Back to the Future?

[Zion Krayt]

Yinchorr, ​

Underneath some sand,​

It had all started out within the year of 2012 ABY, a mission to save other Jedi from their Sith captors, and then it had ended with him being sent through time and space crash landing upon the planet of Yinchorr, laying outside of a escape pod, and a crashed shuttle nearby. A shuttle that would have no room for an escape pod, but it did have stasis pods as a possible way for him to have survived the crash.

Maybe.

But all of his friends were dead, or in this case, not even born yet, since he had been sent into the past by approximately fourteen hundred years, and was Knighted in a completely different era than the one he had come to. And to top it all off, he had spent nearly three years in that time, with the Jedi Brotherhood of Yinchorr, before the Jedi from the planet of Naboo had gotten a little fiesty and attacked the Witches of Dathomir, a culture that shouldn't have been known to the known galaxy, but here they were, rolling over the Jedi Council situated upon Naboo.

Zaren couldn't have any of that. He may not have wanted to, but he was following in the steps of his Uncle T'el Bouqi, renowned Jedi Master from his time, and he became a man that was direct and blunt when it came to Dark Siders. That time was long gone.

He barely had enough time to organize a team of Jedi Knights and Masters to strike at Dathomir, before they had dropped out of hyperspace, and split the Brotherhood's strike force in the sky and his own shuttle had fallen back to the planet. They hadn't even come to destroy the Temple-City that was Yinchorr, they had only come to prevent the Jedi from intervening, and they had, as the ship passed through the atmosphere and it's metal plates became extremely hot before the shields could come back online, and so he had determined that the only way to survive was to go into a stasis.

It was the weakest point in Zaren's life, it was the time that he had become the coward that he had never believed was in him, and the last thoughts in his mind were him shaming himself, as the pod closed and the rising temperature within the ship had seemingly been drained from his body and then he felt nothing.

Approximately four hundred years later, his stasis pod was almost submerged within the sands of Yinchorr. The part of the stasis pod that held his legs was hidden from sight, and it was quite clear that half of the stasis chamber was beneath the surface.

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Fellwe Sector;
Yinchorr​

This was why she couldn’t stay stationed on Kuat. Reports were filing in all over the place of this new imperial uprising that called themselves The One Sith. See, The Republic was a massive structure, a well-oiled machine, but it was being pulled every which way throughout the galaxy to meet the sporadic attacks of the Sith’s delegations.


“This— this is it. Here.”

Kiskla had received reports about a former base in this way, the locals had submitted a report to The Republic, who had sifted it down to The Jedi. Kiskla hadn’t wanted the distraction to remove others from their duties, and had absorbed the files herself; taking a select crew of scouting troops from the military as well as those who excelled in closed-quarters combat. The Havoc squad were engaged with extra divisions, but a new infantry had been organized — it was her initiative to take them along for a test run; the 312 Ranger Division.

Spoiler

(No need to reply, [member="Telark Valhaim"] — just giving your NPC’s a chance to stretch their legs)

“Circle loosely around the coordinates.” The blonde instructed, looking down at the sea of golden grains that would meet their descent.

“Master Jedi, there appears to be a wreckage being picked up on our scanners.”

“Life forms?”

“We can’t read from this distance.”

“Circle closer and maintain shields — the Sith are crawling everywhere. Let’s not give them an opening.”

“Roger.”

She clutched the support as the hull swayed to dip nearer. “I’ll drop down — continue to take the troops to the base, I’ll meet them there. You two,” she signalled to two of the rangers that specialized in the close-combat “You’re with me.”

They responded by actively securing their straps to drop from the bed of the ship while Kiskla lifted the door, wind instantly whipping through the airlocks and whipping her hair about wildly. Without a second thought, Geronimo ensued — followed by the other two soldiers into the sand.

The landing wasn’t gracious, and she rolled in the rough grains before she stood, glancing over her shoulder briefly to see how the others had fared. Just fine, it seemed.

Immediately, R-1 probes activated from her belt and zipped toward the scene of the wreckage, their scanners active and feeding back to the Jedi Master. After a while of searching organically, it was determined this was not an active threat -- however, as soon as Kiskla was about to pack up and head to where the other Republicans were, her scanners indicated a silhouette of green -- the R-1s had found something.
Obediently, she followed the readings to where the two spherical droids hovered, beeping excitedly at their discovery. Slightly tilted was a container akin to a coffin. The young woman etched a frown across her full lips, and holstered her datapad to her belt, running her fingers along the surface of the containment system. Friend or foe?

Ever curious, the woman gave the strange-looking case a hoist with her telekinetic strength and levelled it atop the sand; completely absorbed in the wondering of what it contained. Again. Friend or foe?

[member="Zaren Bouqi"]

 

[Zion Krayt]

The stasis pod rose out of the ground, and the sleeping Jedi Knight stirred ever so slightly when he felt the Ashlan aura approach. He wasn't sure if he himself should reach out first, he didn't know what state the galaxy was in, but he did know that galaxy always needed help. His own presence within the Force expanded outwards from the stasis pod and sensed [member="Kiskla Grayson"]'s own. He knew she was there, and he didn't move still. Only interacted through the Force.

Release me from here.

He said telepathically to her, and just from the gruffness of the voice, it would have sounded ill-willed, an attempt at a command, but he quickly amended that fact. It'd be bad to have come across a Jedi who held grudges and just left him in the sand, he had to get back to work. He had to get back to Tython.

I...Am Jedi Knight Zaren Bouqi of Tython. I was named the Protector of Tython in my last few months of Tython, but I was always the Protector when I was a Padawan.

There was a pause in communication.

Yinchorr. She was attacked by those who would use the Dark Side of the Force, and I trapped myself in this pod. I would appreciate it, if you released me from here. The civilians of this Galaxy have use for me, yes?

He finally ended, probably not the information she would have liked to know, but it was what she was going to get until he was released. And so he waited. Thoughts of his last moments outside of the stasis pod were projected involuntarily, thoughts of pain, anger, and fear at a lesser degree. He would at least try to keep up the appearance of not being the coward that he had become in his last moments.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla's frown never fluttered from her face. The face that someone contained in a chamber was penetrating her mind was not a reassuring thought for the prodigal Master -- no, it never was for any Force User. The cavernous realms of mentality were an open venture for those with the potential, and it appeared this Jedi Knight was one such individual.

But the protector of Tython?

He was speaking in riddles. Tython's coordinates were protected and restricted; unbeknownst to individuals who were not within the escalated ranks of The Jedi Order. For him to boast that he was it's overseer conflicted with the fact that Darron Wraith held such a position. This would be most interesting indeed.

Are you always this chatty when you wake up? The blonde asked in physical silence, although their metaphysical conversation seemed to be quite alive. Her insatiable appetite to learn however, had been whet. Quickly, the blonde looked about the foreign technology to see if there were a code or some sort of release for the seal. The little R-1 droids hovered about helpfully too -- considering she was totally technologically dumb. One extended a toothpick-wide limb, poking to indicate where the mistress' slender digits should fall. It was at this time that the troopers working with her peered over the wreckage and loomed as protective shadows in the back. She was, after all, The Republic's sweetheart and the face of a new era; one they were going to protect whether she be Jedi or not. Once the contact was made, the container hissed as the seal released and slowly quivered while the tensions released.

Allowing [member="Zaren Bouqi"] an appropriate amount of room, Kiskla took a step backward while the two R-1s zipped to hover by both of her shoulders.

 

[Zion Krayt]

His muscles hadn't been used for quite a long time, four centuries odd, and when the seal opened up, he almost landed on his face. Instead, he landed upon his knees in the dust and sand of the desert, hands digging into the sand when he felt the warmth within it. He rubbed his wrists while he was on the ground, and he slowly opened up his eyes, blinking while he adjusted to the sunlight.

I was never truly asleep. The Force warned me of your approach.

He rose to his feet, and stood straight, looking down upon [member="Kiskla Grayson"].

I've given you my name, who and what are you? He made it clear that he meant what she was to the Jedi Order, and her name. Names helped too. Also, the year.

The Protector of Tython's fists clenched and unclenched a few times while he watched her with a soft brown gaze. He yearned to set his eyes upon Tython from space again. He may not have been the Protector of Tython officially, but his friends had joked about it when he had been a Padawan, based upon how he had probably fought the fiercest out of all of them when the Sith thought it'd be a good idea to attack Tython repeatedly over the years. It was a title that he had adopted from his second and final Master, and though it didn't mean Tython's Temple was in his charge, it just meant that he was the planet's most devout defender. At least in his opinion.

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla didn't like being asked her title. Although it was deserved, and one she had rejected twice, Ben Watts had finally convinced her to actually accept the name and continue the work she did; just with more of a financial backing. While [member="Zaren Bouqi"] got re-used to his equilibrium and how muscles worked, the troopers on the horizon adjusted their close-range weaponry until Kiskla held up a hand, causing them to pause and wait while she answered the Jedi's questions.

"Jedi Grandmaster Kiskla Grayson -- good to see you well and alive Knight Bouqi, in the year of 837ABY.
I've never seen your names in the records, especially not in association to Tython which has protected coordinates. I'm going to need more of an explanation, you understand."

 

[Zion Krayt]

"I understand." He replied dutifully. He would have spoken of how he was honoured to be met by the Grandmaster, but he felt that she wouldn't particularly hearing that, so he contented himself with his previous statement. He thought of how to phrase his explanation, and thought of how far back he should go.

"I was born upon Tython, born to a family of Jedi within the year of 1996 ABY, I was to be Knighted within the year of 2014 ABY, until my ship had made an attempt at jumping into hyperspace, and as our hyperspace activated, our engines were damaged by a Sith's attack, and it sent us back in time. I later woke up, upon the planet of Yinchorr, approximately 400 ABY." He paused for a moment. "I'm afraid I do not know the exact year." He gave her a small apologetic smile. "There were two Jedi Orders in that time, one known as the Council and Brotherhood. This planet was the homeworld of the Jedi Brotherhood, and the Jedi Council located upon Naboo had aggravated the Dark Siders upon the planet of Dathomir. They attacked their homeplanet, and the consequences upon the Jedi Council were reaped upon both Jedi Orders." He frowned for a moment when he thought of his last moments.

I hid.

I was a coward.

Were the thoughts that passed through his mind, and he pointed over his shoulder towards the stasis pod. "I locked myself in that stasis pod while my comrades did. I was a coward, and I'm alive because I was lucky." The frown disappeared from his face, and then he set his eyes upon her own. "I understand if you do not need a being such as myself in your Order, Master Grayson."

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

Kiskla's expression remained unremarkably placid while [member="Zaren Bouqi"] explained his circumstances. This was a curious thing, because he was in fact quite remarkable. Kiskla had dealth with many individuals who were centuries of years old. Her first time meeting someone so positively ancient was when she was fifteen, and she worked with Cameron Centurion. From there, she met countless others -- even assisting them to revisit the past with her unparalleled ability to flow walk. What Knight Bouqi was explaining, however, was of the Future. A venture she'd not yet explored yet -- simply because she hadn't had the means to do so; time nor artifact.

Now, she had this stasis pod; and a living man's memories. She would be a fool to refute his access to .. her Order. Right. The Jedi Order was now headed by her. That was a strange revelation in itself.

"I would be foolish not to have an open door for a being such as yourself, Knight Bouqi." She essentially repeated what he had said to her, but tilted her head to offer an indication of her demeanour.

"But if you excuse me, the future is a strange world; even with The Force."

The two soldiers that had been perched on the peak of the sand hill behind were now sliding down, grains spreading away from the soles of their boots. "He's friendly, sergeants." She offered no more, but instead dropped to her knees and placed her palms on the rim of the chamber. She didn't know much about technology, but she did know about how to manipulate it's currents to open her minds eye. Within seconds of touching the crate, her light eyes were coated by a light glow and she was transported forward in time -- walking through the mechanical touches of this particular pod. The technology was different, but more importantly, the time travel indicated truth to the Knight's story.

 

[Zion Krayt]

The ship that he had used had utilized parts from one of the shuttles that he had had from his own time. From the future, so when she had utilized her psychometry with the aid of the Force, she would've seen the past of the pod of course. The first images being the ones of the Jedi taskforce landing upon Dromund Kaas, another of the ship lifting up into the sky, and then crimson beams burning and scorching the hull as it was shredded by the firepower of the Sith Destroyers.

In her mind the images would elongate and then it would become the recognizable state of hyperspace, but with some changes. Changes that would come with change in the future. Then there was the crash landing upon the planet of Yinchorr, several missions all across the galaxy with Jedi Masters of the current time, landings upon the planet of Gamorr, Cassander, Katarr, and several others. Although the previous images were ones that would be older ones, not the ones from his time, but from both of their pasts.

"You are Kiffar." He stated almost as if he was a child who had figured out an age long truth. He was sure of it, for how else could she be using psychometry, it was an ability that was rare among Kiffar and might as well be considered impossible for other species. Not to mention he had never seen the ability being used before, despite the abundance of Kiffar Jedi Knights and Masters in his time, one of them he had saved from a Sith Lord that Zaren had paralyzed. And yet, he had never seen it being used, he had read of the ability in the Jedi Archives, but not once watched it happen.

In Zaren's time, it may as well have been an ability extinct to the Jedi Order. He watched her though, she interested him beyond reason. The chances of her finding him on the planet, the person finding him being a Jedi Master, not to mention the Jedi Grandmaster and being so young, not to mention the natural beauty, he just had to wonder what the Force had in store for him. Would it return him home? He doubted it.

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

While the scenes transpired, Kiskla was completely deaf to the current year and time her physical body was a part of. Thankfully, she retracted her grip just in time to catch the observation from [member="Zaren Bouqi"]. She stayed in her resting position, before leaning on the crate and standing.

A concise nod confirmed his discovery, which she accompanied with a; "I am." Those that never saw her exercise psychometery would never guess her heritage. She was built slightly and quite fair. The only thing Kiffar about her, visually, was her faint tan. She did of course have Quukufs, but those she concealed with Art of the Small at all times, so as not to expose any traces back to her bloodline. Factually, Kiskla was the future Kraliçe of Kiffu, heir to the twin sister planets' throne. Suddenly, she became very curious about the future of her people -- although not addressing it. Her attention then passed beyond to the two troops that flanked him.
"Any status report on the former imperial base? Any hostiles"

The troppers shook both of their helmeted heads. To which Kiskla nodded, glancing briefly at Knight Bouqi. "I wonder if you know anything about this imperial base -- it's why we're here after all." Her voice dropped slightly "And where you come from, how was Kiffu? Do you know?" She wondered if she ever revealed her twisted web of a life in the future, or if her identities forever remained concealed. Lady Freya on Kiffu and Kiffex would eternally be a separate legacy from Grandmaster Grayson.

 

[Zion Krayt]

His suspicions were correct it seemed, he would have pressed, but she seemed like a secretive woman, and having only met a few minutes ago, it was probably not the best idea to speak to her about her family, lineage or anything like that. Though he suspected that she was important to the planet, just because she seemed to carry herself with a quiet confidence.

Something he tried to do.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, truth be told. In my time, there was a single city upon this planet, and it was the Temple-City of the Jedi Brotherhood that protected the beings of this planet. There was a residential area, the closed off Jedi areas and other things that a city would have." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Obviously he didn't know much about cities.

"In my time, your sister planets were impenetrable. Underneath the influence of the Galactic Republic, the planets became prison colonies for Sith. It was rare that Sith were broken out of there, and they were only sent there if it was clear they didn't want to come to the Light Side. Your...Kiffu Guardians...Protected the prisons." He gave a slight bow to show his respect of her people. "You have nothing to fear for your people." He said it just as a generalization of course.

He turned away for a moment with a look of confusion upon his face, and when his back was turned he nodded his head as if he was agreeing with himself.

"The Imperial base became a hangar bay for the Jedi. It lead underground as well, shall we head there now?" He turned to look back at her and tilted his head as he folded his arms in the sleeves in front of him.

[member="Kiskla Grayson"]

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

The blonde's head nodded succinctly when [member="Zaren Bouqi"] offered his knowledge on the matter. Reassuring, but not very motivating. Before becoming dedicated to The Jedi and Republic, she'd had plans to expand the Kiffar and their footprint on the galaxy. In fact, she'd even met with The Lord Protector under her regal alias to begin a clone army initiative. A simple "Good" was all she offered in response to his divulgence.

"Yes. Are you well enough to walk for yourself?" The Jedi asked, giving a wave of her hand to send a telekinetic reminder to the stasis pod behind her. On command, it rose from its sandy resting place and hovered to follow at the heels of the youthful Master of light. This question stemmed from a general unawareness of stasis pods of any form. Perhaps she anticipated his legs should be jelly-- who knows. But having his information would prove to be most useful indeed.

The R-1s took off to scout.

*

A good hour spent trudging through sand, and the R-1 droids returned, bobbing excitedly. Like fireflies, they twisted around the 312 troopers; beeping reports in a nonsensical dialect.

"500 meters to the check point." The troopers communicated, to which the Jedi Master (still lifting the pod) nodded.

And 470 meters later, the framework of the base cast a sheltering shadow across the golden ground. More of the scouts were clustered beneath the shade, with the transport a distance off.

"Do you remember what this brotherhood station looked like, Knight Bouqi?"

 

[Zion Krayt]

His hands were massaging while [member="Kiskla Grayson"] asked him if he was able to walk. His legs were slightly numb but he still got to his feet and stumbled around comically for a few moments before he stabilized, shook his head and was fine. Although his first few steps were a little stiff.

After they had been walking for quite a while for what felt like a long time, the scouting droids had returned to them and communicated to them that they were nearby to the old Imperial Headquarters. That was good, he was getting a little tired of this walking, and then he realized he'd still have to walk inside.

When will he stop?!

When she asked the question, he stopped whining to himself and replied with, "It was situated more or less underground. I'll know once we're inside." He replied dutifully, and then he called the Force to started to carry the stasis pod, even if she was a Jedi Master, it was still his home for the last four odd years.

It was only polite, right?

 

[Kiskla Grayson-Matteo]

"Thank you." The blonde offered when [member="Zaren Bouqi"] reached out with an assisting telekinetic hand. Inside, hm? Well then, inside they would go. With a wave of her hand, two of the 312th Division Rangers mobilized to their sides. "You can probably leave that out here. Right, boys?" The Jedi asked, indicating that they should keep a protective eye on the artifact.

"I'll leave it to you to lead the way then." The Kiffar informed him, preventing her steps from carrying onward further until the Knight advanced. Kiskla was a time-bender, but her patience was never well-developed; hence her bluntness.

 

[Zion Krayt]

He nodded his head to her, and then when the got to the door of the base, he paused and looked it over. He figured whatever technology that had been there to open the door was dead and didn't even bother trying anything. Waving his hand, the Force pushed the door open to either side and he walked in, he didn't even spare a glance behind him.

She was the Grandmaster, she didn't get their just because she was pretty...

Hopefully.

The first room was a large atrium, and he looked around, trying to locate the turbolift that would lead to the hangar bay underground. It was dark inside, so he unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it. The aqua blue blade was bright in the darkness, and it took him a moment to adjust to it.

So much dust. How could the Brotherhood have fallen? He frowned as he stood there just looking around. Hawk Hinata wouldn't have let the temple fall underneath his watch. Could he? And then he started walking forwards to what appeared to be the entrance to a turbolift shaft. Putting little effort into the move, he flicked his wrist and the door opened underneath his influence of the Force. When he looked down he hoped the actual lift was at the bottom and he turned around to look at [member="Kiskla Grayson"] and he said, "we're going to have to jump." And with his blunt message said, he leapt down into the lift.