Mission to Voss

[Pratiya]

Pratiya loitered around the front of the Silver Jedi Temple on Voss. Pratiya had been assigned to another padawan, of which her name had alluded her. Either she had forgotten, or she wasn't told. She couldn't quite remember which, but she just assumed she had forgotten. Either way, what scant information she knew about this other padawan was that she was of the Consular sort, so much unalike to the Shadows.

A training lightsaber rested in a sling located on her back, between the shoulder-blades. She was wearing an intricate dress of Kuat design. Creamy skin-tight tunic and trousers covered her arms and legs, while form-fitting it was surprisingly flexible. Light brown fabric was added atop this, flowing over her shoulders and around her collar into a high neck brace that was laced up. A thick belt was snuggly fit on her hips, and she wore comfortable boots.

 

[Kail Myn]

K ail walked down the steps of the Silver Jedi Temple on Voss. She was told to meet another padawan but to typical fate she had not been told their name. She didn't assume she had forgotten, she was quite confident in her memory as it was one of her greater strengths if she did say so herself; and from time to time she did indeed. Rather she merely blamed the fact on the lack of information given...

Her training lightsaber was snugly attached to a small leather loop that held it in place along the right hip. She was wearing her usual attire, a white sleeveless dress that stopped just at the thighs where her ivory-coloured tights protruded down the rest of her legs, leaving a pair of brown boots at her feet. Two bejeweled feather hairpins tucked her short hair back to prevent it from getting too messy, she seemed to dress quite elegant but as she approached her manners were rather unusual from the start. First she was using her arms and hands to 'swim' through the people in her path rather than going around and without an apology or even any symptom of guilt.

Taking the final steps she saw [member="Pratiya"] loitering in front of the temple. It was nice meeting someone new but she had no idea who they were or even how to properly start a conversation.

"Tell me your name.", she chirped the words in a somewhat outdoorsy voice.

 

[Pratiya]

An unknown voice cut through the loud murmur of the crowd, demanding Pratiya's name. She spun on her heels and looked at Kail, weighing her up as though she was a competitor. Pratiya frowned, crossed her arms and said, "No." She waited a second, or maybe it was five, but the silent got awkwardly and quickly. "Pratiya," she said, and with ever much the stern authority, she rose her chin high as if to talk down on Kail, and so began her tirade.

"I will be the commanding officer on this mission," she began, "I have been entrusted by the Jedi Masters to lead you out to the Sith Ruins so that you may study the area under my guidance." It was likely, Kail being a Consular and far more attuned to the Force, that she would sense the deceit in the words Pratiya spoke, namely that she was the one in charge. She suddenly glanced away briefly, as if someone had called out her name, but no one was there and she turned back to look at Kail.

 

[Kail Myn]

Rolling her eyes in response, "Already lying? I'm Kail, by-the-way.", she declared. The young padawan seemed to be no more than twenty years of age which might seem a bit old seeing as traditionally padawans were raised since a youngling but in this case her past was a bit more unorthodox. Alas for Kail she had been raised by a Dark Jedi couple -- her aunt and uncle -- who used her as little more than cheap labour in their quest to unearth Sith artifacts. They lied to her on a daily basis to which she grew quite aware of the tone and posture of a liar, not to mention she could read a lie without explanation; undoubtedly a force power she was still unaware of. Almost immediately she clasped her hands together and fretted.

How would she react to her sudden claim? To just about anyone it was clear that Kail was quite anxious when authority was the matter at hand; a relic of her past. The poor soul knew well what it was like to question someone's assertive nature with her own and thus has developed a rather instinctive reflex to avoid asserting herself on a daily basis. "Just forget I said anything...", she lisped, "Let's get on with the mission at hand, shall we?" Her suggestion was both a sign of her impatience and an escape from her initial jeer.

[member="Pratiya"]

 

[Pratiya]

Pratiya's semi-permanent frown only increased. "You can't prove I'm lying." When the suggestion came to move along, Pratiya knew what she was going to say, and cut off her voice with her own, "-Get on with the mission, yes. That's what I was going to say." She began to walk away from the temple, down a beaten path towards a nearby space dock. It was relatively small and mostly used for inter-planetary travel, while a much larger one elsewhere was used for inter-stellar.

She walked with dominance, and it was clear she was stubborn and controlling. There was also something else about her, her eyes would follow something that wasn't there. "We'll be getting on a shuttle to take us closer to the ruins, only a handful of minutes to our south." They soon arrived at the dock, and Pratiya made sure to take the lead into the shuttle, and informed the captain of their instant departure.

 

[Kail Myn]

K ail followed close behind the somewhat dominant @Pratiya. Rather than speaking up she simply listened without saying a word in response; it was hard not to. To her, this girl was clearly in the wrong but she wasn't sure what would happen if she spoke up. Would they turn on her? Perhaps make up a bold claim and turn the Master's trust against her? The thoughts ran through her head to the point where she became visibly anxious; the feeling of anxiety only stopped once they arrived at the shuttle entrance.

Clearing her throat, "What do you know about the ruins?", she wondered. There were rumors spread by the other padawans of a crazed hermit who lived there but surely these were just stories, right? One such as Kail could only hope. She may have been a Jedi but she was still a padawan learner and practically non-combatant at that. Any 'training' she received thus far was more or less in self-defense through unarmed, barely having ever used her training lightsaber except in feeble attempts to defeat a droid. She shook her head of these thoughts and remembered the teachings. Looking over to Prayita she gave a subtle glance as if to try and read what they were thinking.

Perhaps this mission would be far easier than originally interpreted but now wasn't the time to be fearful of the future, on the bright sides the ruins meant one thing. History and that was something she could enjoy no matter the circumstances.

 

[Pratiya]

Pratiya turned to look at Kail as she fixed herself in a seat. She pulled the harness over her head, then proceeded to click the four different locks into their respective places. If the shuttle came down for unexpected reasons, she was positive that she was secure enough she couldn't escape the wreckage. Damn she hated the harness, and tugged at it in protest.

"I don't know much about the ruins, no. You're supposed to know." While on a technicality, Kail was supposed to know the scant information available on the ruins, but Pratiya had forgot, and only hoped Kail could remember. Clearly not. The surge of force as the shuttle began to accelerate became obvious when Pratiya's head began to be pushed against the headrest of her seat. It continued to accelerate, faster and faster and faster, and then it began to slow. No more than a minute, two minutes max, but they were already there. When there were starfighters that could reach speed of eighty-thousand kilometres per hour, a shuttle while not as fast, could move fairly swiftly across a vast distance.

 

[Kail Myn]

K ail unbuckled herself and stepped out of the shuttle's door. She had wondered on the statement [member="Pratiya"] had made; it was true she did know the general idea of what they were going up against but even then there were pieces of information missing. Rather than saying this, Kail turned around and smiled. "They're Sith, in case you had forgotten.", she said as if to correct her attitude but the moment the words left her lips it seemed as if her face suddenly went pale or that she had just remembered to do something important at the last minute.

Walking towards the ruins she began to study its outer structure. The architecture, the symbolism, everything down to the materials and tools used to forge it. They did remind her of some of the Sith ruins her aunt and uncle showed her on Korriban but they were either newer or older, in her guess she assumed they were newer. Probably an old colony dating back to the Old Sith Wars rather than the ancient burial mounds of pre-hyperspace Sith. How did such a race which crafted such remarkable structures become practically extinct? Then she remembered that not all Sith were of the pureblood race. The One Sith were an example of that. She swallowed on the thought, glancing at the possibilities that she could've been like that if she followed in her aunt and uncle's footsteps. What would her life have been like if she didn't discover the Silver Jedi?

Kail turned back towards the direction where Pratiya was, assuming that she had followed her to the entrance.

 

[Pratiya]

The sound of the engines dying down went from a deafening roar to a quiet moan. Pratiya followed Kail out, and looked around with curiosity, and as soon as her frown began to fade, Kail made a comment. "They're Sith, in case you had forgotten." Whether Kail intended it or not, Pratiya wondered if she was trying to say that she was smarter than her? She frowned again.

She didn't pay much attention to the ruins, and began to wonder. The trees loomed high around her, their leaves engulfing the sky and sending them into near-darkness. Birds chirped in the far distance, some circled high above, and families flew together in strange but beautiful patterns, as if flowing with the wind. There was no doubting the beauty of Voss, but she missed Coruscant, the planet had a certain romance to its almost-metal landscape.

She returned to Kail after she had walked around the area, and briefly glanced to the pilot and his routine of patrolmen that were with him. They stood by the shuttle, drawing from cigarra's and laughing about some comic they had found on the holonet, something about a website called 4ham. She dismissed their banter and approached the other padawan, "Arhm, when should we be entering the ruin?"

 

[Kail Myn]

The moment her companion spoke she placed a hand back as if a cautionary warning, "First we need to identify what kind of ruin it actually is. Sith is little more than a category. Is it a tomb? A temple? Or perhaps even a prison? Unless we know we can't be sure what kind of traps they might've placed.", she interrupted. Kail's grey-blue eyes trailed the lining of the entrance-way until she caught sight of three symbols etched into the stonework. The language was indeed Sith but it was a branch of the language she was unfamiliar with; of course common knowledge meant she could deduce it -- just not perfectly. Her lips coursed the symbols and silently read the words before she brightened up. "We should be safe, there's no warning to outsiders but be careful. Some artifacts are meant to be left undisturbed.", she warned.

Taking a few small steps, her boots scuffled with the loose stones and kicked up dust and pebbles as she stumbled into the entrance before slowing considerably. Her head turned and her eyes danced in every which way to soak in the brief stints of knowledge and consume any useful bits of information she could happen to find. After this little investigation of hers was over, she concluded that it was safe to proceed. "You can lead the way.", she said softly as to be sure she didn't overstep the authority placed by her partner earlier. Of course she had wished it was just her in the ruins but Kail wasn't one to disobey the orders of her masters so easily.

 

[Pratiya]

Pratiya remarked, "Well I'm not here to disturb artefacts." She carefully treated towards the ruins, and became reminiscent of Coruscant. There were places on that planet just like this, abandoned buildings that were ancient relics in their own ways. Casinos so old that a careful touch could cause an ancient poker table to collapse into dust. She felt a similar feeling to those places as she did for this.

With Kail's words, Pratiya began to lead the way, not that she knew what way she was going. Stepping into the bounds of the ruins, an aura of darkness crept down her spine and she shivered. Something was here, the presence of life lurked below, malignant and cold in nature. Hesitantly she continued, she didn't want to appear weak in front of one of her fellow padawans.

 

[Kail Myn]

K ail followed behind neither too closely nor too far; hopefully at a comfortable distance for both of them. She too felt the darkness as they entered but the feeling was all too familiar, even a master would not be able to sense fear of this place for she had none. She did indeed have fears but in this particular case she lacked it but that did not mean she wouldn't remain cautious. Indeed the dangers of such places went beyond the boundaries of its name, the truth was that its greatest danger was not the fact it was Sith in origin but the darkness surrounding it can corrupt the most peaceful and create astounding acts of violence and despair.

Even masters would not dwell in such places for more than hours at a time, days were reserved for only the most crucial tasks. "Be careful, places like this tend to be home to creatures and the more time they spend here the more aggressive they become.", she said with a frown. In the past such creatures were put out of their misery but it wasn't fair, it was the Sith who put them there in the first place. Who knows what dangers in the galaxy may have been avoided if it wasn't for the Sith. No. Not just the Sith, they're a symptom of the problem, not the cause. There were likely greater causes that even the Jedi are not aware of. She remembered what she learned about Ajunta Pall, the first Dark Lord of the Sith was once a Jedi. She was taught that he had been redeemed by Revan during his own path to redemption. It was poetic to be truthful and perhaps it is in that which breeds arrogance; the idea that any problem can be solved later. Perhaps it is time to learn from the past, yes, that is why she was here. The mission wasn't for the temple, it was for the future of the Jedi.

During her little trance, Kail tripped over a small rock without realization of its presence and hurtled towards [member="Pratiya"] who was just a few steps ahead.

 

[Pratiya]

Their footfalls as light as their breathing. The air wasn't as humid, it was getting colder and thinner. She stood at a fork in the corridor, leading off into three different paths to tread. Kai didn't seem to notice that Pratiya had stopped walking. The faint light from the entrance had gone. She turned back, almost giddy because there was nothing to orient her. When Kail bumped into her, forcing her a couple steps ahead, she turned and growled, but then she realised she couldn't see her.

For a moment her heart felt like it had skipped a beat. She could feel Kail's presence in the Force, but it felt like it was more distant than before, or fainter perhaps. Pratiya put her hand out ahead to find her way, only to find a wall. She beganto feel her way around the obstruction. When her fingers touched it again, it felt exactly like the side wall she’d been using for orientation, but then it yielded and her hand went through something soft. It was almost as if she’d put her hand into a closet and found a pile of towels. Except ... except her whole body passed through it.

The wall brushed past her. It was the only way she could describe it. As the wall engulfed her, the force signature of Kail vanished altogether. She tried to turn back. Too late: sudden pressure popped her ears, the ground dissolved under her, and she fell, pitching forward. Her training saber fell out of its sling and bounced away. It cracked loudly against something but she couldn’t see where it had rolled. "Kail!" she shrieked. And then the lights came on.

 

[Kail Myn]

Everything suddenly became a bit more eerie when she heard the shriek, still tripping forward when she bumped into the back of Pratiya as a bright flash of light flickered with a loud clicks, crackles, and hums. Kail's clumsy act pushed them in opposite directions of each other, separating them. Upon realizing what had happened and before darkness, she felt a cylindrical object touching her hand. she wrapped her hand around its metallic girth and deduced it was a lightsaber. Only then she realized the presence of her fellow padawan was nowhere to be found.

"Pratiya!", she shouted; her voice echoing was the only return she heard. The Jedi's heart began to beat faster as a sudden chill caused goosebumps on her arms. She was afraid, for herself and for her fellow padawan. Whatever happened, she felt she would be at fault. I must've read the symbols wrong!, she thought to herself and began to wallow in guilt and growing self-pity. I'll be trapped here alone, she continued to think. Her fear was not about the ruin or what lied within, it was about being responsible for what happened. She couldn't own up to it, this was her very first mission -- how could she fail? Would she be stripped of her rank? The thoughts coursed through her mind in a repetitive pattern until she began to consume herself with lies, making up little conversations between her and the masters. "No!", she screeched. "No..", the word softly left her lips. She would not become entrapped to this toxic presence. It was the ruin, the dark side that haunted it.

 

[Pratiya]

Light exploded. Pratiya clenched her eyes shut, as much as she could, but yet still light penetrated the thin folds of skin as a bluish blur. Something scoured through her nerves, burning a path through her flesh. She thought for a moment it was fire, and moved to pat herself out, but she found she couldn't even more her arms, or legs, or anything. She was paralysed as her muscles contracted.

She howled in a primal agony, confusion and frustration. When she managed to force her eyes open, she saw for what the flames were. Cords of electricity coursed out from the fingertips of a Voss Mystic, washing her in what some called Force Lightning. This wasn't lightning, this was torture. She writhed on the floor, trying to move out of harms way as best she could. But she was helpless. "Kail!" she shrieked again, her voice resonating through the Force, penetrating the veil of darkness.

 

[Kail Myn]

The darkness surrounded Kail. What had happened?, she thought to herself; unaware that they were separated. As if things couldn't get worse she realized the lightsaber in her hands was not hers, hers was still strapped to her hip... If it wasn't hers then... "Pratiya!", in the moment of thought she swore she heard the cry of her own name but it was feeble. They couldn't have been that far, though, right? It was a fork and she had only bumped out of the way. How far could one even travel in such a situation?

No. It was time to keep herself under control; not to give into fear. "I'm not afraid.", she said firmly. Whether or not she believed it would be tested in the challenge to come. Finding Pratiya may not be easy but even more difficult would be finding a way through this darkness. Wait!, a small grin coursed from her lips as she ignited Pratiya's training lightsaber. The yellow blade flickered to life and hummed softly as it produced a dim light, but light nonetheless.

Kail began to walk down the hall and hopefully find a way back to Pratiya.

"I'm coming for you...", she whispered softly.

[member="Pratiya"]

 

[Pratiya]

Everything subsided at once, suddenly, all was quiet, not a sound, nor was there light, and only the residual pain remained as a haunting reminder. She couldn't see, and so she felt, but there was only darkness. Corrupting by nature, evil by intent. She recoiled away from it, not wanting to be any closer, and for a moment she wondered if she had darkness within herself.

She heard footsteps moving away, and the heavy breathing of someone who was tired, maybe even exhausted. It wasn't Kail, it sounded like a man, and his footfalls were far heavier than either of the two girls. Pratiya slowly propped herself up against the wall, and looked over her forearm that had taken the brunt of the lightning. Wicked scars had blazed a trail through the skin in a pattern that resembled lightning, or maybe the branches of the tree.

Either way, those scars were sticking around for life. She didn't need a second glance to know that. She reached out again, but nothing. She knew she had penetrated the darkness just before, however involuntary that was. But she couldn't do it again, not without being in direct danger. It was as if the Force itself had intervened, but once she was capable of being on her own again, not under direct life-threatening attack, it abandoned her.

 

[Kail Myn]

Kail found herself deeper into the dark halls of the ruins. There was no sign of Pratiya and even worse, the glow of the lightsaber did very little to illuminate the finer details; there was no telling what she was missing. Cautionary symbols amongst others. It made her remember that she told them it was safe and that nothing bad would come of it. How wrong she was and it made her guilty but more so it made her feel sorry, for herself, she was afraid of responsibility of being at fault. "Pratiya!", she shouted in hopes that her companion would find her voice.

The young Jedi continued her path until she finally stumbled upon a larger chamber. She could tell by feeling, the change in the air and temperature. It felt more spacious. I need to see!, she was becoming frustrated. Something told her to put down her lightsaber and sit... The yellow blade disengaged, the pitch black swallowed her whole. Bringing her knees to the rough stone she sat in a meditative position and closed her eyes.

Think... No, Feel., yes she thought to herself. She spent too much time thinking that she didn't even try to feel. The Force was a powerful resource but one that many padawans --herself included-- forget about. Her breathing slowed, it became more steady, and she was beginning to let go of her fears; of her lack of belief in her feelings. She began to see the room around her but not clearly. It was still clouded by something... By darkness. In a glimpse she saw Pratiya being attacked by lightning. Her eyes opened, her heart raced, and once again fear took hold and without second-thoughts she ran for the other side of the room and into another hallway.

"I'll find you, I promise!", she cried out.

 

[Pratiya]

Pratiya slowly lifted herself up off the floor. She began, or rather, tried to shout, "Kai-. . ." Her entire body was trembling, and while the Force soothed her mentally, her physical body was still trying to recover, however feeble that may be. She had taken quite the beating, perhaps the creature behind the attack had thought her dead when he stopped.

"Ka-. . ." she whispered, finding that the words still wouldn't come to her lips. Her voice was hoarse, as though it were struggling to speak or form the words. She tried to peer through the darkened halls, but she could see nothing. For a moment, her heart rose into her throat as she wondered if she had died. If this is what it is like to be one with the Force, a nothingness, an indescribable inky darkness, blacker than black.

She tried to push the thoughts into the back of her head, but she couldn't help but quietly ask herself, murmuring in the silence, "How can I be sure I am alive?" Like a serpent, fear began to constrict her tightly. She wandered aimlessly now, pushing her hands out ahead of her in the darkness, hoping and trying not to bump into something. Not even the Force offered any aid to her.

 

[Kail Myn]

The halls winded around and she was sure that she was heading in the right direction. It seemed that where ever she was heading, it was in the direction they came from; or so she thought. Her feet echoed loudly as she ran, stumbling now and again over what she couldn't see physically but something was guiding her through the darkness. It didn't feel like the force, not the force she knew, anyway. It came more easily but then suddenly it vanished. Igniting the yellow blade of Pratiya's lightsaber once more she slowly walked the rest of the way, passing monoliths of some kind.

"What is this place?", she thought to herself. Perhaps the young Jedi was too quick to pride her own knowledge that she was blinded by the fact that maybe she knew less of these ruins than she initially let on. Suddenly her thoughts came to a halt by the sound of footsteps. "Pratiya?", she asked loudly; her heart began to race again. The footsteps walked away from her when asked, "Wait up!", she shouted and went after. The steps turned through some kind of doorway. Walking through, Kail noticed that it was somewhat more tranquil than the rest of the ruins. "Hello?", her voice called out to whatever was there.

For a moment she could've sworn a hand brushed her unclothed shoulder, it made her blades roll in and sent a shiver down her spine. When she turned, lightsaber ahead, there was nothing there.