A Home

[Avalore Eden]

"Master Healer," the Guard returned, hat in one hand and datapad in another, and this time he was on her side of the fence. Face flushed, he itched at the stubble on his chin with an apologetic sort of half-frown, "terribly sorry for the trouble. We don't see many Jedi in clothing other than ... well, Jedi robes."

"Anyone can put on Jedi robes and call themselves a Jedi," Avalore replied, unimpressed with this assumption, giving the Guard her ID to check against his records.

"True, that's true. Point duly noted, Master Eden," the Guard fumbled as he scanned her datacard in, "can't be too careful, never know when the Sith or some criminal will ah-, hm,"

"So," the Healer looked around, flashing an impatient smile that did not reach her eyes, "may I go in now?"

"Yes! Heavens, yes, here, I've called a transport in to take you to the main hub. Ern will give you the grand tour. Construction's still under way and all. Best not to let you wander alone."

"Thank you."

Fifteen minutes later Avalore sat in the passenger set of the transport watching the construction site grow before her with the wind in her hair. Brown eyes took in every detail with a curiosity she had not felt since her first arrival to the Temple of Corellia. It was strange to feel this way again - a sensation she had all but abandoned in her darker hours. Perhaps there was a bit of light to be had here for her, perhaps Stali's instinct had been right. She would not get her hopes up, however.

"Is that...a biodome?" the Healer asked of Ern, her tour guide.

"It is indeed," he said, "they're raising it today. Shouldn't be much longer. Magnificent, isn't it?"

"It's something."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

“The Force needs you.”

“I am needed here.”

“It matters not. The Elders have already decided. You are to leave at sunrise.”

“This is not what I want.”

“It rarely is, my son.”

The next few years had been spent traveling the Galaxy. Sleeping underneath the stars, investigating ancient ruins and learning as much as the young Vaetling could when it came to galactic civilization and the horrors (and beauties) it had released on its denizens. Over those same years the anger subsided and in its place came the gloomy acceptance that sometimes… you just needed to accept.

Accept and move on.

Learning Basic had been one of the tougher jobs. Even now he struggled with the arcane and strange syntax that plagued the Pax Galactica, but as always Vaet endured for the betterment of all. He still did not believe that it had been the Force that had sent those dreams.

But the Elders’ word meant more than his opinion.

After a brief intermission at Ossus, the young Jedi had finally found his way to Sullust where a new Jedi Order was building itself up - it was literally called the New Jedi Order, Vaet was not sure what the Old Jedi Order would think of this designation.

But it amused him to think that they were all frowning in their dusty temples. Each step took him closer to the new temple being constructed on Sullust, until finally he arrived at a destination that strangely gave him a sense of belonging. And this place was only a few meters away from a young woman talking to a dusty, older man with a scruffy beard.

Vaet had arrived just in time to hear her last words - it made him look at the biodome himself, and he had to agree with her.

“Something indeed, it is.” the Vaetling responded. He was not sure why he decided to speak out of turn, but something told him he could trust this woman.

“A new beginning, it is, Master.”

[member="Avalore Eden"]​

 

[Kaili Talith]

Sullust
That home

In a more desperate move to forget about the world for a bit Kaili had managed to find herself in a secluded spot off from the central temple grounds. Not too far away from it, but far enough for the noises of droids and sabers to not get in the way of any future meditating students. One might even say that it was far away enough to lend some peace and quiet should such a thing ever be required or called for. After all, everyone else was busy setting up little camps around the temple’s construction site, it only made sense for Kaili to set up a workshop in the area as well.

At the moment it was the husk or empty shell of something that could become something greater. The duracrete walls that had been erected stood out from the rural backdrop. The ceiling was yet to be put into place and the walls were still a lifeless gray. The occasional breeze wafted through the pressurized steel bars above the young Talith’s head to bring a small measure of cold. Part of Kaili wondered what Kaia would be up to if she was down here. The other part knew that she wouldn’t. After all Kaia would probably complain about spiders, or rats, or any excuse to get herself inside that ship of hers again. The thought caused Kaili to smile.

Yeah, it was probably best that no Talith remained in orbit. For now.

She remained leaning over the blueprints she had drawn up of the building. A man passed on in with a few of the building supplies for the job.

“More to come, Marshall Talith.” He chirped.

Kaili gasped and turned around to set her eyes on a boy perhaps four years her elder. Black hair, construction uniform and with a mood of hopefulness that seemed so palpable. Her breathing had ramped up, her heart raced. There was a brief moment of sheer panic but eventually Kaili afforded the man an answer.

“I’m not Marshall Talith. That is my sister.” Kaili said as she leaned over the table again. Both elbows against the table she covered her ears and shut her eyes for a moment to close out the world. The man gave her a questioning look, a shrug and a perked eyebrow before he disappeared again.

With a deep breath Kaili opened her eyes again. Elbows still planted firmly on the wooden surface of the table she ran a look over the parts of the building that she could still see within the embrace of her elbows. Henry approached her and with a small gesture she sent him off to get some new measurements. All for the sake of keeping up an appearance of actually doing something.

 

[Chevu Visz]

Biodomes took some getting used to. Chevu should know. She had been living on Sullust for....had it been a year already? The artificial daylight and recycled air didn't bother her as much as it used to, but what she would give for the feeling of fresh air against her skin, lungs heaving with it. Or the patter of rain on a roof. A snowflake on her tongue. She wondered if the New Jedi Order's new biodome would have artificial weather. It wouldn't be as amazing as the real thing, but it might make everyone feel just a tiny bit more at home.

Right now, she was here to help out with construction, as well as acclimate her new student to the Jedi Order, her first student in fact. His name was [member="Nikola Ticon"] and he came from Corellia originally. He had criminal ties, which didn't seem to bother anybody. Talent was talent. As long as you weren't using dark sided powers, you were golden. That was the only thing that Marshall Talith took a hard line about. Where did the boy come from? What did he want to learn? Chev didn't know these things yet. Such was the way of the Galactic Alliance. Things moved at a light years pace.

She palmed a small, spherical device, a Mental Maze. Once Padawan Ticon arrived and they had a look around the place, she would take him to the half-built training rooms and have him practice with the device. She was curious to see exactly what what he knew.

 

[Nikola Ticon]

Sullust was a far cry from Corellia, there was no doubt about it. That was one of the singular thoughts that had been in Nikola's mind since landing on the planet, one he hadn't quite shaken even now. Sullust was covered in lava where Corellia harbored often rough and rugged cities and people alike, not to mention the fact that the surface of the former was nigh uninhabitable. And that was only those differences visible after a cursory glance at both planets. Certainly he could have gone into excruciating detail about how he'd much rather be spending time on his homeworld, if just for the familiarity of it all. But Corellia had been destroyed, and besides, it had been his choice to leave in the first place.

Now this was his new home, and he resolved to enjoy his time here as much as he could. The others were far from the Ticon brood, but they were a fair enough company to keep. Besides, the only rules that seemed to be in place were those of being a decent human being, something he was perfectly capable of despite what most might think, given where he'd been born and raised. It had taken a bit of acclimation, and he'd be lying if he said there weren't any bumps in the road, but any broken ties had been mended, most every issue smoothed over. Now he was ready to take his first step forward as a more productive member of the Galactic Alliance, and that began with actually interacting with the rest of them.

Surprisingly enough it had been rather easy to find one willing to take him on as a student. Unsurprisingly, the woman hadn't heard of the Ticon name. He would remedy that soon enough. The woman's name was [member="Chevu Visz"], she was Mirialan, some kind of Jedi, and...well, that was all he'd really been told about her, and no amount of digging or poking and prodding had granted him further information. All told she didn't sound like too bad of a person, and he'd never been the sort to judge another before meeting them and making an assessment for himself. As long as she wasn't one of those dogmatic types that believed in doing everything by the book he supposed they'd get along well enough.

Upon arriving at the scene he'd merely wandered about for a few minutes, finding himself at once intrigued with the construction, despite the fact that he really knew next to nothing about the temple being raised or the process involved in such an endeavor. And it seemed he wasn't to be playing too big of a part in things anyhow, as he'd simply been instructed to meet his Master here and nothing more. That was well and good to him, and after a bit more exploring he'd set out to do just that. The woman wasn't too hard to pick out in a crowd, especially when there weren't that many people around in the first place. And so he meandered over to her, demeanor casual as always. "Master." Well, that was the word Jedi always used.

 

[Micah Talith]

@Vexen @Ellifain Verrona

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the Talith would exclaim out with a slight bemused expression, half turning his torso as he would follow the faint shadow that was Vex. He had heard a squee, and to be frank, that was rather unusual for the Defel, but he'd seen and heard odder things. Granted, Vex didn't normally cower behind him point at green girls.

A frown would furrow his brow, the loose forelocks of his shaggy mop falling over his brow. A hand would reach instinctively to try and soothe the Defel, his fingers stroking over the crown of her head, running over her fur. It would appear to the casual observer as if he were stroking air, but after all these years, he was well used to remembering where she sat at on her haunches. Or when she would cower.

"A girl eh?" his senses would open to the Force, searching. What he found had him quirking the corner of his lip with a small grin.

"How about we go say hello?" he countered, trailing his fingers over her ear, setting to scratch behind it to coax her.

"Not all green girls are dangerous y'know."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Ellifain Verrona"] [member="Micah Talith"]

"S'not funny," she said in an exasperated voice, her heart racing. But as he started to scratch, her ears flattened down and hear eyelids half-closed. Some part of her tried to complain that allowing him to placate her by offering a scratch was perhaps a little demeaning. However, having been starved of all attention for most of her life, she mostly didn't mind, instead turning her head to make sure he got just the right spot behind her ear.

"Alrigh' then," the sighed, letting go with her left claw. She gave him a gentle push in the small of the back, letting him know that he could go first.

 

[Chevu Visz]

"Just call me Chev," she told Nikola. Master Oomomo was a stickler for more formal titles, but since she'd been studying with Coren, she'd developed the Starchaser's more casual attitude towards apprenticeship. She gestured around to the construction site. "Pardon the mess."

With his tattoos and bad boy good looks, Nikola hardly looked the Jedi part, but the Galactic Alliance had more outliers than it did traditional Jedi anyway. Fringe Forcers, Technopaths, and Rogue Jedi all filled out their ranks. Diversity was what differentiated them from the Jedi of the Galactic Republic and that diversity would help them thrive, and eventually drive back the Sith.

Generally taciturn, Chevu got straight to the point. Much like Coren. The Mirialian held out the Mental Maze for Nikola to inspect.

"Have you ever seen one of these before?"

[member="Nikola Ticon"]

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R8hwJWaxKs​

Like a lot of pilots, Kaia had her ship tuned for her perfectly for her, and like her father, and [member="Chloe Blake"], Kaia was a music nut. She had a few different playlists and was listening to a bit of down tempo music. Just to keep things mellow as she watched the tugs. Checking her radar, everything seemed clear. That was a good sign. Sullust had been the hotbed of activity as of late and that meant she was wanting to make sure no one came knocking when everyone was looking away. That’d just be the worst.

And the Wandering Star wasn’t enough to take most things. She was a freighter, mobile home and transport. A few guns but nothing to do any serious damage with. Just enough to escape and jump away. But here? She’d be able to get in, give them a target to go after and protect the tugs. That was, what, pilots? And FLEETCOM was here. Whatever got Omega Pyre to show up was such a good idea.

"This is Wandering Star to Jedi Control. You guys online yet?" She wasn't sure if the radio was set up yet, maybe one of the Talith's would be there. Maybe not.

Regardless, the day was going easy.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"] [member="Ellifain Verrona"]

Micah shot the Defel a lighthearted grin. His fingers would find the spot where she enjoyed receiving affection, and truly it wasn't meant in a demeaning sort of way. He just knew that Vex enjoyed being physically touched, having been on her own for the bulk of her life. A conversation back when he first met her had struck home, where she had so longingly asked and wondered about his family. Truth be told, Vexen was as much a part of his family now; a family that was not hesitant to show their affection through physical touch as well.

He felt the nudge, and he would take the hint. While her fear was a very real thing, Micah wanted her to get used to being able to face it. Not to be foolish about it, but to be able to stand on her own and not immediately take flight. She needed to socialize more. Bringing her to Sullust was a start.

"What did you notice of the green girl?" he asked her. It was done for a reason. Everything was a lesson in it of itself. He knew that the Defel was gifted by the Force, enough for her senses to kick in heighten quantity. In this he wanted her to get a situational awareness, to learn of her surroundings and who and what were exactly in it.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Ellifain Verrona"] [member="Micah Talith"]

"Dunno," she said stubbornly. Why was he standing there grinning instead of going and dealing with the intruder. It made her feel deeply anxious, having an unknown person in her home.

He was grinning though. She could sense no distress or concern emanating from him. She let out an exasperated sigh and thought back to what had happened.

Perhaps, in hindsight, the small green girl hadn't been that scary. "She fell," Vexen stayed flatly. "Then she called me a 'plushie puppy' and squealed." That didn't quite seem the actions of an intruder with malicious intent, she supposed.

 

[Ellifain Eden]

[member="Vexen"] [member="Micah Talith"]

Erm. The puppy left. A frown tugged on her shimmery-lips. And the puppy left the doughnut. The frown deepened. Scoring to the door, she picked up the snack and brushed off some dirt before popping it in her mouth.

Hearing voices, she froze. "Rufghmmfff roumffmfffough." Her version of uh-oh while chewing. She scooted back into the shadows of the cantina table, as far back as she could go. Hand still rubbed at the knot forming on her head. Small heart thumped in fear. She watched and waited.

 

[Nikola Ticon]

His first assessment of the woman was that she seemed far from the serious sort, something Nikola himself could get behind. Learning in a traditional environment was boring enough without having to deal with one of those teachers that insisted on formal titles and professionalism. That just made it all even less worthwhile, and he wasn't about to spend the next year or so keeping that sort of company. Not if he had any say in it. But she seemed to be of the relaxed sort, an attitude the young Ticon shared. After all, there was no point in getting worked up over the little things when they could be solved with a few carefully chosen words and a smile accompanied by a shrug.That was how he operated, anyway.

At her wisecrack he shrugged one shoulder and flashed a crooked smile. "Don't worry about it. I've seen a lot worse." Around his family he had, anyway. Construction sites were fairly well-organized when compared to the rabble that often made up parts of the Corellian Undercity that he'd called home for quite some time. As a member of a crime family he hadn't lived without style, but nothing said he was the neatest person. Hopefully she wasn't one of those sorts that wanted everything in pristine order constantly. That would be one facet in which he would undoubtedly fail. No one could expect everything from him. He'd been brought up a Corellian, and would always be green at heart.

The piece of technology that was passed to him immediately drew his attention, and he turned it over in his hands, carefully inspecting every last detail. It wasn't familiar in any sense, but he wouldn't settle for such a simple answer to her inquiry. There was something more here that he wasn't seeing, but perhaps it wasn't physical sight that was needed. Taking a breath he reached out with the Force, his efforts rudimentary but still functional. Once he touched on the Memory Maze it was as if a part of his being had been drawn into the object, and he found himself facing a literal maze that seemed to manifest in his subconscious. Inhaling sharply he pulled back his awareness, blinking a few times.

Briefly his gaze cut to her with a quizzical look, turning instantly back to that which he held in his hands. "No, I haven't seen one before. But I'm assuming it's supposed to do that." He wasn't sure what that had been in the first place, but it seemed as if a part of his consciousness had been transported into the device itself. No technology that he'd encountered previously had ever been capable of such a feat, then again, he'd never really been around the Jedi much previously either. They were always pulling out new tricks that no one in the galaxy had witnessed before. "What's the point of this thing, anyway? It's pretty to look at, but I'm assuming there's more to it than looks."

[member="Chevu Visz"]

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Ellifain Verrona"] [member="Vexen"]

"Well I guess she's still in the galley right?" he would state, taking a step forward and then another towards the destination. "What do you have to protect yourself with Vex?" he asked her.

There was a lesson in everything. This was in observation and in discerning just what was wrong. If there was an intruder and if Vexen was by herself, he wanted to make sure she could protect herself if need. Certainly he didn't want her looking for trouble, but if push came to shove, he wanted her to be able to see her entire environment as tools she would be able to use.

"What can you sense?"

 

[Vexen]

"What do you have to protect yourself with Vex?" he asked her.

"You?" Vexen asked. She was a fairly serious little soul, but she had developed her own sense of humour over the years. When that didn't seem to appease him, there was a quiet 'clack' as she snapped her jaws.

Vexen let out a long, slow sigh. Her head cocked to the side and her ears came up. The little girl was definitely still in there breathing quickly. Her other senses gradually stretched out and as she did this, she felt a wave of calm wash over her.

"It's scared," she said quietly, her voice tinged with confusion.

[member="Micah Talith"] [member="Ellifain Verrona"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Seemed the whirlwind of arrival had caught up to the Master Healer. Avalore had exited her speeder shuttle and stood gazing up at the biodome without any recollection of doing so. What brought on this abrupt realization was the sudden arrival of a short, bald, green man. Brown eyes turned down to peer at him, curiosity growing as he spoke.

Yoda?

No. But close?

New beginning. Avalore tried at a smile but it didn't quite reach her face ... or even her mind for that matter. Too many new beginnings had crumbled down around her already. She wasn't sure she could bare the pit in her stomach again.

"Yes," she replied, voice low and jaw tense, "I suppose it is."

"Would you like to join us for the tour?" her Guide asked politely, "We'll be going into the biodome shortly and then making our way down into the underground."

"Underground?" Avalore asked.

"Oh yes, a large portion of the temple grounds resides deep in the underground cave system. I believe that's where they're putting the medical and healing wings, Master Eden, you should like to see them."

"Yes," she said, "I would," and then looked down at [member="Vaet"], "I'm Avalore. You are...?"

 

[Chevu Visz]

Chevu studied Nikola's face as he gazed, transfixed, into the small spherical device. "That, Nikola is called a Mental Maze. It's a training tool to help with mentalism powers."

Using telekinesis, she floated another, smaller, Mental Maze from a nearby bookshelf into her own green hand.

"It's a training tool for younglings," the Mirialan explained and then laughed. "Well, you're hardly a youngling, of course." A slow blush crept up her face and she averted her gaze, almost shyly.

"You project yourself into the maze entrance here..." She inched closer and pointed it out on Nikola's sphere. "...and you have to think your way out of it. They come in different sizes. My recommendation is mastering the larger sizes first, and then moving onto the smaller ones."

She gave him a gentle smile. "Wanna try it?"

[member="Nikola Ticon"]

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Ellifain Verrona"] [member="Vexen"]

"Scared eh?" they would move along, one step at a time. Good, Vex was able to sense emotions through the Force. It was a good step. Her confusion over the matter made it all the better. Not because she was confused, but because now she was able to understand that there were things she didn't have to automatically fear. That she wasn't alone in feeling so.

"What else can you sense?" his voice would drop a few octaves, and he would allow the small bond the Defel and he had gained in their years together to bloom. Everything was a lesson in it of itself.

"Force on that, tell me what else does the Force tell you?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

Vexen narrowed her eyes in concentration. She could tell that Micah had decided this was going to be a lesson and that attempting to argue would be fruitless. However, as the connection between them strengthened, her natural instinct was to focus on Micah’s own thoughts and feelings rather than reach out to the galley ahead of them.

“You think you know who it is!” she accused suddenly. His relaxed attitude made sense now. Despite his casual nature he couldn’t possibly be that blasé that he had time to administer a lesson to her when someone had stowed aboard his ship.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili let her hands slip from her ears only to hear Henry’s legs as they ticked against the walls of the foundry walls. In the distance she could hear the loud bangs and noises of the rest of the construction site, yet she felt oddly at peace here. It was just her, Henry and the ear-deafening ringing of solitude. She liked it that way. There were no words and no souls in the near viscinity. No people in mass graves or impaled upon ruptured pieces of a spaceship. Her right forearm covered her left as she felt the slightest of tugs at the corner of her mouth.

It was quickly faded by the sound of a camera in use.

< “You haven’t done that in a while, is all.” > Henry dropped from the wall and quickly scuttled over to the drawing table. < “You should do it more often.” >

“I’ve tried, Henry.” Kaili said before letting her hands cover her eyes and forehead again. “I am trying.”

< “What changed?” >

“Everything.”

< “No, I meant here.” >

“Nothing.”

< “Nothing?” >

“Nothing.”

< “Nothing has changed?” >

“Nope.”

< “And this is why you’re smiling?” >

“Yes.”

< “You humans are strange.” >