Mr. Insane - The card that Aurine is talking about is going to come into play a little while down the line, but it's a good one. I've left some (probably too subtle) hints as to what it is, maybe someone can figure it out! I do like your speculations though - it does seem like things will get worse before they get better
LordDarthYoda - In my notes I often refer to Aurine as 'Tiger Mom Aurine,' so you aren't too far off. She certainly cares about Sascha. Sometimes too much, like you pointed out, this isn't the time to worry about Sascha and Nara, though Tiplee is there to shrug and be like 'hello, fighting a war, who cares if our teenagers are hooking up.' The Uborrans are very outgunned, but the Jedi are about to get a break in their favour...
VibrantViola - Thanks for the compliment! I enjoy writing these stories as long as there are people around to read them! If you think book three is good now, I mean...it's got a couple of incredible chapters coming up in the next few months, chapters that I'm really, really proud of. Sascha and Nara's relationship is my favourite to write and it's going to evolve in ways I think people will not expect. And I think you are right to point out the conflict between 'General Brynar' and 'Aurine Brynar' its something that I don't think gets explored enough, how hard it would be for a Jedi, who is committed to preserving life, being a General in wartime.
A/N - I don't really say this often enough, but I wanted to show my appreciation to those who are reading this. I started out unsure if anyone at all would want to read about OCs in the star wars universe. I started out as a terrible writer. But now I'm here (and I'm still a terrible writer ;)) and amazingly my numbers remain fairly consisted throughout three books and a ton of chapters. It's really amazing. So thank you all.
Please enjoy the next chapter.
Chapter 40: With Honor
"Am I a man or a coward?"
-From the Journal of Pravin Ecalt, twenty four days in to the Invasion of Ubrora
Pravit Ecalt rode in his battle tank down the main thoroughfare of Gamudo. Staring outward from the topside cupola, he took in the sights of the newly conquered city. As he might have expected only a aew Ubrorans had come to see his triumphant march to the city square, and the ones that had come out to watch had scowled at him with such hate that he had scurried for the safety of the inner sanctum his armored tank after a few piercing glares. While on one level he understood why people weren't exactly celebrating him as a heroic figure, didn't anyone appreciate how he had conducted the campaign? It had been as close to a bloodless invasion as had ever occurred in the history of galactic civilization. And that was because he, Pravin Ecalt had fought it honorably, with a view to building a lasting relationship with the Ubroran government.
Despite the fact that he was completing his conquest of the last major city on Ubrora, he was uneasy that the Ubroran army remained at large. It felt like had completed half a campaign, but he had no idea how to force things towards the endpoint, or to get the Ubroran army to engage with his for a final showdown. The campaign, to be honest, had been something of a bore. Early on he had made a mistake by keeping his forces spread too thin, which had allowed raiding parties, led by the Jedi, to have some success. Now, with his forces clumped together, the raiding, while constant, had been going poorly for the Ubrorans. There was more fighting in the cities than there was with his army.
The question that continued to gnaw at him was whether or not he should be doing any of this. His daily briefings with Vash Varless had turned into daily verbal beat downs, with the Duros Admiral not understanding why Pravin hadn't gotten the planet set up for his triumphant arrival. Not helping him at all was that the Mandalorian mercenary Coren Vox had quickly established himself as Vash's new favourite person. Boasting about his successes in quelling the annoying resistance forces in Namya, Coren appealed to the brutal side in Vash and Pravin was finding his influence diminishing.
He was starting to have thoughts about abandoning his post, but his past failure on of Talit IV, where he had fled his post like a cur still haunted him. He had worked very hard to carve out a solid reputation for himself as a reliable officer, and he hated the idea of throwing it all away for a planet he hadn't even heard of a few months previous.
Pravin considered that it might be the 'right' thing to do to call Aurine Brynar, and defect to the other side. The question he asked himself was that if it would make a difference if he swapped sides. If he could instantly transport himself into the other camp, did he have a way to turn around the invasion? He didn't think so. Plus, he reasoned, things might go worse for the Ubrorans if control of the army fell to Coren Vox, who likely wouldn't handle it with the restraint that he had.
But it hadn't mattered to those Ubrorans he'd passed by today that he was perhaps the lesser of two evils.
Surprised by that thought, he sat up, and cracked his head on the roof of the tank. He yelped in pain and rubbed his head where he had made contact with the durasteel frame.
"Sir?" squawked the droid driving the tank.
"It's nothing," he said quickly to cover his embarrassment, "Continue on to the main square."
"Roger, Roger."
Rubbing the top of his head, he immediately felt the lump that was forming there and he cursed silently. Yet, that was the first time he had thought of himself as someone who was actively aiding evil. That thought was one that would simply not go away.
With a sinking feeling that he would come to regret being a part of this campaign at all, he and his battle tank rolled into the undefended main square, signalling that the city had fallen. But Pravin Ecalt no longer felt good about accomplishing that.
A few hours later, with the transfer of power in Gamudo being handed over to a pair of Coren Vox's Mandalorian warriors that frankly gave him the creeps, Pravin was setting up the necessary communications equipment that would allow him to conference with Admiral Varless. He was alone in the room he had commandeered in what had previously been the main administrative building in Gamudo. City Hall, if you will. He had droids patrolling the nearby area in large groups, projecting his strength in force, hoping to allay any attack that could be incoming from any resistance forces, or leftover elements from the retreating Ubroan army. It never paid to be careless.
Finally, with the gear set up, he dialed into the conference call exactly on time, like the stickler for procedure that he was. While he waited for Vash to answer the call, he leaned back in his chair, reconsidering the events of the day and trying to figure out how to mollify Vash Varless yet again. Vash expected results and he had given the Duros Admiral results…just not the complete victory that he desired.
Frustrated, Pravin kicked the leg of the table he was sitting at, and asked, "What do they want me to do?" to the empty room. He had conducted a near flawless campaign, with the only mistake that he truly regretted being that he allowed himself to be tricked by that false surrender from that Jedi Knight. It wasn't his fault that the Ubroran army was commanded by someone with a modicum of sense, that wouldn't simply engage in a battle that his droid army would win. He was not a miracle worker, he was just an officer.
"Pravin, Coren, are you there?" asked Vash's voice from the comm unit.
"Yes, Admiral," he responded, feeling himself snap into an upright military posture.
"I'm here….Admiral," responded the voice of Coren Vox, Mandalorian, mercenary, murderer. Pravin had never met the man, but he had taken an instant dislike to him and now even viewed him as a rival for the leadership of the droid army. It was rediculous, but more and more Vash seemed to favour the outlaw over his tried and true military advice. So typical of a naval man like Vash to underestimate how hard it was to run an army from safe in their comfortable spaceships.
"So, Pravin, why isn't the planet subdued by now? Why is the Ubroran army not in shambles?" asked Vash Varless, direct and to the point like usual.
Pravin spoke in his best formal voice, "Admiral, I have tried everything in my power to bring this invasion to a close. We control much of the planet right now, it is just a matter of time before the army surrenders or has to fight. And if they fight, we will win," Pravin concluded confidently.
"I have to disagree with the good General here. You have not tried everything," interrupted the low, dangerous voice of Coren Vox, "you haven't tried to intimidate the Ubrorans and you haven't tried to beat them into submission."
Had this been a call that featured video content, he would have tried to stare down the Mandalorian from the safety of his office. Given that he didn't have that option in the audio only conversation, he instead loudly cleared his throat and spoke, "I believe that to be a bad option, Mister Vox. Studies have shown that antagonizing the native population tends to backfire, creating more local support for resistance fighters."
"Studies? I had no idea I was dealing with such an esteemed intellect, General Ecalt. Perhaps next time, I'll remember to bring my library with me to the battlefield."
Pravin snorted in derision and under his breath he muttered, "Barbarian."
"I'll tell you Admiral Varless," continued Coren Vox, "I've been in the cities of Ubrora, and they fear me, they fear what I can do to them. These are not a brave people these Ubrorans. Give me free reign to show the people of Ubrora what the price of resistance is, and this headstrong President Mollek will bow to you within a week."
"I'm intrigued," said the Duros Admiral. "Pravin, do you have any objection to this plan? You seem to be out of ideas as to how to bring this invasion to an end."
Pravin felt lightheaded. This conversation was quickly spiraling out of his control. He leaned forward, against the desk so he could speak into the comm unit more clearly, "I am not out of ideas, Admiral. And I am strictly against any action taken that would rile up the populace of Ubrora. Now is not the time for extreme actions. We have all the cities of Ubrora under control, we just don't have a formal surrender."
"I hear your words, Pravin, but I don't hear any ideas," replied Admiral Varless testily.
Sweating, even in the temperature controlled environment of the office, he found his voice, despite his tongue feeling heavier than usual, "I think, now that circumstances have changed, we could use the assets we put in place to help facilitate a surrender. That was the point of paying Murgo Boikana all those credits wasn't it? To give the populace of Ubrora a more sympathetic face to associate with the invasion? Now he's caught on camera threatening his own daughter? If we come off like monsters, it won't matter if I give you the planet on a silver platter, we will always be resented as conquerors! I thought the plan was to make us come off as benevolent, to sell the populace on the advantages of working with you. That way you can work with the Ubrorans instead of against them after all this is done."
"That was the old plan. I need a new plan. One that works!"
Pravin's heart dropped into his toes. He didn't have a plan better than that one, at least one that he could actually implement without losing total respect for himself. Unfortunately, it seemed like he was losing the favour of Vash, and thus control over his army, and thus…he was expendable.
While he contemplated that unhappy thought, Coren Vox was taking advantage of his newfound status. "Admiral Varless, let me round up some of the relatives of the well-known resistance fighters. We'll use the hostages as leverage against the resistances that continue to pester us, and put pressure on the Jedi Knights that will feel honor bound to rescue them. Repeat this in the four cities we control, and I believe we'll see a surrender in a fortnight."
Pravin could almost see Vash nodding along with Coren's heinous words, "I like this plan. Pravin, anything to add?"
"You can't seriously be considering kidnapping innocent civilians! That goes against all the rules of civilized combat."
"There isn't any rules out here," said Coren, "My plan is simple and effective. Finally, we will use the military might that we have on this planet for its proper purpose! What use is our army if we never use its strength? Intimidation is a valid strategy, otherwise there wouldn't be rules against it."
Vash laughed, "A worthy argument, Coren. Let's see if our resident scholar can muster any objections."
Not for the first time this conversation, Pravin racked his brain, searching for something, anything to use that would turn the tide of this conversation. His vaunted logic having failed him twice in one day, he tried a last ditch argument. "Vash," he said quietly, "You know me. We've worked together on many occasions. Whatever task you set for me, I always get it done. Sometimes it takes me a while, but I give you results, Admiral. I'm asking you to trust me, one more time. We are so close.."
"I'm afraid, General Ecalt, that you have lost my confidence," said Vash Varless. "Coren, you have my authority to begin your plan. Pravin, you'll give Coren any resources he needs to complete his task."
Pravin slammed his fist on the table, "No! No, I won't stand for this. I will not have my name associated with such…such brutality. I won't turn my army over to Coren Vox. He's not a military officer, he's a mercenary!"
Silence stretched in the conversation, and Pravin hoped that he might have somehow struck a nerve with Admiral Varless. "Pravin, I'm afraid, that I must insist that you return to Reprisal and turn command of the droid army over to him. Transmit to him your access codes…"
"NO! I will not aid this…Mandalorian scum! I resign my commission. Goodbye, Vash. I hope you get what is coming to you." Quickly, he disconnected himself from the call, and sat heavily in his chair, breathing hard.
After a second, realization of what he just did dawned on him, "Oh my goodness, what have I done!" he shouted to the empty room. He had betrayed Vash and signed his own death warrant in one conversation. Never in his life had he done something so rash. But never in his life had he done something that felt so right. "If only I wasn't going die in the next few minutes, that might mean something," he yelled to the room, frustrated.
Quickly, he snapped to his new reality. He theoretically still had control over the droid army, until Vash figured out how to erase his overrides from the droid control ship. So, the droids wouldn't be able to be used against him for a few more minutes at least. But past that…he had nowhere to go and no one to turn to…somehow he didn't think he could ask a Ubroran family to hide him, given that he was a loathed figure in these parts.
Still, he thought that there was one person who might be willing to help extricate him from his peril. He started running down the stairs and ran out into the dying light of Ubrora's sun. He stopped running only long enough to find the correct information to put into his comlink.