A Silver Crystal Gathering (SJO only)

[WelshGuy]

It had been decided by Yuroic that it was time for another opportunity for the Silver Jedi Order Padawans to have a chance at locating their Lightsaber crystals. The last hunt had been a while and it was good to have the Padawans go together and venture into the caves together or with their Masters. He had been with his love, Jairdain, during his expedition years ago, it was adventure that finally allowed him to feel love and let someone in when he had been distant and refused to admit his feelings before. For now, Yuroic stretched as he looked around the group. It had been decided that Spintir would be a good location for a crystal hunt, it was a little dangerous with the ice wolves and the Dark Side was present in the cave. However, with the Sith encroaching on their borders and the recent conflicts with the Sith, Yuroic thought it would be good training for the Padawans to face the Dark Side in order to gain their Lightsaber crystals.

Smiling to the Padawans and some of their Masters who had joined them, Yuroic stood not too far away from the cave entrance. "Welcome Padawans, and Masters, this is an exciting time in a young Jedi's life. A chance to have a real Lightsaber and begin the path of the Jedi in earnest. A Jedi's Lightsaber is their life, it is a tool of the Jedi in order to keep the galaxy safe. However, I am sure that most of you, if not all of you, have already heard about the importance of the Jedi's Lightsaber, so to make things brief, we shall move onto what will happen today. Today, you will enter this cave in search for your crystal, it will call out to you. Once you have found the one that is connected to you through the Force then your journey in the cave is complete. After everyone has their crystal, we shall construct your Lightsabers so that you will have the Lightsaber ready to join the Jedi ranks in full." Yuroic smiled as he stood aside to let the Padawans explore the cave in their own time.

 

[Ura Iolar]

Ura stood there, her body seeming to be constantly shifting, though still holding its basic form. It was kind of weird, a Lervon being excited to get something that could very... very... very easily kill her, but she really was. She looked over to her master, [member="Josh Dragonsflame"] , as she fiddled around and tried her hardest to pay attention to [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] . The crystal would call out to her? Interesting. There was still a lot she had to learn about about the Force, but Ura felt ready for this. At least until Yuroic stepped aside. She used the telepathy Josh had taught her, and sounded worried.

"Am I ready for this?"

 

[Reggie Faayare]

Despite having his own lightsaber, Reggie had decided to join the others in getting a kyber. He wanted to take this opportunity to make a spare lightsaber which would serve to further his knowledge because of the type and to have one that would serve for a different purpose. The Padawan was happy to see that [member="Ura Iolar"] and both of the Padawan's Master would be joining him. When he had obtained his first kyber crystal, he didn't know the people he was with very well, not yet at least.

One thing did worry Reggie though. Last time, he encountered the darkside and didn't have a pleasant time. It brought up a fear that he had, and now he couldn't help but think that the same thing would happen. His fears were different from back then, especially with everything that's happened lately. Could he handle those fears being used against him this time? Well, he'd find out soon if he encounters the darkside in this cave.

When Yuroic stepped aside to let the Padawans enter, Reggie nodded towards Ura and Master Dragonsflame, and started to walk inside.

 

[Kaili Brand]

Kaili shifted uncomfortably from his place within the group, not really making eye contact with anyone. More than a few had heard about his...what in their minds was questionable attitude back on Wayland. While normally he'd not really care about such things...even Reggie seemed...well not angry. The Padawan couldn't recall ever seeing the Tatoonine native anything other than slightly miffed. In so far, Reggie's range of emotion seemed to extend to 'fluffy attention starved Loth Cat' to 'Mildly inconvenienced'. But they'd not spoken since Wayland. Not even for the customary grunt of acknowledgement while passing the halls as was Kaili's normal way of interacting with the other Padawans (or Masters for that matter) that noticed him in the halls.

Some of the other Paddies had elected to avoid him, and he was happy with that. At the best of times Kaili was basically a non-entity in training, preferring to read or tinker on his own and leave the bizarre space magic to the others. But something was starting to dawn on him as he lurked at the back of the group, eyes passing over the other students as their masters. He...felt remarkably isolated in the order. And while it would be easier to blame everything on the Jedi being certifiable nut jobs (atleast to those of the galaxy who wished to live long happy not being shot at on a daily basis lives), He...had to admit that maybe he wasn't exactly the easiest to speak with.

Putting the introspection aside for the moment, Kaili WAS excited for this trip. Less so for the crystal than the actual lightsaber construction. He'd spent weeks gathering tools and parts, reading up on the schematics (what few there were, with the Jedi's propensity for 'wholly unique' weapons it was harder than you'd think) and fiddling with the training sabers back home. He'd even snuck a few (innocently pilfered) high end diagnostic tools for optimizing the containment field. The ship engineers back at the rest probably weren't missing them...Ok they were. Someone had kicked up a stink about it. But he'd return them....eventually.

But first, there was something that he felt he probably should have already known. "Er...Master Xeraic?" He said raising his hand, flushing from beneath his hood for looking like a child in a classroom. "Couldn't we just...grab any old crystal? They're just a focusing lens after all. And...how are we exactly supposed to know which crystals is ours?" He asked, scrunching up his face a little in confusion. "...I mean they're rocks. Rocks don't talk....Typically. But I'm sure they're very pleasant to speak to when they do?!" He added, eyes quickly darting over to Ura for a moment and hoping he hadn't offended them in some way. It was hard to tell from the bottom on the hole he just dug himself into.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Padawan Kaili."

A calm, soft yet firm voice sounded from behind him as a large hand landed on the shoulder of the outspoken Padawan. "You could. But there is a practical benefit to picking the crystal that calls out to your Force Signature" He pointed out, simultaneously telling them just how they would know. "The crystal that calls to you is the one that will compliment you best. It will make the blade more comfortable to hold, and it will be easier to keep your focus on a blade with a signature similar to your own. Not to mention, easier to find if you lose it."

Giving a nod to his Padawans [member="Reggie Faayare"] and [member="Ura Iolar"] to indicate they should be listening in case they didn't know this already (Though he figured at least Reggie knew already since this was his second time) he looked back to the loud Padawan. And then he smiled.

"If you would prefer to practice laziness and carelessness over what will benefit you most though... Well, that's your call. But we're not leaving until everyone is ready to, so you might as well take your time and pick the right one. It would be a better use of your time than disrespecting Master Xeraic, after all."

As he removed his hand from the Padawan's shoulder, he would stride forward to catch up with the others. Was that a stern lecture? Perhaps it was, but it was delivered so calmly and without malice that it might be hard to tell for some. Yet while his tone was gentle, his grip was not so much. He had decided to be subtle, not wanting to humiliate the Padawan in front of his peers. But also while delivering a reminder that he was being rude to a Master.

 

[Kiani Daut]

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"], [member="Kaili Brand"], [member="Reggie Faayare"], [member="Ura Iolar"], [member="Yuroic Xeraic"].

Kiani sauntered leisurely behind Master Dragonsflame, she wore earthly coloured robes spun in a charcoal and beige hue classic attire for a Jedi. A pair of Padawan braids hung from neatly combed brunette hair and two lightsabers hung from a pouched belt wrapped tightly around waist. Looking to the left offering a nod to Padawan Faayare and then over right towards Iolar, Daut spoke in a cool intonation making a conscious disciplined effort to avoid appearing vain or arrogant in her speech."From my experience constructing lightsabers, not every single crystal you encounter shall to attune with you. I attuned with mine through mediation and then reached communion, it'll come to represent you in its' appearance and presence" Kiani's smile was faint, studying Kaili the girl's innocence reminded Kiani of herself in years long passed before war and turmoil indelibly stained her soul.

A palm is placed over breast and Kiani offers a noble curt dip of head towards Kaili "Do not despair, trust in the force." Kiani's eyes now turned to the cave's soil and root covered walls and the myriad of white glowing spires that sprouted from its' canvas, they sung a happy harmonious tune that sounded not unlike a hollow chime. It sent warm pleasant tingles down along the skin of spine. "How long has it been since you constructed your first lightsaber Master Dragonsflame?" Padawan Daut queried the senior Jedi Master, she was rather awed and inspired by the presence of two so highly experienced and esteemed Masters of the Silver Jedi Order. Kiani still waiting to complete all of her trials was obviously interested to hear about the man's personal experience with lightsaber construction as a Padawan, suspecting that everyone had struggles with the important step in the life of a Jedi and that the uninitiated Padawans within the caves might find inspiration in hearing a Master's humble beginnings.

 

[Kaili Brand]

Kaili glared daggers at 'Master' Dragonsflame's retreating form, not really caring if the jedi could sense his annoyance or not. He was NOT lazy. He'd probably worked shifts under his siblings that would leave that arrogant old pretty boy weeping. "Teaching is difficult." He grumbled, throwing the old Jedi proverb back in the mans face. If it could be used when dealing with difficult students, then Kaili saw no reason not to vice the versa.

He bit back the rest of his anger as Kaini broke into her own explanation. It was...perhaps more flowery than Kaili would have liked, but atleast she seemed earnest. Though part of him wondered if she'd ascribe such poetry to the power cells or the insulation of a saber as she would the crystal. "Alright...fancy rock mandatory." He said defeated, accepting that he was probably in for some force shenanigans today. He remembered reading somewhere that sith (and more rarely Jedi) were once believed to have grown their saber crystals. He was starting to wish he'd fact checked that a little harder right about now.

He stared into the cave as Kiani asked Dragonsflame about his first saber, ignoring the banter in favor of opening himself up to the force. It felt awkward as it always had. A few ambient emotions flitting into his brain from the rest of the group that he pushed out as soon as they so much as grazed his grey matter, but beyond that it was just the usual noise and alien sensations. He failed to get anything he felt was useful information about the cave, so he abandoned the task. There would be time for that inside.

Instead he turned his mental attention to the group, deciding that a little practice with sensing his surroundings before the trial began properly. Reggie was still a fluffy ball of light, which he had expected. Ura felt like warm....sand. Coarse and rough and getting everywhere. He idly wondered if it was because of something about her personality or just a function of biology. Kaini was the oddest of the three. Reggie and Ura had a distinct texture to him, but Kaini? Kaini had no real texture to her. It was more like he could /smell/ her through the force; like an old paper book that had been left in a box of dried fruit. It was a nice change of pace, but he didn't examine her for too long. Smelling someone through the force was, as far as he was concerned, about as creepy as just going up and taking a whiff outside of it.

The masters were in a league all their own though. He had to focus to get a sense of his fellow padawans, but those two practically dominated the space with their presence. Yuroic was like a dense fog after a rain on Kashyyyk, the scent of a thousand microscopic creatures coming alive on dead wood in the presence of life giving water accompanied by pale shifting air. Dragonsflame was bantha leavings. That wasn't at all what he felt like, but Kaili was not going to put in the mental effort to try and put a name to the sensation he was feeling off of the man. So until further notice, as far as Kaili was concerned, Dragonsflame would be mentally filed away as feeling like Bantha scat.

 

[WelshGuy]

[member="Ura Iolar"] [member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Kiani Daut"] [member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

Yuroic looked around at the Padawans eager, some less so than others, Josh had joined his Padawans to help them go on the journey. Kaili had posed an interesting question, why did they have to choose the right crystal? While he didn't phrase the questions best it was still a valid question. "As Master DragonsFlame stated, one being connected to you through the Force is crucial. A Jedi's life goes into their Lightsaber, the care that one takes in forging and maintaining their Lightsaber. It is a bond that can only be forged between two things connected together in the Force. While it is possible to meditate and bond with a crystal, that also takes time and can be a much longer process, generally Padawans find a crystal that calls to them, a crystal that chooses them."

Crossing his arms, he could feel the anger and resentment Kaili held towards Josh, it was unhealthy and dangerous for someone so young to resort to those feelings. While Josh might have been a bit harsher than Yuroic would have gone, he was still a Jedi Master with years of experience. "So, enter the cave, listen with your ears but more importantly your heart and mind. The crystal won't call to you necessarily in the traditional way. You could experience visions, face creatures that could make your trial tough, even pushed physically to find your crystal. This task is difficult for Padawans, but it needs to be. Life is difficult and we are Jedi, we need to show that we can handle whatever is thrown at us. More importantly, do it with the calm and positive presence that we need to demonstrate to the galaxy at large." His last sentence pointed at Kaili, he needed the Padawan to understand that his emotions were clear and needed to controlled.

 

[Ura Iolar]

Ura listed carefully to what [member="Josh Dragonsflame"] told her fellow padawan, [member="Kaili Brand"] . She looked at [member="Reggie Faayare"] for a moment. The Lervon understood how important it was to actually choose a crystal. Like choosing a spouse (especially with a lifespan of up to 1000 years). She thought to herself for a moment, then looked at the cave. She then heard Josh say they weren't leaving until everyone was ready.

"I'm ready, Master." She was ready to enter the cave, but could see that Kaili was focusing on her. Hard to hid the Force from anyone with Force Sight as their primary vision. She tried to focus on finding her crystal, on trying to hear anything. She couldn't sense anything though. See any sort of trail in the Force. Hear any calling. Feel anything. She closed her eyes, trying to think of anything. She focused in, but some annoyance in her from not having any initial luck.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Kiani Daut"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh knew full well that he had infuriated the Padawan. It was written all over his face, and in his presence. Sure, perhaps he had been a little harsh and maybe he needed to learn from that himself. But he wanted the boy to understand that while it was fine to have questions, this wasn’t the way to go about them. He hoped he would understand that someday. And perhaps forgive him if he had been too rough, he thought as he listened to Yuroic give a calmer continuation of his lesson. He had no intention of making them mad, though he did not regret stepping in. Josh was so used to dealing with extremist, actively acting out students who had ended up needing a stricter hand, that perhaps this had been force of habit. A habit he would hopefully break in time.

He gave Yuroic a short, grateful nod as another Padawan would inquire about the first time he had come here. Giving the newcomer a gentle smile, he thought about it a moment. “Oh man, that had to be at least a decade ago” He admitted with a small, jolly laugh. “My Master wouldn’t accompany me, so I had to enlist the aid of Master Jaxson Ravos. I’m glad he came, and his presence makes me grateful that the Silver Jedi are so adamant about organizing these things with Padawans now. There are so many strong presences, uncontrolled in these caves. They radiate, they flow, they move, they’re… Alive. Without the tempering and control that Jedi typically practice. For a Padawan, it can be overwhelming” He regaled to them, keeping his voice high enough for the other Padawans to listen if they wished. He had decided to make his story a lesson.

“That’s why it’s important for you to know that there is no shame in relying on the Masters accompanying you if things get too much. Nobody will reasonably judge you if you ask for aid. I make a point to always go with my Padawans when they make the trek for their crystal. I want them to know that I’m there to support them. If they need an arm, a hand, a shoulder… Someone to talk them through it, it is my duty to be that support for them. And that extends to this trip as well, if you and the others need it. If you need us… Master Xeraic and I are here. This place is wonderful, yet it can also be terrifying. For one with a Jedi’s senses especially.”

He thought of something he might have been missing. “I also recall the signatures attracting monsters when I came. Old man was a nice support system until it showed up. He threw me to the wolves then” He admitted with a small laugh. “I guess he figured I could handle it. Which I could. But I think he would have stepped in if I couldn’t.”

Not that he or Yuroic had any intention of throwing them to the wolves. If the Padawans did not want to fight something that came along, he was sure Yuroic would happily join him in dealing with it.

 

[Kiani Daut]

[member="Josh Dragonsflame"], [member="Kaili Brand"], [member="Reggie Faayare"], [member="Ura Iolar"], [member="Yuroic Xeraic"].

Kiani smiled knowingly towards Master Dragonsflame as he begun to explain that trial that all Padawans must undertake before having a hope of becoming a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. "Listening to the will of the living force so concentrated within Khyber caves can be daunting." Wisdom and knowledge was spoken by the smooth and youthful scholarl's lips with her Padawan braids additionally giving a nod in agreement while looking towards Dragonsflame with thoughtful and attentive pursing of eye-sockets. "I too came to aid my peers in their endeavors to construct a lightsaber." Listening to Master Dragonsflame conclude his rather interesting tale about how his own Master enjoyed placing him into challenging environments, Kiani smiles again and comments. "I hope you took it well, I think I would remind my Master of the rough nature of the instruction and a perceived lack of fairness on my part." It was followed by an unattractively wet and nasally rockslide of a chuckle.

Studying Kaili again Kiani concluded the man looked sullen in an almost infantile sulking sort of way and steadied her walking pace until they strode abreast through the cave's rocky crystal-lit passages. "What was your name, Padawan? I didn't catch it earlier." Reaching across the distance between them, Kiani with her peculiar accented voice extended an open hand towards Kaili held roughly waist height for the man to take. "I'm Padawan Daut, but you can call me 'Ani' formerly of the Galactic Republic before the One Sith toppled it." And there in that one sentence Kiani revealed their origin in conversation as belonging to those Jedi who had chosen to affiliate themselves with that government whose history stretched back centuries. One might note on a closer examination of the details on Kiani's face that she could be considered older than most Padawans most of whom at the age of twenty-one had become fully-fledged Knights while Kaili might now note she didn't possess the title their poetry and outward wisdom fooled others into believing otherwise.

 

[Kaili Brand]

@[member='Kiani Daut']

"My status as Padawan is grossly over exaggerated..." Kaili huffed as he and Kiani pressed into the cave mouth, footsteps echoing off the floor and reverberating on the walls. "It'd be more accurate just to say I live with...around the jedi. The order helped me get off my home planet Axxila. It is...was part of the Mandalorian Empire before the Sith toppled them. So...yeah. You can drop the Padawan title. It's more a relationship of convenience at the moment." He said, waving a four fingered hand (Sans pinkey finger) vaguely as they came to a fork in the tunnel. Kaili kept to the path Kaini followed, not really feeling anything and seeing no reason to drop the conversation partner for now. The alternative was to head back and start speaking with Reggie, and THAT was a conversation he was keen on avoiding at the moment.

"As for a name...It's Kaili Brand." He said, tentatively shaking her hand and then quickly retracting as if he'd been burned. If her age registered in Kaili's mind, it didn't seem to bother him. He'd been eighteen for only a month by the time he was told he was force sensitive, someone still a Padawan in their young twenties was his norm at this point.

He continued in silence for a while longer, letting Kaini talk if she wanted but given only the occasional grunt in response. He'd not felt anything tug at his sense while they did so, beyond whatever Kaini deigned to voice. And while he'd seen a few crystals poking out of the walls, none had really matched what he'd heard Kyhber crystals to look like.

He gave a defeated sigh, stopping mid stride as he rubbed the back of his head. "Looks like this place is a bust..." He grumbled, skulking over to a near by wall and leaning against it. "We should take a quick rest before heading back. Tell the Jedi their mystic cave of wonders has lit its last saberrrrrAGGH-"

His voice grew slightly panicked as the wall he leaned against gave way beneath him, sending him falling rear over tea kettle along a steep slope of stone. He slide for a few good seconds, occasionally bouncing off a rock and earning more than a few bruises. He slammed into a shallow puddle at the bottom, coughing water out as he laid in a small heap. "I'm okay!" He called up after his voice returned to him, feeling along his belt loop his training saber.

Pale yellow light filled the chamber as he examined his surroundings. "Well...I wouldn't recommend the way down..." He yelled up, examining the pool and noticing more than a few splintered stones jutting up. He'd been lucky not to have hit any of those or he'd have been dead for sure. The slope back up was a bust as well. "Looks like water's was coming down along that wall. It's probably what weakened the stone I fell through. Wore down a natural slide too. Too slick and steep to climb. You go on ahead I'll find another way out. Send for help if I don't come back up ok?" He said, slowly stumbling from the water and making his way deeper into the cave.

The yellow light of the training saber did not illuminate the cave as much as Kaili would have liked. It was serviceable, to be sure, but it was hardly a torch. He circled about the chamber for a few minutes, running his hand along the wall feeling for gaps before finally stumbling onto one large enough to crawl through. Part of him remebered reading somewhere that if you were trapped in a cave that entering random holes was incredibly poor decision making. Toxic gases, pinch points, unseen drops to name a few of the dangers that awaited a blind spelunker.

Part of him had to wonder, despite the situation, what some poor insurance agent would think about this if he ever had coverage. Probably have an aneurysm followed by a lot of shouting. "Like any insurance company would cover jedi...or sith...actually sith would be better." He grumbled as he pushed through. "Have to. What with all the cybernetics they run around with....wonder if its a state insurance plan or something." He grunted, squeezing his body into a tight narrow point of the passage. "Yes Hello I'm Darth Carnifex. It seems I sneezed and cut my wally off while having a lightsaber duel. Am I covered? Why yes your eminence. We've got a fine selection of replacements available for you. All in gunmetal black and red of course!"

He was rambling, he knew it full well. But down here it wasn't like there was much to do beside that. He'd been hoping to the make this whole excursion quick. Pop in, get a crystal from the first formation, pop out. Quick and easy like back home. "I should have never left Axxila..." He huffed, his hand reaching forward into the dark and finally finding an exit. His fingers ran across oddly smooth stone but he dismissed it, writing it off as just another artifact of erosion like the slope that had brought him down here.

He stepped out onto the streets of Axxila, examining the carbon filter in his hand indifferently. Though no light sunk down to this deep in the undercity he could tell it was still early. Various store fronts where shuttered tight, what few that could afford it even going so far as to activate commercially available shields to deter break ins. Not a bad option so long as the power held up.

He clipped the filter to his belt, dusting himself off from the dust that laid in the vent behind him. He'd have to make a stop by Bodo's to sell this off before the Sith roused for the morning to make their patrols. The new administration was not so fond of sewer rats scurrying off with whatever bits and bobs that they didn't nail down on their new infrastructure. But if they didn't want it stolen they could have done a better job of keeping it safe. Plus if he was quick, he could avoid seeing Lien.

Kaili pulled his hood up, swiftly stepping out from the alley and making his way further into the Undercity as it slowly came to life for the day. The stench of cheap Caf wafting through the air as various peddlers wheeled out their carts of fried morning foods for the hungry folk who had the credits to spare. Kaili was having none of it and quickly picked up his pace to out run the temptation. Nutrient bars were tasteless, but they fit the budget nicely and let him save enough back. He needed it.

It'd been a few months since the Sith take over and things had, as he was discovering with the Sith, escalated quickly. The iron fist of the Empire had dropped on the Undercity like a Rancor, attempting to quell the rampant theft problem that had plagued the City world for generations. Selectively, mind you. Sure muggings were as common as they'd always been, but now the economy revolving around the various life support systems (namely stealing parts and reselling them back to the Government) was at its lowest point in generations. Say what you would about the Sith Empire, they kept the lights on. Even if it was only because THEY were the ones inconvenienced by it all.

Most of the best scavengers had left ages ago, knowing full well that the boom was done and it was time to make to greener less stabby pastures. Kaili would have gone with them, had he the credits at the time. But if Bodo didn't cheat him, that wouldn't be the case much longer. Kaili climbed into the public transit lift, keeping the carbon filter close to his body, eyeing his fellow passengers who returned the favor in kind. There was no real malice on any parties end, it was just good sense to keep an eye out down here. If you didn't and someone snatched something off you, that was your fault.

The streets of the Uppercity were more lively than below. Natural sun in lieu of ancient street illuminator arrays and the occasional holosign tended to make being an early riser a far less taxing task he guessed. He pulled his hood up swiftly and made friends with the tips of his shoes as he spied a patrol of Sith troopers, their blue grey armor shining primly in the warm light. Were it not for a few chance glances of how they behaved a few levels down, Kaili almost would have thought them friendly looking. They certainly acted the part, one trooper talking with a rather flustered looking older woman and apparently attempting to provide directions.

Kaili took the distraction for what it was, quickly ducking into the crowd of people hurriedly making their various ways. While he was sure the troopers had their heads on swivels he wasn't one to look a gift geriatric in the mouth. Here, in the depths of the crowd, his tattered clothing and obvious lack of bathing habits would only offend the people WITHOUT blasters.

It took a solid half hour to make his way to the space port and another twenty minutes to bypass the security check points, not wanting to risk his valuable cargo. Bodo's place was a parts shop for star ships, about as derelict as the ships he'd service. The whole placed reeked of rust and spent oil. Most folks avoided it like the plague. It didn't exactly scream 'reputable vendor', no matter how much the neon lights on its exterior exposed his credentials as being fully certified and bonded. Kaili was pretty sure Bodo had never even SEEN the requirements for either of those things much less that it was the honest truth. But his credits were good, and at this point, he was about the last buyer that Kaili knew, largely because he had eschewed the internal trade troubles entirely by only selling to traders desperate enough to get out of sith space as quick as possible, no matter what it cost them in repairs.

"Kaili, my boy!" A boistrous and unfamiliar human shouted from behind the counter as Kaili stepped in. Kaili stared at the man for a second, shaking the confusion from his mind. Bodo...he had been a Nautolan before...hadn't he? He tried to rummage through his brain for the familiar image of the green skinned plump man, but all things Bodo were overridden with the svelte middle aged blonde grey haired man sitting before him.

"Kaili...you got my part lad?" The false Bodo said, tearing the young man from his thoughts. "Right...yeah. Here...wait." Kaili started before settling a hard glare on the man. "Credits first. That was the deal." The false Bodo gasps dramatically, throwing his arms over his face and emits a small wail of shock. "Brand! You wound Bodo. I would never short a supplier like that! I am a man of principle! Honor! Have I ever done you or your siblings wrong?"

Kaili kept his gaze cold on the man, making no move to give up the filter. "Bodo" maintained his injured look for a moment before sighing, sliding the credits over the table. Kaili placed the filter on the table, not taking his hand off the wretched thing until he counted the credits twice before releasing it and snatching them up and shoving them into his waiting pockets. "Bah. Kids these days..." Bodo huffed, looking the filter over and humming as he appreciated its quality. "No respect for hustlers. Speaking of...Lien came by the other day..."

Kaili frowned, feeling a knot growing in his gut at the mention of his older brother. "And I should care?" He practically hissed, Bodo nearly jumping at the sound. "Easy kiddo! No need to bite my arm off. He just asked if I'd seen Tol'tra or you in the last few days..." There was a pause as the man's lips lifted ever so slightly. "Also asked to borrow some credits. Said you'd co-"

"Lien's a junkie. He says whatever he needs to. Beat the money out of him....Or should I let someone know you've been loan sharking on the side?" Kaili said brusquely, cutting Bodo off. Damn Lien. If he could take a break from the spice for two minutes he might remember Tol'tra got picked up by the Sith MONTHS ago.

Bodo, for his part, scowled at Kaili; clearly infuriated at having been caught and denied a chance to swindle him twice in a row. Severed him right. Reputation in their circles was everything and Bodo's was rock bottom was it stood. He should have known better than to try and get into a business that other much bigger fish owned and claimed exclusive rights over.

If Kaili had any intention of staying, he'd have considered it a risky move. Bodo wasn't exactly a Hutt, but he knew enough folks who would happily beat credits out of a scavenger on the cheap. But Kaili wasn't interested in being the mans debt slave, and with this payment he finally had enough. He knew it. Bodo knew it. And there was not a thing the old sack of Hutt dripping could do about it.

"Fine..FINE." Bodo huffed, throwing his hands in the air, clearly not interested in pulling teeth today. "But know that if he can't pay, I'll crack the little womp rat's head open like a melon." He growled, glaring daggers at Kaili. 'Not my problem Bodo." Kaili said weakly, feeling the knot in his stomach tighten considerably. He pushed the feeling out, deciding it was best ignored. Lien was practically dead anyway, as far as Kaili was concerned. He could probably sleep just fine at night knowing he probably just signed his death warrant. ...probably.

"Well...you got your creds. Now get out. You're stinking up my shop." Bodo hissed, waving a hand dismissively as he gestured to the door. Kaili nodded, deciding that their business arrangement was now decidedly finished. "...Brand....you better hope that smugglers words good. Cause if it aint and you come back to my shop?" Bodo started as Kaili reached for the door controls. "I'm gonna kill you for talkin' to me like that."

Kaili felt his anger surge in his gut, the urge to wheel around and shout the man down or, better yet, take the threat for what it was and END the man burning like a fire in his head. Instead he bit his lip and slammed the door controls open, stomping out into the streets. Let him have the last word. It wouldn't matter in a few hours. And if it did?

....well, Bodo would probably have to wait in line for his chance to kill him anyway.

END PART 1/2

 

[Ura Iolar]

Ura walked further into the cave, looking around. She still couldn't keep all these paths she was seeing. She couldn't hear anything. All she kept seeing was more and more paths. It was like the Force wasn't helping her. The Lervon just sighed, walking further in. And then in happened. It was like a massive amount of Force energy flooded her vision at once. Her eyes shut as she took a step back, yelling out as she did. She tried to open them again, only to again be met by a blinding level of Force. She couldn't.... It was like she had someone using a constant stream of Force Flash on her. She finally just sat down, not able to handle what was going on. She looked around, kinda fruitlessly, to see if anyone was there. Not her best idea.

"I... I can't see. There too much...." How was she supposed to find her saber crystal when she couldn't see anything!? She couldn't hear or feel the Force leading her any specific way. All she had were the paths in her vision and even now that was gone. There was just... there was too much! It was like walking into a Force Nexus. The raw power that was keeping her from seeing. Poodoo! Had anyone had to deal with this before? She... she couldn't see where she was going. What if she grabbed the wrong crystal because of this? No. she'd find the right one, but by the Force why was she being blinded!?

[member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Kiani Daut"] [member="Josh Dragonsflame"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Reggie Faayare"]

 

[Reggie Faayare]

Reggie was making his way through the caves without any real idea of where he was. It just seemed like he kept moving deeper into the cave without finding anything or anyone. Well, that was until now. The Padawan encountered a wolf that stared at him like they had found their next meal, growling as they moved towards him.

He brought his hands up quickly to try and push the wolf back with the force and give him a chance to run, but he hesitated, which allowed the wolf to make their attack first. The Padawan was tackled to the ground and would have gotten his face bitten off if he hadn't brought his arm up to shield himself. The wolf bit into his arm, a grunt of pain coming from the Padawan. This shouldn't be a problem for him considering what he's faced before but here he was, at the mercy of a wolf.

Reggie was able to kick the wolf off of him and temporally stunned the wolf with a force ability he learned some time ago. It wasn't as effective as force stasis, but it was easier to use. With that, the Padawan ran through the cave so je wouldn't have to face the animal when it regained it's senses. He didn't want to kill it, so running seemed to be the best option.

When Reggie took some time to rest, so he decided to tend to his bleeding arm. It hurt and was bleeding quite a bit, but it wasn't anything he couldn't fix up with the force. At least, he could heal up most of the wound. While he was doing that, he thought he heard something calling him in another part of the cave. Of course, the Padawan followed the call out of curiosity. He regretted doing so as soon as he turned a corner, revealing an unsettling view.

In front of Reggie were corpses of people he knew and cared about. There were all sorts of people he knew, lying on the ground, lifeless. Those he hadn't seen in years, such as Lasky and Firestorm. Those he had met recently, such as Acaadi and Kyra. Those he's trained with, such as Kaili and Ura(or at least he assumed was Ura considering the sand and broken crystals). His first Master, Jessica Matthews. Jardain and Seo, two people who weren't his longtime teachers but have taught him much and were very dear to the Padawan. His current and long term Master, Josh Dragonsflame. And the two people that struck his heart most when he saw their bodies: his parents.

Even though he was telling himself this was a trick, Reggie started to panic. "This isn't real, it'sjust an illusion." the Padawan started to breath, calming his mind. "Maybe not, but what does this say about yourself?" Reggie turned to face an enemy he came in contact with on Wayland. Darth Voyance. Even if this was all in his head, the fear he felt was real, the sickening feeling of the darkside radiating off the illusion Voyance. "Your fear of losing those close to you, of being unable to protect them is very….amusing. How do you think you can protect anyone if you can't protect yourself from a measly wolf?" The illusion gestured towards his arm. All of this was in his head, right? So why was he feeling such dread? "You can't save them, nor the Silver Jedi. You can't even save yourself. You're a weak little child."

Reggie tried backing up as the illusion moved closer but was stopped by a wall. "I'm not a child anymore!" The Padawan noticed that his voice was different. He looked down and noticed that he was wearing different, but familiar clothes. He also seemed to have gotten shorter. He brought a hand to his forehead and noticed that he was wearing a headband. The same headband he wore when he first came to the order, when he used to be so afraid of the enemies the order faced that he didn't dare take them on. The time when he wanted to gain knowledge but was sometimes afraid to seek it out. He was the kid that didn't know what his true strengths were.

Illusion Voyance began to laugh and drew her lightsaber. "Are you sure you're not a child?" Reggie's heart was beating so fast that it threatened to leap from his throat. He was almost brought to tears, but then he remembered that Master Dragonsflame was waiting outside of the cave. He wouldn't cry and cower, not when his Master had helped him get away from the child he was all those years ago. No, not when Reggie grew and took steps to become the person he was now. Not while he was still striving to become the Jedi Knight he aspired to be.

With newfound fire in his chest, Reggie ran towards illusion Voyance, towards his fears. The illusion moved to strike and then…..nothing. Well, the Padawan tripped and fell to the ground face first when the illusion dissipated, but besides that, nothing. Reggie turned on his back and looked to see if illusion Voyance or the corpses were still there. They weren't. Then he checked to see if his body and attire were back to normal. Everything was how it was when he entered the cave. Reggie let out a sigh of relief.

 

[WelshGuy]

Yuroic stood at the entrance, he pushed some crates of Lightsaber parts into an area he was making into a makeshift workshop for today. It would be good to build their Lightsaber not long after getting the crystal, it was also another challenge that they would have to face, to build a Lightsaber meant showing dedication to the Force, discipline and patience. Yuroic guided things into position, as he looked around and remembered his first crystal hunt. It had been on Ilum, back in the days of the Iron Empire, back when the Silver Jedi were on Voss not Kashyyyk. Back when his Master was still alive, it felt odd remembering those days, it seemed that he would have better memory of them than he did of things that would happen more recently. Perhaps he was getting as old as Asaraa teased him for.

Stretching his body, Yuroic looked around the entrance and waited calmly, the Padawans had a tough task but he knew that the dangers they would face would only bring them a step closer to their chance of being a Jedi Knight. Sitting, Yuroic closed his eyes and meditated calmly, allowing the Force to flow through him as he waited. If he was needed to help someone then he would sense it but there shouldn't be any challenges that the Padawans couldn't overcome on their own.

[member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Ura Iolar"] [member="Kaili Brand"] [member="Kiani Daut"] [member="Josh Dragonsflame"]

 

[Kresslyn Cantor]

As the other Padawans in the group talked among themselves and asked questions to the few Masters present about what would be happening, Kresslyn already felt some sort of gravitation towards a certain area in the crystal cave. Ever since he had been introduced to lightsaber combat and the various forms of it a few weeks ago, he began thinking of when he'd be able to produce his own lightsaber instead of using a training saber. After hours and hours of reading through various history books, he finally came down to a very unorthodox and hybrid design.

A phase-shift saber with an extending hilt.

Though both were not very common among Jedi of the new and old, a Phase-Shift saber with the extending hilt paired with it would prove rather useful, ensuring that Kresslyn would always have something else up his sleeve. The saber could be used as a staff, pike, standard saber, and even change its own blade length. Due to Master Yuroic most likely not having the required parts for this, Kresslyn had brought his own parts in a rucksack he carried on his back.

As soon as they were dismissed, he navigated himself through the group of Padawans that were still somewhat scared of what would happen and entered the cave with haste. Almost immediately, strange things started happening.

When he walked towards where he felt the pull of a crystal coming from, he was surrounded by visions past, present, and future. To his left, he envisioned his family when they were young. His brother and sister sitting at the edges of the table and his mother and father coming to join them. To the middle, he envisioned himself after his Apprenticeship was complete exploring the galaxy on his own, only accompanied by a droid.

To the right....
Something he'd never even thought of. A future that might've been possible but he never thought of. He saw himself with a cloth wrapped around his face, indicating that he was blind. In his hand, he wielded the saber he envisioned but it had a scarlet, crackling blade. It was the alternate of the vision he had before. In this vision, he saw himself fighting Jedi. Even people he knew.

"This can't be possible..." he said to himself, pushing through the clouds and dismissing the vision.

Something grabbed his shoulder from behind and pulled at him. Immediately, he turned around and swept their legs from under them. It was some sort of creature he'd never seen before. It was bipedal and had long, sharp claws. After pushing it to the ground, he reached both of his hands out and forcefully pushed the creature into a chasm below. It howled.

Thud.

It hit the bottom.

"What.. what's happening?" he said "What could that be..?"

"Focus, Kress." he said to himself. "Focus."

Then, he simply continued on. He entered a naturally circular room and saw the crystal sitting in ice right before him.

"There it is.."

The gravitation was now hungering. He was moving towards it with haste but it felt as if he wasn't the one moving himself. As he reached the crystal, painful moans matched with grappling hands that grabbed his legs echoed. When he turned around, this time almost fearful, he saw his past. The bounty he'd done with the Black Sun... None of these faces were familiar, but he knew them.

He slaughtered them. As if they weren't even humans.

The bounty was easy for a reason. They were innocent people that he killed. He discarded them as if they never existed. The horrors of what he had done had finally caught up to him. He was a pawn in a grand scheme to steal spice. It was a horrible past that he'd long forgotten and put behind him.

"No! Stay away." he shouted, kicking the bodies of the formerly innocent people as they grabbed at his feet.

"Get back!" he said, fear now taking over him. But they were persistent. Very persistent.

"I said.. Get back!" he now screamed at the top of his lungs, reaching his hands out in an attempt to push them. But pushing them was the opposite. It wasn't a force push. It wasn't a pull. Not even an outburst.

The bodies began levitating off the ground around him, reaching up to their throats and gasping for the air that they no longer needed. He was strangling them with the force. A Force Choke, if you will. Suddenly, right when a normal human would pass out, the clouds that represented their bodies vanished. Into dust. Clouds that made the room pitch black only to be illuminated by the now pair of crystals glowing behind him. Both had a pale white hue to them. They were colorless. Kresslyn assumed now that these two signified his cleansing from his dark path. The Silver Jedi had converted him from what he used to be. Who he used to be. He was now a completely different person.

He fell to his knees before the crystals and held his hands up to his face, tears falling down and hitting the cold ice below. He would sit here for hours reminiscing upon what he did. Who he used to work with. The white saber would pay homage to those that he slaughtered. Discarded.

[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] |

 

[Ura Iolar]

Ura stumbled around, trying to find her way. Dang it! She couldn't see. How in the galaxy was she supposed find her saber crystal when she couldn't even see!? She ran into another cave wall, falling over and grunting. She growled before cursing the Lerdos. For the love of all that is good...! She.... No one seemed to be able to hear her.... She was alone, she couldn't see, and she was lost. How could she even get out of here!? Ura just sat, fear leeching off her. What was she going to do. The pilot was still just not able to find her way.

She tried to hear or feel anything, anything that felt like the Force, but there was nothing. It was like someone had silenced it. The only thing she could feel was the wind already in the cave. She... could she handle this? She was blinded. She wouldn't even know if she near the crystal. The Lervon punched at the ground, about ready to break down right there. She felt like she was going to be lost in those caves forever!

No.

She had to calm down, and think. Ura would find a way to get out of this. There had to be something. She still couldn't see. She couldn't hear or feel the Force. All she had was the wind of the cave. Maybe.... She didn't know. She was a pilot. She relied on sight. She couldn't now, and it was the only plan she had. Ura got up, slowly following the wind. She still wasn't too sure, but she was at least not constantly bumping into walls now. She kept moving, hoping to find something. The Lervon finally made her way... somewhere. And then she walked face first into a wall.

"Poodoo!" She pushed away slightly, feeling the wall. It was coated in crystals. She tried to look again, and still blinded. Then she felt one of crystals seem to break when she touched it. Ura tried to look again, and it was almost like the blinding energy was gone. She looked down, seeing a teal crystal resting in her hand. That had to be it right? It was glowing, and she could see now. This had to be it. Ura honestly didn't even know how long she had spent in the cave at this point. For all she knew everyone else was already done. Either way, she slowly made her way back, tucking the crystal into her arm.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

[member="Kiani Daut"] had come to aid their peers in finding their crystals. That made sense. Their language was a little overly formal, but he supposed if they had friends, that would...

Then they dropped that they had come from the Galactic Republic.

Josh stopped dead and turned to stare at them a moment, squinting in turn. The Galactic Republic... That was where he had come from. Where he had grown up. Where he had once been Grandmaster.

But that was years ago. Just how old was this Padawan? He stared at them, trying to gauge just how old they could be. Were they an alien race that lasted for hundreds of years? Maybe one of the younglings from the Republic that had grown up? There were a lot of possibilities. Ones he would have to question them on later. The time of the Galactic Republic that had fallen to the One Sith, partly due to their sudden force, as well as the corruption within the Republic and its Jedi Order itself... That felt like a lifetime ago. But he didn't have much time to think about it, as the Padawans had begun to head in.

Yuroic had begun setting up the tables, but Josh had disappeared not long after the Padawans had gone in. Instead of waiting outside when Yuroic was wholly capable of doing the set-up by himself, Josh had decided to veil himself within the White Current. From sight and from sense, he was invisible. But he could sense them, and he did everything he could to track their movements, their emotions, their feelings... Trying to gauge all that was going on. All seemed to be going through some form of turmoil, including his own Padawan [member="Reggie Faayare"].

But it was [member="Ura Iolar"] who he had followed.

While the Padawan would not be able to know he was there, he had decided to go with them. Ura was the least experienced between her and Reggie, and while he worried for Reggie, he could handle himself in this case he hoped. But for Ura, what he knew of their race... They needed the Force to see. And this whole cave was something when it came to the Force. He wasn't sure if they would be able to handle it, so he had decided to follow behind them. Out of sight and out of sense, but very much there. His purpose was to ensure that if they were left vulnerable and something attacked... He would be there to retrieve them. That was his job, and his purpose for being here.

If the other Padawans got in over their heads and needed support, he had already promised it earlier. But he waited a bit longer to see what Ura would do in her situation, gauging to see if his help was needed or not.

 

[Kaili Brand]

Smells blurred in Kaili's nostrils as he stepped into the ship hanger, the litany of stenches ranging from sweat to spent oil colliding in a mosaic of olfactory offense that it was almost physically painful. Kaili's nose wrinkled as he pressed further in. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. As rentable hangers went, this was pretty much the worst of the worst. But he supposed that for smugglers, this was as close to high end as they dared.

A ragged freighter squatted in the middle of the hanger, its hull decorated in once vibrant purples and oranges paints now muddied and dented to duller shades of blacks and greys. Across one side of its hull the words "The Pnumbra Gasket" were scrawled, though just as faded as the paint surrounding it. At the foot of its cargo ramp a hastily drawn together sign read "Help Wanted--Apply Inside" sat, the hand writing about as legible as the ships moniker.

Kaili had sincere doubts if anyone actually ever took the sign at face value. Or if they did they were remarkably gullible. "Are you here for the job posting as well?" Kaili's head shot to his left, eyes locking on to familiar blue eyes and a mop of tussled black hair. "R...Reggie? What-" Kaili started, his words being robbed from him as a white hot spike of pain shot through his brain, nearly doubling him over

"Woah woah woah easy mate....easy." The stranger said, catching Kaili by the shoulder though strategically stepping to the side in case his shoes were to become varnished in vomit. "You want some water? Look like you've seen a ghost." He says with an easy laugh, handing Kaili a bottle.

Kaili took the bottle hefting it upwards and draining its contents faster than he probably should have, letting it drown the nausea welling up in his stomach as he regarded the man. He was handsome, that much was to be sure, Kaili taking a moment to bite down on his tongue so a flush would not run to his face. But...nothing about him sat right with Kaili. He was familiar. Warm. And far too much of either of those things to just be a stranger.

"First Bodo...now Reggie..." He thought, ignoring the now smaller wave of pain that rushed through him at the name. Something was wrong. If it was just Bodo he'd not recognized, that would be one thing. Lack of sleep and nutrition bars were a dynamite combo for a variety of things. But psychically knowing the name of a person you never met before? Yeah. That was NOT one of them.

"Uh...hello?...You in there?" Reggie said, waving his hand in front of Kaili's face, causing the scavenger to flinch back a foot or two. Both out of habit and to get some distance from the confusing guy. "I'm fine. I'm not a malfunctioning droid. Waving your hands isn't a form of diagnostics..." Kaili grumbled, pulling his hood down over his eyes, letting his blindness ease the headache that just looking at his new friend gave him.

Reggie laughed easily, scratching the back of his head as a look of sheepishness rolled over his features. "Sorry. Sorry." He said between chortles. "You just kind of threw me off there. Knowing my name and what not..." He said, pausing for a moment before his eyes flashed giddily. "Oh wait. Are you uh...you know..."

"I am single yes." Kaili blurted, watching with some amusement as a rather rampant blush bloomed on Reggie. "F-force sensitive! Geez..." Reggie hissed, lowering his tone to a whisper. Kaili's good mood immediately soured, knowing all to well why Reggie had elected to be secretive with such a comment....well. As secretive as Reggie seemed to be able.

The Sith had needs and new recruits to their ranks was chief among them. Mostly because survival rates seemed to be impressively low among prospective acolytes, so testing anyone and everyone for force sensitivity had become the norm with a decent bounty for anyone who reported a new find. He'd made the mistake of taking Tol'tra to a clinic, hoping to get her system scrubbed of the spice. Thankfully, the troopers who came to collect her had deigned him only worthy of a swift rifle butt to the face and nothing more. Tol'tra....he hadn't heard anything from her. And didn't expect to.

"No. I'm about a sensitive as a brick wall." Kaili said firmly, locking eyes with Reggie once more and hitting him with a determined glare. Reggie, for his part, mostly seemed oblivious to the implication of the stare and continued. "But how did you...?" He asked letting the question hang in the air.

Kaili felt a small surge of panic as he racked his brain for an explanation. Failing to find a logical one, or indeed an illogical one, he opted for the next best thing. Blatant lying. "You did a buddy of mine a solid. Word gets around with things like that around here." He said, not really knowing if this Reggie was as prone to acts of philanthropy as he one he apparently knew. "Oh...Oooooh!" Reggie said, eyes widening for a moment before he burst into a grin. "Nah man, Lien just needed some creds for food. It's not a big deal or nothing." He laughed, thankfully to pleased with his good deed to notice as Kaili felt his stomach lurch again.

"So...think we'll get the job?" Reggie asked, shooting Kaili a grin. Kaili stared at his companion, not entirely sure if his companion was wholly serious. He held the stare for a moment before deciding that, yes indeed, Reggie WAS that naive. "Reggie...These people aren't offering you a job." He said simply, crossing his arms as his eyes scanned the entrance to the hanger. Leery of any potential on lookers. "They're smugglers...people smugglers...for people." He said, fairly certain that explained all that was needed for his friend.

"But the sign...Wait! Oh kriff are these guys slavers?!" He asked, a look of sudden worry spreading across his face as Kaili felt some small part of his respect die. Ok, so maybe THIS Reggie was more air headed. Kaili rubbed a hand across his face and attempted to massage away the forth coming headache. "No. They're not slavers. We pay THEM to get US smuggled out of the empire." He said, sighing.

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

Kaili stared out the view port at Axxila below, sagging against the sill as he let exhaustion wash over him. This Reggie (a concept which still made his brain splinter when he put too much thought into it) had proven exceptional in his inability to pick up on subtext. He'd been more than happy to join him in his escape, atleast once Kaili carefully explained why staying Axxila was liable to get him killed. Especially now that he knew of an active smuggler.

This Reggie...well, he didn't annoy him. He was sweet, offering to help him carry his bags (not that he had any) and striking up pleasant enough conversation whenever the lull of engine start up began to drown the two of them in awkward silence. But he was almost a parody of his...friend? The word felt wrong. For one, there wasn't another Reggie to compare him to, except there was. He just wasn't sure WHERE that particular ghost of a memory was coming from.

Frankly, he was glad when the boy had decided to give him some time to himself, as much as one could on a ship anyway. Including him and Reggie, the 'crew' was nearly ten people strong. Most of that was made up by refuges, but the others were Captain Dragonsflame (a name which had to be made up to sound cool. What kind of surname is Dragonsflame!?) and his actual team. Well...team was a strong word. More apt to say family. Kaili had a hard time believing the toddler seated on the mans lap at the meeting was in anyway seriously considered a first mate, despite introductions. His wife was, thankfully, devoid of any recognition on Kaili's part. The same couldn't be said for the Togruta woman that served as chief engineer. That one...that was weird. Just exceptionally weird. Just looking at her made Kaili's head ache with mixed information. She had been mentally thrown into the 'avoid as much as possible for the love of all things' category basically on sight.

Kaili rubbed his eyes as he tried to figure out what was going on. These...people weren't right. It felt bad saying that. They were...nice. But, for whatever trivial set of reasons something in the back of his skull screamed in panicked gasps how wrong they were. "You're just over thinking things." Something behind his ear urged quietly "Just relax a bit longer and things will be better." It pulsed again.

"But...i'm..." Kaili trailed, unsure where or what was just talking to him as he stared into the void of space.

 

[Reggie Faayare]

After his encounter with the force hallucinations, Reggie took some time to rest before beginning his search again. When the Padawan did go through the cave he made sure to keep his guard up. The force within this cave was dangerous, and the wolves were also a problem if he wasn't careful. After walking for awhile, Reggie saw a glimmer within a small area of the cave. as he drew closer, the glimmer turned into a radiating yellow light. It was calling to the Padawan.

Reggie took the crystal out of the rock that it had formed in, examining the crystal closely. Sometimes a crystal wasn't always what it seemed to be, taking the form of a kyber crystal when it really wasn't. This wasn't the case though, at least not from what he could see. Satisfied with what he found, Reggie smiled and started to head back towards the exit. It took some time to find his way out, especially since he was careful not to alert any wolves that could be in the area.

When the Padawan made it out of the cave, he saw [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] meditating and an area that had different lightsaber parts. Master Dragonsflame wasn't in the area, which made Reggie think that he went inside the cave to check on the other Padawans. Not wanting to bother the Jedi Master, Reggie went over to grab the parts he needed.