The Wolf of Fate

[Allyson Locke]

SIS Sullest
1400, Afternoon
Meet with Marshal Talith, get further orders.

The sound of a datapad clicking off echoed on the empty shuttle headed towards the Sullest building that was marked for the SIS - a sub-unit of the Galactic Alliance. Brown eyes scanned the once again active tablet again. He read through his evaluation, it stated his skill set and his achievements. Under all of that though, it also stated his downfalls.

• 
  Difficulty working with a large group
  

His eyes scanned the same line over and over again. He tried to remember what it was like when he was a private in the army, he was able to work well with them and even listen to orders properly. There was something that happened when he moved up, did he lack the leadership? The datapad clicked off again, he knew the answer and it was simple. Lee Novastrider wanted to do it if the person he ordered to do it couldn’t. He did everything on his own and was used to being alone. The datapad remained in his hand as he looked around the empty shuttle. No one headed out this way, it was government property or something of the like.

The ride continued and he sighed once more. Why SIS? Why couldn’t he just be sent to another platoon or something else, maybe even be released? Civilian life wouldn’t have been that bad, he was once a civilian, who ended up getting into freedom fights with every army out there. Maybe civilian life wasn’t where he was needed.

In 45 minutes destination shall be achieved​

Forty Five minutes, he thought quietly to himself. In forty five minutes he would know if he was going to be something important or some Jedi’s personal body guard...either made his stomach tighten. Lee never wanted to be in any sort of important or lime light position. He liked the shadows, he liked being the one unseen. If he was looked over, than he could continue his quiet life, fight when he fought and relax when he wanted to. Speaking of relaxing….he had forty five minutes to do so. The datapad returned to life and on the screen words to a trashy romance novel appeared. He didn’t know why, but these things were addicting.

Time passed and he was climbing off the shuttle with a bag slung over his shoulder and his dress uniform slightly wrinkled. His beret slightly tilted forward as he chewed on the end of a plastic straw. Looking up he found the information he needed and headed towards what he assumed to be Jedi Marshal [member="Aela Talith"] ‘s office...if that was a thing. All he knew is that he should find her in this building. Unknown surroundings made the small hairs on his neck stand and he remained alert.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

Aela had been a part of the SIS for some months now, she and [member="Jamie Pyne"] had worked on several different missions and had made quite a good team. She was proud of the work that they had done together, proud of what they had achieved on Bastion and other worlds. There was much for them to do still of course, half a dozen different things that needed to be taken care of, but Aela was still fairly pleased with all the progress that she and her apprentice had been able to make.

Of course, there was the rare bit of down time.

The simple truth was there wasn’t always a mission, there wasn’t always a goal, and thus every now and again Aela and Jamie got a bit of downtime. It was a nice reprieve from their usual rather stringent schedule, something that helped them relax a little bit when usually their lives had become so chaotic.

Even with their lack of missions though Aela was hardly on vacation. She had a job to do, and part of that job was paperwork and command. The 5th Legion, although technically still a part of the Alliance Military structure, still required orders to be signed off on, still required direction, and that wasn’t even to mention the half dozen other things Aela needed to work on. The truth of it was...well she was busy.

While Jamie got to rest, she had to take care of administrative duties.

She sat in the office at the SIS building, pieces of flimsy shuffled about, two terminals still online. She frowned slightly for a moment, reading her schedule today and letting out a sigh. She hadn’t become a Jedi to do paperwork.

 

[Allyson Locke]

The hallways weren't friendly, they were long and the farther the solider continued the thinner the crowds got. He kept his gaze forward, a long time instilled behavior from his childhood. It wasn't because he was beat if he looked elsewhere, it was because of the terrors he would catch glimpse of. If he kept his attention forward, he would be able to sleep at night. Even then, after accidentally seeing things made sleep no longer the desired haven.

Eyes remained open, drying slightly as he finally made it to the end of the hallway. A little plaque displayed the woman's name and rank. Lovely, he thought to himself and steeled himself to be denied any access to this division. There was a knock and knowing that he was expected he entered. "Lieutenant Lee Novastrider, Marshal Talith, I've been sent to your division." He saluted and then dropped his bag at his side. Without waiting for her to give him permission, he dropped his salute and folded his hands to his front.

His brown eyes assessed her. She was young, but there was a certain fire. Lee pressed his lips together in thought. The girl, no he corrected himself, the woman seemed to have seen things, like he has, but she was so young. Shoulders remained tense as he waited for her to respond to him. Jedi were odd folk, but he owed them his life - for the most part. [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

The 5th legion had in recent time become somewhat famous, they had lead the assault on Coruscant when the Alliance had taken the planet and since then they’d become the premiere force for the SIS, working as the organization's military arm when things got a little bit more...hectic. Aela trusted the legionnaires with her life, even though most of them had once been Sith Troopers or other more...despicable sorts.

”Relax.” Aela said with a wave of her hand, not using the force but simply trying to put him at ease. Once she would have stuck to military protocol, months ago before Adder, Jacen and She had embarked on their criminal adventure. Now...well she tried to see things in a bit friendlier manner. ”Glad to have you with us, Lee.”

She offered him a smile, though it was a rather controlled one, not showing too much emotion. Aela had often found that the soldiers at her command were...well jovial, and those that weren’t usually appreciated kind gestures to put them a bit more at ease. ”Why did you get thrown with us?”

It was a good question.

The 5th Legion, although somewhat known now, was still by and large not exactly the most prestigious place to be. The SIS often did quite a bit of dirty work, and the Legion played a very large part in that. Most soldiers wanted knowing to do with spooks, much less spooks that associated with Jedi.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Shoulders relaxed some, but he remained at some sort of attention. He couldn't help it. The woman in front of him reminded him of the cultist, she was guarded and in a seat of power. Though, she was better looking than the sick pale men that would whip and beat him to near death. So if he had to choose his situation he would pick this.

The tip of his nose twitched as he felt an itch when she asked him why he had been assigned to her, well to her division or SIS in general. The paper work had to have been sent to her and she would have had to approve it. Was she trying to embarass him? His mind automatically went to he negative. Shoulders tightened again before he spoke, "According to command, I don't play well with others." Lee paused and thought about his next remark.

"They lacked structure and if I did not do it on my own, many of the platoon would have gotten killed." Frustration lingered on his face, he was foolish to expect praise, but with these people he had gotten it. Now to be told he didn't fit it, he felt he was thrown back to square one.

He worried somewhat, if his services weren't required or if Marshall Talith decided there was no room for him, he would be released. His brow remained creased as he tried to think of something to say. "Skill set: hand to hand combat, teras kasai, stealth and strength." He rambled like a robot then stopped.

"Apologies, Marshall Talith" [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

"No need to apologize." Aela said simply.

It made sense that they would send him here. The 5th legion wasn't really structured in the same way that the other outfits were, they were quite a bit more...flexible. They had a command structure of course, but it wasn't the same as with the other Military parties in the Alliance. What she didn't like was the idea that the Legion could become a refuse pile for soldiers who didn't follow orders. There was more discretion here, but that didn't mean everyone had free reign.

"You understand." She began. "That you'll still be following orders."

She wanted to make that clear. "The 5th Legion, SIS has a bit more discretion, but we also handle problems that are a bit...bigger than what the average soldier would encounter. Sometimes your morals will be called into question, and sometimes you will have to make the tough decision."

Aela had encountered that herself already.

Working as a Spook was...different than working as a regular Solider, and in a way the 5th Legion was now an entire army of spooks. They worked undercover, they came in hard when they had to, but mostly they were...well the thugs of the SIS for lack of a better term. The 5th Legion was Aela's muscle, there to help out when she needed a strong arm beside her or an angry face to stare at people for her. That often meant they were thrown into the thick of a situation with little to no warning.

 

[Allyson Locke]

He listened. She spoke. Lee figured that he wasn't going to have free reign here, he wondered if his rank even mattered. The stories about the Fifth Legion were like ghost stories, some were outlandish, but he figured still had some truth to them. His fellow soldiers longed to be transferred here, alas he was the 'lucky' chap.

There were even stories about the Talith woman, it was hard to see her and then imagine her tales. Shaking his head, a small light chuckle escaped his pressed lips.

"Is that the speech you tell every solider that sets foot into your office? Is it meant to scare me?" Morals being tested, is seemed like a dream compared to everything he had seen on the battlefield as a solider for the Alliance and as a freedom fighter. Lee fixed himself and then adjusted the beret.

"I'm not scared. I'm fully capable of making the hard choices, morals are a luxury that I have recently been given - they do not affect my decision making." He joined the Alliance to eradicate the Sith - revenge, no, it was beyond that already. "Is that good enough for you Talith?"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

Aela perked an eyebrow. "Why would I attempt to scare you?"

She ignored the curtness of his voice.

"There is no room for fear here." The Jedi said simply. "I don't particularly care whether or not your morals effect you or not. This isn't about making the hard choices. This is about you accepting the decision after we're done."

That was the hardest part for people. They could do what was asked of them, they could even follow through, but in the end that decision might break them. They couldn't live with the fear, the guilt, they just couldn't accept it. Most members of the 5th Legion could, their past having been darker than...well even most Sith. They saw their work in the Legion as an act of redemption rather than simply falling into another dark pit. They knew what they did was for a good cause, and that was more than enough for most. "It doesn't matter how you feel when you pull the trigger."

She went on.

"It matters how you feel after and before." The Jedi Leaned back slightly. "The SIS is complicated, complex, we do things no one else does, but we do them for good reason. Not for revenge, not even for redemption I think, but because they need to be done or else others will fall. We're not here to make the hard choices, we're here to decide if they need to be made in the first place."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Lee blinked as he stared forward at the woman. She mentioned the feeling one had after making the choice, the acceptance that you needed to have after the decision was made. Stubbornness kicked in as his mind attempted to make a counter argument. With how much sense she made, he wasn't going to blindly agree.

"If you can't live or accept the choice after making it you shouldn't be in that position to make the choice." Buying himself time he reiterated her point. Brown hues examined the woman at the desk more intently. She seemed to be well kept and it made him wonder why she was in this division, why was she in charge? Lee didn't know her past and she didn't know his, but visually there was no evidence of a chip on her shoulder or something that would be dark and critical in her past. She was curious and curiosity kept Lee where he stood.

"People have different reasons for joining, is what I'm gathering from your speech" he paused and knew his next question would over step his boundaries. "Why. Why are you in charge? Can you live with the decisions your soldiers make? Can you accept what they do and what choices they make? In the end everything falls back to the head of the beast." [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

"I'm not in charge." She said with a shrug. "The director is."

That was certainly true in a way. Aela didn't control the SIS entirely, but she did have control of a large part of the 5th Legion, well nearly all of it in fact, but ultimately she couldn't just run off with them. She smiled slightly and then leaned forward again. "But yes I live with their decisions."

She had in the past.

"I take responsibility for those who serve me." Aela said simply. "I can't control each and every man that serves me, but I can accept that their actions are of a direct consequence of what I do and command. That is the burden of leadership. That is why they trust me, and that is why I give them all this same lesson. They have a freedom of choice, I am not a Sith, my soldiers know this. They know that every decision they make is something they have to live with. Where the blame falls for those decisions doesn't matter, ultimately it's about what falls on you."

She shifted in her chair.

"I accept my part in things, but you must accept yours as well." That was simple truth. That was how this all worked. She had known this for a long time, having fought in a dozen different battles and leading both Jedi and Soldiers. She had never killed before, yet she conducted war, and inevitably the deaths that happened within that war weighed on her just as much as they would if they had died by her own hand.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Her answered were sufficient, even though her first comment felt as if she chose to shift blame. The Jedi earned Lee's respect, but he highly doubted it mattered to her if he respected her. In the end, all higher ups were the same. They cared if you did as you were told and didn't ask questions. If you liked them, it was a plus, if you didn't - that was on you. Removing his beret, he nodded his head forward.

He would be a good dog, for he most part. As long as he got his praise and he was able to snuff the life out of the Sith monsters. His eyes closed and an odd sense of deja vu hit him. The position Lee was in, reminded him of a time he received lashes. Eyes opened as phantom pain shot along his back. Sweat gathered along his hairline and he placed his beret back upon his head. Doing his best to hide the small flash back he adjusted his broad shoulders and nodded.

"I'll listen to your orders and yours alone [member="Aela Talith"]"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

She shook her head.

"You don't understand." Aela had this discussion many times. It seemed that every new Soldier that the Legion recruited felt exactly the same way. They couldn't help it of course, it was what they had been taught. Follow orders or you'll die. That was how the Sith worked. She had no idea if Lee had worked for the Sith, no idea where he came from, but it didn't matter. He seemed to have the same outlook, the same process of thought as the others.

"I'm not asking you to follow my orders like a dog." She said simply. "I'm asking you to be human. To think."

It didn't come naturally to most of them anymore, self thought, to do and think what was right. "If I give you an order, if anyone gives you an order and you find that you couldn't live with it the next day, that it's too much. Then don't do it."

It was a policy that had never been enacted before, mostly because Aela generally didn't give orders that were questionable, but it was still drilled into every member of the 5th Legion. There had to be a limit to what every soldier did, there had to be a limit, there had to be a point where it was okay to simply stop.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Be human? The concept seemed alien to him. His freedom was something he dreamed about, but in actuality he never really knew what it meant. He followed orders even when they weren't the right ones, he made choices that should have been the orders he should have been given. Everything was in order and he was still a slave to the desires of others. The only difference was that he was occupied with fending off 'evil'.

"Live with it the next day?" He repeated, confusion contorted his scarred features. "How could I not listen to orders? They are given to me for a reason." The concept made no sense. If he wasn't willing to obey an order, he should be released.

"I obey and I carry out what needs to be done. Your desire to make sure that I am capable of living with the outcome is silly. I am a solider. I am able to live with whatever I am told to do."

Lee paused and then everything hit him. It was silent and then he spoke to her of his revelation. "What if I'm not able to be human?" [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

"Then you'll learn." She said as though it were simple.

"The soldiers of the 5th legion are, or rather were, Soldiers who once served the Sith. Every single man and woman within the Legions were at one point Stormtroopers, mercenaries, or even Royal Guard that served with the Sith. They asked the same questions. They said the same things, but eventually...you learn." That was the simple truth, and it was a good one. "Time heals all wounds, even those of the mind. Not every order should be followed, not every command needs to be listened to."

She was a firm believer in that.

"You're not here to be a robot. You're here to do good." Whatever that good might be.

It was different for everyone. Jamie for instance thought the good of the galaxy was something wholly different than Aela did. Her own Padawan had a massively differing opinion from her and she accepted that. One could argue that Aela was a bit naive of course, but...well it happened. It was how she looked at the world, and so far it had served her perfectly well, even if it was a little bit hypocritical.

 

[Allyson Locke]

'Former Sith', her small phrase echoed in his mind over and over again. The rest of her words were drowned out by the two simple and unwise words. Instantly, his mind snapped into a reel of moments - each painful and infuriating. The cloaked figures looming over him, whipping him, and demanding his life for their cause.

His entire frame tended and his face darkened. He thought the Alliance condemned the Sith and those that followed their path. He soon realized that this Fifth Legion was nothing more than the Sith playing good pets. The Jedi before him made him question her alignment.

"Don't the Jedi combat the Sith?" It was a decent question and one that he thought he knew the answer to. "I will not work with Sith and I will not work with Sith sympathizers like you and your authorities." Grabbing his bag, he slung it over his shoulder. There wasn't anywhere he could go now, he was written off by the Army and now he denied the SIS.

Standing there his eyes narrowed, "How could anything associated with the Sith do good?" [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

"They're not Sith." Her voice was hard, like a stone slamming against the ground.

Her troops weren't anything close to Sith. They had served them once, yes, but each one had deserted, left, or simply been tossed away. They were all good men, all good people. Some had committed acts of horror, some had seen things that no sentient should, and they were all paying for it. Their service was their pertinence, it was a way to make up for what they used to be.

"They once served them, yes." She admitted.

Aela went on, a deer frown on her face. "What do you think happens when the Sith occupy a world? What do you think those people go through? They're pressed into service, forced to fight, forced to become slaves. Troopers, Pilots, everything. Not all of them want to be there, and even those that once did generally don't by the end. The men of the 5th Legion aren't Sith, they've proven that time and time again. They fought on Lujo, they liberated Coruscant, they are not Sith."

"Everyone deserves a chance." She said simply. "Doesn't matter who they are, everyone deserves to make it right."

She wholeheartedly believed that. "Tossing someone away just because of what they once were is foolish, narrow minded, and outright idiotic."

Aela even believed that Sith themselves, not just their troops, could be redeemed. It was again, perhaps a bit of her naivety showing through, but it was what she believed in. She more than believed it was possible, her father had done it after all.

"If you can't accept that, then walk out that door." Simple as that.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Her words sounded great as a speech, very humanitarian. Lee on the other hand had experienced the Sith. He tried so many times to get out, to kill them, to kill him self and all of that was denied by them. He felt a sort of brotherhood feeling with those that had endured like him, but sith themselves - they did it because they wanted to.

Lee starting to feel the explosive temper that denied him access to joining the order begging to surface. He struggled until he couldn't anymore. Two large steps put him at the woman's desk and a fist made contact on the end closest to him.

"You know NOTHING of the Sith and what they're capable of. Redemption belongs to those who survive their forced captivity - not to the monsters that willingly gave their free will to it for power."

Taking a step back he realized his actions and tried to calm down, "You ever feel what they do to someone? Or is all your knowledge of the Sith from books and studying their ways Marshall? You ever wake up to them looming over you with dark blades because they want to see how much you can take?" Shaking his head, "Not many do and I hope you never do."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

"I've had them in my head." Telti. It had not been a pleasant experience. "I've seen their slaughter, felt their blades within my skin."

The Jedi Marshall lifted her shirt slightly, revealing a long cash across her stomach. "I know what Sith are. I know perfectly well what they're capable of and what they're willing to do. I've dedicated my entire life to fighting Sith."

It was true. No one could question her devotion, no one who looked at her objectively anyway. She had fought the Sith in one way or another since she'd turned fourteen, and before them she had studied them almost endlessly. Her entire life was built in some way around combating the darkside, it was who she was, so much so that many of the Jedi joked that she was a sort of Iron Lady when it came to even touching the darkside of the force.

She let the fabric drop to cover her wound once more.

"I know Sith." She said plainly. "I know that the best way to fight them isn't by simply slaughtering them all."

Her next words sounded corny as could be, but it was a core of the Jedi belief. "I know that sometimes forgiveness is just as powerful as a blaster bolt to the head."

"A man under my command might have killed a man working for the Sith." A tough thing to think about, but it was the truth. "But he has saved a hundred since coming here. Murder, death, revenge, it's what they want. It's their whole point. They push, prod, poke and break so that you'll do exactly what they'll want; kill."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Lee stared at the scarred gash against her stomach. She didn't get off easy and he felt a sense of guilt wash over him. He did exactly what he didn't want to do or have done to him. The man assumed the Jedi before him was nothing more than someone who lived through study and never ran the trenches with those on the ground. Shame filled him as the temper faded.

"I am sorry. I misjudged you and your position" Lee spoke softly and removed his beret. "I was a slave to a sith cult on Korriban. I was liberated when I was a teenager" Fingers moved along buttons of the uniform, she had shown her experience so he decided to show his. His chest exposed showed years of scars and deep wounds that seemed to not heal properly.

"They experimented a lot, searching for ways to summon their dead leader." He closed up his uniform and then pulled his high collar down. The tattooed number burned against his neck, " my name was Twelve until the Jedi that released me gave me the name I have today." Covering himself up he kept his head bowed and avoided eye contact.

Shame, it was the first time he felt this emotion and didn't fully know how to make it stop. [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Lee Novastrider"]

She felt sympathy for him, she felt sympathy for a lot of the men and women that she lead. "A lot of the men here are the same."

Aela said quietly, the expression on her face softened.

"Not all of them were villains." A few, yes, but even those were here seeking nothing more than redemption. The 5th Legion wasn't some kind of harbor for criminals, it was for men and women who wanted to improve themselves, to show the galaxy that they were good, that they could do good. "They were forced into service, their lives or the lives of their families threatened. Some of them still have family members being held captive by the Sith."

"Give them a chance, don't make assumptions." She pointed to her scar.

She smiled.

"You'll find a place here among us." There was confidence in her voice. "I promise."