Let's See What We Can Find (Holden)

[KitKat]

"Thanks." She took the datapad and scanned it with her eyes. He asked about her lightsaber and she glanced up at him. "I don't know what happened to my lightsaber. I picked up a blaster since I ended up in this .... well wherever I am." She smiled at him and glanced back at the datapad.

""That would be nice." She commented about the instanoodles. She was distracted by the datapad in front of her. It was a lot of history to take in and she didn't recognize any of it, though apparantly there had been a galactic civil war and the Empire had lost a long time ago.

He seemed reasonably certain there was no way back but Katarine couldn't let herself believe that yet. She sighed and rubbed her eyes after reading for a bit. It was a lot to take in. She sat the datapad down and decided to go see where he had gotten to.

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

Holden had been busy prepping weapons for the little adventure they were going to be taking. A couple of grenade belts were readied containing force breakers, and also the standard explosive. An EE-3 Carbine, two ARS-15 blasters, were setting with their blaster packs fully charged, and extra cartridges on an ammo belt as well. There was something very special he had gotten his hands on as well, something he never had any use for, but thought he'd keep it around just in case anyway.

The salvager had been running around Jedi and Sith sites long enough that he happened upon a few lightsabers. Most of them he sold off, but two of them he kept, because he liked how the hilts looked. Katarine had lost her saber, so she could have one of his. Holden didn't know how to use them. It would be cool to learn, but he didn't have anyone to teach him properly.

"Oh, hey, just in time," he said looking up from the workbench.

Katarine would see the weapons lined up, along with other supplies like climbers rope and other simple things that would prove useful on most any salvaging run. The chair swiveled, so he spun around to face with a smile on his face. Handing her the lightsaber, he shrugged.

"It should still work, and since you lost yours I thought you'd like to have one of mine. There are perks to scavenging through old Jedi and Sith sites for things. I've always been fascinated with the weapon, and I'm going to learn how to use one eventually."

Holden stood.

"You ready for those instanoodles?"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine was surprised when he just handed her the valuable weapon. She didn't know what to say. "Thank you... I will get it back to you." She would. If anything else he could sell it. She thumbed the switch and a blue blade shot out of the hilt. The hilt was larger than she was used to, obviously made for a man, but it would work nicely. She turned the weapon off and clipped it on her belt, where her lightsaber should have been hanging.

"Noodles sound good." She followed him and took a seat again. She picked up the datapad again and toyed with it, wondering if she could somehow use it to search for information about the staff. "Did you learn anything about the staff ?"

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"You could always teach me to use one? I don't need it back, as I would just keep it on the shelf. I don't know... just couldn't ever sell it."

As far as the staff, all he learned was it was in the temple, three sections, three different locations. The first piece of the staff would be there, potentially with a map showing the next location. This wasn't one of those pieces that just was easy to get. Hopefully that meant this was a pricy item. It would fetch a good price on the black market, but one word from Katarine about it being to powerful to pawn off, and he wouldn't. The last thing Holden wanted to do was give someone a tool to plunge the galaxy into another chaotic event. He'd destroy it before that happened.

The instanoodles were ready instantly... thus the name. All they needed was hot water. The styroplast cup wasn't the best container for food, but it was all Holden had. He traveled alone mostly so.... he ate cheap and unhealthy. He did manage to stay fit though, his physique was a testement to that. He handed Kat a cup.

"I know where we will find the first piece, theoretically. It is part of an old statue, the piece seems fixed, part of the sculpture, but it was placed there, the scuplture built to hold it. The other two pieces are just a guess at this point." Holden forked some noodles in his mouth and kept talking. "For all I can tell they might not even be on the same planet. Three pieces in three locations, that's all I've been able to decipher."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

"A statue built to hold the staff. Sounds reasonable enough. We will take it one step at a time."

She took a bite of her noodles and absentmindedly stirred them around. "Learning to use a lightsaber is no easy task. I remember training recruits on Naboo. It's challenging to say the least. Dangerous too. Could lose an arm." She winked at him and put more noodles in her mouth.

"So where do you find these buyers and sellers for this merchandise?"

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"All over," he said putting the empty noodle cup down.

It wasn't that large so Holden at through it quickly.

"Usually they find me, but I bum around a lot of space ports where black market reps are hiding. You learn to find the shadow ports, deal with local crime bosses and the like. Every now and then a force user asks for help in tracking something down. Once I build up a pretty decent reputation though, I can stay wherever I want, and they will come to me. Mostly it's being in the right place at the right time."

Holden was processing the fact she used to teach on Naboo. He had never been aware of a temple there, and it was curently near Protectorate space. They were a territorial bunch from what he heard, and wondered what would happen if the Jedi were to try and go back there.

"I thought there were training blades to keep people from cutting off an arm," he said sticking his tongue out. "I might actually surprise you when it comes to learning how to use a blade. Besides, if I knew how to use it, it would give me a wild card. No one would expect me to know how to use the thing. I might be at a disadvantge being force blind, but hey..."

The truth, there was more to Holden than even he knew. One day he was bound to surprise himself, but that was neither here nor there. For now he was who he was, though there wasn't going to be much time to train. The proximety alarm was going off already, meaining they were nearing the point to drop out of light speed. Holden sighed, just when he was really getting to enjoy the company too.

"Well that's the cue. You'll have to tell me about what all you did with the Jedi while I land. I'm genuinely curious to learn more about you, the mysterious Jedi woman from the past..."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine was staring at her noodles in the calm confident way that annoyed most people. It was a Jedi thing. "They do. But we don't have one of those." She picked another noodle up and put it into her mouth, referring to the training sabers.

"There isn't much to tell really. I'm just some boring old hag who looks really good for her age." She shrugged, thinking of all the battles and all the adventures and all the trouble she had gotten into and smirking. "Though I did take down a huge crime ring one time. That was sorta fun."

"Where do the Jedi stay these days anyway? I can't seem to figure this map out." She was looking at a map on the datapad.

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

She asked about the Jedi. That one would wait until the touched down on the surface of the planet. Once they were securely landed, Holden turned in his chair, and looked at Kat. He really didn't know where to begin. She was not going to like hearing how splintered the Jedi were.

"Which Jedi? The Jedi of the Galactic Republic, the Silver Jedi Order, the Jedi Academies, the ones who align with the Levanitne Sanctum? I'm afraid there have been so many opinions on how to handle the threat of the Sith that the Jedi have splintered over how it should be done. It really depends on the Jedi you want to be. Do you follow the old code? Are you the type take the vow of celebacy? If you can tell me more about what being a Jedi means to you, what kind you are, I might help you find the group which suits you best. I've dealt with them all."

Holden didn't want to seem like a know it all, but he needed to know so he could help. She would find the galaxy to really not be anything like the one she remembered. Were he in her shoes he'd abandon the Jedi altogether and throw in with someone like himself. Then again, that was selfish thinking on his part. Her skills in his business could prove very lucrative, and besides, she was very pretty. It was always nice to have pretty company.

"Here, we can figure this out as we load up, but your main centers will be Voss for the Silver Jedi, and the Jedi Order will be on the capitol of the Republic, Onderon. After we are done here, I could take you to either of them. I mean if you want. My offer for you to stick around with me for while still stands too."

The ramp was lowered after Holden loaded up his weapons, and the rope he had for them. Never knew when it would come in handy. Things like what they were after probably were booby trapped. There were always traps... oh and snakes... always snakes.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She listened intently while he was explaining about all of the different Jedi. She frowned and shook her head. She really didn't want to go visit any of them, she just didn't know what else to do with life. His explanations had brought a different question to her mind. The Sith? Were they out of whack? Was the darkside growing stronger? Did it even matter to her anymore?

Where did she fit in this new galaxy?

"The Sith... you said the threat of the Sith. Are they out of line in this galaxy? Are they new new big bad?" She walked down the ramp with him. "Want me to carry some gear or something? As long as I'm here I may as well be of use."

And did she fit at all?

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"Well, you really are not from around here... The Sith, the One Sith, are the threat to the galaxy. They are organized, the rule of two seemingly done away with. Coruscant is their capital, and they are wreaking havok on the core worlds. All I can tell you is that if you joined with the Jedi, you'd be plunged into war with the dark side all over again."

It was the truth. Would she handle it? The galaxy needed her whether she thought she fit in it or not. Holden really couldn't be selfish and tell her to stay out of it all. It was the easy thing to do, what he did, but a Jedi, they had a duty to uphold regardless of self. Tark would be a horrible Jedi. He'd only learned to look out for himself first. That's why he was doing what he was, and Kat along for the ride, well that was him being nice to a gal who was clearly out of her element. He wasn't all selfish, just mostly.

The staff was in the statue as it was supposed to be, and it seemed pretty easy to figure out. Holden smiled, but didn't go for it. The salvager was too smart for that. He'd seen too many people bite it because they gorr greedy and didn't check for any traps. Anything set with the first part of the staff would be a set trigger, likely a preasure plate. Pulling out a scanner, Holden handed the rest of the pack to Katarine to carry.

"I need to shed some weight here so I don't get clumsy. There is a preassure plate, and I need to keep it at that spot. If we don't whatever trap is set will activate. Any chance you can use some of that mumbo jumbo to keep it there?"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine frorwned. In her day the Sith hadn't been organized. They had tried veiled attempts at organization but it had truly been the Witches who were the more organized. The rule of two seemingly forgotten and now the galaxy was plunged into darkness. Would there ever be a time when the galaxy wasn't dark?

She held the pack while he scanned and checked a few things. When he asked about mumbo jumbo she raised her eyebrow at him, wondering if he realized he was referring to a religion many people practiced in such terms. "I can try."

She felt the pressure plate with the Force and put some weight on it. It moved slightly just as he suspected. She let it raise to the right position and held it easily enough, but frowned, realizing the error in the plan. "I can hold it there but unless we swap the weight the second we get to far away whatever the trap is will spring. If it's some sort of explosive..." They probably wouldn't make it far enough in time.

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

Holden frowned. She didn't trust him to have a plan. He held the staff in hand and looked around the room for something similar in weight. Once he found another pole, he checked the two. They were pretty close somhe slid the other into the slot and motioned for them to walk away. Hopefully his guess was good enough. If it wasn't, well, it was good to not die alone.

It seemed the weight was not enough and plate pushed up and sent the pole flying. What Holden thought would be a trap turned out to be just a trigger for the next star map. Holden recorded the image with his scanner, and sent the data back to his ships computer. It would be organized later. Clearly it wasn't for the temple. They were going somewhere else.

"Well that wasn't so bad. If this was easy I bet the others are only harder. Shall we?"
He motioned indicating ladies first. Why? He was Corellian.........

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

"Well what do you know. Maybe we will get all three parts and be done by dinner time." She smiled when the next map came up so easily.

She lead the way back to the ship, figuring they would have to analyze the map to see where they were going next. Kat stuck her hands in her pockets and hummed in her head as they walked. She was still thinking about the Sith and her place in the galaxy.

"So what does the map say?"

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"Well it says we need to head to the southern continent. There is another temple there apparently. It will take a couple hours to get there so go ahead and get comfortable."

Holden input the coordinates and put the ship on autopilot. He had noticed that Katarine seemed distracted. The news of the Sith being organized and a violent threat likely didn't sit well with the Jedi. There was also the fact she was out of her own time. Maybe he should stop answering her questions so the adventure could actually be a good diversion for her. At the same time it wasn't good to bottle things in. Sure she'd just met the salvager, but right now he was the only one she could trust, as far as he knew.

"Something the matter," he asked offering her another mug of caf.

Right so Holden was a caf addict. The man could drink a pot a day and sleep soundly. With Katarine around, Holden was certain he'd be going through more caf. She seemed to like it as well. He sat in his favorite spot, and let the computer analyze the rest of the map. He knew where they were going, but wasn't sure where, or what, they were looking for once they got to the temple. At somepoint he expected a challenge. He knew it was coming. The Salavager had a way of sensing these things oddly enough.

"You know, some ladies out there say I'm actually a good listener, so if you want to get anything off your chest, just go for it. It will help."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine, or as fine as I can be all things considered. I just have a lot of thinking to do. It's' weird to wake up and not know where you are or what the galaxy is like. It makes you wonder where your future is."

She stirred her caf but was more playing with it than drinking it at this point. She was too lost in thought. "I just have to figure out what to make of this galaxy."

Her mind drifted to her past life and she sighed and rubbed her eyes. Thinking about the people she missed wasn't going to help her. "Who eventually ended this netherworld thing?"

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"Just checkin... I know I'd be really thrown off if I suddenly found myself in a time I knew nothing about."

Holden shrugged. She didn't want to talk about it. That was a like a woman. He wasn't going to force it though. Whatever she needed to do was hers to figure out. Holden was just there in case she needed an ear.

"I'm not big on the details of who and all that stuff. Honestly if you ask me, it really ended itself. Partly why Corellia blew too. I know there is a reconstruction effort going with what is left, but it will never be the same. I don't know if I'll go back. The thing is even if I were to, nothing would be the same. I know you just got plopped here in this time, but to go back now, if you could, it wouldn't be the same either."

Stepping out on a limb he tried to make her laugh.

"I wouldn't be there," he took a sip of his caf, pumping his eyebrows as the mug lifted to his lips.

Holden didn't always like to be serious, in fact, he usually refrained from it. Today was odd. He needed to be for Katarine's sake he figured, but he also owed it to her to give her a chance to see the real him. Besides this adventure was getting him in an ornery mood. There was fun to be had if one wasn't serious all the time.

"You really got something a lot of people dream of getting, a second chance at things. I'd take as much advantage of it as I could if I were you."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine smiled at his joke and raised her glass, as if toasting him. She took a sip and then glanced around the ship, taking in her surroundings for perhaps the first time.

"Right well we should probably focus on finding this staff thing. It's the least I can do for you helping me out. " She sat her caf down and pulled her legs up against her chest, resting her chin on them. She would try to refrain from asking him any other questions. She didn't want to keep bringing up the loss of his home.

Unfortunately they had a little bit of time to kill before she could help him get the other pieces of the staff. Of course Katarine was used to being patient. It was her lot in life as a Jedi.

"Have you ever thought of joining a large scale expedition? I bet with your skills lots of people would hire you."

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"Well I got the computer working on the encrypted files now. We really have until the algorithm is done running, so whatever you want to do to kill time?"

Holden smiled, took another gulp of his caf as the question about working for a company came about. Sure he could go the organized archeology route, but that usually cut into the pay. He was working to gain a reputation though. Maybe one day he'd get tapped for it, but for now he liked his solo gig. From time to time he ran into company like he had with Kat, and she had proven to be good company, aside from being very inquisitive about a subject which revolved around the destruction of his planet.

"Well there are a lot of barriers to me getting into an organized gig. Most of the people on those things have a lot of degrees, and I just read a lot. The last thing I want is to get some mundane job dusting in the wrong corner. Working alone let's me call the shots, and I like that. Got an independent streak."

Yeah it had been meant as a compliment, but Holden just had to explain why he didn't like the idea. Maybe someday, if the perks were good. There was a question he had though, one which was likely wrong to ask, but he was curious. A smirk crosse his face as he asked.

"So the Jedi of your day, were they the celebate monk type?"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

That made sense she supposed. He could get the education if he wanted but he likely would have to work under someone which he wouldn't prefer.

"Some of them were. The Jedi Order has always been a collection of people with differing view points. During my day there weren't enough Jedi to really warrant a split. Splitting them up would be dangerous so they stayed together and tried to make their ideals work together. Some Jedi were more traditional and others less so. Most of us had a common enemy in the Empire so it worked out."

She hopped that answered his question and gave him a better understanding of the Jedi where she was from.

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"So the Jedi weren't as large as they are now... and some were having sex and others weren't.... Makes me curious which mind you were?"

Now that certainly wasa forward question. Holden was just trying to get to know the brunette. She'd asked a lot of questions to learn about the time she was in, how the Galaxy had changed. The more he knew of Katarine, the more he could help her find which faction of Jedi to join. Wow, he could imagine the tension under one roof with people of differing views trying to coexist. Holden didn't envy her on that.

The compute chirped, and Holden pulled up the specs. It seemed they were looking for another shaft for the staff. This one was different as the top had an ornate pattern of, and seemed to flare slightly at the end as well. Whatever this staff was, it was going to look beautiful once assembled. Holden couldn't wait.

"Well looks like the staff is one more step closer to being ours. Once we have we can sell it, and then celebrate in style!"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]