Terrus's Story

Deiyi grunted and shut down the holopad. Sliding it back into its place at her belt she counted off the days on her hand, minus a hyperdrive a freighter would take months to get to the other planet. Something she wanted to avoid. However, if on a well traveled spacelane, it may be sooner. Unless she could somehow use the Holonet to make a Contact Notice on the public forum the HN had. That was always a possiblity.

She felt eyes on her and turned her gaze upwards briefly. Spotting the Wookiee again. Her brown eyes took the alien in. It was not every day a Wookiee went to a bar, Much less a dowdy cantina like Gambit's! A slight incline of the head allowed for inviation for the wookiee to join her table if he desired.

{Part 1}

It was not easy leaving Ossus so soon after revisiting the planet. The first thing was simple, report to the council. The second, check on her Padawan, Mikhail had healed faster then expected. Deiyi however insisted on not seeing the medical teams and instead reported directly to the council. It was after the council met with her in the council chambers on Ossus did she recieve her new mission. Go with Master Terrus to Naboo and resolve a conflict there. And she was to take her Padawan and also the Padawan of a fellow Jedi Knight, Garth Torral, The young Chiss she knew and spoke with on several occasions. Now she was to take the young Padawan with her and Master Terrus.

That was two days before. Now the star dreadnaught, Peaceful Watch, set the cacluations for hyperspace. However they'd be making a brief stop at Tantellies for refueling. It was a light jump to Naboo from there. Deiyi could use that time to teach her Padawan a bit with his staff saber he recently completed. The Peaceful Watch provided the needed training rooms. And so she herself visted them and made use of those same rooms. The training rooms included holographic training droids designed to withstand lightsaber combat.

The training rooms allowed for Deiyi to train herself while she waited for her Padawan to join her. Moving with an inner peace as she timed her strikes with the droids firing their stun rounds in her direction, deflecting and striking down several droids before the droids completely shut down. Deiyi turned off one of the two blades of her staffsaber and waited while watching cautiously what was to occur next. Feeling out with the force she wondered briefly why the droids shut down. Was another to join her ?

Mikhail gave a sigh of admiration at his own lightsaber as he slowly walked down the hallway to the training rooms...or at least...thats where he thought he was going. Unfortunately for him he was actually heading towards the cafeteria. He had gotten lost again. 2 days now and he still couldn't figure out his way around this ship. Darn it all. He put his lightsaber away and looked around before realizing he had made a wrong turn somewehre. He stopped, looked around, and backtracked his steps.

Now, going from his room he needed to make a left at the first turn not a right. That was his mistake. Bumping into Master Terrus as he turned. Terrus just smiling a bit and patting the young padawan on the shoulder. Before walking to his own room. He had just come out of a long winded and....very agrivating conversation with the navigator. So he was heading to his room to meditate and calm down. There is no emotion, there is peace.

The padawan eventually found his way to the training rooms. His hat on his head as he looked around. He was ready for this, he had prepared for this. Training with his master in lightsaber combat, this would be interesting to see. His eyes gleamed with a bit of excitement as he felt his master reach out with the force. However he hand't turned off the droids. Nor did he know who had done so. But he sensed her confusion of the matter. Walking into the training room she was in and giving a low bow."Hello master. I am ready to recieve your instruction. I am also excited to learn from you." He gave a slight chuckle at that.

Deiyi smiled and turned to face Mikhail. She held her saberstaff in her left hand. the scars clearly visible on her face from the recent clash with the Sith Acolytes and Venator himself. The scars were from the Force Lightning. It did very little to mar her features, however. She was still the same Jedi Knight that had taken on Mikhail as her apprentice. Though it was quite interesting, in the scant five weeks since she had taken on Mikhail, her apprentice had ended up in the medical ward in about as many times. The council never questioned her of why. At least until two days before. It made her nervous to stand in their midst, but it wasn't the first time.

She spotted Mikhails lightsaber at his hip. "I see you have constructed your lightsaber." She said with a slow nod. "This is good. You are ready ?" Hopefuly he was. Ready enough to begin the saberstaff training. It was not an easy weapon to master. But with the proper training, Mikhail could become a good swordsman like his teacher. And, she mused to herself, possibly stay out of the medical ward better. She held her own saberstaff in a cerimonial pose and deactivated the blade. Hooking the weapon to her hip she stepped towards her Apprentice. She held out a hand. Master to student, it was tradition that the Master of a Padawan inspected the newly constructed lightsaber of their charge.

There was a shift that could be felt as the ship exited Hyperspace.

{Part 2}

In the command tower of the Peaceful Watch the pilot and crewmen on duty recieved the hail from Tantillies. "Clearence requested at Tantilli III spaceport for refueling." Said one of the navigators on duty. A few minutes passed and clearance was given. It didn't take much longer before the massive star dreadnaught docked with the spaceport of Tantilli III. It was time for refueling. It wasn't going to take too long, and that was fine for the Jedi within the massive training ship.

"Right on time." Zephyr murmored, closing the hatch on his fighter and lifting off from his landing pad on the other side of the station. "Peaceful Watch, this is Pathfinder, requesting permission to come aboard." he said calmly. While his fighter lacked it's own astro droid it had been equiped with the cognitive model of one and was currently running a system's check before the mission.

Once clearance was granted he pulled his ship into a secluded corner of the docking bay and disembarked. He would come back for his things later, at the moment he wanted to find Master Deiyi and question her as to why he was being brought along on this mission instead of looking for the renegade Rallin. It didn't take him long to follow his memorized map of the ship's interior to the training rooms, his twin sabers crossed on the back of his belt and his white helmet under his arm.

Mikhail handed over his lightsaber to his master. A lightsaber was influenced by the things a jedi held closest to themselves. And since he was going to be a chronicler he wanted to make sure it had something for him to remember that by. A gentle smile on his face as he watched the woman that was his master. Before turning to face a new arrival that was already at the door. He gave a bow and straightened back up."I don't believe we have met have we? I am Mikhail, and this is my master Deiyi. Its nice to meet you....Mr...?"

Meditation had been relaxing. Allowing Master Terrus to recieve the calming effect that meditating provided him. There is no emotion, there is peace. He repeated to himself in his mind. Opening up the channels of the force he extended it to cover the entire ship. Noting everyone and everything that was there. Especially the new arrival of Zephyr. Of which was a personal request to him. To give a padawan some more training was always a good oportunity. And he wanted to help out as much as he could. Standing up he decided to go and meet this padawan in person. Walking down to the training rooms and standing behind the young man.

{Part 3}

Deiyi gently lifted the weapon from Mikhails hand. She inspected it carefully, feeling the weapon both in her hands and through the Force directly. It felt right. She thumbed the activation switch and the blade sprang to life. She smiled, part of the training was completed, now there was a few things left. But she still had a lot to teach her student. She turned off the staffsaber and handed the weapon back to Mikhail. "A well crafted weapon. Try not to lose it. It is your life." She noticed the writing he had added to the hilt. Interesting to say in the least.

Her gaze then went to Zephyr as he arrived. A smile graced her face. She nodded in greeting. Eeven though she had met the Chiss twice before. She let Mikhail introduce her. It was also then that Master Terrus arrived. "Ah, Master Terrus. I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up. Come to enjoy the show." She motioned to Mikhail to show the Wookiee Jedi Master the new saberstaff he had made. She turned back to Zehpyr, a confused tone to her voice. "I am delighted to see you again. But I am also confused. You waited for us to arrive before coming aboard. I did not send for you" She cast her gaze then to Master Terrus, clearly confused.

"I received a message, text encoded without audio to meet this particular ship here." he replied, moving to the side to set down his helmet and bowing slightly to Master Terrus. A Wookie, that was a species he had seen very little of, nor had any chance of understanding due to the furred race's physical inability to speak Basic. "I felt a presence in this training room so I came, I thought it was you that called me here Master Deyi." he said.

It was then a thought crossed his mind, turning back to Terrus, the Wookie couldn't have called him could he? They had never met, how would he have known how to reach his ship?

Terrus looked at the young man and gave a smile."Hello there." He said simply. He was calm, kind, not really the big threataning creatues that everyone thought they were."I was the one who summoned you with us. I figured you could use some training away from your master for a bit. To get to know others in combat situations and see what they are like, and adapt so you can fight by their side more easily." He explained. Mikhail walked over to Terrus and handed him the lightsaber. Terrus doing the same inspection that Deiyi did and nodding approvingly."Very well done, young one."

Mikhail bowed low at that. To have approval from not just his master, but Terrus as well was a big delight. And to him an honor. Turning back towards Deiyi and giving a slight grin."Well, looks like we have a full party then don't we?" He asked her. His eyes then looking between Deiyi, Zephyr, and Terrus. Wanting to get his training started. Maybe the others could provide some perspective in how he fought, so he could improve on those aspects as well.

+*+*+

Chistopher Weller ran forward. And fast. It was a sunny day, on Kashyyyk. It had just rained however. Despite being on the 6th level technically, the area they were in now was connected to the ground, because this area was a bit more elevated then the surounding jungles. Therefore, you could actually run at ground level. Most of the ground level however you could not walk on, not without it being very dangerous.

He quickly looked behind him, and saw no one. Only then, he got tackled from the side by a Wookie. "Hakca! I thought I lost you for a moment!". The wookie had been his friend since childhood, and they were practically inseperable. Chris looked around, and then back at Hakca. "All right, you win. Now, lets get home, before either of our dads get angry or it gets too late". Chris and Hakca made their way back to the city.

In reality, it was not that late, but both of them had fathers who hated them to be below level 7 at any time. So staying down there for too long would be a bad idea. It was only when Hakca got off him that he noticed he was in a mud pit, and slightly sinking into it. He began pulling himself up, which worked, very slowly. Hakca came over and helped pull him up, except the mud seemed hellbent on keeping his lower half.

Hakca finally helped pull him up. He himself was trying up until the point he realized the mud was pulling off his pants. He was not afraid of Hakca seeing him so much as trying to figure out how to explain that at home. Actually, it was all that and no worries about Hakca seeing him really. His dad would be furious if he found out they went this deep. Granted, pretty much everyone did this, level six was not too dangerous, especially around this part. It was level 5 and below that things got really bad.

After a good minute, he was finally free. Though he had to pull up his pants, he had avoided losing them, and therefore, avoiding getting into huge amount of trouble. And thats all he was really thinking about. As they made the walk home, it soon became into a race. They were soon back on level 7, and everything was fine. the huge cities were supported by the trees, and therefore, always had a unique and interesting view.

As they made it home, Chris looked back at Hakca. However, something caught his eye. By his computer, he still had that one artifact he found. He had found it on Level 6, buried in a branch, with some other bits of wreckage that looked old. But this one caught his attention. He tapped it, wondering what it did. It did not seem to have a function, other then looking strange. Thats when he heard the door slam shut, the back door, causing him to accidentally drop it. However, unknown to him, dropping it actually reconnected it power supply, causing it to resume its standard emergency functions.

Fortunately, the precognitive nature of Marlene's mind allowed her to anticipate some of the hiccups, and buffer her mind to protect itself against the incoming onslaught of data. Marlene's mind processed it quickly, by buffering it out, and focusing her own thoughts. Marlene also managed to keep her own consciousness relatively isolated, while focusing on the mental 'White room' that she tried to keep them in.

But the sadness was overwhelming, the woman sensed a lot of pain, a lot of sadness in the Princess's mind, and it had a profound, and intimate effect on her own psyche.

Halena let her into her mind, and Halena took the first step towards the path to enlightenment, so now it was time for Marlene to open up to the other, to let her own mind cascade fourth.

Marlene smiled, and telepathically spoke.

"There's more, I'm going to let you in." She wanted to see if Halena could truly comprehend the steps she was about to take, but she knew that she would be completely opening her own mind to the child before her, Aschen state secrets, everything. It didn't matter, the Asylians could wipe the Aschen out, and so she took a gamble.

Marlene closed her eyes, and opened her mind to Halena. The Child would be bombarded with a sensation of pure agony, but it wasn't her own, the agony she felt was that of Marlene, the agony of being separated from ascension, but there was more, there was thousands of years worth of memories.

Marlene's childhood was the most traumatic, memories of the Aschen Confederation invading her homeworld of Yellowstone, memories of Aschen soldiers moving through the streets, door to door, dragging people out, the memories were clear, and they were vivid.

Yellowstone gave way to the lush, verdant green of Langara, and the emotions of sadness, and hatred followed. Hatred for a man that was a father figure, a man that visited unspeakable evil that left the child scarred, there was pain, a great deal of agonizing pain.

The memories were like a maelstrom, some were significant events in Marlene's life, like her first kiss. Others were the minutia of her day to day interactions on Langara.

Marlene was standing in front of a strange man in a black suit.

"Do you solemnly swear to protect and defend the interests of the Aschen Confederation of Planets, as an Agent of the Langaran Defense Agency, with every fiber of your being?"

"I do."

The Chaos of memories shifted, a memory of Marlene standing in a large room overlooking a console, and a massive device of some kind.

"They call it the Potentia, Project Shimshon, a device that, if activated will wash clean all life from this galaxy. If our society falls, we'll take this galaxy with it.."

Marlene looked down in the memory, taking a small, yet technical looking crystal into her hand, She worked quickly to suppress it, but the memory had already flowed fourth.

Another memory followed, they were in a bar of some kind, arguing passionately over someone, the woman in Marlene's mind was named Ari, they were arguing over a Randin Kaye before Ari stabbed Marlene in the chest, searing pain followed, followed by more emotions of agony, and then calm, as Marlene gazed upon a being enrobed in a brilliant white light, another ascended being.

"The success or failure of your deeds, does not add up to the sum of your life. Your spirit cannot be weighed. Judge yourself by the intentions of your actions, and by the strength with which you faced the challenges that have stood in your way. The Universe is vast and we are so small. There is really only one thing we can ever truly control... whether we are good or evil."

There was a warm light, the feeling of peace, an absolute, and overwhelming flood of knowledge, and understanding that was now being shared freely with the child. Marlene's own ascension, as she shed her physical body was a unique sensation, as she lay there on the bar floor, dying.

The white realm returned, Marlene having stemmed the flow from her own mind. Physically, the blonde was holding her head, exhaustion had begun to set in, as she relived the last few thousand years in her mind, her fragile psyche overwhelmed. One thing Halena would learn, was a hair's breadth kept Marlene from true insanity.