Haruun Kal

[MSA]

As John said his words to Scorpio, the Jedi Apprentiance just nodded his head "yes", and followed John out the room. But instead of going where John was, he went out to his ship. He loaded his ship, got a cannister, and brought it outside and sat down on it. Looking out to the east, Scorpio watched the planet's sun setting, and thought on many things.

 

As he sat there and watched, one memory kept playing in his mind. The one where he had his parent's killed. Scorpio started crying, for the memory pained him deeply. Scorpio tried to shake the memory, but failed until he started thinking of losing his first lightsaber. The anger started boiling out of him, as if something inside of him tainted the young Jedi Apprentiance. Scorpio decided to meditate for a few moments, and did so.

 

As he meditated, a blue aura crept out of Scorpio, and right around him bodies outline, a red aura could be seen. There was indeed a taint in Scorpio, left by the sith Yue, but no one knew that at the moment. It would take time for the taint to be visable by even the strongest Master.

 

A few hours later Scorpio snapped back and pondered on Master Nom. "Should i return to Manaan?" Scorpio thought.

[Kitt]

*Kitt realized that Hou-jo was distracted before he even got close enough to him to stop. Kitt quickly wispered sorry into the ear of the Jedi, and moved on. As he was walking, he saw a young man standing outside the temple. Kitt walked up to the door and let him in.*

 

"Hello there. My name is Kitt Fitt, Jedi Knight."

 

*Kitt quickly scanned the young man from head to toe.*

 

"What brings you here?"

 

((saberforce, this is directed towards you.))

[Kautra Nadio]

Kautras' mind was wondering when Hartel walked up. He could feel the force flow freely through his body, it was stronger then before, and it felt good to know he was still alive. He felt a small fluxuation in the force when Hartel came to him, it seemed different then many of the others.

 

I am ready to recommense my training Master. Hartel said quietly with a bow.

 

"Then we shall. I know that you have training in the baisics of the force. The bad part though is that they were taught by the Sith. The force connection the sith strive for is one of power, you are not better then the force. But rather you are one with the force." kautra paused and gave a small chuckle, he was quiet literaly one with the force not more then an hour ago.

 

" I want you to remember this. It will guide you throughout your life.

 

There is no emotion; there is peace.

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

There is no passion; there is serenity.

There is no death; there is the Force.

 

This is the Jedi Code, we live our lives by it. I'm sure you have heard this before, but think of it as a gift from me to you."

 

Kautra sat back against the pillar that he was by, and began to relax. It had been some time since he had a chance to just relax. A few moments passed by before he stood up.

 

"Okay, " He said enthusiasticlly, "It is time we start your trainnig." Kautra saw a grin cross Hartels face. "We must get to my ship." Kautra stopped where he was. His ship was no longer. It went down with the Eternal Vigialance. "Never mind that, we must not go to my ship, for I don't have one anymore. Instead we will do our training here. Come, we are off to the mountian side, so we can be alone." Kautra lifted his arm, and pointed the direction, and waited for Hartel to take the lead.

[Damon]

As Scorpio left the room Damon let out a sigh and feel back agaisnt the wall. What he had done was quite rare and spitacular. Still he padawans would be required to understand what he just did and how. However one padawan above the two was ready for more.

 

"Stephen. You have been with me for quite a while now. Hopefully you have learned much. I pose a question for you. Why must a balance exist within use of the force?"

[Amon Saulot]

::Weeks had passed since Amon had begun construction on his lightsabers, although perhaps construction was not the proper word, growing being more fitting. Two would be for himself, allowing him to utilise dueling, twin short, and twin long styles, and the third was for another, a talon enveloped in darkness. As he placed the first focusing crystal into his first lightsaber, he remembered his father...::

 

Seven years ago, when I was more a bo than a man, father found me playing with a stick, pretending it was a sword. He told me I was old enough to learn how to wield the real thing, and my stick became a wooden sword. He showed me the basics of swordfighting that day, spending hours with me. From then on we would always spend time together to refine my dueling, although the truth of it was that it was more than that. My Father is a God, and yet he still took the time to impart knowledge to me through the bonding of combat. I also learned alot about Father through those sessions. His style with the sword was incredibly intricate, layer upon layer of feints and traps, so complex that any man could lose their way in its twists and turns.

 

::Upon placing the first focusing crystal into the second lightsaber, Amon remembered Kharn, and training in the Khornate realm...::

 

My swordsmanship progressed to the point where I needed to learn new styles to advance tot he next level, so I sought out followers of the blood god. They fought with gruesome chain axes so large that I had to learn to wield twin longswords just to not be overcome by their sheer force and brutality. There is no such thing as practice in the khornate realm, and I nearly died many times, most notably when Kharn found me. Kharn had been an unstoppable juggernaut, crashing through even my best defenses. My survival can only be attributed to the thirtyfive warriors who intervened to challenge Kharn. Even though he killed them all, it allowed me time to escape.

 

::Amon placed the secondary focusing crystals that would allow for shorter blades into his lightsabers, and as he did, he remembered Slaanesh...::

 

After facing Kharn I had fled the khornate realm and entered the pavillions of Slaanesh to seek refuge. Slaanesh was at the time on good terms with Father, so I was greeted warmly. As I recovered, I had the cahnce to speak to Slaanesh and her lieutenants on many subjects, and they left an indelible impression upon me. Upon my full recovery, a demon who's name I did not learn taught me how to fight with finesse over power, and the killing power of short blades and quick strikes.

 

::Amon completed the assembly and willed his blades to activate, they sprang to life with silver light engulfed in blue flames. The twin crystal construction allowed him to alter the length of the blade as he saw fit, creating truly versatile weapons. Leaving his personal chambers, he found his master and presented the weapons to him.::

[Joreel Ordo]

Hartel was gratified by the words of his master, they were calm, peaceful, and most importantly, accepting. Hartel had longed for this to be so and his inner peace within his being was glowing with an essence stronger than he had ever experienced in the past. It was a higher ethereal plane than he had ever reached before in his life. His time in the service of his father on Ordo was mainly focused on the physical powers of life. He was training night in day in the arts of hunting, tracking, stealth, and hand to hand combat. He was always noted as a Warrior by his people not an assassin or hand for hire which was the galaxies view on John's people.

 

John then led the way to the mountain as his master was clearly was suggesting. This was an important step for the Mandalorian and he was not sure his master knew just how much. From his time as a boy he had been taught not to let anyone have a full view of your backside. Now, here he was taking the lead and his master following closely behind. An ultimate motion of trust was made without speech and Hartel had just showed his master the greatest respect any one man can hope to achieve. Trust.

 

The journey to the other side was arduous, consisting of small little change in paths here and there to make the trek a bit easier, even if it prolonged it. The view was calming, a meadow of plant life which teemed in the Haruun Kal sun. The tulips were vivid reds and purples and stood out amongst the seas of green and yellow grass which paraded in their wake. Hartel smiled at his view, it was the most wonderful thing since his presentation of the Mask of Mandalore to the last Mandalore. It was the same sort of work one could say would come from a ringbearer, but it was much more than this. It was more meaningful and brought John to a greater calling.

 

Hartel looked to his armor which lay on top of his black robes and smiled.

 

I will never forget my heritage”¦

 

He stopped and looked around the plain that was nestled below he and his master and made his way down the mountain which was indeed much easier, and all in all filled with fun, compared to the uphill battle up. Hartel ran out into the plains taking a deep breath of fresh air and rose his arms in triumph. This was a liberating experience for this Padawan and he wished nothing more but to breath it all in and just become at peace right here till his dying day.

 

”œYou have picked a wonderful place to begin master, it is so calm, at peace, and centered here.”

[saberforce]

Zhan bowed rather poorly as the Jedi named Kitt Fitt let him in. He took a second to ponder on what Kitt had asked him. "To tell you the truth, i'm not even sure why I am here." Zhan stood and fidgeted around a bit. "I had this feeling within myself that told me to come here. I'm still not sure what to make of it."

[Kautra Nadio]

Kautra followed Hartel, giving slight suggestions on their path as too where they were heading. few words were spoken during their trek, but there was no need for them. Kautra knew that the Mandalorian people were a very proud people. It was hard for them to show their back to anyone. But as Kautra followed, Hartel showed little signs of distrust as the walked.

 

The path Kautra choose, was one that he had followed not too long ago, the place they ended up was the field that he had used to furthered his connection with the force. The small platform that he had built for his meditation was still standing, showing that it was made sturdy. Kautra rose his hand towards the plank that was sitting a good 50 feet above the ground when his apprentice asked his question, and with one swift motion he jumped high in the air.

 

There was no ladder that led the way to the platform. The only way to reach the platform, was to either climb the tree, or jump. Either way, it would require assistance from the force. One had to build the force in his legs, and release it in one motion. Or the user had to collect the force in his hands, and strengthen his grip to reach the top.

 

Kautra touched down softly, allowing his new cloak to rest gently against the crude wood planks. Kautra peered over the edge, to see the look of awe on his apprentices face.

 

"Come" Kautra said sarcasticlly. That was all he said, as his apprentice stared at the distance of the platform. Kautra knew that Hartel could bend the force to his will, but pushing and pulling had nothing to do with this little task. To harness the force, and work with it, was requiered. Kautra was aware of the fact that Hartel had training, but this would help in figuring how far he had been trained in the powers of the force.

 

Kautra took a seat on the cold floor, and wrapped his cloak under his body, giving a slight cushion for him. He leaned against the base of the tree, and rested his head against the hood of his cloak, which served as a soft pillow. He lifted one of the planks of the floor, and watched his apprentice contemplate the situation.

 

The time passed slowly as Hartel attempted the jump. Kautra could feel the force flow into Hartels legs, and was amazed by the fact that he could hold the force there to build it up. But Hartel showed signs of releasing the force in one motion. The force flowed from his legs in 4 to 5 burst as he tried to jump. Not allowing the motion to be completed smoothly. As the hours past, Hartel was growing tired, and Kautra could feel it. Hartel was beginnig to get the hang of it.

 

He was able to get the force release down to 2-3 bursts, but not in one. Hartel was slowly making his way higher and higher up the tree, scrapping his fingures across the wood planks, but not enough to get a grip on them. Kautra was enjoying watching his apprentice slowly make his way up the distance. Kautra was able to feel the force fluxuation in Hartels legs. He could sence when he was releasing the force from his leggs.

 

Kautra was paying close attention to his apprentices progress. His eyes snapped open on his apprentices last attempt. He could feel a massive amount of the force move to Hartles legs, and with one motion, the release was emmince. Hartel had propelled himself into the air, and was making his way towards the planks at a high rate of speed. Hartel made his way above the planks, and was about to touch down on the floor when he was met by the extended leg of his master.

 

Kautra had more for his apprentice in store. As Hartels foot touched down on the wood plank, Kautra threw a perfectly landed kick to Hartels side, sending him to the edge of the platform. Hartel was quick to get to his feet, but hesitated. Kautra could sence that Hartel was in a personal conflict. The thoughts were running through his head. Should he hit back, or not?

 

Kautra took the hesitation as an invitaion. Kautra sprung forward, and landed another kick to Hartels ribs. Sending him off the platform, towards the ground. Kautra followed him. Hartel caught himself, and landed on his feet. Kautra also landed upright, 15 feet away from him.

 

"Now that you are tired, we will spare. Self controll is key here. Now you must rely on nothing but the force. You have no energy, I can feel it." Kautra shot off his stance, and threw another kick at his apprentices chest, but before making contact, he threw another kick directed towards Hartels head, there was little Hartel could do to block both.

[Joreel Ordo]

The self instruction of using the force as an ally to aid him to higher ground was indeed wearing on Hartel. It required more power than he ever realized could be becoming of a Jedi, a people who he once saw as weak and incompetent. Now he realizes that the force is a fatiguing tool and requires much more than simple memorization of tricks. When he was with the Sith he commanded the force and thus had it do his bidding, here he had to befriend it in order to get his desires.

 

The jump was different than before, his other force powers he had learned were based on using the force as an external source against something foreign, now he had to use it for himself as a sort of boost to reach higher ground. At first he was able to boost a little bit but in nowhere near the destination required to get to his master. On his first few tries he got the Force to burst like a rocket beneath him 5 times, then 4 the following time, then 3, then finally 2.

 

This was still not good enough as the bursts were short and not in anyway concentrated into one swift movement which would be necessary in the eventual control of this power for later use. John stood there, his hair wet with perspiration, his forehead glistening with swear, and his eyes swimming with the vindication to finish his task. It was like a monsoon wind at first only sweeping through him minimally only showing up when he thought it necessary for it to come, but now its release was full and he embrace the open current which now flowed within his soul with no blocking. He jumped.

 

When he landed he hit the deck above landing on his right knee, which cracked the board beneath him. He looked up to his master, a smirk on his face proud of his own accomplishment and all of a sudden a foot sank with his sternum. This flung the Padawan back and before he had a chance to comprehend what had happened another foot came slamming into the side of him, where he was still healing from his wounds.

 

Damn You! thought the Padawan as he cringed in pain for a few moments before he got back to his feet at the edge of the platform to which he just got to the top of. What was he to do? Was his master just insane? Was he of the Sith and this just payment? Could he be mad that he died while Hartel lived? The thoughts ran through Hartel's mind and before he had the chance to react his master struck once more knocking him off the platform. Hartel thought fast and using the friendship he had with the force he made his what would have been thud to the ground to a nice rustle of the grass.

 

"Now that you are tired, we will spar. Self control is key here. Now you must rely on nothing but the force. You have no energy, I can feel it."

 

The true words of John's master came to light, this was a test to his link within the force to not only see what he already had, but to break him even further to its everlasting possibilities. Hartel centered himself quickly allowing the raging waters of the force to flow smoothly about him. A combination of his Mandalorian style of hand to hand and the guidance of the force was a deadly weapon indeed and Hartel felt in his heart that he could at least humor his master with a good spar.

 

However his master was apparently not caring for formalities and before John had gotten back from his bow a kick landed to his face that sent him rolling to the side. The force was partially able to guide him here, it whispered to him now telling him what to do in this incomprehensible language that made perfect sense to his senses. When he landed he was ready for whatever his master would throw to him, if he gave him the chance.

 

Hartel came to meet his master using his arms to parry his attacks. The force was guiding him here more than ever, a precognition of sorts was allowing him to know the direction of a blow before it even set its course and he was able to harness this power to stop his master from reaching him. As Hartel become more and more intertwined into the force and the speed of his parries became more and more so that he eventually was able to catch his master in a faulty so that he was able to attack him.

 

The attack was simple but it would be effective in knocking his master back at least to show the progress of the force within him. As he parried his masters, last kick he knocked it to the opposite side of which he struck from which turned him around. Hartel made his move quickly and made a swinging kick right into his lower backside, which rocketed him back a few feet. Before his master stood again Hartel rushed to him and made another barrage of attacks at him allowing him to be the one parrying for a change. The force was guiding him in every movement he made so that it looked less like a true fight but an elegant and violent ballet.

[Kitt]

*Kitt paused. He wasn't sure what to say to a comment like that at first. Kitt quickly re-collected himself and spoke.*

 

"Prehaps, maybe you have the gift of a Jedi to use the force?"

 

*Kitt saw Zhan's face change.*

 

"Would you like to be tested?"

[Kautra Nadio]

The soft fists, and open strikes were comming fast at Kautra, his apprentice fighting with the utmost intensity. The force was flowing freely through both of them, batteling its self for superiority. The force guided the fists of the young padawan with great speed. The attacks, and blocks were almost perfectly placed. The training as a Mandalorian had been good to Hartel. Near perfect form combined with the force was a devistating combination.

 

This deadly combination of force and form caught Kautra off guard a time or two. Quick simple stikes to his mid-drift, and legs were all that were made, but the last attack made by Kautra was deflected perfectly. Kautra was turned to the side by his apprentice, and was pushed away by the foot of Hartel. Sending Kautra a decent distance, and caused him to fall.

 

Before Kautra had time to regain his stance, he was met by a heavy parry of punches, and strikes. Kautra was able to react in time, to block many of them. But a few slipped by his defence. Strinking his shoulders, and ribs. The barrage on Kautra was beginning to slow down, Hartel was becomming increasingly tired, and fatigued.

 

Kautra saw an opening in his apprentices attacks, and was quick to take the invintaion. He slipped his arm through a gap that was created when Hartel threw his 5th puch in the sequnece. Kautra made contact with the side of Hartels armor, giving enough of a jolt to throw him off his stride. Leaving a larger opening that Kautra could land the last part of this test.

 

Hartel was still standing when Kautra had slowed him. And leaving an opening to his chest, Kautra raised his hand and summoned the force to him. With one last moved, Kautra released a mighty force push, that sent Hartel flying through the air. Hartel landed 20 feet from where he stood last. And as he slowly drew to his feet, Kautra dropped his stance, and gave a slight bow to his battered apprentice. Reciveing a bow back Kautra walked to his side.

 

"You fought well in the situation you were in." Kautra said in a reasureing tone. "Your training with the Mandalorians has taught you much."

 

Kautra sat down on the ground, and motioned for Hartel to follow. Which he did.

 

"Those burns are not good to keep on your body. The provide the enemy with a focus point for an attack. It is a weakness that needs to be fixed. in the mourning, I will teach you how to heal your self." Kautra stood back up, and helped Hartel to his feet. "We will head back to the base now, it has become late, and more aggeresive creatures come out around dark."

 

Kautra started down the path that they had taken to come to this place. and was followed closely by Hartel. Kautra could feel a sence of concentration comming from his apprentice.

 

"Whats on your mind?" Kautra asked quietly.

[MSA]

Scorpio sat there wondering if he should go back, but knew his master was okay, because he didn't feel his lose. The bond between master and apprentiance was strong enough for each to feel the other's death, and he hadn't felt that as of yet. Scorpio stood, looking around for something to do. He pondered on that thought for a moment before he realized that he hadn't trained in a while, and really did need to.

 

Scorpio took off, running down a small trail, letting the force flow through his legs. The force was growing stronger in this apprentiance, and it helped to train, because it kept his mind off of other things. He shortly came across a cliff and some ledges which he felt would be good to train his jumps on. Scorpio bent down, gathering the force int his calves, release in one fell swoop, and shot off high into the air. Soaring through the air, he used the force to guide himself to the following ledge where he landed with a soft thud, almost as if he simple glided there, as light as a feather.

 

He took off running once again to the edge of the ledge and, using the force shot off to the next ledge. Again on the ledge he softly glided to a soft landing. This continued on for eight or nine ledges before he came upon another cliff where a open grassy field laid. The sun was still up, so it would be awhile before he had to return to the base, so he sat down on the grassy plain and started to meditate.

 

As he sat there meditating, he took out his lightsaber, and proceeded to levitate it. He concentrated hard, and the lightsaber proceeded to spin around and around in a perfect circle, making it look almost like a minature crimson flying saucer. Using the force, he flipped the lightsaber on and the two silver blades came shooting out of it. If one walked up on Scorpio, it would look as if he was just sitting there with a red & silver saucer just stareing at each other. Scorpio made the lightsaber fly around, zig zagging back and forth through the air.

 

Using the force once again, he flipped the lightsaber off, and brought it to his side, where he clipped it back onto his hip. He placed both hands behind him and proceeded to watch the sun go down. Where Scorpio sat at was just a few miles from the base, but if you looked over the cliff, you could see two waterfalls pouring down the moutain, one on each side of the cliff. Down below that sat nothing but clouds and a small rainbow reflection above them. It was truly a beautiful sight, in fact so beautiful that Scorpio had dozed off into a soft sleep.

 

Before he knew it, it was almost completely dark, and around the time the other inhabitants of Haruun started to come out. Scorpio awoke, and before he could even think straight, he was on his way back to the base, with his lightsaber struck and the force flowing through him at full power. With each ledge he jumped across, the force shot him off higher than ever and each landing was more like a large thump as he landed with the power of a starship. Just as he reached the other cliff, he caught his first glimpse of one of the inhabitants, but before it could do anything he force pushed it off the cliff and he ran at full speed past it.

 

Just as he came into view of the base, another inhabitant came out of no where, causing Scorpio to twist around it like a runningback and jab his lightsaber backwards into the creature's gut. He then proceeded to keep his speed and finally reach the edge of the base's perimeter, where he disappeared into the base's interior. Safely inside the base, Scorpio walked to the nearest training room and started practicing his duel lightsaber form.

 

The dance he preformed with the duelbladed lightsaber was beautiful, the trail of the blade almost mesmerizing as the crimson hilt with twin silver blades swirled through the air around Scorpio. Scorpio then proceeded to train in his acrobactic fighting form with the lightsaber, and the dance became a beautiful dance of death as the redheaded jedi in white robes practiced with the Crimson hilted duel silver lightsaber, he flipped sideways off to the right abit, then to the left a bit backwards.

 

The dance became mesmerizing when Scorpio, using the force, picked up speed, causing all the colors to exist in perfect harmony as the shape of him started to resemble a ruby stuck inside a diamond. Shortly after, With sweat glittering his face in the light, Scorpio returned to his ship, where he tucked himself in for the night, and drifted off into the land of dreams.

[Joreel Ordo]

Hartel took his lesson well. It opened him up to himself more in combat than he had been able to show in any other way with the force so far and allowed him to grow into a more perfect being. His master discussed healing to him which he at the moment, regardless of his Mandalorian beliefs, was accepting as the inevitable fate for these wounds for they ached and pained him so.

 

Hartel began to think about his people on Ordo. What would happen to them when he became a Jedi Knight? Where would his loyalties lie? It was all confusing for him. Both the Jedi and the Mandalorians are based on ideologies rather than race. And they conflicted on many places making the young Padawan all the more confused about his choice.

 

"Whats on your mind?"

 

John listened tot he words of his Master and knew that he must have seen something about John's physical movements that caused intrigue in his mood. Either that or he knew what John was thinking already which made the Mandalorian a bit uneasy of having his mind penetrated without his permission.

 

"I am sorry master, I was distracted by...my heritage. I have been raised to be a warrior probably since my conception. I excelled at every Mandalorian Academy we have to offer, and I am a descendant of Mandalore Canderous Ordo. And yet here I am, throwing away the ideologies of my people to learn the proper ways of the force. I have been lost not feeling myself since my training begun until our spar when I was able to show my true self in combination with the force. I was born to fight, it is not in the ways of the dark side though, I had that in my mind at first as well and what I was doing under the Sith was cruel and unjust which is not the Mandalorian way."

 

The padawan paused for a moment as he traversed a particularly tricky rift which was on the side of the mountain as they were headed back to the base.

 

"I want to remain a warrior, but a warrior of honor, purpose, and conduct. One who respects laws of chivalry. A Jedi Knight who fights for the people. Yet here I stand feeling out of place amongst the order. These powers, though dead useful, are not my area of expertise. I would be better with a weapon in my hand fighting on the forefront of the many battles I know the Jedi fight in."

 

John stood there and when the Jedi base came into a clear view he stopped and looked to his master who was clearly observing his every movement.

 

"I am not sure what all of this means master, I am sure you would, but to me I have not been shown that side of the Jedi Order yet, and therefore a peice of me seems to be constantly shoved aside as if it doesn't matter anymore. But to me it is part of who I am always."

[Hou-Jo Poleb]

Hou-Jo activated a lightsaber and inspected it. He turned it off and handed it back to Amon. "Very good. You should now have the discipline to carry out diplomacy. Tell me, are you aware of the situation on Concord Dawn?"

[saberforce]

Zhan frowned at the Jedi named Kitt Fitt. "You must joking. I don't believe you can test someone on wether or not they have to force." Zhan almost walked right out of the Temple, if it were not for Kitt's smile at his ocmment.

 

"You mean you can actually test someone?" Zhan shook his head. "If you can, then Yes, I would love to be tested."

[Charon]

"Master, a balance in the force must exist to preserve order. If evil is eliminated from the world then there will no longer be a balance in the force. Furthermore nothing can remain good forever, even the Jedi Order at their time of greatest power was unable the resist the pull of the Darkside. Even the great Master Yoda and also Master Windu flirted with the darkside.

 

It is the same with Evil, if evil is allowed to eliminate the good of the universe. It can be realized in the same period as the downfall of the Jedi Order. After Darth Sidious and Vader killed off all but two of the jedi, evil ruled for twenty years. This however ended as Obi-wan and Yoda set about finding and training Luke Skywalker. Luke was able to turned Darth Vader back to the man he had once been in spirit."

 

Stephen stopped talking and waited to see if he was correct. He really hadn't thought much about a balance in the force and another thing was still bothering him. "Master, what in the name of the Emperor just happened with you and what I'm assuming was the other half of your soul?"

[Piccolo]

A shuttle emerged from hyperspace with Black Sun markings. Piccolo had attacked the Jedi here before, and still they remained on this planet. It was an interesting strategy. But the hunter did not come for violence this time. His was a message of peace. His cyberbrain stretched out with his new abilities easily picking up on the concentration of Force-users on the surface. The hunter's shuttle landed right outside the Jedi's location. He waited.

[Damon]

Damon knew it was going to happend, but he thought he explained right.

 

"I thought I explained, but I guess not enough. Well how to say this. Yue the dark half that I am shares a soul link with me. We share emotions, thoughts, and past experinces even. Appearntly somthing else can be shared now. If I am correct when Yue and I tap into extreme amounts of the force at the same time parts of us began to shift to the other. In other words I belive that if we channle enough at the same time parts of use will begin to emerge within each other. I am probally only partially right, but its enough for now. To answer what happend with Scorpio, simple. Yue had used a power given to him by the god that created us. His power can rot and destory the bonds that make our bodies work. Yue's power will only last if he rots all of the bonds giving him complete control of the body or if he puts enough energy into cutting one specificly. It takes effort but he can cut one. He cut the bond that lets him talk thus making Scorpio a mute. I can use the same abblitly but I choose not to. What I did was use my soul magic abillites to completly destory the bond making communication though his body impossible and then reformed it. Its a bit more complicated than that, but thats how it worked."

 

 

Damon saw that Stephen had understanded and appearntly it had answered part of the questions Justin also had.

 

"Well, I think its time for a ratehr important part of your life to end. Its time for your trials Stephen. For us to begin them though we need to build you a light saber. We will make yours as well Justin. Let us be off. I have already arranged for the matierals needed to be put into the shuttle."

 

With that the group left the room and headed to an outside area where his shuttle was docked. As Damon and his group left the base a figuer stood next to a shuttle with markings of the black sun. The force told him nothing of the man, but his own instincts told him somthing was not right.

 

"I am sorry sir. May I reuqest what you are doing here and how did you find out about this place?"

[Piccolo]

Piccolo opened the shuttle and emerged. He stood at least twice the height of Damon. A long brown cloak and hood concealed most of his features. But Damon could clearly see metallic feet and hands visible, quite unlike anything the Jedi had ever encountered. Piccolo spoke in an unusual, hollow voice.

 

"I am sure you do not recognize me young Jedi. My name is Captain Piccolo, and I am the supreme representative of the Black Sun."

 

He moved with a cat-like quickness as he approached Damon, giving him a low bow.

 

"I come unarmed, in peace. As for how I know of this place, I unfortunately did battle with the Jedi here many years ago. Your soldiers fought bravely especially the ones known as Ben'a, and Jareth Vermillios, it was a memorable encounter. I was a bit surprised that your Order would still stay here, but perhaps there are no Jedi living who remember that fight. I have lived longer than any man has a right to."

 

Piccolo found himself slightly surprised at his own silver tongue. Speech had never come so easy for him. Perhaps it was a positive side affect of his transformation.

 

"I would like to visit with the leaders of your Order. I have a proposition for them. Perhaps you have heard the Black Sun Citadel was destroyed by the Thorpe Corporation and the Sith Master Trowa Barton? We now have a mutual enemy, and in my mind that makes us allies."

[Damon]

Damon listend as he looked and attempted to figuer out Piccolo. He could easily see that Piccolo was unarmed and was there for a peaceful mission.

 

"You are probally right in the assumition that most jedi do not remember this battle. I do however know of who you are Piccolo. I am well aware of what Thrope and Trowa had done to the black sun. I shall take you inside and tell Master Hou-Jo that you are here on peaceful terms. I will say a few things to you before we proceed. I am Damon and these two are my padawans. Finally, if you make any improper actions I will not hesiate to arrest you. So please let us proceed with out problem."

 

Damon felt though the force that somthing was not right about him. What Damon knew about Piccolo he was organic to say the least. Somthing was off, but it was not his place to make this choice. He was simply required to lead him.

 

Damon lead Piccolo inside to the temple and into the main reciving hall of the temple.

 

"If you wait here sir I shall try to locate master Hou-Jo."

 

Damon approached the front desk COM and sent master Hou-Jo a message telling him that Piccolo head of the Black Sun was here to see him. Damon then returned his attetion to guest.

 

"While we wait for him to arrive is their anythign I can do for you sir."

[MSA]

Earlier the next morning, Scorpio had awoke and wandered around inside his ship, for the better part of the day. He checked his fuel cells, his hyperdrive, and updated his computer's hard drive accordingly. Then he had tuned up T3 and HK's memory core, among many other things, and sent T3 on a mission to find parts that Scorpio needed to repair his ship.

 

He then proceeded to disembark his ship and wait outside for T3 to return and watch HK assossiate with the other droids walking the streets of Haruun Kal. As he looked around at his surroundings, he had noticed a strange ship bearing the mark of a the Black Sun. He didn't know much about the Black Sun faction, only what he had heard during his stay on a few planets.

 

The Jedi Apprentiance also noticed a strange man standing outside the ship, and procceeded to watch and study the man. There was a certain darkness about the man, almost like the darkness of a black hole, sucking all the light from one realm, and destroying it as it reached the other realm. This sent a chill down Scorpio's spine as Damon walked up to the man and proceeded to question him.

 

As the man spoke back to Damon, Scorpio closly listened to his words, and found some truth to them. But although they had truth to them, they masked a darker motive to them, which made Scorpio, and the dark taint in him, very uneasy about it. Scorpio shook the thought off because he figuared it was the taint in him causing the uneasiness about the feller, but found himself intreiged as well as to why the feller came looking for the Jedi.

 

Scorpio's most firmest belief was that no one was beyond redemption, and possibly, this feller was looking for his redemption. But something still didn't fit right with him, and he wanted to know more. So as Damon brought the man into the base, he followed, keeping to the shadows, and listened. When they arrived at the front desk, and Damon sent out the comm for Grand Master Poleb, Scorpio stepped into the corner of the room, hidden among the hopefuls who were standing around, and observed.

[Piccolo]

Piccolo watched the young Jedi intently. The man could not see the hunter's face, and even if he could, it was incapable of betraying emotion. Inside, Piccolo was pleased that the Jedi had such short memories. He had expected a great deal of negotiation before he could even get his foot in the door.

 

These Jedi are very comfortable in their position, not that I blame them. Not much security to speak of. I'm certain Damon and his two padawans consider themselves quite formidable, but I would have posted a few more guards on a dangerous stranger, to say the least. Last time I was here Ben'a had an attack troop on me before I took two steps out of my ship.

 

Maybe it was good the Jedi weren't so paranoid anymore. He couldn't say. Piccolo had had few dealings with them since that fight. The only other encounter was when Ara-lai Kaipi saved his life.

 

A memory for another time.

 

Regardless, he was sure it would be in bad form to voice his criticisms, so the Black Sun leader remained silent. He barely listened to Damon's request. His mind was on something else. He knew the name Hou-Jo.

 

"No thanks. Needless to say, I'm just impatient to get this discussion started."

 

It came to Piccolo as he spoke those words.

 

"Ah, you know, Hou-Jo is one name I'm familiar with. In the last battle on Coruscant, he and I exchanged blows. Neither was worse for the wear, but I am glad this will be under more pleasant circumstances."

 

Even with his metallic voice, it was obvious the hunter took pleasure in the memory of an old battle.

[Damon]

Damon listend and watched the shape of a man talk about old days of fighting and so forth.

 

"I do not how long till Master Hou-Jo comes forth, but I do say sorry. Even though this a jedi base we are still short handed. Not to say we do not want to take precatuions if say we are attacked, its just we can't. Moving on to your peace talks by the way. I may not be a master, but I have seen what happends between the Sun and the Order more than once. Why try to work with us knowing quite well that even the best of jedi would never trust you due to past experince?"

[Piccolo]

Piccolo thought the Jedi's reply odd. Damon seemed very jumpy at every mention of Piccolo's previous fights against his Order.

 

"Do not worry. I have come here in peace, as I said. I expect trust will be an issue for both sides here, I have just as much reason to distrust your Order. But I am confident we can come to terms for the sake of the galaxy. After all, I have come alone and unarmed as the leader of an enemy organization. If that isn't a gesture of good faith, I don't know what is."

[Damon]

Damon was more curios than normal and not as calm as usal.

 

"I am sorry. I have been under a more than extreme amount of stress it seems and have found myself a little ragged. A peace with the Sun would more than welcoming. My years with the order and the Alliance however just seemed to have turned my nature more that I thought. While we wait for master Hou-Jo is there any questions I may answer for you Piccolo?"

[Charon]

Stephen watched Piccolo for several moment while he talked to Master Damon. This Piccolo, there was something about him that he really didn't trust. He opened his mind to the force and studied the figure before him. Piccolo was a mainly black figure but was shrouded in a deep crimson color.

 

There also seemed to be an aura of death and destruction around this man, if what was standing before them was a man. Stephen shook his head and stepped back, he was quite worried now. He looked at Damon, hoping Damon would catch what he was feeling.

[Damon]

Damon as he talked to Piccolo felt a pull to his padawan Stephen.

 

"I am sorry Piccolo I need to have a word with Stephen."

 

Damon pointed to Stephen who followed him off to the side and they began to talk.

 

"Ok Stephen. I know what you are feeling. There is more to him than meets the eye. However as of this moment we are diplomats. We must maintain our compouser and not let what we know cloud our judgement. The stories and knowledge of this man I posses would make you cringe at the sheer thought of this man. Now if you have any objections still give them to me now and I shall try to calm you."

[Hou-Jo Poleb]

Hou-Jo had sensed an outsider on Haruun Kal. "Perhaps that planet is not the best for what we may do, I'll discuss this with you again Amon, right now I have something rather important to attend to."

 

Hou-Jo, accented by the Force, jumped off the plateau, over the temple, and landed in front of the entrance. He turned his attention to Piccolo, a person he had not seen in quite a long time.

 

"Piccolo of Black Sun fame. I didn't expect to ever see you here again. I suppose you have something that would interest me to come here with no signs of hostility."

[MSA]

Scorpio walked back to his ship to find that T3 had returned with the parts that he needed. Scorpio replaced the used fuel cells, replace the starter on the hyperdrive, and updated his RAM on his computer's hard drive. He then replaced some damaged parts and used fuel cells in T3 and HK, and updated their hard drives as well.

 

As Scorpio was doing this, he felt a small ripple in the force. It was his Master, searching for a sign of Scorpio. Scorpio sighed a sign of relief, knowing full well his Master was still alive, though a little weak for some reason. He went back to inspecting his ship, after which, he went and found a bite to eat in the base's cafeteria. After which, he quickly gobbled down the food, headed back outside by his ship, fired up his ship, and ran a diagnostics of the ship's hyperdrive, fuel cells, and hard drive.

 

Everything check out at one hundred percent, so he powered down his ship, and went outside to watch T3 interact with the town's children and the young Jedi Hopefuls, and HK stand around boasting to the other protocal droids. Scorpio laughed a HK as he made himself out to look like a warrior. Scorpio began to ponder on when he would get a chance to restart his training, but he was also very glad that Master Nom was alive and well.

[Kautra Nadio]

Kautra stood by his apprentice when he stopped. He had been quiet, as too allow his apprentice to get the personal conflicts off his chest. Kautra underdstood the place of Mandalorians, and knew they were a very proud people. Kautra was at a loss for words, he knew not how to explain to Hartel what was on his mind. The words would not articulate them selves for him.

 

"The Jedi do not like to fight, we only enter a battle when it is the last resort, or if we are in danger. I know that is not the way of the Mandalorians. Do not forget where you come from, though it is not the Jedi way, I feel you must be true to your self. If battle is what you desire, then you would fit nicley as a guard for the Jedi Bases. They are in need of skilled Jedi, who have mastered the art of armed combat."

 

Kautra continued to walk, they were still far from the base, and night had already set in deep. As he walked the two of them remained silent.

 

"I apologize to you Hartel, I my self am new to much of this, and I don't know how to help you. We are ina way learning together during your training. My master did not cover to much of the Jedi Code, or the deeper aspects of the Jedi Way."

 

Kautra and Hartel had made it to the Base, and entered the calm quiet building. There were a few fellow Jedi talking amoungst them selves, and speaking with their apprentices as they were.

 

"Go to sleep, and in the mourning, We will continue your training." Kautra said in a rather disappointing tone. He was unable to help his young padawan through what seemed to be a rather difficult time. Kautra stood there as his apprenticewas silent, and became lost in thought. Visions of his apprenticeship flowed back to him. Taking him back, not that long ago.