Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Star Wars - A New Power Ch. 24 - Departure
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Angcuru" data-source="post: 2941646" data-attributes="member: 10948"><p><strong>Ch.15 - No Time Like the Present</strong></p><p></p><p>The trip back down from the asteriod belt was one of irritation for Kia, she had hoped for some chance of salvaging the hyper-drive, but finding it destroyed, and that she was indeed trapped in the solar system was very vexing for someone who's survival had depended on her mobility. While she could certainly learn from the Sethi while she was here, she hadn't wanted to be here at all, especially not now that she knew what it was she wanted to be doing instead of drifting from sysytem to system.</p><p></p><p>The former security officer candidate spent the rest of the afternoon in silent but dogged pacing, going over in her head her options, and limited as they were, they kept ruunning the same narrow path that her feet were. Being surrounded by people that were so much older then she was didn't help, with the exception of Kal, they could all remember the old Republic, had in fact been adults during it. And Kal, well, he was just a kid from some backwater that was crushing on her since she was the first new female to show up in his entire life time, so she pointedly ignored his practicing, trying not to encourage him to show off.</p><p></p><p>Adrial's words immediately cut any thinking that was going on in Assan's mind. He knew when to get back into business mode, and this was definitely one of those times. He was up on his feet as Kia was already leaving, but as he headed after her, decided a question was in order, "What do you mean little blue dots?"</p><p></p><p>He could only hope the breath mask didn't make him sound angry...though knowing how things usually worked with these humans, it would. Or worse.</p><p></p><p>When Adrial burst in Kia was in motion almost before she finished her sentence, all the pent up energy finally put to use in an all out sprint to the cockpitt of the ship. She didn't intend to stop slow down til she hit the cockpitt, and she intended to make it there in record time.</p><p></p><p>Adrial followed Aasan and Kia to the Dawnsprinter, trying to catch her breath while explaining what she saw. "I was looking around the ship, trying to figure out what all the little lights and screens are. I was checking out this little table in the um...recreation area...that's it, when there was this beeping noise from the front of the ship. I went to look at it, and there were all these little blue dots moving around this screen that didn't have anything on it just a few hours earlier."</p><p></p><p>They arrived at the Dawnsprinter as Adrial finished speaking, and within seconds were looking at the ship's long-range passive radar screen. From the looks of it, there were upwards of thirty ships on screen, and those were only the ones using active radar that the ship's sensors could detect. Almost on cue, the console-mounted comms station lit up.</p><p></p><p>"....Dawnsprinter..........ead m-...............ICS Interdictor.........-opy?..-alling the.........inter, do yo-....."</p><p></p><p>Kia smacks the comm station in the time honored tradition of electronics users everywhere, letting the unit understand how vexed she would be if it didn't behave. She started to adjust the station, trying to clear away the static. "That sounds like an Imperial capital ship, especially with such a large escort convoy. I don't want to run into the Empire, but I don't want to be here on this planet more." she tells</p><p></p><p>"ICS Interdictor, this is the Dawnsprinter, come in, I repeat this is the Dawnsprinter. My Hyperdrive got slagged by the jump, and we are stuck on this dirtball. Any assistance you can offer would be appreciated."</p><p></p><p>Those at the Dawnsprinter's controls hear a different, more authoritative voice on the other end swear in frustration. "ICS Interdictor to Dawnsprinter crew member, you will identify yourself and all surviving crew immediately. We are sending a transport to your present location, do not leave the area."</p><p></p><p>Almost as the trasmission is finished, the rest of those who were in the Sethi hut arrive on the Dawnsprinter. Jorran tenses noticably at the confirmation of the Empire's arrival and Kal seems shocked at this voice coming from the controls, while Arias and Miera exchange a quick glance at the mention of the Interdictor.</p><p></p><p>"Kia," Jorran says quietly, "if the Empire knows the name of this ship, they'll know who owned it as well, wouldn't they? Isn't there a price on your head?"</p><p></p><p>"I'm not liking where you going with this Jorran, I am really not liking it." Kia replies, "I think I am going to like where the Empire goes with it even less. Governments are soo not opened minded about insurrection." she sighs in frustration.</p><p></p><p>"I'm not even 100% sure that the empire would rescue your colony if they didn't get something out of it. Sending a task force this large to answer a distress call is all wrong, I'm small stakes to them, I have no clue whats so important to them here, and if they deem it important enough to send a fleet like this, then they might deem no survivors a good thing as well. Decide for youselves, but I think your best chances, and mine, are appropriating one of their hyperdrives. The empire isn't exactly known for being kind to force users."</p><p></p><p>"ICS Interdictor, This is Kia Obscurra of the Dawnsprinter, there are no other crew. At the moment I am in the middle of a camp of people who were stranded here when their ship crashed back during the Clone Wars. I request aid and evacuation for them according to Galactic Law." she comms up to the capital ship.</p><p></p><p>"Either way you decide, it'd be easy enough to tell that your villiage is here when they land, lying when the truth is so obvious isn't worth the effort." she says to the Sethi, loosening her blaster in its holster.</p><p></p><p>Aasan cursed himself as he got into the cockpit as Kia was finishing her communication to the other ship. Too late now. He sighed(which sounded more like a loud scratching noise through the breather), and said, "The less they know, the better...I don't think our friends would really like any extra company. If it is Imperials, you might have just given them an excuse to come down here with blasters blazing..." he trailed off and tried to think of a way to minimize any more problems, "Don't tell them anything else. And if they send a ship down, tell them to track your distress beacon. We'll move it a good distance out of here so they won't be coming down right here in the middle of everything and we can figure out what these people plan to do."</p><p></p><p>"The transport is already on its way here Aasan, it is going to see the villiage whether we tell them about it or not. It already had a fix on this location because these were the coordinates the distress beacon was broadcasting. We cannot change that, telling them what is going to readily evident to them when they get here doesn't cost anything, since they will find it out no matter what." Kia says with a shrug. She turns to the Sethi Masters, wondering what they would have the settlers do.</p><p></p><p>Whatever the Sethi decided, she could at least ready the ship for immediate take off, she might not have to lift off, but if she did, it would be nice to be ready. Kia also set about making sure the ship's armament was as ready as it could be.</p><p></p><p>Jorran watched as the radar screen showed the Imperial Fleet closing in on their location. The computer calculated their arrival to be within 2 hours.</p><p></p><p>"If the Empire is as brutal as you make it out to be, I doubt they intend to leave any survivors." Miera said.</p><p></p><p>"Any right-minded strategist wouldn't let any non-military personnel leave the system." Arias added, "Think about it. The Empire is fighting a galaxy-wide civil war. Here they've found a previously unknown system, with unknown stocks of resources and potential locations to set up military bases. As far as we know, the Rebellion is clueless about the whole situation, and I think the Empire would want to keep it that way. And the best way to do that is to make sure that no one lives to tell them about it."</p><p></p><p>An audibal *gulp* simultaneously escaped Kal's and Adrial's throats.</p><p></p><p>"Kia," Miera asked, "how many people can you fit aboard this ship? Not for a long journey, but packed in for about ten minutes tops?"</p><p></p><p>"If it were just for a short period, I could probably get 80 to 100 if they were in the cargo bay, this is a transport ship after all, people are much smaller then my usual cargo. The only thing in there now are, or were, my upgrade components which I canabalized a bit to get her in the air again, get people in there, and the corridors. I just wouldn't want to be responsible for the jouncing around they are going to get, especially when we are chased." Kia offered.</p><p></p><p>"Good, that's more than enough." Miera said, sounding a bit relieved</p><p></p><p>"Good how?" Jorran asked. "Without a hyperdrive, it's inevitable that they'll catch us and then, well..." He drew his finger across his throat, clearly making his point.</p><p></p><p>"We don't need to outrun the Empire's thugs, just to hide the innocent people in this village." Meira glanced towards Arias, who nodded. "There is a subterranian cave a few hundred kilometers out from the village where we could easily hide them."</p><p></p><p>"But they're tracking this ship." Kal added, "The Empire will know where we're moving them to, and slaughter them all."</p><p></p><p>"Not exactly." Nakima chimed in, "They're tracking the Dawnsprinter's IFF transponder. If we remove it from the ship and hook it up to the village's power generator, we can move about with the Empire being none the wiser, as long as we stay close to this planet's surface."</p><p></p><p>"That's all well and good," Adrial piped up, "but what do we do after they're hidden away? We can't just sit here and wait for them to come kill us!""</p><p></p><p>"All in due time, Adrial." Miera lightly chided her.</p><p></p><p>"Ok, then thats what we'll do, gather up your people, and I'll start working on the transponder with Aasan, and Nakima if he'll help. Once your people are out of here, I'll come back, and get ready for the Empire. If I can get their transport's hyperdrive, we can repair the Dawnsprinter and get the heck out of here." Kia says, sounding positive, like it'd be a stoll in the park, then again, she is a Corellian.</p><p></p><p>The Jedi hopeful turns to the transponder once she finishes double checking the ships armaments, and starts getting it ready to pull out of its casing. With the three of them working on it, the transponder's transplant to the village generator goes over quickly and smoothly. Jorran and Kia leave Nakima to put the finishing touches on the rig to keep the transponder transmitting.</p><p></p><p>"Do you have any weapons leftover from your crashed ship?" Kia asks Miera, "The Dawnsprinter is, or rather was, a CorSec Patrol ship, so she has better armament then a normal YT 1300, but I don't know what there transport will be, maybe a Lamda, but it might be something worse, like an Assault Shuttle." Kia says with a soft sigh. "I think the best bet would be to ambush the Stormtroopers. 10 Troopers per squad, probably 2 or 3 squads to secure this area, and then whatever crew on the transport, makes it 35 or so." she says, not sounding terribly pleased.</p><p></p><p>"Just the few blasters we had on board. It was a refugee ship, after all." Miera replied while helping some of the older villagers on board. "Don't worry about that right now, we'll prepare for the Imperials once these people are safe."</p><p></p><p>She and Arias have hurriedly explained to situation to the villagers as the repairs were taken care of. As when Kia returns to her ship, there are many of them sitting in the rec area, standing in the halls, and generally trying to get comfortable in a very unfamiliar environment. Adrial had the good sense to remember to bring along a few day's worth of food just in case, as was evident by the baskets of fresh vegetables and suchlike now in the storage compartments.</p><p></p><p>"That's all of them," Miera says to Kia regarding the new passengers. "Arias and the others are preparing some surprises for the enemy troops. They should be ready by the time we get back from where we're headed." She indicates the pilot's seat. "We're ready when you are."</p><p></p><p>Kia nods, pleased at the quick response of the villagers to the summons. "Ok, this could be quite rough, especially on people who haven't really gotten used to flight." she calls out in a loud enough voice to carry along the corridors. The young pilot drops herself into her chair, and swiftly cuts in the repulsorlifts, lifting the ship to just above the tree line, she had already gotten the ship itself ready for flight, all that was needed was thrust and the ship would move out, hopefully low enough that they would blend in and catch the Imperials napping.</p><p></p><p>"Where to, Miera?" she asks, set to carry out the course as swiftly as possible, knowing time was critical. </p><p></p><p>Miera points out a thin strip of blue than can be barely seen in the distance as the Dawnsprinter hovers. "There, that river flows from a lake to the west. If we follow it to the source we'll eventually find a waterfall, and behind that is where we'll hide these innocent people." She regards Kia curiosly for a moment. "Before we get near it, you should know that it is very, very strong in the force. Even if you aren't actively trying to sense it, you'll feel it growing more intense as we get nearer."</p><p></p><p>"Umm, ok, I don't actually have any experience with sensing things through the force, and I have never actively done it." Kia says, shifting the heading of the ship, and then powering up the thrusters. With the repulsor lifts on, it was sort of like a surfboard, floating on top of the water, and the thrusters were her feet kicking against the water. She gradually ramped the power up to max, trying not to discomfort her passengers, especially since she'd probably be the one to clean up the deck plating.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p><p></p><p>Jorran hurries to aid Arais and the others left behind in the village with setting up some surprises for the incoming imperials. Jorran's hurry doesn't look rushed however, he just simply moves with efficient deliberacy and speed.</p><p></p><p>"So, Arias, what's the plan? How many do you think we can actually take? Or are we going to pull a diversion that will allow us to take their transport without having to eliminate the imperial threat?"</p><p></p><p>"How many can we handle?" Arias regards Jorran with a confidant smile and leans against the pallisade wall. "Jorran, do you recall when the Seperatist forces attempted to take Coruscant?"</p><p></p><p>"How could I forget?" The younger man replied. "My master and I were studying star maps in the Temple Archives when the attack began."</p><p></p><p>"Then you'll recall that the Temple was assaulted by no less than a dozen full Battallions of battle droids. Also that fewer than six jedi were present at the temple at the time of the attack."</p><p></p><p>"Of course, what is your point?"</p><p></p><p>"Take a wild guess at who headed the defenses."</p><p></p><p>"Oh..."</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p><p></p><p>Miera arches an eyebrow. "You've never tried to feel out your surroundings with the Force? Well, whatever your plans for your talents, I suggest you try it out sometime."</p><p></p><p>They heard a chorus of 'ooh's behind them in the rec room, where the young Twil'lek girl and her pack of friends have surrounded the holo table. Apparently they'd figured out how to turn on one of the holographic games, and were taking turns making the pieces eat each other. Kids.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p><p></p><p>Aris regarded the walls they had built to keep out the local wildlife. "Hmm. If these Stormtroopers are anything like the Clones I commanded back in the war, they'll be tougher than your average soldier. Whether or not we take their transport, we'll have to deal with them one way or another." He flexed his fingers, the joints popping in anticipation "I doubt they'll surrender, so we'll have to take care of them...permanently. No point in fortifying the walls, the'll be no good against modern weapons."</p><p></p><p>He regarded Jorran, Kal, and Adrial. "You three can probably take on a good number of them, especially working together. Anyway, once the killing starts the whole area will probably be overrun with Masliths faster than you can blink."</p><p></p><p>Arias crouched down on a log near the fire pit and began to formulate his plan. "Our best bet is to take out the troopers on the first transport as fast as we can, then get to work on removing the hyperdrive. Aasan, that's where you come in. Once the area is clear, you will start working on removal of the drive while Kal, Jorran, and Adrial guard the shuttle. By that time, Miera and Kia will be back with the Dawnsprinter, along with Nakima, who can help Aasan with the drive transplant. Once we've swapped the transport's drive over to Kia's ship, we'll still have to get another to move the villagers. For that we'll have to get the Imperials to land another transport or shuttle. It'd be best if we could get them to send a cargo ship, so I suggest we leave one of the assault transport pilots alive so he can put in that request for us." He looked at Aasan and his gathered students. "Any further ideas?"</p><p></p><p>Jorran takes a few calming breaths as he thinks.</p><p></p><p>"Stormtroopers aren't quite the crack troops that the clones were back in the day. We may need to be able to do something about either their communications or their ability to respond with air support. That means eliminating them before they can communicate problems or stopping their com activity. Unfortunately, I don't have ideas on how."</p><p></p><p>That leaves us in a bit of a dilemma." Arais stated. "If we don't take out their communications, they're free to send for support, and if we do, we can't call in another transport, plus it'll be suspicious."</p><p></p><p>He looks over Jorran for a moment, his eyes focusing on his lightsaber. "Wait a second...what if we just disable them? The nonlethal setting of our weapons is basically a rod of condensed electric interference. So if we use that on the ship's communications array, we might be able to disable it long enough to clear out their troops without destroying it outright. Jorran, you're more familiar with modern tech than we are. What do you think?"</p><p></p><p>Jorran's eyes brighten up "So you mean the low setting on these things can act like a localized pin-point Ion beam? Disrupting the electronics? If it works that way, then we could use the lightsabers to disrupt all sorts of systems, especially their comm array."</p><p></p><p>"In theory, Jorran. We've never actually tested them like that since we'd rather not risk destroying what few mechanical devices we do have here. Trying to disable the comm array is a risk, but one I think we shall have to take." Arias says.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p><p></p><p>Kia shrugs in response to Miera's inquiry, "So far the only things that I have done with the force are moving things and clouding people's minds. I haven't been using it that much, though I am a bit curious about how I was able to make a blind jump to here, I didn't have time to plot it out, I sort of just went with it. That could have been the force, or it could have just been luck. Either way, I think I am going to need both of them today." The young pilot pushes the throttle up to max out the ships speed, intending to be back before the Imps got to the villiage, not wanting to give them any reason to wonder at what she was doing, intending to put them slightly at ease by thinking she had stayed put.</p><p></p><p>"Timing is going to be critical with pulling this off, if we can get back fast enough, the Dawnsprinter can make a difference, she was modified to be a system patrol craft by CorSec, so she is packing a lot more then one could normally expect from a 1300."</p><p></p><p>"Good, unexpected weaponry might give us an edge if it comes to a fight." Miera said. "I would certainly expect it to come to a fight, I doubt they will just give away their hyperdrive. I doubt it even more highly that after losing a transport they will let us escape without a fight." Kia says, sounding amused. </p><p></p><p>"I'm curious about what you plan to do with your abilities. If you don't use them, they won't get any stronger."</p><p></p><p>At this statement however the amusement fades, and her eyebrow rises.</p><p></p><p>"Who said I was not going to use the force? Once we get off of this rock, I intend to find Luke Skywalker. He intends to rebuild the Jedi, I am going to be part of that. You said that you at least wanted to meet with him, if not help him do it, second thoughts?"</p><p></p><p>"Not at all, Kia. I simply don't wish to see talent go to waste." Miera gave Kia a wry smile. "And I do plan on meeting with this Luke fellow. After all, if he claims to have become a Jedi, that merits some investigation."</p><p></p><p>"He was trained by Jedi, so he probably counts. Unless General Kenobi and Yoda weren't capable of training Jedi I guess. I'd love to be there for this discussion." Kia says smirking. </p><p></p><p>"Although I bear Kenobi no ill will, it is worth noting that both he and Yoda have trained students to later became Sith, but that is a conversation for another time. Ah, that's it right over there." She points out rising mist in the distance. "You shouldn't have any trouble finding a spot to set down, the trees are quite sparse in that area. I'll go get everyone ready." With that, Miera leaves the cockpit and goes to ready the passengers.</p><p></p><p>The young pilot follows the path of the mist down to the cave, bringing her craft down into a gentle landing on the repulsor lifts, slowly cutting their power back until the ship was firmly on the ground.</p><p></p><p>"This is your friendly captain speaking, please disembark as swiftly as possible, I need to be back underway as soon as possible. Remember, you must be ready when we get back, I'll need you to board as quickly as possible to have a chance to make it off planet." The girl calls out to her passengers. She doesn't bother to shut the ship down, knowing that even with her 800 kph speed the timing would be tight, and having to warm the ship up again would make it even tighter.</p><p></p><p>"Miera, and anyone else who is coming back with me to the villiage, stay close to the ship, I want to be dirt free in 5 minutes." she calls out. "I think Miera and should be able to handle the weapons, I can do the flying, If we can get Aasan and Nakima to handle the shields and any repairs we should be able to get out of here, maybe, if we can get a hyperdrive and Nav Data."</p><p></p><p>With the crash survivors-turned villagers all outside the ship, Miera carfully guides them along the slippery rock face of the cliffside bordering a small lake formed by the waterfall. One by one, they disappear behind the waterfall, some of them making two trips to ensure that all their supplies have been unloaded from the Dawnsprinter. Once they are all safely hidden, Miera and Nakima re-board the ship and take seats in the cockpit. Kia notices that Miera is holding a small cloth bundle that, from its jagged appearance, looks to be holding a multidude of small rocks. In her mind's eye however, she feels a slight...something emenating from them, like the feeling you get when someone is sneaking up on you.</p><p></p><p>"That's everyone, right?" Nakima asks Miera as he buckles himself in.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, they should be safe in there for a while." Miera replies. "We should hurry back now, we might get back just in time to help out."</p><p></p><p>"Good, lets get going then. I'm going to need you back in the engineering section if it comes to a fight Nakima, Dawnsprinter is a patrol craft, so she is armed, but I'm not sure how well she'll stack up against a military assault shuttle, or whatever is up in orbit." </p><p></p><p>"Alright, then." Nakima replies, and pulls up a schematic of the ship on his console to discern where the engineering compartment is.. "Do you want me to head over there now, just in case we get ambushed?"</p><p></p><p>"Yea, please head back there now, I might need you to transfer power around. At least until we have a hyperdrive you can reroute the power that should be going to it into the engines to get us more speed, just be able to reverse it quickly." she tells the old mechanic.</p><p></p><p>"Gotcha." Nakima got up and headed back to the engineering section of the ship.</p><p></p><p>"Miera, do you think you'll be ok with running the ship weapons? I might have to do some fancy flying and not having to do the return fire will make it easier." Kia tells the Sethi master, powering up all the weapon systems as she lifts the ship off and maxes out the throttle, pushing it up to 800 kph staying just above the tree line.</p><p></p><p>"It's been a while since I've used one of these, but I'm confident it'll all come back to me at the right time." Meira says, looking over the fire controls.</p><p></p><p>She shifts the weapons controls from her primary console over to the co-pilots in front of the older woman. "I have some fire-control computer power to help you, it'll tell you what weapons we have, It'd do some good to familiarize yourself with them now." the young woman falls silent for a few minutes before speaking up again, "I don't know what I'm sensing, but I'm getting something from those whatevers your carrying, are they...are they those crystals that you were talking about?" she asks, opening herself to the force, as much as she is able, never having done so before. Having consciously tried to sense the contents of the pouch through the force, Kia feels as though they are glowing embers, radiating a soft heat. At her question, Miera looks up with slight amusement.</p><p></p><p>"So you can feel it, then?" Miera says, and draws a single faintly glowing white crystal from the bundle and holds it up for Kia to see. "It's these crystals that initially drew me to that cave. What most people know of such caves' existance normally don't realize is that like Force Sensitives, there are places in the Universe where the matter somehow maintains a connection to the Force. If these places are relatively free of dramatic erosion such as caves, which is why such places are where we normally find these crystals, their Force connection further preserves them. Minerals in these caves overflow with the Force, and eventually condense into gemstones infused with the force.</p><p></p><p>"You probably know that such crystals are normally vibrant in color, such as the normal blues, greens, reds, and so forth. Essentially, these force crystals are precious gems such as sapphires, rubies, emeralds and so forth, but unlike their mundane counterparts, they have power in the force. This power allows them the focus and control the condensed light beams in a lightsaber without disintegrating, and thus produce the blade.</p><p></p><p>"These particular crystals I carry however," Miera says, "are far rarer. As force crystals are akin to gemstones, these are essentialy Force-infused Flawless Diamonds. Appropriately enough, however, they are a great deal more precious than their colored relatives. You of course know that diamond is condensed organic material, so in a way, the force infusion gives some of them a certain...life, but not in the sense of living beings. It is as if they have their own spirit."</p><p></p><p>"They sort of feel hot, like embers giving off heat, I guess thats force energy" Kia says, "I can feel them even when I close my eyes. I feel more of a connection to those crystals then the one in my saber. I suppose that means that I need to build one for myself, with a crsytal that I feel connected with to truly be connected with my saber?" she asks the Sethi</p><p></p><p>"Normally a padawan is given a saber constructed by their master. It is only far into their training that they are capable of sensing the force within the more common force crystals and thus choose one and align it appropriately within the saber. These are <em>far</em> stronger in the force, so that one without formal training such as yourself can sense them. Used in our lightsabers, they give our weapons certain abilities that normal force crystals cannot. As you have seen, they can allow us to incapacitate rather than kill an opponent, a very valuable advantage over normal blades."</p><p></p><p>She is about to continue, but is interrupted when her commlink buzzes, and Arias' voice is heard on the other end. "Miera, could you ask Kia how much longer do we have until the Imperials arrive? We've formulated a plan, and I think we might be able to get ourselves a second transport sent down here if you are back before they are."</p><p></p><p>Kia begins to figure out how to give him an answer, both by checking the Chronometer vs the 2 hours that the imperials told them earlier, and also by seeing if she couldn't get a more precise estimate from the sensors.</p><p></p><p>Kia passes along all the information she can, both on the eta of the Imps, and their own eta. "After all, the cave wasn't that far, and we are moving 800kph, shouldn't be more then another 15 minutes for us to get back Arias. I read another 45 until the Imperials land, so we'll have a good half of an hour to prepare."</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p><p></p><p>"Alright, so we still have some time, thanks Kia." Arias replies.</p><p></p><p>"Well," Arias says to his gathered students after speaking over the commlink, "you'll soon be in your first fight against other human beings. It may be tempting to simply stun them, but remember that these troops you will be facing are trained killers. If we let them live, they'll only continue killing those we may consider allies, and perhaps even innocents."</p><p></p><p>Assan generally kept quiet to as not to start any arguments that would slow things down. Eventually, though, he spoke up, "We need to know where exactly they're coming down before anything else. Disabling their equipment won't stop them from fighting, and if they aren't planning on coming out shooting, it will make them. I agree with the plan, but its useless if they set down too far from us..." he trailed off a moment, then thought about it, "They could come down right on top of us or out and away to move in. Depends on who's calling the shots. I've got a bad feeling we're going to be stuck trusting in the Force to predict that."</p><p></p><p>Obviously, the Kel Dor didn't like hinging everything on the Force, especially considering that it was just as easy to make a mistake with that as it was with anything else.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p><p></p><p>"Actually, one very rarely feels a connection to their lightsaber simply by constructing it." Miera says, "It isn't unheard of for someone to find a crystal that they feel an odd connection too, but neither is it common. The bond that you describe forms over time as one wields the blade and they become more comfortable with it. Eventually, holding your lightsaber feels as natural as anything, as if it is a part of yourself, thus enabling the sorts of displays you saw from Arias earlier. So to answer your question, you might be able to attain such a connection to your lightsaber if you </p><p>use a crystal such as you describe, but using it more often would be more likely."</p><p></p><p>"If we don't know where they'll be landing, shouldn't we spread out to cover more area?" Adrial offers.</p><p></p><p>"Wait a moment," Kal adds "couldn't Kia's ship sense those ships to begin with? Why don't we just wait until she gets back and use her ship to find out where the Imperials are going to land?"</p><p></p><p>"Hmmm..." Arias mutters, "that's better than just waiting until they land to find out. In any case, we still need a plan of approach. Someone will need to stay out of sight when they land, so they can disable the communications array to prevent any alarms being sounded. At least they'll have the cover of darkness to help." He looked at the horizon, where the planet's sun was nearly set.</p><p></p><p>"A diversion to draw away some of the troopers would help, but it can't reveal our intentions." Arias said. He looked over to the remains of the vornskrs which had pursued him last night. There was nothing but scarce bones left, attesting to the voracious appetite of the masliths. "Maybe we can get some help from the local wildlife." He turned on the commlink. "Miera, do you think you could you call Alloj's pack on your way over here?"</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Angcuru, post: 2941646, member: 10948"] [b]Ch.15 - No Time Like the Present[/b] The trip back down from the asteriod belt was one of irritation for Kia, she had hoped for some chance of salvaging the hyper-drive, but finding it destroyed, and that she was indeed trapped in the solar system was very vexing for someone who's survival had depended on her mobility. While she could certainly learn from the Sethi while she was here, she hadn't wanted to be here at all, especially not now that she knew what it was she wanted to be doing instead of drifting from sysytem to system. The former security officer candidate spent the rest of the afternoon in silent but dogged pacing, going over in her head her options, and limited as they were, they kept ruunning the same narrow path that her feet were. Being surrounded by people that were so much older then she was didn't help, with the exception of Kal, they could all remember the old Republic, had in fact been adults during it. And Kal, well, he was just a kid from some backwater that was crushing on her since she was the first new female to show up in his entire life time, so she pointedly ignored his practicing, trying not to encourage him to show off. Adrial's words immediately cut any thinking that was going on in Assan's mind. He knew when to get back into business mode, and this was definitely one of those times. He was up on his feet as Kia was already leaving, but as he headed after her, decided a question was in order, "What do you mean little blue dots?" He could only hope the breath mask didn't make him sound angry...though knowing how things usually worked with these humans, it would. Or worse. When Adrial burst in Kia was in motion almost before she finished her sentence, all the pent up energy finally put to use in an all out sprint to the cockpitt of the ship. She didn't intend to stop slow down til she hit the cockpitt, and she intended to make it there in record time. Adrial followed Aasan and Kia to the Dawnsprinter, trying to catch her breath while explaining what she saw. "I was looking around the ship, trying to figure out what all the little lights and screens are. I was checking out this little table in the um...recreation area...that's it, when there was this beeping noise from the front of the ship. I went to look at it, and there were all these little blue dots moving around this screen that didn't have anything on it just a few hours earlier." They arrived at the Dawnsprinter as Adrial finished speaking, and within seconds were looking at the ship's long-range passive radar screen. From the looks of it, there were upwards of thirty ships on screen, and those were only the ones using active radar that the ship's sensors could detect. Almost on cue, the console-mounted comms station lit up. "....Dawnsprinter..........ead m-...............ICS Interdictor.........-opy?..-alling the.........inter, do yo-....." Kia smacks the comm station in the time honored tradition of electronics users everywhere, letting the unit understand how vexed she would be if it didn't behave. She started to adjust the station, trying to clear away the static. "That sounds like an Imperial capital ship, especially with such a large escort convoy. I don't want to run into the Empire, but I don't want to be here on this planet more." she tells "ICS Interdictor, this is the Dawnsprinter, come in, I repeat this is the Dawnsprinter. My Hyperdrive got slagged by the jump, and we are stuck on this dirtball. Any assistance you can offer would be appreciated." Those at the Dawnsprinter's controls hear a different, more authoritative voice on the other end swear in frustration. "ICS Interdictor to Dawnsprinter crew member, you will identify yourself and all surviving crew immediately. We are sending a transport to your present location, do not leave the area." Almost as the trasmission is finished, the rest of those who were in the Sethi hut arrive on the Dawnsprinter. Jorran tenses noticably at the confirmation of the Empire's arrival and Kal seems shocked at this voice coming from the controls, while Arias and Miera exchange a quick glance at the mention of the Interdictor. "Kia," Jorran says quietly, "if the Empire knows the name of this ship, they'll know who owned it as well, wouldn't they? Isn't there a price on your head?" "I'm not liking where you going with this Jorran, I am really not liking it." Kia replies, "I think I am going to like where the Empire goes with it even less. Governments are soo not opened minded about insurrection." she sighs in frustration. "I'm not even 100% sure that the empire would rescue your colony if they didn't get something out of it. Sending a task force this large to answer a distress call is all wrong, I'm small stakes to them, I have no clue whats so important to them here, and if they deem it important enough to send a fleet like this, then they might deem no survivors a good thing as well. Decide for youselves, but I think your best chances, and mine, are appropriating one of their hyperdrives. The empire isn't exactly known for being kind to force users." "ICS Interdictor, This is Kia Obscurra of the Dawnsprinter, there are no other crew. At the moment I am in the middle of a camp of people who were stranded here when their ship crashed back during the Clone Wars. I request aid and evacuation for them according to Galactic Law." she comms up to the capital ship. "Either way you decide, it'd be easy enough to tell that your villiage is here when they land, lying when the truth is so obvious isn't worth the effort." she says to the Sethi, loosening her blaster in its holster. Aasan cursed himself as he got into the cockpit as Kia was finishing her communication to the other ship. Too late now. He sighed(which sounded more like a loud scratching noise through the breather), and said, "The less they know, the better...I don't think our friends would really like any extra company. If it is Imperials, you might have just given them an excuse to come down here with blasters blazing..." he trailed off and tried to think of a way to minimize any more problems, "Don't tell them anything else. And if they send a ship down, tell them to track your distress beacon. We'll move it a good distance out of here so they won't be coming down right here in the middle of everything and we can figure out what these people plan to do." "The transport is already on its way here Aasan, it is going to see the villiage whether we tell them about it or not. It already had a fix on this location because these were the coordinates the distress beacon was broadcasting. We cannot change that, telling them what is going to readily evident to them when they get here doesn't cost anything, since they will find it out no matter what." Kia says with a shrug. She turns to the Sethi Masters, wondering what they would have the settlers do. Whatever the Sethi decided, she could at least ready the ship for immediate take off, she might not have to lift off, but if she did, it would be nice to be ready. Kia also set about making sure the ship's armament was as ready as it could be. Jorran watched as the radar screen showed the Imperial Fleet closing in on their location. The computer calculated their arrival to be within 2 hours. "If the Empire is as brutal as you make it out to be, I doubt they intend to leave any survivors." Miera said. "Any right-minded strategist wouldn't let any non-military personnel leave the system." Arias added, "Think about it. The Empire is fighting a galaxy-wide civil war. Here they've found a previously unknown system, with unknown stocks of resources and potential locations to set up military bases. As far as we know, the Rebellion is clueless about the whole situation, and I think the Empire would want to keep it that way. And the best way to do that is to make sure that no one lives to tell them about it." An audibal *gulp* simultaneously escaped Kal's and Adrial's throats. "Kia," Miera asked, "how many people can you fit aboard this ship? Not for a long journey, but packed in for about ten minutes tops?" "If it were just for a short period, I could probably get 80 to 100 if they were in the cargo bay, this is a transport ship after all, people are much smaller then my usual cargo. The only thing in there now are, or were, my upgrade components which I canabalized a bit to get her in the air again, get people in there, and the corridors. I just wouldn't want to be responsible for the jouncing around they are going to get, especially when we are chased." Kia offered. "Good, that's more than enough." Miera said, sounding a bit relieved "Good how?" Jorran asked. "Without a hyperdrive, it's inevitable that they'll catch us and then, well..." He drew his finger across his throat, clearly making his point. "We don't need to outrun the Empire's thugs, just to hide the innocent people in this village." Meira glanced towards Arias, who nodded. "There is a subterranian cave a few hundred kilometers out from the village where we could easily hide them." "But they're tracking this ship." Kal added, "The Empire will know where we're moving them to, and slaughter them all." "Not exactly." Nakima chimed in, "They're tracking the Dawnsprinter's IFF transponder. If we remove it from the ship and hook it up to the village's power generator, we can move about with the Empire being none the wiser, as long as we stay close to this planet's surface." "That's all well and good," Adrial piped up, "but what do we do after they're hidden away? We can't just sit here and wait for them to come kill us!"" "All in due time, Adrial." Miera lightly chided her. "Ok, then thats what we'll do, gather up your people, and I'll start working on the transponder with Aasan, and Nakima if he'll help. Once your people are out of here, I'll come back, and get ready for the Empire. If I can get their transport's hyperdrive, we can repair the Dawnsprinter and get the heck out of here." Kia says, sounding positive, like it'd be a stoll in the park, then again, she is a Corellian. The Jedi hopeful turns to the transponder once she finishes double checking the ships armaments, and starts getting it ready to pull out of its casing. With the three of them working on it, the transponder's transplant to the village generator goes over quickly and smoothly. Jorran and Kia leave Nakima to put the finishing touches on the rig to keep the transponder transmitting. "Do you have any weapons leftover from your crashed ship?" Kia asks Miera, "The Dawnsprinter is, or rather was, a CorSec Patrol ship, so she has better armament then a normal YT 1300, but I don't know what there transport will be, maybe a Lamda, but it might be something worse, like an Assault Shuttle." Kia says with a soft sigh. "I think the best bet would be to ambush the Stormtroopers. 10 Troopers per squad, probably 2 or 3 squads to secure this area, and then whatever crew on the transport, makes it 35 or so." she says, not sounding terribly pleased. "Just the few blasters we had on board. It was a refugee ship, after all." Miera replied while helping some of the older villagers on board. "Don't worry about that right now, we'll prepare for the Imperials once these people are safe." She and Arias have hurriedly explained to situation to the villagers as the repairs were taken care of. As when Kia returns to her ship, there are many of them sitting in the rec area, standing in the halls, and generally trying to get comfortable in a very unfamiliar environment. Adrial had the good sense to remember to bring along a few day's worth of food just in case, as was evident by the baskets of fresh vegetables and suchlike now in the storage compartments. "That's all of them," Miera says to Kia regarding the new passengers. "Arias and the others are preparing some surprises for the enemy troops. They should be ready by the time we get back from where we're headed." She indicates the pilot's seat. "We're ready when you are." Kia nods, pleased at the quick response of the villagers to the summons. "Ok, this could be quite rough, especially on people who haven't really gotten used to flight." she calls out in a loud enough voice to carry along the corridors. The young pilot drops herself into her chair, and swiftly cuts in the repulsorlifts, lifting the ship to just above the tree line, she had already gotten the ship itself ready for flight, all that was needed was thrust and the ship would move out, hopefully low enough that they would blend in and catch the Imperials napping. "Where to, Miera?" she asks, set to carry out the course as swiftly as possible, knowing time was critical. Miera points out a thin strip of blue than can be barely seen in the distance as the Dawnsprinter hovers. "There, that river flows from a lake to the west. If we follow it to the source we'll eventually find a waterfall, and behind that is where we'll hide these innocent people." She regards Kia curiosly for a moment. "Before we get near it, you should know that it is very, very strong in the force. Even if you aren't actively trying to sense it, you'll feel it growing more intense as we get nearer." "Umm, ok, I don't actually have any experience with sensing things through the force, and I have never actively done it." Kia says, shifting the heading of the ship, and then powering up the thrusters. With the repulsor lifts on, it was sort of like a surfboard, floating on top of the water, and the thrusters were her feet kicking against the water. She gradually ramped the power up to max, trying not to discomfort her passengers, especially since she'd probably be the one to clean up the deck plating. [center]***[/center] Jorran hurries to aid Arais and the others left behind in the village with setting up some surprises for the incoming imperials. Jorran's hurry doesn't look rushed however, he just simply moves with efficient deliberacy and speed. "So, Arias, what's the plan? How many do you think we can actually take? Or are we going to pull a diversion that will allow us to take their transport without having to eliminate the imperial threat?" "How many can we handle?" Arias regards Jorran with a confidant smile and leans against the pallisade wall. "Jorran, do you recall when the Seperatist forces attempted to take Coruscant?" "How could I forget?" The younger man replied. "My master and I were studying star maps in the Temple Archives when the attack began." "Then you'll recall that the Temple was assaulted by no less than a dozen full Battallions of battle droids. Also that fewer than six jedi were present at the temple at the time of the attack." "Of course, what is your point?" "Take a wild guess at who headed the defenses." "Oh..." [center]***[/center] Miera arches an eyebrow. "You've never tried to feel out your surroundings with the Force? Well, whatever your plans for your talents, I suggest you try it out sometime." They heard a chorus of 'ooh's behind them in the rec room, where the young Twil'lek girl and her pack of friends have surrounded the holo table. Apparently they'd figured out how to turn on one of the holographic games, and were taking turns making the pieces eat each other. Kids. [center]***[/center] Aris regarded the walls they had built to keep out the local wildlife. "Hmm. If these Stormtroopers are anything like the Clones I commanded back in the war, they'll be tougher than your average soldier. Whether or not we take their transport, we'll have to deal with them one way or another." He flexed his fingers, the joints popping in anticipation "I doubt they'll surrender, so we'll have to take care of them...permanently. No point in fortifying the walls, the'll be no good against modern weapons." He regarded Jorran, Kal, and Adrial. "You three can probably take on a good number of them, especially working together. Anyway, once the killing starts the whole area will probably be overrun with Masliths faster than you can blink." Arias crouched down on a log near the fire pit and began to formulate his plan. "Our best bet is to take out the troopers on the first transport as fast as we can, then get to work on removing the hyperdrive. Aasan, that's where you come in. Once the area is clear, you will start working on removal of the drive while Kal, Jorran, and Adrial guard the shuttle. By that time, Miera and Kia will be back with the Dawnsprinter, along with Nakima, who can help Aasan with the drive transplant. Once we've swapped the transport's drive over to Kia's ship, we'll still have to get another to move the villagers. For that we'll have to get the Imperials to land another transport or shuttle. It'd be best if we could get them to send a cargo ship, so I suggest we leave one of the assault transport pilots alive so he can put in that request for us." He looked at Aasan and his gathered students. "Any further ideas?" Jorran takes a few calming breaths as he thinks. "Stormtroopers aren't quite the crack troops that the clones were back in the day. We may need to be able to do something about either their communications or their ability to respond with air support. That means eliminating them before they can communicate problems or stopping their com activity. Unfortunately, I don't have ideas on how." That leaves us in a bit of a dilemma." Arais stated. "If we don't take out their communications, they're free to send for support, and if we do, we can't call in another transport, plus it'll be suspicious." He looks over Jorran for a moment, his eyes focusing on his lightsaber. "Wait a second...what if we just disable them? The nonlethal setting of our weapons is basically a rod of condensed electric interference. So if we use that on the ship's communications array, we might be able to disable it long enough to clear out their troops without destroying it outright. Jorran, you're more familiar with modern tech than we are. What do you think?" Jorran's eyes brighten up "So you mean the low setting on these things can act like a localized pin-point Ion beam? Disrupting the electronics? If it works that way, then we could use the lightsabers to disrupt all sorts of systems, especially their comm array." "In theory, Jorran. We've never actually tested them like that since we'd rather not risk destroying what few mechanical devices we do have here. Trying to disable the comm array is a risk, but one I think we shall have to take." Arias says. [center]***[/center] Kia shrugs in response to Miera's inquiry, "So far the only things that I have done with the force are moving things and clouding people's minds. I haven't been using it that much, though I am a bit curious about how I was able to make a blind jump to here, I didn't have time to plot it out, I sort of just went with it. That could have been the force, or it could have just been luck. Either way, I think I am going to need both of them today." The young pilot pushes the throttle up to max out the ships speed, intending to be back before the Imps got to the villiage, not wanting to give them any reason to wonder at what she was doing, intending to put them slightly at ease by thinking she had stayed put. "Timing is going to be critical with pulling this off, if we can get back fast enough, the Dawnsprinter can make a difference, she was modified to be a system patrol craft by CorSec, so she is packing a lot more then one could normally expect from a 1300." "Good, unexpected weaponry might give us an edge if it comes to a fight." Miera said. "I would certainly expect it to come to a fight, I doubt they will just give away their hyperdrive. I doubt it even more highly that after losing a transport they will let us escape without a fight." Kia says, sounding amused. "I'm curious about what you plan to do with your abilities. If you don't use them, they won't get any stronger." At this statement however the amusement fades, and her eyebrow rises. "Who said I was not going to use the force? Once we get off of this rock, I intend to find Luke Skywalker. He intends to rebuild the Jedi, I am going to be part of that. You said that you at least wanted to meet with him, if not help him do it, second thoughts?" "Not at all, Kia. I simply don't wish to see talent go to waste." Miera gave Kia a wry smile. "And I do plan on meeting with this Luke fellow. After all, if he claims to have become a Jedi, that merits some investigation." "He was trained by Jedi, so he probably counts. Unless General Kenobi and Yoda weren't capable of training Jedi I guess. I'd love to be there for this discussion." Kia says smirking. "Although I bear Kenobi no ill will, it is worth noting that both he and Yoda have trained students to later became Sith, but that is a conversation for another time. Ah, that's it right over there." She points out rising mist in the distance. "You shouldn't have any trouble finding a spot to set down, the trees are quite sparse in that area. I'll go get everyone ready." With that, Miera leaves the cockpit and goes to ready the passengers. The young pilot follows the path of the mist down to the cave, bringing her craft down into a gentle landing on the repulsor lifts, slowly cutting their power back until the ship was firmly on the ground. "This is your friendly captain speaking, please disembark as swiftly as possible, I need to be back underway as soon as possible. Remember, you must be ready when we get back, I'll need you to board as quickly as possible to have a chance to make it off planet." The girl calls out to her passengers. She doesn't bother to shut the ship down, knowing that even with her 800 kph speed the timing would be tight, and having to warm the ship up again would make it even tighter. "Miera, and anyone else who is coming back with me to the villiage, stay close to the ship, I want to be dirt free in 5 minutes." she calls out. "I think Miera and should be able to handle the weapons, I can do the flying, If we can get Aasan and Nakima to handle the shields and any repairs we should be able to get out of here, maybe, if we can get a hyperdrive and Nav Data." With the crash survivors-turned villagers all outside the ship, Miera carfully guides them along the slippery rock face of the cliffside bordering a small lake formed by the waterfall. One by one, they disappear behind the waterfall, some of them making two trips to ensure that all their supplies have been unloaded from the Dawnsprinter. Once they are all safely hidden, Miera and Nakima re-board the ship and take seats in the cockpit. Kia notices that Miera is holding a small cloth bundle that, from its jagged appearance, looks to be holding a multidude of small rocks. In her mind's eye however, she feels a slight...something emenating from them, like the feeling you get when someone is sneaking up on you. "That's everyone, right?" Nakima asks Miera as he buckles himself in. "Yes, they should be safe in there for a while." Miera replies. "We should hurry back now, we might get back just in time to help out." "Good, lets get going then. I'm going to need you back in the engineering section if it comes to a fight Nakima, Dawnsprinter is a patrol craft, so she is armed, but I'm not sure how well she'll stack up against a military assault shuttle, or whatever is up in orbit." "Alright, then." Nakima replies, and pulls up a schematic of the ship on his console to discern where the engineering compartment is.. "Do you want me to head over there now, just in case we get ambushed?" "Yea, please head back there now, I might need you to transfer power around. At least until we have a hyperdrive you can reroute the power that should be going to it into the engines to get us more speed, just be able to reverse it quickly." she tells the old mechanic. "Gotcha." Nakima got up and headed back to the engineering section of the ship. "Miera, do you think you'll be ok with running the ship weapons? I might have to do some fancy flying and not having to do the return fire will make it easier." Kia tells the Sethi master, powering up all the weapon systems as she lifts the ship off and maxes out the throttle, pushing it up to 800 kph staying just above the tree line. "It's been a while since I've used one of these, but I'm confident it'll all come back to me at the right time." Meira says, looking over the fire controls. She shifts the weapons controls from her primary console over to the co-pilots in front of the older woman. "I have some fire-control computer power to help you, it'll tell you what weapons we have, It'd do some good to familiarize yourself with them now." the young woman falls silent for a few minutes before speaking up again, "I don't know what I'm sensing, but I'm getting something from those whatevers your carrying, are they...are they those crystals that you were talking about?" she asks, opening herself to the force, as much as she is able, never having done so before. Having consciously tried to sense the contents of the pouch through the force, Kia feels as though they are glowing embers, radiating a soft heat. At her question, Miera looks up with slight amusement. "So you can feel it, then?" Miera says, and draws a single faintly glowing white crystal from the bundle and holds it up for Kia to see. "It's these crystals that initially drew me to that cave. What most people know of such caves' existance normally don't realize is that like Force Sensitives, there are places in the Universe where the matter somehow maintains a connection to the Force. If these places are relatively free of dramatic erosion such as caves, which is why such places are where we normally find these crystals, their Force connection further preserves them. Minerals in these caves overflow with the Force, and eventually condense into gemstones infused with the force. "You probably know that such crystals are normally vibrant in color, such as the normal blues, greens, reds, and so forth. Essentially, these force crystals are precious gems such as sapphires, rubies, emeralds and so forth, but unlike their mundane counterparts, they have power in the force. This power allows them the focus and control the condensed light beams in a lightsaber without disintegrating, and thus produce the blade. "These particular crystals I carry however," Miera says, "are far rarer. As force crystals are akin to gemstones, these are essentialy Force-infused Flawless Diamonds. Appropriately enough, however, they are a great deal more precious than their colored relatives. You of course know that diamond is condensed organic material, so in a way, the force infusion gives some of them a certain...life, but not in the sense of living beings. It is as if they have their own spirit." "They sort of feel hot, like embers giving off heat, I guess thats force energy" Kia says, "I can feel them even when I close my eyes. I feel more of a connection to those crystals then the one in my saber. I suppose that means that I need to build one for myself, with a crsytal that I feel connected with to truly be connected with my saber?" she asks the Sethi "Normally a padawan is given a saber constructed by their master. It is only far into their training that they are capable of sensing the force within the more common force crystals and thus choose one and align it appropriately within the saber. These are [i]far[/i] stronger in the force, so that one without formal training such as yourself can sense them. Used in our lightsabers, they give our weapons certain abilities that normal force crystals cannot. As you have seen, they can allow us to incapacitate rather than kill an opponent, a very valuable advantage over normal blades." She is about to continue, but is interrupted when her commlink buzzes, and Arias' voice is heard on the other end. "Miera, could you ask Kia how much longer do we have until the Imperials arrive? We've formulated a plan, and I think we might be able to get ourselves a second transport sent down here if you are back before they are." Kia begins to figure out how to give him an answer, both by checking the Chronometer vs the 2 hours that the imperials told them earlier, and also by seeing if she couldn't get a more precise estimate from the sensors. Kia passes along all the information she can, both on the eta of the Imps, and their own eta. "After all, the cave wasn't that far, and we are moving 800kph, shouldn't be more then another 15 minutes for us to get back Arias. I read another 45 until the Imperials land, so we'll have a good half of an hour to prepare." [center]***[/center] "Alright, so we still have some time, thanks Kia." Arias replies. "Well," Arias says to his gathered students after speaking over the commlink, "you'll soon be in your first fight against other human beings. It may be tempting to simply stun them, but remember that these troops you will be facing are trained killers. If we let them live, they'll only continue killing those we may consider allies, and perhaps even innocents." Assan generally kept quiet to as not to start any arguments that would slow things down. Eventually, though, he spoke up, "We need to know where exactly they're coming down before anything else. Disabling their equipment won't stop them from fighting, and if they aren't planning on coming out shooting, it will make them. I agree with the plan, but its useless if they set down too far from us..." he trailed off a moment, then thought about it, "They could come down right on top of us or out and away to move in. Depends on who's calling the shots. I've got a bad feeling we're going to be stuck trusting in the Force to predict that." Obviously, the Kel Dor didn't like hinging everything on the Force, especially considering that it was just as easy to make a mistake with that as it was with anything else. [center]***[/center] "Actually, one very rarely feels a connection to their lightsaber simply by constructing it." Miera says, "It isn't unheard of for someone to find a crystal that they feel an odd connection too, but neither is it common. The bond that you describe forms over time as one wields the blade and they become more comfortable with it. Eventually, holding your lightsaber feels as natural as anything, as if it is a part of yourself, thus enabling the sorts of displays you saw from Arias earlier. So to answer your question, you might be able to attain such a connection to your lightsaber if you use a crystal such as you describe, but using it more often would be more likely." "If we don't know where they'll be landing, shouldn't we spread out to cover more area?" Adrial offers. "Wait a moment," Kal adds "couldn't Kia's ship sense those ships to begin with? Why don't we just wait until she gets back and use her ship to find out where the Imperials are going to land?" "Hmmm..." Arias mutters, "that's better than just waiting until they land to find out. In any case, we still need a plan of approach. Someone will need to stay out of sight when they land, so they can disable the communications array to prevent any alarms being sounded. At least they'll have the cover of darkness to help." He looked at the horizon, where the planet's sun was nearly set. "A diversion to draw away some of the troopers would help, but it can't reveal our intentions." Arias said. He looked over to the remains of the vornskrs which had pursued him last night. There was nothing but scarce bones left, attesting to the voracious appetite of the masliths. "Maybe we can get some help from the local wildlife." He turned on the commlink. "Miera, do you think you could you call Alloj's pack on your way over here?" [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Star Wars - A New Power Ch. 24 - Departure
Top