Elbow room – that's what people want

[Darth Zilti]

Maja was slowly sensing that something was wrong. She had no formal Force training so was unable to read the tell-tale signs that the Force was sharing with her. That her life was about to end.

But there was nothing wrong with her ears and she heard the sound of someone running very quickly towards her. She turned just in time to see Glyph hurl himself at the creature that has clearly ear-marked her for lunch. She saw his saber blade thrust deep into its body and at the same time a number of blaster shots ensure that the contents of its skull were now adorning the adjacent wall.

She blinked a few times. "Are there...many of these around?" she enquired. "Just I didn't think to bring anything with me." She pulled the lining out of her pockets as if to show she didn't have a blaster hidden in them. "And thanks. I owe you one." And then she turned back in the direction she was facing initially. "I think the crystals are this way."

She either was a great actress or she had nerves of steel. Or possibly both.

[member="Glyph"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

Glyph was breathing hard, the jump and amount of energy in the force that he just used was massively draining to him and he only answered as she turned her back. "W-wait, i tire easily, you might need this." He breathed in and stood up slowly, moving over to her and handing her the blaster as he waited for things to become clear once more. His hands moved to grip only his saber once she would relieve him of the blaster, his eyes focusing on the shadows as he watched for the slightest bit of movement and walked beside maja.

Things would remain quiet though, the path to the crystals guarded by one or two more upon the way but it seemed that was the full extent of the creatures that resided there. The darkness though would begin to brighten as at the end of the narrow cave the first crystal could be seen.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja grabbed the blaster. She'd used them before. More often than not just to scare - but she'd also had to use one in anger - so she knew which way to point it.

"Come on then," she encouraged, "We haven't got all day." And they'd barely travelled twenty metres before Maja spotted two more. Waiting for [member="Glyph"] to catch up, she whispered, "OK, you're the brains of the operation. What's the plan?"

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Plan? Crimson, if i had a plan, we wouldn't be here with one saber and a blaster. SO i do hope you are a good shot." He smiled and stepped out into clear sight as he started waving his saber and shouting. "HEY UGLIES, TASTY HYBRID SPACE ELF OVER HERE, COME AND GET ME YOU DIRT PESTS." He smiled and dropped his saber out to his side, the blade causing the ground to char and burn under its point. Glyph smiled and started backing up far enough that the creatures would charge right past maja and head for Glyph, the perfect oppertunity for her to shoot and take out atleast one as Glyph smiled wider and wider, still shouting at the creatures, his hand grabbing a grenade from his cloak.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja chuckled as quietly as she could. He had a sense of humour, she had to give him that.

And the plan unfolded. No sooner had he waved at the creatures than they spotted him and scuttled along the tunnel, making no effort at stealth, their chitonous legs tapping on the stone floor as they ran. As soon as they were past her she took aim, and fired three quick shots at the creatures head. She managed to catch it with two of the shots, one hit its back and glanced off it but the other found the spot where the head met the neck and it severed it neatly.

One down and one to go - it was up to [member="Glyph"] now.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

Glyph let time slow down, his breathing stop and his eyes focus in like daggers on the enemy. it moved faster than a normal man, but it also did not have the creativity of a human and certainly not the power that Glyph himself had. Moving as time slowed he heard gun fire, felt the death of the second one as its pain filled the air. Just what he needed, the pain. With that his empathy flared up and all the pain from the first creature was transferred to the still living one, crippling it for a half a second before Glyph charged through it, the blade cutting through flesh and bone or what ever it was that made up this creature and beheading it. After the rush left and he dropped his empathy and his force speed he nearly collapsed, his body still recovering from the first use of the force and this second use almost draining him utterly.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja stepped forward gingerly, kicking the dead creatures whilst having the blaster trained on them all the time. Deciding they were definitely dead she then rushed over to [member="Glyph"].

He didn't look as though he'd been hurt but he acted like he was. "Are you OK? Are those things poisonous? Did it get you? Where?" She glanced over his body, checking for puncture wounds or even bruising but could see no reason for his demeanour. "Is this a joke?" She was half laughing, half serious.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Im fine.... just tired..." He breathed slowly and stood, his eyes brightening but still looked exhausted. "Come on, lets see these crystals." He tried to move quickly but again his muscles wouldn't let him, he was going to need to find someone to teach him to better use the force because at this point he was on the verge of fainting if he had to be forced to use it once more for any reason.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja gave [member="Glyph"] a glare. He clearly needed someone to lean on for a while. Was this a feigned injury for this very reason? "Come on, lean on me," she said as she pulled his arm around her shoulder and prepared to take some of his weight. She was glad he wasn't one of life's heavyweights.

"But why are you tired? Is it the Force or something?" As they talked they entered the cave proper. Maja's jaw droped open. There were clusters of crystals growing from the ground and groups of large leathery eggs randomly distributed too. "What are they?" she said as she pointed at the eggs. For some reason one egg in particular was 'calling' to her. She couldn't understand it but off all the crystals in the cave, it was this leathery object that was drawing her attention.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

"Ya... I'm not to good about using my power without quickly burning it out... you're lucky I didn't faint then and there like the last time I used it this much...." His eyes stayed front facing as he spoke, his eyes unwilling to look at her. "You don't have to carry me...." He looked at the egg in question. "Well you see, when a mother and a father...." His smile return as he looked at her.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja's eyes widened. "So why is it...?" Her voice trailed off - no doubt leaving Glyph perplexed at what she was thinking - and she walked over to it. So many crystals to choose from and this was all she had eyes for. She gave it a kick - but wish she hadn't. The eggs were leathery alright and must have been centimetres thick. Lifting the blaster in her hands she shot at the top of the egg. It exploded with a splash of gooey green liquid that coated the nearby walls.

Handing the blaster back to Glyph, she sank to her knees and plunged her arm into the egg - right up to the elbow. She didn't bother to roll her sleeves up, she just went for it. Her eyes never left the egg, she was transfixed. She rummaged around for a few seconds before finding it. Her hands closed around a hard surface, broadly the same size as the crystals around her. She tried to pull it out but her hands kept slipping off. But she closed her eyes and persevered. Again and again but without success. In her frustration she got angrier and angrier until she could feel herself losing control. She was about to curse at the top of her lungs when the remainder of the egg exploded this time covering Maja herself, but she didn't care.

Wiping away the goo, she stared at the object in her right hand. It was a crystal. Even in this light she could tell what colour it was - it was crimson. She turned to look at [member="Glyph"]. "This is normal, right?"

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"My oh my Maja... now that is a find. Very rarely are red crystals formed on their own, most that you find are actually synthetic... im not even sure if this is adegan or otherwise..." He came over and kneeled beside her, taking her hand with the crystal still in it and holding the two in eyesight so he could study it will curious eyes that ran over its every feature until they stopped. "How did you know it was in the egg?" He looked up at her face, wondering how.

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja gave [member="Glyph"] a puzzled look. To her the answer seemed obvious and wondered why he couldn't have seen it. "Well...all the crystals, well I could sense them as we approached them. And when I say 'sense' I mean..I mean...I knew they were here. Like they were telling me they were here. In my head. I...I...can't explain it very well. I just knew they were here. And this, well they were all kind of bright when I looked at them - more than just looking, I mean in my mind they were bright but this one - it seemed brightest of all. It was like it was telling me where it was. Is this making any sense?"

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

He smiled and sat down, running a finger over the top of the crystal as he still held it and her hand infront of him. "I could sense and see the rest of them, trust me, being part miralukan does have its bad points when it comes to places like this and trying to use force sight here... but this... its like its not there to me, or rather its so small i would look over it. With Crystals like this, where you find it so strong you were called to it, and i so weak i ignored it. Well you see crystals like this are some how attuned to you, connected through the force more closely than others. What this connection does is all theory, some say they can focus the force better, some say they are calmer in combat. There is no one thing that remains the same, this crystal is connected to you, in both being and color it seems." He smiled and glanced up without moving his head, eyes peering up at her as he reached up with his hand and patted her on the head before letting go of her hand and crystal finally. "I do believe we have what we came here for."

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja smiled. She was happy with her find. Surely her sister would be pleased. It didn't feel special in hr hands, but even when she put it in her pocket, she could 'feel' its presence. She couldn't describe or explain it - but the sensation was there none the less.

But having put in in her pocket, she glanced around. "Isn't it worth taking some more? I mean, aren't they valuable?" She may now have a seven digit credit balance, but the chance to make easy money was hard for her to pass up.

[member="Glyph"]

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Maja, you found a crystal that you can connect to." He had paused at the threshold of the current chamber they were in, using her name instead of the nickname he had given her as a deathly serious expression was on his face. "Think about it, each crystal is not something you can just pawn and sell like a blaster, they are something that is connected to the force and in that aspect are living themselves. We link to the crystals in our sabers, we connect to them, and do you really want to sell the very things that could bond to another being that finds them like you just did?" He stared at her, he hadn't said she couldn't but he did hope she made the decision herself.

 

[Darth Zilti]

She listened to his words. They made sense - but not necessarily to her. But what he was saying did resonate. "So a Jedi would have to pick the one that meant something to him. And any old crystal wouldn't do. And those that weren't Jedi - well they would have no use for them anyway." Her train of thought was not in any way selfless - but it came to the same conclusion. "I understand."

Clearly she did not.

"This one is mine. She'll be pleased with me, I know it." Her eyes sparkled as she looked at [member="Glyph"]. "Are there any more secrets on this planet?"

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"I can tell when people are lying Crimson, stop to talk like you know what i mean if you done, there is no shame in admitting your ignorance to some paths of thought as you and I are very different... think of it this way, if the last person took everything here, your crystal might never have been found by you, is that what you wish? I don't mean to be cruel or harsh Maja, and nor do i favor Jedi, but you see there are some things that i do believe in and greed is not one of them." He smiled and walked over, taking her arm in his for a moment before speaking. "Now come on Crimson, i feel like there's a yellow brick road that needs a skipping on."

 

[Darth Zilti]

Maja shrugged. He understood her better than she cared to admit, but one thing he said resonated with her. "I used to think it was all about money, about material things. But lately I've changed my mind. It's about power. People with power can take what they want, even from people with money."

She shook her head as if to shake the thought free. "But for now, let's start skipping." And she did just that, laughing and dancing in circles around [member="Glyph"]. "So where are we going?"

(Sorry, notifications are wacky - just checked the thread as I know you post often and saw you've been waiting )

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Maja Vern"]

"Well we could visit the ruins that revan had at one time used to find the star forge, or I can bring you out to a glade I know of that presents the most beautiful sight of the sun and the stars as night comes to pass and have a picnic while we wait." He smiled as he watched her, unable to stop doing so while he sat there.