After Lumbia and Xam finally made it back to camp and the group began chomping down the food they went to sleep. The sleep was long and cold at camp because of the desert terrian. It was uneasy to sleep in the desert world, the smell of womp rats and bantha fur running through ones noise. The fact that this was so was the main reason why Lumbia was quick to awake at the beeping noise of Lanlif's R2 unit. Tummbling to his feet, he watched the beautiful horizion. The two suns taking their activity above as all but Lumbia rested.

It was still a little chilly, but the atompshere spewing from the coming heat seemed to warm him enough to shrug it off. The day would come with new things, some that would be off this planet. He welcomed the day without fear, though darkness could be looming in his future.

Alerting the others as the mourning sky brandished it's two orbs, he waited as they prepared to head. Holding tightly onto his lightsabers, though he didn't feel any dark vibes from his surrondings.

[ 07-07-2003 12:20 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by LumbiaSith ]

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For those reasons, Xam decided to sleep with one hand on his blaster and the other hand on his lightsaber.

Morning came. Xam was surprised that the night was uneventful. He turned to Lumbia when the Jedi called for everyone to wake up.

"Alright, lets move on. The sooner we get where we are supposed to go the better. I need a glass of Corellian Ale bad."

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Finally when he did stop contemplating, he took stance as leader and headed down the sandy world where all sorts of troubles laid. They would be alright, Lumbia was sure of it--but just to be safe his hands were always kept near his lightsaber.

[ 07-07-2003 03:56 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by LumbiaSith ]

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Captian Berayen wasn't the kind of guy that like to be in the middle of nowhere. He wanted to see relevent things, or something that was worth being curious about. Space gave him that, and he hadn't anytime to waste with land lovers. It was his stime to take to the sea of stars, not the grands of sand. So, he sped and sped up until he could barely see the group. It was them that they needed to rely on for transport, so it'd be best to get the city before they did.

It wasn't long after he took his sudden and fast movement along the sandy floor that he found his destination. Heading along the bridge with his R2 unit beside him and his protocal droid right behind, he pondered where he'd find the bidder.

Heading to the closest catina in town, he found himself fast to fast with the buyer. Nodding his head as they conversed over the trade, they headed to the man's shop. After giving each other the pilot datapads and identification Lanlif opened his comlink to the group.

"I've bought the ship, I'm just waiting for you guys now. Meet me at the spaceport, I'll be there."

And so he was, in one of the private landing bays, awaiting the arrival of the group.

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"Sorry can't help you there big guy." said Ken, "Most of the hutt crime lords are gone now."

This man wanted to make money. Maybe he would agree to sell his ship, if he had one, to Ken. Or just give him a ride to Kiva.

Ken could afford it. Over the past few months, Ken had picked many pockets and had about 70000 credits in his account.

"You want to make money eh?" ,said Ken, "i'm in the market for a ship, care to sell me yours if you have one?"

Clearly the big man had not expected this. Ken waited for him to reply......

...and it was then that Lanlif's message came through. After the Squib was finished, Shawn looked directly at Lumbia. "Again you take the position as a leader when it is not your place," he scolded, his look stern.

And it was that precise moment that a tremor in the Force engulfed Shawn with an almost palpable wave of ice. He couldn't help but gasp slightly; but just as soon as that wave coalesced it completely disappeared.

With effort, Shawn collected his thoughts though by all outward appearances he was merely in calm introspection. "We must hurry," he said briefly, uncertain as to whether the younger Jedi had sensed the wave.

But perhaps Arrakeen had...

"I believe it would be wise for your Squib friend to take us to the Stargazer, where we can acquire a ship of our own," he said to Lumbia. "I dare not risk his life when something so vague and chilling radiates throughout the Force."

Waiting for no reply, Shawn once more began walking, this time taking up the lead position with Arrakeen at his side. As they walked, Shawn fell into introspection, and his mind's eye beheld upon scenes of his recent visions. Shawn glanced sideways towards Arrakeen.

When we reach the ship and begin our journey, he thought to Paul, there is something we must speak of...

...alone...

[ 07-11-2003 10:21 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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Xam thought for a while. Lumbia would have been the person Xam would grow into should he have taken his father's advice and signed up at the Jedi acedemy. But what was done, was done.

Xam could now see the buildings of mos Eisley Spaceport.......

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Lumbia only could reply to her with a smile, trying to probe her eyes with his mind but her intelligences seemed to blockade his onslaught. She was the women she longed for all his life, and it seemed to be shown on first sight. Yet that moment that was longed since his father explained love. A love that wasn't the loyalty to his mens, not the one that was so powerful within the family, but the one of his counterpart. The one that would stay with him the rest of his life, and this was what he was taught and it was shown all in just a matter of breathes as the two past by.

He couldn't help but smile as they continued to walk. His spirits had been rearranged and reprogramed in a greener light. It was embraced in the pastures of love now, but how long would this last.

After this mission he would have to come back, he would have to find her.

It was hard after that moment though to put his mind back on the here and now and future. Shaking his head, he tried putting off the momentary dreamy state, looking up at Shawn. He wondered then if Master Shawn had noticed what had happen, maybe there was a trimmer in the Force that told him.

"Master Petrolu, what and where is the Stargazer?" He said, attempting to get back into the conversation, hoping that his moment hadn't thrown him out of it too far. As he said this they boarded the large, polished freight ship.

[ 07-15-2003 06:15 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by LumbiaSith ]

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One of the Jedi nodded his head. With that, Xam gave the Jedi his comlink number, and told them to contact him when they reached orbit. Xam then turned and headed to the other docking bay where the Ranclaw was. He would feel much safer on his ship than a Freight ship.

As Xam was making his way to the other docking bay he saw two men engaged in a conversation. One of them was dressed in a black suit, he did not look familiar. The other man however was......no it couldn't be.

Xam took a second look at the familiar man. Yes......it was. "Ken", Xam shouted and waved to the friend whom he met on Sullust.

[ 07-15-2003 10:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Xam Ngboohan ]

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"So where've you been and what are you doing here?"

Ken could not help but feel happy that he has met Xam again. For the first time for as long as he could remember, Ken smiled.

"Welcome to the...", he pasued for a second, reaching behind him, clicking on the navboard. Entering in the name of the ship he continued where he left off. "Bantha Bons."

Lanlif chuckled at the name as he put a thumbs up to the group. His protocal droid also was amused, but it was shown in a more mimic way as if he had never laughed before.

The Squib reached onto his belt, taking out all the com. units and gave them to the group, for an emergecy. Heading back to his cockpit seat, he alerted them of their lift off.

"The ship automatically will alert you guys of lift off. I'll stop when we are in orbit, then we can discuss where were all headed first, because I'm confused about this whole thing."

Captian Berayen clicked onto all the buttons and switches to begin the process. After a minute or too the ship was slowly levitating from the ground with the top of the landing bay slowly opening afterwards. After a momentary pause, the ship blasted off into the heavens. Hitting orbit and doing as planned, the ship stopped with Lanlif getting to his feet.

"So, where do we go next?"

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They finally got to the Ranclaw. A Jawa was trying to pry the engine open but did not have the strength to do any damage. Xam "shooed" the Jawa away, unlocked his ship and climbed into the pilot's seat. Ken got into the Gunner's seat.

After a short systems, and inventory check, Xam activated the thrusters and took off, leaving the desert planet behind.

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Do not dwell on the past, Paul. Be mindful of the future...and whatever this unseen shadow is.

The sudden ripple in the Force disturbed him deeply. For it to show up after he and Master Petrolu had those visions...

I must look more into the future and find the cause of such destruction. Perhaps it is the only way to avoid it.

The ship slowed to a stop, now in orbit of Tatooine. Paul turned away and approached the other Jedi. "Excuse me, my friends. I need to be meditating on our situation in order to gain some insight of what lies ahead. If there's anything you need, I'll be in the cargo holds."

Walking away, Paul thought to Shawn, And I'll be waiting for you. But first, educate Lumbia in the Jedi code forbidding love. I sensed his attraction to another before he reached the port.

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...educate Lumbia in the Jedi code forbidding love...

Truth was, Shawn had no problems with love, so long as it was the real thing; after all, he fully condoned the love his sister had for Erik Kartan. Besides that, the Jedi Code which Paul was referring to was a belief of long past...

...before such a time as even Luke Skywalker himself married...

...although it was to another Jedi.

Shawn glanced to Lumbia, figuring up his own words for the concerns Paul had shown...

...for although he had no problems with a Jedi falling in love, he did have problems with it happening in an unnatural and forced way. Love comes suddenly and unexpectedly, not by force...

"Lumbia, I felt certain feelings of attraction from you in the docking area," he started simply. "Be mindful and keep your thoughts on the moment. For although I do not know Master Arrakeen's feelings regarding love...

...I believe it is something that comes to you, and in time. Once Jedi did not believe in love at all, and perhaps some of us still don't," he continued, again wondering what Paul's thoughts on the matter were. "But I think the main thing is to not let looking for love interrupt your dedication to what you are doing as a Jedi. You needn't go looking for it...

...if it is to be it will find you."

He paused for a long moment then, letting Lumbia absorb his words. Then he turned to Lanlif. "We need to go to the Stargazer, which is my sister's ship. I will get in contact with someone aboard the ship and find out their location immediately."

With that he wasted no time but dialed up the frequency for the Stargazer. After a brief discussion with someone on board, Shawn retrieved the coordinates of the ship, and gave them to Lanlif.

"And now," he said finally, "I need to go have a word with Master Arrakeen. If I am needed, please let me know."

With that Shawn departed the cabin, finding Arrakeen in the back of the ship. He took a seat next to him, his greeny-blue eyes intense. "There are things we need speak of," he said simply. "I want to know your feelings concerning this darkness we have been feeling...

...and furthermore I'd like to know just what it is you know of the Sith. You've been avoiding the issue, and if we are going to start a Praxeum together, we're going to have to start trusting each other."

He paused for a moment then, his eyes never leaving Paul's. "If you tell me what it is you know of the Sith...

...then I shall share with you the same."

He quieted with nothing more than that, waiting for whatever Arrakeen might reply.

[ 07-19-2003 09:15 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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He understood this, but he didn't want to admit it. Whether it was forced, whether it was thrown upon him, it was true. Lumbia didn't care if he wasn't paying attention to the here and now, the situation before him.

"I don't care about the moment, I don't care about now!" Lumbia screamed, his eyes shutting as his veins absorbed the anger. Slamming his hands down as he clenched his teeth, he felt the cold water fall from his eyes.

The rush of emotions were all from this thing called love.....

How love was painful.

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Xam decided not to disturb him. He wondered what was taking the Jedi so long to go into orbit. Maybe he was right about the ship being a piece of junk. He did give Lumbia his comlink signal, but forgot to ask the Jedi for theirs.

Xam hoped that Lumbia would call him soon and tell him where they intend to go. It was starting to get just a little boring.

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Xam said that they were waiting for the Jedi. Jedi or not, Ken was starting to feel hungry.

Xam was just about to doze off when Ken asked him for some food. He sat up and rummaged through his pack.

The only thing high in protein was a "nutrient bar". He gave that to Ken who thanked him and immediately gobbled it up.

Xam looked at his chrono, and sighed. The Jedi surely were taking their own time.....

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"I'll be blunt. I have no clue about this sudden wave of darkness in the Force. All I've been able to discover through meditation is that its an unchanging presence. We can't sense it openly, but its still there." He waited for a few moments before continuing. "And I believe we should contact Xam about it. He was the first to sense it. If all of us use the force, we can find out where this disturbance is located. Now..."

A small smile appeared on Paul's face as he looked away and stared straight away. "The Sith."

"Like other Jedi, I was led to believe the Sith were a barbaric race, bred practically for war and influenced by the dark side. Every age in which they die out, they appear again to sow chaos and disorder in the galaxy. After I was exiled, my mediation on Hoth took me to the first of my visions."

The smile soon faded as Paul continued. "I saw...a war. A bloody, destructive war. One that makes our struggle with the Empire seem small in comparison. I couldn't control what I was seeing. Almost every few seconds, my vision changes to another planet or to another battle. And I see the same thing: bloodshed, fire, and pain. Somehow I came to the belief that the Sith were behind it."

"Through meditation I located the 'Daughter of the Sith' and went to one of the planets that once belonged to her race. She was quite...dismissive...but I found no motivation for conflict, and there was not as much hate for Jedi as I thought there would be."

"Yet, I still receive visions, and I fear that they will not go away until..." Paul shook his head. "Something is done. Something changes."

Silence save for the low humming of the freighter's engines filled the bay. After a minute or two, Paul spoke again. "That's all I know."

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"Okay stranger, this is Captian Berayen. We've been in orbit for sometime, waiting. So I'm going to fill you in with where we're going." He began, his voice firm and professional. "Were heading to Bespin, you just come up behind us--but were going to land in the centeral starport landing bay. I'll inform you what dock were on when we land. See you when we get there..."

And so he began on the trip to this ''Stargazer''. Exiting orbit and heading toward the hyperspace lane, they were off, while the lines of stars opened an endless portal to their destination.

((OOC: Follow us to "Where the Clouds Open" in Complete SW Universe))

[ 07-29-2003 11:46 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Lanlif Berayen ]

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