Shadows and Dust

[Ulric dOrien 108]

"They appear to terrify the soldiers in the white armour, and order them about. They were on an Imperial military vessel."

Sonya pauses. She knows she needs to understand and adapt to her current situation, but she would much rather find a secluded jungle planet somewhere and train. This seemed like a very long elaborate training exercise. "What if all of those exercises were preparing me for actual life in the galaxy?" With that horrifying thought she snaps from her reverie.

Turning back to Iskander she asks,"What is the ISB?"

[ColonelCommissar 1,243]

"The Imperial Security Bureau," Xaramis coldly interjects; he's certainly not a fan of the ISB, they've been quite enough trouble for him in the past, distrustful of an alien who had the gall to attempt to freely travel the galaxy. "The Empire's 'secret police'. If you're lucky, they'll just stop and search you constantly for the crime of being an alien; if not they'll gun you down in the street and claim due cause afterwards. Either way, they're the last sort of people you want to run into, especially when you're an alien carrying an illegal weapon in plain sight," he nods towards the Jedi's lightsaber. "Just saying."

[kaosoe 7,573]

Garon allowed Tok to punch in the final coordinates and send Serenity into hyperspace. I watched him closely to see if he was going to say anything to the rest of the group. When it was clear he wasn't, the Besalisk grew even more sour. He wasn't happy with the silence, but it wasn't his place to say anything. So where is we're going anyway?

[Ulric dOrien 108]

"Thank you Xaramis. That is very useful information." Sonya looks at her lightsabre pondering the Imperial policies she has just learned of.

[ColonelCommissar 1,243]

"It's the least I can do. We're all in this together, so you should all know what we may be going up against soon enough," he considers his words, than adds an aside. "We should all really be getting each other up to speed, on a lot of things."

[LastAbys 62]

Iskander nods in agreement to what Xaramis said about the ISB, then takes a moment to look at he nodded at.  A metal cylinder that is illegal.  "Wait a minute, " Iskander says, "Am I on a ship with a Jedi?" 

 

He sinks lower into his seat.  "That explains why the Empire would be after you, and that just makes this even more dangerous.  Now we've got the 501st after us if this gets out."  Iskander looks over at Xaramis.  "You have no idea how right you are about us being stuck together."  Iskander lets the gravity of his words sink in.

[Kymrel 1,505]

Ren-Do has been uncharacteristically silent as the conversation continues. It is not until Iskander asks straight out about the affiliation of the group before he breaks his concentration. “You are correct. In a manner of speaking we are. But, like always, things are not what they seem. You see, with the exception of Tok and Xaramis here, we have actually just recently been revived after spending the best part of four thousand years in cryo-stasis.”

 

The tall Cerean allows that to sink in for a moment before continuing, his thick archaic accent suddenly making sense for the Alderaanian. “I am Ren-Do Uvara, a Jedi Knight. Don’t take that at face value. You see, after all this time in the cryo-tube my connection to the Force is not what it used to be, and I have very little recollection of my life before entering the tube. Bits and pieces only, although more and more seems to be coming back.”

 

His piercing grey eyes seem to bore into Iskander. “It might seem to you that we are bound together by chance, but to me there is no such thing. What you would call chance, I call the will of the Force. At first my inclination was to find a safe harbor to allow you to disembark safely. But if you are willing to help us, your help would be most appreciated.”

 

Ren-Do gestures at the others present. “Right now, we might not have much of a plan. We understand that Tok’s family is being held hostage. The hostage taker apparently wants him to deliver the cryo-tubes we were in. It is almost certain this being wants us Jedi for some reason, and if he is willing to take innocents hostage to further his goals, it is safe to assume that those goals are nefarious.”

 

The Ceran sighs. “The plan, such as it is, is to travel to a location our navigator, Rin here, beliefs we might be able to find new crystals for our lightsabers. You clearly know of the Jedi weapon.” He reaches into his robes and puts his plain, metallic saber on the table. “We are hoping this won’t take us long enough to get the kidnapper worried, since our plan is to then go after him to free Tok’s family,” he says.

 

“After that.” Ren-Do shrugs. “Our friends here say that this Empire of yours has decimated the Jedi Order, which stood for so long. An incredible feat which I feel only someone powerful in the Dark Side of the Force would be capable of. I feel it is my duty to do all I can to restore the Order, and thereby bring balance to the Force again. I know some of the others here feel the same way, although others are more, eh, ambivalent,” he says, looking sideways at Garon as he finishes.

 

“So, Rin,” he says in a more upbeat tone. “I have never heard of this system. Or, rather, I don’t recall ever having heard of it,” he corrects himself. “What can you tell us about it? And, more importantly, do you know where we might be able to locate crystals for our sabers in a speedy manner, so that we can make all haste to save Tok’s family?”

[Richardbuxton 7,319]

"Bloody beats me buddy, if I ever heard of this place it was lost to the Millenia of deep freeze... sounds a lot like a moon to me though. The current Galaxy maps on this tin can do t have any details on it, in fact there shouldn't even be a system there according to the charts. It's probably uninhabited, or at least has fellow primitives on it, not interested in the rest of the bloody galaxy. Let's just hope there was a good reason for our dearly departed mentor to give us these coordinates. Given his dam history it's probably where he got his first kiss!" Rin spits the last words out, then turns to their new acquaintance.

"Iskander, your not on a ship with one Jedi, your on a ship full of Force Users... amnesiac former Jedi and untrained Force Users; a dam crystal mine to this 501st group of yours."

A little chime rings out from the cockpit "oh, almost there better get ready everyone."

[LastAbys 62]

Iskander sits still, face in a grimace.  This was more than he could really take in while maintaining composure.  All of his life he was told that the Jedi betrayed the Republic.  That they were the reason the Republic had to be set aside for the Empire.  The Jedi attacked the Supreme Chancellor and forced him to create martial law to keep the citizens of the Empire safe. 

 

Iskander looks as he's about to respond, but stops himself.  Where was safe harbor anyway?  ISB would find him, or flush him out with threats to his family, just like whoever has Tok's family hostage.  Maybe he could turn in the Jedi to the Empire in exchange for dropping the case against him, but more likely than not, ISB would just kill him right after.  It was almost the universe forced Iskander to stick with these people.  Maybe that's what Ren-Do meant.  Maybe it's time to dig deeper down the rabbit hole, now that Iskander's seen the rot in the Empire.  The corruption and the disdain for its people. 

 

"Look, I don't know what this Force thing is, and I really don't care," Iskander starts, "But I think you are right that I'm bound to you.  I'll help you the best I can, but on one condition."  Iskander pauses so that everyone there is paying attention.  "After you, . . we, save his family we need to find a safe place for my family.  ISB will be after them to get to me, and now that I know your faces and names, they will break me and then kill me." 

 

Iskander knows that what he said might be construed as a threat, but this universe is not kind or fair.  This "Force" didn't seem to help the Jedi Order and it threw these Jedi into this place.  "Your Order might be gone, but that's not the worst thing.  Xaramis," Iskander addresses the Falleen, "haven't you told them one of their own, a Jedi, is hunting them down.  The commander of the 501st Legion, Darth Vader. The only loyal Jedi."

[sonovabith 936]

Tok's reluctance to give the entire group the whole story is slowly chipped away as he hears Xaramis suggest everyone putting all their cards on the table and then Yates's concern for his own family.

 

He takes the small freighter on a final pass around the mystery planet, checking the sensors for any signs of civilization. 

 

"Look everyone, we're not going to have much time here," he says when there is a break in conversation. "When we put down, I've got something to show you all. Garon's already seen it, but my employer is going to be expecting some news soon. My situation is more tenuous than you might understand.

 

"We're here now, so we should see if we can find something that will be beneficial to you, but this can't be a long detour."

 

He turns his attention to Yates.

 

"If we can find anything resembling civilization down there, I'll check with the local bounty hunter guild and see if anything's been published on you or your family. Unless you're a lot more important or dangerous than you've let on, Vader won't dirty his hands looking for you himself. If there's no bounty out for you yet, we'll have a bit more breathing room on your side.

 

"I'm still not sure I trust you, but if you help me I'l repay the debt."

[Kymrel 1,505]

"Well that's not good news," Ren-Do replies. "We shall have to move faster than I anticipated. Can you tell us something about the location where you are supposed to deliver us? Anything about the kidnapper's identity or possible allies? Is he with the Empire?"

 

At the same time he's following the conversation he is contemplating how they will be able to determine is there are suitable crystals to be found on the planet, when the only thing they have to go by is that there might be some place on the planet where crystals can be found. He has a vague recollection of the crystal caves on Ilum, and how the caves they are found in coincide with a strong convergence in the Force. If the same applies here, and it might not, that might make things easier.

 

He turns to Rin again. "We shall have to trust in the Force to lead us to the correct location. On Ilum the crystal caves are the site of a great convergence in the Force. Perhaps the same applies here. Let's orbit the planet and try to find a suitable place to put down. And let's hope the Force moves quickly now, for we have not the time to spare for a drawn-out investigation by the looks of things."

[ColonelCommissar 1,243]

"The only loyal Jedi?" Xaramis shrugs. "I heard he killed the last living Jedi - Ben Kenobi or something - and was rewarded by being elevated to Sidious' side. I never knew he was a Jedi," Xaramis shrugs off the idea, choosing to look ahead instead. He, like the others, has never visited this system, nor indeed has he heard of it before, so he is suitably cautious in approaching it.

 

"You make a good point there Ren. I'd say our best approach is to follow our instincts; if this Force is as strong as you say then I imagine it'll be easier to find than we think."

[Kymrel 1,505]

As Ren-Do follows the conversation, his binary brain is also crunching another problem. How will they find crystals the size of a thumb on an entire planet? His senses tell him nothing, he can’t sense a vergence in the Force on the planet.

 

Suddenly, the Cerean is no longer the Jedi Knight he is becoming accustomed to being.

 

Ren-Do looks at his hands. They look so young. Small. When he speaks, his voice is the high-pitched voice of a youngling. “But Master, why would we have to go to Ilum in the first place,” he asks with an impatient voice. “I mean, Master Yole told me there were many other places where a suitable crystal could be found, if one knows what he’s looking for.”

 

The venerable Saurian seems to have little patience for the endless questions a quick-witted Cerean child can think up. “You need to stay in the present, young one. It will be many years before you are ready to visit Ilum. Your stick will be your weapon for many years to come. You must master that before you are ready for something more dangerous.”

 

But Ren-Do is not so easily silenced. “But Master, Yole told me that even some creatures can create suitable crystals. Surely I could try to find one of those? If I can slay a mighty beast and use its tooth for a crystal that would be good, right?”

 

The old Jedi Master sighs. “It would, yes. But why would you seek that path? A Jedi does not seek glory or to perform heroic acts. We serve the Republic. Defend those who cannot defend themselves. We do not seek out monsters to slay.”

 

The limping Saurian sits with a heavy sigh. “I’ll tell you what. It takes a special crystal to be attuned to a lightsaber. There is no way of really seeing that from looking at it. Only by using the Force can you sense the potential of a crystal. And finding your own crystal can be hazardous. Not everyone is meant to succeed. And who knows? Perhaps the Force has something other than a trip to Ilum in store for you. Although it would be unusual indeed.”

 

The young Ren-Do looks up at his master, now sitting cross-legged at his feet. “Yes master. But if those crystals can be found in so many locations, and be shaped by many different elements, why can’t we just figure out how that happens and create our own crystals, surely that can’t be too hard if we just…”

 

The Jedi Master bristles and holds up his hand, silencing the youngling. “Enough. It is not the Jedi way. We trust in the Force to lead us to a crystal that is meant for us. Others have less patience. The Sith have, through their alchemical research, found out how to construct synthetic crystals. It is not our way. The Dark Side offers them a quicker route. And it might seem sensible and easy. But the Light Side is stronger, it teaches us to work hard and earn what we need to get.”

 

Even though he sees the little Cerean has an endless stream of questions he still wants to ask, the Jedi Master stands up. “We will speak no more of this today, youngling. Perhaps later.” As he walks away he rubs his temples. It was hard enough to attempt to sate the curiosity of most younglings. But a Ceran could listen to his answers, analyze them and come up with questions to follow up, and at the same time think up several other questions on an unrelated note with that strange, binary brain. Exhausting.

 

 

Ren-Do’s companions see his gaze glaze over, some of them have seen it before. The usually attentive Ceran seems to be lightyears away for a few minutes, before shaking his head slightly. “Well. We shall have to trust in the Force to lead us to the right location. Rin and Tok, will you select a landing site so that we can have a look around?”

[Richardbuxton 7,319]

"Hey Ren, looking a those buildings is odd, that layout is very reminiscent of our Jedi temples... but the structures themselves have a much more Sith like appearance, see those arches, that carving." Rin stares out the windows, then back at the monitors for a while "what is this bloody place?" But in his head he is thinking back to those boring classes in the temple on the origins of the Jedi, most of it he completely ignored, but a little snippet of one boring subject was the combined origin of the Jedi and Sith. they had originated at the same time, from the same place and only differing values had forced them apart.

 

Finally making a decision the Dressellian turns to Tok "I think we should set down in that spot Tok, its close to a number of buildings. And being on a little rise will give us a good point of reference when we explore the forests around... cross your dam fingers theres nothing too aggressive down there"

Edited November 18, 2016 by Richardbuxton

[Jedi Ronin 1,588]

"And that anything living in them hasn't been corrupted by the dark side...and traps.  We can't forget the traps."

 

Kellen folded his arms thoughtfully.

 

"And the structure itself may not be sound.  But with the Force as our guide I'm sure we'll be fine.  And on the bright side, this is one place where having been asleep for millennia doesn't put us at a disadvantage!"

[sonovabith 936]

Tok sees the spot Rin suggests and, despite being a bit too out in the open for his liking, agrees it will provide them the best vantage point.

 

Despite the scanners picking up a relative lack of civilization, the Gotal decides it's best to hold orbit so they can make their approach while on night side of the planet. The extra hour gives everyone on board time to ready their gear and make any final preparations they see fit. 

 

For his part, Tok hands the controls over to the Dresellian and heads back to the secret, well, less secret now, compartment in the cargo hold and presses play on the machine one more time, pausing it when Morra bursts on screen, a lump forming in his throat as he soaks in his daughter's grinning face. His eyes well up as he's overcome by love, anger, fear, helplessness. 

 

He reaches out and wishes he could run his thumb across her cheek. 

 

"I'll be there soon sweetheart. Athair's going to fix this."

 

Tok chokes down his emotions and heads back for the cockpit after staring at Morra's frozen visage for longer than he means to. Rin has started the final approach to the landing zone and small dots of light below betray the planet's population. At one point the Dresellian passes closer to a mountain side than he probably means to, but it gives Tok a chance to see what appears to be a castle of some sort built into the face of the cliff. Lights from inside glow through the translucent castle walls, showing what appears to be some sort of glyphs and symbols the likes of which Tok's never seen.

 

"Well, if anyone's in there, they know we're here now," Tok thinks as Rin continues on for several hundred more kilometers before setting the diminutive freighter down atop a small mesa. The top of The Serenity, as Xaramis had no doubt ironically - considering their time in it had been anything but serene thus far - dubbed the ship, is about even with the tree line and there is a clear path down the mountain to the forest floor. Several of the stone structures they picked up on the scanners rise above the tree tops - a pair to the north and northwest look to be the largest and closest together, but still are obviously separated by at least a kilometer. Others poke through to the south and east as well, but the scanners indicate still more out there that aren't visible above the forest canopy. 

"Welcome to wherever it is we are," Tok announces on the intercom, despite being pretty sure most of the passengers have crammed themselves in the cockpit to lay eyes on the planet. "I hope your force has some idea of what we're supposed to do now that it's led us here."

Edited November 22, 2016 by sonovabith

[ColonelCommissar 1,243]

"The Force had better, because I'm stumped," Xaramis snorts, standing up from the sensor station and moving towards the exit hatch. He's had his gear ready for some time, so it's a quick trip across to the top of the landing ramp - the advantages of gaining time to prepare, for which he should probably thank the pilot at some point. Oh, I'll just catch up in a block later on.

 

He pauses at the top of the ramp, considering whether to go on. "Do we know anything about the planet? I'm not going to shrivel up and die if I breathe the air am I?"

[Kymrel 1,505]

"Well, sensors indicate that the atmosphere is not harmful. In fact, not very polluted at all," Ren-Do replies as he gathers his robes around him and walks off the ship.

[ColonelCommissar 1,243]

"I'll take that," Xaramis shrugs, following the Cerean off the ship, one hand resting lightly on the pommel of his sword. He enters a clearing in the jungle, a piece of flat ground overlooking a long, broad valley below. He licks a finger on his loose hand and raises it to the sky, testing the wind. He notices Ren-Do's confused expression at the odd act. "It made sense at the time," he brushes away the little eccentricity. Surely these mad Jedi have seen worse?

[Richardbuxton 7,319]

Being 3rd down the ramp gave Rin a clear view of the Falleen attempting to discern the wind direction What bloody good will that do us... "What are you bloody doing Xaramis? Put your finger up like that and one of them Golug Raptors is just as likely to think it's a lovely little worm... before you know it SNAP and you'll be chasin that bird right across the planet yelling 'my finger, give back my finger.' Look it's easier than that, just look up at the tops of the trees" Rin shakes his head, the young Falleen had a lot to learn about navigation, even if he was talented.

Now that they where getting closer to these buildings their appearance was becoming more mysterious. Even from here they seemed almost translucent "This way everyone, and don't touch any dam thing unless you want a week in the medbay with a Cerean doting over you."

Edited November 25, 2016 by Richardbuxton

[Ulric dOrien 108]

Sonya follows Rin down the ramp to the planet.

 

She had spent the last several days trekking through the forests of Devaron. The Force was guiding her toward something, she had no idea what it was. This was a first for her, her struggles with learning any Force ability were a source of frustration for many of the teachers at the Temple and a common jest among the less mature students. Most assumed her feeling was just a ploy to leave without the disgrace of being told she must.

If she was honest with herself, she did enjoy the solitude of the forest. It teemed with life and was frequently dangerous but her rudimentary powers and deepening understanding of the wilderness allowed her to survive. There were no beings holding her to some standard she always seemed to fall short of, if she did not meet the forest's standard she would not survive, but that was very simple to understand.

Suddenly the screech of a plummeting starship rent the air. Sonya follows the sound, reaching the site soon after the crash. After helping the survivors from the vehicle, they find their ship is not able to be repaired. They make their way back to the Jedi Temple with Sonya acting as a guide. The leader of the group, humans from Lorrd, gives Sonya a "moonstone" in thanks. It happens to work for a lightsabre crystal...

 

Sonya snaps back to the present, looking at the ruins. "At least this is real."

[kaosoe 7,573]

As the ship was coming in for a landing Garon begun to take stock of what he could of the ship's supplies. More importantly, he was gathering anything he thought he might need.

He found 2 stimpacks. He wondered how good they may be, but since they were packaged and vacuum sealed, Garon figured they would be fine. Next he checked an old utility locker. From within, he grabbed a spool of synthrope and a hammer. Finally, he made his way to the engine bay. After searching around, he found a handful of metal spikes. He was fortunate enough that, should the need arise, he would be able to swing a hammer. It took Garon some effort to ask Ren-Do for help, but in the end he was glad he did. the Cerean helped to ease the pain and bring some function back to his arm.

Tossing his gear into a bantha hide sack, the Besalisk made his way to the loading ramp to join the others.

Edited November 28, 2016 by kaosoe

[Jedi Ronin 1,588]

Kellen joined the others off the ship.

He took in a deep breath of fresh air and reached out with his feelings...and didn't sense much through the Force.

 

"So, which dangerous ruin to we explore first?  I fear we don't have much time..." Kellen thought again of Tok and his predicament. 

[LastAbys 62]

Iskander straps the knife and the flare gun onto his hip while deciding to leave the emergency medpac of the survival kit on the ship.  He replaces it with his military grade one after repacking the thermal cloak.  The Cerean, no, Ren-Do seems to be a good doctor and his physician's kit is more effective, but Iskander wouldn't hedge any bets on who's the better medic until they survive their first firefight together.  Iskander wraps his rope across his body like a bandolier then follows the rest of the group off the ship. 

 

He hears Kellen ask about which ruins they should explore first and jogs to catch up.  "I don't know if any of this is a good idea, but what about splitting up?  I've got extra commlinks from this survival kit, and Ren seems like a good guy to patch up a group if they do run into traps and if you remember, I am a combat medic." 

 

After some slight digging, Iskander pulls out the two short range comms from the pack.  "They might not have much range, and the ruins might block out some of the signals, but we could route their signals through the ships comms array to mediate some of that.  And if worse comes to worse and we can't communicate," Iskander pats the flare gun, "I do have this."

[ColonelCommissar 1,243]

"I could use one of those comlinks, if they're going spare?" Xaramis holds out a hand, smiles encouragingly, and gently pumps his pheromones. The medic doesn't even realise he's being manipulated - after all, doesn't it entirely make sense to hand the man one of his own comlinks?