[Naboo] The Journey of a Thousand Miles...

[Kyle Krogen]

...starts with but a single step...

The Valiant, an old XS-800 light freighter, flew over the green sphere of Naboo. It came in from the opposite side of the planet's major cities and headed straight for one of the most inhospitable places on the lovely planet, the Himotama Wilderness. This large patch of sandy barren landscape had been abandoned years ago after all its resources were mined. It had been rumored that the area had once been green and luscious but an imperial weapon test had reduced it to the wilderness it is today. There was no evidence behind the rumor but people had no trouble believing it because the Empire had done the same thing on countless other planets.

Almost exactly in the center of the Himotama Wilderness is a lonely mountain. It was short and stubby and very much like a hill except for its extreme rockiness. On the mountain was a structure, a temple. The original creators of the temple had disappeared long ago and the building had been a refuge for criminals for several years until recently. The building was old and damaged but it still stood strong. A large metal and crystal object sat at its peak, it appeared to be either an mark or the emblem of some ancient god. The object had remained throughout the temple's life. Somehow no one had ever removed it. It would catch the sun's light and cast a bright enough reflection for it to be seen for miles.

The Valiant set down on top of the mountain, just outside the temple. For several minutes nothing happened until, at last, the landing ramp descended and four humans trooped out into the warm sunlight. At the head of the group was Kyle Krogen and behind him strode his crew; Bandage, Axius, and Avvandak. The four looked around for a few minutes before Kyle called them all back together and then leading them into the temple. The air was old and musty inside but it was cool and offered them protection for the hot sun outside. Kyle showed them the many rooms, showing his plan for each of them. Some would be turned into living quarters while others were to be devoted to training and the practices of the force. At the end of the tour he brought them to the great hall that existed at the very end center of the temple. A raised dais sat in the middle with a great stone altar set upon it. An opening the roof let a direct beam of sunlight to fall on the altar. At last the reason for the object on the roof of the temple was clear. It was a ancient instrument designed for directing the sunlight into this chamber, "This will be out meeting room. Once we remove the altar we can extend the dais and place a circle of chairs on it. A council room if you will. Yes, this place is perfect," He turned away from the altar to face his companions, "What do you guys think?"

[Bandage]

Bandage looked about before speaking.

"The idea's grand, but won't the mirror pose as a problem? With it reflecting like it is, it will grab the attention of people that we do not wish to alert. The practical uses are great and all, but to me, it seems a beacon.....but who knows, maybe the reputation of the place will precede it, and the beacon will be unnoted."

Bandage's eyes wandered around, exploring the spacious room.

"But I must say, this place.....is magnificent.....awe-inspiring, even. No wonder this place was sacred. It looks.....and feels that way...."

Bandage's words failed him.

[Axius Keldara]

OOC: Avvandak will be out of the game for about 2 weeks due to annual training for the National Guard. Just thought you guys would like to know.

IC: Ax exited the ship with the others and followed them all as Kyle led them on the grand tour of the mountainous temple. The inside was just like the outside, rocky and dry, which, by the way, did nothing for Ax's skin, but other then that, it had a very odd feeling to it. Almost like it had been used for this same reason before it was abandoned; like it was welcoming the group with open arms to be used again.

“I like it." Ax said as after Bandage. “Feels kind of homey if you ask me. Well, not like my home, but still, kind of homey. The only thing it’s missing, I think, is some water." Ax said as he started walking around the room. “So this will be the new Jedi Council room huh? Wow, how cool!" He kind of said to himself. "Did you guys know that I'm related to Kit Fisto? You know, he use to sit on the Council back during the Clone Wars! Maybe I should to?" He said as an attempt at a joke. He knew that he would have to work for that position but still, that didn't mean he couldn’t joke about it.

[Kyle Krogen]

"I plan on removing the object from the top of the temple. It draws to much attention and should be taken down. We will probably leave it on the ground somewhere to give the illusion that it fell off, just in case anyone misses it and comes to see what happened. Its a miracle it hasn't fallen off before we came," Kyle said before turning to Ax, "Well, we could probably put a pool in somewhere if there isn't a ceremonial pool somewhere that we missed. As for the council: there won't be anyone sitting in it for a long time, neither me nor any of you. My hope is to find some other jedi of the proper rank to sit in the council. But in the meantime we will built it up and have it ready for them. Perhaps, one day, some of us will be strong enough to sit here," His eyes took a faraway gleam as he stared off into eternity.

When he snapped back he looked rather disappointed, "We are all of padawan rank. The council is for the Masters, oh well. It’s a nice dream, though."

[Bandage]

Bandage smiles.

"Hey, dreams can eventually come true......though my aspirations are not of the Council......"

Bandage moves to the exit to the chamber, looking outward, surveying the abandoned site.

".....I intend to find my place, my niche, if you will, in the Force, in the sceme of all things. Before, my place was as a doctor, taking care of the sick. That came to an end, and had to have done so for a reason. I may find out that reason with the larger implementation of the Force within my life. I may be destined to be a healer and warrior for the downtrodden, but then again, I may be made to do other things or go elsewhere......only the Force can answer my questions...."

Turning back to the exit, Bandage continues to gaze outward, to the darkness in the chambers.

[Axius Keldara]

Ax just smiled and continued to look around the room. "As far as a pool is concerned, it would be nice but it's not necessary. I was just joking, but I wouldn't complain if we did build/have one." He let out a small chuckle and then looked over at Kyle as he stopped behind the dais. "I agree though. We should remove it from its current place and lay it down somewhere outside the temple. The less attention we have on this place, the better off we'll be I say."

Moving out of the newly appointed "Council Room", Ax walked down one of its connecting halls. He passed several rooms, but each were as empty as the last, minus some stone work here and there. Realizing that there wasn't much to look at, Ax made his way back towards the others.

Over hearing Bandage's story about his past life and what he hoped to get out of the Force compelled Ax to share with everyone his past as well. Looking at Kyle and then to Bandage, Ax said, "You're a lone Jedi, you're a Doctor, and I am Gardener. What a team" He said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, it wasn't much, but I enjoyed it. It was odd when I first started because I always hated it. My mom use to make me do it as a kid, but the older I got the more I felt connected to the plants. Maybe not connected, I don't know. It's weird because I don't really know how to explain it. I've just always felt this kind of emotion sweep over me while tending to my garden as well as anyone else’s garden." Ax was sure everyone thought him a little crazy in the head now but he didn't care. It made sense to him and to him, that's all that matters.

[Bandage]

Bandage nodded slightly.

"I know how that is. It always felt right to help others. I wanted to help everyone. Including the Rebels. I also helped the Imperials when they were wounded. I would help everyone that came to me.....and in the end, it was that want to help others that lead to my "demise"...... and my birth as Bandage."

Bandage began to unravel the bandages on his arms, beginning his daily ritual of changing his bandages, starting with his arms.

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle was still standing in the same place, slowly tapping his finger against his chin. He was thinking, and deeply by the look of it, "A garden would be nice, but I don't know where we would put it. We can't put anything outside and risk someone seeing us. Already we've had the ship out there for too long. We need to explore the caves about a half mile away and see if any of them are big enough for the Valiant. After that we need to go into town and purchase some more speeder bikes or just a normal air speeder. We are going to need smaller vehicles that we can store here in the temple if we want to be able to get around at all."

He turned around to see Bandage removing his wrappings, "Ax, lets go unload all the supply crates from the ship and bring them into the temple. I don't want to have to carry them back later."

[Avvandak]

Avvandak's padded leather boots hit the stone surface of the main room with several rapid thuds as he approached the center and looked up. The glare from the enormous crystal shot through his eyesight and blinded him for a moment. "If the crystal were moved, the garden could go under the hole its lodged in right now. That'd give it sun and rain... That is, if it rains here."

Avvandak watched as Bandage performed his daily ritual. He extended his arm up and over his head and began to peel the bandages from his wounds. "I'll be fine without these." he muttered to nobody in particular as they fell to the ground, soggy with blood. Avvandak flexed in an exaggerated yawn and shuddered as the cool are whipped through his now minor wounds.

Avvandak pressed a wide palm against his lean muscled arms and suppressed the itch from his exposed wound, pulling it away to reveal no blood. His wounds were now light pink and crusted brown. "Never healed this fast..." he muttered once again to the audience that would listen.

He walked outside slowly, rolling his joints and stretching his muscles as he prepared to scale the barren heights of the temple...

[Morgoth Brimstone]

OOC: Sorry, this is Ax. I'm just to tired to switch over at the moment.

IC: "If the crystal were moved, the garden could go under the hole it’s lodged in right now. That'd give it sun and rain... That is, if it rains here."

Ax turned and faced Avvandak with his smile still stretched across his face. "I agree. Looks like the soil is good and this would make for a great spot as far as water is concerned."

Ax drifted off for a moment as he started visualizing the room once it was all finished. A garden, placed in the middle of the room with everything ranging from exotic flowers to plants found here locally and around it, the Jedi Council would sit and go about their day to day business and then on the rainy days, while the meetings were taking place, the Masters would sit back and watch the rain fall onto the plants and marvel at its beauty as old life would be renewed and new life born.

"Ahhh, beautiful..." Ax said mainly to himself. "We'll talk later Avvandak, but right now I've got to catch up to Kyle and help him out."

Darting outside of the temple, Ax made his way over to Kyle's ship and running up the ramp, found Kyle pulling out some smaller stuff from the cargo holds that needed to be moved into the temple. Picking up box, Ax looked over at Kyle, his dark, black eyes reflecting any and all light and said with a smile, "So, am I to call you Master now or is it just Kyle still?"

[Avvandak]

Avvandak shrugged his shoulders and shook his hands as his jacket fell to the ground beneath. He peered up the temple walls at the several holes and ledges etched into the sides. Avvandak observed his wounds and was astonished at how quickly he had recovered. His lean muscular figure was now shadowed with dark brown scabbing and faint traces of blood.

He walked closer to the wall and bent low at the knees, vaulting high from ledge to ledge at a moderate pace. His natural strength and light-weight bodyframe made it easy for him to move about the tall structure. Avvandak reached the top and came face to face with the large crystal on the rooftop. He slowly approached and slowly moved to his belly as he peeked his head through the pedestal that held it in place. He shouted down to his new friends, "Should I move it?"

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle grinned a weak grin, "No, Kyle will be fine. I am not a master, still a padawan remember. Someday I may be a master, but that day is far away. Kyle will do for now. Okay, lets get this stuff moved inside," Kyle said as he hefty a medium sized crate into his arms and headed out of the ship's belly, two similar size crates levitating off the ground and following after him as he went.

When he reached the outside he looked up to see Avvandak up at the top of the building, looking down at them. Kyle checked the distance between the ship and the temple, the height of the temple, estimated the weight of the glass 'finger', and added it all together, "Yeah, give it a good push, it can't be too sturdy, and be careful," Kyle yelled up to Avvandak before quickly trotting into the temple so not to get crushed. He set the crates down along the left all of the front chamber and then walked back to the entrance to wait for the glass 'finger' to come toppling down.

[Avvandak]

Avvandak grunted as he placed his leathery palms beneath the cusp of the crystal's framework. His body extended and before he knew it, his hands were free in the air and the crystel came toppling down the side of the temple. A sharp beam of light struck the dust that flowed through the air of the open chamber beneath. Avvandak looked down and grinned as he began to decend the colossal structure.

[Axius Keldara]

"I know, you've said that before." Ax said kind of shyly, as a child would when he knows he's done something bad. "I was just trying to make conversation. I realize you probably have the weight of the world on your shoulders right now, so I figure, if I can help take any of that weight off, then I will." He finished with a broad smile.

Picking up medium sized crate, Ax trotted down the loading ramp just in time to see the crystal land and puff up a nasty amount of sand that did not help Ax's, already dry skin, cope with this new terrain. Looking up to where the crystal use to be, after a few moments of coughing, Ax could see Avvandak climbing down the temples structure. Smiling, Ax just shook his head and continued towards the temple.

Walking through the halls, towards the main chamber, Ax caught sight of where Kyle dropped off the crates. Setting his down next to the others, Ax made his way back towards the entrance to stand next to Kyle. "Well, that's over and down with. What now?"

[Kyle Krogen]

"Now we leave it were it fell so we don't attract attention. If someone is passing by and notices that thing is no longer on the roof then they will probobly come in for a closer look. If they find it on the ground then they'll think a freak wind knocked it down, but if they look around and can't find it then they are likely to come in and investigate, and that is one thing we do not want. So let's just leave it there for now. Perhaps one day we'll move it, but that is not this day. Lets get the rest of the stuff out of the ship. After that we'll go scope out those caves I told you about. We need to get that ship hidden as soon as possible," Kyle said before stepping back out into the warm sunlight and back up to the ship. He got enough handful of crates and headed back inside. After that he went back out and climbed into the cockpit and started the pre-flight warm up while Ax unloaded the last of the crates, "Avvandak," Kyle shouted out a opened window in the ship, one that was normally bolted down and very, very shut, "You and Bandage can start cleaning the temple out while me and Ax go scout out a hiding place for this old bird. Okay?"

[Avvandak]

Avvandak grunted. He didnt like the idea he was being left behind but in his recovering state, he wasnt very light on his feet. "I'll let 'um know."

Avvandak threw a mock salute as he turned on his heel and sluggishly entered the abandoned temple. He approached his ever-wounded savior and spoke, "Ya know, I appreciate the help you gave me. If not for you, I'd be a mess. There's a chance I could be alive, but certainly not in such good spirits." Avvandak rose the right corner of his lips, revealing a slightly larger canine tooth, grinning as he shook the hand of the doctor. "Many thanks, Comrade."

[Axius Keldara]

Ax nodded and followed Kyle back to the ship. Picking up and stacking two crates on top of one another, Ax gave a grunt and hoisted them into the air. Slowly making his way back down the landing ramp, Ax, little by little, made his way past the fallen crystal, up the steps of the temple, and finally into the main chamber. Letting out a much needed sigh of relief, Ax placed his two crates down next to the ones he had brought in before and then sluggishly turned around and made his back to the ship.

Once inside, Ax walked up to the cockpit and plopped down next to Kyle. “Sorry, I’m not use to working in this kind of heat and not having a body of water near by to cool down in. I’ll get use to it soon enough, but to be honest, I’m rather enjoying myself."

[Bandage]

Bandage, having finished with rinsing his skin, and changing the bandages, he walks into the room where Avvandak was in. As he shook his hand and spoke, Bandage returned the shake, smiling.

"Hey, no problem, man. It's what I do best."

Bandage looked to the next few rooms.

"Let's get started on these rooms."

[Kyle Krogen]

"Glad to hear it," Kyle said as he strapped himself into his seat and fired the Valiant's engines up, "Hold on to your tenticles," He laughed before engaging the ship's vertical thrusters and lifting the ship up off the dusty top of the mountain, "Now, let's go scope out those caves," The ship shuddered a little and then headed off towards the other end of the wilderness area.

The trip took about five minutes with the engines at max. Before then rose a giant cliff face and the face of the cliff was dotted with many caves of various size. Kyle actived the scanners and tried to measure the many caves. His sensors could only pierce the front of the mouth and could not reach the back. In the end Kyle set the ship down and head out on foot towards the largest cave, a remote sensor held in one hand and several glow rods in the other.

The pair entered the cave and poked around a little. A few strange animals who had previously taken residence in the cave fled at the sight of the sentients. Kyle turned the remote sensor and took a reading of the cave. The front and neck of the cave was small and it led into a massive cavern in the back, "Wow," Kyle said in amazement as he witnessed the hugeness of the cave with the help of the glow rods, "This is big enough to house several ships," He poked around a bit more and then returned to examine the neck of the cave again, "I do believe teh ship will fit through this entrace, but only just. Let's even the odds a little," Kyle said with a wink before he reached to his belt and drew one of the two silver poles that hung there.

With the press of a button the pole humed a moment and then a brilliant amtheyst blade came to life. He moved about the cave cutting off stone growths, stalagmites, and other things that would be an obstruction to the ship. The process took fifteen minutes and the floor became littered with debris.

Kyle deactivated his sabre and reclipped it to his belt, "We can clean up the mess later. Let's just get the ship into the cave before someone sees it," And with that the pair headed back out into the warm sunlight. They fired the ship back up and flew it into the cave entrance. Kyle took it slow and careful, using the ship's forward light emmiters to see where he was going. Eventually they made it to the cavern in the back and set the ship down.

"That was exciting," Kyle joked as he turned the ship off, "Hey Ax, have you ever driven a speeder bike before?"

[Axius Keldara]

Honestly, Ax didn't think the ship would fit. It was a very tight squeeze even after Kyle had cut all the extra stone growths down, the ship still managed to scrape a little on the right side. Looking out into the room that now served as a hanger, Ax noted that it was a lot bigger then what he had previously thought, but just big enough for the ship. He figured it would due for now, but what if the rocks hanging above the ship decide that they want to fall down? What if the ship becomes damaged or something and they can't leave? Mental note: talk to Kyle about falling rocks...

Crossing his arms as he waited for Kyle to finish shutting down the ship, Ax spun himself around in circles while sitting in the co-pilots chair. Childish yes, but entertaining nonetheless. Stopping himself once Kyle had finished, Ax let a dizzy smile stretch across his face.

"That was exciting," Kyle joked as he turned the ship off, "Hey Ax, have you ever driven a speeder bike before?"

Ax's smile kind of just faded away. Speeder bikes? This was only his second or third time on a ship! What made Kyle think that he could possibly pilot a speeder bike? "I can't say that I have. I've seen people on the holonet ride them before but I've never seen one or ridden on one for that matter, in real life." He said, but quickly through in one last question before Kyle could answer "Why?"

[Kyle Krogen]

Kyle grinned as he led Axius to the back of the slumbering ship. Lights were turned off and a pair of tarps were removed to reveal two sturdy old speeder bikes, both of different design then the other. One was your average speeder bike while the other was closer to a swoop bike then the other way around, "Becuase unless you want to walk back we're taking these babies through the wilderness and back to the temple. Don't worry, flying one of these is as easy as falling off a log into a pit of rancors. You can take the speeder bike, which is easier to ride and has an autobalance setting, and I'll take the swoop, which is dangerous and prone to exploding at random times," Kyle said as he opened the rear hatch and fired the speeder bikes up. During the flight here he had fixed the bikes up and made sure they were in tiptop shape.

Kyle ran over the basics for Axius; pointing out where the accelerator, throttle, and brake were, and what their functions were and how to use them. When everything was finished Kyle handed Axius a pair of self seal, no strap flight goggles. Kyle grabbed a pair himself and pressed the goggles against his face, the suction cups sealing the plastic against his face to keep them in place, "So, do you think you understand the basics of speeder flying?"

[Bandage]

Meanwhile, at the monument, Bandage began cleaning. In started with using his lightsaber to hack away plants from the rooms, then sweeping away any remnants. But after finding a small nest of what looked like huge rats, Bandage decided to leave the rest alone, clearing up the rock and general debris. The rats would clean up the edible trash, making it easier to clean in the long run. Smiling as the rats nestled back into the nest while another rat when to rebuilding it, Bandage noted that they, despite his intrusion, didn't attack him. It was either size, or the fact that Bandage meant no real harm.

Bandage cleared out most of the debris into a chute in another room that would be easier to carry the burnable debris out, to burn it in another section of the wilderness to take attention away from their hideout. Bandage, reaching into the food kits, began to make himself a meal, using the energy from his lightsaber to heat the food. Taking a sip on his waterpack, Bandage stretched back, relaxing. It was the first time in a long time that Bandage had not only felt useful, but at peace with the galaxy. After eating his meal, he kicks his feet up, and relaxes, the waterpack in his hand as he closes his eyes and dozes off to sleep......