New Tomorrow

[Long Gone]

Location – Edge of Republic Territory, Onboard the New Republic Starship “Destiny”.
Song – Oracle and Intrepid Souls by AudioMachine, Interstellar by Groove Addicts.

“Where am I…?” Her own voice echoed within the depths of her mind as her body floated nearly lifeless amongst the debris within the bridge. Her eyes fluttered open, the light of the star causing her to squint harshly. She tried to move her limbs but they wouldn't respond, instead she floated lifelessly through the command deck on the bridge. Her body occasionally impacted the durasteel walls and went a new direction as the ship rotated through space without any real control.

“The last thing I can remember…” The flash of a painful memory caused her to close her eyes tight and grit her teeth together. Gnashing the enamel together tight enough to make a crunching noise that was eerie in nature.

816 Years Ago...
Edge of New Republic Space near the Maxis Colony.

She could see herself on the deck of the “Destiny”, speaking to Commander Fox about where they were headed before the alarms rang out across the bridge. A warship had exited hyperspace and began firing upon them, it caused Aaralyn to panic in fear and move towards the communication console to hail the vessel. As she moved, she felt a shutter within her chest that caused her to stop. Time itself seemed to slow and the thumping sounds of her heartbeat echoed within her eardrums.

*THUMP, THUMP, THUMP*

The Crystal of Light around her neck began to reverberate against her chest causing even more shuttering and an overwhelming sense of pain through the Force that made her buckle. Both hands shot up to her chest where the Crystal was located, grasping against the tunic tightly. She clawed and fought against the material as the Crystal began to reverberate as such a rate, it echoed tremors through the Force that could have been felt for light years away. Without warning and within a milisecond, the Crystal of Light suddenly ceased and all hell broke loose on the bridge. A terrible explosion of Force energy unleashed itself from the Crystal, sending bodies of Officers and Enlisted alike in different directions. The destruction was so powerful, it even disintegrated those closest to Aaralyn within the blink of an eye. Aaralyn herself was launched into the air and into the durasteel ceiling of the command deck. The Crystal itself, shattering into a dozen or more tiny fragments which impaled her chest with searing pain...but the damage didn't stop there.

The Force itself was disturbed in the area of the explosion, causing a rift in time and space. The vessel that was attacking the "Destiny" disappeared instantaneously, the men and women that either were dead, dying or wounded became ashes from corpses that had long since decomposed beyond skeletal fragments. Aaralyn had survived somehow, caught in the epicenter of the time rift and for 816 years, she was in a comatose like state.

The Force keeping her alive somehow...

Present Day, Edge of Galactic Republic Space.

Her eyes fluttered open again, the light of the distant star filling her vision again as she gazed about. She tried to move again, but found her body once more unresponsive. Her fingers twitched painful as the muscles attempted to move after so long.

“How long had it been?” The question burned through her mind like a wildfire burning through a forest. Her vision was caught by a floating helmet that was slightly cracked and charred, the helmet slowly tumbled by her as if fate was taunting her. “Oh no…” The helmet was that of a Republic Commando, one that once belonged to the proud Havoc Squad that guarded her since she was a member of the Imperial Senate.

“Fox…” The burning sensation of tears welling up in her eyes caused her to blink a few times, the droplets of liquid floated freely from her amber-hued orbs and splashed harmlessly against the battle scarred helmet of her once closest friend and trusted ally.

 

[Antares]

Jedi Knight Antares Windu's shuttle dropped out of hyperspace with the intent of investigation. There had been a ship that had come onto the long-range sensors, and Antares in his current state of mind of wanting to stay away from Coruscant for a while - mainly because of the two battles that he had fought upon it within the space of a few months, he had decided to take this mission upon himself and investigate.

Upon initial readings, the ship seemed old, too old to function, and yet here it was. "Scan for life forms." He said as he walked through his shuttle as it was flown by his droid to the ship.

He received a whirring sound in reply as his droid got to work.

A duty-bound droid. Antares wiped his mind after every mission, but the droid still seemed to have the same 'personality' as always. He liked it about the astromech.

Then he was shocked out of his thoughts as the droid replied nearly a minute later with only one life form being upon the ship. But Antares couldn't just trust the technology of the Galaxy. He had to use something that was much more useful.

The Force.

So when his own shuttle had flown passed the ship's hangar bay several times, he expanded his own force presence outwards to get a sense of what was going on. He did indeed feel the faint presence of light - a light sided presence by the looks of it, but why would a Jedi be so far out? And in a ship this old?

Telepathically, he made his attempts to contact the light sided presence through the Force while he got into a space suit. Who knew what was on the ship? So many holo-films had things like these situations where you got off your ship and were killed after exploring it.

Antares wanted to be ready for anything.

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

Aaralyn watched as a vessel passed by the bridge not once, but twice and then she could feel the presence touch her mind. It wasn't an unwelcome presence but one who was devoted to the Light...or atleast she could tell for the moment. Her fingers twitched and curled inwards as she continued to focus her strength on moving muscles that had been in a stasis for hundreds of years. This task not only proved to be difficult, but painful as well. Pools of tears consistently clouded her vision and brought the wells of the Force surrounding her aura to the brink of darkness. Her aura shifted back and forth as she tried to must all the energy she could to move, her eyes clenching shut, jaw muscles so tight they felt like they were going to break her teeth.

And again, that presence made contact with her, no voice...just a touch. It was as if the individual was probing out of caution.

Aaralyn relaxed, her eyes closing as she reached out through the Force. For her, this was a walk in the park, not like physically moving would be. She could visually see the vessel through the Force, the ley-lines of flowing energy and the light aura of the pilot as he maneuvered the vessel back and forth around her larger craft. Much like she had done so many times before in her life, she projected her voice through the communications system in the vessel, avoiding direct contact with the pilot.

"Who are you...?" Her voice echoed through the craft of Antares Windu from multiple directions, her voice coming from the communications consoles and loudspeakers installed on the various points of his ship. Her voice sounded a bit weak, with a slight flange to it's tone. One might consider it an ethereal presence in-fact.

[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

When he heard the woman's voice come out over the consoles he frowned, and for a moment he was angry that his consoles were used without his permission, but the moment had passed. The frown didn't however, and then the ramp opened up and he walked out, his lightsaber was in his hand rather than on his utility belt. It didn't need to be strapped to him for this.

If this was some sort of trap, he may as well cut down an extra second. It would definitely save his life in that way.

'My name is Antares Windu. Who are you?' He asked through the Force and he waited for a response. His force sense was the guide that would bring him closer to the woman herself. He looked around the hallway as he exited the hangar bay, and when he stopped to focus for a moment, he felt her presence stronger in one direction and went that way.

'I am here to help you. What happened?' He questioned while he travelled through the halls of the ship.

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

The unsettling presence onboard the desolate vessel was overpowering, even for Aaralyn as she struggled to regain full control of her physical movements. She was able to clench her hands into fists before too long as she spoke through the Force, her voice echoing in the darkened hallways of the Vigil Class Corvette.

"Your guess is as good as mine stranger..." Her tone was a bit darker than before, a hint of anger and frustration as she struggled to regain her motor skills.

Her body floated across the deck due to the lack of gravitational systems on the bridge, her eyes shifted back and forth as she came to a console, her hand clamored against the metal as she made a vain attempt to grip it. With a curse she floated away from the console only to bounce off another durasteel wall, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.

[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

'What. Is. Your. Name.' He projected through the Force. He wasn't going to be dodged again, he was determined to find out who this woman was, and to find out where she was. The magnetized space suit was the only reason why he wasn't floating around through the ship like [member="Aaralyn Deltain"]. The suit kept him on the floor of the ship, but he had to keep one foot on the ground at all times.

At least he thought so.

Antares continued to follow the woman's presence as it got stronger. For a moment, he almost felt as if it was getting darker for a moment, but that was probably up to perception.

'Are you on the bridge?'

 

[Long Gone]

"Persistent individual isn't he?" She grumbled under her breath.

Aaralyn gave a sigh of relief and of pain as she felt the tingling sensation return to her legs, she tried to focus on the Force to respond to Antares but was only able to respond to his first question before the pain hit her hard enough to cause her to lose sight of her objective. "Aaralyn..."

The pain was incredible, a level of pain she didn't think was possible in a thousand lifetimes. The sensation of the tingling had spread through her legs and into her hips, passing into her abdomen slowly before it pressed into her chest and arms. As it spread, it caused her to curl up into a fetal position in pain. She tried to cry out, but her vocal cords didn't respond. Her hands clutched her chest in agony as the gripping pain rippled through her like a shockwave. For a few moments, she would float curled up in a ball, crying silently from the pain. She was unable to call out through the Force, or physically call for help. She was completely incapacitated for the moment and for her it was a cruel punishment that was worse than death.

[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

Antares heard her name and before he could ask her another question, he felt her presence in the Force screaming. It was quite clear she was in pain and he didn't know why. His steps soon became hurried and he eventually found where she was.

Some place that appeared to be a bridge.

And he glanced around the bridge, and saw [member="Aaralyn Deltain"] gliding through the ship. He saw her clutching at her chest, and he summoned her to him by means of the Force. 'You are safe now.' He said through their telepathic link.

'Calm.'

 

[Logan]

Now Playing: Satellite by Rise Against

Aboard the Ordo-class Frigate dubbed the Verda, Jedediah Bagely sat in the commander's chair. His past services with the Galactic Republic and the Army of Light had peaked the interest of his Red Legion commanders, and so he was tasked with patrolling the space between the Republic and the Mandalorian clans. Jed really wished they hadn't done that. He was boots on the ground kind of man, space combat wasn't exactly his thing unless he was on a boarding mission. Adorned in his Red Legion battle armor, the Colonel flashed a thumbs up to the crewmen to his right, signalling for them to keep up the good work.

"Vance, any reports on scan?" Jed called out, rising from his chair and scores of datapads. "Man, this sea duty is just a karking mess." Of course he had to grumble that under his breath. If there was one thing anyone should know about him, it was that he couldn't sit still, unless he was drunk. "No, ner'vod." Came a gruff reply, the technician scratching his beard. "Oh wait. We've got somethin'." Colonel Bagely crossed the bridge, stooping down to rest a hand on the back of his chair. "What are those blips?"

"Possible contact, there's two of 'em." Vance arched an eyebrow. "Orders?"

Jed pursed his lips, chewing the thought of having a little fun. "Let's investigate it. I'll take a team and check it out."

"You just love taking all the fun for yourself, don'tcha?"

Jed smiled. "Get back to work, watch our shebs."

......

In about ten minutes Jedediah and a trio of other Red Legionnaires were prepped in a shuttle. "Prepare to fire, bridge. Don't know if they're friendlies or tourists." One of the legionnaires laughed at the comment, shifting his grip on the assault rifle. "Damned tourists." The Colonel smirked. "Alright, boys, let's roll." And with that, the shuttle was off and out of the hangar, rocketing towards the pair of ships. One was definitely a much, much larger vessel whilst the other was a shuttle as well.

For those on the derelict vessel, they'd receive a comms message from Vance on the bridge. "Unknown and unmarked vessels, you are dangerously close to Mandalorian space. Stand down and prepare for a team to investigate. If you need help, just ask."

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"], [member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

She shivered as she felt the aura of the Light come over her form, her hands slowly relaxing from clenching the material that concealed her form. "I'll believe that when my vessel is moving again..." She heaved a sigh. "We need to power on the systems, we're defenseless..."

The communications console sparked a bit, the muffled and static voice of a Mandalorian came through barely audible on the other end. "Unknown and unmarked vessels, you are dangerously close to Mandalorian space. Stand down and prepare for a team to investigate. If you need help, just ask."

Aaralyn looked to the console and then to [member="Antares Windu"]. "That doesn't sound welcoming...you need to power the ship on..." She said through a slightly strained voice. "We don't know what their true intentions are..."


[member="Jedediah Bagely"]

 

[Logan]

"Dammit Vance, ID yourself next time." The Colonel grumbled at the transmission that was relayed to both vessels. "Sorry, I'll put you on comms instead." Jed exhaled a heavy sigh as the long range comlink in his helmet gave a click as the connection was transferred over to himself personally. "Unidentified vessels, this is Colonel Jedediah Bagely of the Mandalorian clans. Keep your defenses down or we will fire upon you. Prepare for a team of four to board." Welp, at least that was a more adequate warning than the one Vance had given. This time, they'd properly identified themselves and had even included the number of personnel boarding the carcass of a vessel. It looked a little old, maybe too old. Jed mentally shrugged, didn't really matter. What mattered was that some Republic warship was literally on the edge of Mando space.

"Ready boys? We're about t'dock." Rawn, the pilot, craned his helmeted head back to inform the little crew. The team flashed a thumbs up, sliding back the bolt mechanisms in their blaster rifles. "Lock 'n load. Remember, we ain't here t' kill, just check 'em out real quick." Jed nodded, agreeing with the reminder his subordinate had issued. "Toggle breathers, you've got two hours of air." The Colonel reached down to tap a panel on his wrist comlink, activating the vacuum-sealed setting for his armor just as the little shuttle made contact with the warship.

They were all stacked up on the door as soon as it made impact. "Breach." And with that, Ryse veered forward to snap up his rifle, splaying a blob of light across the corridor before them. "Clear." Jed flashed two fingers, jabbing them forwards. The boarding team was on the move.

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"] [member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

Antares laid her down gently on her back, and rushed over to the console when he heard the voices of the Mandalorians. Surely she would start to float up again, but he just started to flip switches randomly with the intent to turn the ship back on. He never piloted a ship of such a size, he had only been on ships of this size or larger. He was no Jedi Ace.

'It is done.' He said when the sensors activated, the light turns on, and the gravity was regulated so that people and objects weren't floating over the bridge anymore.

The sensors read life forms upon their ship, and he glanced back around to see if [member="Aaralyn Deltain"] was fine before he started to undo the space suit. If it came to a fight with the Mandalorians it'd be best if he didn't have the suit slowing his movement.

'Mandalorians.' Windu said when he activated the ship's intercom system. 'We are in no need of your help. This is Republic Space. You may leave.' Antares said, and when he checked the systems that were online again - after walking across the bridge, he noted that the most important systems in such a situation with online.

The defense systems. An array of turrets in the corridors and bridge hallway.

He waited to actually turn them on. He needed the Mandalorian's answer first.

[member="Jedediah Bagely"]

 

[Long Gone]

Song - Molossus by Hans Zimmer

The "Destiny" indeed came back to life, and when she did, all onboard would feel her presence. The auto-pilot engaged suddenly as the gravitational systems also came online, the trajectory of the ship suddenly balancing out as the various components of the centuries old vessel began firing up. The roar of the engines igniting filled the lower compartments, the sound of the shield generators whirling for the first time in over 800 years was almost sweet music to a mechanics ears. The echoing sounds of multiple durasteel cargo boxes hitting the floor throughout the ship could be heard reverberating to the bridge.

There was no doubt the Mandalorians would be dodging falling cargo boxes or other debris as the gravitational system came back online. The hissing sound of atmosphere being injected into the air and sucking up plumes of dust from the command deck filled her ears as she remained motionless on the bridge floor.

She reached out through the Force, probing the very decks of her ship, as she did she could see the group of Mandalorians halted just shy of the group of turret emplacements. "I don't sense hostility..." She could feel their leader, she could sense him and atleast his outward intentions for the moment. It was impossible to determine his true intentions until he was infront of her, but for the moment he was honest in his quest to aid them. An unsteady hand came to rest upon the cold durasteel floor as she attempted to prop herself up against a control console, her gaze shifted up to [member="Antares Windu"] and then back down to the floor. "I think they would have taken a more abrupt approach, don't you?"

 

[Antares]

The Jedi Knight's gaze rested upon the woman that was on the floor in front of him. She was starting to stand, so he walked over to her and helped her up with his hands.

Whether she took it or not, he helped her up, at least until she was simply leaning on the consoles.

'Can you pilot this ship? Do you think hyperdrive would work?' He asked and his hands clenched every now and then while his head cocked to the side a bit as he walked to the door to the bridge. The door opened automatically and he looked out of it, mostly to see if anyone was there yet.

There wasn't.

'Also, try and bring up a display of the ship's interior. I want to know where they are. The Republic has had trouble with the Mandalorians recently.' He said, and then he stopped suddenly realizing.

'Where do you come from? I haven't seen a ship such as this before. Not to mention, why you only appeared now.'

Antares didn't even realize he was speaking to her through their mindlink still, but then he turned around and looked at her, black robes hanging off of his body after he had gotten out of the space suit.

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

Aaralyn managed to stifle her laugh as she took in a deep breath. "You sure do have alot of questions..." She shook her head softly, her body was still wracked with pain, but with the aid of the Force she was able to subdue a majority of it. "I haven't a clue how I got here or where here is!" She said abruptly before turning to the console beside her. A gloved hand came down to brush away the human debris and dust left behind from 800 years of isolation. A sigh escaped her lips as she collapsed into the chair infront of the console. "We were leaving the Maxis Station, delivering supplies..."

She took a deep breath and leaned back into the chair, her gaze shifting from him and then back to the console. "My name is Aaralyn Deltain, Jedi Master of the New Jedi Order."

She turned to him, giving him a brief nod before she fixated her attention back to the console. "We had left the ceremonies of the Pellaeon and Gavrisom Treaty before we were attacked by an unknown type of warship..." She brought a hand to her head, still breathing a bit heavy. Her lungs felt like they were on fire from lack of use for so long. "And there was an explosion..." She rubbed her temple slightly with her right hand. "I can't remember what happened after that..."

As she spoke, her left hand manipulated the console and as she did the holoprojector before them began to flicker, displaying the layout of the vessel. "The red dots indicate our Mandalorian friends..although they're holding position, we can't be certain they will stay that way."

[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

Antares turned around slowly.

'Jedi Master.' He said slowly and he nodded his head as he thought about it. 'Of the New Jedi Order?' He asked in the form of a question and he nodded his head again as he walked back and forth for a few moments.

'Do not lie to me.' He said firmly to her through the link. 'I helped you because you needed it, and I do not appreciate being lied to as thanks.' He said it as if he was speaking to a child, though she did look a few years older than him.

He couldn't believe what she said, a time traveller? Or was she just in stasis? and whatever she was in decided to open up now? Being a time traveller would explain the sudden appearance of the ship surely but...

'I need you to activate the hyperdrive and bring this ship to Anaxes. As well as replay all of the Captain's Logs.' He commanded.

It occurred to him that if she was telling the truth, he was a Jedi Knight giving orders to a Jedi Master, and it probably was comical to watch, if there were people who knew who she was viewing them. But alas, there were not.

It was only the two of them, and a squad of Mandalorians approaching.

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

Aaralyn slowly raised an eyebrow in question as she glanced over the younger man before her, well he wasn't that much younger than she was. Without warning she suddenly burst out laughing, it was a rather harsh laugh that might be considered offensive to someone who didn't know her better. This was especially true when she wasn't feeling well.

"Lie to you? You act as if the Order doesn't exist.." She struggled to stand and motioned towards him. "Your condescending tone also won't get you anywhere on my ship either, if there were New Republic guards around, I'd have you thrown away in the brig and the card key flushed out into space!" She made another motion with her hand, a rough sigh escaping her lips. This wasn't like her to be rude towards someone, well unless they deserved it.

And she felt like maybe he did...or perhaps that was the sudden onset of sickness she felt in her stomach that was talking. She hiccuped slightly as her arm came down to her stomach, gripping it briefly. "Besides, the hyperdrive is offline, so we're stuck for the moment until we can get her docked with a larger vessel and a repair team onboard..."

[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

Antares blinked when she laughed. 'You act as if you understood what I was saying. I know of the New Jedi Order. I just do not have any reason to believe you are a Jedi Master from a long time ago.' His lips were arrayed in a tight smile when he said that. He was starting to wonder if he preferred her when she was practically comatose.

The rest he just ignored and looked to the communications array. He needed to get into contact with the Republic, but he didn't know who to contact. He didn't know many people in the Galactic Republic, and it probably wouldn't look good having the Jedi come along again.

The struggle of making the right decision.

The Republic had the ships he would need to transport this ship deeper into Republic Space.

'Bring up the Captain's Log then.'

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]

 

[Long Gone]

Aaralyn pursed her lips for a moment before making a motion towards the command chair in the center of the deck. "Zulu-Sierra Five Niner." She continued to walk slowly away from him towards the rear of the deck, towards a semi-propped open door.

"It's the command code to access the logs..." There was nothing more she could say to the younger man, a hand still gripping her side as she cradled herself with her arm. She still felt a bit queezy after the whole coming to bid, her stomach growling harshly causing her momentum forward to falter. "Damnit..."

[member="Antares Windu"]

 

[Antares]

"Where are you going?" He finally said aloud using his real voice. He had to get her attention this time, he hadn't used his voice for quite some time. Not since he had spoken to his astromech on his shuttle.

It was fine.

Glancing downwards he read through the Captain's Logs, more or less skim reading to get done with it faster. There was quite a bit to read and considering she didn't really seem that helpful, well, he was just going to have to do this on his own.

Not like you could use teamwork to read anyway.

"Now tell me what happened. What did this ship look like? Surely your sensors scanned it and tried to determine it's origins?"

[member="Aaralyn Deltain"]