Heart of the Blade (Jedi Mission)

[Moroi Wareyasui]

Moroi enjoyed the banter between himself and @[member="Asaak Tey"] a fair bit and in some part he was quite proud that he could maintain interesting hypothetical conversations with her while dedicating so much concentration to emulating the technique Master @[member="Rasu Gan"] was employing. He was improving on that front as well, he was steadily feeling warmer and warmer the more he worked at it. In fact, most of his success could be owed to his friend. He would always struggle to think like she did, it would always be difficult for him to imagine rather than analyze, but simply recalling the feeling of being swaddled in blankets did a surprisingly good job at channeling his connection to the force and preventing him from freezing to death. It was then that he heard the other voice, the off-puttingly beautiful one belonging to @[member="Erinyes Draclau"]. A weakness of his was pride, he was aware of that and anyone that had spoken to Moroi for more than five minutes probably knew that as well, and he was all primed to obstinately tell her that he had almost gotten it already and he didn't need no stinkin help.

Before Moroi could adequately make a fool out of himself however, the only being on the planet prone to greater displays of foolishness on the planet made his grand entrance. The humming of the anti-gravity machine reached his ears just before he was to respond, causing his head to snap in the direction of Master @[member="Yinch"] and his rather ingenious(for him) method to circumvent the snow. Of course, his brilliance was always accompanied by a healthy amount of mind-numbing and usually catastrophically dumb decisions. As he came in to few and started catching up to the pack, Moroi noticed his tiny little arm reaching for a button that he really, really should not be pressing.

"Master n...oh Master..."

Moroi watched, like a speeder crash in slow motion, as his teacher deactivated the only thing keeping him a meter in the air without first realizing that he, himself, was still very subject to the forces of gravity. The boy's shoulders drooped in defeat and embarrassment while an exasperated sigh left his lips. Dejectedly, he doubled back toward his fallen master as he struggled to get out of a layer of snow that was almost taller than he was. As Moroi finished closing the distance toward their rear guard, his attention stopped for a moment on the man his master referred to as "Preacher." @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] had caught his attention for something Moroi could not explain, it was just a strange feeling of nerves, but the feeling was gone as quickly as it came and the result was him staring with his mouth open for a few moments as his master prattled on about the view before he quickly wrote it off as nothing and his mind just being weird. Breaking from the momentary and perplexing trance, Moroi reached down and gently gripped the back of his master's robe and gently, but swiftly, pulled him up in to the air and dropping him on to Moroi's shoulder. It was a method of transportation Moroi was going to have to get used to and this way his master did not need to swim through the snow to get anywhere on this planet and the boy began trudging back to Master Gan with deliberate, long strides.

"Master, why do you feel the need to constantly make me question which of us actually needs a teacher?"

@[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"] @[member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Not Ordo]

@[member="Rasu Gan"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Asaak Tey"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"] @[member="Asaak Tey"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"]

Yinch was a bit relieved as his Padawan and friend helped him out of the snow. He usually rode of Marakai's shoulders when on missions and the Epic ditching he had recieved was quickly feeling less painful.

"Teach me something have you?" He asked poking Moroi's head "How will your body survive with your head so big?"

Yinch laughed to himself as he waved a hand over his Padawan's head.

"Long legs you have. Move any faster can you?" Yinch said again in his odd little voice.

Yinch liked the young Jedi. He wouldn't botther poking fun if he didn't and it was better than sitting on the sled, smoother ride but terrible conversation. He watched as the group continued. If the force was willimg they would not have much trouble, well aside from some antics maybe.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge didn't even notice the Padawan staring nor the tiny green man running into him. He was intensely focused on something distinctly not Jedi and the tightening in his shoulders told of a man expecting a fight. Stuffing his hands in his pockets again, head tracking back and forth, he grumbled something to himself and continued after the group lead by @[member="Rasu Gan"].

 

[Aeron Zambrano]

Asaak had never met Moroi's Master before though she'd heard of him from her friend. It seemed everything had been true though there had been times she was sure that Moroi had been exaggerating the antics of the Jedi Knight. When he thumped to the ground along with his speeder she had to press her fingers to her mouth through the shroud over it just to stop a bark of laughter from escaping her. It wouldn't have been mean-spirited in the slightest - she actually just couldn't help but smile at how easily Yinch brushed off the incident and immediately went about his business. She immediately realized his easy way of laughing at himself was something she could learn from. Her smile softened at the interaction between her friend and his Master, trying again not to laugh when Yinch made a comment about his Padawan's head.

As the two made their way back to the group, Asaak smiled at the Knight from behind the shroud. "It's nice to finally meet you Knight Yinch. I've heard much about you."

Despite the anticipation swirling around the group, the excitement and expectation, Asaak picked up a sense of uneasiness. She looked around, noting that all the other Jedi still seemed to be deep in their personal conversations while the group moved slowly to the mouth of the cave. She shifted her eyes to the Clones and their leader, noting that the man was even quieter than he had been previously in the journey. Perhaps it was nothing but Asaak kept some of her attention on him nonetheless, turning to the mouth of the cave and her Master, waiting for the cue to either head inside or to follow instruction on Erinyas' suggestion.

@[member="Rasu Gan"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Yinch"]

 

[Dom'rius Novoxy]

Dom'rius watched as the series of unfortunate events took place with Master Yinch, as warmth start to reach his body once more. He stood a fair distance away from the rest of the group and started at a light jog that last but a few seconds before he shifted into a fast-paced walk. He had caught up to Master @[member="Yinch"] and the padawan that helped him from the situation, @[member="Moroi Wareyasui"]. His face gained its natural color once more, with a red hue around his nose and cheeks. "Master Yinch, glad to know I'm not the only one that seems to be unfortunate, today." He was rather chipper and let off a small smile toward his direction and then shifted his gaze over to Moroi extending a bow his way, "Padawan Dom'rius Novoxy, nice to make your acquaintance."

His head bobbed around looking over all the others and into the cave, and then back to Master Yinch and Moroi. "Say, how far in will we have to go?" The fear of feral beasts making their way into the cave over time began to flood the mind of Dom'rius, bringing out a number of questions that he'd like to have answered as he hadn't studied the area before.

@[member="Asaak Tey"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Yinch"] @[member="Moroi Wareyasui"] @[member="Rasu Gan"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"]

 

[Moroi Wareyasui]

"I could throw you if you want, you'd really take off then. And you have no room to talk, fifty percent of your body is your head...Master."

There was no actual contempt, despite the rather biting tone his voice held. That was simply how Master @[member="Yinch"] and he interacted. They both had a biting wit and were, honestly, both rather full of themselves, which was an area Moroi was not really sure he surpassed Master Yinch. Thankfully, Master Yinch was light and it was not that difficult for Moroi to carry him, even through the healthy amount of snow he had to force himself through. It also made him much more interested in the prospect of hammer throwing his lilliputian master and seeing whether or not the wind would sweep him away. When the pair of them caught up with @[member="Asaak Tey"] and @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] the acknowledgement and greetings toward Master Yinch came through and Moroi smiled despite himself. Even if his retort was more of a literal nature, Master Yinch certainly did not need more of an ego. As the Nautolan politely bowed to the pair, Moroi only returned a nod of acknowledgement in return. It was not to be rude, but how, regardless of how satisfying it would have been, a return bow would have flung Master Yinch from his shoulder. His second question would receive a more cordial verbal response, however.

"I do not know, this is not the sort of planet I'd plan vacations to. Master Yinch?"

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"]

 

[Not Ordo]

@[member="Moroi Wareyasui"] @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Asaak Tey"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Rasu Gan"]

"30 or 40%!" Yinch said as he began laughing at the head size comment. He nearly fell off before wiping a tear from his big eys. "He he he! A good one that was."

He liked to laugh and if it was at himself then so be it. He lent a bit of strength and calm to the padawans through the force as he held on to Moroi.

"Vacation?" He said with a look of mock surprise. "Where we keep all padawans this is. To your new home we have brought you."

 

[Dom'rius Novoxy]

"Where we keep all padawans this is. To your new home we have brought you." Dom'rius immediately struck his face with the palm of his hand when he heard what Yinch had to say.

"So you don't know... Well, you have been very useful in these matters, Master @[member="Yinch"]." His words came off truly respectful, but were clearly hinted toward sarcasm. He shifted his sights to @[member="Moroi Wareyasui"] and spoke in a low volume, though, what he said would clearly be heard by both Moroi and Master Yinch, "Your master... is he always this difficult?" He questioned, smirking as he finished speaking.

 

[Rasu Gan]

After what seemed like an eternity, Rasu made her way into the shelter provided by the caves, turning to usher the rest of the group into the caverns, out of the raging wind that seemed to be getting stronger by the second. "Come along everyone. Get inside before you all freeze to death." she said, making a head count as the group made their way inside. Taking a look back out into the snow, she could make out the forms of both her Padawan and two others, gas bagging it seemed as the snow fell in heavier clumps, making it harder for the Shi'ido to spot the group.

"I will get to that Knight Draclau, in but a moment." she said,responding to the lone princess of her people. "Let me just herd the last few stragglers inside." With that she forced herself back into the snow, dragging her feet through the thick blanket of the soft ice as she made her way out to the dawdlers, a stern look crept across her face as she realised that the culprit slowing the Padawans down was none other than Yinch, a past student of hers. Continuing at her pace, she stormed into the middle of the group, and grabbed @[member="Yinch"] by the arm, picking the light-weighing creature up into her own arms as she carried him back into the shelter of the caverns, with the group of Padawans hopefully following behind her. "You realise that you all would have froze out there right Yinch? I mean you are a Jedi Knight, I thought I had trained you well enough to recognise the danger that you were all in." she said, scolding the Jedi as she placed him down on the rocky surface among the crystals. "Oh and don't get me started on you three." turning towards the three Padawans. "I apologise that I haven't yet taught you Tapas yet, but I thought you all would have known not to stay to long out in the cold. But there you were gossiping away, while you all slowly froze to death."

Calling on the Force, she focused it on her palms as water vapour began to rise from the melting snow along her finger tips. Bringing her hands towards the three Padawans she passed her hands over them, melting the snow and increasing their body temperatures to the point where Rasu was satisfied that they would be fine. Walking off with a huff, she sat down upon a nearby rock, sorting through the components for Asaak's saber in her robe, using this to forget the irritation she felt for the four foolish Jedi.

@[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Moroi Wareyasui"] @[member="Asaak Tey"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

 

[Aeron Zambrano]

She had been about to stifle another laugh as the group turned to move forward when her Master came over and yanked the Knight up in to the air. She was a bit startled to say the least, but that quickly gave way to shame when Rasu scolded them. Despite her outwardly easy attitude, Asaak took her Padawanship seriously and didn't want to give the impression she wasn't, or that she was less than thrilled to be on Ilum.

When they were finally inside and Rasu had used the Force to sweep away the snow and warm them, Asaak only then realized just how freezing cold she'd been - a bad sign to say the least, understanding why her Master would have been a bit upset as the feeling coming back to her fingers and face caused painful stinging. She tossed a look of "oops" to Moroi and Dom'rius before she moved off from the group slightly, unclipping the shroud from around her face and pushing her hood back. She took a step or two to look around, getting a sense of the caves. She rotated her head slightly, using her montrals to judge distances in the cavern, and reached out with the Force for a deeper sense. If the presence of the Force was strong outside it was increased tenfold here among the crystals. She tried to use it to see if her crystal was anywhere close somewhere down in the caverns, imagining it as a blanket slowly inching out over the nooks and crannies of the ice. She did not know if perhaps that wasn't the way, her crystal wasn't close, or if you truly had to see it with your own eyes.

Maybe she was just being too sentimental about it entirely, but it seemed to her that the crystal that made her lightsaber should feel like a connection.

She turned, intending on making her way to Rasu, letting her gaze pass over the man Yinch called Prophet and the clones once again as they patrolled, that nagging sensation she'd felt earlier still bothering her slightly.

After a moment or two she made her way to Rasu, watching her arrange the pieces of what would shortly - hopefully - become Asaak's lightsaber. "I'm sorry Master," she offered, just to let the Shi'ido know she truly wasn't brushing off the scolding she'd received. But the Togruta planned to make her Master proud with her accomplishments down in the caverns that day, not relying on just a few words of apology. Action spoke louder than words, after all. "Can I help?" She looked at the pieces of the lightsaber Rasu had already procured from within her robe, wanting to understand how they were put together in case she ever - Force forbid - had to construct another.

@[member="Rasu Gan"] @[member="Moroi Wareyasui"] @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

 

[Moroi Wareyasui]

"No, he's usually wors..."

Before Moroi could finish that last syllable, Mother Master @[member="Rasu Gan"] had tore toward the pack and violently yanked Master @[member="Yinch"] from Moroi's shoulder, leaving the young padawan to stare blankly at the scene as she carted her child off like an errant child in a super market. The blank stare quickly shifted to, failing, attempts to stifle his laughter as his master had begun to be lectured like the small child his stature might suggest, leaving the three padawans to chase after the pair, Moroi relegated to stifling his laughter all the way to the cave proper. It was not until Master Gan rounded on @[member="Asaak Tey"] and @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] that Moroi's childish snickering was silenced in to an equally childish grin. It didn't matter what she said to him, he got to just watch his Master hauled around like an insubordinate kid, there was nothing she could say to remove the grin plastered to his face, despite the semblance of guilt he felt at disappointing her. Unlike his friend and while he had a feeling he would be seeing much of Master Gan in the future, he didn't have the same drive to impress her like Asa did, she wasn't his Master. Granted, his Master wasn't necessarily someone Moroi sought to impress either, Master Yinch, while commanding a lot of Moroi's respect, only rarely forced Moroi to view him as his Master rather than an older classmate. Their relationship involved a lot of childish bickering amidst the Master and Padawan relationship that would most likely be seen as disrespectful to eyes outside their duo.

As Master Gan began fumbling through her robes and fetched the lightsaber components, Moroi assumed they belonged to Asa's saber, Moroi fetched a similar assembly of parts from him is own clothes, the parts encased in a small bag which he extended down to Master Yinch. As much as Master Yinch was a skill Jedi and honestly a good teacher, reliable was not the first adjective Moroi would prescribe to him so for things like gather parts and other things that simply did not function with his Master's absent mindedness, Moroi was mostly on his own. Still, he was interested in helping his Master save a little face, especially if it gave him a chance to tease that very same master for just a little longer, and the covert extension of his arm and the parts toward Master Yinch gave him a perfect opportunity.

"Pretend you brought these, will make you feel like a bigger part of these proceedings."

@[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

 

[Not Ordo]

@[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Moroi Wareyasui"] @[member="Rasu Gan"] @[member="Asaak Tey"]

"Oh banthas" Yinch said as he saw Rasu coming. He had seen THAT look before. He didn't bother to fight it or complain as much as it was embarrassing he had deserved it. If he had no other good qualities he sid at least have the character to admit he was wrong.

"Right you are, Master." He said sadly as he walked back toward his padawan. "Apologize to you all I do. Report this to the council I will when we return."

Yinch began patting his cloak for the lightsaber components for Moroi when his young friend began handing him a pouch.

'Let them have it you should.' He told himself. As he left the parts in his cloak and reached for those in Moroi's hand.

"Yes Yes." He said taking the pouch and pushing it toward Moroi's other hand. "For your lightsaber these are. My own I had to gather." He winked. "But for you these are."

It was worth more to the little green knight to see his padawan's preparedness than to display that, for once, he had planned ahead. Besides he enjoyed being the backend of the joke. It kept him from being too proud or arrogant, and the force knew he didn't need that.

He quickly cartwheeled away and took a seat to watch and see what happened. He was feeling a growing uneasiness in the force and his hand slowly drifted toward his saber. He hoped the Padawans got their crystals and saber completed before anything happened. He feelings were seldom wrong.

 

[Tom Kent]

Tom’s hood was pulled close around his snow goggles. He made slow but steady steps towards the Jedi Temple that marked the entrance to the Crystal Caves. It was not the first time that he had traveled down there. By now he knew the surrounding area quite well. He had spent some time on Ilum to study the ancient structures in and around the Crystal Caves. For him that was a rewarding experience. While he had seen many Jedi and Sith ruins in his days he seldom had been able to spend this much time in them. Usually he had been pulled along by his mother and had only been able to look closely at those things she had deemed important. Now he was able to make up his own mind about what was important, thinking about what he saw and deciding whether it was important or not. The fact that this was a planet covered in snow storms for most of the time did not bother him.

This was not the first time he set foot on an ice planet. He knew the dangers of a planet like Ilum well. Snow blindness was almost as perilous as the cold itself. The landscape could be just as deceiving as desert dunes could be. So being equipped for not only the temperatures but also the light conditions was important. Above that one needed to have either a very good eye for landmarks or access to a guidance system of some sort. So he when he got dropped of here with the last group that visited to get their crystals he put up said system for himself. It was basically four portable beacons that he had put down. One of them was placed safely inside of the temple and three were positioned in quite a distance away from it. It had taken him a while to set it up. Being on foot had made it harder. Then again he had enjoyed the challenge it had been. He was on his own, surviving on a foreign and hostile planet, against nature’s unpredictable ways. He had been able to think about a lot of things during his stay here. His beard had started to grow more and more the longer he stayed here. He now shaved less frequently than he had during the first days here. Within time he would start looking ridiculous somtime soon. All people with beards did.

While he came down from a slope he noticed activity in the temple. It was an unwelcome feeling. For Tom the peace of this place was disturbed. He could hear the distant raging of sentient auras. With every step closer to the temple they slowly drove the bile up his throat. He had to force himself to keep going. It was pure stubbornness that made him put one foot in front of the other. He felt though that his time here was over. His ride back had arrived. So while he did not want to leave the soothing isolation of this place he knew he had to. He would meet up with whoever had come here. While he did not want to leave, for his force training had not advanced past what he had started out with on Ossus and that meant he would feel sick again, he knew that he had spent enough time away from the world. His mind had had enough time to wander. It was time to return to the world. It was time to pick up his path where he had left it.

He slowly made his way towards the entrance of the temple and noticed that there were a lot of people around. The scanner he carried for safety reasons went off with a silent vibration, telling him there were alive beings close by. He trod more carefully. Not wanting to alarm anyone. Before he made his way closer and into view he stopped by a large rock and looked at his datapad. While it was hard to use in these conditions, the thermal case he had to put it in made it hard to push any of the buttons - not to speak of his gloves – he wanted to know where he was exactly. With the snow still falling and limiting his view distance he wanted to make sure he stayed close to the cliff the temple was build into.
He made his way through the snow and reached the entrance to the temple. He had to stop and steady himself against the growing feeling of nausea that was growing inside him. Only after a few moments he was able to move on. The last steps into the Temple and the caves were accompanied by a slight sadness. He was to leave this planet. But for now it had served his purpose in Tom’s life.
When he came close to the group that had entered the caves before him he opened his hood, shoved it back onto his shoulders and he opened the fasteners of his snow screen to merely shove it to the side. He took of his glasses so they hung around his neck.
Snow was still sliding and falling of his clothes and the caves were not really warm so Tom kept his knit cap on.

“I think you are my ride of this planet!”

He stated when coming close enough to the group to make himself heard. His voice was a bit coarse from not having been used much in the time since he had come to Ilum. He looked at the group and made no effort to hide how he looked everybody up and down, judging each and every one of them. While he did not know any of them he had made up his mind about them pretty fast.

Spoiler

Picture as reference to what he is wearing at the moment. His gear is not identical but this comes close.

@[member="Rasu Gan"] @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Moroi Wareyasui"] @[member="Asaak Tey"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

 

[Moroi Wareyasui]

Moroi was sharp, it was one of his redeeming qualities to balance out his less flattering quality of being an insufferable know it all, and Master Yinch fumbling around in his pockets was...well...surprising. As absent minded as his Master was, even if he had forgotten to bring Moroi's lightsaber parts he wouldn't have passed up the opportunity to make some sort of asinine comment. A simple wink did not do Master @[member="Yinch"] justice. Moroi was starting to feel the same creeping suspicion of danger that he had felt when he saw the one Yinch called Preacher. He didn't like it. It was then when he felt the figure outside, his head whipping around to the feeling, and he found someone barely through the ever present white veil perhaps the only one he had seen so far properly dressed for the conditions. His entirely white garb did a good job of masking him from optics at the very least. Was he what Masters Yinch and @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] were worried about? That didn't seem likely, the man probably would not have gotten that close if he was what they sensed and they deemed him a concern, besides if he was someone who could concern far better Jedi than him, he probably wouldn't have put himself in a position for Moroi to see him. There was most likely something else. Unfortunately, Moroi had already decided to do the irresponsible thing in his over eagerness to find his own crystal.

"We'll go search for a crystal Master Gan, we'll be back in a bit."

Before waiting for @ Rasu Gan to respond or for Yinch to have time to protest, Moroi hooked his fingers under the small creature's robe and gently tossed him in to the air, away from the group, before taking off in that direction himself, the boy seamlessly timing his movements to allow Master Yinch to land easily on his shoulder as he tore off through the caves. Once he had gotten a sizable distance away from the pack, Moroi broke out in to a small alcove absolutely littered with the energy focusing crystals. It was almost overwhelming, the sheer weight of The Force in this room was something even he could feel.

"Master...what am I actually supposed to be looking for here?"

@[member="Asaak Tey"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"] @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Tom Kent"]

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The Crystal caves were massive, and despite what many thought... it was often hard to find a crystal. That was because of the peculiar quality of the Caves. In searching for your crystal, a Jedi had to learn a lesson - be it the overcoming of fear, the learning of patience, or even the ability to be selfless.

The Force would give you your crystal when you had earned it, and it was never as easy as walking in and picking one up. It was something Sarge had learned on his last strip here, although he'd not gotten his crystal from the cave. Smiling to himself as he stood in the atrium, watching the main entrance, he knew the Padawans and Knights would be OK.

Their masters were not allowed to accompany them, nor help them in any manner in their endeavors. This was a solo mission; one that would hopefully help shape these young Jedi for the better.

Keeping his hand on his saber, however, the Head of Security simply watched the entrance, hoping beyond hope that no wild beasts would appear to jeopardize the Gathering.

 

[Tom Kent]

One of the beings present was a small green guy. Tom took an instant dislike to him. What it was about the small being he could not tell but he felt a large amount of repugnance while looking at him/her. Luckily the being did not stay around for long. A young girl tossed the waist high green being into the air, seemingly effortless, and proceeded to dash off as if there was a race to be won. Tom looked after the pair in slight bewilderment. That was how you searched for crystals? If so he was not going to find a crystal with people around. He would find a crystal at some point. This seemed like it was not the time.

He stepped aside and opened the latches holding his pack. With them undone he could let the pack slide down to the floor with ease. After he had carefully leaned it against a rock he sat down on top of the same rock and watched what was happening. He was not sure how long this was going to take. While other members of his family had never displayed patience as their strong suit he was capable of levels of patience that could be quite maddening under the right circumstances.

For now he just kept watching the group. There was a woman with green skin, she looked like a Mirialan to him but he could be confusing her with other green skinned species. One of the other females he could not class as anything really. There was however another woman, a human for all he knew. There was also a Nautolan. Tom found their Tentacles made them look funny. The green alien boy looked quite young and Tom was again reminded that he was one of the older pupils of the force.
Also there were three dudes that Tom assumed were humans. While they might not be that was up to them to reveal or keep private.
To ease the flow of time and start falling into a mindless stupor he decided that fetching a energy bar out of one of his pockets and eat it very slowly would help him along just nicely. He did not feel that a dude sitting on a stone while very unceremoniously eating an energy bar was an assault on the dignity of this place. He didn’t even hold back from using his tongue to unstuck the small pieces of energy bar which vigorously tried to cling to his molars.

@[member="Rasu Gan"] @[member="Dom'rius Novoxy"] @[member="Moroi Wareyasui"] @[member="Asaak Tey"] @[member="Sarge Potteiger"] @[member="Darin Khel"] @[member="Aika Kawakami"] @[member="Erinyes Draclau"] @[member="Vexander Graves"] @[member="Drake Blackwood"]

 

[Erinyes Draclau]

While using tapas on the padawans was certainly a good thing; what Erinyes really had wanted to do was to teach it to the padwans so they would be able to learn such a vital skill. Perhaps at another time.

With calm gentle hands, Erinyes lightly encouraged the padawans and knights around them to move forward and follow Master Gan.

This was to be a most important day. An event where they would be able to discover and find a crystal for their own lightsaber.

 

[Rasu Gan]

Rasu had calmed down, finding a sense of peace as she fiddled with the intricate pieces that would make up [member="Asaak Tey"]'s first saber. Already the Force aura that projected itself within the caves, washed over her in vigorous waves, feeding her own aura and warming the chilly cells that had froze over during their short trip from the shuttle.

She had forced herself to admit that she had been a bit harsh on the group, having embarrassed her past student, [member="Yinch"], a Jedi Knight, in front of his own student, something that she would have despised having been dealt upon her if in his position. Guilt now hung over her as she focused on checking the presence of all the pieces before looking up to find her own Padawan watching her.

"It's fine Asaak, I admit I was being a bit harsh and impatient. You are excited, something completely understandable in your current position." she said, standing up and placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. Already having only worked with the Togruta for no longer than a month, she already treated the Padawan as her own child. She wanted the best for Asaak, as any Master would, but she had become aware of a bond slowly forming between the young Togruta, and the human, Moroi. Although not strong yet, Rasu didn't want this to get in the way of Asaak's studies. Relationships, even friendships were distractions. Rasu knew that relationships were fine to have in the Order, having already become quite intimate with one Marek S'hadar, however Asaak had to make certain that these did not get in the way.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, she was drawn to another voice, looking to [member="Moroi Wareyasui"] and Yinch as they began to head off into the caves, Master strapped firmly onto the students back. She suppressed a short chuckle at the sight of her past student being carried around upon the humans shoulders, bringing her hand up to her mouth. Those two are quite a pair, she thought.

"May the Force be with you, Padawan Wareyasui, and Yinch," she said hoping to catch them before they got too far. "I'm sorry about before." Allowing herself a few seconds to watch the pair wander off, she returned her gaze to Asaak.

"Well what I will get you to do is..." she said, fumbling around in her robe pockets as she retrieved the weapon pieces. "Hold onto these and we'll get going in a second, I'll just figure what is happening with the rest of the group." Handing the pieces to her Padawan, she wandered towards the remaining group, looking at the remaining Padawans, [member="Tom Kent"] and [member="Dom'rius Novoxy"].

"Now I don't know if the two of you would like to accompany myself and Padawan Tey, or would you prefer to travel of individually with either Master Preacher or Knight Draclau as your guide and instructor?" she asked, making sure the other Jedi Knight and Master were in ear shot. "Otherwise Padawan Tey and I will be off?" she said, not wanting to be held up any longer, rather getting stuck into the journey with her student immediately.

[member="Erinyes Draclau"] [member="Sarge Potteiger"]

 

[Tom Kent]

Tom just stayed where he was and kept munching his snack. As a response to the green skinned woman’s question whether he wanted to join her or another of the group for his crystal search he could only respond with a shrug. He did not care nor mind to find a crystal right now. He didn’t need to have a lightsaber. At this point there were other things on his mind. Trying to fight the urge to upchuck the energy bar he was eating was the first thing on his list right now. So he would not mind the majority of the group buggering off to look for gemstones in the caves. From what he knew it shouldn’t be very hard to find one of those in caves that were appropriately called Crystal Caves. Then again Jedi really seemed to have a thing for mysticism and in ways he didn’t understand the crystal apparently chose the wielder and not the other way around, so yea. He was only a initiate so what did he know. He just kept munching his bar and focused on subduing his urge to puke. For now the whole thing worked out. The fact that they were standing in a locality that was more or less a Jedi sanctum gave Tom enough background noise in the force to numb his force senses so that the auras of the force users around him didn’t bother him quite as much.
He believed himself able to sit here and wait out the whole situation with the searching crystals and whatnot. The trip back made him wonder though. He wondered if he had advanced at all in his ability to bear the feeling of another sentient beings aura. On board of a ship with a dozen of them he would surely find out. Oh he seriously hoped the ship had a refresher booth.

 

[Erinyes Draclau]

Things were progressing as they made their way into the inner chambers of the cavern. There was an almost delicate and soothing sensation to be within the atrium of such beauty. All around them, faint crystals were glowing with a delicate light, almost pulsing, as their light would grow bright only to dim seconds later.

As they would pass, some would even react to the Jedi present, their light glowing brighter. It was in this reaction that the Shi'ido princess drew closer to one, where her pale finger barely reaching to touch one small green crystal.