collab w/ [@Piercing Light]

[i][b]Yavin IV[/b][/i]
[hr]

Lahana fiddled with her blaster as she leaned back in her seat aboard Kale's ship. They were currently in hyperspace traveling to the system where they best might find Aren and the whereabouts of the Sith Holocron. The steady hum of the ship was interrupted by her Master calling out to her. [b]"You haven't said a thing since we left, I hope you aren't letting your thoughts fester."[/b] Kale stood from his seat at the pilots chair and walked to sit at a table bolted to the floor. 

[b]"Usually my mind would be racing... But not right now. A normal person would be kinda disturbed by all of that, right?"[/b] She wiped a smudge of blood off her blaster before holstering it. [b]"I guess I'm really too far gone."[/b] 

[b]"Some people would kill for that level of stoicism you know."[/b] Kale said, half in jest. Lahana frowned and stood up. 

[b]"Well, they'd be on the right track at least. I'm going to try and get some sleep."[/b] She didn't look back as she went went further back into the ship. As she was laying down on a bed her com device beeped to life.[b] "Why could possibly be cal- oh!"[/b] She quickly sat up and answered. [b]"A-Alara?"[/b] She said, her voice nearly breaking.

[color=f6989d][b]“Hey!”[/b][/color] Alara greeted so bubbly that you could almost hear her smile through the comlink. [color=f6989d][b]“I was just about to come looking for you at the Jedi Temple, but Zee said you were offworld and moving fast. You’re not on Yavin anymore?”[/b][/color] 

Clearing the clouds above Yavin’s far-reaching jungles, Rogue Group continued on their course to the New Republic base. Gold Squadron already accelerated ahead to return to their hanger bay. This left the four X-wing pilots to continue speaking alone, without threat of being overheard or spied on. A message was likely given to Wedge if he was in a position to receive it: Rogue Squadron returned home and would land in a few minutes. Enough time for them to finalize how to handle Borsk’s threats, his obtaining of the stolen chip, and to get a better understanding of the word “Sith”--the term they were so desperate to hide from those unauthorized to know. 

Alara peered through her canopy window at the Jedi Temple as they flew by. Recalling the scarcity of the library inside, information related to Sith may not be in her favor to obtain. She got away with taking books because of Lahana. Without her, the receptionist’s welcome might be anything except warm.

[b]"N-no. me and Master Kale had to go to this flying entertainment district to find some answers about Aren, he's still missing. The good news is we have a lead, the bad news is that terrorists attacked. I'm fine though..."[/b] She refrained from mentioning the piles of bodies that had been created. She really needed to learn how to stop making conversations awkward.

There was a noticeable pause while Alara processed the new information. [color=f6989d][b]“…Th-that’s good,”[/b][/color] she said shakily, trying to refrain from asking about the terrorist encounter. Remaining on topic was of great importance not to just to her, but to her friends flying ahead. They still debated on what to do among themselves. [color=f6989d][b]“I’m glad you’re safe. It’s a good thing you train so hard, huh?”[/b][/color] 

A low groan could be heard from Zee over their communications, leaving Alara to translate for who he deemed a ‘brute’. [color=f6989d][b]“Zee… says hi,”[/b][/color] she continued, to which Zee rotated his domed head back and forth in denial of such a blatant lie. [color=f6989d][b]“He wants to know if you got the training droid repaired before you left.”[/b][/color]

Training, right. Lahana wished it was simply due to her Jedi training. The unnatural calm she had stepping over innocent corpses wasn't something you attained from training. [b]"The droid? I asked someone in maintenance to fix it, so unless they're being a lazy twat it should be in working condition by now..."[/b] Lahana leaned her back against the wall and pulled her knees close to her. [b]"Did you... Need something from me?"[/b] She asked. She couldn't think of any other reason someone would be calling her.

Three low beeps that Alara would describe as mocking were given in return. She cared enough to alert someone with deft hands and higher intelligence to fix the damage she caused, but not enough to oversee the repair herself. [i]That figures[/i], Zee thought.

Alara didn’t know what a twat was, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. It sounded a little more vulgar than the language she got to hear in the occasional pazaak game she watched. It was best she doesn’t ask that question.

[color=f6989d][b]“Thank you,”[/b][/color] she said happily. With business continuing, her smile faltered. [color=f6989d][b]“I did have something I wanted to ask you, actually. My friends and I… we did something pretty questionable, and we agreed not to share details with people outside of our circle. This information we found seemed really important, and there’s only one person any of us knew well enough to trust by asking. We don’t know the Jedi very well outside of the stories, but I knew you, and I trust you not to rat us out.”[/b][/color] 

Taking a breath, Alara let the trust she was placing in Lahana resonate with her a moment longer before continuing. [color=f6989d][b]“We found something out from a secret briefing. That thing on Onderon we couldn’t know about… it was a Holocron, like Zsinj said it was, but the word “Sith” was attached to it. Does that word mean anything to you, or your master?”[/b][/color]

Lahana wondered as silence filled the ship's cabin what Alara and her crew could have possibly done. Did they blow up a few too many buildings? Splatter a hostile in front of a sensitive official? As for the trust placed in her, she wasn't sure why Alara bothered. Surely there were better Jedi to talk to... Lahana frowned and looked at the ceiling. Or maybe not, there weren't many of them in the first place.

[b]"Sith? Oh, yeah. Master Kale said that would be bad. The Sith are uhm, evil force users. They've conquered a lot of systems in the past or something. A Sith Holocron could be used to bring them back."[/b]

A significant pause followed Lahana’s explanation and only the sound of quiet breathing over the line would tell her that they were still connected. Alara was lining up as much information as she could on her own. The explanation for what Sith were left much to be desired, but maybe that was all they were to Lahana—bad people using the Force to conquer worlds and civilizations. If there was more to them than that, time would be set aside to figure it out. 

She returned to reality in time to follow Rogue Group’s sharp turn towards the New Republic base. The others must’ve decided on how to handle the events at Bothawui. She wasn’t hailed and so there was no warning given to return to base and face any reprimands for what happened. Borsk didn’t tell a soul, which meant Wedge must’ve been safe.

That was a weight off her shoulders she’d gladly take, but it only shifted to her head as another question joined endless others. 

[color=f6989d][b]“Did you know already?”[/b][/color] she asked suddenly, becoming unsettled. If word got out about the holocron’s origins while they were gone, that entire mission was a waste of time and a scandal in the making for absolutely nothing. [color=f6989d][b]“You don’t seem surprised or hesitant at all about what I just told you. I thought the Jedi didn’t know about this?”[/b][/color]

Lahana grumbled something about shoving a thermal detonator up a certain Jedi Master's behind as she adjusted her position on the bed. 

[b]"Luke and some idiots in the New Republic were keeping it quiet, we had to learn that it was a Holocron the same way you did. Though Luke didn't know it was Sith. Master Kale thought it might be Sith, but wasn't sure. hrmm. Sorry? I'm not really sure what this even means."[/b]

[color=f6989d][b]“Luke?”[/b][/color] Alara repeated softly; she knew of only one “Luke”, and seeing as Lahana didn’t lump him in with the rest of the “idiots” in the New Republic… [color=f6989d][b]“Luke Skywalker? [i]The[/i] Luke Skywalker, he knew about it?”[/b][/color]

The New Republic keeping secrets from them was new to her, but she would never have thought someone as respectable as Luke Skywalker would hide anything from his students and peers. Whether he knew it was Sith in origin or not, the fact he kept that information from them in the first place perplexed her. It stored knowledge and it sounded harmless. But if what Nareia saw on the chip was true, then the New Republic knew about its origin this entire time.

Were they lying to Luke, too? 

[color=f6989d][b]“Lahana, we didn’t get this information just by asking for it. If they lied to a living legend like Luke Skywalker about it, then what’s a handful of pilots? They even kept it from Wedge.”[/b][/color] Swallowing hard, she cut back her throttle and joined the others in hovering over Yavin’s hangers—specifically Rogue Squadron’s. Nareia dipped low first and slid inside, Rayce following close behind. [color=f6989d][b]“I don’t know what’s going to happen. The truth is now in the hands of someone I’m not sure we can trust to do right by it, and we’re struggling to figure out how we’re going to approach this—it can’t remain a secret.”[/b][/color] 

Kyrin was next to drop altitude and enter the hanger bay; Alara followed, struggling to find faith in the organization she fought and suffered for. Lies, secrets—these were Imperial terms, not something the Alliance used and kept against their own!

Struggling to keep her hands still, she squeezed her eyes shut and fought the growing anxiety rising within her chest. [color=f6989d][b]“You said something about a terrorist attack?”[/b][/color] Alara asked, opening her eyes in time to rotate her craft and eject her landing gear. Setting it down with finesse, she removed her helmet and set it on her lap as her X-wing powered down—Zee’s doing. [color=f6989d][b]“Tell me about it.”[/b][/color]

There was that reverence for Luke again. She really didn't get it. [b]"I don't know why the attack happened, they seemed like Imperials, and we were on a stolen Star Destroyer. Revenge I guess? They broke it's main weapon then ran away."[/b] Lahana looked down to the saber at her hip. That was all Alara needed to know, wasn't it? She didn't need to know that she'd killed people, that she saw children torn apart.

She tilted her head to the side in thought, Alara seemed conflicted. [b]"This must be why Master Kale doesn't want to be so connected to the Republic. Too much sneaky nonsense, lying. What do you think will happen if you expose the truth? Honestly I don't really care, do it if you want."[/b]

Imperials attacking a Star Destroyer to destroy its weaponry made sense to her, but she was moreso curious about what led them to board one in the first place. Lahana explained things in such a way that after answering one question, she found herself with two or more questions to follow it. It was delightfully, laughably frustrating, enough so that she beamed and fought against a laughing fit. She wasn’t very good at telling stories, which could only mean that she didn’t read enough of them. They would have to fix that the next time they both caught a break—if there would ever be.

Her lack of care showed a recklessness that could rival Kyrin. For a moment she wondered what Kale would think about the New Republic’s great lie being kept from their most trusted units, but then she remembered that Lahana already explained it for her. Sneaky nonsense, lying… it was hard to disagree with her, especially now.

Catching sight of the others disembarking their fighters before moving to join one another at the entrance, she caught Nareia’s hand motioning for her attention. A message was mouthed to her—five minutes—before she turned to rejoin the men who moved ahead with purpose. The choice had been made. 

[color=f6989d][b]“We look at it similarly to you, actually,”[/b][/color] she started, peering down at her helmet. She gently ran her fingers across the symbols of the Rebellion—two emblems etched on either side. [color=f6989d][b]“If we just don’t care at all, that’s it. It’s done. Everyone knows the truth. But I think the tension among the Senators and High Command on how to move forward is starting to become even more dangerous. By exposing the truth of what was on Onderon to those that weren’t privileged enough to know, they might feel just as betrayed as we did.”[/b][/color]

Even among their small unit tension was thick. Kyrin wanted to confront Madine directly for holding out on them in the first place, but not before gathering the men and women he fought and bled with to make today possible and telling them what they found, claiming that everyone had a right to know what’s been going on. 

Rayce wanted to discover Borsk’s true goal by hanging on to that chip; political gain maybe, or leverage—neither of which bode well for the New Republic’s crumbling unity. The man vastly overstated the amount of damage Rogue Squadron caused. Furthermore, he specifically wanted them to remain silent on what transpired there. The Senator was up to no good, and they needed to act before that man could.

And Nareia’s indecision, her hesitation, and her fear of what she let slip from her finger weighed heavily on her heart. She debated on confessing to what happened and sided with Rayce’s point of view. Rallying the fighting forces of the New Republic against their superiors would only inspire the dissent and panic that their enemies would capitalize on. It would weaken Borsk’s attempt to seize whatever he wanted but would vastly cripple the New Republic’s dying morale even further.

[color=f6989d][b]“I care about my friends and the Alliance, and I think we did deserve to know what secret they kept from us,”[/b][/color] she confessed with a melancholic tone. [color=f6989d][b]“I want to believe that it won’t be so bad if we talk to the Senators and Command. Maybe we’re overreacting. Maybe we’re overthinking it and all this anxiousness, this fear, this anger… it’s just all in our head. But the more I tell myself that everything can become normal again, the more I’m unwilling to believe my own lie, because a lie is what got us to this point. And if we lie and pretend that everything is okay for our own benefit, we’re no better than the people we have to confront.”[/b][/color]

If Sith were the evil, world-conquering foes that Lahana described them as, then trying to obtain knowledge from their methods would cause an outcry among anyone still decent and good in the New Republic. The best they could hope for was that not everyone knew about this. Otherwise the Alliance she fought for might be truly dead. Some things were too dangerous to learn, and even more dangerous to apply and practice. 

[color=f6989d][b]“I might need to borrow some of your strength, Lahana.”[/b][/color] Alara sat up in her seat and reached for the button that opened her canopy; at the same time, she worked on getting Zee unmounted by flagging down an engineer getting their ships refueled and examined. The retractable ladder extended from her ship. Their time was nearly up. [color=f6989d][b]“I’m… scared, but I don’t want the others to know. I fly well, and I shoot better, but I’m not fearless like they can be.”[/b][/color]

[b]"Borrow my strength."[/b] Lahana repeated, her voice quiet. [b]"At least you're asking."[/b] Lahana realized something as she listened to Alara speak. Her voice ticked her off. What was frustrating was that she couldn't explain why. She sounded like a normal young woman, she wasn't shrill or loud. She was simply laying bare her feelings, without a doubt in her mind Lahana could now say that Alara was a good person. The only thing Lahana knew of politics was that it never helped her, it was a murky bog that she didn't want to enter. Yet Alara was willing to face those in power if need be. She was a good person, so why?

[i]"Hey Lana, what do you want to do when we get out of here?"[/i] A voice from nowhere bounced inside of her head. She flinched and drew her knees closer towards her chest. That's right, Alara sounded a lot like her. Both her voice and words were disturbingly nostalgic.

[b]"Please don't rely on me... You'll regret it."[/b]

Zee’s removal from his socket in the X-wing overtook the latter portion of what Lahana spoke. Alara waved thanks to the engineer responsible for helping lower him to the ground, saving her the time she would spend having to do so. The others were surely getting restless by now. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t stalling. Lahana’s courage was still taking its time reaching her.

[color=f6989d][b]“What was that?”[/b][/color] Alara asked over the sound of the mechanical arm delicately lowering Zee to the ground. [color=f6989d][b]“I didn’t catch that last part.”[/b][/color]

[b]"Um, I uh, said good luck. I hope things work out."[/b] Lahana was a terrible liar, though she was typically so awkward she probably sounded like she always did.

[color=f6989d][b]“…Me, too.”[/b][/color] Alara said, a sliver of hope in her tone. [color=f6989d][b]“Thank you.”[/b][/color] 

With a hesitant flip of a switch in her cockpit, the comm channel was cut. She rose from her seat and set her helmet behind her, then descended the ladder to rejoin the others. Strength was in her step and for the first time since leaving Bothawui her head was kept high.

[center]~-~[/center]

The trio of pilots waiting at the mouth of the hangar turned to look at her as she approached. Inclining her head apologetically, Kyrin waved it away while Nareia reached for her comlink. Before she could turn it on, Rayce tapped her arm and jerked his head towards Alara again. 

[color=fff79a][b]“Info first. We have to know what we’re talking about before we contact Wedge,”[/b][/color] he said carefully, trying not to step on her toes. [color=fff79a][b]“I know, time and all that, but if we’re not being bombarded by military officials that’s a good sign, right?”[/b][/color] 

[color=a187be][b]“For now,”[/b][/color] Nareia replied quietly before crossing her arm over her chest and looking over her shoulder, trying to spot anything unusual heading their way. No such thing. [color=a187be][b]“Remember when I said we’d laugh about paranoia once we left Bothawui?”[/b][/color]

[color=f26522][b]“Nah, be paranoid. Use that,”[/b][/color] Kyrin suggested, offering her a nod of reassurance before each of them looked to Alara. [color=f26522][b]“What’d your pal tell you?”[/b][/color]

[color=f6989d][b]“Sith are bad, world-conquering Force users and whatever is on that holocron might bring about their return. And apparently—”[/b][/color] 

Borrowing from Lahana’s reservoir of courage meant there would be no more hesitance in giving information that everyone would need. She agreed with Kyrin on one thing, and it was that the people who fought and bled for this New Republic should know the stakes at all times—even if it frightened them like it did her. She spoke firmly, an unwavering gaze given to all three as she recounted everything Lahana told her in so short a time. The search for Aren, while irrelevant to them, was also mentioned partly due to the terrorism Lahana and her master experienced. 

All three were momentarily stunned into silence once that verbal sprint came to a halt. They looked among each other as if to make certain they all heard correctly. 

[color=fff79a][b]“Luke didn’t know?”[/b][/color] Rayce asked, to which Alara nodded at him with pursed lips. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, fighting his skepticism. [color=fff79a][b]“If they’re willing to lie to him, then we truly aren’t any different, not even Wedge.”[/b][/color] 

[color=a187be][b]“Why access something by these people?”[/b][/color] Nareia asked aloud, looking to each of them. [color=a187be][b]“They knew what it was, the details on that chip confirmed that they already knew its origins. Why did they need something from conquerors?”[/b][/color]

[color=f26522][b]“They want to win, and they don’t care how they do it.”[/b][/color] Kyrin half-shrugged, taking this far better than the rest of his companions. [color=f26522][b]“I’m not into religions and all that, but when you’re desperate you’ll say and do anything to see tomorrow. Nothing good would come from world-conquering evil Force people, not unless you want to take over the galaxy yourself.”[/b][/color]

[color=a187be][b]“The New Republic wants to unite the galaxy, not conquer it,”[/b][/color] Nareia argued.

Kyrin directed his stare to her and held it. [color=f26522][b]“The [i]Rebel Alliance[/i] wanted that,”[/b][/color] he argued back. [color=f26522][b]“A return to democracy and all things good and fair, and we fought to end the Empire that took that away to beat and starve everyone who didn’t fall in line. And if that didn’t work, just enslave them.”[/b][/color]

[color=fff79a][b]“What are you getting at?”[/b][/color] Rayce asked.

[color=f26522][b]“What I’m getting at is that this isn’t the same organization as before. We’re not the underdogs anymore. We’re on top, and the powers that be are wanting to keep it that way, even if it means lying to the people who got you here.”[/b][/color] Between Rayce and Nareia, Kyrin wasn’t sure who needed to hear that more. Something bad was happening to the organization they fought for, and if they didn’t course correct soon, they’d be no better than the Empire they all hated for one reason or another. 

[color=fff79a][b]“Borsk is a problem but he’s not the only problem we’ve got,”[/b][/color] Rayce muttered, to which Kyrin nodded. [color=fff79a][b]“I get it. But he’s the problem we can deal with right now, and if he’s as well connected as he says he is then we need to act before he does. We have a plan for both outcomes.”[/b][/color]

[color=f6989d][b]“What about that threat he made, the one about demoting Nareia?”[/b][/color] Alara entered the conversation again, stepping forward and looking to each of them with a ray of determination glistening in her eyes. [color=f6989d][b]“We’re not letting them do it, are we?”[/b][/color]

[color=f26522][b]“Of course not,”[/b][/color] Kyrin scoffed; the idea of Borsk telling any of them what to do anywhere off Bothawui was a good joke. [color=f26522][b]“And even if he does ground her, none of us are flying without her. So, if he wants to deprive the New Republic of one of its best pilots, he’s losing the rest of them. Gold, Blue, Gray—doesn’t matter. She’s got the pull here, not Borsk.”[/b][/color] 

[color=a187be][b]“That’s not my call,”[/b][/color] Nareia reminded Kyrin and the others. The lengths they were willing to go for her brought a smile to her face. She feared that their passions might hurt the New Republic more than Borsk, but that was a risk they each seemed willing to take. [color=a187be][b]“And I’ll also remind each of you to fly for the right cause if you’re called up. I’m the only one who should take the fall for this. Not any of you, and not Wedge.”[/b][/color]

[color=fff79a][b]“Wedge ought to agree with us,”[/b][/color] Rayce said. [color=fff79a][b]“And take the fall if he has to. A good leader looks after his own.”[/b][/color]

[color=f26522][b]“Guess we’re gonna find out.”[/b][/color] Kyrin tapped Nareia’s shoulders with his knuckles and nodded towards the base. [color=f26522][b]“Let’s get going.”[/b][/color]

The quintet stepped out of the hangar’s mouth and into the rays of Yavin IV’s sun. Nareia drew her comlink and turned it on, making sure the frequency was returned to Rogue Squadron’s personal channel, and spoke. 

[color=a187be][b]“Wedge? It’s Nareia. We’re back, and we’ve got a lot to discuss with you.”[/b][/color]