Mon Calamari/Dac

[Onderin Starlisk]

At first, Onderin smiled at the comical display that Roxas put forth in his rush of words. After it went on for a few more seconds, however, his smiled faded into a quizzical expression accented largely by his eyebrows, one of which was noticably higher than the other. "I'm quite alright, padawan," he said, his voice mirroring his expression. "Honestly, the only thing I need you to do right now is pay attention, for now begin the studies that will turn you into a Jedi Knight, mature and skilled with the Force."

 

His somewhat stern words were in sharp contrast to Roxas's apparent mental demeanor, and they were, in their sternness, enough to silence the Miraluka. "If you are ready, we will begin," he said. "But you need to know that this process will change you. On Helix station I warned you that the life you have now chosen is not an easy one. A Jedi must hold the deepest commitment, the most serious mind.

 

"I do not mean to cast any shadows on the work we are about to begin. It is self-rewarding and will grant you the ability to do so much more than affect your own life and those immediately around you. You will soon be able to affect the galaxy as a whole, not as yourself but as an extension of the will of the Living Force," the Jedi Master explained, his tone extremely serious. "From here on out, you do as the Force commands. You will even learn to die for it.

 

"Are you ready to proceed, Roxas Jarek?"

 

EDIT July 8th, 9:56 am:

 

Since the new Alliance base at Gala was simply sitting empty, the Vice-Admiral took the initiative to order that part of Mon Calamari's defenses, including almost the entire fleet, be moved there with enough men to run the base and fully crew its defenses. Gala would be the new Alliance headquarters base, finally moving them out of the shipyard that they had used centrally for some time.

[Roxas Jarek]

Roxas' face reflected the demeanor of the conversation. After processing the weight of Master Starlisk's words, he nodded assuredly.

 

"Yes, I am ready."

 

The words caused a part of Roxas to flare up slightly, the part of him that yearned for selfishness, graditute and gain. These words were a threat to the very existence of the idea, and it in turn recoiled fearfully at the word's stinging maw. But in gloating in the silnece that fell afterwards, the idea assured the selflessness this fact. There would be conflict- and it will be difficult, and the idea would not budge without a strenuous fight. The kinghts of the two ideas met at the battlefeild of the cerebrum. It had begun.

 

Edit: Spelling

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin nodded solemnly. "Let's start at the very beginning," he decided out loud. "The Force, as you probably already know, is a vast energy field that binds the universe together. Life creates it and makes it grow. Nothing is beyond the Force, and the Force is beyond everything. Everything that happens in the universe is according to the will of the Force, though this will cannot effect the universe without physical beings to manifest it.

 

"This is where the Jedi come in. All beings have inside them microscopic forms of life inside their cells called midichlorians. Midichlorians are symbiotes, responsible for life to begin with," the Admiral explained. "Without them, we could not exist. Almost as importantly, they connect us with the Force, allow us to hear its will and access the vast stores of power that the Force will grant us in a time of need.

 

"I believe that it is the responsibility of the Jedi to do only the will of the Force. Much can interfere with this calling, and that is why a Jedi acts only when passive, when he is at peace with the Force. Only then will he be able to tell the good from the bad, what course will further the Force's will and which will diminish it," he continued. "But you must know that there is also a Dark Side of the Force. The Sith are masters of this Dark Side. Rather than serving the Force, they subjugate it. I will not lie to you--there is much power in the Dark Side, but its price is terrible. Never in history has a Sith died of natural causes. Always they are slain either in combat or by the Force itself.

 

"I have a tool for you," the Jedi Master said. "It is a code, simply a series of words. But even when you are in turmoil and unable to concentrate on the Force, these words will serve as a guide to seeing Light from Dark. Remember these:

 

"There is no emotion; there is peace.

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

There is no passion; there is serenity.

There is no chaos; there is harmony.

There is no death; there is the Force.

 

"Recite them and memorize them," Onderin instructed. "For they will never be taken from you."

 

He didn't mention the experiences that his past apprentices had seemed to become subjected to. Quite frankly, it was possible for even Roxas's memory to be taken from him, just as had Kirana's. Information could be stripped from the brain, as had happened to Sabian. But such things needn't concern Roxas Jarek just yet. It would only serve to bring him down when now was his time to rise up.

[Roxas Jarek]

Roxas cleared his throat.

 

"There is no emotion, there is only peace,

There is no... ignorance, there is knowledge,

There is no passion, there is serenity,

There is no chaos, there is harmony,

there is on death, there is only the force..."

 

"Right?" Memorizing things were not Roxas' strong point, but the words had weight to them, so he decided he would recite them every morning as soon as he woke up until he laid down to sleep.

 

"If I may be so bold Master," Roxas began, "Now what?" Roxas could have sworn he felt his left foot tingle as he began his step in the new journey ahead.

[Onderin Starlisk]

"Now I teach you to tap into the Force that you have discovered, use it to begin manipulating the environment around you in simple telekinesis," Onderin stated. "I cannot understand your form of sight, but I imagine you have a fine grasp on at least the objects in the room. Ultimately, I'm going to need more perspective to train you properly.

 

"Follow me," he said, turning and walking down the hall. He was headed for the training section of the shipyards, though not one of the pristine rooms that were currently in use. Instead, he was heading for a specific room that he had used before as a refuge, a place to meditate in the Force, a room with history that you could find in the walls, in the air.

 

The pair entered said room and Onderin immediately opened himself to the Force. The room seemed a few degrees warmer than the hallway, comfortably so. It was a little dirty, a little gritty, and it was readily apparent even without the Force that many struggles and tests of skill had been endured here. It wasn't large, but it was large enough to provide a good enough environment to have a pair of sword fighters dancing through its center. Through the Force, these old struggles came alive, took shape and form. It was almost a phenomenon, only the Force always left echoes like these--a Jedi only had to be focused on feeling them, seeing them.

 

"Now," the Jedi Master said. "Open yourself to the Force. Slip into its currents. You already have a passive grasp on the Force--it lets you see. But now step into it, find the current and let it flow through you. Feel the struggles that this room has seen--there is a story in each one.

 

"I cannot tell you how to access the Force--you must learn yourself. Truly, I cannot teach you anything, only help you to unlock it in your own mind. A thousand words will mean nothing if you do not explore them for yourself."

[Roxas Jarek]

"Okay, I'll try." Roxas closed his eyes, and tried to shut out distractions around him. He felt his nerves turn into pure heat, the tension and aprehension within him churned doubt out of his mind, causing him to tense his muscles. 'What if I can't feel anything? I can't fail. I can't fail now, if I do, what will I do?' He tried sitting, crossing his legs in faux meditation, and in this position a cool voice called softly in the back of his mind, telling him to relax, to let go. Taking deep breaths, he let his tension melt into the voice, and followed it. And slowly, like a cool wind blowing across a feild, the visions began. He could see figures entering the room, and watched them as they slowly became battle hardened tools for whatever cause they served. He watched in astonishment as the details of their forms became somewhat apparent, although their features were still a blur.

 

Unknowingly, a small box of around 15 inches in height levitated in the air only slightly hovering from the ground, fluxuating in it's height so drastically that the dull "whump"-ing sound of it coming in contact with the ground again was reverberating through the room. This shook Roxas from his meditation, and it fell to the ground from the apex of it's floatation abruptly.

 

Another surprise went through Roxas, as suddenly, just like the figures who had entered the room like vague aparitions, small details were more apparent to him than before, akin with the figures however, was the lack of focus in the lines, still blurry but apparent.

 

"I think- alot of people have trained in this room. I could see them... kind of." He said, standing up. "Was I moving that box earlier?" He asked, pointing in the general direction of the phantom storage utility.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin smiled somewhat passively, thoughtfully. "The Force is strong with you, Roxas Jarek," he said. "But there are many things you cannot be expected to understand, and you said one aloud. Never simply 'try' to complete one of the tasks that I set before you. There is no 'try' in the Force. Through it, you can do anything.

 

"I sense doubt in you," the Jedi Master said next. "Doubt can be expected at the stage that you are in, but it is quite unnecessary. Even if you were to fail at one of the tasks I lay before you, there would simply be no consequences, excluding, perhaps, the possibility of further self-doubt."

 

To this point, both statements had been negative in nature, something that Onderin could only be quick to point out as a teacher. "Despite these two things, you rather successfully opened yourself to the Force, perhaps at an unforseen level. The apparitions that you saw were but echoes of the Force, which is the only true chronicler of time," he mused. "In time, just as you now saw the past, you will be able to see the future. And yes, you did move the box."

 

The Admiral shifted slightly on his feet. "Now, your next step is to control this current that you have been opened to. You moved the box almost unknowingly. Now I urge you to tap back into the Force and deliberately move it several centimeters off the ground and hold it there," he instructed. "Every time you tap into the Force, you will find that it comes to you more naturally until it is like a reflex. Telekinesis will soon become the same, something that can be used at any time for any purpose."

[Roxas Jarek]

His task set before him, Roxas nodded and shifted himself to face the small errant box. Uncomfortably, (and feeling sort of foolish), he held out the palm of his hand open towards the box, as if trying to attain some manner of aim on the cube. Flushing the doubt that slowly began to creep up in his mind, he focused on the box, and envisioned it slowly rising in the air, and holding a steady position. Concentrating on this scenario, he implanted a will to make it happen from the stance he was in. He envisioned himself physically picking up the box, but again, held his stance.

 

Soon enough, slowly but surely, the box began to float into the air peacefully, relieved from the shaky flight it had been given before. It spun slightly in it's flight, serenely twirling like a ballet dancer, and as soon as it had begun, disturbances marred it's flight, the box began to quiver violently until finally falling back to the ground again.

 

Roxas twitched slightly from the expanding and contracting of the air molecules as they rushed out from under the tumbling box.

[Onderin Starlisk]

"Good," Onderin said. "You have taken your first steps into a much larger world. For now, all I need you to do is work on this a little longer. Just try and get a feel for it. I can offer little instruction, though perhaps much insight.

 

"As I said before, there is almost nothing the Force cannot do. But the key to touching a full scope of Force abilities begins with simple logic," the Jedi Master said as if in lecture. "When you wish to do a given thing with the Force, you must understand that which you are doing. For example, if you wish to create a small source of light and heat, you must find the resources you need around you--in this case, only air molecules are necessary."

 

The Admiral backed up his words with action, dropping himself into the strength of the Force and reaching out into the air around him, feeling the natural, rapid molecular movements of it as easily as a normal person would feel the movement of a river that they had stuck their hand into. Effortlessly, he snatched two clusters of air molecules with the Force and began rubbing them together rapidly. "Simply through friction, my task can be completed, since oxygen and heat are the two most important things required to form a fire. Feul is also necessary, and that is why I am not creating a fire itself."

 

Although both air and the Force were invisible, Onderin's efforts suddenly became visibly apparent (he assumed Roxas would still be able to appreciate it) when a bright, firey warm spot appeared in the air, creating light and heat that radiated out with surprising intensity. "Since I know how to use the Force to create this effect, I am not limited from doing so," he said, applying the showing. "Such methods can be improvised or thought out ahead of time using one of the many aspects of the Force which you will learn about in time.

 

"For now, though," he said with a wink, "you should just stick to telekinesis before we move to more advanced but hardly inaccessible techniques."

[Guest]

Aidan had been in a private room studying battle tactics. The rules of Fleet engagement are really confusing. The new Sargent was brushing up on war tactics so that he could properly teach them to new recurits.

 

Suddenly an alert came over a loud speaker. Half the base was to be moved to Gala, a new military installation and the new Head Quarters of the Alliance.

 

Aidan stood up and began packing his things. Haven't been here a week and already I gotta move. It would be nice to have a permanant home though, which is what Gala offered. Aidan was excited. A shipyard was really no place to base a massive rebellion anyway.

 

Aidan packed his things and headed to Ariane's room. He let her know they were leaving and instructed her to head to Gala on the double. Her training within the Alliance would begin as soon as she arrived.

 

Aidan then went to one of the command centers and left instructions for all new recruits that arrived at Mon Cal by mistake to be sent to Gala. That was the new training headquarters, as well as the overall base of operations.

 

With that being done, Aidan went to his ship, Pegasus, and along with his little droid Zeus he blasted off into hyperspace towards the Alliance's new home.

[Roxas Jarek]

The next few hours consisted of the box being moved many many times. If it was capable of senient thought, it's overall demeanor could be summed up in a simple statement.

 

"Y'know, there are other boxes here. Bigger ones, smaller ones, some as big as yer head, (chuckle),I mean, it's not as if you need to specifically move just me around. Not that I mind really, if anything, that one guy needs to move other stuff around too, like, I mean... experience! Yes."

 

After many failed attempts at levitating the box, and a few amount of successes, Roxas began to feel annoyed with himself.

 

"Dagnabit, I should be- *Frustrated sigh* no emotion, peace. peace peace peace." After calming down, the new round of box levitation began, this time with more successes and a few times being able to fully suspend the box at least 2 feet in the air without spinning, and bringing it back to the ground without going into free fall.

[Onderin Starlisk]

"You're making very good progress," Onderin told his apprentice. "You seem to at least have the basics of telekinesis down. Now, the next thing you need to understand is that now that you can move a box, you can move anything.

 

"For with the Force, there is no size. Everything is surrounded by and engulfed within the Force, so everything can be moved or commanded with the same amount of ease," the Jedi Master continued. "Moving, say, a small stone is just as difficult or easy as moving a starfighter or something even larger. It doesn't make a difference--the only difference is in your mind."

 

He said the words light-heartedly, trying to emphasize the ease as if he were making a transition from picking up a one-pound weight to a one-and-a-half pound weight--each were very easy to lift. "Now, we are going to make a setting transition to continue your lesson in telekinesis."

 

Onderin turned and led the way out of the room and through the well-navigated halls which he knew almost as well as he knew the Force. Soon, the two were in a new setting--a hangar. The Jedi Master smiled to himself, remembering the tests Keiran had had him experience in the hangar setting. He would, both in respect for Keiran and the lesson that he had been taught, do things the same way. "Over there," he said, pointing, "is a much larger crate about four times the size of your last one. Experiment with lifting it a few times, then let me know when you're ready to move on. I'm going to hop in a shuttle and take a spin around the station."

 

The Admiral then proceeded to enter a Lambda-class shuttle, which soon thereafter took off. He was sure to pick one that had been slightly modified, one that he had prepared for this joy-riding scenario. He extended the wings, folding them down to their triangular arrangement for maximum maneuverability and began to fly around the station, weaving through ships and the shipyard's many outcroppings, inspecting the flagship and the MC90a currently under construction.

[Ariane]

Of course, the existance of the Gala base hadn't yet been announced when Ariane had headed to Mon Calamari. It was still a bit of a pain to consider; jumping from planet to planet was scarcily easy on one's sanity, particularly when still not certain what one is up to.

 

At least it would be getting her off this water planet.

 

So Ariane headed up to her ship 'on the double', got the permissions to take off since she was too lazy to deal with NPCs today and besides is now a part of the Alliance anyway, and entered in the coordinates for Gala (presuming Aidan gave them to her).

 

The ship took off in an uncharacteristically lacking in descriptive natured post.

 

((To the space thread, sorry about the bad post, I've been very uninspired to write... sorry for not replying to you before, Aidan... same reasons, I just couldn't bring myself to post anything IC.))

[Roxas Jarek]

The shuttle sped away, leaving a confused look on Roxas' face.

 

"Huh. That was weird." Shrugging, and enforcing the mantra "size makes no differnce", into the back of his mind, he attempted to lift the much larger crate.

 

The overall report he would later give to Master Starlisk once he came back would be breif and vauge. "Well, I got it up a few times... kinda." Although he had accepted what Master Starlisk had told him, there was still a small block in the small of his subconscious, like a Thermopylean spartan, courageously unearing. It's removal would open many doors to Roxas, and incite another step in his journey and his change. But this is the nature of change. And the idea understood this. But much like the selfishness still festering within him, it would not budge without a fight.

[Onderin Starlisk]

As Onderin flew, he sort of listened in on Roxas' surface thoughts, trying not to give the Miraluka any impression that he was doing so. He monitered the young being's progress, able to empathize with the "Thermopylean spartan," for there was, in fact, a boundry that held a Jedi back from reaching his potential in an area. Really, it was the barrier of disbelief--it didn't make sense to be able to move things around with your mind, and it defied physics. But here the apprentice was, doing it, with no one to watch him.

 

There are ways to remove such boundries, Onderin thought with a slight smile which quickly faded. He checked himself for a second, examining what he was about to do. Every time he had an apprentice and put him or her through this test, he questioned himself, as he imagined Keiran had when testing him. The consequences of failure could be dire. But the consequences of success were more important.

 

The Jedi Master swung the ship around and headed back to the hangar with Roxas inside, angling the shuttle directly towards it. He could see the small figure of Roxas Jarek standing inside, focusing still on the large crate. He sent a quick comm to station control informing them what he was about to do--it was no cause for alert. He then armed the Lambda's concussion missile launcher (the advancement he had chosen this particular shuttle for).

 

Speaking through the Force directly into his apprentice's mind, the Admiral said, "Roxas, I'm going to come in for a landing. How did you-- oops!" he said as he more or less accidentally fired a concussion missile straight into the hangar towards Roxas Jarek. Immediately he stretched out with the Force, but did not affect the missile. This was the test.

[Cadio Sikaot]

The Rebel Way set down on Mon Calamari. It's lone occupant, Cadio Sikaot, stepped out and headed towards an assistant and asked for the co-ordinates for the newest Rebel Base. the assisstant rattled them off, then headed on her way. Memorizing the numbers, Cadio walked back to his ship, checked the equipment and took off towards Gala.

[ObliviousKnight]

About fifteen seconds before Armiena's new used MC90 Cruiser dropped out of hyperspace, 'Tex' Vandro, a native of Bespin, voiced his concerns over the state of their new purchase.

 

"Hey, Boss," Armiena had already made it very clear that she had almost anal objections towards being called 'Master', so her crew instead used the more affectionate title of 'Boss' when speaking to her. "This... Barty, the fella you purchased this beauty from, he did remove Black Sun's ID transponder, right?"

 

"I... sithspit." The Jedi Master paled slightly. Seeing this, Tex immediately pulled the ship out of hyperspace.

 

When the MC90 Cruiser appeared an uncomfortable but nonhostile distance from the Mon Calamari shipyards, the Alliance traffic controllers received a rather... undisciplined transmission from the intruder.

 

"Sithspit, we are running a Black Sunner ID!" Chaos seemed to erupt on the bridge of the Black Sun cruiser. "Why didn't he remove that?--quick, turn it off--look at the size of--turn it off!!--You have any idea how many guns are pointed at us at the moment?--Oh, at least a hundred turbolaser batteries--Boss, get on the comm--And snubfighters?--before they decide to just blow us out--hundreds, most likely--of space! Guys, shut up and let me speak! ...sorry..."

 

A female human cleared her voice on the communications channel, then soothed the defenders' anxiety. "Calamari, this is Jedi Master Armiena Draygo, captain of the Survivor's Foundation relief ship Esperanza.... sorry about the confusion. We are here for final refitting and inspection, as well as a new ID transponder, modification of our sublight engines, a new paint job... and cupholders for the command chair. Big ones." A nervous chuckle was heard in the background of the transmission.

 

"And if the Admiral is available, I'd like to speak with him. I think he'd be rather interested in what I have to say."

[Onderin Starlisk]

Ambassador Talis received the comm on the other end. He immediately recognized the name of Jedi Master Armiena Draygo as a long-time friend and supporter of the Alliance. He allowed himself a chuckle at the quickly-shut-off Black Sun transponder signal, but the chuckle was a little nervous. He really couldn't tell for sure that the person on the other end was who she said she was.

 

Ah, sithspit, he thought. Everytime I get worried about something, I end up saying something completely contrary to what I should, despite the fact that it seems to be in good reason. I'm sure this is Master Draygo.

 

Talis opened the comm channel in response. "This is Ambassador Talis," he introduced himself. "We are prepared to begin the refit of your dubiously-obtained Star Cruiser immediately. The Admiral made sure I knew that he could be contacted at any time, so if you would like to come aboard the shipyard, I can arrange for you to meet with him in short order."

 

He then cut the comm and looked over at one of the other officers. "Notify the Admiral of the arrival of Jedi Master Armiena Draygo. She would like to speak to him." The officer nodded and turned on his comm.

 

((Lol, I need Roxas to post. This is the first time in a couple weeks Onderin hasn't been presently available. ))

[Roxas Jarek]

Roxas heard the whine of the missle blasting out from under the shuttle's wing, and turned to face it, frozen in that spot.

 

Terror gripped at him, and sent his mind into a frenzious cacouphy of thought. Not so much thought, but more like useless noise. Lament and greif at death, pure panic, all these thoughts confused his body and made it practically imposible to move. Suddenly he heard the shout, although heard was not how he recieved it. "FOCUS!" the screaming in his head stopped and he imagined a small reticle on the rapidly approaching missle. Concentrating on the explosive, he held out both his hands instead of running, which probably would have been a safer idea. He thought of it, imagined it being cushioned into a halt, and sure enough, the missle began to slow in it's death stroll. However, it would not come to a stop, and after a burst uncharacteristically quick thought, he made a small slide that curved upwards through the force, causing it to arc upwards and explode into the ceiling. He cursed under his breath and turned towards the shuttle, and began shouting at Master Starlisk.

 

"OoopS? Geez! You almost- (sigh)." Roxas sat down on the floor, drained from the near death experience. "Sorry, I'm just a little- (forced sigh). Not every day that a missle gets shot at you."

 

((Sorry about not posting, struggled with how to do this one. I should have at least done something))

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin watched as Roxas managed to scoop the missile into the ceiling, creating a massive detenation with a powerful shockwave that tore into the durasteel and destroyed the lighting system. The shockwave was easily enough to knock the Miraluka off his feet, and huge sheets of durasteel began falling from above him, rapidly nearing his downed position.

 

The Jedi Master stretched out with the Force apparently without the sense of urgency that such a scenario warrented. He created a large wall of force through the room about halfway up to the ceiling. He squeezed his eyes shut to give himself fully to concentration as each and every chunk of metal stopped on the invisible barrier. Onderin then channeled an enormous amount of energy into whisking the metal out into space.

 

He was lucky the containment field wasn't disabled! the Admiral thought. That would have ended Roxas's life in a split second through instant freezing and suffocation due to lack of air. That was certainly the most destructive that particular test has ever been. It could cost thousands of credits to repair the damage, although that's not as bad as losing Roxas. At least no one was hurt. The question is: do I proceed? Is he ready?

 

"Roxas," he said then through the Force, "You were lucky to have survived. I apologize for subjecting you to a test that you were not perhaps quite ready for. Uh-oh!" The ace pilot's eyes widened as he realized he was coming in way too fast into the hangar bay. His thruster breaks didn't have time to respond--he would almost certainly crash full on into the hangar--not to mention Roxas! "I'm unable to stop," he said again through the Force. "Hurry--use the Force to slow my approach or you'll suffer the fate that you just narrowly avoided!"

 

Something made Onderin smile as he "said" that. He remembered how he almost took Keiran for a fool when he had done the same thing. He had respected Keiran's abilities so much only to find him doing foolish, dangerously risky things. It wasn't until later that he had realized that it was all a test, deliberate and yet just as dangerous. I hope he's ready, the Jedi Master thought. It was too late to turn back, anyway.

[Roxas Jarek]

"From the fryingpan..." Roxas drawled, the adrenalin coursing through his veins calming him slightly. He threw out his hands towards the shuttle, backing away towards the door and cushioned the shuttle with the force, slowing it down to almost a crawl, and then finally to a stop. His final task (what he hoped was the final task) finished, he slumped up against the wall, panting for breath. He sensed the destruction of the ceiling, and let out a low whistle. "I hope that won't cost much to fix..."

[ObliviousKnight]

((Sorry, but I'm going to be absent for a few days, the 18th through 21st.))

 

Dubiously obtained. That description rang rather distinctly in Ambassador Talis' hail to the Esperanza. If he knew exactly how dubious the MC90's origins were, Armiena doubted that the Calamari shipyards would even allow the cruiser to come within kilometers of their location. The consequence of having dealt with one of Coruscant's more enlightened semi-legitimate entrepreneurs, the Jedi Master surmised.

 

With no further incident, the unmarked MC90 Cruiser docked with the Calamari shipyards and submitted to the inspections of the security teams that had to be just itching to get on board the Cruiser. However, the Jedi Master patiently waited by a starboard airlock and disembarked from the cruiser the moment the air seals hissed and the armored port slid open to grant entrance to the MC90. Armiena was perfectly aware that her hosts had to be anxious, especially after the Esperanza broadcasted a Black Sun ID.

 

"So... what'll it be, gents?" The Jedi Master positively drawled as she strolled into the slightly humid air of the Calamari shipyards, vaguely resembling a bored bartender on any of a dozen worlds. "Sight and vocal correlation? Question/Answer session in the brig? Jedi Mind Probe? Glitterstim? Truth drug?" Armiena couldn't resist a small grin, knowing that she was perfectly capable of withstanding most of the interrogation techniques that would have confirmed her identity. If anything, her droll confidence probably slightly disarmed her welcoming party.

 

Besides, she saw no harm in mixing business with pleasure, at least not this time.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin allowed himself a smile as Roxas set the shuttle perfectly down with a suddenly-bolstered ability in telekinesis. He immediately opened the boarding ramp and exited the ship, approaching the slumped form of his padawan in the darkness that had engulfed the hangar with the loss of its lighting systems. "There. See? You can do it," he said.

 

The Jedi Master knelt by his apprentice. "Once you remove the barriers that your mind fabricates--those of disbelief--you can begin progressing in your talents," he said. "These tests that I just put you through made your learning of dire importance. I didn't teach you anything, but you found within yourself your ability to meet these challenges... at least somewhat successfully."

 

A beeping signal informed the Admiral that his commlink was receiving a call. He pulled it off his belt, activated it, and listened as he was told that Jedi Master Armiena Draygo had come in a "dubiously obtained" Star Cruiser and wished to speak with him directly. He told them that he'd be there as soon as he could.

 

"Roxas, I have a little business to attend to," he informed the Miraluka. "You can get a little rest, meditate, or get a little more practice if you're up to it. It looks like you could use all three," he added with a wink.

 

The Jedi Master then rose to his feet and exited the room, making his way to a suitable place to meet Armiena.

 

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

 

The party that met the Jedi Master was again headed by Ambassador Talis, and he raised a curious eyebrow when she spoke. "None of those things will be necessary, I hope," he said with a slight smile. "The Admiral has been informed of your arrival and is allegedly prepared to meet you in his office, for the sake of conveniance, in a few minutes. Until then, I'd be most interested to hear about the origins of your Star Cruiser...."

[ObliviousKnight]

"That MC90 Cruiser was an anonymous charitable donation." Armiena stated without the slightest of pauses, her tone suggesting nothing but casual seriousness. "Courtesy of a crime war that brought Black Sun to its knees on Coruscant, and a mostly-legitimate businessman who seemed to come out on top. Hence the Black Sun ID transponder--he was thorough when I asked him to disarm it... but he obviously missed a few things.

 

"I think I can trust him as far as my credits go, but I'd still like a thorough inspection before I put it to use... which, coincidentally, is precisely what I'd like to meet the Admiral for."

[Roxas Jarek]

In the corridors of Roxas' mind. He saw himself holding a small puzzle box. Smirking, he attempts to open the box, but with every turn of a side the smirk disapates to a grim frown, becuase with each turn, an uneasy sense of dread eats at the edge of his conscience. Turn after turn, the feeling grows, until the final turn is at hand. The solution to the puzzle is before him, the contents of the box so close to exposure. A deep breath, and finally curiousity overtakes his hands, and the final piece twists into place...

 

Roxas snaps out of his meditation in a cold sweat. He shakes visions of puzzle boxes out of his head and utters a single phrase.

 

"Troubling, this is."

[Onderin Starlisk]

Talis nodded. "Alright, I guess that explanation is as good as any," he said non-chalantly. "Now, if you'll follow me, the Admiral is prepared to see you."

 

The Ambassador led the way through a few twisting hallways as though he had been navigating them all his life rather than only a dozen years (not that there was much difference). It didn't take long at all for them to reach the office of Admiral Onderin Starlisk. The door slid open as Talis approached, and he ushered Master Draygo inside.

 

Onderin looked up from his desk and gave a smile, standing and putting out his hand. "Greetings, Armiena," he said informally, though he wasn't exactly good friends with the other Jedi Master, only simple acquaintences.

[ObliviousKnight]

"And we finally meet in the flesh, Admiral." Armiena Draygo accepted Onderin's handshake with an enviable grip of her own. After having worked together for years and having fought in several battles alongside the Alliance, it was astounding that they hadn't formally met until now. "If you don't mind, I'm a bit strapped for time; there's much to do, and not much time for it."

 

Sinking into a comfortable chair opposite of the Admiral, she began to explain herself and her unexpected arrival in the former Black Sun flagship. "That MC90 Cruiser used to be owned by Black Sun--you're welcome to whatever information you can glean off its computer, but I need some work done before I can put it to use." Armiena began to give more specific details: a thorough inspection for tracking bugs of all sorts; a repainting job in a universally recognized pattern for hospital ships; modification of the sublights to alter the results of an ion spectrum scan... in short, modifications that would ensure that it was unrecognizable as a ship formerly owned by Black Sun.

 

Armiena allowed a satisfied smile to creep onto her lips; Onderin was going to love what came next.

[Onderin Starlisk]

Onderin nodded and listened to the list. He smiled when she mentioned the repainting to make the cruiser look like a hospital ship, but remained silent until she finished. "I can hardly imagine seeing a Star Cruiser painted red and white, but we can do all those things with about a week's time," he said. "Don't worry about the resources--just consider it towards charity."

 

The Alliance hadn't given to charity in a long time....

[Cypher Skywalker]

The slightly bulky craft of Master Dashel's came within the atmosphere of Mon Calamari. Cypher raised himself ever so gently from his seat as he seemed to be staring through the right hull of the ship directly down on the planet. The planet glowed with a mighty force that was full of life. It envigorated his senses to know he was in a populous place again among allies. The heat from the atmospshere crawled through the space and creeped across his hardened face and shoulders, seeping it's way through his heavy clothes until he felt his nerves beginning to calm from the sudden change.

 

Cypher glanced back to Master Dashel as he made his way to the cock-pit. He reached down with his left hand and slowed the pace of the craft and set it to circle the shipyard continuously. He then turned back with a whip of his black cloak and said to Master Dashel, "Confined Combat sir...may it now begin." Cypher brought his hands up before him as the twin sabers from his master floated gently to his hands from the belt loops and with a slight scrape came to rest in each outstretched hand.

 

Cypher slowly turned the power dial down to a non-lethal weapon. Usually he would train under the lethal settings in order to maximize his experience. He found out a few times how hard it could be to take a hit from a lightsaber and got used to the feeling eventually.

 

Cypher ignited the blades with a flick of each index finger. The hull around them mixed into a blueish/purpleish color as the cross fade from the blue lightsaber in his left hand mixed with the green lightsaber in his right. Both the sabers had identical silver-chromed handles that shone brilliantly in the abstract combination of colors.

 

He stood slightly stiff in a straight-forward stance with each saber pointed down at a 45 degree angle, parallel to his arms. He wouldn't go too far into his own stance however...for fear of letting the adrenaline overthrow his judgement. Cypher stood, facing Odan, and waited patiently for the young padawan to prepare.

[Odan Zurr]

Odan slowly pulled out his Vibro sword,and held it in his right hand diganonly across him. While not as elgant or light as a lightsaber, it would be able to parry for the lightsabers blows. Odan then began to dwelve into the force he let go of his pysical self and let the force flow through him. his mind was at peace and he could feel the life down on the planet. But strangley enough he felt overwhelmed by the force, as if it had taken over his body. Unlike his duel with Master Dashel, Odan put himself in a defensive postion and prepared for Cyphers attack. He learned that Ataru was effective for prolonged combat, so now he would combine defensive atrributes of Soresu with the power and speed of Ataru.