A Rite Of Passage (TJO)

[Kahlil Noble]

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JEDHA; ORBIT​

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This wasn't the first time Kahlil had set out to a planet known for having Kyber Crystals on it. The first time was with the Silver Jedi, helping padawans find the core of their lightsaber, but they weren't his padawans. It was completely different bringing when it was his own padawans about to go through the age old trial.

Overcome their flaws, and find the crystal that speaks to them.

He sat in the cockpit of The Bastion, his home. Their home. They were just floating outside the planet, waiting for the others who were coming to arrive. His padawans weren't the only ones being challenged after all. Kahlil was nervously bouncing his knee as he watched the stars. How was he going to explain it to [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] and [member="Amaryllis Tansea"] ? He didn't want to give too much away, as it would defeat the purpose of the trial.

But he didn't want them to fail either.

Eventually the young man took a breath and stepped into the common room. Once the other Jedi arrived, it would be time to start the trial.

[member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Thiavi"] [member="Matsu Ike"] [member="Aubrey King"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Darth Animus"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh-en-ma-nofre sat on the common room floor, his legs crisscross, a couple scattered blooks lay around him, some old texts about basic medical procedures. The young man had been taking notes and trying to brush up on his medical skills, but he'd been getting a bit frustrated. The terminology the books were using were completely out of his league. Kafh-en-ma-nofre let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing and heartbeat, calming himself, and resting his mind.

Kafh opened his eyes when he heard someone step into the common room. He closed the old books along with a notepad and stacked them up. Tilting his head up to Kahlil. "Everything alright big brother?" Kafh said with a concerned look on his face. "Did R6 say something to hurt your feelings? I know just the other day that astromech and I got into an argument over it not wanting me in the common room meditating. It told me that my mother drinks bantha milk, then when I told it to talk to you about the situation, it zaped me. And rolled off." Kafh said. "I don't even know what I did to trouble it..." Kafh said as he scratched his head and stood up.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]
[member="Thiavi"]
[member="Amaryllis Tansea"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Amaryllis laid on her stomach in the hallway between the common room and the cockpit. She assumed [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] was there - often, if not most of the time, he seemed to hang around it. In front of her were a variety of books on basic, technology, herbs, and the like. Indeed, over the past few weeks Amara had nothing but time on her hand. Between studying this 'Force,' and cooking, and then just catching up on the galactic... Galaxy.

She took a breath as she flipped a page, her tail twirling about in the air. Her legs from the knee down were also in the air, supported by each other. She wore her current favorite outfit - a tanktop and flowered skirt. She only assumed they hadn't moved for a bit. The last she saw was what looked like a desert-esq planet outside the window.

Heh, who knew sandy planets like that even existed?! There was so much jungle and from the window, it looked like there were no plants down there. In either case, she thought she heard [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] speak but couldn't quite make out what she heard. But Kahlil had exited the cockpit and was heading to the common room so Amaryllis scrambled to gather her books and rush behind him into the room, nearly tripping herself as she placed the books on a table.

Finally situating herself crossed legged on a chair, she tilted her head.

 

[grammaticus]

It was not a large lab. Try as hard as you might but it was difficult to find a good labor contractor on Jedah, even for those who knew how to...encourage creativity. He had barely been able to secure a single warehouse for his work, and had been forced to expand below ground on his own using labor droids and slaves. It was disappointing the lack of investment the people of Jedah put into their infrastructure department, especially given their reconstruction. Given the time he would perhaps have invested his own resources in a construction company. You never knew when those would come in handy.

Still, the lab he now had at his disposal was adequate for the work at hand.

Animus had come to Jedah to further a theory he had been working on. The living Force could be affected by the emotions of the people of the galaxy. Another thing that was affected by the living Force were kyber crystals. They had to be connected to the Force so that they could connect and choose their new owners. Animus's theory was that since kyber crystals were connected to the living Force, that they too could be affected by emotions and other factors in their environment. One such experiment was underway at that very moment. Three locals were trapped in a small room, with a single overlooking glass balcony. Each chair the locals were strapped to contained numerous needles, blades and poisons that would regularly be injected or used to cut their skin, before a small healing unit would move in to fix the damage. In the center of all the locals was a small group of kyber crystals.

Animus stood in the observation platform watching the experiment, taking notes on a small datapad he held. The endless agony of the subjects was having a noted effect on the crystals. This line of testing would have to be expanded to see how far he could take it. Closing the datapad, Animus turned and left the observation room, entering a hallway with over a dozen rooms exactly like the one he had just left. Each room had a different experiment underway, exploring every viable emotion that might show results on the crystals. Hopefully Animus would find a way to effectively weaponize an improved crystal. It would be a long experiment, but a profitable one he was certain.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Thiavi]

Jedha, Another desert planet, which despite previous events, was thiavi's preferred kind of planet, and to make it better, it was cold, or so they said, which meant it would feel closer to her home on krownest than it would tatooine, both good things in her eyes. but, she'd have to find out of it were true or not, later. for now, they were still on board the bastion.

Thiavi herself was sprawled out on a couch in the comment room, legs crossed a the ankles over the arm rest on one end, head rested on the other, listening to music through the ear piece, which she had connected to a small wire that hung from her helmet, which sat on he small table next to the couch.

"I kind of like R6" she chuckles, opening one eye lazily to look at kafh when he spoke, and then kahlil when he entered the room. "Just as long as he doesn't zap me"

Come t think of it, she needed to give K3 something other than his fists to work with. maybe she'd find something on jedha? oh right, jedha

"Hey, what are we doing on jedha again? I can't wait to see it but I want to know what we're doing here"

[member="Darth Animus"] [member="Amaryllis Tansea"] [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] [member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil gave [member="Amaryllis Tansea"] a curious glance as she laid out on the couch, though quickly turned his gaze away, clearing his throat. [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] could already tell something was bothering him. Was he learning Kahlil's tells, or was he growing more attuned to the Force with each coming day? Probably both, if he thought on it long enough. Still, hearing about R6 being a jerk as usual brought a smile.

"And when he's not giving sass. He loves his sass." A good distraction, until [member="Thiavi"] asked her question. A sigh escaped the Jedi as he slid his hand through his hair. "We're here to get Kyber crystals. To make lightsabers. The Jedi have a tradition, and you two," he motioned to his padawans. "Will be completing the trial. With other padawans, so try to play nice, okay?"

 

[Allyson Locke]

Jedah

This moon was a desert terrain, that was locked in permanent winter. Permanent WINTER. Allyson struggled with the concept, but it wasn’t something she was too worried about. Bundling up tight and keeping herself warm was the idea. As much as she disliked extreme temperatures, she wasn’t bothered by them too much. Though, she didn’t feel quite herself if she stayed out longer than she really needed to be.

The ride to Jedah wasn’t the smoothest, but it was as smooth as she could make it. The entry into the planet was filled with a constant shake and shouts of ‘Just trust me, I got this!’ The Kraken was a ship that hadn’t seen much action, she had been put away and stored for the most part while Allyson flew with the Rogues and then with Onyx. The old bird fired up when needed, but as of right now – Allyson would need to stop by a shop to get a few parts needed for the ship to – make it home. A sheepish grin spread over her face as she looked towards her companion on the trip, [member="Aubrey King"].

“You doing okay there? I told you we would be fine, you just had to trust me.” The Corellian mused and tried to keep it light hearted. Aubrey was always one to be cool and collected for the most part, which was why when they were in the Silver Spacey, King was her Commander. Allyson nudged her former commander lightly and continued to smile. “Let’s get settled while I contact Kahlil, he’s in charge of this whole thing – we’re here to support,” Allyson activated the comm on her wrist and paused, “Also to check it out, I never got to do um what is it…” Her hand moved in the air, in a circle gesture as she tried to remember the name of what Kahlil and his students were doing.

“A crystal farm, gathering – for lightsabers. Should be cool right?”

A quick message was sent to [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] – letting him know that they had arrived. Allyson wondered if the man had spare parts, it would let her avoid the mess of haggling in the shops. It was never pretty, and she had her doubts about Aubrey wanting to partake in that. Oh, that lovely spacer life.

[member="Thiavi"] [member="Darth Animus"] [member="Amaryllis Tansea"] [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Thiavi asked the question that had been on Kafh's mind as well. Kahlil commented on R6s sass before sighing. They were there for a Jedi Tradition. To get crystals for lightaber crafting. Kafh tilted his head. That's why they were going to Jedah? Interesting. Kafh rubbed his eyes. Kahlil also asses that they'd be completing the trial with others, Kafh nodded giving Kahlil a partial smile.

"Of course Teacher. Though I heard Jedah is uhm
.... Really cold. Should be fun..." He said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Kafh wasn't fond of the idea of having to later clothing and bundle up just to go off ship. He was used to hear and he liked it. Shaking his head he stood up and picked up his books. Placing them on a table. He turned to Kahlil. At any rate how does it work?" Kafh asked with a tilted head.
[member="Thiavi"]
[member="Allyson Locke"]
[member="Aubrey King"]
[member="Darth Animus"]
[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]
[member="Amaryllis Tansea"]

 

[Thiavi]

"kyber?" she says to herself, sitting up and turning to the others. "I hear you can power all kinds'a chit with kyber crystals" she smiles for a moment, leaning back and thinking of all the little toys she could make with a kyber crystal.

"Oh, the smile fades into a more inquisitive expression They only "appear" to force sensitives, right?" force sensitives, that was the word right?

*sigh* "Doesn't matter I suppose, at least we're going somewhere neat for once" Old jedi ruins, sand, cold, a city or two from what she heard, something that a young mandalorian girl shouldn't be interested in, but thiavi was.. well, thiavi, after all.

She'd have to find a way to get K3 to fit in. A scarf maybe? true there was no reason for a droid to wear winter gear, but there was no reason for her droid to go style-less either, so HA! A scarf it'll be.

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] [member="Darth Animus"] [member="Amaryllis Tansea"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Amaryllis's frowned at the mention of droids. Ever since the... Incident, well, Amary really didn't appreciate them. Or like them. Or wanted to be anywhere around them, to be frank. She preferred biological anything. In either case, the woman gave a nod after [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] spoke. Was everything alright? Bah, she could only hope neither Kahlil nor Thiavi would bring their mean droids.

And [member="Thiavi"] asked the question on everyone's mind - what were they doing on Jedha? Kyber crystals? What difference where they in terms of crystals? After all, there was a big ole' cave on Akiva that she could have showed them... Oh well. Apparently, it meant completing their trial. She had heard bits and pieces of this 'trial.'

"Should I bring fruits?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head. If there were going to be other padawans, and likewise if they were going to play nice. But indeed, from her readings confirmed what Kafh mentioned. It was frigid, stuck in a cold, cold embrace. Something Amara didn't quite enjoy but she much preferred it to the blistering heat of any hot deserts and such.

Luckily, she had bought a bunch of warmy, comfy clothes!

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Right. Multiple questions from the different people before him. That was still something he was getting use to. Kahlil laughed and began rubbing the back of his head, glancing first to [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] . "You'll go into the caverns where the crystals are, and you'll collect one." Careful, don't overshare. Finding the crystal and knowing which was theirs was part of the trial.

Though. Kahlil blinked slowly, glancing to [member="Thiavi"] . He couldn't answer her question, not without spoiling too much. Maybe in a bit. So he turned his gaze to [member="Amaryllis Tansea"] . Right, fruit. "I don't see why not. Eating isn't a bad thing, and having some snacks to share might make it easier for you and the others going into the cave." The message from [member="Allyson Locke"] came in. Good timing.

"They're starting to arrive so we'll land. You two, I want you to go to your rooms and start focusing on the Force. Center yourselves and feel Jedha and the Light." Hopefully, that might give them an edge, remembering what it was to feel the light. Not that he'd tell them how important that was to actually finding the crystals. Once they walked off Kahlil would nod to Thiavi.

"Y'know, there's nothing that says you have to be sensitive to get one of those crystals. You could always try, if you want."

[member="Darth Animus"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh looked over to Kahlil who began to answer their questions. They were going into the caverns to collect them? Kafh nodded, he was content with the answer, he was sure everything would be okay.

Kahlil had asked that he and Amary go to their quarters and meditate on Jedah and the Force itself to find their center. Kafh nodded. "Sure, let me know when you're ready for us to head out Teacher." Kafh said as he exited the common room and made his way to his room.

There he sat on the floor opening himself up to the Force. He closed his eyes and began to breath slow deep breaths, clearing his mind and searching for the will of the Force. He felt a chill creep up his spine, the desert planet stuck in winter, a constant cold yet he was at peace. Kafh let the Force allow his mind and body to center itself on the task they were going to face. It felt as if the Force was flowing around him, like he was submerged in an ocean. Yet he was at peace. There was no darkness to be found, not in his mind, only light. Kafh smiled as he continued to reach out to the Force.

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]
[member="Darth Animus"]
[member="Allyson Locke"]
[member="Amaryllis Tansea"]
[member="Aubrey King"]
[member="Thiavi"]

 

[Thiavi]

Don't have to be force sensitive to find kyber crystals? that was new information to thiavi, and well received information at that.

"Well, Might as well give it a shot than! If it can power a lightsaber, there has to be more it can do, right? I'll stuff it in my helmet. or maybe a droid?" Lets be honest here, she's going to try and put in a blaster of some kind, but she doesn't want to say that around the galactic peacekeepers now does she?

"I guess I'll tag along with the padawans, Besides, they'll need me or kebo if they run into anything that they can't magic their way through" she says with a fiendish smile. she has to poke fun at her mystical companions every now and again.
She stands up and grabs her helmet, walking towards her room to grab the rest of her gear "So, How long till we make landfall?"

[member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] [member="Amaryllis Tansea"]

 

[Aubrey King]

The ride to Jedah was a bumpy one, to say the least.

Aubrey had a pretty active role as copilot the whole trip, troubleshooting a myriad of malfunctions as they popped up, sometimes many at once. The whole time, she was the model of composure, smiling right along with Locke as she worked through each issue, but on the inside she was fuming. If this was the military, the busted freighter wouldn't haven even been cleared to power up its engines, much less clear the deck. Right now, this rattling mess seemed to be held together by nothing but aerotape and a prayer.

All were destined to die, but she didn't want hers to come by a flameout in this bucket of bolts.

"Oh yes, right as rain," Aubrey called out, tapping a flickering console. "However, we may want to get the Kraken checked out once we return to the Vingilot. The APU seems to be having a problem cycling power to important subsystems...like the inertial compensators."

If those went out, then occupants were sure to be instantly crushed by their own weight during any high-g maneuver.

"Sure, I guess it will be something," she replied in response about the crystals, but then she did a double take. "Wait, aren't you a Jedi Knight?"

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"] [member="Thiavi"] [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] [member="Amaryllis Tansea"] [member="Darth Animus"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Allyson made a mental note of the suggestions that [member="Aubrey King"] had made. There were few she trusted, and the other woman was a part of that select group. Aubrey knew what she was talking about and Allyson had felt it when she connected with the ship – doing her best to keep it together. Maybe it would have been a good idea to take a fighter out this way, but even then, would it have made it?

Shaking the thought off, Allyson tilted her head slightly as she waited for confirmation from [member="Kahlil Zambrano"] on his location or if he’s even arrived yet. It was possible they could poke their head into some shops and see if they could gather the parts needed. Aubrey questioned her ranking and Allyson nodded, slightly confused at the question. Was she supposed to have done this ritual before becoming a Knight? “Yeah, I’m a Knight, I was knighted a few years ago while Jyoti was still Grandmaster.” Allyson thought back and nodded; it had been some time.

“I learned how to fight with a saber, but it was never my weapon of choice. I still really like my blasters.” Patting her thigh, there was an older lightsaber that she had been given. “Still have one though.”

The Corellian’s mind drifted back to her ship’s problems. She was embarrassed that it was in that state, but there wasn’t much more she could do at the time. It wasn’t like they were still in the military with funds that were pouring out their ears, the group had priorities and the ship that was their home was number one. “I am glad we made it; I don’t think I would have without your help Aubrey.” Hands found their way into the worn military green jacket as Allyson looped the conversation back to the ship.

“I know she needs to be looked at.” Allyson sighed softly and tapped on her lips as she pondered when she could even fit it in. “There’s just so much already happening on the Vingilot, I feel like I fix one issue and ten more pop up. Everything is actually going better than I had planned, just a lot of work that needs to be done. Either way, I’m sure I can get the parts needed so we aren’t killed.”

Spoiler

[member="Thiavi"] [member="Darth Animus"] [member="Amaryllis Tansea"] [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"]

 

[Ladybug]

With smudges of oil on her face, hands, and clothes, Mikilanna sat back on her knees admiring her accomplishments. Before the others began arriving to the ship, the young Felcatian wanted to give the ship a once over. The ship, for the most part, was in good shape; on the outside. A good mechanical engineer knew that outside appearances where just that, vanity. What made a ship truly tick, and run properly, where the unseen mechanisms that kept these steel monstrosities afloat through space. "Well, I think that's all I can do," Mikilanna said reaching for the oil stained rag next to her, wiping the dark stained liquid from her face.

Mikilanna had missed the early meetings regarding the outing, mission, or setting; opting to examine the ship personally. In hindsight, it was probably a mistake unless the ship itself fell under some sort of spellbinding mechanical burps that where neglected before take off; in which case the crew would understand her need to run diagnostic checks and ensure the ship was in tip-top shape. That, she believed, was more important than hearing where they were going, or what they were suppose to do.

Gathering the tools that belonged to the ship, Mikilanna began methodically organizing them properly in the tool boxes. As a mechanic, the first rule was this: organization was the difference between saving a ship and abandoning a ship.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Amaryllis beamed at the mention of having fruit. Luckily for them, she was already prepared - a bag had been prepared and was laying on the ground next to a chair. In it was, well, apparently juicy, delicious apples. That was apparently what these fruits were called. Who knew?

In either case, Amara gave a nod and skipped off to her room to do this Force feeling focus thing. Hopefully, he'd let her know once they did arrive so she didn't meditate through the entire event.

Once she settled into her plant-covered room, she plopped on her bed and crossed her legs. With a deep breath, she let her senses go as she brought herself into connection with the Force. And most importantly, what she assumed was the light of the Force. Apparently there was dark, evil people in the world. But also, dark good people but also light bad people? At least, that's what she gathered from her readings.

Nonetheless, she let herself go into the light that seemed to wrap its arms around her - and her its.

[member="Thiavi"] [member="Kafh-en-ma-nofre"] [member="Kahlil Zambrano"]

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil raised a brow as he watched [member="Thiavi"] for a moment, then chuckled. "Just make sure it has a stun setting." Was he reading her mind? Nah, he just knew her. And he wasn't about to tell her not to make a weapon. "You can join them, if you'd like. But K3 will have to stay with me. Only those searching for theirs can enter, and droids can't feel the Force. Not like you'd be able to."

R6 sounded off over the coms with a string of beeps. Which seemed normal till the end, where Kahlil visibly flinched. "Wha.. Why didn't you respond! Of course send them a message and let them know we're here!" For the moment he completely missed Thiavi's last question as he rushed to the cockpit to open up the coms.

"Right, uh. Yeah. This is um.." A pause. "Padawan Kahlil. We're arriving to the sacred site. Meet us there, and we'll get this started for the others." Right, still a padawan. Hopefully he'd still be able to head this expedition as planned, though if [member="Allyson Locke"] felt like she needed to take over he wouldn't stop her. Well, no time to think about that. Within minutes The Bastion landed at the designated spot, and Kahlil would make his way to the ramp.

"Alright everyone, let's get going. No time to waste."

 

[Thiavi]

"But do I have to?" she chuckles. yeah, he knew. no point in hiding it. Having to leave K3 behind though, that wasn't something she was used to. That droid had played the dual role of bodyguard and caretaker for her since the red coronation. gods- since she was seven? it had been awhile..

"Alright.. kebo will stay here, but I'm keeping my commlink ready if anything happens" then "padawan kahlil" ran off to respond to the order personel. A padawan? him? this jedi business was all kinds of strange..

She enters her room, walking past the various tech and paint cans on the floor, even kicking one aside as she arrives at her desk, looking around a moment before spotting her vest and some other gear. She'd clean the place up.
one of these days...
The puts on the rest of her armour before grabbing her helmet, which was usually sitting on her bed. with a quick twist, the helmet was on snug and the HUD coming online as she leaves the room, grabbing her rifle on the way out and slinging it over her shoulder.
On her way towards the boarding ramp, she stops outside kafh's room, knocking on the door lightly "Kafh! kafh, we're heading out now" she half wondered if he'd be startled, she probably just interrupted his meditation after all.

...

Nah, He could just jedi magic his way senses all over the ship right? he probably knew she was coming right?.. right? well that was her story and she was sticking to it.
Next was amaryllis' room.
she quickly knocks on the door tog et her attention as well, she probably hadn't heard her talking to kafh, there was a chance she didn't understand either, poor girl's basic was broken as is anyway.

"Amara, get. something. warm. to. wear." 'gods, please tell me she understands that at least. warm, and wear, all she needs to say. right?'
She then continues down the hall and to the boarding ramp, tapping her foot and bobbing her head tot he beat of music in her helmet for a short time until the ship landed at last, the hydrolic hiss of the ramp lowering being the first sound to make it to her ears, as was usually the case when they landed on new worlds. soon the light slips into the hull, revealing many things to her. First the gentle cold, reminding her of home, this was probably the first winter world she'd been to since leaving.. then the sand under her feet as she stepped onto the world, it was hard and cold, but it didn't crunch like snow. odd. then the statues in the distance, some standing, some broken still, all were much larger than she had imagined, all of this followed by a town in the distance.

"wow!.. Kafh, you seeing this?"

[member="Kahlil Zambrano"] [member="Amaryllis Tansea"] [member="Mikilanna Mihaly"] [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Aubrey King"] [member="Darth Animus"]

 

[Kafh-en-ma-nofre]

Kafh had been meditating in his quarters when Thiavi lightly knocked on his door. Saying that they were to head out. Off the ship. He had been too busy hi himself to the Force to notice. Kafh-en-ma-nofre opened his eyes and stood up and exited his room. Kafh tightened his jacket a bit as he made his way to the boarding ramp. As it opened a chill went down his spine. "Gods, it's cold." He said through clenched teeth. He was definitely not use to lowered temperature, he looked to Thiavi and let out a dry laugh. "Must feel right at home for you though."

Kafh followed Thiavi out of the Bastion, sand. Definitely like home, without the warmth. Kafh looked to the giant towering shape in the distance. Giving a smile he'd continue to gaze around. "It'd be nice if it was a bit warmer. Imagine how it is when the sun sets..." Kafh said.

He waited for Kahlil. "Mentor, so where are we heading from here." He asked as he glanced around to the others, searching for [member="Allyson Locke"] and whoever else was to show up.

[member="Amaryllis Tansea"]
[member="Aubrey King"]
[member="Thiavi"]
[member="Kahlil Zambrano"]
[member="Darth Animus"]
[member="Mikilanna Mihaly"]