The Padawan(And One Master) Adventure!

[Aela Talith]

Space
The Converging Tides

Well, this was certainly an ordeal.

Aela had never imagined herself to be in a situation like this, had never thought that it was particularly her skill set, but for whatever reason Master Rhen had given her this particular assignment. She didn't mind it really, but it was an oddity that she had never really considered. The Converging Tide was a VT-Starhawk class vessel, a large diplomatic transport that was usually used by the Alliance to transport important people to important places. Today however, it was being used to ferry Aela and a dozen or so padawans to Ium.

Why?

Lightsabers of course.

Some of the Padawans had already created their lightsabers, others hadn't, and a few had simply been given their lightsabers. This little trip was to be an instructional, on more than a few levels. Aela herself had never built her lightsaber, instead she had been given it by her father. Of course just a few weeks ago she had created a more unique version of a lightsaber but that was neither here nor there. Perhaps this trip was as much for her as it was for the padawans.

She mused on that as she moved into the common area, finding several of the padawans sitting around one of the tables. She smiled, approaching them with a chipper tone, or as chipper as she got. "So, anyone excited?"

 

[Isha]

Space
The Converging Tides
[member="Aela Talith"]


Sitting beside the other younglings, one could easily believe that Isha was one herself. A barely sixty-one centimeters tall, most younglings dwarfed her by age eight. That was alright, Isha did not mind. Isha simply was enjoying discovering new things. The task was simple, having been taught by the Jedi Master on call.

Her olive fingers would carefully select the components for her lightsaber. Isha had a pontite lens, the emitter, and one of the curious steel hilts that had been passed around earlier. They had been created by a Master Talith, but Isha wasn't sure if that meant the young blonde woman or not. With careful contemplation enhanced by her two hundred years, Isha quietly and carefully set in front of her the lightsaber components.

Isha had yet to select a crystal, and in her contemplation, her right ear would lightly twitch, followed by her left. Isha was an expressive yodaling, and it could be seen in her large blue eyes and her small cherubic face.

"A choice, I must make." she told herself quietly, moving from the simple Damind to a basic Adegan. It was then that she noticed the often overlooked Upari crystal. A slow dawn would warm her olive face and her ears would lightly twitch and move in her pleasure.

"My ally, The Force is." It was clearly a sign.

 

[Kaeda Vevut]

Space
The Converging Tides


Niall was sitting cross legged on the floor, back up against the bulkhead, his back straight, arms resting lightly in his lap, and his eyes closed. He was in a light meditative state, still aware of the world around him, but not interacting with it at the moment beyond his presence. He was a little old for the typical padawan to be going on such a trip. If he were going to follow the tradition he had grown up with, he would have inherited his father's lightsaber. The problem with a closed system was the lack of new products available, and that included lightsaber crystals and components. In the centuries that his people had lived beneath the mountains on Thyferra, they had to be particularly careful with their maintenance of lightsabers, as well as other mechanical and electronic systems. In the end, he had decided that branching out into the world again was the correct course of action, and choosing a crystal and making his own lightsaber would be part of that.

"So, anyone excited?"

Niall heard Master Talith speak and finished his light meditation. He couldn't help but smile at her. Despite being well trained at keeping his emotions in check, he couldn't help but feel excitement. He'd be the first in his family to craft a lightsaber in many generations, the first of anyone he had known before coming out into the wider galaxy. Any thoughts he had of Master Talith being attractive were firmly squashed and locked away. Such was highly inappropriate.

"I have to admit I am excited. Most of the lightsabers I've seen are well cared for, but still affected by the wear and tear of many years of use." He didn't know how much anyone else knew of his people, they weren't hiding anymore, but stealth and blending in were traits trained into his people from birth practically, so he doubted any of his people's masters were coming forward and talking about their little world.

[member="Isha"] [member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

Space
The Converging Tides

"Of course." Aela said to Niall with a smile. "Most lightsabers that are past down are older than a few decades and have seen thousands of hours of use."

The young Marshall walked over to the boy, pulling her own lightsaber from her belt and showing it to him by holding it between her two index fingers. She slowly rotated the small cylinder as she spoke. "This was my fathers lightsaber long before it was mine. He gave it to me when I was twelve, and I've been using it ever since. You can see that it's a bit older, the scratches and scuff marks on it, even the small indents in the metal."

The lightsaber wasn't anything unique, in fact the weapon looked perfectly average.

The weapon was little more than a cylindrical tube of durasteel, not decorated with anything save for a small black nob and tiny indents where ones fingers would go. The lightsaber had character however, tiny scratches, blotches within the durasteel, shifts within the casing. It was unique in it's own way, a way that was precious to Aela. She smiled at Niall, then shifted her attention to Isha, the yodaling that was nearly as old as her father!

"Yes." Aela said. "Follow your instincts, don't rush your decision."

 

[Dovan Grey]

Space
The Converging Tides

Dovan Grey had kept to himself for what little of the trip they had undergone. His fingers drummed on the steel of the table where he sat alone. He felt uncomfortable in his own skin. He felt out of place. Yes, he was older than the usual padawan, but that wasn't it. There was a kid sitting on the ground who looked close to Dovan's own age. And the alien at the other table, who knew how old it was? It wasn't that. He felt like he was not one of them. Not a Jedi. At least not yet. There was a brightness that seemed to radiate from the others. I mean, he called the person close to his own age a kid for goodness sake. He almost felt dirty compared to the others. A large, bulk of a man sitting with students. Like, he was some seedy bounty hunter everyone else was simply allowing to be present.

Yes, he had only just arrived to the Order. Yes, he hadn't even found a master yet. Still, he felt like he was doing something wrong simply by being there. He was definitely regretting his choice to come. But how could he pass up the chance to build his own lightsaber? He had always been a skilled warrior. Even as a child, his father would teach him how to defend himself as they moved from spaceport to port. When he trained with the Wraiths of the Redfall, there was not another student who could match his battle prowess. He was finally going to have the thing he had yearned for ever since he had heard of it. A lightsaber.

His thoughts were cut short when the Jedi Master walked in. If anyone radiated, it was her. He had not been with the New Jedi Order long enough to become accustomed to the constant overwhelming sense of the Force from each of the Jedi, but especially those strong with it. It was like a strange and strong coolness that floated in his chest. He kept his eyes on her as she moved towards the kid. He saw her withdraw her own lightsaber, which Dovan examined as best he could. Then he lowered his head, keeping attention away from himself.

[member="Aela Talith"] [member="Niall Tso"] [member="Isha"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Space
The Converging Tides

Nervous. If there was one word that described the state that Joza was in right now, that was it. The young Zeltron sat at the table with several other apprentices, her legs crossed and her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her stoic expression did not give away how she felt inwardly, but her rigid posture certainly might. Her emerald eyes flicked back and forth, observing the others in the room with her. Two men, and a child whose race she did not recognize. This did little to comfort her, but then again, what really could bring her peace in this moment?

Feeling a sudden pang of homesickness, Joza let her eyes flutter closed and drew in a slow breath. This was her first venture away from Zeltros, alone. All at once her dream to be a jedi seemed silly and unattainable. This room was too quiet. Too drab. What was she doing here? She longed for the bright vivid colors of her home planet, for the relaxing pheromones that blanketed the streets and pacified citizens and tourists alike. Why did she ever think that she would be able to leave that?

Exhaling slowly, the pink toned girl opened her eyes once more. As she refocused on the room, she reminded herself how badly she had wanted this for so long. How humiliated and defeated she would feel if she ran back into her mother’s arms. No, she had to stay. She had to at least try. In an attempt to focus her feelings elsewhere, Joza tilted her gaze toward the others in the room. She felt awkward being here, not sure of how she should go about her training or who to even look to. The silence was broken, thankfully, when the Jedi Master arrived.

Thankfully, the good vibes radiating from her played on Joza’s Zeltron heritage, relaxing the girl somewhat. She couldn’t help but offer the woman a smile, albeit an anxious one, and a nod in response to her question. “Very much so, Master.”

 

[Isha]

Space
The Converging Tides
[member="Niall Tso"] [member="Dovan Grey"] [member="Aela Talith"][member="Joza Perl"]

"Yes." Master Talith said. "Follow your instincts, don't rush your decision."

Isha's ears would give another subtle flex, and her triangle and narrow face would arch up to catch the sight of the blonde Master Jedi. Isha gave a small hmm of agreement, a slow nod. Upari crystals were an interesting creation. A different cut to the facet would bring about different boons. For healing, for meditation.

This one, yes. Three prong olive fingers would bring up the silver upari crystal close to her face. Those large blue eyes that would dominate a third of her face would study it carefully. Yes, this one had been cut for the clarity of mind. A good find. One Isha would use well.

Over the glinting facet of the Upari crystal, Isha would quietly contemplate Master Talith. Isha curiously watched her for a moment, her ears flexing again with the depths of her thoughts. Young, she was. Much younger than Isha.

But strong.