Jedi Island

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian scuttled across the deck of the ship looking out on the sunset. It was a nice day. He stared at the surface of the water and smiled. It was warm, but while it was warm the water on this particular planet was still cold. Something to do with the currents of the oceans he was told. Perfect.

A devilish little smile formed on his face as he turned around and looked at the two girls. Time to get hyperthermia. “A Jedi engaged in open warfare against Sith or other forces is frequently exposed to possible capture.” Damian knew from experience, twice he had to use all his skills and guile to escape Sith Lords after embarrassing republic defeats. “We operate alone, or with indigenous elements. Any unit, even of the best soldiers may be dispersed, causing complete separation from your unit.”

The vessel glided down landing in the water of the ocean. In the distance there was an island. “While in an operational area, a Jedi must be continuously prepared to initiate evasive action and conceivably to continue evading for an extended period of time. His possession and proper use of a suitable survival kit may be the critical factor in effecting a successful juncture with friendly personnel”

It was the textbook explanation imprinted into his genetic memory. “Starting today I teach you to survive and evade capture.” He didn’t have the heart to teach them to resist interrogation. The abuse piled upon him during that phase in his life was something he didn’t wish to inflict upon innocent girls like these….

“Now into the water, our ship is sinking, we have crash landed and we need to reach the mainland.” As each of the party walked up to the ramp leaving the vessel he shoved a survival kit into their hand and threw them from the vessel.

When the last of them was in the water he nodded to the pilot and crew. “You’ll be at Station Alpha should something happen I’ll call.” And then he jumped into the water behind the others. He didn’t stray far from the pack as they swam toward the island, shivering as they made their strokes. If something happened and one of them couldn’t make it he’d be there with a lifeline to get them to shore. With him he carried inflatable devices to keep them afloat and get them to the island should he be overburdened. Although his mission was to teach them to survive he was also meant to keep them safe. Any idiot could walk aimlessly into wilderness, the important thing was to do it safely.

“Remember to keep moving.” Damian looked at the group in the water. “And if you need help ask me. There is no shame in it.”

[member="Kaili Talith"]
[member="Zylah Dvale"]
[member="Abigail Kallisto"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Abigail was once again paired up with Knight Starchaser, her sometimes trainer and swimming teacher, for a lesson in survival. He was taking a group of padawans down to a hostile planet to show them how to use their wits and the elements around them to remain alive until rescue. Fifteen-year-old Abigail was the youngest of the three. There were two other lighthaired padawans with them named Kaili and Zylah.

The island setting was deceptive as this planet was going to be cold. Very cold. The brunette padawan wore a simple bodyglove, not necessarily a wet suit, but not robes to get tangled up in as they were dropped into the water.

The chilly water was a rude awakening, and Abigail suddenly felt very alert. Her teeth chattering, she treaded water, listening to Damian barking out instructions. "Station Alpha. And keep moving," said the padawan. "Got it, chief!" She turned towards the island and swam awkwardly, heading to the shore. Feth, I've never been so cold in my life, she thought to herself with the typical hyperbole of a teenager. Just concentrate on swimming for now and nothing else. Using the Force she began to clear her mind of wayward thoughts, but this had proved to be more difficult ever since she'd visited those Sith ruins on Ziost. That trip had left her changed - without her knowledge - but time would tell if the dark remnants left inside her would show today.

[member="Damian Starchaser"] [member="Zylah Dvale"] [member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili wasn’t one of those people that made noise in the Galactic Alliance. In fact to say she was deeply involved at all would be a lie. She was a member by the virtue of family, Micah and Aela playing big goddamn heroes to the rest of the galaxy in a pointless war, fought for pointless reasons that mattered only to pointless religions. Sith, Jedi and Neutral what did those matter at the end of the day? For at least 850 years now, the galaxy had known nothing but one star war after another. Geonosis, Yavin, there were many battles held in which the root for it all was just one side looking to eradicate the other.

Kaili was sick of it. She didn’t voice this, but she truly was. Maybe it was teen angst, maybe it was a deeper understanding for how the galaxy worked. Quite frankly the one probably mixed together with the other as misinformation often did with kids her age. It was possible that this was why she never spoke of it to anyone. A moment of clarity where it was all the more clear to the young Talith that in the end her thoughts were being shrouded by panic and anxiety again. It was easier to hide behind a curtain of dejection than live with the memories.

Or maybe it was the fact that they were simulating a crash landing.

She’d had enough of those for a while.

“Yes, sir.” Kaili spoke in affirmation of her orders. “Station Alpha.”

The girl wasn’t wearing anything special. As much as some would advise against it, Kaili had gone in with the same type of outfit she would have worn if she had gotten thrown into this game when she least expected it. It was, after all, a fair idea to adapt to what she would be wearing in case this was the real deal.

Her arm stroke against her jacket before reaching up to scratch at her undershirt. Boots, yes, slim fitted pants, yes. All in all, a pretty average look.

If you didn’t count the pack handed to her before she got shoved into the water.

The cold water.

The kind of very cold water.

But she would manage. She held onto the pack and began swimming towards the shoreline.

[member="Abigail Kallisto"] // [member="Damian Starchaser"] // [member="Zylah Dvale"]

 

[Elijah Black]

[member="Damian Starchaser"] | [member="Abigail Kallisto"] | [member="Kaili Talith"]

It had been a while since Zylah had seen some action. It was about time. There was a time for class rooms and studies, and there was a time for real experience. This seemed more aimed towards the kind of trials she knew she would need to pass if she ever hoped to be a Jedi Knight. Of course, she didn't dismiss the other areas. They all had their merits.

Zylah looked at the other two girls, and at Damian. They were all new faces to her. She did not know their names, nor their reputations - if they had any. Nor should it matter. They were Jedi, hopefully that was enough. She listened to Damian's briefing. Zylah offered no words but only brief and understanding nods.

Out of the trio, Zylah appeared more like the traditional Jedi. She wore beige and white tunics and undertunics, underneath the standard brown hooded robe. She was pale, extremely so. Her kind came from a cold world, and as such the cold did not frighten her. That was not to say she was immune to it, more that she felt she understood it.

She turned to Damian as he handed her the kit. There was a question on her lips, yet it was never uttered. Instead she found herself thrown into the water, unprepared. The freezing water crashed against her like a sledgehammer to the chest. With eyes wide open, she gasped for air when she once more reached the surface. Had she ever felt as awake as she did now? She knew if she lingered, that feeling would soon give way for something much more dangerous. He was right. They had to keep moving.

The Force was with her, she was sure. Her master had trained her to trust in it, as much as in herself. With that knowledge, and deep breaths, she pushed onwards with deep strokes against the currents. She would reach her destination. They all would. Her mind cleared, the only thoughts permitted were those focused on swimming. She did not linger on the cold nor the pain. The Force filled her with a warm assurance that she would succeed. Zylah swam.

 

[Damian Starchaser]

No one was drowning, that was a good thing. Damian swam to the shore hauling gear behind him. The truth was he had been tempted to put on a rebreather and pull one or two of the girls under to let them learn how to stay calm in a situation like that. It was called drown proofing, though obviously one could still drown. In the end, however, Damian was too nice to do that.

As he reached the shore he coaxed the others onto land, It was surprisingly warm out of the glacial water. Indeed it was tropical, and on the other side of this thin little landmass was another warmer body of water. That is where he’d take them in a day or two for the next training phase but for now he merely took his shirt off. “Alright everyone get dry.” He sort of turned his back to allow the girls a degree of privacy. Then again he really couldn’t. “I need to teach you how to make a fire. There is multiple ways, but for now lets do the quickest so we can all get warm and dry.” Pointing across the beach he noted the various pieces of debris. “Lets all collect some dry wood.

As the others gathered various wood Damian found enough kindling and started scraping with his life breaking up wooden fibers into smaller pieces for kindling. When he was through tearing, beating, and scraping there was a small bit of chips, sawdust, and stringy wooden fibers. “Alright everyone into your kits.” Damian pulled out a ferrocerium rod and his knife indicating the pieces of equipment for them to use. “Now with the blunt end of your knife you scrape the rod.” he demonstrated slowly shaving off peices of metal from the rod, “And when you speed it up,” his hand moved at a quicker space the first scrape producing sparks and a second lighting his kindling. “Fire,” he said stepping forward and starting to build up the fire.

“Everyone huddle around and practice, get dry, dry off your clothes and practice making some sparks and adding to our fire. We will go over other methods should you not have this piece of equipment on hand in a minute.”

Damian pulled at a tree and placed his shirt on a branch overhanging the fire a little to dry it out.



[member="Abigail Kallisto"] [member="Kaili Talith"] [member="Zylah Dvale"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili liked to read books. She might not have had the looks of someone who liked to read, but as someone who grew up around a bookworm like Aela it was incredibly hard not to. Knowledge about droids, moral stories for kids to grow into respectable adults, there were a lot of things that could be learned from books. And this, this was one such thing. Kaili paced herself to make sure she wasn’t overexerting herself as she swum towards the shore. The cold water had her body tensing up, her breath shallow and far in between. The warmth of the shore was without a doubt a welcome relief and she made no effort to hide it.

She sighed, huddled up and stroke her arms before looking at who else had made it. Everyone had. Not that she expected much else either. Already in the process of taking her jacket off she looked to Damian for further instructions. Get undressed. Her brow perked in suspicion. He might have turned around, but Kaili was more than skeptical of the order. Her boots came off, nothing else.

Her damp top would be allowed to hug her chest for a bit. The previous malnourishment from a few months prior would be evident in the way her ribcage seemed to ever so slightly cause indentations in the fabric. That was what had happened last time she had actually crashed a ship. Being the one responsible for so many deaths had a way with your view on life.

Not that it mattered. Right now she was cold. The warmth of the upcoming fire would be more than ample to provide her with whatever comfort needed to dry up and with due haste she rooted through her kit to withdraw the knife and metal rod.

She placed the knife against the metal surface with the blunt side of the knife touching the surface of the ferrocerium. Not long after that she started to produce a few sparks to light her fire. Hopefully, the others would be doing the talking for now.

[member="Damian Starchaser"] // [member="Zylah Dvale"] // [member="Abigail Kallisto"]

 

[Elijah Black]

After a brief but chilling swim, Team Jedi finally reached the shores of the beach. Immediately Zylah's eyes were looking towards the edges of the open beach, scanning the tree-line for any unwanted attention. Her search came up with nothing alarming, and so she turned to the rest with a quick glance. None of them were comfortable, but they were all fine. She was in soldier mode. Comfort did not matter. The mission did. The Jedi endured so others did not have to.

To the half-Arkanian's surprise, it actually seemed quite warm, although she didn't feel it. Her robes still carried the chill of the water with them onto land. She looked to Damian as he told them to dry up, while taking off his shirt. He had the right idea. Her eyes lingered a moment, before she disrobed. She let the now heavy, brown thing fall to the ground. Her shirt was next. She let it drop onto her robe, already on the ground. She had not waited to see if he'd turn around, nor did she seem awfully concerned whether or not he managed to stick to his plan of doing so. She remained focused, though for some shame took precedence over practicality, she noted as her eyes glanced over Kaili.

Without much delay, she followed Damian's lead. Although her path was different, she too ventured out to gather wood for the fire. After constructing a satisfying pile of reserves next to the main thing, she started her next project. Two conveniently shaped sticks brought back from the woods, now standing in the sand, some distance between them. Another lay flat on top of both. It all functioned as a makeshift rack, that Zylah hung her clothes over for them to dry. Something told her it was wiser to keep them close, rather than out of reach or sight.

Their next task was to create a fire. She watched him as she gave the instructions. He gave them the tools and told them how to use it. Time to put it into practice. This type of practical knowledge was new to her. It all made sense, and she did not have to strain her mental capacity to comprehend it, as the case sometimes was when it came to the Force. Zylah repeated everything Damian did, or so she thought. She had crouched down, working her tools to create the spark that would set the rest ablaze. Yet nothing happened. She was doing everything right... For a moment the only spark present was that of anger. She slowed down, even stopping entirely to take a few deep breaths, calming herself as her master had taught her. Of course the metal cared not for her calm state of mind. If anything, it benefited.

She didn't give up, however. As she kept going, her eyes once more glanced over towards Kaili. Up until this point, she had not spoken. There hadn't really been any room or need for it. Zylah figured the time was just about right to make some friends with some small-talk. "You said you were a Talith, right?" she paused to make sure she had the other girl's attention. "Why did you abandon the Jedi?"

[member="Kaili Talith"] [member="Damian Starchaser"] [member="Abigail Kallisto"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Luckily Damian hadn’t dragged Abigail underwater because one of two things may have happened. She may have panicked, gulped down a mouthful of water to whoosh straight into her lungs, or she could have lashed out with the darkside of the Force that lay in wait inside her. Either situation would have thrown the tight-knit group into minor turmoil so it was a good thing that they reached the shore without incident. There would be challenges to come, Abigail was sure of it.
Clasping at her arms trying to warm them, she watched as Damian stripped off his shirt. He had the right idea as the air was likely warmer than her cold, wet bodyglove, but she wasn’t about to disrobe in front of any of the party. Abigail relished the firewood gathering as it gave her an opportunity to move around and regain some of her lost warmth. With teeth chattering she brought back a pile of kindling and stood there miserably cold, but trying not to let it show which was a futile exercise.

Finally when the fire began to spread from a spark to an ember, to thick, mesmerizing flames, Abigail let out an audible sigh of relief. Finally, she looked around at the other Knights again, less distracted by her own, freezing body. Kaili was incredibly thin, almost to the point of unhealthiness. If I have any food, Kaili will be the first person I share it with, she mused. Zylah was a bit of a free spirit, shrugging off her clothing easily as though not intimidated by the elements or Damian's potentially roaming eyes. But she supposed they were in survival mode, and by clinging to her modesty, she was not doing her body any favors.

Zylah then spoke to Kaili, and Abigail used this distraction to her advantage, unzipping the bodyglove and stepping out of it. Her own body was tanned and athletic, because even though she was raised on a secluded space station, she was still able to stay in shape and get some sun, if artificial. With muscular arms she shook the garment off, away from the group to get the sand off as that would likely irritate her skin later. Finally the padawan, sat on a log by the fire, draped the wet bodyglove over her knees and practiced the spark-making. “Huh, would you look at that?” Abigial said, laughing to herself over the fact that it was easier than she thought to make a fire. But those summers on Yavin had prepared her a little for this type of camping exercise. She had no doubt that it wouldn’t be long until they moved onto something more difficult, like hunting their own food, or trying to heal poison ivy or bug bites with some type of herbal concoction.

[member="Damian Starchaser"] [member="Kaili Talith"] [member="Zylah Dvale"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Why did Kaili abandon the jedi?

Why did Kaili abandon the jedi?

Her eyes instantly locked onto Zylah. Her hunched head leveled to let the entirety of her face point straight at the pale girl’s being. Orange eyes tried to set fire to the ‘jedi’ and her questions. Jaw tightening in frustration. The insinuation that she was somehow abandoning anyone was like a trigger for her teeth to grit and her temper to flare up.

“I haven’t abandoned anyone.” Kaili struggled to play nice. “Much less so a group of fanatics that I would never want to be part of.”

[member="Abigail Kallisto"] // [member="Zylah Dvale"] // [member="Damian Starchaser"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

Damian had previously called it a babysitting gig, taking care of a bunch of kids on an island but now…. He sighed as he looked over at the provocation. “[member="Kaili Talith"],” he started with the best authoritative voice he could. Standing up he walked over to her and pulled her hood down over hear head. “This argument isn’t going to help you survive.“ And you [member="Zylah Dvale"], take your knife and change the angle of the blade to forty five to ninety degrees. You don’t want to cut the metal with the knife you want to cause friction. If you were having trouble you should have asked me for help.”

Sigh. Great, now suddenly he was an authoritative parent. Well maybe. Damian had never really had parents, just a doting grandfather, at least he assumed the old man had been doting. “Now let’s move on. If you don’t have this equipment there are other ways to start a fire. With a bow and string,” Damian demonstrated the method rapidly twisting a straightened piece of wood over another until little embers or coals formed. He then took these and put them inside some fiber he’d made from trees and waved it in the air. Fire. Next he made a groove in a board with a knife and began to rub back and forth until finally he had hot little pieces which he could use for fire. “The goal of this course is to teach you to survive if you have nothing on you save a knife. Now does everyone understand the basics of making fire?”

His eyes glanced over to [member="Abigail Kallisto"] and gave her a smile. "If you're all ready we can work on shelter next. I always suggest getting off the ground with an A-Frame."

 

[Armand Temi]

Abigail listened intently to Kaili’s response, although she felt like an eavesdropper, and to hide this fact, she began absentmindedly stoking the fire. Padawan Kallisto was also somewhat of a rogue entity herself, and she was very interested in the answer that Knight Talith would give. The hooded girl played off the accusation, but an awkwardness now hung in the air over the exchange. Zylah was a Jedi loyalist - that was clear. Her response would be equally interesting.
Suddenly Knight Starchaser intervened in the dialogue as well as an attempt to help the pale blonde Jedi with making fire.

“I think I have the basics now,” said Abigail, feeling quite chilly and exposed in only a tank top and her underwear. Luckily by now, the bodyglove had sufficiently dried, and she stepped back into her garment, feeling the itch of sand against her skin. There wasn’t anything to be done about this minor irritation. They were here to survive, not to enjoy a five-star resort. Toughen up, Abi, she warned herself. It may get a lot worse from here, especially if a storm were to come through.

“Damian, what do you suggest we make the A-frame with?” the padawan asked. None of them had an axe,. and she was very uncertain as to what type of structure made from only twigs and palm leaves would be sturdy enough to hold them all. Furthermore her stomach growled a hungry protest. All of that swimming was catching up to her, and she felt as though she would need to eat something soon to keep her energy high.

[member="Damian Starchaser"] [member="Kaili Talith"] [member="Zylah Dvale"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

“Fine.” Insolence at it’s best. Kaili threw her hands up, spread her fingers wide and took a step back. “My reasons for not going with the Jedi has nothing to do with you.”

Kaili looked at Zylah. Hot blood, traumatized and a fear of abandonment. Kaili’s mental state wasn’t made from the good mix of nuts. At least not for for situations such as these. The mere thought of Kaili having ever abandoned anyone made her shiver in disgust. The Galactic Alliance was her sister’s fight and the destruction of the Sith was a pointless excuse to murder and maim. Maybe not for all, but in the end what was the point?

Defeatism at it’s bestest. The kid held back the urge to go into a rant about her family, about who they really were but she held that one back. If not for her own sake then perhaps to not undermine any role of authority her family had come to play a part of. Besides, mother and father had time and time again told her to rein her fire in. Always.

This wasn't reining it in.

Eye roll.

“Look, we’re fine.” She lowered her arms. “Just don’t accuse me like that again.”

Kaili sighed and turned to Damian.

“A-Frames. What are those?”

[member="Abigail Kallisto"] // [member="Damian Starchaser"] // [member="Zylah Dvale"]

 

[Elijah Black]

Zylah's eyes locked with those of Kaili as she expectantly awaited her reply. She felt the emotions swirling up within her. There was anger. Her internal struggle combined with the following words became Zylah's answer. Zylah nodded slowiy, hiding the disappointment from her eyes. "I see. Shame." she tried to keep her tone neutral and free from judgement. It was not her place to do so. She was a product of her upbringing, much like Zylah was. Their values would naturally differ.

In light of recent events, the Republic no longer felt like a political entity she could stand behind. The oppression from the government, the corruption, the complete disregard for civilian life... It was too much. No true Jedi could stand by, and allow such actions go unanswered. The Jedi Order had in the past been closely linked, but recently started separating themselves from the Republic. It was understandable. These thoughts were at the back of her mind when she had asked Kaili. The question had been intentionally antagonistically charged to allow Zylah to gauge Kaili's emotional response. She wondered how a Jedi could exist without an order, what it would be like, what code or principles were followed instead. Sadly, she had in Kaili's case come to the conclusion that she was not a Jedi after all. Zylah would have to walk a different path.

Zylah's eyes drifted from Kaili to Damian, as he was giving her instructions. "I thought that was part of the exercise. To be able to survive on your own" she shot him a quick smile, before focusing back to her fire. She did not know whether or not questions would be permitted, and figured feedback would be offered where necessary. Zylah made the adjustments Damian suggested, and sure enough, a few moments later there was the spark that lit the flame.

Having succeeded at making a fire, and having no further questions save for those already asked, she paid attention and prepared for the next stage of their exercise.

[member="Kaili Talith"] [member="Damian Starchaser"] [member="Abigail Kallisto"]

 

[Damian Starchaser]

"You need to learn to survive first," Damian said specifically to [member="Zylah Dvale"]. "It would be irresponsible to just dump you off on an island and tell you to deal with it. First you learn, and then you'll have your chance to show you learned." Besides the girl has taken some time to even get simple fire methods down and was in no position to criticize. "Now an A-Frame is a pretty simple design." Damian walked over to some debris and a few long branches and bamboo chutes. "You can make it out of nearly any material, although I prefer any sort of strong wood that is on hand and doesn't need long cutting. For fastenings there is plenty of natural vines or root material to be found in most environments. And of course your basic survival kit contains rope. Remember though you want it to be able to support your weight." With his knife he began to cut away and shape. First he fastened the frames and then set a single timber across the double frames. "The advantage here is you can cover yourself, and keep yourself off the ground. In this setting there is no telling what crawls out of the ocean at night." Crabs. The beach would be lousy with them. "In nature trees are shapes a certain way with leaves designed to redirect water. If you follow the paths of the leaves and stack green debris and live branches onto your shelter it will improve the waterproofing of it." Damian demonstrated cutting a large palm and situating it so the water from any rain will drain away from the inside of the shelter.

After getting the basic shape Damian started to throw some foliage onto his bed before setting himself on it. "And remember you can use whatever material on hand for a cover. If you happen to have a tarp or a parachute for instance." The wind was picking up now and clouds were covering the sky. It was going to rain. "Everyone should hurry with their shelters. There is a lot of little storms that come through here."

 

[Kaili Talith]

Undeniably, learning how to survive was the first step towards not dying when the time for their trial were upon them. Kaili listened and she mimicked what Damian was doing. It was like creating a cot with a roof, which perhaps also was a skill convenient for other occasions. Forgetting your keys and waiting for mother and father to get back home came to mind. A simple life and death situation that could take the longest of time ever to resolve. Especially if they went to the spa together, again.

The less details, the better.

Setting her sticks up in the shape of an ‘A’, Kaili tried her best at tying it all up with vines and other flexible materials she could find. It was a shoddy work, but internally she was giving herself high praise. First try wasn’t so bad as she would have expected. And she had expected something quite horrible. Maybe it was the books, or maybe it was just a sort of appreciation for the art. In any case she wasted no time to go off looking for things to cover the frame with. More than likely she was missing a step, but hey, first timers tended to do that.

“How bad does it look?” Kaili called over to Damian before grabbing hold of whatever branch or palm leaf or whatever she could find. “Stormy gray or overcast white?”

[member="Damian Starchaser"] // [member="Zylah Dvale"]​