Apollo

Lotus waited a few minutes until the Admiral arrived. He was pleased that the commander granted his request and just as pleased with the Admiral decided to see him. He bowed out of respect, not only because he was an Admiral, but because of his mastery of the force. He had earned the respect he received. He gathered his thoughts and searched for the perfect way to see this. He turned and looked at Commander Dreyfus. He did not want to appear rude, but he was unsure if he should speak of his problem before the man. He knew he would grow to trust the men around him soon enough, what better way to start. Turning back to Starlisk he began to speak, his voice like music to anyones ears and full of charisma. "A long while back I was dueling a Sith named Skywalker, John Skywalker. He bested me just after I managed to save my padawan from the same fate I would suffer...He brutally murdered me...my conscious escaped into the force, but soon it was pulled into this body. I was once known as Raziel Shardik, Jedi Knight. Run the name if you would like, everything is in order...but I am listed as dead..." He had explained himself to Starlisk and had full confidence that the man would believe him. He was a Jedi master and had Lotus lied he would have been able to tell.

Lotus produced a wide grin as he accepted the datapad. He was very good at subterfuge, but he did not wish to have to use said skill. How was he going to fill out the paper work if he didn't truly exist? He could of course give his old name from a past life, but that would not check out. He was not even the right race for that to check out...He shook his head and moved through the hallways quickly. It did not take long for him to find the commanders office. He knew what he had to do, he had to speak with he Admiral. If anyone would understand his situation it would be him. He knocked on the door and entered after the commander said he could. He nodded respectfully and began to speak. "I need to speak with Admiral Starlisk about who I am...there is a problem with my background that I believe only he will understand, could you request a meeting with him for me?" He stood still, watching the man and gauging his reaction to such a request. He knew that the man might be suspicious, circumstances considered. After all, his suspicion was indeed needed, but it was misplaced in the man standing before him. Hopefully the commander would find enough trust to allow Lotus to introduce himself to Starlisk and explain everything, starting with his birth name of Raziel Shardik.

Lotus went through the motions of shutting his ship down, taking only a few minutes to get everything in proper order. He straightened his robes as he moved through the ship, his lightsaber bouncing a bit freely at his side within the robes. He ran his dextrous fingers over the door panel, watching it slide open to reveal an official with an armed escort. He stepped off the ship, glancing around the hanger and taking in its layout. The force was calm all around him, whispering to him that there was no danger, but he was always slightly edgy when around so many people with weapons. Maroon approached the man quickly and extended his hand to shake the other mans. He was nothing more then a ranking man on board, his appearance was average. Lotus's on the other hand was not. He stood at five foot six inches tall, normal for most. His hair was longer then anyone else's in the room, falling to his lower back in a waterfall of silky white hair. His shoulders were very broad, but to anyone who took a second glance they would notice he most likely had some sort of armor on them under the robes. He was thin, yet crafted of a powerful lean muscle. "Maroon Lotus is the name, but I am sure you know that...as I am sure you guys can find a use for me."

Lotus listened to the brief com. From the way it sounded they were short and to the point. Efficient would be a better word for it. He leaned back in his pilots seat and sent a reply back to them. It would be simple enough, hopefully they would respond just as quickly. "I am in search of a place to better apply my skills as Jedi ace pilot." He waited for a response, sipping at his drink as he did. He had thought this over for a long time and he finally come to the decision. The force was guiding him away from the order and towards a place where his skills were needed even more. Hopefully they would accept him.

The Static Angel dropped out of space over the large Republic planet. Maroon Lotus gazed out of his forward view port taking in the sight of this water covered world. It seemed like so long since he had last had communication with anyone outside of his padawans. Brought up with the Jedi ways he was a good person, and an Ace Jedi pilot. It had been what he was always good at, even in this bulky freighter. The order fought for many things, but in the end it was not the way Lotus wanted to serve the Galaxy. The Republic would fit him better. Surely they would be able to use a Jedi pilot somewhere...especially with how many fleet battles they got into. Maroon Lotus flipped his comm on and sent a transmission down the planet. His signal was that of a Jedi ship requesting permission to land...

Maroon paused for a second as his apprentice was turning to begin his journey. A thought crossed his mind and he figured now would be the best time for it, considering the trips into these caves were usually very long. He lifted his hand and rested it on his padawan's shoulder, signaling for him to stop. Lotus extended his hand, holding out a comm to the young force adept. "I also would like to test your survival skills. When your task is complete, comm me and I will return for you. Until then, you must survive with only that which you have on your back. Good luck Korin...And may the force be with you." With that Lotus turned around and moved into his ship, firing up the engines and lifting off into the bleak space beyond. The sun here had turned his skin a deep olive. He didn't mind though...in a few moments his ship was gone, rocketing towards his next destination.

Lotus watched as the snow began to slowly drift down, around his hands. As the seconds ticked past the bubble of force began to expand and push back more and more snow, until it had completely consumed him. He was very skilled in the force, but now it was time to begin lightsaber training. Maroon had never been fond of training with any saber that was not his own, so he found it best to start out in this fashion. "Very good." He reached into the folds of his robes and gripped the icy hilt that lay within. Pulling it out he levitated it in front of Korin. He allowed the man time to examine the weapon before he continued. It was a slender hilt, thinner then average and weighed much less. Both characteristics obvious just by its appearance. With a wave of his hand the weapon was pulled back to him and he spoke up, his unusually charismatic voice easily crossing the ground between them. "The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The force is the Blade of the Heart. All are intertwined. The crystal, The blade, The Jedi." He paused for a few seconds to let it sink in..."I want you to venture into the caves on this planet, allow the force to guide you and pick out your crystal. Be careful, for the darkside is very tempting here. It is but another test for you.. Now, go."

"Perhaps you are Korin, but first you must learn a few more things that may just end up saving your life." Lotus held his hands out in front of him and after a few seconds of concentration the snow began to flutter ever downwards as it had been, but now it was falling around him and not onto him. He opened his eyes and pulled his arms in close to his body. Where they once were snow now fell. He had created a light barrier through the force to keep the driving snow from hitting his body. "This will be a useful technique on this planet. Focus the force around your body then will it to become solid. Now, this will not stop any incoming attacks as you would think, but it can be useful for many things. Once you've practiced this...we will begin study on the lightsaber, the Jedi's weapon.

Maroon Lotus got up from the pilots seat as the ship entered the system. He had gotten a bit of sleep, just enough to keep his body working with only a slight bit of help from the force. He headed towards his private chambers and changed into some fresh clothes after hitting the refresher for a bit. The cool water felt good on his skin, it had been a while since his last shower. At least a few days. After fifteen minutes or so he reached out to his padawans through the force. It was time for their next lesson. The force tendrils he had sent out nudged them ever so slightly, alerting them that he required them outside of the ship. Lotus moved outside and pulled his cloak taught, as it was snowing....and waited.

Lotus watched on as Korin began to work out with the sparring stick. He had great potential in the field of combat. He would make a great addition to the Jedi, adding them in combat. He walked towards the cockpit and checked on the computers, they would be arriving at their destination shortly. He made it back into the room just as Korin was finishing up. "Very good, and Jinx...if you could hit him with that stick without him stopping you, be my guest." He shot her a wink before continuing on. "Now, we are almost at our destination. So I want each of you to grab something to eat and some sleep. You will need it." Lotus moved from the room, getting himself something to eat before laying down to catch a quick nap himself. It had been a while since he had the time to relax onboard his ship. ((Next post, Ilum.))

((Just as a note, I am a Jedi not a Sith. Sorry if I my post was a bit misleading.)) The force began to whisper of a immanent danger. It guided his body in the proper course of action. The young warrior of only twenty performed a corkscrew back flip, allowing a large amount of the blaster fire to fly by him harmlessly. One bolt caught his cloak, singing a hole straight through it. The instant his foot hit the ground he lifted his blade up so it crossed his face, blocking a bolt that would have hit him in the center of the face and brought his short life to an abrupt halt. Lotus sent a wave of the force towards his foe, causing him to stumble slightly. Just enough time to rip the blaster from his hand and fling it across the room, crushing the barrel through the force in the process. Loosening his grip on his saber for a few seconds he spun it in a circle in front of him, never letting his eyes leave the other. In the blink of an air the form IV practitioner bolted forward, leapt into the air and brought his saber down in effort to catch his opponents exposed backside. Their sabers clashed for a second before Lotus pulled his weapon back and brought it down again. His movements were precise and didn't waste energy where it wasn't needed, as with his style he would need all the energy he could spare. The force effortlessly flowed through his body, aiding and guiding his every movement, his every step, every strike. ((1))

Maroon Lotus took a deep breath, tasting the air. A powerful Dark taint filled the arena, many had taken the fight to far in this place. He took a few steps towards the center of the area, looking over the man awaiting an opponent in the center. He reached down slowly and unclipped his single lightsaber, casually igniting it and holding it close to his body and at an angle. "Let's go." His violet blade had broken the silence in the room, quickly followed by his charismatic voice. He kept his eyes on the other, waiting for his move. Lotus was curious what style the man fought with, his own style being highly acrobatic and relying on speed and grace over sheer power and force.

Raziel gave the pair a grin, glad they were progressing so well. Though Jinx brought him right into one of the lessons he would have to teach them. He motioned each of them closer, waiting the few seconds for each of them to take a few steps forward. Hooking his hands behind his back he began to speak. "Now, for the next lesson. A Jedi never shows off their power or abuses it. People should recognize you for what you are just by your actions, not by a lightsaber or use of the force. Great pride leads to a great fall, always remember that." Walking across the room, Raziel grabbed two sparring sticks and gave one to each of the two padawans before him. They would have to practice with these before they got training sabers, and they would have to learn how to let the force flow through them and guide their every movement in combat. After moving across the room and taking a seat he spoke up. "I want each of you to practice with those. You must learn to let the force guide your every movement in combat, it will protect you and alert you to any danger. Once each of you are comfortable with letting the force guide you and with your skills with that sparring stick, you can practice with each other for a little while."

Raziel nodded his approval towards each of his padawans in turn, they each had done an exceptional job and were excelling in already. He stood up and pulled all six of the marbles to him and dropped three into each bag before tossing them over to the counter near the edge of the room. Next they would learn something that would surely come into use with the current state of the galaxy. "Next we I will teach about force enhancement." The young Jedi knight gathered the force around him and allowed it to flow through his body, aiding his muscles and making him faster, stronger, and all around a more formidable opponent. With his new found speed he quickly moved from one side of the room to the other, it would be difficult for the untrained eye to follow. This, of course, is where Korin had the advantage as it was a lot easier to track someone through the force then with the naked eye. Jinx would learn that one soon enough though. "Now, I want you to pull the force too you and let it flow freely through your body. Feel it empower your muscles and sensitivity of your nerve endings making you stronger, faster, and able to react a lot more quickly. Now that you know how to connect with the force, this task should be a little bit easier."

Both of them were excelling and Lotus was proud. He watched them carefully, subtly feeling out their connections to the force as they spiked and dropped. He stayed quiet for a bit, thinking over how best to address this little...problem that Korin was encountering. It didn't take long, of course, though and soon he spoke...breaking the silence the ship had. "With practice, touching the force will become second nature and as such you will have more focus. I want each of you to practice until you can successfully levitate all three of the marbles at once. After that I will begin our next lesson." Raziel waved his hand through the air and pulled another bag to him, pulling out three more marbles so each of them would have a total of three to use. He watched them patiently, knowing that they would get the hang of it shortly then they could begin the lessons on how to call the force to aid you in combat, because despite the fact that Jedi didn't particularly like to fight...they knew it was an all to real part of the job.

Lotus chuckled a bit and smiled at her, his light blue eyes seeming to shimmer as the light caught them. He waved his hand and her marble rolled across the floor to its original position. The ship was extremely quiet, its only occupants sitting in this very room on the verge of either losing their selves in the force or touching it for the very first time. "Very good, Jinx. I want you to practice a bit more until you are perfectly comfortable with your ability to reach out and touch the force." Lotus closed his eyes slowly and allowed his mind to slip into itself, into the force that surrounded each of them. It was always relaxing and comforting to know the force was all around him, just like a guardian angel that would always be there to save him in his time of need.

"When around other Jedi, Master Lotus. In a more lax situation you may call me just Lotus if you wish." The young Jedi lifted his hand slightly and reached out through the force, untying the knot on top of the bag he had sat on the floor in front of him and opening it slowly. He completed the entire task with very little effort and a smile on his face, as it was one of the most base manipulations of the force he had just demonstrated. With another brief movement of his hand he levitated three small, metallic balls out of the bag. "I want both of you to relax. Picture the marble in your mind and concentrate on it. The force will come to you, it will assist you. Picture yourself levitating the marble as I am and do not have any doubt in yourself." Lotus allowed two of the marbles to drift down, one in front of each of his padawans as he awaited their first attempts to touch the force. He was interested to see how each of them perceived it.

It appeared that Korin was something of an empath even without the expert assistance of the force behind him. Jinx was still a bit uncomfortable it seemed, but she would surely be past that soon enough. They would get to know each other over the travels and training. It was good that Korin was optamistic concerning his lack of eyes and already working to gain the trust of jinx. "It is time that we begin you two." He opened his eyes and turned to each of them, making sure he had their attention as he began his first lesson. It would be important that they grasp the concept of just what the force was before they truly learned how to connect with it. "The force is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together. The force is life, and life is the force. Some think of the force as a sentient entity that may be capable of intelligent thought--almost as if it were a sort of God--while others simply consider it something that can be manipulated and used as through it were a tool." He paused to let it sink in as he gathered his thoughts on how to go about the next portion of the lesson. "There have been cults throughout history that have worshiped the force as if it truly were a good, but as of late their are no such groups. At least not any that the Jedi have found yet. Don't take what I say wrong though, we do not seek them out to destroy them. Rather to document their culture for later study. And then those that would use the force as a tool...The Sith. They are power hungry and very ambitious. As of late they have returned back to hiding with the Galactic empire assisting them, but in the last few years they have lead many attacks on our temples and bases...they are a corrupted group, twisted by their perverse connection to the force." He stood up slowly and moved over to a counter across the room and begin going through a draw. After various clattering of random items being moved about he turned back to them with a small bag. Returning to his seated position he sat the bag down in front of him and spoke once more. "Any questions so far?"

Lotus had been in deep meditation for some time, trying to figure out just what he should do. He had come to no real conclusions just yet, but he did finally decide on one thing and that was that he would seek out a new padawan. He slowly rose from his seated position and grabbed something to eat from within the room he had rented. When the call about his ship came in he started gathering his things to leave. A short while later he had paid for the upgrades and had everything aboard his ship ready to go. He fired her up, the purr of the engines like music to his ears. He took off for the temple upon Coruscant, moving into the hold to begin construction of his new saber.

Raziel pulled a datapad out of his pocket and handed it over to the lady with a brilliant smile. On the datapad she would find the list of upgrades he would need as well as a few other things that would be quite important at a later date. He waited to see what she could do about the list. He glanced to and fro, slightly in a rush as he had one, very important thing left to craft. "Well that do, Ma'am?

The Static Angel dropped out of hyper-space not far from the Link Casino. He had heard about it many times and figured why not try it out for once. He sent a comm ahead requesting permission to land, not taking long to receive permission he brought the ship in with untold skill and grace. After shutting his ship down he exited it and moved inside, allowing the guards to search him as he had nothing to hide. He felt the force fade away from him once inside, knowing they must have put such a thing up to help prevent themselves from being attacked or robbed. The young man quickly moved through the area towards the main desk. His silver hair floated behind him, falling to a stop as he slowed in front of the desk. "Hello, I am here to speak with someone about...upgrading my ship, whom may I speak with about that?"

Lotus returned Kajai's smile as she left. He quietly sat and watched his master helping out Master Ara. There wasn't much he could do and this would be a long, long process most likely. Rather then sit around and try to pull information from something he did not yet understand the young man stood up, glancing at each of the trio in the room. He bowed politely and and excused himself, leaving the room and moving outside the building quickly. He watched the sky as he felt something familiar on approach, it was his old ship. It had finally responded to his transmission. He would need it for the journey at hand and it would definitely feel good to get back behind the controls of his own, personal ship. He quickly boarded the ship the instant it settled and moved to the cockpit. He cast one final glance back towards the temple that held his master within, he would return here soon enough, but for now he had some of his own things to complete. Things that had been a long time in the making. The Static Angel lifted off from Yavin and launched into hyperspace.

Lotus smiled at the young woman, glad she had taken a bit of a lighter turn of moods. He was glad to be of help, but it was then that he realized he had not been properly introduced. He took a brief sip of his drink before standing up and moving over too Kajai. He leaned down, lifting her hand ever so gently and kissing it, looking up into her eyes as he broke away. "Well, Kajai, I am Maroon Lotus...pleased to make your acquaintance." He nodded his head and turned, moving back to his seat and turning his attention towards Skye for a bit, not ever quite leaving Kajai, but paying enough attention to Skye and the Jedi leader to hear their words. He picked up one of the fruits on the table, taking a bite of the delicious deliciously.

Lotus had been paying attention to Skye and Ara as they wee talking back and forth, but his eyes shifted towards the new entry of a Twi'lek female. It would seem he couldn't detect the subtle language of another's Lekku any more. Never the less he could still feel the depression from her, it rolled off like giant waves from a storm over a once calm ocean. He sent a broad smile her way, his silvery hair gently swaying in the wind as he looked across the table at her. He could tell she was a bit uncomfortable and didn't want her to be. He hated to have someone feel like that around him...a spark of the compassion that filled his heart had ignited. "Would you like something to drink...Kajai is it?" His voice sent out a soothing wave, meant to help comfort her and help her relax around them. She was around friends, she should feel as such.

Lotus sat quietly watching as Master Ara sped up to the table and grabbed some of the juice. It was entertaining, yet a bit worrying to see Ara in her current state. If an enemy got a hold of her in this state the outcome could prove quite disastrous. He continued to sip at his drink as Skye's son, Krishna, walked up. When he brought up the healing Lotus's ears perked up slightly as the wind caught his long silvery hair. He was eager to learn any tid bit of information that might be provided, but he didn't get his hopes up seeing as how child like the woman was.