The Eternal Vigilance (The Maw)

[Skye Organa]

Skye looks at her brother, shaking her head ever so slightly as she feels his support. She takes firm control of her feelings then, determined that nothing will distract her from this upcoming mission. She was nervous enough about that without worrying about something else that may or may not have any relevance, she'd take it one day at a time and see where it led her. Glancing out of the corner of her eye she decided that she'd just been imagining things after all.

 

She'd just relaxed again, closing her eyes and focusing inwards when she heard Ben'a moving. Opening her eyes she noticed him head towards the cockpit, along with her Master and heard his message about getting underway. She prepared herself for the take off. Once they were above the planet, she decided that she would head to her bunk and get at least some rest ”“ she had a feeling she was going to need it.

[Keiran]

Keiran heard BC's order and smiled.

"Finally"

 

Keiran pulled back on a lever, activating the repulsorlifts and lifting the Strife IV from it's berth, levitating into the air. When Keiran had enough ground clearance, he activated his main engines and set them to full throttle, knocking over a few maintenance droids behind him as he did so. The Strife IV exited the hangar of the Eternal Vigilance and blasted off into space, lining up just above BC's ship.

[Tares Vortex]

At the helm of the Rector, Tares piloted the great ship out of the hanger to join the others in orbit. It felt good again to be at the controls of this baby.

 

With everything set, the ship entered hyperspace....

[Tristin Stellar]

*The freighter entered hyperspace picking up several ships launching into hyperspace, he quickly jabbed the comm button in reaction.*

 

This is Tristin Stellar, requesting knowledge on what is happening.

 

*The signal was sent in a small arc that went over the last remaining ships and down toward the planet.*

[BLCKCLONE]

-comm to Tristin-

 

We are going to attack the Sith. I would like it if you were to join us. I am leaving now.

 

With that BC hit hyperspace for Arbra.

[Keiran]

Keiran pushed forward on the hyperspace lever and jumped to hyperspace following BC.

[Tristin Stellar]

*A contingent of thrusters on the side of the hull fired shifting the freighter into an exact angle as the rest and it too leaped into hyperspace.*

[Scorp Jedi Knight]

Scorp rested on his bed tired of waiting to be picked for training and tired of always training mind body and spirt whilewaiting for a master he wondered if he could go find somethign amusing. DAy in and day out he just went to the gyum training mediatate, ate,read,slept. UNtill it had become a cycle.

 

"Perhaps I Should have just stayed dead it not like I Doing any use around here. MAybe I Just not worthy enough to be alive. MAybe i Was suppose to have stayed dead permently."

 

Scorp then mentally slapped himself for begining to feel sorry for himself.

Tired of nothing new he flicked on his training saber and took it apart. Then leaving it disassemble on his table he grabbed his blaster and vibrosword And walked out of his room to go find something new to do.

[Kitt]

*Kitt came out his meditation state. He knew where he was, Maanan. He knew how long they were at the place...and how long they would remain. He walked out of his quarters searching for something that he knew he would not find...his padawan.*

 

He wanted to be a healer...he was not a fighter...that's why he died on Hoth. How I even survived that battle...is beyond me.

 

*He turned a conner and realized that most of the jedi left to fight the sith. And he knew that a new hopeful dojo had been created off planet.*

 

"The living Force...that was what they used to call me. I never realized that my mind could be the very thing that keeps me alive.

 

*Kitt had a great mind. His abillity to use the force could even pass Gantoris himself at things. But then again, he had no gift in using a lightsaber in anyway. His strong point was his connectivity to the living force.*

 

"Your getting old if you lose your trail of thoughts, Kitt Fitt, jedi knight."

 

*Kitt shook his head and began to walk around the halls, waiting for the shadow to take the temple itself.*

[Scorp Jedi Knight]

Scorp returned back to his room still uneasy to pass the time he rebuild his training saber. Then he decied he would go report to the dojo.

[Kitt]

*Kitt stoped infront of a small room. It had nothing more then a pool in it for those who would need or want it. Kitt walked into the room a took a deep breath.*

 

Peace...something that will not be here for long. Very soon...it will all happen again.

 

*Kitt reached out through the force to find what he might be looking for...but all he could feel was a void. He let out his breath and turned and walked out of the room. He worked his way to the main hall chamber, which wasn't all that great to look at.*

 

The real problem with the galaxy is that people try to hunt something that they can't kill. They try in vain.

 

*Kitt picked up his lightsaber that was at his side. He felt it with both hands, and then moved it through the air, almost like it was really on.*

 

A beautiful thing it is...and something I never fully learned how to do. I could teach myself how to read others minds...but this thing...I can't understand it.

 

*Kitt sat down right there in the middle of the main hall chamber and began to meditate...*

[Wookiee Jedi]

*Kirlocca brought his old ship back into the Maanan system. He landed in the jedi hanger within seconds. He allowed himslef to take a moment to relax. From there, he got up and walked into the main jedi halls. He was about to leave through a door to see his padawan when he noticed a jedi maditating on the floor...right in the middle of the main hall chambers.*

 

Well...it's not every day you'll see that. It must be Kitt. Only he would do a thing like that.

 

*Kirlocca decided not to interupt him and turned down his hall way that he meant to take. He opened a room to see that his padawan was even in a meditation state.*

 

Meditation...that sounds really relaxing as of now.

 

*Kirlocca shook his head. He needed his padawan to give him his full attention, so he shouted his name out loud.*

 

"RYAN!"

 

*His padawan shook his head as he exited his meditation state. He looked up to see Kirlocca, his master before him.*

 

"I have a really important question for you to answer."

[Kitt]

*As Kitt sat and meditated, he felt a warning from the force, telling him that a lost jedi...was in trouble.*

 

*Through a vast galaxy...one lost child...a force user needed help...a female at that.*

 

*Kitt opened his eyes. He lightsaber was right in front of him. The force for the first time told him that he must go a rescue this lost one. He reached out and graped his lightsaber, cliped it at his side, he got up and walked into the jedi hanger, boarded a jedi starfighter, and then lifted off to save the lost one.*

 

(Some time later.)

 

*Kitt arrived back at the temple in the late hours of the night. It took him all of 5 minutes to get out of his ship and make his way to a data unit. From there, he input the new transmission he had intercepted and began his magic hacking work...*

[BLCKCLONE]

Shifting in his seat BC looks to Tares as the exit hyperspace over Manaan. His hands rest on his legs palms down. Looking at him was no longer the same. A white wood and bone mask now covered his face.

 

He now looked like this.

 

 

Lives were greatly changed fighting the evil that was Nhagathul. Looking to those before him he spoke with the force.

 

I want you to know no one was harmed in vain. This was to save the galaxy and we suceeded. Though another Sith has risen to the throne, Bishop of Battle was ready to destroy every person and capture every soul in the galaxy. We stopped him, and for that I thank you.

 

His mask now acted as his jaw, and his eyes were now the force. Bishop had made BC mre powerful then he was before. BC was now apart of the force. He looked at his downed companion, slowly standing and walking towards him, the large wookiees hand touched Tares on his temples. Concentrating Tares slowly awoke continuing to use his heal technique BC stood above the master.

 

You will heal my friend.

[Andon]

As the Jedi Apprentice sat on the freighter that had been his salvation, he was eeriely silent, his mind locked in a stoic state of brooding. The events over the last couple of days had been taxing, meeting Jaina at the Last Call, making visits to three Sith Worlds and finally making a suicide run through Mimban's atmosphere and crashing on the surface. He wondered if all the risks he took were worth it and turning his head and gazing at Ashley he realized they were. After Master BC spoke, the Padawan sighed softly as he reached outward with his mind to the space surrounding the planet...his Master was near.

 

Taking Ashley by the hand, Andon Colos rose to his feet and began walking down the lowering ramp of the landed ship and out into the torrent rain of Manaan. As Ashley raised her hood the Jedi moved to do the same, but he quickly remembered that he had no cloak, he had given it to Skye's Master to keep him warm...an act he didn't regret. So there the pair stood, hand in hand, as Andon waited for the arrival of his Master who he hoped wasn't too mad at his little escapade down to Mimban. And on that thought his mind raced back to the Sith World, Mimban, and to Jaina and her Dark Warrior, the name "Montar" suddenly echoing in his mind. The four would meet again someday, but now they had to live their lives in the present.

 

"It shouldn't take too much longer," he said turning his head to Ashley, "I sense my Master is near."

[Keiran]

As the ship set down on Manaan, Keiran observed as BC began healing Tares.

"He truly has changed... he is the force"

 

Keiran smiled and stood, proceeding straight out of the ship, not paying attention to anything or anyone. He made his way to his quarters and lay down on his cot, falling to sleep instantly.

[Tares Vortex]

The force had forsaken him. In the attempts of protecting those he cared for, he was shattered. His body lay nearly dead, his spirit broken. Nothing was left for him, but darkness. The emptiness of the void now plagued him straight into his heart.

 

Wounds would heal, bodies would mend. Yet still there will be nothing for him.

 

White started to slowly flood into the darkness of his sight. The feeling of the force crept back up. The feeling of a soft bed lay under him. All was peaceful and yet something felt different. The pain he had felt earlier was gone, yet still something was different.

 

Slowly waking up, he looked around with his eyes to see a few people standing over him. Completely ignoring him, the beings he took as doctors conversed among themselves.

 

"He is lucky to be alive doctor. With out the efforts of his padawan and the others, he most likely would be dead." One said.

 

The doctor nodded, "Perhapes, but with out the implants and surgery, we would be dead regardless. Speaking of them, how are the new implants holding up? What all was done?"

 

The first man walked over to a machine beside Tares' bed and began to look at the screen, "Well the events on Mimban took a heavy toll on his body. The energy he released through the force was channeled by his body. Unfortunately the energy was too much that much of his inner workings took damage."

 

He continued, "His nerve system took the most damage. Many of his organs have been replaced, others are now combinded with technological components. His bone and muscle tissue also took a hit, we have had to replace those as well. We replaced the bones with a strong metal alloy, while the muscles I have not been looked into yet. Parts of the brain had to be modified for repairs and to incorpate his new systems. The biggest thing though are the nanites: Damage and repairs of this magnitude couldn't be healed with bactica. The introduction of nanites into his body greatly helped in the healing effort, along with Master BC's help as well. In all, everything is in working over and he should make a full recovery."

 

At the sound of the doctor's words, Tares finally could place what was different. He was; no longer himself....... he was the thing that was different....

[Skye Organa]

Landing on Manaan was in some ways a relief for Skye as she looked upon her seriously injured Master but in other ways not. She sat back wearily watching as firstly Master BC worked on Tares, then as the medic's came and took him away. She stood and followed as they took him to the Medical Wing and into the operating theatre where they stopped her from going any further.

 

”œYour Master will be alright, he's in the best of hands now and we will take good care of him. You will be able to see him once the surgeons have finished with him.”

[Keiran]

Keiran woke up and sat on his cot. Now refreshed, the jedi knight began thinking of what to do next.

"No lightsaber... no ship... the other jedi are all busy... Master Tares and BC are both busy, and since I'm not known for my healing abilities... I can't really help Tares."

 

Keiran stood and left his quarters, proceeding to the jedi armoury.

"The least I can do is fix some of my problems. I'm too rattled right now to recontruct another lightsaber, so I might as well go get a ship."

Keiran entered the armoury and grabbed himself a blaster carbine and blaster pistol. He concealed the weapons in his robe and donned his hood as he exited the armoury, headed for the hangar.

 

Once Keiran arrived at the hangar, he hopped into a dormant jedi starfighter that was largely ignored, however was still well maintained by the droid crew in the hangar. Keiran activated the engines and blasted off, soon jumping into hyperspace for destinations unknown.

[Ashley Jade Skywalker]

As she stepped down off the boarding ramp with Andon, and out into the pouring rain, Ashley's mind was bombarded with the memories of the last time she'd been on Manaan. Stang, things change so fast... She swallowed against the lump she found forming in her throat, unconsciouly tightening her grip on Andon's hand.

 

She tilted her face up to the rain, letting it mingle with the tears that were brimming in her eyes. Glancing over at Andon, a single thought brought a smile to her face. This is where I belong... Feeling her sense of humor slowly returning, she offered a grin at Andon's comment. "Well... we're already soaked anyway, so there's no point in going inside to wait, is there?"

[Guest]

Hale Akturus reaches out with the Force and connects his mind with the mind of his apprentice, Andon Colos ”“ the Jedi Knight implants images of Dagobah in the Jedi apprentice's mind.

[Ryoo Jaxxon]

OOC-I would like to appologize to all of the jedi that went on the mission. I should have been helping, and, I didn't. Although I couldn't control the fact that I couldn't get on the net, I would still like to say I'm sorry.

 

 

IC-

 

After the ship landed, Ryoo had to sit and medetate. First, he checked on all of the jedi... still sensing pain and fear from what had just happened. He saw that his padawan (Darsha) was doing fine, and was finishing up on her saber.

 

But, Ryoo did feel two things that he hadn't felt in a long time. The first thing was his earlier padawan... Beren. Ryoo had thought that he was dead for these past months, but, he could now tell that he was there... somewhere. The second was the pain and confusion coming from Ashley. Ryoo knew that Jaina had once again betrayed the Jedi and converted to the sith, but, Ashley shouldn't have been brought into it all. He could sense her happiness to be back where she should be... with the jedi, and with Andon and all of her close friends...

 

Although Ryoo was hurt, and still losing blood, he couldn't worry about himself just yet. The jedi, although back as one, still needed help getting back to their full selves. Ryoo headed over to the very changed, and very different Blckclone...

 

"Sir. I am back. What is needed of me?"

[Andon]

Starring up at the skies above, a single bolt of lightning lit the heavens ablaze as a rumble of thunder followed suit.

 

"Well, I guess you're right," he said as a smile flashed across his face, "no point in hiding inside."

 

As he gently squeezed her hand tighter, the young apprentice felt another mind reach out to his and instantly he recognized the source: Master Akturus. He sent images of a planet, covered in swamps and teeming with wild life, and yet there was something more...a savagely strong Force presence engulfed the aura of the planet. His Master wished for him to go there, what was it that he said before they left the Last Call: "If you do well on this mission, you shall be a Jedi Knight". Was that it...would that be the place his trials would be adminstered at?

 

He'd have to go it alone, once more Andon would have to leave Ashley behind, and that was something he did not want to do. The last time he left her he nearly lost Ashley forever, he couldn't go through that again. The life of a Jedi was a difficult one, decisions like that would forever surround him.

 

"I've got to go for a while, but I'll be back. My Master requires my presence elsewhere, but I won't be long," he said quietly.

 

As he released her hand he took a single step forward before he stopped and turned on his heel and gazed at Ashley. Pushing his hesitation aside, he casually took the one step forward between them and softly kissed her on the cheek. Once more he turned towards the entrance of the Eternal Vigilance. Once entering the structure he hastily made his way towards the hangar, his mind focused on the task at hand. Upon entering the vast housing of fighters, his eyes darted across the facilities at yet another V-19 off in the corner. Hoping into the cockpit of the green and white Torrent, the Padawan made a quick pre-flight check before igniting the engines.

 

As the hangar doors opened, he poured full power into the sub-lights and blazed out of the ship and into the air. He pulled hard right on the yoke and the fighter lurched around the corner, the aged ship doing a fly-by past Ashley Jade as she stood there watching his ship. He would return to her...that was a promise. Pulling his nose upward, the V-19 rocketed upwards through the upper atmosphere and into the lower reaches of space as he brought his NavComp online. Plugging in the coordinates, he pulled a side lever back and instantly the stars streaked past him as he ascended into hyperspace. Destination: Dagobah.

[Wookiee Jedi]

OOC: Ryan..when you do start to post again...just follow my side and forget everything else that you saw.

 

IC:

 

*Kirlocca walked the halls. The jedi had come back from their mission. He could feel pain...yet at the same time..he could feel...*

 

Strange...I don't recognize the feeling. But somehow...I know it...from a long time ago.

 

*He shook his head, letting his fur shake. He made his way to where alot of the jedi were gathering, for unknown reasons. He found Tares...he gave him a small bow and a soft smile. But then he saw Gantoris...a new one...*

 

He looks like he is in pain.

 

"Tares...what exactly happened out on your mission."

[Ashley Jade Skywalker]

Ashley watched in silence as Andon walked inside, her hand drifting to her cheek as a smile traced her lips. Her gaze wandered back to the darkened sky, watching as the lightning flashed and faded again before repeating the process once more, this time silhouetting the V-19 Torrent that Andon was piloting. She lifted a hand in a silent farewell as he blazed by and turned the fighter towards the sky, powering up through the atmosphere and into space. She stood there, staring after him with a smile on her face, long after he had disappeared from sight, a few murmured words leaving her mouth.

 

"I'll be here..."

[Leonardo Stovachi]

A Force message comes in faint.

 

Mara............Corellia...............Hotel Ericson.............Please

[Orrick]

As the convoy dropped out of hyperspace, Orrick quickly noticed that Hale was absent- apparently he had other plans. But Orrick didn't worry... if he got into trouble, he knew Hale wouldn't hesitate to call for help. As the freighter touched down, Orrick gently nestled his own new fighter into an open space in the hangar. He quickly hopped out, obviously re-energized after their excursion on Mimban. He noticed many Jedi seeking refuge from the pouring rain, but he ran out to embrace it. Orrick liked the rain. Growing up on a world much like Manaan, he was used to this type of weather. In the torrential rain, his grey cloak was quickly drenched, and he was half-inclined to go for a swim. But something was nagging in his mind... something he knew he should not put off...

 

After refreshing himself in the cool rain, he sought out the person who could help him- his companion Andon Colos. Something hovered in the back of his mind, but he was unable to place it. He was hoping Andon could provide him with some information that might fill in the stroy. However, he was dissapointed to find that he had already left. Instead, he found Andon's gurlie friend, Ashley Jade. This presented another mystery. He had not seen her for quite some time. Not since before the Mimban experience. However, he had felt her presence on Mimban... Something in the story just didn't fit...

 

Orrick quietly pondered over several questions in his mind. This would require deeper investigation...

[eli]

As Eli and Niltiac step of the boarding ramp of the Second Chance they are laughing and enter the rain with smiles on their faces. As they proceed into the Acadamy they stop. Eli looks right then left, as the smile slowly fades from her face.

 

"Uh, Master Nilt," she looks at her Master with perplexity on her face, "where exactly do you want to go?"

[Niltiac Stargazer]

"Umm...hmm. I don't seem to know anybody here."

 

Nilt sighs and takes a few steps forward.

 

"Well, you should know someone. I was on extended vacation; I missed stuff."

 

With a quick glance of her surroundings, Nilt walked back to Eli.

 

"We could wait and see if someone notices us. There is bound to be a overly-friendly Jedi nearby," she said with a smile. "Sorry but my friendly-meter has gone down lately. You talk to someone and I'll smile and be nice."

[Dartha Athanth]

Er... Ryoo... I'm at the Dojo.... I'll be back in a post...