[18 BBY]

[Eriadu Military Spaceport, Eriadu, Eriadu System, Seswenna Sector, Outer Rim Territories]

Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance Rahm Kota noted as he strode down the ramp of his combat shuttle out into the dreary, overcast, landing pad as rain came down. They'd arrived in a minor storm, the sounds of thunder and occasional flash of lightning proof of that as they'd came into land, and Rahm wasn't sure that was an auspicious sign or whatever you'd call. Thankfully he'd worn a hooded cloak over is armour, and that kept the rain off his head as watched the ranks of soldiers snap to attention on the rainswept landing pad. A military greeting, something drawn from darker times long ago, respect given to a senior officer by order of the 'Interim' Chancellor he expected.

Moff Rahm Kota. Grandmaster Rahm Kota….

Not ranks he'd ever wanted to be called. For one he was a Warlord now, and no use pretending otherwise, and being right about the Clones didn't bring any comfort…only cold, weary, anger that he forced himself to let go to stay focused. After all he was 'Interim Grandmaster' of the Order now, after a long, drawn out, series of arguments, shouting, and attempts to deny reality. The new, unwanted, reality, where bad decisions had to be made….because there were no truly good decisions left. Merely working to limited the damage done, while plotting to maintain something of the Republic, of the Order, in the face of the Sith's near takeover of the galaxy.

"Moff Kota" the officer standing, likely soaked despite the rain-cloak over his armoured uniform, in front of the ranks of soldiers said with a salute "Welcome to Eriadu Sir. I am Major Beryatiz, and have instructions to escort you and your escort to your accommodation near the Senate Buildings and Chancellery"

'Meaning the former Governor's Palace and the Limmie-ball stadium, along with the seized hotels and mansions in-between' he thought keeping a stoic face, giving a nod in reply as he paused a moment with a salute back "Good Major, I am eager to prepare to meet with my colleagues and the Grand Moff….outside of this rain I think"

The man saluted again as the rain picked up "Of course my Moff, please, this way"

Flashes of lightning in the dark cloudy skies above illuminated an Acclamator up amongst those clouds, or perhaps a Venator as the flashes were brief and did not reveal the distant vessel fully. Eriadu was a fortress system these days…and wasn't that somewhat depressing to think when combined with the way the war had been going of late. Not only that but there were soldiers, minds sharp and cold, everywhere, a lurking feeling far to much like his war-torn homeworld of many years prior to his unwanted….elevation of office. Hardly the people that the Council would have wanted to work with before, but that didn't matter, and they weren't here to make his bad decisions for him.

"Armoured groundcar?"

He nodded back to Quinlan Vos, who'd spoken, and the man's former Padawan, Aayla Secura "We are where we are, don't forget that"

"Hard not to I find" the Kiffar replied looking out the windows at the rain and streets outside the armoured windows "Security conscious an'all that. Dreary place"

"Well, we are not here to have fun I'm afraid…" Rahm replied folding his cloak and looking out at the dark empty streets as the military vehicle accelerated with a grumble of engines "Far from it in fact. The next few days could mean more than a dozen battles at the front"

"And no matter what you do, or we do, I'll bet Masters Unduli and Gallia will be mad at you" the man chuckled back, and Rahm sighed, looking out into the rain. It certainly hadn't been pleasant 'Conclave' as he and Quinlan had sat down with those that had sheltered with the Stormcrow….and found them not overly happy with the other Moff either in Master Unduli. Nor had the reality that they wouldn't just be able to…. eventually, after a few years hardship…return to what had been before the Republic collapsed. The Ruusan Reformation was dead, and him saying that, along with Moff Stormcrow's 'endorsement' had made his becoming 'Interim' Grandmaster a bitter pill indeed for the Sect….

'And we are a Sect, and simply avoiding doing battle with our fellows will be an achievement'

"Oh, yeah, I'd rather not be arrested after all"

"Quinlan" Secura muttered to her former Master, arms folded across her chest as she sat across from both of them, causing the Kiffar Jedi to shrug in response "….take this more seriously. We have been handed a task not thrust on Jedi since the Great Purge, or Ruusan, and Sith and Nightsisters are here. Darksiders in positions authority. The Order in ruins…" the Twi'leks's voice seemed to break for a moment before returning to normal as if nothing had happened "…and we cannot even recruit as we once did…"

"Yeah, we'll not be allowed that ability again, no matter what Adi and Luminya think…" Vos replied simply, interrupting his former Padawan "…have you seen the holo's from the Core?"

"We are not Slavers and Child Abusers!" Secura hissed back, arms coming to her sides, fists clenching, anger flashing in the Force "To be accused of such by SITH AND TRAITORS…."

"And the Military Government we are are allied with, so calm and serene Master Secura…" because everyone's a Master now by dint of not being dead Rahm thought as he bluntly cut off further comments, implying she meant Kuat rather than Kuat and Coruscant in that statement rather than what he knew to be the case "…and it is quite the effective propaganda tool for them right now. Child soldiers, religious fanatics….slavers….tis a war and we have to fight it on many fronts. We're fighting a battle for our very existence, never forget that, nor what way the shells are falling"

He rubbed his beard "After all we are starting from the position that the Jedi Order is an illegal organisation on Coruscant, and they are demanding oaths of loyalty to them…" along with 're-education' for 'troublesome' Jedi it seemed "…so, we must convince our leaders of the need to maintain the Order as a pillar of the New Republic, albeit in a much diminished role sadly. We have few allies in this"

"Well we have my ex-Padawan's friend and ally now don't we?"

Secura let out a snort, shaking her lekku "Don't be such an ass Quinlan, he will help us on certain things I'm very sure, as is Offee…"

The Kiffar gave a chuckle "Yup, got him' electro-whipped has she….I wasn't the only one getting the stink…"

"As I was saying…" Secura cut off Vos, glancing at Rahm "…I expect he'll side with us on certain things…"

"But against us on many others, let alone that he has Ventress and her sisters in his ranks, and what I know from previous talks with him…" Rahm answered calmly "…and that is just the nature of things. I'll trust in Force, but I'll plan and work for the real galaxy we live in rather than the perfect one that doesn't exist…

….since I'm only here because I'm actually partially trusted by the man whose raised himself up to 'Not-Actually-Chancellor-but-Treat-Me-As-Chancellor-Dictator' Tarkin. That and having his own forces unlike everyone else in the Order, and now, in-theory, form the core of a restored Antarian Rangers force. Should that be allowed of course, and with the access to the Order's emergency accounts for Sentinels and undercover work that he and Vos knew of. It was one of the few times that his nature as a quasi-outcast and 'loose blaster' from the Order was working out for him…

"…and that's who we'll be meeting first by the way. If we are to be opposed, I want to know what battles to fight, and what battles to bow out honourably of rather than fight and lose"

Avoiding a clash with his fellow Jedi, who'd backed other sides, was the first step, even it was possibly going to be a matter of reducing the danger rather than eliminating it. They needed to survive first and foremost, oppose the Sith where they could, all while trying to ensure that Eriadu stayed something close to the Republic's ideal, rather than a Republic that was an Empire falling to the Dark Side. After all Coruscant was opposed to the Jedi Order, as was the Separatists, Kuat was RULED BY THE SITH, Mandalore was infested with them as well….and Corellia was a mistake that Obi-wan Kenobi was making….

'And the less said about Master Yoda's decision to fort up on Kashyyyk the better' he thought wanting to shake his head at that. Of course in some ways….removing himself from the board was, in some ways, the best thing Master Yoda could do for the Order right now. Save for the fact the Order was BROKEN right now, shattered into Sects and scattered members with little guidance. What he'd give for the little green kriffar to comeback, or Master Windu to have survived and stepped up…

But that wasn't the situation anymore. The Republic was broken, as was the barely surviving Order, the Sith returned, and also a large chunk of the galaxy hated the Jedi as well. Master Yoda would be welcome to him and his fellow Jedi, but to far to many sentients the Grandmaster had either conspired to destroy the Republic, or had been grossly incompetent in allowing others to do that. That was the unfortunate thing, one of many unfortunate things, that he had to remind himself of now that he was a Moff of the Republic, along with 'Interim' Grandmaster of this splinter of the Order…

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