Author Topic: CC: Corellian Birthright  (Read 107728 times)

Offline Syren

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #90 on: September 29, 2021, 03:05:52 PM »
“In my eyes
Indisposed
In disguises no one knows
Hides the face
Lies the snake
And the sun in my disgrace.”


-Soundgarden

 
Corellia

Surface

And there it is.

 
The other boot dropping on them. She knows how she must sound, like a petulant child throwing a tantrum and demanding answers. But the Jedi have lied to them over and over again. This is just another in a series of deceptions justified in their minds as protection. There are so many secrets that she knows only one thing to be true, a conclusion she arrived at while they were left to fend for themselves as the growing threat advanced: the Jedi cannot be trusted. Angry as she may be, Gemma is not stupid. She knows their motives, however misguided, are driven by principle and practice. That is what makes them so dangerous. The Jedi actually believe they are doing the right thing by concealing pieces of the story to prevent something that they now know can only end one way; Winton victorious.

 
Riley, for his part, appears just as stunned although his expression lacks the pinched disgust hers likely does. She can almost hear the gears whirring in his head trying to make sense of new information that changes everything he thought he knew. About his aunt, his mother, his life. Not an enviable position. Gemma inhales slowly, keeping her focus on Mara whereas not to unload on the complicit Donovan Atrii or the recovering Nevylinn.

 
“A droid. Forgive me if I am thrown – not even purely for the obvious reason, that droids nearly destroyed Corellia – but for something far more personal.”


She is torn, caught between what she knows Mara means to Riley and what this could mean for literally everything that has happened over the course of their lives. There are so many questions, questions she is certain Riley shares, that she can barely contain them. The past trauma crystalizes for her at the moment.

 
“Someone with your face kidnapped us when we were children and delivered us to that grey-skinned Sith woman who returned to collect Alia at her most vulnerable on D’ian. We thought that someone was a replica of you meant to lure us into a false sense of security. Now it seems that you are a replica as well. So, I beg of you, tell us what is going on.”










-TBC
« Last Edit: October 01, 2021, 11:03:11 AM by Syren »
Syren

Offline Medivh

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #91 on: October 11, 2021, 11:45:07 AM »
Corellia

Surface

Gemma's contempt, disgust, rage is recognizable.  Not entirely unjustified either, given the bombshell Mara had just revealed, but really, it wasn't Gemma's business to know.  Not exactly the way Mara planned on revealing it either.

  
“A droid. Forgive me if I am thrown – not even purely for the obvious reason, that droids nearly destroyed Corellia – but for something far more personal.”

Mara listens as Gemma continues



“Someone with your face kidnapped us when we were children and delivered us to that grey-skinned Sith woman who returned to collect Alia at her most vulnerable on D’ian. We thought that someone was a replica of you meant to lure us into a false sense of security. Now it seems that you are a replica as well. So, I beg of you, tell us what is going on.”

"You, Gemma Masterton, are hardly a beggar.  Nor do I owe anything to you - apology or otherwise.  I am not your guardian, and have never been responsible for your well being.  Nor have you and I ever collaborated or strategized.  The last time I saw you, you were still a child, and your father and mother were still alive.

I am also not responsible for my look-alikes abducting you.

The only one I owe an apology too. ..."
At this Mara turned her head to Riley, who still looked in shock.

"Is Riley."

The boy remained speechless, but there was a lump in his throat as he was still trying to process the revelation.

"Riley - when you were born ... I knew very little about my identity.  Who and what I was.  All I knew with certainty was that I considered Valerie Gellar to be my sister and kin.  And that her half-sister, Kimber Patten, was like my sister.  When Kimber was giving birth, she was already injured, and when I came to aid her, she looked at my features and saw her beloved friend and half sister Valerie.  I helped her through giving birth to you, and with her last strength, she made me promise to raise you and protect you.

It is no lie that I call myself your aunt;  I am very much of the same blood as Valerie and your mother.  And when I look at you, you are the closest thing I will ever have to a child.  I have always and will always love you, with all of my heart.

But there was always a part of me that had to be hidden.  I am a droid, in a galaxy where droids nearly destroyed Corellia, took over the Wheel space station, threatened the entire galaxy.  If the galaxy knew I was a droid, I would be hunted.  I've been hunted.  And I would not be able to keep my promise to your mother, to raise you.
It was a secret I kept with everyone, save the most trusted few.  The Wheel Administrator, Amir Faram, who took us in and gave us a home when you were a baby.  And then, many years later, Nevylinn, just before we left.  I was trying to be human, and for us to live a normal life.  It was not right to tell you when you were a child.  But I should have seen how grown up you were, long before now.  You are not the child I need to raise anymore, and you deserved honesty from me.  I'm sorry I kept it from you for so long.  Can you forgive me?"

Riley still seemed a bit in shock, but he was certainly more generous than Gemma was.  This was the woman who raised him, after all, and for all her faults, for her huge secret, she was still the one who made him the man he was today.  He nodded his head.

"I forgive you, Aunt Mara"

Mara smiled, "thank you."

She turned her head back to Gemma now 
"as for the rest of your question, about what I am, and what IS going on.  I am not - was not - a replica, per say.  I am, as the technical lingo goes, a prototype.  A test-case to see how certain bio-mechanical functions worked and interacted.  To see how certain individuals could exploit what I believe you now know to be called the legacy gene.

Nevylinn and I were on a journey to find the origin of the legacy gene, the Persephone prophesy, and how they were manipulated through the joint collaboration of Trade Federation Vicery Medivh Guldon and Imperial Director Alexander Winton through the GURI Project."

Mara paused, lifting her head for the first time, raising her hands and wiggling her fingers, testing their dexterity before pushing herself up to a sitting position.

"So before I go further, and tell you what's going on, you need to know what happened in the past.  so why don't you tell me what YOU know about who you are."
([][:][][][DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Medivh
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Offline Syren

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #92 on: October 19, 2021, 09:03:41 PM »
“And it’s something quite peculiar
Something shimmering and white
Leads you here, despite your destination
Under the Milky Way tonight.”


-The Church


Corellia

Surface

The clifftops are whipped with a crisp and salty wind.


Avinarius guards the entrance to the bunker, high above the sea, staring through his helmet visor at the ship that Gemma and Riley had retreated to after what looked like a heated discussion. He misses that spark, the passion of interacting with someone you really care about. 
Beneath the suit, he is Roman Nash, Chiss and former CSA heir, whose alleged suicide kicked off quite the wave of unintended consequences - none more so than his intended Alia’s supposed fall to the dark side. He knows his reaction to Preston’s death shaped some of the hardships they face but there is no taking it back now. He would protect those he has left, even if it must be under the guise of stolen Mandalorian armor and a name he created to escape Etti IV.

Riley seems like an okay guy. For a humanoid, of course. Roman had long since gotten past their overly emotional and often counterintuitive behaviors but even he can sense the divisions beginning to grow. Between the rag-tag band of Jedi, Demaris and Gemma, the Senator and pretty much everyone, and now Gemma and Riley. Some warranted while others are more nebulous and complicated. He has known Gemma his whole life and trusts her judgment. She was thoughtful, practical, and sweet. The bitterness in her is something new though, creating a layer of ice over her generally warm disposition. Lies will do that to someone. His heart had hardened against his parents even after Preston’s love had made him a whole person in spite of
 everything. As a Chiss, he had a head start on that front. Sighing, he searches the horizon for threats from a growing list of enemies.

*

In the bunker control room below where Avinarius stands sentry, Senator Artemis Soldys scans the Holo for news with Della pacing behind him. His escape would not be looked upon fondly, Corellia growing an ever-greater counter to the Republic’s blatant tyranny. His mind wanders to the confrontation he and Riley had in deep space, the insane plan of children who think so little of the consequences of their actions. Her shuffling behind him draws his attention away.


“Need to vent? I have gotten pretty damn good at taking hits in the Senate.”


“I’ll bet,” Della huffs, somewhat cynically but mostly exasperated, and leans on the back of his chair, “I do not have to tell you how far off the rails this all is. I took a hard line with them while you were on Chandaar, harder than I think you have known me to be. But I cannot stand what the Republic has become. Perversion in its truest form. Corellia is being scapegoated once again, using our history and honor against us.”


“We both know it goes deeper than that. I do not want our fates tied to a prophecy, to them, any more than you do but there is very clearly a darker underlying thread. One the galaxy has not been able to truly escape. We need to prepare for what is to come the best we can.


The superlaser is in good hands and our commanders will know how to tactically use it against the Republic but I suspect they are only biding their time now to find ways to legitimize any formal presence here. The RSB is already in hot water and any misstep may alienate even more against them. My network is strong but we are still going to need Veritaas’ connections to unify the other systems opposed to the Republic’s actions if we have any hopes of stopping them.”


“Going to be quite the challenge given his condition,” she says dimly. “And CorSec is circling so we must be discreet as well as strategic.”


“Riley is our key there. As incensed as I am by his proposal to use our resources to circumvent this prophecy through possibly the most horrifying means, his allies in CorSec and connection to Veritaas give him unique leverage. We need to get him out in front of this sooner rather than later.”


“He does have the Patten charm.”


Circe, clicking off her com, joins them.


“We are starting to see a decrease in the stream of Corellian’s withdrawing from other Republic systems. As of this morning, seventy-six percent of citizens living elsewhere on Republic-aligned worlds have returned or are scheduled to arrive soon.”


“Better than anticipated. That means most are taking the threat seriously.”


“What of those that do not come?”


“Then we pray they continue to fight for Corellia’s values wherever they are.”


*


Deeper in the bunker, Demaris leads a mindfulness meditation session while Taarek, in conjunction with Sirona, continues weapons and combat training. The cross-training has proven immensely helpful to shore up some of the areas of opportunity across their small team. It has not, however, quelled the curiosity and distraction in the arrival of another Jedi Master and her companion.


“How much trouble do you think Gemma is in?” asks Oz. 


“About as much as she deserves, probably.” Shendo snorts lowly. 


“We would be dead without them. It would be wise to remember that.” Sirona warns. 


“Would we? Or are they the reason we are in danger in the first place?” muses Lysette. 


Demaris frets over their banter. Her brother and Master Nevylinn would surely have strong opinions regarding Gemma’s actions and beliefs but would they share her concerns about Gemma teetering a little too close to the edge? She called on the darkness to release the spirits trapped within the Bolerathon Tower which, ultimately was the right thing to do, but with untold repercussions. Her anger is fueled by many complex emotions. Understandable given everything she has been through. However, Demaris worries she will not be able to pull herself back in time and eventually follow Alia into the darkness completely.


“Hey,” Taarek calls out to them. “Speculation is not helpful right now.”


She nods, “We must trust that the Masters will assess the situation and guide us appropriately.”


*


Out on the ship, Gemma softens, seeing the empathy in Riley. It does not change who Mara is to him. And why should it? She risked everything for him, honoring the promise made to a doomed Kimber Patten. Gemma is less moved but pulls back sharply on her emotions. While her instinct tells her to demand answers from all of them – after all, they were the ones who lied to them, not the other way around – that tactic does not appear to work on her. Instead, she needs to show some reciprocity and mend the divides her anger has caused among them. Gemma shifts her tone to something lighter, more neutral although the inflections of having just suffered through a series of traumas remain.


“What I know about me? I was once a girl who dreamt of being a singer but wound up with nightmares filled with monsters. Monsters we now know as the Voss-Ra, an ancient and powerful sect capable of shape-shifting and sorcery. I dreamt of them long before we came face-to-face with one…the first time all four of us were together, actually. The first time I met you, Mara. It is clear they need us to play certain roles, the ones referenced in the prophecy, or find the closest approximation to them.


Who am I? I am Gemma Masterton, daughter of Rutherford Gellar and Celeste Masterton. Sister to Dane Gellar and, arguably, Dahlia Winton. I am also in love with Riley Patten. Together, we are The Four. We are not the first Four, as we have come to understand. We are not even the second. Or third. However, we can be the last and end the prophecy once and for all.


I know this because Melanie told me. I am connected to my predecessor through the Force. We all are, it seems.”


Mara and Donovan turn to look at him.


Riley nods, “It’s true. They…guide us. In their own ways.”


“Meaning what?” Mara asks carefully.


“Meaning their presence in our lives has not been as forthcoming or useful as we would have liked. You spoke of the Etheralis – something I told you I heard before. We do not know what it is or why the Voss-Ra is so intent on fulfilling the prophecy that they have gone to these lengths over such a long period of time. As if we need any more, the other wildcard here is the Inquisitor.”


Riley frowns, “Real tall, orange armor, glowing green eyes. Hard to miss. Or forget.”


“I imagine so, given their reputation,” Donovan confirms with a shudder. 


“It has apparently been hunting down Jedi across the Republic since they were expelled from the capital and those replicas stirred up trouble. It managed to capture Garron Prescott and, later, Janessa Kain. They were both returned but not the same as they left. Garron tried to kill Dane on multiple occasions and, when pressed, mentioned something about a grey-skinned woman. The Voss-Ra, grey-skinned woman, and the Inquisitor all point to the Sith. Janessa’s directives are still unclear but likely equally nefarious. They are working to further their goals, the primary of which is Winton standing triumphant. If it is the Sith, they have been conspiring behind the scenes – again. And once again, the Jedi were blind to it and it cost them nearly everything.”


She regrets it the moment it leaves her mouth but it lands in the creases of Donovan’s pained expression. It does not deter her.


“We believe we are part of a loop, one that each generation creates new players for if the prophecy remains unfulfilled. We did not recognize the patterns at first but when it came for those closest to us the same way it did for them, something clicked. The Voss-Ra are essentially staging the same scenes with different people and events. Five died, The Four survived. Again. That is how we knew it was true and Melanie confirmed it. Killing Karen only started a new cycle, our cycle; one that was ignited by Riley’s birth and survival. He was the loophole. Stopping Winton does not win the game. We either need to go after the source, the Voss-Ra, or execute a dreadful contingency that would fulfill the prophecy but allow us to return and fight whatever comes with it.


So, no, Mara, I am not a beggar and I refuse to be a victim. I am angry and trying to take action after being kept in the dark for far too long. Shielded from things that came for us anyway. These are not random events. This is intentional and we deserve a seat at the table when our lives are at stake. I want to know why this is happening, not just to us but at all, and how to stop it before everyone winds up buried like those that came before us. I want an end to this. Resolution. Absolution. That is who I am, who I have become. It may not be what you, the Jedi, or anyone may want or have expected but here we are.


You do not have to do or say anything for me. Do it for him.”


There is a tiny pull at the side of Riley’s mouth and his head tilts ever so slightly to the left. He had done it since he was a boy, a nervous reaction whenever attention was redirected to him.


Mara considers this and, in kind, tells them what she knows.


As they marinate in the information, threads weaving together to form a more complete picture of their situation, Donovan’s com bleeps. It’s Circe from inside the bunker and not with good news. He sighs, lowering the comm, and levels his gaze at the others. They graze Gemma and Riley’s faces, knowing exactly where her sister and his mother met their ultimate fates.


“The Republic is here.”









-TBC
Syren

Offline Medivh

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #93 on: October 22, 2021, 01:15:59 PM »
Corellia

Surface

Gemma took her question and ran with it, her response both defensive and aggressive - if that was possible.  Mara let her finish her words before offering a smirk.

"Well, there is at least one thing you don't know about who you are then.  You are also Riley's cousin"

Mara couldn't help but appreciate the stunned look on Gemma's face.  Served her right, for all of her self-righteousness.  Before Gemma could respond, Mara continued.

"And also Dahlia's cousin. Albeit, distant cousins. The four of you are not merely linked by prophesy - you share a common ancestor.  Her name was Persephone Winton.  A long time ago, long before the Empire even existed, Persephone and her husband, Darryl Winnton, came to the jedi seeking their assistance.  She was barren, and hoped the jedi could help her conceive.
Most of the jedi order, of course, knew they should not interfere with the natural order of things but one jedi, named Imri - who ultimately fell to darkness, said he could help them.  He used a combination of experimental science and the dark side of the force to help Persephone conceive.  Four embryos.  Each imbued with a very unique enzyme, that Imri said would unlock untold abilities.  The genetic mutation allowing for the existence of this enzyme, you might know as the Legacy Gene.
As the embryos grew, Persephone began to have dreams, visions.  A prophesy"

Mara prepared to rise, before realizing she was still plugged into the wall and with a shrug, she gently disconnected the power cord that connected to the back of her neck.  She shook her head briefly, then stood, moving across the room to where a datapad was sitting, activating it, and handing it to Gemma, the words floating above the pad in holo-blue, Mara reciting the words as Gemma, Riley, and Donovan watched them scroll through the air.

"Bound by blood, their destiny
Offspring of young Persephone
Found has been a power old
Never 'fore the secret told
Discovered by a jedi shunned
The ripples now have just begunned
FOUR won't see their mother's face
Separated by stars and space
FOUR names will be their own to take
and separate paths they each will make
The eldest boy shall keep the name
And  ruthlessly will rule the game
Daughter one will heal and save
And guard the light as one so brave
Daughter two will lack in trust
be strong and fierce with power lust
Daughter three, idealist dear
Will grow from love yet also fear.
These FOUR will span the galaxy
Till brought again to destiny
When Empire will burn to ground
The FOUR will be their tightest bound
Two of light and two of dark
the contrasts forever stark
Amidst betrayal, lies and death
Their names whispered on every breath
And whence the FOUR all die in vain
This truth will hold yet again:
 Master of darkness, rules beside
 Daughter of darkness, his deadly bride
 Eternity theirs, with one exception
 A child born of light's conception
Yet in their blood, there lies a key
to break free of this destiny
And darkness will consume the light
Defeat the enemies of night
Body's weakness, mortality
Will vanish with brutality
The light can end in triumph too
By breaking up the darkest two
And blotting out the evil name
So only memory recalls the same
Until one wins, the dark or light
Repeat, repeat eternal fight
Will shape the course of galaxy
A FOURsome they will always be
Bound by blood, their destiny
Offspring of young Persephone"


Mara let the words linger in the silence for a moment longer before continuing.

"The Jedi Imri killed the father, Darryl Winton before the children were born, and Persephone shortly after she gave birth.  The jedi took it upon themselves to protect the children from Imri, but understood that together, they were a target, and a danger.  It was decided that to keep them safe, they must be separated, across the four corners of the galaxy.  

And so it was, one child went to Thyferra, one to Etti IV in the Corporate Sector, one to Corellia, and one on Coruscant.

But the jedi also wanted to destroy the prophesy itself, bury it forever - no Gemma, now is not the time for your judgment."  
Mara paused long enough to scold the young woman before continuing.

"So they placed everything about the prophesy, all memory of it, all records of it, in the mind of a single jedi prophet, Jedi Olindae.  And she was sent to the outer-world planet of Naboo.

Now importantly, both the prophesy, and the power locked inside these four descendants of Persephone, remained dormant, and would remain dormant until they came together.  If you know anything about genetics, the key to the legacy gene is that it is recessive.  It cannot be tapped unless two of those genes are joined.

Over the course of time, the genes did come together on occasion, but those who had them inside themselves either didn't realize what was inside them, or just didn't understand it.  But that changed when two particular individuals, born with the legacy gene, found themselves on Naboo.  One was the man who later became the Trade Federation Viceroy, Medivh.  The other Was Alexander Winton.  Whether by destiny, design, or sheer luck, they ended up in close personal relationships with two sisters of the Greyson family. Elle, the younger sister, was together with Medivh until the Trade Federation took him off world.  She ended up becoming pregnant, but her father arranged for the baby to be taken away, and told her it had died in child-birth.  When Elle first coupled with Medivh, she started having visions, scenes of the prophesy.  But when her baby was lost to her, she was driven mad, and spent the rest of her life locked away.  That is where Nevylinn and I found her on Naboo.  But the older girl, Monica, ended up marrying Alexander Winton.  She too later received a prophesy, the one that is better known as the Persephonea Prophesy.

Now, as I've said, Medivh and Alexander both were descendants of the original Persephone; both had a drive and ambition that was deeply imbued in their very core - a desire to rule, to conquer.  And above all, a desire for eternal life.  Their high positions - Medivh as head of the Trade Federation, and Alexander Winton as Director of Imperial Intelligence - brought them together in a collaboration that became known as the GURI Project.

Guri was named after a famous Human Replica Droid that worked for Black Sun.

The GURI Project had a number of goals.  (1) To create an artificial intelligence that was able to think and make decisions with such complexity, they were effectively alive.  A droid, a machine, that was alive"

Mara paused for a minute, bowing her head in a moment of personal reflection before again looking up at them.

"(2) to be able to transfer the intelligence and memory of a living organism into an HRD body, and (3) to imbue said droid with a connection to the Force - granting an ability that had never been done before.

Their work brought them together with Rutherford Gellar, and Kyrie Patten.  As you've probably guessed, Rutherford Gellar, Celeste Masterton, and Kyrie Patten were all also descendants of Persephone - though each from a different one of her children.  This is where Valerie Gellar came into play - she was the child of two descendants.  She received two copies of the recessive Legacy Gene, meaning it was active inside her.  Valerie Gellar's DNA  was the key to unlocking the GURI Project - it had an enzyme that allowed Winton and Medivh to create their prototype droid.

That droid was PHAGE, the first prototype, test concept of their work.  PHAGE was created with an intelligence and independence that made him the most sophisticated artificial mind ever.  PHAGE did not have the body of a human, only the mind of one.  So the second phase of their project was to create a being with both. The mind and body of a human.  That prototype, that combination of Valerie's DNA, the Legacy gene, in a human shell.  That's me.  That is how I came to be.

But Winton betrayed Medivh.  He had placed a trigger in PHAGE that would make him turn against his maker.  PHAGE took over the Trade Federation, and attempted to destroy Corellia and Medivh.  PHAGE  was the one who actually woke me, finished my programming.  Gave me a designation, INFLITRATOR-01.  Under the influence of that original programming, I was sent, appearing as a human, to help PHAGE obtain resources, destroy competition, make him more powerful.  It was only after I actually met Medivh that I learned what I could be, and strived to become something besides my base programming.  I consider Medivh to be my father.

When PHAGE was destroyed, I felt a connection to Valerie Gellar.  Not only is my programming based on her, my external appearance was as well.  Just as clones are duplicates of the original, I consider myself a clone of Valerie, albeit through a different method.  I could tell you more about my own journey, growth, but there is still more to be said.

You see, Alexander Winton had heard the Persephonea Propphesy from his wife.  He was ambitious beyond belief.  He used his skills as an imperial intelligence officer to manipulate how the prophesy was interpreted, to further the goals of the GURI Project.  When Medivh was taken out, he was unopposed.  And he used what was learned - from Medivh, from PHAGE, from my creation - to do exactly what he set out to do.  He created a replica, not of a generic human, but of himself, imbued with a connection to use the Force that he had not originally had at birth.  And he developed a mechanism to transfer his memory from his body into that replica.
That mechanism has a technique callled a flash transmitter.  Transferring memories is not, in itself, difficult, but keeping those memories up to date is a difficult process.  The flash transmitter not only triggers a data-transfer at regular intervals, but triggers a transfer any time the physical body is in distress.  It meant that Winton could transfer his memories to a new body automatically at the moment he died.

And he used it, that ability.  Winton set up roughly a half-dozen facilities, designed to create new bodies for him.  He did not merely fake his death - he actually died, dozens of times, being reborn in a new body.  Just prior to the Battle of Centerpoint Station, I went on a mission with Dahlia's older sister, Karen, and we destroyed every facility.  The last version of Alexander Winton died at Centerpoint Station.

But that technology lived on.  Nevylinn's sister, Adubell, took a path quite opposite from her.  When Nevylinn turned to the jedi, Adubell turned to the sith.  We later believe she made contact with Alexander Winton, before he died.  And she took his technology with him.  She created a new body for herself, just like he did.  Only she made changes to the new body.  She did not make it appear like her original self.  Instead, she laced the new body with a metal known as cortosis.  It is not only extremely strong, but it has the ability to short out most lightsabers.  That is the gray-skinned woman who hunted down and slaughtered most of the jedi.

And the only way to stop her, the only way to defeat her is with this - "

Mara reached into a drawer and pulled out her lightsaber, igniting it and flashing it through the air.
"The yellow blade comes from a unique stone that is not affected by cortosis - and there is a computer program inside that works like a virus, designed to decompose the computer programming of a human replica droid.  When this weapon is used on Adubell, it will not only destroy her current body - it will send the virus into any replicas, destroying them as well"

Mara deactivated the blade, putting it away safely in the drawer.

"Adubell is the one who is working with the Voss-Ra in an effort to bring about the dark-end version of the prophesy.  The Voss-Ra are a cultish species, devoted to helping the sith rise to power.  They aided the sith in corrupting the jedi Imri, helping him to create the Legacy Gene.

This is where the etheralis comes in.  It is essentially an artifact that channels the power of the force, something that came into existence at the same time the force did.  And at one point, it was split into four parts.  The Voss-Ra believed that Persephone was the epitome of reunifying the four parts of the etheralis.  They had a shrine to her on the planet Empress Teta, buried deep in the mines - and they may have been correct - but just like the four original offspring were scattered, long ago, the four pieces of the etheralis were separated as well.  Should they ever be reunited, they would be able to channel an amount of power unheard of before.
We know that Adubell has at least one of the pieces, possibly two.  We also know she does not have all four.  We know that she played a role in Dahlia becoming a sith, but I've hypothesized that Adubell actually interprets the prophesy differently.  She doesn't think Dahlia is one of the four - she thinks she is.  The way she wields her power, the way she talks.  She might be working with the Voss-Ra still, but I think her own delusions and desire for immortality have taken control.

But then we come to you - the four of you.  As I've said, each of you are cousins, albeit distantly.  Each of you has at least one of the recessive traits of the Legacy Gene.  Your brother, Dane, had both - his blood, like Valerie's, is valuable because it can trigger the abilities of the Legacy Gene, and in fact, if harvested, can even be triggered in someone with only one recessive gene."

Mara is about to continue, when she is interrupted by the chirp from Donovan's comm.  He steps away for a minute and Mara continues talking to Gemma and Riley.

"Our time is short, but let me say this.  The Voss-Ra are driven by the prophesy, and the belief that it will lead to the rise of Sith.  All they have to do is prevent you two from conceiving a child - Not that that should be a reason to go and do anything reckless, ahem - but here's the thing about prophesies.  Any prophesy.
The prophesy - if you believe it verbatim - says there is a cycle that will repeat until one side is totally defeated.  Darkness will win, unless a new child is born to the light, light will win unless darkness survives.  But here's the thing.  The prophesy itself has an agenda.  It assumes Winton is evil and Masterton is good.  But Karen Winton was not evil, dark as she may have been.  and Melanie was not the radiant good she was made out to be.  Melanie ended up killing Karen, in cold-blood, when Karen was calling out to her as a friend.  So maybe the roles of the four aren't set in stone.  Maybe it's not good versus evil people, but the good versus evil impulses inside each of us.  I've argued as much with Nevylinn, over and over again.  it's not light versus dark. It's all shades of gray"

Donovan steps back into the room, lowering the comm as he looks to Gemma and Riley, thinking about all that Mara had said, thinking about how they had gotten there.  Three of the four previous "four" had all died in the same place, just a short distance away.

"The Republic is here"

Mara stood up quickly, "here?  where?"

"They've commandeered the remnants of Centerpoint Station, taken it over, claiming a need to secure it from the fugitive Artemis Soldys"

"And how is the senator responding to that?"
"At the moment, he's staying cooped up in a bunker, unseen, so Corellia can retain its plausible deniability."
"And the rest of the government?"

"Taking steps to make sure the Republic doesn't try commandeering any other galaxy-threatening assets"

Mara nodded
"What can I do?"

TBC
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Medivh
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Offline Medivh

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #94 on: November 16, 2021, 11:43:45 AM »
Corellia

Orbit


There might have been a time in the past when the presence of a mon calamari ship over Corellia was reassuring, or for that matter, even enjoyable. After all, the original mon-calamari vessels were pleasure cruisers, repurposed into war machines for the rebel alliance against the Galactic Empire.  Corellian Engineering certainly developed more ships, and even sturdier ships, but when the Alliance needed capital ships that could go head-to-head against star destroyers, it was the mon calamari vessels that took on that role.

There had always been a rivalry between the shipyards of Corellia and Mon Calamari, but they had ever been allies, competitors but not opponents.  Both worlds were symbols of the fight for freedom in the galaxy.

Today though, the presence of mon calamari vessels in Corellia's orbit was anything but reassuring.

Three MC-60s, each measuring 600 meters in length, exited hyperspace near the equatorial horizon line, along with a half-dozen support craft.  They were courteous enough to exit outside of the planet's defensive perimeter, but not by much, and the proximity alarms sounded, causing panic in the nearest Golan defensive platform, pilots making their way to the hangar.

It was a smaller force than the one sent to "secure" Centerpoint Station, small enough that the Republic could argue it wasn't an aggressive force; but large enough to show this was no simple diplomatic trip.

As the alarms were still sounding, the commander on the platform was growling out orders as he pulled on his uniform jacket, making his way to the command deck.

"Have they stated their intentions yet?"
"We have received no messages yet from any of the ships, but they are transmitting with Republic transponders."

"Alright.  well, seeing as they are not firing on us, and haven't raised shields - yet - let's assume a non-aggressive posture."
"Sir?"
"The last thing we want is for the public to see our response to Republic ships being one of attack or defend.  For all intents and purposes, we are still allies.  And arguably, Corellia is bound to follow Republic rule."

"But sir?  With everything going on?"
"You heard me.  Have the pilots stand-by at their fighters.  Keep shields down, and shut off that damn alarm!  Prepare to activate the comm"

The lieutenant nodded, and a moment later, there was an appreciated silence.  The commander moved over to the comm and leaned down.

"This is Commander Radil of the Corellian Planetary Defense Force.  You gave us a bit of a startle with your arrival, and I have no reports of an expected Republic Convoy.  Would you please state your business?"

A moment of static before the response came in.

"This is Senator Braac of Metalorn, on behalf of the Republic Defense Force and Republic Security Bureau.  We are her to ascertain if the fugitive Artemis Soldys has returned to Corellia in an effort to evade justice.  We trust that Corellia, its people and its government, will cooperate as we ensure that a traitor and fugitive is not hiding here."

The defense commander shook his head.  Of course, the Republic had sent the Metalorn representative, a man who had personally held up Corellia's entrance into the Republic for so many years. A man who no doubt was near the top of Artemis Soldys' list of groan-worthy politicians.  But protocol was protocol, and though Corellia's planetary defenses were easily strong enough - if necessary - to face off against the Republic taskforce, starting a war was not on the agenda for today.

"Senator Braac, I am reaching out to my superiors on the planet's surface, and am granting clearance for your shuttle to land at Docking Bay 3, in Coronet City"

"Thank you Commander - but please advise your superiors that we will be bringing more than just my one shuttle"

Commander Radil's mouth dropped as he looked out the viewport.  From the belly of the MCs, two dozen auxiliary transports appeared, making formation as they floated past the Golan platform toward the planet surface.

"Senator, I'm sorry, but I really must protest - I haven't gotten clearance for you to land that many -"
"Commander, my taskforce will be landing in the twenty minutes.  I trust you will have arranged the necessary clearance by then"

The comm went dead and Radil took a long, fuming breath.

"Notify the governor's office immediately.  And CorSec's acting director.  They won't want republic investigators roaming around unsupervised."

"And what about our ... guests?"
"Send an encrypted message to Della Avers.  Make sure it is routed through the governor's office. We don't know if they are monitoring our communications"
"Yes sir"


TBC
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Medivh
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Offline Syren

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #95 on: December 06, 2021, 09:33:58 PM »
“And so much happens in between
The days catch fire like gasoline
Just tell me what’s the worst you’ve seen
I wanna know
How low can you go?”


-LP


Corellia

Surface

Stunned may be the understatement of the moment. 

 
It does not adequately capture the gravity, the scope, or the context framing everything that has happened to them and everyone who came before. It leaves a bitter taste, something ashen and difficult to swallow. Gemma is positively reeling, overwhelmed by the revelations Mara shares in an eerily transactional way. But they wanted this. They wanted, no, demanded to be told the truth and here it is. Laid bare and raw and uncomfortable. As it so often is. The first comment, something she suspects Mara takes just a little too much pleasure in delivering, strikes her soundly. They share a common ancestor, casting a shadow across her relationship with Riley and giving new meaning to the connection they share with both Dane and Dahlia.

 
No. No, she did not know that. It changes the meaning and significance of being 'bound by blood.' Obvious, in its own way, now that they know. She always took it as the blood spilled in the quest to fulfill the prophecy but actually points back to the woman whose namesake has been co-opted for these dark purposes throughout the course of generations; Persephone. Their collective origin story. Heroes and villains were born and bred the moment those shared genetics crossed paths again. 

 
Mara gets to the core of the prophecy. It is heady and enlightening and horrifying all at the same time. Even in all the things she’s read about their predecessors, in all the things Melanie’s ghost had shared, nothing could prepare them for what lies at the heart of these machinations. The phrase that catches her breath in her throat only confirms that they were on the right track.

 
Until one wins, dark or light

Repeat, repeat, eternal fight.
 
Each cycle nudged closer and closer together…until the Four were back together. Despite their parent's attempt to course-correct their previous involvement only made them further culpable in continuing the cycle. The ongoing, underlyingly malevolent presence of the Legacy gene and their respective elders capitalizing on it for their own gains ensured the overarching plans continued. She does not interject with the fact that the Jedi are just as responsible for this, trying to bury something even then she suspects they knew could destroy so many lives. But, the greater good, right? Look how it all turned out. Would they have made the same choices if they could only have seen past their own selfishness to the potential future and fractures that came of such an act? Burying the truth seldom means it stays buried. Now countless are dead or have suffered because of it.

 
Abubell. The gray-skinned woman is named. And linked to Nevylinn, of course. Typical and tragic. It seems to be a prevailing theme. She does give Mara credit where credit is due – she and Karen tried to stop this and, when that failed, created a weapon through which to prevent Adubell from further exploiting the breakthroughs of Alexander Winton and Medivh Guldon. It also reinforces Mara’s point in the shades of grey amongst them. Karen was not entirely evil, despite Melanie's beliefs, which means that Dahlia is not beyond saving. None of them are. Demaris’ warnings echo in her head, more relevant now than ever. Dammit. She needs to be careful or risk falling herself. If Karen was capable of turning to the light at the end to try to save them all, is she capable of turning to the dark to end it?

 
Gemma pulls back from that answer, for now. The Inquisitor had insinuated as much but she would not give it credence by acting rashly now.

 
What they finally have, after all this time, is a clear motive.

 
The Voss-Ra, the monsters that haunted her nightmares for years, believe Winton’s victory will bring about the return of the Sith and it is why they had gone to such great lengths, mysterious and calculating, to bring this outcome to pass. The Etheralis are their means by which to do so and Riley’s father, may he finally rest in peace, gave them this clue. He may never have known Mod Navris, the Imperial agent who fell for the quirky and beguiling Kimber Patten, but he communicated information that could save his son. In return, they set him free. She desperately wants to go to him, looking just as stricken, yet remains frozen in place.

 
Their attention is diverted by the arrival of the Republic.

 
Gemma finally takes a breath, “I…need a moment.”


Outside, near the edge of the cliffs, the roar of the ocean below soothes her. She can feel Avinarius nearby, at the mouth of their hideaway, watching her carefully and ready to act if she needs him. Roman is nothing if not loyal and despite his Chiss ancestry, he intuits more about them than he would care to admit. Perhaps their influence on him had not been all bad. She stares out across the vast expanse of water, closes her eyes, and draws on the Force to try and steady herself. It only half-works. Processing this much all at once was never going to be easy but sharing it was the right thing to do. Finally, she does not feel detached and floating in the oppressive blackness of uncertainty and speculation. Significant pieces have fallen into place. It answers and solidifies many of the lingering questions about who they are and what they need to do, however difficult or unpleasant.


“So, is it tails for us?”


She whirls around to find Riley with a crooked smile and hands in his pockets.


“Why? Because, as it turns out, we are distant relatives?”


Distant being the operative word there.”


“Hard to ignore, regardless of how removed it may be. It does not bother you?”


He shrugs, “We are integral parts of what appears to be, like, a grand genetic conspiracy, my aunt is an HRD who promised my dying mother to protect me, and the spirit of my father, trapped by the mystical elements of the Bolerathon Tower, pointed us toward the Etheralis as being the key to circumventing this. It seems trivial by comparison, no?”


“Well, when you put it that way.”


Riley extends a hand and she takes it, their fingers easily intertwining with one another.


“Look, it’s weird, sure. But not the weirdest thing you or I have or will experience. I mean, look at our lives right now. Total, beautiful disasters. I know you blame the Jedi, your parents, and, in some respects, Mara. Everyone lied. Kept secrets for their own reasons. It hurts me too but, in the end, it does not matter. All that matters is what we feel and what we do. Aunt Mara means the world to me and she did the things she did because she felt it was the best way to protect me and become the most authentic and actualized version of herself. In itself, it is a way to honor that promise and I respect that even if I do not fully understand or agree with it. I love her just the same. And I love you too.”


Gemma collapses into his arms and holds him tightly against her, “I love you too. Everything just feels…so…."


“Shit just got real, right? We have talked around it for a while but confirmation is a different thing. Aunt Mara dropping the knowledge.”


She pulls back but only a little, “Think of what this means? How would these descendants even interact, if they were taken and spread across the galaxy? Fate and fluke only get you so far. This was engineered and there is only one group tracking the progress with the means and abilities to make that happen.”


“The Voss-Ra.”


“They could be anyone. Impersonating a friend to introduce someone, a business connection in disguise assigning a project, appearing as family advocating for a potential match. It is literally insane to fathom it. All of it painstakingly orchestrated by this sect of Sith sorcery to produce the outcomes that would bring about the players to appear on a game board of their own creation.”


“And we,” Riley says, lips brushing her forehead. “Are two of those players.”


“I hate to quote Dahlia here but she did say, if you are going to be a character, at least be the main character.”


“Not sure we should be thrilled about that given the path forward. And what of the contingency? The way Aunt Mara described it; the prophecy could go either way. We have only been presented with the option of the darkest outcome. The light can still win!”


“Through a child, Riley. Could you do it if you knew you were using your own offspring to counter the darkness? Conceived as means to an end? I am not certain I could.”


“It is kinda crazy…and a bit presumptuous, miss Masterton-Gellar. I am not the kind of boy you use as breeding stock. I am a gentleman. A little geeky and hopeful, maybe, but a gentleman nonetheless.”


She nestles into his shoulder, “Hope is what makes you special, Riley Patten. One of the things I love most. I still think we proceed with the contingency, with or without their help. Just because we know what needs to happen does not mean it will go down like that. Too many variables in place, the Republic being the most prominent at the moment.”


He sighs, glancing upward.


“I think you are right. Best to plan ahead. We know that Adubell woman and the Voss-Ra certainly have. The Senator’s objections are valid but we still need a trump card if this all goes to shit, especially if they do not find the pieces of the Etheralis before she does.”


She steps back and holds his hands close to her heart.


“The prophecy corrupted Adubell the same way it corrupted Alexander Winton and others. That means she is working alongside but also against the Voss-Ra. We can use that.”


“You realize that means protecting Dahlia as well.”


“Honestly, I’m surprised the lack of attention and public adoration have not finished her off already but there are more pressing matters. The Republic is probably looking for the wayward Senator but it is not their sole purpose here.”


“How do you know?”


“Corellia is the strongest and most vocal opponent of their legislation and tactics. They have been caught harboring Jedi before and the Republic would be outraged if they were doing it again.”


“We are totally doing it again!”


“I know,” she says, also raising her eyes to the sky. “But it is more about where they chose to reveal themselves.”


“They are wasting their time.”


“Unless they have new information. Three of the last Four met their ends there. You think it is a coincidence two counterparts to those three are here now, on Corellia?”


“Do not go there,” he says, finally steadying her. “I will say it as many times as you need to hear it. We are not them.”


She opens her mouth to speak but movement on their periphery draws their attention away, Avinarius nodding at Della before she sprints toward them.


“Della? What is it?”


She is gravely serious and cuts right to the chase, “Braac, a Senator from Metalorn and staunch opponent of Senator Soldys has arrived with an RSB contingent. They touch down in Coronet within the hour.”


“They really are here for more than Soldys.”


“Right,” Della says. “Gather the others and meet us in the bunker. We need a plan and we need it now.”









-TBC

Syren

Offline Medivh

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #96 on: December 21, 2021, 11:58:19 AM »
((sorry for the short post - my entire household has been sick with colds - no COVID, thank goodness - so I haven't had the time to do a more detailed post, or reference some of our key players.  I did want to make sure the confrontation progresses though, so here we have a snippet from some of the world's as yet unknown characters.  I envision the lieutenant governor will take on a bigger role as the confrontation gets worse, but no, i haven't thought of a name for her yet.  Accepting ideas though))

Corellia

Surface - Coronet City

The governor's cabinet had gathered quickly devising what they believed would be an appropriate response to this unexpected visit from republic forces.  First and foremost - balancing politeness without due deference.  This was a mere senator, albeit on the republic's authority and with warships in space.  He was not due any particular honor, just because he was hunting for a fugitive.  The planetary governor would not be the one to meet with him.  and the senator could take that as a personal offense, but the republic itself had no reason to be upset by that gesture.  Afterall, this was not a diplomatic meeting between heads of state.

The lieutenant governor seemed like the appropriate choice, a middle-aged woman that had previously been endorsed for the position by none other than Senator Soldys.

Then there was security issues.  Having an army of forces loyal to the Republic speaker wandering around Coronet seemed like a very bad idea.  Equally would be a refusal to let them search.  The office spent the little time they had combing over the Republic charter, bylaws, and admission requirements, and though it did allow easy travel of Republic troops, it did not allow for the kind of quasi-invasion this looked to be.

"We could filed a protest"
"That would take weeks to resolve"
"But we'd get rid of them!"

One lawyer was shaking his head, reading one other law - the Force User Registration Act.

"There is a small footnote that allows the Republic to use, and I quote, 'any level of force, in any location under the jurisdiction of the republic, to enforce this law'."

There was silence in the room for a moment before the governor spoke up.
"But they are here looking for the senator!  That's not FURA"
"The senator was arrested for violating FURA.  So searching for him falls under that"

The governor shook his head.
"Being part of the republic means democracy and freedom, not marshall law."  Turning to his lieutenant governor, he set his jaw.
"You can tell Senator Braac he can bring two squadrons for investigative purposes only.  I expect on the ground that he will respect Corellian laws, regardless of what pomp he brought to orbit.  You can soften the blow by allowing him to have CorSec security assist in their investigation.  As far as I'm concerned, he can borrow half the force, but those republic forces can stay on their ships until this ludicrousness ends."

An aide came running into the room, out of breath.

"Governor, the senator and his ships will be landing in fifteen minutes."

With a grim expression, the governor nodded.
"Alright.  Let's go put on a show"

TBC
« Last Edit: December 23, 2021, 07:48:59 AM by Medivh »
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Medivh
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Offline Medivh

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #97 on: February 02, 2022, 11:49:50 AM »
Corellia

Surface - Coronet City

The tension was palatable.

Lieutenant Governor Katelyn Sutton waited by the entrance as the republic vessels made their landing, watching with indignation.  Who did they think they were?  She was purposeful in waiting until they had landed fully - the senator was not, according to protocal, entitled to an 'honor guard' and Sutton had no intent of giving Braac any more honor that he deserved.

And as far as she was concerned, that was none.

Two dozen auxiliary transport vessels had left orbit on the landing, but a message had been relayed to Senator Braac that they could not disembark upon landing, citing a variety of Corellian statutes.  And to be on the safe side, she had security cameras trained on the landing pad, watching every movement.  She knew, just like the senator probably did, that this battle would not be won by arms, but by public opinion.  And say what they will about the Republic's annoyance with Corellia - most would not approve of an unsanctioned troop landing on a sovereign world.

Braac had not replied, and now Sutton was watching to see whether he played nice, holding her breath as vessel after vessel touched down.

Then silence.

The forward most vessel hissed as it's loading ramp lowered down, a squad of republic troops marching out.

Then came the senator, a look of disgust on his face as he glanced about.

A second squad followed, forming a line behind the senator, but then no more, the remaining vessels staying, thankfully, closed.

Score one for Corellia.

Clearing her throat, the lieutenant governor stepped out of the entrance building, two aides flanking her as she approached, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Senator Braac, such a pleasure to have you with us"
He wasted no time with pleasantries, a scowl on his face.
"If Corellia insists on impeding my investigation, I will have no choice but to file criminal complaints against you and your government for contempt of senate law.  Furthermore"

"Senator, please, there's no need for threats!  We have no interest in impeding your investigation.  In fact, I have been authorized to make several hundred of our very own troops available to assist you.  We on Corellia are nothing if not cooperative with the Republic."

Braac was about to say something but Sutton held up a hand, continuing herself

"And besides, if you really wanted to conduct a thorough and effective investigation, using the local security forces will be far more effective than your own.  Really, sending in foreign armed forces onto a planet - any planet - is hardly the way to get cooperation.  And besides, with everything going on in Chandaar right now, I think lowering tensions is in everyone's benefit."

The news of the bombing on Chandaar had reached Corellia even as the landing occurred.  Whether coincidence or not, it certainly hadn't helped with the tension.

Braac was eyeing the lieutenant governor with suspicion.
"My forces are loyal to the Republic.  CorSec is-"
"Corellia fought to join the Republic for many, many years, Senator.  We are established members of the Republic, and as far as I know, there are no reasons to doubt our loyalty"
"Your representative to the Republic - a hero on this world - is a traitor"
"Alleged traitor, senator. He hasn't been tried yet"
"only because he escaped"
"Be that as it may, you can't claim disloyalty of an entire planet merely because of allegations against one man.  And barring any evidence to the contrary, we are a sovereign world of the republic, and demand our rights as a world within the republic.  Denying our rights would be a violation of the very spirit of democracy that you claim to cherish.  So you can run your investigation, but you will do it our way, or no way at all."

Sutton's smile face was frozen in a polite smile that did not extend to her eyes, which were shooting icy glares at Senator Braac, whose own face remained in a pronounced frown.

"Fine"

Another score for Corellia, at least for now.

"Good - I have arranged a small lunch for you and your immediate aides. Then we can discuss the logistics of your ... investigation"



TBC

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Medivh
SWSF: Legacy of the Force
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Offline Syren

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #98 on: February 15, 2022, 09:21:19 PM »
“Once again, we must bleed new
Even as the hours shake
Crystal blood like a dream true
A ripple in the wound and wake
You believe I believe too
That you are the river of light
Who I love, that I cling to
In the belly of the empty night.”


-Big Thief

 
Corellia

Surface

They convene in the bunker buried within the remote cliffs. 


Halfway to nowhere. 
 
The mood is somber and more than a little tense. With Nevylinn still recovering on their ship, Mara now has enough charge to join them. She is curious about the other players involved. Mara had been on her own and with Nevylinn for so long that the idea of this many stakeholders translates as more a liability in their efforts than anything else. But she knows she is a stranger here and would be treated as such. The connection to Riley and status with the Jedi leaders may buy her some favor but the reality of the truth she had just shared with some would not be easy to digest.

 
Once they are gathered and the murmurs die down, Della steps forward.

 
“Alright, everyone. As you may have heard, the Republic has come knocking on Corellia’s door once again armed with accusations, seemingly intent on testing our resolve. They have a presence at Centerpoint Station and a delegation that has just arrived in Coronet. Thankfully, LG Sutton has our backs on this. We must abide for now, as a member of the Republic, but these multiple threats require immediate action.


Presently, there are two primary objectives in relation to the Republic's presence here – keeping the Senator secure and the Jedi hidden whereas not to provoke further conflict and push this tenuous situation into a full-blown confrontation. However, “Octavia” and I need to resume our duties with the People’s Council as we manage the influx of Corellian’s returning to the system. The longer we remain out of pocket, the more suspicious CorSec grows, as their investigation into the deaths of the younglings in Kor Vella cast doubt around what they think me and the recovering Director know. If the Republic delegation catches wind of this investigation, it will only further complicate matters.


Riley, this is where you come in. You will need to be present and public as well, leveraging your connections in CorSec to keep that trail cool until the coast is clear. Can you step up?”


He grins, “I will do what I can to keep us safe.”


“You got this.”


She turns her gaze to Artemis.


“The question is what to do with you, Senator. You may remain hidden here or stashed aboard the Asunder on routine patrol with Agent “Theon”. Either way you will be out of sight until we can resolve the Republic’s formal inquiry unless you want to go on the offense. Unfortunately, that is not the only angle we have to consider. Gemma?”


Gemma glances briefly at Mara’s stoic face before joining Della in the center of their wide circle.


“Compounding these issues is the threat of the prophecy and those working to fulfill its dark purpose. While we are relatively sheltered here, my brother Dane remains vulnerable and needs further support in the Corporate Sector. Demaris, you are the most logical choice given your history there and with Dane. Will you and Taarek please help keep him safe?”


Demaris is not fooled, “Only if this is not means for you to unilaterally carry out your contingency without any oversight.”


“I have you covered,” Artemis says with a stern look. “I will keep them on the straight and narrow.”


She nods, “Then you have my word that I will protect Dane with everything I have.”


“Mine as well,” Taarek affirms. “We will not leave him exposed on the outskirts of the galaxy.”


“I am so grateful and I know he will be as well, even if he may not show it.”


Dane Gellar may put on the perfect smile for investors but he has changed in the past few years. They all have. Trauma will do that to someone. Burdens of truth, arranged with new context, the freckled arm of a larger, spiral galaxy. Wild, man. Riley avoids the Senator’s steely glare since that means their plan to map their memories using CorSec equipment has not slipped his mind. They would have to find another way to make it work, even if it is only to prepare for a worst-case scenario.


Avinarius steps forward, “I will accompany you to the Corporate Sector as well.”


You will? But your presence there may put you in greater danger."

 
"The Direx Board wants your father to pay in blood.”

“And pay he shall but not by my hand. My friends taught me that.”


The Jedi, watching with great anticipation, collectively smile. They were all able to reach him in his darkest hour, pulling him back from the brink of doing something so reckless that it would have cost him both his soul and his life. Preston taught him how to feel and it has manifested as both weapon and curse.


“Besides,” he says, running a gloved hand across his armor. “I have this. I will repaint it on the journey back, make it my own, but it will conceal my identity and avoid the wrath of the Direx Board.”


“Dane will be so relieved to see you again. I did not betray your confidence as it is not my secret to share. I know he suffered greatly with your loss and he will be emboldened to have trusted allies back by his side. I cannot thank you all enough.”


Flash memory or not, Avinarius will be the vessel through which both their fresh biological samples and plans for the superlaser will be delivered to Dane. She trusts he will do what must be done from there. Riley is not going to leave Corellia and Gemma is not going to leave Riley, regardless of who they are to each other, so they must place their faith in others to execute their part of the plan. 


“What about us?” Shendo barks, a sharp edge to his tone. “We have been forced from our homes, our lives, and hunted across the galaxy. We fought alongside you only to now be forgotten?”


“Of course not,” Donovan says. “You may remain here under our protection while we sort this out.”


The reaction is mixed. 


It is not as simple as claiming sanctuary.

Some are not sure they wish to remain under Gemma’s watch and honestly, she does not blame them. They had grown close to Demaris and Taarek, who have taught and guided them with patience and love. She has her own issues with the Jedi and would likely not be an appropriate guide in their journey, wherever that may take them. There is more mutual respect between the others and she would not interfere with that. She swallows any shred of pride as she turns and speaks to them directly.


“You must choose your own path.”


Lysette advocates for them remaining on Corellia as they are among sympathetic allies while Shendo would rather take his chances in the Corporate Sector where they could escape the Republic’s tyranny. The trade-off is that, if exposed and identified, they would be targets for the Inquisitor or others that had hunted them down. Sirona and Oz fall somewhere in the middle. While they discuss options amongst themselves, Gemma’s gaze finds its way back to Mara.


Everything they have discussed so far only takes care of half their prophecy problem.


What will Mara and Nevylinn do now that they know about the Etheralis and the Voss-Ra’s continued hold on the prophecy? With Nevylinn’s deranged invulnerable sister hell-bent on hijacking these carefully woven threads, would they be able to prevent such a potentially catastrophic collision?


Gemma is anxious to hear her perspective on how they would fight this front.










-TBC
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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #99 on: April 27, 2022, 06:59:25 PM »
“If it hurts to love
Better do it anyway.”


-Beach House


Corellia

Surface

They reach a decision.

 
Lysette, Oz, and Sirona will remain, offering to defend Corellia for the kindness they have shown them. They had taken considerable risks with their position against the Republic and the few Jedi that still exist throughout the galaxy owe them a debt of gratitude. Something that may be collected soon enough, one way or another. Lines have been drawn. Their paths now lie in fighting against the oppressive tyranny of the Galactic Republic from here. Shendo is the lone detractor and will accompany the others to the Corporate Sector. He may be wary of the prophecy and their part in it but vows to protect Dane to the best of his ability in exchange for safe harbor. Gemma is thankful for the extra defense, despite how he feels about her.

 
“We will explore the deeper mystery surrounding the orchestrators of the prophecy,” Mara says evenly. “Once Nevylinn recovers, of course.”


Master Atrii nods, “Wise, considering the complex nature of our problems.”


“Approaching it from all angles may help to avoid any rash decisions, ones with potentially significant consequences,” Senator Soldys adds with eyes squarely trained on Riley. “I will join Atrii aboard The Asunder to better assess our options and maintain some distance for you to sort things out with CorSec and the Republic inspection. I will do what I can to keep this as civil as possible for as long as I can.”

 
“Think that cruiser may have sailed,” Taarek sighs. “But the optimism is appreciated.”


Sirona offers to join them on sector patrol to protect the Senator which Artemis humbly accepts. Even though it means taking his eyes off of Riley and Gemma, for now, it is more advantageous to remain mobile, especially considering the Republic’s renewed interest in Centerpoint. It is not an outcome he wishes to revisit.

 
“Looks like we’ve got a plan then,” Della says with a squeeze on Artemis’ side. “Be careful.”


“You too.”

 
Circe catches Gemma’s gaze and holds it before following Della out to their shuttle. Riley calls out that he would join them shortly and offers Gemma his arm. She takes it and they head back out into the breezy, sea-misted afternoon. As the young Jedi come together to say their goodbyes in the center of the bunker, Donovan pulls Demaris aside. It has been too long since he and his sister shared a quiet moment but, like so many others in their recent history, it is shaped by crisis and trauma. 

 
“Every time we see one another, I fear it is the last.”


“Pretty sure you always say that.”

“There is no guarantee the Sector is safer than here.”

“Perhaps not but it is our home, Donovan. We know it well: good, bad, and ugly. It may be a lot of things but I would at least have a location advantage. I am more worried about what you and Nevylinn plan to do about Gemma. This whole contingency thing is insane. She has been edging ever closer to the darkness since the Inquisitor got under her skin. Now she is convinced they must die in order to avoid triggering another cycle.”

 
“Belief is a powerful thing. Conviction can conceal as much as it reveals if we allow it to. You will not be able to convince them otherwise if they are set on this path.”


“The danger lies in her wavering faith.”


“You alone cannot steady her, Demaris. A way back to the light may not be what she wants or even needs. My own understanding of our symbiotic existence with the Force has evolved over time. There are nuances. Shadows where there should not be.”

 
His eyes drift toward Mara and what she told them. What she is.

 
“This is not something we were swept up into by chance but the cycle must be broken. Trust me, sister, even when you may not trust Gemma’s plans on how this will be accomplished. It must end even if it ends them.”

 
“Such finality.”


“You and I are but instruments with a chance to shape the worlds for good. So let us shape them.”


He pulls Demaris into a hug and holds her tightly. They are so far from who and what they were and, while he is somewhat surprised, more than anything he is proud of both of them. He never wants to let go yet he knows their journeys move in different directions. They always have.

 
“Whatever comes your way,” he says, brushing aside the purple hair that hides half her face. “Give ‘em hell, okay?”


She smirks tightly, “Count on it.”


Outside, Riley wanders toward one of the cliffs where a slipping sun sets and spills ripples of deep orange hues across the water below. She knows he has to go, returning to the city and public eye to put on a brave face for them all. Selfishly, she wants him to stay and, selfishly, he wants the same. Yet, the possibility of disappearing into the romantic ether with her grows dimmer with each continual and horrific detail unfolding in their story. Selfishly? If only. It is the only luxury neither can afford. He leans in and she tugs at the collar of his shirt as they press their lips together. The wave of their current is one she wants to ride into something, anything else, but they are long past deluding themselves. There is no time left to pretend. He draws back and wrinkles his nose in a smile.

 
“Still not weird?”

 
“It will be if you keep asking! We have plenty to do but know I still want you here by my side.”


A seriousness crosses his generally playful expression, taking her hand in his.


“I want it forever. I want you forever."

 
“There is no forever,” she whispers through the strands of blonde curls sweeping across her delicate face. “Not for us.”

 
Riley’s eyes reflect the last rays of the sun, a golden glow between them.

 
“Then love me in the present moment. Our totally insane now. However long that may be.”


“What are you saying?”


“Marry me?”










-TBC

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #100 on: May 17, 2022, 09:39:49 PM »
“I saw you inside and out and how
It all came through instincts and doubt
The bonds
That held you so long
Are breaking beneath the strength of a changing tide
One that’s made you face up to it’s
Irrelevance.”


-Many Mountains


Corellia

Surface

Dusk on the clifftops.

 
As the groups disperse, Riley and Gemma part ways, giddy and enthralled with one another. They would be together, no matter how much time they had. It is not a place he thought he would find himself, engaged and smitten, but one he is grateful for. It has been a long and strange road to realization but here they are. Ready to take that next step in more ways than one. She jogs over to say goodbye to Roman, Demaris, and Taarek. Master Donovan would take Sirona and Senator Soldys to dock with the Asunder where they would procure a shuttle the others will take back to the CSA. If Dane’s genetics can do everything Aunt Mara said they can, it is best he has them lookout for him.


He veers away and boards Mara’s ship. Riley finds her standing over Nevylinn who looks to be resting peacefully.


“Will she be alright?”


She turns, “She will.”


“I did not want to leave without saying goodbye. We spent so much time apart already.”


“My fault. We were gone much too long.”


He can see it now. The resemblance he took for distant relation between Patten and Gellar, pulled across a perfect face that never ages. Now he knows why. Her appearance could be augmented over time but she is just as he remembered her. The edge has always been there, stern tones of a guardian, as she tried to figure out how to be both parent and protector to the loophole of the last cycle. His survival meant their suffering. She never held it against him, not once, and the sacrifice in her own journey is not lost on him.


“You had your reasons,” he says with a lopsided smile. “Reasons that I know you believe were the right call. And you returned to us with real answers. All the pieces finally connect. Thank you for giving us that clarity. Despite the, like, complete insanity of it all, I am glad we know.”


Mara crosses her arms, “I had to protect you above all else. You understand that, right?”


“I do. That is what I want you to know. I love you, Aunt Mara. I do not care what or who you are, only what you are to me. You are the only family I have ever truly known and, even if it may not have seemed like it, I appreciate everything you have done. For me. For all of us.”


She opens her arms and he moves into them. The embodiment of her promise to a dying Kimber. It means more to her than he will ever know. She sorted through everything that made her who she is to come out on the other side someone entirely her own. Mara lives but she would trade it in an instant if it meant he would survive.


“Thank you, Riley. I love you too.”


They stand in silence for several moments with only the faint blips and hums of Nevylinn’s vitals scoring the moment. He is a man now and must take on a more active role in driving toward a future that does not end in the anticlimax of the last. Something that was never really over even though everyone that made it out wanted so desperately to believe it. Over time that false hope crumbled between their fingers. Once again, these key players find themselves at a crossroads with external entities vying for control. She would not let these machinations, past or present, draw things to a gruesome outcome for selfish gains.


This is not their destiny to claim.


He breaks the moment with a laugh as he steps back, “Could you at least try to find common ground with Gemma?”


“She is angry and stubborn, two emotions that create more walls than bridges.”


“I am not saying she did not come in hot with the accusations but this is a lot for her too. A corrupted Jedi kicked this whole thing off so there are bound to be trust issues.”


“Gemma did not know that before. Her issue stems from feelings of abandonment.”


“Can you blame her?”


“Not entirely,” Mara says evenly. “But she controls how she reacts and responds to that. I am a convenient target, yes, but not the orchestrator of her concerns. How does she feel about…what I told you?”


“We love each other and that is all that matters.”


“Then I am pleased you are both able to see beyond that truth, not that I think it gives you license to be reckless.”


He wants to tell her but something stops him. Mara and Gemma may never see eye-to-eye but he is fairly certain they are fighting on the same side. The contingency is pretty dark but it is just that: a contingency. Other avenues have to fail in order to trigger it. He reflects back on what she said about transferring memories – a flash transmitter. Keeping those memories updated requires work. If they awoke in new bodies, having perished in the worst case of whatever is to come, would they even know each other? Would they still be in love if the memories they made no longer existed?


Mara breaks the mental spiral before he gets too deep.


“I know you have to go. Be with Veritaas. And you should. He was there for you when I could not be and I understand the connection you feel to him. He likely feels the same for you. The worlds think you and Dane are all that remains of The Four and with that assumption comes immense pressure and scrutiny.”


He shrugs, “Part of the gig, right?”


“That cavalier attitude is what got your mother killed. Kimber was no safer with Melanie than she was with Karen. As I said before, the name alone does not indicate good or evil. Light or dark. Most fall on a spectrum and we choose from each situation which direction we will reach out to in order to see us through. Do not be fooled by the words of the prophecy. Its face value is and has been a tool to manipulate and harm everyone who has been drawn in by the siren's song of what it appears to promise.”


“Shades of grey are tricky to navigate. So many ways this could go.”


Mara guides him out of the makeshift medical quarters and allows the door to close behind them.


“As you have been guided by your mother, it seems your father also warned you through Gemma’s vision. Alexander Winton could not have done this alone but it was not only his allies that helped him. If Adubell was able to replicate and carry on his work it was likely with a more powerful force behind her. A piece of the Etheralis. The more I analyze it, the more I understand it is why she has come to believe she is the true heir to the prophecy. That makes her extremely dangerous to all of us.”


“But if Adubell got it from Alexander, where did he get it? Was he also working with the Voss-Ra?”


“I do not know but, tracing back through all the events of the last, there is one that resonates as a possible source. A wicked testament as to how far he would go to get what he wanted.”


Riley winces, bracing for impact,
“Which is?”

“The tenants of the prophecy came to him in fragments through his wife, the Queen, but the text was later excavated and delivered to him by a daughter who, as the story goes, was consumed by the dark side of the Force. This possession was said to have led her to it but clearly, it was not just the prophecy Alexia Winton found beneath the sands of Korriban.
It is possible she discovered the first piece of the Etheralis as well.

If that is true and Adubell found the second beneath the Iron Citadel on Empress Teta, we need to find the remaining two pieces before she does."









-TBC
« Last Edit: May 18, 2022, 06:49:52 PM by Syren »
Syren

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #101 on: May 27, 2022, 07:36:08 PM »
“You haven’t felt right for days
Is it the fact you never say
What comes in your mind that day?
Maybe it’s time to shut away
‘Cause I’ve never really felt okay.”


-beabadoobee

 
Corellia

Surface

Nightfall.


Everyone is off doing their part while Nevylinn recovers and Mara recharges on the ship so Gemma joins Oz and Lysette in the bunker. They have an awkward dinner with a side of tension that is not entirely unexpected and settles into their respective lulls. It has been quite a while since she remembers there being any quiet time. Not that it would have mattered. The glow of their love could insulate her from anything, dulling fate's ferocious roar, even though she knows better. She told him so. There is no forever for them, not if this gets ugly and – judging by the stakes – it is fixing to real quick. Gemma can officially count jaded among the things she has become. The realization does not surprise her yet causes the watercolors of her happily ever after to bleed across their sprawling galactic canvas.


She curls the wildflower stem he gave her around her finger and smiles. Riley said he would put a ring on it and they would wed amidst the chaos and drama. A gem for his Gem, or something like that. She ate it all up because he is worth every sappy quip. Bullshit Ancient Code be damned. She would have things and attachments for as long as they last. Those Voss-Ra jerks owe them that for ruining what were pretty cool lives. Several, in fact. And for what, the Sith? Seriously? It is always the same song.


The Jedi and Sith both deserve to flame out of this universe once and for all.

Good riddance.


Gemma follows them into a large circular cutout in the stone where Oz is feeling sassy. He unclips the saber from his belt and flashes the equivalent of an Iridonian smirk.


“Spar?”


“Sure.”


The hiss of simultaneous igniting weapons is crisp like crashing notes of an absolute banger. Lysette kneels in the periphery of the space with a face cloaked in shadow. They nod to the young Miralukan and then bow to one another before engaging. Oz leans heavily into an Ataru style while she deflects with the less aggressive and defensive Soresu. They had practiced often during their travels but she has never really been fond of combat. It was more necessity than anything else but she kept up her form. Oz likely just needs to blow off some steam and she holds off an impressive offense from him. He is skilled but overconfident which is something Nevylinn warned her about early on.


“Maybe if you didn’t hesitate so much, you wouldn’t be in the position you are in now.”


“Meaning what?”


“Meaning you could have taken the Inquisitor. Ended things.”


Their sabers clash together.


“Really?” she says with unabashed skepticism. “If I recall correctly the last time we all faced off against it on Jedha we both wound up injured. Also, ending the Inquisitor would not have ended everything else, or were you not paying attention to that part of the prophecy currently controlling our lives?”


He strikes but evades the question with another.


“What about on Hesperidium?”


She parries, “You mean after it bisected a grade school friend in front of everyone? No one was exactly battle-ready in beachwear.”


“Then you all blew up. Supposedly.”


“Supposedly. At least that is what they said on the Holo but we both know you came to our rescue which, for the record, I appreciate. There was no way we were getting off an Imperial resort moon alive after all that. What do you think our odds of getting off Corellia are?”


Oz performs some newly learned acrobatics but continues his offensive, pushing her left of center yet still far from out of bounds.


“I will hold my own. Will you?”


“I am holding it now,” Gemma says, countering his attack with a one-handed crossed saber. She spins right, using the free hand to Force push him back, and sends him tumbling into the shadows of the caves beyond. “Right then, had enough?”


“Not even,” he laughs, stepping out. “This is just getting interesting---!*?


He tenses, coughing violently as a blade appears through the center of his chest. Blood quickly darkens the front of his robe before it is withdrawn, leaving him to stagger forward and drop to the ground. Lysette raises her head. From the shadows, she emerges clutching the stained blade - familiar but twisted - the Infiltrator!


“Hello, Jedi.”









-TBC
« Last Edit: May 27, 2022, 07:49:09 PM by Syren »
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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #102 on: June 07, 2022, 10:18:12 PM »
“Hold me tonight
Turn off the light
Oh, I feel the fright
Oh, I’m gonna die


Tonight.”


-Rover


Corellia

Surface

Oz has gone very, very still.

 
A pool of blood grows quickly around him and darkens the dusty stone beneath. Gemma twirls the saber and shifts into a much more defensive position. This is why they cannot have nice things. The reason she shrugged off some of that newfound cynicism onto Riley’s proposal. It is never not real. She and Oz clashed but this feels personal. Another childhood monster reappears, ready to incite chaos and violence. A rogue’s gallery if there ever was one. She is careful to keep her distance between the Infiltrator and Lysette. At the very least she could draw her away.


“I thought we had seen the last of you.”


“Not everything they lock away stays hidden. And we both know that is not true. You have seen my face plenty and it is one you will never forget.”


“Trust me,” Gemma says. “I have tried. How did you find your way out of your prison?”


“A kind doctor with an obscene amount of access. Human trust for the win again.”


“That tracks.”


The Infiltrator sizes her up, flashing what passes for a smile, “Look at you, Masterton. Risen from the dead only to be put right back in the grave.”


“Catching up on current events? Do not believe everything you read.”


It comes off as too haughty even for her but karma is a bitch.


There is a searing pain diagonally across her back unlike any she has experienced before. Vision flashing white, she drops to her knees breathless. Gemma fights to stay conscious and draws from a well of strength she never knew she had. It keeps her present, for now. Shuddering through a wave of nausea, she manages to turn her head.

It is Lysette standing behind her.


Little Lysette with a saber drawn, hood thrown back, and an expression she had never seen the Miralukan wear before. Always so carefully hidden behind her cloak and softly spoken words of comfort and wisdom. An empath, a seer, there but never really a focus of attention. The youngest of all, the one they had to protect. The one they had to watch out for. Her words are thick on a heavy tongue.


“What are you…doing?”


“Exactly what I was meant to do. Prepare for their rise.”


All the worlds ignite and tilt out of focus, a galactic arm sweeping her up into a mass of stars on the way into the great, big, black hole beyond. The realization of what is actually happening registers as a strained grimace and – as if on perfect cue – two tears slide slowly across those enviously high cheeks. Her back has gone numb but she chokes something out.


“I do not understand…”


“Neither did Melanie,” the Infiltrator says stiffly. “Not really. It is always what you think you know that gets you.”


Lysette sighs, “Try not to take it personally. Someone has to go first. It may as well be you.”


“Traitor,” she spits between clenched teeth.


The Miralukan stands over her, bringing the saber point close to Gemma’s face.


“That stays between us girls. You did not suspect it and neither will they. Even though it is difficult for you to fathom it, you are not the only one who gets to play the victim here. They will blame themselves and wonder why they ever left me alone with you. Everyone knows it is not safe with a Masterton. The whole lot of you easily led down the paths I choose, everyone more than willing to go on this dark adventure in search of meaning, justice, and truth. It was almost too easy.”


So. A Sith in their midst. She feels foolish but not surprised.


Demaris did not realize it either so there goes the whole 'you were not focused enough' argument from the pious choir.

Lysette had been collecting all the pieces and people. Pointing the Inquisitor right to them. Back on D’ian, after the evacuation off of Chandaar, there were so many of them. Anyone with even a slightly elevated midi-chlorian count was a target, all those people needing to be saved. It did not take much to influence Taarek’s mind so that he would keep her on D’ian and close to the core players. She called the Inquisitor to them on Jedha, felt out Roman who would lead them into the Unknown Regions, alerted them to Gemma’s plight on Hesperidium, and kept them all spiraling while passing through disguised as a meek empath and agent of a higher, darker power.


“Well done,” Gemma says with as much sarcasm as she can muster. It is not much but the impact is the same. Clinging to what feel like the fringes of consciousness, she grips her own weapon tightly - fallen, injured, betrayed, and double-teamed as they begin to close in.


Lysette lifts her saber above Gemma’s head and cries out into the caves.


“Through victory, my chains are broken!”


Spinning on one knee, Gemma screams in agony as she twists to block the blow before executing what had worked so well on Oz. Lysette is expecting the push to come from the front but she angles around, flicking her wrist to catch her in the shoulders, and sending someone so slight aggressively pitching ass-over-elbow.


The Infiltrator charges but is blunted and thrown back by a projectile boulder that appears from the corridor as Mara steps into the fray. Her strange saber is drawn and ignited as she moves closer while clearly processing the situation based on the visual evidence. There is a lot to unpack here. She is not sure how much of that she heard but figures she would arrive at the appropriate conclusion. Gemma groans but pulls herself into a standing position.


Sabers raised and enemies regrouping, Mara joins Gemma’s side.


“I knew you’d be trouble.”


“Yeah,” she mutters, clutching the wildflower stem ring tightly in her palm. “Tell me about it.”










-TBC

« Last Edit: June 08, 2022, 12:55:05 PM by Syren »
Syren

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #103 on: July 12, 2022, 07:27:45 PM »
“Troubled times
Caught between confusion and pain, pain, pain
Distant eyes
Promises we made were in vain, in vain, in vain.”


-Journey


Corellia

Surface

The Battle in the Bunker begins.

 
Mara v Infiltrator. Gemma v that traitorous little bitch Lysette. 

 
The Infiltrator comes out swinging, undeterred by Mara’s show of force and goes on the offensive. She is quick and capable but Mara has something she does not – a connection to the Force. She easily evades the attacks which seem to leave the Infiltrator smarting.

 
“Come now, sister. You have been corrupted.”

 
“Like so many things, it seems.”

 
“If you will not submit to your primary directive then you will be dismantled here and now.”


“You are welcome to try.”


And try she does. The Infiltrator gives it everything she has. Mara uses her saber and power to deflect or destroy anything the Infiltrator throws at her, catching her in a hold as she lunges forward. Held in the air, she struggles but to no avail.


“You may defeat me but you will never win.”


“Even you cannot know that.”


“Abudell does.”


The strikes something deep within Mara which the Infiltrator picks up on immediately.


“She sends her regards and condolences.”


“For what?”


“For when she finally takes Riley from you forever. And she will. You cannot save him for he, like Gemma, is destined to die. They were all taken from you: Valerie, Karen. Kimber. The son of Patten should never have survived. Adubell will take him and there is nothing you can do.”


Mara’s eyes flare wider as pressure builds in the Infiltrator’s every joint.


“Not before I take you from her – an instrument of a misguided mission, a relic of what was - piece by piece.”


She tears the Infiltrator apart with a stunning display of control, shredding through processors and wires that land still at her feet.


Behind them, an injured Gemma defends herself as best she can from a crazed Lysette who attacks wildly and without mercy. Small scorch marks line her cheeks and arms but her moderate skill manages to thwart the bulk of the damage. She will not last long in her condition. Even she is aware enough to know that so these desperate times call for more unseemly measures. She hurls her saber wide toward the center of the cave. It looks sloppy like she is losing it, but she is counting on the girl’s overconfidence in pulling one over on all of them. 


“Fool, you are beaten,” Lysette cackles, advancing toward her, “The Masterton falls.”


Straining, Gemma uses her other hand to guide the saber’s arc and, increasing the spin, pulls it around and through Lysette until the hilt hits her palm with a dull slap. Lysette chokes out a cry as the top half of her small body slides off and hits the ground with her waist and legs crumpling behind it. 


“Traitors first.”


Gemma deactivates her saber and clips it to her belt, pocketing the wildflower stem ring before throwing a weak smile at Mara and collapsing.


Mara knows they may have little time but would not implicate the others in this mess.


First, she takes a wounded Gemma back to the ship, placing her facedown across from Nevylinn. Almost poetic if that meant something to her. The injuries are ugly and severe, a diagonal saber slash across her back, but they do not appear life-threatening so long as they are treated quickly. She imagines they wanted her to suffer before finally ending her life, the full weight of the betrayal sinking in. She roughly pulls open some bacta packs and covers the wounds.


Next, she returns to the bunker to collect the bodies of Oz, Lysette, and the Infiltrator, dropping them next to the ramp controls. She retrieves anything else that would indicate the place had been inhabited recently, covering the blood stains with dirt and rock.


Lastly, she eases the Refuge out over the cliffs, staying low against the ocean until far enough out to avoid any currents. She opens the ramp and dumps the bodies, watching them hit the water below with stoic satisfaction.


Returning to the controls, she heads for orbit and places a call to Master Donovan.


The Refuge needs a refuge.


*


Coronet


Riley arrives at a scene he has lost touch with.


Della and “Octavia” drop him in an inconspicuous locale before carrying on with their part of the plan. They all have their parts to play. He heads over to a posh little residence he keeps in the city to shower and change. The Patten Ranch renovation is complete and he would return there eventually but there are more pressing matters. Matters of posturing and public relations to keep them clear of suspicion while the Republic conducts its investigation.


He glances at himself in the mirror. Side-part, a little scruffy, outfit comprised of complementing neutrals – he looks the part of reclusive billionaire Riley Patten. The public thinks he is grieving and they are partially right. He is but not for losing Gemma – it is for knowing what has to happen in order to stop all of this. 


For a life carefully composed of few real choices.

Riley knows he should head straight to Cassidy and Sixta like he said he would. They had been patient with him, given the circumstances they think they know, but they are still agents of CorSec with duties to perform. Questions they need answered. Della gave him the full rundown for context complete with the Inspector’s suspicion of her involvement and their photage of her leaving the restricted area that once housed the Infiltrator. She posits that the Jedi were seemingly intentionally targeted to compromise Corellia which clearly worked because now the Republic is back looking for anything that could give them a reason to act. The galaxy has been on the brink before but this could plunge them further into a dark and bloody conflict, just the kind of large-scale distraction the Voss-Ra would need in order to carry out their ancient plans. Now he is starting to sound a little too much like Gemma.


While he does go to CorSec, he finds himself in the medical wing.


Riley is on the approved list of visitors and is cleared to see the stabilized but comatose Director Veritaas inside his heavily guarded room. It is unnervingly quiet save for the sounds of his vitals, the sharp smell of antiseptic stinging his nose. There are bandages around the Director’s throat and he is a bit paler than usual but still the man he has come to respect and care about even if his misadventures kept them apart for longer than they should have.


He speaks to him and his voice ignites a spark of energy in the room, 
“It’s been too long but I am here now.”

Riley slides onto the edge of the bed, gripping his limp hand as if confirming this is real. At first, he does not know where to begin but then it pours out of him. He keeps the details scarce, knowing someone may be listening and instead focuses on his journey back to Corellia. What Veritaas means to him, to all of them. 


“I need your guidance, Elon. The Republic is closing in.”


Moments pass and Riley sighs deeply. Even though it is irrational, he feels responsible somehow, as if his presence here could have spared him this fate. He rises to leave but there is a twitch. No, he is imagining it but then it happens again. Movement in the arm he is holding, weak but definitely there.


Veritaas squeezes his hand.










-TBC
Syren

Offline Syren

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Re: CC: Corellian Birthright
« Reply #104 on: October 08, 2022, 05:57:05 PM »
“You ask me what would happen
If all strangers turned to stone
I’ll tell you what might happen
If we could always be alone.”


-Film School

 
Corellian Sector

Somewhere

Thunk!


Gemma, semi-delirious, opens her eyes to find Nevylinn staring back at her from the other bunk. Where are they? Oh, right. Mara’s ship from the looks of things and heading somewhere quickly by the pitch of the engines. Another day, another crisis. Par for the proverbial course. Changing positions is not really an option so she smirks, “You left us.”


“For that, I am sorry.”


“I do not believe you.”


“I cannot say I am surprised given everything you have faced.”


“Are still facing. There really is a fine line between faith and delusion.”


“Where does that leave us, Gemma?”


“Wrecked, as always. You are not the saviors you think you are,” she whispers weakly then drifts out again, “You never were.”


Nevylinn pulls the thin blanket close and groans.


*


Blackness, bumps, and blurs become bubbles. So many bubbles against her skin. A cool, pink haze envelops her.


There are flashes of Mod Navris, half-buried in the sands of Imperial Beach whispering a phrase that now has frighteningly real meaning; the Etheralis. In the distance, across the sea and into the sky, a pulse of green light. The ritual, releasing those bound to the tower through dark and dangerous methods, ignites life on Coruscant with a collective radiance. The Inquisitor’s attack and narrow escape with Dahlia’s eyes a pool of obsidian glass. Playing these roles in another cycle, working it while withering away into yet another fabulous fable. A jungle adventure - the Unknown Regions making things known to them. Vines grow and curl their way around everything and the Jedi Masterton appears - an ominous phantom - with further context that brings little comfort to anyone. Like, ever. Over and over the Jedi have failed. Not just Gemma and those around them but they have failed themselves. Sharp principles that create only self-inflicted cuts. Their code bleeding out and left for dead. Flashes of Mara laying it down, revealing the origins of the prophecy, their familial link, her existence and purpose transposed across Riley’s face caught in the sunset rays as he proposed high atop a breathtaking cliff.  Proposing a life they can never have – on Corellia, on D’an, anywhere. So very optimistic, so very Riley Patten. Beneath a crimson hood, Lysette’s lips pull into a comically large smile, misleading them in the softest of voices. A herald of Dahlia’s victory and the imminent rise of the Sith. This will only stop once it is fulfilled but to fulfill it means they need to die and Dahlia needs to live. A terrible but necessary compromise. The one callow consolation is that she would believe she won but they would return and take it all from her, once again burying the Jedi and Sith in the past where they belong. Bury them both so no one has to endure their extreme and ill-fated ideals ever again, at last vanquishing the monsters that have lived in her dreams since she was a child


*


Mara watches Gemma float in the glowing bacta tank, golden curls dancing around her head. The girl is tougher than she looks but still an entitled pain in the ass. As if she, above others, deserves answers to questions asked long before she was ever bred into existence. Such a vapid, tortured existence. Mara’s priority lies with protecting Riley – the Infiltrators words a haunting whisper from the shadows – but doing so means protecting Gemma as well. The Masterton and Patten have always been connected, just in more ways than anyone thought. This fact did not phase them and she thinks she feels something like gratitude that she can still be surprised by some things.


It had been a quick getaway after she rerouted them to an outpost deep in the forests of Drall. As it turns out, Master Atrii was working with sympathizers since they are a rather practical species and could trace the Republic’s current implosion back through their sordid history. They know what is up. Everything has cycles and patterns that emerge over time. Movements, ideas, and governments are no different.


The Drall outpost has a scant utilitarianism, not unlike the bunker far offshore on Corellia. It is just as remote with Mara needing to tap into her abilities to navigate through the dense foliage to their destination. Thankfully, it is fully stocked with resources some of them need to heal. Mara is careful to keep herself fully charged while oscillating between checking in on an introspective but healing Jedi Master and the injured baroness. She does not need the Force to sense the anxiety and animosity but such human emotions are not ones they have time for right now. They have bigger problems, starting with how tactical the strike on the bunker was.


It may not have been as random as it appeared.


Mara may have destroyed the Infiltrator but kept one piece in particular – the memory cube. She makes good use of the small workbench and cables from the ship, rigging it up for playback internally. With Gemma hauntingly suspended behind her, she would soon see what the Infiltrator was really up to.


*


Coronet City


Despite the practicality of meeting there, Riley Patten calls on Cassidy and Sixta and asks them to meet him at his residence in an hour. Somewhere less conspicuous than One CorSec Plaza. Too many watchful eyes. First, he needs to head into Coronet for a little business. He hoped the return would be under better circumstances but it still feels like a long overdue homecoming.


There is much to be done in a short time so he called ahead for his financial advisors to meet him at the central branch of Corellian Bank. There he retrieves his mother’s ring from a safety deposit box – an embellished silver band with a pale blue Emeraude at its center that will look stunning on Gemma’s finger – before updating his post-death directives on what will happen to the Patten fortune upon his untimely demise. He allocates enough funds to allow them a considerable safety net if the contingency is activated and they return in the future along with who can access the account. In this case, his clone, although it is more eloquently integrated into the document. His wealth and status buy him a certain eccentricity so his advisors execute without digging into anything too deeply, which is probably for the best. He would not rely solely on Dane to provide the resources they need for whatever comes next, just as Kimber planned for the chance he survived the last cycle.


With Veritaas awake and recovering, they need to regroup but he still needs to deal with his wary agent friends who are under orders and running low on patience. The Republic inspection has everyone on edge but their intrusive investigation threatens to bring about further scrutiny on matters the young CorSec agents and their superiors do not understand themselves.


At his building, Cassidy throws his arms around Riley, “It is about bloody time! We thought you would be out there wandering forever.”


Riley laughs, leaning in, “I just needed some time.”


“Well, it is of the essence now so can we head inside for a chat?”


“Nice to see you too, Six.”


The residence is upscale minimalist with notes of his cologne still lingering in the air. They gather in a small, stylishly understated sitting room and the textured curves of the curated pieces. Riley had given the designer free rein to create a certain image, something that would tell a story without him ever opening his mouth. Mission accomplished. Cassidy makes himself comfortable on the couch while Sixta leans against the upholstered backing of a tufted loveseat.


She does not waste time or mince words, giving him a quick rundown of the information Della provided albeit in a more clinical way. Sixta lets it linger for a moment, studying his expression before adding, “We suspect a link to the Jedi.”


Suspect being the operative word there,” Cassidy interjects carefully. “Nothing is officially on record at CorSec.”


“Intentionally?”


“Inspector Thekla is not stupid,” Sixta quips. “He may have his suspicions but he will not further arm the Republic without evidence. We have discussed it in our debriefs and there have been some inquiries that returned troubling results but they have not yet made it into a final report.”


“Too bad you are already on his scope.”


“And how did that happen?”


“We…may have mentioned you when connections to the Jedi came up. There was relevant context.”


“Real nice, Cass. Very smart.”


Sixta is having none of it, stepping between them, “We were following a theory, thank you very much. It is our job, remember? You are officially a CorSec agent too, although not an active one.”


“Yes, I am aware which means I have the same clearance you do so it would be super if you two could tell me what the hell is going on.”


She draws in a weary breath but proceeds.


“Thekla believes the attack on Veritaas and explosion in Kor Vella with victims not in our systems involves the Jedi. There is evidence to suggest it but its presence, placement, and timing are suspect. Corellia’s alleged complicity, possibly through the People’s Counsel, may have been revealed through sabotage which is why we believe the Republic is back here sniffing around. All signs point to a plot that directly defies Republic law but I think you already know that. What do you think?”


“Sixta-”


“No. If he is going to stand here and tell us he knows nothing about this he is doing a disservice to our station and sector.”


There is a decision to make, as everything they know and love hangs in the balance.


Riley is certain they would see reason if they knew what is at stake.


“Veritaas is awake,” he begins, easing onto the couch beside Cassidy. Compelled by the tone and topic, Sixta joins them. “He is still weak but making progress. I do not know what I would do if I lost him. The irony will not be lost on him.”


“What does that even mean?”


“Later. What is more important is that Veritaas told me who attacked him. It was Doctor Cross.”


“Tivoli Cross? The CorSec medical director?!”


“Yes,” Riley says. “But there is something else. Something strange. He said that she got a call and changed completely before attacking him. He also said she seemed to have no recollection that she had ever been missing and that they were giving her space, against better judgment, for those memories to return.”


“It sounds like she was…activated somehow. It sounds insane even saying it, I know.”


“Is it though? Two other people were also missing during this time; Janessa Kain, the Republic Ambassador to the Corporate Sector, and Garron Prescott, head of Gellar-Masterton security. They all seem to have reappeared along a similar timeline with vague if any specific memories of where they were or what they were doing.”


Cassidy looks stricken, “Why do I feel like this is going to get real dark, real quick?”


“Because it is. Garron tried to kill Dane Gellar in the Corporate Sector, completely changing his behavior and demeanor before attacking him. The kicker is that a phrase was used before the turn, a phrase coming from a planted speaker. Prescott was not as successful as doctor Cross but not for lack of trying. That leaves-”


“Janessa Kain,” Sixta breathes, arriving at the same conclusion. “Suspected in the assassination of President Inganarre. The reports indicate premeditation and an influence tied to her previous charge and acquittal. So, the Jedi are involved then?”


“Or it was made to look that way.”


“It goes against type; against everything we know about them.”


“That is not enough to sway public opinion or the legislators looking to capitalize on the instability for power. You have seen the state of things, systems taking sides and pointing fingers all while something larger unfolds beneath them.”


Sixta stiffens, “With Corellia in the crosshairs.”


“And the Senate in shambles. Staged or not, there is enough to implicate us. If the Republic has come looking for something, I bet they will find it.”


“Unless we make sure there is nothing for them to find which means we have to handle your boss carefully.”


She rises quickly and rounds the table, “Thekla may have no love for them but he plays by the rules. I am not exactly keen on lying to my superior.”


“Think of how many have already died,” Cassidy opines. “How many more will die if we let them get away with it? Whoever did this killed a bunch of kids to make a point!"


Her eyes shift to the prodigal Patten, narrow and bordering on accusatory.


“Then tell us the truth, Riley. Have we been willfully harboring Jedi? Are we really in breach of Republic law like they claim?”


“Yes."


“Oh my God. They will execute us for treason!”


“Better than being party to genocide!”


The sting of it simmers across their silence.


“This is so messed up” she mutters, wiping a tear from her cheek. “If the Republic is framing Corellia to take this fall so they can justify their actions then what part does the Empire play? Was the truce just a sham?”


Riley flashes to the ruins of Imperial Beach and the question he posed to Barrett Trevaithan about the reason they were brought there – to provide the spark for Coruscant’s rebirth. There was calculation in everything they did there, all the hushed tones and implied threats. Talk of Sith advisors on Byss. The means to someone else’s end.


“No, I do not think so,” he says grimly. “But they have something to gain from the galaxy souring on the Republic’s promises. The easiest way to win back favor is to look better by comparison.”


Cassidy turns to Riley, “That is a loaded accusation and implies premeditative intention. How do you even know any of this?”


“Extracurricular activities on my adventures.”


“Not good enough,” Sixta cuts in, shaking her head. “If you are able to confirm these theories, we need to know how you are involved in this.”


“I need you both to trust me. There are other lives on the line here too. Not everything I know is my story to tell.”


“I do trust you. We have enough to go on for now and the Republic inspection takes priority over anything else in the short term. If they find anything we are toast.”


Sixta stares them both down, “No one is disputing that but blind faith always comes at a price. Riley, you also vanished for months and have provided only vague, if any details about where you were or what you did. How do we know you are not compromised and will turn on us as well?”


“That is where the trust comes in.”


“It is asking a lot, asking for faith I am not sure I have in you. I will not condone genocide but I will not say I trust you either.”


He nods, “Fair enough.”


"A pact. We swear to uphold our oath and restore order and clear Corellia’s name even if it means defying those in power to do it. Everybody in?”


Cassidy extends a hand with a closed fist.


Riley places a hand over his.


Reluctantly and only with the deepest of sighs, Sixta does the same.










-TBC
« Last Edit: October 09, 2022, 01:53:52 AM by Syren »
Syren