The Elvenqueen

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Zabrak was what I was going for yeah :P

Oooo yay, congrats!! :D and no worries, life comes first! :3

Shuffle your music player and post the first 10 songs

1. Heathens-21 Pilots-Suicide Squad OST
2. Mirrors-Pvris-White Noise (Deluxe Edition)
3. Song Of The Lonely Mountain-Neil Finn-The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey OST (Extended Version)
4. Willow Tree March-The Paper Kites-Woodland EP
5. Listen To Your Heart (Edemee's Unplugged Version)-DHT feat. Edemee-Listen To Your Heart
6. Somebody That I Used To Know-Gotye feat. Kimbra-Somebody That I Used To Know
7. It's Time-Imagine Dragons-Night Visions (Deluxe Edition)
8. How Far We've Come-The Matchbox Twenty-The Matchbox Twenty Collection
9. I Found (Acoustic)-Amber Run-Pilot EP
10. Bubblegum Bitch-Marina and the Diamonds-Electra Heart (Deluxe Edition)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Awesome, here goes then! :P Mind getting them started on discussing raiding the convoys, or trying to locate them or something?

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Aria sighed again, nodding as she listened to her partner's reassurances.
“I suppose you're right...I just don't want us to become what we were trying to prevent in the first place, because what does that prove?” her focus turned to the meeting, which would be the next thing they would need to think about, before they could worry about what they would do afterwards. A slight smile came to her face as he mentioned the movie, the Champion shaking her head slightly in mock disbelief.
“It's a CLASSIC, Bol. I can't believe you haven't seen it yet!”
The shuttle’s engines started and cut off any retort Yerbol might have had as they made their way back to return to Zinuthra.
__________

“That would certainly be a favourable solution.” Cheriss nodded in agreement. “We can't risk him going to the media and planting false stories. It would ruin the better reputation we've managed to build, if HoloNet reporters started claiming the Qyaari weren't beneath killing children in order to keep ourselves “in control”.”
“People wouldn't actually believe that, would they?”
“You would be surprised how quickly some civilians believe what they hear on the news, Aria my dear.”
Thoughtful silence fell across the Elders chamber as its occupants processed the points brought into the discussion.
“So you mean to tell me, Malu, that the fact Manus is sending these children straight to their deaths is not enough to convince their parents to stop bringing them to him?” Ailel sighed. “I find that difficult to believe…”
“They need resources, correct?” Cheriss spoke up once more, the Dathomirian’s sharp gaze returning to Malu. “We must have ways to find some to spare. A show of good faith, as it were. They wouldn't refuse that.”
“Would they offer their help in return, though?” Ailel frowned warily. “I can't see that being enough, if they aren't convinced by the fact that he's killing CHILDREN.”
Aria groaned softly, pressing her fingers to her temples.
“Are we not getting one step ahead of ourselves, just a little? I hate to say it, but if we are going to have any hope of cutting Master Vo’s connections to the network, we have to win the support of these supposed neutral Force users first. WITHOUT forcing their hand.”
“And that is where we have our dilemma.” Ailel huffed, her hands clasped tightly together.
“Then perhaps the first question for us to be asking is WHY are they so short on resources that they would accept supplies from Malu? Is it possible that Manus could be to blame for that?”
“Is there a way for us to prove that?” the Champion asked, her gaze moving over the Elders present.
“Possibly…” Ailel nodded. “And even if it isn’t Manus, if we could send representatives, WITH some of Malu’s resources, and they could help this group to find out where their stolen goods are going, and take them back….”
“...We could win their favour.” Voldon finished, his mouth still a tight line as he nodded along with the plan that was unfolding between them.
Exchanging a glance with her partner, Aria reached out towards him through their bond and commented with a snort:
Why do I get the feeling that those “representatives” are going to be us?

It was.

After a brief respite period overnight, during which the Champions meditated and then relaxed for a few hours while they watched the aforementioned movie with Chwuq and Taral curled up snoring at their feet, they were once again situated on a shuttle bound for the capital world.
“Everything about this still makes me nervous.” Aria muttered as they docked in the spaceport. The Tuk’ata gave low growls of agreement, their tails twitching as they padded after the Champions down the ramp. “Where did Malu say we were supposed to meet these people again?” Aria cast around as if there would be some kind of clue, whether a Force presence or a particular person who stood out to them when they laid eyes on them, but so far could not locate anything that stood out.
“It might be risky, but I almost want to suggest that when we DO find them, we let whoever it is we’re meeting with stay in charge and follow their orders.” Yerbol failed to hide the sharp spike of surprise (mingled with amusement) that radiated from his mind at her suggestion. Even Chwuq’s head shot up, red eyes blinking at the shorter Champion as the beast gave a dumbfounded grunt.
Smirking, Aria caught his eye with a sideward glance. “Yes alright, the thought of me following a total stranger’s orders is hilarious. Just think about it...we want them to believe we’re trustworthy, right? I doubt they’re going to like it if we march right into their little group and start bossing everybody around.”
They were just passing through the customs terminals again when she felt a gentle tug through their bond, Yerbol lightly nudging her arm in the same moment. Turning her attention away from her search and back to him, Aria followed the subtle movement of the Champion’s eyes to the cloaked figure loitering close to the port’s doorway. They were too far away to make out any of the woman’s facial features, but her posture indicated that she appeared to be scanning the crowd looking for someone, and extending her senses out further Aria was sure she could feel ripples of Force energy coming from her.

As the two Qyaari approached and her eyes settled on them, the woman gave the two Champions a somewhat nonchalant nod. Blue eyes framed by sweeping red tattoos scrutinised the pair as they stopped in front of her, a smirk colouring her features as she commented:
“You look taller on the HoloNet.”
Aria met her gaze evenly, her tone flat as she retorted:
“Yeah, everyone says that.”
“Malu isn’t with you?”
“That’s not a problem, is it?” the Champion quirked an eyebrow, quieting the uneasy Tuk’ata with a quick hand gesture.
“Hmph.” their new companion snorted, as if brushing off the question, then turned on her heel and beckoned for the Champions to follow her, sounding a little more friendly now that she had been given a chance to assess the strangers for herself. “Well, let’s get away from unwelcome ears and we can elaborate on the details, shall we?”

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Did you have someone in mind for them already as a contact for these neutral Force users? If not, I can totally get that covered :3

post will be up shortly, just need to know whether I need to be vague in my description of their new informant or whether to add a little more in XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Sounds good! I shall work on introducing that in my next post, then! :3

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Hmm, that's a tricky one...part of me leans towards the first option, it'd be less aggressive in a way and would set up a hopefully benevolent image that the Qyaari are willing to offer help even to those that don't agree with them?

Although then they would still need to convince these people to turn to the Qyaari instead of Manus...is the reason that they are getting less supplies maybe a result of Manus and Soto having the monopoly of the markets. So whatever doesn't go to the Qyaari is going directly to the Faceless and not to neutral Force users?
Maybe the Qyaari could send the Champions and some others to attempt to help the neutral groups take back some of their resources somehow, or is that too much like what we did in Act I? XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Yeah it's horrifying that there are people out there that can do this to other people D: but at least there are other good people willing to do what they can to help ;-;

Hahaha, no worries if it's a bit tricky, she did get a little deep with her thought process there. Darnit Ari *bonks on head* XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

You certainly did! I like him already haha

Nah I imagine Sho has the smarts to help them figure that out. Forgive the cliché-ness of the "red wire" thing but I have no clue how else to disable an explosive aside from that and after what happened in Manchester I can't really Google it without the police ending up knocking on my door XD (All is fine over here, thankfully I live far away enough we weren't affected beyond emotionally feeling for everyone who was involved ;-; )

Ari kind of ran away on her own a little there at the end, but it might be an interesting concept to explore that Manus is cunning enough to get into Ari's (or even both of them, potentially?) head and make her start to doubt the Qyaari's motives a little?
Let me know what you think about that! It is of course up for debate and just as easily dismissable as girly emotions over ruling logic if it turns out to be less viable :P

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

“But-!” even Aria, who was more used to having to kill opponents than Yerbol, had to protest somewhat to Voldon's harsh outlook, but remembering how they had failed to talk down the three assailants in the Warden’s home gave her the resolve to know it was their only option.
“Still a shame that this is what it has to come to.” she sighed, giving a nod to their Mandalorian companion as they scattered to find hiding places amongst the clearing. Sho disappeared into the shadowy tree canopies frighteningly quickly and Aria lost sight of her completely as she took up her own cover in a large swathe of grass (which, though it LOOKED like grass, was actually well upwards of a quarter of the height of the tree trunks, it made good cover nonetheless). Two of the shuttles set down and more Faceless Assassins appeared, advancing towards the shuttle and what they thought was the unsuspecting pilot. On Voldon's mark, the group attacked before the Faceless could dispatch their poor pilot, Aria launching out of her cover place and slamming into the back of one of the Faceless, her lightsaber making quick work of dropping him to the floor. She dodged a swinging blade from another, a sharp kick to his gut sending him sprawling into his counterpart which Yerbol had just dispatched.

The fight was over in seconds. Far too quickly, Aria realised with a sickening sense of dread. “They're too clumsy and careless…” she swallowed, exchanging a regretful glance with Voldon and Yerbol. Yerbol removed the helmet of one of the fallen attackers and confirmed their suspicions. Aria's gut twisted horribly, she had not felt so….sick, after killing someone, in a very long time. She almost didn't hear the third shuttle arrive, had Vo not stepped down and begun speaking to them. Voldon attempted to assure Vo that the Qyaari were different than their predecessors, but the man vehemently protested the fact, instead throwing back arguments of his own. Her jaw stiff, Aria felt a stab of worry pierce through her. The way Manus spoke, he sounded so….sure, so, right. Shaking her head, Aria hissed at Manus.
“You're no better than Bracknell. You will never bring people together by squashing them under your heel!”
Voldon's saber snapped back to life and the Elder moved as if to engage Manus, had the other man not drawn their attention to the other two empty shuttles before promptly fleeing.

“Son of a bantha!” Aria hollered after him, casting around for their Mandalorian munitions expert with another shout: “SHO, BOMB!”
“Got it!” Sho called in response, leaping from her perch and clearing the distance to the shuttle on the other side of the clearing with the aid of the jet pack on her back. Aria ran for the other shuttle, not really having the first clue how to disarm explosives but they couldn't take the risk that the two mechanisms were unconnected.
“Sho...what am I doing?!” the panicked Champion called to the Mandalorian, who had already dropped into a crouch and was working away on the other shuttle.
“The red wire!” Sho shouted. “JUST the red one, not the blue one, not the brown one, RED.”
“Red, right….” Aria gulped, locating the front panel which sported an ominous countdown of red numbers and prising it off to reveal the electrics underneath. Sho’s shuttle beeped profusely and nearly made Aria's own heart stop, before it powered down just as quickly. “Got it!”
“GAH!” the Champion fumbled to try and follow suit, but found the task somewhat more difficult.
“Tick tock, Ari!” the Mandalorian barked. “Not like we're all gonna die or anything!”
“DON'T RUSH ME!”
“My apologies, your highness, but I AM rushing you! I DON'T WANNA DIE TODAY!”
Gritting her teeth, Aria managed to grab what she could only pray was the correct wire, and severed it just as the ticking from the mechanism increased to that unnerving rate.

She exhaled nearly all her breath at once as the explosives deactivated and didn't detonate.
“...that was a close one.”
As she shakily got back to her feet, Aria noticed Voldon was still glaring at the break in the tree canopy where Manus’ shuttle swooped in, finally turning to move back towards their shuttle. They returned to find the pilot still tweaking with the nav panel, though she smiled brightly as the Qyaari and Sho reappeared.
“The hull took a beating, and some of the more complex functions are fried, but looks like that shield you put up took the worst of it. With a few tweaks I think I can get it flying again enough to get us back.”
“Good.” Voldon nodded. “We need to contact the other Elders and update them on…”
Aria tuned out the rest of the conversation as Sho slid into place beside the pilot and the pair chattered away with Voldon while they worked on the necessary repairs to the shuttle. Moving away from leaning on the shuttle doorway, Aria stepped back out into the clearing to get a bit more space away from the seemingly menial conversations the rest of the group were participating in.

Her feet carried her a reasonable distance from the shuttle before the Champion stopped, emitting a heavy sigh. She had hoped being back out in the open forest air would soothe the sickening churning in her stomach, but it had not quite abated. She felt, rather than heard her partner approach, unsurprised when he stopped behind her and murmured close to her ear.
“Something’s bothering you.” of course he would know. Thoughts and feelings passed so easily between their bond now, she ruefully hoped her weak stomach wasn't making Yerbol feel queasy too.
“Mhm. I was just....thinking about what Master Vo said.” she answered slowly, teeth digging into her lower lip. Aria had easily dismissed his ramblings as being akin to Bracknell’s, but somehow she couldn't shake the feeling that in some way, they may make some sort of sense. “About the Qyaari and...what if part of what he said was right, Bol?”
She heard him sigh, turning to face him as he slid his arms around her waist.
“You don't really think that, do you?” Yerbol murmured, his tone inviting her to elaborate a little further rather than entirely condemning the train of thought.
“I just…” Aria struggled to find the appropriate words for a moment, huffing in frustration as she pressed her forehead to his shoulder. Another few moments of silence, then:
“Those kids today, Bol....they were only kids. And we just...killed them. We didn't even TRY to talk to them. The interrogation room, I was so desperate to find Soto that I just dove right into that kid's head without thinking about whether I really NEEDED to...” what if the Qyaari really were heading down the same path, and they just didn't realise it? The thought was unsettling.
“I'm not saying that what Master Vo is doing is right, but does that make what WE'RE doing right now “right”, or are we just as bad? When did we become so quick to hurt people instead of helping them?”
Yerbol looked as if he wasn't entirely sure how to answer her questions.
“Hey, lovebirds!” Sho’s voice cut into the conversation, beckoning them back to the shuttle. “Whenever you're done, we're leaving!”