with the current one being the first of those 4.
That is what we're trying to clarify: Is the current turn the first of those four?

EDIT: and clarity arrives
Turn 0 : Current turn, Action start, 25% complete
:cool:
There. Are we clear?
Yes, we're clear. Right now, we have completed 1/4 of the required research actions. Thank you for clarifying.
 
Okay. I misunderstood how the research rolls work and I am sorry.

But for future reference, assuming that I was intentionally trying to fuck you guys over was not cool. I made a mistake and I apologize for that, but I'd appreciate a bit more civility and trust in these kinds of matters. Is that understood?
 
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But for future reference, assuming that I was intentionally trying to fuck you guys over was not cool. I made a mistake and I apologize for that, but I'd appreciate a bit more civility and trust in these kinds of matters. Is that understood?
My apologies if it came across that way. I was under the impression that you sincerely believed you were helping us out, without realizing the actual effects of the turn would penalize us more than usual. I'm really glad it was just a misunderstanding.
 
Fascinating approach to Anakin's feelings and character back in the talk with Ciaran.

Oh, you're just catching up then! Like I said in the author's notes I had a ton of fun digging into Anakin's character and figuring out how he really ticks. So far that's probably my favorite thing I've written for this.

So far. Hehehe...
 
How would one describe Ciaran's character? So much stuff has been happening it becomes a little difficult to pin down, especially morally.
 
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Since Ciara did speak of Meetra, perhaps next time she speaks to Anakin, she can speak of Zayne Carrick as another potential role model for Anakin. Zayne had a tenuous connection to the Force, could be rather clumsy at times, ultimately had to flee from the Order as he was framed for his fellows' deaths, done by a conspiracy that involved his own Master, and had to learn how to operate as an outlaw. Despite that and not being a Jedi, Zayne did a lot of good for the galaxy and was a very kind-hearted young man who helped where he could. There was also Zayne's interesting relationship with Marn "Gryph" Hierogryph, a smuggler that Zayne was originally trying to catch, yet ultimately Gryph was his mentor and helped him survive after the debacle with the Order. Zayne would be an excellent sort for Anakin to look up to.
 
Although, this certainly provides some insight:

As always Thrawn is magnificent.

I have...faith in you, for lack of a better term. Though I have only been here for a relatively short time, I have learned a lot about you through your organization and the people you surround yourself with. You recognize the benefits of peace and the realities of war in equal measure. You are prepared to sully your hands to achieve your goals no matter what they may be. You have ambitions far beyond those of normal beings and the will to see them through. I am here because I can tell that you and I are...kindred spirits as it were, and our efforts would be magnified immensely were we to work together." Thrawn matched Ciaran's gaze. "And while our reasons may be different, our goals are the same-a truly united galaxy. Is that a sufficient answer?"
 
How would one describe Ciaran's character? So much stuff has been happening it becomes a little difficult to pin down, especially morally.

That I would like to know as well. Since I'm not in charge anymore AND the character has also been formed by the voters omakes and jokes... I can't actually say anything definite anymore. Kinda.

Curious to see any possible descriptions.
 
How would one describe Ciaran's character? So much stuff has been happening it becomes a little difficult to pin down, especially morally.

Oooh, that's a tricky one, mainly because one of her main traits is her ability to hide her true intentions from others, not to mention like Teron said she's become something more than one writer can describe perfectly. But it's a fun question so I'm going to try my best to answer it.

Hmm...how to approach this...I would say that Ciaran is definitely an ambitious, intelligent, and spirited young woman. She's smart enough to know when to let something lie, but she can be a bit reckless when a large enough opportunity is presented to her and can get cocky when she's in a position of power over a situation. She enjoys seeing other people flustered and baffled by her actions, although she tones this down a bit around closer friends. As a leader and a former gang leader she is not afraid to send people into life-threatening situations, although in recent years with fewer direct enemies she's become slightly more adverse to more overt measures like that. Having spent a decent chunk of her life in the lower levels of Coruscant, she can be very spartan when the situation calls for it, but recent successes and benefits to her organization have caused her to develop a hedonistic streak; while she's maintained her abilities and rationality she's grown to enjoy the status she's gained over the years and the many benefits that come from it.

And as for others...it's as complicated as you might expect. Within the Abyss Watchers she considers the "veterans" like Gulan, Tyro and so on respected friends though she's willing to respect newer people who prove themselves like Thrawn, she loves her grandfather dearly despite the arguments they can get into at times, and she maintains a professional air around the ground soldiers though she makes sure they get paid and cared for well as it ensures loyalty and boosted performances. When it comes to other people its...odd. After she became popular she tends to act friendly around the usual snotty nobility while hiding her disdain for them, but the people who tend to...interest her are those who have some quality she respects. It's hard for her to explain precisely what that is at times but they tend to be people with strong wills and convictions-even if she might not agree with whatever they may be. While she is willing to manipulate the people that interest her it tends to be beneficial to the target as well; most of her manipulations have involved showing them that they can't always expect their ideals to be infallible but they can still do the best they can in bad situations.

Her morality is highly dependent on the situation as you would expect though she does have lines in the sand she refuses to cross. It's why she respects Vectivus' teachings so much; she understands that being a merciless, cruel leader will often result in you getting stabbed in the back sooner or later. However because of that it's often difficult to determine whether her unwillingness to participate in much more controversial affairs like the slave trade is due to some sense of sympathy from her time in the slums or simply understanding that her reputation would be tarnished by her mere involvement in it, but at the same time she's certainly willing to use fairly illegal methods to get what she wants. The fact of the matter is that when the galaxy is at peace and the Jedi are the main Force-users around she's much better off for it, so-perhaps fittingly-it's hard for anyone to really determine how "light" or "dark" she is.

Though Ciaran can be charitable and supportive of others she won't ever be a Jedi; she believes they are too naive. Though Ciaran can be manipulative and ambitious she won't ever be a Sith; she considers their ideals to be too self-destructive. In a galaxy that tends to divide people into black and white she'll always stay on the grey side...and make a killing while doing it.
 
Her morality is highly dependent on the situation as you would expect though she does have lines in the sand she refuses to cross. It's why she respects Vectivus' teachings so much; she understands that being a merciless, cruel leader will often result in you getting stabbed in the back sooner or later. However because of that it's often difficult to determine whether her unwillingness to participate in much more controversial affairs like the slave trade is due to some sense of sympathy from her time in the slums or simply understanding that her reputation would be tarnished by her mere involvement in it, but at the same time she's certainly willing to use fairly illegal methods to get what she wants. The fact of the matter is that when the galaxy is at peace and the Jedi are the main Force-users around she's much better off for it, so-perhaps fittingly-it's hard for anyone to really determine how "light" or "dark" she is.

I'm bored so I'm going to add onto this particular paragraph so that I can kill some of the time before bed. Much like Snark's, what I'm about to say is my own opinion on Ciaran's character.

It's hard to place Ciaran on the light-dark spectrum because simply put, she doesn't view the galaxy in such a way and so her actions themselves can't easily be tied to such a spectrum. Nor should she really because her motivation(s) aren't like those who tend to see the universe in such a way. The Jedi espouses many things but the two main parts of their creed I would argue to be Peace and Harmony internally and externally. Everything an "ideal" Jedi strives to do centers around those two ideals. A Sith's underpinnings are Hate (for the Jedi) and Lust for Power internally and externally. Sith are not a moderation. But I've digressed.

Ciaran's motivations I would argue extend from her experiences in the Coruscanti underworld and the whiplash she withstood from traveling with her idealistic views of small-time crime (smuggling primarily) and the suffering she endured for her four years as a largely powerless nobody. Arriving on Coruscant with her Grandfather, she was 14 and had likely been helping him for at least a couple of years but after her toddler age. I don't see Silas as someone who would drag along a 5-10 year old into criminal activities. I may be wrong but he seems to be more along the lines of Han Solo rather than somebody more hostile and violent. He was a "rogue" not a drug dealer. So therefore she had the skills but not the outlook made for surviving the Coruscanti underworld. She was then promised two years. Two years that stretched out to 4 years before taking over her gang. She came in an optimistic realist and fought her way out into being a cynic. You don't go through living life on the bottom rung of society without breaking in some form or fashion. Ciaran is someone who has gone from living low albeit comfortably to someone scrounging for scraps and now the Galaxy's Dearest.

Her basic motivation, simply put, is to keep from having to go through that kind of experience again. Snark says she's hedonistic. I would say this comes from fully enjoying the pleasures that she wasn't allowed at all during her formative years. I would assume Miralukan development is similar enough to a Human's to say that Ciaran's experiences from 14-18 are a large part of what defines her and are thus harder to change than other experiences that came with her adulthood. She thankfully didn't grow to hate her surroundings or those she lived under and thus Hatred didn't pull her towards the Dark. She still suffered though and her outlook was too bleak and too realistic to allow for a Lighter view. Her motivation was basic survival not anything large like Peace or Power. Instead of looking for Power over others she sought Control over her own life. Power over others is useful as a tool to gain said control but she never allowed Power to supplant her first desire. Control, control, control. Furthermore, Peace and Harmony wouldn't let her gain Control of her life and so she used Chaos.

She can't be easily placed on the light-dark spectrum because the ideals she came to agree with are simply not on it. You can have Control with Peace and Power. She rubs the Jedi the wrong way sometimes because she is adept at using Chaos which is the exact opposite of Harmony. She disgusts the Sith because she enjoys Peace far too much and views power as a tool and not the end goal. The more Control she has the less she wants to use Chaos because it makes it just as easy to lose Control as to gain it. The less Control she has the more she uses Chaos. She started from the bottom so it makes sense in a way that she enjoys chaos because she has experience with it and its what raised her up. She just doesn't revel in it.

All she wants to do is enjoy her life and this Civil War and the threat of the Sith are getting in the way of allowing her to do so.
 
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[X] A Grievous Introduction: General Grievous has owed you damn near everything from the time of the first Huk War to bringing him under the protective envelope of the CNS. Maybe now it's time to cash in those favors and bring him in as a full-time associate. Given how he perceives you at this point the only way things could possibly go wrong is if you royally screw up somehow. Chance of Success: 90% Reward: Gain Hero Unit General Grievous
Wow, he really respect Ciaran that much, that actually kind of heartwarming. If she wasn't an information broker/thief/CEO with a loose moral compass
 
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Her motivation was basic survival not anything large like Peace or Power. Instead of looking for Power over others she sought Control over her own life. Power over others is useful as a tool to gain said control but she never allowed Power to supplant her first desire. Control, control, control.

I totally agree with the control angle; I've noticed that in general both in canon and the omakes she tends to lose her cool whenever she loses control of a situation. But what's interesting to me (and I honestly think that it's my favorite part about Ciaran) is that even in her interactions with others she never forces them to be under her control or convince them that they should simply be more cynical. You'd think that after her experiences she'd be telling people like Padme to go drown in their ideals and die, but instead she simply tells them that the galaxy isn't as forgiving towards those ideals but they're still attainable. By all rights she should be a cynic, but I get the sense that even after her experiences she's a lot more idealistic than one would give her credit for. Her ideal is that anyone-even a woman like her born to an unremarkable family, raised by a scoundrel, and abandoned by the galaxy-can become anything if they have the will to see it through.

Wow, he's really respect Ciaran that much, that actually kind of heartwarming. If she wasn't an information broker/thief/CEO with a loose moral compass

When you look back at everything Ciaran's done for the Kaleesh it's not hard to see why:
-She helped drive the Huk off of Kalee, saving countless Kaleesh lives and preventing the planet from taking more damage
-She convinced the Republic that the Huk, not the Kaleesh were the aggressors, ending the catastrophic sanctions on their planet
-When the Huk seemed like they were going to come back for revenge, she protected them again by bringing them into the CNS

After all that...well, wouldn't you respect her if she had done all that for your people?
 
I totally agree with the control angle; I've noticed that in general both in canon and the omakes she tends to lose her cool whenever she loses control of a situation. But what's interesting to me (and I honestly think that it's my favorite part about Ciaran) is that even in her interactions with others she never forces them to be under her control or convince them that they should simply be more cynical. You'd think that after her experiences she'd be telling people like Padme to go drown in their ideals and die, but instead she simply tells them that the galaxy isn't as forgiving towards those ideals but they're still attainable. By all rights she should be a cynic, but I get the sense that even after her experiences she's a lot more idealistic than one would give her credit for. Her ideal is that anyone-even a woman like her born to an unremarkable family, raised by a scoundrel, and abandoned by the galaxy-can become anything if they have the will to see it through.

I put that down to all of us that play the quest growing up fairly comfortable and with fairly benevolent ideals even if we ourselves aren't idealistic. The early players also didn't turn this into a villain quest but it did start with us being a criminal. It's just the general feeling the quest grew to have and then the general feeling grew into the quest itself via Teron's turns and the Players' stories. It also helps that the early turns had good dice pay offs when it mattered. I blame the trolling and general feel-good characteristics of the quest on the good rolls and the general hilarity the early voters found from that.
 
I put that down to all of us that play the quest growing up fairly comfortable and with fairly benevolent ideals even if we ourselves aren't idealistic. The early players also didn't turn this into a villain quest but it did start with us being a criminal. It's just the general feeling the quest grew to have and then the general feeling grew into the quest itself via Teron's turns and the Players' stories. It also helps that the early turns had good dice pay offs when it mattered. I blame the trolling and general feel-good characteristics of the quest on the good rolls and the general hilarity the early voters found from that.

*Shrugs* Fair points, even if I do disagree with you. But then again, not only am I just one writer out of the many that created her my analysis of her implies that I know what she's thinking...and let's face it no one really knows what's going on in her mind. Not even me! And I'm the one writing this stuff!

But anyway. While I'm more than happy to continue these fascinating debates about characterization and tone aside...I did promise a sneak preview, didn't I?

Coming Soon:
"Sev'rance, the time has come to dispose of Ventress. I trust you will ensure that she does not leave the planet alive."

"There's been some emergency transmissions coming out of Coruscant, boss. Those Jedi hanging around here are being reassigned right now."

"You're telling me that you plan on going into an active warzone, recovering a Sith Assassin who probably wants to kill you, and get out all while staying undetected by the Republic and the Separatists!?"
"Yes. She's one of the only leads we have, you know that."

"I regret that I could not speak with you again at a more favorable time, but I require a favor from you."

"This is unquestionably the most dangerous operation the Abyss Watchers have ever undertaken. I only want the very best, understood?"

"You interfering here may not just change the course of the battle itself; it could potentially change the entire war as we know it."


Enjoy~ And expect a little extra from Teron sometime in the near future...
 
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Her motivation was basic survival not anything large like Peace or Power. Instead of looking for Power over others she sought Control over her own life. Power over others is useful as a tool to gain said control but she never allowed Power to supplant her first desire. Control, control, control. Furthermore, Peace and Harmony wouldn't let her gain Control of her life and so she used Chaos.

That's interesting, and very fitting. I'd always gotten the sense Ciaran was such a bully because she took pleasure in it, but it could also be because she's seeking some sense of control... So she's latched on to Padme because she sees that she can feel in control with Padme's life in a way that she can't feel like she controls her own...

I've never gotten the sense that she had much control though - which is one of the reasons why I suspect she's been so successful - she's a malleable tool that is carried along by the primal instinct of the Force to achieve balance in itself (Teron dice weren't a statistical blip, they were the Force reaching through the fourth wall ^_~). That unlike Anakin/Vader who struggled against his destiny or Palpatine who tried to maximize his destiny, Ciaran doesn't have such a hard center and instead lets herself be carried along with things and just enjoys the ride as best she can.

(As you may guess from the above, I don't see Ciaran as a particularly strong character and certainly not a terribly good person - she seems pretty messed up and unpleasant to me, though the sort of messed up and unpleasant that has her heart in the right place. Which makes her very much a hero or anti-hero for the times we live in...)

fasquardon
 
Enjoy~ And expect a little extra from Teron sometime in the near future...

Active forces during the Battle of [Redacted]:

CIS: [Redacted], [Redacted] (Estimated troop-strength: Enormous.)

Republic: [Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted], RC-1138, RC-1140, RC-1207, RC-1262 (Estimated troop-strength: Everything they can muster.)

Abyss Watchers: [Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted], [Redacted] (Estimated troop-strength: Hopefully enough.)

Evaluation: Most critical battle of the entire War.
 
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Are we already at the Battle of Coruscant?

Edit : No wait, that's Delta Squad.

Kamino, maybe? But we don't have any assets at Kamino. Must be Coruscant then, I doubt there's anything else around.
 
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My view of Ciara is that she's someone who knows that everything can be taken away from you in an instant and thus lives in the moment. She can't predict what will happen so doesn't really try to, reacting to threats as quickly as possible so that the next unforeseen event doesn't pile up and overwhelm her. When there's no threats she lives. She goes to parties, she drags people that amuse her out on crazy vacations, she goes to Doku and pesters him for lightsaber lessons because it's fun, because she can. She rebuilds Naboo because she hasn't rebuilt a planet before, because it's pretty, because it makes her money and gives her the opportunity to do other new things. She doesn't do it for the people.

She is the kind of person whose reason for building a doomsday device would be 'I wanted to see if I could'.

She's not a nice person, she's not a moral person. But she won't burn or rule the galaxy because that would make it boring, and she'd never, ever, shackle herself to having responsibility for people she didn't directly control.

The only chains on her are the ones she finds useful, and the ones she's clawing, hissing and biting at.

She's almost like a cat. She even sits on Padme's keyboard when her pet human doesn't pay her enough attention.

As for my view of her attitude towards the force, well, have this dubious future!omake in which her holocron may, or may not, be lying through its non-existent teeth:

Best of Holocrons, Worst of Holocrons

Jan smiled at her partner as she tossed the small cube up and down in front of him, his eyes following it with a mixture of shock and confusion. "It's a holocron, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's a holocron." Jacer confirmed. "But I thought we were looking for the Cata family's long lost treasure not an ancient repository of knowledge?"

Jan set the small cube down on the table between them. "What's to say they're not the same thing." With a tap she activated the cube and the shimmering form of a richly clothed blind human appeared above it. Or was she Miralukan? It was a little hard to tell given she was blue and holographic.

The figure raised a hand and waved at her. "Hi. So, how long did it take someone to find me?"

The pair of archaeologists blinked and glanced at each other.

"Oh come on, you cant' both be mute. I mean you look like you've never seen a holocron before and I can see at least one lightsaber here so either Jedi are being even more stupid than usual or... the Sith blew up everything. What year is it anyway?" The hologram asked cheerfully.

"Seventy years after the battle of Mandalore, and forgive me but you're not like any Jedi master I've ever encountered." Jacer stated calmly.

The hologram blinked. "What's that in sensible years? Galactic standard for instance? It can't have been that long if the Jedi still haven't worked out how to ask questions instead of just being passively aggressive in the general vicinity."

They told her and the device sighed, pinching its nose. "A hundred and fifty years. Those bloody kids, couldn't even get a simple treasure hunt right. I knew I shouldn't have left their education to Padme, it wouldn't have taken more than a year for me and Thrawn to find this! Anyhow." She coughed into her hands and her clothes shifted into ornate robes as her posture changed dramatically to that of an ancient Jedi master. It was spoiled slightly by the unrepentant grin. "What can this guardian of ancient knowledge teach you today?"

Jan gestured for Jacer to go ahead because this was, technically, the force user's area of expertise. The man shifted the cube round so the hologram faced him and began: "Perhaps an explanation as to who you are, first. As I said, you don't act like a Jedi."

The hologram snorted. "I should hope not. They generally tend to be a bunch of stuck up busy bodies when they're not off saving the galaxy. Oh don't look at me like that, it's not like I'm a Sith or anything and that's what make messing with the Order so much fun. If you've never managed to get a Jedi master to spew their drinks over another you haven't lived in my book." The holocron smiled warmly. "Good times, good times. Actually, wait. Did I ever manage to set Master Windu up with someone?"

"You still haven't told us who you are, or even what side of the Force you use."

"Oh, I'm Ciara. A pleasure to meet you both. As for the Force, well, let me let you in on a liiiittttle secret. Neither side of the Force is any fun. Look at the Sith, masters of the Dark Side, have you ever seen one of them laugh? Have you ever seen one of them crack so much as a single, honest smile? No. You haven't. Think about that for a moment." She paused.

"Not that the Light side is any better. All abstinence and going without and saving the common man. I mean, saving the common man can be quite fun, with all the lightsabering, the speeders and the explosions but the rest of it? Have you ever met a Jedi at a party? They have this sort of drawn out 'oh spirits whyyyy' look on their face. It's absolute torture for them." The hologram threw up her hands. "What kind of self respecting person refuses to enjoy a party, it's literally what they're for. Outside the socializing, the manipulation and the business of course – but if you can't have fun doing that then why are they even there!"

The hologram huffed.

"I've finished ranting now." She added after a moment.

Jacer shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the ship they were in shuddered a little. "So if I'm understanding this correctly, you're claiming that the path you walked to achieve power was that of amusement instead of hatred or peace?"

The hologram. "No no no no. Let me just get this out of the way first before we talk about techniques and other things. The Force is not Power. The Force has never been Power. Money is Power. Information is Power. Those are the tools upon which the galaxy turns, upon which armies march and businesses rise and fall. The Force is just very good at preventing other people from killing you."

"An army works just as well. Having your own assassins works even better. But the force, well, it lets you make up for a lot of things on the self defence front but that's all it's good for." She smiled smugly up at them. "Some people will tell you that it is possible to live without having people try to kill you, to live a long and fulfilling life with what you already have. That change can occur without pissing someone off. These people are boring. The best times of my life where had when someone was trying to kill me." The hologram sighs wistfully. "Speaking of which..."

The ship shuddered again and the power flicked on and off as something overloaded.

"We're caught in a tractor beam aren't we?" Jan asked rhetorically.

"Yep." The holocron answered cheerfully as Jacer reached over to turn it off and the two rushed to their battle stations.

Meanwhile the holocron cheerfully crossed out a few entries on the list of beliefs that will annoy Anakin when spread to his children, even if she was a century and a half late she would have her revenge. Not that she was bitter about him snagging Padme or anything. Not at all.

AN: In case you're wondering why the holocron seems off it was made from an old republic holocron that has changed hands many a times and then been mostly repaired by Ciara. Because making her own from scratch was far too much like work.
 
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*stares at nobody reacting to the teasers of how things are going to take another turn towards complete insanity*
 
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