The Avalan Crisis: A Prince's Kindness
Posted on Thu May 16th, 2013 @ 11:41pm by Sotah & Thurius
Edited on on Wed Jun 8th, 2022 @ 1:59pm
2,365 words; about a 12 minute read
Chapter:
Additional Stories
Location: Onderon
Timeline: 1,208 ABY, Concurrent with "AC: Unlikely Allies"
OLD
"You heard him, Knight," she said sternly to her comrade. "Work with these two Padawans and show them what the Rift Jedi can do; prove that we're as interested in peace and cooperation as they claim to be. Believe it not, you've actually got something quite important to do. Now," Sazar turned her horned head to the two Jedi Masters, "I think we have an upstart posh boy to handle." Before they finally left, she pointed at Theon. "But don't get them killed, or else I'll never hear the end of it from the fish."
Sotah gave one of his toothy smiles. "Very droll, Sazar. Good luck Thane, Bomoor, I trust you'll make good company for good Theon. We will all speak soon. May the Force be with you."
NEW
Another instalment of The Avalan Crisis posts, chronicling the young Padawans, Thane and Bomoor Thort.
"Do you think that was really the best choice to make?" Sazar asked of the two Jedi Masters as they continued on their trek through Iziz towards the Bronze Keep. Not far from here, and they would have to spend a brief time moving through the wilderness beyond the city's walls, before they would reach the keep itself, even though it was almost an extension of one section of the wall.
Master Sotah stopped the quiet and relaxing humming he was engaged in to give a quick and reassuring look to the Rift Guardian. "Oh, quite sure. Both Bomoor and Thane are quite mature and confident young Jedi, and I trust them to make the effort to work with this former recruit of yours, just as I trust him to work with them. I expect there shall be some conflict between them, of course, but that is always necessary for the best form of learning, isn't it?" He threw a small credit chit to a young boy sat upon a ragged rug on the floor. "There'll be arguing, bickering and disagreements, but they'll get on, and all will be the wiser for it."
"Hmm." Was Sazar's reply, her shoulders held high as they continued their walk (although hers was more of a march) towards their destination. "Theon is incredibly hotheaded, even for a Rift Jedi, but he is one of the many recruits who joined us without prior Jedi training. We've always had high hopes for him, and although he's proven his prowess in combat, he has much to learn about the diplomatic side of things."
"I suppose it is a struggle to teach diplomacy when the entire Rift Order was born of conflict," Master Thurius observed, with an air of superiority, "Even now, you walk a fine line between war and peace. It is no wonder that your initiates have such a mind frame."
"That's very big talk for a Jedi who has devoted his life to his lightsaber," Sazar retorted with a stern voice, yet not rising to any bait that could lead to conflict.
Sotah merely let out a slightly bemused Selkath gurgle. "My friends, we are not here to debate the philosophies of our two orders now, are we?" He mused, his tone having become slightly lighter. "Leave that to the likes of Chief Archivist Farr and Republic ambassadors; we are both in existence - legally - and both have work to be doing... together." With the closest thing he could muster to a smile, the Master's eyes then rose as he sighted something ahead. "Ah. This looks to be our way through."
A section of wall stretched out before them. It was somewhat newer than the rest of the city wall, built as a new line of defense after a section of the city was claimed back by the wilds many years ago. The wall was guarded by a small number of Royal Guards but the majority of the defences were supplied by GalactaWerks in the form of heavily armed soldiers.
It was one of the Onderonian guardsmen, however, that stepped forward, his uniform richly-decorated for a figure in charge of such a post. He carried an air of nobility, but he had suspicious eyes and a clean-cut face. He need not ask who the newcomers were. "The palace sent word ahead," the man announced, standing in front of the arch that led beyond, "and you have permission to depart. Queen Omina has advised us to not support you as you approach the Bronze Keep, but she is hardly a tactical genius - no disrespect intended to Her Highness. I would offer to accompany you, along with one of my best captains."
A dark-skinned young man stood to attention a few yards away, saluting the Jedi. "We are well-trained, and will offer an alternative point of view in this hoped meeting with the Avalans," the man went on, assuming the Jedi had accepted.
"Major," Sazar began, "I don't think we need any assistance in this matter - we're perfectly capable of handling this ourselves."
Sotah gave a nod, but kept a warm disposition. "We welcome your offer with gladdened hearts, my good major, but we feel it would be best to proceed as just the three of us. After all, whilst there is no state of war between any figures and the Avalans-" A GalactaWerks soldier stiffened and scowled at the mention, "-so I am certain they will not open fire on us... or are at least less likely to do so if we don't come charging in with a set of Royal Guards. I am led to believe Prince Garius has his own contingent of Royal Guards, anyway, loyal to him, as is expected from his rank. We have no wish to cause any conflict."
The major's mouth tightened. "I must insist, Jedi," he said, straightening his back.
Thurius grimaced at being referred to simply as 'Jedi', "I must agree with my companions here. An armed escort would give the wrong impression and, besides, we are perfectly well-armed and, most importantly, trained for such situations. You had better respect the Queen's wishes and maintain your position here."
Sotah examined the major for a few moments, before looking to Thurius with a look the Cerean knew all too well. Resigning himself to taking the course of action, the Selkath Jedi once more faced the major, waving his hand as he said, "There is no need for you to accompany us."
The major's eyes flickered for a moment with a few twitches, and Sotah feared the Onderonian was resisting before he said in a monotonous tone, "There is no need for us to... for us to accompany you."
"We appreciate your offer, but we are perfectly well-equipped to handle this."
"You are perfectly well-equipped to handle this," the major said, with somewhat more determination, almost as if he believed it were his own thought. He looked to his men. "The Jedi appreciate our offer, but they have no need for our assistance; they are perfectly capable of handling this." With a nod to Sotah, he added, "And I wish you the best of luck in this escapade. We'll be here, should you need us."
Sotah gave one of his tooth-filled Selkath grins. "Thank you kindly, Major. You are a credit to Queen Omina." With a wave of his arm, the major ushered his forces out of the way to allow the Jedi to proceed.
Once they were firmly out of earshot (and there were no more GalactaWerks Militiamen who clearly saw what Sotah had done), Sazar's mouth curled upwards in a mischievous smile, nudging the Selkath with her elbow. "That was sneaky, Jedi Master."
Humming slightly, Sotah gave a mock look of confusion. "My dear, I haven't a clue what you are suggesting. He merely came around to our way of thinking. Besides, it is certainly for the best: this way, none of his forces will come to any harm should we fail - not that we will, of course."
Thurius smiled, "Well, whether your 'charm' convinced them or otherwise, that man was itching for a confrontation with the Avalans. In that situation, we must do what is necessary to prevent such conflict. Thank you, my friend."
Just as he had finished speaking, Thurius heard a twig snap in the foliage beside him. From leaving the city into this no man's land, the effect of the wilds could immediately be seen. The ferocious wildlife of Onderon had quickly taken hold of this abandoned sector with tall grass ripping through the remains of the cobbled path beneath them and stone structures used as climbing frames by thick vines. Thurius stared intently into the darkness amongst the undergrowth, hardly noticing that his companions had also stopped. He could sense something in there, watching them.
Sazar immediately dropped into a defensive posture and her lightsaber shot into her bionic hand, its blue blade snapping out of the hilt and ready to fend off whatever creature may be lurking, but Sotah simply gave a slight hum with an amused expression before stretching his hand out to lower her weapon.
"Stay your blade, Sazar," he said warmly, appearing entirely unconcerned as he took a couple of steps towards the origins of the noise. Raising both hands in a non-confrontational posture, he called, "To whom am I addressing?" A few seconds past with no response, but the Selkath tried once more whilst simultaneously stretching out to discover whoever these beings were with the Force.
Another few twigs snapped behind them, forcing Sazar to alter her position, before another noise came from yet another direction. Within a few seconds, more noises were coming from about them and grew steadily closer. "Master Sotah..." she began, but he raised a hand to silence her as he then clutched his own lightsaber.
"We mean you no harm," the Selkath assured the newcomers again.
This time, however, there was a response. "Then why are you holding your lightsabers?" Came a cultured tone, sounding slightly dismissive.
Thurius was quickly angling his elongated head this way and that as he tried to pinpoint the speaker, "Because we cannot gauge your intentions from the shadows. Come out and face us, if you expect us to trust you."
"Only after you disengage your blades and return them to your belts," the voice replied, "and then we may speak. We understand you have no intention of throwing them down, so do not think us unreasonable, Master Jedi."
Sotah immediately returned his, and only after a nod and a few seconds' worth of glaring did Sazar copy the Selkath, although her expression made clear her reluctance. "Now show yourselves!" She declared to them.
Within a few seconds, they were surrounded by two dozen Onderonians (all most certainly Human) armed with particularly high-tech rifles. Four of them were of the Royal Guard, including the man who had addressed them. With dark red hair, chiselled features and a stern expression, there was no denying this figure's authority. "I am Commander Regnal," he said in his clear crisp voice, "the commander of Prince Garius' Royal Guard."
Master Thurius drew himself up straight and faced the guard, "We do not appreciate being spied upon, Commander Regnal. We come to negotiate with your Prince under peaceful terms. We may be armed but, as you have observed, we only use them in the face of danger and not to incite conflict."
He placed a hand on his hip, "Perhaps you wish to know who we are? I am Master Thurius, representative of the Republic alongside my fellow Jedi, Master Sotah. We are also accompanied by Master Sazar of the Rift Jedi, current protector of Queen Omina. We seek an audience with Prince Garius."
"How convenient," Regnal acknowledged in his dutiful manner, not smiling nor aggressive, but merely polite and official, "as His Majesty is rather keen to have an audience with you, too. This area is a particularly dangerous locale, and Prince Garius requested we be sent to escort you along to the Bronze Keep, to ensure no mischief were to occur to you." He nodded and two of of the Royal Guards took point and began marching in the direction the Jedi had originally been headed. "Shall we proceed?"
Sotah looked over to Thurius and Sazar, his face pulled into an expression of clear amused satisfaction, and an expression his Cerean friend had learned often accompanied risk-taking and trusting unruly sorts. "Yes," he said cheerfully as Sazar shook her head at him, "I rather think we shall."
Thurius sighed. Having just passed up one armed escort, they were about to pick up another. It certainly had been the right call before or there could have been bloodshed had the two groups met, "We are perfectly capable of reaching the Keep on our own steam. Besides, this feels more as if we are your prisoners. I can assure you that we would not be so easily captured."
Regnal's calm demeanour remained as they began walking onwards through the forest. "If you were our prisoners, Master Jedi, we would have taken your lightsabers and have you in chains, I assure you," he said, not kindly or aggressively. "As things stand, there is no point in there being tension between us, as we have no wish to do any of you harm, bar simply bring you before our lord. Consider it from this angle: were you to have arrived at the Bronze Keep anyway, and should Prince Garius have decided to assault you, we would have a greater number of men than we do now. His Majesty has weakened his position to extend you this kindness."
Sotah simply looked at Thurius with a slightly expectant smug look.
The Cerean master raised an eyebrow at his friend, not amused by his lax nature in the situation. He certainly did not like to surrender, not even on a small scale. Once upon a time, he may have challenged Regnal further, but his experiences had taught him not to risk the lives of his companions with unnecessary hostility.
For now, Thurius simply offered a dry reply to the Royal Guard, "We hope to see more of the Prince's kindness when we arrive."
TBC
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