Star Wars: Jedi Academy (IC|Closed)

[Anowa]

A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away. . . .





-| JEDI ACADEMY |-
A Reboot of Beiarusia's RP of the same name

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{- OOC -}

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> Yavin 4
> 19 ABY
> 0/0 Introductions

The kilometers long orange contrail left by a shuttle upon re-entry was not something one could easily miss, especially if one was inside the vessel. Four engines barreling it down through the layers on layers of gas that composed Yavin 4's atmosphere, the mildly angular box was by no means aerodynamic, but after a few minutes of super-heated falling, eventually the windows cleared, revealing the green canopy of the moon below. Spotted with ancient ruins and the wreckage of not so distant battles, the planet had seen many things in it's time, more soon to come.

"We'll be landing soon." announced the pilot, the voice over the PA sounding somewhat tinny through the shuttle's almost overloaded space. Of a maximum capacity of nearly a hundred people, the shuttle carried nearly 120. Prospects of a new future, not all were children, some were almost venerable, middle aged. A wrinkled and white haired human sat off to the side, what looked like a cane at his side. Some wore barren Imperial uniforms, the only remnant of a sensible life being the forsaken clothes they wore. Others had scars of a life they so gleefully left behind. All were here to be Jedi.

The transport slowed to a crawl, before slowly bumping into the ground and settling. The ramps opened, and people began to depart, around them were a number of other craft, most if not all of them emblazoned with the insignia of the New Republic, a few were independent vessels, and a choice freighter was notably emblazoned with the insignia of the Jedi Order. As the newly inducted apprentices mulled about their landing spot, a single figure approached them. The woman was rather young, and looked human, though given her height it was unlikely. Her garb consisted of a slight deviation to normal Jedi Robes, forgoing sleeves entirely, her arms being covered in what looked to be bleached elastic bandages, giving a decent idea of the athleticism required to be a Jedi. The right side of her head a notable braid extending down past her neck, well beyond the edge of the rest of her hair.

Her voice managed to cut above the surrounding echo of various craft being worked on for both the Praxeum itself as well as the newly reestablished Republic base. "Welcome to Yavin 4. I am Padawan Xin Endoni, I'll be escorting you to the Praxeum. It is quite a hike from here so I hope you didn't bring too much carry on." with that she turned and beckoned to the group. Heading away from the direction of the Republic base, and down a relatively beaten path through the brush. It was a good 20 minute hike through a wooded area, before having to trudge through wet swampy land, before finally arriving at a clearing.

After dawning through the brush, the revelation of a massive stone structure, triangular and with a distinct structure that didn't entirely fit in with the rest of the Republic. It was unique in form, as well as function. Those assembled would work their way across the clearing. Something that would catch the eyes of many were the areas of grass that seemed to be trodded down from sheer travel, but only in very select spots, in odd patterns that held unsure meanings. Flanked by four anonymous guards, garbed in white and gold robes stood stock still at the entrance, the new arrivals entered. Xin spoke again for the second time, "Those of you with younglings, please proceed down the hall to the right with Master Ta Da." the woman gestured down the hall to a robed Kaminoan a silver cylinder at his waist. With some hesitation, a number of young children escorted by adults of their according species filed down the hall. Leaving their number at roughly 30, Xin once again continued on, beckoning to follow.

It would be a short walk to the end of the hall, where within a separate chamber beyond a wide open door, stood a few figures. Master Skywalker, stood chief among them, his regular black garb setting quite a contrast to his surroundings. behind and just to the left, stood a boy who looked vaguely like Skywalker, though only in passing.

To Skywalker's sides stood a quartet of other masters, from an equally diverse set of species. One of them, another human, wore a simple shirt and pants, only a few leather straps outside of that. Graying hair was short cropped and decorated his face in a trimmed goatee and mustache. Another was a Zabrak, wore robes over what seemed like old plates of Clone Trooper armor, from the Clone Wars. To the other side were a Rodian and Togruta, both wearing robes, teal and red respectively. Those who would look for their guide would find them mysteriously absent. Leaving them alone with the masters.

Luke spoke up, "I would like to welcome all of our new apprentices to the academy." the man was soft spoken, his voice carried no harsh reverberations or aggravating subtones. It was even, calm, it was the voice of someone who would say something and very earnestly make you believe it. "Here we will train you as Jedi, for some this may be a grand endeavor, for others, a path you have taken before. But no matter how long it takes, or swiftly you may catch on, you are all worthy to be here."

Guards like the ones at the entrance approached, each holding a small rack of what looked to be lightsabers, rather deftly they began handing them out. Master Skywalker once again spoke, as they were done being handed out, "What you hold within your hands is the weapon of the Jedi. While we utilize what tools we can, from blades, to staffs, to blasters, the weapon you will become most familiar with is the light saber. For now you have been given sabers that are modified to avoid fatal injury. Xin, if you would."

The sound of a lightsaber igniting within the crowd shocked a few, even more so when the woman raked the lit, yellow blade across her neck... though to no real damage, just a small red streak indicating a high amount of heat.

"Thank you. While these weapons are foreign, and far from your own, we will train you with them as we train you with the force, and with time you will make your own, and it will become one with you." a pause, "For now though, you are likely all eager to settle in. You'll be granted reprieve from your journey and be given rest, tomorrow morning our training begins." Luke stepped back, and for the next few minutes, names were called, and people were shuffled away with their new teachers. Though the Zabrak and the Human, now known as Master Ganthor and Master Katarn respectively, seemed to head in the same direction, conversing with each other as their new charges and the tall Padawan, followed.

After another brisk walk, they came upon a dead end, bunks set up in alcoves to the sides and an enclosed bathroom each, but other than that, nothing more. With that, the two masters finished their conversation and turned. Katarn spoke up, "Welcome to your new homes, it's not much now and it likely never will be. You'll find that asceticism is the way to go around these parts."

Then Ganthor, "As you can probably expect, this little corner is where both of our little cabals will be spending a bulk of our time. Where many other masters are more concerned with avoiding the whole 'Two Rancors on a Mountain' conundrum, myself and Master Katarn see it differently. While we do have different methods with how to teach, our goals of teaching are notably the same."

Back to Katarn, "Over the next few weeks, months, years perhaps, you'll see those beside you as siblings you never knew at birth. It's really the only view you should have of them now. As of now you're Jedi, and while Luke-" an elbow to the ribs from the Zabrak cause Katarn to catch himself, "Master Skywalker, would be hesitant to attach any titles to avoid any false hopes or whatnot, it's what you are now, apprentice or no."

Ganthor spoke up again, stopping Katarn to a rather indignant response, before he could start on another belt of words, "Now, I'm sure you have plenty of questions..." a pause, "Those can be directed to Xin, patience has been something she's need to work on for some time." A few of the more sensitive in the assembled rookies could tell a slight clod snap eminate from Xin for a moment, as a tranquil fury reared it's head for a fraction of a second. "Anything she can't answer will need to wait until morning when we reassemble. With that, I bid you all a good night."

Katarn mirrored the sentiment before both masters departed without another word.

Xin simply stood, "Welp, if you're going to torture me, do it one at a time please."

[Acerbez]

Khaza Halsi,
Temple Sleeping Quarters

Khaza had been unable to sleep very much on the final steps of the journey, now having been awake for maybe 18 hours, it felt as if cotten had wrapped around her head and her legs simply carried her autonomously. Bringing very little in the way of personal belongings, she felt like a droid sitting idle in the transport shuttle. Analyzing and reading those who had been in the same company of joining the academy. They all collectively shined and illuminated with midichlorians inside this metal shell that glided through empty space.

No efforts of conversation were made on her own part, even after landing. The ramps setting down and opening regaled her with a pristine and seemingly missed sensation- The vast and sprawling fauna of the moon. It had greeted her and gifted her relief, passing on its vibrant force hue and explosive natural elegance of life. It was beautiful... Much more so than the droll ship!

Following the groups to its various stops with subtle anxiousness but calm, she stuck to the middle. In the midst of both younglings and mature individuals. The rushed feeling she had been fleeing from for so long was departing and she could finally settle and be content she was somewhere of her own volition.

Standing among the rows, she was handed her saber in what seemed quick and random fashion. However, as the robed individual she sensed moved past her, she placed the saber between both hands slowly and grazed her left palm across its hilt. The lightsaber was curved and set to what felt like a 30° angle. Going to great lengths not to activate it among her peers, she simply veered her head back up from the ironic surprise and tuned back into the guide and master skywalker speaking.

Khaza was gleeful in the sense that, well one the jedi must be paying much attention to those they've invited if they handled her peculiar information so intently but also two, she would have been too timid and shy to ask for a different one. Most likely taking accountability for the mistake as herself not being clear about her previous trainings or forgetting to divulge this preference.

As the moved to their final stop, their living accommodations. Khaza had noticed the playful nudge when Master Katarn forgot master skywalker's proper title and feintly smiled despite wanting to lightly chuckle. Further, when Xin shot her glare to Master Katarn Khaza had felt and seen this jab of emotion directed toward him although momentarily.

Typically, Khaza would have waited until the others had chosen their bunks but she was quite exhausted. As soon as Master Katarn and Master Ganthor departed and Xin began speaking, Khaza immediately began strutting towards the nearest bunk to the corridor entrance. Her gliding dark grey and white lined robes flowing behind her trail, she unslung her light pack and tossed in abruptly onto the top bunk.

Some others had also took the initiative to disperse, but it was safe to say that Khaza had made her claim. Now standing facing the wall like a ghost, she turned back around at the small group that crowded Xin and delivered their lines of questioning.

The proximity afforded her the distance to be within earshot of the "not so quiet" and excitable group but Khaza had stayed relatively distant and opted to save her questions for tomorrow.

Interestingly enough, a human boy had been the first to pope up to Xin and asked what seemed to certainly be on the minds of everyone just handed a lightsaber.

"Padawan Xin.. Or Xin...?" the boy chirped. "Are we uhh... Are we able to spar today because well, I'm not tired! I slept the whole time on the shuttle and I just want to be sure its... Well if it's ok to get familiar with our Sabers!" he smiled awkwardly doing a horrible job at hiding his eagerness.

Khaza blank in expression slightly shifted her gaze to hear Xin's response.

[Empire of Donner land]

Yavin IV

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19 ABY

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Apprentice Ulsa Anve

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The Dathomirian looked out the small windows of the spacecraft with curiosity as the vehicle began to make its descent. She had seen the sights of space before, but the Yavin system itself was a sight to behold, and it's presence as a great historical sight in the galaxy held a greater significance in her heart than even the beautiful sight of the crimson Gas Giant that Yavin Four orbited around. To think that not so long ago the Empire was dealt its first major defeat in years while she was still a Child on Dathomir, for something so great to be unnoticed by her for so long felt criminal in the sense that she did not hear about it until she was on Dantooine, when it was well already over and in fact, the Empire was already on the brink of defeat by then and she was well behind in the news while tending crops.

The splendor of the Gas Giant passed once they began entering Yavin Four's atmosphere, the window being lit up by the ionization of the atmosphere against the Shuttle. The orange-red light passed to the deep blue of the sky and bright green trees below. Dathomir, where she was born, certainly had a distinct lack of foliage or, at least where she lived most of her life did. Dantooine was less of an exception, it had its widespread forests, but it also had wide-open plains and river deltas that were perfect arable land along with a few cities like Doontown that provided most of the Commerce that went into and out of the Planet. Yavin Four, on the other hand, was nothing but what looked to be a jungle, some forests, and ruins as far as her own eyes could see, or as well as she could guess as to what more this place could have.

Soon, the PA blurted a voice she could barely just hear, but judging by them approaching a clearing and it's brevity, it was likely a call that they would be landing soon. Ulsa grabbed her luggage, a small duffel bag, from between her legs and placed it on her lap awaiting the landing. As she looked over the crowd, she could see a number of different people from all sorts of walks of life, surprised to even see those in Imperial Uniform here and what could be judged as the Elderly, people who could have lived through the Clone Wars. Chiss, Arkanian, Echani, Human and Twi'lek were just the tips of the iceberg when it came to laying bear the full diversity of the Galaxy around them. Ulsa dusted off her farmhand clothing.

With a light bump and the sound of hydraulics or other ship systems settling to rest, the new Students of this New Jedi Order stood up to exit the ship. Ulsa herself followed the train of prospective Jedi outside of the shuttle to be met with the temperate but humid air of Yavin Four, the Jungle surrounding Ulsa as well as the familiar sight of a Spacecraft landing zone with all its sights and sounds. In front of them, waiting, was an athletic-looking woman who practically screamed Jedi, if not in Appearance, then in her rather curt orders to follow her to the Praxeum proper.

It was good that Ulsa packed light.

The hike to the Praxeum was enjoyable, and given that, she was to be in the lead just behind the Woman named Xin Endoni on the way there. The sights along the way were nothing close to what she thought the ground was going to look like, and despite what looked to be a deserted jungle world, the planet had many paths and even signs of infrastructure. They arrived in a muddy swamp before finally exiting the brush into the clearing, through the trees she could see it before even leaving the Jungle. The Temple.

Its monumental triangular structure was everything she could have hoped for in appearance, it's aged stone construction showed it's age just as much as it's architecture did. Around it what she could only assume were outdoor training areas, and in the distance, she could only imagine what else was waiting for them on this planet to discover. The Construction reminded Ulsa of the old Jedi Temple she had found on Dantooine, wherefrom she was encountered upon by another Jedi Master and recruited. The group walked towards it and she could only stare up as the building began to eclipse the blue sky until all but blocking it once they were inside.

By the time she refocused on what was going on inside the building, the "Younglings" were moved off to their own section of the building she assumed, thinning the herd of prospective Jedi to double digits. Before long they were lead to the end of a hallway where Jedi Masters stood to meet them, above all, Luke Skywalker. Ulsa may have been deaf to the goings-on of the Galaxy for well over half her life, but his name above all is what she heard the most in idle talk about Politics and the Civil War. He, the one who destroyed the "Death Star" nineteen years ago, in front of her now, and not only that but one of many Teachers. Along with Master Skywalker who stood out, the most was a Zabrak in an unfamiliar Armor and a Human wearing something she thought but simple farmers would wear, not Jedi.

Ulsa listened intently, as many others did, "I would like to welcome all of our new apprentices to the academy." the Legend spoke, his voice calm. "Here we will train you as Jedi, for some this may be a grand endeavor, for others, a path you have taken before. But no matter how long it takes, or swiftly you may catch on, you are all worthy to be here." Ulsa herself felt she sat somewhere in between, she had trained on Dathomir in Martial Arts but that was a long time ago. Then out came Guards carrying racks of Lightsabres presented to the Students and handing them out. Ulsa took hers, an old looking one for sure, covered in some rags of cloth and other signs of age including tarnishment. It hadn't been used in what looked to be years perhaps, but that fit her, ironically enough.

Master Skywalker spoke, calm but called attention, "What you hold within your hands is the weapon of the Jedi. While we utilize what tools we can, from blades to staff, to blasters, the weapon you will become most familiar with is the lightsaber. For now, you have been given sabers that are modified to avoid fatal injury. Xin, if you would." The Padawan that had lead them here demonstrated their safety by putting an activated one to their neck. Ulsa looked down at her own Lightsaber with an amused grin at how something so legendary powerful could be dumbed down so far.

"Thank you. While these weapons are foreign, and far from your own, we will train you with them as we train you with the force, and with time you will make your own, and it will become one with you." the Master paused, "For now though, you are likely all eager to settle in. You'll be granted reprieve from your journey and be given rest, tomorrow morning our training begins." Master Skywalker left, and for the next few minutes, names were called, and people were shuffled away with their new teachers. Ulsa Anve had been called to Master Kyle Katarn, though with how it looked, they seemed to be co-teaching together with how close the separate classes were to each other compared to the other classes. Before long they were lead away to another portion of the Temple, bunks, and restrooms.

"Welcome to your new homes, it's not much now and it likely never will be. You'll find that asceticism is the way to go around these parts." Master Katarn spoke, instructing them what to expect.

"As you can probably expect, this little corner is where both of our little cabals will be spending a bulk of our time. Where many other masters are more concerned with avoiding the whole 'Two Rancors on a Mountain' conundrum, myself and Master Katarn see it differently. While we do have different methods with how to teach, our goals of teaching are notably the same." Master Bo spoke.

Ulsa's attention shot back to Master Katarn, "Over the next few weeks, months, years perhaps, you'll see those beside you as siblings you never knew at birth. It's really the only view you should have of them now. As of now you're Jedi, and while Luke-" an elbow to the ribs from the Zabrak cause Katarn to catch himself, "Master Skywalker, would be hesitant to attach any titles to avoid any false hopes or whatnot, it's what you are now, apprentice or no."

Master Ganthor left off by instructing them to direct questions to his Padawan, the Woman from earlier, the two Master Jedi left leaving at least ten Apprentices with eager questions, her next sentence was apt, "Welp, if you're going to torture me, do it one at a time please." she spoke.

As if clockwork, a young one up in the front asked their own question. "Are we uh, are we able to spar today because well, I'm not tired! I slept the whole time on the shuttle and I just want to be sure its... Well, If it's ok to get familiar with our Sabers!" Ulsa let the kid get his questioned answered before coming up with her own.

"What are the two Master Jedi like. Anything we should know or avoid?" Ulsa asked curiously as she slipped her duffel bag underneath an unclaimed bunk.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Inera

The flight in was nothing new to her. Long distance shuttle flight had become a grueling reality over the past few months, ever since that slug Gurt the Hutt had stolen her ship and chased her off Dantooine. Several children of various species mewled and played around her. Inera watched them carefully through her goggles, checking their number for any peculiar looking Arkanians. She knew it was an outside hope at best, but any chance that she could find her creator was one she had to capitalize on. Several of the other passengers seemed to be nervous around the goggle wearing Arkanian. While she had found that her eyesight was not as heavily impacted by warmer worlds as her more pure fellows on Arkania, she liked to keep them on both to avoid doing damage to her eyes and for the manner of intimidation she liked to pretend they gave.

She had been to the Yavin system on a number of occasions before this. One of her first jobs with her mother had been hunting a Rodian who worked among the scavengers continously picking apart the ring of space junk that had once been the Death Star. Once she was grown, she had frequented the system to buy arms and armor from the cabal of dealers who operated on a space station near the gas giant itself. The only time she had been on the moon proper was tracking an Imperial Archaeologist she had been contracted to kill. The poor suckers bones were probably still rotting out in the jungle somewhere.

Inera held up the piece of her blaster that she was currently cleaning. Holding it up in the light, she ensured that it was clean before placing back down on the mat on her lap. Quickly, she slid and racked the various pieces together, rebuilding the blaster. She did not load in a canister of gas, seeing no reason to cause the others on board concern. Holstering it again, she watched as the shuttle descended through the Atmosphere of Yavin 4. The jungle of the moon spread out for miles around them, with no discernible sign of civilization. She had never exactly like Ecumenopoli like Coruscant, but completely wild worlds like Yavin were normally things she avoided. She hunted humanoids, not animals.

After what seemed like an eternity of descent the craft finally set down on a landing pad in front of some form of base. Inera was one of the first ones off the transport, but she didn't go far, instead choosing to lean on the crafts ramp and watch the chaos as a horde of excited children were unleashed. A younger woman approched them and shouted instructions to them about hiking to the... Praxeum? Strange word. Inera watched the lithe young woman lead them away. She would have to be careful around her. Though most her fellow arrivals would likely assume this... Xin was a human, Inera had been around the block enough to recognize an Epicanthix.

The hike was nothing for someone who did more physical work like Inera. She hadn't exactly packed much, given that everything she had had been stolen a few months beforehand. The swamp annoyed her somewhat but if she had survived being stranded on Dagobah she could deal with this. Finally, the arrived at the strangely named building. Inera was one of the few who noticed the ground patterns in the grass. Like any hunter worth their salt, she knew how to identify tracks. These were unlike any she had ever seen before, seemingly random throughout the clearing. Another mystery of the Jedi. Entering the temple, she breathed an audible sigh of relief when the children were seperated from the group. It was a good thing, she was just about ready to punt a particularly annoying Rodian across the clearing.

The chamber in which she met the masters was not particularly interesting. What was interesting was the masters who stood before them. Chief among them was Luke Skywalker, a galactic hero or terrorist depending on who you asked. Inera had briefly considered taking a contract for the Jedi Master, but decided it likely wasn't in her best interests to do so. Behind him stood a boy, vaguely similar to Luke, but darker in a way. He briefly locked eyes with Inera before flitting away. Besides those two, four other masters stood in the room. An older human, a Zabrak, a Rodia, and a Togruta. Skywalker briefly said something that Inera could barely hear over the murmuring.

Shortly afterward she was handed the hilt of a weapon the young huntress had only seen in datapads. A Lightsaber. Highly desired, infinetly dangerous in the right hands, and often fought over, it was another safety decision of hers never to touch any contract involving them. Weighing the hilt in her hand, she noted the weight and that it would be easy to misjudge strikes if the blade was weightless. It came as somewhat of a relief to her then when the woman who had guided them in demonstrated that these blades were not currently deadly.

Following the Lightsaber demonstration, the group was split between the four masters on stage. Her name was called by a human, Master Katarn. It would appear that he was her master for the time being. Upon arrival in the bunkhouse, Inera wasted no time taking her small bag and throwing it on the top bunk of one of the alcoves. The two masters whose apprentices were in the room gave a quick speech and left. When the other apprentices finished asking questions to the Epicanthix, Inera asked simply "To what degree are we supposed to swear off of things. I'm eager to learn and walk the walk and all, but I've read some datapads on the old Order and not all of it thrills me."

[Parcia]

Yavin IV
19 ABY
Ziam Cyrus.


The ride in was...uneventful. Ziam chose to sit dead center of the craft, dead center of the seating row with his feet up on the back rest of the seat in front of him, his hat's brim low and his poncho covering his upper body. He tried to keep up the appearance of sleep but it was rather difficult to get his center on the craft. He hadn't been flying...ever, and quickly realized he disliked it greatly. Riding the wastes on his speeder bike was different, you weren't flying in to space, just floating a few meters off the ground.

Using the brim as a sort of social camouflage, in that it gave off the idea he wanted no company. He evaluated the other future padawans around him, recognizing a few species, a Twi'lak stuck out the most, a few other species he couldn't really place. He found him self being drawn to his one girl, long blond hair, pale skin, and some sort of silver metallic veil over her eyes. He wasn't really strong in the force, not in any real capacity, but in the days since his little fight ensuing conversation with Katarn he had become aware that the little feeling he had just chalked up to intuition was actually the Force, which, in retrospect, explained a lot of things and past events of his life.

Still, he got an...interesting feeling from the girl and so his eyes kept drifting back to her.

The shutter of the shuttle landing snapped him out of his inner monologue. Getting up to his feet, he found him self standing over another student, one who had likely gone to wake him. "Apologies." Shuffling past them, he fallowed the rest of them through out the temple and in to the hall. He paid attention to the speech given by Master Skywalker and couldn't help but give Katarn a slight smirk at the exchange between him and Master Bo.

What really caught his attention were the light sabers. Being rolled out on a rack, most picked out what he gauged to be single bladed sabers and he would have as well had he not spied a longer one at the end of the rack. Pausing, he went and retrieved it. finding what he assumed was an on button he pushed it and found a length of blue energy shot out. Yet something was off, the blade was of the same length as the others, yet the hilt was far too long for such a thing. Examining the saber further he found what he thought to be a second button and pressed it as well, much to his amazement a second blade shot out. Now it made sense, this saber was more of a pole arm then a sword. He stepped clear of his fellows and gave it a few twirls, finding it almost to easy to move. The Blades possessed no weight, they shouldn't for what he guessed to be energy, but the only weight that he could detect would be the hilt it self, and while it seemed to be masterfully created, it seemed...off.

Now Ziam was no master at pole arms and while he liked his style he figured it to be amateurish, but the weapons seemed different in his hands. Deactivating it and slipping it on to his belt, he turned with the rest and made his way towards the bunks. Again his eyes were drawn to the Blind Blond, asserting her self on a top set of bunks. Shrugging, he took the bunk underneath hers and set about taking inventory of his equipment.

He didn't have enough gear to warrant a pack, or any bag really, just what ever was on his person. A Canteen and small ration kit, a small medkit with the bare essentials, an old comlink on his wrist and the old set of duraplast armor. On his belt sat a few small pouches, one held his entire life savings which amounted to around 54 credits, his blaster with a few spare power packs, and his meager personal belongings: His beskar pendant and a pair of small amethyst crystals. His sister had given them to him some time before her disappearance and had spun some tale about them being bits of some of their mother's personal Jewelry. As he grew older he wagered she had spun the tale to make the rather meager crystals seem more important then they really were. Then came his staff. It was a custom job he had done some years back and about the same length as his fully ignited training saber, yet collapsed in to an 11 inch form. It was fully balanced and he was a lot more confident in it then he was his new found tool.

Finding a foot locker under his bunk, he opened it and placed the items inside and locked the foot locker.

Leaning back, he tried to get some sleep.

[Brusia]

Martius Shan
Yavin IV

Despite the noise and cramped space on the shuttle, Martius had little difficulty getting some rest on the flight in; it was a far-sight easier to sleep in those conditions than the battlefields he had long since grown accustomed to, and at his age he knew he'd need his rest for the trials soon to come. He awoke when the pilot made the announcement they'd soon be landing, and prepared himself for touchdown. When the ramps opened, he stood up and stretched for abit, watching as most of the passengers disembarked. He was among the last to leave the shuttle, and as he walked down the ramp, even with his limited connection to the Force he could sense the darkness of this moon.

He recalled it mentioned in the history records of Master Gnost-Dural as an important battlefield in the Exar Kun War, and Satele's holocron mentioned the essence of the Sith Emperor Vitiate once rested here, so that darkness was not terribly surprising, though it did make the planet a curious location for a Jedi Academy. Before he could think much on it though, a young Epicanthix woman began to speak to the group. It seemed she was one of the Padawans, and would be escorting the group on a lengthy hike to the Praxeum. Fortunately, he had packed light, leaving most of his possessions locked up on his ship, but the ancient Jedi armor he donned would make the hike abit more taxing.

Fortunately, though dense, this jungle was still less oppressive than those he remembered having to fight through on Felucia, but then he was a younger man in those days too. He was certainly glad when the group reached the Praxeum and he could get in out of the heat. Once in the chamber, Martius examined the assembled Masters, and was particularly interested when he saw one wearing what appeared to be a suit of Clone armor. When Master Skywalker began speaking though, Martius shifted his attention and listed closely to what he had to say. Once he'd finished and the training sabers were handed out, Martius looked at his and couldn't help but grin abit; it was actually not to dissimilar to the one he used when he was an Initiate all those years ago. He quickly clipped it to his armor's belt with a well-practiced motion, and continued listening as Skywalker again began to speak.

Once the speech was finished, Martius was called up to join with the Zabrak Master wearing the Clone armor, and he hoped he might have been paired with someone he knew in the old Order. On closer examination though, he didn't recognize the Jedi. Once all the names were called, he followed his new Master, now introduced as Master Ganthor, to what was to be their quarters. Fortunately Martius was quite used to spartan accommodations, and placed his satchel on one of the unclaimed bunks; leaving the top bunk for someone a little more spry. With his bunk claimed, he waited to listen to what questions his fellow apprentices had for Padawan Xin...

[Parcia]

Ziam Cyrus
The Temple.


Yet, he found none. Getting out of bed, he slipped off his Poncho, hat, and armor and laid them next to his bunk. Getting to his feet, he tapped the metal frame of the top bunk and spoke to the Blond. "Hey, I'm Ziam, pleasure to meet you. I'm going to find out if this place has any information terminals or a archive of sorts, gotta do some research for a project of mine...I guess in the mutual interest of making friends with our fellow Padawans, you wan't to come along?"

The impromptu introduction gave him the chance to see the cloth wrapped around her eyes. She could see him, he had deduced either she could see through the force or perhaps had some spy drone level of hearing, but the way her head snapped to him, the way she twitched ever so slightly at the tapping of the bunk frame, it gave him just a little more info to work on.

If done so rather unconsciously, he let his feeling mellow out and unwind a bit, the tense ride of the shuttle starting to fall away and the actual Ziam starting to show. It didn't hurt that, besides her interesting face garb, he found her rather easy on the eyes.

[The Olog-Hai]

Kaidin Thelcar
Yavin 4
19 ABY

Kaidin hadn't been offworld much, given his commitments to the military on his homeworld, but space travel had been a common enough occurrence that he wasn't particularly fazed by the landing of the shuttle, as many of the others stared out the windows once the view cleared. Instead, he gazed around at the other people recruited by the New Jedi Order, trying to assess his potential allies/competitors. Although he couldn't tell anything compared to a good duel, there seemed to be a wide variety of experience and species. Hell, most of the odd species he hadn't even ever seen. There was this blue guy with red eyes, and a woman with tentacles for hair. Clearly, Kaidin hadn't traveled nearly enough. To be fair, he was awfully busy.

Kaidin resumed inspection of his vibrosword, the only object he felt he needed to bring with him. Although the Jedi are famous for their use of lightsabers, vibroswords are what he knows best. The blade was also a family heirloom, kept and maintained carefully over the years. Infused with cortosis, it had the capability to withstand saber blows, supposedly, although Kaidin never had the chance to test it. Maybe that would change, although he'd want to be careful with such a sentimental object. Although the blade had seen much use over the years, it was still nearly flawless, likely a result of the cortosis-infused metal.

The shuttle was far too cramped, however, and so Kaidin had no room whatsover to practice with his blade, as the urge overtook him. He hated tiny space like these. There were way too many people on this ship, he was certain. Finally, the shuttle stopped, and began to disgorge its atrociously large blob of passengers. Kaidin grabbed his sword, and made his way out. His light clothing, suited to the fluid, lightly-armored combat of the Echani, was perfect for this honestly gross jungle heat. A slightly odd-looking human addressed the group, introducing herself as Xin Endoni. She said she'd take them to an area know as Praxeum, which would require a long hike. Kaidin wasn't too concerned, and after all the time spent cooped up, there was practically a spring in his step.

Once they arrived at the odd stone structure, a piece of the group was split off, and they were finally brought before Master Skywalker. Beside him stood four other Jedi, clearly masters by their placement, a human, a Zabrak, and a Rodian and a Togruta. Kaidin shook his head at the heavy armor the Zabrak wore. He would never be caught dead in such restricting wear. Skywalker began offering platitudes in a calm voice, mostly meant to make some of the younger apprentices feel better. Several guards began to hand out sabers, as Skywalker explained their properties and Xin demonstrated their inability to injure. That last one was useful, Kaidin mused. Even an inactive vibrosword could cut skin, which would be a threat to some of the younger apprentices. Kaidin was handed a fairly plain looking saber, nothing too special about it. He hefted it a few times, swinging it with the blade off. It was disturbingly light he decided, though that did make sense. Testing the blade a few times, he discovered that it was colored blue. Although he didn't feel like there was quite enough room right now, he would definitely need to do a solid comparison between the saber and his vibrosword, as the former would take quite some getting used to.

Then, each of the padawans were assigned to different masters. As it happens, Kaidin was assigned to the Zabrak, Master Ganthor, whose silly heavy armor he had inwardly criticized earlier. Masters Ganthor and Katarn led their padwans in the same direction, while Ganthor justified their sticking together, and Katarn promised that they would bond, slipping up on Master Skywalker's name briefly. The accommodations were very utilitarian, something Kaidin wasn't unused to, giving his time spent in the Echani military. The masters threw the Padawan Xin under the speeder, offering up the clearly knowledgeable padawan as a source of information for the more curious.

Kaidin walked to the nearest entirely open bunk, ignoring the blond, blind one's move to quickly claim the nearest top bunk. Kaidin carefully laid his vibrosword and saber down on the bottom bunk, and began to move through some of the motions of his people's martial arts. Although true practice required a partner, it was extremely unlikely that Kaidin would find someone here well enough versed in the art. As he did so, he gazed at those who he'd be spending an indefinite time with.

[Acerbez]

Khaza Halsi,
Temple Quarters

Ziam Cyrus
The Temple.

"Hey, I'm Ziam, pleasure to meet you. I'm going to find out if this place has any information terminals or a archive of sorts, gotta do some research for a project of mine...I guess in the mutual interest of making friends with our fellow Padawans, you wan't to come along?"

Whipping her head back at the light taps on her bunk and looking away from Padawan Xin and the questions, Khaza had paused before responding. A vain effort to both listen to Xin and give attention to the young man in front her. The fatigue of the day had evaporated as Khaza was rather joyful at the developments within the temple itself.

Ziam was uncertain as to how Khaza perceived him, it was difficult to explain but most relatable to those that frequently embraced their combat sense or force sight. She probably wouldn't be able to compare and contrast for anybody as it was The only way she could see... the temples architecture and thick blocks of stone were immense "dead zones". But her senses allowed at times to even perceive beyond walls without the context of sound accompanied. Almost like a 3 dimensional floor plan in black with beige linings, "colors" produced only by the signature outline of the individual that produced a midichlorian count.

It was as if she could see the fine lines of an individuals body and features vaguely like a cartoon, but also the thin auras that eminated off of them.

As her gaze turned, she caught a peripheral glimpse of Kaidin beginning into his conditioned drills not far from Ziam, the young man speaking to her. She couldn't help but catch semblances of their mood, something Khaza was gifted with but also cursed with as it often was used as a queue in conversation that influenced her responses and word choice. A horrible habit for a naturally cautious person.

Khaza noticed how Ziam's aura had lapsed and retracted from a more tense mode and soothed itself downwards while that of Kaidin's began to thicken in what appeared to be a disciplined manner.

Abruptly pulling herself out from this brief pause, Khaza was suddenly caught off guard in a sense to the question. Giving a quaint smile but slowly dropping her head downwards, she responded passively "Well... I'm not the most avid reader. I would need to be able to see for that", She chuckled awkwardly. "What I mean is, I cannot read or see holo-slates and holograms." Looking up, she could sense a slight shift in Ziam's aura yet again.

Probably the moment of realizing he just asked a blind girl to read out of the Archives.

Slowly tilting her head unaware how to deflate the growing awkward situation, she scrambled to observe Kaidin's movements as a crutch of conversation, like how an individual pulls a smoke or watches TV to feel better about not knowing how to proceed. Then almost like a hiccup, she followed up realizing she didn't introduce herself.

"My name- call me Khaza, its nice to meet you too!" the Miraluka wasnt the worst at hiding her shyness but she was a slave to etiquette and felt increasingly worried that she was leaving Ziam, her fellow Padawan hanging. In an effort to rectify the impromptu introduction and still paint the point she wasn't above new acquaintances, Kaidin's movements instantly reminded her of the burning question asked earlier.

"What kind of project? I uh... I heard someone ask about sparring. Maybe we could wait and see if any of the other apprentices duel?" attempting to be inconspicuous but painstakingly obvious, she veered to glance at Kaidin and subliminally tried to pass the message that he seemed inviting.

In her mind, the 1st boy's question along with Kaidin's drilling, seemed that it was inevitable somebody would spar. Assuming Ziam got that and didn't misinterpret it another way, Khaza was certain that Ziam heard the question proposed first.

"I can actually 'read' a duel" she chimed jokingly referencing Ziam's proposal of perusing the archives as a friendly rebuttal gesture.

[Anowa]

"What are the two Master Jedi like. Anything we should know or avoid?" Ulsa asked curiously as she slipped her duffel bag underneath an unclaimed bunk.[/blocktext]

Xin was mildly surprised at the sudden swarm of questions, it seemed they took her request to go one at a time to heart. "Both dislike titles for one reason or another, and prefer informal usage of their given names. Bo is the more extreme teacher of the two, not to the point of fatal risk... but failure will hurt. He prefers to make the lessons given for mistakes last. Still a bit of commando in him." letting that hang for a moment, she continued, "Kyle is the most experienced Jedi in the Praxeum, if not the Council behind Master Skywalker himself. Not too long ago he aided in removing a number of resurgent Sith Sects and thwarted a Imperial Attack on this very moon. While I am less familiar with his teaching style, I know his interpretation of the Jedi Code is rather liberal."

There was more she could say, but it would be a bit disrespectful to go on an endless spiel about Bo, without being able to inform them much on Kyle. Although, that wasn't wholly true, she knew more about Kyle's exploits, he had a reputation after all, but she knew more personally about Bo. Spending the last 8 years of one's life with someone did that. She could also tell them of Master Traggeezex or Master Deshro... but they'd be much less involved given the nature of how the Praxeum worked, a shame given their experience.

"To what degree are we supposed to swear off of things. I'm eager to learn and walk the walk and all, but I've read some datapads on the old Order and not all of it thrills me."

Xin slowly nodded, "The Council has elected to be a bit more relaxed on the policies of the previous order. They determined that such an strict structure is what inevitably resulted in it's collapse during the rise of the Empire. While I could stand for days and speak at length of what they factored into this, neither of us wants to pass out mid lecture. Simply put, so long as your actions don't reflect negatively upon the Order as a whole, and you resist the temptation of the dark side, you are permitted to do as you wish so long as it is within the boundaries of Republic law. Do keep note that it's frowned upon to hoard possessions, so keep your belongings to what is necessary or very easy to carry with you."

"Padawan Xin.. Or Xin...?" the boy chirped. "Are we uhh... Are we able to spar today because well, I'm not tired! I slept the whole time on the shuttle and I just want to be sure its... Well if it's ok to get familiar with our Sabers!" he smiled awkwardly doing a horrible job at hiding his eagerness.

Xin didn't even turn her head, or seemingly react in any way, "Magnus, I don't even have to look, I know that's you."

A mild pout later and the sound of digital arrangements echoed across the corner of the building. What once looked to be a young man in his mid teens, faded into a rather short Magna Guard, a collection of hologram emitters decorating it's trunks and limb sections. An instant later, mechanical whirring changed the length of it's limbs and stock to be that of what Magna Guard usually were. Almost two meters tall, wide, and deceptively swift. It was a type of droid that had a reputation as Jedi Killers during the Clone Wars, and with good reason.

The low voice spoke, "Master Endoni, here I was thinking we could give an impromptu display to the new blood."

Xin raised an eyebrow, "Not with your propensity with live lightsabers, no."

"You know I can't help it Master Endoni, Master Ganthor programmed me to attack you with the full intent to land a fatal blow during our spars." the droid sounded, almost disappointed, sad even.

Xin however, was silent for a few seconds, a blank stare on her face, "I didn't actually, but that explains a lot now."

A pause from the droid as it looked at the others, "Can I-"

"No."

The droid pouted again, before walking away, the clank of his feet echoing down the hall for a small while before simply stopping.

Xin spoke up, "That was Magnus, a solo practice drone made by Master Ganthor to train me, now others... Not including you, yet." a pause "Any other questions?"

[Phalnia]

Apprentice Samis'ta
Yavin IV
Jedi Academy

---

Samis'ta tried hard to maintain her composure as the shuttle descended towards the surface. There were far too many passengers for her comfort. She currently found herself wedged between a large and hairy creature that growled frequently and a human who sweated profusely. She wasn't even granted the luxury of a window view as the shuttle cut through the atmosphere. She could overhear the cooing of those with views. Apparently the moon's jungles were dotted with structures. Very old structures. Samis'ta let out an exasperated sigh. The sooner this ship emptied and she could breathe, the better.

A voice on the rang out through the transport. Disembarkation was fast approaching. With a gentle thud the ship reached landfall and ramps descended to the sounds of the landing pad outside. Samis'ta found herself flowing along with the crowd. The sights around her were a welcome reprieve from the compact ship. Tall trees swayed over the compound as the sounds of animal life flooded in. A smile split Samis'ta's face as she breathed deeply. Yavin was a far cry from the congestion and build up on Nar Shadda.

The Twi'lek's attention was brought back by the call of a young woman to the crowd. She introduced herself as Padawan Xin Endoni, and informed them that she would be leading a hike towards the Praxeum. Samis'ta was unconcerned with the warnings over the length of the hike. As an emancipated slave she had no possesions to lug, save the clothes on her back and the dagger in her boot. Eager to explore this new place, Samis'ta had to restrain herself from taking one of the many paths that branched off of Xin's. There would be time later, she was sure.

Eventually, the travelers arrived at a large structure. Unlike the previous compound, this one radiated with energy. It was like a jolt that coursed through Samis'ta's entire body. The sensation continued as the group was led before imposing figures who were introduced as the masters of this New Jedi Order. She recognized her own name being called as a student to Bo Ganthor. The Zabrak cut a fine figure in his armor and his horns intrigued Samis'ta, she had never seen a being like him in the Hutt's palace.

Samis'ta was slightly startled from her focus when a guard presented her with a long cylinder. Samis'ta couldn't help but, notice that her's was significantly longer than those her new comrades. Two switches adorned the hilt and Samis'ta deduced that instead of a single blade, her's was capable of emitting twin blades. She palmed the item as the guard moved on. It felt light in her hands and she spun and tossed it from hand-to-hand. Satisfied, she found is attached neatly to the belt of her pants.

With the groups splitting Samis'ta follwed her assigned master. The barracks they were introduced to were sparse, nothing the Twi'lek couldn't get used to. When it came time to claim a bunk Samis'ta found one to her liking. It was a top bunk above one claimed by an older man, a man Samis'ta had mistaken for seasoned Jedi on the hike over. She gave the man a quick nod and lept onto the bunk. It was a solid frame with a surprisingly soft mattress, a far cry from anything given to slaves on Nar Shadda.

Content with her chosen bed, Samis'ta hung her head off of the side and peered at the aged man beneath her, with her lekku dangling down she stuck out a free hand to the man. "My name is Samis'ta. I guess we should get to know each other if we're going to share a bunk."

[Empire of Donner land]

Yavin IV

---

19 ABY

---

Apprentice Ulsa Anve

---

Ulsa nodded and said to herself "don't call Master Katarn, Master, alright." and shrugged it off as the crowd of other Apprentices called to Xin to answer their own questions. While they did, others began claiming their own domiciles ahead of the others while the questions were being asked. The Arkanian in the class asked about the degree by which they would be held to the Jedi Code, Ulsa was confused by this question herself. She had done just fine with the clothes on her back and the tools allotted to her back on Dantooine and Dathomir before that, Ulsa jumped to the assumption in her mind that those from more populated worlds might not be doing as well here as some others, given their disposition towards luxuries. Ulsa shook her head subtly in sudden disagreement with herself, she had better not underestimate her fellow classmates, they could help her just as much as she could help them.

Apparently the Jedi Order adopted a more lax attitude according to Xin. "They determined that such a strict structure is what inevitably resulted in its collapse during the rise of the Empire. While I could stand for days and speak at length of what they factored into this, neither of us wants to pass out mid-lecture." The Padawan explained, but Ulsa almost jumped to cut her off that she, in fact, would love to talk more about this. There were still gaping holes in her knowledge on what she knew about the Jedi Purge, and the Clone Wars before that. Were Jedi not expected to be not just Warriors, but Scholars as well?

Before she could even think about asking this, another Apprentice spoke up about when they were going to get a chance to Spar. He was giddy about it, extremely excited, but there was something off. Ulsa didn't feel anything from this Apprentice, as if they weren't force-sensitive themselves, he gave off no... "Aura", as she put it. Her concerns were answered when Xin dismissively confirmed his Identity. Before their eyes, the Apprentice turned from a Boy to a large droid. Their tenacity to want to get into a duel with the Students was off-putting, to say the least.

As the Droid's metallic footsteps grew distant, Ulsa stood to the left of her Bunk watching it leave until it went around a corner out of sight and then turning back to Padwan Xin. "There is an area to Meditate here on these premises that is not at risk of a sudden murderous Droid attack, right Xin Endoni?" Ulsa asked.

[Parcia]

ZIam Cyrus
The Temple.


Indeed, the realization he had asked the Cute blind girl to the library hit him like a tone of bricks. Groaning internally and blushing externally, he smiled awkwardly and preyed she would pass the moment. Thankfully, she did. "My name- call me Khaza, its nice to meet you too!" So her name was Khaza...interesting name at that.

"Well, if you're actually interested, I have some research to do on some family history and maybe some research in to Light sabers in general..." His voice trailed off as her not so subtle hint at the evolving situation around him. Looking at the man he took stock of him as he moved. "An Echani..." He shook his head, "I'm good with my staff, but the Echani could, likely would smoke my desert ass."

"I may be a bit untraveled and maybe even misinformed, but I'v seen the results of a fool who threw hands with a properly trained Echani." Still though...

"Ehh, what the hell." Reaching for his armor and his staff, he gave the fellow Padawan a friendly smile. "Hey, you up for a spar?"

[The Olog-Hai]

Kaidin Thelcar
Yavin 4
19 ABY

Kaidin moved through the forms of his art, mostly concentrating on the techniques, so that the conversations going on around him were more like background noise. Even without being able to track her eyes, Kaidin was able to notice that the blind girl was looking at hit, paying attention to his movements in an odd way. What was more interesting, however, was the sudden appearance of a droid where a boy had been standing just before. Kaidin missed a beat, before pulling himself together, and focusing on splitting his attention a little more. The droid appeared to be a Magna Guard. Now, that would be a worthy opponent, although more of a challenge than even a skilled opponent, being impossible to read.

The droid complained to Xin about not being allowed to fight, before she introduced it. It seems this Magnus was programmed by Master Ganthor, the overly armored Zabrak, to do his best to land fatal blows. Interesting, and certainly a worthwhile challenge. Sadly, however, she shooed the droid off. Kaidin mentally sighed, and went back to his practice. Then, however, a young human spoke, clearly directly to Kaidin. He attempted to pull his attention back together, and only then did he study this person. Fairly fit, the man asked Kaidin if he wanted to spar, and reached for a set of armor and a staff.

Clearly, the man wanted to spar not with their sabers, but with a weapon he was more used to. That was fair; although he wanted to get more used to his blade, it was not suited for a duel yet. "Sure," he said "on one condition." Kaidin turned towards Xin, and addressed her directly. "Is there anywhere near here that we can spar? That is, an area with enough space to actually move around?"

[Acerbez]

Khaza Halsi,
Temple Quarters

Khaza's jaw dropped abruptly while the slightest gasp was inaudible. She wasn't suggesting that Ziam challenge the other padawan! Taking a step toward Ziam and waving her hand in a forgiving manner she began to interject just as Ziam was grabbing his gear.

"N-n-no, I meant we could watch togeth-" interrupted, Ziam had already turned around happily beckoning Kaidin, "Ehh, what the hell." Reaching for his armor and his staff, he gave the fellow Padawan a friendly smile. "Hey, you up for a spar?" "Sure," Kaidin replied "on one condition." As Kaidin turned towards Xin, Khaza was at a loss for words.

She was excited to see what her fellow Padawans were capable of just as everyone else did, but not she felt like an instigator. As Kaidin relayed his question to Xin for open ground, Khaza attempted to speak quickly, "Ziam, are you certain? I didn't mean for you to duel. Maybe it's better we go to the archives! I can just sit behind and you tell me what you find, you know? Like... Out loud", the suggestion came out rather sheepishly but its all she could muster given her mistake.

Khaza looked over to Kaidin and then back to Ziam, both seemed rather confident and didn't appear to be callous or giving any indication of hostility. Maybe it wasn't such a problem, but she was doubtful and unsure. As Ziam was fidgeting with his armor, Khaza didn't wear much in armor but did he really need it for a friendly spar?

"Ziam, the lightsaber are modified to not cause injury... You're planning to use a saber right?". She was facing Ziam and Kaidin. If these two werent too hard core, maybe she could join them- like Future sparring partners.

[Parcia]

Ziam Cyrus
The Temple

To see Khaza blush and stutter was cute, making him smirk a little as she went about trying to correct what he guessed to me a misunderstanding. But she did have a point. "Well, to be fair, it depends on whether our pale friend here chooses to use his war blade. If so, then my set here is likely a safe bet. If not, well, we should probably learn to use these." Reaching in to his footlocker, he retrieved the the saber staff and placed it on his belt.

It sill felt a little off in his hands, the same way an old, used blaster felt when issued to a fresh recruit at some academy. While he was looking forward to building his own he felt that the saber, as old and used as it likely was, should be with him at all times. Bringing him self out of his day dream, he perked up at the offer of another sparing partner. "Yea, lets do this. All three of us could use some training."

[Brusia]

Martius Shan
Yavin IV

When Padawan Xin began to issue her replies, Martius leaned forward abit on his bed to better hear them. Using the given names of Masters Katarn and Ganthor was something that was certainly going to take some getting used to; between the old Order, the Grand Army of the Republic, and the New Republic Navy, formalities were something that had long since been deeply ingrained for him. He also made note that Xin mentioned his new Master had a history of being a Commando; a fact which helped to explain the armor he wore, and Martius was curious what engagements he might have served in.

As she continued, Martius couldn't help but snicker abit at the assertion that the old Order's strict structure was what led to its collapse; an oversimplification if ever there was one, but he supposed it was abit early in the apprenticeship to be discussing the finer philosophic details behind the collapse of the old Order. As the last question was answered only to reveal it had been asked by a droid, Martius instinctively shot up from his bed with his satchel, reaching in to grab his blaster at the painfully familiar site of an IG-100 battle droid. When it was clear the droid had been reprogrammed though, Martius took his hand off his weapon and sat back down with a sigh of relief.

As he did, a young Twi'lek entered the room, giving him a nod, which he returned, before she lept up on to the top bunk; it seemed she was to be his new roommate. As her head suddenly hung off the edge of the bunk leaving her lekku dangling about, Martius couldn't help but chuckle abit at the sight. The young woman then introduced herself as "Samis'ta" and stuck out her arm while suggesting they get to know each other if they were going to share a bunk. Martius reached out with a grin and shook her hand, replying: "It's a pleasure to meet you Samis'ta, my name is Martius, Martius Shan, and that seems a very wise idea to me." Figuring he might as well start, he then asked: "So, where are you from Samis'ta?"

[The Olog-Hai]

Kaidin Thelcar
The Temple, Yavin IV
19 ABY

At the suggestion of the blind girl to use their new sabers, Kaidin sighed. It made sense, of course, but the saber just didn't feel right for him yet. Still, better to get used to it sooner rather than later. The man with armor responded to the girl that he'd use a saber if Kaidin did, which was plain obvious. Of course he'd use a saber if he was fighting someone with a saber; it wouldn't be fair otherwise. They're both evenly matched, or as close they could get, being inexperienced with the sabers.

However, then the man offered that the three of them spar. That would be a problem, to be true. Although Kaidin did know forms that were applicable against several opponents, they probably didn't translate well to the saber; the weighting was all wrong. Still, an opportunity for a duel was just that, so he laid down his vibrosword and picked up the saber. "Fine. I'll use the saber. All of us using sabers will make this as matched as it can be."

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Inera Atala

Making sure her few belongings were safely stashed in her footlocker, Inera watched as several of the other apprentices began to speak to each other with excitement about sparring. Though she had used a vibroblade before, she was not anywhere near experienced with blade combat, having always preferred her blaster or her fists. She withdrew her own lightsaber hilt from her belt, feeling its weight in her hands. She should probably start practicing if she was to get anywhere with this Jedi business.

Igniting the lightsaber, she observed it's brilliant display of color. Brilliant greens mixed with infared light that her eyes picked up on. Waving it in front of her face, she noticed how the whole blade was weightless. Testing how it would feel to be hit with it, she laid the blade across her palm. A painful stinging came across it. She removed the lightsaber quickly. Sheathing the blade again, she walked over to the gathering group "Do you all mind if I join?"

[Acerbez]

Khaza Halsi

"Fine. I'll use the saber. All of us using sabers will make this as matched as it can be."


Us? Khaza thought, pursing her lips sideways like an awkward grin. She did want to participate, but a 3 person duel? Did he mean both Ziam and herself against him? Surely he meant one at a time. Khaza was reluctant to have 3 people going into a duel free for all style.

"I can join after you guys!" she chirped in a quiet tone. Just as the words ended and reached the boy's ears, a woman taller than Khaza approached from behind the group adding in "Do you all mind if I join? Without hesitation or actually seeing this individual, Khaza felt more comfortable with an equally diverse group- using only Inera's voice as a determinant.

Turning to face Inera abruptly, Khaza caught the slightest glimpse of a cold aura temperament mid sentence, "You and I! We can go duel while the-" Khaza halted her sentenced and shifted her gaze upwards almost 4 inches just to look at Inera.

Why was this all working out so badly for her?! First the instigating, now she singled herself out to literally the tallest person among the group.

"You... And me? Spar? Is that OK?" tiptoeing around her request to Inera, Khaza was digesting the force aura around Inera which was deeply saturated and gave Khaza the feeling of "Icy hot". Her heart thumping and picking up pace, she let out a long drawn exhale to calm herself.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Inera

The Arkanian shrugged at Khasa's question. She had encountered Miraluka before, they had always been a particular pain in her side. Whatever assisstance her force sensitivity gave her on her hunts was countered by the fact that they could literally see her coming from a far way off. Still, she felt a degree of companionship towards the race, her times on desert worlds revealing the plight of blindness more than once.

Inera cocked her head and shrugged "It shouldn't be too bad of a matchup. I'm not particularly skilled with any form of blade, and the first lesson of fighting I was ever taught was to never judge an opponent based on their size. It's a real good way to lose an arm, just ask my 'uncle'. I'm sure you'll find we're probably evenly matched." Inera held out her hand "Name's Inera by the way, Inera Atala. If you've heard it before I assure you I'm not like the stories those hutt slugs like to spread, if you haven't, good, I came here for a fresh start."

[Acerbez]

Khaza Halsi,
Temple Quarters

Inera cocked her head and shrugged "It shouldn't be too bad of a matchup. I'm not particularly skilled with any form of blade, and the first lesson of fighting I was ever taught was to never judge an opponent based on their size. It's a real good way to lose an arm, just ask my 'uncle'. I'm sure you'll find we're probably evenly matched." Inera held out her hand "Name's Inera by the way, Inera Atala. If you've heard it before I assure you I'm not like the stories those hutt slugs like to spread, if you haven't, good, I came here for a fresh start.

Slightly dropping her head from Inera's face to her hand, Khaza reached out to meet Inera's and lightly wrapped her grip around Inera's 4 fingers and applied slight pressure with her thumb. This was more of Miraluka etiquette than it was rebuking dominance in greeting.

"Call me Khaza" she smiled. The ornate silver veil covering her forehead would slightly hide her brow furling, along with the volume of blonde almost white hair. "Your... Your uncle? You mean you took his arm...?" Inera's comment was so literal that it sort of confused Khaza but still she proceeded to smile but quickly let go of the extended hand in an unalarmed manner. "Ha uhm.. No, I can't say that I have! But I do like stories... Not that you have to share! Ya know.. Fresh start and all..." feeling a creeping pause of awkwardness, Khaza was trying to remember or not if she heard where the Padawans were able to spar or if it wasn't allowed.

Recalling that the droid seemed off limits but a difinitive 'no' wasn't passed along, Khaza quickly made a suggestion. "Maybe we can go outside? Or find a wide room from one of the corridors? I just... I think I saw a larger empty room on the way in". Khaza started walking out of anxiousness toward the quarter's exit.

"I've had alot of training growing up when Alpheridies was still..." abruptly pausing and having minor flashbacks of the police state that the planet became under the empire and how the Miraluka were coerced into the imperial inquisition's tasks via self persecution in aiding the jedi purge but also their own people. Khaza wanted to deflect away from inferring her training was, at its inception, meant to be used against jedi at some point, or atleast force users. Simply because it wasn't a narrative she supported now that she was older and Alpheridies was free.

"I'm good with the basics" she continued, "I worked up some experience in foot work and drills. My tutor, Delvaro, was around your size actually... We can fill in what we're wanting to fix after!" she stated assuringly to build on the notion of comradery. "Obviously I can't shoot very well with a blaster, so I had more time with training sabers" she continued while trailing off.

Turning around just to add "Everyone is here watching, I don't think here is a good idea..."

[Urran]

Thrace

Space was cold, cold and unforgiving to those going into its vastness without proper precautions. Any miscalculation could result in the sudden and immediate embrace of death. Death, now that was a funny thing. Death, to most a harsh, cruel fact of life, was to others something to be respected, and still others, longed for. At the very least, there was certainty in death, certainty in space.

Reentry into a planet was another matter entirely. Thrace was now officially a fish out of water. He had had a cold, cruel life, at least the parts that he remembered. Death had been something longed for through the torment and pain, but he had been robbed of that by the New Republic, sent from ship to ship, station to station until finally having his fate decided for him, as usual. He only remembered space. He remembered those few he had known dying, and he knew the cold, bleak confines of space stations and ships. He'd seen death, real and imagined, and longed for it. Space was certain, death was certain. These new people and this new life he had been thrust into, that was the uncertain part. Uncertainty held more fear and dread than the certainty of death possibly could.

The jungles and scenery were sensory overload enough to worry about the hike. He could run, that was certain. While others were excited, and other apprehensive, Thrace had started to go numb. Starships were often minimalist on the inside, at least in his experience. Black, grey, dark grey that sometimes pretended to be black, and white with few accent colors were all he'd known that he could recollect. The jungles and swamps were so....alive. Visually, and through the Force. Was it like this everywhere? The trees, things he'd only seen on data pads since his freedom. Life seemed to hold a dazzling array of possibilities. He looked around at the surroundings, more so than the others. Good places to hide, an infinite number of spaces to run. He started calculating his odds of survival. Escape plans began to drift back into his head. Long ago he had been forced to accept his fate a a lab rat, an asset. In the confines of the space station that owned you, you couldn't run. Maybe he could get away if things moved south. Flying creatures moved overhead. He longed to join them.

Most of the day had been a blur, one thing stood out prominently. Master Skywalker and his kindness. Thrace had never known kindness that he could recollect during his life, though he'd been told he was biologically 25, he could only recollect bits and pieces and he only remembered needles, various cutter devices, electrocution, hard surfaces, cold, pain, medical droids, and all the fear and anguish the dark side promised. Upon freedom he'd been introduced to living conditions, all the food he could eat, though he still had a habit of hiding it, and the concept that he was worthy to live, worthy to exist, worthy to simply be, let alone become a Jedi, though he still wasn't sure what that meant. The world seemed to be getting bigger all the time, and light was just beginning to shine through the dark clouds.

Master Katran. He looked.....uncertain.

The lightsaber, that was different. The concept of anyone giving him anything was foreign enough. He grasped the metal hilt and took a sharp breath. For a moment it was back, a hideous face, nondescript and distant, but very present and personification of the Dark side itself clouded his vision and it felt as if ice had pierced his heart. An instant later and it was gone. He placed a hand over his breast. Still there. He gripped the hilt tightly, but found himself looking about for someone to give it to. He'd been able to accept his plain, white shirt and paints, now a little stained with mud, much to his dismay, but he still needed a lot of work receiving other things.

He hung about awkwardly near the others as they asked Xin questions. Master Bo sounded unpleasant. He began to wonder what separated him from the Empire, though what he'd come to know of the New Republic stood to challenge his past. He was conflicted. More so that he seemed to be able to choose any bunk he liked. He clung to his small bag. What if he made someone angry by making the wrong choice? This was going to be a long adjustment period.

[Anowa]

Xin raised a brow at the now very enthused group of individuals wishing to spar. The emotions swimming through their heads were much the same, anxious, excited for future prospects, the Echani and Mandalorian had a sense of pride, maybe competition about them, soon joined by another. It reminded her of the lessons she taught to the younglings every so often, so excitable, so full of hope, so painfully naive... It helped remind her what life could've been like, but alas, her line of thinking instead gave Xin an idea.

With an unexpected smirk growing across her face, Xin spoke, "The yard we walked through to reach here is the outdoor assembly area. It's unlikely anyone is out there at the moment. If you wish to spar, that is likely the best place for you to do so."

Skywalker had stated that they rest for good reason. Tomorrow was the apprentice's first trial, really a 'get to know the lay of the land' ordeal. Normally each master would have their own separate trial, this time around, Katarn and Ganthor really got into their team work and devised something particularly grueling. A rather massive sprawling hike through the forest to obtain a few items in an old ruin kilometers away from here. If the sparring made it easier for her to do her part, tired them out and left them sore for the morning, there really wasn't any reason for her to say no, was there?

[Beiarusia]

Llewellyn
Yavin 4 :: 19 ABY

She sat alone towards the rear of the starship. In fact, she had claimed the very back for herself, shying away from the few who had tried to speak with her during the journey, her cold look more than enough to deter repeat attempts. Llewellyn was aggravated. Her entire life she had known maybe two dozen individuals; the crowded starship ferried over one-hundred. Humans and aliens and everything in-between of all shapes and sizes and colours. A cacophony that frazzled her nerves like jagged nails on a chalkboard. It was irritatingly claustrophobic.

That and her social anxiety made peaceful dealings with strangers (especially many) an insurmountable task.

Though, admittedly, the starship was preferable to her time spent on Coruscant. Born to the ruins of Vestar, the capital of the New Republic was dismaying to behold, a planet-wide city of innumerable towers stretching kilometers high into the cluttered sky. And more people than she could ever have imagined. Certainly some would view the contrast of backwater jungle to modern ecumenopolis with awestruck wonderment; Llewellyn was petrified, alone in the galaxy and crushed underneath the sudden feeling of cosmic insignificance. (Not that she'd willingly admit such a thing.) Fortunately, she had been sequestered away at the Temple and allowed, at her own pace, to adjust to the culture shock, which amounted to little more than hiding away in her room and refusing outright to set foot outside for several days on end, avoiding everyone but Bo Ganthor (the Jedi that had rescued her) and the medical droid that examined her from time-to-time. The discussion on what to do with her came eventually, and after some deliberation she was offered the opportunity to become a student on Yavin 4, whatever or wherever that was. It was a simple enough decision. Not that Llewellyn had many options to choose from.

The starship landed and its occupants disembarked. Llewellyn remained to the back, hidden from view to the student that had come to collect them, more intrigued by the dense woodlands that dominated the surrounding landscape but giving enough attention to follow when necessary. "It is quite a hike from here so I hope you didn't bring too much carry on," remarked Xin as they departed the landing zone. Llewellyn had practically nothing to her name: a few spare outfits, her multi-tool, and an old malfunctioning comlink that had belonged to her father (which he likely acquired as a trophy during the conflict). Still, she was feeling somewhat winded after twenty minutes of walking despite having nothing burdensome to carry.

Llewellyn slowed her pace ever slightly. Nobody paid attention to her lingering in the back, and she could better see her new "acquaintances" as they trekked deeper into the forest. All unique in some way or another, although she noted sourly that some were dressed in old Imperial uniforms. Those she made note to avoid.

Eventually they reached the Praxeum, an old pyramidal structure totally unlike the silvered buildings of Coruscant, and inside, awaiting them, the Jedi that would train them. As they filed into the chamber Llewellyn noticed happily that Bo was standing there amongst the Jedi Knights, and was tempted to draw his attention if not for the commencement of their welcome. It was brief, and soon enough they were being shown to their quarters.

Again, Llewellyn stood in the back as Kyle Katarn and Bo Ganthor addressed them before leaving Xin to handle any questions.

It was suddenly noisy as people asked their questions or spoke excitedly amongst themselves, eager to make friends no doubt. Nerves on edge once more, Llewellyn picked her way through the crowd to find herself a bunk, somewhat disappointed that she no longer had the privacy of a room, but figured this slight discomfort was nothing compared to her life on Vestar. She found herself a spot somewhat away from the group and simply watched for the time being as talks of sparring floating in amongst the conversations. She decided it best to sit out.