Okay, research keeps tripping me over this post and the repeated typo is killing me, both in the threadmark and in the post. It is "Achievement", not "Achivement". Not unless we are going to remove the sour cream as well as the chives from those ments. -g-
Also... I noticed that the call and response for the Invisible Hand Q&A session in the early to late 400 pages is kind of scattered. Were someone (meaning me) to compile the response posts from @Dr. Snark and @Teron (meaning I already did it in a third reply window), would it be possible to threadmark it after the initial offer for posterity and research purposes?
So as penance for the interlude taking so long (and mostly because I really want to do this anyway) I am hereby announcing:
The First Quasi-Annual Invisible Hand Q&A Session!
No question is too inane! No query is too absurd!
Do you want to know what Ciaran's favorite brand of music is? Done! (She says operas to maintain her high-class image but her real love is for gangsta rap. Straight Outta Coruscant!)
Do you want to know how Grievous hires on Kaleesh warriors? Now you know! (The process generally involves rigorous physical trials and intensive training but according to rumor it consistently involves Grievous glaring at the applicant for a minute straight. If they don't run away in terror, they're guaranteed to be recruited. Anyone that manages to glare back is fast-tracked for a promotion.)
Do you want to know why most low-level employees are willing to stay with an organization that hires on bloodthirsty Kaleesh warriors, sinister Sith assassins, and murderous machines? Of course you do! (They are paid very, very well and they get fantastic benefit packages.)
Just ask away and you're guaranteed an accurate* answer**! Simply post now to be a part!
*: Answer may or may not include the following: feigned intelligence, blatant Wookieepedia quoting, QM bias and/or general inanity. Consult the Abyss Watchers Legal Office for details. Offer void on Jedha.
**: Answer will not have explicit details on any events the QM has planned for the future. No Spoilers.
While there are some things I can mark down as spoilers, I can say that the Mantle of the Force amplifies any "outward" Force abilities considerably. A push that knocks over a vase would shatter it if the user had the Mantle. Things like that.
What is your favorite piece of Expanded UniverseLegends silliness that you have no plans to incorporate? A character, species, artifact, or plot that was just too unrealistic, unbelievable, or just plain dumb not to laugh at.
For extra credit, style the response as a firing notice to the intelligence lackey who reported said nonsense.
Honestly it's probably those cereal monsters from planet Gastro or whatever they were. The ones that could only be killed by blue milk or something?
Though if we're talking stuff I knew about beforehand...I'll have to cheat a bit and include something that was brought up after Endor in canon.
"To Employee #1138:
Your reports of a so-called 'extradimensional being' that apparently calls itself 'Waru' are patently absurd and a complete waste of this organization's time. The idea that this entity that apparently came from 'outside reality' or whatever you were saying could exist is patently absurd, let alone your claims that you can swim through it. Or that said 'liquid interior' of this being is supposedly breathable. Your claims of this being existing, let alone being a threat to the galaxy in any capacity have been patently dismissed, and your employment terminated.
In other words: Get the hell out you useless idiot.
If we're talking pure investigative types, then there are none that canonically exist (that I'm aware of). But come on, it's a wide galaxy, of course there's someone out there who probably fits the bill.
Is it possible to locate and recruit zenoma sekot? I think thats the name anyway...
Does Palpatine know about the Vong yet?
Is Anakin actually the result of Darth Plagius mucking about with the force, or is he actually the Force's Jesus analogue the prophecy implies the chosen one is?
Is the Dark Side in this AU actually evil, or is it just that all it's users have gone nuts and lost control (the ancient Jedi/Sith predecessors who held the two as different but equal, and didn't pathologize it with names like 'dark', and 'light')?
1. It's certainly possible to locate it, but whether or not it'd be willing to let Ciaran poke it is another matter entirely.
2. Assuming they exist, Palpatine did come into contact with the Chiss during the Outbound Flight incident. Take that as you will.
3. Would it matter either way? At the end of the day you still have a Chosen One. Both are equally viable answers, and I feel like I honestly have no right to fully answer that.
4. Prefacing this with a 'this is more opinion than QM fact:' both. The Dark Side is admittedly inherently corrupting since it encourages you to indulge in your passions and negative emotions, but it also didn't help that 99% of it's users became maniacs and galactic overlords. You have to have high amounts of self-control to use it safely.
Assuming the Jedi come out on top somehow, and Mace Windu gains an absurd amount of clout in the wake of Palpatine's ascension, would you be willing to make a setting where the Jedi are in control and are actually full blown 'Emotion is Illogical, do your job and do not aspire and you will find peace' type Orwellian Nightmare shit, and the Sith end up being the punk-rebel good guys who harness the power of Passion and Freedom of Expression to bring down the oppressive Order of the 'Light'?
Because I would absolutely read something like this shit. It would be amazing.
I'm not sure I would go that far on either side, but I admit that sort of thing is a possibility for the future...assuming there's enough interest in a sequel where rails are non-existent.
Also, assuming I somehow manage to wrap this up nicely there's a couple of other quests I've got plans for that I want to get rolling. But right now this one is my crucible and I am dedicating almost all of my creative energies to it. I either bring it to a grand completion, or fail and die in infamy. Or more likely shrug and move on with my life in the latter circumstance, but it's more dramatic that way. Point being is that I'm finishing this before I go onto other major projects...probably. My muse has been more insistent on those other ideas the more I think about them...
It depends on your place in the hierarchy. The higher you go, the more you learn about the Abyss, and the more you realize that your boss will never let you leave the company alive.
Fortunately at that point the paycheck is amazing and you get fantastic benefits.
See, I'm worried that would cross the Anime Line, the metaphorical line in the sand where the universe becomes too over-the-top to take seriously.
Now, we're skirting pretty damn close to it with my rampant Gundam and Nasuverse references (there was a Zeta Gundam nod in 'The Resurgent' interlude I snuck in for instance), and I'm afraid that would push it over the line. Sadly.
Hypothetically speaking if some ROB threw you into the this quest version of star wars as of the latest update, what would you do? and would you try to waifu Ciaran? ?/10 for would you. Also if not who would you waifu/husband/Palpatine?
First: Scream. Second: Given the universe, get hired by Ciaran for a desk job and try not to die. Aside from that, I feel like trying to date Ciaran would be weirdly incestuous given that I'm her damn writer. As for who my preferred target is otherwise...that is a secret~
What are the blasters Ciaran tends to prefer and what is her opinion on the DC-17 (the pistols Captain Rex uses) and the DC-15s that the Clone Commandos use?
She tends to prefer models that let her hide it easily, draw fast, shoot first, and guarantee kills. She's not too picky, but tends to opt for pistols like Han's DL-44. She respects the DC-17, but doesn't like that it's hard to hide. As for the DC-17 variable rifle (I think that's the model you meant to ask about) she really likes its versatility and given the chance would mass-produce it and hand it over to her high-ranking soldiers/Agents and Walkers to give them more versatility.
Next, is it possible, in the number of turns we have available in this quest, to turn Ciaran into a grey-ish Force Master equal to Yoda or Palpatine? Really curious about this.
Ooooh, that's an interesting one. Given the timeframe I'm going to say you can't get there before the Palaptine assassination/fight/whatever, but you could get her started down that path. Hypothetically.
*looks left, looks right, looks through the Omni direction wormhole*
Okay question: Are you ever going to open up the waifu case that got sealed in the last thread or are you intending to not touch it with a thirty foot pole?
...
Another question: have you ever considered including any of the starwars crossover stuff? Such as if I rember correctly the extragalactic expedition that they included to link starwars with E.T.
Honestly I figured it was about damn time I get a proper avatar, and I figured Aizen suited me given my mixture of legit good planning and hasty improvising that I do for this quest. The fact that it fits the Q&A is a happy coincidence.
She does seem to find a way to smuggle things away disturbingly easily (see: Dooku's painting) so it's either that or she's really good at hiding things. Probably both.
QUOTE="random_npc, post: 9121834, member: 8779"]is there a reason so few people have drawn the connection between the gang called the abyss watchers, and the mercenary company called the abyss watchers?
There's an understanding in the Undercity that there is no gang called the Abyss Watchers. Anyone who tells you that is a liar and/or is about to die. Aside from that who else would have heard of some Coruscant Undercity street gang? Those guys are practically limitless down there, who cares about some random group of thugs?
More relevantly, aren't the Abyss Watchers basically the Under Worlds top-dogs since they deposed Black Sun? If that's the case, and the Abyss Watchers themselves are a registered mercenary group...why haven't more people come to the conclusion that Ciaran is an evil crime-boss? That one Jedi we had did, but frankly she jumped to conclusions over a stupid crit. This seems like a more legitimate reason for people to be suspicious.
Ah, now I understand what you're getting at. What you have to understand is that what you and I call 'the Abyss Watchers' is more a term of convenience at this point; Ciaran now uses a lot of proxies, stooges, fake names, shell companies, and so on in many of her more illicit endeavors. In general the Watchers are more akin to Earth's Mafia: you know they exist, but actually pinning something on them is much harder, and most of the time their businesses are perfectly legit. And besides, don't forget that Ciaran is a galactic celebrity and does 'selfless' acts like help set up galaxy-wide ceasefires. Even if you had evidence that Ciaran was a crime boss, a lot of people just don't want to believe it.
Can we create meka-shift weapons like in RWBY? It would be hilarious for the watchers or Carian with the attack is far away and thinks they are safe, but our light saber doubles as a gun., "I can fight at both range and melee."
Hypothetically? Sure. There's three problems though: First there's no real frame of reference in Star Wars so you'd have to start from scratch on the design. Second: you'd have to convince Ciaran that it's practical (though Cheriss would be a way easier sell, admittedly) and it'd be hard to get that to fly with her given how she prefers a lightsaber in one hand and a blaster pistol in the other as it is. Third: More nitpicky semantics than anything, but given that it would involve more lasers you wouldn't get Crescent Rose, instead you'd get something closer to Bardiche from Lyrical Nanoha. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.
(Funnily enough, Nanoha did the 'scythe that was also a gun' thing about a decade before RWBY did. Sadly there were no meme-worthy lines about it.)
Question! A idea that won't leave me alone has hijacked my mouth and now I must ask, in this AU does Force Lightning have physical push? I mean, Windu used his lightsaber to block it and it looked like it was causing him strain, so my question is does it actually block lightsabers? Like, could you wreath your arms in lightning and go hand to hand against a Jedi?
So basically you're asking me if a Force user could fight like MGS3's Volgin. I mean, I'm sure it's possible, but you'd be way more likely to electrocute yourself or burn your arms to a crisp.
But incanon Palpatine was already aware of the "Far Outsiders" by the time he met the Chiss, if I recall correctly.
What is the status of the Vong in this quest? Don't need a whole lot of details, but I could swear someone, I think Teron, saying they don't exist in this quest.
Teron was pretty blunt about them not appearing. As for me...look, I'll be blunt: if the Vong ever actually show up that means I've run out of good ideas and you should all flee as fast as you can.
She hasn't gotten her hands on it...yet. Given the chance, it'd probably be hidden in either Siri or Satine's robes. That they just so happened to choose to wear that day by coincidence.
She's not too big on cooking fancy dishes, probably due to living a very limited lifestyle in the Undercity for a few years. The most she ever does is the Star Wars equivalent of heating up frozen meals.
Speaking of Darra, I have ideas I'd like to bounce off you, Dr. Snark. Expect some Pm later.
Has Ciaran had any public/ publicized flings? She's a thirty something attractive humanoid with ALL the money and fame. I'm sure there's been attempts, especially since I can't picture her not being a shameless flirt everywhere now.
How well has anyone done on trying to leverage something on the 'naive' Lady Ciaran?
Are there Ciaran or Watcher plushies? If not, why hasn't Ciaran merchandized?
What sort of population and society has developed on Kiln?
I thought we let plenty of employees leave, they're just under a death threat if they ever Fuck up.
1. Aside from tabloid speculation...not really. Sure some people have tried, but usually either the person trying to flirt back is an arrogant rich snob of some persuasion, or they're too intimidated by her position to really get anywhere. It also doesn't help that Ciaran's almost constantly on the move and only rarely spends a long period of time on a singular world.
2. Not very. The dumb ones get noticed quickly. The smart ones don't bother.
3. There are definitely Ciaran plushies, but there wasn't really a market for a plush version of the Abyss Watcher logo. Something about it scaring kids or whatever.
4. It's interesting; due to its nature it's more of a home for the particularly high-ranking personnel that don't have to move around too much and can keep their mouths shut about the planet, as well as the various workers and engineers that stay on the planet keep everything functional. As such it's an eclectic mix of various species the Watchers have hired on, from Wookiees to Kaleesh to Arkanians, the list goes on. Society-wise there tends to be an unspoken but respected divide between the workers and the administrators, and they tend to stay in their own groups unless there's a larger event that brings them together. As for leaving, well the residents are actively encouraged to stay or keep most of their work on the planet due to its secrecy, and many appreciate the chance to fall off of the galaxy's radar and have a clean start there.
5. That's certainly true, it's just that people in teams like Legal have much more incentives to stay. Both in benefits and increased threat severity.
She has a blast watching shows involving police work, courtroom drama and the like, mostly because she likes riffing the hell out of them. Sometimes she manages to drag Silas in, but most of the time Gulan is her co-riffer; he enjoys doing it as much as she does.
While there are some things I can mark down as spoilers, I can say that the Mantle of the Force amplifies any "outward" Force abilities considerably. A push that knocks over a vase would shatter it if the user had the Mantle. Things like that.
What are the blasters Ciaran tends to prefer and what is her opinion on the DC-17 (the pistols Captain Rex uses) and the DC-15s that the Clone Commandos use?
She tends to prefer models that let her hide it easily, draw fast, shoot first, and guarantee kills. She's not too picky, but tends to opt for pistols like Han's DL-44. She respects the DC-17, but doesn't like that it's hard to hide. As for the DC-17 variable rifle (I think that's the model you meant to ask about) she really likes its versatility and given the chance would mass-produce it and hand it over to her high-ranking soldiers/Agents and Walkers to give them more versatility.
She also selects her dresses according to which blasters and weapons she will try to hide. It used to be a lot easier when she was only using holdout-blasters, but even with the best modifications she wasn't able to get enough shots out of those... and she loves to shoot people first before resorting to anything else.
Fortunately Ciaran is despite all her character flaws pretty iron-willed beneath all her quirky behaviour and through her good understanding of the Force she is rather capable of tapping into both.
is there a reason so few people have drawn the connection between the gang called the abyss watchers, and the mercenary company called the abyss watchers?
There's an understanding in the Undercity that there is no gang called the Abyss Watchers. Anyone who tells you that is a liar and/or is about to die. Aside from that who else would have heard of some Coruscant Undercity street gang? Those guys are practically limitless down there, who cares about some random group of thugs?
But incanon Palpatine was already aware of the "Far Outsiders" by the time he met the Chiss, if I recall correctly.
What is the status of the Vong in this quest? Don't need a whole lot of details, but I could swear someone, I think Teron, saying they don't exist in this quest.
Teron was pretty blunt about them not appearing. As for me...look, I'll be blunt: if the Vong ever actually show up that means I've run out of good ideas and you should all flee as fast as you can.
She's not too big on cooking fancy dishes, probably due to living a very limited lifestyle in the Undercity for a few years. The most she ever does is the Star Wars equivalent of heating up frozen meals.
Essentially, she is average at it and doesn't really bother since she can just have others prepare meals for her. Although even when she does the equivalent of heating up food she at least makes sure that she gets some stuff of at least decent quality.
She has a blast watching shows involving police work, courtroom drama and the like, mostly because she likes riffing the hell out of them. Sometimes she manages to drag Silas in, but most of the time Gulan is her co-riffer; he enjoys doing it as much as she does.
Also, trolling people... and more curiously randomly (and anonymiously) donating money to people, groups or organisations and keeping track of what they do with it. If you have the power, enjoy it.
I think there was a interlude or canon omake allready where its shown that she indeed does that. Had to head to Coruscant to restore the license of the Cantina, spent a day bartending and singed the ownership over to one of her employees. Also talked with Padme about her time in the Undercity before both got drunk.
A good chunk of it is just checking up on various operations and so on, but when she has legit free time she tends to riff on those cop shows mentioned before.
When she's got the time or wants to do it for the fun of it, yes. Half the time she even lets them know in advance. The other half of the time...producers don't like talking about Ciaran's 'unannounced guest appearances.'
Assuming a full villain, probably an Arkanian clone gone wrong. Her ego would be cranked up to insane, Fate Gilgamesh-equivalent levels (MONGRELS!), her desire to own the galaxy would become the need to conquer it completely, and given enough time she'd become the next Darth Nihilus, consuming everything in sight. It'd be bad fucking news, is what I'm saying.
If you're talking the equivalent of a revolver, it'd probably be the DL-44 like I mentioned earlier. Aside from that I don't think there are any 'pocket shotguns' or anything like that being officially produced.
1. Even if I gave you an exact number, would you believe me?
2. The Silencer and HK-47 do not have downtimes; they're too busy killing everything. Ditto with PR-1, work literally never stops for him. Silas tends to gamble on his spare time, whether it be on the Oracle or at some cantina or gambling den. Grievous tends to go on hunts for whatever horrifying creature has caught his interest that day. No one's seen Thrawn take a break, but people assume when he does he's looking over various artwork for purely recreational purposes...probably. Asajj usually does some light training, mainly because she's still used to living very simply. Ciaran's been trying to get her into something fun but so far nothing's really taken. Jango is similar, but he either calls back to Mandalore or goes on a day trip every so often to see how Boba's doing.
1. On occasion she indulges.
2. Yes, but 90% of the time that's such an irrelevant detail it won't come up in posts.
3. Probably one of her cousins she has on hand. Odds are good it'll be Chora, but she's willing to be convinced otherwise.
4. Nah. He's Good-aligned.
1. Aside from the omake a little bit; she did model her cantina franchises after her old haunt out of a bit of nostalgia.
2. Not very. They're usually found very quickly and persuaded to stop doing that.
He's aware of the Green Jedi and is semi-familiar with them. And as for how the trolling will continue that's totes spoilers. A magician never reveals their secrets.
Oh,
1- about Ciaran and CNS: how do the "leaders" feel about Ciaran? I mean lately in most situations she's reasonable and tries to work with them, help with "minimal" repay (Becta crisis).
2-a. how CIS and Republic views CNS?
2-b. will increased CNS military cause inner unrest?
2-c. do CNS know Abyss Watchers and do they consider them as spec-ops, or merely beneficial mercenaries?
3- Has Ciaran's view of Duchess and Prime Minister changed? Both showed to be perceptive and careful, yet reasonable.
4- Naboo and Padme... what will CIS think about this and their "goal"? ( P.S. Palpatine's not happy.)
Arla's basically been joined to Jango at the hip for the time being; it's not the healthiest thing possible but it's better than outright insanity and she's been getting actual therapy.
1. Satine really doesn't like Ciaran on a personal level between her shadiness and her trolling, but she's come to the understanding that the CNS would fall apart without her help and is willing to tolerate her presence. As for Zinnerman, he's more inclined to see eye-to-eye on Ciaran with more things given his cynicism, but he's concerned that if Ciaran's left unchecked she's going to drag the CNS back into the war.
2.a. The CIS does not like the Council especially given the loss of the IGBC and the Northern Rim as a whole to them. With the Republic it's more complicated; the two most extreme perspectives see them as either moral paragons protesting against a pointless war, or a group of disloyal worlds and borderline traitors. No prizes for guessing which political factions have which opinions. Also worth noting that these opinions tend to stay in upper leadership of both sides, publicly the CNS is a highly respected institution due to Satine's diplomatic efforts and Ciaran's PR helping it along.
2.b. Now that there's quantifiable evidence that they're being actively targeted through groups like Saboath, not really.
2.c. Not entirely and it varies heavily by location; the Banking Clan is quite familiar with them due to the hiring of Muun accountants, they're fairly well-known on Kalee for obvious reasons, and so on.
3. Ciaran thinks that it's about damn time that Satine realized that the galaxy is much crueler than her ideals and is happy that the two of them can at least cooperate. As for Zinnerman, she's starting to really like having him around mainly because his cynical view that everyone has it out for the CNS is completely right, even if it comes from an incorrect base.
4. Spoilers.
What are the thoughts of the Chriss ascendency on the various faction? theoretically mind you, as they might not actually know of them or the whole galactic mess currently. but if they did know of the galactic situation and know of the CIS, CNS and republic, what would be their thoughts on them?
1. It might be a bit broad, but I like writing scenes that highlight peoples' character development.
2. He's much more chill for one. Also these days he lives on Mandalore and gets a lot of respect for being the son of the Resurgent, so he's got a much better social life. He might actually be able to communicate in more than terse sentences in the future!
3. Depends on the rank. At worst they're just militiamen, at best they're a 1:1 match for a trooper.
4. It's hard to say; Anakin's been keeping as much of that to himself as he can when it comes to Ahsoka. He doesn't want his doubts to affect her; he knows full well that Ahoska wants to fully be a part of the Order unlike him. That being said, she has noticed that her Master has become more...relaxed in recent days for a better term.
5. As I recall there was a Force order that basically mastered teleportation. Give me that any day.
6. You're assuming I know what that woman was thinking at the time.
7. All things considered Ciaran's developed a taste for Kaleesh cuisine; it helps that the planet's chefs consistently serve her only the finest of meals.
1. How close are we to a general rollout on freeing the clone troopers from their conditioning?
2. Are we aware of any of Palpitine's schemes to come back from the grave?
3. Do you have a bunch of OC henchemen for Palpitine since we keep recruiting the best canon ones first?
1. You're closer. That's all I'm willing to say.
2. Nope. But I'm willing to say that Ciaran plans on shoving the Dagger of Mortis into Palpatine's black heart given the chance; being associates with Vectivus has taught her that a Sith could cheat death given the opportunity and she's going to make absolutely sure he's dead dead dead.
3. There's plenty of EU one-off villains I could use. Aside from that, spoilers.
Question
What sort of moral lines would Ciaran never cross?
We know that she is very grey in terms of morality but she does have moral standards that she would try to keep to?
I hope?
As you might expect it's a bit complicated but in general:
-Don't get into the spice or slavery trades - not only are they hated by most of the galaxy but they're just bad for PR.
-Don't become one of those "I shall drown the galaxy in darkness" kind of Sith - they always get killed by some upstart Jedi. Always.
-If there's a way you can solve a problem with less bloodshed, take it. Mainly because the person you didn't kill might end up helping you in the future, or at least will owe you their life.
Basically: only do 'evil' if the 'good' option doesn't help you in the slightest; that's how Ciaran rolls.
Just realized I missed a question in the rush. Sorry about that!
1. Ciaran's honestly kind of scary at this point. Thanks to her taking to Matukai like a fish to water she's got very high endurance, to say nothing of the functional immunity to poison, increased strength, and so on. Combine that with her ability to detect physical shatterpoints and hit them really hard and she's starting to be seriously bad news for any opponent. Right now her big weakness is against large groups of targets, as she doesn't really have any herd-hitting abilities.
2. Probably would be automatic at this point, but that's still very much hypothetical.
Thank you but I need to neaten it up a bit. I thought the nested quotes from your responses would following along but it did not do so. In order to feel complete and justify the thoughtful gesture of the almost-omake bonus, I will go through and straighten that out, as well. -smile-
I really hope not. By the looks of things he's a "combat" Jedi, meaning he might be one of the few that would be send out.... I just hope we can stop that fetherbrain before he destroys everything in his mad dash for power.
I got onto the shuttle with Tyro Torwin. "You should know, I designed the Equus-class speeder with you in mind. A flying gun layered in enough armor and shielding that it ends up becoming an airborne engine of death, with a decent auto-targeting system if you need a break. You should take a look at it, once Cheriss optimizes the design and the first ones come off the production line."
I think that gave him something to think about, but I wasn't sure. For the next few hours, I was just meditating, working on my Buried Presence technique, because I went for a long time out in the open.
The proximity alarm pulled me out of the trance I'd drifted into, checked the coordinates we were heading for. An asteroid in a star system near Lorrd. Pretty quiet little spot. Doubly so because the Lorrdians do nonverbal communication better than a lot of folk do verbal communication and so have less need for speech.
I smiled to myself as Tyro handled landing procedures, putting on my mask and with a flick of my wrist extending the scythe. After all, what's the difference between Riphath Althean the medic with delusions of grandeur and Reaper, the call-sign Grievous gave me? In a word? Presentation.
I strode off the ship and saw her. The Ciaran. Lady Ciaran, in the flesh. The only other non-Kaleesh to get a mumuu mask. "Death comes for everyone, Ciaran. For you, however? Not today." I sketched a bow, removing the mask and flicking the hood back, the scythe folding up and going inside the sleeve of my robe as I returned to a normal posture. "Riphath Althean. Pleasure to meet you."
Okay, point of order, I'd rehearsed that ever since Grievous gave me the Reaper callsign, and this was just the first good occasion for it. Yeah, Rondaes called me a nerd for it when she caught me the one time. She's probably right. Then again, if I wasn't a nerd I probably wouldn't have gone to Byblos for med school in the first place.
"So exactly how many times did you rehearse that introduction? 10? 30? It's not bad though. I'd say overall it's a...7 out of 10," I heard her say.
"Ahh...probably about seventeen, but the last six or seven were tiny refinements," I responded without missing a beat.
I walked into the meeting room, where Ciaran and Tyro showed me Darth Vectivus. There was a brief explanation that he was a retired ex-Sith who'd tied his existence to something else alive, and that he was as proud of his skills in business and money management. Finally! An answer!
"So you'd be the person to talk to about figuring out how to properly invest for my retirement," I quipped.
Vectivus laughed. "In a manner of speaking, I suppose. Another time, though. Right now I believe your boss has a speech prepared."
I eased into a parade rest position, appearing both comfortable and respectful.
Ciaran stared straight into his eyes. "Riphath Althean."
I didn't move, but my face seemed to wear a 'thaaaaat's meeee' expression.
"In recognition of your abilities and achievements, I hereby declare you to be one of our Abyss Walkers, the highest possible rank of our Force corps within the Watchers. Your promotion is something of a surprise, as you did not come up through the Agent program, but I'm not in the habit of turning down opportunities because they didn't arrive as expected. You will be given the respect and responsibilities that come with the position, as well as the appropriate increase in compensation and the honor of carrying your own self-crafted lightsaber, in addition to your wan-shen."
I nodded. Now I understand what Tyro was saying about the galaxy not making sense.
The rest of the speech kinda blended together as I started thinking about how I was going to put together my lightsaber.
I had some time in the workship and ultimately put together something fairly simple but with some intriguing functions. The emitter was fairly short, with a round but flat disc of phrik alloy which would stop anybody attempting to slide their blade down my own to get to my fingers or ruin the lightsaber. A doubled switch allowed for me to lock it in the "on" position so I could use it as a thrown weapon as well. A tooled black leather handle eventually gave way to a heavy pommel. The whole thing came out to a little less than 30 centimeters and hooked onto my belt rather easily.
So. Now I have a lightsaber and aside from my Matukai training no particular talent for it. This isn't possibly going to get me into far more trouble than it's worth, I thought.
A competing thought surged to the front of my mind:
News flash for Riphath, Galaxy to Riphath: If you were looking to avoid trouble, you should have transferred out of Grievous' squad the minute after you met him. Everything after that, the thought went, providing pictures of Grievous, Master Veskasa, Rondaes, and Ciaran, came from having the guts to stick around and see where it went.
Hey wait a sec. Why did she get a spot in that listing?
Great. My brain hooks onto the fact that my boss's boss is attractive.
Yes, your eyes still work.
I pushed the thought out of my mind.
So rather than follow that thought through to its conclusion...why don't I go talk to Darth Vectivus and see what he would recommend for retirement investing?
A/N: I am up way too late but this was too much fun to not write to its conclusion.
This is great but I guarantee you that Ciaran would get a word in edgewise during Rip's into. Namely: "So exactly how many times did you rehearse that introduction? 10? 30? It's not bad though. I'd say overall it's a...7 out of 10." (And later on she'd probably forward him a memo about Dani's "performance-based training.")
Normally I wouldn't say anything else but this is Ciaran we're talking about. She would never pass up an opportunity like that to screw with someone.
I walked into the meeting room, where Ciaran and Tyro showed me Darth Vectivus. There was a brief explanation that he was a retired ex-Sith who'd tied his existence to something else alive, and that he was as proud of his skills in business and money management. Finally! An answer!
"So you'd be the person to talk to about figuring out how to properly invest for my retirement," Riphath quipped.
Jasper looked up as the Serv-O-Droid began to set the meal down upon the table and, pressing the button on the intercom, said calmly, "Eevy, dinner is laid and you are still in the office." He sighed and closed down the connection as he heard her shuffling papers and the snap of a binder closing.
The elegant man leaned back into his chair as the scent of braised heklu wafted from the steaming plate, looking over to his errant wife as she glided into the dining room. "You promised a short workday. Remember, moderation. There is no need to rush into things."
Eevy nodded coldly as she settled into her own seat, primly straightening her arrangement and settling the silken napkin upon her lap. It was not there to keep any stains from her clothing, of course. (Force forbid that any of the Parsas act so indelicately as to make a mess!) Still, appearances must be kept. "Of course, I was looking into what details we were able to find about this Council of the Grey Initiative and what other sects had been approached. I found it fascinating."
As they were both seated, Jasper turned on the holocom display, already tuned to Galactic News Service at a tasteful image density and volume level. The pair liked to have the additional information available yet not overpowering. He turned back to his wife as a detail piece on the Karada Taris Expansion came on, "Tell me, how do you find the meal? Jerec suggested it as a true delicacy."
The two Luka Sene Scholars kept up their genteel table talk throughout their quite mannerly yet strict and lifeless dinner. Afterwards, as they watched a documentary on the beginnings of the CNS, the woman had a momentary disgruntled expression, as if she had bitten into something unexpectedly sour, before asking quietly, "Jasper, where do you think little Ciaran is?"
The man shrugged and replied, focused on the news details rather than the thought of his only child, "Probably dead or in a bar somewhere, like her grandfather, no doubt."
The image that struck me here is kind of bitter, kind of sour, but something I definitely did not want to hold tightly. The dichotomy of her parents surrounded by her and yet totally unaware struck me as amusing, though. I could have kept going on but it was beginning to feel forced.
I really hope not. By the looks of things he's a "combat" Jedi, meaning he might be one of the few that would be send out.... I just hope we can stop that fetherbrain before he destroys everything in his mad dash for power.
From Canon Omakes the Umbara Crisis already happened so he's already dealt with... however, Sora Bulq, the Dark Side Spy in The Jedi Temple, is THE Lightsaber Instructor having mastered ALL Lightsaber Forms, including the obscure ones. So his skill might be more dangerous than Krell's brute force.
(Omake) Jymeen is Not Going To Move (Those Crates) (Canon)
--Jymeen, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move (Those Crates)--
Jymeen had recovered from his final 'debrief' regarding the Foundry Raid and The Blaster Sound Effect Incidents. The Squad Leader had not even broken any extremities. Wait, okay, a finger is an extremity so I guess The Squad Leader did break one. He had not broken any LIMBS, though. He still ended up better off than Jaleesh. Ha!
After word spread from the other Kaleesh in the squad, none of the other squad leaders would take a chance on the aggravation so Jymeen found himself once more Warriorless. Un-Warrior'd? He did manage to keep hold of his blaster, not that it was all that useful with a snapped trigger finger. Now if he could only get one like the Reaper's, at least it would look cool. Even transport pilots got to wear a blaster, after all, even if no one would let him bring a spear. Stupid regulations.
It only took a day at home before his father and mother recovered his pilot appointment and he was off to the Oracle with a load of "vehicle parts, Sair Research Lab" to deliver. So he was taking an Osmium Orray off to the vet or something.
-----
He set the transport shuttle down gently in the hangar, absently toggling switches and hitting buttons in a rapid and efficient shutdown as he called out, "Lowering ramp. You have two hours to unload before I am scheduled in-transit."
Finalizing his duties, he slipped back into the cargo compartment and watched the Agents struggling to unseal a vehicle-sized container. He slipped the canteen from his belt and, shoulders tightening in the Kaleesh equivalent of a wrinkled nose, drank some more of the chilled Calamarian water. Really? Despite recommendations, it sucked. 3/10. Would not repeat.
"Hey, guys, why are you unboxing the Trimantium Tauntaun, anyway?" He vaguely recalled seeing the Agent straightening up to answer him at the Foundry but Jymeen could not remember what he was called. Meh, he was human, he had a weird name, anyway. Screw that guy.
"Turns out the crate is too large and an Equus is not really a tauntaun, anyway. Want to help us with this?"
The small pilot shook his head quickly, "Sorry, can't. Regulations. Like no spears. Or masks. What is up with that, right? I mean, it is.... kind of. I mean, it is just for one person to ride. Like a speeder. Or a bantha."
The Agent looked at him and slowly nodded, turning back without reply. A lot of people did that.
-----
Idiot pilot.
The Agent got back to work, stifling a sigh. They got the container unsealed and a cargo transport at the base of the ramp for the crates that WOULD fit in the passageways. He entered and squeezed into the driver compartment on the Equus, wincing at the fit. He was too large to fit, technically speaking, but he could manage an uncomfortable fit. His fellow agent was a terrible driver.
Activating the personal speeder, he slowly guided it out of the container to follow after the cargo transport, trying to ignore the nagging tone of the Kaleesh pilot behind him.
-----
Jymeen looked up as a familiar whine started up inside the Box. He knew that whine. What the muumuu was the Agent doing, starting up a speeder in his shuttle?! "Hey! Hey, Agent! Stop that, yer gonna scorch the deck! Come ooooon, don't do this to me, Dispatch is going to blame me..."
He trailed off and began to follow along, just outside of the repulsorwash, as he recognized the speeder in question. He had been carrying The REAPER'S Duraplast Dewback?! No way, man, no one in the transport pool was going to believe this!
"Hey, Agent! Give me a second!" As soon as he could get around the engines of the Equus and to the driver compartment, he almost bounced over there in his eagerness, "I mean, you look like cool dudes, you won't let Dispatch know if I helped you out and kind of stretched a few regs, right? I mean, I am a great pilot, really, even with a fake mask on. Trust me, I did it once, just because. Come on, this is The REAPER'S Carbonite Cu Pa! He was amazing on the Foundry, all 'Pew! Pew!' and 'BOOM!' and stuff. I can totally drive it down to the lab while you two get the other parts. Come oooooon, bro. Let me help you with this..."
Jymeen excitedly pestered the Agent as he tried to get away from the pilot. The whining worked far better on The Agent than it did The Squad Leader or His Father, good to know. Maybe humans were more laid back about stuff like that? Yeah, that must be it.
-----
Time Elapsed between Disembark and Delivery: 39 minutes Oracle Internal Regulations Broken: 7
Transport Section Regulations Broken: 23
Jymeen Descriptions of Reaper's Equus Denied: 11
-----
"M-Ma'am... I mean, Chief Engineer Sair Ma'am, I was just wondering one thing?"
"What is that, pilot?"
"Can I have a Polysteel Pony like the Reaper, too?"
Heh. I also got bored and did three versions of Raid layouts for Jymeen. Now you can see why he had so much difficulty hitting things on the Foundry Raid. Please note his "Kalee's Finest" Trait and the Support Traits on his Agent and Abysswalker versions. -giggle-
-Rookie: Jymeen gets +5 to his attack and counterattack rolls.
-Phase 1 Armor: Jymeen gets +5 to his counterattack roll.
-Kalee's Finest (Pilot): Due to a (lack of) history involving warfare and innate skill (but an overabundance of awareness, luck and giving blaster bolts the right of way), Jymeen gets +5 to attack rolls and +15 to counterattack rolls. He is subject to Grievous' "Scion of Kalee" buff.
-Force Adept: Jymeen gets +10 to their attack and counterattack rolls.
-Phase 1 Armor: Jymeen gets +5 to their counterattack roll.
-Kalee's Finest (Pilot): Due to a (lack of) history involving warfare and innate skill (but an overabundance of awareness, luck and giving blaster bolts the right of way), Jymeen gets +5 to attack rolls and +15 to counterattack rolls. He is subject to Grievous' "Scion of Kalee" buff.
-Force Training: Training in the Blazing Chains and Matukai gives Jymeen +5 to attack and counterattack rolls and decreases the difficulty of a Survival Check by 10.
-Support - On A Red Pony: When piloting an Equus, Jymeen can be attached to a squad instead of being deployed individually. If so, he does not count against your unit capacity and adds +5 to squad attack rolls and +10 to squad counterattack rolls. Once per raid, the squad may take away his blaster and reroll a critical failure on an attack or counterattack roll.
-Abysswalker - Pew! Pew!: Jymeen gets +10 to his attack rolls and +15 to his counterattack rolls and decreases the difficulty of a Survival Check by 10. If a counterattack would incapacitate Jymeen, he can force a reroll of the attack one time during the entirety of the raid.
-Beskar-Enhanced Phase 1 Armor: Phase 1 Armor enhanced with beskar gives Jymeen +10 to his counterattack roll.
-Blaster Bit Prototypes: Using prototypes of Cheriss' Blaster Bits gives Jymeen a +5 to attack rolls.
-Kalee's Finest (Pilot): Due to a (lack of) history involving warfare and innate skill (but an overabundance of awareness, luck and giving blaster bolts the right of way), Jymeen gets +5 to attack rolls and +15 to counterattack rolls. He is subject to Grievous' "Scion of Kalee" buff.
-Force Mastery: Training in the Blazing Chains and Matukai gives Jymeen +5 to attack and counterattack rolls and decreases the difficulty of a Survival Check by 20.
-Support - On A Red Horse: When piloting an Equus, Jymeen can be attached to a squad instead of being deployed individually. If so, he does not count against your unit capacity and adds +10 to squad attack rolls and +15 to squad counterattack rolls. Once per floor, the squad may take away his blaster and reroll a critical failure on an attack or counterattack roll. (He has a lot of blasters.)
To be fair, you basically told us to build more contacts with force organizations first. Which we have done. At some point we will presumably pass some sort of nebulous critical mass and it'll be an option. Plus, we technically just did form an alliance with the Blackguard, so you could say we've already started.
I just found a timeline video for Star Wars: the old republic.
I think this could provide Ciaran some ideas for a movie. But mostly I think that this video would help people understand the history of the Jedi and Sith in this fic as I assume we are going with the Legends version with some of the new canon mixed in.
This timeline video basically provides background information in regards to Star Wars The Old Republic.
I just found a timeline video for Star Wars: the old republic.
I think this could provide Ciaran some ideas for a movie. But mostly I think that this video would help people understand the history of the Jedi and Sith in this fic as I assume we are going with the Legends version with some of the new canon mixed in.
This timeline video basically provides background information in regards to Star Wars The Old Republic.
After rewatching the Arc I do have two corrections to make in that the trial is a military tribunal (with Palpatine being the judge in his position as Supreme Commander of the GAR) and Ahsoka's defence counsel was chosen by the Jedi Order, who took Tarkin's recommendation on not choosing someone from within the Order, and picked Padme (which shows you don't need to have an legal credentials for a GAR tribunal).
It was a fact of life that the Abyss' Watchers' facility on Courscant was almost constantly busy given its close proximity to Palpatine and the Senate, it's staff working around the clock to keep an eye on transmissions within the heart of the Republic's political system.
After the bombing though the base exploded into activity, with almost constant demands for information about the damage done to the Jedi Temple, information on anyone protesting around it, any signs of activity in the area, and basically anything that could even be tangentially related to the bombing. It was to the point that Ciaran's arrival was barely noticed until she started demanding answers from the staff.
"Were there any casualties?" "Officially there have been 25 with 12 more injured."
"Any sign of the bomber leaving the area after the attack?" "No. The area was swarming with Watchers and our underground contacts didn't see any sign of anyone trying to hide anything."
"Do we know what was used as the explosive?" "There hasn't been an official statement from the Jedi yet, but we're assuming it couldn't have been something obvious like a thermal detonator otherwise a security alert would have gone off."
"How did we not see this coming?" "I don't know. We didn't hear anything about the Undercity about someone being insane enough to bomb the Jedi Temple of all places..."
"Anyone claim credit for the attack?" "No. In fact there's been no sign of any communication from the bomber or anyone affiliated with them."
"The Jedi are setting up a funeral for the victims in a few days-"
"Ventress and Karrosi are currently out in the Undercity trying to track down any potential sources-"
"Thrawn is coming in on the Scimitar to lead the investigations from here-"
"I need dossiers on the protesters, their families, their criminal records, I want to know what every man and woman in front of the Temple had for lunch yesterday-"
"The Sentinels haven't given us any information yet, but we've already gotten word that they'll forward us anything that they think we can look into-"
After what seemed like an eternity Ciaran settled into her office to process her next moves. Breathing in she went over the most relevant facts:
The bomber or group behind the bomber was staying anonymous.
The protesters were criticizing Jedi interventionism and militarism, primarily citing the Huk-Kaleesh War scandal as a sign that the Jedi Order was doing more harm than good.
There was no word among the underground about anyone insane enough to attack the Jedi Temple.
There's a non-zero chance that Bulq is involved in this.
All of those didn't really help Ciaran to determine who the bomber was, but it did help her realize an important political factor that she could influence. Without hesitating, she called Grievous to weigh in on the situation. It was only a moment before the Kaleesh general's hologram appeared in front of her. "I assume this is about the attack on the Jedi Temple?"
"Partially. I need to know what your opinion is on the matter in general."
Grievous was silent for a moment before responding. "I freely admit that I have no love for the Jedi. However this attack is the definition of dishonorable." He folded his arms, his gaze visibly intensifying even through the static of the hologram. "Instead of attacking the Jedi themselves, this being killed those whose only affiliation to the Order was through menial labor and basic maintenance. They were not warriors, or leaders, or anything of the sort. They were merely ordinary beings who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But more than that...this attacker is acoward. They strike at the Jedi themselves, and instead of making a stand right there and then when the eyes of the galaxy would look upon them...they run and hide in the shadows. It is disgusting to me. Does that answer your question?"
"Mostly. I need to know one more detail: what do you think about the protests happening at the Temple?"
"...They are right, at least to a point. The Jedi I have seen are far too eager to meddle in affairs that they have no place in. However...they are of the belief that the Jedi's status as warriors is what the root of the problem is, but that is far from the truth. From my experience it is their belief that they are infallible. In judging right and wrong, in their actions always doing good for those that they influence, they always are of the belief that they are right because they are Jedi, and Jedi cannot be infallible in their judgement. Otherwise they would not be true Jedi."
"I feel like that's more descriptive of the older Masters than younger Jedi."
"I admit that may be so. Skywalker was not like that, though from my understanding it was because he was fighting a battle against himself. His pupil Tano was also not like that, though I would credit that to Thrawn for teaching her how to stop and think and observe the world around her before acting." He brought a hand to his chin in thought. "There's more to this line of questioning than my mere opinion, isn't there?"
"Yes. I wanted to know if you would be willing to officially condemn the bombing and potentially deny the bomber legitimacy. You are the name people think of when the Kaleesh are brought up."
Grievous folded his arms again, thinking to himself for a moment. "I could. However...I am no politician Lady Ciaran but I am certainly no fool. My mere presence on Coruscant could cause significant controversy in and of itself, and I would have to deal with...urgh...the media more closely, a task that I would rather not go through if possible. I could certainly have a response broadcasted from Kalee, but it may not be as effective if I were on Courscant itself. You are more familiar with the battlefield that is politics than I, so I will defer to your judgment in this matter."
[] Have Grievous publicly denounce the bombing.
-[] Directly from Courscant.
-[] Through a holonet broadcast from Kalee.
[] Do not have Grievous say anything.
AN: Short I know, but I realized that there's already an important or at least interesting decision to be made right here before we really get into the heat of things.
(I'll try to think of a witter name for this once things kick into high gear.)
[X] Have Grievous publicly denounce the bombing.
-[X] Through a holonet broadcast from Kalee.
Grievous is definitely not the most diplomatic but it would be best to quickly undermine as much support for the bomber as possible and show people that attacking the Jedi isn't the smartest nor best thing to do.
