Private You Know The Reason

[Maynard Treicolt]

L O N E _ W O L F
THE GALACTIC ALLIANCE
CORUSCANT | GALACTIC CITY
THE TEMPLE OF THE NEW JEDI ORDER

---

---

---

FELL ON BLACK DAYS
​

Given the inquisitorial nature of his past few interactions with his brethren in the New Jedi Order, his stomach twisted at Ryv's summon. He knew the nature of this would be unlike the brotherly nature they'd compounded over the past few years they'd known each other at all. Just at the precipice of Maynard following down the path of that sole aim he'd vowed himself to with her, reaffirming it in this same venue on Life Day not months ago, it felt like an instant before it all threatened to fall apart around him again. She was gone, but not out of reach and even so, he went to war with a house divided within.

He'd grown further and further apart from the group that'd coalesced around him, that pulled him from the perilous void he swam within of inaction and indifference before he took up the saber again. He hardly bore that same, sibling like bond with each of them that they all seemed to have with one another. He chose his own way, as he always had...and it made him all but a separate entity from the rest. Those differences would be paid their due soon enough.

The door before him hissed open to Ryv's corner of space within the Temple, deserved given his position as Sword of the Jedi. There was a moment of faint silence before Maynard spoke up. Whatever he summoned him before, he could never be too ill at ease around the Kiffar. Regardless, he looked far worse for wear, the wounds of war painted in shrapnel, bruises, burns all marred his skin and his right hand made metal in cybernetic. Ziost, like every other campaign, had not been easy on him.

"What's up, brother...you said you wanted to talk about somethin'?" Maynard inquired outright, taking a seat for himself as he lazed into the chair, his body still reeling from the wounds sustained.

Ryv​

 

[Ryv]

At Maynard's arrival, he would note Ryv stood just before the window overlooking the Temple courtyard. A grand tree reached well above this floor, its canopy falling just into the frame at the very top of the glass. Tiny green leaves gently brushed against the transparent surface, their verdant color unblemished by what separated them from the kiffar. Small potted plants rested across the window sill. Half a dozen flowers of varying colors sprouted from within the dirt, their petals vibrant and lively, the stems as strong as the thick, gnarled trunk just beyond the glass.

Ryv watched the younglings hard at work beneath the shaded canopy, a smile on his face at the tenacious spirit of those new to the Order. From what he could tell, this was the class's first day of Shii-Cho training. Most fumbled about, bumping into one another when one stepped out of line. Aaran corrected them with a gentle nudge and smile.

"Things are really comin' together," Ryv finally spoke up. He turned from the window and withdrew his hand from his jacket pocket in a practiced gesture, only to toss his brother what looked like a chocolate bar wrapped in neon orange wax paper. "Peace feels so long ago, y'know? Lookin' back, I can't help but smile at everything we've accomplished. A chance meeting in a dusty hangar turned into an adventure that introduced me to my best friend, hell, my brother. The first one I've had in a long time."

He moved to take a seat across from Maynard, reclining back in the plush, black leather chair. "I've always wanted the New Jedi Order to be a home for people like us. A second chance at greatness, free of all the crap we've endured. I think, for a lot of folks, it's been that. I mean, we were just a couple of screw-ups before the War. Look at us now? An esteemed General, a hero who's done more for this war than any other soldier, and a Jedi who finally earned the title he'd been given."

BD-8 stirred in the corner. It slowly climbed to its feet and look about the room, its faceplate panning from left to right. The little droid hopped up in excitement at seeing Maynard and ran over to headbutt the concordian's leg. It beeped up in greeting before turning to hurry out the door, off on another errand for Ryv.

"How are you doing, man?" Ryv leaned forward, hands clasped together. "If I'm worried about her... damn, I couldn't imagine what's going through your head."

Maynard Treicolt ​

 

[Maynard Treicolt]

"Certainly come a long way, yeah. Hasn't been easy, none of it." Maynard remarks flatly, sparing a moment of his gaze out of the window into the training yard. He didn't bare anywhere close to the same fulfillment Ryv did in seeing the Order grow up around him. After all, the Kiffar played a much bigger role in letting it come to fruition and he deserved all the fruits of a New Jedi Order returned to the Galaxy. To see the next generation raised up along a better path than the one they walked before them.

"I wouldn't ever say 'hero'...I'm just trying to help out the way I know how. I've fucked up a lot on the way." Treicolt iterates. Then came the droid headed his way, BD-8 ever the faithful companion any weary adventurer could hope for in this perilous Galaxy. He cocked a grin to the droid's headbutt against his leg, a quick greeting before he was off down the Temple's corridors.

Loske had to have been the next topic of discussion, had to have been. These two, whatever they'd overcome to sit in a moment of respite with one another could at least breathe in the air in safe company. The same could not be said of her.

"Yeah- I..." It became evident quickly how difficult it was to piece together the sentiment. She never left his thoughts. Never really did before and certainly couldn't now.

"I know she's out there...and I'm bringing her back." He admits simply, his gaze diverting from the Kiffar as he unfurls a heavy exhale.

"So close to avoiding all this shit to begin with...and I couldn't just stop it. I just- whatever it takes, knowing she's...in pain like that..." Maynard says, trailing off as the defiant vitriolic fire that burned in his heart began to seep into his words with bitterness, preemptively vindicating whatever action would be taken ahead of him.

Ryv​

 

[Ryv]

Opting for silence, Ryv leaned back into the chair, the forward posturing almost uncomfortable to take. This was Maynard. Not one of the younglings called into Ryv's office for picking a fight, nor one of the other Knights looking to him for guidance. Times changed, but this didn't have to. Not the easygoing nature of their relationship.

"I'm sorry, man. I wish there was something I could do. The war's taken so much from everyone. I sat around hopin' it skip over us like if I just thought hard enough about it, nothing would happen to any of us. The arm," Ryv paused, lifting his cybernetic, his gaze rolling over its clunky surface. "It sucked to lose. Didn't hurt nearly as much as this. Maybe if I'd been there or something, I might've been able to do something. I dunno. A bad train of thought to fall into. Only so much any of us can do."

The chair rolled beneath him, turning to face the window. Ryv stared out at the high spires that peaked out just over the temple.

"I know you're gonna get her, brother. And if you need any help in the process, you can count on me, but uh- that's sorta why I wanted to talk to you," he mulled over his next words, carefully considering the best possible delivery. "I saw some memories recently. The ones Quill brought to light, you know, about the acolytes and kids? The whole thing has put me in a difficult spot. I don't think you were wrong for cutting down those acolytes, Maynard. They took up the saber, they took the lessons, they stuck to their teachings. Their Lords mighta pushed them out onto that battlefield, but nothing forced them to fight until the last."

He took a deep breath. "People are callin' for blood. Jedi blood. You know damn well I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, Rhis, or anyone else caught up in this mess. I need time to figure things out. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to turn myself over to the Alliance and face the charges myself."

Ryv rotated his chair once more, this time turning to face his friend.

"I want you to take the Barash, Maynard. Self-exile, away from all your Jedi duties, so you can focus on what matters most," Ryv rubbed the side of his face, clearly exhausted. "You need to find Loske, man. And we need to figure out how to overcome this darkness that's been clawin' at you since you were a kid."

Maynard Treicolt ​

 

[Maynard Treicolt]

He kept his gaze focused on no point in particular in the wall near Ryv before he began to speak once more. In spite of the attempt to ease the tension in the air, he could only feel it swelling up within, between them. He could anticipate exactly what he was soon to say and speak of, the very same that Auteme did.

At the mention of the arm, Maynard peered to his own cybernetic limb, splaying the fingers out before curling them into a fist once more, marking a parallel in the wounds inflicted unto them. Both had a great deal to show from the fire they'd endured.

At the mention of the memories, there was no explaining for himself, no need to justify. He'd laid it all out as candidly as he possibly could to the Shield of the Jedi herself, it was up to all of them to make their judgement on him. On his fate as a Jedi.

"I get it- I can just...leave all of it, if that makes your life easier, Ryv. Seriously, it doesn't mean much of anything to me anymore." Maynard explains.

"I'm not like-...much any of the rest of 'em, the Jedi. Never have been really. I mean, you, Loske...Lanik...all the reason I'm the man I am today but...I always kinda...did things my own way. I don't know if I can abide by a 'Barash' vow. Regardless of what happens, I'm getting her back before anything else, isn't any of that up for debate...but I can't really promise I can change my ways beyond that. I do what's best for all the people I care about, you, her, all of 'em. I'm not a perfect man but...I'm just doing what I know how to do." Treicolt says, leaning back in his seat with a huff of decompression, scratching the tips of his fingers along his temple for a moment.

"I get it, regardless. I don't think you deserve any bad for things I've done, Ryv. You've been nothing but the leader that the Jedi, the Alliance deserves. Don't make them change you."

Ryv​

 

[Ryv]

A somber smile took to the Sword's lips.

"Maynard, I've always believed in you. More than myself or anyone else in this Order. Not cause of some stupid old code that's failed this galaxy more times than anyone likes to admit," Ryv stated, his gaze drawn to other Jedi further down the hall. "A great Jedi isn't someone who follows a code or tradition. It's the one who makes the difficult choices, leads by example, and makes this galaxy a better place in their stead. To me, you do that, man. You might have a penchant for uh... brutal violence, but was Kol Skywalker any different when he annihilated some twenty-something stormtrooper's the day of his death? What about Luke? He blew up a weapon that contained one hundred thousand soldiers in service to their empire."

He tugged open one of his desk drawer and procured a holocron from within. A warm power thrummed from the device, soft blue light leaking from small etchings up and down its side. He set it down between them and slid it closer to Maynard.

"That's my old man's holocron. He made it a couple months before the fall of the Republic, filled it to the brim with invaluable information for a Jedi Knight like you and me. I've never talked about him much. But uh- well, he wasn't a peacekeeper. He was a warrior. Killed dozens of Sith throughout the Great Galactic War before being executed," the kiffar spoke with a fondness for his father he hadn't known for many years. His somber smile changed to reflect the pride he felt in the man.

"Right now, you're like the sailor caught out at sea during a great storm. No matter how hard you try and keep safe, it isn't going to happen if you're pickin' a fight with both the skies and the seas. That typhoon is always gonna win if you're tryin' to keep the ocean at bay. And if you're so caught up in stopping that storm, you won't be able to manage your ship. You need to find a balance. I know it's cliche, but you don't have to fight either of 'em. You can just navigate your ship."

Ryv looked back to Maynard, his smile unwavering.

"Sometimes the sailor has reason when he goes out to sea. Maybe he's lookin' to catch dinner for his family or just trying to find some peace of mind. Loske is your reason, Maynard. Not me, not the Order, not the safety of the galaxy. You might wanna take on the storm by ending the war. It might feel wrong to ignore the sea by walking away from your friends, but no man is strong enough to endure all that on his own. She gives you peace of mind. She's the reason you go home at night after a long day, and instead of feelin' miserable, you get to smile. No Jedi is weak for needing somethin' that gives 'em their balance. If Loske is that for you, you need to get out to sea, weather that storm, and bring your girl back home."

He cleared his throat. "You need to focus on what you can control, brother. Once you realize that, you'll be the Jedi we all know you can be."

Maynard Treicolt ​