Faction Gift of Light

[Cordé Sabo]

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D U L C E T
OBJ I | ROCKIN' AROUND THE LIFE DAY TREE
CORUSCANT | ALLIANCE SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL CENTRE |
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​

Twilight swept across Coruscant, darkening the sky’s blue and enunciating the brilliance of the Senate Square’s glow. In its centre, now lit, a tree sparkled with technicoloured bulbs bright enough to gleam against the smooth-edged towers and spires and buildings for blocks and blocks and blocks.

It was pretty, and for a few moments of waiting Cordé looked up through the swirling flakes to the pointed tip of the incredibly huge decoration. In contrast to the Watto-Mart plants in her apartment, its big, green scale could have maybe rivalled the trunks on Endor or Kashyyk. And if she tilted her head just right, still a little drinky, the lights stretched like giant diamonds. Or fallen stars.

When she looked back down, she recognized she wasn’t the only one entranced by the festive splendour of the giant tree. Almost everyone in the entire square seemed happy to watch the tree flicker and sparkle. Right? That’s what their chins were tiled up at, right? Why did it matter. It didn’t matter. People could do what they wanted. Woah what was happening, were those her nerves? Was she drunker than she thought?

She considered her level of inebriation and the brightness of her nerves en route to the transport facility that she’d read earlier.

Only a block away from her destination, she turned the corner the same time as the Jedi — but stopped before it turned into a full-on bump. “Oh wow, it’s — you’re already —You’re quick. Hi.” she greeted with a small lift of her hand for the galaxy’s smallest wave. At least the street lights weren't as bright as the tree out here, even though she could still see the glow from the square.

Part of her was still surprised that he’d been both able and willing to meet her at such late notice with how little information she’d given. Just a surprise. That’s it.

But then again, he’d been cradle robbed from his family by the culty Jedi so it’s not like he had family to spend Life Day with, right?

“I’m glad you could come tonight, it’s sort of like a Life Day Miracle with timing.” she pointed down the street they were on, to a facility with only one light on. It looked very unassuming at the end of the street. “We’re just going down there.”

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Sion Lorray
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[Sion Lorray]

Cordé Sabo

His nose was deep in the datapad.

What other gif would be funny and make Cordé-

WAIT, IT'S CORDÉ.

Sion managed to stop walking right before bumping into the woman. He blinked twice and then quickly put away the datapad. "Ohey!" Already the Padawan felt himself flush just a little bit. But that was the beer. Yeah, definitely the ale. He knew he shouldn't have had that second glass. But the people were so enthusiastic and it had been infectious.

"Yeah, well, I was watching the tree! It looked really nice." Cheerful as the buzz rounded the sharp corners into gentle frazzleness.

"Yeah, I am glad too. Miracle... yeah." A bit of a goofy smile there as he looked in the direction she pointed. "Oh, sure, okay." Following along with Cordé as he pushed the datapad a bit deeper into his pocket.

"Hope you have been having a nice night? We didn't really get to talk much after..."

A flash of zombies, gory corridors and cramped vents. That wasn't exactly something worth thinking about. Especially not with how nice everything was. Fuzzy, but nice. Not the time to ruin the moment, Sion! "Well, anyway. Glad we could catch up a bit." He paused at the warehouse and looked it up and down.

It was almost aggressive in its nondescriptness.

"Uh, so what are we doing here?"

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

"Just Wyse is fine. At least in private. Unlike some I remember the sacrifices of the Jedi."

He waved the issue away there and then. His assistants wouldn't like it one bit. They always hammered on about propriety and the fact this position was still relatively new to the military. It would be better to keep underlining its importance and hierarchy at every opportunity. Wyse disagreed. Either his actions would speak for themselves or they wouldn't.

A fancy rank didn't mean anything compared to the good he could do with it.

It took a moment for Thaddeus to catch what Asmundr was putting down. He looked the Jedi up and down. Trying to gauge just how serious the wizened man was in the moment.

That was a bit much, wasn't it?

Brows furrowed.

"Morale is important in the ides of war." Wyse said slowly, clearly thinking about it. "I am not wearing the get-up." He pointed in particular towards the fluffy crimson pants.

"But I can wear the hat."

Oh, yes, his assistants would hate this.

"You will do the talking however." Command came easy to him. It was not surprising why he had been picked to be elevated. The way Thaddeus easily accepted a situation for what it was and then modified it to specification.

Asmundr Varobalder | Thelma Goth | Silas Westgard

 

[Cordé Sabo]

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D U L C E T
OBJ I | ROCKIN' AROUND THE LIFE DAY TREE
CORUSCANT | ALLIANCE SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL CENTRE |
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​

“That’s actually got everything to do with this.” Cordé interjected despite Sion’s attempt to change the subject. “I got on the Task Force.” It had been…really busy. Spending time in virtual simulations ended up really messing with her internal clock and she was starting to forget if it had been months or weeks since their scouring above Empress Teta.

“You helped me finish my mission, and I never really got to say thank you properly and...we never really got to see the end of yours so. Or, the one you gave yourself anyway. Remember your promise to that garbage worm? How you said you'd save her and return?” Snowprints from the pair left a trail up to the main entrance where..she actually hadn’t had much of a plan. This was very sporadic and imperfect information. All she could do was knock once, twice, thrice and hope someone would answer.

At least they’d acted quickly enough for her to know someone was working on Life Day within the warehouse to process the storage notifications and inventory.

Someone did. Someone wearing a lopsided festive hat and bells around their neck. They looked entirely shocked to see two people on their doorstep.

“Uh, yes?” Their face was as red as Verin’s had been and it was well-apparent there were celebrations happening among the skeleton crew inside. There was the distant, muted sound of holiday classics playing.

This was another part she was only semi-prepared for.

“Hi, Merry Life day, I got a notification..” She relied on her datapad to share the tracking information she’d been watching for a while.

“This is GADF confidential… how did you..”

Cordé held up a dismissive hand. If she were a Jedi, she could have used a mind trick. But she wasn’t, so she had to go about manipulation in other ways. Dismissive pompousness was a good alternative. “It’s need-to-know. I’m a recipient that needs to know.”

The warehouse manager was either too drunk to care or really didn’t care in the first place. What was the harm in letting a couple’a youths in to ogle some marine life. And it was Life Day!

“W-ell, sure..” they stepped aside and squinted at the screen. “You’re gonna have to find it yourself. Big ‘ol tank. Hard to miss. Near the main garage labeled ‘C’ on the left.”

Cordé thanked the mister and grabbed Sion’s hand, still relieved that he was going along with the entire surprise that was starting to feel more and more ridiculous with how close they were getting.

She picked up on her explanation where she’d left it.

“Your promise came true. One half of it. She’s stopped over on Coruscant before travelling to Hutt Space, her home, in the next day or so. I..thought you might want some catharsis for your kindness and.”

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Sion Lorray
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[Sion Lorray]

Cordé Sabo

He blinked.

Once, twice, three times and truth to be told wasn't sure how to respond.

Presumably that is why Cordé was able to hold a whole conversation with the worker alone. Without any input from him. In truth Sion had been trying to get some information on the creature himself. He knew the GADF had been willing to transport the creature. It was sentient, after all, and a victim of the Maw in the same way more humanoid sapients were.

"Uh, Cord?" As they left the worker behind. "Thanks, a lot. I didn't realize you were keeping track of it."

Especially since Sion knew that back in the moment? It had felt so silly and perplexing to her.

Meant a lot she had still been working on it regardless.

Then Sion blinked again. He had been so shocked about the creature, it didn't even process what else she had said. Before she could walk off he grabbed her by the wrist. "Cordé! That's great, congratulations!" He beamed with a big grin there. Maybe Sion wouldn't have tugged her in a little bit if not for the tipsy feelings.

"I knew you'd get it. I hope it is everything you were hoping for."

And more, because you deserve it.

 

[Asmundr Varobalder]

THE WARDEN
CORUSCANT | NEW JEDI ORDER TEMPLE | KITCHEN

​

Asmundr chuckled.

Saint Varobalder’s mission was to spread joy and holiday spirit. Getting the Supreme Commander, Wyse, to partake in an otherwise childish game and costume counted toward that.

“Very well.” He lifted the hat from his head and handed it out to the lookalike, smoothing his own hair in the process.

Verily, he was relieved he got to keep the costume. Though it seemed to be snugger each year.

“It would seem...the final clue points out one of my greatest weaknesses.” He admitted, which partially explained the suit’s annual reduction across his midsection. With little effort, he hauled a massive sack, twined in gold, over his shoulder and walked from the room, gesturing for Wyse to follow.

Steps, folded space, wizard tricks, whatever, landed the pair elsewhere. Anyone they’d passed on the way, Asmundr handed out delights from his bag. Their final destination was the temple’s kitchen, busy as ever. Jedi of different backgrounds with a shared talent for delicacies were calmly rolling, patting, and icing all sorts of treats.

“I believe..” He closed his eyes and brushed off some crumbs from his jacket that he’d..consumed at some point since they entered. Sugary powder stuck to his nose and fingertips. “There are two who’ve waded through the ever-changing clues.”

At the centre of the kitchen, Asmundr stood next to a long countertop lined with untouched sugar cookies.

---

CURRENTLY | Thaddeus Wyse
OK HI | Thelma Goth | Silas Westgard

 

[Thelma Goth]

Still holding Silas' hand, Thelma burst through the door of the Temple kitchens. She skidded to a halt, blinking wide-eyed at Asmundr and Thaddeus.

"There's two of you?!" she blurted, utterly confused by the doppelgangers. "Which one of you is the real Saint Varobalder?"

A second later, the gaggle of younglings following her and Silas - a group which had grown steadily larger over time - began to pour into the kitchens all at once, creating a small uproar in the process.

Thaddeus Wyse Asmundr Varobalder Silas Westgard​

 

[Cordé Sabo]

______________________________________________________________
D U L C E T
OBJ I | ROCKIN' AROUND THE LIFE DAY TREE
CORUSCANT | ALLIANCE SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL CENTRE |
______________________________________________________________

​

In their excitement, they talked over one another. One sentence started and another zipped out until they were back at the tiny little admission she’d inserted in the snow. At this point, for her, it meant little and her emphasis was anticipating his reaction to the Dianoga.

“..and let me properly...”

And while he sounded deeply appreciative, he seemed happier for her news than the closure that came with her semi-orchestrated surprise.

Only a few steps away, the sign for Garage C flickered unsteadily. Cordé focused on it, lest she be unmoored from her focus by his affirmation. Once again she was baffled by the unpredictability of his genuineness.

"Heh."

But no matter how intently she looked ahead, she felt a brush of heat on her wrist before she could go further. Clumsily by his hand, she was drawn backward. Haste and rush turned lazy and unhurried, charmed by the intense focus when her view changed from the on-and-off flashing C to just Sion.

Dimly lit in the science centre’s warehouse, the lights were only lines that made up his shoulders, neck, hair, and brilliant smile. It was like his eyes, his mouth and his entire spirit were beaming at her. Nothing withheld. He hadn’t let go, and she could feel her skin starting to pebble under his touch.

The tiny, critical voice of reason and caution, the one that held fast to the tales that condemned Forcers, was deafened by the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. Quick, loud and unceasing.

Was it everything she’d hoped for? Not quite. She’d expected it to be more hateful. But her expectations of the Task Force hadn’t been dashed as many times as her expectations of Jedi, especially Sion the Jedi, had been. She’d tried hating him at least four times, each attempt had been refuted and resculpted. Shaped into something else she hadn’t had the courage to define, because it always felt like defiance or compulsion. She could feel it's irresponsible shape again now.

“..thank you.”

A wave of disorientation washed through her, and in its wake, that shape bloomed, the enormity of it built and built, taking over everything so completely she had no room for anything else. It was electric like vitality.

Energy buzzed through her and the rush she’d been travelling with earlier found itself reinvigorated, forcing herself to move. Except this time, her steps weren’t to lead him to Garage C. Instead, flushed and dizzied, her feet moved her to gulf that final inch and she reached up between them to give into compulsion’s urgency. Her mouth pressed to his, bracing the back of his head to pull herself near enough to feel the fullness of that shape when it unfurled itself as desire.

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Sion Lorray
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[Starlin Rand]

Heading back inside.
Thank you, for this.

Starlin looked around. He saw the departing form of Eli, but no sign of Iris.

“Iris?” he called out, swatting away flying snowballs. “Hey, Iris!”

Had she left too? Starlin stood up and took a few steps—only to crash into suspiciously solid air.

“What the—“ He blinked, shook himself, then grinned. Hair mussed and damp with melting snow, he turned and wrapped his arms around the invisible figure.

“Gotcha!”

Iris Arani​

 

[Sion Lorray]

Cordé Sabo

Fever dream.

That's the best way Sion could describe the energy around them. Frazzled, energetic, he could feel his own heart beat and hers. It beat almost as fast as when he had been chased by the undead with her. Almost. Sion felt strange, but not unpleasantly so. His sight was dominated by her eyes, by the track of her brows, the way she looked up at him.

"I..." Whatever Sion wanted to say was lost when she collided with him.

This was his first kiss.

Her joy pushed itself into him and merged with his own. Eyes closed as his arms came around her waist. Whereas her grip around his shoulders were tight and hard, his touch was gentle soft.

He was afraid that if he squeezed to hard the fever dream would burst.

Sion tried to take a deeper breath, but found it impossible. Instead they ended up against the wall. More accurately, his back hit the wall and caused the rest of his breath to be taken away. His hands clutched now- terrified now not of the burst, but of losing control. If he didn't hold her with all his ability, he'd lose himself.

No, that wasn't the fear. It was still... that he'd lose her.

"C-Cordé..." When Sion realized he could breathe again. His eyes opening up, looking down, that smile six times more goofy than it had been before.

"That was..."

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Coruscant
Objective: Find Saint Varobalder with Thelma
Tag: Thelma Goth / Asmundr Varobalder / Thaddeus Wyse

Heading through the doors with purpose, he skidded to a halt with the younglings in tow. All of them, including Silas snapped their heads between the two figures. What in the galaxy was going on here?!

"Wait a second, there's only meant to be one of you. And the fact none of you are in a sugar coma right now is even more suspicious" Silas said with narrowed eyes before the army of younglings began to talk amongst themselves "Quiet you guys! I know it's strange to see two Saint Varobalders. One of them is real, we've just got to figure who..."

Stepping forward he folded his arms in front of them sternly "Alright, which one of you is Saint Varobalder? don't make me take away the sugar to get a word out of you two!" ​

 

[Cordé Sabo]

______________________________________________________________
D U L C E T
OBJ I | ROCKIN' AROUND THE LIFE DAY TREE
CORUSCANT | ALLIANCE SCIENCE AND TECHNICAL CENTRE |
______________________________________________________________

For a few moments, there were no secrets, no guilt, no animosity—nothing but warm, woozy tenderness. It was easy to lose focus and what she might have meant as a single token of buzzy appreciation evolved to be more long lasting.

"C-Cordé..."

He said her name and it reminded her who she was. The awareness was sharp, like a spear, and pierced through the fine haze she’d lost herself in.

What was she doing?

How far did she think this charade would go? They’d what, walk hand in hand to wave goodbye to the Dianoga? Then what. What came next? What could possibly come next? More of his caring support that enabled her further insight and power so one day he’d be at the smoking end of her blaster? How would he react when he found out what he had so readily celebrated was her dedication to killing Force users.

That couldn’t happen. None of it.

Forcibly, she shoved herself out of his reach. She had the sense she needed to get away but felt disconnected from the motion. Instantly the absence of him faded from electric warmth to vacant coolness. She shivered.

Her distress felt like it was unwinding and spreading, making it hard to catch her breath. Stunned, stupid, and unable to unstick her tongue and speak properly, she only managed puffy, inconclusive stammers.

‘I'm sorry’ floated at the back of her mouth. she could feel the words like they were physical. She knew the shape of them. But she knew she couldn’t say them because once she did, they’d lead to more. lead somewhere she couldn’t come back from.

Instead, she finished his sentence “—notsupposedtohappen. I shouldn’t have done that.” Her voice had a rasp to it. frustration or fear or anger. Cordé felt like she was looking over the lip of a cliff she hadn’t understood she was standing on.

Drunken compulsion could be to blame. It could explain that she was too deep in her cups to be accountable or trusted. It didn’t need to be wholly true. It didn’t need to be true at all. It needed to be anything but the truth.

With trembling fingers, she touched her face. It was still flushed and warm from him, but passion’s pink was darkening to a shameful red that made her eyes ache.

“I have to go.” pain trilled through her throat, and made her hands shake. Yes, she had the sense to leave. He would still be able to say the goodbyes she meant for him to say but she didn’t need to be here, couldn’t be here.

It wasn’t a debate or a conversation. She felt herself walking already, with her hands clutched close as if she was making herself small enough to escape if she couldn’t disappear entirely.

The room blurred again, and alone, she retraced the steps they’d taken together until she was outside.

Even when she was back in the street, she didn’t stop walking. She wanted to get as far away as possible and never talk about this again.

It helped that the day after Life Day she'd been gone, and not herself, for a quarter of a year. Cordé Sabo's problems started and ended tonight.

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Sion Lorray
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[Iris Arani]

Assassination complete, Iris fled the scene. Mostly because Alicio and Amani seemed to be getting pretty close and such and she didn't want to burden that kind of moment. It was sweet. So sneak away, maybe head home. Eliphas had left, and it was getting kind of late- She blinked as she was bumped into. Distracted by her own thoughts she hadn't noticed that Starlin of all people seemed to be looking for her.

And now hugged her. She blinked slowly as her cloak faded away.

".. Oh. Hi."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

The cloak faded, revealing Iris. Starlin was thankful that it was her and not some random stranger. Otherwise things would've been pretty awkward.

"Hi," Starlin said back.

Despite the shenanigans still going on elsewhere in the area, most of the crowds had left by now. The snow fell soundlessly around them, visible in the pale glow of streetlights. Starlin was still holding onto Iris. Mainly because she was nice and warm.

"Eli's gone home, so..." So maybe they should head back, too. It was getting late, getting colder, snowflakes drifting faster. Yet he trailed off, not finishing the rest of the sentence.

Instead, he leaned in to impulsively kiss her...

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris blinked slowly. Then raised a hand to gently stop Starlin from leaning in anymore than he was about to.

"Eli still needs some medical attention. I hope you'll make sure he still gets some." Like any Makashi user she side stepped the whole scenario entirely, slipping from his arms to instead look down the street and away from him. Hide the massive swirl of emotions currently forcing their way through the shell of her otherwise calm expression.

"It was really good to see him."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

Instead of Iris' lips, Starlin's mouth came into contact with Iris' hand. She moved out of his grasp, cold taking up the warmth where she had been.

Starlin stood there awkwardly, eventually lowering his outstretched arms to his sides. His cheeks were dark red, but not from the cold. He felt limp, disconnected, embarrassed and ashamed. But despite wishing that it were so, he did not shrivel up and blow away.

Eliphas. She's only interested in Eliphas. Or maybe it's because of Corin. Or maybe she just doesn't like me. Or maybe I went too fast, or—

"I... yeah. Yeah, I'll take good care of him, don't worry," he finally said in a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I just... I better get going."

Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he started walking.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

Iris paused for a moment, before taking a breath. She crouched down by the snow, gathering some up. Then turned and chucked a snowball for the back of Starlin's head as he walked away. Then just stared, blinking more in surprise at the impulsiveness of it. Not that she lingered. Straightening out she glanced off. Continued to try and keep her expression calm.

"Don't act like a kid, jeeze. I wasn't telling you to go away."

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

A snowball suddenly hit the back of his head. For a moment, Starlin thought Iris was adding insult to injury, but then he heard her voice.

"Don't act like a kid, jeeze. I wasn't telling you to go away."

He blinked in confusion. "Okay," he said, stooping to pick up more snow. "All right." He fashioned a snowball, but was reluctant to throw it. Mainly because he didn't know what to make of this.

Iris seemed kind of upset. She was keeping a lid on it, but it was threatening to bubble over. "Are you mad at me?" he asked.

Iris Arani​

 

[Iris Arani]

And like that they were throwing snowballs at one another. Or at least, seemed to. He hesitated. Iris didn't. She scooped up another snowball and just threw it at him again.

"No. I'm not mad. Why would I be mad?"

Starlin Rand

 

[Starlin Rand]

"I dunno," he said. "You seem kind of upset."

Starlin studied her for a few more seconds, a bit suspicious. But then she threw another snowball at him.

Okay, so maybe she was offering a way out. No hard feelings. Let's just throw snowballs at each other and move on.

Right?

He sure hoped that was it, because he finally lobbed that snowball at her, resuming the fight.

Iris Arani​