Space

[Roene Givrah]

It took an hour or two of waiting in the cold Ossus morning, but now the fibers of passenger life met the Cerean again. It seemed only moments since he was on an aircraft bound to Ossus, waiting to see his old friend again. Now, in an odd turn of sorts, he was going to see his old friend; just, not in the way he initially expected. But that was a thought for another time. For now, he would muse to himself in the solitude of the moment and entertain the whims of his padawan until she exhausted her curiosities.

 

His thoughts turned toward his family on Cerea. He'd sent a number of messages to the planet in the hopes of getting some verification on the plague, but every response he received assured him that everything was fine. It was a queer idea, considering the panic that Mien'ma stressed the last time he'd seen her, but Roene would re-visit that stressor when time found him in better sorts. The Galaxy, however, felt... wrong. There was great trouble in the galaxy at large. The Cerean's musings wandered to the wounds and various points of concentration that he could feel from where he sat. And the more he wandered, the deeper his brow furrowed.

 

Bonds of old, cracked under the pressure and weight of power. And, as the stress of the galaxy tested the fissures, darkness moved to fill in the gaps.

 

We must hasten to Kashyyyk. The Jedi must tend to this. The imbalance will rise if no one is there to tend it.

[Skye Organa]

As they slipped into hyperspace on a mini jump Skye turned to Xae, “I have some news. I felt Darex return to us just after I felt Kirlocca’s passing.” They discussed this for a while before they reverted to real-space to send and receive messages and program in their new destination. Resuming contact with her droids on Serenity she was informed she had a few messages. The first message that she received had her smile light up her features as it was from Darex. She played it for Xae to hear.

 

Skye, my dear friend...I'm back. The Force has seen fit to return me to the galaxy.

I've been trying to get caught up on what's been going on, and I just saw that you were put on the Council. It's about time. I'm so glad for you.

I don't know where you are or what you are doing now, but I hope we can meet in person soon. I'm eager to see you again, and I'm sure you can fill me in much better as to what's been going on than the holonet can.

Your friend,

Darex

 

The next was regarding Kirlocca and was for both Jedi.

 

All allies and members of the Order, please proceed with all haste to Kachirho on Kashyyyk, to pay respects to our fallen Grandmaster on his ancestral home in three days’ time.

 

Turning back to Xae she murmured, “We will have to meet up with the Commissioner later. I’ll send him a message stating where we are headed and will give him the other information I have on Faust.” Skye composed the message, informing Xae at the same time while the Exorcist programmed the Navicomputer of their new destination… Kashyyyk.

 

++ Under heavy encryption, a Comm is sent to Commissioner E’lann from Jedi Masterhealer Skye Organa ++

 

Commissioner,

 

I will have to defer our debriefing as Xae and I have to attend Kirlocca’s memorial service on Kashyyyk. On a lighter note, Darex Trevelian has returned to us. I will be meeting up with him soon. I have no word if Onderin Starlisk has returned as yet. I will keep you informed.

 

The information I received from the Wraith was about Faust. I was informed that before Faust’s ship The Bhelliom was destroyed and he died at the Memorial, his cyberlink had “backed up” to a safehouse on Coruscant. He is cloning a real body to revive himself so he can draw his full spirit back to a living vessel. The Wraith spoke of two spirits holding him in the ‘Chaos of the Dark Side’ as he put it. The reason Faust wanted me was that he has been having problems with the clones not holding onto vitality. His darkside influence causes a rot that saps the vitality from these clones so he cannot currently perfect a clone to what he was before his demise. What we have been fighting are puppet vessels of his will. The wraith was unable to tell me where these clones were being created though warned that we must stop Faust from creating his perfected vessel. We are to ‘seek the puppeteer, the root of the malice and cut those strings. We are to find the Eyes of the Hunter’. It was in the process of telling me more when the wraith was pulled away.

 

I’m sure you will agree with me when I say I believe there was more to that little display Faust and the Dark Lord put on for us. I feel if we had remained on Onderon we all would have become prisoners of the Sith. I figured it was best leaving while they would let us so we could continue the fight from elsewhere. I will endeavour to meet with you after Kirlocca’s funeral.

 

May the Force be with you.

Skye

 

 

The Healer also sent a message to I-Nine and Flitter to head to Kashyyyk and stay away from Onderon. A third message was to her first former Padawan.

 

++ Comm to Darex Trevelian from Skye Organa ++

 

 

Darex,

 

I am so glad you are back with us. I have missed you dear friend. I am eager to meet with you as well. I am headed to Kirlocca’s memorial service and hope to see you there so we can catch up.

 

I have been hunting down leads in regard to Faust with Commissioner E’lann of CoreSec and another provisional agent, Lux. Xae also joined us on Onderon though the Sith showed up on mass so we had to leave while we could - I will fill you in once we meet.

 

May the Force be with You,

Skye

 

With the comm’s sent the shuttle again took a dive into hyperspace headed towards Kashyyyk.

[Tenebris]

Gentle fingers, much gentler than the firm grip they were accustomed to, reached for Lux's arms that cradled her head, seeming to draw her entire body into a cocoon in which she might be made whole. Intending to help her to stand, Tenebris stopped just millimeters shy of contact with the Thyrsian, the erratic energy of her trembling breaths almost tangible under his fingers before the Commissioner thought better of it. The pale skin of his hands glinted in the ship's artificial light and his mind stuttered back to the memory of his fingers clasping around her throat, desperate to wring the life from her.

 

Letting his arms drop to his sides, he instead folded his legs underneath himself to sit on the floor in front of her. He had come to clear the air with the Thyrsian whom he had wronged, but as confidently as he had entered, Tenebris now realized he had given no thought to what, in fact, he would say. The reassurances of a soldier did not seem poetic enough to soothe the wounds of a traumatized girl. Instead, he lapsed into facts.

 

"We're on our way to Coruscant," he murmured quietly. "Skye sent a message to say that she and her other Jedi friend are off somewhere else on Jedi business. She has some leads on Faust--the real Faust."

 

He exhaled intentionally once more, evaluating that he did, in fact, want to give her the option that had come to mind. Her descent into the palace had proven ineffective and foolhardy, but she alone of his men had found their way to stand face-to-face with the Hunter and make it out alive, regardless of the fact that it had merely been a facsimile of such an adversary. "If you'd like, I would be pleased for you to join my staff. I need to deliver a report to the Senate, and your assistance would be valuable to me. You're foolhardy, but you're one hell of a fighter. I can understand if you want nothing to do with me, though."

 

Looking askance, he racked his brain for delicate ways to approach the conversation but grew quickly impatient with the exercise. "What happened at the University was inexcusable. I don't expect your forgiveness. I don't know what it was, that trap that Van Isel left behind, but I assure you, it was never my intent to cause you harm." His voice was somber, solemn, syncing with the lullaby pulse of the ship's engines. "If you'd like, I'll happily drop you off at the central branch of the bank, and you can forget this ever happened; forget Onderon, forget me."

 

Sincere apology shone in his eyes, and almost as an afterthought, he added, "What do you need? What can I do?"

[Jaina Jade Skywalker]

Master Kirlocca was dead? She had seen the Wookiee Grandmaster twice before, once on Chandrila and once on Ossus, but the latter was so recent that she had to believe he had gone to his death mere hours after encountering Tirzah and her mother at the Temple on Ossus.

 

Her mother.

 

Had the girl been able to see in more than shades and shadows, Tirzah would have caught the reflection of her own Mustafar-red cheeks. She had neglected to tell her mother where she was going. How would she ever explain all that had happened in the time since Jaina had seen her last?

 

Uh, hi mom, I resurrected a Jedi Grandmaster while you were gone, guess I'm not a total failure as a Jedi.

 

Hey, I forgot to feed the ronto before you left, so I figured I'd come take care of it.

 

Thought you might have needed my help! Look who I found, by the way, the Trevelians were wondering if we could come over for dinner...

 

She ran a hand across her face. "Um, Master Darex? My mom is on Kashyyyk. Do you think... could you maybe..."

 

She trailed off, unsure how to phrase what she was asking for. With a heavy exhale, she sheepishly glanced up at the Master's face.

 

"I'd really love to not be in trouble."

[Lux]

A steady pool of silver built on the steel plates beneath her. Each new addition scored her face with further traces of lacrimal essence, coloring obsidian with a map of streaks and lines. It was difficult to see the pool through the space between her knees, but dim light illuminated the liquid from the various fissures left in her posture. The pool glinted when his pale visage entered and shuddered as his feet clattered on the durasteel. Grief and darkness held her head low. The mop of matted charcoal didn’t lift to greet him. Morose staccato breaths were all that acknowledged his presence. The Commissioner drew closer still, but something was different. As he neared the heaving mass of limbs, Lux could feel a shift in his energy. He was timid steps; slow gestures, and gentle hands. It was… out of place.

 

Even the warm tips of his fingers, hanging in the air and withholding the rage that sang so vividly before, felt wholly different. The thin skin of his digits drew close enough to disturb the air around her, sending rivulets of scalding sensation through her spine. But he stopped. Was he afraid?

 

Walking down a moonlit road with nothing but the light of stars to find her, demons of the past crowded around, trying to swarm. Specters, ghouls, crazed spirits, and whatever else haunted her mind, sang with familiar tunes, trying to undo her. Their words held power she couldn’t imagine. And yet, his was the worst of all. Among the crowd of wraiths, his eyes were all she could see. The fury came with memory and agony soon followed. His presence begat pain and more sobbing followed.

 

Still, Tenebris sat. Words were all he offered. And, to be fair, they were all he could offer. Each syllable crashed against her; a wave rocking against a crumbling pier. But, what could he do? This was all in her head. These were her demons. This was her fight. And she was sitting curled up on the floor like a frail vulnerable little thing. The Echani, used to fists and protocol, was given a fragile piece glass and asked to tend to it. It was natural to see his misgivings and confusion. And she, although strong in her own way, found herself trying to assemble a puzzle on the floor made up of nothing but corner pieces.

 

Lux could respect his tenacity. He was willing to attempt delicate negotiation which wasn’t something he did on a whim. Recollections from her time on Corellia told her that. But, the fact that he took care to console her, told her everything. The Echani was trying to approach her level and reason with the tumultuous insanity warring inside her brain. Yet, she couldn’t afford to look at him.

 

The contours of his face and the burning fire in his eyes etched themselves in the back of her mind and continued to stare at her with every passing moment. She didn’t want to look at him and confirm her nightmare or give power to her illusions.

 

However, the concessions felt terribly one-sided. A ranking official, in charge of hundreds of thousands, took the time to come to her and make sure she was doing okay. Lux stuck her face in the padded cloth of her tunic and sobbed, refusing to budge.

 

...and you can forget this ever happened; forget Onderon, forget me…

A shard of light pierced through the thick cloud in her mind. The Thyrsian’s heart skipped a beat as she sat and caused her to choke a little. Her expression sharpened, as if in insult, but softened when the genuine remorse of his words kicked in. Finally, not able to hold off anymore, Lux’s eyes met the Echani’s for the first time in almost a day. And, nothing. There was no crash of terror nor bursting of fire. It took her a moment to adjust to the dim light of the room. But when she did, she could see his silver eyes. Gone was the demon that sang with fire. All that remained was the boy who sparred with her two days ago. Youthful vibrancy crashed with a strong will and infallible sense of justice.

 

Before Lux could process the change, her heart stuttered. Another choked sob came and she struggled to breathe for a second or two. Everything was going way too fast. She couldn’t keep up. A mere breath away from his forgiveness and silence was her only answer. Lux opened her mouth to speak, but a void of thought left her with nothing to reply.

 

Instead, she reached out to his discarded left arm and pulled it, nervously rubbing the small black thumb of her right hand in the center of his white palm.

 

For a few moments, she sat, looking deep into his pale eyes; silent opia filling the gaping awkwardness of the moment.

 

When she did speak, she stuttered at first, trying to gather words together before stumbling. Her answer was wrought with hesitation and anxiety, but the Thyrsian mustered her strength. She returned his apology with as much acceptance as she could convey.

 

“I don’t think you can do anything. I spent the whole day being mad at you; terrified of you. I was trying to think of what I would say, trying to think how I would say it, but I couldn’t bring myself to think of anything. You’ve been on my mind more than anything else lately – ever since our sparring match. I didn’t know what it meant to me at the time, but I was buzzing with a weird feeling since then… I uh…

 

“And then. That. I can’t come close to describing what that felt like. But, knowing that someone who I thought I’d grown close to, could hurt me that much? It struck me to the core. It was scarier than Faust. It was scarier than standing toe-to-toe with the Dark Lord and facing death alone. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like it before.”

 

Lux turned away slightly, looking out toward the stars that glowed outside her viewport, then came back to Tenebris before continuing.

 

“But, I don’t think I could ever forget you. And I don’t want to. I was dying in that bank. Day after day I was fighting against archaic ideas of gender discrimination, I was combatting monotony and warring with my own lack of self-worth. But ever since I left that bank and came on this journey with you, I have figured out so much more about myself. I wouldn’t give it up for anything, even with the pain. After all, you know what they say about risks. ‘To know what life is worth, you have to risk it once in awhile.’”

 

A faint smile touched the corner of Lux’s face.

 

“I accept your apology, as much as I am able to. I don’t think these scars will heal quickly, nor do I think they will heal completely. But I am ready to accept that. Thank you, for coming to check up on me. And… I would be more than happy to join your staff if you’d have me; emotional wreck and all.” Lux added, with a slight chuckle at the end.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex let out a small smile. "I think I can put in a good word for you. But I'm not your parent so ultimately the decision is hers." The rest of the journey passed fairly quietly and a day later, they dropped out of hyperspace over Kashyyyk.

[Tenebris]

Looking at her was like looking at an Ansion pixie. Flighty and nervous, the twitch of her dark thumb more of a tic than a caress, Tenebris nevertheless kept his eyes trained on her. It required more effort than he would have liked to admit: keeping his demeanor soft, not military-crisp, was a foreign exercise. He didn't know what to make of her confession: feelings were not something he discussed openly, if ever, and to hear that he had been on repeat in the Thyrsian's mind brought a stunned query and apology to his lips, but since neither one was strong enough to win out, he remained silent. It was likely what she needed, just to process all the events that had happened at the start of the day; it had been a long and unforeseen series of unpredictable and dangerous crises.

 

Slowly, ever-so-slowly, as to avoid startling the alighted pixie, he moved his other hand to clasp her dark Thyrsian fingers in his own, gentle pressure of reassurance given from one to another. Unsure of the social protocol and what degree of the professionalism called for in the circumstance, he released them probably a little too quickly. Lux appeared to need a friend; he could not be that. But a sympathetic and understanding commanding officer could understand the waves of loss and grief that had rolled over her, from the death of her friends to his own betrayal on Onderon, to clutching the hand of the Dark Lord of the Sith.

 

That thought alone above the rest spurred him to action. There was so much to do. The Holonet was rife with accusations, with the crumbling of stability and peace, with doubt and warmongering and insecurity.

 

"We'll do this the formal way when we get back to Coruscant, but I'm assigning you the provisional rank of Lieutenant," he said finally, pushing himself up to his feet. "If you'd like to take the time to collect your things when we arrive on Coruscant, you're welcome to do so before you report back in. Mithwyr at least will be accompanying me to the Senate to deliver my report, but you are also welcome to come along, though you'll need to dress in CoreSec standard."

 

He glanced at his chrono, and awkwardly looked back to her, feeling that he should say something more but every tendril of thought seemed utterly at odds with the nature of the situation. Sensitivity was probably overrated anyways.

 

"Get some rest, we'll be on Coruscant soon," he murmured, and then he slipped out the door and disappeared with crisp footsteps down the hall.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Xae had remained silent in the aftermath of their retreat from Onderon, the events of her brief visit playing over and over again in her mind. Never before had she encountered the enigmatic and entropic entity known as Vladimir Faust, or anything Faust-adjacent as the construct had been. Her objective had been to render what aid she could to the Jedi who’d issued the distress call and she’d done just that. Then why did the event sit so hollowly with her?

 

As the ship was preparing for another mini-jump to hide their path from the Onderon system, the Jedi Master Xae had only ever remembered seeing from a distance turned to face her with the news and further evidence of the return of the previous Grandmaster, a man whose name carried great weight within her fragmented memories of the past. She was pretty sure she’d never met him before, either.

 

She merely nodded as she watched the nav computer running through its calculations as she wondered if Darex had been held in the same kind of Force-limbo Il-Andon had used to train her. The perennial push and pull of the will of the Force as it sought to find balance within itself made her wonder at the recent events in the galaxy.

 

First, there was her own return. Deposited in the wasteland that had once been the lush world of Gala seemingly just in time to assist Dahar, Tobias Vos, and Master Kirlocca in defeating the Monolith and becoming the full conduit of the Light Side that was needed to purge the beast from its existence borne from the scars left in the wake of the brutal attack that had been brought about by the Sith.

 

Il-Andon had warned her that she would be needed in the days to come once he’d sent her back into the galaxy proper. There was something that was pulling at the back of her mind regarding her own re-entry and the circumstances that followed in the wake of the battle against the Dark Side monstrosity. She just wished she could identify what it was.

 

Then there was Jaina, who’d admitted to Xae that she’d been brought back herself. The Jedi Knight considered what the woman - who was now summoning what remained of the Order to Kashyyyk to pay their respects to the now-fallen Grandmaster - had said regarding her own awakening. Jaina certainly wasn’t what most would have considered being a pure Light Side representative, far from it, in fact. Yet, in the short time that Xae had known her, she’d come to trust Jaina enough to guide the woman through her trials to Knighthood.

 

Jaina had led her to the unlikely meeting of Master Quietus, a man she’d admitted fearing due to his obsession with her. The man she’d met had been quite different from the monster that had haunted Jaina through her trial visions. Whatever Xae had come to expect of a Sith Master, she had to admire Quietus’s honor when it came to looking out for those he cared for.

 

She wished that they would have had a chance to speak more about this Cult that had surfaced and seemed to be moving in the shadows of the galaxy toward pursuit of whatever nefarious and dark purpose that had left even the Warrior King of the Sith thirsty for vengeance and a desire to shut them down as they skulked through the stars in search of whatever knowledge would bring about their desired ends.

 

Spending a month within the walls and especially the library of a Sith temple dedicated to all sorts of knowledge had given Xae an interesting perspective when it came to her last orders from Tobias. Emily, the Sith Mistress whose family owned and operated the temple, had said that this Cult of Morthos had not only raided her home, but also the library of an associate of hers as well. The cargo that Emily had brought forth from her ship had come from yet a third Sith source and had included some materials recovered from some of the Cultists themselves. Xae had, in her possession, the very book that the zealots had supposedly used to wrest Quietus himself from the grip of the grave and, through some sort of mistake, bringing back Jaina as well.

 

Now she’d seen one of Faust’s foul constructs with her own eyes and heard from the Jedi Healer that, from whatever Limbo Faust’s fetid soul had found himself in, the vile villain was attempting to cheat death once more of its spoils.

 

Now Darex Trevelian was back among the living and likely headed to the dense forests of Kashyyyk as she and Skye were now. She was starting to lose track of all the threads of the tapestry the Force was weaving before her. She was starting to get a headache.

 

I really should meditate more, she mentally sighed, growing weary of the weight of her mental wanderings for the moment.

 

“You said that you got your information from these Wraiths,” the Exorcist began, her turquoise eyes skeptically eyeing the Healer. “You seem to know a lot about Faust, Master Organa. I take it he’s an old enemy?”

[Raia Montar]

The departure of Raynuk and Raia from the Sith Temple proceeded without any further interruptions from the temple acolytes and servants, as the pair, followed relatively closely by the two massive tuk’atas, kept a brisk pace back to the Ravenhammer. They boarded, finding that 2V had already prepped the ship for departure, its shape soon lifting from the ground and out of the docking bay.

 

Once they were under way, slipping through hyperspace toward the coordinates Emily provided, Raia excused herself to get some much-needed rest from all that had happened during their short visit to the Sith Capital world. She’d fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, pure exhaustion taking her.

 

Her sleep should have been peaceful. Her slumber should have been dreamless. The Force owed her that much, she felt. The Force had other plans for her, it seemed.

 

Waking with a start, she drew her covers around her and felt the hard surface of the cast when she pulled her knees closer and rested her head on her arms. As she attempted to draw on the Force to calm herself like Emily had shown her, she found herself drawing back from the turbulent flow as the churning energies threatened to sweep her up and drown her within their midst once more.

 

Still unsettled, she rose to her feet, bringing the blanket with her, and stepped out of her cabin in search of her father’s guidance and stabilizing presence.

[Raynuk Montar]

As a few hours had passed since their departure, Raynuk had spent the first hour or so in the cockpit with 2V, discussing not only the comm messages he had received, but the bounty, and Raia’s injury as well. Eventually though, Raynuk had grown tired, and opted to attempt to get some rest of his own, retreating to his own quarters. Initially, the visage of Emily in her comm message to him still troubled him, but almost as soon as he attempted to find rest, a wave of dull pain hit him. If he had not already been laying down, the rush of pain might have take his legs out from under him, or at least cause a stumble. But as it were, Raynuk suddenly flopped onto his back and grunted and gasped in response. A pounding headache that nearly made him nauseous and the familiar pain in his ribs that made the simple task of breathing harder both caused the room to swim for a few moments. It was bad enough that he almost didn’t feel the dull, ghostly pain that tore through his arm and ankle, as though old war wounds were coming back to haunt a soldier during the rainy seasons.

 

By the time Raia emerged from her own room, blanket pulled around her, Raynuk had given up on attempting to find rest in the wake of the pain he was still dealing with. As it had happened before, he had realized almost instantly that it was the pain of Jaina he was suffering, even light years away. He of course had no idea where in the galaxy she was, or what the hell had just happened to her, but from experience -- on both sides even -- he knew it would take more than whatever had happened to put Jaina on the ropes. Instead, once the initial nausea had worn off, he rose and had returned to the common area of the ship, still nursing a nasty headache.

 

After stopping by the med bay to grab some painkillers, he he had retrieved all the books, scrolls and tomes that Raia had requested from the library on Korriban, and over a mug of something cold and dark, was attempting to distract himself by going over what information was contained within, while Vex’aedr snored softly at his feet under the table. A Sith Master he indeed was, he was smart enough to know that there was information he did not possess; especially when it came to giving Raia the kind of proper training he felt she deserved. That was a big part of why he had suggested that she become Draken’s apprentice. But if he could teach her things in the meantime, he would attempt to do just that. And reading up on the very texts he had suggested she study and learn, could only help in that regard.

 

He looked up from one of the books at the sound of bare feet sliding on the floor, his eyes falling to the teenager. As it appeared to be an evening of repeating occurrences, he could see from the look on her face that sleep and rest had eluded her as well, but for a much different reason. There was a slight frown that crossed his face before he spoke.

 

“You had another vision.” He said, not asking it as a question, then stood and waved her over to the table, while he turned to walk to the galley. He returned a few moments later with another mug, this time of hot tea, setting it on the table in front of where she had sat, and simply waited.

[Raia Montar]

She nodded as he sat the tea down in front of her, but didn’t immediately reach for the warm mug, chewing her lip instead. Her mouth opened and her lips tried to form words a few times before ultimately failing. There was still so much that she didn’t understand, that she couldn’t find the words to explain, so she settled for standing and wrapping her arms around her father. The echoes of fear were eclipsed by her own uncertainty and confusion.

 

She felt his arms enfold her which seemed to help her find her words again. “I don’t understand why they come. It’s worse when I don’t understand what they show me.” She drew back and held out her injured arm, “I can’t draw like this and even after practicing what Alora showed me, I can’t make pictures like she can.”

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk nodded, considering for a moment before he answered. “Alora has had a lot more time to train and practice than you have; that is why she is so good at it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do something similar.”

 

He took her hands and stepped back, sitting back down in his chair with her standing before him. It was time for another lesson he thought to himself.

 

“What Alora can do, is project what she wants others to see, into their minds. Because she is a Master, she can do this -- especially to someone willing -- without even touching them. You saw how she pulled the memory from Karys, my former apprentice, and showed them to us all. We were all willing to take in that information. But Alora can also forcefully impart her power on someone as well; to make them see things that are not really there. But that is a lesson for another time.”

 

He shook his head slightly with a smirk, knowing he had gotten off topic. “A lot of Force users can show things to others through the Force; that is kind of how we speak to one another through it. We project our own voice outward, finding the mind of another, and putting our voice and the words that carry it into their mind. Projecting images and pictures is not much harder, especially to someone willing to accept them.”

 

As if to prove his point, he reached up and placed his hands on Raia’s temples. “Close your eyes, and just like we did on Coruscant, I want you to open your mind; not to the Force as a whole, but rather towards me. Find me in the Force, and focus on it.”

 

Once she had done as he suggested, and he felt the slightly prodding feeling of her at the border of his own consciousness, he connected his mind with hers.

 

Very good meita… Now watch… His voice came to her mind.

 

Slowly at first as to not overwhelm her, Raynuk projected not his voice, but images, towards her.

 

The exterior of the Ravenhammer…

 

The robotic face of 2-VSH…

 

A giant black paw that could only belong to Roe’gall…

 

An image of Raia herself, curled up between the two tuk’atas, all asleep…

 

The hospital room on Corellia…

 

Tirzah’s young but bright face…

 

Opening the door to the room where Tirzah’s mother lay…

 

Raynuk, almost too quickly, pulled his hands from Raia’s temples. There was a momentary pause before his real voice returned.

 

“Just… uhm, just like that. I think you can do that too Raia. I want you to try it. Do the same thing.”

 

He took her hands again, only this time he guided them to either side of his own head, at his temples.

 

“Just like before… reach out, and find me. Connect with me….”

 

This time he closed his own eyes, trusting the Force. Eventually, he again felt her presence nearing his, bouncing around like an unsteady bird just at his periphery.

 

“Good good… now, focus… focus on what you saw, what you felt, and push it towards me. It may be hard, but don’t give up. Keep pushing.”

[Raia Montar]

Her hands were shaking slightly as she did her best to relax and turn some of the frenetic energies to her advantage. For a few moments, there was conflict within her as she continued to struggle in reconciling her visions with her own willingness to share them with someone who might help her understand better.

 

Her hands fell away from him for a moment while she summoned the will to fight against the deeply rooted instincts she’d built around running. What she was about to show him was not pleasant, but she knew that she’d promised him she was done running from the things that scared her. The Warrior King’s daughter did not run.

 

She took a few more deep breaths before placing her hands back on his temples, feeling her pulse and his with her fingertips. The heart beats gave her a focus and reassured her that he was right there with her. She wouldn’t have to face the images alone this time.

 

A city leveled and burning, it’s architecture an unrecognizable mass of materials and what remained of the landscape could have placed the scene in any number of locations across the galaxy

 

Great ships floating broken and beaten in the blackness of space among those still dancing in death closer to a spinning world.

 

An alabaster coffin that lay open to reveal a man of great importance, lying in state as a multitude of mourners of all species stood in reverent lamentation of his passing.

 

Raia standing over a body, a bloody knife in her hand and a strangely satisfied smirk on her face.

 

A forested city falling to the dark and misty forest floor, where the trees were impossibly tall. Jaina falling with it.

 

With a shudder she broke contact with him and stepped back a few paces to the couch and sat down, not wanting to look at him after having revisited each of the visions.

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk’s eyes opened slowly after Raia stepped back, his expression initially neutral as he thought about what he had just been shown as he crossed the room to meet her as she curled up into an upright ball of Raia and blankets on the sofa. He had expected a singular vision, but now knowing that Raia had seen several different things worried him slightly. He pushed that worry aside however, deciding to focus on the context of the images instead.

 

The destroyed city was unrecognizable, capable of being located in any modern city on any number of planets, and the scene could be past, present, or future for all he knew. So too was the space battle vague of identifying details, possibly belonging to the same battle as the first. The third image shared by Raia however, was at least moderately more detailed. The scene itself was one he had seen before, reserved for mourning periods following the death of someone the galaxy -- or a planet at least -- considered to be significantly important. This one specifically, Raynuk recognized; The man lying in the white coffin, was the Head of State of the current Galactic Alliance.

 

It seemed the images only grew more concerning from there. The image of Raia standing over a body, a bloody knife in her hand and an oddly disconcerting smirk on her face made him suddenly realize how quickly Raia’s innocence and youth were likely to be torn from her as a Sith. While he wouldn’t speak it, he could not help but feel a stab of regret for that fact. The last image however, was equal parts concerning and insightful. Having been to Kashyyyk before himself, he recognized the architecture that made up the falling forested city that was distinct to the planet. The fact that Jaina was visible falling with the city itself as well, gave him an amusing amount of insight into the ghostly pains he could still feel through their shared connection.

 

At least I know what happened… and that she’s still alive.

 

With the entire scenes that were just laid out before him processed, he peeked down, attempting to find her eyes that she was attempting to divert from his. She was still struggling with shying away at times, and so instead of waiting for her to look at him or lifting her chin so she would have little choice but to do so, he stood from his seat at the table and crossed to the couch, sitting beside her before he took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

 

“Destruction, war, and death… That is what you have seen meita. Although I do not have any more concrete answers about most of what you have seen.” He spoke softly to her.

 

“Like what happened on Dathomir, but worse?”

 

He nodded, the gesture likely visible even as Raia still avoided his eyes. “Yes, likely so. Dathomir was little more than wanton destruction from afar, and likely the city you saw has, or will, suffer the same fate. The image of the battle in space was… cloudy, even for me, but it showed full scale war; two sides -- be it militaries, planets, or entire governments -- pitting their might against each other, with little care for anything else.”

 

Her gaze flitted to his for a moment before she uncurled herself from where her knees had been tucked into her chest, instead folding them under her as she tugged his hand slightly toward the couch. As he sat beside her, the girl hugged his arm and rested her head against his shoulder. “Do you think that will mean we will fight the Jedi? What about Jaina and Tirzah? Is this what the cult wants? Why does this happen? I don’t want to cause a war...”

 

He squeezed her hand again, silently smirking a little as she spouted off another series of questions. These ones at least, he could give answers to.

 

“There will always come a day when the Sith fight the Jedi again, regardless of what we as individuals do; such is the nature of the two orders. But while open war with the Jedi, or the Imperials, or the Galactic Alliance may be inevitable and set in stone, we get to decide how, when, and where that war becomes ours.” He began trying to explain the complexities of what was to come.

 

“But won’t you have to fight when and where Master Exodus tells you? Isn’t that your job as the Warrior King? Why do the Sith and Jedi hate each other? You and Jaina certainly don’t and I don’t hate Tirzah for being Jedi.”

 

He leaned his own head against hers for a moment. “I know meita… I know. And that is what makes you a better person than a lot of Jedi and Sith. For them, they see nothing more than the order to which they belong. And no, you’re right; I don’t hate Jaina… But there was a time, many many years ago, before you were even born, that I did hate her. With all my fire and soul. But in the end, I hated who I had turned into because of her. I hated Tirzah’s father, who was a Jedi, simply because he had Jaina’s love. I hated Jaina’s Jedi Masters, for they had Jaina’s loyalty. My hatred came from losses within myself, not from who Jaina was.”

 

He straightened his head again as he continued. “The Sith have earned the Jedi’s distrust and wrath. One side destroys a temple, or kills a prominent Master, and for the other, there is no solution other than to attempt to remove the offenders from the galaxy. It is a constant game of back and forth. As for me having to fight…”

There was a pause and a sigh. “Exodus is the Dark Lord of the Sith. Where he commands, the Sith go, and the Sith do as he commands. I am the Warrior King, head of the Warrior path, not simply because Exodus demands it of me, but because I accept and trust his leadership. In the end, I will fight not simply because he demands it, but because I believe it to be necessary as well. I can not protect Jaina and Tirzah against the Sith; we must trust them to be capable of defending themselves, much as they can not protect us from other determined Jedi.”

 

He squeezed her hand tighter as he spoke next, “But I promise, I will not hurt either of them.”

[Raia Montar]

Raia grew quiet again as she processed the reality that faced them. “If you trust Master Exodus, then I will too, but I won’t fight Tirzah,” she yawned, then added,“ or her mother.”

She took a couple of deep breaths and then settled against him as she wrapped back up in her blanket. “Can I stay with you, Tētis?” She wasn’t sure how to voice it, but she didn’t want the nightmares or visions to return and she hoped that his presence would keep them at bay.

 

Though she likely couldn't see it, a smile crossed his face as he answered. “Sure. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere.”

 

He reached out with the Force towards the table, snatching the book that he had been reading off of it as it floated across the room and into his hand. Vex’aedr had woken up at some point he noticed, but had remained lying down by the table, simply watching Raia and Raynuk as they spoke. Raynuk made a short chirp of a whistle and patted the arm of the couch on the other side of him from where Raia was curled up against him, and Vex rose and crossed the gap. The tuk’ata curled up at Raynuk’s feet again, this time resting his head on Raynuk’s leg, silently watching again as Raynuk fell back into quietly reading the book. Soon enough, however, the white tuk’ata was softly snoring again, and not long after, Raia’s breathing had slowed as well, a sign that she too had fallen back asleep.

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk had not realized that slumber had overtaken him as well until a sharp metal hand poked him hard in the forehead, jolting him awake in as startling of a fashion as was possible. Instantly on alert, he calmed almost as fast as 2-VSH straightened back up to his full height.

 

<>

 

There was a pause as 2V seemed to think. <>

 

Raynuk nodded and grunted, blinking twice to chase the last of the sleep from his senses. He realized Raia was no longer curled up next to him, hugging his arm as she had been when she fell asleep beside him. Instead, he noticed she was sitting at the table where he had been hours before, in the middle of reading one of the other books they had brought with them. The girl had apparently been awake long enough that she changed clothes, now wearing a fairly simple white sleeveless dress, a stark contrast to the color of her hair, which was falling down around her shoulders instead of her usual braids. Vex’aedr was likewise no longer snoring at his feet, as Raynuk caught sight of a shock of white fur disappear around a corner on the other end of the room.

“Guess I’m the last one sleeping…” He muttered to himself.

 

He should not have been surprised to find that the phantom pain in his arm, ankle and ribs was still present as he tore himself from the couch and stood once more. Wordlessly he crossed to stand behind Raia, looking over her shoulder at the text she was currently enveloped in. He paused there for only a few moments before continuing on past her and towards the cockpit where 2V had already returned to.

 

He slipped into the pilot’s seat, and exactly on 2V’s earlier countdown, the Ravenhammer lurched back into realspace over the fourth moon of a beautifully blue gas giant; Rish’navin. For a good long while, Raynuk simply admired the beauty offered by the planet and its moon, helpless as his mind began to wander into stray thoughts.

 

So this is where she went when she felt like she hit rock bottom… I can see it’s appeal.

 

Though he still felt the embers of anger towards Emily for certain things, time and the realization that she might have been broken far worse in his absence had turned what was once an inferno into the forgotten coals of a neglected fire. He glanced back towards the general direction of the common area, wondering if he should have shared his concerns and suspicions with Raia.

 

The question was removed fast as he steeled his resolve and his conviction; he did not know for sure, and his suspicions were simply that until proven one way or the other. His gaze turned to 2V, who he realized was staring at Raynuk.

 

“What?” He asked defensively.

 

<>

 

It was still weird to hear sarcasm come from such a robotic voice, and this was one of the few times when it was not appreciated. Raynuk muttered slightly, and then kicked in the engines, moving the Ravenhammer steadily towards Rish’navin.

[Skye Organa]

Skye looked out at the blue and white streaks of hyperspace for a moment before shifting her gaze back to Xae, “Yes, Faust is an old enemy. We’ve crossed paths many times in the past. I even healed him once." The Healer shook her head as if she couldn't believe she'd done that back then, "As for the spirits, while Tenebris and I were in the crypts beneath the Onderonian Palace the spirits of the long dead Sith contacted us. Their hatred of Jedi was obvious so I was surprised that they didn’t attack us but gave us information instead. They allied with us because we were attempting to stop Faust.” Skye paused a moment before continuing, “Their words were…” her eyes closed in concentration to recall their conversation.

“Beware, the Hunter stirs once more.

His soul and body were one in the end, both cast into the pits of Chaos and Hell, scattered in the Darkness.

His mind now runs across the stars, awakened by other dwellers in the Darkness who called him False.

He seeks to restore himself to his full powers, the powers he wielded at the moment of his final defeat.

This must not come to pass or all will be ruined. The Zero-Wound was healed, but he stirs the fires of chaos.

His Legacy of Blood must be destroyed! The Eyes of the Hunters must be blinded!

Do this and victory will forever be beyond his grasp, his soul never to reform again!“

 

Opening her eyes once more, the Healer met the eyes of her companion. We captured one of Faust’s minions soon after that encounter. Once we were back in the square his construct confronted us. I fell prey to one of Faust’s tricks. I realised too late that he had unleashed a Sonic attack. It was while I was unconscious that the Wraith appeared to me telling me that Faust must be stopped.” As Xae had heard the other details Skye had put in her report to the Commissioner she didn’t rehash it, her thoughts going back over what the first spirits had told her. “The others they spoke of are that Cult of Morthos… what can you tell me about them?”

[Drilcea]

As the hold on her disappeared her anger reappeared, though now it didn’t seem quite so important. She was struck by her teacher’s next words. Master. The word almost sat like bile in her throat and she nearly sneered but she’d agreed to ‘any terms’ so she swallowed her resentment at the word and took a steadying breath.

 

She listened to the one-sided conversation and nearly jumped when words were directed at her. Without really thinking, letting her curiosity get the better of her, she asked, “Where are we going?”

[Tobias Vos]

Vos reached out, feeling the Force- flowing through him. His breath- in and out easily. Steady, but with purpose. He was sitting on his bed, or he was hovering above it in typical Jedi fashion. Leaving the door unlocked, but closed the room was sweltering hot once again, Vos’s bare chest was moist with perspiration as he concentrated on reforging his lightsabers. The emitter had broken against DuVos’s face, and the whole hilt was cracked. It was a rushed process from last time, so it wasn’t what he was after- it was flawed. It was only a matter of time before it broke, and he had to reforge anyways. He didn’t mind, it was time to take a minute and just… breathe. As the tiny pieces of metal came into place and fused into one another. Pouring light side energy into the saber- the blue hue filled the room.

 

It was a staff hilt he was forging, with a few extras imbedded in the hilt. Mixing the viridian crystal with the crystal from his old lightsaber and the other crystals that he had come into possession over the years- perks from Sarah’s field trip to Rhen Var- he crafted the viridian blade as the primary- and the other side of the hilt- covered up by even more metal to create the base of the hilt- if the second blade was activated it was incinerate the bottom half of the staff, and all the other gizmos that were in the hilt- first was a stokhli spray stick for twelve inches-significantly less than the regular hunter weapon, then was a five inch cartridge for an electrical tazer, and at the base was a detachable smoke bomb, a beckon-call… at least it was all in theory. But most of it was all set, just the positioning of the second crystal- the viridian one. The top of the staff- under close inspection would reveal that it was a light saber.

 

Off to the side- there was another lightsaber rotating as a blue crystal was placed in the hilt, as well as yellow crystal in another hilt. The other two were the single crystal, traditional variety. Nothing fancy. On the holoscreen was the recorded conversation between him and the former Grandmaster. There the wookiee was, giving Vos the orders to remain the Jedi Shadow, and agree with Dahar on appointing him a master and part of the council. No doubt it would be a very enlightening conversation when he got to Kashyyyk.

 

Neither worry nor dread crept into his mind, the mind had to be focused, especially with as complex this telekinesis was. A hundred other matters pressed into his mind- but did not creep further in, he held those thoughts at bay. Chal’lar and Tut were to meet them at Kashyyyk, Tom as well, the ships were positioned safely, so why was he so worried about this funeral and seeing the Jedi there. The Force was the only thing on his mind, and his desire to help the people of the galaxy.

 

Sandy was off doing her own thing, but Adenna was- oh. He silently acknowledged where she was going and what she was going to say. The crystal rotated slightly in the hilt and fell to a rest. The task was done, almost. Just a few more pieces of metal to cover- then the knock came. The two standard lightsabers floated to the drawing table and fell to a gentle rest. From there, he opened the door with the Force, and guided the saber over a bit- inspecting his work. Blinking once, slowly, he guided it to the table as well, but this time resting it from the floor to the table top. The holoscreen showed the muted conversation between he and Kirlocca a few days ago, blinked out. His half hidden eyes allowed the staff to rest on the table.

Lowering his body to the bed- a small standard inch- he remained cross legged. Closing his eyes, he felt the air run in and out of his body. His legs were covered in typical Jedi robes while his chest was bare, and still moist. He knew who it was before he even opened his eyes. In a slightly frosty tone, but still respect full- “You do earn points to a dramatic reunion. I would ask you to explain, but I feel like I already know the answer.”

 

His face was still bloodied a bit from the kick to the head, but otherwise he was fine. He just wasn’t opening his eyes, but when he did, he looked her over. A small hint of a smile tried to creep onto his face, but fatigue did play a small role in his demeanor. This wasn’t the time for prancing around the nerf herd, he got to the point- catching her up on all the stuff she had missed, who what where when, basically. All the while still holding that same Jedi Meditation pose. After he finished he got up and filled two glasses of high quality H20, and passed her one through the Force. After a sip, he listened to Adenna and her reasoning’s behind what had just happened on Catnip- it was also doubly implied that he really didn’t want to talk about DuVos or Sarah- too much was already on his mind. He sat down and let her speak- he was patient enough, and wanted to hear her voice.

[Sandy Sarna]

Meditation had never been her strong suite, the fear of touching that howling darkness had always been there when she had calmed down long enough to try to meditate. Usually some jedi would recite the code as a mantra to help them enter a state of meditation, but Sandy just sat down with her legs underneath her on the dirty floor of the mechanics shop of the YT-2000. The freighter, while manned, was not overly loud, the other two jedi on board seemed to keep themselves quiet. Unless they were...Sandy didn't want to think about that. Every so often, the ship would tremor from a near miss of solar wind or stars. Distantly she could feel a mix of emotions from the other Jedi on board, and could feel their conversation, but she knew that was all too distracting. Slowly she filtered that noise out, reaching into her core to find the balance that she had felt only a little while before. That peace, love, and pure force high would be something that she would be chasing the rest of her life. Likely with mixed results. But she knew that is was better to know and have felt it then to be forever wandering in search of an intangible ‘light side.’ She had a goal, and she would find it. Someday.

 

Her breathing slowed to a crawl as she sat cross legged on the cold durasteel, the chipped white painted surface seeping away at the warmth of her bare feet and legs. She lay Fynn Relmis’s lightsaber in front of her and concentrated on it. One by one the retention screws pulled out of the handle and the device fell into its separate chunks. The emitter, crystal, battery, housing, buttons, and power assembly laying exposed against the white background. As she concentrated on the force and feeling its fleeting will, she cleaned the housing thoroughly, wiping away grease from decades of use. When she wiped away the first layer of grime she could feel a distant darkness at her fingertips. The ghosts of the past lay in that handle. She touched them with the force, and saw atrocities unnumbered in a blink of an eye. She didn’t turn away, instead confronted the memories in the handle, instilled by its former master, and banished them. Slowly she let the lightside of the force use her as a conduit to clean the darkness away like she had wiped away the physical grease from before. It took a great deal of effort to scourge every bit of the saber of that shadowy darkness. Burning it away like a plasma torch through diseased flesh. The crystal itself was bound to its old master so tightly that she had to discard it entirely. She cracked it with a push of telekinesis, and let it crumble away to dust between her palms. Forever gone was that Jedi. And sadly, the galaxy would be far better for it.

 

She blew the dust away with a slow exhale through pursed lips and then began the process of finding another crystal. While still in meditation Sandy summoned a Fusion furnace from its harness below the hyperdrive and lay it down in front of her. Igniting it, she began to focus on the fusion mass that was contained in the core and drawing heavily on the force, she began to manipulate it. Manipulation was not a natural Jedi talent, so she worked without changing. Using the natural combination of elements within the core she willed them to form in natural patterns along the walls of the cylinder. A process that was known as crystalling that was the bane of most fusion mechanics. As the little radioactive crystals began to form from the gas, she filled the little furnace with the light side of the force. Bleaching it with light and love.

 

Many hours later, she held a white crystal in her pale hand. It was not a pure crystal by any means, though no longer radioactive, the effect of the lanthanum isotopes inside the furnace had left the crystal imperfect, jagged, but lovely. Just like her. There was no darkness, no voices, no terror left.

 

She assembled the lightsaber and with whispered prayers the blade emerged with a flick of the main switch. A pure glowing white. Not a Durindfire silver, but a beautiful flowing white. She deactivated it and pulling slightly on the force to be able to unstiffen her howling legs, she went to find her fellow knight, Adenna.

[Adenna Alluyen]

Once making sure Sandy was settled and not in any sort of danger of relapse into darkness, Adenna centered herself and began catching up on some Galactic events from articles downloaded from the Holonet before they made the jump to hyperspace. She sensed that now wouldn't be an opportune time to approach Tobias, but that would come. While she studied what had happened, she pondered a great deal of things, namely how she fit into things now that she wasn't running around Thalassia. She needed to know where she fit among the Jedi, how she would follow the Light, and where it may guide her.

 

She was confident in her assessment of Sandy's spiritual and emotional readiness, but knew the young woman needed to prove herself to other Jedi. Now, though, Adenna had complete confidence that it was no longer a matter of if Sandy would become a Jedi Knight, but when. She wished her confrontation could have been more controlled, but for it to be effective, she needed to spring it unexpectedly and when Sandy herself was at her lowest. Only at that breaking point could the young woman's true self emerge. Any planned test would have put her on guard and let her continue to fool herself with her darkest emotions. It had been a risk, but one that had paid off and left her apprentice stronger for it.

 

Regarding Tobias: he had not immediately resorted to anger or outrage, but instead embraced the Light and sought calm and serenity. Further, he stood against his own mirrored image and stopped the Abomination and its partner. She wasn't sure what to do with them, but she did not believe it was wise to allow the Abomination to continue living. Sarah was a different matter altogether, but that was something that was Tobias' responsibility.

 

At last, when she grew tired of reading and felt the time was right, she approached Tobias' quarters. They were steamy and needed a good airing out, but she had faced worse. Tobias was not unpleasant to look at in his current state, but that was not her purpose yet. They had a lot to catch up on and so they did. They talked for a good deal about a great many things. Many pieces of his actions began to fit together in her mind and she couldn't help herself but be a bit impressed at the skill and forethought he used in building the Jedi forces. She was glad that he was serving the Light rather than the Darkness.

 

When they were done, she quickly admired his work. His larger weapon was quite the curiosity, but seemed to be a bit too much for her tastes. She preferred her simple wood lacquered hilt with its normal and stun settings, but to each their own. Her admiration of Tobias' handiwork eventually turned into admiration of the man's body. Still, he was quite unpresentable in his current state. Being covered in sweat wasn't exactly her thing, and the injuries on his head needed tending to.

 

After summing up her reasoning and explaining her past with Jidai Geki and the nanites, she smiled at him. "If you wish, I can quickly heal your head. It wouldn't take much, and it might help you learn more about healing itself. When we are finished and you are healed up, perhaps a shower? If you are particularly nice, I may even continue to tend to you there..."

[Tobias Vos]

He was glad to let it all out- as if the flood gates on the dam were lowered and the rising sense of relief and peace rose up to take the place of getting it all off his chest. As he and Adenna spoke, he moved about, setting his staff on the drawing and drafting table, along with the other two hilts, his three commlinks and a stack of datapads and datachips, basic house keeping things really. It was a routine thing- just to occupy his hands while they were talking- but there were metal shavings across the room and it wouldn't be good to step on, or lay down onto the metal shavings that could cut and infect the wound.

 

With the back of his thumbnail he wiped the last bit of blood away from his nose, he flicked it away. Moving towards his guest, he took the glass from Adenna's hands, refilling them with water. He listened to her offer to help him heal his head- and let her words hang there. Finding amusement in her last words, he turned and smiled towards her. Something in his force-signature snapped, but in a good way. The room was small and with two full gown adults it only took two steps to reach her. The whole process was very fluid and graceful- but his hands came up to her face and he pressed his lips against hers. It was as if all the years of tension were finally lit aflame. The feelings were powerful, but at the same time it was gentle and passionate. The woman in his embrace had steered him onto this path and her words of praise and faith in him realize he finally did it- he had come so far from when she found him to right now. All the years of trying to win her over came down to this moment, but he knew the battle for her affection was over.

 

Tobias didn't hold back. Holding her seemingly fragile head in his hands, he felt himself smile as he kissed her again, letting the years of passion flow through him. He was downright to his core- happy and he made no attempt to hide that- physically or through the Force.

[Sandy Sarna]

The cold metal of the ships’s deck felt majestic to feet that were nearly always kept in the confines of boots. As she padded through the twisting hallways of the YT-2000, past the gunnery emplacements in their recessed laddered wells, and finally to the master suite. She knew it would be best to knock first, especially if they were in healing trances so she extended her presence into the room and felt their joy echoing through the metal room. Happiness from Vos? How strange but wonderful! She didn’t know and slapped the entry button, whisking open the unlocked door and stepped in with a gri-

Oh

 

Oh shite

 

She looked down at the floor scattered with clothing and backed out of the room using the force to close it behind her. Leaving them to their now uninterrupted passions. That would be an awkward conversation later on. She wrinkled her nose and let out a giggle. Good for them.

 

The hyperdrive alarm beeped loudly from the abandoned cockpit and gave her the perfect excuse to run away from the situation.

 

((To Kashyyyyyyyyk))

[Adenna Alluyen]

Adenna relished the joy she felt coming from Tobias and allowed herself to smile as he kissed her. Even though he was sweaty, she didn't care. She let down the walls she had always kept erected between the two of them and allowed him in for the first time.

 

It didn't take long for them to end up on his bed sans clothes but she didn't want to let the feeling pass by. She could sense many of his emotions and thoughts and did not attempt to hide her own mind from him. He wasn't a perfect man, but she wasn't completely righteous herself. Her own past was filled with darkness and tough decisions that not all of the Jedi might be particularly fond of if they knew. Perhaps that was why she had been attracted to a man with a questionable past such as Tobias. Maybe they were meant for each other, or maybe one of them would stumble and find themselves facing the other in a final, deadly conflict. It was irrelevant: all that mattered now was each other, the moment they were in, and the joy and passion they shared.

 

After they were finished and things cooled down a bit, she vaguely recalled Sandy's interruption. She didn't much care: passion wasn't a thing to be ashamed of as long as it was fueled by love and joy rather than hatred and vengeance. She would not hide from her decisions any more than she had before. Hopefully, though, this time would not result in a pile of bodies and a not so small crater on a burning moon. She hoped that the two of them would grow stronger together and face the Galaxy's evil as one.

 

The reversion from hyperspace signaled an end to their time, but there would be others. As she dressed, she noticed some of the metal filings on the floor. "Before we head out," she said as she put on her boots and, while reaching down, calmly pressed her hand onto the floor, "we need to discuss how ready Sandy is to be presented to the other Jedi." She felt several small bits of durasteel dig into her palm and continued to speak as she used a touch of the Force to cause the metal filings to pass through her skin into the small veins and arteries. "She is ready emotionally and spiritually, but I am not sure how much of her physical and combat skills you have been working on." After just a few seconds, the small cuts on her palm had already healed and whatever blood seeped out had been reabsorbed into her body. "Her connection to the Force is strong, but does she have the knowledge and control to be recognized as a Knight?"

[Tobias Vos]

With a relaxed sense, as if a feline laying in the sun- Tobias stretched across the bed. Obviously he was taking in the moment, and if the lopsided smile was any indication- he was just taking the moment in resisting the urge to get up and return to real life, he leaped over the hurdle. He rolled off the bed and began to dress- in Jedi Robes. Adenna was finished dressing before he wrapped his top- he indicated his shoulder and the fading scar there, then finished dressing. The top and pants hung to the curves of his body to an extent, they were still loose enough incase combat was to come about, but here- he wasn't expecting it.

 

Fine tuning his outfit- he replied to Adenna's worries: "She severed the nerve in my arm during a sparring match- causing it to hang limply and to drop my weapon. Sandy is... not a great fighter- but she is very competent. Anyone looking at her will see a pale, petite, young girl. They don't see her for what she really is- a Jedi. Not in the way I would have done it, but you achieved what both of us wanted to see in her- Sandy Sarna has risen to the rank of Knight. She's earned it, the others will see that as well."

 

He hadn't looked at her, his activities were that of organizing his locker that was in the room. Moving to the drawing table- and the tabletop display lit to his touch and locked the table down. "Currently, I am going to have to convince the council to not only accept me, but to listen to me as well."

 

Hesitating, he twisted the staff- and away came his actual lightsaber, and clipped it to his belt. The green eyes seem to focus on something off in the distance- beyond the room they were in right now. "It should be interesting. Theres also something I want to say- and respond as you wish- but..." He turned to face Adenna- another small smile as he looked her over while setting the staff down. "I don't know what to say to you about being named a Master, and given a seat on the council. I know Dahar was going to appoint you, but... That was awhile ago. I want you to know I didn't ask for this, but I rose to the challenge, and the responsibilities. You started me on this path, and you're the last person I want to offend. Tell me if I do, please."

 

Taking a step towards her, he raised his hand to the side of her face, an intimate gesture. Looking into her eyes- "Preferably before you kill me." He winked- what she had said to him back on Tython, should he stray to the Dark Side.

 

"Let me know if you need to leave the funeral, I know Kirlocca meant a lot to you." He doubted she would need to duck out of the Funeral, but he wanted to let her know he was there for her too, as well as the Jedi now. Leaning into kiss her again, a light peck on the cheek and let his hand fall to her arm and sqeezed a bit- a gesture of 'I'm here for you.'

 

He nodded his head out the door, beckoning her to come along and get going- the whine of the cargo-ramps motor could be heard through the door- they had landed on Kashyyyk.

[Adenna Alluyen]

"She severed the nerve in my arm during a sparring match- causing it to hang limply and to drop my weapon," Tobias answered. "Sandy is... not a great fighter- but she is very competent. Anyone looking at her will see a pale, petite, young girl. They don't see her for what she really is- a Jedi. Not in the way I would have done it, but you achieved what both of us wanted to see in her- Sandy Sarna has risen to the rank of Knight. She's earned it, the others will see that as well."

 

Adenna smiled at that. "Combat is a necessity for the Sith, the Jedi have many more options available to them." Her voice was light and bemused. Though she had started as a sheltered girl and even had some failures in combat, the last few years on Thalassia had seen her combat skills grow exponentially, and that was well after being made a Jedi Knight. "Her frail appearance will be invaluable at enabling her to achieve surprise and survive when threats approach. That will make up for the lack of brute strength that physically stronger Force users such as yourself utilize. It is what has saved me many times."

 

Tobias continued, "I don't know what to say to you about being named a Master, and given a seat on the council. I know Dahar was going to appoint you, but... That was awhile ago. I want you to know I didn't ask for this, but I rose to the challenge, and the responsibilities. You started me on this path, and you're the last person I want to offend. Tell me if I do, please. Preferably before you kill me."

 

That was a surprise to her. She had no qualms with Tobias being on the Council: after what she had seen and read of his work, he was quite capable and a valuable asset to the Jedi Order. The other part was what took her unawares. To think that Dahar would consider her as a Master was quite a surprise to her. It gave her a sense of pride that her own teacher would consider her in such a way, though it also made her wonder what happened to him to cause him to turn from the Light. When the time came, she would have to find out exactly what happened and either bring him back or end his suffering in the Darkness.

 

"Do not fear," she said softly as she pressed his hand close to her cheek. "I have only ever had to kill one man I have been with and he was given ample warning." There was a hint of teasing in her eyes that indicated she was joking with him, but also enough there to leave the door open to the possibility that she was not speaking in jest. Nobody else would be able to catch even that last part, but she was no longer as closed off to Tobias as before.

 

"Kirlocca did mean much to me, but he is now one with the Force and in the embrace of the Light. I wish justice for him, but the Jedi serve the living, not the dead. I would not see the Jedi crippled by mourning or loss, nor would I see vengeance taint us and cost many lives. The Sith need to be destroyed because they are evil, not because they killed Kirlocca. I will go to stand in solidarity with our fellow Jedi, but I will not break down nor let it shake my resolve to walk in the Light."

[Fieyr]

Ab’ki smiled to herself as the reports continued to pour in from the Mandalore sector. The diversions were performing as she’d foreseen, better in some cases as her forces relayed more than one report of the Seekers who’d emerged from the shadows to fight falling by their hands.

 

Judyc’s loss had meant she’d had to speed up her time table, and his incompetence had cost him his life when he’d neglected to bring Ad’Goran directly to her, instead, he chose to hold the woman for unknown reasons. No matter, Ab’ki would have killed him herself for depriving her of a whole target. Ad’Goran had been rescued and seemed to possess an infuriating number of lives.

 

The Twi’lek Lady of the Sith knew it was only a matter of time before she caught up with the Mandalorian whelp who’d stolen her lover from her. Her smile grew crueler as she turned from the latest set of reports to face the mongrel Ageless at her side. “It seems I will have my revenge on your old training partner after all. Mirdala Ad’Goran will run out of luck eventually.”

 

Fieyr nodded. “An abomination with an unnatural amount of it. You’ll have her, My Lady. I swear it.”

 

“And you will have your own vengeance against those that denied you your heritage,” she extended her crimson hand to a servant who brought out a large, shuffling humanoid to the bridge of where her ship was halted within the Mandalorian sector off of any major or minor flight paths. “Play me a symphony as we make our way to the landing point,” she ordered Fieyr with a cruel smile as she settled into the captain’s chair, sitting sideways and throwing her legs over the side as she lounged.

 

“With pleasure, My Lady,” the Ageless-hybrid purred as he approached the captured Seeker and began to torture the man to death, knowing that his pain would carry echoes far into the bond they all shared.

 

It was a pain that he welcomed.

[ChaoticGood123]

The Prodigy continued its course back to Coruscant. Eam sat in the pilot's seat, driving the ship as needed to get to CoreSec headquarters. This sounded like a fine opportunity. He had had enough of those oppressive Sith, and CoreSec was part of the Alliance, which fought against them. If I just stay on top of my game, they'll send me to battle those stuck-up murderers. I wonder if the Jedi will be that fond of me though. After all, they certainly aren't too fond of what I'm made of... MagnaGuards and A-series assassin droids were droids that had killed Jedi before. But I digress, they aren't exactly the type to hold grudges anyway. At least I hope not. Eam then thought of the Clone Wars, now that the idea of MagnaGuards and A-series droids was fresh in his mind. He hadn't been born, but the conflict was spoken about commonly by its survivors, especially on his home planet Raxus Prime. Raxus Prime was the Confederate capital, and many people had still bitterly resented the results of the war. "If the Jedi just listened to the Confederacy's ideals, they wouldn't have let themselves be wiped out by the Empire." "We committed atrocities ourselves, but every war has good and bad on both sides. I feel bad for those Jedi... they were normally diplomats until the war started, and when they became sheer warriors, they shut out every effort of diplomacy. They paid for that with their lives." "Curse that Palpatine! He turned good people against us, and now we live in ruins! I hope the Galactic Alliance drives these heathens out of our world and hammer the Sith into extinction, so that they know how it feels to be oppressed and manipulated!" Such things were always being said around him, but it was safe to speak out in the part of the world he lived in- the Sith barely cared whether people were cursing them in that slum, because they knew that such people would starve to death soon in those conditions. It was quite sick, leaving the evil rich and the good poor. But that was always the case in Sith territories. The cyborg hoped that when he joined CoreSec that he would get a mission soon. Whether it ends up a small skirmish or a planet-wide battle, he'll be looking forward to aid the effort against the evil in the galaxy.

[Sandy Sarna]

Sandy slowly stood up from the landing ramp as the The Sanctis Cogitatione and realized from the look of the stormtroopers in their grey and blue armour that she probably should have said something instead of obviously misinterpreting a wave from Kyrie as a beckoning to board a ship.

 

Whoops

 

Especially those grey cerakote dusted E-22 reciprocating rifles that were pointed down at her diminutive form. She raised her hands in mock surrender.

 

“Hey guys I just came to follow Kyrie and the others to help out with the operation. Not trying to assassinate anyone I swear.”

 

She extended her hand to one of the stormtroopers, her Low Galan accent likely grating on them even through their voice filters, “I'm Jedi Knight Sarna at your service. And I certainly hope I didn’t just make a diplomatic incident. If you could take me to your General instead of blasting me that would be great. Or if you do blast me don’t shoot me in the face, it's already scarred up enough thanks.”

There I go running my mouth again. Kriff

[Kyrie Eleison]

IC-426 ushered the Jedi Knight Sarna into the room, the girl’s bewildered expression and an awkward blush stained her pale features a deep rose. The ghostly apparitions looked at the new arrival, Il-Andon extending a hand to her in greetings. Kyrie was bemused by the girl’s accidental stowaway, but was concerned as to the Council’s reaction to a potentially portrayed kidnapping of a newly forged knight.

 

“Welcome aboard, Sandy. I was not expecting an emissary of the council so soon..”

 

Her emerald eyes twinkled with their fire as Il-Andon added his opinion

 

“Or do the council send their assassin? Either way, you’re welcome to join in our training.”

 

The projection from the matrix blinked and opened his palm, to reveal a small beacon of flame.

 

“The Exorcists are a more arcane order, defined by the way we are set apart. We take the corruption of the Sith upon ourselves in order to purify the light. As the Naturalist helps the beasts of the field and all that which nature embraces to grow with nurturing kindness, we bear the flame to burn all that is evil to dust. A star in the night, a bearer of hope against the madness and the horrors of the Dark Side.”

Ben-Havram picked up in her smiling tone

 

“The Jedi have always seen us as roguish, dangerous, easy to fall to darkness because of what we must do. We are sin eaters, taking the darkness into our own souls and burning it away with our flame. As we do so, we are in turn corrupted.”

Pain sprang momentarily into the Force, a pain for the dead, and those unsaved innocents

 

“The brightest of stars burn hottest, but fade swiftly. That is our place in this universe. To do the most good, to fight the hardest, allowing those like the Jedi to be able to nurture good, and to be peaceful. Their peacefulness is not a weakness, it is on our shoulders to fight so they might not have to.”

 

Kyrie nodded to the ghosts and let her own signature in the Force glow white-hot

 

“To do this, we find the center of our being. The righteousness and the love of that which lives, and turn it into a glowing flame onto which all other emotions are fed. With practice it becomes a wildfire, taking with it all distractions, pain, and evil, and you can channel it into a weapon.”

She looked at Aidan with question

 

“It is not for everyone. Not every Imperial Knight will be an Exoricst, but that righteousness is what will help keep The Empire within the light.”