John Skywalker

Indeed, sir, only the most dedicated can truly critique something. You, sir, are an unearthed rare gem.

In the frozen depths of space, just outside the orbit of the dense jungle-planet Myrkr a nondescript craft appears. No one at the helm... and the life-sign was hardly one worth mentioning... at least not anymore. For a brief moment a little, unconscious chirp in the Force trickled, and quickly... the planet's bubble enveloped it. The small craft continue to enter a strong decaying orbit, so sudden, only the strictest eyes would even have noticed. The quick thud of metal careening through foliage alerted a few of the more fearful creatures on the planet's surface, but the predators would only wonder what had just fallen in their lap. A worthwhile lesson for those young and old, seat-belts save lives...the body within the craft was hurtled out of it, still quite dazed, and relatively devoid of life. It would not be long before the stench of blood awakened the insatiable appetites of the carnivores that abounded on Myrkr's uninhabitable regions... ------------------------------------------------------------------ The body had lain lifeless for a few mere moments before it was devoured. Only evidence of a once-living being was a metal brain-case. There were no weapons, no dignifying robes, not even a scrap of evidence that would identify the vagabond; it was as if, he had planned this trip to make this world his tomb. And so it had become... ------------------------------------------------------------------ As fate tends to have it, a lowly technician came across the oddity while taking a leak. Frankly, he had grown tired of his overbearing bosses demanding he plant communication buoys for survey teams harvesting this world's priceless possession, the ysalmiri. Assuming it was some crazy relic he could pawn off at a later date stuffed the item, about the size of two human fists and marked only by a few stray dents and what looked liked rust or dried blood... "Prolly chewed by one of them Vornskyrs or something..." Like all technicians he noticed the IO connections and attempted to extract information. That was when a blue screen appeared and stalled his progress... ERROR: OS NOT FOUND! His computer screen barked at him... ERROR: OS NOT FOUND! Yet again... PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE... After mulling the debacle over and over again, he accessed the help files, and retrieved a small ReadMe.exe, in plain black-and-white text, it read, use of astromech droid recommended for counterpart access. Now intrigued, the technician sought out his trusty R7 droid... and despite wasting so much of his company's time, what did he care? Its not like anyone was checking on him... OS FOUND! ... ERROR: PARTITION CORRUPTED! PLEASE RELOAD... "Dammit," he cursed loudly, startling creatures away in flight... After pressing enter, the technician noticed a new splash-screen appear, and instantaneously, the cyber-brain's auto-restore features downloaded themselves and overran the R7's memory core. The technician's screen was instantaneously flooded with flashes and images of surgical procedures, ship schematics, architectural plans for monolithic structures, blueprints and computer algorithms. The last thing to splash on-screen was A Treatise on the affairs of Jedi Wizards and Sith Warlords. The technician was startled... and quickly shut off his computer, disconnecting the droid instantly. The large trashcan reeled in a series of beeps that roughly translated, "I can't believe this..."

A strange sensation jumped from his eyes, to the core of his heart... it sped rapidly, accentuated by the sting of an adrenaline rush throughout his veins. The weakening crimson that made certain he lived, at the very least, long enough to do what had to be done... what he had promised to do... Despite the roaring torment of fears, of pain... there was no way to bring a lost son back to the fold, or so his reason kept urging. There was a certain coldness to being in tune and part machine, and it was that coldness that knew that Emily couldn't be saved if she were to fall... down the dark path. Of course, such thoughts bring torment and crippling emotions, enough to leave John in a bitter silence. There was only the faint thought that Tethyn continued to strengthen. His footsteps were a touch heavier, as he moved towards the Temple... and he made few gestures towards the Temple's Adept, forcing only a smile... if only for politeness' sake.

"Well, that is a wonderful start... and Uncle Andon has a knack for pretending to be doing things he's not." He smiled warmly, "Here's something I want you to do for me, Em, okay?" Emily's eyes brightened, "Yes, daddy... what?" John smirked, "Walk with your eyes closed." Stopping in her tracks, her black hair shining in the warm sun and her grey orbs suddenly sparkled with an accusation, "But... I'll fall!" Laughing quite audibly, "No Emily, try to use the Force as your eyes and ears... and let it guide you." John crossed his arms and waited for her performance...

"Indeed." John response was simple, his eyes began to zero in on the locals... it was different to be in a place so full of life. It had been ages... "Can you feel it, Daddy? They are lots of people here... it feels different!" A faint smile crossed the elder man, "Yes, Emily, tell me... did Mommy, Auntie Jaina, and Uncle Andon start teaching you to touch the Force, to feel it?" John walked speaking to his daughter explicitly, but his wife, brother and sister-in-law could answer just the same... ((You gettin' ready for the BCS, your OSU v. my Gators, ))

John's eyes crinkled, "So Corellia... wait... hmm... I have distinct memories... no... not mine... oh... them... I think, right?" Emily's eyes focused intently on the pad, until hesitation bit her brain, so to speak... "Big city... lots of people!" John chuckled, "Yes... and its quite reminiscent of a distant galaxy's, blue-green planet's religious group... I suppose that would be a stereotypical assumption due to the large quantity of credits and bullion exchanged here." With one raised eyebrow, "Well... my dear, do lead the way..."

OOC: Feliz año nuevo, IC: "It is fine, his thoughts while disturbed, trouble me only momentarily... it is inevitable that we shall cross paths... sooner or later, anyway." He managed a faint smile to dissuade any doubts, "However, its not what is on my mind that interests me, you're face is scrunching up... I take it you have something that needs asking." Meanwhile, Emily's focus returned to the datapad... her mind like a sponge.

It was a quick shudder... almost outside himself... the student had left the teacher and become the Master... Only a master of evil... he echoed to quell his disturbed thoughts. It was rough, cruel... and filled him with much despair... In his time... disconnected from the world, he had also been separated from his... son, of sorts. "He's alive... and seeks to condemn me to Hell." His eyes turned on Emily, who had spent the entire trip focused on the computer pad, puzzled over the information, mathematical concepts... enough to enlighten a child. Her eyes rose and she offered him a smile, "You drew a tetrahedron... the stars make a tetrahedron," as she pointed towards the remaining maps of the galaxy. "Oh... yes, you're right, my dear... a tetrahedron." A master of intuition, she noticed his sudden disconnection and inquired, "Was it Tethyn, daddy? Was it?"

"Well... actually... no." John's eyes narrowed on a holographic display of the galaxy... his finger and eyes darting to and fro across the entire map, triangular markers darting particular systems... "Every marker symbolizes a religious organizationj not labeled as Jedi or Sith, essentially... someone who can perform the ceremony. Of course, there is always a quick sign-and-chop by Lord Correlli." Shifting his hands, the map closed on a number of specific systems, isolating them and their inner planets... "Well... these are our choices... from what I get."

Without much more than a nod, "Of course, if you'd prefer going on your lonesome... well, who could blame either of you...." Dissappearing towards the hangar bay, started fiddling with an astromech droid, "You ready to come along R7?" The droid beeped eagerly, his silvery-black exterior reflecting the lights jovially. Following John faithfully to Sirvani's Nubian, John waited for his two favorite girls to arrive in the co-pilot's seat....

OOC: Yes, of course. IC: Arching his eyebrows curiously, asking the question solely with his face... Then, straightening his expression he turned towards Emily... "Yes, pack your things... we're going somewhere... somewhere really, really swell... I just don't know where that is yet... there are Priests and Holymen, Oracles and Prophets... and such... all over. I'm not entirely sure where your mummy wishes to go..." A slight bit of shock crossed John's face... "Here's something for you..." He drew out a computer-pad, "I want you to study these while in flight... and when you finish, tell me what you think... I'm sure we can manage a pretty interesting discussion."

OOC: Jan 5, 2006... IC: His eyes widened... in that way that implies utter embarassment about forgetting something so utterly important; like changing your underwear during long interstellar flights, or removing the poison vacuoules when ingesting indigineous plants in the forests of Endor... "A quest... to find a respectable sort of chap to do just that!" "Yes, of course... thats what I meant. Might as well... be done with it. Might as well tie ourselves for everlasting eternity."

OOC: I'm returning with only one character for an indetermined amount of time... situations will depend on how bad next semester starts off. I can't very well fail out of college... IC: He embraced her and ruffled Emily's hair... "Well, things deterred my return... like I said, I've got a vast array of information spanning just about every sector of this galaxy and a touch from a few less reputable sources all crammed into that silly lump of fat called a human brain. I was looking to perform a few projects with the large quantities of junk that litter this planet. A few more salvage operations... who'd think after a distinguished military career, a scholar's travails, several year's being flung from battle to carnage and back again... I'd wind up a mechanic in a literal junkyard. Then again... this place was built out of junk and engineering genius." Looking at Emily, particularly, "Remember, science, mathematics and engineering... with a bit of luck, some old-fashioned charm and the Force can move oceans, Star Destroyers, and the indomitable will of imbeciles." Laughing quite audibly, "Oh... and you'll need a few other skills, but you can pawn those off on your companions." Blinking and recollecting his thoughts, "So dear, if nothing is what you've been up to... what could we get started on that isn't nothing? I'd say our band needs a quest..."

Holding a dagger, balanced on the tip of his forefinger... "When I pass out... I damn well pass out." Dark-rimmed eyes had washed off over the break to a sleep-induced bloodshot look and a refreshed pallor adorned his countenance. The smirk opened to a slightly warmer smile... "I seriously hope no one presumed I was dead... I'd prefer you'd think of me as taking downloading comas. In retrospect, I've got sixteen holonovels, every single shipyard repair manual, and over two-hundred esoteric laboratory and metallurgical experiments... my brain simply had to go off-line to collect 'em." Hurtling the dagger into the wall, the vibrations succumbing to silence, "Ladies, sir, what have I missed?"

Standing with a bit of silence and a faint smirk, "Well... we might as well, please lead the way." ((Sorry... I'm really busy all the time, I was up 'til 3am Sunday, and 6am last night.))

John chuckled audibly, in that way that one does when impure thoughts are rapidly associated with highly pleasing scenarios, because frankly, that's all he understood when Sirvani wanted to do fun favors with that naughty grin. His teeth managed to glint back, "Not quite the tasks... but, I can always take a break." In the meantime, the poor droid, XC-7A2, turned quite dejectedly from Traven's room and headed towards the main recreational area to power down in cyber-emotional depression. He was one of the proto-prototypes of John's work with cybernetics... featuring the first in integrated Genuine People Personalities... a Noghri servant came by and tripped over the droid's legs, and XC perked up dejectedly, "Its not enough that guests don't want my help... but you have to fall over me? Is there never an end to my humiliations!?"

"Its excellent... it really works off your eyes and your effervescent personality." Emily's eyebrows scrunched up, he winked and tussled about her hair, "Don't worry about it... your mom can explain it to you later." The same never-vanishing smirk remained on his face, "I'm always done with business... well, most of it, anyway."

He stumbled along much as he always did... it was his damn house, and if he chose to crawl, stumble or spend his entire time performing needlessly extensive acrobatics to get around... well, who could tell him otherwise? No one. That's right. No one! He broke out into a slightly disturbing, partly maniacal laughter... a noghri servant catching the Master in his present condition and wondering if his natural abilities had finally gotten the better of his reason. The animal-face managed a faint smirk, as she brought the Master a large coat, to which John took graciously... "Yes... well... thank you." Dismissive as ever, the servant disappeared after nodding in acknowledgement of the compliment, leaving John to continue wandering... and wandering was a loose-term for what he was doing. It was more like orbiting aimlessly, pretending to have purpose and direction... but truly, simply letting time pass before it was done. The deed he'd, like many men before him, put off... simply because of the radical change to his lifetime... and that threat of impending death, doom and destruction that followed such a finalization... It was then that his head was abuzz with information, most of it, he let slide with little concern... and finally acting on it, he approached the large, expansive hold and made his presence known. A jovial smirk crossed his face and he bowed in reverence. "Count Draken, a pleasure as always, Alora, Emily, and my dearest... I hope I am not intruding."

In traditional fashion... John got dressed rather lazily, almost haphazardly... a ding went off in his head, not the ding symobilizing an idea... but the ding symbolizing Holonet Spam-mail. A joyous and most disturbing past-time of John's... As his mind's eye began skimming over the thousands upon thousands of messages in his Holo-inbox, he smiled as he came upon a select few... since, his visit to the Doctor and by no understandable means... he had been receiving particular messages about "KeEP itz uP Longerz!" and assorted paraphernalia in reference to the bedroom arts. Humorous were the particular advertisements, "Over 30% of men in this galaxy suffer from PE." It was all... truly hilarious from his perspective. But then... a jewelry message flashed, Oh... wait... I... damn it. He scratched his head... and wondered... I'm a genius... why can't I remember to pick little things up? Hmm... ah... well... I have stores of platinum and gold and other assorted precious metals and items stockpiled. Yes, yes I do. You do, indeed. Rushing as he did when things were forgotten... he tripped over a stairwell, but like all well-trained ninjas, landed perfectly on the balls of his feet, into a right-side flash-kick. Six or seven more backflips down six or seven more stairwells, and one open-palm strike... and there it was. The metallurgical stockpile. John was a rogue, and rogues were forced to learn things... lots of things. To rely on only themselves and be half-as-good at everything, as specialists were at their thing... a good thing. As his hands looked for thin sheets of platinum and gold, Emily's head craned in... "Daddy... its shiny!" He smiled, spinning on his heel... "Why yes, yes it is. Now... Daddy needs to make Mommy's ring, cause Daddy and Uncle Andon forgot to do what was actually necessary, instead of walking into a bar... obviously, Daddy and Uncle Andon have chemical dependencies which cloud our judgement." Emily giggled, nodding and running back up-stairs to do... well, who knew what... probably learn gymnastics, watch the Holonet Children's Hour, or read holobooks. John hoped it was the latter... and she was becoming proficient in the hard sciences...preferably advanced cybernetics and robotics, Astrophysics, or Astronavigation... Regardless, his hands set about the cool metal in propped open the fiery furnace, resting the platinum, quickly dissolving into a ladle... to which he moved the elements with the sheer strength of his solvent mind. It was beautiful to arrange a crystal lattice... to create a near-perfect cube of atomic structure; if he could truly manipulate time, it would be within a pocket of space where the platinum ring would never change. Digging through his unnatural collection of supplies, gathered throughout his travels and those of his servants... he fished out carbon, in its raw, earthen form... dried roots, twigs, organic life... nature in its bounty. It was a depository of the powerful carbon atom... his deft hands, sent the shock through the mineral substances cleaving the atomic bonds and freeing the carbon into a colorless, odorless, pure gas about his hands. To those gifted with Force-sight and an understanding of the atomic nature of alchemy... they would see the sprightly atoms. His fingers began, with great softness, to craft new carbon bonds; triple, double and single ones, where appropriate. Forming an even more complex crystal lattice than the platinum ring's. The carbon quickly arranged itself into a popular, beautiful, translucent solid... known as a girl's best friend, a diamond. It was a fairly large diamond... and crafted by extraordinary, unnatural means. There were times, when John enjoyed breaking science's boundaries... it was the equivalent of being a boostrap-engineer hurled into the midst of war, or an ammunition-depraved pirate who settles on silverware... necessity breeds innovation. The diamond was as near-perfect as John could make it... his own gifts still out-classed by some fundamental truths... yet... it seated itself, as near-perfect as possible within the soft platinum. Hardening in moments... John admired his handiwork... and tracing his fingertip along the bands' inner radius... he added the finishing touches, a small message, "To my one and only, Sirvani." He chuckled... "Beat that Gordon Jewelers." Placing the ring within his pocket, and disposing of any wasted materia, he executed another complicated series of acrobatics to reach the upstairs living quarters... and flushed out the rest of his Spam-mail Holo-inbox. Finding his tuxedo in one of the several packages... standard fit and trim.

"I couldn't agree more," he said with a quizzical smirk. "Have to perform my promises... I trust... the message can go out immediately."

John's dreams were empty... it was a peaceful, empty restful sleep... and then it felt as if his skin were burning. His eyes darted open to find five figures through whipping flames; the first clad in white robes looked somber over the burning flesh, oppositely positioned, a black-clad faceless soul, his hands interlocked before his face in prayer. At near-perfect forty-five degree angles from the vertical, stood a large, hulking beast of a man with a large battle axe and a scrawny, scoundrel-like pilot in Imperial gear... and lastly, at the perfect vertical... was a grey-clad, grey-haired face John knew far too well. In unison, the ten pairs of hands pressed down, keeping his body in the flames... "It is time, to give in. To become one with Death..." echoed from beyond, as his body attempted to wrestle the overbearing force, but to no avail. From beyond him, a creature of solid, yellow-stained bones, tightened the grip he held over his weapon, before hoisting it up and high and striking down. John's eyes burst open... but, strangely enough, his body never moved, his breath remained steady... it was only as if his mind were reaffirming a given. Reminding him. As he sight gave in further... he smiled, setting the dream aside, and turning from his side onto his back... propping himself up on his elbows and admiring his wife's beauty in silence...

It was so long ago... and such a different perspective on life... but still, they had received each-other. It was... strange feelings then, the strangest the once-cold, emotionally-absent then-Sith Lord had ever felt. Of course, it was the stirrings of physical attraction... it had been deeper, like a soft current pulsating in the rear of his mind. And... then it intensified, and before long... there was bliss, and there was sin, and there was bliss anew. Their passion erupted... with John's raspy whisper, "I love you," shortly before collapsing in exhaustion off to her side... through deep, labored breaths... "The intensity of this... continues to climb unparalleled."

A roguish smile crossed his face, "I know." In truth, he had been given moments... to drown out the flashes, quieting them... he needed to be in places where the Force was quiet or when his mind was silenced from reaching out. By absorbing so much information... it processed faster but some of the more complex images were quickly flushed out. It was much like taking a breath inbetween fits of drowning... Running his hand along her cheek... he smiled, "And I love you... always and forever," and I'll always be here... somehow. For a brief moment, fully enthralled in her, his exhaustion dissipated... and a warmth exuded from his body, the warmth that only love can bring...

John looked at her, "No... its not you... and its not the wedding. It... is as if the burdens of knowing more than you were meant to... have... come crashing down. I've been through so much... and it all seems to have been for naught." He stopped trying to extend one hand to comfort her, "It's... hard to explain... but when time loses it... definition. You see... things not as they are, but as they were or will be, and it happens, in flashes... just by touching an object. I can feel, I can taste, I can smell... the day it happened. The ruins... were the most heart-wrenching of all places. I had to test the full extent of the abilities... I felt younglings die at the hands of Vader. I saw them... their eyes glazing over in flashes of death. I felt the thunderous destruction from Star Destroyers above. I felt it... as if I were there. As if I were racing, rushing, living, acting, breathing through it. I could feel myself perspire, I could see myself running. Imprints. Psychometry." He stopped... "The power... is called Psychometry. It is... leaving imprints in the Force, reverberations that cross space and time. Force Ghosts... are manifestations of the imprints. But they are generally based in the past... I have lost several affinities in the Force... but one power has been increasingly refined... psychometry. My understanding of it... is the crushing burden I feel. It exhausts me... compounds me." He laughed, "I said I wanted to know as much as I could about the Force... I think I regret it. I see flashes, dreams, glimpses into the future. I've seen Emily... grown up. I've seen you... crying. I've seen many things. Hard things... difficult to understand or comprehend things. They hurt more than any physical wound I could endure." He tried to reach for her, letting his fingers run along her arm... "But... its not you, it can never be you... there is no one who I could love or satisfy more..." And... letting the warmth that bubbled between the two slowly wash away some of his apprehension... he smiled, "I know I'm insane... but I gather that there has to be a benefit to this power..." he led her by the hands further into the room... "I can... think of something that such a strong...psychic link may be of use for..."

"Arrgh, Physics, she be a cruel mistress." He rose up, partially helped, partly on his own... Yes, I know... I know. "Have a restful night..." He looked at Sirvani, through the pained eyes of exhaustion... "Please, dear, lead on."