A New Beginning

[Sarge Potteiger]

"Just me." He admits, taking long, quick strides towards the front of the ship and it's bridge. Two of the stocky wardroids stood outside, and he pulled off a glove to press a hand against a scanner. As he lifted it, were she paying attention, she'd see burn scarring running up the back of his hand.

A faint click was heard and the hatch slid open, revealing the bridge. More droids were here, and the only one that stood out as different than the rest was a lone HK unit sitting at the gunnery station, head twitching periodically like bad wiring was taking up parts of it's neck. Set in the middle of the stations, however, was a large throne of a command chair.

Not unlike a funnel web, a series of cables and wires ran from a casing set in the ceiling and draped down across the high back of the seat. Set into the armrests were a series of buttons and symbols which no doubt controlled other functions of the vessels. Placing his glove back on, the man moved around the seat and settled in.

Reaching up, he pulled the wires down and began slotting them into parts of his helmet, mostly around the small nub of his communication gear over his right ear. As if sensing it was reconnected, cameras began to pivot around them.

"We're fueled." He mutters. "Coruscant?"

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana watched the odd process of Preacher...plugging himself in. She had never seen anything like it before, in fact this whole ship was rather strange in general. She peered about and observed everything she possibly could. The Jedi Knight quite enjoyed this place, she liked seeing new things and learning new things and this one...very new. Droids and wires and everything from head to toe seemed to be custom made.

She smiled slightly as she looked at all the new things and then jumped slightly when Preacher spoke to her once again.

“Yes. I'll need to send a message to the Temple first though.” It was best that they didn't take the Council by surprise, they generally tended not to like surprises, especially large ships crewed entirely by droids that looked as though they were a personal army. “Is there a terminal somewhere?”

Diana asked not wanting to poke around the ship on her own.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The man hefted a crushgaunted hand, pointing to a nearby console where a lone protocol droid sat, looking more than a little dejected. "Talk to 2B, he'll patch you through to who you need." A hissing from far back the vessel told him the fuel line was now disconnected and with a few tapped commands, a rumble began to slowly shake the ship as the engines warmed.

Repulsors kicked in, lifting the ship from the ground even as the landing gear retracted into the vessel with a clanking of magnetic locks. Rotating the vessel, the viewport showcased the massive canyons of Cato Neimoidia in front of them. Easing its way through the tight bay doors, he guided the ship towards orbit, the engines screaming as it pushed the massive vessel towards space.

"Once you've got the clearance, you'll need to let me know where I can land or dock this thing."

 

[Cedric Dorn]

“Right, ill ask when I speak with them.” Diana began to be rather nervous as she thought about speaking to the council. Carefully she turned about and spoke to the droid that Preacher had pointed out. The Droid nodded and simply led Diana to a nearby terminal, pushing a button Diana connected herself to the Jedi Council, or rather their secretary.

The Next few minutes harbored careful slow whisperings and Diana's somewhat raised voice. She spoke in a hushed tone, but clearly it was rather strained. She was not dealing with the council itself of course, but a sort of...admissions sub council, it was a strange concept, but Diana wasn't exactly important enough to merit speaking to the High Council. Finally after what seemed like four hours of arguing Diana finally managed to convince one of the councilors to agree to at least meet Preacher.

She sighed and turned off the holo-terminal, returning to preacher with a smile on her face.

“Here. Thats where you can place your ship.” Diana handed him a piece of flimsy with hangar coordinates. She paused and then spoke again. “You're going to have to speak to one of the Councilors, but i'm pretty sure you'll be getting into the Order.”

She didn't mention that she would have to vouch pretty heavily for him.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Four hours was about right - he'd find out what they were talking about later. He recorded all his calls just in case - he'd learned from the mistakes of the past. Still, four hours was about right; they were halfway to Coruscant by the time she finished her no doubt strenuous conversation.

"Thanks." He says, taking the paper from her and feeding the information into the navigation droid who would take over once they hit atmosphere. Silence reigned for the next half hour until they dropped from hyperspace and he visibly stiffened as massive amounts of signals began pouring in.

The PDF wanted to know who he was. Where he was from. What his business was. And that didn't even include the amount of queries he was getting from other nearby ships who didn't want to run straight into him. The bustling orbit of Coruscant was about as it was the last time he'd been here...

...an absolute chaotic mess.

Still, there was order to the chaos somewhere.

Heading towards the planet, he shook his head even as he fed the information outward that a Jedi was aboard and provided the coordinates he was expected at. A confirmation told him he was clear to land.

"Sorry. Lots of signal all at once. Had at least ten different queries the moment we transitioned in system."

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana looked at Preacher with an inquisitive look the entire time after they dropped out of Hyperspace. He seemed to seize slightly, which was curious to her. She was quickly able to figure out that he was controlling the entire ship, not the droids or any other computer systems. This fascinated her, though she also saw one major flaw, if he was injured this entire ship would go down in a matter of seconds.
That was of course unless he had back-ups, which from the looks of it he probably did.

“Thats quite alright.” Diana chirped in reply to him as she watched through the viewport.

She had always liked the look of Coruscant. The Soft gold glow of the lights mixed in with the harsh grays. It looked beautiful from space, though it was far less whimsical when one was actually on the planet. The area around the Jedi temple was pretty enough, but to her it was still quite ugly. Diana hated urban areas, she much preferred the wilds.

For a second she pondered what their arrival would be like, Preacher would either be shunned, or seen as somewhat of a curiosity. Diana didn't like the thought of anyone judging him, though it was bound to happen. “The Counselor will ask you lots of questions, mostly about your life. The greatest concern will be your training within the Force. Sort of the what if scenario of us teaching you and then you deciding to go to the Sith."

She looked at him with a smile, as if to tell him she believed that such a thing could never happen.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"I don't think that will be a problem." A bit of a chuckle could be heard, even as the vessel tracked its way down through the spires and towards the massive Temple that sat aloof from the myriad skyscrapers of the planet. It was strange, to him, to think the Temple had so much empty space around it.

Especially considering how much of a premium space was at on the planet. "I will say, however, that the questions about my life... he may not like the answers he will get; if he gets any." The man was, based upon the evidence around him, not exactly the most open of people.

Didn't quite take a genius to figure that out.

Still, he eased the corvette into a massive hangar bay, the landing struts lowering again. Even as it did so he was disconnecting himself from the wires which lifted somewhat so that they didn't drag upon the floor or seat, although they still hung limply from the ceiling of the bridge.

"I hope they do not take try to get on the ship immediately." No one could possibly be that stupid. The ramp was down, true, but hopefully whatever delegation wouldn't bumrush it.

 

[Cedric Dorn]

“No, they'll likely stay away all together.” Diana said as she looked out the view port and into the hangar. She had already figured out long ago that Preacher was a private man, that much was obvious when you looked at his ship, his armor, or anything really. Ironically, most people who came to the Jedi Order as adults had the same dark past, or at least one colored in a motley gray, but if the Jedi could accept former Sith Lords, then they could certainly accept this man.

With a confident Smile Diana scooped up her backpack off the floor, fitting it onto her shoulder and signaling for Preacher to come along.

They would go straight from the hangar to the councilors office, and there the interview would take place. She imagined that after she vouched for him Preacher would have no problem getting into the Order...or at least not much of one, even with his apparently shady past. She had gained much respect on Ossus and public opinion usually swayed the councilors more than anything else.

With a confident stride Diana waltzed off of Preacher's ship, waving to several Hangar Engineers with excitement.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The man gave a nod and followed after her, making sure to set the autoturrets to take out anything that tried boarding in his absence - the droids would handle anything that got past those. There were too many random patrols for someone not to get caught... still, he didn't feel quite right.

With a command from his datapad, the ramp raised even as his back foot cleared it and he followed after Diana, who would lead him through the Temple to wherever he needed to be. Wherever that was.

This was her territory now, not his.

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana nearly skipped through the halls of the Jedi Temple. She was happy to be back home. The Jedi had so many fond memories of the Temple on Coruscant that there was almost too many to list, though of course a few bad ones were mixed in.

Neither mattered right now however and the odd pair quickly made their way to the counselors office. Diana was the first to go in, breaching the strange and ornate entryway first and introducing herself to the secretary that sat before the main office. At times the Jedi could get horribly bureaucratic, and this was one of those times. The Secretary nodded at Diana, almost welcoming her back as a conquering Hero. Diana simply smiled and shook the womans hand, being as formal as she possible could.

Then within a matter of seconds the two of them were waved through into the Counselors office.

“Counselor Serath, Its a pleasure to see you again.” Diana spoke with a smile and greeted the Jedi master warmly. The man was an alien, a Togruta who appeared to be absolutely ancient. His skin was orange and the markings on his face white, his montrals seemed to extend far above his head.

“You as well Knight Moridena, I'm glad to see you have recovered so well from Ossus.”

“I have, thank you Master. This is the man I approached you about. Preacher.” Diana stepped to the side and revealed the presence of Sarge, waving towards him.

“Ah yes, the mysterious force sensitive you picked up on your return trip home.”

Maser Serath walked over from out of his desk and up to Sarge, extending a heavy hand in greeting.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The mention of recovery piqued Sarge's interest, but the man in Mandalorian armor said nothing. But that wouldn't last long, as the Togruta stood - Counselor Serath - and approached him, hand out in greeting. A gauntleted hand extended to grip the alien's, and the two exchanged a short, firm handshake.

Frankly, Sarge hated handshakes. But he did it out of respect. "Master Jedi." He said by way of greeting. It was an old honorific used by those outside the Order. It wasn't a statement of position within the Order, but rather the rough equivalent of calling your boss 'sir' or something of the like.

It was just respectful and showed deference. Serath bowed his head courteously. "And to you, 'Preacher'." Sarge could quite literally hear the air quotes around it. "What is your name." Serath asks, even as he clasped his hands together in the small of his back, standing mere inches away.

That wasn't a question. That was a statement. He wanted a name.

He wasn't getting one.

"Preacher." Sarge intones flatly.

"We may as well just call you 'the Mandalorian' in that case." Serath sighed, realizing right away this was exactly why the Jedi didn't typically accept older members. They were stubborn, set in their ways. They were not easily molded and guided, unlike children.

"You may call me as you will. I am not picky. You will not, however, have my name." Serath gave a shallow nod, as if that was actually an acceptable answer. If this Mandalorian gave up no name, but also gave up claim to what he would be called, well, Serath could work with that.

It was relinquished control, quite literally. That spoke of good self awareness which was key to being Jedi.

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana frowned slightly as the conversation between the Jedi Master and the Mandalorian began. She couldn't quite pick up on the smaller hint of the conversation that passed between the two men but she could understand the broader strokes of what was going on. Of course to her this was all a formality, in her mind Preacher was already in the Jedi Order, it was just a formality to do this all.

Whether or not that was true of course was still to be decided. The young Jedi Knight was still naïve in some areas and this was probably one of them.

Master Serath however was quite the intelligent man, wise beyond even his own years. The Togruta was one of the oldest members of the Jedi Council, not counting the aliens such as Tefka of course. Diana watched peacefully with a smile on her face, waiting to be called on.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The two looked silently at each other for a moment before Serath turned abruptly and moved to sit back behind his desk, eyes immediately settling back on Preacher. "Normally, this is the part where I'd pluck your mind for the information, or perhaps just to see what you were truly feeling and thinking..."

A sighed escaped the Counselor's lips. "But I cannot. Your mind is like a fortress - nothing is getting in there. I cannot sense anything about it. I cannot speak with it, I cannot probe its depths. I know not what you are, but I know that that is both a blessing and a curse."

Another sigh passed his lips. "Why do you wish to be a Jedi, Preacher?"

Sarge tilted his head faintly to one side. "Truthfully, I do not. I wish to not be Force Sensitive. That isn't much of an option right now - out of my options; Fringe, Sith, Jedi, Omega... the Jedi are the ones I think could help me the most. I also feel that with the war that is going on, you need every fighter you could get. Early victories will not always translate to long term success if you cannot replace your losses and then continue to grow atop that."

A military mind was a military mind. A simple enough observation, truly, but an important one. This man was clearly Mandalorian through and through. "You are right, Son of Mandalore. I'm quite hesitant to admit you, but with Diana's backing, my own acknowledgement of your Force Potential and the fact that you seem to know who you are and what you want... I will give you my blessing for now."

It wasn't an outright acceptance, but it wasn't a 'no.' Whatever worked.

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana almost jumped with giddy excitement when Serath mentioned her name. It seemed her name really did carry weight. The Jedi Knight however managed to keep her composure, simply giving a simple nod and a smile to the old Jedi Master. In confirmation of what he had just said.

“Thank you Master Serath. I will get him Settled in.” Diana spoke quickly and the old Togruta gave her a nod to let her go ahead. The Jedi Knight quickly turned on her heel and tapped Preacher on the Shoulder and quickly led him out of the room. As soon as they were out of earshot Diana began to speak far more openly to the Mandalorian, letting her thoughts flow. “I didn't expect that to go so easily, but im glad it did. Anyway, given your age I imagine you will be granted your own rooms here. They're nothing huge or elaborate, nothing more than a room with a bathroom attached, but I imagine you'll be used to that.”

“You'll be given robes tomorrow, and a training saber.” Diana pointed to the lightsabers harnessed on the small of her back. “Every Jedi needs to learn to use them at some point.”

“I'll talk to the Master's and see to it that you're assigned to me, that should be no problem since I brought you.” She smirked slightly as she though of Avalore and Sarge training together, she had the oddest padawans.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"I didn't either, but I think he is of a mind similar to myself - the Jedi need warriors, sergeants, generals. You are peacekeepers, but you are peacekeepers at war; you need crusaders. Who better than a Mandalorian?" The man chuckled faintly before digging into a pouch hanging at his waist.

He paused mid-stride, pulling out a small spherical object that shined with the most beautiful of sheen's. "I know that, someday, I will be required to make my own lightsaber; after I have mastered the training saber sufficiently, of course." The man gave a faint sigh and held the sphere out to her.

Krayt Dragon Pearls were rare, worth nearly a hundred thousand credits. You either bought them or you killed your own dragon. Judging by the size of the pearl, the dragon must have been ancient - and the Mandalorians didn't buy trophies. "This will be my crystal." That was not negotiable.

"I wish for you to hold onto it until I am ready."

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana stopped for a second, staring at the precious object. She had absolutely no idea what to do at that moment. She knew what the object was of course, a Krayt Dragon pearl. The white sphere was almost as rare as seeing an exogorth out in the galaxy, that was to say one almost never saw them. The pearl alone was worth more than anything Diana had ever owned, possible more than everything she had ever owned combined. She stared at it, and then gently took it into the palm of her hand.

It was a precious thing, and she would keep it safe for him at all times. She assumed it had some sort of meaning to him, much like her own lightsabers held meaning to her.

“I will keep it safe for you at all times.” Diana said before slowly slipping it into a pouch at her hips, making sure to place it gently into the small bag. Then from her back she pulled a lightsaber for him to inspect. “Many Jedi like to customize their own lightsabers, More than just the crystal I mean. Mine are made of the carapace of an Energy Spider, a massive arachnid that can be found on my home world, Kiffu.”

She handed the hilt to him with the emitter towards herself, a sign of respect. The hilt itself was curved harshly, with small spikes sticking up throughout the spin of the weapon. These spikes would have dug into Diana's hand if she gripped too tightly, a thing that was there on purpose.

Other than the small spikes the curved hilt looked almost like pone, a large sharp edge protruding from the end of the hilt itself with a central button near the emitter, one could tell Diana had taken hours to carve intricate Kiffar designs into the hilt, flowing edges moved throughout the carapace like waves in an ocean. “The Crystals in mind aren't special, but each of the hilts was gathered for me by my father.”

She smiled at Preacher, clearly remembering the gift fondly.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The reverence with which she handled the pearl told him all he needed to know about it's safety in her hands. He knew nothing of her, but the simple awe with which she took it into her grip was, well, reassuring. He had another, of course, the dragon had four of them in its gullet. Two had gone to his partner, the other two were his to keep.

He'd never quite known what to do with them now.

But he still had the scars from the Raiders who'd thought to poach his prize. A source of pride, really. Taking a grip on her saber, not having to worry about the spikes, he turned it over in his hand, smiling faintly. "You'll need to explain to me what some of these things mean to me, sometime. I love learning about different cultures."

It was something of a guilty pleasure of his. Cultures were just absolutely fascinating in both their similarities and differences and how sometimes the only thing that separated one from the other was what kind of fruit they preferred. Funny how species worked. He handled her weapon with respect, always mindful to keep the emitter from pointing at her.

After a moment or two, he flipped it in his hand and handed it back with a bow of his head. "Lightsabers are elegant weapons, although I find I prefer the weight of a rifle."

"If you could find a way to get me to my room, I would appreciate it. I feel sleep coming on."

 

[Cedric Dorn]

Diana smiled and took the lightaber back, slipping it into the harness. The spikes were of course on the weapon for a purpose, they were there to remind Diana never to get too angry in a fight, to always approach things with a gentle touch. If she gripped the lightsabers as they were meant to be gripped, gently almost resting within ones palm then she was fine. If she gripped the lightsaber tightly however in a rage then the spikes would dig into her.

They were a symbol to her, a way to keep her anger in check even during the worst times in combat.

“Of course!” Diana said with a smile as she whirled around and began to head towards where the residential zone of the Temple was. The walk was not far of course, the hangar they had landed in was a private one, not used by anyone other than the Jedi.

Quickly they arrived at one of the rooms, Diana simply keyed in a command on the door and it slid open. She smiled slightly and waved to Preacher to go inside. “There's no locks on the door's im afraid, Jedi Thing. You'll find everything you need however. Refresher, sink, water, a little bit of food. There's a data terminal in here too if you want to do some reading. It should also have a map of the Temple in case you want to find anything.”

She smiled at him, pointing at most of the things she spoke of. Then after she finished her brief summary of things She simply left the room.

“Tomorrow your training will begin, meet me in training room 24c at 0600. The terminal should have a map for you.” With that little chirp Diana walked off down the hallway, seeking out her own rooms.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The man gave the woman a simple nod and moved into the room, settling himself onto the bed for a moment or two before nodding to himself. This was his new home, this was his new life. Could be worse.

Could be dead.

"Tomorrow." He says in lieu of goodbye.