Crystal Harvest [Sabena Shai]

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

New to the Order. New to the life of a Jedi. New to having to live a life according to one single philosophy. A philosophy of the Code. That was all new. It was something Oscar had to adapt to. In his former life, all he had to worry about was if his relationships with other people were okay. Yet now, classes and trainings, not even talking about missions, took all the time and there was no way to make any real friends.

For the first time in months, the boy was on a lesser mission which didn't need a lot of focus. Just getting the crystals looked like a simple thing he could do while maybe really getting to know somebody. It was lonely to be a Jedi Padawan without any friends in the Temple.

Now another Padawan was supposed to come along with him.

The last time Oscar checked the list of Jedi going for the missions with him (which was five minutes ago), he only saw one called [member="Sabena Shai"] having written her name there and honestly, to him it was a number of people he would gladly take along.

Forming one good friendship was better than having many friends he didn't even know much about.

Then he remembered he had to focus on the mission, not on forming any bonds. Like the Jedi philosophy told him, such attachments were not allowed. And failing to live according to the code at such a young age was something he couldn't let happen.

So instead, sitting on a bench outside the Ossus Temple, he waited.

 

[Sabena Shai]

It was just past midday. The air remained still with not even a breeze. The still recovering forest surrounding the Jedi Temple seemed relaxed. Because of the season at the time, the temperature was comfortable - neither too hot nor too cold.

The sound of a few steps could be heard from [member="Arbaal Mistcaller"]’s bench. Sabena walked down the stairway in front of the Temple. She wore a simple, tan tunic and carried a small duffle bag for collecting the lambent crystals.

When she finally reached the bottom of the stairway, Sabena turned her head to see Oscar sitting upon a bench - waiting. She approached the man with light footsteps.

Once she got within earshot, Sabena greeted Oscar with, “Hi!”

Looking intently at the young man with a welcoming smile, Sabena asked him, “Oscar, right?”

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

Oscar could hear steps coming closer to him for some time now, but until the moment they got really close to him, he just decided to avoid them. And as soon as he could sense a person being really close to his bench, he decided to actually turn to the Jedi.

"Hi!" he replied to the woman simply, not making things overly complicated. He eyed her body, her face, her hair, and everything. To be honest, she looked quite perfect to the man -- a perfect Jedi.

He'd find out if his guess was right was right soon.

"Yeah, I'm Oscar. And you are Sabena?"

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

“Yes!” immediately replied Sabena when [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"] asked his question.

Gently, Sabena gave a short bow to the fellow Jedi Padawan and told Oscar, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Sabena then readjusted the dufflebag strap that laid over her left shoulder. The bag itself tapped the lightsaber resting next to the left side of her hip. Another lightsaber - of a simpler design - remained idle on the right side of her hip.

“Having a good day so far?” asked Sabena with apparent sincerity.

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

"Yes, I'm having a great day. A little bit nervous, but otherwise fantastic."

Oscar smiled lightly and then continued, "How about you?"

Seeing how it was not too polite to stay seated while talking to somebody who is standing, he followed Sabena's lead and stood up from the bench. They'd have to leave soon, anyway.

He touched one of his pockets to ensure his bag was still there. He wouldn't want to go for a mission unprepared. He didn't have a lightsaber, so he was already in a little bit of a disadvantage, but he comforted himself with the fact that harvesting lambent crystals probably didn't need the weapon at all.

And well, if they did need it, the other Jedi Padawan seemed to have a weapons with her.

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

“I’m sure there’s nothing to be nervous about,” Sabena assured to [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"].

Once again, Sabena shifted the duffle bag.

In response to Oscar’s next question, Sabena told him, “Good, good.”

Then, Sabena took a glance to her right - toward the forest. Her face relaxed - no longer trying to hold a vibrant smile. She then turned her eyes back to Oscar.

“I think you were put in charge of this,” she commented, “I’m ready to follow your lead on your go.”

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

"Yeah, let's go," Oscar said, made a gesture that said 'come with me' and started moving towards the forest. He actually had no idea where on Ossus the crystals could grow, but he had been told there are these on the planet, so he guessed the only way not to be embarrassed was to do some adventuring to find them.

"So... while we're getting there... How long have you been in the Order?"

It had been pointed out to the boy that he was rather old to be a Jedi Padawan, considering the fact that his mother was a Jedi and his Force-sensitivity had not been a secret for a long time anymore.

Just to feel better about himself, the Padawan often asked others how long they'd been there. Maybe he could find somebody who was in the same state as he was.

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

“Right!” said Sabena in an uplifted tone as she began to follow [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"].

As their trek began, Oscar asked how long Sabena had been with the Jedi Order.

“Hmm?” immediately uttered Sabena with a blink.

For a few seconds, no words came from Sabena’s mouth. Her eyes looked to the left for a moment - at a small wildflower beginning to bloom for the season.

“For a while,” she finally answered, “I feel like I was raised in the Order.”

“How about you, Oscar?” asked Sabena as she returned the same question to her partner.

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

"I think I've been here only for a few months," Oscar muttered. It was clear the woman here was a typical Jedi - raised in the Order, recently became a Padawan, etc. The boy could only wish he had such an easy life.

"I... have a few distractions which didn't let me join the Order until now. My parents thought they'd keep me home until they knew I was okay to start walking the road of light."

He tried to force a laugh, but it ended up being a desperate try to make himself less embarrassing.

"I know I'm unusual."

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

As [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"] began his answer, Sabena’s eyes returned to her comrade. She listened intently to his words. She gave a soft “Heh” as Oscar attempted to laugh. Then, her eyes began to look around the forest once more.

“Everyone’s a little bit unusual,” Sabena commented as her eyes continued to scan her surroundings. She switched the strap of her duffle bag to her other shoulder.

“Though your parents sound interesting,” she continued, “What are they like?”

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

"My mother... she's extremely caring. She's serene, lives in harmony with everything and everybody else. She's from Vahla heritage, so she is afraid of falling to the Dark Side. Other than that, she is a Jedi Master."

Oscar sighed.

"And my father is a human, lightsided, but not a Jedi. He doesn't want to join the Order even though my mother insists on him to start following the Code."

He turned his eyes to Sabena.

"Do you remember your parents?"

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

Once again, Sabena’s eyes turned to [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"] as he spoke. Her head tilted as he described his parents.

“Oh wow,” she said as Oscar spoke.

Then once Oscar asked his question, Sabena immediate sighed, “Huh.”

Momentarily, Sabena’s eyes looked up. The blue sky pierced through the tree tops. Sunlight struck her eyes. Immediately, she squinted and looked back down.

“That’s a good question,” she continued with her eyes toward the ground, “I would say that [member="Kiskla Grayson"]… is something like a mother to me.”

Kiskla Grayson was once the Grand Master of the Order in the not-too-distant past. She was captured by the One Sith. That was the last that Sabena had heard of her.

Then, Sabena looked back up toward Oscar. Immediately, her eyes widened. She stretched out her right hand - her palm facing Oscar.

“Watch out!” she yelled.

As Oscar had his eyes on Sabena, there was a quick burst of movement from the treetops. A reptilian the size of a large dog fell from the canopy - its trajectory went straight toward Oscar and threatening to hit him in the back of the head.

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

The boy nodded as Sabena spoke. He couldn't imagine a life where one doesn't even know who their parents are and where one's master would be the only parental figure for the person. Seemed rather lonely to him. But seeing the woman's face, he could tell she had grown used to that way of living. If only he could do the same.

And then the attack took place. Too confused and shocked to do much, he only managed to kneel a little bit before the reptilian finally made it to the exact point where his head was before.

"What was that?"

However, the attack wasn't over. The strange animal wasn't gone -- it was preparing for another attack. Or whatever else it was trying to do.

"Let me rephrase that -- what is that?" He had never seen anything like that before. Most of his life had happened in cities and inside buildings, so his knowledge of nature was rather limited.

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

Once the lizard hit the ground, Sabena dropped the duffle bag. Her right hand hovered over the lightsaber strapped to the right side of her hip. She stepped forward.

Initially, the lizard appeared to spasm on the ground. The creature had vibrant, iridescent-like skin. In just a few seconds, it settled and stood up to face [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"]. It stood on four legs - though those seemed to be extremely short for a reptile that size. Its appendages were small enough that its smooth, scaled belly almost touched the ground.

Rather than an elongated snout like many reptiles, this lizard had a very short head with a flat face. It glared at Oscar and seemed to assume a threatening position.

“Bwah!” screeched the lizard with a very nasally tone.

Some more rustling in the treetops above ensued. Another reptile fell - one much smaller. This time, it seemed to be more controlled in its fall and aimed itself at the larger lizard standing before Oscar. The smaller lizard impacted the larger lizard and both rolled over with a yelp. The larger reptile quickly got back up and wobbled away in haste toward a brush. The smaller lizard waddled in pursuit of the larger lizard. Both quickly left the sight of Sabena.

Wide eye, Sabena just blinked at where the lizards ran off to. She gave a single, “Heh,” under her breath. Soon after, a, “Hah,” escaped her lips. Within just another moment, Sabena began laughing for a few good seconds.

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

Oscar was a little bit terrified. "What are these things? And what the kark did they want from us?" He usually tried to control what he was saying, but this time, no embarrassment and bad words had any impact on the boy whatsoever -- panic had taken him over. In a city, these things never happened. On Ossus, however, the animal seemed to be native. If the Temple only wasn't in such an uncivilised area.

"Shall we continue walking?"

He only hoped they would get to the crystals soon. It didn't matter to him that he didn't know where they were headed. No, he actually liked just wandering. It gave him a chance to think, to talk to people.

And he seemed to have forgotten that he was on a mission. Again.

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

The laughing subsided as [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"] continued to express concern over the reptiles. Sabena calmed herself down quickly. She looked to the duffle bag she dropped.

“Just random lizards,” commented Sabena as she approached the duffle bag.

“Maybe we surprised them,” she continued to assume, “Maybe the bigger one was being picked on.”

Then, Sabena picked up the bag and strapped it over her left shoulder.

“I guess it's up to us to make up the story behind them. At least, they’re not attacking us,” she then said, “Let’s continue.”

Once again, Sabena resumed following Oscar through the jungle.

As they would began walking again, Sabena teasingly asked Oscar, “Did you get scared over a couple lizards?”

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

"Yeah. They tried to kill me!"

But Oscar did understand the little mockery behind that question and hoped the woman would understand his. He had never actually felt less secure about his social status than at that moment. It was like his whole destiny was just a thin thread which is broken whenever he makes a mistake. With every awkward thing, he became more and more careful of what he did show out.

Yet it was also getting a lot more difficult.

"So... do you happen to know where these crystals actually... umm... reside?"

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

Another laugh escaped Sabena’s mouth after [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"] exclaimed that everything was trying to kill him. She stopped just as he began to speak again - asking if she knew of the location of lambent crystals. She took a few seconds of silence to herself. Her eyesight lowered to the ground for a moment.

Then, she looked back up toward Oscar and said, “I’m not too sure, yet they would grow where Vong life still resided. I thought you would have a clue as to where they were.”

 

[Oscar Grant Paxon]

"I do. But I'm not sure where exactly I could find them. I know the general area."

He sighed.

"I thought maybe you'd know where they were."

But they had to find it out together, it seemed. Both equally aimless, wandering into unknown. They didn't know what they could find though probably there was nothing unusual anyway. Just plain landscape and lambent crystals.

If it were a dangerous mission, they wouldn't have been let us go on it, he came up with a theory later.

[member="Sabena Shai"]

 

[Sabena Shai]

"Hmm," sighed Sabena after [member="Oscar Grant Paxon"] as he explained their circumstances.

The forest surrounding the two seemed to be very vibrant and full of life. The two lizards that gave a fright to Oscar were not the only lifeforms in the jungle. The easiest to spot were a few bird-like creatures sitting in the trees - singing to each other (or screeching, as would be most appropriate). And just like everything else full of life, the Living Force could be felt throughout the forest if one attuned themselves appropriately.

While in thought, Sabena said, "Lambent crystals are definitely a Vong creation."

Sabena's eyes looked to the side for a moment. Her right hand waved across the air as she brought it to her chin. Her fingertips just barely touched her skin.

"Maybe," she continued, "We can have an idea of where to look if there's some... 'absence' of the Force."