Xenn paused.

Cant you see that the Empire is using you? Your thier ace in the hole. They only sanctioned the Praxeum because they felt if they had the Jedi on thier side, they would be unstoppable, and with the amount of ships and troops they have they almost already were.

You think the Empire cares about the people? The only thing they care about is having total control of a planet, thats why the blockade is up, and thats why it will never go down."

The Jedi can be very irritating, although being around them could be.....helpful. Although they are suspicious, I have a feeling that with a little 'persuasion' they could agree with me.

With this final thought he pressed a few buttons and hoped his words will be heard.

"Sormontato, This is Soman Socar aboard the small yellow vessel that is currently in your tractor beams, I wish to join my Jedi companions that are currently onboard your ship, over."

Sellith was not used to communication between ships, he prefered face to face simply because the fact that if they do not see things his way there is always 'alternate' ways to make them agree with you.

[ 09-26-2005 06:36 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sellith ]

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"Master Pertolu, I am not officially a Jedi. My mother was once a Jedi Knight and she took it upon herself to teach me what she could of the Force, the Jedi and the Dark Jedi. I know possesions aren't a necessatiy."

A quick glance around the immediate area allowered her to look over the faces of Xenn, Kitiana and of course Shawn.

"As for your other remark I do not feel trapped at the moment even though our Force abilities are blocked currently. I still do not feel threatened. I would just like to know I have transportation if I need it is all."

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Or could it be that they merely want to establish and keep the peace of the galaxy, and feel that having an established Praxeum for Force-users to attend is one way of doing so? And as far as the Empire using Jedi as an 'ace in the hole'...

...if and when such an instance should occur, don't you believe the Jedi would consider what they were being asked to do and if it would serve the good of the people before they actually went through with anything related to the government? Just as it always has been, the Jedi work with the government so long as the government supports the safety and security of its people. If that government was threatening that safety and security...

...then we would deal with that. And you do not know Sorben Tarnus well. He's a leader, yes. But a dictator...

...no way. Again you make judgements of the man when you don't know him."

Pausing at that, Shawn then cocked a brow to Sarisa. "And I still do not see why you are so very concerned about your ship. The Empire would have no need to take it from you. Furthermore, if it is on another ship...

...then why are you not contacting them about it, instead of requesting that the Empire allow you to have your it?"

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After ending her statement she again bows showing her respect.

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Her tone was a bit annoyed as she spoke. Kitiana was growing tired of hearing their arguement; it was going nowhere. Xenn was being too stubborn on the matter, but she didn't really blame him. She herself didn't trust what was going on, but she was trying to push that aside. She distrusted almost everything and anything she didn't know, and at present, that was quite a bit. The Empire had a bad name from the past, and it was hard to simply ignore. Of course, history didn't always have to repeat itself.
I cannot believe you are subjecting yourself to these Jedi, Kitiana. I taught you better. She could hear the words of her father in her head. He was dead, but she knew what he would say and do to her if he were still alive. A shiver went down her spine as she turned from Xenn to Shawn; waiting to hear what they had to say next.

[ 09-26-2005 03:49 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Kitiana ]

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That reply was long coming. Tatooine and a heavy silence filled the ready room. Then--

"What are you going to tell them, General?" came a respectful prompt from behind.

Another pregnant pause stretched into infinity.

"I don't know."

Ahem turned round, the weight of his command and its attendant predicament lining his face, filling his gray eyes with concern.

"The truth?"

The brass who had spoken let out a stifled snort.

"You've tried that approach, General. It hasn't appeared to be too successful."

Ahem pursed his lips, something dark flashing in the depths of his eyes.

"I know," he said simply, turning round to stare out upon Tatooine once again.

The accursed dustball hung there as if it would never go from his eyes, his thoughts, his dreams...

"We dare not let another weapon downplanet, and these newcomers have arrived armed to the teeth," he said somewhat unnecessarily. The fact that all present knew precisely what he referred to came in the form of murmured agreement, followed by the slight tinks as tea and caf-cups were set studiously upon the gleaming greelwood.

"You can let them go on their way," came a suggestion, one causing Ahem to turn quickly round. One hand reached up to rub against his temple.

"I have thought of that," he began. "But we need them here. At this Praxeum. This has scarcely begun, there are too few of them down there, and from what information we have gathered concerning--"

Another of his command spoke up, interrupting him.

"We do not know for a fact, General," he said, reaching out to take up his cup again. It rattled in its saucer, prompting him to bring his other hand up to steady it.

General Ahem sighed.

"We dare not go on any other assumption, you know that. And we dare not allow weaponry entrance here, free for the taking. Bahrkyr..."

A fierce-eyed Colonel straightened in his seat.

"Have you heard from any other systems? Who has replied; who can we count upon?"

"Sir, we have confirmation from Telti, Sullust, Mytus VII, Myrkyr, M'haeli, Kuat, Kashyyyk, Hapes, Fondor--"

He coughed, flipping through the data-padd he had with him.

"The list is rather extensive, shall I continue?"

"No," Ahem replied, raising a gloved hand. A slight smile came to his face.

"At least some have had the patience to wait and see in what direction we lead; damn Actar and his bullying tactics!"

The darkness in his eyes grew to thundercloud proportions, then promptly dissipated. He sighed again.

"These visitors are not being easy to deal with, and they're not going to go easily to the Praxeum, if--" He paused fractionally.

"If indeed they decide to continue on as stated.

"I only pray Petrolu can talk some sense into them; time is growing short, and though we have the promise of several star systems I am afraid that without Jedi it simply might not be enough to overcome--"

He turned to his men.

"Those who you know damned good and well are returning."

Here he trailed, his look somehow darkening despite its evenness. Perhaps that was due to the fact that the serenity that lied within seemed to simply...

...melt. Into knowledge of something else.

"...there is far more out there in the galaxy to threaten us than the Empire; far darker Forces with far darker power. We've made the mistake of believing we'd seen the darkness in all its depth once before, with Vader and the Emperor. We'd seen nothing compared to what later approached us, something that did not even come from within our own galaxy. I'm certain you've heard the history concerning the Yuuzhan Vong?"

Here Shawn trailed, his greeny-blue eyes looking to every person within the party for a brief moment before he continued. "They came at us from the outside, at a time when we were fighting and squabbling...

...and at a time when we at last found we had to dismiss our petty differences in order to defeat them. No one seemed to feel that the Imperial Remnant was a "bad thing" then. Nr did the Remnant see anything wrong with those of the Republic. No one saw anything except for the utter terror that was the Yuuzhan Vong...

...and finally unifying ourselves, we were able to drive them out. I am not a man of visions..."

He trailed again, his eyes growing distant, "...and I have seen in my dreams something of great darkness, something that is very real...

...and trust me when I say that I know it is just that. And I fear that if we do not have unity before whatever is coming down the spacelanes arrives...

...we will not survive. I might not always agree with the Empire's ways, and when I do not believe me, I speak up and take action. But in the same light, I see much good in most of their hearts...

...just as there is good within most of the hearts of those who are not Imperial. But the Darkness is out there...

...and the only way we stand a chance against it, I am certain, is if we stand together."

[ 09-26-2005 07:42 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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"I have only heard a couple rumors about them. I only know that they hate technology. Can you tell me more about them?"

She also looks at the others expressions for a brief moment.

"I do know that a thing such as that is a good cause to join forces no matter what beliefs we have or the Empire. A common enemy with that power threatens everyone and everything. I may not like helping the Empire but if it means we are successful at repelling any attacks then I will do what I must."

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The statement was in her head, but she thought better of saying anything. To her, everything had to have light and dark, good and evil, to survive; for balance. Kitiana knew that no matter how much something surpressed the darkness or the light, it was always there, waiting to emerge.

"Do you know what this darkness is that comes?"

She was curious. Her father was training her for something, something he knew was coming. He had mentioned it to her numerous times, but never gave any specifics. Only that one day 'they' would come, and there would have to be a battle.

[ 09-27-2005 01:48 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Kitiana ]

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Xenn cocked a brow and said

"What is this Darkness that you speak of?"

Pausing at that, Shawn pursed his lips, his greeny-blue eyes intense, thoughtful. "And, as I have already stated, my visions do not point to anything clearly. But this Darkness...

...it exists. And other Jedi have felt it in the Force aside from myself...

...do you not sense it?"

[ 09-28-2005 09:23 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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"I did have a vision recently but I'm not sure if it is the same thing you are talking about. I saw what I thought was Tattooine but it was surrounded by dark vessels of various sizes from large capital ships to smaller ones like fighters. My first thought was that it was the Empire, but the images weren't clear so I may be mistaken."

She looks at Master Petrolu to see what his reaction is. Maybe he thinks she is on somekind of hallucinagen, or maybe not.

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And, again, it is dangerous to speculate and not focus on the moment. Per the moment, we have this Darkness within the Force, and Darkness which will eventually come one way or another. We need to focus ourselves on preparing for it and watching for it. But my question stands...

...does anyone else feel this Darkness as well?"

[ 09-28-2005 09:47 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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"No, i havent felt anything Unusual... but maybe my senses are just out of touch, i was... Disconnected from the force for a while..."

Kitiana knew darkness and knew how it felt, but what she felt; was it what he spoke of? Surely something that dangerous would work itself into her senses.

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Hoping that Master Petrolu will spill the beans on what he's referring to she keeps looking at him with with curiousity written on her face.

"I'm sure we all have had experiences in different areas of darkness whether from within or from other interactions."

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"And I cannot relate this Darkness to my prior experiences," Shawn continued, now looking to Sarisa. "To do so would be to assme that whatever is out there is something I've dealt with or can somehow understand...

...which I feel would be rather arrogant of me. I've dealt with fallen Jedi, with plots of deceit and murder, and with many other things...

...but I don't think this is something I can grasp but rather will have to simply prepare myself for. But then that is what makes this such a threat to us all...

...I cannot believe that if you truly stop and search your feelings in meditation that you would not feel it too...

...I have not been the only one, as I think I may have already stated."

Pausing then, Shawn looked to Xenn, arching a now curious brow. "Strange that you would so adamantly state the horrible evils of the Empire which now exists, yet sense nothing of this Darkness."

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"Pardon me Master Petrolu, but does anyone one know of how to stop this threat? I've heard that it was pushed out of the galaxy once before. Isn't that true?"

Her eyes watch his hoping to see a beacon of light within them. That hopefully either Shawn or someone he knows has knowledge of how to fight this coming darkness.

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"I dont need the force to sense what the Empire is doing wrong, But as far as this darkness. that..."

Xenn looked over to the side where the Ysalamiri was, then pointed at it and said

"Has not been helping me focus on anything.
Ive been thinking..."

Xenn Decided that it would be better to have the help of other jedi for this matter

"And perhaps i mispoke before, I Have felt this darkness... and I think we should Investigate this matter before it gets out of hand, we should return to your Temple, and meditate on this untill we come up with a plan..."

...I do not feel that is the only thing we as Jedi should be doing. In the meantime the galaxy still exists, and the people within it still need our attention and help. Staying in meditation would make us the thing that some others in the galaxy feel we are...

...a pompous, ritualistic cult that centers upon itself and nothing else. The time for meditation will come...

...but the time that is with us is what counts. Thus the reason I am willing to help the Empire in matters I feel are appropriate for me to, thus the reason I'm on a mission even now. For while meditation will help us...

...staying connected with others will help us as well. I am not returning to the new Jedi Temple now. However, it may be wise for you to do so, to further understand that the Empire is truly not controlling us in any way. If it were, after all, I would not be allowed to move along on a mission that, to me, is of great importance, whether it has a thing to do with the Empire or not."

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Not yet anyways.

"Master Petrolu, may I inquire as to what your mission is? Do you need assistance? I would like to go to the new Praxeum at some point but I would rather do something if possible instead."

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"Whatever we decide to do, can we get on with it? Being in this room is getting old. We have learned what we came to learn, whether we understand why things are the way they are or not."

She hopes Xenn can see how much she hates just sitting. At least the Jedi Praxeum would offer more to do; or so she hopes. And if they were invited on this mission, which she truely doubted, who knows what she could discover.

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Seek the good, I implore you."

Pausing at that, he let his words fall into momentary silence. And then he turned to Sarisa, his greeny-blue eyes intent. "You asked me if I would take you as my Padawan learner, and I said I did not know you well enough yet to accept such a task. Likewise, you do not know me well enough yet to know if I would make the Master you perhaps think I might. Still, if you truly wish to learn the ways of the Force, and perhaps become my apprentice at a later time...

...you will need to have the opportunity to learn of me and I of you. The only way to do that is for your training to begin now. I would like to take you with me on my mission, Sarisa...

...but know this. That which we would embark upon, should you take this challenge, is not for the feint of heart. This mission involves the lives of people who seem, to the average galactic citizen, perfectly average and mundane. They are anything but. And, I further advise you that what you see with your eyes may not be what is truly there: we venture into a territory involving people and races who are not well understood, and who may easily be mistaken as something they are not. And, at times, as something they perhaps indeed are.

I am trusting you have enough strength in the Force to know the difference. That is, of course, should you accept this offer..."

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