Waking From a Nightmare

[Tallia Farn]

It felt like she was in the dark for an eternity. It was a horrid feeling, floating in a pit of black nothingness with no sound or sight to stimulate her senses. It seemed to go on forever, with no end in sight. She thought it was peaceful at first, she remembered being at peace, but now she felt choked by the empty space around her. She tried desperately to struggle, but found herself unable to move. It felt like she was being weighed down by a thousand kilos and no amount of effort on her part seemed to change anything. She started to think that this was all that there was. Just her and this vast expanse of darkness. Perhaps all that her struggling would lead to was more nothingness.

And then she saw a light. It was pale and dim, far off in the distance, and yet it made all the horrible feelings she'd felt blink out of existence. Light! How had she forgotten it? Light and dark were two sides of the same coin, of course. She remembered now that it was foolish to think one could could exist without the other. Her struggling had new purpose at this revelation. The more effort she put in, the larger the light seemed to grow. Soon, she felt a heavy pulse around her. It beat rhythmically and sped up each time she struggled to get closer to the light.

It wasn't long before her eyes began to flicker and she saw the world for what felt like the first time.

Too bright. She thought as she quickly shut her eyes again, unaccustomed to how much light there was in whatever this new place was. When her eyes adjusted, she cautiously looked again. Everything felt so familiar as she scanned the room she was in. It wasn't the room itself that was familiar, but rather the way it looked, and the way if felt as she touched her hand against the wall next to her. She'd forgotten what it meant to see and feel and hear, but it quickly came back to her. It shocked her to think that a few moments ago the only thing she'd known was the empty void of nothingness. What had happened to her?

She fought against the drowsiness and confusion to slide herself out of the thing she was laying in. It was comfortable, yes, but her mind hungered for more stimulation. She was simply incapable of sitting still for any longer. As she stumbled onto a hard surface, the floor, with uneasy footing, she felt a tug on her arm, followed by pain. She lost her balance and slammed her forearm against the wall to catch herself. She looked back to see some sort of device clattering the floor. It had been attached to her arm and hooked into the wall by a wire. It had scraped her skin as she'd tried to get up. Some kind of vital monitor? She remembered that the beating she'd felt earlier was the beating of her heart in her chest, pumping blood throughout her body. Other revelations, similar in nature, shot into her brain like blaster bolts as she stood leaning against the wall, breathing heavily though she'd only moved several feet from the bed. Brown stuff had partially covered her vision as she stumbled, and as she brought a hand up to swat it out of the way she remembered it was her hair. She tucked it behind her ear and took another deep breath.

"Where am I?" She spoke to herself. Her voice was soft and timid. She didn't like the way it sounded very much. Too bad. She looked over to what she thought was the door, and decided that in a moment, when she caught her breath, she would head through. Who knew what she might discover on the other side.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HXwju2UXio​

Things had started beeping once she tore the things out. The noise was light, not loud enough to go through the entire ship, but loud enough that Josh could sense it. His senses had been extended by the Force, as it did with many Jedi. So he heard it, the sounds... He had found himself in his room, in a trance almost. Everything had been blank, had been nothing, for what felt like hours, days... The old Tallia had gone, and she'd taken him with her. At least until he was jolted awake again by the sounds. He recognized them, and he knew. He knew she'd woke. The Jedi would consider for a moment what to do... How did he tell her what had happened? He didn't want to lie, but he also was pretty sure she wouldn't want to know the whole truth right now either. This was her chance to get a new start...

He would gingerly open his datapad, and after a few moments of ringing, the face of Grandmaster [member="Valae Kitra"] would come on the screen. It was just to signal voicemail, of course... She was busy, he expected that. But the Jedi Master had gone off the grid completely from the moment that the estimated time it'd take to get on the planet had expired. He hadn't contacted Valae once he'd gotten on the ship. Hours had gone by after he'd completed his mission, and he'd just been... Well, empty. Josh wasn't there anymore, for hours on end. But he realized that indeed, he did need to report the success of his mission.

Then he turned on record.

When Valae would see the message later, it wouldn't be hard to see the complete utter expression of distraught in his face. He looked like an absolute wreck.

"Grandmaster Kitra" He spoke when the recording began, trying his best to keep his voice firm and calm, and trying not to make obvious his present condition. "My mission on Iego was a success, Grandmaster. The reports of a darksider causing havoc were true, the culprit was former Jedi Knight Tallia Farn, from the days of the Galactic Republic in it's last incarnation. She served with me for years.

Through a series of events, she has completely lost her memory. The dark side in her is gone, after all that has happened, but I've decided to bring her to the Silver Jedi in hopes that we can ensure that it doesn't come back. She will be lost when she awakes... Confused. Our motto, Grandmaster... Is healing.

And she needs us for her to heal.

I will transfer my coordinates shortly to give an indication of how long I will be before I return to Kashyyk. I will conduct a proper report once I have touched down.

May the Force be with you, Grandmaster Kitra. I will be with you shortly."

With that, he would cut the transmission. He knew it was time to face the fate he now had to confront. It was time to face the consequences of his actions.

Soon enough, the doors to the med-bay would open, likely just as Tallia would attempt to access them, and she would come face to face with the man who had taken her memory away. When he saw her, he saw the mess she was and the mess she'd made, and he knew it was his fault. And yet, at the same time as he looked her in the eyes, all he could feel was that Tallia was here, Tallia wasn't dead, she was here. He wanted to hold her tight and hug her and forget this awful nightmare... But he knew this wasn't a dream, it was real. This wasn't Tallia. This wasn't his closest friend at all.

This was a stranger.

A stranger he'd sworn to protect and heal.

"Let me see your wound" He finally spoke softly as he would gingerly walk over, placing a hand where skin had been scraped. His hand would glow a moment, and the skin would seal itself back up again. He had a massive urge to quickly wash his hands of her blood from the scrape, but he had a far bigger issue standing right in front of him.

"Do you remember anything?"

He spoke calmly. He had to keep calm, he couldn't break down here...

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Before she had a chance to make it over to the door, it slid open on its own. Another human like her, though this one she recognized was a man, entered the room through it and stared her down from the doorway. She was instantly intimidated by his piercing gaze. She felt as if he was looking into her very soul, into things she didn't even know about herself. Somehow, she could feel emotion coming off of him. It wasn't through her traditional senses, this feeling was harder to place than those, more nebulous, and yet she was certain that he was feeling distress behind those eyes.

He approached her quickly, and though she didn't feel entirely comfortable with him being so close, she didn't have the energy to try and move away.

"Let me see your wound" His voice was deep and strong, not timid like her own. He reached out to her arm, where she now noticed blood had welled in her small wound. She let out a little gasp as his hand began to glow and seal her cut. Whatever she had been expecting it wasn't that. Despite her surprise, the soft warmth of whatever he had done was actually quite pleasant. She felt a little more relaxed with him being so close, knowing that it was unlikely he meant to do her harm.

"Do you remember anything?"

She was instantly curious about the question he then asked her. How much about her did he know? In honesty, she couldn't even remember her own name, though some things were coming back to her. She had recognized certain things within the room when she'd seen them. There were several pouches of bacta and a couple medpacs laying askew on a table. There was also a datapad laying next to the bed she'd been laying in. Things were popping into her head, but she couldn't remember a damn thing about herself.

"Some things." She said quietly. She had so many questions about herself, and yet she was hesitant to ask this man. He didn't seem to have bad intent, but the negative emotions she felt off him were rubbing her the wrong way. She felt as if she was the target of his distress, as if she had done something wrong. It made her feel uncomfortable.

"You're upset, why?" She blurted what was on her mind, not thinking until after she said it that it might be a little invasive that she was looking into his thoughts. Then again, he had healed her cut with his glowing hand, nothing about this was a normal interaction from what she could remember.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He had alarmed her with his sudden decisions, he knew. But if he didn't take initiative, she'd never let him near and trust him enough for him to guide her as he'd promised. At the least, she didn't attack or anything. Instead, she asked questions. Since she wasn't telling him anything she remembered, he decided to go from the top.

"Your name is Tallia Farn. Not sure if you remember or not" He would begin, before moving over to sit on the bed that he'd placed her in before. "You're a Hapan, a strong race, primarily women. They are from the Hapes system. Last I knew, you were a Princess, though you've been away for so long that I'm unsure about the status of that, and you didn't let me know last time you had your memory so that's not something I know the status of.

What I do know... Is you were..."

He paused, and shook his head.

"... Are... A Jedi Knight. Jedi are a group of people with mystical powers stemming from what we call the Force. We use what the Force has given us, to protect the galaxy and it's people from those who would seek to conquer it and hurt people, more or less."

He would then extend his hand.

"My name is Josh DragonsFlame. Jedi Master. You were my partner in most of my missions, a handful of years ago. We lost contact for some time when you went off the grid."

Now he had to explain what was going on. But how? He couldn't tell her he'd wiped her memory. She'd never trust him if he did that. He didn't want to make something up, but...

"The next time I heard from you was a few days ago, you mentioned you'd be losing your memory for one reason or another, gave me direct instructions to come pick you up on the planet we just left, and bring you to the Jedi. Something about cleansing yourself of the dark side and starting anew so you could embrace the light again. You were kind of vague, didn't really hit the "why" much besides those points, soooo..."

He shrugged then. It wasn't a total lie. It was mostly the truth, just... Had some details changed.

"All I know is you were my closest friend, prior to your disappearance. So uh... Heh. 'scuse me if my eyes are still a bit puffy" He would admit, scratching his head with his free hand. "Finding you again, only to find you have no memory is a bit uh..."

He took a deep breath. "Yeah."

He wasn't the best liar. Changing small details was all he could do. He'd have given it away easily otherwise.

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Wow, it was a lot for her to process all at once. She had the feeling that there was something before that dark void had consumed her, but the way he described her was not what she expected. Tallia Farn, a Jedi Knight with mystical powers, and a princess on top of that? She just felt like a girl. A no one whose head ached and whose legs felt more liquid than solid. How could she be some magical galactic protector, when she could barely stand?

She pushed against the wall with her hand, righting herself and trying to find her footing again. When he reached his hand out, she looked at it for a moment, unsure of what to do. She didn't know him, at least not anymore. He told her they'd been partners once. Based on how much he knew about her past, she supposed he was telling the truth. Yet she did not take the hand offered to her. Maybe he would think it was out of ignorance, she had lost her memory after all, but honestly, it was because she still couldn't trust him fully. She had no way to corroborate the things he said.

He continued and explained how she'd lost her memories. Tallia, which she started to think of herself as, gave him a look of disbelief. Why did she lose her memories voluntarily? To cleanse the dark side? Was he certain there were no causes beyond that? She wracked her brain, trying to find any glimpse of her past, but nothing. Whatever had happened, it had done a good job of blocking out everything of detail. She was reminded of the dark void she had found herself in prior to waking up. If the dark side was anything like that, she supposed she would have also been willing to do anything to escape it.

"Friend." She said aloud, repeating his word after he finished. That was why he had felt so disturbed when she'd read his mind. She was.. gone in a sense, and they had once been close. She tried to sense his feelings again. It was odd trying to consciously tap into whatever that nebulous sense was, and she couldn't feel anything until she'd closed her eyes and removed her hand from the wall to reach out in front of her. His emotion was genuine, she could sense it.

"This is the Force." Tallia remembered it now. He had been telling the truth. She opened her eyes, her excitement causing her to smile. She glanced around and noticed the objects she'd identified earlier, the datapad, the bacta pouches, and the vital monitor, all hovered in the air around her. They fell with a clatter as she felt her connection to the Force break.

"It makes things float?!"

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He figured it was a lot to take in at once, and yet it was necessary info. This really was just the basics, after all. How did one deal with someone who'd lost their memory? Ironic, really... This had been him, once. A once-time Jedi stranded somewhere he didn't recognize, with no memory of everything he'd done. Only just rediscovering the Force. Except unlike Tallia... He didn't have anyone to guide him. He had to regain his memories on his own, and had to find his way back to the Jedi alone.

He did not keep her away, as he knew she was reading his thoughts, scanning him as she tried to get a grasp on the Force. He simply nodded his head along to everything, from remarks about the Force, to asking if things float.

"The Force is within all... But some are special people who can use it to do things... Like... Well, that. Make things float" He would remark. "Regardless..." He began, frowning a bit when she didn't take his hand, but shrugging and just retracting it without a word on the matter. "If you have any questions, Tallia, I will answer them to the best of my abilities.

Of course, I know the question you'll likely ask first. Why did you lose your memories? I don't know much about it, but..." He began. He was going to have to bend the truth a bit here... And yet it would still be very much the truth. Just worded from a certain point of view.

"If the dark side was involved... Odds are the Sith, who are basically people who use the Force to do bad things... Did something to you that damaged your mind beyond repair, likely made you a danger to the people you loved. Something that made you realize you had no choice but to wipe it clean, in order to save yourself and others. And to have a fresh start.

Any other questions?"

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

"You're saying I fell to the dark-side?" Tallia questioned, lowering her hand to her side. She didn't grasp the meaning of that entirely, but a gut feeling told her it had to be bad. Something awful must have happened to get her to that point. She shivered at the thought. She'd been someone like Josh described, a person "who used the Force to do bad things". For the first time since she woke up and started talking to Josh, she felt empathy.

"I'm sorry it turned out this way." She told him, her face becoming serious. "I'm sure it wasn't easy for you, seeing me that way, and now seeing me like this. I know I'm not the same anymore, but I-I'll try my hardest to uh..." She wasn't quite sure where she was going with all this, but she felt guilty for the pain behind this monotone mask he was putting on for her.

"I'll try my hardest to not repeat my mistakes... hopefully I remember what they were eventually." There were so many gaps, so many unanswered questions that Josh didn't seem to have the answers to. She didn't know if she really wanted to know how dark she'd gotten anyway. She decided the best thing to do would be to focus on the here and now for the time being. Tallia still really wanted to see what was on the other side of that door. She walked extremely cautiously toward it, watching her feet the whole way, and then activated the door panel. She looked down the hall when it opened and saw a blue glow coming from the end of it. It was a map for a navicomputer, she remembered. The galaxy was such a large place, so many stars and systems. The Jedi had their work cut out for them.

She turned back at Josh with a longing expression that almost looked like she was asking for his permission to go explore.

"We're on a starship aren't we? Where are we going?" Tallia asked him.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Returning to her office after a brief meeting, the Grandmaster removed her brown robes and set them gently over the back of a chair. A hand rose to rub her forehead for a moment, things were really coming together here at Silver Rest. It was a lot of work and long hours, but it was well worth it. After taking a seat behind her desk, she glanced down to see that her communicator was flashing – a new message was waiting.

As the holo came flickering to life, she would see the face of Master DragonsFlame etched in blue light.

It had been some time since the two had spoken, and she felt a small amount of relief. However, the look on his face was troubling, the lines of worry present there in the holo-image. Listening closely, she took in the information that he relayed. Indeed, learning that her fellow Master now had a young woman in his custody that had suffered memory loss was a surprise. However, things always did have a way of complicating themselves.

No matter, she knew that they had their work cut out for them now.

Flicking on the record button, she would return a quick message to Josh.

“Message received, Master DragonsFlame. I’ll make preparations for your arrival. See you soon.”

With that, the Grandmaster swept out of her office and directly to the Healing Halls. It was a peaceful place that offered the quiet that their new guest would surely need. It was much more than a medical ward, but a place of healing – for both the body and the mind. Many had come here to recover after trauma, even some that had been struggling with their own battles with overcoming the dark side’s hold on them.

Of course, this was a special case. While she understood that the dark side had been wiped from this young woman, it was likely something she would struggle with in the future. However, she couldn’t be sure… she’d never treated anyone with this type of issue before. Memory loss could be permanent, but there was always a chance that it might only be temporary. It was a delicate situation. Any flashes of the past could prove to be devastatingly confusing for the patient, threatening to derail their progress and recovery. Valae shook her head slightly; perhaps she was getting ahead of herself.

And so, she focused on the task at hand. A fresh room would be ready and waiting when the two touched down on Kashyyyk, and Valae would be there at the landing pad to greet them.

[member="Tallia Farn"], [member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

He didn't know how to say it, but she had more or less figured that part out so he supposed he didn't have to. Slowly, he nodded his head. "It seemed it" He spoke softly. "For whatever reason, the Sith did something to you, and you became a danger to those around you. To the point that you felt the need to wipe your memory to fix it. That's my guess, really. You didn't tell me much, except..."

He let out a sigh and threw his hands up a bit, just a sign that he gave up. His expression had wavered in the last bits of when he was speaking and it was going to be very obvious he was just beating around the truth of the matter so as not to get into detail. He was a bad liar, there was no point in lying if it was going to be obvious. And her figuring out already that she'd fallen made it impossible to lie about that.

"Okay, yes. I didn't think you'd want to hear this bit until later, considering you're already taking in a bunch of information at once, but... Yeah. You did tell me a bit more. No point in beating around the bush on that when you've already figured half of that picture out."

When she'd already figured out she'd fallen to the dark side, there was just no point in holding out anymore. At least for this part of the story.

"The Sith brutally tortured you and you fell to the dark side a matter of years ago, yes, that was why you went off the grid. One way or another, we came into contact and after your memories were gone, I promised to guide you back to the way you wanted."

He took a breath then, and shook his head when she spoke again. "Don't worry about it" He spoke softly. "The fact is, you knew enough to try to fix it. You wanted to fix this. And while I'm not a fan of the method..."

That was an understatement considering she'd gotten him to do it. But he wouldn't tell her that, not now. She wouldn't trust him if he said that. How could she? If he said he'd erased her memory, it'd be easy to think he was manipulating her. He'd wait until she was ready, if he ever told her.

"... But you did what you thought was right. Just... Don't worry about it, alright? I promised I'd help you."

The look she gave him made it obvious she wanted to explore, and he nodded his head, more or less giving permission to do so. At her question, he would begin to walk, inviting her to walk around the ship with him if she wished. If she did, he'd keep talking.

"This is The Final Dragon, my personal vessel. We're presently on our way to Kashyyyk, the Wookiee homeworld. And also the recently new base for the Silver Jedi Order. They were driven off their former base recently by the Sith, unfortunately. Either way... I'm taking you to them because I know the Grandmaster, and she's very big on healing. I think if anyone is going to be able to help you recover and re-learn, and if needed, purge anything remaining of the dark side should your memories return... It's her. She's far more qualified for this task than I am, but I'm still going to do my best to help."

He would pull out his datapad then, and the image of Grandmaster [member="Valae Kitra"] would come up on the screen, noting she'd received the message. He nodded his head then.

"I've already told her about you, seems she's already making sure everything's ready for you."

He smiled lightly toward her.

"You'll like her. She's an angel. A catch, that one, I might have invited her to a dance or something if circumstances were different" He joked, chuckling lightly.

[member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

When she moved toward the door, mentally she had moved on from their mention of the dark side. She hadn't really liked the glimpse she'd gotten from him to begin with, and when he mentioned more about the past, about what had caused her memory loss, she seemed not to take notice. At first she had been curious about who she was and how she got here, but now she really didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to have to face that reality. It was all a bad dream right? So though she heard what he said, she brushed it to the side. Her only acknowledgment of his words was an uncomfortable look on her face.

To her relief, it seemed he had moved on from the topic as they left the room. She was excited to see this Jedi base that he described. Tallia welcomed the opportunity to heal and re-learn about the Jedi, these galactic guardians. This power of the Force had been gifted to her, but for her to really understand it's true purpose and potential, the Jedi sounded like welcome teachers. And who knew, if she'd been a Jedi before, perhaps she could become one once again. She had been scanning the ship's interior as he spoke. She examined every flashing panel and viewscreen that they passed, though the data that they displayed meant very little to her foggy mind.

She looked back to Josh, and though he still seemed a bit somber as he spoke, he seemed to brighten as he checked his datapad. Tallia couldn't help but peer over to Josh's screen as a woman, who she assumed to be the Grandmaster he mentioned, spoke on a recorded message.

"She looks nice." Tallia said with a smile. It felt good to know that there was someone out there willing to welcome her with open arms. Of course she didn't know exactly what to expect, but she was optimistic about the path she was on. How lucky, she thought, to receive all this support in her fragile state. She didn't feel she had anything of value to offer them, and yet they were determined to help her none the less. She liked these Jedi already.

She was distracted from Josh then, by something moving on the opposite side of the room. Tallia immediately walked over to it to investigate. It was metal, not organic like her and Josh. She stepped in front of it, looking down at it's stout form with curiosity. It whistled at her warningly before trying to rotate and roll around her, but she stepped into it's way again. It emitted a few frustrated beeps, which she seemed oblivious to. She squatted down to its level and looked at is single, dark, glass photo-receptor.

"Hello!" She grinned widely. "You're a droid aren't you? What do you do?" It gave her a few more disgruntled beeps and whistles before it turned and scooted around her down the hallway. She frowned disappointingly before looking back to Josh.

"I don't think he likes me very much." She shrugged. "When do we get to Kashyyyk?" Maybe there would be other droids there who would be less busy and more friendly.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh was not good at lying, so he would have probably spilled this eventually anyway, whether it made Tallia uncomfortable or not. Josh was the last person to have lie for you, or keep things like this. Regardless, the topic was moved on from since she wasn't asking anymore questions about the matter, so that would do. He let Tallia explore as he would relay a message back to Grandmaster [member="Valae Kitra"].

"She's awake, and she seems to be doing alright. We'll be in Kashyyyk soon, should be dropping from hyperspace before long" He would relay in the recording to Valae as he would look over as Tallia would bother his R4 droid, R4-J6. He chuckled a bit, and it would be clear to Valae that his usually chipper mood had at the least re-appeared for now, seeing as Tallia was safe and sound.

"I don't know whether he's more annoyed that you're keeping him from the cockpit when we're about to drop out of hyperspace, or that you don't recognize him" Josh would crack toward Tallia, laughing a bit as the irritated R4 would let out several disgruntled beeps and return to the cockpit. "That's R4, he's fairly better at piloting long-term than I am, so I let him do the work. I'd probably fall asleep at the bloody cockpit if it were me."

With that, he looked back to the screen he was recording, and smiled lightly.

"Ah, right, I was recording, my apologies. She seems to be quite chipper, Grandmaster, seems to be in good spirits. Her memory loss doesn't seem to have caused any serious mental damage, but it might be worth examining her when we get back."

Of course this was just to cover him from Tallia, he knew full well that the memory wipe was safe, he'd done it.

"We should be landing within the hour, I'd say, turbulence and..."

He looked out into the empty void of space from the window.

"... Traffic permitting" He joked. "We'll see you soon!"

With that, he would send the recording, putting his datapad away as he would look toward Tallia then. "Hour or so, give or take. We should be out of hyperspace soon. Have you given any thought to what you want to do once you've been given the tour and been examined?" Josh would inquire. "I'm debating between resting at the Temple, or making the foray home and just resting on the ship. I usually head home to rest after missions now, turns out bodies need rest after all. Wish I'd realized that one years ago."

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

"I haven't." Tallia replied as she watched the R4 droid roll down the hall to where she presumed the cockpit was. "I suppose I'll decide what I want to do when it comes to that. I haven't thought through anything really. Rest sounds like it might be a good idea." She felt a bit achy after waking up, and she'd noticed a couple dull bruises running up and down her arms. She was still full of energy, but probably liable to crash in a couple hours if she found a particularly comfortable bed.

"You have a home? So you don't live with the rest of the Jedi at their base?" She walked after the droid, eager to see the cockpit of the ship. She expected Josh would follow her. He'd said they'd be exiting hyperspace soon, and she didn't want to miss the chance to see it. She gingerly pressed a finger to the door panel at the end of the hall, and the door hissed open. A bright glow illuminated her face as it did, and her eyes were mesmerized by the flowing shades of rich blues dancing around the viewport. She put her arm against the door frame and leaned there for a moment, taking it all in.

"It's beautiful." She moved from the door and sat down in one of the seats. Tallia looked at the control yoke that stuck out in front of her, and was tempted to take a hold of it but thought better of it. She didn't want to mess anything up. There would be time for pilot practice later, hopefully. Everything about this room made her want to fly a ship of her own.

She leaned back in her seat, looking at all the instruments and control switches. She looked up, and saw a pilots headset hanging from the ceiling. It was quickly removed from it's hook and placed on her head. She laughed a bit to herself as she spun around in the chair to look at Josh.

"This is amazing!" She smiled at him.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh would nod his head at her answer. Fair enough, he supposed. He knew he shouldn't expect her to decide so soon, but he just wanted to make sure he knew that she'd be safe, and in good hands if he happened to leave. He was surprised by her sheer amount of energy but he supposed it meant she was healthy at least. Josh would nod his head at her question as he would walk behind her, to see them come out of hyperspace.

"Aye" He remarked. "I've been living at my own place for a few years now. I used to live in the temples but... Well, I'm not great with the crowds. I prefer to train in a more... Peaceful, quiet area where I can think. Sometimes solitude is good... Though too much solitude makes you go crazy. My home life gives me enough balance in that, I suppose" He remarked with a chuckle in turn.

He noted just how entranced she was at the sight of them coming out of hyperspace. She was like a child seeing it for the first time, and in a way, she really was seeing it for the first time. Her behavior after this was like an excited child still, with the pilots headseat placed on her ear, and her spinning around in the chair and laughing. It brought a smile to his face to see her laughing again... In that moment, he almost felt like he had achieved what he'd wanted all along. Even if it wasn't the same.

"Feel free to explore until we land. I'm going to go make a call" He spoke as he would get up then, shooting her a smile before returning to his quarters.

Once there, he would sit down, legs crossed and after a bit of fiddling with his datapad, and some waiting, the view of a woman and child would come up. Having already messaged his wife and asking to have a holo call with his son, his wife would get up and walk out of view as the child would peer into the datapad.

"Da?" Would be spoken in a soft, curious voice. The child looked to be around two years old, with short blonde hair and brown eyes. He was almost the spitting image of the man staring at him from the other side of the call.

"Hi Jason!~" Josh would coo, his face lighting up at the sight of his son. The child's face would light up when he heard his father's voice. "Daaaaa!" Jason would cry out excitably as he would reach toward the datapad, almost like he could reach out and touch his dad.

"Daddy will be home soon, okay?" Josh would remark, his tone soft, gentle... "You be good, Jason. When we get back, daddy's going to take you for... Ice cream!"

The child's mouth would gape in an "O" shape as though he recognized the term. Jason would begin giggling uncontrollably, prompting a laugh from his father.

[member="Tallia Farn"] [member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae noticed her communicator beeping once more, and she pulled it out of her pocket. Standing there in the middle of the room, she listened as Josh’s voice told her that they were swiftly on the approach. She was relieved to hear that her new patient seemed to be coping well, so far. With that, she breathed a small sigh and set about preparing the room.

Just as Valae was about to spread a new sheet on the bed, another presence entered the healing room. The Grandmaster didn’t even need to look and see that it was Celeste Rigel, one of her fellow healers. The other woman made her way to the other side of the bed and helped to pull the sheet neatly across.

“You should let me do this, Grandmaster.” Celeste said in her gentle tone.

Valae waved her words away with a smile. “Oh, it’s fine.”

“Preparing for someone new?” Celeste asked, turning to retrieve a new bedspread.

Nodding, Valae lifted two pillows and set them at the head of the bed. After smoothing her palms across the surface of the bedspread, she took a glance around the room. Everything seemed to be in order. Moving to the foot of the bed, she glanced at Celeste. Their chief counselor was a wonderful healer; she also had the gift of empathy. This was exactly why Valae usually had her help in cases just like this.

“We have a special case coming in soon,” Valae said with a nod. “You know, I might need your help with this one. I don’t know much about the young woman yet, but I understand she’s suffered complete memory loss. I reckon that a friend wouldn’t go amiss, she will need the support.”

“Of course,” Celeste said with a kind smile, “I’ll be happy to look in on her once she’s settled.”

“Great, thank you. Oh, I’ve got a few more stops to make… and then I’ll be going out to the landing to greet them. I’ll be in touch.” With that, Valae swept from the room. After stopping to pick up a healing amulet, the very same kind that she’d gifted to Josh on a past occasion, she made her way outside. The Kashyyyk afternoon was calm and warm; the sun was shining down pleasantly. Some moved to the side and bowed as the Grandmaster made her way, her eyes set towards the sky, waiting for the arrival of her friend and his new ward.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"], [member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

She found herself nodding as Josh left the cockpit. She would have preferred that he didn't leave, but it would be selfish of her to demand that he stay. He said he liked solitude, and maybe she'd end up being that way too. Having only had interactions with a single other lifeform so far, her mind craved for more. Well, she'd met R4 too, but she wasn't sure if droids counted as lifeforms. Tallia shifted in her seat, leaning back and relaxing a bit in it's cushioned padding. Maybe the Jedi Temple would be crowded, but she would enjoy it regardless.

She spun the chair around to stare back out through the viewport. The blue lights had faded to the blackness of space and small pin-pricks of white from distant stars. She marveled at this view as well, there always was something new to see for the first time. This scene didn't scare her like the darkness in her dream had. This wasn't completely empty, each of those lights represented another star system, a new place to explore. She wanted to see them all, but she was probably getting ahead of herself.

"You have to learn to walk before you can run." She reminded herself. The Jedi would help her learn, and teach her to take care of herself. Then she wanted to see as many worlds and meet as many people as she could. She was distracted from her thoughts when she heard whistling from behind her.

"Oh R4! I forgot you were in here." She half-turned to look back at him, plugged into the wall socket but head dome turned 180 degrees to face her. He tweeted back to her, but she frowned.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand you." she said, turning back to the window. Tallia was surprised when holographic text scrolled across it. It seemed he could convert his beeps and whistles into language she would understand.

"Oh, that's handy!" She exclaimed as she read the words. She was a little slow, but was relieved that she still remembered how to read Aurebesh. R4 had informed her that they'd jumped to the edge of the system, and now had 26 standard minutes before their arrival at Kashyyyk.

"If you don't mind..." She was careful with her words, as she didn't want to annoy him again. "could you give a description of the system we're in?"

The droid seemed all too happy to explain the planetary bodies located in the Kashyyyk system. He told her about their flora and fauna and the inhabitants that lived on them. She was a bit uncomfortable with the notion of the Wookies being enslaved, but R4 explained that as long as the Jedi were there, the Wookies would be under their protection. She continued to read R4's information until they'd passed Trandosha and it's moon and were quickly baring down on the emerald-blue planet of Kashyyyk. Tallia almost couldn't pull herself away from the view, but she knew she should probably tell Josh they were going to enter the atmosphere in a couple minutes. She got up, thanked R4 for his explanation, and walked to the back of the ship.

She didn't know where Josh's quarters were, so she called out into the hall.

"Josh! We're almost there!"

[member="Valae Kitra"][member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

"Josh! We're almost there!"

The call rang out and the Jedi Master would nod his head once he heard it. With that, he would turn to his son.

"You be good, Jason, daddy will be home soon. Love you!"

The child's giggling kept his smile bright as someone off-camera would gently tug at Jason's hand to get him to wave as Josh would cut the connection. A lot had changed while Tallia was gone. Josh had settled down, gotten married, had Jason who was the joy of his life. He had become a fair bit quieter, as well, though that pomp and circumstances, that swagger and fire was still resting deep down. It just needed to be brought out.

With that, Josh would get to his feet and walk down the hall to meet with Tallia. "I see you and R4 are getting along swimmingly" Josh would remark with a light chuckle as the droid would let out a few beeps in turn. With that, Josh would take a seat in the pilot's chair as he would take over, beginning to set the coordinates for landing and getting their landing clearance. Soon enough, The Final Dragon would land on the site of the new Jedi Temple, where Grandmaster [member="Valae Kitra"] was waiting.

"Watch the ship" Josh would command to the droid, who let out a few beeps in affirmative before he would walk toward the ramp, which began to lower to allow the pair to step onto the planet's surface.

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

The breeze made the hem of Valae’s robes billow around her ankles. As the ship set down, she brought a hand up to shield her eyes from the light as she watched. Turning a glance behind her, she spotted a few members of the healer and medical staff standing by. Celeste Rigel was there with them, waiting to catch a glimpse of their newest addition.

As the ramp began to lower, Valae stepped forward to greet their new arrivals.

Of course, she recognized the face of Master DragonsFlame and she offered the man a nod of greeting. Her eyes would then shift to his side, where there was a young woman. From what Valae could see, she seemed to be in good health – perhaps even a bit excited to be here.

“Good to see you again, Josh.” She said, and then turned to the young woman. “Welcome to Kashyyyk. You might have heard from Master DragonsFlame, but I’m Valae Kitra – Grandmaster of the Order. It’s very nice to meet you.”

She left a small pause to finish up introductions.

Valae figured that the two had been traveling for some time now. She was always left a bit drained after long journeys. The other folks out on the landing pad bowed quietly and then began to move back inside, as their services were not immediately needed. Valae motioned towards the Temple.

“Is there anything I can get the two of you? Would you like to rest? Are you hungry?” She added a kind smile, ever the caretaker.

[member="Tallia Farn"], [member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Tallia Farn]

Tallia could feel the immense presence of life on the planet even before they touched down on its surface. It thrived in every direction as far as her senses could reach, and called to her like a moth to a flame. She waited eagerly for Josh to lower the ramp, and exited the ship beside him. Her head bobbed from side to side as her eyes darted from one sight to the next. It was one thing to sense the life on Kashyyyk with her raw, untempered Force capability, and another to get to see it up close with her own eyes.

Despite the technology and the deliberate, orderly presence of the Jedi's temple structures and pathways, there was still something unkempt and wild about its presentation. There was green everywhere. Trees and grass and moss grew up all around the temple grounds. They made up a large portion of the life she had sensed while still aboard the ship. It was a breath-taking sight, and held her affixed for a moment on the way down the ramp before she refocused and caught up to Josh's side.

And then there were the Jedi who had come to greet them at the landing pad. So many faces, Tallia didn't have a chance to examine them all before one figure stepped forward and began to speak. She was the woman Josh had been speaking to on his datapad. In person, walking towards them with her graceful gait in her long, perfectly maintained brown robes, Tallia thought she saw a woman she could aspire to be like. Her beauty was simple and effortless, and when she spoke there was a certain ease to it that made Tallia unknowingly smile. She wished she had found a mirror on Josh's ship to get a good look at herself. Compared to the Jedi Master, she felt like an absolute mess.

"I'm Tallia." It was an incredibly short introduction, but she couldn't really think of anything else. She wasn't a Jedi anymore, she had no titles or positions. Josh had said she was a princess of Hapes, but that didn't really mean much to her in the present. In her head, she was just Tallia.

At the mention of food, she felt her stomach grumble. Yes, she was very hungry now that she thought about it, but she also very much wanted to see the temple, to learn about the Jedi Order.

"I don't want to impose, but I am rather hungry..." She would admit, followed by a little nervous laugh. Food would win the battle for her attention for now.

[member="Valae Kitra"] [member="Josh DragonsFlame"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Arisa would have loved this planet, he thought to himself as the ramp would lower. It was teeming with plant life. Clean, un-damaged plant life. It would have been the stuff of Arisa Yune's dreams to have had a Jedi Temple here, and now here it was. Was just a damn shame she wasn't here anymore. It was bittersweet, being here, and he found himself frowning a moment at the thought. Regardless, the ramp would lower and he was a bit surprised to find a full welcoming party here, healers and all. At the center of them was Grandmaster [member="Valae Kitra"] who he was surprised to find that she had actually waited here for his arrival. He found his warm smile returning then, at a thought in his head being reaffirmed about Valae's capabilities and how fit she was to be Grandmaster. Whatever those thoughts were, clearly he was very happy about them. The two would stride down the ramp to greet her. The warm, graceful face and expression of the Grandmaster always brought him ease.

"It's a pleasure to see you again indeed, dear Grandmaster" He spoke softly, warmly as he would reach over and gingerly take her hand in his, and place his other hand over them in a matter of gentle greeting before releasing her hand. Not that it'd taken much reaching, considering Josh's size. Imagine this scene for a moment... Tallia, 5'9. Valae, 5'5... Josh... 6'4. Now you're laughing because two trees are standing in front of a stump, and one of the trees just embraced the stump that's almost a foot shorter than them.

When Valae would ask if they needed anything, he would immediately look to Tallia. He could wait to eat and rest if Tallia was eager to get started or to explore, he was completely fixated on Tallia and what she wanted and needed. Tallia would admit to being hungry, and the Jedi Master would shrug in turn. "Suppose I wouldn't mind eating either, if we aren't imposing. I ran into a fair bit of strain on my mission, so I'm exhausted. Will probably leave tonight or tomorrow morning" The Jedi would admit.

[member="Tallia Farn"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

“Tallia,” Valae echoed, and canted her head to the side slightly. “That’s a very pretty name.”

It was true – and Valae mused silently that the same seemed to match its owner quite well. There was a quiet strength about the young woman; she could feel it – even with the slight sense of uncertainty that was present. The Jedi healer could also tell that Tallia was very strong in the force… there was such great potential standing there before her.

And then there was Josh.

Valae blinked softly as he took her hand and held it in his own for a moment in greeting. Of course, she had to gaze up skyward to see him, just as he had to bend down to see her. Her brows lofted slightly after his pleasant greeting, waiting to see if it would be followed by a funny or sarcastic comment. However, she was surprised when it didn’t come. Of course, she could have been wrong – but she didn’t think him the type to change his personality depending on the company he was with. Perhaps he was simply a bit tired.

“Well, I’m always up for a good meal.” She said with a wide grin. “Come along, we can visit the cafeteria.”

Valae glanced sideways at Josh as they walked. “Leaving Kashyyyk so soon?” She asked, concerned to hear that he was indeed exhausted. But she knew why he would want to be on his way. “That’s right, you were due to visit home, weren’t you?”

The party that had welcomed the new guests had now moved off the landing pad, returning to their duties. And the Grandmaster brought Josh and Tallia through the entrance of the Temple. There was ample light that streamed in through the windows, making the cathedral ceilings of the hall look even taller. It was a place of peace. As much as Valae had loved the temple on Voss, she liked this one even more.

“I think you’ll like it here, Tallia.” She said as they continued on their way. “Kashyyyk is quite the world, lots of nature to explore.” Valae didn’t want to place too much emphasis on her reason for coming here just yet; she wanted the young woman to feel welcome. “So, what are you in the mood to eat? Our café has a pretty wide variety of food.”

Just up a head, the café was calling – the lovely aroma of freshly cooked meals drifted out into the corridor. Inside, there was a buffet line complete with comfort foods and a rather healthy salad bar. There were a few different soups available, along with crusty bread or biscuits. And of course, there were a few desserts available ‘round the clock… one of Valae’s own institutions.

[member="Tallia Farn"], [member="Josh DragonsFlame"]