Ilum

[Dacob Degal]

OOC: Well besides the obvious .

 

IC:

Suluric gritted his teeth behind the helmet. He had had no time to react, (AHHG, curse the force!) it had given the Jedi the edge he had exploited just now. He relaxed and answered, frustration lingered clearly in his voice despite his attempts to quell it. "You had the Force, but is there a way to beat it?" (There's an answer...... I must find it!) he thought with fierce determination.

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian thought a second, then spoke

 

"There are several ways to nulify the effects of the force, mainly by using the natural serum extracted from ysalamiri that repels all force energy within a bubble it produces. But I say that is cheap, that a force user, even such a master as myself, can be taken down using more subtle means.

 

"The first thing you did wrong was you only used your blaster. A Jedi's lightsaber can easily block a blaster shot, this you have seen, and through the force a Jedi can use the precision and grace needed to attepmt such a feat. The physics of it are simple, at the very middle of where the blade is, which is infintessimally small and where the energy loop is, There exists a magnetic field around the energy, that the loop of energy produces. The blaster bolt just gets too close to the field, and is repulsed in another direction depending upon the angle it hits the blade.

 

"A skillful Jedi master, such as myself, can easily block a bolt and send it right back where it came from, crippling the person who shot it. The same thing can be done with stun blasts, but this is a bit trickier to pull off."

 

Aryian looked down, thinking long and hard about what he was going to say next.

 

"What I am now going to tell you binds you to me and my brethren, the Jedi. What you learn from me, you must promise not to use to kill, only to become victorious in your efforts. I understand there are situations where death is the only way out, and from those, they do not apply to this. But if you attack someone first, you must not use what I am to teach you to kill, only to capture. I would also like to hear, before I start, that you would learn the ways of peace through Jedi teachings, but this is only my feelings on the subject."

 

Aryian sighed, looking deep past the front of the man's helmet deep into his eyes, into his very soul. He would be able to tell if the man was lying or not.

[Dacob Degal]

Suluric's eyes widened under his helmet. The Jedi was willing to tell him effective ways to combat force users. This was a great honor to say the least, even though he did not approve of ending a glorious battle with the capture of an enemy; he would learn differently. He gave a response that was considered the closest thing a Mandalorian would willingly give into peace. "In killing I will choose with sense and honor. You have my word Master Jedi." He nodded his head respectfully to reinforce his words.

[Ary the Grey]

"Mind you, I am teaching you what I know, but not everything I know."

 

Aryian relaxed, loosening his muscles and drawing out his lightsaber again.

 

"The force is a valuable and powerful ally to our struggle. With it, we can do many things. The only things that limit a Jedi are himself. The force can work miracles, but only if the Jedi is powerful enough and knows what he is doing, along with his state of mind, which is the first lesson I tried to teach you.

 

"You do not need your armor if you know what you are doing, if you trust yourself. If you believe, whether you have the force or not, you can perform miracles. This is what I was trying to show you. A Jedi is a formidable foe, but they are still only human, they are not gods. Split their concentration on the force between several attacks, and they will be at a disadvantage, equalizing the field.

 

"The way of a warrior is not to be strong, but to be honorable in whatever you do, including defeat. Now attack me again."

 

Aryian poised, a low crouch stance that would minimize his body mass and yet provide for some fast attacks, if need be. As he reignited his sabers, he let his eyes close, fully engulfing himself in the force. Nearby, the rocks began to glow again, and hum as well, only this time it was far louder, a deep note that somehow embodied the sorrow a Jedi must live with.

 

And Aryian was ready.

[Ary the Grey]

((It's been too long.))

 

Noting that the man hadn't moved, he disengages his sabers.

 

"Perhaps the time just isn't right. The force beckons me away from here, and perhaps you will find me again someday. For now, I think you should know that any good warrior knows his enemy better than himself. Salud."

 

Aryian boards his ship and leaves, and about an hour later a republic transport arrives and drops off a ship for Suluric to use. Woohoo.

[Ads-Gop Flif]

The exits hyperspace. As the windshield starts burning while entering the atmosphere, Ads tells his R10 unit, "Scan the surface for a safe place to land."

 

When it does land, Ads puts on an extra cloak for warmth. The cockpit opens up and Ads jumps out.

 

"Time to go sightseeing."

 

As Ads wanders around he spots a cave. He enters. When he enters, the walls glow from the crystals.

 

"This reflection looks nice."

 

Ads takes a crystal and puts it in his pocket. After wandering around for a while, he returns to his ship to keep warm. After getting in, he takes out a gun-shaped tool.

 

"Now, if I just knew how to finish this..."

 

Ads then puts down the gun and places the crystal in his pocket. He then relaxes in the .

[Ads-Gop Flif]

After relaxing, Ads gets out, gets a few more crystals, gets back in the , and blasts off-planet.

[Nom Anor's avenger]

OOC: Sorry Bron, but its been too long. Some type of notice would have worked, but there was none. So I'm going to have to continue on without you. You might have to find a new master as well.

 

IC: Nom watched as his padawan ventured out into the icy atmosphere that is Ilum. After waiting a few moments, Nom followed suite. Instead of following his apprentice, the Jedi Knight went the opposite direction. Both had to make lightsabers on their own.

 

After trudging along, knee deep in snow, for quite some time. Nom was finally able to make out an opening within a massive wall of rock,

 

This cave should do nicely, he thought to himself.

 

Upon entering the cave, the Jedi Knight noticed instantly what he was looking for. Mounds of crystals protruded from the ground, creating an evident contrast to the drab look of the cave itself. He couldn't help but notice how things were different the second time around. The crystals were a lot harder to find since the last time he was here.

 

Nom wasted no time, and immediately got to work. He gathered a few crystals and sat cross-legged on the ground. He poured out the contents of his metal box as well. He decided he would make his weapons in a different way this time around.

 

The Jedi Knight closed his eyes and awaited the Force to take over. He soon found himself surrounded by a village, lavished in flames. He could see innocent people burning, their flesh liquefying without leaving the body. Nom cringed at the sight. He took a few steps into the now mass of burning structures. He flames danced under the moonlight, adding an almost peaceful connotation to the starry sky.

 

The Jedi Knight then noticed a man wielding a rod of crimson, matching the flames surrounding him perfectly. He cut down random passerbies as they fled in terror. Before Nom could even think, a rod of green light cut through the air. It didn't match the flames at all.

 

He could hear himself speak, while holding his green saber in front of him.

 

"Stop. Don't make me kill you."

 

"There is no middle ground." Was all man said as he cut down yet another pedestrian. His face remained hidden under a well-placed hood.

 

"You leave me no choice." Nom charged the man, lightsaber poised. The two blades locked. He used the Force to lift the hood of his adversary. Curiosity is hard to resist.

 

Some how Nom expected what he saw. Yet he wasn't ready for it. The commanding presence of Darth Ouietus loomed before him. He now seemed a lot taller than he did a second ago.

 

Nom quickly pushed up against the Sith master's blade, breaking the lock. He kept his lightsaber in front of him, a basic defensive stance. Quietus drove him backwards, sending his blade in every conceivable direction. Nom could barely keep up. He waited, keeping his lightsaber moving. He waited, making sure to keep every part of his body defended. He waited, he kept giving ground. He attacked, the opening lasted for only a split second, but Nom wasted no time in hitting it. He was able to sneak his saber past Quietus' parry, and scored a hit right under the left elbow. The Sith stumbled backwards, Nom leapt after him. He sent another slash but this time towards his opponent's knees. Quietus' wound slowed him just enough to keep him from blocking. Nom detached both legs in one swift motion. The Sith crumpled towards the ground, lightsaber rolling away.

 

The Jedi Knight calls the red saber to him, finding it a home within his left hand. He held both weapons pointed at Quietus' neck.

 

"There is no middle ground." The Sith's voice was quite, horse. His eyes never left Nom's.

 

"There is now." Nom said as he separated Quietus' head from the rest of his body.

 

Nom looked up to find the empty cave walls staring back at him. There was no penetration there. He looked down to find two-piece of metal, each cylindrical in shape. Their handles looked exactly the same.

 

Nom put each handle into each of his hands. He pressed the activation stud, and almost gasped at what he found. The first handle emitted a jade green glow, the same as before. But the second revealed a dark crimson blade. Matching the color of fire...

 

The Jedi Knight left the cave without a glance back. He headed towards his ship, searching the Force for his apprentice. There was no signature at all, Bron must have been unable to beat the frozen climate that was Ilum. Nom took a moment to grieve over the loss of his friend. But he headed for his ship nonetheless. He would experience the same fate if he didn't leave soon.

 

Nom got to ship and headed for the cockpit. He powered up the engines and blasted off into hyperspace.

[Scorp Jedi Knight]

Scorp gently brought his ship down through the atomsphere and landed on the glittering surface of Ilum. He could fell the Force strongly here. He also noted a hint of death, pain and suffering. A recent occurance spawned from non force users and Sith finding this this Jedi sancuary.

 

He opened the hatch and grabbed the supplies pre-gathered before this mission. Then placing them all in a bag he and his padawan exited near the mouth of a cave teeming with the force. He Handed the bag to his padawan.

 

"Now is the time for you to create you own lightsaber. The knowledge to craft one has already been imparted to you.

 

You must enter that cave and find your crystal.

 

The crystal is the heart of the blade.

The heart is the crystal of the Jedi.

The Jedi is the crystal of the Force.

The Force is the blade of the heart.

 

 

All are intertwined:

The crystal,The blade,The Jedi.

 

 

You are one.

 

When you eneter that cave you may be assulted by the Dark side you may not. Perhaps you will have a vision perhaps not. You must prepare yourself mentally as well as physically for the daunting task ahead of you. You must seek out through the force the crystal to build your lightsaber. You have all you need and you may begin when ready. On a lighter note all weilding tools have allready been put in the bag."

 

Scorp gave a smile as he handed her the bag.

 

"oh and one more thing I will stay out here and guard the entrance to the cave. May the force be with you."

 

With That Scorp took a step back and smiled once more before staring out into the distance.

[Kayla Mhin]

”œMay the force be with you."

 

Kayla smiled and nodded then turned and headed into the cave, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. She opened herself up to the Force, allowing it to guide her. Otherwise, she probably wouldn't find what she was looking for, or if she did, it would take a while.

 

The coldness of the cave even penetrated her thick robes and she shivered, pulling the robes closer around her as she continued deeper into the cave. The ground under her feet crunched as she walked and the further she went into the cave, the more she became aware of an impending sense of doom; a darkness that pressed in around her.

 

”

[Scorp Jedi Knight]

Scorp had not move despite the hours that had passed. Suddenly he seem to revive from a sort of deep sleep.

 

"Excellent. I do believe you are ready for your trials." Perhaps you can show me your new lightsaber when we get to some place a little warmer."

 

Scorp smiled and shook the Ice off that had gathered on his person before he turned around and led the way back up the ramp. Shaking some more Ice off of him. his Padawan seemed to be shinning in the Force. Perhaps she had, had a vision of some sort or had been tested by the Dark side. What ever it was her Force presence seemed to have strenghted since before she went in.

 

He quickly blasted away from the icy planent and headed into space.

[Zane Arclyte]

The chill air of Ilum bit Zane's skin as soon as he and his master exited their respective craft. He had gotten one of his heavier coats from the back of his ship in preparation, along with some gloves.

 

Frigid wind blew across the vast ice-covered landscape, whiting out anything past half a mile with purest white. It was therefore ironic that Zane felt somehow unwelcome, as though the place was reminding him of something sad or regretful. An astoundingly beautiful place, mired down with a sad aura.

 

He crossed his arms, shoving his hands into his armpits tightly to brace against the cold. He walked to Dhan-Jaroe, close enough to be heard over the wind. "Master, just out of curiosity, but are there any other crystal-harvesting planets you know of? I'm not sayin' I'm not going to make my lightsaber, just...

 

"This place...it's like an illusion, no matter how beautiful it is, it feels wrong."

[Zero]

This wasn't just for him... the last time I was here... a tear went down Dhan-Jaroe's face; he watched Zane enter the cave.

 

Zane made his way through the baren caves, indents in the caves where crystals once lied, and harvested thousands of years ago, new crystals slowly regrew however, just as the jedi slowly regrow once one is taken.

 

Zane turned around to ask his Master where the crystal were, but he saw darkness, the cave was covered in black, filled only with the faint glimmer of blue and green crystals.

 

He turned around to see a gruffy looking man bullying a woman, this was something that went against Zane's values, when he approached the two to do something, the woman became familiar, he felt like he was shot and paralyzed. His face than twisted angrily; it was his wife the man was bullying.

 

------------

 

"DJ, I have to get off this planet. I need to go to Naboo, or Coruscant. There is no way, I would be able to go through birth on a planet like this. I've only got three more months."

 

DJK turned... nothing. He sighed and entered the cave himself.. and than... he saw something he didn't like...

[Zane Arclyte]

He turned around to see a gruffy looking man bullying a woman, this was something that went against Zane's values, when he approached the two to do something, the woman became familiar, he felt like he was shot and paralyzed. His face than twisted angrily; it was his wife the man was bullying.

 

Zane would have understood instantly what this place was seeking to do to him. He would have listened to the feelings he had outside, that told him there was something wrong with the cave. He would have harkened back to the holocrons that told him that Ilum was strong with dark side energy, and was always intent on tricking lesser Jedi come to collect crystals. He would have let his logic talk and known what was before him to be an illusion, for his wife was safely back on Corellia.

 

Zane would have known these things. That is, if the illusion wasn't amazingly complete. So complete it was real to him.

 

Real enough to make him lash at it, to defend his "wife". He held forth his hand at the raised fist of the "goon" poised to strike her again, and used the Force to hold it locked in place, binding it. "That's not a nice thing to do," he said to the goon, "pick on someone who can't defend themselves. You're going to stop what you're doing and leave here now." His other hand was balled up tightly to keep it from trembling, to keep his mind in the real world not just the illusory one.

 

There was more to the illusion...

[Zero]

The man swung his right hand backward towards Zane, who was standing behind him, a swing the force could not stop this time. Zane was caught off guard, and blinked from suprise, even though the man wasn't in arms length to hit him, however... a loud hiss echoed in the cave, as though a sharp wind flew through the cave. He could feel a sharp pain on his face, as if the wind had cut into him, his body became violently cold from it. His head became dizzy as he saw blood trickle down his nose. He looked up to see a man pointing a red lightsaber in his face..

 

-------

 

Dhan-Jaroe saw Zane approach Scorp and his apprentice. Zane complained of the weather and Scorp began to lecture him.

 

"Don't you lecture me old man!" Zane pulled out his lightsaber and connected with Scorp's sharp reflexes; two lightsabers held each other back. Zane pulled out another lightsaber, this one with a purple tint, and struck Mhin, who was rushing to her master's aid.

 

Dhan-Jaroe looked at his belt, his wife's old lightsaber was gone... Zane had it...

 

Mhin crumbled to the floor, blood erupting from her mouth as Scorp's face became crippled in distaste and anger at Zane, Dhan-Jaroe wasn't too different from the other Knight.

 

Scorp and Zane began to battle throughout the cave, Zane's two saber advantage began to gain ground against the other...

[Zane Arclyte]

Zane backed off half a foot more out of re-balancing himself than fear. He brushed the blood off his lip, attempting to focus past the pain. He would heal himself later, once his opponent was gone. His training saber, he felt, would be a temporary defense and ignited it, holding it in front of him, the tip arcing occasionally over the minute space between his and the Sith's saber. He didn't intend on using it for very long, just enough he told himself. "'M not gonna repeat myself. Back away." Zane focused the Force in a burst to push the lightsaber wielder off his balance several feet away. Not blinking for a moment, he kept the Sith directly in front of him, ready to defend against any coming threat.

 

The apprentice advanced on the Sith, never letting him out of his sights.

[Zero]

The Sith faltered back, gazing angrily at Zane; he let a worthless jed padawan get the best of him. His left hand lifted up, readying himself to launch a force lightning attack, his hand was pointed straight at Zane, whos weak lightsaber would not be able to withstand a force lightning attack. The Sith grinned and moved his hand over to the side and the dark attack hit Zane's wife instead, sending her hurling over one of the many cliffs in the cave. The lightning came next at him, and just before it hit, he saw a brand new lightsaber lying on the floor, he picked it up, and a purple flash halted the blue-white advance.

 

--------

 

"I can't let you do that Zane..."

 

Dhan-Jaroe lept into the battle himself, he swung at Zane...

 

--------

 

All of a sudden, another Sith lept out and swung his lightsaber at the back of Zane's head, the lightning stopped and the first sith chuckled.

 

"Good my apprentice, kill the jedi, I shall watch..."

[Zane Arclyte]

Zane ducked to the side, spinning around to face his new attacker, brandishing the purple lightsaber conveniently placed upon the ground. Time to do what I came here to do: conquer the fear the Sith will try to instill in me. Conquer the doubt, the anger...

 

"Keep talkin', and you'll miss the show." He choked up on the lightsaber's grip so he could wrap his other hand around the lower half, and clashed his saber against that of the apprentice Sith. They struck and blocked and parried each others' attacks, but soon Zane got the upper hand and knocked the Sith down with a straight vertical, force-backed strike. He pointed his lightsaber at the Sith with one hand and Force-Pulled the Sith's lightsaber into his other hand.

 

"Stay down, both of you." He gestured the red lightsaber towards the master Sith. "I've got a lightsaber crystal to harvest."

[Zero]

OOC: You have a lightsaber (one being your training) in each hand already, and the sith's grip on the lightsaber is too strong for you to just pull it away.

 

IC: "Keep talkin and you'll miss the show" Zane managed to fight both Scorp and himself easily, this cave was strong in the force, and seemed to impede Dhan-Jaroe and Scorp's potential.

 

He managed to knock DJK down and waved his lightsaber at Scorp. "Stay down... both of you."

 

Dhan-Jaroe lept up the ground and swung his lightsaber at Zane, who managed to catch his blade, again easily. If their was one thing DJK could do, it was out smart his padawan. The lightsaber crystals began to shake, the tips shattering into sharper crystals. The crystals flew out of the cave walls at an intense speed, headed in all directions for the apprentice.

 

---------------

 

The Sith Master shot force lightning at Zane, who caught it with his training lightsaber. It short circuited and exploded as the crystals made their way for Zane...

[Zane Arclyte]

OOC: Damn goldfish brain of mine...Sorry I'm gettin' ahold of the scene here.

 

IC: Zane looked over at the training saber, feeling the surging energy overcome the inner workings of the weapon. He couldn't react in time to drop it, and it baked his hand in the explosion.

 

It seemed as though he wasn't out of challenges yet. Crystal shards seemed to be coming in from all directions, miniscule missles that threatened to rip apart his already wounded body. He gritted his teeth and surrounded himself with strongly repulsive Force energy, the nails of stone pinging off of it. A couple got through, but not nearly as many as were coming before.

 

Through the pain he said to the sith apprentice, "I don't fear you, Sith. I know this cave is full...of Dark Side energy...I could be talking to myself for all I know...but let's get one thing straight...I am Jedi...No matter how hard you try and hit me, I will not faulter in my conviction...My...will..."

 

It was becoming too painful to speak, even with the control he had learned during his training. Even a few daggers of glass sticking in his flesh would do that. Instead of talking the Sith down, he concentrated one more time on bringing his focus as high as he could get it. "I am, and always will be a Jedi. As long as that's true, Master Kenobi...I have not failed you..." He gripped the purple lightsaber, holding it ready to absorb lightning or take down the Sith apprentice.

 

The whole scene seemed rather blurry. He wondered if it was blood in his eye, or just the precursor to losing his focus.

[Zero]

"I hate you Kenobi... I know this cave is full... of Jedi history... I could be talking to a wall... because the Jedi are weak... I am a Sith... I have seen the darkness through light, and my i will not faulter in my conviction... my... destiny..."

 

Zane used the force to block all the crystals, but one got by and hit the power unit on his training saber, blowing it up.

 

He still held on to the purple lightsaber... Tera-Lee's lightsaber...

 

DJK pulled out his green lightsaber to accompany his red one. His mind became focused... relaxed...

 

His arms began to spin in wild and elaborate directions, he appeared to have hundreds of lightsabers. Zane used the force to hurl crystals at his former master, but the lightsaber movements were too fast... they shred through his o-line, and pressed forward...

 

-------------

 

Zane was beginning to lose consciousness, and the Sith continued their assault, but, the Master wasn't paying attention, and a red lightsaber struck through his chest. As he fell, his apprentice came into view. Zane was puzzled.

 

-------------

 

Zane force pushed Dhan-Jaroe back, than finished Scorp off, who lay next to his dead apprentice...

 

-------------

 

The apprentice cackled

 

"You... FOOL!" Force lightning emerged from his hands in a thick steady current, hurling Zane backward into the cave.

 

-------------

 

Dhan-Jaroe was calm on the outside, but his inside was on the verge of collapsing under the emotional stress. He used the darkside energy that was welling up and released it, throwing Zane backward, into a crytal...

 

-------------

 

Zane's chest burst open in blood.

 

"Only now... at the end... do you understand..." He pummeled him with lightning once again.

 

Zane could feel the blood escaping, he could sense his head shutting down, he could smell the flesh burning.

 

"Do you do this often when you speak to yourself!"

 

"Trust your..."

 

--------------

 

"...feelings! Don't give into hate."

 

Dhan-Jaroe walked cautiously to the Sith, his lightsabers ready....

 

-------------

 

The Sith lunged at Zane's neck.

[Zane Arclyte]

Zane could barely stay alive as every nerve in his body was overcome with agony. Even his blood ached. His nerves were dying not-so-slowly, but not slowly enough for him to not feel it.

 

His eyes barely opened, like those of a newborn baby's. He couldn't feel any urge to be agressive, lash back, anything against the oncoming sith. Despite the pain, he felt more calm than he had been during the entire fight. He was calm enough to feel the difference between the dark side and the light side within the cave; he felt the illusion, he felt the barrier betwen them, and with the last part of his will, he pushed a mental tether of light side energy from his mind towards the Sith apprentice's mind.

 

The light side energy caused the barrier to fluctuate, and the area waivered with it. He knew the truth.

 

The last part of his functioning mind sent a message as plain as day, as plain as his little consiousness could make it.

 

"Everything that went on here was a lie. If you are who I think you are, make me whole again, so I can return for my crystal.

 

"Never give up hope. I never have."

 

His mouth moved unsteadily. "Master..." His body went numb, his world went dark.

[Zero]

"DJ, I have to get off this planet. I need to go to Naboo, or Coruscant. There is no way, I would be able to go through birth on a planet like this. I've only got three more months."

 

As he moved to finish off Zane, he saw someone else... his mouth dropped open and his lower lip quievered.

 

"OHHHH!" He sounded horrified as he dropped his lightsabers, turning off as they fumbled.

 

Dhan-Jaroe's heart sputtered and he fell down, he looked over to see Scorp and Mhin dissappear, and the last thing he saw was Zane laying against a wall, unconscious.

[Zane Arclyte]

"*koff*"

 

"*Koff koff*"

 

I...don't give up...that easily...

 

There wasn't a single part of the cave he could see. There were only a few nerves in his flesh he could use. This was probably for the better, as the last thing he remembered feeling was agony from a jag of crystal severing his spine and crushing several of his organs. A good portion of his brain seemed to be sort of functioning, perhaps on the level of rats or particularly brilliant heads of cabbage.

 

Like any head of cabbage, the first thing through Zane's mind was survival. He couldn't heal as long as there was something in the way of his beloved organs or spine, so he tried to remedy this problem first. He struggled. His muscles didn't feel cooperative, so he focused on moving himself off the crystal. His body slowly was pushed off of the spike with a wavering Force Push, after several moments his body hit the floor like a rag doll. If his theory was correct, the limited number of nerve endings he had left were telling him he had landed on top of the body of his master.

 

I...won't give...up...

 

With nothing jutting out of his chest, he was able to work against the dissoving of his organs. It would be quite some time before his Force powers could allow him to overcome the massive wound in his torso, but he used every ounce of focus he had towards this end.

 

In time, his body began to function again. His nerves became alive, his mind became more and more focused as his tie to the Force brought him back from the grave. His eyes opened, and he could see once more, though outlines were still far from sharp.

 

Patience...It's workin'...I won't give up...Just a little while more be...fore I can move again...

 

He did not beg anyone to drag him from the painful prison he was bound to. He did not ask for help, or for strength from anyone else, he willed his body to be healed; he allowed his flesh to become a transistor for the Force energy he knew and loved, giving his will to that lifestream, and becoming healed by doing so. He understood what he had read about, what he had heard, what he already knew about the Force: his faith, his will to live, had been heard by the Force.

 

I live...I am Jedi...I am the Force.

 

The Force Healing started to slow as he became conscious. His flesh still felt like hell, but it was coming around too. He tested out his handiwork: there was much advancement since the time he was shot by the man who now served as a medical bed. He flexed his fingers, his toes, his more important joints, and although he ached, it was nothing compared to what he had been through.

 

Now for the big trick. I will stand up. He willed his arms to function, and they did. Turmoil riddled his body as the apprentice slowly but surely brought himself up. He steadied himself against the crystals in the wall, and stood up.

 

Now to find myself a crystal that suits me...and bring Master and myself out of this forsaken cave... Zane struggled farther into the cave, sensing forward for a crystal. There were innumerable ones, glttering blue and green. some glittering yellow, others orange, others were too small to be glittering anything. Come on, there's gotta be somethin' unique... Zane went to a small bank of crystals, ones glowing more brightly than the others. One in the center seemed to be slightly off the normal green color. It was blue-ish, but not quite a true blue, too much green. He pulled on it and it came out of the formation rather easily. It pulsed in his hand.

 

Perfect...

 

He found his master again, and tugging his tattered jacket tightly around himself, not forgetting the three lightsabers strewn on the ground (DJK's red, DJK's green, and Tera-Lee's Purple), he dragged himself and his master back to the Crash Wildfire, where he could get something to seal up his frost-bitten flesh and take care of his master as well.

[Zero]

As Zane carried Dhan-Jaroe out of the cave, the Dark Side's grip on them shattered apart; the light from the outside and the returning wind shattered the illusion. Zane looked down to his chest and saw no blood, his mouth had not a single drop of blood and his limbs were not bleeding either. However, they still felt like it.

 

Dhan-Jaroe was revived and he looked around, he had never been in Zane's ship before, and he wasn't conscious when the illusion wore off.

 

"What happened?" He asked.

 

He spoke to himself, too quietly to hear, for his fear it was all an illusion forever baked in his mind. "Where is she?"

[Zane Arclyte]

Zane looked over his shoulder at his master. He had been fiddling with some of the clothes in his storage closet opposite the cot where he had placed Dhan-Jaroe. "Oh nothin' much, just died. I got better though. Damn, but can the Force ever do some righteous things!

 

"Yeah next time we walk into a Dark Side illusion, we gotta coordinate; this fighting each other while enraged thing is the pits. Way I figure, what I saw was two Sith, one assauting my wife, the other with the idea to kill me at his master's behest. What you saw, I'm not entirely sure. Whatever it was, it made us fight each other pretty fiercely. And at the end, when I was trying to overcome the illusion, y'saw somethin' that gave you a near heart attack. That was right before y'tossed me on that big jag of crystal."

 

Zane turned to face his master with a wry smile on his face. "But hey. All that wasn't for naught." He dug in his pocket and withdrew the glowing teal crystal, holding it forth proudly. "Got what we came here for, heh. Thanks to this, I'll be knighted in no time. That is, if it's the will of the Force." He put the crystal back in his pocket.

 

"I'm eager to get off this planet if y'don't mind Master. Not that I'm afraid or anythin', still, no reason to hang around somewhere you're unwelcome."

[Zero]

Dhan-Jaroe nodded. "Well, let the force guide you to our next destination; i will follow." DJK got into his own ship and the two left into hyperspace.

[Dacob Degal]

OOC: Yikes, I've been really cut off! Aryian if you read this message, I'm sorry I took so long, school really knocked me out of synch with my free time.

 

Jacobi nodded his farewell to the Jedi and waited for his new ship.

 

The Republic soldiers brought him a modified Star Viper, large enough for comfortable sleeping and storage space. The weapon system included concussion missles, two double barrel laser cannons, and a cloaking device.

 

He blasted off into space to decide his next move.

[ObliviousKnight]

((Excuse the absurdly long post. I know that no one else is going to be building a lightsaber any time soon, so I wanted to get this done quickly and without a double-post.))

 

A grey Delta-7 Interceptor, a design favored by the old Jedi Order, appeared out of hyperspace and disengaged from its hyperspace ring.

 

Armiena Draygo, in the fighter's tiny cockpit, wondered aloud to herself how well the small snubfighter accelerated. The astromech integrated into the ship's systems, R4-H7, twittered a short replay as text began scrolling on one of the cockpit's screens. The Jedi Knight immediately dismissed the design parameters.

 

"Bah, only one way to really find out." Without hesitation, she jammed the throttle up to its maximum.

 

Even with the inertial compensator, Armiena was shoved into the ejector seat with almost painful force. The planet of Ilum rushed towards her, filling up her canopy like an icy meteor. Even as the diminutive fighter entered the upper atmosphere, R4-H7 began shrieking warnings to pull up, or risk smashing into the planet like a bug hitting a swoop bike. Armiena simply enjoyed the rush of the G-forces and speed, and pulled up just in time to turn a lethal crash into a rushed landing.

 

"Wow... that was good." The astromech simply whistled in exhausted relief.

 

Armiena climbed out of the tiny cockpit, and immediately regretted the fact that she was only wearing a simple robe, and not the heavy coat that was practically required in order to survive on Ilum.

 

Come on, Arm. You're a Jedi Knight. You can handle a bit of cold weather while you build your lightsabers. The Alderaanian hunched inside her cockpit, trying to get her nerve up. Finally, she braved the biting wind and took off at a jog through the snowy wastes of Ilum.

 

When she arrived at the crystal caverns, she found that most of the stone corridors leading to her chamber had caved in. Through brute force, she managed to clear a path into the familiar cavern.

 

Withdrawing a small box and a cutting tool from her robes, Armiena began to work on what would eventually become a pair of matched lightsabers.

 

The two weapons were essentially works of art; lacking some of the parts necessary to build a conventional lightsaber, Armiena wasforced to improvise when building the lightsaber's hilt. Specifically, for the hilt's body, she carved two large ebony crystals into cylindrical shapes, and painstakenly hollowed them out.

 

Armiena had researched the crystals from files she had found in the Jedi Archives, and she knew that some of the crystals exhibited unusual resiliency. She had already tested these samples with the Force, and they stood up to her mightiest efforts to shatter them with ease.

 

To escape the cold and enhance her concentration, Armiena sank deep into a trance. As she worked, she sensed the weapons slowly become attuned to her Force-presence, possibly a side effect of her slipping deeper into her trance. She didn't know what this meant, but something was subtly changing in the inner workings of her lightsabers, that much she was certain.

 

The really interesting part was fitting the internal mechanisms of her lightsabers into the hollows and fitting emitter caps onto the hilts. Finally, Armiena managed to carve crude locking mechanisms into the hilts, and slid the rest of the ensemble in with ease.

 

Finally, she carved two small red crystals into faceted buttons, completing the weapons.

 

As Armiena retreated from her trance, and instantly jolted awake as a blast of cold air cut through the thin barrier of her robes. Somehow, the Jedi Knight knew that a great deal of time that had passed since she had sunk into a trance to build her lightsabers. She knew that it was near dusk, and she would never make it to her ship before she froze. She also knew that there was no way she would survive the night if she didn't try to reach her ship.

 

With a groan, Armiena managed to climb to her feet, and began a slow jog. Before she even cleared the caves, she began to stumble, nearly gashing her forehead on a sharp outcropping of rock. She cursed herself for her lack of attention. Finally, she reached the mouth of the cave, and was greeted with a howl of icy wind that pierced her flesh to the bone.

 

Much to her horror, the sun was already retreating from the frozen sky, and the clouds of a snowstorm preventing the creeping moonlight from giving the Jedi Knight even a modicum of light to work with. She trudged along in the snow, sinking up to her thighs in the white powder.

 

The fact that she could barely move was probably the only reason why she didn't lose her balance and take a lethal tumble down the slope towards her snubfighter. Armiena fought to remain conscious and keep moving, and her limbs began shaking like a groundquake in a vain effort to stay warm.

 

After a few hours of struggling in the snow, she began to hallucinate; she saw her father, encouraging her to keep moving, holding out his hand to pull her along. In a strange peace, Armiena reached out towards the illusion, only to fall flat on her face onto the snow.

 

Much to her surprise, her head hit metal. With the pain from the impact, most of the fog slowing her mind disappated.

 

Metal? What the? With a numb limb, Armiena groped in the darkness like a blind woman, and immediately grasped the cold metal of one of her ship's landing skids. If the Alderaanian wasn't so numb and tired with the freezing weather, she might have felt a rush of elation. She was almost at the end of the struggle.

 

Come on, Arm, you came all this way only to fall at the last five meters? Push through the pain--it does not exist! With a a tortured cry of effort, she lunged through the frozen powder. Her left hand made contact with the cockpit's rim, she flailed with her right for another handhold, and pulled.

 

From the pain that wracked her arms, she could have sworn that they were being torn from their sockets. In a way, she wished they were--the blood would at least warm her frostbitten body.

 

With all the coordination of a cripple, she strapped herself in--the astromech handled all of the preflight checklists and, much to Armiena's relief, diverted extra power to the heating units. The nearly-frozen Jedi gave instructions to the droid in an agonized whisper.

 

"H7--Coruscant. Fastest route possible" As the R4 unit piloted the ship to her destination, she inspected her limb for signs of frostbite; the symptoms were present, but she would be able to recover from the damage without a bacta tank.

 

Just before her ship entered hyperspace, Armiena entered a healing trance, both to escape the intense pain that accompanied a thaw-out and to heal her damaged flesh.

[Dartha Athanth]

The nameless landed on Ilum near the caves. Darsha tossed her apprentices some warm clothes and nodded towards the entrance. "Go get the crystals. Come out when you're done. Get the one that seems to be calling to you."