This planet doesn’t have a thing to offer anyone…

[Corvus Raaf]

Sometimes you just have to make mistakes. Not that Corvus could have predicted what would happen. She would never let another Jedi be hurt just to prove a point.

So the pre-programmed defences of the site had kicked in but Kaia had managed them well. In truth Corvus was a little annoyed she hadn’t seen the danger. So she swept the area. The wildlife hadn’t returned yet and she couldn’t sense any motion.

She nodded to her Padawan. “Good work. Let’s see what this blaster was defending, eh?” Corvus looked around the room. There was a battery of computers and equipment. A glance saw surveillance monitors, sensors that clearly identified incoming ships and enough workstations for half a dozen conspirators. In fact it was only the lack of organics that was odd.

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

If it weren't for Corvus' teachings, then Kaia would not have been able to stop the blaster at all. She would have ended up riddled with smouldering holes faster than she could say "eep". Even if she suffered one wound, she was not deterred. She had been flung around by a Sith and crushed against the walls. One measly little wound would not stop her. She jumped up on her left leg, keeping her weight off of her wounded right, and jumped into the room after her Master. As Kaia moved, she had to admit, that measly little wound was pretty painful after all.

"Yeah! ow I'm alright."

Standing in the middle of the room, she surveyed. While Corvus was looking at the hardware, Kaia was specifically looking for organic matter of any sort. Even dead organics appeared different to her than metal and at first glance the room seemed squeaky clean. On the second run-over, however, she noticed something off in the corner, where a number of upturned metal boxes and loose wires lay. Hobbling over, she bent down and squeezed her little hand into the pile. The smooth surface of cables and metal boxes was routinely interrupted by a rougher texture. She scraped her fingernails over the texture and felt it come off. Withdrawing her hand, she could see foreign organic matter under her fingernails. Dead organic matter. Her hand dived once more into the pile, deeper and deeper she went until she felt something rather odd. She gripped it and pulled.

"I think I found blood. There is something else in here. Almost got it... Feels weir- Oh dear, that's a hand."

Indeed, out from the pile of cables, she pulled a severed hand. A morbid shock washed over her as she stared at the detached limb. The end was not cauterized, so a lightsabre was out of the question. It was not cleanly severed at all, so she could conclude that it had not been cut by a blade. Rather, it seemed to have been ripped off. Kaia thought she would be sick, but felt the nausea washed away. Her lessons in Force Healing came back to her before the memories of Telti did. She remained calm and collected as she stared at the frozen hand.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus sensed Kaia's pain but before she could act, her Padawan was on the move again. She followed her with her eyes and saw Kaia searching through a pile of cables. Corvus was still focused on keeping them covered by the White Current, so did not look to use another Force Ability.

Finally she saw what Kaia had found. Even in this frozen state, a severed had was never a pretty sight. Of course the cold made it more difficult to ascertain its age - even if this room was warmer than the outside.

Like her Padawan, she deduced much from the severed hand.

"Ripped off by something powerful. Maybe the Wampa? Maybe another creature? The Voxyn?"

She left the question open, it would be hard to ascertain without further clues.

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

"Could be either or, but my instinct is telling me the Wampa did it. May be because the Voxxyn appear not to move up here. The Wampa evidently did."

Kaia put the hand down and shook off her mittens. The diminutive Miraluka shifted to sit on her knees, bowed down her head and put her palms together vertically with her elbows splayed out to the sides. It was something she had seen her village on Alpheridies do when people died or other very bad things happened. She didn't know what the adults did when they bowed their heads. It had always looked like they thought about something very serious. So Kaia thought about who this person could have been, what happened to him, and where he was now.

He was probably not a Jedi or in line with the Republic, but he was a person none the less, and in death he deserved the same respect as anyone. He might have been a father or a husband, or both. He could have a little Kaia of his own waiting for him wherever he came from. However, he would never come back. She remembered the strips of flesh hanging from the Wampa's claws and a small fire of anger blossomed in her belly. Perhaps she should have killed the beast after-all, but that would make her no better than it. In fact she would be worse. The Wampa killed to eat, Kaia would have killed for revenge. Revenge was a path to the Dark Side. She would never walk that path. Never. So for a few short moments, she honoured the dead. Her musings were quickly dissolved by one very specific line of the Jedi Code.

"There is no death, there is the Force. Whoever he was, he's with the Force now."

A smile returned to her lips, and her dimples deepened cheerily in her cheeks as she put her mittens back on. It did not matter who he was, he was now in the Force, and the Force had hope and redemption. Even if there was a vast darkness, there would also always be light and a choice to do what is right. Or as the pretty lady on the holonet had put it: Evil is finite.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus watched as Kaia obviously showed a good amount of respect for the dead person. They may have been responsible for the crashes, but that didn’t mean they deserved to die. And Corvus was impressed by this mature outlook. It was making her decision all the easier.

And she sensed the emotions in Kaia. The brief flare of anger that was quickly quelled. Corvus nodded.

And then she heard Kaia’s words. “We shall all join the Force one day. It is not something to be rushed, but it is inevitable.”

“So…where next?”

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Kaia pushed herself up to stand on her good foot and wrinkled her nose at the pain, but kept her composture. Extending her palm, she let the severed hand float up into her grip and then she proceeded to skip over to the computers. With her eyeless sight, she looked at the screens. Some broken, some whole, some dark, and some alight with image.

"We have to destroy this station without information getting out. Then we ought to have surveillance set up in the area to fish out the culprits. Judging by the.. uh... freshness of the hand and the temperature of the room, it can't have been here for too long. A week or two at most. They will probably come check up, and soon."

Perhaps they were indeed already on their way, securing the perimeter and seeing their old footprints. Or they could be coming in from a different direction all together. It was impossible to tell.

"If we could retract information from it first, then we could have an edge on whoever set this up. However, I don't know that level of slicing."

To be quite honest, Kaia was awful with that sort of technology. Looking at screens frustrated her and stressed her out, because she could see the inner workings of the electronics and it took a lot of effort to focus on the surface, which was rather faint to her. Most of her reading was in fact done on hard copies or by tactile reading.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded as Kaia listed what needed to be done in a most thorough and systematic way. And her analysis was complete and logical.

"Sadly I too am unable to extract anything from the systems. Not my forte either. But shutting things down permanently is a good second choice I suspect."

Corvus gave the room the once over in case they'd missed anything but had nothing to add. "You're still in charge, I'll take my lead from you."

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Kaia nodded and stared at the computers. This time she was not looking at the screens, but focusing on the electronics behind. Obviously, she had some understanding of how electronics worked. Internally, they were largely dependent on hard wires sending signals through a main cable or by sending waves out. The specifics, she had not investigated. Even before joining the Jedi Order she was just a farmer's daughter. Technology only went so far in the most rural areas of Alpheridies. Still, she followed the cables with her sight and found where they all intersected.

"Well then I suppse we just have to cut the signal. Maybe if we take its' brain with us, we can give it to someone who can make sense of it."

Kaia's fingers traced over the surface of the computers before stopping over where she could see the cables join. Her fingers traced the area until they found a panel. She really had no idea what she was doing, but she would trust her instinct. Putting both palms on the panels, she gripped it with the Force and ripped it off the computers. She then extended her mind into the tangle of technology below, looking for the centre, the brain of the machine. Then, her fingers curled as the Force gripped it and smoothly pulled it from its resting place.

"I think I've got it. We'll take this with us and destroy the rest. It might tell us something"

Everything seemed to go smoothly, but then she felt a yank and the object she had gripped came out a little too easy. Kaia had just a moment to look at it before the alarms started sounding and the blast-doors shut audibly throughout the structure.

"Oh no. We have to run. We have to run now."

The Force screamed warning at Kaia, something was going wrong. If the computers had not suddenly gone black, then they would most likely be flashing big, red warnings. The Mountain itself begun to quiver. Note to self: Don't touch computers.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was truly impressed with Kaia’s ingenuity. Her problem-solving skills were exemplary and she was truly awesome in her approach to extracting data from the hardware in front of them.

Corvus chose to keep her eyes and ears — and the Force — trained on any unwelcome visitors as Kaia managed to extract the computer’s CPU.

It simultaneously cut the signal and — with a bit of luck — allowed them to take some, if not all, of the data with them.

And then the alarm sounded…

The sound of doors closing was a worry. If they were simply locked-down, they could take all the time in the world to escape, but the rumbling suggested they did not have that luxury. Hopefully the doors were not designed to withstand the Force. Or sabers.

She looked at Vaia, remaining calm despite the warning sounds. “Still your call my Padawan.”

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Kaia placed her hand on the blast-door and smirked confidently. Sure, they were met by a set-back, but it was not as bad as she had immediately anticipated. Quickly, the girl plucked her lightsabre hilt from her pocket and took a firm grip on the metal cylinder. She thumped her thumb on the activation button and saw the blade spring into being. Its' silvery glow filled the room with light and Kaia's heart with confidence.

"I believe it's time to put my construction to the test."

Whirling the sabre around, she pointed the tip of the blade at the blast-door and pressed it into the metal, which parted with a furious hiss as she inserted most of her blade. Kaia was quite pleased and a little bit surprised with how well her sabre cut. It was of perfectly standard quality, but reading about the cutting power and actually experiencing its effect were two quite different things. As the rumbles became more and more intense and the pack of Voxxyn below charged out of the mountain, Kaia set to cutting a gap into the wall. Cutting was easier than she had thought, but still tough, she could probably need help.

"I believe, if we cut our way out of the room, we can escape the way we came in. The Voxxyn might not be happy to see us. Or the Wampa, if she escapes. But it's better than being crushed, I'd say."

She smiled at her master, her spirits still high. No one could stop her perpetual optimism. Even in the most dire situation, she would smile.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Kaia had many positive qualities. Her optimism was one. And her ability to think and act logically and without fluster even in testing circumstances was another.

So as her Padawan set to work, Corvus followed suit. Two sabers cut quicker than one after all.

“Your plan is sound, and we’ll deal with what fate has to offer as we progress.”

Their progress was sure, if not quick — and it could be the creatures might be more keen to save their skins than look for their next meal. But they couldn’t take anything for granted.

“I wonder how many doors before we get out? Did you count them?”

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

"I did not, but I can see three from here."

Kaia and Corvus sabres hit their marks, and Kaia extinguished the blade before slipping it into her sleeve for safe-keeping. The Force gathered up inside her as she drew a deep breath and focused on the push to come. Just cutting the wall was good, but they would have to blow it out of place before the metal cooled and reconnected. So the diminutive Miraluka called upon everything she had and thrust both hands at the cut-out piece. The metal was torn from its position and crashed onto the ground. Kaia made sure she got the data with her and climbed through the hole they had created.

"One seals this section of the corridor and one seals off the room we entered through. I don't know about the shielding around the window we entered, but it's our closest route of escape. We don't have time to make another."

The floor beneath them rumbled violently, and the small Miraluka had trouble maintaining her balance, but she wasted no time in getting to the second door. Her sabre slipped back into her hand with a flick of her arm, and the silver blade snapped into being before she inserted it into the metal. The cutting went faster now. She was getting used to the way her weapon cut; she was truly becoming one with her lightsabre.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus simply followed suit. As soon as the door was ready, she stood back and allowed Kaia to blow it open. with the Force.

So she kept and simply followed. Kaia was calm and in control, which was what mattered most. Their lives were currently in her hands and she was comfortable in trusting in her — and by definition, in the Force.

So she kept close and was shocked when the ground shook. She maintained her balance and followed her Padawan to the second door as quickly as she could. They now worked in unison, cutting the door from opposite sides of the makeshift opening they were going to create.

And soon it was done, so Corvus stepped back and allowed Kaia to do the honours once more.

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Another door, rinse and repeat. Kaia blasted out the circle cut, then looked at the third and last door. To her pleasant surprise, it had jammed half-way due to a piece of bone stuck in the railing. While it was rather macabre, it was also very handy as it allowed them to simply slip underneath the heavy metal sheet. She crouched down and looked at it before smiling at Corvus

"That's lucky."

Wasting no time, the Miraluka flopped over on her belly and rolled under the gap. Standing up on the other side, she slammed her hand down on the door's panel to open it up, before turning around. Once again, the room was occupied by one very confused Wampa. This time, the beast was scratching on the metal and stone walls frantically in attempt to dig a way out and escape the oncoming explosions. In its panic, the big, shaggy beast hardly even noticed the door opening. Kaia thought she was about to be torn to pieces, but once again remembered the concealment Corvus had put upon the two of them.

The cannon's ray-shielding appeared more intense, now an angry, red colour as opposed to the previous cold blue shimmer. Of course, Kaia could not see the colours, but she recognised an anti-organic ray-shield when she saw one, even in this kind of stressful environment. Her face flitted back and forth as she looked for a new and exciting exit. She could feel the air of the room heating up and heard far down to the left of them, the creaking of metal under stress.

"Any good ideas?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled. Luck was a precarious thing to rely on. It tended to balance out over time.

Corvus was lucky she was no burly guardian, as she was slender enough to fit through the door and follow Kaia.

Corvus had an idea. But it was risky — very risky. But they appeared to have limited options. “Hide behind the cannon. Let’s hope the creature is so focused on escape that it doesn’t show us any interest. I’m going to have to drop the White Current."

Corvus joined Kaia behind the bulky weapon and exited White Current. She simultaneously entered Art of the Small. Her focus was on the door. They had three things to tackle and the only one that solved all three was the barrier between themselves and outside.

In this state she’d once rearranged the molecules of handcuffs. And a safe. So she now decided to try her hand on the door.

Her plan was simple. To make the sides of the door denser by moving molecules from the center. She made swift progress without rushing. She could feel the Wampa scratching at the metal and soon it gave way to its immense claws — she’d been successful.

Within a minute she’d allowed it to rip a Wampa sized hole in the door and it bounded out — self-preservation trumping another meal no doubt.

Giving it a further minute to make it’s escape, Corvus tapped Kaia on the shoulder. “Now,” she said and let her Padawan though the door first.

Their timing was impeccable. No sooner had they made their escape than the cannon overloaded and exploded. The blast-doors took most of the force but the gap Corvus and the Wampa created allowed a torrent or air to escape the complex. It knocked Corvus to the snow, but she was thankfully aware she was still in one piece, and immediately looked to check on Kaia.

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

Slipping behind the cannon, Kaia nodded. Sometimes, the best course of action was to trust in someone with more knowledge and experience. That did not mean handing over the reigns, but to fully employ the practical and creative talents of another to achieve their common goal of getting out of the situation. Kaia couldn't feel any different after the White Current was gone, but kept in mind that they were not under that wondrous cloak of invisibility. Crouched, the small Miraluka watched the Wampa dig frantically, and soon break through. There was something odd about it all, but she couldn't put her finger on it as everything went so fast.

Tapped on the shoulder, Kaia sprinted first and jumped out through the hole. She looked for the Wampa, but it was bounding away with all its might. The instinct of flight telling the shaggy beast to get as far away as possible. Meanwhile, Kaia slipped down the icy slope on her puffy coat. She tried to slow down with her heels, but ended up digging too deep into the snow and flopping over on her belly hard. The air was knocked out of her, but she was still alright.

Gasping for air, she flopped over on her back. At least she had stopped sliding. It was as she flopped over on her back she saw Corvus jettisoned out of the newly created door. A spike of worry sparked through her, but she knew to trust her Master. Noticing Corvus looking for her, Kaia waved and got to her feet rather shakily. Her blaster-wound still hurting.

"We need to get out of here. They will have ships coming in to search the area."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus half-smiled.

"Right, lets get back to our ship...pronto."

As they walked, Corvus had a smile on her face and tapped a message into her communicator as they progressed. And she would not be drawn on what she was sending.

Finally they reached the ship. "Head up to the main room, I'll be there in a few minutes." And that smile refused to leave her face.

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

"Yes Master, right away."

Kaia had no objections, it was the best course of action. Whirling about, she noticed she did no longer have the hard-drive from the computer on her. So for a few seconds she had to frantically dig through the snow until she found it squished under where she had landed. Luckily, it had not smashed against the stone that had knocked her wind out of her. Kaia tucked the bit of electronics into the folds of her robes before she pulled her jacket around her. It was cold out there, and she would rather not get sick.

Many things swirled in and out of Kaia's head as she thought about what had happened. She had relied a lot on Corvus for hiding, power, ideas, and initiative. It was less of a fear that swirled in her head, and more of a critical review of how she could improve. Fear was the mind-killer, even she knew that much. What fear emerged, she did her best to let go of. She could not progress if she was afraid of her mistakes. While she was very curious as to what Corvus was writing, Kaia did not pry too much. She had too much to think of, and the wound in her leg made it difficult to juggle many thoughts at once. In the stories, wounds all looked so easy to bear.

As they came back to the ship, Kaia was about to ask once more what Coruvs was writing, but she found that the Grand Master spoke first. When Corvus gave a direct order, it was difficult not to listen.

"I will get the ship ready."

While the Miraluka was a dead-awful pilot, she had picked up on how to start ships up. It was the taking off and the landings that put her off. With a quick bow and a dimple'd smile, she turned and half ran - half limped into the ship. She would tend to her own leg as soon as she got the switches flicked.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Once the ship was prepped, Corvus took a seat in the main chamber and indicated Kaia should stand in front of her. There was a chime of an alarm and the holographic figures of the Jedi Council appeared, one by one, in the room.

All eyes were on Corvus, who stood once more, her face beaming.

"Your period of service is over my young Jedi. You are ready to join our ranks as a Jedi Knight."

"I am reminded of the words of Valenthyne Farfalla, who considered this ceremony as one of great joy. But also of great sorrow. He believed it would help you remember that, in life, the two are often closely linked."

"We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions, the Force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed."

"By the right of the Council and by the will of the Force, I dub thee Jedi, Knight of the Republic."

"Kaia has performed her actions with great skill and fortitude and my reports on her progress have been highly regarded by the Council. I have no doubt that in demonstrating the behaviours and values of a Jedi we can now formally confirm her promotion to the rank of Knight."

Spoiler

Congratulations Kaia - you thoroughly deserve it.

Please use this thread/post to claim your tags...the GR FA team have already approved the promotion

[member="Kaia Vullen"]

 

[Kaia Vullen]

It was a good thing blasters cauterised rather than bleed like slugthrowers. While the burnt wound sure hurt more than a slugthrower, it was far less lethal at this point. Oh what small thoughts went through the head of Kaia Vullen before she knew the gravity of the moment to come. As she quite literally jumped to her feet and skipped over to Corvus, she had no idea what was going on. It was first when the Council begun appearing that the expression on Kaia's face changed. First it was confusion as she had no idea what was happening. A small sting of fear scraped the back of her mind before she looked up at her Master's beaming face and felt reassured. Once more, the little Miraluka smiled at Corvus and the holograms of the Council.

Joy and sorrow.

Reflecting upon the words, she understood. She was no longer innocent nor helpless. She would have to stand beside her brothers and sisters now, as a Knight. Kaia's left hand reached up to her own neck and pulled the padawan-braid over her right shoulder. While the rest of her hair was kept in a short ponytail, this portion had been kept to itself as per the tradition. And as the tradition dictated, it was time for the braid to be cut by a lightsabre. The Kaia knelt in front Corvus, her heart beating fast in her chest.

Jedi, Knight of the Republic.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]