NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC Thread here: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=435223
IC:

David Miles was aboard his personal battleship, the CMS Miles, along with his son Mike, daughters Mlasha and Jenna, fellow Jedi, David's former apprentice Odcal, and the crew of his ship. Their mission was the hardest of the simple jobs. They were to set up a new Jedi Academy for the teaching and refining of the Jedi fighting arts. This was, more or less, an Advanced Infantry Training school like David and Mike both remember from their time in the Corps. The world they had chosen was a CM fortress known as Reach. It was where all Marines, Space Marines, and any Special Forces in the CM military got their main and advanced training. David chose this world because it was protected by over 18 heavy and 300 medium and small MAC cannons, 100 heavy laser batteries, 5 Disruptor batteries, 50 divisions of battle hardened Marines, tons of armor, and about half of the CM space fleet. Any Imperials who came here would at least limp home and not want to return.

"Skipper," a crewman shouted, knocking David out of his daze," Reach is wanting our codes and destination."

"Tell them Sector 972 and code: Psalm 23." David replied, "They should have built the Academy already. If they havn't, I'm gonna go down there and kick some one for that."

"Dad," Mike said, "building an Academy over 200 meters inside a Titanium mine in the middle of a mountain is no easy task, nor is lighting it. Cortana hacked into the construction database ten minutes ago. They have the structure 90% completed, however they are having trouble on the South wing with the lighting. There are some occasional glitches with the wiring as well, so the security system goes off without notice or reason."

"Well, what can be done to insure that those are fixed?"

"Daddy..." Mlasha piped up, "We could use the Force to trace every wire and fix it like that."

"True...when we get there, I'll go ethreal and fix it. Mike, keep my saber for me when we get there. It should take me about two hours if everything's built to my plans."

"Yes sir." Mike said as the ship touched down. They were greeted with a row of Warthog LRVs to take them to the gated Academy. The CMS Miles was too big for the Academy's launch pad, which was only big enough to land a corvette like In Amber Clad or the smaller ship Outrider. But for this Academy's purpose, a pad that could handle dozens of Pelicans would be fine. Mike got into the driver's seat of one hog, with Jenna and Mlasha seeing this and running over to their Dad's warthog. Odcal got in Mike's as well as the new intsructor who Mike couldn't remember his face, but vaguely remembered seeing before.

The pirate ship known as Raider's Dream came closer and closer to the fortress known as Reach. Inside, Van Windall played around with a new droid they had found in a scrap in Tatooine. They had to go pay a visit to the Hutts every now and then, bringing fruits from their hunts, so as not to get in trouble. The life of a pirate clan wasn't easy. The social stigma was something Van was quite sure would never completely fade, and these first days would be hell on Reach for him.

The droid blipped, and several lights flickered, gradually producing a steady glow. He had repaired the droid. "What's your name?" he asked, while entering data on his laptop computer, connected to the droid's hard drive. It resembled an R2 unit in shape, but it was painted entirely black. He wondered whether or not it was a former imperial bot. The droid shaked his head, and produced a sound he translated as "can't say that". Van grinned. "Gonna be like that, will you?"

He started entering data as a maniac, getting past the several layers of defence inside the droid's OS. Finally, he gained shell access. "Hmm, registers..." The droid blipped maniacly, and a small panel on his body opened. From out of it, came a magnet shaped weapon, that Van knew better than to stay close to. It was a shocker. Getting upset at the thing, he drew his blaster. "Try anything smart, and it's back to the dumpster with ya!" The bot stopped complaining, and retracted his weapon. Van continued his activities, and finally came across his name. Imperial Unit R3-Q7.

"Mind if I call you mr. Q?" The bot made a sound that beared uncanny resemblance to a sigh. "Oy, Van, da boss want'ya! Better get goin', Jedi boy!" A shipmate hollered from outside his quarters. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going!" He shouted back. It was time to leave. He'd do some more crap with mr. Q, like get to know what ships he served in, if he ever met Darth Vader, that sort of things. Unfortunately, he'd have to leave it there. Only room for one person on the escape pod. Van sadly walked to the captain's room. As he passed by, his friends gave him signs of good luck and prayed for their Jedi boy's good fortune.

Van arrived. The captain, his father, looked at him with mixed feelings. "Well, it's time for us to part." He sat on a chair, to his left a desk containing magazines about new ships, guns, computer systems, the kinds of thing a space pirate needs to keep up with. "I guess. It's been... Well, not fun, but I liked it." Van replied, looking down on the floor, trying to hold back the tears. He vowed once never to cry, after being shot by an enemy blaster during a raid. He certainly wouldn't break his promise on account of a farewell. "Admit it, son. It's been crap." He got up from his chair, and patted his shoulder strongly. Unlike Van, the captain was almost as tall as a wookie, and as strongly built as one. "A pirate's life isn't good, especially for a child. Hey, I've been through the same crap as you when I was your age. If I had discovered I had Force abilities..."

Van looked up at him, anger in his eyes. "I hate it. I wish I'd never had found these..." he rose one hand, and several miniature lightnings shot out from his fingertips. "...sparks. That way, I wouldn't have to go away." A beautiful woman, dressed in a robe hiding her every form, entered. "It's not like we enjoy the decision either." Van looked at the woman. "Mother..." She smiled, and rubbed his forehead. "But you will have a chance at a better life, free from persecution from the law, the remnant, the mafia. You won't have to be ashamed of saying what is you do, and you'll do beautiful things." The young man looked down again. "Will I ever get to see you one day?" The captain, his father, laughed. "Whenever you want, my boy. Just send a strong enough transmission, and we'll be there for ya." He patted him strongly again.

The crew gathered, as they reached the limits of safety distance to Reach. The ship was positioned, so that when they would fire the escape pod, the CM ships would have no trouble picking it up. Van looked at all of them one last time. There were so many races there... So many different people, in all possible meanings. He had grown to like them all, as well as they had towards him. "This is the time the hero makes a speech, right?" He joked, trying to live up the atmosphere. "Whatever, brat, just get yer ass out of our ship." One said, trying to make the sad moment end fast. Van ignored him. "I've became 15 five months ago. In the understanding of everyone, I'm a man. The ground-lubbers say when a boy becomes a man, he should leave the house." Another shipmate interrupted. "That's not how it is, it's like 'when...'" Everyone told him to shut up. Van continued. "That being so, it's time I go on my own. You've all taught me something useful, and I wish I could pay you back somehow. One day, though, I'll find a way to. You've been..." he stopped for a moment to supress a sob. "You've all been a bunch of full of shit bastards, but I liked you all the same." He gave them a thumbs up, and jumped onto the pod.

Outside, Van was shot into the darkness of space. Inside, he readied his communication device, and rehearsed again his speech. "Mayday, mayday, Force-enabled young man needing rescue. I'll be a happy camper if you lemme join the Academy."

"Mike, we've got a Mayday on the Emergency freq. Get in the Outrider and pick him up. By our scans, he's got about three hours of O2 in there, but make it quick in case he's got a leak. We picked up his ship, but its just a bunch of pirates. Maybe Kas knows them. He says he's Force Sensitive, but we have no record of anyone. Looks like our 'advanced training academy' is going to become a regular school." David said over the COM.

"While you were talking, dad, I got in the [i]Outrider[i] and located him. I'm moving in to track now.....Locked, transporting..." At this moment Van was teleported into the Outrider's brig.

Mike spoke on the COM to Van, "Ok, you are now a detainee of the Crazed Marine Government. If we deem you to be no threat, you will be released. However, we need to know your name and how you came to be here." Mike then spoke to his Dad, "Got him, he's in the brig. I feel that he's Force Sensitive and has a lot of potential. I think we can make an exception this one time."

Van felt the familiar tingle of teleportation as his body was dissassembled and reassembled perfectly into the ship's brig. Well, he was in. He grinned with juvenile delight. It was the first time he was in a ship not from his clan. Just as he thought he'd get to explore around a bit...

"Ok, you are now a detainee of the Crazed Marine Government. If we deem you to be no threat, you will be released. However, we need to know your name and how you came to be here."

Pff... He should've known better. "Well, great! Y'know, dad always told me being a detainee's a great thing. That's where he met most of our crew." He crossed his arms, walking around a bit. "But y'know, I'm not sure if I'm fit for the life of a detainee. I dunno, it just... seems boring. Are the cell beds any comfortable? If they are, it's game on then!" He laughed out loud.

"As for my name... I'm pretty sure it won't mean a thing to you, but here it goes. Ready? I'll give you a few minutes to prepare yourself psychologically." Meanwhile, he sat down, and checked his gear. "By the way, do you count a blaster, a thermal detonator and a computer built specifically for hacking and cracking dangerous stuff? 'Cuz ya see, from that point of view I might be a threat." He checked how many rounds the blaster could fire, and suddenly jumped. "Oh, and I came to be here because you teleported me inside your ship. That was a trick question, right?" He laughed again.

Szagh always disliked long travels through space. The confines of the ship and the inability to be productive put him in an ill mood. His only entertainment was to practise his swordsmanship with a vibroblade in his quarters.
The only transportation he could acquire was a merchant ship that would drop him off at reach on his way, for a few hundred credits of course. He was the only one that would risk a Trandoshan as a passenger, and only barely tolerated him, so he had to smuggle on the sword.
Tired after a couple hours of sword practise, he reached into his luggage. He took a few live gizka with him for the trip, as he was sure they wouldn't be feeding him his usual diet in the mess.

Alexu had managed to win a ride off a captain of a tramp freighter to the academy in a slightly rigged game of chance, or rather an un-rigged game, as the captain had been planning on cheating.
As he travelled, he made sure to practice his swordsmanship, as well as work out in the ship's excersise locker, though calling it that was stretching things, it was more of an excersise closet.
He'd left when the ship had landed, and he'd left a little present for the captain. The present was a set of dice with a note, 'Don't try to play a player."

Mike smiled as he teleported Van's gear into the cargo hold, "No, its not really a threat now. The Outrider can handle much more than that puny detonator. Heck, I was playing with detonatores three times that power when I was 11. Now, if you won't tell me your name....Ok, Van, your thoughts betray you. Now that I know your name, would you mind telling me who that was who dropped you off. I know they're pirates, but what faction? You see, my wife is a pirate as well and I want to make sure our families can get along..."

Wow, he's really a Jedi!! Van thought, surprised at the suave sollution Mike found to his taunting. Now he was sure he really wanted to join the Academy. "Ya know, I was expecting you'd start threatening to make me rot in jail. This is really a first one, believe you me!" He said, aknowledging the man's abilities.

Although... "If your wife's a pirate..." He remembered his words... Your thoughts betray you... And so, he kept his mind blank. It was a trick he had learned the hard way, when he was injured and under fire. And expected to keep fighting. "Ya know, I really hate it when people treat me as a little boy. That kind of persuasion might work on kids back at your planet, but not me." It was a bit harder without the adrenaline to back him up. "I'm here, and I'm willing to join your Academy. What else is there to know?" He sure as hell didn't want to bring attention towards his friends.

Merumeru was in his designated quarters checking through his travel bag when he felt the tell tale sign that the ship had come out of hyperspace. Merumeru grabbed up his travelbag and threw it over his shoulder, onto the bandoleer that carried specialized ammunition for the bowcaster that he grabbed with his other hand. Stepping out into the corridor a small Rodian ran straight into his leg. The Rodian shouted loudly at Merumeru from the floor, untill a disgruntled roar from the Wookie silenced it. The Captains voice came over the P.A. as Merumeru made his way down the corridor with the crowd parting before him.

"This is the Captain of the Allied Airlines Transport ship Homera. We are on our final approach run to Reach, thank you for flying with us"

Merumeru was fed up with being crammed into this small ship, and may the Force help anyone that was near him if that Jedi representative wasn't at the spaceport to meet him.

After retiring for a while, Szagh picked up his vibroblade again and continued practising, focusing on the position of the blade.
Suddenly, and without warning the door beeped, and before it could slide open he flung his sword up into the ceiling, burying it to the hilt. Quickly he turned to the door and watched the captain walk in.
"We're almost there, pack up yer shit. I expect the rest of my money before you leave." That said, he walked back out, leaving Szagh to 'pack up his shit.'
Szagh never believed in packing heavily, and he only took a sack full of gizka, and his sword.
After prying the blade out of the ceiling and hiding it back in his bag, he strode out to the cargo hold and waited for the ship to land.
"Alright, lets have the credits, lizard!" The captain shouted from across the large bay.
Szagh took a moment to suppress the urge to decapitate him before he spoke. "Ofcourssse, good captain. I have the two hundred creditsss with me." He reached into the sleeve of his thick robe and pulled out a data pad.
"I'm wiring them to you presssently... Done."
The captain gave him a crooked grin before speaking again. "Good! Now get off my ship!"
Suddenly the bay portal opened with a loud creak and a rush of wind. Without a word Szagh walked off the ship and onto the dock.

Guip Gerjal sat at a desk in the cluttered cabin of his small ship, The Seeker. Old writings and maps hung from the walls; odd looking artifacts of various alien design littered the floor; a modified Imperial blaster hung from a gun rack along with a couple blasters; a pair of filing cabinets were barely closed, stuffed with papers, and a floor mat lied in one corner. Guip was busy entering a report into a computer about his latest find, when a quiet alarm starting going off. The Ihren rose to his feet and quickly walked to the cockpit, his loose red clothing fluttering in the light breeze created by a fan in the hallway, where he preceded to bring The Seeker out of hyperspace near the planet Reach.

“A fortress world,” he muttered to himself. “Wouldn’t have expected less of the Jedi.” Flipping on the comm. system he hailed a nearby ship registered as The Outrider. He cleared his throat, and in the croaky voice of his people, sent a message. “Greetings, I am Guip Gerjal. I was wondering if you have any idea about how I should go about joining the Jedi Academy on this world.”

The three suns of H’kai were pelting the rocky desert surface with agonizing heat as the bearded old man continued to walk forward. He had been walking for hours, possibly even days through the inhospitable terrain. This planet, he thought would be his last refuge. His ship was unsalvageable after his crash-landing and he was hoping his pursuer would think he had been killed.

The suns barely moved in the sky as the old man continued. The only noticeable difference he came across was a wrecked A-Wing fighter. The craft looked as though it too had crashed and had been there for some time. He couldn’t see any tracks betraying the pilot’s direction and concluded that they may have been obliterated by wind or worse, a sandstorm! The old man examined the A-Wing for any hope of finding something salvageable, but only the burnt skeletal frame remained.

The old man turned to proceed on with his trek and was started by the presence of his pursuer standing so close to him,

Old Man: “Kor!”

Sothan Kor: “You didn’t expect me to give up so easily did you?”

Kor smiled with his customary sly grin and the old man took a step back and retrieved his lightsabre. The green blade flashed to life as the old man took his stance,

Old Man: “You won’t take me back alive Kor! I’ll die first!”

Sothan Kor: “So be it.”

Kor flicked his wrist and his own lightsabre appeared. The blood red blade echoed pain and death as it flashed to life and was spun toward the old man who deflected it. Kor ducked the counter attack and brought his blade up through a fierce uppercut but it was parried by the old man who then tried to kick out. Kor sidestepped and the old man lost his balance and fell to the ground. A split second later Kor’s blade was at the old man’s throat, who lifted his chin up instinctively,

Old Man: “What are you waiting for? Kill me now!”

Sothan Kor: “I’m waiting to hear your plea for mercy.”

Old Man: “You will wait an eternity. I will NEVER submit!”

Sothan Kor: “Huh! I’ve hunted you for a long time old man. You call yourself a Jedi Master and yet you couldn’t even keep your balance.” Kor force-pushed the old man’s lightsabre away and stepped closer, “Tell me where I can find the ancient teachings and I promise I’ll kill you quick.”

Old Man: “What makes you think that after all this time I will still tell you where the book of Dr'ea and Mosh is?”

Sothan Kor: “I was hoping you would recognise an opportunity. But your stubbornness will be your undoing.”

With that, Sothan Kor raised his lightsabre and sliced downward. Within a second the old man was screaming in agony as all four of his limbs were violently severed from his body. Kor deactivated his lightsabre and began to walk away.

Sothan Kor: “You will die eventually old man. But you will take the knowledge of everlasting pain with you to the afterlife.”

The old man could not see Kor walk off. All he could see were the blazing suns, which burned his eyes, which he could not protect. He couldn’t move as his back was burning on the desert ground and the quickly rotting flesh on his wounds was slowly cooking.

The days slowly passed, as did the nights. The old man preyed for death that never seemed to come. His body was dying slowly and there was nothing he could do to quicken it.

As the last day he would ever see rose from the horizon, the old man had wished that he had told Sothan Kor where the book of Dr'ea and Mosh was. It was at that point that he finally… stopped.

Mike noticed the ship next to him. It was a medium sized ship, just big enough to land on an improvised field five kilometers outside of the academy. He barked on the COM to the ship, called The Seeker.

"Seeker, This is Outrider. I assume you have had some Jedi training before. This Academy is meant for advanced training only. However, you are welcome to stay for a few days if you wish. Just follow me in and I'll drop a marker where you are to land. I'll meet you there in a few minutes after you land with ground transport. How many personnel are going to depart? Over."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is Reach Airspace Command. All ships heading for the Jedi Academy are to land at the following coordinates. This is the main space port capable of handling up to a Super Death Star. It is in orbit, so transport to the ground will be arranged for. Command over and out."

Rosaline Lodic's small fighter reverted to realspace in orbit around Reach. She was just about to ask where she could find the Jedi Academy when she heard a transmission come through.
"This is Reach Airspace Command. All ships heading for the Jedi Academy are to land at the following coordinates. This is the main space port capable of handling up to a Super Death Star. It is in orbit, so transport to the ground will be arranged for. Command over and out."
"Ah that makes it so much easier." Rosaline said to herself. She headed to the space port. "This is Rosaline Lodic requesting permission to land at Reach Airspace Command and receive shuttle transport to Reach." She wondered when she could get onto the planet and begin training. Her cousin's boyfriend Odcal had already trained her in the ways of the Force but she still had a long way to go before she would become a Jedi Master.

"Ms. Lodic, you are to be referred as Star Fighter 05. 05, you have permission to land at dock 07. Navigation and landing guide program is being sent. Master Miles wishes you a safe landing and says he will meet you at the planetside shuttle pad."

The tramp freighter that had been transporting Alexu had landed at the port. He commenced looking for a transport down to the academy.

Rosaline landed at Dock 7 as told and stepped off her fighter. She proceded to look for a transport to reach the surface of Reach.

Van decided to keep quiet for some time. Apparently, Mike had forgotten him, and he assumed, from the sounds of spaceships echoing inside, he was helping the newcomers land on the fortress complex. Luckily, he would forget about him entirely and just land the damn ship. It was a really farfetched thought, but there really wasn't anything better to do.

A Marine guard was scheduled to meet each cadet at their approperiate docks. Rosaline's was a tall, muscular Infantry Sergeant of only eighteen years old. He was a CM Civil War vet with over twenty confirmed kills to his name. He had a large knife scar on his neck where a seperatist had tried to decapitate him. He spoke, "Miss Lodic, if you will follow me please, I'll; escort you to your shuttle. I'm Sergeant Jim Braddock." Little did she know, he was bound to meet her later in the field.

Alexu's escort was Sgt. Johnson. A Veteran of six wars so far, Sgt. Johnson had never gotten far due to his big mouth, which was only surpassed by his valor in battle. Of course, it hadn't helped his career when he shot his Lieutenant for trying to desert duty. He had been aquitted of murdering a superior officer, bt his career was pretty much dead. He simply looked at Alexu and motioned slightly with his head for Alexu to follow. The youth followed quickly, as the Sergeant walked fast.

Both students didn't know this, but both were their instructors and would help train them in their following year. The architecture for the dock was unremarkable, even for a military installation. This dock looked twenty years old, and was just a tad older than that. Both students linked up within two minutes, walked down the hall, noticed a cleaning bot release some cleaner nanites which, suprisingly, kept away from all sentient life forms. They reached the shuttle bay a minute later. It held three Pelican dropships and they were whisked upon one along with Sergeant Braddock alongside. The pelican lifted off, the energy shield morphed to the ship size allowing it out, and they went down. The air heated up a little bit upon reentry, but everything was fine. They landed five minutes later, at the pads five kilometers from the base. David and Mike Miles both were there with a warthog each. Alexu and Rosaline both got into David's while the Sergeant got into Mike's. Both sped off towards the Academy while the Pelican lifted off.

Alexu commented to himself, "Lead on my surly McDuff, lead on." As he followed Johnson. He knew from the get go that this asshat was going be majorly getting under his skin, Johnson exuded all the traditional signs of Asshattery.

"Whaddya know, it worked..." It seemed the Jedi were not immune to forgetfulness. Van got up, and reached for his boot. He drew a diamond-carved knife, and headed to the nearest doorway. Locked, of course. The boy grinned, and opened a small panel just near the ground. Unless he was mistaken, there was a conception fault that had gone unnoticed to the engineers... There. He cut a wire, and voilá! The door opened before him. He went about, and looked for the cargo hold. It wasn't a very large ship, fortunately, and he found it in less than a minute. Grabbing back his stuff, he sneaked out of the Outrider.

Many ships in a short time span were landing. Perfect. He had at least made it into the fortress. He had time to see a group, he somehow guessed accurately to be Jedi, mounting warthogs. Van scattered along, avoiding the mechanics and guards, silently thanking his small stature, towards the nearest vehicle. They had already speed off when he finally found one. Van turned the ignition on when. "Hey kid, what the hell ya think ya doin' with'at!!" An oafish looking man clad in oil shouted. "Me? Stealing under your nose!" Van sped off, following the Jedi, while at the same time avoiding the volleys of laser shot at him by the guards. A few came close, but... he was used to keeping a cool head under pressure.

Rosaline was intrigued by Sgt. Braddock. She examined him while following him to the hogs. Then she heard the commotion behind her. She saw a person following behind them and a bunch of guards chasing after him. "A thief." muttered Rosaline to herself. She kept watching to see if the thief would get caught or hit by a blaster.

While awaiting his escort, Szagh ate the last of his gizka. With nothing but his sword in it, he found his sack rather useless, and so took the weapon out and ditched the bag. After slinging to sword over his back he began pacing the port untill his escort arrived.

Sgt. Johnson, who was viewed as a asshat by some and a true warrior by others, arrived to escort Szagh. "You might want to stow that." The black Marine said, referring to the vibroblade, "We'll be in for a bumpy ride. Follow me." Johnson then left for the Pelcan bay. But instead of putting him into a Pelican, he was put into an Archer drop pod. "One word of advice. Put this on." Johnson then gave Szagh a suit which contained a temperature shielding unit and jetpack in case he had to leave the Archer pod because it was burning up too fast. "These things burn up in the atmosphere by design. Sometimes Hell Jumpers get burned alive or their parachutes never deploy. In either case, that suit is automatic and will keep you alive. Your DZ is one hundred meters from the fron entrance. Guards will meet you there." Johnson then hit the button and Szagh dropped like a proverbial rock.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mike and David both looked at the stolen warthog.
That's the kid I was telling you about dad. Mike spoke through the Force.

He is strong, but untrained. Do you want to, or should I? David replied.

Let's watch the master work... Mike spoke telepathically, grinning. With that, David used the Force to clamp Van inside the hog and lift the hog into the air. Mike then went behind David about two car lengths, where the warthog was then placed and both escort vehicles moved in to clam onto it with the "tusks" on the front and the hooks on the back. The computers linked and David was basically driving all three vehicles. Van, still unable to move, was astounded at what had happened. One minute later, they entered the Academy grounds. Van was then taken to the brig, totally stripped of his clothes and and weapons, given a jumpsuit made of nano-fibers, and told to wait behind the bars until the Council decided his fate.

Mike reached out through the Force, Van, don't feel bad. I left you that knife and added a console inside the brig panel to see how useful you could makeyourself in a stress situation. You have now been taken into the Jedi Order's custody. But don't worry, we're talking about what we should do with you and there's a good chance we'll..............got to go, my dad's talking.

Van's heart skipped a few beats when, not only his hog started acting very, very strange, he couldn't move a muscle as well. He only understood what had happened when he was stuck between the Miles' warthogs. Very sly... He made a mental note to remember that technique for when he had enough control of the Force. The next moments were uncomfortable. Being stripped of his clothes was almost as embarrassing as being stripped of his weapons... Again. To add insult to injury, he was dressed in a prisoner's outfit...

Van sat on the ground, looking around his cell. Nope, the engineers did their job very well, this time around. He started wondering if this had been a bad idea... His thoughts strayed to his parents. Van wondered if they were celebrating their son's future knighthood. If it ever came. His parents... He felt depressed only thinking about them. Van, don't feel bad. He jumped up.

It was the person from before. Well, at least his abilities had been noticed. And despite how, he did enter the Academy grounds. There was a small solace in that fact. Although... He was still a prisoner. There's a good chance he might be... What? Allowed to enter the Academy? Killed in his sleep? Fed to a cannibal species? Van prayed for the first choice.

While he was at it, he thought about the Jedi. They had telekynesis and telepathy to back them up. He had only heard of these, it was the first time he became a victim of them. Hmmm... If those were inherent to the Jedi, and the Jedi used the Force, that in turn was what he used to cast is sparks and give headaches to asshats... Then he could try and do it as well!

Fortunately for him, there were plenty of dustballs inside the cell. He cupped one in his hands, and kneeled on the floor. Van had no idea where to start though.... Maybe... He cast his sparks, trying to feel his body. There was a strange warmth flowing through his arms, as the sparks... sparkled. Ok, new task... Move the thing... He thought to himself. The more he thought, though, the less he did.

Van tensed his muscles, as if trying to squeeze the power he felt from before. Nothing. Only made matters worse. He was getting really angry. Calm down... Calm down... Van tried to relax his mind, and think logically. He was successful at casting his small thunders, because... Well, because he could. But, he didn't have to really try. It came... Naturally!

Finding the key to the puzzle, he tried again, summoning whatever it was that gave him such strange abilities. He didn't focus, he didn't try... He simply allowed it to happen, allowed himself to be capable of doing it. And then... The dustball began to roll slowly. It was only a small roll at a time, but he was controlling it. That much was clear. Now, more power! He attempted to move it faster... And that was when it didn't move at all. Van cursed under his breath. There was still much for him to learn.

Szagh grunted and attempted to climb into the suit, which didn't nearly fit. After much grumbling he jumped into the pod and strapped on the jet pack. He had absolutely no trust in a device that self-destructed on purpose, so he made himself ready for a quick escape. Shortly after he was dropped the pod began to degrade from the heat. A couple hundred feet above cloud level he jettisoned and made freefell until he could roughly spot the DZ, and the guards awaiting his arrival. Quickly he stuck the sword between his teeth and grabbed the jet pack's controls, directing himself towards the drop and trying to slow his descent ion.
Eventually he touched ground, a few meters from the guards. Szagh took off the pack and the sword from his teeth and bowed.
"You mussst be the guardss I wass asssigned."

"Hey Sgt. Johnson, how are you sending me down?" Alexu asked, having seen the drop-pod method that got another person sent down. "I'd hope you weren't planning on using one of those pods to get me down.

Merumeru was annoyed, and that is not a good state for a Wookie to be in. His transport ship had touched down over an hour ago and the disgrunteled Wookie had proceded to the agreed upon meeting point, a local bar called 'Nemuru's Galactic Rest', only to discover that his 'escort' was not there. Merumeru had sat down at the bar of the smokey pub and had ordered something that was steaming. Eyeing the smokeing cup carefully Merumeru took a sip of the drink, then another, decided that he didn't like it, drained the cup and had ordered another.

But that was an hour ago and Merumeru patience was running thin. deciding that it was time to go looking for his 'escort' to the acadamy Merumeru stood up from the bar and threw a few coins onto the counter, which the barman quickly scooped up.

"HEY!! Watch where you're going, you ugly brute!!!", a large human shouted at Merumeru as he walked into him. The human followed the Wookies gaze and saw the now slick fur, where he had spilt his drinks onto the Wookie. The area around the bar suddenly cleared as a low growling came from the Wookie. The man was out of the door before he even hit the ground and Merumeru turned towards another human, this one wielding a chair.

'looks like a way to pass the time', the Wookie growled to himself before rushing the small man ...

"Seeker, This is Outrider. I assume you have had some Jedi training before. This Academy is meant for advanced training only. However, you are welcome to stay for a few days if you wish. Just follow me in and I'll drop a marker where you are to land. I'll meet you there in a few minutes after you land with ground transport. How many personnel are going to depart? Over."
Guip responded, “I can assure you that I have had quite a bit of… informal training with the Force. It’s amazing what one who is sensitive in the Force can unearth in ancient ruins. As for personnel, I and a few battle droids are all that reside on this ship. The droids will not be departing with me, however. I need them to stay on board and guard some rather sensitive cargo.”

With that, Guip began his descent to the planets surface and directed the Seeker towards the landing beacon that the Outrider had dropped. As his ship reentered the atmosphere, the Ihren absent mindedly skimmed a data pad on the history of an obscure alien race that live on the edge of the universe. After a few minutes, the Seeker was about a kilometer above a deserted field. The transport descended and gently came to rest without incidence.

Safely on the ground, Guip left the cockpit and went back to his study. There he slung his blaster rifle over his shoulder and put his two pistols in holsters on his side. After arming himself, he opened a small closet that contained four HK model battle droids. He entered a message into a keypad on the wall, and the droids sprang to life. As the mechanical sentries stationed themselves at various points on the ship, Guip entered another command into the key pad, and the ship’s landing ramp lowered. After leaving the ship, the droids raised the ramp and shut the door. They would only open it again if expressly ordered to do so by Guip.

“Now to wait for that transport,” the amphibious alien muttered to himself.

Guip was escorted by Sgt. Johnson as well and quickly loaded into a Pelican along with a Wookie and Sgt. Johnson himself. The Pelican lifted off and headed planetside. Hopefully this would be the last load of the day Foehammer thought as they touched down and quickly entered the Academy.
~~~~~~~~~~

Merumeru quickly caught the hapless Marine. When the Wookie was about to go madclaw on his arsenal, the Marine told him that he shouldn't because he was the Wookie's escort to the Academy. However, not knowing the Native Kashyyk toungue as he was trained to do, he totally forgot how to pronounce how to tell him to follow. The Wookie looked at him, tilted his head, and slowly set the now-sober Marine down as they headed for the transport bays.
~~~~~~~~~~

Szagh was quickly escorted into his dorm room. It was fairly large for a dorm, 15x15, and was told to eat dinner and wait for the assembly.
~~~~~~~~~~

"Theao," Sgt. Johnson said, "You'll be in the Pelican, don't worry. Now get in."
OOC: Theao is already inside the Academy. Reread my previous posts.

*bump*

"All Jedi, cadets, and trainees, please report to the Auditorium or an assembly. Holographic arrows will appear at every hallway to guide you. The headmaster has a few announcements and a speech. It will begin in thirty minutes."
~~~~~~~
A Marine guard approached Van, opened his cell, and said, "You are released on the condition that you do not attack anyone and stay within sight of me at all times. You are also allowed a set of BDUs to wear to the assembly. We used your boots as a mold for your feet, so this set of boots should fit you. Here you go, you might want to change before the assembly. Its in twenty minutes."

Odcal found Rosaline and led her into the Auditorium. They were the first ones in and began catching up and discussing the future.

Van was beginning to regret having entered the Academy... Arrested was one thing, made use military uniforms was another, completely different and infinitely worse thing. "Right then, I'll change... Don't get excited peeking on me, now." He changed to the more worn-out BDU he could find, promissing himself to rip off the damn CM logo as soon as he got his knife back. He dressed on the new boots... Too stiff, but the right size. "Very well, let's go..." Van said, going towards the guard. "So... Your name's what again?" he asked the marine. "Y'know, it's strange a nation that calls itself Crazed Marines. Why's it called that?"

Alexu heard the transmission and headed to the auditorium.

The Marine was talking as they were working towards the Auditorium.

"I'm Sgt. Braddock, and those BDUs you're wearing are mine, so take care of them. That's one of my favorite pairs. As for our name, yes its strange but humorous. You see, when the Corps and the South broke off in 2009, they just called us 'the Crazies' or the Marines. Well, the two kinda merged and our nickname in the ensuing war became 'Crazed Marines'. Well, we kinda adopted it as our name as a kinda 'up-yours' deal with the US, not thinking that we wouldn't rejoin when Clinton left. And after China, it became apparent that the USA was done for so we stuck it out. And don't worry about the uniform, it'll only get you respect around here since I'm quote 'legendary' here along with Johnson. Master Miles is going to talk to you tonight, at which point you'll get ome different clothing as well as your original set and duplicates."

At that point they reached the Auditorium.
~~~~~~~~~
"All staff, please report to backstage Auditorium. Students, ten minutes until the Assembly begins."

Alexu took a seat, propping his feet on the back of the chair in front of him, pulled out a book and began reading while waiting.

OOC: This is assuming that everyone is in the Auditorium
IC:
David looked around backstage and saw all his instructors were there. He then looked at the audience. The auditorium held roughly five hundred Jedi awaiting his training. He looked to his techie and said, "HIT IT!"

The Star Wars theme music plays and David walks out. There are some people who laugh and giggle while others sit there wondering about the sanity of their new instructor.

"Hello, I am Master David Miles. I'm the head master at the Reach Academy for advanced Jedi training. Hopefully you came here seeking how to fight in the ways of the Jedi. Now, our mission is simple, to teach all Jedi how to fight when the diplomatic stuff goes wrong. I shall train you in aggressive negotiations, shall we say..."
David began to pace about.

"We have an addage in this school, 'All who come will leave in a few years. Those who succeed become Knights, and the others are doomed to the library.' Now, I have nothing against the librarians. Lord knows I can't do that, but if you can't fight you will not be able to succeed in the Order in anything except history. Here, you will train on how to build your lightsaber, how to fight armed, unarmed, mounted, command, and use explosives correctly. Then, you will harness your Force powers. For that, we will ship in your Masters with which you joined as Padawans. After that, you will be given the trials and may you prove yourself worthy of becoming Jedi Knights. These tests will not be easy, not by a long shot, but I have faith that every one of you has the ability to complete the task. Mike...up!"

Mike Mikes then took the podium, "I am Mike Miles, son of your headmaster. I am telling you now, don't listen to my dad and you may be killed easily. A lot of the things here are dangerous. Some of them go 'boom' while others roar. You will face life threatening situations here so you will become comfortable with making plans in them when they're actually for real. Many lives more than your own may depend on this. The skill of grace under fire is usually rare unless you are trained for it. WE WILL TRAIN YOU FOR THIS. However, rule number one abut bombs and pretty much everything here is DON'T BE STUPID! We will step in if we think its too much, but we cannot be held responsible for your dumb mistakes. If you make a dumb mistake and someone gets hurt, we'll slap the hammer down on you. Pranks are semi-acceptable as long as they are not held within fifty feet of the North wing. That is a no-no. If you will notice, that's where all the demolitions classes are held. I hope to see all of you in a few days." Mike finished and went backstage with David while the other instructors addressed the students and the assembly was broken up.

Van listened attentivelly as Sgt. Braddock explained the history of CM. He had heard of a planet oh-so imaginatively called Earth inhabited by humans mostly, with a long history of internal conflict. but never really had the chance of studying it in-depth. He'd have to squeeze more out of Sgt. Braddock when he had time. The people at Reach weren't half as bad as he thought...

He looked into the auditorium. "Well, here I go... By the way, name's Van Windall. Since you'll be my shadow for the next few days, might as well present myself." Van walked in, looking behind his shoulder. "Coming?"

**inside**

Van couldn't contain his laughter as he heard the ridiculous theme music. This was really gonna be fun.

Braddock looked at Van and said, "Follow me backstage. The headmaster wants to talk to you." Van followed quickly where David, Mike, Mlasha, and Jenna Miles all were along with the other three Council Members. David looked at Van and sent to him We will train you, however, you have to promise to do what we say when we say it. I mean, if we tell you to take a crap, we don't want you to ask "How much, where, and what color?" But we do want you to stay under control. Uncntrolled, the Force has the power to destroy the Universe, or to heal it. You will have restricted access to parts of the Academy, just like every other student, but will have unrestricted access to our historical databases. What do you say to this?

Van was beginning to lose surprise over the Jedi Telepathic abilities. "Jedi discipline, is it? That might be a wee tough but I'll try." Nope, better not use word games. "Ok, ok, I promise to take your crap. I don't promise, however, not to explode if the crap's too much, or if you're giving me crap for fun. Believe me, I can tell the difference." It might mean being kicked out of the Academy, or some other worse fate, but Van was like that.

The ship shuddered as it got out of hyperspace, the consoles indicated that they were in the right system and still heading towards the right planet. "What am I doing here?" Reno thought to himself, "I'd rather be sitting at one of the dejarik tables at some bar in Courouscant's entertainment district." He looked at the piloting consoles one more time, pushed a button a said "The Crimson Talon, to flight control. Requesting docking permission."

Reno's gaze turned to the planet. He wasn't all too familiar with that cult, the jedi, but he figured this to be some kind of cult meeting as well, perhaps even a cult school for all he cared. He was just there to accompany Arvid, who had just got an urge to go there. Freaking odd.

He turned to a box of durasteel that was placed on the hull, an index of buttons each for sending a message to one of the five rooms of the vessel.

"Don't worry, Reno" a voice behind him said "You humming is enough to wake up the dead."

The man who stood look him was about 6 feet tall, he had raven black hair which he must had been letting grow freely. He was dressed in common clothing, some of it could had been dewback leather from tatooine. Of all places, tatooine, that's where he had seen the man the first time. He had tracked Arvid to tatooine, where he had attacked him and been utterly defeated. And here they were now, companions and crew of the Crimson Talon, a small freighter.

Reno was about to say something as a button on the console started flashing, they had an incoming message.

Alexu had listened to the speech, and while parts were tedious, in general he enjoyed it. As it finished he pulled out his book and went back to reading.

Since the end of the war, Imperial hardware had become easy to acquire. But due to the negative connotations associated with TIE-Fighters, only the most questionable people owned them.

Sothan Kor was heading back to Xenon Base in his TIE-Interceptor when he heard the news about a new Jedi Academy. He was already irritated about the existence of the one on Yavin and yearned to have it destroyed. But since the late Tak’a-Tamen’s previous attacks had failed in the past, Kor had wisely chosen to leave them be. But now things were different.

He had vowed to make sure nothing and nobody got in the way of his quest, least of all David Miles and his academy…

"Crimson Talon, Reach Command. You are clear to land on dock One-Six. Directions will be sent in Navigation software."
~~~~~~
"Master Miles, we have another one."

"I can sense him. He's pretty good. We may be able to use both of them as Instructors." David replied.

The Crimson Talon landed at dock 1-6 with a loud psch from the hydraulics in the landing gear. Arvid laid his eyes on the man next to him, a tan-skinned man with dark dreadlocks, dressed in an old combat armor and always with a careful hand on his heavy blaster pistol at his side. Noone would be able to figure out his bloodline by just looking at him, aside from that he was taller and better built than the average human.

"So, boss. I'm going to find the best place for a drink around here, you'll be a'aight?" the mandalorian asked him.

Arvid nodded and said "It's alright, Reno" as the hatch opened. The two men stepped out of the ship. Arvid laid eyes on the greeting party and smiled.

Avon’s patience had just about run out when the man he was supposed to be meeting finally turned up. The mysteriously cloaked individual sat down at the table as the rabble in the bar continued.

Avon: “You’re late.” He pointed out with restrained irritation,

The stranger merely responded my placing a data chip on the table. At the same time, Avon felt the coldness of a gun barrel discreetly pressed against his leg,

Stranger: “You’ve lied,” his voice was as cold as the blaster under the table, “I said to meet alone.”

Avon: “What makes you think I’m not alone?”

The stranger glanced toward the bar and sure enough, Villa was sitting there enjoying a drink. Avon cursed but kept it to himself,

Stranger: “The information you want is priceless. I detest any situation where a potential client has lied to me.”

Avon: “So what are you going to do, shoot me?” He gestured at the crowded nature of the establishment,

Stranger: “You’d be surprised just how little difference it makes to these people if I were to kill you now.”

The stranger smiled through his cloak as he pressed his gun closer to Avon. Suddenly there was a flash under the table and the sharp, piercing sound of a blaster going off. The stranger’s body flopped forward onto the table before falling into a smouldering heap on the floor. Avon got up from his chair and sheathed his weapon, his emotionless expression never once changing. After picking up the data chip he looked toward Villa who along with everyone else was staring at him.

Avon: “He refused to pay his tab.” He said matter-of-factly. At that instance everyone rushed to the bar to pay for their drinks, despite having paid for them already.

Villa made his way toward Avon who was examining the data chip in the light,

Villa: “I take it we won’t be needing him anymore?”

Avon: “We’d better get this to the Liberator so that Zen can analyse it.” He replied without acknowledging Villa’s rhetorical query.

They both made their way out of the profit making bar and down toward a back street where Avon called up the Liberator through his teleport bracelet. After a moment, both he and Villa vanished just as the stranger’s accomplice rounded the corner…

The students went to their dorm rooms and went to bed. The next day would come sooner than they whould think.
~~~~~~~
Time: 0132 hours
Bells and klaxons rang, waking up most, if not all the students. An angry voice came over the COM, "GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS! ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLESTATIONS! ALL STUDENTS, PUT ON YOUR HUD FOR YOUR BATTLESTATION!" The students who heard this knew to put on a headscreen that would provide holographic information about the Academy and tell each individual tudent where they should be for battle.

David and Mike stood in David's office, Mike holding a stopwatch, timing this drill. Of course the students didn't know this, and treated it as an actual attack. This was the way it should be. David wasn't going to be caught off guard on his watch, and these students would be ready for an attack. All who weren't prepared might just know why David named his sniper rifle Saint Michael.

Arvid cocked an eyebrow as he walked through the empty halls. Someth-
At that same moment all hell seemed to break loose, oh great, he thought, no greeting and the larms go off as soon as you step inside. He could hear the voice calling everyone to the general quarters from inside a room from which a less careful student had been running out of. Arvid knew what to do, he'd just follow the people to find out what all the fuzz was about. He put a hand on his lightsaber... Just in case.

David's voice came on the COM, "ALL STATION CHEIFS REPORT! I WANT PERSONNEL STATUS REPORTS IN THREE MINUTES OR EVERYONE IN THAT STATION GETS EXTRA PT FOR A WEEK!"

Odcal woke up to the clanging of bells and sounds. "What the HELL?"
"GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS! ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLESTATIONS! ALL STUDENTS, PUT ON YOUR HUD FOR YOUR BATTLESTATION!"
"Hmm.. Either some Dark Lord is really stupid or this is a drill. Oh well." Odcal put on his HUD and learned his battlestation. He ran to his battlestation with assistance from the Force and drew his lightsaber.

Rosaline woke up with a shriek. "Oh no, an attack? I'm not ready for an attack!" Rosaline breathed deeply and calmed herself down. She put on the HUD, learned her battlestation, then disappeared with a crack and reappeared at her battlestation. "Now what?" she asked herself.

Szagh, wide awake at the time, was still startled by the sudden noise. After letting the instructions sink in he quickly put on the head screen, grabbed his sword and headed in the direction his HUD pointed.

"5 Standard Minutes to arrival at destination: Reach" the computer chirped.

Kasandral opened her eyes, watching as the brilliant lights of hyperspace faded from her viewport. A moment later, she keyed her communications console.

"Reach Academy, this is Kasandral Xerephen-Miles, requesting permission to land, over."

Having sent the request, Kasandral closed her eyes once more, thinking about the recent events.

Her entire fleet had been left in the capable hands of Admiral Gurshix. In a way, Kasandral would miss her life as a pirate. The constant adventure, the everpresent danger...the thrill of it all would definitely be missed.

On the other hand, Kasandral had before her a chance to set things right. She could return to the Jedi, join them once more. I never made Knight..., Kasandral mused. Perhaps she could take the test sometime soon. Besides, her husband was Mike Miles, and his father David led the academy. Kasandral was sure something would be worked out.

And to teach! To influence the young apprentences as her teachers had influenced her...No, not the same way, Kasandral corrected herself. She would be better, she would not allow her students to make the sort of mistakes she had made. Like joining evil warlords, or setting out on mad quests for revenge.

Besides, Gurshix would always be there if she needed him.

------------Reach System Outskirts, Onboard Eclipse Class Star Destroyer Bloody Keel------------

"Merchant ship detected, sir!"

"Designate target as Maloney One. Proceed with scans."

"Detecting large quantities of carbonite, sir."

"Define faction, target Maloney One."

"Target is sanctioned by Crazed Marines, sir."

"Disregard target Maloney One. Scan system for alternative targets."

"Target Maloney One disregarded. Scanning system for alternative targets...Two alternative targets found, sir. Personal Diplomatic Transport and one fighter class escort."

"Designate targets Tony One and Foley Two, respectively. Define factions, targets Tony One and Foley Two."

"Targets unsanctioned by Crazed Marines, sir."

"Very well. Prepare to intercept target Tony One."

"Aye aye, sir."

Within minutes, the three ship strike force of the Xerephen Pride was ready, beginning to slowly move in on the transport. The Keel, the largest of the three, approached from directly ahead. Meanwhile, the Bloodthorn and Expiation II, both Victory I class Star Destroyers, moved from both flanks.

"Open communications link, Target Tony One." Admiral Gurshix ordered.

"Aye aye, sir!"

"Attention diplomatic vessel," Gurshix paused to glance down at his computer screen, "Librarius. Prepare to be boarded. Do not resist."

Without waiting for a response, Gurshix ordered the next moves.

"Expiation II, scramble fighter squadron A1. Surround Targets. Bloodthorn, disable target communications."

Meanwhile, a team of Maidens, the Pride's main boarding force, began the flight toward the target. Within moments, they were aboard, as the target put up no fight, simply powering down engines and waiting for the inevitable.

Soon, the Maiden Commander was on the bridge of the small diplomatic vessel as her team searched the rest of the ship.

"I am Maiden Commander Jana of the Xerephen Pride. Who are you transporting?"

A grayhaired old man stood. "I am Captain Rosemary of the Librarius. We are transporting an ambassador to a small planet on the Outer Rim. We have established permission to travel these lanes from Reach."

"I see. In that case, my deepest appologies. Assuming, of course, you can provide me with documentation of your arrangement with Reach?"

"Yes, yes, right, of course..." the captain scrambled to print off the documents, handing them to Jana.

After running a casual eye over them, Jana looked up. "My appologies. We will allow you to be on your way. As a token of our appologies, I would offer you a single squadron of fighters to aid in your mission."

Confused at her sudden change of heart, from robbing him blind to helping him, the captain stuttered "N-no...that...that won't be necessary."

Bowing with a flourish, Jana nodded and turned, quickly summoning her team back to their transport, and heading back to the Keel. Meanwhile, the two Victory Star Destroyers backed off, forming up with the Bloody Keel once more.

Jana stood before Admiral Gurshix. "It would seem that this was a simple case of the electronic documentation not being found by our scanners, Jon."

"I agree, Jana. I'll get them checked. We musn't raid any CM ships...Kasandral would kill us." Jon Gurshix smiled wryly.

"I wonder how Kasandral's doing..."

Xenon Base was entirely out of the way from all major space lanes and colonies. It was even outside the Empire’s sphere of influence all those years ago and could actually be considered safe. Xenon Base was located within and hundreds of feet underneath tons of rock on a small planet out on the rim. It was where Sothan Kor resided in his custom built domicile with enough space to house at least ten people. As it was, only Sothan Kor and his ‘companion’, Soolin resided there deep within the bowels of their secret location.

Soolin was the epitome of feminine perfection. Not one physical attribute could be faulted and that was only the start of it. Soolin was quite possibly the fastest and most accurate marksman in the galaxy, at least by Kor’s standards and his were always very high. However no amount of physical perfection or weapons training would help Sothan Kor with his current dilemma,

Sothan Kor: “Where is our contact? He should have been here hours ago!”

Soolin: “I tracked his ship to Tatooine. It hasn’t left there since.”

Sothan Kor: “What is here doing on Tatooine? I want that data chip NOW!”

Kor’s temper was always on the short side. And his Sith allegiance made it all the more dangerous as Soolin suddenly felt a mild tremor. It was lucky the rock strata above them was so solid, otherwise they would have been buried alive long ago.

Sothan Kor: “The arrangement was for him to meet me here to deliver the data chip. He mentioned NOTHING about a detour to Tatooine!”

Soolin: “Perhaps someone has made him a better offer?”

Kor’s expression changed from rage to a psychotic blankness,

Sothan Kor: “He has betrayed me? I will kill him slowly for that!”

Soolin: “You were going to kill him anyway after he gave you the chip.”

Sothan Kor: “I would have granted him a quick death. Now he shall suffer my wrath… As will the others who have obtained the data chip…
________________________________________________________________

The Liberator sped through space with its customary speed and grace. On board, Avon was examining the data chip he had killed the stranger for on Tatooine,

Avon: “Zen. Can you access the information stored on the chip?”

Zen: “Negative. The information has been scrambled and cannot be decoded without the proper cipher sequence.” The onboard computer’s monotone voice echoed throughout the flight deck.

Avon: “Can you determine the proper sequence?”

Zen: “There is insufficient data. The cipher sequence is a random binary and fractal encryption code. It would take at least ten hours to attempt to decode it.”

Avon’s face dropped. Ten hours? That was far too long to wait. But then again, it was all they had,

Avon: “Alright Zen, begin the decryption sequence.”

Zen: “Confirmed.”

At that moment Villa walked in with a curious expression,

Villa: “Any luck?”

Avon: “We’ll find out in about ten hours.”

Villa: “Ten hours!?!? We could be dead by then!”

Avon: “I know. I only hope the original person who wanted this data chip will not find us for eleven hours.”…

On board the Liberator;

Zen: “The data chip has been successfully decrypted.”

Avon was nodding off in the vision suite when he suddenly snapped to full consciousness. He walked over to the Zen computer with eager anticipation,

Avon: “Analysis Zen!”

Zen: “The information has been badly corrupted. However there are three key inputs which may be of importance.”

Avon didn’t appear too hopeful with only three fragments of information,

Avon: “What are they?”

Zen: “Three words: CoreWorlds, ‘Reach’ and Power.”

Avon: “Cross reference these words and see if there is any link between them.”

The Zen computer paused for a moment as it examined its vast database,

Zen: “There is only one correlation consistent with the high degree of security; the location of the ancient book of Dr'ea and Mosh.”

Avon became intrigued. He had never heard of Dr'ea or Mosh nor could he comprehend any reason as to why such information would be so securely locked into a data chip. Suddenly his attention was drawn to the threat alert.

Zen: “Sensors are registering a small craft on an intercept course.”

A minute later, the flight deck was destroyed.
______________________________________________________

Sothan Kor was piloting his scout craft Scorpio toward the next waypoint. Soolin was busy navigating the quickest course toward their destination. The Scorpio was in essence a modified freighter. However these particular modifications had made it considerable more powerful and dangerous than its original counterparts. The Slave computer was probably one of the most sophisticated CPUs created but its personality certainly didn’t reflect this.

Slave: “We are approaching the waypoint master. And I have detected the quantum signature of a ship running on a parallel course.”

Sothan Kor: “Increase speed to intercept. I won’t let them get away with this!”

Soolin: “Kor, we might be close enough to purge their computers and download the information to Slave.”

Kor’s eyes lit up.

Sothan Kor: “Slave can you interface with the other ship’s computer?”

There was a pause,

Slave: “The enemy’s computer system is remarkably sophisticated master. It may not be possible to retrieve all of their information.”

Sothan Kor: “Just try it anyway and see if you can corrupt their database. I don’t want them knowing everything.”

Soolin got up and strode over to the weapons station,

Soolin: “Quantum beams standing by.”

Slave: “I have successfully downloaded the information master, however their computer system was able to block most of the corruption virus.”

Soolin: “We’re in range.”

Sothan Kor: “Never mind. We’ll finish it ourselves. FIRE!”

Two beams of pure energy leapt forth from Scorpio and struck the Liberator amidships. The impact was so powerful that it knocked the ship off course.
___________________________________________________

Avon was caught completely off guard as the rear wall of the flight deck exploded. Debris, ceiling supports and flames spat forward as Avon fell to the floor.

Avon: “Zen! Activate defences!

Zen: “Eeeehg noddig sophot… sophot…”

At that moment Villa appeared at the doorway,

Villa: “Avon, what happened?”

Avon: “Translator unit’s been knocked out!!” Another explosion, “We’re defenceless!!”

Villa: “Let’s get out of here whilst we still can!”

Avon: “I’m surprised your still here!”

Avon struggled toward the doorway with Villa helping him out only when he reached it. Just as they cleared the corridor, the flight deck erupted with flames.


On the bridge of Scorpio, Sothan Kor laughed as he watched the Liberator spiral out of control.

Soolin: “Ready to fire a second volley.”

Sothan Kor: “Wait. They’re not going anywhere. Let them suffocate in the vacuum of space.”

Soolin was a little disappointed but kept her cool. Their attentions were focused when Slave spoke up,

Slave: “My analysis of the data obtained indicates a strong possibility that the location of the book of Dr'ea and Mosh may be revealed at the new Jedi Academy located on the CM colony of ‘Reach’.

Kor roared with self-satisfaction,

Sothan Kor: AT LAST!!!! Finally the secrets of Dr'ea and Mosh with soon be mine!!!”

Soolin: “But if it’s a Jedi academy, wouldn’t the data of the location be highly guarded?”

Sothan Kor: “Not for long. The Syndicate have close ties with the Mercs. They will help me by attacking that academy.”

With nothing but success in his mind, Sothan Kor went about contacting the Mercs…

"All stations, all stations. This is the XO speaking." Mike said over the COM, "We are hereby ending this alert readyness exercise. I want reports of all those who were late or failed to show up on my desk in ten minutes. That is all. Station time 0150. Out."

Odcal sighed. "I knew it."

"Knew what?" asked Rosaline who had just apparated nearby.

"This drill. It's just the sort of thing Master Miles would do." Odcal replied.

The two of them headed to the dining hall for breakfast.

"Hey Mike, want to grab some food before we go out on our early run?"

"Sure Dad, how far are we running and when?"

"10k at 0500. Why?"

"Just trying to figure out hwat I should eat."

"You can eat anything you want. Its 2 in the morning!" David replied with a laugh as the two approached the cvafeteria and noticed Odcal and Rosaline. The two had taken a liking the unlikely pair and decided to say something.

"Hey Odcal," David started, "would you both mind coming here for a second. I want to run something by you."

WTF DAD?! What are you running by them? Mike said quickly.

Don't worry. I'm just giving them a heads up on a single training assignment. They'd be lost in the woods for two weeks if I just plain Pelican dropped them without a map. This is a teamwork exercise after all.

"Sure Master Miles. What is it?" replied Rosaline. Odcal remained silent wondering what Master Miles had in store for them.

"Heh. Your cult isn't much for alcoholic drinks, are they?" Reno asked as he found his companion again. "Ah, well. You know, Arvid.. I don't think I'll like it here if they'll keep these training drills up."

"Blast it, Reno. For the third time, we're not a cult.. We're like-" Arvid began, keeping his constant emotionless look on his face. "Nevermind. You wanna go for a spar?"

"Sure" Reno replied, and not much later they were back inside their ship.

"Let's go" Arvid said, "And do me a favor this time, set for stun."

Reno nodded and pulled out his blaster from the holster in his belt, he didn't need more than half a second to aim before he released a burst of blue rings. Arvid quickly ignited his saber, the blade was yellow with an orange, almost red glow. He parried the first two bolts and dodged the third. With the force he jumped over Reno, landing behind him before giving him a swift kick in the back. Reno fell down to the floor and dropped his blaster. In a split second he had managed to roll to his feet and pulled out a new weapon from his boot. He fired another bolt which Arvid easily parried before he jumped at his other blaster, picking it up. He fired a series of rapid shots, one which Arvid didn't manage to deflect - not because he couldn't sense it, Reno's aim had just been too precise to deal with and he took the bolt in the shoulder, which knocked him down to the ground.
Reno was hyperventilating, he looked at the jedi on the ground before he jumped at him. Arvid rolled to the side and used the force to push the mandalorian into the wall. Arvid got up on his feet and walked over to Reno, he turned his lightsaber off and put it back on it's belt where it belonged.

"Nice shooting. Those dreadlocks of yours got in your face, though. Could had been fatal if this was a real battle" Arvid commented, "But.. You got me."

"Yeah, well you don't need to hold back on the force when we do this, Arvid. I'm not holding back on my arsenal" Reno replied "We should get back inside, though. Find the people who run this place."

And once more they entered the academy, but this time they went to the officer's quarters.

Kasandral brought her Phantom into the hangar assigned to her expertly. Opening the cockpit hatch, she climbed out, finding a student within seconds.

"Excuse me...can you tell me where Master Miles' office is?"

Frowning slightly, wondering why this woman in black wanted to know, the student nodded. "You go down this corridor, take a left...." He continued for a few moments, frowned at her again, and left to get to his duties.

Kasandral set out through the corridors, finally finding David's office. She rapped lightly on the door.

Tagged for later entry.

"Odcal, what would you think if I took everyone to some ungodly neck of the woods by air, blindfolded mind you, give then a part of a map each and tell them to find the RV point without any help from us."

So you're not going to tell him about the guards who they have to fight or that the last person has to walk back? Mike shot back.

Nope David replied, taking a slug of Whiskey, his last vice his wife was still working on.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kasandral entered David's office, where a college aged Asian lieutenant was busy doing paperwork. She said, in a soft and caring voice, "May I help you Ma'am? Oh, I see, you're Lady Xerephen. Forgive me. David and Mike are in the Cafeteria. Both will be so glad to see you. Mike misses you a lot, you lucky devil." she added. It was well known with the Marines that the two Miles' wished to be called by their first name as long as they knew the person they were talking to. What Kas didn't know was the Lieutenant had dated Mike back in High School and the two remained good friends to this day.

"I would say that Rosaline here would win easily." Odcal replied. "But it would be good training for everyone else."

Magius' small, sleek ship exited hyperspace smoothly, to the surprise of the pilot inside. He had bought this ship for a rather cheap price, and he had had the feeling it was not just due to its size that the price had been reduced. He then noted the blinking yellow light to his upper left, which confirmed his original beliefs. The hyperspace was now damaged and could not jump back until he could dock and find a mechanic to repair it. Looking at the space sattion before him, he hoped he would not need the hyperspace soon.
Magius had to close his eyes, calm down, before he reached for the commlink. He was confident of his own powers and capabilities, but this was a challenge- and privelige- he felt he could never be truly prepared for. He steeled himself, noting to himself his fast progress under Mantil's guidance and the power he felt surging through him as he made objects float, fly and turn around with the power of his mind alone. I am Magius, he thought. I shall not fail.

He activated the commlink and spoke in a clear, unhesitant voice, though he strained to keept it so.

"Reach command, this is Magius, pilot of Aurora. Permission to dock requested."

Arvid and Reno arrived at David's office only a few minutes after Kasandral only to be directed the same way as her. They went there and it wasn't very hard to figure out who the highest ranking person was, Arvid had an easy time feeling his great presence in the Force. He bowed politely and introduced himself to the man as soon as the group of people was done speaking to him.

"Very well Odcal. Then I shall see to it that you are the head of your Pelican." David said. Kasandral walked in and Mike went over to hug her passionately. Also, two more men walked in, one a Jedi and another a Madnalorian.

"Well well. A Mandalorian. Haven't seen one of those suits since we had to design our Blood Ranger design off of that. If you need a good range, there's one a click to the West. Now, what can I do for the Jedi?"
~~~~~
Aurora. You have Permission to Dock at dock One Six Three.

Magius calmed down a little as he heard the positive answer. He began to engage the landing procedure, making sure to do it very slowly and calmly, noticing every little detail. Before the final step, he closed his eyes and focused on the force he felt around them. He then opened his eyes and completed the final steps of docking into dock one six three.
He let out a breath of relief and then stood up and marched towards the hatch. Before opening it, he stood up tall, made sure his robe was straight, his lightsaber hooked correctly, and making sure not to show the least sign of weakness or lack of skill. He then exited the small craft and marched onto the deck, looking for a superior to report to. He had entered the Jedi Academy, and he could not think of a better way to do so.

OOC: Heh...I've been plagued with random online time once more. Sorry for not posting lately. I'm back. I think. ;)

IC:

"Michael...God its great to see you again. Seems your dad has done quite a job here, though..."

Arvid studied Reno as the mandalorian replied "Yeah, I'll make sure to check that out." As he was done, Arvid stepped forward and said "I could ask you the same thing, master. I think there is little you can teach me in lightsaber combat that I don't already know, so I wish to assist in any ways possible to train a future generation of Jedi." He tilted his head and smiled, "If there's any position open, that is."

Reno walked away silently as the jedi began to speak. Not much more than cultist rambling, he thought to himself. But he was sure that Arvid would be all right, time to check that range out..

OOC: Back. Miss me? ^^ Sorry 'bout that, discovered I wouldn't get a chance to get online rather abruptly.

IC: Van woke up all of a sudden when the alarms fired away. Hmm... he wasn't given a HUD... Was he? He looked around his room, and found nothing. Had he been forgotten? Or maybe the other students received theirs when they were leaving the auditorium....

He got out of his room, and decided to follow the others. Van would just look around for an empty station once every other was taken. That he did, and he made mental notes of the Academy's layout that'd come quite handy if he wasn't given a damn HUD after this.

At the battlestations, Van looked around. Damn... He had been kicked out of a station by the tenth time already. Eventually, the drill ended. A good start, indeed... Van walked back to his room, fortunately remembering his way back. He sat on the ground, and took a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote his report. After that, he searched around for Mike's office. Finally there, he entered non-challantly and upset, and slammed the report on his desk. It read... Mission failed due to lack of equipment. Damn HUB is in order. And gimme back my stuff as well.

"Well, we could always need another lightsabr instructor. We only have enough to teach three forums and I need someone to also teach the young'uns how to build their lightsaber. Come with me to my office." David replied, and led the Jedi to where they couldn't be heard. They entered the main office where David and Mike both had seperate rooms, and the receptionist was there. A young Asian, this Marine was sweet and she spoke nicely, "Hi, I'm Chu Wang. If you need anything David, just call." Chu went back to her work filling out the necessary paperork for most of the students to get their classes then went over to the COM.
All students, please report to the Administration wing for your class schedules and book assignments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike was so glad to see Kas, and when she spoke, the words were like honey for his ears. He replied in his own slow manner, "Yeah, dad's got a lot to do, but he's handelling it. We're working on a flash-clone blank so he can get his body back. I have a feeling he's gonna need a new power cell in his lightsaber soon, so that's why we're working on it. I suspect we'll have the clone by lunch tomorrow. So anyways, how was the trip? I trust Gushrix knows how to drive the ships properly."

It read... Mission failed due to lack of equipment. Damn HUD is in order. And gimme back my stuff as well.

Chu noticed this report was not in the proper bin, which is why she had ignored it until now. However, she noticed that this particular person, Van had been put on report for failing to show up to his battle station. She got on the personal COM,
Mike, sorry to intrude, its Chu....Uh, I have a student who filed an incident forum explaining why he wasn't at his battlestation last night. He claims he never got a HUD in his room. I also believe this is the pirate you took prisoner. and he's requesting his stuff back.

Ok Chu. I'll be there in twenty minutes. I want to spend some time with Kas.

Arvid nodded to David. "It sounds good and I am honored to be offered that post. Allright, your office and we'll go over the details" Arvid said before he followed David to his office.

Magius wandered about a little around the ship, not yet asking anyone for directions, confident he could find the administrator's office alone. At that moment, he heard the com announcement. Perfect timing, he thought. He followed the crowd to the administration wing, feeling about him with the force to sense sources of power. He noticed a certain adult seemingly of great importance, and he felt great presence of the force in him. He walked up to the man and presented himself.

"Magius, jedi apprentice to the master Mantil and pilot of the starship Aurora, reporting to the Jedi academy" He said straightforwardly.

Odcal and Rosaline grabbed a quick bite and then headed to the Administration Wing to get their class schedules and book assignments.

The message contained only the location of the Jedi Academy on ‘Reach’ and the word ‘NOW’. The message transmitted to the Mercs from The Syndicate was encrypted and compressed to prevent interception.

Sothan Kor took his place as the acknowledgement returned from the Mercs. The invasion of ‘Reach’ would be underway very shortly…

OOC: I assume you’ll want to RP the Mercs CM?

And at the same time Arvid sensed a strange disturbance, merely a tingle, undefinable which made him stop in the middle of the conversation before he realized that he was being rude and started talking again, paying no heed to the warning given.

OOC: Timeline is after Kas and Mike's wedding
OOC2: ED, the mercs are under joint control. Split them into two attack groups and control one while I control the other.

IC:
David was in his office, talking to the new instructor. He then levitated the strudent who approached him and dropped him in the reception area.
~~~~~
"Kasandral...I have a question? I know we've discussed everything, almost...but what have you decided about having kids?" Mike asked tenderly when the two were alone in their room, watching the rain above them on the skylight.

Arvid nodded as the discussion was coming to an end. "I'll begin tomorrow, then" he said, gave a polite bow and walked out of the office. He looked around and started walking towards the quarters assigned to him. As he arrived he placed himself on his bed and started meditating, in a more or less futile attempt to figure out what that disturbance had been. It was odd, nothing he had ever felt before, but it was there.

The planet ‘Reach’ was but a mere sector away. The first section of Mercs had already rendezvoused with Syndicate forces and was ready to go.

On board the Scorpio, Sothan Kor was eagerly anticipating the up and coming conflict. He had just received the final confirmation signal that his fleet was ready,

Sothan Kor: “Let us begin. Take no prisoners!”

The fleet moved in and without warning, attacked the Jedi Academy from orbit…

Arvid opened his eyes, awaking from his self-induced hibernation. The alarms were set off, he stumbled over to his datapad and looked at it, the internal news system told him that the planetary shield had suffered several hits and that it was only a matter of time before it would be breached. He stumbled out into the corridors towards the officer's quarters.

Reno woke up as soon as the alarms went off. He had been sleeping in the crew's quarters of the Crimson Talon after a long day of target practice. He ran over to the console in the cockpit and performed a quick scan of the system. Of course he couldn't register other than what went on directly above him as the ship was on the ground but it was better than nothing. He couldn't believe his eyes, though. He picked up his comlink as he warmed up the engines of the ship. "It's time to get out of here" he thought to himself. He yelled into the comlink "Arvid. Come in, Arvid. We've got to get out of here. Now!"

And in Arvid's room the comlink buzzed. "Arvid.. Come in! Damn you, Arvid.."

Culwen carefully lined his three card up in the hollow of his hand, and had to bite down hard on his lower lip not to give himself away. Sabbac Run. Gods weep, so that’s what it looked like. Culwen tried to retain his composure, doing his best to make sure that his hands didn't tremble and that his hazel-brown eyes didn't dart sideways - something they always did when he was nervous.

How many credits were there on the table now? A thousand, he guessed. At least a bloody thousand. Perhaps more. And they would all be his, if he could only keep his composure. If only-

* * *

It all happened in slow motion. The klaxon in the corner began to wail and stutter with vox-static, and mere seconds, like so much space dust... the Sabbac game was forgotten. The mercs pushed their chairs back, stoic faces not betraying the slightest hint of anxiety or nerve. Culwen had only been with these people for the better part of a month, but he'd picked up this much from their usual chatter... When in came to killing for credits, they were some of the worst stone-cold blaster jockeys this side of Corouscant.

Culwen prepared his usual kit. They'd be going in fast and hard, like always. Some sort of military installation? He slung the bandoleer with the last few Glop grenades over one shoulder and patted the handle of his Dresalian Defender reassuringly as he headed towards the locker to pick up his armour. The other boys didn't seem to concerned, he mused, and if they didn't, then why should he?

OoC: I'm just making my entry here CM. If you find this to be inappropriate, please say so and I'll change it into something else.

Kasandral frowned slightly, thinking. "I think that--what's that?!" She sat up in alarm as the alarms sounded. Immediately, she reached for Zerghiel, her lightsaber, which was sitting on the nightstand. "Michael...we'll talk later. And I want to talk to your dad about getting a job here...Why the hell am I talking about this now?!" She blinked and shook her head slightly at her own thinking. "You should get to wherever you need to be for this...I'm headed for my Phantom. I'm going to try and intercept any incoming transports or such, try and buy you guys some time."

She turned, sprinting out the door, loading her blaster pistols as she ran. She was, of course, in just her nightgown, having had no time to change. Ignoring the various looks of incredulity at the beautiful scantily clad woman sprinting through the corridors with pistols, Kasandral climbed into her TIE Phantom. She immediately keyed communications.

"Reach Jedi Academy, this is Lady Kasandral Miles, moving to intercept. Please tag me as friendly."

She hit a few more buttons.

"Gurshix, this is Kasandral! Bring the Pride around immediately! Jedi Academy is under attack by unknown forces. I repeat, Academy is under attack! Acnoledge!"

She keyed her thrusters, shooting out of the hangar, searching the night sky for any incoming transports. A few moments later, a voice crackled over her speakers.

"This is Gurshix! Acnoledged! ETA at Reach Academy: One hour. We'll try and cut that down as much as possible, but no promises. We're spread pretty thin as is. I think I may be able to get the Expiation, Keel, and Bloodthorn to your position within the next half hour."

"Keep me updated, Gurshix. And get that fleet here!"

She cut communications, scanning the skies once more...

The flotilla of Syndicate and Merc forces continued to rain heavy fire down upon the Jedi Academy. Sothan Kor watched with unrestrained glee as his superior forces repeatedly pounded the surface.

Sothan Kor: “Signal the Mercs to send down their infantry. I want some heavy escort along with us!”

Soolin nodded and sent the message to the Merc commander. She watched on the screen as the bombardment continued, but could not find it within herself to share Kor’s enthusiasm about what was effectively a mass slaughter,

Soolin: “If we’re going down there, shouldn’t the fleet stop the bombardment?”

Sothan Kor: “No, I want the Jedi to be totally off guard. It will make it easier to find the location of the book. Take us down”

Soolin didn’t feel too convinced that was a good idea, but obeyed just the same.

The Scorpio began descending along with several escort fighters. Their spiral course kept them away from the orbital bombardment and helped them to avoid the surface batteries. Moments later, the Scorpio came to rest and Sothan Kor disembarked…


Jennik was as alert as everyone else in the academy. Her Jedi senses gave her a good clear direction toward the landing infantry as she joined a small group on their way to intercept them. She knew she had to keep her cool if she was to survive and she knew that any moment now, would lead her toward her greatest adversary yet…

Odcal and Rosaline looked around as the alarms sounded a second time. They knew that it wasn't a drill this time. It was an attack. "Why does everyone always have to target Academies.." muttered Odcal. They both used the Force and sped off to meet the just landing Scorpio.

Quickly realizing the impossible odds of avoiding the orbital fire much longer, Kasandral shot down for a landing several hundred yards away from the Scorpio, quickly opening the hatch and jumping out. Still clad in only her short nightgown ((Gah...I'm fashion illiterate. I mean the short type that goes down about to your thigh or so...like in Mr. and Mrs. Smith...only example I can think of. :rolleyes: )), Kasandral began the jog toward the ship, checking her blasters a final time. She stopped short, catching sight of Odcal and Rosaline, and signalled them to hide and wait. Quickly, she did the same.

Odcal and Rosaline caught sight of Kasandral. They quickly hid after seeing the signal. Odcal hid behind a bush while Rosaline jumped up into a tree. Both of them drew lightsaber and wand and waited.

Mike, clad in only a pair of shorts, went to the orbital cannon stations. His task was taking out orbiting ships from the ground, to make it too costly to land and hold. His battery sector had targeted a single fleet...no, wait...two seperate fleets. They were splitting. Mike directed fire on the one that was moving, figuring that he could shoot it only for a short period of time before it moved out of range, when he could then shoot the first merc fleet. His batteries charged and fired.
~~~~~~
Captain Norchink directed his half of the mercenary fleet. His had, in total, thirty ships including one Super Star Destroyer and three Liberator SDs. Mikes batteries warmed up and fired.

"Cappie! The Defenders are firing."

"Shields!"
*boom*
"Damage?" The Captain asked.
"Shields are down 30%, but we lost ten ships including all of our Liberator class ships. HOLY GOOMA! LOOK AT THAT!"
At that instant, the lone CM Super Death Star appeared. It was scheduled for routine maintence, and its cannon was roughly ten times more powefrul than the original. It began warming up its main cannon, while the enemy flet began blasting at it. The SDS took most of the hits well, but some slipped through the shielding and met with the neutronium armor. Most shots fizzled, but the one from the SSD punctured the armor. A small explosion came out, but nothing major. A second salvo from the ground, combined with the main SDS shot destroyed the entire mini-fleet. The SDS then moved to the other side of the planet and was fired upon as it fired upon the rest of the enemy fleet. Its shielding was dropped to fire and the skin of the craft was punctured.

"CMS Pyrus to Reach. We are bugging out to Sigma. Give 'em hell. SDS out."

With that, the SDS entered hyperspace.
~~~~~~~~
David was in the flash-cloning room. A human body resembling his was in the tank, but had no heartbeat. David disappeared, his lightsaber dropped to the floor with a loud clank, and the "clone" breathed its first. David had inhabited the then dead body and gave it life. He was back in the flesh.

David grabbed his lightsaber as he left, put on a jumpsuit, and went to his CIC or Combat Information Center. By the time he reached it, the first half had been destroyed and the CM Fleet was moving in for the kill.

But something dark was there.....he could feel it, aboard a ship.

"Direct all fire on the ship at these coordinates." David barked.

"But sir, it hasn't even fired its guns. It is no threat."

"THE HELL IT AIN'T! THAT'S THEIR C&C SHIP! IT HAS A FRIGGIN DARK JEDI ONBOARD!"

"Yes sir...All ships, concentrate fire on the ship I am marking now." the frightened ensign said, still scared of what David was doing.

The air was filled with the smell of burning as distant sounds of battle echoed all around. Two Merc guards escorted Sothan Kor toward the back entrance whilst the rest remained with the Scorpio. Kor could sense the presence of at least two Jedi… no, three in fact. They had concealed themselves well for Kor couldn’t easily pinpoint them. Just then his attention focused on a forth who was moving rapidly moving toward him.

Jennik caught sight of the approaching dark lord and readied her lightsabre. When he got closer she revealed herself to him,

Jennik: “You will regret what you have done here today evil one.”

Kor merely glanced at the being before him and laughed. The sound was not pleasant and Jennik ignited her sabre accordingly. She had gotten to know Kasandral during the introductions and likewise. One thing Kasandral had sensed before was that Jennik was too eager with little to no self-control,

Sothan Kor: “Run along child,” he mocked, “You may live longer.”

With that Jennik charged. Kor sidestepped and drew his own lightsabre, which caught Jennik off-guard. Both blades clashed loudly and whilst Jennik betrayed every emotion flowing through her, Sothan Kor was as calm as an eerie ocean. The battle watched by Kasandral, Odcal and Rosaline continued with each parrying, thrusting and dodging. At times it seemed Kor was simply playing with her, letting her think she was getting the better of him. At the last moment their weapons locked together,

Jennik: “You won’t get away with this murderer!”

Sothan Kor: “Enough of this. I have far too much to do.”

With that he force-nudged her backward before spinning around for a clean swipe through her neck. Jennik’s head flew toward Odcal’s position as her lifeless body slumped to the ground. Sothan Kor smirked before continuing toward the academy…

"Too late, David" Arvid said as he entered the CIC. "Can't you feel it? He's coming." Arvid studied David for a few seconds, closed his eyes and then looked at the man again. "I.. Hmm. Anyway, you should concentrate on evacuating as many younglings as possible. They'll be no good against planetary bombardments."

Arvid turned around and said over his shoulder "He's coming closer by the minute. I'll see how long I can hold them back." A second later he jogged off in the direction of the strange presence. He used his will to shrug off his nervousity as he grabbed his lightsaber.

Magius felt the attack coming only a second before it began. He noticed it was rather physical, without strong presence in the force. Before rushing ibnto action, he felt around him with the force, feeling the situation rather than looking upon it. The picture became clear to him. A whole battalion of ships was attacking them, bombarding the surface with all their guns. He felt no cries of anguish, no great pain, so he turned his attention elsewhere. He then realized his mistake; he felt a strong, evil presence of the force- headed for the academy!
He then heard Arvid's words and understood. A Dark Jedi was approaching.
"Arvid, wait!" He called out. He ran after the young Jedi and grabbed his arm.

"Alone we fall, together we are victorious." He said with a stern face. "Even a great dark Jedi is no match for a group of Jedi. Let us gather a small group of students before charging out recklessly. The instructors are busy with the aerial assault."

Once the dark lord was gone, Kasandral slowly stepped out of the bushes. "Okay, Odcal. Let's have a looksee in here, shall we? If it's necessary to his success, we detonate it. Bring the girl."

With that, Kasandral ignited her lightsaber and stepped into the Scorpio.

Odcal watched the duel with interest and he knew what the outcome would be. Silly girl, trying to take on too powerful of an opponent. Odcal stopped the flying head with a small TK wave. Then he and Rosaline followed Kasandral onboard, wondering what they would find.

"There's no time" Arvid said and gazed upon Magius. "He's coming, and only a fool would come alone. The only people we have time to gather is those who approaches us as we get ready." Arvid looked around a second before he brought his datapad out. "If he's looking for something in the academy, it's probably in the officer's quarters or the library. There's an intersection here dividing library, quarters and mess and training halls, we'll meet him there. May the Force be with us." Arvid closed his eyes and in his head he recited a code he had learned from his master long ago.

There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no chaos; there is harmony.
There is no death; there is the Force.

Magius listened intently to Arvid while looking over his shoulder at the datapad, finally nodded. He drew his lightsaber from its holster but did not turn it on yet.
"Wise words. we can also prepare ourselves better if he approaches us instead of the other way around. May the force be with us, indeed, and not with the dark one.
"Let us make haste to the intersection, then" He said, and began running lightly to the intersection area. The first day at the academy was not turning out as expected, he thought to himself.
Just then, he heard a scream in the force, and he winced as he realized a jedi had fallen, and judging by the scream in a most terrible way. With steeled eyes, he ran faster to the intersection.

Sothan Kor continued to make his way further into the academy. He was almost convinced there were other Jedi nearby, perhaps with the intention to intercept him at an intersection up ahead? He smiled at the amusing notion that students would have the gall to challenge him. The two escorting Merc guards had their weapons raised and were keeping a look out for trouble. They were surprised at Kor’s ability to remain focused during a tense moment such as this.

The trio rounded a corner, which led toward an intersection,

Sothan Kor: “The information is up ahead,” he smirked, “go and make sure the way is clear.”

The two guards had convinced themselves that the occupants of this academy could be no more than mere children. They made their way toward the intersection and unknown to them, the Jedi hiding in wait…


Soolin was on the flight deck scanning the surrounding area. The orbital bombardment was certainly making a lot of craters if nothing else. At least ten Merc guards were with her on the modified freighter, but Soolin felt they were they merely to keep her company. Her lightening speed with the blaster made her a formidable opponent. Her attention was focused onto the Slave computer as it spoke,

Slave: “Forgive my intrusion Master, but my internal sensors are registering unauthorised access to the ship.”

Soolin smiled slightly, but she wasn’t as enthusiastic as Kor would be,

Soolin: “Guards, take care of the intruders. They are not to leave the ship alive!…”

OOC: How many guards are there?

IC: Odcal ignited his lightsaber and charged into the guards. He deflected any attacks that came his way and started slicing through the guards. Meanwhile Rosaline remained behind him and started shooting at the guards with spells.

"FRAK! He's on the surface. Prepare all students for emergency transport. Get them on the Onyx SSDs. Take them to Sigma Octagnus." David screamed as he left the control room.

"Where are you going, sir?"

"To kill this dousche." David responded as he walked, being careful to mask his Force aura to mimic that of a cockroach.
~~~~~~
"Echo battery, free fire zone has been established in our sector. Target and unload all Disruptors." Mike screamed over the din of battle.

Echo battery. This is TF22, we are one minute inbound on your position. Where are the baddies?

TF22, this is Mike Miles. The enemy fleet is above Sector 12 Bravo. This is a free-fire zone.

Mike then shot a message out thruu the Force, Kas, come back quickly. The Fleet is here and they won't differentiate from the enemy fleet and anything you might try and pull. Pass the word to Gushrix to lower his weapons and go to the Northern pole. I'm not totally sure the CG knows about your fleet.

Kasandral swore, shooting a message to Mike. Will do, hon...we're between a rock and a hard spot for the moment though...onboard the transport the Dark Jedi flew in on...mild resistance...shouldn't be much of a challenge. We'll detonate the transport, and bug out in my Phantom.

A split second later, she sent a force message to Jana, an officer of the Pride trained with the Force. Jana, tell Gurshix to back off and rendezvous at the Northern Pole. Be sure to transmit your intentions to the CM fleets. Kasandral, out!

Finally, she joined Odcal in the charge, leaving the lessers for Odcal and the girl, looking for whichever compartment would be the most explosive, guessing it to be the engine room. She cursed her lack of equipment, trying to think of an alternate way to make a detonation. Finally, plan in tow, she stepped into the engine room...

Magius, after rounding the same corner and reaching the intersection, quickly hid behind the opposite corner, away from the entrance. He felt the presence of the dark jedi approaching, and there was a certain calmness about him that showed just how powerful he was.
When arvid arrived, Magius motioned for him to hide as well, opposite him. He wanted both of them to be in control of the strait that led further into the intersection...and the academy.
When he felt the dark jedi had finally reached their position, he was not surprised to also feel the faint presence of force-ignorants. Bodyguards, he thought to himself. He was surprised to feel them approaching, leaving the master behind!
Magius looked at his lightsaber and inhaled deeply, though quietly. Don't fail me now, he thought.
With the force, he moved his lightsaber away from him, into the corridor, as he had been taught by master Mantil. He turned it on by flicking the switch with the force in a split second, and then slashed down at what he felt was the first bodyguard, hoping his intuition was correct. Regardless, no guard expects to meet a disembodied lightsaber smack in their path attacking them, so surprise was on their side. Right up until the dark jedi attacked, that is.

Arvid stepped out in front of the lone mercenary just a few seconds after Magius' lightsaber had struck the other one down. "I forgive your ignorance" he said right before he grabbed the man and shoved him into a wall with the Force, hoping that it would just knock him unconscious rather than killing him. With a single fluid motion he went back into his hiding place, if there was a chance more mercenaries would arrive before the real threat. Arvid took a deep breath and focused, where are you going, Dark One he thought and reached out into the surrounding areas.

David finally found the Dark Jedi and bellowed, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU AT MY ACADEMY?!" He then ignited his lightsaber and prepared for a fight.

Mike, on the other hand, was escorting a group of fifty students like his orders told him and all the other teachers. He took them to the Onyx SSDs and then returned to grab some important artifacts, including a book David had found and said was important.

Odcal and Rosaline fought there way to the bridge hoping there was a way to destroy the ship from there.

Too bad we didn't bring any explosives with us. Odcal thought. He still had a plan to destroy the ship. It would have to be fast as Odcal could sense Sothan Kor making his way deeper into the academy.

Arvid followed David as he most certainly passed by his hiding place. He signalled for Magius to follow as well and tightened his grip of the lightsaber.

Kris Black walked into the academy, with only her duffel bag.

Wow... this place is just as amazing as a i thought it would be...

She looked around but could not see anyone straight away.

"Hello?!"

She heard shouting elsewhere in the temple, and ran to find it, tho she had no idea how to get around the temple.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

Magius, too, stepped out and took his lightsaber, which had bee floating in the air in front of him. He stood by Arvid, behind David, and had his saber ready for attack. He felt great evil and corruption of the force in this dark jedi, but also much power. Near the jedi master and his companion student, however, he felt fully protected.
He sent a mental message to Arvid, concentrating as hard as he could so as not to allow the dark jedi to detect it.
"Use the force if you can, instead of your saber. Keep your distance from the dark one and try not to interfere with the master's combat, as you would if you engage in melee yourself"

"Good reasoning, student. We should try to keep him from fleeing, if possible.. Although.. You should prepare for anything, this enemy is not like your average training droid. Expect him to be cunning and ruthless and above all, stay close to me and we'll get through this" Arvid replied by wordless communication.

David finally found the Dark Jedi and bellowed, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU AT MY ACADEMY?!" He then ignited his lightsaber and prepared for a fight.

Sothan Kor slowly turned toward the direction of the commanding voice. Before him stood David Miles with his lightsabre at the ready. Kor merely smirked with an unpleasant expression,

Sothan Kor: “So, the Miles Master survived Tentenerikis V then?” Kor flicked his wrist and his own lightsabre flashed into existence. The blood-red blade pulsated menacingly, “I was hoping you’d be alive so I could kill you.”

He twisted into his stance, ready for battle…
_________________________________________________

Odcal and Rosaline fought there way to the bridge hoping there was a way to destroy the ship from there.

Too bad we didn't bring any explosives with us. Odcal thought. He still had a plan to destroy the ship. It would have to be fast as Odcal could sense Sothan Kor making his way deeper into the academy.

Odcal and Rosaline entered the bridge to find nothing. It was empty apart from a few consoles and a sophisticated looking computer interface. Despite all caution, Odcal suddenly felt the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against his head,

Soolin: “Can I help you at all?”

…

Nodding to arvid, Magius replied to Kor, making sure not to be the first to attack.

"The power of Jedi is not a trifling matter, dark one." Magius said proudly. "You have claimed your last life for today."

Arvid ignited his orange saber and changed to a defensive pose. He had his doubts over what a single master, a knight and a student could do, but he knew what he had to do. "Change of plans" he thought and stepped back a few steps before he lept over the dark jedi. The lightsabers merely touched eachother with a strange noise before Arvid landed and rolled away from his opponent. Arvid swung his lightsaber at a durasteel pillar, and with a gesture he began tearing the ceiling down. It would take extreme effort and a minute or so. He hoped above all else that Miles would keep the antagonist busy.

OOC: Guns? Don't you mean blasters? Guns are so old

IC: Odcal smiled. "Actually, yes you can. You see, we want to blow this ship up and I want to know the fastest way of doing that." Rosaline waved her wand and the gun went shooting out of Soolin's hand. It hit a console and fell. Odcal turned around and, switching into a Form V stance, prepared to fight.

Sothan Kor slowly turned toward the direction of the commanding voice. Before him stood David Miles with his lightsabre at the ready. Kor merely smirked with an unpleasant expression,

Sothan Kor: “So, the Miles Master survived Tentenerikis V then?” Kor flicked his wrist and his own lightsabre flashed into existence. The blood-red blade pulsated menacingly, “I was hoping you’d be alive so I could kill you.”

He twisted into his stance, ready for battle…


"Yes I survived. I take it that you are here for the book. I hope you know that it has a detonator on it linked to my Force aura. If I die, the book is destroyed and you will have gained naught. Now, shall we fight or do you wish to continue babbling?" David bellowed and changed into a Form 7 stance, red and gold spiraling lightaber blade following his rear leg.

OOC: Guns? Don't you mean blasters? Guns are so old

IC: Odcal smiled. "Actually, yes you can. You see, we want to blow this ship up and I want to know the fastest way of doing that." Rosaline waved her wand and the gun went shooting out of Soolin's hand. It hit a console and fell. Odcal turned around and, switching into a Form V stance, prepared to fight.

OOC: It's not a projectile weapon but a the same time it's not a blaster in the conventional Star Wars sense. It fires plasma bolts at the speed of light. http://www.knightwriter.org/AA/DemonB7/SevenCyc/d2/Soolin.jpeg
Soolin with 'gun'


IC:Realising she couldn’t take on two Jedi unarmed, Soolin began to move backward whilst raising her arms into the air. Odcal and Rosaline started to follow her with their weapons trained on her,

Soolin: “Look, I don’t want any trouble. I never wanted to be here in the first place!”

She continued to move backward, counting her steps in her head. …28, 29 30! As Soolin reached step 30, a bright flash erupted behind Odcal. Both he and Rosaline turned toward the distraction and realised the trick within a split-second. However Soolin had dived behind a console,

Soolin: “Now Slave!!!”

A force-field enveloped the Jedi and the familiar sound of a teleport system kicked in. Within seconds, Odcal and Rosaline were re-materialsed several metres outside Scorpio.

Soolin immediately went to the flight controls and secured the main exit as she fire up the engines…
_____________________________________________________________

"Yes I survived. I take it that you are here for the book. I hope you know that it has a detonator on it linked to my Force aura. If I die, the book is destroyed and you will have gained naught. Now, shall we fight or do you wish to continue babbling?" David bellowed and changed into a Form 7 stance, red and gold spiraling lightaber blade following his rear leg.

Sothan Kor’s smile began to fade slightly as he head this. It was as if he were trying to sense David’s emotional state to determine if he was telling the truth,

Sothan Kor: “You’re lying.”

With that he leapt forward, his lightsabre slicing through the air with ferocious accuracy…

Arvid turned around and released the broken durasteel from his grip, the exit out of the academy was merely a small crawling-sized hole now. He looked at the two fighters who were busy with their odd dance-like battle. He raised his own saber in defense and started walking around the two combatants, back to Magius. In his head was a minor dilemma about the dark jedi, of course it was dishonorable to let Miles fight alone, but he knew from the two persons' chat before that it was a battle he had to go through alone.

Something creeped into every mind in the Academy. At first, it was a small thing, at the back of everyone's mind, but it seemed to grow, filling them. It was then the Jedi noticed a great Darkness approaching. Only it wasn't great, it was much more than that. It was total, and it was coming closer...

_________________________________________________________________

A cloaked starfighter flew towards The Jedi Academy, invisable to the Naked Eye. Onboard, sat a man with glowing red eyes, jet black hair, and a smug grin. He was the reason for the darkness, and this was due to one thing. He was the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Kartion manuevered his Fighter down through the atmosphere, wary of any defences on the way in.
_________________________________________________________________

Kartion landed the craft in the hangar expertly. Knowing the Jedi would have sensed him long before (He had, after all, not bothered to minimise his presence), Kartion jumped out of the cockpit, and pulled the hood on his cloak over his head. Two piercing red eyes were the only things visable beneath. Striding towards the entrance to the Academy, his dark cloak flowing behind him, Kartion allowed himself to grin, and placed a hand on his Lightsabre.

Time to teach these boys a lesson...

OOC: For those of you who don't know Kartion, here's a brief introduction:

Kartion Elesto is an ex-Jedi. He taught at the Jedi Academy, and taught the famous Daniel Masaki. However, shortly after an affair, Kartion stumbled onto a dreadful secret. He was the son of Tak'a-Tamen, an evil Sith who Daniel had just defeated.

Curious to find his roots, Kartion took off from the Academy un-announced, and never was seen there again. A few years after, he appeared on Klatooine, and tried to kill Daniel using a Grenade Launcher. After a small chase, the two duelled, and Kartion sent Daniel to his apprentice's ship.

Daniel's Father, and Kartion's old friend, Andrew, confronted him. There was a small duel, before Kartion took off. His Apprentice was killed soon after.

Kartion reappeared during the Order of the Universe Crisis, now a Sith Lord, and ruler of Klatooine. After meeting his father, Kartion made a deal with him. He'd bring him Daniel Masaki, or kill him, if Tak'a gave him control of the Galaxy. He agreed.

Not soon after, Daniel and Kartion clashed on the same planet. Daniel was defeated, and was in dire medical treatment. After setting the base's reactor to detonate, Kartion escaped, but not before teleporting Avon and Villa to his castle.

Avon and Villa were held for a long time, and soon two more guests joined him. Eventually, Kartion let Avon and Villa go, but not before he duplicated the Liberator, an alien vessel with massive offensive power. He then ordered the mass construction of the Liberator, into three different configurations, before leaving to deal with his father on Tenkentris IV (Sp?). As soon as his father betrayed him, Kartion entered a duel with his father. He bested Tak'a, and Tenkentris IV destabilised, as well as the Dark Side rift surrounding the planet. Kartion absorbed what he could, and then escaped. He has been seen a couple of times since, namely during the conflicts between Coreworlds and the Empire.

you guys suck :gundge:

As Kor leaped, Magius allowed himself to act. With all the force he could muster, he pushed the dark jedi in the direction of his leap, hoping to use his own momentum against him and make him lose his balance. At the same time, he felt a presence come near, but he pushed this feeling aside, needing all of his concentration set on the battle and this push.

OOC: Outer Heaven, I guess it's a good thing we're not anywhere Yavin, then. And um, does this guy have any reason at all for attacking an academy?
Falletinme be mice elf, you must suck even harder to even bother reading a thread by people who suck. (?)

IC: Arvid followed on to Magius' initiative and helped push the dark jedi further back. He raised his voice and called out "Whoever you are, it's not too late - you can be forgiven for anything! Come back to us!"

OOC: Who said I was attacking the academy? And I've edited the post accordingly

IC: Odcal was fighting Soolin when he suddenly felt a familiar presence arrive on the planet. What the hell is Kartion doing here? He got distracted and go caught in the force-field. "Damn it!"

"Good thing this guy forgot I'm a witch." commented Rosaline. She grabbed Odcal's wrist and with a crack they both appeared back on the bridge behind Soolin. Odcal and Rosaline were surprised. Kasandral was already there and had taken care of Soolin. They drew their wands and pointed it at Soolin's back.

"Nice try." Odcal told Soolin.

David sniggered as the Dark Jedi was probing his actions. "If you do not believe me, fine. However you must sense a neural interface within me, which also monitors and regulates my neural channels. However, you cannot sense the programming." David said this just as he blocked the attack.

"Then," he said, parrying and thrusting the lightsaber a the new hole provided, "You have the Dark Jedi known as Kariton. He may be Dark, he may not be. However, he will strike you down if I don't. Maybe he's after the book as well, and you certainly are no match for him. I suggest you leave now before he gets here. I promise you sanctuary until you hit orbit." David, failing in this new attack, then kicked his opponent in the soft spot between his legs.

Hello Kariton. I see you are back to your old ways. I do not wish to fight you, nor wish to come in conflict with you again. I enjoyed our time as instructors on Yavin and know that your destinity is more than you see it at the moment. Trust the Force and it shall show you the way.

David sniggered as the Dark Jedi was probing his actions. "If you do not believe me, fine. However you must sense a neural interface within me, which also monitors and regulates my neural channels. However, you cannot sense the programming." David said this just as he blocked the attack.

"Then," he said, parrying and thrusting the lightsaber a the new hole provided, "You have the Dark Jedi known as Kariton. He may be Dark, he may not be. However, he will strike you down if I don't. Maybe he's after the book as well, and you certainly are no match for him. I suggest you leave now before he gets here. I promise you sanctuary until you hit orbit." David, failing in this new attack, then kicked his opponent in the soft spot between his legs.

Hello Kariton. I see you are back to your old ways. I do not wish to fight you, nor wish to come in conflict with you again. I enjoyed our time as instructors on Yavin and know that your destinity is more than you see it at the moment. Trust the Force and it shall show you the way.

I see my destiny clearly David, that's why I'm here. I need to talk to you. Oh, and I sense a Dark Jedi. If you don't want him, I could take him on, the Sith Order always needs new apprentices.

Kartion stood, waiting.

I'll wait until you're ready.

OOC: Gah, sorry for the lack of postage. I'll assume I hid away in the engine room of the ship, for now.

IC: Kasandral dropped into a crouch as the machinery around her began to hum. Deactivating her lightsaber, she drew one of her blasters. Slowly, taking care to hide herself in the shadows, taking extra care to aid this with the Force. Quickly, she shot a message to Mike.

Michael! The ship I'm on has just started up...not sure if we're in the air yet. Odcal and the girl are likely dead...they went on to the cockpit, but I haven't heard from them. I'm going to try and see if I can get some idea of who these guys are, why they're here, and if maybe I can throw a wrench in their plans. I love you!

She then pried open the console to unlock the cockpit, switched a pair of wires and yanked a third, and opened the door, leveling her blaster at soolin's head.

David’s foot was a mere millimeter from hitting home. But Kor squeezed his legs together and twisted with the intention of pulling David off balance,

Sothan Kor: “I’m not leaving for some Dark Jedi. I can take on anyone, including you!”

With that, Kor immediately began to force-choke David just as he sensed the presence of at least one other Jedi…
__________________________________________________________

OOC: Ageaol, could you modify your post so that Odcal and Roseline haven't taken Soolin so easily? There is an oppertunity for a plot twist here ;) Thank you.

Soolin heard the noise of a panel moving behind her. The Slave computer had fired up the engines and was already hovering the Scorpio above ground. Soolin turned, ready to train her weapon on the new intruder but she was too slow. Kasandral was already there,

Soolin: “Who the hell are you and what do you want?”


OOC: I'd just like to say that I'm going by the premise that the good guys always win. So I'm not going to Godmod or anything :)

OOC: Fine... post edited. Now Odcal and Rosaline apparate back in after Soolin is taken by surprise.

Odcal and Rosaline stood behind Soolin with their wands raised. "Hi Kasandral. What have you been up to?" asked Odcal.

OOC: Ageaol, check the OOC Thread plz :P

Kasandral chuckled slightly, keeping the blaster leveled. "Kasandral Xerephen, former leader of the Xerephen Pride. Wife of the son of the man who runs this academy. Now the real question....who are you?" With a slight smirk, Kasandral gestured for Odcal and the girl to get the bridge sealed again.

OOC: OOC thread checked!

Rosaline headed over to the door and repaired the damage Kasandral had done to it. Meanwhile, Odcal walked to a computer console and tried to access schematics to the ship.

Magius realized his previous trick hadn't worked, but as Kor and Miles seemed relatively equal in power, he felt that with his and Arvid's help they should be able to defeat the dark Jedi.

"Together now, Arvid. We can defeat him if we act as one. On my count of three, throw the Dark one against the right wall with all the force you have in you. Concentrate." Magius realized he was losing valuable time but he knew that a simultaneous attack was the only way to make their [resence significant in any way. He concentrated, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he opened them and collected all the force he felt around him, concentrated it to one burst, and...
"One. Two. Three!" Magius released all the power he had collected with every last bit of force he had in him, to a point in which he had to lean on the wall for support after releasing it, and he was breathing heavily.

Arvid nodded and helped Magius attempt in pushing Kor into the wall. It was a simple matter of decision, even if this was Miles' battle, he wouldn't let the dark presence run loose, even if he had hoped for the man to respond to his shouting earlier. "Approach him together with me, student" Arvid told Magius over mental communication. He raised his blade and headed over to the dark jedi.

David made a Force Barrier around the two of them just before the two Jedi charged. They smacked into it like two dogs on a glass door. David was not being choked since he was using Force Breath and simply didn't choke. However, the two Jedi's charge did distract the Dark Jedi long enough for him to grab his Glock and shoot into the same area where he had retracted his foot. Even if the Jedi had blocked it with his saber, enough metal would still survive to burn through the clothes and do damage.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mike was getting on the Onyx SSD with another group of 50, the last one thank God, when he got Kas' message.

Ok, mark your position using your locator on Zerghiel and the Fleet will disable the ship allowing us to capture it. Good job, honey. And by the way, you never answered my question.

Magius placed his hand in front of him and realized the force shield. He simply didn't understand why Miles was so insistent on fighting this battle alone, though the student didn't doubt the master would defeat the dark one. Magius felt he wanted to do something, not just stand by and watch the battle.

"It seems the master won't allow us to participate in this battle, Arvid. Let us go to the library; the two spoke of a tome, and we could be pf use if we further protected it from the dark jedi"

Arvid put a hand on the barrier and bursted out thoughtlessely "Fool." He raised an eyebrow and looked at Miles's weapon "Archaic guns? What's the matter with him? So much rage, a clone and now.. this?" He gave the field a swift strike with his saber to check it's durability and nodded to Magius. "Let's go."

Sothan Kor felt the pressure of a force-push from at least two other Jedi. His Dark allegiance, though powerful enough to absorb most of the impact, was not altogether successful in stopping it completely. Kor fell to his right slightly as David thrust forward, his blade a mere centimetre from its target. However Kor used his momentum to swing around making David miss and stumble forward. That gave the Dark Jedi time to retaliate with a force-push all his own. He reached forth with the intention of pulling the roof down upon the two young Jedi, but the force barrier suddenly erected by David both stopped the cave-in and prevented the knights from joining the battle. At that same moment, Kor’s attention focused on David as a loud explosion emanated from his primitive projectile weapon.

It was as though the whole thing went in slow motion. Kor back-flipped just as the bullet went through his trouser leg. He landed just as another shot was fired, but this time Kor force-pushed the projectile back the way it came…
__________________________________________________________

Soolin, realising she was outnumbered 3-1 sighed as she tossed her gun to the floor,

Soolin: “My name is Soolin and I can assure you that I don’t want to be here.”
________________________________________________________

Avon awoke slowly. His head was thumping as though twenty Sumo wrestlers were fighting inside his brain. At first he didn’t recognise his surroundings and after several minutes of blinking and getting his sight back into focus, he still didn’t recognise them. He tried to lift his head but the pain forced him back. At that moment he felt a cool wet mop cover his forehead and the sight of a beautiful, young woman leaning over him,

Young Woman: “Keep still. The Sarans did a good job on you.”

Avon: “Sarans?” Avon felt another wave of dizziness. The young woman responded by pressing her lips against his, “What was that for?”

Young Woman: “Curiosity.”

Avon: “I’m all in favour of healthy curiosity. I hope yours isn’t satisfied too soon.”

Young Woman: “You’re feeling better?”

Avon: “Yes I am,” he smiled after she did, “What’s your name?”

Young Woman: “Cally.”

Cally got up to refill the bowel of water. Avon tried to sit up again and this time prevailed,

Avon: “Are you a native of this world?”

Cally: “The ones who tried to kill you are the natives. Do I look like one of them?”

Avon studied his surroundings again. He was sitting on a padded table in a semi-lit cave with a small tunnel leading toward the exit,

Avon: “Where am I?”

Cally: “You are on the planet Saran. I found you unconscious next to what looked like a life capsule. You would have been killed by the Sarans if I hadn’t saved you.”

Avon looked at Cally thoughtfully. She didn’t appear to be capable of fighting anyone so either these Sarans were a weak race, or Cally was stronger than she looked,

Avon: “Thank you.”

Cally smiled, betraying a glint in her eye, which suggested to Avon that she was a little ‘keen’. Avon smiled back…

"Okay, Soolin...way I see it you've got two options. 'A', you tell us why you are here, who was with you. Option 'A' allows you to live at least a little while longer. Option 'B' is just like 'A', except 'B' involves you refusing to answer my questions, and the loss of your fingers." Kasandral shrugged, smirking slightly. "You heard of Tak'a Tamen? Big guy, tried to destroy the Jedi a while back? I called him Master. Don't test me, lady. I assure you, you'd regret it."

Kasandral's eyes glazed over for a split second as she sought a message to Mike.

Okay dear...transmitting coordinates now. Let us stay here on the surface a while longer with this lady though...I'm close to getting some information. And, to answer your question....I'm not sure. We'll talk later.

"Okay, Soolin...way I see it you've got two options. 'A', you tell us why you are here, who was with you. Option 'A' allows you to live at least a little while longer. Option 'B' is just like 'A', except 'B' involves you refusing to answer my questions, and the loss of your fingers." Kasandral shrugged, smirking slightly. "You heard of Tak'a Tamen? Big guy, tried to destroy the Jedi a while back? I called him Master. Don't test me, lady. I assure you, you'd regret it."

Soolin was taken aback. She had heard of the terror of Tak’a-Tamen and that the evil warlord had an apprentice. But she never would have guessed she’d come across her,

Soolin: “You… YOU were Tak’a-Tamen’s ally?”

Soolin was tempted to try and hit Kasandral but thought better of it considering she had a gun pointed at her head. She composed herself before continuing,

Soolin: “Since I’d prefer to have my appendage remain intact, I’ll tell you whatever you need to know.” She paused as she took in a deep breath, “have you heard of a Jedi reject called Sothan Kor?”

…

Kasandral shrugged, trying not to let on too much that she hadn't heard of him. "Tell me what you know of him..."

Kasandral shrugged, trying not to let on too much that she hadn't heard of him. "Tell me what you know of him..."

Soolin: “Sothan Kor is a dark Jedi who has discovered a way to… enhance his power. He rescued me from the planet Gauda Prime on the condition that I remain utterly loyal to him for as long as I live.” Soolin looked down feeling somewhat ashamed, “At first I gladly did everything he asked. But soon it became clear to me that Kor was an utterly evil being. His desire to kill innocents for his own pleasure as well as torturing those who had information he wanted… …

“Sothan Kor is after the ancient teachings of D’rea and Mosh. As I understand it, it was a book given to Daniel Masaki by the ancient Sage Justin before he died. Masaki was supposed to use the knowledge to defeat Tak’a-Tamen and he did the first time.”

Soolin looked up at Kasandral, hoping to appeal to her better nature,

Soolin: “I have tried to escape Sothan Kor but he has always found me. I cannot get away and I cannot stop him. But if he gets hold of that book, then we’re all finished.”

…

David saw this move coming and simple deflected it.

"You cannot kill me. Think back to Telekentris V. I am the one who destroyed it with my own hands. Tak-a-tamen believed he had killed me, but I am standing in front of you." David said, calmly, slowly changing the shape of the barrier to form a sphere around his foe.
~~~~~~~~~
Mike, in the command, relayed the Fleet the coordinates and around one hundred ships jumped all around the enemy ship, locking onto it with their tractor beams. Mike, seeing that the battle was over, collected the book his father had told him was important, and went into the last Onyx SSD. It lifted off and held its place in orbit. Mike then noticed a small device on it that could only be his father's work. An explosive powerful enough to destroy the book throughly, but one that would not send fragments all over the room.

Magius followed Arvid, heading to the library. He then turned off his lightsaber, to make his presence less visible. When he reached it, he started looking around not for the book, for he assumed any such manuscript would be well hidden, but for ways of defending the room against the dark one. He started moving things about by thought to make them more defensible; he tied a certain seemingly usless tome to the wall directly above the main doorway, preparing to pull it from its place and hit Kor with the book should he come; he leaned bookshelves in such a way as to make them easier to knock down with the force, should it come to that, by placing books under their supports, tilting them. He continued doing similar things even after Arvid arrived.

As Arvid entered the room, he didn't start looking for the book. Rather, he sat down and began meditating; he sensed the battles in the skies, the two fighting jedi, the dark gap in the force which was right outside the building and ultimately focused on the room he was in. If it was an object that a dark jedi would be looking for, it was bound to be touched by the force, or even tainted by the dark side. He opened his eyes and looked out over the room, focusing his gaze on one of the books on the wall above the entrance.

Sothan Kor merely stood there, looking straight into David’s eyes as the barrier slowly enveloped him. The resurrected Jedi Master could see a look in the evil one’s eyes, a look which screamed ‘danger’ and ‘death’,

Sothan Kor: “You are correct, I cannot kill you… here. But I can sense the book and I will have it. Did you really believe that I was going to leave this place intact once I was finished with it?”

The bombardment stopped. The orbiting cruisers readjusted their positions for the final assault,

Sothan Kor: “We will meet again and when we do, your life will end. Permanently!”

With that, Kor waved his arm in a relaxed gesture and the force barrier vanished with a bright flash. After a millisecond the light was gone and so was Kor. All seemed quiet for a moment until the whole place began to shake violently.

The academy was taking direct hits from super-charged plasma fire. A waiting shuttle lifted into the air and took Kor back to the Syndicate fleet as it continued to pound the surface…
__________________________________________________________

They had been walking for hours with Cally periodically checking the route ahead to make sure it was safe. Avon was feeling almost completely recovered despite a numb pain in his head to remind him he was still alive. The Saran warriors were patrolling the coastline in threes, all mounted on horses (or a creature very similar). Avon had noticed that Cally was very good at avoiding the patrols, which suggested to him that she had done this before. When the coast was clear, the pair made their way toward the beach.

Cally: “Here we are. This is my home.” She gestured toward the sea,

Avon: “Where?”

Cally: “The sea.”

Avon: “Oh I can see the sea. Do you live under it?”

Cally: “In it.”

Avon looked over at Cally with genuine concern on his face,

Avon: “In it? Look I’m not very good at water sports, even at the best of times.”

Cally: “Don’t worry,” she smirked,

Avon: “And this isn’t the best of times.”

Cally: “You won’t even get your feet wet.”

Cally proceeded to uncover what looked to Avon to be a securely hidden entrance. She placed a magnetic key on the hatch and the sound of locks decoupling suggested it was now open,

Cally: “Follow me. There is someone down here you might like to meet.”

Avon didn’t see any choice and promptly followed her down…

Kasandral grinned. "Thanks, Soolin. See you in a couple hours." Kasandral flipped a switch on her blaster and squeezed the trigger. Soolin dropped almost instantly, stunned. "Okay...Odcal, find something to tie her with. You, girl, search the ship for anything useful. I'll see if I can get this thing in the air."

Kasandral turned to the consoles, frowning. She settled into the pilot's chair, flipped a few switches, hit the throttle. The Scorpio shot upward, spiraling through the bombardment. For a moment, Kasandral thought about trying something similar to what she had tried against Tak'a Tamen, insinuating herself within the enemy's forces. She quickly decided against this course, figuring that if such action became necessary, she could try it later. For now, she aimed the nose of the shuttle toward Mike's ship. She closed her eyes for a moment, sought out his aura, and spoke through the Force.

Michael...We're on our way. I've had Zerghiel transmit the coordinates. Tag us as a friendly. Also, on a side note, you think what we tried against Tak'a Tamen would work here?

David realised what was happening just a second too late. He knew all of his stuff and family were safely on the other side of the planet, and the was a slim chance.......

David ran off to the Library, grabbed the two other Jedi and created a Force Barrier around the three while he ran. Lasers and explosions wer abound as the newly constructed Academy was slowly destroyed. They reached the hanger where two Sergeants had already warmed up the Outrider. The five of them made a slipspace jump into orbit just before a rafter fell onto where the ship had been.

"That was a close one, even by our standards." Sgt. Johnson said, with the other agreeing quickly.

Mike, Jenna, Mlasha...meet me on our flagship along with your mother after the battle ends. David sent as he wastched his Academy destroyed, along with 500 brave men and women who had manned it and took one intense year of building. This was a time to regroup.
~~~~~~~~~
1LT Chu Wang was watching the destruction from a few kilometers away along with five others, three women and two men, who had survived the destruction. Thankfully, all the Jedi had survived and a minimum number of Marines had been killed. She started walking to the nearest outpost ten klicks away, and her rag-tag squad followed, with only four weapons and three hundred rounds between the entire group.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mike was thinking and said Kas, how about half of us use covering fire with the Plasma torpedoes, the others jump point-blank and unload their weapons while they're screwing around with the torps, then jump to safety. Then the first group jumps while they are retalliating on the second. I figure that we'll get about 3/4 of them that way with minor losses, and at least force them to retreat.

Magius stood by the window, looking at the space outside and organizing the thoughts in his mind. He realized he had been of little help, if at all, in the academy, and was going over the battle in his mind, realizing time and time again that he had been quite powerless. He needed to learn, he realized, and refine his skills.

"How will the academy continue?" Magius asked David, when he didn't seem overly busy. "By raising new Jedi, you will have the power to not only defeat the Dark one, but end his threats once and for all. The potential I have seen among these students, one in particular, has convinced me of this truth beyind all doubt." Magius realized only too late that he might be crossing the line between student and friend.

Arvid walked up to the transparisteel window and put a hand on it while looking out through it. "Reno..." he merely whispered. He tried to sense Reno, but couldn't find him, but then again, he had never been able to.

He looked at Magius, "The academy.. The academy will be at hold for some time to come and until then, I as a knight, trained by one of the last survivors of the jedi order will be glad to take you on as an apprentice. But first..."

Arvid dropped the tome he was carrying and looked at David, "Master Miles, there are things you will have to explain..."

~~~~~
The Crimson Talon left the Reach when the orbital bombardments paused. Reno knew that he couldn't wait much longer and took off, irritated with the fact that Arvid wasn't on board the ship.

As the ship got out of orbit Reno got his datapad out and disguised the ship's signal. He sat course for the main battleship to check out what kind of people this was and why in all of hell they would kill his friend.

Kartion growled as a large chunk of debris almost crushed him. Casting it aside, he quickly jumped into his Fighter, and began the Emergency Startup. Closing up the canopy, Kartion retracted the Landing Gear, and swung his ship around.

Afterburners roaring, the Elesto's Fury shot out of the hangar as it completely collapsed. Weaving past turbolasers, he broke the atmosphere, and activated his cloaking device. Swerving, he found David entering slipspace. Kartion focused on David's Aura, and followed it. Punching in the right vector, the Elesto's Fury made the jump to hyperspace, just a little way behind the Outrider...

David saw Elesto was following him and sent to him If you humor me and follow the Force, it will lead you to your destiny. It seems that you may have forgotten that once before. I see light left in you, but you hide it only because it is true. Face it, your father never cared about you and was just using you. What do you think would have happened if Daniel never came along and kicked his ass? I'll tell you what. He would have killed you because he saw in you what I do, some power and a will weak enough to mold. I can help you become whatever you choose to be, but you must decide if you will follow your destiny.

David saw Elesto was following him and sent to him If you humor me and follow the Force, it will lead you to your destiny. It seems that you may have forgotten that once before. I see light left in you, but you hide it only because it is true. Face it, your father never cared about you and was just using you. What do you think would have happened if Daniel never came along and kicked his ass? I'll tell you what. He would have killed you because he saw in you what I do, some power and a will weak enough to mold. I can help you become whatever you choose to be, but you must decide if you will follow your destiny.

Kartion smirked.

I am following my destiny, but you see, it's not to be a Jedi. Now, stop being arrogant, and let me focus on following you. I'm more than happy to debate the pros and cons of our seperate orders when we're on the ship. Oh, and by the way, I was the one who defeated Tak'a-Tamen. I knew he wouldn't keep his word. If it hadn't been for me and my Dark Powers, he would have become powerful enough to destroy anything he wanted. Just because I'm a Sith doesn't mean I'm weak and stupid, it means I wield and study the Force in a different manner to you. I don't come along and question your dedications do I? It's...oh never mind! You're wasting my time, just fly David, we'll talk on the ship.

Kartion the erected multiple barriers over his mind, to stop anymore messages coming through.

These Jedi will learn some day...

Odcal pointed his wand at Soolin. A bunch of ropes flew out and tied her up instantly. Then he went to a console and pulled up some schematics of the ship to learn what weapons it had and the capabilities of it.

Rosaline walked through the ship finding nothing really interesting. She found a couple of weak blasters, some stunsticks, and a bunch of other random weapons in one room. In the next room she found a pantry full of food. She floated it back to the bridge.

Kasandral nodded, sending to Mike: Try it...let's see how that goes. I don't want to risk the students though. If this plan puts the students in harm, just jump the hell out of there.

Arvid looked at David who stared emptily into the void while communicating with the pursuader. "Master Miles" he began "Explain to us who these dark ones were, I felt two - as I felt one following us a mere second ago." He picked up the tome and gave it to David "And please explain to us why this is so important."

"We've got two baddies after the same book. One of them's a former collegue of mine, and I don't know the other one. They're after a book of ancient teachings which Daniel Masaki used to kill Tak-a-Tamen a few years ago. Its too important to let them get." David replied as they exited slipspace inside their fleet.
~~~~~~~~~
Mike shouted, "GROUP A, prep for a jump, Group B prepare to fire disruptor torpedoes, Academy group, jump to South Pole rally point Alpha."

Kartion came out of hyperspace, still cloaked, behind David. Setting the autopilot, Kartion put his hand on his Lightsaber, and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he went ghostly, and vanished.

___________________________________________________________________

Kartion appeared inside the Cargo Bay of David's ship. Walking past a few crates, he opened a door using the Force, and began to head for David.

"Hello Kariton." David said calmly as the Dark aura appeared behind him. "I hope you had a plesant trip. We'll allow you to stay aboard the SSD St. Vincent and you will have VIP quarters of course. I bear no ill will against you, for I know what the Dark side holds as well. If you wish me to tell the story, I will."

Kartion raised an eyebrow.

"Very generous of you, but what story are you speaking of?"

Within a few minutes, Kasandral had brought the Scorpio to rest in the hangar of the ship Mike was on. Handing Soolin over to a pair of soldiers for transportation to the brig, Kasandral hurried to the bridge.

Once there, she immediately spotted Mike, running up to give him a hug and a peck on the cheek. "What's the situation, honey?"

Kartion raised an eyebrow.

"Very generous of you, but what story are you speaking of?"
"I thought you knew that at one point of life, I was the essence of the Dark Side." David said, looking back, his eyes red.
~~~~~
Mike kissed Kas just as she did him.
"We're all set, just waiting for the fleet to execute. The ifghting's all but stopped."

Kartion shook his head.

"I'm afraid not David. However, I need to talk to you, but I have an odd request to make before I do so."

The joint Syndicate and Merc fleets had sustained heavy losses during their attack on ‘Reach’, yet were still able to hold the fight. A rag-tag collection of ships carrying the Jedi and others left the planet for their escape into the void.

On board the lead Syndicate vessel, Master Klaa was rubbing his hands with glee as his tactician spoke,

Tactician: “Master sir, the enemy fleet have engaged their assorted hyper-drives. They are fleeing!”

Klaa: “Excellent! We have driven the Jedi from the planet! Prepare to send down the scavenges to ‘salvage’ what was left behind.”

Klaa smiled at his double meaning just as the bridge doors humbly opened at the presence of Sothan Kor,

Sothan Kor: “No! Prepare the fleet to follow the Jedi.”

Klaa glanced at the dark lord from his elevated position on the bridge,

Klaa: “Just who are you to give me orders?!?” Klaa got up just as he reached for a knife, “I want the secrets that were left dow…”

Klaa couldn’t speak anymore due to the immense pressure exerted upon his throat. He gasped for the breath he couldn’t draw as Kor closed his fist at the same time,

Sothan Kor: “There are no secrets of relevance down there!” He turned to the navigator whilst continuing to drain Klaa’s life, “Pilot, set an intercept course for that fleet and activate the hyperdrive!”

The navigator didn’t need to be told twice as he quickly obeyed his new master’s order. Kor had almost forgotten about Klaa and turned back to find his lifeless corpse seemingly hanging in mid-air. Kor released his force-grip and Klaa’s body fell to the floor with a satisfying thump. In no time, Kor went up and assumed his predecessor’s station.

Navigator: “We’re on our way Master. Also I feel I should tell you that your ship the Scorpio was taken by the enemy. Mistress Soolin was still onboard.”

Sothan Kor: “Yes I know. Everything is proceeding as planned.”

…


Professor Ensor’s bragging was almost too much for Avon. He had assumed that the man Cally had mentioned Avon might like to meet would be Villa. Much to Avon’s surprising irritation it was not. Ensor had spent the last four hours telling his life story about how he created THE micro-cell which was used in all major computers in the galaxy to date. Even the Galactic Empire had them during their reign of power.

Cally had changed from her scanty ‘battle dress’ to more comfortable looking robes which reached down to her legs. Avon had been enjoying the view before that moment,

Ensor: “…so enough about me. What brings you to my humble home?”

Avon: “Your daughter.” Ensor laughed,

Ensor: “Daughter? Cally is not my daughter no no my dear friend.”

Avon: “My mistake. You were very thorough with your life story except you missed out the bit about Cally.”

Ensor’s smile faded somewhat as he looked at Cally,

Ensor: “Perhaps over the years, I have come to think of her as my own. But I am an old man. My life’s work is finally completed but, it is too late for me to start a family now.”

Avon: “Your life’s work?”

Ensor: “Yes.” He beckoned Cally to wheel a trolley with a transparent box on top over to him. The box contained a silver sphere that seemed to blink even though there were no visible lights on its surface, “This is my life’s work. This is Orac.”

Avon wasn’t impressed. A clear box with a silver sphere suspended inside didn’t seem to e much of any kind of life’s work,

Avon: “Is it a computer?”

Ensor: “It most certainly is not!” He scalded, “It is a brain, a genius! It can draw information from any computer containing one of my micro-cells.” He stroked the box as though he worshipped it, “Orac has the sum total of all the knowledge of all the known worlds!”

Cally smiled at the old man’s excitement however Avon was sceptical,

Avon: “You expect me to believe that this ‘box’ can simply draw information from anywhere?”

Ensor: “It can also analyse different computer systems. Try it. Go on, ask about your ship.”

Avon squinted at the machine before him and then drew a breath,

Avon: “What is the status of the Liberator?” Avon was not expecting a response and even if there were, it would likely be that the ship was destroyed. To his surprise, the box responded,

Orac: “The ship you call Liberator has sustained considerable damage but its auto-repair systems are functioning normally. The ship will be in teleport range in nine hours and twenty-three minutes.”

Ensor: “See?”

Avon couldn’t believe it. Ensor merely smiled with the arrogance that was reflected in Orac and Cally sniffed a laugh at Avon’s reaction. Avon was already thinking of the advantages of owning Orac…

"Ok Kariton. I'm hesitant to ask, but what is your request......" David replied, waiting to tell the dark one how he escaped the dark path.

OOC: If David tries to start, Kartion will cut him off. :P

IC: Kartion tapped his Saber Staff.

"I would like to duel you."

He then looked around.

"Not to the death of course, but a Sparring match, one vs. one, with the Sabers set their lowest setting. I cannot talk to you otherwise, until I think you've earned your worth."

"Why not since our jump will take a few days to complete." David said, turning his lightsaber down to level one, and using the Force to do the same with his spare he kept hidden so as not to appear so obvious. He then loaded training bullets into his three pistols. These were new rounds that actually delivered an electric shock that would simulate the same amount of damage caused by Naquadah cased hollow points.

Bump!

Out in space, the Liberator drifts slowly. Its wrecked hull slowly healing, the Zen computer gradually returning to life.

A small ship, bearing the markings of The Order Of The Universe closes in. Its docking clamps lock on. The Zen computer is helpless. There is no one else to stop them.

There is no hope.

...

"Why not since our jump will take a few days to complete."

David suddenly lunged at Kariton and activated his saber to where his lunge would carry it into his opponent.

Kartion activated his Saber Staff and blocked the incoming Blade. Using the Force, he tuned down the Saber's power, making the blade of energy like a shaft. While it'd create a little shock and some bruising, no permanent damage would be caused.

Kartion grinned.

"A Jedi starting the fight? I thought you lot were supposed to act in defence only!"

Pushing David's blade away, Kartion flipped back, and then disappeared with a *CRACK!*.

Not a milisecond later, did he re-appear a few meters behind David.

"Anyway, I meant when we reached your ship, but if you're really eager, then attack again Jedi."

Kartion twirled his Saber Staff around his body a few times, and then held it out, the blades horizontal.

David kicked his spare out of his boot and towards Kariton in one swift movement, almost too fast to be seen by the naked eye. Less than a meter away from Kariton he activated it as he swung around and lunged at whatever opening would arise from this attack. During the jump, he grabbed his pistol out and started firing as fast as the gun could cycle.

The Jedi Fleet was ready and powered up. The first group fired as planned while the second group jumped. The second group exited slipspace with their weapons already charged. They fired disruptors, alsers, and plasma cannons at point blank range while the first group jumped. The second group, with fifteen seconds until impact from both salvos, waited for the drives to repower. This usually took about fifteen seconds and once they jumped, the MAC stations over Reach were ordered to fire at will and take out anything over 1.5 meters in diameter.

OOC: waiting for enemy fleet's response

David kicked his spare out of his boot and towards Kariton in one swift movement, almost too fast to be seen by the naked eye. Less than a meter away from Kariton he activated it as he swung around and lunged at whatever opening would arise from this attack. During the jump, he grabbed his pistol out and started firing as fast as the gun could cycle.

OOC: Meh, RL sucks...

IC: Kartion crouch-twirled, allowing the kick to miss him. Launching into a standing posistion, he twirled his Saber around, blocking each attack in quick succession. A couple of times David came close to searing the hair off his beard, but had yet to succeed. Rolling backward, he blocked all the harmful shots coming at him.

Pah, dis-honourable...

Running and leaping off the wall, Kartion pressed his attack, rapidly slashing at David. During the process, he focused on David's pistol, and after some slight adjustments with the Force, Kartion managed to jam the Pistol. Grinning, he continued to attack David, focusing on his inner Sphere of Responsibility (5m), defending from and attacking David, never tiring.

After a few moments, both locked Sabers. Kartion grinned.

"You're good David, but you lack proper finesse, and that Pistol trick was really wasteful. I thought Jedi only used their Sabers..."

Quickly, with only the shortest warning to David through the Force, Kartion diverted his strength to the other side of his Staff, allowing the Saber lock to break in David's favour, but also bringing Kartion's other blade towards David's crotch...

David had seen this trick before and he knew of only one possible defense. He quickly took his saber out of the lock by a simple twist and used the spare saber he was controlling by the Force to, for lack of a better term, cock block. He then slashed at Kariton's staff hand trying to more or less "sever" it. He then drew his second pistol by the Force and had it hover at Kariton's head.

"I win." David called out as the trigger fell and his spare went towards Kariton's belly.

Oh, and I'm not totally a Jedi.

Kartion was impressed to say the least, but not totally surprised. Doubling back, and manuevering his Saber so his hand wouldn't get a nasty shock, Kartion watched as the Pistol came out of the holster. It hovered.

Damnit...

"I win." David said. Closing his eyes, Kartion heard the gun fire...

...

...And he disappeared with a *CRACK*. The bullet hit the bulkhead behind where Kartion would have been. Not a mili-second afterward, Kartion reappeared behind David, and, diverting all his Force energy into his muscles and mind, he twisted and lunged his Staff at David...

OOC: Hehe, you're not gonna get me with a simple slugthrower...

OOC: and I still have tricks up my sleve
IC:
David simply disappeared into thin air. He had stepped into the ethreal realm, leaving everything except for his pants and a sheathed Kabar behind. The three pistols, two lightsabers, his clothes, and a lifesign monitor dropped to the floor. Mike hovered the monitor to him and said, "Kariton, I'd give up now. Once he pulls this trick, you're royally screwed. He can take you into another realm of existence within the Force, but everything with a focused electrical charge is left here. He even decided to leave his augmentation jacket behind. One thing, however, nanites do work and I'm not sure why....and I'm helping you because I'm interested in seeing how one would counter this."

While Mike was at the word "interested" , David took the Kabar in his hand, materialised his right hand and hit Kariton on the back of the head with the wooden base of the knife.

"See what I mean?" Mike asked.

bumpage

Kartion winced at the attack, but had sensed it anyway. Turning to Mike, he raised an eyebrow.

"If he wants to be cowardly and hide in his little etherial realm, I'll let him, but I'm not standing down."

Turning, Kartion grinned, and he began to go ghostly. However, instead of fading into the Force, becoming energy, and riding the Force to another posistion, and materialising, he instead stopped mid-way, a black aura shrouding him. While Kartion was not completely phased out, he was no longer solid, but rather, a field of energy. Running his Lightsaber through the wall beside him, and realising that he was indeed no longer 'here', he turned to Mike.

"David can hide if he wants, but I won't mess around. I'll match him if I have to, but have the decency to at least stay on the Battlefield."

Turning, Kartion flexed his ghostly muscles, and held out his ghostly Lightsaber.

I can materialise my hands and Saber as needed...we're once again, at a stalemate.

"Come on David! Show yourself!" Kartion shouted out. Careful to keep his ghostly form 'standing' on the floor, Kartion changed his stance, and awaited the attack.

Mike smiled at this. He never thought of popping into a third realm of existence and energy. David was smiling at this as well. His clothes started floating and he popped into them instantly. He was smiling as well.

You're better than I gave you credit for. How's this, we limit the battlefield to the here and now. Before this, our battlefield could have been any plane of existence, but here we go again. David sent, waiting for an attack and ready to disappear if that happened. His two sabers were active once again and he was totally ready.

OOC: Every so sorry guys, but RL's been harsh, and Jolt's been an ass.

IC: Kartion nodded at this.

I agree, however, we fight without using the Force to aid us, we rely on our biological finesse only.

Sighing, Kartion phased back into existance, the aura vanishing, his body regaining it's form. Standing ready, Kartion waited for David to return to fight him.

I just hope for his sake he doesn't cheat...

David had fully materialised when Kariton had. He deactivated his sabers and said, "Ok, no saber, no Force power, no using the Force to tell what your opponent will do, no bomb, no projectile weapons. Just you, me, whhat's inside us, and blades....Mike, grab the sword rack and the Force disruptors."

OOC: Yeah, same here. We need to get it going again. I'll post my plan for this in the OOC thread.

bump so people will post because my characters can't do anything at the moment.

bump--c'mon people. We need to get this active again.

Stretching, Kasandral sat up in her bed, checking the time. She'd been asleep longer than she had intended, but no matter. Yawning, she sat down at her computer terminal, slipped her datapad into the receptor, and brought up the communications program she used to contact Gurshix. Keying her password, she set the encryption and began typing.

Jon-
Unfortunately, I believe there is little you can do to aid us at this time. Take the fleet back to your previous activities. Keep an eye out for any of these fellows that have taken it upon themselves to attack us, though. You so much as smell them, let me know.

Be safe.

-Kasandral

Reading the text through, she nodded slightly, pressing the button to send the message.

Standing, she dressed, clipped her sabers to her belt, and headed out into the corridor, determined to find something to eat.

OOC: Yeah! I'm back! Whoohee!

OOC: Yb, how explicit do you want for us to RP the marriage? Just the gist of what happened or details?

IC: David was still waiting for the Dark One's move when Mike got bored and left. The Fleet dropped out of the FTL well and the ships returned to Normal, allowing personnel changes to be carried out, married couples to be reunited, and an accurate count of the missing and wounded. Overall, a three thousand Marines were either missing on Reach, wounded, or dead. Only three ships were lost, however, and that was something to be joyful about even though one loss was a Super Star Destroyer, The Favored Few. That single loss counted for over 1500 killed, and the next largest loss was the Asguard mothership CMS Newport News with roughly only 700 of the 1400 escaping.

Mike made it back to Kasandra, and when he did, they hugged so hard that nearly both choked. They laughed a little and went off to their room on Mike's flagship, CMS Feudal Lord. This ship, an Onyx SSD renowned for its survivability and firepower even in the world of the famed SSDs, held the prototype AM-laser weapons that worked by focusing the explosion from antimatter explosions at a set frequency through space. It had worked beautifully in the last battle and needed little refinement. Mike's second-in-command, an intelligent female officer named Mercy Cyrus, though not known for what her name called for, knew that Mike nad his wife would both need some "time off" and she took command of the entire Fleet.


On Reach, a dozen Marines marched steadily towards salvation by their fellow servicemen. A bright Lieutenant was among them and would be promoted when she came back to base to tell the story of this hallowed tatical, but not strategic, victory.

OOC: Heh, long as it's PG...gotta remember the younger folk that use these forums. ;) I'll have another post up sometime soon

OOC: so nothing more explicit than would be in a Clancy Novel...ok, maybe less than that...depends on which one you read.

IC:

Mike and Kas were in their room. You know what was happening, especially since it is a newly-married couple. After about an hour and a half, they began to talk.

"So Kas, how was your past week...I mean, besides the attack, evac, and a lot of jumps."

"Captain, we are ready for the jump to Sigma Octaganus." an ensign said to Mercy Cyrus. She turned, looked, and nodded. Another slipspace hole appeared and the ships entered the warp in formation. Nobody bumped this time, even in the chaotic zone known as slipspace. They would reach the RV point of Sigma Octagnus and its Stargate in 12 hours. Mike, Kas, David, and the entire Fleet felt the hollow jump in their gut and knew that the jump would be rough. Some people still didn't understand why CM ships have 3 seperate warp drives, but those who know believe it a good policy. Mainly it is to hide their signatures and destinations, but backup drives make CM ships the best to sail out of combat in due to their ability to move once nearly all is destroyed. They would reach SO to pickup survivors, supplies, stragglers, replacements, and new Jedi Students. Most things would come from Reach, so there's still the possibility of attack, but they could also send the word of Reach to home.
~~~~~~~~~
Chu Wang and 11 other Marines marched on and on and on. They reached a cliff to where they could see everything, and it was close to a field a Pelican could land in. They were setting up, with minimal lights and no fire when on roared past. It ws sending a pinging sound over the radio to locate something, but what?

"Sergeant. Where are your flares?" Chu shouted quickly.

"Here ma'am. Shoot one?"

"Yes! NOW" she shouted as the orange-red ball of fire shot up, "Johnson, get on the radio! Ping them!"

"Yes ma'am the gruff Sergeant said as the Pelican turned around.

THIS IS RECON FLIGHT ECHO 419. Any Marines out there?

Echo 419. Good to hear you Hammer. This is Sgt. Johnson from the Juliet Alpha. We got trouble and need a pickup.

Roger. We see a clearing 100mike from your flare. Meet us there.

Roger. Out.

Chu and her Marines went and got in the Pelican. Foehammer was in the driver seat.

"WHAT HAPPENED? We haven't heard from the Academy in a week!" Foe shouted.

"We were attacked. The Academy bugged! We got to link up. Take us to HQ and then we'll explain."

"Roger ma'am. We're out of here."
*three hours later*
"First Lieutenant Chu Wang reporting, sir."

"Sit down Chu." a shadowed figure said, "What happened?"

"We were attacked. We had concluded about two weeks of class when a Mercenary force hired by the Dark side attacked. We had to move the Academy. I picked up 11 survivors, and all the Students were picked up by the ships. We executed Escape Plan Thetha."

"Very well. There are a few new arrivals. Take your 'men', the new Students, some replacements, and go to Sigma Octagnus. Tell nobody of this. You will rejoin the Academy and get out of my hair." the shadow said. For all his reputation, Admiral Akbar was a real bitch at time, as he was here. At least Chu wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. TDY, here I come Chu thought as she left.

"Ahhh," came the cry of a battle fatigued man as the doors slid open to the med bay. The light *ding* noise alerted the nurses as to his presence and soon two had come quickly over to attend to him. He was weak and disoriented as he tried to make his way across the room, stumbling as he went. When the nurses reached him, they each took a shoulder and escorted him to a bed.

"Are you okay?" one of the nurses asked him.

"What is your name?" came the next question quickly before he could answer.

"What happened?"

"What can you remember?"

"Argg," cried the man as he covered his ears. The nurses voices faded out as a ringing noise grew louder and louder. In a minute, he had become very dizzy and eventually passed out.

Waking up a couple short hours later, the man looked around the room as he had finally been able to stablizie his mind - is was no longer dizzy and the ringing had left him. As one of the nurses noticed he had awaken, she came over to check on him, "Feeling any better?"

"Yeh, a bit," he replied in a raspy and parched voice.

"Here," she said handing him a glass of water, "Now. You are going to have to answer a couple questions so we can take care of you. What is your name? What do you remember?"

"Liam," he said as he finished off the glass, "And I don't remember anything. I think I was knocked out when some fighting broke out..."

Kasandral chuckled dryly. "Enjoyable, I suppose. What'll we do now, though, with the academy presumably gone?"

Mike chose that moment to kiss his wife and siad, "The Academy gone? No, we're all here, for better or worse. We'll still train and teach, even if we have to do it on the run. It is our duty to do so. Now this is where I truly feel secure, space. I guess that's because every time we're on a planet together we're either interrupted by bad news, shot down by enemy TIEs, forced to live in a prefab shelter, captured, or have to fight the evil baddie boss guy. But hey, I'm not complaining...after all, that led up to this." he said, smiling and throwing the covers over them again.

A while and several minutes of giggling later, Kasandral smirked. "No complaints here either, in that case. And I can't say I'm disappointed Tak'a Tamen hasn't shown his ugly face again. All in all, you're right...this, here, is perfect."

Mike crawled up, rolled over, and kissed his wife. Smirking, he said, "Well, I don't see anything wrong." another smile, "Well, let me go get something now that I am thinking of it." Mike brushed away the wineglasses on his nightstand and opened it to reveal a jewel-encrusted, sheathed dagger about six inches long. "This dagger, with its rubies, saphires, diamonds, and gold was commissioned for Czar Nikolas of Russia and has been passed down the Romanov line until their end. I came into its posession through my father's friends the Haase's who gave it to me just a week ago when we met on Reach. We agreed that it was only fitting that a beautiful woman have a beautiful dagger." Mike said, passing it to his Kas and kissing her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hundreds of systems away a lone Sith, a follower of the True Siths, was speeding towards the Jedis. He was following intuition and the Force in his small ship. Lord Tak-a-Tamen had ordered him to kill Jedi as part of his training, and after Tak-a-Tamen's death it only seemed fitting to kill Jedi as a sort of "last request" amongst Sith. Yes, this one was different, a Sith loyal to those who trained him and sought to unite all those who cared to follow him and stay loyal. His first goal to achieve power would be to kill David Miles, the one destroying the Sith Academy along with Telekentsis V in a massive Force Explosion thus destroying the Siths best weapon in that campaign.

Kasandral's eyes visibly widened as she sat up, taking the dagger. She reversed her grip a few times, then checked the balance of the blade. "It's...beautiful. I'll be sure to put it to good use, dear."

Liam...it is time to wake up. an Ancient voice called, You have been healed.

Liam jumped up in his bed to find a ghost of a Force User past hovering around his bed.
Liam, you have been called to fulfil a destiny. A Dark One is coming to kill the entire Academy. Be there when he falls to see your destiny.

Liam shot straight up as the voice spoke to him. "My destiny...?" A dark one is coming...? "Wait... what do you mean... what is my destiny?" he asked the ghost as he got out of bed, but just as soon as it had appeared, it disappeared again. Huh... I do feel much better. Relaxed, recovered, and re-energized.

I should tell someone about this... I must find the leader of the academy and warn him of the "Dark One." He straightened his robe and checked that his lightsaber was working before walking over to one of the nurses. "Pardon... but do you know where I could find the headmaster?" he asked politely.

"What are you doing out of bed... you aren't well," responded the nurse worriedly.

"I feel fine," he responded quickly. The nurse shot a questioning glare at him, "Honest... I feel fine. I know it sounds wierd... but I need to go. Its urgent."

"Fine," she responded as she saw that there was no way she was going to stop him. She told him how to get to the headmaster's office and sent him on his way.

The rag-tag fleet that escaped Reach were quite unaware of the cloaked Merc ship that carried Sothan Kor. Kor's only interest was to own the book of D'rea and Mosh, the ancient manuscript penned by two of the first Jedi. Kor's Mind wandered as he imagined the powerful secrets that would be revealed to him. Why, he could single handedly take over the entire Syndicate and even the universe with his new found power.

But he had to get it first and he knew that the only person with any knowledge of the book's location was Mike Miles himself.

Sothan Kor: "Prepare to clamp us to the underside of their hull." His order was cold and calculating, but the helmsman obeyed fearing for his life.

Like a snake on the hunt, the cloaked Merc ship silently manoeuvred beneath David's ship and prepared to lock on. It was only a matter of time now before he would face his enemy...

_______________________________________________________

It had all happened so fast. Avon and Cally had only barely escaped the explosion from the hidden bunker after The Order of the Universe had attacked it. The Liberator had limped into orbit and had teleported them both with only milliseconds to spare.

Avon had just gotten comfortable and was about to show the bewildered Cally his ship when a tall man entered followed by a pair of armed guards,

Tall Man: "Boarding the property of the Order of the Universe usually invites death. What are you doing on my ship?"

Avon suddenly felt annoyed...

Sothan kor knew that finding Mike's ship out of the fleet of six-hundred would take far too long. He had almost hoped that fate would have brought him to the correct vessel, but it was not to be. Despite the warping progress of the fleet and the delicate matter of clamping a cloaked ship to the hull, Kor's pilot managed to get them locked in albeit unsecurely.

Kor prepared the Mercs to blast their way through. The only way he would be able to find Mike's ship is if he could 'extract' the information from one of the crew. An easy task for someone with his power. The powerful cutter began slicing through the hull. Seconds from now, they would begin the slaughter...

Hey its me, the zabrak darth maul type guy who you let have lightining, I havent been on for a long time and would like to know my roll and where we're at in the story,:headbang: am i the dark one you guys are reffering too?Also,new name is democracaay, not sidious3

Hey its me, the zabrak darth maul type guy who you let have lightining, I havent been on for a long time and would like to know my roll and where we're at in the story,:headbang: am i the dark one you guys are reffering too?Also,new name is democracaay, not sidious3

ooc: post ooc questiuons and comments in the ooc thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=435223)

OOC: *Bump for CM*

*bumps for self asI have just come off a 3-day ban and it is everyone else's move save for one*

IC:
"This Is Jedi Fleet One to Sigma Pctagnus. We have just dropped out of warp three million kilometers from the outer defenses. Requesting permission to dock, repair, and resupply. Code word Tobasco." Captain Cyruss called in a hail. She was granted permission and a three-hour impulse trip followed leading to the massive docking facilities. Large battleplates that were actually repair stations docked to the non-atmospheric ships that were too large to use the main dock (such as the Onyx SSDs and the Sniper BBs). The atmospheric ships went onto the surface while the others docked. Everybody was relieved that there was time to do whatever the hell they wanted.

Kas had fallen asleep and Mike noticed the time. They were out of warp by now and Mike decided to take a quick shower and get dressed. His Black and Silvers were in perfect order and he decided to wear them. All members of the Jedi Academy were given CM uniforms and approperiate rank within the CM Space Fleet and equivalent rank within the other services if they so choose to pursue such specialities. Mike decided to go to the recieving room to meet the replacements.

Chu Wang and her eleven men (plus a dozen students) went to the grav lift and were enclosed magnetically with their oxygen. They shot into the Feudal Lord and reported in. She took three steps after that and both she and Mike stopped dead in their tracks. She rushed over and hgged him and started crying. She hadn't done that since they were forced to break up by her father...right after that crazy night at Prom.

As he rode through the systems in his pod looking for jedi, Bosphan Kurr pondered how glorious it would be to live in a world free of the Jedi, there foolish ways and teachings had baffled him since he was a boy.

He was a Zabrak who was trained to be a jedi and it was thought at one time he would be a great and powerful one.

But as he learned more and more of their ways, the more he grew to despise them, then at the age of 15 he finally gave up on teachings that only weakened him, he fleed the Jedi academy he was being trained on and used his stolen pod to travel to a remote sith academy on Korriban, the originating homeworld of the Sith.

It was here he learned that this was to be his destiny. He trained under Taka ta'men and became so powerful so quickly, it baffled even the great sith lord who trained him. At the age of 17, 2 years into his training, he learned the Sith's most sacred and powerful technique, force lightining. This was astounding, for it was beleived only experienced Sith lords could learn this technique.

Knowing his potential for ultimate power, Taka ta'men sent him, alone, to the other systems to hunt down and exterminate all the Jedi he could. He had just begun his journey and already he spotted a large fleet of ships, around 600, he estimated. He also sensed a powerful Jedi and a powerful Sith in the area. He would start his legacy here...

Arriving at where he was told the headmaster would be located, Liam knocked on the door carefully. How do I even explain this to him... He thought about what had just happened and began to doubt himself. It even seems crazy to me... but I know what I saw... ...What did it mean, My Destiny?

"Sir... my name is Liam and I need to talk to you about something important," he said through the closed doors, hoping that someone was behind them to recieve his message.

OOC: Democracaaay, you weren't trained by Nilhouse. He was killed roughly 1400 years before this RP takes place. It was Tak'a-Tamen who trained you. Fix it please.

IC: The chair before Liam spun around, empty but with a note attached saying, "Gone dueling. Be back whenever I can. Just take a seat, watch a movie, read a book, or eat. I don't care whichever, just wait for me."

David, sensing Liam was in his office, and said, "Kariton, let's finish this. A very confused young man is in my office to talk to me and I have a feeling he will end up saving numerous lives."

Liam entered the office and read the note. Gone dueling. Be back whenever I can. Just take a seat, watch a movie, read a book, or eat. I don't care whichever, just wait for me.

"I hope he hurries back," Liam said to himself as he took a seat on the ground. He would try to entertain himself with a book or the such, but his mind was already going a million miles a minute because of the recent events. He sat pondering what had happened and what was to become of him. My destiny... My destiny?

After contemplating the matter for several minutes, his restless energy finally got the best of him. Liam stood up from his seat and began walking around the office, examining everything it held. I wonder what this contains... Liam thought as he activated a holocron that he found on one of the higher shelves.

The tall man had curly hair. His brow was strong and his face betrayed no emotions. The only thing Avon could tell was that this stranger was onboard his ship and pointing a blaster at him,

Tall Man: "I repeat, what are you doing on my ship?"

Avon: "Your ship?"

At that moment, a small platoon of men marched into the teleport chamber led by a grizzly looking individual who would match the profile of someone keen to cause pain and torture,

Man: "What's going on Tarrant, who are these two?"

Tarrant: "It's 'Commander Tarrant' Klegg, don't forget that."

The man identified as Klegg was visibly unimpressed by the dressing down he had just received,

Klegg: "Very well sir. But what about these two!? We searched the ship and there was no sign of anyone else."

Avon: "We... came aboard shortly after the attack. Our own ship was caught in a crossfire and we found this vessel adrift. We've been sleeping in a cabin for hours," Avon took Cally's hand and forced a smile, "we're married."

Cally tried not to look shocked and Avon couldn't tell of Tarrant believed him,

Tarrant: "Search the ship again Klegg and see that your men do it right this time."

Klegg acknowledged through gritted teeth and led his men out of the chamber. Avon knew this was a sticky situation.

The holocron Liam activated, next to that of Justin the good Sith, buzzed to life to reveal David's body:
This is David Miles. This holocron contain my memories and will be played as they happened. Everything will be in context and may not make sense unless you play the previous journal. This is from age 18 to age 19, covering my war years and is composed of my assorted video chips from my helmet camera.

First Entry, a harrowed young David appears in MARPAT digital camoflage, covered from head to toe in mud and gun powder. He has a bullet wound on his left side close to the ribs. His helmet is off to reveal dusty brown hair in disarray. He begins "Helmet cam: Date and time ******* Position unknown. I am stranded behind enemy lines. The Chinese zapped me pretty good. Took the bad end of an MG round, lots of bleeding but nothing too severe. I know what I'm gonna do if I get home, that's propose. I've been dragging my feet too much and I think its time for me to settle down...aw crap, here's a human wave again, hide." David hides in a bush and waits for an entire company to pass. The Chinese didn't notice him. David grabs his G36, sets it to auto, and unloads as the company sets down to rest. Fifteen are killed before he reloads another drum magazine. Some incoming fire is heard as well as a grenade thrown by David, killing six and secondary explosions are heard. Only fifteen enemy are left after the dust clears and David is nowhere to be seen. His G36 is trashed, smoldering. The enemy approach thinking David dead. The camera keeps recording onto the night where a shadow creeps along the enemy's trench where they sleep. You see the glint of a knife and hear fifteen wet gurgles in series over an hour. The figure approaches the camera and it is David. He speaks, "One enemy company destroyed. I hope my family will at least get to see this if I die in battle. I be a sneaky bastard."
~~~
Entry two: David again, same uniform with the same wound in his side, bandaged up poorly, and an enemy rifle in hand. The camera's date and time shows a week later. David begins, "Here I am, finally ten klicks from my own lines. The only thing that seperates me from the Corps is about ten MG nests and a friendly Artilley barrage. The Allies must see me on the IFF, I'm set on active. I have a plan. I'll sneak to the back of these MG nests, toss a grenade and hopefully kill enough so our forces can overwhelm these positions. Here I go." David then moves out, and you see in first person him run from trench to trench, silently killing a few enemies unaware of him. He reaches the first nest with the crew firing. He pulls the pin, cooks the grenade for three seconds, and tosses it in to much blood and gore spewing out every opening. He does this for six more nests while artillery hits three nests, and one wild shot sending fragments into David's foot. He limps to a tree and lays down the gun thinking it the end, having lost so much blood. But at this time the Marines decide to charge. They reach where he is at in ten minutes and one private holds him at gunpoint until a Captain releases him to a medic. All the men are in awe that one lone Sergeant could do so much against so many. The Captain speaks and says, "Hand me that VidChip. This man deserves the Medal of Honor."*end transmission*

"Wow... the headmaster was a soldier," Liam commented after he finished the holocrons. He took the liberty of sitting down in the chair behind David's desk to think it over for a minute. And a damn good one too... must have been his pre-jedi instincts or his connection to the force.

I wonder where he is... I really need to talk to him about that spirit...

My Destiny...

My Destiny...

My Destiny...

He kept hearing the words in his mind as he closed his eyes, over and over again.

"I wonder if he ended up getting the Medal of Honor," Liam thought as he rubbed his eyes to get the thought of his destiny out of his mind. Must have...

The two officers made their way round the winding corridor, oblivious to the harsh fate that awaited them. For the wall exploded inward a mere split second after they realised something was wrong. The officers who themselves were trained well in close quarters combat never had a chance to prove it as they were cut down by blaster fire. The leading Mercs all poured in through the wound and began to make their way toward the bridge.

Captain Bodez was alerted by the blaring intruder klaxon and immediately turned to his executive officer,

Bodez: What's happening Commander?!"

Commander: "We have an explosive decompression in corridor 2A, but environment systems aren't registering any air loss!"

Lieutenant: "We're getting reports of a fire fight spreading throughout the ship!"

Bodez' eyes widened as the prospect of a full scale hostile takeover dawned upon him,

Bodez: "Issue sidearms to the crew. We must contain the intruders!!"


Below decks, the battle continued. The Mercs proceeded to cut down anything that moved, which included surrendering men. After a moment, the smoke cleared and revealed the full extent of the attack. Bodies littered the corridor leading all the way to the bridge. The ratio of merc corpses to that of the crew was very much in favour of the invaders. The sight certainly didn't prevent Sothan Kor from walking to the bridge at his own relaxed pace.


Commander: "Sir, we've just lost contact with everything below the bridge!"

Bodez: "Get a distress call out!"

Lieutenant: "We can't sir. They've knocked everything out."

Bodez: "So we can't warn the fleet and they are none the wiser."

His train of thought was immediately focused upon the doors as they began to fizzle. Evidently someone was trying to get through. On his orders, the bridge crew took cover behind their stations and readied their weapons.

The bridge doors exploded inward and the crew opened fire. They couldn't tell what they were hitting as they shot desperately toward the entrance. As each blaster ran out, silence fell. Standing in the doorway was the silhouette of Sothan Kor. Captain Bodez took one look and instantly ordered his men to fire. But for some reason the words never came out. All he felt was a constricted sensation around his throat and a sudden loss of the ability to breathe.

Kor's hold upon him tightened as he lifted the choking captain above the deck. The crew could do nothing but watch their captain die in front of them. Then, as calmly as he would take a drink, Sothan Kor threw Bodez' body across the room and turned his attention to the survivors,

Sothan Kor: "I trust I have your complete surrender now?"

The crew threw their weapons to the floor...

Liam sat back down and bumped a small cube. The cube lit up and Liam saw the man who appeared over his bed.
This is the memory of a one Justian. He was a powerful Sith who was damned to eternally watch Tak'a-Tamen. Here is his memories.

The Damned One [Tak'a-Tamen] will try and exterminate the Galaxy for his greed and lust. The first tim he appears he will be beaten, twice killed, thrice vanquised, and fourth a shadow will come and be beaten back by a new light. A chosen one will appear for two missions, but a third shall require a new one. This new one shall come to an Academy only to be persecuted across the Galaxy for a powerful secret capable of giving the new more powers the old could not comprehend. They shall all be pushed in order to spring the trap. The Chosen One shall be called by the Force and shall learn to become the Force to kill the Dark Parts of the Force. HEre the Galaxy shall be purged for fifty years.

Huh?! Liam was startled as he activated another holocron which he had not seen.

Him! Liam saw the same spirit in the holocron as he had previously seen over his bed. A prophecy...? Chosen one? "What does it all mean!" Liam finally screamed out in frustration. Not so long ago he had been safe in an academy, training to become stronger and more adept - and now his whole world had been turned upside down. First the attack on the academy, then the spirit of a sith contacted him with a prophecy... and now a strange memory entailing a chosen one.

The last survivor clawed at the air as every last ounce of his life was draining away. He could still feel his mind being ripped open as Sothan Kor tore at the knowledge inside his head.

Kor released the dead Commander's body and it fell to the floor in a heap. He turned to the merc at the helm, his mind still racing through the newly acquired information.

Sothan Kor: "I finally know which ship Mike is on. Take us to it."

____________________________________

Avon was having a REALLY bad day. He awoke with a daze in a cabin on the Liberator after having received a metal like blow to the head. He tried to sit up but his own body seemed to push him back down,

Cally: "I'm sorry, I let you down."

Avon: "Let me down?"

Cally: "I should have been able to kill them both."

Avon recalled the last moments before he was robbed of consciousness. He remembered being taken to the flight deck and told to speak into the computer interface. It was all coming back to him now, albeit rather painfully.

Avon: "I shouldn't worry. If I had spoken, Zen would have recognised me and they would now be in control of the Liberator. This way we've bought ourselves a little more time."

Cally: "Time for what?"

Avon tried to sit up again. This time it was more manageable though he could still feel his head spinning,

Avon: "This is my ship."

Cally could tell in his voice that Avon was planning something. And at this point she was glad she was on his side...

"How was it that the Zoarin League was able to get one of these things again?" Dalveckor looked to his mother inquisitively. "It must be expensive, for something with that design to do something like be an interplanetary gateway."

The automata sentient looked Dalveckor over quizzically. The android meerly shrugged in reply. "It is not part of my function to know that information, and I have never been a curious unit. However, I must ask why your parents allowed you to join with the knowledge of the recent attack."

Dalveckor sighed and shrugged. They both knew perfectly well why. Dalveckor was a hybrid between human and vaian, making him a hated creature by all biological races. Automata found the general hosility irrational, yet still displayed caution due to the high rate of mental disorders among hybrids.

"The dialing sequence will be complete shortly. When will the rest of your property be arriving, hybrid?" The android looked Dalveckor over. He looked like an albino human, but with only three fingers and toes, and his nose and ears smoothed out over his face. "If it does not arrive in time-"

"This is all I have." Dalveckor held up a small metallic case that had been scanned by the automata earlier, showing it contained nothing but nutripacks and clothing. "I'm a hybrid and a rapeborn. My mother doesn't see to me that much."

The automata didn't reply, only looking up to see the stargate open. A rush of energy blasted out before receeding, coming just short of the automata's face. Any closer, and whatever was in the blast would have been, for lack of a more specific term, disentigrated.

Lifting his case using his arm and his powers together, Dalveckor quickly ran over to the edge of the portal. He looked back a moment, then nodded when he got the signal that Sigma Octagnus was ready to receive him. Clenching his open hand into a fist, he stepped out of his world and into a new one: the Jedi Academy.

*Sigma Octagnus Space Defense Command*
Automatic message from Cruiser Epsilon Zero: Crew lifesigns in danger. 99% dead, Captain Morgan near death. Loss of pressure in 8 decks and twenty compartments. Hole in outer decks consistent with boarding. AI self-destructing.

"General Hassen! The Epsilon is floating dead. Looks like a stealth attack. All crew dead. AI destructing. Its walking dead."

"All right, we have a stealth ship in our midst. Send in the Siafu, Ignus, Pyrus, Mort, Walking Dead, Mörder, Teuful, and Aufladungen. That should find and kill the enemy." the General stated with some authority. The three Super Death Stars, three Sniper BBs, and two SO-based Onyx SSDs.

"Sir, that's enough to kill eight planets simeltaneously? Are you sure for a cloaked scout?"

"DO IT!" Hassen screamed as the eight powerful ships were sent at near-warp speeds.

Five minutes later, on a station where "OMG T3H NOESSSS!" was written by the fire button, the SSD Aufladungen spotted a ECM disturbance five hundred kilometers off. The captain said to screw haling and begin firing. The ship's speakers screamed clips from video games eminating death for the enemy. The other ships followed suit, and the Epsilon was eaten up in the crossfire as well and exploded.

OOC: Ue the force to escape, but please decide to run. Meet up with us again around where Avon is. I have a plan for a good showdown.

Dalveckor walked into the stargate and exited eight seconds later. Sigma Octagnus's Stargate Command recieved him, checked him for any disease, and sent him to his proper ship for bunking arrangements. His room-mate was a human named Liam.

Dalveckor sheepishly nodded hello to Liam before finding his bed. He smiles politely but, rather than make conversation, opens his case and gets out a nutripack and practices levitating. "My name is Dalveckor. My mother calls me Dale for short, so I guess other people will too."

OOC: Liam is out at the moment, however, this works on flex-time (time flows as is needed to prevent plot holes) so you're provided with as needed in that department.

Seldom was Sothan Kor ever surprised by his enemy's tactics. Moments before his captured ship approached Mike's cruiser, the rest of the fleet opened fire. Sensing that a strategic withdrawal would be the wisest course of action, Kor ordered a retreat.

The Merc crew who were overconfident with their quick take-over were suddenly overwhelmed with fear as the bridge exploded around them. Their fears were further justified when Sothan Kor appeared to shimmer and then disappear. Seconds after they had realised that their master had abandoned them, the ship exploded in a brilliant flash. The last thing spotted by the fleet's sensors was the Scorpio disappearing into warp...
________________________

Avon's plan was sound. He and Cally had been giving the intruders the runaround throughout the Liberator with the sole purpose of placing them off balance. During this, Avon was able to enter the flight deck and retrieve an update from the Zen computer. The Liberator was currently on course to rescue Villa and the Order of the Universe had been quite unable to gain control of the ship.

After a few more hours of evading capture, Avon and Cally had discovered that someone on board had been killing the intruders off one by one. Hiding in a cabin, Avon paced the room trying to figure out who was doing the killing,

Avon: "It doesn't fit into any logical pattern."

Cally: "What doesn't?"

Avon: "Who killed the guards and why?"

Cally: "Who cares? It leaves fewer for us to deal with."

At that moment, the door to the cabin exploded inward and Avon and Cally were knocked to the floor. After regaining their orientation, the pair noticed Tarrant standing in the doorway and another guard standing over them with a weapon,

Guard: "Let me kill them sir! They need to pay for the murder of our comrades."

Tarrant: "All in good time."

The guard lowered his weapon with impatience. This was the last thing he did before his body slumped to the floor. Tarrant returned his smoking blaster to its holster, retrieved the dead guard's weapon and handed it to Avon,

Tarrant: "You'll need this if we're going to live."

Avon took the rifle and eyed Tarrant with suspicion,

Avon: "What makes you think I should trust you?"

Tarrant: "Because Klegg and his men are the most notorious death squad with a reputation of brutality hard to match. And despite their disposition on board this ship, they are going to find and kill us.

Avon thought about simply pulling the trigger. But then he decided against it.

Tarrant: "Shall we go?"

Avon and Cally followed Tarrant out of the cabin...

OOC: Merry Christmas everyone!!!

OOC: It was one hour and 20 minutes until when I started. And now 20 minutes until Christmas here. Long thought of speech. MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!

IC: Chu and Mike were eating on the promenade deck. She had a salad while Mike a chicken sandwich.

"You know," he started, "This really reminds me of old times. How are things between you and your dad?"

"One, he still's pissed at my joining the Corps even though its five years past. Two, he's pissed your dad is my boss. Three, he's still pissed at you for our little romp after Prom and since. But hey, as far as I'm concerned he's intellectually a deaf-mute and if he keeps this up he shall be dead in my eyes." Chu said, matter-of-fact.

"Chu, I don't want to be the cause of a family estrangement." Mike responded, a little depressed and with a full mouth.

"Didn't I or Kas ever teach you any manners? Anyways, you won't be the reason, just a symptom of the disease that has been haunting us since I started dating." Chu replied. "If it comes, it comes."

"Ok, as long as I'm not the reason." Mike finished his words as he did his sandwich. "You remember the joke we used to have?"

"What, about the 'beer and a sammich'?" (now) Captain Wang asked.

"Yeah, that one."

"What about it?"

"Well, here's the sammich, wanna get a beer?" Mike replied with a smile.

"Sure, as long as your wife doesn't mind?"

"Kas, nah...you know what. You two were never fully introduced. Let me call her and see if she's up for a drink." Mike said getting out his phone. It rang a little before she answered. Mike held a short, one-sided conversation to where it sounded like Kas agreed and Mike mentioned Chu. Kas, of course, knew who Chu was thanks to David's intervention. She should know Mike wouldn't cheat on her, but then again David didn't know what exactly the two of them had done in its entirity. This would be an interesting night.
~~~~~~~
"General Hassen, ships destroyed. However, we have warp signatures from cloaked ships. Permission to follow?"

"Negative. We need those ships to protect us. However, inform Commadore Miles. After all, it was his Fleet they were after. Also loose all the Onyxs and a single SDS to him. I have a feeling he'll need it."

"Yes sir. Loosing the Mort and all Onyx SSDs to Commodore Miles' Fleet."

David looked Kariton dead in the eye, "Sorry, gotta go." as he teleported to his office. Liam turned in suprise and David said, "Sit. I see you were getting a look at some of my stuff, especially the holochrons. I take it you watched these two....Well, now you know what I did for part of my first war. Not even my son or wife have viewed that particular one. That was one time I wish I could forget. Too many friends lost. However, I need to remember to honor them and teach me daily. Now the other one is the one I think you have the most questions about. Humor me and ask a few."

Liam's mind was racing as David entered the room; he was slightly unnerved knowing that he had seen something so private to David without his permission, but seeing that he didn't press the issue any further, neither would Liam. "Alright..." Liam said as he wasn't sure where to begin, "Well... that Holocron... it said it was the memory of one Justian," he paused momentarily, "I saw him... his spirit came to me when I woke up in the medbay and told me a Dark One was coming to kill the entire academy and that I should be there when he falls... why?"

"Yes, Justian was always wise in his dealings after living 500 or so years. Yes, a Dark Lord is coming to the Academy to kill us all. He will get a few as always happens, but you need to watch and observe this to see his Master's style and how to defeat him as I will be long gone by the time THE Dark One comes again. Somebody will have to vanquish him again. My son must attend the academy and family. The others are no match for him. You, however have the potential to kill him a third time with a little assistance. I know I shall die for good before this happens, but I can help wisk this one to the way of the dead. Shall we start this training?"

Wait?! Me? It can't be... Why me...? I can't do it... Does he really expect me to defeat him? thoughts were shooting through Liam's head as a rush of information had just hit him. "You..." Liam said after a while and proceeded very slowly, "Want me... to defeat THE Dark One..." he repeated. He looked at David's face and he showed no signs of joking as he was dead serious. "Fine..." he said as he let out a sigh. So much had happened in so little time that Liam felt lost and decided to just go with and accept what he was being told.

OOC: Last one for the night for me, its 0200 hours
IC:
"Yes. Now, to fight effectively with the Force, you must be able to fight and function without the Force. You feel that empty hollowness within you right now? I have just activated a Force Disruptor. Quite a nasty thing for a Jedi or Sith to encounter. Takes away what makes us Jedi. Now, I shall teach you all I know of the Martial Arts and arms use through The Helmet." He grabbed a white battle helmet reminiscent of Spaceballs and put one on himself. Within five hours Liam understood what David could have passed on, and had gained, in fifteen years of training.

"Unfortunately, The Helmet doesn't work with Force powers. So now we shall train in moving without the Force then with."

"Incredible..." was all Liam was able to mutter, "Simply incredible..." Years of information came flowing into his mind in a matter of hours spent with David. For nearly twelve years he had been studying the ways of the Jedi and the ways of the Force, but it wasn't until now that he had really stopped and studied the ways of the non-jedi. "Alright... I am ready."

"Yes, you see. I figure when you fight your first Sith, they'll use a Force Disruptor making all your Force powers useless. It will afect both of you equally. However, if you fight a merc with them then its bye-bye Jedi time. So there is a way to disrupt the disruptors. Ok, you feel the disruptor working. Watch me." David said as the Disruptor suddenly sparked and quit. He went over and reset it. "The trick," he said, "Is to channel the Force through you until it is powerful enough to branch out to the disruptor and overload tis circuitry. Just focus on keeping the Force within you. Its kinda like moving underwater while blindfolded. Now you try."

As David reset the force disruptor, Liam felt himself being separated from the Force. As he did, he began concentrating on the Force within his body, which in turn made the power of the Force around him grow. Eventually it became so powerful that it flowed through him and shorted out the disruptor that stood a few feet away.

"Good. Now let's see if you can do it to something a little more powerful." David said, grabbing an intercom Attention. All shipboard Jedi. A large Force Disruptor is to be used. Do not panic as this is just training and will only affect this single ship. All Masters shall report to the other ships and prepare Battle Mediation and keep station.

"Now, this one will do so for a 2km area. It is especially strong at the three meters we're at. I even have trouble shutting them down at this power rating. Give it a whirl." David finished as he neared a towering Onyx black supercoputer, hitting a switch and every Jedi aboard felt a hollow presence within them.

Liam felt a much larger hollow feeling than before and had to fight with all his will to keep the Force flowing through him. He was becoming weary as it was quite draining to go against a force disruptor of this power. If he has trouble with these... how can I possibly be able to stop them? Liam thought to himself as he concentrated on keeping the Force flowing. As he gritted his teeth, the force momentarily flowed through him and lept towards the disruptor; it sparked briefly but kept working.

David said, "Concentrate. Push for it."

David's words were firm but comforting and helped Liam to make the extra step. He closed his eyes and redoubled his efforts to concentrate solely on the Force. The Force continued to flow through him, despite the efforts of the disruptor, and now it grew in power. Eventually it flowed out of his body and hit the disruptor, causing it to spark and short out. "Ahhhh," Liam breathed a sigh of relief as the disruptor was stopped and the Force was again able to flow normally.

"Very good, Liam. Now, here's something that I think you will learn to appreciate." David said, producing what looked like a sonic blaster.

"This is a Force Disruption Pistol. It can seperate a specific user from the Force. This training model can have an adjustable power setting, but trust me when I say the real thing is twice as bad." And without hesitation he shot Liam. The hollowness seemeed more personal to him this time around.

"Ah!" Liam replied as he was hit by the Force Disruption Pistol. It felt quite aweful to be severed from the Force and this time it was much different than the Force Disruptor. When David had turned the Disruptor on, it felt like the area was being drained, though when he was directly hit with the Force Disruption Pistol, it felt as if something was destroying the Force from within.

"Truth is, I can't even get out of a half-charge yet. Its still new technology to us. And if the shot is powerful enough, it can actually kill a Jedi by ripping them violently out of the Force. Now start at your center and push out. Control yourself first then the attack."

Liam remained motionless, confused at what David was asking him to do.

"Draw the Force around you, pull it into you, and then expand it all over yourself." David said calmly, having taken half an hour of this to do so himself the first time.

Liam did as he was told and began concentrating on the Force around him. As he did so, it felt like it was swirling around him and forming a shield of energy. This time he was pulling the Force in rather than making it flow through him and it made him feel much more envigorated and energized than before. "Now I see..."

David said, "Good. Now you understand." He quickly flipped the gun up, amped it up to half charge, and shot Liam in one swift, smooth motion. "Now, again. This time with vigor. I may have to break you, but by George you're going to be the strongest student I ever taught."

As Liam was hit by the Force Disruptor, he again felt the hollowness of losing the Force. However, this time when David spoke, though his words were not meant to be, they were quite comforting and reassuring; they showed confidence in the young Jedi. Inspired by David, Liam redoubled his efforts and again felt the Force swirling around him as it reconnected to his body.


Happy New Year!

"Keep it up, you're almost there." David said, readying the gun again and shot him again just to frustrate Liam.

Liam was getting quite frustrated at the continuous force deprivation by David. This time however, as the shot hit him, it merely bounced off as the Force was now flowing so strongly through him that it reflected the disruption. Liam let out a roar and with it the energy flowed around and through him like it had rarely done before.

"Very good. I see you have learned Battle Meditation quite by accident. I was just trying to test your spirit. That is the only known way to counteract the effects of Force Disruption. Very good. That is all for today. Go to bed, you need rest and to meet your new room mate. Be careful though, he's got a chip on his shoulder." David said, "I have a few things of paperwork to finish before I can go to sleep. Good night." He finished as he began a stack of paperwork twenty inches high, but going through with remarkable speed, using the Force to guide him.

"Good night," Liam replied as he turned and left the office on his way back to his room. He was quite drained of his energy, though the adrenaline rushing through him was enough to keep him awake as he made his way down the corridors. He was quite excited by what he had learned today, though at the same time he was nervous that he would have to face The Dark one sometime in his future...

When he reached his room, the adrenaline began wearing off and he was now quite tired from the physically and mentally draining exercises. He walked in and lay down on the bed to rest, though the second his head touched the pillow, he was out cold.

Seeing his roommate unconcious didn't really bother Dale that much. He plucked a third object to levitate from his bag and began to make them dance among one another. A simple excercise, but they would keep him busy until sleep called him down.

Kas took half an hour to get herself ready and walked to deck 17, where the resturaunt district was. She entered The Tavern, a recreation of the Tun Tavern and was the most popular bar in the Fleet. She entered to see about thirty servicemen, drunk, dancing about on the floor while Mike waved to her, his shoulderboards restricting his movement. Chu and he were already at a table, three meals sitting there waiting for a third diner.

"I hope you don't mind I ordered for you, dear."

"Not as long as you got the right thing." Kas replied with a playful smile, noticing what she would have ordered was in fact there. Mike just smiled.

"Oh, honey. This is Chu Wang. We were friends in high school and dad had the pull to keep her around when she joined. If I'm not mistaken, she was just promoted to Captain for her actions on Reach." Mike said, Chu blushing through her deeply Asian complection.

"It's a pleasure, Ma'am. Glad to see somebody can keep this lug under control." Chu said, rising to shake Kasandral's hand.

"A pleasure." Kas replied, smiling and returning the gesture. The three began eating along with polite conversation.

Mike was roughly halfway through his steak and finished his potato when an ensign approached. Mike shot him a glance and the ensign said, "Sir, a call for you from CMHQ. Its designated as Commodore only and scrambled in your personal key. I believe its from the President." Mike swore under his breath, took a last sip of his Coke, told the waiter to have his food brought to the bridge, and told the ladies, "Excuse me, I don't think I'll be back for a few hours." He left and on the way out rung the bell. All the men cheered as a round of drinks was credited to him. Both girls got a tequilia and began chit-chat. Chu started.

"So, Kas, tell me how the two of you got together."

"Well, I was turned on the Dark side at the original Academy nearly three years ago. We went up together in a V-wing during a battle. Mike wanted to look after me to see no harm came. We got shot down, broke both my legs, and Mike took care of me. He shot down a TiE with just a hand blaster, killed the pilot. Well, I betrayed him then and we were captured. Once I was healed, things happened and I was then more or less grey. We fell in love and got married about a year and a half ago. You know Mike's the reason why the Fleet and colonies were not involved in the CM Civil War?" Kas finished, proudly of her husband.

"I didn't know that. I was stuck in CM at the time and those satellite strikes were pretty bad. Ripped up half of Parris Island." chu said, remembering the horror of orphans looking at her, not expcting to live long due to radiation sickness.

"So, Chu, how did you and Mike meet?" Kas asked, sharply.

"Get a few more drinks in me and I'll tell." Chu said, giggling. And so they drank some more.

"Ok, I'll tell you. But remember all this happened before he met you." Chu said, her tongue and brain not agreeing from the booze. "We dated in High School. My dad's a racist prick and told us to split up or he'd shoot Mike. We still dated for two years after that. When he picked me up for Prom, it was kinda scary. My dad was a sworn pacifist because he's Buddhist but when he saw Mike at our front door, he got a butcher knife out from the kitchen and started chasing Mike. Mike kicked the knife out of his hand, and it impaled my dad's foot. Remember, this incident nearly cost David his Presidential Career. Well, my dad called the cops and they waited for us. While they were waiting, we were drinking. Yeah, we did some stuff drunk teens will do." Kas, sober, shot her a glance then, "Have you ever heard the song Animals by Nickelback. Well, that describes our entire relationship. Mike returned me at about six in the morning and the cops had left by then. My dad had gotten pissed and went and bought a shotgun while we were out. Mike's racer got peppered as we pulled in, my dad realised what was happening, let me get inside the house, Mike had a few choice words for my dad, my dad shot at Mike again, Mike got back in his car, and got a load of buckshot in his gut for the trouble and raced to the hospital. That's why there's a scar by his ribs. David made Mike enlist right after that, and I did so when I finished college. My mom divorced my dad and I'm estranged from him even though he tries to call me weekly and apoligise but ends up swearing at me in the end. I went through OCS right before the Academy started at Reach and your father-in-law requested me by name. He liked me at least. Once Mike got shot, we figured it was safer if we kept away for a while and then I met a guy in college and Mike gave me his blessings to date others."

Kas just sat there, stunned, wondering why Mike had never told her about this and knew now why he never told her about that one scar by his fourth left rib. She mulled these questions over with her drink.

Liam woke some time later feeling quite rested and renewed for another day of hard work that surely lay ahead of him. He blinked a few times as he sat up in bed and wiped the sleep generated amnesia away. Remembering the feeling of how the Force was sucked away from him, Liam vowed he would train to become the strongest ever so that it would never happen to him again.

He donned his Jedi robe and checked his lightsabers to make sure they were secure. That was when he firt noticed the other person in the room. Might as well introduce myself, I will get food and then seek out David for more training later, he thought as he approached the boy. "Hello... I am Liam," he said introducing himself.

OOC: have him talk to his room mate before leaving. I want to get him into the fold.

OOC: have him talk to his room mate before leaving. I want to get him into the fold.

ooc: updated.