Livin' In a Lonely World

[Alyson Halle]

The shuttlecraft came to the cold world of Orto Plutonia Alyson sat, meditating, she needed to discern where she needed to go before heading down. She had been told to follow her feelings, let the force decide your actions. She combed through her memories, letting the force guide her to the right place, she let the force guide her, and it guided her to what she was told by the council before leaving. She was taken back there, however this time she was an outside observer, floating around the memory like a ghost. It was completly indistinguishable from the original memory, it was like she had gone back in time.

Dream Alyson walked into the council chamber, before bowing to the master seated around her. The grand master looker to her, before speaking.

"You have learned much in your time here Knight Halle, but we are afraid that you have learned all that we can teach you. You are not done however, you still have much to learn." The grandmaster said

"Master if i have already learned all that you can teach me, what else is there to learn?" Alyson replied

"You must learn about yourself, you must learn to look inside yourself, you must learn from inside you. Only once you understand yourself, will you be a true master in the force. You must go on a journey, that is the trial we put before you. Go to Orto Plutonia, from there, follow your feelings, you will know when you have found what you seek. Then your journey will begin. It will not be a short one, it will take many years, and will test your resolve and character, but when it is finished, you will be a master of the force, i guarantee it. Take nothing with you but a shuttle, your light-saber, and any personal equipment you will need, i highly recommend bringing cold weather gear. Orto Plutonia isnt known for its warm winters."

Alyson used these memories to fuel her search for whatever the masters wanted her to find, she looked for any signature in the force, anything. She looked, felt, listened, eventually something appeared, she set the shuttle for whatever it was, it could be a force artifact, a jedi master of old, a village, a tomb, anything could be there, she just had to find it.

 

[Alyson Halle]

The shuttle made its way down onto the cold world, the location she had sensed was in the colder northern regions of the planet, completly uninhabitable, nothing lived up there, she had no clue why she had brought herself here, what could possibly be here wrthy of looking for. That she did not know, but as the shuuttle came down it was rather clear that there was currently an ongoing blizzard, but on this planet, those were near constant, it was basically a sunny day on this world, the snow was near constant and unedning, a day where it didnt snow was rare, a sunny day even moreso.

Alyson set down the shuttle nearby the force signature, she felt whatever it was much more clearly now, as far as she could tell she was right on top of it. She put on cold weather gear, and made her way out into the cold storm. She knew that attempting to make her way through randomly would be futile, she used the force to guide her through the storm. It was cold, even with 7 layers on and various other pieces of equipment she could still feel the cold, it made it progressively harder to focus on finding whatever it was she needed to find. She could not see more than 5 feet in front of her, the snow was relentless, it was a monsoon of snow. It was miserable.

After 20 minutes of trekking through the cold snow and beating down weather, she finally felt herself getting closer to where she needed to be, she continued to follow her feelings, she knew that at one point, she would reach her destination, or at least, where the force wanted her to go, which could be the thing she felt, or something completely different. Everyone had their destiny, everyone had a destiny given to them by the force. The jedi accept this destiny, they accept the forces desire, and while they are not dominated by it, they are cooperating with it. Sith with to dominate the force, they attempt to avoid what the force had desired for them, disobedience is one thing, but domination is another. They attempt to bypass the forces will by means of force, they use power to bend the force to their will. However, over her many years, she learned that that isn't always a bad thing.

Alyson made her way through the storm, she continued to trudge, before tripping on something she couldn't see, she sat in the snow pile for a second, before digging under. Her knee hurt a bit from tripping on this thing, which felt like large metal object. Upon digging it out with her lightsaber, she found that it was a hatch, a big metal hatch. The hatch had a large wheel on top for opening and closing, whoever built this did not want it to be found easily. It was plain and made of durasteel, and entirely uninteresting. Alyson knew that this is what she was looking for.

 

[Alyson Halle]

Alyson struggled to open the hatch, it was frozen over, and it took a bit of force magic to get rid of the ice, eventually however, she was able to force open the hatch, which lead down into a long dark chasm. Right near the opening was a little panel, and there were two buttons, labeled LIGHT ON, and LIGHT OFF. Next to it was a small panel that red EMERGENCY, but the button had been removed years ago. She clicked the on button, as lights slowly turned on down the hatch, with a audible CHCH each time. The ;ights went down quite a long way, this hatch went deep underground, it would take a bit to climb down.

She climbed down the ladder, the place looked pristine, no rust, no tarnish, everything was perfectly pristine, this place had not been touched in thousands of years, she was probably the first person to step foot here since it was created, it took quite awhile to climb down. Once she made it she was greeted with huge stone pillars, in a large foyer, the lights flickered on as she entered the room. At the end of the hallway was a massive stone door, with the words etched above it. "Those who seek knowledge may find sanctuary here". Flanking either side of the door were two massive statues of Jedi, holding their lightsabers up towards the sky in front of their face.

Alyson made her way to the door, with a vague idea what to expect on the other side of the door.

 

[Alyson Halle]

Alyson made her way up to the huge stone doors, they glimmered as if they were just polished yesterday. The force permeated this place, the light side, not as strong as a nexus, but there clearly was a presence here. It felt good. As she came upon the doors it became rather clear that they were too large to open by hand, they were far too large. She took a look around the room, it took her a moment, but she took a look at one of the stone bricks at her feet, upon it was an inscription.

The strength of your muscles will not get you far in this realm, only with the strength of your mind shall you prevail.

Alyson thought for a minute, looking around the room, nothing became apparent by eye. She took a seat in front of the door and started reaching out with her senses, attempting to see if the force revealed anything that her eyes failed to see. She sensed, looking for anything out of the ordinary in the force, eventually, she tracked down an anomaly in one of the stones on the roof, it stood out in the force, but you needed to be somewhat patient for it to stand out.

She used the force to push in the stone, and as she did the massive doors slowly swung open. She slipped through the doors, making her way down a long hallway it by torches, they lit as she passed them, probably using some sort of alchemy or enchantment. She made her way down to what she assumed was the next trial.

 

[Corde Flint]

Corde wasn't overly fond of the cold. He wasn't particularly fond of the situation in general. With the council for all intents and purposes gone, everything was falling apart, leaving him and whatever knights there were left to pick up the pieces. He wasn't so foolish to believe he could handle it himself, the knight being far from an apt replacement of a master. No, if the Order was to survive, it'd require a combined effort.

The vessel drifting across the surface of Orto Plutonia, his eyes scanned for the shuttle that should have brought Alyson Hale to the planet's snowy terrain. The two had met before, once, maybe twice, certainly not recent enough for Corde to gauge whether or not Hale would be an asset in restoring the Order, but at this point, he'd take what help he could get. The shuttle itself wasn't too terribly difficult to find, the force guiding Flint's scanners, but it was clear Hale was no longer on the ship. At least it gave him a place to start.

Pulling his own vessel next to the shuttle, he stood, stretching his back and throwing on an extra cloak. He had a feeling he'd be searching for a while. With the ship secured, power off, he made move to head outside, stopping to address the other who'd accompanied him. "Are you ready?"

[member="Alyson Halle"] | [member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

The duties of a Jedi will often conflict with your responsibilities as a Count of Serenno, in time your judgement will be one of your greatest tools.

Adron's eyes opened as he felt their shuttle pull from hyperspace over Orto Plutonia. He took a moment of pause, reflecting on the words his father often preached to him in the confines of their training. Adron had offered a great deal of hesitation when he was propositioned with this mission. Though he was happy to be advancing on the path of the Jedi he had more responsibilities than just The Force.

Pushing himself from his kneeling position he glanced at one of the viewports beside him. Ice and snow covered the terrain below them as their shuttle soared through the skies. It reminded him of his own home, often covered in a plentiful blanket of snow. He could feel the ship touch down on the planet's surface, finally their journey would begin. It was not until the divider between the cockpit and the cargo area slid open that Adron laid his eyes on his new companion. Corde Flint had been the one to contact him, having heard of his own meager skills in the force he saw fit to recruit the Count for this trek.

"Sure, let's get going." Adron replied, his hand brushing over the lightsaber that hung from his waist. The Count pulled his hood over his head before gesturing for Corde to take lead, he knew where they were heading better than Adron. "After you."

[member="Corde Flint"] [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Alyson Halle]

Alyson made her way down the hallway, the torches lighting as she passed, she could tell that they did not dim for some time, allowing somebody to follow if they wanted to, though Alyson doubted it would be problematic. She made her way down the corridor, it was modeled like a stone castle, it had been here for quite a long time, but it looked as pristine as the day it was finished.

She arrived at the end of the corridor, and there she came across another challenge. At the head of the door stated a riddle.

Many books are stored in these halls, all of the same, except for one. These are not the final prize, but a single test you can surmise. Each book is same except for one, look with discretion, for it is rather fun. Do not let first appearances deceive you, follow your instincts, and the prize will receive you.

She walked through the archway, which revealed 3 large bookshelves, each lined to the brim with physical manuscripts, like the ones she had back home. She skimmed over the books, trying to find one that appeared different, but no pattern was readily available. As far as she could tell, these were all widely circulated manuscripts by renowned Jedi masters. There was a treatise on the force from yoda, The basics of lightsaber combat written by a little know jedi master written millennia ago, none of it stood out. She skimmed, just Jedi master after Jedi master, nothing made sense.

She looked for bookhelf after bookshelf, she failed to find anything, then she stumbled across something, the author of this book was... Revan. It stood out like a sore thumb, she remembered the story of Revan, he was a Jedi Knight turned Sith Lord, turned Jedi again. He had a rather wild ride with force alignments and his teachings, at different times, were respected by both the Jedi and the Sith. He was the bridge between the two orders.

Alyson pulled on the book, and as she did the bookshelf receded into the floor, she ran through, she could feel herself close to the center, she didn't bother to close the bookshelf to stop any intruders, she didn't know what to expect at the end, but hopefully it was something important.

[member="Adron Malvern"]
[member="Corde Flint"]

 

[Corde Flint]

Exiting the ship with his companion in tow, Corde surveyed the area. Snow to the left, snow to the right, he didn't know where to begin. "Are you aware of the situation, kid?" He said, addressing the other. Sure, Corde had been the one to assemble this rag tag team, but in the haste to get going it was very possible (and quite probable) he'd neglected to explain their objective.

Doing another once-over of the area, he walked over to the shuttle they'd landed beside, removing a glove, temporarily sacrificing warmth as he laid a hand on the shuttle. Through abilities inherited, the force poured from his hand to the shuttle's outer shell, taking in information and relaying it back to the Jedi. It wasn't much, clearly they had a bit of a journey ahead of them before they'd actually find Hale. It did, however, give him a general direction to start.

"We're going this way," he said pointing in the direction. "I don't know how far, but it's a start."

[member="Alyson Halle"] | [member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

Adron's boots crunched into the brittle snow beneath them as his eyes scanned the area. The cool winds soothed him as he turned his attention to Corde, who was already working on Adron's bad side. "Count." The boy countered, his voice laced with a hint of annoyance. Normally when it came to Jedi business Adron did not dwell on titles and moniker's, however he deeply hated to be called kid. "All I was told was we are looking for another Jedi. You haven't said much else."

Adron watched as Corde walked to the adjacent shuttle, placing a hand on it's hull. Arching a brow at this action he wanted to speak up but decided against it. He knows what he's doing. He thought, hoping that he was right. As they began to trek away from the ships Adron exhaled once again, clearing his chest of the cold air that had begun to build up.

Their stride was long and with each step his focus drifted from their surroundings and to himself. Focusing on the ever-constant nether of the Force Adron was attempting to use it to keep his body temperature at a constant. "I've never been to this planet before, have you?" He called out to Corde.

[member="Corde Flint"] [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Alyson Halle]

Alyson made her way down another hallway, looked about the same as the other ones, long, dark, lit by force imbued torches, same old corridor she ahd come to expect from this place. However, at the end of this one, lay a normal looking door, an inscription stood above it.

You have proven yourself worthy of the secrets within, now feast on the knowledge, learn what is in. The secrets of the Jedi are now yours for the taking, for you have proven yourself worthy, of continuing our teaching.

Alyson used the force to lower the stone door into the ground, and inside she saw something wonderful, it is a giant library, while it did not match the Jedi Archives of old, this library would be enough to rebuild the order, this was a library of massive proportions, holorecords, holovids, books, everything you could possibly imagine or need, sure there were many obscure texts that would easily be found in the ancient Jedi archives, but there were still texts here that had been lost for years. This place could serve as highly useful to the order. At the center was a large structure which looked like a storage device for something.

Alyson approached it, it was a large pillar surrounded by a spiral staircase up. Alyson climbed to see what was stored at the top. She climbed, climbed, climbed, until she reached the top, from there there was a small recession that looked like a square. It was intended to store a holocron. There was one problem however, it was missing. An engraving near it stated that it was the holocron of a great Jedi, one who saved the order in the dying days of the First Old Republic, but it was missing, whether it was never delivered, or stolen, was uncertain, but whatever it was, it was somewhere. Alyson had to find it, but first she had to get an idea of where it went.

Alyson went over to a terminal to look over the material, maybe that would be able to tell who's holocron it was, and where it went.

[member="Adron Malvern"]
[member="Corde Flint"]

 

[Corde Flint]

He cast a look over his shoulder, vaguely entertained by the younger's reaction. If the kid, no, count, was so easily offended, it'd certainly make for an interesting journey. "Right, sorry." Better to keep things civil, despite how ridiculous the other's qualms might seem. "That's essentially what we're doing. Alyson Hale's who we're after."

They walked on, Corde occasionally stopping to lay hand on the ground, taking advantage of his ability, rubbing his hands together in between checking the way. It was a relatively straight route, though he could only imagine how this'd go without any means to track. He pulled his cloak closer to his person. The force would keep him functioning, but he certainly wouldn't object to shelter.

"Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of visiting the system before." His voice was dry in his delivery, breath leaving him in small puffs. "We can't be too far off."

[member="Adron Malvern"] | [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

Corde had brought up the name of the Jedi they were searching for. Alyson Hale, a name that was foreign to the Count. His skills in Tapas keeping his temperature at a constant finally stabilized and he was able to shift his focus to the area surrounding them. He noticed a small hill in the distance which caused him to arch a brow. "Wait."

His steps slowed as he examined the hill, after a moment he elected to change their direction ever so slightly. "Look at that." He stated as he approached the mound of snow and ice. Upon getting closer it was obvious the hill was not only a hill, it housed a large metal hatch which seemed to be pried open. "The ice around the hatch was broken recently, see?" He pointed to the parts of the hatch where a clean coating of ice came to a jagged end.

Leaning forward to glance inside of the hatch he exhaled a small cloud of vapor. "Wherever it leads it's out of the cold, come on." Making his way down the ladder Adron made no attempt to wait for Corde.

[member="Corde Flint"] [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Corde Flint]

Stopping in place, he arched a brow as Adron made move to the hill. He glanced back at the path they had been headed, opting instead to follow. Sure enough, the hill was far from what it appeared at first glance.

"Good eye," he said, crouching to observe the latches. Part of him wanted to use his psychometry, see for himself whether or not Hale had headed this way. The reality of the situation was that he really didn't want to remove his gloves any more than necessary. Besides, in such a wasteland, he doubted anything so recent-looking would be at the hand of anyone other than their query. If he was to be proven wrong, he'd deal with the repercussions

"Wait-" When it was clear Adron was moving on when or without Corde, he huffed in annoyance before heading down himself. "You know if you end up getting yourself hurt, there's only so much I can do out here."

[member="Adron Malvern"] | [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

As Adron's gloved hands came into contact with the metal bars he offered Corde a simple smile in return. "Better come along then, don't you agree?" Continuing down the hatch he kept his eyes peeled on the long path down. They continued their decent and as they did Adron watched as what had started as chilled metal, affected by the elements, turned into a more preserved interior lacking the abuse of time and weather. "Do you know what this place could be? A bunker of some sort?"

Finally the stairwell came to an end as Adron's foot impacted solid ground. His gaze returned to the hatch they had just climbed down and he simply stared at the rather lengthy decent. "I'm not looking forward to going back up, especially with how cold it is." Stepping back from the ladder to allow Corde his space Adron turned to the path before them, lined with large stone pillars.

"This isn't just a bunker." He pointed out.

[member="Corde Flint"] [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Corde Flint]

"Real funny, count." It was odd referring to anyone so much younger than him with any sort of title. Corde, well, Corde was trying. He focused on the descent down, mentally noting that the farther they went, the less of a chance they'd have at a quick escape should something go horribly wrong. "Whatever it is, it doesn't look like a place meant to be found so easily."

With his feet firmly on the ground, he took a moment to look back up at what they had come from. Yep, that would be a fun climb later on. "Well, the Force willing, when we head back up, our mission will be fulfilled." He ran a hand through his hair, ditching the hood of his cloak in the process. As much as he'd like to warm up, they didn't exactly have time on their hands.

"Probably means we're headed in the right direction. Shall we move on?"

[member="Adron Malvern"] | [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

As Corde descended onto the ground beside him Adron offered him his hand, a kind smile on his face. "Adron, you can call me Adron. Just not kid, if you don't mind." After shaking hands the young man turned his attention back to the scene before him and nodded. "I agree...whatever this place is it..." His words trailed off as he looked to the words etched into the threshold. Those who seek knowledge may find sanctuary here.

"Those who seek knowledge may find sanctuary here?" He repeated, glancing to Corde questioningly before advancing. "Maybe it is supposed to be found...just by the right people." He commented as his questioning expression was replaced with a smile. "Look." Adron's hand lifted to point to the Jedi statues placed in front of the great stone doorway.

"Could this be an old Jedi temple? You can tell by the architecture it isn't Sith..." The Force washed over Adron for a moment and as it did his sense became attuned to another being, moving through the halls before them. "I...Think we found her." He stated quietly.

[member="Corde Flint"] [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Corde Flint]

"Right. Call me Corde," with a quick shake, he turned to inspect the area. Taking a few steps forward to further inspect it, he made note of the writing. "That's definitely a possibility." He headed down toward the statues, placing a hand on it and reading what he could from it.

"I would say it is," He said, glancing around the area. "Looks like we're going in the right direction. Let's keep going."

[member="Adron Malvern"] | [member="Alyson Halle"]

 

[Adron Malvern]

As they followed the corridors Adron took notice of several inscriptions, most likely meant as a challenge for anyone hoping to move through out the halls, He paused at the second one he saw and gestured to it. "I've been reading these and it definitely seems like someone is down here. Not only down here but clearing the way, shame I like riddles."

They continued down the pass and Adron could feel someone growing closer, in a moment of caution he unhooked his lightsaber from his waist, in case the person he searched for was not the same one they were searching for.

Adron's thoughts were cut when they passed through the final door and his eyes grew wide. A mixture of excitement and wonder filled him as a great library, far surpassing anything he had ever seen was revealed to the duo. "This....is amazing..." He said, no wonder lost in his voice. "Corde.....I think this may just be a Jedi Temple of old."

[member="Corde Flint"] @Adron Malvern

 

[Alyson Halle]

Alyson was digging through the records, reading for where the holocron might have went, this holocron was quite clearly the centerpiece of this library, and it goes without question that either it as never delivered, or somebody came here before and stole it. Either way, she needed to figure out where to look first. This holocron was probably highly important, gaining it would probably be a great boon for the dominion. She eventually found some ancient manifest that declared what was supposed to be delivered here, however, it was highly corrupted but she was able to make out "Holocron of" and a last known location: Pantorra, the moon of the very planet she was standing on. Quite clearly it was a good place to start, if not the only place to start. Apparently it was procured from a middleman there, Dantorn Fenlowe. Whoever he was, he was probably long dead, but his legacy should have been left behind, maybe he had a descendant.

As she found this she sensed someone entering the library. Intruders. She slowly made her way to the door, hiding herself behind one of the many bookshelves in the library. She did not know who these intruders are, but they probably followed her right here, whoever they were, they probably came to either stop her, or steal what she had found. She waited until she heard footsteps behind the revealed bookcase, and then she jumped out. She ignited her lightsaber, doing jumping out, putting the blade to [member="Corde Flint"] 's throat.

"Who are you and what are you doing here... Wait... I know you... Corde? What are you doing here?" She said, deactivating her blade

She didn't know him too well, but they had met before, enough for her to recognize him at least. He also had a kid with him, whoever the hell he was was none of her business, though he felt like a jedi in the force, at the very least.

[member="Adron Malvern"]

 

[Corde Flint]

In the moment, instinct had Cordelion reaching for his own blade, readying to strike to at least wound should the blade at his throat continue its course. In the next, his actions stilled, reason overcoming reflex. It seemed [member="Alyson Halle"] remembered him, despite what little interaction they'd had in the past. Good enough for him.

"Good to see you, too, Alyson," he greeted. "I hope your little excursion here was fruitful." He gestured to Adron, "The two of us have been sent to bring you back."

[member="Adron Malvern"]