Yavin

[darklord]

*** Posting as Drevin ***

"Thats where Drevin could be very valuable. He could feed them false information regarding our strength and numbers."

Drevin looked to Kyle Katarn with mixed feelings, the jedi master had been one of his strongest supporters since coming here. But again they were assuming that he would help them further, again he was being used. He let his annoyance show before a wave of nausea came over Drevin, causing his vision to blur for an instant. He'd still not fully recovered from his injuries, not by a long shot. He needed to rest.

"I can't guarantee that they'd believe me even if i did tell them. Theres no way of knowing how much of a presence the vong have on Endor and Tin'aa Shoolb isnt likely to reveal that."

Nothing could be guaranteed with the intendant, he was as slippery as a serpent.

[extras]

-Kameraman Solusar-

The little biological communication device had been intriguing. He had only heard of them in reports until now. As much as he listened to the words of the invader through the shifting living mass. His attention was on the words and feelings of those in this chamber especially the one standing in the middle of it all. He checked his emotions. To remain calm and in control of himself. That was what was needed. This new information about jedi on the forest moon of Endor however had not failed to illicit feeling from him. Questions came. How many yuuzhan and who? What jedi were out so far and seemingly all but in the hands of the yuuzhan vong. It did not leave his mind even if Drevin had allowed them to hear this conversation that this was still not some elaborate ruse. The dark jedi's thoughts were clear in the calm of this storm as were his actions now regarding the younger jedi and his wife and all of them seated here.

Pale shadow of the light.

Do not be swayed by emotion Tionne. he spoke to her through the force as he stood from his seat.

Under no circumstances should another Jedi set foot on that moon!"

"Peace." he called out to quell anymore risings of irrational emotion.

I do not think that the jedi have changed so much in a few years as to abandon their comrades to torment and death. For thats what will become of your friends if you leave them. The Yuuzhan Vong have no understanding of peace, or mercy. So will you stand by and do nothing in this ruin while they take your loved ones from you?"

Master Ikrit and Tionne spoke as did Master Katarn and then it was down to him.

"We should learn first the identity of the jedi that were out that far. That should not be hard to discover." His eyes closed as he sought to see through space itself to the distant forest moon. Through the storm of emotion that was here in this room and throughout the galaxy it was difficult to see but someone was there. Two..no three.

"We should also try to contact anyone there if a settlement still stands; the ewoks, Sulfer's point, anyone that might be there. They must be made aware of the yuuzhan vong's presence there."

If indeed there was one..He tried to look at Drevin through eyes unclouded. At times like this he wished Luke was here. He always had an immense sense over these matters as well was his presence.

"Thats where Drevin could be very valuable. He could feed them false information regarding our strength and numbers."

"For all we know that's exactly what the yuuzhan vong just fed us and it would only take one failure for them to realize Drevin is an unreliable or against them. The presences I sensed were strong. They are still alive. They are jedi as we are and help them we will but we must not make haste in doing so. I doubt the last thing they would want is for us to lose our own lives in a reckless plan."

[extras]

-Posting as Tionne Solusar-


Do not be swayed by emotion Tionne.
Her husbands words caught her amid her thoughts with a start. Perhaps she had done as he had suggested, subconsciously, but how could she not? This whole room were alive with a variety of feelings...none of them good.

"I can't guarantee that they'd believe me even if i did tell them. Theres no way of knowing how much of a presence the vong have on Endor and Tin'aa Shoolb isn't likely to reveal that." Drevin was saying, and Tionne caught the latter half of his words with interest.

"We could send a scout ahead, it need not be one of us, any of us." She realized rather embarrassed, she had interjected somewhat. " If you'll pardon my saying so, we could send out a probe droid ahead of us, as Kyle suggested, the Yuuzhan Vong do not know what to expect from us - only what Drevin is willing to supply them with in terms of information."

The only problem with such a plan was that probe droids were only so good at short distances. A ship would need to enter the system in order to dispatch them, and during that time - for all they knew- a Yuuzhan Vong fleet could be waiting.

"...If this seems too much of an oversight...is there some way we could rig a ship to arrive ahead of us instead? I agree that we should try to raise communication on Endor, but the more we bide our time, the less time those stranded on the moon might have."

She cast her gaze over Drevin, on the outset he looked relatively peaceful, tired, but none the less serene. In the force she could sense his urgency, near shattering the image of outward calm he seemed to portray.

Do not be swayed by emotion Tionne. Kam's words repeated in her head. He clearly did not trust the Dark Jedi, nor did many in this room. But the fact still remained that he had been willing to go along with things their way up until now. Drevin had showed no signs of simply submitting to their ways when it came to resting on their laurels over this situation. No, he'd made it abundantly clear that action should be taken and taken now.

It's not the timing of such actions, so much as the execution of them, she thought to herself. Take this too quickly, and it would be as Kam suggested. Take too much time deliberating, all would be lost.
Inwardly, she felt a sense of hope. Plan's wise, she was no strategist, but those sitting to the left and right of her had been in more tight scrapes than she care to think of. But if it was last moment planning she was after, she could think of no other.

"Kyle, you sound as though you have a suggestion. Taking into account all has been said here, do you think it would be possible to formulate two plans? One of the faux of course." Tionne asked in hushed tones, leaning to one side, as the rest of the masters continued to discuss matters.
The truth of the matter had become clear, they would never reach a solution by idle debate and she was certain her anguished frustration was shared by more than just herself and Kyle.

To Kam, she responded through the force, feeling his receptivness almost immediately, ' We will only need one chance, it matters not if the Yuuzhan Vong realize he had betrayed them after. He and the others will be as safe as they can be once they are away.'

[darklord]

*** Posting as Kyle ***

Kyle spoke quietly with Tionne as the other masters continued to debate the matter.

"First we need to be certain there are jedi on endor." He motioned for Drevin to come in closer. "If you are willing, you could convince the intendant that we require proof of there being jedi on the moon."

Drevin thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. It made sense, the yuuzhan vong would find it highly suspicious if the jedi were to simply take his word.

"Good. If they can provide proof then we'll need to assemble a team. We have no idea what condition these jedi will be in, they may need medical attention so the more of us go, the better."

[extras]

posting as Tionne Solusar-


With Kyle and Drevin deep in conversation, Tionne felt the weight lift slightly off her shoulders enough to reach out into the force for the stricken Jedi on Endor. Over such a distance, it was hard to glean much, particularly because those she had reached out to were not expecting it, were too busy preserving their own lives.
She was not certain that these were even the Jedi mentioned by the Yuuzhan Vong intendant. It was all so unclear...too many voices clouded the force. They would need that proof.

Returning to the forefront of the conversation, she caught the last few words the two beside her were speaking.

"Good. If they can provide proof then we'll need to assemble a team. We have no idea what condition these jedi will be in, they may need medical attention so the more of us go, the better."

Progress at last, though she could tell others in the vaulted chamber were less than impressed with this. Their murmurs and hushed words said a thousand things against this plan.

"It could work, if they are willing to provide Drevin with the proof that he would show us...it is what proof they deign to provide that concerns me."
Yet another risk, but the Jedi were more valuable to the intendant alive than dead. As harsh as it sounded, few would go to Endor to retrieve their dead comrades when there was no guarantee that they would indeed still be there.
This plan was encouraging.

[darklord]

*** Posting as Drevin ***

Kyle had informed the rest of the masters of the plan, bringing an end to the meeting. Drevin would contact the intendant in a few hours and ask for proof of there being captured jedi.

That would give him some time to rest. The jedi had allocated him some quarters near the med bay, where he could still be closely watched but at least it would give him some time to himself.

As soon as he'd entered the cold stone room he'd removed his tunic to look over his latest scars. He almost looked like one of the yuuzhan vong now.
Drevin sat on the end of the cot with his head resting in his hands. It seemed like a decade since he'd been in the cantina on Taris, back then he'd had a clear purpose and no complications. Now everything had been turned upside down and here he was, sat in the Jedi temple on yavin. It was the last place he would have expected to be.

And then there was her. Drevin stood and began pacing the room. Being here was punishment enough, but to have to see her again was more than he could handle. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered and she still had all the kindness and warmth she'd had all those years ago. If only she knew...

Drevin picked up the villip and threw it hard at the wall. Why had it come to this? He needed to get out of here. Drevin slumped down onto the floor and tried to enter into a meditative trance. He needed a clear mind, although how he would achieve that while being among the jedi was beyond him.

[extras]

-Posting as Tionne Solusar-

Some time had passed since the meeting had adjourned and everyone had gone off on their own to seek solace in their own reverie. Tionne too had taken some time to contemplate what they were about to embark on, but rest it seemed evaded her. Still unsettled about the true intentions of others, she had taken it upon herself to do a little searching of her own.

She now found herself outside the makeshift quarters assigned to Drevin. Close to the medbay, she had checked via the monitors that he would be here, and that he was. Still, there was no excuse for rudeness, she tapped the door lightly in a sort of half knock before entering.

Sitting on the floor, appearing for all intense purpose to be in a meditative trance, sat the dark Jedi. Tionne knew he would sense her presence, for she had done nothing to conceal it in the force. Yet he did not appear to turn round or break from his trance immediately.

"Good evening?" She spoke more as a question than a statement. "I came to see if you were certain about going along with this plan of Kyle's," she added more truthfully,
" You always were a man of few words, but even I can see when people are holding things back."

She lingered in the doorway, appearing perhaps a little too wary as she took in the sights of the darkened room.

"How is the head?" she lightly tapped her own in sympathetic action, regarding the slave seed that had been removed from the dark Jedi's skull only a matter of a day or so ago.

Gingerly, she continued, "I know you have already explained to the others what happened to you on Garqi...but I get the sense that it is only part of the story, if you are fighting against the urge not to go to Endor, then I would convince the others that this is a bad suggestion.."

[darklord]

*** Posting as Drevin ***

Tionne! Drevins heart began to beat faster, what was she doing here? As if hearing him she responded in her lightly spoken voice.

"I came to see if you were certain about going along with this plan of Kyle's, You always were a man of few words, but even I can see when people are holding things back. How is the head?"

Drevin opened his eyes and stood slowly, his ribs still caused him some discomfort but he did his best to hide it. He motioned for her to come in, feeling slightly bashful then as he looked around the cramped room for a place to sit and realised that there was only the cot.

"Its healing ok." He subconsciously ran his fingers over the slightly raised line. "Just another scar to the collection." He smiled despite himself.

The scars on his torso and back were visible as long white streaks now, he could have had them removed easily enough after his release but why should he? That would mean admitting he was wrong. He still stood strongly by the decision he'd made all those years ago when he'd cut down the corrupt official and his men. If the politician had been allowed to live then he would have simply bribed his way out of the judicial process. Drevins master had been killed that day and Drevin had made sure that they'd all paid for it.

"As for the plan, I dont think its a brilliant one." That was an understatement and they all knew it. "But if you want your jedi back then its the only way. The yuuzhan vong certainly wont hand them back willingly."

He looked at the Jedi master stood before him, she appeared so small and fragile next to his physical form but the look in her eyes showed anything but weakness. "I..." Drevin struggled with the words, of course he was holding things back. He couldnt just blurt it out. "Its not Endor... I just, cant stay any longer. This place, these people..." You he said to her through the force.

"I cant be a part of it anymore." Drevin looked away, he didnt want to see her disappointment in him.

[extras]

-Posting as Tionne Solusar-

Tionne had suspected for some time now that Drevin's stay would be short. It was almost as if he was reluctantly in a state of permanent lingering, like someone clinging to a door-space wishing they had never crossed the threshold. In what was to be her next state, she could have perhaps sympathized.

"Its not Endor... I just, cant stay any longer. This place, these people... You"

The unexpected thought through the force caused her to display her wide-eyed surprise without thought. Had she heard right? The sudden recognition she saw within the depths of his eyes told her she had...but she had never had an inkling of suchlike before...was that so true?

She realized to her utter mortification that she had flushed a deeper shade of skin tone and was now somewhat lost for words.

"I cant be a part of it anymore."

Tionne felt suddenly caught, like a infant durney trapped on a landing pad. This couldn't be the reason, he was just saying this to....to what? That was denial talking. Of course he could have meant that in a different way to how she had taken it, yes, that had to be it.

"Me?" she spoke out, her voice coming out as more a whisper than a fully formed word, she had not intended it thus.
"What? .....I...I don't understand, I thought that you...." she shook her head as if to clear her troubled mind, silvery hair falling across her downcast eye-line in disarray.

In the force she could feel him shielding himself again, hiding behind mental screens and cloaks, not timid as such, but that weary reluctance she had sensed before. It was almost as deceptive as it was elusive, and yet it betrayed a far greater truth. One even she would not wish to admit to.

"...I...am glad you have chosen to help us this far, at least. Perhaps it was too much for me to hope that you would remain here and resume what you once began." She managed to finally say, unsure weather she should stay and hear this out, see it through, or simply flee like some padawan who'd been caught using the force to complete simple menial tasks.
No, she should hear him out.

[darklord]

*** Posting as Drevin ***

"What? .....I...I don't understand, I thought that you...."

Drevin had succeeded in embarrassing the Jedi Master if nothing else. He hadnt meant to, he hadnt meant to reveal anything but it was too strong a feeling to keep hidden any longer. No, he was fooling himself, he had wanted her to know. No matter how selfish it had been. She looked almost afraid, hurt even. It was a look that he'd never seen on Tionne before and he felt anger at himself for bringing it upon her.

He should have been stronger, he should have kept it deep inside him where it couldnt hurt anyone. You fool Drevin.

His mind filled with thoughts and memories of her, he remembered her lessons, her softly sung ballads, her beauty. At first he'd thought it was her teachings that had attracted him so much, he'd always enjoyed hearing of the ancient tales she'd often told. But no, it was her, the teacher who was the attraction.

Drevin looked down at the floor, he felt ashamed for being so weak. She had a husband and a life here with the jedi, he should never have let it slip. He should have stayed away. He had to get out of here, he'd done enough damage already and he didnt want to risk hurting the woman stood before him. But what if...there was a chance?

"...I...am glad you have chosen to help us this far, at least. Perhaps it was too much for me to hope that you would remain here and resume what you once began."

His head snapped up to look at her, his long dark hair falling over his face. What was she saying? She'd hoped he would stay here with her... His heart began to beat rapidly, maybe there was a chance that she felt the same.

But then his heart sank as he understood her true meaning. Perhaps she did want him to stay, but it wasnt for the reason Drevin had been hoping for. He felt nothing but sadness as that revelation hit home.

"No..." He barely uttered the words. It would be impossible to stay even if he'd wanted to learn from the jedi again. He couldnt pretend that he didnt care every time he saw her and Kam together. Nor could he pretend to be a jedi again, he'd turned from that path long ago.

"What I want, you cannot give me."

That statement had more than one meaning and the sad but knowing look in his eyes only gave more strength to those words.

[extras]

-Posting as Tionne Solusar-

His sense of elation and bitter sweet disappointment filled the force for all of a few seconds, reining it in when reality struck home a little too hard. She clamped down on her own whirling emotions, her confusion and her utter surprise at what he had just inadvertently admitted to.

Should she stay? Offer comfort, a grounding point of view of things, set him straight without causing more damage. Or would that do exactly the opposite, offering only insult to injury. If she just left the sudden cold shoulder might cause other adverse reactions that she did not wish for all their sakes.
She was with Kam, married to Kam. He knew this, and yet here he was doing very little to hide was was an open declaration of his past feelings.
But they weren't that, not if he was leaving on account of it. No, it had to be more than that, he'd chosen the path he had for reasons far greater than this.

"What I want, you cannot give me."

The words Tionne had been about to speak before he'd uttered his, hitched in her throat. She wanted to turn and leave, but not so as to crush his feelings with her heel as she did. Wasn't that what needed to be done though? She had never been as strong as some might have her believe...especially when it came to strongly emotive situations like this. Especially when it concerned those close, or those who had been close to her.
Kam had been right, she had let her emotions cloud her judgments.

Focus,

Trying her best to calm the evidence of confusion in her expression, the tears that threatened to well up in the pools of her eyes, she found the words to speak.

"You were always one of my brightest students," she began only breaking her gaze on him for the latter part of her sentence, " Don't ever let that light be extinguished for good."
She wondered even as she turned slowly, if he would see the subtle meaning in her words, that he would know that she did care a great deal. He had become lost due to some testing times, but unlike most she could always see some redeeming factor in people. Part of her believed that his decisions made here on Yavin 4, was the start of his own path back to the light side of the force.

[darklord]

*** Posting as Drevin ***

"You were always one of my brightest students, Don't ever let that light be extinguished for good."

Tionne turned to leave. Drevin struggled to find the words for a reply, what more could he say? He wanted to scream out how he felt about her, he wanted to hold her close and embrace her, to share a kiss with her just once...

But no. It was too late for any of that now, her life had moved on while he'd languished in chains. Time had a cruel way of destroying hopes and dreams and Drevins time for such a hope had long ago run out.

So he let her leave without another word, bowing his head.

The door hissed shut and a loneliness consumed Drevin unlike any other that he'd ever felt. Her caring words brought little comfort in the cold light of things.

Drevin sat down on the edge of the bed, picking up the small villip off the floor as he did so. Only when he heard the slight pop did he release his crushing grip on the object.

He had one last task to complete before he left the jedi.

[Blue but beautiful]

(OOC: I really should give this guy a bio now lol )

Having arrived aboard Legacy of Torment barely a cycle earlier,
The intendant Tln'aa Shoolb, had found himself in rather poky quarters, guarded by the most irksome of warriors, should he mean to skip the system. It seemed that Shedao Shai still had some questions he wished answered, which was why
Tln'aa Shoolb had been completely unexpecting an incoming communication from this particular villip that trembled slightly now.

The Jeedai? He thought as he reached for the biot and allowed it to evert in the palm of his gnarled hand.

This was fast work, even he could not have come up with results so quickly. Barely a cycle since he'd last spoken with the infidel, and he had news. Hopefully he wasn't about to be faced with a barrage of foolish questions. His expression turned to a pure bitter scowl at the thought of that, leaving no doubt about the response that would recieve if this was indeed the case.

"Speak." He rasped, in no mood for formalities, infidels did not deserve them anyway.

[darklord]

*** Posting as Drevin ***

"Speak."

Drevins face was grim, watching as the intendants foul features took shape on the villip only made him feel worse. He wanted nothing more than to crush the insolent being in his hand. The yuuzhan vong were responsible for his being here, this one in particular. If it hadnt been for him none of this would have happened. He'd still have his ship and his freedom. The jedi would have remained in his past and his feelings for Tionne would have been kept safely at bay.

Drevin snarled a response, not caring how it would appear to Tin'aa Shoolb.

"They want proof." He spoke through gritted teeth. The intendant wasnt one for small talk and neither was Drevin anymore.

[Blue but beautiful]

"They want proof."

The villip distorted the infidels features some, making it harder for Tln'aa to read that hideous expression. His tone was clear and precise though, it left nothing to the imagination.
His words however, did provoke a lot of thought, giving him reason to pause before answering.

"Proof?" He uttered in disbelief, "They wish for proof?"
He was not one to repeat himself lightly, but it seemed just when he thought he had heard it all...he really had not.

Tln'aa's needle toothed smile made it's self known, spreading the deep cut that tarnished the center of his lower lip.
"Is it not proof enough that you were implanted with a slave seed?" His dark eyes glistened intensely, watching for the dark Jedi's reaction.

"You seem surprised infidel, why ever would that be?" Sarcasm, a trait they perhaps shared with the infidels, it was the same in whatever language it was spoken. His tone was about to become a lot more ominous, his patience and time was weigning, either this infidel delivered or it was both their heads.
"Do not take me for some fool you sniveling brenzlit! I know you have found some way to remove it! If I find you have deceived me further, you will have more to concern yourself with than the mild irritation that particular seed caused."

He slammed his closed fist down onto the coral arm rest of his seating place, shards flaking off and embedding themselves in his gashed knuckles. His anger sought to overtake his pain, rendering it useless.
"As for your Jeedai and their seeking proof..." he leaned out of the villip's range, reaching for something, the creature then changing it's anamorphic texture until the overview of what could have been a blurry interpretation of a holorecording.
It was of course entirely living, and the recording was merely the memories of another villip, one used for transmitting such evidence as this, rather than other one to one communications.
"The shapers took the time to adapt your villip for the same use," Tln'aa was explaining, still out of view " I had hoped to use it for other means, but if it is proof they desire, this is all they will get. No more."

The scene depicted by the hand-sized biot was one of the padawan, Atto's stint under Yuuzhan Vong guard. One might have called it torture, Tln'aa Shoolb called it leniency considering what the creature was. Such beings could never hope to embrace the truth, and pity was a wasteful attribute that had no place in Yuuzhan Vong society.
The padawan seemed to have no tollerance for even minor discomforts such as the boiling caress that tormented him. This was why they had to be cleansed from the galaxy, they had no place here, just as pity had no place among his kind.

" I had a subaltern relay the details to me, you know this Jeedai?" He did not truly care if the Jedi did or not, all that mattered was that Drevin convince them to go to Endor. It was his last chance.

"Do not waste my time further, you can relay the information to your Jeedai only once. Choose your time wisely infidel, there will be no room for failure."