In search for guidance.

[Kixi Rajki]

As George explained the situation with his home world in relation to the Sith, Kixi couldn't help but wonder just how powerful the Sith were. She knew little about them. Or did she? A vision of her suddenly appeared in her mind. It was only for a brief few seconds, yet it had appeared to her as if it were a memory she had experienced. In the past, yet it felt like the future. Mako and her had stepped out of their Jumper ship, about to be captured on Coruscant by the Sith. Kixi was battling with her lightsabre, taking out waive after waive of Sith Acolytes, while Mako was firing her blaster, their body shields protecting them initially. Then Mako would go down. Kixi would put her body around her to protect her as Mako was down on her knees. A Sith Warrior would approach, and Kixi would extinguish her lightsabre frantically surrendering to the Sith putting her body in the way to protect her love. A vision she had seen countless time and every time she did would frighten her. Then she would snap out of it. Shaking in fear momentarily. Not knowing if what she felt like was a memory were real or just some kind of mind trick or illusion.

She looked around. Her master had disappeared after he had told Kixi about his home world and the Sith. Undoubtedly the mention of the Sith had triggered Kixi's memory and the reaction. He had already ducked down under the surface. With no communication devices he would be using the Force to communicate with her. Had he sensed her sudden moment of fear? Possibly perhaps she thought to herself. If he had, he will most likely ask her later she assumed, as she then put her rebreather on and also ducked underwater and pursued her master. She could sense where he was with the Force and followed him down the deep lake. Although she was in an unfamiliar an environment that was alien to her, she would feel safe being where she was, of course as long as her Nautolan master remained within her proximity.

As she continued to follow him down, using telepathy she asked.

"Master where are we heading?"

She would continue to follow her master regardless of what he said. She trusted and confided in him, so wasn't at all concerned.

[member="George O Rourke"]

 

[George O Rourke]

[member="Kixi Rajki"]

"Where are we going you ask? Where ever the lake takes us." He replied telepathically as he continued deeper into the lake. Eventually they reached the bottom. The sand below was warm and as he placed his foot in it, the sand rose being disturbed from its tranquillity. The light was low, but George used the force along with his other senses to find his way. Little marine life swam by without a thought.

"How is this for you Kixi." He asked the Padawan, figuring it was her first time at such depth without being within the confines of a structure.

He ignited one of his blades proving to himself that the waterproofing seal he had added worked. He extinguished the first one and checked the second one. The Green blade ignited and lit up the water. Perfect they both work. He thought to himself as they continued walking down the sandy trail.

 

[Kixi Rajki]

George touched the sand on the bottom of the lake first. As he did so the sand rose up naturally. As Kixi touched the bottom as well, causing the same reaction, her master tested both his lightsabres to ensure that they really did work underwater. Kixi did the same. Her purple blade came to life lighting up the area they were both in momentarily with a distinct purple haze. All of course was darkened once again as soon as Kixi then extinguished her blade very much like her master had done moments before her.

"My blade is good underwater too Master, and oh yeah I'm doing well so far too. Although it does feel kinda weird being this deep down outside of a structure or vehicle."

Kixi admitting the last part without any shame. Clearly this would be a new experience for her, and as they would continue further, she had no idea what to expect. She just had to trust in herself, her master and more importantly, the Force.

[member="George O Rourke"]

 

[George O Rourke]

[member="Kixi Rajki"]

"Under the surface is vastly different than above it, or even within a structure. The way the current flows, the strength of the water, the density of the water. All so very different to the air that we are accustom to." He replied as he walked along the bottom of the lake.

The sand didn't help their vision, turning the little light they had brown and blurry. However the force and George's other senses took over. As they walked along the sand he paused for a moment. "Hold up." He lifted his fist halting the advancement. He could feel something, something dangerous. "Don't move, their is something there." He warned his Padawan.

Suddenly as the dirt dropped the visibility increased showing the beast of the lake. An Opee Sea Killer sat staring at the pair of them. The giant yellow eyes gleaming in the murky water. "Alright, swim. Go!" He said quickly turning tail and fleeing. The creature had thick armour and would tear anything apart for lunch. George was desperately hoping Kixi and himself were not on the menu.

 

[Kixi Rajki]

As the two walked along the bottom of the lake's bed, sand would constantly be rippled from the floor bed slurring their vision. Although this wasn't too much of a concern for Kixi. Her Force vision senses were probably the best of all the Force abilities that she possessed. She slowly closed her eyes and through the Force her sight became clear, as if there were a huge light shining from above.

Then suddenly her master had told her to hold. He had sensed something lurking nearby, something extremely dangerous. With her enhanced Force assisted sight, she could see something moving along the lake bed. Something undoubtedly huge.

"I see it Master."

Kixi confirmed as her master advised her to swim and get the heck out of where they were.

"You'll get no argument from me."

Kixi said as she already began moving away, but not for the surface. Using her Force enhanced vision, she could see what appeared to be an underwater cavern not far from their position.

"Master follow me, I see an opening up ahead. We can take cover and refuge there. If we go for the surface, it's what that creature has already anticipated and thus has the upper hand on us if we proceed in that direction."

Kixi was already swimming towards the cavern, there really wasn't any other sensible option that she could sense or see as an alternative. The only other options were to head for the surface which she had already ruled out as having a very low success rate, or turn and face the creature and fight. The latter, given she had her lightsabre on her, would be a fair option had she been on land. She had fought against such huge creatures on land before, in worlds not far from her home world, and with only her lightsabre and the Force to aid her. Clearly she could fight, otherwise she wouldn't be where she were now. However to fight such creatures in an environment totally unfamiliar to her would surely be suicidal. She knew that and so do her master.

[member="George O Rourke"]

 

[George O Rourke]

[member="Kixi Rajki"]

As the pair of them turned and sprinted away Kixi noticed a cavern up ahead. Rightly so they headed towards it rather than fight a war to the surface against the odds. "Good choice Kixi." George replied as the beast gained on them behind. He could of easily disposed of the creature, but thought there must have been another way out. Although they were ferocious beasts there was no reason to kill it if it wasn't necessary.

As they reached the cave they quickly darted in. The small cave opening allowed a safe haven from the beast. But they would still need to escape the cave at some point. But at least they had more time to do that now. "Good thinking getting to this cave. Any ideas yet on how to get to the surface again?" He asked his Padawan, he had one of his own but wanted to see how the Padawan thought.

 

[Kixi Rajki]

As the 2 barely made it to the cave, her master asked if she had any ideas on what to do now. Clearly they couldn't hang around the underwater cavern forever.

"Master I have to apologise. More simply because I was thinking it. Had this creature been on the surface, I would've striked at it to take it out."

Clearly Kixi knew that wasn't the Jedi way of thinking, but then again she was apologising wasn't she?

"I sense you yourself could've taken out the beast. However the goal here is to defeat or escape the creature without killing it if possible. And you are right in that Master. Afterall we were the ones intruding in its territory. We disturbed it."

Kixi paused a moment before continuing.

"So Master this is your test? For me to find us a way out of here and not become the beast's dinner, while at the same time not harm it."

Kixi eyed her Master a moment before suggesting a possible solution.

"In that case then Master we will need to create a diversion. That will get the creature away from this cavern and when it does, we'll have enough time to make it back to the surface. I can create a diversion by using the Force and create sounds of creatures coming from the direction down there."

Kixi pointed her arm and hand in the proposed direction.

"The creature will go to investigate, forget about us and then we can make a run for it."

Kixi then stopped and waited for her master to respond. He'll either agree with her idea or have one of his own. Kixi would first wait for his suggestion before attempting anything.

[member="George O Rourke"]

 

[George O Rourke]

[member="Kixi Rajki"]

Kixi was only a Padawan and from the limited knowledge of her background she had a rough past. But she was learning to do things the Jedi way. The peaceful way. In a moment of pressure one can revert to the old way of thinking. But Kixi didn't, even thought it was because physically she didn't think she could the fact remains the beast is still alive.

"It is alright Padawan, you decided to run rather than fight. A decision well made." George replied, reassuring his Padawan she was doing well.

"Distraction you say..." George liked the idea, but wasn't sure if the reality of the rest of the plan would work. "How about I go out and distract it, you make your way to the surface and I'll meet you there in say... Five minutes?" Taking nothing away from the Padawans idea George wanted to make sure the distraction lasted long enough for them both to make their way to the surface, it was a fair way and for the human it would take a bit longer.

 

[Kixi Rajki]

Kixi listened carefully to what her master had in mind and briefly protested.

"But Master if you do that, you'll be in the fight alone. What if something goes wrong? I would be deserting you?"

Kixi sounded all confused but slowly came to her senses.

"Well I wouldn't be deserting you because you're ordering me head for the surface while you distract it. Of course Master, but still if something happens your plan puts you totally on your own."

Kixi could see the smirks on his face. Clearly this task of dealing with the wild sea creature would be like a walk in the park for him and Kixi knew it.

"Okay then Master, we'll do it your way. You had better be right about how you intend to distract it, speaking of, what exactly are you going to do to it? I assume you won't actually kill it whilst given a choice correct?"

Kixi would wait for her master to first reply and then once he jumped out first to do whatever it was he had intended, Kixi would also then jump out and make her way back to the surface as quickly as she possibly could.

[member="George O Rourke"]

 

[George O Rourke]

[member="Kixi Rajki"]

Kixi wasn't exactly pleased with his idea. Protesting against it for a while before realizing that George had a smirk on his face. He knew what he was getting into and how to deal with it. "Its alright Kixi. I've got this. I am a lot faster at swimming than you are, that is why I want to make sure you get to the surface. I may not be able to outrun it but I do have the force to aid me." George replied as he moved towards the door.

Kixi spoke again. She asked if I would harm it... A question George somewhat expected after their previous chats but still had to be answered. "Of course I won't kill it. Might get a little push around if it gets too close but thats all." George finished up with a smile on his face ready to leave the cave. "Alright lets go." His last words to her as he swept outside and quickly past the unsuspecting beast.

It was still outside the cavern and ready to pounce, but George waiting for it to turn its back on the cave as it slowly circled. He quickly darted out and past it. Speeding off into the distance. The beast wasn't far behind though and gained quickly on him. As the beast was lured away from the cavern entranced he had hoped that Kixi was on her way to the surface.

 

[Kixi Rajki]

"Right, got it."

Kixi replied, but George was already gone by then with the beast tailing him in hot pursuit.

Well here goes then, time to head off for the surface. Kixi said the words to herself as she made her way upwards towards the surface. Seemed a lot further than when they originally made their way down. Probably because of the desperation to hurry up now. She finally got to the top and quickly swam to dry land and safety.

Master [member="George O Rourke"], where are you? The thought was the first thing that entered in her mind. She stretched out with her feelings and could sense his life force nearby, down there in the deep lake she had just frantically got out of herself. Behind him she could feel the crude life force of the beast that pursued him. She was clearly worried for her master. Yet there was nothing she could do but wait and hope. In that moment she felt lost and hopeless, an all too familiar situation for her unfortunately. All she could do was go down on her knees, put both her hands on her face and wait in anticipation.

 

[George O Rourke]

[member="Kixi Rajki"]

The plan seemed to be working, George had got the beast to follow him away from the cave. But now he had another problem, he was running out of room. He had now backed himself into a corner and the beast wasn't going to stop. As George stopped at the wall he quickly turned just in time to see the beast lunge at him. He summoned the force pushing down on the surface allowing him to quickly avoid the attack. The beast crashed into the lake bed, but this didn't stop him, if anything it made him that much hungrier.

George was still in danger and the proximity was too close for him to make another run for it. He eyed off the beast waiting for it to strike again. He had room to move now, forwards, backwards, side to side. Even up and down as he was now sitting in the middle of the lake. This time the beast waited, slowly drifting in the current, preparing to strike. George could have easily taken up arms and drawn his blades. But there was another way, he knew that. But as George continued to watch the predator it seemed to be in no hurry. George knew that by now Kixi would have made it land bound by now and that she would have been worried. Well thought she would be worried anyhow. George knew he had to escape now. So he did.

Blasting the beast with a powerful force push the beast glided back through the water. Loosing momentum and creating a current of its own. This provided his own distraction, one long enough for him to bust through the surface and make his way back to land. As he swam up he did not even look behind. Knowing what was there and feeling the distance between him he knew he could make it. Sure enough he ended up at the surface, he looked around for a moment to find the bank that Kixi was on and quickly moved over to her.

"See, I told you it would be alright." He said with a grin as he gave himself a bit of a shake to get the excess water off of himself.

 

[Kixi Rajki]

As George made his wild exit from the under surface of the water, he swam at a rapid pace for land. Yet his composure appeared as calm as it always had been, his body cutting through the surface of the water graciously.

As George reached land and got on his feet, Kixi got up and ran towards him arms opened and hugged him. She was obviously a lot smaller build than the huge Nautolan. As she hugged him arms fully wrapped around his back, he lifted her off her feet as he wrapped his arms around her to hug her back.

"You made it back Master. I was so worried about you. I hate it when I'm put in a helpless situation. I've experienced that all too many times in my life. Please don't do this again Master."

Kixi put the side of her head against the side of her master's as she finished speaking. Stayed there for at least half a minute to calm herself down. His body felt cold, obviously because he had just come out of the water, yet being held in his arms gave her a sense of warmth and comfort. Finally she let go of him and he of her and Kixi was back on her own two feet.

"I think that should conclude the day's events Master, that is unless you have more things you want to do in which you know I'll never object to."

Kixi cheekly commented. However the sun was by now slowly going down, and the two had done more training today than per usual, plus there was still the fact that neither had gotten any good sleep from the previous night's drinking. Perhaps it was best to call it a day and get a good long rest Kixi thought to herself. She had a feeling her master would most likely concur to that thought, but like always would wait for his next instruction.

[member="George O Rourke"]

 

[George O Rourke]

[member="Kixi Rajki"]

As George exited the water the young Padawan rushed over arms out with a look of pure happiness on her face. She swung her arms around George in which he did the same. Lifting her off the ground a few inches as they embraced their escape. "Don't worry Padawan, I am fine." It was clear that she was in a state of panic prior to his return. And slowly her face turned from anxious Padawan to cool calm and collected Kixi.

As George let the Padawan return to the ground he looked around as she spoke about the time of day. George hadn't realized the amount of time they had spent beneath the surface and it was slowly getting dark. "I think that will conclude our training for today Padawan. After the past couple of days I think we both need to get some rest." The Jedi Knight suggested. But tomorrow was a new day with new missions to attend to. "We shall make our way back to the temple for now." He instructed as they both set back for the Temple hoping to get there before dark.

 

[Kixi Rajki]

As both master and padawan made their way back to the temple, Kixi felt more eager than she had ever felt before.

"I'm not meaning to search for any trouble, I know combat is our last resort, but Master when can we go out on a real live mission?"

Kixi couldn't help but ask the question as in the end she was already a trained warrior who had seen the light of battle, combat and war on many occasions. Yet the way in which she had approached this in the past, her methods, her actual ways were different, very different to the Jedi ways of the light. She wanted to apply herself in a real life scenario, using what she had learnt here on Voss with her master. For reasons that would be hard to explain to her master, although to her it was ever so evident, because of her dark turbulent past, she felt that she owed the citizens of this galaxy much in terms of serving and protecting.

The night sky was very much settled in by the time the 2 had made it back to the temple. She would eventually say good night to her master, have a nice warm shower and then hit the sack for a long deserved nights sleep. She would have to wait for her master to decide if the time to undertake any live missions would be soon.

[member="George O Rourke"]

 

[George O Rourke]

[member="Kixi Rajki"]

As the pair of them made it back to the temple Kixi was eager to get out on a mission rather than training on Voss. A fair enough call as he hadn't taken her off Voss yet as Master and Padawan. But the time for that was drawing near. He could feel it. "We'll receive a mission soon. Don't worry my Padawan, you'll have plenty of time to test yourself in the real world." George replied as he thought about the missions he went on as a Padawan.

"For now we shall sleep, I shall speak to you in the morning." George spoke as he waved goodbye to his Padawan for now.