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Star Wars: The Crimson Covenant / Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Last post by Syren on June 17, 2025, 06:42:25 PM »“Oh, ye of little faith
Remember your twisted fate
Heaven is just a game
Not meant to last
There is no other gate
Remember your trials and pain
That bind you every day
These too shall pass
Let not your heart be troubled.”
-Lady Blackbird
Corellian Sector
Drall
Gemma Masterton sings into a vibrant verdant wonderland, lush and teeming with life.
It was a voice once heard by many. One rich with possibilities. Now it drifts through these lonely forests as she sprawls across a smooth outcropping of rock, warmed by latticed beams of sunlight. The transfixing notes free her from some of the resentment seemingly stuck to her like an inky pitch. A release into the living world around her. The vast foliage that swallows them in secrecy and shadows presents a unique opportunity to ponder the perilous distinction between victory and victimhood as it relates to their current situation.
She’s been selfish and unkind. Anger, quaking and molten, runs through her at the many oppressive expectations. Everyone wants something from them. Even the Jedi. Good or evil – two concepts rendered meaningless by their overuse and questionable application – begin to feel familiar beneath a grand enquiry. What does it mean to be a Masterton anyway? There is history attached to the name, a precedent set. Only some of it is true, and the rest is shaped by the stories others tell.
Nothing about where they came from is natural. The same point of origin, different paths and worlds, all lead back to destruction. She has both laughed and cried at and with this knowledge. The events of their lives the direct result of some plot or scheme they have reacted to, for better or worse. The shimmering threads of fate are difficult to predict with complete accuracy despite any claims to the contrary. She cannot imagine the Voss-Ra planned for every uppity interloper bent on using the prophecy for their own ends. If The Four are so integral to it all, it is not anyone else’s to claim or use, which means Adubell is more than a misguided nuisance. The depth of her delusion puts everything at risk. A greater threat to these ancient plans than any one of them. Mara’s words have tumbled through her mind, and with each passing day, she becomes more convinced of their plan.
What some see as fatalism, Gemma sees as agency. They are actively engaging in the prophecy. Really leaning in. Nevylinn, predictably, does not condone this approach and urges consideration and caution. She agreed to help Gemma strike a balance between the dueling aspects of the Force, but at every turn, she crumbles before her own rage. The reality of what she must do clashes with the life she envisioned for herself, the one she wishes she could have if not for, well, everything. The love, the money, and the happy ending. She has dabbled in acceptance, but it brings little consolation. Self-involved as she may be, she would not put anyone else through this. Another cycle that claims more lives. It may seem defeatist, but defeating Dahlia isn’t worth it at this point. No one ever said she couldn’t lose after she’d won. Such a lovely little loophole, a tear in the grandest of plans. Mara may be convinced their roles are not set, but where Dahlia is concerned, the heel most certainly fits.
To die is to ask a lot of someone. Yet, that is what she, Dane, and Riley must do to end it. But they must stop Adubell first. Keep her from going after Dahlia by diverting her attention here. A plan wild enough to work, even amongst the whims of romance. The others do not have to follow them into the underworld. She would find comfort in the sacrifice, knowing they would make things right again. Maybe she is the delusional one.
Then again, maybe not.
*
In the sparsely accented training space, deep in the dense woods, Nevylinn tests her again and again. Her form is impeccable after so much practice that it becomes more a matter of motive than skill.
“You do realize she will come for us,” Gemma prods, deflecting an attack. “Mara told us the Infiltrator made sure she knew Adubell would be the one to take Riley from her.”
“Yes.”
“How do you reconcile that? Is that the will of the Force? For the virtually unkillable replica of your fallen sister to wipe The Four from existence, all so that she can use the Sith to bring more terror to the galaxy?”
Nevylinn does not falter in the face of these glib comments meant to unsteady her.
“I have made my peace with what must be done.”
“You say that now.”
She strikes suddenly, but Gemma counters easily as they circle each other. Nevylinn commends the dedication, how Gemma has used their time to hone her abilities despite her recovery. Spite being the operative word embedded there. For every breath of clarity she gains, she slips back into anger so quickly and allows the purported sins of the past to push her over the line. Nevylinn is there to pull her back, to keep her from giving in entirely, but they teeter on a blade's edge. As she had witnessed with her sister, after starting down the dark path, there are few compelling reasons to turn back. The temptation is too immense, the power too great. She aims to reinforce a different solution.
“You are one to talk. There is another way to put these fears and machinations to rest.”
“I'm aware.”
“Yet you resist, take no measurable steps to achieve it. Anger is a byproduct of fear, and you, Gemma Masterton, have been frightened for most of your life. Everything that has happened happened because The Four were forced into making terrible choices. Situations that would otherwise not have occurred were not for the intervention of others. Do not forget that I knew Melanie Masterton. More so than you.”
It is a truth that still stings, but Gemma is prepared for it. She knew the living, breathing Jedi Melanie Masterton, not the pale shade she encountered. Nevylinn is satisfied that she doesn’t take the bait this time and continues.
“We trained together before I joined the Council on Chandaar. She was bright and beautiful and damaged and so very certain. But that certainty came from things someone else told her. Those ideas were placed in Melanie’s mind, and they have now been placed in yours. What seemed to anyone else like a spectacular tragedy unfolding mercilessly across the Holo was only ever the expected result of a series of calculated triggers. You know better and can therefore choose another path. You do not need to die to end this, but it does mean you have to pull it out by the root – defeat the Voss-Ra and reclaim your lives. Set about righting the wrongs of the prophecy yourself, not leave it to us to clean up your mess once you are gone.”
Gemma’s attack is precise but restrained, fighting against the pulsing darkness in her heart. They have been cleaning up the Jedi’s mess since they were driven from Chandaar. So many lives were shattered and extinguished because of their blindness. The audacity.
“You think we are taking the easy way out? None of this has been easy, Nevylinn.”
“I never said it was. Those are your thoughts, your words. The focus on blame clouds your judgment. It makes you an easy target for their lies.”
“Except they aren’t all lies, are they? I know we are being manipulated and used, but I also know there are forces at work here beyond the plans of scheming monsters that have haunted my dreams since I was a child. Beyond knowing Riley’s face before I knew his name. Both of those things can be true.”
“Many things can be true, Gemma. Truth does not make something right.”
Their sabers clash again, with Gemma taking a more offensive posture. The fight is alive within her. Nevylinn can feel the emotions clawing at her, distorting her sense of self and purpose. To feel unmoored in this life is a terrifying thing indeed, and she is desperately trying to be an anchor.
“The Four were united again for a reason. We cannot deny what we felt, what we did on Hesperidum when we were all together. There was a power far greater than imagination at work there. Our predecessors prevented the Empire from prevailing, and the Sith never rose, and now we are the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction. Our lives are tied to the others named in the prophecy, and the horror will continue, repeatedly, until what they saw comes to pass. Only then can it be stopped. The power behind the prophecy is more than those who seek to control it.”
“I know you believe that,” Nevylinn replies, tone not entirely free of judgment. “Outside of Riley's birth, do you know what happened aboard Centerpoint Station?”
"I know Melanie killed Karen Winton.”
“Who told you that?"
“Dahlia."
“And who told her that?”
Her face falls, remembering who ultimately orchestrated their kidnapping as children, who turned Dahlia in the first place, “Adubell…”
Nevylinn lets it hang there. So much action ignited on whispers. An unbridled fury fills the space, but Gemma, surprisingly, deactivates her saber and steps back. She feels the Force course through her, competing currents of very different streams, as the blackness begins to bleed from her vision. Yet the ache remains deep and painful.
“That only suggests she would use us against each other to get what she wants. Dahlia had proof.”
“Be that as it may, you are not as pragmatic as you fancy yourself, and react in ways they expect you to. The way Melanie no doubt reacted when she reasoned out that version of the story’s natural conclusion. It was designed to create conflict. Look at the situation from an outsider’s perspective, removed from attachment or emotion.
Gellar was already dead, and Patten was in labor on a station she could not escape from. Masterton thought she was their only hope, and she acted on impulse, ignited by what she thought she knew. She could not fathom that she could be wrong. It was determination that bordered on obsession, fueled by years of trauma. Trauma they inflicted on everyone involved. They led her to that conclusion, and they were all on that station for a reason. If you are looking for blame, Gemma, there it is. By your logic, Melanie doomed you all to this as someone in cycles before doomed everyone else who came after.”
“She didn’t know!” Gemma bites out, patience waning.
“She didn’t want to know! You don’t even want to know. You can’t change it. Can’t undo what has been done. The Voss-Ra expected Winton to win, and when she didn’t, they were forced to reassess the situation, which is when they turned their attention to all of you. Survivors, children. They sought you out, assigned roles to you, terrorized you, and then sat back and marveled at their clairvoyance and power when this had all been part of an elaborate fabrication they conjured from their corrupted magics. The truth is, the Voss-Ra is always going to find a target, another in your scattered bloodline somewhere to play those parts in their visions. You must take responsibility for your actions and control your feelings. You can stop this.”
“I don’t even know where they are!”
“Yes, you do. They were present at Empress Teta, but that was a sanctuary, not their home. You’ve seen them in your dreams. You’ve sought out and fought those in the form of others who tried to get close to you. There is a connection. Use that to find them.”
“It goes deeper than that. All of this is not merely the result of their blind faith. They didn't will this into existence.”
Nevylinn has had quite a bit of time to ponder these things, and while she concedes there are esoteric elements and undercurrents, it is firmly rooted in the dark side of the Force. Even actions taken in the name of the greater good leave bitter traces of a deeper corruption of the self. If the intended outcome is for the dark to triumph over the light, then anything done in service of that would hold darkness. The contingency could create even greater suffering than another cycle. That is why they must stop Adubell and the Voss-Ra. She sighs and smoothes the edge from her voice.
“Perhaps not, but you are not bound by their needs or their whims. I am not demanding your forgiveness, nor even asking you to trust me. I am asking you to trust in yourselves. There are more lives at stake than your own. You asked for my help and I have given it. All I ask in return is that you consider the alternative. One that may avoid this dreadful outcome you’ve resigned yourselves to. You may be aware of it, but will you give it the attention you give your contingency? Will you try?”
Gemma apprises the face of the Jedi who left them to fend for themselves warily.
All part of a larger problem with the codes and mysticism that shroud their ways. They point fingers at others, wielding variations of the same energy with beliefs no more outlandish than their own. Still, beneath a wounded surface, she knows the intent is not hostile. Futile, perhaps, but not hostile. The Jedi seek a peaceful path despite the significant and growing body count. She struggles to meet her in the middle, to not scream about how unrealistic those ideals are, and not dismiss her outright, as is her immediate inclination. Peace is not how they win. It may be in vain, a moot point in the larger scheme, but she sees they need hope, and she would not deny them that. They will need them in the fight to come. Like it or not, they are in this together.
“Alright, Nevylinn. I will.”
-TBC
Remember your twisted fate
Heaven is just a game
Not meant to last
There is no other gate
Remember your trials and pain
That bind you every day
These too shall pass
Let not your heart be troubled.”
-Lady Blackbird
Corellian Sector
Drall
Gemma Masterton sings into a vibrant verdant wonderland, lush and teeming with life.
It was a voice once heard by many. One rich with possibilities. Now it drifts through these lonely forests as she sprawls across a smooth outcropping of rock, warmed by latticed beams of sunlight. The transfixing notes free her from some of the resentment seemingly stuck to her like an inky pitch. A release into the living world around her. The vast foliage that swallows them in secrecy and shadows presents a unique opportunity to ponder the perilous distinction between victory and victimhood as it relates to their current situation.
She’s been selfish and unkind. Anger, quaking and molten, runs through her at the many oppressive expectations. Everyone wants something from them. Even the Jedi. Good or evil – two concepts rendered meaningless by their overuse and questionable application – begin to feel familiar beneath a grand enquiry. What does it mean to be a Masterton anyway? There is history attached to the name, a precedent set. Only some of it is true, and the rest is shaped by the stories others tell.
Nothing about where they came from is natural. The same point of origin, different paths and worlds, all lead back to destruction. She has both laughed and cried at and with this knowledge. The events of their lives the direct result of some plot or scheme they have reacted to, for better or worse. The shimmering threads of fate are difficult to predict with complete accuracy despite any claims to the contrary. She cannot imagine the Voss-Ra planned for every uppity interloper bent on using the prophecy for their own ends. If The Four are so integral to it all, it is not anyone else’s to claim or use, which means Adubell is more than a misguided nuisance. The depth of her delusion puts everything at risk. A greater threat to these ancient plans than any one of them. Mara’s words have tumbled through her mind, and with each passing day, she becomes more convinced of their plan.
What some see as fatalism, Gemma sees as agency. They are actively engaging in the prophecy. Really leaning in. Nevylinn, predictably, does not condone this approach and urges consideration and caution. She agreed to help Gemma strike a balance between the dueling aspects of the Force, but at every turn, she crumbles before her own rage. The reality of what she must do clashes with the life she envisioned for herself, the one she wishes she could have if not for, well, everything. The love, the money, and the happy ending. She has dabbled in acceptance, but it brings little consolation. Self-involved as she may be, she would not put anyone else through this. Another cycle that claims more lives. It may seem defeatist, but defeating Dahlia isn’t worth it at this point. No one ever said she couldn’t lose after she’d won. Such a lovely little loophole, a tear in the grandest of plans. Mara may be convinced their roles are not set, but where Dahlia is concerned, the heel most certainly fits.
To die is to ask a lot of someone. Yet, that is what she, Dane, and Riley must do to end it. But they must stop Adubell first. Keep her from going after Dahlia by diverting her attention here. A plan wild enough to work, even amongst the whims of romance. The others do not have to follow them into the underworld. She would find comfort in the sacrifice, knowing they would make things right again. Maybe she is the delusional one.
Then again, maybe not.
*
In the sparsely accented training space, deep in the dense woods, Nevylinn tests her again and again. Her form is impeccable after so much practice that it becomes more a matter of motive than skill.
“You do realize she will come for us,” Gemma prods, deflecting an attack. “Mara told us the Infiltrator made sure she knew Adubell would be the one to take Riley from her.”
“Yes.”
“How do you reconcile that? Is that the will of the Force? For the virtually unkillable replica of your fallen sister to wipe The Four from existence, all so that she can use the Sith to bring more terror to the galaxy?”
Nevylinn does not falter in the face of these glib comments meant to unsteady her.
“I have made my peace with what must be done.”
“You say that now.”
She strikes suddenly, but Gemma counters easily as they circle each other. Nevylinn commends the dedication, how Gemma has used their time to hone her abilities despite her recovery. Spite being the operative word embedded there. For every breath of clarity she gains, she slips back into anger so quickly and allows the purported sins of the past to push her over the line. Nevylinn is there to pull her back, to keep her from giving in entirely, but they teeter on a blade's edge. As she had witnessed with her sister, after starting down the dark path, there are few compelling reasons to turn back. The temptation is too immense, the power too great. She aims to reinforce a different solution.
“You are one to talk. There is another way to put these fears and machinations to rest.”
“I'm aware.”
“Yet you resist, take no measurable steps to achieve it. Anger is a byproduct of fear, and you, Gemma Masterton, have been frightened for most of your life. Everything that has happened happened because The Four were forced into making terrible choices. Situations that would otherwise not have occurred were not for the intervention of others. Do not forget that I knew Melanie Masterton. More so than you.”
It is a truth that still stings, but Gemma is prepared for it. She knew the living, breathing Jedi Melanie Masterton, not the pale shade she encountered. Nevylinn is satisfied that she doesn’t take the bait this time and continues.
“We trained together before I joined the Council on Chandaar. She was bright and beautiful and damaged and so very certain. But that certainty came from things someone else told her. Those ideas were placed in Melanie’s mind, and they have now been placed in yours. What seemed to anyone else like a spectacular tragedy unfolding mercilessly across the Holo was only ever the expected result of a series of calculated triggers. You know better and can therefore choose another path. You do not need to die to end this, but it does mean you have to pull it out by the root – defeat the Voss-Ra and reclaim your lives. Set about righting the wrongs of the prophecy yourself, not leave it to us to clean up your mess once you are gone.”
Gemma’s attack is precise but restrained, fighting against the pulsing darkness in her heart. They have been cleaning up the Jedi’s mess since they were driven from Chandaar. So many lives were shattered and extinguished because of their blindness. The audacity.
“You think we are taking the easy way out? None of this has been easy, Nevylinn.”
“I never said it was. Those are your thoughts, your words. The focus on blame clouds your judgment. It makes you an easy target for their lies.”
“Except they aren’t all lies, are they? I know we are being manipulated and used, but I also know there are forces at work here beyond the plans of scheming monsters that have haunted my dreams since I was a child. Beyond knowing Riley’s face before I knew his name. Both of those things can be true.”
“Many things can be true, Gemma. Truth does not make something right.”
Their sabers clash again, with Gemma taking a more offensive posture. The fight is alive within her. Nevylinn can feel the emotions clawing at her, distorting her sense of self and purpose. To feel unmoored in this life is a terrifying thing indeed, and she is desperately trying to be an anchor.
“The Four were united again for a reason. We cannot deny what we felt, what we did on Hesperidum when we were all together. There was a power far greater than imagination at work there. Our predecessors prevented the Empire from prevailing, and the Sith never rose, and now we are the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction. Our lives are tied to the others named in the prophecy, and the horror will continue, repeatedly, until what they saw comes to pass. Only then can it be stopped. The power behind the prophecy is more than those who seek to control it.”
“I know you believe that,” Nevylinn replies, tone not entirely free of judgment. “Outside of Riley's birth, do you know what happened aboard Centerpoint Station?”
"I know Melanie killed Karen Winton.”
“Who told you that?"
“Dahlia."
“And who told her that?”
Her face falls, remembering who ultimately orchestrated their kidnapping as children, who turned Dahlia in the first place, “Adubell…”
Nevylinn lets it hang there. So much action ignited on whispers. An unbridled fury fills the space, but Gemma, surprisingly, deactivates her saber and steps back. She feels the Force course through her, competing currents of very different streams, as the blackness begins to bleed from her vision. Yet the ache remains deep and painful.
“That only suggests she would use us against each other to get what she wants. Dahlia had proof.”
“Be that as it may, you are not as pragmatic as you fancy yourself, and react in ways they expect you to. The way Melanie no doubt reacted when she reasoned out that version of the story’s natural conclusion. It was designed to create conflict. Look at the situation from an outsider’s perspective, removed from attachment or emotion.
Gellar was already dead, and Patten was in labor on a station she could not escape from. Masterton thought she was their only hope, and she acted on impulse, ignited by what she thought she knew. She could not fathom that she could be wrong. It was determination that bordered on obsession, fueled by years of trauma. Trauma they inflicted on everyone involved. They led her to that conclusion, and they were all on that station for a reason. If you are looking for blame, Gemma, there it is. By your logic, Melanie doomed you all to this as someone in cycles before doomed everyone else who came after.”
“She didn’t know!” Gemma bites out, patience waning.
“She didn’t want to know! You don’t even want to know. You can’t change it. Can’t undo what has been done. The Voss-Ra expected Winton to win, and when she didn’t, they were forced to reassess the situation, which is when they turned their attention to all of you. Survivors, children. They sought you out, assigned roles to you, terrorized you, and then sat back and marveled at their clairvoyance and power when this had all been part of an elaborate fabrication they conjured from their corrupted magics. The truth is, the Voss-Ra is always going to find a target, another in your scattered bloodline somewhere to play those parts in their visions. You must take responsibility for your actions and control your feelings. You can stop this.”
“I don’t even know where they are!”
“Yes, you do. They were present at Empress Teta, but that was a sanctuary, not their home. You’ve seen them in your dreams. You’ve sought out and fought those in the form of others who tried to get close to you. There is a connection. Use that to find them.”
“It goes deeper than that. All of this is not merely the result of their blind faith. They didn't will this into existence.”
Nevylinn has had quite a bit of time to ponder these things, and while she concedes there are esoteric elements and undercurrents, it is firmly rooted in the dark side of the Force. Even actions taken in the name of the greater good leave bitter traces of a deeper corruption of the self. If the intended outcome is for the dark to triumph over the light, then anything done in service of that would hold darkness. The contingency could create even greater suffering than another cycle. That is why they must stop Adubell and the Voss-Ra. She sighs and smoothes the edge from her voice.
“Perhaps not, but you are not bound by their needs or their whims. I am not demanding your forgiveness, nor even asking you to trust me. I am asking you to trust in yourselves. There are more lives at stake than your own. You asked for my help and I have given it. All I ask in return is that you consider the alternative. One that may avoid this dreadful outcome you’ve resigned yourselves to. You may be aware of it, but will you give it the attention you give your contingency? Will you try?”
Gemma apprises the face of the Jedi who left them to fend for themselves warily.
All part of a larger problem with the codes and mysticism that shroud their ways. They point fingers at others, wielding variations of the same energy with beliefs no more outlandish than their own. Still, beneath a wounded surface, she knows the intent is not hostile. Futile, perhaps, but not hostile. The Jedi seek a peaceful path despite the significant and growing body count. She struggles to meet her in the middle, to not scream about how unrealistic those ideals are, and not dismiss her outright, as is her immediate inclination. Peace is not how they win. It may be in vain, a moot point in the larger scheme, but she sees they need hope, and she would not deny them that. They will need them in the fight to come. Like it or not, they are in this together.
“Alright, Nevylinn. I will.”
-TBC
? And then she shows emotion?! Every body has a breaking point.