Jedi Rising... (ATTN: Ava, but AW)

Meric didn't answer Ava right away. Instead he closed his eyes, muttering something barely audible. In a moment, the boarding ramp raised, sealing the passengers inside the vessel.

Opening his eyes again, Meric motioned for Ava to follow him to the cockpit. "Revan was... a legend." he said, "He fought in the Mandalorian Wars four thousand standard years before the Empire, and in the Great Sith War five years later. He was both the greatest Jedi, and the most notorious sith to ever train in the ways of the Force."

He paused, taking his seat at the controls. Artoo Detoo was already beside him with his information stuck into the droid socket. The astromech droid swiveled his domed head and looked up at Meric with his single blinking red and blue photoreceptor. He elicited a series of beeps. "Thanks Artoo, but I think the Katarn and I can handle the pre-flight sequence. Just continue with the diagnostics." Twittering an afirmative, the droid turned his head forward again.

In the meantime, Meric continued as he began powering up the Katarn's systems. Diagnostics? he heard her say, Master Meric, you know very well that I don't need this... unliving machine. I can take care of my own diagnostics thankyou!

Meric chuckled softly. He wouldn't be surprised if Ava had heard that, but she may not have, seeing as the statement was directed toward him. Similarly, he replied, I know, but Artoo is an old friend of ours. You know how sensitive he is. The Katarn was silent, but Meric could tell she was fuming, much like a five year old who doesn't get her way.

Within a few moments, the pre-flight sequence was completed. "Take your seat, Avadedra." he instructed, pointing to the co-pilot's chair, "We'll be off for Coruscant in just a few moments. Once we're on our way, I'll tell you more about Revan."

RP continued from here: http://www.legendofzeldaseries.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=270602#270602

Wait... what? ANOTHER move? Ototo, you're gonna be the death of me...

*sighs and sits back to wait*

Avededra's last post, from the other board:

Ava bit her lip, glancing in the general direction of the Datapad. Worry and unease ate at her. Taking a last look at Luke, she steadied herself as best she could.

She tried, at first, picturing the Datapad. She'd seen enough of them in her life, she could clearly make out it's size and shape, the colors of the face and casing, and even hear it in her mind. Focusing on these things, she stretched out a hand and imagined it lifting and coming to her, riding an unseen draft across the hold. She knew that it had raised a few centimeters from its resting spot and she had to fight the elation that rose within her.

Too quickly, other thoughts crowded her, as loud as voices behind her. With a groan, her concentration shattered. A small clattering sound told them both that the Datapad had dropped back down. Ava bit her lip again, rubbing the back of her neck with both hands.

"Wow... that's harder than it seems."

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My post:

Luke watched as the Datapad lifted and slowly began to drift toward Avadedra. He kept silent, wanting her to be able to concentrate with no distractions. Unfortunately, it seemed she soon defeated herself with her own.

"It's okay," he counseled, "Don't focus on the failure... Learn from it. Clear your mind of distractions and focus only on the here and the now."

He moved forward and picked up the datapad, setting it back in its place so she could try again. "Do it again," he said, moving back toward her, "Work on keeping your mind focused on the task at hand."

Nodding, Avadedra took a deep breath, held it for a moment, let it go and tried to will herself to relax. Pushing aside the snide voice of failure in her head, she raised her hand once more, conjuring the image of the datapad.

Once more, it rose, and once more she fought down her elation. She succeeded this time, tamping it down with a heavy silence. It slowly and lazily drifted to her, coming almost within reach of her fingers until she remembered to breathe. With a gasp, her concentration shattered once more and the datapad clicked to the floor again.

"Oh wow," she said, starting to laugh. "That was close."

She pointed to the few feet between her and the datapad, smiling broadly at Luke.

Luke watched the entire time. Avadedra was indeed strong in the force. Most could not even pick up a small rock by this point in their training, let alone something like a datapad, which had much more to concentrate on and to weed out. He was impressed enough.

He winced when it fell to the floor again. It was a good thing datapads were sturdy enough to take some dropping. He picked it up again. "That's good," he said, "But you're still to tense. Remember, you're not the one lifting it. You don't need physical or mental strength. Through the force, you will eventually find you can lift even entire starships with a fleeting thought." He moved it back to its original place.

"Try again one more time," he instructed, "This time, just breath... relax.... Don't let your concentration make you tense up. It isn't a datapad... It's a feather... requiring no effort whatsoever to lift."

Ava cast Luke a wounded look, but nodded. She'd thought that even her slightest achievement would mean SOMETHING. Sighing, she turned her attention, once more, to the datapad and reached out.

Try as she might, though, she could not calm her mind again. Each time she fought down a thought, another ten sprang up, crowding around one another. Frustration grew as she fought for concentration, anger rising until she threw her hands up.

"This is stupid!" she spat. "The first attempt is abysmal, the second is seemingly mediocre, and now I can't even focus! Gah, aren't Jedi supposed to be serene and able to balance themselves perfectly or something? Some apprentice I'm shaping up to be."

"Patience is something that comes naturally to some," Meric said, "Some must learn it in time... But that patience will be essential to your mastery of the Force." The Jedi Master had entered the cargo bay just as Ava began her last test, had seen how hard she tried, and in spite of that, how she'd failed. The lesson of failure was a hard one for any apprentice to take.

He moved forward and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Do not fear failure," he counciled softly, "For failure makes one strong... Learn from your fear, and conquer it. In so doing, you will unlock the true potential of the Force that even now rises to the surface within you, bubbling like an underground spring." His words showed no disappointment, no rebuke. "And if it is any consolation, I could not lift a simple pebble, when I first started my training."

Ava fisted her hands at her sides, unable, and more than a little unwilling, to let go of the burning anger that rushed through her veins. Part of her understood what Meric meant, but the rest of her wanted to be able to learn as much as she could right now.

"As if moving one pebble or a datapad truly matter in the whole scheme of things," she growled out. "That's not where the nature of my failure lies. I do what I'm told, but I'm told to do it better. My best will never be good enough, and because of that, I'll push myself all the harder, only to continuously be told to do more."

Tears of futility crept into her eyes, adding to her self-loathing. She wanted nothing more that to learn the ways of the Force, to master it, but it was harder than she had thought. Memories of her mother whirled through her mind, forcing her to close her eyes. Unwittingly, she wrapped her arms around Meric's midsection, burying her face against his robes in an effort not to cry.

Meric said nothing. The Katarn had been right. She had a lot of anger in her, but more and more now he was finding it directed toward her own self. For now, he just let her cry against him. "Let it out," he soothed.

She couldn't understand at this level... She needed to rid herself of this anger within her before she progressed too far. Not only would it hinder her progress, but it was a dangerous streak... one that might easily lead her down the path to the Dark Side.

In the meanwhile, Meric looked up at Luke. "We'll be coming up on Coruscant in a few hours," he said, "I've received word that General Madine has also been dispatched. He should meet us there."

It only took a few moments for Avadedra to regain control of herself. Taking a deep breath, she stepped back, composing herself and standing up straight. Her resolve was set.

Casting an apologetic look at Luke, she turned her attention back to Meric, her eyes brightening.

"If that's the case, I'll excuse myself from the two of you. I'd like to clean up before we arrive. I'm a mess! Meric, is there somewhere I can find something wear? I don't think my clothes are any good anymore."

Meric was glad to see his padawan's eyes brightening again. He didn't like darkness he saw there earlier. It appeared she was at least starting to gain some control over herself. "There should be some Jedi clothing in your quarters," he reminded her, "That will be sufficient for whatever we encounter."

The two Jedi watched as Avadedra left the room. Luke then turned to his friend. "She has a lot of potential," he said quietly, "But... she's distracted. It's like whenever she tries to quiet her mind, all the old voices of her past start calling out to her... crowding her concentration."

Meric nodded. "It is a problem many young Jedi must face," he agreed, "In fact, I seem to remember you encountering similar problems, although in your case, the voices you heard were of your friends."

The two Jedi left the cargo bay in silence, moving toward the cockpit.

Ava rotated her left arm as she moved through the ship. She mulled over the events of the past few hours, wondering that she'd gone from an orphaned Corellian to a Jedi's apprentice in so short a span of time. It was all very hard to take in, but she resolved herself to do her best.

She entered the quarters, pulling her soiled jacket from her shoulders. Dropping it in a corner, she took note of the robes Meric had mentioned. Looking around, she spotted the rest of what she needed. Minutes later, she slipped into her new robes, smiling at the clean feeling of the clothing and her skin.

Pulling her boots back onto her feet, she stood, running her hands down the front of her robe, smoothing the wrinkles away. She ran fingers through her damp hair, she stepped back into the corridor. Reaching behind her head, she twisted her hair into a braid as she aimed her steps toward the cockpit of the Katarn. Tying the end off with a string of leather, she stepped in.

"Master Meric?" she said, stepping behind his seat. "How much longer, if I may ask?"

Luke and Meric looked to have been discussing something important, but they immediately turned their heads when Ava's voice reached their ears.

Both smiled, although the reason for the smile on Luke's face wasn't distinguishable, whilst Meric's smile was that of pride, almost a fatherly pride. "Ava, those robes suit you," Luke commented.

"He's flirting," the Katarn whispered to Meric. The wizened Jedi Knight simply allowed himself a warm chuckle before he answered his apprentice's question. "We'll be dropping out of Hyperspace in about nine standard hours," he said, "Try to get some sleep. By the time you wake up, we should be nearly there."

Ava tried to keep from bolting, a blush rising as both Jedi appraised her. She fidgeted with her top robe, trying to keep her head up. Luke's comment made her blush deepen.

She forced her wandering attention back to Meric in time to hear the last part of his commentary.

"Oh..." she said. "I'd actually like to stay here, if I may. That is, if I'm not in the way. I'm not really tired, not at the moment. Besides... I'm a little too excited to try."

She smiled, looking from one Jedi to the other.

Meric glanced at Luke, and the two Jedi seemed to hold an inaudible conversation with each other. A moment later, however, he turned to face his Padawan. "IF you'd like to stay, that's fine," he nodded, "But there isn't a lot to see right now." His eyes flicked over to look outside the Katarn's viewport, watching the familiar cloudy streaks swirl around them as the ship flashed through hyperspace. Obviously, he wasn't comfortable here as he might be among the trees back home. But there was work to be done.

Avadedra's eyes narrowed slightly at the slight tension she sensed in the air, but cleared completely when Meric turned his attention to her once more. She offered him a grateful smile before moving to the third seat behind the co-pilot.

She settled back, clasping her right hand firmly and protectively over her left wrist, and allowed herself to relax as much as possible. Her eyes wandered to the streaks of hyperspace outside of the ship, and she let herself focus on them. Remembering what Meric had told her when she had first come aboard, Ava cleared her mind of as much of the rubble as she could and reached out, seeking the touch in her mind that she knew was Katarn.

"Katarn? If... if you can hear me, I'd like to ask you something. I was wondering... is Master Meric well? He seems... oddly distracted."

Katarn's touch, normally just a feathery brushing against Avadedra's consciousness suddenly seemed to grow in intensity. If Ava tried to visualize it, she might see what appeared to be a tendril of thought reaching into her mind, wrapping around it, almost caressing it. It was this comforting presence that had been with Meric since she'd been built.

"Do not worry about him," was the ship's reply, "Master Meric is not as comfortable in space as those of Correlian stock, or those of other space faring peoples. He is more at home on worlds teeming with life. His gifts lie in communion with nature and those around him... Which is why this ship was built as it was. He would never fly in any other if he had a choice. He will be fine when we reach Coruscant.

Katarn was right. Nine standard hours later, the ship dropped out of hyperspace just outside sensor range of any stations that orbited the planet. Meric seemed to relax, being so close to a world so brimming with life and with the Force again.

He turned and began to flip some switches on his panel. In response, lines of data written in his natural language of Shyrrywook began to scroll in gold text over a small screen to his right.

"Looks like the Empire hasn't chosen to vacate the planet yet," eh commented, "There are several stations fully armed still active, as well at least four Golan Arms platforms... If we even want a chance to get into the palace, we're going to need to use my fake transponder signal."

Luke raised a brow.

"What can I say?" Meric smirked, "You hang around old smugglers like Han long enough, you pick up a few things."

Ava sat still and quiet in her seat, watching as the planet came into view. Her heartbeat quickened in anticipation, and she wanted to much to be out and moving in the free air again, but she kept a close eye one Meric's movements. She had the feeling that, even at everyday tasks, a Jedi was always in touch with the Force around him.

Her left hand fingers had begun to twitch and spasm about an hour before. Absently, she massaged them with her right hand, her eyes straying back to the viewport.

"The Empire?" she whispered to herself, swallowing hard. The fear she'd fought to put down surged up in the back of her mind, memories of the Death Star's last moments replaying behind her eyes. The Empire had a lot to answer for.

She pinched herself hard on the skin between her thumb and index finger, gasping softly as the pain startled her out of her dark thoughts.

"I can't think like that!" she berated herself. "It's the Dark path!"

Meric punched another few keys on the control panel before him, switching the transponder signal aboard the Katarn so that it would now register as the freighter, "HurrikaneStone."

"As long as no one gets a visual on us, we should be fine," Meric stated cooly. He expertly guided the Katarn downward into Coruscant's atmosphere, little heeding the floating weapons platforms as their turbolasers shifted to track the ship. If the Katarn strayed off-course, the lasers would have her down at a moment's notice. Meric didn't plan on letting that happen.

It was not long before the clouds around them parted and Meric and his companions found themselves looking down upon a vast cityscape. Its towers glistened like obsidian in Coruscant's setting sun, while billions of lights twinkled from the transparisteel windows of the massive sky-scrapers.

"So have you got a plan to get us into the palace?" Luke asked when all seemed quiet.

Meric nodded. "Coruscant is one big city, so it will be hard for any Imperials to spot us," he explained, "But an alien like me walking around the upper city is bound to attract attention." Luke nodded in the affirmative as Meric went on, "We'll land at one of the less-used platforms, and from there make our way into Coruscant's underworld. I've got a few contacts there from my Jedi Order days, and we should be able not only to blend in, but also find someone who can guide us into the palace from the lowest level.

"And if there's no door at the lowest level?" Luke asked.

Meric smirked, "Then we make one." He patted the lightsabers strapped to his back.

Luke chuckled but heaved a sigh. "I'd hoped not to have to travel through the Underworld again," he commented, "It was bad enough when we had B1-D4 in tow."

"Yeah, but this time you're baggage-free," Meric pointed out, "No bugged protocol droid that needs to be kept shut down."

Turning her attention back to the two elder Jedi, Avadedra did her best to follow their string of thought. They made it sound so easy...

"Master Meric?" she called softly. "I'm sorry, but... what am I supposed to do?" The last thing she wanted was to be left behind.

Meric didn't answer right away. Instead, he guided the Katarn to a landing pad on the outskirts of Imperial City. The sound of escaping gasses and the whirring of motors told Meric the Katarn was setting down on her landing struts without a problem. The ship shuddered slightly as the shocks compensated for the ship's weight.

As soon as he had innitiated the ship's power-down sequence, Meric turned to Ava. "Make sure that your blaster's powerpack is full," he told her, "And bring along an extra just in case. I don't expect any trouble, but Coruscant can be a rough place. The Empire is still in control up here, and in the lower city, you're as likely to find thieves and murderers as the grubbiest Cantina in Mos Eisely." He stood up and looked at Luke. "I'll get my robe and meet you at the loading ramp and meet you in five standard minutes."

The younger Jedi nodded and headed in that direction, while Meric headed toward his quarters.

Ava nodded and, after the other two had left, made her way quickly to her quarters. From her bed she took the belt and other items that Meric had given her when she'd first come aboard the Katarn and attached them to her waist. From her pile of torn and dirty clothing, she retrieved the blaster she'd taken on Endor and checked it. The powerpack was full, and a secondary pack was full and stowed behind the holster. She added that her her belt and adjusted her tunic. Satisfied, she smiled.

On her way out the door she stopped, laying her hand palm against the wall next to the door.

"Katarn?" she thought to the ship. "Will you be alright here?"

"I will be fine," the ship assured the young Padawan, "I am used to such places, but stick close to Master Meric. He has much to teach you... even here. I sensed it."

It wasn't long before Meric had gathered his robes, stuffy though they were, and pulled his hood over his face. Evidently he wanted to conceal as much of his alien identity as he could until he and his companions walked the underworld inconspicuously. Even Luke had hidden his lightsaber. If Meric thought to ask where it was, he needn't, for at that moment, R2-D2 trundled up to the three. He let out a series of beeps and whistles.

"I thought it might be a good idea to bring Artoo along," Luke explained, "He's had experience hacking into Imperial computers, so if there's slicing to be done, it's best he do it."

Meric nodded in agreement. He knew that Ava had no love for droids, but she would need to learn to live with them even so. They were a part of the galaxy, increasingly so it seemed. Besides... It was this little one who managed to hide Luke's lightsaber for him.

"Let's be off then," the Jedi Master stated. The loading ramp lowered as if on command, and the group stepped down it onto the grubby landing pad. Behind his hood, Meric's nose wrinkled as it was assaulted with the scents of filth and fumes that accompanied large cities. No doubt they would not bother Ava so, as Corellia's cities were nearly as large, though they didn't compose the entire planet.

"Never thought the planet would become as filthy as the Empire itself," he said.

He led the way from the pad and into the crowded entry port. Dozens of beings, alien and human looked to be trying to leave, each one checked over by an Imperial docking officer. "We can't let them discover who we are," Luke warned, "But if my memory serves me correctly, we should be able to use our lightsabers to cut a hole in one of the... facilities. If we can flag down an air cab, we'll be able to get to get to a lift that leads to the lower city withotu a problem."

Meric nodded in agreement, "Ava, I want you to be our lookout."

Ava snorted. "You think this is bad?" she commented, cracking a roguish grin. "Then I don't suggest breathing too deeply in the 'facilities' if I were you."

With a glance at Luke, she ghosted to one side, letting her gaze drift across their surroundings, her mind going into what she'd come to call 'war mode' in the past few years. All of the planets and ships and space ports she'd followed her mother through had taught her well.

She stayed behind and slightly to the left as Meric and Luke moved through the city, glaring occasionally at Artoo as the little droid bleeped, tooted and babbled his way along. More or less, the scenery was all the same, but Ava was alert and ready none-the-less, her hand within quick reach of her blaster at all times. The more they moved, the less her nerves wanted to make her throw up... until they reached the 'facilities.'

"Oh man," she gagged, slapping a hand over her mouth and nose. "What in the universe DIED in there?"