Private Red Sands

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Ossus
Tag: Braze

Jedi temple guards.

It wasn’t really the role that Ko had envisioned for himself post knighthood. Yet it was a new role he didn’t find issue with. In his heart Ko felt that it would be a welcomed change of pace for himself. Yet part still lamented the idea of being kept away from most frontlines in darkness. But it also meant he may be able to have a greater presence in a certain teen’s life.

What Ko hadn’t expected was to be sharing this new role and responsibility with Braze. The Kel Dor had not imagined that it would be a position that the young knight would’ve wanted in any way. Gearing more towards the path of the Shadows. Still even as temple guards they were able to still find themselves adventure it seemed. As there were many smaller temples and enclaves throughout the galaxy. Allowing still a fair bit of travel for the two Jedi Knights.

One such place was off in the outer rim. A sacred world for Jedi steeped in tens of thousands of years of history. As significant to the order as Tython. The planet was a strange mixture of hostile and tempestuous red deserts and lush forests. A world that has been through several planet wide ecological upheavals. Reforged time and again into wasted and fertile lands. Centuries ago the ruthless alien vong civilization had new life to the planet, much of it still remained.

Ossus even now wasn’t the most technologically advanced planet. Many of its inhabitants still live nomadic lives even with its wider reconnection to the galaxy. Now the world was no longer under the influence or governance of any of the major galactic powers.

Now Ko and Braze were sent out to check on the old Jedi enclave and library. A place that has been reclaimed, absconded, neglected and reclaimed again over and over throughout the many years of its existence. Now the Kel Dor and Echani Knights would see if there were currently any unwelcome interlopers. Currently trekking through a red desert in the backs of two Eopies well adapted for traversing the galaxy’s deserts.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze was sorely missing Jasper while diligently working on the new skill Corin Trenor had recommended. As he and Kaelos Vryn prepared the Mud Duck for a longer journey, they knew they needed to get the ship in better working order and replace many outdated systems.

Braze had immersed himself in work, hunting down enemies of the order as a shadow and crossing paths with Maple Harte once more. It was all he could do to keep his sorrow from overwhelming him. He kept himself extremely busy, sleeping only in small, periodic increments, pushing himself to dedicate every moment to his service in any way he could. He had now also followed his brother-in-arms into the sacred position of temple guard.

Yet, beneath the surface of his new found dedication lay the dark reality of his coping mechanism. The intense focus on his duties served as both a distraction and a barricade against the grief that threatened to engulf him. By immersing himself in work, Braze sought solace from the suffocating weight of loss, but that very immersion risked leading him towards burnout. But then again he always had an un relenting drive that was fuled by the pyers of obsession.

His relentless drive, while admirable, had begun to blur the lines between duty and self-neglect. Emotions that begged for attention lurked just beneath the surface, stifled by the idea that he could outrun his pain through sheer willpower. In his quest to honor Jasper's memory, he had unwittingly forged a prison of responsibility, where the true essence of healing lay just out of reach, waiting for a moment of vulnerability to break through.

But today, Braze was resolutely focused on their goal. As the moment arrived when the location came into view, Braze urged his Eopie mount forward, feeling the steady rhythm of its gait beneath him pick up speed blowing back his long cloak. The desert winds whispered vauge secrets as they approached, the stillness that enveloped the scene ahead.

With a swift motion, he dismounted, and before him lay the remnants of Empire troopers, scattered about the entrance like discarded junk of a bygone era. Armor pieces lay half-buried in the sand, and blasters glinted under the sun light. He felt a weight in his chest as he surveyed the area, trying to discern what could have happened here.

He waited looking back for Ko.

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[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Ossus
Tag: Braze

The pair had traveled along an old gorge where a slow and shallow river led them to their destination. The great jedi library, the ancient structure, had been carved into the rocks and cliff flanking the river. The local Yassana peoples did not accompany the two jedi but had ensured them that it would be safe to travel and that the two of them wouldn’t be harried.

Once Ko approached Braze atop his own steed he glanced around, peering through his temple guard mask at the scattered pieces of armor. Leaning in some the Kel Dor patted the Eopie and gently spoke for it to rest. The lanky creature bent its legs and rested on its calloused knee pads against the red sand before Ko finally dismounted.

Walking closer to the remains Ko leaned down and picked up an old stormtrooper helmet, sand cascaded and fell from the white armor. The Kel Dor examined it. Noticing a hole within the side of the helmet and showing it to Braze.

“Look here, there’s no scorch marks around it. They were struck with a slugthrower…” When Ko was little his brother used to tell him little facts about stormtroopers. How their armor was nearly impervious to all manner of solid weaponry. “The Ysanna are said to be famed for their marksmanship. They use The Force to influence the velocity and trajectory of their slugs mid-flight. Even with fully automatic weapons. Even plastoid armor can’t stand against it.” Ko explained, looking to impart a bit of information he learned before coming here. “These soldiers, they probably never knew what hit them.” Then with a fair bit of care Ko gently placed the helmet back down onto the sand. Growing up, the image of a stormtrooper was synonymous with a courageous hero.

Standing up straighter he looked towards the large entrance to the great jedi library. “It’s exciting to be here. At least for me. It’s the first time you and I get to be in a place as steeped in Jedi history as Tython. Now with the Deep Core secured once more and free access to Ossus, things might be looking up for the Order.” To Ko that was the silver lining for the devastation that has been endured so far in the conflicts currently raging. He couldn’t tell if the NJO or any other derivative Jedi organizations would properly establish a presence on Ossus, but the potential alone was an encouraging thought for the Kel Dor.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze stepped closer to Ko, scooping a helmet from the sand. He turned it over in his hands, frowning at the pitted surface.

" That's a bit terrifying to think."

The vocoder gave the words a strange levity, intoned like a joke, but landing flat, the mechanical cadence dulling the edge.

He let the helmet fall back into the sand with a soft thud.

"Think anything remains ? We can bet on if the last resident went full library bonfire or looted the place clean ?

A short burst of static fuzzed through the tail end of his last word, the vocoder crackling like a worn-out speaker. His sigh followed—long, pent-up, but what emerged beneath the mask was closer to a serpent's hiss, filtered and twisted by the machine's profile.

With a fluid sweep, he pulled back his cloak and fished a treat from a pouch on his belt. His mount snorted softly as he offered it up, the creature lowering to rest at his gesture. He tossed another treat toward Ko's steed before starting toward the entrance, white boots darkening as they pressed into the red sand.

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[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Ossus
Tag: Braze

“Likely not, kind of like how a lot was relocated from the temple on Coruscant when the Dark Empire was likely to capture the planet, the same may have happened here not too long ago. But there’s really no way for us to know if its been emptied because of looters or from Jedi.” The Kel Dor explained as they approached the entrance of the great library.

Stepping inside it seemed as though plenty more red sand had been blown into the temple. It was a ruin now, but not a particularly ancient ruin. Not that long ago, before the Empire of the Lost had the world within its sphere of influence the Sith had raided the enclave.

“Ack, it’s dark… I need to get used to darkness again.” Ko commented as the pair entered the structure proper. “It is nice to have a better sense of time however.” He pulled out a sturdy flashlight from his backpack and turned it on to create a cone of light. The dust in the air creates a clear image of the lights’s focus and path.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze padded after the older Jedi.

"It is pretty nice to be able to see the sky, isn't it?"

Braze mused as he followed along.

"You know, I've always had a fear of losing parts of myself."

. . .
"I would be very upset to lose my sight forever... but I think I would prefer it to this. I hate prosthetics. Something I feel guilty about when I'm around people who have them... and most of my family and loved ones have them. And now I have one."

"I hate it so much. I hate how it looks. How it feels. It's not part of me. It's weird and foreign and freaks me out."

He admitted following along.

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