First Reply The Broken Retreat

[Kahlil Noble]

Everything had gone wrong.

Was it hubris? Underestimation? Overestimation? Sluis Van was overtaken by death, pure and simple. A wicked, cruel ritual that even threatened the very Sith that fought to activate it. The same Sith who fled with their tails between their legs because they hadn't expected it either. It said a lot that even the Sith feared what had happened. What it had taken. Kahlil's fleet had been scattered, ready to block the ritual, disrupt whatever it was the Sith was going to throw at them.

But it wasn't anything complex. Just death.

He couldn't protect everyone. The moment he felt the shift, the moment the ancient rune on his spine seemed to react, he did is best. He reached out, pulled on the Force to create the barrier they'd need to be protected. It wasn't big enough. The death that followed echoed through the Force itself, scarred the Force itself. It'd only been a couple of weeks since, and the Jedi Master walked the halls of the refurbished Coruscant Temple.

With him, golems of mud and clay. Stone and earth, carved with runes that glowed faint with the Force. They were run by the Shard's within them, acting as protectors of the Temple, of all the temples of the New Jedi Order. It wasn't enough, though. The Jedi were one of the only defenses against the Sith and their rituals, outside of the other smaller groups that knew how to counter them. Something needed to be done to help prevent such a loss of life again. Something needed to be made.

 

[Amelia von Sorenn]

Coruscant was still wounded, and it was a wound that would not heal so easily like many others. The strike at Sluis Van was meant to prove that defending Coruscant from the resurgent Brotherhood of the Maw, the Dark Empire, hadn't just been a fluke; that the Alliance was still strong. What should have been a victory turned into a route, and the death toll on either side was still being calculated. The woman had been lucky enough to escape relatively unscathed, both from the initial strike and from the action of slipping behind enemy lines to evacuate Jedi and Alliance personnel trapped behind.

The halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant were peaceful enough, and she found the foliage that graced some of the fountains and meditation areas to be pleasant. How she, the Supreme Commander, had managed to make her way into the Temple would be a secret for herself to keep; and for the Jedi Shadows to likely discover. However, for the moment, she was enjoying a pleasant enough afternoon, hidden away from the sun in the shade of an Uneti Tree. Even as she sat quietly, she held a sort of regal bearing, a gravitas befitting her position and the experience of many years. Her back pressed firmly against the stone bench, her left leg resting over the right, and a large tome with a silver-colored jacket sat silently in her lap.

Her ears perked up when she heard the heavy footfalls announcing a procession of individuals approaching. A soft smirk slowly pulled at the edge of her lips as she looked up, golden-yellow hues falling upon the individual flanked by constructs equally bathed in the Force. She, herself, was Force Dead, a fact that was likely very well known to a select few within the Alliance, though likely unknown to many others. With a soft smile, she carefully closed the tome, her hand resting on the cover as she shifted slightly to sit up.

"Master Jedi, lost in thought are you?"

She spoke softly, leaning forward to allow herself to be seen a bit more easily, however, not so far as to find herself within the sunlight. That sly smile remained upon her lips as she kept her focus fully on the Jedi.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"Some thought, yes."

His gaze shifted, falling on Amelia as she spoke up. He gave a small, brief smile to the woman. Force Dead. It was a cofounding topic, but it wasn't something unknown to Kahlil. His father once held quite the host of Vong as retainers, even his own biots, once upon a time. It was unsettling. Even the Dark was less unsettling for the aged Master, if only because he knew how the Dark worked. Could feel it, understand it.

He felt nothing here, though. The unknown was always spookier, wasn't it?

"What brings you to the temple, Commander?"

Amelia von Sorenn

 

[Amelia von Sorenn]

Amelia took a moment as she looked at the Uneti Tree, her hand reaching out and lightly touching the bark along the trunk before she pulled back. Looking to the helm at her side, she carefully lifted the object and settled it in its place, a soft hissing noise slipping from it as it connected with her armor. Keeping the tome in hand, she slowly rose to her feet, stretching before allowed her attention to fall upon Kahlil once more.

"Visiting... remembering..."

She said in an almost solemn tone as she drew the tome closer to her, holding it against her chest. Her attention pushed past the Jedi, falling upon the golems before she merely offered them a nod. She was always surprised just how the Force could be used; the many sects that arose from the hundreds of beliefs that surrounded an aspect that she had never truly considered or thought much on the subject.

"I remember seeing images of the Temple during the Clone Wars. It doesn't seem to have changed much since then... Though I have a feeling that the years following that war took its toll on the structure and its inhabitants."

Stepping forward, she found herself somewhat pleased that she was able to look the individual in the eyes without having to look down upon the Jedi. It was rather tiresome, and often left a minor pain in her neck. After all, it had also been some time since she'd last had the company of another Epicanthix.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

The golems offered their own nod to Amelia before they shifted to leave. They walked much like a robot in that regard, but Kahlil still smiled after them. Gave them a small wave, at that. There was still as ever work to be done. In a way it would help to have the Supreme Commander here, at least for what Kahlil was intending to create. "Some is the same, so we don't forget where we came from. Our triumphs, our folly's. More is new. Master Jonyna had her own design choices to ensure we've all we'll need in the coming years. The wars."

It was a grim thought, preparing for war. But it was their reality. Too many in the Galaxy had power they shouldn't, and a vendetta in equal parts against the Alliance and the Jedi.

"How many did you loose?"

Amelia von Sorenn

 

[Amelia von Sorenn]

A soft smile crept across her lips, unsure if the Jedi had caught her meaning behind the last time she had seen the Temple. Still, it wasn't an important thing, nothing to focus upon or devote one's attention to fully. Shifting her stance slightly, her attention moved slowly over the foliage that decorated the meditative garden before turning back to the Jedi Master. Pushing the memories to the back of her mind, she forced herself to focus on the present, her attention fully upon the Jedi as she listened carefully to the question that was posed.

"Too many, however, it is not something to dwell upon. Death is a natural part of life, and though losing as many as we did is a tragedy, we cannot merely allow ourselves to become paralyzed from it to prevent taking the next course of action."

Amelia turned away for a moment, moving back toward the bench that she had been sitting on before his arrival. Resuming her position, she slipped down with ease, gracefully taking her seat and slipping one leg over the other. She carefully drew the tome into her lap, resting it against her thigh as she pressed her back against the stone bench. Her golden-yellow hues fell upon the fountain at the center of the room, watching as the water continued its dance before she turned back toward Kahlil.

"And you Master Jedi? What is it that is on your mind at this moment?"

The woman asked with a soft smile, her fingers beginning to lightly tap and dance against the cover of the tome. A soft melodic ringing began to emanate from the cover with each gentle strike.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"How to stop that level of death from happening again."

Kahlil stepped over beside her, taking his own seat with an ached groan and a wince. The Force was all that kept him together these days, kept his body from falling apart from the abuse of the Dark, of his family. In moments like these he just felt tired. "I should've expected it, after everything that happened with the Maw. But I didn't think the Sith Order would dive that deep into such a ritual. Those need to be stopped at the source, so, I'm investing in how to stop it."

Amelia von Sorenn

 

[Amelia von Sorenn]

Amelia's fingers stopped drumming, her eyes closing for a moment as she nodded silently. It was the dilemma that the Alliance faced and a challenging one at that. How could they stop such an action, to save lives without losing sight of their purpose of the morals that the Alliance held on high. As she listened to the musing, she found that she was not the only individual who had already begun to think of such a means or endeavor to counter or otherwise prevent another tragic loss of life.

"That is a question that will be difficult to answer. I have seen the Galaxy embroiled in conflicts that seem to never end as though there is only war. Jedi and Sith, Imperials and Democracies, Corporatist and People."

Her eyes slowly opened, those golden-yellow hues falling upon Kahlil as she turned to face him, focusing her attention on the Jedi Master entirely as her fingers began to lightly drum against the tome that she held before they stopped once more. A soft smile pulled at the corner of her lips as she shifted slightly, turning towards him whilst holding the tome up.

"Perhaps we have an opportunity here... one that may answer both of our questions and tribulations."

She said whilst handing the Jedi Master the Tome.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil raised a brow as he glanced to the book. Then, took it. He glanced it over, flipping from page to page reading rather quickly. He'd been a fast reader all his life, though he did take some time to properly study it enough to give an answer. Even if that was a half hour or so of skimming in only the sound of page turning beside Amelia until he got the gist of it.

There was a lot more here than he'd expected to read, that much was clear by the furrow of his brow.

"This would work, yes. I'll give this a more thorough reading later, but this would very much work. The golems you saw prior, they're powered by Shards, much like the Iron Knights so long ago. But instead of using technology, it's the Force that they use to move themselves. Runes, what I've made, to give them greater resistance to the Force manipulated by others. From the Dark. I could use that to design much stronger bodies. Perhaps melding Iron Knights as they were with what I've made now, to contain the rituals the Sith would make. Well, that's my plan anyway, but they could be of use for this."

Amelia von Sorenn

 

[Amelia von Sorenn]

A soft chuckle slipped from Amelia's lips as she settled her gaze upon the Jedi Master. He seemed to be as every bit ambitious and thorough in planning as his wife; to see him so easily jump to the next idea and plan the next step, they were a match truly suited for one another. Shifting slightly, she brought her hands together, laying them one over the other in her lap as she closed her eyes, enjoying the shade of the tree for a moment longer.

"You may desire to read the Tome more thoroughly now. It is the only one in existence, and much like a precious Kyber Crystal or Jedi Holocron, I would not see it part from my possession so easily."

Amelia said as her eyes snapped open and fell upon the Jedi Master once more. However, his words settled in her mind, the idea that he proposed could be of use. The question had already risen as to how such a facility could be staffed and sufficiently manned. Droids, the original choice, yet, the thought of Shard-driven Golems intrigued the woman...

Settled in her seat once more, Amelia looked toward the foliage that easily commanded the space in the secluded area. A soft smile once more settling upon her lips as she closed her eyes again, her ears perking up as she silently listened.

Kahlil Noble​

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[Kahlil Noble]

"Mm, that's fair. Then,"

Kahlil didn't hesitate at the offer. The only reason he skimmed it as he did was to keep from being silent too long beside Ame, but now with more or less her permission he was going to take the time to fully read it to completion. Or, well, until she decided she had to go. Whichever came first, truly.

Amelia von Sorenn