- Location
- Australia
No, because as I said, we have the Foundry.
May The Invisible Hand Be With You - (Star Wars CK2-Style Quest)
- Thread starter Dr. Snark
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- star wars canon what canon tsundere dice ck2 quest actions have consequences all the credits all work and no play makes ciaran a dull girl best sister capitalism ho! despairing qm teetotaller society member gotta catch 'em all insanity looting off the rails sage dice approaching spicy sheev tsundere asajj
Which though it did seem kinda ridiculous before is over time seeming more and more reasonable we are becoming more and more powerful and when fighting someone like Sideous you want a huge amount of power concentrated in a few individuals.
Of the most powerful individuals in the galaxy we are slowly but surely becoming the best choice for a political/intrigue specialist on our side anyway.
Edit: added becoming
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I could swear that the GM already said why Ciaren would be present, multiple times even. So I'd advise you to engage the argument the GM made instead of repeating already obsolete statements.
Um I was trying to say that though I was originally skeptical it's making more and more sense the closer we get sorry if I was a bit incoherent there.
- Location
- Sweden
You do realise he was saying it seems reasonable for Ciaran to be there in the fight, right? He was not disagreeing with the QM.
Ciaran's Messages to Employees/Family (Canon)
- Location
- At the Edge of Insanity
Various messages from Ciaran to her Employess and Friends. They are about as rambling as her prerecorded messages:
"All my other relatives are on missions all over the galaxy which makes you the only one I can bother today. Therefore I order you to show up later at my appartment so we can have lunch together. Why? Because I say so and I'm bored. Don't even try to disguise yourself and hide, since I can see through it anyway. Literaly." Message from Ciaran to Oki. Officialy she couldn't find anyone to annoy on that particular day. Unofficialy it was Okis birthday and Ciaran actually pampered her young cousin all day long.
"First, let me congratulate you. Second, I will send you a bonus or two and give you time off later. Not that I SHOULD encourage something like that, considering that I need to replace you now, but I'm really in no position to critizise someone deciding to enjoy life. I actually approve it. Just tell me or someone else up the chain when the baby arrives so we can fake the inevitable tests to determine Force Sensitivity." Message from Ciaran to high-ranking Seeker
"Since I am literaly aware of everything that is going on I have seen you practice another musical number. I have one serious question for you, considering how much time you waste on it and how silly it is. Can I join?" Message from Ciaran to Dani
"Galvin. Stop putting pictures of Gramps on your training targets. Otherwise I will set the fur-lining of that eyesore that you call your outfit on fire. While you are wearing it." Message to Galvin Thorn. He ignored it only for Ciaran to show up with a welding-torch in her hand while he was practicing on the Oracles shooting-range. Hilarity ensued.
"Larana! Chora! Girls night out on Nar Shadaa! Next week, with Oki and a few other girls. I just rewrote your timetable for you and had someone handle your appointments way in advance so you can visit. Oh, before I forget it. Larana, I just sent you enough credits to cover a weeks income and expenses for you. Chora, I have sent you a pile of blackmail material you are going to need in the next few weeks. Now you both have no reason not to visit! See you then!" Message to Larana and Chora. Hilarity ensued when Ciaran, Larana, Chora, Oki and a few certain female Guardians/Agents/Seekers spent time on Nar Shadaa.
"All my other relatives are on missions all over the galaxy which makes you the only one I can bother today. Therefore I order you to show up later at my appartment so we can have lunch together. Why? Because I say so and I'm bored. Don't even try to disguise yourself and hide, since I can see through it anyway. Literaly." Message from Ciaran to Oki. Officialy she couldn't find anyone to annoy on that particular day. Unofficialy it was Okis birthday and Ciaran actually pampered her young cousin all day long.
"First, let me congratulate you. Second, I will send you a bonus or two and give you time off later. Not that I SHOULD encourage something like that, considering that I need to replace you now, but I'm really in no position to critizise someone deciding to enjoy life. I actually approve it. Just tell me or someone else up the chain when the baby arrives so we can fake the inevitable tests to determine Force Sensitivity." Message from Ciaran to high-ranking Seeker
"Since I am literaly aware of everything that is going on I have seen you practice another musical number. I have one serious question for you, considering how much time you waste on it and how silly it is. Can I join?" Message from Ciaran to Dani
"Galvin. Stop putting pictures of Gramps on your training targets. Otherwise I will set the fur-lining of that eyesore that you call your outfit on fire. While you are wearing it." Message to Galvin Thorn. He ignored it only for Ciaran to show up with a welding-torch in her hand while he was practicing on the Oracles shooting-range. Hilarity ensued.
"Larana! Chora! Girls night out on Nar Shadaa! Next week, with Oki and a few other girls. I just rewrote your timetable for you and had someone handle your appointments way in advance so you can visit. Oh, before I forget it. Larana, I just sent you enough credits to cover a weeks income and expenses for you. Chora, I have sent you a pile of blackmail material you are going to need in the next few weeks. Now you both have no reason not to visit! See you then!" Message to Larana and Chora. Hilarity ensued when Ciaran, Larana, Chora, Oki and a few certain female Guardians/Agents/Seekers spent time on Nar Shadaa.
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Killerflood
Corporal Cannonfodder
- Location
- Saṃsāra
The New Prequels
Adapting the prequel trilogy to account for Ciaran while keeping the original trilogy the same. Ciaran is thus less of a success story and some of our current "heroes" return to their villainous roots or are not encountered. Spoilers? Ciaran dies at the end. Duh.
Episode I - The Phantom Menace:
Largely the same. No Jar-Jar though …
Ciaran's earlier scouting causes the Gungan's to be known by the Trade Federation and their plans adapt accordingly. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan encounter a small skirmish between Gungan scouts and TF forces. They help the Gungans and thus still meet with Boss Nass. At first he refuses to help the Jedi but after an attack where the two help to defend Otoh Gunga he relents and they head on to Theed.
Events proceed generally the same in respect to canon, but without Jar-Jar. *Confetti Noises*
Foreshadowing for Ciaran's past actions comes via a throw away comment by Palpatine to Nute Gunray about his exceptional scouting at the beginning. In the middle when Palpatine contacts Nute Gunray, he expresses his displeasure about how slowly the invasion is commencing. Among the excuses Nute Gunray gives is that the population is surprisingly well armed and that the Black Market is suspected. Palpatine might at the end muse how there were certain incongruencies which cannot be explained by just the Jedi.
Ciaran's character is also spotted in a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" kind of way during the Victory Festival. Originally she is just a side character to fill the scenery as "noble elite number who-cares". I would assume that such a victory festival would take a while to set up and would need to be funded … which is when a kind philanthropist steps in …
Episode II - The Dance of Shadows:
This one is … tricky. Simply put, the climax of the movie as we know it was nipped in the bud and half of the story is put down for the sick dog that it was. *cough* Right. Now how to fix that? A new story, of course! Partially ... But who cares? Episode II was the weakest of the first three anyway.
The beginning can remain. Padme comes to Coruscant when the assassination attempt happens. Siri and Darra are not involved or seen due to reasons. Padme and Anakin are shown to be close friends after the timeskip. Ciaran barges in ruining the mood and any and all attempts at pathetic flirting. She is "re-"introduced to Obi-Wan and Anakin as a high society friend (and mentor of sorts) of Padme's who was part of the reason she came to Coruscant. Obi-Wan briefly mentions the Huk scandal which Ciaran acknowledges as a tragic mistake on the Jedi Order's part. She's superficially seen as a well-known business woman and philanthropic socialite but the questions she asks and her reactions during it all makes it clear she's much more. (This means good dialogue so goodbye awkward George Lucas! Great success!) The Separatist movement is mentioned during the conversation as possible suspects for the assassination but is shot down by Ciaran because of her own "contacts" in the movement.
The second attempt happens as in quest. Big boom, runaway Zam, and Jango Fett is spotted. Ciaran takes Padme and the Duo to her undercity bar where some more backstory is given for Ciaran who is still a new character. Discussion is made about how to proceed with the investigation and how to guard Padme. Silas Cata and Gulan are introduced as supporting roles akin to Lando Calrissian or Wedge Antilles.
Near the same time, two things happen. Obi-Wan is tasked by the council to investigate the assassination attempt while Anakin is told to look over Padme. Ciaran gets the call from Count Dooku (shown as the leader of the separatist movement) who promises to investigate matters about the attempt as well while requesting her presence. Ciaran and Obi-Wan split ways with Anakin and Padme. Ciaran aids Obi-Wan by lending him Gulan's aid while tasking Silas Cata with looking over Anakin and Padme. Here begins the middle-term investigations.
The middle of the movie mainly follows three trains but is cut into five parts.
The first train and part follows Ciaran when she lands on Geonosis. She meets up with Count Dooku who greets her and hands her a datachip with information he was able to find about the attempt on Padme. It is found out that a bounty has been placed on her head by someone named Tran Cunha. They talk like old friends and here it is shown that Ciaran has been taught by Count Dooku in lightsaber dueling. *insert sparring montage??* It's mentioned about Dooku's previous stint with the Jedi and his being Qui Gon's master. Afterwards she follows him to a meeting where a heated discussion is shown between separatist leaders. It is divided between those aggressively seeking succession and those who still desire to arbitrate with the Republic. The meeting continues until Nute Gunray drags Ciaran into the conversation by unveiling her as one of the early supporters for the separatist movement even if she is not an actual member. The council tries to pressure her into joining the separatists as her own aid might be very persuasive in convincing others in joining the cause. However, she states that, while they have her sympathies, joining fully requires further thought. Arguments start up again but Ciaran and Count Dooku leave the room going their opposite ways. The camera follows Dooku and he is shown to speak with a familiar hooded figure. Their plans to plummet the galaxy into war are discussed and Sidious questions why the Separatists aren't more motivated to declare war. Dooku mentions Ciaran, a secret backer and well liked individual in both the Republic and CIS, and her hesitance. Padme's friendship and assassination attempt is placed as the primary cause. It then cuts to a short scene where Ciaran gives the information on the datachip to Gulan and Obi-Wan who are still searching for Jango.
Obi-Wan and Gulan, unable to find out more where Jango or Zam fled to, decide to go after the contractor who they now know about. Gulan uses his own resources and calls in the aid of The Silencer. Obi-Wan dislikes using what he sees a criminal but relents when Gulan states that the Silencer knows about the contractor and, while unable to help with Jango, will be able to track the contractor down so that the bounty on Padme's head will be removed. The three then are shown to find and corner him. Before he is able to break he is killed by Jango Fett who shows up with Zam Wesell to silence him. A firefight blows out where Zam Wesell fights with The Silencer while Jango duels off with Obi-Wan. Gulan hides. It ends when Gulan braves up enough to attack Zam who is then heavily injured by The Silencer. Jango Fett, on the back end of his fight with Obi-Wan, grabs Zam and flees. The only evidence the trio gain is the dart used to kill Tran. The Silencer recognizes it as a Kaminoan dart. The Kaminoans are described as a seclusive bunch of Cloners in the far outer rim. The Trio head off but not before Obi-Wan fills Anakin in.
Anakin grows frustrated that he is forced to stay behind. Anakin, Padme, and Silas are shown as they stay on Coruscant to hide from any further attempts. Padme is contacted by Senator Palpatine who wishes to ensure her wellbeing. Padme wants to meet with him while Silas cautions against it. Eventually Silas is outvoted when Anakin - who is getting impatient - is persuaded by Padme. This part continues until the night when Anakin's nightmares are shown of his mother. His fear forces him to go and find his mother on his own. Silas refuse to allow Padme, such a dear friend of his granddaughters, to be put at risk by going to Tatooine. Padme demands that someone go with Anakin. Palpatine proposes a compromise where he promises to look after her so that Silas can go with Anakin. Silas, without any better alternative, reluctantly agrees. Anakin heads with Silas to his personal freighter…
The Millennium Falcon rides again! Yes, Silas' freighter turns out to be the Millennium Falcon only newer. Anakin is skeptical about it but, as a star wars inside joke, Silas mentions that he's never lost a gamble, either serious or relaxing, when his ride is on the line. Anakin absently asks if it's completely stock in which Silas blithely replies that he might have made a few modifications after he bought it.
The duo come to Tatooine and events happen similarly to the original movie. Anakin questions Watto, Anakin meets the Lars, finds out about the Tuskens. Instead of Anakin taking a bike, Silas gives Anakin a lift on the Falcon to nearby the camp. Silas offers to go and help with the rescue but Anakin refuses. *Insert "I slaughtered them like animals" here* Anakin comes back with his dead Mom. He does not fill Silas in on what happen. After a short time to bury the body the two fly back to Coruscant. Padme is worried by Anakin's mood. Anakin does not tell Padme what happened. Silas fills in Padme and Palpatine about what he knows while Anakin breaks down in a borrowed room. Padme tries to soothe Anakin. Slightly helps. Padme leaves and now Palpatine talks with Anakin. He is able to get Anakin to tell him what happened. *Insert Spicy Sheev here* Meanwhile Silas is in contact with Ciaran and speaks his worries about Anakin's mental stability.
Cut to Ciaran who's just about to enter into a new round of thrilling political discussion. The same argument about violent secession or pressuring compromise is heard. Dooku enters the room and silences everybody by saying he has made a decision. He speaks of ideals and other such things he himself probably doesn't believe and then states that while there are reasons to secede war should very much be a last resort. His decision is for arbitration. The neutral party will be Ciaran and notes are made of her ties to all involved parties. Ciaran is annoyed but backed into a corner and so she agrees to try to set up such a meeting. The more aggressive parties are angered but Dooku assures them that if the Republic refuses their demands then he will fully support them. All parties agree and the council adjourns. After everyone has left Dooku privately speaks with Sidious that everything remains according to plan. He and his master will have their war. Ciaran, through Silas, contacts Padme and finds out about her interactions with Palpatine. She reveals the Separatists desire for a meeting and Palpatine agrees to stage talks. Anakin murmurs that he needs to contact the Jedi Council.
*Insert Torrential Downpour Here* Obi-Wan, Gulan, and The Silencer arrive on Kamino. The Silencer remains with their ship as he reveals that he happens to be a failed experiment who escaped. Obi-Wan and Gulan leave without him. The Silencer is then seen to sneak off. After they leave, events happen generally the same as in the original movie. Clones, Sifo Dyas, Etc. Zam Wesell is there with Jango but in a different form as a supposed extra in the role of Boba's "Surrogate Mother". Gulan notifies The Silencer. During the platform firefight Zam is killed by The Silencer who appears from his hiding place. Obi-Wan is once again strung up. Jango leaves with a distraught Boba. The tracker is still placed but the three are unable to give chase when Anakin contacts Obi-Wan about the diplomatic talks. The Jedi Council want him to be a part and the Order as a whole will provide security. Ciaran is also calling Gulan back.
We then skip to middle with the talks in full swing. Obi-Wan and Anakin are seen looking over the proceedings discussing everything. Ciaran, Dooku, and Palpatine can be seen. Several Jedi are seen as well such as Mace Windu. Padme is also shown casting side glares at a smug Nute Gunray. It is mentioned by Obi-Wan that tensions have run high and that Yoda has gone to investigate the Clone Army. With another day of nothing being accomplished everyone adjourns. A gala is held directly afterwards. Obi-Wan and a frustrated Anakin leave and find a alcove that's already occupied by Silas and Gulan. Gulan is enjoying himself. Padme and Ciaran arrive a little while later cutting off Anakin's grumbling. Gulan and Silas leave the four to discuss things. Padme is the next to leave with Anakin following after her. Ciaran and Obi-Wan remain and talk. Anakin and Padme flirt with each other. Finding themselves unseen by everyone else they share a kiss. Luke and Leia still have to be born so too bad. At least the relationship is slightly healthier. This is where Gulan and Silas are shown talking about stuff. Ciaran pops up and they discuss the finer things in life like hunting down bounty hunters to find out why Padme was truly targeted. Ciaran is interrupted by a message which states that the Silencer, who had been using the tracker on Jango's ship, is entering the system. What? They realize that must mean that Jango is in the system as well. *This party sure bombs.*
Here is where we reach the climax. The talks have been bombed, no one knows who. The Republic representatives point at the Separatists and the Separatists point at the Republic. Shit happens real fast. Dooku cries foul and attempts to kidnap Palpatine. It fails when the Jedi come to his rescue. The droids that accompanied the Separatists fire on the Jedi. All politicians flee the fighting to their own ships. Obi-Wan, with the Chancellor, is cut off by all of the droids. Anakin meanwhile is with Padme. Anakin wants to ensure Padme's safety but Padme wants Anakin to help the Chancellor. Anakin stubbornly refuses and promises that he won't lose another loved one again. This is when Ciaran and tow arrive. Ciaran promises Anakin that she'll protect Padme allowing Anakin to go help the Chancellor. Anakin hesitates but relents when Padme pushes. Anakin goes off to find the Chancellor but not before contacting Artoo and Threepio onboard Padme's sleek ride. They send out a distress signal. Ciaran, Gulan, Padme, and Silas run to the Falcon but are stopped just before getting to it by Jango Fett jetpacking in.
Cut to Anakin as he cuts his way through the droids as he tries to find Palpatine. He runs into him, Obi-Wan, and a few other Jedi as they come out of a separate hallway. Joining forces they move to escape but are cut off by a pair of Droidekas and then Dooku who comes from behind them. The Jedi extras face the Droidekas and Obi-Wan and Anakin face off against Dooku. Words are said. Words are … inevitably … ignored. *Fight! Fight! Fight!* Obi-Wan force pushes the Droidekas away letting the Jedi extras and the Chancellor escape. Anakin goes full attack and tries to distract Dooku. Before Obi-Wan can fully come to Anakin's aid, Dooku cuts Anakin's hand off and force pushes him away and into a wall. Screen cuts to black as Anakin goes unconcious.
Cut to Ciaran's group as she faces off against Jango. When questioned by his dogged persistence even with the contractor killed, Jango replies that Tran Cunha was never the contractor. A Darth Tyranus is mentioned. *Audible Gasp* Fight breaks out with Ciaran setting off Jango's jetpack missile. Padme is dragged away to the Falcon by Gulan and Silas while they provide covering fire for Ciaran's duel with Jango. Silas is non-lethally shot by taking one meant for Padme. All three manage to get on the Falcon. Gulan heads for the turrets and Silas/Padme to the bridge. Ciaran is barely able to stay a step ahead of Jango's attacks. Ciaran is the first to make a mistake and trips when forced to block a blaster-bolt with her foil. Gulan is able to get the bottom turret online in time to let off a shot which misses Jango but sends him flying before he can finish Ciaran off. Jango manages to shoot a wrist-rocket which disables the turret. Silas screams about his ship and then activates the shields. Just after the shields activate the Falcon comes under attack from above. The Slave-I with Boba at the helm swoops by and turns around to aim at the dock. It looks like the bad guys when! Not. The Slave-I itself comes under fire soon after by another fighter piloted by The Silencer. Jango looks as his odds and decides to run. Ciaran's goodbye gift is a blaster shot to his jet-pack which causes his escape attempt to fail. Crashing into the ground the duel begins anew while the Falcon's top turret aids The Silencer in keeping the Slave-I from firing. Jango now is on the back foot from most of his weapons being already used. Ciaran is able to dodge Jango's pistols and gets into close range. Jango brings a pistol around but it gets cut away by Ciaran's lightfoil. Ciaran then manages to shoot him but is kept from finishing him off by Jango attacking her in turn. At this time the Slave-I manages to get under the Falcon's dock and opens up the cargo ramp. Jango decides to run for it. Ciaran throws her ignited lightfoil. In the middle of jumping into the Slave-I the lightfoil pierces through his armor and impales his heart. Jango falls dead onto the ramp. The Slave-I flies away with The Silencer in pursuit. Ciaran gets in the Falcon and it too flies off.
Cut back to Obi-Wan directly after Anakin is knocked out. Obi-Wan valiantly fights Dooku one-to-one but is eventually defeated. Dooku mocks him and prepares to finish him off. *Badass Motherfucker Interrupt* Dooku is forced to back off as a broken piece of droid is launched at his head. Windu has come to town. Another duel commences but this time it's obvious that Windu is the better fighter. Dooku manages well but can't win in the end and he knows it. He attempts a similar trick as in the original movie and throws debris at Obi-Wan and Anakin. Windu defends them but this allows Dooku to run off and escape. Anakin returns to consciousness enough to be told that both Palpatine and the Falcon have been seen off safely.
Dooku is seen to flee into his personal ship and fly into space. He's followed and fired upon by three new republic fighters before they're cut off by a swarm of vulture droids. The Malevolence is shown firing onto taking fire from three unknown vessels (Acclamators) and Dooku docks with it. Dooku calmly asks who the ships are before getting the answer that the Republic Army has arrived. Dooku orders a retreat.
From bridge window, the Malevolence is seen jumping into hyperspace. The camera pans back to show clones doing their duties with Yoda staring out the window sadly. Windu calls in and voices surprise which Yoda responds that he received a distress call on his way back to Coruscant. News is shared. Clone Wars have begun. Blah, blah, blah.
Next it shows a darkened room. The lights flicker on and Ciaran enters. She drops heavily into a the lead chair with shapes moving behind her into the other chairs. Gulan, the Silencer, Silas, and other extras (Tyro, Xruk, Var Zheen) PR-1 can be spotted near the wall. A minor debrief happens, current knowledge is stated. In the end Ciaran promises to find out what actually happened. Neither side is to be considered innocent.
Next up it cuts to Naboo where Anakin has escorted Padme back home. He works his new mechanical hand. Padme appears and they both embrace.
The final scene is a discussion between Count Dooku (mentioned as Darth Tyranus) and Sidious. Their plans have succeeded. Nothing will stop them.
Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith:
*To be determined*
Author's Notes: So the end there is rushed due to me going to bed in *checks time* about 30 minutes. I might sand off the edges a little bit later but ... eh. Episode III will be done later. *read whenever I get motivated to do it*
Anything you think might be done better to more accurately merge our quest's canon into the original trilogy canon, let me know! Just remember that the original trilogy is the baseline.
- Location
- At the Edge of Insanity
Somehow I'm imagining Silas wearing the exact same outfit as Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon being in a circular hangar at that moment as a massive 'Call Forward'.
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Small Nerd
Meganekko
- Location
- Out There
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That's the best thing I've read all day.
Bonus points if we discover that Silas is actually Han's grandfather from one of his many relationships. Which he foreshadows when he talks about his life as a "charming rogue".
A shame that the Han cameo in Episode 3 never occurred.
Interlude - Phantoms of Naboo Pt. 1 - Best Laid Plans
Dr. Snark
Exactly As Planned...Probably
- Location
- Right where I want to be
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
The Home
Two Weeks Prior
As Ciaran walked through the Home she began to focus on her riskiest endeavor in the near future; namely launching a few false-flag operations to help justify an increased buildup in the CNS military. It was a very delicate affair; too much force and she risked damaging her assets, too little and she wouldn't be able to justify anything, and of course she had to make absolutely sure that there was zero trace back to her in case things went really wrong.
It was why she had requisitioned an almost entirely featureless room so that she could concentrate on her shatterpoint manipulating, giving the operation a couple of subtle nudges in the right direction. Settling into a meditative position, Ciaran closed her eyes and began to focus...
Deep Space, Naboo System
Present Day
"Just to be clear, this is not an assassination mission," a figure in a mask and heavy clothing said over a holographic transmission. "Your job is to simply to scare the target. If you want to board the ship for valuables that is fine however we do not recommend it. Is that clear?"
"Yeah yeah. Shoot at the people, rough em up a bit, get a healthy payday. Easy," replied a man in menacing-looking thug attire before ending the transmission. "Alright boys, let's get ready to scare some people and make a ton of credits!"
Two Weeks Prior
So far so good, Ciaran thought to herself as she saw the shatterpoints of her operation. Engineering an excuse for a few high-ranking CNS politicians to head to Naboo was almost trivially easy; given that it was a recent addition as well as the homeworld of the Supreme Chancellor there were plenty of reasons for someone to go to the planet-
Naboo Courier Vessel, En Route to Naboo System
Present Day
"We do greatly appreciate that you were willing to have us on board your vessel, Senator Amidala," a Council representative commented. "It is much more convenient for all of us to arrive on one vessel instead of us doing so piecemeal."
"Of course," Padme lightly replied. "It would have been rude for us to not provide transportation after hearing about your visit. Though really you should be thanking Representative Binks, he was the one who suggested the idea."
"Mesa happy to bring all of yousa to Naboo," said the Gungan in question. "Yousa been there before?"
Two Weeks Prior
Okay. This was not part of the plan but it'll be fine. This is fine, the pirates were just paid to spook them. So long as nothing else-
Present Day
"Representative Binks, could you please step away from the pilot's console?" the ship's pilot asked nervously.
"Wassa de problem?"
"W-well sir I for one have heard that you have a, er, reputation for ah, clumsiness. Sir."
"Issa fine, mesa - WAAAAH!"
"Nonononononono don't hit that-"
The poor pilot never got to finish his sentence as Jar Jar fell straight onto the pilot's console, somehow accidentally hitting a series of switches that forced the courier vessel out of hyperspace to the confusion of everyone onboard.
"Is everything alright up there?" came Padme's voice on the ship's internal communications console.
--------
"Uh boss?"
"Yeah?"
"...The ships is supposed to show up right now, yeah?"
"...Yeah..."
"But there's no ships boss."
"I can see that..."
"We still getting paid, right?"
"I might have to check on that..."
---------
"Everything's fine," the pilot said with a resigned tone. "Representative Binks accidentally-" His voice cut off and his eyes widened as he looked over the ship's sensor readings.
"Hello?"
"...Senator, please get the Council representatives strapped down immediately," he said with forced calmness as he looked over the readings of a destroyer-sized vessel with a small frigate escort that did not match any specifications he recognized. "We may need to prepare for evasive maneuvers." Steeling himself he turned towards the recovering Jar Jar. "Sir, please find a seat and strap yourself down immediately."
"Whosa they?" he said as he sat down, fumbling with the seat's restraints.
"I don't know, but-" His voice cut off as he began to tightly grip the controls. "They're launching fighters."
Without a word, the pilot threw the ship in the opposite direction of the oncoming fighters, accelerating as fast as he could as the unknown fighters started to bear down on him.
"Mayday, mayday, mayday, this is a Royal Courier Vessel requesting assistance from any forces in the area," he said over an open channel as he tried to boot up the hyperdrive. "We are under attack by unknown hostiles and require immediate assistance. I repeat..."
Two Weeks Prior
This is not part of the plan this is not part of the plan how is this supposed to help me!?
Present Day
"Courier vessel, this is the Republic vessel RNS Resolute. Stand by for assistance," came a measured voice over the ship's comms.
"Please hurry, there are hostile fighters bearing down on us," the nearly panicking pilot said as he tried to divert as much power as he could to the ship's engines.
"That...will not be a problem."
"Why-"
Before he could finish his sentence, a large ship he didn't recognize warped in just above him, causing the nearby Jar Jar to start screaming in terror as the pilot threw his ship out of the way.
"This is Grievous on board the Kaleesh vessel Karabbac. Moving to intercept."
Without bothering for a reply, the Karabbac charged forwards at top speed, quickly closing the gap between it and the now fleeing starfighters. As it continued to pursue the the larger capital ships began to change course and began to move towards the Karabbac, though at a much more sedate pace in comparison.
On board the Karabbac's bridge, Grievous looked over a display of the incoming vessels, calmly observing the ships moving towards his own. A moment passed, then two-
"Resolute, jump in now," Grievous calmly said. And within a few seconds of sending his message the Venator warped in directly behind the enemy fleet just as the Karabbac entered firing range, prompting Grievous to smile evilly under his mask. "Excellent. Open fire with all batteries!" he shouted as the ship's guns turned to bear. "Tear them apart!"
A triumphant roar echoed through the Karabbac as it opened fire on the ships closest to it, their captains beginning to panic as the Resolute came in from behind, opening fire on the enemy destroyer and launching its own fighter squadrons. Within moments the enemy's fleet formation had dissolved into chaos, with each ship trying to escape the pincer maneuver that they were caught in.
"General!" shouted a Kaleesh subordinate, pointing at one of the displays. "One of their frigates has isolated itself from the rest!"
"Perfect," Grievous said viciously. "Launch the boarding pods and bring me that ship!"
With another roar over the ships comms a group of boarding pods launched from the ship and vectored in on their victim. Even as the frigate attempted to evade them the pods readjusted their course, slamming through the hull of the ship and causing it to start spinning out of control.
"Enemy vessel boarded General. It shall be yours in moments."
Grievous nodded to himself before turning back to the rest of the battle, which was already drawing to a close as the enemy vessels were either being destroyed or escaping to hyperspace. Though he was very happy to see that the destroyer had been badly damaged and was unable to escape along with the smaller frigates.
"Vessel secured General."
"The crew?"
"The captain was killed, but the first mate has been captured. You should be able to extract information from him yourself if you are interested, Sir."
"That I am. Inform the Resolute and tell them that we will be handling interrogations."
"Sir."
----------
In the brig of the Karabbac the unfortunate first mate in question, shivering slightly before he heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards him. Nervously looking out of his cell as best he could he saw two of those monsters that had attacked his ship flanking what appeared to be a leader of some kind. He wore no conspicuous markings but he could tell by the way he carried himself that he was a leader.
The lead alien slowed down, walking slowly forward and starting into each of the brig's cells in turn. The first mate could barely hear the sounds of whimpering and terror from the other crew members before the alien leader stopped in front of his cage, slowly turning his head towards the first mate. He tried to steel himself, but there was something about him that made him want to flee in terror as fast as he possibly could. Without a word, it opened the cell door and strode in, its two bodyguards moving to guard the doorway.
"W-What are you?"
"Grievous. And you are the first mate of the frigate we captured."
"That's right, i-it's the-"
"I do not care. Your name, the names of your crew, your ship, all of them are irrelevant to me." He began to move closer, looming over the man now beginning to cower. "What is relevant to me is your employers." Without even waiting for a response Grievous brought out a datapad, making a show of looking it over before facing down the man in front of him. "I admit that I have not heard of this 'Saboath Squadron' until just now and given your performance today I normally would not even bother remembering the name. However." He moved closer to the first mate still, his alien eyes boring into him. "There are people who wish to know just why you had a warfleet hiding in Council space."
The first mate gulped down air. "I-I can't tell you, I-"
"You do not seem to understand your position. I have your ship intact and all it would take is for someone skilled enough to break into its systems for me to learn what I want to know. However I do not want to waste my time searching for someone and you are a more expedient way for me to glean that information." Grievous began to circle around the man. "If you do not tell me, I will kill you. Painfully. And in such a manner that the rest of your crew will hear your screams of agony. Then I will find the next highest ranking member of your crew and ask the same question of him. I suspect he would be more willing to cooperate in that situation, but if he is equally stubborn I will simply repeat the process until one of you breaks and tells me what I want to know.
Now, I will ask you again. What were you doing out here?"
A heavy silence descended between the two men for a long moment.
"...I-I don't know about the specifics b-but according to the captain our job was to launch a few raids in the area. N-nothing too major, just attack a few convoys, maybe a few isolated military ships-"
"Ah. So that's why..." Grievous turned away, not even bothering to register the man behind him collapsing to the ground.
Two Weeks Prior
From what Ciaran could tell the events in the future had more or less played out to their conclusion, and as much as the results had slightly blindsided her they had proven to be quite enlightening. As she stood up and stretched out, she sighed in frustration.
"Well that happened," she muttered as she left the chamber and returned to her desk. "I swear, the Force has the weirdest sense of humor if that's how things are going to-"
"Uh...my Lady? Are you alright?"
Present Day
"It would seem that your efforts to initiate a false flag operation have inadvertently allowed us to discover a perfectly legitimate threat to Council Space that we can utilize to our own ends. No doubt our adversary was seeking to launch raids to force Council planets back into the fold of either the Separatists or the Republic," Grievous said to Ciaran over hologram.
"Yes...that's quite the coincidence, isn't it?" Ciaran said with a smirk. Despite the mask, she could tell that Grievous was rolling his eyes through body language alone.
"I do not pretend to understand how exactly this ended in such a beneficial fashion for us, however I am hardly going to turn away the results. I will be-"
"Escorting Padme and her ship back to Naboo."
"...Must I?"
"Come on, you're going to love it. It's one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy...and it's also home to some of the largest aquatic life on record."
Ciaran could see Grevious become visibly more interested in that last detail. "Very well then, the Karabbac will stay with the Resolute as it will be doing the same. Grievous out."
As the hologram faded, Ciaran sank back in a chair, rubbing her temples. Having to make absolutely sure she didn't interfere with her own created future was quite annoying, though thankfully she was subtly guided on what to do and what not to do to ensure it would come to pass. She relaxed for a moment before calling up her data droid. "N-A9G."
"Yes, Lady Ciaran?"
"Give me a summary of the Saboath Squadron and its recent activities. I haven't heard their name before now, so if you could?"
"Processing...the Saboath Squadron is a mercenary group that has ownership of powerful custom vessels up to the destroyer size. Their most recent contract of note was quite infamous as it involved the production and deployment of the biological weapon trihexalon-"
Ciaran's head slammed down on her desk as she groaned loudly. "Another bioweapon!? How many of these damned things have the Separatists made!?"
"Processing..."
"Please don't answer that, go back to the previous question."
"Understood. According to information recovered on the matter, the trihexalon production facilities and all copies of the weapon were destroyed in a joint effort between Jedi Master Adi Gallia and a pirate group known as the Revenants-"
"Finally, someone else dealt with that..."
"-and in the process the Squadron sustained considerable losses though they are currently still an active group."
"Got it, thanks." Ciaran sighed, sinking back into her chair with a groan. "Screw it, after dealing with this I am going to have fun dammit," she said to herself after a long moment, sitting back up and beginning to type out some 'official orders.' "It's been too long since I've been on vacation..." She stopped for a moment before her eyes lit up with excitement as she drafted a request for Jango and Zam to join her. Effective on pain of something not that serious she would figure out later. "Oh yes, we're going to have some fun..."
AN: Writer's block has been killing me with this. Anyway, I realized that the False Flag thingy wouldn't quite fit with what I have planned for the rest of the interlude, so I've broken it up into a two-parter.
As for things that happened, I asked myself "who would be the perfect patsy for Ciaran's shatterpoint to mess with?" and my brain provided me with "the one being in the galaxy that has a known track record of being a spanner in the works through sheer clumsiness." (Honestly hindsight being 20-20 the main reason I haven't included Jar Jar isn't really out of spite, but rather because it's a goddamned nightmare to try and transcribe the Gungan 'accent' or whatever you call it.)
Anyway, now that this is out of the way we're going to have some Fun next time. Stay tuned.
Edit: Threw in a very relevant Meta Achievement based on this chapter, BTW.
Two Weeks Prior
As Ciaran walked through the Home she began to focus on her riskiest endeavor in the near future; namely launching a few false-flag operations to help justify an increased buildup in the CNS military. It was a very delicate affair; too much force and she risked damaging her assets, too little and she wouldn't be able to justify anything, and of course she had to make absolutely sure that there was zero trace back to her in case things went really wrong.
It was why she had requisitioned an almost entirely featureless room so that she could concentrate on her shatterpoint manipulating, giving the operation a couple of subtle nudges in the right direction. Settling into a meditative position, Ciaran closed her eyes and began to focus...
Deep Space, Naboo System
Present Day
"Just to be clear, this is not an assassination mission," a figure in a mask and heavy clothing said over a holographic transmission. "Your job is to simply to scare the target. If you want to board the ship for valuables that is fine however we do not recommend it. Is that clear?"
"Yeah yeah. Shoot at the people, rough em up a bit, get a healthy payday. Easy," replied a man in menacing-looking thug attire before ending the transmission. "Alright boys, let's get ready to scare some people and make a ton of credits!"
Two Weeks Prior
So far so good, Ciaran thought to herself as she saw the shatterpoints of her operation. Engineering an excuse for a few high-ranking CNS politicians to head to Naboo was almost trivially easy; given that it was a recent addition as well as the homeworld of the Supreme Chancellor there were plenty of reasons for someone to go to the planet-
Naboo Courier Vessel, En Route to Naboo System
Present Day
"We do greatly appreciate that you were willing to have us on board your vessel, Senator Amidala," a Council representative commented. "It is much more convenient for all of us to arrive on one vessel instead of us doing so piecemeal."
"Of course," Padme lightly replied. "It would have been rude for us to not provide transportation after hearing about your visit. Though really you should be thanking Representative Binks, he was the one who suggested the idea."
"Mesa happy to bring all of yousa to Naboo," said the Gungan in question. "Yousa been there before?"
Two Weeks Prior
Okay. This was not part of the plan but it'll be fine. This is fine, the pirates were just paid to spook them. So long as nothing else-
Present Day
"Representative Binks, could you please step away from the pilot's console?" the ship's pilot asked nervously.
"Wassa de problem?"
"W-well sir I for one have heard that you have a, er, reputation for ah, clumsiness. Sir."
"Issa fine, mesa - WAAAAH!"
"Nonononononono don't hit that-"
The poor pilot never got to finish his sentence as Jar Jar fell straight onto the pilot's console, somehow accidentally hitting a series of switches that forced the courier vessel out of hyperspace to the confusion of everyone onboard.
"Is everything alright up there?" came Padme's voice on the ship's internal communications console.
--------
"Uh boss?"
"Yeah?"
"...The ships is supposed to show up right now, yeah?"
"...Yeah..."
"But there's no ships boss."
"I can see that..."
"We still getting paid, right?"
"I might have to check on that..."
---------
"Everything's fine," the pilot said with a resigned tone. "Representative Binks accidentally-" His voice cut off and his eyes widened as he looked over the ship's sensor readings.
"Hello?"
"...Senator, please get the Council representatives strapped down immediately," he said with forced calmness as he looked over the readings of a destroyer-sized vessel with a small frigate escort that did not match any specifications he recognized. "We may need to prepare for evasive maneuvers." Steeling himself he turned towards the recovering Jar Jar. "Sir, please find a seat and strap yourself down immediately."
"Whosa they?" he said as he sat down, fumbling with the seat's restraints.
"I don't know, but-" His voice cut off as he began to tightly grip the controls. "They're launching fighters."
Without a word, the pilot threw the ship in the opposite direction of the oncoming fighters, accelerating as fast as he could as the unknown fighters started to bear down on him.
"Mayday, mayday, mayday, this is a Royal Courier Vessel requesting assistance from any forces in the area," he said over an open channel as he tried to boot up the hyperdrive. "We are under attack by unknown hostiles and require immediate assistance. I repeat..."
Two Weeks Prior
This is not part of the plan this is not part of the plan how is this supposed to help me!?
Present Day
"Courier vessel, this is the Republic vessel RNS Resolute. Stand by for assistance," came a measured voice over the ship's comms.
"Please hurry, there are hostile fighters bearing down on us," the nearly panicking pilot said as he tried to divert as much power as he could to the ship's engines.
"That...will not be a problem."
"Why-"
Before he could finish his sentence, a large ship he didn't recognize warped in just above him, causing the nearby Jar Jar to start screaming in terror as the pilot threw his ship out of the way.
"This is Grievous on board the Kaleesh vessel Karabbac. Moving to intercept."
Without bothering for a reply, the Karabbac charged forwards at top speed, quickly closing the gap between it and the now fleeing starfighters. As it continued to pursue the the larger capital ships began to change course and began to move towards the Karabbac, though at a much more sedate pace in comparison.
On board the Karabbac's bridge, Grievous looked over a display of the incoming vessels, calmly observing the ships moving towards his own. A moment passed, then two-
"Resolute, jump in now," Grievous calmly said. And within a few seconds of sending his message the Venator warped in directly behind the enemy fleet just as the Karabbac entered firing range, prompting Grievous to smile evilly under his mask. "Excellent. Open fire with all batteries!" he shouted as the ship's guns turned to bear. "Tear them apart!"
A triumphant roar echoed through the Karabbac as it opened fire on the ships closest to it, their captains beginning to panic as the Resolute came in from behind, opening fire on the enemy destroyer and launching its own fighter squadrons. Within moments the enemy's fleet formation had dissolved into chaos, with each ship trying to escape the pincer maneuver that they were caught in.
"General!" shouted a Kaleesh subordinate, pointing at one of the displays. "One of their frigates has isolated itself from the rest!"
"Perfect," Grievous said viciously. "Launch the boarding pods and bring me that ship!"
With another roar over the ships comms a group of boarding pods launched from the ship and vectored in on their victim. Even as the frigate attempted to evade them the pods readjusted their course, slamming through the hull of the ship and causing it to start spinning out of control.
"Enemy vessel boarded General. It shall be yours in moments."
Grievous nodded to himself before turning back to the rest of the battle, which was already drawing to a close as the enemy vessels were either being destroyed or escaping to hyperspace. Though he was very happy to see that the destroyer had been badly damaged and was unable to escape along with the smaller frigates.
"Vessel secured General."
"The crew?"
"The captain was killed, but the first mate has been captured. You should be able to extract information from him yourself if you are interested, Sir."
"That I am. Inform the Resolute and tell them that we will be handling interrogations."
"Sir."
----------
In the brig of the Karabbac the unfortunate first mate in question, shivering slightly before he heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards him. Nervously looking out of his cell as best he could he saw two of those monsters that had attacked his ship flanking what appeared to be a leader of some kind. He wore no conspicuous markings but he could tell by the way he carried himself that he was a leader.
The lead alien slowed down, walking slowly forward and starting into each of the brig's cells in turn. The first mate could barely hear the sounds of whimpering and terror from the other crew members before the alien leader stopped in front of his cage, slowly turning his head towards the first mate. He tried to steel himself, but there was something about him that made him want to flee in terror as fast as he possibly could. Without a word, it opened the cell door and strode in, its two bodyguards moving to guard the doorway.
"W-What are you?"
"Grievous. And you are the first mate of the frigate we captured."
"That's right, i-it's the-"
"I do not care. Your name, the names of your crew, your ship, all of them are irrelevant to me." He began to move closer, looming over the man now beginning to cower. "What is relevant to me is your employers." Without even waiting for a response Grievous brought out a datapad, making a show of looking it over before facing down the man in front of him. "I admit that I have not heard of this 'Saboath Squadron' until just now and given your performance today I normally would not even bother remembering the name. However." He moved closer to the first mate still, his alien eyes boring into him. "There are people who wish to know just why you had a warfleet hiding in Council space."
The first mate gulped down air. "I-I can't tell you, I-"
"You do not seem to understand your position. I have your ship intact and all it would take is for someone skilled enough to break into its systems for me to learn what I want to know. However I do not want to waste my time searching for someone and you are a more expedient way for me to glean that information." Grievous began to circle around the man. "If you do not tell me, I will kill you. Painfully. And in such a manner that the rest of your crew will hear your screams of agony. Then I will find the next highest ranking member of your crew and ask the same question of him. I suspect he would be more willing to cooperate in that situation, but if he is equally stubborn I will simply repeat the process until one of you breaks and tells me what I want to know.
Now, I will ask you again. What were you doing out here?"
A heavy silence descended between the two men for a long moment.
"...I-I don't know about the specifics b-but according to the captain our job was to launch a few raids in the area. N-nothing too major, just attack a few convoys, maybe a few isolated military ships-"
"Ah. So that's why..." Grievous turned away, not even bothering to register the man behind him collapsing to the ground.
Two Weeks Prior
From what Ciaran could tell the events in the future had more or less played out to their conclusion, and as much as the results had slightly blindsided her they had proven to be quite enlightening. As she stood up and stretched out, she sighed in frustration.
"Well that happened," she muttered as she left the chamber and returned to her desk. "I swear, the Force has the weirdest sense of humor if that's how things are going to-"
"Uh...my Lady? Are you alright?"
Present Day
"It would seem that your efforts to initiate a false flag operation have inadvertently allowed us to discover a perfectly legitimate threat to Council Space that we can utilize to our own ends. No doubt our adversary was seeking to launch raids to force Council planets back into the fold of either the Separatists or the Republic," Grievous said to Ciaran over hologram.
"Yes...that's quite the coincidence, isn't it?" Ciaran said with a smirk. Despite the mask, she could tell that Grievous was rolling his eyes through body language alone.
"I do not pretend to understand how exactly this ended in such a beneficial fashion for us, however I am hardly going to turn away the results. I will be-"
"Escorting Padme and her ship back to Naboo."
"...Must I?"
"Come on, you're going to love it. It's one of the most beautiful planets in the galaxy...and it's also home to some of the largest aquatic life on record."
Ciaran could see Grevious become visibly more interested in that last detail. "Very well then, the Karabbac will stay with the Resolute as it will be doing the same. Grievous out."
As the hologram faded, Ciaran sank back in a chair, rubbing her temples. Having to make absolutely sure she didn't interfere with her own created future was quite annoying, though thankfully she was subtly guided on what to do and what not to do to ensure it would come to pass. She relaxed for a moment before calling up her data droid. "N-A9G."
"Yes, Lady Ciaran?"
"Give me a summary of the Saboath Squadron and its recent activities. I haven't heard their name before now, so if you could?"
"Processing...the Saboath Squadron is a mercenary group that has ownership of powerful custom vessels up to the destroyer size. Their most recent contract of note was quite infamous as it involved the production and deployment of the biological weapon trihexalon-"
Ciaran's head slammed down on her desk as she groaned loudly. "Another bioweapon!? How many of these damned things have the Separatists made!?"
"Processing..."
"Please don't answer that, go back to the previous question."
"Understood. According to information recovered on the matter, the trihexalon production facilities and all copies of the weapon were destroyed in a joint effort between Jedi Master Adi Gallia and a pirate group known as the Revenants-"
"Finally, someone else dealt with that..."
"-and in the process the Squadron sustained considerable losses though they are currently still an active group."
"Got it, thanks." Ciaran sighed, sinking back into her chair with a groan. "Screw it, after dealing with this I am going to have fun dammit," she said to herself after a long moment, sitting back up and beginning to type out some 'official orders.' "It's been too long since I've been on vacation..." She stopped for a moment before her eyes lit up with excitement as she drafted a request for Jango and Zam to join her. Effective on pain of something not that serious she would figure out later. "Oh yes, we're going to have some fun..."
AN: Writer's block has been killing me with this. Anyway, I realized that the False Flag thingy wouldn't quite fit with what I have planned for the rest of the interlude, so I've broken it up into a two-parter.
As for things that happened, I asked myself "who would be the perfect patsy for Ciaran's shatterpoint to mess with?" and my brain provided me with "the one being in the galaxy that has a known track record of being a spanner in the works through sheer clumsiness." (Honestly hindsight being 20-20 the main reason I haven't included Jar Jar isn't really out of spite, but rather because it's a goddamned nightmare to try and transcribe the Gungan 'accent' or whatever you call it.)
Anyway, now that this is out of the way we're going to have some Fun next time. Stay tuned.
Edit: Threw in a very relevant Meta Achievement based on this chapter, BTW.
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Darrenb209
"Who are you, who do not know your history?"
- Location
- Scotland
I really don't get why they didn't give a political representative a voice coach. Unless he doesn't actually sound like that and enjoys irritating people?
Dr. Snark
Exactly As Planned...Probably
- Location
- Right where I want to be
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I dunno dude. He was allowed to speak in the Galactic Senate like that so I think people are concerned it would be offensive or some other politically correct BS.
At least that's my headcanon for why Jar Jar still maintains his voice patterns.
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- Location
- america
......if he was doing it on purpose, i would laugh.
Don't you just love it when someone else does your dastardly plan and you are 'coincidently' in the area for a 'rescue'? At least now we have some fall guys to legitimize additional security without suspicion. Especially since Padme was 'lucky' to still be alive given the potential political disaster this could have been.
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Of course not.
Darth Binks is the one who planned Darth Sidious' downfall.
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Master Basher
hYPER Demon
- Location
- UK
In advance, mostly GM quotes alone...
Palpatine will apprentise the shit out of him. Only to eventually be killed by a log term keikaku..
.... Which incidentally, would make Dartford Blinks a true Sith of all things.
... Oh~ Palpatine. How long until he accurses every Spanner with Ciaren in a typical Sith manner to the tune of Scooby Do?
... And now, Jar Jar, the charaster from Hell. Cue how long until this happens;
Better idea, 'totally' sell him as a possible counter Ciaren hero.My god.
It's Darth Blinks!!
the man behind the man!!
Palpatine will apprentise the shit out of him. Only to eventually be killed by a log term keikaku..
.... Which incidentally, would make Dartford Blinks a true Sith of all things.
Darrenb209
"Who are you, who do not know your history?"
- Location
- Scotland
So Jar Jar is actually Dio?
He aged badly...
He aged badly...
- Location
- Qc, Canada
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm sad now. This quest was doing so well and then Jar Jar got acknowledged. Truly, I can't read this anymore
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