Faction Peace Station: Into the Fold (Jedi)

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

"What about the ruined temple on Coruscant?"

She wounded him.

...well, not her specifically. The centuries long childhood of the Anzat ensured that their younglings appreciated that Time was a cruel and fickle mistress. Having traveled across eight hundred years, Sor-Jan had gotten more of a taste of that reality than others of his age. Even when he had visited Coruscant, the planet of his youth, he had avoided so much as looking at where the Great Temple had stood. Surely, whatever ruins remained there were not the bones of the Jedi Temple that he had known.

But, he'd have been lying if he had ever said that he wouldn't long to see those corridors again. To listen outside the door as Master Yoda addressed the current class of younglings, or debate philosophy with Master Jocasta Nu.

Bittersweet memories, of day past. A pained smile appeared on the boy's face, as he merely gave a nod toward the Atrisian girl.

What kind of mystery? "An excellent question," the boy said, turning his head as the pair disembarked into the interior of the station. It was beautiful, and mysterious. Even from the docking platform, Sor-Jan would have had to say that Peace didn't look like anywhere that he had been before. "...for which there does not appear to be any apparent answer," the youth noted cryptically.

"Noriko said that she'd arrived here before us," the boy added, pausing as he attempted to get his bearings. "I believe we'll find her in the library."

"Perhaps we'll learn a few answers along the way."

Hopefully the first of which would be, which way was the gorram library?

Xian Xiao Noriko Ike​

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Between his position with the Judges and his ties with various Jedi and Jedi groups throughout the galaxy, it wasn't hard for Cotan to gain coordinates to Peace station. Clearance to land took a bit longer; even with his nominally being a master in the Silver Jedi Order, the fact that he wasn't technically a Jedi made it a bit of a contentious point about whether to let him land or to tell him to space off. Fortunately for Cotan, however, clearance was eventually given, a landing bay pointed out, and some quarters assigned.

After having been running himself ragged flying around the galaxy for the last few years, it was nice to have somewhere to stop and take a break where he wouldn't outright be expected to do anything. On any planets with the OPA or the Silver Jedi, he'd be expected to take an active role in anything going on that might need Jedi or Jedi-esque interference. Outside of those planets, and he'd be getting hounded by bounty hunters or fighting Sith, or perhaps being noticed by some of the beings in the galaxy that could recognize him due to his prominent role in constantly fighting the Sith.

It was tiresome.

But on Peace station, he could experience some of the relaxation he'd had in the Jedi Temple before he left the NJO, and before that temple got destroyed. He could mostly blend into the crowd of other Force sensitives and be left to his own devices.

It was nice.

Except for one thing.

After three days on the station, he still hadn't managed to get the gatekeeper that ran the entire place to be willing to help him; it generally just ignored him, or decided to say that he sat in too much 'turbulence in the Force' for its liking. Cotan had to roll his eyes at that one—in his experience, those who actively sought to be purely on the side of the Ashla were generally subject to more turbulence than anybody who followed Je'daii-based ideals of balance. Still, the gatekeeper's lack of aid wouldn't have been a problem on any other station. Cotan could have found what he wanted easily.

But this station was the size of a small moon.

And after three days of wandering around constantly, he still hadn't managed to find his way to the library, which was where he had been trying to go the whole time he'd been around. That didn't stop him from running into other interesting things, though—like the pair walking his way just down the hall, one of whom looked very familiar.

"You?" he exclaimed, surprised to see the small boy who'd just been hanging out in the throne room among all the fighting on Zonju V. "What are you doing here?"

Sor-Jan Xantha Xian Xiao Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Xian Xiao Sor-Jan Xantha

Noriko had arrived mostly when reports of the attack on Atrisia had come. news that a ship of jedi had escaped was helpful and she was close enough to try and check out any information pretaining to that. She might have to try and find Jend-Ro Quill but for now as she looked up hearing a familiar voice. Her old master... emphasis on the old... he might look child like but he was older then most of the dirt on the lowest level of coruscant and just as cranky when he didn't have his naptime..... or juice boxes. Speaking of which.... Noriko produced one of thejuice bottle... not quite a box but it was from Saori to go along with the snack cakes.

He had also brought someone she had met sort of and thankfully they had gotten out of there quickly before things went crazy like her having to buy food for an ever growing group he was happy to have around them at the table. Noriko was breathing in and out but she stood in the modified outfit. Form fitted to her slender frame with short hair and her outer cloak of temperature regulating skylar materials. Her saber staff on her hip and she crossed her arms over her chest with a look when they were approaching and offered a smile. "Welcom master." She said it and the library itself was a nice place to be at least.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

"You?"

Blinking, Sor-Jan looked away from the teen with the strawberry hair. There was Random Jedi Nerf Herder #407 standing there, wearing the kind of expression that made Sor-Jan question whether or not he had a good alibi for whatever it was that he was about to be accused of.

Then the boy tilted his head to one side, as a look of almost-but-not-quite recognition. Was he supposed to know who this guy was? Should he know who this guy was?

"What are you doing here?"

Had he sold this guy a HoloNet service contract? That was definitely an accusatory tone. He knew, because he was on the receiving end of being accused of doing this thing or that thing often enough that he could tell an oh kark sort of accusatory tone from a this guy sort of accusatory tone. This was definitely more on the kark side of that spectrum.

Seriously, what had he ever done to Spacer McJorus that he...

...wait.

Spacer McJorus?

"Oh!" the boy suddenly chirped brightly, popping upright as realization at last kicked in. Then, turning his head back toward the teen, said, "Remember... like, remember, I was telling you about that Jedi guy that was trying to talk a Sith to death on Zonju V, and the Sith was just eating these cheese cubes?"

Gesturing over toward Random Jedi #407, the boy said, "That's this guy."

It was then that Noriko made her entrance, eliciting a friendly wave from the boy. "Hi, Noriko," the youngling uttered, breaking from the conversation for a moment.

Which, it was probably rude to talk about a nerf herder right in front of him. So, indicating the women there with him, the boy said, "Noriko, Xian, this is..."

What was his name again? "...uhhh..."

In his defense, he was both a Jedi Master and the CEO of a major corporation. He met a lot of random nerf herders.

"...what was your name again?"

Xian Xiao Noriko Ike Cotan Sar'andor​

 

[Xian Xiao]

She hadn't intended to hurt the feelings of her master, but that's exactly what happened. The Temple on Coruscant had been built, destroyed and rebuilt many times, probably more than the girl could count. It seemed the pain didn't last too long and he returned to the present to address her with a smile.

He didn't have any sort of answer to give her and Xian gave him a slightly dirty look. Assuming the reason they were was to find out what the mystery was, he reminded her not all answers were obvious. Letting out a small huff, they continued on after a few moments.

On their path, they came across another person that remembered Sor-Jan from something. Shaking her head, this was becoming an occurrence that seemed to happen everywhere he went. That was most likely because of his long life and just how well known he was. As she listened, it was clear he had no idea just who this was. This was also something that happened consistently with him. If the time ever came they parted ways, the teen hoped he would remember her.

Giggling, just like the girl she was, she held a hand out for Cotan to shake when Sor-Jan introduced her. At least, she hoped this was expected. Not knowing if Cotan was a Master himself, she didn't bow or curtsy.

"Nice to meet you, Mister...?"

Since her master couldn't provide a name, she gave him a further prompt to give one. Turning to Noriko, they had met previously and lunch had come from that. Being a typical teen, Xian was almost always hungry and as if on cue, her stomach let out a growl.

Hoping there would be some food for her, she didn't dare take what was already offered to Sor-Jan. That would just be rude and she was really trying not to be that way all the time.

Sor-Jan Xantha Noriko Ike Cotan Sar'andor Jend-Ro Quill

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Cotan wasn't entirely sure what to make of the reaction he got.

On the one hand, it was really odd that the seeming-child didn't recognize him, due both to the close proximity they'd been in on Zonju V, and just how much he seemed to be recognized everywhere else. Throughout the space claimed by the OPA, he was recognized as the Grand Marshal of the Judges, one of the leaders in their constant fight against the Sith, and as a guy who had fought Darth Carnifex multiple times.

In Sith space and anywhere allied with them, he had a pretty large bounty and his face was well known as a target.

And most everywhere else he was at least known as that guy that fought Darth Carnifex during the fall of Coruscant, trying to buy time for people to escape from the Jedi Temple before it got entirely ruined.

On the other hand, it was also really refreshing not immediately being recognized by people. He somewhat missed the anonymity.

"Cotan Sar'andor," he said, shaking the red-headed girl's hand, and giving a nod to the other woman. "Grand Marshal of the Judges in the OPA, and last I checked the Silvers call me a master. Blame Coren for that one." He glared down at the one he'd first addressed, though it was ultimately more irritated than outright hostile. "And I was negotiating, thank you very much...and biding time for some reinforcements to arrive. Contrary to what Starchaser might tell you, jumping straight into a fight isn't always the wisest course of action. Not that you have much room to critique, just sitting there and snacking yourself while blood pooled on the floor."

He quickly made mental note of the names he'd been given, though he was still down one. Even with what had happened when Scherezade and her ilk attacked Zonju V, he still didn't actually know who the one in front of him was, either. "Don't think I caught your name in that whole mess," he stated. "Especially not after everybody split and I ended up having to drag off some woman who turned traitor from the Silvers. Care to introduce yourself?"

Sor-Jan Xantha Xian Xiao Noriko Ike

 

[Noriko Ike]

Noriko was listening and she stood there seeing Xian Xiao and Sor-Jan Xantha talking to Cotan Sar'andor . People are weird is the min thing that came to her mind but she didn't say it out loud as the sound of a stomach growling came to her and she moved over to the side slipping one of the snack cakes out and holding it up to the side. Her eyes not leaving her former master and she spoke low. "Here, should tide you over, we have plenty in supply padawan." A smile finally appeared on her face though and she was listening to things that weren't as important to her. She shrugged though and got one of the saori candies for herself as it exploded when she bit down with jellied sweet cream flavor.

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

The smell of food had drawn him.

Well, the siren call of the station had done that, initially. Jerek knew he hadn’t been the only one to hear it, if hearing was the right word, and after learning about the station and its new occupants from those who had been there, the padawan decided to check it out for himself. Peace Station looked more like a giant microbe hanging in space, threatening a blight upon the galaxy. A blight of peace wouldn’t be so bad, but Jerek certainly hoped the name wasn’t as ominous as the station itself appeared.

On the subject of omens, however, Jerek found the appearance of Sor-Jan Xantha on the station to be a telling one. If SJ was here, then the station had already passed the skeptic’s standard, and wasn’t just a bunch of cultists raving that they were the Second Coming of Jedi-ism. The Core was filled with those lunatics now, the rest of the galaxy didn’t need to be infected with their ilk.

Plus, the presence of SJ practically guaranteed fun.

In this case, it seemed to take the form of snack cakes, proffered by some Jedi woman that Jerek didn’t know. She seemed to know SJ, though, giving him a familiar expression as she handed over the treats along with a bottle of juice. The boy would have thought that being seventeen would make him immune to such childish treats, but Jerek found his mouth watering at the sweet goodies being passed among the group.

Jerek almost neglected to take account of the other two members of the group, a demure girl who hovered around SJ like a shadow. Had the master taken another padawan lately? The Jedi youth chuckled at the sight, he’d never actually witnessed SJ with one of his padawans, but the sight of his student standing half a head taller was enough to make him laugh. He hid his amusement by looking down and tossing his shaggy head until he could re-compose himself.

The last member of the group was recognizable to him, though Jerek wasn’t sure from where. For some reason, his brain associated him with Master Starchaser, but this was not him. Whoever he was, the master seemed to be throwing out arguments like they were candy, accusing the other Jedi of inaction on some world or another. Definitely not Master Starchaser, then.

Jerek had figured this station was called Peace because of idealism, not irony.

Then again, what was more Jedi than Jedi Gatekeeping?

The smell of the treats drew Jerek closer still, and decorum demanded that he present himself. Somehow. The presence of so many masters didn’t intimidate him, not so much anymore, but years of having proper etiquette drilled into his head made him struggle with more casual encounters. Jerek convinced himself to forgo the bow. That was something, at least.

As he opened his mouth to speak, though, the sweets-peddling master took a big bite of her snack cake, sending the jelly filling squirting out in a sugary explosion. Jerek acted without thinking, throwing out his hands as he sank into the Force, reaching out to the bits of jelly flying through the air. A little coaxing and nudging convinced them to follow his suggestions, and soon the padawan had a ball of the jelly jetsam floating in the air before the female master. If he was going to overlook the bow, the least Jerek could offer was to keep the Jedi Masters clean of spatter.

”I think this was yours,” Jerek said to the woman, his face split with an unstoppable grin. He nodded to the other Jedi assembled. ”Masters,” he offered in greeting. Then to the youngest of the group, the boy introduced himself as, ”I’m Padawan Jerek Zenduu.”

Sor-Jan Xantha Xian Xiao Noriko Ike Cotan Sar'andor​

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

"Cotan Sar'andor."

Cotan Sar'andor .

Not going to lie, that was not ringing a bell.

It reminded him of Coren Starchaser , but that was a name that the boy only knew by association with the Underground. Similar, when Cotan had given the organization that he was with as OPA, the boy's immediate reaction was "Who?" Seriously, what the heck was an OPA?

And he was a judge? What, like black robes and a court?

"Wait, the judges... wasn't that Bryce Bantam 's thing in the Outer Rim Coalition?"

This was all very confusing. It had been much simpler when it had just been the Underground. Running around the Kathol Outback with Alec Rekali, Joza Perl , and that other guy. What had his name been? Dax... something or other.

Also, don't think he didn't see that snack cake, Noriko Ike !

...and suddenly there was jelly floating in the air?

No, that was just the arrival of yet another freeloader in the form of Jerek Zenduu

"And I was negotiating, thank you very much...and biding time for some reinforcements to arrive."

"You should have studied under Jorus, not Coren," the tow-headed boy quipped in answer to that remark, before adding in introduction, "And my name is Sor-Jan Xantha."

 

[Xian Xiao]

The girl had been present on Coruscant when the Sith attacked the Temple most recently. She hasn't been close enough to get hurt but had witnessed some of the fighting that happened. When she had met Sor-Jan, she had noticed his lightsaber hilt right away. At first, she had been nervous around him. After a short period of time, she decided he had been one of the good ones from that day and left with him.

Over the course of their short time together, they had been to many places and encountered a few things. This was just another one of them to Xian. Since he wasn't arguing with Cotan much, she decided he was a good one as well. His answer cemented her opinion and shook his hand.

"I don't have any fancy titles. Just Xian."

Though she did listen to everything else, she felt the rest of it was addressed to her Master. Taking the snack cake on the sly, she gave Noriko a thumbs up and tore into the treat. Noticing the jelly splatter, she made a mental note to eat hers with more care.

That was when another person joined the small gathering. It was both good and bad that her mouth was open to take a bite of her treat. The teen was almost able to hide her surprise at his sudden appearance. Trying to cover her small and unexpected crush, she took a careful bite of the tart. Turning what was going to be a dreamy sigh at his looks into one of delight at the treat, she wasn't sure if her ruse worked or not.

He was certainly more skilled in the Force and that just added to her crush. Watching as he walked up, she held out a slightly sweaty hand to also shake his.

"Xian Vex Xiao."

No title or anything, just her name and nickname. Swallowing her bite, her eyes never left his face.

Sor-Jan Xantha Jerek Zenduu Noriko Ike Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Noriko Ike]

Noriko looked at Xian Xiao "He is right you know, Jorus... total dilf vibe... Coren kind of like that creepy uncle who pays for your schooling but..." She trailed off when someone took bite of the food and it wasn't the intended one.... Her eyes driftedto take i Jerek Zenduu who was here to reinforce Sor-Jan Xantha and she sighed... this... might not end well.. she was thinking of how much mea culpas her cousin was going to have to offer to Jend-Ro Quill for damages after whatever bad and evil gets into. 'Oh frak' was the only thing she mentally said into the force though instead looking to move and motioned the girl to get away in case of more exploding jelly going places. "These are new cloths Master Sor-Jan please don't ruin them... otherwise I will have to convince Orihimeto introduce you to a matchmaker."

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Just because Coren got me drunk one day and managed to convince me to join the Silver Jedi Order doesn't mean I studied with him," Cotan corrected. "I'm generally pretty scared for anybody who does study with him. It's dangerous enough just being the friend that tries to make him relax from crusading all the time." He nodded at Jerek as the Padawan arrived; he'd never spoken to the kid much, but he'd seen him around multiple times.

"And yeah, they were Bryce's thing, then Dax's, now mine, apparently. And yes, it used to be called the Outer Rim Coalition, not the Outer Planets Alliance. I'm still not really sure why they decided to change the name." He gave a neutral shrug, the gesture summing up all of his thoughts on the name change.

Distinctly none at all, beyond 'okay then.'

Deciding to ignore both the jelly floating in the air and hearing one of his mentors described as a 'dilf' (though he definitely nodded in agreement when Noriko described Coren as a creepy uncle), he decided to press on with his miniature-interrogation of Sor-Jan. "So, what did end up happening to you on Zonju V? I lost track of things after those Sun Guardians jumped in and turned everything into total chaos. One minute there's a fight starting in the throne room, the next minute the battle is over and I'm trying to restore some order to the place with the other authorities there. Everything else is just a blur of 'stay alive, don't let civilians get killed,' the usual sort of mid-battle stuff."

Sor-Jan Xantha Xian Xiao Noriko Ike Jerek Zenduu

 

[Jerek Zenduu]

Jerek's face fell a little when SJ barely gave him a passing glance. The diminutive Jedi was deeply involved in some kind of verbal sparring match with the other master, but the boy would have still appreciated some kind of acknowledgement. At least Master Definitely-Not-Starchaser gave him a nod. He had seen that nod somewhere before, Jerek simply couldn't place where.

A sigh interrupted his thoughts, shifting them back to the youngest of the Jedi gaggle. The red-haired girl seemed to be eating her snack with a considerably thoughtful look, as if the act of it took some dedicated effort. He watched her peculiar method with a quizzical expression, noting that her cheeks had taken on much of the same red color as her hair.

If she couldn't make it as a Jedi, this girl certainly had a potential career in professional eating.

"Xian," he repeated her introduction, taking the proffered hand. Jerek tried not to react at the sudden dampness between their palms, unsure if that was jelly from the snack or something else. Xian's eyes watched his face intently, making Jerek wonder if he had something stuck in his teeth. A nervous hand came up to brush back his hair, which probably didn't need adjusting at all. "Nice to meet a padawan of SJ's."

Jerek glanced in the direction of his master friend, both in the hopes of some recognition, and to look somewhere else than into Xian's intense black eyes.

No, nothing? Okay then.

He dropped his hand from the greeting, holding it behind him so he could wipe whatever that was on the back of his robes. Jerek smiled at the younger teen, then caught the end of the other woman's teasing at SJ. "A matchmaker?" the boy asked, unable to suppress a chuckle at the thought of his friend tied down in matrimony to anything that wasn't a baked good. "Unless she's cooling on a windowsill or being peddled by Youngling Scouts, I don't think his perfect bride exists."

Xian Xiao Sor-Jan Xantha Noriko Ike Cotan Sar'andor​

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

"Coren kind of like that creepy uncle..."

Bobbing his head as Noriko Ike spoke, the boy just chimed, "Right, that's..."

Hold the phone. Creepy uncle? What the Hutt was an uncle? And why were they creepy? "...wait, what?" the boy uttered, craning his head around to look up at the woman with an entirely confused and skeptical expression on his face.

He'd been raised by the Jedi since he was an infant. He had no idea how these family units were supposed to function, but he didn't think that they were supposed to be creepy. And how was Coren anyone's uncle anyway?

Also, Jerek Zenduu and Noriko were acting like a total peanuts gallery right now. Matchmaker? Youngling Scouts? What even were these people going on about?

At least Xian Xiao wasn't babbling inanely. She just seemed to be taking it all in. That was good. Just meeting one of these nerf-herders could likely be overwhelming. As a group, it was sure to be intimidating, but she seemed to be taking it like a champ.

"Outer Planets Alliance?" the boy uttered, echoing back the phrase that had been dropped by Cotan Sar'andor , as the youth returned his attention on the man. "That's... well..." the boy began, mulling over the identity and branding in his mind. OPA? Really? "I guess that's a good description for what it is," he rationalized aloud finally.

Outer Rim. Outer Planets. Sure. Why not.

...what had happened on Zonju V?

"The stand off was getting to a point that was only to get more people killed," the boy recalled aloud, recalling Scherezade deWinter having said something about killing them all to the last one standing. Or something to that effect.

"Your opposition's forces were willing to retreat, but their leader seemed more the 'die on your feet' type, so I dragged her off the planet myself."

Also, Jerek's earlier comment about Youngling Scouts was making him totally want some thin mints right now.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Meeting the gaze of Noriko, the teen blinked her eyes and just nodded. These people had been around far longer than she had. The girl had only recently left Coruscant and prior to that hadn't been very close to the Temple there. None of them could have even known she was there. Not entirely understanding the conversation going on around her, she started to stare at her treat. It was better than staring at Jerek or at least not as rude.

That was until he started speaking again.

"Nice to meet you too, Jerek."

Looking at her Master for a moment, she turned her attention back to Jerek and shrugged just slightly.

"He has taken me many places and this Galaxy is just so big. How did you meet him?"

While she waited on his answer, she brought her snack back to her mouth for another bite. Since he was still involved with the adult talk, she was trying to be patient. Smiling just a little at his last comment, she couldn't help but agree.

Finishing the treat, she no longer had anything to keep her hands occupied so she stuck them into her pockets.

Noriko Ike Sor-Jan Xantha Jerek Zenduu Cotan Sar'andor