Are Those Rock People?

[Garik Reed]

Their ship was headed for the planet Hurikane. The rocky wasteland their destination. 'They' the Jedi Knights Gherron Vael and Rael sul B'an, the latter having recently ascended to the status of Knight. The ship's hyperdrive was purring like a kitten, so its pilot had snuck off for some celebration....well, a celebration. A young twi'lek girl, also the pilot named Sunrele, was sneaking out of one of the ship's bedrooms. Which, also happened to be that of Rael.

She looked around for the rest of the crew. Hopefully they hadn't seen her. She adjusted her belt, and started walking back to the bridge. Rael, still in his room, was recuperating, and preparing. The kaleesh finished putting on the last plates of his armor. He clipped the armor weave cloak around his neck, and slid on his traditional Kaleesh mask.

He clipped one of his lightsabers onto his belt. That was why he was here, after all. His new found interest in Form V didn't require him to have such a versatile blade. Plus, he was bored with it. Hurrikane crystals. That's what he was here for, and no doubt it would be trouble.

[member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

The dead second the twi'lek exited the room, she would be bombarded with a series of beeps and whistles, coming from a small black astromech just a few feet away. Though he didn't speak basic, as he was a droid, Sparky's chipper attitude and joking behavior was evident. Gherron was at the controls, having just returned to them a few minutes prior. Hearing his droid's antics, he smirked to himself. He'd been picking a little on binary, and caught the general gist of what was going on. "Sounds like you two had some fun."

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

Sunrele just rolled her eyes as she walked into the bridge. She sat down in the copilot's chair, and started checking up the the ship's systems. They'd be at Hurikane soon. Rael soon followed into the bridge. He gave the little droid a pat on the head, and moved over to where Gherron was sitting. He crossed his arms, leaning them on the back of his chair. "Ready?" Rael gave a hardy pat on his Master's shoulders. Even though they were both Knights now, Rael knew very well Gherron still had much to teach him.

The Kaleesh moved behind them, and sat down in one of the extra chairs.

[member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron nodded with a smile at his former padawan. He was proud of his recent promotion, and this would be the first of many missions that they went on together. "Let's do it." Taking them in, he admired the rocky landscape that could be seen through the atmosphere. Looking over at his readings, he noted a small system of caves off to the left. Bringing the ship that way, he soon brought them to land a few maters from the caves themselves. Grabbing his lightsaber, he went to his quarters for a moment to grab his robe, as well as something he'd been working on during the trip. Emerging from the room, he held a strange looking blaster, and a small black nylon pouch. Clipping the gun to its holster, he looked at the others. "Ready?"

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

Rael tilted his head as Gherron came out with a blaster. "You really are just full of surprises, aren't you?" Rael just shook his head, and walked to the hangar door. Sunrele just looked at Gherron, then the blaster, and just shrugged. Rael opened the door with a loud whoosh, letting the winds of Hurikane blow into the ship. Rael stepped out onto the planet, looking around. His eyes first noticed the cave, and the large piles of rocks outside its entrance.

He shrugged, motioning for Gherron to follow. Rael had heard stories about strange sentients that lived on this planet. But, the Kaleesh assumed those were only tales. Rock humans? Please.

[member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron smiled at the man's comment then. "If you've heard of what may be down there, then you wouldn't be very surprised. Besides, it's not what you think." He pulled out the pouch, which had several different kinds of bullets inside. Pulling a copper one out, he handed it to Rael. "These are head knockers. They're blunts, and don't do damage beyond the skin, and can knock people out if shot in the right place. That's all I'll be using." With that, he walked down the ramp, and looked around, the wind whipping through his hair.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

"Either way, I still didn't expect a gun on your hip. Mine or Sunrele's? Maybe. I didn't even know you could shoot one, to be honest." Rael just shrugged, and kept walking towards the caves. He paused outside the entrance, and looked at Gherron. "Shall we?"Just as he spoke, a massive rumble surrounded them, filling their ears. The rocks that were piled outside the cave began to move, transforming into giant humanoids. Four of them, in total, and each stared at the two Jedi with intense stairs.

[member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron chuckled at his friend's comment about his skill with a blaster. "I've been practicing. I've been caught in a few situations already where it was necessary to know how to wield somethin other than a lightsaber, so I started getting some help in other areas. I made this to test my skill. Like I said, I'll only be using it to knock unconscious not kill. After all, I've heard of... rock people on this planet. Better safe than sorry." As he said this, four of them emerged, glaring at them. Before anything, Gherron walked within a few feet of each, and tried diplomacy. "Hey there! We're just here for some crystals. That's cool, right?"

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

The rocks didn't respond the Gherron's question. They gestured to the cave, and two of them started walking into the cave. "These things are real? I thought they were just a myth." A strange grunt came from one of the being standing behind Rael. It nudged the Jedi with one giant rock finger. And then motioned them to the cave. They certainly weren't that friendly. Rael stared down the tunnel as he began to walk towards it. Even his honed eyes couldn't see anything in the dark.

[member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

"Oh, they're real, alright." Gherron eyed the creatures as they prodded the Jedi into the caves. It almost seemed like they wanted them to be deep within the cave structure. Were they planning something? Gherron's brain went into overdrive. If he had to, he would use deadly force on the creatures, but he didn't want it to come to that. As they walked down into the tunnels, he began to notice small flecks of light around them. Soon, they became more and more prominent, but still considerably less than on Ilum. "The crystals... Not that many of them, huh?"

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

Rael just nodded, silently walking down the tunnels. Absolutely magnificent. The purple light blazing off of the crystals danced across Rael's bone mask. His hand didn't even drift to his lightsaber. He sensed these were peaceful beings. Plus, they hadn't tried to hurt the two Jedi Knights, yet.
After about an hour of walking through the tunnels, Rael was entirely lost. The four Hurikanians still hadn't spoken. They literally looked like walking statues.

Eventually, the group emerged into a large, open cavern. It flourished with the blaze of Hurrikane crystals, some growing in massive stalactite formations. Scattered across the dark floor, where dozens of piles of rocks that looked almost identical to the ones' their new friends had emerged from. They were all arranged in a circular pattern, around one, massive pile of rock. The ground shook as the beings began to move, dirt dropping from the ceiling. "I think we're going to be here for a while..."

[member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron looked around them, the crystals shining like miniature suns against the walls of the cavern. Maybe it was just him, but he felt that it was somehow more beautiful than the caves on Ilum. "There's so many... but I don't feel any calling. Do you think we just... pick one?" He felt stupid for asking, and even as he did so, he knew it would be the wrong move to make. There was somethin off about these crystals, something he couldn't quite place.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

"Gherron, I'm about as clueless as you are." Rael watched as the magnificent beings began to stand tall. Almost all of the loose rocks around them became some sort of figure. Whether they were a foot tall, or twelve, they all moved. Rael's eyes naturally fell to the large, centralized figure. It began to move towards them, the others making a path for it. "Think that's their leader...?" Rael leaned over to Gherron, whispering to him.

[member="Gherron Vael"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron watched as the massive stones came together, forming one singular body. When Rael asked his question, the blonde was at a complete loss for words, and just nodded his head. Taking a step forward to meet the being, he bowed his head slightly. "Hi... there. My friend and I", he started, gesturing at the kaleesh. "My friend and I are looking harvest some of your crystals. Though, I guess you already figured that. Their properties are quite impressive, if I say so myself. With your permission..." He trailed off as the larger statue-like creature motioned to one of the smaller ones, to which the smaller one reached up and broke a few crystals off of the upper part of the wall, and handed them to its leader. Looking at the crystals for a moment, or at least what seemed to Gherron to be looking at them, the hurrikanian outstretched its hand, revealing the crystals, and stood there, waiting.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

"Is...is it really that easy?" Rael looked to Gherron, a little surprised. The Hurikanians hadn't even said anything to him yet, but here they were, offering up priceless crystals. Or so Rael thought. The Kaleesh turned to their leader, and looked at him. He tapped into the Force, feeling around for the things mind. It carried a massive presence in the Force, just as large as his physical stature. Rael threw out a message to it:

Can you hear me? Do you speak? The being tilted its head slightly, looking down at Rael. Either it thought he looked stupid, or it had heard him, but just didn't want to respond, or even know how to respond.

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron eyed the statue-like being for a few seconds, before answering his friend. "I highly doubt it. There has to be some test... A trial or something." As he said this, he stared down the apparent leader with his steely grey eyes, as if trying to capture its secrets for his own. It seemed to look back at him, and sent off a strange wave of a message to both of the Jedi. No words or pictures, just emotions that seemed to form thoughts. Gherron took his gaze away then, shaking it off. "Woah..."

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

"Gherron, what do we do?" Rael looked around at the Hurikanians. The situation, was...surreal, to say the least. Rael shrugged, and stepped forward, towards the being holding the crystals. Slowly, he took them from its hands, and held them in his own. His hopes were dashed as the crystals started crumbling as soon as they touched his hands. It was almost as if they were rejecting him. "Ah, sorry, sorry!"

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron watched as the knight took the crystals, and they were immediately turned into dust. Scratching his chin, he shook his head. "They want a challenge." He looked up at the life form for approval, and it moved aside to reveal once more the other side of the cavern. Five pedestals now stood there, one each with a different crystal, in both shape and form. From the left to right, there was a small and purple one, flawless in appearance; one slightly larger, a pale hue to it; a medium sized blue crystal, almost reminiscent of Gherron's own; one smaller still than the original, its deep indigo reflecting the light around it; and one the size of a fist, which gave out a dull blue glow. "A test of wits then?", Gherron pondered, walking up to the pedestals. Looking back to his former student, he raised an eyebrow.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Gherron Vael"]

Rael just shrugged at Gherron, and started walking towards the pedestals. He slowly moved in between the Hurikanian, keeping an eye on them. This certainly would be a strange trial. As he got closer, the smaller purple crystal began to shine a little bit, letting of a soft buzz. Rael looked to Gherron. "Can you see that?" Rael walked up to the crystal, and reached out for it. As he took it into his hands, he looked around to see if anything would happen.

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

In response, Gherron took the smaller crystal of the same color, turning it in his hand. Nothing happened for a moment, then the remaining crystals crumbled to dust in front of them. "Interesting..." He turned back to the Hurrikanians, where the leader seemed to nod in approval. Considering that, and the fact that their own crystals hadn't crumbled, they seemed to have passed the test. Bowing his head to the small crowd, he closed his fist around the crystal. "Thank you for your trial."

[member="Rael sul B'an"]