A/N: well this chapter was originally supposed to be all about Lie Ren and his Duties as a Jedi ambassador, but I decided against that, making this chapter include a few new additions to the plot of the story rather than being virtually irrelevant. So here it is Chapter 32: A Day of Shame.
Chapter 32: A Day of Shame
This week for the Jedi, was a week of shame and remembrance of the fallen, as in this week they 'failed' to protect the Republic and their rebuilt order. On this day as Drommund Kaas slept, Lie Ren was communing with the force and data books to find a way to prevent war, to keep the diplomatic peace many thought impossible. Unlike some Jedi, he felt a peaceful coexistence between light and dark was possible, unlike on Remnant, he did not have to fight, he could enjoy peace and serenity. His lightsaber, an oddly shaped weapon designed to pay homage to his old Remnant weapon. which he affectionately named 'Graceful Wind,' had never been drawn to attack only to defend, as that's what it's unorthodox design was meant for. Lie Ren was a master of defense, though he knew eventually he would have to go on the offensive but he would spare his opponent, as he just wanted to help and find Nora and their friends, but alas he was stuck on Coruscant. He had been informed of the disappearance of Jaune this disturbed him, but unlike his Remnant self, he was a much more of an enduring man now, he was a Jedi Guardian after all.
He meditated on his thoughts, he did not like how Master Surik, as she preferred to be named in public, became secluded in her studies like she was preparing for something. Though, he did not know what. Though today he wanted to avoid any and all forms of republic personnel, as they would like in past years just rile up the Jedi and remind them of their of the Sacking, something Summer said would never happen again, but he didn't want to believe a word of it. Especially as of late, as Surik had been accruing support on the council as of late, something Lie Ren did not care for, as she seemed to be withholding information from the council.
Collecting his thoughts on Surik, he stood up, brushing off his forest green robes he looked out of his quarters in the Jedi Embassy on Coruscant. Ren didn't mind his post at the Embassy, it was better than some of the missions that the Jedi had to run right now. He did wish to join Jaune and Blake on their missions at times, especially after Jaune's disappearance, but he was needed at the embassy, as of late, he had been promoted to a full Senate Representative on behalf of the Jedi Council to represent the order.
It was a noble job as he had to convince a vengeful senate, that war was not an option they could take at the moment. The Republic was still rebuilding, as was the Jedi, though the screws on the Jedi had been tightened. As apprehensive as he was about going out today he had to. Walking down the embassy halls, the Republic guards had recently rotated posts, and Ren could sense their disdain for him as he passed their post. Lie Ren knew the entire Republic was going to be like this, course and angry, as the Jedi's shame was shown on full display once again.
The republic's various news sources on the holonet reminded the people of the republic about how the Jedi had 'failed' them back in the Sacking. Documentaries, reports, interviews and other means of information distribution were clogged to the brim with the Jedi's failure, as the people of the Republic viewed this failure as the Jedi's sole fault. They ignored how thinly stretched their numbers were, how most of the Republic forces and fleets were held up elsewhere in the galaxy, while the peace talks on Alderaan were under way. Out of all the failures of the Republic as a whole during the sacking of Coruscant, the Jedi took blame for the failure. As the Republic learned in the sacking their guardian's of the light, the Jedi could not always help them. The public was saying 'they failed to protect the republic, they failed to protect us, they couldn't defend us from the Sith, they failed.' Lie Ren by this point had heard all of it. The people of the Republic had judged the Jedi to be incompetent, not capable of doing their job, despite how unreasonable their expectation of the Jedi was.
Despite that outlook, there was still a portion of senators, other political figureheads, and the population that had faith in the order, though they were a minority. Some of them even still had trust for the order, though they were not public with this trust, as this trust was a cause for controversy for the other citizens of the republic. Even the chancellor, Dorian Janarus, had some sympathy for the Jedi, even seeking their aid at times, but that was kept tightly under wraps as the Senate pushed the Jedi to build them an army, while the press defamed them and used them as a scapegoat for the republic's people to vent on. Though there was some talk in the Jedi of an Imperial Intelligence control in the republic's media, but they didn't have enough evidence to convince the Senate to allow them to investigate this claim, as the Senate wanted an army of Warrior Jedi for the continuation of warfare.
This thought of how war-like the Jedi had become due to the Senate's actions had upset some of the more pacifist elements of the order. As small of a contingent as they were, there were some Jedi who thought the galaxy must have peace, and their argument to some was a legitimate one, as they thought given the instability of the dark side that the Sith would collapse under infighting and the Jedi wouldn't have to lift a finger. Lie Ren himself, didn't believe in such an event happening, he personally wanted the light and the dark to cooperate allowing the force to become balanced, but his views on this matter was his own conclusion and something that would be a heresy to the council, though just like the idea of the Sith wiping themselves out, his ideal outcome was a mere fantasy.
"Ah, Lie Ren," a calm voice spoke rounding a corner at a T junction behind Lie Ren spoke. Just by the sound, Lie Ren could tell it was his former master Robuke Gulliman. Turning to face the blue-clad Jedi councilor, Lie Ren gave a polite bow before responding with,
"Master Gulliman, how are you doing today?" Ren asked, concerned with his master as of late, as the Republic had been focusing their anger on him.
"aside from disappointment with the Senate and the Republic Media, I am fine," Gulliman replied calmly, "also there has been no word from the Pride of Alderaan, or Knight Arc," Gulliman admitted with a solemn tone, as the Master knew of Lie Ren's concern for his friends. He respected that, and he was thankful that he was confident enough in them that he did not fear for them. Out of all of the lost four, Lie Ren was the most likely to end up on the Jedi council. "Also, Lie Ren, the protesters have gotten back up again, so be careful if you go out of the embassy today,"
"I had no plans on leaving today, Master," Ren replied calmly, he was thankful that he had no duties to attend to outside of the embassy. As another side effect of this week was the sheer amount of people outside of the embassy trying to pester the Jedi. To most Jedi, this sight was an annoyance, something that had to be dealt with. While to Lie Ren, it was a sad sight as they seemingly wanted peace, but yet they had attacked Jedi. They wanted more retribution for the failures of the Jedi, rather than focusing their emotions to something more productive to the safety of the Republic. To these people, the Republic didn't need the archaic Jedi to protect them, they could hold their own against the likes of the Sith, or die trying.
Lie Ren had tried to communicate with the masses prior, but they would not listen at times, and despite all attempts to eject them, they remained camped outside of the embassy compound. Just as Lie Ren was about to continue on his walk, an embassy staff member ran over to the two Jedi, yelling,
"The protester's got riled up again," The staff member yelled as he ran up to Lie Ren and Gulliman, both of whom sighed.
"Master Gulliman, I shall handle this," Lie Ren answered the unspoken call to action. His former master had handed situations like this enough times for this week, it was his time to handle it.
"Be careful Ren, I will come with you" Master Gulliman responded, he was just going to follow him, he wanted to see how Lie Ren could handle a crowd of angry Republic citizens. Along with that, the pragmatic master had a very bad feeling about this. Walking down the halls with his now consular, former padawan, they came across the exterior hall that showed them the courtyard that was serving as the campground for the protesters. The had holograms blaring messages that all fell under the generalized message of 'Get rid of the Jedi,' and 'Disband the Jedi.' Today, the crowd outside were being more violent than usual, as a large rock just hit the glass were Gulliman stood.
"Don't they understand that they need us?" Gulliman asked rhetorically, as outside he felt something new in the force that wasn't a general disapproval. There was a burning beacon of hatred out there.
Lie Ren sensed it as well, though he thoroughly disagreed with the notion that the Republic 'needed' the Jedi. If enough people want change, who are we to stop it. Lie Ren thought as he looked outside he saw one man in particular. He noted the scowl on his face, he could feel his anger, this man carried the force unknowingly in his blood. Noting this they continued. Walking down the stairs in the main hall towards the entrance to the embassy the two Jedi readied themselves for the barrage of profanity or maybe even rocks or other projectiles. Gulliman was worried enough that he drew his saber from its slot on his belt at the ready, unignited of course as he didn't want to have to use it.
Emerging from the safety of the embassy, the two Jedi face a hurl of insults and shouting directed at them. Though they were unfazed by the onslaught. It was at this point Lie Ren raised his hands up making sure the crowd could see. As he held his hands up the crowd calmed down as he projected a feeling of calm and trust to the people. With the crowd silent, Lie Ren began to speak, his normally quiet voice amplified with the force as he spoke.
"Concerned Citizens of the Republic, I am Jedi Consular Lie Ren, I am here to ask, why are you here?" He asked to start off by asking their motives. He knew what their answers were going to be, but he had to ask. The crowd responded with a various number of answers, all fitting within the same parameters of the signs. Though as Lie Ren survey the crowd the same man whom he saw in the window caught his view. He could see this man was in his mid-thirties, clad in a trenchcoat with brown hair, and greenish eyes. He looked grizzled and angry, though unlike the shouting crowd, he was completely silent. Though Lie Ren let him be as he figured he wouldn't be a problem.
As Lie Ren began pacifying the crowd, trying to focus their anger on getting revenge on the Sith, rather than the Jedi. In the crowd the man that had caught Lie Ren's attention. Unlike most of these idiot's I have a legitimate grievance with these Jedi, The man thought as he pulled out a locket, inside was a picture of two young boys playing. One was himself the other was his lost younger cousin. Despite him being so young, his cousin was like a brother to him so early in life, he had doubts that he would even be remembered by his cousin, but he had to try. His cousin's family was murdered by the Jedi, just to take their son, his cousin. He himself did not have a family yet, he wanted his cousin to come back before he started his own, as a family was hazardous in his line of work. All his life he wanted to find him, now he was here on Coruscant, finally able to complete one of the things he swore he would do as a child. Alas, the Jedi Temple was in ruins, and their temple was now on Tython, a planet he had no access to, this place was his only access to the Jedi.
His father wanted vengeance ever since his brother was murdered by the Jedi, as did the rest of their family on Telos. This will to reconnect one of their family was strong enough for this man that he was willing to kill to let his long lost cousin know he has a family, and that he was welcome back. As one of the images that scarred this man's mind as a boy was watching his uncle die in his own father's arms, as the Jedi left them to die, they had to watch their son be stolen as they perished.
All of the time the Republic did not care about how their Jedi forcefully tore apart families, ignoring their pain. He wanted to gain access to the Jedi, and with how secluded they could be especially with the Sith back. So force was his only way in, and it was a route this man was willing to take as he clicked his blaster pistol up to the highest setting.
As Lie Ren was finishing up his impromptu deescalation speech, the sound of a blaster discharge. he even witnessed the bolt dart behind him. The crowd gave collective gasp, while another voice yelled out over the voice of the crowd,
"If you want into that embassy, I will get you! In," turning around he saw were that blaster bolt had hit. It had hit Master Gulliman in the leg, boring a scorched hole through it. though his master was in shock dropping his lightsaber as he tumbled over. Though before Ren could respond he felt blaster bolt slam into his aura. The impact knocked him off balance, causing him to stagger. He was in shock that someone quickly and rapidly hurt his master. As he turned to face where the blaster shot came from he saw the man in the trenchcoat charging him. His coat now open revealing medium plate armor, like that of a bounty hunter. Though before Ren could grab his saber, he felt himself being pulled and pushed down by a group of extreme dissidents from the crowd as the rest of the crowd of rioters took cover.
The bounty hunter completely ignored Lie Ren, instead, he went for the main door into the Embassy, he wanted to get in, so he could gain access to their communications network. Aside from that, the young Jedi wasn't worth his wrath. Setting a detonator charge on the door, triggering it with a button on his gauntlet which was now exposed due to a rolled up sleeve. Ducking down, the door was blasted inwards.
With the door out of his way, he darted into the main hall, upon entry he fired at the two shocked guards. Two blue bolts slammed into their chest armor, slamming them back unconscious glancing behind him there were a few extreme Anti-Jedi elements behind him, he didn't care about what they were going to do, he just wanted access to the Jedi comm's network so he could get on to Tython by intercepting a few security clearance codes.
At least this crowd would serve well as a distraction, pulling the layout of the embassy on a holo-projector on his wrist. He knew right where to go.
Outside Lie Ren and Gulliman had been pulled back and away by the concerned protesters, not letting the more extreme elements hurt them. Most of these people wanted a peaceful protest, not a violent break in. as the to Jedi awoke to the concerned citizens stood well and clear out of their way. Gulliman, despite the wound to his leg, was able to stand. Lie Ren was, for the most part, unharmed though his fall did give him a slight headache. They could feel the terror and fear surrounding them and in the embassy. Realizing they didn't have much time the two Jedi bolted back into the Embassy. Inside they saw the more extreme elements of the protest inside the main hall, in response to this Gulliman ignited his saber, carving a swath through them.
At that moment Ren felt it, his master's anger it was seething through with each strike. His strikes were fluid like a dance. After he finished the strike on the extremists, another Jedi knight who was at the embassy entered the main hall.
"Master Gulliman, We have reports of a breach in the main communication room," The knight yelled as he held his humming blue lightsaber at his side, "Someone is trying to remotely access the archives!"
"Ren and I will handle it, you take care of the situation, out here," The normally calm Jedi Master growled. His master was a normally peaceful man, Ren seeing him like this was quite a shock. Something he had sensed had disturbed him.
The bounty hunter had made his way into the communications room, inside he had started downloading all of the security codes he could find. Along with that, he was also looking around in the system for anything related to his cousin. That's when he found the after mission council chamber recording of his cousin's recruitment, he saw an old council, they were not upset with this Jedi, instead they were sympathetic, viewing the death of the parents as a 'necessary action,' as the child was 'extremely gifted in the force.' This made the bounty hunter want to smash the screen though he then saw some classified archive files linked to the recruitment. He saw images of his cousin's training.
Entering the communication's room Gulliman and Lie Ren saw the bounty hunter who caused this incident. He turned around to face them a smirk on his face as a hologram played on the display, in the center of the room, Lie Ren saw the event it depicted it was of a Jedi driven mad, cutting down his brethren. The blade of the Jedi was that of a greenish-blue hue, and he was holding his right hand over his right eye. He was a remarkable duelist, then he revealed his eye to a specific master and that Zabrak fell to the floor, writhing in agony, then fading to ash. Gulliman was visibly shaken by this clip, it was at that moment in the clip, he saw his younger self appear in the holographic battle only to be swatted away with a force push.
"You find what you were looking for, bounty hunter?" Gulliman inquired with a hiss as he pointed his lightsaber at the intruder. He was allowing him to respond, then he was going to cut him down
"I did, and then some, it seems my cousin did my job for me," The bounty hunter taunted as Lie Ren had his own saber at the ready. "also I sent the council room footage related to his recruitment to the Media," This one fact, made the Jedi master lose it, Gulliman's rage brewed over and charged the bounty hunter, who dodged his initial strike then he purposely slammed his left bracer into the blade of Gulliman's lightsaber. The look on the Jedi Master's face was one of pure terror as his blade fizzled and sputtered till deactivation moments later.
Seeing his master disarmed, Lie Ren retaliated by igniting his green-bladed lightsaber and advanced quickly and unpredictably, though he quickly saw his blade intercepted by the dark metal gauntlet. Then he was hit by a kick to the stomach as his blade fizzled out. Sent back to the main comms table, slamming into it. Lie Ren was unsure what just happened, as was his master. As he looked to the side he saw a name, one he only heard spoken quietly and secretly, Viridian Malserik.
Gulliman also saw the name on the screens, though he didn't need it to inform him that the Malserik curse still held. It was at this point the Jedi felt sharp pains as four more blaster bolts tore through his robes and armor. They were immobilization shots, shots that severed the nerves in his arms and legs preventing movement, along with causing excruciating pain. With the way this hunter was equipped, he was experienced with dealing with force users, and he came prepared. Smirking at the downed Jedi, he asked one question to him,
"So where is my cousin? Where is Viridian Malserik!?" He asked letting his rage flow a bit as he pointed the blaster at the Jedi who realized the bounty hunter missed the nerves in his left arm. Pulling his saber that had fallen to the floor after he was immobilized into his left hand. He slashed at the bounty hunter by whipping the blade telekinetically through the air. The bounty hunter just barely dodged the strike, as the tip of the blade seared a mark across his left cheek.
Lie Ren saw this as he tried to recover from the kick he just suffered, it was at that moment, the young consular knew what this man was using, he was using Teräs Käsi, force imbued marshal arts. That explained how this bounty hunter could keep pace with the Jedi, it was at this point this bounty hunter retaliated to the Jedi's attack, by firing his blaster pistol into his head. The Jedi master's body went completely slack as he was killed instantly.
Ren witnessed this and threw himself forward with igniting his blade not going for the body but his blaster. Filled with anger, he dissected the blaster pistol, though in the action the Bounty hunter retaliated with a sharp kick to his thigh as he dove to the floor. Lie Ren was confused by his actions, though he quickly saw what he was going for, his master's lightsaber which he did grab. Rebounding up, the bounty hunter ignited the blade and attacked Lie Ren, who deftly parried, the strike then in anger he pushed the offensive, something he did not normally do.
The Bounty hunter could feel the young Jedi's anger with each strike, he was glad he found that one Holocron that educated him about how the Jedi were trained and how to use their weaponry. Though after a few more bouts destroying most of the consoles in the room with their lightsabers. Eventually, the bounty hunter slammed his blade into the power conduit, causing the lights in the room go out eclipsing them in darkness. Though the fight quickly progressed out into the hallway as Ren's rage burned like a candle, as a man who had been his ally and friend was now dead. Once in the hallway, Lie Ren saw a perfect slip up on the bounty hunter's part. Engaging the special feature of his lightsaber, a second shorter blade parallel to the main one, built into the handguard. Using this second blade he forked the bounty hunters blade, then twisted the lightsaber blade out of his hand.
With his opponent disarmed, he deactivated his second blade and slammed him up against the wall with a violent force push. With his opponent's back to a wall, he stood there, he wanted to kill him. There was a nagging feeling telling him to kill him, but before he could strike the reason in his mind kicked back in, remembering an oath he made to himself, he was not to kill, no matter how much he felt it to be justified.
"Who are you?" The Jedi as of the bounty hunter, The bounty hunter chuckled as Ren shifted his saber around till it was almost up against his throat. The Mistralan Jedi's face was tense with anger as his eyes Narrowed at the bounty hunter, who smirked, seemingly admitting defeat as he saw four more Jedi formed upon the young green-clad ambassador.
"I am Zaffre Malserik, cousin of Viridian Malserik," He smirked as he knew he was defeated. "So what, are you going to kill me now?" He asked legitimately concerned, but the Jedi's response was unexpected,
"No you are under arrest for an attack on the Jedi Embassy, and the Murder of Master Gulliman," With that one of the four Jedi cuffed the bounty hunter, and escorted him to the brig for holding. He was going to Tython later to face trial at the hand of the Jedi. Lie Ren went to go check on his Master, seeing his corpse disappointed the green-clad Jedi, not at the fact he was dead, but the darkness that he could feel on his corpse. His master had fallen to darkness in death, which made Lie Ren contemplate, How does Malserik's name accrue so much hatred? At this point, the green-clad consular left the room, and he was informed that the Republic was trying to get a hold of the ambassador, and with Gulliman dead, Ren had to take his place, and he had a bad feeling about this.
In the meeting, the Senators started to read the young Jedi a riot act, ss the Republic's media was sent leaked information on a botched recruitment. The were already airing it on the Holonet, the word had gotten out, Lie Ren felt shame when he had to explain the situation. Which led the more verbose senators to call the Jedi order, 'incompetent' and 'inept.' while those who scorned the Jedi felt further validation as this footage was leaked, and the media had already crafted a narrative to further shame the Jedi. As the day came to an end Lie Ren knew the shame of the Jedi order as he made his report back to the council on Tython. As the day came to an end, the young Jedi had known that while the Republic was filled with vengeance and scorn, sickened by defeat. The Sith Empire was Joyous and celebratory on the anniversary of their victory.
A/N: Well, that this is the Chapter, I wanted to add a new plot element to the story in the form of a new character, along with keeping with explaining some background. So now we have some more family for Malserik, Zaffre is a new character I came up with for a future plot point, along with that I needed someone to test Lie Ren a bit so I figured a vengeful bounty hunter would do the trick. He is going to be a tricky character for future events. (Post Rewrite events) Also with this chapter, I wanted to focus on the Republic's view of their 'Protectors' as I think a population of a major city world would still be quite bent up that their great defenders let their capital planet be sacked.
As for Zaffre, he's got his motives and history. And fun fact, Viridian Malserik is from Telos, he was born on Citadel Station. So Hope people like this Chapter, as, unlike Jaune's chapter I had fun writing this!
Review responses
JimmyHall24: that is something I will explain in a later chapter.
Hornofdesolation: Yup.
As for the next chapter, a Sithly party. Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!
Blitzing Raptor
Edit: Thank you to JimmyHall24 for calling out how I flubbed up this chapter, so I went back and addressed the issues they brought up in their review. Thanks to which I have a new interesting sub-plot going on, and now the Jedi have become the Republic people's scapegoat, not by much of a fault of their own.
