Back to where it all started.

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

In one breath she was accusatory, contrite, flippant, frustrated, apathetic. He was reminded, vividly, of raising teenagers. "You did impress me, as a student and as my daughter. You worked hard, you didn't take things for granted. I tried to let you know how much I liked training you, working with you. If I didn't do well enough at that, I'm sorry.

"But you've got the same entitlement going on in your conception of family that you do in your Jedi job. Everything's about what you tried to do, what you need me to be. If you want to be family, be family. Don't start your apologies with waves of accusations, nor insinuate that I should be apologizin' first and loudest. Don't spend your time trying to hurt me, or whisper behind my back that nobody like me is a 'real, true Jedi.' You've been tryin' to make me mad, Aaralyn, and now that you're far enough away that neither one of us can do anything stupid, yeah, I'm a little bit mad. Whoever told you to call yourself a Master was no friend to you. You ain't a master of yourself, so you ain't a Jedi Master. That's the first thing that matters; power, skill, those are secondary. You took everything I taught you and threw it out the window, turned yourself into a fanatical juggernaut, never take the diplomatic road even when it's more likely to work, rage at everything and everyone that don't give you what you want. You think I'd let you and your example near Alex? Think I'd let you empower your burlap brigade with more special tricks gleaned from holocrons that, seven hundred years back, were owned by good people who've got nothing to do with your Order? You think I'd spend my time tryin' to get past my tragedies by embracin' someone who throws them in my face? Someone who's all spines an' venom? You're an adult now, you're accountable, you make your own decisions an' choices, but you've decided an' chosen to turn yourself into a vicious, judgmental, sneering little witch.

"Yeah. You finally struck a nerve. Don't you fething dare call me again, and if you ain't out of this system in ten minutes, there's a vacation home on Myrkr with your name on it."

 

[The End Narrator]

She was stunned, she didn't really have words at first and then she scowled. She successfully held back tears and merely nodded, the part about her eleven year old niece hit even worse.

"You're right, I did. Everything you said was right. I've lost myself in this war." Aaralyn looked down at her hands which were clasped together. "Everything you said is right on the credit, and I deserved that. I would even let you slap me because I deserve it." She held her breath. "I really don't think it should be this way Dad. I'm...a hot mess of carbonite." Aaralyn moved her hands about, gesturing in circles."You know, before it freezes." She exhaled roughly. "I need your help, I know it's gutsy of me to ask but I...this war...it's not like when we were fighting the Empire or a few Sith. This is different, I feel different." She brushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face."Things just aren't the same anymore, and then there was the kiss I had with [member="Ayden Cater"], you know, my first kiss..." She paused for a second, thinking back to it. "It threw me for a real loop I wasn't ready for."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Allyson Locke]

Let force flow through ya yeah yeah
Just let it fuel your heart
ohhhh yeaaahhh
Feel my love from all the way across the starrrrrsss!!

Just let the force flow through ya baby
Watch it bring your heart to me ohh yeaah
No witches, or sithies can pull you away
For my heart belongs to you baby

Allyson bounced her foot to the beat of the song that played through her headphones. Echos of shouting filled the area and as much as Allyson had been focused on ignoring it – she couldn't anymore. Pressing the stop button on the music player, she clipped it to the back of her spacer pants and headed down the way towards Ember and Chloe. They had left her to guard the ship, as she wandered down the hallway she spun one of her blasters on her index fingers wondering what the commotion was.

Before opening her mouth, she listened this time and realized what was going on. Taking a detour to the small kitchenette she pulled out a bag of potato chips and started to much on them. She tilted the back towards Chloe and smiled. In a short sharp quiet whisper, “ Old man's about to get pretty P.O'd.”

 

[Chloe Blake]

WEEEEEELLLLLL that escalated quickly, would come Chloe's inner musing, her blond brows rising high as her blue eyes grew wide in the bit of too much information she'd heard there.

Enter the grimace right after hearing the name / Ayden Cater / and / kiss/ together. A small prayer would be sent to the Corellian Gods that perhaps... there was more than one Ayden Cater in the galaxy. That this man just so happened to share the same name as the Lord Protector himself.

It didn't take much to catch [member="Allyson Locke"] 's mischievous expression and low hush. Her only answer was the following; in short order that whiskey Chloe had been banking on for later use found it's cap unscrewed quicker than a Jawa on fresh salvage.

Needless to say, she made the offer to Ember first.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Chloe Blake"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]
On the holotransmitter's field of view, what Aaralyn might see would be something along these lines: Ember removing his helmet, putting a hand out to the side, beyond the transmitter's sight, and pulling it back with a bottle of Whyren's Reserve attached. His eyes only left the transmitter when he took a long drink.

"Man like Cater doesn't stop with a kiss, kid, but what variety of Jedi you become is up to you. If you're askin' my advice, Jedi had lives an' families for twenty-four thousand years, right up 'til the Ruusan Reformation, which was all politics. Just, whatever you do, remember who you are an' what you hope to stand for, what you represent an' what example you set."

 

[The End Narrator]

Aaralyn looked down, nodding softly. "You always taught me to do what was right, and I feel that what I am developing with [member="Ayden Cater"] is right. Now, I may be stubborn as a dewback in some instances but I have always heeded your advice when it counted." She looked up to the holotransmitter and sighed. "And now is one of those times where I need more than advice. I need your guidance, like the old days. I feel something pulling at me, I feel this fething cold feeling itching at my skin." Aaralyn brought both arms up to her chest and wrapped them about her form, her gaze fell downwards with a cumbersome look of sadness. "I want to be the example that you expect, and the child you can be proud of....so I guess what I'm asking is..." She looked up at the transmitter. "Can you guide me once more?"

[member="Ember Rekali"], [member="Allyson Locke"], [member="Chloe Blake"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Aaralyn Rekali"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

Ember passed the bottle to Allyson. "Then lemme tell you the same thing I told ya when I started your combat training over from scratch, an' the same thing Yoda told Skywalker. You must unlearn what you have learned. Feel the Force, not just the power but the insight. Skywalker used to have this analogy, I'm sure I told you half a dozen times. Every Master's gotta face a choice between power an' clarity, between tossin' rocks and readin' ripples - Skywalker used to say you couldn't hear a whisper if you were shouting all the time. And you are fething loud. See, that's why Jedi gettin' too sure of themselves is a problem, apart from the whole 'stomping all over everyone' issue -- when you get dead set on How Things Should Be, you've stopped listenin', you've dulled your senses for that kind of thing, and it'll take you a while to get'em back. Lack of humility makes ya deaf. Then you'll be able to get your own answers from the Force, an' from well-tuned judgment, once you've humbled yourself enough to hear."

 

[The End Narrator]

Somehow, she felt she was going to regret what she was about to say.

"Then I submit myself to you, give me time and show me humility." She took a deep breath and exhaled roughly. "I will unofficially renounce myself as a Master, and become a student. You know, since I've lost myself. I'll hand you my sabers, which you helped me build and should I not be worthy when you're done then you keep them."

[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

After a long moment, he nodded. "I'll give you whatever help you need, of course I will. Tomorrow, land on Vjun, at Bast Castle -- there are a few things I need to lock down here. You'll find the place stocked with Mandos and an awful lot of acid rain. Don't bother the busted statue, alright? Some things need to be remembered."

 

[The End Narrator]

Aaralyn didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything. She just cut the transmission and sat down in the pilot's seat, that itching cold sensation creeping up her skin. She shivered lightly as she felt goosebumps overcome her. "Bast Castle..." Vader's vacation spot. She heard the rumors centuries ago about the busted statue and about Vjun itself, she never thought she would actually set foot on the planet. Her hands rubbed up and down her arms, trying to warm her skin up again as she lifted herself up from the pilot's seat. "Rowdy, set a course for Vjun..."

The R9 droid beeped an acknowledgement before moving to the navicomputer, Aaralyn left him to do his work in the cockpit while she made her way to the galley. She still had alot to learn about being a Jedi and life in general. She admitted to herself that maybe she was a bit rough around the edges. She hoped though, with work from her father there would be enough improvement within herself that she could make a difference. "No change is overnight and must come from within..." She said softly. "I have to let go..." A tough road, but not impossible.

The Next Day....
LOCATION: Vjun, Bast Castle
The ship made an unceremonious landing at Bast Castle, and much like Ember had stated, there were Mandos....everywhere. Aaralyn had downgraded her garb to a simple jacket, a cami, some cargo pants and her armored boots. She held both sabers in her hand as she walked down the ramp with a little less confidence than normal. She knew she was on unfamiliar territory and going into something that was not going to be pleasant. There was indeed a chance of it being rather painful...on all scales.

And of course...[member="Ember Rekali"] was nowhere to be found. How wonderful, she turned back to the ramp of her ship and sat down at the edge. "Great..."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

As the connection closed, Ember leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Longest fething day. Ever. Chloe, if you could do me a huge favor, I'm going to take the Coronet to Vjun -- if you could go down to the deep vaults and make sure the Asli Krimsan 'cron is there, all nullification resin vaults locked up, everything in order? Locke, you're with me. Your girlfriend needs ya." She'd referred to the Coronet that way a time or two, and he paid more attention than some thought he did.

[member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Chloe Blake"]

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

The Lazy Strill touched down on the temple's landing pad. It was surprisingly empty for how Ember had fixed it up for. Mandalorians who had been a part of the clans for such a long time as himself rarely produced Force Sensitive offspring but sometimes they were lucky, or unlucky...However they wanted to spin it. His younger brother was such a case and he had asked for a ride to the temple to continue his training. Force sensitive training wasn't as strenuous or strict as the Sith or the Jedi. Mandalorians came and went as they needed, Yavin was a place they could practice without endangering those around them. He noticed Ember's ship was also docked. The man spent more and more time here.

Wandering the temple-like space he searched for the old Warlock, spotting him and two others he didn't recognize his brow rose in confusion. Then again, it wasn't like Gilamar knew every single Mandalorian in the Galaxy so he brushed it off. With a goofy and mischevious grin on his face he clanked up behind and clapped a hand on the elder's shoulder. <What's with all the doom and gloom in the air vod?> he asked, speaking in Mando'a.
[member="Ember Rekali"] [member="Chloe Blake"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

"Ah, hell, Gil." Ember turned, thought of slotting his mask back into place, opted against it. He was just outside the shuttle at this point, inside the base of the Great Temple. "Barely heard you, even with that rig on. My daughter's just been by -- I figure you remember Aaralyn -- and when it transpired that she was basically here to take a holocron from us, I gave her a piece of my mind. Tore a strip off her, really, an' she tried to do the same. So I kicked her out of the system, she called me, we patched it up, I'm bound for Vjun to knock some sense into her -- she might be showing actual humility, so that's a thing. Anyways. Important bits are, no holocrons left our custody, an' she and I had sharp words over her misleading you with the Codex of Tython. Remind me how that one went down?"

 

[Chloe Blake]

[member="Ember Rekali"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"] [member="Gilamar Skirata"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

Chloe would do as she’d been asked, although not without a parting prayer to Kalahira for Ember and his daughter to be able to impart some clarity and patience for whatever will find them on Vjun. Be it literal or figurative demons, there were some slaying of beasts that had to be had.

A passing encouraging smile would’ve darted to both Ally and the Old Timer, ‘fore the Warden would once again end up delving deep into the vaults of the Lost City.

Alone save for the thousands of artifacts found from the deepest crevices of Drumond Kaas and Korriban, Chloe’s lone melodic voice would go echoing throughout the lonesome corridors.

“When the stars shine bright through the engine's trail, and the dust of another world drops behind..” her wanderings would lead her to the nullification resin vaults, feet taking her now more by memory than the map of her datapad. The Asli Krimson holocron would be down a ways, vault cresh-nine-xesh if she recalled correctly.

“When my ship is free of the open sky, it's a dang good day to my way of mind..”

She’ll continue the cataloging of what her and Ember had going on, maybe learn something new. Always was curious how nullification resin worked. Maybe tinkering about might bring some highlight on how it was made and just how it kept the monsters at bay.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

He pinched the bridge of his nose, remembering the name. "She was...Interesting. Not nearly as much fun as you are." he joked. "She came in spouting something about giving me a...Holochron of Typhoon? Thython? Peh." He shrugged. "Said it had information on the Jedi and offered it for peace with them as well as her...Uhh." he searched for the words. It had been an odd conversation and she was quicker to fire than Han Solo in a cantina. "She offered to stay. And when I asked what was in the box and if we would be able to see it she twisted the deal, or rather she seemed to lack the skills to negotiate. She accused me of wanting to lock her up, or worse, and steal the blasted thing. Went straight for her fancy glow rod too." With a grunt, he folded his arms. "I told her what I would do with it, use it to learn about you Force using types. She got even more deffensive. Told me I was no better than the Sith then up and left. Holochron and all."

Looking the Elder up and down he chuckled. "I wonder where she got her attitude from, I find it hard to think she got it from you." He shrugged, the entire conversation between the two felt hostile that much he knew. She would be a powerful apponent on the field of battle and he wondered if Rekali would be able to pull the trigger on his own daughter. "I was testing her resolve." he said, his voice becoming serious, "She failed."
[member="Ember Rekali"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Gilamar Skirata"]

"She does that," said Ember, voice dry. "Just about everything I threw at her was straight out of Master Yoda's Guidebook for the Troibled Young Jedi. She failed harder than I've ever seen a prospective Jedi tank that. Who knows how Vjun will go. Uninhabited system, though, so that'll limit what she endangers and what she learns that she shouldn't."