Ilum

[Dashel Illioni]

<> be back soon guys...Neo, those two lessons you had in parenthisis of are great interest too me...been following a couple of other threads / stories that indicate all is not harmonius in the order.

 

<>

Dashel registered the Master's rebuke. Then his eyes caught sight of his R3 unit and his YT-2400 sitting in place next to Master Neo's ship. He went to the boarding ramp and the small monitor next to it to see why R3 had brought the ship here. He was suprised to see that he had been temporarily recalled to his homeworld to answer a few questions about a being that had been captured trying to sneak into the base where he had once been stationed. The being had claimed to be his property. Dashel shuddered. Slavery was considered barborous on his homeworld and those caught practicing it were routinely executed by explosive decompression.

 

"Master, I deeply regret this. I will meet up with you when I can. This will also be the last such interruption from my former homeworld until I finish training. That will be made absolutely clear to those who issued this call."

 

Dashel reigned in his anger at the interuption. It would do him no good. He boarded the Ti before he changed his mind and lifted off. His last impression of Master Neo was a certain tightness around his eyes that indicated a great displeasure. Sahv had already been involved with Master Neo's next lesson, but Dashel was sure the training wouldn't be nearly the same for him.

[Nom Anor's avenger]

The boarding ramp of perhaps the most poorly built frieghter lowerd, buring itself into the snow. The creater of the piece of metal garbage now taining the purity of the white snow made his way down the boarding ramp. As soon as the Jedi Master seet foot on the moist surface of Ilum, a lound clank caused Nom to turn around. He faced his ship just in time to see another piece of metal fall off, landing hard into the snow. Nom had no idea what that piece did, or what it was, he just hoped the vessel would still work.

 

 

Crap, He thought to himself. This piece of junk is falling apart. I should hire a real machanic...

 

The Jedi Master was snapped out of his ship modifacation plans by his approching apprentice. Nom centered his thoughts on the task at hand. Many of his peers would think he was making a bad decision. He was taking his apprentice to Ilum earlier than his previous pupils((say that five times fast)). But since he was able to master form III lightsaber combat, he figured spending more time on lightsaber use was a good idea. It was never too early to learn the art of defense. Revan was a quick learner, he should be alright.

 

"This is a very important step for a Jedi apprentice such as yourself. Amid the heavy mountain ranges of this planet are various caves. These caves each hold crystals. These special crystals are what make a Jedi's weapon work. And now it is your time to construct a Jedi's weapon." Nom unclipped one of his green lightsabers, the first he had ever made all those years ago. He also reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal box, holding everythat was required to construct a lightsaber. "Take this box, use these compounents to build your weapon."

 

Nom also handed his apprentice the lightsaber with the jade green blade. "Use this weapon as a guide. You can take it apart or look inside through the Force, what ever method you choose should suffice." Before sending Revan on his way, Nom put a hand on his padawan's shoulder.

 

"Be careful out there, it can be dangerous. Chances are you'll run into some native creature. May the Force be with you."

 

Just as Revan turned to leave, Nom pulled him back yet again. "Oh, that was my first lightsaber by the way, do be careful with it." Nom winked at his young friend and then watched as he made his way into the unforgiving coldness that was Ilum.

[Enigmatic]

The deep trenches of Illum's snowy terrain caused Revan to sink into the snow. As he dragged his feet slowly, he turned around every couple of minutes as his Master's body slowly faded away. The cold wind was slapping against the neck of Revan, and his eyesight was becoming more blurry by the second. The image and outline of various caves came into view as he pushed himself up a small hilltop. He could hear the many mysterious creatures howl in the snowy cold day. Grabbing onto a rock inside the cave he threw himself in as he shook himself off attempting to get rid of the snow on his jacket.

 

The faint glow of various colors were shining onto Revan's face as he finally decided to see where he was. To his amazement, there were crystals hanging from the wall, deep in the ground, and some just lying around. He began his slow walk deeper in the cave. The metal box that Nom had given him was getting heavier every minute as now it seemed to get lower and lower from his body. Walking, admiring the many assorted colors the crystals emmitted from their bodies, he was looking for a specific color. He passed blue, purple, green, orange, but still not the colors he was searching for. He carried his master's Lightsaber in his hand as he held it tightly, expecting the worst from the wild creatures that lived in Illum.

 

The deep caves were more like long tunnels instead. Crystals were lying everywhere now. It had almost been 2 hours since Revan had been in these caves searching aimlessly for the rare "Yellow" crystal. Moving in further he stopped pretty much giving up hope for that crystal he wanted. Sitting down sighing, he almost decided to just take one of the common collors that dwelled in the caves, but as he looked to his right, there was a small little trench in the cave that emmited of what seemed to be a yellow glow from inside.

 

As Revan stood up, he walked over to it leaving his box but keeping the lightsaber by his side. As he peeked inside, the yellow glow got brighter. Moving a step further the light was clear now. He opened his eyes wide as the yellow glow hit his face straight on. Moving in, the yellow crystals were lying everywhere. Touching them, he held one in his hand as he moved back over to his box. As he picked it up, he couldn't help hearing the faint sound of an animal growl. But he just shrugged and went on his way. Moving inside the cave, he put down his box as he sat down next to it exhaling slowly. As he opened it, it immediatly overwhelmed him with the different assorted tools and cover plating, Handles, small generators, wires, tubing, everything you can think of was inside that box. Moving his hand through, it was neatly assorted in place, but still looked like a mess.

 

He decided to to start from the bottom, and work his way up. Grabbing a bottom metal plate, he put it on his hand. There was a big hole in the plating which was where the crystal went. And then there was small holes all around the sides of the big one. Sticking the crystal inside, it fit perfectly as it slid right in the hole. The bottom plate guard was more like a cylinder as the crystal slid inside, the top of the crystal sticking out slightly. As he moved his hand inside the box he grabbed an assorted amount of wires all consisting of the same color around them. As he stuck them inside, he closed the plating and everything seemed to go good...so far.

 

It has now been 3 hours since he left his master on the "Landing Pad". Revan stood there, his lightsaber slowly coming together. He had almost done half of the handle before he stopped hearing the same noise he heard from when he entered the cavern. Listening more carefully, it stopped, and Revan went back to his work. He was now working on closing the handle up with metal platings. He made it so that the handle was silver, with black stripes coming vertically down all around the handle. It was almost finished now, the bottom handle anway. The wires were becoming sligly tangled inside the handle, but it was still functional. Sitting up, grabbing a cloth that seemed to be inside the box too, he wiped his sweat off of his forehead. Setting the half finished saber down, he sat up some more once again hearing that faint sound of an animal come into his ear. It echoed the cave, becoming louder and louder every time Revan listened to it clearly.

 

The fourth our had passed and it seemed as though the sun was setting slowly. Picking up Nom's lightsaber now, he put it in front of his face. Reaching out with the force, closing his eyes, he could automatically see what was in the lightsaber now. The insides of the lightsaber were perfectally constructed as Revan got every glimpse of how it worked. The bottom half was easy and all it took was common sense, but top half is what was the hard part. He found a small generator like device that obviously powered up the lightsaber emitting its beam. As he looked inside his "Lightsaber" it took him a while to figure out where the generator was placed. Finally, realalizing that it has to go under the crystal, he stuck it under attaching all the power wires to the generator.

 

By the fifth hour, the generator was in place, and everything was going smoothly as usual. It was almost finished except for the rest of the metal plating. Taking out small plates, he had to slowly and carefully put them together as one mess up can cost him yet another hour. Moving his hand through the box vigoursly, he grabbed an assorted amount of tools that were able to put the rest of the saber together. The small screws that put the plating together were finally set up. in the next hour he had put the plating on, and it was ready for the final coating.

 

All that was left to do, was insert the switches and it was ready to go. He put the switches on connecting them to the generator and the pilot light. Connecting them, all he had to do was flip of the switch and the generator would activate emitting the yellow beam. As he finally put the final coating of metal plating around the saber, it was ready to go. In the next hour he was finished with the emensly long and tiring project. It took of alot of hard work, and alot of mental thinking. From his research he found out that the color that a Jedi chose for his Lightsaber would naturally bind him better with the force. Standing up, he decided to try out his new weapon. Standing up, he exhaled slowly hoping that it will work. Slowly pressing the switch, his hearbeat grew to a stampeding race. The switch was flipped, and luckily for him, the yellow beam emmitted from the saber.

 

Revan smiled and was more then excited to see it work, but he was too tired to really show his excitment. Deactivating his lightsaber he stuck it to his belt and grabbed the box walking out of the cave. But unfortunetly, he heard that same noise he has been hearing through out his visit in Illum. That strange, erie, growl of what seemed to be a carnivore of some type. Slowly moving throughout the caverns wandering aimlessly to the "Exit". Making a turn into a long cavern "Hallway" the growl was now closer than it ever was. He could now see a shadow of a four legged creature come around the corner. And the shadow now leaped to the other wall as the creature came into view showing itself for the first time in 6 hours. It was a pure silver like wolf, and it had black stripes running down its face. It slowly walked forwards as it showed his blood renching teeth to Revan.

 

His heartbeat once again caught up with him, and all he could hear in his head was the voice of his Master telling him that he would eventually run into such creatures. The creature slowly approached him, almost like it was targeting him. Revan crushed his fear inside of him as he also approached the creature. As the creature snapped at him, Revan halted standing still for a moment. Revan heard the conversation with his master about how his lightsaber was the last choice to revert to. Putting his lessons to test, he eyed the creature. Using to froce to connect with him, the force started to bind him, slowly causing the creature to come to a sudden halt of confusion. Revan could now feel what the creature was feeling, just like how he could feel the bug's thoughts and weaknesses. The creature was filled with hate, anger, regret, sadness,. Revan was now bound to this creature through the force. Revan now said in his mind, talking to the creature.

 

IC: You will never bother another person again, nor will you return to these caves.

 

The creature slowly walked away as its head was now down looking to the ground. Its paws now dragging agains the rocky terrain. Revan smiled as he moved to the exit of the cave. After about 10 minutes of walking trying to find the exit, he could faintly see the light from the outside.

 

Walking from the halls, he turned around and the faint light of the outside world could be seen. He ran towards it following the many trails the caverns had set for its visitors.

 

Finally, the faint smell of fresh air could be smelt from the clogged nostrils and face that was now sweating like a pig. Moving outside, he put his cloth from the box over his face to muffle the severe winds that Illum so painfully gave. Moving under the hill, he could see the faint outline of his and his Master's ship landed in the snow. But he couldn't see his master. Approaching the ships, he exhaled for the third time, and waited by his ship. The real training of becoming a Jedi would now begin....

Edited July 16, 2005 by Guest

[Sith_Lord_Revan]

Jaden asked, "Master what do you wish us further to do here on illum? As i think we might as well do what we must here, while we are here, but obviously up to you master."

[Avararda Dinn]

"We are here, obviously, for the creation of your lightsaber, but I figured while we were here, I could use another lightsaber as well.

 

"You see, I am making a new lightsaber Form, called Form S. It is using the techniques of ancient samurai, and as you may know, samurai use two swords, thus my need for dual lightsabers. But I know you are eager to continue your training, so the choice is yours."

[Sith_Lord_Revan]

Jaden said to Avararda, "Master you have done so much for me already so if you wish to go make another lightsaber, then be my guest. Oh and master could you teach me in the art of Form S?"

[Nom Anor's avenger]

OOC: Excellent post!

 

A small spit bubble increased and decreased in size at regular intervals. It clung to the lips of a slumbering Jedi who was asleep amid the dank metals of his ship. It was starting to smell rather rank. That was another thing Nom added on his to do list. He couldn't help but think buying a new ship might just be easier than trying to fix this piece of metal carbage.

 

Another piece of the ceiling disconnected itself and landed on the floor, creating a rather loud clang. Nom awoke quickly wondering what had caused the noise. Although it didn't take him very long to figure it out. He needed a new ship. He couldn't help but think his current mode of transpertation was beyond his ability to repair.

 

The Jedi Master rolled over again, hoping to fall asleep. He had no idea how long it had been since his apprentice had taken off for the caves. His chronometer was all the way across the hall and he had no desire to go up and get it. He couldn't remember the last time he could be this lazy. He wasn't about to let that feeling end just so he could check what time it was.

 

Just as Nom's eyes were getting heavy, he felt a presence approaching. One that had been quite familiar. His padawan had finished his lightsaber. Nom shot out of bed and headed out of his ship, completely forgetting about how confortable he was. He found his apprentice leaning against his own vessel. The elder Jedi approached the younger beaming a smile larger than anything Revan had ever seen.

 

"So, lets see it."

[Enigmatic]

Nom quickly ran up to Revan, smiling as usual. His excitment seemed to be the most of his attention right now. Revan would just as excited as him, but he was very tired and worn out from the hardships of making such an elaborate weapon. He smiled, as he unclipped the silver handle with black stripes from his belt. It was a rather well made weapon, the many details of it has shown its creativity. As he unclipped it he replied to his master's excited comment.

 

"Ok, well here it goes"

 

Revan pushed the red switch immediatly. Without surprise, the yellow beam was emitted from the handle as it faded off of Revan's green eyes. His Master seemed to smile and put on of his hands on Revan's shoulder as Revan swung the yellow beam around slowly. Deactivating it, he clipped it to his belt.

 

"Oh, almost forgot."

 

Revan turned his belt around that was now affiliated with everything a Jedi could need. He unclipped Nom's lightsaber, as he handed it to him.

 

"I was going to take it apart, but since it was your first lightsaber, I didn't want to risk damaging it, so I just used the force. Plus, it hels better my training if I do that."

[Nom Anor's avenger]

"Ah," Nom said as he retrieved his saber from his padawan. "Fine work, fine work indeed. Now the true training will begin. Using the Force outside of combat is something you have grown accustomed to. But it is a whole different ball game when your blade is locked against that of another. Come, follow me. We need to train around the presence of other Jedi."

 

The Jedi Master turned his back on Revan and steped into his ship, not looking back to make sure his apprentice did the same. He had enough confidence that his padawan could follow orders. Nom had no need to check anymore.

 

The barely working thrusters of Nom's ship blasted to life as the failing piece of metal brought the Jedi Master into the atmosphere of Ilum and later into hyperspace. He didn't even have to reach out with the Force to know that his apprentice was right behing him.

 

((next post is at the Jedi temple on Coruscant.))

[Avararda Dinn]

Avararda smiled at his apprentice's anxiousness.

 

"I'm afraid I have to form the Form first. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I have a pressing matter to attend to. If you like, you can come along."

 

Var shifted, and felt his lone lightsaber resting at his side, as if waiting for a partner.

 

"I apologize for my impatience, but we must hurry. If you wish to stay, my ship is at your will."

[Fatal Raven]

Moric's ship exited out of hyperspace and landed on the planet of Ilum.

 

"I am sorry, you are right, quality rules over quantity. We must continue though."

 

Raven exited the ship and awaited further instructions from his Master.

[Moric Thian]

As Raven exited the ship, Moric stayed behind. He rumaged through his ship, turning over various items, looking for anything that can be turned into a lightsaber. After several minutes, the Sith Lord emerged with several pieces of metal floating along behind him. They landed at Raven's feet, causing several snow flakes to float up in the air.

 

"Take these parts and venture into one of the nearby caves. There should be several crystals within. Grab some crystals and put them within these parts." Moric also reached into his pocket and pulled out several piece of wire, and what also appeared to be a small lens. "These are also essential in the completion of your weapon."

 

Moric turned to make his way back inside to the wormth of his ship. He hated the cold. He could still sense some unease and confusion from his apprentice. He got halfway up the boarding ramp before turning to speak.

 

"Just start meditating once you retrieve your crystal. The Force should take it from there." With that, the Sith Lord entered his ship, closing the boarding ramp behind him. Raven was left alone in the cold.

[Fatal Raven]

Raven moved forward, placing all of his instruments into his robe pockets. He pulled the hood over his head, he was now just a lost dark figure moving into a cave. He closed his eyes, and stopped dead, snow pelting him in the face. He could feel the calling, the constant pulling from the Force, directing him into the cave. Raven moved, following the sounds.

 

He moved quickly, finally entering the cave. There were a few remains all throughout the cave, walking faster, Raven ran into a huge cavern in one part of the temple, suddenly, he didn't even know how he got there, he was lead here through the Force. Raven walked to the middle of the room, he felt the constant pulling, he fingered the closest crystal, he felt a huge surge of energy come from the tip of his hands, he felt it, it was a great feeling, a satisfying one. He pulled it from it's nest and placed it into his pocket. That was all he needed, now he needed to construct it.

 

He exited the part of the cave that he was in, and went to the remains that were near the entrance of the cave. He took them all, and piled them into a heap, he used the Force, and sent a burst of energy into the pile, a small flame erupted from the inside, finally starting to look like a real fire. He sat down next to it, and used the Force again to hover a piece of metal that he found in the heap on top of the fire. He pulled out all of the pieces and began construction on his lightsaber. He placed the crystal, the lens and the wires inside. He also put the power switch inside of the metal casing, now, it would only turn on to his Force reading, which he hoped would help him. Making sure everything was firm, he placed on the other side of the casing, finally shutting it, he pulled the now melting metal that he had Force hovered over the fire. He put the melting metal on the sides of the saber, they began to sizzle then finally harden, making a very solid hilt. He waited a few minutes, as the fire finally went out.

 

He picked up his saber, connecting with it, feeling it's power. He flicked it on with the Force. The long red blade emitted from the inside of the cave. He swung it around, nearing a wall, he did a clean slice right through it, melting the snow right off of the wall. Happy with his creation, he stashed it on his belt, turning it off before he did so. Finally, he moved back out into the cold planet of Ilum, moving quickly back to the ship he pulled out his saber to show his Master. This was one big creation that Raven had finished, one big creation was right.

[Moric Thian]

Moric remain inside his vessel, using the massive piece of metal to shield him from the cold. Ever since his trip to Sullust, cold weather was not something he enjoyed. Even the great power that was granted to him had its price.

 

The Sith Lord could sense the return of his apprentice. He had only been gone a few hours. He had made good time. If Moric could waste time with feelings like pride, he probably would have congradulated his apprentice. But he had more important things to do. As Raven approached the ship, Moric lowered the exit ramp, making sure Raven could get onboard. After he was sure the younger Sith was within the Exsphere, Moric sent the ship into the atomosphere, leaving Ilum behind.

[Avararda Dinn]

Finally, after days and days and days, Var completed his second saber and mastered the new Form S. He went over the Form one more time, just for good measure.

 

Activating his green lightsabers, Var let himself fall into the Force. It swarmed around him like a warm blanket to a homeless person. He could feel it's power enhancing his own, giving him ultra-speed and stamina.

 

"Swing, slash, cut, stab, parry," he breathed. He fought imaginary opponents; 'Sith' fell before his might. 'Droids' clattered to the lush ground, and 'humans' crumpled beneath their own weight.

 

"HAH!" he yelled, a cry of triumph. He deactivated his weapons and clipped them onto his belt. Breathing hard, he returned to his ship, nodding at his apprentice.

 

"Do you remember your Force training?" Var said, curiosity getting the best of him. The Jedi Knight could feel two Sith far away, and Form S wasn't going to prove it's worth to no one...

[Avararda Dinn]

Deciding, with some frustration, that Jaden wasn't going to respond, Var put everything away and stepped towards his apprentice. Waving a hand in front of him, Var moved about, searching the body for any signs of life.

 

No such luck.

 

With an exsasperated sigh, the Jedi Knight boarded the Canine and took off for the Coruscant academy - in search of a new apprentice.

[Black]

Ilum. The planet of many resources, or at least that was what Black had heard previous to his landing here. He quickly gathered his double E-11's and strapped his Sith Swords on his back. Satisfied, he quickly took off and away from his ship. Black, as an apprentice had learned two things, the Force is a powerful ally, use it whenever the chance is given to you, that, he had already did. He also learned that power played a key role within the Sith, and within himself, and, he would need power to advance through the final stages of his Apprentice Career. It had been a long one, but had it? Really, he had learned the Force quickly and efficiently, not really needing to dwell on it for long; it had been quite easy, but yet, quite hard. It was weird.

 

Anyways, Black had now entered into the first mountain pass; he wanted to search first before he got involved with any such things along the lines of sabers. But, he moved quickly, not really knowing where he was going, but the Force did, actually leading him to the ground level of the mountain.

 

That was when he saw it, a body, cold, obviously frozen to the core, but, still there, covered with ice and snow. Black laughed enthusiastically, moving over to the dead body. As he touched, he immediately was told that it had been here for over months, but, it was still in its original form, just frozen. It was the body of someone”¦ very close to him, yet so far away. He really couldn't tell, since the body had been badly beaten, and as Black rolled him over, he had seen that the man had been stabbed in the chest by a lightsaber.

 

Wow, seems like they had some fun here.

 

Black decided that his first ingredient would be blood, since, well, it was right in front of him, and well, it would also be good for him to have the blood of his enemy to be called upon in a duel of fate. As Black unsheathed his long Sith Sword he picked the body up with the Force, moving it forward into the nearest cave, where he could actually concentrate without the winds of Ilum blowing in his face. As the body dropped silently to the ground, he began to see the faint outlines of the man's face. Weird, he had never seen a Jedi or at least someone this close to one, dead, right in front of him, as though he had killed him, a quick feeling of joy churned within his stomach, Black let out a happy laugh, and preceded with the surgery.

 

Black quickly shut his eyes, focusing yet again on the Force; he could feel the power begin to climb through his veins, the power of the Darkside move as though it was blood. It was”¦ magical, and at the same time, powerful. A burst of energy exited out of the fingertips of Black, sending a wave of fire onto the man's iced body. He quickly erupted with flames, and the frost on the man's body began to melt, slowly, but surely. After nearly 2 minutes of burning, the fire ceased with the wave of Black's hand. He quickly flipped the body on its back, cool to the touch. Now, it was time to cut, with the blade in his left hand, he cut vertically on the outstretched hand of the Jedi. The blood, began to ooze out into the small cave, quickly freezing once again as it connected with the ground. He smiled as he pulled the bigger of the ”œblood ice”

[Apollo]

The static Angel dropped out of hyperspace above the snowy planet of Ilum. Raziel didn't know much of this planet, only that it was always cold and it was meant to test the physical, mental, and most of all the spiritual fortitude of someone. As he orbited the planet he thought to himself how far it was he had come. Quite a was”¦from being thrown out of a bar to being a Jedi Knight. He felt the hilt of his current saber”¦it was cold to the touch, the depths of space”¦always so cold.

 

He thought back to his family”¦it had been quite some time since he last seen them. They had gone back to the home world of Ryloth and he had stayed on Corruasant. As his mind drifted to them he felt a slight pain of hurt, but he didn't know why.

 

He pushed it away for the time being and descended upon the northern most pole of the planet. He flew low, testing to see how much better of a pilot he was now. His reflexes had greatly increased through the use of the force. He was able to pull off maneuvers he had never before been able too. Raziel carefully brought his ship down onto the surface of Ilum. He grabbed his traveling cloak and pulled it taught over his body. With his saber clipped onto his belt he left the ship, the cold hit him in the face like a pile of bricks.

 

The world itself was an amazing sight; the snowy mountains off in the distance”¦even watching the tiny flakes of snow were almost”¦mesmerizing. He shook his head and moved on; if he stayed out here to long he might freeze to death. His fingers began to numb quickly as they were holding his cloak closed”¦or at least helping hold it closed. A storm had blown in so if he didn't hold onto his cloak he would lose it. When he arrived it was mid day, but by the time he made it to his destination it was twilight”¦not a good sign on a planet like this.

 

He slowly entered the cavern. He was surrounded by complete darkness; he would have to ”œsee”

[ObliviousKnight]

((Oh, yes, the best lightsaber page I've been able to find is here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightsaber))

 

An ebony freighter appeared over the icy planet of Ilum.

 

On a clear day, the world was quite beautiful, with picturesque mountains lining the horizon, and undisturbed snow everywhere. If it weren't for the fierce winds and fiercer wildlife on the surface, the planet would have been perfect for a turboski resort.

 

On a clear day, that is. Sadly, a freakish snowstorm had recently brewed up, robbing Armiena of the beautiful view from space.

 

Unseen by the nonexistant observers on the desolate frozen wastes, the Avenging Angel descended through the planet's atmosphere, buffeted to and fro by one of the worst snowstorms her pilot had ever seen. Visibility was effectively zero, and Armiena relied solely on her instruments to guide her ship to a safe landing.

 

At least it was still early morning near the crystal caverns, and the snowstorm was starting to clear up. That would give Shawn plenty of time before he risked being lost in the harsh night. Armiena knew by painful experience that few people could survive travelling the wastes during the night--she was one of those people.

 

The Avenging Angel set down a close distance to the crystal caverns. While R5-D9 switched the ship's systems in stand-by mode, Armiena headed to the boarding ramp to wish her Padawan good luck and strength.

 

"Shawn, be sure to watch out while in the caves." She handed him a small set of cutting equipment. "There are... beasts in there, mostly kinrath spiders: man-sized arachnids, highly dangerous in packs, quite poisonous. I hate those things." Armiena shuddered visibly, then gave him a small hand-light.

 

"Not to mention whatever tricks the Force might be using to test you, whether light or dark. Trust in your instincts, and if worst comes to worst..." Armiena was about to give him one of her own lightsabers, but she decided against it; she decided that it was best that she stopped trying to protect him--he was nearing the end of his training, and needed to handle minor problems such as man-eating insects with his own abilities.

 

"If worst comes to worst, I'm only a few klicks away." The Jedi Knight hit a switch, and the boarding ramp lowered solemnly. Freezing air rushed into the ship, and she instantly regretted the fact that she hadn't changed for the weather. "Good luck, and may the Force be with you.

 

 

((I want at least three good-sized posts. Not to mention any twists I may throw your way.))

[Shawn Kenobi]

Shawn payed attention closely to Armiena's words, he knew her advise would ultimately lead to his actions. He listened closely, but his eyes wandered to the snow fields and the winds all around. He had hoped to ask her some questions but he knew she probably wouldn't answer in hopes that he would discover it himself.

 

"Thank you, may the Force be with you as well."

 

He put the tools Armiena had given him and made a slight bow to her before he turned and walked off. He could barely see anything, but that didn't matter all too much. The Force guided him along through the white haze before his eyes. It was not long before he looked back and couldn't see the ebony hull of his master's ship, that reminded him that for the first time in his training he would be completely alone.

 

Shawn needed something to keep his mind occupied, because the coats repelled the cold his mind was wandering; only the Force managed to keep him on task for the moment. He decided to go over the tech manuals which he had nearly memorized. In his mind he saw the parts, the power cell, the primary crystal, the lens assembly, all there.

 

Although from what he had learned there was more to it than just mechanics, he would need the Force to guide his hands. He continued to go over everything in his mind when he suddenly felt a pull on his leg and a sudden fall forward. Shawn was obviously not paying attention, but he quickly regained his awareness and got up from the cold ground.

 

He looked about, trying to get his bearings in the cold desert; of course all he saw was white. He found the thing that had tripped him, a medium sized rock in the dirt. He moved it with his foot out of the path, on its bottom was a sparkling array of crystals like a mirror; he was geting close.

 

He continued walking, he was beginning to get used to the horrible cold that surrounded him. He was could tell by the cold that mid-day had come and gone...he was starting to wonder what was taking so long. He regained his counsel with the Force and followed its path, it began winding around large snow drifts.

 

Shawn was sure he had gone farther than the closest cavern; but the Force obviously had other plans. Finally on the horizon he spotted an opening like a black abyss in the rock. He would finally arrive at his destination. As he passed the opening the cold of the outside became less, but it was still present. He pulled out the hand light Armiena has gave him and shined it off of the walls. The sight of all the crystal formations within was amazing, a spectrum of colors lined the walls and ceiling. He explored further into the cave, the Force pulling him in certain directions as he went.

 

His mind remembered Armiena's words of danger, he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid all of these kinrath spiders. Shawn had apparently jinxed himself, around the corner a duo of them appeared. A giant spider was hard to imagine actually living, but he didn't have to imagine. Fear was the first thing Shawn felt, but he quickly pushed it aside, if he ran he would only be failing what appeared to be one of the Force's first tests. As they ran for him fangs forward, he pulled out one of the cutting tools, he saw their next moves in the Force and exploited them; he dodged the first and with one fast swipe the second was missing half of its legs.

 

He didn't know exactly what the tool was, it certainly wasn't a lightsaber; but it worked just as well. The first spider was slow to react, and the second was down for the count. Shawn saw as the first spider flied into the air towards him; quickly he called the Force to his aid and threw it against the wall. It let out a horrible sound but Shawn moved in, it was obviously distraught from the blow. He quickly used the tool to sever its head from its body before it decided to get up again. The second spider was still lying, but it had rage in its eyes. Shawn moved in for the kill, but as he got close it lept with its remaining legs; in seconds Shawn had to duck, and with another precise cut the spider was in no position to move ever again.

 

He cleaned the tool off before placing it with the others, and walked forward through the caves following the guidance of the Force.

[ObliviousKnight]

If Shawn was feeling anxious and alone, then Armiena was being torn apart by her anxiety. No matter what she tried--meditation, finishing the draft of a plan for a large surface bombardment cannon (although, she had to admit, she stole most of the idea for that weapon), or playing Dejarik with R5-D9, she couldn't shake her anxiety.

 

At times like these, she would always "communicate" her feelings to a willing partner in misery. That partner was a hand-to-hand practice dummy she kept in the Avenging Angel's cargo hold.

 

As a test of her own concentration, she didn't tether it to a fixed hook on the cargo hold's ceiling. The Jedi Knight simply levitated it in place while she brutalized every centimeter of it's surface, laying upon it countless blows with her bare fists, elbows, and all of the body's other conventional weapons.

 

A few minutes further into the exercise, Armiena decided that it was time that she increase the stakes. With a miniscule twitch of Force power, she activated four of her training remotes, and had them circle the practice dummy, firing low-power stun shots the entire time. It was an extremely challenging drill, and it tested Armiena's abilities to their limits. For what seemed forever, she wove an haphazard path around the practice dummy, pummeling it with her limbs whenever she could get find an opening in the web of stun shots.

 

Somewhere in the back of her consciousness, she was vaguely aware that the nonstop beating was taking a toll on her own body--the woman's knuckles were starting to bleed, the skin broken by the constant pounding.

 

She grinned, meanwhile taking a painful shot to the sternum as she lost concentration. Healing her own bleeding knuckles would be yet another exercise for her.

[Shawn Kenobi]

The walking was certainly getting old by now, he had gone relatively deep into the cave. By now Shawn was humming songs to keep himself busy and on task. The cold wasn't so bad as he went further in, he had even taken one of his coats off. In the cave you could hear the echos of movement deeper inside, but you could never be sure if anything was coming.

 

The Force kept pulling Shawn along like a magnet, until finally when he passed a nook in he cave did he feel it pulling him back to it. Slowly he walked into the nook, it was obvious here was where he would build his weapon. The walls like most of the cave was lined with crystal formations among the solid rock. He picked a spot to sit, it looked like it had the room to work and no crystals would be finding themselves digging into him.

 

He pulled out his uncle's hilt, taken apart and put back together many times on the way. He unwrapped all the tools and parts he would need, he acquired two sets of parts besides the hilt he already had; just in case he got creative. He knew while he worked he worked the Force would test him, in what way he had no clue. The test would come whether he was ready or not, so he simply got to work.

 

He looked around the room, trying to find what crystal he would choose first. A strong pull brought his attention to one on the ceiling, its glow mesmerized him for a few moments. He reached and picked out what appeared to be a tool for cutting them loose; he couldn't reach by even jumping. He used the Force to send the tool to the crystal, he couldn't exactly pull the ceiling to himself. The tool made quick work of cutting it free of the rock and it dropped into Shawn's waiting hand.

 

He quickly went to work, the Force guiding his hands with precision as he shaped the crystal to the appropriate size and polish.. Once he was done he had to shake off the semi-trance he was in; the saber called for three seperate crystals and he only had one. Shawn went through the same process twice until all three lay on a cloth with the hilt, all the parts out of the housing. Slowly but surely he let the Force take over his movements; in went the emitter matrix, the lens assemly, the energy gate, and all the crystals. All the while a trance was taking hold, as he alinged the crystals slowly he was beginning to feel like when he first introduced to the force; trapped and in danger, but this time he knew to keep calm and just let the Force do its work.

 

Last but not least the power cell was fitted and he end cap placed, it was done. The trance persisted however, Shawn realized the test was upon him, whatever it might be. He began hearing distant noises in the cave, noises of a great beast from what his instincts spoke. Voices also began to ring through the caverns to his hightened senses, voices of fear and pain. Shawn's body tensed up from the sounds, instict again; but out of the many two struck him in the chest, they sounded like his parents.

 

He couldn't tell if he was in the real world or in a dream, everything seemed real enough. The screams and roar of the beast came ever closer as if they knew where he was in this labyrinth of caverns. The very air around him came to a freezing cold, the screams became louder and louder and the cave seemed to widen before him; as if they were making room for whatever it was.

 

Shawn picked up his rebuilt hilt and place it on his belt incase he needed it. Suddenly two figures ran into view, their faces lit up when they saw him; of course it was his parents, or what appeared to be them. To Shawn it didn't matter, his parents were in danger. He rushed towards them, but all too late; from behind them came a great creature, scaley with red eyes and claws like knives. It appeared to be out of a story book, blood all over from its countless victims; without provocation it made two great swipes. Shawn couldn't watch, he knew what had happened; first came the grief for the lifeless corpses on the ground. Seconds would pass before he managed to look at the creature, rage in his eyes.

[ObliviousKnight]

A feeling of rage and anger washed over Armiena, and it fueled her next strike, battering the unfortunate practice dummy with a blow that sent it crashing through the Jedi Knight's grip and up against the wall. For a moment, she simply stood their, admiring her handiwork in a stunned silence, trying to figure out why she used such anger to empower her attacks--the emotion seemed to come from nowhere, as though it was someone else's.

 

As if it was someone else's...

 

Oh... sithspit. She instantly confirmed her suspicions that a Padawan/Master bond existed between the two Jedi. Almost expected, Shawn had run into serious trouble in the caverns. It was all she manage to not change into a heavy coat and run after him through the snow, and cut down whatever was threatening him.

 

It's his test, Arm. It's his duty to prove himself capable of being a Jedi, and if not.... she didn't even want to think of that possibility. The thought of being on the opposite side of the Force from Shawn was unbearable.

 

Armiena willed herself to calm down, and for her tense muscles to relax, but she knew that until Shawn returned, there would be no rest for her. It was even starting to get a bit late, judging from how much the light had changed from a glance through the cockpit's canopy. She sighed, partly out of anxiety and partly in exasperation at her own nerves.

 

She returned to the cargo hold, and once the Jedi Knight healed her minimal wounds, she began fending off invisible opponents with her lightsabers in the cargo hold, dancing about the room.

[Shawn Kenobi]

His vision was still blurry, he really didn't know why but to him it didn't matter. He was blinded by the rage in his heart, it was as if someone had started a fire inside him and it was quickly going out of control. Shawn's mind was racing out of control, too many things and no focus; but one thing remained, that he must destroy the creature he hated with everything in his being.

 

He pulled his saber from his belt, he activated and a deep blue blade shot from its emitter. He had no time to admire the work he had done, the job had to be done, nothing else mattered. He rushed forward and moved to initiate a series of slashes to cripple the creature; it tried to defend but nothing it could do would stop the blade. It flung back in pain, Shawn was not amused; his rage had not been quenched.

 

Shawn ran forward, his lightsaber grasped by both hands ready for the killing blow, and he was quite willing to do it. But suddenly he stopped, the blade millimeters from the beast; Armiena's words and his memory of what happened on Naboo flew into his ears and eyes from their place in Shawn's mind. Instantly he knew that it was wrong, if he did this he would be handing himself over to the Sith; and that was not one of his options.

 

"No! This is wrong, I won't let my emotions control my actions! I will not betray my training, the order, or my master."

 

He turned off his saber, put it back on the belt and turned away from the beast. His breathing was heavy now, but he slowed it with the Force; his blood was beginning to cool. He knew he had avoided certain doom, and passed the test; if he hadn't Armiena would probably have made sure he didn't leave, but he wasn't going to think about it anymore. He closed his eyes, but the blurred vision persisted. Suddenly his back wrenched with pain, when he screamed and open his eyes he found himself back in his nook, alive and ticking.

 

Shawn calmed himself first, he was still shaken from the experience and sweat was drenching him. He wiped the sweat from his brow, soaking a sleeve of his coat. He found his saber on the cloth where he had left it, he picked it up; the cold chrome was nice to his fingers, he pressed the internal switch with the Force and watched as the deep blue blade from his dream shot from the emitter just as planned. Shawn couldn't help but laugh and scream in joy, but he wasn't done yet.

 

He had planned on building two more sabers, he had eyed his master's set since he had seen them. He knew it had been a long time since he arrived, but he wanted to do this before he left. He again couseled the Force, and in minutes before him lay 6 crystals, polished and ready for use. He then picked some large crystals out, after a few minutes of searching four of them were in his nook; two were deep purple, one was green and the other yellow.

 

He hollowed the space in each out first, he was working as fast as he wanted, if he didn't leave enough room he would have to adjust it and that he didn't have time for. Next he cut the two purple crystal into matching hilts; the green and yellow crystals he cut to become the pommel cap and the emitter for each. He could tell by the cold air it was becoming night, but the next part required complete concentration, lest he be vaporized by his own creations.

 

He initiated another trance, positioning each part in its place, each wire to its component, and each crystal to its exact alignment, It took time, even if he had done it before the Force was a patient thing, it made sure everything was right in place. Shawn put the end caps on at last, simply by looking at the hand light he had been using the entire time he could tell he had been at work for some time, its light was getting dimmer.

 

He quickly put his repaired hilt on his belt, and packed all the tools into his coat. He picked up both sabers and had to concentrate, it was one of the few times he had to do multiple things at once with the Force. Both of his new hilts had internal switches, and as he pressed them both two purple blades shot forth. He was pleased with his creations but the light loseed a noticeable amount of brightness...it was time to go before he was stuck in the dark.

 

Shawn belted his two sabers, and picked up the light that would let him see with his eyes, not that he needed them to get out. The Force once again was kind enough to guide his way, the tunnels would have probaly confused him otherwise. Finally he arrived to find the exit, but the star was getting low in the sky. He quickly put the light away and walked into the frozen desert once more. The storm outside had been kind to him, it had died down enough to let his tracks remain in the snow. The return journey seemed to be shorter than the way out, as it always seemed to do.

 

Night was upon him in a short time, but his tracks guided him as long as the light was working. His exposed areas were freezing horribly by now, but by the depth of the tracks he knew he was close, Armiena having a black ship didn't help matters. Minutes later his light ran out, things were looking bad; that is they were until suddenly Shawn's head came into contact with a solid metal object. He couldn't see the ship, but he could certainly feel it.

 

He lay on the ground, happy to finally find his way back; of course it wouldn't matter if he couldn't get his master to kindly open the door. Fortunately that was the easy part, his first lesson held the key.

 

"master, I'm back...you wouldn't happen to be near the ramp controls would you?"

[ObliviousKnight]

The sound of a light impact against the Avenging Angel's hull was the last thing Armiena expected to hear. Under any other circumstances, she would have assumed that some curious beast was prodding at the freighter's curved hull, trying to build itself a nest amongst inactive wires that would later fry the poor animal, but with Shawn out in the freezing night, she knew exactly what the noise was. And to make the situation even more obvious, she clearly heard his Force Message.

 

Armiena used the Force to speed her movements, allowing her to run about the ship in just a few seconds. In this time, she retrieved a warm, comfortable blanket from her quarters, she increased the temperature of the ship's life support, and then finally lowered the boarding ramp, allowing a gust of frigid air to enter the ship along with her exhausted Padawan. In one smooth motion, she ushered Shawn into the warmth of her ship and threw the blanket around his shoulders.

 

For a few minutes, no words were needed. Shawn was back aboard her ship, and with his lightsabers--that explained everything that had happened. The pride and relief oozing off of Armiena's presence in almost tangible quantities explained everything she had to say.

[Shawn Kenobi]

Shawn sat at the same table where he had quickly practiced his construction technique before they arrived. He was glad to be back inside a ship, it didn't matter if it was his or not it felt like home. The blanket warmed his freezing skin, the night cold was as bitter as his master told him. He really hoped none of his sabers ever was destroyed in battle, the thought of going back in the snow gave him the chills.

 

After he finally managed to warm up he took off the layers of clothing and coats he had worn. The tools wrapped in a sack of cloth were soaked in sweat but with a good cleaning would be fine. After a quick change of clothes he layed all three of his finished sabers on the table.

 

The smile on Armiena's face since his return congratulated his actions without words, he had passed the test and finished his task. He hoped she would approve of his work, he had put as much time as he could into the crystal hilts; they were by no means perfect, but if they worked as well as Armiena's he would be happy.

 

"So, what do you think of them? It took some time to get those crystal hilts made but I am satisfied, I didn't have time to test their resistance to a saber blade, I can only hope they work as well as yours do."

[ObliviousKnight]

Armiena's hand automatically extended towards her apprentice's new lightsabers, but she held back, not quite willing commit a tiny breach of ettiquette. "They're beautiful, Shawn." And made of crystals, no less... but I did get that idea from Ara's sword. She chuckled inwardly; so much for originality. Fair enough. "Something that you made on your own two hands and skills, a functional work of art." Although Armiena knew Shawn probably didn't want to talk about what happened in the crystal caverns, it was necessary that she touch upon that subject very briefly.

 

"Whatever happened in those caves... I don't need to know, and you probably aren't in a mood to tell me. Whatever happened, you must have been tested by the Force... and you passed. That's all that matters."

 

Armiena frowned, and thought for a few minutes. It was time that Shawn's final tests to come... but there were still a few more lessons to complete. "As much as I hate to kill what should be a triumphant moment, you should probably get some sleep, if you can. With what I have planned, you're going to need it."

[Shawn Kenobi]

Shawn could tell Armiena's was pleased the the sabers; they were now part of his being and an extension of him instead of cylinder with electronics and crystals in it. They may have been inspired by someone elses work, but they were a custom make that nobody could recreate to the letter. It was always good to hear Armiena's praise, it meant he was doing things right; well, atleast near enough right.

 

It seemed like they had just arrive, when indeed they had only hours ago; but now another lesson lay before him and he feared it may be one of the last. He quickly put that notion aside of course, if it was one thing he had taken grasp of it was the fact that the learning would never stop. A good jedi makes it to master, but a great one never stops learning new techniques and abilities to improve himself.

 

Shawn didn't need to hear the word sleep twice though, he was unbelievably tired for the short time he had been on the planet. He found one of the spare beds and quickly lay down with a sigh of relief. The softness of the bed didn't matter; all that really did was he be ready for whatever would happen next. He lay his head back and without a second thought fell asleep.

[ObliviousKnight]

Armiena sighed; she envied Shawn's youthful enthusiasm. Even though the woman herself was no old hag, there were times that she felt positively ancient.

 

Been through too much, seen too much. War always does mess with a girl's mental age. Armiena found herself reclining in her pilot's seat in the cockpit, pouring herself a glass of a cheap wine. She swirled the burgundy liquid about in its glass, and took a cautious, appreciative sip. Again, she sighed. Acting on a random whim, she accessed the Holonet via the Avenging Angel's control boards, and was surprised to see, that for once, she had mail waiting for her--a rare event for her. Still surprised, she read the message. It was short, but rather intriguing.

 

Dearest daughter,

 

I'm sure you've noticed the warnings in the Force; some Dark force is about to attack. Where, I don't know, but my guess is the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Prepare yourself; I have a bad feeling that this attack is going to be difficult for all of us to get through.

 

Your armor is being built, and should be finished just before the fighting begins. To confirm your likely suspicions, I asked your droid to send me the finished blueprints of that armor you were designing. Just send me a message, tell me where you're going to be training your Padawan next--yes, I know you have a Padawan. I'll give you your armor there.

 

Never stop training; perhaps I can teach you a few tricks when the war dies down.

 

Love,

 

Your Mother.

 

"I swear, even my own droid is keeping secrets from me now..." but Armiena's smile contradicted the bitterness in her voice. She knew fully well what her mother meant by "a few tricks," and she was looking forward to learning from someone whose survival for most of Armiena's life depended on the techniques she referred to. The Jedi Knight hastily wrote her reply, then piloted the Avenging Angel through Ilum's atmosphere, to disappear into hyperspace.

[Yue]

Damon's ship landed and the knight exited making his way to the caves. Damoned entered the caves and was pulled twoards two silver cystals. He snatched the cystals, headed back to his ship and blasted off to the temple on courrsant.

 

Life is only wasted on those who would waste it.