Red Flag

[Eugen Aker]

(This topic is open to members of the Silver Assembly, senior Knights/Master FU, and officers of the Antarian Rangers.)

Location: The "Lighthouse", aboard The Shining Path

Seemingly out of nowhere, the Galactic Alliance had fallen, torn apart by a vast web of corruption that had reached to the highest echelons of leadership.

The Mandalorians along their northern border grew more aggressive as the consolidated their power at home and drove deeper into the Core.

New criminal empires grew and expanded across the galaxy, flourishing amidst the chaos that defined the era.

And finally, their ancient foe, the Sith, ever growing, just always there to deliver the killing blow to floundering allies.

The galaxy seemed to be unraveling all around the Silver Order, with their list of allies dwindling. Resistance was growing to stave off the encroachment of the Darkness, but it on its own it may not be enough.

How should the Silver Order respond to events? What was its place in all this?

These were questions that finally needed answering.

 

[Matsu Ike]

THe news of the Galactic Alliance falling had been strange.. mostly because. The republic had been corrupt and dangerous and at times seemed to bloated but ahhh its jedi and leadership usually didn't go darkside or turn on them until after they left. THat the Alliance which was supposed to be free from the corruption and stick as some put it of the republic had been torn apart by even worse. The jedi master let herself nurse for a moment an emotional thought. FOr a moment and then it was gone as she found a place to sit and listen. Hopefully any conversations had would be beneficial and she could add some fo the experience she had with things... There were far worse fates of course... at least the leaders here tried to make sure no darksiders were in positions of power.

 

[Thom Naudir]

The Mandalorian threat, as Sentus had always know it would, had grown ever larger. The most recent skirmish only further proved to Sentus that the Silver Jedi Order couldn't afford to wait for the Mandalorians to make the next move. It wen't against everything the Jedi stood for, but Sentus was not a Jedi. He was a military man, born and raised within the military, serving for years within the First Order navy, before circumstances led him to turning his back on his former comrades. He had come to the Jedi because he truly believed they stood the best chance at bringing peace to the galaxy.

He stood apart from most of the others present, his signature cloak present around his shoulders as he looked out the viewport, a small cup in his hand as he drummed his gloved fingers along it. In the distance, he could see the Nightingale, his personal flagship that had brought him to this summit. He wished to be back aboard already, and to be deployed to the front. The Jedi would not be able to bring peace to the galaxy if their foes were allowed to continue to grow unchecked. Only through the actions of men like himself could the darkness of the galaxy be turned on its heel, its growth choked and forever cut off. He was a necessary evil that the Jedi needed. The fall of the Galactic Alliance only further proved to Sentus change was needed.

Sentus took another sip from the cup in hiss hand, grimacing as the liquid burned its way down his throat. It was going to be a long day.

 

[WelshPsych]

There had been a call for a meeting to discuss the fall of the Galactic Alliance and the current situation that needed to go forward. The Sith were fighting Rebellions, the First Order finally defeated their main enemy in taking over the Core Systems and rumours were that Mandalorians were not far from starting a war on all Force Users once more. Though he also heard some of the new ridiculous names they had. Sounded outrageous, why would they name themselves Amercius.

Shaking his head, he had been curious how a Silver Assembly meeting about their future would go. However, he never thought he be invited to it. So looking at the invitation, he stared at it for a long time. He wasn't a member of the Silver Assembly, so that's not why he was invited, nor was he a Master or Antarian Ranger of any rank. So only answer was this "senior Knight" category. Was he a senior knight? He certainly didn't think of himself as one, but then he had to admit he was a decade older than some other Knights. But most of those were new Knights and still not tested like he had been.

Oh no... He was "senior"... This changed everything.

Taking some spice to calm his mind and allow his thoughts to be in a more positive light. He left his room and headed off towards the meeting room. He knew a few people who were going to be there. Grand Master [member="Valae Kitra"] , Master [member="Jyoti Nooran"] , Master [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] were members of the Assembly he knew of, he was sure that [member="Allyson Locke"] would be there. Her contribution to the Order would mean they would want to hear what she had to say, she was also important in the Rangers area, as was [member="Valkren Calderon"]. He stepped into the meeting room, taking a seat near the Assembly's table.

 

[Allyson Locke]

News of what happened on Coruscant and other planets along the Galactic Alliance influence made their way to different comm networks. Allyson had contacted several of her old connections within the SIS and with those that worked along side them. It was grave news and a part of her was happy she had left when she did. Most of the agents she knew moved under ground and continued their work, she on the other hand remained with the Silvers keeping her home there.

The last few days were all about catching up, Allyson had been undercover for the past few months working the case on Zeltros. Happiness couldn’t describe her emotions now that the operation was over and it was successful despite the hiccups they had faced. Her cover was taken care of and so was everything else, all loose ends were closed, and Adele faded into the evening. Yawning slightly, she still had not fixed her sleep schedule. Being up all hours of the night and day had started to get to her while on Zeltros.

Slipping into the room where they were all meeting, the uniformed Lt. Commander dusted herself off and found a seat near the rear. Her ear was to the ground and her connections were to the crime that had been bubbling up. With the Hutts and the like showing their ugly heads, she wondered if she was going to have to not fly as often and be more of an Agent like she was when she was with the SIS. As she waited for the others to arrive, she pulled her hair out of the loose bun and quickly braided it. At least she could look put together. The braid was twisted into a bun and she quickly pinned it back. Her hand moved and tucked away any fly aways from her face under he slouched beret.

Sighing softly, she wished she would have stopped on her way here to get a cup of caf, she needed it more than she realized.


[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Sentus Olan"] [member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

The main question in Jessica's mind, after the fall of the Alliance, was about how to go around addressing what she perceived to be the faction's main battle weakness: how vulnerable the chain of command was. Yes, their level of competence are known quantities, even her own, just that it was the reason why she was a high-value target. Although it was less of an issue in orbit, especially since the Sith tended to prefer to duel high-value targets on the ground than pursuing equally-valued, or sometimes even higher-valued, targets in orbit, she couldn't help but feel that she was vulnerable. Now, even if she could, in fact, contain an enemy army even when outnumbered 2-to-1, even if the Sith's supply of ground vehicles was, in fact, so limited that they have to make every vehicle count in battle, that was only part of the equation. [member="Jyoti Nooran"] would probably understand as much, as would [member="Allyson Locke"] or [member="Matsu Ike"]. Or even [member="Yuroic Xeraic"], [member="Sentus Olan"], although she knew the latter was more of a spaceborne guy. Now, [member="Valkren Calderon"] was well aware of how to counter sentient-wave attacks, or how the Mandos were, in fact, much better at using armies than Sith were, there was perhaps good reason why [member="Valae Kitra"] or even [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] seemed happy to let Jessica run the army show. Or [member="Gir Quee"] in orbit. Now, it was a question of carefully selecting the target, if there was a need to go on the offensive: she knew the ISAF couldn't simultaneously handle more than one between the Sith and the Mandos.

 

[Gir Quee]

Gir strolled down the halls of the Shining Path. Over the decades he had served, the blonde man had never seen such a ship. It was a marvelous thing, filled with high end technology from a multitude of suppliers yet seemingly a cohesive whole. It would be easy for him to simply wander among its almost endless passageways and feel that their stake in the galaxy was secure, guarded by such technological marvels like the Path.

Yet his careful watch with the 4th Fleet based in Ceraluen shattered such thoughts. While not directly threatened, he had seen their influence and attacks spread across space. They appeared to be part of the force that had shattered the Galactic Alliance. Despite these offenses, the Empire had been plagued by a series of attacks from their northern border by rebels. He could take little comfort in that. The ability to wage multiple campaigns effectively showed just how strong they could be. And if they managed to survive all of those threats and wars, he had little doubt that they would eventually turn their eyes on the planets of the ISAF championed by the Silver Jedi. He continued forward into the corridor towards the meeting room.

 

[Valkren Calderon]

For Colonel Calderon, time was a commodity. Any time wasted in meetings or not in armor was precious time that could be spent on a mission or deployment.

With his line of work, those missions and deployments came often, nonetheless, so did the meetings. As much as he despised meetings and all their formalities, they were a common factor in the life of Rangers, or any other military. Hell, the meetings and briefings he went through were probably more common back during the Galactic Republic.

They were a necessary evil to the ranger officer: boring as hell, but worth it for the added bit of security that it felt like they gave.

Valkren reached up and fitted his patrol cap tightly around his head as he walked toward his destination. His matching BDU's and patrol cap identical to those of many ranger personnel aboard the huge ship. His only weapon, a sidearm that rested in a drop-holster on his right thigh, rested with his on hand flicking at the grip as he walked.

Eventually, Valk would reach his destination, where several other familiar faces waited. When he arrived, he kept the cap pulled tightly on his head for now, brim low so it would be slightly more difficult to recognize him right away. This was just temporary, considering he desired a cup of cap before speaking with anyone..Just to make his mind right.

Besides, some of the faces he recognized here today were friends he hadn't seen in awhile, he'd hate to bite their head off just because he was tired.

[member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] | [member="Valae Kitra"] | [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Sentus Olan"] | [member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[John Locke]

There was always something to do, another meeting, another testing or public relations event to attend, and of course, through it all the ever-present snark of EX to 'keep him grounded' in the droid's own words. Still, it wasn't all bad, at least he got to see the Shining Path again. A fond smile touched John's face as he pressed one hand against the side of the corridor, he could remember the ship's maiden voyage, the desperate headlong charge into the pirate forces that had sought to destroy the ship before it had even had a chance to launch. Ever since then he'd always felt he'd had a special connection to the ship, had always made sure the yards paid just that little more attention to it when he could. And now..."If you're done with your reminiscing sir, you might note that we're running just a little late." "Oh relax EX, it's just a few minutes, we're almost there. Stop and smell the roses why don't you?" "As you know, you failed to install any olfactory sensors when you built me...but if you insist on dawdling then you can be the one to explain to Master Nooran why you were late." There was almost a triumphant air around the droid, "I'm sure she'd take so well to you tell her to stop and smell the roses." That was the threat that got John moving, maybe he could convince the slave driver there to give him time for a tour after the meeting. Besides, his cousin was supposed to be at the meeting, so it'd be good to catch up with her. Maybe that way his mother would accept his assurances that the pilot was doing well.

[member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Sentus Olan"] | [member="Matsu Ike"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

The Galactic Alliance was gone. It would have been very difficult to believe, had they not seen it first hand on Coruscant. The weeks following had been a whirlwind of activity. For the Grandmaster, that had included a trip to Monastery to assist with the CIS effort to help refugees of former Alliance space. The Silver Jedi had also played a part in the relief effort, in the form of food, homes, and jobs on Durkteel.

But, their work was not done yet.

That much was clear. Though there were still former members they could call on, the loss of the Alliance had left a rather large gap in their list of allies. Their enemies were ever-present – growing, even. Times were still troubling.

Valae straightened out her robes as she navigated the corridors of the Shining Path. It had been a long time since the Silver Assembly had been called together, too long. Indeed, she saw various members separately as they went about their duties. But it would be quite nice to have everyone in the same room for once, an occasion that she was looking forward to. The Order of the Silver Jedi had never been a one-person show; it had always been a team effort.

Their community was strong. Valae would not have been able to do her job without help, she was thankful for the steadfast dedication and valuable input of the Assembly. It made her heart warm as she neared the briefing room. She watched several others enter first; there were new faces that joined the long-time Silver Assembly members – an infusion of new blood.

There were already several people gathered, the Grandmaster gave them a brief nod and a warm smile as she entered.

[member="Valkren Calderon"] | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Sentus Olan"] | [member="Matsu Ike"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="John Locke"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

An Assembly meeting... It was rare. And usually only came up during major issues. Sometimes minor, but not often. It was on this occassion that they were to discuss the fall of their on-again, off-again allies, the Galactic Alliance. Josh didn't really have much thought on the matter. It was part of the art of war. Unfortunately, it meant that the Sith's presence would grow ever stronger. That was something that concerned him. The more dangerous the galaxy became, the less proper of a galaxy it would be to raise his son in. Which meant that Josh needed to find out who to clock to make this right.

Josh would step into the Assembly chambers, his expression cold and stoic. There were no jokes to be shared today, not on the eve of tragedy. A business touch would be needed today. As Josh would step in, he would look around and notice some familiar faces, and some newer ones. To each one, he gave a respectful nod before he would take his seat, letting out an exhale as he would prepare to hear what was to be said on the matter.

[member="Valkren Calderon"] - [member="Gir Quee"] - [member="Valae Kitra"] - [member="Jyoti Nooran"] - [member="Allyson Locke"] - [member="John Locke"] - [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] - [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] - [member="Sentus Olan"] - [member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Once Valae and the rest of the Assembly had arrived at the conference room, she stood up from her seat to deliver an introduction to kick things off.

She took a few moments to scan the room, silver eyes settling on Valae, offering a tight smile. Even now she still felt a twinge of guilt leaving her best friend to take up the position of Grandmaster, but she also felt a deep sense of pride for how well she had done at the position. She had been correct to leave the job to her.

"Good morning everyone. I know all of you are quite busy with your duties and current assignments, so it's a bit of a miracle that we were all able to gather under one roof, or one ship, I should say."

She flicked her eyes up at the ceiling of the room. From the inside, within the residential blocks, one was could be easily fooled into thinking they were aboard a space station rather than a warship. One giant flying city full of some of the best and brightest of the Silver Order and Antarian Rangers.

"While the Assembly ultimately determines the policy of the SJO, we value the input of all our members, which is why you have all been assembled today. You each represent a different but equally important facet of the Silver Order. Investigators, field commanders, special operations, engineers, teachers, physicians, business executives, and diplomats. We want to tackle current events from every angle."

"The collapse of the Galactic Alliance within the Core was yet another wakeup call. Every day, the Sith Empire annexes new territory with impunity, using the resources of those newly acquired systems to fuel their war machine. Then they came to attack us in the Mid Rim and Core. Kashyyyk. Alderaan, Coruscant. No world is spared from their onslaught."

She looked around again. "This isn't to say we've been resting on our laurels the whole time, because we haven't. Despite our previous setbacks, we have risen to meet the Sith at every major attack against our own and our allies. However, I don't think that's enough anymore. To finally deal with the Sith, we're going to have to take a more proactive approach, before we find ourselves alone to face them, and lose everything."

"I believe the time is ripe to make a shift. As some of you may be aware, we have received reports of large-scale rebellions occurring throughout Sith space. Incredibly, they're winning. The Sith's grip on their territory isn't as absolute as they'd like us to believe. Fear and propaganda only get you so far. People are growing tired, and want to see change, and now they're willing to fight for it. I believe the best course of action is to support these rebel cells and help them grow into a more formidable threat against the Sith Empire."

She stopped there, given everyone else a chance to respond. No doubt at least a few would be hesitant to move directly against the Sith, especially after Mirial, but she was ready to convince her critics.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Valae Kitra"] [member="John Locke"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Sentus Olan"] [member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

Matsu was listening and cringed a little mostly... because she had seen plenty of jedi groups being proactive about battling the sith. Usually it seemed their actions and defenses were ignored and bypassed with greater ease then her former padawan fell into female beds. She spared a glance seeing Joshua come in and was curious about a few things but wouldn't make much of a deal to it for now. Instead the jedi master spoke from her seat while holding the cane Maple had fashioned for her in front of herself.

"We have been battling the sith for years, some jedi have joined, grown up, become masters all without knowing peace. Others have given into the frenzy of war and constantly swell the sith ranks. There are other things, secret things as well.. the sith who seem to infiltrate so easily somehow fail to raise red flags as it were." The jedi master was looking at some of the things they had here... soem of the ones around them as she was concerned less for what had happened with the Galactic Alliance... they were different when they first formed.

"Still this is one of the rare times where the prospect of helping without just forming another army of light has been brought up. So that has endeared the idea to me some but we should also see who we are aiding. THere was a time we were primed to support the second.. or was it third dominon. The one out of Ession but they wanted to just attack us as much as the sith, we've tried to make friends with mandalroain clans over their organized group and if they come to power suddenly they are leading the latest charge against the temple."

She offered a smile though while sitting there wanting to hear from the others with her look going over some fo the other ideas in her head.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh let out an exhale as Jyoti - and then Matsu - would finish. It was a tough call, but he felt he knew what needed to be done.

"This might come off as funny, coming from the Order's Battlemaster" Josh spoke up. "But I'm not exactly the type that wants to charge headlong into battle, possibly into war at every opportunity - or opportunity we make. I've seen the follies of that. I've seen what it does. If I could settle something without violence, I would. And yet...

I have to concur with the idea to take the fight to them in some form, to aid and support those fighting against them now. While we have a history of fighting for and supporting allies that turn around and do not return the favor... This is a case where, regardless of whether we may see a return we have to know that now is the time to do so. We have watched Jedi sects decide on inaction, and be targeted. And we have already been targeted once.

There is a good chance that should these rebellions be snuffed out, they will focus completely on us - and come for us next regardless of whether we act or not. The most inaction will do is buy us time. It's almost a certainty we will be targeted again eventually. You could even call it the popular thing to do at this point. Whether we decide to aid those striking against the Sith or not... The question I want to present is... How do we prepare for the possibility? How do we ensure that all of our hard work to establish ourselves here on Kashyyyk and it's surrounding systems is not destroyed? Most importantly, how do we prepare for this possible conflict, to protect the lives of civilians and Jedi alike?"

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Supporting rebel cells, sure, I can stand behind that. We can supply them logistically, and even with intel as we can, but we have to be mindful of still keeping enough units garrisoned to be able to deal with them when the time comes"

Rimcee. The turning point in this conflict. She was surprised to see that rebellion, that cell that did, in fact, fight to a Pyrrhic defeat, almost stalemate even, on Jaminere, actually winning on Rimcee. That's what [member="Jyoti Nooran"] was referring to. But any rebel gains would be fragile, even [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] or [member="Matsu Ike"] knew it. But she feels she had no choice but to act one way or another. Just that going all-out was not the way to go here.

"That said, perhaps my information is a little dated, and please excuse me since my area of jurisdiction is more about ground operations, I have to say that their ground-based fire support and vehicles are in very limited supply and, even notwithstanding any shield generators, or airpower, their main bottleneck is their command-level personnel. More than it is about scared conscripts as line infantry or as starfighter pilots. Their entire doctrine is based on direct-fire at short range, whereby any asset outside the Sith proper serves mostly as a distraction to get the Sith proper in position to duel high-value individuals. As for the orbital theater, the most troubling development is that fourth SSD"

 

[John Locke]

So that was the shape of it, the direction people seemed to be most worried about was the Sith turning their attention on the Silver Jedi but, John hadn't been present at those past victories and clashes that people seemed to be so worried about. "If we're worried about the Sith turning their attention on us, then supporting the rebel factions which seem to be cropping up is a good way to start, but Josh is right, it's just a matter of time before the rebellions lose steam. We can support them with people, we can supply them with weapons but the question we have to ask ourselves is what's next?"

His fingers tapped on the surface of the table as he slowly carried his gaze around the room, "what do we all do next, what's our policy going to be? Reaching out and hoping that another faction can keep the sith busy is well and good, but it leaves us vulnerable to the vagrancies of war. We can build our defences, we can fortify every system we own but will that stop the Sith from coming after us? Will it stop others? We all know the Mandolorian's have been sniffing around too. I'd say the best defence we could have, aside from actually going all out in an offence is to establish a name. A reputation that means people don't want to mess with us. Or you know, built such a deadly defence system that no-one wants to mess with that."

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"] | [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] | [member="Matsu Ike"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Valae Kitra"] | [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valkren Calderon]

Valkren placed his caf down, crossing his arms momentarily as he listened to each leader speak. He held his tongue for the most part, but the idea he was getting from their words was not what he expected to hear from them.

He unfolded his arms, placing both hands on his face in a 'face palm' manner before rubbing his eyes. When he spoke, his tone remained low, on par with those at the meeting, but cold nonetheless.

"Honestly, I'm surprised. What you all are offering up is that we continue to let our allies suffer. No matter the degree of just how much help we reach out and sprinkle over the rebel cells, any lack of support shown for those people will cost even more lives."

His gaze shifted to Locke, "Build your walls and your fortresses, of course we'll need our defenses like any kingdom needs a castle in war, but this 'reputation' and 'name' you keep talking' about will mean nothing if our reputation is one known to leave those that cry for help behind."

The colonel then directed his attention to the order's battlemaster, Josh, who Valkren had originally assumed would be siding with his view. In a sense, it seemed as if Dragonsflame had the right idea, but was almost undecided in how much assistance they are to provide.

"Like I said, if we don't show these cells that we're there for them in every measure, they'll lose steam faster before any Sith armada can snuff them out."

He glanced about after looking to Josh, thinking his next words carefully to reach his comrades. Most hadn't had the time to speak yet, but so far it seemed as if the odds were stacked against him with the battlemaster resting on the indecisive side.

His voice carried more authority with his next set of statements, seemingly growing irritated at the situation at hand. People were dying, and it was always the Silver Jedi's job to heed the call to action when others were in danger.

"I'd like to bring up the fact that our armies aren't exactly 'lacking' strength. In fact, despite any losses, our rangers have turned into a full fledged military force to stand with the Jedi. I can tell you all for a fact that what the rangers want to do is fight, and they certainly won't wait for a Sith landing party to show up again on Kashyyyk's shores, like lambs to the karking slaughter! "

He eased back, realizing how out of order he was being.

"But - If we are to go through with this..My raiders are a unit made for these types of ops. I want them there if we plan on only sending little help these cells."

After this, his eyes would move from the group to Jyoti, and then Grandmaster Valae, almost as if he was looking for permission to go now help those same resistance groups now.

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"] | [member="John Locke"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Jessica Med-beq"] | [member="Valae Kitra"] | [member="Matsu Ike"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Sentus Olan"] | [member="Yuroic Xeraic"]

 

[Thom Naudir]

Help the Rebellion. That seemed to be the primary focus of these talks, though everyone here seemed to be saying the same things in different ways. Sentus mostly tuned himself out, relaxing in his chair and folding his right left across his left, pulling out a small blade with his left hand. He twirled it idly as he continued to listen to the others talk, his eyes lazily looking around, until [member="John Locke"] and [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] spoke up. Sentus stopped twirling the blade in his hand, leaning forward across the table. As he began to speak, he tapped the blade against the table, accenting his words.

"Supporting the Rebellion is a short term solution to the problem at hand. We can devote hundreds of ships, thousands of troops and countless other resources to helping these rebel cells, but in the end they are half way across the galaxy. If they fail, it will all have been for nothing. I agree we must help them. but that cannot be all that we do. The Silver Fleet and Armies are a powerful force, strong enough to rival the Sith Empire's military. Let us use them!" Sentus sat back in his chair slightly, running the hand with the blade across a stray lock of hair that had fallen across his eyes as he spoke, taking the time to catch his breath.

"I say, we take the fight to the Sith themselves. Not through the Rebellion, but with our own forces leading the charge into Sith space. Now is the time for a counter attack against the expansion of darkness in this galaxy. With the Rebellion on one side of the Sith, we must strike from the other. Caught between our two forces, we could finally deal the Sith a crushing blow. But we must act quickly and decisively. Hesitation and caution have cost the other factions in this galaxy too much. If we are to survive, we cannot wait for the Sith Empire to come to us. We must destroy them, and this Rebellion is the perfect chance for us to act. To protect our people, to defend the civilians we have sworn to guard with our lives, we must destroy the Sith before they come for us. If we sit and wait, then even if we prepare everything we have, when the Sith come for us the innocent will suffer."

With his peace said, Sentus sat back in his chair fully, his leg naturally folding across the other, the blade once again twirling. He spared the briefest moment to nod his head to John and Josh, before slowly turning to watch the rest of the room.

[member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] [member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Gir Quee"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Valkren Calderon"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae folded her hands as she listened to each member of the Silver Assembly speak their piece. The words began to sink in, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment in thought. They seemed to reiterate the same sentiment – help must be given to the rebel cells. But that wasn’t all, more than one had expressed a desire to take the fight to the Sith directly. Some were subtle about this point, others were not. It was wishful thinking, this she knew… but Valae had hoped to continue to grow the presence of the Silvers here in the core without war.

Then again, she knew full well that their enemies would not rest until the light was extinguished for good.

A timid peacekeeper, these sorts of discussions made her heart very heavy. Valae found her thoughts pre-occupied, perhaps she was not the leader that the Silvers wanted. She had often worried that her soft hand was not enough, that she was not what they needed. Indeed she was a Grandmaster of a different sort; she was not a warrior or a general.

“As others have mentioned, I agree that we should be backing these rebels cells. They have been brave to take up arms, they can’t do it alone.” She glanced to Valkren, “Without support, they will certainly run of out steam.” The Colonel was right; he knew first-hand how these things worked. “I know all of you are eager to do your part.” Valae nodded, smiling briefly.

Pushing out a deep breath, she considered how best to address other concerns and suggestions.

“Most of you know me, I’m a healer – I have no wish to turn the Order into a machine of war. However, I do recognize what you are saying – we can’t sit idle forever, we can’t wait for our enemies to bring the war to our home.” The Grandmaster paused thoughtfully. “However, these decisions must be made carefully.” She remembered Mirial, their last offensive move. Indeed most of the members present would remember as well, they had taken the fight there… and paid the price dearly.

Valae had immense faith in the members of the Silver Jedi, all of them. They were lives valued greatly, she did not wish for any to fall under her orders to go to war.

“Nevertheless, I can assure you that your words here today will be taken into account, very heavily. The discussion of the SJO’s future will not end here,” Giving back the floor, Valae motioned with her hand for any others that wanted to speak. “Please,” She smiled.

[member="Jyoti Nooran"],[member="Jessica Med-Beq"] [member="Sentus Olan"], [member="Matsu Ike"], [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Gir Quee"], [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Valkren Calderon"], [member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Sitting in her seat she was sad that no one brought in an extra caf for her, though no one knew about her wanting one. Looking around she wondered if she would be missed if she slipped out and went to get one but remembering her position she knew it would be bad form. The others spoke, and Allyson nodded along listening. It seemed the room was torn, but there seemed to be a consensus about helping fund the rebel units.

Her slight smile faded as she shook her head. Some were completely fine with letting these rebel groups fight with the aid of money, or weapons. Yet they didn’t’ want to lift a finger themselves. Allyson was a bit surprised by the comment from Josh. She would have figured the Battlemaster would have been ready for war, willing to fight, not hide behind someone else. There had to be more behind what he was saying, then there was her own cousin. She was disappointed, but understood John’s point of view, he was a businessman and he was used to delegating – this was his nature.

Allyson fought with the Alliance who when they first formed were heavy into diving towards the Sith. It didn’t get them much anywhere, so she had some doubts with that concept of fighting. Still, waiting for the Sith to creep up on them and maybe hope that they ignored the Silver Order was a foolish thought process. The room fell silent after the Grandmaster spoke, some eyes fell on her as she sat there and blinked. It seemed it was her turn to say something.

Clearing her throat, Allyson stood and straightened her Spacey uniform, hands grazing over the red stripes at the side of her fitted slacks. The Corellian Bloodstripes had become a security blanket, a reminder of what she put on the line for the Alliance. “Hello, I’m Allyson Locke, Lieutenant Commander, I’m a recent transfer from the Alliance, I flew as the XO of the Rogue squadron. I was a former SIS Agent…” She didn’t know where she was going with this, but it felt like a good idea to throw something out there for those who really didn’t know her.

“I fought on the front lines for the Alliance. I dove head first into the Sith military hoping that my actions were going to do something, make some sort of change. I’ve run several missions – suicide missions that nearly killed me, but I kept getting up and diving back into the fray.” She adjusted her uniform again, she felt so out of place, but she continued.

“Where I agree we need to support the cells that are fighting the Sith, we also need to make sure we are ready for a fight. Support is great, support helps keep the war going, but shouldn’t we be looking for a way to end the war? To finally find some peace for the galaxy?” Allyson started to feel some confidence as she spoke. “Supplying the Rebels with weapons, money, and whatever else is only going to go so far. We need to fight along side them. If we fought together we could possibly find an end to all of this.”

“I’m sure all of us have a dream or something we want to do beyond fighting. Our lives shouldn’t be war. We can’t blindly fight the Sith, but we can't just sit back and wait around for them to come to us. We need to be with the rebels, help make logical plans to end the grip the Sith have on this galaxy. We need to fight, we need to be out there, we need to do more than write the checks to fund other people dying for a cause that we sit here and say we support. We need to show our support behind words.”

Allyson nodded and finished. “I’ve always respected a General, a Squadron leader, anyone in charge that got their hands dirty. They marched with their soldiers, they won and mourned with their soldiers, they protected their people and right now by saying we’ll sit back and just support isn’t what this galaxy needs. The galaxy needs us to step up and lead the remnants of the Alliance and the other rebel cells into battle.”

She sat back down as she finished and sighed softly, this was a position she never expected herself to be in. Saying her peace, she waited for the retorts.

[member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Matsu Ike"] [member="John Locke"] [member="Sentus Olan"] [member="Valkren Calderon"] [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]