NationStates Jolt Archive

(OOC: Everybody else seems to be making a new Jedi or Sith order so I thought I'd give it a try. Basically, come up with a character, either already a jedi knight or somebody who wants to learn to become one, and RP him/her going to the castle.)

IC:

The ancient Castle Night sat seemingly deserted in the mountain range of the small little know planet of Tinor. The stone structer was falling apart in many places and had vegetation growing on the walls. Around the castle, sat the high mountains, concealing the castle from everyone except those who knew it was there. Allowing only one passage throught the mountains, it was the perfect place for a fortress, and was once a great stronghold and home to many brave knights. Knights of the Order of Moon and Star.

The hooves of a horse could be heard trotting along on the gass and rock of the solitary path up to the castle. And on the black stalion, sat a man in dark robes, his face remaining unseen in the shadow of his hood. Riding up to the castle gates, the robed figure dismounted from his ride and looked up at the mighty keep, noticing the small hint of light in the top window of the back tower.

The moonlight shone of the small pendant around the figures neck, the black string holding up the blue diamond crescant moon, with the white pearl star to it's side. The glitter shone as the figure walked through the moonlight halls of the castle as it made it's way towards the far tower. Arriving at the end, the started ascending the large stone staircase winding up the tower, the staircase that lead to the top room, the top room where the faint sign of light could be seen visible now.

The figure streched out it's long arm and pushed on the reinforced wooden door, making it open. A flood of light came to escape the room in which it was being held captive, but was quickly restrained and brought back into the room.

"Good to see you again, Nerevar." came a soft voice inside the room.

The dark figure threw back it's hood to reveal the face of a young man, about in his late 20's. The man had long brown hair that went to his shoulders, and a clean, small beard. A two strands of hair came down to just above both of his blue eyes. His clean shaven face and white teeth showing as he smiled at his old friends.

"The journey here was long and boring." he replied to the mans question.

From the other side of the room, two more cloaked figures emerged from the dark corner where the light from the fireplace did not shine, "But it was well worth it. You know why we are here?"

"I do." Nerevar said simply.

The other cloaked figure spoke up, "The Sith orders have been growing, and are becoming very powerful. We were once one of the greatest Jedi orders, but long ago we were almost completely wiped out during the great Sith Wars."

"And now you expect us to revive the lost cult, and help bring order to the universe once again?" interupted Nerevar.

The two cloaked figures threw back their hoods, "Exactly! It is our duty, Nerevar! We must revive the Order, and push back the evils from the universe!"

"Yes, us three against the entire Sith legions, we can definitly win that battle." retorted Nerevar.

"No, not us alone, we must seek out new members, and strengthen our numbers."

"We have already placed coded messages out in all the known systems of the universe, and in time any just warriors or those who wish to become knights of peace and good! In time they will come here, Nerevar, and we must train them in the ways of the Order, we must revive the Moon and Star. Look at your sacred pendant, does that mean anything to you anymore?"

Nerevar turned away to think for a moment before turning back and replying coldly, "It does, and always win. But I do not think we could survive long in this universe of evil anymore, but I will stay and help. I will ride it out till the end, and do justice my vows to fight against that very evil till there is no life left in my body."

During training, a new jedi accidently bumped into a table.

ooc: force sensitivity a must?

(OOC: Not really. Everything about the order will be explained when enough people join and my guy gives a speech.)

ooc: character template wanted or just a post, with info revealed as it goes?

(OOC: Just a post, with info as it goes, kinda like mine.)

Alexus had decided to come see what this OMS was all about. It sounded interesting, especially as he had a tendancy to aid the underdog. He had landed on the planet, having taken a commercial flight that was alright though nothing special, earlier and was nearing the castle. He was riding on his S-board, with his mid-length golden blond hair streaming back from his speed. He wore pure black clothes with the hilts of two swords extended from his back. When he arrived at the castle, he slung his S-board on his back and knocked on the gate.

"Hello, anyone here?" He called up.

"Seems like a slacker." said Nerevar.

"So where you at when you first joined us, if you remember."

Using an ancient force mind power, Nerevar called down to the man at the gates of the castle, making the man think the voice was coming from the air, "We are here, and we have been waiting. Please, come to the courtyard."

Turning to his friend Nerevar slapped him on the shoulder and started walking off, "I guess I should go meet him."

The other man simply laughed, and continued watching the man at the gates.

Alexus entered the gate and walked to the courtyard, "So where is whoever I'm going to be meeting?" He asked to the empty air.

Jumping out from atop a crumbling room on the second floor of the castle, Nerevar actiavted his lightsaber and swung at the man, the green energy blade leaving a streak of colour in the air. It was time to see if this slacker had what it took...

Alexus heard the hiss/snap of a light saber and leapt back, the S-board falling as he did, which he boarded. He swooped back and up, both blades in hand by this time. He looked down on the saber-wielder, but didn't say a thing.

"Unwise, boy!" said Nerevar as he outstreched his left hand, using the force to strain the man's body and bring him down to the ground again, but he could only be held for so long before the effect would ware off. It was a pity that the Order of Moon and Star had been neglected so many years, it's great understanding of the force allowed many powerful abilities.

Alexus smiled a slightly nasty smile, "Big mistake." He thought. Tapping a part of the board, he flashed down, with incredible speed, both blades twisting a web of steel, that followed no pattern, and defied reason.

Ducking and rolling, Nerevar quickly regained his feet and swung his blade to slash at the board, hopefully cutting it in half.

I hate these damn lightsabers, he thought, if only everyone else knew how to fuse enough focusing crystals and power crystals into lightsabers so that we could use the actual weapons of the Order, not these toys.

The lightsaber cut partial into the S-board, prompting Alexus to dismount. He whirled on his attacker, while the S-board entered into a holding pattern in the corner.

"What the hells the matter with you." He spat out as he stood waiting for his attacker to attack.

Shutting off his blade, Nerevar regained his simple calm composure, "The Order of Moon and Star does not have room for men who will die quickly in a fight. It was a test. I am sorry for your board, I shall replace it, but for now, relax, take in your new surroundings, and get some sleep in that room over there. Training will start tomorrow, be ready." he turned and walked away, "And get rid of those harmless "weapons", they will do no good in the next few days."

Alexus waited till the man had left before sheathing his blades and getting his S-board, which he proceeded to give a detail examination. Once satisfied, he slung it on his back and proceeded to explore.

ooc: need to get sleep.

It had been a goodly time since Theodore had braved the noonday sun and
set foot upon the Holy Ground of the Temple of Resurrection. It was not
without trepidation that he did so, either. He could still recall when he had
been a Creature of the Night, before The Children of the Dawn had set him
pon the path that had led him to The Tin Man and the gift of mortality.
Though it had been many years since the curse had been abated, and
Theodore had begun to grow decrepit after centuries of life, it was not
without trepidation that he faced the sun, and it was not without gratitude
to The Force that he walked bare-faced through it, enjoying the warm rays
that at one time would have burned him to death.

The Temple was a simple place--little more than a brick-and-mortar dwelling
nestled up against--and into--the side of a hill. Its red clay-tile roof and
white walls were all but indistinguishable from the architecture of the
surrounding villas. The building itself was small and unimposing. Yet, to the
local people, the place was Holy Ground. It had not always been so.

Theodore still recalled when The Temple had been a house of demons. He,
in fact, recalled the night, only a century or two ago, when The Tin Man
had entered The Temple and defeated the demons. That had been the
night when Theodore had ceased to be Jenghis and had become a Theodore.

As he walked up the path that led through the gardens, past the wood pile
and into the building, Theodore found himself growing tired and slowing his
pace. He smiled. It was a sign that he had indeed rejoined the cycle of
life. His hair was white now, and he no longer felt any desire to quench
the vicious thirst that would turn it brown again at the expense of his true
immortality.

"Take care, husband," he heard distantly from behind him. "It will not be
well if you join me before your walk is complete."

Theodore stopped, drew a hearty breath, and smiled all the more deeply.

"Not to worry, dear," he said to the insubstantial form that appeared at
his side.

The woman's translucent form seemed to walk over to him, to fold its hands
and place them on Theodore's shoulder. "Good," she said. "I know how
much this life means to you."

He took her hand in his.

"That is not to say that I can afford to carry you," he said, "even in your
current condition."

"Come now, husband," she replied with a mischievous grin, "on a day like
today, I feel lighter...lighter than the air itself!"

And it was true. Unbound by mere gravity, her spiritual form lifted off the
ground, still holding his hand, and began to urge him forward with it.

"Perhaps it is I who should be carrying you!"

*"Ahem."*

Theodore's head turned to his left. A vaguely humanoid form presented
itself on the other side of a thin hedge that had been grown on that side
of the path.

"Marvel?" the old man asked.

"Some call me that," was the reply.

"Well...I must be relatively important if the headmaster's right-hand man--."

"I am not a man."

"Yes," Theodore said, his smile broadening, "but--."

"Under other circumstances, I might even find your little lover's spat...
entertaining--but the headmaster, as you call him, has noted your presence
and asked me to accompany you to the inner sanctum."

"Ah," Theodore replied, "then I'll just have to bid--."

"Sometime today, if you please."

Theodore snickered.

"Adieu, my love," the woman's voice said as she disappeared.

Not long afterward, Theodore found himself in the center of the Temple,
facing a single, lit candle. Beside him stood a demon, about seven feet
tall, with a muscular build, red skin and a five-foot-long, barbed tail.
Across from him, on the opposite side of the candle, sat a fat, old man,
cross-legged, his entire body concealed within the folds of a brown robe.
The man did not move. It seemed as if, were he allowed, he would spend
the rest of his life staring into the flame.

"How long has he been this way," Theodore asked.

"About a week," Marvel replied. "You know how the fugues can be."

"And he told you to bring me here?"

"It was the first thing he said in three days."

"I wonder how much longer he'll be 'til--."

"Soon," the fat man replied.

Theodore smiled again. "So you can hear me, then?"

On the other side of the candle, the man's head cocked to one side.

"Of course," he replied. "I don't know whether I'll be able to remember
what you said by this time tomorrow, but I distinctly heard you say it."

"Good. You're coming out of it then."

The man flexed his arms, then went back to staring at the candle. "It would
seem so," he replied, "for now."

"Do wake up, then," Theodore said to him. "I have important tidings to
share."

"You mean that the sith have found this place?" the robed man asked.
"They have always known of it. I make no attempt to hide it."

"It is not that they know about it, old friend. It is that they have decreed
its destruction. And if the prophecy goes as stated, today's sunset will be
my last."

"Ahhh," said the robed man, "but I can thwart prophesy, remember?"

"I don't *want* it to be thwarted this time. Not that I don't like the
company," Theodore glanced back at Marvel, who smiled broadly, "but I
long to be with my wife. Her visits are less and less frequent, and I miss
her dearly."

"Yes," Marvel replied, his voice deep as he contemplated, "death is a part of
life...for some of us."

As he spoke, the robed man rose to his feet. "I suppose," he added, "that
you have some grand scheme to save the lives of the students of The Way."

"Actually, they've been moved to safety. You're the only one who's left."

Marvel glanced around the room.

"We've got company," he said.

"That was quick," the robed man said. "I don't suppose you have a way
out of this for me...?"

"Yes, but it involves a change of accommodations. It's all here on this data
crystal." As he spoke, Theodore took a small, metallic object out of the
sleeve of his robe and extended it toward the robed man.

"I can't read that in this suit," the man replied.

"But you're The Tin Man," Theodore replied.

Marvel stepped forward. "Uhhh, we don't have time for this right now."

"How many?" asked the Tin Man.

"At least twenty, and two of them are adepts."

"This won't be fun. I'm going to need another suit." He took a step forward,
stumbled and held out his hand. "Theodore, can you--?"

"Certainly."

"Good," Marvel said. "I'll hold down the fort." With that, he sprung into
the roof beams, landing silently, and wrapped his prehensile tail around one
of them, peering around himself.

The two old men walked out through a passageway that led deeper into the
building. A door split open from the center, they walked through, the Tin
Man said "home" and the lift dropped them several stories. When the doors
reopened, the two not-men found themselves in a single-room dwelling.
Machines, some humanoid and some rather a bit more mechanical, lay
scattered about the dwelling. Directly across from them, though, was
something totally incongruous to the surroundings: a sculpture. Specifically,
a large, metallic egg.

"Hurry up and get me over to the thing, will ya?" said The Tin Man, pointing
to the egg.

"THAT? That's a suit?"

"In fact, it's my newest prototype. Should be good for a few laughs in the
morning, don't you think?"

"No idea," Theodore said. He walked The Tin Man over to the egg.

The Tin Man put his hands on the machine, and it began to hum. As it did,
he dropped his robes to the floor, bearing his obese chest, and closed his
eyes. The metal surface of the egg began to flow back and Theodore
turned to look away.

As the egg-suit opened, small knives appeared from inside of the Tin Man's
chest, carving it apart. It opened with a soft hiss, and a tank of sorts
slowly moved forward from inside of it. The tank contained all that was
left of The Tin Man's once-humanoid body. As Theodore waited, it spun
around and transferred from the fat man-form to the metallic egg. In a
moment, the "egg" sprouted arms and legs, which morphed into a very
good replica of the fat "man" who stood before it, and the man's chest
closed and healed almost instantly, though a distinct scar was still visible
where the incision had been made. The egg-man then picked up the
robes he had been wearing, donned them, and drew the data crystal out
of its pocket.

"Mmmm," he said. "A monastery. You sure that it's remote enough?"

"You won't find out if we can't get out of here."

"I suppose not."

The lift doors opened and Theodore stepped out alone. In front of him,
Marvel's body was suspended above the floor on a spear that had gone
through his chest and stuck him into a beam in the house. Theodore
stopped, drew a small, metallic handle from his robes and pressed a button
on it. In a moment, the light saber flared to life, extending its bright blade
into the darkness, illuminating two shadowy figures that huddled against
the wall. As he did, a distinctly egg-shaped blur in the air seemed to
fly past him and round a nearby corner.

"Who dares profane the Temple of the Resurrection?" he growled.

A shrill laugh greeted him.

"My gracious, how good we are at grandstanding! Judging by that tacky
thing around your neck, you must be Theodore."

"That was *not* an answer to my question," Theodore growled.

"Theo, baby," the lilting, disembodied voice continued, "the attitude has
got to go. I mean, you're not what we're after. No offense, but there are
bigger fishes in the sea, if you know what I mean. Soooo, if you'll just be a
good little boy and let me know where your fat friend went, we'll just
leeeeeave you to do your recovering vampire thing and that'll be that."

"And if I choose to exercise another option?"

"Funny, that. You know, your friend over there said the exact same thing--
in fact, he said it in the exact same words. You guys *really* have to do
something about that--I mean, BOOOO-ring! So, I jusssst told him that he'd
have to stick around for a while. But I'm sure I can find something that's a
little more to your, umm, tastes."

And then, he appeared in the center of the room. He wore a form-fitting
black costume with a blaster strapped to one leg and a belt that was higher
on one hip than on the other. His features were almost handsome, in a
sinister sort of way--his black hair was neatly cropped to frame a strong
chin. But his deathly white skin and red eyes spoiled his features and left
no doubt as to what manner of creature he was--not that he was trying to
hide it. In fact, he smiled widely, revealing two long, sharp canines that
his lips could barely contain. "So," he said, "what's it gonna be, big boy? You know you can't stand up to the likes of me anymore."

Theodore closed his eyes for a moment. When he reopened them, they
were blood red. He hissed, and fangs protruded from his jaw. But he did
not move to attack any of his would-be pursuers. Instead, he just brought
his lightsaber to the ready in front of him and relaxed.

"You fool," he said. "This place...is holy ground." He closed his eyes.

From the path outside, the Tin Man watched as the roof fell in. For a
moment, something seemed to rise up from the rubble, but then the sun
hit it and, with a scream, it went up in a puff of flame. Theodore was old,
and that was the point. He was an adept with The Force.

The Tin Man went back into the wreckage. He had done as his friend had
wished, but he had to try to salvage whom he could. It wasn't long before
he had isolated the bodies and pulled the wreckage off of them. Theodore
must have called upon his vampiric powers just before he brought the house
down. He was still conscious. Marvel was another matter. Though
Theodore had brought the house down in such a way that the wall to which
Marvel was stuck had remained intact, the demon still had an electrolance
stuck straight through his heart.

"I can still go toe-to-toe with a vampire," Theodore said. "After all this time,
who'd have thought it pos--." A spasm of pain wracked his body.

"Try to save your strength," the Tin Man said, resuming his human form.

"No good," Theodore said.

The Tin Man pulled the lance from his friend's body. It slumped to the
ground.

"Tin Man," Theodore said.

"Yes?"

"The orb. Give him..." he slumped unconscious. As the Tin Man watched,
his body dissolved into a million points of light, scattering into the world,
until all that was left were his empty robes.

The Tin Man reached down and took The Orb of Patrius from what had
recently been his old friend's neck. Turning Marvel's body over, he placed
it around the demon's neck and over his chest. Presently, the stone took
on a pale, blue glow. The glow deepened, and then spread to the demon's
body. As it did, the wound on his chest closed and healed. Then, the Orb
returned to its former state, and Marvel opened his eyes.

"He forgave me," the demon said, looking at the clothing before him.

"He had a job for you," the Tin Man replied.

"A job?"

"Someone has to run the Temple now that I'm gone."

Marvel smiled.

"A daunting task, especially considering my history."

The Tin Man smiled. "I think you're up to it," he said.

And then, he returned to his egg-like form and lifted off toward town and,
eventually, the first interplanetary cargo freighter he could rent space on.
There would be no flames, it was true, but he would have very little to
disturb him over the next week or two. He could throw off the last
vestiges of his last fugue and be ready when he arrived.

*********************

OOC: Not sure how much time I'm going to have for this. These are some
characters from a book I'm trying to write. I need to see how they work--
especially The Tin Man. Hope no one minds.

Going to wait about 10 minutes and go to sleep if no reply. Will check for a
reply when I reawaken.

BTW, If you want him to, TTM can put together some power crystals that'll
*really* make those light sabers hum... :) :) :) He's 450 years old,
limited immortal (can be killed by weapons but won't die of old age) and
kinda kewl when his mind isn't going. :) :) :) To avoid godmodding, I've
given him the weakness that you can push his mind over the edge by
exposing him to sensory overload.

(OOC: I've got the crystals needed to make super lightsabers, and their cool, coloured white for extra effect. But thanks for the offer. And I suspect that the egg man is going to my temple/crumbling castle? Anyways, IC post to come later, limited time.)

OOC: How about I send in a Dark Side spy?

OOC: Play Morrowind I see Nerevar the ancient king of the Dunmer and his ancient magical ring called Moon and Star.

(OOC: Ya, that's where I got the name from, Morrowind. Plus go ahead and send somebody Huntear, but he'll probable be found quickly. Better post coming later, limited time once again.)

IC:

The first rays of sunlight shone over the mountains and onto the ancient stronghold, illuminating the terrain. As the sun entered the eyes of Nerevar, he woke from his bed. Dressing himself in his robes of the Order, the set out to do some work on the new Jedi temple; grabbing some bread on the way out the door.

The new boy that had come to the Castle of the Moon, he was to become his apprentice to learn the ways of the Order, and the first thing that had to be done, was to teach him how and have him build a new lightsaber to reflect the Order that he now belonged to.

Alexus had rose with the sun. He did the necessary repairs and did the checks to make sure it was all working. He then headed to the courtyard and began practicing with his blades.

OOC: May I submit Eternal jewels that are greatly hand crafted by the Eternals that can br used for lightsabers?

(OOC: Uh, I'm not sure those jewels would do anything, so no.)

IC:

Nerevar looked out across the courtyard at his new pupil, and was pleased to see the man was up and practising his skills. Remaining out of sight, Nerevar picked up a rather large rock with the force and threw it at the boy, who's back was turned to it. If he truly knew how to use the force, he would sense the boulder coming, but if during the previous meeting he had only turned at the sound of a lightsaber buzzing away in the quiet air, then he would be thrown to the ground rather painfully.

OOC: Oh well can I at least offer jewels for decortations for the castle?

Alexus was in the process of spinning when he was whacked in the gut by the rock. He was knocked back, though not knocked down. He glared at the rock for a moment and went back to practice.

ooc: he's non-force sensitive.

(OOC; Sure, when the Castle is rebuilt, you can donate jewels. And Theao, that just makes it that much more fun to train you.)

IC:

AS the boy fell on his ass, Nerevar walked out from behind the crumbling stone wall.

"I see you do not know of the force, or at least cannot use it. I will teach you." looking down at the mans lightsabers, Nerevar took on a face like an old school teacher, "I thought I told you to get rid of those." He streched out his right hand, summoning both blades to him. "Come, we shall make you a real weapon, a weapon of the Order." Once again, he started walking off.

"Those are as useful as your lightsaber and I'd appreciate them back." Alexus said in a low voice.

ooc: they arn't lightsabers, they're bladed swords

(OOC: Ah, I thought you had duel lightsabers, oh well, all the more reason to make a new weapon for you.)

IC:

"Fine," Nerevar scoffed, sending the swords back to the man, "But they'll do you no good in a fight. A lightsaber would cut right through one of those, and you. Just follow me will you."

OOC: Sorry. Forgot to include the part where The Tin Man enters the Temple.
I was about to crash anyway. Noticed a couple of typos I wasn't too happy
with either, but...what the heck.

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IC:

It was 35 days later that The Tin Man found himself walking a mountain pass,
to a Temple that he had no part in building. Often, he reminded himself, one
must take a step back in order to take several steps forward.

He had taken steps. An hour before he had left, he had insured that he
would be followed by finding a public data terminal and searching the
archives for all materials relevant to "The Force." If that hadn't set off
any alarms, then the fact that he had downloaded and sorted all relevant
data at a rate that rivaled the better computers in The Empire certainly
did. When he got to the terminal, he found all the ships in quarantine
and a search in progress.

Fortunately, they hadn't noticed the extra "R2 unit" that had helped pack
one of the freighters. The new prototype suit's stealth capability had made
it worth the while to wear it despite the fact that it was still unproven.

Now, after a following circuitous, labarynthian trail, The Tin Man had finally
arrived at his destination--and he was certain that he had arrived without
any unwanted company.

He had done the best he could to prepare himself for the ordeal that he knew
would come. Though his name was not unheard of in this part of the galaxy,
it would count little here. Here, he would have to prove himself once again
in front of adepts, some of whom were no doubt far more advanced than he
himself was. At 420 years, The Tin Man still felt as though he had barely
begun to experience what life had to offer, and understood for certain that
there was still much that he had to learn.

There would be challenges here. Perhaps it was due to the changes he had
undergone when he had been cybernated against his will, or perhaps he had
been born that way, but The Tin Man was anti-magical. The Force simply
did not operate at full...force...around him. Even Theodore had been
unable to teach him to make use of it--and, as a telepath, Theodore had
been able to try from the *inside.* It was one of life's ultimate ironies that,
though he had skilled three generations of adepts in the use of The Force,
The Tin Man had never been capable of using it himself.

Still, The Tin Man remained as resolute as ever. What one must do usually
can be done, he had told himself--and, with that frame of mind, he had
molded the liquid metal of his prototype egg suit into a humanoid form and
started his feet moving once again down the path that led to the Temple
of the Moon and Star.

It was midday when he finally arrived. There was a haze in the trees that
spoke of a planet whose industries had been allowed to ravage the air.
Still, the place seemed peaceful enough. The Tin Man's greatest hope was
that "peace" would remain the operative term. Many was the outpost of
the peace-preaching Jedi whose first test of entry was skill in matters of
war.

Thus it was that, with a wan smile of cautious optimism, The Tin Man
continued his stride up the path and onward to the Temple.

"That's what you think." Alexus thought as he followed, "So what's your name anyways?"

Stopping, Nerevar put up his hand to signal his pupil to be silent and stop. He sensed something, something approaching the castle. Turning to the young man he sent a mental message to him, My name is Nerevar, High Knight of the Order of Moon and Star. Quickly, follow me and keep quiet. When I tell you stay out of sight.

Starting a run through the courtyard, he jumped over a rock and drew his lightsaber into his hand, but did not activate it. Hoping that his pupil would head his advice, he ran to a crumbling wall at the front of the castle, and looked out towards the path. Everything seemed normal, the birds sang in the green leaves of the trees. The bright sun shone down on the stronghold, and reflected off the large fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

But there was a figure, a humanoid figure, but something seemed different. Stay out of sight and wait here, he sent to the boy. Running back into the courtyard a little ways, he jumped up onto higher ground and walked out to the end of a ledge, which was almost directly over the path. The figure would pass by soon, and it would be found if he was friend, or foe.

Alexus followed, moving silently but rapidly after Nerevar.

As the figure passed under Nerevar, he sent a metal message to him, Friend of Foe? Friend, and you are welcome to our shelter, foe, and you shall be destroyed.

The figure looked up.

*Telepathy,* he thought. *Theodore used to do that, too. I miss him
already.*

"Friend, of course," he said to the man on the arch above him. A playful grin
spread across his face as he continued, "Are all your choices this easy?"

Jumping down from the ledge, Nerevar replied to the man, this time not using telepathy, "All choices are easy, the hard part is choosing the right choice. Welcome to the Castle of Night. You seem to be able to handle yourself, so make yourself at home, somebody should be with you in a bit. Meanwhile I have things to do." Turning, Nerevar walked back into the courtyard.

"Come, my young apprentice. Tell me, what is your name?" he asked as he once again led the way throught the courtyard.

"My name's Alexus." Alexus replied as he followed.

One of the other knights of the order went to greet the figure that had just arrived at the castle, and to settle him into his own courters to await the speech that would be made in time.


Nerevar and Alexus finally arrived at a section of the fortress where the walls merged into the mountain. In the mountain, a small cave door sat dark, not telling what was inside.

"Well Alexus, I've taken you on as my apprentice and will personally teach you the ways of the Order. But I'm not going to have you dieing on me, so we're going to replace those ineffective weapons." Pointing to the cave, he spoke in a tone that was almost an order, "Go inside."

Alexus went inside, somewhat curious.

Jumping down from the ledge, Nerevar replied to the man, this time not using telepathy, "All choices are easy, the hard part is choosing the right choice. Welcome to the Castle of Night. You seem to be able to handle yourself, so make yourself at home, somebody should be with you in a bit. Meanwhile I have things to do." Turning, Nerevar walked back into the courtyard.

"Come, my young apprentice. Tell me, what is your name?" he asked as he once again led the way throught the courtyard.

========================================================

Didn't even stop for an exchange of names. Must be a busy day.

There had been two of them--one who was visible and a second who had
followed behind. Silent, but hot--The Tin Man's vision, which stretched
into the infrared, easily detected his body heat. Still, neither had been in
any way threatening, so, his presence detected, The Tin Man did exactly
what he had been ordered to do. He walked to the edge of the path, where
he would not interfere with traffic, shut down most of his systems, and
started to meditate, noting first that the "young apprentice" was called
Alexis.

Thus it was that, when another humanoid, dressed similarly to the first,
walked out onto the path, he found only a large, silver egg sitting
unobtrusively off to the side of the path.

I've got to remember not to do that in this suit! The Tin Man
thought as he hastily resumed humanoid form.

The man looked at the egg man curiously, then spoke "Come, I'll show you to your roo. You can continue what it was you were doing there. Quickly please, I must leave tonight and have alot to do first."




Nerevar followed Alexus into the cave. The long darck corridor that led to the back of the cave made it impossible to see, and Nerevar chuckled a bit everytime he heard Alexus bump into something, he was greatful he could use the force to guide him.

Nearing the end of the tunnel, there was faint lights, glowing lights. Emerging out of the tunnel, they found themselves in a large open, round cave. In the middle, sat a large mound surrounded by a small stream that came from the cave walls. On the mound, came the source of light. Hundreds of crystals of blue, green, red, white, purple, yellow and teal all sat there, spreading their glowing light about the cavern. These were the crystals needed to create a lightsaber.

"Take three of the yellow ones, and four of the teal ones. Then take a white one." he instructed.

Alexus took the eight crystals of the indicated colours, he held each between his fingers, "So what am I to do with these?" He asked

"Come," said Nerevar, once again entering the dark corridor to go back out of the cave, "I'll show you."

Alexus pocketed the stones and trailled after Nerevar.

Exiting the cave, Nerevar once again led Alexus through the courtyard. Thanks to the other two high knights of the Order, most of the debris from the crumbling walls and buildings were all picked up, and things were being rebuilt.

Walking over to a small room on the northside of the castle, Nerevar opened the door to reveal a small work table, with several instruments placed on it.

"Go in. There you have everything needed to construct a lightsaber of the Order. I have also prepared a sort of manual to help you construct it. Follow it, and come out when you are done. If it turns on, you have succeeded, if it does not, you have failed and must do it again."

Alexus entered the room and began following the instructions in the manual.

OOC: TAG, is it okay if I send an sangheili so I can have two sects of warriors, the disciplined warriors of Ikaporamee, and the brutal soldiers of Rolamee.

(OOC: Sure, go ahead. But in your post, remember, this group has no connection to my nation so don't go blabbing about us both being in the Republic or something like that.)

"Certainly," said The Tin Man, as the pillar that had lifted his egg-like form
separated and changed into legs and feet, "though I would not mind helping, if it could be arranged. I have knowledge of certain techniques that may be
of use to you."

The man looked at the man who had been an egg and cocked an eyebrow.

"Techniques?" he asked.

The egg man looked at the castle and spread his newly-emerged arms.

"I can pour stone," he replied, "and am a carpenter and metalsmith
of some small skill."

And then, a smile lit the egg man's face as he continued, "And would it be
too bold of me to ask your name?"

Knocking on the door to the small room, Nerevar asked, "How's it going Alexus?"


Florense looked at the egg man and said, "My name is Florense, and your help would be most appreciated. Rebuilding our sanctuary is on our top list of priorities. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be in town to catch my shuttle." With that, Florense and the other High Knight of the Order walked off down the path towards the city below.

"Almost done." Alexus replied as he neared the end of the manual.

(OOC: Damn nationstates, let my friend check his nation on my computer quickly then sign back onto mine and the forums still put me as Nirs. :mad: )

“Florence,” the egg man called. “If you don’t mind, could you give me directions to my evening’s accommodations?”

* * *

In the Tin Man’s place, some might have felt rebuffed. This, however, was not his way. He simply did not permit himself to think poorly of others—it was a luxury that he lacked the resources to maintain. Thus, from the state of the castle, the Tin Man surmised that there was a major rebuilding effort underway and that the others were too busy with it to spend precious time on one whose sword was obviously at their backs rather than in them.

If, indeed, they wished his help, then he would endeavor to provide the best that he could for them. That evening, when the others were conversing in a dimly-lit room in the heart of the castle, he had walked to the lone window of his own room, reverted to the egg-like shape of his prototype suit and levitated out onto the grounds for a thorough survey.

Correctly presuming that he would not be barred from any location he chose, he made no effort at stealth. He inspected every inch of the grounds from the imported stonewood of the main gate to the cave in the mountains behind the castle that served now as a storehouse for power crystals. If there was any effort to bar his entry from any of these, he did not notice it.

By the next morning, he had some serious ideas. Not only could he help to shore up the castle’s walls, but there were ways to make its heat regulating mechanisms more efficient and to produce enough food on its grounds to nourish a staff of twenty without making the castle grounds appear to be in use.

Best of all, the whole process allowed him four hours to sleep before the castle started to come awake. He was adequately refreshed.

-----------------------------------------------

OOC: How much original material may I add if and when I describe the
castle grounds? How much of the place is already decided upon?

(OOC: Go ahead and add things. Mainly, it's walls with towers, then a giant temple of sorts in the middle of the large courtyard. Dig places into the mountains if you want.)

"Hey, Nerevar, I'm done." Alexus said as he exited the room.

OOC: Can I put a set of catacombs under the entire complex?
(Actually, I'm posting this as much to bring the thread back into
view as to get the answer to the question.)

Long, long ago, the mountain where the Castle of Night had sat had been a part of a raging river. The river had selectively cut through the rock beneath it leaving two tapering towers behind. Then, volcanic activity had raised the land under the river until it became a mountain. As it did, plant life had taken hold on the spires and given them a look that was similar to what they had today.

Eons later, The Order of the Moon and Star had arrived. They had built a castle into the mountainside—though it must have originally been a different structure from the one that stood on the grounds now, judging from the fact that there were buttresses at the tops of the spires and the courtyard was far too flat.

The current castle had a tower built into the “inside” of each of the spires, two shorter towers on the far side and a taller tower in the center of the entire complex. Because the mountain had a relatively flat top and then sloped precipitously toward the plain below it on one side and the two spires on the other, it was very difficult for one to see the castle from the ground until one was almost in it.

The castle appeared to have been ransacked and rebuilt at least twice during its history, judging from the architecture. And now, the place was showing distinct signs of a third attempt at salvage.

The order had chosen its keep well. The complex was designed to put up quite a defense, even against a mechanized opponent. In addition to the mass of the rock wall, there were fittings in the top of the tall spire to run superconducting lines to each of the shorter spires, turning the complex into what amounted to a large shield dome. There were also shielding conduits laced into the stonewood of the main gate. To power it all, though, would have taken a massive dynamo, and there was no indication that there had ever been such a thing on the complex.

If one counted the spires as the “back” of the complex, then it was the left spire that held the cache of power crystals. Perhaps “cache” was too strong a word, however. Though the room was shrouded in constant darkness, it was not difficult for to make out a place in the rear wall that had once been a passageway of somekind. It appeared as if the passageway had collapsed over the centuries.

Acting on a hunch, the Tin Man had inspected the inside of the base of the right-side pillar. He found a similar passage, only this time it had been sealed. A precursory check of the main spire indicated another sealed passageway—and the Tin Man finally began to understand what he was looking at. A final check told him that the courtyard floor, though constructed to appear almost natural, was artificial—the roof of a larger complex that had been dug into the mountain itself and later sealed off to prevent access.

It was then that the Tin Man had jacked up his infrared and ultraviolet sensors and taken to the air. Sure enough, he had found a passage into the right-side spire from the out-facing side. It took some effort, but he had finally been able to force his way inside and levitate down the spire and into the upper levels of the complex.

The most startling find was beneath the leftward spire. It was the remnants of a geothermal turbine. The turbine itself was not unusual—it was a standard package of magnets and wires—but its condition was. It was all but eaten away. This was a natural phenomenon—the local aquifer was laced with sulfur dioxide—but the turbine could have easily been saved by the mere application of the right coating…unless…

…unless the aquifer had once been clear of the acid…and had been poisoned, deliberately or accidentally. This was significant.

Finally, the complex surrendered two final gifts as the Tin Man checked beneath the main spire. First, he had found the remnants of a medical facility—the medicines decayed beyond use, but the space still viable. Second and finally, directly in the center of the complex, there was an old Imperial Data Core. Though it had fallen into disrepair, it had been sealed a clear coating, protecting it from the ravages of the centuries. With the right parts, it could be made to work again—and there was no telling what treasures its databank would contain.

These, and a small speech about establishing a proper security parimeter, were in the notes that the Tin Man prepared for the next time the subject came up—which he hoped would be soon.

That would, of course, depend upon the extent to which others wished to communicate with him. The Tin Man hoped that, in that regard, the recent past would not be a good indicator of the near future.

OOC: I had a post written up…on a different computer. So finally, I’m on with my ambition and lack of fatigue…

IC: The wind tore through the small clearing, as if recreating the violence the armored figure had seen. His milky grey armor had dents and dings in it, but had the sheen that spoke craftsmanship. Little scars covered his black skin, as clandestine operations had little room for fire fights. The most notable were two equal plasma scars running down the inside of his arms. He had landed awhile ago, but was busy stripping the pod of anything useful. Weapons wise he had his sword, a few deployable shields, a dozen grenades, a particle beam, and couple plasma LESDs*. Not to bad for one soldier.

He was stalking toward the castle, inch by slow inch. Even their own blessed technology would have difficulty picking him up, what with his active camo and infiltration suit. He reached the walls, undetected, maybe, but one way or the other, he was going to find out. A button was pressed and a quiet hum started as two plasma bolts shot out from his wrists, followed by capsules of liquid nitrogen. Thus making a rope melted into the walls.

Climbing was easy, the stone didn’t crumble at all, but still wondering whether his cover had been blown or not, he dropped like a cat into a defensive position in a corridor…

OOC: *LargeExplosionSmallDevice

In a dream, the Tin Man stood in the library of the first school he had ever taught at. A young girl—a student of his who had turned against him, and whom he, in the midst of one of his fugues, had killed—stood before him. Glowing with youth, she told him that she would be leaving him, though she thanked him for all that he had done for her. She bade him to walk with her through the main door and out into the more secluded hallway that led to a set of stairs running up and down the side of the building. Smiling wickedly, as if she was getting away with something, she gave him a long, wet kiss. Then, as he released her, she turned and walked away.

The Tin Man awoke with a start. An angry magnetic buzz sounded from the courtyard. It was painful to him just to feel the awful thing.

He recognized the sensation. Somewhere nearby, someone was using a military-grade personal cloak—someone who knew nothing of how radically different his sensors were from the senses that most humanoids relied upon.

It wasn’t the style of the Jedi whom he had found at the gate to use such devices—particularly in the middle of the home they were rebuilding. This had to be another visitor.

He was fooling himself if he thought he could slip by a Jedi Master with that thing he was wearing. For one thing, their esper powers would immediately alert them to his presence—he was severely out of balance with the environment he was in. If that wasn’t enough, a true master would be able to sense the pain that the Tin Man felt and might even rally to his aid. For another thing, the entire castle grounds were full of passive sensors—though the Tin Man suspected that they weren’t yet operational.

In his mind, the Tin Man made all the excuses he could—this was not his battle, he had not been accepted into the Order, if he was caught with an intruder, he might be mistaken for one of the man’s compatriots. Then the cloaked soldier moved closer and the pain shot through all of what the Tin Man perceived to be his body. It was then that the cyborg could no longer ignore the truth of the matter: this was *his* issue because *he* was the one who would suffer if it wasn’t soon resolved.

From that point, it took him precious little time to levitate back out through the window, home in on the cloak and hover right in front of the man. Forming a humanoid face from the liquid metal veneer on his egg-like prototype suit, he addressed his quarry straight on.

“Will you PLEASE turn off that cloak? It HURTS! I am NOT your enemy!”

OOC: I'll make this post, but I think we should wait for Tal, he'll be back monday...

IC: Ikaporamee seen a metallic looking...egg coming down on his position. He froze, hoping he wasn't seen. Which of course, he had. Shock hit him like a wave as the thing regarded him with such disdain, but the game was up, and he had no choice but to de-cloak. The eight foot sangheili(elite if you don't know) regarded the object with a respectful nod.

"I"m suprised, you were able to find me, despite my forerunner blessed armor. Wait...that means you must be an oracle!"
You could here the awe in his voice and see it as he dropped to his knees.

"I was sent here by my hierarchs to train, but never did I think an oracle would be doing it, what do you desire holy one?"

The pain flowed out of his nerve endings, ending the pressure and allowing him to keep the hold on his mind that the cloak's overload had started to erode. The relief the Tin Man felt was palpable--not just for the end of the pain, but for the assurance that he was not about to be driven into one of the bouts of insanity that had plagued him ever since his cybernation.

The first thing he did was to regard the statement of the man in front of him. If he was to be believed, it meant that...he and the Tin Man were the same.

The liquid metal in the outer shell of the Tin Man's prototype suit flowed into a humanoid form as he settled onto the ground.

"Though I have lived the life of a holy man for many years, I am no oracle," he said. "Rather, I am here to train, just as you are. Long years ago, a hideous race of beings took me from my family and turned me into what you see before you. They tore out my eyes, my nose, my skin and in their place gave me sensors that allow me to percieve the entire energy spectrum of the universe. Your cloak generates a powerful magnetic resonance, and this registered painfully on my sensors. It seems that the price for these sensors is that I have no special abilities--I cannot forsee the future, communicate telepathically or move objects with my mind.

"If you are still willing, I would have you return with me to my quarters and rest for the remainder of the evening. Perhaps you could tell me of yourself and how it is that you came to this place. I am always interested in hearing the words of a fellow acolyte. What say you, friend?"

OOC: I promise I won't do anything to really shake things up. Tal and I have sent each other a telegram or two. I wasn't sure whether he was planning on continuing the thread or not. If he posts again, no one will be happier than I. :) :) :)

OOC: I hope he does...

IC: "I am Ikaporamee, centurion of the night. My prophet sent me here to gain a deeper understanding of...discipline, as opposed to Rolamee. I arrived here a cycle(an hour) or so ago, from an infilpod detachted from the nearby frigate, Heretic's Doom. Then I came here and found you oracle-in-training. This is a great honor to be training with one who knew the forerunners before the great journey, what were they like? What of the holy rings?"

OOC: oh yeah, I almost forgot *walks with tin man*

This being was incredibly full of marvelous complexity and contradiction. A
man of great physical prowess, and, yet, in many ways very much a boy.
Capable, no doubt, of intense violence, and, yet, nonviolent by nature. Able
to impress its will on others, and, yet, subserviant.

And he framed his thoughts with the concepts of a religion found nowhere in
any culture that the Tin Man had ever studied!

It would be important to learn to speak this one's language--to learn to hear
the things he spoke as he intended them to be heard. The Tin Man only
hoped that this man-child would permit him the time to do so adequately.
That, and he hoped that the sith who had come for him at the Temple of the
Resurrection would not find him until he had time to learn from this wonderful,
naive, innocent supersoldier.

For this, he would have to take a chance. He would have to honestly admit
his own weakness, and hope that the man-child would not use it as a reason
to begin a Holy War against him.

"I am called the Tin Man, for I do not remember the name given to me at the
time of my birth," he said. "But you must forgive my woeful ignorance.
Though I am certain that they are beings of great splendor, I do not
know, by name, these Forerunners,"

foreigners?

"who have given me the gift of your presence. Please tell me as much as
you care to about them and yourself. I promise to listen with the great
respect that they--and you--deserve."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: You can gloss over the religious stuff if you wish, but I'd appreciate
a Telegram informing me of the basics, if you choose not to place anything
into the record at this time. Either way, I really do appreciate the
complexity of your character.

OOC: Thanks, but I think he’s far more simple, takes orders, and gives orders…

IC: “It is you oracle who deserves the utmost respect, not us. Perhaps those beings who harmed you were the flood? And they also destroyed your memory? The flood is a parasite we found in our quest for the arc. But the structure was never found. This flood, is a mystery to us, we wonder whether it is a test, or some creature seeking solace in the forerunners ruins.”

“The forerunners them selves, are a race of supreme beings that inhabited the universe, but then, they activated the ring worlds and went on the great journey. And thus, and alliance between us, the sangheili and the prophets was formed to follow in their foot steps.”

“We convinced others of the paradise that awaits, and soon the covenant was born. Then we found the sharquoi. The foul vermin spread everywhere, and our supreme hierarchs, prophet of truth, prophet of mercy, and prophet of regret declared one group of sharquoi heretics. Our hierarch, the prophet of anger, was tasked with finding the ark. It was saddening that we couldn’t join the jihad or help in the search for the rings. But the prophets are the mortal oracles of the forerunners, as such their command is absolute and final.”

“Forerunner ruins, enigmas of enigmas. That is what the prophets do, they uncover secrets in them, while we and the others protect them from interlopers and heretics. I am sorry for going on like that, I should be more mindful of the passage of time, I needent bore you with myself.”

OOC: If you have any questions/confusion on something, just ooc ask and I’ll explain…

OOC: Do not confuse my character with me. The Tin Man thinks the best
of everybody. I'm a little more cynical. :) :) :)

OTOH, I'm getting tired of having the Students of the Jedi show up for training
and no bad guys.

I've been exchanging telegrams with Tal about getting a villain started. He
wants to help design the villain. Anybody else who wants to take part,
please telegram me. I'll start the process on Sunday, and include anybody
who wants to be included.

If anybody noticed The Twitter in my first post, I'd like to bring him back as
a henchman, and have him show up on the castle grounds. He's a Sith and
a vampire, and he's far more formidible than he might seem at first glance.

At the very least, we can have fun shooting holes into him. :) :) :)

OOC: Slay the heretic with a BUMP

(OOC: Waltzes into room, "Hey everybody, I'm back!")

IC:

"Very good Alexus, now, turn it on and see if it works." came Nerevar's reply.(The blade should be white by the way.)

Turning at a feeling, Nerevar noticed some energy blasts hit the wall of the Castle, he was about to leave his young apprentice until he saw the Egg Man move to see what was going on. Knowing the Egg Man could probable handle himself at this time, he turned back to observe his apprentice.

Alexus flicked the switch and the whitish blade slid out.

OOC: They've returned with amighty BUMP. Waiting for the stench...

"Excellent Alexus," exclaimed Nerevar, "You have completed your lightsaber, which is your official weapon of the Order. That is all that will be tought today, go, get some sleep, tomorrow we will start the actual training."

Alexus made a few passes with the blade. "No offence but the balance on this thing is off majorly, that and I'm better with two blades." He said

Nerevar turned to look at his apprentice, "If you are better with 2 blades, then you can make another on your own time. Plus if you truly followed the instructions completely, the blade should be perfectly balanced, as the focusing crystals should've made sure of that."

"Well I followed the instructions down to the letter and the balance is still off." Alexus replied

ooc: He's use to a blade that has weight, not an energy blade, remember.

(OOC: Yeah, I know, but I'm trying to think from a purely IC perspective, so I wouldn't fully know that.)

IC:

"Well then, possibly it's just a matter of preference, but in time, you will grow use to it, and it will become apart of you, and will save your life. Much more reliable than those other things you were using." replied Nerevar.

"That remains to be seen." Alexus muttered, "So when do the first lessons start?" He asked

Walking off as he usually did, leaving his apprentice alone in the courtyard once again, Nerevar shouted back, "Tomorrow. Have patience, if we started today we could not get much done, as you will need all your energy to be able to harness even the slightest amount of force, but it will become easier in time. Just get some rest, recover your strenght, but have patience."

Alexus shook his head at the appearent scatter-brainess of Nerevar and set up to deal with the rest of the day. The next morning he was up at the same time as before and practicing with the low grade, in his opinion, blade.

"Are you ready?" came a voice from nowhere, as Nerevar asked his apprentice throught telepathy, "If so, we will begin."

"Let's begin then." He replied to the air.

Walking into the courtyard, Nerevar ordered, "Take off anything that will way you down, with the exception of you lightsaber." Starting to run towards the reconstructed gates, Nerevar shouted back, "Now run, and keep up!"

Alexus followed after Nerevar, keeping pace with ease.

As they turned a sharp corner leading up the mountain, Nerevar sped up to lose Alexus for a second, long enough for him to hurl a large boulder at his pursuer, which Alexus would hopefully be able to deflect.

Heavy exercise made the mind concentrate easier, as less energy would be in the body to enable distractions to be seen more easily. This was one of the best ways of training in the force. Being physically exhausted keeps the mind on track, and a concentrated mind can more easily sense things going on around the individual.

And so Nerevar's plan was to exhaust Alexus completly by the time they made it to the top, where more excersice would happen, but more that of the mind than the body.

Seeing the boulder, Alexus dodged it, while thinking, "I swear this dude's nuts." He then sped up to run beside Nerevar.

Speeding up to keep Alexus behind him, Nerevar chuckled a bit as he heard Alexus' thoughts on him. Continuing to run up the very steep mountain side, he kept hurling large boulders, and smaller stones that would throw the young man off balance.

Alexus continued to avoid the boulders and stones with a practiced, almost contemptous ease. "This is not really different than S-board training, save it's only in 2-D." He thought as he avoided a large rock.

Once again intercepting the boys thoughts, Nerevar thought to himself.

Ah yes, the youth these days, their little toys give them quicker reflexes, oh well, this should work.

Entering a narrow "corridor" leading through the rock, Nerevar looked up at the top of the 2 ledges and squinted his eyes, causing the cliffs to start trembling as they collapsed down, slamming onto the ground just seconds after Nerevar passed throught from out of the "corridor". His apprentice could most likely get out, but it would delay him, and tire him more.

Alexus stopped to let the stones fall down, then ran along the top of them, putting on a slight boost of speed to catch up.

ooc: last post for the night.

OOC: There’s a timing line issue here. When Alexis was testing out his new lightsaber, the Tin Man was looking for his room in the castle. Ikaporamee did not arrive until after nightfall. Thus, he could not have been present when the energy bolts hit the castle.

Holy One, you have to figure that a cyborg like the Tin Man is going to have somekind of database in his bag of tricks that he can use to look up stuff like the Forerunners. It only stands to reason that he’s going to look the stuff up when he gets the chance. What’s he going to find? How much of Ikaporamee’s story is going to have made it into the Imperial Database? Were the forerunners and/or the Flood known under different names? I mean, when he goes looking—and he will go looking—what’s the Tin Man going to find?

BTW, this is the first sim such as this that I have ever participated in. As such, I’m going to be feeling my way a bit. I take it that “BUMP” is a request by one participant for another to write the next scene. Good thing you did that, Holy One, or it would’ve screwed up the timeline.

Tal: I take it that you want me to write The Return of the Twitter here…but I’ve got to set up the evening’s festivities while I’m at it. I *really* didn’t want to have my henchman made such short work of, but…if you insist…

BTW, when is Neravar…or Florence…or ANY member of that order…going to actually talk things over with the Tin Man.


IC:

The sun reached its zenith in the sky as the Tin Man reached the castle’s central spire, and this exposed the first flaw in the liquid metal prototype suit. Though it was made to be incredibly durable, the suit’s cooling system left something to be desired. By the time he reached the entrance gate, the Tin Man had already brought up a CAD program to produce a more efficient design.

And it was then that things got complicated.

As the Tin Man set his hand upon the gate to open it, a blaster charge hit the castle wall. Even in its dilapidated condition, what was left of the defense mesh in the wall absorbed the energy of the blast, but it was enough to get his attention. That was its maker’s intent.

“Yoooo-hoooooo!” called a lilting voice from somewhere behind him. “Come out come out wherever you arrrrre!”

The voice was not difficult to recognize: it was the creature that had appeared at the Temple of the Resurrection, the one that had almost killed Marvel. No doubt, it was not alone—in fact, the Tin Man could feel the buzz of the cloaking devices of several class C Trading Federation Infiltrator Drones as if the were the flat of a knife pressed against the back of a man’s skull. The creature must not have known that their cloaking devices were worse than useless against the Tin Man’s sensors. With a minimum of concentration, the cyborg was able to pinpoint the locations of four drones behind the creature at the gate.

The Tin Man spun on his heel and headed toward the main gate, where the blast had come from. As he did, he altered his features to precisely mimic Florence’s appearance—with a slight paunch, as he needed a place to store his own body. By the time he strode through an opening in the castle’s secondary wall, the illusion was complete. He wondered why no member of the order had followed him. Still, with Florence still in town shopping for whatever it was that Jedi shopped for, it seemed necessary that the Tin Man keep up the appearance that it was the Order, and not an unaccepted applicant, that answered the door when the bell was rung.

“Friend of Foe?” he asked as he reached the gate. “Friend, and you are welcome to our shelter; foe, and you shall be destroyed.” What the heck, I might as well make it authentic.

OOC: Mwaaaaahahahahahaaaa!!!!!

IC:

“Oooo, Tin Man, I’m impressed,” replied the voice. “you almost had me completely, well, taken in!”

He was wearing a Sith cloak that covered his entire body. No doubt, it kept him safe from the planet’s sun. He probably also had a good set of gloves on to keep his hands from burning. Still, the cloak was cut to fit tightly against his thin but muscular frame, and there was a pattern of blooms across the left sleeve, about halfway to the shoulder.

And his double entendres were starting to get on the Tin Man’s nerves.

“But you know, bright eyes, you can’t fool a force-adept all the time,” the creature continued. “So…are ya gonna…come…with me now?”

“There is nothing for you here,” the Tin Man replied. “Go in peace and no harm need come to any of us.”

“I don’t think you get it, big boy,” the creature replied. He pointed to the sky. “There’s somebody up there who wants to see youuuu, and, like me, he just won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

It was then that the drones tried to swoop down from above and cast a shield net around the Tin Man. This attempt lasted for approximately 0.7853 seconds, as the Tin Man raised his hands (as if using the Force), opened a small hole in each palm and one on each shoulder, and fired a blaster beam into each of the drones, smoking them all on the first shot. They appeared briefly as they crashed into the ground, each one exploding on contact as the internal charges went off to keep them from being exploited while in enemy hands.

“Your toys are destroyed,” he said, “so leave in peace.”

The creature looked around it.

“Alright,” it said, “but you can rest assured that I’ll be…coming…back. With friends. All of who want their turn.” It turned on its heel and left, and, knowing that violence was not the Jedi way, the Tin Man let it.

He himself turned around and went back to the castle. He vowed more strongly to search the grounds that evening and find determine how to make the place defensible again. Now, however, he had a more important purpose.

He needed a good, cold shower. That midday sun was cooking him.

OOC: Have you played halo and read the books? I go as close to that as possible. Little, if any of his story will be in the database, as my nation hasn’t been very…open to foreigners…like at all. Forerunners were a race of aliens who ended up dying trying to contain the flood. They succeeded in making them dormant. You’d find them if you went to a forerunner ruin. They are scattered about with no real reason. Tin Man might find some RUMINT(rumor intelligence) about myths and a religion devoted to the forerunners. Otherwise, not much at all.

Oh, didn’t know you were new, you write REALLY well. But so ya know, a BUMP is meant to bring it up to the top so others see it and make it easier to find it…

IC: Ikaporamee watched as the oracle went off. Deciding it best to respect its own thoughts, he wandered off through the various corridors, marveling at this forerunner temple.

OOC: not really, but he thinks it is because of the oracle-in-training that is present.

IC: It was in a state of repair(Right? It seems to change from post to post), but even then, its beauty was captivating. The soft fall of water from the fountain, the majestic soaring of the birds. The large heat signature in the sky….Wait a second.

Ikaporamee switched between various views and found something cloaked made of alloy was hovering around closer to the gate. His vision snapped there, he seen the oracle-in-training talking with some dark clad figure.

The holy one may be in danger. NO, he cannot be harmed.

As this thought was forming, he was already rushing through the court yard, the anger of his hierarchs speeding his footfalls. But it was for naught…

He arrived to see the figure leaving. Anger welled up inside of him as he seen the foe laving unopposed.

“Oracle, why do we not slay him here and now, he is clearly a heretic to be threatening you. We have to slay him before he escapes!”

He was already two steps towards the sith, but still turned to the oracle as if waiting for his command…

(OOC: When RPing, it's hard to keep a timeline because everybody isn't online at the same time. But other than that,

Eggman, the other knights left to go do something(they are fighting and dead), so Nerevar is the last at the castle, and he will speak to everyone once he thinks people have gotten to know the surroundings, and once he's trained Alexus to use the forcce a bit.)

IC:

He successfully lost Alexus, but knew the boy would be along soon. Jumping behind a large boulder, he waited for Alexus to pass by. AS he did, Nerevar jumped out from behind the rock, whiping out his lightsaber and activating it; making ready to swing at Alexus' head.

Alexus, expecting a trap, reacted. He stopped and pulled back out of Nerevar's reach. "This is getting repetitive." He commented

"Repetition is the point, young one. It is only through expecting things, that you can learn to feel things." looking around for a minute while switching off his lightsaber, "We appear to be at the top. Tired?"

"Only partially." Alexus replied

"Good enough." he said, then seemingly randomly, he ordered, "Do a handstand."

"No can do." Alexus replied, "Never learnt how."

Shaking his head, Nerevar pointed to a boulder, "Go over there, and put your head and hands on the ground. Then, lift your body up and balance it with the boulder to keep you up."

"Alright." Alexus said as he proceeded to do the handstand.

"Now, lift your left hand off the ground and hold it out to your side."

"And how am I suppose to do that?" Alexus asked

"By picking up your left hand off the ground. Shift your weight to your right hand, and continue to use the rock to keep you up."

Alexus proceeded to do so, and promptly fell over.

Keeping a stern face and fixed eye on Alexus, Nerevar spoke demandingly, "Up, do it again. This time, concentrate on you and you alone. Do not think of the rock that supports you, do not think of the ground, do not think of anything but yourself. You must..feel that you can do it, you must believe you can! If you do not, then you will fail everytime."

Taking on a lighter tone, "Don't think you can, know you can. Doubt will make you lose concentration, and when you lose concentration, you become unbalanced and fall. Get up and try it again, but concentrate on yourself, and know that you can do it!"

Alexus proceeded to attempt the thing again, this time balancing on one hand for a few seconds before falling over again.

"Again," ordered Nerevar, "Do it again. Concentrate, it is not a matter of strenght, for an infant could do it, but more a matter of concentration! Picture yourself doing it in your mind, then do it! Exactly as in your thoughts!"

Alexus did again, visualizing as directed and stayed up for about thirty seconds before falling over again.

(OOC: Making it hard for me hey? :p )

IC:

"Get up and try again. This time, extend your left leg out to the side also to counteract the weight of the right side. And remember to keep your body relatively straight while leaning ever so slightly to the right." Nerevar said.

Alexus followed instructions again, this time staying up for almost two minutes before falling over.

ooc: it is a very had thing to do after all

"Do it again and again and again until you can keep your balance and stay up there. Remember, concentrate!" said Nerevar.

Alexus did so and after three more tries managed to remain balanced.

"Good!" exclaimed Nerevar. Walking over, he placed a rock no bigger than a watch in front of Alexus. "Close your eyes, and imagine this rock. Feel it with your mind"

Alexus visualizes the rock.

"Now, reach out with your feelings! Pick up the rock, and move it to the top of the boulder that you we're leaning on. But I have moved the boulder away from you, so that you are supporting yourself, so reach out with your feelings and find that boulder, then, place the small rock on top of it!" said Nerevar is a quiet tone, as to not take too much concentration fron the boy.

Alexus tried and nothing.

ooc: remember, non-force user

(OOC: I know, but I'm trying to teach him to use the force.)

IC:

"Concentrate on the rock, and reach out with your feelings to pick it up off the ground. Visualise yourself reaching out to pick up the rock, while still remaining balanced." Nerevar instructed.

Alexus tried again, following instructions and still nothing.

"Concentrate. Feel the force run through you. Know that you can move that rock, know you can, don't think you can. Feel the force, feel the rock! Concentrate! And keep your eyes closed, they can decieve you, do not trust them." Nerevar spoke, still remaining fairly quiet as to not distract.

But then there was something, something he had not sensed that entire time. Looking up into the sky above the Castle of Night, he felt something...but could not figure out what it was. But the dark side he sensed there, and knew something was wrong. They would have to return soon, but he was determind to teach Alexus.

Alexus tried again, following the instructions to the letter and stone might have moved a millimeter, or maybe not.

Looking back down at his apprentice, a small smile started to form on Nerevar's face. Reading the boys thoughts, Alexus thought the stone had only budged, but in truth, it was floating a few inches above the ground.

"Concentrate Alexus. Feel the force within you, reach out with your feelings towards the rock!"

Alexus continued to follow instructions.

"Very good. Now, keep a firm concentration on the rock, but reach out and locate the boulder. Create a mental picture of your surroundings." instructed Nerevar.

Alexus began working on crafting a mental picture of the area. Once done he said, "The boulder is (General direction of where it is in relation to him)."

"Good, now, move the rock over and place it on top of the boulder." said Nerevar, a larger smile appearing on his face as it appeared his apprentice was learning.

Alexus attempted to move the rock, sending it so it would smack into Nerevar unless he blocked it/move before it began banging around the boulder.

Ducking out of the way of the stone, Nerevar said amusingly as he noticed the rock go over to the boulder and clunk around it, "Not funny, my young apprentice, but you have succeeded in moving the rock. Now, concentrate on slowly bringing it down. Then, you may get up off your hands."

Alexus managed to bring it to a rest on the boulder, and then got up.

"Very good, Alexus. You are progressing, but the force is very complex, and even the elder, more experienced ones among us cannot fully harness it's secrets. Come, back to the castle where we will begin some different training, with your lightsaber." said Nerevar, signaling with his hand for his apprentice to follow him back down the mountain.

"Lead on McDuff." Alexus replied as he stretched and followed

"Not funny Alexus" Nerevar said as he strolled on down the mountain trail.

He'd forgotten about bringing the mountain down earlier, so was stopped for a minute as he had to move all the rubble out of the way. But it didn't take too long for them to arrive at the castle once again.

It was there that the two men, master and apprentice, found the Tin Man as he called himself. "Greetings, Tin Man. How are you this fine day? Any news?"

"Enh, it's a classic line, don't knock it." Alexus replied, "And who, or what is this?" He asked

"Be mindful Alexus, this was the man that came to the castle a couple of days ago, do you not remember? It is largely thanks to him that lots of rebuilding time has been reduced and the Castle of Night is almost totally rebuilt." replied Nerevar with a bit of annoyance at his apprentices slight disrespect of the man.

"Alright." Alexus replied

He knows my name though I never gave it to him. I didn't realize that word
of me had gotten this far.

"News," he said. "The solar collectors have been placed on the spire rooves,
and are now providing enough power to run all basic services. The hole in
the aquifier was found and patched, and the water treatment has begun.
It should take about twelve of this planet's days, but the acidity should go
down enough that we can sink another geothermal turbine, providing us with
sufficient energy capacity to deal with a small armada if necessary.

"The cables have been strung and not only can we shield the castle, but
we can run a canopy of camouflage netting from it, making the castle all
but invisible to an airborn enemy. The security systems in the castle grounds
have been shorn up and are now fully operational. I recommend against
stringing the canopy, however, until there's been time to study the local
ecosystems. I haven't had time to look into them, but there seem to be
some venomous plants in the outlieing field that offer, to say the least,
intriguing medical possibilities.

"The lower levels have been unsealed. The data core is powered up and
going through a POST* operation. I'm a little leery of exploring the place
until I can call up the maps from the data core, and see if its makers, your
forerunners, left any words of wisdom for us. I fully expect that they've
put security on it that only a member of the order can unlock--and I fully
expect there to be traps in the lower levels that we won't find without the
warnings that the data core may contain. I am especially interested in
getting it completely up and running because it ties into the security
perimeter.

"Ikaporamee continues to yield to my suggestions. It is his loyalty alone that
has prevented him from taking that armor of his into the depths of the
castle and wasting it and himself on whatever is down there. He was born
and raised a berzerker. His lust for battle must be reined in or the next
fork-tongued sith who comes along will put a dupe in front of him and set
us all up for a murder wrap. He doesn't seem to understand that the law
around here won't grant him special status.

"We're going to need him, though. There's a sith lord out there who wants
my blood--literally. The stuff has healing properties, and makes me a limited
immortal. It doesn't work on anyone else, though--for that, it takes a
treatment that involves pulling your limbs off. Survival rates are about 20%.
I, for one, do NOT want to give a sith an excuse to start try to reinvent the
process.

"I don't know who the master is right now, but I've seen his apprentice
twice already. The first time, I imitated our late friend Florence, and
turned him away from the castle door. I felt that it was important that a
member of the order be seen doing this, and Florence was the only one
whose name I knew. Please forgive my deception.

"The second time, it was after dark, and I found out a little bit about the
apprentice's capabilities. He's scary. He's got the stealth capabilities of a
vampire and a skill with the Force that's almost up to Jedi standards. If
Ikaporamee hadn't been with me that night...let's just say that I gave him
permission to kill that creature, and it got away from him.

"I do not claim to tell you how to do what it is that you do here, sir, but, no
matter what knowledge you wish to impart on him, Ikaporamee needs to be
taught about lies. He needs to be schooled in how they are used and,
more imporantly, in how to detect them. He has no understanding of
arrogance or spite. I will not be able to protect him indefinately--nor he me.

"The only other news I have right now is that it's been a couple of days
since I've had any sleep, and--again I apologise--I'm not fit to enter into
your service right now. And I'm not going to be getting any better any
time soon. Unless I miss my guess, that sith is due to slither back here
tonight, and he's not going to come alone this time. We need to get that
data core going AND the meshes on the spires patched AND the point
defense systems working in a HURRY or there might not be anything left of
us by this time tomorrow."

The Tin Man then turned.

"You must be Alexis," he said. "I've seen what this Jedi has done for you in
a very short time. I hope you realize the tremendous gifts that he has given
you.

"To answer your question, I am a cyborg. I was born a man, and made a
cyborg against my will. Some say that I have no soul, so I now try to live
my life as a testiment to the ideals of conscience and respect. That is who,
and what, I am."

He turned back.

"And you, sir, I must complement also. Your teaching skills are simply
amazing. May I, finally, ask your name?"

------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: I'd like to change the timing on your post, Holy One, so that it
occurred after nightfall, when The Twitter came back. You are welcome
to back post the Tin Man telling Ikaporamee to go ahead and let The
Twitter have it, and what Ikaporamee did afterward. The only request
I have is that you leave The Twitter alive and capable of slithering back
later on "tonight." :) :) :) Beyond that, you can use your imagination.
:) :) :)

Tal: All the characters need to have a little pow-wow. The Tin Man, you
will find, is actually here to LEARN something, and only Nerevar can teach
it to him: how to use the Force. Neither of them know it, though, but he's
going to end up with a chioce: in order to be able to use the Force, he's
going to have to give up all of his anti-Force capabilities, including the power
to thwart prophesy. :) :) :) What do you think he's going to choose?

Thao: I look forward to seeing what Alexis and the Tin Man can do
together. Alexis has many things--the ability to just do things, for example--
that the Tin Man lacks. Alexis' youth is a good balance against the Tin Man's
age.

*Power On Self Test

(OOC: Wow, long post, lol. Uh, yeah, I suspected I'd be teaching you something, and don't worry, we'll all have a "pow-wow" later. Oh and you haven't been heard of before here, he is telepathic afterall and can read thoughts, just to clearify)

IC:

"The Sith have come to the Castle of Night? How could I have been so blind. You have done us a great favor in fixing our home and establishing everything, and are also right that the Castles lower levels are important, but there are dark secrets down there meant to protect that which sits." replied Nerevar.

"Oh, forgive me, I am Nerevar, High Knight of the Order of Moon and Star; and your kind words of my wisdom and ability to teach are truly kind. And Ikaporamee? I do not think I have met this individual. No doubt what I sensed earlier, but dismissed when you went over to investigate."

Turning to Alexus, "If the Sith attack, you need to be able to defend yourself. Throwing rocks won't do much against a lightsaber, and at the moment, you are unexperienced with a lightsaber."

"If you'll excuse us, Tin Man, we must leave and continue Alexus' training." turning and walking away he called over his shoulder, "Come Alexus."

"Lead on." Alexus replied

Entering a large rectangular room, Nerevar walked over to another room that had controls in it. Speaking into an intercom, he told Alexus what to do, "Draw your lightsaber and stand in at the back of the room. On the other side of the room, a turret will appear that will shoot stun lasers. It is your job to block these with your lightsaber so you do not get hurt."

Pressing a few buttons, the turret appeared out of the wall on the other side of the room, "Remember Alexus, feel the force flow through you. Use the force, not your eyes, FEEL!"

"Alright, but wouldn't it be better to either avoid the bolts or smash the turret?" Alexus asked as he took out the 'crap' saber.

"It would be, in a battle, but that's not the point of this excercise. The point is to sharpen your reflexes, and give you more experience with your new weapon." Nerevar said as he prepared to have the thing shoot, "You'll find in battle, being able to block blasters is a useful skill."

Pressing the button, the turret took aim on Alexus and started firing rapidly at different targets on him.

Alexus got hit by the first few beams, before beginning to block them.

"Trust your insticts, Alexus, not your eyes." Nerevar protested.

Alexus began blocking with increased regularity, until it was almost metrenomic.

The better Alexus became the faster the turret shot.

The longer the machine was firing, the better he got as he became more and more familiar with his 'crap' saber.

"Ready yourself for the second wave, Alexus, and don't get cocky, that can lead to defeat." said Nerevar, pressing a button which made two more turrets on the side walls appear and start firing as fast as the first.

Alexus continued to improve as he got a handle on the 'crap' blade, thought he was disadvantaged from letting loose his full skill by the fact of only one blade.

I hope he won't get so wrapped up in his teaching duties that
he forgets his leadership chores. I am not the leader here. In fact, I'm
not even a member of his order.

Being left to his own devices again, the Tin Man decided to return to the
castle. He turned and walked back. His supersoldier friend joined him on
the way back.

"Are the herbs we picked prepared?" he asked.

"They should be ready, oracle-in-training."

"Good. Our friends have seen to it that we will have plenty of rock to
rebuild the castle walls with. Now, I'm going to show you how to liquify it
and resolidify it in place. In this part of the galaxy, this is a skill that trades
well."

Noticing it getting late, Nerevar shut off the turrets and exited the control room, "That is all for tonight, I have other things to attend to now. I suggest you practice your swordsplay, and get better adjusted to the blade."

OOC: I wanted to make a good post, but its 2 am here, so its shorter…

IC: Like Cerberus had been unleashed himself, Ikaporamee tore off after the dark figure. “The oracle of the forerunner themselves have deemed you to be a heretic, your death will bring me much respect and your scalp shall be worth an entire fleet.”

The twitter(right?) didn’t deem this “insignificant” being worthy of being talked to.(he does seem arrogant, so I’m assuming, is this right?) He was leading him down a narrow passage, jumping gracefully from wall to wall. Ikaporamee simply ran straight, starting to gain ground. Now his quarry decided to actively shake him. A massive rock formation came out of the ground in front of the sangheili…

NO, this is MY PREY. It cannot be allowed to ESCAPE. The raw frenzy of his religion had taken over and he simply charged the rock with his energy sword. The plasma burst the rock into pieces as it was impaled. But now the sith was on the other edge of a bog. Still moving, but slowly and surly, Ikaporamee was losing him. Trying to gain ground, he focused all his anger and willpower(*coughforcecough*) into his legs. Willing them, just a few more yards, just a few more. And they wanted to, he almost cleared the entire swamp. When the swamp had other plans…

The murky water exploded as a massive reptilian creature burst out, attempting to eat him whole. Surprise gripped him barely as he reversed his blade so that as the reptile bit down, it sliced open its mouth. Blood scarcely flowed as the plasma had cauterized the wound. Another flash and the blade rammed up to its hilt into the beasts brain. Slumping, it cut along the way. Using the corpse as a platform, he jumped up and grabbed a nearby vine. The stench of burning ozone filled his nostrils as he seen another massive shape swimming through the water, anger welled up, That coward, that heretic was supposed to die by my blade. Why have the forerunners allowed it to run…

Another of the reptiles tried ambushing, not realizing that all surprise had been lost. Ikaporamee stood there, but just as the jaws began to close. He lashed out with one of his hand and his feet. Creating supports stopping the beasts jaws from closing. It thrashed wildly as if sensing the being so close to becoming a meal. His other hand, flicked out a plasma grenade. *click* an electronic whirring filled the air, as he used the heat to burn the mouth, thus freeing him, then jumping out and hurling the grenade down its throat.

It didn’t make it to far, as it started melting and burning the tonsil area. The explosion became a muffled thump as the swamp was filled with chunks of flesh burning with blue flame.

Disappointed and shamed, Ikaporamee trudged back…

He arrived not as he left, beaten and angry. He would have a reckoning with that being. But seeing the oracle-in-training lifted most of the darkness cast over it, but some still curled within, waiting(duhn-duhn-duhn-duhn).

(insert talking written by Dastardly)

He dropped to a knee as his thoughts returned to his shameful failure. “Oracle-in-training, I neither ask nor accept your mercy or pity. I failed in my hunt, for this I as you give me a penitence, and you needn’t show me your little known knowledge’s, I deserve them not…”

"Do I have permission to start work on an additional blade?" Alexus asked as he began doing a few stretches.

Walking out the door, Nerevar shouted back, "I told you, build another on your own time if you want. The crystals are in the cave, and the other materials and tools needed are still in the room."

Alexus goes and gathers up eight of the crystals and returns to put in an hours work on the new one before doing his normal activities and heading to bed.
He'd wake at the same time as the last day and this time spend half the time before 'classes' on practice, the other on saber construction.

As Nerevar made his way through the courtyard over to his room, he ran into the Tin Man and a strange humanoid creature that was talking to the Tin Man. No doubt this person was Ikaporamee, the one the Tin Man had spoke of earlier.

Walking over to them, Nerevar bowed and greeted them, "Good evening, how are things going?"

IC: Ikaporamee's voice was full of anger, but it was more at himself than at the others, "A heretic branded by the oracle-in-training himself fled as I failed my mission, this is a dark time..."

OOC: I'm going to wait for stench, don't want to jump to far ahead....

(OOC: Mmkay)

IC:

"Oracle in training?" Nerevar asked, refusing to read the mans mind in his tired state, "Heretic? What heretic?"

"By 'Oracle in training,' he refers to me," said the Tin Man, "though I,
personally, would tack a 'wannabe' on the end of the term. You have not
yet accepted me into training, though I would beg that you would, just
as I beg for your protection.

"By 'heretic,' he refers to the sith who has twice tested our defenses and
found them to be surprisingly strong. The thing is a vampire. His weapons
shot right through it. I had to intervene. Neither of us would have defeated
the sith alone. Your most recent applicant and I are going to need
lightsabers and training in how to use them if we are to face it in the dead
of night, when its powers are strongest. A lightsaber will be affective
against it where my plasma weapons and Silver Sword were not."

"Did you say 'Silver Sword?'"

"Yes, sir, and, though it is a sith weapon, I am not a sith. I learned to use
it as a counter to the sith when they started using lightsabers against the
Temple of Resurrection. Being able to reflect a lightsaber back into its user
does have its advantages."

"Ah. So what of your friend?"

"He told me that he was sent here by a superior to learn discipline. From this,
I deduced that there is an agreement of somekind between those who sent
him and the Order of the Moon and Star. His people, he says, have, for
several generations, been doing battle against something that they call
'The Flood.' I've been poking around my medical database, and I think I've
pieced a little bit of that together. Unless I miss my guess, this Flood of
his is somekind of weaponized retrovirus--and its victims, who spread the
stuff after they catch it. This is what his people have to guard against.
If they mess up, the victims, their minds altered by the virus, will no doubt
come looking for us. It seems only reasonable that they would have
contact with at least one order of Jedi Knights.

"He is a zealous and energetic defender of all that is holy, including his
infallible superiors. And, as to any other questions you may have, he can
speak for himself. He is respectful, not mute.

"And, finally, it appears that the only thing left to do now is reactivate the
data core. Then, if the powers that be are willing, I'll finally be able to
get some sleep. Bringing up the core will require a full member of the order.
Since you are busy with your other acolyte, I humbly beg that you permit
us to share the presence of another member. Have you seen Florence?"

---------------------------------

OOC: *I* know that Florence is dead...

...but *the Tin Man* does NOT know that Florence is dead. :) :) :)



Holy One, you have *got* to take your own initiative. As a freelance
editor, I've worked with over a dozen published authors. Your imagination
is right up there with the best of them. Don't be afraid to use it.

I'm toying with referring to The Flood as Limbaugh-Goering Disease. :) :) :)
You think it's fitting?

"Sadly, I recieved news that Florense was killed in an attempt to sabotage a sith acadamy; along with Gorick. But, I am no longer busy for tonight, and can activate the power core." sighing, "And I can supply yous with lightsabers, and initiate you into the order. I am sorry to have neglected yous, but I felt the need to train Alexus to use the force quickly so he could defend himself if the Sith somehow found us, and found us they have. Do you two know how to use the force?"

Disappointed and shamed, Ikaporamee trudged back…

He arrived not as he left, beaten and angry. He would have a reckoning with that being. But seeing the oracle-in-training lifted most of the darkness cast over it, but some still curled within, waiting(duhn-duhn-duhn-duhn).



"It wasn't your fault," the Tin man said. "We could not have known that it
can influence lesser species. Still, we must take care not to underestimate
it in the future."

"We?"

"I was behind you, but I ran afoul of a swarm of ambush bats. Nasty things.
They envenomate and digest thier prey before actually eating it. If either of
us had chased that thing alone..."

OOC: ever hear of Ambush Bugs? Well these are Ambush BATS.

IC:

He dropped to a knee as his thoughts returned to his shameful failure. “Oracle-in-training, I neither ask nor accept your mercy or pity. I failed in my hunt, for this I as you give me a penitence, and you needn’t show me your little known knowledge’s, I deserve them not…”

"Arrogance," replied the Tin Man. "You think I give you these things strictly
for your own benefit? When we first met, you told me that you were here
to learn. You implied that your people had...needs. They will need these
skills. You will have to survive your training and teach them when you
return to your people. You had better learn them well enough to pass on.

"Your pennance is to learn how to build. Destruction is easy.
If you want to do something that is worthy of a race that could make
ships large enough to encircle entire stars, then learn how to create,
as they did. Your first task, then, is to analyze this castle and tell me what
can be improved. You have two rotations of this planet. Expect to make
the improvements that you suggest. I will arrange for Alexus to be given
credit for the effort."

OOC:

The Twitter is my private name for the character. It's sort of like
"Cancer" (aka "The Smoking Man") from The X-Files, whose actual given
name was "R. G. B. Spender." (We will save for later the digression about the
fact that the actor who played Cancer hates citarettes.) :) :) :)

The character has never given his name, and that's because I haven't
decided on one for him. The Tin Man has referred to him only as "the
creature." :) :) :) If anyone else wants to give him a name, feel free.

The Castle of Night is on top of a mountain. I presume that the swamp is at
the foot of the mountain, right?

"Sadly, I recieved news that Florense was killed in an attempt to sabotage a sith acadamy; along with Gorick. But, I am no longer busy for tonight, and can activate the power core." sighing, "And I can supply yous with lightsabers, and initiate you into the order. I am sorry to have neglected yous, but I felt the need to train Alexus to use the force quickly so he could defend himself if the Sith somehow found us, and found us they have. Do you two know how to use the force?"

The Tin Man lowered his gaze.

"I know how," he said. "I've trained two generations of adepts in it.
I just don't have the knack, and every one of my students has
superceded me the first time they set the table without touching the utensils."

Nerevar cocked an eyebrow.

"It's one of the drills that I use. The student has thirty clicks to set the
table for everyone, and passes only if every cup, plate and utensil ends up
in its correc place. I number them. For a more advanced drill, I mix up the
utensils and have the acolyte sort them as they're placed.

"The problem is worse than that, though," the Tin Man continued. He reached
down and picked up a rock that was lieing on the ground beside him. "Try to
lift this from my hand using the Force," he said, opening his fingers.

Nerevar reached his hand forward and felt, tasted the energy around the
Tin Man's hand.

Nothing.

It was as if the Force itself feared to go near him. Not to be outdone,
Neravar called upon the Force within the castle, the courtyard, the mountain.
With a great effort, he was able to raise the rock a short distance into the
air.

"Impressive," the Tin Man said. The rock dropped back into his hand. "Now,
you know what we're up against, and why I chose this place when
the sith sundered my temple. The Children of Dawn recommend your order
highly."

==================================================

OOC: The Children of Dawn are a group of vampires who are committed to
becoming mortal again. Their leaders, the Theodores (the name literally
means "Gift from God"), gradually lose their vampiric capabilities and
become human. This is what happened to Jenghis in the original post. His
death was his ultimate triumph, because, as the post indicated, his soul
survived.

Theodore Jenghis would like to visit Nerevar from the Nether Regions of the
force, and bring his wife, Mariam, along. Perhaps he already has. Nerevar
should know who the Children of the Dawn are, just as he should know who
Ikaporamee's superiors are.

Ikaporamee didn't just show up, he was sent.

"That is most peculiar, and unfortunate. Come, we shall go collect the needed materials for you to create your own lightsabers. After wich, you may go to the construction room where my apprentice, Alexus, is currently constructing his second. Tell him I told you to get him to show you how to create one." replied Nerevar.

"That is most peculiar, and unfortunate. Come, we shall go collect the needed materials for you to create your own lightsabers. After wich, you may go to the construction room where my apprentice, Alexus, is currently constructing his second. Tell him I told you to get him to show you how to create one." replied Nerevar.

The data core was more important than a personal indulgence. It would serve
the needs of four people now and countless more in times to come.

That did not stop the Tin Man from gathering some power crystals and putting
himself into Alexus' tutilage. Humbly, he had listened as Alexus described the
basic theory of a lightsaber's operation...and then, he had taken out the
jewler's tools, reground a few of the green crystals, and shown Alexus how to
make the emitter on his saber 20% more efficient.

The power crystals themselves were the purest that the Tin Man had ever
seen. It did not surprise him that the order had used them in lieu of
actual skill to make the fine weapons that they posessed. The Tin Man,
however, had not been so blessed. He had students who had needed to be
taught the ways of the force, and he had needed to scrounge the
parts that they had used to make their weapons.

The end result--for both Alexus, the Tin Man and Imakaporee--were weapons
of superior quality. The Tin Man examined Alexus' blade closely, noting that
it, like its counterparts, burned a pure, uncontaminated white, and that there
was almost no magnetic resonance at the hilt, as virtually all of the saber's
available power was channeled through the emitter and into the blade.

"Now this is a blade fit for a Jedi," he declared. "What are you
going to do with it?"

Alexus had partially upgraded his white 'crap' blade, and finished his second 'crap' saber a number of days later. When he flicked on the second one it glowed a dark, almost black, blue.

ooc: You time skipped a couple days, as he was only working at the speed of 1.5 hours a day, and it took him 6 hours prior
oh, and his second is definately not white

"I'm glad that it rates your seal of approval," the Tin Man said with a sarcastic
grin as he noted the disdain with which Alexus viewed his new weapons.

"Now, how much do you know about computers? We've got a data core
downstairs, and, if we can get it working before those pesky sith show up
again, the sensor grid should come up and we'll have an even-odds chance
of surviving the next attack."

===========================

OOC:

Because Tal's Unwilling to, I Thought That Maybe I Should Post.

:) :) :)

OOC: The prophet of anger sent him, but this would have been done through a lesser prophet deemed impure enough to communicate with sharquoi. Why he was sent, well it was a fairly simple reason, but they kept it under cloak from Rolamee, less he and his commandos do something….irritating…

IC: His features could have been chiseled from stone. The mere thought of helping a sharquoi made him furious, but, the forerunners were always enigmatic, and there is always a purpose.

“Of course oracle-in-training, it shall be done.”

Why am I performing the prophets and engineers work? I am a warrior, not an architect. But he must surely know that, so I must make it harder to attack.

The swamp should be filled with natural organisms…wait. He turned them on me last time, so perhaps plasma mines….no, they could avoid those. Wait, change the terrain itself. Make it a kilometer circle. Sheer faced, there put in explosives to keep out ground based foes. As for airborne attackers…a shield. A forerunner blessed one would do well, but perhaps they know of a better one? As for security, a detachment(1,000) of Royal Guards should be assigned, perhaps more. Walls must be reinforced and rebuilt, the crypts should be explored and either sealed or opened. All this will take years to accomplish, but this is his penitence and I will NOT FAIL!

So consumed by this task that Ikaporamee didn’t even bother to let the others know he was heading out or retrieve the light saber.

First the rock must be found. Not from the mountain, elsewhere…

Dastardly Stench']"I'm glad that it rates your seal of approval," the Tin Man said with a sarcastic grin as he noted the disdain with which Alexus viewed his new weapons. "Now, how much do you know about computers? We've got a data core downstairs, and, if we can get it working before those pesky sith show up again, the sensor grid should come up and we'll have an even-odds chance of surviving the next attack."
"It depends what kind of computer it is." Alexus replied

Walking into the construction room after finishing some work, Nerevar jumped into the conversation, "What about computers?"

"The cyborg, who's name escapes me at the moment, said something about a data core downstairs." Alexus replied

Taking on a serious face all of a sudden, Nerevar responded, "The generators are below the castle, but the back door leads to the lowest level; the sacred chamber of the Order, which none of you must enter without my permission."

(OOC: That last level is where the last tests of the Order are held.)

"Why's that?" Alexus asked at Nerevar's vehament(sp) statment.

Turning to Alexus, "Because that place is strong with the dark side, and there are things down there more foul than anything you could imagine. It is also the tomb of the founder of the Order, and his tomb is protected by powerful spirits. You must never go down there."

"Enh, alright." Alexus replied, "Oh and I finished my second saber earlier."

"Good thing I didn't give the place a thorough mapping when I looked it
over a few days ago," said the Tin Man. "Then again, I figured that there
would be things there meant to discourage the unenlightened.

"Either way, it's an Imperial Data Core, similar to the ones used in public
libraries about 40 years ago. Despite its age, it's not entirely outdated, and,
if I'm not mistaken, it was set up to run most of the castle's autodefenses.

"If I can talk you into fixing it with me, we might have a better chance against--
gentlemen, please stand next to me."

"What?" Alexus asked. Nerevar did as asked. His eyes widened.

"Alexus," Nerevar said, "there's something in this roo--.

The cloaked, roving mine detonated before he could finish his sentence. By
standing next to the Tin Man, Nerevar was close enough that he was
standing inside of the cyborg's personal shield when it activiated. Alexus,
though less lucky, was spared by the fact that the shield was between
him and the actual blast.

Instantly, both Jedi had their lightsabres activated and ready. Though
slightly dazed, Alexus was more than ready for any adversary that he may
have needed to face.

This was in sharp contrast to the Tin Man. Immediately after the explosion,
his shield dropped, and he stopped moving. Reaching out with his feelings,
Nerevar could tell that, though he was still alive, something was terribly
wrong with him. As Nerevar watched, the humanoid form slowly disappeared,
and resumed the shape of a large, reflective, silver egg.

---------------------------------------------------

OOC:

Things were just a little too boring for my tastes. Hopefully, this will give
us all an opportunity to stretch our legs, so to speak.

I don't want to use the mechanical parts of the Tin Man as an excuse to
uber, so one of the things I did was put him in a prototype suit. Guess
what, folks! The suit has just shown a defect. The shield shorts out the
generators. :) :) :)

Can Nerevar and Alexus keep the Tin Man alive with only their lightsabers?
Are there only going to be more cloaked mines, or will there perhaps be
something more sinister coming down the pike? We know that the sith
vampire can control ambush bats, but...could he maybe turn into
a swarm of them? :) :) :)

Does he have other help?

Can Ikaporamee make it back in time to save the day?

Feel free to use your imagination.

"Very good Alexus, but I do not see why you would make it blue, white is the official colour of the Order."

Insert Dastardly Stench's post

Nerevar stood at ready with his white blade humming in front of him. He was scanning the room, and quickly caught another of the mines in the room. He threw his left hand out and concentrated on pushing the mine away, and away it went, far enough away that Nerevar threw his lightsaber and destroyed the mine without causing any damage to the people there.

Bring his weapon back to him, Nerevar ran out into the courtyard and scanned for anything. And what he found was a cloaked figure on the other side. The figure, noticing he was found, decloaked and revealed the Sith scum that he was.

"Alexus! Get out here, we must protect the Castle. Be mindful and cautious, and trust your feelings, not your eyes. Remember your training." Nerevar shouted.

Alexus did as he was instructed, one saber gleaming white, the other nearly invisible because of it's deep dark blue colour.

Starting to advance on the Sith, Nerevar told Alexus, "Well take him slowly, and follow my lead. Go in slow on the left."

"Alright." Alexus replied

IC: His plasma had cut a smooth trail back to one side of the area to be filled, he was planting some improvised explosives to take out the rock, his thoughts conflicting. Anger wrestled with understanding, he knew this was his penance, but to a sharquoi….

When an explosion went off at the temple. A switch was hit as combat mode took over. His head motions became swifter, snapping from place to place, scanning for a threat. His powerful legs carried him through the air. He jumped and smashed equally at anything in his way. The oracle was in trouble, he could feel it…

He was feeling the outer parts of fatigue when he reached the gate, but then a tightening in his chest happened. It was the same feeling he got when the….”sith” attacked. Same heretic or a new one, he cared not, they would die is all that mattered. He was tearing through the corridors always looking…

I’m here oracle, but where are you?

And then, he seen it, he was presently on the enemy’s rear. He grinned as he flicked his wrist, turning on the energy sword(remember, didn’t grab the light saber)…

Sending a telepathic message to Alexus, Nerevar charged the Sith, "Go, now Alexus, attack!"

Running, the two men locked sabers for a minute before proceeding to slash and parry at each other.

Alexus flicked on both sabers, one blazing white, one nearly invisible, and launched his attack in tandem with Nerevar.

It moved.

With super speed, it raced through the gap between the sword-locked
Jedi and the supersoldier. Then, standing a short distance away, it
looked back at them and smiled, its extended fangs showing as it displayed
its contemptuous pleasure.

"I'd just love to stick around and have some fun with you boys," it said,
"but there are bigger fish in the sea, and I want me some...caviar!"

And with that, it moved to the door that Nerevar and Alexus had just come
through so fast that his form was a gray blur.

"Hello, big boy," it said as it stepped through the threshold.

The evil smile on the sith's face turned quickly to a look of pain and horror as electicity started surrounding his body. Nerevar stood behind the sith, still in the courtyard, with his left hand outstreched, and lightning jumping from his fingertips.

"Alexus and Ikaporamee, he should be quite restrained now, please go secure him." he ordered, "Tin Man, are you alright?"

Alexus went to secure the sith, but kept one of the blades active as a precaution.

The Tin Man stared into the blackness of his dead sensors and, nearly
cursing, took stock of every system he still had.

Main Power: Offline
Main Computer: Offline
Primary Sensors: Offline

Using the secondary computer that ran his life support, he checked the
service logs and fired up the fuel cells.

It was simple. He had gotten greedy, and now he was paying for it.

The metalic prototype suit was to be revolutionary, and one of its many
splendors was that, if hit with an energy pulse, it could actually use
some of it to *charge the power cells.* It actually absorbed the
energy that an attacker threw against it and turned it back against its
foe. It also had a revolutionary shielding system that expanded when
heated, allowing it to absorb a lot of punishment.

The problem was that when the shield expanded rapidly--as it had when
it had absorbed the shockwave of the explosion--it channeled the energy
almost entirely through the absorbtion system and into the power lines.
This time, it had fused the emergency cut-off system. Main power would
not work until it was replaced.

More importantly, when the power shut down, it took the main computer
with it, and the main computer ran just about everything in the suit
from the shape-shifting to the sensors to the maglev system. Without
it, the Tin Man was helpless.

So, the Tin Man did the only things he could do. He brought up his
back-up power, waited for the main computer to reboot and, sitting
motionless, began to pray.

As he neared the sith, Alexus could see the light of the room reflected on his
skin-tight black leggings. He held his sword between himself and the creature,
and...

...found himself skittering across the floor and into the wall behind him. Without
even opening its eyes, the sith had managed to summon the Force and use it
to fling his nearest adversary away from it.

It opened its eyes and, again with superhuman speed, rose from the floor.

"You boys should know better than to get on my nerves," it said, its earlier
arrogance turning now into contemptuous anger. "If you really want to play
with your toys, though...I'm game." And it brought out its lightsaber.

It wasn't so much that it activated one, but where it held its hands, low and
directly in front of it, as it did, that was intended to annoy.

"And mine is bigger than yours are, too!" Of course, this was also true. The
flaming blade of its lightsabre was a good ten centimeters farther from its
hilt than were those of the Jedi.

"So, you still wanna piece a me?"

IC: “I only want your blood to soak the ground heretic!” His words carried the hatred of ages, his voice preceded by a volley of plasma bolts from his weapon. He had just arrived a moment ago, seen the oracle on the floor.

Dead?…Alive? Either way I will win or die…

He had came around one corner, so he was probably a second or so running distance, easily enough time to prepare. His energy sword crackled with barely contained plasma, the ozone burning. The incense of war and death. His powerful feet strode closer as he raised his blade in a salute.

“Meet my blade in combat heretic to die and regain some honor…”

OOC: oh crap, my guys probably gonna die. I hope not, if he does…um…forerunner tech helps him…yeah….sure….

"You have some real issues." Alexus said as he pulled out the other. "Still so cocky?" He asked

You fool! Nerevar thought to himself as he saw Ikaporamee charge the sith. As the elite prepared to strike, so did the Sith, and that would mean the end of the man. Nerevar had to intervene, and fast.

And intervene he did, as a rock smacked into the back of the sith, knocking him to the ground momentarily, giving Nerevar time to get over to him and attack with his blade. But that was in vein, as the blow was blocked by the sith's weapon.

Again the sith's eyes closed, and again the Force was summoned.
Nerevar and Ikaporamee found themselves flung into the back wall,
which knocked the wind out of each of them. Then, the sith rolled
back to his feet and ran to the silver egg that had been the Tin
Man.

"Hahahah," he laughed. "You're MINE now!" He raised his hand, and
the egg levitated off the floor.

Whap! A knife-like projection formed on the surface of the egg
and shot through the sith's hand. Its face knotted in pain as--

hap! Another blade shot through its shoulder. As the blades sunk
home, a silver fist formed on the egg's right side.

SMACK! The sith was disimpaled and sent sailing back into the wall
behind it, where it landed with a resounding thud.

The legs and face formed on the egg, which was once again no longer
an egg. And, though it was still silver, the face was angry.

"Enough!" said the Tin man. His new lightsaber flaired to life in his
right arm, and a silver sword appeared at the end of his left arm.

"No!" the sith replied. "This is just the beginning!" It shot over to
the Tin Man and brought its blade down in a quick, powerful stroke.

The light of the lightsaber reflected off of the Tin Man's silver skin.
The blade was bent back, scoring the sith's shoulder even as he pulled
away.

"You can't cut me, you can't touch me and you can't HAVE me," the Tin
man said.

"My god," the sith said, "he's right."

With that, it changed tactics. Instead of challenging his quarry, he
stepped back, almost into the wall. A wicked grin spread across his
face as he retracted his saber. Then, in a blinding flash, he changed.

He was gone, and in his place were a swarm of ambush bats.

In a moment, the Tin Man withdrew his sword and brought out a four-
blaster barage unit. Even as he did, though, he knew that, with only
his backup computer to do the targeting, he had no hope of picking off
the entire swarm. That wasn't going to stop him from trying, though,
and the room echoed with the sound as his guns began to blaze.

As each bat was hit, it turned into a fine mist.

The mist, and the swarm, rapidly made their way toward Ikamoramee, as
the sith must have judged him as the most vulnerable of the party.
The Tin Man eventually had to hold his fire for fear of hitting his
friend. He ran, changing the angle of his fire, but it was not enough.
The bats closed on the elite warrior.

Alexus walked into the swarm of bats, his blades a whirling ball of light as he sliced down bat after bat.

Standing up quite painfully, Nerevar looked at the swarm as it encompased Ikaporamee. The sith had shown his power, but now it was his turn. Closing his eyes, Nerevar concentrated, and visualised what he wanted.

As the elite became hidden behind the swarm, they started to glow a soft white. The light grew and grew, until suddenly it grew too great that everyone in the room would have to close their eyes if they ever wanted to use them again. When the light faded, and the darkness from the night sky co-mingled with the soft light of the fireplace and the hanging lamp; Ikaporamee once again became visible. But he was far from comfortable, as the swarm was still around him, just encompased in blocks of ice.

Opening his eyes momentarily as if to stop his eye-balls from rolling back into his head, Nerevar then concentrated on lifting the blocks of ice from around Ikaporamee, and placing them in the fire.

Letting his concentration go, he opened his eyes with a weary face. Regaining his composure, he reactivated his lightsaber and walked over to first see if everyone was alright, and then over to the fire to witness the melting ice, and to see what would happen next. And this time, he would be ready to counter any force push...

As a thin mist, the sith flowed up the chimney and out of the castle. There
were too many of them, and they had too great a diversity of skills.

He would return, but not without help.

Back in the lab, the Tin Man smiled.

"To have friends such as you," he said, "I am indeed blessed. Thank you all
for coming to my aid."

"What happened to you?" Nerevar asked. "Are you all right?"

"The shields that saved us from the mines shorted out my main power. I'll
need to replace my main breakers. Until I do, my abilities will be...reduced."

"Well in any case, I thank you for saving my life. But, as your batteries need to recharge, I need to rest. My stunt drained alot of power from me, and I am a bit woozy now. Good night all, and take care of Ikaporamee will you?" Nerevar said before exiting the room.

Walking through the corridor over to his room, he looked up at the sky, feeling the same disturbence he felt up on the mountain top with Alexus. He knew that was where the sith was hiding, and knew that they could start a bombardment of the castle at any given time if the main generators were not activated. But that was a task for tomorrow.

Entering the small door to his room, Nerevar looked around at his surroundings, focusing to the dim light that was provided only by the scarce amount of moonlight. It was a round room, with nothing on the walls, and a simple red carpet on the ground. In the middle of the flour was a cushion, which Nerevar sat on and began to meditate, almost as if asleep.

"Mind if I see if I could fix it?" Alexus asked, "I'm fairly good with machines."

"I'd be honored," the Tin Man replied, "and I can use the help. Besides, Ikaporamee should be alright."

Alexus grabbed both his tech kit and S-board. He returned on it.
"Alright, where are the access panels and what is the damages." He said opening his kit.

"The main breakers are blown and fused," replied the Tin Man as he sat
on a nearby chair. "If you replace them, everything should come back
online. They're located in two small compartments, one on either side of
my back." As the Tin Man spoke, the silver liquid metal on his frame
flowed away from his lower back, showing the compartments. "Problem
is, I don't know if we're going to be able to improvise the part. It's custom-
made.

"Oh. And put on some high voltage gloves if you're going to be poking
around those power lines. The capacitors have quite a kick."

"If you've got to make the part, is there some reason why you're just
sitting there," Alexus asked.

"Yes," replied the Tin Man.

"What?" Alexus asked after a moment.

"Fatigue," the Tin Man replied. "Let myself get too busy rebuilding the
castle. Haven't slept in four days. Maybe I should just conk out and
let you work your magic."

"Conk out then." Alexu said as he pulled on a pair of elbow length, thin and skin-tight gloves.

He pulled out a few tools and once he'd found the breakers, set to work removing them. Once the first was out he put it on a small flat panel while he set to work on the second.

(OOC: Are you guys gonna continue on for awhile or should I continue on and RP the next day?)

OOC: I vote "next day." I have business to tend to and won't be able to
post until tomorrow evening at the earliest.

Was thinking that The Twitter might happen over to that Sith Academy that
Tal mentioned earlier and snack out on a participant or two. Ideas?

OOC: Stench, you mean kill a few participants? Or just feed? And this is just getting caught up for my absence.

IC: This was a moment of truth. Ikaporamee hadn’t really met someone who could just…become a swarm of things. His sixth sense had been going all hay wire doing the fight. Only because of it and help from the others did he survive. He had failed miserably, he hadn’t helped the oracle or the sharquoi, he merely did the job of the unggoy, which is to get targeted. So there were two options now. One, he could stay and wait until an even more powerful opponent comes and kills everyone, or, he could go out, and hunt down this opponent, slay it, and devour it, thus gaining its strength. Then, he could help. As he scuttled out into the swamps, he was wondering. How am I going to beat it? The answer, not there yet, had to be formed as he followed the beings stench…

OOC: Ika probably won’t even find this sith, but I’m going to have him get more than he bargained for..

As Nerevar exited his room the next morning, he took a minute to breath in the sweet, fresh air, and listen to the singing birds in the trees around the castle.

Afterwards, he went to check on his three students. Alexus knew the base things of the Order, and the Tin man knew how to fight with a sword, as did Ikaporamee. But both did not know how to use the force, and that would be Nerevar's goal, even tho he saw how the force reacted to the Tin man.

He would train with both of them today, and leave Alexus with the stun droids and battle droids to practise with his lightsabers. When he would return, he would work with Alexus some more with the force; but for now, he needed to catch up the rest of his students.

Alexus had managed to clean, and remove the fried components and jury-rigged temporary patches till the TM could fix/get the needed parts.

He then headed to the practice field to continue practicing.

Passing Alexus, Nerevar talked to him using telepathy instead of words, "Good morning Alexus. Please go to the training room, it was been reconstructed finally. All the droids and everything else you need are ready for you to continue your lessons. I will join you later today."

Alexus headed to the training room and continued his practice with the bots.

Walking into the room where he had left Ikaporamee and the Tin Man, Nerevar looked around, and saw only the one.

"Good morning, Tin Man, how are you today? And where is our rather adventurous friend?"

The cyborg started. He had--finally--slept soundly, and it was the sound of
Nerevar's voice that awakened him.

Finding the new breakers in place, he flowed the liquid metal of his prototype
suit back over them and started warming up main power again. Within ten
minutes, the suit would be back at full efficiency, and he could replace his
silver skin with the kind of visage that the main computer could produce.

He also played back what Nerevar had said so that he could respond to it.

Of course, this all took time, and the powerful Jedi was beginning to show
signs of impatience when his new student was finally able to answer.

"Ika--not sure where he went. Checking sensor replay...he left the room
early this morning. Probably still on the grounds. I had asked his opinion on
how to shore up the defenses. We need to speak about him. His world
view is very different from yours and mine, and we need to find better ways
to communicate with him or...I fear the worst.

"Speaking of defenses, any chance we can bring up that data core? If it's
working, we can get the motion sensors back online and find him anywhere
in or around the castle."

------------------------------

OOC: Ika's having a tough time, but none of the other characters realize it.
Part of this is that no one is sharing info on the sith. He was really *quite*
powerful, and would probably have been strong enough to take down any
member of the group except Nerevar.

Nerevar and TTM are going to have to pool their knowledge if he's ever to
be defeated. In particular, TTM needs to find some way to use the Force,
and Nerevar could do much worse than to supplement his already-
formidible powers with the use of the Silver Sword, which, used as a mirror,
reflects a lightsaber back against its wielder.

Ika needs less help than he thinks--but he's going to have to give up the
presuppositions that he holds most dear. Only TTM has spoken with him
at enough length to understand this.

OOC: My best guess is that The Twitter would turn into a swarm of
ambush bats and feed on one or more of the students of the academy,
eventually killing them in the process. Wonderful way to die, being
digested alive... :) :) :) ...still, a sith would see this it as the
prerogative of the strong to prey upon the weak.

The only reason why he'd wait to get to the academy, anyway, is because,
with the cooperation of the other sith in the academy, he could prevent
whatever passes for the police of that city from coming after him. He may
not wish to be that discreet. He might just figure that he's untracable.
In that case, there are going to be a couple of chewed up bodies in that
town...

Regardless of who gets the ol' bite put on 'em, Nerevar would be able to
feel it...and it wouldn't exactly be the best thing he'd ever felt.

Come to think of it, Alexus would probably be able to feel it, too.

Then again, would the sith have waited until morning?

(OOC: Well, I'm thinking nobody wants to get bit, so that idea could be out.)

IC:

"That boy needs to learn that this is a dangerous planet, and he should not travel away without proper knowledge of how to defend himself." replied Nerevar. "I would like to work with you, some training per say, before we go down to get the generators online. I will also try to locate Ikaporamee through the force, and call him back to the castle."

"In that case, I am entirely at your disposal," the cyborg said, rising from
his seat and issuing a curt bow.

OOC: I never suggested that any *player character* should be forced to
endure that treatment. OTOH, I'm open to any suggestions that anyone
else may want to contribute as to where to go from here!

"Excellent. Then the first thing we can do is go out and find Ikaporamee. Your sensors will be very helpful." reponded Nerevar, leading the way.

OOC: *coughturndarksideredemptionangrypeoplecough* I’m kicking around how far I want him to go down the dark path. He might go a little(ie manipulated without knowing) or embrace it fully(as in, tries killing the oracle). Last one is out of the picture, but the general idea of it being unredeemable is what I mean. It would be interesting to have him come back….angrier…But his eternal loyalty to TTM would crimp anybody using him as a pawn, or he might get confused and VERY angry if someone manages to convince him that TTM isn’t an oracle of the forerunners(I’d rather not though, it is funny and incredibly useful in writing). Maybe something bad lands on the planet, so, time to hunt it down before the sith poke it and wake it up/activate it. Or hersy is at every turn as people become more paranoid until people realize this is damaging them more so than any imaginary infiltrators. How about a strike team comes down(if Ika goes bad) and they decide to claim the temple and liberate the oracle? What about the crypts? Angry thing could get poked by the twitter. Or maybe a flood temple? Etc, etc, etc….

IC: Even the smell of the swamp could not hide its foul scent. The murky water didn’t even part for this beast, it silently moved through, his own scent having become one with this planets as he feasted upon its children, slept on its dirt, and swam in its water. This made the environment all the more natural to and for him, which makes stalking easier. Those damned bat things had been sighted a dozen times at least, each time he hide, each time he was not spotted. He was tempted to call down his fellow brethren, but that would be a sign of weakness and the hunt would not be as pure…

The trail had led him through mountains, plains, and this swamp, he was only a day of running away, but walking to be stealthy turned it even longer. Only his sangheili anatomy and iron will allowed him this far this quickly. He could taste his preys flesh like he could feel the will of the prophets guiding him…

Transferring power to his sensors, the newfound student followed his
teacher with a mechanistic gate.

OOC: Is Ika a human or is he a Covennant Elite?

(OOC: I'm pretty sure he's a Covenant Elite.)

IC:

Coming to the swamp, Nerevar looked around.

"Do you see him?" he asked.

OOC: Why sangheili(which is covie for elite) of course, we can barely tolerate most sharquoi(humans) foreigners. As in, I don't RP using them as allys(unless its a situation like this)

IC: Ika pressed on. Predatorily amphibians paid him no heed as he reached the other side of the swamp, entering a rocky area constantly stricken by storms, dimming the light to near shadows. And nighttime was creeping over the edge of the horizon, its red glare giving off a bleeding look. The setting of a bloody sun means death is dealt to or by the sons of the covenant, and I intend to make it dealt by…

A few pebbles scattered down one cliff side. He froze on the ground, his skin already covered by dirt and stone. Ambush…

A few pebbles scattered down one cliff side. He froze on the ground, his skin already covered by dirt and stone. Ambush…

He slowly pulled and armed a plasma grenade, fully knowing that this is where his foe was hiding. The rising whine of the grenade however was his undoing.

Rocks exploded from the inside as an ambush bat came from underneath…only to receive the burning of the plasma and the sweet release of the explosive. Several more swarmed out and were dive bombing him. His plasma rifle fired until overheating, dropping at least a fourth of them coming at him.

“I shall grind them into dust, and scrape them as excrement from my boots.” The popular canto was said with the sound of indoctrination and casualty as he stomped, kicked, punched and bite at several of the ambushers. But a lucky blow was landed as one latched onto his leg.

It gave out underneath him, his force crushing the attacker, but opening him up to others as they swarmed. He grinned the smile that foretold of doom as he activated a special particle shielding, and then charged a plasma grenade, and held onto it. The bats tried fleeing, but they were caught in the explosion…

The flash of light left Ika seeing a massive blob of light, which seemed absorbed by the dark figure in front of him…

Nerevar suddenly stumbled a bit, almost falling over as he grabbed his head.

The Tin Man looked at him, "What is it? Need some asprin?"

Nerevar had an expression of pain on his face, but this passed shortly after, and he regained his composure.

"I felt something, as if hundreds of people screaming out in pain at the cause of one individual. I fear who it is. Come, we must hurry, I know where Ikaporamee is." he said as he took of running.

He made a jump over the majority of the pond, grabbing a vine and swinging to the other side. Landing on his feet, he drew his lightsaber; the white light from the blade starting to illuminate the darkness of the area. And there it was, the figure, black as night, standing, looking over at Ikaporamee.

Nerevar was unable to make out the creature, but sensed that it meant harm. But from what the Tin Man had told him, and of what he could sense from reading Ikaporamees mind, Nerevar turned off his lightsaber and hid behind a tree, signalling to the Tin Man to hide and be quiet.

From what he knew, the Elite had been shamed when he could not handle the swarm back at the Castle, and if he could not defend himself again, then he would be so frustrated and angry, that it might lead him down the path of evil. So Nerevar stood, hidding behind the tree, simply watching the creature as it observed Ikaporamee.

OOC:

Something to think about here. I've noted that TTM's blood has healing
properties. I don't know if I've pointed out that a large enough infusion
can heal life-threatening injuries...and drive the recipient temporarily
crazy.

Seems to me that this is the perfect way to turn Ika: have him so badly
beat up that TTM infuses him to keep him from dieing.

And it blows his mind. :) :) :)

...and Nerevar might even recall legends about a fiendish cyborg monster
that sucks the blood out of its victims. (This is a sith lie that was used
in the past to isolate TTM from the people who can best help him. If he
really had tried to draw blood into his system, it would've probably
killed him.)

The Holy One has TGM'ed me with the suggestion that TTM should learn
to use the force "on the anvil of battle." I had something similar in mind.
In my case, though, it involved TTM being driven into the sublevels of the
castle and contending with the things that dwell there in addition to the
sith who are after him. For this to work, though, he'll need some help
from his old friends. Specifically, Nerevar should get ready for a visit from
Theodore Jenghis and his wife, Miriam.

I like what's going on with Ika right now. I was about to suggest that
his turning be orchestrated by THE MASTER SITH, whom we have yet to
design. Looks like that may be happening. We might still be dealing with
The Twitter here, but it might be TMS. Might be the two of 'em working
together. Certainly wasn't The Twitter who hit Ika--his licanthropic
powers disappear during the daylight hours (he's a vampire, remember?)
So...who knows?

At his master's bidding, the Tin Man hung back.

This did not stop him from bringing all his battle systems (EXCEPT the
shields) to the ready, and from activating his personal cloak. He knew
that no sith worth the grit between its joints would fail to notice Nerevar's
aura, but, by virtue of his anti-force nature, he could make himself truly
invisible. It would make for a proper observation.

Now, it was Ikaporamee's turn to prove himself in battle. The being's
confidence would depend on it. To this one, the Way of the Warrior
was everything. Before he could be taught that it would take more
than war to make a warrior, he would have to know that he could
contribute to the battles he took part in.

The Tin Man was going to have a short time to himself. During that time,
he hauled out the fragment of the Imperial Database that he had managed
to load into his main computer and started a search for anything that
matched the following terms:

Forerunner Flood Disease

...and he began to learn.

OOC: Okay, so, how far should he stray? I think maybe enough to make him think it helps, but not far enough that he can’t come back. As for breaking mind, I think I want it to be more of a show that ANYONE can be corrupted. I know what I want it to be…

IC: “So you have come to meet my blade? Why did you end the fun for me?” his English was deep and guttural. His anticipation was suckered punch by the reply.

The gibberish spewing from the figure seemed un-understanable…until he realized it was covenant high language.

“You have simply been led Ikaporamee. You failed the hierarchs, this is not your correct location, you missed it by a damn chain of mountains, I have been sent down here to find you, and determine your purity”

The figure discarded its robes, revealing its muscular sangheili frame. His armor was black, with the deaths head symbol on its right shoulder…the symbol of Rolamee’s commandos.

“Try to land a blow, if you can….”

The new comer spread his arms out in a cross like pattern.

Ikaporamee had already seen the two plasma blades on his wrists, a strike at the center would lose him his arm most likely. A strike at the arm would leave him open….so why not lighten up the situation. He raised and was priming the grenade as the commandos eyes widened. The air flashed with the blue light of plasma weaponry as two katar like blades formed on the commandos hand. He grenade flew true and stuck to the top of its helmet, but it was not meant as the helmet slid off before melting. The energy blades were closing down on Ika’s throat as he parried them with a circular blade motion.

The grenade exploded and threw both combatants further up the hill. Ikaporamee was already on his feat in a crouched position, his energy blade extended in front of him. The commando landed on all fours a few yards higher. He kicked a bunch of rocks at Ika. They didn’t harm him, but it unbalanced him as the rocks started giving way…

Shit.

He sprang from the rocks into a tree, miscalculated and smashed his head into a branch. The pain clouded his vision, but he could easily hold it at bay.

“What of the oracle at this…"wrong” temple? Should it be our first priority?” Ikaporamee's voice muddled by the blow dealt to him.

They were slowly circling each other now, each wary of the others weapons.

“You dare question the hierarchs orders? What have you been doing at this temple? As for the oracle, the others shall retrieve it.” The other elites voice filled with anger at his near heresy.

“I do not question them, I merely suggest w…”

“Do not think for a moment you are even worthy of that honor, you are forever shadowed by Rolamee’s accomplishments and are looked down upon. Suggest again, and you shall be declared a heretic.” The last part was cold and informative sounding, as if this was a standard procedure.

The elite seemed to glance where the tin man and nerevar were hiding, but didn’t stray too long.

“Hurry, you haven’t much time, if you dawdle to long, the prophets shall think you’ve fled and must be killed.”

“Then get out of my way, and I am on a mission given by the oracle himself. There is a heretic I am trailing.” Ikaporamee had run out of patience, every second stalled was more time that his prey fled.

“Ikaporamee, that would make a difference, but the hierarchs have not seen this oracle, and your recent actions have cast doubt upon you. But go now, there shall be a sharquoi waiting for you, but this rodent is different than the others….more bestial….”

Ikaporamee was already heading out and aound the rocks, when he just realized, “What of the ambush bats? Why were they here?”

“A mere distraction by the temple’s guardians, now GO”

And so he set off, stealth no longer needed, now that the hunt had been denied.

The other elite melted into the shadows and was lost from sight, wether natural or otherwise...

OOC: I decided to throw in something unexpected, but the other "temple" is a forerunner temple repurposed for some sith/chaos...

Noticing that both of them had dissapeared, Nerevar got up from behind the tree.

"Tin Man," he called, "Quickly, we must go. And keep your mind open on the way, disregard your censors and use your eyes; more so, don't use them. Feel the surroundings, but hurry, I will instruct you more on the way."

The Tin Man crossed the pond and caught up to Nerevar, "Why are you in such a hurry, Master?"

Starting to run as his student had caught up to him, Nerevar replied, "I've felt something. As if......" He didn't finish his sentence, but merely picked up his pace to make it up the hill and regain sight of Ikaporamee.

(OOC: I was thinking that Ika chases the Sith the old Forerunner temple/sith temple, and there he starts to get corrupted. Meanwhile Nerevar and TTM arrive there and have to deal with some sith warriors before being able to continue on to meet Ika. But Ika, being corrupted, chooses to stay at the sith temple and starts to go against us. So naturally, Nerevar and TTM go back to the Castle of Moon, meet up with Alexus and go down into the lower levels so that we can prepare for an inevitable sith attack.)

Alexus continued to deflect the beams from the auto-turrets, having set the room at maximum difficulty. It was a whirling chaos as blades and beams appeared to be everywhere. If someone opened the door, they'd be hit before they could blink, unless they were absolute masters.

"Not to worry. I don't HAVE eyes," the Tin Man replied. It was the first
time in days that he had felt good enough to use anything that resembled
humor.

And then the pain began to pound on his nervous system again. Though
it was distant this time, it was a familiar pain, one that had recently
gone through his sensors.

"Use caution, master," he advised. "There is a cloaked elite ahead of us. It is
probable that Ikaporamee has found something that will bring out his violent
side. I'll be slightly ahead of you."

With that, he increased the power to his own cloak and took to the air. It
was a calculated risk that the cloak could drown out enough of his maglevs
to prevent him from being detected, but it gave him greater speed. His
sensors didn't work as well, though, when the cloak was at that level.

IC: The commando stepped out in a small clearing between the mounds of rock, blicking Ikaporamee’s path from Nerevar, and in a minute way, Tin man’s(he can just fly overhead). The stench of death and shadow swirled around him, as if unwilling to release him, his bestial growl reflected in his words, “Turn back now, the holy warrior has been sent on his duty, and that does not involve you…” His face darted where TTM was, “Or you. Sharquoi and whatever you are, either pull back or meet death, it matters not to me either way” His energy blades were already out in a defensive stance…

Ikaporamee was bull charging a cliff face about ten or so meters high. Seconds before hitting it, he lept up and smashed his hands into the rock. The wall yielded little trouble. On top was another specops pod….with a ghost(vehicle in case ya don’t know) next to it…

At the temple:

Ten fireballs raced down from the sky and crushed the dirt in front of the outer gate. Inside each a sangheili in black armor with the death’s head on their right shoulders came out, grabbing weapons and supplies. Less than thirty seconds into the operation, they were already breaching(well, walking in) the gate…

OOC: Decided to give Alexus something to do. The ghost is to give a chance for Ika to get far enough ahead for da corruption.

Unless an alarm had gone off, Alexus was oblivious to any external distractions as he dance the dance of light and death.

(OOC: Tisk tisk, didn't teach Alexus good enough for him to sense things around him yet.)

IC:

Nerevar stopped and looked at the Elite, "Stand down. Ikaporamee is a student of the Order of Moon and Star, and I am his teacher. If I do not reach him in time, he may become corrupted and turn to the dark side."

The elite replied, "No, he takes orders from the Prophets and the Prophets alone. He has been given a mission and must complete it or be deemed a heretic; and I will keep you from him"

Raising his arm into the air, pointing at a vien in a tree, Nerevar started concentrating, "I haven't got time for this."

The vien came down, and rapped itself around the Elite, suspending him in the air. Nerevar then continued on his path, telling TTM through telepathy to join him and pay no attention to the cloaked elite.

Seeing that it had been of no use, the cyborg dropped his cloak. He had
done some redecorating.

What emerged from the cloak appeared to be a sangheili, dressed not in
armor but rather a dark cloak, the cloak of a Jedi. On his right shoulder,
where the death's head marked the commando, was a crescent moon with
three stars around it, the sign of the order.

That it was a good six feet off the ground, and stayed there, only furthered
the strangeness of the vision.

Though they were longer, it had two arms. Though it was bird-hipped, it
had two legs. The Tin Man was capable of adapting his form, and the metal
endoskelleton within it, to the appearance of an elite.

The sangheili in the air took one look at him and nearly went berzerk.

"Must you all be so childishly incapable of controlling your tempers?"
he asked as he hovered by.

And then, shortly after he released his cloak, something registered metallic
on his long-range sensors. Checking in that direction, he noted several ion
trails--in the slight breeze, they had decayed too much for the Tin Man to
get a precise count--that led to a point near the gates of the Castle of
Night. The composition wasn't sith, so that left only one realistic
possibility: the sengheili had sent some sort of expeditionary force to
the castle.

"Nerevar," he said, "can you warn Alexus that he might have a sparring
partner or two to help him train today? A big, brawny sparring partner...?"

To a great extent, this was the Tin Man's fault. He had allowed Ikaporamee
to delude himself into believing that he was a fledgling Oracle of the
Forrunners--which he now understood to be a far less wise race than he
had originally supposed. He had not denied the lie with sufficient vigure,
and, now, everyone was paying the price. There had never been time to
ensure that the Tin Man's friend knew the truth--and now it had come out
that the supersoldier had not even been sent to the order after all.

That meant that Nerevar was attempting to retrieve a student whom he,
in all truth, had no claim over. And, given the option of negotiating with a
representative of those who did, he had, from a certain point of view,
acted arrogantly. Certainly, the sangheili whom he had incapacitated
would not react well to being...overruled. He hadn't even stopped to
explain to the creature that Ikaporamee's moment of emotional crisis
would soon be over and that, if all went well, he could be returned to
his people once the crisis had passed--if that was what he intended. This
could cause some problems.

Arrogance on both sides--certainly, it was an arrogant act for the
sangheili to attack the castle--had dimmed the prospects of peace.

OOC: dun dun dun, what if Ikaporamee did land where he was supposed to, what if the prophets are pursuing their enigmatic agenda. DUN DUN DUN! Sorry, I can’t resist.

Stench, that is the flaw with elites, they have a hard time controlling their anger.

IC: The commando, while restrained, was not defeated. Through gritted teeth he managed a sentence, “Your presence…will not….be…tolerated.” His body was racked by ragged coughing and was followed by a spray of blood and gristle. The dark blood began leaking from his mouth and eyes, the power of death flowed through him long enough for him to rip his way out of the imprisoning tree. It rose, now quaking as the last of the power rushed through him, it lurched towards The tin man. “I said…your…prescence…will not…be tolerated…” His sentence was in conjuction with an extended hand, holding a primed SDLE. *beep beep beep* It was about to go off…

Temple:
Alexus felt the force differently, as if something dark approached (coughalarmcough)…

Outside, the commandos were advancing methodically towards a room where laser(well, blaster) fire was heard, their plasma weapons ready with their plasma daggers close…

Near Sith temple:
The flashing blue light of the map was reflected in the gravitic engines. Ikaporamee was angry and sad, a combination he was not used to. Idiot commandos, they’ll most likely kill the oracle and claim it was a heretic. He felt deep pangs of regret at having left the oracle…and even the sharquoi. He cared not to dwell on these thoughts and spoke aloud cantos dealing with regret.

Hs nostrils flared as he caught scents, similar to his prey. There will be a reckoning heretic, there will be a heretic.

This temple, looked similar in shape, but it ended there. The walls were daubed with blood in anarchic symbols, corpses of long ago and fresh were strung up. The soothing waterfall was replaced by the screams of those in pain. Much like the commandos cruisers….hmmmm.

And with that thought, he entered the darkness(literally though, figuratively is still coming)….

Alexus shut off the system, took cover on the back side of the door, and using the force reached out to see who was there.

ooc: When the door opens, He'll be hidden by the door.

A tall cloaked figure entered the halls of Castle Night. Withdrawing her hood, she was revealed not to be a tall human, but a short Zabrak. Her traditional face tatoos were lavender over her forest green skin, and her clothes were worn from travel. Her head was shaved of course, the usual unique pattern of horns encircled her head. A faint scar, perhaps from a burn, was visible when the cloak slipped from her slender shoulders, and her youthful face could be considered attractive among her own race. She then spoke.
"I seek the head of your order. If enough information is given to please me, and it is worth my time, I shall consider joining. I may be unweildy with a lightsaber or gun, but with the Force I have little competition. Come out and meet with me, or I shall contest the skills of your pathetic gaurds."

OOC: Yay! Another person. But two forks….who are you talking to, and where are you?(are you in jedi, or sith) I’m assuming jedi, but that place is in a state of…emergency…

IC: The tallest sangheili with a sword halted with a grunting noise, his hand motioned to stop. He gave out another grunt and flapped his hand at the door. The message was obvious, motion…

Two others with carbines went wide in attempt to draw an angle seeing inside while the tallest one was speaking.

“Heat signature, shar…er human. Step out and we shall not fire, we seek something else not death currently….”

OOC: After watching day at the beach, I decided to make two languages, covenant high, which is used for actual talking, or complicated orders, and covenant combat, which is growls, barks and grunts in addition to motion.

"And I should trust you why?" Alexus asked as he waited.

The Tin Man could not only perceive the grenade, but, through the his
enhanced senses, he could percieve the individual components inside of it.
With barely a thought, he targetted the detonator and, with a single
pinpoint shot of his left plasma cannon, melted it. The grenade was useless.
The sangheili commando would have to find another way to satisfy its lust
for blood.

There was no time to speak with it anymore. Ikaporamee had found
somekind of vehicle and left the area. It was imperative that he be
followed and quickly. The Tin Man dropped his sangheili form and
assumed a teardrop shape that brought his air drag down to a minimum.
Then he started to move...to Nerevar.

"Time we got a move on, master," he said, picking the Jedi up off the ground.
"Your powers are spectacular, but we can move faster if I carry you."

And then they left the commando behind and took to the air. In a moment,
they had left the familiar confines of the Castle of Night behind and found
themselves closing in on another temple, this one on a ridge a little under
seven miles (about 10 kilometers) from the point where they had originally
stood. The Tin Man formed a compartment that Nerevar could lie in
with a clear patch that allowed the Jedi to see where he was going.

The Tin Man set down a goodly distance from the temple, though. He
had detected seven other commandos guarding it, and they were obviously
on alert. Perhaps they had been in contact with the commando near
the castle.

OOC: forgive me for not knowing how the temple is set up, and if I've gone
a step too far--you see, I don't know if our friend The Holy one has
allowed his character to arrive there yet or not.

BTW, forked one, I hope your character appreciates a good scrum.
There's a pack sangheili commandos heading straight for her and Alexus
as they attempt to neutralize the Castle of Night. These guys are big,
strong and fast, and they have a rudimentary grasp of how to use the
Force. There's also a sith apprentice out there who may or may not
show up at any time. Good luck.

OOC: This temple isn’t built into a rock, but surrounded by one. It is about a football field length both ways. The entrance area is much like the entrance to a crypt, it’s big enough to fit in an M1 Abrams through. There is a corridor leading inside, where there is aourtyard. In the opposite side of the gate, is a smaller looking almost ziggurat like temple. Along each rock wall is an open walk way(well, open to the courtyard) In each walk way, there are tunnels going below every 50 yards or so. Temple seems abandoned, but those with force/sixth sense would know it isn’t. Traffic is probably only the commandos, Ika, and TTM + Nerevar if they come in.

IC: They had already driven off and didn’t notice, but the commando they left behind was dead, rapidly decomposing from some inward force.(no, not the force)

Temple:
“Our infiltrators would have already shot you or we would be firing, now, tell us where the oracle is, let us retrieve it, and we shall leave immediately.” Alexus could almost hear its patience wearing as he noticed the glinting of armor on five milky colored sangheili, four had carbines, but one had a nasty looking long barreled weapon, on it was a visible scope he was peering through…

Sith temple: The commandos paid little apparent heed to the two new arrivals, whether triggering an ambush, or simply not expecting anything, they did not act…

Ikaporamee was traveling through the courtyard. Night had come and was in full swing, not even the moon shown through the clouds. His low light vision spotting the dried up well. More grisly trophies, the commandos stalking into positions in the corridors surrounding the courtyard…when he heard a whisper…

Greetings follower of the true path. You have come to our site of worship, then blessed you be along with your brethren.

Is this the voice of the oracle here? Or is it the forerunners? Ikaporamee was excited, but doubtful, until the soothing voice spoke.

I am but an oracle in service to the high ones. Do you wish to seek the great journey, if you listen to me, I will tell you how to attain it, but you must follow my instructions absolutely.

This was nearly incomprehensible, here, the leader of the infiltrators, soon to discover how to begin the great journey. Perhaps it was better to have left after all.
I follow to my dying breath...

Somewhere inside the temple, a smile grew at the gaining of this new tool…

OOC: Just wait until he finds out it’s a sith lord. “DIE HERETIC!” *eats sith*

Ooc: Bump.

"What in the name of hell is an oracle?" Alexus replied

ooc: He can't see them and they couldn't see him, even if they'd opened the door

OOC: Oh, sorry, thought you could get an angle on him where he was, sorry.

IC:
Temple:
“Hell indeed awaits you if this isn’t resolved the way we want. Who, was Ikaporamee following or listening to while he was here?.”

The ten commandos were ten feet away from the door, slowly advancing. Fingers on the triggers, but they weren’t applying pressure, death might not be needed…

Sith:
The whisper was a very wise oracle indeed. It told him of what happened to the rest of the covenant, it told him of Halo, and it told him of how he was under the sway of heretics at the Castle of Night(that’s what the temple is called right?), and how he must take up the blade of the forerunners and slay them.

The pedestal was lighted by an unearthly glow, seeming to come from the weapon itself. The light saber, if it was viewed by expert eyes, someone could tell that runes had been carved into it very recently, and they were done in such a way to appear old like the light saber.

Ikaporamee seen the forerunner runes, his breath drew in. He didn’t understand them, but these were only found once or twice in their search for the ark. Clearly this must be a mighty weapon.

Now, take up the blade, and use its power on the heretics that followed you…

His fingers curled around the pommel, sickness washed over him in waves as he doubled over and expelled a dark fluid that looked like blood.

It is purging you of weakness…

Just as swiftly as the sickness came, vitality and power came. He felt more stronger than ever, as if he was able bear the weight of the covenant himself. He might have heard a soft scream as his soul was consumed by the weapon, but he paid no heed to it. His eyes alight with same glow from the weapon, he marched to the gate, in powerful, confident strides…

Outside Sith place:
The commandos all of sudden snapped to attention, as if someone slapped them all with a towel. Each emitted an animalistic like growl towards the currently unoccupied gate and scampered up the rock face, utilizing their strength…

"He was following the dude in charge of this academy." Alexus replied, "Don't know who Ikaporamee is thought."

"He was following the dude in charge of this academy." Alexus replied, "Don't know who Ikaporamee is thought."
OOC: Being unspecific are we? :) + >(

IC: An audible sigh came from the commando, as he chucked a small device, it began whirring and made a hologram of Ikaporamee, it cast the projection into the room so alexus could see it. "This san...elite, this being, have you seen him!? And where is this "leader" now?"

A few of the commandos seemed twitchy, almost as if an energy rush was getting stronger. If answers they wanted weren't yielded soon, they would be able to release their burden temporarily...

OOC: *shakes fist at Theo* Damn you and your lack of who he is :P

"Ya I've seen him, that is to say I saw him." Alexus replied, "As to where the boss is," He looks around, "Well he's not here, and I've been here most of the day so I can't say."

OOC: BUMP

IC: Finally, we're getting somewhere…“Do you at least know where Ikaporamee is? We must find him quickly.”

"Since he's not here, I have no idea where he is." Alexus replied

OOC: Waiting for Taledonia/Stenchy reply....
Sorry Theo...

OOC: You still accepting more players? If so I'd love to give it a try.

OOC: I'm sure its okay. If not...oops...

The situation is that a green chick/force user is at the temple(most likely the gate) Inside in a hall way are ten elites and alexus in a mexican stand off, on the roof opposite is a team of five elites.

Elites as in from Halo...

IC: He turned back at the other commandos gave a few short barks while pointing at various sections. The sangheili scuttled away, while two remained aloof near the door where Alexus was hiding...

Alexus could feel the 'whatevers' now that he was trying and not distracted. Using the force, he reached out and, using the mental basis of a computer, attempted to 'gain' control of one of the two guards outside his room.

OOC:

I think it should be Tal who makes the next post in the Sith/Sangheili temple.
His character, as leader, is the one who should be deciding what to do.

If any new people want to join, *I* certainly won't turn 'em away--but
this it Taledonia's sim and Tal has the final word on that.

LIKE, TAL...

BUMP

OOC: It appears that Tal has dropped out. So...

IC:

The two Jedi looked at each other.

"These guys look pathetic," said the Tin Man.

"Be careful," Nerevar replied. "I feel a strange disturbance
in the force. There's a powerful sith somewhere in this temple."

"Then you get the sith and I'll get the sentries."

"Are you sure? There are ten of them."

"Twelve."

"You'll need my--."

"Nerevar, let him go," said a woman's voice.

Nerevar looked around, but couldn't see anything. At last, he
sensed the aura of a being who had returned from the nether
regions of the Force. Time seemed to dialate as the aura drew
nearer.

"I am Miriam," the voice said, "beloved of Theodore."

"And I am Theodore," said another voice, with a soft accent.

"In life," the woman's voice continued, "the Tin Man was our
teacher. Now, we wish to return the favor."

Nerevar looked quickly at the woman's glowing aura.

"Do not acknowledge me. It is important that your student not
know of our presence here. Just understand: this is something
that our friend must do alone. None of us can help him with
this."

The other voice--Theodore, he called himself--chimed in.

"Today, he will be tested three times. Only if he passes the
first two challenges shall he be able to attempt the third,
and therein shall an important choice be made. If you wish
for your student ever to understand the Force, you must let
him work through the challenges."

"Go now," Miriam resumed. "The sith you seek is on the
third underground level."

And with that, the auras disappeared and things seemed to
snap back to normal.

"You think so?" the Tin Man said. "I've been doing this for
a long time."

"Alright," Nerevar said. "You get the sentries and I'll get
the sith. But be careful. I'm going to be keeping a third
eye out for you." They both smiled. "Now, I need a distraction."

"Thought you'd never ask."

He didn't move a single part of his body. He just activated
his antigravs and shot straight to the nearest Sangheili.
So fast that his arms became a blur, he struck the creature
once, twice--Nerevar couldn't count it, he moved so fast.
When he was done, the Sangheili toppled over, unconscious.

The Tin Man just stood there and roared. As he did, he held
up his arms. A light saber extended from his left hand and
a silver sword from his right.

The other eleven began to converge--two on Nerevar and nine
on the Tin Man. It was a small matter for Nerevar to throw
his pursuers into the nearest wall and head for the nearest
door. The others paid him no heed as they continued their
trek. One tried to pitch a grenade of somekind at the Tin
Man, but a shoulder-mounted blaster that had popped up
detonated it harmlessly in mid air.

The Tin Man just stood and waited for the first one to get
to him.

As Nerevar left the chamber, he noted that the Tin Man had
just spun on an advancing Sangheili and taken out his back
leg with a wedge kick. He heard another flurry of blows
as he moved down the hall, and the buzz of the Tin Man's
antigravs as he moved on to another target. He noticed
then that, though the Tin Man had attacked several of
the Sangheili, he hadn't actually killed any of them.

--------------------------------------

OOC: The stage is now set for Ika's arrival.

Since I seem to be the one picking up the mantle here,
let me extend my warmest invitations to Two Forks and
Santaria Orion. You're welcome to join if you wish.

OOC: And soon, the energy is activated. Once you see the elites bleeding(excessively), the *mumble mumble* is working, the elites do not radiate, nor conduct the force, it just flows around them. And why isn’t he killing them? Don’t explain OOC, it’d be interesting to find out…

IC: The sangheili regrouped into the circle, snarling like dogs. Their eyes had a glimmer of a deep hunger….but for what? Their growls evolved into gurgling as a frothy blue substance was coming from their mouths. TTM had seen this before, the earlier commando. They let out a howl which sent large sprays of blood all over everyone involved, and they unsheathed their wrist blades(think AVP blades). The one to TTM’s back stabbed towards his neck. And, he’s supposed to turn, when that happens, the others would go for him in vital locations…

Which should have happened, had not the stabbing commando lost a vital body part. The warm navy blue glow of a light saber was atop his neck as the body slumped. The others whirled, but three were cut down before they could bring their blades to bear. A head sized rock ripped out of the ground and took one’s head with it. The wrist blade darted out, as if with a life of its one, into and through another’s two hearts. Massive rocks came out and crushed those that remained like insects below a foot and on the ground. When the rocks slide back, they left beautiful Roche design on them of their blood. The light saber whistled through the air and back into the hands of Ikaporamee.

“YOU! You lead me astray, denied me my mission set by the hierarchs, you are the heretic, not that “twitter”. The oracle here has shown me the error of my ways and set me down the true path. For the salvation of the covenant, you, false-oracle, and that damned sharquoi must die. But even though you be a heretical oracle, I cannot kill you, but I will gladly silence you…”

Temple:
The sangheili’s will was iron, and would not be swayed, he however did leave for fresh air to get rid of a headache…