The Alliance

[Aela Talith]

A few days had gone by, the trip to the outer rim taking longer than had first been expected.

The Rising Tide had to cut through a few factions in order to reach Sullust, the worst of which was the One Sith. The way the hyperlanes worked out made that an unfortunate fact, but luckily the ship was capable of traveling through space in an almost undetectable manner thanks to its solar sails. They managed to pass through almost every system without incident, though once or twice they stopped simply to refuel or to pick up more passengers along the way.

By the time they neared Sullust the ship was filled to the brim, though not overstuffed, every room was full, though there was still plenty of space in the cargo hold.

That was where Aela was now, the small Drexl larvae standing on one of the crates, it's eyes closed as though it were waiting for something.

They were still about an hour away from Sullust, and after three days of constant work and managing those aboard the ship she had decided to take some time for herself. The training of the Drexl might have seemed like an odd hobby, but the creature needed to be taught the proper way of things, and the best way to do that was to teach it tricks. Her Oma had once taught her that, though the application had been on a creature that was significantly smaller. She supposed it was the same though, especially since the Drexl was growing more and more fond of her every day.

The creature gurgled, and Aela spoke. "Sit."

Oddly enough the Drexl flopped forward onto its stomach, make a slight squelch sound as it landed.

The Eldest Talith let out a sigh of frustration. Apparently the creature didn't quite understand her words yet, or her handmotions for that matter. She had been trying to teach the blasted thing to sit for nearly two hours now and it always ended up doing a strange belly flop. She combed her fingers through her hair, shaking her head and checking the chrono on her wrist.

[member="Adder"]

 

[Adder]

"You have to give it positive encouragement," Adder remarked with a smile as she neared the blonde and her scaly companion.

The few days of lounging on the ship had done her good, and for the first time in what felt like months, the woman was getting a good night's sleep. Consistently. She could hardly believe it still, even after all this time. A number of aches that had been almost staple over the past few weeks had finally disappeared, and the redhead almost felt rejuvenated.

Crazy.

Adder stopped next to the younger woman, uncrossing her arms. "Here, let me try."

With her exhaustion, her spell of awkwardness had disappeared as well, and for that she was most thankful. Thinking back to the first evening on the Rising Tide still brought heat to her cheeks, but luckily the red mane of her hair swept forward in time to hide the slight blush.

Adder bent her knees as she leaned closer to the cooing creature on the crate, peering at its glossy black eyes with a grin before she reached into her jacket and fished out a treat.

"I keep a few of these around," she explained off-handedly as she began toying with the piece of meat between her fingers, just out of the Drexl's reach. "A lot of stray dogs where I usually go."

She laughed easily as the little beast attempted to snatch the treat out of her hand, but she was too fast. "Not yet," she reprimanded with a smile and looked it straight in the eyes.

"Sit."


[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

The unfortunate bit of knowledge that Adder of course didn't have, was that Drexl were nefariously strong willed.

Aela didn't feel the need to speak out about that fact however, mostly because she knew that the Drexl was trained well enough that it wouldn't quite attack Adder herself, instead it would...

Just as Aela was thinking to herself, the Drexl let out a slight growl, then began to wiggle on its perch. The eldest Talith raised its eyebrows, then suddenly began to start speaking. "Wai-" By the time she spoke it was already too late, the Drexl pounced from its perch, all it's heavy knotted muscle, thick green skin, and large open maw jumping towards Adder. The creature bounded forward before Aela even had time to do anything, it's slight chubby form dashing in a blur.

The creature consumed Adder's hand, smacking its mouth around her fingers and eating the treat while, surprisingly, not chomping down with its teeth.

Perhaps Aela had taught it better than she thought.

 

[Adder]

Or not.

In the blink of an eye, Adder found herself with a live weight hanging from her hand, wet and slimy and kark, was he heavy!

The redhead lofted her eyebrows and shook her arm a bit, looking down at the self-satisified look on the beastie's face. It looked rather comfortable in the situation, whereas the same could not be said for the owner of the fingers currently stuck in the maw of the creature.

"Well. Now I just feel dumb."

She let out a small sigh and went about peeling the Drexl off, but not before setting it down on the crate again. With some careful prying, she managed to extract her hand from the jaws of death, licked clean of all traces of meat. With a mild frown, she wiped the copious saliva into her pants, wishing she'd thought her actions through more carefully. For all her intuition, chit like this still kept happening.

"Right! Moving on… how are you on this fine morning?" Adder glossed over the mishap with a blinding grin, surreptitiously wiping her hand every chance she got. The damn thing was sticky as hell.


[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

Aela patted the little Drexl on the head. "Don't feel too bad, it would've worked with a Nexu."

That was true. Aela was a beastmaster by nature, she had always found controlling animals quite easily. Her Oma, Quietus, had taught her that trait and although it didn't run as strongly in her as it did with Maleah, it was still there. She had tamed a Titavian once on Naboo, though those creatures were surprisingly less difficult then Drexl. She supposed it was because of the nature of their homeworlds, Drexl coming from Dxun and being exposed to elements of the force more often.

"They're quite stubborn." Aela explained about Drexl. "It's difficult to control them even with the Force."

Very difficult, though it was possible. Yet control through the force was not what Aela wanted, not with this one. She had done so before back on Onderon with Oma, but that was no true bond. She needed this Drexl to be her friend, her partner in all things, if she couldn't have that then she couldn't trust it. Drexl were grand beasts, capable of rending even starship hull, yet that greatness could turn on a dime if they were not treated and trained properly. She was aware of that.

Finally her attention turned away from the creature and back to the Redhead. "I am well, thank you." Her voice made her seem posh still, stoic by some standards. "And you?"

 

[Adder]

Adder shook her head at her own foolishness, but smiled nonetheless. It was a stupid mistake, and honestly she was just glad that the worst that came of it was the awful stench of the Derxl's saliva and a few scrapes on the back of her hand where its teeth had touched the skin.

"Ha. Figures I'd go for the most stubborn ass in the room," she snorted as she leaned against one of the plasteel crates, eyeing the creature in question with a mock-cross look.

She settled for the comfortable silence for once, simply enjoying the sight of something as pure as the affection of a beast. Sometimes she wondered how much easier life would be if they'd never evolved this far. All they did with their 'progress' was kill each other in more and more inventive ways. From a sharpened rock to a Death Star, so very, very few things had really changed.

"Much better now that I've gotten a good night's sleep," Adder said and flashed her a smile, running a hand through the mess that was currently her hair. In the few days of travel, the redhead had been afforded enough leisure time to scour the ship for a shaving kit, hitting jackpot in the form of one Bothan passenger. He'd been kind enough to lend her the tools, and the woman had wasted no time cleaning up her hairdo.

This of course meant that her tattoo was visible once again, trailing up from the side of her neck to curl around her ear and end in a flourish on her temple.

"I heard someone say that we'll be arriving on Sullust today. How will things move from then on?"


[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

"Yes." Aela confirmed as she walked over to the Drexl and wrapped her arms around it, pulling it into her lap. A small oof escaped her lips as she realized just how heavy the creature had gotten, but for the time being it was still small enough to stay where she had placed it. "We should be getting there in a few hours."

The trip had been a long one, longer than she had hopped, really.

At Adder's question she thought for a moment, her hands snaking around the Drexl to scratch behind the creatures spines. It seemed to squirm for a moment before settling into place and ceasing its movements. There was an odd calm to the otherwise monstrous creature, its mouth hanging half open as Aela continued to soothe it. Drexl responded to kindness better than most creatures, if only because as a Species they were not at all used to it. "The Alliance, as far as I know, will begin to set up soon. Master Rhen intends to found a New Order and has already received backing from a few governments."

Aela explained, though she knew Adder likely didn't care.

"From there things will expand quickly." It was a bit naive, but true in a sense. "A few planets working together can accomplish a lot. A temple will be built for the New Order, a military will be founded, government procedures created. Options will be restored to those who need them."

 

[Adder]

Adder observed the exchange with some amusement, feeling an odd sense of relaxation sweeping over her usually tense form as she watched [member="Aela Talith"] play with her Drexl.

Her face fell somewhat when the blonde mentioned governments, and it took a bit of schooling to keep the smile on. She'd worked for a government once, and that had ended in blood and tears and death. She wasn't sure she wanted to go through that ever again, and looking on from the sidelines through the following years didn't instill much more confidence in other governments.

The One Sith were a mockery of the word, the Galactic Republic was too corrupt to do anything but delay the inevitable, the Techno Union had sold their souls to the credit a long time ago, and everyone else was just struggling to stay alive. She hoped to whatever was up there that this Alliance would not end up in the same manner.

Pinching her nose, the redhead forcibly dispelled the grim thoughts. She had yet to meet these people.

Give them a chance, she snapped at herself, angry that she was so willing to drown an idea before it even took off the ground. Give her a chance.

"Military, huh? You guys aren't joking around, are you?"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

Aela nodded, scratching the Drexl's stomach.

"It's people who are tired." Her voice grew a bit stronger, bolder. "Tired of corruption, of war, or Sith conquering world after world. It's people who are tried of having their planets passed around like tokens to different governments."

It was that simple, perhaps a bit naive of Aela, but she was young still. "I don't know how it will end, I don't even really know how it will begin, but it's something. The Republic is stagnant, corrupt, it's leadership fights among itself and it's leaders clamor against one another as though they're working for themselves, not for the Republic. The Alliance will be different. Each world will work together for the same goal. All they need is people to show them the way."

Again, it sounded so nice, perhaps naive.

They were the words of an idealist, of a girl who had known pain, but still looked towards the future. Aela had seen war, perhaps more than any person her age had a right to see. Her father had explained the way of the galaxy to her, had shown her the consequence of war, and had even told her the truths of her family. She knew better than most what it meant to fight, what it meant to uphold an ideal and strive for it. At times that ideal became corrupted, changed, that was what the Republic was now, a corrupted Ideal. Yet Aela knew that eventually, it would whither and fall, and with the Alliance raising itself up a new ideal would take its place.

"I intend to be one of those people." The words were accented by a gurgling burp from the Drexl.

 

[Adder]

Adder gave a slight nod, but despite her mental beating she'd just given herself, the woman couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension that had settled in her breast. It was decidedly unpleasant, and just when the day had started off so well.

She cursed her cynical nature and resisted the urge to kick an invisible rock.

Where have I heard this speech befor— no! Again Adder stopped herself abruptly, lips drawing into a thin line as she forcibly derailed that train of thought. It was a good day, and she would not ruin it by pessimistic what-ifs.

"That sounds… nice," she admitted, hanging her head as she chewed on her bottom lip. It did sound nice, and that was most likely the problem. She was so used to being dealt a bad hand that she could hardly comprehend that things didn't necessarily have to go wrong. She knew that, objectively.

Sticking to that point of view in practice, however, proved to be much harder.

"Show them the way? How?"

Because she just couldn't keep her mouth shut. Not forever, not when she heard words that familiar. People need someone to lead them. Someone to show them wrong from right, good from bad… don't they?

There was a knot in her stomach now, and the day was looking less and less salvageable by the minute.


[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

She shifted slightly, altering the weight of where the Drexl lay on her.

"By being an example." To Aela it was that simple. She knew that in the past governments had let people down, she knew there was corruption, failure, and every other bad thing under the sun, but she also knew that there was still hope. As long as that Hope survived, as long as they managed to inspire it somehow...then it would be okay. Her father would have called her an idiot for that way of thinking, but he was a cynical man. It was her mother that had taught her to be the way she was, to hold that naivety a bit closer. Aela knew that, she knew that her beliefs were naive, but sometimes that was what people needed the most.

"I know I'm not perfect." Though her siblings teased that she was. "But I know I can set an example. I know I can show other Jedi...other people what to do. That we don't have to bicker and argue, that we don't have to fight among ourselves. That we can look towards a common goal and achieve that goal in a reasonable and just manner."

That was what was important to her, that they were reasonable, just. That they remained incorruptible. "I have to at least try, and others have to try with me."

She couldn't do it alone, and she knew she wouldn't. Those people in the Covenant, those on the Rising Tide already supported her. Micah, Kaili, they were all here and they were all coming with her. She knew that it would be difficult, and she knew that no matter what they did it wouldn't be perfect, but at the very least they would try. Sitting in place, becoming stagnant and letting the Sith grow...it would only lead to more terror within the galaxy.

 

[Adder]

Her shoulders sagged slightly as she looked at the younger woman, and in that instant, the blonde might as well have been a girl, chatting naively about a world she hardly knew. Rose-tinted glasses, that was for sure. She could see the untainted glint of idealism in her bright eyes as the Jedi talked, and Adder felt a rueful smile pull at her lips at the sight.

The weight of age and experience suddenly felt overwhelming.

"I… yeah. Hope is important," she said, but her voice remained distant. Sure, hope was important. It kept you afloat when everything else around you was drowning in fear and despair, and that's what the face of the Galaxy looked like these days. Weather projections for next week? Rainy with a chance of Sith invasions. The week after that? Much the same. The black stain was spreading, and the Republic was waning with each blow they dealt.

Green eyes found those of [member="Aela Talith"], and the redhead gave a solemn nod, as if to confirm that she would indeed be one of those to try with her. Hope… it was practically all she had left. Friends and comrades had all left, or died, or worse, and Adder had little else to cling to as she forged on, day in, day out.

Hope that maybe, somehow, she'd made a difference. Just a tiny, tiny difference.

"Yeah. Let's—" she was interrupted by a familiar sound, and a new warmth blossomed in her heart as she realized they had arrived. They were here, in the orbit of Sullust. At the doorstep of the Alliance.

She let out a breath, and she stood.

"Shall we?"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

It had taken a while, but it seemed that they had arrived.

She shifted slightly, placing the Drexl on the ground with a slight uunf. Aela rose, stretching her back and shifting slightly as she peered down the hall and out of the Cargo Hold. There were noises of confusion, activity, and of course joy. Sullust was their destination, and for many people aboard the Rising Tide it would be a new home. Of course it would take time to get everyone settled, but it was still exciting. For Adder and Aela it was the mark of something beginning, of the new path that the two of them would take.

"Yes." She said, giving the Drexl a small nudge on its back.

The creature shot off like a rocket, surprising speed coming from it as it rushed back towards Aela's quarters.

"It'll find its way." She said with a startling amount of calm. "Provided it doesn't smell food."

With that last comment Aela began to lead Adder towards the ships bridge. It was a surprisingly short walk, aided by automated floors that propelled them through the spine of the vessel faster then one might expect. They arrived at the bridge only five minutes later, a flurry of activity holding through the place as everyone prepared themselves. Central to the main viewport, in the distant ethos of space Sullust came into view. The massive world of craggy red and orange filling Aela's vision.

 

[Adder]

Adder snorted and pushed away from the crates, a small smile coming to bright up her face as she watched the Drexl speed off.

"Sounds like me. I'd kill for some hot street food right now," she spoke, running a hand over her stomach in an absent gesture. She was used to eating little due to the way she lived, but nothing could beat a freshly made goulash rife with thick, juicy pieces of meat, steeped in enough grease to clout your arteries after just one dish… what was she talking about again?

Adder found herself at [member="Aela Talith"]'s side, staring out the viewport and at the red planet that slowly grew bigger the closer they got. She gave a low whistle of appreciation, nodding to herself more than to the Jedi.

"Looks like a whole lotta nothing," she remarked, the smile pulling into a lopsided grin. "Where are your people hiding?"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

"Hiding?" Aela sounded curious, confused for a moment.

There was no one hiding on Sullust. The Alliance didn't plan to shy away from the One Sith, form the Covenant of the Black Rose, from anyone that meant the galaxy harm. Then a realization dawned on her. It was likely that Adder didn't know about Sullust, likely that she hadn't ever been to the planet. It was understandable really, Sullust was an Industrial world with nothing much to see. Outside of the Corporate elements the planet didn't really hold much interest for tourists or anything of the sort.

"Oh!" She said in recognition. "Sullust's atmosphere is toxic. You can't step foot on the surface without an EVO suit. Most of the cities are underground. The New Jedi Temple is being built in a bio dome on the southern hemisphere, though we won't be going there. No one's hiding...they're just trying to breath."

She said that last part with a chuckle, as though she had made a joke.

No one else on the bridge laughed.

 

[Adder]

She parted her lips to explain, but before she could get a word in, an expression of enlightenment passed over the blonde's face. Almost as if a lightbulb had blinked to life above her head.

Adder suppressed a chuckle of amusement as she listened to her succint explanation, nodding in understanding.

"Bio dome… isn't that a bit expensive?" she wondered out loud, oblivious to the quiet spell that had fallen over the rest of the crew on the bridge. At the moment, her and [member="Aela Talith"] were in a little bubble of their own, discussing the planet – or, well, the floating red rock – they were approaching ever more quickly. Soon enough, no space was visible around the world anymore, and all that filled her vision were various shades of brown and yellow and ochre.

"There's no plants and such down there, then?" There was a crestfallen tinge to her tone, though not overly obvious. You could barely pick it up, and even then only if you were listening very closely. Adder had become… somewhat tired of cities and urban life in recent years. She'd stood witness to entirely too much squalor and filth to hold any love for civilization anymore, and a nice retreat in the middle of a forest sounded like heaven right now.

Oh, well. People to save, bad men to capture. There was always more work to be done.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

She smiled. "There will be a garden. In the temple."

There was a hint of pride in her tone.

"Yes, it's exuberantly expensive." That was simply true, but it was said in a tone that could only have come from a person that had always had money. it was something that summed up the Talith family rather well of course, they were wealthy beyond all belief. None of them had ever really had to worry about money, and to Aela the thought of it was...well distant. Her tone revealed that bit of naive ignorance. "The Sullustans and other planets in the Alliance are coming together to build it, going all out really. The New Jedi Temple is supposed to be a symbol, a showing against the Sith."

Aela looked nervous for half a moment, realizing that it might have sounded a bit egotistical. "With the way the Republic has been going, the Alliance wants to show that even now we can do something to stand up against them."

Perhaps architecture wasn't the best way to do that, but it was a symbol more then anything else.

Aela's father had always taught her that symbols were important. Soliael had once claimed to be a god, fooled billions. Half of that was done through the manipulation and creation of symbols. He had told her that he wasn't proud of it, but had explained that the use of symbols had helped create an ideal in the populace, and ideal that they could look up to. In the case of Moross it had been the Gods, in the case of the Alliance it would be the Jedi, the Soldiers, and the governors.

 

[Adder]

Her face lit up at the mention of a garden, but only fora brief moment; it fell the next second, when [member="Aela Talith"] confirmed her suspicions about the costs of the project. Her brow furrowed slightly, creasing along the well-wron lines faintly visible along her forehead. Mother used to tell her she should smile more and that frowning would only lead to wrinkles, and then no man would like her.

A grating chuckle escaped her throat at the memory. She could still hear her words as if she'd said it yesterday, when in fact it was nearly a decade and a half ago. Turned out that her mother didn't have to worry about that particular issue. Not so much because of Adder's discoveries during training, but rather because the Sith razed the planet and suddenly all concerns that didn't immediately tie into survival ceased to matter.

Funny, how that works.

"And you're standing up against the Sith by… blowing millions of credits on a fancy temple?" The redhead neither looked nor sounded convinced. "You should be investing in military. Fleets, defenses, weapons, the like. Not… architecture." The frown deepened, and Adder looked away from the Jedi, staring at the red patchwork of rocks steadily approaching them.

"The Republic did the same thing. Built Academies. Temples. Moved whole karking capitals, and…" she trailed away. There was nothing to add after the 'and'. They both knew what fate the Republic had met.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"]

"It is investing." Aela said calmly. "Of course the Alliance will invest in Fleets, defensive, weapons, all of that, but a big part of winning a victory is symbolism."

"It's fine to have a great army, it's great to have overwhelming military force, but that doesn't help you if you don't have the support of your people. If you don't have the backing of those you claim to defend, if you don't have the hope or will to fight...what's all that weaponry going to do? The Republic moved capitals out of necessity, they built temples out of necessity." Oddly enough, Aela had had this same argument with the Prime Minister of the republic nearly ten years ago. She remembered the conversation well, and she had remembered losing faith in the Prime Minister during it.

"Winning a war is more than fighting. There is a military struggle, and then there is the struggle for hearts and minds. You can't win a war with only weapons." She continued to explain. "If you build weapons, if you build fleets, if you just keep building armaments and great monuments to war you end up looking like you're not doing anything but fighting. That's fine for the Sith, that's fine for an Empire, but its not fine for a government that claims to be for the people."

Her voice didn't waver now, it was stronger. "The temple represents the Jedi. The Jedi, to many people across the galaxy, represent symbols of hope, peace, neutrality. They...we are supposed to be an example. By propping that example up, showing that the Alliance not only supports the idea of Jedi but is actually helping them they take a big step in influencing the people to believe in them."

 

[Adder]

"Did they?" Adder furrowed her brow at the defensive tone [member="Aela Talith"] had taken, stepping back on instinct. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at the passionate blonde with a mix of sadness and hope in her eyes.

She wanted to be happy that there were still some idealists like her out here, fighting in spite of the crushing defeats and seemingly unbeatable forces of the Sith. She really, really wanted to be, but her heart just kept sinking the longer the Jedi went on.

"I…" Adder trailed off, averting her eyes as words failed her. When was the last time you actually talked to people? Jedi and Sith were all the same to common folk; a glowstick in the hand and immense power at their fingertips, and all it had ever brought them was woe and war. Didn't matter if it was red or blue or pink, they all ended up the same. Some did it though abuse of that power, others through fear of using it, but neither had ever done them any good.

"We should board a dropship planetside," the redhead finally spoke, abruptly changing the subject as she forced herself to wipe the worry off her features. Turning back to the blonde, she placed a hand on her shoulder for the briefest of moments, offering a small but genuine smile.

"Thanks."

And then she was gone, brushing past the Jedi as she headed for the hangar.