Cities of Gold

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu was looking at Corvus and the mention of the white current was something she was used to while she gave a nod. "It would help to settle into it, if there are any illusions being able to see through them." Matsu wasn't above it and she knew there were at times greater mysteries while the idea of seeing soemthing with the power on. They might find who knows what down there while she was going further in with a look on her face. The real grin showing though at the idea of seeing what they might find.. it could be anything and she was going deeper into the tunnels until the sound of machinery came with the smell of oil and smoke over decay and heat. Matsu stood in the larger room looking at the grooves in the walls they could use to climb around. "How good are you at using the white current to conceal yourself. It is easier I have learned to well when there are two of you."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus looked around at the walls.

“I’m no Master of White Current. I can conceal myself and another. It stands up to scrutiny and I practice its use — but I suspect I’ll never be able to hide a building for example."

So she closed her eyes and entered the White Current and initially incorporated Matsu. “We are hidden now. If I focus on hiding us and seeing within the Current, you can put your attention to where we’re heading. OK?”

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu looked at Corvus and she could feel it and see it almost while looking at the grand master. her mind and body sinking into it while she was concentrating and offering some aid before she spoke. "Neither am I a master but we've had elders teach us how to see the ones who use it. Not the greatest but you can learn a lot and.." She trailed off going into it while moving within the current like it was washing over her, thoughts on the the area while she was leading the way down into the lower sections opening into another room with more people and some crates. Matsu was looking through it while her eyes flicked around with the current around them and she was looking in the bags.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus maintained her focus on the White Current. To her it was a little like Meditation. There was little conscious effort but it did require a focus to sure they remained within it.

So talking was fine, but she could not maintain it in a combat situation. So having a partner here was allowing her to let Matsu deal with the environment.

It was tempting to try to look where Matsu was - the bags caught her curiosity. But she knew better and let Matsu deal with whatever they came across.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu looked at Corvus and then was moving as she expanded her senses out to search and listen. The sound of hot air escaping between rocks and metal with the faintest hiss. She was letting the force energies go out further and feeling the world as the sensation of the darkside was there, anything of the rakata usually felt wrong given its nature but this whole world felt strange as she was working on the important task of sorting through the clothing and things within. Matsu found a wooden box and set it on a crate while moving through the rest and came away bringing her hand up with a cube as she touched it and the energy activated. The light bronze almost gleaming when it activated and a strange alien was standing there in jedi robes with a saber.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was aware that Matsu was searching with the Force but kept her focus on the task in hand.

The noises made by their surroundings were slightly eerie, but Corvus did not allow it to affect her concentration. But she felt the energy when Matsu touched the cube and saw it gleam.

And it was all she could do to hold on to the White Current as she saw what she presumed was some sort of gate-keeper appear. His robes were Jedi but his race was alien to her eyes.

And a broad smile played across her lips. This sort of thing is what it’s all about. But she held her tongue, not wishing to spook the apparition.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu looked at the gatekeeper while she had a few ideas of who it was while the grey skin he had flicked a tongue across his teeth. The jawline and snout had Matsu searching what she knew for the name of the jedi as she knew him... from the Tedryn holocron as one of the gatekeepers. "Master Odan." She had a grin on her face now wider then before and let a few thoughts go through her head. There was always things to find and always knowledge but this was one of the oldest and notable jedi. She knew from the holocron he had changed the code with others from his years and taught some of the greatest jedi as she crossed her arms to keep from jumping up and down all giddy like a school girl with a crush. "This is something I did not expect."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

There weren’t any Jedi that were active Masters and Librarians. Even if you trawled through history, so the name of Odan-Urr was familiar to her.

So this is what a Draethos looked like? And she’d read about him not too long ago - during her work on Battle Meditation. And she realised that Matsu had recognised him without any aid. But then, why be surprised? She was a known historian as well as scientist.

Corvus bowed respectfully. “Master Odan. I am Master Raaf, finding this here was most unexpected.”

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu backed away a little within the chamber they were in. She was standing next to Corvus watchign the ancient jedi master as he stood there and she bowed. "It is surprising but welcomed." She had a grin on her face though before hiding it away and there was a voice coming from the master, smooth even though it was a projection and she could only imagine how he might have felt in real life. "Welcome jedi, it is good to see more of our order. What is it you wish to know? The earliest history of the jedi perhaps? Or the ancient arts of inspiring armies, how to channel a wall of light or places of concentrated lightside energy the order discovered."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Where to start? In truth, Corvus would prefer to talk about history for hours. The Master was known for his love of Jedi Lore and his work in establishing the first library was — well, legendary.

But they lived in times when practically typically trumped luxury — and right now, that’s what a history lesson was.

“I should very much like to learn of Alter Environment, if that its at all possible?” As much as Corvus was aware that there was a limit to how much knowledge you could cram into one head, this was an area she felt she could benefit from learning the basics in.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu looked at Corvus and the mention of learning alter environment was... great. Something she knew and worked with in the past to defend Republic soldiers. She had worked with and met them since Metalorn and they never complained to her. For now though she was looking it over and listening to what the jedi master said standing there. "The ability to alter the world around you is dangerous without control. You must understand the sciences of the world and how to control them. The larger the feat you wish to create the more understanding you will need of the world. From the moisture of the air, the composition of the rock and dirt to create earthquakes and the currents of the air or water." That was something that Matsu knew and she had usually spent a great deal of time working on understanding the worlds and how they worked but she would offer such a thing maybe later after she got to know the jedi grandmaster better.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was almost crestfallen - but thought back to her own learning in the past. Some Abilities required knowledge. The human anatomy played a part in many of the Abilities she'd learned and so understood what Matsu was saying.

"I appreciate your counsel. On that basis," she turned back to the gate-keeper, "I see sense in passing on the learning just now and making sure your holocron is delivered safely somewhere."

She looked at Matsu. "Unless you have any questions?"

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu listened and thought about it, getting her own question from a jedi master who had done so much was like a dream as she thought more and more about it. She wasn't really certain of what she could ask while moving around a little. She was thinking to herself while eyeing the gatekeeper. "There is so much you could ask him, I mean what near a thousand years of knowledge within the jedi and the curator or one of them of the first library. The archives and proto archives nearly paled in comparison and she was around to study the ancient library at Veeshus Twuan. So much knowledge and so many questions you could spend a lifetime learning from him.... but if I had to narrow it down to one question."

She turned looking at the gatekeeper. "What do you know about gree molecular technology?" Something only beings who really had met with the gree would know... hell their works on things like this and she needed Kwa knowledge and information as well. Make the crystal research she had gotten from the one holocron and research from another start to add up. She had ideas and was listening to the jedi master as it seemed to think about it. "The basis of all gree technology from their advanced navigational computers to their hypergates is creating the base components through synthesis and creating it in their large machines. It made it pure, made it stronger and better able to handle the passages of time. It is why most of theirs can still work tens of thousands of years after they have abandoned it."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus listened and took it all in. She may never see the Holocron again and wanted to remember every fact, every sentence, every syllable. It didn't matter how many Holocrons you say or gatekeepers you met, each and every one was special. So very, very special.

So she listened and wished she could take notes, but settled on using her memory - which was reliable enough.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu listened to it and she was taking notes in her head, best and most reliable source for it until at least she remembered to find her notepad and make notes there. With all the work they had done to get down here she wasn't going to be opposed to learning and they might never have this chance again. Someone could steal this holocron from a vault as she bowed. "Thank you master." Deactivating the holocron and putting in the pack with th others she looked at Corvus. "This is something amazing and should be with the jedi, if the team that was here found it then were killed it would dishonor their work to hide it away." She held out the second equipment pack with the holocron for corvus and bowed her head. "The grandmaster should have something, I found the Tedryn holocron with a large amount of the information on it as well awhile back." Matsu was looking at what they were in and she wondered. "So do you think the legends of matter transporters here on the planet are true? Would save us a lot of time if we could just teleport to the upper levels."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus took the Holocron. "We'll put it somewhere safe where all Jedi can appreciate it. Knowledge deserves to be shared. And preserved."

Then she considered Matsu's question. "True or not, the technology is...well foreign. Some times what we don't understand is best left untouched." Corvus doubted she'd want to test out ancient teleportation devices just to save on shoe leather. "A time saver or not, it doesn't sound like the sort of thing we should be messing with."

She looked at Matsu. "You were joking, right?"

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu looked at her as she was thinking about it. Using and understanding the technology could be something while she rubbed her hands together. "Yes and no... it would be something to work on and learn what it could do... but you are right. Messing with ancient technology can be dangerous. However if we have a chance to find some, I would love to study it, the Aing-Tii were teaching ways to fold space and see the flow of time, if there is technology that can do such a feat it could be of interest maybe to work on galactic travel." She was excited but reserved about finding some secret stash of technology and relics while she moved around and was reaching out with the force. One hand rising to the stone while she was starting to shape it to make a hole until there was ice. "Well at least we know it is solid and not liable to fall down on us."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was at least assured. They would not be finding parts of her scattered across the galaxy as she attempted to trial the use of an ancient technology.

She smiled. "Agreed. Study is one thing. Trialling is quite another. So...where to next? Was the Holocron our intended target, or were you expecting something else?"

She watched as Matsu worked the stone. It was something she needed to ask about later.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Matsu had to think about that, what had she really been hoping to find here? Well the holocron was an added benefit they could have but really she had been hoping to find technology and information on the old pre republic civilizations and with Tython lost to the jedi they had no way or working it out. "I was honestly hoping to find technology to aid in the creation of a way to sneak around behind sith lines. Without a stealth ship that can be detected or force abilities that can take a lifetime to master and use." She was looking at the jedi grandmaster and searching for some of the supposed technology they could study. This deep in the prison and city she wasn't going to turn down some of the stuff before she found it feeling the metal of the system as she flew up and was pulling at the stone shaping and guiding it until she could see the metal while trying to figure out what it was made of. "It looks similar to a null field, for creating a stable connection."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled. "Sometimes talking to you is like a conversation with my sister, Taeli. I have a vague idea of what you're saying but not enough to truly know what to say in response. Null fields and stable connections?" She drew the flat of her hand over the top of her head.

"Seriously, my knowledge is rooted in the past. Albeit these are ancient, the understanding of them is some way beyond me. And I wonder if we'll ever truly learn how to use this sort of device. I can see its practical benefits - but I am a great believer in the arms war. If we learned of such secrets, so would the Sith. Nowhere would ever be safe again. Perhaps some times the past is best left alone?"

She smiled. "But that's just my view. I suspect my sister would be as excited as you are. Have you ever met her?"

[member="Matsu Ike"]