TALES OF THE JEDI: RETURN OF THE SITH A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... After the Empire was defeated by Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance, a golden era of peace reigned. The New Republic was formed and the last residues of Imperial resistance were stamped out across the galaxy. Queen Leia Amidala Skywalker played a crucial part in restoring peace and order, and was elevated to President of the New Republic, the highest ranking position in the galaxy. Her husband, the legendary Han Solo, became Grand Marshall of the New Republic Defense Force, overseeing the military aspect of government. Luke Skywalker, on the other hand, was raised to god-like status and revered by all. Many feared and admired his mysterious powers and abilities, exaggerating his feats in the re-telling of the downfall of the Sith Lord. Luke's personal mission became the restoration of the Jedi tradition, culminating in the establishment of the New Jedi Order. Luke was joined by several Jedi who, like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, were deep in hiding and with their help trained the next generation of Force-sensitives. All was right with the Force. More than a decade later... After the Empire was resolved, Luke Skywalker had felt an overwhelming sense of euphoria from the Force, as if the entire universe had exhaled a sigh of contentment. But immediately after, Luke was plagued by a restless, niggling feeling that something was left un-done. He manage to ignore it for years by keeping himself busy with rebuilding the New Jedi Order and going on diplomatic missions for his sister, President Leia. Still, the feeling was there, waiting for him at night when he laid down to rest. When he shared his feelings with General Solo, his close friend told him he was just being paranoid. Finally, when the Jedi could function without him, Luke decided to embark in a single ship across the galaxy to pursue his persistent intuition, with no one but his loyal astrobot, R2-D2. Leia and Han Solo (along with C-3PO) argued that it was a foolish and unsafe endeavor, but they finally realized that this was something that Luke had to do, or he would never find peace. So they wished him luck and let him go. It was exactly three days later that all communications were lost with him and Luke Skywalker virtually disappeared. The Mission: A task force is being assembled to locate and bring back Luke Skywalker, at all costs. The leader of the team is Alain Root, a Jedi Master who was trained by Luke Skywalker and has a seat on the Jedi Council. Alain has enlisted the best Jedi students in the Order to accompany him on their rescue mission. YOU are those Jedi. You were informed via digital messege that you were give a spot on the task force. Our story begins as you make your way to a conference room at the Jedi Temple for a debriefing with Alain Root, a Jedi Master known for his chivalric and noble attitude. Grab your Lightsabers and meet him there. Force Abilities: Each character can have up to three abilities to start and they will gain another ability at the end of each chapter. Examples of Force abilities are as follows: Force Pull/Push: the ability to propel objects away from, or closer to, your person. Force Jump: the ability to leap incredible heights. Force Run: the ability to move at the speed of the wind while running. Force Crush: to put enormous pressure on an object from all sides using the Force. Levitation: the ability to hover in one direction at a time. Mind Trick: to influence someone's immediate memory/thoughts. Healing: to heal surface wounds in yourself or others. --------------------- Advanced Abilities: (Off-limits til Chapter Three.) Force Body: To push your body beyond its limits, increasing your endurance and stamina through the Force. Force Orb: The ability to create a sphere of Force energy and use it to demolish almost any obstacle. Absorption: The ability to absorb energy, allowing you to stop laser blasts with your hand or absorb Sith lightning into your palm and redirect it. Ballistakinesis: To accelerate a handful of small objects to lethal speed at a target. Force Grounding: To stay grounded in one spot, unmovable by the Force. Force Flight: The ability to fly for short periods of time. Character Templates: (Post in discussion thread for approval.) Name: Species: Gender: Age: Force abilities: 1) 2) 3) Appearance: Personality: Rules: No God-moding. Do not control other players. Each post must be substantial, a full paragraph or more. Follow the rules and have fun.
CHAPTER ONE: Shadow of the Dark Side Planet: Coruscant Location: Jedi Temple, Conference Room Time: Mid-day Master Alain Root was a highly respected Jedi, for his prowess with a lightsaber as well as his exceptional Force abilities. Not to mention he was taken under the Luke Skywalker's wing as one of his very first students. He had an intimate relationship with Luke Skywalker and looked up to him as a father, as Luke considered him a son. All of this made him the perfect candidate to lead a rescue mission to find Master Skywalker before the unspeakable happened. The Jedi Temple had stood vacant and untouched for many, many years, until the downfall of the Empire. Luke organized the reconstruction of the massive building. It was one of the tallest buildings on the planet, but it has a touch of elegance and warmth that all the sleek, metallic skyscrapers that surrounded it lacked. Alain Root towered above his colleagues as he marched down the hall to the conference room where the rest of the rescue team would meet him. He was easily the tallest person he knew, his hair pale blonde and his eyes brilliant blue. His shoulders were wide and his torso tapered down to a slim, athletic waist. He cut an intimidating figure, even more so now that he wore a permanent grave expression on his face,. It had not left his features since the day he heard that Luke was missing. Once inside the conference room, he walked to the end of the long silver table and leaned both hands on the surface, his body hunched over. He took a deep breath and called upon the Force for inner peace and calm. It helped, a little, and he straightened, a deep frown fixed on his wide mouth. He awaited his recruits, eager to hunt down the culprits that kidnapped Luke and take care of them, personally.
Xelas Fretna "You summon, master? I hope this news is urgent. I was in the middle of a- ermmm... tea party. Yes, a tea party with a good pal of mine!" Xelas' mouth folds seemed to vibrate as he spoke to Alain. His black holes of eyes did not change, however. Xelas had been just about to finish off the piece of scum bandits from Tatooine. He was just getting to the part about black and white. Xelas is wonderful at what he does, unfortunately, the other jedi don't exactly know what it is that he does. It is probably for the best that it remains this way. The way some things are done are not the jedi way. Of course, any order can be easier thrown into chaos than upheld. Why bother stressing yourself out? It will all collapse one day. Sometimes collapsing the lesser pedestals strengthens the main columns, for they become accustomed to the weight upheld. As long as the pedestals are crushed slowly, carefully, and one at a time, everything should be okay. If not, then everything falls. Every day a new risk, every day a stronger force. The small white's of Xelas' pupils grew and deceived him as he fell into thought. It was only a matter of time before Alain noticed he had spaced out. He snapped back into business. "I am guessing this meeting is on the matter of our missing jedi?"
Alain Root Alain gave Xelas a reproachful look. His mouth twitched with barely concealed anger; Xelas had insulted him in some way. "Our missing Jedi? You mean Grand Master Luke Skywalker, our savior, the only reason the New Jedi Order exists..." He trailed off and closed his eyes, counted mentally to three, and reopened his eyes. Now he was calm, his expression stony and tranquil. "You are right, Xelas, Luke is missing. You must excuse my temper, I am under a lot of stress at the moment." He sat down at a swivel chair by the head of the table, his blue eyes trained on a spot on the wall. "It's really strange, actually..." He sounded very distant. "We lost all contact with Luke and I can't even sense him with the Force. It's like he just...disapeared." Alain shook his head and gestured to the empy seats. "Take a seat, my Bath friend. When the others arrive, I will debrief you on our mission to save Luke Skywalker."
Taura Maymier Taura paced adgitatedly around just outside the door, tail flicking. Why would Alain have called for her of all people? Yes, she was a Jedi, but never one of much importance! Panic nibbled at her stomach as she fussed over her cape, smoothing out the fur on her tail, which had spiked up again. Ohhhh . . . but Luke is out there, probably in danger. I can't just NOT go. Biting her lower lip, the tauntaun paused, looking at the door for a long moment with golden eyes wide with fear. Then with a snort, she gently pushed at the mahogany wood, trying not to scratch it with her horns, and stepped inside. As a tauntaun, she was easilly around six hundred or more pounds in weight, but strangely, she managed to look much smaller in appearance. Probably because her timid demeanor kept her from standing as tall as her brethren. Careful to keep her eyes averted, she gave a small bow to Alain, glancing nervously at Xelas through the corner of her eye. Oh, by the Force, not him. He was never neutral. Always good or bad, and Taura could never tell which he was until too late. "M-my apologies if i am late, sir." she said quietly, turning back to Alain. She wasn't a nervous around him as most of the students, mostly because he was the one who had recognized her as something other than just a talking beast of burden. But still, she preferred to be wary of anything and everything to avoid any painful repercussions. Making her way to one corner of the room, she stood to attention. The chairs were too weak to support her weight, not that she would sit on them anyways. Her body was just not built that way. Or was it that the chairs weren't built for her needs? Either way, she much preferred to stand rather than sit. Much easier to get up and run if need be.
Xelas Fretna Xelas respectfully takes a seat. He sits down in the same seat that he always does when there is some sort of "emergency" that ALL the Jedi are needed for. "I did not mean to anger you Master Root. I am just saying, he IS just a Jedi like you and me. Yes, he formed what we have today. He has done his job though. His part in the cycle has ended. We have no idea where Luke is! If the force can't find him, by the Sarlacc, how will we? Did you ever stop to think that maybe he doesn't even want to be found?" Xelas takes a deep breath, knowing that he shouldn't have said that. Black hole eyes seeming to shrink, he awaited a stern talking to. While Alain gathered his thoughts, Xelas gestured for a nearby droid to get him a glass of Nectar.
Caeleck Caeleck tried to sense the door where she was supposed to be meeting Master Root. She never spent much time in the Jedi Temple, due to the overwheming presence of the Force, so finding the confernce room was difficult. And trying to find Master Root himself was almost as difficult as she did not know him, and it was hard to pick out his aura from all the others. Quickly becomeing exhasperated, she spread out her awareness to search for someone she did know. Aha... the unique presence of a TaunTaun caught her attention. She recognized this aura, who wouldn't? Caeleck noticed the TaunTaun was in the general area where the conference room was supposed to be and took off in that direction, following the lingering trails of Force left behind by others who passed this way. Her vision showed her the true nature of things, so sometimes doors and hallways represented what the creator wanted them to be and not what they were supposed to be. Sometimes this was disorienting and Caeleck much preferred following the trails of those who went before instead of relying on the representation of a door. Within a few moments Cealeck came upon the conference room. The door loomed over her as it has seen and held tremendous power in it's time. It glowed strongly with the Force, most of which was the calming blue of the Side of Light. Cealeck was saddened to see that the door also held the red stains of the Dark Side, however, and tried to avoid touching those spots as she reached for the door handle. Once inside she took note of all those that were there and their aura's, most particularly that of Master Root, as she Felt she would be dealing with them a lot more often now. Master Root's aura was disturbed, as if he was annoyed, but most of all it radiated worry and pain. Caeleck herself was pained as she Saw him but could See nothing on how she could help at the moment. So she settled on closing the door and facing Master Root, "Master," she said simply, then walked to a far corner of the room to lean her back against. Pulling the edges of her hood down further, she then folded her arms and waited patiently.
Alain Root Alain nodded in aknowledgement to the TaunTaun that entered the room. She had shown promise in the past and Alain respected her like he would any Jedi pupil. Then that insolent Bath started speaking nonsense. "I did not mean to anger you Master Root. I am just saying, he IS just a Jedi like you and me. Yes, he formed what we have today. He has done his job though. His part in the cycle has ended. We have no idea where Luke is! If the force can't find him, by the Sarlacc, how will we? Did you ever stop to think that maybe he doesn't even want to be found?" Alain Root calmly stood up and walked around the table to stand next to Xelas, one hand placed on his chair. When the droid came near to deliver Xelas' drink, Alain gestured and the glass slid across the table and fell into the trashbin. The droid whirred and clicked with displeasure and fled the room. "First of all," Alain said in a quiet voice. "Luke Skywalker is not JUST a Jedi. He is the Grand Master of the Order. He has powers we could only dream of, my dear Bath. Secondly, it is not your place to say when "his job is done". You do not know his destiny. And lastly, just because we can't find him with the Force, doesn't mean we can't locate him the mundane way. I am also positive Luke isn't hiding from us. At the same exact moment he became hidden to the Force, his ship's signal went out. Those are too many coincidences and I have a premonition that something is not right here. It is our duty, Xelas, to do everything we can to make sure he is all right. Do I make myself clear...?" Before anyone could do anything else, Alain Root sensed another Jedi student arriving, and the door opened to reveal Caeleck. She bowed and Alain Root bobbed his head, gesturing for her to take a seat. He walked back to the head of the table, saying, "Caeleck, I was just explaining to Xelas here that at the same time Luke went missing, his ship's signal went out as well. Do you think that Luke is hiding? How about you, Taura? Search your feelings and tell me what the Force tells you." Master Root came to a stop and leaned on the table, waiting for their answers.
Taura Maymier The Tauntaun swallowed nervously at the question, but did as her Master asked. Just use the Force like he told you. Don't fight it and everything will be okay . . . The Tauntaun's usually bright gold gaze went a misty grey as she submerged herself as deep as she could go in the Force without losing herself utterly. Everyone was cast in shadow, and a colorless glaze went over her surroundings in her mind's eye. Indecipherable whispers filled her ears, and after several seconds, she snapped back into focus with a snort. "I can't tell -it's too murky." she said simply. The Tauntaun's fur was spiking up again as if it had been rubbed the wrong way, and she quickly smoothed it back down with a fore paw. The Force unnerved her in many ways, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It just made her aware of how truly powerful it was when harnessed correctly. And she had a natural knack for that. Several times she had once been tested to the utmost of her ability in jumping and running, and when the Force was in play she became a virtual battering ram, and as fast as many of the racing hover-craft. Though she avoided using those abilities unless told specifically to do so. They often brought about . . . unwanted attention.
Asa Green Asa strutted through the hall leading into the conference room. He had been called upon for a special meeting, he didn't need to use the force to tell that something was off. To see the day in which Alain called upon his pupils to aid him, Asa chuckled at the thought. Grandmaester Alain had remained undefeated for as long as Asa could remember, he aspired to be as skillfull as the Grandmaester, if only it didn't take so long. The tutors were far to anxious and careful to even ehisper about the darker secrets of the force. How the tired old man's club could deny themselves such power was beyond him, but he would figure out a way, a way to tap into near unlimited force. Then, he could set some things straight. He smirked at the thought and stepped into the conference room. He made no attempt to hide his presence, "I came as fast as I could, Master," he said in his usual, slippery sleek voice. One brow quirked upwards at seeing a Tauntaun standing at the table, he had seen the animal around before and still couldn't help but feel that she was out of place. He flushed his suprise away and took a seat. He turned his attention towards Alain. "I can wait for the others, if you please Master, I assume you'd rather not tell everything a dozen times," Asa said. A sleek, well-pracipticed smile tugged at his lips. He didn't care what the other pupils thought of him, as long as he was held in high esteem by his tutors. His eyes flicked over to the bronze-skinned girl for a moment, he had never seen her before. She was shorter than him, but somewhat older, maybe by a year or two.
"Master Root, with all due respect, you should not have knocked my drink into the trash. You are just a man in despair. I know that you are Luke's good friend and I know that he is our leader. We can try our hardest to find him, but I feel as if this was too well orchestrated. This might be larger than even our council. Now, can I please get some nectar?" Xelas looks at the Tauntaun quizzically, but quickly turns his head. He laughs in the slightest bit, covering it with a subtle hand gesture. "Since when were Tauntauns force-sensitive?" he thought.
Taura Maymier Taura couldn't help but notice both the raised brow from Asa and the snigger that the Bith tried to hide. She was quite familiar with the other students, it was just that they hardly ever noticed her, and when they did, acted as if she was very much out of her league. Outside, she showed no signs of having noticed, but inside she cringed. What use was she if she couldn't even sense a vague idea of what was happening to Luke? Maybe if she better explained herself about what she had sensed. It had been murky, yes, but she could temper that with reality. "There are many things that could have gone wrong, Master. A meteor, a malfunction, any number of things really. I doubt that he would be hiding -why would he need to hide?" she asked. Embarrassment seeped into her as she realized she may have inadvertently said that Luke wasn't as strong as he seemed with the Force, but accidents could -and would- happen. It was only the truth.
Asa Green Asa looked up at the Tauntaun. He thought it was quite odd to hear one talk, it looked unnatural to his eyes. "So this is about Grandmaester Luke?" He glanced around the table, failing to see what any of them had to do with the matter. He considered himself good enough to hold his own but he was still a mere padawan. His expression brightened, "is this about our trials then?" It seemed to make sense, only Asa had never imagined that they could pass trials in groups. And then there was the crafting of lightsabers of course. In spite of his best efforts his always turned out a hazy purple, teetering between red and blue. He had been very cautious to hide this from the others but still, what use were trials if he couldn't produce a blue lightsaber? Puzzled, Asa waited for Alain to answer his questions. He noticed the Tauntaun had shrinked to an even smaller ball of fur. What was that thing's problem? Was she worried about her cape? Granted, it looked quite ridiculous on her. Asa covered his mouth in a brave attempt to hide a chuckle.
Xelas Fretna "Well, Master Root? Are we just going to sit around here and talk about feelings or are we going to find Luke? Honestly, I could go either way. I have a lot of feelings. Right now I am feeling anger, frustration, hopeless... You get it." It appears as if the Tauntaun is going to get a lot of trouble for its race and its place. Xelas recognizes it and looks at the Tauntaun with a serious look on his face. "I'm going to get the elephant out of the room... or rather the Tauntaun... Taura, you are a Tauntaun. This does not matter because we are a sophisticated people. I am just putting it out there that I will not look at you differently. So, how about that nectar?" The same droid rushes over fearfully with a glass of nectar for Xelas. The poor droid does not want to disappoint Xelas or Alain. At the second request, it figured it should bring the drink to Xelas. If Alain throws it away, the droid figures that it will leave to avoid the pressure of the situation. By the time it reaches Xelas, it has calculated approximately 31,464 possible escape routes. It is a pity that this droid was put into service, as its one weakness is that it has a difficult time talking to sentient beings. The Jedi Academy put it into service not knowing of its capabilities in math and science. All day, the droid keeps a smile on its face and just tries to keep its masters pleased. "Your drink, sir." "Thank you, droid." The droid does not even let out a sigh of distress as it continues on its agenda. It decided to take route 1,300: Walk out with pride before the drink can be rejected. This way, the droid remains the good guy and cannot change to the bad guy of the situation.
Asa Green Asa glanced at the Bith. He, or at least Asa assumed it was a he, surely had balls to speak up to master Alain like that. Asa considered his options. He could let it all slide and ignore the blabbering fool or he could be the proper padawan and tell Xelas to be quiet. He looked at Alain for approval, but decided that he needed none. "Xelas, is quenching your thirst more important than the men to who you own those robes? I thought Bith were renowned for their intelligence," Asa glanced around the room as if he wanted to make sure he wasn't mistaken. "Evidently, that is a myth. You'd be wise to remain silent and listen to Master Alain." He looked up at master Alain, "Master do you want me to remove this," he waved his hand at Xelas, "...this repobrate?"
Taura Maymier Taura's ears flicked in several directions as she processed what the Bith had just said. But once she realized that he had not meant to literally kick her out and instead said that he would not judge her because of her race, a nervous smile tugged at her muzzle and she bobbed her head in a respectful bow towards Xelas. "Th-thank you." "Xelas, is quenching your thirst more important than the men to who you own does robes? I thought Bith were renowned for their intelligence," Asa glanced around the room as if he wanted to make sure he wasn't mistaken. "Evidently, that is a myth. You'd be wise to remain silent and listen to Master Alain." He looked up at master Alain, "Master do you want me to remove this," he waved his hand at Xelas, "...this repobrate?" "Being intelligent has several meanings behind it, Asa." Taura said, unable to hide the slight rise of the fur on her flanks again. But this time it was in agitation rather than embarrassment.
"Being intelligent has several meanings behind it, Asa." Asa cocked his head at the Tauntaun, still unable to hide his suprise at seeing one speak. He stared her up and down, a slight smirk came to his face. "Yes," he said slowly, "yes it does." He flashed a lazy wink at Taura. He put up the most innocent face he could conjure and flicked his eyes to Alain and back to Taura again. "I meant no disrespect, of course." He brushed some imaginary dust from his robes, averting his eyes from Taura's. A slanted smile came to his face. "Sorry, but out of curiosity, how did an animal like yourself come to talk? Have you been, how do I put this...researched?" There was some malevolent undercurrent in his voice, yet nothing of what he said could be taken as insulting without allowing Asa to back-pedal.
Taura Maymier Taura's eyes narrowed slightly at the hidden insult. But a deep horror and fear of what had happened to her still had her cringing. "Come on, come on girl don't be shy." a soft voice cooed as the Master led her towards a post, a large saddle and bridle lying nearby. Taura tugged at the rope around her horns, but complied, knowing he would not hurt her. She'd seen him do the same thing with many others of the herd, but this was her first time being trained to be ridden. The Master halted and tied the end of the lead in the loose knot to the post, patting her head affectionately. The other Tauntauns usually bucked and tried to get away, but she didn't even so much as try to bite him when he slipped the halter over her head. Nostrils widening curiously as she sniffed at the old leather, she didn't see the two strangers come out from behind the barn until her master froze. "Ye didn't pay the toll, Umaroth. Time to pay up." the bandit sneered, pointing a gun at her master. Taura's head shot up as her fur rippled over her back in agitation as she sensed his fear. "Or do ye wanna try an' disobey the Boss?" "I'm sorry, but you'll have to give me more time! I wasn't able to pay you last time because i was short on sales, but i promise that I'll make it up to you! Look -see this one? She'll make me a huge amount when put to market. I just have to train her-" "Do ye have the money or not, Umaroth?" the bandit growled, coming a step closer. His partner laughed. "No -he clearly thinks that his petty Tauntauns are worth more than his own life. Why else wouldn't he be able to pay up?" The first one smirked, and his finger closed over the trigger as Umaroth tried to beg for his life. Just more time . . . Taura watched as red bloomed on the man's chest a second before he collapsed just a foot away from her. Spooked as the scent of death forced itself into her nostrils, she bellowed and yanked at the rope, snapping ti with ease. The other Tauntauns cried and milled about in the pens, the thundering of their massive hind-paws stirring up Taura's fear even more. "Nah-ah, yer not goin' anywhere ye bugger-" the bandit snarled, grabbing at her horn. Taura let out a bugle as she felt his heel dig into her side, and her head jerked towards him. She felt blood spatter across her muzzle before she realized she had cracked open his skull with the force of her movement, her horn slicing deep into his skin as she blunt edge of it pounded his skull like a hammer to an egg. The other bandit screamed something, and Taura bolted again, but not before she felt a wave of pain strike the back of her head. It had been the Force, she later realized. The man had been trying to trick her to stand still so he could kill her. But her herd broke free of the pen seconds after she blacked out, trampling the man and killing him instantly. It was Master Root who had found her when he'd been sent to help gather the Tauntauns back up and find out the reason behind the three deaths. it was he who had realized that she was not just another animal when she kept repeating what the bandits had said: "Not going anywhere . . . not going anywhere . . ." "Accident." she muttered.
Asa Green. "An accident?" Asa's interest was piqued. He sniffed when Taura didn't elaborate further, "well, I guess that was your lucky day." He twiddled his thumbs impatiently, was this zoo supposed to save Luke Skywalker? Or would there be others soon joining them? He didn't feel quite up to the task of representing humanity by himself, yet a strange sense of pride bottled up in him when he looked around. He was the only human aside from Alain. He'd show these aliens what it took to be a true jedi. Aside from the old master Yoda, hadn't all great Jedi's be human as well? Perhaps he was destined to be the next greatest Jedi. Asa trailed off into his daydreams, his eyes turned to soft focus. He sat silently, thinking, waiting.
Xelas Fretna "Not intelligent?" Xelas grumbles angrily. "Not intelligent?" A little louder. "I will have you know that you are suggesting going on a wild goose chase! I respect Master Skywalker just as much as you do. In fact, I am soothing my nerves with a glass of nectar while calmly thinking over this situation and waiting for a rational solution to be brought up. I will not sit here and be criticized by a HUMAN that criticizes a force sensitive Tauntaun for being a Tauntaun that hasn't come up with a single viable solution. You tried to use the force to locate a professional disappearance and you bring MY intelligence into question." Xelas takes a final sip of his nectar and the glass begins to tremble. An explosion of shards replace the glass in seconds, all falling into the nearby trash bin. "Now, if we want to talk like civilized Jedi, I would be happy to continue this meeting."
Taura Maymier Taura shuddered, reaching up and rubbing at the horn that had killed the bandit. A dark mark spread across the side, a stain that she had never been able to remove. "No such thing as luck . . ." she said under her breath. Though she had not been directly responsible for any death other than that of the first bandit, she still felt the aching guilt and fear of killing again. Some Tauntauns, when they had gotten a taste for blood, turned from simple grazers to monsters. They ate moss and grasses mostly, but that did not mean they couldn't digest meat. Then she flinched when Xelas had his little outburst. "I will have you know that you are suggesting going on a wild goose chase! I respect Master Skywalker just as much as you do. In fact, I am soothing my nerves with a glass of nectar while calmly thinking over this situation and waiting for a rational solution to be brought up. I will not sit here and be criticized by a HUMAN that criticizes a force sensitive Tauntaun for being a Tauntaun that hasn't come up with a single viable solution. You tried to use the force to locate a professional disappearance and you bring MY intelligence into question." Staring at the two padawans with huge golden eyes, Taura decided then to just stay out of the conversation then and pulled her hood over her head.
"Civilized. Right." Asa sniggered coldly. "I do not recall that crushing glasses is a civilized practise among the Bith, but perhaps I am mistaken, I already misjudged your supposed intelligence to begin with." Aside from a slight furrowing of his brow Asa portrayed no emotion. He shrugged, "it doesn't really matter. Our bickering won't bring back Luke. that's what we are here for, isn't it, Master Root?" Asa's eyes rested on the Jedi Master again. The old master had remained disturbingly quiet. So much do that Asa entertained the thought that the man had been drugged, or was in fact a hologram. He couln't think up much more reasons for the Master's tranquility. His hand subconsciously reached towards his lightsaber, then sighed. "Are we expecting anyone else?"
The Bith's anger subsided, only to be replaced by frustration. Alain Root has been sitting idle for quite some time. "Master Root, have you fallen asleep?" Xelas asked with a bit of a grin. He hoped to draw attention away from his own anger. The glass was not meant to be broken. Like many things, a split-moment changed the entire destiny of something. You can spend much time constructing a Jenga tower, but a swift flick will crush its destiny.
Alain Root Alain Root turned his head slowly and blinked at the Bith, his mouth set in a serious line. "Xelas, there is a brush and a dustpan in the closet unit in the hallway." The Master Jedi's voice was hard and cold. "You will clean up the mess you have made and you will refrain yourself from using the Force in such an undignified manner. You are a Jedi and you are held to different standards. That goes for all of you." Alain's electric blue eyes swept over everyone before returning to Xelas. "Well, what are you waiting for? Clean up your mess." Alain stood from his seat when he was done talking. He pressed a crystal disc into a slot on the wall and a hologram jumped into life above the table. It showed space, constellations and planets strewn over a dark background. "While our hot-headed Bith friend is cleaning up after himself," Alain Root continued, "we will assess the course Luke SKywalker has taken and the implications of our mission. His ship followed this line as far as the Outer Rim, the very edge of the galaxy." A dotted line traced itself across the hologram, a tiny starship at it's helm. "Luke was following an intuition that something lurked out there, something malignant. It taunted him in his every waking hour, until he was forced to go find it. This is where he went missing." The tiny ship suddenly blipped out of existance at the edge of the galaxy, in the Outer Rim. Alain waved his hand and the hologram dissipated. A look of sadness crossed his face to be replaced by one of steely determination. "You are all here because you accepted the mission to go find Luke and find out why he went missing," Alain said, looking from each person to the next. A heavy atmosphere descended upon them all as the gravity of the situation set in. "Do not complain and tripe about how illogical it is to go find our Grand Master. If you do not wish to be here, then don't. Am I clear?" He crossed his arms and waited.
