I'm Scared Too

[Placeholder 0128]

Loyalty is a commodity of the rarest kind.​

​

~~~​

The X-wing settled upon the landing pad like a silent ghost. Her drives had been modified to whisper rather than roar. The lone Jedi Knight's arrival went more or less unnoticed by the dock workers, though the soldiers standing at the entrance to the palace eyed him warily. The knight drew back his cowl as he stepped down from the vessel, revealing his scarred features to the two men. They both eased the moment they recognized his features.

"I'm here to see your Lady." Cedric gave the two men a simple nod. He had no need of identification or force persuasion - the men and women of Meridies knew him better than most. They had been some of the few that had refused to buckle under the Sith war machine.

Asking conflicts of them once more was not what Cedric wanted to do, but it was required of him. The war had begun once again, and the last few Jedi Knights that remained needed to stand together if they wished to hold against the coming dark.

The men stepped aside. Cedric remembered his way through the palace; he rounded one corner, then another, and finally took an elevator up to the highest level. It was there that the elevator deposited him just outside of Allyson's private chambers.

The Jedi Knight did not knock. Instead, he reached out with the force, confident his familiar presence would bring the errant Jedi out to meet him on its own.

 

[Alyson Halle]

Alyson had spent years meditating on the nature of the force, she had learned to let the force flow through her in its entirety, it took much preparation, and laser sharp focus, but she could now detect even the slightest alterations in the force, she could reach out and sense everything, she could feel the birth of force sensitive children on her world when she got deep enough into her meditation, so the strong force presence she felt entering the system was almost enough to bring her out of it. She knew that force signature anywhere, it was that of Cedric Grayson.

He was strong in the force, it was in his blood, but she could not ponder the reason he would be coming, but whatever it was, it must have been important. She had felt a shift in the force recently, Tension was turning warmer, it was becoming closer to war. After a long armistice, war was once again on the horizon, even worse, this shift was galaxy wide. That must be what he was coming about. It was the only thing she could think of. She latched on to the force signature of Cedric, following his path through the massive castle complex, until it was right outside her door. She felt him reach out, pulling her out her meditation, her sensitivity returning to normal. It was truly changing to feel everything at once, every living thing in the galaxy felt at once, their desires, emotions, thoughts, and actions, all equally put together into a chorus, that sounded vastly different depending on how close you heard it, that is what it felt like.

She did not move from her position, sitting on her shins, she merely unlocked and opened the door with the force, letting him enter himself. It took time to return from that state of deep meditation, she could not move her body yet, however, she could speak.

"Why if it isn't Cedric Grayson. It has been a long time, hasn't it? What brings you here on such short notice?"

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

[Placeholder 0128]

The two of them had changed in their time apart.

Alyson had always been a reliable friend, and the people of Meridies close allies. After having raised them up from their feudal age, Meridies' people had become some of the staunchest supporters of the Dominion. They were a good and hardy people; content to lives their lives simply in one of the few safe places left within the galaxy. Part of Cedric envied them, though he knew their peace would shatter son enough. The Sith were terribly close to their doorstep.

"I can't see how my old friend is doing in her hermitage from the galaxy?" A brow was lofted as Cedric cracked a playful smile. "I came to see how you were doing, and inform you as to what's going on in the galaxy these days. It's been quite a few years since you locked yourself up in here to meditate."

The galaxy had changed. He had changed. This war was going to be unlike anything either of them had ever known.

Cedric gestured over Alyson's shoulder. "Can I come in?"

[member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Alyson Halle]

Alyson had not seen Cedric in years. She had watched him grow from a young boy into a battle hardened man, it was one of the most pronounced transformations she had ever seen in a person, and she came from a world where you were just as likely to die in battle as from dysentery. Her people fought hard for the Dominion, fought hard for Cedric, and they were rewarded with peace and quiet, the Sith payed little mind to the isolated world, despite its sacrafices for the Dominion, it was the Dominions final gift to her people.

She nodded, using the force to reinvigorate her body, she slowly stood up.

"Yes, come in." She had been sitting there for a few days at that point, her bones ached as she stood, but she was still just as fit as she was all those years ago.

"I believe I know why you have come, I feel it in the force. War is on the horizon again, except this time, its worse." She said, moving closer to Cedric. "My people already gave so much to you and your Dominion, what more can you ask of them? They are quite contempt with the lives they currently live, my people have never been happier."

As she said this she felt a strong call in the force, except it was not one that just anyone could hear, it was directed at her. It was like a roar, and she knew exactly where it was coming from. She made her way in the direction of a wood case, she began to open it, unlatching the ancient locks with her hands. She opened the case, it was The Lord's Saber, the artifact that made her empress in the first place. It glowed in light side energy constantly, and now that glow was so strong it bleached her perception of the force, and she was the only one who could feel it.

"Yet it isn't right. We are sitting oblivious to the suffering that the Dominion's failure has caused, why are we more worthy than those of Ession, or Serenno, or any of the other worlds formerly occupied by the Dominion and Silver Jedi? Ive been searching in the force, I haven't found one. So Cedric Grayson, why do you once again request my people's aid, to once again drag them into galactic affairs that they have no stake in."

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

[Placeholder 0128]

Quiet laughter bubbled up from the back of Cedric's throat. the smile with which he regarded Alyson was both warm and genuine; he had missed his odd little friend. She'd been one few reliable Jedi that had remained with him during the Dominion's campaigns: he trusted her far more than most. The smile did not fade as Alyson expressed her concerns - all issues Cedric had been expecting to be brought up before ever stepping foot back upon Meridies.

"You know I wouldn't come here if the situation wasn't dire," his voice took on an apologetic tone. "I'm not here for your people Alyson, just you. You're right, a new war is beginning again, but it's dragged the entire galaxy into its wake this time. The Sith are right on your doorstep - it's only a matter of time until they strike out at you. We should strike first, be offensive rather than reactive," he paused. "But...that isn't wholly why I am here. I've completed the remainder of my training: I am a Jedi Knight now, and I have a duty to our people. We intend to open a new theater of war right on the Sith's doorstep."

Another pause.

"But enough of that. How have you been Alyson? How are your people?"

[member="Alyson Halle"]