Open Terrain

*Saurn waits for a time, then turns back to Sephiria. All the cold hardness of his eyes is gone, replaced by sorrow.*

"Are you ready?"

*At her nod, he grasps her by the arm, then contorts his face with a snarl. He slams the hatch open, dragging her into the room again, shouting insults at her the whole way. He opens the gate and throws her in, relocking the gate before Jago even has time to move. As he turns to walk out, he delivers one last insult over his shoulder, aimed at the Jedi boy.*

"Pathetic. If you are this much of a mewling coward, I can only imagine the weak scum you were spawned from. Do the universe a favor, lad. Snap your own neck."

*The hatch slams shut behind him, and he leans heavily on a nearby table, groaning. As much as he disliked admitting it, he hated the way he was going about this. Not the boy, he had to be broken. It was necessary to show him the weakness the tainted light side had imprisioned him in. No...what he hated was using the lass this way, leaving her in that cold cell. Alone. He...he thought he might love her. But, perhaps that wasn't the word, at least not in a romantic way. Why, then? Why did he feel anything at all? He grips the edge of the metal table tighter. Unbidden, memories race back to him.*


*A small boy runs through a burning city, the screams of the dying echoing about him as small arms fire and artillery shells light up the sky. Fire rains from the sky above, fire and smoke shooting into the air wherever it lands. Buildings are incinerated before his eyes, others falling as their supports are destroyed. The boy cries aloud in terror as a large piece of a wall nearly crushes him, just missing his body as he moves aside at the last second. Where was she? She had to be here! Somewhere! She must! He promised...he promised Father. "Don't ever leave her!" he said, "Take care of her!". With a wrenching cry, the boy throws his head back, screaming at the sky.*

"Kailaaaaaaaaaaaaani!"

*A shell expoldes nearby. The boy flies backward head over heels, slamming into a pile of debris. As his vision fades, he moans to the air:*

"Father....forgive me...."

*With a roar, Saurn forces the memories out of his head. He stands rooted in place over the table, shaking. He feels an odd pain in his hand, and looks down. Amazed, he realizes his fingers are squeezed in to deep groves bent into the metal surface....grooves his hand caused. He frees his hand, and sits, unsure of what to think.*

~=After she had a few drinks of the water she put the bottle down and walked around the room. She said nothing, but rather quickly wrote everything down on a datapad which she thrust into his hands. As he read she made herself busy by grabbing whatever heavy objects she could find to throw around the room.=~

"The Jedi you took, is a Master that much I can tell you." she began, picking up the half empty bottle which she threw against the wall. She stood still for a moment, relishing the sound of shattering glass"I can break him, but it would be unwise to pull him completely to the Darkside. His mind is really like that of a child, but he doesn't realize it yet. He's tasted it's power and he fears it so much he won't touch it." she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She watched the water trickle down the wall before she threw herself against the wall partly slipping on the water. She cringed as she felt the shards of glass cut through her clothes and into her theigh. "The most that either of us can do is make him question the Lightside, we can pull him towards the darkness but right now he'll refuse it and fight. Torture won't work on him, he'll die before he turns."

"Do you mind?" she asked in a low whisper as she approached him, putting his hands on her shoulders and gestured for him to tear her clothes. The sound of tearing fabric could be heard followed by her muffled scream. Then for the moment there is silence as she grabbed the datapad again, writing some more in it.


"Fly towards Aargau, use access clearance AVI451014050244 when they ask you for your clearance. Proceed to coordinates 978-0-495. Have no worry, he will side with us. If he falls too fast and too hard towards the Dark he will relapse and become stronger as a Jedi. This must be gradual for him to accept it fully. Now I need to figure out a plan to 'exit'. When we land get me out first, I need to be in the Citadel. Say I escaped and killed myself or something... my work with him is almost done. I will meet you again when I am more appropriately dressed for the occasion."

~=For a moment she thought about Kaja outside, waiting for her. She sighed heavily knowing that to pull him into this will endanger him. He did not know her true nature, he only fell in love with the girl behind the mask but that mask was what who she was. Perhaps one day he will understand. But for now they must go their own separate ways. She began to take off her clothes, tossing him a cold glare to keep reading. She heard something crash against the floor as she threw her tunic off and picked it up curiously. She ruffled through the fabric and found her lightsaber tucked away in one of the obtuse hidden pockets. She pulled it out and handed it over to Saurn to care for while she was in the 'cage'. With a nod she redressed quickly and roughly, tossing her mind back into a believable chaotic state as he grabbed her arm.=~

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~=Pain coursed through her arm as he grabbed her roughly, his fingers leaving deep indents in her skin. She clutched the tattered remains of clothing to her, shuddering in pain as he threw her back into the cage. She was in a state beyond emotion, feeling and tears, scurrying over into the corner of the cell furthest away from him and curling up into a ball. A look of sheer terror was written all over her face as she lay on the ground, not moving as he spoke.=~

<<Saurn>>
"Pathetic. If you are this much of a mewling coward, I can only imagine the weak scum you were spawned from. Do the universe a favor, lad. Snap your own neck."

~=For a long time she did not move or cry, but just breathed heavily; her gaze lost in blank space while blood continued to ooze from her thigh. The pain from her bruised arm or her lacerated thigh felt distant. She felt numb. It was as if in that instance the very soul within her died. Replacing it was an empty void where she should have been. She felt safe in the corner. It was closed in. She knew that no one can grab her from behind there. Eventually her eyes did begin to roam over the cell, watching Jago carefully. She did not know what to say to him. There were no words that could come to mind. She continued to lie on the ground, moving her lips but saying not a word, silently pleading for someone to save her.=~

~ From the moment Eiwa had returned, hurled back into the cage by the savage Sith Lord, Jago had been too stunned by her appearance and demeanor to even react. The way she practically crawled into her corner, the blood dripping from her leg, the ripped clothing and dishevelled appearance ... He could almost recreate what had happened in his mind: she being thrown against a wall, knocking over a glass object, a shattered piece burying itself in her leg, her tunic being ripped off as she tried to fight, bruising her arm as she did ...

He was unable to say anything as he looked at her in horror, not scared of her, but afraid for how long this had been going on. Didn't she say something about being pregnant?

Force in Chaos ... The poor girl ...

Jago didn't quite know how to comfort someone after they had been abused, beaten, and raped. The whole scene seemed surreal; some terrible nightmare that he just couldn't wake up from. The hushed screams he had heard, knowing for a fact they had come from the broken woman next to him ... It was soul-shattering, heart-wrenching, digging up every empathic and pitying emotion he had within him. He wanted to cry for her: what had happened, what he had been privy to ...

And the Sith was right. He was completely and utterly powerless to stop it from happening. Were he a better man, he would've thrown himself at the girl's captor, sword or no. He may have been gutted, he may not have been, but at least he would have did something, not backed down the moment a weapon was pointed at him.

What had become of him? Gladly he would've rushed to death to save another before. A Jedi's life was sacrifice, after all. Did something after his duel with his Padawan change him irrevocably? To have struck down Gideon in coldness from seeing him harm the one he loved ... To have been so emotionally and mentally damaged from the ordeal that he actually attempted suicide, only to be brought back by the very same woman who had nearly died because of him ...

It had changed him. Such actions, such memories, that would haunt his every moment for the rest of his life. No longer so optimistic, no longer so bold, no longer with his characteristic-cheery smile. Jago had been darkened by the experience. Some called it mature, he believed that a piece of him had died that day. He wasn't the same, not by a longshot.

He let the memory of a moment of rage and darkness go for the moment, focusing again on Eiwa. Slowly, cautiously, he slid over to her, catching her eyes for just a moment and nodding slowly in assurance, as if telling her that hurting her was the last thing on his mind. Gently, his palm rested on her knee, that azure gaze of his conveying nothing but pure, unhindered care. He stayed there for a moment, not really sure of what to do or say, not knowing if anything he said would really be of help ...

Then, just as slowly and cautiously as he had moved closer, his arms found their way lightly around her body, almost tenderly cradling her against him in an attempt to comfort her with a caring presence, one he assumed she had not felt in some time ...~

*Saurn checks the notes recorded on the datapad. He steals a glance every now and then to the cargo compartment hatch. Was she alive? Was she really in pain? Was it more than just an act? He found himself praying to his people's gods, gods he thought dead or non-existent to begin with, that she was well. He shakes his head, and returns to his reading. This was ridiculous.

At the end of the datapad, he comes across a rather cryptic message:*

:: Fly towards Aargau, use access clearance AVI451014050244 when they ask you for your clearance. Proceed to coordinates 978-0-495. ::

*He frowns, tilting his head to one side. Aragau? Why in the name of the Dark would she want to go there? Sighing, he heads to the cockpit and starts preping the ship to take off. They'd been on this mudball of a planet too long, anyway. He makes several flight checks. That right engine still wasn't the same after that rather botched landing a few days ago. He chuckles as he thinks over the events of that night. Corellian ale could be rather uncentering if consumed in large amounts...and Saurn had definitely consumed a very large amount of the ale, and then some.

Deciding that all is in order, he powers up the engines and seals the outer hatches. He gently eases back on the controls, and the Infiltrator rises above the treeline. He cuts in the main thrusters, and the ship noses skyward, headed for the upper atmosphere. He activates the cloak, but knows the Jedi defenses probably picked him up already. No matter. He would merely take a different route. He circles the planet a full three times to confuse anyone on his ship's position, then makes his way out of the planet's atmosphere, then out of orbit. It takes a little longer to program the coordinates for Aragau, as the planet wasn't in his navicomputer to begin with. But soon, all is well. He deactivates his cloak once he reaches the edge of the system, and activates the hyperdrive.*

~=She felt the ship shudder as it lifted off of the ground. For a long time she merely just lay there, her blank stare seemed to burn a hole through Jago. It was then that she felt something within him a change. His behaviour was unusual. There was the characteristic look of shock, but that was it. No words, no movement, no eye contact for a while. He had sequestered himself in his own corner of the cell, lost in his own thoughts. His face did not contort with anger as she had anticipated. Judging from the distant look on his face and his silence the feelings he felt were resentment and self loathing. Perhaps he did not know how to react. Or more then likely he was beginning to remember something else in his past, something even more painful then the scene he just experienced. Her eyes opened wide as she realized that he had been in this position before. His mind was so used to dealing with the trauma that instead of responding appropriately, he was beginning to shut down emotionally.=~

~=It was then that she realized that she had transformed him into something more dark and sinister. His mind was slipping into a place where if he continued on this road he would continue to become more and more detached from reality. Consumed by his memories and tormented by his past, he would become a danger to himself. The picture was now clear to her. Fear was his wilderness and pride was the demon who chased him there. He was becoming a monster. She yelped and threw herself into the corner of the cell as he approached, too terrified to even look at him. Beyond his veneer of caring compassion lay a dormant creature who once relished in agonizing screams, torment and torture. Yet his self righteousness and piety spiraled around him and condemned his own judgment into stupid acts of self retribution. After the death of his parents and the pirates did he try to kill himself? No. It would make no sense. He was a survivor, his instincts forced him to survive.=~

~=It must have been something else, something much later and more recent. What troubled her was the way he looked at her, the way he gingerly and bravely placed his hand on her knee. It was dangerous territory. By now the wound on her leg had bled into an opaque pool of blood beside her. Either he was very stupid or there was another woman in his past, one that he felt comfortable with in a similar position. But he did not strike her as a pervert to take advantage of a woman who was just raped. It must have been another woman, and she was badly injured lying on her side in the same fashion. Instinctively she pulled away from his hand and began to cry softly. She was trapped.=~

~=The story continued to unfold in her mind, the other woman was more then likely infront of him when it happened. Perhaps he even grabbed her knee to roll her over to see whatever injuries she had sustained. But if he was there, why did he not do anything about it? He was powerless then, perhaps a feeling he had more so then he was in this scenario. No that made no sense. The way he moved towards Saurn's sword he was restrained by something. He had more power then he thought but still did nothing. What he witnessed back then had shattered part of his soul. She theorized that back then he was in a position of power and control, but something unpredictable happened involving a woman. A woman he felt strongly for. She was mortally wounded and for whatever reason he was powerless to stop it. Afterwards something inside of him broke, his chided emotions were unrestrained, he struck out in anger. How that story ended is a mystery, all that she knew was that whatever happened to him changed him irreparably.=~

~=It was then that she felt his arms around her, pulling her close to him. At first she felt like pulling away but there was something about his embrace. He held her close but his embrace was weak: It was neither pulling her close to him defensively and possessively, nor was he holding her romantically. Then she realized he was not comforting her, what he wanted... no, what he needed was for her to comfort him.=~

"I forgive him for what he did to me, but how can I forgive you for what you did to yourself?''

End.

*In the early hours of the morning a single speeder rushed across the planes of the open terrain that stretched out to the east of the Jedi base, right behind the first acres of forrest that bordered Lake Connor.

It had been such a long time since last Tebana Sor had taken that route across the large and empty fields towards the Lost Wilderness, to that particular valley she was the only one on the Jedi Settling knowing is proper and true location.

Today she would seek him out again. Her oldest ally. Her oldest friend.
Her only hope.

When she came onto the small ridge that signaled the valley's entry, she slowed down for a moment and came to a halt, memories flashing up in her mind. She had brought Ashlee Powell here to heal, so much time had passed... do many more would. She flexed her gloved hand. Or so she hoped.

She started the speeder bike back up and entered the valley. Continuing until she came to one of the wider stretched out locations of the valley where a steep slope led up to a southward facing plateau from where the whole valley could be overlooked and the eye could stretch for miles hindered only by the mountain ridge stretching out right in front of it on the other side of the indentation in the surface of a planet only few knew and even fewer left with the same worries. The Jedi had come to call this the Hidden Valley behind the Lost Wilderness. It was their way of acknowledging something hidden, something that deserved protecting. And even long before Tebana had come here for the first time, something had been here, much older, much more elusive and the first Jedi that set foot on the planet had felt it. There was something about that Valley.

Tebana left her speeder at the eastern shore of the small, but deep lake and continued on foot.*

*Tebana had made it to where she suspected the southern exit hatch of the lost base, but of course the thicket had been left to grow so heavily that she could be standing two feet beside it and not see it.

Come on. Agoth. Don't make me go through the lake.

She closed her eyes, feeling ahead. Agoth's presence eluded her, but it wasn't new that the tall Miraluka preferred to stay hidden, and away from any detection or foreign intrusion. Sure enough something told her that she wasn't there yet and she proceeded a couple of yards to the right and came to stand in front of another part of high bushes and what looked like greenery that had never been disturbed. With a small help of the Force, she lifted parts of the branches away that were blocking her way to reveal a large door built into the rock. There was no sight eye or any other way to announce her presence. This was an emergency exit.

It took her a moment to convince the mechanism to open for her and with a grinding sound the door opened to reveal a damp tunnel leading upwards into the darkness. Her eyes didn't adapt quickly to the darkness and so she slowly progressed into the tunnel and towards the base proper.

She remembered some of the turns from her last passage, but her progress was slow. On top of that she didn't want to startle anyone. Agoth had probably already known of her coming a while back, but some of his companions might not have been as clearvoyant.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a low growling sound somewhere ahead of her as she came to a junction of three pathways, but it was so low, she could have imagined it. The smaller hairs on the back of her neck told her otherwise however. She took a couple of steps towards the left tunnel which was the one that led into the main hanger chamber if she remembered correctly and waited.

Nothing happened. Not behind her. Not in front of her. No sound. Tebana raised an eyebrow and progressed into the Hangar Bay where Agoth's infiltrator was stationed. Again something tingled inside her, alerting her of someone else there with her and before she could turn around and trace a quick movement just meters away from her, something hit her right shin with force threatening to topple her over.*

"Tatu...! You scared me."

*She couldn't help but laugh at the small companion's overwhelming shows of welcome. He uttered a string of incomprehensible sounds to her that seemed agitated, but not unfriendly.*

<< Wait up, little one. >>

*She could see his eyes go wide and smile a toothy grin.*



*She smiled, Tatu's basic had become better over time. What a relief. She had never understood his language and although Agoth seemed to grasp the basic concepts of what the small alien was saying, he seemed to be the only one.*

<< I quite agree, pale one. You've been missed. >>

*She swept around at the sound of Agoth's voice in her head and sure enough in the artificial light of the Hangar, the tall Miralukan came out of the shadows.*

<< I know what brings you here. >>

*Said it and stopped in front of her, his mind's eye mustering her up. She could feel the scrutiny and for the first time it made her uneasy. Never had her friend's missing eyesight bothered her. Now however, he would be the only one in a long distance she couldn't fool. With him projection was useless.

He made no move to embrace her, minding her need for space and distance from anybody, but through the Force, she could feel his warm feelings and it felt close to the physical embrace she didn't allow herself anymore.*

"Come. You look tired. Some tea will help. We need to talk."

*Tebana hadn't been surprised to learn that Agoth had already been informed by Custos Arden about the battle attacks on Yavin and Osarian. Custos had sent him the official coded reports... but not the personal ones.

They had been sharing tea in his plant nursery and a long silence separated them after she had told him of what had happened from her perspective. Ronan's turn, the visions, her encounter with her own echo and eventually her fight for weeks now against the Corruption. She still had to tell him about her plans yet, but somehow she felt that he already knew.*

"This is an enemy you cannot outrun."

*His voice was low, as if he was muttering it to himself.

He was brushing against the stem of a particularly leafy plant that presented itself in a brilliant purple colour. She had never seen anything like it before. Tebana was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed before her, buried in her cloak like so often lately.*

"I need your help, my friend." *Her voice was even, but the detached posture and emotion weren't missed on him.* "You have the equipment and you are isolated enough here to contain it. I wouldn't trust anyone else with this. I need you to experiment with the Corruption. Test it. Find the weaknesses that I have missed. Find ..." - "...a cure?" *he cut her off, turning his head into her direction, his dark hair falling into his face. She herself dropped her gaze. He had always had a way of looking right through her and seeing what others had no chance to.*

"I will help you of course. But that's not all, is it?"

*She just shook her head and he waited for her to reply. She didn't.

Agoth bowed down towards the flower he had been nursing and had she been looking, Tebana might have wondered if he was saying something to that plant or otherwise wreathing his magic over it. He stood back up and crossed over to her.*

"I will help. But you have to let me." - "It's not that simple. Once I go down that road, you know what will happen." - "Say it. It will ease your fear."

*There was a long stretched silence until she finally looked up.*

"I will need to stop fighting it and accept it as mine."

*Agoth nodded and in that movement was a small tinge of sadness.*

"I need to learn how to use it to my advantage and it might well kill me."

*Most people wouldn't think there was a crime lord on Osarian. After all, crime lords were almost always on Tattoine. Or Nar Shaddaa. Or some other less fortunate planet. Osarian was much too safe and upstanding for a crime lord. They'd be wrong.

Caiten Sleen couldn't stand sand and there was way too much competition on Nar Shaddaa. Besides, Osarian was a great place. Sandy beaches, crystal clear lakes. Sure, he had to be a lot more careful about his operations but it was worth it.

Caiten sat in his "throne room" waiting for some agents he dispersed to return. Inevitably, his thoughts were drawn back to the bounty he had set on a certain girl's head long ago. It had been so long ago the bounty was posted. It wasn't that the bounty wasn't being pursued, it was that the girl was smart. Apparently she was using her twin sister as a decoy. Clever lass. Caiten wondered how much more space she could have to run in. He hoped it was running out. He owed her one, but it was not a favor that people would normally think of.*

*A runner pushed open the doors to the throne room and rushed up to the crime lord, Caiten Sleen.*



Problem? *Caiten's eyes narrowed.*



Sighs. Any survivors?



*Caiten sighed again. Cassidy had a loose mouth.*

See him killed. Send out a sniper, or whatever.

The runner informed Caiten of the mission's success and that the sniper was still working on leaving the city.

Good, he always did good work. Give him a 15% bonus in his payment.



....Well? Why are you still in here?

*The Runner realized he had nothing left to say and he fled the throne room. Caiten slumped into his chair a tiny bit as his aides brought out the dancers.

So dull anymore. Mostly everything went according to plan, there were little or no active rivals of his, or pesky Jedi and police sniffing around...this place could do with some excitement, so Caiten began thinking of being a tad vindictive toward the other gang...*

~ ├óÔé¼┼ô This will do nicely├óÔé¼┬ª├óÔé¼┬Ø

A small cave in the forest area around Lake Connor. A peaceful, quiet spot, where one could focus their mind, attune their sensitivity to the mystical powers of The Force, and simply walk away from the planet, the system, even the Universe at large. It was where Jedi Master Jago Pulastra found himself now. It was where he was preparing to start construction on a lightsaber.

The cave was cold, dark, and damp, but a soothing heat radiated from the floor where Jago kneeled, his eyes closed as he lowered the small pack he had brought with him. Carefully, he reached into the pack with slow, purposeful motions, laying out a sheet of fabric on the stone floor, placing down several items upon it. Of those items, three stood out, shining with a brilliance that illuminated the cavern.

One was a small, chipped sphere of a lightly-tinted green, cracked and worn through. In its center sat a heart of gold, possibly a flaw inherent in the crystal since its creation.

One was slightly larger, of a strange purple color, refined into a pyramidal shape with rounded edges. Its core was a faint white, with much of the crystal being translucent.

The last was probably the most ├óÔé¼┼ôpure├óÔé¼┬Ø out of the set. A bright yellow-gold crystal that looked like a complete circle with small engravings etched into it, glowing faintly when placed next to the others, touching upon the weak Force Signatures in the trio of gems.

Nextor, Damind, and Kasha. These crystals would serve as the basis for Jago├óÔé¼Ôäós new blade, but they could not be utilized just yet. Closing his eyes, the Jedi let the crystals sink into his inner sight, seeing them, feeling them with his mind, the small traces of energy they gave off, their shine and contour and texture.

He touched upon each gem, the small crystals levitating slightly off the ground as Jago├óÔé¼Ôäós meditation pulled him into a deeper trance. Gone were his worries and sorrows, his regrets and anger, his misgivings and passions and darker emotions. He let himself become an empty slate, expanding his perception to pass on this trait to the crystals as well. Their presences in The Force flickered and slowly faded away, leaving fresh canvas to work with.

Jago concentrated more, his energies making themselves known in the form of a faint aura encompassing his body. For an hour, he reflected inwards, piecing his thoughts and feelings together to create the perfect mixture of his truest self to impress upon the crystals before him. His emotions centered themselves, becoming so pure that if one were to walk inside the cavern at that moment, they would be flooded with feelings of calm and serenity.

Jago meditated on his compassionate nature, his will to go above and beyond for those he cared for. He drew forward his sheer resolve and determination, that stalwart nature that refused to back down. He poured in his sacrifice and heartache, as well as his love and joy. Jago also touched upon his darker side: his inner rage and suffering, the trials and losses he faced and endured. They had hardened him, taken from him his innocence, but they had prepared him for his battles to come. For the loss of friends and family, for his own injuries he was undoubtedly going to sustain, for the trials and tribulations of a true Jedi, a Jedi who no longer feared the unknown or where his path would take him. He had achieved a state of being that only an intense calm could bring.

He took these emotions, these feelings, these essences of his true self, and slowly let them flow into the crystals, able to feel them vibrate and shake through small oscillations of energy as they absorbed his power, his will. Jago continued to focus on the gems, their glow turning into warmth that expanded against the rock walls. No longer was the cavern dark and gloomy: it now shined with the radiance of The Light as Jago continued his meditation.

Hours passed. Then a day, then three, and finally, on the fourth day of sustained focus, the crystals were now luminous, removed of their flaws and impurities, each being tuned directly to Jago├óÔé¼Ôäós own Force Signature. Through the process, he had preserved himself through pure Force Energy, feeding him, keeping him warm and raising his endurance. The gems were now ready to be used in the final construction of Jago├óÔé¼Ôäós lightsaber.

Slowly, the other components that Jago had laid out when he first began his meditation started to rise, circling slowly around him. His mind sought out which ones to pull forward first, the various parts and metals starting to take shape at a snail├óÔé¼Ôäós pace.

Another day passed. The hilt was beginning to form, fashioned out of a darkened, golden metal, along the lines of an antique brass. The crystals were set in the focusing chamber, nestled in perfectly: this was, after all, Jago├óÔé¼Ôäós fourth time constructing such a weapon. The diatum energy cell was connected, its circuits linked together to create the proper flow of power to keep the cell recharged.

Finally, after a little over a week of constant focus, the last part of the antique-brass cylinder was being connected: a personal item, given to Jago by his love, Ksandra Mallan. A Krayt Dragon scale, finely carved into the shape of an emitter shroud, was nestled right on the inner walls of the hilt, and then fused in place, adding to its unique identity as the green scale rose up to half-circle around the tip of the lightsaber.

It was complete. There was only one task left for Jago, tired and drained as he was from such a high state of maintaining focus: one last personal effect to a tool that already carried so many. With telekinesis, Jago├óÔé¼Ôäós shoto rose, a snap-hiss echoing through the cave as it ignited. Its silver beam tilted forward touch lightly against the darkened-golden metal, the movement requiring position to within an iota.

With great care, the smaller saber moved seemingly on its own, guided by an invisible hand as it carved an inscription around the base. Small characters were engraved into the metal, glowing hot at the touch of the plasma, until the shoto finally deactivated and laid at Jago├óÔé¼Ôäós side. The inscription read out, ├óÔé¼┼ôNullum Desiderium├óÔé¼┬Ø, meaning ├óÔé¼┼ôNo Regrets├óÔé¼┬Ø in a lost language.

No Regrets. Not anymore. When he acted, he would accept the consequences. He may not be able to change certain points and deeds in time, but he would make damn sure he would try to find the right solution, no matter how much it cost him.

Finally, Jago let the trance fall. He was exhausted, but all the same he was proud of his work. The blade was a labor of love: a master creating his pinnacle piece.

Letting his strength and meditation leave him, Jago├óÔé¼Ôäós eyelids closed tighter, the Jedi drifting off to a deep sleep, recuperating himself from an arduous period of that intense calm he was so well known for.

His labor was done. The blade would serve him well, of that he was most sure.~

*A speeder flew over the landscape quickly, heading many clicks away from Ossa Prime. Aero had his eyes half closed, focusing on finding somewhere that had an above average concentration of Force energy. Something...there's was something far off, too far to tell if it was what he sought. He decided to head towards it, trusting in instinct to lead him to his goal.

He was awarded for his trust. Close to an hour after heading out he came across a lake that radiated with light side energy. It was making him nauseous to be so close to something so one-sided. There was no balance here, no natural order. Life thrived without any restrictions. That had to be changed. Such a thing could destroy a planet given enough time. The dark-side was needed here, in order to bring balance, and thankfully due to the concentration of Force energy here, it would radiate outward and spread, bringing a balance to the entire planet. It would take time, but he had that and only needed to stay long enough to begin the chain reaction and ensure that the Jedi did not try to halt it.

He stepped out of the speeder and walked to the lakes' shoreline. He took several steps into the water, submerging himself from the waist, down. First to gather the surplus of energy...

He closed his eyes and raised both arms until they were parallel with the ground and out to his sides, palms pointing forward. Focus...

He quieted his mind, the sounds, smells ,and feelings all disappearing from his consciousness. Then the pulsing, the Force energy becoming the only thing he could sense, the swirl of it over the center of the lake. There it was. It would be the epicenter, the place that would initiate the planets Balancing. Ashla was here in too great an amount, and so he allowed entities of Bogan into his mind. Pride, lust, hatred, pain. As it grew within him, he directed its flow to his hands, allowing nodes of energy to form there, and then directing the energy toward the center of the swirl of Force energy. Now to sustain it long enough for it to balance, and then make it expand across the planet.*

*Several hours passed and Aero did not move. He continued to stand in the water, arms stretched out as he slowly fed darkside energy into the nexus of lightside energy that had been allowed to grow here unchecked. Those fool Jedi, preaching about Balance but truly only giving Ashla more power than was necessary, thus creating disorder and imbalance. They played with the Force as though it were a toy, something they can use at anytime without consequence.

The Jedi and Sith were both fools in that regard. The Jedi drawing on Ashla whenever they used the Force, the Sith drawing on Bogan. Did they not realize that doing so created an imbalance!? One should draw on both equally when using the Force, or not at all. He was angry with them all for that, making him half to focus solely on one, even for a short time. It felt wrong to use only Bogan right now, but he had to in order to restore the balance. And then, then he could draw on Ashla and Bogan and bring Balance to this planet.

He didn't feel tired, couldn't afford to. If his concentration was broken then so was the feed of darkside energy into the nexus that was overpowered with light. It wouldn't undone what was done, but it would mean he had to reestablish himself to complete it. But he was far from anyone or anything that could do so, his mind focused only on the Force and no external stimuli.*

*Several more hours passed and Aero hadn't budged. Before him, in the Force was a vortex of energy, slowly spinning. It had been working, balance was starting to return, but there was a ways to go yet. He shifted part of his focus now to mixing the Force energy over the lake. He continued to feed it darkside energy, but not quite a quickly. He felt the vortex bend, twist, and pulse as he tried manipulating it. Still too much lightside energy. He was unused to manipulating such extremes, so he put all his focus back into feeding darkside energy into it. Once it was balanced enough, then he would be able to control it and initiate the change.

He would bring Balance to this planet and the rest of the Universe, without fail.*

*Aero breathed slowly, calmly. It was getting close now. Nearly balanced, so he tried once again to manipulate the vortex. It moved to his will, slowly, it still wasn't balanced but it was close enough to use effectively. The flow of darkside energy slowed slightly as he put part of his focus on the vortex, tightening it, compacting it. Once it was balanced, equal parts dark and light, he would be able to truly start the Balancing. Almost. Another hour and it would be ready.*

*Balance, at last. The vortex swirled with equal parts dark and light, and he stopped feeding it energy. Now to just begin the spread and bring the planet to Balance. He felt the vortex of energy, pushed at it, compacted it further, spinning it faster so that more energy would be drawn to it. He had to have a massive source of energy, and so he would continue drawing on the Force from everything in the surrounding area. He held no illusions. The Force sensitive on the planet would feel the gathering of energy and likely come to investigate, but it didn't matter. It had taken him an hour to reach this spot, and he would have enough energy gathered in 45 minutes. When it was released, it would spread across the planet in a chain reaction, all of the Force energy it encountered would be balanced. He supposed that the Jedi would likely feel the strength of the lightside wane when that happened, but it mattered not. What they desired was insignificant in the face of Balance.*

*It was ready. The mass of Force energy was so dense that there seemed to be a wind emanating from it, violently blowing. Aero snapped his eyes open as he released his hold on the mass of energy, letting it explode outward. The blast knocked him back several feet and swept over him, spreading rapidly. Within a few hours time it would encompass the planet. Unsteadily he got to his feet and staggered to the speeder. He hadn't counted on being so tired. If anyone arrived now, he wouldn't be able to defend himself. He powered up the speeder and set off back to Ossa-Prime.*

[quote="Zuli Madoon":38sbo3qf][narration:38sbo3qf]At the helm, [color=#0080FF:38sbo3qf]Zuli[/color:38sbo3qf] smiled..[/narration:38sbo3qf]

[comlink:38sbo3qf]We are expected young one. But you are correct. How about you call Osarian control and announce our arrival. Perhaps request our designated landing area?[/comlink:38sbo3qf][/quote:38sbo3qf]

[narration:38sbo3qf]The two ships cruised low over the rolling hills, the X-wing slightly behind the Zuli's ship. Making a slow bank to the south they approached the Jedi sanctuary[/narration:38sbo3qf]

[action:38sbo3qf]Joshua gazed down at the planet as he followed the [color=#800000:38sbo3qf][i:38sbo3qf]Mysterious Stranger[/i:38sbo3qf][/color:38sbo3qf] down the well. He received the com from Zuli and nodded[/action:38sbo3qf]

[comlink:38sbo3qf]Copy that Master. I'll ask them to roll out the red carpet[/comlink:38sbo3qf]

[action:38sbo3qf]Smiling to himself, he switched frequencies just as they broke through the upper cloud layer and turned towards Overlook Base[/action:38sbo3qf]

[comlink:38sbo3qf]Overlook Base, this is Padawaan Kierra-Solo accompanying Master Zuli Madoon. Can we have clearance to land in Kacik Field. we're approaching from the north[/comlink:38sbo3qf]

[action:38sbo3qf]He looked down again and the lush landscape flashing by below and sighed wistfully. How long since he'd been here? Couldn't be more than a few months but it felt like a couple of years...[/action:38sbo3qf]

*The Mysterious Stranger glided effortlessly through the clouds. It was quite a manoverable ship, dispite it's size, and retractable turrets increased it's aerodynamic performance in atmosphere..

Zuli peered out of the cockpit at the landscape below. It was his first visit to Osarian in so long..*