Right your wrongs

[Arage Bao]

Classified Location​

Fringe Space​

Lipsec, Annaj - all the things in between… enough was enough. Jared Ovmar was many things, a monster to some, schemer to others, the proverbial spider who spun his webs with glee. All true to some degree, and yet he was a changed man. Age would do that to a person, give perspective and soften the blow of corruption and darkness in one’s heart.

But a lifetime of darkness cannot be simply ignored, regardless of how well-put Rave’s words had resonated within himself. Today he was here out of concern though, concern that things were spinning out of control, perhaps a portion of it had been his fault, in the grand scheme of things though… she was no longer fit for duty.

Ovmar doubted she had ever been fit for it, she had warned him when he had asked her to take control over the armies with his support. But he had needed an inside-man, someone he could trust during the days he hadn’t been as acquainted with Merrill, a mistake… but humans made mistakes all the time.

He had called for [member="Ashin Varanin"] and [member="Lucianus Adair"]. Kitt was gone, Lucien had helped her on Lipsec and was generally unavailable these days, Sargon… who knew what Sargon was doing anymore. That left him and Adair in the High Council, and Varanin as the external entity of power.

Together they might fix this situation, or perhaps make it worse. You never know unless you try.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

CLASSIFIED LOCATION
FRINGE SPACE
[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Lucianus Adair"]

She'd opted for her uniform, the unremitting black of a Fringe Confederation Grand Admiral, with the small collar-pin of an Arbiter. The latter, she'd reclaimed after earning Master again, and nobody had called her on it; she'd resigned voluntarily after being Force-severed, and she'd been good at her job.

If she was meeting with some of the High Council and not others, this fell squarely into the realm of things to which an Arbiter should pay attention. And more, should be seen to pay attention, hence the pin.

"Ovmar." She hadn't asked about his ageing, though there was obviously more going on with that than just the Dark Side corruption that made her look a good ten years older than she was. "What can I do for you?"

 

[Lucianus Adair]

CLASSIFIED LOCATION
FRINGE SPACE
[member="Jared Ovmar"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

The time of day or night mattered not, the hours often blending together into an indistinguishable mélange. There were simply more hours in his days to spread out the work such that he was never a truly busy man, therefore making him largely available and ready for whatever might come. He would never have thought that an urgent and bare-bones missive would come from Jared Ovmar - this was a man that he had at times taken for a fool.

"Ovmar, Varanin."

He tipped his head in acknowledgement of both presences at the tail of the query from the latter, which required nothing further from him in terms of speech for that moment. It left him a cut of time to briefly observe them both and what he saw when he arrived was far from what was expected: to put it simply, the once dark-haired young man had been transformed into something grey, with many more lines than had been present in the not too distant past. Ashin Varanin, for her part, hadn't changed much since she had last been seen by his eyes. Whatever had only them and not the remainder of the High Council here was enough to cause some semblance of concern, but the wintry-eyed man did not go all in without the dispensation of facts.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Ashin Varanin"] | [member="Lucianus Adair"]

“Varanin; Adair.” the Sith Lord acknowledged their presence, before setting out to explain the reason of their meeting. Pleasantries could be exchanged on a later moment when the current situation was resolved, such was the way of handling things in the Fringe. Business first, pleasures maybe later, if ever. “We have had a concerning situation within the Council for some time now, we have been always content with letting it play out, seeing as it never really touched us in any immediate fashion.”

This was all true, whatever she did… it had always been a bit weird, but never much of a nuisance. Their reputation had always been preserved, efficiency in all things and all that.

“We cannot ignore it any longer. Anders Sivas… Andra.” he pushed over two distinct envelopes with information over the table towards the two standing individuals. “Lipsec, Annaj. Two worlds joined with the Fringe Confederation whereupon she has shown a distinct lack of sense and has endangered our people, in one way or another.”

Ovmar probably wasn’t entirely fair in his assessment, at least… it could have been put nicer. Instead he put it blunt and to the point, with no attempt to soften the way the situation was currently stacked.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Lucianus Adair"]

Ashin read the report in silence, and in silence she put it down and waited for Ovmar to speak his piece. An opinion of her own was beginning to formulate, and she wanted to give it a moment. Some of it had already reached her ears; this was the sort of thing Arbiters handled, and though she wasn't the only Arbiter, theirs was a small world.

 

[Lucianus Adair]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

The envelope was picked up, contents slid out into his hands and perused with eyes that had long practice at scanning documents - long hours spent in what was the dead of night for most poring over the business of the Fringe and news that might or might not be pertinent to their interests and concerns - and he too began to form an opinion or two, wheels busily turning over all his past encounters and personally gathered knowledge on subject at hand.

The documents were settled down on the table with no words spoken. New thoughts would be given time to steep while the discussion would surely continue on to the brunt of the reason this meeting was taking place. Some perceptions were already beginning to shift; others solidified. Change was apparent in the oncoming currents.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Lucianus Adair"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

“The King of Lipsec has committed suicide, his children are suffering the same hallucinations as he had. Reports make out that Lucien Cordell, Mikhail Shorn and Anders Sivas visited the planet, during that day the royal family and the majority of the Lipsec officials were confined to the Palace. Lucien’s forces replaced the guards and they too were confined to the barracks.’ the Sith Lord shared with them, scratching his beard, suddenly tired. Just plain reciting this… it made it real and surreal at the same time. ‘Reports state that Anders mindfrakked the King as revenge for the death of her unborn child, somehow she was able to curse his entire bloodline in the progress. Citation needed on how this was possible.’

Ovmar pondered a bit, after summarizing that particular story.

“I am reasonably sure I will be able to reverse the damage done to the children, but this cannot go on any longer. In my opinion we should to segregate Sivas and Cordell from whatever power base they have, neutralize the threat and fix the damage done. Opinions?”

He hadn’t even said anything about Annaj yet, they would probably read that next.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Lucianus Adair"]

The old man across the table had Ovmar's familiar way of approaching things; that made his identity easier to accept on a gut level.

"Cordel has governorship of Zaadja and Skye; Andra has ownership of five percent of Iron Crown. I don't see a net benefit to stripping them of those assets. In a perfect world, we'd do to them what was effectively done to those children, regardless of whether it was a Force effect or pure nocebo, coupled with Force severing. But if we're talking about what's best for the Confederation, my suggestion is to promote them. Emeritus High Councilor for Life. Responsibilities and rights, zero. They've brought the High Council into disrepute among planetary leaders, but we can't afford genuinely visible schism. While you're at it, remove Ayasha and Sargon with the same promotion. Party elder, power broker. Emeritus High Councilor for Life will solve most of our problems. Give it to Merrill posthumously. Make it a celebrated thing.

"It's time for order. We all agree on that. Stronger laws, clearer expectations. This is a wake-up call."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Lucianus Adair"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

Ovmar pondered on this for a while, weighing opions and in the end he could not find a flaw in Varanin's reasoning. If they tried to do something stupid, and that option wasn't off the table by any means... they could act further. In the meantime it was important to present an united front to the outside world, she was right.

"Adair?" the Sith Lord looked at the second man in the room and waited for his response.

OOC/ Ayasha? got it.

 

[Lucianus Adair]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

He considered the words of the now-older fellow councilor, the implications making his jaw set firmly. Their own people, councilors acting against the citizens of the Confederation, those they were meant to protect, and for what? An unfortunate set of circumstances? He frowned, rubbing with one hand at a stubble-marked chin, mulling it all over as Varanin spoke her thoughts.

"Agreed," was what he finally said, hand falling away to sit against the edge of the table, "though far worse is deserved."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Lucianus Adair"]

"What irks me," said Ashin slowly, "all official concerns aside, is how she all but claims to be the best of us. I sincerely hope I wasn't this ridiculous when I was trying my hand at my old Jedi career. I don't claim to be better than anyone, but I won't stand for hypocrites claiming to be better than me. 'Jedi Master' indeed. I doubt her Jedi associates would be any more amused than we are. On a personal level, I'm rather tempted to beat her senseless while repeating 'you tortured children' until it sinks in. But this isn't about the personal, this is about the institutional. It's about finalizing construction of a system where our strongest don't feel the freedom to treat the worlds we guard as their personal sandbox. There are some regions where correction of that misperception isn't practical -- the Pacanth Reach comes to mind. But if we don't fix this as much as we're able, we'll turn worthless.

"Fundamentally, we've always accepted abuse of power, so long as those abuses didn't harm Fringe citizens or interests. Most of us have taken that freedom as license to benefit the Fringe without worrying about red tape. What we're looking at now is nothing short of another Savan or Zaiden. That level of self-centeredness prioritized over the people and interests of the Confederation."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Lucianus Adair"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

"Annaj was less severe." the Sith Lord continued, accepting their judgement with a nod. "Anaya and Anders met. Anders panicked and true to manipulate Anaya's mind. This did not go so well, as you might imagine. Instead of solving the problem she made herself, she called in detachments of Fringe Troopers. Then she apparently also called for Mikhail Shorn to help her, they are now eh... lovers or something."

He coughed before resuming. "Anyway, escalation upon escalation pitted Shorn against Anaya, when I finally managed to intervene. I will be completely honest here and take responsibility, I immediately went for the kill. Shorn has always been dangerous, there was a crowd of citizens and the last thing I wanted was a massacre on my home. Was cloaked, Sandra somehow appeared and assumed complete control over fourty sovereign citizens of Annaj and the Fringe as extension to try and find me, to kill me I can only presume."

"She failed obviously." the Sith Lord sighed, scratching his beard. The years seemed to wear on him. "It took me weeks to treat their minds and make them somewhat normal again, settlement are being paid silently. My home, Varanin, Adair. My home. Bad sense of judgement, lack of responsibility and more. You can find the details in the envelope."

 

[Lucianus Adair]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

"And my home, Ovmar," and to think not so long in the past both Sivas and Shorn had imposed upon his residence to force upon him a celebration of the date of his birth - a fact he himself readily ignored each year - and left him with a small, mewling furball. His apprentice was entrusted with the care of the little scrap while he was absent. The expression he wore was increasingly severe as his eyes panned over further pertinent documents, and Jared summed it, "This is unacceptable."

And that was putting it nicely. He dropped the information package unceremoniously on the table once again.

"I insist that word of all of... " he cast a hand over the space the printed information occupied, "...this somehow finds its way to her Jedi peers."

Hand reined back in to curl against the middling point of his torso; he glanced from Ovmar to Varanin.

"Whatever is pertinent. I do not imagine they will take this lightly."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Lucianus Adair"] [member="Jared Ovmar"]

"Of course, Lord Adair. I may have made it inescapably clear to the Jedi where my loyalties lie, but I still have a comm number or two. Grandmaster Grayson would take my calls, if our wonderful allies from Prakith hadn't boxed her up. There are others." She smiled without humor. "The Republic's Jedi and the Levantine Sanctum will certainly hear about this in one way or another. I have no contacts in the Silver Jedi, but their relevance has always been questionable."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Ashin Varanin"] | [member="Lucianus Adair"]

"Then we are in agreement." Ovmar finally said, neutrality decorating his face. "Emeritus High Councilor for Life... yes, I think that will do fine for the time being. So we make it a big celebration, promotions, medals, decorate our valuable with so much honor they won't know what has overcome them."

The Sith Lord pondered.

"Perhaps tie it into Merrill's old hyperspace project? The Council inherited her work. Could be a good angle."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Lucianus Adair"]

"I daresay we could stand to dish out a few medals, though I'd rather like to be able to give it out to someone who's actually done something. There's a naval captain, Maddox, who recently left us for the Levantine Sanctum patrol forces, or I'd be tempted to make her a figurehead. A medal or two, guardianship of a minor world -- but perhaps it's for the best. Apart from Maddox, I'm having trouble thinking of potential medal recipients." Again she smiled; but this time, with something like humor. "Though I do intend to give the Helix medal to Cordel and Sivas, without saying what it's for. If you'll permit me to send a message that way."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Ashin Varanin"] | [member="Lucianus Adair"]

‘Sounds reasonable.’ Ovmar replied with a soft snicker, before pondering on a list of people who would be actually eligible to this sort of thing. There were examples, men and women who had done much for the Fringe without ever expecting any form of compensation, those were the ones they really needed to thank with good compensation.

‘Na’varro, stealth fighter versus Star Destroyer? His backup when the Obscurity’s went rogue was invaluable. Oryen, for the Mnenmenos bounty thing - he proved the Fringe isn’t all about big explosions and that we can dish out damage with some clever thinking. Jacobs, you; Atrisia, Styx and that Sith Temple in Republic Space… though the latter two might have to be less specific.’

He shrugged.

‘Sargon, he has served diligently regardless of current activity. Remember when he convinced that Jedi to leave the battle during O’Reen? He was also part of the Telos Treaty, really did a number on the shattered remnants of the Republic’s moral.’

 

[Lucianus Adair]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

A vague something approximating a smile reached even his face.

"I concur with each assessment," this was becoming a rather pleasing undertaking in some aspects, "in addition, I would consider Gavin Ovmar and Marselia Urstalis for their efforts in saving the lives of yourself, Councilor Ovmar, and Sivas at Lipsec."

That was not a day of events he particularly liked to think about very often. Not with how... 'close' he had gotten to Na'Varro.

"Now, on the matter of the council, going forward..." there it was, a hand at his chin again, thoughtful for a moment, "...I believe change is in order. Restructuring, perhaps... reducing our number?"

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Lucianus Adair"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"]

‘Without Sargon, Lucien, Anders, Kitt, Shinju… we are left with the two of us.’ the Sith Lord mentioned with a shrug. ‘In the grand scheme of things the High Council was an interesting experiment, but I think we can safely say it wasn’t entirely successful. It might indeed be time to move back towards a smaller, more… exclusive council.’

He wasn’t a big fan of such adjectives, but restrictions needed to be in place. Perhaps an unanimous vote by the current sitters, or something else.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Lucianus Adair"] [member="Jared Ovmar"]

"Agreed on all counts. One need not be in charge to contribute; it gives them nothing to work toward. That's a lesson they could stand to learn."