Encounter on Tokmia Part II: Wayward Children

[Cale]

The message had gone out. A meeting was arranged. This time, the encounter on Tokmia wouldn't be a surprise. It would be orderly, calm and theoretically lacking in blaster fire. At least that was the hope of Ex-General, now Commander Ellis Xhosa. He certainly had his doubts about the whole thing. Contrary to popular opinion, he hadn't entirely forgiven the Jedi for their abandonment, he simply understood why they had done so. Or at least, he believed he understood. The truth, as with so many other things, was lost to time. Perhaps one day the wounds would heal, but he was fairly certain that it wouldn't be today. Not given who was attending this meet.

That was the other problem, aside from his lingering issues with the jedi, and the fact that they had jedi prisoners. Nathanaeu Bastele, former Chief of State, and a man that Ellis had the utmost respect for had resurfaced. The old man had no idea where the Rebellion had dug up Bastele, but there was a part of him that wished that they never had. He remembered that it had been the Chief of State who had lead the call to arms against the Jedi, declaring them traitors. But he also remembered the man who had stood bravely against the Sith onslaught, who had such faith in the soldiers who represented the Galactic Alliance. Who had, according to rumor, stood face to face with Darth Vereor and not backed down.

Hopefully time had tempered the politician, and this meeting wouldn't be a complete disaster.

But he was out of options, and out of time. The meeting was due to begin any minute, assuming all parties arrived on time. Punctuality was perhaps a lost art. The room was prepared, as best as the Dauntless had been able. There were hot drinks (which got cold very quickly, even in the heated prefab building the rebels had been using as a temporary base), some assorted bits of food, and the commander's own personal stash of Corellian whiskey for soothing tempers, or simply providing him an escape from sobriety and the egos of others.

 

[GABA]

The Grand Master searched for a calm in her sea of annoyance, it seemed like one instance after another of complete, pure, bad luck. She couldn't think of any other reason for such matters to occur, her feelings told of Jedi reasoning, but her thoughts just could not accept it, not until she got her Jedi back safely at her side, then maybe she could fathom a soothing thought. Though who would have ever known there had been a resistance group on the ice world of Tokmia; it made the Corellian wonder, however, if their information came from the same informant, those same wonders raising another question of who else was talking to this information broker besides the Jedi and some of the Imperium's Most Wanted. Someone would look into that.

Sighing heavily in the cock pit of the shuttle, Ebberla rubbed her temples forcefully, enjoying the momentary pain that took her thoughts away from her current situation. An alarm beeped over head of the pilots, signalling their near exit from hyperspace, and their final arrival to the desolate ice world. Tokmia sat relatively close to the Jedi Temple, but the Jedi still needed to follow security protocol to filter out the navigation computer's hyperspace jumps. In result, it made the journey to the meeting even longer, the Corellian almost told the pilots to forget protocol, but knew she couldn't risk anything.

The streaking stars came to halt settling back in to the black of space, the world of Tokmia visible in the distance, nothing looked ominous to the Jedi, their scanners and sensors were quiet. The Grand Master gave the go-head for the pilots to continue, she glanced at the seat beside her to Jedi Padawan Rorik Grey, who would accompany her in meeting with the resistance; she trusted his competence as a Jedi if anything were to go sour, but she was crossing fingers she wouldn't have to deal with such ruckus and it would be in her high hopes, painless. Ebberla wasn't without caution however, as she kept her presence muted in the Force, her senses extended, searching for anything that seemed amiss.

When the ship arrived close enough to the system, their comms finally beeped, first a warning, then a welcome when Ebberla promptly gave them the code, allowing for them to land on the icy world's surface. Their ship was immediately scanned upon arrival at the base and Ebb surrendered her weapons as asked, but the Corellian woman took her time readjusting her jacket and the length of her pant leg, reaching out with the Force to search Jedi Knights Bladedancer and Frey. An annoyed guard mumbled something about Jedi self-righteousness, but with a quick glance from the Grand Master, he was quick to turn away and find his attention elsewhere.

The Jedi were lead to the meeting room, Ebb prepared herself for possible chastising of Jedi participation over a decade of darkness; she was surely it would come up in conversation and she was more than ready to meet it head on; not that Ebberla ever had imaginary conversations, that she would ever admit, with pretend resistance leaders among her Jedi colleges, but she was certain on what they would need to say and what she was certain she would tell them. The door opened to the meeting room and the Grand Master and the Jedi Padawan were lead inside, the man who stood waiting was not who she suspected, nor who she would have guessed would ever cross paths since her time helping the Alliance.

"Of all the Corellian Hells, General Xhosa, which one did I just climb into to see you standing before me?" she greeted, quirking an eyebrow as her hands rested on her hips.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

Horrible meetings were a fact of life for a politician. Whether it was in the Corellian legislature, or the Galactic Congress, or as Chief of State, every day brought a meeting that made Bastele want to jump out of the highest window he could possibly find on Coruscant. And though these were different times, and the meetings he would attend now were vastly more complicated, the dread was still there. Only now it was even worse. Now he would be standing face to face with the leader of a group he had once branded as traitors, whom he spent far too much time not trusting than he should have. Bastele had blamed the Jedi for the problems of the Galactic Alliance, but it was the Alliance itself that was the problem. It was dead inside long before the Sith ever gave whisper to the idea of its conquest. Yet he had no idea how to move forward with the Jedi after they had fled Coruscant and all the things he had said.

There was, however, one memory he had held onto for the last ten years: the memory of the previous Grand Master, Sigur Vainkainen. It was only through Bastele's decision to arrest Vainkainen that the Grand Master was still on Coruscant when the Sith attacked, but the ex-Chief of State knew that he would not be here right now were it not for that fact. After everything Bastele had said, after the mistrust he had thrown at the Jedi, Vainkainen saved Bastele from the Dark Lord of the Sith and the Grand Master paid for it with his life. Bastele knew he was somewhat responsible for the Jedi Master's death, as Vainkainen would have been off-world were it not for the arrest, but he also knew that a Jedi would not want him to dwell on such things. That was why Bastele kept the memory fresh in his mind, because he wanted to make amends. He wanted to honor Vainkainen's sacrifice. Now, as the leader of this new Rebellion, maybe Bastele had the chance to do just that and bring unity between the Rebels and the Jedi.

Bastele could only hope he would find a willing counterpart in the new Grand Master, Ebberla Daw, especially after what had happened on Tokmia. The new Rebel leader, unexpectedly thrust into the role soon after arriving aboard the Rebel Dawn, hoped that his newness within the Rebellion would help. He couldn't be blamed for anything, and he could approach the situation with fresh eyes. As he entered the meeting with Commander Xhosa and the Grand Master, Bastele overheard what the new Jedi leader had to say about their mutual homeworld.

"Clearly you haven't been to Corellia recently," Bastele said as he took his seat at a conference table, his voice carrying a sense of great sadness over the failed Corellian resistance. "It's the only Corellian hell that's left."

He nodded his head as a sign of respect as he said, "Greetings, Master Jedi."

Knowing that news of his reemergence had not yet circulated across the galaxy, Bastele prepared himself for the surprise the Jedi would likely feel as they saw him. This would not be an easy meeting; after the Rebels and the Jedi had fought on Tokmia, he would not blame them if they suspected the once-ardent political opponent of the Jedi had something to do with it. How Vainkainen sacrificed himself for Bastele, and how that affected the ex-Chief of State, was likely unknown to the Jedi.

But not for long.

 

[Apocrypha]

Tokmia was a brutally frigid planet, composed primarily of ice and snow, not unlike the planet of Hoth - itself once a hidden base of operations for a rebellion seeking to out a less-than-benevolent Empire. The parallels did not escape Rorik, but, truth be told, little of his power of thought was devoted to such trivialities; he hated the cold, particularly on planets with no real escape from the aforementioned cold. He would soldier on, but damned if he hadn't dressed in layers.

The young Padawan observed silently as their pilot offered the crash code at Grand Master Ebberla Daw's urging, ensuring that they weren't blown out of the sky by anti-aircraft emplacements - or AA ground troops, or other starfighters, or whatever the rebels had on standby to prevent a hostile presence at this meeting. He had long since decided that, unless absolutely necessary, this would be purely a learning experience; short of having any valuable input, Rorik was tagging along primarily to protect Grand Master Daw, should her life be in danger. As such, the order of the day was to keep his mouth shut, observe, and speak when spoken to.

Upon landing on Tomkia, Rorik, like the Grand Master, submitted to inspection and surrendered his weapons - though, having only recently built a second lightsaber, he wasn't entirely thrilled to place it in the hands of a stranger. He contented himself, however, with the soothing reminder that the Force was his ally; martial weapons paled in comparison.

Behind and to the left of the Grand Master, Rorik clasped his hands behind his back, scanning the meeting room for a moment before letting his gaze rest upon Ellis Xhosa; a man he recognized only by name, and only vaguely so, perhaps having caught the man and his title in some HoloNet article years before. However, the second member of the rebellion's party in this meeting Rorik knew by name and appearance; the former Chief of State, Nathanaeu Bastele. Anyone living on a Galactic Alliance-controlled planet, before its collapse, would have known of the man; Rorik, however, had pinned a more nefarious responsibility upon Bastele's shoulders, and found himself narrowing his eyes with subconscious anger.

 

[GABA]

It took a lot to surprise a Jedi. Successful surprises usually spelled bad news for many in the Order, generally enemies looking to catch the upper hand in battle as they tried to reel Jedi in for a few thousand credits. The former Chief of State walking into the conference room certainly forced the Grand Master herself to do a double take, her muffled presence in the force brightened for a moment before she quickly suppressed it and naturally, instinct had pulled her hand to her saber, but recalling its absence, she covered her gesture with a hand on her hip.

"Mr. Bastele." She returned his greeting nod, a sense of surprise still outlined her tone. Though as Ebb looked to regain her composure and sat down at the conference table with the rest of the group, her thoughts slowly recalled Bastele's actions against the Jedi in the final days of Alliance. "I'm slightly amazed Hell has granted you mercy to let you leave."

Unlike the General (as Ebb still recalled him from the days of the Alliance), Bastele had certainly fueled the inner tensions of the Jedi whether he realized it or not. The last final months of the Order, before it was shattered, they were on the verge of a schism, if not already. The Jedi were divided, many already had left for the outer rim believing the Council had betrayed them in their path of being a peacekeepers. Ebb had attended a convocation of such separatists who refused to listen, her effort in keeping them united on her part a failure. However, as the Sith and Mandalorians conquered the core, Bastele declared the Jedi as traitors following the arrest of the former Grand Master hours leading into the fall of Coruscant. It was a contributing nail into the coffin for the Order, if not the final one.

The Grand Master folded her hands in her lap, her gaze catching Xhosa and then back to Bastele, her eyes piecing both of them before spoke, getting down to business, "What exactly happened out there?" she asked the men, a slight edge lingered on the tip of her tongue. She already knew the obvious story, the two Knights were sent to scout out for crystal caves, however, instead, they found Rebels, By the Force, nothing is ever simple anymore, she thought to herself.

 

[Cale]

"Whilst I'm fairly certain that Bastele's answer was far more amusing than mine, I'd like to point out the surroundings, and suggest that this is probably the 5th. That's the cold one, if I recall correctly." The old man looked at the gathering and shook his head. This was going to be a very long day. He was somewhat amazed at how the past seemed to merge with the present with barely even a hint of irony or warning. In a way, it felt like it could have been a decade prior (had he ever met the former Chief-of-State in person), with Ebberla and her flippant but pithy comments, and the bottle of whiskey for when things went badly.

The old man sat down at the table, and poured himself a glass of the whiskey, gesturing at it with a wave of his hand. "Firstly, why don't you introduce us to your surly friend over there, Ebbs. And get him to stop staring daggers. This is meant to be a friendly meeting, not a rehash of old grievances. I've only got enough whiskey to cope with the first, after all." He gave both Jedi a half-hearted grin and then sighed. "Alright, we'll get down to business. What happened? A couple of your lot decided to land, for whatever reason. Having no idea who they were, I took a small party out to welcome them to the planet, and make sure they didn't leave. No sense in allowing possible spies off-world. A brief firefight ensued during negotiations, in which nobody was hurt. Your lad, Crying Zek or Nek'ghoul, or... Ze'kyre. That's the one. He mouthed off a bit, seemed to be spoiling for a fight, but handed over his saber all nice and peaceful-like. And the young lady, Della jackrabbited out of there. She got taken down by a nice young man, although I think there was a bruised elbow and possible some burns to the face. His, not hers. He was a gentleman for the most part. And now here we are, all present and accounted for and willing to talk. So, let's talk"

 

[Brandon Rhea]

"I think that's all the talking we need."

Bastele came across curt, but that was certainly not his intention. He paused for a moment, recognizing his mistake, before sheepishly flashing a smile. He could only imagine what Ebberla thought of him now, how his unintentionally dismissive words meant he was falling back on old ways and just waiting to find some way to castigate the Jedi. Yet his intentions were anything but. Mistakes were made on both sides of the Tokmia incident, and he didn't want to belabor the point in unnecessary diplomatic back and forth.

"I think we can all agree that mistakes were made here, but we dont need to spend a lot of time on that. Grand Master, your Jedi Knights were treated well, even when the one called Della kept going on about 'stabby stabby.' Please accept my apologies for what happened."

The general pressed a button on the table, opening a comlink to the rest of his men. "Have our Jedi guests brought to the meeting. They are free to go."

 

[Apocrypha]

"You're right," Rorik admitted, shifting his gaze ever-so-slowly from Bastele to Xhosa. "My apologies; it seems I've mistaken the decade." Without further elaboration, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, doing his best to ignore the cold as his expression softened from clear, if indecipherable, anger into neutrality.

"With respect - what is it that we must discuss? As the former esteemed Chief of State said, mistakes were made." Glancing at the Ebberla, he posited: "If they mean to return our lost companions to us without fuss, Grand Master, I doubt that any further words are necessary." He inclined his head after he had finished, however, ceding the floor to the Corellian Jedi Master; if there were something to be handled, he had no doubt that she would broach the subject, though Bastele seemed eager to rid himself of his Jedi problem - bad blood, perhaps, though he seemed a bit hurried, Rorik observed.

 

[GABA]

Ebberla had expected the worst when Xhosa explained what had transpired between the Rebels and the Jedi. She was waiting for him to continue the story with lopped limbs and excessive blaster fire, but to much to her surprise it was relatively peacefully for a relatively turbulent time. She studied the Rebel commander for a moment longer than she had intentionally meant to, searching carefully for something that wasn't being seen, though her attention would be regained by Bastele as he seemed to be still holding to old habits.

She pursed her lips together, refusing to comment right away, allowing him to continue, she was waiting for the chastising of Jedi actions of ten years prior and their lack of involvement currently. It was an overall common argument she was highly used to debating with as she tried to defend for the Jedi currently and explain from a point of view that others may not have noticed, but it was most of the time, wasted hot air as her words fell onto ears and touched minds who didn't wish to hear. Though not expecting the former Chief of State at all, she certainly assumed he, possibly could have been the worst of them all, to say something first. He did not of course, and instead, released the Knights in his custody.

Ebberla didn't thank him right away, slightly taken aback, and instead she tilted her head slightly to Rorik as he spoke, she could feel the tension under his tone he tried to project, but didn't blame him for holding such grudges, she too held them also. Ebbs was quiet for a moment, but wasn't ready to leave, "Patience, Padawan." she said sitting a bit straighter.

"Apology accepted, General Bastele, Commander Xhosa." she turned her head slightly meaning to include Xhosa also, "Likewise, I apologize for my Knights not approaching this more diplomatically." but she couldn't blame them either, though she knew Bladedancer was a warrior, and Xhosa's comment about him fishing for a fight didn't surprise her the least bit, then Della, Ebb didn't know what Della was doing in the first place, the Knight hadn't been acting herself lately. Regardless she would sort it out later as she decided their meeting wasn't over quite yet.

"You are right though, General Bastele, mistakes were made, but you are certainly not the type of person who often just let them slide. So why now?" Ebberla asked, genuinely curious to the former Chief of State's reply.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

"Because I'm not the same man I used to be."

But there was more than that. He had changed, it was true. He wasn't the same man who branded the Jedi as traitors, who locked Sigur up in the prisons beneath the Galactic Congress. Times had changed too. Coruscant reminded him how vital the Jedi were to the cause of freedom, to defeating the Sith. If he was to create the great galactic rebellion that he envisioned, he couldn't let the Jedi keep to themselves anymore.

"And because we need each other. Whether it's a Republic or an Alliance or a Rebellion, none of them can survive without the Jedi. And the Jedi can't survive without them. If there's anything history's taught us, it's that we need to work together. Now more than ever. We can't afford to hide forever."

 

[GABA]

Ebberla crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat while Bastele explained his reasoning for his changed actions. Though Ebb would admit, she was hearing this change a lot, from many, Jedi and close friends alike, the decade that has passed seemed to have a profound effect on everyone.

"Except many independent systems believe they can continue on without the Jedi." Ebb stated, her tone turning a bit somber as she thought about the efforts the Jedi have committed. In the recent years since she took the mantle as Grand Master, she had pushed for better relations among many of the Alliance's former systems in an attempt to cull the damage that Bastele had done days prior to Coruscant's fall. However, with the Sith ears and eyes everywhere, they worked quickly in extinguishing any positive thought the people of the former republic held for the Jedi; just the idea of an invasion or public execution was enough for many of the system leaders to turn away the Jedi and their aide.

"You did a swell job of branding us as traitors." Ebb reminded him, "And many of your soldiers out there still feel a strong sense of betrayal as do some of my Jedi as well." her eyes quickly flickered to Rorik then to Commander Xhosa before returning to Bastele, "We have a lot to repair, General, but I cannot disagree. The Jedi have stood by the values of the Alliance, the Republic, and particular Rebellions for many millennia, we are willing to help and fight, just as long as there is a certain degree of trust, General Bastele."

 

[Cale]

"Since when do you give a damn about what other people think, Ebbs?" Xhosa said, quietly, finally interrupting the conversation between Bastele and the Grand Master. Whilst there were some issues to resolve, that was certain, the old man also didn't feel particularly inclined to be relegated to the kids table, sitting silent whilst the "grown-ups" talked. He scratched his jaw as he contemplated the rather large problem that they were about to face, and came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to be quite as easy as he'd really like it to be. Not everyone had an adopted daughter that was a member of the Jedi. Not everyone was quite so capable of putting the past behind them in order to look towards a future that didn't involve the damn Sith.

"Trust is a thing that's going to have to be earned by both sides, and I don't think it'll be easy. As much as we might want it to be. Don't know what the sentiment on your end towards us is going to be, but I know there's a lot of folks mistakenly blaming the Jedi for the fall of Coruscant, and other worlds. Folks who think y'all will run off again when the going gets tough. So, I figure the best way to start is to put those on our side who aren't so inclined to have a hate-on in the field with a couple of your folks who aren't looking to be arrogant prats, and start off that way. Get 'em working together, see that the rumours ain't what the truth is. And work outwards. Those are just my two creds though." He gave a bit of a cheeky grin and shrugged. "Of course I could be barking up the wrong tree. But I've already had to try and beat sense into some kid who wanted to claim the Jedi would just run off when the going got tough again. Don't think he knew the going's already tough. So, if you more august personages have ideas, I'm quite happy to shut the hell up and sit in the back."

 

[Brandon Rhea]

"I also still feel a sense of betrayal. Should I have made a holo-message branding you traitors? No, but the Order still ran away. When things got really hard, the Jedi ran away. The people trusted you to help protect them, and you didn't. Not in the end. They would've felt betrayed regardless of what I said."

Bastele stood up, leaning the palms of his hands against the table. His presence and stature was commanding, authoritative, like it was when he was Chief of State. For the first time in a decade, he actually felt like he was that person again, only improved. Less judgmental. More open to things he never would have thought possible, like this discussion.

"But I agree with Commander Xhosa. Trust isn't going to come right away, but there is one thing we can both trust in: we all want to stop the Sith. Let's put aside our past disagreements, and the failures we all had. God knows I've had plenty with the Jedi. If we want to repair the damage between our two people, then it's going to be up to us. We have to set the example. If the Jedi Council and the man who branded them traitors can work together, then there's hope for everyone yet."

 

[Apocrypha]

"As much as I am loathe to side with the Chief of State," Rorik declared abruptly, seemingly unable to utter the man's name, "he's right; none of us can win this war alone - we may not even triumph together. United, however, we at least have a glimmer of hope." As he went on, the tension in his voice faded, and the young man seemed a bit more amicable. Glancing between the three other patrons of the conversation, Rorik scratched his beard thoughtfully, shaking his head.

"The Commander is on the right track, though," he noted. "The most straight-forward path to fostering trust and goodwill is to work together, literally: send our people on mutually beneficial missions together, perhaps display a bit of martial prowess and intelligence on both sides. Once they see that they've got each other's backs, they'll learn to fight together, even if they don't love each other."

"For a bit of legitimacy, however, perhaps a joint announcement from the Chief of State and Grand Master Daw to your troops and the Order regarding our cooperation would be beneficial."

 

[GABA]

A silent sigh escaped Ebberla, relieved that everyone seemed to be in agreement. The last thing she really wanted to do was debate about the choices made by others a decade ago, though she came to this meeting fully prepared to do so. Regardless, even Padawan Grey, who had been defiant to even staying past the point of getting their Knights back seemed he couldn't bring himself to disagree. She gave him a satisfied approval of his words before rising slowly from her seat.

"I agree as well." she spoke, "The Order will do what we can in order to aide you. I can assure you we are working hard to atone for the mistakes made by our leaders, but what we are doing it not enough. I am open to working along side you and your rebellion, General." Ebberla explained, recalling to herself what happened when the Jedi sects decided to fall into isolation years prior to her unification. Distrust was a dangerous disease and the Grand Master knew it was something they could not feed if they both wished to stop the Sith.

"It will certainly be an uphill battle, General Bastele, but not an impossible one."