Brave New Worlds: I am not good at this how did I get here.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan was barely keeping his table manners. He was hungry. Sure, he chewed with his mouth closed, and his bites were only a little too big, but he wasn't waiting to ask for things to be passed around. Instead, he'd take advantage of his long frame and large hands, and aquire his desire himself. He didn't start slowing down until he had cleared two large plates.

Rhianna looked surprised and amused.

"Haven't eaten since yesterday, remember?"

Serena was doing the patience/calm combination that baffled him at times, but right now, there was fooood. That precise reason was why Serena had said "after." She had quickly learned talking to the slicer if he had skipped a meal was a waste of breath.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?" he asked. They hadn't talked much since Laprovik had come on board, except when she was checking on Rhianna.

[Serena Laran]

Serena watched Morgan eat with a look of slight amusement on her face. She'd never seen someone enjoy their food quite as much as he did, and he ate fast, too. Rhianna was still nudging the unfamiliar food around her plate but Serena had barely managed to finish one helping in the time it had taken Morgan to eat two.

"Yes, I do want to talk to you. In the briefing room, before you were excused. What is it you were muttering about?" She raised a red eyebrow, and sipped her water.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan’s face went blank. What a strange question.

“That? I was calculating a hyperspace jump. Something to pass the time. Enough 3d math to fill the head instead of worrying about what I’m going to do next." He explained, while he gave a look at Serena that said she was weird. Why would you want to know that? It was the mental equivelent of twirling a pen across two hands precisely and quickly.

[Serena Laran]

As she'd thought. Very interesting.

"You do know that it is virtually impossible to do a calculation like that in your head. For a normal human, at least. And most aliens." Serena paused, "You do not look to be over half Verpine, so I will have to assume you're at least mostly human."

[Morgan Evanar]

"I did not know that." He said.

"The part where I'm not supposed to be able to do that much math in my head. I don't communicate at radio frequency with a hive mind, so I know I'm not Verpine. They tell the best math jokes."

[Serena Laran]

She smiled, "Well, having a hive mind makes it easier to store the necessary knowledge and to do calculations at an advanced speed. But there is a reason why we use nav computers.

"I don't have it with me, but there is something I'd..."

Her voice trailed off as another conversation started up at a nearby table. Three rebel operatives were having dinner, and poring over a stack of datapads. "It was only a matter of time before the new regime decided to make a stand on the issue."

The woman speaking sounded shocked, "But children? Babies even? I can't imagine the monsters who would destroy them simply for the possibilty that they might one day be able to use the Force."

The third grunted, "Dren happens. We need to figure out how to get our hands on their testing equipment though."

Serena blinked, and refocused on Morgan for a moment before turning towards the trio of Rebels. "Excuse me, are you saying that the Empire has a method of testing for Force ability and they are using it to... against children?"

The last speaker nodded, "Yes indeed, Madam Jedi. That's exactly what we're sayin'. We don't have the resources to possibly save all the children that may be affected by this new purge - it seems the Empire is determined to erradicate the universe of the possibility of all future Force users."

The woman broke in, "As Danell said, we are trying to get our hands on their testing equipment, and perhaps save some of the children before the Empire can find them. But its a huge job, and we don't even know where they're doing the tests."

Morgan snaked some food off of Rhianna's plate while the girl was trying to follow Serena's conversation. The Jedi Knight frowned, Morgan forgotten for a moment. "I have Jedi testing equipment on my ship, Serenity. If there is any way I can be of help..."

[Rhianna]

"I saw that.."

Rhianna swiveled in her seat and smirked at Morgan who was at present scarfing down.. she had no idea what. These people ate the most unusual food. She was used to everything being fresh from the forest, roasted in a pit or turned over an open flame. She'd have to cook for Morgan sometime, he clearly didn't know what real food was.

She couldn't follow the conversation, it was just too fast for her and she was just too tired. Yawning she rose from her seat and shoved her mostly untouched plate towards Morgan. "Eat. I just can't.."

"Forgive me, Sámh. I have to go find a bed. I just can't seem to stay awake anymore. She gave her most trusted friend a hug around the shoulders from behind along with her apology. I'll see youu both in the morning."

She waved and was off to find a bed.

[Morgan Evanar]

He waived goodbye to Rhianna, waited until she was gone, and the assaulted her plate.
“It might give you an idea of what to look for, at least.” He said, with only crumbs left behind.

Morgan shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Nah, that’s not a bad idea. We have some stuff to sort through first. You’re going to be around for a little while, right Madam Jedi?” Danell asked.

“Yes.” Serena said. Everyone at the table looked a little more hopeful.

“You may have just given us a start.” The women said, her eyes lighting up.

Serena returned to the table.

“You were saying something?” He said.

[Serena Laran]

"Yes, I was. It actually had to do with that testing equipment I mentioned." She smiled, almost mysteriously.

"I should make sure that it still works after all these years. Do you mind helping me - ? It is a blood test, simple only if you know what to look for." She was placing all the empty plates onto one tray as she spoke. "I need a sample to compare my results against."

[Morgan Evanar]

"Sure." Morgan didn't see any harm in it.

He followed Serena back into Serenity. The Jedi told him to wait in the small mess area. After a few minutes she came back with a sturdy unmarked metal case.

"I'm going to draw blood." She said. Morgan shook his head.

"I'd better do it. No one ever jabs me hard enough." Serena looked a little confused, but allowed him to take the syringe. He looked at it, dissapointed. It was one of the microcluster designs that collected blood from an area just below the skin, with minimum pain.

"I'm going to need a proper needle, like for a Gammorean or a Wookie."

"Why?" She asked.

"I dunno. Those never work." Morgan explained, finding a metal-needle equiped syringe.

"This sterile?" He said, dipping it briefly into alchohol.

"It should..." Morgan jabbed himself in the forearm with surprising violence, and little to no reaction. There was a quiet whirr while a small motor drew blood until the vial was full. "...be." She shot him a look that what he did was very foolish. Morgan became impulsive and sometimes impatient when he was bored, she noticed.

[Serena Laran]

Her lips tightened, but she accepted the vial back, placing it in the case on the soft foam padding that lined the lid. "Now for mine..." Serena pressed her index finger onto the collecting pad. A minimal amount of blood was drawn.

"Only a small amount is needed for the test - the system is relatively advanced. Or was considered so, twenty years ago." She picked up a flat oval shaped device with a liquid plasma readout screen and touched the collecting pad to a matching area on one end of the gadget. After a moment the screen registered a number - 12,117.

Morgan looked at her questioningly. "These numbers represent something microscopic in my blood. They used to be called midichlorians by the Jedi temple. The higher the count, the more powerful the Force user."

"Do all beings have these... things in their blood?"

"Yes. Somehow they attune us to the Force: the energy that is in and around everything in the galaxy. There were many theories about midichlorians, but the only thing known for certain is that there is a direct correlation between a high count and Force sensitivity." She cleared the screen and reset the device for Morgan's sample.

"Children were chosen to be trained as Jedi only if they had a count of seven thousand or higher. Your average human would most likely have a count much lower than that - in the nine hundred to one thousand range.

"Yours should be right around that - " Serena placed a drop of Morgan's blood on the receptical and activated the scanning device.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan stared at the device as the numbers took a moment to count up.

He stared at the result without saying anything for a minute.

"I think it's broken, because that's waaaay over a thousand. It's got an extra one in front of it." The display read 13,029.

[Serena Laran]

Serena looked at the numbers calmly. Then she looked at Morgan, who looked at her, and then back to the scanner. "Hmm."

She cleared the screen, and repeated the test, just to be sure.

13,029

Morgan was looking at her with vague suspicion. She placed the device on the table, and folded her hands in front of her. "Morgan, have you been unusually lucky before? Have things happened around you that you cannot explain? Perhaps when you are upset or angry?"

[Morgan Evanar]

"I've been unusually unlucky lately. But somehow I'm not dead yet." Morgan said with unshakeable certainty.

"Aside from the fact that I've grown back a finger and my feet are shaped funny, no." He did not mention that he could deadlift 200 kilos. While Morgan was in obviously good shape, he didn't look nearly bulky enough to accomplish such a feat. He also weighed an extra 25 kilos over what he looked like he should.

"I don't think that has anything to do with midichlorians." he added. "Just that, physically, I'm a freak. So you know."

[Serena Laran]

She raised her eyebrows, "You have grown back a finger? Fascinating. But I would agree, that does not seem to have to do with the Force."

Serena set about cleaing up and repacking the kit. "Still, your count is high enough to make your Force potential greater than my own, and I have yet to reach the fullest extent of my abilities." She looked at him, "What do you think about that?"

[Morgan Evanar]

"Har har har." He said. Serena was serious.

"I dunno. I was pushed off a building once. On Nar Shadda. I think." Morgan's voice was full of doubt. To this day, he still had no idea what really happened, only that he woke up somewhere else.

"You're serious aren't you." He felt terribly uncertain of his role in the universe now.

[Serena Laran]

"Very serious, Morgan." The kit clicked shut, and she returned her full attention to the young man across from her. "You have some decisions to make now.

"Such as, do you want to pursue Jedi training... or not?" She had no intention of allowing him to leave, not knowing what she did. He seemed to have a pure heart, but if he fell to the dark side at a later date it would be unacceptable. "I am already training Rhianna to use the Force, and I can do the same for you. If you wish it."

[Morgan Evanar]

He slumped onto the table. His chin rested against the smooth surface and he stared at the now-closed case on the table.

"Can I think about it?" he said, and straightened up before settling his cheek against his knuckles.

'I'm worried that this would get frelled up too. Not much has gone right in the past six months."

[Serena Laran]

Serena nodded, "Of course, take the time you need. But consider this: what you considered to be misfortune may have simply been the path to bring you to this moment."

She smiled gently, sensing his doubt. "I need to take this kit to Danell as soon as possible. Walk with me?"

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan followed Serena. He thought about what she said for a moment before forumlating a reply:

"I think that the universe is a sonofahutt."

[Serena Laran]

She laughed, "Sometimes it seems like it." Inside the rebel frigate, she kept walking, following the woman's directions she'd gotten in the mess hall to their lab. It was about a ten minute walk.

"You already have shown some latent Force abilities - the calculations you did in the briefing room. Surviving a fall that should have killed you. Learning to use the Force will only... up the odds to your favor." She shrugged, "Though I do not believe in luck."

[Morgan Evanar]

"I don't know what to believe any more." He shook his head.

"Odds don't have anything to do with luck, just probability. I never really bothered with the concept of fate or lack thereof. I just don't care one way or the other. We end up dealing with the present if fate exists, or if the universe is a pseudo-random collection of events influenced by individual decisions and physics."

"So, what do you do with the Force. I never really heard anything about the Jedi, except from my grandparents, who said they were great diplomats and their loss was a blow to everyone. They were diplomats, so I guess that might skew their perception."

[Serena Laran]

"I am a healer. On the planet where I was living - Rhianna's home - the people called me ise nach sláinte, 'she who heals,' and they considered me a banfáith." She touched the silver armbands she wore, adding, "These were given to me as a gift for healing the son of one of the chieftains."

They halted momentarily, waiting for a turbolift. "When I first met Rhianna she had been fatally wounded by a blaster bolt. Scouttroopers had killed her entire extended family, and she was going to be next, though they intended to keep her alive just long enough." Her voice had an edge to it he'd never heard before. "I could not save her family, but I saved her, and I healed her wound.

"And then the planet was no longer safe for us." The 'lift arrived, and they entered, turning to face the sliding doors, and she got herself back to his question. "I did some diplomatic work as a young knight, towards the end of the Clone Wars. I have used the Force to protect myself, and others.

"The Jedi were not only great diplomats - many of them were great warriors as well."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan knew from experience he was a capable fighter, but it didn’t hold special appeal. Sure, hitting things could be a stress reliever, but he didn’t usually enjoy hitting people.
“There isn’t much fact about the Jedi left. Most of it’s heresy or propaganda. I think I met one at Star’s End.” He shook his head.

“This is ridiculous. I went from escaping Star’s End after being sold out by my fence, meeting a Jedi there, being rescued by the same Rebel agents that you just met, and then standing in a turbolift with a Jedi.” Morgan chuckled.

May as well join the Rebellion and get trained as a Jedi.”

[Serena Laran]

She smiled too. "If that is what you want, we can start training as soon as you are ready.

"This Rebel Alliance is important to the galaxy. The New Order... this Empire that you know so well..." Serena shook her head, small lines appearing between her eyebrows. "The Rebellion is on the right side of this fight, and I think you know it."

[Morgan Evanar]

"I have no idea when I'm going to be ready to learn, so may as well just jump in the pool." Morgan said.

"I'd rather have the Rebellion running things than the Empire, yeah. At least they seem to be aiming for some sort of elected system instead of a totalitarian regime. I've tried really hard to stay clear of galatic politcs because I didn't want to give anyone a reason to shoot at me on a regular basis." He sighed.

"When you're on Nar Shadda organized goverment doesn't really exist, and it's more an issue of dodging organized crime. I've got trust issues with large organizations."

[Serena Laran]

Serena smiled wryly as the turbolift dinged and they exited into a new passageway. "I also have trust issues with large organizations. I do not intend to sell myself into the Alliance blindly, nor do I intend to enter politics or command troops.

"But there are some things at stake here I cannot ignore." She lifted the case she was carrying. "The testing and extermination of infants and children, for one. Training up the next generation, the new Jedi Knights, for another."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan shook his head.

"I haven't had anyone with clarity in my life since my Mom got hit by that speeder. I was just sort of surviving. You remind me of her, just... less emotional, but with the same sort of drive for doing something right. I apreciate your patience, and that you understand my attitude. I think. Nar Shadda doesn't exactly breed hope. I've gotten really good at looking the other way." Morgan looked frustrated.

"I'm still hesitant. Everything that place taught me says that it's not my business and it's just going to get me killed. But hell, after being sold out, sitting around is going to get me killed. So it's not easy for me to throw my fist into the air and rally behind anything that isn't directly related to me. But if I'm gonna do it, I may as well do it for a good cause."

[Serena Laran]

She sensed his pain when he spoke about his mother - an old memory, but one he hadn't gotten completely past yet. "If this galaxy is to have any new hope, I think that the rebirth of the Jedi order is one of the only things that can bring it." Serena touched his shoulder as they stopped outside of Danell's lab, calming his ragged internal emotions just a bit. He was full of confusion, and frustration, but there was a tiny flame of hope and anticipation making itself known.

"This will take a minute - I need to demonstrate the equipment for the agents. And I want to find out what they know about this new testing agenda of the Empire."

[Morgan Evanar]

"Sure." Morgan settled against the corridor wall, taking a deep breath. This was a lot to deal with all at once. The Empire had a plan for killing children in a genocidal sweep based on midicholorians, because they had potential to be Jedi. Serena seemed confident that having the Jedi reborn would be a big help to the Galaxy's woes, but he wasn't certain. The Imperial propaganda had swayed a lot of people, and they considered them the downfall of the Republic. It might be best to keep Jedi behind the scenes until... something. Besides, being a Jedi was a death sentence right now.

For Morgan, being Morgan was probably a death sentence, so what difference did it make? If he worked to become a Jedi, at least he would learn something new. It would probably have made his mom proud, and that would be a good thing to shoot for. Thinking about it that way made things easier.

[Serena Laran]

About ten minutes passed, and Morgan was starting to get restless when Serena rejoined him in the passageway. The kit had been replaced by a datapad - "All the information they have on the Imperial's agenda." She held it up momentarily.

"Unfortunately, it isn't much. It seems that the purge has already begun - in Imperial run orphanages."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan winced sympathetically.
"I think I'm going to be sick. Do we know which ones?" He knew how he would approach this. If he could get the right keywords and the right database, he would be able to give them a good place to start on tracking this operation down.

[Serena Laran]

She shook her head, "Danell didn't seem to know yet - they're trying to slice into the database though the holonet but security is tight."

Serena frowned as they approached the turbolift. "Something is not right."

"What is -" Morgan was interrupted by claxions blaring and a few crew members piled out of the turbolift in front of them to run to their stations.

"I am not sure." She frowned. "We should find Agent Van-Derveld or Belargic." The turbolift closed behind them as they entered.

[cont <a href=/forum/showthread.php?threadid=40593#post767758>here</a>]