Still isolated…frozen…crumbling…

[Jake Cabur Tor]

Jake decided that since he had been permitted aboard the ship that he would go to the swordplay area and run through some of the drills he had learned through his time in the order. He needed to focus more on his Niman form, if only to get it more comfortable. He wished to some day master this form so that should a situation arise where he needed more options, he had them. He was never one to spend his time aimlessly and always put forth his best effort to the task at hand. It was a matter of pride that drove him to do this; if he gave anything less, he would have deemed the task a failure, no matter the outcome. 'I hope someone will join me in the training room,' he thought as he made his way there.

 

[Marcus]

[member="Marakai Al'Orren"]

Marcus was sitting in his own bunk when he was assigned to this mission by his new Master. He can’t believe that he got a Master. Shaking his head a bit, he closed his head to try to clear his thought. I have heard rumors about my Master. Is she really a tiger? He thought to himself as he was struggling to gain control of his mind. Remembering the mental exercises that other Masters taught him, he lighted the flame in his mind. Then he burned all his thought, his images, everything in his mind into the flame. When he purged everything, he allowed the flame to continue burn as he reached in the unknown. Suddenly, he felt the strand of the Force. Allowing it to flow all over him, he felt very alive as he is with the Force.

With the power of the Force in him, he allowed himself to mediation with the Force. Expanding his sense in the Force, he was feeling the presence of others through the Force. Some was shining too bright like a sun, some was able to shine as a stars. But all of them have a connection to the Force. Curiosity overwhelmed himself to see what he can do with the Force; he remembered a Master told him to practice his skill so he opened his eyes. Focusing on the small box rest against the wall, he was willing the Force around the item. Willing it to raise up in the air, his emerald hues were watching it rise up in the air slowly. Excitement was blooming in his chest as he was putting more strength in it. And it rose up higher than before. He decided to try pushing it against the wall so he focused at the box. Using the power of the Force, he pushed it against the wall. A smile appeared on his brim as he watched the box careful. Then he heard a noise that tells him that they are approached their destination. So he allowed it go back to the floor before he stood up to get himself ready for the mission.

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[SIZE=medium][member="Kian Karr"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I sat in the corner of the room where my Master was meditating or whatever, tossing a small pebble from hand to hand. The original plan had been for us to meditate together, but after five minutes I couldn’t stop fidgeting. So, instead, I gave up and let the Kel Dor sit there and do his own thing. Boring as it was. The view was pretty, though, if one was into that sort of thing. Which I was not.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]A couple days ago Karr had asked for me to accompany him for some crystal-hunting on this far-begotten planet, Praxeum. I immediately said yes, more out of a need to get out of the Temple than it was a desire to look for rocks, and packed my stuff up in record time. That then allowed me to administer a dose of AV which I hoped would suffice until we got back. But, if nothing else, I could always raid the medical stores. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Despite my potential death by nonactivity, though, I kept my mouth shut and struggled to keep my thoughts as much to myself as possible. Was it out of respect for Karr? Maybe, but it was also to prevent the possibility of being reprimanded like a little kid. Or just reprimanded in general. I was still making up my mind about which it was when Karr stood up out of the blue. One glance out the window told me what had the man up and going, so with a grin of relief I leapt up and followed him to the hangar. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Of course, the pace at which the Kel Dor walked meant we were way ahead of the shuttle that was, to my understanding, stuffed full of Jedi. Oh, joy. Of course, that though prompted a rather comedic image of a bunch of folks squeezed into the shuttle like sardines.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Stifling a chuckle lest my master ask what I was thinking about, I stood beside Karr and mimicked his pose. Of course, that became dull after two seconds, so I instead crossed my arms, hunched my shoulders, and affixed a scowl to my face. To any outsiders, I would appear to be as PO’d as a rancor who’d been told he couldn’t be prom queen. That is, if rancors wanted to be prom queens. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Still bored with waiting for the shuttle to get to the hangar, I let out a loud sigh. A heartbeat later, that was followed by a louder, more exaggerated one. Eventually I just broke the silence. “Double Kay, do you think the shuttle’s moving slow because the ship’s conserving fuel, or because there’s too many of those Jedi aboard?”[/SIZE]

 

[Kian Karr]

"I think." Kian said glancing at [member="Roshki Belawiiks"] out of his peripheral vision. "You need to learn patience."

Kian had asked Roshki to accompany him on the trip to Rhen Var for a number of reasons. To begin, he was certain that if he kept her cooped up much longer on Ossus she might get into some serious trouble. Secondly, he felt that it was time she get a lightsaber crystal and begin considering making a lightsaber of her own. He had begun her training in Shii Cho and would soon move her into some basic training of the other forms. Finally, he believed that the best way to learn was to do. There was no doubt in his mind that she could learn a great deal of things on Ossus, he had. But she would learn most of what would help her in the real world.....either getting out of sticky situations or struggling to survive. He had learned well that way.

"Once the others are here we will make our way to Rhen Var on the Praxeum ship." Kian said glancing around the hangar. "These Praxeum ships were designed to be floating academies. Homes away from home." Kian said, not sure if his young apprentice knew anything of the vessels or not.

"What can you tell me of Rhen Var?" Kian asked, trying to test whether or not his apprentice had done any research about where they were going. There would be cold weather gear on board the Praxeum for Roshki to use, but he wanted to know whether or not she had thought to bring it herself.

[member="Roshki Belawiiks"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"]​

 

[Corvus Raaf]

The signal was given that they were exiting hyperspace and as they gathered in the hangar bay before boarding the shuttle, Corvus stood on a nearby box.

"Listen, I don't want to do a grand speech in front of everyone, but I'll tell you here and now, before we get onto the shuttle, how the trip came about."

Smoothing the hem of her robes with the palm of her hand, she cleared her throat.

“As you know, I like to spend time in the library.” Ignoring the groans, she continued. “And a while ago I did some research. I always wanted to have a beam crystal as well as my focusing crystal and Solari crystals have always fascinated me. I know, I should get out more.”

She waved a hand, dismissively. Corvus may be focused when it came to Jedi Lore but she knew when not to take herself too seriously.
“Anyway. Rhen Var is one place that they can be found and it’s in Republic space. But every Jedi and Sith imaginable has been there, digging up ruins and running around caves and so the likelihood of finding anything useful is slim. So why are we going?”

“My work on Solari crystals led me to the story of former Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma, who – as you all know – sought refuge on Rhen Var, and there trained Vima Sunrider and helped her build a lightsaber. During his stay he found a cave where the rare Solari crystal grew. Which led me to the story of Vima Sunrider, her mother’s story and the accounts of Hoggon. He's the spacer that eventually and wrongly killed him - but you all know that story.”

Corvus clearly expected every Jedi to know this story.

“Each gives some information that, in isolation, tells you nothing – but when you piece them together, it spells out the location of the cave.”

“Now when I say it spells it out, it doesn’t mention a grid-reference. But Ulic was killed near where he sparred and trained with Vima and part of Vima’s training was to build an ice sculpture of her father and she references an ice-mountain. Which is therefore also where they trained. And Ulic mentions the cave is also next to where they trained. And is therefore near to where he was killed. So…by cross-referencing all of those points, find the ice mountain and we find the sculpture. Find the sculpture and we find the cave. Find the cave and…well you get the rest. So that's how we found it.”

Clearly this all made perfect sense to Corvus. "OK, any questions before we go?"

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]| [member="Marcus"] | [member="Jake cabur tor"] | [member="Jack Rand"] | [member="Gherron Vael"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] | [member="Marcus"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Uri Aureleos"] | [member="Lan Graendal"] | [member="Seamus Valik"]

 

[Jake Cabur Tor]

"Will I be paired with another for this search, or will we all be doing solo searches around the mountain areas?" Jake felt he had to ask, as he was the only padawan without a master that was on this trip. He didn't care which happened, and was confident he could handle himself, as he was almost at the level of training a Jedi knight would have.

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[member="Kian Karr"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]


[SIZE=medium] “Patience, Shmatience, Double Kay.” I thumped my chest hard with my fist. “I don’t need no stinkin’ patience!” Of course, the crooked grin on my face betrayed the fact I was kidding. Oh well. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]My hands dropped back into their usual position, crossed in front of my chest, as I gave some of my attention to Karr. The rest was focused on watching one of the droids scuttle across the hangar floor. “Uh huh,” I said. “The ships are like floaty houses. Got it.” That was one weird-colored droid. I didn’t like it – the color scheme was too obnoxious. Wait, when did I care about color schemes? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Must’ve been the boredom. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I tore my eyes away from the droid (which quickly vanished out of eyesight, anyway) and looked up at my Master. “Rhen Var? Let’s see…” The pebble from earlier was repeatedly thrown into the air as I struggled to recall what I knew of the planet. “Hmm. Well, it’s cold. Really, frigidly, stupidly, cold. And it’s got real short days, too – 17 hours? 18?” I shrugged. “That’s about it. Why, your datapad broken again, Double Kay?” I gave the Kel Dor a cheeky grin to compliment my cheeky comment. [/SIZE]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian let out a laugh and shook his head. While he thought, with time, Roshki's attitude would have died down, he was surprised to find her far more stubborn then he had originally anticipated. Not that it bothered Kian terribly much. In fact, as time passed he had begun to find it somewhat endearing.

"Well it is good to know you've at least done a little research for the mission." Kian said, lacing his voice with a bit of sarcasm. He liked giving back as much as she gave.

"And what is this 'datapad' you speak of?" Kian asked turning and leading Roshki to where the others were now gathering. The Solari crystals. That was what had brought Kian to this mission and at the mention of the crystals, Kian's interest peaked and he drew closer to the gathering, bowing his head to [member="Corvus Raaf"] as he saw her.

Pay attention! Kian said, communicating to Roshki through telepathy, not wanting to interrupt the talk.

​

[member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]| [member="Marcus"] | [member="Jake cabur tor"] | [member="Jack Rand"] | [member="Gherron Vael"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"] | [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Uri Aureleos"] | [member="Lan Graendal"] | [member="Seamus Valik"]​

 

[NPC Units]

[member="Jannik Morlandt"]

Steve woke with a start, he'd fallen asleep in transit. Steve ran to the Hangar to board the shuttle. He drew up the collar of his coat and pulled up his hood. The planet was supposed to be freezing.

Steve walked ovet to the others, eating a banana.

"Bello!"

 

[Corvus Raaf]

As they boarded the shuttle to the surface of Rhen Var, Corvus considered the questions posed.

"I will guide you all in terms of the location. I've been there before. Be wary as there are many creatures around that pose us a significant threat. Once inside the cave itself, there are many chambers to explore, so it will be up to you if you wish to go solo or team up. I shall be around in case anyone gets into trouble or requires help crafting a saber. But of course, it's better not to get into trouble in the first place?" She gave [member="Jake cabur tor"] a reassuring smile.

And she nodded to [member="Steve"]. He was suitably wrapped up for the cold they would soon endure.

 

[Jake Cabur Tor]

"Great!" He replied enthusiastically. "So I hear you know where some Solari crystals are Master Raaf?" He paused I would Really like to retrieve a couple of these for my saber, as they would keep me honest as to my alignment to the light side." [member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was aware that the pace of the group had slowed down considerably - and in the cold of Rhen Var it was important to keep moving.

No sooner had the shuttle landed than the door was opened and the icy wind hit them. It was snowing - horizontally. As Corvus pulled her thermal jacket on over her robes and pulled on goggles and gloves, she indicated they head out.

Leading the way, she set off in the direction of the cave. Given their landing site and the prevailing conditions, she reckoned it could be a couple of hours walk. She glanced back and saw they were in single file. They were stretching out and - knowing this planet - that could spell danger if any predators wanted to pick off a straggler - or was even bold enough to simply attack the line.

[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"] | [member="Marcus"] | [member="Jake cabur tor"] | [member="Jack Rand"] | [member="Gherron Vael"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"] | [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Uri Aureleos"] | [member="Lan Graendal"] | [member="Seamus Valik"]

(ooc - Invasions and now the Event - but we should make an effort to post every other day otherwise there is a danger this will die on us)​

 

[Kian Karr]

The wind immediately collided with the group as the shuttle door opened, and Kian pulled his winter gear tighter around himself as he felt the wind biting into his flesh. Kian hadn't been on a planet with snow for some time and he couldn't honestly say he'd missed it. Dorin had a nice arid atmosphere, with cool but not cold winters.

"Nothing like a nice brisk, relaxing walk...." Kian said turning to Corvus and smiling beneath his mask. This would be a tiring trip, but that was good. When one was tired and distracted by the tasks at hand, your mind tended to interfere less in staying attuned to the force. They would be more open to the call of the crystals when they reached their destination.

Kian had taken padawans in search of lightsaber crystals before, but this would be the first time since he was a padawan that he would be seaking out a crystal of his own. It was an exciting thought.

​

[member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"] | [member="Marcus"] | [member="Jake cabur tor"] | [member="Jack Rand"] | [member="Gherron Vael"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"] | [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Uri Aureleos"] | [member="Lan Graendal"] | [member="Seamus Valik"]​

 

[Seamus Valik]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"] | [member="Marcus"] | [member="Jake cabur tor"] | [member="Jack Rand"] | [member="Gherron Vael"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"] | [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Uri Aureleos"] | [member="Lan Graendal"]

Seamus pulled his hood on as he walked along in line with the others. His light blue eyes doing their best to avoifavoid looking at Master Raaf. He would succeed at putting the emotions he felt around her behind him but it was a difficult task to be sure.

He suddenly began to daydream as men in the cold often did when boredom and low body temperature mixed with silence.

Spoiler

[media]http://youtu.be/6inwzOooXRU[/media]

He flashed back to the many times he had gazed at her unnoticed. He told her not a word, nor did he tell anyone but he couldn't help but adore her. If he actually ever constructed a lightsaber with her so close it would be a miracle.

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

Again with the telepathy crap! I shot Karr a slightly resentful look, though I kept quiet as we walked towards the Jedi. I'll pay attention all right. I'll pay attention, keep quiet, then run away and steal your ships! I was half-joking. The Kel Dor should've known by now that using telepathy with someone of my background was not a good way to endear them to you.

Of course that lasted all of two seconds once we got into the cold air. "Oh, kark!" I shouted, gripping my clothes. Yeah, I'd worn the proper-ish attire (and let me tell you, my boots looked killer on me) but this was cold. "Gah!" A string of expletives foul enough to make a pirate blush and loud enough for the whole of the galaxy to hear flew from my lips into the frosty air. "Kian Karr, you did NOT tell me it was going to be this cold!"

I continued to give my Master an earful even after we caught up with the group. I wasn't really mad at him or anything, but truth was I hated the cold. Absolutely hated it. Any chance of me somewhat enjoying this trip flew out the window with the snowflakes.

While I ranted and bellyached, I took an eyeful of the other folks around us. There were a few humans, some nonhumans, and...a little yellow man. If it weren't for the fact that my montrals felt as if they were to fall off, I'd probably be more curious about what species the guy was. But, I wasn't, so I wasn't.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Seamus Valik"] | @Marcus | @Jake cabur tor | @Jack Rand | [member="Gherron Vael"] | [member="Sanya Val Lerium"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"] | [member="Marakai Al'Orren"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Uri Aureleos"] | [member="Lan Graendal"]

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Not three seconds after Gherron left the ship did he instantly pull his cloak around him more. He knew it would be cold, but not that cold! Keeping his mouth shut to avoid the inevitable chattering of his teeth, he followed the other Jedi inside, while the snow continued its barrage against his side.Touching himself into the force, he let himself warm up a few notches. Once he caught up with [member="Kian Karr"], he nodded with a stiff smile. "Wonderful weather, huh?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Roshki Belawiiks"] [member="Seamus Valik"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian turned back toward his apprentice and cocked his head sideways, doing his best to give one of her typical looks that she gave him oh so often. Smiling smugly, despite all that don't-be-smug Jedi training, Kian added.

"I said it would be cold, and you always could have done your own research...." Kian said, and then turning back to the walk, but glancing over his shoulder he added, "Or was your datapad broken?"

Then Jedi Knight Gherron Vael was beside him and commenting on the weather. Kian smiled warmly beneath his mask to the man and examined him for a moment. Kian hadn't had much opportunity to interact with the Jedi Knight and thought this a good opportunity to correct that.

"Yes," Kian said chuckling, "I miss Ossus already! How have you been Jedi Vael?"

[member="Roshki Belawiiks"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Gherron Vael"] | [member="Seamus Valik"]​

 

[Jake Cabur Tor]

Jake felt the full force form the huge gusts of wind, and the sheer cold of the planet they were on. He thought it would be a little warmer than this, but there wasn't much he could do about it now. He pulled his goggles over his eyes, pulled his jacket a little more snugly about himself, and headed after the group.
@Corvus Raaf | @Kian Karr | @Roshki Belawiiks | @Marcus | [member="Seamus Valik"] | @Jack Rand | @Gherron Vael | @Sanya Val Lerium | @Jannik Morlandt | @Marakai Al'Orren | @Meeristali Peradun | @Uri Aureleos | @Lan Graendal

 

[Gherron Dragovalor]

Gherron smiled a little more at the master's comment. "Not too bad, master Karr. I miss Ossus too. A lot warmer, that's for sure. You hoping to get yourself a Solari crystal?" He knew he wanted one, and wondered if the elder Jedi had the same reasoning to be on Rhen Var, besides bringing his padawan along. Gherron hadn't brought his own, for the sole purpose of giving the guy a break. He knew that the cold wasn't his most favorite place to be, especially coming from a planet that was mainly desert. So he'd let Rael sit out on this one.

[member="Kian Karr"] [member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Seamus Valik"] [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]

 

[Kian Karr]

"Yes." Kian said patting his lightsaber on his belt. "I've been looking to upgrade for a while now." Kian had built his lightsaber more years back then he cared to remember now. When he was still a padawan, so much more foolish and naive then he was now....at least he hoped. It was a fine lightsaber, but Kian had embarked on a journey with [member="Corvus Raaf"] and Kana Truden to seek out the lost crash site of Jedi Master Plo Koon and Kian planned on constructing a weapon similar to the famous Kel Dor Jedi.

"Corvus's blade is created from a Solari crystal. You'll notice its thicker and more efficient at blaster bolt deflection." Kian said, "As a Shien practitioner, I find this useful." As Kian said this, a fresh burst of wind sent a chill down his spin.

[member="Gherron Vael"]​