Private Trial of Will

[Sol'yan]

TAG: Ara Sheridan
LOCATION: Deep Space, Within Silver Jedi Territory, aboard Sol'yan's personal freighter.

Sol'yan pressed the release upon the restraints holding him into his seat. The blackness of space surrounded them, disrupted only by a spatial phenomena before the master and his apprentice. The 'phenomena' before them looked like a shimmering burst of violet hued light, as if the fabric of reality had been ripped by a great claw. As if the site was not remarkable enough, the force seemingly bled from the phenomenon, with real-space seemingly shimmering as if subjected to intense heat from the sheer amount of force energy billowing forth from it.

"Before I was your master, I was a... wanderer of sorts. And I've always meant to return to this spot that I stumbled upon quite by accident." The Jedi Master gave a warm smile to his apprentice sat beside him. He tapped a few controls on the ship computer, with the screen reporting back with a stream of data about the anomaly before them. Radiation, neutrinos, gamma rays, all of which emanated from within it - along with an exceedingly high midichlorian count. As Sol'yan studied the data, a BB-series droid scrambled up to the pair, letting out a series of beeps in a semi-excited tone. The Feeorin's face contorted into a small smile at the droid as he replied: "Yes, yes - It will merit further study indeed."

The Jedi's focus poured onto the readouts before him, while the droid rolled over to a small access terminal to the side checking on the status of the ship. Its shields were holding steadily, and so far the energy emanating from the anomaly was not affecting the ship aversely. After a few moments of silence, Sol'yan turned to his apprentice; a slightly look of uncharacteristic excitement on his face as he said: "Ara... do you know what this is?"

 

[Ara Sheridan]

Ara's wide eyes were glued to the odd sight ahead of the ship. She didn't move a muscle as she watched the unbelievable sight through the viewport of her master's freighter, not sure on how to respond or react. Not only did it look like the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life (short of her pod racer, of course) but she could feel the Force coming from it. Her gaze only shifted slightly and for a moment when her master spoke up beside her. "Not a bad accident, I'd say." She muttered as her green eyes shifted back to the sight.

She was content exactly where she was, seated in the co-pilot's chair and staring at the anomaly while Master Sol'yan fidgeted with stuff on the dashboard next to her. A smile formed for a moment as she sat forward and rested her elbows on the dashboard of the ship. "It's amazing." She muttered softly as Sol'yan spoke with his droid.

She was only drawn out of her trance when her master faced her with a look of pure excitement. Ara looked borderline mortified by the sight of her master being so happy. The most she got out of him -on average- was a slight smile that annoyed the hell out of her. Usually he had varying degrees of frowning and scowling when they were together. She had a feeling her rather disappointing understanding and grasp of the Force was a big contributor to those scowls. This was a whole new level she was not prepared for. "Ummm..." She looked back to the anomaly for a moment. "A weird Force thing?" She asked, a nervous smile adorning her lips as she stared up at him.

"I take it you're gonna tell me what it is, right?" She asked him as she stood up from her seat, only to lean further on the dashboard as her face almost squashed into the viewport in front of them.

Sol'yan

 

[Sol'yan]

TAG: Ara Sheridan

Perhaps it was due to the effect Ara was having on him, but Sol'yan was tempted ever so slightly to tease Ara by witholding the explanation of what this was from her. But, he was rather excited himself at the discovery, and was disinclined to torture his apprentice in such a way. After scrolling through a few more pages of data, he finally spoke again: "This is a rift in reality. If my summation of this data in front of me is correct... this is a portal into the Netherworld. A slightly unstable portal, but one nonetheless." The Jedi Master, if he was remembering correctly, had never really broached the subject of the Netherworld with his apprentice - they were too busy covering the basics, like understanding how to control ones' emotions, or how to harness the force to move rudimentary objects. And of course, the prospect of learning how to use a lightsaber had appealed to Ara, and it was everything Sol'yan could do to prevent her from pushing too far ahead in that regard either. Thankfully, he hadn't taught her how to make one yet, but they did start to learn basic forms and techniques so that she would at least know how to wield one responsibly before actually getting her hands on one.

"The Netherworld is another dimension, parallel to our own. According to some religions throughout the galaxy, it is a realm wherein the souls of the departed ascend after death. Others believe it is a realm where creatures beyond our comprehension exist, both benevolent and otherwise. It is also said that some from our galaxy have been able to learn how to traverse the netherworld, disappearing from one spot, only to appear in a completely different spot miles away in an instant." Sol'yan's tone grew pensive, as if his thoughts were lost in the words he was currently speaking. His eyes drifted from the console to the anomaly, and then finally met Ara's as he continued: "I have sought to discover such a disruption in my travels. There are more well known ones in existence, but I would rather discover one few others are aware of so as to study it a bit more... closely."

The Jedi unbuckled his restraints and walked back into the common area of the ship. Several viewports lined the side, which provided a view of the anomaly as the ship set about an automated orbit. Sol'yan sat down upon the cold durasteel flooring, and folded his legs about themselves as he entered a meditative posture. His eyes closed, his lungs pulling in a deep breath. He trusted that Ara would settle beside him shortly after he did so, and he paused as he settled in and waited for her to do the same.