From the Past to the Present: Chapter 1

[Kian Karr]

"Excellent." Sha said and motioned for Kian to help her to her feet. "Then we will begin with some meditation." And Kian smiled as she began to lead them deeper into the temple. This would not be the typical meditation they did at the Academy.....this would be quite different. As they went the floor began to gradually slope, leading them downward. It wasn't long until the corridor lead them to a large archway. Once inside they found themselves in a large circular room, lit by fire. The roof was a large dome and the floor was set down into the ground, so they had to go down several steps to stand on it. All around the three of them were Baran Do Sages. They sat around the outer edges of the room, forming a large circle. There were 11 of them, and when the sage who had greeted them at the door with the storm warning took her spot, it made 12.

"This is the entire Baran Do Order." Kian said turning to [member="Kana Truden"] and [member="Corvus Raaf"]. "Or at least, all those above the initiate rank." Kian said. The Baran Do Order was not a large one, like the Jedi. Most force sensitive Kel Dor chose to leave Dorin and join the Jedi rather then stay at home and join an order that no longer held the sway it once did.

"Please, as our guests, you can join me in the center of the room." Sha said and she released Kian's arm and hooked her arm through Corvus's and Kana's arms, her frail frame supporting herself on them as they made their way toward the center of the room. Kian walked to the perimeter and settled down next to one of the sages. As they made their way there, Kian closed his eyes and stetched out with his mind, first connecting to the Kel Dor beside him, then, through that connection, to the others in the circle. Each and every sage has connected their minds together. It was a technique that would be known to Kana and Corvus from their work healing younglings.....but it would be far more powerful then that had been.

Pulling the two Jedi down to sit with her in the middle of the floor, Sha stretched out and once more touched both of their minds.

"We are going to join our minds together." She said verbally. Relax. She then said through the psychic link and poured relaxing feelings into the connection. Sha waited patiently for them to join with her before she would join with the others. It would likely be too much to try and join to so many at once.

 

[Kana Truden]

It may not have been the biggest order at twelve heads, but there was a presence that was quite… Well, she couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but there was just something in the air that demanded admiration and awe. As the sage instructed Kana to sit and the calm washed over her she could do little else but do as she was told.

She crossed her legs and cleared her mind as usual. It had been so long since she actually needed to connect with someone. She had to find the tendrils to another mind. An alien mind at that. She reached out towards the sage with her mind. It took her a bit but before long she had managed to grab a hold of a tendril and carefully followed it up to be connected with the elder.

Unsure what to even do she remained still for now. The elder most likely felt her enter her mind, Kana was a novice after all.

[member="Kian Karr"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was feeling much calmer now. The further away from the front door they travelled, the more relaxed she became. She pulled the Force to her and centreed herself before listening to Sha.

As suggested, she sat cross-legged in the centre of the room and closed her eyes. She'd connected with Kian before and so knew how his mind was similar but subtly different. Corvus felt the overwhelming feeling of relaxation and was able to latch on to it. She sent out her own tendrils to connect the the link and then waited, not progressing. She trusted the Kel-Dor would guide them from this point on.


[member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Once [member="Corvus Raaf"] and [member="Kana Truden"] had connected to Sha's mind, Sha joined hers with the rest of the sages, therefore completing the circuit. As one, the sages, Kian included, began to chant in Kel Dor. The words were not important, nor was the message....what was important was the connection and strengthening it. As the chant progressed the connection between each mind would strengthen until all in the room were part of a collective conscious.

It was an amazing feeling.....and one that Kian had missed dearly. This was the perhaps the crowning achievement of the Baran Do. Many came to them seeking knowledge in their telekinetic abilities or their command of more naturalistic force powers, but this was truly what set them apart. The Baran Do meditated as one collective mind, and in so doing, they strengthened their connection to the force and to its will.

As the chant continued, Sha began to direct the collective consciousness outwart, toward the dome of the room and then out into the atmosphere of Dorin. Kian, Kana, and Corvus were all still individuals, but while they were connected to the Baran Do, their minds were on a guided tour of the force. They could sense Dorin in a way they couldn't do on their own. The storm outside began to die down into nothing, and they could feel its energy fading away. Yet, in the distance, they could feel a surging of power....and darkness that wasn't evil but was malevolent none-the-less.

Then just as quickly as they had started, they began to withdraw. The collective consciousness pulling back into the room until the chanting faded as well, and then their minds were once more solely theirs. Turning to the two Jedi, Sha smiled.

"There will be another storm soon, but then it should clear up." She said, refering to the malevolent energy they had sensed. Rising up Kian joined Kana and Corvus in the center of the room.

"That is how the Baran Do have helped to protect Dorin since their earliest days." Kian said, a touch of excitement in his voice. "When you are linked with the others sages you can have all sorts of force visions.....wars have been averted and catastrophes foreseen using that technique."

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana didn’t speak as they came back to reality. The moment had been good enough and somewhat comforting. To speak would have ruined the moment. It had been over as soon as it started it seemed. They worked fast and Kana looked at each of them. Life behind a mask was slowly getting on her nerves as she kept feeling the corners of her mouth press against the edges of the mask.

A quick shot of a glance at Kian as she tried to imagine what kind of hell he was living on a regular basis with the people at the Ossus academy. It wasn’t pity as much as a strange form of respect but she wonder just how much had been lost behind the mask. Maybe she wouldn’t ever really get to know.

“So what happens now?” She stood up. “To the library?”

[ [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] ]​

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Oddly Corvus felt more calm about the prospect of a storm than she was expecting. Perhaps it was the forecasting that did it. The fear of something was always worse than the thing itself. That's what her former Master used to say to her. By connecting in the way they had, she felt more in control of her fear - and able to rationalise it a little more.

She was brought out of her musing by Kana. A trip to the library was definitely on the top of her list of things to do - but one thought puzzled her. "Will we be able to understand the information stored there? Will we need a translator or something?"

[member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian bowed to Master Sha and they parted ways as he lead [member="Corvus Raaf"] and [member="Kana Truden"] out of the room and towards the library. As they left they would hear the chanting beginning once more as they continued their meditations. Hours would be spent in contemplation of the force with Master Sha leading them.

"Yes," Kian said as they walked, "most of the information stored in the library is in basic. There are some older texts, histories of Dorin, that will need to be translated." Kian said leading them through a series of corridors, deeper into the temple and below the surface. The library was one of the lower levels of the Temple, a place that was secure and could be kept safe from damage.

"Is there anything in particularly you would like to see there?" Kian asked as they arrived at another arch. Stepping inside, Corvus and Kana would see the Baran Do library. It was similar to the Jedi Archives, though scaled down and there were no attendants to help them. Kian had spent a great deal of time here as a sage....not because he was particularly studious but because he was a dreamer. Because he would often read of the exploits of the Jedi and the outside world.

 

[Kana Truden]

“Well, I had this idea…” Kana entered a sidestare. “To look at old texts and stories from Dorin…”

She crossed her arms and pouted somewhat. Well there went the ancient history part. Still, ‘recent’ history could be interesting as well.

“No worries though, I’d be more than happy to take a look at your most recent history.”

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian walked toward a console along the wall and activated the protocol for a translator droid. A small metal door slid open along the wall and out hovered what looked like a large training remote. The droid was clearly ancient, but well kept.

"If you come across anything that needs translating, he'll be able to help you." Kian said smiling. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name." Kian said to the droid.

"I am T-1250, how might I be of assistance?" The droids voice said, sounding static and metallic.

"Stand ready to translate, should the need arise." Kian said and turned back toward [member="Corvus Raaf"] and [member="Kana Truden"].

"So, where shall we begin?" Kian asked wondering what sort of things his friends wanted to look into.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

As interested as Corvus was in history, it was a general desire to learn. Sure she had specific eras and people that interested her - like the Army of the Light and Obi-Wan Kenobi. But it seemed Kana had a specific aspect she wanted to research - and that definitely worked for Corvus.

But if she had a choice..."I would be interested in anything from the Palpatine era. The Jedi of that time are of particular interest to me - not any one in particular of course.". She smiled as her interest in that one Jedi was well known - and it would be good to get the perspective of a different race to his exploits.

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

“Sounds fine by me.” Kana nodded. “I am mainly looking for mistakes and horrible events. Order 66 and the fall of the Republic would certainly count.”

She looked between the other two. A strange fascination for misery and despair didn’t seem very jedi-like but history was history. There was no denying that.

“I mean, how did Dorin phase the fall of the Republic and all that?”

 

[Kian Karr]

"You heard them, we'd like information on the Palpatine Era, specifically related to Order 66." Kian said to the droid and it went to work gathering the material.

"Dorin was virtually untouched by the Empire. The Baran Do were not as well known, or large enough anymore to draw the attention of Palpatine and Vader. Our obscurity saved us from the purges that many other force traditions faced." Kian said solemnly.

"As far as Order 66.....I dare say we have quite a bit." Kian said smiling, "I use to read about the Jedi of that era quite a bit as a youngster. Though my fascination was always with Jedi Master Plo Koon." Kian said as the droid brought the materials up on the screen and Kian indicated that they should sit and read it.

"He was one of the greatest Jedi Masters of his time.....and a Kel Dor to boot! He won renown when he rallied Republic forces during the Stark-Hyperspace War. He was a High General during the clone wars and he was closely tied to Qui Gon Jinn, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker." Kian said, trying to slow himself down. He had begun to talk a bit fast in his excitement.

"He was killed as part of Order 66, though I've never been able to find any reference to where. Just this code here." Kian said highlighting a part of the text on the screen. "I have no idea what it means." Kian said regretfully. He had spent a great deal of time researching it as a child, but hadn't thought of it in years.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] - [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus too became excited by the mention of Master Koon. He was known to her because of his association with Master Kenobi.

And so she studied the code that Kian showed. It was certainly complex. Considering all of the ciphers shed seen relating to holocrons, this was not routine. She glanced at Kana. Perhaps this needed a slicer's hand. Or perhaps, as she looked at it again, this would take a joint effort. Part computer code and part cipher.

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

With a curious yet excited look upon her she went through the code. It was old, that much was true but old also meant it would be simpler when it came to encrypting. If Kana was right this was indeed a very old encryption. The talk of masters went right by her, their names did not end in Katarn.

“I’m not well-read on encryption this old but if logic is anything to go by then maybe…”

She went over the code again. This was usually something she needed better hardware for. Pads were great but a personal console was better due to the processor differences. She plugged her pad into her friends’ device and let it run it through. Reticulating parts of the device with her pad she looked at the others.

“This will take a while.” A shrug. “It will beep when it’s done.”

[ [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kian Karr"] ]​

 

[Kian Karr]

((I'm very excited to get this started again!!!))

Kian felt excitement beginning to well in his chest. He had spent years with the Baran Do in and out of the library and many times he had perused the documents on Jedi Master Plo Koon, but this was something new.....something he didn't know, and perhaps something that no one really knew!

"Excellent." Kian said smiling broadly, his lips curling back and revealing the bony palates that served as his teeth. Kian reached up as if to stroke the spikes on his anti-ox mask, as was his habit when he was considering things, but remembered that he no longer wore the mask. Instead, Kian's hand rubbed at the scars that encircled his mouth. They were faint scars from when his mask had been crushed into the flesh of his face by a Sith Knight on Empress Teta....that fight had nearly killed him.

"Master Koon once held off Asajj Ventress, a renowned Dark Jedi, with a broken arm. He was able to hold her off long enough for him and his clone troopers to succeed in their mission." Kian said, using the time to further report on the Jedi who Kian had aspired to live up to as a child. He no longer held those thoughts, wishing only to be of use and to serve the Jedi and the Republic fully, but he still respected the ancient Jedi. Knowing these two, however, Kian wasn't sure he was really filling them in on anything or if they already knew the story.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] - [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was patient. Extremely patient. But anything that came between her and knowledge was less well tolerated. And knowledge that was linked to a comrade of Master Kenobi?

She stared at Kana's datapad. Then she glared at it. Sighing audibly, she turned her attention to what Kian was saying. "Those were the stories I grew up on - back on Corellia. The time between Darth Bane and Order 66. It was such an insightful era. So many lessons learned yet - it seems - forgotten. How our hatred for the Sith almost consumed us. How our arrogance that the Light side was more powerful almost undid us. Yes there was balance in the end. As I suspect there will always be. That, history tells us, is the way of the Force."

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana glared back at Corvus for glaring at her pad. Technology had limits too and hopefully her friend knew that. The glare lightened up as the others went back to their talk of Order 66. Kana had to admit that while she did indeed like history she liked to focus on planets as a whole rather than specific events related to jedi. As such her ability to participate was hindered severely.

With her pad hard at work she looked around the room. Nothing really caught her interest for now and her eyes went back to darting along with the scripture as piece for piece slowly but steadily got decrypted. The cold blue screen lent is light as Kana stared right at it. The progress bar went on, and on, and on and before long it neared completion much to Kana’s excitement.

<Bleep bloop!>

Kana set her eyes for an informational feast but was met with disappointment. This wasn’t basic, this was… Something else? A sigh of disappointment was all it took for her to instinctively hand the pad over to Kian without looking at him. Stretching her arm right out to her left she waited for him to grab it.

“It’s in your language.”

[member="Corvus Raaf"]​

[member="Kian Karr"]​

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian looked at the encryption and a look of confusion came over his face. They were numbers. But unlike the code before, these numbers didn't seem to be random, they looked organized. They looked like.........coordinates!

Stepping aside, Kian pulled up the map and plugged in the data and watched as the computer ran through the configuration and honed in on a single planet.

"Cato Neimoidia!" Kian said turning back toward [member="Corvus Raaf"] and [member="Kana Truden"]. "Plo Koon died on Cato Neimoidia!" Kian said, his heart racing in his chest. He felt like a child again, his excitement building. This was the last piece of the puzzle, the last scrap of information he had been searching for for so long. Somehow Kian knew that bringing Corvus and Kana to Dorin would lead to excitement...he just hadn't guessed it would be solving a mystery that had plagued him for years.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus could sense the excitement in her friend Kian. But then you didn't need to be a Jedi to work it out. And she too was feeling it. No sooner had she mentioned Order 66 than a real-life link to that era presented itself.

"It's widely known" Corvus started, which was typically a sign that what she was about to say was only known by a handful of people in the entire galaxy - she simply expected everyone to know. "That after his death, the Empire put out a lot of propaganda about what he was doing there. All lies of course but widely circulated. So why put these coordinates into a complicated code? I mean, it makes no sense. Does it?"

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

"It's widely known-"

‘No it’s not.’ Kana mimed to Kian behind Corvus back and shook her head.

"That after his death, the Empire put out a lot of propaganda about what he was doing there. All lies of course but widely circulated. So why put these coordinates into a complicated code? I mean, it makes no sense. Does it?"

“Why not? If a jedi order like the Baran Do found him first there’d be no reason not to do it. Maybe they were trying to keep his final resting place from being desecrated or worse?”

[member="Corvus Raaf"]​

[member="Kian Karr"]​