Oricon, neutral ground

Adira could cut the tension in the room with a knife. For gathered around were:

-herself, a light blue Rutian Twi'lek with bright mossy eyes;

-her half sister Aayes, who was a deeper shade of blue and lithe;

-Aayes' adoptive sister Xenli Sadow, the current Emperor's Wrath and a Red Sith, with her midnight black hair styled into an undercut and whose amber eyes seemed to betray her anxiety;

-Xenli's supposed rival D'leah Cheva, an ivory skinned Miraluka with flaming red hair, the woman who'd slain the Sith Emperor himself;

-D'leah's adoptive mother, Ursulina Cheva, the Barsen'thor and a member of the Jedi Council, who had soft brown eyes and fawny skin, and kept her lush brown hair in a tight bun and who usually radiated calm;

-Lehusa Medora, Adira's best friend from childhood, a Mirialan with a neat brown bob and who was the leader of Havoc Squad and thoroughly fed up with war;

-and Arisa Kavi, a Chiss Mandalorian with a messy black ponytail, the Grand Champion of the Great Hunt, whose mother used to be friends with Adira's crewmate Akaavi Spar's clan.

Adira did not recognize the exhausted, lean, periwinkle Togruta on the holocall. Before she could ask, Aayes leaned over to her and whispered, "That's Viksuni, the woman I told you about."

"You're not going to help?" Arisa interrupted.

"No. After the experiments the Imperials did to me, it is too risky. I am still in recovery. My own crew will be on call in an absolute emergency, but we are otherwise unavailable."

The Mandalorian rolled her eyes, propping her armored feet on the table. "Then why the fuck are you–"

"Get your feet off the table," Xenli snapped.

"Pay me, dar'jetti," Arisa snipped back.

"Stop it right now," Ursulina ordered in an oddly blunt tone. She had been extremely tense for a Jedi master lately. Lucky for everyone, Aayes and Xenli were not common Sith. "We are all adults here, and we will act like adults." She turned to Viksuni. "What can you do for us, Agent?"

Viksuni pondered for a minute. "I can have SCORPIO and Kaliyo fight on the ground if necessary. That's all I can guarantee. Risha and Vector are both busy with diplomacy."

"Thank you, Agent, that will work. Please take care of your mental health."

"Thank you, Master Jedi." Viksuni hung up the call.

That slightly broke the tension in the room. Lehusa spoke up first. "We need a solid plan to assist our people."

"You'll need to weaken the Dread Guard first," Aayes explained. "But they are well trained and worse, brainwashed. Once they're weakened, we can assault the Masters' fortress."

"Then what?"

"Give them what they deserve." Aayes was rarely vindictive. Adira wondered what she was going through exactly.

"We will need to split up into teams; divide and conquer. Who do you think should go with whom?"

Arisa finally took her feet off the table. "I want to fight with you, Major. I will bring Torian and Blizz if you bring two members of your own crew."

Lehusa knew her husband Aric Jorgan wouldn't bode well with a Mandalorian. "I will bring Forex and Elara."

D'leah finally spoke up. "I think the Wrath and I should work together. We will understand each other better."

Xenli was suprised to hear herself agree. "I will prepare my crew."

That left Aayes and Ursulina, the two people hunted most by the Dread Masters. "I would join you, Barsen'thor, but I am unfortunately a target of Lord Tyrans' anger."

"What did you do?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Aayes rose and left to return to the Imperial encampment.

The others left save for Ursulina. She tried to meditate. She had to be strong. She would be strong. For herself, her daughter, her husband, her crew. For the Jedi and for the Republic.