Ask Yavin IV For Good

[Alexandria Voran]

The Jedi Council was meant to be the best of them, the leaders of Jedi Order. Paragons of Light. Oota, Sada, Tedimor, Lena, Max, Hannibal, and Oren had once charted the course forward. They had been the heart of the Jedi. Slowly, each had joined the Force or drifted away. Piece by piece that heart had been broken. The path forward less clear as their core faltered. Now, only three of them remained. Alex, Tedimor and Lena. They were all that was left of the beating life blood of the Order. All that was left of the proud Jedi Council. It could not continue on that way. The Jedi needed hope, the Jedi needed leadership, the Jedi needed strength. The Council needed to do their job.

Jedi Councilor Alexandria Voran sat in her seat high above Yavin. Empty chairs were placed in a semi-circle all around her. The empty chairs of the Jedi Council. The Grandmaster's seat purposefully empty. She could not help feeling Max here, the pain of that loss as fresh as the day he died. He had sat in this room and done much as she did now. Would he be proud of her? Of somethings yes…of others…no. Alex had requested Tedimor and Lena join her in the Council Chambers. They had not met as a collective in some time, the responsibilities of their titles keeping them apart. There were only three of them and they were stretched thin. Still, she had felt it critical they meet together. Some conversations were best had in the same room.

Alex took a deep breath. What did she want? What did the Order need? Direction. The war was rapidly evolving, as was the political landscape. They needed a unified vision. Oota had been that vision. Since his death others had tried to pick up the pieces but they remained disjointed. The disconnected had only grown since Max’s passing and Hannibal stepping down. They were adrift…despite their best efforts. Alex nodded slowly. The Council must chart the path forward. They must come together. Another deep breath and she waited.

@Nefieslab @Mr. Teatime

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Tedimor was often the member of the Jedi Council that could be depended upon to be in residence at Yavin at any given moment - they were often deep in research but that didn't stop most Jedi from barging in to interrupt them. Thankfully, their patience had been vastly improved over the years or else they might have developed a reputation was being unapproachable.

Of course they did actually have a reputation for being unapproachable but no one had approached them in regards to it so they didn't actually know that.

Sweeping into the Jedi Council Chambers, they nodded in greeting to Alexandria before taking their own seat. Although the seating wasn't permanent by design, it was an unspoken agreement that some places were 'owned' by certain members of the Council. That so many seats remained empty - from either the loss of their owners or through never being filled in recent memory - was a challenge every time they set foot into the chambers.

Once seated, Tedimor eyed Alexandria with a small smile.

"It has been some time." they admitted fondly, "Though it feels right that we are doing this now, at such a turning point."

@Mr. Teatime @Valen Pelora

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Lena Goordayr looked around the Council chambers with a solemn air. Since the Sith had returned many Jedi had fallen, abandoned the order, or disappeared. She'd known Hannibal was reluctant to join the Council in the first place but his stepping down had still been a surprise. That man carried a weight on his shoulders Lena didn't fully understand and now where he'd gone was a mystery. He never disappeared for this long.

But back to the present for now. The Order needed direction with so many souls in search of answer. They still hadn't fully recovered from the Grandmaster's death, it felt like. At least they still had the three of them and others rising to positions of responsibility. Lena gave the other two a respectful bow as she walked inside and found her usual chair.

"Glad to see you've returned to temple life, Tedimor," she said kindly. They'd often only been present over holo for some years. "Alexandria. You've come a long way, haven't you?" Lena didn't really mean her position, but rather the things she'd experienced.

"A turning point, yes. The future is clouded as always in war."

@Valen Pelora @Nefieslab

 

[Alexandria Voran]

The Force stirred as the Council assembled. Alex smiled softly as Tedimor and Lena arrived. “It has been too long, but we’ve all had our paths to walk.” The importance of Lena’s question was not lost on her. Alex was lightyears from the hidden Jedi Knight Oren had pulled back from the Outer Rim. She wasn’t even the Jedi Master that Max taught strength and compassion. Her winding journey to this room had forged a woman confident in her heart and resolute in her decision. She took no joy in war but would not see them lose.

“I wish we had less somber topics to discuss.” There was no time for long winded pleasantries. They did not need them among the Council. “Lena is right, the future is unclear. We all know there is a portion of the Order seeking to return to the day of the Jedi Army and push the boundaries of the Light.” Alex’s mind immediately went to Yvain and Drow…but there were others. “No one in this room wants that.” The Council firmly stood on common ground. Alex was perhaps the most military minded and she had clear lines she would not cross. “We can’t ignore the war, but I don’t want to see return to the past.” She pushed a hand through her hair.

“I’ve spoken to the Supreme Chancellor, he is open to an alliance that would allow us to fight the Sith without repeating our past errors.” She took a deeper breath. “We must hold the Order together....we’ve been too long without a Grandmaster...adrift without the guidance.” Alex looked at Tedimor and Lena in turn. “One us must assume the risk and reasonability.” The Morellian Councilor was the oldest in the room but both Tedimor and Lena had served on the Council far longer. Alex had spent most of her years away from the Temples. She did not know the right answer only that the Order needed a figure to look to.

@Nefieslab @Mr. Teatime

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Tedimor could be considered many things but what they were not was slow on the uptake. The war had been progressing at a pace by this stage and it seemed that the Jedi were to be a focal point of it, as was often the case when the Sith were involved. Even now with this Empire growing, the Sith could not content themselves even with those wayward, fragmented, souls that so often welcomed them with open arms. No, they demanded that the Jedi needed to be destroyed - why?

Because Sith could not stand a reminder of their failure to master themselves. They sank into their passions and into the corrupted energies of the Dark Side of the Force and they could not think to live in a Galaxy where the Jedi were able to control themselves and their powers.

It was inevitable and that was always terrible, regrettable, but it was not something they could allow to stand.

"An Alliance with the New Republic was once thought impossible." they admitted at length, "It was the opinion of previous sessions of the Council that we could not remain detached from the politics of a political body. Though admittedly... some championed becoming involved anyway."

Maxims had championed becoming active observers of the political engine of the Galaxy to better interact with the people. Hannibal had, instead, championed a more humanistic approach to show that the Order were still people - while keeping the actions against the Sith hidden from the public for the most part. Tedimor had never wanted for the Order to become involved in Politics on any level but they were always in the minority.

A Grandmaster?

"It cannot be myself." Tedimor announced bluntly, tilting their head to one side slightly as they said so, "I am too distant for any allied parties to connect to as they would need to be able to. Indeed, many within the Order itself view me as too 'old-school' in my methods."

@Valen Pelora @Mr. Teatime

 

[The Gatekeeper]

"Lucky Hannibal isn't still herel," Lena commented amusedly and looked at the man's distinctive chair. "I don't see him taking his alliance of yours well." He'd been very loud about his disdain for the Republic's past and present governments his entire Jedi career as well as Old Jedi Order. The temple on Coruscant was a particular sore spot.

Lena looked to Tedimor when she spoke again, then to Alex. "I'll stick to my mercy missions and medical rooms. The big chair isn't for me." The implication seemed obvious but those focused eyes of hers still bore into the Morellian Councilor. She'd been taught by Oota but her attitude was much more rough and straightforward. Both arms folded across her chest.

"The direction of the Order isn't something a Grandmaster or even the whole Council has total control of. They're a teacher and guide, the first among the Jedi. Having a great title doesn't make one great." She was also the least orthodox Councilor after Hannibal's departure.

"What direction does it need, do you think?"

@Nefieslab @Alexandria Voran

 

[Alexandria Voran]

Alex could feel the Force pressing on her. This was the right step, she was certain, but how to take it? Tedimor and Lena did not want the mantle. Had Hannibal? Had Max? Oota? Did anyone truly ever want that burden? For it was a burden, there was no doubt, and it brought all the dangers of the galaxy. Alex looked inward before speaking. Did she want this? No…not really. Was she ready? Maybe. Was there a better path to protect the Order? No. That rang clearly in her soul. Her resolved hardened. “No, a great title does not make one great. Too many great Jedi have been taken from us already. Talak, Max, Oota, Hannibal, Sada-Nau…we are all that is left.”

She returned Lena’s gaze before shifting to Tedimor. “I would count them all better Jedi than me. More deserving to guide the Order.” Alex leaned back, taking a deep breath. “I am not a great Jedi but perhaps that is the point. I am a teacher in my heart. I push every day to honor our fallen friend's memories and to forge an Order of which they would be proud. We all do." She paused for half a moment. "The mantle of Grandmaster is an impossible burden but one I am prepared to shoulder…not because I want it…or am best suited…but because I will do anything to preserve the lives that have sacrificed for us.”

The Morellian Councilor leaned forward again. “No single alliance. No return to the old ways, but friendships with the Republic, Free Worlds Alliance, and even the ISC. Friendships that allow us to protect the life in the galaxy without returning to our militaristic mistakes. Friendships that allow us to rise above politics. I know this path is difficult, maybe impossible, but I believe in it…in us. We must preserve those parts of the Order that are free from the war so that when it ends, we find ourselves not only warriors.” She had spoken more now than in quiet some time. Would they agree? Or would the Order remain adrift?

@Nefieslab @Mr. Teatime

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Tedimor watched and listened as Alex spoke at some length about her decision and her ideas as to how the rest of the Jedi Order should be guided. Already they could tell that Alex's ideas might receive some push-back from certain Masters who viewed the struggle against the Sith as more of a militaristic war effort than some ideological struggle.

They would admit that a concerted effort to remain both warriors and the more traditional idea of a Jedi was appealing to them. Did they truly believe that Alex could be the one to help guide the Jedi Order to such a middle ground?

Perhaps not.

But they believed she deserved the chance to try.

"Very well." they declared bluntly, "We see no need to deliberate further; we are not willing, Lena is not willing and others who would be suitable are not in consideration. Therefore, we would be happy to give you the chance to prove that your ways are correct, that your resolve will see the Order through these dark times."

They smiled a little bit.

"Unless Lena has any objections, we believe this may be all there is to it. A lack of pomp and pageantry is almost customary at this point, wouldn't you agree?"

@Mr. Teatime @Valen Pelora

 

[Alexandria Voran]

“Agreed.” Alex nodded solemnly. “It is not our way, such as things are.” She left unsaid a celebration felt wrong. The Order was embroiled in war with the galaxy ever darkening. Perhaps in a different time, Alex would have wished to celebrate. Perhaps in a different time, the Jedi would have wished to celebrate. What was there to cheer? Alex accepted a dangerous responsibility punctuated by the death of her predecessor. The Council remain small for a terrible reason. A Jedi’s life was sacrifice. They were meant to be the best of them, which meant they sacrificed. It was why Max was dead, why Talak was dead, and why Oren, Hannibal, and all the others were gone. No, this was not a celebration.

With Lena silent, it was clear she did not object. The Force shifted again as Alex felt the weight of responsibility settle on her shoulders. You asked for this Alexandria. A part of you wanted this, to prove you became what they saw in you. Time to go to work. “I will see the Order through this, and if I should fall, they will still have the two of you.” That brought her some comfort. Despite everything, Lena and Tedimor still stood strong. Alex took a deep breath and rose from her seat. “I suppose I have work to do…may the Force be with us.” With that she nodded to each and reached out to them in the Force. Her soul touched theirs.

They were in unison in this regard. Grandmaster Alexandria Voran strode from the Council chamber. She did have work ahead. In time, a message would be circulated to the Order as a whole. She would have to consider what to tell the galaxy. If they even cared.

OOC: End Thread

@Mr. Teatime @Nefieslab