The Crystal, The Premier, and The Wizard

[null3]

​

The Crystal, The Premier, And The Wizard​

​

-Outer Rim-​

​

Harris sat up from the puddle of oil on the floor which had seeped through his knee pads. He took a step back and nodded in approval, set. He put down his multi-tool wrench atop his small red toolbox and approached the ladder. He stepped up the rails and stuck his hand into the cockpit, pushing in the manual fuel pump three times and until he heard a flow of liquid surge through the veins of the ship. He smiled and climbed aboard. He cracked the pump twice more and then lifted the safety covers and flicked the fuel injection to both engines. The engines started to hum as they were lubricated and doused in liquid fuel. Quickly Harris flipped up two more safety covers and used two fingers to push and hold both engine ignitions. The engines rumbled and Harris strapped in.

"Come on." Harris eased onto the throttle and the ship shook before a gargantuan flame flew the rear engines and quickly retreated back into the cylinders. The ship lifted off and Harris smiled as the beast roared to life. "C'mon baby," He shoved the throttle forward and the V-wing rocketed forwards at an immense speed. Circling around the palace and coming back down for at the hanger where his short adventure began.

Harris pushed the V-wing cockpit up, depressurizing it and releasing a bit of steam. He grunted as he pushed himself upwards and out of the seat before climbing onto the ladder and sliding down. As his feet hit the floor, his Com-pad which sat on his toolbox lit up green. He wiped off his hands with and dry rag, removing a good amount of grease, and picked up the pad, clicking and observing the data. It was a lightly encrypted signal from a familiar source, 'Epsilon'. Harris read the contact information and quickly saved it. He marched quickly down the long central line and through a pair of blast doors out of the hanger.

As William's room opened, he pulled off his greasy shirt and threw it into a light bin and quickly ripped off his clothes. He walked into the corner and opened the steel locker-like door of his personal shower. He stood in and said, "Begin." The cold water hit off Harris's head, cooling him from the hard involved in fixing up an old starfighter.

As Harris stepped out of the Shower, he quickly dried himself and slipped into his undergarments and a skintight vacuum sealed grey suit. As Harris pulled up the one piece and sealed it, there was a light hiss. Quickly Harris picked up his over-clothes and slid his tunic, cloak, trousers, and boots all atop his Armour-weave. Finally, Harris approached his Dresser near the door of the room and held out his hand. There was a mechanical clank as a hidden compartment twisted then slid open, revealing Harris's short-circuited saber.

Harris walked to his bed and jumped up, crossing his feet and beginning to meditate with his saber laid on the bed before him. As he focused, channeling himself deeper and deeper into the force, he reached out, lifting the saber and carefully dismantling it his mind. As his eyes slid open, Harris made eye contact with the golden crystal of the saber and reached out his hand. The crystal floated into his palm and the bruised saber fell apart. Harris slowly shuffled off the bed and clenched his fist along the jagged side of the powerful stone, walking to the door and out of the room. He marched with a purpose to meet the powerful stranger on Jedha.

 

[Xos]

"Oh come on, you know full well I can't do that." Xos said shaking his head as he spoke to Gra.
The Sage shrugged with a sigh, ​"You could really do a lot of good if you weren't so self preventing. I honestly think you should work more on the military aspect of the Baran Do, we can​ teach warriors. Maybe it doesn't need to be all Baran Do, but I think creating a special type of force would be useful."

Again Xos shook his head, "I just can't. It's...too far. I don't want to lead a military at all, and the pain I would feel to do so...would just be too much."

The sage groaned, "Fine. I understand. But I still think you should consider some version of it."

Another sigh and Xos stood up, a slight wave as he walked off. A presence was coming, importance. He stepped out of the negotiator and onto the sandy ground of the planet. It was not a presence he recognized, it was that of a force sensitive though, he saw that. He called his staff to his hands readjusting his rebreather properly. And so he began to walk, called by the force, following it. Xos had many people who he either organized to meet with, or simply headed to meet with. Though there was the occasional time someone actually sought him out.

Soon enough he would find himself coming upon the Premier, so, the meeting would begin.

[member="Premier William Harris I"]

 

[null3]

​

The One With the Wizard, the Premier, and the Phantom,​

​

-Inbound to Jedha City-​

​

Harris turned a began to slow the ship, reaching to the right of his seat and wrapping his hand around a lever right against the wall. He fiddled with it lightly while taking his other hand and typing in a 4 digit code and transmitting it to the surface below.

"5328 You are clear to land at Jedha City, Proceed to Dockyard Echo-113, East. Land at pad 1591, proceed with caution and enjoy your stay."

"Thank you tower."

Harris quickly released the transmission button and slowly pushed the lever right of his seat down into rest position. With a light jerk, the S-foils of the V-wing turned and locked into place with a loud mechanical click which lightly rattled the ship. Harris moved both Hands to the controlls, using his left to decrease speed and right to make micro-adjustments to flightstick, slowly lowering the nose for the approach. A light beamed in the window as a checkpoint appeared onto the heads up display.

A female robotic voice began, "Shift bearing to 13.3° north-north-east and raise airbrakes 12.5° upwards for 1 minute."

Harris gently nudged the flight stick left a few centimeters before straightening it and slowly pulling back the accelerator a few inches. He then took his right hand and flipped two safety covers, enabling the airbrakes and slowly turned the dial to the needed degree.

After a few moments, Harris broke through the clouds and banked towards the Dockyard. As Harris Slowed for landing, the gear slowly dropped from it's covers and the ship lightly touched down.

"Alright, now just this," Harris flipped off the turbines for both engines and they slowed and quieted outside, "And that should be good." As the ship silenced, Harris reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small box, releasing the clamp he opened it and observed the fractured golden crystal. He nodded and closed the tiny box, slipping it back into his pocket and reaching to manually release the cockpit's canopy. He pulled a lever and the cockpit decompressed, releasing a visible release of gas as the glass slid open and Harris lifted himself out.

Harris made his way through crowds of people with his senses heightened. Before long, Harris was through the lines of the terminal and the Gates to the city opened. He looked out and tapped his foot. He didn't have time to sit around. He quickly made his way down the roads towards the market district. As Harris Set off, a cloaked man slowly followed behind.

 

[Xos]

Xos kept his patient walk. While he knew he needed to find who he was looking for, he felt no rush to do so. The Force would guide him where he needed to be. And right now it led him further into the city, where he began to see those who were setting things up for sale. As much as he'd love to help them out, he had no interest in most of the things they were selling. And really kept most of his money for useful items or when he was around others.

He could feel himself getting close, it was only a matter of moments. So he started looking out rather then merely focusing on the force, thinking when he'd see him he might be able to recognize him as who he was supposed to meet with.

[member="Premier William Harris I"]

 

[null3]

Harris reached the Marketplace and slid inside a little shop off to the side. He searched the isles and began looking for parts. He snagged a few bits of hardware and a mini power conducter before dropping some credits on the desk up front and stepping out. Harris walked though the doorway as the sun hit his eyes, momentarily blinding him. He held his hand up for a second as his eyes adjusted. As his eyes focused on the unorganized of the large marketplace, he stepped out into the crowd while slipping his items into a little pounch around his leg. He locked it to be sure no damned pickpocket attempted to try their luck.

Harris began walking straight ahead as a presence hit him. Harris paused as the crowd seperated. There was a dark energy behind him. In his mind, sad images flashed and Harris stood in shock. The presence was sad, torn, dark, and... Familiar? With a tremor, Harris turned around to see a man in familiar armor with a cloak standing about five meters behind him.

"Deadey-?"

The market silenced as the sound of a blaster exploded out of the barrel of a blaster pistol and ripped through the air towards Harris. He quickly cupped his hands and closed his eyes as his life flashed by. He reached out with every bit of energy he coulds, time slowed and he reached his hands out, focusing the force on his hands as the heat of the bolt approached, the bolt stopped inches from Harris's palms. Harris's eyes shot open with all color flushed from them, turning pale white.

"NO!" Harris screamed and flipped his hands outwards, reflecting a beam of energy back to the cloaked Phantom. The bolt struck the man in the head as the crowd gasped. Harris's eyes flooded with color as the man colapsed. He turned around before hearing the all too familiar sound of Eric's voice as he struggled to stand.

"I.. will... return."

Harris watched the man make it to his feet and limp off into the crowd. It couldn't have been. Deadeye had been dead for some time. Harris had hurt his would-be assassin enough and would move it out of mind out sight for now. Quickly, Harris turned around as the noise of the courtyard returned to normal volume. Harris approached a stand of a scavenger and scanned the table.

The hideous alien stood up and with a thick accent began "How c'n I hel yoU?"

Harris continued to scan the table, "I was told you may have some ancient, 'Jedi' artifacts?"

The alien smiled with his pale gap-toothed face and reached his slimey hand under the table and pulled up a box. He opened the crate and revealed the pieces of many lightsabers. "This are fo' moar experinc'd buyr's. They com'atta price though."

Harris spotted the pieces he needed and looked at the ugly alien looking down at him. "How much do you want?"

The alien grinned a let out a disgusting rumble of a laugh, "Fo' all of 'em? Ten thowsant, Final price."

"How about five?"

"Five Thousand? Do you think me an idiot? This are genUine Jedu artifacts. The Jedi used these lasa sabers for years."

"Fine, 8 and a half."

The alien though for a second and then held out one of his hands. "Sold my friend."

Harris grabbed the container and locked it. He moved down the road and to a small cantina and sat down,he felt his contact getting close. He fell into a booth on the far side of the bar and closed his eyes, reaching out and drawing the man in with the force.

 

[Xos]

There was a pause, a fear, a-the blaster shot went off and Xos's head instantly shot in its direction. It was still a bit away so he couldn't completely see properly. A shout, he could hear speaking, it was time to move. He started trying to navigate his way through the crowd, avoiding hitting anyone with his cane. The robed Kel Dorian squeezing through as much as he could. The fear seemed to slow down, or at least, panic had. And then it was gone. Perhaps these people were a little to used to strange occurrences.

Still, he kept walking, there was still a pull. Individual he had to meet. As he walked, against all the sounds of all the crowd, he heard word about Jedi artifacts. He shut his eye for a moment. The voice came again, he followed it, past a man who looked like he was still counting his credits. And then a pull, this time however, it was quite intentional. Xos nodded, yes, this was who he was supposed to meet.

The Baran Do turned and started walking more calmly now towards the small cantina. It might take a little while just due to the crowd but he'd get there. The Sage eventually caught sight of [member="Premier William Harris I"] and nodded his head, if a smile were visible it would be. But rather there was a feeling of positivity that seemed to drop off of him as he walked in closer to the Premier, as he eventually entered he bowed his head towards the premier, "Greetings to you, I don't suppose that commotion earlier was ill for you? You certainly did seem to be quite in the center of it." he asked, honestly keen to hear the answer.

 

[null3]

"Well, I'd prefer not to go around blasting strangers in the streets. I don't know what he wanted but his presence was familiar," Harris scanned the cloak of [member="Xos"] and confirmed he was jedi before scooching in a little bit. There was light in this one, "He felt like someone who I know, someone who's been dead for some time."

Harris reached for a drink which a twei'lik waitress carried over, grabbing it and tipping his head back to take a sip before placing it on the table.

"So curious stranger, what brings you to these parts? I can sense you are driven, and I've felt you following me from afar. The disturbance was hard to ignore."

 

[Xos]

Xos nodded his head as the Premier mentioned the blasting. So then it was them that had fought. At least it had not seemed to end with the death of innocent lives. Then came the question of Xos himself, and how he had been sensed following.

"I am on a search, always to help, and that takes me all across the galaxy. I felt your presence and felt called to come to you, though I was not told why. The Force can be like that sometimes, guiding me to a place, even though I may never understand the reasoning behind it." He explained, but then shrugged, "It is a burden at times. But it is also a gift that I can seek out those who may need my help. Might I ask why it is you are here? Or perhaps, what it is you need?"

[member="Premier William Harris I"]

 

[null3]

"I am on a search, always to help, and that takes me all across the galaxy. I felt your presence and felt called to come to you, though I was not told why. The Force can be like that sometimes, guiding me to a place, even though I may never understand the reasoning behind it." He explained, but then shrugged, "It is a burden at times. But it is also a gift that I can seek out those who may need my help. Might I ask why it is you are here? Or perhaps, what it is you need?"

Harris listened and as he finished slowly pulled up the small bag he carried and poured the contents onto the table. There were a few power converters, some steel tubes, and a locked box. Harris clicked open the small box, lifting the lid and lock revealing the fractured yellow crystal which barely held itself together. "What I get for scavenging an old saber and hoping it holds my crystal. She worked fine until she didn't," Harris paused and wiped a pellet of sweat off of his forehead and began again, "I'm looking for mentoring. I'm unbalanced in the force, and I need help. I tried to craft a saber with no instruction and failed, and despite trying to stay neutral, my only training comes from a dark lord of the sith," he lightly shook his head, "Can you please help me?"

[member="Xos"]

 

[Xos]

Xos furrowed his brow as Harris poured the contents on the table, those were quite familiar, and finally bringing forth a yellow crystal, he folded his hands together, a lightsaber indeed. An interesting one it would've been he imagined. But as Harris explained, it was a scavenged one. And as he spoke, he mentioned mentoring, an imbalance in the force. Xos let out a hum as he returned his case to the Premier, especially as he mentioned having only been trained by a dark lord of the Sith.

That was not a first, actually, it would be the third time he'd met with someone trained by the sith. Though he wasn't sure if Orex Mauda was or not, but he did know that one was quite involved in the dark side. Much more so then the one in front of him, who asked now for his help, immediately Xos nodded his head, "It would be my pleasure."


The Sage extended a hand to shake, "But first, tell me, why it is you seek balance? Especially for one taught by a Sith. I believe the light and dark both have their places in the galaxy, and my place within that order, is with the light. And of course, I'm willing to spread this knowledge to others. It is possibly the greatest gift I have to give to most, and one I will willingly give to you as well. But what, for you, shall balance bring?"

[member="Premier William Harris I"]

 

[null3]

The Sage extended a hand to shake, "But first, tell me, why it is you seek balance? Especially for one taught by a Sith. I believe the light and dark both have their places in the galaxy, and my place within that order is with the light. And of course, I'm willing to spread this knowledge to others. It is possibly the greatest gift I have to give to most, and one I will willingly give to you as well. But what, for you, shall balance bring?"

Harris shook the man's hand as he finished. While still holding it, he looked into the man's eyes, "A man such as myself has many reasons to strive for balance. As a Warrior, I am to not allow the heat of the moment to cloud my vision, but instead to strengthen my ability, and as A diplomat, I am not to allow my emotions to take control, rather to think logically." Harris looked at [member="Xos"] and though for a second, pulling away from his hand, "I am the Premier of the Fel Imperium. We are on the other side of the galaxy, and I rule the people, for the people. They hail me as a hero, but I'm only human. A balanced mind would help not only me but for them as well." Harris slipped the materials he had into his bag and pulled it back down to his side. He adjusted his black jacket and straightened the collar of his silver undershirt.

"So, may you please help me?"

 

[Xos]

He listened as the man explained himself, diplomacy truly was an important aspect that the Baran Do had helped with. They themselves were often in political positions as a result of their abilities. As he pulled his hand away afterwards he mentioned who he was, a Premier of something called the Fel Imperium. Fascinating. And as he said, hailed as a hero, but was still willing to admit to being human. That was good. Too many people in positions of power sometimes thought themselves gods. Especially force sensitives.

Again, he asked if the Sage would help. Xos nodded his head again, "I shall, both for you and your people." he answered breathing in, "Well then, perhaps we should find somewhere more quiet to do this. I'm afraid all of the hustle and bustle of such a place would get in the way of learning. If that is you wish to begin right away? We have meditation chambers on my ship, or, we could sit outside of the city a bit. I'm sure there's a quiet place. For us, the most important first step, is meditation with the force, some people catch on in minutes, others take longer. It depends on the individual as to how quickly they can do it at first, and if they have experience already."


[member="Premier William Harris I"]

 

[null3]

Harris nodded in response, "I believe it would be best to get out into nature. There is peace in desolation, and in nature, one can feel truly open. One can let the force flow through them in it's purest form."

 

[Xos]

Xos let out a hum of agreement, he usually would of course meditate in conditions of his own world. It was also why his ship was built to accommodate his species, as Kel Dorian's just couldn't breath most atmospheres that other species could, and vice versa. But he was doubtless more used to wearing the rebreather then others were and could meditate just fine with it on.

"Wonderful. Well, then, shall we walk? I'm sure we can find a way outside of the city enough to be at peace." He asked preparing to set out, "Meditation is quite important to me especially, when I was young you see, I was very naive, so it was easy for me to get hurt believing people in spite of constant visions. I had to meditate for days to get over it. Not a long story, but from then on, I always have held meditation in the highest regard of the gifts that the force can give us. A calm man with skill I would chose over a wild man with a sword almost any day."

[member="Premier William Harris I"]

 

[null3]

Harris followed the man for some time until they eventually found themselves out of the city and in the middle of the desolate fields surrounding Jedha City. He looked up and into the distance at the city atop the plateau in the distance. Though he knew what it was, from this distance it was just a faint blob that barely stood contrast to the dull beige world out here. Harris pulled up a small canteen which had strung from the side of his jacket. He brought it to his mouth and took a sip, the ice-cold water stinging his parched lips as he drank. He stopped and held it out to [member="Xos"],

"Do you want some?" Xos shook his head, "Do you think this place will work?" Harris looked around at the desolation and smirked, "It's certainly desolate enough."

 

[Xos]

Xos looked into the sky, he was used to extreme weather, his world wasn't the most hospitable to many. So the lack of shrubbery was nothing new to him. Though it was still rather warm. Finally they had reached a good distance, it would be quiet enough here, even though he'd been offered water, Xos didn't really have the option of drinking it safely. It was quite literally a matter of life and death if he breathed in the air on any oxygen rich planet.

He nodded as the man asked if the place would work, "I believe it should," he said cooly, before turning to face the Premier properly and rather casually sitting down on the ground crosslegged, sweeping away and pushing down dirt in such a way with the force that what was beneath them was a more stiff circle that would be just a bit less gritty to sit down on, and then gesturing for Harris to sit as well, "Please, sit down, however you like. You can stand if you wish, but it can be hard to meditate that way. Well for most species at least." he looked up at Harris. The Sage seemed to emanate a calm friendly nature almost constantly.

"It's important to me you can relax, as I tell many of my fellow Sages, to truly work with the light. You must let it flow through you, stop forcing it to obey like a mere tool. All you need to do is guide it, and listen to it, so it can guide you." He said, then there was a slight chuckle, "I'm sure you'll do better then my time at that though, it took me years. I just couldn't accept it."

[member="Premier William Harris I"]

 

[null3]

"Please, sit down, however you like. You can stand if you wish, but it can be hard to meditate that way. Well for most species at least." he looked up at Harris. The Sage seemed to emanate a calm friendly nature almost constantly. And Harris felt it. His pure presence, He slowly used the force level out a near-perfect circle in which he slowly leaned down and sat with his legs crossed. He looked over at [member="Xos"] as he continued, "It's important to me you can relax, as I tell many of my fellow Sages, to truly work with the light. You must let it flow through you, stop forcing it to obey like a mere tool. All you need to do is guide it, and listen to it, so it can guide you." Harris sat quietly listening as he explained. Xos followed what he preached, he hid nothing from what Will could tell, and his advice was coming from experience, so he continued to listen. "I'm sure you'll do better then my time at that though, it took me years. I just couldn't accept it."

Harris took in what he said, breathing lightly as he calmed himself from meditation. He closed his eyes loosely and reached out with every nerve ending in his body, slowly breathing as he felt himself slip into a calm which he so rarely felt. He felt a warming sensation as he felt each muscle in his legs loosen, and the muscles of his arms relaxed. He was slipping into the meditation Jair had taught him so long ago. He slowly opened his eyes and looked across at Xos. "Okay, I'm relaxed. I'm confused though, I was taught that the force was a tool to be used, use it for what you wish. If it isn't a mere tool, then what is it?" He paused, "What I mean is, how do I use it without forcing it? How do I know I'm doing it right?" Harris closed his mouth, awaiting a response.

The heat was odd, Will thought, never before had he felt such dry heat without the sticky humidity. Even on Osseriton, when the temperature was higher, it was never this bad, and never completely voided of all moisture. This thought crossed Harris' mind for just a second before he caught it and cleared his racing mind as Xos began.

 

[Xos]

Xos nodded as he relaxed and brought up a question, not a too uncommon one. It was a reasonable question after all. He breathed in, "Mm, yes, that is how the Jedi and Sith usually see it. Just another thing. But the force is connected to all life, it has a will, just like we do. But it's harder to hear. Like a whisper in a crowd." his voice came out smoothly, "It can be hard to know if you're doing it right, I still can't always listen to it. The reason I ask you to use it without forcing it to obey, is because the light-side is all about tranquility. To force something causes struggle, which is fine, but not the pure way of the light. I want you to try and ask the force, imagine it as putting your hand in a flowing river, just turn your hand to guide it. You don't have to do this every time you fight, but the more you do it, the more you can learn that the connection between both us and the force is the same. Just as we can influence it, it can influence us. That's why the Baran Do are renowned for our foresight of disasters, we only learned to use it as a weapon as a side effect. First, we learned to become closer to it."

The Sage tried to let the words fit in, it could be hard to explain it to someone, especially in a short period of time. The Force was something that took years to become truly close to, and Xos strove to become truly one with the force, even before he would one day die. Because to do so, would mean he might finally achieve a complete peace and unity in one, and that was something he truly desired to understand.

"I'm sure you could do it easily if you forced it, but I want you to just try and persuade the force to move the air, just a little. Speak with it through your soul and your heart, it understands much more then words, and if you can, you should feel how it in turn responds to you."

[member="Premier William Harris I"]

 

[null3]

Harris slowly closed his eyes, listening to what the man said. He reached out into the force, deep. As he drifted off, he felt as though his whole body became heavier, he dug deeper into the force, releasing himself, clearing his mind, lifting out his hands to work as a vassal for the force. His eyes shot open with the same steel color they held earlier as his head tipped back and the rocks around him slowly lifted. He channeled through him light, dark, everything. He slowly dropped his arms as the rocks lightly touched back down onto the dusty surface of the desert hellscape.

As his head slowly bobbed back forwards, his eyes returned their normal color and slowly shut. He gently touched down on the ground, startling himself as he hadn't realized he had begun to levitate. He returned to absolute peace for a moment before looking back up at [member="Xos"], who seemed slightly shocked. "What happened?"

 

[Xos]

Xos watched, but most importantly, felt, the way that Harris was reaching into the force. The rocks lifted, the Premier however was not using a singular side of the force. It was a totality. Xos leaned his head back breathing in, tapping his fingers against his leg as he finally returned to the ground his eyes retuning to their color. Xos stood up as the Premier asked what happened, then sat back down, "Well...that was...new." he responded honestly, a slight surprise in his voice.

He folded his fingers together on his lap, "You became quite close to the force in a certain way. But not merely one side, the force in whole. That is...very uncommon. There have been many in the past who are truly connected in one side or the other, I am very close to the light, there are many Sith who are close to the dark. There are those who are simply neither."

As he spoke different colors of sand mixed to three circles in front of them, the center being all together evenly, he pressed a finger into it, "It was an anomaly." Xos leaned forwards to look into the Premiers eyes, incredible. How different it was, how special it was. ​"You say you seek balance, well. For a normal person, I would say that would be extremely difficult, everyone leans to one side or another almost always. But to enter it as a whole, that quickly, is impressive. Just how long have you been seeking the balance? And has this happened to you before? I may have some advice for you still, but your connection to the force is wildly different then what the Baran Do deal with."

[member="Premier William Harris I"]