freedomliveson

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Aria showed some real growth there. I kind of expected her to lash out...there's that Sith Inquisitor part of her showing up xD

You did great in handling our pilot lady(that cracked me up)! I'll make sure to give her a name in the next post, although I'm quite enamored with "pilot lady"

HA! I like that little insertion at the end. "Of course he can do what he wants!" *force lightning shoots out of fingertips*

Will reply in a bit!

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Prettty much xD

Feel free to take control of the merc if you need to :)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

As the ship's loading ramp elevated, Yerbol responded:
Something tells me that we're going to have an easier time with this one. See that flag mounted above those storage units? The symbol of the Republic was emblazoned on the red and blue colored banner, fluttering gently due to the cooling system being on full blast. Speaking of which, it was FREEZING onboard...so cold that even Yerbol, someone who was known for his affinity towards cold temperatures, was beginning to feel his teeth chattering involuntarily. After clenching his jaw for a few moments to get the involuntary response under control, he spoke to Aria through their link:
Hope that the conditions of her ship match what her personality is like. He shot her a smirk just as a buttery smooth voice came over the intercom:
"You two need to get up to the cockpit. I've got marching orders for you." The severity of the command didn't match up with the overall tonal quality of what Yerbol had just heard. The voice was melodic in nature, carrying a subtle tune in every syllable the pilot spoke. It was odd to hear the mismatch, especially coming from someone who was hired out by a Sith Lord.
"Right, on our way." There was a half moon shaped corridor that branched out into other similarly shaped hallways, but following the main hall put them in an open space, a large, circular projector in the center of the room with a galaxy map hovering mid-air in the middle of the projector.
"Keep going." Going forward into a shorter hallway, they emerged into the cockpit, where a shock of vibrant red hair was visible, curls sticking out at various angles. The disembodied mound of hair spoke, the ship lurching off the ground:
"I don't care if you have the Force, know how to use a lightsaber or can destroy planets with your pinkie, you're on my ship now. That means you do what I say until we get to where we need to go. Either that or I can dump you off at the nearest spaceport and explain why two fugitives should be allowed free access to their planet...not to mention having to deal with Roan. I wouldn't want to be on his bad side." The ship groaned into the blackness of space, pulling away from the planet and into hyperspace a couple of minutes later. The hair turned around in the chair to reveal a pleasantly rounded face complimented by a smooth jaw and almost perfectly set light blue eyes that cast a knowing glare into the very essence of the one being looked at. There were lines of worry that showed up very slightly on her forehead, but when a half smile formed on her lips, dimples appeared.

She was, in a phrase, the most adorable looking mercenary Yerbol had ever seen.

Couple her face with the sleeveless green shirt and compressed black pants, adorable would turn into another phrase entirely, one which he didn't feel like sharing in a bond between he and Aria.

"Ok kids, here's what we're doing: we're headed to a moon off of Kashyyyk. It'll take about a day to get there, so in the meantime, just keep the volume down and don't stab anything onboard, including me. That'd be appreciated. There's some food and water for you guys in the guest quarters just to the left of the war room and...well, that's it."
"Don't suppose we get the name of our imposed babysitter?" Yerbol playfully quipped. The woman smirked, rising and patting Yerbol's cheek gently with her right hand.
"All you need to know is that I'm the difference between you dying in a hole somewhere in Wild Space and surviving this mess." She plopped back down and spun around in her chair, placing her feet on the control panel.
"Well, what are you two still doing here? Let me at least get some shuteye."
"Not before we convince you to help us." A laugh floated through the air.
"Aren't I doing that already?"
"You know what's going on, then? The hunt for Jedi, Sith, anyone that can use the Force?"
"Of course. Just mentioned it, didn't I?"
"Then you know that there's going to be survivors who need our help." A groan, the woman turning her head.
"They don't need your help, kiddo. They're all dead or will be dead in the next few days. Better to let this mass panic go over our heads so we can live to fight another day."
"And who's going to fight off the Sith? Me, Ari and you? Two young Force users and a mercenary?" Her face recoiled, brow shooting up.
"Merc? I'll have you know that I was fighting Imperial Spec ops troopers before you were given a toy saber to train with." She spat on the ground, then added:
"People know how to rally when they need to. They'll find you when they're good and ready. Now is the time to duck and run."
"Right, so you ARE a merc." She shot out of her chair, hands in fists.
"Don't you DARE lump me into that group. I've done my share of fighting, my share of sacrificing! I don't need some twenty something year old Jedi with an ego the size of Coruscant to tell me who I am!"
"Running? Taking on smuggling fugitives for a Sith Lord? How could someone who still venerates the Republic to this day fall so far?" Her jaw jutted out, right fist raising for a brief moment, then lowered.
"Ok, fine. You've baited me, got me off kilter and all emotional when I shouldn't have. Not easy to ruffle my feathers, so I'll at least hear you out. What do you both want from me and why on the name of all that's right in the universe should I listen?"

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Aaaand as I typed that, things got super quiet xD

Will post today

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Sounds all good to me! Things are a bit hectic here today...will try and squeeze something in late today/early tomorrow

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Haha, the Rakata are REALLY unbalanced, which is fun xD

I think what you proposed would work out well. Being vulnerable isn't exactly something either one of them would be comfortable with(obviously Yerbol is more comfortable, but no one LIKES being vulnerable). Sharing insecurities, fears, hopes and all that through breaks in action should help. I'll also assume that training together and helping each other through the breakdown of known civilization will help bind them together. We can plan certain sequences or moments to help push the relationship along...kinda like we've been doing and what we just did with the argument.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Oh yeah, there are. I just have NO idea. We're going into very uncharted space in more than one sense of the word, so it's our playground to do with as we see fit. We'll come up with something cause we're smart like that.

Ooohhh, that sounds intriguing. I'm sure the Rakatan would have at least taken notice of the galaxy reshaping itself and want to figure out what on earth is going on. I wouldn't mind if it wasn't just Rakatan...maybe a mixture of races that follow the Rakatan ideologies? Which I know is fragmented enough, but maybe a combination of both major ideologies? (Which, if I remember quickly, was either "kill everyone!" or "chillll, bruh.")

I DID mention his name and brief character history, but I don't remember anything I wrote. Will retrieve it from OOC and post it here!

Interesting...so Yerbol and Aria get somewhat of an order going, train, get better and then out of desperation because Jedi and Sith don't want to get involved in governments again(understandably so xD), they turn to this new "Grey Force User" order...by the way, we'll have come up with a name for what they come up with. True Sith was a good start, but I feel like they'll be representing something totally new, which means a new title.

Also, we both agreed that Yerbol and Aria would eventually get together romantically right? If so, do you want to plan on when they should start having feelings or let them figure it out as the story progresses? I've done both ways and I find that the second approach tends to work better...feels more organic. But the first way works well too because then the romance won't interfere with certain plot events where it wouldn't make sense.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Posted it! Love to hear your input :)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Alright, here we go *cracks knuckles*

So Yerbol and Aria get offworld, rescue an assortment of Jedi and Sith, then manage to get to a hideout. I assume it would be Wild Space? That might be too close to the Sith homeworld, but you get the point, somewhere remote where the Sith couldn't find them. I feel like it wouldn't take much effort to unite this band of Jedi and Sith together, seeing as they have one common enemy. I'm assuming there would be some dust-ups here and there, but nothing that couldn't be sorted out. This alliance would recruit and grow, building up a sizable resistance against the True Sith, who would be murdering every Force User in sight with the combined efforts of the Republic and Sith.
I assume some within the Republic and Empire would disagree with mass genocide and join the resistance, which would lead to an eventual standoff between the resistance and the True Sith. Bracknell and co. are dispatched, schemes exposed and everyone duped feels like an idiot.

HOWEVER

The motivating force behind the True Sith, the one pulling the strings, is still alive. He communicates with Yerbol and Aria, summoning them to a remote moon in Wild Space where he attempts to reason with them. His premise is that the Force has been pulled apart by the division of light and dark. As the only remaining True Sith Master alive, he has perfected the ultimate balance between the two halves, effectively giving him true mastery of the Force. However, with repeated collapses of both Jedi and Sith orders, he felt drastic action needed to be taken. By the simple act of eliminating Force users, he argues, the Force becomes unbalanced, to the point where it cannot sustain even itself. Although he is fully aware that "killing" the Force through genocide was a dramatic move, it felt it was necessary. However, Yerbol and Aria's efforts caught his attention; after all, they were the ONLY two to pass the trials successfully in almost a thousand years. They have the potential to begin balancing the Force, to give true enlightenment to all those given the gift of the Force. He offers to train them in the most rudimentary of concepts before sending them back with the teachings he has assembled. IF Yerbol and Aria agreed, they would train under him for a short period of time and go back to known space, only to be promptly rejected by both Jedi and Sith Masters, who are already beginning to descend into infighting. A small contingent of younger Jedi and Sith who fought alongside the duo seem intrigued and are willing to learn. This brands Yerbol and Aria as heretics who are not welcome on either planet nor by the Republic and the Empire, who are beginning to consolidate their assets to merge into a powerful sociopolitical force.

With the massive changes underway in the galaxy, other systems were bound to take notice. Fleets of unknown origin begin to probe the very edges of known space before zipping back into hyperspace. No one can figure out where these fleets came from, but their increasing appearances are making the newly founded government very, very nervous.

So, what do you think?

Service and Royalty(LeoxFreedom)

The greeting line was reserved exclusively for the party visiting, which would be Maleea and her party in this case. The Avatar, whose name Polkos nor anyone except probably his parents knew, stood close to the Princess and did his political duty of accepting whatever praise bestowed on Maleea as compliments towards the entire Dasvrochian government. Thankfully, Polk was freed to do as he pleased until the processional was over, which he assumed would take quite a while. Their first "official" appearance would feature the duo seated at the very northern end of the banquet hall, where a row of wooden tables stood decorated with food, drink and the most elaborate set of cutlery that the Metaschi empire could provide. He made small talk with a few nobles, but mainly watched the processional from a distance, his future bride maintaining her composure during the entire exchange. It was admirable to see. She seemed to be holding up rather well under the intense scrutiny that was occurring not only from the nobles in the line, but the other onlookers who were whispering in hushed tones about her "glimmering hair" or how lucky the Kingdom was to have such a "wonderful bearer of the bloodline". Allusions to children made Polk want to simultaneously laugh and sob...so, lob? Saugh? Children was an odd subject for him to consider. He had, after all, engaged in so much travel that thinking about becoming a family man was odd. But, he reminded himself, he knew this would happen. Every trot his horse took towards the Rings was one step closer to his subjugation to a realm of political nonsense that he had specifically wanted to leave behind. Speaking of political nonsense, he should probably be prepared to give a speech. Nobility liked speeches.

_______________________

Three. Hours.

Polk rushed into his personal quarters and nearly ripped the tunic he had on in half as he stripped himself of the royal attire, finding a loose fitting short sleeved shirt that was in a drawer and placed it on his upper half. Replacing his lower half attire with similarly fitting pants, he smiled in relief. The feast went well, but all of the consumption that he indulged in, the lengthy address he had to make to appease those who clamored for one and the vast amount of conversation he had with all sorts of people had made him frustratingly anxious. He wanted to be released from the shackles of royal clothing an hour ago...and now, finally, he had found his release.

Well, temporarily.

When the hall was emptied, his parents and the Avatar firmly reminded the two that the wedding ceremony would be in TWO weeks(emphasis on two) and that they were only to be in each other's company with the presence of attendants until after their marriage. Polk wanted to object, but then again, every movement they made would be closely scrutinized. There were also whispers of unrest from the Koufkelians about the union, which made both parents and Avatar insist that there were people presented around at all times while they were together. Assassination attempts were not to be taken lightly.

Another minor annoyance would be that he couldn't just walk over to the other end of the castle and have a conversation with his betrothed. She was going to be engaged in wedding preparations and as such would need as much time necessary. A servant was chosen to act as messenger between them, which was coincidentally the same girl that had bumped into his door. He requested for her presence after the feast to inquire about his future bride's personality, interests, and other little things he would like to know. It was admittedly a bit grade-school on his part, but he couldn't just walk into a marriage without knowing a LITTLE bit about his-

A knock came at the door.
"It's unlocked!"