Victory Celebrations

[Elijah Hardin]

Eli watched the man approach him and stood up straight when he got close enough. He asked him if he had felt better. The Morellian thought about it for a moment, looking back into the person who he always strives to be, a leader of sorts. He considered the question emotionally, empirically, and thoughtfully. Then, understanding that often times a paradigm shift is necessary. He dismissed the notion that his stance required a paradigm shift. That young brat could handle what he said, if she couldn't she had no business in such a mature venue anyway. Blowing the smoke from his cigarra as politely as possible into the air above him and taking a small sip of his brandy.

"I feel no different stranger. I said what needed to be said. What should have been said. What many force users refuse out of hand or are too blind to realize. That is...the rest of us exist. If they fail to acknowledge that very basic principle, then what good are they? Besides, she's obviously old enough to be spoken to straightly and for all I know she has never understood or been shared with that perspective. If that young girl takes away anything from this, it will be that we 'others' notice. And that abuse of that dangerous power they wield so easily and so wantonly is what leaves the galaxy in darkness. Much like the darkness we are currently experiencing and that you, my friends, my family, and I have all bled, cried and died to keep from swallowing us completely. These zealots must have rules and restrictions. Destroying public property whether you're a wizard or otherwise in a drunken display to gain the respect of your seniors grants you neither the respect you're demanding, nor the affirmation of your ability to demonstrate your ability. One only demonstrates the disadvantage of lacking self-control and when it comes to dogmatic magicians that lack is a threat to galactic security."

The captain held out his hand to the young, tall zabrak for him to take.

"I'm Elijah Hardin, Captain of the Morellian Enforcers, liason to-and member of-the Rebellion from the Morellian Commonwealth, this id Dan-L my personal companion and best friend who also happens to be a YVH Combat Droid, very capable. The beautiful young lady here is Alisha Dawnstrider, a very skilled mechanic and technician...and a fine shot with a carbine I might add. And this young man here is Jaleer, a Jedi who has earned my respect despite our obvious differences of opinion regarding your order and the Force in general. I am pleased to make your acquaintance mr..."

Eli waited for the gentleman to take his hand a respond patiently

@Darman Kebii'tra , @Alisha Dawnstrider , @Benvenu7

 

[Minuteman75]

"You are a real Jedi. You're just getting started, that's all. People don't become masters and commanders over night, you got to earn it. Like go through life, enjoy the good times, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, endure the crap, fight through the crap, and seize the moment when it comes."

Forim replied with sincerity. He remembered how the Jedi that he hang out with as boy, look after him and taught him a lot about life. They inspired him during a terrible time, they were more than heroes to Forim, they're were friends whom he owned a debt he can never repay. What he just told Kalia was similar to the things some of his Jedi friends told him.

 

[Prudence]

She looked up from his right shoe, lingering at his collarbone area before she mustered the courage to meet him in the eye "Thank you.. " she said with a blush, "I just want people to take me seriously." A frown came over her face as she said it.

 

[Alisha Dawnstrider]

Alisha went very quiet at the unfolding scene. Despite the fact that she was still in awe at Eli's words, she did feel very sorry for the girl that walked away, stumbling. Alisha looked at her in a slightly sympathetic manner as she sat in her corner. But perhaps she did need to learn the lesson. In any case, someone was with her now and it looked like things might improve. On Eli's speech, Alisha held on to Jaleer's hand, squeezing it gently. Secretly, she agreed with everything the captain said. However, she knew this might strike a chord with Jaleer..but she didn't want him to add fuel to the fire so to speak, so she smiled softly at him, to sort of encourage him to not get this any further.

She then noticed the zabrak that was trying to calm the girl approach, and ask the captain if he felt better. Alisha wondered why he felt the need to criticize Eli, when it was the girl causing the trouble.. She walked next to the captain when he introduced them. No need for further hostilities, after all. She giggled at the captain's praise.

"All thanks to your training, captain."

She then flashed a friendly smile at the Zabrak, hoping he would feel easier, while waiting for him to introduce himself.

 

[Minuteman75]

Makes sense, Forim thought to himself as Kalia explained what she wanted. Many youth in some form or another want to be taken more seriously.

"Getting that respect from strangers usually takes time and effort. Some still won't but others, they can be won over."

Then suddenly Forim realized something and scratched his head with an embarrassed grin, and commented. "Oops I forgot to introduce myself, the name's Forim Viridux, captain of the Corusca. What's your name if ya don't mind me asking?"

 

[Prudence]

She blinked a few times and looked brushed some hair out of her eyes "I.. I'm Kalia Solares. I'm not even a Jedi padawan really, because I don't have a master." She let a frown tug at the side of her face. She blushed at the mention of him being a captain of something called the Corsuca. She had taken a really important person away from what looked to be a really fun party.

 

[Minuteman75]

It's all becoming more clear, Forim considered when he heard the confession from Kalia. He suddnely bad for mentioning his involvement with the Corusca, the last thing he wanted to do was make her upset. He was just was proud of being part of its crew. He stayed silent for a few seconds before adding.

"Well Kalia, I believe you'll get a someone to teach ya. I don't know much about your Order or the Force to be honest, but one thing I'm certain of is Jedi don't let waste away talent. The fact you're a member, padwan or not says something."

 

[Prudence]

Kalia nodded "I'm nothing special though.. But thank you. " she clumsily pulled herself to her feet and wrapped her arms around the military man, letting her tears and snot soak into his shoulder.

 

[Minuteman75]

Taking off guard, by the hug and tears, Forim didn't know what to do. He settle on patting her left shoulder in a brotherly matter. One thing, Jedi told him once that all life was precious, it was hard for him to accept that view when it came to Sith and other savages like them, but when it came to other people he wanted to believe it. Hopefully Kalia learned that she is special, though it seems like she will have to learn that herself.

Once she sat back down Forim got up and stated.

"I gotta go Kalia, need to check on my crew, they're probbaly passed out by now from too much drinking or who knows what. Nice talking with you."

Forim chuckle at the image of his comrades in that state then looked Kalia in the eye and finally said

Ya hang in there okay? Try to enjoy the rest of this party and remember...the Force will be you always."

With that statement, Forim saluted Kalia, as a sign of respect to her and got up then head back to the party. Somehow he felt that the spirits of his Jedi friends from Duro were watching and were pleased. One can only hope.

[OOC: Theme of Forim's feelings, when remembering the Jedi he knew.]

 

[Richie B.]

Jaleer stayed quiet thankfully Alisha held onto his hand making him able to keep his silence if it wasn't for the fact that the Captain was a friend, the sage would have gone off on him for yelling at a young kid, even if she was acting drunk it didn't mean she needed to be yelled at. So when the captain finished and started too walk away he sent a apologetic look too the girl, though he doubt she saw walking with Alisha with the captain too the bar the robot man came to them so Jaleer was about to say something but it seemed that they wouldn't be alone as a man joined them if it wasn't for that man Jaleer would had a few words with the captain.

Listening the man question the captains actions Jaleer was glad to see he wasn't the only one thinking like this, but it did seem that the captain wasn't going to be moved if others come too him fighting him on such subjects. Though it did seem that Alisha was worried about him so Jaleer just felt glad to have her, looking over her and kissing her on her forehead when Zabark was talking too the captain. An when he was brought up Jaleer decided to say his little piece hopefully too set the mood of the discussion, where clear minds talked things out.

"Well I am a Jedi knight though me and the captain have different opinions on what is acceptable and what is not, but the fact of the matter was she needed too not be using the force while she was drunk. But I do agree with you on the fact that she didn't need a scolding. Captain I understand you are a very passionate and well educated but some people need a more simple gentle touch that you seem too lack." Jaleer said hoping too be a neutral and wise voice amongst the two man though Jaleer was only 18 he did try his best too prove his reason too be a rank of Knight.

 

[Wit]

It had been far too long, far, far too long. For months he had been able to resist, stay away from everything, follow the bidding of the Force in his remote corner of the Galaxy. But in the end he was but a man, and a weak one at that. He had to give in, he had to return.

He slithered through among the shadows, hidden from sight and within the Force, his own eyes spotting faces known and unknown. He didn't know what had pulled him to Manaan, he had been out of the loop for so long that it was nothing but coincidence that had put him at the right place at the right time. He should have been surprised by what he saw, and had sensed before hiding himself in the Force, Light and Dark, united to opposed the Sith. This was not something he had foreseen when he left, but maybe this was what was needed to win the war.

"My precious," he whispered as he finally spotted his query, a large bowl stacked with crisps, ignored by the mostly inebriated revelers, his mask in the Force slipping away as he reached for them, "oh I have missed you so!."

 

[Enfali Tragati]

Oh good, more thugs with delusion of grandeur and a love for really long speeches. Great and here I though a whole sector of the galaxy getting burned to the ground would've thinned that population a little, Enfali thought, rolling her eyes. She couldn't say the rhetoric thrilled her, but she'd only spent most of her life on the run for being Force-sensitive. Beyond that she didn't pay the thug a bit of attention. The situation seemed to have resolved itself for the moment. It was stuff like that which had been worrying her about some aspects of the Rebellion these days though. Winning was great and all, but something just felt off...The Jedi were bad enough, and here there were all kinds of crazy and criminal types on board these days. It was an upside down galaxy when the Mandalorians, Imperial Knights, and regular old rebels seemed like the only ones who really had a vested interest in things ending nicely.

But that was her opinion.

And she was drunk.

But in the morning, she'd be sober. And she'd still probably think the Enforcer bunch seemed kind of terrible.

Beyond that though, she didn't really have a vested interest. Odds were strong she was going to get killed by a stray blaster bolt on some rock no one cares about, fighting someone no one would ever know.

Welp, such was life.

Returning to her drink with an intention of attempting to ignore the young people and their new fangled rhetoric, and love triangles.

She gave a small cheer when M said they were getting free guns n'stuff. She almost gave a small boo when she said she was giving the Jedi free stuff. They didn't deserve a cheap yoga mat, much less crap like medical and power droids. Those were things the Rebels kind of really needed. The Bogan thrilled her even less that, although they did actually do things, and she was giving them kriffing tanks!

Wait, talk to assistant? That wasn't her was it? Enfali, in her inebriated state, honestly couldn't remember. M seemed like the type to call just about anyone working for her (although Enfali preferred to think of it as with her) an assistant so it was definitely up in the air. And she had worked with the Cartel a couple times before...

Shit.

Well at least she could get a bigass gun out of the whole thing. Maybe something with plasma.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the appearance of a, frankly disturbed looking man, whispering to a bowl of chips.

"You know those are stale right?" She asked him.

 

[Wit]

He turned to look at the woman, crunching on a mouthful of the crisps, his fist already full of the next round. He shrugged and swallowed it down, flashing a smile born of pure joy, which in the lighting they were standing in, and given the impression he had already cast on her, made him look more than a little deranged.

"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man." He had been on a "healthy" diet for far too long, the Fallen didn't really understand fried food, for him the stale chips were the most delicious thing in the world.

"Say," he blurted out in between his next mouthful, "any reason you lot put up this shindig and arranged for stale crisps?"

 

[Prudence]

Kalia nodded and sniffled slightly as the man let go of her and awkwardly pulled away. Once he was gone she just milled away and walked through the party, eventually spying the food table. Forgetting mostly about the harsh words from the man earlier she began to get her some food. She started with a plate full of chips, and added some nice corellian peppers, wrapped in nerf bacon and stuffed with cheese of some sort. She observed a strange man uttering things to the bowl of chips, and talking with the rude bitch that had heckled Mjolla.

 

[Darman Kebii'tra]

"Vergil Tyel," Vergil shook his hand. He waved over the bartender and indicated for a refill of the gentleman's brandy. Vergil wasn't sure what to make of this man. He'd obviously seen his share of heartbreak and devastation that had been caused by this long, drawn out war. But he couldn't understand the anger that he directed towards the girl. He also wasn't sure at the reasoning of calling the Force-users zealots either. He'd heard of a few fairly nasty ones, but none of those sects were related to the Sith or Jedi. Vergil teetered on questioning the man, but recognized that this was not the place, nor time.

"While I don't disagree with you, I'm fairly certain that girl isn't going to remember that conversation in the morning. Regardless, instead of perpetuating the anger and hurt that you seem dedicated to eradicating, you might have treated her with a little compassion. I'm sure you know that she's experienced the same pains that you've known because of this war." Vergil said. He could have expanded on that statement by explaining the difference in Sith and Jedi. But he didn't want to get into it. "I'm not here to argue or debate with you, after all this is a time to celebrate, but keep that in mind next time."

"Enjoy your drink and I hope the rest of you evening is pleasant." He turned to leave, "And I apologize on the girls behalf for any troubles she caused."

Vergil walked away and began to look for the drunken padawan. She wasn't hard to find, munching away on some chips. He walked over to her, "Are you better now?"

 

[Elijah Hardin]

Eli nodded and returned to his drink. He looked back at Alisha, "Naw, you were a natural. You just needed the science behind it." When Jaleer spoke about the 'gentle nudging' he shook his head, "no, that one needed to understand that in the company of non-force-sensitives one must exercise restraint not only because it's the right thing to do but because if the only person to address that behavior is her master than the student will assume that the only authority they are subject to is that of the order. That is what breeds hubris."

Dan had noticed the young girl begin to become emotional and then the subsiding of those emotions for sake of the food. "Captain, I believe the young woman is expressing symptoms of an erratic and unpredictable emotional state not unlike one who is diagnosed bipolar."

Eli chuckled and took another drink as he looked over his shoulder to the girl, "No Dan, she's just a teenager. You should have seen how much I railed on my mother and father when they forbid me from joining the enforcers and instead sent me to University. If hindsight is 20-20 then being a teenager is like wearing blinders in a snowstorm. Can't see where you're going, don't know where you are, and don't know which way to head. Thank the force she at least has some guidance. I pray only that she heed her instruction and don't let her emotions get the better of her." He looked from Alisha then to Jaleer, "I see you two are pretty much out and in the open, congratulations. What do you have planned now? I assume your plans involve one another."

 

[Prudence]

"Vergil Tyel," Vergil shook his hand. He waved over the bartender and indicated for a refill of the gentleman's brandy. Vergil wasn't sure what to make of this man. He'd obviously seen his share of heartbreak and devastation that had been caused by this long, drawn out war. But he couldn't understand the anger that he directed towards the girl. He also wasn't sure at the reasoning of calling the Force-users zealots either. He'd heard of a few fairly nasty ones, but none of those sects were related to the Sith or Jedi. Vergil teetered on questioning the man, but recognized that this was not the place, nor time.

"While I don't disagree with you, I'm fairly certain that girl isn't going to remember that conversation in the morning. Regardless, instead of perpetuating the anger and hurt that you seem dedicated to eradicating, you might have treated her with a little compassion. I'm sure you know that she's experienced the same pains that you've known because of this war." Vergil said. He could have expanded on that statement by explaining the difference in Sith and Jedi. But he didn't want to get into it. "I'm not here to argue or debate with you, after all this is a time to celebrate, but keep that in mind next time."

"Enjoy your drink and I hope the rest of you evening is pleasant." He turned to leave, "And I apologize on the girls behalf for any troubles she caused."

Vergil walked away and began to look for the drunken padawan. She wasn't hard to find, munching away on some chips. He walked over to her, "Are you better now?"

Kalia, still puffy eyed looked up, a mouthful of chips in her mouth "Yah!" she murmured, her words distorted by the mouthful. She swallowed them down and stumbled towards the punch, scooping some directly with her cup and drinking it "This is a real party! I've never been to a real party!"

 

[Alisha Dawnstrider]

Alisha smiled at Eli when he called her a natural, and thanked him softly. Alisha then was a little annoyed that the Zabrak didn't even seem to acknowledge her. But she shook her shoulders as the man walked over to the young girl, who, worriedly, after shedding some tears, was seem to be still keen on drinking punch.. She decided that she was going to be alright, even though she was a bit worried. The girl will not be well in the morning.. Maybe she was going to check on her later.

At the captain's words, Alisha turned her head again, blushed slightly and chuckled, realising she'd been holding Jaleer's hand all this time.

"To be fair, I've never been to a party before and before ANY plans, we just wanted to have a good time without anyone shooting at us. You know."

She grinned at the captain. She was fairly certain even he would have been at least slightly relieved about that.

"After that, you'd be correct" She giggles, without adding too much detail, and gets a little close to Jaleer. She then takes another gulp of her water, finishing her glass. She turns sideways so she can put the empty glass on the bar, and asks the bartender for another, also with a lemon slice. She was planning on drinking some more, but so that she wouldn't end up throwing up all over her own ship in the morning.

Turning back to face the captain and Jaleer, she smiled as she took another sip of water.

"I'd like to drink responsibly" She explained, before they'd ask. "Also, NOT throwing up on my ship" She chuckles.

 

[Ben]

He'd arrived a little later than anticipated, but there was nothing for it. Orlaan had raised his glass as Mjolla called out her exceedingly generous gift to the Jedi and flashed her a grin, but he could help but wonder what more she wanted in return as he swilled the remaining dregs around in the bottom of his glass. The Jedi was drinking out of habit, of course. The liqueur inside stunk of Taun Taun piss, and it couldn't do anything for him anyway; guess you could only go to so many bars before buying a drink became a knee-jerk thing.

Looking around, straining his eyes against the dim interior of the Manaan club set off against the flashes of strobes and coloured spots, Orlaan spotted faces he knew. Hal, scarfing down chips, Ghess gave him a weak smile - he'd not seen his friend in too long. He saw several Bogan faces he recognised, including the dour mien of Hrass observing something across the room from himself. When the older mans eyes snapped up to meet the Jedi's gaze, Orlaan quickly moved on.

Noting with a little parental concern a few Jedi likely too young to be touching booze swigging dizzily from short glasses, Orlaan rolled his eyes and tried to relax. They needed this, too much was being asked of them all already. So what it they had a bit of illicit fun? He wasn't going to be all judgy tonight - besides, he couldn't say he hadn't done what they were doing when he was younger. Albeit for different purposes than recreation.

It was odd standing there, surrounded by familiar faces but not really having anyone to talk to. He'd been so caught up in this war and the fear spread by the Sith for so long that he'd been forgetting to take stock of life. Orlaan contented himself with watching from the wings, calling in whatever was strong from the bar-back and idly wondering if Mjolla had something in her VIP area that could properly wet his whistle.

 

[Aura]

When she heard that celebrations were on the way, Aura initially did not want to participate, seeing it as a waste of time. She thought that the celebrations should occur after the war had ended. As time past though, the Rebel Commander found that celebrating their recent series of victories would be a good idea. From Maanan to Bestine, the Rebellion had conquered various planets and the Imperium was weakening. The people that took her family away would pay for their crimes.

As she entered the party, making sure not to carry any weapons, or anything dangerous, Aura quickly so Forum, and approached him. "Congratulations on you leading Corusca. You certainly deserve it. How does it feel leading Corusca" she stated to the Duros. They had served fighting in Devaron where they had helped pave the way for the Rebellion winning control of the planet. It was nice to know that the former Warmaster was dead. Hopefully, as the war went on, other Sith officials would join him among the dead.

"Death to Andraste and the Sith." she stated in a low tone. The Imperium was weakening, and hopefully, it would continue to weaken.