Kharjo's Holo-journal

[Mercury]

Entry I: Day I

 

Upon a table a recorder peacefully rests. Kharjo Shavir sits in a chair positioned in front of the table and the lens of the recorder. For a moment he remains motionless and silent, his eyes restlessly scanning his quarters within Master Illioni apartments there on Haruun Kal. In his eyes shine a marvelous and wondrous light, a reflection of his thoughts. It’s late in the evening, perhaps early in the morning. Kharjo had slept peacefully and uninterrupted for many hours after his final meditation of that day. He was not bothered by a dream-vision of this Jaqen, though as he reflects upon this, he is remised by that notion. To the young Cathari cub, to be visited by another dream-vision of this mysterious Cathar would have been wondrous. More proof of Kharjo’s worth to the Order and to Dashel Illioni. One can discredit a dream or a vision as fallacy, but two within such a short time? It could not be disputed and Kharjo knew this. Still, to have slept uninterrupted was a blessing. It meant that he would have more energy and strength to deal with Master Erath later in the day and be more able to complete whatever task or assignment Master Illioni gave him.

 

His thoughts transitioned to the recorder then and his eyes shown with a clear focus. He called upon the Force suddenly, wasting no opportunity to strengthen his connection and balance within it. Through the Force he imagined tendrils, extensions of his own body being projected outwardly toward the recorder. It required a fair amount of concentration for the cub, but that was a sacrifice he was more than glad to make. He envisioned the tendrils like an extra set of arms and with the hands sliding up alongside the top of the recorder and flicking the power on. When it worked, he recalled those tendrils and withdrew a bit from the Force, calling upon the restorative arts of curato salva. He was no healer, nor very skilled. Some might disagree, but for the most part, Kharjo was only competent enough to refresh his body, mind and soul after a taxing event; most of the time that was enough.

 

As the recorder flickered to life, Kharjo exhaled deeply, slowly. Once the device had warmed up fully, Kharjo looked deep into it, ready to pour out his thoughts and reflect upon his most recent events.

 

Emerald and gold-flecked eyes penetrated the lens with purpose and conviction as he began to speak, “Today marks hopefully the first day down the path of me becoming a proper Jedi. So much has happened to me in such a short time, it’s no surprise I need a record to make sense of it all.

 

“To think that yesterday I was an initiate slated for Tython to tend the gardens or the infirmed. My fate had been decided by the wise Masters of the Order and by the Living Force, itself. I was ready to surrender myself in the service of my beliefs. That all changed thanks to a dream-vision I had about a being known as Jaqen. I don’t quite know what to make of it. It was too real to have been a dream, yet the technology he and others were using was wrong. Spears, swords, bows and arrows, leather and animal hide armor. Those are not tools found in today’s society… are they?

 

“It’s been said the Force works in mysterious ways. From the moment I first heard that, I knew it to be true. Yet, every once in a while I am surprised me. I never would have imagined I would meet a Jedi Master in the tranquil gardens of Haruun Kal, let alone another feline. I never imagined that that same Jedi Master would send me on a three-fold task, choose me over so many more acceptable pupils. Nor would I have imagined that I would see Masters Vao and Erath, one who was like a mother to me and one who was like a frightening military general. And Alyssa… I didn’t think I would see her either.”

 

Kharjo chuckles dryly at her name and lowers his head to shake. It’s clear there are feelings there for the girl that he has not yet faced, feelings that confuse him and feelings that should not be. For a moment when his head rises to face the lens he looks like a love-struck puppy, but a quick shake of his head and the expression vanishes behind a veneer of composure and purpose.

 

“I took flight lessons today from Master Erath. That statement alone should make anyone who comes across this gasp in amazement. Never in my short, cloistered life have I met more of an abrasive or hard man as that wizened old Jedi Master. Some say he should sit on the High Council and I don’t doubt he agrees with them. All agree, though, that he is a premiere starfighter pilot. Few are his equal in the skies.

 

“However, a lesson from Master Erath is more like an exercise in endurance and fortitude. Where others might teach theories and lecture on procedure and practice before taking to the air, Master Erath tossed me into a cockpit and gave me simple instructions: catch me and get a missile lock. I’ve had basic flight instruction before, every youngling does. It’s part of the curriculum. But, this was something else. There were tasks and objectives layered beneath his simple assignment. Without the Forces aid, I would have crashed into a fiery ball of flames upon the hangardeck before I even started. I needed to draw the Force to me and let it guide my every action. And I did as best I could.

 

“I flew this way and that way; I chased him all over the skies of Haruun Kal and nearly got a missile lock on him once. A few more seconds and I would have had him, but he did some maneuver and before I knew what was going on, he was behind me and I had to try and shake him off.” Kharjo’s eyes light up as he retells the events. His hands take up the dance of his words acting like two starfighters chasing each other across the space in front of him and the lens of the recorder.

 

“After that, I came back to Master Illioni and recanted the events for that day and then got supper for the two of us. I still can’t believe this is happening. A part of me wants someone to pinch me so that I might awake from this dream. I mean, just look—” He suddenly grabs the recorder and brings it to his chest and levels it out, slowly turning in a circle to let the recorder survey his room. It was sparse as all Jedi accommodations are, more utilitarian than anything else. There was a single-sized bed positioned in the far wall, a medium sized desk placed on the other side of an end table that sat next to the head of the bed. On the opposite wall as the bed a dresser sat and directly below the bed was a bookcase filled with all manner of things a Padawan might need to know.

 

“It’s a Padawan’s room! I don’t want to say it aloud in case I jinx myself, but can you believe this?! I’m standing in a Padawan’s room. Alone. There aren’t any snoring younglings and initiates resting in a dormitory. Just me. It’s so quiet and peaceful!”

 

With that he slowly returns to his seat and replaces the recorder on the small table in front of him, all the while fussing over it so it is situated just right. Once it is, he adds, “Well, I think I’m going to try and go back to sleep. It’s got to be about two or three in the morning and I don’t know how early Master Illioni wakes up. Once he does, I will have to as well and then my day will begin. There will be nonstop action and movement and learning!”

 

A child-like exuberance beams from his countenance as he smiles brightly before he leans forward and shuts off the device and lights and crawls back into bed.

 

Edit: reposted cuz the net ate some of my writing in the transfer. lol

Edited January 30, 2012 by Guest

[Amidala Skywalker]

Nice journal entry! Kharjo is your RP character, right? I love how FanFic lets you explore aspects of your character that you don't always get to play with in actual RP posts.

 

Are you planning on continuing this?

[Mercury]

Yup, Kharjo's my RP charry. I've been toying with the idea of doing this and I think this turned out really well. I intend to continue this and have a way to sort of have a timeline on how Kharjo develops and changes from sheltered child to traveled Jedi Knight. The hardest part at the moment is how to date them. Since the RP isn't date related, from what I understand; its hard to show his time as a padawan accurately, I think. I plan on having him age over the course of his apprentenciship and sort of reflect it that way.

 

What do you think?

[Amidala Skywalker]

I think that's fine. I know it's always strange having RP rules letting your character become a Knight after three months or so but knowing that in the SW universe it can take many many years. I usually age my characters after I'm knighted, reflecting how long the apprenticeship took.

 

Another thing you could do is just make up month names. That way there is a date at the beginning of the entry, but we won't know specifically how long has passed between entries unless you make reference to it in the actual entry (like "when I last wrote two weeks ago...").

[Mercury]

Hmm, that's a really good point! Mind if I steal it (the month names)?

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Hmm, interesting! I'm not over in the RP forum to know your character, but I'm glad you've decided to play around with expanding his character over here! It was an unique start, waking up in the middle of the night to record a journal entry (and with a unusual present tense - don't see too much of that here) and unique is always nice to read. I thought you did an excellent job of having his youthful eagerness show through.

 

I've never heard the Jaqen term before. I guessed it was something cultural, or perhaps used in the RP forum... or I guess it could also be a SW term I'm not familiar with from the old Order? I haven't read as much of the newer stuff in that time frame. What does it mean?

 

Good, interesting start! Looking forward to seeing how you plan on growing Kharjo - and handling the time gaps.

[Mercury]

Entry 2: Day 31

 

Dimly the holo-recorder’s eye begins to adjust to the partially lit room. In the background the engine of a starship gently thrums and hums. Sitting squarely in the center of the holo-recorder’s large ubiquitous glass eye is the frame of a Cathari boy in his late teens. Kharjo sits in front of the recorder, slumped in his chair and coughing softly. The exuberance he had in his eyes the last time he recorded his thoughts seems diminished slightly, perhaps by the cold he seems to have.

 

He sneezes violently before speaking, “Ungh. Well, where do I begin? I wish I could do this when I was healthy! That would make for a better video to show to my family.”

 

He pauses momentarily, “wait, am I showing my family these videos?”

 

Kharjo trailed off, quietly pondering the possibilities that such an action gave and the consequences of it. On the one hand, he knew it would give his family an inside look into how he was doing, into his well-being and the rigorous training he was going through. However, on the other hand, if anyone were to see these videos, they would become intimate with him and could use them to their advantage. That thought unsettled him slightly as he pictured tentacle-like monsters manhandling him in an unpleasant manner. Why he had pictured tentacle-like monsters and not, say, humans, or any other sentient race he couldn’t say. Perhaps he was still slightly delirious with fever? Finally, after what was probably the passage of several minutes he blinked at the recorder and chuckled embarrassedly.

 

“Heh, maybe I’ll just hold off on showing these to anyone…”

 

Bringing his paw to his mouth he coughed quietly before speaking again, “Where was I? Oh yeah! So, I’m now officially a ‘Padawan’! My master named me so a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve been too busy (and tired) to make one of these videos again. I’ve been doing so much! There’s flight lessons in the morning with Master Erath, of course that’s after I take about an hour or so for personal training and meditation. Then, my Master sends me out on ridiculous missions. Like, just the other day I had to go to Master Vao to ask out her Padawan, Alyssa Green.

 

“My Master thinks I have a crush on her, I think.” Kharjo visibly blushes at the thought (or whatever the equivalent gesture would be for a furred, sentient mammal). He looks away quickly and attempts to clear his throat.

 

“I don’t, because that’s against the Jedi Code… and stuff,” he stammers out too quickly.

 

“A-anyway, after that some other stuff happened, but I can’t remember it all. My days seem to blend together sometimes and me being sick makes it hard for me to remember everything… I know. I know. Some recording of my thoughts, huh? Maybe I should do this when I’m not sick and can remember better?”

 

Kharjo paused again momentarily lost by some thought or another.

 

“But, what else am I supposed to do aboard this ship?!” he whines into the recorder. “Knight Luo says I’m too sick to train and there is only so much studying I can do during the day. Luo said that I should strain myself by trying to go into a healing trance. She says I’m not skilled enough. Master Vao only comes around to check on me and tease me. And Alyssa… Alyssa makes my head foggy. Master Illioni visits me often, but mostly to run metal exercises or question me on our last Force trance. Well, really, I do the questioning, but still! Sometimes he asks questions.” Kharjo made a face as he finished his latest thought.

 

Suddenly he is hit by a realization as something dawns on him. His entire visage lights up and the youthful exuberance returns to his eyes.

 

“My ancestor survived! I mean, Jaqen survived. I mean he’s my ancestor! Somehow, I had another vision again recently. Only it wasn’t a vision, but some kind of trance or something. I overheard my Master mention something about genetic memory. That’s way over my head. Anyways, I found myself back on Cathar and I was following my ancestor back to his city. Through him I saw his life, his wife and the council he reported too.

 

“Apparently, he was some kind of leader to his people, except he cautioned against war where they raged for it. They called him ‘the Reluctant’ as if it were an insult. He was meeting with the elder council, but it wasn’t going so well. I think he might have won some of them over in the end tho’.

 

“There was this strange feeling I got in that place between places when I was there before I left, tho’. It was like a dark presence was looming over my shoulder. I felt claustrophobic, even tho’ I’m not. It was strange. I told haven’t told my master. I probably should.”

 

With that he yawned and stretched. As he looked around he noticed the time and realized how very tired he was. He’d been sleeping for most of the previous day and would do nothing else today. At the very least he could sleep and dream.

 

Sleepy eyed, he returned his attention to the recorder and yawned. He wondered if anyone heard his sleepy yawn as it sounded a bit like a low roar to him. “I guess I’ll call it a night, then. I’m really sleepy and bored. Time to dream! Goodnight.”

 

He reached over and powered down the device, left his seat and climbed back into the modestly comfortable bed of the Grasstiger’s crew cabin.

 

I am playing with tense a bit here and I haven't edited it. I'm tired, but I just wanted to get this up. Its been forever since I did the last one.

 

To Gimpy: thanks for the encouragement! Its somewhat complicated and I'm still working out the kinks and bugs with another member of the Rp section (my character's Jedi Master), but bascially Jaqen is Kharjo's ancestor. I can't think of the specific word, but, Kharjo is directly descended from him. Somehow, through the Force, Kharjo is able to slip back to a time where Jaqen was alive and view his life for reasons unknown to Kharjo. That's pretty much it. Other than that he's your normal, sheltered and youthful Padawan.