Dashel Illioni

As Uriel trailed Sheog about he carefully observed the rest of the members of the entourate. He wasn’t measuring his power against theirs, that kind of competition actually served little purpose. Besides, he already knew he was stronger than most of them. He was looking for wavering concentration, a shifting of the eyes, any telltales really that hinted at less than complete loyalty. Punishment was up to Lord Sheog, but the threat of being revealed carried enough peril that most would do anything to avoid it. And that kind of power one could never have enough of. Uriel knew he had to stay focused because the hunger and anger that was the Darkside waited to devour his mind, his soul and his sanity. His rebirth had left him stronger than before, more himself than a raw representation of the Darkside’s hunger. That didn’t mean he given up his previous habits. He still enjoyed the taste of Sentient flesh, he still enjoyed keeping the hides as souvenirs. He still enjoyed the screams of the cattle as they were slaughtered at his hands. For a second, he reminisced about his last meal, a young man whose organ’s he’d eaten directly from the twenty something’s abdomen using a type of bread from Kashyyk famous for the amount of fluid it could absorb to sop up the blood. His stomach rumbled at the thought of the young man’s meat that remained sitting in his frig, waiting to be turned into a gourmet meal. He had a number of ideas on how to prepare his next meal but since this meeting might be going on a long time, he might need to settle for quickly frying both sides and and eating a quick steak and potatoes meal.. Something like regret entered his thoughts for a mere second. That moment of self-indulgence meant almost missing a sly glance from a woman in Sheog’s retinue. Uriel caught the end of the glance and winked at her to cover his momentary lapse. She returned a full smile in his direction and he realized she’d hadn’t been looking for an advantage, but a different type of relationship. Although that relationship might be about ultimately about power, Uriel looked forward to discovering if it was both, one of them, or something else entirely. Besides, she could always grace his table should she not be important to Sheog. After Lord Sheog dismissed them to train with Lord Vandremos, he bent down quietly and obtained a sample of the slime the Hutt always seemed to leave behind. He had no idea why he did it, it was definitely not edible. As he watched Lord Sheog go through the doorway, he reached out to the three sisters that resided in the ring he’d awoken with on his finger. The Khrone replied, saying that with that much Darkness in one place there was no way they could listen in without being detected. He followed Vandremos and listed to his questions when he asked them. Uriel took his time replying, considering the question from several points of view before replying. “Hunger, my Lord, is my emotional foundation in the Darkside. The hunger of a starving man, that brings total clarity to the mind, where one is devoid of any emotion and transcends to a place of pure, focused willpower.”

Hey Tiana, Sis, you wouldn’t believe the weekend I’ve had. It started out in the normal way, with students returning to classes after a long weekend. They griped and groaned in the usual ways and I got a couple of creative excuses as to why some of them didn’t complete their papers on the differences between the governments of the Imperial Remnant and the Galactic Aliance. Of course, none of their excuses held air. Mom was right all those years ago. Students never change, only the time and place of their education. Speaking of mom and dad, have you heard how they are doing on their new home on Old Dac? I know they were anxious to return, even if they can ever go back to our families old homestead since it was located near where the Sith’s first strike landed. Her last letter said they were going to be cut off from communication for a couple of weeks. Its been a month longer than they said it would be and I am very very worried. Have talked to more than a few people in the government and one extraordinary not in the government and yet, no one whom should know is saying anything. Anyway, my last class on Monday, my Ensign Keth called my principal to see if he could arranage a visit to my classroom on Friday. Principal Meggs agreed, and proposed a coupled of special lessons on what its like to serve In the SDF as a navy pilot and the kind of questions that could be asked and how they should be asked. You can imagine the questions that they wanted to task and how much work it took to get them ready for their visit. Four days, ten classes each day and you know how big my classes are these days, by Thursday, I was more tired than during our internships on the refugee ships. So Thursday arrived. The kids were bouncing in their seats when Meggs stops by to remind my class to behave. After he left, my students were angrily quiet. I took a chance and asked them why. Little Delia, smallest child in the school and special in her own right stood up and said, “We’ve practiced and practiced and practiced, why does he think he needs to tell us to be good when the Jedi is here?” I couldn’t believe little Delia would make that kind of mistake. She never gets things wrong and when she does, makes sure she doesn’t do it more than once. Before I could correct her, little Risha stood up and defended her classmate, saying that a Jedi was coming to visit and I needed to be ready. You remember me talking about Risha doing our las holo-call? The little girl whom lost her family during the evacuation because her parents decided to stay and let a few more children on the transport thinking there would be another? Ten years old, and she’s suffered so much pain and loss in her life already. For her to stand up and defend someone seemed to be a good sign even if it was for the wrong reason. My soul died a little at having to correct her. Stalling for time to find a way to let her down as easy as possible, I asked them who told them a Jedi was coming instead of my Ensign. It was Risha who spoke again, simply saying she saw a Jedi coming to our classroom. Mom always said there would be moments like these. You could imagine what I went through as I began to correct the two of them about lying to gain attention. Sis, those words never left my mouth. A voice that sounded as cool and as calm as a deep sea current spoke from the door to my classroom. (We were in dry conditions because of a rogue algae bloom in the local waters.) I turned and saw a very unfamiliar species wearing the robes and lightsaber of a Jedi. My voice failed me. The chrildren’s voices failed them. We all stood there for an eternity trying to pull ourselves together. The Jedi, well, he broke the silence by walking over to me and taking me by the hand. He introduced himself as Jedi Master Dashel, Dash for short. I barely got my own name out. Keth laughed from the doorway. Laughed gently at us and then told my classroom that the Jedi had done exactly the same thing to him. My kids laughed and I think I turned a shade of salmon without the kids noticing. The Jedi winked at me. Once we got everyone settled again, Master Illioni re-introduced himself and asked the children their names, ages and where they were form. For the rest of the class time when a child asked a question, he knew their names, first and last. When he came to Risha, Master Illioni paused and a small frown crossed his face. It was quick, hardly noticeable but we deal with children. I think a few of the kids saw it too, but most of all Risha. I saw her eyes light up in a way I’ve never seen from her. Anyway, we went through several rounds of questions. The boys all seemed to either want to know about fighting or wanted to handle his lightsaber. He told them that fighting is scary, dangerous and something you do only when you have to. He segued that into explaining why he couldn’t allow them to handle his saber. He explained about all the training it takes to learn when to turn on a lightsaber (We had no idea!) and how a lightsaber meant so much to a Jedi they call them the “Heart of a Jedi”. My girls asked more personal questions. We found out he was a Triani, a felinoid species. (They’re smaller and lighter than their cousins the Cathar.) He is married to a another Jedi and has two newborn children he misses a great deal. Jedi Illioni was open about how he came to the Jedi order. Turns out he was a soldier before he became a Jedi. He also told us what it was like to travel the galaxy and what the Temple of Coruscant felt like. Then Risha asked what it felt like to feel the Force and if he was visiting to help all the new people that were coming. He told her yes to the second and that there would be more news about that in time. As for the first part, he had us all hold hands and then had the children sit quietly. Sis, I am not sure what happened next, just that there is far more to the galaxy then our eyes or our sciences will ever tell us. When we were finished and the children were quieter than I’ve ever seen them, he looked at me in a manner I’d say was thoughtful. When Friday was done, he thanked me for letting him talk to the class and left along with my Ensign. A few moments later and Principle Meggs summoned me and Risha to his office. Master Dashel was there and wanted to speak to her. Afterwards, he nodded to Meggs who then announced the school was having a mandatory half day of classes on Saturday. I went back to a very angry class that only calmed down when they learned they were going to be having a pep rally. Then I had tell them what a pep rally was. I know you’ve figured it out by now. Risha is Force Sensitive and Master Dashel asked her to join the Jedi and train with his wife at a Jedi mission near Corellia. And that Saturday assembly was to celebrate her becoming a Jedi. The entire school and a lot of the community showed up to say goodbye and good luck to Risha. She was dressed in Jedi robes a couple of sizes to big and carrying a lightsaber at her side. I can’t describe how happy and sad we all were for her. She sat quietly throughout the whole thing, occasionally looking over my direction and saying something to Master Dashel. All my ears ever caught was “when will it be all right.” I knew she was worried about asking me something and I kept feeling something massive coming my way. Master Dashel kept looking over to her and saying “Patience, young Padawan. Very soon.” Once everyone finished speaking (who knew so many people could find so little to say in so short a time), Master Dashel stood up and thanked everyone. He then asked us all to write to Risha and other Jedi so we all could be friends. Also, he asked us to help little Risha recite the Jedi code in public for the first time. She stood up and looked over to Master Dashel, whom nodded to her. She turned away from the audience and approached me. She asked me to come to the Jedi temple to train with her. I told her only Jedi trained at the Temple. She told me she knew. So did Master Dashel. Sis, I am going to be a Jedi. Write to me will you? Jas.

Dear Ianauria, Thank you for the newest care package you sent. The photos and videos of you and the children are especially heartwarming as I sit here in the lounge of my quarters here in orbit around Dac. Its hard to look down at the planet below and not feel the loss and sacrifice of so many Mon Cal and Quarren families in the aftermath of the Sith attack on their home. I want to be there with you and our children and everyone else on Palowar. Unfortunately, the Force and the Order seem to have other ideas of where I need to be. There are moments when be a Jedi, when it means being separated from loved ones, becomes almost too much to bear. The children seem to be larger in every video. Your right, their growing at an incredible rate. They are going to be a handful when they get older if their current antics are any indication. My regret is not being able to see them in the near term. By now you know much of what happened at the Kashyyk Council.Our new Grand Master wants to share and has a pure vision of the Jedi that seems almost a throwback into another age. I find it invigorating and hope that a similar invigoration can spread to the rest of the order. We sorely need the hope to flow through the order again. I have been, along with Knight Roene, assigned to restoring the planets of Dathomir, Mon Calamari (Dac) and Bothawai. As of yet, I have not had any response from the Bothawai. After consulting with Knight Roene and receiving replies from both Mon Calamari and and Bothawai, we decided to star with those two planets. Rhoene is proceeding to Dathomir while I have arrived at Mon Cal. The attitude of the Mon Cal toward their former homeworld defies explanation. You’d think they want to restore their their planet to a similar or better state condition then previous to the Sith attack. No, instead both species, in their media, culture and popular opinion seem to see their former homeworld as a laboratory of sorts, a frontier world whose alien environment and ruined infrastructure presents a chance to prove themselves to some idea of pioneering spirit. I guess both species adopted to their exile with speed. I am not even sure why this attitude developed. Most cultures would have jumped at the chance to restore their homeworld. This attitude is definitely something unexpected. My intent is to try and trace where the attitude came from. It feels odd to say, but it feels right yet it needs to be closely looked at. When I met with the leaders of the three colonies that resulted from the Sith attack, they informed us of a series of scientific stations already established on the planets surface to monitor how the eco system adapts and a colony of mixed Quarrens and Mon Cal already established and thriving on the planet’s surface. I have an open invitation to visit both and intend to do so in the near future. Everyone is very interested in restoring the shipyard to full functionality as a symbol of their resilience and dedication to the greater galaxy. The disagreement is how to populate those shipyards when somany went missing during their exodus. Most agree that the shipyards need to manned by a majority that includes both species, but there isn’t enough left to maintain their colonies and man the shipyards. Various proposals have ben raised, voted on, and defeated. Those proposals have ranged from hiring temporary workers, to chosing to harvesting genetic samples and creating a new generation of vat raised, genetically created re-population effort among a combination of genetic techniques and cloning knowledge in the form of personality templates and hastened growth. Something we learned about the hard way during the clone wars to our own sadness yet it seems a very popular choice among the leaders, populace and media. They are currently negotiating on a bill to this very end which hope to have ready for the general populace to vote on within a couple of months. A major sticking point of the proposal is compliance. They trying to find a way to get every colonist to cooperate and aid in the harvesting of the necessary genetic material. Seems there is some trepidation among the male population because a non-risky surgery is necessary. I have yet to examine the details. Maybe you have some insight that will help me without me getting bogged down in research. Another point that was raised if the technique works, why not use it to populate their colony worlds faster and thus enable multiple large populations of the species so that the devastation of their species not be as likely as before. The more moderate voices want to enact the restoration of the shipyards are successful in stages on their new homeworlds in stages, 1st building infrastructure, services and agencies necessary to process and handle the influx of new individuals. Almost no opposition off any sort exists to the theoretical plan, I will admit, the idea terrifies me more than a little built as a healer and a Jedi. I meet later today with the group of scientist leading the examination of the proposal. Last there are a few remaining holdouts of the Mon Cal upper class that want their coporations fully restored along with the wealth, privilidge, and position that brings them. Every species has a few and even in what remains in a time of crisis they reveal themselves. That meeting is scheduled for tomorrow as it seems the colonial legislature voted to seize the assets of the remaining wealthy before I got here. I was unable to persuade them to change this course of action. I am going along tomorrow to ensure a peaceful resolution and that no acts of vengeance, vendettas, and envy for while the behavior of the Mon Cal and Quarren wealthy remain worlds above the equivalent in so many species, there still exists problems. So, how go your efforts in Palowar? Your last letter seemed to indicate some problem, yet our video chat and this latest packet of data crystals did not mention it. My love to you, Dashel

Heart of Darkness maintained a modern up to date I.F.F transponder, so when the Golan III class combat platform interrogated his ship, Uriel new he’d pass as a freighter. A smile graced his face at the thought of what kind of freighter captain needed his armaments, but then a detailed background check would explain the heavy on board armaments. His ship’s purpose, and the legitimate company it was owned by specialized in delivering V.I.P’s and secure cargos. If one needed to hide, why not do so in plain sight? Especially since he’d yet to secure the systems to allow planetary incursion’s with stealth. A dozen low, fast orbits later he located the faint transponder signal from the Madness. He circled twice more twice more to assure his instruments that Master Sheog had indeed landed there and to allow himself time to pick a nearby landing sight that gave his ship the high ground over his lordship. All to fresh in Uriel’s mind was the Mad Ones betrayal on Hoth. With a whisper of protesting hydraulics, Uriel set his ship down with weapon’s and a brief walk’s distance from his Master. He ran down the hill with Maire beside him. The young girl kept up easily, flowing over the ground as much or more as running until both found themselves stopping and then bowing before Sheog and quietly falling into place within his entourage as Uriel's Master and another Dark Lord met.

Uriel impassively watched the monitor above the frozen form of a young woman named Petra, a former serving girl in the Palace of Onderon. Not beautiful by any standard, something cold lay frozen within her, a power waiting to be unleashed and Uriel knew where he would unleash that power. Now, though, was not the time. A few steps past the med bay led him to a ladder that led to the lower cargo bay. He stepped down the ladder and into the man cargo bay where a nude, unarmed Chiare toyed with a young man of twenty or so years. He looked at her in horror, backing up to stay away from her as much as possible. Too lithe, too quick for him, she eventually cornered him in a corner of the bay. “Playing with your food again?” asked Uriel. “Always,” said Chiare in a pouting voice. “Do I have time to finish with this one?” “Yes,” said Uriel. He watched Chiare closed the already small gap between her and a trembling young man. The trembling increased 100 fold as she reached out with her delicate fingers and ran a long nail down the front of his shirt. Fabric ripped and the shirt fell away. Another stroke and the young man’s trousers split away leaving him naked. His hands moved of their own accord in a futile show of masculine modesty. Chiare laughed, a sweet high note such gouged souls. Uriel joined her in his deep bass and between the notes of exquisitely foul beauty the captives in their two foot by two foot cells froze into perfect, pregnant silence. Despite everything when Chaire reached out to stroke the man as a lover might, his hands fell to his side and his eyes became clouded with fiery lust. He bowed his head to kiss her and found the truth of her when her magics announced themselves. Green mist past swirled, pooled and reached out with fingers of thin calamity that flowed through every one of the man’s orifices. The young man coughed once, then began to shrink rapidly, his essence drawn back in fat rivers of red and white that twirled over, under and through the thin green strands. In minutes, she stood there, sleek and glowing with youthful health. She stooped to put on her clothes and looked down at the tiny figure that remained, a wrinkled shell of life with crimson eyes that bowed before the young woman. She picked him up and cradled him in her arms as one might a child. “Thought that took longer?” asked Uriel. “I was starved,” she said. “May I have another?” Uriel thought the question over then turned to one of the holding pens where he kept the captives he needed as slaves, food, and test subjects. He reached into one and drug out a terrified young Irodonian whom tried to cower against the now closed door of his former holding cage. Chaire considered Uriel’s gift to her for a moment then said, “Hmmm, this one is promising. I think I will take my time. If you come back in an hour or so, I think you will be very happy with your newest servant.” Nodding his acknowledgement, Uriel strode from the middle cargo bay to the aft wall, where two doors led to the port and aft side cargo bays. He chose the port one and entered. Mounted on a pedestal and tended by a dozen of Chaire’s creations, stood the heart of Hoth. A collection of concentrated Force energy stolen by Chaire’s older self, the heart lay dormant, waiting to be plugged into the necessary receptacle on Hoth that it might again warm the Sith shrine that lay frozen and yet floated up Hoth’s seas of frozen ice. One of the smallest and most intelligent of the creatures looked up with glowing eyes and hissed a question towards Uriel. Marveling he understood their variant of the Sith language, he replied back and the creature immediately turned back towards the stone and lovingly polished a spot on the artifact it perceived needing it. What the creatures saw constantly eluded Uriel, but then he didn’t worship the thing. A smooth, modulated male voice, that of the Heart, sounded over the ship’s intercom. “Reversion in twenty minutes”. Uriel noted a new note to the voice, one that sounded an awful lot like the young Onderon whom recently occupied his cargo hold. Again, as many times since waking up to the three women standing over him, he wondered at the link between the Heart, the women and the enigmatic duranium and onyx ring on his left hand. Stepping to a ladder next to the door he just entered he rapidly ascended to the main habitation level of his ship and stode forward to the bridge where he immediately occupied the pilot’s chair. Nubia soon loomed large in his viewscreen.

For a Sith, gifts rarely brought pleasure. Uriel’s favorites gifts included pain, hatred, suffering and sorrow, preferably in several different combinations and inflicted on others. When Darklord Sheog’s power swept over him, he learned another companion of the Darkside. One that he knew intimately yet never named. Hunger. He felt himself filled with it, his skin inflating, pulling away from the underlying connective tissue till the internal pressure became too much and he burst upon the beauty of Sheog’s newest treatise. Yellow-orange bile spilled out, a disturbing reminder that instead of his previous body, a scientist somewhere found a way to transfer him into something unnatural, something unholy. Even under the frozen fire of the Darkside, the lab grown flesh of his form left a genetic taint among the twisted strands of his DNA and among the daughters of his mitochondrial DNA. Once the agony finished, Uriel, nude, remained hunched over in the torn and shredded remnants of his past form. His skin smoked frozen vapors amidst the chambers ruins . Uriel straightened, audibly gasping in pleasure as he straightened to his previous height, towering over his newest companion yet dwarfed by the beauteous bulk of Sheog. H turned to look at his lord, to speak the words the great Hutt needed to hear, but one last change made itself known. The spines of his previous form erupted in a torrent of blood and spinal fluid from the hard ridge of his spine. Poison dripped down the contours of his tightly muscled ass, dripped down the hard muscular ridges of his thighs and pooled onto the floor and joined the pool of fluids already there. In his excitement of being restored, the spines rose straight up in a crackle of static electricity. Off balance, he stumbled forward and fell to his right knee. Leaning over, he howled in pain as the electricity flowed back into his nervous system and reigned down into the floor. When it was over, he remained kneeling before his lord on his knee, with all four hands resting on the ground before him. Frowning, he turned to look towards those hands and watched them disappear into his torso. Where they went, his conscious mind failed to comprehend, but his subconscious knew. Shaking his blood covered, bald head to give himself extra seconds to comply, he looked up at Master Sheog and croaked out his first words in a month. “Master, I live to serve the Sith. As you say so shall it be, my Lord. My ship, Dark Heart will be readied for departure within an hour’s time.” Uriel rose, saluted his Master and bowed before turning on one heel and heading for the nearest doorway. The young woman, her eyes wide, followed closely in his footsteps. Her amber eyes glowed triumphantly as she whispered softly, “The Master’s man a beast within born amidst silent sacrifice…” even as they left the room. After walking several minutes she spoke directly to Uriel. “Master, shall I see to the ship’s provisioning while you seek out some clothing?” “Clothing won’t be necessary until we are on the ship, Chiara.” Chiara tried again. “Lord Uriel, how show I provision the ship?” “With the youngest and fittest you can find, of course along the usual lines.” “As you wish,” said the twenty something woman. “Will there be anything else?” “Yes,” said Uriel, “there is another dark presence here. She is slightly older than Maire. Make sure she is on the ship when I get there.” “Where will you be Master?” Uriel turned towards a short, quiet hallway and smiled back at the young woman. Retrieving the Heart of course. I am tired of getting frostbite on Hoth.” A little over an hour later, the Darkheart rose from the pad where Chiare landed it but a few days before. On board, where Uriel, Chiare, Maire, Chiama, a young woman frozen in carbonite and 2 dozen captives that joined the 3 dozen or so already there. Uriel, now fully dressed in the robes of a Sith apprentice, with the addition of a kama at his waist, and all his weapons dependent from their proper attachments, watched as the starlines stretched in the familiar forms of hyperspace.

(OOC: the text under the spoiler tags is flavor text not necessary to understand the post. You have been warned.) Uriel heard the sound of the bones being ripped wholesale from their owner’s bodies. His ears, huge and sensitive turned independently towards the beautiful sound and a fang filled smile crossed his face. Soon the lovely smell of blood and other offal filled the sensitive chambers of his midnight black and oversized nose. A growl reverberated outward from deep within his diminutive, blue furred body. Rigid, poisoned tipped quills ripped into readiness up his backbone. The chilling tone filled the bedchamber. An aggravated sound came from the mahogany bed at the foot which he sat. “Darling,” said the young man, “It’s a little hard to concentrate with your pet making all that noise. Shall I call a servant to put him in a cage for the night?” The woman sighed, a combination of frustrated arousal and aggravation. She rose from the bed as a blue, six armed blur attacked the young man and picked up her bandau top that lay discarded on the room’s ornate floor. She fastened the top and adjusted the loincloth into the correct position even as piercing screams filled the room. Once finished, she turned around to watch as the last of the young man’s lifeblood soaked into Uriel’s blue fur turning him a hideous shade of nauseating purple. Large, amber colored eyes regarded her from the mess created by the six sets of razor sharp and poisoned talons and mouthful of fangs. Communication passed between them via the Force. “Yes,” she purred, “you did say that I needed to be ready soon. But I figured I would have a little time for myself.” Her red accented lips pouted beneath bangs of her long, lustrous, blue-black hair. Amber eyes regarded Uriel from where he sat. “Did you at least save me a piece?” Uriel raised his upper two arms after tucking the other two somewhere into his abdomen. The tall young woman walked barefooted over to the bed, reached down and picked the two foot tall abomination up and allowed him to clamber up until he stood on her shoulders. A streak of red blood followed his trail, staining the woman’s torso with a smear of read that curled up her should and around her neck. “Shall we go see Lord Sheog?” she asked. An almost feline growl sounded from above her. She smiled and began to walk from the room, pausing only to grab two backpacks from a chair next to the door. The smaller one she handled to Uriel, the other she swung into place and felt Uriel shift his feet to allow the straps into place. They walked through ornate corridors until they stood before a doorway that led to the barracks of the Royal Guard. Uriel’s nose told him of the slaughter within and a tounge as long as his two and half foot height rolled out from his mouth. Drool dripped down onto the woman, mixed with the path of smeared blood and created intricate rivulets as it ran down her toned body. From overhead, she heard Uriel impatiently growl and set him down. She pushed open the door and in a tenor voice cried out, “Mighty Sheog, Master of the Sith Empire, Uttermost Terror of Terrors, True Lord of Gastronomical Delights, may I present you with the reborn Uriel, servant of the True and Only Master of the Sith.”

Dashel watched Vos turn away from the Council. He allowed himself a few fleeting moments to reflect on the young man’s words and actions even as the young being stood quietly in front of the window. A long shadow seemed to stream from Vos and into the council chambers. One that Dashel’s senses told him spoke quietly of secrets (and which of the Masters did not have secrets?) and not of the Darkside. For that Dash felt grateful, he could not help but remember his encounters with the icily cold Tenembris and how they’d found a compromise. Hope surged briefly through his aura concerning a successful resolution in that direction to at least one problem. In that memory he remembered his own lesson concerning patience. A smile graced his countenance for the briefest of moments before he turned and bowed briefly to Master Organa. He simply said, “I was remembering working with Agent Tenebris on Coruscant. I should thank him sometime.” As his thoughts turned to Tenebris and the GA, he found what he needed to speak to the Grand Master about and what he wanted to do to help make the Jedi more than another galactic warband. “GrandMaster, there are two major areas that need addressing within the galaxy that I would like to address. The first concerns reports that the GA has once again adopted a dictatorship as its form of government. There are very dangerous precedents there but I am not sure we need to act as of yet. I advise a wait and see attitude in that area outside of a future diplomatic mission.” He paused a moment to remember that waiting was an action and allowed for the most knowledge to be gathered and acted on in a manner befitting Jedi instead of something else. “As for what can be done immediately, than might I suggest considering missions to rebuild the planets of Dathomir, Bothawaui, and Mon Calamari. Better relations the citizens of those three would provide us with additional resources to continue building our own strengths.”

Kala Ianauria Standing amongst the gathered mourners, Kala felt the need to close her eyes against the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Breathing evenly, she let the memories of their arrival play through her mind while she waited for Kirlocca’s memorial to begin. The warm, moist air of Kashyyk met them when the door to the ship opened. Mixed in among the normal scents of a landing pad were the almost overwhelming scents of Kashyyk foliage, the first indication of the mixture of technology and the natural world preferred by the Wookie race. Exiting the ship, Kala witnessed the fusion hinted on the winds of Kashyyk. Standing on the platform kilometers above the planets darkness shrouded forest floor, the memory of childhood fantasy’s involving cloudtop castles flittered through her mind. The fantasy only lasted a few moments before she found herself returning to a reality both saddened by the reality of GrandMaster Kirlocca’s funeral and enlivened by the hope gathered in the representatives of those whose life he impacted. When the Wookies unleashed their mourning roar to open their funeral, she stood among the gathered. As far as her eyes could see, she stood among a constellation of polished armor and weapons, of incredibly groomed and coifed sentients, and of Jedi wearing their finest. Yet as beautiful as that was, she felt tears gather at the corner of her eyes when Jaina began speaking about the fallen Jedi master. Tears reigned down her face, good tears, ones of joy at a life well lived, filled with love for others, of duty, of sacrifice for the greater good. Her heart learned the message even if she her mind did not. When the Jedi raised their lightsabers in one final salute, she joined them in their final goodbye. Her azure blade lit with a blazing snap above her head. She joined them in the recitation of the code and felt the descent of the darkness when the Jedi extinguished their blades as they rumbled the last line of “There is not Death, There is the Force”. What her eyes no longer saw, what her tongue no longer spoke, her heart still heard and sang. Each blade of light, every tear shed became a note of joy, love and hope in a grand song she found herself a part in. She reaffirmed her role in the galaxy, of her place in the Force in a moment that allowed her to forever know she no longer stood alone. A message that she knew she needed to carry forth, to allow to sing forth in her every word and action till the day she passed into the Force. After the funeral, when her mistress received her order from Lady Raven and did not give her other orders, she followed them into the Jedi council meeting. Realizing that the meeting would definitely be long and tiresome, she immediately found a nearby kitchen and began hauling pitchers of iced water and glassware into the chambers for the refreshment of the Jedi Masters gathered there. She refused all help, deciding that this meeting needed to be uninterrupted. Once the Masters all had water before them, and extra pitchers filled with water stood ready, she shut the doors behind her and stood guard outside them so that no Master might be disturbed except in an emergency. It would only be later that she realized that doing so was the first time she’d ever taken up a servant’s duties without being asked. As she took up her guard post outside, her gauntlet chimed incessantly. Activating the built-in comm system took a moment. The face of her Captain immediately popped into view. She wondered why he needed to comm here of all places, especially when she thought him and the ‘Wild Bunch’ remained on Carida. “Captain?” she said, acknowledging him and turning it into a question at the same time. “Took us a while to get here, what are you up and Knight Eleison up to?” “Um,” she said, “she’s in a meeting with the entire Jedi Council. I am outside keeping certain types from going in.” “Guard duty, is it? Where do you want us?” Kala blinked, trying to understand how to deploy him and her troopers along with the firepower her troops might have procured. He answered for her. “We here onboard a former pirates corvette from someone who raided a black site prison on Coruscant. Got all the ident codes worked out so were actually an Imperial worship. It’s got landing cap and a few suprises if you need them.” She sighed quietly, really wanting them by her side despite knowing that bringing them to the planet meant a whole lot of diplomatic fury. Wookies had long memories to go with long lives. Imperial soldiers might never know any love and she did not want to create a diplomatic shitstorm. “Stay in orbit and make yourself useful,” she said. “Acknowledged.” ------------------------------------------- Dashel Illioni He gave only a nod of thanks to the young Imperial knight whom set out plain iced water for everyone present. He wondered if anyone knew that young Kala Ianaura at some point built the droid whom served him since he came to the Jedi. The young woman now though, had not yet begun the journey to the past where she would become the Jedi Master that created both the droid and the holocron his Kala walked around with. Dashel did not feel sorry for the young woman, for the HRD had told him her story in full and he still felt awe at what the Force wrought. “Bao Dur, Visas Marr, and others, names whispered at deep in the Temple archive for the times after Revan’s return to the Old Republic,” he reflected. Still in thought he allowed his thoughts to wonder a bit longer on the whole affair as it had been told him then pulled his thoughts away from that paradox and looked to find the Masters invited to the meeting as well as Empress Raven and her chief of staff. A smile graced his face at their youth, but not at the power and grace which held them. In some ways, they represented the best ideals of the Jedi order but had chosen to their service to the galaxy a bit more exlusively than simply serving the Force. If he had anything to say about it, the Imperial Knights would be recognized as Jedi no matter what anyone else said. Noting everyone invited was now present, he turned and spied a staff that seemed to be a part of the room’s furniture. One end was padded and was for striking the large brass gong that stood framed at the end of the room opposite where he stood. Using the Force, he levitated the item into the air and propelled it with enough Force to strike the gong quite loudly. The brassy notes brought the room to silence in but a moment. “Fellow Masters,” he said in a voice slightly louder than the final dying notes of the gong. “Empress Raven, Knight-Commander Eleysion, welcome to the Jedi Council. I call this meeting to order.” As he finished speaking, he raised his arms and again using only the Force, slammed every door to the chamber with a ringing boom and again raised the striker to sound the gong. A bit melodramatic, his soldier’s mind reported, but then Master Kirlocca’s death had been even more dramatic and that resulted them into actually acting. Something the Council and Jedi as a whole had taken far too long to do. “Our first order of business, to elect a leader to be the head of the order, a unifying sight to the greater galaxy and a someone whom can order our Order into battle as needs be among other duties. To that end, I nominate Jedi Master Darex Travelion to be Grand Master, 1st among equals of the Jedi council.”

(OOC: Sorry Drej, Needed to get a post in for the funeral) Dashel stood among his fellow Masters, among the solemn heads of state and felt tears gather at the corner of his eyes as Jaina paid tribute to the fallen Kirlocca. In his hands, he held the first lightaber he'd ever constructed, a simple affair fit for an apprentice that seemed to come from a different time and place. As he hefted the blade in tribute, he realized he'd not carried the weapon in years, having constructed others since then as his powers and understanding of the Force grew. As he lofted the handle and ignited the blade in honor of the fallen Kirlocca, he found himself reciting the Code. In the mournful silence of his own thoughts, he finished the last line, "There is no Death, there is the Force," just as every Jedi extinguished their blades, plunging the assembly into a moment of total, silent darkness where the brightness of a moment earlier seemed to be a relic of an earlier, brighter age. In the Darkness, he found his soul remembered the display, the gathered might of both the Wookie and the Jedi forever locked within his own heart. That, he came to realize, was the greatest tribute they could give the Grandmaster, to carry the light of his both his memory and the memory of this gathering forward and spread it among the galaxy. He sighed, knowing his part needed to start almost immediately after the funeral finished, even as they mourned. The Order needed direction, a hand to guide the members gathered here and those throughout the galaxy into a unified Force to strike against the darkness where it might come from. So with a heavy heart and greater reluctance, during the gathering after the funeral he quietly found the time to speak with each of this fellow Jedi Masters, firmly inviting them to a council meeting after a brief period of mourning had passed to gather again within sight of the memorial and begin planning the future of the order. While the talks might not be finished here on Kashyyk, he wanted his fellow Masters to understand they gathered to honor their fellow by carrying forth into a new era provided by his sacrifice. A bit melodramatic maybe, but necessary. To the list of invited Masters, he formerly invited MasterDarex Trevelian in front of at least a pair of Jedi witnesses. The man, after all, had been a Jedi Master before sacrificing himself much as Kirlcocca had done and not inviting him seemed to be disservice to the spirit of the gathering. He wasn't sure if anyone else had asked, didn't care, just wanted to continue to honor some of Kirlocca's final thoughts and actions. He purposely found a way and time to approach Head of State Raven Zinthos. Worldlessly, he sent his condolences through the Force before simply uttering a few polite words and moving on. Finished with those few things on his agenda, he found a quiet corner to relax in and speak with whomever might come.

The fleet finally received clearance from the Taskforce commander to go to hyperspace and complete their transit to Coruscant. The only kerfluffle for the entire group consisted of deathsticks being smuggled by a small group of crewmembers on board one of the older Action II’s. The drugs were found during a search of the ship ordered by the Captain before being inspected by the GR navy. Dashel found himself needing to prevent the rest of their crew from spacing them. After turning the perpetrators to the navy, the Jedi fleet finished their repairs and headed for Coruscant. Dashel watched the various cargo ships, from the immense Action series to the smaller freighters enter hyperspace. He called Drej to the bridge and let him have the command seat. “Apprentice,” he said, “Take us to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Once we get there, you can take our gear into the Temple. Move the gear into the Temple Master’s quarters than meet me in the gardens of the Shrine.” He smiled at the apprentice. “The gardens are not planted yet. Plan on getting yourself very dirty as we will be assisting in setting them up. Also be aware that there are hospital patients using some of the bare paths and we will be interacting with them.” (Post us arriving, moving our gear into the Shrine Master's quarters, and arriving at the bare, empty gardens that consist of simple concrete and gravel paths and little else in this thread: http://forums.jedirp.net/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=21722)

"To answer your easiest question first," said Dashel between bites of rare cooked Nerf, "we were in my meditation room for three days." He paused a moment to allow Draj to absorb that particular bit of information before proceeding. "As far as you fainting, well, I am sure that had something to do with both the surprise of touching the Force and not eating or drinking while you attempted to touch the Force for the 1st time. Congratulations, by the way, on both touching the Force on your first time and for meditating for three days straight. Both are excellent feats for a young Padawan." After a few more bites of Nerf and some sips at some lemon water, Dash continued. "As for clearing your mind faster, that comes with a lot of practice. We'll work together on that, both in quiet meditation and meditation through physical discipline." A smile crossed Dash's face at the though of whom would actually be working doing the practice sessions. The small disappeared when he thought of the form training that would need to be done. "If you have any more questions," said Dashel, "go ahead and ask. If you are finished, though, both of us could use a hot shower and some rest before we arrive at Coruscant."

A smile crept across Dashel’s face. He’d seen quite a few different reactions from various Padawan’s first conscious contact with the Force, but fainting definitely took the care. Then again, did anyone reckon with a Wookie Padawan remaining still for three days trying to achieve that simple yet complicated goal? He shook his head as rose, stiff legged and hungry from having observed his Padawan through those three days and went to the GrassTiger II’s nearest medkit and retrieved some aromatics, commonly called smelling salts, to revive his Padawan. Before he broke open the capsule whose fumes would assault the Wookie’s nostrils, he took care to observe his charge’s condition and reflect upon what he was about to do. Waking a member of a species whom ran 1600 meter races in just over three minutes and climbed the same distance just as fast meant taking a few precautions. Like being ready when a furry paw swept up to bat away the foul smelling vapors before shoving them back under the Wookie’s nose and dodging the second paw as it swept in from the other side. Drej finally stirred and Dashel reached his hand out to help the Wookie up and nearly had his hand crushed by a grip that he’d forgotten about in helping the young Wookie up. Once he got Drej seated back into a comfortable position, he looked at the young man and said, “What you touched was the Force, that invaluable ally to a Jedi, the energy field that is generated by, surrounds and flows through all living beings. Welcome to a larger world. That which must always be treated with utmost respect and only used in defense and for knowledge.” He smiled at the Padawan and said, “We are approaching Coruscant, specifically we will be landing next to a ruined hospital where we will announce that the Jedi Council has agreed to donate the site of its Temple to a mega hospital with only a small portion reserved as a shrine to the Order. You have about twelve hours to get cleaned up and ready a set of formal robes for the occasion.” Dash’s smile never waivered as he sat looking up at the Wookie. “You will also need to practice your meditation technique with emphasis on clearing your mind as quick as possible. You will not consciously seek to touch the Force without my being present to assist and guide you.” The last part he made sure to emphasize, pretty sure his Padawan would do so anyway. He would have had he found the Jedi that early in his life. Running a hand over his own face he heard hisown stomach rumble. “Although a bit of food first might be in order unless we both feel like passing out. While we eat, ask any questions you might have.”

Dashel reflected on Draj’s question for several long moments, trying to sort through his experience with the Force. He finally shook his head, clearing his thoughts and smiling at the young Wookie. “The Force is something you need to experience before we can define it,” said Dashel. Rising from the seat he’d taken, he gestured to Draj to do the same. He turned to Kala who had entered the cockpit at that point and said, “Kala, as the rest of our little ‘fleet’ arrives, let them know what is going on and give them the cords we are heading to above Coruscant. Once we’re assembled and the Navy finishes its inspections, take us there.” Kala nodded. Understanding shown in her eyes at the lesson Dashel needed to teach Draj. Despite long association with her and despite knowing her secrets, he still sometimes forgot that was a Droid so perfect was her construction. Regardless, he led Draj to a small space on his ship he kept closed from most people. Simply decorated, he’d created the room to help him meditate in the most stressful moments of his life. Introducing Padawans to the Force was not stressful for him, but for the Padawan? Consciously sensing the Force for the first time meant everything to young sentients starting their journey as Jedi and Dashel wanted the young being in front of him to have as few as distractions as possible for his first attempt. If he failed, then he knew he could always resort to some of Master Yoda’s training methods when they got to Coruscant. A smile crossed his face at the amount of exercise it might take to tire a Wookie, even a young one. As the door to the meditation room closed, Dashel gestured to many of the small cushions scattered about the room. “Grab a cushion and sit down,” said Dashel. Once they were both seated and comfortable, Dashel concentrated and gently engaged the door controls ensuring they would only be disturbed under the gravest of conditions. “Alright,” said Dashel, “Close your eyes and keep them closed. Next, I want you breathe, slowly and gently, evenly, in and out. Keep doing so until I tell you otherwise.” Dash watched the young Wookie for a while, rising once or twice to correct Draj’s posture or even out his breathing ever so slightly. “Good, now begin clearing your mind. Take each thought, examine it and push it away. Take every remaining sound, feeling, and distraction, examine them, and push them away. Take your time. When you are done, when you feel at ease, reach out with you feelings and tell me what you sense.” As he finished, Dashel reached out with his own mid and quietly activated a small, almost perfectly noiseless training remote that slowly settled over his left shoulder.

"Good," said Dashel, "Now that we have some time together, tell me about your training under Master Kirlocca. "I am interested in seeing how far you've advanced and in what areas your proficient so that your training can continue." Dash knew what Kirlocca's reports said, he wanted to hear Draj's impressions and thoughts on the matter. An apprentice should have an idea where they'd been, aka have a good solid base from which to launch further into their Jedi studies.