Gala - Jedi Praxeum Ruins

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

Ara couldn't help but snort. "Believe it or not, I agree." Her face still red, she added, "I was actually married once, myself, but he died, and we were both very young, barely teenagers, and we never, er, did anything and--"

 

She coughed into her hand. "So yeah." Her gray eyes gave Armiena a rather exasperated motherly look. "You really need to be careful. The connection between your veins and arteries and new heart are secure, but the thing just started beating a little while ago. I don't need you getting a heart attack or going into shock already." Ara chuckled. "And I'm sure Aryian would prefer you not, either, particularly right before your wedding."

 

Managing not to blush further from any possible implications of that statement, Ara attempted to change the subject. "You know, with that arm of yours, I could possibly craft some sort of prosthetic for it, or even somehow make it, er, re-grow." She scratched the back of her head. Sometimes, Ara was eloquent; others, not so much. This was, unfortunately, one of the latter times. "Something like I did with Sanare and your heart, only not involving, you know, stabbing you through the chest with a sword and..."

 

Ara covered her face with her hand. Slightly muffled by her palm, she finally said, "I'll just be quiet now. Congratulations."

[Ary the Grey]

"No...she'll be fine. I'll always be there to make sure of it."

 

The last sentence, though he looked completely serious, struck a silent pang in the back of his mind, bringing back the recent reminder of what the medical droid had told him after he cloned. Even though in his mind he hid it well, he could see the slightly concerned look on Armiena's face as she immediately sensed all wasn't right with that phrase. He smiled, dismissing it with a reassuring thought. About that time a comm message came in on his implant, relaying an alarm that had been tripped at the Coruscant temple. A little video footage was included before turning to static, including the face of someone he thought he knew, someone who looked very much like an old apprentice of his. But...darker...

 

This was something he would need to check out.

 

"I have a few things to take care of...but I'll make haste for Manaan as soon as possible, and help prepare. The Order needs to know the news, but discreetly...I'll take care of it for now. You rest up...we have a big future ahead of us..."

 

Aryian kissed her once more before turning, nodding to Ara before he left.

 

Take care of her...she's the only thing I have left...

 

Calmly, he made his way to the hangar, having his ship prep itself while he was enroute. As soon as he sat down in the cockpit, the ship took off, carrying him up into the heavens towards his new destination...

[ObliviousKnight]

”œWow.”

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

Ara shrugged. "Well, that's all fine and well, if you want to do whatever with your arm. I could add some alchemy pieces to it if you like, anything you can--"

 

Her words halted in her throat, leaving her sputtering and quite nearly sending a shower of spittle on the recovering Jedi Grandmaster. Ara's hands went from her face to rest just above her heart, as if she were in a massive state of shock (which, truthfully, she pretty much was). Her mouth flopped open and shut like a fish out of water for a few moments before she finally managed to get out a comprehensible sentence.

 

"Maid of honor? Are you--are you serious?" Ara waved her hand about, shaking her head. "Of course you're serious, but I still--I--" She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. "I guess that would be...all right. If you really want someone with a talking sword to be your maid of honor."

 

"What is a maid of honor, Mother?" The aforementioned blade spoke quietly from its sheath, trying to whisper but not succeeding.

 

Ara flushed and patted the sword gently. "I'll explain later." Clearing her throat, she turned back to Armiena. "Kind of like having a child, except...never mind that." Ara grinned. "I'd be happy to be your maid of honor. It would be my, er, honor." A wince. "Pardon the pun."

[ObliviousKnight]

”œFantastic.”

[Daben Celt]

.:Draygo...:

 

 

 

 

 

 

.:Merkava...:

 

 

 

 

 

 

.:Death:.

[Ara-Lai Kaipi]

Ara took a deep breath before standing up and moving out of the medical bay. Armiena was healed, Aryian seemed okay, and apparently the planet hadn't been overrun by Sith. All's well that ends 'relatively' well...

 

With not much more than what she was going to wear for the upcoming wedding on her mind, she wandered to her ship and took off for Manaan.

[Kitt]

Kitt landed his fighter in the hanger bay of the now deserted Jedi dojo. Kitt climbed out, feeling the ripples of the force echo to him the events of what took place here form all of the Jedi that walked the halls, but Kitt was after only what ripples Kirlocca let off while here.

 

"No...it's not as deserted as it looks."

 

Kitt followed the small ripple that echoed Kirlocca all over, but was not connected or Kirlocca's ripple at all. Kitt only hopped that he would find something that could aid him...and not something he should fear.

 

Even as Kitt slowly opened the door, he felt a slight tingle in his spine, but not so much of a warning of danger, but more of a warning to be prepared. Kitt's hands fell to his side when he saw a child, either two or three sitting on Kirlocca bed within his quarters. The child looked up at Kitt, with a worried look on his face, and asked a question that Kitt wished he never had. "Where's daddy?"

 

Kitt used the force to track the ripples of the child, and understood that when he said dad, he was talking about Kirlocca. Kitt thought about telling him the truth. That Kirlocca had just died at the hands of a Sith Lord...that He refused to do anything to save Kirlocca....but he knew better. The kid needed a care taker right now...and Kitt was not the person for the job either.

 

"Your dad...went ahead of you." - "Where?"

 

Kitt was even more confused of what to tell him now. Kitt decided to avoid the whole question entirely.

 

"I must get you to Manaan. Some of Daddy's friends are there. They will help you wait for him."

 

The child seemed to think that it was an okay idea since he climbed off the bed and walked towards Kitt, taking his hand for the Jedi to lead the way. Kitt was not sure if it was okay, since he had never had real interactions with a child this young before. Kitt just followed his instincts and lead the boy to the hanger bay, and carefully placed him in the StarSword. Once Kitt was sure that the boy would be safe during the journey, he took off and blasted away from Gala.

[Cineon Yahn]

Shadow Lightning flew over the surface of Gala. He had been following the reports closely of the Sith attack on the Rebel base, so he had come to get in on the action. It wasn't his style to come in after the hard work had been done, but he justifed to himself that he's been out of action for some while and should ease back into duty.

 

Unfortunately for him, however, he did not know where the Rebel base was. He had been flying the surface of Gala for some time now, looking for it.

 

"We should have seen it by now, Shadow."

 

Shadow agreed. She informed her master that it detected an approaching structure that could be the Rebel base.

 

"Capital! How far away is it?"

 

---

 

"Oh yes, I see it now."

 

Lord Barabbas brought the ship down closer to the structure in which his ship alerted him to.

 

"This is not a Republic post... this is a Jedi temple."

 

---

 

"No, no. This will do. In fact, this is just as good, if not better."

 

He brought the ship closer to the temple so that he could jump out near the entrance so the Jedi couldn't attack him from afar, but the temple recognized his ship and quickly attacked him. There were dozens of tiny droids that had latched onto the ship, along with batteries that had opened fire.

 

He turned the ship around, realizing he couldn't approach from the air. He had gotten out of the range of the batteries and other long range weapons, but there were still droids damaging the ship itself. He opened the cockpit as the ship was losing altitude. He jumped out of the ship and fired lightning at the droids, frying them off the "hull". The droids were all destroyed, but the ship was hurt and crashed into ground, Barabbas landing several yards behind it.

 

He took cover behind a hunk of metal, waiting for some Jedi to come charging at him. He waited for some time, but nothing happened. Maybe no one was paying attention and realized that an intruder had come. He got up and began walking to the entrance. Maybe he could just stroll in. The security system of the temple saw him approaching as he reached the main gate.

 

"Welcome, Master Darkfire."

 

The shape-shifted face of Aryian nodded to the computerized greeting and strolled into the Jedi Temple. It was completely and utterly unattended.

 

"This will be most easy," said the voice of Aryian Darkfire.

 

He made his way to the temple's central control.

[Daben Celt]

Darth Barabbas had entered the Jedi Temple with little resistance. By the time he had reached central control he had already decided what he was going to do. He would take control of the defenses and fire upon the nearby Rebel base and destroy both outposts.

 

It was a very good plan.

 

Barabbas put his hands on the controls and began to hack the system, using the Force to guide his movements. But...

 

Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert. Threat identified: Darth Barabbas. Kill on sight..

 

"What??"

 

Barabbas leapt into the air, activating his lightsaber, and began to deflect the numerous blaster bolts being shot at him. He managed to disable some of the turrets but he couldn't hold them off forever. A large piece of debris flew at him and knocked him threw the outside wall, hurling him away from the temple.

 

Threat eliminated.

[Moon Knight]

With a flicker of pseudomotion there came arriving from the all-but-incomprehendable alter-dimensional chaos of hyperspace a YT-2000 Corellian stock light freighter. It was, of course, modified heavily, as was typical for the ships of bounty hunters, mercenaries, and smugglers, but its modifications were considerably less detectable than most....

 

At any rate, it descended to the surface of Gala at the Jedi Temple there. Its pilot was the one who was called ShadowFett, now the one and only Moon Knight. He was perhaps the last of the True Mandalorians despite the fact that many others now bore that mantle with varying degrees of right to do so and seemingly inverse amounts of pride.

 

He was accompanied by a Blademaster, one of the few in the galaxy. Presently, Fett spoke to that Blademaster. "Once again, your lead," he said. "I'm willing to go after this weapon, but it seems we'll need a little bit of support."

 

Actually, he rather liked working alone. Still, the unpredictable nature of the Force an all artifacts that were related to it really left him with a very limited understanding of the capabilities of the weapon they were seeking. It was smart to go in with support, whether he prided the need for backup or not.

[Prince Vegeta Isolder]

"I doubt the weapon is here."

 

At least I hope not.

 

As a Blademaster, Isolder feared little. He spoke with the dead on a regular basis, so death did not have the same mystery for Isolder that it did for others. But this sword troubled him. Perhaps it was his own regret of past sins that gave rise to Isolder's fear. A Ral'tah has command of the light and the dark side. But Isolder still believed in living by a code of honor.

 

Ten years ago next week, will be the anniversary of my violation of the code.

 

Isolder remembered the event on Coruscant vividly. Jareth Vermillios a Sith surrendered himself to Isolder. Isolder was angry over the actions of the Sith. He had just killed a Jedi. In his anger, Isolder struck him down, defenseless. It was not a kill in battle. It was murder. What made it worse was that some of the Jedi had consoled him, told him it wasn't really murder, that Jareth deserved it. Isolder knew better. The event and the immoral acceptance of the Jedi haunted him.

 

I know what I am capable of as it is, should I turn against my nature, what will I do then?

 

Isolder vowed not to let that happen.

 

"If we do find the weapon though, I suspect you will be immune to its effects. I can't guarantee that, but if it is the case, and if somehow I should be affected by the sword, you will kill me immediately. I will not ask you to swear it, it is not a request. It is your duty as Moon Knight."

 

Isolder walked in front of the Temple leaving no room for argument. He could see there had been some damage recently.

 

"Odd. What do you make of this?"

[Moon Knight]

Don't worry, ShadowFett thought, though he didn't acknowledge Isolder's words about the sword aloud. If that time comes, I will not hesitate to do my duty. All the forces in the galaxy would be hard pressed to keep me from it.

 

He then brought his attention to the scene at hand. There was a rather large hole in one of the walls. "There may be more than one conclusion that can be drawn, but I believe that the Temple was attacked," Moon Knight said, stating the obvious in response to Vegeta's rather obvious question. "Given the apparent lack of an active threat, I would venture to say that the attack failed. However, this may have something to do with what sent us here--a presence that disappeared from the Force without death."

 

The Mandalorian stepped over to a wall console and tapped into the system. He called up the AI log and scrolled to the bottom. "Intruder Alert. Threat Identified: Darth Barrabas," it read.

 

Darth Barrabas! Fett thought. He knew the name of the former Emperor. The one with whom he had spoken. The one who had offered him a legacy at a great price. The one whom he had defied. "Darth Barrabas was here. The computer lists him as eliminated."

[Prince Vegeta Isolder]

Isolder remembered Xen-Que's words well. He had indicated the one who stole the weapon had disappeared from his senses, but still lived. Isolder thought it a logical connection to Darth Barrabas' presence here, just as Hou-Jo's recent tirade seemed associated with the dreaded Esrever. However, correlation did not equal causation. Isolder had to at least try to be more certain.

 

At least I know Moon's on the ball. He has detected the former Emperor was present faster than I could. Very impressive.

 

Isolder was glad he'd happened across the true Moon Knight. Given Fett's association with the ancient order, Isolder absolutely knew he could trust him. And he knew he had great skill. That was a rare combination and one that he would likely need if they were going to do something about this threat.

 

"Perhaps there are further signs of him nearby. Why don't you scan or detect or do whatever it is that suit does?"

[Moon Knight]

ShadowFett looked at Isolder, a little annoyed but not showing it perceptibly. Nevertheless, he switched over to an infrared visor setting. "There are still traces of heat left over from the encounter--it truly was recent. However, he appeared to have left the scene through the air, which means I can't track him."

 

He shook his head. "Not that we need technology to track him, Jedi," he said. "We have an exit point," he observed, pointing to the hole in the wall, "so it shouldn't be hard to determine where he and the chunk of wall he took with him landed."

 

Moon Knight turned on his heel and exited the Temple, heading around the structure and to the hole on the outside. He then marched in the direction that the trajectory lead...towards the Alliance base extremely close by. "Follow me," he told Isolder.

[Guest]

Rainn Starshade's personal spacecraft still drifted aimlessly through space. Exhausted, Rainn's head still laid on the cockpit control panel in the front of him while the rest of his body calmly rocked with the gentle movements of the chaotic spacecraft.

 

As far as Rainn was concerned, the coordinates that he inputted would take him to an unoccupied area of space for him to relax, recuperate and enable him to "lay low" for the time necessary to make a rational decision as to where to go next. Surely, murdering and robbing one of the most feared criminal underworld figure's would make Rainn's newfound liberty in the galaxy a troubled and volatile one. However, Rainn was free now, and he had done a good deed for the rest of the galaxy, no matter how immoral his means of gaining this justice may seem to others.

 

Little did Rainn know at the time, the temperate planet of Gala lay hidden in the masses of stars and constellations almost exactly where he input his "random" coordinates. While Rainn himself rested peacefully thinking that he was moving away from everything, he was moving toward something that would not only result in a rude awakening for him - it would change the rest of his life forever.

 

Slowly but surely he gained distance on the planet, and soon the gravitational pull of the planet began pulling him itself.

 

Suddenly, Rainn lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. Finally, he was awake, but to his horror, he didn't see an immense blanket of stars and darkness - he was staring directly into the terran giant Gala and the sea of atmospheric gases that encircled it.

 

Panicked, Rainn began trying to manually pull away from the planet. His attempts were in vain. He was gaining too much speed on the planet. He began to embrace the fact that he may be staying on this mysterious, unknown planet against his will for quite some time.

 

At this time, Rainn attempted to ignite his engine so that he could propel himself to a desirable landing location and begin searching for any sign of civilized life. To his increased horror, his thrusters would not begin. In fact, his entire vessel seemed to have lost its entire power supply as he was sleeping. With no way of knowing what the true cause of this horrible malfunction was, and with no way of correcting it by himself anyway - even if the ship was on the ground - he had no choice but to simply brace himself for the landing.

 

As Rainn broke the initial few atmospheric levels, he began observing the planet that lay in wait for him. The immediate landmass that he was headed toward was defined by a tan, sandy beach, an even larger mass of what appeared to be rainforest-esque trees. The environment he was headed for was, at the very least, a tropical paradise.

 

In his helpless panic, Rainn fainted.

 

Moments later, Rainn's eyes slowly jarred open once again. His tiny space cruiser, if it weren't broken before, was certainly broken now. Looking up through the glass pane that was his cockpit window, he saw the forest floor beneath him. The only thing that held him in place were the belts that he fastened around himself in bracing for the landing only minutes earlier.

 

Then, his cruiser shifted its weight. The tree that had been supporting him was buckling. The widespread symphony of miscellaneous tree branches snapping painted an ominous picture for Rainn's future. Finally, the entire cruiser shifted its place and lost its bearing in the nested arms of the tree that seperated his life from what he believed would be his inevitable death in the instance that he fell.

 

His stomach sank, his eyes widened, and he began plummeting once again. Once again, Rainn blacked out in his panic, unsure of whether or not he would ever awaken again.

[ObliviousKnight]

Interesting, thought Evelyn Ravel, who, by sheer chance, happened to be looking up at the unspoiled sky of Gala at the very moment that Rainn's ship came crashing down from the heavens. The powerful sensors possessed by the Rebel base and the Jedi Temple didn't predict any meteor strikes to endanger the Jedi Temple for months to come, and now, lazily watching the clouds journey across the sky, Evelyn was watching one such event.

 

Unless”¦ stupid, stupid! Of course! This wasn't a meteorite she was watching””she could even tell the difference in how its surface burned in the atmosphere””it was an out-of-control starship, crashing down to ineffectually smite the surface of Gala. The young woman initially felt relief, realizing that this wasn't an idiotic attempt of the Empire to attack the Jedi Temple”¦

 

”¦then she realized that, idly watching the clouds by from her perch on top of one of this valley's elder oaks, she might be watching someone die.

 

That was not going to be, if Evelyn could help it. She was a Jedi””half-trained though she might be””and she would be damned if she was just going to sit idly by and let another intelligent being die under her nose. She jumped from her perch, leaves and twigs snagging in her blond hair on her way to the ground.

 

And then she ran.

 

Evelyn lost track of time and her physical discomfort. Not that she was out of shape””skinny, perhaps, but one didn't become even a Jedi trainee without impressive physical stamina””but she couldn't help but notice how her brown robes began to itch impressively as sweat began to drip into her collar as the kilometers she ran passed her by. Scenery became irrelevant. Her only intention was to get to the shipwreck as quickly as she could, hopefully before its pilot suffered serious injury, or died.

 

Oh”¦. blast it all. Or she could have simply reported to the hangar, requisitioned on of the shuttles for the purpose of this rescue mission, and gotten there within a minute rather than an hour. She was too far from the Temple to turn back now; she could actually smell the smoke of the fire that the crash had sparked. Fortunately, the humid air had quickly smothered the blaze, and the fire only succeeded in marking the crash site.

 

What a mess the crash had left! Fortunately for the pilot, the ship had grazed the surface of the trees, succeeding in bleeding off a vast amount of the craft's momentum before it simply snagged in the branches of one of the more enduring trees”¦ at least until gravity won the day and dragged the vessel””she couldn't even recognize its model, it was so badly banged up””through the canopy and down to the dirt.

 

Evelyn approached the boarding ramp of the ship, and in a fit of childishness, she simply banged on the surface of the hull with her first, yelling rather stupidly to find out if whoever was in the ship was hurt. Then she remembered her lightsaber, and withdrew it from her belt, igniting it in a blaze of glorious green destruction. Her skills with the blade might have been crude, but she still succeeded in swiftly opening up the hull of the ship enough for her to crouch inside and make her way to the cockpit.

 

She breathed a sigh of relief. The boy who had piloted this vessel was alive””although, Evelyn didn't need to see that he was still breathing to confirm that. He was mighty banged up, though, sporting some nasty cuts from where the shattered remains of the cockpit's canopy had cut his scalp, to say nothing of the fact that his left shoulder seemed to be at a strange angle. There were possibly some internal injuries that Evelyn couldn't see””broken ribs were almost a certainty, possibly bruised organs or worse. It was her first time dealing with survivors of shipwreck survivors, so she had little idea what to expect.

 

”œHang on, buddy, I'll see you out of this”¦”

[Abaddon]

Abaddon opened a comm with the Republic. "This Blademaster and retired Dark Lord Abaddon, Darkwatch Vice President and Commander." Abaddons cool calculated voice came over the electronic highly encrypted communication.

 

"Im sure you are aware of the Galactic state of Emergency I request your presence at a nuetral zone for communication reguarding coordination against the threat. I have significant information to share with you reguarding the threat. Please meet at the Hutt Palace. Koplak has offered it as a nuetral meeting place. I suggest you mobolize all your resources and put ship production to maximum." Abaddon closed the comm. He sighed all was now complete.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

As the Crusader-class corvette entered Gala space, Xae-Lin Ardel transmitted a message to the Jedi Temple.

 

::Greetings to the Jedi Order. I am Xae-Lin Ardel. I was Padawaned to Master Kyp Durron, two years ago, and more recently by John Hartel. I am seeking to meet back up with the order and offer what assistance I can.::

 

She looked back over her shoulder at her niece, who was asleep on one of the seats, remembering all that had happened on Dathomir, and missing John terribly.

 

::Request permission to land. Cabur out::

Edited November 29, 2007 by Guest

[ObliviousKnight]

The conclusion of my meditation came with the blaring of an alarm, signaling that the Ghost Breath's reversion from hyperspace was imminent. As I blinked away the dryness in my eyes, the starlines of hyperspace surrendered to the darkness of space and the serene green orb that I had just arrived at.

 

I would have rather spent the next few days at Borleais, but Gala was easier to defend, and it still had the proper facilities.

 

While I let the Ghost Breath's artificial intelligence handle the trivial matter of landing at the Jedi Temple, I idly accessed the Jedi archives and kept an ear tuned to the comm. chatter in the system. I retrieved one of the technical blueprints that pertained to the prosthetic hand that I had built months ago, noting the message sent by a Jedi that I had never personally met, nor did the name sound familiar.

 

”œArdel, this is Darkfire. Go on and land; I'll speak to you planetside.”

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

”œArdel, this is Darkfire. Go on and land; I'll speak to you planetside.”

[ObliviousKnight]

((Heh. I lawled at that post.))

 

Landing at this particular Temple was a trivial affair, and I spent most of my attention at the datapad that I cradled between my knees, making a rough draft of the enhancements that I planned to make on the prosthetic limbs that I was eventually going to have made. It wasn't until I heard the hum of the Ghost Breath sublight engines fade away that I finally looked up from my work and departed from my ship. Leaving my weapons and armor behind, save for my lightsaber, I departed from my ship and began my search for this Xae-Lin Ardel.

 

Even though I'd never met her and only focused for a brief instant on her Force presence during our short communique, the Jedi had made my search much easier by approaching the footprint of one of the scheduled cargo transports and asking the departed pilot for my location. She was a tiny girl, really; I nearly towered over her, but I would have noticed her even without her short stature due to the blanket she was cradling in her arms?

 

A child? At her age? And in the middle of a Jedi Temple?

 

I was far from one to condemn her. It just struck me as... unusual, that was all.

 

"You would be looking for me." I began with a slight smile on my face. Hartel was Mandalorian, wasn't he? Perhaps some of the culture had rubbed off on her. "Su'cuy gar, Xae-Lin; I'm Armiena D-Darkfire.”

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

”

[ObliviousKnight]

"The... Nightsisters?" I'd heard about the Dathomiri witches and the affinity that some of them had for scum, villainy, and the means to accomplish it through Dark Side techniques, but that was all. I had never learned anything about them that wasn't gained through the contents of a text. Still, if this Padawan was capable of thwarting their plans and saving her niece from their clutches, then”¦

 

Damn. That would have definitely been what the Mandalorians called kandosii. There was a minor question that I would have liked to ask, if time or politeness permitted, pertaining to Xae-Lin's relations to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, but it wasn't necessary. I was a shining example of the simple fact that one's background did not define a person””my Master's trainer was a redeemed Sith, and my own pedigree was convoluted beyond tracing””and clearly, she'd demonstrated that truth once again.

 

”œYour Masters obviously did well by you, then. Even though they might not have intended for your training to progress in such a way, I'd like to consider these events as your Trial”¦ and, obviously”¦”

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Finally, with a simple and meaningful handshake, she was a recognized knight of the order. She greatly wished that both John and Kyp could have been there to see it. She sensed that master's curiosity about her connections with the Nightsisters, and for some reason knew that she'd understand as well. Perhaps it was time for her to quit making such a big deal over such trivial things as her origins.

 

Still, because of her origins and world-awareness was somewhat limited as her small clan had little contact with the galaxy at large, due to this she inquired, ”œThe Empire and Rebellion?”

[Syn]

A Ship from a failed past, burst out of hyperspace, the Unlucky 7. An aptly named vessel for its occupant had no idea what happened to him since the last time he awoke till this moment right now, when he appeared above the world of Gala, with his own voice hailing a Jedi temple! Of all things a Jedi temple! What happened to his plans of running a smuggling guild? Of his companions and friends? Where had they gone? They've abandoned you, came a sinister and familiar voice. One that had been An-Dur's companion and friend for far too long. Upon the open channel only static rang through, broadcasted back towards Gala. The Zabrak was frozen with fear. What was he to do? This was once again a defining moment in his life, would he back away from the challenge, or would he do what was in his blood; and rise to it? Succeeding all hopes placed upon him by himself and Sato. That familiar voice of doubt crept up again, chocking his throat, suffocating him. And then came the anger; why couldn't he just open his mouth and speak? What was so hard about doing that? Nothing. There was nothing wrong with it nor him, only the limitations placed upon him by his mind. Which had to be defeated here and now.

 

And so like many times before, he squared off in his mind, mentally battling a nonexistent foe, the extension of his doubt, fear and hate. They circled each other around a small ring, each wielding a vibrosword. In An-Dur's hands, Chaos and Tranquility. Repaired, they had been repaired! Neither made the first move, they continued to circle each other, each man sizing the other up. Each an exact copy of the other, an exact replica of An-Dur. An-Dur grew tired, he did not have the luxury of time waiting for his other 'half' to make the opening move, so he did. He lunged with both blades, at the last moment, using his forward momentum gained and turned himself into a spin, striking at the others solar-plexus with a swift side-kick. Doubt flew from the ring. Slammed harshly against a nearby pillar, Hate charged. Somehow An-Dur faced two enemies now, both of them attacking in tandem, perfect cooperation. When one struck, the other blocked and visa versa. It was quite a sight to see An-Dur desperately block, counter and dodge all of their ferocious attacks, a man on fire, An-Dur would not fail himself. Not anymore, no longer. He loosed a mighty war-cry upon them both, his anger rising to the surface, bubbling but not yet boiling. Hate feigned a strike, but blocked high, through his guard Fear struck, a jab to An-Dur's spleen. The young Zabrak nearly keeled over then and there.

 

He'd had enough, it was time to end this! Taking several menacing yet wounded and stumbling steps forward, An-Dur forced himself to rise, blood trickling from the corner of his lips, he sneered malevolently towards them before he charged with abandon. Fear took the van, trying desperately to make several quick vertical slashing attacks, An-Dur dove through this, slamming his body into fear, who toppled over from the force. Resting atop fear, An-Dur raised his swords high above its head, so that it could see what was to come. The sneer grew into a demented smile and the swords fell like a guillotine and off went his head! An-Dur positioned himself to his knees, rising off of the decapitated Fear's limp body, with speed unknown he planted both feet under him and leaped forward, entering a front flip he came out in a sprint. Hate was different, instead of waiting--like Fear had, Hate charged himself. Screaming madly and swinging his sword overhead, An-Dur leaped once more into the air, so did Hate. Time slowed to a crawl. They passed each other, Chaos had been trailing him, now it was wrenched forward in a sweeping motion. The vibrosword severed Hate in two. An-Dur landed where Hate had once stood. Time resumed. The Zabrak exhaled, he'd done it. He'd won.

 

An-Dur parted his lips, flexed his jaw several times and then spoke, his voice calm and even.

 

::Comm::

 

"This is An-Dur, pilot of the YT freighter, the Unlucky 7. I wish to land at the Jedi temple and be trained as a Jedi. Please allow me to be."

 

::End Comm::

 

His right hand raise and clicked off his mike, again he sighed deeply. He'd won, but at what cost? Only time would tell. Only time.

[ObliviousKnight]

((This is horribly lazy, but I'm literally just going to quote the post Robbie spent on describing the Arach'tar to me. Most of the information that I have is either from that post, or the WBS, which Chad okayed for IC use.))

 

”œWhat information we have is outdated, from the last time that the Arach'tar attempted to invade the galaxy.”

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Xae greatfully took the datapads and read over the horror that was the Arach'tar. She most definitely had to start learning more about the galaxy at large.

 

In response to the matter of Iniera, she shook her head. ”œI don't speak with her father, I don't even know if he's alive. My mother is dead, and”¦well I wouldn't entrust Iniera to her care.”

[ObliviousKnight]

I nodded once. Keeping her niece with Hartel's people was probably the best course of action. Maybe he had some friends in the Mandalorians that they could trust to watch over her niece over the course of this emergency, or possibly his parents were still alive. ”œWith things the way they are right now, being surrounded by Mandalorian armor might be the safest place for Iniera.”

[Syn]

An-Dur nodded and brought his craft down, it spiraled towards the planet, before leveling off and simply reentering its atmosphere. Heat burned off the Unlucky's hull, causing it to look like a fireball careening towards Gala's surface. From within, An-Dur walked back to his chamber and began to peruse through his wears, trying to find something to carry with him as he walked the surface of the planet. Something to help defend him. And so he spent several minutes scrounging through footlockers and dressers, searching for something he consciously knew not. As he did this, his auto-piloted ship, began to slow in speed as it moved for the Jedi temple that was now fast approaching.

 

An-Dur continued to search through his things before he finally gave up, realizing that he needn't anything to impress a Jedi or at least the Jedi he held as their common image. A guardian who protected the weak, contained and held back the darkness and suffering, fought so that others did not have to. In truth his image of the Jedi was more warrior than pacifist, more champion than protector. Perhaps it was do to his upbringing, his warrior culture, the ethos he was raised under, perhaps it was his own fantasies, whatever the reason An-Dur had; that was simply how he saw them. And gathering all he could within himself and handing a finality to his doubt, fear and hate, he strode from his ship, lowering the ramp he exited it. Wearing a simple forest green ground-length cloak and black tunic and trousers he began to search through the largely empty Jedi temple. Behind him, he could here the sounds of his entry/exit ramp raising and closing, his droids doing their job. All was good.

 

For a short while An-Dur searched the outskirts of the temple, seeing nothing but rubble and earth, he fought against the feeling that there was nothing here, taking heart in that at least he could find out where the Jedi had gone. At least he could follow. His search lead him closer towards the center building, his steps careful and cautious, his twin broadswords sheathed at his hip. An-Dur began to aimlessly wander throughout the complex, noticing mouse droids roam about their daily duties, flickering lights and the place otherwise abandoned. Again his heart sank, only to be bolstered by his determination. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of searching he happened across two women stationed on a landing pad of some kind. In idle conversation, he had no doubt who they were or if they knew he was there. His heart and mind told them they were Jedi. At long last he had found Jedi, but more importantly he was prepared to walk down the path he had hid from, shirked or otherwise tried to forget. He was finally ready to face the unknown and rise to his greatest challenge.

 

But he did not move. He stood rooted to the spot, at the threshold between the temple and the landing pad, his gaze, steely yet his heart wavered. Not because he wanted to go back, but because it was an important event in his life, perhaps his most important. He wanted to remember it, for those times when he would doubt himself and his abilities (whatever they may be), he wanted to use this as a shining example of his resolve. And so he stepped forward, with as much symbolism behind him as movement. A part of him had died that moment and it was a part he would not miss. Like a butterfly bursting from its cocoon he was reborn in that moment. (('scuse the analogy, I couldn't come up with a manlier one)) And so he continued to step forward, each step filling him with pride and confidence, each step reawakening the warrior within him. Finally he approached the two women, bowed before them and waited till they stopped conversing. He took note that whatever it was seemed to be greatly important. And then, once they paused he spoke up, calmly, yet commanding enough to not be judged as weak,

 

"Excuse me. I am sorry to interrupt, but are you two Jedi?" He queried, briefly before continuing, they nodded slightly which served to embolden him even more.

"My name is An-Dur and it is my wish to become a Jedi, to be a champion for the good and the weak. It has been my biggest dream and lifelong goal. So I ask you; am I capable of doing this? Am I Force-sensitive?" He paused, his eyes flickered in-between the pair (OK and XLA), lingering a tad longer on the younger one, as if he was searching her for his answers.