Faction What Remains [NJO + Friends]

[Makko Vyres]

MAKKO

"This will hurt," she murmured gently.

"That tickles..." Makko said through gritted teeth. He tried to smile but it came across as a grimace.

He tried to disconnect from the sensation, to let the pain wash over him but to become something else. He placed his hand on Cora's shoulder.

"What do you think we should do next?"

Makko didn't miss the direction of her glance. His expression changed. He had always adored children. He was also afraid. His parents had all but abandoned him to their virtual lives. A single pulse stretched down their bond, a particular form of longing.

"We need information," Makko said. He let the Force wash over him through her.

"We're fighting blind. We need to shore up, gather everyone and work out who we're fighting."

He didn't want to be the centre of endless wars. He wanted a change at a real life. They deserved that.

"I'll go to the medical centre and rest up," he said. "Leave this to you."

Makko had come away to make certain that Cora was fine in the middle of the storm he'd felt.

 

[Jand Talo]

Jand listened as one Jedi in particular kept speaking and speaking, throwing around wild accusations and implications, all the while propping himself up and announcing his own achievements. He also pulled Master Vanagor into the reasoning and one-sided conversation.

"You are arrogant," Jand said simply, as he looked to Nathan. "Arrogance tempered with self-righteousness. Your circumstance is not uncommon, we have all suffered for what we do as Jedi, some more than others - and others more than you."

The Nagai stepped closer to Nathan, gray eyes staring.

"But do not presume to lecture your fellow Jedi about the extent of their willingness to combat the dark side. Each has their own path, each does so in their way, and not all can go toe-to-toe with Sith regularly, under consistent battle stress or action. There are those that fight through healing, through provision offering, through relocation efforts..."

Jand leaned closer still, so he was within inches of the other Jedi.

"Do you understand? Can your arrogance allow you to see that not all fighting is done on the battlefield? Can you even have the foresight to know that some strategy that you suggest could be anticipated by the enemy, and used against us - as our forces get led into intentionally 'weak' seeming traps?"

With a sigh, Jand shook his head.

"I advise you calm and reconsider where you are. Look, see, feel. Our fellow Jedi do not need rousing speeches to war, they need bandages applied to wounds. Perhaps you could consider treating injury with the rest of us, rather than making scintillating lectures to the wounded survivors."

Jand turned and resumed moving through the Jedi that needed assistance, as he assessed another wounded Padawan.

"Also, do not be so quick to compare yourself to Master Vanagor. He would not have mentioned military action until every single Jedi in this temple was stable and recovering. Consider that."

Nathan Bloodscrawl | Corazona von Ascania | Caltin Vanagor (mention)​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Nathan held his ground, refused to back down when Jand Talo started calling him arrogant. They always perceived it as arrogance when someone started laying out cold bare reality.

He started to understand, just a little bit more, what had frustrated his daughter into total rebellion. And while he had no intention to follow her path, he also wasn't going to be talked down to by someone just towing the party line.

In the Gulag Era, amongst the Jedi he had known, a boy like Jand Talo would have been laughed out of the room. But decades of softness had made his thinking the more popular kind.

"It is not arrogance to speak to the reality of our situation..." Nathan said evenly. "And the Sith don't care and never have if you can endure the stress...they will kill you and all of us all the same, whether we can engage them directly or not. Or corrupt us. Or worse, if they can possibly manage it. You say not everyone can endure the constant stress. Even medics come under fire. Even Provision Centers are bombed. Even Refugee Convoys get targeted, of which, I've been on the receiving end of all three scenarios."

He leaned forward to Talo barely a centimeter, his empty eye sockets glinting with the cybernetic housing within.

"There is always risk in an enemy anticipating strategy. That's war. It happens. But it's a risk that has to be taken. As for treating injuries, I just spent the past few hours trying to save people in Triage with surgery. Lost two of them."

Nathan refused to let himself be bristled at the accusation he was directly comparing himself to Vanagor.

"I would never dare compare myself to Vanagor." he added in a patient tone. "He went down saving as many as he could. I'd be lucky to go down the way he did. But he's no longer able to help us the way he once could. He was a great warrior and a tactician, but even he was caught off guard. And as knowledgeable as he was, as wise as he was, our tactics need to change if we are to survive. We got our teeth kicked in on our own home turf, so we clearly weren't doing something correctly. If I don't bring up the ugly truth, then I'm doing a disservice to my fellow Jedi. I would not be doing everything I can to keep them alive. Complacency is what cost us Coruscant. You can say not all of us can do the stress of battle. I say this war that's coming for all of us is going to be so insanely brutal that many of us aren't going to have much of a choice but to learn how if we want to reach the end of it.

Nathan pulled back ever so slightly and shrugged.

"The truth comes as a conqueror to those who do not embrace it as a friend. The truth of our under-preparedness came to us in the form of Sith Conquest, where many who didn't need to die if they had taken more precautions were senselessly cut down. You can choose to continue believing as you do. I will continue finding those willing to change their approach to try to save the Core from the Sith. I fight to save the Alliance and the Order. And if I must speak to my peers while they are still treating themselves then I will do so, because I know their wounds. I have suffered them myself in the past. I spent not three hours before coming here treating such wounds. Continue calling me arrogant if you must...but I will not stop speaking. Not when I can help even one person down the road."

Nathan felt more Jedi in the back listening to him very intently. Some of the wounded were feeling the beginning of actually agreeing with him. A few already were, but silently.

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Caelan leaned over to Cora to speak quietly. "We need to talk at some point when we can. I need to ask something of you."

He didn't want to deal further with the nuisance that was telling everyone he was better and smarter than them, but it was starting to get too out of hand. Others had even stepped in against him and he had lashed out at them as if he knew what they had or had not done, what they would or wouldn't do. It did make him angry, but he pushed that down because he was the master of his emotions, they did not control him.

Reaching out a hand, he squeezed Anavi's shoulder but then stepped forward.

"You need to learn when to stop talking," he said walking over to stand beside Jand. "You talk much, but say little. In fact, all you do is talk about how amazing you think you are, while acting as though no one else here could compare.

"I was on Coruscant when the Imperials attacked. They put my pregnant wife and son in danger, and after I secured them, I went to help. I faced the Emperor of this new Empire, Solipsis, who time and again shows up to attack us. I and other Jedi fought our hardest against him and his minions and were still forced out.

"But you think we should just run off and attack them. You argue and harass, but you have no plan other than revenge for your own failings, assuming you were even at Coruscant. You are not a leader and will not find a following here. We will not rush into the attack because you are angry, and a fool. You will fail and you are playing into their hands with your actions."

He pointed a finger at the man's chest.

"If you have nothing but antagonism for people here, if all you are going to do is call us failures who have worked tirelessly for the people of this galaxy, then you need to leave."

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Corazona von Ascania | Nathan Bloodscrawl | Makko Vyres | Jand Talo ​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

They refused to hear him, even going so far as to accuse him of harassment and self aggrandizement in order to silence him.

It was this exact moment, Nathan fully understood why Laertia had rebelled. The last piece clicked into place.

The close-mindedness. The stubborn behavior. The instinctive desire to shut down anyone who stepped out of line to tell them how much they were fething up.

No wonder Laertia Io had turned against them, and had done so in such a violent and bitter and depraved manner. She must have been listening to fools like this for years until she couldn't take it anymore.

But Nathan was not Laertia, and abhored her crimes against the Order.

"And you need to learn when to start listening." Nathan replied, voice calm and more patient than Caelan Valoren deserved. "I sense your indignation. I have harassed no one. Nor have I ever tried to claim to be smarter or more amazing. You twist my words. And for your information, I was at Coruscant. In orbit. Raiding the Flagship of Solipsis himself. I didn't succeed, though I did a hell of a lot of damage and got caught in a duel of my own with the Mawite War Chieftain, Thomas Barran . As I have stated before, I will state again: This is not about revenge. It is about survival. It's good you dueled Solipsis. But the death of one man does not an Empire fell. Any more than the destruction of one flagship fell a whole fleet. I may not have succeeded...but that doesn't mean I should not have tried to begin with."

Nathan remained still as a finger was pointed at his chest. He felt zero emotion at the moment. Caelan didn't even deserve the satisfaction of feeling annoyance from him. While on the other hand, Nathan could very clearly feel the anger and indignation Caelan was trying to keep in check.

"I come here as an ally, not an enemy. And I'm not angry. Nor am I a fool. A Fool would have remained silent at you accusing a dedicated Jedi like Jonyna Si of being on the path to the Dark Side when as far as I can tell, she only ever tried to help the Alliance and the Order. Perhaps she didn't need me to defend her. She likely won't even acknowledge that I tried to. But it would have been more foolish to let her think she was alone in the room, listening to yet another tired appeal to doing things as they were being done before, and expecting it not to blow up in our faces."

Nathan then placed his cybernetic eyes back into his skull by hand, blinking a bit.

"But if you wish me to leave...fine. I will do so. But let's see you dismiss the Sith so easily as you dismissed me when their hands come for your throat again...you may find it somewhat more difficult to banish someone who disagrees with you and wants to fight back..." Nathan responded quietly, at last understanding part of Laertia's pain and where it stemmed from... listening to people such as this.

He turned and started to leave...and then something happened as he did so.

As he headed out of the hall, he felt a large number of people make their decision about his words.

Forty Jedi, Knights, Padawans, even a master or two, stood up. Some were still injured, covered in bandages, shocking their own friends, their own masters, their own apprentices, and began to follow him out the room, some aggressively struggled out of the grasp of the healers still treating them. Some called out, only to be ignored.

He turned. "No need to escort me out. I know when I'm not wanted."

"You misunderstand..." one of the two Masters joining him said. "We're with you, Bloodscrawl."

"You should go back. You'll no doubt be censured. The Padawans especially." Nathan warned them in good faith. "The path I walk is not an easy one. And I have no desire to be the source of a schism. I am only the canary in a mineshaft..."

"I'm done listening to people like Caelan..." spat a wounded knight balancing on crutches. "People like Caelan cost us Coruscant."

"You're in pain. Perhaps you are not thinking clearly of the consequences." Nathan responded. "You should go back."

"To what? More of the same?" the other Master asked, an elderly Zabrak with yellow skin.

He turned to the injured Padawans in the group.

"Your masters will greatly resent me if you decide to follow. You should go back. Perhaps you are rushing things. You are young."

"Young enough to bleed." one Padawan, a human with a bandage covering his damaged eye said.

"This is a very drastic decision you are making, to rebel so openly. They will not overlook it." Nathan warned. "You should go back. If you return now, you may yet have this moment forgiven. There is no shame in walking away from me. I encourage it, in fact. I do not wish to ruin your lives. I didn't wish to ruin anyone's lives. You should go back."

"We can decide for ourselves whether or not we ruined our lives, not they..." a wounded Knight with a broken arm in a sling and heavy burn wounds on his face said. "We want to join you."

Nathan sighed. He hadn't been trying to cause this. Hadn't wanted to create some big dramatic scene like this.

But he could feel their willingness to follow him. He felt their belief in his words. His argument had been more convincing than even he thought.

"Very well then. We're all in this together. I will help you to the best of my ability. I will teach you all I know of fighting the Sith." Nathan said, just as he saw a bunch of the Masters coming, Lightsabers drawn.

Nathan turned to the Padawans. "Last chance, young ones. Go home. No hard feelings."

Only one Padawan ran back to the group. "I'm sorry!" he called back to Nathan.

"It's alright!" Nathan called back. "Have a happy life, Padawan."

"Going once..." Nathan said to the remaining people who followed him, raising his hand as the Masters got closer, shouting at him to stop from absconding with their students.

"Going twice..." He said to everyone following him.

"NATHAN BLOODSCRAWL, STAND DOWN!" one of the pursuing Masters shouted, lightsaber active.

"Sold..." Nathan said, snapping his fingers and teleporting his new followers out of the complex, all at once, to the stunned shock of the Masters.

The teleported group found themselves aboard a Keren-Class Corvette . They were in a ritual circle in the hangar. An emergency measure he had set up beforehand, arranged by his sister Meleena. He immediately signalled Melissa to get back to the ship and get aboard.

"My new friends..." He said turning to the stunned group of injured Jedi.

"...I hope someday you can forgive me for what happened there..."

Nathan waited until Melissa had raced aboard on the Interceptor and they were leaving Ilum in full stealth mode.

Saki

Makko Vyres

Corazona von Ascania

Jand Talo

Exit post.

 

[BB-DD]

Dee Dee wasn’t sure what all she had missed, but soon she came wheeling back, her extended clamp carrying a dead rat.

She buzzed through the halls and disposed of the creature down a garbage chute, then spun around to go find what the Jedi were doing.

Would they come together or would they continue to fight amongst each other?

 

[Jand Talo]

Jand had tired of the conversation. The debating, the arguing, the grand spectacle of being some kind of martyr or seer of stark reality. It had worn on the Nagai's patience, he had reached the point of willing allowance, and was more than prepared to tell Bloodscrawl to be silent and help, or to leave in more firm terms than Caelan... but that wasn't necessary, as the other handled it.

Amid the ravings of a clearly unhinged individual, Jand merely stood and watched.

"What is happening?"

Genuine confusion. A question to no-one in particular.

Suddenly, the injured were ignoring treatment and standing up, Padawans were denouncing Masters, lightsabers were being drawn and calls for joining Bloodscrawl on a crusade against Alliance enemies was throughout the healing space. Masters charged with seeming intent to stop - or even kill - the one who offered a path of vengeance. Then a pithy comment, a click of the fingers, and some forty Jedi instantly vanished...

...

Jand blinked.

"...did he just kidnap Jedi? Corazona, are we doing anything about this?"

Jand had no idea what had just happened, nor how an apparent Jedi Knight could teleport multiples of dozens of people to - well - anywhere else. But, it had happened. After several moments of thought, Jand turned around and went back to work assisting the wounded, sorting those who needed help from those that weren't likely to survive injuries sustained.

Hm. It seems a majority of those that wouldn't survive have disappeared. Perplexing.

Corazona von Ascania | Caelan Valoren | Nathan Bloodscrawl​