This is the Outer Rim [ORC and Allies, Forcers]

[Coren Starchaser]

The one thing with the Coalition that was different than the Alliance was the atmosphere. Starchaser was raised in both, he grew up supporting the Underground and was known to be a leader, even when he was out doing other things. Alliance Pathfinders and Coalition Irregulars. Teams he could drop onto a battlefield and let do what they did best. Contingency.




But one thing he did know was meetings. He was the ranking Jedi Master, but more than that, he was a connection between the Judges, the Wardens, and the various Jedi Orders, he knew people from all walks and was hoping to bring them all to the table. Word went out to the Jedi and the Judges, but also the Jensaarai, Silver Jedi, even the Corellians and anyone in the Confederacy were welcome. There were groups that he worked with, the Fringers, and word had been tossed out to them as well.


Meet at Terminus. A location, one of the casinos, well, the catering venue overlooking it. And of course, Terminus wanted to send some funds ahead, in the form of casino chips, obviously. Starchaser was shaking his head when he organized it, but when in Terminus, do as the Terminus do.


He gave the gathered time to arrive, time to check in and settle in. It wasn’t something he was doing right away. But the Underground funded some rooms and that made it a bit easier. A whole ‘welcome to Terminus and the Rim’ package for those who weren’t normally on the world. Or in the Rim, it was going to be helpful.


Then he also had a bit of paperwork outlined. The who, and what of the Rim, data about the Sith and the current war against the Sith Empire, locations of other Sith bases, and names. But the other thing was the rise of something on the Rim that was troubling even the most casual Judges.


The Dark Judges. A group who were causing more than their fair share trouble. Blacklisted from the Judges, it wasn’t a matter of dark or light, it was a matter of intention. Judges who no longer looked out for the population, they looked out for themselves.


The trouble was identifying them. Unlike Sith and Jedi, it wasn’t as easy as a lightsaber color, or choice in fashion. No, this ran deeper.


As he greeted the beings coming in, mostly from the Rim, but others from corners of the galaxy, Starchaser made sure they had the datapads they needed. Information on the Rim, and on the Judges and Dark Judges.


“Thank you all for coming. I’ll let you get settled. We have a few topics today, but mostly its about tightening security on the Rim. You are all here because you are leaders within the Rim or our galactic partners. And we want to welcome you to Terminus.” Some had a few days here already, and that was good. He knew they were going to need it.


Just a feeling.


He walked about and greeted the beings, and helping himself to a drink from the wet bar before heading to the front of the table, and when conversation calmed, activating a galaxy map.

 

[Yula Perl]

Meetings were few and far between in the Coalition. The fact that Starchaser had actually felt the need to call one wasn’t a good sign, or maybe that was the Alliance in him. Their former allies to the north were more structured, more stringent, more militaristic. After their collapse, some of their operatives migrated further into the Outer Rim. They’d managed to scoop up Starchaser, who was hot on the trail of the First Order. Yula had been too young to witness the Alliance in it’s prime.

With the imperial’s massive empire collapsing, the Judges hadn’t had much to do in terms of security. Yula and Zak could often be found buzzing around Terminus, which is part of the reason why she was here today. The casino wasn’t far from her flat, and this was all on Coren’s bill. He’d called them all here to apprise them of a new threat.

The Dork Judges.

Maybe she’d read that wrong, but it had stuck. Yula settled herself in one of the conference chairs with a drink, kicking her feet up onto the table. What, this was the Outer Rim Coalition. They weren’t fancy pants here. Emily was freely skittering about the room, stopping to inspect anything that had an electrical current running through it.

“Good to see you again, Starchaser.” She grinned up at Coren, knowing that her presence was often a harbinger of trouble and oh god so much yelling. “Barely recognized you without all the war.”

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

There was a time when the boy wouldn't have missed a meeting such as this.

Those had been the days of the Kathol Outback, the precursor to what had solidified into an Outer Rim Coalition. Though only a few years had passed -- a decade? had it really been that long? -- thinking back on it now, it seemed as though it were as distant a memory as that of the Stark Hyperspace War. Or the last days of the Old Republic, when the young Anzat had served the Jedi in the Clone Wars.

The young always dwelt upon tomorrow. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. The promise of tomorrow. The hope of tomorrow. The ever-present dream that tomorrow would be somehow better than the yesterday that presented the reality that was today. As the boy continued on the slow, steady march toward his one hundredth birthday, he viewed that future with an altogether cynical disdain. What failures would tomorrow bring? What set backs?

The hope of tomorrow was a fantasy of someday that would never come.

A fact that didn't seem to stop people like [member="Coren Starchaser"] from trying. Which was impressive. The man had a singular resolve to continue on that would have rivaled that of the Jedi Masters that Sor-Jan had grown up with. Jedi with names such as Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon, or Mace Windu.

For his part, Sor-Jan had watched the Old Republic fall. Then, traveling 800 years into the future, had watched it do so again. Twice in the case of the briefly lived New Republic. He had watched the Galactic Alliance explode onto the galactic map and be shattered. And not just those governments. The One Sith had fallen. The Primeval had seemingly vanished as mysteriously as they had appeared. The First Order was in retreat.

Through it all, what had remained the same was the company that Sor-Jan kept. And so, rather than devote himself to what seemed temporary governments or alliances of convenience, the young Anzat had devoted himself to maintaining the one constant that he could take solace in. A corporate empire.

As a consequence of which, he'd lost touch with the Jedi. Lost touch with the Underground. He still got notices of when meetings were happening, but more often than not he just sent credits or other resources in his stead. He had corporate obligations to attend. Minutes of the board to review and approve. Quarterly financial reports. Shareholder's meetings to prepare for. And, somewhere in between, there was still R&D, beta testing, and promotional events.

Oddly, it seemed as though a call came out that fell neatly on his calendar. A meeting of the Coalition on Terminus. As it happened, Sor-Jan was finalizing a new logistical support contract with the Kathol Republic, which made Terminus a rather short jump for the Intervention.

The problem faced by the Outer Rim Coalition was one of the primary reasons that the logistical arm of Corellia Digital operated a fleet of combat-ready ships. The long-arm of the law didn't have the same reach out here. At least twice a week, pirates in the Outer Rim tested the droid escorts that provided security to the freight that Corellia Digital moved through Coalition space.

Suffice to say, the topic of improving security in the Outer Rim had the company's interest. Plus, Sor-Jan had a few hours before he needed to jump back to the Corellian System. If Coren or the Coalition was having problems, it was probably nothing that a few ships, droids, or credits couldn't help with. So, with that attitude in mind, the boy made his way to Terminus.

The last time he'd visited here, it had been for a meeting of the Underground that had launched the movement that would come to be known as the Kathol Outback.

Stepping in now, a wave of nostalgia washed over the boy. He quickly spied Coren at the bar, though he realized that he'd unconsciously been looking there for [member="Jorus Merrill"].

The boy then did a double take at the sight of a Zeltron beside the man. Was that..? No, it wasn't. For a second, Sor-Jan had almost mistaken the woman for [member="Joza Perl"].

Being that this wasn't ordinarily a venue that hosted younglings, a large creature in what was unmistakably bouncer attire started toward the boy, though a casual wave of the boy's hand seemed to send the burly figure off in the other direction instead. Walking over to the bar, the boy hoisted himself up onto a stool. "Single-celery soda, splash of grenadine, cherry on top," the boy ordered. One of his go-to mocktails.

When the bartender gave the youngling a very confused look, the boy shrugged and offered, "If that's too difficult, a celery soda will be fine."

Sor-Jan would have to convince Coren to hold his next meeting on the Intervention. They could hold it inside the Dirks and Blasters, where the bartenders were very well versed in the making of a good Shirley Temple or Roy Rogers mocktail.

[member="Yula Perl"]​

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Time was a funny thing. He and Coren had helped the Alliance be born, and then watched it crumble and fall. A humbling thing, even if Julius was only on the outside of it. But this had came to an old dead-drop messaging and comm account of his. One Core hadn't deactivated, on purpose or through omission. When he had read the details, his dander had gotten up, as his father would have said. Immediately a leave was put in with the Temple, detailing a diplomatic envoy to te Outer Rim Coalition at their request. No details on coordinates or time frames. Typical him.

As an after thought of 'Just in Case', he had rounded up his old squad of Commandos and taken his shuttle-fighter Jorus had made for him and boarded his larger ship. Nav-Computers and Drives enhanced by the Galaxy's most legendary Astro- Navigator and explorer whined to life for the first time in years, and Aing-Tii derived and enhanced engines began to hum. Julius had sat behind the pilot from his squad and given the order. Without a trace, the ship had simply vanished. Not many would be able to discern where the teleportation like micro-jump had taken them. From there, he had headed to Terminus.

That had been a few days ago. They had arrived, and the gambling and such had been passed onto his men. His reply had been phrased officially, stating an envoy of the Corellian Order would attend. In reality it was him and the squad, most of which were currently very inebriated and enjoying the facilities and entertainment. A modest account of investments designed for just such a rejoining of the Galaxy had done well - he had invested heavily in CEC and Corellia Digital - was soaking up the modest bill.

As for him? He hardly stood out from the crowd in any way but one. Corellian longcoat of worn and weathered brown leather. Typical spacers shirt and suspenders that held up the damnable First Class bloodstripe trousers. The metallic gleam of the stripers was a beacon, but in many ways they were as much a part of him as the Aing-Tii gifted tattoos or the cybernetic arm. He had sprung for a trim of his hair and beard to a more professional and less shaggy and wild look. A jed-cred hung around his neck on a simple chain like a soldier would wear dog-tags. Somewhere about him would be the ever present lightsaber or two and likely his bryar pistol, though none were openly worn.

Walking into the meeting, he looked on the others for a moment. A touch of sadness floated on the edge of his aura and eyes. Too many were not present here. Dead or vanished or just gone from the fight for one reason or another. Always he and Coren had been the young firebrands. Jorus and others had lead the fight. Now, looking around, he realized they were the veterans and leaders. Just as with the Greens, leadership kept haunting him. But in a display to honor the past, he ordered a favorite drink of Jorus and the others like Flint and such. A simple tankard of lum was handed out to everyone. One extra made its way to Julius.

Walking to the center of the gathering at the table where Coren was, he plopped the spare down on the table. Reaching up to his left hand, he removed a care-worn signet ring and placed it next to the glass. Looking out over the few assembled, he smiled almost wanly and raised his glass. It was drained in one pull after a simple toast.

"The spark that lights the fire..."

Looking to Coren almost apologetically for stealing the spotlight, he took the signet and slipped it back on his finger, retreating to the side to watch. That was always his way. Come and go, never explaining or really inviting understanding. He did what needed doing and moved on to the next problem.

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"] | [member="Yula Perl"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Dhalinar Greystar]

Terminus...It was a place of much pain, sorrow, darkness, and evil. A place that catered to the most base of emotions. But it was also a place of hope, determination, and so much more. It teetered on the edge of light and dark, much like he felt many of the Judges of the Outer Rim Coalition did. It was unfortunate that they found that some of their Judges had fallen to the Dark Side. The diminutive green Jedi from Corellia was standing on a large step stool so that he could see over the table built for the taller humanoids. His long green locks were pulled into a messy bun that sagged with the weight of the hair and sat between his long pointy ears. He did not drink and so he waited for the others to get settled, tapping a clawed finger on the table as he swiped through the datapad.

When Julius entered he gave the fellow Corellian Jedi Master a nod of recognition. The defense of the Rim...Corellia had been having its own issues when it came to Dark Jedi and other dangerous forces, but he understood the plight of the Outer Rim. The Sith had been continuously knocking on their doorstep, completely ignoring the Silver Jedi, which made him wonder if even in the mucky murkyness of the Judges if the truest and brightest source of the Light was here, in the Outer Rim and that was which the Sith feared more than the Silver Jedi Order.

He nodded absently when Coren started speaking, enthralled by the datapad but also listening in a passive sort of way.

[member="Julius Sedaire"] [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"] [member="Yula Perl"] [member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Kaleleon]

It seems that I was taking heavily after my mentor. Rushing headlong into situations without much thought, and relied more heavily upon fast thinking skills, and in-the-moment decision making. Why would I be traveling to Terminus, on the whims of a message coming from someone who I may have never even met. So, I geared up just for the sake of it. What got me though, is after walking into the room, I saw a number of people who were clearly more well off than myself. The Little Green Master from the Green Jedi Order that was Morteg. Seen him a couple of times, but never really interacted with him. A much older man who seemed to be past his prime, but I still wouldn't want to get into a tussle with him. As they say, fear an old man in a profession where men die young.

After that was a Zeltron woman. Pink skin and darker hair. She seemed familiar but I couldn't quite place the name. It escaped me for the moment. Coren however, was someone who I knew. Romi spoke of him fairly often. Namely mentioning that he was one Jedi who was always attempting to bring the various groups of Light Sided individuals together. She spoke highly of him, and I knew it was him as soon as I looked. While not super imposing, or some white knight in shining armor, it was clear he had a presence to be respected. As did all the others in the room.

However, confusion set in when... there was a child sitting at a bar. A young boy who I had never seen before. Yet his presence was unmistakable. Something... my gut feeling? told me that there was more to meet the eye with this kid. If he was here, then there was something going on other than "bring your kid to work day." Other than those that I saw for the moment, I took a few more steps in. Resting the palm of my right hand on the grip for my hand cannon of a weapon on my thigh. Left hand placed halfway into my pant's pocket.

Preferring to not say anything for now, and just letting people who knew each other have whatever reunion they had.

[member="Morteg"], [member="Julius Sedaire"], [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"], [member="Yula Perl"], [member="Coren Starchaser"],

 

[Romi Jade]

She allowed herself to float down the corridor, filing in with a few other attendees. She stepped in -- her skin registered something far more important: the feel of clean, cool air being blown at her face; At least the room was ventilated properly. She stood a moment, eyes scanning, and cleared her focus of other things she’d have to do later.

She maneuvered her way through a growing crowd -- most of these outer rim folks were much larger than her. She slinked her way through what cracks she could to get ahead after catching Kale's form up ahead. On a mission to close the gap, a few that'd recognize her sought her attention with various greetings and gestures.

She'd stop and smirk.

She came up on the other side at a brief standstill parallel her apprentice, "Hey, sorry it took me so long. What'd I miss so far?" a stray tap on her shoulder provoked her to whipped around -- oh they got datapads for this event huh?

“Thank you all for coming. I’ll let you get settled. We have a few topics today, but mostly its about tightening security on the Rim. You are all here because you are leaders within the Rim or our galactic partners. And we want to welcome you to Terminus.” Some had a few days here already, and that was good. He knew they were going to need it.

She swayed a bit, shifting her weight onto left leg and propping a hand on her hip.

[member="Kale Seleare"]

 

[Raven Ashe]

The woman in the full-suit of black-and-silver, light armor strode down the hallway with a casual gait. Perhaps certain members of the Coalition were used to the fact Raven always wore her armor, and few had the privilege of even seeing the bottom half of her face at a bar. Those in the rougher areas of the Rim would be the most familiar. Terminius was no strange to her presence either. Why should it be? The more exciting the venue the better. Shame about this being nothing more than a meeting, but every prolonged operation began with gathering personnel and discussing a plan. Ancients knew the Coalition needed more of that.

Yes, Raven still remembered their little visit among the Sith. How she'd confronted a Sith Lord and been lucky enough to impress him so she could escape. No one had bothered to tell her the slicers found an alternative route and that she needn't go all out against someone more experienced than herself. Had things gone only a little differently Raven might not have survived that uncoordinated assault.

It was because she embraced the Dark Side, wasn't it? Yes, the Coalition was full of idealists and rogue Jedi out to save the galaxy from itself. Raven was an odd one out. 'Go to the Confederacy!' Why should she? They could go join the Silvers. Or perhaps they'd like the luxuries of Coruscant instead. Raven was perfectly comfortable here now and saw no reason to make anyone else's life easier by removing herself from it.

The helm turned toward Starchaser when he welcomed all those in the room. Raven had just entered and found the place filled with a number of 'Leaders' and 'Partners.' Interesting choice of words. Raven wasn't entirely sure anyone considered her a 'leader' so much as an abomination that would happily take out the Coalition's trash. She wouldn't spit in the face of a social promotion, however; moved up in the world to 'actual person' wonderful. Well, she'd find out depending on how the Jedi looked at her -- if they bothered.

She crossed over to the bar where a kid, [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"], was verbally rolling their eyes at a befuddled bartender. "Don't forget the cherry." Raven stopped before the pair with her helmet turned toward the bartender. From what she'd overheard the drink in question was painfully simply and surprisingly appropriate given the boy's age. "You'd think you asked for a Solar Surprise from the way he stared at you."

[member="Morteg"] | [member="Julius Sedaire"] | [member="Yula Perl"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Kale Seleare"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"He certainly looks out of his element in the administrative world, doesn't he?" Cotan asked Yula, walking up near where she and Coren were. "Isn't there a battlefield for you to be on, Coren?" He'd received the invitation for the meeting, and come as quickly as he was able. After all, it was important that a Marshal of the Judges be present for such an important conversation, right?

Not that he'd ever really been one for meetings or anything like that.

"So, what's on the docket today, Coren? Planning the next attack on the Sith? Getting rid of some of the more improper members of our ranks?" He asked that last one with a short, side-eyed glance around the room, though he wouldn't let his gaze linger on anybody in particular. That would be a poor way to start off the meeting, after all.

Of course, it would be a pretty poor way to start if somebody questioned his choice of guest too much as well, but that would be dealt with when the time come. Hopefully without much trouble.

[member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Yula Perl"] [member="Vaulkhar"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"My apologies, Griet couldn't come, but I would still forward her what comes out of today's meeting. I know Griet, she was doing the Circle's accounting before she ran off and start what is today one of the major accounting firms in ORC territory"

Griet and her both were deployed on a more covert capacity and a more overt capacity, but after Rhen Var both leaned towards the more covert, such as on Kadavo. If there was a need to take to the skies, or to orbit, Janick would more likely dogfight than Griet would, but it's clear by now that every attendee has its own set of uses: [member="Cotan Sar'andor"], [member="Coren Starchaser"] would handle the more rough-and-tumble aspects of ground operations, others, such as [member="Romi Jade"] and @Kale Saleare, have more subtle uses, others still, such as [member="Yula Perl"], [member="Morteg"] and [member="Julius Sedaire"], were not people she knew a whole lot about. But it was too funny to see [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"], whom she assumed was from a race whose alcohol resistance was developed at a young age, get some drinks. And yet, if there was anyone that has served the ORC in an active capacity that could be more exotic than even her using Drain Knowledge (and, of course, Memory Rub) in their methods, that would be Griet. No one would think of using external auditing as a means of getting covert work done, she thought, realizing that some Sith would simply not make the same amount of effort to evade an external audit as they would evading Jedi. Now that she was at a bar...

"One tablespoon of Asobi 95% tihaar please: I wouldn't want to miss out on some azeotropic goodness"

"The girl from the Asobi 95% tihaar ads! Please have one tablespoon of tihaar on the house" the barman told her, a tablespoon full of Asobi 95% tihaar in hand. "I kind of overheard that the accountant wasn't here today, what happened to her? I would love to see her in person at some point, if possible outside of an assurance context. She would always talk about how an audit, or even a review engagement does not imply any wrongdoing on the auditees' part, and how it makes people not want to enter assurance as an accounting practice area"

 

[Vaulkhar]

There was something really dumb about this idea. He knew it the moment the call had been made and Cotan recommended he tag along. For whatever reason he agreed to join the Jedi Master as he journeyed to the meeting of minds, yet he had zero idea what he was even supposed to do there! He didn't even know his name for goodness sake! Up until this point, he had just gone by simple things like stranger or bartender. How was he suppose to keep his cool in front of a room full of space wizards?

"Honestly Cotan, I really th-" before he could even finish his sentence, they broke out into the room full of Jedi and whoever else deemed this meeting worth showing up to. Leave it to Cotan to drag him to what was definitely the most awkward day he could remember and pretend everything was fine. It only got worse as Cotan strode directly to Yula and Coren Starchaser. Fortunately, he had never met the duo in his forgotten past as far as he could remember. The possibility of it hidden away somewhere in his foggy and broken memory still concerned him, even as he awkwardly shuffled up beside his smaller companion. "Greetings, I'm uh-" there was a short pause as he stared blankly off into nothing. A memory surged forward of a skilled warrior, locked in combat with a former Jedi Grandmaster. While his name didn't quite come to memory, a title sure did. "Ven, names Ven."

'Ven' was a bit taller than Cotan and he wore an uneasy smile. He appeared nervous in the company of so many, but there was a strange innocence to the man. He had dull blue eyes and fading black hair that was almost wholly white, likely due to a lack of dye. His body was fit and in shape, though scars appeared to crisscross his arms and hands. One horizontal scar decorated his face, crossing over his nose.

All in all, he looked like a wreck.

But to the seasoned eye of Coren Starchaser, there was something strangely familiar about the man before him.

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"] | [member="Yula Perl"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Samatharis]

Diana was an administrator with the Silver Service Corps. Which, mostly meant she made sure that when the Silvers built something off-world; they didn't blow up the local star doing it. And yeah. That's about it.

Thankfully, today she was on Terminus. Not in any official capacity, of course. That privilege was reserved for Assembly Members or the lads from the Diplo office. Oh no. Today she was just another Jedi Master looking to stay informed on the most recent galactic what-it-do and who-dun-it business. And. Ha. Go figure that Coren's giving the speeches too. Funny. She approved. This was surely going to be as entertaining a meeting as the faces who attended it.

Let's see what he had to say so far,

“Thank you all for coming. I’ll let you get settled. We have a few topics today, but mostly its about tightening security on the Rim. You are all here because you are leaders within the Rim or our galactic partners. And we want to welcome you to Terminus.” Some had a few days here already, and that was good. He knew they were going to need it.

Perfect.

The tall cosmopolitan blonde took a seat in the back of the room. Browsing the news from her phone and watching the galactic display with a look of mild indifference and perhaps, just a bit of jet lag. She also noted there was no free wifi in this casino and immediately hated it with a dying passion as red as Vaulkhar's Sith Lord tag. Ha.

...Oh well.

Maybe she'd get booze up later. It was five o'clock somewhere right? Sure.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

"You'd think you asked for a Solar Surprise from the way he stared at you."

The tow-headed youngling pushed himself up so that he was propped up on his knees on the bar stool, which afforded him the height to actually be more on the woman's eye level. Or, helmet level, as the case may be. "I'm not sure he knows how to make anything that's not watered down," the youngling remarked in kind.

As the bartender returned with the single-celery soda, garnished with a cherry, the boy reached into a pocket to flip a peggat down on the bar. "Start a tab for me, please," the boy requested. With a slight nod of his head in [member="Raven Ashe"]'s direction, he said, "Whatever the lady wants and then a round of drinks for everyone."

Shooting a thumb back over his shoulder to indicate the frumpy spacer, otherwise known to the galaxy at large as [member="Julius Sedaire"], the boy said, "If the grumpy old guy says he's not drinking, just pour him a whisky on the rocks."

The bartender accepted the Huttese currency -- peggats had the benefit of having near universal value because of the aurodium content in them -- and then asked, "What kind of whisky?"

"What do you have that's Corellian?"

"Don't have any Corellian."

This time, Sor-Jan literally rolled his eyes. No Corellian whisky? This was the Outer Rim, but it wasn't supposed to be entirely uncivilized. "Alderaani?" the youngling ventured. The look on the bartender's face gave him the answer. And that answer was no. "Okay, let's improvise. What do you have?"

"Daniel Jacks and Sithern Comfort."

The young Anzat just blinked. "I'm trying to buy people a drink, not piss them off," the boy uttered candidly. Still, if this was what they had to work with, then he supposed they'd have to make do. "All right, the Daniel Jacks I guess."

After all, he wasn't drinking any of it. Still, as the bartender made his way to get the next round of drink orders, the boy couldn't help but shoot a glare off in the direction of [member="Coren Starchaser"]. Sor-Jan had a star destroyer with four restaurants and a holo-vid theater on it. They totally could have done this in a better venue.

Taking a sip of his soda, the boy then picked up the datapad that he'd been given and briefly scanned the contents. Rogue Force Users. Go figure. In the history of the Jedi, the Sith, and everything in between that had only happened, like, ever.

Setting the datapad down, the boy turned toward the lady in the black armor. Jensaari, maybe? "I'm SJ by the way," the boy offered cordially.

[member="Diana McClaine"] | [member="Vaulkhar"] | [member="Janick Beauchamp"] | [member="Cotan Sar'andor"]​

[member="Romi Jade"] | [member="Kale Seleare"] | [member="Morteg"] | [member="Yula Perl"]​

 

[Laura]

A year ago, if Laura had been told she'd be far from her home on the other side of the Galaxy, observing a conferences between the leaders of two massive stellar societies, she wouldn't have even considered it possible. Even in her idlest, most fanciful imaginings she hadn't ever entertained the idea of leaving the Core regions, let alone catching a starship to the Outer Rim. But here she was, through a set of convoluted and somewhat bitter circumstances, she was here.

Not that she really thought she deserved to be here. As far as she could tell, this was either a pity move or some sort of mistake. She'd been told that being selected to attend the conference was an honour, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity even. And that didn't really make sense, she was an unexceptional student, not gifted -or even competent- in the ways of the Force, nor particularly skilled in her martial training, her book learning, or even the supposedly simple exercise of meditation. So why send her here?

A soft whine filled the cabin and broke her reverie as the shuttle's repulsors came to life and smoothly set about arresting the motion of the craft. With her ears now tuned in to her environment, the chatter of the others in the cabin floated breezily across the space. They were other students, like her but not, they were Padawans proper, and several already had a single master to study under. On paper, Laura was just like them, but she didn't kid herself. She could lift things with her mind, could not centre herself and her emotions, and each and every one of the proteges in the shuttle could whoop her butt with a staff.

With a bump and the soft groan of settling metal, the ship touched down, and their chaperone stood with much ceremony, and addressed the half-dozen Padawans.

"It is a great honour to be invited to attend this conference, I'm sure it will provide much insight into how we Jedi conduct our diplomacy and cooperate with our allies. Now, remember your instructions: You are here as an observer. Sit, take notes, and drink it in. We're far from Silver Rest, and it's exciting I know, but you're here to learn."

Several of the students nodded solemnly, and then it was time to get going. The doors slid smoothly aside, and the group shuffled out onto the landing pad. Their chaperone clapped her hands and grinned, and the party walked up to the doors, Laura lagging behind slightly, her eyes on her toes.

A few minutes later she was alone, the entire group having seemingly melded into the crowd at the conference. Glumly, she took a seat at the bar, rubbing at the bruises from her training which, as usual, were taking weeks to heal. Glancing to her right she saw a youngling drinking what she assumed was some non-alcoholic Outer-Rim beverage. Deciding she couldn't spend this entire conference sitting alone, Laura reluctantly introduced herself to [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

"Uh, hi. I'm Laura. Are you a student too? Man I feel kind of weird wearing a robe in a place like this."

​

 

[Raven Ashe]

It started as a quiet chuckle at first, but after a second it began to grow until the armored woman's head tipped back in laughter. "I've decided," the Pantoran cried at last while she slapped her hand atop the bar. "Sithern Comfort it is." There'd been no effort made to keep her voice down, nor did she choose to shout it for all to hear. If they heard, they heard. They could decide how pissed off they wanted to get over the name of a drink. Be a damn crime if some holier-than-thou champion of light was so easily goaded into a fight.

Raven looked back over at what appeared to be a boy. "My name is Raven, and I seem to have been blessed to meet you." She'd entered that room expecting to be crucified, not amused at a 'boy' laying into a bartender without an ounce of a child-like, barely-constrained mischievous grin. The entire thing had been dead serious. Like someone far older than his physical age might give a tongue lashing; and which more often than not could be found in cantinas out on the Rim.

Another voice piped up on the other side of the young man then. The black sockets of her helmet shifted ever so slightly to regard the robed woman. "Don't. A hood and cloak is about as common as breathing out here."

She turned to the bartender as he set the glass down. Raven nodded in acceptance. It'd give Sor-Jan a chance to reply to the pretty thing -- what little she bothered to show anyone.

Tag: [member="Laura"] | [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Starchaser grinned as he watched the people coming in. The Coalition had a lot looser standards than the Alliance did, and that was actually a boon for the organization. You got to work with people who were able to cross certain lines, and they were not bad people. It was a … learning experience for the Paladin Supreme. Not all dark siders were evil, and maybe that had happened during the End Game event, but more and more, he was being reminded of it. But that wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe fighting the Sith on equal terms was what they needed. But he knew how to fight fire with fire, one of the last remainders of Ke’Dam, something the man had found on the Fringe, to combat the darkness.

But he couldn’t do it alone.

Lucky for him, and unlucky for the Sith and Dark Judges, he didn’t have to.

But one thing he was realizing, being the authority with a Corellian whiskey in your hand was a bit of a troublesome situation. At least it wasn’t some fruity cocktail. Whiskey, ice, glass. That was like a professional, and a leader, right? He didn’t think he even needed to respond to [member="Yula Perl"] and just shook his head at the half Zeltron who was totally nothing like him at all shutup. Another one he saw, Sor-Jan, was always a pleasant voice to be heard. And definitely interesting coming from a Corellian.

As the group was filtering in, Coalition fashion, it did make Starchaser a bit antsy. Meetings occurred at certain times. Improvise on the battlefield, not the board room. But as [member="Julius Sedaire"] offered up a toast as he was about to start, the Corellian Crusader held up his glass before proceeding with his own introduction.

“And yeah, there should be a battlefield. But it means our forces are doing their job. So today, we don’t have a field of battle. But we do have some issues. And for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Starchaser. That one, yeah.” He was reaching out to greet everyone, more in the Force, this time. His powers were shifting, simmering, maturing the longer he remained in the Jedi. But with the Starchaser’s Light crystal in his saber, he’d be able to see who was on the right path.

There were two that he was unsure of, but he wasn’t making a stir here, no, if they were here, they must be on the correct path.

“As I was saying, welcome to Terminus. And I know everyone sees their fair share of meetings, especially among Forcers, but this one, I intend to be a bit different. We all know the concerns of the Sith…” Something he would go on at length about. The current war, their mission. “but there are other concerns closer to home. The politics of the Outer Rim…” boring but needed to be discussed.

He looked at the group, had he lost them yet?

He disliked being the adult.

[member="Raven Ashe"]
[member="Laura"]
[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]
[member="Diana McClaine"]
[member="Vaulkhar"]
[member="Janick Beauchamp"]
[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]
[member="Romi Jade"]
[member="Kale Seleare"]
[member="Morteg"]
[member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

So the Iron Maiden's name was Raven.

The assumption on his part that she was Jensaari was starting to stick. The armor, the vibe, the fact that she was hanging out with [member="Coren Starchaser"] . It all seemed to fit. Especially because he was certain that he'd heard of some of the Jensaari running with the Coalition in the wake of the Alliance's collapse.

The pair were approached by another. A girl who was wrapped up in Jedi robes. She said her name was Laura and, just like Sor-Jan had some preconceived ideas about Raven -- it seemed that Laura had some preconceived about Sor-Jan as well.

Granted, he did look the part.

"Hi, Laura," the boy chimed brightly, turning his head and shifting slightly on the bar stool as he turned attention to this newcomer. Motioning first to himself, he offered, "I'm SJ. This is Raven." The last statement was made whilst indicating the lady in the black armor. Presently enjoying a Sithern Comfort on the rocks.

Truth be told, Sor-Jan was in a bit of a dilemma about how to answer the question. Was he a student? No, he was the CEO of one of the galaxy's largest technology conglomerates. Definitely not the largest. That was Sasori Research, hands down. But he was probably at least on par with Lucerne Labs -- and with a more diversified portfolio of investments and holdings!

But to delve into why a grade schooler was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company would tend to steer the conversation into spots that were somewhat uncomfortable even after a couple of shots of Sithern Comfort. Like, the fact that he was an inhuman that was slowly growing into a brain-sucking vampire who would doubtlessly terrorize the known galaxy for centuries, if not millennia, to come.

...with those facts, it was hard to fathom why Anzat were reviled throughout the galaxy as the boogeyman under the bed.

Fortunately, Sor-Jan seemed to have been saved by the Corey. That being, Coren started to speak and so everyone turned to give him their attention. Which had the benefit of giving the boy a reprieve from having to come up with some polite way of dispelling her illusions.

Instead, the boy shifted the datapad across the bar top and toward her. If Coren was going to be delving into politics, then it'd help to understand the geo-political situation. "Did you get a datapad?" the boy asked, indicating that she could use his if she hadn't.

[member="Raven Ashe"] | [member="Laura"]​

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino sat in the corner of the room, inspecting his own datapad. Others had come, many he recognized from other places and other wars. Some, he didn't. What he found the most amusing was Coren's impatience at the delayed start to the meeting. Take the Jedi out of the Alliance, but you could never take the Alliance out of the Jedi, or something like that. Meetings were meetings and meant to start at a specific time.

The nature of this meeting was important, however. It left little room for such things. There was a new threat that had begun to develop and they needed to respond quickly. Veino had already been gathering intel from his own sources, ORION and the Jensaarai network mainly, but there was still more to be done.

That was part of what brought them here today.

 

[Samatharis]

Contrast Coren, Diana liked being the adult in the room.

Well. It usually meant sex, honestly.

Ahem. However. Yesteryears aside. Responsibility really did suit Diana. Always had. Of course, that was not to say she wasn't full of mistakes but, yes, by and large, she found great purpose and respect in speaking hard truths and speaking them well. Whether they be Silver related, Sith related, or even, as with today, about and above, the Outer Rim.

That said...

Nothing wrong with a little professional drinking here and there. This was Terminus after all, Gods damn it. They weren't savages.

"Mm. Interesting."

Alas. It was all she could muster as she played with her phone. Perhaps Coren would give them all something more they could chew on. Battlefield or nay.

 

[Vaulkhar]

Ven's hand fell to his side as his introduction was mostly ignored. His shoulder's bounced in a weak shrug as he took a step back and a tinge closer to Cotan. The small speech offered was direct to the point, something he expected of Jedi in general at this point, given his brief interactions with his smaller companion. With little interest in the topics to be discussed, Ven allowed his attention to wander about the room as if he was looking for something more interesting. The gathered individuals were all diverse in their own way. It brought a smile to his face, given the empire was much less accepting in terms of... diversity. Eventually, his looking came to an end as his attention found its way to a particular young woman.

Romi Jade.

There were two faces that he could remember in clear detail after he lost his memory. One was, well, less of a face and more of a gruesome mask. It covered the face of a particularly brutal Jedi who had brought him great pain. His sleep was assailed by violent nightmares of the man with the gray mask. During the day he spent hours in meditation to avoid thinking of the Jedi who had hurt him. It was how he managed to find peace in such a trying time.

However, the face of Romi Jade brought other feelings forward. There was a sense of calm that washed over him, something Ven rarely felt in his recent days. Sure, there was a beauty to her that he could appreciate. But that was the last thing on his mind in that moment. He wanted to know who she was and why he knew her.

Ven moved to step away, but he opted to stop and prod Cotan at his side.

"Hey uh, who is that?" his voice was low as he subtly motioned towards the woman across the room.

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"] | [member="Romi Jade"]​