A Day in the Life of a Jedi

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen nodded and swung around behind @[member="Kei Amadis"]. "Now would be a good to have a lightsaber." He growled to himself, wishing that he had a master to guide him through the process. However, the crystal in his pocket reminded him of his hopes, and he held to them. No, he wasn't going to get himself killed. This was nothing. He would cover his fellow jedi, and someday he would become a master. This was his goal, and his lightsaber would be his prize. The droids fell before him as the mind of a jedi reasserted itself His movements became more fluid and took on the style of Makashi. His blade sliced through limbs, then chassis as he wreaked havoc among the droids, staying close to Kei should he need any help.

 

[Lilia Dur'iar]

Lilia ignited her training saber with a snap-hiss as the training from her early days at the Jedi Temple kicked in as she deflected blaster bolts. She had no idea how to use a blaster beyond point and shoot. Like a holocam. She thought, going off on a completely unrelated tangent before snapping back to the problem at hand. With one foot, she snagged one of the blasters that had flown out of the pack of droids and kicked it away, a little behind her so she could fall back and start shooting if she needed to.

"Looks like some kind of control station up ahead, might explain why they've still got power."

Silently wishing she had the patience to build a real lightsaber, Lilia made do with what she had, moving forward as she noticed the presence of metal emerging among the dust and stone. Ahead was an array of lights and gadgetry. Any droid that got in her way was disarmed with a twisting strike that sent their blaster spinning away.

@[member="Kei Amadis"] @[member="Diana Moridena"] @[member="Vulpesen"] @[member="Kale Arkin"] @[member="Hood"]

 

[Kei Amadis]

@[member="Kei Amadis"] @[member="Diana Moridena"] @[member="Vulpesen"] @[member="Kale Arkin"] @[member="Hood"] @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"]​

Twisted and scrapped metal left behind the group. Approaching closer to the control station, the system hissed and spat the taste of deflected old blaster fire and worn or broken power cables. Most of the controls were still intact however, like someone had constantly come down here to maintain it, someone or something. Perhaps the droids? Why, what was worth it in these tunnels?

The door of the chamber cracked, it was edging open. Behind it there was a screeching as some small bird, distant cousins to Kreehawk's flew out, their wings flapping everywhere and causing Kei to cover his head, trying to avoid them.

They weren't the vicious big predators seen outdoors, but they were startled enough to cause some, momentary bat-like havoc in these tunnels. A distraction, able to move through the cracks in the stone, nestle into the underground tunnels right at home till it was time to fly out and feed.

Smoke rising the door finally opened fully, and standing behind it was.... absolutely nothing... Kei breathed a big sigh of relief, and if it wasn't for a small red light blinking away on the control panel all might seem well.

A feeling.

A rumbling..

A splitting of the ground a distance behind them...

A large Glim Worm, knife like scales burrowing its way into the earth, into the fortress, a nest you might say, nearby in the murky darkness behind the door lay its eggs, and the Jedi had just woken up the mother. Erupting behind them with a high pitched screech. It had a complex muscular structure, and a gluey compound secreted by its glands, impeding movement to anyone who unfortunately got in its way.

That and the fact the gluey secretion was behind the group... wasn't a good thing. This was a large worm creature that hunted from vibration... not sight, moving fast and panicking would only make it worse, there may even be more of them!

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen reached out with the force. To most people these newly arrived creatures would be terrifying, and though he was scared of the worm, he had actually found himself grateful for the kreehawks. Amarans had been in the business of beast trading, and for an aspiring jedi, such an environment was a hay-day for beast speak practice. fifteen years of practice finally took their place as he reached out and brushed the minds of the kreehawks. "Lend me your aid." The voice was powerful, fueled by the force and given a small boost to let his targets hear. Upon his spoken words, the kreehaws changed their flight pattern and began to harass the glimworm, careful to avoid being stabbed, but reckless enough to gain its attention.
Vulpesen look back to his compatriots. "Flyboy! Hood! I've got it stopped, so help me out and blast that worm!" He needed someone who could shoot. No-eyed tunnel dwellers needed something to find their prey. Movement would likely give that something to any more glimworms that happened to be in the area. @[member="Kale Arkin"] @[member="Hood"]

 

[Arkyn Rane]

While I finished building my makeshift device, held together with -- you guessed it, chewing gum -- the others worked on defeating the droids. They made rather short work of the horde, but I was more concerned about what other sort of droids we might come across in the catacombs. As far as threats went, these little buggers didn't register much. They were easily destroyed and easily outsmarted.

We pushed ahead to a larger cavern with a control station dominating its center. But that wasn't all we came across -- a flock of kreehawks had made their home in the cavern, fluttering about wildly at our intrusion. Worse than that, though, was the glim worm slithering about in the chamber, its jagged, dagger-like scales glistening dangerously under the light of our glow sticks.

I moved into the chamber behind the others, device in one hand, blaster in the other. The bolts did little against its tough scales, but the mouth-hole was a different story. As it flailed about, fending off the gathering kreehawks, I squeezed off a few shots into its face.

One shot rang true.

@[member="Kei Amadis"] @[member="Diana Moridena"] @[member="Vulpesen"] @[member="Hood"] @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"]​

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen grinned and called his new pets to his side. He'd probably keep one of them when they returned to the temple. The skreehawks flew around Vulpesen's head and waited for his orders. The threat seemed gone for now, but he doubted that the party was over just yet. "Watcha got there topshot?" He asked @[member="Kale Arkin"].

 

[Arkyn Rane]

"Pick a nickname and stick with it," I told Vulpy. "And this," I raised a hand, "is something to deal with those."

I pointed out the line of super battle droids standing just beyond the slimy 'fence' borne of the glim worm's secretions. I really hoped the slime was just sweat and not poodoo. It would really suck it if was poodoo. Really, really suck.

As one, the tall, menacing droids raised their arms, the twin-laser cannons on their wrists glowing red with the promise of fire.

"Well damn." I ducked unnecessarily, instinct kicking in. Their opening volley tore into the command station, ripping it to shreds. That didn't slow them down though. They moved forward in unison, a veritable wall of rusting laranium spewing superheated tibana gas. Apparently, they were run by a different console. Maybe one deeper in the caverns. Well, no matter. Different console or no, I still had my --

Double karking shavit! Just my luck, in all the commotion, I'd dropped my new 'toy' in the line of fire. Too bad I hadn't learned telekinesis yet. Maybe one of my fellow padawans could be of assistance?

@Kei Amadis @Diana Moridena @Vulpesen @Hood @Lilia Dur'iar​

 

[Vulpesen]

"Oh, but you have so many faces." Vulpesen pointed to the object and one of his skreehawks dove for the object. Telekenisis? No, too boring. Beast taming, now that was interesting. The skree hawk turned to fly back, and made it halfway before being shot from the air. The kill brought an emotional pain to Vulpesen and he stumbled for a moment, causing his other friends to fly a bit more chaoticly before he regained order. He hadn't been taught in jedi, but rather through years of self training during zoos and around animal auctions. It was only natural that his methods differ. Jedi commanded the beasts, Vulpesen worked through empathetic links which hurt if they were severed by death.
Despite the pain of loss, Vulpesen sent in another Skreehawk. That device WOULD be retrieved. @[member="Kale Arkin"] might not be the most conventional of allies, but like Vulpesen, he was a survivor and survivors generally didn't make things in a crisis unless they needed them.

 

[Hood]

Hood rolled, gripped an arrow from the head of a fallen bot, notched it and loosed yet again. Spinning, he swooped his bow under the legs of one finally near enough to reach. Crushing it's head with his enhanced muscles, he lined another shot. It was becoming an art form, one he was mastering so beautifully those about him had to acknowledge that he had talent. It was beginning to be irrefutable, as more and more fell to his hand. Arching an arrow up and over to the left, Zaiden watched as it sliced through the top cranial plate of a droid whom sought to aim a blast at @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"].

A plan. They needed a plan.

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen's Kreehawks finally arrived with the device, though not without a price. Two had died on the trip and the severed lives had taken a heavy toll on Vulepsen who was now sweating as he continued to use the creatures in his attacks on the droids. The Kreehawks ripped at circuits and bit through metal as they defended their master. The tactics was working in pushing back the small army, but each beastial death brought about another surge of pain in Vulpesen as he was left to suffer the searing loss of life, second hand. "Someone hurry up and deactivate those things!" The words came out as a growl as he continued to focus himself in the force.
@[member="Hood"] @[member="Kale Arkin"] @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"] @[member="Diana Moridena"] @[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Arkyn Rane]

A pair of kreehawks dropped the hastily assembled E.M.P. emitter into my waiting hands. With a whispered prayer, I pressed down on the activation button, shivering as a wave of energy pulsated across the chamber.

The super battle droids shut down. They day was saved.

I could only imagine what lay in the tunnels ahead. I was starting to hate surprises. "Good work, folks. Everybody still got all their fingers and toes? Arms attached? Noses in place?" I stood with a grunt, wiping debris from my shoulders, eying the collapsed droids. Those wrist cannons of theirs were pretty powerful. I wondered if I could make use of one?

@[member="Vulpesen"] @[member="Hood"] @[member="Kei Amadis"] @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"] @Diana Moridena​

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen looked up at @[member="Kale Arkin"] and gave a small nod. His eyes were fading from a small glow, a hint of his brush with the force over burn he had almost entered. Finally, he released the Kreehawks from his service and fell to his knees. he'd felt around seven deaths through a straight force bond, and had pushed himself to move through each one. Now that the adrenaline was starting to die out, all the pain finally entered his body at once. Vulpesen had always been strong in the force, but sometimes he could underestimate himself, using so much power that the force would feed off of his body, sapping his energy and will. "You could have been a bit faster." Despite his ragged condition, his voice held a joking sound to it.

Vulpesen leaned against the wall of the catacombs and looked at @[member="Diana Moridena"]. "Next time... I choose where we go. Your vacations suck." As he relaxed, a single Kreehawk flew back and landed at his side, pressing its head into his palm. "Looks like I've made a friend." With a natural gift of animals, Vulpesen sometimes made a force connection with his subjects. It was the reason he now had a miniature zoo hidden away in the temple. "So, what do we do now?" He asked between deep breaths.

 

[Lilia Dur'iar]

"Good work, folks. Everybody still got all their fingers and toes? Arms attached? Noses in place?"

Lilia had a minor blaster wound from a shot that had skinned her forearm, but she'd be fine. The gdans on Quiilura had been way worse then a simple blaster burn.... "Fine here." She replied to @[member="Kale Arkin"]'s question. "@[member="Vulpesen"]? Diana? @[member="Hood"]? Kei?"

Lilia realized that she was still gripping her lightsaber with white knuckles. Self-consciously, she deactivated the green blade and reattached it to her belt, blowing a clump of hair away from her face. For no apparent reason, her face flickered briefly into a slight smile as her mind randomly swapped over to a totally different subject.

@[member="Kei Amadis"] @[member="Diana Moridena"]

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

(You guys post fast <_< >_>)
“This was hardly my idea.” Diana said after everything was said and done. She looked at all the other padawans. They had all done excellently, though she herself had been rather lacking. A frown appeared on her face, perhaps she was still afraid of confrontation. Her fight with Velok had scarred her more than she ever wanted to admit, and getting into another battle, especially one like this was not very appealing to her.

She made no mention of this to the others, instead choosing to hide her feelings. She frowned slightly, but continued to say nothing. Eventually she deactivated her lightsaber, letting the light of the glowstick illuminate the area around them instead.

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen braced himself against the wall while the Skreehawk helped lift him as best it could. "So now what?" The hawk lifted itself to his shoulder. "We've explored. We've conquered. We've made friends. And if you ask me, I think we've uncovered todays secrets." Vulpesen was sure that there was more into the catacombs and though he would like to see what they were, he was unsure of whether or not he would be much good in another confrontation.
(OOC: Due to cross the time line's my vibroblade has poofed into it's explosion at Velok's hands)

 

[Lilia Dur'iar]

Lilia shrugged, frowning now, in concentration. "True, and good point, but whatever Kale and I saw wasn't a droid. I'd say some sort of insect except...well, big." She finished lamely, glancing at Kale for confirmation as she rubbed the burn on her arm. That was probably going to scar...oh well.

@[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

"Maybe a Killik." Vulpesen got up slowly, relying heavily on the wall and his new pet. "Come here." He beckoned over @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"] and took a medkit from his pouch. Procuring a bacta patch he looked towards the group. "Please don't tell me I'm the only one prepared." Vulpesen didn't have much hope for @[member="Kale Arkin"] who couldn't event manage eat before the trip.

 

[Lilia Dur'iar]

"Please don't tell me I'm the only one prepared."

Lilia's ears burned. "The last conflict on Cato Neimoidia was during the Yuuzhan Vong war. I thought it would be reasonable to figure that we wouldn't run into trouble. Apparently I was wrong." She muttered the last part, her face hot with embarrassment now.

@[member="Vulpesen"]

 

[Vulpesen]

Vulpesen shrugged and worked to patch @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"]'s arm. "Could be worse. You could be the idiot who force bonded to what are now seven dead Kreehawks." Though his hands remained still as they worked, Vulpesen's body was still trembling. He'd never been officially taught by a real jedi how to correctly beast tame without bonding with it. It might have given him more control, but it hurt like the Nine Rings of Correllian Hell when his bonds were broken by death. "Besides, we all thought this place was fairly empty."
@[member="Kale Arkin"] @[member="Diana Moridena"] @[member="Hood"] @[member="Kei Amadis"]

 

[Arkyn Rane]

While the others talked, I fiddled with the innards of one of the deactivated super droids, familiarizing myself with the layout. As far as droids went, it was pretty basic. I'd lined three of em' up in a row, and moved between the control panel of each, tinkering away. My emitter had fried their main processing units, but their power cores were intact. The wrist cannons could still be used.

"Wasn't a Killik," I spoke up, struggling to wrench off the loosened hand. The area around me was a mess of wires, power cells, and duranium plating. Too bad I didn't have my trusty astromech with me. Tee Nine would've been able to reprogram the droid and save me the trouble of trying to rip off its forearm. I could probably do it with a datapad...

"Oi, Vulpy?" I didn't look up, focused on my task with dogged determination. "You wouldn't happen to have a datapad in that handy pouch of yours, would you?"

@[member="Vulpesen"] @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"] @[member="Lilia Dur'iar"] @[member="Diana Moridena"] @[member="Hood"] @[member="Kei Amadis"]​