Deep in the wilderness

[Sorel Crieff]

Arca Jeth's Praxeum was something you learned about as a Youngling. In her quest to find answers – and also truths – Sorel was travelling around all known Jedi locations. She wasn’t sure what she hoped to find, but it was better than sitting around and waiting for answers to come to her.

So she headedf to Master Arca's Training Center – an academy on Arkania used once upon a time by the Jedi Order. It was used apparently during the Old Sith Wars

She landed deep within the Arkanian wilderness, the facility was far from the diamond mines that riddled the planet. The praxeum was once equipped to train and house many students at a time, sometime upwards of twenty. In the old days they used wild Arkanian dragons as opponents, and Sorel wondered what that must have been like.

As she landed, snow started to fall. Softly at first but then more heavily. She hurried inside the old building with her bag of goodies with her. Essential rations and survival gear. If this snow continued as it promised, she might not see her ship again for a few days.

As she stepped across the threshold, she reminisced about the many Jedi that passed through the praxeum's halls, including Ulic Qel-Droma, Cay Qel-Droma, and Tott Doneeta. She plopped her bag down inside the doorway and glanced around. It was a two story structure made of lumber and stone, and was large enough to take a while to search thoroughly.

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

One day ago...​

L​oud creaking of metallic parts threatening to rip apart did not sound as threatening to a young red-headed pilot, as it did to a cleanly polished and fixed dark green and shining black BB-4 unit. Frantic binary translated into basic on the screen, which Abbey occasionally perked down to take a glance upon. "Oh, don't be silly. I just had this ship fixed. The Jawa are quite a nice species, mind you." A tiny sigh of annoyance emitted in the cramped space of the piloting area.

Creeeeak! A sudden hiss sounded the quietness of the ship, then more frantic binary echoed across the ship as the BB unit tried to take control. Slowly the young pilot blinked, again and again, breathing in the toxic fumes - until suddenly she fell across her controls, going limp into unconsciousness.

The present...​

​

Tiny echoes of a repeated beacon signal vibrated into Abbey's head. She slowly opened her emerald eyes and peered to her surroundings. It was a short sweet list of everything her ship once was, including her droid, who still sat in it's cockpit, offline but transmitting it's distress. It was amazing the ship didn't blow up her chair in the process. After using an old knife to cut loose the belt straps, the young lady stood up and started for shelter with nothing more than her wits, and the clothes on her back.

Shelter. It was in range, what appeared to be an old mansion. Just as her eyes laid onto the miracle assuming building, gentle drops of snow began to fall, reminding Abbey how hungry and thirsty she was. By the time she had managed to get closer to the door, a stressful thanks was given to the world for the warm piloting outfit she wore - black and white with various signs of basic that read "Hope, Peace, Stop Wars," ect.

As the door came to touch her hand, she quickly walked inside and closed it behind her, wrapping her arms around her chest to calm the shuddering and chattering of her body, which she seemed to just notice. Tiny steps made their way around the entrance, hoping to find something warm. A fire, a warm cup of soup, something.

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel was unsure what she heard. Was it a ship? Given she was inside the building and the snow was falling heavily, sounds were muted. She strained her ears to listen but decided it was just her imagination. The wind perhaps? The creaking of the old building.

There was perhaps a couple of hours of daylight left. If she was lucky, she might find a generator and be able to get some power on in the old Enclave. Heating too. It was then she heard the door. This time there was no escaping the reality. It opened and the sound of cold air rushing in mixed with the sensation of a drop in temperature. It could have been the wind of course – except nature didn’t close the door behind itself. With one hand on her Master’s old saber, that remained attached to her belt, she pulled her threadbare Jedi robes tight to diminish the cold, and headed back to the main entrance. Better to confront the newcomer now, than run into them in a dark corridor.

As she reached the doorway, she saw who had opened the door. A young woman, maybe her age? She was dressed as a pilot, although the design didn’t look military – not with all of the words and signs splashed across it. “Hi, I’m Sorel,” she said, her voice faltering slightly. She hoped she sounded braver than she felt right now.

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

At first the young pilot only wondered the room she was in, the main entrance, searching just in case someone wanted to leave ration bars laying on the ground. Don't blame her, she's seen it before in many ruins explorations! Upon the sudden voice, she jolted and flipped around with a pair of shaking scared green eyes darting around to lock onto Sorel.

After taking a quick breath, the girl looked down with an ashamed expression planted on her face. "I didn't mean to break into someone's house, I thought it was empty... I-I'm just looking for warmth right now, please don't kill me." Her mind raced for answers that she didn't have, preparing to be asked many things. Her main question was 'give me one reason I shouldn't kill you right now.'

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel bowed. It was as much a reflex as anything else. She sensed the Force – but her command of it was less than assured in this stage of her development. Perhaps the young woman was a Jedi. Or a Sith? Or just someone who was Force Sensitive. Or it could simply be the background noise from the Academy, confusing her senses.

“This is not my house,” she explained, smiling slightly. “I am as much a guest here as you are. I was looking for some form of power. We need heating and light ideally, so perhaps you could help me search. Down is invariably good, generators always seem to be in basements, and this former Academy seems standard in terms of layout, so we just need to find some stairs leading down.”

Sorel was a Jedi and had been raised as such. She was generally trusting and would give any newcomer the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. “And we probably ought to stick together, there’s no telling what might have taken up residence where its dark and lonely.” She smiled again, this time in a hope of making her ominous words sound less scary.

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

Shaking a few moments more, the young pilot stepped forward and looked about, then without another word went to the left of the room to find the generator, hoping in her search she would find something more - in terms of live meat so they may eat later on. "I'll try, but I can't promise..." She mumbled quietly.

This place gave her the creeps, noticing now that the shivers weren't all from the cold. She kept on feeling things around her, strange and confusing to her mind, which was struggling for answers. Her first appointment of conclusion was that that girl - was secretly a ghost of some sort.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel waited for the girl to respond and took the movement as an agreement to begin searching. She followed the pilot’s lead. “I’ve only just got here myself,” Sorel said, hoping to put her fellow housemate at ease. “We’ll find the generator, I’m sure of it.” She smiled again, hoping to exude a level of confidence that in truth she didn’t feel.

They tried a couple of doors before finding one that opened onto a short corridor and then stairs heading down. The light spilling in from the main room behind them was all that illuminated the way ahead. Sorel grabbed a glow rod from her bag and activated it – soft light showing them the way ahead and offering a level of comfort the darkness never could.

“I’ll go first,” she said and headed down. The stairs took them to a large open area and apart from dust and storage boxes – that looked as though they would be worth an investigate – the room housed nothing other than a large contraption that Sorel surmised was the generator. It was even older than her ship – which was saying something. A couple of minutes of trial and error later and a snap of power was followed by a steady hum and the room was bathed in light and the sound of running water hopefully signified the heating system had also been activated. She smiled at her companion at the success.

“Might be worth taking a look in these boxes. Could be food?”

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

The young girl followed aimlessly in the person's lead, poking around at things now and then. After walking down the walk way and watching the generator turn on - if you could even call that dinosaur a generator - she flipped about and started to open a few boxes to find it's content. "My ship crashed about a mile from here. I will need to repair it, preferably here, if you don't mind me taking over some parts of the house." With a nervous slip to her voice, she turned her head to look at [member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel followed suit and began to check the boxes. There was a wide variety of things, old flimsis, candles, old Jedi robes and even ration packs. “Feel free to take what you need, and catch, pilot.” She tossed a bar and tore another one open with her teeth. She sniffed it – and finding nothing offensive, took a tentative nibble. “It takes OK,” she said. “Probably past its sell-by date but better than starving. And I might help myself to some fresh robes. These ones are very old and could do with bring burned.”

She then faced the young girl. “As I say, I’m Sorel. I didn’t catch your name – and given the snow could last a couple of days, I can’t keep calling you pilot. So, what’s your name? And tell me about you, it would help if we had something in common to chat about.”

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

Abbey didn't turn her head in time - ending up getting smacked across the head with a ration bar. After picking it up, she stored it away in her pocket and kept on looking, digging through robes and rolling candles up for later use in the same material. As the question came rolling in, she paused and thought for a long moment.

Finally continuing to roll up her candles, she spoke quietly. "My name's Abbey. I'm a Jedi padawan, or maybe a Sith, I don't know yet. I will find out later though." She said casually, already assuming as much as the other girl was a Jedi, or a Force user as well.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened. She was learning patience and at times like these, she was able to exercise self-control. She suppressed a snigger as she saw the ration bar canon off Abbey’s head. It was funny, but they didn’t know each other well enough to share that thought just yet.

“Abbey, eh? And…how do you not know? I mean, is it because you’re open to both sides, or because you’re conflicted? I’m a Jedi. In part because it’s all I’ve ever known, but also because I know – deep down – that following the Code is what I want to do, and what the Force has in store for me.” Sorel had limited exposure to Sith. The only one she’d met to date had killed her Master and she’d been lucky to escape with her life. It was her Master’s selfless act that enabled her escape – something she still hadn’t told anyone.

She took another bite of the ration bar, unaware how hungry she had been until she started to eat.

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

Abbey quietly shrugged and ended up sitting herself down, gently burying her head in between her legs. "I don't know. I once met a hermit who taught me very little of the Force, but she was both light and dark, but also a little bit of grey. She didn't really have a thing, and I feel like that's what's happening to me." There was a crack of sadness in her voice - it seemed like she didn't think she belonged.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened. It seemed everyone had a sad story to tell. She was herself sure of her future in terms of being a Jedi - but unclear how it would transpire. She wondered what it might be like to be so unsure.

"Knowledge is always good, if nothing else it gives you choices. I guess it all comes down to how you want to use your Abilities. Are you wishing to be selfless and follow the life of a Jedi? To oppose evil and defend the weak? Or to do what's right for you and seek personal power like a Sith? Or somewhere inbetween, the life of the Grey. Not evil, not selfless, just pragmatic and in tune with the Force?"

"For me it is an easy decision, but the Force has a different conundrum for me. I do not yet know how to fulfil my destiny and become a Jedi. So it's funny that fate has brought us together, no?"

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

She shrugged her shoulders very softly. She honestly wasn't sure what she wanted - the dark or the light, even the grey. She was afraid she would end up like that old hermit she saw just years and months before.

"I'll find out later. And I guess it is cool that we were brought together with fate. I really like you so far."
[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel smiled. "Given we might have to spend a couple of days together, and just us, it's not a bad thing that we get along. And talking of which, we should explore. See if there is a kitchen, bedrooms, those sort of things. Plus any parts for your ship of course."

As she led the way back upstairs, she continued to talk. "And I'll tell you a little about me. I was going to ask you first, but it seemed impertinent, so I figured I'd start. I'm from Panatha, and was found to be Force sensitive from a young gae. So I was shipped off to Coruscant and then Ossus and found myself a Master before he died. It was a relatively short while ago and since then I've not been sure what to do. The Republic has changed and I'm determined to be a Jedi, but less sure how to go about it."

"OK, your turn," she said as she started opening doors and popping her head inside to see what each room housed.

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

Abbey blindly followed Sorel, glancing at each room as they passed them. Her history, huh... "I make ice cream." She said with a flat disappointed tone. It was short and to the point, and probably terribly boring.

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

"Ice cream?" Sorel echoed. "Possibly not too much call for it here, but back on Ossus we'd have it a lot. If you haven't visited, it's a jungle planet. Very warm. Eating ice cream and dipping in the outdoor pool was a great way to keep cool."

She continued to search and they came to a kitchen area and attached dining room. As Sorel started to look through cupboards, she pulled out cans and jars that looked to contain things that were edible and stacked them on the counter-top. "Looks like people have been here not so long ago - and left supplies. And given you're an ice cream maker, are you also a cook? I can always improvise, but if you're skilled I'd be happy to defer to you."

"And is the ice cream making a business or a hobby?" Sorel was starting to find a wide range of foods, not that they necessarily went together in one meal.

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Abbey looked through some upper cupboards, where spices usually were found, and with luck did in fact find a bundle. Pulling them down, she shook her head left to right. "I'm not a specialty cook but I can do it, along with baking. My main thing is ice cream." She said with another tone - something she wasn't proud of. Looking about further, she tried to find more raw materials to make something out of - like bread. "It's more of a work thing."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

“Then I won’t ask you to make any,” Sorel said, smiling. “And I wish we’d find more complementary ingredients.” Mostly she’d found basic rations, food that would last a long time in tins or jars. They were, invariably, in her experience less than wonderful in taste.

Then she came across a cupboard that contained flour, oil, and what the jar said was packets of yeast and sachets of salt. “Of any use? Looks like stuff you’d bake with.”

Then she happened upon a deep freeze compartment and wondered what goodies might be stored in there.

[member="Abbey Ainsley"]

 

[Abbey Ainsley]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Abbey eyed the items for a long while, then took them and planted them onto the counter. She went around, taking a bit of the jared tomato paste - olives and mushrooms, and what looked to be a type of pepper, most of which were gross to the taste when eaten alone. "See if you can find any meat or dairy products," she snapped with a quick tone, already going to work on making a crust of something amazing.

Two crusts, suddenly remembering she was with someone else who needed food as well. Each of them massive in size, at least two feet wide - and a cover at the same size.