Space

[Ary the Grey]

It felt like an eternity before Aryian spoke.

 

"I'm troubled, Evander. You must learn control over your emotions...or even better, to not let your emotions control you. I felt the twinges of the dark side about you back there, I felt your anger. You mustn't be angry for them. They are in a better place, at peace with the Force, and being angry at the attackers will only cause yourself grief. Instead, be patient, listen to the Force as I teach it to you, and let it guide you. You will know the right thing to do...now, as to your question in the Temple. There is no meaning of life. Life is how you live it, how you choose to shape yourself and impact others. The Force? It can help, if you let it. You should look at the data in the Blur's computers before we reach Hoth...it can explain a lot."

 

((i.e. read the Jedi Curriculum thread in WBS if you haven't, and when we get there I expect for you to know most of that already IC.))

[Menthu]

He paused rechecking his suit before he suddenly popped the hatch. The intense amount of radiation would over whelm any being that had the foolish desire to step out onto the surface. Yet he had come prepared. Fully understanding the conditions that he would be subject too.

 

Barab I was a hostile world, not just for its population, but for its environment. As it was for the most part any culture's definition of hell. He could have used the imperial spaceport Alater-ka, however to have done so would have wasted valuable time for no particular reason.

Instead he allowed the suit to be his protection from the massive amount of radiation as he picked his way through the planet's surface.

 

He could feel the force here. Just as strongly as he could feel it any where else. Since his destruction of the old stagnant order, he had felt, free and unrestrained. As if his power had increased ten fold. A strange thing to be sure, when not so long ago his power was barley a flicker compared to that wielder by the better known force users in the galaxy.

 

A sigh escaped his lips, briefly fogging up his visor plate as he looked around the harsh hellish landscape. He had great respect for any creature who dared to call this place home. Even though he understood with in good reason why they choose to dwell in such places like under ground cities.

 

He summoned the force like it was a disobedient child, summoned it and used it to augment his senses and expand his search. Like a powerful wave he felt connect with the landscape around him, as if it he was apart of it, or it was apart of him. Various rocks seemed to call out to him, like feeble beggars at a bazaar hoping to get some quick cash from a Lord as he strolled by in his chariot. He battered away their presences much like the guards of a lord would kick at the stray beggaries.

 

A passion seem to take him in his search as they continued to call to him, until at last he came to a spot that seemed to threaten to over whelm him. There the cries matter and there he found what he was looking for.

 

Had he wished for any barab ore, he would have choose one simply from the ground as soon as he landed. Yet through his searching and the use of the force, he found what he was searching for. Opening up a pouch in his suit he placed inside a multitude of the ore into the pouch , grabbing what he deemed to be the strongest in the region.

 

They would do well for what was to come.

 

Leaving the planet the same way he came, he soon found himself at another critical juncture. Why he was called here he couldn't be sure. Yet the asteroid seemed to draw to him much like a woman in heat called to her man.

 

Unable to resist this call, he stepped foot out into this world, and was first disappointed and then delighted in what he found. Feeling his total preparation complete he return to his ship and set he ship onto an auto pilot to a specific set of coordinated before locking himself away in the ship and making use of the tools he had available to create his new and updated weapon arsenal.

[Evander]

Emerald eyes grew wide, before turning dull and small. Their gaze diverting to the suddenly interesting floor paneling at its master's feet. The owner of these eyes suddenly felt paralyzed and stupid for allowing his feelings to get the better of him, but his old way of thinking. Old logic told him that such reactions were only natural. That anyone would wish to seek vengeance for their fallen. For their dead, who died needless, senseless deaths. How was it fair? Right? Or just? Was it an act of some higher power, a natural calamity that couldn't have been avoided, or was this the act of evil men?

 

”œMaster, how can I not be outraged for them? It's an injustice! They died without cause! Without need! That is not a good death! Innocents should not be the targets for war!”

[Ary the Grey]

((Already posted on Hoth, but I'll backpost for posterity's sake.))

 

"Sit down."

 

Aryian waited until Evander begrudgingly did so before he continued. It was clear his Padawan was upset about all this, but he had yet to begin to experience the universe for what it was...he did not yet understand.

 

"You think that I don't feel anything when someone dies? I am...was...a Jedi Master, Evander. My connection with the Force, with all things is such that when something nearby me dies, I feel it too. You think it doesn't affect me? It does. I've just had far more time to learn how to deal with it than you. People die, Evander...you can't stop that. Sometimes they die peacefully, and sometimes other people are to blame. But one way or another, they will die. I will die, and so will you one day. Once you can accept that, it becomes a bit easier to bear their pain. You cannot save them all, and when you fail to save even one you mustn't tear yourself up over it. Getting angry causes you to become reckless, and thus ineffective against your enemy, even if you don't yet know who your enemy is, but I assure you, they are out there."

 

For a long while, Aryian was silent. He realized his knuckles were white, he was gripping so hard on the control yoke.

 

"One day, you'll have as many scars on your soul as I do. It happens to us all. All you can do is be patient, be observant, and follow the will of the Force. I would appreciate it if you didn't question me like this again. You don't get to where I've gotten by not knowing what you're doing. Have a little faith, Evander. Now...just please read the information. We'll have plenty of time to reflect later."

[Evander]

Evander sat, surprised by the tone in his master's voice. Until now, he had known the man to be laidback, somewhat nonchalant. Yet, as he stared at him, he realized there was far more to this man. Perhaps more than he would ever know. He felt silly for having had assumed that Aryian wouldn't have felt their pain, their sufferings. To be honest, Evander hadn't really. He felt some of the pain and death around him, but he hadn't thought much of it. Not really, not until Aryian had brought it up. Once he had, Evander realized what the man must have experienced during the attack. How much was evident through the Force. And because of it, Evander's visage lost a lot of its color. Slowly, he was realizing what he hadn't before.

 

And for that, he was happy. Yet, he was also mortified because he couldn't have asked in a nicer manner.

 

As his master continued to speak, Evander sat there, silently. He had lost all the bravado and flare he once had. All that remained now was its shell, a lost boy who appeared meek and sorry. He didn't know. And it was as simple as that. His gaze fell away from his master's multiple times as Aryian spoke to him. Evan found that he felt horrible suddenly. He hadn't expected, nor, never anticipated that his master would have addressed him in such a manner. Yet at the same time, he wondered if it was the only way for him to have realized. If master Darkfire hadn't spoken to him in such a way, if he had been softer with his words, Evander might have disregarded them out of stubbornness. Instead, the older man's intensity forced him to see.

 

When the man did finally finish, Evan wasn't looking at him, but instead staring intently at the floor, a somber expression upon his face. All the fire, the gusto of before was gone. He did not speak for a long time, as he found no words that seemed to fit. Finally, he gave up on trying to be eloquent and just simply spoke the only thing that looped through his head.

 

”œMaster, I'm sorry,”

[Ary the Grey]

"It's fine. Words for another time, another place. Apologies aren't necessary for a completely normal response, either."

 

Aryian flashed a quick smirk before turning his attention back to the ship.

 

"Study the data...we'll be there soon."

 

In little time at all, they reached Hoth.

[SithAcolyte]

After making several small hyperspace jumps that took the Persphone far away from Yavin Darla set the ship to s gentle cruising speed and waited for her friends to wake up. She wasn't entirely sure where she would be taking them.

 

I'll miss them both...

 

The idea of parting ways with her friends that had become her family didn't sit well with Darla. She understood that everyone needed to follow their own path and she wouldn't be the person to stand in anyone's way. Even if that meant letting Aerec learn dark secret from a killer like Faust.

 

While she waited Darla went to the galley and made some coffee for when her friends awoke. She heated up some rations wondering if this would be the last meal she shared with Darex and Aerec.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex woke completely refreshed a few hours later. He felt the hum of the engines, and knew that they had left Yavin IV. He rose and stretched, then used the fresher. Splashing some water on his face, he realized his goatee had turned into a full-fledged beard. Pulling out his standard shaving kit, he quickly remedied his scruffy look, leaving him with a neat goatee.

 

Aerec was still sleeping, so he left quietly and headed to the galley, where he found Darla brewing a pot of caf. He gave her a big smile. "Good morning, Darla. Thanks for the ride."

 

He took a cup of caf and lounged in a comfortable chair. "Do you remember the last time we went to Ilum?" Darex had distinct memories of the time. He had taken part of his master trials there, then headed off with Darla to rescue Nivana. It was certainly one of the most memorable times in his life.

[SithAcolyte]

Darla smiled as Darex entered the galley. She poured herself some coffee and took a seat with her friend.

 

"I... I don't remember. Sorry."

 

Her memories were coming back to her in bits and pieces. It saddened her that she couldn't remember their last trip to Ilum. The occasion obviously held some significance. She decided to take a different approach. After all, she was trying to relearn what she had lost.

 

"Why don't you tell me about it. Maybe it'll jog some memories for. It seemed to working when Skye was telling me some things about my past."

 

She smiled listening intently no longer saddened by her lack of memories.

[Darex Trevelian]

Glad to help as always, Darex took a sip of his caf and began. "Let's see...your apprentice, Nivana, had been captured by my old nemesis Trowa Barton. I volunteered to go with you to rescue her." He paused. "I think part of my reasons for wanting to go was that I felt that it would make up for my not being able to rescue Shy from him. Anyway, we decided to stop on Ilum, since I had no lightsaber. Before we left, Skye was asking me lots of questions, and it turned out that she was beginning my master trials. The creation of my new lightsaber on Ilum would be the culmination of that test."

 

He paused. It had been a big event in his life, a time when he had laid his final lingering concerns about his past to rest for good. "After Ilum, we headed to Roon to rescue Nivana. I don't know if you remember Trowa's spider monsters that we encountered." He paused again. "You hated them. It was like something out of a nightmare. I negotiated with their queen for the release of Niv, then we ended up having dinner with Trowa and Shy and their twins." He let out a breath as a small chuckle. "Another big moment for me, seeing Shy so happy and content."

 

He took another sip of his caf and smiled at his long-time friend. "Does that bring anything back? At least the anger at me for agreeing to the spider queen's demands?"

[Vladimir Faust]

A comm arrives for Aerec and Darex, traced on an open and direct line from Nar Shaada:

 

Hello, Padawan Aerec, Master Darex,

 

I'm extending this offer to you and your master. If you wish for the opportunity to train with me, I'll be waiting for 3 days on Nar Shaada. Three days, after that, I shall be taking my leave and tending to my own affairs.

 

I would remind you that this offer will be in good faith, so I expect you and Master Trevelian to be the ones to arrive, not your grandmaster with a cadre of Sith hunters, or friends in the Alliance fleet who may have issue with my actions in destroying Coruscant or other worlds. Nar Shaada is neutral territory, held by the remains of the Hutt Organization, so it is safe for both of us: as safe as any hive of scum and villainy can be in this galaxy.

 

Again, I intend to honor my word. After three days, I'll be taking my leave. Finally. if you intend to take up my offer, do NOT bring the Rebels or the Jedi with you to try and arrest me.

 

May the Force in its composite whole be with you.

[ForceFusion]

When Aerec awoke from his slumber, he found himself once again with Darex and Darla. Once again, the world seemed at ease. Though his sleep had been haunted with nightmares of slaughters and murder, feeling Darex's presence in the Force calmed him.

 

And to see Darla brought a smile to his face. Darex and Darla were in conversation when Faust's message arrived. He took a deep breath and sighed it out. It hadn't been a dream within a dream. One of the most powerful men in the galaxy had indeed offered him a temporary apprenticeship. At any other time in Aerec's life, he probably would've taken it. In fact, he had almost taken it. He had bargained for it to be more comfortable. But Faust had quickly disappeared before Aerec could answer him, and then the weight of the decision had sunk in via the words of wisdom of friends.

 

Being in the presence of Faust had been a fearful thing, and for some reason, now responding to his message seemed even more dangerous. But Aerec knew what he had to do. I faced him down in person, I can talk to him from across the galaxy.

 

Just before he began speaking his response, he smiled at Darla. "Thank you," he said. The apprentice sent the same message to his Master via the Force.

 

Faust, Aerec began, first I'd like to say that I was and am shocked that you offered to train me, even with my Master along. I was shocked with honor and shocked with fear. But I'm just beginning my training. I've only picked up a lightsaber once, and I only have rudimentary skills in the Force. I'm not ready to take on your training. There are many that are horrified that I would even consider it. While I take the opinions of my friends into account, I gotta follow my own path. So, right now, I can't accept training under you. I'm not ready. Once I become a Jedi Knight, if I'm still this curious and your offer still stands, I will probably seek you out. But for now, I'm staying with my friends. Thanks for...y'know, not killing me on sight. Someday I hope to learn from you...just not today. May the Force be with you, too.

[SithAcolyte]

As Darex spoke, many memories returned to Darla. It had been a tumultuous time indeed. She remembered killing what she considered monsters. She remembered calling on the darkside in battle. She remembered almost being suffocated by spiderwebs and she was bound by them. It was something of a nightmare. The situation had been made all the worse by knowing the her own apprentice was trapped somewhere on that hellish world.

 

"I remember." Darla said her voice quavering ever so slightly. "I don't remember being angry at you though..."

 

She couldn't remember being angry at Darex, if she had been. She did remember being horrified by the spider creatures and their queen. Darla was a very different woman now. Now she understood how Darex had felt. She understood that he was seeking to protect life in all it's forms. She understood that he had a great value for life. Darex was a true Jedi, something that she could never hope to be.

 

Darla's thoughts were broken off by Aerec's arrival. Before she had a chance to properly greet him her ship received a transmission. Darla was a little alarmed by Faust's message. Alarmed and on edge. Once again she didn't know what to think.

 

The idea of Aerec leaving to join Faust made her shudder.

 

Without a moments hesitation Aerec replied to Faust. Darla wanted to cry with joy. Aerec wasn't going! He'd made up his mind. Did that mean that he and Darex would stay with her?

 

"Aerec... You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that."

 

She smiled over at him.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex nodded at her. "Oh, you were angry. I had a bit too much...respect for them. More than you liked."

 

He pushed the memories away as Aerec came in. He greeted his padawan, but before Aerec could do more than nod a response, the master and padawan's comlinks chirped in unison. Aerec played the message aloud, and Darex was unsurprised at it's contents. He knew Faust would want Aerec with as little training as possible, therefore he had expected a time limit to the hunter's offer.

 

He quietly deleted his copy of the message. It was Aerec's time to choose his path, and Darex studiously looked at his cup of caf. He didn't want to make Aerec feel guilty if he chose to study with Faust. The idea held intruigue even for Darex. It was to be Aerec's decision completely, and that in itself would partly shape him into the man he would become.

 

Aerec's response was polite, yet completely honest. Darex couldn't hide his grin. Ah, a diplomatic, Jedi-like answer. I might have rubbed off on him a bit after all. He rose, and put a hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "I'm glad you're staying with me." He had formed a bond with this young man, and he had to admit he was loathe to give it up. "What, if I may ask, prompted this very mature decision?"

[ForceFusion]

Aerec half-shrugged at Darex's question. He smiled back at Darla and was genuinely relieved and comfortable. "I still...can't really believe I just made that call, actually," Aerec admitted. He was still massively intrigued by Faust, and hadn't seen the terribly evil side of him. He'd only seen a massively intimidating side of him. But Aerec had survived a few intimidating situations.

 

"I don't really know what made me change my mind. I was pretty convinced that I'd go until I saw you all...freak out. So, when I pulled Darla aside I knew I'd get her true opinion...and...well, I might be curious, but I don't want to be turned into a monster. I don't want to be someone that people like Darla despise."

 

He sighed and kind of wanted a hug, though he didn't know how Jedi-like that was. "I guess I feel at home, and I know I'm not all wise and stuff like you, so I trusted your wisdom. I wasn't lying to Faust, though. When I'm a Jedi Knight, I might still seek him out. But I know I'm not ready yet."

[Skye Organa]

Serenity surfed through the lanes of hyperspace, making several jumps to disguise where it had come from and where it was going. As Skye sat in the pilot's chair she flicked through the holonet, shaking her head with dismay as she watched the latest broadcast.

 

A mysterious video was played by the Holonet News Network”¦

 

Classical music was playing as the screen cut to the Sith Master Ar-Pharazon. He was sitting in a large burgundy colored armchair, near a roaring and warm fireplace, garbed in a luscious satin red robe, and smoking a pipe. Ar-Pharazon turned to face the camera.

 

”œOh hello,”

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex nodded. "I wouldn't expect you to just forget about it. You may be the only one Faust has ever offered this kind of opportunity to--other than Sith apprentices."

 

He paused. "But I'm glad you decided to complete your training. This is a dangerous time for you, and I want you to have as much training as you need to make your own decision on the path you take. If you left now, Faust would have a strong influence on your mind, but as a Knight, it would lessen considerably."

 

He shook his head. "Sometime you should read the story of Luke Skywalker. He faced a similar decision--to leave his training early, or to stay. He chose to leave, and it became one of the darkest times in his life. He managed, and survived, but in the end it may not have been the best path for him."

 

Darex smiled. "Well, enough of that. I didn't mean for that to turn into a lecture. We were just having breakfast. Will you join us? You've got a busy day ahead of you."

 

He winked as his padawan. Darex was looking forward to continuing Aerec's training. It seemed that they hadn't gotten to really work on something for a long while.

[SithAcolyte]

Aimee rushed into the galley. Her movements fluid, almost human in their grace. Not the shuffling steps of a protocol droid, although that had became her primary function. There was a look of concern on her humanoid features.

 

"Darla, Darex, Aerec." She nodded politely, not calling them 'mistress' or 'master' like most droids. "I've had the ships computer channelling through the current holonet feeds. Since we've been secluded on Yavin for so long I thought that it was best to have an appraisal of current affairs. The computer has alerted me to a most alarming transmission."

 

Without any further explanation the droid set a small holo-projector down in the center on the dining table. A small hologram of Ar-Pharazon appeared...

 

Darla watched in stunned silence. She felt like her stomach was full of lead. Her throat tightened and she found herself clenching her coffee cup.

 

"On Yavin... I felt... It wasn't the Force. It was something else. I can't quite place it, but I got the feeling that something didn't want us there..."

 

With Skye's strange change of eye color all Darla could think of was Tzeentch. She couldn't however grasp why he would want to push them into a trap. Perhaps he just didn't want any bloodshed on his world, the world that he had rebuilt. That would make sense.

 

"You're wanted men now." Darla said with all seriousness. "You'll have to change the way you look. No more Jedi robes, cut your hair. Anything. But if we're going to be in any populated areas you can't be Darex Trevelian and his apprentice."

 

Darla held her hand to her moth as she was silent for a moment, thinking.

 

"They didn't mention me. Perhaps the Sith think I'm dead. Whatever the case is I should be able to go under the radar. This body is younger than I was. My hair's shorter, no distinguishing marks. I should be able to move quite freely. I can get you anything you need while you stay on ship."

 

Her mind was racing with possibilities. She would have to get in touch with Skye soon. The idea of her peaceful, caring friend being the victim of some bounty hunter wasn't something that she wanted to dwell on.

[Fynn Relmis]

"Just when I thought it was a good idea to leave an Isolated ice planet on the edge of civilization..." Fynn said sarcastically after viewing the vid. He'd hoped vainly that the Sith had begun to fight amongst themselves, giving the jedi to time to reorganize after a series of bitter defeats. Instead this narcissistic parasite of the force was hunting down jedi who had ever been noble and good to all. He wanted to hate the Sith for their wretched existence...but more hate was not the answer to their hate.

 

"It might be a good idea for us to keep a low profile. I don't much look the part of jedi in my old battered survival gear from Hoth...but running around an Imperial World like Coruscant in full jedi robes smells like a recipe for disaster." He said as he noticed the way he was dressed in comparison with Master Skye. She always did have a flare for eye popping clothes.

 

"I feel more troubled by the warrant out for Darex and his student..." He was going to say Darla, but then he stopped reasoning in his head that Skye knew how he felt and that reiterating his feelings for the billionth time wouldn't help him move on.

 

"If this threat is a real one, being alone wouldn't be very prudent when a hunting party comes to collect...and we should keep communication to a minimum, just by trying to contact our friends we might lead others right too them." He said somberly.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex shook his head. "Darla, it's not that big of a deal. The Sith always have prices on the heads of Jedi. I'm actually surprised that it's taken them this long to put one on mine."

 

He bit back a smile, since he could tell that Darla was deadly serious. "Besides, I don't think I've been in civilized space for years. I don't really see that changing too much." He couldn't remember the last time he had been on Coruscant. Much of his time was spent at Jedi bases, and if the Sith tracked him there it would be an attack on the base itself.

 

He glanced at Aerec. "I am curious at how they not only learned you're my apprentice, but why they put it one on your head too. But don't worry about it. Skye's had a price on her head for years, and has never seen sign of any bounty hunter."

 

As if they needed further convincing, he added, "And Ilum is always deserted."

 

He leaned forward and hit the play button again on the recorder to have it advance to the next Holofeature, which was Armiena's rebuttal. At seeing the footage, he laughed aloud. It was just like his friend to respond in this fashion. "See? The grandmaster doesn't even think much of it."

[Skye Organa]

Seeing Fynn examine his appearance she glanced down at her own. White robes over a white tunic. She had taken to wearing these so to stand out as a Healer. She did have other clothing there, though very rarely wore anything other than her Jedi garb. Her hair she usually wore tied up so that it wouldn't get in the way. She rarely wore it down. Another point was her eye colour. It would be listed in her description as green, whereas now they were the bright vivid blue.

 

"Yes indeed. We'll have to keep a low profile. I'll have to change clothing... I do still have some that are non-Jedi like." She gave a small laugh before turning serious once more, "There has to have been some breach of the Jedi databanks for that to have gotten out. It is very concerning how the Sith have found out that Aerec is Darex's padawan... unless Faust spread the word." ... Maybe Faust had 'renegged' on his offer to Aerec and given his name out in spite?

 

"We will have to be cautious in many ways. Soon as we finish at the Last Call we'll head to the co-ordinates I want the station built at. When we send the information to Darla and Armiena we'll have to use very secure channels to do so. I'd hate for it to be discovered before it's even rebuilt."

 

Serenity's console beeped, indicating they were about to come out of hyperspace. Between this and the next jump Flitter would change the outer appearance of the ship enough to disguise it. Then they would make their final jump to Coruscant and head to the Last Call.

 

"If you'd like to freshen up, shower or change, there are fresh towels and perhaps some clothing in the draws."

[Sol Kadav]

The Silver Eagle exited hyperspace, slowly coasting within a sector that was unknown to Sol. He wasn't concerned with being unfamiliar with this part of the galaxy, though. His navi-computer was never wrong.

 

He glanced down at it now, and saw that he was perhaps an hour away from Courscant. The distance-measuring system showed that he was about 1,000 kilometers away from the planet, which gave him more than enough time to kick back and rest. His ship, despite the size of it, was surprisingly fast and maneuverable. It held up well in a fight. A new, state-of-the-art hyperdrive was installed into the ship, which replaced the older, outdated one. It was repainted, the rust-colored plating of the craft now covered with a layer of silver paint.

 

He stood up from the pilot's chair, stretching his arms behind him. He switched on the auto-pilot, and then walked out of the cockpit. He walked down the short length of the hallway connecting the cockpit and Main Hold, sitting down on one of the chairs, placing his feet on top of the metal table in front of him. On top of the table was a bottle of Corellian Ale, which Sol picked up and opened, taking a quick swig of the contents within it before closing it back up. He reached to his side and picked up a holobook, which he activated with one twitch of his thumb. Crossing his left foot over his right, he started to read.

[Alora]

Alora had freshened up and now came into the cockpit to sit beside Draken as he piloted the ship through hyperspace.

 

"I'm feeling creative. I might have a luxurious fortress made once we arrive. I'll hire in builders from various locations and have a mix of all things exotic included. Nothing but the best. What do you think?"

[ForceFusion]

Aerec reacted with shock at first. Someone had put out a bounty on him? A Sith? But then he thought, as Darex spoke. Yes, Sith probably always had bounties out on the Jedi. And Aerec probably had plenty of minor bounties out on himself in the day when he was thieving around Coronet City. Darex radiated competence and comfort, and Aerec was able to laugh it off.

 

He even got a bit of an ego boost out of it. Hey, my name is on the HoloNet now! That thought caused him to grin, and he wondered if Darex had picked it up.

 

"So, I guess we better get to Ilum, huh?" Aerec prompted, still anxious to get on with his training. Especially now that he didn't know exactly what he'd be learning next. When he'd thought he would train under Faust, he at least had an idea that he'd be learning brutal combat techniques. Now...well, the Jedi and the Force and Master Darex was all still a bit mystical. He could wait to gulp it all in and become a Jedi Knight, out on his own doing...Jedi things. He still wasn't entirely sure what "Jedi things" were, but he sure was looking forward to them.

[Guest]

The depths of space could play a great many games with the minds of weaker men.

 

"I win."

 

"Lies! Put it back!"

 

A prime piece of evidence resided in the idiocy of two mongrels, in whose company stood a man apart, a man unwilling but resigned to a job he would much rather have left behind. This man also, apparently, needed the money, so he figured he didn't have much choice in the matter to begin with. He glanced over his shoulder at the two creatures, their insectoid maws quivering rapidly as they spoke to one another. Whatever language they were using, he knew not, but he could understand it, and that was all that mattered to him. It all sounds the same eventually--an earsore, and little else. His chilling gaze drifted away from the two gamblers, slipping over the metal framework of the vessel's interior to settled on the deck ahead, where sat the captain. He might have gone to speak with the man, had he preferred doing such over the pleasant silence of his own mind.

 

But that silence--for the most part, what with the unending nonsense emanating from the left--was interrupted by a sudden shift in the posture of the two men who sat piloting the small ship. Their shoulders tensed, and on cue the cold man's eyes narrowed under the weight of his curiosity. He heard the onset of muttering and stepped away from his perch against the cold, metallic wall to walk up the ramp and into the cockpit. The captain did a double take, obviously still unused to his presence aboard the ship. He was "new blood", for lack of a better term.

 

"...Rein, right?"

 

A nod. Rein's eyes never bothered with the captain, a man physically imposing but mentally, more or less, and imbecile. No, Rein's gaze became and remained fixed on a slowly growing structure ahead of their ship. What...what is that? He leaned forward slightly, unable to hide his curiosity from spilling over into the slight seperation of lips, the exhalation, the resting of a hand upon a headrest. They closed on the thing, and Rein was vaguely aware of conversation around him, rising and falling in pitch. He supposed they were arguing, but then again, he didn't suppose anything because this...thing...was drawing him.

 

I can...I...

 

"...feel it."

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex smiled at Aerec, picking up on his decision to look at the positives and put a good spin on things. "We should be at Ilum in a few hours." He gave Darla a questioning look, as she only really knew when they would arrive, and Darex was just guessing.

 

"Anyway," the Jedi Master said, leaning back in his chair again and taking another sip of his caf. "There are some things I've been wanting you to study, Aerec." He pulled out a datapad from his tunic pocket and handed it to the apprentice. "I uploaded some Jedi teachings onto this datapad, teachings I learned from a holocron on Manaan. I think they'll help clear some things up for you--or at least spark conversation."

 

He smiled gently at that idea. Aerec seemed to always have questions; just like every padawan in the universe. He nodded towards the datapad. "Take a look when you get the chance, and we'll go over them together one by one. The first two address that roadblock we were discussing a while back, while the last two discuss the dark side. They are personal reminices of a famous Jedi of old, one that I think you'll relate to."

 

He then turned to Darla. "This is amazing caf, Darla. I didn't know you could cook."

 

***

When Aerec looked at the datapad, the first entry was as follows:

 

'Here I was, someone who was helping instruct the others in self-defense, and Gantoris was slashing at me with impunity. He had me hurt and I was all turned around and vulnerable. My self-image imploded as I read the shock and horror and comical smiles on my friends' faces. In their minds I was a victim and a clown, and those two images succeeded in grinding the image I'd help of myself as Keiran Halcyon, Jedi Hero, into little tiny bits.

 

'Then I got the very clear impression that the next blow would land on my right ear and do all it could to drive into my brain. Without conscious thought, I dove forward on my belly, then scissored my legs and rolled over onto my back. My legs tangles themselves up with Gantoris' legs and twisted the larger man to the ground. I brought my own stick around and smacked him across the buttocks, then kicked his legs free of mine.

 

'Gantoris got up, his eyes narrowed, while I just sat on the ground and drew my knees up to my chin. I resisted the urge to rub my shin and forced myself to think past the pain about what had just happened. At the moment when I had been the most vulnerable, when I had been beaten, I had known what he was going to do and had been able to react to it.

 

'What surprised me was that my access to the Force had come at a point when I had been forced to abandon the image I had been trying to present to the others. Once I got past pretense and had just been what I was, the Force flowed more freely. It was as if the role I had created for myself had inhibited the flow, whereas abandoning the role brought me closer to it.

 

'Perhaps it is not for me to sculpt the Force's flow to my purposes, but for me be sculpted into that which more easily works with the Force.'

_________________

Edited April 13, 2012 by Guest

[Exodus]

• The endemic black swallow of space held onto a man too stolen from consciousness to even become aware of the state he was in. He made it out though; he conquered the enemies that swathed his corner of the universe and pressed them back. The rest was out of his hands.

”œWarning”” level 2 vessel detected. Reaction is imminent.”

[Guest]

"Impossible."

 

Rein nearly sneered. Obviously not. Despite the absurdity of the word, it was a truly fascinating spectacle before them. This structure seemed to be more droid than ship, but it was entirely so, and more appropriately was quite like some amalgamation of metallic limbs, in his opinion. A beast of steel. He found it...rather beautiful. The two insectoid creatures had finally extricated themselves from the ridiculous situation at the board, and were once again chattering behind his ear, with the only difference being the subject of their repulsive language. He spared a glance for them, and was close enough for it to have the effect of making them stumble over their course of thought.

 

"We're going to bring it in. Mel, move up against it starboard side, lightly now. Rein, hit to mini-grav, I want it coming in stable. It might have an alarm, so be ready."

 

Rein moved quickly back down the ramp and through the leftmost corridor, which brought him to their small hangar. More like a mini room that could fit a roughly one-man fighter, but it would likely fit this thing as well. He punched a sequence into a digital keyboard just inside the door and turned, expectantly, stepping back once so as to be behind the pressure door. When the hangar doors opened, it was nice and easy, without the eruption of outward air, considering that at that moment there was no oxygen in the room. The thing, some great beast, imprisoned for the moment, drifted in and set down gently, and then the doors closed behind it and another keyboard sequence from the outside let loose the oxygen into the room.

 

Rein found that he couldn't move. He wanted to, so truly wanted to step into that room and stand right before this thing, but something kept him rooted where he was, behind the translucent pressure door, behind an illusion of safety.

[ForceFusion]

Aerec took the datapad and found a place where he could study it alone. Having never had much of a formal education, he wasn't a very good reader and so, as he had at the Jedi base, he switched the thing to audio.

 

When the words first started coming out, he was so excited and curious that he realized he had no idea what he was expecting. The padawan was completely disoriented in the situation being described to him until he sat down and made himself concentrate. He figured out that it was probably some old Jedi talking about his training. Interesting. Hopefully useful.

 

The first time Aerec listened through it, he was surprised by the point the author was making. At first he'd thought it was just about listening to the Force during combat, an important point in itself. But when the author finished with the words about being sculpted instead of sculpting, Aerec was so taken aback that he listened to the whole thing over again.

 

It was then that he picked up that this Keiran Halcyon character must have been some heroic Jedi that the author looked up to, not the author himself. So, the thing that had been blocking the author's touch with the Force was his own dreams of heroism?

 

Did Aerec dream of being a hero? No, he realized. Aerec's dreams had always been minor: food, shelter, comfort, and love. He had all of them now and so he was sort of just along for the ride. He still didn't have a grasp of what it was to be a Jedi, still couldn't feel it within his grasps. Conversely, he also didn't know what it meant to be tainted by the dark side, as Darex often warned against.

 

But Darex had alluded to something that might have been blocking Aerec off from his use of the Force, and that this lesson might give him a clue. But Aerec didn't have dreams of heroism, nor did he really know what he wanted to use the Force to do. He had general ideas: he wanted to make society better so that no one ended up poor, begging orphans and no one had to live in the fear of men like Faust or this other Sith that seemed to have a bounty out on him.

 

Was that sculpting the Force verses letting the Force sculpt him?

 

He walked back to Darex with a purposefully skeptical squint in his eyes, an over-exaggeration of the slightly confused curiosity that was within him. "So...what am I supposed to be learning from this?" He had curbed his instinct to explode into a mass of questions and run-on sentences. "How do I know if my purposes are to the sculpting of the Force? Does the Force speak to me like a Master to an apprentice?"

[Darex Trevelian]

"Sometimes," Darex replied. "Some Jedi claim they can actually hear the Force speaking directly to them when they are in meditative states, often in the voice of an old friend, or someone they know that has died and become one with the Force."

 

He motioned for Aerec to sit down next to him. "I hate to sound like I'm quoting old dogmas at you, but you will know when you are at peace, centered in the Force. The point I want to emphasize from Keiran Halcyon's recollections is that he found he could most easily access the Force when he let go of his self. When you release your will, the Force fills you with it's will."

 

He leaned back and rubbed his goatee. "It's easy and natural to sculpt the Force to your purposes. You do it when you levitate objects, for example. But to let the Force sculpt you requires letting go of any particular desired outcome. That is why the Jedi always talk about not having fear. When you let go of what you want, the only thing you have left is what the Force wants, and if that demands your own life, then it's no matter, for you have let even your desire to survive a certain encounter disappear.

 

"It all comes down to faith, my young padawan. Faith that the will of the Force is ultimately the very best that can possibly happen."

 

Darex reached forward and scrolled down the datapad to a later entry. He wanted to discuss it next, and hoped that it would throw into light Aerec's struggle to break through to the full power of the Force. It was interesting, the Jedi thought, to see the similarities between Aerec and Halcyon, and he hoped that with further study of the ancient Jedi, Aerec could grow.

 

For now, though, he simply looked at the young man before him. "Does that make sense?"