A Home

[Jairus Starvald]

The vague outline of a barely upturned lip, a shadow obscuring her heart, heavy weight pulling down at her shoulder and a mind that has all but given up.

It was not what Vaet saw, it was what he did not see that made him reaffirm his belief in coming up here and share a few words. He was a young soul, naive, idealistic, he had not yet experienced true pain or loss such as this one.

Which might be what she needs.

Green eyes settled themselves on the Guide, there was a thoughtful expression before the Vaetling finally nodded in acceptance.

“I will.” he added with half of a smile. “My thanks you have.”

His attention was once again taken in by the Jedi Healer. Had he known that she was comparing him to Yoda - one of the most powerful and wise members that his people had produced for the Force - his green skin probably would have taken a slightly more reddish tint.

Mentalism was not part of his forte, yet. So this embarrassment was avoided for now.

“Vaet.”

Vaet looked up to look her in the eyes, and then gingerly extended a short arm for a shake.

“Pleased to meet you, Master Avalore.”

[member="Avalore Eden"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore took a few long moments to consider the alien before her. His size, his apparent youth, his amiable nature. Was he a child? She didn't know enough of the race to say, but there was something about the glint in his gaze that spoke of lessons yet learned. He had that little flame inside him that she'd had years ago and somewhere along the line it had beem smothered by grief and shadow.

For a moment she wished she was that girl again but it felt so far away. So long ago.

The Healer bent to gently take his hand, the scar tissue of her own making it impossible to tell if his digits were soft and unworn or calloused from use.

"Just Avalore is fine, Vaet. It's nice to meet you, too," the numbness of her hands was echoed by that of her voice and gaze before she stood again and nodded to Ern, "Let's continue."


She followed after their Guide who made his way over towards the construction towers standing alongside the biodome and lead them in to a lift. Ern spoke of the dome from its inception and all the technical things of wonder that went into its creation. Avalore wasn't really listening despite the fact that she was quite interested. Her attention was on the short green man at her side. Something about him just felt ... odd. Once the lift stopped at its gate they departed to walk the ramp to the main entrance.

Brown eyes tracked the progression of the tiny [member="Vaet"] as he walked along and finally Avalore could help her curiosity no more, "Are you a Jedi, Vaet?" She'd never been good at taking measure of someone's Force presence. Her own limitations on those intangible sorts of things had long since kept her from the cream of the crop where her warrior counterparts were concerned. Vaet, for all she knew, could be a Jedi Master.

 

[Nikola Ticon]

The skeptical expression that remained served to communicate his thoughts on the matter as she explained just how the device functioned. Having been raised among those that rarely bothered with what was considered the mystic side of things, this was regarded with a laughable curiosity at best. But Nikola would humor her until given reason not to, even if he found the exercise rather pointless at the moment. Once again he looked to her. "So it's a maze in a sphere that only exists in my mind when I project myself into it? Yeah, that sounds perfectly normal." The slight smile on his lips took some of the edge off that statement, though how much was entirely up to her own interpretation.

Regardless of his doubt the blush that crept across her face went far from unnoticed, his smile growing crooked. "Aw, c'mon, really?" She had been the one to instigate things by that likely involuntary gesture, and given who he was he would run with it. If there ever was a time to truly test her boundaries, now was it. His head tilted slightly to one side, his seemingly inquisitive attitude undermined by his otherwise bemused expression. "You really don't get out much, do you? Yeah, I'm twenty-two, far from a youngling. What about it?" It was a question that was at once rhetorical yet seeking out an answer, though perhaps not one entirely too serious. Once again, depending on just how she took things.

Without giving her a chance to respond his attention shifted again to the Mental Maze, and with his brow furrowed in concentration he projected himself into the metallic sphere, allowing it to envelope his consciousness. This time he regarded his new surroundings with careful attention instead of immediately drawing back, more details presenting themselves. Every turn was made instinctively, his perceived steps guided by nothing more than the Force, all of his uncertainty melting away in the face of the ethereal. It wasn't a strategy he consciously willed, for once letting his own stubbornness to fade away so that he might accomplish a task with fewer bumps in the road.

A tense silence hung in the air, not so much as an incoherent muttering passing his lips. Long minutes passed by without a shift in his position, when finally he inhaled deeply, seeming to regain control of his own form in a rush of awareness. Within seconds a breathless smile was on his lips, and he looked to the Mental Maze in his hands with a new respect for its capacity. "Alright, not too bad." He hefted it slightly in his grasp. "Could be a new pastime. How many of those do we have here in the temple?" His interest was genuine, intentions for once pure. A rare side of him to show, all told, and one she most certainly should not get used to seeing consistently.

[member="Chevu Visz"]

 

[Adele Adonai]

OOC: Sorry for the delay! If i missed anyone, please tag me again.

Adele would give a cordial smile at [member="Karen Roberts"].

Whatever manner that she could be of aid she would be willing to partake in. While she did not verbally made that indication, it was clear that the Jedi would be more than willing to help with the medical bay. The casual observer would wonder if it was perhaps the woman was shy? Or maybe she just didn't talk as much.

Who knew. The majority of those who knew the woman would say that she was a rather odd one. She normally kept to herself. She wasn't a grand healer; certainly not the best. Average to say the least. She had worked in the Jedi Archives and she also spent a tremendous amount of time in meditation. Perhaps that is why she was here?

In any event, each had their role to play. If she could help out with the Healing Crystal Rooms and the sick bay all the better.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]The ways of Vaet were… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]strange[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] to say the least. He was young for the standards of his people, but in truth he was probably older than Avalore was right now, his travels had taken him far, taken him width and yet he had never had much interaction with the main ‘events’ of the Galaxy. Vaet hadn’t been there when the Fringe had started its ascend to power, hadn’t been there for the atrocities of Druckenwell or the fall of the Sith Empire… pure technically he had only heard of the vile acts of the One Sith a few years into their metaphorical success.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]That was the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]way[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] of traveling the Galaxy and disappearing into one civilization or the other. You lost yourself amidst the people you were trying to help, it was a large place, [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]huge[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] by any stretch of the imagination.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]So it wasn’t strange that some things seemed new to him, even if he was older than he looked.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]His Force Presence though… the Vaetling had always been quite surprised when people were able to just simply make out the power of the Force within a person, or alignment, or location, or anything else useful, really. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]It was a huge network of pure [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]life[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] that connected everything to everything. The fact that some people had such an easy time to simply make out the details in such a wish-wash of information? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]That astonished the young Vaetling.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“A Jedi? Perhaps.” Vaet replied after some thought. “Walk with those that need aid, I do. Healing, words of support, a shoulder to lean on. My lightsaber ignited, for those who cannot protect themselves. Advice shared, when asked for.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Vaet looked up and smiled.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Makings of a Jedi, hmm?” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Avalore Eden"][/SIZE]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Brows raised faintly but no smile was given in return. Not a Jedi, then?

Avalore looked thoughtful for a moment, remembering back to those early days with Master Starkiller and all the traits he'd displayed as a man, as a friend, as a mentor, and last but not least as a Jedi. It occurred to Avalore in that time that Jedi were not actually as special and spectacular as she had originally assumed. The social media of the galaxy painted them as people to be placed upon a pedestal - untouchable, unreachable, mythical even. Almost as if they were simply legends in a story. To many, she thought, this was likely the reality.

She just happened to have been born and raised upon a planet were the creatures of lore were real. Her own strange progression into the myth was something that still confounded her to this very day.

I'm a nobody.

But, Mark had told her one night, while not everyone can become a Jedi, a Jedi can come from anyone. Even you, and you are somebody.

Even you, she thought as she looked at Vaet.

"Yes," the Healer said finally, "they are. You have a lightsaber? Does this mean you also have a Master?"

[member="Vaet"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]No Gods, no Masters. Only Men.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Vaet did not respond immediately to her question. Instead they just kept on walking, the mere presence of the Guide almost forgotten, faded away into the miasmatic background noise that made out the entirety of the Force. It was always like this when two met and something subtle guided them farther and farther into the reach, the background noise gets droned out and you intently focused on the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]here[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] and the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]now[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px].[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Sadly not.” the Vaetling responded, and perhaps there was just a little tint of sadness that colored him in the Force then and then. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Patience with me they did not have, the Old Jedi Order. Ossus. Brown robes, lightsabers, white noise in the Force. They speak, but listen they do not.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]A barely noticeable shrug followed.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Alone I am. Walk where the Force asks, help those I can. My duty, this is.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]To this day he did not know why the Force would guide him to a more active role in the war against the One Sith. When the Sith Empire had been at its height until the Republic casted it down… Vaet had been a soft buzz on the background of the Force himself, a little light that moved along the backwater worlds of the Galaxy, trying to provide a measure of relief where he could.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]It had been a simple life, but a life from which he derived a certain sense of accomplishment. What could be accomplish here amidst the Jedi Lords, the Masters of Grey and the Darkness That Followed?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]He knew not.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]An echo finally reached him. A thought [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]thought[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] minutes ago that just now circulated back to him - no, he was [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]wrong[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px], it was not a thought. It was a belief firmly set in stone, etched out by a constant tide casting against the stone.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“A healer, [member="Avalore Eden"] is. Master of Light. This is [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]somebody[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]. Forget this, you cannot.”[/SIZE]

 

[Chevu Visz]

Chevu didn’t quite get sarcasm. She was a fairly serious young woman who took most statements at face value. Usually subtle humor was lost on her. Twenty-two. Two years older than she. Chevu suddenly felt very young.

“You’re right,” she agreed. “I don’t get out that much. I’ve spent the last year training in a Pirin temple with a Sullustan Jedi Master. But rest assured, I may have been a hermit for the last year, but I will teach you how to wield the Force. The rest of your training will come at the hands of the rest of the Alliance. Weapons, tactical training, piloting. We have remarkable teachers here.”

She watched her new apprentice’s face, brow furrowed in concentration. He seemed to be getting the hang of the mental maze.

“We have quite a few. You can keep that one, to practice on your own.”

Chevu backed up, taking care to put a good amount of distance between she and Nikola. Her hands were extended in a catching gesture.

“How’s your telepathy, Nikola? Try floating the Mental Maze to me.”

[member="Nikola Ticon"]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Brow tightening in concern to the mention of The Jedi Order and Ossus, Avalore made a noise of thought but gave no comment to his words. Thinking back to that place, that group of people, all the Healer had left for it was frustration. Since giving her Kasha Amulet away to [member="Kana Truden"] she found it best to avoid thinking of such things. It took her to dark places.

She did note, however, the statement of Alone I am.

Aren't we all... she thought to herself, though Avalore knew this was not true. Why was it so hard for Jedi to believe this? So hard to remember the comraderie of their fellow warriors of the light, so easy to forget the bond they all shared in the same goal. Brown eyes flickering back to Ern as he continued in his tour Avalore had to wonder how this incessant splitting of the Lightside factions could ever be any good for the galaxy as a whole. Disunited and chaotic, the various sects of the Jedi across the stars were all fighting for their own reasons - rarely seeming to work as a whole.

It was disheartening, being part of this newest split. Was she part of the problem?

A Healer, Avalore Eden is. Master of light. This is somebody. Forget this, you cannot.

She blinked, looking back, gaze hardening. Where had the girl that would have smiled at this statement gone? Instead she felt those mental blockades going up while her sense of wonder once more began to wilt. The Healer's lips drew thing, her gaze stony.

"My thoughts are my own. Stay out of my head, Vaet."

[member="Vaet"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Flashy powers were not Vaet’s domain. He could not create tornados with the flick of his wrist or disassemble a fortress with his will - instead his affinity went towards the talents that were more subtle in nature: they were all inter-connected through the Force, a wide network of [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]life[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] that touched them all. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]It was pure empathy. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Feeling the feelings of those around him, their thoughts touching his without him even reaching out to them, but of course this would not make her less concerned. She had been hurt in her short life, hurt multiple times and each time had lessened her faith in the world, such a thing was not healed by just a few words. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]If it could be healed at all.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“You are right.” Vaet replied after a moment of thought, before nodding firmly. “Forgiveness I ask, Master Jedi. Intrude further I will not.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Avalore Eden"][/SIZE]

 

[Avalore Eden]

Another glance, a faint softening of her expression, a nod.

"Thank you."

Not often she told someone to stay out of her head without them contesting their strange right to it. The idea of privacy had become something of a joke in modern times. Feth, even getting out of the radar of some organizations...some people had become something of a joke.

The thought of returning to the Sanctuary had crossed her mind more than once. No one left of the Jedi even knew where it was. No one but her.

And Hal...

"Ern," the Healer turned to their Guide who promptly stopped to look at her curiously, "thank you for the tour but I think we'll just explore from here."

"Are you sure Master Eden?"

"Quite sure," a strained smile touched her face, "the Force will guide us."

"If you insist. Good day, Master Jedi." Apparently Ern thought Vaet was a Master, too.

Once alone, Avalore moved to continue walking, keeping her strides slow for Vaet to keep up, "You mentioned Healing. Are you quite experienced in the arts?"

[member="Vaet"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]It amused Vaet that the Guide used the catch-all phrase of Master Jedi, but did not consider it all that strange. Some Jedi forgot that for the people not blessed with the touch of the Force… that it was a [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]strange[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] entity and its wielders even more foreign - listening to some of the stories that were told in the backrooms of the common rooms, it was as if people deified and demonized the Force Wielders equally. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Which one of the two it was depended on the perspective, but one thing stayed a constant. The normal citizens of the Galaxy did not understand the Jedi or the Sith, or the distinction between the two, the difference between a Knight and a Master was just as foreign to them as a life without the Force was to the Jedi.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Such was [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]life[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px].[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Much to learn I have.” he was grateful that she kept his short stature in mind. Some were less concerned or thoughtful and it usually meant that the Vaetling had to run alongside the tall people to keep up.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“But some experience? Yes. A few years spent in the Outer Rim Worlds, frontier worlds, much suffering invisible to the Core.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Avalore Eden"][/SIZE]

 

[Adele Adonai]

Deep in Sullust's core lay the perfect storm for the creation of crystals. Within the high temperatures, rapid cool down, and thousands of years of high pressure to compact, these precious treasures are what lay within the crust of Sullust. It is dangerous to venture, much more difficult to discover, but when one is graced by the Force to discover a catch, many would benefit from it.

That was the reason for the creation of a Healing Crystal room at the Sullust Jedi Temple. Construction crews had used a natural cavern and had begun to expand upon it. Hours in and out, with several teams of Jedi and Galactic Alliance crews would continually labor over widening halls. It was during one such expansion that the will of the Force would reveal itself with a most wondrous discovery.

A'dele had been working along the medical wing, aiding in what would become a small healing crystal room, when word came in a wave of excitement.

"Knight A'donnai! Come quick!" a voice would call, excited and out of breath. "Come and see!"

Confused, the normally stoic Iridonian would follow the young padawan.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Julius wasn't exactly sure what he could do here.... He was no great shakes with the Force. part of it was likely because of a long held attitude that he wasn't that much to begin with to be honest. There was still always that niggling doubt in himself, in his own ability and strength. After the events out on the Rim, the utter failure of his efforts on behalf of the Order... It had eventually led to his departure from the Republic in whole... For so long, he had wandered, and honestly lost track of time. He had drifted into pubs and cantinas, trying to drown the memories in cheap whiskey and wine, but it never seemed to work.

Then he had ran into a twi'lek, of all the races to run into, and a bright pink one at that. She hadn't recognized him. She hadn't judged him. Maybe the Republic had never heard of what happened. Maybe there was hope after all. That dawning had been one of such impetus he had almost ran back to the Order. But the cynicism life with a Mandalorian mercenary had bred into him had held him back... And in the end, he had seen the Republic with fresh eyes. It was not exactly evil, really... But it lacked something within that he sorely needed. And so he had drug himself out of the hidden depths he had resigned himself too, and began to roam almost aimlessly searching for purpose.

Here, he believed, with these people, he just might have found it. Just might have found a place to recoup, regain... Maybe rebuild the lost connections he had damaged being a drifter and a general lout. And so he had drifted in and out of talks with them, joined up as it were. Fought a few minor skirmishes, some not so minor he supposed. And now, here he was on Sullust, carrying boxes and crates. The typical armor he wore almost everywhere was gone, put up. What he wore now was not exactly traditional jedi robes, but it was just simple vest in spacers leather with black trousers, the white shirt under the vest taken off and tied around his waist to keep him cooler. It also showed off a muscular, if rather scarred frame that was obviously used to hard sale warfare and exertion, despite the thinner build. His boots clicked slightly as he walked past [member="Karen Roberts"] and stopped for a moment.

Coughing as he turned, he blinked at Karen and tried to nod to the crate in his arms.

"There is some sort of Power Conduits in this box here... Might be the tri ones... I was carrying it to someone named Karen? Might you be her?"

 

[Jsc]

[member="Julius Sedaire"]

"Ah. Perfect. That was exactly what we were looking for."

Karen reached over and yanked the box from Julius' hands. Eager to get back to work with the installation.

"Thank for the prompt delivery. Now, if you'll excuse me. I'll leave these with my friend here and retreat to the surface for a call. Adieu."

She pitched the box to Chip and he caught it with a look of gasping surprise. Umph. Ouch. Was she always this bad? Jeez. Then Karen took her leave of the temple.

/exit, loa

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore continued walking, following the only sign that had caught her interest thus far: Sky Garden. Ern had mentioned that a good portion of the biodome would be devoted to a garden. She wondered just how much and if she might be able to transplant her very precious plants from the Sanctuary here - a return she wasn't quite ready to make.

"There's a lot of things the core is blind to," the Healer replied, stuffing her hands in her pockets where she once was able to squeeze her Kasha Crystal in time of duress. No such luck. Perhaps she could squeeze a Vaetling? She didn't think that would have the same effect.

"And many more things the governments involved there don't wish to acknowledge. It's people like you that make the difference. I suppose that's why this Alliance has formed. Someone finally recognized the need for more of those sorts of people."

[member="Vaet"]

 

[Kahne Porte]

"There shows progression Master Porte, however its still too early to tell."

"I don't feel to much like a Master." Kahne smirked and chuckled lightly as he sat up after getting some blood work taken and the usually checkup in regards to his memory impairment. "You mean to say I don't have the same bump on the side of my head."

"Just keep doing what you are doing, give it more time. Things always get better in time."

"Wise man." Kahne chuckled as he stood up off the bed and cleared his throat. "Thanks." Kahne took a deep breath as he moved out the door listening to the last words of the doctor. "Take care of yourself!"

"Always." Kahne muttered under his breath with a small smile and that was when he heard the voice of a rather excited padawan. While the call that was out of breath wasn't for him, as a female Jedi followed the padawan and Kahne in turn followed. If it was something he could help with, he would.

"Is everything alright?!" Kahne inquired catching up to the two Jedi.

[member="Adele Adonai"]

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

She was watching the tugs get the last bit into place. This wasn’t all that bad, but she might be missing out. Still, the girl was a Warden. It didn’t matter what was going on the ground. She was helping set up another place for Jedi to congregate, and that could only do well for the Force and the galaxy.

The dark haired space-born had no idea why her father despised the Jedi so much, and she might not. What she knew was that the ones she met, the Taliths, and the Covenant, they were great. They were doing hard work and they were going to help win this war.

She did not like Sith.

“Kaili, can you read down there?” She tried to contact her friend [member="Kaili Talith"] directly. Maybe they were too far underground?

That was scary.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Vaet sniffed softly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Not enough difference, I am afraid.” the young Jedi confessed sadly. It was true that he had spent a lot of time in the Outer Rim, providing healing and support wherever he came, and yet… so much suffering he had to leave behind when it was time to move on.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]One that stung above all, the one thing he could have stopped… if only he had been better.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“For every healing I performed, three more died. One situation resolved peacefully, five ended in war, destruction and agony. Every child brought back to the light… so much more lost to the shadows.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]And just like that the Vaetling showed that even if there was a flame burning within him, there was a lot of hidden sadness and doubts within that little body.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Avalore Eden"][/SIZE]

 

[Adele Adonai]

Jedi Knight Adele would follow the young padawan, only to find another also joining in the expedition. Her pale blue gaze would curiously meet that of the newcomer, [member="Kahne Porte"].

"I am unsure," she told the man as they would wound deeper into the cavern, leaving the medical ward behind him. With a slow blink, she would return her attention to the man, asking, "Your name, sir?" There were so many new faces, both for the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order. That wasn't even including the several civilian groups that were also aiding in the construction of the temple, as well as the reconstruction of Sullust. There were several companies also giving a helping hand, so the man could very well be part of that too.

Force users were not solely restricted to the Order here. They could be part of anyone. Anything. It was that bit of freedom that attracted many of the fringe force groups. Probably something that carried over from the Omega Protectorate days.