freedomliveson

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Oh don't worry, I understand the heat issues ALL too well. Living in Texas is like living in a permanent sauna xD

Well, this should be interesting...xD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

When they had returned to the ship and ascended out of Lehon’s atmosphere, Neta was given a brief glimpse of the star map coordinates. The party watched the former spec ops officer facial expressions morph from wildly confused to hopefully expectant and then finally to utter frustration.
“I have NEVER seen a map this convoluted. This has more crap all over it than a Republic senate memo!” Hearing her say the word ‘Republic’ was a bit jarring to the Champion, but the analogy was made all the same. If NETA couldn’t figure out what was going on, then they would need expert help. They had conferred with the Elders briefly after Neta’s exasperated encounter with the data, although only Matthew and Aliel were available for the call. Both champions recounted their experience on Lehon before offering to send the nav data to Zinuthra for decoding.
“A wise idea. We’ll send it to Vano and the Alliance intelligence team here to see if they can work something out.” With a request to keep them updated, the Elders signed off, leaving Yerbol wondering why the others weren’t available, especially considering the gravity of their mission.

Neta had interrupted his chain of thought by telling the party that they would need to refuel and stock up on any other supplies before they “visited another crazy planet”, Alderaan being the closest major port of call that could accommodate a ship as large (and as classified) as the Commodore. Ethan seemed enthused about the idea, although he left the cockpit rather quickly after setting course, not informing anyone of what he was bound to do; and if Yerbol were being quite honest, he didn’t care what Ethan was going to do with his time. The young man had earned some privacy, as did the Champions, which was why Yerbol found himself sitting in their quarters, pawing through the latest virtual gaming news. In these scant moments, he felt his age, which was a refreshing feeling. Most twenty five year olds weren’t galactic peacekeepers.

He heard their door open, looking up to find his wife seated at the edge of the bed.
“Hey there.” He smiled briefly before returning to his datapad. A moment later, she asked if he had wanted to talk.

Right. They needed to do that.

“Yeah…just give me a sec.” Yerbol planted the data pad on a nearby chair before rubbing his face with his hands, eyes looking to the ceiling for a moment tor two before he spoke:
“I guess, where do we start? The visions at Malachor? That might be a good place.” He drew his knees closer to his body.
“I have never in the entirety of my brief existence felt something that…heavy, you know? That pressing. Like the entire weight of the galaxy was resting on our shoulders and we couldn’t remove it. Maybe that was what Revan and Meetra felt.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he continued:
“I don’t know how they lived like that. Carrying that kind of burden for just a short while through visions was exhausting enough, let alone always knowing that you were one of the only people to know of a threat so terrifying that it would prompt most of the galaxy to fold in on itself and assume a fetal position.” He inched a bit closer to Aria.
“But it wasn’t just that weight, it was…like the Force itself became a burden, as if my connection to it was causing me to lose focus. So many times on Malachor and even Lehon I just wanted to be FREE of it. Not just the responsibilities we have(I know I complain about those), but the Force as a whole.” Casting an exhausted look at his partner, he added:
“Now I know why some people try to hide their Force sensitivities. Because once you train yourself to it, then what do you become? A tool of the Force, something that can be used to enforce balance rather than an individual who can explore their identity and the galaxy as a whole.There are no consequences for someone who doesn’t use the Force if they, say, have negative feelings towards someone or something. They’re not ‘corrupted’ by the ‘dark side’ or ‘out of balance’; they’re just kinda pissy that day or that week and then they can move on.” He chuckled slightly, taking one of her hands.
“That’s not to say I want to walk around angry at everyone.” He then asked:
“Does any of this make sense? How are you feeling after all…this?”

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Feel free to get us into slipspace towards Alderaan and then we can have Ari/Yerbol start to broach the topics they've been "saving for later" XD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

The star map was indeed different than the others they had encountered. With a massive web of lines connecting to various planets all over the known galaxy, it was a wonder that Revan and Meetra thought anyone would be able to decipher where they went, let alone Force users who weren't expert slicers or navigational data experts. He admired Kytra's ability to sift through some of the more relevant points, but again, none of them could crack what was left for them unless they had some type of assistance.
"I'm hoping they didn't actually use that as their nav unit...cause they would have crashed a lot." Ethan commented mainly to himself, brow furrowed in confused concentration as he vainly tried to put the pieces together.
"Save yourself the trouble, Ethan. We'll have to get this back to people who can help." Yerbol had stood up fully now thanks to Taral's help, senses that were once clouded almost back to normally functioning levels. Speaking of trouble, his wife had spun around now after unsuccessful attempts at opening the door to the temple, laying out the options they had. The Champion thought for a moment, then had a suspicion, eyes narrowing as he examined the obstruction.
"I just have this feeling..." Memories of him standing here, at this spot, arms outstretched, came to him. He knew these weren't his own recollections, but mirrored what memory told him to do. He extended his arms and she stood next to him, they channeled their energy and she-

Oh.

"I know what we need to do. Ari, stand here." He motioned to the space next to him before telling her:
"Stretch out your arms towards the door and focus on our bond." That was it. They had never thought about a bond forming between them, separated by time, yet united by a singular purpose. It was difficult to manage two bonds at the sa-

No. Had to focus on his reality. Now.

"Just...focus..." He closed his eyes, reaching out to the link they shared and settling whatever energy he hadn't consumed on the unity that the bond brought, the harmony, the balance...

All Ethan could muster was a very quiet "wow" as a shimmering crimson light appeared around the edge of the doorway, lingering for a few moments before it disappeared, the door then sliding open with no more than a few groans of protest at being locked in one position for presumably hundreds of years. When Yerbol's eyes opened, he looked to Aria with a small smile.

Did you feel what just happened? His memories were mine for a few seconds. It was...well, we can address it later.

It sounded like they would have a LOT to discuss when they weren't around their apprentices, who were treading warily to the now opened temple doorway.
"How did you know what to do? Was it a Force sensitive switch or mechanism?"
"In a sense. Revan and Meetra had a Force bond. They divested some of the energy from their bond into locking this door."
"What..." Ethan shook his head.
"How is that even possible? I didn't even think Force bonds could be used that way...or even be formed."
"The Force can surprise you, Ethan. Trust me." Yerbol simply commented, shooting Aria a knowing smile as the party moved through the threshold and into a dull square-shaped room that had three doors, one in each direction minus south.
"I'm assuming that the other doors were locked in thi-" As he stepped forward, the door opposite from their position slid away to show a ramp that led upwards. The couple tried unlocking the other doors in the same way they had entered the temple, but to no avail. Thankfully Ethan had used that time to download the navigation information they would need and rejoined the party right as they proceeded up the ramp. The second floor was similar in nature, reaching another square shaped room with only one door that led to another ramp. A few minutes of trekking through the temple provided them with their prize of reaching the rooftop, Lehon's tropical landscape exploding with color even more so from the higher vantage point they now possessed. Although it was beautiful, they had gathered no clues as to where Revan and Meetra were going. But Ethan did stumble onto something rather useful:
"A computer terminal? Up here?" Ethan had wandered to the upper right hand corner of the rooftop and found a terminal whose screen flashed a bright blue with commands in Basic.
"Transmit...receive...upload...guys, this is a working comm terminal. How..." He shook his head as he sighed, pulling out the nav unit.
"Kytra and I should get used to this, right? Curveballs like a modern computer terminal on an ancient temple rooftop and fighting giant invisible Force dragons that can eat you alive?" Yerbol nodded.
"Great. Just great." He grumbled a few more inaudible sentences before punching in the Commodore's hailing signal, which then brought a miniature projection of Neta from a small hole located on the right hand side of terminal's edge.
"Coming in clear, kids! How...should I ask?"
"No." Yerbol added instructions to Ethan's despondent comment:
"We found some nav data that needs to get sorted out as fast as possible. If we forward it to you, can you get it to the Council?"
"Once we get back into orbit, sure! Can't you just send it from the terminal you're on, though?"
"Don't know if it has that kind of range. Better safe than sorry."
"Fair enough. Get your arses back on board and we'll get this sorted out." A few keystrokes later, data was sent and terminal shut off, leaving a very anticlimactic feel to their visit to one of the more legendary places in the galaxy...and maybe that's what Revan and Meetra intended. Assuming that whoever was after them had made it this far, then they probably weren't interested in obtaining old Rakatan secrets for their own personal gain.
"Unless either of you ladies object, I think it's back to the ship for us."

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

All sounds good :)

I'm currently working on submitting a research project for a conference, so post coming tomorrow :)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

So, based on your ideas, I've constructed the timeline in my head for you to review:

-The Qyaari on Lehon get into the Temple by way of Yerbol and Aria channeling the Force through the strength of their bond, seeing as Revan AND Meetra would know a thing or two about bonds and would want to lock whatever secrets are still in the temple from Force users who don't understand how powerful a tool the Force can be(more on that I suppose when they meet Revan and Meetra).

-All other doors are locked, however, except for a singular path that leads them up to the roof of the temple where Revan and Bastila fought each other AND, if I remember correctly, has a terminal that can broadcast communication signals (right? That was up there? I'm pretty sure there was a terminal up there and I remember thinking to myself how did the Rakata install such a fancy looking piece of equipment on their ancient temple back in the Infinite empire days?)

-There they update Neta and the Council as well as upload the star map data to Vano, who needs time to crack the maps(obviously). This would be a good point for a Bioware-esque "interlude" where characters get to talk to each other. The interlude can happen on Alderaan and considering that our characters really haven't had a true interlude like in the past acts, I think they'll need one here. I mean, Voldon died, what, a week ago in our current timeline? Ari and Yerbol barely had time to talk then and now I think these two need to have some serious discussion before venturing out into the unknown. I've also got some scenes ready for Neta and Ethan. If you want Ari to participate in either of their sequences, let me know :)

-From there...well, back into the unknown. Goodness, doesn't this feel like we're almost starting a new thread entirely? I mean, this'll be an entirely new universe. We've only really dealt with the fringes of wild space, but this...this is going to be crazy stuff.

Edit: Do you think Kira coming would be too much? I'm struggling with the idea of bringing her or not, but I feel like it would be a very Kira-like thing to do to show up and force her way onto the expedition because she feels like she needs to leave the known galaxy for a long time(for obvious reasons)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Alright, so here we go:

-After poking around a bit on the interwebs, I think it might be good to have Odessen as the place where Revan and Meetra first go. According to the Wiki and the storyline of KOTFE, Odessen is a "balanced" planet. Why that is...no source can explain, BUT I would assume that the True Sith would have wanted a place to build their very first academy. A "balanced" planet would fall in line quite perfectly with their goals and be a good place for Revan and Meetra to not only visit first, but set up camp.

-Zakuul would be the next obvious destination, but I would think the party would need a way to get there. I THINK what might be cool would be for Val to capture the Commodore(a la KOTFE?) and have the party imprisoned. From there...well, how do you want to handle Revan and the Exile? We could go at it from the standpoint of the duo being alive, but advanced in years and commanding a sort of secret rebel order behind and around Val's back in an attempt to overthrow him.

OR

Revan is alive, but Meetra was captured/killed by Val(or other way around)

OR

They're both dead, but they managed to reach Odessen and Zakuul, gather together Force sensitives and train up a secretive sect of True Sith whose main job is to bring balance to the Force by overthrowing Val. Obviously they haven't been doing very well and the order is hanging on by a thread, but the Qyaari might be able to inject some new life into their order to finally topple Val's empire.

What say you so far?

Edit: I DIDN'T EVEN SEE THE TRAILER UNTIL JUST NOW AND I NEED TO WATCH IT SO EXCUSE ME FOR A SECOND WHILE I...

SECOND EDIT: WOW THAT LOOKS SO GOOD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Haha! Well, the change is going to be drastic, but it'll all work out :)

Oi vey, yeah. that's something to talk about, isn't it? I'm about ready to head out for the day, so let me get back to you tomorrow with the star wars wiki open in another window to plot our course?

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

So not only is Yerbol exhausted, but he's getting kinda sick of the whole being in danger thing, hence the style of the post. I'm ALSO setting him up for something character-altering down the line. I can't tell you what it is yet because I want it to be a COMPLETE surprise, but needless to say, you're going to be in shock xD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Their exit from Malachor five and by extension the entire system was almost as difficult as landing, but thankfully with their combined efforts(mostly Neta and Ethan), Neta found a way to get the Commodore within range for a tractor beam pull. This, of course, was difficult to pull off while the Commodore was moving AND accounting for the fact that their shuttle was a complete mess. One false telemetry calculation could have sent the shuttle plunging back down onto the surface or, worse yet, the Commodore's tractor beam frequency could get scrambled and by extension the entire magnetic field surrounding the ship. This would then lead to the Commodore crashing nose first into a mountainside. All of these details had been discussed over a comm unit that Ethan managed to piece together from parts of the old ship that they had discovered the planetary survey on(When Ethan was putting everything together, Yerbol made a silent observation to himself that it was all too convenient that the parts needed to formulate a rudimentary comm system capable of communicating through the dense atmospheric conditions of Malachor were ALL on the ship. He filed the thought away to discuss with Aria and the Elders later.) When the party found themselves back on the Commodore, Yerbol managed to breath out one sigh of relief as Neta chirped cheerily over the comms that their "big ol ship" had gotten some attention from pirates on nearby Malachor three, who were now heading their way. After more lurching, rolling, a few blasts from the turrets and Neta's profuse swearing, they jumped to hyperspace. All Yerbol could do afterward was sink deep into a couch situated on the lower deck and close his eyes, not hearing Ethan gushing over how "freaking awesome" Neta was at piloting a ship, Kytra's heart racing even after an hour after they had settled into hyperspace and Ari's conversations with Vano and the Elders about what they had found.

It had been about two hours before the Champion resurfaced above deck, a styrofoam cup of caf in his hand as he ambled into the CIC where the others were gathered.
"You finally decide to join us? Thought they were going to have to get to Lehon without you." A smirk crossed her features as she nodded towards the caf.
"There's bantha milk in the fridge. You miss it?" Yerbol grumbled something about not noticing details after harrowing escapes, sidling next to his wife, who informed him that they had changed course and were headed towards Lehon.

Great.

After some discussion with the Elders, Neta made her way back to the cockpit, telling her passengers to strap in for another bumpy entrance. While not AS rough as Malachor, Yerbol still felt like his heart would drop into his stomach several times and speculated that his organs might be in a different arrangement by the time their adventures on the farthest parts of the Outer Rim were over.

When they landed, Yerbol bristled slightly at Aria's tone towards Kytra, about ready to ask if she were alright before stowing it. He hadn't talked to her very much since they had left Malachor and she wasn't all that ready to disclose to him what she had seen in the meditation chamber at the Academy. Whatever it was had obviously left an indelible impression on her, something he would have to address sometime where they weren't on a planet where the Rakata had left weapons of mass destruction. When Kytra asked about the connection between the Rakata's architecture and the True Sith, Yerbol creased his chin with his right hand, commenting after Aria:
"It wouldn't be much of a surprise. If you didn't know this by now, the True Sith were apparently a very influential force on several races across the galaxy. We're still learning so much about what their lasting impact is."
"About to hit the loading ramp. Keep me updated, kids! I'd like to know if we need to make a quick exit." Ethan walked next to Yerbol as the loading ramp descended, asking quietly:
"How old is she?" Yerbol's brow shot up.
"That's not something you discuss with her."
"But she's calling us kids and she does-"
"Drop it before she hears you."
"Bu-"
"Trust. Me." End of discussion.

__

Lehon was indeed a gorgeous world. Crystalline blue sky stretching out into infinity, verdant stretches of grassy plain complemented by softly rolling hills and thick variants of trees completing the paradise-like landscape. Unfortunately, the party found remnants of those who had gone before, marring the unspoiled wilderness. Frayed backpacks, dried up waterskins, bones scattered across paths, warped pieces of metal that had been so rusted and decayed that one couldn't begin to speculate what purpose it had served. They had found these sights on the path they followed which led in a generally upward direction until they had reached a level plain. Directly opposite of where they stood was the temple they saw from the viewports just an hour earlier, except this time it was much more...towering. Intimidating almost.
"Keep your guard up. This screams of a trap." Ethan complied with the directive, saber in hand in an attempt to mirror his master's stance as they cautiously moved ahead. To Yerbol's surprise, nothing came at them. No fiercesome Force dragons, no shadowy assassins, no bat/dragon/demon thing. It was quiet.

And unnerving.

When they reached the foot of the temple, they were greeted with a solid copper door which was grooved with etchings in a pattern that Yerbol couldn't make sense of. What he COULD make sense of was the object that stood in front of them. It was a triangular shaped piece of metal that, when they drew closer, unfolded, revealing a center pedestal that the three segments were protecting. The Champion's heart began to skip a beat or two as a map was projected, coordinates and trajectories forming an intricate web.
"This is-" He sunk to his knees, eyes rolling into the back of his skull as-

The last of the droids fell. Who are they?

Hunters. Scouts. They have been pursuing me ever since I have been pursuing them.

Oddly circular, but makes sense. Why is this the first time I've seen them?

Maybe they were watching, waiting to see what would we do. Probably didn't expect me to take someone along.

Fair. The duo walked to the foot of the temple. He moved the object to the base.

Why leave it here? Doesn't seem right for it to be out in the open on this planet...of all planets.

Couldn't leave it in Core space. Whoever finds this will have faced Malachor and survived. Those are who we need to help us.

You expect we'll need help?

I expect we'll need saviors.

Yerbol's sight returned, yet he fell to his hands, Ethan coming alongside and attempting to help the Champion up only to be waved off.
"This is it." He choked out, on one knee.
"Have to figure...figure out where they went from this." The visions were taking a toll on him and he bloody well knew it. Exertion of this magnitude was going to break him eventually and he knew he would have to confess this to Aria sooner rather than later.