Log:Sith's Bidding, Sister's Rise

Sith's Bidding, Sister's Rise

OOC Date: March 20, 2020
Location: Echoy'la Morut, Ealor
Participants: Evie Leven, Hadrix Kora, Ca'tra Kora, Kirioth Kora, Terek Rosol, Zee'Roh Kora, Sumi Kora, Clan Kora

Leading a meeting isn't something new to Evennia Leven; it's something she's done before. As a Squadron Leader in the First Order, she had to lay out the plans for her pilots before a mission out in the void. This.... is a little bit different for her, though. The faces are different, obviously. She's also the low girl on the totem pole, and anyone would be nervous about having to lead from the bottom.

But that's not why Evie's nervous.

No, this group... they were becoming her family moreso with each day. It /felt/ right. Still, here she was, preparing to drag her clan into a situation that was no fault of their own. Mentally steeling herself for any answer she gets as she paces at the front of the room. Even the worst possible outcomes are being braced for, and the look on her face -- visible, with the helmet hooked into place on her armor instead of her head -- shows that trepidation. Not the usual sunshine and rainbows smiles that she's known for.

For now, she waits. Waits for her brothers and sisters to enter the Great Hall, and to see just how this all goes.

Sumi strolls quietly into the large room. Her bootfalls were distinct against the stone, as was the rustle of the cape that bounced off her heels. Unlike Evie, Sumi wore her helmet.

Sumi was the quiet sentinel, similar to some of their kin, but perhaps the most quiet of them all. Short, stocky, and having the swagger of a soldier with nearly a century of experience, the Mandalorian crosses the distance, climbs the small dais, and sits down upon her chair.

Other tables and chairs are available, and the sounds in this room are only that of the ventilation shafts trembling with cool air, the crackle of a fire from the braziers, and the emitting sigh that escapes Sumi who had finally 'taken a load off.'

<"How fair your injuries, Ms. Evie? Well I hope. Dr. Ca'tra is a treasure.">

"Stop" "Get a haircut and I will" "No. I can have hair now." Hadrix grumbles while Gripper floats beside him, tapping his head with one of her claws. "What's next? Beard?" "Too many scars." "Then cut your hair too." "No! Go retroactively software interface with Heiyuu" Hadrix bats at the droids robo-tentacle. "Disgusting!" "I saw you looking at his SCOMP Interface probe." "We do not speak of that!" all four tentacles flapping as Hadrix works his way in, helmet on his belt... and an Imperial Stormtrooper helmet tucked under one arm. Held crown down and with some sort of densiplast cover stretched over the opening.

Stepping up the dais, that little parcel is presented to the Alor with a jerk of his head towards Evie and raising his lone eyebrow to the ancient mandalorian.

Following the others in, Ca'tra has a harder time than usual keeping her "doctor's face" - neutral, open, ready to listen. Evie's evident nervousness aligns so well with what she knows of the woman earnest intelligent approach to any situation.

The group of them are spruce and clean. Relaxed, as far as she can tell, being in their beautiful new home seems to have a good effect on them all. She had spent time with some of them earlier tending to wounds, checking on the progress made on other injuries taken in the course of their work together.

Taking a seat to the right at one fo the empty tables, she brushes her black hair back to spread over the shoulders of her camoed armor and looks attentively up at the dais.

Roth is stiff, but, she's getting older and driving head first into Stormtroopers is probably not the best of things, but it is the life she'd chosen many many years ago. The Arkanian gives a dip of her head to everyone and a bow to Sumi before she finds herself a seat. She gives a look to Evie, seeing as she is going to be speaking on things this evening. She keeps quiet for the moment and prepares to listen and take in information.

Honestly Terek was surprised to be summoned to this. He hadn't expected to be included in important clan meetings yet. Figured he might still be on probation or something. But no, a holocommunication and a hyperjump later and here he was, spruced up with his armor polished. He finds an empty seat and sits down on it, brushing his mane back a bit with one of his gloved hands. He's expecting like a 'You all know why I've gathered you here' or something.

"If I didn't still remember being shot, I'm not certain I would believe that I had been. She is a miracle worker." Evie replies to Sumi, smiling gratefully. It's true. She felt like brand new.

As her clanmates walk in, she tries to force the smile back onto her face. Greetings are given, verbal and physical alike (those who hug, they get hugged. Those who don't? She tries a little harder on that smile. 'cause she loves you all. Even you Terek. Family is allowed to disagree.) Moving back to the front of the room, and withdrawing her datapad where her notes are, she begins speaking. "Morutar, aliit. Thank you all for coming." Deep breath.

"As some of you... perhaps all of you know, before being welcomed by Clan Kora, I was a member of the First Order. A willing servant of Kylo Ren, and flight instructor for his Vanguard. I left the First Order's service during the Battle of Exegol, unwilling to risk the lives of my pilots for a lunatic's dream where they'd be considered expendable, or to take the lives of civilians foolish... brave, but foolish enough to stand up to the Order." A certain YT-1300 comes to mind. It kept getting in her way. Just the thought of that makes her shake her head, whoever that pilot was, he must have had something more important than survival on his mind.

Like... capes. Probably.

"I had hoped that, as I have started to find a new home, here, that I could put that part of my life behind me. However, leaving the Order earned me its ire, and I'm here to ask for your help. Do not consider yourself /forced/ to do so, please. The only thing that I must point out is that none of what I speak beyond this point is to go beyond these walls. No ears are to hear these things who are not members of our clan." She points out. She's perfectly willing to hear 'no' from every person in the room. She's braced for it, even. "There was a man who approached me days ago; he was once known as Dreman Bryce. Storm Commander of the First Order. Right hand of Kylo Ren himself. There was a time when I would have been able to say with certainty that he was a friend of mine. He was... less than pleased with my decision to leave the Order."

"Today, he goes by the name Kuolo, and represents something different... an order of deadly Force users known as the Sith. Again, something you may have heard of." Partial knowledge, partial guesswork on her part. She's seen the man in action, and heard enough of the words. "...and he came with a job which he would like to see done by our clan." Evie's going to pause again. Letting things sink in a bit. She's already said a lot.

<"That she is."> Sumi replies. Her head adjusts to look as the others begin to file into the Great Hall. There's Ca'tra, Hadrix, Roth, and Terek. Each bears their own style of beskar'gam, and the sight is enough to bring an unseen smirk to Sumi's face. This must have been what Sana felt when she gazed upon Clan Ryder, Sumi thought.

When Hadrix approached, Sumi accepted the package and set it on a small table to her right. She mumbles thanks in Mando'a, then turns her gaze to Evie, gesturing that she had the floor.

When Evie gets to the end of her brief, Sumi raises her hand, her helmeted head angling up slightly. <"You said at one time, he would have been your friend. Has he established differently? Did he threaten you into this job?"> Sumi's voice lacks any conviction that might convey suspicion. She wasn't accusatory. It was asked in an even tone.

Listening from the point that Evie started, when Sumi took the helmet, and through Sumi's question - Hadrix's attention is rapt on the smaller woman, arms folding across his chest at the point that Sumi had brought up, face going grim and his frown blooming.

He says nothing though, letting his vod answer their chieftess. Gripper knows well enough to keep quiet now, at the big man's shoulder as he looms to the side of the woman in the throne.

Ca'tra returns Evie's smile being too far away from her to give or take a hug. She watches the two that she terms, to herself, 'survivors' of the FO, admiring their resilience in the face of the grueling regime of uniformity that they imposed on their troops. Frighteningly dangerous to an adversary, they, like the rest of the aliit, have become her bulwark and refuge from the world.

Her relaxed expression morphs into puzzlement then becomes a frank frown at Dreman's name. Kuolo, his new name, she had heard whispered on Nar Shaddaa. Sith, so much darker, was not a word that anyone bandied about lightly. That brand of darkness was not something she associated with her aliit. Ca'tra leans forward, face propped on her hand, listening raptly to their alor's neutrally posed question wondering where this briefing will take them.

Roth's got her helm on, so it's not like they can SEE her reaction to the news. Well, this was fun. <<What does he want done?>> her vocoded voice asks. <<I'm guessing it's not just some simple task.>> she states as she looks to the two up towards the front. She didn't really know what to expect really on that end.

Terek hasn't heard of the Sith. Or maybe he has, the more he thinks about it, "I don't care what your background is." Terek says, straight forward as ever, "If this guy's trying to hold your background against you to make you work for him, that's not cool." He ponders the Sith word some more. He's seen it somewhere. One of the carved murals in the city-tree back home, perhaps.

Sumi gets responded to first, "I still consider him to be one, Alor, if a dangerous one." As she does... most everyone. Evie's a loving person. "I'm not certain he considers the same of me -- but he /was/ one of the many left behind in my departure, so I can understand his anger." Evie's genuinely an honest person; if she gets asked a question, she'll answer it -- even if it's by saying that she can't. "...and he made it clear that my only acceptable choice would be to accept this job. Not that it was necessary, what he's asking is something I would have had no issues with, and frankly seems... suprisingly minor as requests go." She's done far worse with a smile on her face. She could do /this/ with a clear conscience. A wrinkle of her nose. "I guess he just felt he had to be overdramatic, of thought /I/ hated /him,/ or something." Not that the welcome she gave to seeing that he was alive would have given any indication of /that./

"Surprisingly, vod... it seems to be a very simple task. On the surface, at least. The First Order operates in shadows and I suspect the Sith even more so," is her reply to Roth. It was one of the reasons that going back was /not/ an option for Evie. She was tired of being left out of the truth. She wasn't going to do the same to her family. Kuolo's identity wasn't supposed to be part of the briefing.

...but it also wasn't explicitly forbidden.

Tapping a few buttons, her datapad projects a series of hologram above it, which is set onto the table for the rest of the clan to see. Evie herself isn't sitting, Among the holograms are a system map, and an image of space-grade explosives.

"Dre-- Kuolo, has acquired a large amount of high-grade munitions, and wishes for Clan Kora to deploy them in the Ilum System in order for him to preserve his mining rights there." she explains, drawing her fingers through the system map as she speaks. "He wants to ensure that it is defended from any who would intrude upon his territory. We can select a ship of our choosing to perform this mission, and any modifications that are necessary to complete the work, they are willing to assist us with, or compensate us for. We only need contact his... assistant? Second? I'm not certain, but her name is Onys." She seems pretty nice, if blunt.

Terek's statement earns him a smile. Her 'history lesson' was added for his benefit. After seeing what he'd done to the Stormtrooper, she had concerns that finding out that she, too, had worn that armor would cause problems. "I appreciate your support, vod." she tells him, nodding. "Though, that brings me to... the more complicated issue when it comes to this particular job."

Leaving the datapad on the table, Evie takes another couple moments to herself. Deep breath. This is the part that is the roughest, to her. "The payment he offers... is forgiveness, for what he sees as my betrayal. The Sith will consider me a free woman, he told me. Cin Vhetin." A heartbeat's pause, and she quickly adds, "As his payment benefits only myself, I am willing to do this work myself, if necessary. Should any of you choose to join me... I'm more than willing to pay you all personally. I would not ask that you do something without any benefit to yourselves." A nod to that. "Once the job is done, I'm to contact him and alert him that it is so. If there are any more questions, I'll answer them as best I can, now."

<"This reasoning swims with hypocrisy."> Sumi says, annoyance in her voice as she comes to rise with a subtle but swift motion. A slow step is taken down the stair, then another, her cape dragging behind her. <"I find it odd he accuses you of leaving the First Order, yet he has done so himself. The Sith were not a part of the First Order, to my recollection. Only the Knights of Ren. You owe the Sith nothing."> Sumi said, striking her hand in a chopping motion to gesture for nothing. <"Yet, he holds your freedom hostage. What you call friend, I call foe.">

A tick of a pause and Sumi sighs. <"He makes use of your past friendship for his gain.-- But it is not my choice. It is yours. Leaving the order with a clean conscience seems important to you. So it is important to me. I put it to vote. Those who wish to stand with Evie to earn her freedom say Aye. Those opposed, nay.">

Nodding at Sumi's commentary about the reasoning, Kuolo's actions, the reason for the need of the 'clean slate' and all of the tosh that were obviously the sith 'lord's' plan for Evie.

"This stinks of us being used as scapegoat for the murder if civilians and non-combatants. The little twerp Dreman can't stomach the idea that others would look down on it..." Lips twisting up, the blazing cybernetic seeming to convey his dislike for this.

"If it means to you that you're free, Evie. I say Aye."

Ca'tra stands, gaze intent on Evie. "Do you need his forgiveness, Evie? It's blackmail. Pure and simple - made to do some dirty work that Kuolo should be able to do it himself easily." Gesturing to the others, she continues, "Our alor made a good point about his hypocrisy."

"Moreover, this powerful man doesn't have access to ships and personnel capable of mining space? It smells terrible to me. But I won't say no if the aliit wants to do this with you. Aye, I'll go. Still, I distrust his motive, Evie."

Roth listens to Sumi and then there's a nod of agreement with her assessment, <<What our Alor and our other brothers and sister has stated rings true for me as well.>> she nods to that. Then she looks to Evie and then the Arkanian goes to remove her helm, all that white hair streaming out as she didn't braid it back today, "Aye, I'll help with this. So that you can truly start anew with the new life. You deserve to be free." she tells Evie.

"I know I'm the new guy here, but I'll back your play no matter what it is." Terek says, simply, "Because I know you'd do the same for me were the roles reversed. So I say aye."

Evie's largely quiet as the vote goes down. Gloved hands wringing together a bit. Though, which each vote that supports her, those hands stablize a little more. Harkened by the support that was... not entirely expected from her new family. It warms her heart in ways that she can't really express.

"It is," important to her to have a clean conscience. She's got strange morals. "It does," mean that to her. "I do," need that forgiveness. "...and I do not fully trust him, either. I... did not want to involve you all in my fight, but it means everything to me that you're all willing to stand with me. It is the way of the Order to have secrets, to only tell what they want us to hear, it would not surprise me if there was more to it than I've been told." Evie admits, smiling to those around her. Yes. Here, she knows for certain, she's made the right choice. Even with doubts, they stand beside her. She tries, but she can't help but feel her eyes getting moist at the support she's recieving. Evie's always been a 'heart on her sleeve' kind of girl.

"Thank you all. Thank you all so much."

<"One matter remains."> Sumi states then, bringing her back to Evie for a moment. <"Given the circumstances, I feel it appropriate to call for a second vote. A vote only our blooded have a voice in."> Sumi says, clarifying for Terek's sake. It meant this was not a vote he could make, but one day, he might.

<"It concerns Evie, and the clan. For those who have a voice in this matter speak. I ask your opinion of Evie, and if you feel she is ready to bear the name Kora, wear our sigil."> Sumi gestures, opening the floor to the others while she drew the brand free from her hip and dipped it into the blazing hot fire of the brazier.

Nodding Hadrix looks to Sumi, "I vote aye, Sumi." looking to the others as if to challenge them to refute the offer that Sumi has offered for this particular vote. Approaching Evie the big man leans to bump his brow to her temple, lacking a helmet and then standing with his arm about her shoulders.

When had Evie crossed the point that Ca'tra didn't notice her brandless armor? Ca'tra couldn't answer it herself. The second battle, the third firefight? Her ready warmth and fierceness in action were already something she relied on.

"I say aye. Loony, fierce, loyal, and warm are just some of the words that come to mind when I think of my new sister. I welcome her among us."

<<Aye, I think Evie makes a fine edition to the group.>> Roth nods her white head to that and there's a smile shot to the younger woman in question.

No vote for the cathar this time, but he gets it. He sits quietly for the time being, figuring it'll be a unanimous vote anyway, from what he's seen so far

When Sumi brings up the other matter for discussion, Evie freezes. At first because she's not entirely sure a good thing's coming -- but then, it's time to stand in the spotlight once more and be judged by those she calls family. Tense at first, but heart soaring with each vote that is cast in her direction. Hadrix's physical presence near her, as well, is a relief that eases even more of that tension... and the look in her eyes is more evident with each release of tension. It's hope. She wants this as badly as anything she can remember.

Which may be the only reason that the self-styled Empress is keeping her mouth shut, for once. Smiling, but shut.

<"I have Zee's proxy."> Sumi says with a nod. <"She votes, Aye."> Sumi's voice has a bit more command to it this time, and she turns, finally, to face Evie. A moment is taken so Sumi can remove her own helmet, revealing the scarred face that lingered beneath it. Long dark hair falls into place, most of it favoring her scarred side and leaving only the prettier half to view. Sumi has dark eyes, much like her hair, and they stare fearlessly.

"Now the decision is yours, Evie. Speak your heart. Will you join us by taking the name Kora? It is a choice only you can make. It is for life."

Now it's her turn to speak. Her voice shakes. Her body trembles. But as always, she speaks what she feels. "I..." she trails off. "If it weren't for Clan Kora, I wouldn't be standing here today. You... all of you... were here for me in my darkest hours and helped me put my life back together. Some knowing me for years," in Hadrix's case, "Others barely at all. Yet, I feel as though I've known you all for my entire life." It's a very natural smile she gives. Shaken by nerves, but real and even proud of this moment.

"It would be my honor and priviledge to take the name Kora, and commit my life alongside you all. I truly feel as though I have a family once again."

...yep, the waterworks are coming. She can't hold it in. Too much emotion. She doesn't care right now. She's just utterly happy!

"So be it, Evie of Clan Kora." Sumi says, a small smirk tilting her lips before she turns from Evie for a moment. "I name you my sister, my friend, my companion for life. From you, I charge the same pledge I declare: No matter the field, the time, clime or place you will find me beside you. No battle will claim you absent me. Where you fall, I will be there to pick you back up. We will not die alone."

Sumi draws the Mando Iron brand free from the fire, the metal ticking with intense heat as it flashes orange. A nod is given to the Al'verde, before Sumi resumes her spot standing in front of Evie Kora.

"You have spoken your heart, Evie Kora, and I brand you." The iron is pressed to her shoulder pauldron, the sigil of Clan Kora burning into the armor plating to leave a steaming impression. It is pulled free to show its clean new image. "Your mark is given birth today.." She states, then dips her hand into the Imperial helmet, drawing up a hand covered in the dark blood of their fallen foes. "..and it is sustained by the blood of our victory." Sumi places her bloody hand over the newly formed sigil and swipes over it, staining it blood red, leaving a quickly drying yet glistening look. "Welcome home, sister."

"O'r'tracyn Gotal?ur'Mando'ade." Hadrix returns Sumi's nod and then gives Evie's unbranded pauldron a pat, grabbing the rim and giving a hearty shake before he is leaning to hug her. "Welcome home, Ev'ika." lifting her up into the hug for a moment before setting her down again, laughing.

"Oya, Evie Kora! Oya Mando!" laughing and pulling a bottle off his belt to put into the little pilot's hands, looking to Terek, "Keep up as you have, I expect you'll be asked the same before too long, vod."

Smiling broadly, arms open, Ca'tra climbs up on the dais to greet her new sister. "Oya, Evie Kora," she whispers putting her forehead to hers after Hadrix has released her. "Welcome."

<<Welcome, Evie Kora!>> Roth gives a smile to that as she gives a clap. Roth isn't a hugger, everyone knows this, so she doesn't go in for one. She is happy that the Empress has joined them though!

Though he's been sitting silent through the whole thing, Terek realizes he's witnessing something special, and he claps heartily for Evie once she's been branded into the clan.

Evie returns each welcome as it's given. Trying to keep herself composed, smiling from ear to ear with pearly teeth showing. Even laughing, a little. Just... unrestrained /joy/ flowing through the little ray of sunshine right now. She tried not to cry. She really did. It was never going to work. Not for this one.

"Truly, I am home, with my family. A Kora now and forever." she agrees, swelling with pride and love for those around her. A moment like this? Definitely deserves a drink, so she's quick to uncork the bottle and take one -- offering it to the others, as well. She's far from being above sharing, especially with family.