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Felucia - Jedi Temple


handofthrawn

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Frond nodded and smiled silently as he listened to his fellow apprentice’s explanation on Illum, carefully picking the path of least resistance through the thick jungle overgrowth; pausing them momentarily from time to time as some unknown thing crashed through the undergrowth around them; The Living Force guiding him towards the strange calm smudge of darkness within The Force.

 

In a matter of time, the duo made it to the Rancor Graveyard, a steep decline into what appeared to be an ashy filled crater connected to countless twisting and turning ravines connecting the crater they were at to more like it out of sight. The area was littered with the mostly picked clean skeletons of once fierce rancors and a hodgepodge of other creature skeletal remains. A few of the corpses still had bits of meat and sinews attached to them, as carrion birds picked at them.

Carefully picking their way into the bone yard, Frond spoke without looking at Kel, his slow woody voice the only thing that seemed to disturb the misty humid stillness that bathed the entire area, as he cautioned his fellow, Stillness unnatural The Dark Side. Caution must have we.”

 

The utter lack of plant life throughout the entire area was unnatural. The darkness had suppressed any ability for life to sprout anew, whilst dampening the life forces of any who strayed and stayed for too long.

 

”Droid your caution him,” he urged Kel with a whisper, ”darkness must disturbed be not.”

 

Together the two made their way deeper into the graveyard, carefully picking their way through massive skeletons. Frond was careful to disturb as little as possible. The Force had drawn them here for reasons unknown yet. Even with the strange peace of death held by the darkside here, Frond felt comfort at the fact that even here, The Force was.

 

Making a clearing, ringed by a myriad of fallen rancors, as if they had all fallen some time ago in near identical fashion with their jaws lurched forward and their maws open in a perfect circle. As they reached the middle of the compact flat ashen circle, Frond turned to Kel, gently pulling his training saber off of his waist. Train we shall?” he asked, as he activated the duck blue blade with a hum, ”learned have we practice we should vision have we seen.”

 

Holding the blade at his waist on his left side in both hands; with the blade pointed vertically up into the air Frond stepped backwards with his left foot, pivoting his right foot in such a way as to allow him to brace against a rain of blows if needed. Smiling at Kel he spoke, ”Knight Firenz, Mynock the way demonstrated he. It try want I to. Move your friend.”

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the rancor graveyard was unnaturally quiet. aside form some scavengers picking at any meat that remained, the only signs of life were from the himself and Frond. an ominous air, generated by the dark side of the force lingered in the valley. the atmosphere of this area sickened Kel. if not for his mask, the combination of felucia's atmosphere and the darkside would likely induce vomiting from the young Doran. It was then that frond suggested that they not disturb the darkness and its inhabitants. "Finally, you say something that makes sense." Kel remarked. after they practically tiptoed across the remains, they reached a clearing left by a number of deceased rancors. Frond grabbed his training sabre from his waist and ignited it, eager to practice the style he observed from Firenz. Kel was also eager to not only practice the techniques he observed from the revanchists, but for a rematch with the one who had defeated him previously. Frond had given Kel the first move. Kel ignited his sabre's green blade.

 

Kel thought back to their previous duel and the visions of battles he had seen today. he recalled Sarna's battle with the sith and his opening move. perhaps kel could surprise frond with a similar maneuver. Kel drew upon the force to increase his strength so that he might match frond's own might. And so he leapt high in the air and swung his sabre down at Frond in an overhead strike.

 

((1))

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Even here, in the unnaturally still lifeless air, The Living Force was alive and well; albeit tainted by the strange calmness that was the Dark Side. The stillness allowed Frond to sense even smaller changes in The Force than he normally could in the world filled with life and motion.

 

As such, Frond felt Kel’s blade ignite a mere moment before the green plasma beam ignited his fellow apprentice’s persona with an eerie green glow. This place for appropriate, he noted the green matching the strangeness of the entire area. Frond also sensed Kel leaving the earth, just before his muscled tensed and the Dorian went airborne, his blade flashing downwards towards Frond’s black leaf covered head.

 

Following what he had seen on their journey into the past, Frond’s knees bent ever so slightly as he shifted slightly to his right, his body braced for the crashing blow while hefting his blade up above his head at an angle with a deft flick of his arms upwards in an effort to catch the downward blade of Kel’s attack and roll it off his blade towards his left and down at the earth below without slicing into the tree-like wielder. He could have tried to lash out; but to do so, he would expose himself only to chance a blow at Kel’s falling form. Instead; he did not bother to strike back, yet. All in time, The Force would guide him. Instead, he chose to center himself as the eye of the hurricane that The Force would become in their duel; eventually it would allow him to strike when his opponent stumbled.

 

Without bothering to lash out, Frond turned, his saber settling back along his left hip as he faced Kel. He could feel The Force moving as their sabers clashed; and he opened himself up to it. Allowing the strange sense of pleasure irradiating through the air to coarse freely through his body, their combat seeming to feed it, bringing life to the lifeless area; the call of the deathly darkness mingling with the light of The Living Force as it fed Frond’s very pores leading him and guiding him as he awaited his foe’s next move.

 

((1))

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Armiena didn’t rise when the young Jedi Knight approached. At the moment, she wasn’t entirely certain that she would have been able to move, her legs having decided to take advantage of the brief respite to succumb to overexertion and fall asleep on their master. Her eyes flickered over the teenagers arms and noted the scars--Senya obviously still had all of her natural limbs, so the cause likely wasn’t an unwanted encounter with an explosive device. Some of them, however, were long and narrow, the wounds obviously inflicted to be as horrifying as they were painful. The poor girl had probably been tortured at some point in her life.

 

“That was one of the more confusing things that I’ve experienced.” Armiena took a sip from her coffee, a grin beginning to spread across her lips. The baggy sleeves of her robes slipped past her wrists and exposed her emaciated forearms. “Mooning over my own son like… you know.”

 

That smile quickly faded. “You clearly know who I am, and my mother told me about you. Sandy, it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen my son. I’m fairly starved for details. If you could tell me… anything, about how he’s been, what he’s been up to, I’d be grateful for anything.”

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Frond had managed to block Kel's attack. their sabres connected and frond moved his sabre closer to his hip to defend himself. Kel had landed on his feet and continued to press his assault on the Neti. With his opponent on the defensive, Kel delivered a series of quick strikes at Frond's torso in an effort to break through his guard. Kel's movements became a blur as he pressed his assault and used the force to increase his speed. each of his attacks smoothly transitioned into one another as he struck at Frond from multiple angles.

 

((2))

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Movement equaled expenditure of energy. Expenditure of energy equaled fatigue, even with The Force for support. The aged tree had learned long ago that conservation of energy was what kept one alive. The light of the surrounding world and darkness of the deathly stillness mingling together in perfect synergy as it flowed to and through him; speaking to him, allowing him to see without seeing, feeling without touching, and sensing with noting. The training saber hummed in perfect synergy with The Force as they pulsed together, bonding Frond, the saber, and the Force around them.

 

As Kel's body and saber hummed together lashing out towards Frond's thick wooden body, Frond was already reacting without thinking, allowing the calmness of The Force to guide his body and saber together. With his feet firmly planted in the ashy ground, Frond moved his long hilted saber inches back and forth to catch the deluge blows from his opponent flicking his wrists to guide his saber with minimal effort. Their sabers buzzed and hissed as they crashed together again and again, the Dorian pushing the attack with his rain of blows. Frond’s opponent was a whirling dervish guided by The Force the opposite of Frond's stationary wall of calmness and peace enveloped by his swirling blade only moving enough to deflect the incoming blows. The Force flowed through Frond and Kel mingling and strengthening the Neti as he responded with his saber.

 

Frond could sense the darkness giving an edge to Kel's attack. To contrast, Frond relied on the purity of the light to counteract the dark. The balance strengthened him as his blade intercepted blow after blow, before he stepped backwards deactivating his blade to allow Kel's blade to hiss through the empty air in front of him, as he reactivated his blade and swung it in an arcing sweep at Kel's exposed back-arm as the Dorian's blade swept by.

 

((2))

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Suddenly, where only the buzz of sabers had broken the silence and stillness of the sea of dead predators, an ear-splitting roar shattered the calm air. Frond had been so caught up with his focus on his battle with Kel; he had not sensed the approaching creature. Slouching around the fallen form of a long dead predator an aged rancor with his strange white skin sloughing off with each step appeared, crying out once again in a mix of pain and anger at the defilement of his kind's sacred dying place.

 

Drawing his blade back from the attack on Kel, Frond swirled around bringing his blade to the same defensive position as before. He was unsure what a simple training saber would do against such a mighty, albeit elderly and dying, beast, but Neti's for all their amazing traits and abilities where not built to run away. Like plants, they stood; each decision a blending of instincts and bio-reactions to outside stimuli.

 

”Disturbed locals have we. Made we mistake think I have.” he hissed at Kel, trying to not draw the glare of the cornea clouded eyes of the fearsome beast. A trickle of fear wound its way around the Neti’s heart. Instead of hiding, morphing into his tree-like form, Frond stood his ground, ready to defend his brother in The Force.

 

With another roar of pain and anger, the massive 18 foot tall best shambled forward, saliva spraying from his mouth towards the two apprentices.

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Kel's fast paced attacks were beginning to take a toll on his body. Frond's defense proved to be impervious to the Doran. and Frond had managed to exploit an opening in Kel had left to attack his arm. the blade burned at his flesh and Kel winced in pain. However before their spar could continue, an ear drum splitting roar echoed in the graveyard. A large rancor with pale white skin had entered the fray. the beast seemed angered that we had entered its territory. "That's not just any rancor. That's a bull rancor." Kel said. he pulled out his communicator and contacted his droid again. "R5, if you were planning on making a dramatic entrance. now's the time! what do you mean you're still on the turbo lift!? AARGH!" Kel angrily hung up his comm and placed back in his pocket. "Frond, i think now would be a good time to retreat."

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The hulking near-blind beast lurched forward, slobbery slime dripping out of his mouth as his olfactory senses led him towards the two Jedi Apprentices. Frond stole a glance towards Kel and slowly shook his head. Neti were not exactly built to run; heavy as they were and made out of wood. Hiding? Yes. Running? No. If they were to do anything, running was not going to be his thing.

 

Touching The Force, as he had done for much of his life as a mind walker, Frond could feel the presence of the hulking beast and he was not balanced in The Force as much of nature. No, this rancor was in pain. He was suffering as countless microscopic life forms swirled through his body. The beast was dying, a combination of age and the bacterial hordes attacking him from within. From that place of suffering and the instinctual fact that the graveyard was the final resting place of his people, the beast growled in anger, bubbly bits of spit frothing from his mouth as he lunged towards the duo.

 

The Force, flowing through the air and still charged from their recent bout, still was crackling with invisible energy. Frond could feel The Living Force pulsing all around them from beyond the mists, the ground, and even the scavengers. With his lightsaber still in his hand, Frond raised it as if on instinct to block the incoming massive clawed hand of the beast. As the training blade connected with the massive creature’s limb, the reduced energy of the blade sizzled and hissed burning the flaking white flesh of the rancor as it recoiled in pain with a maddening roar as it reared back before bringing both arms back around to slam down on the duo before him. The rancor was in pain, but through the pain and rage he would defend his kinds’ sacred grounds and destroy the pest and plant that were trespassing on these sacred grounds.

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Well at least she isn’t openly hostile. That’s a good start.

 

Come to think of it, her neutral opinion of Sandy was probably a better opinion than Aidan had of her. Gods she had been dumb. A fresh flush hit her face, darkening her freckles and leaving the scars on her face pure white. But then Sandy saw her arms. The poor woman must have just been rescued from some kind of prison camp to be so thin. She kept her opinions to herself however and let her eyes drift back up to the matching emerald pair across from her. She knew she had to be honest, this woman was a Jedi master, and lying to such a person was never a good idea. She leaned forward, placing her hands on the table and letting her gaze linger down to her feet as she responded. Trying her best to avoid embarrassment, but getting overwhelmed by it nonetheless. Her Galan accent tripping over itself in her rush of words.

 

“I apologize Master, I just got so excited, but that's just me being dumb. It's a bit of unrequited love and i’ve been crushing on him since we were in the temple together like ten years ago. I think he actually quite dislikes me though to be honest, which is kinda sad. He’s a very important Imperial Knight now in the service of the Imperial Remnant. He is very strong in the force now, and in body too.” She flushed and carried on quickly. “We fought together at Nal Hutta, and I was very impressed at his and the IK’s ways. Nothing like the old empire. Except the executing slavers bit, which I didn’t mind.” She looked up and grimaced. “Sorry I am blathering on, what exactly do you want to know?”

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Calix Meus Inebrians

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Kel watched as the rancor lunged towards them. the beast lunged at us, it's hand poised to grab at frond and use him as it's personal tooth pick. However Frond stood his ground and ignited his sabre. the carnivorus monster recoiled as its hide was burned by the offending weapon. the only reason that kel could think of for Frond not fleeing at the sight of the creature was that he believed he wouldn't be able to outrun it. Kel had a choice to make. he could either run and return with help, however there would be no guarantee that Frond would survive. or he could stand with his comrade in arms and attempt to take down this monstrosity. "Arrrgh! Rancor Poodoo!" Kel cursed. he ignited his sabre and ran towards the rancor. he dashed towards the rancor's legs while making sure to avoid the bull's tusks and cut at the monster's ankles. But Kel knew that a single strike would not be enough to fell or cripple the beast. He continued his sprint until he was behind the beast. once there he stabbed at the rancor's elongated tail in order to gain it's attention.

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The duo’s training sabers to do little but singe the already paper thin flesh of the massive aged creature as he reared his head and roared with each passing saber stroke that connected. Flailing his massive claws about madly, he swiped at both Frond and Kel. Old as he may be his claws, tusks, and teeth were still quite deadly and he fought as one who had nothing to lose. The beast was dying and he knew as much, if anything, he would take these two foul trespassers with him beyond the next plane.

 

Fortunately or not, Neti’s as plants did not sweat; for if he could, a trickle of fear soaked sweat would have undoubtedly rolled down his face as he focused on The Force hoping to let it guide his hands and by extension, the near-worthless training saber he wielded in them. Still, the blade was able to deflect some of the rancor’s blows; but even for an elderly creature, it still possessed massive reserves of strength. Frond knew that if he was caught up in the bull’s massive claws he would be crushed to splinters even if the rancor did not feel like eating a crunchy salad for his last meal that day.

 

As the duck blue blade flashed about him in a maelstrom of whirling energy, Frond tried to focus on where this newfound foe would land his next blow. Rolling his leaf covered head to one side, he dodged a wild goring sweep by the creature’s tusk; but in doing so, he let slip his focus on The Living Force and its guidance caught up in the moment of trying to watch Kel, the beast, and trying to work out a solution to their problem. In that moment, he did not notice the swinging backhand of the creature as it spun around to face Kel once again with a sickening roar that echoed through the mists beyond. With a sickening thud of flesh on wood, Frond went cartwheeling, a less than graceful move for an aged tree, across the ashen covered ground, puffs of ash rising up every time he cracked and bounced against it; only to end up lying in a heap of bones as he collided with one of the myriad of skeletons around them.

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Just as Kel had predicted the rancor turned its attention to the one who attacked it. "That's right, follow me ya big ugly beast!" Kel taunted. He then ran away while the rancor gave chase. As Kel ran He looked for anything that could provide him with an advantage against the enormous carnivore. Kel leaped atop the skeletal head of a dead rancor and turned to face the predator chasing him. the beast Roared angrily at the pest that dared to defile one of its brethren. As the rancor closed the distance between itself and Kel, Kel channeled the force through his sabre and threw it at the beast's face. the sabre spun in a horizontal arc as it whirled toward the rancor slicing into its eye. as the rancor cried out in pain and confusion from its sudden blinding. the sabre whirled around like a boomerang as Kel used the force to call it back to his hand. Kel grasped the sabre by the hilt and jumped off the skull to the loamy earth. while the beast was reeling in pain, Kel concentrated on condensing force energy into his off hand as the Sith lord he saw in his visions had done. His anger towards the rancor fueling the process. "This is what happens when you mess with a Jedi you foul beast!" Kel exclaimed as he extended his arm outwards the force shooting outward from his palm like a cannon ball towards the Rancor's head. the combination of the rancor's pain and blindness and the concussive blast caused the it to lose balance. the monster's head collided with the skull of its fallen brethren and fell to the ground temporarily dazed. With the rancor in its current state Kel opted to regroup with Frond so that they could come up with a strategy to defeat this thing.

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Lying in the dismantled rib cage of what was once a mighty rancor, Frond watched with stars flitting in and out of his vision momentarily as the huge lumbering beast turned his attention towards his fellow apprentice. Suddenly, Frond could feel the dark side surge as his comrade latched onto the silent promises of intoxicating power and lashed out at the aged beast; downing it in a duo of blows mixing The Force and his limited-power training saber, causing the massive creature to tumble to the ground where it lay unmoving; his chest heaving with each raged breath. Stunned dead not, he thought to himself, as he righted himself on his heavy rooty tendrilled feet, looking around for his saber that had gone tumbling away when he had been sent careening.

 

Not seeing the saber with a quick cursory glance and realizing that there were still bigger problems to deal with than a lost training weapon, the Neti pulled himself free of the bone pile he had joined, albeit unwillingly, and slowly shuffled, the pain from his timber cracking collision arcing with pain at each step, towards the downed beast. Reaching out with The Force, Frond could feel the life force of the beast as it mingled, a single spot of life, within the crackling void of still darkness all around them. Still, as he tried to regain his balance, Frond could feel The Living Force; even when out of sight, was still present, the life forces of the plants and animals out of sight beyond the graveyard strong and vibrant.

 

As he neared the downed rancor, Frond could feel the life force slowly eking from the beast; albeit faster than before, as its pain from their engagement had drawn much more from it than it would have a younger and more fit one of its kind.

 

Placing his viney hand on the beast’s head, its hot fetid breath washing over him with each raged exhalation, Frond closed his eyes, feeling in The Force, opening his mind to any and all around them, focusing on connecting his own Force signature to that of the rancor; binding his wounds to the life of the rancor. Perhaps, the final gesture of the best could be that of saving another. So was the circle of life, or so they said. As his wound’s signatures in The Force connected with the Force signature of the dying rancor, Frond could feel The Force flowing between them, binding invisible molecules of life and energy and transporting them to mend the invisible cracks and fissures deep within the wooden body of the Neti Jedi Apprentice.

 

Minutes passed as the rancor’s breathing slowed, coming in deep raged gasps until finally they stopped altogether. The life slipping from the mighty bull s its life passed the final plain into oblivion. Opening his eyes, Frond did not smile. Although the life force of the massive beast had helped mend the worst of his injuries, Frond took no joy in destroying the creature; however, for the sake of his own and more so Kel’s safety.

 

As the beast’s soul passed into the eternal ether, invisible thunder cracked and crashed overhead, the mists swirling about them even thicker until Frond could barely make Kel out a short distance away. From somewhere in the invisible mists a deathly cry shrieked forth from seemingly nowhere and everywhere and Frond could feel the icy grip of the dark side winding its way about his leafy scalp.

 

In a hushed whisper as if fearing to disturb the mists, Frond spoke, "Fear I something have disturbed we..." as he glanced about slowly, trying to peer through the mists with his eyes, as The Force swirled around him, the dark side laughing a silent laughter of joy as it clouded the aged tree's inner eye.

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Kel ran towards the last place he had seen Frond. He noticed that the neti was nowhere to be seen though. He found Frond's foot prints in the soft ground However there was no trail leading from the spot. 'That's odd. i didn't notice frond assisting in the battle after stabbing that thing's tail. there's no trail, So he didn't retreat.' as he looked around he saw that one of the skeletal remains of the deceased rancors had its rib cage broken. likely from something large and thrown with great force. "Oh, no..." Kel ran towards the skeleton hoping to locate his fellow apprentice. He found that Frond wasn't here either. he expanded his presence in the force as sarna had taught him. he felt the faint presence of the force somewhere nearby. it wasn't frond, but it was something he had used. "Frond's training sabre..." Kel muttered. he extended his arm outward and called the long hilt to his hand. the sabre floated out from a nearby pile of bones towards Kel's palm. As if in response to retrieving the sabre, Kel felt Frond's presence in the force coming from the direction of the fallen rancor.

 

Kel rushed to Frond's side. He saw Frond placing his hand on the rancor's head. Kel could feel how Frond was using the healing ability he had used on Sarna before on the fallen beast. The bull groaned painfully as the wounds inflicted on frond were transferred to itself. as the beast slowly Breathed its last, Kel couldn't help but feel a strange mixture of satisfaction and guilt. The rancor that had tried to kill them would die by their hands, but at the same time we were the ones who wandered into its territory. it was like they broke into someone's home and killed them. the rancor breathed it's last deep and ragged breath and it's eyes stilled as rigor mortis set in. Kel approached the fallen bull and placed his hand on its eyelid. he pulled down on the pale skin until its soulless eye was closed. he moved to the other side and saw the burned cut he had left across the rancor's eyeball. a stream of puss, blood, and other liquids leaked from the gash. Kel closed the other eye and went to speak with Frond.

 

A chill had spread through the air And Kel could feel the presence of the dark side increasing. Frond Worried they had disturbed something and Kel was worried that his fellow apprentice was correct. "Bull rancors are the guardians of the rancor graveyards. Now that this one is gone, Felucia's wild life will be able to freely explore this place until another bull takes its place. We should leave before that happens." Kel said firmly. his tone implied that there would be no room for further argument. He also held out the training sabre he had located towards frond.

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Despite her success at ending the Empire’s use of slavery, Armiena had never been able to touch the Sith and Hutt cartels. The former continued the degenerate practice out of absurd and hypocritical ideological reasons, and the Hutt cartel managed to thrive wherever authority was absent. Not entirely unlike a lot of parasites. She would have been proud to have served at Y’Toub and smash the Hutt cartel, even if it had meant temporarily allying with the Imperial Remnant and these militant forces of the Imperial Knights. However, she never wanted that kind of life for Aidan--her son was supposed to have a chance at a normal life… whatever that meant.

 

For a moment, Armiena looked like she was about to cry.

 

She set down the mug of caf and pushed it to the side with a flick of her fingertips. Even that took more effort than she would have liked. “Sandy, please, I need to see my son. Not… I mean, not a holocomm or going through his chain of command, I need to find him and make sure that he's alright. Make sure that he hasn't done anything too radical. Do you know anything about where else they've deployed, where I might be able to find him?”

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Frond’s trunk like headed nodded slowly in agreeance with the young Dorian as he mindlessly accepted the outstretched training saber; not that it did much good against most enemies they might encounter. The Force rely better to on he mused seriously. Looking down, Frond realized that their footprints in the ashy earth had been wiped clean by the swirling mists. The two stood, alone as islands in a sea of glassy ash and swirling vapors; completely alone, cut off from the outside by the growing presence of the Dark Side of The Force.

 

Glancing at the youngling standing beside him, Frond slowly began to walk in what he thought was the direction they had come. The mists swirled all around them, enveloping the duo in a realm of sightlessness; obscuring their eyes whilst the dark side swirled invisibly leading the apprentices on what Frond believed to be the path out of the graveyard. In truth, as they walked, they were venturing deeper and deeper into the sacred burial grounds of the rancors. However, with the strength of the mists intensifying, soon even nearby outcroppings of bone and rock became invisible. They might as well have been walking across a flat plane of nothingness for all that they encountered as they moved.

 

The short walk they had taken into the graveyard dragged out until Frond became well aware of a simple fact, ”Are lost we.”The mists grew thicker and thicker as they pressed forward, relying on The Force to guide them. Frond struggled to see the Dorian mere feet from him; pausing, he reached out to grasp his fellow apprentice’s shoulder. The Neti could feel the dark side’s presence strong and vibrant, no longer a stillness lurking in the bones and ash of the graveyard, but a swirling spectral presence as it led them deeper and deeper. Still, Frond knew that for there to be balance there must be lightness and darkness. He did not fear the darkness as so many seemed to. Instead, he knew that it must be respected; just as the light side was not a toy for the amusement of younger species. As the two stood, staring into the mists, silence enveloping them in its soft cocoon, Frond chanced a whisper, hardly daring to break the stillness, Brother my strong Dark Side is. Must caution use we. Guided here Dark Side us has. Purpose for what know not do I.” His voice seemed to be swallowed up by the swirling grey mists.

 

Reaching out in The Force as he had done countless times in the past, trying to hone his view as Sandy had shown him, Frond was met with nothingness. He could sense the life giving signatures of his brethren flora far away, as a light at the end of a long tunnel; but even he did not know which way the tunnel went or where to proceed. Instead; Frond could feel the darkness of The Force pressing in on all sides, seeking to suffocate him and them both off from all that was beyond, seeking to trap them here in the predatory graveyard.

 

Standing there in the stillness, Frond looked at Kel, willing him to make a decision; unsure of what else to do. In truth, the Neti could easily root himself here in the ashen soil, drawing what little nutrients the countless fallen bests had bled into the soil, up through his roots, wandering beyond the shadows of The Force; but he was unsure that to do so would be a wise idea. He did, after all, feel a bit of responsibility for the youngling that had accompanied him on this. Yes, together, they would have to try and survive in the endlessly swirling mists. Cut off from their newfound master, the Temple, the jungles and her inhabitants.

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Sandy could feel emotions rolling through the force with all the subtlety of a kaminioan thunderburst. She could feel frustration, dissapointment, and a thick cloud of exhaustion. Sandy extended her scarred hand and placed it gingerly on the older woman’s.

 

“It’s ok, he is well cared for, he is the apprentice of Kyrie Elison, the right hand of the Empress. He could not be in better hands or in a better place.” She admired the ex-Jedi Knight, who now led the Imperial force users. With a well practised hand, Sandy whipped out her datapad from her belt while keeping her other hand on Armiena’s emaciated hand. SHe thumbed through old messages and holo reports her pad had auto cached. “Welllllll let’s see, the Imperial Knights and the Imperial Fleet are known to be on Kashyyyk, and after that they are due to return to Kuat for R and R. Or at least that’s what Kyrie told me when she invited me to be a part of operation Jade Dagger.” A pale blonde eyebrow raised slightly above emerald eyes. “But I doubt you could really get to him without going to chain of command. Heck I almost got gunned down for sneaking aboard one of their shuttles. So be careful, and if you see him say hi for me. Or don’t, I don’t think he likes me all that much.”

 

Sandy blushed again and looked down at her hands and set the datapad down. “I think he is going down the right road. He seemed like he was doing the right thing in the Imperial service.”

 

Danger prickled the back of her neck, and she could feel a distinct lack of her apprentices near by.

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Calix Meus Inebrians

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the graveyard was soon covered in a thick haze of fog. it was so thick that Kel could barely see two feet in front of him. He pulled out his communicator again and attempted to contact his droid. "R5, there's a pretty thick fog here. i'm not sure how large it is. Be careful when you approach." However there was no reply. "R5? R5-N7, do you read me?" Nothing. The only sound present was buzz and static. "Great. No signal." Kel said gruffly while placing the comm back in his pocket. "Well, looks like we're going back on foot."

 

And so, Kel took point while frond followed. The mist covered everything as far as the eye could see and they were no closer than they were before from escaping this blasted graveyard. eventually frond came to the realization that we were lost. "Well isn't that obvious?" Kel said rhetorically. Kel tried reaching out with the force, willing the fog to part. however the mist would not budge. Kel could feel the presence of the dark side in the mist. It would seem this place was not ready for them to leave yet. Kel's patience was wearing thin. "Well, i'm not going to stick around here to be rancor fodder." Kel said.

 

He continued traversing blindly through the mist. Completely unaware of the terrain around him, or if Frond was even still following him. To Kel's surprise his next step met empty air instead of solid ground as he expected. "Whoa!" kel yelped as he unexpectedly fell into a deep hole. The pit, roughly 30 feet deep and had a small lake at the bottom with a large splash, Kel sunk into the watery depths. the doran swam upward and gasped for air when he reached the surface. he noticed a small outcropping of earth near what appeared to be a cave. the doran swam to solid ground and pulled himself out of the water. "Frond! can you hear me!? i fell down into this under ground reservoir! I'm fine, so don't worry." Kel shouted from the depths. "Listen, we'll have to split up from here. I'm going to look through this cave to see if i can find a way out. if i'm trapped down here Frond, it's very important that you get back to the temple and get help!"

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The Neti could sense his comrade’s frustration. Was it from the ever-present dark side presence or was it coming from within, a sense of hopelessness and worry about their situation? Regardless, as the Dorian moved onwards, Frond smiled, Younglings, he thought, Always about rushing. Shuffling after Kel as he rushed away, Frond sought to keep the young Kel Dor in sight in the thick suffocating fog.

 

The Dark Side continued to surge and flow all around them as they moved forward; seemingly thinning just enough to allow Frond to keep his comrade in site as the distance between them slowly increased; the Kel Dor rushing along while the Neti plodded along at his own, usual, slow-plant-like pace. Suddenly, Kel vanished from view. Cocking his head to the side in curiosity, Frond pressed forward in the unseen environment until he was standing on the edge of a precipice. The only thing that had stopped him falling in was his slow pace. The Force, The Dark Side, had not warned him about the featureless maw in the ground.

 

Looking downwards, Frond could see that the mists swirled even thicker within. He could barely see the edge of the hole, save for where he could feel the drop off under the ends of his rooted feet, where they hung over the edge.

 

Frond reached out with all of his senses, sight, hearing, and The Force. Kel was gone. He could not see, hear, or even sense his friend. Calling out, his voice booming as only an ancient tree falling in the forest could, DORIAN YOUNGLING!! ARE YOU WHERE? ME HEAR YOU CAN? Frond’s voice boomed and echoed all about him, seemingly bouncing off the ever encroaching thick fog and mist.

 

Frond reached out in The Force, but all he could feel was the swirling mists all around him, saturated with an invisible darkness that blocked out anything beyond. Looking around, Frond could see nothing of note, except for fleeting forms in the gray swirling moisture all around. They were there, and moments later, gone, swallowed back up. The more Frond tried to peer through the mists, the more he saw. He did not recognize any of the forms that appeared and vanished in instant after instant. Looking down at the pit where Kel had inevitably vanished, he resolved that he could not leave his comrade below.

 

Squatting down, Frond ran his hand along the interior of the opening. Smooth, completely and totally smooth; there was nothing for him to grasp onto to try and climb down. While logs and plants could survive falls from great heights, Frond did not know and could not sense what might be at the bottom. Kel could be hurt or could have been swallowed by some unknown creature.

With little else to do, aside from wander away into the swirling mists that they had already been lost in, Frond knew that regardless, he must find his friend. The Dark Side was unbalancing him and he knew it; but what could he do? The Dark Side had brought them here. They might be lost in the physical world, but within The Force, both Kel and Frond where were it had led them; even it was the will of The Dark Side.

 

The Dark Side…

 

…out of balance…

 

…The Force…

 

…Balance sought. Needed…

 

With the resolution that balance was of utmost importance, even to find the wayward Dorian, Frond pondered. Even a glimmer of light in the darkness was sometimes all one needed. At that moment, Frond remembered what Kel had briefly explained about the kyber crystals used to construct lightsabers. Holding his deactivated training saber up to look at it, Frond studied the nicks and dings in the worn smooth metal haft, he smiled, a sense of hope welling up inside.

 

With the flick of a tendril, the duck blue blade hummed to life. It did little to illuminate the mists around him, but Frond could feel the saber, not only in his hands, but in The Force as well. There, nestled deep in the aged weapon, the kyber crystal hummed with life, The Force – a glimmer in the swirling misty darkness of the Dark Side, unhindered by the dampener that regulated the training weapons true power.

 

Taking the saber in both his hands, Frond held it in front of him at waist level, the blue blade pointing towards the unseen sky above. Closing his eyes, Frond exhaled from every pore on his body, seeking to drive out the darkness that coated him as thickly as the condensed mists that ran freely down his bark-covered exterior, allowing the glimmer of light from the crystal to flood him with hope.

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“Minus the executions, you mean.” The corners of Armiena’s lips turned downwards and her expression grew stern. Her face as thin as it was, the expression gave her a passing resemblance to an overgrown bird-of-prey, albeit one wearing a bright blue cotton cap.

 

Armiena could understand if Aidan was frustrated with the Jedi Order; the mysticism of the ancient sect had long been a source of frustration for her, and she had served as its Grandmaster. She’d never had any spirit for “maintaining the balance of the Force” or “listening to the will of the Force”. The vagaries of the Force were and continued to be a mystery to her; Armiena had only seen herself as a woman trying to guide the galaxy through a traumatic period, even nevermind whether she had to cajole, beg, politick, or kill to clear a path for the galaxy. Fitt, Kirlocca, and Trevelian were a significant departure from her more pragmatic approach.

 

The former Grandmaster could understand her son’s disillusionment with the Jedi, but she wasn’t about to allow his sense of morality to be dictated by the heirs of Tarkin and Palpatine.

 

“There are always ways around security measures.” No matter how stringent the security precautions, there was always a vulnerability, especially around a planet as teeming with activity as Kuat. Armiena just became aware of a vague ripple in the Force and the absence of the blond girl’s apprentices. Certainly, it was impossible to miss the walking tree. “I’ll worry about the Imperials. I don’t even have a lightsaber at the moment. Thank y… say, where are the Kel Dor and the, uh, foliage?”

 

Armiena knew nothing of the dangers of Felucia's jungles, but given her experiences with the infamously hazardous Haruun Kal, she could guess that an unfamiliar pioneer could quickly find themselves infected, ensnared, stranded, or preyed upon by beasts. These environments were notoriously capricious and Padawans at an early stage of their training could be dangerously foolhardy.

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Emerald eyes narrowed to viridescent slits behind bright blond eyelashes. Sandy’s breath became a slight hiss as she drew it through tightly clenched teeth. Biting back any retort that would show her true feelings about executing slavers. In her own mind, the evil in the galaxy was lessoned greatly by each other their deaths. Damn the lot of them, and if she could be there on Kashyyyk with her sabre she would be doing the same.

 

“Ahhh, yes, well you should know that Jedi are given free access to the Imperial worlds and can find sanctuary there…” Her bright blonde head whipped back and forth as she surveyed the cafe and did not find her apprentices. “Well, say hello for me when you find him, and if you need anything at all just give me a call!” With a flick of her datapad she sent her comm number to the woman’s, and Sandy sprang to her feet. And with that she said her goodbyes to the mother of Aidan and departed the temple to find her apprentices.

 

Sandy expanded her presence to encompass the temple grounds, and the surrounding kilometers, probing the area with the force, searching for the presences of her apprentices. What she found was mainly the thick blight of the darkside, which hung like a fog over the Felucian landscape much like it had for eons before the Jedi ever arrived to erect their temple. She could sense the two of them like two little candles in a vast storm of darkness and Sandy made her way in due haste to them.

 

The tree she saw first as she drew her blade to provide light against the shadows.

 

“Frond! What are you doing? Where is Kel?”

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Calix Meus Inebrians

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I was but a child the day I first step foot upon Felucia. I still remember the day well. The sights, the sounds, the smells, it's as fresh within my memory as yesterday is. For many years I lived alone upon my home world of Dantooine after the death of my parents, forced to scavenge and steal what I could in order to survive. Much like the once lush planet, I was scarred from my past, and though growing anew with each passing season, I still carried the memories of days long forgotten and was forced to do whatever it took to survive. Which is what led me to Felucia that fateful day, the stupidity and brashness of a child still beating within my heart even as I gazed ever so scornful at the stun-cuffs that encompassed my wrists. - Genesis Stormhelm

 

The smell of fumes and potpourri mixed together in an almost nauseous aroma as I stepped off the transport, the Transporting Officer pushing me forward as I resisted ever so slightly, my bound hands being his only salvation as my gaze turned backwards with a glare that could kill him on sight had it been possible. Alas, today, it wasn't. The sound of my feet shuffling across the duracrete floors brought subtle attention here and there as the Officer escorted me toward a nearby turbolift, Bleep not very far behind, hindered by the restraining bolt placed upon his form. We were both to be handed over to the Authority of the Jedi Order, our crime being that we had been found scavenging the ancient Jedi Conclave near our mining outpost. Normally, the DSF would have arrested me, and I'd be on my way toward a Galactic Prison for processing. But since I was found upon Jedi Order property, the Arbitor back home felt that I be turned over to the Order and let them decide my fate. So here I was at the nearest Jedi Temple, Felucia, the flora covered planet of the outer Rim. If I hadn't been in shackles, I could have enjoyed it... maybe.

 

"Transfering Prisoner 228-0675, Genesis Stormhelm." The DSF Officer spoke, handing a data pad and what was scavenged to what appeared to be a Jedi Temple Guard, the DSF Officer turning briefly to inquire if that was really my name or not before pushing me and Bleep forward into the Jedi's custody. "Since they were stealing property of the Jedi, Arbitor Alexa felt that it would probably be best to let you Jedi lot deal with it. Stolen items include a few outdated powercells, some T3 parts, datapads, and what appears to be a crystal of some sort, likely from the nearby Crystal Caves. He's all yours."

 

And with that, the custody transfer was complete, the DSF Officer grimacing as he turned about and left, leaving me to gaze upon the Jedi Temple Guard. My hands cuffed still, I ran my fingers through my auburn hair trying to flatten it's spiked look to no avail, and proceeded to smile briefly before quickly grabbing the evidence and tipping the guard over, while in the same motion knocking off the restraining bolt off of Bleep and allowing us an attempt to escape. How far we would get? I held no clue at that moment, nor of what the planet below would hold for us. Only my instincts would drive us as we rounded a hall into what appeared to be a commissary in our attempt to flee, not looking back to see how many, if any, of those Temple Guards were on our tail. Turning to Bleep I spoke but a few brief joking words, "Well... we're finally off Dantooine." to which he replied with a "woaaaahhhhhh" as we sprinted ever farther. Never could I have guess how today would turn out.

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Frond concentrated on the energy pulsating through the crystal within his training saber, allowing the purity of The Force to wash over him through the purging plasma of the weapon. Surrounded by the swirling mists and darkness, the small glowing stone and the weapon that encased it were his only connection to the light side of The Force. If he were to remain balanced, he would have to hold onto the light that the dark was seeking to extinguish.

 

With his eyes closed, Frond’s entire being focused on the glimmer of light, allowing it to flow from the stone, through the weapon, and into him, allowing it to radiate through his very core. As the light built within, Frond began to methodically swing the blade, back and forth, up and down, in sweeping patterns all about him; his feet planted firmly in the ashen earth; the blue blade whirring about him as he strove to allow the growing light within him to try and drive back the darkness that was pressing in from all sides.

 

There was misbalance even here. The heliconian flapping its wings on Malastare would eventually result in the swirling storms of Kamino – that was balance; without it, the storms would subside and the world would die. So was it with The Force, only more so because The Force was the truth. Without the balance, the dark side would destroy all; just as the small heliconian would drive stars to nova. Balance must be retained. It was Frond’s desire to find and restore this balance. After all, was it not that quest that drove him to learn the ways of the Jedi? However, here, in this moment, the balance was shifted so much that all Frond could do was grasp onto the shimmer of the light as he sought to hold back the darkness that was seeking to crush him from every side.

 

As he allowed his mind to clear from doubts and worry and focus only on the light emanating from the crystal and the saber, an extension of his being, Frond suddenly heard a voice cry out from the darkness.

”Mistress Sandy?” he responded, questioningly, not wanting to believe what he was hearing as he brought his swirling saber to a halt in front of him, held in both hands perpendicular to the ground at waist level. Opening his eyes, he slowly turned his head to see Sandy standing at the edge of his vision, enveloped in the swirling mists. tricks the mind of playing this was?

 

Frond was barely willing to believe what he was seeing; but still, this vision was speaking…Reaching out with The Force, he could feel, amongst the swirling dark side energies all about them a somewhat familiar glow; the fierce light that he had sensed in Sandy before. At the very least, he would answer, hoping that what his eyes showed him and what he sensed in The Force was more than a mere deception of the mind.

 

Removing one hand from the still humming saber he pointed downwards in front of him at the invisible hole in the ground, shrouded by the mists. ”mists and hole vanished within brother my Kel.”

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Kel wandered aimlessly through the passages of the cave. the underground labyrinth seemed to be never ending. his only source of light being the bright green glow of his training sabre. the confined space gave an echo to everything from kel's foot steps, to the tiniest drop of water dripping from the ceiling. "Just how in the world do i get out of this place?" he muttered. everything about this place had kel on edge. Another predatory beast or creature of the dark could attack him at any moment. For the second time today, Kel began to fear for his life. sweat trickled from his brow while his paranoia built further anxiety. At first Kel thought he was seeing things out of the corner of his eyes, but as he walked further into the cave, he began seeing the face of nightmarish monsters, ghouls, and other terrors of the night. Kel turned and ran from the nightmarish figures, but their pursuit was relentless. Their high pitched shrills and malevolent laughter echoed in kel's ears. his fear soon turned into anger at his pursuers. His anger turned into rage as he began slashing his training sabre wildly at the evil spirits.the onslaught seemed to be endless, but Kel would not rest until he had vanquished each and every one of these monsters of his imagination.

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Sandy glanced down at the giant sinkhole covered by dark mists and felt her mouth go dry.

 

“What were you both doing out here? This place is dangerous!” She shook her blonde head and analysed the situation. She could see the faint glimmer of water in the mist below and she kicked off her boots and stripped down to her undergarments. She held her sabre in her hand and glancing to her wooden apprentice, motioned for him to follow as she dove off the cliff into the watery cave below.

 

The water was ice cold to her skin when she hit the surface, and she quickly bobbed up and gasped a breath. She held up her unlit sabre and scrabbled to the edge of the rocky cove and winced as the sharp stones dug into her skin. With a snap hiss the white blade shone through the darkness and she called out.

 

“Kel?”

 

As she projected her presence like a beacon in the night. Then she found him in the force and began making her way through the dark to his fearful presence.

 

"Kel!" She called out to him again.

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Calix Meus Inebrians

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As he stood, blade humming in one hand, he watched unabashedly as his newfound master stripped down, trying to briefly explain why they had disobeyed her instructions. ”Us The Force called. Read I cannot. Do to impossible is therefore research it.”

 

Frond watched in awe as Sandy leapt into the yawning mist filled abyss. As a creature of wood as opposed to flesh, he knew that whatever was at the bottom would not be friendly on his being. Standing in shock after Sandy vanished into the swirling mists, her force presence vanishing as the mists swirled back in, clouding his sight, Frond finally decided to act. Deactivating his training saber, he could still sense the warmth and glow of the light side emanating from the crystal within. As a being of transmogrification, he opened up a knothole in his grained form along the side of his chest and tucked the hilt inside before allowing his woody flesh to close back around it; the presence of The Force now emanating from the crystal within his body, filling him with a glimmer of hope in the vast swirling sea of misty darkness.

 

Planting his feet at the very edge of the pit, Frond turned and leaned forward, placing the equivalent of his viney fingertips into the ashen earth, digging shallow furrows as he pressed down. With a body filling exhale, Frond allowed The Force to flow through his focus onto his own body, as all Neti knew to do. His viney tendrilled fingers began to elongate, running down through the ancient undisturbed soil and ash. As his finger continued to grow, Frond gently stepped backwards, allowing the viney tendrils to pull taut as he went from being vertical to horizontal against the featureless wall of the pit. Step by step, like a creeping vine, Frond’s heavy form plodded downwards through the mists, his vined fingers anchoring him above against the gravity that sought to wrench him downwards to his death.

 

After several minutes, Frond’s heel struck water with a faint splash. Focusing on his tendrilled appendages, he reached out with The Force, willing his fingers to begin to retract; allowing him to fall the last few feet into the lake with a thundering splash like only a falling tree in a still lake could make, sending waves radiating out from his location along the edge.

 

As his finger-like appendages returned to a semi-functional length, Frond turned over and paddled his way slowly across the water until he reached the shore. By then, Sandy had vanished into the mists of the gaping entrance.

 

”Mistress?” his voiced boomed through the calm, ”Brother Kel?”

 

Slowly, as was his way, Frond plodded one step in front of the other into the darkness.

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Armiena had hoped to pump Senya for more information regarding her son, but only moments after her poorly-worded comment about the sapient tree, the teenaged Jedi Knight had departed. Perhaps she had spoken poorly, had irritated the young Jedi by either her skepticism towards the Imperial Knights or the rather speciesist remark about her apprentice. It couldn't be helped; Armiena had seen far too much killing over the course of her life and there was little indication that any of it had actually accomplished anything. At least she now had a name to work with--an Eleison--and a destination. She glanced downwards at her plate, at the wrap that continued to ooze red-orange spiced goop from its innards, and consumed it with gusto. The sauce was heavily-spiced, probably to disguise the fact that it was processed almost to the point of sterility, but this was the first "freshly" prepared meal that Armiena had eaten in nearly five years. The obscene display with which she disappeared the wrap would have to be forgiven, even if her lips and fingers were stained by the dripping sauce.

 

As she finished and considered her next actions, I reached out and tapped my character on her right shoulder. Startled by the invasion of her personal space in what she had previously thought to be a mostly-empty cafeteria, she whirled around and stared back through the fourth wall. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw worked, ready to spit out a curse.

 

"Really?" The Alderaanian hissed back at me. "That's how it's going to be? After all the trauma that you put me through, after the war, losing my husband, losing five years of my life, you're seriously going to ask me to do this again?"

 

I cringed--certainly, I'd put Armiena through hell. The poor woman deserved a few years of quiet, an opportunity to try to reconnect with the few people from her increasingly small web of friends of family. However, the RP still needed new characters and fresh faces, new plotlines and grudges, younger Jedi whose idealism hadn't been spoilt by the war and were unafraid to dedicate their lives to the Good Fight. The RP needed experienced heroes, even if they were scarred and traumatized by the war, to look after these young idealists. The RP still needed Armiena Draygo, even if she would have preferred a quiet hut in the Agamarian badlands or a tenure-track position at Coronet Polytechnic (go sandpanthers!).

 

"At least let me contact Aidan, let him know that I'm safe." Her hands still stained by the heavily-spiced, reddish-orange sauce that had leaked from her wrap, she rose and walked threateningly towards me. Her balled fists held a promise of violence.

 

That seemed reasonable enough. I might have been the narrator of Armiena's world, but if that woman--or worse, her mother--somehow managed to crack the fourth wall...

 

"I'm sorry, Master Draygo, but is everything alright?" One of the grease-monkeys of Felucia, a veteran of the Praxeum on Gala and familiar with the veteran Jedi's eccentricities had been watching this display and was quite concerned by the sight of an old friend conversing with the doorway to the commissary.

 

Armiena blinked hard. "I... sorry about that, Celchu. Healer Gloth put me on a new medication. I probably need to have the dosage adjusted. By the way--" Her eyes glanced downward and caught sight of an unfamiliar glint of polished metal on the mechanic's left hand. She grinned. "Please give my congratulations to To'parwa."

 

At this point, somewhat resembling a chase scene from a classic cartoon, a piratical teenager raced by and was closely followed by an R3 unit. A pair of arbiters with armed stun batons followed by only a minute later.

 

"Terribly sorry, gentlemen, but the, uh, child climbed into the ceiling ducts." It was a blatant misdirection, but Armiena gently grasped a grating in the ceiling and shifted it loose with the Force. Following the level of her pale-green eyes, the two arbiters noticed the shifted ceiling tiles and groaned in disbelief. Profanity-laden comments regarding their misfortune at losing a prisoner and how difficult it must have been for the child to worm his body into the ceiling crawlspaces followed.

 

She just shrugged. "I know--I told him that it wasn't going to work--I mean, the kid's got maybe fourty centimeters of space to work with up there, but... I'm actually rather impressed. Lemme go ahead and see if I can home in on him for you."

 

____

 

A few minutes later, a lone woman, practically swallowed up in brown robes that were far too large for her emaciated form, stood directly between the piratical young man and the unknown destination that he was running towards. She wore a pale blue cotton cap on her head, which looked faintly ridiculous against the formality of the Jedi robes. Perhaps Stormhelm didn't quite appreciate this fact yet, but this Jedi Temple was primarily subterranean, and barring his locating a turbolift that wasn't being guarded or an unsecured ventilation shaft, escape was quite impossible. Armiena nodded in a friendly manner towards the fleeing teenager--the boy, delinquent or not, was obviously sensitive to the Force. As the boy raced by, Armiena stepped towards his blind right eye. With a tangle of feet, an impact of her left hip against Stormhelm's right, and a guiding hand placed directly under his shoulder, the burglar found himself momentarily airborne and the ceiling and floor began to argue over which direction was up.

 

Armiena placed her left hand directly under his head to protect him from a potentially-discombobulating landing on a hard stone floor. Her left hip ached in protest as she knelt down to protect her head, but her smile lost none of its friendliness. "Sorry about that. I'm a little bit slower than I used to be, gave you a rather rough landing. Would you care to tell me what you're running from?"

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Due to Kel's physical exertion, and this assault on his mind, he was feeling both physically and mentally fatigued. "Just... make it... stop..." As his mind grew hazy he felt another presence calling out to him. However, his mind was clouded to the point where he was unable to tell friend from foe. As the darkness overtook him, Kel tapped into the force in desperation. hoping anyone near would feel his plea for help. After that his consciousness faded and his saber deactivated. His body wandered aimlessly through the cave until it came upon master Sarna and frond. In the young doran's eyes, the jedi was nothing more than another monster seeking to claim his life. "Die..." he muttered. Kel activated his training saber again. the glowing green light revealing his location. Kel ran towards sarna and attempted to strike horizontally at her.

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She was a strange one, that woman. I remember the first time I saw her, gazing into oblivion, shaking her fist toward the heavens, almost as if she was conversing with someone only she could see. Freaked me out a little to be honest. But that was before I got to know Armiena. - Genesis Stormhelm about Armiena Draygo

 

The halls of the Felucian Temple began to merge and haze as Bleep and myself continued our run, twists and turns coming nearly every fifteen to twenty feet or so for what seemed an eternity as we urged ourselves to continue, capture never an option. If we had been on Dantooine, maybe it would have been different. At least there we had the advantage, our home turf and all. But here, even as I gazed upon this alien world through the consistency of viewports that illuminated half the hall ways, I felt lost and alone. Just as I knew Bleep did, a depressed groan erupting as her vision followed my own. Truly, we were out of our element and would be if we were caught, if their history with Dantooine ran true here as much as it did at home.

 

Turning another hallway, I stopped briefly, noticing I had re-entered the commissary from before, or at least one like it. In truth, I held no clue as to how many areas like this such a large Temple would house. But turning to take another hallway, I briefly observed what appeared to be a woman, though bald and thin in appearance, seemingly arguing with the heavens and causing my mind to wonder if I had ventured into a section similar to a psyche ward, the thought briefly sending chills up my spine of a Jedi Temple even having such a section and what would lay within. Shaking my head, I traversed onward, determined to find a way out for Bleep and myself.

 

In truth, by then, my body was beginning to wane, my breath harder to control, and my head beginning to feel light as my muscles slowly began to ache. But I was determined to find a way out, and I wouldn't stop until I was free of this place. Already my heart ached of home, to feel Dantooine's sun shining upon my again and not that of the many air ducts that littered this place nor the alien sun that this forsaken planet orbited. While it was true that life at home was rough, and at times dangerous, it was home all the same. "Oh to see the brith once more." I moaned aloud, Bleep responding in agreement as he nearly tipped over at the newest turn, onlookers gazing as we whizzed by and likely wondering why we were running.

 

Yet, I never expected what happened next, turning a corner and time standing almost motionlessly still as my gaze caught that of the woman from before, causing my heart to nearly stop even as she stepped into the seemingly hidden area of my vestigial eye socket hidden beneath the blackened eye patch. Before I knew it, my whole world flew into chaos as up became down, and down became up, quickly followed by left and right constantly changing places and the floor grew ever closer. Landing softly, more so than I expected, my hazel eye glaring in horror, I felt helpless, my muscles aching of exhaustion.

 

"You! Crazy lady!" I spoke, gasping for the air that had been knocked out of me as I attempted to crawl backwards and away from her despite her frailty appearance, Bleep quickly tipping over behind us in her usual playing dead fashion. "I was running from you Jedi. I just want to go home." I managed to get out, my hand sliding the evidence over toward her as I laid against the wall, my breathing deep. Accepting the fact that I could not run anymore, I simply stared at the woman's green eyes, sweat beads littering my face and brow. What had I gotten myself into? This day just wasn't my day, nor Bleep's.

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Armiena groaned as she straightened. The Gotal Healer had given it his best attempt and had succeeded in even obliterating the scars from her back and hips, but there was nothing that even a Master Healer could do to reverse months of atrophy from disused muscles. She stepped over towards the young man as he crawled away and followed the movement of the little pouch towards a deactivated R3 unit.

 

The Jedi Ace smirked when she spotted a circular burn mark on the cylindrical torso of the little astromech droid. Someone must have attempted to affix a restraining bolt to the R3 unit and botched the weld. This was exceptionally sloppy, rushed work--the astromech must have wedged the bolt free from its torso without the use of tools or human assistance. She could begin to make a guess about the circumstances that had led the delinquent young man to her.

 

"That's probably for the best. But when those two temple guards realize that I've lied to them and catch up, what do you plan on doing then? I mean, I made some dumb decisions when I was your age, but I never had to spend time in lock-up for more than a night."

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