Private They're Knights, all of them....

[Rex Valhoun]

Vesti, home to The Order of The Lion, the most elite fighting force in The Elysium Imperium, and a completely unimpressive facility given the wealth of The Imperium and the importance of The Knights. It had only essential buildings...a landing zone, barracks, armory, et cetera. This was partially due to the fact the base was built a long time ago, but it worked out. It fulfilled its' purpose and it wasn't something that particularly stuck out any more than other bases.

Today King Rex Valhoun was present. He would be speaking to The Order of The Lion to address recent events, including the formation of The Imperium, and the situation on Damascus Station regarding The Nomadic Peoples, The Dobson Family, and finally he would address The Brotherhood of The Maw and The Second Hyperspace War.

He stood on a platform outside, overlooking about a hundred Knights. Behind them, mountains for miles. As a light breeze kicked up snow off the frozen ground, Rex took a deep breath of crisp, cold air, and exhaled forming a large cloud of steam. His nose was red from the cold and his lips were numb. This environment was harsh, but that was good as it meant The Knights would be trained to survive the cold. It reminded him of his time in the wilderness long before Heath adopted him...but that had been hot and wet, not cold and frozen.

He continued to stand on the platform as more and more knights showed up.

 

[Jude Brax]

Jude awoke to the sound of heavy boots scurrying about the general barracks, ears rang as he could hear the constant chatter of the Svaari and Knights racing to put on all of their gear. His large feet swung over the cot to meet the cold a floor of the barracks, reaching out within the force to be able to see the scenes in front of him. His natural sight betrayed him since birth, but his ability within the force granted him the ability to take in the commotion. It was a frenzy, surely someone would have made the Sentinel aware of any orders to mobilize. Yet, orders had been scarce recently with the absence of the Meistra, Martin Dux, looming large over the Order of the Lion.

Not only had the lack of a presence of the Meistra taken a toll on the order, but the absence of most of the High Command of the Order confused the Miralukan. After eleven years of dutiful service to the Order and to King Heath Valhoun, Jude could see the Order stagnating even with their ever increasing numbers. More and more younglings flooded the bunks and cots of the barracks and with the rank and experience, Jude found himself one of the natural leaders of these commoners in the Order of the Lion.

His bulky hands reached out to halt the path of one of the younglings, his head cocked in confusion at the Svaari. Without hesitation the youngling informed him, "Some sort of formal address sir...". The boy paused a moment for a moment before leaning in and whispering, "They say the King has come to speak".

Jude nodded and sent the boy on his way to prepare, while beginning to gather his own formal wear. Not much was known of the Second King around these parts of Spindle IV. Most of the older rank had their own opinions, with most joining the Empire due to the leadership of King Heath Valhoun. They shed blood and sweat in service of the King and his commitment to unite the galaxy under his rule, fighting his enemies and protecting him every chance they could get. But with this new King, it almost seemed as if the Order wasn't needed as most wars and conflicts have ceased. They found themselves training more and more for scenarios that would never happen, it seemed as if the Empire was comfortable with the control of their little corner of the galaxy. This worried Jude as he and others really believed in Heath Valhoun's vision for a united galaxy and a united Empire.

He grunted and moaned as his stocky frame stood up to stretch, moving his way behind all of the others to the door. Although he had his concerns, Jude will always find himself loyal to the cause, the Empire and his King.

The massive presence of the MIralukan was the last to enter the courtyard, taking his place behind the rest of the Order. Standing tall and firm, he observed the King through the force, noting his mannerisms and how he acted as a leader. It seemed although most of the rank here was used to the harsh environment, their new King didn't seem to favor it.

Cold wind whipping through the crowd, as Jude listened curiously to his King.

 

[Rex Valhoun]

As the cold continued to beat against the 6"2 tall king, bypassing his overcoat, it seemed the crowd was as large as it would get. Among them all, one in particular stood out. A Miraluka...a blind species. Rex personally didn't know much about the species but he knew they often became very powerful in The Force, and this particular knight looked particularly large. He could be perfect material for a plethora of jobs, most involving intimidation, or at least a certain natural aura that demanded respect. Most wouldn't disrespect a man as tall as this Miraluka.

Now that his focus was on the man, he felt that he had seen him around before. He wondered how long this Knight had served. Before Martin Dux seemingly disappeared, Rex had done a large portion of his training with him, and thus he didn't know most of these Knights. He made a mental note to speak with the man before departing later, then cleared his throat and began his speech,

"Knights of The Imperium! I come to you today not as your King, nor your Meistras, but as a fellow Knight of The Order. I will be addressing events in The Imperium, and I will explain how we will handle them. So to begin with I want to make clear that The Imperium is The Elysium Empire. These entities are one and the same, it's simply a change of diplomatic policy and looks. This Imperium will continue to protect the freedoms and liberties of our citizens and therefore This Order will continue to fulfil that duty.

Secondly, Arken Dobson and his family. This order is the one place Arken cannot infiltrate. This is the one pure place in an Imperium stained with corruption. Therefore it is our most vital mission to search for Arken. He is the head of the snake. Reports claim that his network has taken a hit. Senators are changing policies or retiring, and agencies such as The Elysium Intelligence Agency have seen a drop in their numbers lately. However Arken Dobson is still a very wealthy, very powerful man, with many connections and a family with a talent for chaos. He must be found and eliminated. As King, I am directing a massive search outside of Imperium space. We will utilize our status as diplomats, and our ability to fit in a crowd to search these planets without causing a diplomatic standoff, which would allow The Dobsons to escape.

This search will not include Damascus Station. I cannot risk an escalation of tensions on that station. You have free reign, but remember your creed, and play this game smart and safe. We don't need any more problems.

The final situation I need to touch on is The Second Hyperspace War. As you all know we are officially at war with The Brotherhood of The Maw as a member of a large coalition of nations, some very different from our own. I feel that I need to warn you all that one day that war will reach us. We can't pick and choose which battles we fight anymore. The galaxy needs us. Csilla was the result of my father's leadership. Tython is the result of mine. We contributed to one of the largest battles since Geonosis, and we won. If we continue to fight The Maw everywhere they show their faces, we will destroy them. Just this once, our limited isolationism is no longer an option.

Thank you. Is Elysium Mes Galia!!!"

 

[Jude Brax]

Jude stood tall behind the crowd, purposely trying to remain skeptical of the man that will lead this Empire for the foreseeable future. It was hard to bear harsh thoughts about the man as he seemed to hold himself highly. Rex certainly looked the part of a King and for sure spoke to the masses just as his father did before him. The crowd reacted throughout with mumblings of support as they saw their King in his full force of authority. A swell of pride grew within the Miralukan as the state of Empire and her plans were finally delivered to the Order. It finally seemed like orders would be coming down to mobilize and put to work these knights of the order. Jude could see the excitement grow on the faces of the younger generation of knights, they were elated to have a sense of purpose once more under this King.

The crowd erupted into a roar once the speech concluded with students clamoring to get closer to their King to meet him. Knights and Svaari alike packed in close, a would be overwhelming situation to most quickly sprung the older members of the Order into action to clear the crowd. Jude gave a quick nod to the other Sentinel's as they rushed into the crowd pulling them out one by one, directing toward their daily training and studies.

It took a few minutes but the crowd dwindled in numbers with most going on about their day. Jude patted those who helped on the shoulder as a sign of appreciation towards the quick response. The Sentinel's shared a quick discussion about the speech before Jude turned his stocky frame to attempt to meet his King.

In an attempt to not overshadow the royalty that stood before him, Jude knelt before King Rex. He kept himself as small as possible in order to show respect and how much of an honor it was for the Miralukan to be in his King's presence.

Keeping his head down, a low town bellowed out, "My King... it is a privilege to make your acquaintance. I do not believe we have formally met before, Sentinel Jude Brax, an honor to be in service of you and the Empire."

Remaining on one knee, Jude quickly excused his younger counterparts, "I apologize for the younglings, they hold you and your father in such high esteem, they couldn't help but clamor to meet their King."

The other Sentinels stood firmly behind the MIralukan, allowing Brax to speak for their rank as he was one of the most experienced of those at Vesti.

 

[Rex Valhoun]

As The King greeted the many knights that came to greet him, he couldn't help but be surprised at the positive reaction. He hadn't given some grand speech, he wasn't that charismatic, or at least he didn't think so. Of course these were some of the most loyal people in The Imperium. Perhaps they were just blinded by patriotism to the point that they felt his speech was perfect. Regardless of their reasoning, it was good that they received it so well. For once he felt that he had allies in The Imperium again.

After greeting several knights, Rex found himself standing over the large Miralukan Knight, whom had taken a knee before him. He hated it when people knelt before him. He was no different than they were, he just happened to have the title "king" in front of his name. He wasn't even the real son of Heath Valhoun. He was just some child found in The Wilderness and adopted. Now he had inherited The Imperium. He didn't need to be worshipped or shown such immense respect.

"Please, rise, I'm not quite worthy enough to kneel to." he smiled, though the blind man probably couldn't see the gesture. "No need to apologize either. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jude." He extended a hand to shake with the man

 

[Jude Brax]

Jude rose, meeting the gaze and offering a firm handshake back to his King. Although King Rex felt unworthy of these formalities, the Miralukan could not help himself. Manners and respect had always been ingrained into his brain from his father at such a young age. Regardless of worthiness or not, this was the King of the Elysium Empire and one of the heads of the Order, Jude would feel the natural instinct to provide formalities when situations like this arrive.

A quick glance over his shoulder brought the attention of the other Sentinel's to the King as he motioned from them to offer a handshake as well. Six Knights of the Order moved to acknowledge their King, some might have met Rex before as these were the most seasoned of the Knights of the Order outside of High Command. The group, an assortment of characters from all over the galaxy, showed the same respect that Jude had done before them with a quick greeting and handshake. This was a tight knit group, serving with each other for a common ideal for many years.

Breaking the formalities, Jude finally spoke up, "How may we be of service to you my King? Surely the state of the Empire could have been passed down from high command instead of your highness coming all the way to this frozen part of the world?"

The Knights stood back behind Jude again to listen intently to their King.

 

[Rex Valhoun]

The question would be answered with a simple repeat of what he had said in the speech, "All Knights of The Order need to find The Dobsons. I've put a bounty on their heads but something tells me we will need more than bounty hunters to find them. How The Order goes about this will be up to them. I trust the wisdom everyone here has. As for why I'm here, well, The Meistras is nowhere to be found, and I have found that it's hard to have reliable allies lately. I decided it would be best for me to address The Order personally."

It was true. The Imperium was close to falling apart. He had put warrants on The Dobsons in a fit of anger, though it was necessary on all but Viken, Dorthea, and "Doofy" Dobson. This sudden order had caused many to turn against him, including Loreena. They continued to fight the warrants on Viken and Dorthea, instead of pushing the two to turn themselves in, and help capture the much more important and dangerous Arken, Omar, and Linn trio.

Meanwhile The Senate was a massive problem. Every day he heard about how his numbers were falling in each "bloc" for various reasons. Indeed, it was best that he address The Order personally, and he was glad to have done it. Their loyalty was obvious, and it was a relief to know that they would be tracking The Dobsons now.

 

[Jude Brax]

Jude nodded in acknowledgment with his King, he understood now why he was here and appreciated the personal touch of his speech in the absence of high command. All of the Knights standing behind him finally were clued into the loop of what the King's primary goal was now within the Empire.

"You will find that there is no shortage of allies here my King. We stand with you wherever you need us." Jude replied, motioning to his fellow Knights.

Taking a moment to ponder on the task at hand, Jude looked back at his Knights. He realized he was the unofficial leader of this rag tag group. Without any real former education is Leadership or Management, his heart raced as he figured the collection of these bounties would be on the Miralukan to make sure this order saw to it.

Turning back to his King, not wanting to hold him up much longer, "Of course we will make it our primary concern to root out these Dobsons. Any further information that you can send to central command on these bounties would be greatly appreciated."

Jude was ready, finally he would get to prove to his King the loyalty he had for this Empire.

 

[Rex Valhoun]

Rex nodded in appreciation and acknowledgement as the man stated that the Order was full of allies. He certainly appreciated it in times like this. Then he nodded again when the Knight mentioned the lack of information. Sadly there wasn't much that Rex could give at this time..

"I will certainly pass down information as I can. You do the same, if you find The Dobsons, tell me."

Then Rex had another idea, last minute, "Actually, Knight, if you hear from Martin Dux, please tell me. This order needs its' leader. Martin is much more knowledgeable than I..."

...Hopefully Martin is on my side too....

 

[Jude Brax]

As soon as Rex finished his reply, Jude quickly found himself bowing to his King before departing to the command center to begin assigning his knights to the bounties being transferred over. He was eager to please his King and would swiftly get to work on eliminating the Empire's enemies.

The rest of the Knights departed to go about their training, one approached the King for a final word upon his visit. A quick bow proceeded a rather insecure statement from the Knight, "My King, with the absence of high command for such a long period of time, we have been led by Jude. He has stepped up and filled that void for the Order without a change of rank or stature. He does it out of loyalty to you and the Empire and surely this deserves to be recognized?"

Although Jude was a Sentinel in the Order, most assumed the Miralukan had been serving unofficially as an Augus for a while now. With his dedication and years of experience under his belt, his peers felt the Sentinel deserved the title of Ari along with the King so the two could start rebuilding the Order for when Martin finally does make his return.

The Knight quickly made his exit to go on about his day, leaving the King to hopefully pass along that promotion with the information on the Dobson's he was sending.

 

[Rex Valhoun]

A surprising recommendation, but certainly something to be considered...

"All knights serve out of loyalty, do they not? Only the most loyal are selected to join The Order. But alright, I'll look at having him promoted...maybe I can talk to Martin about it when Martin returns." If he returns...

It was a very real question. Martin had been silent since the declaration of The Imperium. Really, before that even, but Rex hadn't noticed until he tried to turn to Martin due to his desperate need for allies. He needed not just an ally, but a master to teach him more about The Force. Such a power was immensely useful, especially for the ruler of a nation. Rex could defend himself, but not as well as a Jedi. Rex could convince people, but not as well as someone using The Force could.

The Order needed its' Meistras. People like Jude could be great leaders but Martin was the founder, he was the one who could truly lead The Order.

So where was he!?