The Rebel Faction

“Achoo! Erg…sorry about that.” The Jedi Knight said as he shook the snowflakes from his hood upon passing the gigantic doors and finally entering the structure.
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It hadn’t been snowing outside but a sudden gust of wind had picked up and blanketed a few of them with the powdery white stuff. No one seemed to have been paying attention to him however as almost immediately upon their arrival they began moving again.
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“Abrupt temperature change…” Kenshin mumbled more to himself than to anybody around him as he rubbed his hands in an attempt to amass some of the warmth the frigid atmosphere of Ilum had stolen from him.
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The thunderous sound of footsteps and the low rumble of murmured conversation gradually filled his ears as he finally joined the rest of his fellow Jedi in the procession that led to the designated chamber where they were to be gathered. As they walked, his gaze couldn’t help be drawn to the design of the former <st1 =""><st1 ="">Jedi</st1> <st1 ="">Temple</st1>.</st1> Cavernous was the best word to describe it. It was as if someone had haphazardly brought a lightsaber to it all though it was probably a more reasonable theory to suggest that water had been its first architect. But now was not the time to be admiring art, he supposed, and turned his attention elsewhere.

Trailing slightly, as such large crowds really didn’t appeal to him, he took the time the slow flow of traffic provided to get a glimpse of the faces that partook in the river of people that oozed by him. Not being one who followed the holonet all too closely, a bad habit he knew, he wasn’t too keen on those that were being summoned. He understood the importance of this meeting, or rather he knew it was important but wasn’t too aware of how important, and undoubtedly there would be many ‘big’ people showing up.

A lot of ‘big’ people in one spot meant urgent business. A lot of ‘big’ people in one spot also meant a lot of politics. Kenshin hated politics. He was the type to seek out ways to make things easier and from his personal experience so far, politics did nothing more than confuse and make things difficult. And upon stepping into the main antechamber, he was beaten back by the shear amount of people gathered in one spot. Still somewhat struck dumb, he filed in behind his other Jedi buddies to where they would be seated.

Kenshin wasn’t much of the type to attend big important meetings. He usually just did what those that had attended told him to do. Needless to say, this was a first. What if he did something stupid? Like fall asleep? Or sneeze again? He almost laughed at himself. But he didn’t. That might have been bad too. Shoving such petty insecurities aside, he focused his attention on the small group gathered at the center of the dias. There was Regrad, a face that even he would recognize and a certain Mr. Viryn Quell if his random passing glimpses of holoscreens on the street served him well.

“I’m gonna need a translator.” He mumbled to himself as he gave a ever so slight frown. “Someone that doesn’t speak with a severe ‘flowery BS’ accent…”

Why me? Of all the officers in the western province why me? To be sent to a planet full of ice!

Daren thought to himself as he walked away from his shuttle and walked towards the door trough a small layer of snow.

"I swear someone is going to pay for this..."

The door as Daren walked towards it and he saw few guards standing at the doorway greeting him in, which he responded with a slight nod. He shook some snow off his long jacket that he had put on over his uniform and then looked around at the temple as he loosened the jacket slightly since it wasn’t snowing inside. He knew that this meeting was important, but couldn’t they have at least picked a more comfortable place than an old and icy Jedi temple in the middle of nowhere? Of course he had not even met a Jedi in his whole life, but as everyone in the Coalition he had that natural amount of respect for them and their ways.

The Dreamer was on the orbit waiting for him and he was told that he would be assigned with his next mission from here, but he shouldn’t expect anything fancy and in fact Daren never wanted to be there in the first place. There would be big people involved, which made Daren feel weird and bad, but at least he would have met at least one of them already all tough that didn’t mean that Dondana should remember him. At that moment Daren desired to be back in the academy playing a virtual battle against his friends of just playing small strategy games, but that time was over and he had a duty all tough he never imagined it to be so hard for him mentally to forget his past times.

Daren sighed as he continued his walk towards a hall where people were gathered around, Jedi’s, officers, politicians and leaders of the coalition, which didn’t make his state anymore comfortable. If someone would talk to him during the meeting and wanted his opinion he would probably say something stupid or just sit there with a stupid look on his face. Daren shook his head trying to get rid off such thoughts and stepped to the hall with some people gathered already, Jedi’s, Azguards and Coalition members. Daren walked toward the group and could of course recognize Redgar and few other famous people among the group, but what did he have to do with all of this? Daren didn’t even wish to think of it and tried to stay on the background observing the situation.

Bending his neck back and forth, Frakutsk stepped off his shuttle. He thought it might be time to consider driving something mroe spacious across the galaxy, but he was in too much of a hurry to worry about that right now. Fraktusk glanced at the time, he would make it, he thought, if only barely.

Now, Frakutsk needed to take a shuttle to the correct location. Stepping onboard, Frakutsk twitched his ears, trying with mild success to shake off the planet's cold.

"Hello, Minister."

Frakutsk turned, and saw an aged man who must have had some importance, administrative or otherwise. Frakutsk smiled and nodded politely, pleased and suprised that someone would recognise him.

Shuffling to the back of the shuttle, Frakutsk relaxed for a moment, feeling the tension of this meeting. It was nessecarilly a secret meeting, which Frakutsk thought was rather unforunate. There was a sense of promise. Promise of new action, promise of beginnings.

Frakutsk knew, though, that he needed to make sure that things did not get out of hand in a grand sense. It was very possible for action and beginnings to turn into bloodshed and gory war.

The air was frigid. Frakutsk hurried out of the shuttle and into the old Jedi temple, thankful that he had worn warm Jedi robes.

Frakutsk slipped into the meeting hall, trying not to look too gangly. It was cold outside, undeniably. Frakutsk, who was somewhat resistant to harsher enviornments, was, nevertheless, rather chilled in his Jedi robes.

It was nice inside. Frakutsk took a deep breath and looked at the people around him. There were important people from everywhere here. Frakutsk noticed Regrad, after all, who coulden't? He looked different, though, somehow. There was Master Silus, what a character he was.

Frakutsk assumed the meeting was going to start soon, though he wasn't entirely certain what it was to be about. The obvious part was opposing the Empire, but how would it be done?

Frakutsk would not want open conflict. Preventing open conflict was what his ministry stood for. But it also stood for what was right. This meeting, Frakutsk was sure, would be a revealing of intentions and the like that would raise many questions.

The Minister of Peace sat down in an assembly of other ministers. They each had their aspects that needed to be highlighted and points that needed to be made to create a balanced Coalition.

In this icy and secret location, there was a promise hanging in the air. It was time to discuss its fufillment.

As the Jedi and various Coalition officials milled around and took their seats, Regrad stood up and politely called for silence. Those called to council took their seats around the central antechamber of the old temple, and attention turned to the towering Azguard in the robes of state. He passed an eye over those assembled - many of the usual suspects, but a few newcomers, especially the Jedi. They were all leaders or persons of power, some of them the heads of planets or armies, others holding no such position yet wielding supernatural power so great that their favour could be worth a battlefleet.

"Gentlebeings, I welcome you today to our council. I take it you've all become comfortable as best you can in the cold conditions, but what better place to hold our meeting? If reflects the state of the galaxy, where good men must meet in the dark places forgotten by all, least they expose themselves to the cold and unforgiving above. But let's put metaphor aside - we are here to discuss the pressing business of what is to be done.

"Put simply, the Empire must not be allowed to retain control of the galaxy. They support the Sith, a group reknowned throughout history for nothing but aggressive war and chaos. They have committed so much genocide and so many invasions that we have lost count, and the deaths they are responsible for spiral beyond the ken of mortals. There are other threats, certainly, such as the Black Dragon Empire's recent activity and the continued presence of Union terrorists, but the largest and most significant goal in the galaxy right now is bringing down the Empire.

"To that end, I have called this council in an effort to bring together the scattered and notoriously fractious forces that oppose them. Some of those people are attending more... discreetly, and others by proxy, but here and now is the time to tresh out what we, as the voices of dissent that oppose the all-consuming threat of the Empire, will do.

"For the most part, we here are members of the Coalition - Joren of Onyx, Ruuvan of the Knights, Ion of the West, the honourable ministers, and so forth. We are already committed and organized to fight, but here we shall have a chance to share the long-term strategy with all leaders to move with unified purpose. There are also Jedi here, and I hope that by their acceptance of this invitation common ground might be found between their cause and this struggle, and that their efforts be allowed to focus towards goals that we might aid them with, and eventually triumph. There are others here, too, whom I have been asked to keep anonymous, but by their silent presence shall all sides of galactic dissent know of our intentions and the coming storm, in the hopes that all who labour for what is right might stand together when the time comes.

"What is this strategy, you ask? There isn't one - not yet. What I have are portions, slices, ideas, parts of a plan that we must here weave together into a cohesive whole. Some people here may have their own parts of this plan, which can be added together to form this whole. All that is certain, is that in this room is the will, the strength, and the intelligence to bring down the most horrific, barbaric government ever to plague the galaxy. Every day we tarry it becomes worse, so now is the time to set ourselves in motion and form this plan that will allow us to do so with confidence and success.

"What do we have to work with? We have the White Knights, the Praetorian Guard, the Four Fleets of the Coalition, and the regional armies - in confirmed military forces." Regrad looked at several cowled attendees, the mysteriously anonymous. "The CIB, headed by the respectable Ferguson Mumphs, provides us an opportunity to breach the powerful barriers around the Empire's society and defence. The Empire have a new weapon, however, and that is the Jedi Corp. I do not understand the vagaries of the Force, but I recognize the power of it and it's purpose in all life.

"The power that the Corp weild is a dangerous thing, as the Empire is now playing God with the fabric of the universe. So little has leaked out about them, but what I have heard makes me concerned. Jedi have always been first and foremost Jedi - and Sith, though they may serve the Empire at times, are still masters of their own fate. But these new servants of the Emperor and Kaine worry me, because they use their ability to alter reality at the behest of mortals, not some higher power. The power to fundamentally alter existance is something that cannot be fought with armies or warships, for us to have an opportunity to win this war we will need the strength of the Jedi to oppose them."

With that, Regrad turned to address specifically the Jedi "The Coalition has always been sympathetic to the Jedi cause, for the Jedi honourably served the Republic that we try to restore - yes, I say restore, for it is a common thread of values that ran through it, you, and now us. The ideology that has always stood in the face of Empires and Sith unites us, and I ask that this bond be strengthened for both our sakes, and for the galaxy."

He turned back to the whole, and said "So that is what we have on our side. What we are facing, however, is much larger still. The Empire has learnt from the days of Palpetine, and though there is an Emperor and a Grand Marshall to whom the greatest shares of power go there are a number of lessar leaders ready to rebuild the hierarchy at a moment's notice. There are two ways to destroy the Empire, one is war world by world, with the deaths of countless lives and the destruction of races and cultures, while the other is one large, grand confrontation where the serpent's head is severed. The Rebels struck such a blow when Palpetine died with the second death star, but to do such a thing again would require all of Imperial command to be in one place. A challenge."

Regrad leaned over across the table, passing his eyes slowly over all those around him. "But it must be done.

"Though an entire generation of heroes and warriors has been lost - for few now live who made up the rebellion - we are gaining strength again. To win, what we need is to build up mightier armies, faster ships, all the trappings of war, and then fight just once in a battle that is more likely to be fought by two small forces over the keystone that holds all the Empire together. Towards this purpose, I task four of my most trusted Coalition leaders to the four fleets, to strengthen them for war and lead them into battle. Panacka, in the East. Ion, in the West. Yolem, on Azguard. Joren, with the Commonwealth. You four will prepare your people for war so that we might have so much strength that we will never need it. Do you understand?"

There was silence, and then nods. "Good. To oppose the Empire, there must be enough strength to equal them first, for there will surely be skirmishes and tests of strength before the end and if we are found lacking we will never reach that final confrontation. But wars are not won by vast armies or navies alone - as I said, we will need focus. Ruuvan, your Knights will need to be honed to perfection to lead the charge when the moment comes. Ferguson, your agents must make every effort to open the doors for our arrival - I want Coruscant to be an open door to us when we fight.

"A war is won by a single battle at a single time by the wisest and the strongest at one place to eliminate their counterpart. That battle, as it has been fought so many times before, is sure to take place on the capitol of the Galaxy, where we will either strike down the leaders of the Empire and the Sith, or be struck down ourselves. No matter what we do, events will bring us to that, but what is in our power is how strong we are when we go. That is where the wildcard comes into play."

With this, Regrad rose. People began to look around with curiosity, trying to see what he was waiting for. In the silent temple, the clacking of approaching boots could be heard as an Azguard in Jedi robes reached the table.

"This is Dolash, a Jedi Knight. He has graciously agreed to help me with this all by revealing the wildcard - if you would?"

The Azguard nodded, and raised a crystal in his hand. It floated to the center of the table, and slowly, a blue mist formed around it. In a few seconds, it had formed into a rough shape, and finally into a woman in Jedi robes. The woman was entirely blue, transparent, and centered over the crystal - a ghost, with intricate tattos on her face and hands along with a long cowl over her face.

"May I introduce Barris Offee" said Dolash, the Azguard Jedi. "We found her in this place, and she was once one of it's guardians. She died in Palpetine's purges of the Jedi Order, and yet her ghost had very recently materialized in this place. There have been others, too - although without the focusing power of a crystal, they are mad and dangerous. Since then, I and those aiding me in my investigations have discovered all sorts of anomalies in the Force, suggesting something is wrong - something we've never seen before. The Force is actually trying to tell us something through these symptoms, and I fear that the reason might be causing irreparable damage."

Regrad nodded, and stood up.

"Far be it from me to advocate exploiting the Force, but I believe here is our opportunity. With the aide of the Jedi, we can unravel this mystery and use the answer to help us bring down the Empire all at once, for I believe it is something they are doing that is the root cause. Something so brash as to damage the fabric of the universe could easily turn people against the Empire where war, genocide, and invasion failed to move them.

"I will open the floor now. As I said - we have but slices of a plan. We have the Jedi here, we have the fleets and the armies, we have the Knights and the agents of the CIB. We have the razor wit of Quell, we have the stoic leadership of Joren. There's the mysteries of the Force and the truth about the Empire. All of these things must come together in such a way so that when the time comes over Coruscant, the Empire and all it's dark servants will fall. Any suggestions?"

The holovid ended, and Zark leaned back slowly. How many times had that been? Twenty? Thirty? Fourty? He had lost track. It had been a simple stroke of luck that Zark had caught it live, the first time. Luck? As he thought about it, Zark realized it was likely something much more than luck. Not likely, definitely. Was this being the savior Searthen had spoken of? Zark had a feeling it was. Yet Jiren had told him he would have to wait for years before the savior arrived, and that the savior would come to him. Was this one a false savior then?

Or had the Force sped up the coming of the savior in desperation?

Sense told him that the man was not the savior. That he couldn’t be the savior. But the Force told him that he was. Zark was split, as he had so often been before. Just like before, it made him want to scream. This time, however, he repressed the urge. Zark had never been a sensible person, even before he had gone insane. Could he really trust his sense? Especially if it was opposed to something as great and all-knowing as the Force, even if his connection was only a small droplet in an ocean.

No, he realized. He could not. He must trust in the Force. This was the savior. He knew it. He had arrived early, but he was not unwelcome.

Crinkling his eyebrows in frustration, Zark replayed Prime Minister Regrad’s State of the Coalition Adress another time.


“Well?” he asked, his voice betraying his excitement.

Zark’s eyes did not open; his meditation unbroken. He did not answer the question, and he could feel the vibes of frustration emanating around him.

“Pere Askrima?” he asked, a hint of desperation forming, “What do you think?”

For a few moments more, Zark did not answer, and then…

“I think…” his words were slow, measured, almost mocking, “That I must be dreaming, for you have been trained far beyond the point of letting your emotions get the better of you, and displaying them so freely.”

Ainam was embarrassed into silence, something Zark never ceased to chuckle at, although he would never do it out loud. The Noghri had been trained to such perfection that he could collapse Zark’s lung and tear out his throat before the man could blink once, yet still Ainam was put to shame so easily by someone whom by all accounts was his lesser. Why? Because Ainam, like Zark, knew the truth. Ainam knew that ‘by all accounts’ was wrong, and he had not the skill to get anywhere near the man standing before him.

Zark Ekan was a warrior.

He was not just the stereotypical warrior of the barbaric past, fighting without reason and remorse for his foes. Zark Ekan was a true warrior, and he was an artisan at his craft. He had spent the better part of his life training in not only Force-enhanced combat, but every other type of combat he could find a teacher for, and he had also spent the better part of someone else’s life studying the arcane and elemental properties of the Force itself. He was a warrior, and not someone to be trifled with.

“Forgive me, Pere Askrima,” Ainam gave a low bow, “I have overstepped my bounds.”

“No apologies are necessary, Student Ainam,” Zark smiled, actually smiled. He was still getting used to the expression he had not used in so long, “Such a revelation as the possible early coming of the savior is enough to wrest control of my emotions as well.”

“Possible early coming…” Ainam echoed without realizing, gasping lightly when he realized he had said it out loud.

“We shall never know until we find out, now shall we, Student Ainam?” Zark grinned. Ainam’s eyes widened.

“Does that mean…”

“Pack your belongings,” Zark confirmed, “We are headed for Ilum.”

“Ilum?” Ainam asked, his excited expression fading slightly, “What is on Ilum? Should we not search out this Regrad on his home world? Or maybe Mon Calamari…”

“No,” Zark cut him off, “I have meditated long on this, and by chance…no, not by chance…by fate, I have noticed a surge of Lightside activity on Ilum. If this Prime Minister Regrad is truly the next savior, he is certainly the source of it.”

“But Ilum is so far…lightyears…” Ainam almost whispered, “You truly are powerful, Pere Askrima, to see so far throughout the galaxy.”

“A Jedi has no need of power, Ainam,” Zark corrected, his voice taking a harsh tone, “And it was not my knowledge of the Force that led me to Ilum. No, to be able to locate such a thing in a galaxy this large would be impossible even for the wisest of Jedi. No…something led me to Ilum, and I take that as a good omen this Prime Minister Regrad may be the next savior. And if not, I believe he is nothing but a positive influence on the galaxy, and to be supported by any means.”

“Yes, Pere Askrima,” Ainam said obediently.

“You have learned much since we first met on the Astral Astoria,” both winced at the mention of the space station, “As have I. Your time as my student is almost at an end, Ainam. Soon it will be your decision on where to venture, and yours alone, but before that you must help me in this. I do not have the will to do this alone, and the Lightside must prevail, at all costs.”

“Yes, Pere Askrima.”

“Now come, we have much to do.”


The planet of Ilum was just as cold as it had been when the delegations from each goodly power in the galaxy had arrived, maybe even colder, if that was possible. Zark, however, paid it no heed. He had learned a long time ago to ignore any sort of personal discomfort completely. Ainam was not so resilient, but his training and his Noghri heritage prevented him from uttering even the smallest hints of a complaint.

The temple stood before them, much closer than it had been when they had landed, quite a ways away from the landing zone appointed for the other comers. Zark and Ainam were not exactly on the guest list, and he wanted to make his presence as little known as possible. No easy feat, considering the amount of Jedi that were gathered here today. A staggering number, much larger than Zark had predicted from his meditation.

“Halt,” came a voice. They had been spotted, finally, by the guards. They were only twenty feet away, but it was near impossible to see two feet in front of you in such weather. Zark was impressed, “Identify yourself.”

“I am Arix Askrima, known to some as Zark Ekan. I am Jedi.”

“Pere Askrima!” Ainam hissed under his breath, “Is it so wise to declare your true identity so openly?”

“We are all friends here, Ainam. A good relationship is not built on lies and deceit,” Zark said, in a voice that reminded him of his old teacher, “Now announce yourself.”

Ainam hesitated for a moment, and then…

“I am Ainam Yzarc, proud Noghri of what once was Honoghr. I am Jedi.”

Silence.

“Neither of you are on the list,” the guard called eventually, “I am afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave, or we shall be forced to take action.”

“This is supposed to be a meeting of the goodly forces in the galaxy, is it not?” Zark called back defiantly, “We are Jedi, and yet you deny us? We are here to help you, not to fight you, yet if we must fight to see the sai Regrad, we shall.”

Silence.

“I don’t think they know what to do,” Ainam whispered. Zark did not reply.

Finally...

“Please wait, sirs,” the guard called, “We have to verify with our superiors.”

“Good or bad?” Ainam whispered.

“If Prime Minister Regrad truly is the savior,” Zark said, “It is most definitely good.”