trans_9 | Choices, Choices

Kyle sensed Arha, and followed her presence in the Force to the sensoriums. He was a little surprised at the feelings he was sensing. "Hey there! Practicing the things we went over last time?"

Lightsabers were always nice neutral conversation. If something was truly bothering her he was sure she'd tell him. If she didn't want to he wasn't going to force it.

"Looks more like she's practicing decision-making," Luke said with a little grin as he stepped in too. He meant nothing by it, really; just some friendly ribbing. "Though if you two are going to spar, I wouldn't mind joining in. I really need to keep in practice, otherwise that offspring of mine is going to pass me up entirely."

"More like manhandling my lightsaber with the Force," she murmured dryly. "I walked in here thinking I knew what I wanted and I'm still standing her trying to make up my mind. I honestly have no idea what I ought to do right now. It's disturbing. I should practice, but really, I think I want to..."

Arha sighed and snatched her lightsaber from in front of her.

"I want to go for a walk. The kind that is liable to end up in trouble. One never knows when they are going to get in trouble, after all. I would not mind if it was a nice place to look at. I know of no such places." She tilted her chin, sidling a glance at Kyle. "Do you?"

Kyle shot Luke a smile. It was good to see him. "And you say I'm the one that forgets to be polite. I certainly wouldn't mind a spar though. It seems like it's been a while since the two of us have done that."

Trouble was something Kyle was okay with. If this is what she needed to do to regain focus he was more than happy to help. Smiling he walked up to her. "Of course I wouldn't mind a little stroll. Think it will rain? What about you Luke? Up for a little walk into who knows what?"

"A Jedi does not know pain or fear," Luke said, pretending to steel himself for whatever they came up with.

"Seriously, I need the practice," he continued, getting serious now. "Something all three of us can team up together for--individual skill is excellent, but I have a feeling we're going to need to learn to work better as a group. Not that we don't already."

"This is a good idea," she said, nodding. "I will leave the place up to the first one with an idea, as I am fresh out of those. I should be, as always, pleased to work with you both."

She hooked her lightsaber back onto her belt and flashed a bright grin.

"Strolls often become more than they started out to be, after all. Such things were common in my desert. Why one might be eaten by Shai-Hulud if they were not careful."

Double checking his blaster, and lightsaber he walked along with his companions. "I think I'll defer to Luke on that one. I'm fine with wherever we end up." The sensoriums would always be a bit strange to him. Just being able to see anywhere you thought of. Always had him worried he'd drag up a bad memory by accident.

"Shai-Hulud?" he asked. The name sounded powerful, and dangerous. "What is that? Some kind of predator."

"Isn't that what you and..." he paused. Something blocked by the mind-rubbing. "...your people called those sandworms?" The question was more rhetorical and quiet. Luke cast around a moment, trying to come up with a scenario he'd encountered that would necessitate teamwork. His first thought was one of the Dreadnoughts used on Outbound Flight; his next one made him smile.

"I hope you three don't mind a challenge," he said. "Kyle, you ever heard of a planet called Myrkr?"

Edited 2010-05-14 05:11 (UTC)

Arha nodded, confirming Luke's information, though she didn't need to, and clasped her hands behind her back beneath her cloak as she sidled a glance between both men. She recognized the name, Myrkr. Someone had told her about the place once. Something about Force sensing beasts. That would be challenging and Arha wondered if she could pull far enough back with the Force to avoid detection.

Since she had touched the Force, she had always had an issue with suppressing her presence. Too much jpy and wonder, she supposed. Too much something.

"Sandworms? Why do I have a bad feeling about that." Something that native people used such a respectful term for had to be dangerous, big, or extremely hostile. Quite possibly all three. It went on the list of things Kyle was alright with never knowing.

"No, I don't think I've heard of Myrkr. Let me guess, it's one of those relaxing vacation spots we Jedi always get to go to?"

"Actually, it's a death trap of a planet that Old Republic Jedi almost never visited if they didn't have to, with a forest full of predators that use the Force to track their prey. And it's the homeworld of the ysalamiri, the effects of which you may be familiar with." Luke grinned. "It's also where I met Mara."

"Such should be a good place to test our skills as a unit," Arha murmured. "I will enjoy this, I think. I...think I have visited once in the Sensorium. I could be wrong, though. It is a fuzzy thing."

Arha disliked the fuzziness a great deal.

"Sounds exactly like the kind of place I'd expect to find Mara. It's going to be interesting, no doubt." Ysalamiri were going to make it quite the challenge indeed.

"We're going to have to watch each other's backs. The vornskrs--those are the predators--come up silently and strike fast, and without the Force we're going to need to be on our toes. Good practice, though." Luke looked thoughtful. "Relying on the Force too heavily has its problems."

He was quiet, thinking back to what Mara had told him when they'd been trekking through the caves on Nirauan. It never hurt to keep reminding himself of her insights. Even though she was gone (and that thought brought a pang of grief to Luke's heart) she never stopped teaching him new things. "Well, if you're both ready, I'll get the program started."

"I am ready," Arha said with a nod, as always watchful and alert. "I think this shall be a good session for practicing. One must remember to never rely too much on any one thing. Balance, yes? This is what we seek?" That included non-Force abilities as much as it did Force skills. To that end, Arha had her crysknife in its sheath, and she it be warranted, she could hook it to her lightsaber. The double blade had proved to be most effective in many situations.

Kyle double checked his blaster. It might not be the most effective thing against the vornskrs, but it was good to make sure you had every tool in the tool box you could. Turning to Luke he nodded. "I'm ready. Let's go."

"All right," he said, voice just a bit distant as he called to mind the forest he'd trekked through on Myrkr, with a blaster pointed at his back. Around them, the forest emerged, gradually replacing the white blankness of the Sensorium walls until it was complete and corporeal. Huge, twisted trees rose above them, blocking out most of the natural light, and the roots created an uneven terrain that made going slow.

"I remember this as being about half a day away from Hyllard City," he said. "Even so, that doesn't mean that it'll be easier or the predators any less frequent or deadly. And with the ysalamiri blocking the Force"--a slight shudder as that particular effect kicked in--"It'll be difficult. We must be cautious. Arha, you're in the middle; Kyle, you're point."

Arha froze as the Force was abruptly blocked and blinked as if someone had, without warning, delivered a hard right hook. She took a moment to digest the loss, then remembered to breathe, and nodded. It felt so very strange not to feel the Force--almost as if a piece of her had been sliced away. She settled into the middle position silently, compensating for the loss of the Force by enhancing her other senses.

She was every inch Fremen and Bene Gesserit now as she firmly pushed aside her unease. Arha was trained in the use of both knives and lightsaber. She would be fine, especially with Luke and Kyle.

"This place is very green," Arha said, her voice a little off, still. "Ah, trees." She said the word as it were a completely foreign concept, and to her, they really were.

Kyle nodded in acknowledgment, and moved into the point position. As he frowned as he felt the Force slip away. He would adapt, but he didn't like losing any edge. To compensate he fell back on his training from Carida. Slowly he moved forward with his blaster at the low ready. Eyes open he was prepared for whatever may come.

"Hyllard City is west of our position," Luke said to Kyle.

Ordinarily he'd have stretched out with his senses, searching for the kinds of minds that were associated with predators. Watchfulness, the readiness to strike--those things were what he looked out for. But without that, Luke had to rely on his own senses. Luckily, being married to Mara for so long had given him a chance to watch and learn from her, and his own desires not to rely so heavily on the power of the Force itself had helped.

Still, he was at a disadvantage here. Arha and Kyle had their previous training to fall back on. Luke didn't, so he pushed his hearing as far as it would go and made sure his lightsaber was in his hand, ready to be ignited if he heard the sound of approaching paws.

The name might have been unfamiliar to Arha, but she took note of it anyway. It was not to her lightsaber that she brushed her fingers against, but her knife. It would do no good to keep it out, but it was at the ready and her reflexes were quick. She let the sounds of the jungle wash over her and sifted through them for anything dangerous. Selective filtering was always handy. Such were a Bene Gesserit's natural defense when it came to many things, up to and including politics and knowing things from one corner of a dinner table.

As the training took over Kyle adjusted to the sounds, and smells of the jungle. You couldn't depend on your eyes alone. Everything in a place like this learned long ago how to avoid being seen. Which meant he had to do the same. Already he was moving from tree to tree pausing to blend in, and sight his next point of movement before proceeding. When he thought he'd seen something he'd signal the others to stop before checking it out.

Even without the Force he lived up to his surname quite well.

Luke, not quite as sneaky as his wife or any of the other Jedi with outside training, nonetheless did the best he could. The muscle control he utilized as a Jedi wasn't entirely based in the Force, and he used it all to keep from making too much noise as he moved mostly silently behind the other two, ears straining for any sound other than that of their passing.

Sure enough it wasn't long before his head snapped around, lightsaber barely coming up in time to startle the attacking vornskr into halting its forward motion. The green-white blade wasn't much of a repellent for long, however, and by the sound of it this vornskr wasn't alone.

He'd never even have heard it if he hadn't been on alert already and listening for it. Even then, it had been close.

Arha found herself moving even before she'd consciously reacted, her knife already in hand as she flipped out of the way as the beast immediately went for her throat. An instant later, her own white lightsaber flicked on as she'd attached the crysknife blade to the end of her lightsaber. Without the use of the Force, Arha's abilities rested in The Weirding Way. She blurred, letting time slow around her as the vorskr charged again. There were others, too, lurking in the shadows--a pack behavior. They were circling, herding, trapping.

Canine, by the look of them, and sleek, efficient killing machines. Admirable creatures.

Her lightsaber went flying a second later as the snap-hiss of a tail cracked across her wrist. She twisted at the last moment and felt teeth score her shoulder even as her hands came up to slam down on the vorskr's delicate ears. The creature yelped and snapped at her again. Arha barely managed to keep the teeth from her throat and slammed the heel of her palm into the creature's throat. Her lightsaber was definitely out of reach, now, and her wrist was starting to numb even as she worked to purge the toxin.

Her attacks and the beast's were both quick and the battle itself was decidedly matched.

Kyle ducked as one of the creatures leaped at him trying to get him by the neck. As it passed over him he fired repeatedly into it's belly. The thing snarled at him, and let out a small whimper. It was still in the fight though. He could hear the others now. Pack predators, who ambushed their prey. Very fierce clearly, but nothing out of the ordinary for a jungle.

Locking eyes with the one he'd already wounded he started circling it waiting for it to pounce. When it did he stepped out of the way and delivered a swift kick to where he'd already shot it. This was followed up by another shot right into its hind legs. It yelped, and tried to limp off to its pack. He'd have prefered to finish it off quickly, but since they were so tough he'd have to settle for slowing them down first.

Igniting his lightsaber in his other hand he prepared for the pack's retaliation.

Luke decided that previous encounters with the vornskrs--and their cloned, bioengineered cousins the voxyn--still weren't enough to prepare him really for an encounter with them. But his goal was to keep Arha and Kyle from getting in over their heads. Kyle appeared to have things under control for the moment, so with one eye still on him just in case, Luke came up behind the one attacking Arha, watching its lashing tail.

When he'd met Karrde's pet vornskrs, their tails had been docked and they'd been more or less calm. Still predators, still very deadly, but they hadn't been wild. And while he could amputate this one's tail, if it were a real vornskr in the wild it then wouldn't be aggressive enough to hunt on its own, and it would die. It wasn't right to him. He didn't have to kill it.

When the vornskr snapped again for Arha's throat, he lunged forward, dodging the tail that whipped his way and jabbing his lightsaber into its side with the hissing sizzle of burning flesh.

She did not pause, but to shoot a quiet, mental thanks Luke's way as she rolled to retrieve her lightsaber. The next second, she was a blur and had slammed her crysknife tip straight through the creature's skull, twisted, removed it, and grimaced as she tried to turn her lightsaber back on.

It didn't work. Arha drew a breath. The Force dampening effect, of course. One of her curved sections of carvings along her ornate hilt hid a toggle, cleverly recessed and covered by flowing scroll. She had made sure it was well disguised--worthy of a Bene Gesserit, perhaps--just in case of a situation such as this. With no Force available to toggle the inside switch, the external connected to that switch was of use, despite her annoyance in having to rely on it.

The milk-white blade hissed as it extended.

Arha moved to back Kyle up just as she heard the hissing snarl of the pack charging.

The snarled, and eyed Kyle. He didn't need to the Force to sense their hate of him right now. The first member of the pack that moved forward to defend leaped at Kyle, and swiftly had it's head removed. Normally he'd prefer to not have to kill the creatures, but they weren't giving him a choice. At least if he did this maybe he could scare the rest off. This was what he prepared his students for. When their backs would be up against the wall, and they didn't have that choice anymore.

Holding out his lightsaber he moved it from vornskr to vornskr aiming at each he could see in turn. They were going to move cautious now, but he was sure they had plenty of cunning to make up for it.

Luke moved to a position on the opposite side of Kyle from Arha, his green-white blade glowing bright in the darkness of the forest. Around them, the vornskrs growled and snapped, but Luke kept his gaze steady and his blade out, sweeping it in arcs. He was tense, waiting for that moment he knew was close.

It came. One of the vornskrs lunged for him, and with a twinge of sadness, Luke dealt it a blow with his blade. Not one to immediately kill it, just incapacitate it so it might get up and limp away later. It didn't matter that these weren't real creatures, he had to treat them the same. Besides, these things were partially responsible for him and Mara coming together.

From a certain point of view.

Arha found herself locked in battle with another vornksr of her own and used every inch of her speed to her advantage, she killed, though, and was sad for it. They were fierce things, worthy of more honor, but their teeth were not as sharp as her own. Lightsaber and crysknife were barely enough, but she had settled into the rhythm of defense and offense, the dance that wove her around and between the two Jed-Eye as she deflected or maimed...or killed.

A leap for her throat became a howl of pain, claws that flashed for her face met her shoulder and she did not stop moving, twisting, bending herself to fit the situation. Arha knew she would be bruised and sliced when this was over, but it was good training. In a lull, she found herself back to back with Kyle and took a moment to breathe.

"Nothing is a dangerous enemy," said Ben, nodding with faux sagacity. "Nothing to do leads to boredom, boredom leads to misadventures, misadventures lead to being grounded for a week."

"Being rounded would not be fun. It is the getting into trouble that can be fun," she said with a bright laugh as she snagged her lightsaber. "If you would wish to go on some misadventure somewhere, please, use this place. I should like to come."

Edited 2010-05-14 04:43 (UTC)

It wasn't often that Reyna encountered a blank Sensorium that actually had someone in it. In this case it was a slender, attractive young woman dressed in sleek white leathers. Her curiosity peaked, Reyna ventured inside, purposefully making her boot heels thunk more loudly than usual so as not to startle the other woman.

"Excuse me," Reyna said politely, her head tilted curiously. "I don't mean to intrude, but - oh!" She paused in mid sentence when she noticed the Lightsaber twirling through the air seemingly of its own volition. Clearly she'd done exactly what she'd just said she didn't want to to - intrude - and upon a Jedi no less!

"Please forgive the interruption. If I had known a member of the Order was meditating here I would not have come in." She sounded genuinely chagrined.

[OOC: *glomp* Arha couldn't stay out of Reyna's range forever! :D]

"It is not an interruptions nor are you intruding. This space is free to all," Arha said, nudging her lightsaber back into her hand before clipping it back onto her belt. "Besides, I'm doing anything at all save staring. I have no idea what I wish to do with this place. Usually it is flying X-Wings, or fighting, or finding some world to wander. Now? I have no clue what is to be done. Certainly you must have an idea of a place to wander. I grow weary of deck pacing."

She blinked for a moment and tilted a proper glance at the woman.

"And I am Arha, paddyone to Obi-Wan Kenobi, though he has said I am ready for Trials. I shall not be more than I am now until I have finished," Arha added.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you." Reyna was grateful that she hadn't disturbed the Jedi - well, "paddyone" as she so delightfully put it - and Reyna's voice reflected her obvious relief. She relaxed a bit as Arha introduced herself and spoke of her quandar.

"I'm Reyna Kam. It is a pleasure to meet you Padawan Arha, and I wish you luck in your Trials." Reyna couldn't stop herself from studying the other woman as she talked. Her white leathers showed off her petite frame very attractively n addition to making a nice contrast to her hair and eyes. Arha's eyes were particularity breathtaking, their beautiful blue-within-blue color drawing Reyna's gray eyes like a magnet. She blinked when she realized she was staring and gave herself a mental shake.

"There are one or two places I like to wander," Reyna admitted, turning her attention to Arha's problem. "If I wanted a casual stroll I would often wander through the gardens on my family's estate, but if I was looking for something more vigorous I'd usually hike along the trails near Crevasse City. The paths there wind in and out of the ravines, combining lovely scenery with a good workout." She looked thoughtfully at Arha. "Do either of those options sound appealing?"

"The hike sounds as if it would be pleasant," Arha said, arching her eyebrows slightly. "It is good to meet you, Reyna Kam. "I am forever looking for new places that I have not been. As I am Paddyone, I do not often get to the places that the Force belongs to at all. I am, as always, grateful for the chance to see them. Especially when I am in the company of one such as yourself."

Reyna nodded as Arha spoke, feeling a strange flutter in her stomach at the innocuous comment. She didn't know why she found the other woman so, well, alluring, but she did her best to push those thoughts aside for now and maintain her composure.

"I would be more than happy to hike the ravines with you Padawan Arha. I think I would find your company most pleasant indeed." She smiled shyly at Arha before continuing. "Just give me a moment and I'll reconfigure the Sensorium." With that she closed her dove gray eyes and concentrated. A moment later the walls shimmered and faded away to be replaced by a ruggedly beautiful countryside dominated by rich browns and vivid greens. A clearly marked trail head was near by, the path sloping gently downwards and turning sharply before disappearing from view.

Reyna opened her eyes and glanced down with approval at her new attire. She was wearing a lightweight top and matching shorts along with a sturdy pair of hiking boots. At her feet lay a small backpack containing several bottles of water and an assortment of QuickSnack bars. Reyna reached down to grab the backpack, slipping it over her shoulders it as she glanced at Arha.

"Are there any preparations you'd like to make before we get started?" she inquired politely.

"Just Arha, please," she said quietly. "And if you want those to actually nourish you, it is best to bring some of the food from the mess hall here. We may vacate this place for a moment to do that, if you wish. This place, however, is most appealing. My word is a place of desert. I am...unaccustomed to the proper attire for hiking in such a place. For now, food first, no?"

"Okay, just Arha then," Reyna agreed, smiling a little more fully and relaxing a bit. She still had the to urge use what she felt was Arha's proper title thanks to a combination of upbringing, training, and instinctive respect, but since Arha clearly didn't want her to do so Reyna was willing to forgo the honorific. She was relieved in a way as it somehow seemed to make her less self-conscious around the intriguing woman.

Reyna made a little noise of exasperation and rolled her eyes at the reminder that the food she'd just conjured wasn't actually food. Everything inside the Sensoriums seemed so real that she occasionally forgot that some of it was not.

"You are quite right. We should bring some of that protein goo back here and transform it into a simulacrum of several QuickSnack bars. We will quite likely be in need of sustenance before we reach the end of the trail." Reyna eyed Arha thoughtfully.

"When we get back I can help you chose something more appropriate for hiking. Those leathers are very fetching, but there is little air flow at the bottom of the canyon and the air is quite hot and still." Reyna chuckled and added, "Although I guess since you're from a desert planet you're probably used to that already."

The goo was easily procured and brought back, changed into the woman's snack things, and Arha took the white leathers off. There was, of course, not anything left to the imagination when it came to the plantsuits. Given the fact that Arha was not one to fuss over any sort of modest, it bothered her little.

"Come," she said. "Let us see what you would have me in for this hike, mm?"

Reyna did her best not to stare at Arha as she stripped down to her plantsuit. She thought she would have gotten used to the way they clung to people's bodies by now, but the way Arha's molded to her enticingly slender curves was surprisingly distracting. It took her a minute to gather her thoughts enough to answer Arha's question.

"Probably the same thing I was wearing earlier. Something like this." Reyna concentrated and once again her plantsuit was replaced by a lose fitting top with a scooped neckline, comfortable shorts, and sturdy hiking boots. "Now let's see what we can do you for you." She concentrated again, willing Arha's suit to be replaced by similar attire. Reyna's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink when Arha's outfit ended up being noticeably shorter and tighter than her own, and she mentally scrambled to correct her mistake. She breathed a sigh of relief a moment later when Arha's clothing shifted to match her own.

"That should do it," Reyna said as she shouldered her pack. "What do you think?"

"Hmm," Arha murmured, taking the outfit in and ignoring the apparent embarrassment (because such was a polite thing, especially when the garment was rather short and tight before loosening). "This is unusual for me, but it is nice. This I like." She nodded, her expression thoughtful. "On Arrakis, we must wear full body suits we call stillsuits, such allow us to go for a great deal of time in the desert. All fluids are recycled and there is minimal water loss. One must do everything possible to survive that world. That said, this hike should be pleasant. Please, lead the way, Reyna."

"I'm pleased you like it." Reyna was relieved that Arha had not only chosen not to mention her little slip up but actually seemed to approve of her current attire as well. "It's my outfit of choice for this kind of activity," she added, "There's no reason why one's clothing can't be both practical and attractive, right?" She flashed Arha a little smile before turning to head down the path.

"These 'stillsuits' you speak of sound like quite an impressive achievement. The Republic has one or two things that are similar but they are not readily available to the galaxy at large." Reyna slowed briefly to allow Arha to catch up wtih her. She wanted to be able to converse easily with the intriguing woman and since the path only lead one direction at the moment there was no need for Reyna to walk in front of her.

"Arrakis must be inhospitable indeed if such drastic water conservation measures are required. I don't think even the Outer Rim world of Tatooine has such a forbidding environment. Although from your mention of a desert the two worlds are not dissimilar perhaps?" Her curiosity was evident in her voice.

"My own world of Alderaan is mostly oceans, lakes, and grasslands. These ravines are fairly rare," Reyna's elegant hand gestured to encompass the land around them, "which is one reason I enjoy hiking them so much. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I."

Finally, a Jedi Ves didn't know. She watched the lady for a few moments.

"You have a beautiful weapon," she smiled.

"It took me a great deal of time to craft it," Arha said, snagging the milk-white lightsaber from where it hovered. It had been delicately detailed, the intricate designs she had worked in it were indicative of her new life as a jed-Eye, while paying homage to her heritage as a Fremen. The two blended well.

"And thank you." She turned to glance at the woman, her sharp blue-within-blue eyes settling with their usual intensity. "You have seen such before?"

It was refreshing -- this one didn't seem to hold any fear of decadence. "I can tell," Vestara's eyes traveled the length of the saber, admiring the handiwork.

"Yes, I have." She motioned to the saber on her own belt. "You are a Jedi, yes?"

"I am Jed-Eye," Arha said with a nod. "I do not come from your home, but I am Jed-Eye."

Choices, Choices

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FFFFF FORGOT HALF MY TAG ---- FFFFFFFFFFF

ILU? <3

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ugh sorry this took so long

Re: ugh sorry this took so long

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