NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This was a little project Abh and I were discussing for a bit. Ties in with the overall New Sith Order search for holocrons, and something I was thinking about RPing for a bit. Relax, and enjoy. Split into 2 parts for length.

IC;

People's Acolytes Grand National Temple, Tovarichiigrad, Mars, SSR

Mars. The "Second Planet," as Dornalians called it, was relatively calm. Having been terraformed, it now resembled a Second Earth indeed, in terms of land and climate.

Tovarichiigrad was smackdab in the center of it all. Center of Martian politics, it was ruled by Governor O'Donnell, a Canadian with a decidedly leftleaning and fun hating sense of how to govern a State Socialist Representative. Nonetheless, he let one group go. The People's Acolytes. After all, not even his vaunted "Clean Up Mars" movement could deal with THOSE guys. Then again, they were nice guys, so why hurt them?

And it is to our attention we now focus on the People's Acolytes. A not-so-small, not-so-motley group of Communist Jedi plying their trade, teaching their teachings, making holocrons and even fielding their own militia to the consternation of some pundits. And it was in the Grand National Temple that their politicking, complete with adherence to Robert's Rules of Order, was done.

Now, to the Grand National Temple. We now see a rather busy meeting of the Senseis' Council. And one that is getting acrimonious.

"Death to the traitors! Fie upon those who would recognize the Running Dogs!"

"A Revolution is NOT a dinner party! Why should we compromise with the fascists!?"

"We should strive for unity and peace! Does it not say in the Code, 'I will also vow to commit myself to a regimen of spiritual training and continuous learning to cultivate my abiities, as well as instill self-discipline and self-control over myself?!' Does the New Sith Order not reject the violent solutions of the past, and see the truth of the Class Struggle, urging its members to do thus?"

"I agree. What have we to fear from a relatively small group? They pose no danger!"

"Then why the fuck are they named Sith!?"

"Stop fucking swearing!"

The shouting, jeering members of the Senseis' Council ring out, with one half screaming for one thing and the other half screaming for another. A rather juvenile debate yes, but one that held some importance. For you see, dear reader, this is a debate over the recognition of Darth Atrox's little organization. The New Sith Order.

See, dear reader, the New Sith Order posed a quandary for the People's Acolytes. For some time now, people wondered if these gentlemen and ladies fit into the usual schema of Jedi vs. Sith. Good vs. Bad. Black Hats Vs. White Hats. And so on.

Some argued that ANY form of Sith was rather evil, and should be smote. After all, why should this group attempt to reform a system that was broken? It would be like someone trying to make a more humane Nazism, or a more humane Stalinism. It was impossible, and was bound to fail and fall into the old ways of aggression and "Imperialist running-dog" violence.

Others argued that when examined, their ideology wasn't evil, it was just, to use the old cliché, misunderstood. After all, from what was known of this Atrox character, he seemed....sensible. Rational. Even logical.

Now, this wasn't an argument that had neat sides. A large percentage of the PA sided with the pro-Recognition faction, which desired intellectual discourse and the opening of relations with the NSO. A large percentage belonged to the Irreconcilables, who felt that the NSO needed to be purged, and the sooner the better. And a large percentage was frankly on the fence.

It was thus, that Junko Tadanobu banged her gavel, and screamed, "ORDER! ORDER! SHUT UP!"

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

The people calmed down, and before long, Junko said into her mike, "People, please. We aren't getting anywhere with this. Everyday, we come in, and circl--"

The arguments came up, and then she banged her gavel, screaming, "This is Important! Anyway, as I was saying, circlejerking around this issue isn't going to cut it. And as much as I appreciate a healthy debate over matters of ideology and theology, this isn't one of them. So, one at a time, and without cusses or sexual-based insults, please deliver your speeches."

Pointing the gavel at one woman who raised her hand, Junko said, "The floor recognizes Jean Foster (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/Senor_Nb3/1240018825801.jpg), of the North American Central Committee of the National School, of the Temple of Victoria-Vancouver."

Foster promptly got up, and said, "My friends. I think the time has come for us to recognize that division will get us nowhere, and will get us nothing. While we sit and debate, the forces of opposition marshal to threaten us.

What do I refer to? Various organizations. Stupid rats in the People's Congress. Colonials who fear us because we have powers. Veritable Iagos in the media.

And....the New Sith Order. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, while we debate, the New Sith Order is working, using a strategy of sedition and conciliation, to win new members, and spread its brand of Force usage across the galaxy. The New Sith Order says its New and not violent, but what's a matter of semantics to appeal to the media? Frankly, I've seen their so-called 'more peaceful ideology,' and I think it's bullshit."

Shouts now erupted, and then she waved them down.

"It's not so much an ideology but a tar-paper shanty, housing at its heart what is in essence the traditional Sith quest to conquer the universe. They say, they want to know more. They say, they want to hurt the Children of Bane. Well, I say the former is a cover for infiltration, to exploit stupidity at the top and treason below. Knowledge likely means giving away our top military secrets and our Force powers, to give them what they want!

Point two--well, that's obvious two. It's a sham! Why would they hurt themselves? All Sith are the children of Bane. Cursed bastard lot of them. Why the hell would they commit suicide? It would be as logical as black-on-black crime, and just as harmful.

So, believe not in this so-called reform. We should be containing the Sith in all of its forms. Heed my words!"

Sitting down, Junko then asked, "Rebuttal?"

A mass of people began to get agitated, and one man got up to speak. Chin Tai Wong, the leader of the Qiangquan School of the People's Acolytes.

"I sense much fear and anger in you, Sensei Foster. Let me say first that I understand your fear. You are afraid of contamination, of compromising the mission our organization has embraced. You say we need to contain the Sith in all of their forms. You equate Bane's children with all Sith.

Let me reassure you of some facts."

The audience murmured. Unlike Foster, Chin was a respected statesman of the PA, and one known for ideological flexibility and sensibility. Usually, he had something good to say, and people listened accordingly.

"To be more precise, the Sith were a people that existed long before Bane came. So one could not say they were all Children of Bane. Additionally, you say we need to contain all Sith. Yet you predicate such an assumption on some faulty assumptions. Let elaborate what I mean here.

You say the NSO seeks to worm its way into our government and into our organization. Such a thing is impossible. They have but a few recorded members, New Dornalia has much in the way of paranoia, high security, and our organization is structured along a semi-Leninist model of party organization with a clear code of ethics and clear punishments for deviations. Translated, it means that they would have a hard time to infiltrate us if they intended harm. We would be able to, so the saying goes, 'sniff them out.'

You say that they are but a facade. That is a misreading of their ideology. I myself have studied what exists of Darth Atrox's works and deeds, and what could be retrieved. Suffice it to say, my analysis leads me to reject such an assumption on philosophical, ideological and empirical grounds. They seek to only obtain knowledge, nothing more, and indeed, no credible evidence exists of collaboration with other Sith forces. So that is wrong.

So, what is right? Well, I say we should establish contact with the NSO. I have always advocated that, and I have written on the need to do so. Regardless of whether they are good or evil, it behooves us to study them indepth, instead of panicking. Besides, we may even be able to guide them into productive directions.

So, consider my words. Thank you."

Junko then banged her gavel, and asked, "Well? What do you all think?" and then put it to a vote. The vote was clearly for Recognition--Master Chin's words somehow persuaded the audience of the necessity of such a thing.

Then, came something else.

Foster stood up, and screamed, "Lousy collaborator! You'll pay!" and then left, large numbers of Senseis leaving with her. Junko then twitched, and muttered, "Merda."

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

As this occurred, the Acolyte working the Circulation Desk at the Grand National Temple's Common Archives didn't make a sound, merely stamping books and scanning holocrons using a little scanner.

Here, in this Common Archive, holocrons from all three schools were stored. Be they classic holocrons from ages past, such as the trove discovered at Nirai Kanai, or the more recent thesis dissertations of many Senseis and philosophical treatises and how-to guides and such by the present generation for the present generation, all were available here for study and lending.

It even ran a flourishing C-Cart, flying holocrons from the Common Archives to various temples and senseis who needed to write their own works. All in all, a fairly bustling storehouse of Force-related knowledge.

But back to our secretary. Sensing a presence ahead, she looked up and said, in a nasally voice, "Can I help you?"

Charged with collecting every available piece of information on the Force as well as every organization that practiced its talents, Darth Twilight prowled the universe like a predator on the hunt. Her black Kython scimitar cut through the night of space like a razor blade. It was perhaps fitting that she flew a similar craft to Darth Maul as she was the closest Sith in the New Order to the original Sith of Bane.

Focused on the source of power and the ways the Force flowed through the universe, she was able to track down rare artifacts for the academy. But it didn't take her high Force sensitivity to know that there was well in placed school in New Dornalia. The Abh kept close tabs on those that were born with the gift and that even transpired to foreigners coming into the Empire. The People's Acolytes was a known entity to the Empire.

It only took a bit of concentrating for Twilight to focus in on a large source of the People's Acolyte and their stash of knowledge. The ship came around to Mars and asked permission for docking under the old pretense that she was a citizen of the Empire, knowing that would carry a bit of weight in Dornalia. She had no desire to draw the Empire into a galactic confrontation so while under the Empire's umbrella of influence, Twilight would have to walk softly. Though Twilight walking softly was like telling a hurricane not to blow so hard.

Finding her way through Mars, Twilight eventually made it to the Grand National Temple. Shrouded in black cloth from head to toe, Twilight walked through the hall with supreme confidence. She carried no weapon though her mere aura and strength with the Force was enough to set her off from the rest.

She spotted a secretary at a desk which appeared to be the center for knowledge processing and walked up to her. "Can I help you?"

Darth Twilight, stared back through the narrow slit created by the hood of her black cloak and face covering. "I need a copy of every holocron and Force teaching that you have on file in all of your temples, please."

There was something about Twilight that kept most folks away indeed. One girl said as she walked to the temple, "Look mommy! That lady's scary." The woman then took her away, going, "Don't look at her, honey....I think she can kill us by blinking."

Inside the Grand National Temple itself, it seemed likely, the others were too busy with their debate, and thus were too busy fixated on the Recognition War inside the Council chamber to worry about some "scary lady" in the halls. Though you can bet there were many that kept a wide berth, made uneasy by this newcomer. One man could be seen dropping a set of lattes as he ran off, screaming, "FUCK!"

The lady, however, was not to be so fazed by Twilight's Sith powers. Indeed, she seemed almost bored by the sight of it. Spitting out a large wad of gum into a trash bin, she then replied by looking at Twilight incredulously, saying, "That's gonna take a little while, ma'am. We have like, hundreds upon hundreds of holocrons here." Sipping noisily from a cup of cold coffee, she seemed the ever bored, unfulfilled bureaucrat, complete with musty pictures of family never called, women's magazines, half-eaten carrot cake and frumpy hair to match.

"So, you want like, a printout, or like, a database search, or what?" she said in a bored voice, leaning her head on her hands. "Well, lemme ask you this, ma'am. Didja bring a library card? I can't let you check out materials or even use our services without a card. And no, I won't even let the Grand Sensei use the library without her card."

She then apathetically put out a stack of papers and said, "I'm gonna need you to provide some ID and fill out these papers in triplicate, and provide ten bucks application fee." As she said the last sentence, the Surly Secretary pushed up her eyeglasses to emphasize her point. If there was one thing she wasn't apathetic about it was the letter of the law.

The woman then leaned back and opened up one of her women's magazines, looking at Twilight as if to say, "Well?"

Time mattered little to Darth Twilight since not only was she an adept Force User but also an Abh. Combined, they made the solution of a creature that could live virtually forever. A day, a year, a century, or a millenia mattered not at all to Jessyka. She would have what she came for no matter how long it would take.

"I would like a print out copy of your texts and I would like your holocrons copied. I have spare holocrons if that is an issue."

Twilight narrowed her eyes when the secretary began questioning her. She thought of sending a shock of lightning into the woman to make her hair stand on ends but the thought passed, albeit slowly. "No, I do not have a library card. I am citizen of the Empire and here on personal business."

Jessyka reached into the folds of her black cloak and produced an Imperail ID that showed the picture of what she once was. There was a smile on her face, a face that held happiness in it and retained its youthful beauty. Long straight blue hair fell past her shoulders as the young Abh had been so content with life long ago. It was a picture that Darth Twilight did not enjoy sharing with others but knew it was necessary here.

The Abh picked up the stack of paper work and stared at it. She raised a black gloved hand and use her powers in the Force to take a pen from the secretaries personal stash. "I would also like to speak with your Grand Sensei when she is available."

Perhaps surprisingly to some, Darth Twilight took a seat and quietly began filling out the necessary paper work.

The secretary grumbled, and said, "Alright." She then picked up the phone, and dialed Junko's number. Upon doing so, she then began to say, "Hi, Grand Sensei? This is Myrna. Yeah, some lady wants to see you. No, it's not your momma. Yes, I am sure it's not your mommy--look, will you just get down here?" Fumbling through her vest pocket, she frowned and said, "Hold on a minute."

She then hung up, and then noticed one of her pens was gone. Quickly scanning the ID card through the machine and not bothering to notice the cute face that was once the bearer of the ID before her unfortunate run in with Colonial authorities, Myrna didn't wait for the ID to clear before she used her own powers. Jess would find that the pen suddenly flew out of her hand, and into Myrna's pocket as Myrna proceeded to throw up a Force Wall. She then pointed to a grimy box that said "LOANERS--YOU LOSE IT, YOU OWE ME!" in red magic marker on a crudely taped piece of paper and coughed, saying only curtly, "There's a reason I have this, y'know."

Myrna then sat down and put her feet up. To add to the obnoxiousness of it all, Myrna even began to slurp from her coffee as she processed the ID. Emphasis on slurrrrrppppppppppp. Jess would be able to feel that this "Myrna" character was used to getting her way, and that this was her domain, with all the rights of rule that implied.

Darth Twilight narrowed her eyes at the secretary as the pen was snatched from her hand. She followed the stare of the secretary to the pen holder. Rising with a humph, Jessyka walked over and tore a pen from the stash. Sitting back down, the Abh Force User sat down and brooded while filling out the paper work.

The secretary would pay for such insolence. It would not be painful, but Twilight would cause a bit of embarrassment and it no one would be able to tell if it was her or not. First though, Twilight had to wait for the Grand Master to arrive.

"I just don't know, Chin.....I mean, Oh my God.....there's really been nothing this bad since the time someone accidentally made the halal meals with pork lard. I mean, Jesus....I'll never live that one down."

Chin put his hand on Junko's stunned and slightly overwhelmed shoulder as she facepalmed. Debates she was fine at, since she was a pretty good political operator and said just enough right things to get people to listen. But...this was that rare time when she couldn't keep control of the situation. And now, it looked like there was going to be something big.

Chin then said reassuringly, "It is alright. People like her--I could sense it--don't like to change. They cannot bear to see the future, and cannot bear to accept that perhaps times dictate a more pragmatic approach. She is very black and white. You know as well as I do, the world is not as such, though we are the good guys in the overall equation."

Junko shrugged and said, "Suppose you're right."

Chin then smiled and continued, saying, "Besides. She does not give you orders. You must decide for yourself. I have told you this many times."

Junko held up her hand and said, "I got it, pops. It's all on me. Now, I gotta run, Myrna's givin' me hell."

Chin nodded, and said, "Think about what I have said, and good luck."

Chin then went off in his own way, whistling. Since he became a recognized leader of a School, the Master was wont to give sage advice, learned through years of enrollment in the School of Hard Knocks. Surprisingly, a lot of it was accessible. Lord knows Junko accessed it a lot recently.

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

Junko then walked into the Library, and saw Jess fuming in the corner with her forms, and Myrna just sitting there with her noisy cold coffee and a magazine.

"Mornin', Myrna," Junko said nonchalantly.

Myrna looked up at Junko and said, "Mornin'." She then returned to her magazine, looking over an article titled, "How To Give Your Hubby That Special Snack."

Junko walked up to the desk and then used her index finger to pull down the magazine. Myrna then glared at Junko, as she said with a playful smile on her face, "So....what did you need me for?"

Myrna then rolled up her magazine, and put it to the side. Slurping her coffee again, Junko looked over at Jess and turned back to Myrna, saying, "I'm sensing some real anger over there. Are you, like, annoying the patrons again?"

Myrna replied simply, "Well, this 'patron' walked in and asked for the whole damn archive without a library card. Both what we got on file and what's on C-Cart and what's at all the Temples everywhere. Like I'm some kinda genie." As she said the last part, Myrna slurped her coffee again, and rolled her eyes.

"Lemme see her ID."

Myrna handed over the card, and Junko said, studying it, "Look Myrna...yeah....you ever hear of something called customer service? I mean, this is...no offense...the sixth complaint you've called me down for since the beginning of the month. Totally--you have got to develop some people skills."

"You ever hear of something called a raise?" was Myrna's only reply, tinged with sarcasm and a laugh.

"Well, aren't we a mercenary?" Junko replied.

Jessyka finally finished filling out the mound of paper that was handed to her. She rose quickly and returned the pen back to its carton before walking back to the desk. Darth Twilight handed the paper work back to the "lovely" secretary. She could sense a bit of power from the woman that was speaking with Myrna but let it go at that.

She was here for artifacts and information, not really to get to know the world. Producing a data card from a pocket within her cloak, she handed it over. "Charge the fee to my account and let's be on with our business. Will you grant me copies of the items that I have requested or is there more paperwork to fill out?"

Jessyka finally finished filling out the mound of paper that was handed to her. She rose quickly and returned the pen back to its carton before walking back to the desk. Darth Twilight handed the paper work back to the "lovely" secretary. She could sense a bit of power from the woman that was speaking with Myrna but let it go at that.

She was here for artifacts and information, not really to get to know the world. Producing a data card from a pocket within her cloak, she handed it over. "Charge the fee to my account and let's be on with our business. Will you grant me copies of the items that I have requested or is there more paperwork to fill out?"

Sighing, Myrna filed the forms into a bulging "To Process" shelf--clearly bloated with endless forms, be they tax forms, C-Cart Requests, etc.--and then printed out a new card for Jess. Almost throwing it to her, Myrna replied, "Here. You lose it, you owe five bucks for replacement fees. And when you do rent anything, return it in its original condition, or we'll have a problem."

Junko frowned, and Myrna suddenly brightened, going, "Right. I'll put in the search now." Entering the databanks, the sound of a printer could be heard whirring and spitting out pages.

"Okay. That's gonna be about ten cents a page....and there's gonna be about five thousand pages......and counting....yeah......." Slurping her coffee again as she did the math, Myrna sighed and said to Junko, loudly and obnoxiously so Jess could hear, "I hope you got money in the budget for new paper and toner this month. She's gonna cost us, oh, two thousand five hundred dollars in replacement cartridges and paper and processing."

Junko sighed and whipped out her credit card. "Look, take it out of my expense account, Myrna." She then muttered, "Pao-duro. The hell did you have to insist on bringing your old printer and copier here?"

Myrna replied, snarkily, "Yeah, no. You know the rules. I have a policy of no straw purchases."

"Well, what about that single dad with the kid? You let me pay for his processing fees!?" Junko replied, exasperated.

"He had a cute kid, and he was kinda cute. There's a difference," Myrna said, leaning back and slurping the coffee again, to the tune of the paper whirring. Then, the machine beeped, and Myrna got up to fix it. Crankily, she put in another ream of paper, slammed it, and the machine awoke once more.

-------------------
Meanwhile, Foster was out haranging her followers on the need to combat the New Sith Order. The usual claptrap. Then, she sniffed the air--a familiarly Dornalian gesture among their Force using population--and then narrowed her eyes.

"One of them's here! Comrades!" She pulled out her lightsaber and ignited it, and her followers did likewise, although more out of panic and lemminglike "me too" behavior than devotion. She then pointed to the door and said, "Follow me!"

Jessyka turned to meet the newest arrival. Through her senses, it seemed that this was the Grand Sensei that the annoying secretary had been calling. "Thank you for the help, but I can manage the finances myself."

Darth Twilight was doing her best to be polite throughout the situation but it was grating her skin to act so...unusual. "While this is being processed, I think I'll take a quick look around the grounds."

The Abh Force user looked at the secretary. "That is unless you are enjoying my company too much to let me go."

Myrna replied with a sarcastic smile, slurping her coffee again, "Well, hey. Someone needs to make sure her printouts are just to her fancy and foot the bill after. Go on, take a seat. There's some magazines."

She motioned for Jess to take her seat, and sure enough, on the table, were magazines of all sorts. Movie magazines, video game magazines, gun magazines, a few news magazines, the PA's own newsletter the People's Vanguard, a copy of the Martian Chronicle, Mars's main newspaper, and a variety of pamphlets and scattered papers, along with some children's books for those who brought toddlers.

Junko, meanwhile, sighed and said, "Myrna, what will I ever do with you?"

"You mean, what will you do without me?" the secretary asked, taking out Jess's forms and glancing at them, stamping them and throwing them into another pile of papers covered in red stamps and other assorted marks in Gregg's shorthand.

"I suppose you're right. If anyone can keep all these damn holocrons in order, it's you."

Myrna then tapped a jar marked, "Swear Jar." Sighing, Junko took out a dollar and put one in, "Can't give me a break."

"I ain't here to give nobody a break. I'm here to keep the holocrons in order and in good condition. That's all." Myrna made the observation as she returned to her stamping, which proved surprisingly fluid.

It was at that moment that the doors flew open, and Foster and her goons walked in. Holding her saber out, Foster screamed at Junko, "Revisionist collaborator! Where is the capitalist rat!?"

Junko turned around and sighed, pulling out her own lightsaber but not igniting it as she walked over to Foster. Angrily, she went, "Look, I'm in the middle of something right now. Can you at least say hello?"

"Don't start that stuff with me! I sense a Sith here! A filthy infiltrator!" Foster screamed at the top of her lungs. "And if I find her, she's going to feel the Wrath of the People!" Pointing the saber at Junko's throat, Junko then disappeared in a flash, reappearing behind Foster and delivering a sweep kick, sending the errant fanatic to the ground.

Junko then held out her own ignited saber, and then said, "Look, bitch. Nobody threatens me. No one. Now, turn off your saber, and maybe, I'll let you go. You don't do that, we'll have a problem. And I don't want Martian State Police to get involved."

Meanwhile, one of the goons looking around saw Jess, and said, "That's her!"

The others ignited their sabers, bathing the room in a red glow from the composite light of the blades. Junko, meanwhile, ignited her own sword--the result was a Mexican standoff.

Foster smiled and said, "See, kids! Our Grand Sensei is working with capitalist roaders! She's working with scum and infiltrationist elements! She's working with nasty filth, imperialist monsters, demons and devils! Those who work with the Sith should die by a thousand cuts! Those who would force us to accept evil should be given forced enemas! Those who..."

At this point, Junko was giggling. Foster then screamed, "Fucking rat!"

Junko then coughed and composed herself, saying, "Oh God...I haven't heard so much hyperbole in a while. Real cute." She then grew stern and said, "Now, go home. I don't think we want Myrna to open up again with the BAR."

Junko moved her sword back, and motioned to the door as Foster got up.

"Go on. Leave, take your goons, don't do this again. You do that, I won't file criminal charges, and we won't have to speak of this. Really, I'd rather not bring in the Vanguard units."

Foster then smiled, and said, "Your weakness will kill you!" swinging her saber at Junko. At that, Junko ducked and teleported outside of the mob and launched a cryokinetic blast at a charging goon, and as the mob rushed for Junko and Jess to cries of "Kill the roaders!" it was apparent that a melee would be underway real fast.

Naturally, this was all to Myrna's consternation, and she promptly began looking for that aforementioned Browning Automatic Rifle.

It looked like certain members of the People's Acolytes wanted to provide Jessyka with a bit of entertainment. She had had easier times acquiring artifacts in the past from people she expected more trouble from. Perhaps she was losing her focus by believing that the Dornalians would be the more willing to provide her with the information she requested.

None of that mattered now though. Darth Twilight quite calmly walked over to one of the waiting couhces and took a seat. If it had not been for the covering shrowd over her face, the on rushing Alcolytes would have seen a predatorial smile spread on her face. What fools to attack someone so blindly. They knew nothing of her or her powers. Well, the Sith Lord was only too happy to demonstrate how great the gap between her powers and theirs was.

The Sith no longer carried a lightsaber, seeing it more as a weakness than anything else. The Force was her extension, her power and it was all that she required aside from her martial arts training. With one hand, Darth Twilight sent a Force push wave into the throng of Alcoyltes with bone crushing force. Then on came the other hand with a storm of Force Lightning so powerful that it had once melted the hull of a Colonial Battlestar. Rage at the sight of humans fueled her strength and increased the power of each subsequent burst of the Force.

All the while, she remained sitting as she battled the Alcolytes away.

Of course, Jessyka's assessment was a bit off--perhaps her predjudices caused her to ignore the nuances of things, but Myrna had clearly given Junko a hard time. Myrna was Myrna, and not representative of New Dornalians in genera;. Ah well. Junko, as she ducked under a Rogue Acolyte's swipe and used Force Shock to disable his ability to have kids again, contemplated perhaps firing Myrna, but then recalled how the snotty secretary was the only librarian she could find that could effectively catalog the place without going insane. Still, she would probably put out a want ad after this. Wanted: Sane Librarian Who Won't Piss Off Patrons.

Her musings and asskickings--she delivered some high kicks and cut some hands off in the meantime--were then interrupted by a sight she then witnessed--hordes of men flying like ragdolls against the department-store artwork and flashes reflected off the wall. Ducking under a bubble of Force protection, she witnessed Jess unleash a hail of Force Lightning at increasing levels of violence, causing the lights to short out, random explosions to occur and the paint to melt, along with the panicked cries of the Rogues as they fell back, and one tried to absorb the energies, being rewarded with a massive head explosion by the sheer voltage. It was a good thing this was just the reception room, and the holocrons and papers in a hermetically sealed area.

Junko tried to throw in a few shots, but as far as she could tell, most were too panicked to care, wondering what to do until Jean harangued them back into place, covering her misguided flock as she fell back to the door. As this occurred, Junko felt the sheer rage that was flooding the room.

Goddamn! A gringa irritável indeed! she thought to herself. Irritable as hell, and going to tear down the place.... She then grew curious. What the hell made this lady so irritable? Just some damn punk kids making trouble, Junko was doing good at cutting them down...no need to tear up the infrastructure!

Naturally, those alive left after the flurry of blasts and the wave who were ambulatory decided to maybe wait a bit before attacking Jess again--after all, Jess was definetly formidable, and plenty of folks succumbed to her violent temper tantrum.

Instead, they all fell on Junko, with a scream from Jean of "NEVERMIND HER! KILL THE SOCIAL FASCIST RAT!" Junko sighed and immediately began teleporting and delivering high kicks to her assailants' heads, and in contrast to Jess's flash and rage, decided to take a more subtle, ruthless approach that likely didn't require the services of a crime scene cleaner.

Teleporting in and out of the crowd, they would soon be pelted from numerous sides by carbon copies of Junko that hit them with high kicks and various Martial Arts blows. However, Junko herself came in for the kill, slicing off limbs, breaking the bones not broken by Jess and even ensuring someone else wasn't going to have kids, thanks to a well-placed cryokinetic blast. All the while, she could be seen with a focused look and a swashbuckling grin on her face, clearly enjoying the rumble as it stood.

By the end of the whirlwind, most of them but Jean were down, writhing in pain and the two stared at one another, holding sabers in a sort of Japanese Standoff.

Myrna, meanwhile, had finally found a spare magazine for her BAR....however, the intense heat from the Force Lightning was warping the barrel, so she sighed as she changed it out....

OOC: Just because I couldn't resist- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJqqSsYEdpM

IC:

As the bodies hit the floor from her fury of Force lightning, laughter started to rise above the screaming and the noise. It rose in tempo and eventually turned into the laughter of a maniac as Twilight was now fully enthralled with the battle and enjoying every bit of pain she caused on others.

Once the Acolytes finally retreated from her, it was then that Jessyka ceased her insane laughter. She gave only a momentary look at the damage she had caused. There was little doubt that she was going to be billed, but it was arguably self defense.

Now the only ones left were Junko and Jean and it seemed that those two were at a standoff. Twilight rose from her couch and stretched her back out. The Sith lazily closed the distance to the two Acolytes and crossed her arms under her breasts as she looked at the aggressor.

"Go and collect what's left of your pathetic rabble and don't bother me anymore. If you fancy another fight, then choose another time since I have work to complete here. Run along little insect. Scurry back under your rock."

"Go and collect what's left of your pathetic rabble and don't bother me anymore. If you fancy another fight, then choose another time since I have work to complete here. Run along little insect. Scurry back under your rock."

As Jean attempted to utter yet another shrill cry, Junko took the chance to give her a shove, sending Jean flat on her back. Using the Force to grab Jean's lightsaber, she tossed it outside and pointed to it, saying, "Go on. You heard the lady."

Jean got back up and gave them both the finger as she walked out. Junko had a sense that this likely wouldn't be over. Not by a long shot.

Wiping her hands off, and whistling, Junko turned to Myrna, who had finished repairing her BAR. Junko pointed to the copier, and then Myrna went to fetch the volumes that were printed out from a bin nearby. Running them through a machine that bound them together for convienience, Jess would find no less than six volumes, six hundred pages each, waiting for her to peruse. Myrna simply said, "Three more are coming on their way." Seemingly, she didn't really care about the mess--or if she did, she said nothing.

As this occurred, Junko then coughed and turned to Jessyka. With her friendliest, warmest smile, a bow and an extended handshake, Junko greeted Jess with a simple, "Oh, I almost forgot. The name's Tereza Junko Tadanobu. People call me Junko for short. Grand Sensei of the People's Acolytes. What did you need, before our little interruption?"

Junko figured, as she greeted her new, decidedly homicidal guest, "I'd definitely better be friendly to this one. She looks like someone with a short fuse."

Jessyka simply returned the bow to Junko but did not take her hand. Perhaps it would seem rude but Jessyka was not one for physical contact. Looking at the outfit and how every inch of her body was practically covered, could be enough to attest to that fact.

"Twilight," was the Abh's response to indicate her name.

"I was sent to gather as much information as possible from the many temples and shrines that study the ways of the Force. I only asked for you as a courtesy to inform you of my mission. I may be here some time so if this is the caliber of hospitality that I should expect from others, then you may want to have a handy supply of body bags."

She looked around at the damage done to the area and merely shrugged. "I will also be needing copies of your holocrons and the likes for the library that the NSO is creating. My ship has a steady supply of them if blank holocrons are an issue."

Jessyka simply returned the bow to Junko but did not take her hand. Perhaps it would seem rude but Jessyka was not one for physical contact. Looking at the outfit and how every inch of her body was practically covered, could be enough to attest to that fact.

"Twilight," was the Abh's response to indicate her name.

"I was sent to gather as much information as possible from the many temples and shrines that study the ways of the Force. I only asked for you as a courtesy to inform you of my mission. I may be here some time so if this is the caliber of hospitality that I should expect from others, then you may want to have a handy supply of body bags."

She looked around at the damage done to the area and merely shrugged. "I will also be needing copies of your holocrons and the likes for the library that the NSO is creating. My ship has a steady supply of them if blank holocrons are an issue."

Junko nodded as she listened to Twilight's request, and then chuckled at her body bag statement. Dismissing it with a wave, she said simply "Oh come on....those were just a few malcontents. We've been having some pretty fierce discussions recently down in the Council Hall, and you know, some people aren't that mature. Oh! Which reminds me."

She then knelt down and proceeded to deliver Force Heal on several of the relatively intact Rogues. Getting up, they then immediately kowtowed in fear and awe, saying, "Don't kill us! Please! We're sorry, just don't kill us!"

Junko slapped one of them on the back and said, "I won't kill ya. I'll just bust you down a few ranks and sentence you to a week's worth of meditation in the Reflection Area as punishment. I'll get someone responsible to make sure you do it."

They looked up and gulped.

Motioning with her finger, she smiled and beamed brightly, going, "Go on now. Oh, and one of you fetch a medic."

The others nodded and scampered. There was a general aura about them that they wouldn't start anything else anymore. Slapping her hands together, Junko replied, "Yup. They won't be a problem. But yeah, we're not usually like this, I mean hell, I greeted you with a hello; you travel around a bit you'll get a bit more hellos. You just met some bad eggs, and two clear Misanthropes."

Myrna cried, "I heard that!"

Junko shrugged and said, "I didn't hear a thing. Anywho, I'm just gonna give you a little heads' up--what you're proposing is kind of a big thing. Realistically, there's at least several thousand in the Central Archives alone.

The important thing is take the numbers in here--now parcel those out among dozens of Temples, big and small, across the sum landscape of the Workers State, from Nova Louisiana to Luxembourgia to Earth to New Monterrey. You have a HUGE task ahead of you. Huge. Those archives Myrna printed out are the sum total of what we have for knowledge."

A medic came in to recover the rest of the bodies, muttering, "Jesus..."

Junko then pulled out a highlighter from her pocket and picked up one of the weighty tomes, seemingly out of curiosity. Junko said with a friendly smile, "Fortunately....I know you just came to warn me about your mission, but you got me interested. How about, in the interest of peaceful coexistence, and maybe to make it up to you about those goons....I'd like to help you in your quest. If anything, you'll get quicker access with me around, I know how to rummage around our libraries." She then added quickly, "Also, I have a hunch there might be less random goon attacks if they know I'm around to help facilitate research. I won't lie, but I'd like to avoid involving any diplomats whatsoever."

Junko then coughed and said, "Right, let's get started." Putting the stuff into a basket, Junko snapped her fingers, and the place suddenly began putting itself back together.

"Just to help out the matenance team a little. Come on, let's go to the copy room. Myrna, get us a team of pages, and see if they can't fetch us some coffee. We got work to do."

Junko smiled, and motioned for her in that warm, welcoming way of hers to come along, opening the sealed door to the archives....

Junko surely showed more compassion than Jessyka would have, preferring to let them suffer in pain or simply die from their wounds. She simply ignored the bodies while the Grand Sensei went about her work helping who she could and reprimanding those that had decided to defy her. None of it really mattered to her.

Eventually they got around to the crux of the matter. Junko's proposal would certainly make life easier for Jessyka and possibly speed up the completion of her mission. "Very well. I'll accompany you if only to speed the process up so that I may be on my way."

Darth Twilight followed closely behind Junko into the archives.

OOC: Back, finally.

IC:

The entrance to the archives revealed massive rows upon rows of library stacks, tended by teams of library pages in simple uniforms, with armbands and rank pips denoting their status, along with trams and moving sidewalks to manuever through the endless stacks. Indeed, Twilight would almost be looking at a military or scientific organization; then again, Junko had only the Red Army, her old Star Wars DVDs, the Society of Jesus and UCLA to work off of to make her organization. Working with efficent speed, men and women pulling carts of holocrons and books moved them to appropriate shelves, putting them back in all due order.

Junko and Twilight were greeted by a team of pages, and one that gave a salute.

Junko waved him at ease, saying, "At ease. I think Myrna told you what needs to be done. Take us to the copy room, set protocols..." writing down her passcode and user ID "...to free dispensary procedures. We got a lot of work to do." Pointing to the six pages next to him, Junko said, "Each of you gets a letter assignment. You get sections A-D...you get E-H...I-L...M-P...Q-T...U-X...Y-Z. Get as much as you can, I know the National Archives System is hard, but dangit, don't let that stop you. You need help, ask me or Myrna. If we don't have it, let us know, because this is pretty friggin' important."

Junko then clapped her hands and said, "Chop chop!"

The pages then ran off, as the lead page led them to the copy room. With twenty holocron copy machines and thirty paper copy machines and direct access to the trams, it looked prepare to handle the job at hand.

They only sign that Twilight was impressed at the magnitude of literature in the library was by the slight raising of an eyebrow and even that was hard to see thanks to all the cloth wrapped around her. So the annoying little secretary had been correct that it would take some time in acquiring all the work. It didn't matter to her though. Twilight could be patient when she wanted to be.

If nothing else, Junko's orderly matter of delegating tasks and motivating her subordinates. "Your diligence is . . . appreciated. It shall be noted when I return to the academy."

Junko replied simply, "Well, thanks. It's all part of being in charge. You gotta know how to delegate and command." Just then, an assistant ran in, bearing a tray of coffee in styrofoam cups, with several jars of cream, and packets of sugar, sweetener, and all the accouterments one would expect with coffee. Junko thanked the assistant, as he put down the tray on the table and walked off with a bow.

Junko then proceeded to whistle a pleasant tune, as she put in lots of cream and several packets of sugar, and stir liberally. She then sipped the coffee and went, "Yummy." Pointing out the coffee, Junko said, "Go ahead and have some."

Meanwhile, the pages could be seen hard at work, running up and down, copying documents and holocrons....however, despite the hard labor provided by the pages, it became apparent that several holocrons and papers were unavailable from the archives. In particular, about twelve very important holocrons belonging to the three schools of the People's Acolytes, and several ancillary documents. They were marked as "Checked/Charged Out."

OOC: Updated post for extra "seed material."

Twilight took a cup of coffee as well but opted for no additives. Being an Abh, her taste buds were far more delegate than the average human so just black would suit her fine. She sipped quietly at the warm contents as she watched Juinko's workers go about their tasks.

It didn't take the Abh long to realize that there were a few copies missing in the library as the workers made note of them. She cocked an eye towards Junko. "It appears you are missing a few items. Will this be problematic? If so, we can check who they are loaned to so we may pay a visit in order to borrow them for a quick copy."

Junko shrugged. Now, it was her turn to be rather nonchalant about things. The idea a few items were missing from the archives wasn't that big of an issue--as it had been pointed out previously, this wasn't just an archive, but a working library with accessible C-cart that could expedite delivery of material to other Temples in need of that answer.

"No, it's no biggie. I mean, it's like you say. We can figure out who they were charged to so we can track them down and ask for the right data." Looking to the massive archives of the materials in the Archives Jess had printed out, Junko began pulling out her highlighter, and began flipping to the vital ones not available, declaring, "Good thing you had this printed out. Myrna's probably on edge after all those shenanigans."

Eventually, after some whistling and writing, she eventually scribbled some of the results onto a list, which she presented to Jess.

The paper, written in decidedly ungirly block handwriting, presented the following individuals.

"List of Missing Holocrons/Papers.

Holocron #343--Sensei 1st Class Lisa Park (Qiangquan School), Temple of Los Angeles, CA, Earth SSR.

Holocron #24541--Sensei 2nd Class Erich Sudermann (Shinmei School), Temple of Suhl, Thuringia, Germany, Earth SSR.

Sudermann also possesses a copy of my book Commentaries on the Nirai Kanai Manuscripts.

Holocron #123--Sensei 1st Class Rabbi Roger Fidelmann (National School), 1st Street Temple/Moses Mendelssohn Synagogue, Ft. Casimir Pulaski, New Territories SSR.

Fidelmann also possesses Chin Tai Wong's Commentaries on Norman Vincent Peale.

Holocron #13414--Comrade 1st Class Benito Alvarez (National School), Block Six Temple, Hammertongs, Luxembourgia SSR.

Holocron #34123--Comrade 1st Class Haruko Minamasa (National School), Block Six Temple, Hammertongs, Luxembourgia SSR.

Minamasa also has charged a copy of Sensei McCoy's How to Harness One's Electrifying Soul.

Holocron#13541--Sensei 2nd Class Louis Powell (National School), Temple of Farrellsgrad, Farrelsgrad, New Monterrey SSR.

Holocron#78900--Comrade 1st Class Sergey Fedorov (Qiangquan School), Temple of Westfalls, Ironhelm, New Monterrey SSR.

Fedorov has charged a copy of Sensei Zhang's Precision Force: The Interplay of The Force and Traditional Chinese Medical Procedure.

Holocron#48907--Sensei 3rd Class Geoffrey Hong (Qiangquan School), Temple of Westlake Center, Bullhorn, Nova Louisiana SSR.

Holocron#68709--Comrade 1st Class Seong Haneul (Qiangquan School), Temple of Blakeville, New Wuhan SSR.

Seong has charged a copy of Sensei Spellman's To Begin The World Over Again: Commonsense Techniques to Bounce Back from Disaster.

Holocron#879--Comrade 1st Class Jonathan Miyamoto (Shinmei School), Temple of Blakeville, New Wuhan SSR.

Holocron#700--Sensei 3rd Class Reginald Harcourt (Shinmei School), Temple of Belfast, Earth SSR

Has charged a copy of Inner Strength: The Application of the Force to the Manipulation and Transport of Loads of Significant Mass.

Holocron #2141--Sensei 1st Class Grigori A. Batov (Shinmei School), Shinmei Grand Temple, Hieara Major, Nova Louisiana SSR.

Asshole's also got a copy of Sensei Herdibes's Applications of Force Healing and Healthcare to Critical Cardiovascular Injuries."

Twilight took the list of items from Junko and read over it thoroughly. The list itself was not extensive but it did have her traveling to several different territories of New Dornalia. That alone would require some time. She wasn't sure how important any of these holocrons were or if they would be of any use to the library, but that was not her mandate. Twilight was to collect as much knowledge from all Force using groups in the universe as possible. Not decide on the value of their information.

Jessyka folded up the paper and stuffed it into the folds of the outer layer of her cloak. "These will take me some time to acquire. If there is nothing else here, I will see to the acquisition of these artifacts. Unless that is, I should expect more of the same friendly greetings at these locations."

Jessyka folded up the paper and stuffed it into the folds of the outer layer of her cloak. "These will take me some time to acquire. If there is nothing else here, I will see to the acquisition of these artifacts. Unless that is, I should expect more of the same friendly greetings at these locations."

Junko replied with, "Yeah....about that...." Coughing, she then said, "I'm confident that won't be the case, but..." Her expression looked hopeful, but also tinged with concern. She had a feeling that as much as she hoped that this little ideological debate would sort itself out peacefully, there was likely going to be some violence involved in this little quest--something which only increased the likelihood of an incident occuring Junko didn't want. Especially with someone like Twilight, who seemed hellbent on picking the most violent solution to everything. It was almost annoying in a way.

Still, Junko was raised by her father to "be kind to guests," and admittedly Twilight and Junko were acting in self-defense. As such, the superego won this bout, and Junko said, wiping her mouth of the coffee to buy some time to think of a decent, nonthreatening reply, "...you never know what'll happen, right?" She finished her point with a shrug, then said, "Anywho, we should get moving." She then began walking, and then turned and smiled, saying, "Oh, and don't worry about the time thing. I know my way around the Workers State, especially the Hyperspace Expressways. You stick with me, and I'll get you to where you need to go. And do all the other stuff I promised too."

"True. One never knows what might happen."

Twilight folded the loose folds of her cloak around her and followed after Junko. "As for speed in getting around the systems, we'll take my ship. We won't have to worry about hyperspace routes that way."

"Alrighty. If you say so." Junko shrugged, and then, as they walked to the docking bay, Junko motioned to an assistant.

Once the assistant arrived close by, Junko immediately said, "Novitiate. I'm gonna need two things. One, inform Master Chin he has Acting Command of the People's Acolytes. Two..." Pausing for a moment, Junko then asked, "Can you drive a motorbike without an electric starter?"

The Novitiate said, "Um, yes'm."

Junko then pulled out a keyring, thumbed clumsily through some keys, and then produced a key that was tossed to the newbie. She then said, "Novitiate, I'll need you to get to my motorcycle, its the teal 1965 Triumph Bonneville parked outside with the M1 Helmet on it and the saddlebags with the Hello Kitty pins and patches with snakes on them. Drive it to the hangar bay, and do make sure its not scratched, stolen, or smashed. I'll know."

The Novitiate nervously saluted, and said, "Yes ma'am!" and ran off. Junko then began whistling, and walked on to the hangar bay, where the bike was waiting for Junko. Thanking the Novitiate, the stalwart leader began moving the old machine closer to Jess's ship, pushing it with great diligence.

"Ah, my dear old little Norman," Junko commented on the bike with glee. "This little machine has gotten me out of many jams. She's nigh indestructible....runs off of the fuel that may as well be dog shit....and the tires are still good after all these years."

Twilight lead Junko back to where her ship had been docked. Before the head of the New Dornalia People's Acolytes was a kythonized scimitar that had once been used by Darth Maul. While the design was similar, there were a few differences in functionality especially when it concerned Kythons.

Sensing Twilight's approach, a loading ramp lowered and a friendly voice greeted the Sith Lord as she stepped on board. "Welcome back Lady Twilight."

"Thank you Mira. Were you treated well in my absence?"

The voice was far too emotional sounding to be the normal computer system of a ship. Such was the uniqueness of a Kython vessel that was alive. "Yes. I was left alone for the great portion of the stay."

Not used to Twilight having people accompany her aboard, the Shipmind gave a warning as Junko was storing her bike. "Mistress Twilight, you have someone following you."

Twilight turned to look back at Junko. "It's quite alright. This is the head of the People's Acolytes and she is here to help us retrieve a few artifacts that are absent from the main library."

"I see." The voice sounded somewhat relieved.

Twilight moved to what could be described as the bridge of the ship with a narrow view port angled towards the bow of the ship. "Make yourself comfortable."

It was not exactly a well furnished vessel with plenty of furniture. Twilight herself knelt in the center of the domed room and placed her hands on her knees and closed her eyes. In a moment, the ship began to move by some unseen controls. Since the first meeting with the Ship Mind on Lehon, Twilight had been re-engineered with telepathic abilities and was able to pilot the ship simply with her mind. Through Mira's help, a Childer that had taught her the abilities and later became the name of the voice of the ship, Twilight had become quite accustomed to the manuever.

As the ship took off, Twilight relaxed into the meditative state. "Just tell me where we need to go and we can use the Balroggan way of FTL."

Junko's first reaction to the ship was that it was odd. Mostly, that was due to the fact this was an exact replica of Darth Maul's vessel. The Kythonic touches stood out however, and the moment Mira spoke, she first thought it was an AI like Gracie. Nothing to worry about.

But, as she stowed Norman onto the ship, Mira complained about her presence, and it was Mira's tone of voice that made Junko comically go, "Yeep!" Fortunately, Twilight kept things sane by telling the ship Junko was a friend. Relieved that Mira wasn't suddenly going to eat her, she smiled and whistled a happy tune as she put the bike inside, tow cables, old tarp and all, to keep it safe.

What was even more astounding was how Twilight controlled the vessel, sitting in the middle with no controls, she was about to ask why, and even went, "You sur--" Then, she paused, realized this being Kythonic, it probably had something special, and Junko said, "Nevermind. Let's just go to Earth first. We need to visit Sensei Park in Los Angeles, and pick up her holocron."

After all, if the ship had Balroggan FTL....no need to ask, right? Junko then sat down nearby, squirming to fit her frame into the ship rather awkwardly. First, came the attempt to find chairs--there was none. Then, came the attempt to find a bench or a stool or whatever. Nothing. Eventually, she found the whole thing ludicrous, muttering curses in Portuguese as she did so. But, in the end, she found herself a spot where she could sit Indian-style, and with that, the whole comical farce ended.

Good God!, Junko thought, carefully shielding her thoughts from view. A crazy lady, a crazy ship....this is just getting better. I hope she doesn't eat me.

A polite voice sounded from the walls of the ship just as Twilight broke Mars's orbit and set them for a jump to Earth. It was Mira again as she noticed Junko's discomfort.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience. The interior layout is by my master's wishes. Allow me to provide something more comfortable for you though."

The floor of the scimitar began to bubble up and take shape. In just a few quick seconds a luxurious cushioned chair had been created where once there was only a floor.

"Here, I hope this will suffice."

The seating was completed just as Twilight hit T-Space. The Abh was solely focused on the task at hand and piloting the craft so there was no threat of a snide remark from her. A mere minute passed in travel before the ship exited the other dimension and floated before Earth.

While Twilight might seem cranky and rude, she was no fool. The woman knew to ask for permission to land instead of just barging on down to the planet. Once allowed to, Twilight moved the ship in position to dock.

As soon as they touched down, the Abh opened her eyes and rose from her kneeling position. She turned to see Junko and the newly formed seat. "Lead on to the artifact's location."

Not but several seconds after getting onboard the ship, Junko was greeted by a comfy chair, provided by the management--or more precisely, the management's assistant. Sitting down on it, Junko thanked Mira for it, crossed her legs, and fell asleep.

Of course, that didn't last long, as Junko was woken up with a demand to take Twilight to the artifact's location. This was the part of the day Junko hated--being woken up. Getting up, she rubbed her eyes and sighed, saying, "Sweet Jesus....you can wake me up gently, just so you know." Wiping off some drool with her handkerchief, she then took Norman out of the tow cables, and bade Twilight to follow. Along the way, Junko took time to thank Mira, saying to the ship, "Thanks again for the chair."

As they walked out into Che Guevara Station, Junko pointed to the Space Elevator that would lead directly to LAX. Bidding Twilight to follow once more, she boarded, and said, "Let's go. This will take us to the surface."

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

As this occurred, our friend Foster wasn't forgetting about Junko, or Twilight--not by a long shot. At this moment, let us focus on a meeting of the group in the cafeteria. And by the group, I mean Foster and several dissident Senseis who shared her philosophy.

Now, they were debating, on where to go next.

"What now? That Sith asshole will get our secrets....that little Valley Girl is helping her!" screamed one.

"Well, the solution is simple. Kill them both. Kill them both, and be damned if the Sith retaliate. We have more power than them."

"No, we must wait. If we act now, they will see our hand, all will be lost. We must be cautious, and merely distrupt their plans in subtle ways."

Foster then coughed, and slammed her fist on the table. Never one to debate the issues, she silenced them all with considerable aplomb.

"Okay, fucksticks. I think we're just fucking around in circles, so listen up. We have to intercept them. That's a damn given. Now, here's what we do."

Pointing to one, she screamed, "Jackson--you handle intel. Track them, do not stop. Monitor all police bands, and use all means necessary." Pointing to another, she said, "Urashima--handle the Plumbers. Don't let any of our precious secrets leak out." And yet another two: "Kendrick and Epstein--support them both, and directly engage if needed. I will do the same."

They nodded, and then muttered, "But what of Chin? He's for the effort, and he's in Acting Command. He's popular, he's sure--"

"That shitfucker isn't going to get in our way. If he does, we'll cut him like we'll cut the Sith. Now, stop fucking yourself and do as I say!"

With a Force Choke delivered by Foster along with her angry speech, Epstein threw his hands up and said, "Okay, okay!"

"Now, get to it," Foster commanded, with deadly zeal. "And let's hope that these shits don't meet us."

The ship provided a smooth ramp for their exit and so that Junko would not have any problems getting her bike off the ship. Once they were on the hard floors of the station, the ship seamlessly closed behind them. Twilight was not worried about her ship being the subject of study. Mira could handle anyone that got too personal with studying.

Darth Twilight followed after Junko and entered the elevator. She hated ground worlds as the gravity had a tiresome effect on all Abh. But some things had to be suffered in order to complete the task.

The elevator ride would take only a short while, and as they went through the speedy journey to LAX itself, Junko began attempting to alleviate the awkward silence that would inevitably set in on space elevator rides.

"So....space elevators. I hate going on these things sometimes. I mean, like, my ears just kind of get that pushing and popping sensation, and it gets real annoying. I mean--why is that? My mom keeps telling me 'chew some gum, chew some gum' but that never fucking works."

Sure enough, Junko popped some gum into her mouth, a stick of spearmint, and kept talking as she handed Twilight a stick of gum.

"See? Not working. My ears still hurt. So not cool. You try it, see if it does anything."

The whole thing ended with a gentle *bump* and Junko led Twilight out of the Elevator into LAX, where they passed through some areas into the garage. Once there, Junko sat on the bike, put on a M1 Helmet and dust goggles and a duster, and bade Twilight to sit down on the passenger space, saying, "There's room enough, come on. Norman won't bite." Showing how devoted she was to her cycle, she even leaned onto the bike and asked it, "We won't, won't we?"

Nodding, the eccentric woman looked up at Twilight and said, with a smile and a wave, "Well, he won't bite. Come on!" The odd thing about all of it would be how normal Junko thought it was to address one's motorbike like that.

Twilight followed after and stepped into the space elevator. Such devices were common in the Empire with their multiple space stations. The Abh took a spot next to Junko and turned to watch the doors close in front of her. Despite Junko's discomfort, Twilight seemed to be handling the elevator ride just fine.

She listened absently to Junko complain about her ears popping and her mother's advice on dealing with the problem. Twilight simply gave a very slight grin when Junko offered her a stick of gum. "Abh were genetically bred to handle the high pressures of acceleration."

They walked out of the elevator and Twilight followed Junko out into the garage and watched her mount Norman. She gave the bike a peculiar look when Junko assured the Sith Lord that the bike would not bite. Some of the Abh eccentricities showed in Jessyka as she wrinkled her nose at such a primitive looking device.

"I am not afraid of your terrestrial traveling vehicle. I am just wondering if this is a necessity."

Looking at Junko and seeing this was her preferred way of transportation, the Abh sighed and took the passenger space. "Very well."

It seemed Tereza Junko Tadanobu Gushiken-Silveria, when it came to motorcycling, could easily drop the "cute" and "nice" routine and become rather competitive. In the Space Elevator, she seemed to take Jess's nonchalant dismissal of things well enough. After all, the Abh were the "Kin of the Stars" after all--they were used to space travel and anything to do with space, which included getting used to the dreaded pressure adjustment that Junko disliked so much. Keeping on her nice face, she merely replied to Jess with a simple, "Well, some of us aren't so fortunate--besides, it's not that much of a problem, it's just so damn annoying...."

Likewise, Jess's treatment of the bike was ignored, although Junko added, seeming somewhat dismayed at the snobbish treatment of the cycle, "Trust me. Norman's no junkpile."

The People's Acolytes leader promptly gunned the engine, tossing Jess a spare M1 Helmet and saying, "You'll need this!" before working the manual starter and zooming off into LA Traffic, screaming, "YEEEEHHAAAAH!" And with that, things changed.

Junko's style of driving was, needless to say, quite breathtaking for those unused to it. As she zoomed onto the busy local roads, Junko began to put the engine into full throttle, leaning forward and staring intently at the road ahead of her. The buildings would fly past--the cars became a blur--and the people did as well. Zooming along at speeds that would make the average individual cry for mercy, she focused on the road ahead, weaving in and out of local traffic much to the consternation of local drivers unhappy at this woman getting in their way. The most spectacular incident would be the cutting off of a taxi as she screamed forth past Sepulveda Avenue and through a series of cars mired in midday traffic; seeing a quickly diminishing gap, Junko veered hard right, slamming the throttle down as she powerslid past the front of the bike, did a controlled 360 skid and applied enough time with the brakes and engine to reorient her before she slammed into a palm tree, trashcan, and crowd waiting for the afternoon matinee.

Like a certain Sith Lord, the motorcyclist in charge used the Force to prevent traffic collisions, although there were plenty of close calls. The Force was indeed the big reason why she escaped alive from the aforementioned incident--and it was also the only thing keeping her from slamming into a bus as she passed into the left lane and into the right again with breakneck speed. Indeed, one would note that Triumph Bonnevilles weren't normally supposed to go this fast, or be subjected to such driving.

"This is the fun part about motorcycling!" Junko shouted over the din of the ancient Triumph engine, the din of the horns honking in protest--even during the times when she complied with traffic laws--and the din of the passersby looking in shock at the sight of the teal Bonneville shining like Greased Lightning across the clogged Los Angeles traffic. She then smiled, punctuating her declaration with a laugh, "You can zip in and out of traffic, and you can get away with it legally! And, the weather's nice around here! I love this town!"

Then, she proceeded to powerslide the motorbike and gun it into....a red light. Sighing as her mad escapades were finished for the moment, she suddenly noticed that her boredom wasn't to last. After all, the punk next to her on the Allanean Gravbike was giving her those eyes....like he wanted to race. The punk and the People's Acolyte revved their engines, and Junko developed a very wide grin, giving her opponent the finger. Her opposite number, meanwhile, could be seen flashing his finger and his female passenger smacked her bottom in a taunt....

Twilight looked at the helmet disapprovingly but suffered the protection. She held on tight as Junko revved the engine and darted into LA traffic. It was like running through the rain and trying to dodge the rain drops, nearly impossible unless you were gifted with the Force like Junko and Twilight were. And it didn't take Twilight to sense Junko using her abilities with the Force to guide them through the congested traffic.

Near death misses and the several possible accidents that could have been the cause of Junko's driving, Twilight had to wonder what the use of a helmet was. At this rate, the helmet would crack like an egg shell and their brains would be the egg yokes. But perhaps Junko was not so different from what an Abh would feel. Surely they felt the same freedoms though Abh experienced this while flying in space and not saddled to a land roving vehicle. Weather was weather to Twilight so she couldn't really comment about it.

As they stopped near the red light, Twilight looked across the way to see another bike stair across at Junko. In her life, Jessyka had become familiar with some of the vulgar gestures of other cultures so she recognized the punk's for what they were.

She looked at Junko. "Do you want me to fry them?"

Twilight accented the point with a little spark of Force Lightning from her fingertips.

Junko smiled evilly and said, "Hell no. That's too kind." Looking at her gas gauge, and the nearby traffic, she saw two encouraging things. No cops. And a tank of gas that was about 75% full. Revving the engines to full, she waited for the light to turn green, as did her opponent, who did the same.

When it did turn green, Junko finished her reply with a scream, estatic and relishing the visceral feeling of competition: "I want to show him that his mommy's new Gravbike can't do shit against the might of British Iron!" before shifting a few switches and storming into traffic once more. The speed was enough to give normals whiplash, but perhaps the Force-enhanced duo on the motorbike could survive that jolt. The punk and his girlfriend obliged, and a full fledged drag race was on.

Whipping past a few buses and some other cars, Junko manuevered with usual aplomb, avoiding automobiles and other bikes. Glancing quickly, she saw her opponent was also doing likewise, seeking to intercept her and get to the highway first. At that point, Junko muttered to Jess, "hold on to your britches. We're taking some back roads."

Junko then veered off the road, through an alley full of trash, a basketball court, a fast-food parking lot where she used Force Push to keep a child's ice cream cone from falling apart, a used-car dealership where Junko took the time to note any classic cars available for purchase, and a "Foreign Auto" repair shop where she streaked through the garage and saluted a mechanic, shouting, "Seeyouaround, Pablo!" before zooming out. The mechanic muttered, "Holy Jesus...." astonished at the speeds he had come to witness from his patron.

Eventually, Junko, noticing the enemy Gravbike, ducked through a little stripmall mostly full of Korean cell phone stores and beef bowl restaurants to the onramp.

As she drove through, she saw an incoming delivery van. The sight forced her onto the pavement and made Junko scream, "ONE SIDE!" and honk her horn, forcing passersby to run and causing some irate individuals to reach for firearms before she sped past and back onto the blacktop, finally getting onto the entrance. This being the State of California, one had to wait at a stoplight before going into the highway, to control the inevitable congestion caused by the crush of terrestrial and hover vehicles. The light went green, and Junko zoomed and merged into the monster that was the highway system of Los Angeles. Now, she had to remember what was the exit to take to get to the Temple--if she could beat the punk first.

There was little for Twilight to do but hold on and hope that Junko didn't somehow get them all killed. Every now and then, Jess would use the Force to push something out of the way to help clear Junko's path but that was about all she could do on this crazy ride.

All that was left for Twilight now was to hope they made it to their destination in one piece.

There was little for Twilight to do but hold on and hope that Junko didn't somehow get them all killed. Every now and then, Jess would use the Force to push something out of the way to help clear Junko's path but that was about all she could do on this crazy ride.

All that was left for Twilight now was to hope they made it to their destination in one piece.

Indeed, it was a mighty big hope. Junko screamed down the highway, in this case the I-105 next to LAX. With the engine working overtime and the frame vibrating yet somehow magically holding together, as if by divine writ, the ride was indeed seeming almost a miracle. Her opponent ducked into the opposite lane, and taunted her again. Naturally, she remembered to reply and give the finger, diving out of the way of a minivan full of kids and waving hello, even pulling a wheelie for their amusement before quickly going back to business.

Zipping through cars and such, she even ducked into the Carpool Lane at times to evade traffic, before zipping back into the main stream of cars and trucks. Seeing her opponent lag slightly behind, she had to remember what exit to take.....was it 7A? 7B? 9?

Then she remembered--it was 7B! Just in time too--she dove out of the way of a screaming tractor-trailer, who honked in protest as she slid past it and behind a delivery truck full of Chinese vegetables. Shooting ahead through another thicket of cars, she thought she'd have this asshole beat, especially as the Gravbike was several hundred feet behind her.

However, a new threat was to make Junko worry.

---------

The bored California Highway Patrolman in Speederbike 81 saw the street race, sighed, and picked up the radio. Radioing command, he said, "Command, this is Unit 81, in pursuit of an illegal street race in progress. Requesting backup." The man then put on his sirens, and began zooming after Junko and the gravbike.

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

The man on the gravbike disappeared into a thicket of cars, far behind Junko. As she looked into her mirrors, she laughed with glee, "Showed that fucker righ--"

Then, she saw the lights and siren, and muttered, "Holy dumb fuck--it's the fuzz!" Shifting the throttle, she told Jess, "Don't do a damn thing. I'll get them off our tail."

Twilight had no intentions of getting involved with the officer chasing after them. Afterall, they weren't after her this time. While she might not have approved of Junko's antics with the bike, she had no interest in making matters worse by upgrading a simple traffic violation to a manhunt. Or in this case, woman hunt.

"Don't worry, I won't be doing anything. Just remember, springing you free from prison is not part of my mission."

"Thanks. I'll remember that when you get in trouble with the law." Junko's sarcasm was biting, but worse was the fact that she was now confronted by the California Highway Patrol. All appearances seemed to point to the fact that the "Chips" were moving in at high speed, and in large numbers. Looking to the side, she saw that her Gravbike based friend had been pulled over for speeding, but there were still six police bikes behind her. Evidently, she had become a person of significant interest.

Thus, Junko began swerving in and out of traffic in a wild attempt to evade the police. Spotting a nest of tractor-trailers and buses, she dove right into them, navigating them with the ease of a thread through the eye of a needle. Waving to the drivers as she passed by, the drivers waved back, and smiles all around were shared. Evidently, Junko had time to get happy and share it with the world, even in times of crisis. Popping out of the nest, she was dismayed to notice the CHiPs were not deterred, and in fact they were moving in closer. And, up ahead, she saw some spike strips and grav plates being laid down.

Spotting a car carrier with no cars on it, she decided to execute a classic Hollywood Manuever. Gunning the engine and storming on top of the carrier's flatbed, she rode onto the ramp, and then onto the frame itself, at high speed. Finally, she used Force Speed and Force Push to give it that extra bit of oomph, and sent the motorcycle soaring off the car carrier at high speed.

Then, Junko decided to do something else along the way. She decided to show off. Tilting her weight a bit forward on the motorcycle, she ended up doing several stomach-churning forward rotations, before executing a handstand, and some backwards rotations aided by the use of Force Push, before pointing the motorcycle at a bare stretch of highway and then sticking the landing with a sudden *thump*. Skipping the grav plates and the police entirely, she streaked onwards towards her exit, which was only a short few hundred feet away. Veering into it, she was dismayed to find that a lone CHiP had caught up to her, and was blaring at her with its sirens. Looking behind her temporarily and barely evading another bus full of nuns as she did so, she sighed and said, "I gotta stop for this one."

Pulling over, the CHiP drove over to Junko, and stopped his bike as well. A slight Chinese man in the khaki CHiP uniform with white safety helmet, the nametag on his left breast reading "Chaing." He had a gun belt with what looked like a TOS Star Trek Phaser, only with the addon of a little Picatinny Rail and laser sight for the purposes of "tacticool," and a notepad of some sort. Radioing his superiors, he said, "HQ, this is Unit 123. I got this one, call off pursuit." Hanging up his radio, he walked up to the Triumph, lifted up his sunglasses, and glared at Junko. She could only sheepishly smile and say, "Hi."

The officer sighed and put his hands on his hips. Shaking his head and going *tsk tsk tsk*, he went, "Terry......" in the voice saved for irate parents. "What did I tell you about showing off on your motorcycle?"

Junko replied, smiling nervously still, "That it's dangerous and that someone could get hurt?"

Officer Chaing nodded. He then said, keeping stern eye contact with Junko, "You're lucky I pulled you over. Anyone else would have suspended your license and taken your precious Triumph away." That fate made Junko wince, and tears well up in her eyes.

"Oh, hush." Writing a traffic ticket, he then handed it to Junko with a sigh. "That's for reckless endangerment, failing to obey the carpool lane rule, and a myriad host of other traffic offenses. You wanna complain, take it to LA Superior Court." He then said more reassuringly when Junko looked at the ticket with a smile, "Relax. I could be taking you to jail right now. Good thing you're too valuable to national security, and I like you too much."

Junko then giggled and said, "Well, officer--I'm charmed."

Chiang saluted, and said, "On behalf of the State of California, I say: Drive safely, ma'am." Turning to Jess, he bowed and said, "You too." Getting back onto his Speederbike, he sped off into the distance. Junko then folded up the ticket, and drove away to the temple, with no incidents along the way. She now owed USD$5,000 to the State of California, and she was grateful for it.

-----------------------
Norman moved all the way to the Temple of Greater Los Angeles, where the old bike was parked reliably in the parking lot outside. Taking off her sweatstained helmet and goggles, she put them in the side saddlebags and checked the proper safety requirements for the bike, before motioning to Jess to follow her inside.

The interior would be airconditioned, spacious, and high-tech. Graceful, flowing lines graced the lobby, and it seemed more like a corporate office or a college's visitors center than a Temple. But here it was. Walking up to the receptionists' desk, Junko asked to see Lisa Park.

However, that proved unnecessary. Park, a shortish Korean-American woman with a more no-nonsense look about her than Junko, could be seen walking out of an elevator, putting her hands on her hips, and smiling at Junko sarcastically. With a biting tone that indicated the two knew one another, Lisa asked, "How's traffic, Terry?" Junko winced at the use of her nickname, "Terry," and replied, "Great....very great...."

Leaning in close, she asked, "Can I speak to you?" Lisa looked over at Jess for a second, and then looked back at Junko. Junko raised an eyebrow and went, "I just need to borrow something you've been borrowing. Holocron 343. The one about phasing through shit."

Lisa then asked, pointing at Jess, "Who's that?"

"Her name's Darth Twilight, she's with the New Sith Order."

Lisa raised an eyebrow, and then walked over to Jess. Bowing she introduced herself as, "Lisa Park, Sensei 1st Class and XO of the Qiangquan School of the People's Acolytes." Smiling, she pointed backwards at Junko with her thumb and said, "I see you met Auntie Terry over there."

Junko, picking up a free copy of Awesome Cars in the magazine rack, yelled, "What'd you say?" Lisa then leaned back, yawned, and began reciting in a practiced voice full of sarcasm, "I'm just saying she got to meet Auntie Terry, the wise leader of the People's Acolytes, totally awesome individual--"

Junko teleported over, put her hand on Lisa's shoulder, and with a slight pinch that made Lisa stop, said with forced politeness, "Let's focus on business, shall we?" Pointing to Twilight, she said with more than a little annoyance and plenty of good humor, "Our guest doesn't need to see our relationship aired for the world to see." Turning to Twilight, Junko then said, "Tell the nice lady about Holocron 343."

Lisa sighed, and said, "Alright, Terry. Fuck. Just making some jokes." Looking at Twilight, she replied simply, "Here's the 411. Holocron 343 is a holocron that teaches one the art of phasing through walls and objects, as well as obtaining through those methods a type of vision one can call 'X-Ray Vision.' See through walls and stuff. Properly used, it can be used to access secure areas by PA agents and such. I was studying it in order to give myself an edge; after all, a good sniper rifle only goes so far."

Lisa then asked, "Questions?"

Twilight was getting a little tired of being the tag along on this wild police chase through LA traffic. Annoying the often turbulent Abh, it seemed that Junko decided to make Jessyka part of her motor bike escapades. Doing tricks on a primitive vehicle on the ground world was not her idea of a good time.

So as they passed the tractor trailers and Junko smiled at the drivers, Twilight was there to dampen their moods with the scowl that was on her face forcing most of them to advert their eyes and look straight ahead. Much to her satisfaction though, Junko deemed one cop required enough of her attention to pull. Why this particular officer of the law, the Abh didn't know.

From the interaction between the two, it seemed that they were familiar with one another. Either way, it sounded as if Junko was getting off easily or was it Terry now?

The antics were over though as they arrived at the location of one of the checked out holocrons. She bowed curtly as she was introduced to Lisa and listened to the details concerning the contents of the holocron.

Twilight listened and was pleasantly surprised by the technique it taught. If this was true, then she would be able to find an application for such a power rather easily. The uses of something like this would go well with one particular member that she knew.

"Yes. You mentioned a sniper rifle. How would this aid in the use of firearms?"

"Yes. You mentioned a sniper rifle. How would this aid in the use of firearms?"

Lisa smiled and clapped her hands together. Rubbing them intensely, she declared with pride, "Simple. My school of Force usage utilizes firearms and energy weapons intensely, combined with close combat strikes and stances from martial arts derived from the stylings of Hung Gar Kung Fu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hung_Ga)." Pacing about, she then began her answer in earnest.

"Now, since we use a lot of guns, we use Force powers and custom blends of powers that go with them. Such as Qiangquan Precision Aim, which combines manipulation of time with enhanced vision over long distances, enabling hyperaccurate fire even with a pistol. Or Force Wall--that's a favorite.

So, I've established we use the Force to aid in firearms-based combat in a variety of applications. Now, this power, the ability to phase, will enable me to conceivably fire a shot from a sniper rifle, be it ballistic or energy based, use the Force to phase the shot through a wall, and hit a target who thinks he's too well armored for me to get him. Wash, rinse, and repeat. And all on a budget that doesn't require microtransporters or expensive after market converters."

Junko then asked, "Why not just Force Choke them?"

Lisa then sighed and said, "Because there are some jobs that require the precision of a sniper rifle. Besides, you can't very well Force Choke if you don't have line of sight." Turning to Jess, she then asked, "Wanna see a demo?"

Following along as Lisa explained the use of her Force techniques, Twilight could already fancy a wide range of uses for this. It might be one of the abilities that would require a higher level of clearance for some students to access. Simply allowing an unstable student to learn this ability could bring unwanted attention to the New Sith Order.

The idea of phasing bullets through walls or armor was more intriguing though. It was an ability that was too refined for her tastes but she knew others would appreciate far more than her. Even though she was more in line with Junko's thoughts of simply Force Choking someone she wanted to see a demonstration. Besides if there wasn't a line of sight for Force Choke, Twilight was more than capable of "creating" a line of sight.

"I would very much like to see a demonstration. I have a friend who I believe would like to learn this ability."

Following along as Lisa explained the use of her Force techniques, Twilight could already fancy a wide range of uses for this. It might be one of the abilities that would require a higher level of clearance for some students to access. Simply allowing an unstable student to learn this ability could bring unwanted attention to the New Sith Order.

The idea of phasing bullets through walls or armor was more intriguing though. It was an ability that was too refined for her tastes but she knew others would appreciate far more than her. Even though she was more in line with Junko's thoughts of simply Force Choking someone she wanted to see a demonstration. Besides if there wasn't a line of sight for Force Choke, Twilight was more than capable of "creating" a line of sight.

"I would very much like to see a demonstration. I have a friend who I believe would like to learn this ability."

Lisa nodded and motioned for Twilight and Junko to follow her to the elevator. Stepping inside, the short ride was punctuated only by the sound of Junko whistling and asking Lisa, "So...how's life doing for you?"

Lisa fiddled with her fingernails and said, "Nothin'. Just had dinner last night with Becks at the King Sejong's Korean BBQ Hut. Also, checked out the ammo prices at the Big Six Dealership." She then sighed and shook her head, muttering, "Prices went up again on shotgun and 7.62 NATO ammo. Fucking ridiculous."

Junko then lit up and giggled. "I'll tell you what's fucking ridiculous. What happened to my sister Katherine once."

Lisa sighed and said to Twilight, "Holy fuck, here she goes. Cover your ears."

Junko then began to ramble, lost in her little world and totally oblivious to the fact Lisa didn't want to hear her story.

"So Katherine was like going to the convinced store to buy some squishees with some friends, right? And she wanted cherry. So she goes up to the counter, and then the guy tells her, 'We don'ts gots cherry.' And Katherine's like 'What the fuck!?' and then the guy's like, 'Fuck you.' So then she asks for cola flavored squishees and gets them, and then as she leaves these assholes in a red Camaro come in and smash her car! I mean, Oh. My. God!

These dudes are like, shitfaced drunk and they just rear end her car. So then, she confronts them and they give her some shit, like, 'Oh, that ain't my problemo, bitch' or whatever.

Then, she gives them shit, and then eventually the fuckers drive off! I mean, come on! So then she decides to drive off and find them, and then, she like, finds them, and confronts them, and then they totally punch her nose. And then she punches them, and gets into a fight, and then eventually she spends a night in the cooler. Mom was sooooo pissed, she took away the car for a week and like, totally forbade her to do anything cool ever again.

Worst. Day. Ever!"

By the time Junko finished with her long, rambling story, Lisa had led the party to Shooting Range 1, placed a series of sandbag traps in front of a ballistics gel torso to form a mazelike formation, readied a M1D Garand Sniper Rifle, zeroed the scope, and then double and triple checked everything.

Lisa then replied by simply saying, "You done?"

Junko then giggled and said, "Oopsie."

Rolling her eyes, Lisa tossed to all others in the room some safety headsets, closed her eyes with a sigh, and said to Twilight, "Watch." She then put the earmuffs on, meditated, breathed in through her nose, and out through her mouth, and muttered a few words to herself. She then opened her eyes, and put her left eye up to the scope. Keeping the other eye shut, she then proceeded to pull the trigger, emptying the internal magazine of eight rounds.

With a loud series of CRACK! sounds the rifle fired its deadly .30-06 rounds...which didn't penetrate the sandbags. However, for a brief second, a shimmering effect could be seen as the bullets made contact with the sandbags--the phasing through was in progress. And, when Lisa got up, she took off her headset, and said, "Darth Twilight, Terry--check in the center of that maze. You'll like what you see."

While they rode the elevator and Junko delved into her California dialect to explain the events that happened to her sister, Twilight's mind eye saw the elevator explode out with a powerful Force concussion as she levitated herself out of the cage and made the rest of her journey herself. Jessyka had to admit that she was more in line with Lisa's own thinking and followed suit to tune most of it out.

Once down in the firing range, the Sith Lord snapped back to the present and studied the layout of the range. She saw the sandbags set up along with the ballistic gel that would act as the target. Twilight put the ear muffs on and watched as Lisa unloaded eight rounds at her target. For a brief moment, Twilight saw the little specs of light as the bullets phased through the sand bags.

She was already moving down the range before Lisa offered them chance to check it out for themselves. Twilight squatted down to inspect the sandbags but found no hole or scratch that would indicate that a bullet had made contact. Moving on through the maze, she found the only signs of trauma were on the ballistic gel target with eight neat holes tearing into the mock flesh.

Twilight studied the holes closely then nodded solemnly. She turned to see Junko behind her. "How do you say it Terry? Very cool?"

Junko winced at the last part, but she had the distinct feeling that if she did anything, Twilight would do something that required the intervention of a Vanguard Squad. As it was, she sensed the annoyance in the room after her little story. Not that she was going to change of course. Nodding, she looked down at the holes, and kneeling down to examine the damage, Junko replied, "I think the better term is...Impressive." Examining one of the bullet holes much more closely, she said succinctly, "Yeah. Impressive."

Lisa walked in, toting the M1D and loading up a fresh stripperclip into the old rifle. As she did so, the rifle's bolt moved forward faster than she could get her thumb out, and Lisa winced with the pain. Junko then got up and said, "It's just M1 Thumb." Using a little Force Heal, the thumb was made usable again, to the tune of Junko pronouncing, "There we are. Good as new."

Lisa seemed rather nervous about accepting Junko's assistance, muttering, "Um, thanks." as she put her hand back on the rifle. Displaying it to both, Lisa asked, "Anyone wanna try this for themselves? I'll walk you through it."

Normally Twilight despised weapons of any type, as she was one of the few of Force Users that did not even carry a lightsaber, the Sith Lord recognized that having some actual experience with this particular technique might be useful when teaching others. The Abh stepped forward and took the M1 from Lisa's hands.

She shouldered the rifle and tested the sights and feeling the weight of the weapon. Satisfied with the weapon, Twilight turned back to Lisa. "Alright, show me."

Lisa then used the Force to lift up a spare gel torso, clean up the mess, and put the new one in its place. Then, she escorted the whole lot out of there, and pointed to the firing line.

"Okay. Follow me to the firing line. This is where we'll do the test."

Upon compliance, Lisa would then command, "Look down the scope. You notice those sandbags in front of you? Imagine they're not there. As far as you're concerned, those sandbags are a mirage. Ignore their presence. See through them. Take a few moments to focus, and feel through the Force for your target. Feel through the Force, and remember--the sandbags are a mirage. The scope will help you focus on the objective.

You got the target sighted yet? Good. If not, focus a little more. That's the most important part. Now, aim at your target. As you do this, keep feeling for your target through the Force....trust your instincts, trust your senses......and remember that those lumps they call sandbags in front of you are just a mirage. That fucker thinks he's safe behind his sandbag barrier, but you are the Goddamn Alpha and Omega and you will remind him of that.

Got it aimed? Good. Now, pull the trigger."

Junko, as this occurred, thought to herself, "Remind me never to mess with her."

Twilight did as instructed by Lisa with every procedure down to the letter in the instructions that were given. As she sighted down the barrel, the sand bags in front of the target disappeared before her eyes. All that remained was the gel torso and the gun in her hands. From some otherworldly aura, Lisa's voice entered Jessyka's ears.

With constant concentration and focus on the gel torso, the target eventually turned into a human. A Colonial to be exact in a naval uniform. Once the gel target took on the form of one of her tormentors in her mind, Twilight squeezed the trigger until she felt the recoil from the rifle.

Jessyka lowered the rifle to look down the range to inspect the damage done.

The damage aimed home and hit its mark with bloody accuracy. It seemed that Jess's fantasy about shooting the people who tortured her worked, for the gel torso was, as it was last time, riddled with bullet holes and blood everywhere.

Lisa turned to Jessyka and declared, "Good job. That's the basics of it. I've gotten it to work with rifles and pistols, and I'm experimenting with Force powers such as Kinetite. Results look good."

As Lisa talked about results, Junko winced at the negative energy really coursing through the room. She got that feeling from when Jess was sniping out the torso that there was something really, really wrong with her, on a mental and moral level. Like something had happened to her that turned her into a killing machine. Junko could only gulp, and hope that Jess would make some sort of turnaround someday from whatever happened. Then again....she might not. Junko resolved to herself, thinking in Portuguese: "God, if you hear me, get this woman on the right path. She doesn't seem too well."

Then, a voice distracted her.

"Yo. YO!"

Looking up, Lisa stared at Junko and offered her the rifle, saying, "You wanna fire this, or what?"

Junko nodded and took the M1D, reloading it with a fresh clip and with a new torso being set up. Lisa ran through the same drill; Junko did fairly well on her run, the torso facing the same results.

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

Outside, a group of Acolytes drove about, until they saw Norman.

"That's the bike."

"Pull in here."

They pulled up in a small van, and ran out. Armed with lightsabers and such, they walked into the front lobby, where the receptionist and a few others confronted them, and thus began an argument....

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

Lisa then said, when all was said and done, "Okay, ladies. Now that your practicum is done with sniping gel torsos.....I'm gonna give you a test. Both of you." She said this, grinning evilly at Junko.

"What is it now?" Junko said, somewhat worried.

"Lemme finish." Lisa then turned on some lights, and they shone upon a Hogan's Alley. The shoot house looked like a twisty-turny maze, modeled on a rustic farm house (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn8RTaoEE-U) with animatronic figures moving in and out of rooms with guns of some sort. (OOC: Video in link is what the Farmhouse layout is roughly like.)

"I'm going to see if you two can't put your skills to work. We're going to do a time trial. Use the phasing attack to take out the targets inside and navigate through the house the fastest." Turning to Junko, Lisa added, "You do this, I can get you the holocron I borrowed."

Junko then walked up to Lisa, asking skeptically, "Is this really necessary? I mean, we need it, and I don't think our guest is the kind to dick around."

"Oh please," Lisa said. "You're worrying again. Besides, it's a final test of sorts--I do this with everybody I teach." Turning around and approaching a table, she picked up two Qiangquan Type 56 AK47s. Holding them in the air, she said, "Right. When you're ready, take an AK, and stand on the yellow line. I'll hit the buzzer, and you'll have to run through the house. Who's first?"

Jessyka admired the damage done by the new Force power she had just learned. While she still detested guns and most weapons, the Abh could appreciate the potential damage and devastation that such a technique could cause. She made a mental note to go over the Acolyte holocrons in more detail to determine if any techniques would suit her own personal style.

Twilight stepped aside to let Junko give it a whirl for herself. The Sith nodded her approval when Junko had similar success with the gel torso. It seemed that the technique was easily learned which was an added bonus knowing the Hera could learn the power as well then add her own twist to it.

The notion of a fire course appealed to the Abh in the idea of running through a set and destroying inferior targets. There was a sort of amusement in it for all Abh. Jessyka reached out and grabbed one of the AK's. Pulling the hammer back, she made sure a round was in the chamber already.

"What are the rules? All Force powers allowed or not?"

The notion of a fire course appealed to the Abh in the idea of running through a set and destroying inferior targets. There was a sort of amusement in it for all Abh. Jessyka reached out and grabbed one of the AK's. Pulling the hammer back, she made sure a round was in the chamber already.

"What are the rules? All Force powers allowed or not?"

Lisa said, "The new power you just learned only. We're keeping this scientific and fair." She then frowned and glared at the last part, adding, "I'll know if you're cheating."

Junko nodded and picked up an AK47 as well, pulling back on the cocking handle and sighting it. It had been a while since she played with the Kalashnikov series of rifles, preferring to use shotguns and other such things. But, if Lisa wanted her to use an AK, she could use an AK.

--------

The argument upstairs, meanwhile, was getting a bit more raucous....

Jessyka stood at the waiting line and took a moment to test the weight and balance of the weapon. When the signal was given, the Abh rushed to the porch of the farm house. She stopped short and used her new learned force technique to peel away the walls of the house and sprayed a round of bullets.

Once finished, Jessyka leaned against the wall and waited for Junko to get ready. As soon as she got the nod, Twilight spun and kicked the door in.

Junko stepped up to the plate, and smiled. She whistled, swinging her AK47 like a bat, imitating everything right down to closing one eye and calibrating her staring technique, peering through the wall. Whistling, looking cute, and generally mucking about, Junko decided to have a little fun with the exercise.

Lisa frowned, and Junko promptly readied the rifle SWAT style, holding it low, and took a running leap, jumping forward high into the air, popping shots into the house as she put her skills to work, phasing bursts of fire quickly through the wall with her superb psuedo-ninja discipline and taking out all the targets before landing in front of the deck and running onto it. Stopping onto the wall and reloading, a whistle blew starting the race.

Junko decided to kick down a window, and ran through the house, dashing around objects and leaping over chairs and tables in the living and dining rooms before dashing into the kitchen.

Lisa, meanwhile, Forcemessaged both, saying, "Run up the stairs, make a complete course around the second floor, then proceed down and out the backdoor to complete the job!" Junko complied, dashing to the stairs...

Junko had adequately managed to clear the rest of the targets on the first floor in a flourish that seemed to mock everything that they were doing. Further more, she had pulled ahead of Twilight. Jessyka wasn't about to let that stand.

She raced after the Acolyte and caught up to her before reaching halfway up the stairs. In one deft moment to pay the woman back for a few mishaps on this trip already, Twilight grabbed the sides of Junko's pants and gave a mighty tug. While Junko was looking down at the depantsing maneuver, Jessyka hit the Acolyte in the back sending her forward. The Abh force user used the little move to her advantage and raced passed Junko.

"That's for making me ride the back of that damn crotch rocket."

In a sort of mafia style fashion, Twilight unleashed a clip of her AK-47 into the walls of the second floor though more than a few hit the walls as she was firing faster than she could keep the force power concentrated.

Junko got up and simply left her pants behind. She blushed a little, but decided now was not the time to make stories or to get embarassed. Besides, Jess was spraying bullets, and hitting her targets. Good thing for Junko then, since Little Miss Emo Badass was distracted with mowing down targets with her AK-47. Junko decided to make sure she didn't get very far.

Running up the stairs with all of her might, Junko shoved herself into Jess, executing a sweepkick also to knock her off balance as she pushed the Sith back with all of her might, with a little help from her AK's solid wood and metal butt, held tight and close to prevent snatchings. As she did all of this, Junko then spun the AK around, raised it up, and executed her own manuevers, quickly peering through the walls, spinning about and firing bursts of fire at the designated targets as she moved away from Jess to avoid the inevitable retaliatory strikes, scooting towards the stairs....

Jess grunted as she had been hit from the side and knocked off balance, effectively throwing her aim and spraying the nearby wall with bullets instead of the intended target. The Abh growled as Junko pulled ahead of her once more and headed for the stairs. Jess ran for the stairwell but instead, sprayed the wall with bullets to weaken the integrity. When enough ammunition had been wasted, she gave a great kick and knocked the side in.

Using the new Force technique that had just been taught to her, she searched for Junko through the floor boards instead of the targets. Seeing her run around, Twilight aimed her AK at shot out the floor boards on the last set of stairs so that when Junko ran over them, the Acolyte would be sent back down to the previous floor.

Jess headed out of the hole she made and ran up the stairs being sure to clear the gap in the stairwell that she had caused. As she ran up the stairs, the Abh wasted little time in hitting the next series of targets.

OOC: Been awhile since I've hit this thread, time to go back and finish it up.

Running upstairs, Junko tried to run like hell to reach the next set of targets, even going so far as to reload and quickly begin plinking at them as she ran upstairs. However, then, the floorboards weren't there...and she had only a split-second to grab the other floorboards before she totally fell through.

"Ow."

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

"Goddamn. That's good," Lisa said, marveling at Jess's progress as she looked at a pair of timers.

"But it will probably take a little more than that to stop our Chatterbox...."

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

Grunting, Junko heaved and began lifting herself up, placing her hands on either side of the hole and pushing up. She had good upperbody strength, and after smacking the sides of the hole so they widened a bit, shoved her AK through to act as a temporary rung, like how one would use a walking stick to escape from a quicksand pit. Shoving her left leg over it, she extricated herself out, grabbed her AK, and lept over the pit, running to catch up with AK shots at the targets. Reloading, she then decided to shoot out wall supports, floor joists, and even outright holes in the rooms in Jess's path, to return the favor--if at all possible. All of course, when she wasn't busy running like hell and shooting targets of course.

Jess managed to get a in few shots ahead of Junko before the woman regained her footing and hurried on up the stairs. Eventually Junko managed to catch up to Twilight's own targets as they riddled the house with bullets from all angles. It was a shootout worthy of mobsters in the '20s until Junko started throwing holes her way.

It provided enough of an opportunity for Junko to take the lead. Twilight wasn't about to be out done though. Using what she had learned from Lisa, the Abh took it to the next level by making Junko the barrier. Jess opened fire with the remainder of her clip as she took out the targets in front of Junko.

No doubt the Acolyte would be wondering how Jess was able to hit those particular targets.

Jess managed to get a in few shots ahead of Junko before the woman regained her footing and hurried on up the stairs. Eventually Junko managed to catch up to Twilight's own targets as they riddled the house with bullets from all angles. It was a shootout worthy of mobsters in the '20s until Junko started throwing holes her way.

It provided enough of an opportunity for Junko to take the lead. Twilight wasn't about to be out done though. Using what she had learned from Lisa, the Abh took it to the next level by making Junko the barrier. Jess opened fire with the remainder of her clip as she took out the targets in front of Junko.

No doubt the Acolyte would be wondering how Jess was able to hit those particular targets.

Junko watched the shots pass through her, and gasped. She did wonder how Jess was able to score those hits, but not for long as it dawned on her that the competition was able to manipulate the power Lisa taught to shoot not just through walls...but through people as well.

Fuck, she learns fast! was Junko's only thought. Turning, Junko quickly replied in the only way she knew how. Just moving faster than Jess, trying to shoot faster, further, quicker than her. Taking aim using the trick Lisa taught, she zoomed through the walls, aiming down the irons and taking out some more targets while running like a madwoman. Run and gun was the name of the game now. In fact, there were but a few targets left....

Running upstairs, Junko tried to run like hell to reach the next set of targets, even going so far as to reload and quickly begin plinking at them as she ran upstairs. However, then, the floorboards weren't there...and she had only a split-second to grab the other floorboards before she totally fell through.

"Ow."

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

"Goddamn. That's good," Lisa said, marveling at Jess's progress as she looked at a pair of timers.

"But it will probably take a little more than that to stop our Chatterbox...."

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

Grunting, Junko heaved and began lifting herself up, placing her hands on either side of the hole and pushing up. She had good upperbody strength, and after smacking the sides of the hole so they widened a bit, shoved her AK through to act as a temporary rung, like how one would use a walking stick to escape from a quicksand pit. Shoving her left leg over it, she extricated herself out, grabbed her AK, and lept over the pit, running to catch up with AK shots at the targets. Reloading, she then decided to shoot out wall supports, floor joists, and even outright holes in the rooms in Jess's path, to return the favor--if at all possible. All of course, when she wasn't busy running like hell and shooting targets of course.


You have an appalling writing technique.