Shadows of Rapport (Teynara)

[Leora]

It had been several weeks since that fateful meeting on Krayiss had sparked a movement. Weeks spent planning, seeking others of like mind. Weeks spent dealing with the Silver Jedi and their attempt to subjugate the entire Stygian Caldera for their purposes. It was a place they had no business being, and given their actions at Korriban that was blatantly obvious. Leos had tried to stop all the horror from happening by approaching the Jedi at Ziost, but he'd been largely stonewalled for his efforts. By the time they'd agreed to talk, it was essentially too late.

In the aftermath, however, he had taken a young Miraluka girl as his apprentice. And by young, she wasn't that much younger than he was, but she was severely broken by the ways of the One Sith. It annoyed him that the fools hadn't seen the potential of the girl as he had, but adversity would ultimately prove to be her greatest gift. They had unknowingly gifted her with everything she needed to become part of the downfall of the future Sith regimes the galaxy would see. Leos would see to it that she understood that.

The two had done a little traveling, but had ultimately ended up on the world of Crakull, where Leos had a secret facility hidden, the headquarters of Ignus Black, a dark site research and development company. Here he had allowed Niysha to roam, while he sent a message to Teynara, asking her to come to the world. They needed to speak again. He was curious about what headway she'd made in their efforts to find others that were of like mind to them. If this was going to work, they would need a lot of people to help them out. Leos had Niysha, and possibly one other, but even they weren't enough on his part. He needed to do more.

"A visitor will be coming," he said to the security team, as he stood inside the monitoring center which kept track of all ships in the system and could alert the Ignus Black fleet of danger at a moments notice. "When she's here I will alert you and you will guide her to the landing platform and bring her down. She'll be alone and she's not to be harmed."

"Understood, Mr. Palle."

Truth be told, he'd missed her a bit. That was part of the reason he'd gotten her a gift. If anyone in the galaxy could ever interest him it was her. The way she talked and debated, without complete judgment and with an open mind and sound reasoning, was attractive to him. The gift he had wasn't meant to buy her affection, but ultimately serve as a companion and protection for her in her travels. He hoped she would come, and that she was still of a mind to join in the endeavor. He'd be disheartened if she didn't.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Darth Ignus"]

Location: In space, near Crakull, Unknown Regions

A sudden loud burst, a flare of light vanishing, shortening into simple white dots against the deep black, an alarm heralding emergence from the broad vortex of hyperspace. A single ship emerged, the bright glow of her engines diminishing as the vessel switched over to sublights, a gentle blue him of ion exhaust hovering around the warm metal that blasted the ship forward.

The alarm silenced itself within a moment, the successful transition between faster-than-light and the cold vacuum of normal space becoming apparent to the one sitting in the vessel's cockpit. She looked through the transparisteel viewport that rested just ahead of her, a thin few centimeters of shielding between her and the fatal cold beyond. Space often looking much the same wherever you went, but she had learned well enough to tell some of the differences.
Nothing was ever the same when you had the Force with you to point out the differences.

Her ship had travelled hyperspace corridors they had not used before: the planet that was her destination remained just beyond the confines of Chiss space, and she had been forced to skirt around it to arrive here, a journey that had taken nearly a week. Aboard her vessel, alone, Teynara had more than a little time to relax, reflect and think. It had been strange at first, to find herself lonely aboard a ship such as this: normally there were other Healers aboard, perhaps even the odd patient. The silence within had felt deafening at moments, and there were times she had woken in the night, the quiet itself so unnatural as to break her repose.

Now she was approaching the planet - one she had come to only at Leos' request. He had told her that they would meet once he had established a few things, but it was fair to say that much had since gone wrong. The Sith returned to their worlds, and the Jedi find themselves held responsible for a massacre perpetrated by one that should never have been allowed to get that far. Everything since had been clean-up and recovery: as much on a psychological level as with respects to any physical damage.

"Astral Luminscence requesting permission to land," she said, keying the commlink and naming her ship as it rapidly approached the planet up ahead. The transponder was already active, transmitting the vessel's name, identification codes and clearance, the latter of which had been attached to the message she had received from Leos. The blonde had made some modifications to the transponder prior to departure: normally it would inform a starport that it was a diplomatic vessel under authority of the Jedi Order, but for the moment, it registered as a private vessel. Can't be careful.

The young woman was looking forward to seeing her Sith counterpart again. It was an odd thought, but she'd become accustomed to the idea over the past few weeks - more and more now that she could see how right he was about the extremism of their respective orders, and how both had clearly lost their way. We proved that over Korriban. Teynara wasn't entirely sure what reception she would get, but perhaps that was part of her reasoning for coming along in the first place. Say what you will for Leos, but he's always full of surprises.

 

[Leora]

"That's her. Block the locals from communicating with her and scramble their sensors."

"Done."

"Transmit the guidance beacon to her ships navigational system and have her come in on approach. Keep all defensive emplacements offline for the time being, but keep an eye out for a local patrol."

She had come. That was good. To be honest, after what had happened in the Caldera he'd been a little bit worried she wouldn't. He had warned her that something was coming when they'd met on Krayiss, though. Mostly he was just glad that in the ruckus of their invasion of that space, she hadn't been killed by one of the other Sith. That would have been horrible. Unfortunately, it was also something that was more than just a possibility. If they'd caught up to her, they would certainly have killed her or tortured her if she'd not evaded them. It was something he had worried about. Admittedly a bit selfish of him, but that was part of the reason he'd chosen to approach the Jedi for diplomatic resolution.

Her ship would receive the beacon's signal and be guided down to a nondescript portion of the planets surface. When she landed, it wouldn't be on solid ground, but on a platform that would immediately begin to lower within the surface of the planet. Once her ship was clear, a retractable roof, which looked exactly like the platforms surface did, would close and hide the facility from surface vision once again. The use of jamming technology buried throughout the area kept the locals from discovering their operation. It appeared as a dead zone to them than anything.

Leos left the control center and made his way through the facility to the receiving and launch room. The platform was still descending, as they were rather far below ground, but he stood looking up at it and waiting. He was more than a little bit eager to see her again. They had much to discuss, after all. Like the fact that he had an apprentice now, and one that would be useful to their cause, as she'd already proven to him. But there was much to be discussed in light of the events of the past while. And fortunately for the people here, aside from the crew of the Eidolon and Niysha herself, they were insulated from the outside galaxy and had no idea what the Jedi had done.

When the ship finished descending, he moved around to the ramp and waited for her to lower and come out, his hands clasped behind his back. He was wearing his more relaxed robes, and not the armor she'd seen him in last time. This was a more relaxed environment for him.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Darth Ignus"]

The signal had come through promptly, almost as though she had been expected. The course was quickly programmed into the navigational computer, and the small transport had found itself descending at an angle through the atmosphere, the gases and the residual heat generated by friction as the vessel penetrated the outer layers lit up the viewport with a bright orange light, misty and concealing all beneath it, such that the planet itself remained hidden from view as her ship transitioned from the cold vacuum of space to the warmer air below, held in place by expansive gravitational forces.

The landing co-ordinates locked in, Teynara had switched the ship over to autopilot, which would head to the appropriate landing site, lower the landing struts and engage the repulsorlifts to enable the vessel to drop smoothly onto ground, disengaging the engines as it did. The sizeable shuttle had been designed this way to ensure that it could land without the need for a pilot: as a medical vehicle, it was often required that the crew aboard be focused upon emergency measures, or preparing a patient for transit to a medical facility for treatment - something that often was time sensitive.

For her purposes, it had simply allowed her to shift from the pilot seat into her hoverchair, using the support rails that had been installed all around the ship to allow her a little freedom of movement. She'd taken a firm grip and pulled herself off the chair, using her upper body strength and a little Force energy to keep her steady, then into her hoverchair, which then locked her ankles into place with use of several restraints, so that she wouldn't fall out. Initially it had been humiliating, but she'd grown used to the hassle - and it was better than not being able to move around.

She'd dressed fairly casually: wearing Jedi robes probably wouldn't be appropriate on a world that was likely populated by Sith in addition to Leos. He hadn't suggested as much, but she wasn't prepared to take the risk. The tunic she wore was a dark green, accentuated by a brown trim around the edges, the sleeves tight against her arms, terminating at the wrists with a series of Corellian leather strips. She wore a skirt of the same colour as well as her usual knee-length boots, but those were concealed by the cover of her hoverchair, a metal frame that slid into place to support her, extending from her toes all the way up to her waist. Teynara had left her long hair down, curling just below her shoulders, more casual that way. The lightsaber she traditionally wore at her waist had been slotted into a storage compartment on the right side of the hoverchair, hidden away from view.

Seated in her chair, she immediately felt more comfortable, feeling the soft cushioning adjust to the contours of her body, providing support for her back and shoulders in a way that allowed her to remain upright like this without struggling too much with muscle fatigue. The controls of the chair lit up as the cover secured itself, the small control yoke sensitive beneath her hand, ready to shift power to the repulsorlifts as she indicated which way she wished to go with a soft nudge.

The boarding ramp of her vessel had descended as soon as the ship had landed, the noisy hydraulics throwing up a burst of steam that momentarily obscured the platform onto which it had docked. The Jedi had no idea what exactly to expect: perhaps Leos would be there with some of his pets, or perhaps she might be met by troopers in Sith uniform, weapons levelled at her. Perhaps even other Sith, prepared to take a Jedi into their custody. Teynara trusted Leos, sufficiently so to deliver herself into his hands, but recent events had led her to feel distrustful of everyone around her. She did not hope for betrayal now, but she would be a fool not to anticipate it.

A single deep breath fortified her, then she nudged the chair forward, feeling the familiar drop as the chair negotiated the boarding ramp and dropped her onto a diagonal plane, to begin her descent onto the platform. Time to find out what I'm here for.

 

[Leora]

The lowering platform hissed into place and the ships landing ramp was lowered. He stood surprisingly alone. Both Arus and Milan were asleep in his quarters, as they'd had a long trip of their own. Considering that they were in an underground facility which was kept secret from the galaxy at large, he didn't really need them as guards. Yes, the facility itself had a security force, it would be idiotic not to have one, but he didn't need their help either. He didn't expect Teynara to double cross him. She might be worried about what she was going to face, but he was not. He knew if she came, she would come alone, and she wouldn't have any intention of harming him.

When her chair appeared, he actually sighed in relief. She looked fine, which was good. He composed himself, mostly, and offered her a smile as he waited for her to approach. She did look lovely as always, but he didn't really feel comfortable saying that, oddly enough. When she neared, he bowed his head to her.

"Hello, Teynara. It's good to see you," he said, looking back to her eyes. "I hope your trip wasn't too boring. I know it's a long way from Voss to Crakull. Largely a long way from anywhere to here, but that's why I chose it."

He motioned for her to join him in walking, or hovering in her case, away from the ship. They could stay there and talk all day, but that would be boring and he wanted to take her somewhere they could be more comfortable. That and there was still the matter of that gift that he wanted to give her. That would have to wait at least for a little bit, however, as he wanted to converse with her a little bit; make small talk, if you will. He didn't intend to drag her into deep thought conversation right off the bat. What kind of host would he be if he did so? He led her to a corridor and down it to a lift, which took them down further to the living area.

There he led her to his quarters, where he knew they would have privacy. His quarters looked out on a large expense of open area. They were deep underground, but the expanse of cavern was held up by large pillars of stone, and there were a myriad of interconnected units spaced throughout it. A natural bio-luminescence filled the chamber from living plant matter which clung to most of the rock walls, the ceiling, and the floor of the space. As to the room itself, it was certainly quite modern, with a few pieces of art that he'd collected from various cultures throughout the galaxy.

"I thought we'd start here where it's quiet. I can give you a tour later on, but we're in the middle of a shift so it's pretty chaotic outside of this level."

He motioned towards a small bar area, where there was even a caf machine.

"I prepared and got a caf machine. I thought you might want some."

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Darth Ignus"]

Leos had indeed been waiting for her, absent any companions or assistants that might have bent their minds towards subduing her, and that gave Teynara some semblance of reassurance. The Sith had always seemed that he was on the level, but it wasn't always a certain thing - and, these days, there were truly few things which could be considered consistent or as expected. That Leos was slowly proving to be one of them was both confusing and yet comforting. Even if it's an entirely crazy proposition to think so. At least the others of her kind.

He looked much as he had on Krayiss Two, but more relaxed - there, he had been caught up in tension and danger, their lives at risk, the energies of that world striking out at them both, malevolent and intrusive. Here, the atmosphere was far less oppressive, and the Mirialan seemed much calmer because of it. Odd to ascribe such a work to such passionate beings, but he's not exactly your typical Sith. The absence of the armour he had worn spoke to that - and made him look a little less imposing than he had. Though that suits him better than the appearance of one ready to cut your head off, she noted.

"You're still alive, Leos," the blonde observed with a faint touch of amusement, citing the obvious more in reflection of the fact that neither of them had necessarily expected such an outcome - particularly if the wrong people got whiff of their plans. "You seem to have lost a little weight, though. You really need to take more time to eat properly," she remarked, offering the sort of scolding that she would have given to many a patient dropping by for a regular check-up.

He was right: the trip from Voss to Crakull had been fairly tedious, but it had also given her some much-needed space to try and find her psychological equilibrium. She still felt disturbed by the events of Korriban, and though Judah had helped to calm her mind, that which she and Leos had discussed before continued to sit very much at the forefront of her mind: that the Jedi and the Sith had lost their way, and everyone else was paying for it now. Had any of them lived, I daresay the people of Korriban City would have agreed. What did we do but bring war to their homes, only to wipe them from existence?

As the Sith led her into the compound, Teynara couldn't help but wonder what it was all for: just what was this place? She'd expected something the size of a small house, perhaps a personal training facility of some sort, but this seemed far larger even than that. The rooms he escorted her to looked out upon an expansive cavern, clearly underground, bigger than anything else she'd seen of the same kind. The few caves of her experience were smaller, concentrated and covered in crystals. This was something else entirely - and she frankly didn't know what to think of it.

"A cup of caf would be very welcome, thank you," Teynara said in response to the fact that he had thought to install one in his quarters. Days aboard her own ship had left her feeling a little weary, it was true, and few things refreshed her so much as a good hot cup of her favourite stimulant. It was thoughtful of Leos to remember that. "I wasn't expecting to find this," she remarked calmly, blue eyes still roaming around the artistically-decorated quarters and into the cavernous areas beyond the transparisteel window. "What is this place you've created, Leos? I don't think it's your standard hideout, is it?"

 

[Leora]

The mention of weight loss caused him to look down at himself in curiosity. He didn't often take the time to admire himself as he was not such a vain creature. She did have a point, though, he had lost a bit of what one might call flab. Undoubtedly he had converted it to muscle mass instead. Or he'd simply lost weight because he'd been so busy he could recount numerous times where he had actually skipped eating altogether. Unfortunate as that was for his body mass, it wasn't high on his priority list except that he did need to eat once in a while to keep his strength up. He should probably do a better job from then on.

"Probably more likely to be caused by skipping meals. I get busy and forget."

While she looked around, he brewed her a cup of caf. He had most certainly taken note of her love of the drink the first time that they met. In the interest of being a good host, he'd planned ahead for that love of hers. Incidentally, he'd actually tried the drink himself and found it be somewhat amusing, but not really to his taste. He still preferred a glass of water to any other drink that had so far found its way to his lips. With the drink in hand, he returned to her and offered it up for her to take. If she needed anything in it, there was sugar and cream available at the small bar area, plainly visible.

After delivering the drink to her delicate fingers, he would walk to the glass and look out upon the chamber beyond. He knew what lurked out there, but the creature was doing what he'd asked of it and staying hidden for the time being. A mere request, and it could have disobeyed, but it was also watching from afar. Teynara, you see, had a special task at hand that she did not yet know, and the creature was curious to learn more of her. It beat its wings once in the shadows distant, its eyes trained on them. Leos smiled and dipped his head lightly in the creatures direction, knowing that it would understand that he understood its anxiety.

"Hideouts are for criminals, Teynara. I prefer to think I'm not one of those." He chuckled and turned to face her. "This is the headquarters of a dark company called Ignus Black. It has the same capabilities as Ignus Industries, but it makes goods purely for my use, and now our use. It's already begun work on designing the ships that will make up our governments protective and offensive forces, for example. Doing so here keeps it from getting into the wrong hands."

He walked over and took a seat upon the couch, but was leaned forward to admire her.

"It extends through the underground here. The people who work here live here full time, develop families, and have children which will one day work alongside them. They never leave, but they are happy in their safety, and I make sure that they have the things they wish to have. I've had no complaints so far. Lots of requests, but no complaints. I'll take you on a tour later on, if you wish."

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Darth Ignus"]

Clearly things were further along than Teynara had anticipated - Leos had done far more than simply carve out a little home where they might speak privately. He had intimated that he had more influence that I had guessed, but this is a little beyond what I'd expected. The irony of it all: she'd heard of Ignus Industries, a weapons manufacturer that had been referred to in her weekly briefings, but she'd naturally failed to put two and two together. Did not Leos say that his Sith name was Ignus?

The blonde woman accepted the cup of caf that Leos offered, taking a tentative sip of the hot liquid, allowing it to cool on her tongue for a moment. Not bad, as caf goes. Fair to say that she didn't expect the Sith to go for the budget varieties - as matters were proving, he certainly seemed to have the credits to do better than that! More than she'd expected, to say the least. And all I brought was a bacta tank.

In truth, she wasn't sure what he meant by a 'dark' company: perhaps one raised around Sith origins? Or perhaps it simply referred to the secrecy that they had clearly veiled themselves in - to be located in such a secretive place, far out of the way of either Sith or Jedi territories...well, that was certainly a good way to develop goods and equipment without gaining interest from either side. Leos has put a lot of thought into this. Perhaps the wheels had been in motion since before they had even met - somehow, she couldn't imagine it being otherwise.

"It sounds a little cold when you say it like that, Leos," Teynara remarked, watching the Mirialan over the top of the hot mug that rested between both of her hands. "When I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to travel, see the stars, learn about the worlds. Being forced to remain in one place would have been more of a prison than anything else I'd care to imagine." She had a sense of the reasoning behind it, of course: a company wishing to maintain secrets would not benefit from having employees out in the black, where they might be easily manipulated or assailed. "Are they really happy here, living like that?"

True, Teynara had little sense of what their living conditions might look like - if Leos' quarters were any indication, they would probably never tire of the view - but that struck her as a major concern, if Leos intended to put his financial assets at the disposal of the ideas that they had shared back on Krayiss. Ultimately, any endeavour we engage in must be a compromise of sorts: the balance between the ordered discipline of the Sith, and the ingrained moral judgment of the Jedi. Otherwise it would all be bound to fail: that much seemed obvious to her.

She also had to wonder at that one line he'd spoken: that referring to government. Of a movement? Are we not, then, starting out with an idea, bringing others into it that way? Of course the Sith had political ambitions, but their discussions on Krayiss had led her to believe that their way out of this mess was to craft an underground ideologue, an idea that could be spread both among their ranks and beyond them, to the rest of the Galaxy. But he's talking about another level of operations entirely. It didn't put her much at ease.

He had said that sacrifices would be needed, of course: a cost in lives that would undoubtedly need to be paid in order for them to achieve the goal of ending the war between Jedi and Sith. This is how he means to achieve those goals, then? Clearly they had more work to do than she had imagined - much more.

"What exactly is it that your people make here, anyway? Ships? Weapons? Medical supplies?", she asked, curious as to the nature of his industry. He'd mentioned ship development, which was a major enterprise all by itself, but that would demand a shipyard, and she'd not seen one as her vessel had entered orbit: most were built in space, to enable them to be built more conveniently, and without the risk to a civilian population that might come from an accident. "I admit, you've gotten me curious now, Leos," she added, a faint smile curving her lips as she took another sip of her caf.

 

[Leora]

"Well, no one's ever told me they weren't, but I suppose they could just be neglecting to tell me. Though I'd think I'd hear of trouble caused by those who weren't happy, at least, and I haven't."

He scratched at his chin for a moment and thought about what she'd said. In a way he could certainly identify with it to the point of being trapped here. At the same time, all of the people here had volunteered when offered the job. They weren't slaves and he'd made them aware of what life in Ignus Black would be like when he'd hired them on. So if they weren't happy, it was really their own fault. Or they could at least tell him so he could do something about it.

Shipping at his drink, he tapped fingers lightly against the glass as he contemplated this new revelation to him. Normally this was something that he would bring up to Kaela if it pertained to Ignus Industries, but Kaela didn't know about Ignus Black, and he wasn't ready to enlighten her about it just yet. He'd have to find sone one else in the facility to help him assess employee happiness in a manner that the employees couldn't fudge.

Teynara asked what it was that they did here and that brought him back to the present. He shrugged lightly in response to her question.

"Ignus Black is just a more secretive version of Ignus Industries, which I also own. It makes armor, weapons, ship technology, and ships of Corvette size or smaller. We don't have any shipyards at the moment, though that's planned for the near future."

He offered a faint smile her direction.

"Most people consider companies slide mine to be supporters of mass warfare and bloodshed. Ignus Industries deliberately stays neutral and most of their goods are geared towards self defense at the moment. I created the company to make money largely for this one so it could support the movement.

"Which, now that I have you, actually has a chance of going somewhere. We still have a lot to hash out, of course, but we have a start, which is better than I had before."

Before all he had was the company infrastructure and money. It would take more than that to see this thing work out. That's why he'd needed Teynara. She was the other critical thinker he needed to make this whole thing work out. Though he was pretty certain that the basic of a leadership triad was rather essential. That way everyone was represented and they could tie on decisions.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Darth Ignus"]

Seems you had more than a start there, Leos, Teynara thought reflectively, a slightly raised eyebrow the only outward indication of her inner thoughts. True, he may not be yet be able to put his designs and dreams into reality, but that will come quickly. She had no reason to believe that Leos was anything other than a man of stubborn tenacity - if he wanted something badly enough, he might do anything to see it come to fruition. And he wants this readily enough, she noted. Why else bring me all the way out here?

As for what he planned for her - that was the part she was unclear on. A Healer with perhaps mediocre abilities with the Force, too much a scientist to truly trust the Force as much as she knew she should - as she very much wanted to - and a woman that ultimately best served when she was allowed to work in the background, engaging in patient care and talking out the concerns of others to allow them to gain some sense of inner balance. He doesn't need that from me, so what use am I to him?

Truth be told, she felt somewhat like a trophy Jedi: the first one that had agreed to his way of thinking, and agreed to stand by him. It wasn't fair to Leos to act like that - the young woman doubted that Leos would be so callous with her, even if she was entirely sure that he had such a propensity, if provoked. Their first meeting would have been sufficient if that had been his intent, with messages exchanged between them thereafter all that he might have needed in addition to that. He had my word, and that is all a manipulator would need to hold me to it. That wasn't how this was playing out, however.

Still, he had the resources, the credits, the manpower, and personal abilities that went well beyond what she was capable of performing. So, again, what does he need me for? It was a thought that had rankled with her somewhat, now that she knew what he had available to him.

"Where would you have us start then, Leos?", she asked calmly, eyeing him speculatively with the lids of her eyes ever so slightly narrowed, an inquisitive expression that Teynara often used when the answers to her own inner questions remained yet to be resolved. "My Order is somewhat in disarray after Korriban - I doubt you'll have missed a beat on what happened there," she added, perhaps with a slight edge of sarcasm. The entire Galaxy knows what happened there. "I'm sorry to say that the others have only served to prove you right - the Jedi aren't what they should be, nor are the Sith. They're lost, and they need to be brought back to common sense before they end us all."

That much seemed obvious to her now - she'd had her misgivings about the path the two factions had chosen to walk, particularly since their never-ending war continued unabated, but watching one of the Jedi's own people go forth and obliterate a city for no reason other than because she'd had the capability to do so...that had shaken the Order to the core. The conservatives among them had closed ranks, and claimed it an act of an unstable being, with no bearing on the status of the Order. The militants had claimed that the action was provoked, and that the Sith remained the real enemy, swearing to drive them from the Stygium worlds. The apologists accepted responsibility, but felt that the Order's mission remained unchanged. And they're all wrong.

"I'm left questioning everything," the Healer said softly, shaking her head in clear concern. "Perhaps I always did, but the Jedi aren't what they have taught us all to believe - even those who are have been shouted down by those who wish the war to continue," Teynara continued, knowing fully well that the militants were gaining ground every day, even though the Order had seen their own forces act more like that which they had stereotypically attributed to the Sith. "It has to stop, Leos, or who knows who will be next?"

 

[Leora]

"Yes, I know. I was at Ziost when everything was happening. Tried to resolve things through diplomacy rather than violence, Coci Heavenshield and the other Silver Jedi representatives there weren't very quick to respond to my hails. We'd barely started discussions when the event at Korriban occurred."

That was a fiasco is what that was. Of course he'd had to let the other Sith throw their weight around to show the Silver Jedi that ending the battle diplomatically, on the terms of the Sith, was in their best interest. If not, then something like what had happened was bound to occur. Of course he'd expected it more from his own side than from the side of the Jedi, but that just went to show that his beliefs on the state of the Jedi and Sith were accurate. It wasn't like he'd made himself belief something that just wasn't true. He'd seen what the galaxy was like first hand and had formed his opinions of it that way.

"Spoke with both Heavenshield's and Connor Harrison afterwards. The latter called me a child for pointing out that the Jedi have a history of not punishing their own. They're harboring a mass murderer in Matsu Ike as it is."

She was right that it had to stop. The only way it was going to was if they worked together to get the idea he'd come up with off the ground. If they gained momentum, and drew in more people, then they could actually start to enact change in the galaxy. His apprentice had even come up with the brilliant idea of testing their governmental system in a semi-controlled environment. Doing so would allow them to work out any kinks and then they could be better ready to implement the system in a galactic format. She had to be on board with the whole thing, though. He thought she was, but he had to be certain.

As he contemplated how to respond to her, something flew past the window outside. Not once, but twice. Then it landed on a ledge and stood peering in at them. Not massive in size, the dragon had a pinkish-white hue to it. It only had two legs, and large wings, marking it as an Arkanian dragon for anyone that might have an interest in zoology. Leos had an interest in creatures of the galaxy himself, which was why he'd gone to Arkania in the first place. The dragon tapped against the window with one of its wings.

"Now?" Leos asked before he nodded and stood to walk towards one of the side rooms. "I agree that we must do something about this, Teynara. And immediately so. That's why I called you here. I want you to be my partner in this, one of the leaders. I trust your level head and your judgment."

He disappeared into the room and came back out a few moments later wheeling a cart along with a black cloth draped over it.

"I don't know anyone else I can trust in that way," he said as he wheeled it over and stopped in front of her. "I was going to wait to do this, but Cet'ul'shen is being insistent that I do so now. I have a gift from you, brought from Arkania itself. As it turned out, it was sort of a rescue." He pulled off the cloth to reveal an egg inside of an incubator, and there were signs that it was hatching. "This is an Arkanian Dragon egg. The one outside is its father. The mother was killed by poachers. I'm giving it to you to raise and care for, with its father's blessing."

To signify it agreed with this, the dragon on the ledge dipped its head.

"I suppose when it's done hatching we can discuss more about what to do, but I think we first need a name, and then we need to start recruiting worlds and people to our cause. And soon."

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Darth Ignus"]

Huh. Turns out Leos had been far closer to her that she'd imagined during the Korriban incident, and yet she had failed to sense him across that distance. Admittedly, her senses were not as attuned as she would have liked - as was true with many of her abilities - but it surprised her nonetheless. Something I'll need to keep working on, I suppose, she told herself silently.

It surprised her to learn that he'd succeeded in contacting the members of the Council - although far less so when she heard of their reaction. I'm amazed Master Harrison didn't threaten to disembowel him next time they meet, she thought wryly. Although Teynara had respect for all of the Masters of the Order, there was little doubt in her mind that Connor was among the most dangerous - and the one most likely to be opposed to the alliance that had formed between herself and Leos. If he knew about this, I'd be in real trouble. Perhaps she'd have to rely on Leos to come to her rescue, once again.

Coci and Thurion had both always been more reasonable people - more likely to at least listen, and hear Leos out. Tey still doubted that he would get anywhere in that respect, given that both Masters were well aware that the war wasn't going to go away any time soon - nor could it, as long as the Sith continued their aggressive posturing. Not that we are blameless of that, certainly not now. Not after Korriban. The Galaxy's eyes had to have been opened by that. In some respects, the timing had been both horrific and yet fortuitous. People would have to start listening to the idea that the war needed to be ended now, because they could no longer imagine that the Jedi were innocent.

The tapping on the transparisteel window drew her attention, and she turned her hoverchair towards the sound. The sight there took her breath away: a winged reptilian creature standing on two legs, knocking against the glass with every sign of intelligence in that inhuman face. An Arkanian Dragon! She'd never seen one, of course, having never been to Arkania, but no Xenobiologist worth their degree would fail to recognise one. Bigger than Mynocks, far more distinct in appearance, far more dangerous. And they can breathe fire, which never fails to confuse first-years who have no idea why. She'd always found that thought amusing.

It had never occurred to her that she might actually see one, particularly up close.

That Leos then brought forth an old-fashioned trolley with wheels on it was surprising enough, but that which it carried was even more surprising: an Arkanian Dragon egg. Those weren't exactly the simplest of things to obtain, and to be given one with the consent of the parent Dragon (though how Leos had asked that, she had no idea) was something else entirely. The Jedi couldn't quite find the words she was looking for. No doubt the expression on her face was amusing, a mixture of confusion, surprise and consternation, all mixed into one. Only mirroring my own inner feelings, huh?

"I...I don't really know what to say, Leos. 'Thank you' seems poor and inadequate, doesn't it?", the blonde added, blushing slightly, feeling a little embarrassed and unable to quite reason why. It's not even my birthday. "This is truly remarkable."

The blonde nudged the controls for her hoverchair to move her closer to the cart, stopping it as it came alongside, so that she might examine the egg more closely. Much of the outer shell was black, as though it had been scorched in some sort of fire, though the rest glowed softly, pulsating with inner light that was clearly indicative of life. Teynara raised a hand and moved it over the surface of the egg, just avoiding making physical contact with it, but allowing proximity to extend her senses towards the pulsing shell. Yes, there was life in there, fragile, but burning with the energy of the Force, as she had often found newborns did - something to do with life being generated in the first place, or so she'd thought.

"Can you feel it, Leos?", she asked him, looking to glance at the Mirialan with a raised eyebrow, her expression moulding into one of distinct wonder. "The way the Force moves within new life, giving it that spark that turns it into something alive. You don't see this anywhere else." She shook her head, the surprise of it all still clearly resting in her thoughts. "This is the Force at it's most pure, creating life and nurturing it. This is what we call the 'Light'."

 

[Leora]

The surprise on her face when she first saw Cet was amusing. Of course she was absolutely enraptured by the creature. She'd shown signs of being interested in the zoological sciences back when they'd been on Krayiss II. While Leos didn't actually practice such things, not in the way of the true science, he was rather enraptured with the creatures of their galaxy. So many of them interested him that he sought them out and mastered them so that he could bring them to his home and care for them as if they were his own children. He rather enjoyed their company more than most people's. Teynara had proven to be the exception to that rule.

When he brought the egg out to her, her face lit up. He did love to see that. And she blushed, too. Thank you was enough for him, but in reality she had an important task ahead of her. Raising a baby dragon would be a handful. Yes, he'd gotten it specifically with the intention of giving it to her, but he had made sure that Cet knew his intentions. Considering the baby dragons mother had been killed, it only seemed reasonable that another female take her place, and he could honestly think of no one better to raise a child than Teynara. Plus he knew she'd like it anyway.

"Thank you will suffice for me, though I expect that Cet'ul'shen will be keeping an eye on you whenever you're around."

A grin touched his lips as he watched her reach out towards the egg. Fine lines had already begun to appear in the shell as the tiny dragon within began to move about. Soon it would be out, and Teynara would have herself a dragon to raise. She looked really excited to him, and he was happy for that. That was what he wanted from her. You see, the first time he'd ever seen her smile, that was the first time he ever really felt his heart affected by something. Sure he'd been angry when pirates had killed people on his homeworld when he was younger, but he hadn't actually cared about them. But when Teynara smiled, it was like something inside of him felt different. Warmer.

"I call it hope, or life. That's what the Force is, really. Life. Dark and Light are manifestations of our own inadequacy in truly understanding the gift that we have and the power that grants us it. This, though, seeing life brought into the galaxy, is a wondrous thing."

He walked over to the window and pushed lightly on a section of it. Where it seemed that there was no seam, one soon appeared, and the glass spun about. This admitted the father dragon into the room. He flew up and around for a few moments, adjusting to the change in climate, as the open window admitted warmer air into the room. Once he was settled and seemed adjusted, Leos closed the window and lifted his hand up into the air. Cet flew around and then landed with his two legs upon the outstretched hand, staring intently at the Mirialan that he was perched upon. He did seem quite content.

These two had an even deeper relationship than what Leos had with the Maalraas. Leos looked at the dragon as a close companion and friend, and the dragon viewed him, seemingly, as an equal in acceptance for what Leos had done when they'd first met. That was an entirely different story, however. With Cet perched on his hand, Leos walked back to Teynara and held the elder dragon out to inspect the egg while he spoke to the Jedi in the room.

"When I understood the predicament that the egg and its hatchling were in, I could think only of bringing it to you. I don't know anyone else more suited for the task of raising this dragon, but even if I did, I would still have brought it to you."

Conveying feelings was apparently going to be a problem.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Darth Ignus"]

The egg was close to hatching: Teynara could feel that much. There was always a peak in the energy levels of new life just on the cusp of being born, almost as though the Force were building up to provide that essential 'spark' that turned inanimate cells into a living, breathing being, a moment which even science was hard-pressed to explain. Some called it 'God', some simply called it an accident of science: the Jedi knew differently. This was the Force, pure and simple, animating something that would add to its own cycle of life.

She'd attended a few births before now, and always recognised that moment with her senses - first, with some amazement, but now, with understanding. No doubt Leos could sense it, too, if he was keeping an eye on the egg and not upon her. Teynara knew well enough that the Mirialan's focus was fixed most upon her, and she didn't mind it - in some ways, it was oddly flattering, though the nature of it was hard to figure out. Perhaps he was simply exercising due caution around one he had always been taught to think of as an enemy.

"This is what you should be teaching to the others, Leos," she breathed softly, reflecting on his words. He was right: the notions of the Light and the Dark weren't quite right - they were inadequate. She could feel them, certainly, but both together - in herself, in Leos, in the world around them. And yet we're all taught that they do not mix, but to live inherently inside us, there must be more to it than that. The thought was a good one. It spoke of optimism. "Maybe understanding that will take us closer to our goal, give us something that will bridge the gap between your brethren and mine".

The elder of the two Arkanian Dragons had entered the room now, and she turned her eyes towards it, appraisingly. An odd pink-red hue to the scales that made up much of the body's surface area, coupled with thin membranous wings that could stretch out and allow it to fly. The long prehensile tail was reputed to be quite strong, extending for a good distance. At this distance, she could feel heat emanating from the creature: reptilien and cold-blooded as they were reputed to be, they were also known to have something of an internal furnace, enabling them to breathe fire. Though we never got to study one up close to work that one out. Up until recently, they'd been considered largely extinct, so to be in a room with one was, well, thrilling.

And they're supposed to be at least partially sentient, she reflected. No doubt Leos could communicate with such a creature using his unusual Force abilities, being able to touch their minds and make himself understood even when language was not a commonality between them. His verbalisations were no doubt matched by subtle touches in the Force that would indicate his thoughts and feelings. Showing a level of skill that I've no chance of matching, she thought wryly.

"So what happens next?", the blonde asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the dragon perched on Leos' hand, even as she asked a question of the much larger being. "I think we need to gather recruits beyond just ourselves and our apprentices," she added with an amused smile. If we don't, this is not going to work. Convincing some of the others was absolutely key to their plans.

As for the egg, it would hatch when it was ready. There was no need to rush the process along.

 

[Leora]

Maybe he should have been spending more time focused on the egg and not on her. Truthfully, the egg was the wonder in the room at the moment. Leos hadn't been around new life being born before. His youngest sibling had not been born at home and Leos had barely known him before he was whisked away to the Jedi. It had been hard for him to accept what his parents had done to Eli. It was almost like selling him to slavery.

His attention was brought back to the moment when she mentioned that he should be teaching the others this. It probably was true, but he doubted that they would ever listen to him. Most of them were far too gone. He suspected that most of the Sith he knew existed in the galaxy would have to be exterminated rather than saved. It was unfortunate but it was reality. People were less likely to change the older they got.

"Hard to do. They'd likely laugh at me if I tried. A few would listen though, and possibly agree."

He moved his hand allowed Cet to purchase upon the incubator where his child was in the process of hatching. He could keep an eye on it while Leos talked to Teynara. She'd brought up what they needed to do next, which meant he needed to focus at least a little bit, and that was hard to do with Cet's claws digging into his hand.

"I agree. The question is how to do it without drawing unwanted attention. We can't deal, yet, with the people who want to destroy us."

He moved back and sat down across from her, his eyes searching for hers once again. Her eyes were pools of curious wisdom that he had no trouble getting lost within .

"Weaknesses could start feeling out on the holiness to see if anyone is interested. It will have to be cryptic, and meetings careful, but it could be done. I have a ship in development by Ignus Industries that will allow us to approach less populace world's without fear of destruction. I thought perhaps Surron would be a good choice.

"I spent some time looking over maps and searching the holonet. They have a ship manufacturer on their world and they are a hive mind species. We need only convince the hive minds of the wisdom of our goals rather than convincing an entire populace. It's also centrally located in the galaxy and not surrounded by large galactic governments."

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]