Old War Stories (Vulpesen)

[Kei Amadis]

Circarpous sector
Mimban

Kei had put in a call to an old war buddy, now he was back from the dead, the least he could do was buy the man a drink. Stuck in the netherworld for how long? Too long. Shuttled down from his old interdictor cruiser, the beacon was a mess, it had been shot up and it was obvious they wouldn’t be able to crew it for much longer. Wherever [member="Vulpesen"] had been, Kei had been fighting every single day just like the last time they were together.

Where was he now? For once, and only for once, Kei was in a bar. Strong Corellian whiskey in front of him, one bottle, two glasses. Green fatigues, black t-shirt, and thick black boots, he didn’t look more than a few months older than his old friend would remember. For Kei very little time had passed in the netherworld, but each day had been a literal fight to stay alive for him and his crew. Kira his modified carbine was propped up by his chair, and unity his focused saber was clipped to his hip, backpack somewhere underneath his feet, which rested up waiting for an old friend. As always light stubble ran across his chin, and he had his back to the bar, so he could keep his eyes forward.

The bar wasn’t much, more like an outside shack with an overhang, a few outside tables and a couple of locals talking about nothing in particular. You didn’t get many people coming to Mimban’s more remote areas, it was largely unexplored, and a good hiding place if you needed it. Overhead turbulent atmosphere could break energy storms over the jungle planet at any time, moisture was thick in the air, but for now at least few clouds were overhead.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

A beeping woke Vulpesen up from his sleep, causing his head to pop up with a single paper seemingly attached to his cheek. "Wait what?" He looked drowsily at his comlink, and clicked it to display Kei's message. Even after a near coma experience with paperwork, the familiar name caused the Zorrens head to launch up ."KEI!" Quickly getting out of his seat, he made his way to the exit. This was not a call he could ignore.

A few hours later, he would find himself on the backwater planet of Mimban, sliding into the bar and setting his eyes around the place. How long had it been since he last saw his jedi general. He remembered the battle of Togaria during operation hammer, his last time of seeing Amadis. Of course, given that Kei had yet to see him, the once human would be nearly unrecognizable.

After a bit of slipping through the bar, he made his way to the jedi's side and smiled as he sat down. "Been a long time, old friend." He grinned and turned his head, the once brown and hazel eyes now shining with a golden light. His transformation, despite his body staying his, had been drastic indeed.

[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

He stared for a while as [member="Vulpesen"] sat down, not saying anything, hand resting over his saber. For Kei's time in the nether, this had been months away, maybe six at most. Vulpesen had not only aged but also he’d changed his eye color, the man saw he looked completely different, feeling much stronger in the force for a start. Kei had to look for a while to make sure it was his old buddy he was looking at.

“Hey, sorry I’m waiting for someone, I need the chair” he stated with a nod, keeping an eye on him.

Then it clicked, something about him, maybe the way he sat or looked, or just hell some things didn’t change in the force no matter what happened, but was it really him? Something in the force said yes, but his eyes said something else.

A few seconds longer staring went on, not exactly subtle, Kei wasn’t subtle, and not someone who would let a question sit either. “Do I know you? Vulps?” Couldn't be, Vulps was a young Jedi full of spirit, one of the strongest he'd met in the old temple days, but young, this guy was what twice Vulp's age? Months for Kei, were maybe years or a decade for Vulpesen, he might even be as surprised as Kei was.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen grinned and took his seat, resting back to enjoy Kei's surprise. "The one and only. Long time Amadis. Hell, last I saw you we were gearing up for the battle of Togoria. Not sure if it was a success, but you can be happy to know that at least stopped those sith from massacring the Togorians execution style." His tail flicked behind him as he spoke. Kei hadn't changed a bit, and for a moment the zorren wondered if this was really his old friend, or some cloning trick. Still, the force told him otherwise and he was confident that this was his old general. "Where the hell did you go? And how the hell have you not changed? Its been years."

[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

“It is you! Damned good to see you!” Kei extended his hand for a firm shake, pouring his friend a glass and then one for himself. Back then he hadn’t been able to drink, he’d had to stay sharp. Here he had some downtime. A general without a fleet, more of a solider again these days, back to basics.

Battle of Togoria, meant to be their second strike at the Sith lines after Bimmisaari. Kei had been out of it so long he hadn’t heard about the coruscant being taken or the Sith empire falling. That was his last memory of Vulps in the war.

“Going to ask you all the same thing comms went dead, static we got forced back to the ship, next thing I know we’re stuck in a vortex, surrounded by Sith.” The netherworld, but he’d still not had anyone actually tell him, “Been six months now? Couldn't raise anyone.”

He took a sip of the whiskey, the woody, spicy taste hitting him in the back of the throat. “You saved them?” Kei asked impressed, but not surprised, Vulps had been that kind of Jedi. He wished he’d been there for that. “Then what happened?” Kei pointed to his own eyes, the Epicanthx was never very subtle. He thought his friend had received a wound to his face, because he looked so different.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Letting out a laugh, Vulpesen accepted the handshake, smiling widely. "And you. Hell, I thought I'd never see you again." Kei's next words went fairly unnoticed, at least for the moment while his last question would recieve a true answer. "Lets see here. Tracyn helped me take down the sith who was ordering the execution. Selena became grand master and helped us crush the sith. Order of light disbanded shortly before that. Then the One Sith rose to power to replace the empire. Republic lost battle after battle. I fell in love. Joined the sith undercover for a while. Decided the Republic was starting to wallow in deception. Left the sith, made my own force order, got engaged, and now I'm here. That's basically it, minus the occasional power crazed immortal sending everyone back in time." Once he was done, Vulpesen would lean back, just about to relax when two words finally clicked in his head. "Hold on, six months? Try eight years."

[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

Kei didn’t spend too long thinking on things, most times life was pretty simple when it came down to it. Today wasn’t one of those days. “Back in time.” Any other day, he’d of thought a friend was joking, but here he was, 10 years older. “Eight years?”

Throwing back on his whiskey, that deserved a drink, he sat forward. A look of disbelief on his face, but he knew it was right. Frelling hell…

Another drink, rubbing his face down with his hand, “ [member="Selena Halcyon"] I remember her” he grinned solidly, “sad I missed that.” So they’d done it, broke the empire. He’d fought with her against the black sun for selling their temple artifacts, at least that’s what he’d been told, earned him a bounty the size of a moon on his head to add to the one already there. “Quite a ride. You’re the boss now then?” Kei grinned, that’s what vulps could do in eight years, seemed fitting from the kid he once knew to the man that was sitting in front of him. When they’d fought together on the very first padawan mission, he knew he’d either be a dead hero or a man that shaped events eventually, and was glad to see Vulpesen had made it through it all.

“Who is the lucky lady?” Kei listened, happy to have another subject. Then he had to ask, because he was Kei, “One Sith?” Don't say some other Sith just took over.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Something tells me your radio silence was a bit more than a technical malfunction." He reached over and took a bit of his own drink. "Aye. Vulpesen Espadus Torrevaso, Valde of the Tenevi Order, and general leader of the Vitae Alliance. A bit small in terms of galactic powers, but we've got plans to change that."

He grinned and set the glass down. "Her names [member="Alexandra Feanor"]. A grey jedi and ex-sith. Actually, she stood by my side when I was hiding among the sith. Hell, without her I'm pretty sure I'd have done insane." His tail swayed a bit faster behind him as he thought back on his times with her. "As for the One Sith, they replaced the empire. And they're a hell of a lot stronger too. I can't think of a single battle where we've actually hurt them. An by me, I mean the entire galaxy."

[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

More than radio silence, yeah, time being messed with, then eight years passing, “You’re not wrong.” Kei scratched his chin, stubble running under his hand. “Starting anything big up takes guts. You know what it’s like now.” The Epicanthx grinned, starting a cause up, keeping it running, keeping moral up, the people there happy, day in day out. Might look easy, but there was always more to it than met the eye, anyone leading anything went through it..

“When you two say the vows, send me an invite, that goes double if you are in over your head on some backwater world.” Kei was only a padawan he knew that, but he had experience leading men and women at disadvantage, odds against them, that was his thing.

Damn, “stronger?” That wasn't good. Never believing in an unbeatable enemy, “don’t worry I’m back.” The ex general joked, his days of fighting Sith were probably behind him, with the empire gone and his need to protect the republic with it, he’d guess he was retired. Even if he had a soft spot for the men and women on the ground there.

Unknown to him Raien’s crystal still in his chest, had some advantages that would come up time to time, especially tactical ones, One Sith, “Tried getting them fighting each other?” With Sith it didn’t take much to set off a tinderbox, there was always someone ready to take power.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen finished his first glass and ordered another with whiskey. "I'll keep that in mind. And of course you'll be invited Kei." He grinned and took a sip of the whiskey. "To the Vitae, and the wedding." First he got engaged, then he found out his old friend was still alive. Seems things were going very well lately. Of course, there was still the matter of the mentioned sith outbreak. "Thats one of the problems. They believe in one emporer. I've only met him once, but they all swear complete loyalty to him and as far as I've seen he's untouchable. We can weaken them as they'll fight each other, but there's no way we can trick them into cutting off their own head."

[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

All the Sith unified, that was new. “You met him?” He was trying to balance his military training, and act like a Jedi but it was obvious, “one man holding it all together, and you got face to face with him.” Kei half-grinned, if Vulps could do it, someone else could, just a matter of time. He couldn’t think like that, Jedi didn’t go off killing Sith just for being Sith. Conflict on his face, for all the people they squashed beneath their boot, it soon passed, and calmness settled instead.

To the wedding, to Vitae "and to staying alive.” Kei clinked his glass to his friend. He wasn’t a big drinker, liking a strong one rarely on special occasions. Leaning back he rested his arms over the edges of the chair, stretching up his neck it clicked, tense but unwinding.

“What’s next for you, kids?” A solid grin given, hard think about the young vulpesen he knew as a father, but this man in front of him, was a very different man. “Did you ever make Knight?”

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen nodded and released his glass to shirk off a side of his cloak. Pulling down on his tunic next, he would reveal a black mark on the left side of his chest, the mark of the sith. "I had to see him for my joining ceremony. Well guarded and very private. And I assure you, I was terrified that they would sense me as not being one of them." He replaced his clothing and rested back onto the counter.

"As for what me and Alex plan on doing next, well, we aren't completely sure. First well just have to find a way to keep both ourselves, and our kids in one piece." He grinned and took another sip of his whiskey. "As for knight, they actually made me master. Though, never got much farther. Not enough friends in the higher ups. i guess that's one of the reasons I left. Hell, they made an investigator the leader of the shadows before they even thought about me. And that's assuming I ever crossed their minds at all which I doubt I did."

[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

Heat rising from the jungle below, good to be planetside for a while, one of those rare breaks.

His military training was back in his ear. “Who protects him? Does he ever move? Anyone ever called him out?” A Sith emperor backing down from a challenge, he’d never heard of it, but something was different about this one. If he moved, his ship was vulnerable. If you knew who protected him, you had your window in. Shaking off that line of conversation, the old Kei, he still had a way to go to make a Jedi, and balance it.

Back to something more down to earth, than an old general’s wayward questions.

Keeping himself alive, “You’re doing okay so far Vulps, you’re still here.” He nodded with a grin, they were alike like that, survivors. The more he heard, he'd found a lot of people that had fought with them, fallen to the Sith because they fought too hard, or died heroes. He knew it was risky when he’d started that war, they all had, but damn.

“Master Vulpesen,” Kei saluted with a grin. “Whatever happened, it made you who you are,” things worked out like, sometimes rough but they got there, where they needed to be. That was the force for you. "Nobody forgetting your name now." Kei could see how it important it was to his friend, when you worked hard for something, even a simple pat on the back made the world of difference.

Pouring out another round of drinks, for Vulps to if he needed a top up for his new one, “tell me about Vitae,” he was interested, and loosened up now with the whiskey.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Hands and voices. I don't know where to find him, or if he moves around. You're best bet is to capture a voice or hand and somehow rip the intel from their skulls as I'm sure they'd rather die than give it up willingly. As for calling him out, my master Daella Apparine did that. Took him on after serving under him for years. She died in the attempt though." He punctuated his words with a long drink from his mug.

As for [member="Kei Amadis"]' other words, the ex-jedi couldn't help but smile a bit. "It ain't killed me yet. Not that a great deal of the galaxy hasn't tried." He smiled and accepted the extra alcohol into his drink. "The Vitae are a bit of a mix. Jedi philosophy with sith methods. Don't expect me to go condoning the attacks on children and innocents or anything, but we do accept passions and anger as valuable resources in battle. For us the question is not if you have anger, but who or what are you angry at? If you hate the sith as a whole, we may very well reject you. But if you hate the pain and suffering they cause, and that's what you want to end, then feel free to join. Our arms are open."

 

[Kei Amadis]

Loss there too. [member="Daella Apparine"] must have been someone willing to try, for whatever goal she had in mind. Kei understood more of his friends struggles, and more of his drive to do what he was doing, “nobodies untouchable, the force will balance,” heh almost sounding like a Jedi Kei. Vulps was trying to change the galaxy in his own way, and Kei could respect that, a lot.

“Yeah they do that,” his friend grinned, whenever you tried to change or start anything, that’s when everyone everywhere out of the woodwork decided to take their shot, as you were at your most vulnerable, “don’t let them put you down.”

Fully relaxed he didn’t need any more whiskey, putting it down. A mix of Jedi and Epicanthx ideals, the padawan had an idealistic streak in himself yet. Arms open, “keep them open, you’ll get plenty of traction,” Kei admitted. He couldn’t get behind Sith no matter the flag, but he could get behind the message his friend was putting out, fighting for what he believed in and to protect those he cared about.

His own path was taking him toward something else, “Met a silver Jedi, good people, some ex AoL” He nodded, short and sweet, that was his impression. Less politics, or power games and more relaxed, suited him down to the ground.

[member="Vulpesen"]

Spoiler

Congratulations on the map!

 

[Vulpesen]

"Very true. But before we go attacking the sith, I'd like to get a bit more support." He grinned at Kei. "Playing with the big boys now. I'm just trying to stand up and get into the game." He finished his glass and flicked his tail in content. "And don't worry about people putting me down. I seem to somehow stay up no matter what tries to hit me. As for the silver jedi, I've actually quite a few friends among them. I almost helped found their order. Decided to stay loyal to the jedi. Wonder where I'd be now if I still stayed with them.

[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

More Support first, “heh, ain’t that the truth”. Kei rubbed his stubble, palm on his chin, if he’d of lived his life again, he’d have played it safer but that was a different time, different galaxy. Heavy arms resting against the chair, he extended out his feet.

Almost set up the Silver Jedi? “You know Coci? She’s getting married, friends of the order are welcome.” He knew her as a friend, and was told others from around the galaxy would be attending. He might even shave, but don’t hold your breath! Banging out the details on a small datapad for the ceremony he handed it over to his friend.

“What do you know about Coruscant?” He’d only heard rumors, it was one place the Epicanthx regretted not being there for. Leaning back up to listen, arms rested on his knee. Kei rolled around his empty glass, and poured another one, this was going to be tough to hear, the hangover would be worth it for this.

[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen smiled and looked around the bar, his golden eyes observing the area around them. "I'm afraid me and Coci never met and while I almost helped to start the silvers, the word almost is still there. No, I'll simply wait until someone I know a bit better, though feel free to give them my regards." When Kei asked about Corsucant, his tail lowered a bit. "It was captured by the sith near the very start of the war. Its been held ever since, and trust me, things there have changed."

[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

Pay his respects, “you got it bud.” Kei nodded, and sipped that whiskey, becoming more somber, “changed?” His voice was blunt, concerned. “How?” If anything was going to set him off on some damn fool crusade again, this might be it. Vulps would likely easily sense that he was concerned.

Kei had spent a lot of time on Coruscant, defended it against one Sith raid personally and felt a strong connection to the place and his past. The capital used to be the symbol to him of what he defended, and what was the final straw to start the AoL.“Lay it on me Vulps, how bad is it?”

Palms gripped the table, tapping it, have to work on that tension Kei, releasing he rubbed the back of his neck and breathed out.

[member="Vulpesen"]

Mood Music

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen let out a small sigh and leaned back in his seat. "The temple is gone, and whats left has been warped. Few people smile. They walk in fear. Hell, how would you feel if your home was conquered by the sith. And while they aren't getting weaker, I have noticed them becoming more savage. Maybe one day we can fix it, but for now, Coruscant is having some dark times." [member="Kei Amadis"]