Private The Adventures of Snotface and Goofball: Commenor Edition

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori snickered as Caedyn Arenais rolled his eyes and called her a brat sister. Truth was she knew that she was a brat and at times was proud of it. Caedyn may have grown up a lot, but she was there to ensure that he knew how to have fun and to not be serious all the time.

She listened as he described Svivren, the Enclave there and his position. From the sounds of it, it was like he was some peacekeeper. Lori understood well about how he felt in regards to his age though. "Oh I go through that at times too. So many question me being a Captain of my own ship and crew, despite being so young. So of course they think that I don't know what I'm doing. I've lost some jobs because of it. But hey, I've done well for myself regardless."

She chewed the inside of her cheek a little in thought. "So at this Enclave...would I have to ask for permission to see you? Or would I just be able to treat it like home?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Of course you can" Caedyn grinned, looking back to his Sister a little surprised to hear her asking and sounding even remotely interested in staying there; "It's a Jedi place of course, so it's not like there are any parties and stuff but if someone asks, you could tell them you're my Sister and they'd probably be happy to meet you". It was a nice thought, introducing her to the rest of his people.

"We don't have many people trying to help keep the peace in the Outer Rim" he continued as they walked the path of the mountain, "Anyone who's willing to help do some good would no doubt be welcomed by the others". Although it sounded as though Lori was talking about being there simply to visit Caedyn, but the suggestion that she might be able to do more was worth throwing out there. "You could probably even train with the others if you wanted to improve your skills with the Force and stuff".

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori snickered. "Oh I'm not looking for parties. I haven't been to one in years. Not since before the Siege of Commenor when everything was okay and I was training with Jaster. I don't really get out to socialize, you know? I just work." She hadn't done anything for Lifeday or her own birthday. Mostly she just forgot about it all.

She studied their surroundings while they walked, listening to Caedyn Arenais . What he had said gave her the impression that what was there was very small indeed. That could be a good thing as it'd attract less attention.

"I should probably get more training, yeah. I can still make my light ball. I can even make it bigger than before and cause it to explode. It's great for a distraction when I need to slip away. You know me. I'm good at sneaking and setting traps. Though I'm not sure of what Force skills could go along with that..." Back in their youth, Lori would set traps on Caedyn all the time. And she even did it to some of the Mandalorians that mentored her as well.

Outside of flying, it was one of her better skills.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"It's funny you mention that actually...-I've learned quite a bit more about that ball of light trick of yours since way back then. It's one of the abilities I've picked up through my studies of Alkahest" Caedyn replied with a grin; Alkahest was one of the subjects introduced to him in great detail by Jedi Master's Phylis Alince and Coci Heavenshield , whilst he was still working alongside the Order of the Silver Jedi.

"It's called Force Light, something Dad was extremely good at. It was probably his most well known skill in fighting against the Dark Side of the Force, as the light that you summon is harnessed straight from the Force, a pure projection of the Light Side which can counter most abilities the Sith use", though Caedyn had never used the ability in combat and wasn't any where near as qualified to do so as their Father was. The only times he would seek to wield such a powerful manifestation of Ashla, was when seeking to imbue or create items using the Force, strengthening metals and materials with as much power as he could gather to shape his works. Admittedly, he'd been a little too busy with the Outer Planets Alliance and the Enclave of Svivren to craft anything recently.

"Apparently, Dad mastered the art of Force Light. And from what I've heard, it's made him one of the strongest rivals to the Sith Empire, according to what I was told back on Kashyyyk" he informed Loreena Arenais-Valhoun with a bit of a grin, "I guess that's where you get it from, huh?" he added with a chuckle. He knew Lori never felt like much of a hit when it came to the Force and being a practitioner of it. She had been supposed to train under their Dad a while back, but that didn't last long and although Veiere never explained or gave Caedyn any insight as to why, he had a few assumptions and guesses as to why it may have conflicted with her personality and general nature. She was a lot like their Mother in that sense.

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori blinked in surprise as Caedyn Arenais admitted to learning how to do her little trick. "You know how to do it too?" Figures. No doubt he could do it better too. Now she felt less....special. Was he going to copy everything that she could do and be better at it? The competition between siblings never seemed to end. Caedyn was already making a name for himself and doing great things, while she was...Goofball Lori.

"I just...use it as a light to see in the dark. I haven't exactly encountered any Sith or fought on the ground. I spend most of my time in my ship."

In a bid to shove her depressing thoughts and feelings aside, Lori just changed the subject entirely. "How much further?" They came here to explore and find sonething that belonged to their family and so that was what Lori decided to focus on.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"I've never used it in any form of self defense" Caedyn replied with a little apprehension in his voice, having noticed his Sisters disappointment; "Force Light is an essential aspect of Lightside Alchemy...-Alkahest". Caedyn had no intention of showing his Sister up in the ability, not to mention doing his best to steer clear of their father's shadow, and not walking the same path that would lead others to see Veiere in him.

It wasn't as though Caedyn still held any bitterness towards their Dad, but rather he was determined to find his own way and build a reputation unique and of his own doing, not built upon the experiences of Veiere's past or tales of the great Jedi Master Veiere was so often spoken about by others of the Order.

It was almost a point of pride that Caedyn achieve these things on his own, and prove to himself and to the rest of the Galaxy that he was just as capable as his Dad was, or any other for that matter, despite his young age and the fact that he'd never officially been Knighted under the Jedi Order's standards.

"Sounds like you haven't really pursued much in the way of training in the Force, at all?" Caedyn added, almost wanting to point this out in response to his sisters disappointment of which was only natural given that he was forever walking the Jedi Path whilst his Sister seemed to have chosen and entirely different life for herself.

"We're almost there" Caedyn finally replied to her last question as he glanced down at the datapad in his left hand, tracking their movements across the geographic layout of the Eldritch Mountain range. Their descent had begun to flatten out and it would only be a matter of minutes before they'd reach the mouth of the cave, the entrance cloaked by shrubs and a great rock formation that appeared to be blocking the majority of the entrance, as though it had been moved there by some unnatural force or presence.

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Caedyn Arenais

Alchemy? Lori hadn't even thought of that. To her it was just a light. Maybe she could even blind her enemies with it? At least for a little bit while she gave them the slip. Either way, there was no real need for her to use it like that for she had no enemies. And it wasn't as though she ever told anyone her last name or who her parents were. Just like her brother, she wanted to be her own person.

"Training? From who? The Academy? I couldn't handle it there. All those rules and restrictions; the fact that I had to ask for permission to even see Dad...ugh! It just wasn't fair. I'm better on my own anyways. It's a big Galaxy out there and surprisingly, I've been the one in the family keeping out of trouble the most! Imagine that?!" Even Lori found it surprising.

Those thoughts dissapated though as it was revealed that they were nearly there. Lori gained a bit of a spring in her step. "Did Mom mention if there were any booty traps?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"That's true I suppose, restraint and self-discipline are strong key-aspects of what's required for someone to become a Jedi...-I can sorta see your argument" Caedyn chuckled quietly under his breath, not able to imagine anyone keeping his Sister reigned in under such conditions; "Some places are a bit more care-free about things, but you know how Dad was, right?" He asked rhetorically, knowing that their father had been an advocate for those very same rules and also apparently one to enforce them back on Kashyyyk when it came to student etiquette, "It wouldn't surprise me if Dad made those rules, himself".

Moving towards the Cave's rather cramped entrance, Caedyn pushed on passed the overgrown shrubs and overhang having grown down from the mountain side tree's and green-life above, squeezing himself on inside and moving to draw his Lightsaber, igniting the blade in order to use it as a means to see clearly ahead of the darkness.

"Come on in, no traps so far!" Caedyn called back, inviting Loreena Arenais-Valhoun to enter the underground cavern with him. Somewhere buried beneath the eldritch mountain that they'd spent so many years of their earlier life upon, was the Sanctuary of the Elders and keepsakes of their parents. Whatever their Father wanted hidden so well for their Mom to store it down here and leave it behind so many years before, Caedyn could only wonder. Surely Veiere's belongings would have been safest with the rest of the Silver Jedi, or aboard the Judiciary. Hell, there were so many places their Father had visited as a Jedi Master along the path...

"Mom didn't exactly tell me much about the place, or what I'm even supposed to be looking for. Just that this was where the Elders would meet sometimes. A place away from the rest of Commenor, secret and safe".

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"Yeah well, I guess he figured it'd easy for me. But I've always been one to skirt the rules. You know me. I don't know why that is, but I've always found it so hard. It's like tinkering with my jetpack or either of my ships...I just try to find some way to make them better than what they are supposed to do. Is there a reason that I'm this way?" She shrugged her shoulders. "It's hard to say. Maybe there's some reason that Mom loves her tea so much that the Force deems necessary. Or maybe it's all just for no reason at all and everything's all done on impulse." Lori had a habit of blabbering off, relaying her thoughts with hardly a breath. Perhaps it was due to being the youngest and the goofball. It was a way to garner attention and to have her heard, even if nothing she ever said was listened to.

She followed Caedyn Arenais into the entrance, squeezing through, although it was easier given that she was of smaller build than her brother. As he ignited his lightsaber to help them to see in the dark, Lori smirked and created her ball of Light, just like she used to when they were young. "I don't think that the Elders would be hiding Sith in here. Mom used to go here, right? Surely she'd of told you if there was any bad defenses. Come on!"

Lori almost skipped ahead. She loved exploring and finding a new place that was hidden near where they lived was even more exciting. The tunnel expanded as they moved further in, winding and twisting it's way. Nothing appeared unnatural. Any visitor would probably think of it as some normal cave. That is until the tunnel came to a junction. Three stone archways decorated the passages. Lori furrowed her brows as she looked to each one. "Which way did Mom say to go? She did give you directions, right?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"It's just for light..." Caedyn replied with a slightly sheepish chuckle, Loreena Arenais-Valhoun having mentioned the Sith and in turn made him question the use of his Lightsaber in such a place; "Though I guess it might be a bit disrespectful to a people who were all about promoting peace and democracy huh..." He soon disengaged the weapon and returned the hilt to his belt out of consideration for the Elders long since gone.

"I don't believe everything's done on impulse, by the way" He remarked, moving to his Sister's side and walking at a mutual pace with her; "I don't like the idea that things are the way they are, and there's nothing more to it. The Jedi and the Je'daii both teach that the Force, despite the differences in their ideologies, has a will for all living things in the Galaxy", Caedyn wanted to believe that there was some higher calling or presence beyond their comprehension and the Force was often taught and spoken of in such a way.

"I know Dad believed that the Force was a guide...-And sometimes he spoke about it like it was a conscious presence...-But wherever I look, there's no definitive answer there. All that I know is that the Force is beyond all of us, and I don't believe we will ever truly be able to know it's limitations until our lives end and we pass over to become a part of it", the afterlife or whatever came after death...-This wasn't a conversation he had shared with Loreena before now. They were Twins, and yet he was certain that she was less spiritually minded than he was, where as the Je'daii had often spoken of Bogan and Ashla, deities in the Force and representations of what the Jedi often referred to as the light and the dark sides of the Force. It was difficult to know just how Lori would react, were he to share this side of himself with her.

Looking down to his datapad, the light of the device reflected brightly in his face whilst he brought up the described layout of the place and the directions their Mom had given him. "Take your next right, follow along this wall..." He gestured to the wall on their right, soon showing Lori the device so she understood rightly.

"...Besides" he returned to the subject at hand, "Doesn't it seem really coincidental to you that, despite what Mom and Dad wanted for us, we both seem to be following in their footsteps to some degree. As much as I hate to admit it, and I want to be nothing like Dad was when we were growing up, I'm still on the path to becoming a Jedi when originally I had joined the Je'daii Order...-A separate Organization of Force Users with their own code of conduct and ideologies not the same. While you're out there....-Well. Come to think of it, what are you doing these days?".

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori snickered. She was just teasing Caedyn Arenais about the lightsaber, but he seemed to take some other deep meaning behind it. In her mind, the Elders wouldn't care either way. They were dead, afterall. What matter was it to them about who carried what?

She listened to him as he spoke about the Force and the spiritual side of it. Did she believe the same? No. Not in the slightest. After the mistakes that both their parents had made, after their flip-flopping from side to side; to her it just showed that the Force had no power over anyone. It was just up to the individual to decide on what to do, much like anyone else making decisions in their life. One didn't need to be a Force user to kill anyone or help someone. Even androids like her co-pilot Arla were fully capable of deciding such things themselves without being guided by the Force.

Lori followed Caedyn's directions, keeping her ball of Light ahead of them to light their way. She snorted as he tried to compare her to their parents, searching for some similarities when there were none that she could find. "I'm not following in their footsteps. I'm no Jedi and I'm certainly not some politician or leader of some world. I don't even drink tea." She shrugged her shoulders. "I transport goods, do a bit of treasure hunting, that sort of thing. Nothing special." Lori wasn't some hero like the rest of her family. There was enough of those already.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn had to give this one to Loreena Arenais-Valhoun , their parents had never exactly lived a smuggler's life as she seemed to describe her own. That wasn't however to say that she wasn't a good person, and that given the right opportunity, she wouldn't take a stand for the right reasons. Caedyn still firmly believed that their families values remained within her, she had just sought to make a different life for herself. One of her own, as he was trying to do on Svivren.

"Mom and Dad used to fly around a lot in the Fair Lady before they made a life for themselves on Commenor, Dad once told me" Caedyn replied, though he was reaching and it wasn't the same kind of life as Lori was currently living. "Apparently they used to go hunting down slave rings...-Or atleast Mom did, and Dad's job was protecting her when things got intense". It was nice to think about, years before their parents had become famously known far and wide across the Galaxy, where his and Loreena's face had become a relic of Commenor for a time during the Systems Alliance's greatest years. A symbol of youth and hope, the children of the Monarchy. How it embarrassed him, back then.

"Anyway...-I guess you're right, you're off doing your own thing these days" he resigned, falling quiet in thought as they continued to wander the cave system. According to the holo-map, they were getting close to their objective location now, Caedyn gesturing for which direction to take wherever they found themselves with more than a single option at a time.

"We're almost there. Should just be around this corner...".

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"It was the Free Lady. And I haven't exactly gone after slave rings...But I do have a...bodyguard..." Two in fact. Only now did the similarities that Caedyn Arenais hinted at became clear. Lori's boyfriend was one of her bodyguards, just as their Dad was for their Mom.

Oh no....

Did that mean that she was going to be kidnapped a bunch too? Hopefully not.

"Yeah I'm just doing my own thing..." But that was surely not going to last for long.

Lori was glad to find out that they were so close. The hidden Sanctuary was a maze and although the two may have been able to figure it out on their own in time, it was nicer to have directions.

As they rounded the corner, they came across a large cavern of a room. Flames lit various corners of it, their source of fuel seeming run through channels carved in the stone. Near the other end stood three thrones up atop a dais. Old banners bearing Commenor's symbols and colours collected dust in behind them. Other than that, the cavern appeared to be empty.

"Are you sure this is where Mom said to go? It doesn't look like anyone's been here in decades..."

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Are you sure this is where Mom said to go?
It doesn't look like anyone's been here in decades...".​

"That's the whole point of this place though, really" Caedyn replied as he moved to position himself within the center of the throne room, facing the three seats and recalling upon what their Mom had told him. "Third on the right, following the smooth floor and then..." he began to step towards the three thrones, moving towards the far left and circling around it to search for a stone slab that looked different from the rest.

Reaching out with his left hand, Caedyn drew upon the power of the Force to raise the slab up and away from the opening in the floor behind the thrones. Their Mother had suggested he'd have to pry it open, but there was no reason he couldn't use a more civilized method without damaging the seemingly ancient room around them. Among the number of possessions left behind by their father, was Veiere's personal Holocron, an artifact that called to them both, and gave of their fathers presence as if he himself had been there in the room.

Among numerous sets of Jedi garments was also an aged looking text of which had the Jedi Order symbol embedded into the cover, the title reading "The Jedi Path", a rather well kept and important book considering how old it must have been. Two strange looking Crystals were also there, finely shaped and smooth to the touch. With all these things, was a strong presence of the Force that seemed to bathe the enclosure within the Lightside.

"This is definitely it" Caedyn confirmed.

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun​

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori followed Caedyn Arenais , both out of pure curiosity, but also given that he was given the instructions and not her. Looking to the thrones, she tried to imagine their parents sitting on them. Life was quite different for them all when their parents ruled. But that didn't mean that neither of them wanted things differently than they were now. As far as Lori was concerned, the twins got away from both being known as royalty, but also out of the shadows of their parents. They couldn't ask for anything better than that.

She watched as Caedyn lifted the slab of stone as though it was nothing. Then her eyes fell to the items within as he began pulling them out. "These are Dad's alright. I can feel him." Lori didn't reach out to touch them, merely observed them. "What did Mom want you to do with them?" Beneath the items were also a set of Veiere's robes and his crown. She couldn't help but feel as though they were raiding a crypt. They were valuable keepsakes. "Do you think Dad wants them back?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"I asked Mom if Dad would want them back, but she didn't seem to know. All she said was that she needed someone to watch over them, as she..." Caedyn paused for a moment, trying to consider how best to describe their Mother's mental and emotional state; "She didn't seem to be in a good place" he admitted truthfully. Loreena Arenais-Valhoun had a right to know after-all.

Wrapping the Holocron in the garbs of one of their Father's robes, he moved to store the artifact within his backpack. The possible knowledge within such a thing could be disastrous in the wrong hands, yet valuable to any student of the Jedi. "I guess she figured I could protect it better, now that I'm running a Jedi Enclave of my own" he gave his best take on whatever possible answers there might be for Kay to have given up such a secretive place, as well as what had been hidden within. He soon stowed the ancient text away in his bag as well, yet paused as he looked to the peculiar shaped crystals. There were two of them...-One for each of them?

"Hey, check these out" he tossed one of the crystals to his Sister, moving to stand to his feet and try to get a better look at the remaining crystal in his hand, using whatever dim light he could find within the cavern sanctuary. "Someone's shaped these...-They're certainly not your average looking stones, huh?".

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

"She hasn't been in a good place since that Purgatory prison..." Everything went downhill from there. War was started between the Jedi and the Mandalorians not long after their Mom's escape. Everything after that was just rumours. Lori hadn't exactly gone to see her. She had been too busy staying out of it and for ONCE she did what she was told.

As Caedyn Arenais began packing the items into his backpack, Lori nodded to his remark. "Well, you are the more responsible one. Even Dad would choose you." And it wasn't as though she was jealous, it was just the truth of the way things were.

Lori's thoughts on how she was always known as being a goofball were soon forgotten as Caedyn threw her a crystal. She caught it and ran her thumbs on the smooth surface. Her brows furrowed as she could feel the Force tug at her from it. "These aren't normal...someone meditated on them when they were forged. Dad must have made them. All if this is his stuff, right?"

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"I dunno..." Caedyn admitted his uncertainty about the smoothed shaped crystals, "I mean there's two of them, so one could be Mom's too, right?" He spoke his thoughts aloud, not able to imagine who else it would belong to. For as long as they'd been alive, it had always been Veiere and Kay. Their Dad had never had any other relationships or interests that they had heard of, so it seemed a fair assumption.

"They definitely carry the Force within them..." Caedyn studied the crystal in his hand, the present that it carried was unmistakable strong and yet all he could sense was Loreena Arenais-Valhoun nearby. Unaware that these crystals were the shaped stone's that had been refined for their parents wedding rings, neither of the Twins could've known the special traits they carried, nor the fact that both crystals were attuned to one another and strengthened the connection between those whom possessed them.

"We should keep one, each" Caedyn decided, pocketing his with a slim smile; "Something we can share, you know?".

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Lori kept tracing the crystal with her thumb, listening as Caedyn Arenais suggested that one of the crystals belonged to their Mom. "I guess so. But why would both be here? Wouldn't Mom have kept hers?" It was difficult to know what was going on in either of their minds. Not to mention why these keepsakes were hidden in the first place.

She pocketed hers, glad that there was at least a little something for her here. But the place itself was pretty neat. She couldn't imagine their parents ruling from here. The Palace was better. Their Estate was better...

Home.

That was something Lori lacked. But even if she did have one, she wasn't certain that she'd stay there long anyways. She craved adventure too much.

"What are you going to do with yours?" Lori wasn't sure if she'd make a little pendant or bracelet or something with it. But she thought it was pretty anyways and didn't want to lose it in the quarters of her ship. Besides, it felt...special..

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"It's hard to know what Mom would have done with it these days...-Honestly, she's been a little unstable since they got divorced and the whole interrogation thing happened with the Eternal Empire".

Caedyn looked down to the stone in his hand, pressing his thumb against the smooth surface in thought. Perhaps these were replacements for the originals, or perhaps their Mom had left them both here the last time she'd visited Commenor. It was hard to know, so much time had passed and he and Lori both had been off pursuing their own lives.

"I do worry about Mom though" He continued, "The last time I saw her, she was knee deep in a political scandal that almost got some people killed if I hadn't turned up there and offered to intervene when I did. Some people were trying to blackmail her over making some sort of virus or something...-This is just between us of course, I'd promised her I wouldn't tell anyone".

He'd kept a sample of the contagion as well, one of their Mothers more dangerous creations unlike her many various Tea's and consumables. This had been purposed to be used in a populations water source that would've cost thousands of lives from what he'd understood.

"She's not as careful as she used to be...-They made her believe we'd all died. She knows better now but the trauma of it all, plus her pushing Dad away...-She's not exactly the same woman that raised us on Commenor. I love her, don't get me wrong...-She's just damaged and I don't entirely know how to help her".

Loreena Arenais-Valhoun