Terrin nodded, then spoke up. "Based on the speed capabilities of this ship, the minimal amount of travel time we’ve had in hyperspace, and the most logical flight pattern, that looks about right to me.”

He paused then, unable to stop himself from wondering if they would get to Galen in time to help her, even knowing her probable location.

Kriffing hell, even if they could get there, it’d probably be cutting things close.

He then said as much to the others. “I’ve got some resources we can tap into to get to her if we can’t make it in time,” he then stated.

At least one rather ahhhhh... large resource too, eh Danner???

“Or-“ here he paused once more, glancing over to Kyan, “Maybe your Paladins can help? She is in a Mandolorian ship after all, and while my Eagle Enterprises guys would be all over it, they aren’t going to have a clue how to fix it.”

And Galen might want to have the ship fixed and keep going on her own, right pal? a shoulder devil snorted.

Quite surprisingly--or perhaps maybe not, after all they had been through together--Terrin was able to answer the thought easily. And if that’s what she decides to do, I’m going to trust her and do what she needs me to do, until such a time as she is in danger…

..and then I know what I’ll do, and so does she…

[ 01-06-2019 03:22 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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

“There is no harm with preparing contingencies,” Kyan answered. “I believe we should first find where Gal’ika is then we can best use our available resources. Now I think I can help Gal’ika find out where she is but for that I do need quiet. If something happens I will let you know.”

First Kyan set a chair at one end of the table and sat in a chair oposite to it. He was still clutching the remaining shot glass in his hand. Reaching back out to Galen he calmed his mind focusing on her.

“Gal’ika,” Kyan conveyed. “I’m ready on my end, I believe I can help you find out where you are. If you can sit at one end of the room you are in and envision me sitting just as I am doing for you.

He peered across the table in his mind he could fashion an apparition of Galen sitting opposite of him in the empty chair.

Beskar iron! Impressive...

Finding no need for the waist straps any longer, I then quickly unsnapped the connecting buckle, and almost had my fingers smacked as they quickly re-wound and disappeared into a hidden compartment on the chemical reactor. This little bit of excitement over, I then moved back to the pilot's seat and sat down, squirming around a bit before finally getting comfortable.

I was thus in the middle of settling in for the duration when Master Kyan's voice came into my ears, as solid and assuring as if he was sitting there next to me.

Which was what he wanted me to envision. Okay then...

I glanced to the seat next to me, squinted, swallowed and stared. Nothing.

Shaking my head, I rolled it around, bending my neck from side to side to stretch out the muscles, pursed my lips and tried again, pinning an intense look on that empty chair. It remained empty.

Ok, Galen, this obviously isn't going to work. Maybe you're trying too hard...

Drawing in a deep breath, I closed my eyes. Focused on a spot just behind my lids, a spot revealed by a little dancing black blotch, which floated and moved and danced like a fairy sprite in springtime. I let my breathing slow, followed that little splotch, didn't even realize that by doing so not only was my breathing slowing but my heart rate as well. Thoughts of Ol' Googly, of what I'd just experienced slowly segued into my experience when Flow-walking with Master Kyan. I let those images come, noticing somewhat vaguely now that the little dancing dot was getting more and more noticeable.

Not that it was getting bigger, but rather darker by comparison to my inner lids, which for some strange reason were lightening up from deepest bloody-black through shades of rust and ochre to a strange sort of tan to the purest white, the white only seen in the heart of a star.

The black mote danced a jig, wriggled a mysterious visual spell, and disappeared.

I opened my eyes to find nothing but The White.

Well, not quite nothing...

"Hello, Master," I greeted Kyan, before sheepishly dropping my eyes from his white-staring ones.

"Forgive me for deceiving you but..."

But what? What could I say? In fact, did I need to say anything at all?

A warm feeling suddenly flooded my being; I reached out and took up his virtual hand in mine. It felt solid and warm in turn, which was rather strange since I was fully armored at this point and truly did not expect to find such a distinct feeling of flesh against flesh as I just did.

[ 01-07-2019 09:05 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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“Forgiveness for what?” Kyan asked. “Was your intent to hurt me, Terrin, or the others? Did you abandon your own sense of self? You acted as you thought best, not out of malicious intent. The way the Force speaks to me is not the way it may speak to you. So I recognize you need to do things your own way from time to time. You know this to bf true as well, and that is the mark of a true Mandalorian.”

He released his hand and clenching it into a fist lightly rapped his knuckles against her shoulder.

She is starting to know the world and how she fits in it.

“I can see your trust in your own abilities has grown,” said Kyan. “It is strange circumstances to have a lesson like this, however we take what we are given at times. Now by comparison to what you are doing now this is the same principle.

Kyan motioned in front of him to where there was a physical star map, and in his own mind his Force Perception of the galaxy.

In the movement, something that was as much a part of me as the heart that beat in my chest now travelled through Cin vheti’s navigational console, passed between the very molecules of the forward viewscreen, through the very plating of the hull itself. I/it did not stop there, but continued ”onward”, one strangely seeking step after another after another after another.

At length I/it came to a position where time did not merely halt, it did not suddenly cease to exist, but rather…

Never had been.

The penultimate Non.

There I paused, stretched out, seeking those brilliant white lines which once had linked me to the flow of the very universe, that which gives life exactly that, that thing without which nothing could occur, nothing could ever happen. Nothing could grow, beginning individual journeys that started as a tiny bud before blossoming forth, seeking and finding potentialities unguessable, only to finally wither and die and in the process offering bits of itself back into the cycle to keep it smoothly running, day after day, year after year, eon after eon.

Time.

I looked this way, peered that. Gyrated slowly, my virtual eyes peeled, my itself reaching out for what exists.For That Which Is.

There was nothing. Only The White.

I did not allow myself one lick of disappointment, for my failure was not for the lacking of any capability in this quest…This I knew into my very soul of souls…

But for lacking the patience necessary in seeking it.

And so, in this place of not-Time I merely paused, striving to simply let it be, waiting until something within me would be recognized by what I certainly did not know, but recognized all the same, and let what I unconsciously felt to be millennia pass.

Somewhere.

At length something happened.

A strange sort of ripple marred the perfection of The White. It was as if something immense had taken it up, and me along with it, crumpled it into a ball of unknowable proportions, and let it go. The White immediately sprang into it’s normal self, bursting with the most beautiful Black I had ever seen in my life.

Deep that black was, cold and void. Screaming and crying out in a pain so agonizingly profound it could only be springing from utter loneliness, The Black seemed to stretch itself forward.

Ah. There was forward

In fact, Now had meaning…

Little by little, bit by bit, in this place and in that, tiny white dots blossomed. They grew in number, forming in not hundreds or thousands or millions, but in billions! Seeking each other, they joined together in jaw-droppingly beautiful pin-wheeling communities, held together by the social ties of gravity.

I/it suddenly found myself racing Forward, approaching a particular pinwheel. It rotated majestically against The Black, it’s cousins dotting the background, dotting The Black now stretching into infinity all around me, even as a good chunk of that grew brighter and brighter, filled with growing dots of every conceivable color.

My Brothers.

I raised my virtual arms to them, stretched out to them, yearning not just to be amidst them but to BE them…

Not… yet.

And found myself surrounded by stars.

Blinking my virtual eyes, eyes now filled with flowing tears for the grandeur of it all I dared the mundanity of communication.

”I think I am here, Master Kyan,” I breathed, sending that whisper of direction across the connection I now knew in my heart to be one created not by our mere and laughable efforts, but by something much MUCH bigger.

Why? came immediately to mind, immediately squelched.

Who are we?

[ 01-08-2019 10:31 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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“Good,” Kyan replied. “I am seeing it as well, this is close to what it is like for me to see. For now this will serve our purposes. Among all the points of light one of them is me, another is you, and when you learn how to look carefully you may be able to identify even those that have a less of a connection with the Force.”

Kyan turned his attention briefly back to the Challenger. He selected Terrin and focusing on him Kyan began to direct the Force to surround Terrin. It was similar to healing but Kyan kept the effect low enough that Terrin shouldn’t have been able to notice even if he was Force sensitive. What it did do was cause the light that represented Terrin to glow ever so brighter in his perception and should correspond to Galen’s as well.

He does not understand; can he ever understand? And if not, how can he truthfully teach me?

The little doubt niggled, grew from a tiny kernel into a nit-sized bud, then dissolved away into my very being. Now set aside, for there were other things more worrisome I feared, I drew in a deep breath, struggled to find a commonality by which he would be able to discern my position.

I wasn't certain as to how he was interpreting those brilliant motes, but sure as there's Treasure on Roon it wasn't as the blazing stellar bodies I knew into my soul of souls that they were.

A small noise escaped me as I sighed.

"Master Kyan," I sent back in communication. "I do not understand what you mean.

"For surely what I have just felt, just... seen, is nothing more than the beauty of galaxies and the untold billions of stars within them.

"I'm sending you that which is outside Cin vheti" I finished, stifling the addendum which tried to follow along the
forceful pathway.

I hope...

[ 01-09-2019 05:55 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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"Hey, while Master Kyan is doing what he's doing to help Galen, I need to touch base with some resources of my own because they may be able to get to Galen faster than we can. My wristcomm is hooked up to the holoprojector giving Kyan a galaxy map, so I'd like to use your comm while we're in reealspace, if you wouldn't mind..."

Yeah, while we're sitting here in realspace, and time is ticking... came a damnable mental rejoinder.

[ 01-09-2019 08:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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"Sure pal," I rejoined, stepping a bit sideways and waving a hand toward the console. "The comm's all yours."

Then trusting him completely to not drop us out of hyperspace or ram us through a nearby star, I continued aft, secure in the knowledge that we were at last doing something, even if that something was heading off to the dismal swamp world of Dagobah.

Which of course was the trajectory Challenger currently was following.

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

"Aaron it's Terrin aboard the Challenger, Yaoksi Joao's ship. We've been to Mandolore and spoken with some leaders there about a potential alliance, but in the meantime some things came up and Galen went on her own in a Mandolorian ship to take care of some things.

Here he paused. He could imagine what Aaron would be thinking at this point. But he also knew that with his next words, whatever Aaron might be thinking wouldn't matter.

Her ship has fallen into some trouble, and she has been thrown into deep space, potentially near Degobah, with her systems dead. If the Hornett is where I think she is. or anywhere nearby, we are probably going to need your help. Please let me know you've received my message and of your current location. It could very well be the best shot we've got of getting to her.

Sending off the message, Terrin decided to wait a few minutes, knowing that Aaron would no doubt respond as soon as possible after receiving a message on his personal comm frequency.

[ 01-10-2019 04:09 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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Aaron Barnes had been sitting in his plush office aboard the recently serviced Hornett when Terrin's call came through. Not having heard from his partner in quite some time, Aaron immediately opened up the message and listened, an admixture of thoughts and feelings coming to his mind as he did.

Mandalore? An Alliance? And Galen had gone off on her own on a Mandolorian ship?

Hmmm.

Sounds like we need to catch up, Aaron said as he began his response. An Alliance? He fell silent, letting the question hang for a moment. After all, although Terrin was the primary owner of Eagle Enterprises, he did have a penchant for moving from one activity to another, having enough wealth to pursue what he was interested in at the time. That was how he'd helped Shayla Stargazer create her information smuggling agency, then moved on to activities which crossed him with the Empire and a Moff and creating Eagle Enterprises..

And now to doing whatever it took to protect his wife, whose background Aaron was now knowledgeable of. And Aaron was quite settled being the one that the majority of EE business rested on while Terrin did what he needed to do, still checking in and keeping tabs on the business himself more than some might suppose.

And your ship is close to right where you left her last, Aaron continued[/i] knowing that if and when Terrin wanted specifics, he'd ask. I'm sure we have some employees in various areas who can help out if need be. Just keep me posted, I'll keep my wristcomm close in case you have any updates.

Closing with that, Aaron sent the message along his encrypted frequency back to the one that Terrin had sent his initial one.

[ 01-10-2019 09:44 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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That call, that voice it still beckons no promises so much. The Force spoke with its calm reassurance this had an air of seduction. When I take that step its as if the eyes beyond it suddenly notice me, evaluating whether I can see them, daring me to step into their arena. And I can’t do it.

He knew it was there, the answers or at least he thought he was meant to believe that idea.

No Gal’ika first, regret and self deprecation can come later. The important thing is Gal’ika is showing you something.

He felt himself moving out of the Cin Vheti, looking around He tried to identify what exactly he was looking at. There was a field of stars just out side and more than that something that held beauty, knowledge, power. Kyan didn’t know how to describe it when he tried to form it into words one phrase came to mind The White. It was a bit of irony that this was a rough translation of Cin Vheti.

No Kyan focus. There is Coruscant, Mandalore, Corrilia.

“I’m not sure if I understand this,” Kyan gestured. “But we can work with it, give me a moment”

Kyan released the shot glass he was holding allowing it to fall. Before it actually hit the ground the glass slowed, stopped, then began to rise. Darting back and forth among the other glasses eventually it came to a rest, above the galactic plane it hovered same where between what he guessed was Yavin and the Sith Diamond.

“I’ll get the other,” Link said. “Just don’t teleport us while I’m gone.”

Heading over to the cockpit she found Yaoksi and Terrnin over near one of the comm pannels.

“The Jedi thinks he found something,” Link relayed. “I’m not as familiar with the area of the Galaxy he is indicating one of you may need to see if you can find out more.”

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

"If Galen's located somewere in the area where the glass is hovering," Terrin then said, knowing that whether or not Kyan had a basic knowledge of the galaxy map that he probably didn't know every single planet on the map, "She's potentially more within the mid to outer rim to unknown regions."

Here he paused, actually somewhat relieved that she might not be quite as far away from them as he had originally thought. "Based on the map we've got some good points of contact for her, and to get to her, especially if she's been thrown more mid-rim. Ord Mantell is in the vicinity, and I've certainly got some contacts there with it being a commercial hub, and there's Bilbringi nearby. Dorin is also in the path, and I've got some contacts there due to some technologies they have available. But if she was thrown more to the outer rim and closer to the Sith Diamond..."

Terrin paused, frowning. "...I've got at least one employee out that way, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to get to her, at least not quickly."

Terrin quieted and sighed, wishing for all the worlds that there was more he could do to clearly ascertain Galen's location. He knew that Kyan was trying everything he coud to find her, but Kyan and Galen were speaking in terms which he didn't...of the Force and the All...and he spoke in terms of numbers and coordinates.

"This is a good start," Terrin said, "And we can at least get headed in the right direction towards her...

...but in the meantime, I need the impossible. I need a way to pinpoint Galen's exact location." He paused, for just a moment. "And we need to get headed in what we at least think is the right direction."

Having said that, Terrin took a few steps back to the Challenger's cabin, quickly filling Yaoksi Joao in on what Kyan had found out and letting him know they needed to stop and reroute. Then he headed back to the galley, his mind still spinning on any options they had. He stared at the map as if Galen's location would magically just appear there, chewing his lower lip once more. Something clicked.

"You said the ship is operating on emergency power, and her armor's life support is being supplemented so it's still operational. Two questions....will that ship, in emergency mode, emit any distress signal? And does her armor have any communications ability?"

[ 01-11-2019 10:40 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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I spun on my heels, my brief caf-seeking sojourn nipped in the proverbial bud, and shot back to the cabin. My hands were reaching for the controls even as I threw myself into the pilot's seat again.

Mere seconds later, and we had dropped from hyperspace and had ground to a proverbial halt whilst I applied myself to gathering what information I needed to quite literally tell me where in the universe we were.

Well, at least where in the Galaxy...

I flipped on a switch, and a small holo-projection of the Galactic map popped into view in front of me. It rotated majestically, slowly enough that I could finally find the tiny blue dot which differentiated our presence from the wealth of colorful jewels displayed there.

OK, so we're somewhere fairly deserted, in the Expansion Area, fast approaching the famous Correllian Run Corridor. That’s good, there shouldn’t be anyone around to notice us then.

The smile that was developing on my lips quickly faded with the realization that although we needed to turn around, where was it that we needed to turn around to? In what specific vector?

I pursed my lips, then straightened.

This is why they pay you the Big Bucks, pal! I admonished myself as with now steady hands I laid in the most logical course I could think of. For if Galen was somewhere between Yavin space and that of the Sith worlds, the best place to use as sort of a “space base” from which to spring in order to get to her quickly should be somewhere right in the middle. Or at least as close as I could come to it.

Thus our first trajectory would follow a vector leading in a bit of an arc above the plane of the galaxy, so as to minimize chances of flying through a star or planet as we traversed the Galactic Core, coming down to a spot near the Bright Jewel Cluster north of Ord Mantell and west of Phaeda. Located there was another nice and fairly empty spot where we could hunker, and one from which it would be fairly easy to head either east toward Yavin, or west into the Wild Regions and the Sith worlds.

I shuddered a little, hoping we wouldn’t have to be taking the latter of those two options. Then, knowing every second was of the essence, I tapped a sigil on the navigational console and made it so.

Challenger once more let out that deep thrum, oriented herself against the background of twinkling stars, and shot off into hyperspace. I let out a chuff of breath, punched in auto-pilot and rose to my feet.

Now to go get me some caf!

[ 01-12-2019 02:37 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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Kriffing hell. Never tell me The Odds...not these kinds of odds...

Terrin's eyes defocused, knowing he could call Bes'in and the Paladins all day long for help, but uncertain if finding out that they could get a signal from any kind of SOS or from Galen's armor would help them in the long run, especially still having quite a large chunk of galaxy to find her in even with Kyan's narrowing it down to a quadrant.

After all, even with the best sensor range out there...

His blue eyes clouded over a bit more, troubled. He'd been here before, several times. He'd been able get to Galen too, but each time was with a combination of technology, alliances...

...and pretty much always involved either the Sith, Jedi, or both. After all, Shawn Petrolu had been able to help him find and track Galen when Tarnus had taken her....

So why, with the connection that Kyan had to Galen, couldn't he? Especially since Galen had also been able to connect with Kyan? And since she had a connection with something far beyond the Force? He was sure of it.

Couldn't Kyan see that? Use that?

"Can't you use the Force to track her somehow?" Terrin then said aloud. "I mean I've seen it done before..."

With Galen, no less.

"...and you do have a connection with her, far beyond most that I've had help me find her when she's gotten herself in a bind before."

[ 01-14-2019 08:41 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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He THINKS he can work with this? muttered in the back of my head as the strange connection between me and Master Kyan wavered for a moment, as if he was directing his attention away from me to speak with someone else.

WHICH he's more than likely doing. Calm down, Galen!

The self-admonition sent the rising flock of geese to settle quietly on my back, where they nestled down to take a nap. Meanwhile, shoving down my errant temper as I just had allowed that bit of logic residing within me a chance to raise up and wave a hand. It was an unusual feeling, for admittedly I hadn't been much of one for logic, but I'd learned throughout the recent years that when this particular little Red Flag sat up and waved, I'd better pay attention.

I did, much to my discomfiture, for it was telling me that Master Kyan didn't have a womprat's chance in a sandcat's nest of finding me.

Who am I kidding? came directly on the heels of that. He's lost connection with the Force, remember? I don't know how we managed the Flow Walk, maybe it was something else in me that made that happen, maybe not. But something happened, sure as there's Treasure on Roon!

Maybe that something will jolly along now and help us...

I drew in a breath, snuggled more comfortably in my seat, adjusted the power pack a bit more to the front of my body, and concentrated. Just as before when I tried, absolutely nothing happened.

Very well, I'll not try.

Again I drew in a breath, letting my clenched lids loosen now while yet remaining closed, letting my head loll back against the seat, letting everything around me simply go, letting myself simply be...

Cricket noises.

My eyes popped open. I checked the chrono.

OK, so about an hour has gone by, I told myself. Plenty of power left. Plenty of time to...

To do what? Sit and fret while I waited?

Not this Little Red Hen.

I nodded my virtual head, sought back along the tenuous connection that I knew down into my very soul Kyan was still maintaining with me.

"Whatever you're trying, keep it up!" I forced false cheer into my mental voice. "But I'm going to poke around a bit here, see if I can come up with something on this end to help you find me."

In my bones of bones I knew the star image I'd sent hadn't been enough. Good gravy; how could it be? Constellations only appear as they do from a particular viewpoint. The arrangement of stars I'd shown them more than likely looked much, much different from their end of the galaxy, wherever that was.

Oh I didn't deny the skill set of the people aboard that ship. Terrin was no slouch with a star map, and Captain Joao had knocked around the Galaxy plenty. But I knew it would take time, and that was a commodity I really didn't have much of. Even the best nav-puter would need...

Time.

SO I drew in the third deep breath in about as many minutes, and now turned my thoughts to what I could do to help on this end. I ran through what was working aboard Cin vheti...

Not much!

...as well as what was not.

Everything but the distress signal.

Something niggled. My eyes popped open, and I quickly sat upright.

That distress signal. If only I could augment it somehow, make it reach farther, be "louder."

I plopped back in my chair, sighed. What did I have to work with? There was my chemical power pack, to be sure, but that was the only thing keeping me from a most uncomfortable death before my time, judging by the size of ice crystals that covered the nav-console and practically everything else. I didn't dare use--

Wait, what? Crystals...

My heart started pounding faster; I forced it to slow. Don't put the cart before the ronto! I told myself firmly as my searching eyes found that which was once attached to my armor, which was what I first took off before setting off on Dagobah...

And which was still positioned exactly where I had laid it, seemingly years ago.

My brand spankin' new lightsaber.

The small knife I had chosen, still hidden up the sleeve of my armor, made quick work of the connectors along it's shining handle. I winced as I removed one section, fiddling around in it's small but intricate innards, silently apologizing to Master Kyan and his...

You mean, "our?"

...family, and clan, and to the very Force in general for the hash I was making of the beautifully elegant weapon once belonging to Kyan's daughter. Gulping, hoping my silent thoughts had spewn out into the Void and into the Force and by that into some semblance of apologies to anything or anyone involved in it, I finally laid the little blade aside and flopped back against the seat.

Between my fingers I held the delicate beauty of a kyber crystal.

Maybe I can do something with this, I thought even as those thoughts turned to the intricacies of wiring and energies, of Ohms and amperages and light which was energy itself.

Maybe I can enhance that energy with this crystal. These things focus things, right?

I knew in my gut the hypothesis was correct.

Now if I could only implement it's correct experimentation.

All doubts cast aside, I put myself to work.

[ 01-14-2019 10:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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“You are not wrong,” Kyan agreed. “I understand how it should work through the Force, but this thing this The All. Its brilliance its beauty is blinding and I know, I can feel it just beyond my grasp waiting for me to take hold of it. And for Gal’ika’s sake I am trying to figure this out as fast as I can. Pr’ika gave me this ability for a reason, it has to help someho… one moment, Gal’ika is trying something.”

Kyan refocused on his distant apparition. On that distant ship he knew where Galen was in the room but had his visage turn its head to follow her.

“I’m back Gal’ika,” said Kyan. “It looks like you have an idea, on the Challenges the others are working on heading to a point between Yavin and the Sith Diamond. When I looked beyond something I still don’t know how to describe it that is where It tells me you are.”

He read the currents around Galen and felt a familiar sensation.

“Flow Walking… that allows you to view the past or the future. But you would still be trapped on this ship when you return.”

Was that strictly true, forget what you know and instead what could be. Didn’t you say as much to Gal’ika.

At least the real Kyrimorut homestead remains hidden.

Bes’in watched as his people, his Paladins did their work. If he could smile the Paladins would no doubt see the pride he bore at their hardwork in preparation of this day. A fully independent and self sufficient Mandalorian Tribe. While continuing to oversee the work he turned to Kyan’s earlier request, it was a simple task to give those four Kyan had mentioned access, well mostly full, he kept back the location of the true Kyrimorut homestead and the technical information on Mandalorian Iron smelting. In everything else he gave them mostly unfettered access. With that in place he encrypted the credentials and sent them to the Challengers comm frequency. Finishing up he saw his crew was ready. He opened a ship wide comm and looped in every public comm planet wide as well. Time to put on a show.

“Attention crew of the Kal Skirata,” said Bes’in. “Mandalorian Paladins, clan Skirata, and the people of Mandalore this is Bes’in Skirata Supreme Commander of the Mandalorian Paladin Order. I am sure many of you heard the rumors of clan Skirata over the decades and our relationship with the Jedi order, but to those of you who have know us whose sons and daughters have joined us know that in our hearts we are true Mandalorians. Long in our history we have been the dogs of the Republic, dogs of the New Republic, and dogs of the Imperials. Those days have ended, today we Paladins renounce the leadership of our puppet Chief Mandalore, and the Imperial government they represent. Decide now who you wish to serve, yourselves or the Empire. Die Proud.”

He closed comm channel and directed his attention to the Captain of Kal Skirata.

“Take us out,” Bes’in ordered. “Set course for staging point one.”

What did I know of this thing called The All...?

Well now, let's just pause for a moment to take a li'l ol' trip down Memory Lane, shall we?

I pulled myself out from underneath the console, thwacking my head on it's underside as I did so. All that did was set up a momentary dull ringing in my ears, as the helmet to my wonderful armor took the brunt of the blow. Now sitting back, I considered Master Kyan's words carefully, choosing my responding ones with even greater care.

I seriously don't have time for this, Master, I frowned slightly to myself, before then settling down on my knees and sending back a reply:

"The All is..."

I paused fractionally, as the horrible day Jharmeen was transformed from fun-loving sister into Something I as yet did not fully understand flooded into my thoughts. Closing my eyes, I simply let those thoughts continue, trying to find the answers which up until now I had not, hoping that maybe this time I would notice something I'd missed, ANYTHING that would give a clue as to what this thing was.

This Thing that might be in you too, Galen...

Now shaking my head to myself with even greater vehemence, I shoved that thought down and away, turning my focus back to seeking the answers. But nothing new was to be found. Those answers remained stubbornly elusive, if indeed they were anywhere I might find them at all.

Easily I remembered she had gone into the excavation Dad had been working on, deep in that little cave on that dismal Sith world, a world I knew was now beyond the reach of everyone and everything. That she came forth from whatever mystery she found therein, not only completely transformed but consumed by it as well was something just shy of the Understatement of All Time, no pun intended.

That she tried to kill me and left me for dead, my groggy awakening and stumbling into the cave, finding my little Jester, all segued into a rush of images of my recent life and inter-twinings with Jharmeen and the Sith and Sorben and Terrin and life and death and strange worlds and even stranger realms which stood outside the dimension that men term real...

I stopped, shaking my head a third time, instinctively reaching a gloved hand up to move stray tendrils of hair from my face, but of course being halted in that act by the helmet I was wearing. The slightly metallic clang brought me back to my senses, reminded me that Master Kyan was patiently waiting.

"The All is something far greater than the Force. From what I can understand of it, you do not find it.

"Rather, it finds you. And you just cannot grab it by the horns and run with it, either."

The metaphor made me wince. For what was the only other people I knew of in this entire Galaxy, one I had been wrapped up with in one way or another ever since Sissy left me to die on that desert world?

The Sith. The TRUE Sith.

They were magic. They knew magic, and commanded it, and wove it into their lives.

But there were only a select few who seemed to have this other immense power, this All responding to their command.

If a magical people could not as a whole reach out and use that incredible strength, it stood to reason that it simply could not be easily commanded. IT CHOSE. And those chosen by it were chosen for a reason, and set upon a some kind of destiny, perhaps.

But not given the power automatically. This they had to learn, or maybe even EARN somehow...

I sent my suppositions to Master Kyan, finishing with:

"The planet where my Sister was transformed, where I found my Sith Fighter, is gone, Master Kyan. It is in a place beyond our reality, something called The Elseness.

"I know this because I helped to place it there. But I have absolutely no idea how I did it.

"That was controlled by someone other than me."

I sighed, wishing I could have been of more assistance, before turning back to the task at hand. While I'd kept the connectors that had been used to join the Kyber crystal to the innards of the lightsaber, I still had to figure out not only how to connect them to the wiring of the communication/distress transmitter...

But to figure out just which wire or computer relay that actually was.

Unconsciously blowing that errant tendril of hair off of my face, I set back to work upon my self-imposed task.

And may Khaandon help me.

[ 01-15-2019 12:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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I joined her without preamble.

"Well Kiddo," I began brightly. "We're heading back in the general direction we came from. We should pop out of hyperspace close enough to where they think..."

I gave Terrin and Kyan a nod of my head, waggling my brows as I did so.

"...Galen might be. It shouldn't take long to find her from there, I hope. So I wanted to ask you: you're a whiz at slicing and hacking; do you understand anything else about wiring or enhancing hard components?

"Do you think there's any way we can enhance our communications receiver and make it more sensitive, to maybe give it the capability of capturing much fainter, more disperse signals coming from farther away than it ordinarily would?"

I took a drink from my steaming cup, set it quietly down on the table.

"And if you do, can you do it?"

[ 01-15-2019 12:38 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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The Motherboard of the Command Console.

I glared at it, willing it to give up its secrets to me. Oh I was aware of which chip plugged in where, which of the few wires attached to what component. I could easily put it all back together again, that was not the issue.

The issue was finding just what I was supposed to hook the Kyber crystal into, and more importantly...

HOW.

I sighed and stretched, wondering if something as simple as logic might provide an answer. Perhaps the solution was nothing more than proximity. Perhaps the components nearest to their corresponding console command switches and sigils would give me a clue as how to continue.

I pursed my lips, sniffed, and concentrated.

All righty then. Let's give this some thought. Remember the university classes Dad made you take? He always said that with my talent, if I was going to fly a ship I'd better know exactly just what makes it tick...

Input, THERE is one!, brings commands into the central processing unit, which I think I remember being something that accesses memory programs in order to respond to the command, and then sends the response out via output devices. SO: input is the console, where I manipulate the communication keys. OR trigger the distress signal, which in reality is accessing a side program of the communications transmitter...

It made my head swim. But of greatest concern was the fact that spread out all around me were computer components. Sitting off to one side was my possible enhancement device in all its innocent beauty: the Kyber crystal.

But how to make the connection between electronic and mechanical objects...

A quick flash of memory.

Pin connections! There's got to be pin connections somewhere; it's how power is sent into the Motherboard components...!

I picked up the Motherboard, thanking Khaandon for the skills of the Mandalorians when it comes to making armor. For even though my hands were gloved, said gloves were as sensitive and supple as a second skin. I could actually feel the cold metal in my hands.

I turned it about, thinking, remembering how it had been placed beneath the console, mentally linking the board's placement to the position of the command inputs on the physical board itself, and in that positioning seeing what component, now removed, connected where.

There, THAT one...

The raw, empty portal just sat there, looking entirely too innocent for all the potential it was capable of carrying.

That has to be communications...

Quickly then, I found the component I had pulled from that exact spot, and carefully laid the Motherboard down on the deck. I raised the component to my face, scanning it's surface from all angles until I found...

An even smaller component, still plugged into it. And to the side of the main component, the absolutely wonderful beauty of a pin connector...

THAT IS IT.

It didn't take me long to snatch up the Kyber crystal, which I had already re-connected to the hard wiring by which it communicated with the rest of the lightsaber. It did, however, take longer to fiddle with it, wiring it to that little pin...

Solder would be better but hey, gift rontos and all that...

...then finding a way for the entire thing to plug back into the Motherboard itself. But by carefully wedging the crystal between the slightly raised edges of those components, which in turn served to hold it against a flat part of the Motherboard, I was finally able to make it stay put.

Quickly then I reassembled the remainder, set it back where I had found it, hooked up the remaining connectors and replaced the panel. I didn't bother to get to my feet, but stretched up on my knees, my gloved hand reaching for the switch which would reboot the system...

Well, at least the part that was still working...

And re-engage the distress signal again.

I held my breath... and the little red light blinked into existence.

I melted to the deck from sheer relief.

It still worked!

BUT--

But there was something somehow different now. The red seemed deeper, somehow brighter, and the intervals between blinks were obviously slowed. At first I frowned, but leapt to my feet when the obvious answer came crashing into every cell of my being.

Not only is it working again... but IT WAS AUGMENTED!

That was the only possible explanation. A bit of logic, some memories from university days long past, and tons and tons of luck had all converged in that steadily if slowly blinking light. I had managed to use the Kyber crystal to focus the distress beam, something like a laser. Now instead of broadcasting in a sphere all about me, said signal to disperse at a faster and faster rate the larger and larger the "sphere of space" around me grew...

It was behaving more like a laser. A direct beam of light, stronger, focused, and slowly blinking.

I could have cried. In fact I did.

Then, after taking the time to quickly remove my helmet and dry those happy tears, I put it back on and turned toward the aft of the ship.

On to Phase Two...

[ 01-15-2019 02:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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“I can increase our sensitivity to a degree,” Link answered. “Fundamentally its a limitation of comms as a whole. Talking to someone even a few systems away is impossible in real space, it takes the signal years to travel that distance. Even intersystem traffic would have several minutes of lag if not for the holonet relay system, that is what gives us true faster than light communication.”

She got up and poured herself her own cup of caf before returning to her chair.

“We either need to already be in system,” Link continued speaking in between sips of caf. “Her ship is out of range of a holonet relay, or her emergency beacon is not operating properly.”

There was something Link thought they were missing, talking about the holonet relay got her thinking about the weird anomalies in the comm logs. She pulled them up on her datapad, looking at all the transmission to and from Galen’s ship. Then she looked at all of the ones to and from any Paladin source. She looked at the signal path and every time the incoming transmission came from some random relay in the galaxy, transmissions she knew could have not originated their.

They couldn’t have, but its the only thing that makes sense. Hold on where is Galen’s traffic… they may all originate at some random location in the network but they all have the same hardware encode.

“That’s how those Mandalorians kept off the radar,” Link said. “They built their own holonet relay. Their ships must all have their own holonet beacons as well. I need access to that network, and I need Galen to get her ships relay to turn on. It doesn’t need to be able to transmit just turn on.”

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But his perception of the All...

Terrin frowned, a shoulder devil popping up. Someone should tell him that's not how the All works, it snorted.

For once, Terrin had to agree. And suddenly feeling like he was standing there doing absolutely nothing...

...and that's kinda what you are doing, right...?

...he detached his wristcomm and replaced it on his arm, proceeding then to key in Aaron's frequency once more. Not wanting to distract Kyan's focus from whatever was going on between he and Galen, he chose to text instead of send a voice message.

Galen is not in the area we originally thought. She is stranded somewhere between Yavin and the Sith Diamond, and that's all we've been able to deduce. I know we have contacts at Bilbringi, Dorin, and Ord Mantell, all in that vicinity. We may need them.

Sending the message off, Terrin turned and tuned in to the conversation going on between Yaoksi and Cel. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Bes'in Skirata did tell us...or maybe that was just me he told...that he'd give us Level 5 clearance to their Base and databases. I'd hope whatever that is means giving us access to their communications. And as far as boosting our receiver...

...I can get details on how we might do that considering I own a ship industry."

He paused then, chewing his lip, his blue eyes defocusing as he considered. "While we're getting in contact with Skirata to request those things--

--we should have his contact frequency on the Challeger from when we first spoke to him before we landed on Mandalore---

--I'd like to also get the specs on the ship Galen is flying and on her armor and its technologies."

[ 01-15-2019 04:29 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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