We were sitting in what appeared to be some kind of alpine tundra, in the dead of night. Above our heads a maze of brilliant stars twinkled, stars whose patterns I'd never seen before in my life. I blinked, fighting back the gibbering insanity which strove so hard to overwhelm me, and hugged Link so hard it was a wonder I didn't break a rib.

"Where the hell are we?" I whispered into the uncaring dark, trying to swallow but finding my mouth far, far to dry to do so.

[ 08-20-2007 11:37 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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I had hardly prepared to travel in weather such as this but I at least had the advantage of a fur coat that Yaoksi did not. Just then I heard a faint beep emanate from one of my pockets, I pulled out a small comm unit and remembered that on the other place I had set it to monitor and track signals. It was a very weak signal so weak I couldn't get an exact location but at least a line to follow.

"If we stay here we will freeze to death, I'm picking up something in that direction." I pointed off in a direction that appeared no different from any other way we could travel but might as well be better then here.

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That blue glow. It must have been some kind of doorway.

Stories and myths that I'd heard whispered along the spaceways now came creeping into my head, stories of people and ships who had simply flown... away.

Doorways, it was said. There were supposedly doorways, possibly wormholes to far-off reaches of the universe, perhaps into other time periods. Personally, up until this point I hadn't given these stories much credence, putting them down to too much Whyrene's in combination with too much loneliness on the part of the teller. But now I had to wonder if those stories hadn't a kernel of truth to them after all, and if we had just passed through one such doorway.

I said as much to Link as I released her from my death-grip and clambered to my feet.

"If it is a doorway, maybe the others will follow. But you're right; if we stay here we'll freeze to death. Lemme leave a marker of sorts in case the others go into the blue light too; then let's skedaddle away and hopefully to somewhere that it's warm."

The fact that Link's sensor was picking up on something gave me further solace; chances were very good that if those stories were indeed true, we at least hadn't traveled backward in time to where space travel and higher technologies didn't exist.

As quickly as I could manage in the star-struck dark, I felt my way around until I had found and gathered a fair amount of hand-to-head-sized rocks. These I lay on the ground in the shape of an arrow, which pointed in the direction that Link had indicated.

Wiping my hands on my thighs, I straightened up from placing the final stone.

"Lead on, MacDuff," I said with as much light-heartedness as I could muster, considering it had just struck me that I didn't have my blaster to protect us with.

[ 08-20-2007 11:48 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"I think its about twenty mete..." That was all I got out before the ground suddenly disappeared from beneath my feet and I was tumbling down a the side of something. My reflexes took over and I managed to roll with it until I was stopped by some large immovable object that let out a dull clanging sound when I hit it. Wait nothing in nature makes a clanging sound. I reached out to fell this object and discovered something smooth, very large, and metal.

"Watch your step, I think I found something."

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The words had scarcely left my mouth when I too discovered to my great dismay that the ground I had been shuffling carefully along upon suddenly took a turn for downhill. Before I could compensate, I found myself half sliding, half falling down the slope of an apparent hill of whose size I hadn't the slightest idea. Well, perhaps a tiny bit of an idea, since Link's words weren't that distant from me. And they became louder by the second, as she continued to comment on what she had seemed to find.

Moments later I too impacted against something, which reverberated with a strange clang. My hands went out as if to embrace it; actually, I couldn't help this as I had stumble/slid face-first into whatever it was. After another few seconds had passed in which I allowed my ringing senses to return to normal, I began investigating by feel as to just what this thing was, for it was yet very dark out, and there was no moon of any sort visible.

It was metal... sort of. In fact, the more I investigated, now shuffling sideways and always maintaining a touch upon the mysterious object, the more I began to realize what it just might possibly be.

There ARE gods in the universe; it's a ship!

But-- one very strange to me indeed. It seemed to be made, as are all ships that I knew of, of metal... but in a weird way, not quite. It felt cold and slippery to the touch, yet at the same time strangely incoporeal. Letting my hands now slide, and brother did they seeme to slide easily against the strange surface, I touched ground before I had come to the widest dimension of this unknown thing.

Which told me immediately that unless it was shaped with one side being exactly flat, it was partially buried.

I pursed my lips, intrigued and full of rising hope and annoyed as hell all at the same time.

"Damn, but if I had some sort of light we could actually see this thing; as it is, I guess we'll have to wait until the sun rises.

"Assuming of course that it will, that is."

I plopped down on the ground, still touching the mysterious thing, marveling at how suddenly cold and slick and somehow alive the thing suddenly felt.

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"Another failed attempt to find anything" Kyan muttered to himself.

It had been a week since I crashed on who knows where this place is, why does the navcomputer always die at inconvenient times. I had obtained passage on a small vessel to make my way back to more populated areas of the galaxy when the ship I was on was pulled from hyperspace and crashed here, by some miracle or nightmare of the force only I survived the impact. In three days of exploration I had found the only other significant object on this planet besides my crashed ship... another crashed ship. I couldn't operate it but for all appearances it was better off then mine. Slowly I had been transferring supplies that I could salvage and using the ship as a shelter in hope that I might find a way out of here. However my crashed vessel has all been picked clean by myself and unknown creatures I never see leaving the only option left the new vessel.

I was returning to the ship when I saw for the first time signs of something... tracks leading back to my discovery. I followed them and from below the crater the ship rested in I could hear two voices, perhaps these are those unknown creatures. I drew my shoto and jumped down behind the two and activated the blade which casted its light on the pair, a man and a short furry thing.

Weird.

Flashes of bits and pieces of the equally weird ships that little gal Galen had told me she had flown marched across my thoughts, which I then refocused on the fact that the newcomer had come into sight, being eerily lit by the red light coming from something he carried.

I blinked, wishing heartily again that I had a blaster, and drew Link closer to me.

"Ahh-- the name's Yaoksi Joao, and I don't want any trouble here, pal."

Then I noticed the pile of items at his feet, as if he had just dropped them there, and in the light of the red thing he carried I saw the top half of an open hatch protruding from the ground. The surrounding hull looked... hurtful to gaze upon, sending creepy-crawlies racing up and down my spine.

Sure as shootin' this had to be one of those weird ships Galen had told me about. And here was someone who had figured out how to open it.

But how to fly it, now that probably was a different matter. Hell, I knew with all my flying experience I'd more than likely be lost too, but maybe if the three of us put our collective heads together...

I forced a smile to cross my face, hoping to put this stranger at ease, and spoke up again.

"Ahh, do you know where we are?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Buddy, I've been all around this ol' galaxy, and I've never seen those constellations before in my life."

I pointed upward, and waited.

[ 08-21-2007 03:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"Sorry to startle you, I am Kyan Jetiis'ad, you may call me Kyan."

I deactivated my lightsaber and reached down to activate of of the glow lamps I had acquired from the wreckage which illuminated far better then my lightsaber would. Taking off my jedi robe I offered it to the pair.

Will of the Force...

I blinked. "So, you're a Jedi?" I asked, wondering how he'd managed to escape the holocaust the rising New Empire had unleashed not too many years ago upon that ancient and beatific order.

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True I had lost my ability to touch the force but I am still a Jedi, just as a Mandalorian without his armor is still mando in spirit.

There was something odd about his question not his surprise that I was a Jedi, but his surprise that there was a Jedi. A matter for later perhapses. I opened a small tin and pulled out three strips of meat and tossed two strips to the pair.

"Haili cetare" I said to them. I took a bite of the meat then notice they the pair just looked at me with faces full of confusion, I almost laughed at myself when I realized that these two probably didn't speak mando'a.

"Ahh, not of our own free will," I hedged, hoping he'd leave it at that as I stuck the meat strip hurriedly in my mouth and began to chew.

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I pulled out from among the things that I salvaged a small holo disc that I had recovered and placed it down next to my helmet. At least the force was still with me enough it let me find it.

He wants to know what's been happening for the past twenty-five years?!? Brother, we must be out in the hinterlands of the unexplored sections of the galaxy, if he doesn't have a clue of what's been going on!

Unless, of course, this was a trap to see where my loyalties lay. Hence the Holocron; was this to record my reply? After all, in spite of the New Empire's "best efforts," there were still a lot of loose ends floating around in the aftermath of their military coup, and who know where this guy was coming from.

I shrugged to myself, then laid the meat carefully to one side. Shooting a glance at Link, I could read my own disbelief mirrored in her eyes.

"Well, there's been a military coup," I began slowly. "A personage -- who has since gone into hiding, one supposes, as one doesn't hear hide nor hair of him anymore -- by the name of Admiral Actar enacted a military take-over of the Galaxy. During said take-over, the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin, and the members of the Senate on Coruscant were unfortunately destroyed. Ever since he's been making his strength known with blockades around planets, but as time goes on it seems to me that these are there merely to maintain order. I mean, personal freedoms don't seem to be impacted any--" Here I paused, momentarily flashing back to the ruckus on Sullust. "--and from what I heard he's entirely squelched the illegal Hutt spice trade right in the bud.

"There are other factions I've heard rumors he's been out after, pirating factions; like I said, while I don't really condone his methods in getting where he is, at least now that he's there nothing on the order of old Palpatine of old has occurred.

"At least not to my knowledge."

I took another bite of meat, deciding now was not the time to fill him in on any of the stranger parts of what had been going on, figuring he wouldn't believe me anyway.

[ 08-22-2007 11:28 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"The academy was attacked, when did this happen, did any jedi survive, are there even any jedi left?" I was almost yelling with a barely controlled rage, firing off question after question.

I picked up the holopad from before and activated it scrolling through the images until I came to the one I wanted. I handed the pad to Yaoksi the image showed a younger version of myself in Mandalorian armor, a short blue female Twilek in jedi robes, and a male Barabel in jedi robes.

Ye gods, Yaoksi, he probably really has been out in the boonies for as long as he said; this information would be enough to make anyone react as he just did, if not worse!

I forced myself to hunker down more quietly again, now wincing at the image of the Twi'lek.

Ahh, Nassy...

"Look, my friend, I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news, but the fact is that in my line of business I don't mingle much with Jedi. It's only been during this recent, ahh-- unrest that I've crossed paths with any at all, Cella Poliani and Jerod Mahoy and Shawn Petrolu, to be specific."

I shook my head. "Of those three, Cella is dead, I don't know about Jerod, and Shawn is running about the galaxy somewhere..."

I sighed, a little worried now about this entire little confrontation. He certainly seemed to have a hot temper for a Jedi, and in that regard I wondered that if push ever came to shove we'd be able to work together without constantly butting our heads.

[ 08-22-2007 03:37 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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I willed myself to control my breathing and with that the rest of my body relaxed as well.

What kind of Jedi is this guy, anyway? I wondered to myself as I chewed. I mean, even I could tell by feel that this ship is probably more than half-buried in rock, and he thinks we can just up and fly it out of here?

Of course, if it is what I think it is, going by what that lil gal said, it will have no problem whatsoever...

I shot a furtive glance around, even though darkness was all I could make out beyond the soft glow of the lights Kyad had ignited. Well I remembered Galen saying how many kilometers of the surrounding area had been destroyed when she made her bid for freedom in the little Sith fighter she had found...

"I think that we should wait until daylight. Then a proper assessment can be made, and we can see if this ship is space-worthy or not."

With that I stretched and laid down beside the strange hull, proposing to try and get a little rest if even that was possible after all Link and I had just been through.

[ 08-23-2007 01:30 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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This Kyan, whoever he was, seemed to be the biggest mystery I've ever seen. He claims to be a jedi but acts different from the stories of the jedi I've heard about. And his claim about being a Mandalorian, I thought those where heartless mercenaries.

I waited until Kyan went to sleep then crept over to Yaoksi.

"Yaoksi what do you think about this guy?" I whispered. "I thought Mandalorians where bounty hunters, and mercenaries not jedi."

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I blinked as an even more unsettling thought coalesced.

"I don't know, kid," I whispered back, keeping my voice as low as I could. "It's all strange to me, too. I mean, I don't know much about jedi and such, other than I thought Actar crunched 'em all, for the most part.

"But a jedi who wears armor? And gets so emotional, with complete strangers? I dunno-- maybe he's not a jedi at all.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe he is a bounty hunter..."

I paused, swallowing uncomfortably. Bounty hunters were not the best of associates in my book, after all.

[ 09-06-2007 12:17 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"If you two are going to talk about me behind my back at least do it quieter like pass notes or something." I replied. "Not all Mandalorians are bounty hunters or mercenariness; many are farmers, ship builders, engineers, and many other things. But all of us are trained as warriors."

I sat up to look at them, they might not believe my story but what did I have to loose.

"I was born 62 years ago along with my twin brother, at the age of 5 a jedi traveling through Mandalorian space found us to be force sensitive. My brother left with him to become a jedi while I stayed with my parents until I became a Mandalorian warrior. At the age of 13 I attended the jedi academy and was assigned the same master as my brother and we both became jedi knights at the age of 18."

"Even though we where trained by the same master we both became very different jedi, my brother embraced the view that there is no light or dark side of the force only how we use it. I believed differently and trained for combat constantly which labeled my a grey jedi among my peers. Eventually my brother and I drifted apart and we no longer even spoke. Some years later I got married and had a child, she was a beautiful child and would be a strong mandalorian warrior. When she was about 11 that is when everything changed."

I stared down at the ground for a few moments trying to piece together how I was going to say what happened.

"My brother turned to the dark side of the force and became a dark jedi, he tried to turn me as well but when I would not, he killed my wife and daughter right in front of my eyes. I fought my brother and instead of turning like my brother wanted I stayed true to the path of the living force. Eventually I dealt him a mortal blow, but before he died he used the force somehow to sever my connection with it. In one day I lost my brother, my wife, my daughter, and the force. I spent the next 25 years trying to regain my connection with the force which now leads me here."

Damn, but this guy had ears on him like a hunting nek! And there was something about that little fact that made me even more uncomfortable then the beans he was so unexpectedly spilling all over the ground.

I opened my mouth, thought better of it, closed it.

"Umm... yeah, right. Sleep. Let's get it; 'night," I replied tersely, turning on my side so I could keep an eye peeled on his shadowy form. No way was I gonna get a wink of sleep in the time remaining of this night, however long that was. I don't care if he said no harm would come to us at his hand; in all my gadding about the galaxy I've quite often found the bearer of such words to be secretly crossing his or her or its fingers behind his or her or its figurative back...

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I slowly creped over to him until I was about a meter away and just stopped to look at him. He didn't look like a bounty hunter or a mercenary, he looked more like an old story teller, or protector for some reason abound him I felt safe like I did with Yaoksi.

I knelt down then dug out a small trench to about half a meter deep, the ground here was soft and easy to move. Satisfied I dug a hole big enough I withdrew my vibroblade to have it ready in case I needed it, I stared at it quietly for a few moments then returned it to its sheath hidden in my vest. I don't need this... no one here will harm me.

Curling up in a ball In my little trench which made a decent "nest" I fell asleep knowing that nothing would happen this night.

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Funny, but for a guy who was supposedly out of touch with the Force, or whatever, he sure as hell sensed a lot about me, and perhaps Link as well...

I didn't say any of this aloud. After a moment had passed, all I replied was, "I don't know much about Link, actually. I met her awhile back, she had some skills I found handy to have around, she's kinda lonely, I think, although she puts up a 'tough guy' exterior...

"That's about it."

I fell silent, closing my eyes then and pretending to go to sleep. I really didn't want to disclose much of anything else to this guy, and already was trying to figure out what my chances would be of getting off of this unknown rock just with Link alone.

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