The Twi'lek's gaze lowered to the floor and she shook her head, "You... you're right."<br/><br/>It was all too much for her to handle. Stay or go? Merryn could not tell what was right... Yet her own padawans- and their friends were much more certain. They spoke with such conviction that it stirred her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stood upright, "Very well. You're all determined, it seems."<br/><br/>A hint of a smile escaped her lips and the Jedi knight nodded, "It is not an easy thing to do, but I feel an obligation to you all. How can I let you go face such perils alone? I am with you."<br/><br/>She sighed, "From this day forth, we turn away from the Order, not for vice but for our ideals- to defend the innocent and to preserve justice. In time, perhaps they will take us back..."<br/><br/>The skies darkened over the Jedi temple that night, a solitary unlit sanctuary surrounded by the bright lights of the city-planet... In the distance, warships rose from their berths towards the sky.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Sometime later, the Jedi were in a Republic mess hall, eating at their own table by themselves. They were not fully integrated within the command structure of the military republic- though they were ostensibly volunteers. The other soldiers and sailors kept to themselves, though there were always whispers and looks of wonder accompanying them whenever they made themselves visible among the troops they were soon to lead.<br/><br/>"Hello. May I join you?" A woman asked, even though she was already sitting down beside Myara and Lun. She was dark, with short black hair and brown eyes that seemed hawkish and full of life, full lips and a pleasant smile... She wore the uniform of a republic officer as she put down her tray rather forwardly. "I am lieutenant Ari Yuluni."<br/><br/>"I am to be your... uh, assistant. If there's anything you'll need, please let me know." The woman said, looking at them all, "And I must say it will be an honor to work beside the Jedi."<br/><br/>"Thank you." Merryn softly said. Across the room, a soldier sighed, "Can't we get anything else?" He complained, offering his hand in vain to the holovid display, "I'm sick of watching those senators drone on and bicker."<br/><br/><hr/><br/>"You are ready?" A rather large Kel Dor inquisitively asked, dressed in plain clothes and his race's signature breathing apparatus. Beside him was a stern-faced human with his hair barely growing out after having been shaved. He had a scar over his brow and blue eyes.<br/><br/>"I am." The third man replied with a nod, a thin-looking businessman with pale features; flaxen hair, a sharp jaw, and a look of worry upon his green eyes. He wrung his hands and looked out to the balcony that led to his platform on the senate chamber.<br/><br/>"The chair recognizes the representative from Ardat-Sienar Technologies." Supreme chancellor Tol Cressa announced, his voice echoing through the entire, "You will be given five minutes." His senior aide pressed some buttons on the platform and muted everyone's speakers. The platform belonging to Ardat-Sienar was the only one which could project sound in the massive chamber. Such technology was in place to allow every senator a voice- one that could not be revoked even by the chancellor. He had two minutes.<br/><br/>"My name is Stayr Vrim Valorum- I do not only represent Ardat-Sienar Technologies today..." (http://youtu.be/2yiAgWkX91g) The frail, sickly looking man said, flanked by the Kel Dor and other human, "But also three other corporations and seventeen systems, the names of which will be published later today." The platform did not leave the dock, as was customary. Many from the near side of the chamber were craning their heads to view the businessman as he spoke.<br/><br/>"We hereby end all ongoing private and public contracts with the Defense Ministry and your respective systems-" The chamber was immediately in an uproar, though only one voice echoed through the great theater, "I am here to tender our secession from the Galactic Republic, and to send a message."<br/><br/>Stayr looked over to the other human and nodded. The younger man strode forward and hooked up a comlink to the platform's controls. He sent the pod slowly drifting away from the dock and the three quickly made their way off of it before it could float too far. "Let's go." The frail-looking man said after he hopped off, looking quite shaken.<br/><br/>The pod drifted into the air towards the center of the chamber and quite abruptly, a holoprojection appeared... towering twenty feet tall and fearsome even in the ghostly form of such a projection- Mandalore.<strong> "Members of the Galactic Senate. Coruscanta adate... I presume to have your attention now. No more will you deafen your people to us... The time has come for you to choice between life and death."</strong><br/><br/>He wore a golden mask, the 'T' visor unmistakable upon it- a flowing red cape and brown heavy armor. Mandalore the Ultimate- covered head to toe and every bit as immense as his reputation had foretold. The chamber flew into even more of a frenzy. In the mess hall, the soldiers either went completely silent or also railed against the enemy. Lieutenant Yuluni looked shocked, right as she was about to introduce herself to the Jedi.<br/><br/><strong>"Those who surrender! -they will treated as the sons and daughters of Mandalore, as if they were Taung themselves... A glorious life, and a stronger galaxy! Yet to those who resist... you and your kind will be annihilated wholesale, your worlds purged of their life. The earth shall be turned to glass, your monuments dashed to ruins- and your bloodlines extinguished."</strong><br/><br/>Stayr walked at a brisk pace, flanked by his escorts, through the hallways of the senate building. Five armed republic guards approached them, their squad leader putting his hand out to stop them. The large Kel Dor seized it and broke his arm, then swung him into another one of the guards before he attacked the third. The other human went to work dispatching the remaining two as Stayr looked on with alarm.<br/><br/><strong>"Serocco, Cathar, Althir, Nouane, Eres, Wayland- They are all now but dust and ashes..."</strong>Mandalore said, his voice booming and dark as he gestured extravagently before the Republic,<strong>"Yet what of the Iridonians, the Zeltron, the Mandellians and Togorians? They are all our brothers... Mandalorians! They do not suffer your false republic, or the laws made by this corrupt gathering of politicians and liars."</strong><br/><br/>In the mess hall, Ari looked over at the Jedi, "The senate chamber... that's not too far from here."<br/><br/><strong>"Therefore, I have but one thing to say to you now, men and women of the Republic. If you will fight, then fight. If you cannot fight, then defend yourselves. If you cannot defend, then retreat...<br/><br/>But if you will not retreat- <span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="bbc_u">die</span></span>."</strong>