HoloNet News Defense of Mustafar: Jedi Tragedy and Sith Triumph!

[The Storyteller]

Crea Tiné padded the makeup across her face as the cameras prepared to roll, before snapping her pocket mirror shit and doing some face exercises. The live recording caught her towards the end, but she didn't seem to mind as the teleprompter began to read.

"Good evening galaxy, this is Crea Tiné, here at studio Veruna on Naboo, bringing you the latest updates on the latest happenings on the state of the galaxy." The woman said, before turning her head to face the next camera. "With the recent end of the ceasefire between the Jedi and their allies against the Sith Empire, hostilities have immediately begun to flair up all across the galaxy. Most recently and consequentially was a surprise assault on Mustafar by Resistance and Jedi forces, led by none other than Councilor Fynn Tarrell."

The Pantoran would turn to another camera, a graphic of the Jedi appearing next to her for the viewers. "Councilor Tarrell's assault on Mustafar came as a surprise to the defenders, as the traditionally less well defended world's of the Galactic South were doubtless seen as a much less impregnable target when compared to worlds like Dantooine, which the Jedi have repeatedly failed to retake since the brutal Sith assault years prior." The woman went on, graphics of the burning temple and field of dead Sith and Pro-Jedi defenders strewn across the fields.

"The Councilor and his forces could not be more mistaken in their choice of target however, as they were met by none other than the recently promoted Imperial Commander," The reporter explained, and a large, intimidating infographic of a horned figure clad in black, surrounded by the fires of Mustafar's volcanoes came up on the screen.

"Joining me now is our chief analyst on the Jedi-Sith conflict, Trenn Bolone," Crea Tiné said, yielding the floor to her partner. The camera would pan to another table, where an 8'6" middle aged Orcolan male stood in a tight fitting navy blue suit, an iron expression on his face as he waited to speak.

"Thank you, Crea," he said in a flat bass, before referring to a large holoscreen which brough up various shots of the notable defenders and attackers, including a masked champion and younger looking Jedi Knight. "The recently prominent Commander rose to his current position following his apparently valiant defense of Korriban following a brutal Killik attack," the man thundered, "And he has doubtless won further prestige amongst the Sith following his quick and decisive execution of the Jedi Councilor, Fynn Tarrell." He went on, the graphic of the councilor turning gray as he explained.

"The other Jedi attackers were subsequently killed, and the defense of Mustafar has been a triumphant victory for the Sith, and a devastating and tragic loss to the order. No doubt the consequences of this incredibly decisive battle will reverberate over the years to come. Historically speaking, it is likely that we are to see a surge of Sith counterattacks in the following months and years. While the Jedi have faltered in the past, this defeat could have the potential to either shatter their resolve, or light a fire that encourages them against their foes." He went on, the graphics disappearing.

"One thing is for sure though-- this so called Demon Prince, or Warden of Korriban, or Mustafar-- the various honorifics keep pouring in-- will likely be celebrating tonight, and we will no doubt see his masked face and horned helm time and time again as the war continues to escalate."

The camera would pan back to Crea, who seemed to have spent the entire time staring at her partner's biceps. When the camera fell on her, she would blink a few times, before scrambling back to face the camera. "Thank you for that insightful commentary, Trenn." The Pantoran said with a smile, before her face hardened. "We have ofcourse heard terrible rumors about possible teabagging and other barbaric acts perpetuated by the Sith defenders, but these are otherwise unsubstantiated by either photo or video evidence." She went on.

Making another turn, the woman would continue, "Up next: is the Killik Invasion on it's way out? Has President Thorne's faith in the Jedi been misplaced? Will Sith aggression increase following this stunning victory? More after this word from our sponsor." The woman said, before cutting to a commercial for the "Emryc and I" dating simulator's early access, which had recently been delayed another 9 months.

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@Scoobert @Altaris @Phoenix @Sreeya

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Days had been hectic, as usual lately, now that the first Star Guardians facility was nearly completed. Clove found herself in the newly constructed lab on a regular basis, supervising the construction of the droids—not that she understood droids, but she did know how to give tea and cookies to the people she hired to build them—who would hopefully collect the information the Sith had released to the galaxy about the Killiks and the Joined.

At first, Clove didn't notice the holonews playing in the background as she was hunched over one of the recently constructed lab tables and focusing on some paperwork. But then... something caught her sensitive twitching ears. The Jedi Councillor's assault on Mustafar?

Confused Clove's large brown eyes shifted away from the paper and toward the holonet breaking news segment. Mustafar was attacked by the Jedi. A Councillor no less? They compared it to previous battles, and images of Dantooine were played after, causing Clove's eyes to lower for a second. Sure, she had accepted it, but that didn't mean she enjoyed seeing the images. When she felt it was time to raise her gaze again, she was greeted by a man in black with four horns.

Sugar.

Of course. Even when she wasn't around Altair or thinking about him because she kept herself distracted at all times, the Force found a way to forcefully remind her of him.

She remained silent as the broadcasters described how all of the Jedi had been killed, leaving the Sith with a glorious victory. And the icing on the bitter cake; Altair, killed, a Jedi Councillor. Clove turned her head away as soon as they brought up the demon Prince, having heard enough.

Seriously. Mustafar? What were the Jedi thinking? Not only was it relatively peaceful between the Jedi and Sith, save for a few minor squabbles, but they chose to attack in a region of space where no one could defend Mustafar in case they actually won? With no FWA planets nearby, no Jedi planets, and only neutral and Sith planets, the Sith would have fired back within days. It would have been Dantooine all over again, but at least on Dantooine, Jedi Space was as close as Sith Space.

Clove sighed and brushed her curly bushy ponytail with her right hand. Her first and only love was not only a proud Sith, but he had also just killed a Councillor. All the while she tried her hardest to accept him as a Sith.

She shook her head and turned to face the Twi'lek man, who was busy tinkering with the droid. "Hey, Bob? When do you think you'll be ready?" Clove approached him, her gaze fixed on the pitch-black droid. It was... pretty, she supposed. She wasn't a big fan of droids, but they were much faster than organics, which she needed in the labs. "I think I'll be done in four hours. How come, Miss Vanhoop?" Clove shook her head. "Absolutely nothin'! I just... can't wait." No. She couldn't wait to find yet another distraction to keep herself busy.

---

​

tag -​

 

[Jasnah Atreides]

Jasnah had been woken up at 8 in the morning by a series of pings on her datapad. She had met her mother for dinner a few days ago, and she had forced her to unmute their family group, and the result was her getting woken up at this ungodly hour by a million messages from people who she had no idea were related to her.

This time though, seeing what they were sharing brought a smile to her face. Sitting up in bed, she scrolled through her feed for a few more minutes before sending out a quick tweet.

@Sreeya

 

[Maura Starwalk]

 

[Arctus Friers]

​

 

[Wodan]

Wodan woke to the sound of someone banging on his bedroom door. Turning over he ignored the sound as it continued, something about Altair and Counsellors. “He’s just a Commander not a Councilor.” He grumbled back towards the door, a moment later and Lenny busted through. The Eriadu waiter had transferred out of the place after the party and joined the Champion’s little household as a member of staff.

The Wrean rushed towards the window snapping the curtains open, letting the bright light of the midday sun cascade into the room. Wodan grumbled for a moment, angry at being disturbed and at being blinded before he remembered. Quickly spinning around his hand lashed out, The Force gripping around a small object which was sat at his desk, in a flash it snapped to his hand before it disappeared under his covers.

Lenny, if he saw it, chose not to notice, he had seen how Wodan had been acting around it and just assumed it was some Sith thing. “Look at the news.” He said forcefully as he picked up a remote and turned on the news channel which was showing a repeat of the earlier broadcast.

It took Wodan in his half-asleep state a few seconds to realise that the horned man on the screen was Altair. “Shit, what’s he done now!” A few more moments and his brain finally kicked into gear. “Oh.” He exclaimed as he scrambled around trying to find his phone. Lenny sighed as he handed it to the Champion from its location on his bedside table. “Cheers Len, you're excused. Oh can we have pancakes today? I feel I need sugar.” The Wrean just shook his head as he left and headed towards the kitchen.

Flipping open the phone Wodan sent Altair a message.

Congrats on the W,
btw I think you should go with Demon of Korriban, ladies will love it.
Need to go for a drink to celebrate, my treat.

@Sreeya

 

[Alexandria Voran]

The holofeed cut out. Alex leaned back in her office chair, her hands folding in front of her lap. Fynn was dead. She had felt the ripple in the Force when his life was cut short. A frown crossed briefly over her face. Why did she not feel remorse? He had attacked without warning, without consulting the Council. After all their careful talk of moving in concert, he left them behind. The truth was harsh but the Morellian Jedi barely knew the man and perhaps that was her mistake. A failure to understand who sat beside her. A reminder she could trust no one but herself. Alex shook her head. She still had hope for Zak, but hope was for the foolish. It led one right into the arms of disappointment. That was a feeling she never forgot.

Disappointment in herself. Truly, she had hoped to end the bloodshed. To find some measure of peace…if only for a moment. Those dreams were gone. Standing slowly, she sent orders to the Temples and Resistance commanders. They would need to be on high alert. She took a deep breath and trudged towards her closet.

There was a funeral that required her attention. One she was utterly unprepared to face.

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

 

[Maura Starwalk]

@Logan​

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

@lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

@LilyNion @LouJoVi @Logan​

 

[Alexandria Voran]

When had she shut her eyes? Alex couldn't remember falling asleep. Her datapad was filled with messages, the device vibrating on her desk. She flipped the datapad open...her eyes rolling into the back of her head. She quickly opened her messages and typed in Maura's name.

"Put Switter down...you're running laps." She tipped her head backs. Kids.

@lizziie

 

[Sol Kenuk]

The news was a mixed bag of feelings, really. Altair had killed a Jedi Councilor? Sol's no fool, the titles make it clear enough. Who else? An Imperial Commander who was described as the valiant hero of Korriban could only really be one man. Sol's quite thankful, because expanding his power base in the Southern reaches of the Empire certainly came with it's great amount of risks, invasions included. Ultimately, if the Jedi had taken Mustafar, what would they have done with it? The Sith would have reclaimed the planet in a matter of days. There were no Jedi allied worlds down there, no place that would bother sending them reinforcements. That Jedi councilor had sent his comrades into a death pit. Nonetheless, Sol appreciates the defense. It meant that the Kel'dor didn't have to get off his ass and deal with it himself, especially in the midst of all his experimenting.

Sol does finally reach for his phone, flicking through Switter with a claw to see the drama unfolding, bad memes and petty clapbacks. All amusing to read. The Kel'dor's not one for such things himself, but he still felt the need to respond with something. So he does.

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Clove had just entered the Sundrop to travel towards Mustafar, when her comlink vibrated.

... No. She shouldn't reply. She couldn't reply. No way she was going to start a fight on Switter. It was the one sure way to get screwed over.

But then again... A reaction picture never hurt anybody.

---

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@Logan @lizziie @LouJoVi​

 

[Layla Tamm]

Layla had suffered a great deal from her frienship with Maura, the worst of which was her newfound addiction to sugar. Milk, juices, steak, bbqs, she was adding an ungodly amount of sugar to everything. So much so that Clove had cut her off, had almost brought her to tears on hearing that the kitchen was out of sugar. So when she navigated to the switter account that Maura had set up for her, she found herself in a rare case of being pissed.

@LilyNion

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

---

Another ping on her datapad. Clove rose her eyebrow, opening her datapad and staring at the incoming Switter reaction. Oh. Donkey on a bicycle. It was Layla. How did she even find her Switter account— ... Maura. That's how.

With a flurry of panic Clove's fingers danced over the screen, replying to the girl. Anndddd... sent!

​

Just as Clove sent the Sweet, her comlink rang. She lifted the device to her long fluted ear after accepting the call. "Hello hello? Clove speaki—"
"YOU ARE USING THE WRONG ACCOUNT!" Clove blinked at the voice screaming at her. That must've been Bob. "Huh? Wrong account?" "On. SWITTER." The half-Annfyn's eyebrows burrowed. "What do you mean? I only use one account for everythin'?" There was a moment of silence before Bob continued with a strained voice. "Dear lord, Miss Vanhoop, you have a large following and they just saw you post a silly picture and an apology to what, a child?!"

"I mean... yeh? I didn't say anythin' wrong, did I?" Clove leaned back in her chair, staring out the window as the stars whizzed by. "No, but at this rate, it wouldn't surprise me if you decided to declare war on the FWA while using the Sugar Plum account. Just... use the old Clove Vanhoop account for stuff like this, okay? Or make a throw away account." Clove frowned even more. "But they already know I'm tied to the account, why would a personal account make a difference?"

"JUST MAKE A THROW-AWAY ACCOUNT!"

"JEEZ! Okay okay, stop screaming at me, Bob! Fine! I had no idea you had such a temper." Clove huffed.

---

@Logan @lizziie @Wit​

 

[Darth Tempest]

For days, Vahliri had buried herself in work. The half-Annfyn was ever proactive when it came to her duties within the Empire - now more so than ever - and the taskload offered a welcome distraction from anything else that had been lingering in her mind of late. It was reflected in the hours she’d spent pouring over the same research notes and reports of Kilik activity from across Imperial and neutral territory.

It was only a series of buzzes from her NalPhone that caught the half-Annfyn’s attention - plucking the device off the table to check the multitude of alerts that had popped up.

What she saw, however, slowly brought a smile to Vahliri’s lips.

Amber eyes flicked across the headline and news report below. A Jedi Councilor dead and the invasion of Mustafar repelled, and the half-Annfyn knew exactly who was responsible for the victory even if the journalists weren’t privy to the name, and couldn't help but grin at the new monikers that were dubbed. She felt a distinct feeling of pride that welled up, and didn’t hesitate to swipe off the news report to pull up her messenger - pulling up Altair’s name from her contacts.

Congratulations Altair, <3

PS, Demon Prince suits you.

With her message sent, Vahliri didn't hesitate to pull up Switter next.

 

[Darth Tempest]

 

[Caelian]

 

[Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl]

Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl should've been angry. He had every right to be- hadn't he been privately assured by Fynn that the Jedi weren't going around breaking the ceasefire? Fynn Tarrell, who had personally led an ill-advised attack on Mustafar in the latest escalation between the Sith and the Jedi? The same Fynn Tarrell whose death was being mocked through some bizarre medium called 'memes' on switter?

Instead, his face was a mask of composure that betrayed none of his inner conflict. Since when had he become so used to doing damage control?

"Kashyyyk condemns the violations of the ceasefire by the Jedi and the Sith" he said, in a prepared statement to the press. "The ceasefire was agreed upon as a response to the Kilik threat- a threat that still looms large over the galaxy." He was walking a tightrope here; caught between his loyalty to the Jedi, his frustration at their unpredictable actions, and his desire to maintain the shaky peace for his people that might already be too far gone to salvage.

"The Free World's Alliance has faithfully upheld the terms of the ceasefire, and I urge the Jedi and the Sith to recommit to the agreed-upon terms." As much as the rest of the galaxy might like to think, the FWA and the Jedi were not one and the same. "We cannot allow ourselves to be divided while the Kiliks still threaten the galaxy."

"Senator! Is the FWA at war with the Sith again?" came a question from the press pool.

"No." Aezzairrfhowrrhudrrl responded. "Our ceasefire with the Sith still stands; no incidents between the FWA and the Sith have occurred. The Free World's Alliance independently agreed to and has honored the treaty. If the ceasefire between the FWA and the Sith ends prematurely, it is because the Empire again reneges on their word."