Back Where It All Began

[Connor Harrison]

The Jedi Master watched.

That's all. He never looked at Jamie, but watched her hands, and now and then over to Theed.

No distractions. No wise-cracks. No help.

This was her first step into a much larger world, and he respected her for trying.

"Okay."

He cupped his chin in his hand, and nodded.

"Good work, Jamie. I like the fact you've made a weapon perfect for the palm of your hand that will take it straight off when you activate it."

Connor took the hilt - solid and simple - and tapped the mid-section.

"You popped the focusing array in above the crystal. The crystal would cause a nasty little bang and your hand would be fit for nothing. Swap them around." He turned the hilt to her. "And tighten the blade emitter too. Don't be afraid to fix this thing good and strong."

He handed the hilt to her.

"Well done however. It's a great effort. I would like you take it apart, which will take a little longer, and re-build it but this time don't use the blueprint. Use the Force and your connection to the crystal. Believe in yourself and see the saber complete. Let the Force guide you. Trust in yourself."

With that, he took the schematics and folded them up and gestured with his hand for her do, or do not. There was no try.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Before the blonde could even protest against taking the drawing away it was gone. A finger lifted and a stutter caught her voice, but it was no use. He'd taken away the instructions, leaving her to do rebuild the weapon, this time correctly, by herself. Her cheeks puffed out in frustration, making her look somewhat like a frog.

"Okay." She said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, tying it back with a small clip to keep it out of her face for the task.

How does he expect me to just rebuild it?

Slowly the girl began to disassemble the weapon, taking care to remember how things were put together, with the exception of the items she'd misconfigured. After about ten minutes she had everything apart again, in order of installation just in front of her. With the pieces organized again it would hopefully make things easier to redo.

For a few minutes she simply sat quietly, looking over the pieces and imagining the final product, as Connor advised, though for what purpose this served she wasn't really sure. As much as she hated reading schematics, having nothing wasn't any easier. With some trepidation she set herself back to work again, carefully tightening the smaller pieces and fitting them snug with the larger bits. This time she made sure that the array went beneath the crystal and the emitter was as tight as her hands could manage.

Another fifteen or so minutes and she finally finished assembling the parts again, picking it up to inspect, before handing it to Connor for another inspection.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Watching, Connor remembered assembling his own saber years ago when he was an eager young adult. He had tried numerous times and messed one thing up or another and even destroyed a crystal in the process. But in the end he had got there, and so would Jamie. He gently stroked his goatee as he followed her train of thought by using a repetitive process to assemble the hilt piece by piece.

He said nothing until she was finished, and hand the weapon over again, which he took and inspected.

"Better. Now, you need to activate it."

Rolling the shaft in his palm, he span it, feeling the weight. It was comfortable, and balanced. He held it out.

"One handed grip is fine. Thumb over the ignition button, and press when you're ready. It won't weigh anything, and it won't feel hot so don't feel tempted to touch it. You'll lose your fingers. I'm not sure how powerful the cell is, but we'll find out. When you're ready, Jamie."

There was one item he wasn't sure about. The lower hilt. He wasn't sure it it was fixed tight. He couldn't be sure. If it wasn't, nothing would work. If it was, he'd eat his words and the orange blade of energy should spring to life. Then, he gasped and shot his hand out.

"WAIT!" Connor took the hilt in his hands, whilst still in hers, and turned the length control down. "Ok. Sorry. Don't want it exploding in the ignition chamber. Carry on."

Explosions. Losing fingers. Falling apart.

Lightsabers weren't as fun to make as they were to use.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie's finger had been milliseconds away from pressing down on the activator the first time when Connor shouted to wait. Any later and it would have been bye bye hand. Startled, the girl nearly dropped the hilt to the ground before Connor grabbed hold of it. There were so many possibilities for these things to go haywire that she was almost still too afraid to press that button out of fear that it might turn into some kind of bomb.

"What!? -- Oh."

I don't want it exploding anywhere, anytime. "I'd rather it not explode ever, if that's alright." She smiled, though it was a mixture of fear and humor.

The blonde drew in a deep breath and pressed her finger against the button. From the emitter sprang forth a vibrant yellow blade, a perfect shade, one that she'd imagined in her mind while making the weapon, and upon first seeing the crystal as it drew her to it within the cave. For a few moments she simply stood still, looking at it as it hummed away in her hand. Then she gave it a few slow passes to the left and to the right.

"It's beautiful!" She said with a smile, her head turning to Connor for approval, though careful not to direct the blade anywhere near him, or anything else in particular. She wasn't overly versed with lightsabers quite yet, though she had practiced a bit with them. Even still, she was trained well enough from her fencing career to never point the sharp end towards anything you didn't intend on attacking.

"What do you think?"

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

The Jedi watched, not giving anything away in his facial expression as she worked her way to activating the blade with a successful snap-hiss. His eyes followed her gentle movements, and for a short amount of time spent on the lightsaber, Jamie had made surprisingly good progress.

"You know," he said, "it took me longer to make my first blade. You’ve done good. And I think there is a great deal of subconscious Force ability within you, more than you think."

He walked around Jamie, inspecting her blade and hilt.

"You made it look like you struggled, but your heart took over and you made it look easier than I think you knew. Fluid and precise in the assembly. You took what you needed from the schematics and used it from your mind’s eye. You didn’t need to see things as much as you thought, like when you navigated across the cavern and rock-faces. You didn’t think – you just did."

He appeared before her after walking full circle.

"It’s people like you who save armies in battle, seeing things before they happen and knowing what to do without thinking about it before it’s too late. That’s a valuable ability, Jamie. I think you could really hone this to be something special, and especially tuning your lightsaber into a more precise and personal tool with more time alone to concentrate."

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie smiled at Connor as he took the weapon and gave it a look over. The praise meant quite a bit to her. She hadn't quite expected to be able to assemble it, much less make it work!

"Thank you." She said with a nod. "That's kind of you. But really I just memorized the way I had put it together, changing the things you advised. It still wasn't perfect, though."

Saving armies? Me?

"I don't know about that, I don't think I'm much of a savior. But maybe with enough practice I could be of use eventually."

She looked at the weapon again. "That is, assuming I don't cut off my own hand with the thing first." What luck would that be?

She partly smiled at the thought, though with her level of expertise currently that wasn't at all out of the realm of possibility. She certainly was no match for anyone else, not even to spar with.

"For now this is a brilliant start. I can't thank you enough for all of the help! I hardly expected to be meeting a Jedi and building a lightsaber today!"

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

OOC: My god, I never got this notification! Wanted to see if I was waiting for something, but it's you waiting for me! Sorry!


Connor nodded in approval, proud of both Jamie's progress and his own ability to help another.

"You're welcome," he said, "and you can always modify and build on this saber of yours in future. I'll leave the blueprint with you so you don't come to a dead end."

He looked out to Theed and laughed a little.

"And yes, I never expected to go cave exploring and climbing down waterfalls - all I wanted was a break and to blend in for a while. And then you come along."

With that, the turned to her and gave a contented sigh.

"So, Jamie Pyne, I can show you how to heal if your appetite has been whetted, or I can leave you with the knowledge you have and give you an open invitation to my home world of Voss, and a promise I will visit here again too."

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie smiled, taking and rolling the blueprint up into a tight cylinder, pulling free the hair clasp from her head and using it to ensure that the paper did not unravel. Turning she cast her eyes back on to the city, the celebration still roaring as loud as before. The fair would go well on through the evening until the last of the flames were smothered.

"I will keep it in mind. I'll make it my own, something unique, aside from this crystal." She smiled, looking down at the weapon she'd made, thoroughly pleased with her work. Had she been told she would make her very own lightsaber instead of going on rides and playing games at the fair she would have likely thought it crazy!

"Voss...Sounds interesting."

She brushed the hair from her face back behind her left ear, looking to his ship and Theed, as if in some deep contemplation between the two choices.

"Would you maybe like to actually enjoy the rest of the fair? I'd like to see this planet, perhaps you can teach me there after?"

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

The Jedi looked at the gleaming ship, and then the girl, and then the city, deliberating. He pulled out his small datalink which provided notifications on any messages left via his ship's com. None. Was it none?

He shook it and pressed the power button. Nothing. A dribble of water came out of the corner, and with a sigh he pocketed it again.

"Well, I doubt I'm needed right away, I'd love to, thank you, as long as you don't mind me tagging along? And Voss? It's a nice place. Nothing special, and we have our fair share of drama now and then but so far it's been very quiet. Peaceful. Perfect place away from everything but ready for anything."

With the automatic sweep of his hand to walk on back to Theed.

"Did you want to come back to Voss? It's due East of here, I think. A bit of a trek. Lots of history there too. And of course the Silver Order Temple where we keep an eye on certain trouble makers across our system. It's nothing like Naboo however I'm afraid. Have you traveled much, seen many worlds?"

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie winced, seeing the bit of water run off the device. It was painfully obvious that it had been damaged while off on their adventure. She felt rather guilty for that, given that she'd run off with Connor without exactly giving him the opportunity to stow away his belongings before they went wandering off into a watery cavern for over an hour.

"Sorry..." She gestured with her head towards the device. "That it's ruined." In an effort to make light of the situation she pointed down to her still bare feet, the boots she'd left somewhere back in the cave after having removed them to make navigating easier. "If it makes you feel better, I lost my shoes."

There was a small bit of laughter, the shoes were easy enough to replace. In fact, she had dozens of pairs just like it.

"Of course not! I think I already owe you at least that, after helping with this!" She held up the lightsaber for a moment, before dropping it back to her side. "And most definitely, I'd love to see Voss! I've only seen about a half dozen other planets in my life. I'd really like to see what's out there, if you'd have me along."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor was about to speak, before doing a double take the Jamie's bare feet, and then back to her bemused look.

"Oh my goodness. Your shoes!" His brow raised. "You must have, ah, rather worn feet to cope wtih...ah, no not worn, that's the wrong word," he chewed his lip. "I meant, all that walking and climbing acrosss the plains with those dainty feet must make you pretty adverse to exploration and adventure without any actual pain or...ah," he shook his head, "...I'm babbling. Forgive me."

He forced a laugh and clasped his hands together, with a firm nod.

"Voss. Of course. Whenever you want to go, we can go. Lots of history there but nothing as extensive as Naboo. And while myself and some of the others are in the process of, ah, trying to re-establish ourselves and make a few changes for the better, there could even be a place for you with us."

He gave a little wave of the hand.

"Of course, if the Alliance doesn't fulfill your needs." The Rogue Master gave an innocent smirk.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Spoiler

Somehow I forgot to reply to this? Sorry!

Jamie burst into a fit of laughter at Connor's loss for words regarding her shoes, or lack there of, and her ability to walk rather care free without them.

"As a kid I lost countless pairs of shoes. Most of the time I would take them off, forget where I left them, and then forego even trying to find them. Over time I guess I just got used to it."

Her parents were hardly pleased with the habit, given that the clothing they purchased for her was anything but cheap. On the other hand, it did help her have a constant rotating style of footwear growing up!

"I like to think that someone else perhaps needed them more than I did, and they found a new home." Now that she worked as a volunteer for the YAFCIN she frequently brought clothing, shoes, art supplies, games, and books to the kids she worked with. She may have never had a real job as a teenager or young adult, but volunteering for a youth organization full of some of the best kids in the worst situations was something she really enjoyed doing.

"We could always leave after the fair, if you've nothing else to do here. I'd like to see the sights. The galaxy is a big place, and I'm sure the Alliance isn't the only place doing good for others."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Spoiler

It's ok! Happens to me sometimes...you forget the most important people.

"Oh, believe me. The Silvers are on the cusp of taking back what they used to be about, and the Alliance aren't the only ones fighting the good fight, let me assure you, Miss Pyne."

He started a slow walk down, hand out for her to follow, taking a casual amble across towards the noise of Theed as the sky above was turning a warm purple and orange.

"As the Alliance has hold of the East, we are sticking to the West, and I guess we are less aggressors and more defenders. But anyone needs our help, we will be there with a mighty fleet and army to repel the darkness."

Connor turned and smiled.

"But like I said, Voss is nothing like Naboo. It's very quiet, almost a window to cultures gone by. We just found a little slice of it to work from. Plenty of planets in our system ripe for exploring. Rhen Var for one is my particular favourite. It's a bit chilly there so you'll need shoes."


[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"That's good to hear. The galaxy can be a pretty dark place, it's good to hear that there are patches of goodness and light to be found."

Jamie hadn't yet been too exposed to the horrors that lurked through Sith space and other, less known but just as heinous regimes, but she'd heard terrible stories, even seen some type of monstrous Sithspawn in her travels through space. In fact, if it weren't for a new friend she likely wouldn't have made it off that wretched plague ship. Perhaps that was a story for another time though.

"Quiet is nice." Reaching the city proper once again they had to weave between small groups of people that gathered to converse. "Not everything needs to be parties and festivals. Peace and serenity can often times be more enjoyable. Rhen Var sounds rather unpleasant however." She made a cringing expression, shaking her head. "I'm not a fan of the cold, especially if it means an entire planet covered in it."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

A side-step here, a gentle glance there, Connor worked his way through the city outskirts with Jamie back around civilization.

"Ok. Noted. We’ll give Rhen Var a miss. There are plenty of other places. The Wheel, which is a giant city on a space station. Iego, where angels come from. Tammar. Boz Pity. Morellia,” he let an overexcited girl run pass, "and Korriban, which I’m sure you’ve heard of. That’s in our jurisdiction now but I am sure others will come knocking for it.”

Coming out into a bit of free space, he sighed and stood watching the street ahead, peering over a few heads to see what was going on. It looked more like music and dancing now with more food stalls and smells wafting around.

If this was something that went into the night, then the kiddie entertainment was waning to make way for the more engrossing adult action.

"So do you have any power across Naboo? I mean, you yourself due to where you come from? I can’t help think you must live with a lot of security with your position hanging over your head.”

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"The Silvers hold dominion over the ancient Sith species home world? I imagine that doesn't sit well with their followers." Jamie knew that the Sith's mortal enemies were the Jedi, and seeing how Korriban was beneath the eyes of the Sanctum surely exacerbated that disdain. "Have you explored the planet at all? I've heard there are many powerful Sith buried beneath the surface in tombs. Even if most have been pillaged and raided over the centuries." Exploring was one thing, but disturbing the dead, even if those dead were evil, vile creatures was still a form of disrespect well past her bounds. Some however knew no bounds, and sought to steal whatever they could from burial sites if it proved valuable. That was the difference between research and malice.

As for Connor's question the blonde mulled over it for several moments. It was a complicated question that required a complicated answer.

"Yes and no." She started, shrugging as they continued. "My parents have actual sway when it comes to matters of the courts, and interplanetary ambassadorship. I guess you could say I have influence by association, but unless I were the head of my family's home I don't have any direct influence over anything. Folks at the palace and the courts and starports know who I am, but that's only out of necessity in the case of the palace and courts, and coincidence at the starports, because I spend a lot of time there, bringing some of the kids I mentor on tours." Jamie paused in the middle of the street, glancing from side to side in consideration of which direction to move, before nodding to the right and continuing down the walkway towards the different play for prize games.

"We have security at our home, but I don't have bodyguards or anything like that who follow me around and watch everything I do."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor nodded intently.

"I see, so I’m not going to get arrested for not calling you “Your Highnessness” or anything? You’re not a Princess. Are you?”

That’d top the day. Spelunking with a Princess of Naboo Royalty.

Connor looked at where they were heading, to stalls of games and sweet treats. Ball games, water games and games that required a keen eye, good judgement… and a whole amount of luck.

"And yes, Korriban has seen its fair share of dark history, and we appreciate that. We aren’t there to eradicate it, but we simply will preserve it and hopefully make it safe for those wishing to make a home of it or work there. It’s not our mandate to wipe out history. But I’ve been in a few tombs over the years.” He gave her a gentle pat on the arm. "You’d enjoy that with your new found skill of tomb raiding.”

They walked past some of the games and the pessimistic Jedi tutted loudly.

"You know these are fixed, right? The chances of successfully winning a game like this is approximately 38 to 1.”

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Unable to hold back she began laughing to the point of snorting before regaining her composure enough to answer Connor's question. Her eyes were practically teary by this point, but she managed to force out her response. "No, silly. I'm no princess. The royal guard wouldn't let me out of their sight if I were. I'm just the daughter of a noble family. Nothing that impressive."

Jamie had heard campfire stories about the haunted tombs of the Sith. Cave diving on Naboo where the worst she'd find were some bats and maybe a bit of water was a lot safer than the potential for encountering these Force ghosts or whatever it was that were lurking on an ancient, dark side world that spread anger and hatred as freely as the air you'd breathe. There were stories of people going missing and turning into monstrous creatures on Sith worlds. She wasn't entirely convinced that everything was true, but even myths were built on some fabric of truth. Just how much truth there was to those stories was what worried her.

"Of course the games are rigged, how else would they make any money?" She wandered past a booth that had setup weighted jugs that players were meant to knock over with a foam ball. "Like that one for example, the bottom of the bottles are all heavy, so you have to hit them at the base with all three balls to knock them all over or you'll lose." Her hand waived, and they all came tumbling down seemingly of their own accord. "Or you can cheat, like that." She said with a mischievous smirk as they proceeded past.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Watching her as she spoke, he was drawn to the ball game they passed as she was clearly up to something….and there it was. A wave of the hand and the manipulation of the Force brought the jugs down with no balls thrown. The Jedi tutted quietly but liked this little rebellious side.

"Come now, you know the Force shouldn’t be used for personal gain like that. Those people depend on the helpless few to waste credits trying to beat an unbeatable system.”

Turning as they walked past a large candy-floss stand – or cotton candy as some native inhabitants called it – Connor couldn’t help pull a strand off of a large display when the Rodian owner wasn’t even paying attention. The pink sugary treat floated quickly to his palm and he turned back. Pulling it apart, he held up one half of the whispy floss to Jamie with a sly smile.

"Of course sometimes it’s all too tempting when you can do what we do.”

He popped his own into this mouth and it melted instantly; sugary and sickly in one. Wonderful.

"So, Jamie Pyne, what do you do for a living? I mean, what drives you? What’s your skillset? What do you do when you’re not caverning or cheating at fair games?”

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie looked on as Connor proceeded to berate her for knocking over the jugs as they passed by just as the man used that very same talent to retrieve a few strands of a fluffy sugar pillow from a nearby cart in the same motion. Her expression shifted from passive to flabbergasted. There he was telling her not to harmlessly knock over some jugs, when he just went and stole a bit of candy in the very same breath!

What a hypocrite!

She laughed and shook her head, "No thank you, I try not to eat that stuff. Just a little bit and next thing you know, I have to eat the whole lot of it. Makes for a bad habit so I try and avoid it where I can."

Her parents rarely stocked sweets like that in their home. Most everything was hand prepared vegetables, fruits, and meats from the local vendors. Candy and other artificially sweetened treats were her father's folly, and he would frequently try and sneak them into the house only to have Jamie's mother discover them and quickly dispose of them, much to his despair. Most treats Jamie enjoyed were fruits from exotic places around the galaxy. "When my parents used to travel they would sometimes bring back with them foreign fruits that they would give to me. So I suppose I've just grown up with different tastes."

The girl shrugged, then thought of Connor's question.

"Nothing. At least in terms of earning a living. I mostly went to school and studies. I'm also a member of the YAFCIN here, which is a mentoring program for underprivileged kids. We volunteer to interact with kids in struggling families, or orphaned, either through playing, taking them out places, making art, that sort of thing. It's like a big-brother / big-sister program."

[member="Connor Harrison"]