Space

[Leena Kil]

On the outskirts of the Calamari sector things seemed to be going just fine for Leena as her freighter chugged along in hyperspace. The young Jedi padawan had  even drifted off slightly at helm, a slight smile across her face.

 

Suddenly, a twinge in the force caused the young Mon Cal to sit up and look down at the dash. “Uh oh . . . Something doesn’t seem right. Everything looks alright though. Internal core temperature, normal. Hull integrity, 100%. Gravitational dampeners, functional. Hmmmm. Hyperdrive fuel, empty.” Leena’s eyes bulged as she realized her own words. “Empty? Didn’t someone fuel up before giving me the green light?!”

 

Suddenly a soft, albeit annoying honking alarm filled the cabin. “WARNING. WARNING. FUEL CAPACITY AT . . . ZERO PERCENT. PREPARE FOR EMERGENCY HYPERDRIVE DISENGAGEMENT. FASTEN ALL PERSONAL SAFETY HARNESSES IMMEDIATELY. WARNING. WARNING. FUEL CAPACITY AT . . . ZERO PERCENT. PREPARE FOR EMERGENCY HYPERDRIVE DISENGAGEMENT . . . “
 

Leena barely had time to grab her harness and snap it into place before the entire shift jolted violently, the streaks of hyperspace reverting to pinpoints of light instantaneously. The young Mon Cal was thrown against her harness and slammed back into her chair, the breath leaving her body in a gasp.

 

With her eyes closed, Leena groaned in pain as she slowly reached up and slapped the release of her harness before tumbling to the floor. “Thanks for the warning computer. Could have warned me at 10% or something.”   
 

Picking herself up off the floor using one hand on the dash to pull herself up and look out at the void of space. It all looked the same. In that moment, Leena wondered if she maybe should have spent some more time studying star charts. It was hard to practice medicine all alone in space.

 

Tapping her fingers on the dash, Leena pondered what to do. “I wonder where I am. Maybe I could call for a tow. I need to get this medicine to Dac right away. Hmmm. Think Leena. Think. There has got to be something. Oh! Look! A distress beacon!” Depressing the large red circular button on the dash, Leena pondered what to do next. “Did it work? How long does it take? Shouldn’t there be like a confirmation or something?” Leena pushed the button several more times. “I hope it is not broken.”

 

Not getting any more results, Leena looked back at the closed door that sealed the cockpit from the  rest of the ship. “I wonder if bacta could serve as a fuel substitute? Probably better that I don’t do that. Bacta could be flammable or something.” Plopping herself back in the pilot’s chair, Leena pulled up her navchart. “At least we’re still on the right path. Looks like Dac is only . . . 13 years travel via sublight engines! I don’t think I have enough rations for that.” A twinge of fear welled up in Leena’s chest. She had not thought much about dying, sure she had witnessed it first hand, but that was other people. Dying in the void of space definitely was not one of Leena’s top choices in the ways to die category. 
 

Closing her eyes, Leena pulled her feet up under her in the seat and focused on calming the mounting fear, allowing the force to flow around and through her. It was hard to focus on anything positive in a situation like this. The girl focused on making sure the fear did not overwhelm her. Emotions were not forbidden for a Jedi, but she could not let them control her. 

 

Lost in the calming current of the force, Leena lost track of all time. She paid little attention to the static world around her and the empty nothingness outside. She was only drawn from her trance by the soft alert of her shipboard computer alerting a ship on the scanners.

 

Leena’s eyes shot open as she lurched forward, tumbling to her knees on the floor with a clatter and a wince of pain, her feet tangled beneath her bottom, asleep from her time meditating. 
 

Eyes slotted against the pain in her knees and tingling in her feet, Leena flipped the comms switch and broadcast on all frequencies. “Mayday! Mayday! I am carrying medical supplies for Dac and am out of fuel. Help! Please! Lives are depending on getting this medication!”  Leena did not even stop to ponder who she might be contacting. She was hoping that whoever it was had a heart and wanted to help people in need as much as she did. As she let go of the comm switch though the realization that she may have just broadcast her position to a Sith patrol, pirate mothership, or droid scrappers dawned on her. 
 

Reaching out in the force towards the far off ship, the girl did not sense any imminent pending doom. “At this distance though, do you really think you can accurately sense the intentions of the unknown Leena Kil?”

 

”I just have to trust the force.” She assured herself as she hit the button to slide open door from the cockpit. She made her way to the docking port and waited to hear the telltale thud of the vacuum seal meaning the other ship connected. She was not sure if they’d have fuel they could share or if maybe she would have to load her supplies aboard the rescue craft. Either way, if it got the Jedi and her cargo on the way to Dac again, that was what mattered. 

[Leena Kil]

Zipping through hyperspace, the Jedi Shuttle hurtled towards it’s destination. The ship fulfilled it’s duty as intended. It did not ask any questions. It went where it was directed and it did not question it’s purpose.   Leena pondered these things as she sat on a cushioned bench in the common area of the vessel. Why couldn’t she be more like this starship? Be a Jedi. Bring peace, not chaos. Stand for the oppressed and downtrodden, not flee at the sight of the enemy.

 

Turning these thoughts over in her head, Leena turned the hilt of her lightsaber over in her hands with the same rhythm. End over end the signature weapon and symbol of the Jedi turned and tumbled through her deft hands. It symbolized who she was supposed to be. She took pride in it and hated it at the same time. 
 

“Maybe you’re not meant to be a Jedi Knight Leena Kil. The MedCorps wouldn’t be so bad even without . . .” she paused, shaking her head to try and drive the thought out of her mind.

 

_____________________________________
 

Elsewhere on the craft, the armored Mantis finished cleaning his grayed Jensaarai armor, leaving a dull gray hue across the pieces. It was a Jedi training or meditation room. The Jensaarai had found it a refuge in which to contemplate. The ritualistic cleaning of his armor was as much meditation as the battle-ready maneuvers practiced within the waves of the force.
 

“I guard my emotions,

 

Lest they control me.”
 

The warrior spoke softly as he began to pull his armored boots and armored leg plating into place.

 

“I guard my kin,

 

through unity,” 
 

He placed his chest piece into place, looking at Sandy. “We are strong.”

 

Reaching down, The Mantis picked up his bracers and began to carefully afix them. 
 

“I guard justice,” 

 

He continued as he finished securing his arms. 
 

“For true justice is the path to peace.”

 

Picking up others bits of armor, the Corellian expertly secured the oieces into place without even having to look.

 

Continuing, his voice dropped to a loud whisper, 

 

“I guard Knowledge, lest the truth is forgotten.”

 

Picking up his belt, the Jensaarai slung it into place, before methodically placing each weapon in it’s assigned space.

 

“I guard life, because from life the force flows.”

 

”These are the tenants of the Jensaarai way Jedi Sarna. We were born of differences with the Jedi; but like the Jedi we stand for what is good. We seek a peaceful life;” he picked up his helmet and walked towards Sandy with a warm smile, “but we will do what must be done to preserve peace for our own and those who stand with us.” $:$/ He gestured towards the door, “Shall we walk?”
 

Strolling down the ship’s corridors, The Mantis spoke, trying to explain the ways of the Jensaarai while also honoring his oath to protect them.  ”Many who find their home amongst the Jensaarai are like Jedi Kil. They live in peace with their world, nurturing and creating in a galaxy of destruction and chaos. We protect them and they make us whole. Together, we seek the truths that the galaxy wishes us to not see. In true truth, real justice can be found. In that justice, true peace lives and flourishes. Not under the shadows of untruth. We operate there so that others may not”

 

Pausing at the threshold to the room where Leena was pondering, The Mantis took his helmet and gently placed it on his head with a click. “I will remain at the edges of the shadows. Unless needed, nobody will even know I am there. Right now,” he pointed towards the room where Leena sat, “I believe young Leena needs a Jedi to help her right now. May the force be with you Master Jedi.”

_______________________________
 

Staring down at her lightsaber, Leena did not even notice as the others approached just outside. The force rippled around the young Jedi as she questioned her position in the galaxy. She held onto the thought that the Grandmaster had sent her on another mission; but something made her wonder if it was not just a way to get her out of the way and not deal with the catastrophe she had been a part of on Mon Cal. After all, it had seemed like the Grandmaster had confirmed that Leena was not meant to fight the rising darkness. Fighting the darkness was what the Grandmaster wanted; where the order was directed and she was not to be a part of that direction. How long could she remain a Jedi if she did not conform?

[Leena Kil]

Leena toyed with her saber hilt, deftly spinning the silver cylinder from fingertip to fingertip; her mind lost as it wandered within itself. Her eyes darted upwards to Sandy as the master spoke. Sitting up from her slouch she offered a feeble smile. “Master Sarna, I was just,” she looked the master up and down before taking a deep breath and continuing. “How did you know you were meant to be a Jedi? I mean, when did you know that you were heeding the force’s call? I just cannot help but wonder if, well, maybe; maybe I was not meant to be a Jedi.”

 

”Look at this,” she held her lightsaber hilt up, pointing it towards the ceiling, “I know the basics, but thats it. I cannot even remember the last time I actually used it in a fight. I used to not even carry it. The last time I activated it I used it to threaten another Jedi; then we about got blown up. I’m not some leader of soldiers or protector of worlds like you or the Grandmaster or so many other of the greats.”

 

“Is the grandmaster sidelining me because I am not a fighter? Could you teach me how to be a great warrior like you. Maybe then I could prove that I am true Jedi.“ Leena’s ramble came to a halt as she looked expectantly, albeit hesitantly at Sandy. The truth was, she didn’t like fighting. She was a healer, a beacon of light in the ragged galaxy. If she was to be a Jedi though, she would do what she had to do; if that meant slicing and dicing her way through Sith troopers, well then, so be it.

 

______________
 

The Mantis hung back as Sandy approached Leena. It was not something he was needed for. What the Jedi Master had said about their destination coupled with her attire change into less-than-traditional Jedi garb had given him pause. Heading back to his spartan quarters, he would change. A Jensaarai was more than his armor after all. A light white robe over a pocketed tunic of gray would have to suffice. He could still carry enough supplies to fee confident should the worst arrive; but he wouldn’t be relying on his body glove to continually whisk away his heat and sweat. The Mantis really was not a fan of standing around and sweating without cause.

[Leena Kil]

“We are an order at war though. What good am I if I cannot hold my own and serve the greater good? If I let hospitals and refugees get blown away? If I run when I ought to stand and fight? . . . even if I don’t know how to.” The girl paused, letting her own words soak in. “I guess I should have. Not sure what I could have done against such a force, but anything would have been better than nothing. I just would rather soothe suffering than be forced to create it. Isn’t that what we are doing charging out to fight the Sith warmachine?” The Mon Cal shoved her smooth hilt into her waistband. “I guess I am feeing ignorant. It feels like the whole order is gearing up towards war and the Grandmaster made it clear I wasn’t fit for the frontlines. That upsets me. I want to be a servant of the force, not a soldier, a good Jedi though too. I’ve seen what war does. I finally saw it in reality on Mon Cal. I’ve seen what war does, smelt it, tasted it, been in it up to my gills; but I was never in it in it. Then I was. I didn’t like it. I don’t want to make it. I want to heal it and keep it from happening to others, especially those who are innocent of its cause. It just doesn’t feel that is the Jedi that is needed or wanted. Maybe it isn’t the true Jedi Way.” Leena shrugged her shoulders as she looked at Sandy. “I just want to help.”

[Leena Kil]

Once the freighter settled itself from the jostling on the waves of hyperspace, Leena unbuckled her safety harness and hopped out of her seat with a smile to the squabbling squibs who were happily blaming one another for the rough take off. Soon enough, the trio of pint-sized squirrels would be climbing around, and through, the ship in effort to fix, improve, or alter for the good of the group their jostling ascent. 
 

Leena made her way to her Chiss traveling companion with a warm smile, “Definitely have had smoother rides; but there is nobody more useful than the Squibs. They’ve helped me out of a lot of pinches and they can get me into places formal Jedi approaches cannot. Don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to give that book a looksie over did ya? I know it can be hard to concentrate when you feel like your teeth might get rattled from your skull. Maybe some formal training of some sort to get you started? I must confess, you are the first person I’ve  taken to  formally train. Oh well, you’d think with a lifetime of being trained I’ve probably picked up a thing or two. At the very least, we can see how you do with the force. I felt you reaching out and touching it back on the planet. Nicely done. I was able to feel you reaching out. It definitely caught my attention.”  Leena rattled on excitedly, her talkative nature becoming clearer by the minute. She was excited to help this newfound hopeful on his way down a meaningful path of goodness and light; but even Leena knew that was easier than it sounded and was wary of the dangers that lurked ahead. Still, as one of the minority of classically trained Jedi, she hoped that her own experiences would impart a meaningful means of helping her fellow force user along his own path. “Do you know the Jedi Code Orpheus? Yes, Mantis told me your name,”  she winked.

 

”It goes, there is no emotion; there is peace. there is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the force.” Leena paused as she finished reciting the mantra of their order. She could feel the sidelong glance that The Mantis was giving them from the doorway. It echoed on the force itself. Reaching behind herself with a hand, she shoo’d the Jensaarai Defender away. The still-armored being shook his head softly and turned and disappeared into the battered Naboo built ship. “You must understand. While the Jedi and Sith are like two sides to the same coin, we are not the only views of the force. There are others who view the force in their own way. Some with dark intent and desire, seeking only power and to better their own lot in life. Others, like the Jensaarai to which Defender Mantis belongs, who focus on the light with a dedication and zeal unmatched by even many Jedi. They are not wrong, nor are we. Just different. They trod what we see as a more dangerous path. So too do the exorcists and Knights of Empress Revan. Still, they are our brothers and sisters in the force and we respect them as such. We still ascribe to our own ideals though for the good that we believe comes from them.” Leena’s voice had grown uncharacteristically serious compared to her usual happy demeanor, signalling just how serious of a topic they had wandered into. Catching herself, she turned the conversation back to training, her telltale singsong pluckiness returning with a twinkle to her eye. “There are some things that Defender Mantis can teach you better than I, but we must start with the basics before we go delving into swordplay and such. Come on, let’s go to the main room. We’ll have a bit more room there.” 
 

Leena led her companion towards the circular central hub of the ship. Boxes and crates were stacked all along the sides, strapped to the walls. It did not fee like a ship for royalty or even esteemed dignitaries; but they were neither, and the ship served their purpose.

 

Settling to the floor near the middle of the room with her legs crossed beneath her, Leena rested her wrists on her knees, her palms facing upwards. She gestured for Orpheus to take her hand and join her on the floor. “I am going to teach you how to use the force to effect the world outside you. In time, you will be able to use this within your own body as well, when you are quiet and at peace. In fact, with the force, you can move mountains. I will warn you though, this is not to be delved into lightly. The dark side calls to us all and the temptations to use such a power tempt us all. Temptations to take the easy way out, gain power, show off, or control others. As Jedi we are servants of the force and to the galaxy. A Jedi does not use the force for such things and must respect the free spirit of all.”
 

Leena paused as her mind caught up with where her mouth was guiding them. “Maybe, we better do that first. Here, take my hands and close your eyes. Let your spirit find peace. Search within yourself and find that which is true and good. Grasp it, stoke it, and with it’s light seek out the darkness of yourself. Use that light and expel the darkness.” 
 

Leena closed her eyes and opened herself up to the force. She was at peace. Here amongst the stacks and boxes, hurling through hyperspace, her traveling companions about the ship; she was at peace. It flowed from the light that she carried inside, radiating out of her. It sizzled from her fingers to Orpheus. It surged in gentle waves around the room. Metaphysically, it illuminated every darkness and pressed it away, containing it and cleansing the area about them in warm energies of light. When it was gone, Leena opened her eyes and smiled at Orpheus. “Any questions?”

 

((Feel free to post doing, feeling, reading, whatever prior to this post, from us departing. Then just post what Orpheus feels, does etc with a focus on the force and the force dark side purge that we went into at the end.))

Edited January 21, 2021 by Leena Kil

[Leena Kil]

Leena sighed heavily as the duo came out of what should have been a darkness cleansing trance. She had felt the darkness, formless and writhing within the apprentice before her. It picked at the darknesses she had so carefully packaged away and concealed within her own heart, the largest and most recent being the catastrophe that was Mon Cal. She opened her eyes and stared warmly at Orpheon, taking in his crimson eyes that seemed to practically glow with intensity.

 

Speaking softly, she kept ahold of his hand and watched him intently. “Many have thought that they could master the darkness they feel within. The darkness grows wherever the light does not shine and against the light it is driven back. When the light leaves, the darkness returns. Do not apologize. To be a Jedi does not mean that you have no darkness. It means you stand against it and allow it no footholds. There will always be darkness. There will always be a struggle of balance. To give a foothold to the darkness is to allow it a chance to extinguish the light. You must not do that.”

 

Leena watched as her words found rest in the Jedi hopeful’s ears. She wondered what the darkness was that welled up within him, where it had come from, and why he wanted to hold it. He and she were so different. She had been raised amongst the Jedi from infancy. She had not been subject to the same temptations the dark side offered. Leena did not know what it was this seeker carried with him. She watched him in silence for several minutes before adding, “As Jedi, we embrace the light and stand against darkness. Search yourself, can you fight the darkness in yourself to stand for the cause of light?” Squeezing his hand, Leena smiled, “We can try again when you are ready. Let my own light empower yours and use it to contain your own darkness. This is the basis of dark side purging and even Jedi battle meditation.” 
 

The force swirled warmly in and around the duo, spurned on in embracing warm waves of goodness by Leena’s gentle prodding. In the silence she awaited Orpheon’s next move.

[Leena Kil]

Leena closed her eyes as she sat there with Orpheon. She felt his internal struggle. She felt the surge of the storm within his core as it lashed out with anger, hatred, and fear. Slowly, almost microscopically, Leena fed her light into Orpheon, willing him to fight back, to push his own light against the dark and emerge the victor. Her own light was a wave of warm soothing light that surged alongside the Jedi hopeful.

 

As he fought back, Leena withdrew slightly as she felt the Chiss counter the darkness. When he contained it within the stormsurge of light, a smile played across the young Knight’s face.

 

As Orpheon opened his eyes, so did Leena. She squeezed his hand warmly as she let her own hands fall back to her own lap. “That is all that we ask of any Jedi.”

 

Leena offered Orpeon a warm smile, “The darkness offers many false promises of quick power and success; but eventually it ends in ruin. So how about we start with some other training?  Containing and repelling the darkness can wear even the most seasoned Jedi out. Let’s try something else.” The girl looked around; to her left, to her right, she even twisted her back to look behind her before turning back to face Orpheon. Grabbing her smooth silvery lightsaber hilt, Leena held it up at eye level. “Close your eyes again. It helps one concentrate a lot of times. Block out everything else. Find the hilt with your mind. Reach out on the force. Feel it. Grasp it. Then . . . “

Leena paused and lowered her hand, the shimmering hilt hovering in the air as it slowly began to spin about like a bottle on the floor in some drunken game. The smooth metal caught the light from above as it glinted off the myriad of surfaces of the smooth cylinder.

 

Leena folded her hands in her lap as she looked at Orpheon, the hilt slowly circling. “Take the saber. Call it to your hand, but do not reach out for it.”
 

 

[Leena Kil]

Leena watched intently as her newfound apprentice struggles to find his center. She felt the force surge as he connected with it. The Jedi Knight inhaled sharply as she felt the storm within take hold. She felt it as it reached out into the air around them. It was not dark, but the power it carried had with it the calm of a massive downpour, one that could drench an area with violence and surge forward, leaving a void in it’s wake. It was a void that she knew all too well could be filled by the winds of darkness.

 

Even as the vision took hold, Leena remained seated, her sparkling eyes staring intently at the apprentice as he was lost within the ravages of the storm that surged inside. She reached out on the force, adding the calming ripples of the force within her center to flow outwards against the surges of ravaging power that called forth from the Chiss. She could not see what visions washed through Orpheus’ mind. She only sought to envelope the area in light, keeping the darkness at bay so it did not   wash in on a tidal surge should he be overwhelmed by the sheer power that arced electrically about them. Leena could feel the surging of power about them, her apprentice deeply connected to the force in a way that differed from her own connection, one honed and developed through years of training, called forth as a calm within the storm, not the storm itself. His was raw, full of power and potential, dangerous yet beautiful. It was one that needed shaped and wrought without being chipped away to a shadow of what it could be.

 

Leena watched, her confidence in the force shielding her from fear as her blade ignited, bathing the area in a warm watery teal hue. She watched as he moved as if facing off against an invisible enemy, an enemy of the mind. She pushed against his mind, but was repulsed by the power of the storm that seethed inside. Yet she sat.

 

And as Orpheus’ brought his saber down to his opening stance, a crack broke the charged air, a fiery duo of blades erupting from the shadows. Raging infernos sprung from the wrists of the white-robed being of mystery behind his mask as they caught Leena’s teal blade, should the apprentice continue in his trance.

 

A second after Orpheus deactivated Leena’s blade, The Mantis’ blades returned to oblivion within their sheaths. The Jensaarai’s armored face stared emotionlessly into the Chiss’ before he silently tugged Leena’s saber from his grasp. He did not need to speak, the aura of his presence spoke aplenty. He would do whatever was necessary to protect his charge. Without looking to Leena, The Mantis offered her her deactivated hilt, not taking his sight from Orpheus; even as he slowly disappeared back into the shadows, his very presence coalescing with the world around them until he was a mere thought carried upon the wind.

 

Slowly Leena stood up, tucking her saber into her white cloth belt. She placed a hand on her apprentice’s shoulder, “What did you feel? What did you see? I sense much power in you Orpheus. The force flows in you and with you as if you are but a vessel of it’s virtue. Let me help you maintain it so you are not consumed.”

[Leena Kil]

Leena nodded as she listened, slowly standing to a height closer to her apprentice’s. She regarded her saber for a moment, but cast aside any thought of residual memories carried by the weapon or it’s components. The saber had been with her since she had constructed it, each piece new and untouched or tainted; purged of any possible residual darkness as an added measure. The Mon Cal focused on Orpheon’s eyes as he spoke. She took in his words as a doctor listens to her patient describe his symptoms; turning them over in her mind. It did not strike her as an illness, but she was ever cautious and made a mental note to not allow the Chiss access to any potential force-imbued weaponry until they better understood what was going on.

 

“The Sight as you call it, is the force. Many people across many cultures and ages have called it many things, but they are all the the cosmic entity of the force. Within each of us is our own force-essence. It is possible that your essence is born of a storm of some sort. We will have to see. We do not control the force and bend it to our will, to do so, would be to subvert it and defile it. That is of the dark side. Instead, we act as it’s servants, we channel it’s powers and by doing so are granted a measure of control from it. We serve the living force my friend, we do not balance the force, for to do so would be to allow corruption and darkness a foothold. We seek to remain a natural servant of the force, carried by it’s guidings but not led astray by it’s own darkness corrupted in the hearts of fallible being.”

 

Leena pursed her lips for a moment as one of the shorted furred Squibs came ambling back, nonchalantly interrupting without a care, “Best most assuredly buckle up soon right-away like. We be making much-fast entry to Ilum very soon soon. It might possibly get a wee bit little bump bum bumpity.” He turned and wandered back towards the cockpit without another word. Outside the viewscreen the icy world of Ilum began to loom.

 

Turning back to Orpheon, Leena smiled and gestured towards their seats. “The Squibs are not known for their graceful landings,” she said as she secured her harness snuggly. “Whatever the vision is or was, don’t let it bother you too much. Focus on the here and now. Be mindful of the world around you. Pasts and futures cannot be changed any more than the present if you are not there. We serve the force where we are. So lets focus on what we have to do here.”

[Leena Kil]

The cramped interior of the so called “corvette class needle ship” was something that would look more appropriate half buried in sand and presented to the rare ignoramus Tatooinian tourist as a wrecked out Jawa sandcrawler. The entire thing seemed haphazardly, if not expertly cobbled together from no less than 5 different generations of ships, cast off war equipment, derelict rescue and mining vehiclrs, and at least two dozen different moisture vaporators from half that many manufacturers. Every square inch of free space was piled with a variety of random quote unquote junk, bits, baubles, and salvaged debris. What was not piled high was converted into makeshift quarters for the overflowing population that seemed to inhabit the somehow space-faring tribe of squirrely Squibs.

 

Calming down the hysterical spy had taken more than a few minutes and a lot of touching to convince her the Jedi were friends. Name dropping the leader of the group, Reaper Joe, had sealed the deal. Getting off planet had been way easier than one would have expected for such an eclectic group of practically pirates. 
 

Ducking beneath a tangle of swaying and sparking wires than hung even lower than the already low bulkheads of the needle ship  , Leena tried to plaster a smile on her face as she tried in vain to keep up with the floppy-hatted green pirate leader, Reaper Joe as he led Leena and her apprentice @Keenava Dira through the craft, parting cramped hallways of junk and the dozens upon dozens of his fellow beings that tinkered with it.

 

“As you can see, we have made a many-variety of serious top-notch high quality repairs and upgrades to Sith Hunter Prime after the great scrapping of ours and any age.”

 

Joe gestured at a panel of blinking lights. 
 

“Our sacred blood-bound agreement of healing and reciprocation has cost us greatly high amounts of immeasurable values, but with greatest costs has come even greater chance for expansion in a galaxy much ripened for the harvesting with unwatchful eyes of stringently governmental spy-spy oversight.”

 

Joe shimmied between a narrow gap in the bulkhead into an adjacent hallway, pausing as he watched Leena eyeball the space and shake her head. There was no way she or Keenava were fitting through that gap.

 

”We’ll catch up High Captain-Commander”

 

she nodded, waving Reaper Joe onward.

 

The Squib offered an all too untrustworthy  smile as he offered a mock salute

 

“Aye! Next stop, non-stop, Jedi Base To-Be Icy Ilum and a future most glorious!”

 

and then he hurried off out of sight.

 

Leena paused, her shoulders relaxing as the Squib vanished from sight. She turned to face her twi’lek companion. 
 

“Well, apprentice-o-mine,”

 

she joked, her voice singsongy like the Squibs’,

 

”shall we find us a place to bunk, . . . somewhere aboard the, . . . uh, . . . Sith Hunter Prime?”

 

Weaving through the ship, Leena saw nore of the same, the entire craft seemed to be built around maneuvering thrusters, tractor beams, and access ports. Any spare room was dedicated to salvaged space debris and anything else the Squibs thought might be valuable to someone in trade. The whole of the ship was filled to the the brim with Squib whose own ships had been lost over Nar Shaddaa, even their escape pods salvaged or melded into the hull of the home-brewed craft. Still, at the end of a rather haphazard and uneven narrow pathway adjacent to a purring Hapan fusial thrust engine, they found some solitude. 
 

Righting a toppled crate that, judging by it’s label once held Imperial blasters, but was now apparently brimming with excess R1 unit photoreceptors, Leena settled onto the seat.

 

”Now,”

 

she waved at another crate for Keenava,

 

”I am sure you have some questions and Ilum is still a few days out. Perhaps we can settle in and work on a bit of unorthodox training. Such an unorthodox place does not present itself every day.”

 

The Mon Cal smiled warmly. 

 

Outside, the ship accelerated rapidly away from Falleen before lurching to hyperspace and Ilum at the far end of the trek.
 

 

 

 

[Leena Kil]

As the ship settled into faster-than-light travel so did Leena. The Mon Cal sat back as she listened to @Keenava Dira speak. In their corner, they were isolated enough; but not so much so as to not hear the hustle and bustle of the ship’s occupants.

 

“There will be a lot that we have to do once we reach Ilum. We will have long days and late nights building up the ruins of an ancient repository of peace and learning. The will of the force calls us to a  greater than our individual selves. The good of the Jedi, of all force users,  rests in some small part with you and I.”
 

Pulling her own silvered saber hilt from within her robes, Leena held it up for them to regard.

 

”I do believe though, that we can find time for some lightsaber crafting and purification.”

 

Regarding the light as it glistened from the hilt, Leena paused to ponder it in it’s simplistic intricacy before she spoke. She chose her words carefully.

 

”The life of a Jedi is not an easy one. In some ways, it is more difficult than that of an acolyte to any number of hedonistic religions and orders. Such a life requires dedication, discipline, and sacrifice. Personal attachments can cloud one’s dedication to the force. Even a Jedi’s only or most prized possession,”

 

Leena twirled the hilt in her hand as she lowered it to the floor and let it roll across the uneven deck plating.

 

”they must be willing to lose at a moment’s notice. If the force wills it,”

 

she called the weapon back to her hand, it rattling uphill back up into her hand,

 

”it will return to her. To become a Jedi, you must completely turn these attachments over to the force. Otherwise, those same things, or people, that you value will become the very chinks in your proverbial armor where the darkness will weave it’s tempting Diathim’s song.”

 

Leena returned the weapon to her robe. As a healer, her usage of the Jedi’s stereotypical weapon was limited. She had even considered giving up the weapon altogether; but even she understood the value placed by any myriad of warrior-types to their weapons of choice. Even the Jedi themselves, back to times of antiquity, made exceptions for the elegant weapons that had become their trademark.

 

“I do enjoy the peacefulness offered by the vast wilds of the galaxy, untouched by the machinations of civilizations. Alone against the wind and storms with nothing but the force as my companion. When that is unavailable, I find a rousing high stakes game of sabacc more enjoyable than a Jedi probably ought.”

 

Leena chuckled at her own confession. It was true, even if the opportunities of late had been limited. On the frontline MASH units Leena had served with, sabacc with the wounded or visiting command staff was a welcomed and enjoyable distraction from the horrors of war. As these memories, both warm and unpleasant flitted across her mind in a moment, Leena realized just how long it had been, how much had occurred the galaxy over.

 

”Much has happened these last few years. The galaxy is a new place and the shadows of the old still linger.” . . . 

 

Leena began, before continuing into a lengthy explanation of the happenings of the galaxy. The fall of temples and worlds, the campaigns of the Sith and the Republic, it’s fall, and the Imperial Remnant’s rise to power. Leena told stories of the front line battles she had undertaken and the amazing healing she had seen perpetuated by the force. She wondered as to the disappearance of The Spider and even the entire politicization of their order. The whole of the history of the galaxy as she knew it flowed from the chatty Mon Cal’s mouth. All the while, the home-built craft slipped smoothly, mostly, through the in betweens of real space with only occasional bone jarring rattles that randomly tormented the whole of the ship.

 

 

[Leena Kil]

Leena listened quietly. She shook her head as her apprentice spoke with such conviction, such surety in an uncertain future. Feeling the pain that radiated from her apprentice, Leena allowed it to wash by her, leaving her soul untouched. Feeling it, her demeanor turned solemn. Such pain the healer knew could be healed by the force in an instant; but for her apprentice, this was an important opportunity for growth. To overcome the darkness and evil that had beset her, Keenava would have to let go and plunge herself into the healing energies of the force time and again.
 

Such a task might take years, but it was a necessary one. It was not one to pick at when emotions were so fresh. Pulling a deck of Sabaac cards from within her robes, Leena smiled at Keenava as she began to shuffle,

 

”There is much to learn about the depths of goodness the force offers. Together, perhaps we might find it.”

 

Dealing out the cards, Leena began the game.

 

((Next post will be on Ilum))