Volunteers

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His visit to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant had lasted longer than initially expected. What the knight had intended to be little more than a brief meeting with one particular Jedi Master had turned into a week long fast of meditation, reading, and then more meditation. The temple had provided Cedric with a sense of peace he had not felt in quite some time; the force often granted him clarity, but rarely was he relaxed enough to truly meditate on the empyrean's currents.

For once, those currents told him that he was doing the right thing. After so many years of struggling against the path it had chosen for him before his very birth, Cedric had finally chosen to relent. He had given up in a sense, allowing the force to guide him where his mind faltered. In another sense, he had awoken to an understanding far greater than anything he had ever known before his epiphany.

More importantly, it showed him the way.

So it was that Cedric had put out a call across the stars to his Jedi brethren. It was a simple message.



The tides have turned against us. It is time to shift them back in our favor. I ask for volunteers to join me in a new campaign against the Sith Empire in hopes of stopping their coreward advance long enough for our people to breath. Know that this will be an especially dangerous journey, and few of us are expected to return. That said, if you feel the call as I have, meet with me at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.



And so he waited.

He sat alone within one of the temple's meditation chambers, legs folding one over the other as he watched Coruscant go about its daily routine through a glass window pane. His presence within the force was truly serene; a feeling he had only ever managed to achieve with many hours of deep meditation.

"Have any come?" Gorza's alien voice rasped through Cedric's comm, momentarily disturbing the Jedi Knight's peace. The youth's brow twitched with annoyance. "A handful, more than I expected. Give it more time Gorza. Have faith in the Force. It hasn't led me astray yet."

The alien barked a laugh, then cut the comm. Cedric could only sigh and content himself with the returning silence.

[member="Aela Talith"], [member="Jannik Morlandt"]

 

[Jannik Morlandt]

Coruscant.

It used to be home. It used to be a lot of things. Now it was once again the site of a Jedi temple, as in centuries long past - he remembered all too well watching it fall before, spectating on the designs of one being or another, once... some Sith emperor to which he'd only pretended at fealty to, in accordance with his own plans; his and hers, together, another time, another life among the many, for which he could never possibly do enough penance - but gone was the way things used to be. He could almost feel the very spot where he'd met Kira and become her padawan, when visiting the location of the old temple before it was razed by the One Sith, and the countless memories that welled up as he stood there seemed as if they didn't belong to him. That mental reconciliation had been difficult, to say the least, and the haunts of this body's youth? The landscape of the world had been irrevocably altered. His past was nowhere to be found but in the annals of his mind.

To wit, it wasn't home anymore, and hadn't been since before Kira had gone anywhere near becoming a mother, and as he entered the new temple, he wondered if she or any of his former companions had or would ever set foot in it. Would he set foot in it ever again, after this once? With honesty, coming here hadn't been a thought born in his mind for any useful reason, and it'd taken this curious call to arms to pull him coreward, but being within the temple walls settled peace on his shoulders that tried to seep into his bones; whether it was a reflexive, learned peace due to it being a Jedi temple, or a true effect of the new temple was something he didn't know, but he willed himself to let it in, stopping halfway down the length of the Great Hall to draw in a deep breath, close his eyes, and focus on the Force, echoes of the past clawing at his subconscious. Scars of darkness that were faded into the flesh of the ecumenopolis, at many levels of its history. The breath came out in a long sigh, his eyes opened, and he found himself face-to-face with a patient and calm expression on the face of the person before him.

"Welcome to the Jedi Temple, sir. May I ask your name, preferred form of address, and the purpose of your visit?"

In the words he detected a hint of caution. A small smile appeared on his lips, and his own expression softened. He could understand.

"You can call me Master Jannik..." his brow effected a slight crease, "...surname is Morlandt..." he searched the younger man's face a moment, "...and I'm here to meet with a... Cedric Grayson? Jedi Knight?"

The younger Jedi looked away, a moment, probably in the direction Jan needed to go, then looked back to the seer.

"Thank you, Master," he gave a deferential tip of his head, "Knight Grayson is in one of the meditation chambers, just within the Room..."

Jan interjected.

"...of a Thousand Fountains." He gave the youth a firm smile. "Yes, I looked at the map. Anything else?"

The padawan - he was sure of it now - thought about it, his eyebrows lofting a moment later.

"What is it you do, Master?" This seemed more of a personal curiosity, than standard procedure... "Your area of expertise? Your strength in the Force?" The seer's smile turned rueful. He wasn't certain he'd use the words 'expertise' or 'strength' to describe a thing neither he nor anyone with such a knack could control, but he'd humour the guy.

"I'm a seer, lad," which made the kid's eyes go wide with surprise, telling Jan that he'd probably never met one... but holding up a finger stayed any further questions. "You can sate your curiosity later, I promise."

The padawan beamed at the prospect of knowing more, as Morlandt walked off, making his way to the chambers with a slight haste in his step, only slowing once he came near the Room of a Thousand Fountains, entered, and looked for a man that matched the somewhat fuzzy holopic he'd been able to source of one [member="Cedric Grayson"]. Those investigative skills he'd picked up from that blonde Lorrdian had turned out to be rather useful over the years, and once he found who he sought, Jan entered the chamber, leaned against a piece of wall near the door, crossed his arms, hooked the toe of one foot against the side of the other, closed his eyes, and grabbed a few moments of immersion in the current of time itself.

"I've come to see a man about an empire," he stated, his voice serene, distracted, 'eyes' on the flow of what was, what is, and what might be, "you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, lad?"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Cedric Grayson"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"]

Aela had been fighting the Sith since she was eleven years old.

She had fought them in half a dozen iterations on a dozen different worlds, she had even fought the man who they currently called the Dark Lord. She and Jacen had faced him on Kraysis III, had even beaten him. The Sith had claimed the world, but the fight had been a quick one. Had it been under different circumstances they might have stopped the Empire then and there, but even two Jedi Masters couldn't face down an entire Armada. No matter how much they might have wanted to.

It was in her nature to combat evil, and that was why she had answered this call.

After everything she had been through with Jacen, after she had traveled the galaxy and found out more of herself Aela knew that she couldn't just stand aside. She would still help her students, still teach the younglings, but she could no longer just stand aside.

So she walked down the halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, still remembering when the structure had been all but consumed by the Sith. She couldn't help but frown slightly, not feeling at home as she once had within the Temple of her order. Her eyes wandered across the marbled floors and grand statues, lips thinning as she continued towards where the message had said she and the others could meet. She noted one or two other Jedi moving in the same direction, all with the same steely determination.

 

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The young knight felt the presence of his betters before they ever entered the chamber. One was semi-familiar, though he had never actually spoken with the Miss Aela Talith. He knew that his father had once fought alongside her mother during the days of the Republic, and he knew of her reputation within the alliance. Anything aside from that was beyond him.

The other presence was a complete mystery, though he had an air of familiarity to him that set Cedric's mind on edge. Whomever this individual was, he had been known here at one time; more importantly his connection to the empyrean was particularly potent.

Cedric was wise enough to know when a Jedi Master approached him.

"Perhaps," the youth's eyes parted open as the man strode into the meditation chamber. He had a certain swagger to him that Cedric would not have expected of a Jedi, but then these were different times, and the Jedi he had grown used to were more akin to warrior monks than anything you would find in the Galactic Alliance.

He welcomed the change.

With a grunt, Cedric rose to his feet. The smile he adopted was wholly genuine. "I was wondering if anyone else was coming," a hint of amusement laced his words. "Part of me was starting to get worried. I'm Cedric Grayson, the one that put out the message." The knight stepped forward and offered a hand.

It was then that Aela stepped into the quiet meditation chamber. Though he'd assumed it to be the woman from her presence in the force, he could not hide his pleasure at her arrival. "Master Talith, I can't say I was expecting you, though it's a very welcome surprise."

[member="Aela Talith"], [member="Jannik Morlandt"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

She smiled.

For some reason she always thought people wouldn't be glad to see her. Within the New Jedi Order she had the reputation of being somewhat of a...sourpuss. She had heard comments behind her back that she had a tendency to bring the party down, generally causing the fun to die down rather quickly.

Aela had never really imagined herself as that bad, but as her siblings had pointed out to her many times before she did have a habit of taking things a bit too seriously. Then again, this was something that should be taken seriously. It was why she had come here in the first place, why she'd answered Cedric's call. The lesson that she'd learned on her travels with Jacen would not go to waste, neither would her efforts in raising the younglings back on Wroosti.

She would see that they were safe, no matter the cost to her.

"I am happy to be here." The young Jedi Master said with a warm smile, glancing at the other person in the room. She had never met [member="Jannik Morlandt"] but she could only assume by his presence here that he was a part of one of the Orders in the galaxy. Either way she took that as a good sign.

It hopefully meant that she and Cedric wouldn't be alone in this.

"You'll have to forgive me, I've been apart from the Order for quite some time." She had spent the last few months entirely on Wroosti, only attending the affairs of the Jedi when she was specifically called on. Once that had lead to disaster, the other two times it had worked out alright. "So I'm afraid you'll have to fill me in on more...current events."

 

[Jannik Morlandt]

His eyes opened, and the view into time closed; he straightened from the wall, and enveloped [member="Cedric Grayson"]'s hand with both of his own, a muted upward curve taking to his mouth as he took note of the faint lines that made up the knight's face, particularly the ones brought on by a weight. Many Jedi had these long before age put them there.

"Jannik Morlandt," he gave in kind, only after [member="Aela Talith"] spoke... and that surname gave his wee smile more life, but this was hardly the time for drawing common lines, no matter how much he could see her mother in the young woman. He instead pulled his gaze back to Cedric, and looked apologetic for holding onto his hand for so long, and released it. "I'm afraid I'm much the same as Master Talith," he said, pocketing his hands, "to an extent."

Holonet feeds gave some view, while vision and sight revealed bits and pieces that were maybes at best until time caught up with them. Details doubtless were missing from his knowing, but staying in one place for too long wasn't something he'd been able to do in years, so those gaps were bound to happen. In particular with his lack of contact with just about anyone. When had he crossed the line from nomad to hermit?

 

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The knight was a bit surprised by Master Morlandt's two handed shake, though he recovered from that surprise quickly. He listened respectfully to the two Jedi, not offering anything by way of words until each of them had finished speaking. They spoke of their distance from galactic events; something Cedric sympathized with keenly. He'd taken to his own hermitage after the Ruusan Accords had come crashing down all around him. His efforts had resulted in little more than flaring galactic tensions further: giving the imperials and their allies more fuel for the fire.

At the time he had blamed himself. A few months left to reflect in a holding cell had helped him realize that the Accords had not been a failure, but a misapplication of resources. He'd expected the Light to ally against their shared enemy, but Cedric, like so many others, had vastly overestimated the bonds between the disparate anti-imperial groups.

Most were demoralized to the point of surrender. Others viewed their would-be allies more as rivals to be ousted so that their own power might grow.

In a way, the Dark Side itself had sundered the unity of the Jedi Knights. Relying on that broken unity was foolhardy; a pipe dream that would likely never bring anything to fruition. It was for that very reason that Cedric had called the two masters here today.

"Things aren't going well," the knight's brow furrowed. The imperials and their Sith allies are closing in on all sides. The Sith in particular have been allowed to grow entirely unchecked. Soon, they will be a very credible threat to the core. The Silvers won't be able to stand against them, and the Galactic Alliance does not have the resources to open a front against the Sith whilst also dealing with the First Order," he paused, "We've suffered more defeats than we've celebrated victories. The Sith's advance must be halted before they reach the alliance. I've sought help wherever I can, but we live in a a time of mistrust. People are too wrapped up in their own problems to send any support."

The knight's tone softened, "Not only that, but I fear the Mandalorians will declare for the Sith once again very soon. I met with the Mand'alor myself; she firmly believes the Dark Lord's lies. Imperial propaganda has been far more effective than we've given it credit. I would owe a large portion of the wars current standing to it," a pause, "That is where we come in. My homeworld sits on the edge of Sith space. I can't in good conscience abandon my people to the enslavement that will follow should they invade. With that in mind, I've spent the last several months gathering resources, volunteers, and mercenaries. We intend to be a very large thorn in the Sith Empire's side."

His gaze shifted between the two masters. "I put out the call because one Jedi is not enough. We have soldiers, ships, and weapons. We even have the means to kill the Dark Lord permanently, but we do not have a counter to his Sith Lords."

The unspoken question hung in the air. Cedric fell silent, giving the two Masters a moment to express their thoughts.

[member="Jannik Morlandt"], [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Cedric Grayson"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"]

Aela considered for a few seconds, eyes wandering between the two men. She had always fought the Sith, since she had been eleven years old. Her efforts had been smaller then of course, but even in her youth she had fought the darkside as best she could. Ironically she and her siblings had even founded a small organization much like the one that Cedric was putting together now. The Covenant it had been called, though their efforts had...mixed results.

Most of the members had been children, younger than eighteen. They had freed slaves, fought against the One Sith, and taken on dozens of pirate groups. In the end the majority of the members had joined up with the Alliance upon it's forming, Aela herself becoming a Marshall in the New Jedi Order. "You'll have me at least."

She could fight Sith.

"Maybe some others." A brief frown flashed across her lips, eyes wandering to Cedric for a moment. "I'll speak to my friends within the Order."

There was no telling how Jacen would react or some of the others she knew, but it was likely that if called upon they would answer. No Jedi was watching the rising tide of the Sith with a pleasant expression. Everyone knew that eventually it would have to be stopped, no matter the personal cost. She thought for a moment and trailed off. "And out."

She did have some of those after all this time.

 

[Jannik Morlandt]

His own experience as a padawan had him connected so near to the centre of the Sith at the time, and had 'granted' him time spent as the 'guest' of their greatest prophet, with whom he was more entwined than was comfortable. Blood was everywhere, in a manner of speaking.

He had been on both sides - he had been a Sith, and had long since been a Jedi. He knew all too well what they were capable of, the lengths they would go to, the lines they didn't cross because for them, the lines didn't exist. He knew, oftimes, because he had seen the possible futures, and the deeds done that went unknown by those who moved against the darkness. But he knew, also, from experience. His mouth formed a line, and his gaze cast to the nearest outviewing glass, as if something had drawn the attention of his ear. How long would it be before this world fell once again? History dictated it was only a matter of time.

"You have my skills, knowledge, and support," was his own stated commitment, and he glanced sidelong at the other two, his head turning back just enough to do so, "battlefield support," he added after a moment, "and sight, that is."

[member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Cedric Grayson"]​

 

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"That's excellent to hear." The knight visibly relaxed, as if all the tension had left his body with their words. Support had been difficult to come by, and even harder to maintain. Two Jedi Masters would do more than make a difference; they might be the overall deciding factor.

Two slips of flimsi with comm codes scrawled across them were offered to the duo.

"You have my youthful ignorance," the knight snickered. "These will give you access to our comm channel. From there, we can work toward removing the Sith from their conquered worlds. It will be a slow process, but one that I feel will succeed if we remain dedicated."

The smile faded, "I should see to my people back on Ruusan. When you're ready, contact us and we'll give you the coordinates to our current location."

[member="Jannik Morlandt"], [member="Aela Talith"]