Star Wars Saga: The last, best Hope [AU] - IC

[Liliedhe]

Prologue - Sleepless Night

Somewhere in the Deep Core, T-327

In the shadow between an orphaned gas giant and a huge moon awash in volcanic activity drifts a strange fleet, made up of a huge wedge shaped ship marked by a broad red stripe running from stern to prow and over a dozen smaller smaller craft of varying ages. The Tython is the last of the so called "Jedi Cruisers" not dismantled or repainted in service of the Empire and it serves as the temporary headquarters for the Rebel Alliance while the leading members are conferring on the best course of action in light of the disquieting rumours and the shocking information brought in by a group of intrepid agents.

So, at the moment it is not unusual to stumble upon the Skywalker twins playing catch in the corridors, or tiny green Master Yoda meditating in front of a window. Still, the atmosphere is not one of playfulness, but one of apprehension.

For you, the agents who are responsible for this state of alert, it is an exiting time. It was nothing but a stroke of luck that brought you into this position, ordered to transport an imperial deserter to a different base, when an incoming call promised first rate imperial intelligence, but only if the woman Rathe would be there for the meet. Thinking of traps and tricks, but not willing to ignore the opportunity, you were ordered to make it to the meet. Since then, a pattern has settled in, and you have rendezvoused with the strange traitor three times, each time coming away with nothing but confusion and valuable information that so far saved several thousands of lives.

Still, nobody likes the situation, with the informer not meeting you in person but sending an emissary who always looked different, but was obviously the same person. The last time, his guise, that of a human male who looked like he had crawled from a grave, and who seemed hauntingly familiar to Rathe, you were given leads on the monstrous battlestation the Empire was supposedly building... It was important enough to recall you to the Tython and to make you give your report to the Rebel Leaders in person. Now, with the arrival of a new coded message and the schedule for a new meet, you have been given a new mission: Make a recording of the contact - even if it is only a proxy - and try to follow him wherever he goes afterwards.

Since this violates the terms, and since the new meeting place is in the ruins of Taris, and the thought of the battle station to be finished soon, it makes for restless feelings and a sleepless night aboard the old warship... Wandering the corridors, looking for solace or peace, for entertainment or relaxation, or using the last moments to tinker with your ship, strange encounters might wait for you...

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Feel free to start, even if your characters aren't completely finished yet. This is intended as a little warm up so you can get used to situation and characters.

Cast of characters:
Rissa/Ascension
Rathe/Moral Wiz
Jena/The_Snark
Rowil Kensam/Reverent_One
DMfromtheAbyss/Zhent Rale
Mando Knight/Miré


OOC
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96096

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

"There is no Ignorance, there is knowledge."

Aboard the Liberty Light, there was no sound. But if someone looked in on the cargo bay, they'd see a rather odd sight. A young woman, with black hair and dark eyes, in well woven, and seemingly seldom worn light green civilian clothing sits on the floor,, her legs crossed and eyes closed.

Yet before them floats an olden parchment. Around the meditating rebel, a collection of hydro-spanners, power-wrenches and a host of small, mechanical tools float through the room. The young woman had just been using them for a spot of tinkering with the Light's Sublight Drives.

There is no Passion, there is Serenity

There is no Chaos; There is...

But that simple mantra throws her off. Images flash into her head, images that for all her skill, she can not banish from her mind. Not completely. Dark visions of her past, of what she had been, what she was now, and what she could have been. And of what she feared was going on right now.

One image at a time, one disharmony after another, building to a crescendo of emotion, a storm of the darkness. Death and flame flowed before her eyes. It is all Rathe can do to keep her mind clear.

No chaos... there is...

But the focus is lost. The sound of steel crashing on steel echoes through the Liberty Light as Rathe's tools crash down around her. She doesn't seem to notice though, her mind knowing only her failed peace.

Harmony.

The young Imperial sighs and, with one hand using a box for support, slowly gets to her feat.

Sigh. Another failure.

Quickly, methodically and with the motions of one who has learned to do a thing by route, Rathe quickly moves each tool into it's place, be that on her utility belt, or within the cargo hold.

Before too long, the only thing remaining out was the old, slightly crinkled text which she'd been reading from. She looks at it's handwritten lines, remorsefully, as a voice seemed to echo in her head.

The Jedi Code. One of the oldest, and best meditation aides in the galaxy.

And you still can't focus. Let alone now. You're nervous, jumpy, distracted. All this isn't helping you. Now's not the time for meditating.

I need to calm down in another way. And I think I know how to do it.

After returning the manuscript to it's crate, Rathe walks out of the Liberty Light, down the cargo ramp into the bustling docking bay. The ramp closes after her, and with a quick spring in her step, started walking briskly... in any direction, twisting through the corridors of the Tython, a smile on her face.

Let's see where the Force takes me.

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It's either a meditation idea, or a slightly crazy impulse on Rathe's part. You decide.

If relivent UtF (1d20+17)[20]

[Ascension]

Rissa

Rathe is hardly out the hangar before she encounters her friend Rissa headed in the other direction, her facial tentacles writhing with anxiety.

"I was just going to check on Baby... could you tell when you were in there if anyone's harmed her? If anyone so much as touched her I'll... well... My mother taught me how to deal with rapists."

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

The young force user smiled, ever so slightly, at her friend's approach. Spinning round to face her with one fluid movment, she looked past Rissa through the door.

Don't think so. There were lots of people round one of the Y-wing flights, looked like a party, but I don't think anyone's been at Baby.

Still, I've been in the Light's interior. Haven't had that clear a look I'm afraid.

[Ascension]

Rissa

"Mind a bit of company on your walk?" Rissa asks, "Or is this one of those Force things? I could still go check on Baby..."

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

Rathe smile widens, slightly

I'm trying to make it a force thing. Been trying to clear my head, relax, get my focus back before the meeting.

She shakes her head, though doesn't loose the smile

Not had much success thus far. How do the Jedi do it?

Your cal, Rissa. I don't think I'll be back in the hanger bay for a while though.

[Ascension]

"I don't know, in my experience the Jedi manage to achieve inner peace largely by dividing the universe into 'good' and 'evil,' 'ally' and 'enemy,' and then not thinking twice about hurting their 'evil enemies' or aiding their 'good allies,'" Rissa says, chuckling in the manner of a laughing Quarren, which sounds a bit like gargling. Her body language tells you that she's abandoned the idea of going to the hangar.

"I guarantee you they don't just see me as 'a friend who is a Quarren,' they see me as 'a friendly Quarren.' There's a distinction. See, I'm an exception to the Jedi's rule, and I'm only an exception due to my usefulness and my willingness to aid their cause at the moment. If they encountered me on the streets of Coruscant instead of on board a Rebel cruiser with a valuable starfighter only I'm allowed to pilot, they would default to an assumption of hostility. It's the way their minds operate. The dehumanization is how they manage to avoid feeling guilt about their attempts to play god."

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

Rathe sighed, inwardly. She didn't walk off yet, and her smile doesn't disappear.

Hey, be fair, Rissa. That's not something limited to the Jedi. We all divide the universe to degrees. We all make assumptions, justified or not. It's just a question of what you assume, and your ability to see round the stereotype.

And there's more to achieving inner peace than that. It's not just overwhelming arrogance, or certianty if you prefer. Believe me on that one.

[OldSchoolGamer7]

QT-86

"Rissa, I can assure you that your prototype has been untouched," the inconspicuous droid chimes up, darting over from the group of astromech droids it had been working both on and with. "It is a thing of beauty and I would let none touch it. I wouldn't even touch it, myself, both out of respect for your wishes and because I know little of it's systems." It seems to be a bit on the fussy side today, having been pulling long shifts in the repair bay getting fighters, bombers, and other droids up to snuff. If I find the Alliance techs who are supposed to be caring for them, I'm gonna give them such an earful...you cannot defeat an Empire with substandard gear and shoddy repairs. QT hovers near it's two comrades, green photoreceptors seeming to dim and brighten at random, as if it were blinking erratically.

[Ascension]

"Thanks, Cutie!" Rissa replies, her tentacles twitching in a way those quite familiar with the Quarren might recognize as their equivalent of a smile.

[BooNL]

Reilo

As the three others had been talking, the doors to the hanger bay opened and closed while mechanics and droids went about their duty.

One of these mechanics was a fairly muscular khil. He was wearing a simple workman's overall, exposing his grayish-green arms. A tattoo was visible on the left, it simply said CRC in a large, ornate font. Reilo and his squad had these done while in the undercity. Brotherhood was the only way a unit of ten could stand up to a hundred thugs.

"I don't know where the Alliance got those weapon banks from, but they're shoddy construction. I had to rework the entire internal circuit of RS-3." His face was wrinkled, partly by approaching middle age, but mostly by worry. Reilo was a man who had lost everything twice, it was hard for him to trust again, but this team seemed genuine.

Having overheard Rissa and Rathe's discussion about Jedi, Reilo couldn't help but chime in. "Before the Alliance I only met a Jedi once. I remember he looked confident, regal even. He was talking to my commander about a case. The department had been working on the case for six months and nearly had it cracked. We had apprehended a suspect, but he was refusing to talk." Reilo thought back to those times, when he was still a rookie. His hullepi ruffled, which could be considered a chuckle.

"The commander could get so upset some times. He'd throw datapads at people, knock lamps over and bark orders to the other side of the office.
So anyway, the Jedi just sat there calmly while the commander was yelling at his face how we got the perpetrator but couldn't even arrest him. When he was finished, the Jedi got up and walked over to the detention block.

He said two words to the prisoner: "tell me". While to our amazement, the bastard went and confessed everything.

I'm still baffled by it all to this day."

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RS-3 = Rogue Squadron Y-wing 3.

At least, I take it there's still a rogue squadron here.

[Ascension]

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RS-3 = Rogue Squadron Y-wing 3.

At least, I take it there's still a rogue squadron here.

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Rissa taught them everything they know.

No, really. That's what my fulfilled Education Destiny is, training Rogue Squadron... or its equivalent... Lil never did say exactly.

"RS-3's acting up again? I told *insert pilot name here* to treat her gently!"

Rissa's tentacles assume a state of writhing annoyance.

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

Rathe looks slightly nervous, as she always did when the group got together, but still she smiles at her friend's "anger".

Well, I'm off. The Force is calling me... away from the crossfire.

Then, with a slightly nervous laugh, she heads off down the corridor.

[Liliedhe]

@Rathe:

As she joggs away - looking only slightly frantic, probably - her feet draw her down the corridors, towards the modified crew quarters that now include a training area and a chamber for sparring. From that room she hears the low hum of a lightsaber...

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

On reflex before anything else, Rathe slows down, more cautious as she hears that all too well known hum.

Hmm... a sparring match might help. Even watching one might be a start. But they'll be Jedi. They won't exactly be... comfortable with the situation. It'll just be...

Oh, shut up. I need to do something.

Slowly, semi reluctantly, she puts a hand on the frame, and pokes her head around the door.

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It's not listed as an item, so I'll ask directly. Can Rathe own a training saber?

[Liliedhe]

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I would say that normal sabers can have a training setting... If that's not possible, then there would just be training sabers available where you can train.

She sees a young human in the middle of the floor, his lightsaber ignited in his hand, moving through a training sequence. He's alone, there are no others here at that time of the night. Concentrating on his meditation, he is not yet aware of Rathe peeking in.

[Moral Wiz]

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Canonically, I think Training Lightsabers are different. They use a different crystal.

Rathe

Rathe is nervous at the sight of the Jedi

He hasn't noticed you. You could get away quite comfortably now, with out him noticing.

But I need to relax. And the simplest way to do that is a sparring match.

With a single motion, she swings round into the room. She speaks, her voice nervous.,

Hey.

She feels like she ought to say something, but her nerves at actually talking to a Jedi gets the better of her.

[Liliedhe]

The young man - in his mid twenties maybe - does not seem startled, he merely lowers his weapon, deactivates it and turns towards the intruder. She doesn't know his name, but she has seen him on the ship occasionally, quite clearly memorable not only for his quite unusual hairstyle - he ties his long blond hair into a ponytail - but also for an old scar on the left side of his face, where a blastershot took his ear.

"Hey." He looks Rathe over and frowns. "Are you new?"

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

New?

Rathe looks confused, but nods

I suppose so. I've not been around here that long.

She falls silent, still obviously ill at ease.

[Liliedhe]

@Rathe:

"You are the Imperial."

That was not a question. "I'm Irian. Jedi Knight as of this summer." The curiosity in his hazel eyes is barely disguised. He holds out his hand towards her.

"Nice to meet you."

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

Rathe actually looks calmer at the statement. When people describe you as "the Imperial" you know where you stand at least. She actually smiled at the gesture, and took the offered hand.

Seconded, Inari.

Her handshake is cool, firm and as strong as she could manage. She looks the Jedi Knight in the eyes, her own curiosity evident as well.

So... what are you doing? It's an odd hour for training.

[Liliedhe]

@Rathe:

"I can't sleep. Combat meditation takes my mind off things." He shrugs, then walks over to his towel and dries off his face. "I suppose that's your problem, too... Everyone is edgy on this ship, and it shows."

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

Is it that obvious?

Rathe smiles, then nods.

Just been trying to meditate. Couldn't focus.

She looks around the room, then with a smile, walks over to a rack of training lightsabers.

Hey, how about a match? There's never anything quite like sparring for taking your mind off it's troubles.

[Liliedhe]

@Rathe:

"You sure?"

He looks her over. "I don't want to hurt you."

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

The Imperial isn't offended. If anything, she's slightly amused.

If we use training sabers, there'll be no problem. And I'm not totally incompetent. I may not be your equal, but I have been trained.

Besides, I've been in far worse. I can stick a sparring match.

[Liliedhe]

@Rathe:

While that seems to catch his interest, he doesn't pry. His superiors seem to be ok with this woman, so he is willing to trust their judgement.

"All right. Training sabers are over there" - he points to a rack at the wall - "Choose whatever you like." He walks over to a bag in a corner and exchanges his own saber as well and waits in the middle of the training floor.

[OldSchoolGamer7]

QT-86

There is the briefest flash--only perceptible to someone with the most keen of reflexes--of annoyance passing through the droid. Can't stand it when they call me that. "The Alliance buys what it can afford. I'm none to thrilled about it, myself. Do you know how many motivators I've changed since we got back? Mind wipes needed by erratic R5 units? On top of that, I've noticed a disturbing influx of R4 units. No one outside of some backwater Outer Rim spaceport buys one of those junkheaps.

"If you need someone to run a flight test on your repairs, I just finished work on R2-F0. I want to see if his upgraded algorithms will allow for more advanced maneuvers. I've heard rumors about the Empire developing faster classes of TIEs, though there is no proof available at this time to corroborate the stories."

[BooNL]

Reilo

Reilo takes a step back and extends his arm a bit. "No thanks Cutie, you know I only repair the damn things. I've never liked space ships, prefer to have both feet on solid ground. But they need every mechanic they need, so here I am working on those hellish machines." He looks thoughtful. "Well, to be fair to the Alliance, most major production facilities are under Imperial control now. It's to be expected that purchases are more difficult. But R4 models? I hadn't seen one in years, till I stepped aboard this vessel."

[Moral Wiz]

Rathe

Totally confident, the woman walks over, and examines the training sabers. Weighing each individually, and miming a few strokes with some, she soon settled on a light

With a flick, it ignigts, a bright deep blue. She flicks her wrist through a few fencing strokes, then deactivates it, satisfied. She slowly and calmly walks over to stand opposite Irian, across the room.

Even though she knows she's probably outmatched, she allows herself a smile

Ready when you are, Master Jedi

[Liliedhe]

@Rathe:

Taking up a stance Rathe recognizes as the starting position of Ataru, he readies his own blade, blue like hers. "Fine."

A cocky grin appears on his face, quite crooked because of the big scar on his left side. Then he moves, striking quickly and dancing out of the way again...

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I honestly don't want to roll the dice for this combat now, so let's just describe. Irian isn't that good (Lv. 9 or so), though he probably could beat her, at least as long as she doesn't dual wield. Besides, they aren't really trying to kill each other (I hope^^), so this more like harmless fun and no need to get it deadly serious. Agreed?