Old Lies on Cadomai (PM to join)

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Callista Gseran"]

DANTOOINE​

MANDALORIAN TERRITORY​

In the wake of the Grandmaster's private declaration that the Jedi Order would no longer be solely affiliated with the Republic, every Jedi within Shule's immediate circle would have some adjusting to do. The Jedi had always relied on private donations and Republic largesse; the latter would soon be gone. Rumor had it the Republic's leadership was screaming conspiracy, and considering Shule had spent enough time as the Order's Grandmaster and spymaster to get his own opinion of the Republic, he didn't doubt the rumors were true. Probably invented or guessed, but probably true nonetheless. Off at the Dantooine enclave, where Shule and his closer associates didn't actually take the Jedi stipend, belt-tightening would manifest mainly as fewer Jedi visitors with the funds to pay for the Jal Shey attire that kept the lights on.

Those lights flickered as Shule came up out of the archives to greet the lonely enclave's newest visitor. What little he'd seen of her file suggested she was out of her time; he'd met more than one like that. Whether that meant she was used to government sponsorship of the Jedi or a much looser relationship -- that depended largely on her. Those trends had shifted radically, sometimes year by year or month by month, over the course of the old days.

That, and people made their own choices based on modern circumstances as much as on experience. Perhaps Callista Gseran would be a Republic apologist, declaring that the only true Jedi served only the Republic. Perhaps she would be more cosmopolitan, or have another allegiance entirely.

What mattered, for the moment, was that she was connected to the Levantine Sanctum's loose-knit patrol network, the spacers and Forcers who supported the defense and patrol forces of Levantine Free Space. Every once in a while, the Sanctum asked for a little extra, a priority mission.

Gseran would have been briefed. The planet Cadomai had a very extensive history with the Sith, or rather the last few years had seen at least four Dark Side groups express profound interest in the place. Currently, it was Ession-influenced, and Ession was an ally of the SJO, whose relationship with the nearby Sanctum generally boiled down to 'you do you.' Ession's Jedi Lords and penchant for fielding Dark Side-affiliated ground forces had raised a few question-marked flags in Sanctum worlds' command structures. Shule and Gseran had been asked to take a surreptitious look at Cadomai, to investigate allegations that the planet's Sith background had to do with Ession-related plans.

He knew the impression he'd make as he came into sight of Gseran -- he was in dire need of a haircut, and his robes had been patched heavily. A long fall through broken branches on Kashyyyk hadn't helped with that at all.

"Morning," he said sleepily. "You must be Master Gseran. I'm Master Windspeaker -- call me Shule -- welcome to Dantooine."

 

[Callista Gseran]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

It was strange. Callista could never have recalled visiting Dantooine. In her time, the planet was.... well, filled with ghosts and memories. She'd never visited, but she'd seen the reports. Most of her time in the recent years had been spent on Coruscant, Cataan, and Tanagis V. And now, that had all changed. She was a woman out of her time... and from all appearances, out of her own galaxy as well. [member="Masamune Tametomo"] had found her, and for that fact alone, she was eternally grateful. She couldn't bear to think hat would have happened if he hadn't.

Shaking herself for a moment, she sighed and rubbed at her temples before she looked around the room. She still felt vastly out of her element. And yet, everyone she'd met had been kind, and as helpful as they could. The room she now waited in was comfortable, if the furnishings looked a little worn. They were well-cared for, however. That caused her to relax ever so slightly. So many things had changed over the last few years. The war with the One Sith in her universe had been raging for close to ten years... not to mention the issues with Death Watch and the One Sith encroaching on Cataani space.

Both had claimed countless lives. Names and faces which were forever burned into her memory. Xan. And the countless other Jedi who had lost their lives during the incident on Bastion. Part of her was glad that Steffan had insisted she stay behind on that rescue mission. Her work with the rescuees was important enough. A skilled healer she might be, but she knew even her skill could not completely erase the mental scars many of them would carry for the rest of their lives. Physical wounds would heal... but mental ones tended to linger.

Sighing again, she straightened a bit and tugged on her robes. They were of a deep blue-green. Almost the color of ocean waves. her tunics were sand-colored with a lighter blue-green overtunic. A slender silver saber hilt hung from each hip, visible when she moved. Slowly, she stood and moved about the room, studying the few items which were on display. When she reached one particular painting, she found herself lost in thought again.

The Jedi of her time were a very autonomous organization at present. At one time, they had been closely tied to the Republic, much as the Jedi of the Old Republic had been. They had even rebuilt and made use of the Temple on Coruscant. But in recent years, that had changed drastically. She remembered all too well the night she had received a coded message, telling her and any other Jedi to evacuate the temple on Coruscant. The Masters Dinn had been arrested on suspicions of treason. Of all things, she had never once believed it. Those two had served the Republic faithfully for decades, whether it be in the military or as a member of the Order. Now, most of the Jedi operated out of Cataan and Chandrilla.

And yet, here she was, on Dantooine herself. And about to meet the man who had asked her here. She'd barely been in Levantine space a month, and already people were seeking her out. It seemed word of her circumstances and abilities was circulating rapidly. A Healer she might be by virtue of her natural skills and training, she she also possessed skill with the lightsaber, and with Force Stealth. That was a skill Steffan had started teaching her years ago... and it had proved useful over the year during he missions for Jedi Intelligence.

Slowly, she turned around as she heard footsteps on the stairs. Here finally, was the man who had asked her here. How he'd heard of her, she had no idea, but from what little she'd been told of the mission, it intrigued her. Her eyebrows rose for a moment as she caught sight of him. His dark blonde hair was mussed and shaggy - as if he was in bad need of a haircut. But she didn't mind. She could only imagine how she looked. A slow smile spread across her face, though she was a bit wary still. "Good morning..." she said pleasantly, rubbing her palms over her face for a moment. She paused for a moment before moving over to grip his hand for a moment before releasing. "I'm Callista Gseran. You can call me Callista, or even Cally if you like." As wary as she was, she found his presence to have a calming effect on her nervousness. There was so much about this era she didn't know. "Now then.... this mission of yours... what all is involved? You message was a bit vague."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Callista Gseran"]

"Callista, then," said Shule with a grin. She looked about as tired as he felt. The hour was early; most weren't awake to overhear, so he didn't bother leading his guest to a quieter place. He did, however, talk fairly quietly. "We've been asked to take a look at the planet Cadomai. A few different Sith groups have set up shop there over the past few years; we're not sure whether there's still a dark side presence. There's rumors of a military presence associated with the dark side, and some of our allies' allies have set themselves up as Jedi lords in some nearby systems. They're people who fought alongside us at Kashyyyk, but their dark side army was there too, and it got turned against them, or against us. There's too many variables at play for anyone to be comfortable, so we're going to take a very stealthy look at Cadomai Prime."

He gestured past her at the docking bay. "The other ship that was in there, the ugly one -- it's a Levantine Haytham-class cloaked micro-interdictor, unarmed and top secret, and undetectable by any known sensor or even the Force. We've been asked to take it for a run past Cadomai. I don't need to tell you that this is, well...this can't be known. To the point where I'm considering taking a couple of old E-25 snubfighters instead, just in case, for deniability. What're your thoughts?"

 

[Callista Gseran]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

For now, Callista remained quiet as she listened to Shule outline the mission. It was high-risk... not something she was unfamilliar with, certainly. And, she had extensive training in stealth operations, from Steffan himself, as well as Xan and Ethan. And, she'd had her own share of brushes with the Darkness. She remembered those all too well. Shivering ever so slightly, she turned her attention back to whgat Shule was saying about the ships. "Well, first I would need different gear... something not tying me to the jedi or the Levantines in any way....." A moment's pause and then, "As to the ships themselves.... probably better to go with the snubfighters. Sounds like the interdictor could be too easily traced back to the Levantines." A nod. "Also, it sounds like I'll need a bit of a crash course in Galactice history.... most of what I know in that regard has no bearing in this galaxy..." she finished softly. "Other than that, I can leave whenever we're ready to..."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Callista Gseran"]

"Well, let's not be hasty. The benefit of the Levantine ship is that we probably wouldn't get detected in the first place. We're ceding that first layer of defense right off the bat if we use old snubfighters. Now, we could hitch a ride, use that kind of secrecy instead of a cloak. We're not far from where the Blood Trail meets the Braxant Run. Muunilinst is a major trade nexus, more now than ever, and some of it is Iron Crown -- ah, Fringe-built ships and military materiel going to Shadow Empire territory and thereabouts. The Fringe is...well, think the Levantines, but much more chaotic, with plenty of actual Sith involved, as well as some who claim to be Jedi. They're tenuous allies of the One Sith, but they've also fought against them, and I'd bet we'd be able to find someone willing to take a bribe for a couple of stowaways -- so long as we vanish before his or her first opportunity to turn us in for a bigger payoff. That would take longer than the direct approach, maybe a few weeks, and we'd still need a way out of that region, though it's close enough to Levantine and Silver Jedi territory that any way we run could turn into a run to safe space.

"As for gear, there's Jal Shey material, but you're probably better off picking up some leftover military gear in town."