Balance Point [Closed]

[Romi Jade]

In the aftermath of tragedy, will these Jedi Knights find purpose in their search for reclamation?​

​

---

​

---

SPINTIR​

Cave of Light & Shadow​

WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

---

---

​

---

​

​

Spoiler

[youtube]https://youtu.be/N9ObQtpmEVk[/youtube]

It'd been only a couple of weeks after they were freed from captivity on Lola Sayu. With the Galaxy seemingly border-lining on fragile stability, the thirst for answers was more prevalent than it had ever been before...

But answers to what?

The feeling of being stuck outside the concept of time, existing, she'd been dealing with over and over again. Months and months prior, she received a task to find the place where light and shadow met; Ever since she'd heard it from the Bendu, she attempted to break some sort of code or self-reflect thinking it finding her center would be enough; it was a literal place.

If finding this place meant she'd find herself...then how could she begin her journey of self-discovery and leave those to remain trapped in similar situations like hers; she wouldn't.

On Coruscant, when she subconsciously reached out and linked with other minds, she shocked herself. But ever since then she'd been drawn to Coren. She felt him teeter along the edge during one of the darkest moments, and helped him draw closer to the light when he wanted to risk it all.

In the wake of the invasion of Alliance territory, the progenitor of its downfall, she could feel him bearing the weight on his own and looking to fill that void of questions; he needed to see something different. Every interaction between them since was more intense. There was a link there that went above and below their senses...it seemingly converged their paths and they weren't consciously aware.

"This...is it." She mused, angling her head upward while scaling the rest of the stonewall with her eyes. Two gentle blinks, before she grounded herself again. Her blonde locks frantically fought the wind from their pulled back position towards the backside of her head; they were secure enough. "I feel it..."

The vergence was enough that she could feel it crawling along the surface of her skin, it was neither good or bad but leaned more so towards the dark on the spectrum if anything; she could tell it would only descend more. The trek up the mountain wasn't as tiring as she thought, though the physical activity working with the Sith poison she was fighting back every second was enough to drain her only slightly.

A couple of more feet...

Her steps were wide and spaced out while she carefully place each foot in order to avoid the jagged protrusions of the surface beneath them both. Just up ahead she could see the open maw of pitch black uneasiness. Slightly bent at the knee she started to undo her backpack and perch it up against some rocks.

She glanced over at Coren...

"You alright?" She'd rather her not be the one to answer that question, she got it all the time due to her affliction.

She crouched down to tighten a strap, only briefly being distracted by worn bones and a skull that been partially shattered and cracked in multiple places. Interesting enough they'd developed the ashy chalky appearance of the rocks that hid them; they weren't fresh.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The past few weeks were too much of a whirlwind. Was Coren Starchaser ready for it all? No. The betrayal of Taeli Raaf, the capture and imprisonment by Sith as he fought to protect the New Jedi Order and their allies as they did their best to evacuate the temple and capital, hell, even protecting Coruscant First interests. And since his freedom? He had swung back into well known space, Coalition space, and met with several beings, including Jaius Sovv, to figure out the next step of the Alliance.

Aryn Teth and Taeli Raaf were both missing. One missing, one lost to the dark side, or back to the dark side. He didn’t care for the semantics of it. But when Romi Jade had contacted him? He leapt at the opportunity.

Helping ships arrive, loading refugees to the right locations, and reevaluating Jedi and Special Forces team members, to see who were safe to put in the field to defend Alliance interests. And that also meant integrating with the Republic Remnant, Silver Jedi, ORC boys, and the Confederacy. People who were there. People who helped.

But none helped him quite as much as Romi. During his fight with Raaf, she had reached out, and passed his shield, to bring him into a link with the other Jedi. He found he wasn’t alone, he was one of a force of many that were ready, willing, and able to fight back against the darkness. It helped Coren pull himself along the maw of the darkside, to strike the Sith with the full brunt of what it meant to be a Jedi Master, to be a champion of the light side.

Flexing the hand on his newly replaced mechanical arm, one under layers of synthflesh, he looked up at Romi and a smile subconsciously found his features. These two had something in common, something that reached back and forth between themselves. He looked up at the spot she was looking at.

“The cave?” He nodded, more speaking matter-of-factly than anything else.

Following her up the cliff, he nodded again. “Keeping up, new arm is…new.” And his body, and very aura were still weakened. The amount of Force he channeled through his body, even if it was the light side, in that fight? And the following weeks? Left him drained. “Gonna take more than this mountain to stop me.” He smirked as he looked at his companion. Then at the skeleton.

“That’s a bad omen, yeah?”

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

SPINTIR​

Cave of Light & Shadow​

WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

---

---

​

---

​

​

Spoiler

[youtube]https://youtu.be/N9ObQtpmEVk[/youtube]

She propelled herself upward, using the friction between her hands to clear them of any dirt. Her ponytail whipped around as she turned and observed the landscape. "I..I don't know." she responded. Squinting while twisting her waist, she saw nothing really. "I guess the better question would be what did this exactly."

In her weakened state, she was being cautious; she was learning her limits as time went on. It'd only been a couple of weeks really...

She ran her hands along her utility belt, slicing into it with the edges of her fingers while they orbited her waist. Her left made it around to the center, while her right hand toggled with her lightsaber. Making her way towards the entrance, while simultaneously putting her arms into her jacket, she looked back at Coren.

"You ready?"

------------------- Minutes Later

Engulfed in the field of shadow, she paced herself through the jagged cavern. Her right hand trailed the wall while she could feel Coren next to her on her left. As they were descending she could feel the tipping point etching and etching...it was like the the levees that held everything back were cracking overtime.

"Maybe it's just me...but" she spoke only to hear the faint sounds resonate with her; her echo. "This place is suppose to be where the light and the dark converge. Why does it feel like...the light is so faint here?"

Besides the fact that she couldn't really see, it just felt like the poison deep within was reacting in some way.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The view from up here, and also up to where they were, was very good. The nature, the company, but the ebb in the Force, that was not something he was caring for, not one bit. The man looked at Romi and nodded. “Time? But the initial death? I dunno. Ain’t my wheelhouse.”

But conflict, and diving into the unknown? That was definitely in his house. He smirked, wearing a jacket with a dockers clutch for his pistol. His new lightsaber, created by one [member="Mishel Noren"], and provided to him during the escape from the prison, rested on his belt. He knew where it all ways. His worldly possessions were one thing that didn’t change often in location and handling. But with the blonde nearby, Coren wasn’t in war-mode, not at all. He was relaxed.

Happy.

“Always, toots.”

*****​

​

He kept close to Romi, his body starting to recover more and more each day. Meditations, focusing the light side, he was a garbage healer but still, the Force worked in mysterious ways. The man could feel the heat from Romi as they stepped deeper into the cold cavern.

“I could feel that a bit outside.” He said, voice low. He knew exactly why, but he wasn’t going to bring it up. He wasn’t wanting to relive Coruscant. Not yet.

“Converge for the galaxy? Or you?” Instinctively he was pulling to the Force, to the light side. And as a result, he was connecting to Romi’s mind, her very being. This was a unique situation that happened whenever she was around. Interesting.

“You feeling ok?”

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

SPINTIR​

Cave of Light & Shadow​

WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

---

---

​

---

Spoiler

[youtube]https://youtu.be/N9ObQtpmEVk[/youtube]

Her head whipped around at his response; perplexed. She stopped for a moment, her gaze trailing him until he was a couple of steps ahead and then her head hung low for a bit.

"Ye...yeah." She eventually responded. She shook it off and kept pushing.

That very concept completely took her focus away for the moment, what was she truly feeling? Was it the inner conflict she was dealing with or, was it the cave itself she was feeling. Now she wasn't so sure.

"I guess...my senses are a bit off." her words trailed out near the end. Then, suddenly a sharp pain rain through the length of her index finger. She retracted her arm, tucking it out of reflex. Examining her finger, she realized their was no blood but...

Her face scrunched up in confusion, from the dark she could see some reflected light there, just a bit. It brought out her curiosity. In one swift motion she reached for her lightsaber and ignited it to split the darkness down the middle with scarlet illumination. Etching in closer...she noticed the smallest "It's...a crystal?"

Deeply embedded into the wall, she shook it off. She lowered her blade and turned to Coren. Far behind him...she saw a blurry tinge of light. She motioned with her head.

"What is that?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Jedi Master missed these days, trips to some cave or another, a relic of the past, a foreign world. He was a different man now than he was when he was awakened from the carbonite. He was a man who chased down war zones. And he needed to do what he could to protect the Jedi and the galaxy. Coren was the type who wandered with the likes of Rekha and Serena and found hidden treasures in the galaxy. And this cave? It was something else.

Looking at Romi, he nodded as he watched her. Something was wrong with her, or just… off. He had known her a bit, but most of it was after the war. But being a Jedi Master, he knew a few things about how people were. And Romi, she had a bit more carefree feel to her. Still, now she was a bit off. Approaching her, he ran a hand over her shoulder and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve got ya.”

He grinned at her, their minds a bit linked. Reaching to his bag, Coren pulled out a glowstick and cracked it. The light cast over the shadows in the cave. He knew he couldn’t really grab the Force for this, to light the way. Turning to where she indicated, he held up his stick.

The sodium light illuminated the cave. “Have you been here before?” He was reaching out to see what he could sense. “Just feels like… I don’t know. Hope in the dark?” Taking a step forward, the man looked back at his partner.

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

---

​

---

SPINTIR
Cave of Light & Shadow
WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]

---

---

Spoiler

[youtube]https://youtu.be/DwMM0J1sre8[/youtube]

She looked back and smiled, part of her already knew what he was about to do. A flick of her thumb recalled the plasma blade home. She stepped into Corens guard, directly behind him. Her chin etched over his shoulder so she could see into the light; it was the only source besides the dim spotting up ahead.

Squinting, "No...the Bendu told me about it." and he was right, she would have most likely described it the same way. When he looked back, her face retreated. She wasn't expecting that; she didn't realize she was so close. Diverting her gaze rather quickly, she repressed her smirk within seconds.

She motioned forward with her head again, "Do that again..." she mused.

Her hand came to rest on his own, and she applied slight pressure to get him to sway the glowstick a bit. The illumination reflected over more crystals embedded in the wall. They had a slight glow, but were scattered. "There's more..." She looked over at Coren and proceeded the trek inward.

"I got stranded on Eadu after chasing pirates. Then I heard this call through the Force." She continued forward, twisting and tucking under jagged spirals.

"The Bendu reached out...and I trained under it for months. After I stepped down I returned to Eadu to seek guidance on what was next and he directed me here." She summed up the story only to attempt to mock the voice of the entity himself, "Find the place where light and dark meet, and find yourself."

She rolled her eyes after hearing the cryptic message again, simultaneously she walked right into a more spacious cavern that was naturally and sporadically illuminated with those same crystals.

"Then...I...came...here..." Her words trailed out as she fell into a mesmerized trance.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

War was a constant thing for Coren, and the fact that it included the galaxy, balanced everything out, the light and the dark. The man knew that this cave was something special. Shadows and light. He took a deep breath and looked at the cave. He felt the heat from Romi and grinned. She was comforting. He was hoping it would continue. The woman was someone he liked to keep around. Grinning, he shifted to give her a light hip-check.

Raising the torch again, he felt her hand on his and moved it, casting light, and watching the shadows. And paying attention to the light. He felt her body against his and the way the Force moved around her, through her, and around them. He felt like having her nearby could strengthen him. That was a feeling.

“Never trained with a Bendu. Did he direct you here here, or has the cave been a pulling you towards it?” He could see why it would. Any place to witness the changing of the guard of the galaxy was an interesting place. “Sure it’s a place, this place? Not a person?”

“What are you supposed to find? Crystals?” He looked around their area, what could he find for her?

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

SPINTIR​

Cave of Light & Shadow​

WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

---

---

​

---

​

Spoiler

[youtube]https://youtu.be/DwMM0J1sre8[/youtube]

​

She stopped, with the sporadic lights highlighting the features they could reach, "I'm not completely sure..." she responded.

Sigh

"It was really cryptic...but I want to say it was a combination of both." She pivoted in her stance, "Ugh, I don't know anymore." She hadn't considered that it could have been a person. She looked over at Coren, her gaze was sly and maybe he noticed or not. She knew he'd been to the edge and back; she didn't really know much else about his dealings with the darkside.

She herself had just had it injected into her not too long ago. Him saying that opened her mind to other possibilities and even helped her settle on the thought that she may not find the answers she wanted right now.

She spun around, running her index finger along the length of her chin. "Seriously...what am I suppose to find?" She turned again until she fell upon an embedded crystal just a few feet ahead of her.

It pulled her in, as if it were calling to her in the most subtle way.

Hmmm

She slowly closed in, and her lips parted before she leaned in a bit. She reached out with her finger and on contact she was pulled into the empyrean and fueled with flashbacks of her on Deneba and Eadu. She retreated, stumbling back a couple of steps. After that she felt the resonance...it's call to her was stronger.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Watching Romi, Coren kept his arm in a standard pattern, he wasn’t flailing the light around and was doing his best to allow her to concentrate. He knew that this cave was important to her. And sure, he was a warrior but he knew enough to be calm. The Sentinel was the type to move from full out warfare and into ‘sneak past the guards’ in about the same hour. It was one of those things.

Grinning at her, especially with that gaze she gave him. Yeah, that was going right to his head. It was a matter of not letting her know it went to his head, though. The real trick, right? Starchaser had been on both sides of the Force and the wars. Maybe not recently, but he was definitely the reason some of these points of lights were extinguished.

“Maybe its not readily visible?” He shrugged. His masters had always given more straight forward mysteries. This one was… not that. But really, straight forward and mystery? His master may have been a glitbiter. He smirked to himself. Watching Romi move, he nodded.

So, she was doing that. And when she reached out, he felt it, the… flashback. Moving quickly, he saw her stumble, and his hands caught her waist. “Whoa... Easy.”

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

SPINTIR​

Cave of Light & Shadow​

WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

---

---

​

---

​

Spoiler

[youtube]https://youtu.be/DwMM0J1sre8[/youtube]

​

Playfully, "I think you may be right Master Starchaser." She smiled before her head whipped around again; searching. "You might just be right..." She said on the more serious note.

Seriously, it was starting to frustrate her that she wasn't quite grasping this quest. Before long she became infatuated with this crystal...in a good way. It was as if it was connected to her, and felt even more so after she touched it. A bit dizzy, she stumbled back and unbeknownst into Coren's grip.

Her lips parted in surprise, a whimper of air escaped not too long after. Her initial reaction was to grab whatever grabbed her, and she found her hands resting on his, which were resting on her waist. Hmmm...

"Thanks..." she looked up at him, but quickly retreated, pushing herself back up, and turning to face him. "I uhh..." She repressed yet another smirk, and paced away just a couple of feet. "Maybe this is just the first step to finding the answers I want. I mean this cave reflects the current status of the galaxy with fair accuracy...these crystals are calling out to me...and then there's..." She avoided the last part...

She wasn't ready to reveal it yet, "Point is, any of these things could play some role in what he told me. I think I'm overlooking something..." she nodded, before turning back around.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Master Starchaser? He looked over at Romi with a bit of a surprised smirk. Did she give that tone for the double entendre? They had been spending a lot of time together, and Coren was not opposed to bringing whatever this was to some higher level. Romi was a Knight, she was ready to do things how she wanted, and with the Praxeum and Jedi Academy Network, she was able to move about the galaxy, spreading the good word, how she felt best served the galaxy.

And apparently it meant going around with him.

He had his arms around her, helping to steady her as she all but fell away from that crystal. He could be here to balance the scales, who knew. All he knew was that he had to keep fighting, and change this crystal cave from the darkness it showed to the light. But this place wasn’t in his destiny, he didn’t know what was, but it was important for [member="Romi Jade"].

When she turned, pulling from his arms, he took the moment to survey her. One part checking out if she was fine, and the other part checking out how fine she was. “Then there is what?” He was tracking her for the most part. But like anything, Jedi were the most difficult beings.

 

[Romi Jade]

SPINTIR​

Cave of Light & Shadow​

WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]​

---

---

​

---

​

Spoiler

[youtube]https://youtu.be/DwMM0J1sre8[/youtube]

Her eyes bounced around, bounding from wall to wall; she pondered if she should just let it be known or not.

"Whatever they did to me on Lola Sayu...it damaged me on a molecular level according to the healer." She took in the air, holding it before she released it again. "We're not sure just yet of what it is exactly..."

She looked over to Coren, "Whatever it is, it feels like it's eating me up inside." Her face scrunched up, her fingers ran across her stomach. "It feels like...something unnatural running through me." She bit down on her lip, "Feels like i'm growing weaker. I just want them to hurry up and figure out what it is."

She took a couple of steps closer, "I haven't told anyone else..." She looked him dead in the eye for a brief moment that seemed like minutes had gone by.

In the corner of her eye, she witnessed a silhouette come into the frame. She could never really see that far to begin with but it appeared to be on all fours. A slight twitch to her eyes bore witness to her confusion, she placed a hand on Coren's chest, hoping to get him to turn around.

"Uhm, what's that?"

 

[Coren Starchaser]

This cave was somewhere unique, for sure. He could feel it. It all felt so foreign, yet so familiar. When you were a Jedi Watchman, you had more than just a few systems to take care of, and when you were the last remaining ranking Marshal of a fallen Order? You had a responsibility to the people. And that meant finding the dark siders around the galaxy. But in his immediate focus?

Romi’s ailment. “What is it? What can be done?” He looked at her, really looked at her. He needed to do something. He had to be able to, he was a Jedi Master.

A hand found her waist as they locked eyes. When she turned to stare at the incoming silhouette, he moved her behind him. He grabbed the yellow bladed lightsaber he had grabbed since the events of Coruscant. The blade was not ignited but Coren reached out in the Force, preparing to throw up a barrier, but waiting to feel what was going to happen.

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

Sigh

"I...I don't know yet." She responded. Shaking it off, she shut her eyes very briefly. "Just...don't tell anyone else yet. I want to deal with it without everyone else worrying about me..." of course her thoughts ran to her Padawan; she referred to them as her boys. She thought about Cedric...and wished she could reveal it to [member="Veiere Arenais"] . She missed confiding in him...she missed confiding in anyone really.

He moved her behind him, and she crept passed his guard, peaking just over his shoulder. She could still feel his hand just at her waist. As it came more into view she started to make our fur and canine like features; the growling solidified it a bit.

Heh

A chill ran down her spine, and when she whipped around she saw another seemingly stepping around the crystal pillar. She turned and pressed her back against his. "Wolves...?"

She ran her thumb over the ignition switch of her saber, peering over her left shoulder she noticed a third. "Coren..."

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

She didn’t know? Coren shook his head. He wasn’t sure what to do. The man wasn’t a healer, but he had a lot of connections to many in the Alliance, the New Jedi Order produced a number of combat healers. And that could help, maybe. At least he hoped. Maybe not perfectly. But… it would be a start.

“I’ve seen you in combat, hun. You’re not going to get me worryin’ on ya. If you can’t tack it then you just need to let me know. With the Alliance we can take care of you, put you somewhere where you can still assist.” That was the main concern. In the Alliance you had to pull your weight. And everyone had some way to help.

And in the Alliance in Exile, it was needed even more.

“Looks to be.” He felt her reaching into the Force for him again. The Master looked at the incoming foes. “You ready?”

[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

SPINTIR
Cave of Light & Shadow
WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]

---

---

Spoiler

[youtube]https://youtu.be/DwMM0J1sre8[/youtube]

She playfully closed in, her face nearing his a bit more than it was before "Is that your way of trying to get me to join the Alliance?" she smirked until she couldn't anymore; she broke out into light laughter before pulling back just a bit. "I'll consider it Master Starchaser..."

Though, the way she took it was him saying he could take care of her. That was cuter.​

“Looks to be.”

She gave one more glance around, stopping on the one just in front of her which seemed to etch closer and closer. "Ready." she responded.

Snap-hiss!

She wasted no time, she negligently waved a hand at the beast just some feet in front of her. In it's effort to pounce on her, it was inevitably thrown off course as her wash of Force energy caught him and threw him against a wall.

She spun around Coren counter clockwise, putting herself in front of the third which sought to flank him. A well-placed kick was enough to force it back just a bit, but she followed her dance up with the humming blur of her saber; she traced a searing trail along its massive arm but her initial attack lacked the power to cut completely through.

They were more resilient than they thought, "You alright star-babe?"

She jumped back drawing the beast away, while snickering at her new pet name that she bestowed upon Coren.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

A grin on his face, the Corellian shook his head. “Not exactly. But we do have an insurance package that is second to none…” He knew things were bad in the galaxy, but it didn’t hurt to have a laugh or two, right? And the tone she used… He grinned some more. “Well, we’ll see, won’t we?” He didn’t have it in him to call her a student. She knew what she was doing. He’d just been doing his thing a long time.

What he had in mind was keeping the dark side at bay. Coren may not be the most rooted light sider, but his new fixation of using Force Light could maybe help her. If they could understand what was wrong. He wasn’t a healer, no, not at all.

Still, his lightsaber was humming, low and ready, casting light and shadows into the cave. He moved with her as they spun and a barrier went up, catching the second wolf that was diving at them. It hit the wall harder than it expected to hit nothing, and fell. Another Push and sent it off as he readied his saber again, waiting for its approach.

Another wolf was on its approach and Coren gripped his lightsaber. Watching [member="Romi Jade"] lure one off, he was hoping to keep the fighting at him, it was a matter of getting their attention, after all.

 

[Romi Jade]

SPINTIR
Cave of Light & Shadow
WITH: [member="Coren Starchaser"]

---

​

---

"We shall see indeed" She casually looked back at him before whipping back around with her teeth cutting in her bottom lip.

The beast she'd lured away claw for her foot, a quick bend of the knee as she forced it to her chest saw him go under it. When she came back down she lunged forward, sweeping with her blade in any effort to either strike or drive him back. He retreated back a couple of steps, but rounded the plasma beam of her blade a sought to strike from another angle.

The wolf she'd slammed into the wall found Coren to be it's new target, pouncing for him with large quantities of ferocity. Back on her side, she dove into a roll before coming back up in a spin with her blade. She reacted out of impulse, and felt the resistance as she applied pressure on her hilt to force the weapon through. With enough for she retreated, stumbling back a few steps just as she witness the paw of her attack flailing about.

The wince from the creature filled her ears as it rose to its hind legs in a fit of pain.

Her face scrunched up as she regretted it. "Coren...lets get out of here" she desperately called out to her companion.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The fact that Romi here was ready to help the team meant a lot. There were a few Jedi who were assisting all the other teams, the Remnant Jedi, Silvers, and the New Jedi Order, and they were all great, but getting dedicated Jedi to help move the Shattered Order? That was his ultimate goal. He was hoping to bring more people into the fold. The Shattered worked for the Force, helping the light side, and he knew that they had people who were willing to go the extra mile. Assist with protection of the galaxy.

But now, now they didn’t have time for that. Wolves were bearing down on them, and that was not a good thing. Starchaser spun, lightsaber up, just enough to scare the wolf off. But he looked at the incoming. Pulling the Force, he threw a shield up around Romi to give her a bit of assistance, but realized it was a little too late. Extinguishing his blade, he hurried, almost leaping towards her air as he readied his scattergun.

A blast at the wolves, the shot echoed in the cave. “Lets move.”

[member="Romi Jade"]