Crystals?

[Cedric Grayson]

Finding a lightsaber crystal was difficult these days. Ilum was too far out of the way, and a likely place for Sith to await inexperienced Jedi passing through. Synthetic crystals were being manufactured all over the galaxy, but the majority of them were vastly inferior to the natural borne crystal most Jedi put into their weapon. The ones that weren't tended to have the dark red coloration that Darius had come to associate with the Sith; the last thing he needed was to be mistaken for one of them by an alliance soldier.

Mygeeto, however, was a safer bet. The former stronghold of the banking clan was on the fringe of galactic civilization these days. No one really paid it much thought. With the banking clan dismantled and its strategic importance diminished, the most anyone used the frozen world for was strip mining. The crystals on the planet were still incredibly powerful; they were said to have been used in the construction of the old Empire's greatest weapons. Darius was going to take one for his own.

His master could not join him today. Julius was busy assembling his 'green Jedi' as he called them. A group of warriors hailing from Corellia with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, and a whole lot more reason to hate the Sith than young Darius did. The boy generally kept them at an arm's length unless they were working together.

In his teacher's place, another had come. An odd little creature that went by the name of [member="Vaet"]. Darius had heard the legends of Yoda -- what Jedi hopeful had not? -- but the fact that his new companion was of the same species went right over his head. He enjoyed the company nonetheless. He probably would not have gone this far from Sullust on his own.

"We're making the approach now. Seems they haven't seen us yet," he cracked a ridiculous grin and leaned back into the pilot's chair. He'd borrowed one of Starchaser's stealth ships; the ones that had twenty something dev threads and Darius' writer did not feel like taking the time to link. It was cool, okay?

"I hear this place is freezing. I've been on Endor for the past two years, then Sullust, so-...this should be interesting." Now he was just talking to hear himself speak, and he knew it. Didn't mean he cared. "Still safer than Ilum though! Probably."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Vaet was young. At least young in the eyes of his people, but considering that they could grow to be over nine hundred years old... ‘young’ might mean something else to them. He had come to the Galactic Alliance to help - after spending a very long time roaming the Outer and Mid Rim of the Galaxy, it had been easier that way in the past. His natural affinity to empathic skills meant that the young Vaetling put himself in a lot of danger when he exposed himself to larger crowds. Their anger, fear, hatred and agony were felt keenly, and it was [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]difficult[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] to stay true to one’s self in such an environment. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Most natural Empaths solved that issue by surrounding themselves with happy people. Light-hearted, bright-eyed and with a quick smile, but Vaet was different in that regard. He had come to [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]serve[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] and sometimes that meant putting yourself in a difficult position.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]So he sought out troubled individuals. Like [member="Avalore Eden"] and [member="Kaili Talith"] - both having their own issues with [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]trust[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] and [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]faith[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]. He considered them good friends, always close to his mind, even if they made his life ever so difficult.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]But it was worth it.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Especially in situations such as these when a young soul, still bright and light, unburdened from the weight of [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]living[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]. It brought him a modicum of relief: mostly the reason why he decided to accompany the padawan. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]The search of the crystals and construction of the lightsaber was one of the most important of steps on the journey of a Jedi. Being part of that was an honor. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“As I understand it, padawan [member="Darius"].” the Vaetling responded while holding onto his gnarled staff. His talon rubbed across the surface; it reminded him of home. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Infest the world, pirates, mercenaries and others have. Careful… we must be.”[/SIZE]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Was Darius amused by the little empath's speech patterns? Very much so. Did he vocalize such? Not a chance. Still, he couldn't help but crack a grin when Vaet spoke. It really wasn't funny; Darius just had an immaturity streak that he was content on keeping so long as he could manage. He knew that the day he was knighted -- if it even came to pass -- the game would be changed. He was expected to go off and fight the One Sith for the glory of the alliance, or something like that. He didn't have a problem with that; it was the responsibility that came with it that frightened him.

Of course, that was something to think about in the future. Right now he needed to take the first big step down that path, and [member="Vaet"] would be there to help guide him through it to some degree. In truth, Darius was just happy to have some company. The fact that Vaet happened to be walking a similar path just made things more convenient.

"They've got nothing on us. Just eh, lemme know if you start seeing Coral skippers on our tail, yeah?" The Primeval were close to Mygeeto, particularly some of their Vong sects. The last thing they needed was for some religious zealot to come and ruin the evening.

The ship made a low rumbling noise as it broke through the atmosphere. The caves that housed crystals needed to focus a lightsaber were on the other side of the planet -- right now Darius needed a crystal to augment its abilities and change the color. He could have just bought one, but that would ruin the entire process. This was just as much a spiritual trial as it was the construction of a weapon.

The ship settled on a frozen shelf half a klick away from the cave Darius had picked out in hyperspace. To the far left was a small sea; every other direction had nothing save for barren rock and the occasional hills. He could just faintly make out the lumpy formation of the cave in the distance.

"The speeder is spooling up in the back," he powered down the engines, "Thanks for coming with me. Not sure I would have came on my own." He offered the little man a grin as he pushed up from his chair. He spoke the truth -- Darius had some confidence issues. A topic for another time.

The ship's aft doors rumbled as they came open. The howling wind that followed drowned out all other sound. Darius winced drew his cowl over his head, and slipped into the closed-cockpit of the speeder.

Time to get to work.