Faction The Prodigal Padawan

[Cerys Dyn]

She had pleaded her case. Sought forgiveness. And now she stood before the council chamber, staring at the narrow crack where the doors would, she hoped, soon part...and the council would bid her return to the Order's fold.

Every second that passed stretched into an eternity.

If she could rewrite the last several months, Cerys would. She would have handled the revelation of her former Oathwarden master's true nature with more composure. The news of her parentage had shaken her profoundly. She had recoiled, denied the truth of Master En-Vala’s role as her mother, and fled into the galaxy in search of another master within the Oathwarden Order.

If that had been all she’d done, perhaps her request to return would raise less concern.

But it was not all she had done.

No. What she had done was far worse than fearing the truth and running. She had abandoned Brandyn, left Balun and their team of Republic intelligence operatives stranded amid a Sith ambush. While their lives hung in the balance, her thoughts had turned only to faking her death and escaping.

It was more than hope that kept her eyes fixed on the crack in the doors. Shame rooted her in place. Shame for believing anyone would support a deserter. Shame for thinking herself worthy of forgiveness. Shame for the un-Jedi path she had trodden, for the darkness she had flirted with.

Cerys watched the door, silently pleading that they would let her stay, and praying she could find some sliver of herself worthy of returning.

@Open​

 

[Ala Quin]

It was mostly relief that Ala felt. Relief for the padawan's safe return. Despite Balun's insistence that Cerys had survived the Black Sun ambush, Cerys Dyn had officially been listed as presumed dead, and the Order had not expended precious resources to find her.

She was more than happy to have been proven wrong. Cerys was safe. Safe was good.

When the door hissed closed behind the Togruta, Ala turned to the other council members. "I am of the opinion that mercy be granted in this case, with conditions...but if you have any problem with leniency in this matter, please speak up. Any consequences you see as necessary, I welcome your input."

For all the seriousness of the situation, an idea had latched onto Ala's innate mischief and it was not letting go.

| Tag: @Council |​

 

[Balun Dashiell]

THE PRODIGAL PADAWAN
INVENTORY: Jedi Robes | Lightsaber & K-16 Bryar Pistol
TAGS: Ala Quin | Cerys Dyn

If Balun had expected a hero's welcome, this wasn't it.

The Jedi Council were in the next room, the chambers where the greatest among the Masters deliberated over the Order's current and future actions, were today focusing on what to do about Cerys Dyn. It didn't feel like a victory for Balun and didn't replicate the image of a welcoming home he had pictured in his head. This was the standard procedure, he supposed, but he couldn't help but feel some of the tension Cerys currently bore on her shoulders.

He had successfully infiltrated an Imperial compound in the midst of a battlefield to free Cerys Dyn from captivity, undetected by the Imperials within, and then retrieved her Lightsaber, managing to get out in time for the Republic Fleet to pick them up before the war was over.

There had been no mission, no official orders. Hell, it was almost like the Order had written her off as lost, but he had refused to believe it, and against his Master's cautioning, Balun had pursued any hint of information about her whereabouts along the way.

He had found her on Genarius, yet she had evaded him during a battle against the Sith-Imperials. Perhaps most would have taken her evasion as a clear sign of not wanting to be found, but Balun had been stubborn for answers. To at least know she was safe, regardless of whether or not the Order was to be her home.

Hosnian Prime had been a fluke incident, a lucky break when he had sensed her presence during the strike, and now they were back on Naboo within the heart of the Jedi Order, and Balun stood with his back to the corridor wall, watching Cerys quietly fretting over the coming answer of the Jedi Council.

Her anxiety was understandable. He couldn't be sure how many in the Order were privy to where Cerys had gone, what she had experienced since leaving the strike team on Sarko IV, but Balun had heard rumours. The Blackwall, at one stage, was accompanied by his Master's deep concern that he might take into Sith Territory in order to go looking for Cerys. Perhaps Ala Quin hadn't thought it likely, but here and now, Balun felt good that he had done all that he could to ensure a positive outcome.

Cerys was here, safe among friends, or perhaps in her mind, Allies was the better term. She could decide to make of her future, whatever she saw fit, without anyone needing to worry for her safety and well-being. Out of captivity, away from Sith influence. Here, where she was cared for and appreciated, regardless of whether or not she accepted the truth.

Jedi Master: Ala Quin
Major Faction: The High Republic
Sub-Faction: Jhaessa Prime
Conglomerate: Dashiell Incorporated™
Subsidiary Company: Dashiell Retrofit™​

"Speech"
'Thought'​

 

[Casaana]

Cerys Dyn | Ty'Raj Vex | Balun Dashiell | Ala Quin

Pulling temple duty was always a drag, sure there was always something going on, but it meant stopping whatever she was working on and figuring it out for the day. Probably helped with diplomacy and just the smooth running of the temple as a whole, but the young Padawan thought of it as a huge distraction from whatever work or lesson she was currently immersing herself with. Which this week was preparing for the upcoming Festival of Light. It seemed like half the planet had taken up with the idea, a break from the gloom of endless galactic setbacks and a chance to enjoy and hope. Casaana had been seated at the reception desk going over various recipes while trying to think of ways to make them more Naboo-like or representative of other planets in the High Republic when the quiet was interrupted by someone walking across the stone entryway. Looking up at the newcomer, she was greeted with a large older man dark hair shot through with twin white streaks extending down from his temples to frame his face and fall down his shoulders. To the Padawan, he looked like an adventure from one of the fantasy holos.

And that was how Casaana found herself escorting Ty'Raj Vex through the halls of the temple and towards the council chambers. After verifying he was a Jedi with the database, of course. "Do you have a sword?" She asked him, before continuing without giving him much of a chance to answer. "Because you look like someone who would have one. Not a lightsaber I mean, because everyone does, but like made of metal and stuff?" It was simply her latest line of questioning that had been going on for the last few minutes of their walk as she talked around the lollipop stick poking out of her mouth. "Anyways, if you do, Imma need that, and your blaster before you go in to see the council. Sorta a 'why would you need it' thing to go in armed. This is a no fighting place, but you keep your saber. We all have one." She shrugged and switched which cheek her candy was resting in with a flick of her tongue.

Approaching the closed double doors that led into the Council Room, Casaana jumped from talking to Ty'Raj over to Cerys almost mid-sentence. "You're going to have to wait a bit before being called. Hey Cerys, still waiting on your thing?" She offered the older Padawan (who was taller than her, but only because montrals were cheating) a bright smile while holding another sucker out to her. "I'm sure it'll be okay. I started a fire in the dormitories and only got a stern lecture and a few weeks of extra duties." As an aside to Ty'Raj, she added, "We're not allowed to work on combustion engines in our rooms anymore. Or maybe that's just me? Anyways, there's a rule about it now. On the bright side, I figured out what was wrong with it!"

 

[Ty'Raj Vex]

Casaana Balun Dashiell Cerys Dyn

Vex was not comfortable in settings this polished; that much was clear in the way he kept to himself while following after the youngling, letting her chatter fill the space between them. His good eye shifted toward the sticky-fingered child, and he made little effort to hide the mild disdain that touched his expression at the sight of the sweet and the mess it threatened to leave behind.

"Do you always ask strangers about their blades?" His pale gaze shifted briefly toward the council doors, then back again. "That's not a wise habit to keep... Not every stranger will take kindly to it, and likely one day you'll ask the wrong man.... I'm not here to start trouble," he said. "But I don't hand over a weapon in a place I don't know... If your council won't see me armed, they can tell me that themselves."

The dryness in his voice sat somewhere between amusement and disbelief as he listened to the sticky fingered youth.

"I'll keep it in mind… and try to remember I'm not letting you anywhere near an engine unsupervised. Starting a fire in the dormitories and calling it a learning experience is a… bold strategy, Padawan. I won't ask what else you've tried to repair in your room."

Then his gaze moved toward Cerys by the doors, and some of that rough humor faded.

"You waiting to be called in?" he asked, softer now. "That waiting part's usually worse than the conversation itself."

 

[Connel Vanagor]

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF THE NOT SO INNOCENT
NABOO TEMPLE
OUTSIDE THE COUNCIL CHAMBER

Omega Squad Every Day Gear Locations

• Michael, Gabriel, Azrael, Sariel, Raphael, Jeremiel, Connel, Raguel
  [Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]
• 
  Rides
  
  • "Enterprise" Station Ship
  • "Jedi Defender" Corvette
  • Null Vector
  • X-wing
  • Speederbike
  • Iron Psalm
  Gear/Armor
  
  
  • Gear(“Bodycam” Datapad, UAD Drone, link to Seraphim AI and Nanotech included)
  • Lightsaber(Dawn’s Light)
  • Lightsaber(Morning Light)
  SURGICAL - CRYBERNETIC IMPLANTS
  
  • Repli Implants that would be for the limbs
  • Bonemer enhancements to strengthen structure of the body
  • Muscle enhancements.
  • Hemo enhancements for blood flow
  • Hawkeye implants for eyes
  • Advanced Medical Implant
  • Scentzy
  • Injected Nanotech upgrades
  
  
  
• Shadow Sanctuary - Enterprise

Was Connel Vanagor truly a Jedi? Depends on who you ask. Others? Yeah probably. Him? No way, to Connel, he doesn’t deserve the title. Yet he was here.

Was Connel Vanagor truly a Shadow? No. He has had some training in the field but the field takes not years, if not decades to truly be rooted. He is a Weapon Master who got lucky with some Special Forces Training.

That being said, Connel does have some skills. Had he just gotten there? Had he been there the entire time? Who can say? It doesn’t really matter either as there he was, back against the wall, arms folded, watching.

The Togruta was in bad enough shape, she did not need the crowd forming, helpful or not. He did not like the entitlement of this individual that the Padawan Casaana was escorting, but that was probably his life, his culture. Balun was clearly a bad Dejarik player, he was pining, and Casaana was happy to be here. Nothing wrong with anyone in the collective, even the pretty boy.

None of this helped the Togruta girl.

A big part of him wanted to, but it remained suppressed, not out of anxiety or hubris or anything. Perhaps there was more to the story than what little he knew of it. No sense speaking out of turn. He could make a comment about what he had heard said already, but better to let things play out.

TAGS • ARE • Rix Braji • Cerys Dyn • Balun Dashiell • Casaana • @Ty’Raj Vex
Personal Effects - Omega Squad Loadouts​

 

[Rix Braji]

The familiar tingle of sorrow had led Rix towards the council chamber. Once he rounded a corner of the marble and gold hallway, he lay eyes on the source of the disquiet: a Togruta girl standing in front of the closed doors. She appeared to be studying them. No, transfixed. Paralyzed to the spot.

Rix' heart sank into his boots as at least what he though to be intuitive understanding dawned on him.

He had been where she was both emotionally and physically not too long ago. Granted, the Grandmaster's decision to admit him into the Order had been ultimately unilateral as he had served out the NJO's punishment for his crime, and, graciously, he would not be tried or sentenced twice.

With a deep but almost silent sigh to steel himself, he approached the group of Jedi.

OPEN​

 

[Colette]

Ala Quin

It felt like a dilemma that Colette had thought over before in preparation for something like this. The greater good. The one over the many. Many different cases that drastically depending on which angle you could see it from. Except in this case she knew that there were angles that would prove impossible to get until after the fact.

Usually the choices she had made based on poor or entirely lacking information were for decisions that only affected herself. This time she held the fate of another being in her hand and it felt daunting.

Colette's gaze scanned the room before she spoke.

"We can't forgive her," she chose her words carefully. "Only she can do that."

"She was scared, ashamed, and alone. I'd be more amazed if she hadn't flirted with the dark after that. As far as I am concerned that's not even worth bringing up. The only relevant part in any of this is that she chose to abandon people who needed her. The report I got didn't mention explicitly if people got harmed or if they died because of it."

"My judgment hinges on that."

 

[Ala Quin]

Her fingers danced over the controls on the arm rest of her council chamber chair. Ala brought up a holo read out of the after action reports from the invasion. Her eyes scanned over the now familiar words, seeking some answer to Colette's query.

"Brandyn logged her as missing in action. He did not weigh up her abandonment when assessing the fallout," she said, musing more than answering.

"Forgiveness should be our preset. She will certainly have a measure of self-reflection and reconciliation," she said, still in her musing tone, and then her timbre changed to something more assertive, "but consequences are not undone by forgiveness."

Finally, her fingers stopped scrolling. Her heart sank as she read over the names of the fallen. "Five of the seven members of the Republic Intelligence unit assigned to Knight Sal-Soren were fatally wounded in the ambush. As were many others assigned to other mission leaders on the day. Trying to parse what difference Cerys' presence would have made to that number is...difficult. Perhaps Brandyn would be inclined to revise his report and give some estimation. He is, however, off world at this time...I have been unable to get him on the holo."

| Tag: Colette @Council |​

 

[Cerys Dyn]

She had to be a different, more open Cerys. One that welcomed friendship, and the kind of compassion that came with lingering feelings of belonging. It was not easy to deprogram from years of training though.

So, she crossed her arms and turned around abruptly. Her face was preparing its trademarked disgust at people, and instinct she had learned that sufficed for driving people away. But then she saw Balun, met his eyes just briefly. And she paused.

Her arms fell to her side. And a smile forced its way onto her face. It appeared decidedly forced.

"Yes," she said, the word barely making out between her toothy smile, "I am still waiting for my...thing."

She wanted to scream. Or hide. Or hide and scream. In any order, for as long as she could.

"I am very glad for you Casaana. I am sure the fire was very concerning." She didn't dislike the young Jedi. Far from it. She was quite endearing, and had Cerys allowed herself she might have actually considered her...never mind.

Her attention moved to the man that Casaana. "I am awaiting the verdict. I betrayed the Order. And do not deserve mercy...yet I ask for it nonetheless..."

Her arms had folded again, her brow furrowing deeply. She shrugged it off, and stopped hugging herself.

"Forgive me," she said, looking down. The presence of a newcomer washed over her. An understanding born of a similar path that had been walked. Emotional baggage that would rhyme with hers. She looked up, made eye contact, and tried to smile.

Balun Dashiell Connel Vanagor Rix Braji Ty'Raj Vex Casaana​

 

[Balun Dashiell]

THE PRODIGAL PADAWAN
INVENTORY: Jedi Robes | Lightsaber & K-16 Bryar Pistol
TAGS: Ala Quin | Cerys Dyn

He met Cerys Dyn 's gaze briefly as she turned to him, offering a single nod in encouragement. He didn't smile or offer sympathy, but kept his expression stoic, confident in her ability to see this situation through to whatever conclusion awaited her.

Casaana looked familiar, but Balun couldn't place where or even if they had run into each other previously; it could simply have been a case of mistaken identity that led him to think he had seen her somewhere before. Connel Vanagor , on the other hand, Balun had met several times, and he offered the other man a lift of his head, a reverse nod in greeting. Ty'Raj Vex and Rix Braji were both people Balun hadn't bumped into within the Temple, and so, given the small and unfamiliar group's presence, he remained overall silent and observant.

For Cerys, someone who had openly protested the sentiment of friendships in the past, she had unintentionally found herself surrounded by a few friendly faces, a sense of irony that didn't escape him as he remained leaning against the wall, wishing he could smoke a cigarra while they awaited the Council to call her inside.

His brows furrowed when Cerys spoke of betraying the Order; It was a harsh way to put it, but he wouldn't offer his input. If that was how she chose to see her actions, then perhaps she would take something from the experience. Frankly, Balun didn't feel betrayed, yet he hadn't spoken to their team leader, Brandyn Sal-Soren , in quite some time either. The Master was a busy man, and Balun was too small on the list of big fish in the Order to warrant an appointment. Nor did he have the need, mind you.

There was plenty of time for self-reflection, it seemed. The minutes spent waiting felt long and difficult, but Balun's mind wandered to his own time within the Jedi Order. He had joined the Order of the High Republic much older than most, having grown up within that of the Galactic Alliance and left to pursue his own life at sixteen years old. Never had he strayed from his faith in the lightside, but there had been times when he had looked at the New Jedi Order with doubt towards their bias and judgment towards those who didn't fit their criteria of what was deemed acceptable.

The Order here on Naboo had become his new home away from home, yet all people were fallible and capable of falling into those same shortcomings. Personally, his absence had left him isolated, lacking close relationships with his peers, which he had decided a short time ago to endeavour to change.

Jedi Master: Ala Quin
Major Faction: The High Republic
Sub-Faction: Jhaessa Prime
Conglomerate: Dashiell Incorporated™
Subsidiary Company: Dashiell Retrofit™​

"Speech"
'Thought'​

 

[Casaana]

Cerys Dyn | Ty'Raj Vex | Balun Dashiell | Ala Quin | Connel Vanagor | Rix Braji | Colette

Casaana didn't recoil when Cerys turned on her, smiling instead as her fellow Padawan controlled herself and redirected her feelings. Delicate social situations weren't really her thing, she missed a lot of the cues that other people gave off as them just doing something or being from another plant's culture, but having the Force acted as a type of cheat, letting her read people directly. And right now she could feel the simmering anxiety, fear, and self-loathing poorly concealed under the Togruta's thin veneer of calm.

The antechamber to the council room was filling up fast, Balun had already been there when she'd arrived with Ty'Raj, but now Knights Vanagor and Rix had arrived, both without a word. Leaning in beside Cerys, Casaana tucked the candy she'd offered into her pocket and whispered to her, "You regret it, I doubt they'll banish you forever. But you're broadcasting hard, take a moment and center yourself. The Masters will want you in control of your emotions." She then gave her a quick hug before drawing back. "Actually the fire wasn't that bad. It was the carbon monoxide and fuel fumes from a little spill I had that really messed me up. One of the reasons I added a chem sniffer onto my droid. Headache for days." She blasé added as if it were no big deal.

Standing next to Cerys, she shot the others in the room a steady stare, challenging them to keep up their imposing wall of silence. Against Masters who'd surely faced down death more times than they could recall or had handled delicate negotiations with the fate of systems in the balance, the effect likely wasn't much, but the sentiment was there. There silent presence loomed uncomfortably outside the Council Chamber and likely wasn't helping Cerys' calm. Neither for that matter was Balun, who almost seemed to feel as guilty as Cerys did for abandoning her duty. And yes, she knew him from the New Jedi Order, and the Jedi Order they were part of now. She didn't just have a face, she was the face in just about every Jedi organization, temple, and enclave across the galaxy, having joined the majority of them at one time or another in search of a Master and teachings. There were few Jedi she didn't know at least by reputation, though in her younger days she'd done a better job keeping her head down and to herself. Still, none of them were helping the penitent Padawan's situations by imitating silent statues.

 

[Rix Braji]

As he met Cerys' eyes, his heart panged again. In them, he saw a similar pain he had been cold to in Miona's on Taris when he had been lead away in stuncuffs. He wouldn't be cold to Cerys' now.

He returned a smile that was much easier than hers but still cracked. Out of that crack seeped a profound understanding of what the shame that came after a transgression against the Order felt like. Of the hopelessness in realizing that maybe this storm did not have an eye. Of the desperate loneliness realizing that the scar it had carved was set, never to completely fade. Of the vulnerability to ask for external forgiveness.

"Believe in yourself and the Council may find it easier to follow suit," he said, voice inviting rather than demanding.

He spoke not from experience but with advice, that which he would have given himself a few weeks ago if he could have. He had felt so small in that chamber with the Grandmaster, but it was more than the physically empty space. It was that he didn't feel he deserved to take up the small fraction of it that he had.

Yes, Grandmaster Quin's decision had still aligned itself with Rix' desire. In the same way, the Council may return a favorable judgement of Cerys all on their own, but a little self-confidence, even feigned, wouldn't hurt her. It might even engrain itself over time and stick along for the ride. It'd serve her well.

It'd serve him well. He had a long journey ahead of him too.

Maybe he could still take his own advice if he ever met Knight Corazona von Ascania again.

Cerys Dyn Balun Dashiell Casaana
Ty'Raj Vex Connel Vanagor​