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Post by Darko on May 8, 2014 13:47:38 GMT
Episode I: THE PHANTOM MENACE Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo. While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict... -------------------------- Coruscant The Jedi Temple Several days earlierThe hologram of Supreme Chancellor Valorum flickered and vanished. Yoda stroked his chin contemplatively, while other members of the council made their opinions known. "This is an unusual move for the Trade Federation," Mace noted. "They're cowardly, acting so boldly is not in their nature." "We must investigate this, we cannot ignore the unfolding situation at Naboo," Ki-Adi-Mundi added. "Agree with your judgement I do," Yoda concurred, "But who to send we must decide." "What of Qui-Gon-Jinn and his apprentice?" "He would be a good choice, I concur that we should send him," Plo-Koon said, recalling having fought in the Hyperspace wars with Qui-Gon. "Delayed in their return, Qui-Gon is. In time to go on this mission, return he will not," Yoda replied. "Troubling times these are, stretched thin our numbers have become. But ignore the Supreme Chancellor's request, we cannot." "What of Keilara Kor'el-Sun? She has just returned from overseeing a cease-fire between two species near the uncharted regions. I was going to instruct her more on Vaapad after this session is adjourned," Windu pointed out. "She can handle a few Trade Federation bureaucrats. The negotiations would be short." "Mmm, that I am afraid of. Restless, impatient she can be. Prefer to talk with a lightsaber, she does. Her homeworld Naboo is, too eager to defend it in a fight that does not exist she may be. Alone on this mission, trust her I do not." "Vard Kortzurse has been studying in the Archives for some time, reflecting on old lessons learned in the past I believe," Ki-Adi recalled. "He would provide a more sensible approach to this matter." "It is true that he has wished an opportunity to prove he is ready for missions such as this. I think it is time we granted him a chance to do so," Mace approved. "Very well, to Naboo send them we shall," Yoda decided. "Adjourned, this council is." "I will go to the training halls and speak with Kor'el. As for Kortzurse, his old master is training his new apprentice. I will ask him to speak with his former student on my way to spar with Kor'el," Mace said as he got up. Yoda nodded as his fellow master left. "A dark presence, I sense. Mindful we must be. Made the right choice we have, I hope." ----------------------------------------------------
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Post by Nepty on May 8, 2014 14:22:21 GMT
The archives were silent and lit with a blue glow, as always. Vard, adorned in simple robes reclined in his chair, eyes glued to a holopad detailing the beginnings of the Trade Federation. The issue at Naboo had grabbed his attention, and he meant to find out as much as possible. He had been rifling through various files for the past hour, At that moment, he became aware of another precense approaching him.
“Master Visseren,” he nodded, without looking up. The Barabel master’s presence was unmistakable. There was a short intake of breath behind him, and Master Zize Visseren crept into view, thick tail lashing in slight irritation. “Your skillz have grown, jedi Kortzurze,” he hissed.
Vard looked up and nodded politely. “Of course, but all skill grows in time.”
“The Masterz have an azignment for you.”
This caught Vard’s attention. “An assignment, where?”
“Naboo.”
Vard blinked, clearly surprised. “Naboo?” he stammered. “That seems a rather important assignment. Who am I to go with? One of the masters?”
“Jedi Kor’el-sun will accompany you,” said master Visseren, sitting down in an abandoned seat.
Vard took in a deep breath. He had seen her about frequently, of course, but had learned more of her from her reputation as a beam-head, given to blasting first and not bothering with questions.
“Have I angered the council somehow?” he asked his former master.
The barabel only sissed, amused, to himself in reply. “Do you want to live forever?”
Vard gave him a wry smile as he stood. “I’ll ask master Yoda what it’s like.”
Master Visseren hissed amusedly again. "Perhapz you should find your new friend. The Emerald Spire leaves with the evening rotation."
"So soon, master?" Vard glanced towards the high windows. It was only past dawn as it was.
"It iz a tenze situation. You should find your things."
"Yes, I suppose I should."
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Post by Darko on May 8, 2014 16:23:09 GMT
It was quiet in training chamber VI. Keilara was on her knees, head bowed in meditation and in her hands she gripped her double-bladed lightsaber. She let the force flow through her, guiding her, focusing her, becoming one with the weapon in her hands that she was so familiar with. While she did not strictly need to meditate before sparring, she enjoyed the calm before the storm.
When she fought, she drew on her deepest reserves of force power to aid her and increase her already considerable skill. She used a considerable amount of emotion, which was dangerous - a Jedi is taught not to let their emotions rule them, and for most this meant burying them, forcing them away. For Keilara, it meant opening up to them and accepting them, using them. She drew great strength from it, yet it brought her close to the dark side of the force, something her masters were ever-ready to remind her of.
Then the quiet was broken. Footsteps in the dark. They were here.
The flash of lightsabers being ignited illuminated the room, four red blades lashing out at her. Using the force, Keilara jumped from her knelt position, igniting her lightsaber as she did so. One blade missed her entirely, she parried two others and she sent a kick into the face of the one who wielded the last one, knocking them off balance along with their strike.
Landing in their midst, with only their sabers to illuminate the pitch-black room, Keitara struck out at the sith viciously. She was constantly in motion, dodging, parrying, stabbing out, kicking and of course the most strenuous part of vaapad - constantly maintaining a stream of force energy between oneself and their opponent.
She switched between more defensive forms of combat as well as the aggressive seventh, keeping her opponents off balance. She dived, blocking another blow even as the other end of her saber sliced off the legs of one sith warrior from under him. She dropped into a roll, stabbing the sith through his chest with the other blade as she did so and clearing some space with a force push against the two nearest enemies.
Letting the motion carry her, she rose to her feet and spun, blocking another saber. Then she unleashed a flurry of blows, spinning as she did so, each one connecting with a saber and forcing her foes back. A harsh kick sent one sprawling to the floor and the other two brought their swords down, connecting with hers. It was a saber lock.
The power behind the blows nearly knocked her off balance. Quickly she recovered, disconnecting her two sabers. Now held in a backwards grip, she whirled, the two foes unprepared for the sudden change in technique. Both sabers contacted flesh, one lost a hand and the other was sliced in half.
The other remaining warrior was back on his feet and charged with a battlecry, and a series of rapid strikes had her on the defensive. The wounded sith warrior used this to his advantage and stabbed at her back. Sensing it, Keilara back-flipped over him, decapitating him neatly as she did so. The body slumped to the ground.
The final sith approached, using the force to pull a nearby dropped saber to him. Then they clashed once more, both wielding two sabers. They exchanged blow after blow, neither able to truly hold the advantage. Keilara left an opening in her guard and the sith lunged, only to be disarmed a second later. Reduced to a single weapon, he could not stave off her repeated blows.
He then swung rashly, forcing her back a step. It was all the room he needed to reach out with a hand and unleash arcing trails of deadly force lightning. She had been about to strike with both blades in a redoubled attack and the full blast hit her. She fell back and her sabers flew out of her hands.
The last sith lord stood over her and raised his saber to her throat.
"You're dead," remarked a critical voice from the entrance. The lights activated and the holographic simulation flickered away into nothingness. "Master Windu," Keilara greeted the Jedi Master as she got to her feet, recovering her sabers in the process. "Not many Jedi use this program any more, the sith have been gone for thousands of years," Mace stated. They both knew this of course, just as they both knew this was a program they both used frequently. "Few have ever beaten it. It took me years before I defeated all four. It is difficult to sense them in the dark, while maintaining vaapad. You did well to overcome three of them." Keilara cursed quietly under her breath. "I've defeated three of them ten times this week. The last one always manages to surprise me somehow. For a holographic program it is certainly... intuitive."
"Do not demean yourself Keilara, it is no easy feat to defeat this program on its hardest difficulty, let alone get so far. Vaapad and maintaining your sense in the dark is clouding your mind, you should not strive to make it so difficult for yourself. The other forms would have secured you victory." "With all due respect Master, the other forms are less challenging. I learn more this way," she responded. "You constantly test yourself, but had that been real you would be dead and you wouldn't be able to learn anything." "I've run this program a dozen times today and have not yet learned anything more from it, maybe because it isn't real. Yet no one will agree to spar with me, so how can I possibly test my skill in a real situation. Like you said, the sith are dead." "Patience, I can feel you losing control. You are right however, some things cannot be learned, only taught."
The smooth sound of a saber igniting greeted her ears. She smiled slightly, turning to face him. Thumbing the activation buttons on her lightsabers, Keilara adopted a defensive stance. "Your move," she grinned.
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Post by Darko on May 9, 2014 15:53:47 GMT
14:00 local time Present day Consular-class Cruiser Emerald Spire En-route to the Trade Federation blockade over NabooKeilara sat cross-legged on the floor of her quarters aboard the Emerald Spire, deep in meditation. Several objects surrounding her were floating, held aloft by the force. She was reflecting on her sparring session with Master Windu, in which she had once again been defeated. It did not bother her, in fact she enjoyed the opportunity to test her skills against a real opponent. It was an honour to dance with one of the greatest lightsaber fighters in the Jedi order. An annoying beeping sound from the comm panel disturbed her thoughts and the objects around dropped audibly. She sighed and stood up, pressing a button on the panel. "Yes, captain?" She answered. "We have arrived in the outskirts of the system and we shall be reaching the blockade momentarily, master Jedi." "Thank you captain, inform them we wish to dock immediately," she ordered. "It will be done," the captain confirmed, then the comm channel went dead. Pulling her robes on, Keilara collected the few things that a Jedi carried on missions and left the room, seeking her fellow Jedi. She recalled what little she knew of Vard: he was roughly the same age and supposedly an avid negotiator. Good. While she was prepared to deal with Neimoidians, having someone else along who would prefer to do most of the talking was something she was thankful of. They hadn't spoken yet, oddly enough. They had boarded the cruiser at different times and she had retired for the journey, glad for the opportunity to rest after continued training all day. She made her way to the bridge, where she sensed Vard to be. She joined him in observing the final approach and frowned. "For a bunch of cowardly traders, they certainly maintain quite a substantial fleet of battleships," she remarked.
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Post by Nepty on May 9, 2014 16:02:42 GMT
Vard glanced behind him from where he leaned against one of the pilot's seats at the remark, and saw his erstwhile colleague walk onto the bridge. "Indeed," he replied. "Pirates have always been an issue, and of course, when in doubt, dozens of cruisers hanging above one's head can often persuade even the most stubborn of clients to empty their pockets." He turned to the pilots. "Tell us if they start hailing. If not, remain on your normal approach vector" He turned the rest of his body to face Jedi Kor'el-sun. "Restful trip?"
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Post by Darko on May 9, 2014 16:15:13 GMT
Keilara nodded slowly as he spoke. She didn't know much about the Trade Federation, although it was common news on Coruscant that there was dispute over trade taxation at the moment. In the core worlds this was not too much of an issue however further out in less regulated space it could be an issue.
"I rested well," she answered simply.
"They are responding to our transmission requesting to dock immediately," said the communications officer. No sooner had she spoken, the view screen flickered to life and a figure wearing an elaborate headdress greeted them.
"I am Viceroy Gunray of the Trade Federation, we are ready to receive the Ambassadors, of course," he stated, pronouncing many words as if Basic was an unfamiliar language. The transmission was cut and one of the officers reported that they had been directed to land aboard the central vessel of the blockade.
"I sense something... unusual about this. It was the way he spoke, as if nervous," Keilara pondered. "Perhaps that is just their way. I am not entirely familiar with Duros or Neimoidians for that matter. I have always focused my studies less on perusing the archives and more on training," she explained, folding her arms as she spoke and squinting, as if scrutinising the looming Trade Federation ship.
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Post by Darko on May 9, 2014 18:07:10 GMT
[Collaboration post between myself and Nepty]
"Lucrehulk class battleships often carry up to a division of b1 battle droids," observed Vard. "Or Vulture droids. It varies from ship to ship. I sense many presences on those ships, but only maybe half a hundred life forms." He glanced at Kelaria. "In other words, lots of droids." "I like Droids, they're predictable," she commented with a small smile. "Not much fun for lightsaber practice mind you." "With any luck," said Vard, eyes fixed on the battleship, which was now the size of a Bith's head in the canopy viewport, "we won't have to use our lightsabers." Keilara remained silent, arms still folded. Scrapping battle droids was more fun than negotiations. Vard was right however, they had a job to do. It was then that Keilara focused on Naboo for the first time, it had almost slipped her mind. She had seen a hundred worlds just like it and it had been so long since she had been here. Was it truly her home any more?
She could vividly recall seeing it fade away from a view port aboard the ship that had taken her far away from her family and home to become a Jedi. Somehow, despite having seen all those other worlds so similar to this one, it still looked so much more beautiful than she remembered. Her expression remained neutral yet she felt a sudden longing to run along the unspoiled plains or watch one of the royal parades in the grand city. If she closed her eyes she could almost smell a fresh harvest or hear the bustling wildlife in the sprawling woodland.
Yet she also felt a jolt of great sadness, recalling what she had done as a child. It had been years since the anger had resurfaced, even though it was only for the briefest moment. Calming herself, she focused on the mission. Naboo disappeared from her sight as the ship entered the hanger bay, landing with a quiet thud.
Vard chose not to question the strong cloud of emotion that filled the force around Kelaria...yet, and simply made for the exit. He was the first down the ramp, robes trailing behind him, and saw the customs droid approach. "Captain," he said, over his shoulder, "Stay with the ship. Post guards." The man nodded and hurried back up the ramp. Vard smiled at the customs droid disarmingly. "Hello," it said. "I am 3D410. Please, follow me." "By all means," replied Vard. "Shall we go?" he asked his companion.
She nodded, pulling up the cloak of her dark robe over her head as she did so. Quietly following Vard and the silver-plated protocol droid, she looked around at the many droids. What were they all doing? There was also something else... she cast out her senses, once again feeling a quiet nervousness about the ship, as she had felt back on the cruiser.
As they walked down the silent halls, Vard turned to her and spoke quietly. "Something wrong?"
"Do you not sense it? Something feels out of place here," she replied as the droid led them into a room, before backing out. The door snapped shut behind them and Keilara walked around a meeting table towards the windows. Hands behind her back, she looked out at Naboo, examining its vast, green continents and deep blue seas. It was like seeing an old friend again.
"Of course I sense it," said Vard. "But I was referring to your earlier...pulse of feeling when we approached the vessel. Something to do with the world, I felt."
"Naboo is my home," she answered simply.
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Post by Nepty on May 9, 2014 18:26:42 GMT
Nute Gunray turned from the security display. "Jedi," he moaned to the hooded figure on the display. "No one told me they would be sending jedi!"
"Do not worry," said the shrouded figure. "They are only two Jedi."
"And what of the queen?" demanded Nute. "How are we to get her to sign the transfer agreement?"
The holo rippled and a second shadow stepped into it. "This is my apprentice," said the hooded lord, gesturing towards the hooded man. "Darth Maul. He will deliver the queen to you."
"How?" demanded Nute.
"And what of the Jedi, Sideous?" demanded Gunray's second, Rune Haako.
"Do not attempt to apprehend them yet. Route your visuals to me, and I shall give the signal."
"As you command, lord Sideous," said Gunray. "Haako, go and keep them busy."
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Post by Darko on May 9, 2014 19:30:05 GMT
[Collab]
Vard glanced over to his compatriot, who was wandering listlessly about the room. "You act like we have something to fear," he said with a half-smile, well aware of all the listening bugs in the room. "I'm sure we'll be fine." He extended his feelings until he was aware of the circuitry that ran through the wall that lent power to the security lenses and gave a sharp yank with the force. There was a barley audible hiss of sparks. He mouthed the visuals are off and nodded at the door, go and see what it is that they're all so nervous about.
More or less understanding what he was saying through hand gestures and his mouthing of words, Keilara moved towards the door. She almost rebuked his comment about being afraid, but this was neither the time nor the place. It was probably a joke, though she couldn't tell. There was also the matter of him messing with the room's systems - the Neimoidians would surely detect it. Personally she had no qualms simply investigating whether they liked it or not, as if they had nothing to hide then they had nothing to worry about.
In any case, she snapped out of her sentimental reverie about her home and life before the Jedi. The door yawned open and after quickly ascertaining that there was no one nearby, she hurried down the nearest corridor. Just waiting around for the Viceroy was frustrating and she was glad to be doing something.
Turning a corner, she stepped back suddenly. A pair of security droids, armed with blaster rifles, were idly walking in her direction. Glancing around, she saw a ventilation shaft nearby and with a slight wave of her hand activated the mechanism which opened the grate. Climbing in, she shut it behind her. The air was stale and it was awkward to move in the confined space while wearing full robes, but Keilara persevered. On a ship this big, it would most likely provide all manner of interesting places to go.
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Post by Nepty on May 9, 2014 19:42:15 GMT
Rune Haako stepped into the room and stopped dead. A dark-haired jedi sat at the far end of the table, a smile on his face. Haako cleared his throat. "My humblest apologies for making you wait master jed-" he trailed off. Where was the other one?
"Where is the other jedi?" he demanded, perhaps a bit too hastily.
Vard gave him a look of befuddlement. "What other jedi?" he asked. "I am quite alone." He nonchalantly waved a hand to indicate the room. This was technically true. The Nemoidian looked confused. "You are quite alone," he slowly repeated, and then shook his head. "My pardons, will you take refreshments, master jedi?"
"Do you have membrosia?" asked Vard.
"Of course," said Haako. "We trade everywhere." He clapped his hands and after a while, a serving droid bustled in. "Membrosia for master..."
"Kortzurse."
"For master Kortzurse."
Vard gave him a slight nod. Let them think he was a master. There was a usefulness in mystique. Before the droid returned however, Vard spoke. "So," he said. "This blockade over Naboo."
The dignitary nodded. "Terribly unfortunate, yes. But it had to be done."
"Why, exactly?" asked Vard. "It violates several trade laws." Taking into account that he was dealing with Nemoidians, he had chosen to go the legal route with this. His tutors on Kuat had schooled him in how to deal with trade envoys.
"Ah," said the Nemoidian."I think you will find that it does not. Our blockade is quite legal."
"You haven't landed any military forces on Naboo yet at least," said Vard. "I suppose that counts for something, but there's still the question. What do you do with ships that attempt to run your blockade? Not shoot them, of course?"
"Of course not!" said the Nemoidian, acting offended. He was a talented amateur at lying, Vard realized, but not by much. "We impound them aboard our various vessels."
"Interesting," said Vard. "Of course, I would like to speak with the queen, to understand all points in this...disagreement."
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