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Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:47 pm
by Pryde
"Faye, I'm not really sure about this," Elena said again as the two sat down on the couch in Faye's quarters, "I'm not really mentor material."

"Nonsense, Elena, you've done a fine job with Tsiv and I'd like you both to stay," the Jedi master assured her.

Elena was still not convinced. "I can't stay. I promised Tsiv I would help him find his friend."

"And how is that going?"

Elena bit her lip and looked away. Truth was they hadn't found any evidence as to where Tsiv's friend was. "Look, if I had more time...,"

"I'll assign some Jedi investigators to look into your friend's disappearance, but right now I need you here. You and Tsiv are part of the Order now, that comes with responsibilities."

"Right, I get it," Elena said while standing up, "You win, Faye, we'll stay here for now."

Then she turned and left the room, heading out into the corridor outside. As soon as the door to Faye's quarters closed behind her Elena suddenly had to dodge out of the way as several young padawans ran right past her.

"Hey, slow it down," she shouted after them, then she turned and headed down the hallway to her own quarters. This place was certainly much livelier now than it was before. Some of the students from Ossus were transferred to the Skywalker while repairs were being completed following the battle against Trayus. That meant there were a lot more young padawans running about.

The younglings stayed behind at the temple, however. Given the dangers inherent in space travel from misjumps to pirates the Council deemed it prudent to only permit students with a certain level of training to transfer to the Skywalker. That generally meant that the padawans currently running around were old enough and skilled enough to be paired with a master. Unfortunately, due to the losses the Order has suffered over the years there weren't enough senior Jedi to pair off with students so instead the Order had them organized into "squads." These squads were encouraged to work together and train together while also receiving training from a senior member of the Order, typically a Jedi Knight.

Elena smiled inwardly to herself. Tsiv wasn't exactly a Jedi Knight yet but with all that he's been through it was fair to say he had enough experience to become one. Elena had considered promoting him but she wanted to make absolutely sure he was ready. Though, perhaps watching him pass on the skills she taught him might help convince her of that...

**********

Skylar Rogue, or Sky for short, sat huddled behind a stack of crates as she watched the techs running about their duties in the hangar. She'd been watching them load the new Jedi starfighters on board and running diagnostics.

"I thought I'd find you down here," Kai Fel said, kneeling down next to her, "What are you doing?"

"They just loaded the new starfighters up," she said, "You know, the ones for Jedi. You think maybe they'll let us fly one?"

Kai smiled, for as long as he'd known her Sky had been obsessed with piloting a starfighter. She'd grown up hearing the story of how Luke Skywalker saved the Republic and ever since discovering she had the potential to become a Jedi she wanted to be just like him. Kai always found that endearing about her but he still couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous.

"Have you heard," he said, "Our first stop is Tatooine. Rangers found a Force sensitive in Mos Eisley. Any plans on visiting your old home?"

Sky's face clouded and she turned away. "I'd rather not," she said, "I don't exactly have fond memories of that place."

Kai bit his lip, that was stupid. He admitted there wasn't much he knew about her, Sky never really talked much about her past, but even still he never intended to dredge up bad memories. "Alright," he said, "but that's only the first stop of many. I'm sure the next place they take us to will be much more exciting."

"Mmhmm," Sky replied absently, she was leaning closer to the crates now watching the techs scramble about the new starfighters intently.

At some point she must have applied too much pressure to the stack of crates as the whole thing came crumbling down in front of her. Virtually everyone in the hangar bay turned to look at them and Sky's cheeks immediately burned red. "Sorry," she cried out, "That was my fault!"

"Alright, kids," one of the engineers said while walking over to them, "playtime's over so run along now."

Sky again hastily apologized then spun on her heel and rushed out of the hangar with Kai close behind. "Did you hear what he said to us," she complained once they were out of ear shot, "'Playtime's over so run along.' He treated us like kids!"

"We are kids, Sky," Kai told her.

"No we're not! We're Jedi!"

"We're padawans, not Jedi and that still doesn't mean we're not kids."

"You know, Kai, I hate you sometimes," she said and the two of them continued walking in silence...

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 2:14 am
by Pryde
A loud crash reverberated the walls of the medical bay causing Arilyn to look up from her desk and sigh in resignation. She set her datapad down atop her desk and pushed her chair away, coming around to check on the damage. Outside her office two techs were struggling to lift a kolto tube off the floor, the machinery was clearly too heavy for both of them. With a wave of her hand Arilyn picked up the machine with the Force and set it down over in the corner where it was supposed to go. Then she came out of the office and confronted the two men.

"I don't suppose either of you could refrain from dropping any more of my kolto tubes," she demanded of them, "These machines are practically priceless now with the scarcity of medical supplies throughout the galaxy. You don't want to be responsible for replacing them, do you?"

Both men shook their head and sputtered something barely intelligible.

"Good," Arilyn said, "Now bring in the rest and this time be careful."

They rushed out into the hallway to bring in the rest of the supplies as Nova entered behind them. She looked down at the younger woman and smiled. "Barely even promoted and you're already bossing people around like a master. I see Master Chirushk rubbed off on you in more ways than one."

"So everyone keeps telling me," Arilyn said, heading back into her office. Nova followed behind her, walking through the door as Arilyn was taking a seat.

Nova had always been impressed by the fact that Arilyn, though a padawan, was assigned as Chief Medical Officer of the Skywalker. Despite her inexperience the young woman displayed extraordinary skill in healing the sick and injured. She had an incredible knack for the minute control of the Force necessary for healing damaged organs or neutralizing poisons and her skills even rivaled those of some masters. Her skill with a blade left much to be desired but as a healer the crew of the Skywalker could ask for no better.

"So what's with the visit," Arilyn said after a brief moment of silence, "Just checking in?"

"Not exactly," Nova replied, "I'm actually looking for Tsivoin. Was wondering if you had seen him?"

Arilyn thought about that then shook her head. "I've been here all day so unless he came in I haven't seen him."

Nova had a feeling Arilyn wouldn't have seen him even if he did come in. The girl was a workaholic, possibly another thing she picked up from Chirushk. "Well, if you do see him let him know I'm looking for him. Looks like he and I will be sticking around longer than I thought."

Then she turned and left the room, leaving Arilyn to her work. The young girl watched her leave a moment with a confused look on her face. Why would Nova think she had seen Tsivoin? With no answers forthcoming she simply shrugged it off and picked up her datapad again and set to work...

**********

"Well, that was a bust," Nova muttered to herself as she left the med bay. Other than her there weren't many people Tsivoin was comfortable talking to aboard the Skywalker. He kept pretty much to himself except for the occasional visit to the medical bay for help coping with his anxiety. That was how he met Arilyn the only other person in history Nova had ever seen Tsivoin talk to and not even Arilyn knew where he was. With a sigh she headed down the corridor in the direction of the mess hall. She wasn't sure if she'd find him there but it was as good a place as any to start looking. With any luck he'd find her first...

**********

"Ow," Skylar cried after the practice remote successfully shot her again. That was three times now and she just wasn't getting the hang of this.

"Relax, Sky, you're thinking too hard," her instructor, Ben Harper, said. They were in the practice room about an hour after the mess Sky had caused in the hangar bay. Apparently someone had told the Masters about it and they felt a bit more instruction was in order. As Master Harper had put it a few hours of practice would, 'Help get her head out of the clouds.'

"Of course I'm thinking," she said in an exasperated voice, "I'm trying to figure out where it's going to shoot next."

Ben stood up from his perch, walked over to the young girl and rested a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to try so hard. Trust in the Force, let it guide your actions."

Skylar frowned, he'd been saying that for the past hour and still it made no sense. How was she supposed to talk to something she couldn't see? She activated her lightsaber again and the remote started to swirl around her. Ben let go of her shoulder and took a few steps back as he watched her. For a moment it looked like she was finally getting it. She followed the remote well enough and even managed to deflect a few lasers but a stray blast caught her in the thigh and she let out another yelp and disengaged her lightsaber.

"It's not working, Ben," she said and then she caught the look in his eye and cringed. "I mean, Master Harper," she quickly corrected herself.

"Then try it this way," he said, grabbing a nearby helmet and gently setting it atop her head.

Sky was confused. "Doesn't this make it even worse? With the ray shield down I can't even see the remote."

"You're eyes can deceive you, Sky, so don't trust them. Learn to trust in the Force instead, feel its power flowing through you."

With a hint of uncertainty the girl lifted her saber again. She wasn't entirely sure what exactly Ben was hoping to accomplish. Even without her eyes she still didn't feel any differently and now instead of following the remote using her sight she was trying to follow it using her ears, which was worse. The first shot caught her completely off guard and though she managed to deflect it she still staggered backwards in surprise.

"Remember to relax, Sky. Just breath, stretch out your feelings and breath."

Sky lifted her saber again and took a deep breath. This time she didn't even try to follow the remote or figure out where it was at. She simply stood there calming her nerves until finally she felt this sudden urge to move. The remote fired three blasts in quick succession and almost as if she had been doing it her whole life she easily deflected all three. With a sudden whoop she took the helmet off and celebrated only to have her celebration cut short when the remote shot her again.

"Ow," she shouted falling backwards onto her rump and rubbing her leg where the remote had shot her. "Stupid thing, didn't it know I wasn't ready?"

Ben smiled and leaned down next to her. "You forgot to disengage your lightsaber," he said, "but well done. I knew you could do it."

He came around in front of her and held out a hand. Skylar graciously took it and he hefted her back to her feet. "Why don't you take a break," he said afterward, "I think you've earned a brief respite. Go get a bite to eat then meet me back here in an hour. We'll go over some meditation techniques."

Skylar groaned inwardly, she hated meditation more than anything but she was thankful to step away even for a moment. Before Ben could change his mind she was already out the door and down the hallway. She briefly toyed with the idea of finding Kai but decided against it. A bite of some food did sound like a good idea and she couldn't deny that her stomach was rumbling just at the thought of it. With a bit of a skip in her gait she hurried down the corridor towards the mess...

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 4:26 pm
by VagueDurin
Violet eyes scanned the broad, sweeping corridor as Tsivoin strode through the Skywalker taking care to not run over small packs of young padawans as they scurried about. The Zabrak was slowly learning to control his impulse to glance out the large transperisteel cutouts in the ships hull, as the spanning starscape did little to ease his anxiety for space travel. To say he felt out of place would be an understatement. There was little known amongst the order about the grey and black skinned young man, and what was public knowledge led to hushed remarks and sidelong glances.

To many, he was a hastily trained hot head, to others he would never be anything more than a former cultist, and to a few, he was simply the Zabrak with a Sith crystal embedded in his chest. He'd gotten mixed up with Nova on Coruscant and in a flurry of events found himself being enlisted into the Jedi order by Master Ward to fight against the Dark Lord Sivter and in the end, help to save the Galaxy... Now, well now he really wasn't sure what he was. Potential Jedi Knight? Imperial Commando applicant? Or just a scared Zabrak in over his head?

He touched a palm to his chest, pressing it against the crystal embedded there beneath his tunic. "Let's start with lost." He spoke out loud, to no one in particular. He paused in the intersection, it's ceiling towering above him in an effort to alleviate the claustrophobic nature of spaceships. "This blasted ship is just too big." He muttered, turning to his right and snatching hold of the arm of a passing M-7 Series Protocol Droid.

"Oh, How may I be of service, Gentlebeing?" The startled droid asked.

"Which direction is C-Deck?" Tsiv asked. The droid twisted around and pointed its hand down one of the corridors.

"The turbolift to C-Deck is 4 sections aftward."

"Thanks." Tsiv replied, and started speed walking that direction. He'd started out strolling through the ship to clear his mind, but had neglected to bring with him his datapad that held the ships map. Now all he wanted to do was to get back to his quarters... Lost in his new-found confidence and determination to locate his objective, he barely even registered when Nova's voice carried its way through an open blast door.

"Tsiv!"

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 4:05 pm
by Pryde
Nova stopped after Tsiv turned around. She would have said he looked pale if it weren't for the tattoos on his face. "You alright," she asked. Tsiv just nodded and Nova gave him a reassuring smile. "Try not to think about it too much," she said, "You'll get used to it."

That remark caught his attention. "I take it we're staying?"

"For now," Nova admitted, "Faye wants me to stay on as an instructor. She's promised to send out some Jedi Investigators to search for Ytan, but beyond that...," she let the rest just hang in the air. There was a sort of melancholy in her words as though she somehow felt responsible about Ytan's disappearance. After all, the young woman was abducted trying to rescue her. After a moment she perked up again and gave the Zabrak a half smirk. "First stop is Tatooine," she continued, "Faye wants us to find a Jedi hopeful on the planet by the name of Wren, so buck up, kiddo. In a few hours you'll have your feet back on solid ground."

**********

Meanwhile, on board a damaged freighter somewhere near the planet Tatooine the pirate Zungher Bahr confidently marched down a line of prisoners carefully watching each one. So far the heist was going extremely well, but that usually meant something very wrong was about to happen. All of the prisoners save for one cowered in fright as he passed. The last appeared to be a hired gun of sorts, probably hired on to protect the freighter from pirate attacks. Unfortunately, it seems he was a bit overpaid. "Kill him," Zungher said much to the surprise of everyone present.

"Wait, stop," the man tried to say before he was abruptly silenced by a blaster bolt.

The captain looked at the body in shock. "You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did," Zungher replied, "I didn't like the look of his face. That and I needed to send a message."

The poor man's face paled in fright. "What message?"

"Don't underestimate Black Sun," he answered then he turned and headed towards the door. Just before he left he stopped and looked back over his shoulder at one of his subordinates. "Kill the rest of them," he said and then he left the room as a cacophony of blasterfire filled the air...

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2015 6:28 pm
by VagueDurin
Tsivoin listened carefully as Nova explained their new position both onboard the 'Skywalker, and in the Order itself.

"Solid ground, sounds good..." He replied with a slight grunt. Then his brows furrowed slightly as he noticed an omission in her statement. "Not to put a boot in my own mouth, but, did Faye happen to mention where I'll be fitting into the plan?" He asked, studying the toe of his boot as if for emphasis.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 8:55 am
by Pryde
Nova fell silent for a moment then looked away. "Look, Faye knows she's not going to get me without you," she said though there was something in her voice.

"But," Tsivoin asked, prodding her.

She let out an exasperated sigh then turned back to look at him. "It's the shard, Tsiv. We can all sense it and you know everyone's been on edge since, well... For awhile now, I guess."

She saw the look on Tsivoin's face and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "Don't worry about it," she told him, "They just need time. Eventually they will come to trust you as I do. Now get some rest, if I know Tatooine you'll probably need it."

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2015 2:20 am
by Pryde
A short while later Skylar was lying atop a small pile of crates while a friend of hers, Jorus Tucker, worked on repairing an X-Wing. She had been toying with a model of an old A-Wing, waving it back and forth as though it were flying. She was completely absorbed in her play until Jorus interrupted her. "Hand me that hydrospanner," he said, pointing with his finger without even looking.

Skylar reached over, grabbed the nearest tool and handed it to him. When Jorus saw what it was he finally turned to look at her. "Sky, this isn't a hydrospanner."

She finally sat up and looked at him. "I'm sorry," she said quickly, handing him the right tool.

Jorus accepted it from her then looked at her thoughtfully. "You ever think maybe this is what Ben was talking about when he said you need to focus on your study? You got your head all up in the clouds flying that thing around. Why are you so obsessed with becoming a pilot anyway? Most kids your age want to be Jedi."

"I know," she said, "That's what everyone keeps telling me but I just... I don't believe it."

"Don't believe what? The Force?"

"No, this," she said with a broad sweep of her arm, "Any of this. I grew up on the Outer Rim, Tuck, we've never even seen a Jedi before. Most people don't even believe they exist, like they're some kind of myth that people in the Core made up to scare us."

Jorus turned back to the X-Wing and continued his repairs. "That seems a little far fetched. Surely, after coming aboard and seeing what these folk can do you believe now, right?"

"Maybe," Skylar replied, lying back down on the crate, "It all still seems so unbelievable to me. I mean back on Tatooine worst we had to worry about were Tusken Raiders, pirates or Hutts. It's just so hard to imagine that there was someone worse than them out there, someone more powerful. Someone like Sivter."

"I know what you mean," Jorus said with a nod, "Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that someone like that could exist. The damage he caused and the lives he took were on a scale no one had ever seen. Not even the Emperor himself could have caused so much destruction."

"See, you don't even believe it either."

Jorus shook his head. "No, I do. I saw it first hand. At Alsakan and then at Mon Calamari. I saw what Sivter was capable of and it chilled me to the bone."

He finished screwing in a bolt then set his tools down and looked at her. "You know," he said, "You still haven't answered my question."

"What question," Sky asked, tilting her head towards him.

"Why do you want to be a pilot?"

Sky's cheeks flushed and she quickly turned away. "Reasons, okay? Don't make me tell you, it's embarrassing."

"Ya got nothing to be embarrassed about, Kid. I'm your friend, so come on tell me."

Skylar fell silent for a moment and closed her eyes. She could still feel her cheeks burning but tried to ignore it anyway. "Because of Luke Skywalker."

"Luke," Jorus asked incredulously, "You want to be a pilot because of Luke?"

Sky didn't answer but instead curled her knees up into her chest.

"You know Luke's a Jedi, right," he pressed, "How can you believe in Luke but not in the Force?"

"I don't believe in the Force," she said, spinning around to look at him. "I mean, I didn't," she corrected herself, some of the color returning to her cheeks. "All I knew for sure about Luke Skywalker is that he flew an X-Wing and destroyed the Death Star. Everything else just seemed like nonsense people were making up to make the story more, I don't know... Epic. I didn't believe any of it until I was brought here."

"Well, young one, it's a big galaxy out there and there's bound to be lots of things we don't understand. You're just getting your first glimpse at one of the galaxy's biggest mysteries and it probably won't be the last."

Sky let out a sigh and rolled over onto her back. "I don't know how many more of these 'mysteries' I can take. Trying to throw things around with my mind is hard enough."

"You'll get the hang of it, Sky. You're a smart kid and ya got talent. Ben's always talking about how much potential he sees in you. Eventually, you'll see it too."

Then he turned back to the X-Wing to continue his work and as Sky listened to the sounds of his ratchet working a bolt into place she considered his words. Could she really be as strong as Ben thinks she is? Maybe as strong as Luke? That thought seemed nice until another thought intruded into her mind. What if she was too strong? What if instead she became like Darth Vader? She shook her head to clear it and found herself staring at her A-Wing. No way, she thought, there's no way I could be like him...

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 3:16 pm
by VagueDurin
Tsiv patted her hand with his own, and nodded slightly. "Yeah. I'll take your word on that." he replied, ambiguous as to which statement he was referring to. His eyes seemed to lose focus for a moment, before returning to the present. "Nothing to do but wait, I suppose."

The Zabrak begrudgingly let his palm slide off the back of her hand and offered a mock salute. "You know where I'll be, call if you need me." He spoke, turning away and shuffling off in the direction of his quarters. If they were going to be doing this Jedi thing for awhile, he was going to need to focus.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 4:25 pm
by VagueDurin
*******Meanwhile on Tatooine*****

It was a normal enough day at the Star Chamber Cafe... As normal as any day could be in Mos Eisley, that is. As a stroke of luck the Cafe's owner Lady Valarian had managed to book Danny and the Droids for a week long gig. The Band was midway through the solo of "I Wanna Weld Your Hand." when a pair of smartly dressed men drug a young Wroonian female out the side entrance, tossing her against a dumpster in the alleyway.

"Did you seriously think we wouldn't find you, vrelt?" The taller of the two asked. "Little one this planet is too small to hide on, there isn't a desert dwelling you could dig under that the 'Sun won't overturn. Do yourself a favor, stop trying."

The Wroonian scurried backwards until she encountered the stone wall of the cafe, then tried to cover her face with her arms. "Leave me alone!" she cried in despair.

"No can do, sweet thing." The second thug spoke, a sneer dripping from his voice. "You belong to Nichols, you do as he says. Now why don't you just stop this nonsense and come along quietly? We don't want to cause a scene." a shock baton dropping into his hand as he spoke.

The young humanoid started to weep silently, tears falling down sand covered blue cheeks as she felt the two thugs closing in around her. Then the side door opened, and a drunk Devonarian stumbled out, causing the thugs to spin towards him. She didn't think, nor hesitate. The Wroonian shot to her feet and lunged for the baton, grabbing the mans wrist and jabbing him in the leg with it before throwing it at the second man. She didn't stay to see if it hit, instead she just put feet to the sand and sprinted as fast as her young legs would carry her in the other direction...

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 2:23 pm
by Pryde
The hangar was a bustle of activity as engineers scurried about prepping the shuttle for launch. A small group of young padawans had gathered nearby to watch and among those waiting was Skylar and Kai. Kai had been watching the shuttle with great interest. He'd been talking about Tatooine ever since he found out the planet would be the Skywalker's first destination. His life on Hosnian Prime had been quite sheltered and he had often expressed a desire to see new worlds. A planet that was completely covered by desert seemed like an interesting place to visit on paper but Skylar couldn't be any less enthused.

"Do you think they'll let us come with," Kai had asked.

Skylar rolled her eyes. She'd been busy watching the techs around the X-Wings and seemed far less interested in anything else that was happening. "Who cares? It's just some crummy planet, why are you so interested in going?"

"Because I've never been," he said, "What's it like?"

"Windy and stupid," she answered simply, "Anyway, I'm supposed to meet up with Ben so I'll see you later."

She turned and headed towards the exit at a brisk pace. She had cast one last glance over her shoulder at the departing shuttle and almost didn't see the person walking in front of her. "I'm sorry," she apologized quickly after bumping into someone. She glanced up and locked eyes with a Zabrak, one she was only vaguely familiar with. Her mind raced trying to remember his name but came up with nothing. There was something about him though that sent a chill down her spine, something dark and foreboding.

Tsivoin looked down at the girl and opened his mouth to say something but before he could even utter a word she quickly exclaimed, "Excuse me!" Then she darted around him and hurried off down the hallway and out of sight. Tsivoin watched her leave for a moment before turning around and walking over to where Nova waited by the shuttle.

Nova watched her apprentice approach, casting a glance over his shoulder at the retreating form of the young Skylar Rogue. "What was that about," she asked.

Meanwhile Sky had stopped abruptly after turning the corner and leaned against the bulkhead to catch her breath. "What was that," she asked herself, remembering the dark chill that had startled her so. She'd never felt anything like it before, nor had she ever been so afraid. Why was someone like that part of the Jedi Order?

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 6:27 pm
by Vaemar
Tatooine, he thought, walking to the hangar. That's gonna be a 'blast'. He was one of the best pilots in the Jedi order, and his fighter recently got heavily damaged when he crashed when going into the hangar. The new Jedi fighters weren't supposed to be here until next week, but he decided to make his way to the hangar, just to see what was going on. "Hey, Rizz!" Rizz turned around, to see a figure he remembered. His best friend in the Jedi order, his wingman, and his brother. Galen Skykiller. "Hey Galen. Why are you in your flight suit and battle armor?" Rizz said, scratching his head. "Rizz, have you been under a rock or something? The new Jedi Starfighters are coming in! We get to fly them, and they're replacing those old x-wings we damaged." Rizz was suddenly filled with a new vigor, saying "Awesome! I'm gonna get all my gear on and I'll be out in a second. Rizz walked in, and within about 3-4 minutes, he was out, wearing his flight-combat suit(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/sta ... 0422103936)
"Alright, I'm ready, let's go!" Galen, following Rizz, both walked along the corridor to the hangar, when they saw what appeared to be a padawan, leaning up against a bulkhead, as if something had just happened to her. Rizz walked up to her and spoke first, "Hey, are you ok?"

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 12:17 pm
by Pryde
Sky looked up into two unfamiliar faces then realized that she must have looked horrified. "I'm fine," she said with a quick wave of her hand, "Just um... I'm kind of in a hurry."

The two Jedi looked at each other but before they could say anything the young girl had hurried off down the wide corridor away from them. As they turned to watch they caught a glimpse of Galen Ramsey, the ship's XO, coming towards them and the scowl on his face warned them he was not having a good day.

"Captain thinks you're fit to fly," Ramsey said, coming to a stop five feet from them, "I have my doubts. Were it up to me both of you hotshots would be taken off the active duty roster after the stunt you pulled. You know we're still picking up pieces of your X-Wings from the flight deck?"

Rizz opened his mouth to speak but the XO cut him off. "That was rhetorical, don't answer that," he said harshly then he pulled out a datapad and pressed a few keys. "Your mission today is to escort the shuttle to the surface of Tatooine then secure the LZ. I don't want to see any heroics today or any of that nonsense you pulled last week. Our starfighters are not toys and they cost more than you could afford to replace them. If you don't bring these new ones back intact I swear the both of you will be spending the rest of this voyage in the brig, do I make myself clear?"

He locked both of them with a hard stare expecting their answer.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 12:58 pm
by Vaemar
"But-" Rizz elbowed Galen, cutting him off. "Yes sir!" Shouted Rizz. "Yes sir!" Galen said after him, with a look of anger on his face. Oh boy Rizz thought. That X-wing stunt show we put on for the Padawans was pretty sweet. Until our wings got hooked together during our big finale and we went spiraling down into the hangar... good times... "Rizz, time for the big stunt!" "Let's do this, Galen!" "Blast! I think we clipped but the point guns got hooked together..." "Galen, accelerate and try and aim for the hangar, I'll do the same!" crunch. And there Ramsey was, as if he had been tipped off by somebody... who would do that? I mean, our stunt was pretty cool. "GALLLLLLEEEEN!! RIIIIZZZZZZZZZ!!" We won't mess up the new starfighters. I hope not, atleast.. Rizz would snap back from his short mind trip, him and Galen standing at attention in front of Ramsey.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 3:53 pm
by Pryde
"Good, now report to your stations. Dismissed," Galen Ramsey replied and the two pilots quickly saluted him before turning on their heels and hurrying away. Galen had watched them leave for a moment then walked over to where Jedi Master Faye Ward was overseeing the preparation of the shuttle.

As he approached he noticed the Jedi Master seemed to have a keen interest in Nova and her apprentice. She wasn't even watching the techs scurry about their duties and had instead kept her attention focused solely on those two. When Galen was a few feet from her he nodded back over his shoulder. "Are you sure about those two?"

Faye nodded, "I trust Elena and Tsivoin to handle this matter."

"I was talking about them," Galen replied, jerking his thumb towards Rizz and his companion.

Faye looked at where he was pointing and shrugged. "This mission is, how do you refer to it, Colonel? A milk run? They should be fine."

"Provided they don't have a reason to show off," Galen answered. "By the way, a report just came in. Another Force sensitive has been located, a young girl on a transport to the Core worlds. We're to rendezvous with them along the Rimma Trade Route near Thyferra."

"Understood, Colonel. Inform Captain Flemming to begin preparations. We'll depart as soon as our business is concluded here," she said then she turned and headed towards the door. "If there's nothing else, Colonel, I'll be in my quarters," she threw back over her shoulder as she walked away.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:12 pm
by Vaemar
"Galen, get the starfighters ready, I'll be back in just a sec." Standing there was Jaina, Jedi Knight and the most beautiful one in Rizz's opinion. They embraced and kissed. "I'll be back." "Don't hurt yourself like last time. Even Arilyn was shocked at your injuries." "Oh trust me Jaina, I'll be fine." Holding hands, Rizz would walk away from her, their hands falling from eachother's grasp. RIzz put on his helmet and went to speak to Galen.
"Dang! These new Jedi fighters are cool!" Rizz said to Galen I'm just glad that I get to fly one of these babies!
"Yeah, check 'em out!"
"Amazing!"
"Yup, let's get in and wait for the shuttle boys to wrap up whatever they're doing." Galen said.
Both of them hopping into the fighters, have now put their helmets on. They were getting used to the controls and familiarizing themselves with their craft. "This is Blue Leader online, how copy Blue 2?" Spoke Rizz over comms. "Affirmative Blue Leader, Blue 2 online." "We're ready when you are." Rizz spoke over the comms.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 5:01 pm
by Pryde
The two Ensigns in the control room above the hangar stared at each other. "Blue Leader?" One of them quietly mouthed to the other.

"Just go with it," he said with a shrug and the first one turned back to his console.

"Uh, copy that, Blue Leader, please standby."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in space the shadow of a transport hung in orbit around Tatooine. Zungher Bahr was aroused from his slumber by the urgent callings of his second in command. He quietly grumbled to himself as he crawled out of bed swearing to himself that there'd better be a good reason for waking him or heads would roll. After pulling on a shirt and some trousers then slipping some boots onto his feet he stepped out into the cold dark corridor and headed towards the bridge. Once he arrived his eyes widened at the view that awaited through the view port. A Jedi Chu’unthor-class vessel was in orbit around Tatooine and Zungher knew the ship was a probably a treasure trove of lost Jedi relics.

"I called you as soon as I'd seen 'em, boss," his second in command, a slimy wease by the name of Azmo Cohmre, said.

Zungher's expression immediately shifted to a scowl. He hated the man and was very much looking forward to having a reason to kill him. "Do we know why they're here?"

Azmo shook his head. "Not really. Ship's just been floating out there in space though it do seem like there's some activity in the hangar. Looks like they're gettin' ready to launch a shuttle."

"Good, then it seems they're planning to stay awhile," he mused, "Contact our boys on the surface and tell them to expect guests. We're going to board that ship and take what we want."

"Board a ship full of Jedi," a third man asked, "Are you insane?"

"Way I hear it that ship's full of kids," Zungher answered with a shrug, "We play our cards right and the Jedi will have no choice but to acquiesce to our requests."

A room full of blank stares awaited him after that last comment and Zungher immediately rolled his eyes. "They'll have no choice but to do what we say," he clarified and a collective 'oh' had passed between everyone present. "Now get on the holo and tell our boys to get ready!"

Then he turned on his heel and left the bridge to go get his gear...

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 5:09 pm
by Vaemar
Over a private channel between Galen and Rizz.
"Hah! Really Rizz? Blue leader?"
"Hey, it sounds cool, right?"
"It does. I think the communication guys were really confused."
"Good times, Galen, good times. Why'd you go along with it anyways?"
"If we act like it's real, maybe we can convince the Council to let us have our own fighter squadron?"
"That's a really good idea. I mean, we'd have the padawans support. They think we're the best pilots in the entire jedi order!"
"Rizz, think about it. I think we are."
"Really? With all of those old geysers on the council, one of 'ems gotta be the grandaddy of all starships."
"Hey, Yoda was the best out there and he couldn't fly."
"That's because he was short, Galen."
Making a yoda impersonation voice, Galen spoke "Matters not, size does."
Rizz started laughing.
"Oh boy."
"Hey, I think they're almost ready, let's try and play it cool with the whole blue squadron thing, okay Galen?"
"You got it."

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 3:53 pm
by VagueDurin
"What was that about?" Nova queried as Tsiv slowed to a stop just outside of her arms reach.

The Zabrak grimaced, the expression accentuated by his facial tattoos, then glanced back in the direction he'd come from. His violet gaze landed just briefly on the young padawan as she peered around the corner but he quickly turned his attention back to Nova. "Hadn't you heard, I'm Spooky Tsiv." He replied, though his tone of voice didn't carry with it the humor that his word choice suggested.

Nova rolled her eyes briefly before shaking her finger in the air between them. "You should know better than to be scaring the younglings." She mock chided. Nodding her head towards the shuttle she raised an eyebrow slightly. "Ready to put those boots back onto soil... er, sand anyway?"

Tsiv indulged her with a half-smirk. "Lead the way, Boss."

........

The Zabrak was helping one of the techs load some provisions into the shuttle when he noticed the XO talking to a pair of pilots. "Hey Nova, whats with the Snub Jockies?" He asked, hefting the last duffle bag onto his shoulder.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 6:23 pm
by Pryde
"Just a couple of hotshots who nearly got themselves killed last week putting on an unsanctioned air show for the padawans," Nova replied with a shrug, "I'm actually surprised Flemming's letting them back into a cockpit after that."

She cast a glance over her shoulder at where Ramsey was tearing into the two young pilots and stifled a shiver. She had managed not to get on Ramsey's bad side and preferred to keep it that way. The man had a fiery temper and was a stickler for protocol. She had no doubt the XO of the ship would have preferred those two stay grounded on this mission but he answered to the Captain like everyone else.

"Alright," she said finally, "let's get this rust bucket into the air. Care to do the honors," she asked gesturing with one hand towards the cockpit.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 5:12 am
by VagueDurin
Tsivoin cast a final glance around the hangar, then turned and started up the ramp. "Might as well." He replied to Nova. Since she had begun tutoring him in the basics of space flight, his phobia had improved somewhat... It wasn't alot, but it was something.

The hangar techs had already started the ships pre-flight systems so it took only a few moments for he and Nova to secure the hatch and strap into the cockpit. Tsiv reached forward and keyed the comms console. "Control this is Shuttle uh..." He paused, glancing down at the control panel and then up at the bulkhead above him.

"7308." Came a reply in a tone that was equal parts bored and bemused. "We've got you on our screen here, Shuttle J-7308."

"Right." Tsiv replied. "Shuttle 7308, 2 packs on board, requesting authorization to depart for the planet." Nova leaned over and gently smacked his shoulder before pointing out the viewport at the starfighters that were starting up. "Oh, and uh, our escorts as well."

"Ah yes the infamous Blue Flight..." There was a pause as the connection cut out briefly, then a new voice came on. "Right Shuttle J-7308, Blue Leader, Blue Two, you are cleared for departure. Good luck out there, I've heard Tattooine can be a little rough."

"Thank you Control, 7308 out." Tsiv switched the comms over to a local channel, then continued. "Blue Leader, follow us out."

The Zabrak then feathered the repulsors, lifting the shuttle into the air and pivoting it towards the hangars exit, before easing it out into space and sending it on a plunging dive towards the dessert planet.

***********

Ensign Jenkins finished his transmission and then turned to smack his colleague upside the head. "Damnit Carl, you know they audit our logs every so often." But the other Ensign was still stuck in a fit of laughter and obviously could care less about their supervisors at that moment.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 8:30 am
by Vaemar
"Copy that shuttle J-7308, this is Blue Leader beginning escort maneuver 72." Blue Two would take a position above the shuttle and to the left some, while Blue Leader would take a position under the shuttle and to the right some. "Blue Leader, I've spotted a craft that seems to be just sitting there in space, coordinates A-39127." "Probably just a civilian freighter, Blue Two." I sense something strange about that ship... probably nothing though.

****************************************

"Blue Leader to Skywalker, we're coming up on the LZ, should be about a minute or two until we are there."

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:13 pm
by Pryde
Captain Mak Flemming had a frown on his face as his XO approached. He had been staring out the view port at a lone freighter off their port bow. Rizz had called attention to it, but the vessel was one of nearly a dozen floating out there in space so why this one warranted extra attention was beyond him. Still, he had learned to never discount a Jedi's instincts.

"Rizz is pushing for a command again," Galen said, coming to a stop beside Flemming.

"I noticed."

The young man had been referring to himself as blue leader which had been confusing the communications officer as there was no Blue Flight aboard the Skywalker. Still, though, he couldn't begrudge the man's enthusiasm but the chances of him getting a command were slim. Almost the entirety of the Skywalker's fighter complement was crewed by Antarian Rangers. Master Ward had yet to put together a Jedi squadron and whomever she picked for squadron leader was her business not his.

"He and his friend are lucky to still have their wings after the stunt they pulled," the XO continued, "It's fortunate no one was hurt."

The impromptu stunt show had cost the Skywalker two of its X-Wings and thousands of credits worth of equipment that had been destroyed in the crash. Luckily, though, no one was actually hurt which may be attributed to the skills of the pilots behind the craft. Though, the whole situation could have been avoided completely had the two just followed orders.

"Is something wrong," Galen asked, noticing the perturb look on Flemming's face.

Flemming shook his head. "Just some odd power fluctuations, it's probably nothing. Still, I don't think we should spend more time here than we need to."

Meanwhile on the surface Nova had finished paying the dock master for their berth and had turned back to look at Tsiv. Over his shoulder the two young Jedi had taken up positions to secure their landing bay. "Wren has a residence on the outskirts of Mos Eisley," she said, "It's a bit of a walk from here but it'll be faster than hiring a transport."

A strong gust of wind blew in and Nova had to hold down her hood to prevent it from flying off her head. "We better hurry, though. It seems like a storm is about to blow in."

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:52 pm
by VagueDurin
Tsivoin glanced backwards at the pilots briefly, then followed Nova out of the docking bay. The oppressive heat smacked full on into him as he emerged in the crowded street and he took a moment to gather himself.

"So... How does this go, anyway?" He asked as they waded through the throngs of sentients. "Hey what's up? We're here for your kid.... K-Thanx-Bye?"

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 5:53 pm
by Vaemar
"I just remembered why I hate this planet..." Rizz said, while nearly slipping on some sand that had made it's way onto the platform. Galen didn't say anything, but nodded as if to approve of what Rizz was saying. Rizz juggled his lightsabers, already bored. "Rizz, you shouldn't really be flashing that around here..." "Why not?" "Just... I don't know." "It'll be fine, Galen. Nothing is going to happen."

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 2:04 am
by Pryde
"Well, no. Probably not," Nova said with a shrug. "I'm not really sure how we're supposed to approach this. I guess we just ask and see what happens."

The streets of Mos Eisley were busy with folk scurrying about trying to pack up their wares or get in doors. The streets were packed with vehicles, riding mounts and people and everyone was screaming at each other. Tsivoin was beginning to see why Nova suggested it would be faster to walk. The storm hadn't quite blown in yet but the winds were picking up. By the time they reached Wren's residence visibility was limited to a few meters at best and the two Jedi had to shield their eyes from all the sand in the air.

"I think this is it," Nova shouted above the wind.

Tsivoin squinted his eyes and noticed the door was forced open. "Nova," he said, gesturing with one hand.

Nova saw it too and the two Jedi shared a glance before drawing their lightsabers. Once inside it was easier to see and they took a quick moment to brush the sand out of their clothes. For the most part the residence appeared to be abandoned as the two Jedi moved from room to room. There didn't seem to be anyone home at least until they reached the last room near the back of the house. Inside were two bodies, a man and a woman neither of which matched Wren's appearance.

"This one has a broken neck," Tsiv said, examining the man slumped against the wall.

Nova knelt down next to the female laying on the carpet and frowned. "Her rib cage was crushed. That would have taken a lot of force. Probably someone very big."

"Look at this," Tsivoin said, drawing Nova's attention.

Spray painted onto the wall with runny paint was the symbol of the Black Sun. Apparently the gang had a bone to pick with Wren's parents. "I guess that narrows down our suspects," Nova said, better call it in.

She pulled out her communicator and tried to contact the Skywalker but there was no answer. After awhile she gave up and put the device away. "Must be the storm," she said, "We should probably wait it out here before we go looking for Wren."

**********

In orbit aboard the Skywalker a disturbed Skylar sat in a corner of the training room with her knees pulled tightly into her chest. She just couldn't get that feeling she had earlier out of her head. Why did she feel so cold all of a sudden? What could have caused it? To her dismay the answers weren't very forthcoming.

"Sky," a voice said suddenly, "What are you doing here?"

Skylar looked up to see Ben walking towards her. "Nothing," she said, "Just--sitting..."

Ben watched her for a moment then frowned and knelt down next to her. "You're a terrible liar, you know? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Skylar resisted the urge to sigh and roll her eyes. "There was this--Zabrak earlier and I sort of ran into him. I didn't know who it was but when I looked at him I felt--something. I don't really know how to explain it, I just felt really cold and very afraid."

"Tsivoin," Ben told her, "you ran into Tsivoin and what you felt was the dark side."

"The dark side? But I thought--," she started and Ben interrupted her with a wave of his hand.

"It's not coming from him it's coming from a shard implanted into his chest," he explained, "From what I was told of the story Sivter had intended to implant the shard into Elena Connor but Tsivoin had shielded her from it. Now the shard is fused into his body and he may never fully be rid of it."

Skylar fell silent, after hear that she immediately felt bad for him after how she reacted earlier. He must have thought she was running from him when she was really running from the shard. "Is there nothing we can do," she asked quietly.

"Master Chirushk is looking into it. I'm sure the old bird will figure something out."

That made he feel better and for the moment she had forgotten about her fears. She was about to thank Ben when suddenly an alarm sounded through out the entire ship. "Action stations, action stations! Set condition one throughout the ship, this is not a drill! I repeat, action stations, action stations, this is not a drill!"

The announcement was followed by a violent quaking as the ship was rocked by laser fire. "W--what's going on," Skylar asked, her fear beginning to rise again.

"I don't know," Ben told her, "I am going to go check it out. You should stay here."

"But--,"

"No 'buts', Sky, just stay here," Ben interrupted her. Then he was on his feet and running for the door...

**********

"Where the hell did they come from," Flemming demanded.

"I don't know, sir, one minute our scope was clear then the next they were there," the radar officer replied.

A small fleet of corvette class pirate vessels had dropped out of hyperspace right on top of them. Their first attack knocked out communications making it impossible to contact their people on the ground. The next attack disabled their shields, now the corvettes were flying circles around them pelting the Skywalker with turbo laser fire.

"I don't get it," Ramsey said, "Even with the shields down this ship is more than a match for a few corvettes. What exactly are they trying to accomplish?"

"We can figure that out later, Colonel," Flemming replied, "Right now I need my birds in the air."

The door to the bridge opened then and Faye Ward stepped through. "Perfect timing," Flemming told her, "I don't suppose you know Battle Meditation?"

"Not as well as Master Leidias," Faye admitted, "but I will try."

"Fine with me, Master Jedi, every little bit helps."

**********

"Zungher didn't say nothing about no Jedi," one of the pirates whispered sharply to the others. They had surrounded the space port like they were told to do and now looking down into the landing berth they saw two Jedi waiting patiently for their friends to return.

"Just follow the plan," the leader of the group, or rather the meanest, replied, "Ain't no Jedi can survive a thermal detonator."

The first pirate grinned and pulled a spherical device out of a bag he carried.

"On three," the leader said and he too primed an explosive. "Three!"

The two pirates threw the explosives down into the landing berth then immediately followed it up with blasterfire aimed at the two Jedi. Other pirates joined in and the two young Jedi found themselves suddenly surrounded...

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:30 am
by Vaemar
Galen and Rizz snapped to action, Galen using the force to push the devices back at the throwers, and Rizz activating his dual purple lightsabers, deflecting blasts left and right. Unfortunately, Galen didn't have enough time to draw his lightsaber after he used the force to throw the explosives back at the throwers to block the shot that was coming straight for him.

He managed to roll out of the way partially, so it wouldn't hit him in his chest, but it still hit him. It hit about a fourth of his shin, burning in an agonizing manner as he lay on the ground. The same couldn't be said for some of the pirates. The leader was smart enough to stay out of the way, but the others around him weren't in the best condition.

"Stay put Galen, I'll find some way to get out of this mess!"

"Actually, Galen, contact the Skywalker or Nova and Tsiv! Tell them what's happening!"

"Nothing, Rizz! The sandstorm must be blocking our transmissions!"

"That's impossible, the Skywalker is fully equipped with advanced comms that could cut right through any lousy storm. Something must be happening!"


Deflecting a few more shots, and moving into a better position, he decided to make a move. Galen had already gotten back up, using the force as a crutch while he wielded his blue lightsaber.

"Galen, defend the ship, I'll take care of that group!"

Rizz jumped, high in the air, swirling and deflecting 2 blaster shots, and coming down directly on top of one of the groups, his lightsabers poised.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:10 pm
by Vaemar
He would land in the center of them, slicing one instantly, and stabbing another, but Rizz's back was turned to one of the pirates, who shot him in his left abdomen oblique. The pain rocketed through him, it felt as if he was on fire.

Galen watched in horror as his brother shouted in pain, then crumpled to the ground. He tried to move to help him, but he couldn't;he was shot too. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, then fell to the ground too.

"Got one!" Shouted a pirate standing over Galen, apparently having butted him in the back of the head.

"Got the other one!" Shouted the pirate who had shot Rizz. "He looks pretty dead to me."

Rizz rolled over onto his back, to see a pirate, half turned to him, it pained him much, but he kept silent. He could see the two interceptors, and his brother on the floor. The pain was too much, and he passed out because of it.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 3:32 pm
by VagueDurin
For just about any other two Jedi stationed aboard the 'Skywalker, occupying the small domicile with two corpses might have been a daunting task... But for Tsivoin and Nova... well, in their short time as partners and friends, they'd been consistently surrounded by death and the macabre. Their time spent embedded within Sivter's Cult of Shadow had desensitized the young Jedi from all sorts of horrors.

While the pair waited for the storm to pass they briefly discussed possible motives the criminal organization Black Sun might have had for murdering Wren's parents, and where their mission need be redirected to now. In the end, they decided that heading back into the town proper would give them their best chance at possibly tracking down the local Black Sun thugs, which in turn they hoped would lead them to finding the young Jedi hopeful.

With that decided, and the storm still raging on, they fell into a comfortable silence that only true partners could maintain. Before long, Tsivoin had drifted, not quite asleep, but into a light meditative trance... far enough into the zen that he had failed to notice the sandstorms howling winds diminish...

It wasn't until Nova touched her boot to his that Tsivoin finally returned to the present. The Zabrak grunted unceremoniously and shifted in his seat. "I'm up... I'm up." He mumbled.

Nova smirked at her friend and partner as he vigorously shook his head back and forth, watching as his dulled violet eyes slowly regained their usual predatory sharpness. "Good." She replied, starting for the door of the domicile. "The storm's let up and judging by the situation here, our time is running short."

Tsiv watched her go for a moment, then jogged his way out behind her and caught up in short order. A glance around their surroundings showed the local citizens slowly emerging from their own homes and beginning what Tsiv could only imagine was a routine cleanup for the regular sand storms they endured. "Any luck with the 'Skywalker?" he asked her, matching her pace.

"No... Nor with our escorts." Nova replied, glancing up towards the space above. "There must still be some sort of atmospheric interference. For now, we're on our own."

Tsiv gave her a lopsided smirk before replying. "Just like old times, then. We always did better that way, anyhow."

******************

The pair spent the next half-hour speaking to neighboring homes and businesses to no avail. It seemed that no one knew of the Black Sun presence, at least not near Wren's place. Eventually the two Jedi expanded their search to the main drag through town, splitting up they each took one side of the street.

"Listen, who I am is unimportant. Now there's credits on the table here. Do you know where they are or not?"

Tsivoin was in a corner booth of a run-down cantina. The barkeep had pointed him in the direction of a Feeorin named Reck, who so far seemed more interested in playing coy and wasting Tsiv's time than anything else.

It happened quick, before Tsivoin could process the shiver that crept up his spine, the baton cracked into the back of his skull with the sound of a turbolaser strike and he crumpled to the dingy floor of the cantina, his vision blurry as he looked up from his back at the unseen assailant.

"I'm afraid who you are is far more important than you seem to realize." The voice echoed back and forth in Tsiv's head as he tried to bring his focus around. "You see, the 'Sun takes notice of offworlders who poke their horns where they don't belong."

Another thug grabbed ahold of Tsivoin's shoulders and pulled him to his feet, locking his arms behind his back as the first one landed a savage blow to his midsection. A third attacker snatched the lightsaber from his belt as another two strikes followed and the air left Tsiv's body.

"Now, who's asking?" When Tsiv didn't answer, the man struck him again. "Don't push me, mongrel."

Tsiv wasn't paying any attention to the man, not anymore. The young Zabrak was not fully trained in the Force, he had much yet to learn, like telepathic communication, for instance. Yet even with his novice ability, Nova and he had been together in such stressful circumstances, with the need to rely on one another for their safety, that though he could not speak to her with his mind, he was able to send out a feeling... A call, a need. Help.

The next blow took his boots out from under him, the Nikto holding his arms had to struggle to keep him on his feet.

"You've made a... big mistake." Tsivoin struggled to speak, the thug just laughed.

"We'll see about that." The thug landed another punch. "Who are you?!" Another blow. "Who sent you?!"

Tsiv closed his eyes, not from the pain but in concentration. He calmed his mind, centered his thoughts, drank in the Force. Like a cool drink of water he felt the power of the Force building within, centered on the crystal in his chest. Then his eyes snapped open, and he struck. His horned head thrown backwards, connecting with the Nikto's face. The alien cried out, his grip loosening.

Tsiv took advantage, twisting out of the grip, snapping a booted kick to the Nikto's chest that sent him sprawling to the floor, and then it was on. He counted 4 gang members, plus Reck still in the booth. First thing was first, he blasted at the base of the table with a concentrated Force push, snapping the support, and trapping the Feeorin beneath the immense weight of the hardwood tabletop. With the snitch immobilized, he could turn his attention to the Black Sun attackers.

The Zabrak ducked beneath a punch, and stepped into the thug with a leg sweep but as he went for a follow-up attack a savage baton strike caught him in the flank. Staggering to his left, he shifted his focus to the baton wielder. A short series of kicks and punches found the man disarmed, but before Tsiv could deal an incapacitating blow, one of the other Black Sun cronies caught him on the thigh with a stun baton. The strike immediately left his right leg inoperable.

Tsivoin snarled, backing a few steps away as he took stock of his fresh disadvantage. He reached for a dropped blaster but was too slow, one of the thugs matched his movement, striking his arm and causing the weapon to skitter across the floor. Tsiv was then set upon by the three, without his right leg, it was all he could do to try and defend himself from their blows.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 7:31 pm
by Pryde
The ship took another direct hit and the jolt sent Sky tumbling to her knees. All around her men and women were rushing to and fro, covering battle stations and repairing damaged hulls. One Antarian Ranger stopped to check on her. He knelt down next to her and helped her to her feet. "Are you alright," he asked.

"Y--yes," Skylar answered, her voice a bit shaky, "What's going on?"

"We're under attack," the man said simply, "You should be with the rest of the padawans at the central council chambers."

"The central, what?"

"It's the most defensible part of the ship and the safest place for you right now, so go!"

"But--,"

"I said go," he interrupted her and when he turned around to hurry back to his station an explosion from inside the corridor ripped through him sending blood and body parts everywhere. Skylar screamed in fright and hid around a corner as several armed men poured into the hallway. There was a hailstorm of blasterfire but the defenders found themselves caught off guard and were easily overwhelmed.

One of the pirates activated a three dimensional map of the Chu'unthor-Class ship and pointed at it. "They will have taken the young ones here," he said, "You four head down there and let 'em know we're here. I'm going to go have a chat with the captain."

Sky had been peeking around the corridor trying to get a look at them and when she thought one of them had seen her she yelped suddenly and hid around the corner again, covering her mouth with her hand. The pirate captain looked in her direction before waving his men off to carry out their tasks. Then he crept closer towards the corner where Sky had hidden herself but as he turned to see who was there he found nothing. With a shrug he and two of his cronies headed off down the hallway towards the bridge.

Skylar, meanwhile, had hidden herself in the ventilation shaft. She sat with her back against the cold steel, her knees pulled tightly into her chest as her body shook furiously. What was she supposed to do? What could she do? She had little talent in the Force and no weapon. There weren't enough Jedi on board to fight the force outside and defend the children so it was up to her, but first she needed a weapon...

**********

Faye was deep in meditation as the battle waged on outside. Tactically speaking the Skywalker should have overwhelmed the enemy force by now but it appeared their corvettes had been modified. They were faster than normal corvettes and easily outpaced the Skywalker's turbolasers. Their fighter squadrons would have had more luck but the pirates brought fighters of their own and easily kept the few squadrons the Skywalker had busy. The situation looked bad but this wasn't a fight the pirates could wage forever, eventually they would lose. It wasn't until one of their fighter pilots had reported in that the full extent of their plan had been revealed.

"Say again," Ramsey said, speaking into his comlink.

"A transport has docked with the Skywalker," the pilot said, "It's been modified, it doesn't show up on my scanners. I nearly missed it if not for the silhouette."

The transport Galen had pointed out earlier, it had to be. "Blow it up, pilot," he ordered but the hiss of the doors to the bridge sliding open drew his attention.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice said as three armed men entered the bridge.

Both Galen and Mak turned to look at them and several security officers brought their weapons to bear. "Who the hell are you," Captain Flemming demanded.

"Someone of little importance," he said, "The more important question right now is what will I do if you don't give me what I want?"

"What are you talking about?"

Zungher smiled viciously and held out a small holocommunicator. He turned it on and a holograph of a man holding a gun to a group of young padawans on their knees appeared. "What's the phrase, Captain? I've got you by the balls? Now order your Jedi Master here to give us access to the archives..."

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:16 pm
by Nichalus
"Explain to me again why we didn't take the Array and are now traipsing around in perhaps the most famous freighter in the Galaxy?" Mera asks with a slightly exasperating tone while leaning against the entrance of the Millennium Falcon's cockpit with her arms folded across her chest. "You know Maz knew exactly what was going on."

Ranion waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder at her. "Bah, whatever. Maz may have her slender little alien fingers on the pulse of the Smuggler's lanes, but there's no way she could know that we have the Falcon."

"She could smell the Wookie hair on you Ranion." Mera retorted. "And you know she has a thing for that certain Wookie."

Ranion was about to argue the point, but closed his mouth and stared out the cockpit at the streaming blue and white flare lines of Hyperspace outside the windows.

They were several light years out from Takodana and Maz Kanata's hideout, where they had left their ship, the Idiot's Array in the ex-Pirate, Smuggler's little watering hole, where they dropped off their diverse little band they met up with in their last adventure. Maz had stated that she would be happy to hold the Array for them...for a nominal fee of course. She always did have a soft spot for the Twins, taking them under her wing when they were making Inner System Runs for her. It was Maz's herself that procured the Array for them when the time for them to make it on their own had arrived.

"You're just being paranoid sis." Ranion snapped back from his thoughts as the warning beep began, signalling their drop from Hyperspace was near. He placed his hand on the Hyperspace lever and looked over his shoulder at Mera. "We've masked the transponder, plus tweeked the energy signature of the Falcon, so no one will be the wiser. To them, we're just another old junked out YT-1300. Quick supply stop here at Tatooine, and we'll head out. Maybe find a quick run to somewhere no one knows who we are, and make some credits." He smirked at her and pulled the levers, dropping them into realspace. "Besides...what can happen here in the backwater wastes of Tatooine?"

Mera's eyes widened as he observed several Corvettes and fighters in a swirling furball of a space battle around a Chu'unthor-Class ship. "That..." Mera pointed out the viewport.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 2:02 am
by Pryde
The brutal assault on Tsivoin continued with his attackers pounding their fists into his flanks and kicking their boots into his ribs. Tsivoin did his best to shield himself from their attacks but it wasn't enough, he needed an opening. A moment later Nova provided him with one. A powerful telekinetic blast sent all three gangers flying into the opposite wall as Nova entered the cantina. The first ganger to recover pulled a blaster on her but Nova's lightsaber was already in her hand and it's golden blade was pointed in his direction.

"That's enough," she said sternly, "Now leave before this gets ugly."

The man ground his teeth together before holstering his weapon and nodding at the others to leave. As they filed out the door Nova turned her attention to Tsiv who was trying unsuccessfully to pull himself off the floor. Nova hurried over to him and helped him into a nearby chair. "Are you alright," she asked.

"Just fine, Chief," Tsivoin joked though the act of laughing sparked a pain in his ribs.

Nova examined him then frowned. "I need to get you checked out."

"It's fine," he assured her, "Just a few bruised ribs, but never mind me what did you find out?"

There was a moment or two where Nova wrestled with the decision of leaving him be or taking him to a doctor before she finally responded. "It wasn't Black Sun that took Wren," she said, "It was someone else, but I'm not sure who. The person who told me couldn't get a good look at them, but she was able to tell me that Wren's parents worked for Black Sun so that explains the symbol we saw."

"So the mission's a bust?"

"Not entirely," she said, "A local informed me that Black Sun has been unusually interested in a girl. She's not in the registry but from what I was told it sounds like she may be Force sensitive. We find her then at the very least we don't go home empty handed and that dirt bag on the floor over there might be able to lead us to her."

She jerked her thumb back over her shoulder at the Feeorin. "Reck here is an informant for the Black Sun," she explained, "Isn't that right, Reck?"

The man had been struggling to pull himself free of the debris Tsivoin had thrown onto him but as soon as Nova addressed him he stopped struggling and started stammering. "I'm sorry," Nova apologized to Tsiv, "I should have warned you about the danger. It took me weeks to learn how to properly vet people when I first got into bounty hunting. This is my fault for not teaching you."

"Nova--," Tsivoin began but she cut him off.

"Where's your lightsaber?"

Tsivoin looked around then realized one of the thugs still had it. "It was taken from me," he said quietly, he considered pushing the issue further knowing that Nova was once again blaming herself for his suffering but given how quickly she dodged his response she clearly didn't want to talk about it right now.

Nova frowned then handed him the hilt of her lightsaber. "Here, use this for now."

Tsivoin gave her a look. "Go on," she said, "Take it. I was trained by Master Ward, remember? I can handle myself without one of these."

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:32 am
by Mir
"From the frying pan to the fire, it seems." C5 said, shaking his head. He stood behind the Twins and looked at the scene inf ront of him. "As if that miniaturized alien poking at me wasn't enough."

"Maz was not poking you." Ranion said, shaking his head. He spared C5 a glance over his shoulder as the droid looked at him.

"She was too poking me, with her eyes. Those eyes will haunt my dreams." C5 retorted.

"Do Androids dream?" Mera asked, and C5 shook his head solemnly.

"But only of electric sheep." He replied.

Mera turned to Ranion, the mild scowl on her face aimed directly at her twin brother. "You really do have a thing for this droid, don't you?" She asked. "We dropped off everyone from the group at Takodana. But you wanted to keep C5 around. Why?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at C5, who looked sullenly down at the ground, if that was even possible for a droid. Or maybe it was just his resting face. That was more than a possibility.

"He's our good luck charm." He said, and she closed her eyes grimacing.

"Great." She and C5 said at the same time and he continued. "Now I'm reduced to nothing more than a contrived piece of garbage designed to bring a false sense of security and confidence to two delinquents who should be in prison." He said. "Life's hopeless."

"You're right about one thing. You are a piece of garbage."

"Keep going, Mera. Dump it on. I can take. My therapist said that I should let everyone vent and then talk to them about how their perceptions are really reflections of themselves." C5 said.

"It is not a reflection of...You do not have a therapist." Mera said, as Ranion started them on a flight path that was hopefully going to take them away from the fighting that was happening and down to the planet below.

"I do too have a therapist." C5 said and then paused, as both Twins turned and stared at him. "You're right." He said. "I don't have a therapist. No one in the entire galaxy would take me. It's discrimination, I think."

Mera turned back to see that Ranion was decidedly not taking them on a course to the planet below. "What are you doing?" She asked. "That's not towards the planet."

"We dropped in behind the Skywalker. Odds are that no one's detected us yet. Trust me. I'm the pilot of the team for a reason."

"While I have only know you two for a short time..." C5 said and trailed off as he saw that they were headed straight for the engine cowlings. "I would like to mention that whenever Ranion says something to that effect, there is almost a statistical certainty that something bad is going to happen. That's even if I throw out my negative bias and run the simulations purely from a mathematical standpoint."

"I hate you." Mera said, to no one in the particular.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 2:12 pm
by Vaemar
Rizz shook his head, coughing a bit. He didn't see the pirates, and the storm seemed to be over. He'd try and push himself up with his elbows and hands to no avail. The pain was already too much, but that shot must've ripped threw his left hip too, because he felt numb on the left side of his body. He was still in a precarious situation. The pirates were probably still there, just out of sight, his brother was just shot, and those interceptors were probably damaged or captured... or destroyed. He shuddered to think what Galen would do to him if there was a scratch on it, but Galen probably wouldn't want him to lay there and die either.

He meekly raised his right arm to his face, pushing the button and speaking, hoping to get a response from Nova or Tsiv, saying "Cough Hello? Is-cough. Is anybody there?".

He couldn't get anything else out, his arm falling back down to his side. He went for his canteen to find it missing. Pirates must've took everything. He could still feel some metal cylinder under his leg, reaching out with the force told him it was his lightsaber. I have something, at least.

Thirsty, hungry, dying painfully, but hopefully soon, surviving.

Re: Path of the Skywalker: New Beginnings

Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2016 3:18 pm
by VagueDurin
Tsiv took a long moment to study Nova's Lightsaber hilt, then turned hardened scrutiny onto Reck.

The Zabrak flicked the activator and pointed the golden blade directly at the Feeorin. "So, Reck... Tell us where to find your friends, eh?" he asked menacingly.