Ilum

[Keenava Dira]

• • Cold hearts…

Her breath poured like a phantom from the corner of her quivering, cracked lips. She could hear his laughter as he stood over her. Silence enveloped them and she couldn’t feel the tips of her fingers. He bent lower at her until his face was inches from hers and then took a knife from his belt.

 

“You pretty little bitch. I wonder how this feels.”

 

He brought the slip of his blade to her cheek and parted the vulnerable flesh beneath. Sticky streams of crimson stirred from her yielding body and she writhed with futility against his grip.

 

Her throat turned raw from all her screams and the cold grin that covered the man’s face was chilling to the bone…

 

 

 

The arctic air that filtered through the shuttle when it entered Ilum’s atmosphere brushed Lallu’s cheeks, flicking her nose and threatening to chill her bones. The reminder was disturbing, but she didn’t pay it any mind. The tingling sensations that laced her body threatened to seize her control, but she ignored them. Lallu wasn’t uncomfortable in the cold. The breath of fog that pooled in front of her face was invigorating. The snowflakes that fell in cascading sheets of white light were amazing. Her gaze drew closer to the viewport and her marble smile glistened under the beautiful light. She spent a portion of her life in blazing heat and the rest of her life spent cherishing the small things that kept her company. She found solace in cold and silence despite how tainted her past may have been.

 

Cold hearts were all she knew for the longest time, but ever since she opened herself up and accepted herself, she radiated with warmth. Granted, she started to feel the change more as the temperature continued to drop and realized that she needed protection from the harshness of the planet as well. She was about to say something when Furion began to talk to them.

Lallu and I will be in the temple proper. I will be asking for tour, as my apprentice has never been herself. If any ask, we are commonly on mission on the outer rim, and only get to return to temple every few years. Any details beyond that will be trivial, and up to you to fill in. In their seclusion they may be excited to hear tales of the outer rim. Qaela take the lead and Vaegir will work off you. If anything, the boy has skill at bullshit.

 

Apprentice? Lallu smiled a little despite herself and then continued to wander around the ship as Furion continued talking.

 

She continued to look around for something to cover her body and only stopped after she found a crude robe. The colors were nothing to be desired, but right now that didn’t matter, and the size was a little small, but at the very least it alleviated the pain of the breeze on her bare skin. She wrapped the hood around the base of her lekku, and let the rest of it drape to the side.

 

When she finished, she pulled out a pocket mirror from her bag and realized a small flaw in her disguise.

 

If I am going to look like a padawan I need to pardon myself for a moment. Lallu said quietly to Furion before leaving the group and walking to the back of the ship. She rummaged around the empty cargo area and pulled out a small makeshift make-up set from her bag. It was badly damaged and needed to be cared for, but Lallu didn’t like it enough to keep the box maintained. It had so many terrible applications and memories with it that she didn’t think it was worth her time. Right now though, it was a necessary evil. She pocketed some dark toned cover up and began working on the number of scars on her face and neck. Each one had a story, each one had a memory; each one had casualties. Her fingers brushed over the knife scars on her cheek and she shuddered a little. To this day she couldn’t forget that man’s laugh. A sound that would make a banshee’s scream seem tame.

 

She couldn’t stand covering up what she was, because she was just now getting used to her body, but it was a means to an end. She wasn’t dressing up like a trollop, she was disguising for a mission. She wasn’t at the beck and call of a monster; she was pretending to be a padawan to her master. The difference in roles wasn’t hard to see and although she felt awkward, that helped alleviate it somewhat.

 

You are not hopeless, you are not worthless, you love yourself and that’s enough…

She came back from the back of the ship with her scars covered up. With both the robe and the make-up, Lallu looked years younger than she had before. The youth that had been stolen from her sang with the pure ebony of her skin and the lively glow of her ruby red eyes. She truly looked like a young padawan even with the burning secrets that hid deep under the surface.

 

I am ready master. Let us go

[Darth Furion]

The snow was so pleasant. Not even the piercing cold of this planet could chill his furnace heart. Everything was simply so beautiful in the way the flurries swirled about them and fell like the blizzard of thought in an individuals mind. Walking with the soft, crisp crunch below his feet, Julio fell into place not far behind Qaela. He held strong onto that pleasant thought and feeling of the cold and snow, knowing the Jedi would feel any darker discrepancy. Prattling as she was, he couldn't help but smile at the nervousness the witch showed. Clearly this was not her thing, something they would have to discuss at a later point.

 

When the storage box was presented to him, Julio delicately placed his lightsaber in the middle, making sure it didn't come into contact with the Jedi. With but a casual brush of Julio's first and most prominent lightsaber, the Jedi would find themselves in a dark reckoning before they had a chance to recoil.

 

Relax, Mandela. He said with a soft, warm smile. We will have plenty of time. One cannot rush the process to selecting the proper crystal that suits just you.

 

He turned to the Rodian Jedi and offered her a respectable bow. I am sorry we arrived unannounced, but our work tends to keep us out of contact with the Order for long periods. I am Dash Rengar, and this is my apprentice Tsao Vai. We were on our way back toward the core to resupply, but with the Crystal Temple on the way I thought it might be a good time to rest and collect ourselves. Would you mind if we made use of your facilities for a little while?

[Darex Trevelian]

Four Jedi emerged from the ship, and the Rodian female wrinkled her snout. It was rare enough to have guests, but four Jedi at once made it a very special occasion. She returned the bow of the older human male. "You are welcome here, Master Rengar, Padawan Vai." She turned to the other Jedi pair. "I'm sorry to hear you were marooned, Jedi Hedgrove. Did you not have access to a communications station?"

 

The other Knight, a four-armed Codru-Ji, gave her a chastizing look. The Rodian was immediately apologetic. "I'm sorry. My masters are always telling me I'm too curious for my own good." She held out the datapad to Master Rengar. "We don't have your ship registered, so if you'll just fill our this information and sign at the bottom, you'll be good to go."

 

Once he had done so, and all the weapons had been collected, the four visitors would be allowed into the complex proper. They wouldn't be allowed access to the archives or records unless they submitted to a basic retina identity scan, which would allow the computer to know what level of access to grant them based on their rank within the Order, but they would be free to stay in the quarters available and take trips into the crystal caverns.

[Keenava Dira]

• Deception...
   
  The room was cold and dark. She pushed her hands out toward the endless black of her surroundings only to find that the walls were closer than she would have liked. It was months away from the bright lights of her home planet; months since she felt the blistering heat of that world, and months since she last held onto those beautiful red eyes.
   
  She felt sullied, the sheets under her legs were ruffled and dirty, and the room she was in was unkempt.
   
  The mist of silence filled the small room until a careless bystander walked through the open door. She pulled against her shackles and moved out toward the light, but a sharp crack sent her back to the bed without a word.
   
  "We need you to act like a pretty little girl for the client..." The man croaked through a hollow, lecherous smile.
   
  "Why?" she asked. She looked up at the man with a grimace.
   
  "Because that is what the client is paying for!" The man responded with a violent exclamation and another crack to the side of her head.
   
  It was ironic, playing innocence when she was in the business of losing it. Not that she wanted to be.
   
  When the client approached her through the open door, she looked up at him with a small pout and large open eyes. She hid her lower body under the dirty sheets and shied away from the customer with every ounce of restraint she could muster…
  
  

 

On the way to the temple, Lallu let her hood down and wrapped her lekku around her neck like a scarf. She took a small vial of white powder and a leather wrap from her bag and began to wrap her lekku in a criss cross pattern. She massaged the white powder into the surface of each lekku while she worked, because it helped accent the elasticity of the skin and gave it an ideal form for wrapping. When she was done, the powder faded into the skin with only the vaguest changes of pigment. It was an aesthetic that some Twi'lekk wore as a fashion symbol. Lallu didn’t think too much of it and although Lallu didn't feel like it would help her disguise, she didn't think it would hurt either. She figured she would slide back into a Ryl dialect, given her upbringing and try and act more like a child, solidifying her role as Furion, or "Rengar's" padawan.

 

The snow tickled her cheeks that were freshly accented with ebony powders, and nipped quietly at her freckled nose. She wrinkled her nose in childish delight and smiled openly at the playful dances of the snowflakes.

 

The Jedi that came to greet the group were diverse in culture, size and mannerism, but Lallu didn't look at any one of them for long. She idled at her Master's side and occasionally snuck behind her master's back in feigned timidity. The mask of an innocent and shy woman was easy to don; the mannerisms and traits were something like a dream and she slipped into them like a glove, playing up her anxiety and naïveté.

‘No matter how much you mask yourself, you are still the same scarred meat…’

 

When she was introduced she didn’t make eye contact as much as the others did and when she did, she looked inquisitively at the rodian. She nodded quietly and bowed as deeply as her master before her.

 

“Yes, I – “ Lallu froze for a moment and stammered. She forgot the name that Furion gave her and blanched. She did what she could to keep the gesture minimal, but she pardoned it with one hand over her mouth. “I am pleased to meet you.”

 

She retreated back to her Master’s side and kept pace behind him.

[Qaela]

Qaela frowned slightly at the question. Even out here, these Jedi were so spoiled and isolated from the reality of life on the Rim to think that everyone had access to Holonet communications. There was no need to fake the trace of indignation at the suggestion she was so ignorant as to allow herself to be marooned over such a stupid thing. She had lived most of her life days away from the nearest starship or device capable of communicating off the planet. "Not all planets in the Rim have access to the Holonet, and many who do have it available to only the most affluent or powerful of citizens and at great cost." She fixed the other Jedi with a pensive glare. "Besides, I had a mission and young Lorruro here to look after, so who am I to question the will of the Force when it leaves me on that planet? Perhaps you would learn much by spending some time among the impoverished and oppressed citizens of the Outer Rim."

[Darth Furion]

The ship is merely on loan, but if you really feel it is necessary I would really like to do it later if you do not mind. I lack the information required to fill out the form, and would much rather head inside out of this cold than walk all the way back to the ship.

 

He pulled his coat around him tighter as a gust of wind cut across them all. Over a year in steaming jungles has left my tolerance for the cold rather lacking and my battered joints ache something fierce.

[Delta73]

A comm message lands like a 747 onto to the Hudson into Qaela's communication device.

 

Four words then a set of coordinates that lead to a section of blackspace near the Richi Maze.

 

Love

 

Hate

 

Remorse

 

Despair

 

8459-875282-948214-EIMJ-8965

[Darex Trevelian]

One of the adepts smiled at Vai. She was clearly a new apprentice, still nervous to be in the shadow of her powerful master, probably from some backwater world. The Rodian was less amused with Hedgrove's imperious tone. She knew full well that some planets lacked the infrastructure of galactic holonet and communication stations, but that was why the Jedi Order supplied every Knight with a powerful, specially-designed personal communication device, as there were times when the Council needed to contact Jedi on assignment in the remote parts of the galaxy. The policy had been in place since the early days of the Order, as it was common even on more civilized worlds for Jedi to be in the undercities or the remotest parts of the planet. But after a moment, the Rodian shrugged off her annoyance. Clearly, the woman was grouchy from having spent a long flight cooped up in a ship in hyperspace. She would recover her Jedi manners with food and a warm bed.

 

"I'm sorry," she replied, turning back to Rengar, "policy states that even with a rental, you must register upon reaching a temple or enclave. We really just need the ID tag, registered name of the vehicle, and the name of the company you rented it from." She motioned for them to follow as she led the way inside. "Of course, we can do that inside."

 

As soon as the doors closed behind them, the air grew noticeably warmer. The Rodian shook some snow from her snout and presented the datapad to Rengar again. "We appreciate your patience."

 

Meanwhile, door guard Me'lia was watching the new visitors. She was especially intruiged by her fellow Twi'lek. She had never before seen any of her people with that color of skin. It must be some sort of reverse albinism, she thought. She moved her lekku in greeting mixed with open curiosity.

[Keenava Dira]

Lallu’s eyes and brow furrowed with vague, but honest frustration. She looked toward her master with genuine concern and then looked back at the crowd with the same concerned look.

 

If we lie, we might make it. If we try to kill them now, we’re caught. If we lose, we’re caught anyway.

 

“I am apology. My family lent shuttle to us and they bought from Corellian Engine… erin? Ing? Corporation.” Lallu racked her brain for an identification number; anything. Then she remembered a similar shuttle she used to reach Corellia and Talus. It was dismantled and rebuilt a year or so ago, so it was perfect. The title and tag had yet to be re-established and were thus attached to the same vehicle they were a year or so ago, but they were still valid in the system. Lallu got transmissions from the transportation agencies on Corellia – when she was there – that she would be able to take a different shuttle to leave if she needed to, so she knew the validity that this ID tag held. “It was broken a year ago and remade in this shape. The Identification Tag is 0153S and the name was…”

Damnit… What was the name of that shuttle? Lallu put her hand to her head and patted it a few times in a feigned gesture of forgetfulness. A few seconds passed in awkward silence and she looked around her for inspiration. When she looked up, the hollow black of the stormy sky above her reminded her. Oh! That’s right!

 

“The name ‘Obsidian Sky.’” Lallu said looking at them with a timid smile. “My family may have changed name without telling, but that is my memory.”

 

When she was finished spelling it out, she turned her head to face everyone in the opposite group individually and found one of the gate guards staring at her inquisitively. It was a little odd and Lallu wondered how long she had been looking, because she didn’t know if her story had holes. After all, she was an okay liar, but she paled in comparison to Rez when it came to bullshitting. However, she didn’t change her expression, with the possibility that she would give herself away.

 

When Lallu turned back after scanning the crowd once more, the guard was still looking at her, smiling. It took a few moments to notice that the woman was a Twi’lek, but Lallu was surprised to find that she was communicating using the subtle movements of the Ryl language. Lallu looked at the movements of her lekku and smiled a little bit. She accepted the greeting and gave it back with her wrapped lekku. She was a little rusty, but it was one of the only consolations she had left from her homeworld.

 

Then, in Ryl, she told her, “Yes, my black skin is a unique condition. It meant I absorbed more heat than most, due to the abundance of a bio-chemical similar to the Human’s melanin. I was and am immune to sun burns, but the thermal energy that I absorbed from our planet’s star was painful, because it was a constant in the Bright lands.” Lallu finished her lekku movements with a small subtle joke that only the guard would understand. Then she looked back toward the gate guard’s eyes and offered another timid smile. She had no problem sharing something as innocuous as her skin condition with them. Plus, the staring was annoying and she knew why the gate guard was doing it. Everyone wondered why she had black skin, but nobody bothered to care if their staring was inconsiderate.

[Darth Furion]

He was just about to take the datapad when Lallu spoke up. With some effort she seemed to recall the ident codes and designation for a ship, the one thing that would have held them up in their incursion. It was perfect, exactly what he needed. When the plan seemed to hit a bump, the universe, or more specifically this young Twi'lek delivered a gift. Julio turned to catch Lallu's eye and smiled wryly. That's my girl.

 

My padawan never ceases to amaze me. Always with the most seemingly random usefulness. He took the datapad from the Jedi and handed it to Lallu, pressing on through the temple without pause.

 

If you would show Mandela and Jadero to their quarters, my padawan and I would like a word with the Master residing over this temple.

[Rezjal-el]

Vaegir had been following along with the small group, his eyes cast skyward as he watched the individual fat snowflakes fall and flutter about in the breeze. It was such a relief to be on a planet with an atmosphere, particularly one without a never ending urban skyline to mar the beauty of its skies. Oh, and the snow! He’d not seen such weather in years! The sheer excitement felt by the young sith seemed enough to keep the cold at bay. He at least showed very few signs of discomfort, wrapped as he was in his warm clothing.

 

Silence served him well as he simply let the masters talk. After all, he was a young hopeful from a mining colony. It was likely that he didn’t have the greatest social skills, much less an impressive education. Given his cover story, though, he could not help but lament the loss of his matted dreadlocks. They perhaps might have added to his disguise. But oh, two years on Dagobah had taken their toll. So, perhaps it was for the better. Regardless, he did his best to maintain the look of a socially awkward padawn who didn’t get out much. He smiled when people looked his way, nodded when he was mentioned, and kept close to his master’s side. Bright eyed, bushy tailed, and damn near excited by everything new. That was him, Jadero Lorruro, padawan extraordinaire.

 

Jadero? Well, it wasn’t a name that he would have picked for himself, but his “master” had already spoiled a chance for him to come up with something on his own. At the very least, however, it was another name to add to his long list of aliases.

 

The violet-gold hues of his eyes danced about the enclave as the small group was welcomed inside. Mouth held half agape in apparent awe, the young man definitely looked as though everything was new and exotic. For an added touch, Vaegir even let his eyes drift over the feminine forms of passing women, both jedi and non-jedi alike. The firrerreo himself wasn’t exactly a sexual being. Hell, he lacked a blind Neanderthal excitement that so many other males seemed to exhibit when it came to matters of the flesh. That was Vaegir Renor, though. Vaegir had standards, acquired tastes, even. He was now Jadero, inexperienced and uncorrupted youth that still could let his eyes wander from bosom to bosom with lightning speed without much thought as to whom they belonged.

 

That, and the purpose of the exercise served doubly. Should any of these jedi try to read his thoughts as Furion often did, they’d only receive flashing images of a young man’s fantasies; not exactly the kind of thing that a cursory observer would care to indulge in too long lest they find themselves blushing.

 

Dirty thoughts aside, ‘Jadero’ was proving to be an amusing persona.

[Qaela]

Qeala was relieved to be out of the numbing cold and into a slightly warmer environment. Her face and fingers were still numb, but at least she didn't need to worry about frostbite. Why the Jedi would build a place in such a desolate, hostile place was beyond her. She doubted that it had much to do with combat training, but if it did, then perhaps they had a small point. If you could survive out there, you could survive in any cold environment.

 

As they walked, she kept her senses trained closely on those around her. If any of the Jedi started growing suspicious or if Furion decided to change things up and act early, she wanted to be ready. For his part, Furion was doing admirably well. She could sense is calm and perhaps even a bit of boredom at the routine. She didn't know how much of that was genuine or just an act because he was already adept at hiding what he was feeling, something not all Sith were capable of. His apprentice, the Twi'lek, seemed slightly in her element as well. Qaela could see why Furion took her as an apprentice: she was quick on her feet and, despite the rather disturbing and distorted sense of the woman she got on their journey here, appeared to fit the part.

 

Vaegir was also doing his part, even if that meant being silent and following orders. Qaela wished that she could have had that role, but unfortunately, this straightforward way of getting in required her to interact socially with the Jedi. She didn't like it one bit and would have preferred to infiltrate via stealth as she had been trained to do. This was Furion's mission and he was in charge, so she would do what he told her to.

 

Her senses picked up something that caught her attention. It was faint and not excessively obvious, but she definitely sensed an abnormal attention focused briefly on her coming from her "apprentice." It was an attention that she was quite used to feeling, one that she didn't mind. She didn't react to it, though, because she didn't think that a Jedi would exactly welcome such attention and she didn't want to give them anything to fuss about.

 

She waited for the Jedi to take them to temporary quarters.

[Darex Trevelian]

With the forms all filled out, everything was in order. One of the acolytes took the box containing the visiting Jedi's weapons to the secure storage area, while another bowed and led the female Jedi and her apprentice to the spartan but clean guest quarters, leaving them with the assurance that if they needed anything, they could ask any of the acolytes.

 

In the meantime, the male Jedi and his Twi'lek apprentice were taken before a dark-skinned human woman. "Hello," she greeted them. "I am Jedi Knight Dehlia Adar, currently overseeing this enclave. You said you wanted to see me? How can I help you?"

[Darth Furion]

Julio was silent as he was lead through the ancient temple. Long had this been the destination at the end of the journey of training for many young Jedi. Long had it stood as the threshold one must cross to enter fully into the folds of the galaxy, embracing a life of thankless servitude and greater wisdom. Unlike most Sith, Julio understood the certain appeal this path held for many individuals potent enough in the Force to hear its whispers. One often forgets that it isn't any one particular event that makes men what they turn out to be, but a long series of events that collapse upon one another like a long row of dominoes. Knock the wrong one over and things can take a turn for the worse. So many influences, so many critical points that make up a destiny it is no wonder how the galaxy could be filled with so many unique individuals. Perhaps, had things been different, he could have been one of these Jedi, self designated to play the part of the martyr. But it was too late for him. Far too many of the wrong dominoes had been tipped in his time for that to ever happen now.

 

Passing through the hallways he remembered the last time he had visited the temple. There he cut down a young man trying to slow his advance, knowing the precious cargo that lay just down the way. And here three more fell to his ambition, more desperate the further he got to the room the children. He remembered how he relished what they saw in his eyes, in his every stride and strike. No mercy, no compassion. Only forward, ever forward. As he passed by the room that previously had been the final stronghold for those that needed protecting the most, the room that now held the great and terrible wound still after nearly a decade, the beast in the Dark Lord's heart had to be suppressed to keep the howls from reaching the Jedi, but even still he couldn't help but smile for the briefest of moments.

 

When the two of them finally found their way to the office the present Knight in charge took residence in, Julio stopped to give a formal bow and make introduction. Master Rengar. It is a pleasure. I will not dally and get promptly to the matter at hand. In our mission on the outer rim we have, on rare occasion, come across Sith. Now while I have made my reports to the council on the matter, there is one thing I felt I should look into myself since we are here. Traditionally Sith forge their own crystals for their lightsabers, but upon inspection the crystals upon them were not forged, but Adegan originating from this very planet. Are you aware of any other operations on the planet to harvest the crystals?

[Keenava Dira]

The silence stung Lallu where she stood. She let her hands move to her side and although she invested none of her energy in an outward expression of anxiety, the muscles in her chest tensed. Her heartbeat raced a little higher than the norm and if it wasn't so cold, sweat might have broken out on her forehead. She finished her conversation with the gate guard and offered another timid smile, but she didn't know what was going to happen now.

 

Did it work?

 

Lallu's hands massaged the sides of her long robes in gestures of thoughtfulness and the timidity inherent in her persona, but her mind was ready. Her muscles were prepping themselves one by one and her eyes were on everyone. Just when she thought everything was going badly however, the Jedi accepted the Ident number and the name without question.

 

Lallu paused and cocked her head to the side a little. She had to work in order to prevent a look of satisfaction from crossing her face and instead looked up at her master, who looked back at her with an amused smile. Lallu managed a timid smile in return for her master's expression and his comment, but retreated into silence once again when he handed her the Data Pad and she began entering the shuttle information in more detail. When 'Master Rengar' started moving, she followed close behind with a hollow stride. Without missing a beat she continued in step with him as if they were one entity pushing through the temple with a mission of great importance. Lallu barely looked up from the Data Pad when she needed to change course in the winding halls and continued filling up the form until Furion stopped all of sudden.

 

She was putting the final touches on the documentation when Furion halted in front of her and Lallu almost fell to the floor. It took her a moment to realize what was happening, and when she did, she managed to catch herself before she ran into her master's back or fell down. It was quick though and she almost missed the signs. Her nose wrinkled with frustration in response, like it always did. That much was Lallu's handiwork, but when she looked to find the dark skinned master standing before them, she quickly edited her expression and bowed her head low. She handed the Data Pad off to one of the nearby apprentices and then put her hands behind her back. It wasn't her place to talk; her character was shy and timid. That, and just because she succeeded at lying once, didn't mean she could do it more than once. She had plenty of time to practice deception later, but unless she had something beneficial to add, she felt it was much better to just avoid saying anything.

 

Instead, she either looked intently at the floor or nodded silently behind her master.

[Darex Trevelian]

Knight Adar frowned. "There are none that we are aware of. That said, it is a large planet and we have no military jurisdiction. It is possible, although unlikely, that some small operation might have been set up on the other side of the planet."

 

She was slightly concerned by the Jedi's report, but not overly. If there were Sith harvesting crystals on the planet, they would tighten their security but pretty much could do little about it. It was not like the Jedi owned the planet. "I will, of course, inform the Council." She tapped out a message to them as she said it. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Perhaps there is more that it going on than simple crystal harvesting. And perhaps this indicates a new direction for the Sith. Who are we to say?"

[Rezjal-el]

((Holiday Chaos over. Time to get back into RP gear!))

 

Relief washed over the firrerreo upon arrival to the living quarters. His guise had been simple enough, all things considered. A back water, doddering padawn without much training in the force. Oh… how much it stung to realize that he was not so different, himself. At the very least, Vaegir was more talkative than Jadero. The greatest benefit of being so untrained in the force was that it there was little to nothing to make him stand out in any particular way. He wasn’t a beacon of dark side malice or an emotional typhoon brimming beneath the surface. Vaegir’s presence in the force was negligible. He knew this, and at the moment it was a great strength. So, therefore, ‘Jadero’ had to be much the same. Forgettable.

 

With a polite ‘thank you’ to their soon departing escort, the apprentice swiftly sat himself down upon a nearby bed.

 

“Spared no expense, did they?” he asked of his ‘master’, eyes wandering the room as he spoke. The guest quarters were all too basic. Jedi apparently needed very little more than a bed, a roof, and a glass of water.

 

“When do ya think we’ll get to see the caves? I’ve only ‘err heard stories of em. Supposed to be beautiful beyond words. All those gleamin’, glowin’ stones shining in the dark….” Despite being out of earshot of any passing jedi, the guise of padawan was not dropped. There was no telling if the jedi had listening devices installed in the small room.

 

“Think we’ll get to see em soon?”

[Qaela]

"We have been in worse places," Qaela responded to his comment about their accommodations. She wasn't sure about him, but she knew that she definitely had lived in worse places. Dathomir wasn't exactly a luxury planet, neither was her time in the Sith outpost on Dagobah. "At least this place is clean, so we should be thankful for that."

 

Despite herself, she was slightly interested in the caves. Perhaps if there was time, they would have an opportunity to explore and loot them. There were other, more important things to consider though. She was trying to keep track of nearby Jedi, but as discreetly as possible. She had spent time as a girl learning how to spy on the Witches, but they weren't Jedi, so she had to keep her senses close to their room.

 

"Think we’ll get to see em soon?" he said.

 

"We will see them soon enough. Until then, we simply need to wait and let the Force guide us."

 

She wasn't sure how long it would take for Furion to make his move, but she hoped it wouldn't be too long. Being around this many Jedi was unnerving and she didn't like having to hide the comforting darkness within her. Plus, whatever Furion was doing to help shield her was distracting and felt almost unnatural. She began slowly pacing around the room waiting and wondering what sort of resistance they would be facing. She could ambush her enemies, of that she had little doubt. All she had was her wood knife, but once she downed a Jedi, she would acquire one of their lightsabers if they had one. Vaegir didn't seem to be exactly helpless in a fight, but Furion told her that he was untrained and that it was her job to clear the outer perimeter while he took out the center.

 

It all hinged on Furion. Until he made his move, they would have to wait. Qaela really hoped that they didn't have to wait too long because she didn't relish being captured by the Jedi. At least they weren't known for torture, so she supposed it was better than being captured by the Sith or Nightsisters.

[Keenava Dira]

Time passed uneasily in the cramped room. Lallu was doing what she could to stare intently at the stone floor, but something about this constant waiting seemed uncomfortable. Her lekku twitched a little and she had to fidget to find a more comfortable pose. The fact that the Jedi leader was informing the Council did nothing to enhance her calm, but she was incredibly skilled at making other people unaware of her real feelings.

 

Her face didn't show any signs of strain. And her forehead was completely void of sweat, although sweat was prominent in her lekku, because she was wearing a wrap that she didn't commonly wear.. She kept her hands at her sides, remained silent, and refrained from any unnecessary movements. She was the picture perfect apprentice, but the time was starting to get to her.

 

She tried to occupy herself with chatting at or near the other apprentices, but she was ignored.

 

Lallu didn't know what to do if the situation collapsed, but she knew that she would give it a try to prove that she was capable.

 

Her head barely moved down to look at the stone once more when she retreated into her mind. She looked at golden eyes staring disapprovingly at her and could feel the weight of their mission weighing on her shoulders.

 

Don't blow it Lallu... Don't blow it Lallu...

[Onderin Starlisk]

There were a few things that didn't check out, Jedi Knight Arec Talis realized. Standing now in the Temple's small but effective operations center and analyzing the data sent to him by the ship registration and the additional information that Adar had called in, he had a bad feeling about the whole thing. The ship registration seemed phony, for one; it belonged to a vessel that was reported to be under repair half the galaxy away. He might have been able to overlook that one because sometimes those cross-checks were outdated, but it was enough to raise warning bells, especially given how rare it was for visitors to come to Ilum, especially in such a number. Usually it was one padawan and his or her Master, or a class of younglings.

 

At Adar's request, Arec made the call into the secret Tython Temple with the apparent goal of reporting a potential Sith crystal-harvesting operation on Ilum, but with the ultimate goal of double-checking whether the names of these Knights and padawans checked out. It was the only way to be certain that they were actually members of the Order. And if things didn't pan out... well, they would cross that bridge when they got there. He would hope that a dozen Knights would be up to whatever challenge these strangers represented.

 

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

 

Adar, meanwhile, was also getting a bad feeling about the Master she was speaking to. He seemed genuine enough, but she was feeling something unusual coming from the lightsaber that hung on his belt. It just didn't feel right to her. "If you'll excuse me, Master Rengar, I have some duties I need to see to," she said to excuse herself. "I will see to getting you a guide for the crystal caves immediately."

 

She headed immediately back to the ops room. Something wasn't right, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

[Keenava Dira]

Her master sat silently across the room, but she could tell that he knew something wasn't right. She couldn't read his thoughts, but Lallu felt something too. It was small, like a wisp darting about in her mind, but she could feel the spark of entropy in the Jedi's movements. The Jedi Leader wasn't just spontaneously leaving. There had to be a reason. Right?

 

She waited though. This wasn't Lallu's operation. She wasn't the mastermind here and she was to do as she was told.

 

But the silence bit at her. It was merciless. A pack of shadow creatures, formless and lifeless, bit at her as she grew into a new person and she was timid. She didn't know where to go from here. Her confidence was false and even if her emotions were real once more, it took only a breath to collapse her fragile mind.

 

Will you be able to protect him if you fail?

 

What will happen if he's taken?

 

Are you strong enough?

 

Or are you still a little girl?

 

Lallu sat still in her seat closest to the door. She could see her master's robes swaying in the light breeze that leaked through the cracks in the stone. She could see his strength exuding in every position he took in the silence. The solace didn't own him. He was independent of the world around him. Furion was a paragon of the shadows and stood on the cusp of strength and potential. He was everything she wasn't. He was purpose; he was drive; and he was inscrutable. She was meat; she was vulnerable; and she was afraid.

 

She was beating against the wall pretending that she was something special and the only thing she heard in response was the beating of flesh against the stony crags of boundaries she forgot were there. Why did she believe she could change? Was it the profound visions she endured? Was it the power that lay inside? Or was it all false?

Lallu gripped the sides of her arms in dismay, but let her thoughts remain inside her head. If they had any chance, she needed to keep her emotions suppressed.

[Onderin Starlisk]

When Adar arrived, Arec's face was grim. "I don't know who they are, but they're not Jedi," he said when she approached him and he hung up the comm.

 

"The Force is strong with them, and they had lightsabers," Adar answered. "If they're not Jedi, they almost certainly are Sith. Besides, we have this." She produced the box that had been handed to her by one of the Jedi that had initially greeted the visitors. When she opened it, there rested inside what appeared to be a normal lightsaber, but there was something unusual about it. "Feel it in the Force. I don't think you want to touch it."

 

Arec brushed it carefully with his mind. "That is not the weapon of a Jedi," he agreed. "So... how are we going to do this?" He knew what had to be done, but Adar was going to make the call.

 

"We can't assume anything about their story is true," she answered. "As far as we know, they're all Sith Masters. We have the numbers to take them down, but we have to be careful. The Order hasn't run into many Sith recently, and we don't know where their Temples are or how they learned about the location of this one. It might be worth capturing them."

 

Arec nodded. "Risky, but possible if we capture the element of surprise," he figured.

 

"So we set them up with their escort as intended, but never leave them outmatched, and set up an ambush. We know these caves much better than they do, so as long as we're careful, we can pull it off." Adar scratched her head. "Alright, so here's what we're going to do...."

 

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

 

Perhaps a minute after Adar had left, two Jedi Knights came back to Rengar and his apprentice. "I was told you wanted an escort into the caves?" one of them asked. "We'd be happy to accompany you, but the Force will largely be your guide to finding the crystals suited to you."

 

The other shrugged. "We can leave right away, if you're ready."

[Qaela]

Something was not right.

 

Qaela sat up abruptly from the bunk she had been resting in and frowned. Her finely honed sense of paranoia had been tingling ever since entering the atmosphere of this ice ball, but now it was all but blaring for attention. One did not survive the Nightsisters and Sith both without being able to sense when something was going wrong.

 

Furion, she thought. What was he doing? Where was he? Why this foolishness about attacking via stealth instead of hitting the Jedi unawares? She was never an infiltrator, at least, not in the guise of a Jedi. She had to know what her character was before she could adopt it and there was no way for her to take the mantel of Jedi. This was foolishness, utter foolishness.

 

She sent nudge Vaegir's direction as she swung her feet off of the bed and into the waiting boots. "Time to do something," she said. "We are in trouble and I don't aim to be here when it starts. Follow me if you want, or stick around here for the Jedi to come and collect you."

 

She threw on her hated brown outer robe and cautiously opened the door to their shared room. There wasn't anyone outside, but that didn't mean much. She resisted the urge to cloak herself in every concealment spell she knew as she started off down the ice clad hallway back the way she had come. She didn't have a concrete plan, but there were several paths that could possibly lead her where she wanted to go.

[Keenava Dira]

There was something in the way the Jedi entered the room that made Furion pause. Lallu couldn't see what was going through his mind and she could only guess what he was thinking at that moment, but whatever it was, it wasn't clear. Lallu had no choice but to stare blankly at the knights when they entered. It was not so big a motion as to be obvious, but her eyes followed them around the room with a steady pace.

 

Silence filled the room. The decay of sound hung in the air between them and Lallu couldn't help but embrace the tension welling up beneath every heart pounding second of this dangerous interaction.

 

She watched as Furion accepted the escort but she didn't quite understand his gesture. Lallu didn't know what he was planning, so she couldn't know, but she followed along regardless. He could do little wrong in her eyes and it was safer to follow him than it was to wander around alone. The effects of her semi-transparent acceptance of herself were wearing off and the weakness that hid beneath the shrouds of her newly found confidence was breaking through.

 

Her feet touched the cold hard stone when she stood up and she felt knives prickling up the edge of her spine. Each neuron that sparked to life was heightened by her anxiety. Cold sweat built up in the centers of her palms and she was having a lot of trouble maintaining control, but she held strong. Furion was watching. He was always watching…

 

She followed behind Furion as the Jedi exited the room and served as his shadow for much of the trip. Her robes hid a lot of what she held onto underneath, but she didn't say anything else from that moment on for fear of breaking under the Jedi’s scrutiny.

 

In the back of her mind she wondered how Rez and Qaela were fairing. She assumed that they received an 'escort' - same as them - but she knew next to nothing about them other than Rez's years on Dagobah and Qaela's time spent on the Spire. It wasn't much to go off of, but she had so much on her mind that she had little thought to their chances if the Jedi decided to turn the tides against them.

[Onderin Starlisk]

The two Jedi led Furion and Lallu into the crystal caves, hoping they hadn't tipped their hand. It was not an easy task to deceive a Sith Master, and the six other Jedi hiding in the caves would have their work cut out for them to sufficiently cloak their Force presences to keep from giving away the game before the ambush could be sprung. They also hoped that eight Knights would be sufficient to bring this man down; by all means it should be, but there were powers so great in the galaxy that it was not guaranteed.

 

As they got into position, the ambushers checked in with Adar to see how the other front was getting ready. The ambushes would have to happen at the same time or one of the groups could alert the other....

 

((From that perspective, I will hold off on the ambush until I see how Qaela fits in.))

 

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

 

When Qaela left her room, there was no one waiting outside, but as she headed for the exit, a pair of Knights approached her. "Are you looking for an escort, Jedi Mandela?" one of them asked. "Master Rengar is still in the caves."

 

((If you want Qaela to leave before things go down, you may have her exit next post. I have no intention of stopping her.))

[Qaela]

Qaela gave them a thin smile. "Yes, actually. I fear my sense of direction is not as good in caves. Do you have a library terminal here in this facility? I have a lot to get caught up on after spending so long in the Outer Rim."

[Onderin Starlisk]

"Certainly," the actual Jedi answered the one whom was only posing as one. "We can take you there immediately."

 

Of course, they had no intention of leading the dark sider to a library terminal. Instead, they headed for the ambush that Arec and Adar had coordinated. With her lack of knowledge of the actual layout of the Temple, their soon-to-be prisoner wouldn't know any better, and if eveyone was doing their part to hide their intentions and presences from the Force, all would go well.

 

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

 

Meanwhile, the two Jedi with Furion and Lallu were approaching their ambush right on schedule, and so far the Sith hadn't shown any signs of knowing that there was a trap ahead. Everything seemed to be going well so far.

 

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

 

Both traps, Adar noted with satisfaction from the ops room, had come together perfectly. She was still apprehensive, not knowing the full power of the Sith that had come to Ilum posing as Jedi, but they had stacked the odds as well as they could against them. Hopefully, in just a few seconds they would have a full set of prisoners. She ordered the Force user holding cells to be readied.

 

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

 

Simultaneously, the groups of Jedi Knights launched their ambushes as the Sith's escorts neared opportune corners. Each group was attacking by six Knights, each armed with a blaster pistol spewing stun fire as well as their blazing lightsabers, ready to assail and knock aside any defense the intruders made. They coupled the blaster assault with telekinesis, hoping to freeze their targets in place with their combined strength and keep evasion from being used as a defense.

 

<< Capture Shots Requested on Qaela, Lallu, Furion, and Rezjal-el. >>

[Rezjal-el]

Vaegir rose immediately as soon as he heard Qaela stir. Sitting in a crouched position, he looked the part of an animal ready to pounce. It was only after he realized just where they were that he calmed. Somewhat.

 

They were in the belly of the beast. His group foolishly having had walked right into the lion’s den without even having prepared one of their small number to battle force users. Vaegir had spent enough time in the wilds to know when danger was afoot, and right now the hair on the back of his neck was tingling.

 

“Right behind you.”

 

He wasted no time in following along behind Qaela. At the very least, she provided some protection. Strength in numbers and all that. Strength, he hoped, would not fail them. The academy that had been so welcoming at first bore a predatory weight, the very air heavy with the intent of capture, and possibly killing of their small group.

 

Furion was strong, wasn’t he? Always capable of fighting off an entire army on his own. Yet now, Vaegir felt so very vulnerable, even with the powerful presence of the Dark Lord. Then again, perhaps this was just another pseudo suicidal attempt to force Vaegir’s hand. He had already been deceived into survival training, perhaps now was something similar.

 

If I survive this, I swear I will kill him…

 

Vaegir kept pace with his fake master, a protective mental barrier held up at all times. Fear was pushed from his mind. Replaced once more with the somewhat vulgar thoughts of a young man. It was the only defense he had, truly.

 

(waiting to see how Qaela and Lallu react before posting my reaction to the assault. Also, sorry about the delay. Haven't had a lot of free time since my recent move. Will be better now.)

[Qaela]

The Jedi were accommodating enough, it seemed. She had always wanted to get her hands on the Jedi's source of knowledge. It might provide a great deal of information on some rather befuddling questions she and her people always had. The first thing she had done when free in the Sith Temple was to raid their library for as much information as possible, so why not do the same with the Jedi? Perhaps they might have the answer to the most important question in her life, the one that had sent her on this fool's quest in the first place.

 

The mere dreams of getting her hands on even part of the Jedi library was enough to distract her. The moment they turned the corner and she saw the semicircle of robed Jedi with weapons drawn, she realized that the Jedi were far more sneaky and treacherous that she had thought. There was no time to react to this development with anything more than a single word of profanity, and the Jedi even managed to cut that short. "Fu--!" Then everything went black.

 

((No Challenge to Capture Shot))

[Keenava Dira]

Deception...

 

Lallu's entire body felt cold to the touch and she shivered visibly. Earlier she enjoyed the feeling, but now it was haunting her. Every step on the icy cold snow pushed her heart lower and lower. Her head drooped ever so slightly like her string was cut and the clouds of air that blossomed before her took on shapes of menace and memories that she tried to claw out. Powerful feelings of doom followed in her wake, but the frost on her black face, coupled with the large hood that shadowed her expression, shielded her from outside eyes. When they entered the cave, it only got worse.

 

The crystals mocked her; dark malevolent creatures lingered in the shadows and every stalactite threatened to drop down on her. The water drops off in the distance did nothing to soothe her mind and instead drove her further down.

 

Something was different though...

 

Something called to her from deeper in the caves. She could feel it like a warm embrace reaching out toward her. Lallu blinked and looked around for a second which caused the party to stop for a moment, but sooner or later the troop continued moving further and further into the caves with little to no discernible direction. Like a procession of the damned they continued further on into the dark until Lallu couldn't make out the figures in front of her. Her eyes did adjust eventually, but the only light she could see came in daggers from the walls. They had an odd beauty to them, but their energy seemed oppressive. She couldn't describe the feelings she felt, but she continued walking regardless, one step in front of the other.

 

The ambush came with no warning at all. Lallu only had enough time to realize her forebodings were genuine when her body seized up. She could feel the bones in her body slow and freeze under the weight and thought she was freezing to death, but she wasn't. The frigid fingers of death had not clung to her, but an unnatural paralyzing sensation filled her body against her will. She screamed and fought against the bindings, but it was futile. She was locked and she knew it...

 

((No Challenge to Capture Shot))