SithAcolyte

Everybody was beginning to voice Ranns worries. They all felt the same, they had waited too long and were beginning to get anxious. Whyl wanted this to happen, they couldnt let him get the better of them, they had to keep their hopes up. Rann approaches Blckclone and the others, in debate over wheather or not the Hutts are coming. " My comrades, we cannot give up now. For weeks we have toiled and fought within our own minds, wrestling with the idea of wheather we are doing the right thing. If we fall apart now then the Hutts have already won. That is victory we cannot let them have. I have watched you all and listened to you over the past few weeks. I see so much strength in the jedi, I admire you all and hope that one day I may too become a knight. If the Hutts win then there will be no-one left to train the future generations in the ways of the force." Rann takes in a deep breath, then gathers the force to him. "Do not let your hopes falter, do not let your strength fail. No matter when the Hutts attack, we will be ready.. For the force is our ally. Draw strength from it, let your fatigues and fears be taken away by it." Drawing on the force, Rann projects his voice as far as he can. Hoping the jedi hear him and listen to his words.

Rann grasped the hilt of his lightsaber tightly in his hands. Shouldnt the enemy be there by now? How long had it been since Whyl the Hutt had sent his message? Somethings not right... rann thought to himself. The Hutts were fooling with them, letting them wait, letting the tension build up. By the time they arrived they'd all collapse from exhaustion. drawing on the force to sustain him, Rann tried to clear his mind of these concerns. Were the Hutts even coming? Whatever was going to happen he longed for it to happen quickly. He had been patient, but now he began to tire. For weeks the Jedi had trained, he hadnt slept for days. Maybe that was best, the Dark man that lurked in his dreams could be a possibly fatal distraction in the coming battle. OOC-(( Whats taking the Hutts so long? ))

Darla heared Impede. So she was to be part of delta, the gound troops waiting to charge. It wasnt what she wanted, but this wasnt about what she wanted at all. It was about the balance of the force. Evil was gathering, if they did not fight their light would be smothered by darkness. She told herself that this was the right thing to do and she tried to believe it. She had to believe it! This battle would be a challenge. One that she was beginning to welcome, a challenge that she would meet head on. She would make those Hutts regret the day they decided to pick a fight with the jedi. Perhaps the charging group was where she belonged best, since she lacked the subtle skills that she knights and masters posessed. Her single minded determination and stubborness would serve her well in this situation. Physical strength was also a skill that Darla posessed, if she had to she would fight with her bare hands. Now time for questions was over, the time for action was drawing near... Her gaze was set straight ahead of her, her entire being single mindedly focussed on the task before of her. Darla ploughed down the ridge towards delta group stoping with rest of them. Cracking her knuckles, neck, then her jaw. Twisting her arms, stretching her muscles. I am a wrrior, a protector of the living force-Darla told herself. "im ready..."Came the words from her mouth, her voice raspy and hoarse.

Darla waited for the confusion about which group they were to be in was sorted out. She would go where ever they needed her.

Rann listened to his orders- East ridge, he was there, he was ready. Discovering that he was part of the group meant to charge the enemy, he began to ponder this. After his crash on Dagobah and the subsequent week he had spent starving in the swamps he had lost much of his strength. The force had healed him, and his training had strengthened his muscles. Once again, he was at full health, perhaps even better than he had been before. Feeling the force course through his veins, clearing his mind of any doubts and preparing his body. Now its time to prove your worthRann said to himself. He planted his feet firmly and waited for the time to come. "Im ready to fight for the jedi, Master." Rann said to BC the leader of Delta group.

" I will fight by your side Master Tares. I'll defend the order, not attack the Hutts. I'll take my place and I wont back down." Darla had a steely look in her eyes as she prepared for the battle.

Darla turned to her Master. "Whats the plan? Are we staying behind or are we going to join a battle group?" Although she had protested the war, Darla was prepared to do whatever was nessecary.

Rann followed Delta group into position. He made sure he was still covered with mud and turned off his lightsaber, not to give his position away to the Hutts. He was as ready as he was ever going to be. While the waited ready in their positions for the battle Rann relaxed and centered his mind.

All the jedi were leaving, it must be time. Darla felt unprepared for what lay ahead. She had practised as much as she could yet she felt at aterrible disadvantage. She found her blasters, put one in her holster and the other on her back. Jedi were not supposed to use them, but she was not a jedi yet. Who was she supposeed to be with? She hadnt even joined a battle group yet. In all the commotion Darla could not se her master, what were his wishes. Were they to join the others or support them in there own way? Whatever it was to be she wanted to stick close to him. "Master Tares??!" Darla shouted over the noise of jedi heading off for battle.

OCC; I wont be able to post til sunday, so until then my character is training with whoever will train her.

Rann could feel the dark forces rising. He knew the touch of darkness for it had grasped his mind before. In space and time, not too far away he could feel darkness gathering, preparing- just like the jedi had been. He wanted to shut it out of his mind, but he couldnt. As perpared as he could be he no longer feared the battle. Now he felt anxious, his skin was crawling and his blood was pumping faster than normal.

Her Master was pleased with her progress. She she could swing a saber, that was good but before the battle she wanted to train her mental powers a bit. She hoped Mes Tisserands offer was still there. She searched out the Jedi master. " My master has tought me the basics of saber combat but Id like to train my mind a bit too before the battle. You said to ask you if i ever needed help with such things." She hoped he could teach her something before the fighting strarted, she knew that time was running out...For all of them.

As her Master continued to slash towards her Darla inhaled deeply and tried to continue blocking him. Her arms were beginning to tire, she used the living force around her to strenghten them. The pain began to ease as she drew strength to continue Her parries. She had not striked out, she kept blocking and moving back. She stopped and tried to hold her ground, trying not to give an inch. If she was solely defensive in a real battle then shed loose. She tried to be a little bit more assertive with her defensive slashes. Putting more of her weight behind the blade yet remaining attached to the force and not focusing on the physical.

Darla reminded herself that this was only training, Tares wasnt trying to strike her. Letting the force energy shed been gathering flow through her body she relaxed and tried to follow her Masters random slashes as best she could. As she began to let the exercise take over her thoughts she found that she was being guided by the force. She felt tiny sensations that she would have called instict before, but now with her heightened connection to her surroundings she knew it was the force. It seemed easier to do if she relaxed, when she tried to put her physical strength behind the swings she often fumbled. However if she relaxed and tried to remain serene the force seemed almost control which way she moved. It was difficult to do as she had conflicting feelings in her head. Because of nature of the exercise, adrenaline was being pumped around her body. She had to hold back and stay calm, something she could only half do. When she could she effortlessly intercepted her Masters blows. When she couldnt the clumsy moves she made would have got her killed in battle...

Darla was glad Tares was teaching her. She had taken up Hou-jos offer to show that she had no hard feelings towards him. However it was much better for her to train with her Master. She trusted him implicitly. As Tares moved the lightsaber towards her Darla moved backwards. Trying to connect to the force as she did, moving her body as quickly as she could. She wanted to avoid the blow with out striking his saber with hers. She slid away from the blade moving faster than she thought she could and brought the blade of her own saber up into a defensive postion. Not once touching her Masters blade. To her it seemed important be be able to escape blows with her body and use the saber only when needed. She hoped she was right, she looked into her Masters eyes for approval waiting for him to make the next move. She tried to stay as connected to the force as she could with her limited skills, waiting for some insight to come to her. The force flowed trough her body, waiting to be released when she made her next counter-move....

Now her mind was set. She was proud of her Master, hed stood up for her till the last, but now she had to fight. The enemy did not inspire fear in her, it was her unpredictable temper she feared. It had been over a year since shed lashed out violently, the was a long for to her. She would be able to control her temper, she had to. Not only was there the danger a she may turn to the darkside, but also the danger that loosing her cool would get her killed. She had acted recklessly all her life. She had seen it as bravery in the past, now she knew it was lack of foresight. It had cost her her relationship with her mother and her place in the New Republic. After that living on tatooine, she had finaly cooled down, or had she just given up? No, she wouldnt give up until her last breath was crushed from her body. Deep down as much as she wanted to control herself she was wild at heart and a warrior deep down. Her battles had always been fought in starfighters but now was the time for her to fight with flesh and bone, blood and sweat and most of all spirit, determination and the force. "Hou-jo!" She shouted over to the jedi Master" You still gonna teach me how to use this?" she said igniting her lightsaber. She looked to the jedi Master a fire burning within her eyes. It wasnt rage or the darkside, her eyes burned with purpose and determination.

Rann is startled out of his meditation by the sound of a probe droid descending. It plays a message from the vile Hutt leader. Soon the battle would come. Im ready for this, Rann told himself. Even if I die, I will do so defending the Order. He took a deep breath and collected his thoughts. He was calm, centered and ready. He would fight until his last breath and when he died he would find his redemption.

Rann was covered in mud and ready for battle. But the battle seemed tobe taking its time coming. The jedi were having some dispute over it. He didnt want to think of such things. In his vision he had lashed out with anger, he couldnt let himself fear that it might become reality. Fear was of the darkside. He neede to go into battle with a pure heart. Rann sat down and began to meditate in order to purge his mind of such thoughts at this crucial time.

Darla was about to practice with Hou-jo when Tares came along and took him aside to speak. She saw her Master as wise and she was glad to be his padawan. Then another jedi aproached her, he introduced himself, he was head of the council! "Thank you Master Tisserand. You have just proved to me that this is all still worth fighting for. Im not ready for the battle but in the next few days I will make sure I am. I will fight by your sides, not because I think it is right, but because I think its vital for everyones survival to have as many able bodies as possible. Maybe you can explain to me why this battle is taking place in order to ease my doubts. If I am going to join then I know my mind must be unclouded by doubt of fear." a stray tear fell from her eye, shed come so far since shed left coruscant at the age of 15. Was this to be the battle she must fight in order to finally find her place in the galaxy?

"Im not turning my back on the jedi. I would die for any of you. Im not worried about the nlightsaber part, Im worried because I might loose myself in the battle. Its my mind that needs training, Im afraid in the heat of it all the Darkness that lurks in every human soul will be unleashed and i wont be able to control. Ive lashed out at people before, i was banished from the New Republic military because of it.....I need to talk to my Master about all this. but until then I guess I could make myself useful by training. Show how to use a lightsaber and help me to control my feeling while Im doing it." She was very greatful of Hou-jos offer, maybe she could heal the rift she had caused. She did not want to give into her anger and become a slave thats why she was agianst the battle so much. Even if she could keep herself together, what about the other newly trained jedi? Would they all be able to do the same? If any of them fell to the Darkside during the battle then things could be much worse.

OCC-accidental double post, sorry!

"I am keeping my anger in check....Im not running away, i wanted to help out in my own way so I could justify my actions. Its the Darkside that would be waiting for me if I joined your war, by not fighting Im hardly turning to the Darkside. Im doing the exact opposite. Im untrained, I dont even know hoe to use a lightsaber...More than that my mind is untrained. If I go into battle with doubt in my heart then I may become prey for the Darkside. I can control my emotions, i have done for a long time. But in the heat of a viscious battle Im afraid that i wont be able to keep my darker emotions at bay. I was planning on covering the Jedis backs from adistance, that way i would only be protectig those that I saw may come into harm, i was my way of rationalizing my actoins. Hou-Jo took away my choice he physically picked me up and carried me over to a battle group, without consulting my master. This did not make me angry. When I left to spaek to my Master all we recieved from the Jedi were accusations of cowardice. No one asked us our feelings on the matter, no one tried to explain the situation to us...They tried to order us and accuse us. If opions differ the council should be ready to accept that and let jedi go there own way, as long as theyre not harming anyone how are they doing wrong? We wanted to just face the battle on our own terms o that we could feel that our actions were just....It seems that this choice hasbeen taken from us, that is what i felt anger about. I no longer do, just sadness that everyone is so eager to term there back on those who do not wish to fight."

"You can crush peoples beliefs and you cant force someone to fight. We are not your soldiers, I came here to learn, not to kill."

Darla felt sick to her stomach. She wanted to leave. Inside her was a horrible feeling that had not been there for a long timeAnger. These people were making her angry. Taking away peoples freedom to choose and not respecting their choices at all. She kept her bubling rage inside and waited for Tares to respond to the accusations.

Darla was glad that hermaster shared her veiws. She wasnt going to back down for anyone. "Thank you for supporting me Master" She said to Tares, She turned to Houy-Jo. " We wont be doing this on our own, we are together on this." She hoped that Elfin would be with her on this, Raul seemed like he would. If it came down to it she stay there alone with her master. She wanted to help the jedi, but the way they were going about things was appaulling.