Others See Us (Jedi/Republic)

[Ashin Varanin]

CORUSCANT
SENATE BUILDING
BALCONY

A formal meeting was, at this particular time, not the best idea. Officially, Grand Admiral Shira Karrde was not on Coruscant. She was most certainly not wearing a Naboo dress in soft reds and yellows, with a half-veil, waiting on a balcony beside a well-travelled Senate walkway. She was absolutely not waiting there on the understanding that she'd be meeting unofficially with the new Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

Her Force signature was absolutely gone. Qey'tek Meditation, Palpatine style: she still existed in the Force, just not as a Force-user.

With the Jedi Council, and the entire Jedi Order, abuzz with rage, now was not the time to blare Dark Side all over the place. The Lords of the Fringe had told their people that they were free to hire on to either side of the battle of Metalorn, a planet still contested, its fate in doubt. And a good number of Fringers had hired on with the Sith for very good terms -- even if the Fringers' best battle meditator had hired on with the Republic.

Under another name.

The Republic being what it was, angst had resulted. And there were other issues, not least Ashin's grandparents serving in the Jedi as Masters.

Suffice it to say, this would be...an interesting day.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

JEDI COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CORUSCANT

"...in short, Masters of the Council, what Master Ike perpetrated on Metalorn was a war crime, a deliberate targeting of thousands or millions of prisoners of the Empire. They had been drugged with Gunjack, a chemical which reduces logic but does not induce psychopathy. They were drugged...and then enraged by the earthquake which sent thousands falling from their cells, and killed them. Those prisoners rampaged because of Matsu Ike, and when she killed them -- people on our side, people drugged to the level of agency of an angry child -- they attacked. And then she killed more of them. Deliberately. Announcing her intentions to other Jedi through the Force, she assaulted a population center with natural disasters and murdered thousands.

"The only possible verdict is death."

 

[Aleidis Zrgaat]

CORUSCANT
SENATE BUILDING
BALCONY
It had been a long day. And not the good sort of long day, where her arms were sore and she felt like she'd gotten a whole lot accomplished - it was the foul sort of long, where Aleidis was simply frustrated and tired of breaking up bickering fights between Senators. But such was her lot in life right now. She'd won the election, after all. The Ghostling adjusted her blue-and-white veda cloth robes as she checked her timepiece. If nothing else, she could be punctual, today.

If nothing else, she'd get some productive answers, even if it required a bit of shady business.

"Lovely view, isn't it?" The teenager commented politely, if not in a friendly tone. When the leader of the so-called 'Lords of the Fringe' wanted to meet for palaver, a wise woman sat up and noticed. Offending the head of a bunch of (from what she'd heard) rowdies was a bad idea, and Aleidis had no way of knowing that @[member="Ashin Varanin"] (Who she knew as Admiral Karrde) was both the partner of her friend Spencer Jacobs, and the granddaughter of her Master Je'Gan. In a way, they were related - as heirs to Olra'en.

Aleidis offered a smile as she kept her hands clasped infront of herself (mainly to show that there was not a weapon in either). "But I guess you're not here for the view, Ma'am." Alei suggested, trying to keep things friendly and light.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

CORUSCANT
SENATE BUILDING
BALCONY

Feth, she couldn't be older than eighteen. There'd been a birthdate in the dossier, and Ashin had thought it was a typo. Served her right for not reading closely enough, but then again she'd been focusing on the rest of the dossier. Boolon Murr had been her friend once, as it happened.

But that was lives and lives ago, before Ashin Varanin became Desmius became Ori'vod became Karrde.

"Ma'am," she said, with a nod of acknowledgement. "It's been some time since I had the chance to appreciate the Coruscant skyline.

"I'd like to make this quick, or people will talk." She turned away, leaned on the railing. "They're saying that the Fringe backed the Empire at Metalorn; it's not true. Our people wanted to hire on, and we told them they could take either side as they wished, as long as they didn't drag the Fringe Confederation into the war. Having relied on similar half-commitments to get Omega on board for Roche, I'm sure the Republic wouldn't be so hypocritical as to tar us all with the same brush.

"Isis Fontana should have told you the same thing. I want her back. At the very least, I want to talk to her, alone.

"That, and one of our most powerful agents aided the Republic at Metalorn -- but under a name that can't be known publicly. The woman you know as Spencer Jacobs, Queen of Eshan, your backup battle meditator, is also known as Yun-Harla, a leader of the Confederation and a strategist who helped defeat the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium.

"In short, we were on nobody's side at Metalorn. That needs to be clear."

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"The Jedi do NOT give the death penalty, Master Je'gan" Josh stated with a uncharacteristically harsh tone, and a glare. He wouldn't normally do this, ESPECIALLY on Council business... Josh was usually the "Good cop" to @[member="Syn"]'s "Bad cop".

But he was appalled. A Jedi Master of all things had requested the death penalty for his fellow Jedi Master.

"I understand Matsu's crimes are severe, sir. And NOBODY here is more heartbroken over this then I am. Matsu Ike was my Master" he stated, now sitting up on his seat seriously. He could feel the tension in the room, and if he was going to have an outburst anywhere and anyway... He was going to make sure it was heard loud and clear.

"But a Jedi Master of all people... Demanding the death penalty for his fellow Master? Master Je'gan... I've been in the Jedi for my entire life.... And I am appalled" he said, his stone glare not leaving him.

"Unless this is turned over to the Republic, we will NOT give Master Ike the death penalty. That is against our rules and you of all people should know this. The biggest punishments from the Jedi are either the disconnection of the Force... Which is ONLY in a VERY serious case... Or they are rehabbed or Exiled"

"Thank you for your side of the story, Master Je'gan" he said, before looking over at Matsu.

"Now, we may spare you the death penalty, Master... But he's right. You slaughtered thousands of people on that planet with the abuse of the Force, while they were drugged and unable to think for themselves. Your actions were not those of the Jedi, and they have cost us members of the Jedi who do not believe in us anymore because of what you did" he said. "You also, may I add... Harmed several fellow Jedi and Republic soldiers during said disasters"

"But this is not a one sided affair, Master Ike... The Council wishes to know... What do you have to say for yourself? What is your side of the story?"

@[member="Matsu Ike"]
@[member="Syn"]
@Je'gan Olra'en
@[member="Darron Wraith"]
@[member="Ben Watts"]
@[member="Aleidis Ijet"]

 

[Nohemi Allaneh]

JEDI COUNCIL CHAMBERS
COURSCANT

​

Nohemi's brow slightly began to furrow as she'd heard Master Je'gan Olra'en talk to the council. It only brought back memories.


What he'd told her in a small starfighter long ago.

It's war... We've been pushed back too hard, lost too many worlds, too many battles. They're going to conquer everything. We have to stop thinking about this in terms of what's appropriate for a Jedi to do, and start thinking about this in terms of what's right and wrong. It is wrong to leave the Sith unopposed - and they started this, and they're doing their best to finish it, every day. And every day they whittle us away a bit more.​

There would be no need for Master Ola'ren to see her to know she was there. Then again, her presence had a certain serene vitality to it. She sat within the section deemed for the Ambassadors of her Order, having come to the Republic here and been trained in the Jedi ways, under Je'gan none the less many years ago. her pale white robes lined with silver threading, marking her not only for her Jedi role but that as Ambassador for the Fallanassi.

I know you don't entirely agree, and that's your right. You may even be correct. I never claimed infallibility. I've just seen too many people die, and I want it to end. We've done nothing for too long. To not stand against it would be wrong, evil. ​

Perhaps our methods aren't the best, but the Empire and the Sith have us outgunned. I don't know of any other way to make this work. Solo and Torran and Hawk agree with me, and others do too.​

​

But if there's something I'm not seeing, Nohemi, tell me. I'm not comfortable with this, but I can't see any other path.​

She could practically hear the low timbre of his voice anew within the depths of her mind. Master Olra'en. Her hands were lightly clasped in front of her. Her face free of artifice while the length of her ebony hair had been parted at the side and carefully smoothed back away from her delicate face. She was older now, no longer the young padawan of the White Current Apostate who'd placed her under his wing, and spent countless hours pouring over philosophy, history, and the existential meaning of the galaxy and life in itself.

​

​

She had felt his return and his death over several instances, but he always managed to come back one way or another. It was a faint bond, certainly nothing as intricate as that of his wife, but it was there. None the less, he had asked her a question long ago, and even in this instance, it remained the same.

​

Master...todays actions have created ripples within the stream of the Force. Like the gentle beatings of Koro's butterflies create violent dustdevils upon the plains of Empress Teta... so will the ripples create violent tidal waves on all shores. I fear for the Galaxy, Master Shule. I fear that peace will not be at the end of this crusade's bloody wake.​

 

[Syn]

@Je'gan Olra'en

Syn looked up from his seat as the man spoke. Strange since Aleidis had told him he was dead. That he had been her teacher and named her heir to his legacy, now stood before him in the flesh Je'gan and he was. Strange, not in his purpose this was something serious but in his presence. From how Aleidis had described him he imagined if he looked at him he would seeing something far more dangerous on display but then what better way to hide your power then with serenity. It was something all the masters in this room could do. He listened to Joshua and kept the grin from his face at the boys... Well for lack of a better term fortitude.

The boy was wrong though in some ways, the council wasn't beyond ordering ones death... They frowned on it and didn't speak of it but there was always a need to have wetworkers and that is why he had found a place. "Councilor Dragonsflame is correct Master je'gan we to not kill our prisoners. Disconnection from the force, exile or rehabilitation but I am more curious as to what Master Ike says."

 

[Aleidis Zrgaat]

CORUSCANT
SENATE BUILDING
BALCONY

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

Well, that wasn't as big a list of demands as Aleidis was expecting. She nodded politely as she heard Admiral Karrde out, shifting her hands behind her back as she was most comfortable standing. "Those that are screaming for your people's blood are a vocal minority, Admiral - I understand how Mercenaries work, I promise." The young woman said with a small, wan smile. "You don't need to bring up Roche to make that point to me, either." Aleidis added, having taken the statement as something near to reproach. Or warning. "Spencer Jacob's presence was all the reassurance I needed."

"Essentially, you won't have to worry about the Republic banging down your door for Metalorn, ma'am. While we might detain the individuals for actions against the Republic, we understand that they were acting as individuals." Aleidis promised, leaning her hip against the railing. "As for Isis - I'm told she's elected to try and renew her vows as a Jedi. To return to the Order." Aleidis confided, looking out over Coruscant's skyline. "I'm told she has a lot to make up for, and that she's being watched very, very closely. But the Jedi aren't monsters, and provided you're not going to attempt to coerce or otherwise force her to leave with you I do not see them refusing a visit. Perhaps you may even stop by after leaving the Senate building?"

"It's Zhellday. The cafeteria in the Temple always makes berry cobbler on Zhellday. It's delicious." Aleidis explained with a warm smile. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about, Admiral Karrde? I feel there must be - you could have handled all of this with a holocall. Might have taken five minutes." The Ghostling added.

 

[Marek S'hadar]

@Matsu Ike
@Syn
@Je'gan Olra'en
@Darron Wraith
@Ben Watts
@Aleidis Ijet
@[member="Joshua DragonsFlame"]

The Padwan and former Sith Knight was here for a single reason, he was going to vouch for a woman he'd never met, one who'd apparently done something horrible. This was something he was familiar with, he'd slaughtered an entire cantina, spare children younger than him at the time, meaning 14 year olds and down were spared.

It haunted him to this day, as did his new saber that he kept on his side, the one from a Jedi he'd executed with the darksaber he kept at his side as a reminder. But that was not what mattered now, as he entered the council chamber, his hood and wrappings around his arms covering up the scars that despite Asha Seren's best efforts, still remained.

He looked to the masters (and Knights) who surrounded him and bowed. "Members of the council, if I may, I do have something to say in Master Ike's defense." The teenager stated.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh looked over at his friend and Padawan, @[member="Marek S'hadar"].

"Marek, please allow Master Ike to state her piece first" he said. "Afterword, you may add your piece"

 

[Matsu Ike]

Matsu had surrendered when the time came, she wasn't one to argue or dictate. No she had submitted to the binders and the small handling. It wasn't nice but as she stood there in the center of the room standing straight backed listening. Her mind took in everything Je'gan said about her. Everything he recounted while the council spoke. Then it was her turn and slowly with a small raising of her eyebrows she spoke. Hands behind her back in the binders but she was used to them... That though was a story for another time.

"Councilor Dragonsflame it is quite alright, I have no doubt Master je'gan is doing what he believes is best. In times past things could be very different but the truth is. I did it, I killed many with the force on the siths side. I saw what we faced, a city with a prison that can hold a worlds population. The Republic sending a small handful of jedi with Republic soldiers numbering less then two hundred. One entrance in and out and many soldiers. One does not need the force to guess it was a trap intended to wipe us all out, so I assessed the situation and with no better options at the time. I acted, not in malice, not in hatred, not even in abuse of power. True Master Je'gans battle meditation helped but I could have summoned summoned a storm easily enough."

"However that is not the question, did I do it to abuse or show off? No I did it to protect our people the citizens of the Republic. Whom we have sworn to serve, I did it to get us inside and if we had been faster we might have been able to stop the injections of bootjack. We might have saved more lives had we started sooner, but that we cannot know. Too many possible futures could have come from this fight for all of us. It is what led me to simply disarm Isis Fontana and help her. It is why when the storm raged I directed it towards the sith lines and away from our people. I even ignited my blade and for sanities sake, for the lives of the republic soldiers people I was willing to take the lives of the enemy in a war."

She would let it sink in, she had acted for many reasons but she had also failed letting her blade ignite against Isis, she had not been willing to take the life of such a sick girl. No she resolved to protect her. To let her irrational hatred and anger be washed away in the storm. Slowly the jedi master turned her head offering a simply bow. "I apologize Master Je'gan for betraying your trust and for using the gift you have, that you shared with us but it was something that helped protect the people. If you hate me I am sorry for letting that enter your soul and I will hope for you to find peace again. I hold for you no ill will at this."

Her voice had remained the same the entire time, she wasn't one to raise it and if anything her pronunciation for the words showed she pronounced word with more a practiced grace. Her padawan now a councilor had seen it, she wasn't one to overtly display emotions or change the small inflection.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

CORUSCANT
JEDI TEMPLE

Black eyes bored into Joshua Dragonsflame. Je'gan steadfastly ignored Matsu, as well as Marek.

"Can a Jedi Council member possibly be this naive? Seriously? What does the Order do, if not kill? I was born before the Darkness, Dragonsflame. I grew up on stories of Jedi teams being sent specifically to assassinate Grievous, Caedus, Lumiya. I grew up on Luke Skywalker being sent by Yoda to kill the former Jedi who had undermined everything the Jedi ever stood for. I spent centuries as the Jedi Council's wetwork man. The Republic has the right to impose the death penalty, and it has delegated that responsibility to you. Not because the Jedi never kill their own-" He snorted in contempt. "-but because it falls to us to take responsibility for our own people, to clean our own house. War crimes, Dragonsflame. The deliberate deaths of thousands. In cases like these, mercy is injustice, an abrogation of your responsibility to civilization, to order, and to the dead. That prison held, among others, Republic soldiers and even Jedi captured at Roche, remnants of Selena Halcyon's spectacularly arrogant failed operation. It held political dissidents. It held the innocent.

"The news of Master Ike's butchery has already cost the Republic several Jedi, who were already coming to believe that the Order and the Republic have lost their mandate, lost their value, lost their integrity. Boolon Murr has left the leadership of the enclave on Ruusan, renounced the Order, and returned to Ithor. With him, in spirit or in location, has gone his network of proselytes, the former Jedi that he and others have spent years trying to lure back to the Order with which they'd long since become disillusioned. Seroth Ur-Rahn. Qae Shena. Rosa Mazhar. Asha Seren and her Padawans. Talen Nerius. Siobhan Kerrigan. Jaxton Ravos himself has left the Order as a conscientious objector, disillusioned in the truest and most technical of senses. The best of us have left in disgust.

"It is essential to the survival of the Republic that Matsu Ike should die. The entire galaxy is watching as this decision is turned over to you, to the Council. If the Jedi give a Jedi Master a pass for war crimes, support for the Jedi will plummet even farther than it already has. The Republic will turn against you, and be weakened thereby. Jedi diplomats and negotiators will be rejected and ridiculed. Jedi will be unable to lead military units. The vast majority of your avenues for doing good will evaporate overnight. When a politician is caught in a crime, is his political party given the responsibility of investigating him? Of course not.

"You are not making this decision as what you believe Jedi should be -- merciful, compassionate to a fault, even in the public sphere and matters of judgment. You are making this decision as custodians of all that has been so dearly won, clawed out of the dark -- all the values of civilization. You are making this decision as agents of the Republic, which is empowered to hold its citizens fully accountable for monstrosity. Without accountability, we are Sith, indulging in patronage to spare our friends from the punishments they so richly deserve. I hear no true remorse, no intention of repentance. Repentance can never go hand in hand with justification. The Order taught me that when I came to the Jedi as a repentant Sith Lord half a millennium ago. They taught me that so long as I rationalized away my sins, I was still evil.

"Make no mistake. Evil committed while serene is still evil, still the Dark Side, and all the more monstrous for the serenity. Take it from one who was a Sith: The decisions Master Ike made are the result of a sociopathic lack of empathy. I have seen too many fallen Jedi Masters shown mercy, only to murder millions in the long run. For justice, for civilization, and for the safety of the galaxy, Matsu Ike must die."

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh nodded slowly at @Je'gan Olra'en's honeyed words... Taking in every little detail to the very last.

He sighed. He had struck a nerve when he had mentioned @[member="Asha Seren"]... Asha leaving the Jedi Order had left a massive void in the heart of DragonsFlame, though here in business he tried not to show it.

"I see, Mr. Je'gan.... @[member="Marek S'hadar"], please say your piece. Afterword, I will allow the other members of the Council to speak" he stated calmly.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"That's Master Olra'en to you," said Je'gan, voice level. "But do go on, S'hadar."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

CORUSCANT
SENATE BUILDING
BALCONY

@[member="Aleidis Ijet"]

"I came for the berry cobbler," said Grand Admiral Karrde, deadpan. "I always liked it."

A hint, perhaps, that the name Shira Karrde hadn't popped up on Eshan by accident, in quiet connection (discernible to the Chancellor) with the creation of the MC180 Remembrance-class battlecruiser. That connection with the Queen of Eshan had just become much more blatant, with the revelation of Yun-Harla's identity.

And, as Ardak Serifen had before her, Aleidis Ijet might very well now have enough pieces of the puzzle to guess that Admiral Karrde was more than she seemed. They had met after Ashin's presumed death, in her quiet trip to the Jedi Temple right here on Coruscant, and so even though she had known Ashin by a different face and body, she at least knew that Empress Desmius the First was alive and well.

"Incidentally, Ardak Serifen sends his regards. We have him very, very quietly running the Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium now that we've conquered it."

 

[Aleidis Zrgaat]

CORUSCANT
SENATE BUILDING
BALCONY

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

Aleidis had never been a slow girl. Sometimes an excitable girl, often a naive girl and once in awhile a scared girl, but she'd never been slow. The apprentice of two of the great modern mentalists in the Jedi Order's history would not have survived, were she not exceptionally clever from time to time. And for what it was worth, Aleidis had a piece more of the puzzle than she was perhaps given credit for.

"The berry cobbler is one of my favorites." Aleidis admitted with a small, sneaky smile. "I've tried to make it on my own, but I don't have the talent for cooking - only growing berries. Modern cuisine is a pretty good argument that the people of the Galaxy were made to work together." She mused, though her tone implied that she wasn't being entirely serious.

"Your Grandfather is a busy man this afternoon. Were you hoping to see him, or would you like me to send along your best wishes?" Aleidis asked idly, giving Admiral Kaddre an askance, curious look meant to seem innocent, though it was a fairly easy way of judging the woman's reactions - seeing how much Desmius-that-was had underestimated her.

 

[Syn]

Syn let a small grin show at the mention of being a former sith. It was also a very good reason for why they should kill the jedi master. It let him keep his gaze on the man more then the woman. Hell the small interrupts were even humorous as he sat back in the chair and folded his hands. This was something they all had to think about but simply killing her was to lose more jedi from the order. "Jedi abandoning the order and their duties are not the concern. Executing a jedi will not return them to the order, it would simply lower our hemorrhaging numbers." That several had decided to leave from it was disconcerting but couldn't be a factor in their decision. "We barely have the numbers to protect the Republic as it is."

His head finally turned to see the others who had spoken but they were not the issue, not the issue had come because he was inclined not to lose an advantage in a fight, their enemies were not going to roll over. The rogues who left were not going to just be quiet and the Republic he only spared minor thoughts to. He protected it, he didn't care for the politics of said place. Let them have their games so long as the citizens are fed, clothed and able to sleep peacefully at night. Aleidis can play the games in her arena while he and the jedi played theirs here. He believed Je'gan's knowledge in a few things and he was claiming to be nearly as old as he was if not a little older. That might take more investigation.

"But you do speak the truth Master Je'gan, we do police ourselves. We do take the responsibility for each others actions onto ourselves and when one of us acts we all act. It will always take many jedi to fix the mistake of another." He could execute her still but... but why just be the Shadow. He knew more then enough about the darkside as his blood boiled with it. "Perhaps there is a different solution, perhaps Master Je'gan we are missing something. As a former sith you know much about redemption. As do I, atonement is a long road to walk alone. Why not teach her your tale, show her how to do good with what the force has given her. It will give her for a time her life, if she seems to be falling you have this councils permission to do as needed."

 

[Marek S'hadar]

@Matsu Ike
@Syn
@Je'gan Olra'en
@Darron Wraith
@Ben Watts
@Aleidis Ijet
@Joshua DragonsFlame

"Up until about a year ago, I was your enemy, I was Sith, and when I was…I did extremely terrible things, possibly not on Master Ike's level but nonetheless horrid. But the Jedi forgave that, they forgave their enemy and took me in as one of them, I'd think we'd be able to forgive one of our own Master Ola'ren. I have no standing in the order currently, I am a padawan now, for sadly I have had no comprehension on how to use anything but the dark side until recently, I simply am trying to make a point here." He stated, looking to the members of the council with a blank expression, curious as to what their response would be.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh gave @[member="Syn"] a cold, long stare at his decree, which he had done WITHOUT speaking to himself or the rest of the Council.

He would not intervene yet... He wanted to hear the response of the Jedi Master.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

CORUSCANT
SENATE BUILDING
BALCONY

@[member="Aleidis Ijet"]

Ashin turned away from the balcony after a slow exhale, and met the Chancellor's eyes.

"Ghostlings really do mature quickly, don't they," she said, unsure how to feel. She opted for trusting. If the Chancellor wanted to trap her, an open-air balcony was not the place. In fact, if Aleidis knew who she was, to the point of knowing that she was a scion of a White Current family, the Chancellor would also know that Ashin had a pretty decent chance of being able to pull off a regicide right here, right now.

"I have no interest in seeing my grandfather, but thank you," she said after a moment. "Consider it karma -- after all, he had no interest in me. When his son and Padawan got a girl pregnant, he had the baby quietly farmed out to a nice middle-class couple on New Cov. No, I have little time for the Jedi. I served my time in their ranks, you know that. I was a good one, a good Jedi." She hesitated, then shrugged. "If we're being overheard, you're politically dead already. I'll tell you something only Ben Watts and Darron Wraith know, in the Order. When I was Empress, and before, when I was struggling with the poison that cut me off from the Light Side of the Force, I was a sleeper agent for the Jedi Order. I redirected the Empire from its weaker targets, towards space that could defend itself. Would I have re-formed the Republic if I could? Yes -- but less than I reformed the Empire."