Ara-Lai Kaipi

OOC: I've decided something on my own...I'm going to let the dragon die in peace (pieces?) and go to Valhalla for such a valiant death. May he live forever in our--well, my, I suppose, since no one else really liked him--memories, and may I finally start having fun again in RP. IC: Ara bowed her head. "Sorry I couldn't protect you, Ryu. I'll miss you, even though our time together was short." She knelt to the ground next to his body, crying silently. Fear, anger, sadness..."a Jedi knows not these things" my rear end. If you don't feel, you can't think...at least, not me. With a quiet prayer, she stood, asking herself for forgiveness for her own cowardess being responsible for letting her newfound companion die in such a way. Death was never something she liked to deal with, even though, in this galaxy, cloning was such a readily available option that many, including most of her fellow Jedi, decided to take. She had always been against cloning, or at least the cloning of herself, but perhaps, it was time for some change in her life. Ara knew she couldn't keep running, not if she wanted the Jedi to truly become something better, something bigger. Not anymore. This in mind, she grabbed a small vial from her pocket and scraped some of the "viable" remains left from Ryu's corpse into it. Taking another vial, she poured some of his ashes into it, promising to later (when she had time) give him a "proper" burial, perhaps scattering his ashes on Maltauros. Finished with this task, she wiped away her tears and looked to Raziel. Something was different in her eyes, a newfound gleam of determination, a new light of realization had appeared. The young Jedi Master managed a smile and took a deep breath. "Rizzy, as long as you're all right, I say we find the Sith who were responsible for this...and make sure they can't do it again." She looked at Ryu, then at the fallen dojo. "Not for vengeance...but to protect this kind of sorrow from ever befalling anyone again." Indeed...it was a new day.

OOC: Huh. I'ma gonna have to talk to you about that one...I didn't really plan on using him in battle, anyway, and in some aspects, he's really not an NPC. So, until I talk to you, we'll, er, land and the dragon's incapacitated. K? IC: Ara jumped off as all three landed to the ground with a rather large thud. She looked over to the young man beside her. "You all right?"

OOC: She-devil? I'd say that's a compliment! IC: Ara winced as the rocks and blaster bolts flew around and sometimes hit Ryu. The trio were quickly dropping in altitude, though at least they weren't going to crash directly to the ground and risk breaking their necks. She quickly surveyed the scene: one Sith Master being attacked by someone she didn't recognize, and another now blasting the bolts at her and Ryu. She noted the pain Ryu felt whenever he was hit in the face, and grimaced herself. "I'd say it's time to fight fire with fire!" Ara shouted. She put up a small Force-shield around Ryu's eyes and yelled, "Ryu, if you can, feel free to have a small barbecue!" Ryu, highly agitated and somewhat injured, roared loudly, the sound piercing through the air. Ara worked on guiding him gently to the ground, somewhere away from the Sith with the blaster (Nahstaa) as Ryu let out three spheres of flame, headed straight for the Sith. As the flames quickly made their way to the Sith, Ara swivelled to yell out over her shoulder to Rizzy, "Get ready for a bumpy landing, and watch your back! It's about to get a little more dangerous!"

Ara nodded. "Right. I see..." She peered down at the remains of the dojo and saw three figures standing by the rubble. Stretching out with the Force only enough to feel their prescence, she frowned. "I don't know if that is so wise. I think those are two Masters at the least down there, with another one as well. I think we would be outgunned, so to speak." She glanced over her shoulder. "Calm down, Rizzy. I know it can be exciting, but it may not be a good idea to get so worked up before a battle, if indeed we end up in one."

OOC: Geez. Suddenly we have SW porn...or at least something close to it. Remember, we have young'uns, guys. IC: Ara nodded and nudged Ryu in the ribs. The dragon snorted and took flight, flapping his leathery wings every few seconds or so once he was in the sky. Ara kept her eyes out for any ships, as well as looking to the ground below, as she shouted out to Raziel. "The ride takes a little getting used to, I know, but to me, it beats riding a speeder any day." She patted the dragon on the neck. "And he helps out in battle as well." Watching the ground momentarily, she saw quite a few duels going on amidst the forests, or what was left of the forests, at any rate. Whether or not she could help, though... "See anything of interest, Raziel?" Ara paused. "Skye called you Rizzy, didn't she?"

Ara shuddered as the dojo fell into a dust cloud. Obviously, the Sith had accomplished at least part of their mission...but a building was only a building, and she couldn't tell whether anyone had gotten stuck inside or not. She looked back at Raziel. "They'll still be here. We should hurry."

Ara landed her ship carefully, making sure she was in the clear. She walked out and took Ryu out from his trailer. The dragon let out an indignant snort and began to stretch his legs before plopping down onto the earth. "Don't get too comfy," Ara admonished. "Either you help me search the place, or you go back in the trailer." Ryu seemed to roll his eyes and stood back up with a flap of his wings. The Jedi grinned. "Search it is." She hopped on his back and looked to Raziel, who was just getting out of the ship. "Would you rather travel by, er, mount or by foot? You can come with me, if you prefer it."

A message came over the comm to anyone who was still left at Rafa V ((whaaaa, btw)). --encrypted comm-- Everyone, this is Ara-Lai Kaipi. There is a...situation over at Borleais involving the Sith attacking our dojo there. They have already killed a few Jedi, and I have word that Kakuto Ryu, the leader of the Sith, is there. If anyone can come and help, please do. I repeat, if anyone can make it to Borleais and help, come IMMEDIATELY, and bring anyone else you can who can fight with you. --end--

Ara nodded. Pulling herself up, she strode quickly to her own ship. "Kenobi, I'd suggest you come as well." With that, she was out of the room and in her ship, on her way to Coruscant. Time to test my skill, I guess...

Ara fell over, clutching her chest. The sword at her side pulsating with a crimson light before going dark once more. It was a pain like she had only felt once before. She barely heard Malin as he spoke, but nodded grimly and stood. "We must. Coruscant or Ilum, Malin? Your choice. Once made, we'll leave immediately." She glanced at Kenobi. "And I mean immediately."

Ara frowned at Kenobi. "Are you sure three will be enough to quell the riots on Coruscant, Dhan? If SEED is involved as Aryian thinks, then we may need to refocus our efforts."

"Aryian, it's good to see you again." Ara smiled. "Honestly." Her face quickly turned grim once more and she tossed a datapad with the story pulled up to Aryian. "This is the situation."

Ara blinked. Something...something seemed familiar, and yet... Her datapad beeped loudly, making her completely forget what she had just been thinking about. She pulled it out and scanned through the headlines. Closing her eyes and sighing, she shoved the datapad back in her pocket. Ara looked over to Kenobi, but spoke no no one in particular. "The riots out on Coruscant just got worse. It's like the whole planet has been affected by some sort of...I don't know, spell or something. Everybody's fighting." She plopped down on the ground, crossed-legged and began pounding into her datapad. "We need to do something about it, fast."

Ara nodded with a slight grin. "That would probably be because I have copies of all the archives. Go to my ship--it should still be unlocked. If you access the computer in there, you should find what you're looking for."

Ara clapped Hou-Jo on the shoulder. "Something that will change the galaxy forever. In a good way, I can only hope." She showed Hou-Jo a recent comm from Malin. "A risk, yes, but well worth it, I think. If it works, we could cripple the remants of the imperials as well as take back Ilum with a successive battle." ((I'll PM you in a sec with details))

Ara nodded. "It's a risk we'll have to take. And without that weapon, they won't be as much of a problem as before."

Ara laughed. "Not un-Jedi like. Just unusual."

Ara looked over Malin's proposal, and her a grin widened to frightening proportions on her face. She pulled out her comm and began making untraceable, yet rather frantic, comms to some of her "agents in the field." She looked at Kenobi with her scary smile. "Dhan, we just may have the upper hand...for once."

"Somewhat. I have a feeling the situation on Ilum is going to escalate to massive proportions." Ara frowned. "We'll need to be ready to battle, but we need to know what's going on there." "Even if you could just research what's going on there, even without going there, that would help. Battle plans." She smirked. "Ironically, the Jedi may have to go to battle."

"Well, Talon reported from Nar Shadda, so that would be my guess. You'd probably want to try there first." Ara shrugged. "A long ways from his home planet of Tattooine, huh?"

Ara sighed and rubbed at her temples. She quickly sent a heavily encrypted comm back to Skye before looking at Kenobi and Isolder. "That takes care of that, I guess." She sat down on the ground. "And Whyl the Hutt, assassinated by a Jedi. That does not bode well." Looking up at Isolder, she said, "You can either go and scout out Ilum and report back, if you wish, or round up a group and try and find the Jedi that killed Whyl. I leave it up to you. Just tell me which you choose, so I can assign someone else to the other mission."

Ara sighed. "I know, and I fear that there are other Jedi also captured on the planet." She looked at Kenobi. "We have to send some Jedi. Keiran can wait, unless we send Kirlocca, who is willing."

Ara looked wearily at Isolder. This "leading the Jedi" thing was beginning to weigh heavily on her. "Perhaps you would like to go, then? Maybe you'd have an advantage, with your blademaster training." She smiled. "Makes me wish I had taken some training in your arts."

Ara nodded grimly. "We still have the Keiran situation to deal with as well. Kirlocca has volunteered to meet him, regardless of where the meeting place is."

Ara's face turned dark. She showed the comm to Kenobi. "Things just went from bad...to worse."