Hapes: Birthright

[TalRaimi]

Vyna Ushani stepped over the body of one of her former colleagues, a slim mousy haired woman who she remembered having Caf with once or twice. Despite the call to take hostages, and the element of surprise, the capture of the security office had not been without casualties. Three security officers were dead, though they had managed to take out two of the mercenaries who’d stormed the room. Ushani was almost proud of her late subordinates, they had put up more of a fight than she’d expected. To no avail however. She had deliberately corralled the museum security team in one place so they’d be easier to subdue, and now they had total control of the building. What was left of it anyway.

The tainted one, Doctor Quorana, was secured to a chair in the centre of the room and was weeping silently, whether for the dead security officers or the now destroyed east wing of the museum, Ushani wasn’t sure. The blond AJC woman who led the mercenaries had made her watch on the holocam as they detonated their explosives, destroying her exhibit and the entire wing of the museum. Personally, Ushani thought it was overkill. A simple firebomb would have gutted the Ka’Morinda hall, destroying the exhibit while leaving the building intact. Of course, the Anti-Jedi Coalition were trying to make a statement and, in their heads, the bigger the explosion the louder the statement. The real statement though, wasn’t in the destruction of property, but in what was to come.

Ushani approached the blond AJC commander and pointedly looked at her chrono. “It’s time. Make the broadcast now. It won’t be long before an assault team arrives.”

The blond woman grinned viciously, “Let them come, I have enough troops to fend them off until our mission is accomplished.”

Ushani doubted this very much, but then the AJC commander assumed her troops would be fighting off regular Special Forces. Ushani knew better though. While well trained, the mix of mercenaries and AJC troops would not be enough to stop what was coming. She nodded her ascent though, it was not her place to correct the Commanders assumptions, in fact she was counting on them.

“You’re right though,” the blond spun around and stalked towards where the tainted one sat, “It is time for our broadcast.” From her backpack she pulled out an oval face mask, it was white with two blood red stripes under the left eye and would conceal her identity. Donning the mask, the Commander snapped her fingers and one of the troops produced a portable holocam and set it to recording.

“Gentlebeings and Ladies of the Hapes consortium, I am Commander Glass, of the Anti-Jedi Coalition and I have taken control of the Museum of Hapes. We have taken this drastic action due to the imminent opening of an exhibit of vile pro-Force propaganda that would have attempted to deceive you and rewrite Hapes' history with the Jedi. The Hapes Consortium has existed for thousands of years without the Jedi and without the Force, we do not need them; we do not want them.

Force users are anathema. They are tainted. They deceive, lie, and warp reality. They have no place in our society. And yet our Queen Mother invites them in. Even now, a few short miles away she harbours a delegation from the Empire and the New Republic, she calls them ambassadors, but they are harbingers, Force Users who are set on interfering in our great civilisation and perverting its destiny to suit their own ends. This is unacceptable! To that end, we have torn down the museum’s exhibit of lies and captured the person responsible.”

The camera zoomed out to focus on both the Commander and the captive Curator.

“This is Doctor Irynata Quorana, assistant curator of the museum. She would have unveiled this self-serving tapestry of lies, this propaganda about how the Force has helped and aided Hapes across the centuries. All lies. And all because she is one of them! She is a Jedi! A Force user.”

The camera zoomed in on Quorana’s face. This revelation was clearly not such a surprise to the doctor.

“And so… I give an ultimatum to the Ta’a Chume. Send your Jedi ambassadors from the Republic and the Empire back. Expel them from the Hapes cluster. If you do not announce this within the next hour, I will execute this woman; this tainted one!”

***
A stunned silence descended over the palace war room as the recording came to an end. It was broken by Marek asking a nearby technician, “And this was an open broadcast?”

“Yes, sir,” the tech confirmed, “It’s now being picked up and rebroadcast by the local news networks.”

“Well at least we know the reason for the attack now. That’s a lot of anti-jedi sentiment.”

“Hatred, you mean.” Nyalla corrected her brother. “Strange though, that they didn’t mention our family. If you’re protesting against force users on Hapes, surely we’re the number one targets?”

Her mother came to stand between them, her face grave. “It’s a political statement. And make no mistake, we are the target, but to openly demonize the Royal Family at this stage actually harms their cause. They’re giving us enough rope to hang ourselves, they know I won’t agree to their request, but they can say they gave me every chance to do what’s best for Hapes. It’s an extreme strategy, but not without merit.”

Nyalla shrugged, “I still don’t see what they hope to gain by this. Surely most of the populace can’t agree with what they’re doing?”

“I’d hope you’re right, but it was also lead some people to question our place leading Hapes” her mother told her, her arms folded, her brows furrowed in concentration. “This is part of something else though, something bigger. A longer game. Tell the assault teams to be careful.”

[Halomek]

Kya Solra was also in the War Room. She watched the ultimatum with mixed feelings. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were all falling for a giant trap. Unless this Commander Glass was a complete fool, challenging the royal family of Hapes in such a blatant manner was suicide. And that was before factoring in that most of them were Force-users.

A simple band of terrorists wouldn't stand a chance.

There was more at work here than the destruction of an objectionable museum display. Whoever this “Glass” really was, she was provoking a response on purpose. Kya had a few theories as to why, but right now she simply didn't have enough information to settle on any one reason.

For the moment she kept her thoughts to herself. Voicing a warning now would accomplish nothing. She knew Arien Garix had likely already deduced as much as she had and, by all accounts, Jenarvia Avori was rather intelligent herself.

Right now she was more interested to see how they would handle this problem, but she made a note to check with her sources later to see if they had more information about this Anti-Jedi Coalition.

***

Before Arien could answer Lucath, one of his aides walked over with a datapad that had a recording of the Anti-Jedi Coalition's message on it. He watched in silence even as his mind went through the steps he should take next in response to their threats.

The thought of destroying the entire building by orbital bombardment briefly crossed his mind. Commander Glass likely wouldn't be expecting such an extreme reaction and it would prevent them from walking into a trap. It would also send a clear message that Hapes wouldn't tolerate any terrorist demands. The loss of the museum would be unfortunate, but sometimes such losses were necessary to obtain a larger objective.

He briefly reflected that it was ironic that the museum also had a display dedicated to the history of Star Home and its mysterious destruction...

He ultimately decided against the bombardment, concluding that its destruction and the loss of life of nearby protesters would be more troublesome than helpful. Besides, he had promised to give Ardin a chance to do things his way. He had been truthful when he'd told the young man that he was curious to see what he could do.

Arien shifted his mind back to the present. He was wearing a simple black jumpsuit, having discarded the black and gold robes he usually wore to denote his status. Clipped to his belt was a curve-hilted lightsaber – an obvious sign to anyone familiar with the classic lightsaber forms that he preferred to use the Makashi style in combat.

He looked over at Lucath. “We're walking into a trap. It's actually quite the clever gambit. They've designed a scenario where we have no choice but to walk the path they've set up or risk losing far more by not complying. Whatever we face in there, I need your word that you'll do your best to take down our enemies without killing them. If we slaughter these terrorists while taking back the museum, it'll just play right into their message.”

***

Elysia was tempted to snap the datapad she was holding in half after watching the ultimatum. “The sheer arrogance... They attack my family, they burn our heritage, and we're the ones who are the problem!? No doubt whoever this Glass is, she's wearing a mask because she can't keep a straight face!”

She looked over at Ardin to see that he was seemingly unaffected by the AJC's video. His expression was calm, his emotions a mirror of his face.

“Nothing!?” she demanded. “You might not be the direct target of this attack, but you're just as maligned in their eyes as I am.”

“Anger is fleeting,” Ardin said to her. “It's not sustainable. Eventually it dies if it lacks a source to fuel it. The way to fight it isn't by matching it.”

“Maybe so, but it provides focus and through it greater power in the Force,” Elysia countered. “We're going to need all the power we can muster if you hope to pull off this miracle of yours.”

“We shall see,” Ardin replied as he walked over to the side of the assault transport and looked out of the open side. They had arrived at their destination in front of the museum. They were about two stories up in the air above the commotion.

The protesters were straining against the barricades that had been set up by the museum security force to prevent the crowd from rushing inside to loot and vandalize the surviving parts of the building. It was clear that at any moment the press of the crowd could break the barriers and then one of two things were going to happen: either the guards would resort to deadly force to protect the museum or the protesters would ransack the place.

Ardin looked back at Elysia. He was still wearing his ambassador uniform, cape and all. He had also not bothered to grab any additional weapons other than his lightsaber. “Can you safely jump from here to the ground?” he asked her.

Elysia did her best to not get offended. It seemed as though it was a genuine question on Ardin's part. The truth was she had never attempted a jump from this high up before, but she would be damned if she let Ardin show her up. “Of course I can make it,” she replied as she banished such nagging doubts from her mind.

He nodded before giving her a smile. “Then please follow my lead, Your Highness. Maybe I can show you that anger is not the only path to power.”

Before Elysia could voice an indignant reply, Ardin leaped out of the transport.

She growled to herself. “I swear, if he turns out to be all talk...” She left the rest of the thought unsaid before turning to address the handful of royal guards that had accompanied her. “Circle around and cover us from the roof. Do NOT fire unless I give the signal. Is that understood?”

The leader of the guard saluted. “Your Highness, we obey!”

Elysia nodded back in satisfaction before turning to look at the jump Ardin had just made. She resolutely pushed back any fears and doubts about making the jump and trusted in her training to do the rest. With the Force to guide her movement and soften the impact, she quickly found herself landing without issue behind the barricade.

Although she had changed out of the dress that she had worn for the party, her current outfit was still quite distinct. Keeping with her usual theme of white, black, and gold, she had changed into a fancy shirt and vest combo and a pair of long pants to match. With her white hair and golden eyes, there would be no mistaking that the crown princess had just arrived to confront the crowd.

The angry yells quieted down upon her arrival. It was one thing to yell terrible things at a bunch of guards, but to say the same things to the princess's face required a higher degree of bravery. No doubt there were some instigators in the crowd that would try to retake control in a few moments, but for the time being she had the crowd's attention.

In fact she felt a weird sense of calm at the situation and it took her a moment to realize that Ardin was somehow sending out some kind of aura that was encouraging rational thought and dampening down the more passionate emotions like anger, frustration, and resentment. It was a subtle effect, but it could buy them a little more time to get the situation under control.

“Interesting trick,” she thought to herself. It was easy enough for her to block the effect since she knew what he was doing, but she doubted many in the crowd had the same awareness or training to stop it.

Now it was up to Ardin to capitalize on the lull in the crowd...

[Jagtai]

Telan Ro stared at the datapad. “Lucath is walking into a trap,” she mumbled. “By the Force, I hope he’s as good as they say.”

* * * * *

Lucath’s eyes narrowed. This was more than a terrorist attack; something else was going on here.

“You have my word, Lord Garix. I will strive to incapacitate rather than kill.” He forced himself to calm before they arrived; he’d need the calm in order to focus his powers into non-lethal attacks. He thought of his family and friends, and felt the anger drain away.

He looked at Arien. “I assume that you realize that this is no mere terrorist attack? They are either expecting you to act a certain way, or trying to distract you - or both.”

[Halomek]

Arien nodded at Lucath. “Indeed. This entire attack is most likely meant to further demonize Forcers in the eyes of the populace. That's why we'll have a secondary objective of eliminating every security camera and personal recording device in the building. We must be very careful of how we'll appear in any recording while we retake the museum.”

He nodded in the direction of the museum entrance. “It's also why I gave the okay for Ardin to placate the crowd out front. His mother is one of the greatest peacemakers the modern galaxy has ever seen and she personally instructed him before he joined the Imperial Knights. Having my eldest daughter at his side will give him authority by proxy.”

“Solid thinking,” Lucath replied. “I can see the rumors about you were not exaggerated.”

“You have no idea,” Arien agreed darkly as he tapped a button on one of his top pockets. “Follow my plan and we'll beat the AJC at their own game. However, for this to work, I'll need you to take the lead in combat. I don't intend to ever draw my lightsaber. I trust this will not present a problem for someone with your combat skills.”

[Jagtai]

Lucath shook his head. “Not at all. I will take the lead as you asked.” He smiled a cruel smile. “You’re not the only one with a few tricks up my sleeve, Lord Garix.”

He looked down at the museum. “Ready, Lord Garix?”

[Halomek]

Lucath's decidedly un-Jedi-like smile might have given others pause, but Arien didn't even blink at it. He was well aware of the other man's past. He made it his business to know these things.

“After you,” Arien insisted. “I'll be along in a moment.”

Lucath nodded and jumped from the transport to the roof of the museum. Arien stepped up to the gap before turning to face the small squad of women inside. These were not the royal guard. They were members of Arien's personal security force, trained by him to do black ops, and with origins dating back to the guerrilla force he had assembled and commanded during the Hapan Civil War.

“Once we're engaged in combat you may begin your infiltration,” he said to them. “I'm confident we'll be making enough of a commotion to draw their attention.”

“By your will,” the lead operative responded before giving him a salute.

Arien didn't salute back, choosing instead to nod in acknowledgment before dropping down to the roof to join Lucath. He looked at the other man. “One last thing to keep in mind before we engage in battle: do your best not to damage any of the other museum exhibits. If the AJC gets footage of a rampaging Jedi destroying cultural artifacts, they'll use it as proof that their rhetoric is true.”

Lucath grinned. “I do enjoy a challenge. Any other last minute conditions you'd like to add?”

Arien walked over to a skylight and looked inside the building. They were above a large atrium. Several AJC members were hiding in wait for someone to enter the room. He could spot a few by looking, but had to rely on his senses to detect the others.

“As a matter of fact...” Arien replied while he used the Force to unlock the skylight access and open it, “...do your best to impress me.”

“Try to keep up,” Lucath challenged him before jumping down through the opening in the skylight...

[Jagtai]

Lucath landed silently and pushed out his hand, sending two of the terrorists slamming into a wall, knocking them out. He raised and ignited his double-bladed lightsaber, the purple blades shooting out.

The remaining terrorists immediately began firing. Using the battle precognition granted to him by the Force, he weaved through the room, dodging and blocking blaster bolts and sending them into the wall, careful to angle them away from the cultural artifacts.

He raised a hand and electrocuted a terrorist, the yellow Force lightning stunning the terrorist as well as any stun bolt would have. Another wave of his hand sent a terrorist crashing to the ground, unconscious from the Force Stun Lucath had employed.

The remaining terrorists quickly realized that they were outmatched and tried to flee, only to be caught in another lightning strike and knocked out.

Lucath glanced at Arien. “Impressed yet?” He asked with a slight smirk.

[Halomek]

Arien had landed on the museum floor by the time Lucath had started his attack. While the Jedi swiftly took care of the terrorists, Arien remained standing where he was and folded his arms behind his back as he took stock of the situation.

He had already memorized the layout of the museum before they arrived, including the locations of the security cameras. A glance in each of their locations from Arien was all it took to destroy the cameras.

“I’m not disappointed,” Arien replied as he gave Lucath a nod of acknowledgement. “Let’s continue, shall we? The security office is this way.”

***

“Please disperse and return to your homes!” Ardin said to the crowd. He didn’t shout, but his voice was somehow amplified by the Force to be clearly heard over the rush of protestors. “Emergency services needs to get through to put out the fire!”

It seemed like a weak entreaty to Elysia. Sure enough, despite some of the crowd being bewildered by the calming effect of Ardin’s aura, there were a few stronger wills that were resisting it.

“Let it burn!” one woman shouted. “We don’t need Jedi propaganda here! This is Hapes! We know the truth about your kind!”

“And what truth is that?” Ardin asked her calmly.

“You’re all monsters!” the woman shouted. “Every terrible thing that has happened in this galaxy can be linked to Jedi.”

Ardin nodded and didn’t try to correct the woman. “There’s a degree of truth to that, but I’m shocked to hear it from a Hapan patriot.”

Ardin’s response clearly wasn’t what the woman had been expecting. “W-what? We were oppressed by the Jedi!”

“Perhaps I’m missing some information, but wasn’t it the Jedi who eliminated the Lorell Raiders? And wasn’t it the Lorell Raiders who had a reputation for kidnapping and enslaving beautiful women? Once the raiders were eliminated, it opened the way for your ancestors to rise up and take control, creating the Hapan people and the culture as you know it today,” Ardin explained calmly. “Are you saying you have a problem with that?”

Elysia watched it all, staying conspicuously in the background. She was there as a presence, but was currently content to let Ardin do all the talking. Even though he was speaking directly to the protestor he had singled out, Ardin’s voice continued to carry over the crowd. The unity of the mob was being disrupted as Ardin’s calming influence and his statements began to sow doubt among the less committed members among the crowd.

She was starting to think that Ardin really could stop the crowd peacefully after all...

[TalRaimi]

Kristana Gravas cast her gaze around her and scowled. The crowd outside the museum was quieting, wavering, their fervour dying down slightly as James Ardin calmly stood before them. He was asking them questions, getting them to think, to doubt; and it seemed to be swaying several of the crowd. The fact that the crown princess herself had appeared before them had also given them pause, it was one thing to protest against the Royal Family behind their backs, it was another thing to do it to their face. Still, Kristana was not without a counter argument, she was a true believer and no Jedi imitator was going to sway her so easily.

Pushing her hood back to reveal a shock of short red hair she pushed her way into the centre of the crowd. “You don’t understand us, outsider!” her voice rang out forcefully. “How could you, you’re not Hapan. The Lorell Raiders, for all their sins, were our forefathers. The Jedi didn’t just kill pirates and raiders, they killed fathers, brothers, and husbands. They killed our ancestors and we will not forget. We will not forgive!”

Her words reached some in the crowd, and cries of ‘Go home Jedi!’ rang out. She could feel the mood shifting back towards anger and outrage, although not as quickly nor as strongly as she would have liked. If she could just rally them a little further…

[Halomek]

With the new accusations from a red-haired stranger, Elysia used that as her moment to speak up. She had never intended to remain a bystander for the whole confrontation, so she took advantage of the opening. It wouldn't do to have Ardin resolve the crisis entirely on his own. The royal family had to show that they were the ones in control of the situation.

No one else.

She stepped forward, arms crossed, as she leveled a stern glance at the woman who had revealed herself. As she spoke, she used the Force to compel obedience from the one she leveled her gaze at. Ardin had his tricks. She had hers. “You there! What is your name?”

It was as if the woman had suddenly caught a plague. The crowd quickly backed away from her now that she had the attention of a member of the royal family.

The red-haired woman seemed to struggle to say one thing even as the Force caused her to tell the truth. “Kr... K... Kristana... Kristana Gravas.”

Elysia nodded at the answer. “Tell me the names of the men in your family that the Jedi killed. Tell me the truth.”

“I... I... Their names are...”

“Why hesitate?” Elysia demanded harshly. “The Chume'da has asked you a question. Speak!”

Kristana struggled against the Force's influence, but her resistance would do her no good against the ferocity of Elysia's will. Finally she sank to her knees. “I... don't know... any.”

Elysia's face remained impassive even as she relished her domination over Kristana. “No one does! The Lorell Raiders weren't concerned with families! They used the women they kidnapped as currency and sold them as slaves once they stopped being useful to them. There's a reason why even the most extensive Hapan family trees only start after the destruction of the raiders: no woman back then knew who their real father was!”

Much to Elysia's surprise, Ardin suddenly started walking past the barricades and towards the crowd. By now the protesters were filled with enough doubt and fear that many of them instinctively stepped back to give him room as he got close.

“Regardless of the past, the Jedi didn't set your museum on fire,” Ardin said to them calmly. “I'm only here to help save it. Your heritage is noble and worth preserving. You don't have to help me, but I ask that you let your firefighters through so they can contain it and keep it from spreading.”

Ardin continued to walk through the crowd as he spoke. He stopped briefly at where Kristana had fallen to her knees and reached out to help her back up to her feet. The woman flinched at the sight of him reaching out towards her, but Ardin didn't make any other moves towards her other than his proffered hand.

“You have every right to be wary of the Jedi,” he said to her, “but destroying your own buildings and hurting your own people isn't the way to improve things. Let's find a better solution together.”

Elysia could barely believe what she was seeing or hearing. It ran counter to everything she had been taught as the crown princess. She was tempted to call Ardin's outreach a foolish gesture if not for the fact that it seemed to be having an effect.

“No way is it this easy,” she thought to herself as she watched the interaction closely.

[TalRaimi]

Kristana scrabbled backward, away from the Jedi and the space that had formed around the pair of them. Something felt wrong, she hadn’t meant to answer the crown princess so honestly, she had meant to lie, or at least dissemble, yet the urge to tell the truth had been too strong. She struggled upright, ignoring the Ardin’s still outstretched hand. His words were not what she had expected, nor what a lot of the crowd had expected, she realised as she cast about herself. The crowd, her mob, were wavering.

“No,” she yelled pushing into the crowd, away from Ardin, “There is no better way! Hapes future must be bought with the blood of the patriotic!”

Her words rang out across the crowd. They were a code signal, a last resort. She and her co-conspirators had always know there might be a chance of Jedi interference, and they had prepared accordingly.

“Go home Jedi” another voice rang out, and a bottle arched into the air towards the Jedi, another towards the crown princess.

At the same time, another voice, nearer to her, yelled “He’s controlling her!” and pressed something into her hand.

She turned then, back towards Ardin, and raised the small holdout blaster to her temple. For Hapes, she thought as she pulled the trigger and the blaster bolt drilled into her skull.

[Halomek]

James realized a second too late what was happening. He had underestimated the fervor of some of these protesters. As Kristana shot herself he knew from a mixture of his military training and through the Force that it was fatal. There would be no point in trying to heal her.

He also knew that he had only a few seconds to act before the crowd lurched into action.

As his mind scrambled for solutions, he briefly wondered if his mother would have had the same trouble with this crowd. He doubted it. She either would have sensed the bad actors hidden among them or simply would have put the crowd to sleep before it ever reached the point of a riot.

He tried to ignore the sting of disappointment that he had failed to resolve things peacefully, as she had taught him.

That left the other solution...

The Hapans had been using the term “Jedi” as a catch-all for any Force-user and James hadn't felt the need to correct them. It wouldn't have done much to advance the negotiations and he doubted they would have cared about the semantics anyway. It was an important personal distinction though, for he was not a Jedi.

He was an Imperial Knight.

He quickly changed his aura from one of soothing clam to one that encouraged fear. The reason was simple. A scared opponent was easier to deal with than a calm opponent. Fear didn't have to be used for evil. If he could paralyze an opponent through fear, or make then run away, it meant one less person he had to fight.

Of course it wasn't going to do any favors for the reputation of the Jedi either...

In what little time he had left, James risked a political breach of protocol and tried to connect directly with Elysia's mind. “Please forgive me, Your Highness, but there isn't much time. Can you direct me to the individuals stirring up the crowd? I sensed that you had soldiers on the roof watching the situation.”

He could feel Elysia's indignation at the sudden intrusion, but curiosity seemed to get the better of her. “I'll allow it this one time. What do you intend to do?”

“I'm going to try and stop this without it becoming a massacre,” he replied. “In order to do that, we need to round up the leaders of this mob. For that to happen, I need your guidance.”

“Fine. I'll give you a chance to fix this, but if it gets any worse, my people will start shooting... The woman in the black jacket is your closest target.”

James smiled even if Elysia couldn't see it. It didn't take him long to spot a woman with a black jacket slowly making her way out of the crowd. “Thank you.”

James used the Force to quickly jump towards his first target and then sent a wave of downward pressure to disperse the crowd near where he intended to land. The woman in the black jacket had been knocked off her feet, but this time James didn't offer a hand to help her up. Instead he targeted several nerve clusters with a series of quick strikes to stop her muscle movement and effectively paralyze her below the neck.

The original attack taught to him by his father had been intended for assassination, but James had modified the strikes to make them non-lethal. Eventually the woman would be able to move again once the nerves healed, but for the moment she was helpless.

The woman looked at him with a mixture of fear and anger, but her vocal chords were one of the nerve clusters he had struck in order to keep her from trying to rally the crowd to help her. James ignored her as he turned to face the crowd of people around him.

“I offered peace, but you chose violence,” he said to the crowd of terrified onlookers as he lifted the woman's body with the Force and sent it safely behind the barricade next to Elysia. “If you don't want to end up like her, I suggest you run.” He then added a commanding tone to help them decide their next course of action. “Now!”

That appeared to snap many into action as the more cowardly, or intelligent, decided that it was time to go. They all kept a wide berth around James. The aura of fear he projected and the efficient way he took down one of their own proved to be plenty of incentive for them to retreat.

James barely paid them any attention as he glanced at the princess. Her usual impassive mask had dropped a bit. Was that a look of approval? Before James could figure it out, the mask was back. Elysia pointed towards another person in the crowd as her voice entered his mind.

”The woman with the brown hair and the braids.”

James nodded a confirmation before jumping towards his next target...

[Jagtai]

Lucath advanced like the darkness advances on the day, an irresistible force of nature. His lightsaber caught any blaster bolts, the lightning crackling across the museum as he closed on the security room.

The Jedi Master swept through his enemies, but he had yet to kill a single one, as Arien had requested. Instead, the lightning knocked them unconscious, the blaster bolts rebounded into walls and security cameras rather than bodies.

As he reached the door to the security room, his eyes narrowed. He reached out and, using the Force, ripped the door from its hinges, sending it slamming onto the floor. He was greeted by a hail of blaster fire, as expected, but the Force shield he’d erected absorbed the blaster bolts.

“You cannot win,” he said calmly, “surrender. Now.” He had not expected the terrorists to surrender, and they didn’t, his offer met by more blaster fire.

He saw a woman disappear behind a panel, and felt her presence disappear from the room. He reached out and used the Force to close the windpipe of every terrorist in the room. They fell to their knees, grabbing at their throats. He let go of each one, as they slipped into unconsciousness. Then he walked into the security office and nodded at Irynata Quorana. “Doctor. I am Jedi Master Lucath. Are you well?”

He looked intimidating, draped in his black and purple robe, his double lightsaber in his hand, surrounded by unconscious terrorists.

Irynata nodded at a panel. Lucath looked at the panel, saw the bomb; he reached out, and crushed the detonator, preventing the imminent explosion. “Lord Garix, the Museum has been retaken,” he said calmly, as Arien joined him.

[TalRaimi]

Ushani watched calmly as the security cameras in the west wing atrium showed the incursion of the Jedi and just how ineffective Commander Glass’s first pair of troopers were against him. While not entirely surprised, she had least expected them to last slightly longer. Then again, any mercenary foolish enough to believe they were going to walk free from a hostage situation couldn’t have been the brightest glowrod in the toolbox to begin with. Then, even as the ‘battle’ raged, the cameras cut out in rapid succession. Ushani gave a mental shrug, even without seeing the end of the engagement, she’d seen enough in those brief seconds to know what the outcome would be.

She looked to Commander Glass, the blonde woman had seen the same images she had, although whether she fully comprehended just how doomed she was, Ushani couldn’t say. Glass had removed her mask, and was now staring icily into the distance. Was this the first time she had seen a Jedi? Likely it was, Ushani concluded.

“Commander,” she said, almost gently so as not to spook the woman. “Prepare yourself to receive hostiles.”

“Yes,” Glass replied shakily, “Troops, to your posts!”

The half dozen coalition troops moved into positions, taking cover behind monitors and databanks, their blaster rifles pointed towards the only entrance to the control room. Well, the only entrance they knew about.

“I will kill the Tainted One,” Glass announced, “Whatever happens to me, at least Hapes will be rid of her corruption this day.”

Ushani was surprised by Glass’s sudden insight. She had processed her impending death and accepted it with a speed and alacrity Ushani hadn’t realized the woman possessed. Perhaps under other circumstances Commander Glass could have been shaped into a useful asset. Alas, fate had decreed otherwise. “Wait,” Ushani reached out a hand to forestall her, a sudden thought occurring. “Not yet. Wait until the Jedi enters the room, let them see you execute her, it will throw him off guard and give you an advantage.”

Glass hesitated, a silent debate being waged in her head, and Ushani could feel her muscles tensing underneath the hand she had laid upon the woman’s shoulder. Then, the muscles relaxed and the Commander nodded. “A fine suggestion.”

Ushani returned the nod, drawing her blaster and stepping back in readiness. As the Commander’s focus moved towards the control room entrance, Ushani moved towards the back of the room and took up position behind a large control panel. With all eyes directed to the front, she knelt down and levered a hidden maintenance panel out of the floor, before returning to her position.

By now more and more security cameras had been deactivated, charting the Jedi’s path towards the security office. He was almost upon them. And then suddenly the door was ripped away and a dark figure wielding a double blade of purple light was revealed. A barrage of blaster fire lanced out towards the figure and… dissipated; It wasn’t deflected, or dodged, somehow the Jedi simply absorbed it. “You cannot win,” his chill voice echoed around the room, “Surrender. Now.”

Time to go.

Ushani ducked beneath the console as the Jedi received his answer by way of a second barrage of blaster fire, her last sight was that of a horrified, stunned Commander Glass, her blaster frozen halfway towards Doctor Quorana’s temple. Ushani levered herself into the access space below the security office and crawled the short distance towards where a vertical shaft dropped away. She threw herself headfirst into the shaft, arms out, doing her best to cushion the two meter drop to a hard permacrete floor. She felt her wrist protest in pain, but was otherwise unharmed and on her feet in moments. Taking a second to get her bearings, she flipped on a glowrod and found herself in an old maintenance tunnel that ran north to south. Selecting the north exit she moved quickly into the darkness. The tunnel would take her towards the old subway station beneath the museum. Few remembered it existed now, and it was her hope that the security forces hadn’t had time to set up a blockade, or simply didn’t know it was there. Either way, she had accomplished her mission for today.

[Halomek]

Elysia watched the crowd disperse as the protestors fled the scene from a mixture of the fear aura coming from Ardin and his swift take down of anyone she had deemed to be suspicious. The firefighters finally had a path to reach the fire - which they were currently at work extinguishing - and the Hapan Security forces had over a dozen prisoners of interest.

The poor fools that had been captured were destined to be interrogated by either Marek or her father. It would not be a pleasant prospect for them in either case.

More importantly to Elysia, she was still coming to terms with this darker side that the Imperial ambassador had shown tonight. She had suspected that there was more to Ardin than the bland, polite diplomat he had been trying to present himself as.

Up until now he had been a source of passing interest to her.

Now he had her attention.

Dare she even admit it? She had been impressed.

“I’m sorry, Nyalla,” she thought to herself. “If this keeps up, you might have some competition after all.”

Despite her thoughts, she kept up her usual impassive expression as Ardin walked back to her. Even though he had just effectively been through a combat situation, he didn’t look like he was even breathing hard. He seemed as composed as he had been before the incident. That kind of physical conditioning didn’t come easy.

“Well done,” she complimented him. “Is there a reason why you didn’t do that from the start?”

Ardin nodded back. “Dominating someone through fear and violence is easy, but ultimately it doesn’t solve the core issue. Changing hearts and minds peacefully is how you make a lasting difference. It seems I’m still lacking some skill in that regard.”

“It looked effective enough to me,” Elysia countered as she nodded towards the now empty space in front of the museum. “The next time they decide to riot they’ll remember what happened here tonight.”

Ardin didn’t try to hide his disappointment at the situation, but he also didn’t have a counter to her point.

Before Elysia could say anything else, she noticed several camera crews rushing towards them. Speaking to the media was nothing new to her. In fact she even welcomed it. The sooner the Royal Family took control of the narrative, the better.

“I’ll handle them,” she said to Ardin. “Just let me take the questions and remain silent. All you need to do is stand behind me and look pretty.”

He raised an eyebrow at the last part, but followed her instructions.

Elysia’s gaze lingered on his figure a fraction of a second longer than she intended before she turned to face the crowd of reporters. Even as she started taking questions from them a stray thought went through her mind:

“He definitely has potential...”

***

Arien calmly followed Lucath through the museum.

The Jedi’s skill in combat was impressive. There was little for him to do but observe as the Jedi took down all opposition that got in their way. The fact that no one died spoke even higher of Lucath’s abilities. In truth, Arien’s calculations had allowed for a few casualties as a result of the combat, so for there to be none was beyond his expectations.

Lucath would be a formidable foe if they ever came to blows, but then again Arien rarely resorted to combat to win his battles.

However the scenario of Lucath turning against him was only one of many possible eventualities that Arien was making plans for. He was more preoccupied with how else he could use Lucath’s combat prowess to benefit Hapes. The potential prospects were tantalizing...

As he reached the security office and Lucath declared that the museum had been secured, Arien shook his head in a negative. “This was too easy,” he declared. “There’s a purpose to this attack that isn’t clear yet. Master Lucath, please continue your pursuit of the one who escaped into the sewers. I can handle things here.”

[Jagtai]

Easy? Maybe for you; I did most of the work, Lucath thought, but he didn't remark on it. Instead he nodded. "Yes, Lord Garix. I shall return with the fugitive."

He followed Ushani's path into the maintenance tunnel.He looked from side to side, trying to get his bearings. Then he moved north, his senses drawing him that way.

* * * * *

The first videos from the museum had reached the war room. Telan Ro stared at the footage; the dark figure of Lucath, sweeping through the terrorists, both impressed and terrified her. Not for the first time, she felt grateful that he was on her side...

[Halomek]

Arien didn’t pay the slight resentment he sensed from Lucath any mind. He had more important things to consider as the Jedi disappeared into the maintenance hatch.

Seemingly ignoring the woman who called herself Glass, he looked over at Doctor Quorana and extended a hand towards her so she could get to her feet. “Are you okay, Doctor? I regret that you were involved in this conflict.”

Before Quorana could respond, Glass seemed to find some courage and yelled in outrage. “Demon! You won’t taint me like you did the others!”

Glass tried to raise her blaster to shoot but suddenly doubled over in pain as she was hit with an intense feeling of nausea and dizziness. She fell to the floor and covered her mouth to try and keep from vomiting as Arien’s application of Malacia incapacitated her.

Arien then used the Force to retrieve the blaster that Glass had inadvertently dropped and crushed it with the same energy.

“Have a care, Glass,” Arien warned her darkly as the woman continued to writhe on the ground. “I won't allow you to harm yourself or any other Hapan citizens from this point onward. You and your collaborators will pay for your crimes.”

By this time Arien’s personal guard had arrived at the security office. None of the women in the unit seemed surprised that Arien had arrived at the office ahead of them. They were well trained and with just a nod from Arien they surrounded Glass and restrained the terrorist before taking her away.

After they left, Arien and Quorana were left alone in the office. “Clearly Glass was not the brains behind this operation,” Arien concluded. “A shame, but hopefully Lucath will capture the true leader.”

[TalRaimi]

Ushani raced down the corridor, the light from her glowrod bobbing up and down as her arms pumped, her footsteps ringing like hammer blows on the cold ferrocrete. Her heart raced, the adrenaline spiking, and she felt something unusual for her, an actual emotion; fear. She didn’t know if she was being followed, couldn’t risk slowing down to listen, but if there was anyone behind her it was the Jedi and she knew just how fast they could be. Glass and her unit were expendable, dead or alive, it mattered not, but Ushani… she knew too much. Her fear wasn’t of dying, but of being captured and being made to betray everything she believed in.

She had been recruited into the Ni’Korish over a decade ago, while she was still in the army. Her mother had fought and died against Jenarvia Avori in the civil war, and that alone would have been enough to kindle her hatred of the Jedi, but her family had always had a healthy disapproval for those ‘gifted’ with the Force. Her mother’s death and Jenarvia’s marriage to the heretic Arien Garix had only fanned the flames that were already there. She had been an easy convert. She was a true believer though, and the thought of one of Jenarvia’s cursed daughter’s inheriting the throne of Hapes was something she could not abide.

She slowed slightly as she reached a junction, searching the leftmost wall for a flat metal plate she had placed there days earlier. The glowrod picked out the dull metal gleam at about shoulder height, and she slapped it hard with her palm as she rushed past, activating the sonic charge. Seconds later it activated, rigged to explode if it detected movement. She found and activated two more charges as she moved further down the new corridor, there should have been a fourth but in her haste she couldn’t find it and didn’t dare stop to search.

Finally, as she neared where the old subway station was, she pulled a small vial of green liquid from her pocket. Flipping the lid she downed the entire contents. The venom tasted bitter, and she felt the sting of acid rising in the back of her throat, but she swallowed it back down. The poison wouldn’t kil her immediately, it was slow acting, unless a certain catalyst was introduced, in which case she would be dead in seconds.

Finally, the door to the subway appeared ahead of her and she skidded to a stop, jabbing entry code into the keypad next to it. With a metallic click the lock disengaged and the door slowly swung open...

[Jagtai]

Lucath bit back a curse as he followed Ushani. Why did they always have to run? The Force aided him, so he wasn’t really tired, just annoyed.

He sensed the sonic charge a second before it exploded, and managed to put up a shield to avoid the brunt of the explosion, and the resulting collapse of the tunnel.

Forewarned now, he easily deactivated the next charges. He turned the corner and saw his prey for the first time.

Lucath reached out and held her in place. “Stop. You are under arrest.”

Ushani didn’t struggle. Her voice was calm when she answered: “I’m not going willingly, Jedi. I will not betray everything I believe in.” She turned to look at him. “I will not let your kind destroy my people.” Lucath could feel her heart beating fast, feeling it growing erratic.

Lucath was calm as well, when he answered. “I am not your enemy, despite what you think. You are letting your conviction cloud your judgement.”

Ushani shook her head, her voice determined. “Your words mean nothing, Jedi. I will not be swayed by your silver tongue and honeyed words.”

Lucath quelled a sigh. A fanatic. Great, he thought. “Then I will let Lord Garix interrogate you.” He felt the spike of terror in her at the mention of Garix. ”You fear him.” He nodded. “Good. You should. He doesn’t have my restraint, my boundaries.”

Ushani didn’t answer, but her heart began to beat more erratically. Lucath cocked an eyebrow. “You poisoned yourself? You really are a fanatic.” He lowered his hand, freeing her from his restraints. “Then keep your secrets. We will find you regardless.”

Ushani stared at him. Then she turned and ran through the door to the subway. Lucath turned. He’d have to tell Garix that she escaped. He just hoped that he hadn’t just made a mistake…

[TalRaimi]

Vyna Ushani ran, and didn’t stop until she reached the small open-topped landspeeder that rested at the end of the subway tunnel; her body moving on autopilot as her mind struggled to process what had just happened. The Jedi had let her go…but why? Breathing hard, her heart racing, she powered up the speeder and accelerated away down the tunnel. What had just happened? Ushani felt numb, more so than normal. Never one to feel much emotion, this was different, she felt… cold. She should be a prisoner right now, likely standing before Arien Garix himself as he rifled through her brain, ripping her secrets away. Or perhaps she would have been able to delay, giving the poison the time it needed to still her mind and stop her heart.

The Poison!

She fumbled for the glovebox release, risking a quick glance down to locate the latch which popped the door open. She reached inside, her had seeking the small vial of antidote she knew to be stashed there, but grasped only empty air. Panic threatened to set in, and a bitter laugh escaped her. The irony of her dying now, after the Jedi had let her go, was not lost on her. She searched again, fingers probing into the corners of the glovebox, and there finally, she touched a small glass vial. She seized it, clinging to it like the literal lifeline it was as she brought it out. Slowing the speeder, she popped the lid and downed the contents.

One problem solved. She was no longer on the verge of dying. The second problem though, why had the Jedi let her go, would not be so easily resolved.

Ahead of her, the speeder’s headlights picked out a bricked-up wall in the distance, dim holo warnings announcing the end of the line. She slowed the speeder, stopping just short of the wall by a faded yellow ladder attached the to sidewall of the tunnel. She scrambled out, then stopped. She was genuinely shocked to find herself shaken. She was a professional, wasn’t she? She was better than this! She needed to compose herself, to not rush, to not panic. Those things only led to mistakes. Follow the plan. At this point, she was either safe or she was not. The Jedi had caught her once, she had no doubt he could do it again if he so chose.

Gathering herself, she walked around the speeder and opened the rear hatch, pulling out an incendiary charge. Calmly, she set the timer on the charge, activated it, and then tossed it back into the speeder. It would burn hot enough to destroy any physical evidence she might have left behind. With that done she started up the ladder.

Her original escape plan now called for her to rendezvous with some of her fellow Ni’Korish agents at a local safehouse, but she found herself hesitant to do so. Was the Jedi tracking her somehow? Is that why he had set her free? It had to be that, she decided. The alternative was… well… what other alternative could there be?

Ushani reached the small maintenance hatch at the top of the ladder, and inputting the correct code, the hatch hissed open, letting her climb up and out into the cool night air. She closed the hatch behind her, finding herself in an empty street between two industrial building several blocks clear of the Museum district. She could hear the sirens in the distance, and as she emerged from the end of the alley a faint line of orange firelight could be seen on the horizon from where the museum burned still.
No, she couldn’t regroup with her colleagues. Couldn’t even risk reporting in at this stage. Which left her… alone. It was not the first time, she was in many ways always alone, even when surrounded by others. So, she would go to ground. Hide. Think. Plan. If the Jedi was tracking her, he would get nothing from her.

And if he wasn’t… No, there was no other reason to let her go. There couldn’t be…

[Halomek]

When Lucath returned without the ringleader of the terrorist operation, Arien was more curious than anything else. True, he was slightly annoyed that Lucath’s impressive abilities had been enough to clear out a museum full of enemies, yet had somehow been insufficient to capture the most important target, but he didn’t get angry about it.

Failure was often more instructive than success. He could already surmise a few things from the situation. After seeing Lucath in action, Arien highly doubted that the Jedi had been incapable of capturing the terrorist. That led him to two different possibilities: either the terrorist leader had been more capable and resourceful than she had seemed or... Lucath had spared her.

Both ideas were intriguing in their own way.

For the present he filed those thoughts away to be mused upon at a later date. He would have his hands full seeing to the interrogation of all the prisoners they had taken tonight. He was sure most of them would be worthless as sources of information, but they could be made to be useful in other ways.

After Lucath finished his report, Arien nodded back. “It’s unfortunate that the leader got away, but otherwise you did quite well tonight, Master Lucath. Your actions will not be forgotten.”

He then turned to address Quorana. “I fear this will not be the last time these terrorists target you, Doctor. I’ll assign a member of my personal guard to protect you starting tomorrow. I also insist that you stay at the Fountain Palace as a guest of the royal family until this crisis has passed.”

He could sense Quorana’s astonishment before she spoke. “My lord! I don’t know what to say...”

“The only way to defeat ignorance is with knowledge. Your work will be invaluable in changing the outdated attitudes many of our people have regarding Jedi.” He smiled at her. “We also happen to be hosting an Imperial Knight and, of course, Jedi Master Lucath. It’s quite an opportunity to gain some firsthand knowledge about Force-users, wouldn’t you say?”

***

James watched quietly as Elysia handled the mob of news reporters with a level of skill and grace that was currently beyond him. She was able to put a positive spin on the situation, highlighting how quickly the royal family responded to the attack, how a beloved Hapan institution had been saved from ruin, and how quickly they were able to resolve the situation.

She didn’t hide the fact that he and Lucath were Force-users, but made it clear that they were not rogue agents and were firmly working under the command of the Queen Mother. She even praised the Hapan emergency services for “containing” the attack until it could be properly dealt with.

By the time she was done, she had spun a narrative of implacable strength and control on the part of the royal family, condemned the protestors for allowing their passions to get out of control, and implored everyone to reexamine their old prejudices.

By the time she was done, the fire was largely extinguished; metaphorically and literally.

After the reporters left, Elysia walked back up to him. “You did well tonight, Mr. Ardin. Even if your initial attempt to stop the crowd didn’t work, you were quick to adapt and emerge victorious. I don’t mind saying that I’m a little impressed that you kept to your word and never used your lightsaber. What was that style of hand-to-hand combat you were using?”

“Echani mixed with some assassination techniques that my father taught me. I modified the moves to incapacitate rather than kill,” James informed her. “Lightsabers are wonderful tools, but they don’t have a stun setting. Activating one when facing an angry crowd would probably have resulted in several deaths and dismemberments. Most of those people were not truly your enemies, just misguided by some bad actors.”

Elysia looked thoughtful. “I’ve never seen Form Zero used in that way before.”

“Form Zero?” James asked in surprise, before he chuckled a bit. “I suppose it was.”

“Why is that funny?”

“It’s nothing, it’s just...” James hesitated as he tried to think of the best way to explain it. “My mother is a big advocate of not solving every problem with a lightsaber. In her case, she probably would have had that crowd singing the Hapan National Anthem by the time she was done speaking with them. I thought I had failed to live up to her teachings when I was forced to resort to attacking them, but I had never considered it as an application of Form Zero.”

“My father would call it lateral thinking,” Elysia said to him and even allowed a small smile to show on her face. “Come, we’re done here. The security services can handle the rest.”

James nodded. “As you wish, Your Highness.”

Elysia briefly stopped, as if she wanted to say something more, but instead nodded back and led the way to a waiting shuttle that would take them back to the palace.

[Jagtai]

Lucath nodded. "Unfortunate indeed, Lord Garix. My apologies" He didn't sound, or feel, sorry. "Your gratitude is appreciated, but unnecessary; I did what was asked and what was needed, Lord Garix."

He nodded at Doctor Quorana. "I am at your disposal, Doctor."

A small part of him wondered if he had made the right decision, letting Vyna Ushani go, but it had felt right. He had made a decision, and for better or for worse, it was done. Nietdaeth had told him to listen to the will of the Force - letting Ushani go had felt like it was just that.

[TalRaimi]

As the operation came to an end, and she received confirmation that the transports were in the air and returning to the Palace – with no casualties – Jenarvia excused herself for a moment and left her place at the head of the war room’s holotable. She retreated to the raised observation platform at the rear of the sprawling room and surveyed her staff. Much of the tension that had suffused the room for the past hour had now drained away. She observed one of the comm operators let out a small smile, and listened as a low rumble of laughter briefly escaped the lips of a technician. Sadly, she could not share in their relief. While the immediate danger had passed, it had not ended, nor had tonight’s events finished playing out fully. There were repercussions yet to come, of that, she was sure.

And talking of repercussions… “Nyalla,” she activated her comm, “Please come and find me on the rear observation platform.”

“Understood,” the clipped voice of her daughter answered.

Jenarvia sighed, Nyalla was still angry with her, and perhaps understandably so. Perhaps it had been a mistake to forbid her to participate in the operation, but it was a mistake that Jenarvia thought she would make again even with hindsight. Nyalla had been kept safe, and that was all that mattered. She knew she couldn’t shelter her daughters and son from all the galaxy’s hurts and dangers, Elysia especially would have to bear that more than the others, but just for tonight she had kept Nyalla safe, and while the girl might sulk and rage at that, it was a trade-off Jenariva was willing to make.

“Mother,” he second daughter greeted her as she came to attention, keeping herself at a literal arms distance from Jenarvia. So stiff, so formal.

So, it’s going to be like this. Fine. “I would have your thoughts on tonight,” Jenarvia challenged her daughter. She wants to be formal, I am ‘the queen’ of formal.

Nyalla seemed slightly taken aback for a moment, but to her credit recovered quickly. “The attack on the museum is a prelude to… something. The destruction of the Force exhibition, the attempted execution of the ‘Jedi’ curator, those weren’t the true objectives. They were merely a means to an end.”

Jenarvia was impressed. Nyalla was no dummy, but her insight tonight cut to the quick and mirrored Jenarvia’s own thoughts. “I agree. And your thoughts on what this particular end might be?”

Her daughter gave a very Nyalla-like shrug, before catching herself and slipping back into the formality she was wearing like some sort of suit of armour. “I am unsure. The immediate answer is of course to stir up anti Jedi sentiment and use that against us, but this feels like its part of something else, something bigger.”

“Feels like?” Jenarvia crossed her arms across her chest and studied Nyalla. “And is this the Force telling you this, or your own intuition?”

Nyalla looked off into the distance for a brief second, before locking her green eyes on Jenarvia. “Both.”

Abruptly Jenarvia had a moment of clarity. Instead of her daughter, three different women stood before her. She saw a young military officer, tall and proud; battle tested. She saw an up-and-coming Politian, shrewd and calculating. And finally, a Force User, still inexperienced, but on the verge of coming into her full power. And all these women were her daughter.

Suddenly she doubted her earlier decision to shelter Nyalla.

“Mother?” Nyalla was looking at her strangely, “Are you alright?”

Jenarvia tensed herself and was about to brush away Nyalla’s concern when she caught herself. For the time being they were alone, just mother and daughter, this was a rare moment indeed. Never apologise, it makes you look weak, Casara’s words drifted up from the depths of her subconscious unbidden. She had taken those words to heart; mostly.

“Nyalla,” she closed the distance between them, reaching out to gently touch the girl’s cheek. Nyalla’s eyes widened and Jenarvia steeled herself; this would not come easy… “I’m sorry.”

Her daughter’s eyes expanded to the size of saucers. “What…”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you earlier,” Jenarvia continued, “I was being selfish, because I wanted you here with me instead of at the museum. I wanted you here. Safe.”

“I…” Nyalla’s face looked like someone had asked her to calculate the hyperspace coordinates for the route between Typhon and Hapes by hand.

“Just know, that I’m sorry.”

As a Queen it might have been seen as a weakness to apologise, but right now, in this moment, she was simply Nyalla’s mother.

Nyalla nodded and swallowed, at a loss for words.

“Now,” Jenarvia took a deep breath, “Back to the matter at hand. I think you’re right, I think your instinct serves you well. Once your father and the others are back, I want you to conduct the debrief. Perhaps we can glean some more insight into tonights events from them.”

“Me… conduct the debrief?”

Nyalla paled slightly, and Jenarvia caught a glimpse of the unsure young woman that underpinned those three personae’s she had seen earlier. Jenarvia wavered, but only for a moment. “Yes, you. Unless you have a problem with that, Lieutenant Avori?”

“No Ma’am,” Nyalla snapped back automatically, responding to her rank being used, and suddenly her uncertainty vanished.

“Very well,” Jenarvia fought to supress a smile, “I’ll see you at the debriefing in one hour.”

[Halomek]

By virtue of the circumstances, Elysia arrived back at the Fountain Palace in a separate shuttle from her father, however both vehicles landed at about the same time. Her shuttle had consisted of her, Ardin, and several of the royal guard. Her father’s had included Dr. Quorana, the Jedi Lucath, and yet more of the royal guard.

The incident at the museum had lasted through the night and into the crack of the new day. Elysia could tell just by finding the position of Megos in the sky. It was the largest of the moons that orbited Hapes and thus the easiest to find and use as an indicator of the time. There would be a few hours yet before the sun would be visible on this side of the planet.

Elysia already knew that there would be no rest for her today. It wouldn’t be the first time she had gone a few days without sleep and it wouldn’t be the last.

She looked over at Ardin, who was still faithfully following behind her, as they departed the shuttle. “There will be a debriefing about the attack on the museum. You are not required to attend. We can get your information after you’ve had a chance to rest, if you prefer.”

Ardin nodded. “I appreciate the concern for my wellbeing, Your Highness, but the Empire didn’t send me to Hapes to relax. I’m here to be of service to you and your family. I would like to attend the debriefing.”

Elysia was a little surprised at how much the response pleased her. In little more than a day, this outsider had demonstrated more decorum and dedication than most of the nobles her aunt had tried to fix her up with over the years. There was no denying it to herself now; she was really starting to like Ardin.

“If that is your decision, then very well,” she replied neutrally. “Follow me.”

Elysia led the way to the debriefing room and was joined by the group from her father’s shuttle. The man himself joined her at her side, just slightly behind her as was proper. Unless they were part of the Hapan Royal Guard, or given express permission to do so, the only person allowed to walk ahead of the Crown Princess outside of the privacy of a family gathering was the Queen Mother.

Despite all his power, Elysia had never known her father to ever balk at the tradition.

“I had a chance to review your actions on the flight back,” he said to her in a quiet octave, breaking through her thoughts. “You handled yourself well.”

The compliment sent a thrill through her. Arien Garix wasn’t a man who offered empty praise. One had to earn his approval; not always the easiest thing to do when trying to meet his exacting standards.

As much as Elysia enjoyed receiving his approval, she knew better than to revel in it. “Ambassador Ardin deserves some of the credit. I merely oversaw his efforts.”

Her father smiled. In some ways the expression was even more implacable than her own careful mask of neutrality. “Indeed. How fortuitous that our guests are already demonstrating their commitment to our cause.”

They arrived at the debriefing room before anything else could be said. As the others found their seats, Elysia sat down next to her mother. Although she hid it well, Elysia could pick up the subtle signs that indicated that her mother was relieved to see her return unharmed. In exchange Elysia gave her a slight nod to acknowledge the sentiment.

She then looked around the room for her siblings. Marek was up front, of course, but Elysia was surprised to see him conversing quietly with Nyalla. At first she thought that her younger sister was simply delivering some late data to their brother, but the more she watched, the more it looked like he was giving her advice.

A moment later Nyalla walked up to the center podium while Marek stayed in the background. Elysia glanced back at her mother and got the distinct impression that she was enjoying the proceedings.

“Mother?” Elysia asked quietly. The meaning of the question was implicit.

Her mother simply politely motioned for her to be quiet. “Let’s give your sister our full attention.”

Elysia raised a curious eyebrow, but did as instructed.

This was new...

[Jagtai]

Telan Ro sighed in relief when they received confirmation that the operation had ended with no friendly casualties. She was surprised; she had never expected to be this relieved. It was not just the fact that the mission was still alive; she realized that she was even more relieved that Lucath was unscathed.

She thought back; while he had seemed aloof, guarded, and powerful from the beginning, she had not expected the show of force that he had unleashed in the museum. The fact that he had done so without killing anyone, was even more impressive.

* * * * *

Unlike Elysia, Arien Garix did not offer Lucath the option of rest. He assumed, correctly, that Lucath would want to be present at the debriefing.

Lucath nodded at Telan Ro as he entered the debriefing room. Telan smiled. “You impressed everyone, Lucath.”
Lucath shrugged. “I did what was required. Not to gain accolades.” He smiled a tiny smile. “But thank you, Telan.”

They found their seats, and spoke a bit more, keeping their voices down. When Nyalla walked onto the center podium, they sat back, waiting for her to speak…

[TalRaimi]

“…and just remember, this is your debrief. Give everyone the chance to speak, but ultimately, you’re in control, you set the agenda.”

Nyalla pursed her lips, and gave ger brother an uncertain glance. Marek’s advice was sound, but it was easy for him to say such things, this sort of thing was as natural as breathing for him. “And what if I miss something?” she wondered aloud.

“Then I will discretely steer you onto the topic you’ve missed,” he answered matter-of-factly. “Let go of your worries, sister. You must have given briefings during your military service; this is no different.”

She saw his point and conceded he was right, but he was also wrong. In practical terms this wasn’t any different than the hundreds of briefings and debriefings she’d given over the past four years, but what was different, were the stakes. They were so much higher than anything shed previously been involved in.

Nyalla nodded her thanks, and then moved to the central podium, checking that everyone had taken their places. Her mother smiled reassuringly, which she immediately found unnerving. Her father’s expression was neutral, but she imagined he would be both curious and expectant since she was taking what was customarily Marek’s role. Elysia, Ardin, and Lucath were present, as well as Telan Ro Kya Solra, and a few select Hapan intelligence officers and commanders.

I have this, she reassured herself before beginning.

Nyalla began by recapping the nights events in brief, sticking to the factual record of what had transpired as experienced by the teams on the ground and the staff in the war room. She was focused and to the point. So far so good, she acknowledged to herself, now the tricky part.

“As tonight’s events draw to a close we’re left with a number of questions. Ostensibly the attack on the museum was a terrorist attack by the Anti-Jedi Coalition, a group that’s motive is as self-apparent as their name suggests. However, this group also claimed responsibly for the attack on the Crown Princess, a claim that was subsequently disproved,” she glanced pointedly at her Father and Marek. “This group has been gaining prominence slowly over the past few years, but the museum attack represents its largest operation to date. They have until recently been a primarily politely outfit. So, something has changed.

“This brings me to their endgame. What did they hope to gain from tonight? Were we able to prevent it? And what comes next? There may be a slight increase in anti-force user sentiment, but thanks to Ambassador Ardin and my sister’s handling of the protestors, a full-scale riot was avoided – and with minimal loss of life. We were also able to save the museum’s curator and capture almost all of the Anti-Jedi Coalition terrorists, save one.

“I want to start by focusing on two things though,” she turned first to her Father and Lucath, and then to her sister and Ardin, “What was your impression of the ground troops? Did they have a plan to escape? Or was this a onetime trip for them? And similarly with the crowd, we know there were instigators in the crowd, but what was your overall impression of the rest of them?”

[Halomek]

Once again, due to her station, proper decorum stated that Elysia should be the first to speak. In truth she hadn’t put too much thought yet into the question Nyalla was asking them, but there was no way she was going to say that aloud. It was important for the next ruler of Hapes to always appear to be on top of things and in control.

Being able to adapt quickly and respond to the unexpected was a trait both of her parents had trained into her from an early age. She quickly ran through the events of the night as she formulated an answer.

“Misguided,” Elysia replied succinctly before elaborating: “Most of the crowd outside were citizens looking for an outlet to express their anger. I doubt many of them were even part of the AJC. It’s easy enough in our culture for people to believe in Jedi conspiracies rather than addressing the actual problems afflicting their lives. Would that be your assessment as well, Ambassador Ardin?”

Elysia glanced his way and, to his credit, Ardin didn’t seem the least bit flustered to be called upon. He simply nodded. “If not for the instigators, I believe I could have dispersed that crowd without resorting to violence. Once I started taking down their leaders, most of them lacked the conviction to keep protesting. Interestingly enough, I think I was even starting to make one of the instigators see reason before she took her own life.” He put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “In spite of all the anger and fear I could sense from the crowd, I don’t remember picking up much actual malice from them.”

“Certainly the people inside were not ordinary citizens,” her father spoke up. “They had no reservations about trying to kill us, although I would say they were woefully unprepared to face an actual Jedi. To their credit none of them ran except their leader.” He seemed like he was about to say more, but instead he just smiled and gestured to their New Republic guests. “Master Lucath, your thoughts?”

As Lucath responded to her father’s inquiry, Elysia found herself wondering why her father had been so brief with his own analysis. Usually he enjoyed speaking at length about such things. He certainly had a talent for figuring out how people would act in just about any situation.

With a flash of inspiration, Elysia suddenly understood what he was doing. He was purposefully refraining from saying more so as not to overshadow Nyalla. He was giving her the chance to shine. Moreover, it was also likely a test to see what kind of conclusions she would draw on her own.

Elysia glanced back at her sister. She just hoped Nyalla wasn’t too caught up in the debriefing itself to forget to pick up on such things...

[Jagtai]

Lucath followed the briefing in silence. He'd developed a soft spot for Nyalla, since she reminded him of his youngest daughter, Jenne, and thought that she was doing very well.

He nodded to Arien. "I agree. They intended to make a stand, vilify whoever came for them. If not for your father's request to keep them alive, they might have gotten exactly what they wanted." He shrugged. "They were trained soldiers, certainly - I'd even go so far as to call them fanatical."

He sat back, awaiting the continuation of the briefing.

[TalRaimi]

Nyalla fought to keep her foot still behind the podium as she listened to the accounts of the ground team. She was less nervous than when she’s started, but that didn’t mean she was anywhere near comfortable. She put aside her own discomfort for the time being and considered the information she’d been given. In many ways this was not dissimilar to one of her father’s thought puzzles, in fact it was perhaps easier, less abstract, as she had more information available to her to process than with a thought puzzle.

“So, the vast majority of the crowd - regardless of their political views - were being manipulated. That would be broadly in line with what we’ve come to expect of the ATJ. The AJC wanted a riot, they wanted it captured on holocam, and were willing to sacrifice one of their own to do it. It will be interesting to see if that conclusion is borne out after the prisoners are interrogated.

She turned to Lucath, as something he said set of an itch at the back of her brain.

“Master Lucath, you referred to the woman who escaped as their leader. Why? By all accounts the woman who transmitted the AJC’s demands, Commander GLass, was their leader.”

[Jagtai]

Lucath bowed his head, when Nyalla turned to him.

"No, Your Highness, Commander Glass was a pawn, just like the rest of the invaders. The woman who escaped was the true mastermind - or rather, the mouthpiece of the mastermind. I read their emotions; Glass was resigned but oblivious. The woman that escaped was not resigned; she knew how it would end all along."

He shrugged. "The only thing she had not planned on, was a Jedi Master fighting beside your father. They wanted a massacre, and we did not give them one. She had always planned to escape; it was just a little too close for comfort because of me." Nothing he said was a lie; he simply left out the part where he had let her escape.

[Halomek]

“I’m inclined to agree with Master Lucath, at least insofar as Glass not being the true leader,” Arien added as he chose his contributions to the discussion carefully. This was Nyalla’s moment and he wanted to see her conclusions without any prompting from him. “Glass never made an attempt to escape. Instead she was ready to die if it meant advancing her cause. Her mistake was believing that I would have to kill her to stop her.”

He smiled a bit, but there was no warmth in the expression. “I haven’t seen fanaticism this strong or widespread in a long time. I left orders to put Glass on suicide watch. The same for the other prisoners we took tonight.”

[TalRaimi]

Nyalla crossed her arms, digesting what Lucath and her father had just told her. The AJC it seemed, possessed a more fanatical element than their intelligence service had been led to believe, the fact one of them had killed herself during the protest outside the museum only backed up her father’s words. Not that she would ever have doubted him.

“So, this other woman, the true commander… why was she there? We suspect the objective of the attack was to spark a riot, sew as much chaos as possible, and likely show our troops killing the AJC forces. We know there were enough fanatics in the AJC forces who were prepared to die to accomplish such an outcome, so why a ‘second’ Commander? It doesn’t make sense unless the woman who escaped wasn’t part of the AJC. And if she wasn’t, that means someone else is pulling the AJC’s strings.”

[Halomek]

"Undoubtably,” Arien confirmed for Nyalla, pleased that she was starting to grasp the larger perspective of the trouble they were facing. It was worth rewarding her with a little more elucidation from him. “Consider this as well... we still don’t know what motivated Captain Trehani to try and kill us during Casara’s funeral. The assumption has been that she had ties to the AJC, but despite our investigation into the matter, there’s been no credible evidence to support that as of yet.”

Once again Arien stopped himself from saying more. He could tell Nyalla was getting close to the same conclusion he had reached. The museum attack, Trehani’s attempt to kill them all by crashing her starfighter into the Grand Temple, the other reports of unrest across the Consortium, Elysia’s vision of a mysterious red-eyed stranger wreathed in the fire of Hapes...

Nyalla’s analytical skills were not as sharp as her siblings, but that was only because she didn’t use them as often. He knew she was capable of putting the pieces together.