The Other Side of Home

[Aela Talith]

Borleias

It was a planet that was not famous. Nor was it a planet of much use.

At least not anymore.

This world had once been a fortress, a staging area for war. Many different factions had used it. The New Republic, the Yuuzhan Vong, even the Galactic Alliance. All of them at one point or another had owned and operated on Borleias, all of them had used it as a staging area for an attack on the galactic center, Coruscant.

The current Galactic Republic was doing no such thing, and that was why father had chosen this world as their home. Aela Esmae Shamalain Talith, now fifteen years old wandered among the markets of one of the small fishing villages that rimmed the main continent of Borleias.

The people here were nice enough.

No one was threatening, no one was evil, people were simply living their lives. It was calming, really, and it made Aela feel good about her home. This wasn't the first time she had been to one of these villages, but it was the first time she had come here on her own. Father and Mother had given her permission to finally go off by herself, and she had done so almost gleefully.

A few years ago she would have balked at the idea, but now? Now it was exciting. She was half a world away from the house, and all on her own.

She offered a rare smile to a passing woman and her child, receiving one in return. The strap of her messenger bag bit into her shoulder as she shifted slightly, turning down the market street that smelled of freshly cooked fish and seared nerf.

This really was exciting.

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Aela Talith"]

This planet, it was deep in republic space, though he was no enemy to the republic, he didn't like the civility of it all. The planet was once a gateway to hell itself in many wars, the epicenter of chaos.

Now it just lived in it peace and quietness. Jaster didn't much care about it all though, he was here to find Yuuzhan Vong life shaper data. He and his troopers walked through the market place, in civilian clothing and staying under the radar he became lost. The data showed they were in a village outside an old military base, yet nothing was seen. He send a message to his shuttle in orbit of the moon, he had a few hours till he would receive works back. His men left to the local cantina in search of a good mix of women and alchohol.

Jaster wished to look for a local delight, food was his calling this evening. He was a alcoholic through and through, but he hadn't eaten in a while and to fish smelt great being cooked. He wandered the marketplace in search of a cafe or restaurant that would serve him. Still he was lost though, wondering didn't help, just lost him more.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jaster of clan Awaud"]

She walked with a tall sort of confidence.

Perhaps it was the lightsaber in her bag, perhaps it was because of the words her mother had said before Aela had left, she didn't know. Yet she felt good as she walked along the market streets, her bright orange eyes wandering and floating towards different stalls, people, foods.

There was always something to take in, always something to look at.

It reminded her of that time so long ago, when she had only been eight years old and traveled with her father around the galaxy. She remembered that trip well, though it was the ending that unfortunately stuck with her the most.

For a moment she closed her eyes, shaking the feeling of nausea that came with recalling the sounds and smells of Geonosis, the battle fought there. Goosebumps crawled up her spine, and she shook slightly, stopping in the middle of the market to collect herself.

When her eyelids folded open, they fell upon a small pack of men.

She frowned, noting their odd attire. It differed from that of the villages, though they didn't look all that strange themselves. A shrug rolled over her shoulders, and she moved to a small food vendor oposite of where one of the man had sat himself.

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Aela Talith"]

There it was, the shimmers across his skin. After years of working with force users and on occasion hunt them, he developed a very small sixth sence, the smallest hint of knowing when a force user was around. He didn't mind force users, rather found them enjoyable wether to talk with or drink with, they had their uses. In republic space though, most were Jedi, and on such a backwater place as this village, they could be hunting someone. The possibility of Jaster being hunted by the Jedi were slim to nill, yet their were a slight chance.

He finally found a food vendor and decided he wouldn't die on an empty stomach, that would just be cruel. A few of his men had followed him without realizing it himself. It was common for him to have his guards around, Jaster was an old soldier, and old was the key word there. He didn't mind, his years of fighting were over, he hired people for that now, just easier.

As soon as Jaster had sat himself down, he notices a young girl sit across from him. It was curious, a local sitting so near someone she didn't know. Jaster wasn't a dangerous man, well always, especially not in his lab. What was even more curious was that Jasters hair was standing on end now, only meant the Jedi was closer now then before. Too bad the sence wasn't accurate, useraly the Sith or Jedi pulled out a Lightsaber before Jaster could narrow down where they were.

Well too bad for that, time to eat.

 

[Micah Talith]

Meanwhile back at home...



Practice makes perfect.

In this case, Micah had every intention of practicing a unique ability that would flare up in him a bit more easier than his other siblings. Granted, he had trouble with it back when he was a kid, but now, now it was a lot easier.

The question was, how far could his senses go? How far could he push? And just what did he need to do to go beyond that?

Aela, being on her day trip, would serve nicely as his guinea pig.

A small smug mischievous grin would dance over his face. He sat on the top of the Casa De Talith's open patio. Khal, his Valrain counterpart, would rustle his feathers, his sharp beak working through to clean them.

Legs crossed, the young Talith would close the shades on the bright amber eyes, centering himself. Tracking his siblings through the Force through their bond was one thing.

Tracking them through the Force using it as a guidance after losing his quarry was another; and he was determined to practice the extent and breadth he could utilize this skill with.

Besides, what kind of brother would he be if he wasn't annoying his sister even when she was elsewhere?

 

[Aela Talith]

She smiled at the woman that approached her, nodding her thanks as she received a small cup of water.

Aela didn't want any food. She had plenty of money and more than a few riches that she could barter with, but at the moment she was slightly distracted by an odd feeling that plucked at the back of her mind. Her head shook, hair flouncing from side to side for a few moments as she tried to rid herself of the odd sensation crawling up her spine.

Goosebumps rippled across her flesh and she shook slightly.

“What the-” She cut herself off, face scrunching slightly as the waitress returned to take her order. “Just...whatever is good.”

Aela said somewhat awkwardly, shaking her head and place her forehead in her hand as she tried to stop the feeling from crawling into her mind. Oddly enough it felt familiar, as if someone she knew was nearby. She shook again, trying to dissuade the feeling.

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Aela Talith"] [member="Micah Talith"]

Jaster was just sitting by himself before he realized the young girl was shaking her head and seeming confused. He had just sat down for a quick bite to eat before returning to his mission at hand. Though as an old doctor of sorts he was a little curious about if the girl was in pain. She also seemed like a local in how she was dressed. It could be possible that she could help them in finding what they were looking for.

Jaster looked directly at the young girl and said, "Young miss, are you ok, you seem in pain?"

Jaster was a naturally curious man, probably why he was always in trouble. Though his mind told him to stay quiet, he just had to figure things out and stick his nose where it didn't belong.

 

[Micah Talith]

He began by relaxing, breathing in. Just like his father said, he would picture a pond. Granted, years later he'd made that pond larger and larger, a representation of his growing awareness in the Force, and in expanding and increasing his skill in this particular task.

There were more ripples that would cut across that water, but drawing in and centering himself would still the water as smooth as polished glass. Around him he would hear the crashing of the waves, the shift and sway of the trees, the distance call of birds. His mum would say that the Force touches everything, one way or another. Everything is connected.

And because of that, Micah would be able to find his sisters at anytime.

So he would summon the Force, letting it saturate his mind. Breathing it in and letting it pool like a reserve within him. The next moment, Micah would start to push out, and in that he would start to search within the deeper depths of his ponds to find a specific underwater ripple.

[member="Aela Talith"].

 

[Micah Talith]

Aela, was a bit harder to find than Maleah or Kai. Maybe that that do to with the vast differences in their personalities. Or maybe just because she was the eldest? He didn't know, but it did provide a venue for difficulty level that normally wasn't there. Considering she was off on one of the other islands, this meant that things were kicked up a notch.

Finding someone through the Force was like finding those ripples in a pond, but he also imagined it like a vast web. One where he was the spider and each delicate strand of his web would relay the tiny vibrations from anyone within it.

A deeper frown would mar his brow, and tiny beads of perspiration were already starting to grow on his skin.

Now where was she?...

He would lightly tap in his mind on the strands, feeling for any tug back. Any vibration.

Oh! There! It was small. Tiny. But it was something he could be able to draw his focus on.

 

[Micah Talith]

The Keetael was a Draethos Force tradition, which used the Force to increase fighting and hunting skills of those who studied it. Keetael was a mysterious, but not secret tradition, and there were no more than a few hundred adepts at any given time. Micah had studied about them from his father's holographic library, having spent some time with the stone goblin like creature with avid interest on the Keetael.

When he was older, he would make a pilgrimage to visit the Drathos and learn the Force tradition himself. It was a curious thing, the Keetael recognized the differences between the light and the dark side of the Force, but did not follow either of them exclusively. Instead, they utilized aspects of each to improve their combat, hunting, and fighting abilities. Following exclusively the light side could cost a victory in battle, while following solely the dark side could lead warriors to become vengeful and selfish beings who put their own importance over those they defended. Keetael who were more aligned with the light side of the Force were unwelcome in Draethos warrior society because of their pacifistic views and usually joined the Jedi Order. Keetael who had fallen to the dark side occasionally banded together to become a potent mercenary or criminal group, but were often destroyed by their fellow warriors, who recognized them as a true threat to their existence.

The Force-based aspects of Keetael training focused on Force tracking. They learned to efficiently and secretively manipulate the Force without gestures, and in ways that were difficult for other Force-users to sense. They could use the Force to direct their ranged weapons to their targets and enhance the momentum of their strikes. They were very adept at perceiving visions of the past and of their distant targets' surroundings.

It was for this very reason that Micah was practicing searching for his oldest sibling. It was to provide a foundation for his future initiate training that he hoped would end in receiving the disc that was a symbol of the membership of the order.