Shadows and Dust

[Ulric dOrien 108]

"Wrong you were, my technician friend. Forty people, our deaths could have saved."

Sonya feels what she assumed normal people feel seeing others die, grief and horror. The destruction of the Aurora Grey brings back all of the raw emotions from the Battle of Ossus. Emotions she had denied at the time. Master Dao's words returned "Through you, your emotions must flow. As they empty, peace you find. Holding on to emotions, this is the path of the Dark Side. Denying the existence of the Dark Side, denying emotions is. Something you cannot afford to do, this is."

She lets the grief pass. The only sign of her inner distress is a single tear as she reaches the conclusion that Master Dao must be one with the Force or he would have searched for them. As calm returns, she promises herself a good workout once they enter hyperspace to burn off any chemical residue from her emotions.

[Prophyt 776]

While in hyperspace, Ren-Do feels compelled to reach out with his diminished Force powers to sense life forms. At first, his power functions as normal, he senses the life energy of his hastily assembled companions on the ship, a few rodentia stowaways in various compartments, and even the ghosts of life energy around the ship's hull. However, this quickly changes, as the focus of his mind's eye becomes the sphere in Rin's satchel. The sphere is a beacon of the Living Force this time, overwhelming his Sense, but just before it threatens to blind him, he can see the object unfolding like a flower bud in the fresh light of morning. He now knows it can be opened and how to do so.

[kaosoe 7,573]

Garon simply ignored the newcomer. Too much was happening at once, and he could barely keep up. Though he did make a mental note on her strange appearance. She had the facial features of a Devarionian, but she was missing all the fur.

 

 

When told to help out in any way he could in the Engineering bay, Garon complied. He was down-right useless in these situations. He always was. The Jedi encouraged a broad-range of skills. And indeed, many of his peers were fine pilots, but Garon simply did not have the coordination for that sort of mess. So he helped where he could. He turned valves, he carried crates, and he unjammed pistons.

 

An odd silence befell the crew and he turned to a nearby view port to see just why. The archeological ship they had just disembarked from was being cut to ribbons by a Sith imperial battle ship. No Garon corrected, not Sith. Just imperial. He witnessed the defenseless vessel's destruction and felt... nothing. He should be sad. He should be angry. But he wasn't. This wasn't his first time watching another person die. Indeed, he was overwhelmed with emotion on that occasion.

 

Trial of the flesh.

 

It was one of the five trials to become a Jedi knight. The trial of the flesh was about loss; loss of something valuable and irreplaceable. In most cases, those who completed the Trial of the Flesh had lost a limb to a lightsaber. Garon scratch the scar across his face. In other cases, you lose someone close. A friend, a family member, a mentor. They say you are never the same after you complete the Trial of the Flesh.

 

The Besalisk swallowed his thoughts.

 

I wonder if they got any drink on this bucket?

 

He was tired. So very tired.

Edited July 31, 2016 by kaosoe

[Kymrel 1,505]

As the stars speed past the window Ren-Do feels a calm come over him. The Imperial destroyer had killed those people. He had done all he could to warn them off. Deep down inside he can’t help thinking what he could have done if his connection with the Force had not been all but severed. Perhaps then he could have taken the fight to the enemy. But the grim reality was that a single being, no matter how strong with the Force, could not have prevented that destroyer from simply detaching and blowing up the archaeological ship.

 

He leans back in the seat and allows himself to relax fully. He opens himself up to the Force. The disturbance from 40 or more people would once have registered as at least a subtle ripple in the Force, but in his current condition he could feel no change. Was it the fact that the Force was different here, thousands of years in the future? Or had the stay in the cryo-tube, far longer than the mechanism had been built to sustain, damaged him somehow? If so, was the damage permanent? So many questions. I must trust in the Force. It has brought me here for a reason. The rest will take care of itself.

 

As he leaves himself open to the Force he can feel how sad the other beings are now that the adrenalin is no longer coursing through their veins. But as he lets himself sense them he can again feel a presence he felt before in the sterile room on the ship that was destroyed a few minutes ago. The Sphere. What is it? Some kind of a holocron? As I recall the holocrons shown to me when I was a youngling looking at the archives in the Jedi Temple were all square in shape.

 

Ren-Do slowly unbuckles his safety belt and stands up. He walks to the Dresselian. Rin. His name is Rin. I know him. Or I used to know him. “Can you sense it too? The sphere? I can feel it humming. It is connected to the Force somehow. And I think I know how to unlock its secrets.”

 

As Rin gets up the Cerean walks to the Falleen. “If you don’t mind,” he says, picking up the comlink and switching the device to a general address throughout the ship.

 

“Gentlebeings. We are away and safely in hyperspace. And since we have some time now, free of pressure from enemies hunting us, I think we should reconvene in the lounge-area I spied as I entered the ship and discuss the predicament we now find ourselves in.”

 

He puts down the comlink and looks at the others in the cockpit. “Shall we?”

 

As the group of people gathers in the communal area Ren-Do starts by introducing himself, for the benefit of the newest member of the group. He then explains to her how the other beings woke up from cryo-tubes on board the archaeological vessel after about 4000 years in stasis. Finally, before proceeding to examine the strange sphere, he asks the beings present to introduce themselves and say a little about who they are and what the frozen Force-users know of their background.

 

“I will go first,” he says. “My name is Ren-Do Uvara. I am a Jedi Knight. Or I was until I was put into stasis about 4000 years ago, when the Sith through some dark sorcery caused several stars to go supernova, destroying both a large Sith fleet and large parts of the Republic fleet my ship was a part of. I am having trouble remembering events of my life prior to this hibernation, and I have noticed that my connection to the Force is much diminished after I woke up. And that my weapon seems to be damaged by the experience as well. I do not know if my memory, or connection with the Force will return to me in time or not. I must simply belief that there is a reason I’m here. It is the will of the Force.”

 

As the others speak he nudges Rin, sitting next to him, and whispers: “The sphere. Could I see it, please? We Cereans are blessed with binary brains and I only need one to concentrate on what the others are saying. I’d like to use the other to examine the device. I belief I know how to open it and find out what it does.”

 

While listening to the stories the others have to say he quietly focuses a part of his brain on unlocking the mystery that lies on the table in front of him.

[Jedi Ronin 1,588]

Kellen stands up tall from leaning against a support beam.

"I am Kellen Venn. I am also a Jedi Knight. I was trained as a sentinel - to deal with the Sith and dark side users. I had been at the Jedi Temple on Ossus for about a month before the Sith attacked. My master was killed in the fighting. I do not seem to have suffered any memory loss. I remember my fellow Jedi but I didn't know any of you well or for very long. My connection to the Force is also weakened. And I have no explanation or cure for it. I hope we can reassemble something of our Order and be of use to the galaxy once again. There was a Jedi Templr in Devaron, my home world but I don't know if it's safe and more. I'd also like to thank Xaramis and Tok for bravely risking their lives for us. We are in your debt."

Edited July 31, 2016 by Jedi Ronin

[ColonelCommissar 1,243]

"Well it was - and I'm sure Tok would agree with me here - the least we could do to retrieve you," he grins. "Though of course, I'll happily accept your offer of a debt. I always wanted my own posse," he winks at Tok.

 

"My name is, as you may have gathered, Xaramis, of the noble house of Herbray. I am a citizen until recently of Falleen, the second son of my noble and honoured parents. I was sent out into the galaxy to explore it in all its wonderment, and this I have done - seeing the sights and sampling the pleasures, if you will. I actually ended up on this expedition at the prompting of a companion of mine, Mallira, though I hadn't seen her for some time prior to departure, the brakast. Regardless, now I suppose we're all travelling together, and that may prove problematic, as I have no suggestions of where we should go on to. I'd suggest that we return to Falleen and see if we could lay low, but I get the feeling that I wouldn't be entirely welcome if I turned up at home with a group of friends who may or may not be in deep trouble with the law. My parents aren't exactly sympathetic to such things."

[kaosoe 7,573]

Garon was interrupted from his thoughts by the newly familiar voice of the Cerean. The darn conehead likes to talk doesn't he.

 

Silently he made his way to the common room. First Ren-Do introduced himself, then Kellen, and then Xeramis. He remained silent as each spoke about themselves. Though he could not figure out why, the Besalisk decided to introduce himself next.

 

My name is Garon Yuzik. I'm a Jedi, but I'm no knight. He looks to the others Jedi. I recognize a few faces or names, but I can't say that we've ever talked or anything.

 

The Gundard paused. He knew how blunt he must have come off, but he hardly cared anymore if he offended anyone.

 

People are going to think what they want to think he reminded himself.

 

Like Kellen, I guess you could say I was trained to hunt and kill Sith too. But there aren't any Sith, anymore. Not by the sound of it at least.

 

He let his words linger in the air.

 

Unsure of what to say next, he took a seat by the Dejarik board and allowed the others to speak.

Edited July 31, 2016 by kaosoe

[Prophyt 776]

As Ren-Do focuses on the sphere, thin cracks appear along the edges of the four hemispheres.

[Ulric dOrien 108]

Trained to hunt and kill Sith? Mention this Master Dao did not.To understand a situation and resolve it, I was trained.

Sonya steps forward from the area she was standing in.

"Hello. Sonya Damascene my name is. A padawan I am. From four thousand years ago?"

She looks at the others for confirmation and then goes on.

"My memories intact are, but my connection to the Force like my fur gone is. Well, a tiny bit remains. Of the Force."

She then nervously backs to her place in a doorway and looks at the Doorintta Bahn.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Ulric dOrien

[sonovabith 936]

While the ancient Jedi are reintroducing themselves to each other, Tok rummages through the cupboard and holds in the common area. Finding a sealed bottle of Whyren's Reserve tucked behind a few boxes is the best thing that's happened to him in the past two hours.

He keeps looking until he discovers a glass, and realizes he has to keep up a charade for a bit longer. He digs out a few more and sets them on a table off to the side.

Using his vibroknife, he slits the flimsiplast seal on the bottle and pulls the stopper, running it briefly under his nose to get a gauge on how this particular vintage will taste. Not that it really matters — he's drinking it no matter what.

The ancient Jedi continue their data dump as he pours the deep Amber liquid into the glass and swirls it to release the aroma. He breathes it in deeply and takes a taste, the sweetness off set by the burn coursing down his throat and — did Xaramis just wink at me? — spreading out to his extremities.

He pours another glass and drops it in front of the Besalisk who seems only the tiniest bit more pleased with the situation than Tok himself. The Devaronian with odd syntax finishes her tale and he clears his throat.

"The name's Veltok Mihn. You've clearly discovered I go by Tok. You also know I was hired to watch over you. That's what I plan to do. Excuse me."

And with that he pours five more glasses of liquor and returns to the cockpit, bottle and glass in hand.

Edited August 1, 2016 by sonovabith

[kaosoe 7,573]

Garon accepted his portion without hesitation and downed the liquid in one gulp. He savored the smoothness of the libation as it burned down his throat. The council would be very disappointing in his indulgence, but at the moment he could give to womp-rats what the council would have thought. He nodded to Veltok and placed his glass forward, silently asking for an additional portion.

[Richardbuxton 7,319]

Tok engages the hyperdrive with the now accurate coordinates entered into the automated control system, machines deep within the ship suddenly hum loudly as the entire ship prepares for the jump to hyperspace. Then in the blink of an eye the view shifts from a static star field to a blur of movement...

 

"Rin, snap to it, you need to focus more and clear your mind while trusting the Force. It will guide you in making the calculations, it will push you in the right direction and carry you on your lives journey. Now lets drop out and try it again, this time i want you to think harder. Focus on the flame, feed your thoughts to it, let it grow, then when everything is gone open your mind to it and let it lead you."

 

Rin was sitting in the cockpit of a small ship... Wraiths Fury was our scout ship... moving fast through the void of space, Tun'Liak his Twi'Lek mentor next to him with a small bird on her shoulder. Normally Tun would expect Rin to learn by watching, learn by doing. Today though was one of those rare occasions where she stopped everything and dedicated it to Rin, these days where some of the hardest. This time it was lessons in calculating hyperspace jumps, she was trying to teach him that a NavComp was unnecessary, that if a student of the Force trusted their intuition enough then they could near instantly enter the coordinates and make the jump much much faster than any mechanical device. 

 

"Now this time I want you to plot a course to the Onganta system, we stopped their briefly some years back but I believe its time we made a proper attempt at mapping those moons"

 

...Snapping back tot he present is a bit of a shock, the different cockpit is jarring. The presence of a Gotal in the captains seat where there should have been a Twi'Lek was gut wrenching. A deep feeling of loss fills Rin... but why?

 

Ren-Do enters his thoughts with his comment of "Shall we?"

 

"Bloody oath, be nice to know more than I do now" Rin stands from the co-pilot seat and heads mack into the ship to where the rest of the crew have gathered. He sits quietly listening to the rest talk before standing to his full height

 

"My name is Ren... I don't bloody know if thats it, or if theres more. I had a Mentor, Tun'Liak was her name, but i doubt she lasted 4000 years to form a welcoming party. But i guess that makes me a Padawan. We used to travel, a dam lot i think, but i don't know where. By Sith I don't know much to be honest, cant remember my family, or training, I just know here is where I am. Now where we are going I have no idea, but not back there is for sure, if this Empire has outlawed Jedi then I guess its time i figured out just how good i was at not being where others wanted me."

 

He steps over to the solid timber table, Furhan trunk if I'm not mistaken, picks up a glass and raises it "To keeping each other safe from the Empire, bloody Sith"

[Ulric dOrien 108]

Analyze a situation and resolve it...
Reflecting a moment, Sonya strives to live up to her teacher's expectations. She steps to Rin's side, "Doorinnta Bahn, your name is. More than this, I know not. Sorry."
She moves to the table, raises a glass and inhales the aroma. Delicious but bad for training. She sets it in front of the Besalisk. "All yours, Garon."
She glances toward the cockpit. Ask Tok who hired him, I must. After this.
She ends her movement next to the Cerean, examining the Ossus artifact he is in the process of activating, while begining to stretch for her upcoming practice session.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Ulric dOrien

[Kymrel 1,505]

After introducing himself the Cerean seems to pay little attention to the others, focusing instead on the sphere in his hand. When Tok offers an alcoholic beverage he nods politely but does not drink. Alcohol clouds the mind. I will need to keep a clear head for now.

 

As Rin speaks a memory once lost surfaces.

 

Ren-Do is standing on the bridge of a Republic corvette talking to a Twi’lek Jedi master. The ship is docked to a space station orbiting an orange gas giant. “I regret that I will not be able to accompany you as planned,” the Twi’lek says. “The council has other plans for me, I’m afraid. But fear not, I will send my padawan, Doorintta Bahh, to guide your ship on the mission. He will be able to make the final jump out of any of the known hyperspace lanes, past the Sith blockade.”

 

A tall Dresselian stands behind the Twi’lek, his blue eyes staring at the Cerean. As the Twi’lek walks away he steps awkwardly forward. “You can skip all the bloody unnecessary formalities, just call me Rin...” He is cut off mid-sentence by his departing master. “Rin, do try to stop the swearing, it is not becoming of a Jedi, you sound like a deckhand from the Mid-Rim.” The Dresselian seems either annoyed or cowed, it was hard to see which.

 

As Rin finishes speaking Ren-Do looks up from the sphere. “Very good. Five Jedies, displaced in time. And Sonya here wasn’t even on our vessel, from what I can tell. That does confirm that the Imperials were not inspecting our ship by some random chance. They were collecting. Which begs the question if there are any more Jedis in cryo-tubes out there.”

 

He gingerly lifts up the sphere, showing the cracks that have formed on its surface. “This was stowed away in the cryo-tube of a Jedi master whose name I can’t remember at the moment. He did not survive the hybernation, it is likely that his tube malfunctioned in some way. When we had just awoken from our hybernation it sent out a powerful shout through the Force, bringing it to our attention. It has a strong Force-signature, both the dark side and the light, although the light seems stronger.”

 

The serious Cerean looks at Xaramis. “What is interesting is that the shout wasn’t only noticed by us Jedi. Xaramis here also heard it, even if Tok did not. This leads me to belief that he is Force-sensitive. If the Jedi order had not been outlawed it is likely that you would have been taught in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. You might even be a Jedi now, despite your ... reservations. But that is a discussion for another day.”

 

He looks at the sphere. The cracks seem wider now. “I think I have cracked it, so to speak. It is activated in much the same way as the Jedi holocrons I remember since I was a youngling. I think I know how to get this open fully and activated.”

 

He concentrates, trying to use his diminished connection to the Force to the fullest to activate the sphere.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Kymrel

[Richardbuxton 7,319]

"Doorintta Bahh... Hu! Well I'll be, thank you Sonya..."

[Doorintta Bahh, Doorintta Bahh, seems nice enough, well that solves one bloody mystery, wonder what else these blocks of ice know about me? Later I think]

"So Ren, need help with that thing? I can feel it pushing outward with the Force, but I'm not certain I can sense any fluctuations that would let us access it."

[Kymrel 1,505]

"Be still. Concentrate," is the only reply.

[Prophyt 776]

With further prodding from Ren-Do and the other Jedi through the Force, the sphere splits open along its hemisphere borders, which unfold like the petals of a flower bud exposed to the first rays of morning sun.

The hemispheres flatten out and shift slightly to form a flattened square on the table's surface. Above the center of the square, a small point of gentle light slowly pulses where the center of the sphere would have been.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Prophyt

[Kymrel 1,505]

"Hm. Curious," Ren-Do says, thinking carefully on how to proceed. He tries to continue focusing on the light and then reaches out with his hand as if to touch it.

[Richardbuxton 7,319]

"Woah, woah, are you sure it's safe to touch?" Rin blurts out as Ren reaches out. "I mean sure it may be, but what if it bloody isn't? Not that I know any good way of testing the thing... Ah what the heck, it's your hand not mine!"

[ColonelCommissar 1,243]

"Only one way to find out," says Xaramis. "I'll try anything once, and if I'm going to be trained by you people I might as well find out what all the toys do," he leans in and picks up the object, holding it before him. "Hello, is this thing on?"

[Prophyt 776]

The second Xaramis touches the light floating above the center of the square, blue light fills the ship and the minds of all on board...

[End of Session 1]

[Prophyt 776]

[session 2]

 

The group wakes up to bright blue light pounding against their eyelids. Upon opening their eyes, they find themselves in a space composed entirely of blue light. Slowly, the light coalesces into shapes - objects and individuals - ethereal things made from the same blue light. The individuals in the group are made of the ghostly light as well, but instead of being blue, they appear in varying shades of purple with a little more blue in some cases. Most of the group's clothing has been replaced by flowing robes and loose-fitting pants and shirts. Tok's clothes have been replaced by a well-tailored pilot's dress uniform from the pre Great Sith War era of the Galactic Republic, and instead of being manifested blue light, he appears to be more grey.

 

Gradually, the light dims and the group can make out the shapes of buildings, trees, and what appear to be computer consoles and tool chests...

Edited August 2, 2016 by Prophyt

[Ulric dOrien 108]

"Argh! Another one of those Force training visions. From a holocron, this I should have expected."

Sonya begins stretching, trying to clear the frustration and annoyance of  previous less than optimal experiences. While watching the others for reactions, she eventually begins rummaging through the tool boxes looking for items to repair and improve lightsabers. "Are they also experiencing this or is this all for me, I wonder."

She remembers hearing tales of people returning with items from visions and it is something to do while waiting for the purpose to reveal itself. 

[Kymrel 1,505]

"Well this is certainly unusual," Ren-Do says as he realizes something has happened. He looks down and finds that he is dressed in the casual clothing, similar to what Jedi would wear when relaxing in the Temple. He looks around and seeing nobody other than the people on the ship he approaches one of the computer terminals and sees if it's working. Is this a Force vision? Am I supposed to recognize this place? What is going on here?

[Jedi Ronin 1,588]

Force visions were part of becoming a Jedi Knight but each one was unique and trying.

"Now is a time to watch our emotions.  I suspect we will be tested.  Force visions usually reveal something of your own nature or of the nature of the universe, the past, present, future, or answer questions."

 

Kellen took a moment to calm his mind and heart then walked around the room looking for anything that might offer insight into the nature of this Force vision and the holocron's gate keeper.

Edited August 2, 2016 by Jedi Ronin