Let He Who Is Without Sin...

[Zak Dymo]

RHEN VAR
Ancient Jedi Ruins

The young boy stood in what must have been an impressive citadel.

The roof was gone. The upper floors destroyed in the cataclysmic events that had transformed Rhen Var from a more temperate climate into a frozen wasteland. Icicles hung from banisters, the arches, and the ceilings. Snow and ice laid the funeral pall over the exposed art work and room through which the Jedi of yesterday once wandered in quiet pursuit of solace and harmony.

He envied them that peace of the grave. He wished he could have understood how the Jedi saw saw the Force. How they saw life. Mercy. Forgiveness.

These were things he'd only begun to experience for himself. A basic humanity that was worlds apart from anything he'd experienced under the tutelage of the Sith. Where did one begin to un-do the mistakes of the past? Or leave behind the lessons of yesterday?

He didn't have the answers. He hadn't gone to the Silver Jedi seeking redemption, merely to see their sons and daughters returned safely to them. And not as some act of remorse, more one of rebellion. Rebellion against the Sith Lords who had dictated life and death to him. Or the Primeval warlords who twisted a beautiful religion which celebrated life into a dogma of hatred and death.

So what did that make him?

He knew the Force as a Sith knew it. He came to the Force seeking power. He came to the Force through fear. An outlet for anger. For strength to endure. To persevere. To stand when food was denied him and starvation robbed him of his strength.

He saw in the Force the work of the primordial god Sargon. It's many permutations were the evidence of Balagoth and Nogras, made manifest not through midi-chlorians but the works of Halrormalenth. He believed in that which was Primeval.

But he rejected power for power's sake. He wanted to use that power not to elevate himself, but to raise up those around him. He rejected the hate and genocide of the Primeval warlords. Their campaigns against the Mirialans were an affront to the very gods they gave lip-service to.

He looked at the Jedi and saw in them everything he could want for himself, but theirs was a pedestal out of his reach. The tranquility. The peace. Everytime he closed his eyes, he returned to Coruscant. To the ghetto. To the shanty towns hastily erected on the shores next to rivers of sewage.

Or Wayland. Watching hundreds of men lay down lives that were no longer their own. Pressed into servitude and sent out on the widowing field not as free men but slaves to those who claimed to be messengers. Deliverers.

So many blurred lines. How was he to be defined? A Sith, not Sith? Primeval, but not Primeval? Could such a forsaken soul, as miserable or insignificant as his, ever be anything Jedi?

The boy reached down, pulling from his belt a piece of durasteel wrapped in leather. For the last year, it had served him in the life of an assassin. An executioner. Someone who followed blindly and did whatever those in power had told him to do. Never questioning. Never asking. Never doubting.

But there were questions. And, yet, had he waited too long to ask them? Were his hands so steeped in blood that the only reality in store for him was the fact that he would never see heaven? Kneeling down in the center of what must have been a large room-- perhaps a place of learning -- the boy bowed his head and quietly prayed to the Starmaker for guidance.

[member="Basaba Willamina"] | [member="Elizabeth Verdan"]​

 

[Tanith Alde]

[member="Boo Chiyo"]

Lizzy sighed to herself. Or Kitty, She was never really sure which she should go by, after heaving met her cousin of Similar naming. Why had she decided this was a good idea again? She was almost tempted to ask it out loud as she followed the Amphistaff she had...*Ahem* Come across...On the hanging gardens on Voss. It was leading her somewhere, somewhere new? Somewhere exciting certainly. A ship it seemed, To where? Kitty certainly did not know. But it was an adventure none the less.

She had honestly mean to investigate the ship, No, Really, But the cargo hold had contained blankets...Warm ones...lots of them, pillows too....And all crammed into a corner for Lizzy to nestle herself into, it was too tempting really. She decided she could berate her self later, but the thought was already forgotten as the warmth and rumbling of the engine starting lulled her into a deap and dreamy sleep.

 

[Zak Dymo]

Why was he here?

What had it all been for?

As the boy prayed, he found his mind distracted from his spiritual meditations by the doubts that shrouded faith, the mind, and everything in between. He didn't know what a Jedi was, let alone what it was to be a good Jedi. Could he ever reconcile the part of him that was Primeval with the part of him that wanted to be better? Better than the person he'd been. Better than he deserved. Better than those who'd taken him, controlled him, used him, and then discarded him.

Rolling the prayer bead between his thumb and forefinger, the youth paused his repetitions and allowed his amber gaze to take in the ruins jutting out from the ice. The benches, buried in snow. The tile, covered by sheets of ice and permafrost. Finally, palming the reverie chain, the boy stood and made his way from out of the ruins.

The transport was just outside, the loading ramp already buried in several feet of snow as the ship seemed in danger of becoming a permanent addition to the icy world. He hadn't seen the Mandalorian woman who'd ventured out with him, not since their arrival, but suspected she may have already set off on her quest for a crystal.

"Azi?" Before he began his own journey, the boy turned his head and realized he had no idea where his amphistaff had ventured off to. Now, Azi was not a very aggressive example of the species -- she was mostly a curious thing -- but it was normally a good idea that have some concept of where your venomous, Yuuzhan Vong biot had ventured off to. He scanned the endlessly fields of white for some sign of a black, reptillian head peeking up from out of the snow... but there was no sign of her.

Cupping his hands near his mouth, the boy raised his voice, as he called out, "Azi!"

A hiss-snort signaled the presence of the pet. As he turned, the boy caught a glimpse of the snake-like animal slithering down the loading ramp like a sidewinder. Then it stopped, about a quarter of a meter back from the snow. Sticking out it's head, the animal seemed to test the weather, and when it realized how cold the planet was, reared back with a sound that was more of a roar than a hiss.

It stood to reason that the one amphistaff in the whole universe that would become the pet to a Pantoran would be the one that hated cold weather. "Come on, you big coward," the boy said, motioning the staff over one hand.

The amphistaff reached out, using its nose to poke twice at the snow. Then, deciding against it's master's command, turned tail and shot back into the ship. No doubt in search of a warm spot to coil and sleep.

So much for Pantoran's best friend...

Turning, the boy stood in ankle deep snow, hands on his hips as he debated where he should begin his quest.

[member="Basaba Willamina"] | [member="Elizabeth Verdan"]​

 

[Basaba Willamina]

[member="Boo Chiyo"] [member="Elizabeth Verdan"]

The world was a place to behold as her cybernetic arm clenched into a fist. Basaba stood with the horak rifle on the magnetic locks at the back of her armor as the blue grey armor with a beast of her size. The thick beskar plates giving way to the armored bodyglove and below that the bulked mandalorian while she dropped down in the snow deactivating the thrusters in her boots and sides for flight. The generator built into her arm a sight to behold before she stood up and looked at the two who were in the snow with the armor flashing golden across the T-visor. the active camo deactiving with a small crackle before she was speaking and had her stick on the side of her hip opposite the beskad and her large cannon. SMall gadgets and traps on the armor like the caltrops and case with the mini droid rollers. "Interesting world you have here master jedi."

 

[Zak Dymo]

The young Pantoran wasn't certain, but he was beginning to suspect his travel companion might be Mandalorian.

Not that there was anything wrong with that! He'd never marched in a Mando Pride Parade, and he was too young to vote, but the youngling fully supported Mando rights. And he wasn't one to stereotype, but as he turned his head to look over at her, he was really having a hard time trying to determine if that was a woman or a tank.

He'd started to nod as she mentioned how interesting Rhen Var was, though the last bit caught him by surprise. "Mas..." Master Jedi?

The small boy immediately began looking around. Turning, as though expecting to find someone else standing there. Had a shuttle landed while he was praying inside the ruins? She'd said 'Master Jedi.' Master Jedi? What Master Jedi? "Where?" the youngling asked, finally turning to look back over at the weaponized estrogen in beskar. "Wha--"

Dimly, the boy raised one hand, finger pointed back to indicate himself.

Was she talking to him?

Because if eleven year olds were 'Master Jedi'... they were well and truly forked.

[member="Basaba Willamina"] | [member="Elizabeth Verdan"]​

 

[Anna Song]

"Ekk!"

A shapely woman in a white katan space suit danced haphazardly down the loading ramp. Deathly afraid of snakes,

"Nice amphistaff, good amphistaff. Ekk! Oop! ...Oh my!"

She trotted out into the snow and leaped into it's cold white freedom. Plop. Skittering to a halt not far from [member="Basaba Willamina"] & [member="Boo Chiyo"] . Ahh. She let out a deep sigh. Thank goodness. No more dancing around snakes today. Whoosh.

"Oop. Hehe. Sorry. Almost stepped on Mr Snake back there. Gosh."

The blonde woman stood up to her full hieght and dusted herself off.

"Silver Apprentice. Anna Song of Yavin. At your service. ...Erm. I heard we there were saber crystals planetside? So, here I am. Hehe. Tada!"

Youth sprang eternal for the Melodie Halfshape woman. As something of an aquatic breed her species aged slower than most in the galaxy. Leaving her 24 years of life to be something closer akin to a seasoned teenager amongst humans. No matter. Grabbed in her katan space suit it almost impossible to tell the difference anyway. Her glossy skin, scaled feet, and fishy eyelids were completely masked by her outfit. Which was fine. After all? What was a new species amongst friends. Right?

"Hello."

She bowed. Eager to follow Boo's example and set off towards adventure.

 

[Zak Dymo]

To his left, Tank Girl.

His right? Valley High.

"Uhhhh..." the Pantoran began, in his absolute best imitation of a Master Jedi. Jaw slack. Blinking. Completely dumbfounded how he'd wound up in this situation. "...riiiiiiiiiight," the boy uttered, as the new girl brought up the crystals. At least her mind was on the business at hand.

"These ruins are supposed to have crystalline veins all around them," the youth recalled, turning his attention away from either of the two women. Glancing around for a moment, the boy seemed to be trying to get his bearings. "The last time I was here, we found Solari crystals on the surface," he remarked.

A Solari crystal wasn't quite what Boo had in mind, however.

He was all for going the whole Jedi bit. But small steps. It would be awhile before he'd de-toxed off the Dark Side. Assuming the Jedi could teach him to use the weak... er... the Light Side of the Force.

"But they should also be some pontite crystals as well." Those would likely be underground. Places where the Force had settled. Concentrated. And spawned all manner of weird chit. Force visions. Illusions.

"Be careful," the boy warned, even as he started off toward one edge of the ruins.

[member="Anna Song"] | [member="Basaba Willamina"]​

 

[Basaba Willamina]

[member="Boo Chiyo"] [member="Anna Song"] [member="Elizabeth Verdan"]

She looked t the boy as another joined and saluted him standing tall before she spoke. "You are the highest ranked jedi with us aren't you?" Her cybernetic arm remained still but there was a shink sound as the cortosis blade ejected from the knuckles then retracted along with the modular wrist weapon spinning. "We have a lot to do and I do not know if that cat will be able to last in the cold. My armor will easily protect me." Then she was listening and crystal were what she had come for along with trying to understand the force while she moved around a little with her visor looking out on the world. "What creatures are on the planet we might face?"

 

[Anna Song]

Anna seemed puzzled by [member="Boo Chiyo"] 's words and a bit intimidated of [member="Basaba Willamina"] 's vigilance. However, being a Melodie had it's advantages. She was used to be the odd one out. Always being in strange circumstances too. So... I guess this adventure would feel right at home.

She tapped her helm and tagged along after Boo. She didn't mind a younger creature taking the lead. Age meant nothing amongst species. Especially when her guide was the color blue. Ocean blue too!

"I don't mind searching for either really. Though, underground is what calls to me. I'm much more comfortable in smaller spaces. The open sky can be just a bit intimidating for my people. It's so..."

She was gonna say blue. But figured against it. Boo was way too blue anyway.

"...Vast. And open. And high. Bleh. ...Nope. If we could steer underground. That would be great. Hehe."

Again, she really didn't mind Boo and Basaba taking the lead. She felt so new to the Silvers, it was very comfortable to follow their example.

 

[Zak Dymo]

Did she just call him a Jedi?

Time was, that would have been insult. He was still getting used to it, but... "I'm not sure if I'm insulted, or if the Jedi should be," the boy mused aloud absently.

Tank Girl's question about the threat posed by native wildlife was a point well made. "Ah," the youth chirped, as the group reached the edge of the ruins. A sheer drop revealed a 30 meter drop to the snow and ice below. Crevices in the ice hinted at the existence of caverns -- either natural or artificial. "Indigenous wildlife..." the Pantoran remarked, as he seemed to consider the idea that he probably should have looked that up before they landed. "Yes, excellent question."

He had no idea.

Stepping off the edge, the boy allowed himself to simply drop down the side of the ice mountain. Throwing out a hand, the boy pushed out against the ground below, slowing his descent. When his feet had settled back upon the powdery snow, he looked up and said, "I'm sure, whatever it is, we can handle it."

And waited for them to join him.

[member="Anna Song"] | [member="Basaba Willamina"]​

 

[Basaba Willamina]

[member="Boo Chiyo"] [member="Anna Song"]

If the kid could have seen her face he would have seen the stare she usually offered while looking out and around gripping her fists together. The sounds of the breeze coming while she watched him jump down towards the bottom and Basaba stood at the ready. Her muscles tensing under the armor and she moved leaping into the air while she was coming down and the shockrods ejected out when she came down onto the ground using the shockwave generator to create a cushion of energy to protect herself before she was watching the wave create a crater for herself to stand in as the rods released a loud audible hiss at the attack.

 

[Anna Song]

Anna was much more cautious in her decent. Sitting down up the edge of the rocks, lowering herself down slowly, then dropping the rest of the way to the next landing. Landing on her spacesuit's boots with an Oof! Ouchy. What an annoying planet. Bleh. She continued this trend three times until she had reached new ground. Dusting herself off and tapping her helm with a smile,

"Wow. You guys are like... Very very prepared. Oh my gosh. Sorry. I'll do better about keeping up. I promise."

She stuck out her tongue and winked. Being probably the complete opposite of [member="Boo Chiyo"] magicks and [member="Basaba Willamina"] 's tech. Just a silly girl in a spacesuit. Oh dear.

The mention about wildlife she ignored. After all, Boo and Basaba looked like they could eat a Rancor for breakfast. All she had to do was stay close and stay out of their way. Hehe. Survival 101. Let the big guys do the heavy lifting.

 

[Zak Dymo]

At 1.4 meters, and 38 kilos, if the Melodie was looking for a 'big guy' then the young Pantoran was about the furthest thing from.

Tank Girl's armor was certainly fierce, though. The boy was glad he hadn't encountered anything like her on Wayland. "You should go at your own pace," the boy offered, after Valley Girl had joined them on the ground. Ducking his head beneath icicles overhanging the opening, the blue-skinned youth headed into a cavern.

"Your crystal will be unique to you," with a glance back to Valley Girl. As he looked forward again, the boy added, "...or, I think that's how it works."

He didn't actually know. His master had given him the crystal and told him to go put a lightsaber together. He hadn't even told him how! That had been for Boo to figure out. But, there had only been two fires and just one explosion, and no one had died in either, so that was success. "The Sith just make their own crystal, so I've actually never done this before," the boy noted for the sake of his companions.

He was going in just as blind and new as they were.

[member="Anna Song"] | [member="Basaba Willamina"]​

 

[Basaba Willamina]

[member="Boo Chiyo"] [member="Anna Song"]

She was looking at the two of them and moving as some attention went to things. All the work they had been doing and all the major parts of constructing a saber she wasn't exactly certain about while moving into the cave behind the knight leading them in. She was focusing on the force energies and trying to find a way to center herself while the mandalorian stood still and let the active camo system begin to work in the darker light while the light was bending. Thoughts of the main things she had been doing with Anastasia for training the force before she closed her eyes focusing then reaching out with the force.

 

[Anna Song]

Had Anna been particularly observant she might have made the connection [member="Boo Chiyo"] was referencing. I mean, let's review: Sith did this. I know about that. Jedi do this. I don't know about that. ...Which means... Well. According to Anna it didn't mean anything. Just that Boo was smarter than she was. And... That's about that.

She skipped along merrily behind the group and into the caverns. Valley Girl was a pretty good definition at this point. Even if she did look old enough and tall enough to probably be called Valley Woman. Still? Nicknames are fun. Even if Boo didn't say them out loud. Song didn't say much out loud either. She simply followed the crew and wondered happily at all the marvelous sights around them. Enjoying the dark icy corners just as much as the blue textured stonework. It was all new and beautiful to her eyes. Fishy eyelids and all.

However, when [member="Basaba Willamina"] began to disappear into their surroundings? Anna stopped for a moment and gasped. Unsure what sort of magicks could case such a thing. So, she took a moment to try and sense the woman in the Force. Sort of... Keep track of her that way. Being a Melodie it was surprisingly easy to grasp Force Sense. So Apprentice Song had no trouble sensing all of them.

Oh? Boo's aura was rather fascinating too. Oh my? What a strange troupe she'd joined. Maybe she should be paying more attention. Good grief.

 

[Zak Dymo]

The disappearing trick was... different.

Not new, necessarily. Boo did it all the time. Usually to [member="Coci Heavenshield"]'s disappointment and much to his own relief in slipping away from the Master of the Theo. But, this wasn't some form of stealth he was familiar with. Her presence in the Force was as noticeable as any other time. So, it was an artificial effect? Some kind of... optical illusion?

"We should be prepared to split up," the Pantoran remarked, as he skirted along the edge of where the floor suddenly dropped into a steep decline. "The chances of finding our crystals clustered together or near each other is..."

As he spoke, the boy slipped. Suddenly, he was riding a giant slide of ice, ferrying down into a deep ravine far under the surface above. When, at last, he'd skidded to a halt, the boy looked up in a daze...

...only to see a cluster of three crystals jutting out from a stalactite overhead.

"Or... it could just be that simple."

[member="Anna Song"] | [member="Basaba Willamina"]​

 

[Basaba Willamina]

[member="Anna Song"] [member="Boo Chiyo"]

Basaba wasn't paying attention to their observations but she heard the jedi knight speaking while he was leading them and followed with her attentions in him in the mask until he was falling and sliding down with her camo effect disappearing when she moved to fast for it to keep up and the pantorian was going down the ice. THe light on her armor activating to illuminate the cave while she slid down and ejected a blade to dig into the ice and control her speed descending down the incline. THe mandalorian was moving and the small whirring sound as the weapon system on her wrists spun with different tubes was selecting the best things for the job.

 

[Anna Song]

"Wait!"

Anna called as the others disappeared. She clamored to the edge of the ravine and peered down. Far too unskilled to mount a rescue of [member="Boo Chiyo"] or even dare to follow.

"No!"

She cursed with wide eyes. Immediately believing the others to be dead. Then as the sounds from [member="Basaba Willamina"] 's suit began to echo up from the depths, she hesitated. Let the cavern echo. And in that silence she could feel the aura of the two Knights below her. Rising up from the darkness below.

"Ah. Thank goodness."

Anna grabbed her chest and sat down. Letting out a sigh of relief as her bottom plopped down upon the cold stone.

"I thought I lost them."

As she breathed a sigh of relief another sound began to echo. The cavern roof was chipping. Wait? No. Cracking ever so slightly. Anna stopped her breathing to look up at the glittering ceiling with wonder. What... Was...

*snap*

"Ah!"

Anna jumped back and spread her legs. Letting a sharp stalagmite fall from the ceiling and land right where she had been sitting only a moment earlier. Crack! It pierced the earth and remained upstanding. A tiny statue in the dark.

"Kark me." Anna breathed, "What is this place? I'm never going to be able to find anything in here."

As the Melodie breathed a slow and careful sigh of shock, the piercing stone mite between her legs began to crack once again. Snip. Snap. The jagged canyon began to run through the whole of the fallen piece. Snapping the arrow right in two. Clip! The rough exterior of the crystal faded away and revealing the glowing blue matrix within. It had not been a stalagmite that fell from the ceiling at all...

Anna leaned closer to the glowing blue piece of Eden between her knees. Her shock and awe only growing wider as her fishy eyelids flapped open and closed again, and again. The crystal glowing and humming with new life. Reflecting it's soft white light off her gasping eyes. Breathing a soft chill into the air around them. Revealing itself a Force Crystal completely.

"Or... it could just be that simple??"

 

[Zak Dymo]

Picking himself up from off the floor of the cavern, the Pantoran hopped back to his feet and dusted himself off.

Basaba's method of descending the ice had the benefit of being much more controlled, but couldn't have been as much fun as the frozen water slide he'd been on!

Turning his attention away from the Iron Maiden, the boy stretched a hand over head. Closing his eyes, the child tilted his head back as he opened himself to the Dark Side of the Force. An ill wind howled through the cave, as the boy extended his fingers as he stretched out toward the the ceiling above. The resonance of the Adegan crystal heightened, sharpened his awareness.

And then he felt something drop into his hand. Opening his eyes, the boy saw a jagged piece of sapphire sparkling there in his palm.

​

[member="Anna Song"] | [member="Basaba Willamina"]​

 

[Basaba Willamina]

[member="Anna Song"] [member="Boo Chiyo"]

She could hear the sounds of the one above as she seemed to be screaming and moving before something fell from above. The armor was great, protective but the large mando didn't really want to be buried in it cause someone decided to move the wrong piece of rock and bury all of them. For now she just focused and concentrated on the force reaching out with her senses towards the cave to find what she had come here for.... and something was there like a buzzing in her head and tickling sensation behind her eye while she was moving. The optical effect working before she was reaching out into a chunk of ice and her blade ejecting to crack it. The shimmering crystal in her cybernetic hand while she didn't speak just let the visor flare to try and wake her up since her eyes were closed and it couldn't tell if she was still conscious.