The Jedi and the Goat [Ayden|Cemas]

[Lief]

Approaching Fondor City​

The Planet of Fondor​

It was a wonder, to this particular Jedi Knight, why she had not visited Fondor before now. Perhaps it was because, according to the Jedi who rallied to the call of the Republic, territories outside of the Republic were not Jedi Jurisdiction and thus required no aid. Kriff to that, Jedi swear to protect all Life in any Form. That doesn't end where the borders of Republic Space meet the rest of the known Galaxy. It was an axe she'd had to grind with the Republic and the Jedi Order at large for quite some time. The only time they expect a Jedi to aid worlds outside of their Jurisdiction is when said planet is of some worth to then: diplomatic treaties, hostile take-overs, it is ridiculous. She sighed outwardly, before realising that she was not alone. To her side sat a human who was some years older than herself, yet he bore the traditional braid of a Jedi Padawan. Instead of continuing her mental scrutiny of her former Order she offered her Padawan a calm yet encouraging smile. "Chin up, Cemas; remember that you are here to perform Diplomacy, an application of Form Zero. I have every faith that you will carry out the task at hand to the required standard, after all the Force is with you -- always."

While it felt strange to be aiding in the learning of another Jedi after so long she could not doubt that she felt a small amount of controlled pride seeing him sat there. She had come across this particular Force Sensitive during her travels and had felt the pull of the Force, it's standard urging where she was concerned. In truth it was the only way she chose her students, as Asha Seren was not one to ignore the Force's wish and directives. As the ship glided down into the Capital of Fondor her gaze slid off into the distance. Somewhere close by was the Leader of the Omega Protectorate, one [member='Ayden Cater'] whom she had heard much and more about yet still managed to know so little about. This would be a meeting she was not likely to forget in a hurry. "Now, come along Padawan; they will be waiting." Rising from the pilot seat of her Corvette the Jedi made her way towards the ramp which had just begun to lower. With that she directed her Padawan from their vessel and made her way towards the meeting point.

[Please PM Ayden and myself if you wish to join]

 

[Cemas D'baen]

"Chin up, Cemas; remember that you are here to perform Diplomacy, an application of Form Zero. I have every faith that you will carry out the task at hand to the required standard, after all the Force is with you -- always." Chin up yeah, thats it, I'm a diplomatic person. With a small smile the man just nodded and followed behind his new teacher, well master he supposed was the term now. His hands still moved to his robes pulling the sleeves away from his hands as the he tried to adjust. The small braid coming out of the back of his head was something of continuing irritance, but it came with the package. He was just a low end beat cop, who'd been working his way to detective hopefully, but now that was all gone. Now he was going to met some head honcho from the Protectorate, well be in the same room counted as meeting someone, right?

Following closely behind he held back the need to smirk, he had at least five years on the girl and here he was following her around like a sheep. Ah well at least its a good view to follow. He still felt a bit naked without a sidearm, hell he didn't even get one of those fancy light swords yet. He was uncomfortable and feeling completely out of place, but he supposed it was better then his other options. Hell who was he kidding he didn't really have any options to play out until this came along.

[member="Asha Seren"] [member="Ayden Cater"]

 

[Ayden Cater]

[member="Asha Seren"], [member="Cemas D'baen"]

When a Jedi asks for a meeting, it's not a request to be taken lightly. Very few Jedi had ever asked for an audience on a matter, and Ayden had seen them every time. It was a matter of respect and trust. Even in the dark times that befell the Order and the Republic in the wake of tragedies like Metalorn and the fall of Coruscant to Jedi-turned-Sith, Daella Apparine, it was still a tremendous honor to have a Jedi come to visit. The Jedi Order was not something that could save itself from the treacherous slope that some had placed it on. It would take acts of faith and charity to restore the Order's image, and those were acts that Ayden was prepared to do.

The room that the Jedi would be escorted to (not an armed escort, of course) was modest in design. It was a fairly well known fact by now that Lord Protector Cater did not particularly care for needless shows of wealth and power. It was why he continued to wear a duster and clothes more befitting a dock worker than a head of state. When he did deign to wear fancy clothes, then you could tell something was amiss. There, sitting at one end of a reasonably sized table sat the Lord Protector with a smile on his face. He had felt them coming and was pleased to feel no taint of the Dark Side. Of course, they could have just as easily been Sith Assassins trained to fake their Force Aura. But paranoia was Cira's path, not his. "Greetings Master Jedi. What can I do for you today?"

 

[Lief]

It appeared that her student had opted to remain quiet for now, which was ultimately of no consequence. She knew that he would input where necessary during the meeting with [member="Ayden Cater"] and truthfully that was what mattered in situations such as these. An individual who ran their mouth during tentative stages of potential arrangements could botch the whole meeting before they realised what they were doing. The pair were met with a small entourage and it seemed that the Lord Protector held no small amount of trust in the Jedi and their Order owing to the fact that those who guided them to him were unarmed. Her gaze very briefly slid to her Padawan to see how he responded to such before returning her focus to their journey.

Humble surroundings aided in keeping Asha Seren clear minded and serene within herself, and it was truthfully a nice change to see as much within the abode of a Head of State. And the style of the Lord Protector further amazed her. But rather than allowing it to show, or skipping a beat, the woman inclined her head deeply into a gracious bow which did not respect his power but instead the core of his being, his life and the connection all beings had with the Force, whether capable of using it or not. "Lord Protector" she began, slowly rising back up to gaze upon him. "My name is Asha Seren, and this is my Padawan. I come here not on behalf of the Jedi Order, or on the High Council's orders, but instead of my own accord and belief that all within the Galaxy require as much devotion from the Jedi as the Republic and their citizens."

For a moment she let that set in; that she was no longer apart of the wider Order could potentially be a crucial decider where her offer, or request as it may be seen, was concerned. It would not do to glide over the subject without permitting him chance to take it in, deception was not in her nature. "With that in mind, I am here to present a request; you hold within your borders the planet of Bespin, which once held an Enclave dedicated to the Jedi. I ask for permission to reinstate this Enclave, which presently remains untouched deep within Cloud City, and in turn to have wardenship over the planet: the duty of a Watchman is to protect a planet and its people from all manner of threats, while aiding its prosperity."

Deciding that would do for now, she could leave the clauses she had when she heard if this would even be considered or not by the Lord Protector, yet she did add one small piece: "We are not here with the Republic, nor do we belong to its Order; this is not an attempt to undermine your nation and its borders, merely to render aid throughout the Galaxy, to all who could potentially require it."

[member="Cemas D'baen"] [member="Ayden Cater"]

 

[Ayden Cater]

[member="Asha Seren"], [member="Cemas D'baen"]

Ayden nodded as the Jedi made her proposal. It was an interesting one, and one that he had expected in one form or another for some time. He had entertained the idea of making his own order of Force Users to patrol the Protectorate, but found himself without the time necessary to create such an order. So he prospect of someone else stepping in to do so was appealing. "If I might ask, Master Seren; what would you do if I found that your activities disrupted the lives of civilians and the function of the Protectorate? If I asked you to cease your actions, what would you do?"

 

[Lief]

[member="Ayden Cater"] [member="Cemas D'baen"]

Asha was certainly more than willing to aid in the establishment of a real Force Order within the Protectorate, in truth she was willing to lay down the title of a Jedi if it meant still being able to uphold their ideals while beginning a new era for others. "If you felt I was doing so, then I would step aside and leave your borders, Lord Protector. I seek not to upset your people's way of life, nor to impose myself upon your nation." Her head inclined softly towards him. When she rose back up from the inclination the Jedi Knight turned her sights briefly to her Padawan. "And I assure you my student will do the same." A Padawan was, after all, a reflection of their Master, and Cemas understood as much.

Part of her wondered what the citizens of the Protectorate would think if this did come into fruition, what her fellow Force Users or the Jedi she had left behind would view it as being. Regardless of whether she had left the Republic, Asha Seren was a Jedi, and even if she set aside the mantle in exchange for another she would never cease being one in her core, Republic or no.

 

[Cemas D'baen]

The exchange was straight forward enough, in truth he was about as disinterested as could be in the entire thing. HIs main goal was simply to stay out of it and with any luck they'd be out quick and on the way to learn some of this Jedi's space magic. The larger implications were still a bit much for his mind to wrestle with, he imagined the massive majority would be quite happy for a bit of power and space magic, Cemas on the other hand was just a man taking the only option left to him. He doubted he was Jedi material, or whatever title she wanted to mold him into, to say the man had some rough edges was being nice. Hell if they'd thrown him out for a being a bit ham fisted he'd have accepted it in a heartbeat, but theft and bribery wasn't his style at all. So here he was learning diplomacy about things he knew nothing about, sure he had a vague sense of the Protectorate areas he'd lived on Corellia all his life, it didn't mean he had any grasp on upper level politics at all.

Instead his eyes just watched the two chat, seemed like a simple enough thing, she was willing to offer a service, he needed that service. It was just a question of was she going to play by his rules, or her own? It brought him back to the realization that he didn't know very much about this 'Master' she'd swept him along like a strong summer breeze and he was just following along at the moment. It was better then the alternative in theory, but he didn't actually know where this whole thing was leading. Evidently it was Bespin, but what they were going to be doing on Bespin he had no idea, some kind of Enclave, but again what that entailed meant nothing to him, he was a blind man at the moment, not even in a position to grope around to find where he was going. Well groping could be fun given the circumstances, but that was most likely on her no-no list.

[member="Asha Seren"]
[member="Ayden Cater"]

 

[Ayden Cater]

[member="Asha Seren"] [member="Cemas D'baen"]

"Well I find that reassuring," Ayden said honestly. "Of course, time might prove to make a liar of you, but I believe you speak the truth. You don't gain anything from being duplicitous with me at the moment." He stood from his desk and walked around to a window overlooking the capital city. It was a beautiful sight as the sun began to set, tinting the sky with hues of pink and orange. "These are certainly dark times. There have been those who have asked that I create an order of some sort to help maintain the peace within the Protectorate. After so many terrorist attacks, I am inclined to agree with them. I cannot, will not, arm the law enforcement of the Protectorate with the means to fight a war with those who would seek us harm. If I do that, suddenly every civilian becomes a threat."

"So yes, Master Seren. I would welcome you within the Protectorate to help me maintain order in the shadows of war and tyranny. A light, a fire, is needed to keep the hopes of people alive. I can do many things, but I am but a single man. I can only be in so many places, can only stretch myself so far." He turned to look at her and her padawan. "Whatever you ask, I will see to it that you get it. As long as you respect the wishes of the people and laws of the Protectorate, I welcome you, and all who would follow your path."

 

[Lief]

While her Padawan thought of.. groping.. the Jedi's focus remained upon the Lord Protector. She did not reply to his initial comment, as there was no necessity to do so. What more could she say on the matter save further reassure him that she would not go against the wishes of the Protectorate? Wasted words added nothing in Diplomacy. As the Goat continued she realised that what had begun, for her, as a small scale concept to widen the reach of the Jedi had infact become an entire project in itself... And one she welcomed, no doubt. It seemed to her that he was not asking for a few Jedi to come and watch over the planets, instead a Sect for the Protectorate itself.

It would be a large undertaking, but one with more benefits than potential risks. And one which would turn much of what she had already achieved on its head. The Protectorate was not the Republic, so nor should its Force Users be as the Jedi are... Or once were, since their present credibility left a lot to be desired. "The construction of an Order is no easy task, but one I am willing to undertake, Lord Protector. For now all I will require is access and permission to utilize the Enclave in Cloud City. Once initial plans have been made I will contact you. I shan't do anything without prior consent. These are your people, and until they welcome us willingly I have no right to presume to do anything."

Once more her head inclined steadily, all the while she wondered what Cemas thought of the situation. He had never been to the Republic with Asha, thus he had never seen the work of the Jedi there, or their ways. Only what she had taught him. She hoped this would be in her favour given the turning of the tides within their future.

[member="Cemas D'baen"] [member="Ayden Cater"]