Private Wonderful. I got just the job for you my dear

[Adrian Valerius]

It was a peaceful day at the temple, bright and sunny, not too cold and not too warm. Birds chipped around the temple ground enjoying the day, minding their own business. Another one who minded his own business was Adrian Valerius, Jedi Master and currently sitting by one of the many trees with a book, yes an actual book. Adrian had a great love for reading, despite what people might think of his posture and posh behaviour to quite a few people.

Normally he would spend his time in the archive researching his current pet project, but he hit a block in the research. The block was that he would have to travel to another planet that was supposed to hold information, information that would let him continue his research. Now Adrian liked solidarity as much as the next guy, but it truly did get awfully dull travelling on his own and he enjoyed a good conversation. Not that he was lonely or anything, but it did make the journey more fun. If nothing else, a padawan could at least get some field training out of this.

Which was why he sat in the Temple garden and reading, waiting for the padawan to find him. He was not about to move now that his book was getting to the good part. Being who Adrian was, he did garner a bit of a reputation of being too posh for the rest of them, as he tended to wear more flamboyant Jedi garments, giving many people the sense of Adrian acting better than anyone else. In truth, He just liked to look the best and his poshness was just something that stuck around from his upbringing.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna's patience was starting to grow thin with her master. Cas was supposed to be the one teaching her but now here she was, off to help another Jedi master while he was off doing a supposed 'secret mission' and Sakadi was nowhere to be seen as well. If this kept happening on a usual basis, she might just go looking for the council for a transfer...or track him down and kick his ass herself.

She pulled her flask from a pocket and took a swig of it in annoyance, allowing the hard liquor to hopefully calm her nerves. She got a few looks from some Jedi that seemed to recognise the flask for what it was but she simply ignored them. If they had a problem with her drinking in broad daylight, they could go kark off. She took another sip for good measure before slipping it back into a pocket and pushing forward through the hallways of the massive temple.

She reached the courtyard and started her search for her master for the day. She didn't exactly know what to expect, she merely had a name and description. "His name is Adrian Valerius. He looks like he just got back from a shopping spree on Serenno" was what one of the Jedi told her. She would have told them some better descriptions would be appreciated, but apparently nothing more would be needed. He stood out like a sore thumb, with his posh clothes, moustache and posture that would make a plank jealous. She was now a bit unsure of this meeting, truth be told. At first glance he didn't exactly seem like the type she would hang around with. In truth he looked more like the people she used to steal from on a daily basis. She glanced around, scratched her hand and approached the man. Once she reached him, she looked up at him and slipped her hands into her pockets. "Master Valerius?" she started. "To meet you here, I was told." she explained calmly, glancing around before looking back at him.

She pulled her hands free and gave another scratch at her palm as she looked up at him. Keeping her hands to herself with this guy was going to be hard...

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

Adrian didn't reply at first, in fact, he was holding out a finger, signalling for Yenna to wait. 30 seconds went. A minute went. 5 minutes went. After the 10 minutes mark, a small smack sound came from the closing of the book. "One should never rush a good book, wouldn't you agree, my small green padawan?" Asked Adrian with a content smirky smile. Pulling his satchel on his thighs, the Jedi Master placed the book back into it, before slowly getting up. With a few cracks as he stretched his body a bit, the Jedi looked down at Yenna.

"I must say when they said, when they said they would provide me with assistance for my hobby, I wasn't expecting such a darling padawan, such as yourself" expressed the posh-looking Jedi with the famous smirk of his. "Well, no like the present, come on, let's get away from the peace-lovers" joked Adrian and nodded in the direction of the entrance to the temple in the garden.

As he turned around, it always looked as if he had the wind on command, blow at the inner side of his vibrant coloured cape, making it billow dramatically as he walked. "Come along," ushered Adrian to Yenna as he walked with a certain lightness to his footing and posture. To say they got looks would be an understatement, now that Adrian and Yenna were walking side by side in the long halls of the Jedi Temple. "So, my dear Yenna, how much tomb research have you done in your training so far?" Asked Adrian, walking with both hands behind his back.

"Well, we're going to a tomb I found in my research and are looking for an ancient text in this tomb. This ancient text should hold much knowledge and learning and according to my research, a powerful guardian keeps tomb raiders from finding the text! Doesn't that sound exciting?!" Asked Adrian all fired up over his own hype explaining for the mission ahead.

It didn't take long for them to stand outside of the Jedi Temple, waiting for their ride. The waiting time took less than 30 minutes before a shuttle landed in front of them, which would take them up to Adrian's Deluge-class Battle Carrier called The Magister.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

With each passing minute she was getting annoyed with him. She even went as far as sipping at her flask. She was almost halfway through by the time he finally gave her the time of day. She glared at him and took one last sip before slipping it back into a pocket and folding her arms. "Inclined to disagree with you, I am." she spoke with an annoyed tone. She rested her hands on her hips as she eyed him, waiting impatiently to get moving. If she didn't have such a long lifespan she'd be annoyed at him wasting half an hour of it. Though some of the annoyance disappeared at his commentary on the council's decision. She blinked in surprise, not sure what to make of the compliment. "Um...Okay." she muttered, following after him.

Getting used to this overly dramatic Jedi was going to take some time, she could see that already. He asked about her experience with tombs, which only received a confused shrug. "None so far...standard training, not exactly." she answered simply, now wondering just how much the Jedi order hated her for putting her up with this lunatic. She didn't even get a chance to ask about what their mission was before he went on to explain in rather enthusiastic detail. He seemed to expect her to also be excited but she was struggling to put up an act. "Sure..." she croaked with a nervous smile.

Soon their ride arrived and Yenna was rather shocked. She expected a shuttle or something, maybe a really fancy Nubian yacht with how this guy was acting. But an entire star destroyer? That wasn't in the list. With wide golden eyes she stared at it before boarding the transport that would take them to it. "Is a star Destroyer necessary? A little overboard, isn't it?" she asked him with shock clear in her voice. She entered the hangar of the massive ship and looked around. Several crew members were surprised by the little green thing on the ship, but she didn't notice. She scratched her hand some more and took a long swig of her flask as she stared on with wide eyes. She finally managed to calm down and looked back to Adrian. "To make me feel smaller, one way this is." she quipped, still glancing around as she followed him deeper.

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

Boarding the transport that would take them to The Magister, he placed a hand on his hip, "I beg your pardon? You wound me, padawan Yenna, this is a Deluge-class Battle Carrier. Star Destroyers are so cliché ship! I mean, have you seen those shapes on them? What a crime against ship design!" Started Adrian to rant and continued to completely berate and shit on the Star Destroyer ship design, which quickly went over to how the Empire's sense of fashion was a crime against fashion inself as they flew up to his ship, The Magister.

Exiting the transport, Adrian enjoyed his drink with a smirk on his lip as he guided Yenna through the massive hanger filled to the bring with all manners of ships. Adrian looked down at Yenna as they walked along the shiny floor, "pish-posh, you'll get over it, my green padawan" comment Adrian waving his hand a bit back and forth.

Leading Yenna out of the hanger and into a corridor, which led them through lots upon lots of hallways leading all manners of places. Multiple crewmembers greeted Adrian, saluting, even though Adrian kept on telling them it wasn't necessary. As they passed areas, Adrian gave short descriptions where mess halls were, crew quartering, bridge and many more areas that would take Yenna days if not a week to see everything without exploring each room and areas extensive.

After what felt like hours, they finally arrived at the bridge, which was in full swing for getting the massive ship ready for getting out of the planets orbit. "Captain?" Asked Adrian, waiting for an update. "ETA 15 minutes Master Jedi" explained the captain. Sighing as he bottomed the last of his drink, "I could really go for a drink, come along" said Adrian and nodded towards the blast doors, so they could leave.

Within 15 or so minutes, both Jedi stood in a very stylish room. One would almost think they were inside a rich Alderaanian suite. The walls painted white, but with gold weaved along the edges and corners, giving it a royal aesthetic. Even the furniture looked insanely expensive, dark wood, coated wood wax, with light blue cushions sewn in the backrests and seat. The table's legs were made of the same dark fancy wood, along with the thick rounded edge of the round table. However, most of the table plate has been removed and marble had been placed instead.

The floor had a couple of very colourful carpets with integrated designs and colours, all ranging from all manners of cascading colours that seemed to just form chaos upon first looking. However, if Yenna started to look closer, she would see that each colour had been specifically picked to enhance each other in such a manner that it almost could overwhelm one.

A sofa in same exact design as the chairs with a small couch table with a few potted plants. On a wall by the Sofa sat an average-sized holo-screen, along with a holo-table for gaming. In the far corner stood a such an expensive table as everything else, however, on that table, was everything from papers about tombs, to more real books as well and holobooks.

A few non-lightsaber crystals laid on the table as well, along with a magnifying glass and some kind of tool pen. Furthermore, was 5 stone tables spread out across the large table. This table too had a chair similar to those by the dinner table. In the other far end from where they enter, was a corner covered up with soft purple-ish red half-transparent silk curtains. Behind the curtains was a king-sized bed and while it was a bit difficult to see it, the dark blue silk fabric with some kind of bird sewn into it did stand out quite a bit through the curtains.

Lastly, was a door not far from the bedroom with a closed door and besides that door was a fully stocked bar, with bottles in every single colour one, could imagine.

Removing his clock with flourish movement, and hang it on a coat stand and continued further inside. "Make yourself at home," announced the fair-skinned Jedi and headed for the bar with determining steps. "So, what poison fancy the little lady?" Asked Adrian as he started to mix a drink for himself. He felt like having a fizzy cocktail to start their journey off with and then gradually move his way down the stronger drinks. "I got everything you could possibly ask for" joked the Jedi Master and took a swig from his Bespin Fizz

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna stared with wide eyes as Adrian went on a rant, practically scolding her over her mistake. She merely ducked her head down and winced as she listened to him let loose on ship designs and fashion sense. She now instantly regretted bringing up the topic at all. She finally got her break when they moved into the Battle Carrier and he showed her around. She was hating it already. It was going to take her weeks to learn the ins and outs of the ship! How did he expect her to get around with a ship this big? She could barely keep up with him as it was.

He explained where the essential areas were and she made sure to memorize them to the best of her abilities. She was practically out of breath by the time they reached the bridge. She barely got time to get her breath back by the time they rushed off again, however the mention of a drink gave her new life. She kept up with him every step of the way, figuring he'd have some good stuff if he was this flamboyant. They finally reached what she figured was his private quarters if the appearance was anything to go by. It was beautiful, she had to admit. But one glance at her own clothing made her feel very out of place in the clean white room with its decorations and expensive furniture. She took a second to look around and familiarize herself before slowly walking towards the bar. She dropped her hood, gave her hair a shake and jumped onto a bar stool...then immediately froze up at the selection in front of her. "I'll take it all." she muttered with a shudder before snapping out of her trance. "Um...Tevraki whiskey, please. Leave the bottle, you can." she ordered rather shyly. This poor Jedi probably had no idea what he just started.

Once the bottle and a glass was in front of her, Yenna wasted no time in pouring a shot and downing it like it was nothing. A second and third shot went down in short order and by the fourth she slowed down a little. "For having such a big bar on board, any reason you have?" she asked him as she sipped at the shot, slowly dumping it all into her mouth before refilling it. She glanced at the bottle and read the label, blinking in surprise. "Spared no expenses, you have." she commented, taking another shot of the expensive whiskey.

She waited for him to turn around or do something else before taking out her flask and carefully trying to refill it. "Why all the fancy stuff? A noble or something, you are?" she asked simply while trying to steal some of the good whiskey.

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

The little Jedi bemused Adrian, Yenna was endearing and her taste in alcohol was a plus sign. "I see you know your liquor my friend" quipped Adrain and went behind the bar and used the force to lift the bottle into his hands, as he stood a few inches from it. Reading the flask, 835ABY, "my my, you're quite the rare and expensive bottle" comment Adrian and poured Yenna a shot, before placing the bottle beside her. Noticing the little padawan's shyness, Adrian walked around and sat on a barstool beside her and poured a shot of Tevraki whiskey himself.

"Never be shy of what you like, the rest of the world will not my friend," said Adrian following by throwing down the content of the whiskey. Pouring another shot, he looked at everything around them, "now why wouldn't I want all the fancy stuff? What's the point in having all the credits in the world, if you don't spend anything?" Asked Adrian with a light smirk and a glint in his eye.

Even though he knew Yenna was in the middle of stealing a very rare whiskey, he honestly just found her endearingly interesting. "Of all the passive-aggressive Jedi with a stick too far up their own asses, I've worked with. I must say, it's a pleasure working with one who won't mind a good drink before a mission" complimented Adrian Yenna. "You know, you just have to ask" comment Adrian casually, as Yenna was in the middle of stealing some of the good whiskey.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

As Yenna chugged her drinks, she listened to what he has to say. The drinks were definitely helping her to get more comfortable around him, that was for sure. "Usually, by my drinking habits, people get annoyed." she answered with a chuckle, clearly sugarcoating what people, especially in the order, thought about her and her tendency to get drunk as a skunk. As bad of a habit as it is, she wasn't going to quit now. "Fair enough. If this much money, I had, be spending it like crazy, I would too." she agreed with a big smile.

As she worked on stealing his liquor, she turned her head slightly to listen while sneakily working on filling up her flask. She hummed with a smile at his compliment, just finishing up before...

Her heart sank as she looked up at him with wide eyes. Her look of guilt and shock turned into a guilty smile as she chuckled nervously. "Good with asking, I've never been." she said through her smile while carefully placing the bottle back on the counter and putting away her flask. "Never got me anywhere, asking has." she continued as she poured herself another shot and sipped it carefully. "Not very friendly always to a green womp rat, people are, when talk basic, it can." she commented with a giggle before downing her shot. "So steal, I had to, to survive." she finally admitted. She felt bad to tell him that little bit. Not because she was ashamed of it or anything, but because her own master didn't even know it. They haven't sat down and spent enough time at all yet to learn about each other. And that was something that bothered her.

But this was no time to worry about that. So she pushed her worries and sad face aside with a big smile as she looked up at him. "It's funny, actually. Prime targets, people like you were. Now here I am, on a luxury battle carrier, drinking expensive liquor with you." she quipped with a snicker before looking around the place.

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

Giving Yenna a look over, "I guess it might have something to do with how you look?" Asked Adrian curiously, though he might have a suspicious that was the case. And his question got quickly answered, causing him to sigh, "listen to me my friend, never hide who you are, wear it like armour. Stand strong and you'll be able to face everything with a smile" explained Adrian, checking his comm's clock.

"Yes, funny how life always likes to turn our life upside down" chuckled the Jedi Master, not even phrased by her quipped. With a charming and dashingly smile, Adrian looked at Yenna, "We've arrived at our destination, how exciting" commented Adrian cheerfully and levitated the expensive bottle back to its place with the force. "Come along padawan Yenna, the tomb of ancients awaits!" Cheered Adrian, holding his hand out for Yenna for her to take. Not only held Adrian his hand out as if Yenna was a Lady of the court, but he bowed as well, like a gentleman asking the most beautiful woman to dance.

Whether or not Yenna took Adrian's hand to be helped down, Adrian bowed for her, letting her go first out of his personal quarter. Once they exited, they were met with an officer of lower rank than the one by the bridge. Having noticed the small girl had trouble following Adrian's walking speed, he with one quick motion, grabbed Yenna and placed her, on his shoulder, before he started to walk. "We've scanned the area and no sign of any potential danger. We've also already sent a few scouting droids down to the planet to report of the tomb's whereabouts" reported the officer while walking along with Adrian who had Yenna on sitting on his shoulder.

"We haven't received any updates of the tomb's whereabouts yet, but it shouldn't be long sir" reassured the officer with a nod. "Sounds exciting. I trust the transport ship has been prepped and readied for departure?" Asked the Jedi Master while entering a turbolift along with the officer and Yenna, taking it all the way down to the hanger.

"Yes sir" confirmed the officer. As the turbolift got to the hanger level of the ship, Adrian exited with Yenna, along with the officer. Still busy as when they arrived on the massive ship from the Jedi Temple, all three soon stood by the same transporter that took them to the hanger. Two massive armoured troopers flanked the door, seemingly having a relaxed conversation but cut it short as Adrian, the officer and Yenna approached. The one flanking left of the door had a massive rotary blaster cannon hanging from his side by a thick brown leather strap. The other one while wearing the same intimidating and massive armour, had a heavy blaster rifle, while not a large as the rotary blaster cannon, he was still very large.

"Good to see you again sir, we have been stationed with you on this mission" greeted the one with the rifle as both troopers saluted him. "How lovely, come along then," said Adrian simply and entered the transport ship, followed by the officer and then the two troopers. Putting away the handheld holopad, the officer sat down in the pilot seat while requesting take off.

The two troopers were funnily enough, too big to sit in the humanoid sized seats, though it didn't really bother then as they were heavy enough to not fall and held on to some handles in the ceiling of the ship.

The trip down to the planet didn't take long and before Yenna knew it, they had landed. The first thing that the non-armoured people would meet, was the tropical heat, hitting them. Not only heat but also the damp and moistness in the air. "Ugh, this is gonna cause havoc on my hair" complained, Removing his cape. Folding the expensive cape neatly into a square, he placed it in a small locker, no bigger than Yenna herself. The two troopers exited the transporter, guns at the ready, clearing the landing zone.

"Clear sir" commed one of them, which prompted Adrian to exit.

The planet itself was a jungle planet. Very thick jungle covering the whole planet. Trees which rivalled those on Kashyyyk, but instead of just grown up, these twisted and slithered into all manners of shape and types. Mountains breaking through the clouds. The fauna was rich with all manners of sounds. They were landed in some old ruin platform, large round pillars, some half-broken off, others standing tall. The troopers returned to Adrian and Yenna, after doing a perimeter search. "No sign of danger, we are ready when you are sir" reported one of the two troopers.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Adrian's words were comforting and reassuring. He seemed quite unlike what she expected of him. He was understanding and quite fun to talk to. Perhaps this trip might be a pleasant one after all...

She laughed at his polite gesture and her cheeks turned a slightly deeper shade of green as he helped her off the seat. Never in her life had someone shown such politeness to her. This was definitely a new experience for her. Nevertheless she accepted his gesture and didn't protest when he helped her onto his shoulders. He was a lot more sympathetic towards her than Cas was...something that she hated. She shouldn't be comparing Cas to other Jedi at all. But she couldn't shake the fact that Cas seemed a lot more ill-suited to be a master than Adrian was. She decided to look at the brighter side of things and told herself that she was just going to have to give Cas time and help him get more comfortable with being her master as she got comfortable with being his student.

She was yanked out of her train of thought when she saw the two absolute units standing by the shuttle. "Holy karking shit!" she spoke with wide eyes as she stared at them. "Ummm...any particular reason, to bring these two along, is there?" she asked Adrian as she glanced at him then back to the soldiers. "They're huge!" she stated with her eyes still like tea saucers. By the entrance she hopped off his shoulder and entered to grab a seat. She quickly strapped in and got comfortable for the trip down. Once they were on the planet Yenna's eyes went wide at the sight of the massive trees around them. It was intimidating but also wondrous. In a way this seemed even scarier than Kashyyyk's forests. She glanced at Adrian and chuckled at his worry. "Don't worry. Fix it up afterwards for you, I can." she assured him with a grin.

She continued to look around them, amazed by the old ruins. She couldn't deny that this trip was starting to look more fun by the second. Cas was really missing out...

She looked at the returning soldiers then back to Adrian, waiting to hear what his orders were.

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

"You didn't think we would just visit a foreign planet alone, did you?" Asked Adrian bemused, stretching his back, back and forth. A burst of heartfelt laughter left his soft lips when Yenna assured him that she could fix his problem with the humid effect on his hair. "Come along my little green friend," said Adrian as he started to hum a small melody along the broken and shattered ruin street. The two troopers split up, so one stayed by the transport ship, in case something or someone would attack it, while the one with the rotary blaster cannon followed the two Jedi.

The world was beyond big, everything felt so much bigger and vast as they descended the broken path from the top of the ruin. Many trees grew sideways, making natural pathways deep into the jungle. Jungle bird with all manners of different colours filled the air, distant fauna sounds were surrounding then as if they were walking into a stadium of people. Buzzing among the moist and humid weather filled their senses and it could easily overcome a person.

A cluster of flowers showed themselves every so often, growing out of the ground or the wall, not to mention gigantic vibrant coloured carnivore plants growing from some of the thick and large horizontal growing trees. The trooper with the rotary blaster cannon walked front as he kept an eye out for anything that might jump them.

Adrian, however, walked with a pretty casual posture, still humming a foreign song, not showing any kind of worry at all, despite having two heavy armoured guards along for the ride. Some weird howling above them, hanging from deep green vines, hooted a four-armed monkey of some type. They didn't really do much, other than communicate with each other through the rather loud yet upbeat howling calls and watch the tree strange things walking beneath them.

They soon hit the end of the path, as the rest was gone, destroyed in some way, so they were forced to walk along one of the thick wide tree trunks that grew horizontally. The monkeys continued to follow them, using the vines to swing with grace through the air or from smaller branches and trees filling the vast spaces in the jungle.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

"Right behind ya!" she quipped as she fell in behind him. She managed to keep up with Adrian while still taking time to admire the view around them. The massive trees and branches gave her a lot of room to hop and swing along, using the force to aid in her acrobatics. She stopped by a bushel of beautiful flowers and carefully picked one. With a pleasant smile she carefully slipped it into a pocket before darting off to catch up with Adrian. "Great acrobatics training, this planet is!" she called out to him as she hopped from branch to branch.

Though she almost fell when a bunch of odd monkeys were suddenly in her way. With a quick push of the force she propelled herself back to Adrian and looked at the monkeys with wide eyes. Her eyes were glued to them as she stuck close to Adrian, rather nervous with the monkeys watching them. "Carry us off, you think they will?" she asked him with a nervous smile as she nodded to the monkeys. When the pathway disappeared she took to hopping from branch to branch, though she stuck close to Adrian and the soldier. They might be safe but she seemed rather conveniently bite-sized for the monkeys and other animals on the planet. She looked back to Adrian and hopped over to land on his shoulders. "In a great mood, you are. Exploring the tomb, looking forward to?" she asked him with a smile as she looked down at him then ahead of them.

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

Looking up at the monkeys when Yenna nervously asked, the animals mostly just observed the Adrian and the others. "They look fairly harmless. Then again I am a very delicious man" joked Adrian with a grin as they continued towards their destination.

Most of the monkeys kept to their spots, not really feeling all that interested in the group after they've seen them. However, not all of the monkeys stayed back and continued to follow the group from a safe distance, calling howling every now and then. But even the most curious monkeys among them soon lost interest and returned, now leaving the group in peace. Feeling Yenna aim for his shoulder, Adrian prepared not to get knocked to the side for the sudden extra weight from Yenna. Looking to the green-skinned girl, Adrian smiled wide, "oh yes! After 3 years of searching, I've finally narrowed the tomb down to this place!" Cheered the flamboyant Jedi Master.

"Though, just be ready for whatever we'll find in the tomb, because from the tablet I found, spoke of guardians and traps" warned Adrian, though he was sure Padawan Yenna could handle herself.

Continuing deeper and deeper into the vast expansive jungle, they soon would be devoured by lust native flora, making it impossible for them to see the old ruin or their ship. It soon got very dark, not just dark, but almost pitch black because of how thick the canopies grow together, letting almost no sunlight through. Both soldiers turned on the lights on their guns, lighting the way for the little group to continue traversing on the massive branch.

After another hour or so of walking without interruption or attack of any animals, it suddenly got quiet, as if the jungle itself held it's breath. "We're being watch," said Adrian, causing both soldiers to stop up and ready their weapons. Looking around the area, ready for an ambush, yet nothing came. "Do you sense it dear?" Asked Adrian as he tried to pinpoint the expected location of where the threat was.

And then it came, not from the air or jumping from other smaller branches. No these came from below, using their powerful claws to climb on the underside of the massive branch. The Soldier with the rifle got toppled to the branch when one of the animals pounced and started to bite and claw at the armour. With a powerful force of telekinesis, Adrian sends the animal off of the soldier, who easily regained again, hissing with an unnatural sound.

Igniting his lightning, lighting up the almost pitch black darkness around them with a lust deep glowing green colour beam. Out of the shadow another one of these animals launched for Adrian, forcing him to dash to the side with the help of the Force. The one that went for Adrian just continued it's jumping through the air and disappeared into the darkness

"Night striker" commented Adrian standing at the ready as he waited for the next ambush. One of these animals came out of darkness going for the same soldier, aiming for another attack. However, this time the soldiers were ready and started to fire at the beasts who now showed their pitch-black bat-like wings. It was incredible how athletic the beasts were in the air as they dodged and evaded a lot of blaster fire.

While the soldiers were kept busy by seeming 2 or more of these nightmarish animals, Adrian felt a spike of alertness behind him and Yenna and turned. When he turned he entered in a defensive position as three of these animals was attempting to sneak in on the small green snack and large dinner. "I'm sorry, but we are not really edible or tasty" joked Adrian, as if he could speak with the animals. A low threatening hiss from the one at the front as a response. Going out of his defensive position, "really, you'll just end up with a gassy night. No one would want that" said Adrian actually rather casually, talking as if he was making a deal with the beast. As a response, the leading animal growled and went in a sprint towards the two Jedi.

"Oh well, I tried," said the Jedi Master with a sarcastic tone and had his weapon at the ready.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna felt more relieved that the odd monkeys were leaving them alone. She glanced at Adrian as he explained what might be waiting for them at the tomb. "Guardians and traps? At least, not boring, this trip will be." she quipped with a smile. She hadn't been in an active fighting situation outside of her training at the temple, so being able to see how her training has progressed in a real situation would be interesting. Then again, the stories she read about her species in the Jedi's history made her worry. "Master Valerius...about Master Yo..." she fell quiet as she felt something.

She wasn't alone, either. Adrian also felt it and voiced his concerns. "I do." she confirmed, glancing around. They were suddenly ambushed from below by horrid creatures. Yenna's eyes went wide as the soldier ahead of them was tackled to the ground. Adrian launched the creature off, but they didn't stop there. Yenna launched herself off his shoulders and landed on a nearby branch, unclipping her own lightsaber and igniting it. They were surrounded in an instant, creatures coming at them from all sides. One tried to sneak up on Yenna but she evaded its strike just in time. The soldiers' blaster fire seemed to have little effect as the Nightstrikers dodged and jumped around them. She couldn't help but smirk at Adrian's comments as he dispatched the ones behind him. She leapt over towards him and landed on his shoulder once more. "For looking like a snack, what you get, that is." she quipped before jumping off and sending herself towards one of the soldiers. She landed on his shoulder and used the force to grab hold of a beast, allowing him to take it out without an issue. She did a backflip and landed on the ground, facing one of the creatures.

Yenna breathed deeply and readied herself. Things seemed to slow down around her as she jumped into the air. The monster pounced but she flew over it, giving one clean swipe through its neck to end it. She landed once more but didn't hold still for even a second. One Nightstriker came up from underneath, taking a lucky swipe at her. She scrammed back and raised her hand to launch it off the tree and into the forest below.

She made her way back to Adrian, gripping her lightsaber with both hands. "Any ideas?" she asked him rather anxiously.

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

Adrian kept an eye on Yenna as the padawan went into action. A smirk formed, seeing Yenna jump around the best and evade the beasts attacks, "yes but they don't need to know that" called the Jedi Master jokingly as Padawan Yenna fought the Nightstrikers.

Himself, he evaded and avoided multiple swipes from the beasts, having to resort to various acrobatic techniques. While he's acrobatics wasn't as crazy as Yenna's, he still made it look easy, as he went from branch to branch in order to avoid the beasts. Landing back on the main and largest branch around them, he felt Yenna land on his shoulder again. "Well, I did wonder if I should add some blue to my dressing code" started the Jedi Master, going completely off-topic. But when the beast tried to jump them both, Adrian released a powerful Force Wave at them, blasted the beast off the branch or back on it. "Then again, I've always liked velvet, it would match my eyes, don't you think?" Asked Adrian to Yenna, as if they were back at the temple, having a tea party.

"Sir!" Yelled both of the soldiers as he was getting overwhelmed by these beasts. "Right!" said the eccentric Jedi Master and snapped back to the matter at hand. Dashing to the two soldiers with the help of the force, hoping Yenna is ready to hold on for dear life. With quick three-point sabre cuts, Adrian had taken out two and blasted the other two off the branch with the force.

But the Nightstrikers was devilishly fast to recover and 5 came at them from air and branch. "Sir, we gotta run!" Said one of the two soldiers as they continued to try and hit the beasts, but was unable to hit them. The soldier with the rifle looked wounded, as far as Adrian could see and decided to end this silliness. "Get ready to fire," told Adrian the soldier with the rotary cannon. The Jedi Master didn't move, run or attack the Nightstriker, but just stood there, waiting for them to come closer.

"My dear friend, I'm about to show and teach you something very cool" explained Adrian, guessing her Master haven't taught her more advanced techniques. Just as all the Nightstrikers jumped Adrian and Yenna, the Jedi Master reach out with his hands and released a powerful hold in the force, freezing every single Nightstriker in motion.

"Now!" Said Adrian and the non-wounded soldier completely filled all the Nightstrikers with holes from his rotary cannon. Adrian released his hold in the force and released a breath.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna shot him a look of disbelief as he commented on thoughts for his wardrobe. "What I meant, that's not!" she practically shouted at him before looking back to the beasts around them. Yenna jumped off when he dashed towards his units and instead hopped her way towards them, standing beside Adrian.

She stepped back to give him some room and watched in awe as he used the force to halt all the monsters coming at them. With his word, the soldier annihilated them all in a few seconds. Yenna's mouth hung agape as she glanced at the beasts then at Adrian. "Teach me that, you gotta." she commented as she recomposed herself and extinguished her lightsaber. Clipping it back onto her utility belt, she hopped up and landed on Adrian's shoulders. She remained quiet for several seconds as they pressed on, but ultimately let a chuckle escape her. "Velvet is nice. Though, on your shoulders, get something brown or black, you might wanna at this rate." she quipped, answering his previous question.

She looked to the two soldiers in their heavy armour, impressed by their equipment. "Okay, are you two?" she asked them, raising her voice lightly to catch their attention. If their escort were injured, they'd need to stop and help. "From the destination, how far are we, Master Vilerius?" she asked him, giving a quick glance at him before looking around them again. If it weren't for the bloodthirsty creatures coming at them, she would have loved to do her own thing. The planet was fantastic for practicing acrobatics.

She looked ahead of them again, rather anxious to get out of the open. She hoped that the temple wasn't too far now...

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

Smiling to Yenna, Adrian waited for the guards to get up, so they could continue. "After this, I'll promise to show you how to do it" promised Adrian, giving Yenna a quick wink. "Ah yes, yes I think so too" agreed Adrian with a snap of two fingers as they just received a lead to a case.

Adrian had noticed one of his men was wounded and calculated how much longer they had left. "Shouldn't be too long," reassured Adrian, which the wounded soldier nodded, accepting his words.

It really didn't take very long, within 30 or some minutes of undisturbed walking, they would pass through very lush bushes and branches and see their destination. It looked very idyllic with surrounding lush threes with only a single beat of sunlight getting through the thick treetops. The sunlight beat hit the tomb, giving it a very magical yellow glow.

"Let's get to the tomb's entrance and get a look at you soldier" suggested Adrian and started to lead their little group of four down the thick branches, leading directly up to the tomb.

Once there, Adrian asked the soldier to remove the top part of his armour, so they could get a better look at the wound.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

She was happy when Adrian promised to teach her. She was always looking for some new tricks to use and to be able to freeze someone mid-air was definitely something she could use. Glancing around her, she made sure the soldier was fine before focusing back on Adrian and the surrounding area. After a while they finally arrived at their objective... and Yenna's focus completely ran off.

The area was stunning! She actually took the time to take a photo of the temple and sent it to Cadere just to make him jealous. That would teach him not to go places without her. After sending him a selfie with her giving him a smug grin while keeping the temple in the background, she put her datapad away and caught up to Adrian. "Anything I can do, Master? Healing techniques, not familiar with, I am. But, with the wounds, help, I can." she offered to him with a reassuring smile. Being at the entrance of the ruins only made her more and more anxious to get going. Luckily she caught herself and took a deep breath to relax.

She pulled her flask out and took a swig before offering it to both Adrian and the soldiers. She didn't want to share her expensive liquor, but she figured they could do with it just as much as her.

Adrian Valerius

 

[Adrian Valerius]

With the soldier not getting wounded standing guard, the other sat by a large pillar with pieces of his armour unequipped for Adrian and Yenna to examine. Examining the wound, Adrian thought things over on how to best approach this and came to the conclusion that teaching Yenna some healing techniques could benefit her.

"How about I teach you then?" Asked Adrian while keeping his eyes on the wound. The wound itself wasn't lethal or infected, just very deep, so blood lost was a worry. If Yenna accepted Adrian's teachings, the Jedi Master guided the green Padawan in front of the seated soldier. Placing himself behind Yenna with a knee on each side of her, placed a hand on each side of the wound, "like this" explained Adrian. Sitting with her back to Adrian, Yenna could smell the sweet aroma and fruity scent coming from the Jedi Master.

"Close your eyes and open your mind to the living force around you, love" explained Adrian as he did the same. "Feel the flow of your surroundings. Now follow the wound in the force, release the flow of the light that resides within you and direct it to the wound in the force" continued Adrian to explain as he guided Yenna. If Yenna had done as she was guided, she would feel a warmth spread in her hands, slowly spreading over the soldier's wound.

While she was still a padawan, her light in the force was enough to kick the healing process into high gear and speed up the closing process of the wound. With help from Adrian, they managed to close the wound, leaving a clean-shaven spot. "Well done my dear friend. You might actually be a natural!" congratulated Adrian with a grin as he rose from his kneeling position.

Soldier thanked both, but especially Yenna for their help and equipped his gear again. Within a minute or so, the soldier was ready for action and waited for orders.

Yenna

 

[Yenna]

Yenna froze up when Adrian mentioned teaching her. "Teach me?" she asked him, pointing to herself. "Ready for it, I'm not sure I am." she commented rather nervously. Aside from boosting her own physical performance, she didn't know anything else about Force healing. Nothing that extensive. But before she could even protest, Adrian brought her to the wounded soldier and knelt down behind her. She had to admit that his perfume was rather nice. She was going to have to ask about that after this. She probably smelled of alcohol and jungle at this point...

He guided her hands to the wound and she did as he instructed. Trying her best, she tried to calm her mind and follow through with what he told her. She closed her eyes and focused the Force. To her surprise, something seemed to happen. Adrian helped her and soon the wound was closed up. The soldier thanked her and Adrian congratulated her. Yenna merely took a long swig from her flask with wide eyes. "Jack-poodoo, I did." she commented, looking up at Adrian.

She took one last sip of her liquor before slipping the flask back into her pocket. Despite having done it right somehow, Yenna didn't have a clue what she did. She barely had the basics figured out, doing stuff like this was beyond her expertise -at least in her own opinion. Glancing back up at Adrian, she took a deep breath and recomposed herself. "Next, what is, Master?" she asked him gently, curious to see what he had planned next for them.

Adrian Valerius