Alkahest Adventures 1: Dxun

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Aitis Powarth"] [member="Naamah Aesham"] [member="Tiland Kortun"]

A few moments later Phylis appeared with Six-Nine in tow. The droid had a tray with teapot, cups and the traditional milk/sugar condiments.
Phylis had some biscuits and a strange looking seed…thing…for Tiland.

After dispensing them around, the Jedi Master produced a datapad and handed it to Tiland.
“This is a portable link to all the regular database information. If the plant is in our records, you’ll find it. Aitis, do you get any better sense now about why you were getting visions of me? I hope it’s not for anything too ominous!”

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Aitis Powarth"], [member="Tiland Kortun"], [member="Phylis Alince"]


The aforementioned honest merchant was busy pontificating about how he was being slandered and how his honour was being besmirched. It struck Naamah was terribly perfect. The urge to stop him from talking by slicing his throat was strong. She resisted...barely.


You'd enjoy it.


She knew there was truth to these words, but she blotted them out. Instead she simply turned away, but it seemed his muscular goon had heard the commotion and decided to get in her way as well. "Got a problem, boss?" he demanded, eyes narrowing when he saw Naamah. "Maybe I should teach you some manners, girl." Without wasting time, he swung a punch at her.


Unfortunately for him, she did not give the big man the satisfaction of landing a blow. Inquisition training died hard. Even with her connection to the Force a mere sliver of what it had once been. Fortunately [member="Mirien Valdier"] had trained her charges to be able to fight without it. Moreover, her connection still sufficed for some amplified speed and strength.


Without missing a beat, she side-stepped and parried the blow. Then she threw a left punch towards the head as a feint to distract him, before ramming the right one into his solar plexus. Ouch. That was painful even for seasoned fighters and while this one was hulk of muscle, he lacked experience in being much beyond that. A jab into one of his eyes, then his head was grabbed and made polite conversation with her rising knee. There was a loud crack and did not come from her, then he dropped to the ground.


In a flash her knife was in her grasp. It was only inches away from the throat of the now suddenly very frightened merchant. "Please...don't kill me! This was all just a misunderstanding. Believe me, I can pay you. I've got many...," he begged, holding up his hands. He looked around for help, but no one seemed inclined to aid him.


In the old days, she would have found joy in torturing someone for the sheer fun of it. Probably also used the Force to suck out his life force. At least spending time in hell had been good for finally kicking her Force Drain addiction. Or at least so she thought. You'd revel in it even now. Draining him bit by bit. Perhaps leaving him a vegetable after crushing his mind. Not anymore. "Shut up, and tell your goon to back off or he might hurt himself a lot more. Now leave me alone," she grunted and then lowered the knife.


Without waiting for anyone else, she finally left the scene. Her path took her towards her old, battered freighter. After a wary glance to make sure no one had sneaked up on behind her, she keyed in the combination for the lock and the landing ramp opened. Another wary look, and then she entered her ship.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Contemplating, Aitis merely shrugged as if he were discussing the weather, taking the offered tea and biscuits happily. There wasn't truly a lot to discuss... His visions had prompted him here, to meet this woman, but any time after seeing her face that he turned his gaze inward, he saw a blinding light that pulsed. There was little else, and it puzzled him, to be honest.

"At yet? No... Unfortunately my gifts at Farsight do not quite work in coherent visions of exact events. Would that they did. All I see now when I turn my Sight inward is light that pulses and blinds, and that is all unfortunately. But it does not seem to be omnious, not at all."

 

[Tiland Kortun]

[member="Aitis Powarth"] [member="Naamah Aesham"] [member="Phylis Alince"]

Tiland took the seedcake and tea with a grateful nod of his head and then took the datapad. Now came the interesting part. He powered it up, taking a sip of the tea and began searching through the records. Over five hundred years old and he was still not sure how well this level of research worked. So many results, none of which seemed to apply.

An Examination of the Recreational Use of Bacta Among Corellia's Underground Artists


Yeah, that was exactly what he was looking. Corellia wasn't even a planet anymore. It was a broken planet. There were no more underground artists. There wasn't even much of an underground anymore. He paused again. Now that was interesting. He scrolled down and clicked that link. He skimmed, it, setting the teacup down to study it more intently. This was what he was looking for. Now this was interesting. It was recorded as an almost legendary plant, one of ancient Jedi legend with little scientific basis, which made sense. There was always a bit of a disconnect between scientists and the Jedi.

"There are records of the plant, in ancient Jedi tales, but later researchers failed to corroborate them. Legend holds that it only grows near ruins, as a tribute of the land for those who have passed away." He looked up. "Whether that's true, I am unable to confirm."

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Naamah Aesham"] [member="Aitis Powarth"] [member="Tiland Kortun"]

Phylis frowned. Both her associates were being vague. This wasn’t really surprising given the issues with prophecy and legend. Still, it gave her an opportunity.

“Well, I know one place where they might be. There’s an older temple complex not far from here which saw a dramatic battle between Light and Dark once. I think it’d be a good place to start.”

With that in mind she went to the bridge and piloted the ship into the air, moving them only a few kilometres away in a jungle clearing.

“I think it’s…raining,” she said with a sigh, looking out.

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Phylis Alince"], [member="Tiland Kortun"], [member="Aitis Powarth"]


Tramp freighter was an accurate term to describe Naamah's ship. While saying that it was held together solely through spit, duct tape and willpower might be a bit of an exaggeration, it was not that far from the truth, when you thought about it. It was a far cry from the old days. She steadfastly refused to refer to the time in the Inquisition as the 'good old days'...despite the fact that a part of her did miss her murderously twisted, little family. Briefly her eyes swept to a holopic of [member="Mirien Valdier"], which counted as the only personal effects on the ship.


Miss them? You don't have serious issues at all! Some research on the 'net had brought to light an old temple complex and so her freigher took off into the sky. As a matter of fact, it was one she remembered from a time when she'd been stationed here. Who knew, there may be stuff to loot and sell, along with beasties to shoot. What a coincidence, it was the same complex Phylis' ship was flying towards.


It was pouring with rain when the freighter landed at the jungle clearing, not far from the Jedi. Not much of a surprise given the fact that the weather on Dxun tended to suck. It would be the least of her worries given the fact that the jungle was populated with dangerous predators. Good thing she had a shotgun with her.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Tiland Kortun"] [member="Aitis Powarth"] [member="Naamah Aesham"]

Phylis was at times practical, and in the driving rain she selected a waterproof jacket and hood to go over her robes. Tradition was all very well, but being wet was not something anyone wanted, Jedi Master or no.

Leading her team out she took them steadily over the muddy ground to the ruins of an old temple. Dark rock and corroded metal was mostly covered in creepers and vines. Once though it must have been impressive.

“This is the Temple of Beasts,” Phylis said, pointing. “It was created long ago as a place for the Beast Riders of Onderon to commune with the Force and train their creatures. After the Mandalorian Wars it was mostly abandoned, crippled by an attack. However, I am interested in excavating it and seeing what can be found inside.”

 

[Tiland Kortun]

[member="Phylis Alince"] [member="Naamah Aesham"] [member="Aitis Powarth"]

Tiland watched as the ship rose from the surface and headed across the planet, terrain speeding past them, rich with the interdependant webs of the Force. He soaked it in, letting the Light fill his body, driving away the aching hunger and craving for the Dark. He shifted his grip on his staff, feeling its solidity as it grounded him. Rain pattered against the hull. What would they find here? He sealed his satchel, folding it under and pushing the magnetic clasps together. It was waterproof now, to keep his plants safe. No need to make teas before placing them in the mug. It would be an unfortunate waste.

He strode out after Phylis, only in his tunic and robes ,as the rain poured down, splashing across the ground. Rain trickled down his hair and down his back, boots squelching in the mud. This was what it was to be alive, open to the movements of the Force and the tides of the universe. He straightened a little and the limp eased up, his pace picking up.

He stretched out with the Force to look through the temple. Vines and plants, for the most part, but a sense of ancient pain and sorrowed, marred by death. A battleground, as she had said.

"Well, let's get to it," Tiland said after a moment, stomping forward in the mud, slipping as his staff got stuck. "What might we find in such an ancient place?"

 

[Naamah Aesham]

[member="Phylis Alince"], [member="Tiland Kortun"], [member="Aitis Powarth"]


And so she was now deep in the jungle. As always on Dxun, it was raining a hell of a lot and the ground was covered in mud. Fortunately, she had practical clothing in form of a waterproof jacket and a hood. Ahead of her were the ruins of an ancient temple. Once it might have been an impressive site, but these days it did not look particularly imposing especially since nature had reclaimed it. Dark and corroded rock was covered in creepers and vines.


Coincidentally, she would now probably be in view of the plucky adventurers, but there was no time to exchange greetings since the wild life of Dxun had taken an interest in them. In this particular case the wild life was not extremely dangerous since this is just the start. Cannocks, cannocks everywhere!


Hisses and screeches could be heard as the beasts pounced out of the bushes. Unwilling to become food for one, Naamah raised her shotgun. Force-enhanced aim was good enough to track the creatures, and so her weapon roared, mud splattering everywhere amid body parts as she gunned beasties down in a dispassionate, methodic way. Alas, she did not get way in everything and one of the beasts managed to get close enough to bite its teeth down her arm, causing a sensation of pain, and headbutted her roughly when she tried to dislodge it. Ouch. Head spinning,N aamah fell to the ground, but rolled when the beast came close. When its claws viciously sliced across her face she rammed her leg into it to kick it away, then her vibroknife was driven into its chest, ending it. Removing the blood-stained knife, she tossed mud into a beast's eyes, then stabbed it through the maw.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Naamah Aesham"] [member="Tiland Kortun"] [member="Aitis Powarth"]

Cannocks were a particularly vicious form of native creature to Dxun, and now they attacked. Phylis did notice someone else was being assailed just as they were, but she had to focus on herself at that moment.
Not knowing the combat capabilities of Tiland or Aitis, she took position before them, her green lightsabre blazing. As the creatures came at her she fell into Soresu, using her feet to line up proper attacks and to avoid snarling mouths.
Stabbing one through the maw, she avoided a second, slashed it across the face, then stabbed down into a third. The rest backed fled.

“Stay here,” she told the two Padawans. They could fend for themselves for a moment.

Moving over to the other woman she deactivated her lightsabre and held out a hand to her.
“Can you stand? I have a medical kit in my ship. My name is Phylis Alince, Jedi Master.”