CC: Corellian Birthright

[Syren]

“One step away
From falling off the edge
One step away
Good as dead
Too late to go back
Too hard to go on
I’m one step away
From getting gone.”

-Moon Taxi

Corellia

Deep Space

The Consular-Class Cruiser Capulet edges toward the rendezvous point.

Roman had carefully guided them back through The Tangle. Once again, they were confined to their quarters for the journey but the threat of possible psychosis was more than enough to keep them there. After a tense stint on the Guu Run and a brief jaunt across the Shipwrights’ Trace, they connected with the Corellian Trade Spine and raced toward their destination. Roman’s navigational mastery may have saved them time but being right back in Republic space brings the threat full circle.

The CR90 Corvette Asunder looms in the distance. Roman guides their cruiser forward as Taarek begins the docking protocols. Once connected, he pressurizes the airlock and nods to Riley. It was the Patten codes and clearance that got them in as the borders of Republic space are heavily patrolled. Republic cruisers flanked by Imperial Star Destroyers are still an extremely unnerving sight. Corellian central command was expecting his return and they proceeded to the coordinates Master Atrii beamed them. Although there is restless energy aboard the Capulet, Riley, and Demaris pass through first to meet the small greeting party – Jedi Master Donovan Atrii, Della Avers, and Circe Prescott. They embrace them warmly with Donovan holding his sister tightly after so long apart. Della is grateful Riley is back, despite everything happening, and knows the Director would be as well.

Taarek Cirque steps out next with an introduction from Demaris, highlighting his heroic accomplishments in evacuating the Jedi from Chandaar. He also shares a connection to their past. Circe breathes in, having worked alongside his father at the Haven Base on Arbra shortly before the Battle of Centerpoint. Seneca Cirque had spoken of his young son in their sessions together and wished to return to him. Tragically, he was killed before he ever got the chance. Although she has long since come to terms with her escape, Circe’s heart breaks for him.

Roman follows, fully clad in the stolen Mandalorian armor. The group visibly tenses but Riley disarms them with fact that it was he who got them into the Unknown Regions and back safely, using the smuggler name, Avinarius. This seems to put them at ease, for now. Before reaching Corellia, discussion aboard the Capulet leaned toward breaking their allies in slowly to the layered and terrifying things they had discovered. Next, the four travel-weary Jedi emerge. Master Atrii welcomes them with open arms and motions through the main corridor to the operations forum beyond where refreshments await. Avinarius leads the way with the Jedi trailing closely behind him.

Della watches them go with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She narrowly avoided being detained by CorSec and convinced herself they were in the clear without any other Jedi aside from Master Atrii cleverly concealed within their own ranks. Having them here is dangerous, despite Corellia’s stance against the F.U.R.A. She worries the complication could come back to bite them sooner rather than later, especially since the investigation into the Kor Vella bombing is still active. The intrepid young agents, led by a skeptical Inspector Thekla, did not seem like they were going to back down. Donovan turns to the others, gaze focusing on Riley.

“You have our deepest condolences about Gemma. I know this has been a difficult time for you. We want you to know we are here for you – whatever you need.”

He smirks as a soft, melodic voice cuts through the sentiment.

“That is touching,” Gemma says, stepping out of the airlock. “But such things are unnecessary. For the moment anyway.”

The collective gasp is pricelessly followed by the inevitable question of how. She waves a hand as if to quell the inquiries for now. They would need a hot meal, a shower, and some rest before they could dive into the complexities of their situation on both sides. There was much to discuss, yes, but no one would be receptive when emotions are running this high.

Later, Gemma lets the scalding water run over her body and finally allows herself to decompress. She was grateful for her conversation with Dane but feels bad for not telling him Roman is alive. All in due time. Everything is far from over but she feels safer knowing they are back with friends and allies. Riley joins her and they spend the night getting physically reacquainted. She sleeps like a baby, tangled in the sheets beside him.

The morning brings a new opportunity to connect with the others so she rifles through the tiny closet for something to wear. Thankfully, Master Atrii had requested that Della and Circe bring a few items with them from Corellia on Riley’s behalf. They would need more localized attire if they were going to blend in. CorSec uniforms abound but there is a selection of diplomatic robes already on the ship. Gemma picks gauzy robes in blues and whites, clasped at the waist with a silver belt. Her golden curls, spilling off her shoulders, give her an ethereal royalty vibe. She smiles at him in his basic uniform, completing the look to be part of “Agent Theon’s” team aboard the Asunder. Aside from Master Atrii, the cruiser is purposefully staffed with droids and so the optics must hold up should they ever be discovered.

Everyone enjoys breakfast together before the Jedi begin their meditation and training exercises in the operations forum. Avinarius hangs back to watch as Master Atrii, Della, Circe, Taarek, Demaris, Gemma, and Riley adjourn to the conference chamber to discuss matters at hand. The first and least surprising to Gemma is that there has been no word from Master Nevylinn. Demaris seems alarmed but Donovan reminds them that their quest is not light and so communication was not expected. Gemma sighs, knowing they would likely have to explore the mysteries of the Voss-Ra on their own. It is just as well. They had made it this far. She pushes those feelings aside and takes center stage in the discussion, outlining the events leading up to their experience on Hesperidium. The Inquisitor, Garron’s disappearance, the brief guardianship fight, graduation, the speeder explosion, the grey woman, Alia’s probable turn, Dahlia’s invitation, the strange spirits trapped within the Bolerathon Tower including Riley’s father, the ritual to free them, and finally the loop theory preceding the attack and explosion that ended with a tentative Imperial alliance and eventual rescue by Taarek and Demaris.

The Corellian delegation is understandably stunned. It is a lot to process given the context of their own plight. They reciprocate with the details of Doctor Cross’ return, the attack on the Director, the death of the young Jedi, the Infiltrator’s escape, CorSec's investigation, the Senator’s arrest, attack on Counselor Corinthos’ firm, and the great Corellian evacuation currently underway. They are equally thrown but not astonished things had continued to decline across the Republic. Riley wants to see the Director, feeling guilty about being away for so long. He is the closest thing Riley has to a father and there is a sense of obligation and duty that extends beyond the CorSec Academy.

“We can arrange that,” Master Atrii says. “However, there is something you said Gemma that does not make sense. The loop theory is impossible even if you survived. In order for the pattern of the prophecy to play out, as you have suggested, more in your personal orbit would need to remain alive. Namely, Dahlia.”

Gemma crosses her arms, “About that…”

She reveals what Melanie told her, stopping short of the darker nuance of the prophecy loop. That might push them over the edge. She would not blame them for it either. It is a tough pill to swallow even though it was she and Riley who would have to suffer the ultimate consequence if they are unable to break the Voss-Ra’s influence over the Prophecy Persephonea.

“Be that as it may, there is still a discrepancy in the numbers.”

“Avinarius,” she calls.

Out in the corridor, he turns and enters the conference chamber, “Yes, Lady Masterton?”

“To believe the theory, they must know who you really are.”

He nods and lifts the helmet from his head.

“I am Romanus’farren’nuruodo of the Chiss, Roman Nash to the Corporate Sector, and I assure you I am very much alive.”

“Five died,” Gemma says pointedly. “The Four survived.”

The grimace creasing Master Atrii’s face is far from subtle. Circe does not want to believe it is happening again, a galaxy swept up in this madness, as Della tries to mentally connect the pieces between them and the unfolding drama in the Republic. Her mind does not go to pleasant places.

“There is more-”

Della’s com cuts her off and she stands to take it, walking away from the table. She speaks in hushed but heightened tones that signify it is urgent. They automatically assume it is something to do with the evacuation and they would not be entirely wrong. She turns back to a captive audience.

“It was Artemis.”

“I thought you said the RSB had him.”

“They did,” she says, jaw tightening.

“What happened?”

“How did he escape?”

Della gives them the stiff upper lip, “You can ask him when he arrives.”








-TBC

[Medivh]

Della’s com cuts her off and she stands to take it, walking away from the table. She speaks in hushed but heightened tones that signify it is urgent. They automatically assume it is something to do with the evacuation and they would not be entirely wrong. She turns back to a captive audience.

“It was Artemis.”

“I thought you said the RSB had him.”

“They did,” she says, jaw tightening.

“What happened?”

“How did he escape?”

Della gives them the stiff upper lip, “You can ask him when he arrives.”

-TBC

Earlier ...
BORDER DEEP SPACE BETWEEN REPUBLIC and CORRELIAN SECTOR

Artemis leaned back in the seat as she ship went into hyperspace, closing his eyes, accepting the brief moment of peace before he would be forced to return to reality.
He must have drifted off, for the next thing he knew, his single companion, a young Corellian pilot was jostling him awake.

"Senator, we are approaching the border"

Artemis sat up, shaking his head to to clear the cobwebs.
"Are we aware of any change in the configuration of the nets?"
"No sir.  To the best of our intel, the nets have not been realigned.  However, sir, it is possible that since your escape, there have been moves to prevent you from getting to Corellia."

The nets they were referring to were the gravity well nets - a Trade Federation technology the Republic had acquired before the Federation was essentially robbed of its assets and declared non-existent.  Those nets had been the first piece of the Republic's descent into autocracy, and had been placed in order to police the borders of Republic space.  The Corellian sector had refused to accept the nets, but there were several placed between the two territories.

The gravity well nets pulled any vehicles out of hyperspace, supposedly for inspection and recording purposes.  In reality, their positions had been mapped out, and now most were able to circumvent them, though admittedly, it made the trips significantly longer.

Artemis did not have that kind of time.  But he also knew that even minor changes in the nets locations could cause him to be pulled out of hyperspace prematurely, and back into Republic (or imperial) custody. Thus, it had been decided they would exit hyperspace in the deep space border region, to ensure they wouldn't fall into any traps.

As it turned out, that decision had been prudent.

As the VCX auxiliary fighter slipped out of hyperspace, Artemis was shocked to see not only that the gravity well net location had been moved.  it was accompanied by what amounted to a fleet.

Republic vessels.
And almost twice as many imperial ships, including an interdictor cruiser.

"They let the imperials bring one of those into Republic territory?"
"Half the fleet is made up of imperial ships now.  And it's been increasing ever since you were detained.  Quietly, of course, sir, but needless to say, with you out of the way in the senate, others were taking full advantage."

Their comm suddenly lit up, and they could see a mix of X-wings and TIE fighters approaching from the fleet's location.

"VCX fighter - you are ordered to power down and be scanned"
"We need to get clear of the interdictor and the net platform.  We need to get to Corellia"
"Yes sir"

The pilot dipped down, picking up speed, but the fighters were beginning to close the distance.

"I don't know if we'll get clear in time, sir"
"Well, do your best"

Suddenly, a half dozen vessels appeared out of hyperspace.  All auxiliary, all unmarked.

"Calvary has arrived sir"
Artemis glanced out theviewport as the small vessels engaged the starfighters.
All were Corellian designed freighters, transports, all modulated to carry more weapons, armor, shields.

"I didn't know we had such a robust undergound"
"Oh no sir.  Completely not part of CorSec!"
But the pilot grinned, taking advantage of the distraction so he could keep clearing the gravity well.


"They are not going to make it, are they?"
There were too many fighters, enemy ships.  The distraction was appreciated but ... so many would die just for him?

"They know what they are doing sir.  We need you, alive, free, and on Corellia.  Corellia needs you to prepare for what's coming"

A moment later, Artemis was watching as one of the 'calvary' exploded, just before their vessel again dipped into hyperspace.


Hours later, the vessel again appeared, the streaks of hyperspace giving way to the pin-pointed stars, and Artemis breathed a sigh of relief.

Here, alone in the darkness, he could look out, and he RECOGNIZED the sky.  He could see it, Tallus and Tralus, Nelonia, Selonia ... and of course, brightest of them all, and straight ahead:

"Corellia"
"It's good to be home sir"
"That it is."  He admired the view for only a moment longer before reaching to the comm unit.
"I've got to contact Della Avers.  We have ... a lot to discuss ..."

[Medivh]

Corellia

Deep Space

"How did you escape?"

There was so much urgency in the meeting, so much haste to be made and danger coming ever closer, and yet still, it was that question that those on the Capulet all wanted to know first.

Artemis actually smiled, beamed with pride "CorSec"  Artemis's history as a CorSec agent before taking on more governmental and diplomatic roles meant he had a close connection to Corellia's forces.

"As you know, as an ambassador and senator, I maintained a fairly substantial personal guard on Chandaar.  But CorSec also has a vast intelligence network.  Their ability to work the logistics in a crisis is what makes them the envy of the galaxy.  Once I was arrested, I knew that Chandaar was no longer safe.  Certainly not for force users ..."

Artemis nodded his head at the jedi - young and old - in the group among them "but also Corellians.  CorSec was able to initiate the evacuation of Corellians from the republic capital.  And from what I understand, that has been mostly successful"

His eyes turned to Della who nodded back at him.
"We've had thousands of ships coming into the sector with those leaving Chandaar and other republic worlds"

Artemis nodded but his eyes lingered on Della even as he continued to speak.
"They also succeeded in putting a tracking device on me.  When RSB attempted to move me to a more ... secure location, they were able to put on a daring rescue"

"And high profile, no doubt"
Donovan Atrii frowned.
"It probably made for good propaganda. It wouldn't surprise me if the republic blamed jedi for the escape"
Artemis finally pulled his eyes away from Della to turn to the jedi.
"the op was handled pretty cleanly.  I'm not sure RSB even had working comms.  It also was an embarrassment to them, letting me escape like that, and with remarkably few resources.  But either way, it really doesn't matter.  The republic has sunk so deep, they don't even need propaganda at this point.  They just go ahead and do what they want"

"Speaking of which"
It was Gemma who spoke, but she wasn't looking at Artemis.  She was facing a viewscreen with a newsfeed playing on it.  Everyone turned to watch as the news played.

"Vast protests have broken out across Chandaar after the apparent murder of Kayatt Corinthos by Republic Security Bureau agents." The news played the clip, showing RSB breaking in to Corinthos' apartment, and there she was, shot down.
Then back to the news anchor.
"RSB has refused to comment about the shooting.  Miss Corinthos was a known and outspoken critic of the F.U.R.A and recent Republic actions.  She was also the lone survivor in an attack on her law firm, and was believed to be recovering in the hospital.  Many are now suspecting RSB was behind the attack on the firm as well ..."

Everyone on the ship stared at the screen in silence.
"How could they ..."
"Do they really think the people of Chandaar would allow this?"
"It doesn't even seem real"

"Maybe it's not"

Everyone turned to face Artemis
"You just said RSB was out of control"
"They are - but they wanted scape goats.  Drakos wanted to take me down, take Kayatt down.  He wanted a public trial, a circus where he could show me for a traitor.  The last thing he would want was for us to be martyred."

"Maybe he was so angry about your escape, he got reckless?"

"Maybe"
Artemis was still looking at the screen, frowning.  Even with everything he knew about Laird Drakos, something seemed off about the video, the tactics.  Maybe he was just tired from his own harrowing journey; maybe he felt responsible for the death of Kayatt Corinthos and a trusted Corsec agent.
One thing was certain. The footage would not play well in the Republic capital, even for those who supported FURA.  There would be chaos.  Ripe for the picking.

"Whatever really happened there, we don't have much time.  RSB and the Republic will come looking for me at Corellia.  In fact, they already have a small fleet along our deep space border.  I've spent the better part of my life working to make Corellia free - I have no intention of letting it fall under another tyranical rule, even if it calls itself Republic.  I need to meet with the governor, the commander of the Corellian Defense Force, and the Director of CorSec"

Artemis looked around, before lowering his gaze to the floor.  He had been so caught up in his own trials, he had nearly forgotten.

"I mean Acting Director of CorSec ... how is Veritaas doing?"
"he's stable, but as yet, unconscious.  CorSec is still investigating the attack against him, but he is under heavy security right now."

Artemis nodded, but the room filled with an uncomfortable silence, before Della finally chirped in.

"We'll arrange the meeting.  Here on this ship - that way, nobody will spot you on Corellia itself.  But in the meantime, you probably need some rest. I'll find you some quarters"

***************

A few minutes later, Artemis sat down on the cot, Della gingerly taking a seat beside him.  He had been so grateful to see friends, to see Della ... but the weight of what was coming suddenly seemed to press down on his shoulders.

"I fear we are wrapped in a conspiracy to destroy everything we hold dear."
Della hadn't even given Artemis the update on the whole jedi-prophesy idea yet. That had never really been his thing, the doom and gloom of the famous "four".  Instead, she took his hand in her own.
"We've been through tough scrapes before.  You. me.  But you have always fought for what was right.  You've always come out strong.  if anyone can save Corellia, it's you."

Artemis turned his head to face Della, their eyes meeting, and his own brightening.
"See?  there's that spark in there"
She leaned forward, pressing her lips against his, his own lips reaching out to hers.  She pulled back for just a moment, eyes again locked on his, full of meaning.
They had been too long apart, their sense of duty to Corellia keeping them too far to be able to comfort each other and care and love for each other.  And in a few minutes time they would be again rushing off to save the galaxy.

Their lips came together again, hungry for the few minutes they could share together, alone.

TBC

[Syren]

“I’m so far from my innocence, I’ve forgotten its taste
I’d drag on you but why bother
Your very essence fogs this lonely place
Baby, you draped over the only light that could fill this room
Beautiful in your own way
But drowning the rest to doom.”

-Pumablue 

Corellia

Deep Space

Gemma cannot sleep, rising early and leaving Riley’s side to wander the empty corridors of the Asunder. She can see Corellia beyond the small viewports she passes, distant and gleaming against the darkness of the stars. On the other side of the ship, the sister planets Talus and Tralus along with what remains of the Centerpoint Station. Chills slip across her skin knowing that three of the previous Four all met their ends there. She thought she would feel closer to her sister being here but it does little but serve as a reminder of how her actions led to the creation of the next prophecy cycle. 

Now, she, Dane, and Riley must play to win or die trying.

“I am glad you are here.”

She turns to find Circe Prescott, in the guise of Octavia Valles, standing near the mouth of the operations forum. 

“Here as in alive or our present location?”

“Both. This cannot be easy for you, knowing what you know.” 

“I could say the same about you. As one of the few survivors of the last cycle, I am surprised you can stomach being here after all that was lost. It pains me to know my sister made her last stand out there with no real grasp on the scope of what she was actually fighting for.”

Circe apprises her carefully, sensing a sharper edge to her tone and demeanor. She knows she is one of the last and probably operating on borrowed time. It does not change how she feels about their mission or her purpose within it. 

“Melanie was also burdened with a deeper truth, one that robbed her of her innocence and family. Given this new context, I dare not speculate what you must be feeling. Loss of personal safety and security are difficult to qualify in others. Each experience with trauma is unique but I will tell you that you are not alone. We are here to help you shoulder this burden.”

“I am sure you told her the same,” Gemma says tersely, holding her gaze. “Did she believe you?”

“She sent me away before I was able to find out. What do you think?”

“Debatable but my sister, may she rest in peace, seems like the type to want to believe it so badly that it blinded her to anything outside of what she thought she knew. What the Jedi wrongly believed. The only option in her mind was to eliminate Karen but, in doing so, she set all this in motion. Melanie never dared question it – question them – and look where it got her. She was not in the loop, pun intended, and that, as Dane is so fond of saying, sucks for her. Speaking of siblings, your brother is apparently in a bad way.”

“Garron,” she breathes, alarmed. “Has something happened?”

She gives her the rundown and prevailing theories. Given her predicament as presumed dead and living under a new identity, it is not like Circe can go rushing back to the Corporate Sector to check on him. 

“Dane is trying to get him the help he needs but, if he has been corrupted and-or influenced by a Force user, it may not matter. He will carry out his directive whether he wants to or not and, from the sound of things, that directive may involve murdering my brother. He does stand in the way of fulfilling the prophecy. We all do. Gellar was the first to die last time and there are certain patterns the loop follows. If we can get ahead of them then perhaps we stand a chance.”

Circe pulls her beige robes tightly around her. She has been possessed by the Force as well, many years ago, performing tasks under the thrall of someone else. That haze and confusion is nothing she wants to relive and she certainly would never wish it on anyone else, especially her brother.
 
“Garron is strong and I trust that Dane will guide him through this.” 

“Strong, yes, but strong enough to overcome a dark force driving him forward?”

“I suppose we will see.” 

“It does not end with him, you know. This CorSec medical director. Your pal, Janessa. There are concerning links. I am sorry about Kaytt. I know you were once close.” 

She nods, remembering back to when she, Janessa, Kaytt, and Kinsa were happy together on Chandaar. Each had their respective careers and lives but they always found time to be together. So much has changed over the years, tearing their friendships and lives apart. 

“Thank you,” Circe says softly. “If the theory holds true, it would not be the first time Janessa has been controlled. I suspect her directive in the Republic may be to further reinforce the prejudices behind the FURA, sowing chaos as Senator Soldys suggested. My fear lies not only with what will happen there but to the one friend I have caught in the middle of it all – Kinsa Cavanaugh.” 

“You think Janessa would harm her?”

“Not intentionally no but, as you have speculated, she may do so whether she wants to or not. That all depends on what she was sent there to do. I wish I could intervene but Kinsa believes I am long dead. Revealing myself now may only complicate things. It may even place her in greater danger, considering how Republic leadership felt about me prior to my “death.” I can only hope that her vanity and concern for her image causes a withdraw from Janessa, inadvertently keeping her safe.” 

Gemma turns back to the small viewport, “Janessa would be less of a threat if she were no longer in the game.”

“What are you suggesting, that we kill her arbitrarily? You may have your theories, Gemma, but you have not provided enough evidence to make such a bold leap. Perhaps Garron and Janessa were off together somewhere. Perhaps the RSB did murder Kaytt. You cannot say otherwise with any certainty.” 

Together? Yes. Doing what they claim to have been doing? Gemma does not think so. Just like does not believe the medical director's return and the Director's attack are coincidental. 

“Perhaps not,” she says. “But Garron already tried to kill my brother once. Does that seem like the behavior of someone fresh off holiday? Does it track that Janessa disappeared after Dane asked her to look for him then returned with no memory of that interaction?” 

“No.”

She turns around to face her, “Exactly. You are not naïve, Circe. You have seen this before. These things may not seem related but they are. Our predecessors were foiled by their unfocused reactivity, not that anyone can really blame them. They did not know. We do. If we do not shift our focus then we are doomed to wind up as dead as they are.”

*

Later, when everyone has risen, eaten, and gone about their respective mornings, Riley calls the Senator, Della, Donovan, Circe, and Gemma into the conference room. It is time to put their cards down on the table. To his credit, Artemis hears them out but he does not look like he is in the mood for their shenanigans, not when the Republic’s soul and Corellia’s security hang in the balance. No one takes it well. Master Donovan, predictably, raises ethical issues with all of it but Gemma shuts him down hard. If the Jedi want to help, she tells him bluntly, they can focus on finding the Voss-Ra’s deeper connection to the prophecy. They grapple with the news of Dahlia’s survival but Artemis’ face sinks visibly when Riley and Gemma detail how their fates tie directly to the unfolding events he has spent his life and career trying to prevent. With the Republic crumbling, Dahlia is poised to fulfill the prophecy while Barrett leverages the Empire’s position to retake control of the galaxy under Emperor Schrag’s rule. It is not what they were expecting. 

Actually, it is much worse. 

“One thing is for certain,” Riley says, bringing the attention back to the present. “We cannot stay here. The Asunder is designated a security patrol vessel and we will look mighty suspicious were someone to roll up on us. The way I see it, there are three immediate actions we need to take in order to get ahead of this; stash the Senator, getting our hands on the memory imprint hardware, and secure the superlaser in a way that will actually help Corellia against the Republic.” 

“I appreciate the strategy and thought but it is problematic on many fronts. The presence of the weapon alone will be seen as an act of war.”

“Better than a massacre. And if we can repel them, it will buy us time.” 

Senator Soldys folds his hands together and sets his sights on both him and Gemma. 

“To do what exactly? Prep your troops for a fight the Republic has been picking with us for over a decade while you investigate the origin of a prophecy that may very well be nothing more than a diversion? Della told me about losing the Jedi in Kor Vella, their inability to reach any of the others elsewhere. As far as anyone knows, you all may be the last of them. I am not about to lead our system into a holy war that ends with the creation of yet another sentient technological monster. Even if they do wear your faces.” 

For Artemis, using Gellar genetics for anything is out of the question. They are insane if they believe for a moment that he would help them in this venture. CorSec has the tech but he would not lead Riley to it, not if it meant the possibility of another PHAGE crisis. Gemma is undeterred, leaning forward against the conference table. 

“And we will not be sacrificed for something we do not believe in.” 

“You believe enough to want it stopped. Find another way. However, there are things I am willing to compromise on given the circumstances. Despite the risks, we may be able to make the superlaser work. I know just the people to deliver it to that will have it defensively operational quickly. If there is only one, we need to make our stand with it tactfully.” 

“We can get you more,” Gemma says evenly. “It is not a technology the Republic currently has and my brother happens to have recently acquired a weapons manufacturer. The CSA is hardly discriminatory with their good and services so long as the profits flow.” 

Della sighs, “There are also the other systems Director Veritaas spoke of, Republic worlds that oppose the FURA and would see any attack against Corellia as a rallying cry. The weapon’s show of force along with the threat of losing powerful support across the galaxy may be enough to keep them at bay.” 

“For a time,” Circe says ominously. “But not forever.”

“All we need is a little time. That leaves the issue of what to do with the Senator. I must return to Coronet to see Veritaas but I can throw some credits around for this very worthy cause of saving our people. It would be fairly easy to procure a remote rental property on one of the sisters through a cleverly created LLC. You could have a safe house of sorts to regroup. That is unless you have your own ideas…”

“I am working on it but will keep it in mind.” 

“If you are headed back, you may want to disarm your little friends at CorSec. Those plucky agents are getting awfully close to answers they do not want and irritating me in the process.” 

“Noted,” Riley laughs. 

“What about the rest of the Jedi? They need to keep as low a profile as they can.” 

Gemma’s eyes drift through the opening of the conference room out into the operations forum where they practice under the guidance of Demaris and Taarek. They had come a long way, even in the short time she had been with them. Each have their own contribution and reason for being there. But this is not her doing and Gemma is not their leader. 

“We have uniforms and can remain with Donovan as part of the patrol crew until we know more. It will allow space to investigate the Voss-Ra and mobility to find ways in and out of the system if need be. I must send someone back though, to the Corporate Sector. My brother is exposed with few allies on Etti IV.” 

Master Atrii does not look pleased with this plan, “Is that wise? Separating us may be what they want.”

“With all due respect, if there is an opportunity to bolster our odds on any front, I am going to take it.”

"Even if it comes at a high cost?"

“Any choice we make here comes with risk. You were a soldier before you were a Senator so I know you understand that.”

Once the meeting disbands, Artemis rises from behind the table but stops Riley as he passes.

“You may be right about that but if you use CorSec equipment to attempt to bring yourselves back, you will find out just how much soldier is still left in me. Do not forget that you are talking about replicating the same process used to create Valerie’s murderer. Your grandfather too. Think about what that did to your mother before you and Gemma dive into something you do not fully understand. Whatever lies in the Gellar genes is dangerous, Riley. Do we understand each other?”

Riley swallows hard and nods, “Understood.”







-TBC

[Medivh]

((Nothing like referencing posts from 4.5 years ago, when Mara and Nevylinn first left Corellia for Naboo ...  See bottom of post!)
Hyperspace

Hours past into days, as the freighter traveled silently through the safe embrace of hyperspace.  Well, safe, so long as it didn't run into any gravitational anomalies, artificial or otherwise.  Mara spent but a small portion of the trip calculating the likelihood of that, for no reason other than passing the time.

Of course, she knew that there was always a possibility.  She and Nevylinn had been gone ... months now?  years?  Time seemed to blend in on itself.  By the time they returned, it was possible Corellia would be inside the gravitational nets that encompassed the main territory of the Republic.  Of course, if that were the case, things were more dire than possible.

Most of her time though, Mara was looking after Nevylinn, focusing on her meditation, using the serene light side energy to try to heal her friend.  The wounds had healed, and yet Nevylinn still had not woken.  Mara found that she was driving something dark out of Nevylinn, something more than just the visible wound.  A body scan had not detected any known poision, but there was something there that shouldn't be.  And though Mara had managed to keep it at bay, prevent it from growing, it never quite seemed to shrink either.  Thus, Mara was using her energy just to maintain the status quo.
It was tiresome.  It was lonely.  Mara wished Nevylinn was awake, or Riley was there.  THat there was someone she could talk to, if only to break the monotony of space travel.

Mara had spent so much of her existence on her own, on the run ... maybe one day, she could actually settle down and have a life.

She shook her head.  No. That would never happen.  She knew what she had to do, to defeat Adubell. She knew the price she would have to pay.

But maybe, just maybe, she would be able to share a moment with her friends and family, one moment of happiness, before that day would come.

Corellia

Mara returned to the cockpit as the indicator light flashed on, signaling the end of the journey.  In a flash, the streaks of blue light zipped back into mere pinpoints of light, surrounded by the vastness of space.  A half-dozen or so lights were brighter than the others, spheres of life rather than balls of fire.
Tallis
Tralus
Nelonia
Selonia
and of course, Corellia

Yet even here in Deep Space, here in this place most familiar to her, Mara found a huge difference.

A dozen or so patrol vessels were monitoring, even out this far, and immediately hailed her vessel.
"Unidentified Vessel, Report your designation and purpose"

There was a no-nonsense tone to the call, and Mara knew there would be no sweet talking her way.  Might as well be honest.
Or, mostly honest.

"This is The Refuge.  We have a priority alert, and need to speak with Della Avers and Director Veritaas immediately" Mara realized she wasn't sure who was in charge of what after so much time had passed, but those two names were likely still around.

There was a dead silence on the other end of the comm for a good minute or so before finally a response.
"You are to power down immediately and prepare to be boarded.  You must identify yourself immediately"

Mara was about to give her name and credentials, but remembered that Mara Tacofer, Vice President of CEC, had been declared dead years ago.
"I need to talk to someone in charge.  Tell them ... "
She glanced behind her, out of the cockpit, at Nevylinn behind her
"Tell them I have an injured jedi on board."

Another long pause. Longer than the first.  But then, another signal coming through.
Mara clicked on the video, and there was Jedi Master Donovan Atrii, a grave, serious look on his face.
"Well there is a face I have not seen in some time ..."
Mara also remembered that he had probably seen her look-alike sister more recently than herself.  Probably had even conducted some interrogation while she was away. Suspicion was to be expected.

"Master Atrii!  I have Nevylinn here.  She's injured"
Mara moved aside so the camera could show Nevylinn, lying prone just outside the cockpit.
"Can you verify your identity?"

"The last time we met ..."  Mara's memory flashed to the time right before she and Nevylinn had departed ...

"Nevylinn and I were sparring when we experienced a prophetic vision, about Persephone.  We were preparing to go to Naboo when we learned that Adubell had been pretending to be a jedi, making massive attacks in the Republic.  The three of us decided we had to continue on our mission, regardless."

Atrii nodded his head. "Welcome home, Mara"
"It's good to be home, Master Atrii - but Nevylinn.  She's ... injured.  I'm not sure what's wrong with her.  I'm worried we are running out of time"

Corellia

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"

The words at first had little meaning, or rather, much unknown meaning, much unknown implications  The dark energy that concealed the orange sphere certainly was foreboding.  But as always, too many questions, no answers.

Mara and Nevylinn, since seeing the vision, had spent whatever time they had not not training in the force digging into those words.  The first clue, of course, was the name - Persephone.  Mara knew of the Persephonea Prophesy, especially from her time with Karen. She knew of the hieroglyphics in the basement of the Winton Byss home and Alexander's obsession with the prophesy. Or rather, his manipulation of the prophesy to suit his own needs, the GURI Project.  Medivh had helped explain that.
If Persephonea and Persephone were actually connected, related, then the four would refer to THE FOUR - Winton, Masterton, Gellar, Patten.  That was an easy enough connection to make.  The fight repeating itself, that also made sense - it seemed like after the LAST four had died, there were a new four, and certainly, if suspicions turned out to be true, Dahlia was the dark and Gemma was the light.  Mara of course pointed out to Nevylinn that Karen hadn't really been dark, something they disagreed upon vehemently.

But what did it mean "bound by blood" and why did it call them the "offspring" of Persephone?  Who was Persephone?

That led to another, entire rabbit hole.  Mara tried digging through old Corellian archives. Maybe Persephone was an ancestor of Riley?  No such luck.  In fact, as it turned out, Kyrie Patten's great great grandmother was an adopted orphan, whose last name or planet of origin couldn't be traced.  Her first name though, was Kimber, the name from which Riley's mother apparently was named (there were two other Kimber's in the Patten line).

Mara then spent hours hacking in to the CSA lineage database.  Even for her, it was hard. CSA treasurered their ancestry as a point of pride and for positions of power.  Hours of searching found that Rutherford Gellar's great, great grandfather had married a girl named Valerie Dawning. It was hard to imagine two families intertwining at all - no doubt the marriage had business benefits.  Mara originally kept looking further up the chain, but then came across an error in the database.  Valerie Dawning's records had been changed.  It took more hours of prying to find out she was not actually the birth child of the Dawning family.  She too was an orphan, brought in from an unknown world, and within just a few months of Kimber-orphan arriving on Corellia.

Coincidence?

Thyferra was unable to provide ancestry on the Masterton's, so Mara then turned to the Wintons.  A proud, wealthy family, going back generations.  Mara expected to find the same thing.  That at some point back, an unknown orphan married in to the family.  It was harder - the Winton's were power players on Naboo, which at the moment, was inaccessible because of its location in the southern galaxy, and also on Coruscant, which of course, no longer existed.  Mara struck dead end after dead end.

She turned to another source though, Professor Braithwaite's research.  She remembered reading his article, the enzyme he found.  Reading over his work again, she was startled with her new perspective. In four families - Winton, Gellar, Masterton, Patten. A recessive trait, but rare, and in the four families.

She remembered how she thought it seemed too much of a coincidence when she first read the research.  Now she was almost certain.

Mara stepped away from the computer and turned to Nevylinn who was conducting her own research.

"Nevylinn - I think they might be related."

Nevylinn glanced up.

"Related?  what do you mean?"

"I mean, I think that the four - I think that the four are cousins.  It's just a theory right now, but the way the families are intertwined, the way the four families have shared enzymes that no one else does, seemingly.  I've been trying to trace the lineage, of Riley, of the Gellars.  I was able to go back quite a few generations, but then there's a glitch.  Corellia and the Corporate Sector pride themselves on ancestry databases, but both have someone marry into the family with no known origin.  They were orphans, at the same time.  And when I checked the galactic orphanage databases, there's no record of either.  It's a mystery I haven't been able to trace Masterton or Winton back yet, but I bet it will lead the same way.

Nevylinn - what if the prophesy isn't couching its words in metaphor.  What if Riley, Gemma, Dane, and Dahlia are all cousins?  What if they are actually descendants - offspring - of a single, common individual -"

"Persephone ..."

"Exactly"

Nevylinn shook her head, "I don't know how we could know for sure.  We can find records of Alexander Winton, maybe even his parents, but further back then that, most of the records would have been destroyed when Coruscant was destroyed."

"I was thinking we need to try another route - we need to follow the prophesy.  The warning couldn't have come from nowhere. I think someone is trying to warn us, to help us maybe"
"But who? It's not any of the jedi I know.  The jedi had never even heard of the Persephonea Prophesy until it was brought to us by Monica Greyson"
"Exactly.  I think we need to find out WHY Monica Greyson had the prophesy. I've decided, I don't believe in coincidences.  How did the prohet wind up with a Winton?"
"Fate?"
"Maybe -but fate doesn't just vanish in thin air.  I think we need to get to Naboo - I know, it's dangerous now, but we have to - I think that's where we will find answers"

Nevylinn stood silent for a moment before nodding rising from her seat and beginning to follow Mara out.  Suddenly, she clutched her chest.

"Mara!"

Mara turned,
"What is it?"
Nevylinn was breathing heavy, "I have a feeling - a bad feeling.  It's my sister - it's Adubell ... she's doing something. Something ... terrible"

TBC

Hyperspace

It had been immediately apparent what Adubell had done, and more importantly, the consequences of her actions.  Dressing as and acting like a jedi - and not just any jedi, but Nevylinn in particular - meant everything she was doing on Chandaar was being blamed on the jedi.  No longer was it just insinuation, conspiracy theory, paranoia.  There was footage of a JEDI killing civilians and security officers.  Whatever lapses existed in the Force User Registration Act would be seen as weaknesses that needed to be addressed, immediately.

Nevylinn, Donovan Atrii and Mara debated how to respond.  Prepare a statement with Nevylinn disavowing the attacks, and showing they were two different people?  At best, it wouldn't be believed. At worst, it would reveal the jedi location and lead to calls for arrest and possibly even ousting Corellia from the Republic for what amounted to acts of treason.  It was decided they would not respond - they would focus on defeating Adubell, and deal with the damage she caused later.  It was no easy thing to do, sitting back and doing NOTHING.  The initial attack by Adubell in downtown Chandaar had left nearly two dozen dead, dozens wounded, and several light artillary pieces, brought in to stop her, crumpled into scrap metal.  Then, additional attacks occurred.  Several politicians (mostly those allied with Corellia, Mara noted) were found in their offices with what coroners immediately identified as lightsaber wounds to their necks, chests, arms.  Security camera footage revealed the rest of the details, as the as yet unidentified 'jedi' snuck past security, assaulted and killed, and then disappeared into the shadows.  Several attacks were more public - where security caught her at the gate when she tripped the force-sensitivity tests.  As security would surround her, she would bring out her lightsaber, slicing down a half dozen, using the Force to eliminate another few and then turning and fleeing before reinforcements could arrive.

As Mara and Nevylinn began planning their trip into the dangerous southern galaxy, they watched as the news cycle from Chandaar turned more and more against the jedi, while simulataneously, discussing how great the new peace accord with the Empire was, with their added support on the southern border.

All this, on top of news from the Corporate Sector that both Rutherford Gellar and Celeste Masterton were dead, leaving three of "The Four" without parental guidance.

Mara and Nevylinn had their own conspiracy theories now.

Naboo was far in the outerrim of the southern galaxy, and the trip in hyperspace would take not just days but weeks.

Through the assistance of the governor, they managed to acquire a long-range freighter with decent speed and shielding, though weak on weaponry, something that would get them where they needed to go, so long as they didn't encounter too many obstacles.

The cargo area had the added benefit of space, allowing Mara and Nevylinn to continue training.
Nevylinn was guiding Mara on the completiion of her rather intricate lightsaber, noting the importance of its special specifications and circuitry, and the risks associated with it.

Mara's Mestarian crystal was glowing brightly as she sat in front of it, the pieces of her saber hovering in a line in front of her.  The crystal was more powerful than it had been when Mara first found it, Mara infusing it with the Force, now to the point where it was stable in retaining that connection, that power.  She had to be careful - too much energy, it would shatter, and Mestarian crystals were in short supply.

"You, the crystal, and the other components of the lightsaber - they are all one entity.  They are connected to you, and you to them.  Your lightsaber is an extension of who you are. It's shape and formation a reflection of your values."

Minute by minute, pieces drew closer together, wires snaked through ports, coming together, closing in.

It was painstaking, but in a way, Mara had it easier than others.  She could self-repair mechanical pieces, and like Nevylinn said, this was just another piece of her.  She could see the connections that needed to be made far in advance, allowing her to navigate more easily through the device.

Finally, the encasement - a thin metal shaft made of lightsaber resistant phrik alloy, with a rubber-grated handle for easy gripping. The blade energy channels were resistant to short-outs caused by cortosis power surge, and the power cell was a more durable power cell, the field conductor and inert power insulator were adjusted as well so as to maintain the containment of the power source.  Near the magnetic stabilizing ring, an additional ring of conductive material was added and software chips. By the blade emitter shroud was a pulse-activator that would be triggered by coming into contact with cortosis, causing a pulse of energy transmitting the contents of the software chip - the virus meant to destroy Adubell.

When it was complete, Mara opened her eyes and took grasp of the saber, igniting it swinging it for good measure before leaping into the air.  The blade was a grayish-color, its light filling the small area.  Mara jumped around for several minutes, testing its weight and balance, and landing in front of Nevylinn, who nodded solemnly.

"It is ready"

"But I'm not.  Adubell would still best me in a one-on-one fight"

"Then we will keep practicing. And do what we can to make sure it is not a one-on-one fight. There are two of us. We must defeat Adubell together"

[Syren]

“I asked the past if nothing lasts why don’t you show me?
But I’m afraid to scare myself
‘Cause when there’s love, there is loss
And they hang on the cross
With another tale to tell
And more wishes for the well.”

-LP

Corellia

Master Donovan Atrii gathers the crew in the conference hall for a briefing on their situation and the arrival of unexpected but welcome guests.

There is a ripple through them. Something almost tangible. And something…else as well. The glimmer of fear through uneasy ambiguity. Gemma darkens as she sees Demaris brighten at the news as if the mere presence of the wayward Jedi Master somehow proves a point she was trying to make. That they had not been abandoned but tested. She can only hope they have returned with something conclusive to act on, some way to stop what has already been set in motion.

“Patten is right,” the Senator says. “We need to move. This many high-profile targets exposed will only complicate matters.”

Riley is conflicted, elation giving way to uncertainty. His aunt Mara came back to him. He was never quite sure he would see her again. He steeled himself against the possibility, waiting for the day he received the news she had died for real. Perhaps she discovered something useful in her travels, insight into the origins and motives of the duplicates that wore her face. He reflects on the last time he saw it. The stark reality that she is the only family he has ever known settling over him. Those unclarified ties outweighed by the bond they share. When Mara left, he was but a boy. Now, he is a young man with his own adventures to tell. He remembers when it was just he and Mara on The Wheel. Simpler times, before he knew who he really was and what that meant. Age and experience have only helped him better understand why she went to such considerable lengths to protect him even though it was not enough. He is a Patten. One of The Four. Destined to play a role in another cycle until someone gets it right. Well, the Voss-Ra’s version of right. Destiny does not have to spell disaster and doom if they work the angles, exploring the surface of the prophecy looking for cracks. Riley was the loophole of the last cycle – the one that survived.

A Patten won that round; it just wasn’t Kimber.

“I know a place.”

They would meet on the far side of Corellia at an old CorSec safehouse. It was one Director Veritaas allowed them to stage Jedi in before finding transport off-world after the Patten Ranch was destroyed. The Jedi who died on the platform in Kor Vella was the last to come through there. Shuddering at the memory of their loss, Atrii transmits the coordinates to Mara before disbanding the group. He sends a medical droid, just in case. He does not know what ails Nevylinn but knows he cannot lose her. He, too, has been on his own for some time now. Circe catches his eye before following Della back to her shuttle, a familiar dull ache spreading across his chest. Loving her may cost them both and, although she seldom speaks of those times, he has often wondered if she left someone she loved when Melanie Masterton chose to spare her the horrendous outcomes of The Battle of Centerpoint. Would she have chosen differently if she knew it would be the last time?

The safehouse is among stunning sawtooth cliffs that overlook a raging sea. They leave the Asunder in orbit, within safe distance if Master Atrii, operating as CorSec Agent Cale Theon, must quickly return. The crew settles into the structure. It is modest and unassuming, a quaint hideaway for a fisher that opens into a spacious yet sparsely decorated vault beneath the sturdy rock. The Chiss-Mandalorian (Chiss-dalorian?) stands a silent sentry while the Jedi explore the new space. The youngest, a Miralukan, runs a small hand over the rock.

“We are safe here?”

Atrii nods, knowing she can sense the gesture, “We fight to make it safer. For all of us.”

The tight smile beneath her hood strikes something in him but it is time to go. While Della monitors for the incoming vessel, Atrii and Cirque take the Capulet and deliver the weapon to the Senator’s contact. It is too large an advantage to waste on principle, not with the Republic likely coming right for them – after, of course – they get out of their own way.

“Riley,” Della says, glancing up from the screen. “They are here.”

He takes Gemma’s hand and they emerge into the salty air, her golden curls caught in the stiff coastal breeze. As the Refuge descends toward them, Riley holds his breath in anticipation.







-TBC

[Medivh]

((had to rewrite my post after computer froze up.  Also, it's probably the first time in 3 years our characters are actually interacting directly with each other, conversationally, so I'm a little rusty))

Corellia

Mara navigates the Refuge into Corellia's atmosphere, following the coordinates that had been transmitted, glancing back occasionally at Nevylinn who still lay unconscious behind the cockpit.  Nevylinn's breathing was steady but shallow and she had a sheen of sweat on her pale skin.

The ship dipped beneath the clouds and coasted over the ocean, the spray of the sea licking the bottom of the ship as they flew toward the cliffs off in the distance.  At first, the landing pad could not be seen, but Mara maneuvered the ship around one cliff that jutted out particularly far, and then there it was - a small open landing spot, large enough to accomodate maybe two vessels the size of the the Refuge.  A small entrance seemed embedded in the rocky wall face, and from there, Mara could see two figures emerging, a young man and woman.

The man she immediately recognized, and she sighed out a soft whisper
"Riley"
It was a bittersweet moment - grateful to again see the boy she cared for, her family, and yet sad to see how much she had missed. He had been a boy still, a teenager when she went off on her mission, and here he was, a man in his own right.  That he was holding the hand of his companion did not escape her gaze either.

The ship touched down, and Mara hurried down the ramp, coming to an abrupt stop a few feet from where Riley and Gemma were standing.  Again, she spoke his name aloud, the single word filled with an emotion she could hardly understand.
"Riley"
"Aunt Mara"
Then a silence, deep and serene, despite the sounds of the nearby ocean.  Mara and Riley were connected in a way that only family could be, and though she longer to hug him, at that moment it was the shared silence that best expressed her feelings.  Riley was Mara's home, he was her whole world.  And after years separated by both danger and distance, they were together again.

Riley glanced down first, noticing the blaster-marks on Mara's clothes
"Aunt Mara, are you hurt?"
Mara glanced down, then back up at Riley, shaking her head.

"I'm fine - but Nevylinn ..."  she glanced back at the ship

"Her wounds have healed, but she isn't getting any better.  I don't know what's happening.  I was hoping that Master Atrii, or one of the jedi could help"

At that, Mara's gaze turned back, first to Riley, then to Gemma, who spoke up

"Perhaps I can help?"

Now Mara recognized the woman, who she had last seen when she was still a teenage daughter of Rutherford Geller.

"Gemma Masterton - I hardly recognized you.  I had heard you were dead"

"I had heard the same about you"

Fair point.

"I'm glad to see that you and Riley have ..."

Mara's gaze looked down at their hands, still coupled together

"remained close.  I was sorry to hear about your parents."

Gemma, no doubt looking to avoid any protective inquisition about her relationship, nodded her head to the ship.

"Master Atrii is taking care of a short errand but will return soon.  In the meantime, I believe I can examine Nevylinn, see if I can figure out what's wrong with her"

Without accepting an answer, Gemma took a glance over at Riley, then, with the medical droid by her side, moved quickly toward the ship to where Nevylinn lay.  Mara watched her for a moment before turning to Riley, a thin smirk on her face.

"So ... Gemma Masterton?"

"Be nice to her, Aunt Mara"

"Oh?"

Riley's gaze followed Gemma as she disappeared into the ship.

"I love her, Aunt Mara"

"Have you told her that?"  The two looked at each other, and Mara's face turned serious.  "If you haven't, you had best do it soon.  There are dangers coming, far too great, and you and Gemma are targets-"

"-We know-"

"and love is a thing you need to share before it's lost"

Mara took Riley by the shoulders, staring into his face.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you."

And then, finally, she pulled him close, wrapping her arms tightly around him.  He was everything to her, and even though he didn't know it yet, she knew she was preparing to make the ultimate sacrifice for him.  So that he could live and love.

That Gemma better be worth it

TBC

[Medivh]

Corellia

Gemma looked down at Nevylinn.  With worry.  With pity.  With disdain.

You thought the jedi code would save you.

Gemma scoffed as she kneeled down.  Nevylinn was one of the jedi who had tried keeping secrets, and look where it got them?  The younger force users were abandoned, their lives in danger, and for what?  The jedi were no closer to fixing everything that was broken. And even the most experienced among them were dying.

Was it worth it?

Gemma waved a hand over Nevylinn, closing her eyes as she drew in the Force.  Her hand slowed over the wound and she placed her hand directly on the spot where the fresh scar stood.

Gemma gasped as she was suddenly flooded with an image, an orb of blinding light, but a thin trail of black smoke curling up from it, spreading, slowly growing as it branched out, crawling into the abyss surrounding the orb.

She pulled her hand away, opening her eyes and looking down at Nevylinn with new concern, just as Mara and Riley reentered the ship from behind.

"Did you find something"

Gemma turned to Mara, nodding her head.

"It's like nothing I've ever seen before.  It's like a poison, but it's almost like it has a mind of its own, its own sentience.  Tell me, what happened?"

Mara relayed to Gemma and Riley their flight across the bridge, being chased by the Voss Ra, and how Nevylinn had been shot, careful to ignore any discussion of her own use of the Force in the discussion.

"I was able to heal he wound, but ..."

"That's because it's not the blaster bolt that caused the most danger.  When they fired at Nevylinn, they implanted something within her.  Something deadly.  And you can't just heal that kind of thing away.  Whatever it is inside her, we need to go inside and destroy it"

"Nevylinn would say that the light side doesn't have the power to destroy"

Gemma's face turned sour as she frowned.

"Well Nevylinn is a self-righteous, condescending purist whose going to die if we follow her beliefs."

Mara raised an eyebrow and Gemma put a hand to her mouth.  Maybe not the best way to try to impress the guardian of your love interest.

"Um ...  I think we need someone more powerful to take a look at her.  Let's have Master Atrii look at her"

"Doesn't Master Atrii hold by the same - how did you word it - self-righteous, condescending purist views as Nevylinn?"

Gemma's face actually turned red, but she covered it as she rose from where she had been kneeling beside Nevylinn.

"Master Atrii, I think, has become more pragmatic as of late.  At least I hope so.  Come, I think he might be back"

Gemma glanced a Riley as she quickly exited, and Riley gave an annoyed look at Mara, who offered a sarcastic smile in response.  Riley shook his head, glancing down at Nevylinn before back up at Mara.

"You never said what you were actually doing on Empress Teta?"

"We were searching for a lost, powerful item.  Called the Etheralis.  Or a piece of it, at least.  And unfortunately, Adubell got it before we did.  She's gotten stronger, more cunning, more ruthless.  And stopping her is going to require ... a lot of sacrifice"

Mara began to follow , but Riley put a hand on her elbow.
"What do you mean, sacrifice?"
"I'll tell you later - one life-threatening emergency at a time. Please"

TBC

[Syren]

“I think I’m getting away with it
Buy into being divine
I think I’m holding the stage with it
Whole only half of the time.”

-Morgxn

Corellia

Outside, Gemma releases a slow breath through her mouth.
 
She is mildly embarrassed she shot off in front of Riley’s aunt, someone she is supposed to want to impress. Mara is, after all, the only family he has. Instead, she allowed her qualms about the Jedi ways and resentment over their handling of galactic events to cloud her judgment. Perhaps Demaris was not so far off in assessing her abandonment trigger. Nevylinn may be a convenient target for her frustration but now is not the time. She reaches for calm through the Force, allowing the steady sea breeze curling off the cliffs to extinguish her anger.

Riley emerges from the ship with a tight expression which puts her on alert.

“What is it? Oh no, does she hate me now? I blew it, didn't I?”

“What? No. Well, uh. Not entirely. It’s just…something you said on Hesperidium.”

“I said a lot of things on Hesperidium.”

“Right but this was about the Inquisitor. Defeating them. You said we could not do it without something.”

She recalls the vision, all the bodies lodged in the sand, a hand gripping her leg, a pale blue mouth, dripping with ocean water, gurgling out a warning.

“The Etheralis.”

“Yes.”

“I do not see how that has to do with-”

“That is what my aunt and Nevylinn were searching for on Empress Teta.”

Gemma stiffens as threads of their respective plots begin to connect in a meaningful way. The images and words had faded to the back of her memory as new and more terrifying threats came to light. Their contingency plan had taken precedence but now it seems the warning had more significance than she originally thought.

Mara appears behind Riley, now staring at her intently, “You have heard this before.”

“Yes.”

“How,” she asks, deathly serious. “How do you know this name?”

“Riley’s father told me - warned me actually - in a vision I had.”

“His father?”

“Navris. Mod Navris. He was murdered there, in the Bolerathon Tower, along with many others. Their souls were trapped, tied to the tower through some mystical forces. It is a long story. The Four of us were able to free them but in a vision, he spoke to me and told me we could not defeat it without the Etheralis. At the time, I thought he was referring to our attacker, an Imperial Inquisitor, which we believed to have died in the tower with Dahlia but, as we came to discover, this was not the case. Wait, how did you know of it and why were you searching for it on Empress Teta?”

The Capulet crests over the cliffs, circling around to land in the patchy grasslands further inland. They had delivered the payload, the superlaser now in the hands of Corellia's military. Mara’s face is a neutral mask, revealing nothing of her intentions or motivations. The revelation is certainly intriguing, definitely worth exploring, but it would have to wait.

“Later. Nevylinn needs Master Atrii’s help now.”









-TBC

[Medivh]

Corellia



Donovan Atrii walked briskly through the grass from his own vessel toward where Mara, Riley and Gemma were waiting outside of The Refuge.  Gemma was the first to speak.

"It looks like Nevylinn has been infected with some type of sentient poison"
"A parasite?"
Gemma nodded
"Like that - but how it got into her, the way it is spreading.   It's not quite like any parasite I've ever seen."

Atrii looked from Gemma to Mara.
"What happened?"
"We were on Empress Teta - or rather, under Empress Teta.  They have a massive temple-like structure underground where we were looking for an artifact.  The etheralis.  But the Voss Ra were there, in large numbers.  We had to flee, and Nevylinn was wearing out.  We were caught at a chokepoint, and just as we were about to escape, one of the monsters fired a shot at her from a distance.
I was able to heal the wound - or the wound that I saw.  But she didn't get better. She didn't recover"

That was the short version of a longer, much longer story, and Mara was not going into her philosophical debate about the dark side, the light side, and right and wrong.  Neither the one she'd had with Nevylinn or the one she had been having with herself during the long trip home.

Atrii nodded, continuing past them to the ship.  He reached Nevylinn and kneeled down by her side, running his hands over the air space above her for several minutes, closing his eyes and frowning deeply.

"I can see what Gemma meant - much like a parasite.  Whatever weapon was used to fire on Nevylinn was unique.  And what's worse, this parasite clearly has an affinity toward Force users.  It was a weapon created to target the jedi.  In trying to heal her, I worry it will make things worse"

Donovan opened his eyes and looked up at Mara.

"Nevylinn told me she was working with you on expanding your skills in the Force.  But you had some skill before ever meeting Nevylinn, isn't that true? There is more to your power than you are letting on"

"What does it matter?"
"Because when the Voss Ra struck Nevylinn, they knew that the jedi would use the light side of the force to heal her.  A stray shot rarely would kill a jedi, even one who was weakened.  But this looks like it is destroying her from the inside out, feeding off of the light-side energy that flows through her.  The light side of the force won't be able to stop this. I need your help."

"She told me that only the light side can heal"

"And there is truth to that.  But this will require more than just healing.  This will require a more destructive side of the force, a side that you are more versed in than I"

The look Donovan gave Mara was some mix of thoughtful and accusatory, Mara's voice dropping slightly.

"Did she tell you?"

Donovan just remained silent.  Gemma, for her part, was looking back and forth between them, a look of bewilderment on her face.  Riley's aunt was a force user?  She had skills in the light side and dark side of the force?  She glanced at Riley who looked confused as well, then turned back to Master Atrii.
"What are you talking about?"

Mara's voice went up now, insistent, panicked, and not just a little bit angry.
"Did she tell you?"
Mara had trusted Nevylinn with her secret, about what she was, what she was capable of, her history.  Had Nevylinn broken her trust?

"I know who it was you trained with before Nevylinn.  I know that it wasn't the light-side of the force that you learned first"

"What the hell are you talking about?"
It wasn't clear who was angrier at the moment - Mara for feeling betrayed by Nevylinn, or Gemma, for again, being kept out of the loop by the supposed leaders of the jedi order.

Donovan wasn't looking at Gemma, his eyes still on Mara, but he answered the question.

"Mara was first trained in the ways of the force by a dark side user named Darth Kyja"

Gemma shook her head, exasperated.
"That name doesn't mean anything to me - who the hell is that?"

"That would be Dahlia Winton's older sister, Karen."

TBC

[Syren]

“In a different life
I was feeling cool
I was in the clouds
Now I’m on my way down
I’ve been on my way down.”

-Dreamer Boy

Corellia

Surface

And there it is.
 
It always comes back to a Winton. In this case, Karen; the more stable but no less formidable or misguided Winton. It seems Mara has been a busy gal. Not only is she apparently Force-sensitive but she studied under a Sith who was the protégé of the former Emperor. The worst part is that Nevylinn knew this and traipsed off on a quest with her anyway. She even apparently condoned it while judging Gemma for her more balanced approach to the Force. Hypocrites! And inconsistent ones at that. She would love to hear the justification on that. Surely it would not be as pious and pitiful as she imagines. 

“Is that true?”

Mara holds her gaze and maintains a glacially serious expression. 

“It is.”

It’s the matter-of-factness for her.

Donovan, on the other hand, considers this conformation carefully, gauging the emotions rippling across the group. Unbelievable. Gemma has to clamp down on the righteous fury rising within her. Everything she thought about the Jedi was true. They are the absolute worst! She resists the urge to summon Demaris out of their cliffside hideaway for the pleasure of dismantling her entire belief system. But what good would that do them now? Not a damn thing. The spiteful action would only reflect poorly on her and she will not have them turn this around like they always do. Not after everything that has happened, everything they have endured up to this point.

Gemma’s eyes inevitably shift to Riley. How could he not have known this? Mara raised him. They were always together when he was young, according to his telling, keeping him close. He knows Gemma well enough by now that he takes a supportive step toward her but she is already leaning away. Mostly because it brings up another series of unsettling questions in a seemingly endless string of unsettling events. If Mara trained under Karen, what role did she play in the prophecy? She must be part of the last cycle but in what capacity and what impact does that have on this one? On all of them? Seems like an awfully potent variable for the Voss-Ra to leave unaccounted for.  
 
The tension among them is palpable and Riley jumps in to diffuse it in earnest.

“I would hate for this to detract from the issue at hand. Master Nevylinn is our focus here. Aunt Mara, if there is a way for you to save her then you must.”

“No,” Gemma says as evenly as possible. “We need answers first.”

“What is it you want to know, Gemma?”

It is a loaded question, one full of barbed truths that should have been disclosed much sooner. How long has she known about the Etheralis? This artifact Riley's father whispered to her from beyond the grave. Her mind spins dangerously close to the hopelessness she felt back on Rakata Prime, residual emptiness that this all goes so far beyond her that nothing they say or do will stop its advance over their lives and futures. She contemplates what she knows – this is Riley’s aunt, yes, but there is a void where the rest of her history should be, what she was doing before she somehow wound up with the infant loophole that started a new cycle of the prophecy - and from that inconclusive backstory comes her sharply framed inquiry.

“Who are you really?”









-TBC

[Medivh]

Corellia

Surface


“Who are you really?”

A loaded question if Mara had ever heard one. Not to mention a question Mara had asked herself endlessly.  

But Gemma's self-righteous indignation, her sense of entitlement to answers irked Mara.  Nevylinn was going to die, but no, apparently Gemma had to be satisfied with the truth first.  Whatever Gemma might have thought about her, Nevylinn, the jedi, or well, anything, she needed to get her priorities straight.

Mara's gaze at Gemma was stern and disapproving as she answered, her voice steely as she spoke.

"What you need to know, Ms. Masterton, is that I am the one who helped deliver Riley.  I saved his life and raised him from infancy.  And one of the things I taught him, above all else, is to care for others; to put others needs before his own, no matter what he might think or deserve.  To not let petty complaints get in the way of what matters.  I taught him those lessons because that's what he would have learned from his mother; from his father; had they been alive.  I'm glad to see that his priorities are still straight."

As for answers, Ms. Masterton - I'll give them to you when the time is right.  But right now, I'm going to do everything I can to save Nevylinn.  And if you have a problem with that, you are free to leave my ship."

Mara couldn't read Gemma's expression - probably some mix between shock at the rebuke and her own simmering anger.  Regardless, Gemma, for the moment, remained silent.  Riley, for his part, was blushing from embarrassment.  He felt caught in the middle in a very, very uncomfortable way.  So much for them getting along ...

Mara turned now to Donovan Atrii, her tone no softer.

"You know what I need to do?"

He nodded his head.

"You need to reach in with the force, and burn out the parasite.  It will be grueling, painful, and risky.  You may need to heal as you destroy, slowing your progress.  And there is no guarantee it will work.  But it is only your ... unique characteristics... that will enable you to do this, without the risks that either I - or Gemma have."

"You trust me to do this?"

"I have more faith in you, Mara, than you probably have in yourself.  I don't understand how it all works.  How you -"  He stopped himself, glancing at the others before turning back to her. "- how you have the abilities you do.  But I know you have them, that your intentions are honorable, and that Nevylinn trusted you with her life.  I believe you can save her."

Mara did not answer that, instead turning her attention to Nevylinn, who still lay, pale and unconscious before her.

Taking a moment to compose herself, Mara lay her hands down over the wound, closing her eyes, and reaching out with the force.

-TBC

[Syren]

“Too much talking around
How’d this happen?
Elephant in the room but we’re still dancing.”

-Rochelle Jordan

Corellia

Surface

As Mara works on Nevylinn, hands held out over her with a low humming in the air, Riley catches Gemma’s eye and nods toward the ramp. They excuse themselves but he waits until they are out near the edge of the cliffs before he speaks. He is less angry than confused. The shift in her has not been subtle and started to freak him out.

“What was that all about?”

She turns, trails of golden curls pulled across her face from the constant ocean breeze, “You know what.”

“I know you have qualms with the Jedi and those feelings are completely valid but this is someone’s life we are talking about here. Nevylinn’s life. Despite how you feel about her, I thought that was something you still valued above satisfying your own curiosity or settling scores. I thought you were trying to make a good impression with literally the only family I have left but instead you decided to be both accusatory and rude which is not like you.”

Gemma gauges him carefully. His earnestness and altruism are extremely attractive but, like Melanie and Kimber before them, it can so easily cross into idealistic naïveté. Her exchange with Mara lacked decorum and discounted his feelings. She is not blind to that but there is something about Mara that does not settle well with her. Love tempers the anger roiling beneath the surface and she is careful not to sound like she is personally attacking him.

They are on the same side.

“We can argue the semantics of direct versus rude another time. I know she is your family, your only family, and I am not trying to diminish that but she is hiding something, Riley. From you. From us. What she views as a petty complaint is actually a huge deal and could determine the outcome of our increasingly perilous situation. That means whether we live or die. She trained with a Winton and both Donovan and Nevylinn knew this and withheld it, not to mention whatever he kept alluding to back there as if we would miss it.”

“You are suspicious of her time with a known Sith but that incantation you used back on Hesperidium was not exactly a Jedi hymn, was it?”

“Riley-”

“Was it?”

“No,” she admits evenly. “But it freed your father’s soul from that dreadful place so he could move on to something better. To be at peace in the afterlife or wherever it is we go when we die.”

“That is not the point, Gemma. You go on and on about how there should be more balance, that only the absolutes lead to ruin, but you cast judgment on Mara because she has mastered this? If anything, I thought the knowledge, shocking as it may be, would endear you to her. Not cause further conflict.”

“What are you saying?”

He sighs, “That I am worried about you. Extremely worried. The resistance to the traditional Jedi ways and teachings is one thing but your rebellion against everything they stand for is pushing you in an entirely different direction, one I am not really sure you realize you are headed.”

“Goodness. You sound like Demaris.”

“Is she wrong? We both care about you and that last thing anyone wants is for this rage to consume you entirely. That is not going to help our outcome either, you know.”

“I think you put way too much faith in others.”

“Maybe I do not think you put enough. I love you but this means nothing if we turn on each other. Division will only lead to their victory and we are not about to do my mother or your sister dirty like that because we can't see past our own hang-ups. Work with me, Gem.”

“I am trying!"

Riley scrunches his face, “Are you though?”

“Our fates are not something I can just shrug off.”

“No one is asking you to. Whatever it is that my aunt has discovered or knows, she will tell us after we make sure Nevylinn is okay. I am a part of this stupid prophecy too and I am not exactly keen on repeating the insane body count of the last round. We need to make sure as many people make it out of this alive as we can.”

“Agreed. I am sorry, Riley. I’m just-”

“Coming off the rails with anxiety and fear? Yeah, I know, me too, but I make it look, like, so adorable.”

She laughs as his com bleeps. It’s Cassidy. Like a good friend, he had given him a bit of space but there was only so long he could put off engaging with him. Not with the Director lying comatose in the hospital and a grip of exploded Jedi kids. Riley brings the device closer to his face and activates it.

“Hey, Cass.”

“Riley, welcome home. Where are you?”

“Spiritual sojourn on the coast. What’s up?”

“We need to talk.”

The tone is trying to remain friendly but there is an official intonation that has crept in now that he is officially a CorSec agent. And he can’t blame them. He and Sixta have duties to uphold and the swirling suspicion around current events on and around Corellia does kind of point to him as a common thread. He is not going to be able to keep them at bay forever. He owes Veritaas a visit after everything he has done for him. He deserves justice for what has been done to him. Riley would make this right.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he says and clicks off.

Gemma stares into his face and, while the intensity of his feelings for her blur the edges of his perceptions, he meant what he said. She is slipping toward something seriously bad. He wants to believe that he can pull her back from that ledge but it is starting to sound more like wishful thinking in his head. Both he and Gemma want the same things but would she be willing to go farther than he is to get it? What is the point of saving their lives if they lose their souls in the process? The thought scares him to death but he reaches out a hand and she takes it. Together, they return to the ship.

They are on the same side. Right?









-TBC

[Medivh]

(apologize both for the delay in post, and for the sleep-deprived, stream-of-consciousness that is Mara's experience)

Corellia
Surface

Mara's eyes were closed. 

Or, to be more technically correct, Mara's optical sensors, designed to look like natural, human eyes, were closed.  But Mara's body had sensors spread all over, feeding her processors external inputs, allowing her to interpret her senses in much the same way a human did.  Better than a human, under normal circumstances.
The Force too was like a sensor, one that allowed Mara to receive data and interpret it.  The Force, of course, was two ways - she could also send out responses, have the Force respond to her commands (in much the same way she controlled her own motor functions).  Mara remembered her training with Karen and with Nevylinn, both discussing the ideas of focusing and concentration, two very, very human human words on the human perspective of the Force.  Mara understood what it meant when humans said 'concentrate' and 'focus' - it was the idea of reducing external stimuli so that one can turn their attention more greatly on the inputs that remain.
In her previous working with the Force - in meditation, in practice, in actual combat - Mara had only partially done that, shutting down only a few of her inputs.  She, after all, was not human. She could 'focus' on far more than a human, and so could utilize the Force even with other things in her mind.  Instead, she had the power to actually turn up and down her connection to the Force, adjusting it to suit her need.

Today though, her task was unique.  She had literally been told she needed to utilize both the light side and the dark sides of the force, an idea contrary to anything she had been told before. She had been taught they didn't work in tandem, they couldn't.  You could ONLY be light or ONLY be dark; only good or bad, not both.

Now she was learning that it was not so impossible.  The powers of the force could be utilized in tandem.  But doing so required a unique level of concentration, a devotion of resources far exceeding even her normal connection to the force.  So when Mara 'closed her eyes' she did far more than that.  Bit by bit, she began turning off all of her external sensory inputs, quite literally shutting out the outside world.

Instead, her energy was focused on only the most pertinent of things: herself, Nevylinn, the Force connection between them, and the parasite inside her.

As the world outside her darkened, the Force brightened in her processors, flooding around her 'mind's' eye as it were.
She could see bright lines, vibrant and almost yellow, like the sun; She could see dark, black clouds, circling like a brooding monster.  The powers swirled around each other, dancing and fighting back and forth with each other, each attempting to assert their dominance over the other; neither winning.

Mara could see the outline of Nevylinn's body - not her actual body, but an aura, glowing softly in that vibrant yellow light.  Nevylinn was a jedi, in the most traditional sense, and she was a strict user of the light side, which permeated her being.  THat light, though, was faded, and Mara could see it was weakening.

Inside, a worm-like visage. Clearly alive, clearly dangerous, sliding through, opening it's microscopic maw and stealing away the energy from Nevylinn's life force.  There it was, the enemy she was seeking out.

Mara's presence drew closer to the parasite, and her first act was a test, pushing a ray of the light toward the creature.  It responded much as Mara and Donovan had expected - it leapt toward the light, consuming the burst rapidly, and Mara could see it's dark color grow just a little bit stronger.

Parasite indeed. 

Now Mara developed her plan further, watching as the creature's darkness devoured the light, sucking it in bit by bit.

Mara again released a drop of light energy near the creature - but this time when it sprung forward, Mara was ready.
It was anger that fueled her bombardment.  Anger toward this creature for its attack on her friend, anger toward Adubell and her minions.  From within the cocoon of light energy, a blackness burst forward, striking up just as the parasite prepared to devour it.

The parasite recoiled, injured and confused;  Mara leapt forward again, her own creation of darkness and light closing the gap and hitting the parasite again.

The creature, for all it's insidiousness, was still a simple organism, a creation of instinct rather than intellect, and though it recognized it was hurt, it still found itself drawn to the light that was coming toward it.

Again, it launched forward, this time, making contact with Mara's light for just a second before Mara's dark energy screeched toward it slicing into it.

Kill. Murder. Die. Not unlike how Karen Winton would have responded if she saw an insect; or more accurately, someone hitting on Emperor Dementat.

Destroy. Kill. Kill.  The parasite was wounded, moving slower than before, and just now realizing it should run away.  As it did, it left in its wake a trail of internal injuries Mara could make out - the creature feasted on the force, but as it grew, it also destroyed the physical body.  Here, Mara reached out again with the light, softly caressing the line of damaged tissue, demanding of the Force that it be rejoined, regrown, healed.

The parasite, sensing this more common use of the light side turned, but Mara was ready for it, a black fist of energy reaching toward it and grasping the parasite  in its grip.

Squeeze.  SQUEEZE ... Mara could picture that she was holding Adubell's heart (her real one) in her hand, the sheer intoxicating glee that would come destroying her, and in so doing, found her darkness could crush the parasite even tighter.

That caressing light that was healing Nevylinn faded slightly, but Mara adjusted accordingly, feeding the bright light with memories of Riley, her comradery with Nevylinn herself. Pride in how she had grown.

Mara could sense something was wrong, but didn't know what.  She just knew that she was succeeding - destroying the parasite even as she was healing Nevylinn's wounds.

Crushing the parasite, watching it shrink, smaller, smaller, smaller, until it was gone completely.  Then, for good measure, Mara zoomed in, just to insure there was not even the smallest micro bit of the demon left.

Her view of the scene was beginning to fade, something Mara didn't understand, but there was still work to be done.  The creature was gone, but Nevylinn's force-aura was still weak, and there was still damage to be healed.  Mara now turned her full attention on the task, working to mend the internal injuries.

She found it was getting more and more difficult, the image beginning to fade.  Mara worried that it meant Nevylinn was dying, losing her connection to her friend.  But something told her that was wrong.

Then Nevylinn's outline disappeared, and everything was black - everything save for a red light, flashing

POWER AT CRITICAL LEVELS

Mara understood - she had deactivated all of her sensors, including her internal power sensors.  And this connection to the Force, while effective and powerful, had used an exorbitant amount of power.  Without those sensors, she had not had the warning she needed to ...


********************************
Donovan Atrii stood by Mara's side, guiding her when she started, closing her eyes, but otherwise, standing by and watching.  Mara had been perfectly still, but there was an electricity in the air unlike any he had ever seen, focusing in the space between Mara's hands and Nevylinn's body.

He reached out with the Force only distantly, and could see the play of light and dark, careful not to interfere.  But Mara herself seemed to be crackling with this energy, a conduit for the Force.

The task, and the waiting was tedious, not taking mere minutes, but hours.  Toward the end, Donovan could see Mara's body, so still before, beginning to shake.

"Mara?"

And then just as suddenly, Mara's hand dropped, her body collapsing to the floor of the ship.

"Mara?!?"

TBC

[Medivh]

Corellia
Surface


Riley and Gemma had long ago finished their heated conversation, and spent much of the last hour or so watching the waves as they crashed against the cliffside.  They didn't speak.  And they didn't need to - both worried about what was happening, both at large, and between themselves.  Riley worried about the path Gemma was taking, and his upcoming rendezvous with CorSec.  Wasn't he a CorSec agent too?  A Patten, no less, progeny of several heroes of Corellia, but it seemed like forever since he'd served his world, the way his father had, his mother, his grandfather.  Or for that matter, the way the senator or the director served Corellia.  For so long, it felt like he was running to fight the consequences of the ominous prophesy.
Gemma, for her part, was looking in on herself.  She had long since been disillusioned by the one-sided nature of the jedi, and the secrecy they held.  But had she taken it too far?  Was Riley right?  Didn't she want to what was best, for herself, for her sister? 
There was a tension between the two right now, the lingering feeling that their fight wasn't over, that as the conflict grew darker, their love for each other would be tested in ways that frightened them.  And as they watched the water, they held each other's hand, gripping to each other tighter, in hopes they would never be broken apart.

Their thoughts were broken as Master Atrii approached them.

"You had both best come to the ship"

They turned and followed the jedi master as he walked back to The Refuge, not quite sure what they were expecting to find.  Neither was ready for what they saw - Mara, flat on her back on the metal floor of the hold, a dozen or so wires sticking out from somewhere behind her head, snaking their way to one of the ship's ports.

"Aunt Mara!" Riley ran to her, grabbing her arm, and looking down on her, then back at Atrii.
"Is she alright?  What happened?"

Gemma drew closer as well, her eyes looking more inquisitively at the wires
"What are those?"

"Those will help restore her"

Gemma frowned at him
"Still the secret keeper, I see.  Why does she need wires connecting her to the ship to be 'restored'?"

"Because what she did used up everything she had"
It was only then that he motioned to where Nevylinn still lay, still unconscious, but with noticeably more color in her face.

"I believe that Mara was successful in her endeavors.  Nevylinn's health is already improving, dramatically.  But it was a costly endeavor - calling on the Force in a way she was never meant to, that she wasn't entirely prepared for"

Gemma's frown turned to a scowl "You made her do it.  You guilted her into doing something she wasn't ready to do.  How can you call yourself a good person?  How can you stand there, the self-righteous jedi, knowing you let other people do your work for you"

Riley glanced up at Gemma, a hurt look in his eyes, before turning his attention back to his aunt.

Donovan stared down at Gemma.
"You are still young, Gemma Masterton.  Don't let your youth fool you into thinking that casting judgment is the same thing as wisdom.  Mara made a choice for herself.  Several choices, actually.  And the day may come when her choices save not only Nevylinn, but you, Riley, Corellia, the galaxy.  When she wakes up, why don't you ask her if she would make the same choice again"

Riley perked his head up. "she'll be ok?"

Donovan nodded "I expect, in a few minutes, she will be able to speak with you"

Gemma was steaming, and not ready to back down.
"You didn't answer my question - why is she connected to wires?"

"Because, Gemma Masterton"  Mara's eyes blinked open, and though her body remained perfectly still, her eyes turned to look at Gemma.
"Because I needed to recharge my power cell.  It's what keeps droids like me awake"

TBC