S.O.S

[Connor Harrison]

Unknown Coordinates - South
Toola, Kaelta system

Coming straight of the Perlemian Trade Route from the Core was easy, and right into Silver Jedi space, peeling off and going down to the ice world of Toola. A stone’s throw from the world he once called home. He could smell the desperation practically seeping from Voss itself as the Jedi scrambled to stay unified and in control.

They weren’t, and never would be, unless he had led them to greatness.

He sat in the cockpit of his ship looking out across the glacier encrusted mountains in the distance and the frozen snow dunes around where he had landed. Steam rose from small craters in the ground, signalling immense heat in the core. Snow blew around as the cold wind whistled outside and a faint sun tried to warm the ground from high above the white clouds.

There was little sign of life to the South, for he knew he Outpost, if it was even manned anymore, was to the North. Connor had been here twice before in his past life to simply oversee the Rangers establishing themselves here. Bar that, there was little else to do.

And so it was a perfect spot to lure one out and send a message.

He leant forward and activated his open signal. There was no fixed coordinates and no booster, it was just the basic open channel to lend to his little ploy. He leant forward, hitting the com on and off at random intervals to distort the transmission.

"I say again, this is an Alliance ship from Coruscant and we have come down in the South of the planet due to engine failure. We have multiple casualties. Need assistance and medical aid if anyone can hear us…please, this is a mercy mission to…."

He bored himself with the rambling and so cut the line and sat back in the seat.

Connor started out into the frozen blue and white world, his fingers resting on the cold hilt of newly constructed lightsaber, born from the dark world of Maena itself, and hoped the Jedi would be predictable enough to send a medic to investigate.

He sat, with patience, and waited.

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Silver Temple
Voss

Valae Kitra had gathered with the members of the Silver Circle, together they were deep in discussion. A smile formed on her face, even when things got a bit heated. It was nice to be around like-minded folk. The members of her team of healers were all skilled, and she was very pleased to say that she could call them all friends. They truly were people she could trust. Their voices dropped off when the sound of their comm channel buzzed. Expressions shifted from jovial to serious in a matter of seconds.

If someone was calling the Silver Circle, there could only be one reason.

“Healers, we require your assistance – patching a communication to you now.”

Listening closely, Valae and the others listened to the voice that called for assistance. The healers exchanged worried glances, but Valae stood up immediately and started gathering her things. After learning from the command center that the signal had come from the nearby world of Toola, she picked up a heavy parka and other cold-weather gear.

“Y’all stay here, I’ll go investigate. Have the medical ship ready to go, but for now – I’ll take somethin’ smaller.”

“Val, will you be equipped to handle multiple injuries? And in such conditions?”

The others were on their feet.

“Don't fret, I’ll be okay.” Valae said with a reassuring nod.

It wasn’t long before her ship was in orbit over Toola, and she attempted to hail the Alliance ship on the surface. It didn’t work. Valae frowned; things were already looking quite grim. Steeling her nerves, she took the ship down towards the planet; she would survey the surface with help of the computer – and the force. Sure enough, towards the south there was a ship nestled against the cold surface. Valae set her own ship down a small distance away; she attempted to contact the ship once more.

“This is Valae Kitra of the Order of the Silver Jedi – I’m here to help.”

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

They WERE efficient. A craft broke through the cloud in the far distance, a dot in the blue sky that got bigger leaving a vapor trail behind as it came down, circled and made to land away from his craft.

Connor edged to the side of the view port and peered out and watched the craft with his burning eyes, brow furrowed a little to judge the situation quickly.

After a few minutes, a communication came through. A girl. Connor didn't look away from her ship as he reached over to open the line.

"Thank you," he sighed. "Please...I'll lower the ramp...aGH..."

He signed off, quickly moved his hand to the far right lever and pulled it down to lower the rear loading ramp. As soon as he did, he stood and walked through the corridor from the cockpit to the holding bay and into the rear hold where the cold air blew in and flakes of frost and snow swirled up. He stood on top of the ramp, his black greatcoat flapping gently as the frost licked his boots and he squinted across to where her ship was.

"Come on, Jedi," he growled to himself.

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

The response that was returned by the downed craft made Valae’s heart skip a beat. She ran through the cargo bay, sliding into her parka, and grabbing up her medical back pack as she did so. Her boots stopped abruptly, she turned slightly towards the locker where she kept her lightsaber. Normally, she left it alone there, but today she found her hands reaching for it. The others weren’t here to look out for her, it would be best to be cautious. And so, she clipped the unassuming saber to her belt and let her long coat cover it completely.

Rushing out into the cold, she felt the frigid air hit her lungs hard.

It didn’t matter. Valae pushed forward, moving towards the other ship. But as she looked into the distance, her eyes narrowed skeptically. She couldn’t see any signs of apparent damage, though there was still a small distance to cross. And then she felt something through the force. It was a presence, something that carried a bit of darkness, like a shadow. The warning signs were here, perhaps she was walking right into some kind of trap.

If there were injured here, she couldn’t sense them. Perhaps their life signs were so faint now that they were almost gone – or perhaps they were gone. As she grew near, she could see the figure of a man outlined on the top of the ramp. He was the source of the signature that she had sensed. There was doubt now, maybe there never had been any wounded here at all. Valae kept her distance.

“Who are you?” She called, squinting to see.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor squinted a little, feeling the girl’s aura in the Force that was strong, pure and…afraid.

Her voice shouted across the icy plain. A good question indeed. Who WAS he at all.

"I have no name," he said above a whisper, carrying his voice to her with the Force, ", but I was once one like you."

He made his way down the ramp side on, crunching into the frosty ground and starting to walk the distance between them.

"He helped secure the walls you call home, and he founded the Order you serve, but you never got the chance to serve him. You will have that chance soon, but now he is me. You knew him as Connor Harrison- Master of the Silver Jedi Order."

Slowly, he came to a stop feet from her. She looked…familiar.

"And they send you here alone. Typical. So. Are you going to help me and my ship or not?"

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

The whisper of a voice carried right to her ear, the sound alone made her shiver. Valae watched warily as the man began to close the distance between them. As he drew near, she took in the features of his face – there was something so familiar. But there was nothing familiar about the darkness that he radiated. Still, she couldn’t look past the fact that he reminded her very much of someone.

She listened, but drew her right foot back slightly, edging away from him.

This was Connor Harrison? No, it couldn’t be…

“You’re not the Connor Harrison I remember.” Valae said, “What has happened to you?”

While she had not had the chance to interact with Master Harrison during his time with the Order of Silver Jedi, it was a name she knew. She even remembered that he had been close friends with her Master and his family. But he had decided to abandon the Order some time ago. It was a shame to see that he had fallen so far.

Valae lowered her chin slightly, her eyes still on the man.

“Why should I help you?” She asked, genuinely curious. What exactly was it that he wanted from her?

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor rose his head, eyes on her as if trying to work out what her memories were. It was clear she knew the name; knew the man. But just how much. He looked this way and that, seeing she was wary and afraid.

"You don’t remember him at all. You never knew him. What lay within stands before you now. No confusion, no torment, no struggle."

He glanced down to her lightsaber and smiled gently.

"You carry the blade, and you’re here with supplies. A Healer." His amber eyes looked up to her. "I want you to send the Silver Jedi a message. Or, the one who betrayed him. The Heavenshield. Coci. The liar."

With that he stepped forward once.

"And I sense you are strong in heart and mind. For that reason, don’t turn your back on what I have to say about the Silver Order. I saw their failing through his eyes and his pain and his weakness. Don’t fall down the same path. Come."

The wind bit his face.

"Come to my ship.." He turned to walk away and pulled the greatcoat close with confidence bleeding through his deep voice. "Don’t want to freeze to death, do we."

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

It was clear to Valae that there was something terribly wrong with Connor Harrison. It was almost like looking at a strange shell of a man. He spoke of himself in an odd way, like referencing a different person entirely – a former self, perhaps. It was troubling. Valae could easily feel the shadows that had taken over his being, he was a dangerous man. She would remain cautious.

As his eyes tracked in the direction of her saber, she gave the hilt a small pat. Valae rarely carried it nowadays. She just didn’t have much of a use for fighting, fortunately. Her dark eyes narrowed as he mentioned Coci, her master’s wife. And his words that followed spoke of his feelings about the Order.

Valae remained quiet; she followed him towards the ship, but stopped at the bottom of the ramp.

“You never did answer my question,” She said, her tone even and calm. “Why do you need my help? What can I do for you?”

Her head canted to the side slightly, a breath escaped her lips, visible in the cold air. Perhaps there was a way to save Connor; there was a chance his former self was still there. But she needed time to find out. It wouldn’t be easy, and it was possible that he was already gone forever. However, Valae was not so cold hearted that she would immediately turn her back.

For now, she would play along.

“Is there somethin’ wrong with your ship? It looks okay to me.”

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Hearing her question, Connor turned back and peered down the ramp to the girl surrounded by the pure white frost and snow.

"Nothing is wrong at all, Jedi. I just needed the bait to draw one of you in. So glad it was you."

Connor looked outwards to her vessel and held his hand out, like a claw reaching for something, and he glared at the outer components and found the metal and liquids and gasses within, and accelerate and twisted and pulled them.

A groan sounded and a sharp snap and hiss. He lowered his hand.

"You may want to get that fixed before you go anywhere."

With that, he walked back down the ramp to her, clearly fighting fit and in control.

"You will do as I say, Jedi. I need your knowledge and your insight. If not, then you will become one with me and suffer the same fate he did." He didn’t raise a hand to her, he just stared into her eyes. Pretty eyes, on a pretty face, covering a frightened soul.

"Are you coming in or not."

It wasn’t really a question.

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae stared up at Connor’s visage at the top of the ramp, his sharp gaze bearing down on her. In an instant, she saw his hand stretch out towards her ship – reaching through the distance. The sounds that followed made her cringe. Tight and tense, her shoulders drew up towards her ears. Clearly, she would not be leaving this place in a hurry.

As he approached, footsteps rattled the ramp beneath him. His voice was eerily calm, but there was a definite air of danger. Valae’s lips pressed together tightly, a simple action that spoke volumes. Whatever insight he sought, she did not wish to give it away easily. Indeed, she had knowledge of the Order of the Silver Jedi and its inner workings now. But no matter how frightened she felt inside, she refused to place her colleagues in danger.

This time, she followed willingly up the ramp – knowing full well that it would be difficult to escape now.

However, Valae had hope, for the light was on her side.

“What exactly did you do to Master Harrison?” She asked, pausing at the top of the ramp.

For now, she would try to keep this other entity engaged in conversation.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

He felt the girl coming onto his ship, so didn’t stop as he walked through to the main lounge and holding bay. Small but big enough for three or four people with a basic table and seating fixed to the wall, the passageway out leading to the rest quarters and cockpit.

There was little personality to the craft.

On the walls, drawings and imagery from Connor of times gone by were stuck there – a moisture farm on Tatooine, sketches of planets and faces, letters – memories.

"I didn’t do anything. Ask yourself, what did Connor Harrison do for me. His death allowed the darkness inside him to eat away at the weakness he held, the memories he longed for and the Light to be extinguished."

He turned and indicated her come forward.

"That man is no longer here. Did you know him, and his Order? Tell me about it. What part do you play as pawn of the Jedi?"

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Against her better judgement, Valae was now standing inside the small craft. It was a simple ship, quite sparse in terms of décor – save for the walls. She paused to glance at the images that had been drawn and plastered to the inside of the ship. The image of a moisture farm stood out to her, Tatooine was her home world, and she’d seen many like it in her lifetime. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she studied the hand drawn faces – artfully done, but slightly disturbing nonetheless. It was like peering into his lost memories.

Valae turned as he spoke, her eyes watching his movements carefully. Her fingertips brushed against the wall, were these images a cry for help? It certainly seemed that way. The real Connor Harrison might be trapped somewhere, lost in the darkness for the moment. Maybe there really was a chance to draw him back out.

“To be truthful, I didn’t know him well. Can’t say that we ever exchanged a word, but I know of him.” She answered calmly, “And in terms of the Order – I’m a healer. I help those in need.”

Her mind was set on her task now, and the fear was beginning to shrink to a whisper. Valae pointed to the image of the moisture farm.

“Where is this? I might’ve been there before.” She glanced sidelong at the man, “Is this a place that you… that he liked?”

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor stood, watching her, frozen to the spot and allowing the Jedi to immerse herself in her surroundings.

"That place is outside of the Jundland Waste on the world of Tatooine in the Outer Rim. He had links there, and he had a friend there."

Now, he walked towards the walls of images and to look at the one the girl had pointed out.

"Have you been there before? If you wish to visit this place, we can. See what memories it unlocks." Connor looked to her. "Tell me your name, and how you became to serve the Silver Jedi."

He moved away, looking at the other images.

Slow steps were needed.

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

“Ah, I see…” She started, her hand cradled her chin. Valae had never known that Master Harrison had ties to her home world. “I’ve been to that area, yes. As a matter of fact, I was born and raised on Tatooine.”

Valae paused for a moment, trying to decide just how much information about her past she was going to reveal to this stranger.
“I was found there by a member of the Order, he saved me during a very frightening time in my life.”

For now, she would simply leave it at that. But without the help of the former Grandmaster, she knew that she’d still be landlocked on the desert world – likely failing to make much of a living.

“Let’s wait a while before we go jetting off somewhere,” She said, offering a smile to try to keep Connor in an amiable mood. Her eyes followed his, drifting to some of the other images on the wall. “Tell me, who are these people?”

Valae motioned with her hand to indicate the faces that had been drawn. There seemed to be some with vague features, and others that were very detailed… almost life like. Certainly, these were folks that had made some kind of impact on Master Harrison.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor looked at the wall of memories; of pictures, charts, drawings and notes. What a puzzle it was to build. The Jedi was the only person to have seen it bar the man himself. And the girl had links to Tatooine and the Order taking her from it. Interesting.

He stepped forward and pointed with his fingers across the various pictures.

”I do not know all the names. Part of my time is now piecing together his past and his footsteps taken so I know where he failed and where he succeeded."

One he pointed to, a picture of a young girl with a scar up her face, was first.

”Kyra Sol, Jedi and friend of the Silver Jedi." Another face that looked like a nightmare. ”The Sith Sorceress Matsu Xiangu" Another. ”Doctor Irajah Ven of the First Order." Another. ”Sith Lord Abyss."

It was a piece coming together. Faces from both sides of the Force who played a part in the journey. Connor turned to the girl.

”What is your name," he asked without skipping a beat.

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae squinted at the images and shook her head. She didn't know the names to put with the faces that had been drawn. Glancing at Connor, she wondered if this strange shadow of a man was troubled still -- attempting now to piece together his past, as he had so righly put it. But then, he poined to one of the images and placed a name, and then two more followed.

"Hmm," Her brows rose, "Seems he knew a wide breadth of folk, Jedi... Sith... Doctors."

Taking her attention away from the faces, she looked up when Connor spoke. She realized then that she never had given him her name. Clearing her throat, she stuck her hand out as a formal greeting.

"Name's Valae Kitra," She said finally.

Her name was not attached to any fame or notoriety, but there were some that knew it. Especially those that had spent time within the ranks of the Silvers, or those that had known of her Master.

"And what do I call you now?" She tilted her head to the side, "Doesn't seem fitting to call you Connor Harrison...or does it?"

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

"He knew lots of people from all corners of the galaxy but failed to make them his own.”

At the introduction, he took her name and stored it away. He turned, looking at her hand, and took it. Small steps.

"Valae Kitra of the Silver Jedi Order. I will remember that name.”

He let go and looked back to the wall.

"Connor. For now. I have no identity, but I am forging one away from his. A legacy that was tarnished and broken and otherwise uneventful, it would not be right to class myself under that same...name. But, for now, it will have to do.”

A few other faces and places were dotted around the wall before them, and he walked around Valae to the other side slowly in thought, and to look at the other markings.

"Tell me about your time with the Silver Order. When did they take you in, and what do you want to become?”

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae was surprised to hear that he remembered her name. Dark eyes blinked a couple of times, and she nodded as he continued to speak. And so it seemed, for now she would simply call him Connor. It was strange, as she watched him -- a presence that was indeed tainted by darkness. There was no doubt that he was powerful in his abilities, but there was also something that tugged at Valae's heartstrings. It was a bit sad to see such a lost soul.

"The Order took me in quite a while back, when I was in my early twenties. I have cherished my time with them, the members are my family now. Not to say that it's all been easy, it hasn't." She started to explain.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and she canted her head to the side as she looked at Connor. She remembered that night on Galidraan -- the outbreak of the Rakghouls. It was a fight that had tested her, and had ultimately broke her. But now, she was back on track and happy with her decision to rejoin the Silvers.

"What do I want to become?" She drew in a deep, thoughtful breath. "I want to be a healer, I want to do good and help people." The answer was quite simple.

Her gaze softened, but focused intently on Connor.

"You know, I can help you, too -- if you let me."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Inhaling slowly at the pain of hearing the Silver Jedi taking another lost soul as...family, Connor looked ahead at the wall as Valae spoke to him. She was an honest soul, and she was trying to hard.

"A healer. A selfless, brave and noble trait. Running into the fire while others flee from it."

Slow steps...

Connor turned to her again, seeing her soft gaze. He mirrored her look, with the amber eyes not as hard as they looked back.

"I wish you could help me, but I know it is something you will never have the...courage to do. Nor the support. Or the trust."

He shook his head and turned away, letting her look at the wall of memories alone as he walked around the hold.

"I know you think you can help, but you can only help as much as the Silver Jedi allow you to help. To help me is to...." he paused, "...is to let the ghosts of the past back into your soul and become someone you never thought possible. Only then can you help me. And if you let me help you, then you will never look back and what you could have been. A healer? You will be one of the greatest healers in the galaxy."

[member="Valae Kitra"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Valae’s brows knitted together. He said that she would never be able to help, because lacked the courage, support, and trust. To her, this spoke of something completely different. It seemed that he didn’t want to be helped. But still, she had to focus in order to keep his words from damaging her confidence.

As he turned away, Valae aimed a glance over her shoulder at Connor.

If the only way to truly help was to succumb to darkness, then she would not do it. Needless to say, she sensed his trap. Indeed it seemed that he was one with the shadows now, for they only sought power. Did Valae need to be the greatest healer? No, she did not seek to become someone of such fame. She needed only to do good – do right by herself and others. She would find her own measure of success.

“If I’m to help you…” She started, turning to face him. “Then you must find the light again.”

Bowing her head slightly, her eyes shifted to look at the wall.

“If you can’t – then I can’t help you.” Her tone was somber, even sad.

[member="Connor Harrison"]