Ads-Gop Flif

Ads was about to disembark when I realized that the ship was still in outer space and that Ads would have died quite horribly. So instead, Ads stayed on the ship. Ads either turned or walked toward Onderin, depending on the configuration of the shuttle. Looking out the forward viewport, he asked, "So are we, um, are we just here to pick up, uh, Qaela's ship and then," he paused to gesticulate his uncertainty, "get out of here or what?

The Last Call. That was a place that Ads had spent a lot of time. "The Last Call. That's a place I've spent a lot of time. Not that I'm an alcoholic or anything. Because I'm not one." Ads was intrigued by the prospect of meeting Sith, especially in the supposed "safest place in the galaxy." What would happen? Would the Sith try to pull any funny business? Either way, it would be interesting at the very least. It almost seemed like the bad holovids about total enemies coming together to face a mutual enemy. Although this was actually legitimate and was probably for the best. "So in other words, I am ready to go there."

((Sorry, I've been really busy lately and will be the rest of the week. Next week is my Spring Break so I don't know how reliable I'll be through then. I'll try to post but donn't count on me replying to any specific post through about the end of March. I'm currently posting from class actually because it's the most free time I have so this will be a short post, sorry!)) Ads turned to see who was speaking. At first he didn't realize the man was speaking to them but there was something compelling about the voice that made Ads want to check it out. He wasn't sure what to make of what the man was saying, so he expectantly looked to Onderin, waiting for his response.

"Why not?" Ads responded as he approached Onderin and Qaela. A blast of hot, humid air met him at the boarding ramp. It was oppressive after traveling in the cool, sterile air of the transport. Nevertheless, Ads hiked up his pack and tightened the straps. And of course he buckled the chest and hip straps on his way down the gangplank; it just looks silly to walk around with those bouncing around all over the place. When Ads got to the bottom he realized that he had no idea where he was going so he stepped aside as if he had headed out to wait on purpose.

"Master, you asked if Faust had done anything truly big. Didn't he ruin the Corellian stock exchanges and economy? Or does that not count?" ((Ads didn't ask if they don't count to be rude or sarcastic but rather because it is something that only matters for NPCs and being force-sensitive, of course Ads can tell that what happens to them isn't really that big of a deal.))

Ads didn't know what to make of Faust announcing his next location to them. Who does that? Seriously, were they in a movie without realizing it? Faust was really doing a good job playing the part of the bad guy, being overly grandiose (not that that's technically possible, but still he was being evil to an insane degree. It was as if this were all a game to Faust; it didn't seem like he really had any specific intentions other than be crazy, mess stuff up, and perhaps have a bit of fun. This made Ads almost less wary of Faust but he was less sure of Faust's intentions. "Are we sure that it's either a trap or a diversion though? Is Faust really such a stereotypical bad guy that he would do that? Also, sorry this is only tangentially relevant, but why doesn't Coronet have a missile defense system? Seriously, we should not have had to save them from that bomb. Anyway, what if Faust is just telling us where he's going? Isn't this all just a game to him?"

Ads could tell something was wrong but he wasn't sure what. Whatever it was, it was dangerous. A voice spoke out from the Jedi'...the commlinks on the Jedi'...the commlinks that belonged to the Jedi ((seriously, does anyone know the plural possessive of Jedi?)). The man speaking didn't sound very nice. But seriously, how was it that everyone could hack everything? Was there no such thing as cybersecurity? Regardless, Ads was used to this sort of thing and didn't think anything of a bad, bad man speaking over his commlink. It sounded rather harsh. It sounded rather-- "Incoming missile!" Oh. Then the voice wasn't very nice. In fact, it was quite maleficent. But that was only marginally important for the time being. You know what? You can skip this paragraph without really missing anything. With an incoming missile, it was definitely important that the voice meant to do evil and therefore the missile would not be full of confetti or kittens (don't worry, the kittens, due to their low terminal velocity, would likely survive falling from such a great height as established here and here). It was almost certainly a missile filled with death. Metaphorically, of course. So the killing everyone thing was probably more important than whether the voice actually meant to do harm. Good thing Ads didn't actually think all of these words though, this way they have a slightly improved chance of survival and saving the city (or at least the planet). Qaela called out for assistance from the Jedi and Ads simply did what she said because it seemed like they would all be dead if he didn't. So he reached out to her and followed her lead. He let the Force flow through him. He could feel it swirling around him; he could almost see the gradient of the Force energy surrounding him. Through the Force, he burned bright and luminous as a star. The power of the force expressed itself strongly through him, the Force flowed across the Distance within a certain amount of Time, creating the Power. Scientifically speaking, that is. Conveniently, the Force didn't necessarily follow the laws of physics so it was still to be seen if their defense would be effective against the missile and its devastating yield.

Ads was certainly shocked by the death of the agent. To say the least, he wasn't expecting the man to suddenly drop dead. There wasn't much that needed to be explained but Ads could tell by the wave of dark energy how the man had died. He turned toward the woman to see what was going on. Qaela went off on the Jedi, giving them one of her famous monologues. Ads didn't really have any idea what to make of what she was saying. Of course Onderin wouldn't let her just give a speech and be done. He had to return the speech. And she really didn't give him any choice but to have her arrested. She had murdered a man in front of not only Jedi but security officers as well. Despite the inevitability, the decision greatly upset Qaela. Seeing Onderin do the same, Ads grabbed his gently-used lightsaber (only one previous owner!) from where it hung by his side. It disheartened Ads that it had come to this. While Ads did not particularly like Qaela--people as blunt and harsh as her always left a bad taste in his mouth--he didn't want to have to fight her and he certainly did not want to kill her. Even more, he hoped you guys haven't noticed how often I use the word "certainly." "Qaela..." he pleaded, not knowing quite the words to say or if it was even his place to speak. Onderin knew Qaela better and surely knew that Qaela didn't stand a chance in that fight as well as Ads did. If anyone would be able to calm down the Nightsister it would be him.

While the senate was seemingly going crazy over Faust's announcement, Ads wasn't completely sure what to make of the announcement. Of course the HoloNet was hijacked all the time, probably more often than regular programming aired and it was usually raving madmen or personal messages that did not need to be viewed by quadrillions, if not more. Why should Ads be concerned about yet another unstable man calling for the downfall of the Senate and for his own glory? And yet Onderin seemed to take the message seriously to some degree, so perhaps there was something to it. Either way, if Faust was where the agent said he was, it didn't seem like the conflict would end quite so soon. If he was not there, thenat least the Jedi had a lead.

Ads only had to round a few corners before finding an officer. Of course Ads didn't want to bring back more enemy operatives so he had the officer identify himself and answer a few more questions. Being sufficiently satisfied that the man was who he said he was (at least given the time constraints), Ads brought the man to the scene of the fight.

Even as Ads leaped up the fight was finished. Landing where the concussion grenade had been moments ago, Ads heard his master tell him to find survivors. Reaching out through the Force, Ads felt that four of the men were still alive. He quickly identified them. Two were unconscious, and one seemed quite woozy but the other one was in bad shape. "Master, there are three others, but this man needs immediate medical attention."

Ads's lightsaber was sticking out the back of one of the officers before he even realized he'd actually grabbed it. He could still feel the Force ravelling around him, waiting for its moment. Not even pausing to withdraw his blade, he ripped it through the man, cutting into the one beside him. Using the force more than his own strength, Ads pulled his lightsaber out of the second man's torso, a look of fear on the man's face. Ads leaped back, moving away from the men; at the end of the maneuver, the group was between him and Onderin. A few men had separated from the group. As Ads rolled back toward the bulk of the group, the men sprayed liquid nets to capture not only the Jedi, but their own men as well. The Force flowing through Ads acted of its own accord, blasting out from him. The mist spraying from the Stokhli spray sticks was batted aside by the force shockwave. The shockwave, travelling apart from the laws of physics ((as implied by the fact that it travels faster than the speed of light yet still interacts with everyday objects)) did not suffer any momentum loss as it swatted the mist back on the attackers. Their screams could be heard as the men in the main group hit the floor. They had, of course, been knocked though the air as well. As the men with the shock sticks passed out, Ads jumped up to the ceiling to attack the men from above.

((Sorry, I didn't realize we'd switched threads)) Ads was glad to be on his birthworld. He hadn't really lived on Corellia for a long time, but he still had a few memories of his hometown and a trip or two to Coronet. As Ads disembarked behind Onderin, he looked around, taking in the city with a childish delight. It was a cool day with a light drizzle but that hardly damped his spirits. A team of police officers confronted the Jedi. They had come to help with the investigation but their knowledge seemed to be...seriously lacking. They seemed entirely unproffesional, not speaking with the respect most police seemed to give ordinary citizens, let alone Jedi. The men didn't stand in any typical order. They surounded the Jedi. Something was seriously wrong. Perhaps it was only due to the fact that he had just constructed it, but Ads felt his hand being drawn to his lightsaber. Ads could feel himself drawing the Force in toward himself as he shouted at the men surrounding the Jedi. "STOP! Onderin," obviously calling to his master wasn't necessary after yelling from just behind him, but he needed to know something was wrong. The side of Ads' hand lay on his thigh, inches from his lightsaber, ready to engage with just a twitch of his wrist. Ads could feel himself losing control, his body becoming more and more an instrument of the Force, ready to flow through him. The Flow was readying to lash out..

((I had a long post typed up and then my tablet restarted and I lost everything. Sorry this will be vague but I hate redoing things.)) Ads spread out the pieces for his lightsaber and selected some and put them together. The hilt was silvery, it could only be turned on by Ads and there was a knob on the outside. It had a green crystal. Ads turned it on and it didn't blow up. Ads told Arleigh he was going out and then went to Onderin and Qaela with his new lightsaber clipped onto his belt. ((I will leave it up to others to decide when Ads shows up because it obviously would take longer than a minute for him to build the lightsaber.))

((Sorry that I've been procrastinating for so long)) "Okay, that sounds great. Do we have any idea what really happened there?" Ads asked as he headed off for the ship. Luckily, due to plot contrivances, they were able to make it back to the ship rather quickly and without having to stop to eat or camp out. They didn't even all have to talk so it was really quick. When they got back to the ship, Ads met up with Onderin. "So, are we ready to work on construction?"

Ads smiled at the girl's question. "Well, we found everything that we needed to find. From my understanding, while there are many parts of a lightsaber, only the one crystal might actually have a connection to its owner, although I am not sure. Thsat doesn't mean that lightsabers aren't unique--I have seen many unique lightsabers--just that this crystal is what gives it its Force connection to the Jedi." Taking ther last few steps out of the cave, Ads approached Onderin. "Well, I got what I came here for," Ads announced to his master, patting his pack where he had apparently placed the crystal by now.

((No worries, I just got home after finals last night)) Ads reassuringly placed his hand on Arleigh's shoulder. He looked at trhe crystals, taking in their soft glow. The orange wwas definitely not as eerie as the blue, although the anger that Arleigh felt was just as creepy. What made it worse was that Ads couldn't feel anything from the crystals that Arleigh had touched. He didn't think she was making it up, what sense would there be in that? Ads realized that not only could he not feel the anger that Arleigh mentioned, but he couldn't realy feel anything significant from any of the crystals. Except one. Perhaps it was just a function of how strongly the one crystal was calling out to him, singing to him, but he couldn't really hear anything significant from the other crystals. He made up his mind to not let that bother him and answered Arleigh's question that he realized he had left hanging. "I wouldn't necessarily advise it. I won't say no because I don't really know much about them, but I do know that crystals are fairly important or symbolic or...something to Jedi. If it isn't your crystal then perhaps you're not meant to have it. For example, I can tell the exact location of the crystal that I am coming in here to get. I can tell how to get there and everything. If you can't, then it may be the wrong one or meant for someone else. That said, I don't really know how this all works so perhaps it's not a big deal if you take a random crystal. Either waya, I'm going this way to get my crystal," Ads said, pointing behind his back. "Keep up if you don't want to get lost!" Ads turned and headed through the cave. After some turns and maybe a few twists, he had finally reached it. To him, it shone with an inner beauty. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of finally constructing his own lightsaber. After a moment's pause to take it in, he reached out and plucked it from where it had grown. He held it, felt its weight in his hand, and realized how perfect it was. No matter what anyone did, it was his crystal and nothing could change that. Ads pulled a cloth from his pack and swaddled the crystal. He gently cradled it, not wanting to drop it and put it in harm's way. "Come on, Arleigh," he said to the girl, not taking his eyes off othe the crystal, its soft glow reflecting off of his face. Its birthing cry was the sweetest thing he had ever heard through the Force. Finally taking his eyes off of the crystal, he began the climb out of the cave. ((If Ads ever has a baby, I'm definitely going to copy and paste this post.))

((A small note first: Sith lightsaber crystals were typically synthesized. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with the red crystals, I just want you to know.)) Ads nodded at Arleigh's words. The crystals she noted were a deep scarlet. While not quite blood red, they definitely evoked the image. Ads reached down to help the girl back onto her feet. As the pair stood back up, Ads asked her "What did you feel?" He had an idea what she would say, but he left the words up to her. Edit: Wow, posting from your phone really makes a post seem longer than it is.

((Apparently I got logged out while typing on my phone so I lost some of my post. Sorry if it's not great.)) Ads was almost surprised to hear Arleigh speak. She had been so quiet during the hike; Ads had become used to he just following him around. When she spoke, she did so confidently although Ads could sense that she wasn't quite as sure of herself as she acted. Ads felt strangely responsible for her as she asked him whether she should stick with him or not. "Yeah, follow me. We don't want you getting lost and I don't know what else is in the caves." Ads looked to Onderin and Qaela before turning back to Arleigh. Nodding to the caves, he asked her, "Shall we?" and he stepped down into the cave. He barely had to tap into the Force to find the crystal he was looking for. Although the crystal had already faded a good deal since the wave of dark side energy, being so close to it more than made up for the dampening. ((I lost stuff starting here so I'm just going to jump to the stuff that's most relevant to you.)) The caves glowed in an eerie blue light that was ethereal and Ads thought it might have come from the Force and then Ads asked Arleigh, "Can you feel the crystals? They're focusing and amplifying the force."

"Uhh...we're close enough. I guess. If we really rush and if we don't take a break to sleep, we should be back to the ship by morning." Ads wolfed down the rest of his meal and picked up his pack. "Coronet?" Ads asked, childhood images of the Jewel of Corellia jumping to mind. He waved for Onderin to walk with him. "What's in Coronet?" The group set off for the crystal caves. A couple hours later, the group entered what Ads could only describe as a system of canyons. It was a series of path-like gorges formed by small cliffs separated by gaps just wide enough for the group to fit through. About an hour later, they came to an opening in the ground. It was the entrance of the caves that Ads had been leading the group to. "This is it," said Ads, pointing to the opening. "Anyone have anything we can use as a light or are we just going to have to turn on our lightsabers?"

"...such a threat is best faced by one that has a lightsaber should it become necessary." "Well, in that case, follow me. Believe it or not, all of that just helped me to find the crystal I need. I'm not exactly sure on the distance, but it shouldn't be too far to consider walking and after all that, I don't know how safe it would be to fly." Ads turned shifted his gaze from the group behind him to ponder what looked like a system of cliffs in the distance. "If I'm not mistaken, I would imagine the reason that you landed here in the first place is that these crystals are only found in this general area? That would probably explain those old ruins off in the distance over there," Ads pointed at an old, ruined complex off to their...either north or south, Ads wasn't sure which hemisphere they were in. "Anyway, that tells me that the crystals probably aren't really that far away. So, as I said, follow me." Ads set off pretty much due west beside the small hill that he had considered climbing earlier. They kept walking, until their walk could properly be called a hike, at which point they promptly continued hiking, considering that they neither were just out for a nice walk nor had any idea at which point a walk becomes a hike--it is a very poorly-defined point. At any rate, they continued hiking (although their hiking rate was not at just any rate, but rather at an acceptable hiking rate) until it came time for their next meal. Ads was always bad at knowing what to call meals when not eating at a normal time on a new planet. Perhaps it was dinner time but they were eating lunch, or imagine, no matter how ridiculous it would be, if it was time for tea and they were eating supper! Regardless of the specific meal, Ads felt prompted to tell the others, "Don't worry, I can tell that we're closer now. Has anyone noticed anything special in the Force since earlier? I haven't, for one. Er, I, for one, haven't. Doesn't matter which, I guess..."

((If I'll be driving the plot more, I'm going to try to post more than just once each of us has had a turn although I'll try not to shoehorn anyone into posting things that they wouldn't otherwise.)) Ads watched his master, looking for any sign of what was going on. Ads had certainly felt bursts from the dark side of the Force before, but never anything quite like this. It seemed to have a distinct, individual character to it, but not one that Ads recognized. He gave Arleigh a half-smile before looking to Qaela. He obviously couldn't really suspect anything from her; even if she had it out for them she certainly had too much disdain for technology to pull off an interstellar...thing of this magnitude. But she was the group's resident dark sider so if he wasn't getting anything from Onderin, Ads had to consider Qaela as the closest thing to an expert he could find. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" Ads reached into the Force, listening for it to tell him anything. The wave of dark side energy baffled Ads and perhaps was even so intense that it was able to obscure itself through sheer volume, but on a planet like Dantooine with caves full of mysterious crystals, there was an added effect. The massive wave of the Force made the crystals sing out like a choir assembled from across the galaxy. Perhaps others would have heard it differently, but Ads heard one soloist singing above the rest, and (to even further extend an already possibly over-extended metaphor) he knew his blocking, he knew what steps to take across the stage that was that whole world. So basically, it helped him to figure out which crystal was his and where it was.

((Sorry, I completely forgot that we switched threads)) "You have the lead here, and your first challenge will be to locate it." Ads glanced at his master before hiking up his pack and taking taking the lead. A small hill lay before them; Ads figured that even if climbing it didn't help him figure out which way he should head, it would provide a nice view of the landscape at the very least. As the group approched the hill, Ads closed his eyes for a few steps, hoping that it would give him at least a general direction to explore. It didn't, although it did give him the opportunity to trip over a rock. Ads stumbled a couple steps before glancing back at the group to see if they had noticed. As he looked back, Arleigh questioned the Jedi about the local wildlife. Ads had no prior knowledge of the planet, so he simply shrugged and said, "Don't know...probably some pretty generic mammalians or their corollaries, or, um, that's not the word. What am I thinking of? You know, their equivalents. But that's not the word I want. Whatever..." Looking over his other shoulder, he asked Onderin, "Any ideas?" Ads didn't really listen to see if Onderin had any ideas. Instead he focused on the Force, searching for one crystal in one cave, somewhere on the vast planet. Everything about it seemed vast to Ads as he looked out across the fields of Dantooine. Something about that sounded familiar to Ads. It was as if it was a detail from some long-forgotten past. He repeated it in his mind...the fields of Dantoo--the Killing Fields of Dantooine! Ads turned back to Onderin. "This planet was the site of something dark--very dark. I don't know the details; it was something I heard about in a distant memory. Perhaps you know more about--or at least have heard of--the Killing Fields of Dantooine." Despite the name, Ads didn't really know if that was something that necessitated stopping and having a conversation. So he kept walking. They could walk and talk at the same time. Except that they couldn't. A flash of darkness (if you will accept that terminology) blanketed them. Ads' eyes immediately shot to Onderin, bouncing off of Qaela a second later. "What was that?"

Ads reached out and grabbed the components that Omderin offered him. As he touched them, a slight tingle ran up his arm. It was actually a little warm and seemed an omen of good things to come. Ads gave them a glance--he wanted to examine them longer but did not think this was the proper time--before sliding them into one of the large outer pockets on his pack. He knew enough about lightsabers to know that the crystal not only focused the beam but also focused the Force. He also knew that it was only the crystal that resonated with the Force but the pieces Onderin gave him seemed to echo the Force as well. The Force was all around him on Dantooine and it felt good. "Thank you," he said to Onderin; it was one of the moat genuine thank yous that he had ever given.

"So we're headed to Dantooine?" Ads asked, glancing at the navicomputer. "I don't know if I've heard of there. I imagine it's better than Dathomir, though?" He asked, suddenly realizing who was behind him. "No offense," he called over his shoulder to Arleigh. "Looks like it's just going to be a few hours to get there. If you want to go get some sleep, I'll stay up here, I don't think I'd be able to go back to sleep anyway."