The Noose [Galactic Alliance]

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Chevu Visz"]
[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

OOC/ Open to senior members of the NJO or allies with a good knowledge of Sith who would wish to be present to discuss the fate of Muldrac

New Jedi Order Temple, Sullust

Jacen rubbed his hands together as he sat at the table with other members of the New Jedi Order. On one wall was project the image of a small cell where [member="Darth Mudrac"] was kept. Currently they were observing, but soon they would enter into a discussion. The Sith Lord had been stripped of all his items, which were kept in a separate chamber far away. The risk of any dark side artefacts being dangerous had been considered great.

“The problem as I see it, is that our intelligence agency is nowhere near extensive enough to confirm any secrets he may wish to reveal to us. At this stage we’re fumbling in the dark and he could well be lying to us and setting us up,” Jacen said slowly. “What we could do, is review his story and pass the details on to the Republic. If they corroborate his story of betraying his own kind to them, it would go some way towards explaining what he’s doing here.

“We also need to find out what he wants. His motivations greatly concern me. A Sith turns over rocks that should lay undisturbed, grasping for power just for the sake of it. Or worse, they seek power simply to fuel their own agenda,” Jacen said. He fell silent, leaving an opening for any other opinions. Omai Rhen was not actually present at the meeting. It seemed he wished his Jedi to discuss the matter themselves, to see what opinion they would form on their own.

The easy road would have been to flood the chamber with magma and be done with it. The easy road was not for the Jedi. They walked the hard path, the path of selflessness and control. Those who walked the easy path, ended up like the pallid figure in the cell.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

[member="Aela Talith"] [member="Chevu Visz"]

​

Sarge had been in a plethora of meetings just like this, mostly in the Omega Pyre. A few times it had come at the heels of the Jedi feeling the need to congregate for one reason or another. Regardless, he was no stranger to these affairs. As was his practice, he would show up and stand in the corner, but times had changed, and so had he. Standing at the end of the table, hood pulled down to reveal his helmeted head, the massively armored warrior seemed to offer little attention to those gathered.

His attention, instead, was on [member="Darth Mudrac"].

"Ask your questions, Jedi." He says finally, voice rumbling up from within with all the promise of magma flooding a caldera. "I have the Intel to corroborate anything you may need me to. Or, at least, enough to make this interesting." A bold claim, but Sarge had ears in places most didn't. They'd lasted since before the Plague, and while he would hesitate to call any of the individuals in the network 'friends,' they certainly owed him.

And perhaps he owed them too.

Sarge was well connected in the Underworld, a fact not often relevant. But it was now.

 

[Chevu Visz]

Anger. Hatred. Fear. These were all paths to the Dark Side of the Force. It took every ounce of Chevu's focus to make sure that she was calm and emotionless during these proceedings with the Sith who had been captured. She herself had not been present during the social gathering which drew the Sith's visitation, but as the youngest Jedi Marshall of the New Jedi Order, she was called to witness and weigh in as best she could. The Mirialan was also [member="Coren Starchaser"]'s student, and although the Galactic Alliance's New Jedi Order and the military were separate, she acted as his eyes and ears.

No blades were crossed, nor blood shed, but there was a Sith in custody whose motivations were unknown. Her brown eyes flashed to Knight Voidstalker.

"This Sith said that he had come to Sullust seeking an "alliance," and wanted to offer his help against his kind. "We can help you," was what he said. Meaning what? Are there more in his cabal, wishing to ally with us? Or, more likely, use us somehow?"

The Galactic Alliance was only beginning to prepare for this new war, to restore the balance of the Force to the galaxy, and already they had an unknown element presumably trying to manipulate them for his own gains, whatever those might be. Her fingers trembled in frustration, and she shoved them behind her back. There is no emotion, only peace.

"I don't like it," she muttered.

Why should they trust this creature? He had fallen to darkness. If there was one thing that Master Oomomo had drummed into Chevu, it was the notion that there were no "good" Sith. Only varying degrees of ones who were less evil.

[member="Sarge Potteiger"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Yes, he said he wasn’t going to concern himself with the Jedi.

Yes, he said that he was here to assist the military and make a connection between the other Force users in the galaxy and the Jedi, make a team that was built to withstand anything the galaxy could throw at them. He had sent [member="Chevu Visz"] ahead as his proxy, and while he trusted her, the man was still pacing back and forth. He needed to do something, and there was only so many bouts against military paperwork he could throw himself into until he just admitted he couldn’t stay focused.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her. No, he did, he wouldn’t take her on as a student if he didn’t trust her. It was all about the fact that he needed to be there. Coren Starchaser had spent enough time in the Underground, running strikes against the One Sith that he knew a few things about combat against them. Sure, Sarge was intimidating, and the rest of the Jedi were, well, Jedi, but he needed to do something.

Checking his armor and grabbing his pistol, the man made his way down to the detention area. He made his way into the meeting room. “The problem is the bastard is still alive. Its a Sith, they're nothing but a disease.”

Okay, so maybe there was a reason Coren wasn’t necessarily invited.

[member="Chevu Visz"]
[member="Sarge Potteiger"]
[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Long and hard did he think before setting foot into that room. Even longer did he contemplate while in the company of his fellow Jedi and associates, but the more time passed the more Vaet realized that this would not be an easy decision, no matter how much time was spent contemplating.

His eyes searched for Vandal who undoubtedly was also present, but in the end the Vaetling decided to talk yet again.

“I counsel against listening to his answers.” it was in the nature of the Sith to lie, to scheme and to plot - it was in their very nature to display acts of duplicity, it came as natural as breathing.

The Sith had claimed not to ever have murdered anyone, but many evils had nothing to do with murder and were just as damning as the former.

“Every word spoken, a word of deceit. Nothing useful this one could tell us… nothing worth the risk.”

Vaet closed his eyes for a moment and searched inside of himself. Was he acting out of fear? He only felt determination, but this did not mean much in his eyes - too much had been spoken to silence himself now though.

“I counsel… sever him from the Force.” a harsh sentence, but this was a time of war. They could not be lenient with the Sith. The longer he was still in possession of his connection to the Darkside? The bigger the chances were that he could escape and perhaps kill on his way out.

“Without the Darkside rehabilitation can be considered. A long path to redemption.”

Contacting the Republic? With the Grandmaster compromised? Had she not revealed that her own sister had been a high ranking Sith Lord in the One Sith herself? And how long had that path of supposed redemption been?

A day? Three days? Maybe a week or two?

No, Vaet did not trust the Republic or its Jedi leadership. There was something very wrong there and it concerned him a lot.

[member="Sarge Potteiger"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Relit Vandal"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen nodded slowly at the other's comments. He was weary of the situation, but wanted to get to the bottom of events before putting forward any clear opinions on the matter. He had worked for a year as a Jedi Investigator within the Republic, assisting law enforcement with difficult cases. He knew very well that gut feelings could be followed, but voicing an opinion with anything other than hard evidence to hand could land you in trouble.

"Can everyone be quiet for a moment? Regardless of what we decide to do with this Rogue Sith, I would get to the bottom of his wild claims," he said, before reaching over to the console at the centre of the table. He opened the audio channel to the Sith's cell.

"We have a simple question for you. You said you co-ordinated an attack on a Sith Temple. Who were the contacts within the Republic and Mandalorians that you arranged this with?"

[member="Darth Mudrac"]

 

[Grrwunhoooll Agaburry]

Walking in his cell with a medium sized bruise on his head, Nulgath had no expression. His hands were bound by blasted Terantatek leather cuffs, A material he knew well due to his skill in alchemy. He paced slowly back and fourth in his cell. Had to get familiar with it after all. His robes were gone and attire changed. What a pity too the Robe he had on was quite comfy and warm.

The comms echoed in his cell voicing out.
"We have a simple question for you. You said you co-ordinated an attack on a Sith Temple. Who were the contacts within the Republic and Mandalorians that you arranged this with?"

Nulgath smiled as he thought about the people he worked with that day but also grew sad. " Taeli Raaf & Kezeroth the Beholder...Rest his soul. Those are the main trees, From them the branches expanded to Corvus Raaf and Mandalore himself. " he answered and finally took a seat in the corner of his cell. Closing his eyes he fell into a meditative state of mind. The cuffs made this uncomfortable but the epicanthix could tolerate it. Deep in his mind he could feel the thoughts of Balthazar, who for now seemed to remain quiet.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
[member="Vaet"]
[member="Coren Starchaser"]
[member="Chevu Visz"]
[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Darth Mudrac"]

"Thank you," Jacen replied, before clicking off the connection. Mudrac was still visible on the screen pacing in his cell.

Turning to look around the room, Jacen slowly nodded his head as he completed his thought process. "Unless anyone has a better notion, I've a mind to contact the Republic Jedi Academy right now?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Coren piped down for a moment. He was a bit confused on why the Gherkin was here. Still, Jedi weren’t his circus, these weren’t his monkeys. He didn’t really need to know why a youngling was showing up for discussion with the Sith. All that he needed to know was why they hadn’t dropped the mother fether into the volcano yet. Could he be redeemed? Coren didn’t care. But Voidstalker was running the show, and he’d trust the man. Getting information out of the Sith could be a good move. And then they could eliminate him.

One less Sith was a good day.

“Why the Republic though? They’ll stick it to committee and his team will break him out before they get done talking.” Coren really didn’t like committees. "I just mean, we can handle things a bit quicker. What are we looking to get from him?

 

[Chevu Visz]

At Jacen's suggestion, Chevu waited for Coren to speak, then she turned back to Jacen and nodded an affirmative. Was she trying to purposefully undermine her Master? No, but Coren felt that the Republic leadership was as useful as rubber nails. And it wouldn't hurt to play devil's advocate.

"I think contacting the Republic is a wise idea," she told Jacen. Chevu was trying to understand just what the Sith wanted from them. If this person was in bed with the Galactic Republic, let the Sith tarnish their image, not that of the Alliance.

"At the very least we can corroborate his story. What I'd really like to know is: if this Sith has been working as an agent for the Republic, why come to us?"

Yes, the Alliance wanted to strike at the black heart of the One Sith as soon as they could, but not at the cost of working with Dark Siders. It was simply too great a risk for a fledgling group who was just beginning to sprout its wings. No matter how helpful the man had been in aiding the Republic and the Mandalorians, it was simply unacceptable to let the enemy get so close.

[member="Coren Starchaser"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Sarge Potteiger"] [member="Vaet"] [member="Darth Mudrac"]

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"Contact the Republic. Get your answers." That would be the solemn intonation of the former Lord Protector speaking. "But ask no presumptive questions until such a time as his story is corroborated. You may be surprised what the Republic could divulge that could create newer, more pertinent questions."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Let's establish how much of his words are true for now. Even if it is of limited value. It's not beyond the wit of imagination to believe the Sith arranged a very real strike on their own facility in order to plant an agent. However, I don't want to put forward too much conjecture right now. I'm not sure why he's here and not with the Republic," he said.

As he tapped the keys on the datapad inset into the table, he quietly murmured to himself about the stupid technology he couldn't understand. The other Jedi would have been free to continue the conversation whilst he wrangled with the dialling software.

"Aha," he said triumphantly. With any luck he'd be able to contact someone through the Jedi Academy network and talk to someone at the Jedi Order and ask for one of the Raafs - if they were willing. Otherwise they were going to have to go through the trouble of talking in person again.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Aela Talith]

Aela stood behind everyone else, silent, watching.

This wasn't offensive to her, wasn't harmful to what she wanted. Some wanted Sith to die, Aela did not. To her it was enough to see them imprisoned, to see them trapped and forced to live with what they had become. There was always redemption, it was always an option, one of the only two options that Aela would ever give Sith that faced her.

Briefly her eyes flickered to Jacen, then back to the Sith.

His answers made some sense, though had little logic to them. When Chevu spoke she found herself completely agreeing with her assessment. If he had plotted with the Republic, why come to the Alliance?

Aela frowned slightly, but remained silent and slightly hidden.

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino sat quietly in the corner, listening. There was a great deal of emotions stirring through the air here. Most of it not very good. Several of which were troubling to himself. Hatred and anger, no matter how righteous, were still hatred and anger. Such attitudes were antithetical to what they were trying to build here. Otherwise respectable members were tense under the strain here. They were blind to the life he possessed, which while absolutely corrupted, was still life and a part of the Living Force. He rested his chin on his hands, seeking out anything in the Force.

He had contacts of his own that he could pull on. The Underground. Republic Intelligence. Some underworld contacts. Given a few hours, he could probably corroborate any statement. Would these others even be willing to listen after that? Or were their minds closed to other options? He was sensing a general closure of their minds. Hopefully it would not lead them to actions they would regret or would reflect poorly on the newly formed Alliance. Things were at a delicate position right now and this was pushing the edge of what they could handle.

 

[Relit Vandal]

Within vast swamps and bogs, there exists a specific type of plant. And within this plant, a bowl of sugar water lures the fly. Once within the cusp, the fly is trapped and killed slowly. Left to consider it's own mistakes, one must always be wary of the sugar pot.

The Zelosian leaned against his chair, listening to the Sith speak his mind, and remained contemplative of the message being sent. He had very little respect for the Galactic Republic, especially since their most recent issuance of the Black Flag prerogative. Any organization that had no respect for life, or were tied to a group that acted in such way, held no regard in the Jedi Master's mind. And unfortunately, the Jedi Order had been married to the Republic.

Relit had precious few words to say on this matter. Not being a member of the leadership, presiding Jedi Marshall, he would merely steeple his hands on the table and listen. Many people were focused on discussion but at the end of the day, the choice was made. They would get to the bottom of this mystery, no matter what truths it took them to. In the end, Relit would merely caution against believing the serpent's tongue, no matter how sweet the words sound. The Sith is guided by primary directives - power and self preservation. One of those he could obtain through proximity to the Jedi, the other he had secured behind bars.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was at her desk. Her spartan office resembled any of the empty ones - there were no personal effects to be seen, save one. An ancient looking staff leaned against a bookcase behind her.

What set this aside from any other office was the volume of paperwork. Flimsi's to read and sign, datapads to digest and timetables to remember.

But as she sat there, pushing an errant strand of hair behind her ear, only for it to fall forwards again once she leaned over the next document, she was aware that someone wanted to reach her. So she switched on her holoprojector and waited for the call to be connected. For a message to be patched through directly, she knew it had to be important.

So she put aside the flimsi detailing the debate on full-fat or low-fat blue milk in the Ossus canteen and waited.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"Master Raaf,” Voidstalker said respectfully with a nod of his head. “I’m sorry to contact you on such short notice, but we have an urgent manner of security which needs to be resolve. The line is encrypted to the highest standard we have available,” he said. It likely wouldn’t be as advanced as the technology the Republic had available, but it would still take time to break, even by Spynet.

“A claim has been made that a Sith assisted you in attacking a Sith Temple. “The Temple of Pain” I believe, as melodramatic as it sounds. I would like to know if you’re willing to confirm or deny this is the case,” Jacen explained.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus listened and waited for the speaker to finish before she appraised the question and then responded.

"To answer as fully and as truthfully as I can, we were approached by a Dark-sider who wished to attack the temple and wanted our help. And by our, I mean the Republic Jedi. I initially declined. I'm afraid the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. But he was successful in talking the Republic into supporting him and a variety of the Order's Jedi signed up. Given I was...uncomfortable they should be led by a known Dark-sider, I accompanied them to ensure they were not subject to an attempt to turn them to the Dark-side."

"It was the lesser of two evils in my honest opinion. So, if this Dark-sider is..." she appeared to be searching her mind for a name, "Kezeroth, then I can confirm his involvement, although I did not interact with him at the venue itself."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

“Thank you Master Raaf, one moment please,” Jacen said. One hand idly scratched his stubble, whilst the other muted the call. He turned to the others around the table. “I would rather not mention the name of our captive, but perhaps we should to try and get to the bottom of this?” Jacen asked. “I’ve never heard of a ‘Kezeroth’ he admitted.

This was a tricky issue. He wanted to tread cautiously. His overarching concern was there was a Sith plot being put into motion here, whose machinations were transparent to them.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]
[member="Relit Vandal"]
[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Sarge Potteiger"]

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino watched the discussion between them carefully, giving a small nod of recognition towards the holodisplay of [member="Corvus Raaf"]. It was good to see her again and she seemed to be doing well. This conversation was interesting and not quite going the way they had expected. Perhaps the question had been a little off. The Sith had implied he had been an insider that had made it vulnerable. They would probably need to clarify it more. But he did know Kezeroth, not quite personally, but from being on the opposite side of several battlefields.

"Kezeroth is a fairly powerful Dark Sider who, if I remember, fought with the One Sith for a time before defecting somewhere else." He paused, trying to remember. Had they ever faced each other personally? "Fought against the Republic several times before his defection and he tends to be very destructive when engaged in combat." He rested his hand on his chin for a moment. "It might be better to ask if there was an insider who opened the facility up for an attack."