Private Ace In The Hole

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Damascus Station, upper tower Hospital

---

Today was a day when Burtch could actually think straight. It was nice, for a change. His medical condition was always fluctuating, and he desperately wished to be standing or walking around again.

But, alas, his fledgling lucidity was wasted on the presence of his medical droid. For some reason, it had decided that it had nothing better to do than stand around waiting for Burtch to do something “bad”. He was, thus, Forced to wait in his hospital bed, waiting for the pain and dizziness to come back.

His only consolation was his ship, the Shii-Cho. She was sentient, as were all Ophanim Guard Destroyers, and he could always reach out to her through his neural implant. She was moored in the docks below him, now retired from active service. She kept him company, pressing her consciousness against his own in an Angel Navis facsimile of holding hands.

With her help, he had set up many political “irons in the fire”. The arrival of Rex Valhoun a while ago had awoken his desire to “play” once more, giving him one last game in the final days of his life. Now, he used her as his assistant, and a secretary. She didn’t seem to mind the demotion from warship, though. She supported his new motivations and she believed that they helped alleviate his pain while his condition continued to worsen.

Boredom nibbled away at his patience, and he reached out to Shii-Cho through his neural implant once again, ~Is he here yet? This droid won’t leave me alone and I have nothing to do in this bed.~

~I’ll let you know when he’s close.~ She said, exerting her own patience. He had asked her exactly 7 times since this morning…

---

GreyJedi

 

[GreyJedi]

Galen Paven had been traveling the galaxy and had been keeping himself out of trouble. He had managed to gather himself a small little plot on Kashyyyk and a little domicile. It was on the far off sector of the planet. It was around no one and Galen had managed to keep to himself. No Wookiees, no one bothered him. he had sent his padawan, Rose, away to learn from others in the galaxy. He had become a recluse and basically had stayed to himself.

Now, for some reason, Galen had been found, summoned so tp speak, by an unknown person. Galen usually would ignore such a summon but something told him to go ahead and head to the coordinates that were supplied. Galen had managed to score himself an EXTREMELY old Delta-7 Jedi star fighter. How? No idea, but Galen did. Galen had flipped a couple switches and BOOM, Galen at come out of light speed.

When Galen came out of light speed, he managed to end up in front of a a massive space station. Galemn shook his head as he looked at it. Suddenly a voice was heard over his comms

"Incoming ship, please identify yourself." a gruff voice had finished speaking.

"Galen Paven. I was summoned by........No idea. I have a clearance Code......" Galen was cut off

"Proceed to Bay 4 Master Jedi" the gruff voice finished again cutting off Galen

Galen had curved an eye-brown. Master Jedi? Galen had asked himself and proceeded to Bay 4. Galen flipped another couple switched and proceeded his way towards the space station. Galen had yet to know who summoned him or why. I guess He would figure it out!​

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

The massive hangar bay door opened as four individuals walked on to the landing deck from the toll gate. The first individual was a small floating ECM protocol droid with a blinking photoreceptor as its only notable feature on its cube body. The other three personnel were armoured humanoids, with helmets hiding their race and features. Two of them were Holy Knights, with slimmer armor and cheaper weapons. The third was a burly Paladin, with golden bulky oversized power armor and massive weapons that could not be handled by an average being.

The two knights remained silent and seemed to keep their distance from the Paladin. The Paladin was more attentive, intelligently looking around and taking in his environment as his training dictated. Just then, the little old delta-7 fighter drifted into the hangar bay.

The massive warrior looked to the droid and spoke in a deep muffled voice, "Are we taking him into custody, Droid?"

The droid seemed to blink in surprise, "heavens, no, Sir Paladin! We are here as an escort to an esteemed guest. Our instructions were to get him to the Admiral as quickly as possible, and without any complications. You are here to ward off bothersome checkpoints and inspections along the way"

"It seems a little excessive to bring a paladin, droid. This is a job for regular law enforcement, or contract security guards. Even these knights are a bit excessive." The Paladin clearly took offence to such a lame assignment. Even one of the Knights nodded his agreement.

"The guest in question is said to be of extreme importance and ability. The Admiral specifically indicated that a show of strength was necessary to prevent undermining our respect of this person"

"'Extreme importance and ability', eh?" The Paladin sounded intrigued. To a paladin, such words were a challenge. The two knights seemed to shift nervously, and exchanged looks of concern.

"Please contain yourself, Sir Paladin." Said the Droid, picking up on the vibe, "he is our guest and he is under our protection. He should be disembarking now…"

---

GreyJedi

 

[GreyJedi]

Galen had landed that small little Delta-7 Jedi fighter on the deck and he slowly had powered it down. Galen had looked up to see the "Welcoming" committee standing about 15 years from his fighter. Galen had taken a deep breath and put his hood over his head and proceeded to open the cockpit hatch. Galen had climbed down and stood in front of the Delta-7 Jedi Fighter.

Galen had stood there for a second and looked at his surrounding. The Droid, Paladin and the two Holy Knights had looked at him. Galen was thinking about the amount of fire power tjhat was brought to him to "welcome" him. If Galen had to fight, the Holy Knights and the droid would ne extremely easy, but the Paladin, He would pose a challenge. Galen slowly walked over to the ground and nodded

"Galen Paven, summoned to be here by someone." Galen had reached into his robes and pulled out the summons and showed it to the droid. As he moved his robes to grab the summons, his lightsabers were slightly visible. "I recived this this a few rotations ago and came as soon as i could"

Galen stood patiently awaiting what the droid or the others next move would be.


Grand Shepherd Burtch ​

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

From behind his helmet mask, the Paladin watched GreyJedi , sizing him up.

From behind the paladin, the two knights watched the Paladin, hoping he would behave himself.

The tiny floating protocol droid ignored the three soldiers and moved closer to their guest. With an instrument in his single eye, a tiny blue laser scanner swept over the summons in GreyJedi 's hand. The droid hummed his satisfaction, "ah, very good. Your credentials check out. Welcome to Damascus Station! You have been granted a priority 1 professional visa for a duration not exceeding two days for the purpose of discussing a potential contract. There is a clause here that if the contract is accepted by you that the visa can be extended indefinitely at the discretion of the client. As you are a priority 1 visa holder, I am to inform you that this gives you all of the same access and benefits as a registered citizen of the station itself."

Then, without warning, the droid's eye flashed blinding white with a soft click. A moment later, a photo identification card slide out of the droid's bottom and fell towards the Jedi knight. "I do hope you enjoy your stay. Do you have any questions before we proceed to the client? He is eager to meet you."

An air of mild frustration settled around the Paladin. Clearly, the two day priority 1 visa would make a challenge to the Jedi more complicated.

The Knights still kept an eye on him though…

 

[GreyJedi]

Galen had looked about. He then looked to the droid and nodded. He was a bit tense but of course no one would see that. He had been trained to look calm and cool on the surface but as long as he had been around, hypersleeping, gods knew that Galen, deep down, was ready to pounce at any moment, if needed be.

"Who summoned me? Who is eager to meet me? This is all out of the blue and I am curtious who wants to speak"

Galen had trepidations about all of this. Of course though, Galen would show up. He didn't stear away from a paying gig or even if the mission that was poroveded to him helped the mission that he has had since the fall of the republic. Galen knew he had to find answers. ALL OF THEM and this way something that wouyld lead to more missions, more enemies or maybe even more friends.

Along the way Galen had only made 2 friends; A Sith and a Young Padawan. Both had gone off their separate ways to do there thing and have their own mission.

"THis is all very strange. Not even a name or a insignia on the summons to give me any indication of who or even what summoned me. Droid, who runs this damned station?"


Grand Shepherd Burtch ​

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

"THis is all very strange. Not even a name or a insignia on the summons to give me any indication of who or even what summoned me. Droid, who runs this damned station?"

Dutifully, as if performing a guided tour, the droid started moving towards the speeder and started talking. The three armoured soldiers gestured the Jedi to follow and then wheeled on their heels to follow suit while the droid babbled away, "Damascus Station was founded by @Loreena Arenais and a few key members of the late Elysium Empire. It was considered a jewel of said Empire for many years before it sought state recognition and the Empire Collapsed. Lady Arenais saw to the transference of ownership to the local government known as the Nomadic People's Coalition who are legitimate descendants of the Elysium Empire." The Droid glided into the little speeder and watched for the soldiers and the GreyJedi to enter the craft while continuing it's speech, "many on board still lament the loss of the Empire and their monarchy, but the station had something of a culture of its own. There is the industrial side, which deals in manufacturing and mineral production, and there is the cultural side, which deals with the military and local religion. Which brings us to your question. The station is ran by three key individuals. The holy prophets, Willow & Ivy manage the religious side of things with their prophetic visions, the chief director, Dorthea Dobson is responsible for our economy, and until recently, Grand Shepherd Burtch has been the head of our military."

To a practiced Force User, a degree of sadness and anxiety could be felt coming from the three soldiers at the mentioning of Grand Shepherd Burtch . Even the mighty would paladin seem reverent at that moment.

Just then, the speeder started up, ready to fly as soon as the Jedi was ready to go, "The Grand Shepherd is the one who has summoned you today."

 

[GreyJedi]

"So, the head of the military for the former Elysium Empire summoned me here for what pretell!?""

Galen was curious. He had found a foundry that had exploded sometime back that belonged the the empire and was doing a little digging but came up empty. Galen new a Droid and someone was involved but never did get all the information out of people involved. This also made Galen very curious. The head of the Elysium Empire military had wanted Galen Paven to come up to this station to have a chat? But also sends heavily armed guards to intercept him as well as a servant Droid? Galen was a bit dumbfounded.

Galen had already mapped out a quick escape route if things got hairy. He knew the speeder was close combat and knew the Paladin would move a bit slow with the armor. This gave Galen a chance. But again that was worse case scenario.

Galen looked about and could sense something but wasn't sure exactly what it was. It wasn't the sadness but wasn't anuyhung abundantly evil either. It was a very neutral feeling. Galen tried to focus on it but just couldn't.

"So, Droid, why such sadness about Burch? What happened to him? I sensed your goons here get very down when you mentioned his name. Is this part of why he summoned me here?"

Galen still was very curious

Grand Shepherd Burtch (SORRY DID IT FROM MY PHONE! ))

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

As the speeder moved through the traffic lanes that flowed through the massive station, the droid blinked confusion at the initial question that GreyJedi posed. He didn't recall mentioning that Burtch was head of the Elysium military, but perhaps the droid had mis-spoken when he had mentioned that Burtch was head of the Nomadic Peoples Military. But the Jedi was not wrong. Perhaps the man's special Force Powers gave him a passive form of clairvoyant ability in his speech? The droid was unsure.

He decided to answer the question at "face value", as it were, "The Admiral wishes to enlist your expertise in the confidence of privacy. He was referred to you by… sorry, I just realized that my directives will not allow me to tell you who referred you to him. You will have to ask him about the referral yourself."

The speeder reached something of a central column of the station, which was gargantuan in its own right. Upon reaching the column, the speeder's nose tilted up 90° and began to merge with a moving lane of vertical traffic. The internal gravity within the cabin seemed unchanged, revealing that it was equipped with it's own artificial gravity.

"So, Droid, why such sadness about Burch? What happened to him? I sensed your goons here get very down when you mentioned his name. Is this part of why he summoned me here?"

The two knights stirred visibly at being called "goons". The Paladin, however, showed no outward signs of acknowledgement. Through the Force, one might sense a chilling sense of delight. In contrast to his two colleagues, he took being called a "goon" as a challenge. After a moment of savouring the word, he tilted his head towards the Jedi and smiled behind the obscurity of his visor.

The Droid failed to notice the reactions of the three soldiers and answered the Jedi's question, "Admiral Burtch is dying of a terrible illness. While the Holy Prophets are the figureheads of the Holy Knights' faith, Burtch is somewhat revered as an important disciple of their will on this station. The impending loss of The Grand Shepherd weighs heavily on all practitioners of the Navis Sacra."

As the speeder passed a sign that said "Hospital" on it, the speeder veered away from the traffic lane and towards a large structure with typical decor of a medical facility.

 

[GreyJedi]

Galen had looked back at the Paladin and shook his head. Galen had a feeling that the he was looking for a worthy opponent and he saw it in Galen. Little did the Paladin know what that Galen aslready had him dead to rights. Was Galen going to show his hands? No of course not, but if things went sideways, He would. Until that happened, If that happened, Galen would of course remain vigilant and neutral.

"Illness huh? What kind of Illness? And does his Illness have anything to do with why I have been summoned? I mean, I am not going to deny the Empire as I've already done a bit of work for it before its slight downfall but does Mr. Burtch think I can cure him or anything of that nature? I am not a healer by any means. Can the FORCE do things? Yes but the way to learn that is almost a life time of training. Does he want me here to be security? Does he want me to take over for the Paladin here?" Galen had winked at the Paladin after the smug smile that was given back to Galen earlier "What exactly does Burtch want? I know, Droid, that you are most likely going to tell me I must speak with him but somthing just feels......Off about all this"

Galen had this sense of something being off again. It wasn't the two nights, Paladin or the droid, nor was it Burtch at all. Galen could sense Burtch was in pain and uneasiness but it weas not that either. Galen had looked around and just kind of kept his hand close to his lightsaber. Would that make the Paladin uneasy? Oh Galen was absolutely sure of that, but the Paladin was no where near a target for Galen. Galen looked around and tried to shake it off but he couldnt.

What the hell was Galen feeling? it was strange but it made him all of a sudden feel very uneasy.

Grand Shepherd Burtch ​

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

"Illness huh? What kind of Illness? And does his Illness have anything to do with why I have been summoned? I mean, I am not going to deny the Empire as I've already done a bit of work for it before its slight downfall but does Mr. Burtch think I can cure him or anything of that nature? I am not a healer by any means. Can the FORCE do things? Yes but the way to learn that is almost a life time of training. Does he want me here to be security? Does he want me to take over for the Paladin here?" Galen had winked at the Paladin after the smug smile that was given back to Galen earlier "What exactly does Burtch want? I know, Droid, that you are most likely going to tell me I must speak with him but somthing just feels......Off about all this"

A small scoff could be heard from inside the paladin's helmet. The droid proceeded to answer the Jedi's question, "all will be made clear to you shortly. Ah, it appears as though we have arrived!"

The speeder landed on a special VIP landing pad at the top of the hospital. It was close to the intensive care wing, and the droid immediately began leading the Jedi and the three soldiers. Burtch's room was not far from the VIP pad, denoting his importance on the station.

A medical droid was standing vigilant over Burtch's bedridden form. Upon the arrival of his guests, Burtch immediately, albeit wearily, sat up. The droid startled at the sudden change of state in his patient and began to protest, "Admiral, please lay back down. You must be resting to avoid worsening your condition!"

"Stand down, droid" Burtch's voice was hoarse with strained effort, but the booming tone of command was still familiar to his old throat, "I'm still not too sick for you to override my visitation privileges. And on that note, I am entitled to privacy for visitation as well. You are relieved until I summon you once more."

The droid was about to protest, but it looked at the door to confirm what Burtch had just said and it saw the five individuals that had just arrived. The droid immediately adhered to protocol and shuffled out of the room without so much as a word or eye contact.

Although Burtch was sitting, he seemed to be pushing his palms into his mattress to take the weight off of his back. He breathed for a moment to gather his strength before finally looking up at the GreyJedi . "Galen Paven. I'd stand to greet you, but I'm struggling here. Would you mind helping me stand up? I have been trapped in this bed for days, and I need to get out of this room. We can talk as we walk."

The two holy knights seemed eager to jump in and help him, but they visibly restrained themselves. The invitation was for GreyJedi alone.

 

[GreyJedi]

Galen had walked into the room and beside the bed. He took one of Burtch's hands and looked at him

"Swing your legs around and plant them casually on the floor. I will get you up from there with you putting your other hand on my shoulder "

As Galen instructed Burtch, of course he did what was needed and Galwn had gotten him standing straight up. Of course Burtch had stood there a second to make sure his footing was stable and then proceeded to walk towards the door of his room. Galen stood close by but not holding onto Burtch unless he absolutely needed the assistance. The man clearly was in control and like the independence from any med droids or doctors.

"Sir, I'd like to know why you have summoned me here? It's been such a while since I've been having any dealings with The Elysium Empire and your invitation was quite sudden." Galen had walked casually next to Burtch. "You seem quite I'll as well and not sure if you, possibly think, that l, as a jedi, can possibly heal you. Unfortunately, I am far from that ability. I just hope by me telling you this doesn't disappoint the visit"

Galen did seem genuine. He wanted to help Burtch but, in his mind, the way he thought Burtch would want it just wasn't feasible. Galen had watched as Burtch and him had walked down the corridor

Grand Shepherd Burtch

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

"Thank you," Burtch said as GreyJedi helped him stand. He struggled for a moment to maintain his balance as dizziness threatened to topple him. Then, as he started to reach out with his hand to grasp at something, one of the two holy knights rushed to Burtch's side and propped him up. With a grunt, the knight helped Burtch walk out of the room with the rest of his entourage in tow.

"Sir, I'd like to know why you have summoned me here? It's been such a while since I've been having any dealings with The Elysium Empire and your invitation was quite sudden." Galen had walked casually next to Burtch. "You seem quite I'll as well and not sure if you, possibly think, that l, as a jedi, can possibly heal you. Unfortunately, I am far from that ability. I just hope by me telling you this doesn't disappoint the visit"

"That is hardly a concern, sir Jedi." Burtch explained simply, "the services that I wish to enlist you for are not for me."

They all reached a turbolift and Burtch waited until all of his guests were inside before he wearily pressed a button that said COURTYARD. The doors closed and the turbolift began shooting downwards at subsonic speeds. The inertial dampeners were efficient enough to keep the passengers from feeling any inertia, and if not for them, they would have been smeared against the ceiling from the sudden acceleration. A mere couple seconds later, the turbolift reached its destination. The doors opened to an artificial atrium of trees, grass, and artificial sunlight. It was a large space, and extremely peaceful. Tending droids floated around on repulsorlifts to trim foliage and spray various chemicals on the well-groomed plants, which contrasted the grey-metal ceiling that was several stories higher above their heads.

Burtch hobbled over to a primitive looking knee-high stone fence and straddled it to sit down and rest. A moment later, he caught his breath and finally began speaking once again, "Master Paven, I understand that as a Jedi Knight of Old, you are well-versed in the nature of the Dark Side of the Force, and the threat that imposes on the wills of powerful men. Am I correct?" he then bored his eyes into Galen's, as if getting to the point was taking its toll on him, "Is it possible to resist its temptations without formal training?"

There was a certain anxiousness that could be felt from the Paladin… like he was anticipating something…

 

[GreyJedi]

Galen had admired the atrium. It was lush and very lavish with the greenery that Galen had remembered from the Temple he trained at on Coruscant. The courtyard was exactly the same and Galen was admiring it all until that faithful question and pulled him back into reality.

"The Darkside of the force is not be meddled with. Have I been trained in it? Yes. Do I use it? If need be but, Sir Burtch, it is only to be used in dire need."

Galen had shook his head and stared slightly at Burtch.

"With out having any connection to the force, neither light nor darkside can be accessed. Unless you have a midiclorine count, it's almost impossible. Almost."

Galen had sat down and looked at Burtch again

"You can be genetically engineered. I was a clone of a particular Jedi Master. Some how his DNA was imprinted into the body I was given. I have none of his memories but all of his powers. I was never explained to how but it is possible. As far as cloning now a days, I am not sure how it is done, if it is even legal but in theory, it can be done"

Galen looked at a Burtch. Galen had gotten that off feeling again he had gotten just before they had arrived to the facility. Something was strange.

 

[Grand Shepherd Burtch]

Burtch listened to the GreyJedi 's words carefully, silently judging and evaluating everything the man was saying. There was a moment of silence as Burtch processed everything that was said.

He then shot a look towards the massive paladin, and then looked at Galen once again, "so you say that the Dark Side of the Force should only be used during times of dire need, but 'dire' is often a fluid definition that is up to interpretation by the individual. Is mere desperation a qualifying condition? One's own life, or is the lives of others where one draws the line? I have seen a close friend of mine fall to the dark side in his desperation, and I wonder what can be done to prevent his fall again. I need to see what happens when a true master is pushed to the edge, and how one avoids that fall. I feel…" Burtch then grinned predatorily, "… like a demonstration is in order"

Just then, the Paladin stepped forward and drew his vibrosword, and brought it up in a smooth upward vertical strike towards the Jedi…

 

[GreyJedi]

Galen had listened to Burtch and theb saw the Paladin unsheath his vibro-sword and give that upward motion to strike at him. Galen didn't hesitate. He moved smoothly to his left, the vibro-blade had gone past him, purposely missing him by centimeters.

"Is this really how you want me to explain things? How to demonstrate things for you Burtch?"

The Paladin came back and took another swing at the Grey Jedi. Galen stood in one spot and without even thinking twice, raised his hand. The paladins sword had stopped mid-swing and struggled to even more the sword away from Galen.

Raising his hand, Galen was able to move the sword closer to the Paladin and stopped mere inches from the Paladins throat. You could hear the man struggle to try and move the sword. Galen stood there, with ease, not even struggling. Galen looked at Burtch

"Killing this man would be a sure fire way on the path to the dark side." Galen had lowered his hand again and then closed his fist. The vibro-sword had come out of the Paladin's hand and Galnn swung his arm, making the blade fly across the room and sticking into the wall. Galen had looked to the Paladin.

"You are not at fault because you were told to strike me." Galen looked at Burtch. "Your friend falling to the dark side was of his own accord. There is rarely a way back from the dark side and if there is, your friend will be forever tainted."

Galen began to walk away casually. His lighsaber remained at his side, never touched and he walked past Burtch

"I suggest you find yourself another person to attack. I came here to appease you and possibly help you with an issue but with what I was shown here, the issue may just be you. Good evening"

Galen had walked past the 2 other soldiers and the Droid. The Droid had spoken up

"Master Jedi, Burtch was merely wanting a demonstration......" The Droid was cut off

"Demenstration is over" Galen had walked into the hallway and started to follow signs for the lift back to his ship "

Grand Shepherd Burtch