted to.

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

Aaralyn felt through the ripples of the Force the presence of eyes upon her figure, she raised an eyebrow as her lightsaber gently came down and rested upon her stomach. It gently moved up and down as she breathed in and out, for a moment she felt odd being looked over by someone else. In this capacity she almost felt vulnerable, and even weak. The last time a man had looked at her like that was when Cameron did and well, he was something special.


Her face turned a light shade of crimson as she quickly snatched the hilt off her stomach and reclipped it onto her utility belt around her waist. She brought her arms across her chest, gloved hands tucking under each arm. She held herself tightly, looking back to the ceiling once again, humming the soft tune. She stopped for a moment and looked at him. "Tell me, where are you from Antares?"

[member="Antares Windu"]