Twinkle (Complete)

[Rayna Eclipse]

In a distant land there once was a hero who bravely confronted evil in the name of freedom and all that is good. Vir Aequitas was his name and he was one of those known as a Jedi. In the inner core star system known as the Yoric System, he was the first Jedi, however, he was not the first Force user. A Sith had come and taken the Yoric System for himself and manipulted the people for his own power and amusement. Vir bravely left the system in search of training like that of the Sith and came upon the Jedi. He learned their ways and was able to discern Sith from Jedi. He returned to the Yoric System and confronted the Sith lord. The end result was that the system was freed from oppression but unfortunately, Vir suffered a fatal wound in the so called “Battle of Lights” at Sonne, Yoric, the capital city and planet, respectively, and died shortly after. His body was buried in the tomb in the equatorial region of Yoric and his writings of the Jedi way of life were preserved for so many generations to come.

[Rayna Eclipse]

Rayna twirled her green lightsaber and cut the head off another wooden figure and ended with a kick to the wooden figure adjacent to the first. Her breathing was regulated and her eyes showed no signs of anger, only a fierce intensity she found in the Force. She deactivated the blade and stared out into space in concentration.

“You did very well, an impressive time.” A man said as he stepped out from a hut where he had observed Rayna run the training course. A good time, but with some more practice, you’ll achieve your brother’s scores.

“Thank you father.” She said and bowed her head.

“Would you like to come with me?” He said and turned to walk out the arboretum.”I’m going to the tomb, to meditate.”

She squinted her eyes as if she was trying to catch her father in a lie. But he never lied. “I’m honored.” She said spoke no more. She had only been to the tomb twice in her life, once as a young girl, then again in her early teens. It was the tomb of her ancestor from thousands of years before, where the name Aequitas was born.

Rayna was an avid reader of the works of Vir Aequitas, she adored the man and his devotion to both the Force and the moral good. He amazed her, to say the least, and she worked everyday in hopes of achieving anything close to what he had. That meant being nominated and accepted into the White Moon, which was the succeeding organization of Vir Aequitas and his way of life. It was a very exclusive group; there were even very admirable members of her own family, carrying the name Aequitas, that were denied membership. It was a daunting task to attempt joining it, but she would do it in due time.

They approached the wall of the tomb where two White Moon guards stood, halting their movement. Her father and the guards exchanged looks for a moment and then the guards let them pass, eyeing Rayna very carefully as they did. She stepped past the thick wall and into the beautiful courtyard. She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face; it was as beautiful as she always remembered. Her eyes followed the red tiles to the center piece of the circular courtyard where the emblem of the White Moon was. It gleamed in its white and silver glory, reflecting the sunlight to the interior walls, lighting them up. Then she gazed back at the door, but only for a moment, though she wanted to look forever. It would seem inappropriate if she stared.

“Rayna, I need for you to sit here with me.” Her father said.

She did as her father asked and sat halfway from the emblem and the wall. She knew where this was going, her father was going to test her purity. She was nervous, she had just finished with a violent exercise and she was fearful of any of the intensity of the fight transforming to excitement, ill will, or even anger.

“You know what this is.” He said as he met her on the tiles.

“I do.” She replied carefully.

“Yes...” He replied. “You are a Jedi Knight, Rayna, and you have accomplished very much; I am very proud of you. You have brought good things to our name, and I’m sure many more to come.” He said but drifted off focused in the Force.

Her eyelids felt heavy and soon shut as she surrendered her consciousness to the Force. It was like a state of calm meditation with her mind as free as it could ever be. It was also open for anyone to look around, namely her father, who was searching for any sign of impurity.

[Rayna Eclipse]

Her eyes opened as she jolted back to reality. It was dark now and it seemed her father was done with the purity test. Always after the test she felt awkward as she assumed the results to be bad, she couldn’t help it, she felt it prepared her for the worst. But then again she never met the worst, she never got the results. As she glanced around the courtyard, she was stunned at how beautiful it was at night. She had never been there at night before; the moonlight was stunning. She was so absorbed in the beauty that she didn’t notice the figure in the silvery white cloak standing behind her father. She didn’t know who it was, at least not the face. She assumed it was a senior member of the White Moon. She cast her sight to the ground as to avoid staring. With the Force she could tell her father and the senior member were having a conversation by means of telepathy, but she wasn’t invited, so she stayed out.

“Rayna, I want you go home now. I am going to stay here for a while longer.” Her father said and stood up as she did. They parted ways without a goodbye.

[Rayna Eclipse]

A good rest was a most welcome one as she had a long day of training and exercise the day before, not to mention the mental stress of the purity test. Regardless, she woke up early and began to study the writings of Vir Aequitas. Her mind kept lingering back to the man in the white cloak, she had never seen one before, she didn’t even recognize the face. She scolded herself silently as she forced her attention back to the writings.

“Rayna!” A shouted rebounded off the outside of her door followed by strong knocks. She recognized the voice as one belonging to Je’hir Nemos. A friend of hers and ally in Tantum Reise, which was a group of both Force users and not, aliens and humans, bound together with the goal to defeat Sith power. Rayna threw a cloak hanging from the coat hook and threw it around her, hiding her indecency, as she had just awoken from bed moments earlier.

“What is it?” She asked, opening the door. She couldn’t help but notice a slight urgency in his voice.

“Something happened out on Nar Shadda.” he panted. “It was Sith. I guess- I guess they just took out the whole sector of leaders.”

She wanted to scream and demand answers. There is no emotion... She told herself calmly. “Is it just the leaders, or were other agents hurt?” She asked.

“I don’t know the details... you better just come with me.”

She nodded, “Alright. Let me get dressed.” and shut the door.

[Rayna Eclipse]

“Most of you have heard about the crisis on Nar Shadda.” An elderly man said from the center of the small cone shaped theater. “For those who have not, I shall tell you. Yesterday there was a strike against us at Nar Shadda and all but two of our leaders were killed. One is missing in action. The one who survived spoke of two Sith, which have been identified as the Knight Southstar and his apprentice Kathrine. The details are long and all of you have access to the filed report. We are not here to discuss what happened, but rather what we must do.”

The group of people were silent, but Rayna could pick up a feeling of anger and even hatred towards the Sith. “We should take our revenge!” One shouted and got quite a satisfactory roar from the crowd. She stayed silent for the moment.

“No.” She said loudly and stood up. “Revenge is their way. As is anger,” She stared out at the crowd and singled in on the man who shouted out earlier. “And so is hate.”

“What do you want us to do? Sit back and take it?” The man said astounded at Rayna’s reaction. For the moment he seemed to be speaking for the entire assembly.

“No. I did not say that. This situation has proven to us that time is of the essence and that if we are to act effectively, we need act now before another tragedy befalls us.” She did not receive a roar of applause, but she caught the accepting look of the leader at the center.

[Rayna Eclipse]

“That was brave of you to speak up like that.” Jat Peerious, leader of the Tantum Reise, said. “They are very angry at this turn of events.”

Rayna nodded. “Some of them don’t understand that this isn’t just a fight against Sith rule. It’s a fight against their ideology.”

“Your words are very true.” He said and nodded his head. “I would love to continue talking with you, Rayna, but my duties call me to depart.”

“Understood.” She smiled. “I will see you tomorrow for planning.” They bowed and Rayna exited the building.

[Rayna Eclipse]

*Later that night*

Rayna would remember this day for the rest of her life, she knew that once she realized what was happening. It was dark out and she had been meditating for hours on the disaster at Nar Shadda and then she found herself being directed in way through the Force. Her mind couldn’t concentrate, but the meditation was not broken. With her mind swimming, she stood up and left the house with the only excuse for doing so was that she felt compelled to.

Before long she had found that her compulsion had lead her to the tomb of Vir Aequitas. The compulsion seemed to dull and fade from her mind. As she came to, she found herself surrounded by a circle of men in the same white-silver robes as she had seen the previous night. One stepped forward, and as he did she struggled to keep her excitement down.

“My dear daughter,” The familiar voice said. “You have done many admirable things in your lifetime. The White Moon has been watching you grow in hopes of adding your to their ranks when the time is right. The council has determined that time is now.”

She wanted to express her honor, but struggled to find words.

“If you will please sit down, miss.” Another man said and presented a simple chair.

She sat down as asked and soon found herself weary, as if she was entering back into a meditative trace while sleeping. Her last thoughts were knowing that she was going to be tested for her purity once more.

[Rayna Eclipse]

The morning came, it was the second day in what seemed to be a trilogy of extraordinary events. She was in a bit of a hurry, as Jat Peerious had notified her that her presence was needed. She didn’t arrive a second late at the assembly building and found Jat waiting patiently for her.

“Rayna! Glad you make it so early. Now if you’ll come with me, the others are waiting.”

She agreed and followed Jat down a myriad of hallways to a conference room towards the back of the building. Once she entered the room she found another man and an alien woman. “Please have a seat.” The alien woman said.

She did as she asked. “And for what reason do you call me here?”

“Rayna,” Jat started “You are aware of the crisis. We thought we could stay an undercover operation longer than this, but with the increased arrest and now Sith Knight involvement.. It’s time to take a new course of action.”

“I agree.” She said, eager to hear more.

The other man stood up. “We have several hundred secret agents working within the heavily occupied areas of Sith controlled space. Where’s their control was lax on Nar Shadda and we could stage bases there, most of the area is watched heavily and the people have been brainwashed to support Sith rule. We have some Force users in strong holds, but what we wish to attempt to do is unheard of.”

The Force and her instinct told her what the man was going to say next.

“We wish to infiltrate the Sith themselves. We are asking you to help us Rayna.”

“You are asking me to infiltrate the palace, correct?” She said very calmly.

“Correct.” He echoed.

“I am a Jedi Knight, I have committed myself to the light and to attempt to fit in with those lost in the darkside... Do you no think I will stand out?” She asked. “Not to mention what the exposure to such beings would do to my soul.” She couldn’t help but get worked up over the idea. The White Moon had just deduced that she was pure.

“We understand the difficulties and conflicts involved. But they won’t accept a non-Forcer, and someone of the darkside can not be trusted.” Jat protested.

Emotion raged through her and she condemned herself silently for it. “If any Jedi was to attempt concealed entry into the Sith world, it would require that they are capable of hiding their true ties to the Force and fabricating a set of falsities that would not be able to be detected as such by any Sith at any level. Such a thing has never been conceived of.”

“Mistress Rayna, we are of the understanding that you are master of the illusionary.” The alien said.

“I do think that ‘master’ is hardly the word.”She was getting snappy now, the past days stress and her own lack of self-control were the only causes she could find for it. “I am skilled in it, however.” She conceded.

“I am confident in you abilities.” Jat said and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She sighed. “I will have your answer by morning.” She said and stood up.

[Rayna Eclipse]

The night was a difficult one and she spent much time lying awake, her mind in shambles. That night she had another meeting with the elders of the White Moon and she informed them of what was asked of her. They seemed rather unhappy with the turn of events as Rayna was placed in a most difficult position. The obvious was that her initiation would have to wait, if she did accept the mission from what Tantum Reise asked. But then there was the mingling with Sith and pretending to be one. It would leave a mark upon her soul that would take years to erase and then there was the possibility, as one of the elders had warned, that she might never be as pure as she was. At that point, before the council, it seemed like a choice between eternal hell or heaven.

Drearily she stepped into the courtyard of Vir Aequitas’ tomb. As promised, she would speak to them of her decision before going back to Tantum Reise to inform them. Nearly all of the silver-white robed men were there, eager to hear her decision.

“Honorable members of the council of the Order of the White Moon: I after careful consideration I have come to my decision regarding my dilemma. I will aide Tantum Reise in their quest to rid the galaxy of Sith oppression. I feel that the Force has presented me with this task and I will embark on it with earnest.”

[Rayna Eclipse]

OOC: My mistake