The Rebel Faction

Dolash was indeed glad to see that Marek had taken to training - many an eager young learner had become frustrated with the concept of seeking inner peace and introspective learning, but it was perhaps the case that those who needed inner peace most were indeed those best equipped to seek it out within themselves. The results were most gratifying, for within the safety of the temple Marek had learned how to flow with the Force - what remained to be seen was if he could maintain this flow out in the real galaxy.

He hunkered down into a comfortable position - difficult for his hulking frame. Once done, he turned to Marek, and nodded. "Very well, it is important that you know a little more about this mission and what the Jedi are doing these days. I shall begin with the beginning.

"Upon completing my own training as a Jedi Knight, I felt a definite pull out into the galaxy, to the traces of the presence of a Force-user untrained in the Force. He had been taken away to the dark prisons on Kessel, but for some reason his mind called out to me - amplified by the living Force, although at the time I did not know why. My companions and I followed that voice to Kessel, and did battle to free the prisoners they kept in horrible seclusion in the deep places of the dark mines.

"After the rescue, we discovered the Seer whose mind we had heard, and he told us of his visions of the planet Ilum. Intrigued, we followed his words and sought out a long lost temple in ruins. There, deep in it's bowels, did we discover a mad ghost - driven beyond the point of all sanity -"

"I was mad then, was I?" It was then that Barris Offee decided to make her appearance, passing through a wall into the cargo hold. "You can hardly blame me, considering what I had gone through."

Barris was a woman in a flowing Jedi robe that mostly concealed her face, what could be seen were a series of mysterious tattoes. Most noticeably of all, she was transparent and a light-blue colour, that of a ghost or spirit.

Dolash smiled, and nodded. "True, true. She can hardly be blamed for what had happened. Indeed, just what did happen is the reason for our journey. The Force lead us to Barris so that we could discover her, and learn of her mysterious 'ejection' from the Force. She died many years ago -" Barris shuddered at the mention of that fact "-and has no recollection of why she has suddenly risen again. It was as we pondered this mystery that Trazu came to us.

"He sought judgement after freeing himself from the dark thrall of another Force Ghost, this one dark to it's core and a cruel tormentor of his race. While it possessed him it made him commit great crimes, but now that he was free of it we let him be. However, he also brought word of a secret place deep in the caves of a nigh-unknown world where there are ancient markings of events throughout history from varyin time-periods and places in the galaxy. It was apparently possessed by a great deal of Force energy, and I do not believe it was by chance that we learned of this. Now we seek to find these caves and seek any answers they might hold about our present situation.

"There you have it, Marek. That is our goal and purpose - to unravel this mystery the Force is leading us to."

He honestly never cared much for space flight: so much that could go wrong and he wouldn’t be able to do squat about it. Trazu was are more comfortable with having someone he knew pilot the ship, as he would know exactly what skills the pilot had on his or her disposal if trouble would head their way. That wasn’t always possible of course, as it was now, so he forced himself to live with it. After all, he offered to go on this trip didn’t he? Besides, he considered this a part of his penitence for all the bad things he had done.

The shorter then normal Trandoshan yawned briefly before focusing his attention back out the small view port next to him. Watching the vastness of space go by and brief bouts of attempted meditation was how he had chosen to past the time rather then ‘mingling’ with the other passengers on board. Not because he was anti-social, but because he could sense more then one of the Jedi on board held less then favorable thoughts about him, not that he blamed them. He was what some would consider the worse kind of criminal after all, even though those crimes were committed with more then a little influence from a very powerful dark spirit.

Trazu sighed and shook his head slightly. Doing anything with the Force consciously was harder now that the spirit was gone. While he had regained a reasonable amount of progress so far during his stay at the Academy, enough to be useful in regards to Force use, he still had a ways to go. What didn’t help was the focusing on the mental defense side of things, something that was both familiar, yet unfamiliar to him and not that easy to train in. Being a Trandoshan, a race that tended not to be very strong in terms of willpower, made it even worse: if he had anything going for him, it was the fact that his family was full of unusually strong willed Trandoshans. One thing was for certain, encountering that mind intruding sphere will most definitely test the mental defenses he has developed thus far. Now if is mind could just stop getting sidetracked and allow him to meditate he could attempt to strengthen them further.

Sidetracked that is due to his attraction to a certain albino Trandoshan that had been staying at the Academy with him. She wasn’t Force sensitive, but a series of circumstances resulted in her becoming a temporary resident like him. Like Trazu, Asri obviously had dark secrets of her own, secrets she clung onto like her life depended on it. Trazu had been gradually getting her to open up to him, but only hints of her past had been revealed.

In a way, he regretted going on this trip and leaving her alone back at the Academy. She got along with the Jedi well enough, but what she wanted most was a life of normalcy among her own kind. At the very least though, before he left on this trip, he had finally gotten it into her head that there were more doors of opportunity open to her then she thought there was. Perhaps what he regretted even more was that he hadn’t had the guts to tell her what he really felt about her. Love had that odd affect on people didn’t it? The funny thing was, thoughts of her didn’t interfere with his training while he was still at the Academy, but now that there was definite separation between them….

He pushed those thoughts away and forced his mind to focus on the task that was upcoming. It had taken a bit of time to recall where exactly the planet was this cave system was on, partly because he had stowed away most on transports most of time during that not-so-distant period of his life. Now he hoped, once they arrived, he’ll remember where on the planet itself the caves were, as they weren’t close to any settlements.

The Force will guide me. He told himself, knowing it was the Force that lead him to the place the first time and was sure it would guide him to it a second time. If the place was as significant as Dolash hoped it was Trazu felt it was imperative that they get to it first before less…desirable…parties do. In fact he was rather surprised no one found it sooner, as far as he could tell anyway. Maybe the place only attracted those connected to the Force when the situation warranted. The sphere did seem to try to warn him about something, but at the time he was too consumed by what it had revealed to him about his own past. Was it trying to warn him about the same thing Dolash was trying to unravel? Hopefully they will soon find out.

Tired of just sitting around, Trazu rose and stretched a bit before taking a walk around the ship to help keep the blood flowing in his legs. Wearing a light tan shirt, brown pants and a brownish-grey cloak, he seemed to mimic the traditional ‘Jedi look’: some could say in a way he was mocking it, though that wasn’t his intent. Trazu had chosen this look so that it would be obvious that he was with them as a group, but not actually one of them, despite the lightsaber that hung along side his normal sword on his belt. If anyone on board had issues with his chosen attire, they were doing a good job at keeping it to themselves.

Speaking of those onboard, Trazu was aware Dolash had invited someone else along: a new student to the Order. He hadn’t heard much about the man, as it wasn’t his business, but from what he had heard was that he was a former pirate seeking his own penitence. It made Trazu feel not so alone, knowing that were other former criminals seeking peace from the Order. He had chosen to keep his distance for the time being, not wanting to interfere with any training that may go on during the trip, but now he felt that maybe it would be appropriate to introduce himself: he had a feeling Marek had inquired about the reason for the trip.

Sure enough that was what they were discussing when he reached the main entrance of the cargo hold: the one area of the ship he imagined Dolash would be most comfortable in because of his height. The ‘newest’ passenger in the form of a Force Spirit did surprise him, but only because he wasn’t expecting one to be going along for the ride. Not wanting to interrupt the conversation, he leaned up against the wall of the cargo hold and remained silent, though all present were likely already aware of his arrival.

Throughout the majority of the trip, it had only been Dolash and Marek in the hold. Of course gradually, others began to arrive each one seeming to bring their own focus to the task at hand. Barris was the first to join in on the conversation concerning the mission as well as briefing Marek on a bit of who she was and the strange markings she bore. The second to enter the hold was a Trandoshan; undoubtedly Trazu is who it was. Zolar felt a sense of uneasiness about him and despite the possession he had under-gone previously, Marek could tell by the way he carried himself, that he'd seen his fair share of precarious situations. Funny how such types seem to always find each other. Marek gave the tall creature a nod, which was reciprocated.

Dolash spoke up addressing everyone in the hold, "It is important to note, for future reference, that wherever Barris wishes to travel we must bring her crystal along with her. She has become bound to a crystal of the type often used to focus force energy or lightsaber blades, which - along with the fact that she herself is not corporeal - means that Barris could well be kidnapped by someone simply grabbing the crystal and running with it, although I doubt anyone but a trained Force user could contend with the full will of a spirit of the Force."
His attention then turned to Marek and he spoke once again.

"The Force has a powerful effect on the weak-minded, the distracted, or the unawares - even if you are imprisoned and confined, it is your gateway to all life and it can be your tool of escape through gentle mental manipulation."

Marek was privy to this little secret even before he knew anything of the force. He knew just how to get those not quite quick enough in the mind to do exactly what he wanted them to do or at least make them think it was what they wanted to do, which he in turn benefited from. However, by heightening his ability with the force; it would be much more readily available and not as time consuming.

At about this point and time, Ian entered the hold and made his announcement.

"Hey everyone, We’re nearing the coordinates, and I'm getting the planet on sensors - so if you want to take this trip, better make sure we've got all the gear and some landing points for me, okay?"

Marek shot Ian a nod, mainly because it had been Ian who had led him from the bar back in Theed to the Jedi temple.

Zolar's line of sight was once again trained back on Dolash.

A small head peeked around a cargo container, she had found her way onto the ship without being noticed and was surprised the Jedi didn't see her. She surprised a laugh and just sat there for a few. Glad no one noticed I left the Academy, man! Six Jedi! I can't wait! she told herself. She'd been in training for quite some time now and had pretty much forgotten ALL of her military manners, but that didn't matter to her at all

She tucked in her padawan robe and made sure none of it showed, then kept herself in the dark and watched the others

"I hope everyone brought a good pair of hiking boots." She heard one of them say. She grimced at the thought, and wondered if she could still follow them, but after some thought she nodded to herself. Determined

Emerging from the ship once more, Marek was packing dual DL-18 blasters. He had purchased the weapons some years ago from a trader on Tatooine and they had just arrived by mail courier the day before the group embarked from Theed. Both weapons were securely fastened in their respected shoulder holsters, the sisters, as he liked to refer to them had saved his life more times than he'd care to remember.

"Alright," he announced once more checking to make sure that everything was secure on his person. He really hoped that he wouldn't be needing them on this trip, the sisters that is.

Surveying the area in which the craft had landed, it was obvious that it was some pretty rough terrain. The rigid landscape would be very difficult to navigate across, but by the looks of this group they weren't going to have too many problems, at least he didn't think so at the time.