Paladin

[Placeholder 0128]

There wasn't very much information on this one. The normally insightful informants that he'd put to the task of vetting the woman had all run into their fair share of trouble. Cedric had been half tempted to throw the file away and forget she ever existed, but his instincts had told him to wait.

If one had such little information available to the public, then it tended to be for good reason. With that in mind, Cedric had sent a brief letter of invitation to the final candidate. The backbone of the alliance had already been formed, but another gun could spell the difference between life and death in the field.

He awaited her within the office of a storage facility on the outskirts of Ession's capital city. It was a forgotten place, and far enough out of the way that no one of any importance would stumble across it by chance alone.

It was the ideal meeting area for talks of overthrowing the government.

Clad in a simple black hoodie, Cedric leaned back in the office chair, his gaze never leaving the listings scrawled across his datapad. He had come alone, or at least it looked that way.

The question was whether she would do the same.

[member="Losena Kyru"]

 

[Darth Athora]

Losea had been without a cause for several years now. Ever since she stopped running with those band of rebels in Imperial space, she had been taking odd jobs for folks throughout the galaxy with the occasional merc job from time to time. But now, she was being called for something of great importance once more.

She arrived at the secluded location she was summoned to as swiftly as she could, only arriving a few minutes later than she was supposed to. Traffic happens. She entered the facility to find it mostly abandoned. Rust and cobwebs covered much of the facility and a slight odor was in the air. Losena thought nothing of it and proceeded to the main office where her employer was awaiting her.

She stepped inside, wearing casual clothing, gray on top of gray. Her favorite color. Her pure white hair was tied into a tight bun at the back of her head and she was without her glasses at this time as they were safely held within her jacket pocket.

"Sorry for my lateness. Had some last minute business to take care of. Loose ends and whatnot. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Losena Kyru, at your service."

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

[Placeholder 0128]

He'd almost expected her not to come.

The woman's presence within the empyrean as felt long before she ever set foot into the rusted out warehouse. Cedric did well not to make his attentions obvious, though she could certainly feel him too, a calm presence amidst the chaos of a bustling city. His eyes narrowed as she stepped into view; the woman didn't look like a soldier.

Then again, those that found themselves in this line of work rarely advertised their true nature to the public. He himself had opted to dress casually after all.

"Cedric Grayson," his gaze met hers as he rose from the desk. A hand was offered. "It's alright, I tend to be late to just about anything I attend, so I understand." A hint of good humor laced the knight's words, "So," he would settle back down into his chair whether she shook his hand or not. "My advisers couldn't find anything on you other than a recommendation."

The humor faded, replaced by a deathly serious curiosity. "Exactly who am I dealing with, Miss Kyru?"

[member="Losena Kyru"]

 

[Darth Athora]

Losena graciously shook his hand as she stepped closer to the desk. A smile graced her lips as they shook hands. Once Cedric took his seat, she took one herself in front of the desk. She lifted her right leg and crossed it over the other, getting as comfortable as she could. She was willing to lower her guard at this moment, fearing nothing from this man as she could tell his intentions were of good nature, whatever they might be.

"Well, Mr. Grayson. You are dealing with Losena Kyru of the Gray Paladins. A long forgotten order of force users that has recently resurged...kinda. Some call us unorthodox Jedi, some call us warmongers, we just have a different way of defending against tyranny and chaos."

Losena did her best to explain who she was to him. She did not want to keep any secrets. She had no reason to. She wanted to earn this man's trust and honesty was the best way to do that.

"We have pamphlets if you'd like to know more." She returned the humor with some of her own.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

[Placeholder 0128]

The knight snickered at her joke.

"I can't say I'm not interested," his arms folded about his chest as he leaned back in his chair; his thoughts rolling over her words.

Gray Paladins. He'd heard of them many years ago. Information about their ragtag sect of the order had always been rather scarce, but he'd spent more than his fair share of time pouring over their history within the old archives. During his time as a padawan, he had prided himself on understanding every minor facet of the old order, even those the late council had deemed radical in nature. Knowledge was power, and understanding what he might call friend or foe in the future had seemed wise at the time.

It seemed that wisdom had paid off.

"I've read about your group, and I can confidently say that I certainly have no problem with their existence. There is more than one way to combat the enemy," the knight's smile faded, "That being said, the threat is very real. I selected you, Miss Kyru, because we've a situation on our hands. A situation that's been allowed to grow unchecked for far too long now."

A wave of his fingers activated the holoemitter bolted into his desk. An image of the Sith emblem came to life between them.

"I intend to right that wrong."

[member="Losena Kyru"]

 

[Darth Athora]

A smirk grew onto Losena's face. "Bout damn time."

Losena was fully aware of the Imperial threat to the galaxy. She had plenty of run ins with their kin and knew what they were capable of and what extremes they were willing to go to in order to spread their false hope and order throughout the galaxy. They were a plague. Losena was the cure.

"Tell me where you need me, Mr. Grayson."

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

[Placeholder 0128]

He was glad she understood.

"We'll be launching an operation to assist a rebel cell on the world of Jaminere very soon. That will be our first real mission; it's imperative that we succeed."

A piece of flimsi with a comm code scrawled across it was held out for Losena.

"This will let you access our private frequency. When you feel ready, send us a message and we'll send you the coordinates of our fleet. From there, we move on Jaminere."

[member="Losena Kyru"]