Faction Shadows Beneath the Sands [Jedi + Lightsiders]

[Mother Askani]

The Wrecked Destiny Oasis - Jakku

The relentless Jakku sun hung low on the horizon, casting long shadows across the desolate desert. The air shimmered with heat, distorting the edges of the towering sand dunes that stretched endlessly. In this vast emptiness, the hidden Wrecked Destiny Oasis awaited, its secrets buried beneath the shifting sands.

She started to descend the edge of the dune almost at and angle to keep her footing. The whole time -- she was gazing towards the oasis. The jagged remnants of a Star Destroyer, The Wrecked Destiny as it was referred to, protruded from the sands like skeletal fingers reaching for the sky. Cortana could feel the air swell up, humming beneath the surface, a volatile energy that hinted at both ancient power and lurking danger.

As Cortana descended into the depression that cradled the wreckage, the air became thick with an eerie tension. The wind carried whispers of long-forgotten battles, and the sands seemed to shift with a life of their own. The Wrecked Destiny Oasis, a place of unconventional training for Jedi apprentices, held untold mysteries.

The Wrecked Destiny Oasis served as an extension of the Enclave's campus, and at its heart lies the remnants of a crashed capital ship. The Force that emanated from this wreckage, creating an environment where the boundaries between reality and illusion blur. Apprentices faced the mental and spiritual trials brought forth by the Force's unpredictable mirages.

The fractured hull of The Wrecked Destiny loomed ahead, its once-imposing structure now reduced to a maze of twisted metal. Her face scrunched up, and she cuffed her eyes to block the glare. Sh didn't need the force to be alerted to the subtle disturbances in that emanated from the vergence at the heart of the wreckage...if one looked close enough, they could see it.

The atmosphere grew darker as Cortana ventured further towards the wreckage, the sunlight struggling to penetrate the tangled metal overhead. Shadows jumped the length of the sand as the wreckage started to appear at its actual size, already it was attempting to play illusionary tricks on her perception. The air became charged with an electric energy, a palpable sense that the boundaries between reality and mirage were thinning -- "So this is what Hoon meant..."

The vergence beneath The Wrecked Destiny held secrets that could be exploited, and Cortana, driven by a mixture of curiosity and aprehension, sought to uncover them.

One of the Enclave students had come here, and ever since she'd been riddled with nightmares and hallucinations, she had to be sent to Coruscant to recover...

Jade wanted to see for herself...her every step a precarious venture into the unknown.

The Wrecked Destiny Oasis, with its storied history and hidden vergence, held the promise of revelation and peril—a thrilling prelude to the shadows that awaited her in the desolate expanse of Jakku.

----

 

[Jackson Lesan]

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Mother Askani

"Be careful, huh," Jax called out as CJ began to descend the wreckage. Her curiosity had also been his in a way, and the unlikely pair found themselves exploring something most likely beyond their skill to assess. Their last names were iconic among Jedi, for various reasons, but they did not mean they held the power which their parents had developed over years of training. Cortana was leaps and bounds ahead of Jackson, but the young Lesan was quickly making progress under Master Jade's tutelage.

Jax had to follow regardless.

He let his own rope down and repelled into the wreckage and into the void which time and damage had left behind. Something about this felt wrong. Jackson felt something in the pit of stomach. It was heavy and dark. Suddenly he felt as though he might get sick. He was aware of the anomaly they were there to explore for themselves, but the sensation was not something Jax expected. Feelings were something he liked to avoid because he could not control them like other Jedi could. It was why Romi had been a good teacher. She was patient and did not force Iackson to suppress his emotions.

It was a welcome learning environment.

"We really shouldn't be here."

It was a departure from his earlier enthusiasm when Cortana had asked him to join her. Jackson rarely said no to CJ, partly because of who her mother was, but more so because of his crush on her. Jackson was also of the mind Jedi needed to travel in pairs or more when looking into things of the spooky variety. This vergence certainly counted as one of them.

His eyes were fixed on it as his feet touched the sand below. A brief look was given to Cortana, but it did not even last one second. The disruption in front of them was as mesmerizing and hypnotizing as it was dangerous. Jackson wanted to reach out and see if he could touch it, but he knew better. He had heard the same reports.

He eventually pulled his eyes away from it.

"Okay… what now…"

 

[Iskendyr Yvarro]

Iskendyr had followed the other two. Why had he followed them? He wasn't sure, he only knew that those screams were something he himself had become all too familiar with. Hallucinations, visions, same difference to him his sleep had continuously been robbed from him. Jakku hadn't been kind to him, and all he wanted to do was leave but his aunt Ivalyn wanted him to give this a chance. Iskendyr wanted to tell her she was wrong and that he didn't need the Jedi. All he needed was to get back to school, to his Master Simon Meinrad and focus his training. Part of his mind yelled for him to go back to the Enclave, to sit and wait like the good child that he was. The other wanted to press ahead and catch up to the others. He didn't know them and they didn't know him.

Their names meant little to him and he hoped his meant little to them as well.

Among the Imperial circles he was already cast as a traitor, a deceptive foe who would willingly sell people out. All it did was build within him a strong desire to crush his foes. A desire his aunt wanted to quell, lest it lead him down the very path he had been accused of being on already. An opportunity for change, she told him, to break the cycle that had dogged their family for decades. So, Iskendyr pressed forward toward the Wrecked Destiny, and as he did so, he could feel it. The pull of history, the echoes of the past. He was going to push through it, he checked his gear, ropes, rigging, flashlights, first aid kit, he was nervous. Sure he'd faced down the repel course at the Tavlar Military School, but there was a mat at the bottom if he fell, he fell onto a mat.

There was no mat here.

As he approached the wreckage he looked down and caught sight of the others, "wait for me!" He called down, and began to hook up his rigging. Iskendyr started his descent into the Wrecked Destiny unknowingly beginning the very journey he had been resisting. He hadn't a clue what the vergence held, what it was or what it meant, he only knew that being there pulled at him and that voices of the past begged him to seek them out. There within the Star Destroyer laid a history that the ghosts of Imperials past wanted him to know.

Iskendyr's boots touched down and there he stood with his peers. He hadn't heard the other young man's question, the 'what now,' no, and all Iskendyr could think to do was to take the very first step forward.

Mother Askani | Jackson Lesan ​

 

[Caltin Vanagor]

Wrong account

 

[Connel Vanagor]

I learned from my mother and father, but I am not them!​

Spoiler: PERSONAL EFFECTS

Jedi Defender Light Corvette
"Crotch Rocket" Speederbike
Headset Microphone Comm-link
Vambraces
Custom Robes/Armor
Long handle Lightsaber "Alpha"
Short saber "Omega"
Astromech Droid "D1-N3"

[Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]
SECTOR: JAKKU - Wrecked Destiny
MISSION: Watching the Padawans
TAGS: Mother Askani / Jackson Lesan

Jade.

Lesan.

Two names synonymous with “Jedi.”

There were indeed others to be sure, Starchaser, Sedaire… Noble… but these two families have brought the Jedi out of the darkness and into the light. In a manner of speaking. Sure, other names in history ring of legend, Shan, Ofee, Tano, Bridger, Windu, among even more but those were names of history, not today. Even the name attached to the Jedi Knight who is keeping his distance from the Padawans, not to tail them or be “standoffish” but to let them have their independence (after all, they can sense his presence easily enough, he wasn’t hiding). Connell Vanagor was here as a favor to his father, and “Aunt Romi”. In truth, he was supposed to keep them from going down as far as they had to this point, but there was something about this that Connell had felt was important in their growth.

He never had the chance to explore, why would he keep them from doing so?

Of course when he had heard the verbal protest of Jackson ("We really shouldn't be here."). Connell laughed to himself and thought ”You got that right.” but that wasn’t going to stop anything from happening.

The Star Destroyer was an imposing reminder of a period of strife not long passed, and the fact that there was something so focused, so strong in the Force so close by, he was slowly beginning to read the situation, and it was going from bad to worse. Not to get all “Debby Downer” or anything, but he even considered contacting his father for help.

You make me sound like I hate my parents.

Turning the locator beacon on in his vambrace, Connell followed the two Padawans further. They may be ill advised to be here, but they were not going to be alone.

Spoiler: SUMMARY OF ACTIONS

Being a Follower, backing the kiddos (YEP! CALLED'EM KIDDOS!) up

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Tags: Mother Askani | Jackson Lesan | Iskendyr Yvarro | Connel Vanagor

Lossa followed behind Connel.

Unable to do much for herself with a single arm, instead relying on caution to travel and the help of others for once. The more traditional Robe she wore hiding the missing left arm as she looked about. Her face set in muted curiosity.

She'd have loved to tease the group ahead of them by playing a bit of hide and seek while racing further onward. Exploring some strange wreck for whatever they might find. Hearing more than whispers and wonder about what might be beyond their sight.

Not that the Zeltron knew any better about what they sought.

Turmoil and her own lightsaber hung at her hip. Covered for the time being as she let take the lead. Pausing long enough to study a strange break in the section they traveled through. Had time worked its way inside the wreck already? Or had something sheared that plate free?

Her eyes turned back to the group, keeping close enough to not be left behind.

 

[Yag'dril'sil]

The heat was something rather nice... shimmering sands of Jakku were just welcoming. Like the jungles of home or even the mountains of Ahch-To she was learning the different worlds and how they would be able to protect them. So the grandmaster had sent her. From the high plane as she was able to move faster with the warping gate they had developed. Her large body weaving and going through the sand as she left along the dunes larger grooves. The white scales gleaming before she found the location of the old enclaves. Romi Jade having been a friend and so if Matsu was able to offer support in rebuilding they could... Yag was just one of the jedi set to be sent out in the different jedi while they continued to work here and on Peridea. She saw someone in the distance as the underside of her belly felt other vibrations in the sand. She moved down and hiked her survival pack on her back under her curtain of hair looking at Mother Askani when she arrived and bowing her head. Her body rising up as she coiled herself a little to not be taking up a massive space.

 

[Mother Askani]

The Wrecked Destiny Oasis - Jakku

She wove her hand behind her - "I'll be fine." she called out.

The Wrecked Destiny Oasis sprawled beneath the twin suns of Jakku like a colossal beast, its fractured hull rising from the shifting sands like the skeletal remains of some ancient leviathan. CJ, flanked by Jax, ventured into the cavernous maw of the star destroyer first, its ominous presence casting an eerie shadow over their every step. Iskynder was soon right behind them. And then the rest of the group, trailed in.

She figured Lossa and Connel were more so there to chaperone - both were the seniors here.

As they all crossed the threshold, the ambient sounds of Jakku's desolation gave way to an unsettling silence within the derelict vessel. The air felt heavy with the weight of history, each creak and groan of the metal hull echoing the untold stories of battles long past. The vastness of the Wrecked Destiny unfolded before them, a labyrinth of metal corridors and chambers that seemed to stretch into infinity.

"This doesn't give me Imperial vibes at all...." she whispered to herself, but how could one tell in this state.

The group moved cautiously through the dimly lit expanse, their footsteps echoing like distant whispers in the oppressive stillness. The occasional flicker of outside lighting cast long shadows that danced across the walls, creating an otherworldly ballet of light and darkness. Cortana couldn't shake the feeling that the very air around them held a palpable sense of anticipation, as if the star destroyer itself were a slumbering giant, disturbed from its eons-long rest.

The environment inside the Wrecked Destiny was a tapestry of contrasts – patches of blinding sunlight streamed through shattered windows, casting fractured beams across the debris-strewn floor. Metal debris, remnants of a bygone era, lay strewn about like the bones of a forgotten civilization, creating a treacherous path for the young Jedi.

Cortana's thoughts raced as she navigated the labyrinthine corridors. The Force, a gentle hum in the background, seemed to resonate with the echoes of the past. A sense of foreboding lingered, intensified by the knowledge that this place could project illusions. She wondered, where within this metallic maze, that would start.. The very thought sent shivers down her spine.

Jax's voice broke the tense silence, "Okay… what now..." The question hung in the air, unanswered. They stood at the crossroads of an abandoned star destroyer, its secrets veiled in the obscurity of the Force.

"We explore..." she said, then she whipped around to Iskynder, "What's your name? What should we call you?"

As they delved deeper, the Wrecked Destiny Oasis unveiled its mysteries. Cortana couldn't shake the feeling that they were trespassers in a realm untouched for centuries, and with each step, the suspense of the unknown tightened its grip. The thrill of discovery mingled with the chilling awareness that they were not alone within the shadows beneath the sands of Jakku.

----

Jackson Lesan | Lossa Aureus | Connel Vanagor | Iskendyr Yvarro | Yag'dril'sil

 

[Jackson Lesan]

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Mother Askani | Iskendyr Yvarro | Connel Vanagor | Lossa Aureus | Yag'dril'sil

Jax looked over his shoulder, they were being shadowed. A couple of the faces the young Jedi did not know. Then again, he did not know many. Unlike others with his familial name, the young boy did not know a lot of Jedi. His exposure had been limited. Aside from a meeting with Master Noble, Jackson remained relatively unseen when he stayed on Coruscant. Mostly because he wanted to.

Connel and Lossa flanked them. They were the ranking Jedi, and it was up to them to keep the padawans safe. Jackson was thankful considering there was danger in the air. Ominous abandoned wreckage of a bygone era had a way of setting off feelings of foreboding. While Cortana did not seem to have any concerns which seemed to suggest an immediate or impending need to vacate the ship, Jax felt caution.

This was not the kind of mission that was usual, or what Jax was used to. Then again he did not have a lot of field time to begin with. Romi had done what she could to catch the young Lesan up on what he had missed in the years without a master. The approach at the Jakku enclave was different, and it made more sense for the way Jackson seemed to like to learn. The freedom was something to get used to, but it was appreciated.

"Just explore? Anything you're looking for?"

His head turned to the newcomer with them.

"Yes, I'm Jax by the way. Nice to meet you."

It looked dark up ahead, but they were going to push on. Hopefully CJ had some idea of what she was after, or maybe they were looking for nothing and the exercise was more about finding anything of interest to them.

 

[Iskendyr Yvarro]

As they reached the threshold of the unknown, and the whispers of Jakku's history filtered through the welcomed silence of the derelict vessel. Iskendyr could feel the past surround them. It beckoned him to hear the tales of the past, each step forward, every ounce of of weight pressed onto aged durasteel that groaned with agony was just another step toward uncovering the fate of the those who perished here. Within the depths of the Wrecked Destiny, Iskendyr had never felt more alive. "Imperial vibes, are the best kind of vibes," remarked Iskendyr with a confidence he hadn't felt before. A smirk crawled along his features as the star destroyer seemed to reassemble itself before him, come alive right there around him.

Every passing step, and moment was just Iskendyr furthering his commitment to the Wrecked Destiny. Iskendyr followed the other two, and only cast a glance in the direction of the older Jedi. He supposed it was a good thing they were there, the Military Academy would've only dispatched one chaperone as the cadets needed to work as a team to get through their scenarios without leaning on an older cadet. Iskendyr was brought back to the present as he stopped in his tracks. Corridors came to life, while it was likely his peers found nothing but shattered wreckage, debris and fractured beams. His vision blurred between the past and the present, the girl said that they should explore, and then asked him his name.

"Iskendyr," he introduced himself, "Iskendyr Yvarro, nice to meet you Jax." A pause as he came shoulder to shoulder with the girl, "what's your name?" A simple enough question, just as they pressed further into the wreck. "This place... is amazing," the wanderlust in his voice evident enough as he looked up and down the corridors where for others perhaps nothing but a maze, with nothing there. "Whatever you're looking for... maybe I can help?" The whole reason he had been left in the Jades' care was due to his recent discovery, psychometry. Moreover, it seemed that Imperial attachments were stronger for him within the Force, "this star destroyer it's... it's almost like it's alive, f-f-for me anyway."

The smile on his face refused to fade, he could almost see the officers and crew casually walking to their stations. The next moment it was gone, and he was greeted with the ghosts of today. The danger of the wreckage presenting itself to him, but also, daring him to venture further into the depths of the ship. He wanted to know if the ship had any juice left at all, backup systems of any sort that could perhaps be revitalized in a local area. The ship wasn't going anywhere but any information that the Destiny clutched within its cold grasp, may be pryed with just the right amount of leverage.

Jackson Lesan | Mother Askani | Connel Vanagor | Lossa Aureus ​

 

[Connel Vanagor]

I learned from my mother and father, but I am not them!​

Spoiler: PERSONAL EFFECTS

Jedi Defender Light Corvette
"Crotch Rocket" Speederbike
Headset Microphone Comm-link
Vambraces
Custom Robes/Armor
Long handle Lightsaber "Alpha"
Short saber "Omega"
Astromech Droid "D1-N3"

[Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]
SECTOR: JAKKU - Wrecked Destiny
MISSION: Watching the Padawans
TAGS: Mother Askani / Jackson Lesan / Iskendyr Yvarro / Yag'dril'sil

Whispers… sounds that could be brushed off as shuffling feet…

Whistles… sounds that could be brushed off as nothing more than a howling wind…

Images… that can be brushed off as hallucinations…

So how do you explain the echoes?

The well kept kid in front of him, the one who joined them at the last moment, seemed to be noticing something similar, but Connell could not brush off the echoes he was experiencing. Maybe it was the rumored “vergence” that they were closing in on, or maybe it was just a case of “The willys” but Connell was witnessing history repeat itself through the Force several times over. From young officers trying to maintain control, to crewmen panicking to commanders being admonished, there was little to nothing he was not seeing.

Freaky

Then he realized that the Zeltron was behind him… “Lossa”? She had one arm? Okay this was going to be a time where he needed to be on his guard more than ever. No shame on her, or negativity to anyone else, but this was why he was here and the young Knight understood this now. He wanted to speak up a few times, but this was Cortana’s gig and though he could pull the plug, she would probably kill him later, not to mention “Aunt” Romi…

As they went deeper and deeper, Connell kept more and more attention to the path they were taking, they would need to make it out if something went wrong. He couldn’t think like that though, this was going well and to think negatively was an ultimately self fulfilling prophecy in cases like this. So he kept quiet, and kept watch as he followed.

Watch your step, there is more to this now than even the Force has to tell us.

 

[Yag'dril'sil]

Connel Vanagor Iskendyr Yvarro Jackson Lesan Mother Askani Lossa Aureus

The sounds of more people was there.. she was able to move and going in she saw them. Following the one girl as she moved carefully and adjusted so she wasn't towering over others but was able to raise herself to a decent height. Her eyes flicking around to take everything in around herself. She looked at them more though and her eyes adjusted to the lower lights as she smiled. "THis place is... beautiful." She said it looking around and she could feel the vibrations while touching the wall and sending them out with the force. Low to not do anything but welcoming when they came back along her belly, "IT must have looked great in its prime..... kind of cramped space though."

 

[Lossa Aureus]

Tags: Mother Askani | Jackson Lesan | Iskendyr Yvarro | Connel Vanagor | Yag'dril'sil

The Echoes of the Past were something that could be witnessed if the Force willed it. She'd read that somewhere, and it seemed to be the case in this abandoned wreckage forgotten to time.

The sound of hectic scrambling to different posts by crewman that no longer existed. The familiar sound of varying dials and readouts that seemed to fill the air without power across any system. The hallways seemed smoother with each step. Before revealing itself once more through the illusory... thing that seemed to permeate her vision

Past events? She had used illusions made through the Force before, but this seemed like a high quality production.

Past events seemed likely as they crawled deeper into the belly of the beast. Rolling her shoulders as she tried to shake the feeling of confinement. Keeping a watchful eye on the one she didn't immediately recognize of the Padawans. A later arrival than Jax or Cortana, though the snake like being with them would have gotten the same treatment if they hadn't seemed keen on keeping their scales.

The Imp-kid seemed a little too fascinated by the old parts and pieces lying around.

"It does have a beauty about it. Then again, I prefer the inside of a starship so, a little biased." Regarding Yag with sedated curiosity while the Zeltron spoke.

Whatever species Yag'dril'sil was, it was one Lossa hadn’t had the chance to meet before now. The interior of a starship playing back the past like a holo-flick however didn't seem the best spot to start playing twenty questions however.

 

[Jend-Ro Quill]

Make sure Mother Askani is looked after, her mother had said - and then disappeared. Make sure she's looked after like I looked after your boy, once upon a time.

While interfering with the Padawans' expedition and training exercise would be counterproductive, another Padawan had been seriously harmed here not so long ago. Off in the dunes, Quill kept watch. Not a bad time to practice certain skills of his own: sharpening his eyesight, for example, and regulating his body temperature in a very hot environment instead of his customary cold ones.

He kept his Force presence quiet. Not veiled, just unobtrusive.

 

[Mother Askani]

The Wrecked Destiny Oasis - Jakku

She nodded, "Cortana," she pointed to herself. "Some people call me CJ. Nice to meet you."

Pleasantries were exchanged, and in her wanderlust, she had slipped away and trailed off, slinking around one of the posts, she found herself trailing the length of a corridor. She could hear Isky's voice behind her, growing more faint as she continued on ahead -- maybe some several feet or so behind. "...I'm not looking for anything exactly...I just heard-in passing-there was a Cerean girl who came through here before. She was having some hallucinations and nightmares so bad, she was sent off to Coruscant..."

"I wanna know what caused it..." she said to herself. A beat. "Anybody seen any illusions yet-" she had walked up to a dainty balustrade.

Cortana...

Her head whipped around, the whisper of her name still ringing in her ear. "Grow up Jax!" The scenery had changed, and she didn't, couldn't see the others anymore -- she didn't even feel them anymore. The effect was likely in reverse as well, but she still heard the faintness of their voices.

"Jax?"

----

Jackson Lesan | Lossa Aureus | Connel Vanagor | Iskendyr Yvarro | Jend-Ro Quill | Yag'dril'sil

 

[Iskendyr Yvarro]

"CJ, got it," Iskendyr acknowledged as he briefly looked away, his attention drawn to the ship around them. Unknowingly falling into the Destiny's wretched, twisted vision, when he glanced back in Mother Askani 's direction she was gone. Instead, there was someone there telling him where to go. Part of him thought perhaps, this was merely an illusion, and someone with more wisdom would have seen that it was indeed a falsehood. Isky instead, turned down the hall as instructed, each Imperial he walked past seemed to be running about the ship. He could hear klaxons going off, and so he ran, he called out for the people he had been there with, like Jackson Lesan but to little avail and his fellow Imperials implored him.

"Iskendyr, help us! Get to the engine room, the Destiny must live!"

Then as he began to run, someone grabbed him by the arm. "Where do you think you're going?" The woman in a First Order uniform asked quite sternly, "young man, I am going to ask you again, where do you think you're going?"

"I-I, he- the engines," stammered Iskendyr, and as he looked at the woman, he began to recognize her.

Fiolette Yvarro.

His great grandmother, what in the .... She was dead, had been dead for decades now how was she there? This surely wasn't part of his ... visions, was it? She snapped at him , "you will absolutely do no such thing, you are firstly going to get out of here, and secondly head home to Dosuun." Fiolette began to march in the opposite direction, the other Imperials looked toward him. Some began to reach out for him, Fiolette took out a blaster, "Iskendyr, MOVE!"

Without further hesistation the boy bolted following after the ghost. In doing so Iskendyr placed distance between himself and the group.

He was not aware that he had become consumed by the Wrecked Destiny and had become subject to its wills.

Connel Vanagor | Lossa Aureus ​

 

[Connel Vanagor]

I learned from my mother and father, but I am not them!​

Spoiler: PERSONAL EFFECTS

Jedi Defender Light Corvette
"Crotch Rocket" Speederbike
Headset Microphone Comm-link
Vambraces
Custom Robes/Armor
Long handle Lightsaber "Alpha"
Short saber "Omega"
Astromech Droid "D1-N3"

[Any text in brackets signifies comm-link usage and not face to face conversation]
SECTOR: JAKKU - Wrecked Destiny
MISSION: Watching the Padawans
TAGS: Mother Askani / Jackson Lesan / Iskendyr Yvarro / Yag'dril'sil

Connel was not immune to the hallucinations, he was experiencing them. Powerful mind fueled imagery of his parents looking at his childhood likeness in disappointment. His images were filled with various points in time of his mother, his father, the half-sister he had never met. It was affecting him, to be sure, but not to the point of the others. Connel was already in a bit of a combat trance, he put himself in it, having learned this from his mother.

Stepping over, around and in front of everyone. Connel then stopped the group.

Focus on me now. Everyone, focus your senses, your mind and your attention on me. He knew that they were all dealing with this, and some were getting overwhelmed, but he could combat this, there was a way.

 

[Velok Brokentusk]

THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.

Walking softly was impossible when you weighed close to half a ton. If Velok envied humanoids anything, it was how deftly and unobtrusively they could move around. Too, he almost envied them their hairlessness on a day this hot; even down here in the labyrinthine wreck, out of direct sunlight more often than not, a significant portion of his focus went toward regulating his body temperature.

The balance and bulk of his focus went to surviving all the hallucinations.

He'd heard tell of this place from a red-hooded Vianist priestess at Niima Outpost. In fact he'd stayed with her for days, learning a skill specific to her order. The faith of Via stretched back twenty thousand years and maybe much farther. In those days, Force practitioners among the Vianist monastic orders had, quite commonly, nurtured the ability to discover others' needs with an eye to alleviating them. That power was very rare now, and had no purchase among the more entrenched Force traditions. The priestess, who'd privately unveiled herself to reveal the scripture tattooed on her face and neck, had only taught him that knack once she trusted him.

She'd told him that if he came here, he might find people in need. She'd also said the hallucinations of this vergence would dig up terrible memories, and Velok - once a reaver, a Sith, a murderer - had more than his share. She'd said that was why coming here would cement his understanding of this technique. The Sisterhood of the Beatific Countenance took sacrifice very seriously indeed.

THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.

He ducked through a sand-choked blast door and straightened to his full three-meter height. He beheld some combination of Connel Vanagor , Mother Askani , Jackson Lesan , Iskendyr Yvarro , and Yag'dril'sil . He knew that they, in turn, would behold a titanic Whiphid with a properly scaled lightsaber at the belt of his ragged clothes. He'd left the Dark Side behind as thoroughly as he knew how - hence the visit with the Vianist - but what they felt from him, he couldn't guess.

He flinched at the sight of a Surgeon carrying her own long head. The apparition was probably unreal and particular to him, but he couldn't be certain. The whole point of a place like this was that the hallucinations felt extremely real. And some Force visions could leave you bleeding.

Belatedly, it occurred to him that they might take him for a hallucination. He did tend to be...improbable.

"Hello," he said to the tiny humanoids. "My name is Velok."

 

[Yag'dril'sil]

Connel Vanagor Iskendyr Yvarro Jackson Lesan Mother Askani Lossa Aureus Velok Brokentusk

She was moving with the others and they started acting weird... for a moment and then she was somewhere else... her mind telling her home... solid stone... caves with a coolness to them and the scents of her people. THe others there as they fought stranger things in the ground and they were not friendly with their stingers and legs... who had legs...... but something was off while she moved. The ground wasn't solid as her belly slid across it and she stretched herself out.... it was coarse and rough to the touch and in the distance she thought she heard people whispering. THe cave was there and long as she moved hearing the Chakwas in the distance... the sound of feet thumping and being loud in the cave as the strangeness of the surface she was on mixed to push her forward more and more searching.

 

[Jackson Lesan]

Wearing: xxx
Tag: Mother Askani | Iskendyr Yvarro | Connel Vanagor | Lossa Aureus | Yag'dril'sil

No sooner had there been a mention of illusions and mirages than it seemed something was upon them all. For his own, Jax was suddenly running the halls of the temple as a child, though none of that had been his norm. Why he was there, it made no sense, but at the same time it felt completely right.

“Grow up Jax…”

It was CJ, but she was not there. He looked everywhere, but the people he was exploring the ship with were no longer there. All of them were gone. There was something… someone… with him.

A presence…

It felt wrong.

It felt right.

Rage.

Jackson had felt it call to him before. Little frustrations which should have not gotten under his skin did. It was the call of the dark side, of wrath. Jackson felt as though his anger was chasing him, following him. He could try to call out for help, or he could embrace it. There seemed to be only those two options as far as he knew, or wanted to.

Judah could have helped, but it seemed his uncle wanted little to do with him. He passed him off to others, to Romi. But it had all worked. Romi was a good teacher. CJ was a good friend. Sure he had a crush on her, but perhaps the voice he heard was right. Jax needed to grow up. He needed to be more mature.

He was young.

Too young.

LAUGHTER

His head turned over his shoulder. He could hear it, but the laughter was not juvenile, it was…

…mean.