Into The Valley [SJO Dominion of Ruusan Hex]

[Pash Tafo]

The dry Ruusan air filled his lungs slowly, lingered for a moment, then was pushed out. Pash stood within his small, temporary quarters at the base camp. One leg was raised, the foot angled to rest against the knee of the other leg upon which he stood. The Matukai had remained in this posture for over an hour, his erect body finding perfect balance, standing without swaying an inch. He had moved only once, halfway through, to shift his arms from before his chest to stretched out at his sides.

It was a Matukai ritual, one of the exercises that helped Pash focus his meager connection with the Force, until it amplified and began to course through him. Muscles that should have ached remained supple and strong as the Force coursed through nerves and vessels. Pash could feel every inch of his body, each muscle in distinction, every organ as it performed its task. All was well, aside from the small cut he received loading gear into the Tumbleweed before departing Kashyyyk. He drew his concentrain to the small laceration on his arm, willing the Force to knit skin together and seal off the minor wound.

A chirp echoed from his commlink, and the Grandmaster's voice filled the room, calling the party to gather at her ship for departure. With one final deep breath, Pash slowly lowered his arms and leg and gathered his things for the expedition. He wore a rugged pair of brown pants, a cream colored shirt and a light sleeveless robe. A scarf was wrapped loosely around his neck, in case he needed to ward off blowing sand from his face. At his side was a survival vibroknife and over his back was a field pack with some basic gear. His weapon, the wan shen, was folded and strapped to his back as well, the broad, singe-edged head protected in a sheath. Slipping into his boots, Pash made his way across the compound the Valae's YT-1300.

Members of the Order milled about the camp, Pash nodding to those he passed as he approached the Tumbleweed. A group of young padawan were boarding the ship ahead of him, two of which he recognized from the welcoming gathering. Ashla was the dark-haired, light skinned padawan who he had seen practice. Her agility impressed him. The other was Zavii, the friendly Zabrak padawan. He also saw a young man mount the ship's ramp and enter as well.

At the foot of the gangway, Pash paused to greet Valae. "Grandmaster Kitra." The Matukai Adept offered with a smile, bowing slightly. The petite Jedi Grandmaster had been welcoming to the stranger who followed a different path in the Force, taking him into the order and giving him a place to belong. While he was not Jedi, Pash honored their customs and began to study the traditions of the Jedi, to better fit in. That was one reason he had accompanied the expedition to Ruusan at Valae's invitation. It promised to be rich in the history of the Jedi, and a perfect learning experience for the Matukai warrior.

A gust of wind kicked up dust and sand, and Pash lifted his scarf to cover his mouth and nose, lowering it when the wind died down. He turned to look up at the sky, his hand shading his eyes from the sun. The triple moons of Ruusan were barely visible in the daylight. "Its a good day for an adventure, wouldn't you say?" He spoke, casting a roguish glance at Master Kitra, then across the compound to see if any more would join the team.


[member=Valae Kitra] - [member=Ashla Marlar] - [member=Zavii] - [member=Reggie Faayare] - [member=Jerit Kolomor]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Objective: Pilgrimage, Shadow Mission (BYOO)

As per usual, Jyoti could be found within Tumbleweed tinkering, this time on the air scrubbers. The recycled air recirculated by the scrubbers had still had an unpleasant metallic odor to it. While dismantling a chemical filter, she considered installing an osmotic field generator as a replacement.

That would be another unnecessary upgrade on top of the dozens of additions she had already made over the course of the year. Tumbleweed would have just been fine with the initial round of hull repairs and engine tuning, but she just couldn't help herself with the endless tweaking, gradually transforming the ancient junk freighter into some zany high performance starship that could give the Millennium Falcon a run for its money.

Fortunately, Valae put up with her obsession, as she only benefited from the free aftermarket care. Still, it was probably going to be a hard sell when it came time to talk about installing a proton beam cannon.

Shortly after Valae announced her intent to head out to the Valley of the Jedi, Jerit approached her with the question about their participation in the event.

As he moved, she could hear that familiar clink of liquor bottles. She pretended not to notice, but the Shadow was always monitoring him closely. These days, she didn't really bother him about drinking as long as he remained responsible. The unfortunate reality that as much as she hated it, he was going to get his hands on alcohol anyway, so she might as well encourage more realistic moderation over complete abstinence.

"Well that's what we're here for. Why don't you see if Master Kitra will let you fly us there?"

She pulled up the top of her robe back over her undershirt, then started to put away her tools.

Like many of the others present for the expedition, she had come to see the Valley of the Jedi, but not for pilgrimage. She was on official business as a Shadow, there to investigate the remnants of all Sith desecration to the Site. A fortress, and possibly and an interdemensional rift left by the dead founders of the defunct Sith Triumvirate.

"Tell Kitra I'll see her in a minute, I'm going to hit up the washroom."

[member="Ashla Marlar"] [member="Junko Ike"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Zavii"] [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] [member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Jerit Kolomor"] [member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Solari"] [member="Cassius Droma"] [member="Pash Tafo"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Look what I found!" Catria audibly sighed, after digging up something that looks like a duranium safe, and a rather ancient one at that.

"Cath, exactly what is that?" Jessica asked, while looking at the safe's locking mechanisms.

"I may be wondering whether you can open it; I can't"

If the safe really is that old, I would expect any shield battery to be almost empty, and the same would hold true of electronic locks, regardless of what type of electronic locks, she thought. Which meant that Electric Judgment was out of the question: it would only make her job harder. But, of course, she would need to pull the safe out of the sand, and doing so was a rather delicate operation: she could no more afford to attempt using telekinesis to crack the safe open than she could afford to use Electric Judgment on it. In fact she would need more finesse - and computational power - to crack the code of the safe, using the Force. Using mechu-deru. But only if mechu-deru failed that she could then try to use telekinesis on a weakness of the safe's molecular structure. So now she used the computational power she had so as to make attempts to crack the safe's locks open, progressively causing her brain to heat up the more computational power she used to attempt cracking the safe's code. And glow more intensively in the Force, too. It took a long thirty seconds to finally get the safe to open which, from her standpoint, seemed like an eternity.

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Objective 1: Get to the Valley of the Jedi
Location: The Tumbleweed – Base camp, Ruusan
Post: 2

Valae watched as [member="Ashla Marlar"] approached and offered her a smile. The young woman had come prepared, and the Grandmaster chuckled softly as Ashla tried to catch her breath and greeted her. Not a moment later, [member="Reggie Faayare"] and [member="Zavii"] had made their way over to join them. “Nice to see all of you again! Go ahead and get aboard, we’ll give the others a few minutes.”

Her brows rose curiously as Zavii posed her a question about visiting Korriban.

“Trust me, there’s nothing left for us on Korriban.” She spoke softly, giving the young woman a small look as if to say ‘don’t go there.’ Though the Sith world had once been in the influence of the Silver Jedi, it was now back in the hands of the Sith.

As Pash Tafo greeted her with a bow, she returned the gesture. She remembered him from their recent gathering at the Temple on Kashyyyk. It was encouraging to see so many new faces ready to get involved. “Greetings, Pash!” As she caught the glint in his eyes, she could only smile. “I’m inclined to agree – it is a very good day for an adventure.”

Letting her eyes scan the area again, she watched for any others that might be on their way. Once she was satisfied that there were no more, she walked up the ramp herself. She was aware that [member="Jerit Kolomor"] and [member="Jyoti Nooran"] were still aboard, likely tinkering with her ship some more. It seemed like a good project for Jyoti, something to keep her occupied. However, the woman’s zeal to upgrade her ship was bordering on obsession now. But Valae really couldn’t complain, the repairs and upgrades had been quite helpful already.

“Alright, everyone…” Valae spoke into the comm system of her ship. “We’ll be taking off right now, so hold tight!”

Glancing at the coordinates sent by their scout, she fired up the Tumbleweed and prepared to take off. It wouldn’t be a long journey; soon they would reach the iconic Valley of the Jedi.

[member="Cassius Droma"], [member="Solari"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian Karr's lightsaber flashed across his front, intercepting the training bolt and sending it harmlessly into the wall. Continuing his arch he had to quickly bring the blade back up, blocking the barrage of training bolts firing toward him, his green lightsaber blade flashing left to right, up and down, intercpeting the attacks. Kian had been gone too long and his training had suffered because of it. In his accidental exile he had been too focused on survival to train. Kian felt more weary by the exercise than he should have and had to rely on the force more than in the past. He couldn't help but wonder if this was the result of his time away....or the fact that he was getting older.

"We are here sir." Came the metalic voice of CG-50, Kian's protocol droid. Kian had known they had arrived, as the ship had made the typical vibrations of a ship entering an atmosphere.

"Excellent." Kian said waiving away the training remotes, placed his lightsaber back on his belt and pulling his dark grey cloak back on. The Shadow quickly began the descent towards the base camp. Kian had received word from Jedi Master Jyoti Nooran that there was a mission on Ruusan that would be of interest to Kian. Kian had jumped at the chance. In his absence, his contacts with the Silver Jedi had dried up. Kian, as the Master of Shadows for the former Galactic Republic, had often had dealings with the Silver Jedi Order. Kian had respected their order, if not a bit hesitant of the idea of Jedi governing.

"Set us down outside the base camp." Kian said and the protocol droid began hitting controls. As the ship set down, Kian turned from the cockpit and made his way towards the back.

"Good luck sir." CG-50 said and Kian nodded his head in response. Kian was not entirely clear on the nature of the mission he had come for, but if it involved the Valley of the Jedi Kian certainly was not going to miss it. Wrapping himself in his clock, Kian stepped out of the ship and made his way toward the camp.

[member="Ashla Marlar"] [member="Junko Ike"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Zavii"] [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] [member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Jerit Kolomor"] [member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Solari"] [member="Cassius Droma"] [member="Pash Tafo"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Zavii]

The Grandmaster's answer dampened Zavii's enthusiasm a bit when combined with the meaningful gaze. The Padawan knew that there had been losses when the Sith reclaimed their ancestral world, but that only meant that a pilgrimage would carry more levity once the Dark Lords could be driven out once again. Zavii believed that it would happen within her lifetime, for she had seen herself among the ancient Sith temples in dreams.

Still, she knew better than to press the issue at the moment, for there was plenty to be seen and learned today and she knew that if the group started to get tiresome she could always go on a little detour with Ashla and maybe be the first to find something that the others had missed. As Grandmaster Kitra's voice came over the speakers and everyone strapped in, Zavii nudged the Human next to her and grinned with excitement. "This is gonna be fun."

 

[Reggie Faayare]

Reggie listened to the other two Padawan and smiled. They were just as excited to get going as he was. Surprise showed on Reggie's face when [member="Zavii"] asked if they could visit Korriban, but he understood the appeal of wanting to go there one day. Even Reggie wanted to go see the ancient Sith site for himself, but that's just how he is. Anything he hasn't explored before is something that peaks his interest.

Reggie decided to take a seat while they waited and just watched as some more people came aboard the ship, saying there greetings. After awhile, [member="Valae Kitra"] had announced that they were about to leave, which made his excitement rise. The day was just about to start!

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Now that the safe is open, let's see whether it actually contains anything of interest" Jessica exclaimed, while trying hard to hide her excitement.

"Just be mindful of the dust, sand and other stuff that would render documents much more delicate"

Catria was a little nervous about the content of those documents: whether they contained ledgers, orders of battle or documents of another nature entirely, would be clear once the dust has settled, but Jessica trusted her with handling of sensitive materials more than she trusted herself for that sort of stuff; after all, she was handling patients' injuries on a regular basis, whereas Jessica didn't. In fact, the table of contents would be a key indicator of what the documents contained in the first place. Let's see: Part 1: The Army of Light's Orders of Battle: First and Seventh Battles of Ruusan, Part 2: The Funding Bill for the Valley of the Jedi and Part 3: The Financial Statement of the Valley of the Jedi, she thought, upon reading the three highest-level headings of the document contained in the safe. The second part is already known, but the first and third parts are much more poorly understood than the bill authorizing the construction of the Valley, which Johun Othone was one of the big forces. But they knew that projects of that nature are usually approved without having to resort to a special appropriation, so it was natural that financial oversight was going to be strict back then.

 

[Pash Tafo]

Pash lingered at the foot of the ramp with Valae until The Grandmaster turned and walked into the ship. The Matukai followed, making his way to a seat along with the other passengers. Heeding Valae's warning over the comm, Pash fastening in. Looking out of a portal, He could see another ship landing outside of the camp, the repulsors of a small corvette kicking up a cloud of dust. It may have only been a light corvette, but it looked quite large settling outside of the camp. A Kel Dor Jedi emerged, a master, if Pash was right.

Pash heard some clanking elsewhere in the ship, and wondered if the Tumbleweed was undergoing last minute repairs. He looked around to the three young padawans. He had not met them, at least formally. His crystal blue gaze settled on each one, Ashla, Zavii then Reggie. "I'm not sure we have officially met. My name is Pash. I am still learning about the Jedi, and this is my first mission with the Order. Maybe you all could help me out today." He smiled broadly at the irony of and older warrior needing tips from the young padawans, but there was truth to his words. The traditions of the Jedi were still new to him. Pash then looked again out the window to the harsh Ruusan landscape.

 

[aayla tano]

The Grandmaster's answer dampened Zavii's enthusiasm a bit when combined with the meaningful gaze. The Padawan knew that there had been losses when the Sith reclaimed their ancestral world, but that only meant that a pilgrimage would carry more levity once the Dark Lords could be driven out once again. Zavii believed that it would happen within her lifetime, for she had seen herself among the ancient Sith temples in dreams.

Still, she knew better than to press the issue at the moment, for there was plenty to be seen and learned today and she knew that if the group started to get tiresome she could always go on a little detour with Ashla and maybe be the first to find something that the others had missed. As Grandmaster Kitra's voice came over the speakers and everyone strapped in, Zavii nudged the Human next to her and grinned with excitement. "This is gonna be fun."

Ashla said "Yep. Prepare for sixteen hours of fun in hyperspace." and opened a book. Hyperspace flights can be quite boring, and what better way to pass the time?
She glanced around the cabin, and then, not seeing much of particular interest, started reading.

 

[Zavii]

"I guess that depends," the brown Zabrak answered the older Human who'd just walked in last minute, "on what you need help with. What exactly is your mission here?"

 

[Kian Karr]

It seemed that Kian almost missed the party. Darting onto the ship just before take-off, Kian found a seat in the shadows to settle down and strap in. He glanced around the room, the expression on his face hidden by the goggles and mask he, as a Kel Dor, was forced to wear. There seemed to be an interesting assortment of individuals on this trip. Kian could feel the familiar presence of fellow force users, though to what degree of training or affiliation Kian could not say. There seemed to be soldiers as well.

Kian closed his eyes and stretched out, sinking into a comfortable meditation while the ship rocked towards its destination. He would soon have answers for why they were there and in the meantime would comfort himself in knowing that those around him did not give any indication of malevolence.

[member="Ashla Marlar"] [member="Junko Ike"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Zavii"] [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] [member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Jerit Kolomor"] [member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Solari"] [member="Cassius Droma"] [member="Pash Tafo"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"]

 

[Zavii]

Somehow there seemed to be a surprise a day ever since Zavii had joined with the SJO. Today's source of confusion came in the form of a Kel-Dor who slipped into the Tumbleweed just before takeoff. The being crossed the room casually and began strapping himself in and when Zavii looked around, nobody else seemed to react to the silent man's presence. "Um, hi," she offered the newcomer while casting a glance at Reggie as if to say "are you seeing this?"

[member="Reggie Faayare"] [member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

"Koh-to-yah." Kian said turning his attention toward the young Zabrak and using the formal greeting of the Kel Dor language. Kian smiled warmly beneath the mask and projected warmth into the force to make it clear he was pleased to meet her. Kian had not interacted with students at the Jedi Academy since before the fall of the Republic and he looked forward to this sudden opportunity to speak with one.

"My name is Kian Karr, it is a pleasure to meet you." Kian said extended his taloned hand toward the girl.

[member="Zavii"]

 

[Zavii]

"[member="Kian Karr"]," the young woman tested the syllables on her tongue, then took the man's hand firmly. She could sense his intended smile through the Force, though his mask-well- masked it. "Pleased, I'm sure," she responded in kind with a polite smile of her own. "Call me Zavii, and please excuse me but i.... don't think i've ever seen your race in person before. What exactly are you?"

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian let out a laugh, the sounding coming out of his mask in low static bursts. That was one of the reasons Kian has always loved interacting with Jedi Padawans, they always spoke their minds so openly and without hesitation....it was not always a good thing but in interactions such as this, it was refreshing.

"I am a Kel Dor." Kian said, "I hail from Dorin. Our atmosphere is such that it is necessary to wear these masks and goggles off-world." Kian said tapping the talon on his index finger against the metal of his mask.

"How long have you been with the Silver Jedi, Zavii?" Kian asked, his eyes scanning the ship again to ensure he still had a mental note of where everyone was.

[member="Zavii"]

 

[Zavii]

"Oooh, that makes sense," the Zabrak nodded thoughtfully and made a mental note to look up more information about Dorin when she got back to Kashyyyk.

At the Kel Dor's question she looked up thoughtfully. "Um... well I think I was like, seven years old? Yeah, that sounds right," she nodded and looked back at the mask on the orange being's face. "And I'm nineteen now, so about twelve years. I haven't had much chance to go offworld though, other than during the big move. I can't tell you how many times i went between Voss and Kashyyyk while the new temple was being built."

[member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian nodded along with the young Jedi's words. And concern crept into his mind. The Galactic Republic had fallen in his time away, to be replaced by the Galactic Alliance and the Silver Jedi had suffered hardships as well against the Sith and Imperial enemies.

"Yes, I was....away...for a time." Kian said. "I was not hear for the fall of the Republic or the recent losses the Silver Jedi have faced." Kian said sitting back in his chair.

"I am glad to hear the Order has made its way to Kashyyyk." Kian said remembering the planet fondly. Not for his time there, but for the people. "I was at the Battle of Kashyyyk when the One Sith invaded the planet during the time of the Republic." Kian said, reminiscing.

"So many lost..."

[member="Zavii"]

 

[Reggie Faayare]

While [member="Zavii"] and [member="Ashla Marlar"] were talking, [member="Pash Tafo"] had come over to introduce himself to the three of them. It came to a surprise to him that the older man was new here Reggie smiled as he introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet you Pash, my name is Reggie! I'd be happy to help you out in anyway I can."

Zavii asked the older man what he needed help with, which is what Reggie wanted to ask as well. Pash did say that he was new here, so journeying to the Valley Of The Jedi while meeting new people was a good start. You never know when you'll have to work with the people you meet again in the future.

After awhile, he saw a Kel-Dor barely make it into the ship and strapped himself in casually. Zavii gave Reggie a glance that seemed to ask if he saw the newcomer, and he responded by giving her a small nod. Introductions were made between Zavii and the Kel-Dor, who's name seemed to be [member="Kian Karr"], and they started a conversation with each other soon after. Reggie wasn't given the chance to introduce himself to the newcomer, so he decided that he would do so after they were done talking or when he had a better chance to do so.

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Post: 2
Task: Whatever Junko is doing

"I would assume that such a large and old temple would still retain many Items of interest, I am sure elder sister would be very happy with anything I bring back, too bad she is off on some mission, we need to hang out and communicate a bit more". Perhaps when the current wars that had broken out all of a sudden had subsided the two could get in some quality family time, but for now both seemed to be content doing their own thing. Tanasuki probably enjoying it much more than planned, being sort of a noble now came with so many perks that being a regular Padawan did not bring.

With a small hop Tanasuki slid gracefully off the back of the tamed beast, making a soft thud sound as his feet hit the floor, putting his parasol back up to shade his face from the glaring sun. "Really, well thank you master, I try to look my best though I went a bit simple on the decorations this time, as always you yourself are stunning, guess it’s your princess like grace that helps too".

[member="Junko Ike"]