Dantooine

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan could feel the Ghost Breath's thrusters declining in power as it entered the atmosphere of Dantooine. It traveled through the outer rim of the planet with ease, steadily making its way towards the nearest space port. Arlan's home was located near the space port, so it wouldn't be very long until they had arrived at his home.

 

The planet of Dantooine was incredible. It was mostly a planet made up of mainly grassland, but oceans also took up a large portion of it, as well. The inhabitants of the planet were businessmen, merchants, but most of the people who lived there were farmers. They were friendly people; aliens weren't looked down upon or treated differently. Everyone, for the most part, lived in harmony with one another.

 

The ship's auto-pilot feature guided the Ghost Breath with surprising accuracy. The craft's landing gear deployed, hovering and then soon settling within the port. The engine slowly shut down, and Arlan stood up from his chair. He made his way out of the cockpit and strode down the corridor, finding Armiena near the back of the ship.

 

”œWe're here,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan hadn't meant to eavesdrop on Armiena and Aidan, and felt foolish as soon as she noticed him behind her. Aidan was quickly falling asleep, and now Armiena had told him what was happening back on Gala.

 

His eyes widened in surprise and fright. He knew that their time here on Dantooine would be short-lived. As much as he wanted to retrieve his parents' lightsabers, he knew that Armiena had obligations to the Jedi Order that could not be delayed, especially since there was an attack put upon the temple.

 

”œDo we have to go right now?”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan nodded. He noticed how uneasy she was. She was clearly upset about the attack on the Jedi Order, but didn't seem to think it was anything serious. That greatly relieved him, knowing that the assault on the Order was probably just some petty attack. After hearing this, Arlan started to make his way towards the exit ramp. He wanted to go to his home as soon as possible. Apart from his parents' lightsabers, there were a few other things that he wanted to reclaim, as well.

 

”œAre we taking Aidan with us?”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan shook his head. He figured that Armiena's mother would tend to Aidan if he were to awaken, giving both him and Armiena time to find his parents' lightsabers, and also have her teach him a few things about the Force, as well.

 

The exit ramp of the ship slowly lowered, allowing Arlan and Armiena to walk off of the ship, and step foot onto the concrete landing platform. The open-roofed hangar was barely big enough to house the Ghost Breath, though getting out of the enclosed space would be easier than it was getting into it. A single Brith was gliding through the cloudless sky, effortlessly flying towards the horizon. Arlan watched the magnificent creature as it soared over the hangar, before he was interrupted by the sound of the bay's blast door opening.

 

A young Twi'lek walked towards them and bowed his head.

 

”œHey, Arlan,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan, struggling to retain his laughter, said, ”œHold on, I'll get you something to clean that off with.”

[Arlan Vass]

------------

 

The transport landed in Khoonda. The people who had been on Gala at the time of the attack were on the shuttle, as well as R1. He rolled towards the hatch just as it was lowering, making his way off it and onto the platform. Behind him, other people left the transport as well, heading off in different directions.

 

R1 knew where he needed to go. He traveled through the spaceport, and started to travel away from Khoonda.

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan listened to her intently, watching her trying to scrape the feces off of her shoulder, but with no luck resulting from it.

 

He nodded, starting to better understand what Armiena was talking about. He didn't care if his Force potential was high or low. He was certain that with her training, he would become a great Jedi, regardless of how attune to the Force he was.

 

It took him a few moments to realize that they had nearly gone past his house. He recognized the path that they were on, and the surrounding environment also helped him determine where he was, as well. There were two trees on the left side of his house which stretched upwards, reaching past the roof. The house itself was a bit larger than the other houses in the area, with several antennas visible on the roof. There were four windows, two on the bottom floor, two on the top, metallic shutters pulled down over them. The lawn was clearly uncared for, the weeds and tall grass proof of this. The path leading toward the front door was cracked and uneven, an easy spot for somebody to trip over.

 

Both Arlan and Armiena made their way for the front door. He suddenly heard an animal-like cry coming from inside the house. The sound echoed out towards them, and was slowly followed by silence. Arlan looked around quickly, before pulling a small blaster pistol from his right pocket.

 

”œI found it back in town,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan paused before going into his home, nodding in acknowledgement to Armiena. He went through the now-shattered entrance, moving into the first room of the house.

 

The Vass's living room was well-kept. Or, at least it was. Arlan hadn't been to his house for over a month; ever since his parents had died. The usually clean carpet was dirty, the furniture was covered with dust, and the windows were broken. The Kath that had been in here tore up some of the furniture, but most of it was undamaged. The only things that had been broken beyond repair were two chairs and a table, which were in the half-kitchen, half-dining room of the first floor. Arlan was suddenly worried that the Kath Hound had found his parents' weapons and damaged them.

 

He made his way through the living room, when he suddenly heard a small warble in one corner of the room. He fixed his gaze upon one of the corners in the kitchen, and saw a small R2 unit rocking back and forth on its wheels, apparently thrilled to see Arlan.

 

He walked over to the droid, his mouth slightly opened in disbelief. How had R2-G4 been able to keep himself hidden from the Kath Hound? He could be seen rather easily from where he was trying to hide.

 

R2 warbled what seemed to be a thousand words a second. Arlan noticed that he was trapped between two of the adjoining counters. He smiled at the humor of the situation, helping R2 get out from the small space.

 

”œHow did you even manage to get yourself in there?”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan didn't hear Armiena as she approached the house. He was upstairs in what used to be his room, staring at the holographic image of his mother and father. The image shimmered as soon as it was projected, soon re-gaining its stability. His parents looked as if they were smiling at him, though Arlan knew that they were looking into the holoprojector attached to R2.

 

Nonetheless, Arlan's heart skipped a beat as soon as the image of his parents flickered to life in front of him. They were wearing the same clothes that they wore on that fateful day they had died. Arlan's throat burned. He wanted nothing more than to embrace them both”¦ to tell them that he loved them. He remained silent though, and suddenly heard his mother's image speak.

 

”œArlan, by the time you're reading this, we've already left”¦”

[Arlan Vass]

At the sound of Armiena's voice Arlan quickly raised his arm up to his face, wiping away the tears that were still falling. He turned around and wiped his hand down his face, suddenly embarrassed that she had seen him like this. He had only known her for a few days, though he couldn't help feeling like a fool.

 

He nodded. ”œI'm sorry,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan nodded.

 

The speederbike was his father's. It seated two people, and looked rather new, despite the fact that his father had purchased it nearly ten years ago. The seats were comfortable, and the bike itself could reach a speed of five hundred kilometers an hour; it was far faster than any normal speederbike. Arlan's parents had told him that it was even possible to outrun military-grade speederbikes on it.

 

He walked over to it, checking himself to make sure that he had everything that he needed. He had his backpack, and inside of it were a few holobooks, and of course, his mother and father's lightsabers. The weapons were safe in the small compartment in the front of the pack, and Arlan was positive that they wouldn't fall out of the backpack.

 

R1 was right behind him as he pulled himself onto the bike. He remained silent as he watched Arlan climb aboard the bike. After a few moments, he beeped to Arlan, his tone filled with an unrecognizable emotion. Arlan looked at the droid, surprised.

 

 

”œYou want to stay here?”

[Arlan Vass]

As he waited for Armiena to mount the bike with him, Arlan noticed a small red button flash on the Comm system of the vehicle. There was an emergency broadcast going out to every single Jedi on Dantooine. His father had installed this feature on his bike soon after he had bought it. This worked for any sort of vehicle or ship that it was installed on. His father had thought that this was a pretty handy way of communicating back and forth with his fellow Jedi.

 

When Arlan had still lived on Dantooine, there had been many Jedi who lived on this planet, all of whom were either trying to raise a family, or had been a part of the Jedi Order that used to be here. His father would sometimes meet with a couple of his friends, who were Jedi, and go out to hunt Kinrath to brush up on their lightsaber combat.

 

Arlan pressed the button, playing the message out loud, so Armiena could also hear it.

 

”œ To my fellow Jedi, this is Jedi Master Malin Kyrell. I am in need of immediate assistance. If you can pick me up, please respond.”

[Arlan Vass]

((OOC: I'm waiting for ObsidianKnight to make a new post. As soon as they make one, then I'll repond, alright?))

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan revved the engine of the bike twice, before it was finally launched off of the ground, speeding away from his house at nearly one hundred kilometers an hour, the speed slowly increasing as it went. Arlan didn't take the path back to get to Malin's location; he figured that the fastest way to get there was travelling across the plains, instead.

 

The speederbike roared across the land, now travelling at one thousand kilometers an hour. It took no time at all for the bike to reach its maximum speed, which was one of the reasons why Arlan was thrilled to have it in his possession. He was sure that it would serve him well in the future.

 

It took perhaps several minutes until Arlan was finally able to see a small speck in the distance, which he was sure was Malin's ship. He glanced down at the screen that was in the middle of the bike, which showed the small blip which represented the craft. It was perhaps two hundred kilometers away from them. He turned his head to his side, shouting to Armiena.

 

”œI think that's his ship over there,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan shut the speederbike off, climbing off of it to introduce himself to the man. As he approached him, he noticed how badly the man was injured. He was holding his chest, possibly due to a number of broken ribs, and he had several burns and gashes covering the rest of his body. Arlan's eyes widened at the sight of the man, and hurried over to him to help him.

 

”œMy name's Arlan Vass,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan had no idea what the man was talking about. Had he been involved in some sort of fight? By the looks of it, he could have been involved in a duel with a Rancor.

 

”œWhat happened?”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan cringed at both the man's arm falling onto the ground, and at the mention of Lord Ar-Pharazon. He had discovered only a short while ago that he was the man who ordered the attack on his parents. Immediately after the man had told him that he went after the Sith Lord, Arlan started to admire him.

 

”œThat man killed my parents,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan nodded understandingly.

 

"If we want to save anything," he said, "We should really get going."

 

Arlan was eager to head to Hoth to meet the other Jedi on the Jedi Council, and to examine his parents' lightsabers more closely. He was sure that this man would be alright, whether a prosthetic was in place of his severed arm or not.

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan walked back to the speederbike and climbed onto it. He turned it on, following Malin and Armiena up the ramp, slowly bringing the vehicle into the cargo hold. He turned it off and pushed it towards the corner of the small room, releasing the straps which held R2 to the back of it.

 

The droid warbled in excitement as Arlan lifted him off of the speederbike and onto the floor. He hadn't been away from Dantooine for some time. His father had purchased him when he had visited Kashyyk, which was nearly twelve years ago. He bought the droid to both keep Arlan company, and to help keep their home in good condition.

 

Arlan grinned.

 

”œWe're going to Hoth,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan nodded.

 

”œShe's a really good teacher,”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan felt sorry for Malin. It had to be hard growing up without any parents. He considered himself lucky for ten years of having his parents in his life.

 

He looked up at him following his question, unsure as to what exact goals he had set for himself”¦ if any. He wanted to be able to control the Force, to use it to help people. He wanted to construct a lightsaber, and use the weapon in battle.

 

”œI want to become a Jedi,”

[Arlan Vass]

((OOC: Sorry! My bad.))

 

Arlan saw Armiena give Malin the medpack. He figured that it was best to leave Armiena tend to their guest, so he nodded at Malin before leaving his Master to tend to his arm.

 

He wandered about the ship, finding his way into one of the dormitories. He sat down on one of the beds, pulling his backpack off and setting it down in front of him. He opened it and looked inside of it, pulling out one of his shirts. It was a brown, long-sleeved shirt, but Arlan figured that Armiena would give him the robes that all Jedi wore when she had the time. However, he guessed that changing into warmer clothes would probably benefit him, since he was going to Hoth.

 

He pulled the shirt that he was wearing off and folded it, putting it neatly into his. He put the other shirt that he had pulled out of his pack on, immediately feeling more comfortable and warm. He kept the same pants that he was wearing on. He closed the main compartment of his backpack, opening the compartment which contained his parents' lightsabers.

 

He pulled each of them out of the bag carefully, balancing them in his hands as if they were extremely fragile. He held his mother's lightsaber in his left hand and his father's in his right. He noticed that his father's hilt fit Arlan's hand much better than his mother's did, for his mother's hilt was slightly shorter than the other.

 

He ignited his father's lightsaber first, a faint ”˜crack, followed by a hum was heard as the blade rose from the hilt. The emerald-green hue of the blade gleamed brightly in front of Arlan, who became spellbound by the sheer beauty of it.

 

His mother's hilt was ignited, the dark blue blade glowing as bright as his father's. He swung both of the lightsabers up, holding them in front of him, side by side. He slowly swung the lightsabers around in front of him, hearing the faint hum grow and fall as he moved them around, bewildered by the fact that he was handling not only one, but two weapons that were used by Jedi.

[Arlan Vass]

Delete.

[Arlan Vass]

((Delete))

[Arlan Vass]

The Ghost Breath skimmed over Dantooine's calm, nonchalant skies, its coordinates set for one of the many crystal caves that resided there. In no time at all after it'd broken through the planet's last atmospheric layer, it touched down outside of a seemingly small cave, which Arlan assumed housed the crystals necessary for the construction of his lightsaber.

 

His lightsaber. He'd spent the majority of the trip in his dormitory, thumbing through the sections on Armiena Draygo's datapad that were of relation to the weapon's construction. He read about the different parts that came together within the hilt, what each part did, and even came across a diagram that showed where each part went. During the trip, he wandered around the Ghost Breath to find her owner, who was in the midst of a hand-to-hand battle against her training dummy. Deciding that it was best not to bother her, Arlan had spent the remainder of the trip either looking through the datapad or moving various objects in his dormitory around via the Force, mostly for his own amusement ”“ and also for practice.

 

When the Ghost Breath finally landed, Arlan broke his concentration, jumping at the sound of a metal chair falling to the floor. He hadn't realized until now that he had been caught in a rather shallow level of meditation. He felt strangely at ease coming out of it, a feeling that he knew wouldn't last long. He was sure that Armiena wanted to continue on with his training, and he desperately hoped that they wouldn't be called somewhere else. While he knew that she was an important figure and had duties that only the Grandmaster of the Jedi could answer to, he hoped that they would be able to press on with his training. He felt ready to take on whatever it is she threw his way.

 

He uncrossed his legs and stood up from his bed, made his way out of his room, and began to scour the ship to find Armiena. He found her in her own dormitory, in bed, but by the looks of it, she was still awake.

 

”œWe're here, Armiena.”

[Arlan Vass]

When Armiena rose from her bed, Arlan took one step backwards, standing, once again, in her doorway. He averted his gaze from his Master's rather meager apparel, his scarlet cheeks evidence of his embarrassment. He hadn't known that she'd been sleeping in such a revealing outfit, for if he had, then he would have waited for her in the corridor.

 

She seemed unbothered by him catching sight of her wake, so when she headed into the main compartment of her ship, he followed. She headed into the galley without another word other than the simple murmur of thanks she'd given him for letting her know of their arrival. He took note of the dark circles under her eyes when she passed him, so he decided against bombarding her with questions relating to the cavern. He was more than ready to venture inside of its depths to find the necessary crystals needed for his lightsaber. He was going to bring a couple of extra bacta patches along with him before they departed, just to be safe.

 

”œBefore we head out, tell me everything that you can remember about the workings of a lightsaber.”

[Arlan Vass]

A childish grin spread across Arlan's face as Armiena swore. He'd heard it used before, but for some odd reason, hearing his master curse under her breath was amusing to him. He had to bite his tongue to keep himself from laughing out loud. To get his mind off of - well, his mind -, he processed the information that not only showed up on the holoprojector, but also everything she was able to tell him about the shimmering blue lightsaber schematic before him. The fact that so many parts were used in the weapon's constructed mildly interested him, but when she told him that it was possible to gather the necessary parts to make one from a pile of junk, he found that fascinating.

 

”œHow is that even possible?”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan could tell that Armiena was still fretting over his part in the battle above Gala. He'd given his actions some thought, but knew that his part in taking the lives of the few stormtroopers a part of Quietus's delegation had forever marked him as an enemy of the Sith. His death would bring about the end to the vendetta that he'd brought onto himself. Even if Armiena didn't think that he was ready to become a full-fledged Jedi, he knew, deep down in his heart and soul, he was. He'd witnessed more than most teenage boys ever had. He'd lost his parents, taken part in heated space battles, witnessed the slaughter of a Sith Master, and to top it off, was now a sworn enemy of the Sith. He'd witnessed the death of Armiena's prior being at the hands of the Sith Lord Slicer. He loathed that man, so it was of no surprise that he wanted to be the one to kill him. In due time, he'd get his chance. He would make sure of it. Until then, though, he had much that he wanted ”“ and needed ”“ to do.

 

Without another word, he followed his master off of her ship. The bacta patches nestled in the depth of his right pocket, and his parents' lightsabers clipped to his belt, he felt well-equipped to take on whatever it was that resided within the cavern. The mouth was as uninviting as the shadows that veiled its depths from his scrutinizing view. He cast an uneasy glance at Armiena and gave her a look that was self-explanatory. He was nervous, and perhaps a bit intimidated by the cave and what awaited him within it. He knew that this was indeed a large step in his training, and that when it came to training sessions with the Grand Master, she never made things easy for him. He could only imagine what he'd come across once he was inside.

 

He unclipped his father's saber from his belt. The grip fit his hand more-so than his mother's, and he would only use it if necessary. Knowing most of Dantooine's inhabitants ”“ residents and creatures alike ”“, he didn't think that he'd come across anything that he hadn't seen or dealt with before.

 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Moments later, he re-opened them and proceeded into the grass-covered grotto.

[Arlan Vass]

There was an insufficiency of light as Arlan ventured deeper into the cave, so to make up for it, he activated the blade of his father's Adept-style lightsaber. He plucked his mother's Adjudicator-style hilt from the backside of his belt and ignited it as well, the cobalt blade casting shadows of its own along the opposite wall. Holding the former out in front of him to be used as a make-shift torch and the other to act as a weapon, he sidled around a narrow bend in the path.

 

To his dismay, he was faced with the same thing as before. Darkness. It surrounded him. Engulfed him. Swallowed him whole. Thank the Force that this had been a straight-shot so far. He hadn't come across a single partition yet, but he was still eager to find his crystals so he could get out there. He wasn't claustrophobic, but he had issues being in unfamiliar caves that were supposedly infested with Kath Hounds and ”“

 

Something struck him. Hard. He was thrown into the wall, falling head-over-heels as he came to an abrupt stop. His lightsabers had fallen to the ground and had deactivated on impact, leaving him shrouded in darkness once again. His senses screamed for him to get up and run, but when he tried to scramble to his feet, a heavy force of some sort held him down. He couldn't see what it was, and when he tried to push it off, it felt as tough as a rock and as rough as sandpaper. He clawed at the object. Punched it. He did whatever he could do to get out from under it. Nothing he did was of any use.

 

His arms shot out as he combed the ground desperately, trying to find something ”“ anything - to use as a weapon to keep his assailant at bay. Pebbles, small fragments of rock, and soil chafed each hand. He grabbed a handful of dirt with his left and threw it in the air, hoping that he would be able to blind his aggressor. Sure enough, his counter-attack must have had some affect, for he was finally able to squirm out from underneath the creature's appendage. He jammed his hand down onto the handle of his blaster pistol, released it from its holster, and fired off as many rounds as he could before the weapon's battery overheated. A harsh, visceral sound erupted from dark form now moving towards him.

 

To his surprise, it did not attack him. Instead, it seemed to”¦ get smaller. The form reduced in size until there was an earth-trembling thud only inches away from the young Jedi.

 

Heart racing, Arlan awkwardly stood up from the ground and re-holstered his blaster. The weapon's battery had cooled down, and was no longer hot to the touch. He cautiously edged his way along the path, feeling the toe of his boot scrape against a metallic object. He bent down and touched it, ascertaining it as his mother's lightsaber. Sure enough, when he ignited it, the azure blade leapt to life. He used its source of light to see what it was that had attacked him.

 

It was indeed a kinrath. The ghastly creatures, he'd been told, infested a good majority of Dantooine's crystal caves. One question still stood, though: where in the Lord's name did it come from?

 

He found his other hilt a short while later. Not only that, but an entirely different pathway that lead off of the one he'd been taking. At the end of it was a narrow horizontal crescent of light. There seemed to be no other way for him to go, for the path he'd been taking met a wall of solid rock. He proceeded further into the cave, now keeping an eye and ear open for any other pending threat. He kept a firmer hold around both of his lightsabers, and was surprised to find that a rather steep incline was what separated him from the dim hemisphere. He took it, and when he reached the top, a wide, well-lit opening stood before him. It led into an even brighter circular-shaped fissure, in which a wide array of bright-colored semiprecious stones resided. He smiled, wiping a dirty hand across his moist forehead which was damp with perspiration.

 

He'd found it at last.

 

He took a cautious step into the interval, and sometime after analyzing the different crystals and their colors, set to work on finding ”“ and harvesting - the ones needed for his lightsaber”¦

[Arlan Vass]

~Son of a Kath Hound!~

 

Arlan inhaled sharply through his nose and put his finger to his lips. He'd cut it on a jagged amber-colored crystal, which now bore witness to the flecks of crimson. He stuck his other hand into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a plastic jar that contained the bacta patches that he'd brought along with him. Taking one out, he separated the piece of gauze-like material from its package and carefully wrapped it around his marred appendage. It would take a minute or two for the wound to completely heal, so to busy himself until it did, he began the process of transferring his collected crystals from the ground into a small metal box that he'd also brought along with him.

 

His heart started at the sound of Armiena's voice. He'd been so used to the quietness of the chamber that he completely forgot about her being in the cave with him. He turned around, but just as he was about to remove the lid to show her the crystals he'd gathered, he caught sight of his master's maltreated appearance. He wondered if she'd come across a kinrath like he had. That wouldn't have been of any surprise to him, but judging by the extent of her injuries - and the knowledge of the fact that she was an expert duelist and combatant alike -, he suspected that something else had happened.

 

”œArmiena... w-what happened?”