Private Right to the Heart of Ossus

[Kei Westbrook]

Kei looked down at the controls.

It had been a quiet few weeks, everyone had been busy with their own goals. Since Taris and the Padawan games that he organised, everyone he had normally acquainted himself with had gone their separate ways and done their separate things. It was to be expected in the Jedi, he wasn't everyone's priority and he was okay with that.

Now Mathieu was back from wherever he had gone. Kei hadn't asked, it was none of his business what Mathieu did when he wasn't with him. Kei Raxis had tried to pry too much into his own personal life and he (being Kei Westbrook) hated it when his mentor was prying. He didn't want to be the prying time, Mathieu would share if he wanted.

The ship that Kei had borrowed was nothing special. He really needed to commission his own vessel, yet until he could do so the Vanguard Class Light Freighter he had acquired would have to do. It was a pretty good ship to be honest, just not what Kei wanted. Kei knew exactly what he wanted and just needed to get to it.

He hadn't told Mathieu where they were going, he had plotted the course before Mathieu had even boarded the freighter back on Commenor. Kei didn't want Mathieu to know until they were there, for the task that Mathieu was about to carry out was going to be one of the fundamental tasks he would need to carry out on his quest to be a Jedi Knight.

Kei remembered his own lightsaber building quest. He remembered the cave on Mandalore where he had fought the undead Rancor. He remembered the broken jaw he had been left with and how he had fought through the pain to get his own crystal, the crystal that produced his smokey ash plasma beam. He remembered all of it.

He remembered having to outsmart the Rancor, having to use the force to throw things at it just to try and keep it's attention busy. He remembered having to get beneath the beast to get out of it's vision then absolutely sprint away from it. Luckily Raxis had decided to help keep the Rancor busy on the way back out.

Kei wanted to put Mathieu through that however he had decided not to.

That would be cruel, plus a black blade wouldn't suit Mathieu. As far as he knew, he was the only one in the Jedi Order with a smokey ash blade and he wanted to keep it that way. Instead Kei had located an old temple on the planet of Ossus and Kei was certain Mathieu could find what he needed.

"You ready?"

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

They had spent some time apart. Naturally, all contact had not been broken and despite their sometimes brief and relatively uneventful classes, Mathieu still found that time together with his Master Kei Westbrook was time well spent.

The large Morellian knew that his Master was not the kind of person to go soft on people and so, he had invested quite a bit of time and effort into learning on his own too. After his recent trip to Myrkr, for instance, he had recovered and restored the Holocron of Jedi Master Gro Slubb and from it, he had become much more potent in force stealth. Being sneaky and going unnoticed was a field with he had previously been rather poor in - in large part due to his impressive physique. Now, however, it was one of the fields in which he felt more confident than most Padawans.

His time as a Mercenary and especially his martial upbringing had taught him the importance of discipline. Mathieu sat in the co-pilots chair but since he knew that Kei didn't want him to know where they were going, he had not thrown a single glance at the navigations panel. Almost at the same time as the Master asked if his Padawan was ready, a soft yet familiar beeping sound could be heard. Both the Master and the ship indicated that they were about to drop out of hyperspace. A smile spread across his lips "You know it" he said, still not knowing what they were getting into.

Soon, the stream of blue lights forming the hyperspace tunnel stayed - stars and the blackness of space could now be seen instead. More importantly, the orange world of Ossus could be seen below. Mathieu had heard about the world in stories but he had never been there himself. A sense of excitement grew on him and he felt drawn towards the planet. "Wow" he whispered before trying to suppress how excited he sounded in his tone "Master, why are you taking me to Ossus?"

The planet kept growing larger and started to take up an increasingly high portion of their field of view. As they were getting closer to it, Mathieu started flicking a few switches and regulating the power distribution of the ship, doing his part to make the landing a smooth one. "There's a lightningstorm 2,3 kilometres ahead. I don't think it should take long to go around or above it" he said, relaying the information his scanners picked up along with his own analysis.

Kei Westbrook

 

[Kei Westbrook]

His eyes flicked around.

Mathieu was inquisitive, Kei had always known that much. The young man reminded the older Master of himself when he was younger in that regard, always asking questions and wanting to know more. Kei had always wanted to know everything, he hated surprises.

Kei had always learnt to ask questions, his own master had always reassured him that no question was a stupid question. His own master had always made a point that the only question that was stupid was that which was never asked in the first place.

"Ossus served, for years, as a home of the Jedi. Should be some nice trinkets worth finding, perhaps something more special. Trust in the call of the force, see if you can find anything of note. Hopefully we can leave here with at least something to make this worth it."

He lent back in the chair and looked down at the planet as the ship penetrated it's atmosphere. He heard Mathieu as the Jedi Padawan spoke about the lighting storm up ahead and he nodded approval to go around, or over it. It was entirely Mathieu's choice.

The Jedi Master had given complete control of the ship over to his young Padawan. He wanted to see if Mathieu could use the force, find somewhere safe to set them down. He had, obviously, informed Mathieu that this was his intention.

Silently, the mentor thought of the first time his own Master had done something similar with him. He thought of the time that Kei Raxis had given him complete control of a ship, trusted him to sense in the force and find the perfect place to set the ship down.

He really was just playing his master's greatest hits.

Kei looked at the instruments before looking at Mathieu. The boy, as far as Kei could see, looked in control. He looked in control yet Kei didn't know what was going on in his head, how he was handling the responsibility. Kei hoped he was handling it well.

"You're in charge kid, set us down"

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

"Trinkets, huh?" he said, finding the choice of words to be rather curious. A smirk spread across his face "We'll see what we find" he said and went quiet as he steered the ship. Moment after moment passed by while Mathieu considered the words of his Master until he spoke up "The force shall guide us" It was not spoken like a command - but rather a sentence said with conviction and belief. It was his ally and he trusted it.

The two remained silent for a bit longer until Mathieu warned about the lightning up ahead. He had been leaving the piloting to Kei so far. But when the more seasoned Jedi spoke, he slowly realised that the controls of the ship had indeed been transferred to the co-pilot - to the Padawan. With a strong sense of familiarity, Mathieu brought them upwards. It was the most fuel efficient way to get past the clouds without any unnecessary risks. There would be no fancy display of crazy piloting this time, instead, it was just a steady journey around the obstacle. Still, it did not tell of a complete lack of skill as he adeptly kept them just slightly above the clouds, safe from lightning strikes, but just barely.

They soon started their descent towards the surface of the planet once more. There weren't many planets which carried it's mostly orange and brown hues - but it did certainly make Ossus a beautiful planet to behold. As they got closer to the ground, Mathieu saw that their destination was a rather rocky one with a few creeks and rivers running among the canyons and valleys. In a way, it was a beautiful sight - but then, there also seemed to be so much unexploited potential for life. "I wonder what this world looked like when it was still inhabited by the Jedi" he said with a small hint of sadness in his voice.

It was not long before the large gates could be seen among some old ruins through the cockpit viewports. "That has to be it" he said, bringing them down to the ground. The area outside the gates seemed flatter than many and was intersected by a seemingly new creek. Using the space that was available for him, Mathieu landed the vessel, putting half of the landing gear on the one side of the creek and the other half on the other side of it. "Here we are" he said as he lowered the ramp from the cockpit.

Finishing the shutdown procedure, Mathieu then stood up. "I forgot to thank you for bringing me here, Master. I appreciate it" he said with a happy smile. It was a rather satisfying landing, seeing as the ramp was on the 'right' side of the creek, allowing them to walk over to the temple without any big hurdles.

Right by the exit ramp, the large Morellian stopped. His head turned to a nearby cupboard - the practice blade laid on top of it. Mathieu reached out to stroke across it softly with his hand "So, do you think we should bring weapons?"

Kei Westbrook

 

[Kei Westbrook]

Mathieu had learnt to trust in the force.

Kei was impressed, he was impressed that Mathieu was trusting the force to guide him to the right landing site, to guide him to different trinkets. Kei was putting the ball entirely in his court, whatever adventure they were going on was being led by Mathieu and his force guidance.

Ossus was a beautiful planet. Kei couldn't blame the Jedi of old for choosing it as a home base, it had a connection to nature that very few planets tended to have. The Jedi Master heard the sadness in Mathieu's voice as he asked a question similar to what was in his head.

Mathieu was proving to be a good pilot, having expertly avoiding the lightning storm that was in front of them. The man was also impressed with his student's choice of landing zone, close enough to the ruins of the former Ossus Jedi Temple. It was bound to be laced with treasures.

The creek cut right below the ship.

Mathieu headed off into the back of the ship. Kei had promised the boy he would follow, yet he had a task of his own to complete first. Silently, he plugged an alien looking datapad into the ship and set it to decode, before hiding the datapad and following his student.

When the man asked if Kei thought they needed weapons, he thought for a moment before smiling. This wasn't his adventure, this adventure was on Mathieu. Kei was well aware that to be a Jedi, this was the type of call that Mathieu would need to make.

"No, no. Do YOU think we need weapons?"

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Mathieu wondered why Kei took so much time before arriving but waved away the though. The Master often did things by his own schedule. Besides, he didn't usually question the human and saw no reason to start doing so now. Instead, he patiently waited until Kei arrived, holding his question in until that point.

It did not come as a surprise. Of course, Mathieu had to make the call - this day seemed to have that as a recurring theme - or, at least the past hour or so. Pausing for a moments, he found himself struggling as he tried to think of the right option. At that point, he closed his eyes and tried to feel what he should do - but even then, his judgement seemed to be clouded. It was odd, for he sensed that there might be danger, yet he did not sense the same calling for him to carry arms. Maybe his skills weren't quite as honed as his Master expected.

Finally, the Padawan walked down the ship's ramp without any weapons. He took a deep breath and felt a sense of hope. There was no inherent happiness or peace to the feel of the planet, but there was hope. And that was enough to raise his spirits.

Tilting his head up, the young Morellian soaked in the awesome structure that laid dormant in front of them "This sure looks impressive, Master. Have you been here before?" he asked as the got closer to the building. It reminded him of the old and abandoned temple he had visited on Myrkr. "Hopefully, this one won't be plundered and if we're lucky, there will still be large sections which have not been buried by the sand yet."

Tall and in prime condition, Mathieu walked up the stairs at a quick pace until he reached the top by the gates. One still hung by the frame while the other had fallen in to the building, leaving a large gap for them to enter through. The Padawan whistled and heard the echo return to him after a few moments, still standing right outside. After looking in for a little more, he took a step back and bowed courteously to his senior "Master" he said, pointing in to the temple. He was not quite sure how Jedi traditions worked, but he figured that he should at least give Kei the honour of being the first one to enter.

Kei Westbrook

 

[Kei Westbrook]

Mathieu was learning.

The student was learning not just about the force, but about him. He was learning that Kei tended to do things on his own schedule, tended not to rush things. Anyone else would have said something about him taking so long, but not Mathieu. Mathieu was used to him.

He had never been to Ossus and he couldn't deny it's beauty. He didn't expect their to be any danger so he was glad that Mathieu had left the ship without any weapons. If anything went wrong, Kei had a variety of force skills to fall back on and it was good training for the young solider.

Kei listened as his young student asked the obvious questions, if Kei had ever been to the planet before. Kei responded quite simply with no, for he had never actually been to Ossus. He had always wanted to however, so it was as much for him as it was for Mathieu.

The next sentence to escape the boy was less a question, more a musing. Mathieu's hope that the temple hadn't already been plundered or buried. Kei was certain it hadn't, he could sense the prize within the temple and he was sure Mathieu would be able to sense it originally.

Mathieu was polite enough to allow Kei to enter the temple first. Kei was willing, he was looking forward to the adventure, but he made sure to get his torch out first. He could probably use the force to navigate the temple in the dark but he wasn't so sure Mathieu would be able to do so.

The foyer of the temple reminded him of the foyer on Courscant. He had only been to the temple on Courscant once and he craved a return. It was a gorgeous temple, designed to serve as home to the Jedi Order which it had done for years and years.

Slowly the man flicked his eyes around. The room itself was large and grand, with nothing jumping out of the dark to attack them. Kei was thankful, for once he wanted just a relaxing adventure with his Padawan that didn't end in death, violence or destruction.

He began to walk deeper into the temple.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Kei walked in and Mathieu followed him in his tracks whilst pulling out a small flashlight that just a tiny bit too small for him to grasp comfortably. Shining with it to the nearby walls, he let out a long whistle "Master, this is amazing" he said, head tilted back as his gaze wandered up to the high ceiling in the spacious first chamber of the temple. Mathieu's voice came back to him as it echoed in the large hall - it was clear that it had been abandoned for quite some time now without cloths, furniture or people to keep the sound from bouncing.

Kei was leading now. Mathieu knew that he was supposed to be the one, but his Master did seem to have the natural qualities of a leader to him. When he didn't hold back, the dynamic between the two of them so far had been that he would fall into the leading position with the Padawan following close behind. In a way, the large Morellian felt rather peaceful inside but there was still something there which murked the light. Whether it was Kei or something else was not quite as clear as he had hoped that it would be.

It would not be long until they reached the end of the first chamber. Mathieu stopped by his Master "Three paths" he said, almost as if talking to himself. The three arched doorways all stood a few metres apart from each other. The Padawan looked to his Master for a few moments, wondering where they would be going. If Kei held back again, he would nod as he understood what was up. And with that, he would take the lead, directing his torch to the path in the middle. They would go straight ahead.

The middle path did not lead into a long corridor. Instead, it lead to a long and wide staircase. Looking up he let out a joke "Looks like today is leg day" and sent a happy smirk to the other Jedi. With that, he started walking up the long stairs, often taking two steps at a time but with the occasional third step also included. Upon getting half-way up, however, he stopped. A few growls could be heard and they were getting closer. Before long, two Kath hounds could be seen emerging from the top of the stairs. Both seemed territorial, aggressive and ready to fight.

He looked to Kei with a jestful smile "I already know how to wrestled these guys, Master." there was a lot of truth to his joke - with his large build and time spent as a Mercenary, he was rather well equipped to fend a beast off if needed. Still, his gaze went back to the beast as he readied himself for a fight.

Kei Westbrook

 

[Kei Westbrook]

Kei enjoyed the banter.

Mathieu had a thing for making the older, wiser mentor laugh. It was just something about his personality that clicked. Even as they climbed the stairs, Mathieu was still using humour to try and make light of the situation. It was working, cause normally Kei hated stairs.

Then it all went wrong. Of course they should have brought weapons.

Every time Kei didn't have a weapon on him, something tended to go very wrong. He should have known that before he even left the ship, but even he was starting to notice how clouded his views of the force were. Things that should have been obvious were way less obvious since he had returned.

The Kath hounds were looking at master and apprentice like dinner. They were looking at the duo like they were about to be an entree. It put Kei on edge, a power he'd never bothered to master was Animal Control and he was really starting to regret it.

"You take the one on the left, I got the one on the right"

He licked his teeth, using the force to push the Kath hound in front of him back. If he could separate the two beasts from each other it would make it much easier to take them out and provide access to the rest of the ruins they wished to explore.

Almost instantly the hound charged in revenge, the weight of the beast forcing the Jedi Master backwards down the stairs. Kei had fallen before, many times. He knew how to fall down a flight of stairs without taking too much damage but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Yet they had given Mathieu space to deal with his own beast, which was kind of Kei's goal.

Kei managed to kick out just enough to get some room between himself and the beast who wanted it's supper. The space was perfect, giving Kei the room to get up and get some more space. He was mostly defenseless in his fight against the creature, but he had one advantage.

The force.

And they circled each other, neither ready to strike.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Kei's tone was more serious than Mathieu's. The Padawan had spent much time with others who were more prone to joking around during missions. He did not mind the change - it made sense to remain more serious when lives were on the line. And lives were on the line, for if they failed, they may very well become lunch to the two Kath Hounds. With a nod, he started to focus on the one to the left.

The two had a longer stare contest than what was usual. Mathieu had heard been taught about the capacity to tame beasts - it was easier to perform on more simple minded creatures and he was hesitant as to whether he would be able to do it now. Still, he wanted to try because it was a way in which life could be preserved, and after all the lives he had taken, he thought it would be a worthy effort.

Slowly but surely, he tried to tap into the creatures mind. It was hard - for not only was the force technique somewhat difficult to grasp but his mind also needed to be in the right state. The two needed to form a bond, an understand and trust. Mathieu saw peripherally, and heard, how the other Kath hound launched at his Master, but he stayed calm. Or, at least he tried to.

Stretching out his arm and pointing his palm forth, he tried to have the beast stay and remain calm. "Don't you worry. I don't want to hurt you" he whispered, hoping that it would work to calm her down. The hound's breath slowed as she seemed to be calming down. "Yes, good girl" he said, tilting his head down to look up at her.

It was a mistake. A heavy breath and the scratching of her front left paw followed. And then she leapt into a charge. The large Morellian was quick to react and charged right back at her. The two met in the middle and fortunately, Mathieu was heavier and came out on top without having to fall down the stairs. Still, she managed to scratch up his arm, causing a noticeable bleed. It was not important. With a firm grip around her neck, he pushed the hound down against the stairs and used his body weight to keep her down.

Initially, the beast would struggle to get loose, flailing about with arms and legs as well as snapping with her jaw. But the former Mercenary did not relent. Instead, he waited for her to calm down. Slowly but surely, he once more reached into her mind, continually working to calm her down until he felt safe in letting go of her neck. The Kath Hound then stood back up and looked at him. His friendly gaze met that of the beast who soon let out an approving grunt before brushing her head against his knee.

Standing back up, Mathieu noticed a glimmer coming from the other room. But that was not where he wanted to direct his attention. Instead, he looked back at his Master to see if any aid was needed.

Kei Westbrook