Happiness is just a word to me

And it might’ve meant a thing or two to me if I had known the difference

---

Changes:

Northern Widreth, Solyiat
Kiast System, Nilgaard Sector
43 ABY

The thick air of the forest filled the Jedi High Councilor’s lungs as he stood tall and looked out over the clearing, holding up a small holoprojector, the image of a new Jedi Temple cast before him. He adjusted the puck, turning it as he tried to figure out the best placement on the distant mountains.

“Master, even if you were to build a new temple here, my mother—” she caught herself, “the Empress has no interest in funding further settlements on Widreth, the Jedi would be without support. You would need to work the land yourselves, assemble your own goods, and you’d be without the ease of having nearby commerce.” A small Sephi woman chimed up as she stepped up onto the rocks beside Masahiro and slung her pack down on his feet.

‘Every bit her mother.’ The man thought as he shuffled his foot out from under the bag and closed his hand around the projector.

“That’s exactly what I want, Anaya. Before we arrived in Kiast, the Jedi were independent. We operated our own farms, we had a dedicated agricultural corps, we had our own technical personnel, spanning archives of data, and the things we couldn’t provide on our own, we bartered for, either through services we provided or were donated to us for our efforts as diplomats, healers, and peacekeepers. Since we took root in Kiast, we have become far too entrenched in your mother’s political schemes, even going to Quermia, an undertaking in the auspices of peace, was marred by the conflicts of the Vauzem and Vatali conclaves, and we were pawns once more. We cannot truly be seen as guarantors of peace if we owe our every waking moment to the crown.” The half-Sephi Councilor spoke, picking the woman’s bag up and slinging it over his shoulder.

“So you’re seeking independence, to prove the Jedi are trustworthy to the rest of the Galaxy, even if it may put you at odds with… my mother?”

“Precisely. We serve the greater good, not just an immediate beneficiary, and I believe it’s time we began to showcase it once more.”

“But what of the Temple’s place in the Conclave?” Anaya asked.

“That is a bit more complicated, yet, in truth not a problem at all. We came to Kiast as ‘Clan Odan-Urr,’ a unified group of Jedi, rebels, separatists, and refugees; however, not all of us are Jedi. Many of those who came have stopped looking to me for guidance, because they see no guidance in The Force, others joined the O.U.S.C., or found themselves among the diaspora of Kiast. Those are the people that Houses Sunrider and Hoth represent, not the interests of the Temple.”

Hands Clean:

Voraskel Palace, Chambers of Empress Kaltani, Kiast
Kiast System, Nilgaard Sector
43 ABY

“So they sent their rank-and-file to suffer the indignities that the Baron and his officers couldn’t be bothered to bear, and the bastard of a Prime Minister offered them asylum?” Kaltani growled as she slammed her hands on the dias, disrupting the pre-recorded holo the Burmessian Prime Minister had sent to the Vatali Empress.

“Politicians doing political things, do you expect anything different from them?” Another said, lounging on a nearby chaise.

With a lengthy stretch, the man began to sit up, his unperturbed gaze meeting the Empress’ annoyed stare as his cybernetic leg tamped down on the floor. Celevon Werd’a smirked as the Empress didn’t relent and only shook her head.

“Look, unlike Your Highness, the man has to make decisions his people can stomach. He has to be palatable to everyone and has to make compromises. If he doesn’t, he loses his position; he becomes another voiceless in the grand scheme of things. He may never be ‘a poor’, but he’ll likely never reach his current heights again either. They come from an entirely different set of rules than you, Kaltani.” The Shaevalian said with a shrug.

“It’s time they learned our rules, then. If the man is replaceable, it’s time he’s replaced with someone who will respect the ’politics’ of their neighbors and who won’t harbor terrorists. And you’re going to see to it.”

—-

Two Weeks Later

Ministerial Apartments, Rabanast, Burmessia
Kiast β, Kiast System, Nilgaard Sector
43 ABY

The Prime Minister of the Burmessian Republic lay in a pool of blood, the window of his private apartment fractured, a spiderweb of tempered glass. His panicked secretary had seen the moment it happened. The shattering window, the impact, and the Minister’s collapse before the muted crack of the slugthrower.

In the distance, a lone figure stood on a rooftop, adjusting the hood and cowl that obscured their face and tucking in their lucky charm, a ring looped around a necklace bearing the Sörinje crest. Stowing his S-5 Oathbreaker, the assassin leapt down from the rooftop into a waiting speeder and faded off into the night.

Aqua Regia:

It’s been a month since we returned from the Western Marches, and the Odanite Forces made their way back home, but something else lies on the horizon. Tensions roil between our hosts, the Vatali Empire, and the Burmessian Republic, begging the question of Odan-Urr’s involvement. Still recovering from the chaos on Quermia and recent upheavals within House Sunrider, the Clan’s willingness to be drawn into yet another political quagmire is beyond warning.

Yet, the actions of some have dragged us into the conflict.

House Hoth, already dissident, has only become more of a target through the current events. The colony under their administration on Daleem, the so-called “Republic of Kaal,” already targeted for their prime mineral and expansive operations, has become a sore spot amongst the other Houses of the Conclave as they muscle for power within the court.

Sunrider, on the other hand, has continued to suffer drastic blow after blow, with Tierra stepping aside, followed shortly by her Lieutenant Governor’s abdication, the young Asani Armis has taken over operations of the colony and mining facilities, as well as the headache posed by the various gangs and terroristic threats in the depths.

Takedown

We’re in the last stretch of Parabellum Cycle 2, we’ve tracked down the Quantum Shadows, and they’ve broken into two different groups. Make sure you check out the fictions and find out how we’re going to handle the rabble.

—-

Second verse, same as the first, I wholly encourage each of you to Check out the Fictions and jump in on the events of the Season; the competitions are easily digestible. You only need to complete one for your Pledge to count, and like last time the bounty for bonus credits is still active, meaning the Clan also gets a nice payout for your participation, with each phase of the season giving us a payout based on overall participation. If we can keep our overall participation over 35% Odanites, we’ll reap additional payouts.

The Summit’s bounty stands as well! If the Clan meets the 35% Activity Ratio, for each Cycle we reach the goal, the House with the most activity for that period will have half of the bonus applied to their House Discretionary Funds. If you want your House to get a shiny new ship, more security guards, or you really want to pressure Tisto or Asani into getting you some droids? I suggest you help them get everyone on board with taking part in this cycle.

Promotions:

It was a pretty good month for us with promotions! Here’s a list of a few of them.

• Teiko was promoted to NOV4
• Zen was promoted to NOV4
• Dolot was promoted to EQ1
• Volant was promoted to NOV3
• Corpsezen was promoted to NOV3

Scimitar of Lord Hoth:

June:

This month’s Scimitar continues with Seals, Remalia and Dolot taking placements in that order. Seals and Remy seem to be intent on duking it out for first. I bet Dolot is quietly planning something sneaky to take them both out.

News Corner!

We’re a bit late getting thisd report out, but that also means we can report some pretty recent news as well as put a flashlight back in the cobwebs of yestermonth and bring some attention back to other things.

• First up, because it’s important, Atra put out the most recent Pulsefeed which gives us a highlight for all the clans current story state!

• Following that, Thran gave us about Item Tag.

• Vyr gave us some goodies to look at in this report and talked a bit about our wonderfully talented Herald staff.

• We got an Exarch report where Wally asks weird questions and talks about the RP community and the most recent Bounty mission we had.

For some of the newer stuff, because we like current events a lot:

• Thran gave us another REgent report about new staff members.

• The Star Chamber needed a new body (A’lora) because the old body (Vyr) got another job. Thanks to Vyr for the service as short as it was and congrats to A’lora for being the new temporary member.

• Finally, a certain nerd “retired” member got a new job. I’m not entirely sure Zuza knows what retirement means, but we’re happy to have her back doing things.

Closing Thoughts from the PCON:

Here We Are Again:

As Wolfe says below here, it was a bit of a rough month for the entire summit, and I apologize for all of us for that. Sometimes life happens, and it hurts quite a bit. But, we seem to be getting things back under control, awards going out, promotions being sent in, comps and other goodies being made and set in the books. There’s probably quite a lot we missed reporting, because there’s always so much going on because all of you are always doing everything you possibly can. From the newest recruit to some of the oldest members, I’m proud to say that you’re all getting it done and it makes me so happy to see all of you sticking with it and us as we continue to forge the path forward.

Closing Thoughts from the CON:

Up From the Bottom:

It has been a rough month for me, apologies for being a bit withdrawn in this time period. My immediate circle and family have faced a few losses, coupled with my sister giving birth (and poor baby Maverick is in the NICU with supplemental oxygen still). It hasn’t just been a rough month for me, either; the whole of the COU Summit has been hit with one issue after another this last month, it seems, but, that hasn’t affected the rest of you, it seems!

Reviewing a data report I pulled as we neared the end of the month, I saw that we had already achieved over 50% of the Clan having some level of participation, just in competition participation alone. I hadn’t added in Roleplay, Academy, or Gaming participation yet to catch errant cases which weren’t tied directly to competitions on the board, but, considering our Clan’s impressive roster, that’s an astounding feat, and I’m proud of each one of you.

Let's keep this energy flowing through the back half of the year and knock Seasons and the upcoming COU Campaign out of the park!

Ever onwards, COU.