Broken Dreams

[Serena Laran]

I walk a lonely road
The only one I that have ever known
Don't know were it goes
But its home to me and I walk alone



I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone



I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone



Serena Laran, Jedi Knight of the Old Republic, looked in the mirror. Lines scored her skin around her eyes, and she brushed out her long, red hair slowly as she caught what little time she had to herself. Rhianna and Morgan were in the main living area of her ship, playing dejerik. Morgan had won three games in a row, but Rhianna was learning quickly. The girl had a sharp mind, and her Basic improved every day.

The Jedi rubbed between her eyes, smoothing out an imagined line between her eyebrows. The stress was beginning to get to her. She had learned much in exile, about people and about leading people, but she was not prepared to head the ...the New Jedi Order. The Jedi Enclave. But who else remained?

No one.



My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
Till then I walk alone





Loklorien s'Ilancy had been in touch with her once since the woman had left with the smuggler Sanis Prent over a month ago. Vortex, she had said. The grassy and windswept planet of the Vors' was the best match to the parameters she and Serena had discussed. Laran tended to agree, but still she hesitated. To begin to put down roots would be the best thing, and she hoped that s'Ilancy could bring others to her. To the Jedi.


Daria Nytherciria and her padawan might also join her, but Serena was not sure if the other Jedi could ever settle in one place. It would be best for the boy to have some stability, but on the other hand, it was best for him to be with his master. Daria would provide whatever stability he needed as she taught him the Force and traveled.

She braided her hair, pulling her fingers through the thick portions as she thought. The Jedi Council could not help her. They didn't exist any more. It was terrifying to think that whatever decisions she made might damn or save the Jedi. But was it not only vanity to think that her decisions could affect the will of the Force?




I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the border line of the edge
And where I walk alone



She knew the dangers of giving into fear. But for a few moments in the refresher, Serena could feel it creeping up on her, clutching at her throat and threatening to overwhelm. She took deep breaths, drawing on the Force to relax and calm her. What would be would be. She had her duty to live by the Code - to teach others to do the same.


She still believed that the Jedi Order would be renewed, and that she would be instrumental in it. Didn't she?



Read between the lines of what's
Frelled up and everything's all right
Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive
And I walk alone.*



Serena checked herself one more time in the mirror, and then walked out of the refresher to where her padawans were engaging in a lively discussion around the gaming board.

* Boulevard of Broken Dreams, written by Green Day

[Daria Nytherciria]

Sometimes it seemed as if things would never be put to rights. It had been so many years now since the fall of the Jedi Order, so many years spent in the grip of uncertainty and anxiety – but she had adjusted. She had come to terms with the idea that things would never change, and now all of that had been thrown into contention once more. She had found, with the help of the Rebel Alliance, other Jedi whose intention it was to reunifying the wayward student of the light. She had been given a young boy to tutor as her Padawan, an orphan whose well-being had been thrust upon.

So many changes in so little time and yet... it was the will of the Force. Everything that transpired did so for a reason and she was not one to stand against the wheel of fate. They were all inexorably bound to their paths, and for the greater good she did not stray. At the centre of it all was the Jedi Knight Serena Laran, a woman who Daria had known only briefly yet already held a great deal of respect for. She had agreed to contact Serena on a regular basis, as a means of co-ordinating their efforts – though Daria had ulterior motive and often took solace in speaking with Laran, finding the elder Jedi's wisdom and greater experience reassuring.

Knowing that it was once again time to touch base with the other Jedi, Daria sat down in the cockpit of her ship alone, leaving Wyl to his meal. Slowly, feeling her heart rate quicken, she entered the key-code for the encrypted frequency which she and Serena were using to communicate with one another on this occasion.

[Morgan Evanar]

“Well, you said to not go easy on you.” Morgan said. Rhianna nodded.

I did. But I think you are, even though I not win. I am not winning.” She corrected herself quickly.

“I just beat you three times.” Morgan folded his arms. Rhianna was right, though.

“But you do not play your best. Near end of game you um, comhardaithe the parts. You change strategies. Otherwise you just move piece and sometimes... trade.”

“True. If I played my hardest I would have beaten you in 10 moves on the third game. A bhí ann is dócha dochomhairleach a fháil ó uainiú. Serena told me to teach you how to play. You can't learn if you aren't playing.”

“Do not let me win.” She countered.

Morgan smiled. “bhí an duais tuillte go mór aige. This way is more interesting, too.”

“Oh, hello, Laran.” Sometimes he didn't feel like addressing the Knight by her first name, especially in a learning situation. Primary school did that.

[Rhianna]

"Déanta na fírinne, It is better if you do not let me win..." Rhianna grinned. She liked the game and understood how to play, but she wasn't as good with the strategy as she would like. In time she would get better she was certain.

She glanced up to see her mentor. "Hóigh Sáhm! Morgan is still winning, but I think I am..", she searched her mind for the correct phrase, "...getting it." She was very lucky to have two people who understood her sometimes very choppy Basic.

Rhianna's smile faded a bit. "Everything is alright..?"

[Serena Laran]

Serena smiled at her two students, and nodded in response to Rhianna's question. "Yes, everything is -" The Jedi paused in mid-sentence as the comm system chirped loudly, informing them that a transmission was coming through.

"Everything is fine. That must be Daria." She smoothed her robes, light beige and brown, with contrasting embroidery that she'd done herself while in exile. "Continue with your game - this won't take long."

Serena walked quickly up the short passage to the cockpit, and keyed in her passcode to accept the encoded transmission. "It is good to hear from you, Daria. I have been thinking about you and Wyl since we left you in the Dufilvian Sector. Is all well?"

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria closed her eyes and exhaled, feeling a sense of relief. There was always the chance that in the interim between their conversations with one another the other Jedi might be, somehow, captured. Thankfully, on this instance, that was not the case.

“I have been thinking about you and Wyl since we left you in the Dufilvian Sector. Is all well?” She had been thinking about her. It was odd to think that she was now an object of concern. It had been so long since anyone had paid her any attention or thought, without the ulterior motive of wanting her dead.

“Yes. Everything is quite fine,” she said. “How are things on your end?”

[Serena Laran]

"As well as can be expected, considering the circumstances." Serena sat back in the comfy pilot's seat, relaxing a little. "I recieved a comm transmission from Loklorien s'Ilancy, the other Knight I told you about. She has found a planet that she thinks would be suitable for hiding... concealing a Jedi school. An enclave of sorts - where Jedi could come and rest and learn."

She leaned forward, tapping some controls and bringing up Vortex's planet profile. "It is in the Ten Tempests System, Glythe Sector. Mid Rim." Serena looked at the holographic image of the green and blue planet - almost fifty percent water, the rest grassy plains. "I am going to visit it before I make any decisions, of course, but s'Ilancy said the locals are not friends of the Empire."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“A Jedi School?”

Although she had agreed to co-operate with Serena on the rejuvenation of the Jedi Order, she had not expected any developments to come so soon. It had been a long time since there had been an active academy for the Jedi. Daria wondered how such a thing would exist in the current socio-political climate.

“Should Wyl and I alter our course?”

[Serena Laran]

She'd thought about asking Daria to join her, as s'Ilancy would not be there and she wanted to get another Jedi's thoughts on the planetary situation. In the end she had not been able to decide if she would ask or not, but the Force nudged her and gave her an opening in the conversation. Serena smiled, "It is, of course, up to you. But I would be quite pleased to have your opinion on the place before I decide. Before we decide."

The Jedi looked down at a piece of flimsy on which Morgan had scribbled hyperjump transit times that he'd computed in his head. She'd had him do it as an exercise, and had put Vortex down as one of the destinations. "After we make the jump into hyperspace, it will only take us eight point three five standard hours to reach the system, and another hour or so at sublight." She was not going to ask Daria where she was, or tell her exactly where Serenity was located. The security risk of their conversation being intercepted by an Imperial listening post (no matter how remote the possibilty) was too high.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan waited until Serena had disappeared into the cockpit. He turned back to Rhianna.

"She's not entirely alright, you know." He said with a low, sad tone.

Rhianna was taken aback. "Céard?" She asked, her face full of disbelief.

"Her people, except for a few, are all gone. She's been lonely for a long time. Sometimes she doubts if her people will ever come about again."
Rhianna shook her head. Sáhm was...

"Sáhm es daonna." Morgan said with emphasis. "But she's very strong. I think she will be alright, eventually."

[Rhianna]

Loss was something Rhianna understood all too well. In a single day she had lost her entire family, right before her eyes. If it hadn't been for Sámh, and the will of the Abhairt Saoil she would have perished with them, after being brutalized by the Imperial coimhthíoch's that had suddenly appeared on her homeworld, Dhomanda A'lainn. Her family had been gunned down for no reason other than the Imperials had been too long stranded on the isolated and peaceful planet, and were looking for a bit of sport. It had been over before it had even begun, a slaughter of innocents.

Her heart was swollen with sadness everytime she thought about it. The only thing that made the pain go away was remembering that somewhere her Grandmother was still alive and would be proud to know that Rhianna was continuing her training.

"I understand. Athaontú teaghlach.. You and Sámh are my clann now. I only want to help her.."

Rhianna wasn't one to dwell on dark thoughts, her Gran had told her that it would make her ill as a child and she believed it. She had, however lost interest in the game. She tucked her feet up in the chair and hugged her knees to her.

"When will we go to this new world..?"

[Ira Yahff]

"Nenten...no."

The grumble upset the ship's silence. All throughout the vastness of Mid Rim space there wrestled a quiet humbleness that other rims couldn't counter. Planets were docile, and careful. The Empire had stretched it's arm across, claiming it's chips on the board, but refugee was also found within the middle ground. Anxiety calmed itself on the balancing fields as battles raged about the Outer and Inner Rims with an indefinite that few civilians could rely on.

Few planets were spared of the Galactic Civil War, even those tranquil. Ithor had been pierced with insolence and ignorance, leaving the Alliance to take a subtle stand. Even the slightest amount of courage could deter foolishness, and Jehkran had accomplished something.

Before the Empire could trample the private grounds of Ithor's floor, the plan had been offset. Yet, all hadn't unfolded without a crease. Fuel was necessary for the lengthy leaps and bounds to the frigate of his departure, and Ithor had turn too dangerous for such heavy supplies.

Jehkran had to flee. Find grounds to rest his jets before the little bug hit the stars again. There was no certainty that he hadn't been tracked, and to escape the face of the Empire required information and skill. Planets with their name stamped anywhere near could create problems, and finding a place without such an insignia was a problem.

"Hmmm...nah," he said, refuting his own thought. Only a few sectors provided the privacy needed, and the Glythe seemed a nice pick.

"Vortex?"

[Finor Ztnnova]

Emptiness.

Darkness.

Silence.

Space.

This was all Finor Ztnnova saw as he looked out the cockpit of the stolen fighter. In a matter of hours things for Finor had gone from bad to worse. Bad consisted of being held captive by Hutts on Nar Kreeta. Worse would be escaping captivity by stealing a star fighter that just so happened to die out in the middle of space. All systems had failed except life support and that was only a matter of time…


The cockpit was dark except for a faint orange glow from the emergency power source. Something had to be done. He needed to find a way out of his floating tomb. “Think Finor, Think,” he said without panic. Technology had failed him. All that was left was his need for survival.

A solution came to him in a flash. It was a desperate move but these were desperate times. Finor calmed his breathing and reached out with his mind using the Force. “Someone hear me, someone…”

[Daria Nytherciria]

“I shall see you within the day, then.”

Looking back into the ship proper, she saw Wyl occupying himself with some game or another. It seemed that the time for play would soon be over, however. If they were to found a new Jedi Order, it would be a weighty undertaking. As far as Daria knew, there were only a handful of them together now... the last remaining Jedi. Looking back to the ships command console, the Jedi Knight altered their course, inputting new co-ordinates – Vortex.

[Serena Laran]

"Until then. May the Force be with you." Serena terminated the transmission, and sat in silence for a moment before she turned her attention to giving the navicomp the coordinates for Vortex. Setting it to work, she spent a few minutes in quiet meditation until it burped up the jump vectors.

Serena flicked on the intercomm. "We are jumping to hyperspace in one minute," she spoke into it, telling her padawans so they weren't in the middle of walking around when Serenity made the jump towards Vortex. Accelerating forward to the jump point, the ship made the switch to hyperspace smoothly. As the calming swirls of hyperspace played over the transparisteel cockpit window, Serena removed herself from the pilot's seat and went in search of a cup of tea.

Entering the living area again, she found Rhianna and Morgan much as she'd left them ten minutes previously. She nodded to them, and smiled as she made her way towards the cupboards. "Everything is well with Jedi Nytherciria, and she and Wyl shall meet us in the Glythe system later today." Serena unlatched the closet cupboard door and carefully removed a mug from where it was packed. Due to the possibility of losing artificial gravity while in space, everything but the smallest items on Serenity were placed carefully into specially designed nooks and crannies to keep them from floating away.

The Jedi filled the mug with water and stuck it into the microwave to heat it. "You two are usually so talkative. What's going on?" Retrieving the hot water, she dangled a tea bag into the mug and let it soak. "Should I be worried?"

[Morgan Evanar]

He had been staring into distant space. Rhianna looked rather sad. He knew she was remembering the way things were too. Morgan felt like he didn't have that luxury. Things had been rolling downhill for a long time.

"We're ok. We just miss... people." He said it more for Rhianna than himself. "And we noticed that you seem, I guess lonely is the best word. But you found Daria." He forced a smile.

[Rhianna]

It seemed that it was her particular fate to be left pondering the answers to her own questions. Rhianna shook her head with a small smirk and stood, crossing the room to Serena. A cup of tea looked like just the right thing at that moment. She slid open the cabinet and removed a mug for herself, but then moved away until Serena was finished preparing her own.

Rhianna approached the window, gazing out at the worlds zooming past. She didn't feel much like talking anymore. She was beginning to feel slightly sick to her stomach. She didn't want to worry her mentor or Morgan that she may be getting ill again, but something just didn't feel right. She felt closed in and apprehensive. The scent of Serena's steeped tea floated over to her and she breathed it in closing her eyes.

Someone hear me, someone…

A sound of distress came from her lips and her hands pressed urgently to the window. Rhianna spun around and turned a pleading gaze on Serena.

"Sámh! Stopadh go tobann! Someone is in trouble! Please?!"

[Serena Laran]

She didn't hesitate as Rhianna burst out that someone was in trouble and they needed to stop. Serena could feel it too, and was already moving towards the cockpit. It took only a second to slam her hand onto the emergency stop, and the yacht shuddered mightily as hyperspace vomited them out into real space.

Her tea sloshed all over her as the hyperdrive spun down, and she was thrust backwards into the pilot's chair as they lost their momentum. Red telltales blinked - none of the systems were happy about what had just happened, but everything appeared to still be in working order. Serena activated the sensors, sweeping this dead space between stars for whatever Rhianna had felt.

There. "We've got a damaged starfighter off to starboard, Morgan. We can't pull it in because we're too small." She closed her eyes, feeling with the Force. "One occupant, uninjured, but life support is failing."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan leaned over Serena's shoulder. He craned his neck around, but the fighter was too distant right now to really get a look at it, even with his eyes.
"There is an emergency EVA suit in cockpit. Or there should be one." Serena worked the controls to bring Serenity next to the listless craft.

"That's a Z-95, it should have that EVA suit. Umm... crap." Morgan scrunched his face up in concentration. "They'll have maybe a minute once out."

"I'm going to need your lightsaber, just in case." Serena promptly handed it to him.

Unlike the starfighter, Serenity had an EVA hatch, designed for external docking latches and emergency rescues. It looked more like a very tiny closet. He quickly pulled on an EVA suit.

"Radio check."

"Copy." Serena said, automatically.

"You really should air these out more often." Morgan coughed, and double checked the seals. He reached up and attached the emergency cable to the suit's metal cable loop around the waist, and then clipped the lightsaber to the other loop. He locked the door behind him, and engaged the vacuum. With the pressure near zero, and the external door now green, he pushed the door open.

The stars filled his view.

[Finor Ztnnova]

“Someone hear me….Someone hear me.” The mantra repeated over and over as Finor drifted in and out of consciousness.

Emptiness.

Darkness.

Silence.

Space.

Hope was lost. It was only a matter of time and he knew it. No sense in kidding myself Finor thought. Better to die out here then down there.

There is no death, there is the force. He attempted to calm himself with the lessons his father taught him. As silly as it sound, Finor found peace in these words.

Emptiness.

Darkness.

Silence.

A Ship?



“Someone heard me?” Finor slowly mouthed before passing out.

[Rhianna]

Rhianna braced her hands on the counter as Serentity came to a stop, nearly losing her footing. The sudden cessation of movement making her stomach roll. Lucky for the person that was in distress, Serena too had felt his silent plea for help. Rhianna knew it, she could see it in the Jedai's eyes when she had gone to stop the ship. Morgan too had instantly reacted, doing what was necessary. She drew in a few deep breaths until the churning in her stomach subsided. Rhianna felt sure that she was never going to be adept at space travel. It was just so unfamiliar to her.

She approached the cockpit and sat in the co-pilots seat next to Serena, listening to her and Morgan go over the required checks. She was not afraid. She was not afraid. She was not afraid. She repeated it in her head until she believed it was true and her apprehension ceased. They needed faith and belief right now, not trepidation.

Knowing that her mentor would have to monitor the two bodies out in space closely, Rhianna knew she should also be doing something to help. She rose from the seat and went back to the cabins. She didn't feel that the man was going to be cognizant when he was brought aboard, in fact it seemed for a moment like they might lose him. They had to move quickly. She found some medical supplies along with some oxygen and brought them to Morgan's cabin, making the bunk opposite his own with clean bedding. When she was satisfied that she had done all she could, she returned to Serena's side to see if there was anything else she could do to help.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan stood on the hull plating of Serenity, the magnetic boots holding him fast to the vessel. The two ships seemed to be hardly moving, but he shared momentum with Serenity. Simple physics were at play here. He would need to get the jump between the two ships right, or he would have to reel himself in and try again, but that was not a luxury he had time for.

He crouched down, and started the jump, deactivating the boots simultaneously. As he floated between the two ships, he turned the boots back on. Morgan's breathing echoed in his ears as time seemed to stretch before him, while the Z95 loomed closer and closer. He twisted, catching the wing tip blaster and used the momentum to swing his feet toward the fuselage. A quick glance told him the hyperdrive had throughly cooked itself, and took the astromech droid with it. He quickly scrambled to the cockpit, and began to knock on the transparisteel.

“Wake up!” He yelled, forgetting that the lack of medium between them would prevent the words from reaching their destination.

[Serena Laran]

Serena patched into the starfighter's comm system, working quickly to enable Morgan to be able to speak freely to the man inside. There was still air in the cockpit, but it would run out in the next ten or so minutes.

If the man did not get into an EV suit, or activate the pressure seals if he was already wearing one, then their scramble from hyperspace would be for naught.

"He should be able to hear you now, Morgan." The Jedi reached over and patted Rhianna's hand. "Do not worry, Rhianna."

[Finor Ztnnova]

The thump against the hull of the stolen fighter startled him. However, it was the feeling of overwhelming yet distant concern that awoke Finor Ztnnova. When he finally came to, Finor was surprised to find a figure looking back at him inside the cockpit. The human male was yelling commands. It really didn’t take a genius to figure out his message. Finor had to get out of the ship. His miracle had arrived.

From his chair, Finor quickly scanned the contents of the cockpit. He was looking for one thing and one thing only, the environmental suit. Finor knew his rescue would get a bit more complex if the Z95 was without one. Fortunately for the parties involved the ship contained the precious cargo.

Unaware of what the current conditions in the cockpit would be on his body, Finor carefully rose from his chair and made his way to the EV suit. It took most of his strength but Finor was able to put on the contraption. He checked and double-checked the seals of his suit then made his way back to the control panel. Finor searched for and found the manual release for the Z95’s canopy. With the push of a button, Finor would be freed from certain doom.

Why can’t things ever be simple Finor thought. “Hey, we got a problem here, I can’t blow the hatch,” Finor said sounding surprisingly chipper.

[Morgan Evanar]

The magnetic boots held fast to the old Incom star fighter. Morgan brought his helmet as close as he could to the transparisteel, and peered in. He carefully examined the construction of the canopy before activating Serena's lightsaber. Finor was bathed in blue light from blade. Morgan squinted for a moment, the brightness took him by momentary surprise. This would be a very delicate operation. He would need the canopy to start leaking slowly. Explosive decompression might kill both of them. Even though Finor did not have much time, Morgan decided to opt for the slow and steady method. He pushed the tip against the top left hinge. While it was undramatic beyond the hissing and popping Finor must have heard inside the ship, it would likely be safe. The canopy would twist slightly to relieve the pressure gradually, and metal failure was not as dramatic as transpairsteel failure.


Morgan waited for a moment after the hinge was cut free. Incom had apparently designed the canopy for this sort of failure. He set to work on the other hinge, this time more quickly. Halfway through, gas began to leak and freeze into a thin, quickly dissipating mist. Morgan waited another 30 seconds. He knew that the EV suit Finor was wearing had limited resources. Maybe 30 minutes worth, but considering the age of the craft. With both hinges cut, he deactivated the lightsaber and clipped it back to the metal loop on his suit.


He reached down, and grabbed the external handhold on the canopy. Morgan lifted slowly and gradually, but it would not budge.


“It's not moving. One second.” He reached down, and lifted as hard and as fast as he could. A brief screech of metal later, and the canopy popped free. Unfortunately, so did Morgan.


“SERENA!” He yelled as he tumbled through space, spinning toward Serenity

[Serena Laran]

The canopy came free, the stranded man started to pull himself out of the starfighter, and Morgan was flailing as he spun in zero-g towards the yacht. Rhianna's hand suddenly tightened on Serena's shoulder as she grasped the situation, and the Jedi closed her eyes.

In space. No different. Does not matter where, just what. The what was Morgan. She focused on him, and his trajectory shifted towards the airlock, and slowed significantly. As her padawan got his magnetic boots fixed onto Serenity's deck, she turned her attention towards the starfighter's occupant.

His injuries were not life threatening, but he'd been living on low oxygen for at least an hour. His movements were sluggish, even for zero-g. Serena pushed with the Force as the man made a leap for Serenity and the airlock, guiding him in just as she'd done for Morgan.

[Finor Ztnnova]

The chaos was over. It seemed both men were magically floating safely to the airlock of the luxury liner. Magic had nothing to do it. Only the most powerful of Jedi would be able to pull off such a feet. The force energy pulsated from inside the spacecraft. Finor had not felt a presence that powerful in a long time, not since the passing of his father. He was a powerful Jedi master, incredibly astute in the ways of the force. However, the being inside the yacht was more of a Jedi than his father ever was.

His wispy and carefree journey through space came to an end as the air lock opened. Finor was gently pulled into the vessel. It had been a long and taxing few hours. Finor’s skin was grey and leathery from dehydration and a low level of oxygen, but the worst was behind him. He sat alone motionless on the floor of the craft. A relieved smile crossed his lips.

“Thanks,” Finor said to the empty airlock, “I owe you one.”

[Rhianna]

After Rhianna remembered that she was meant to be breathing, she loosed her white knuckled grip on the arms of her chair, jumped out of the seat and half ran the distance to the airlock. She slammed into a few walls in her haste to make sure everyone was alright. Morgan was there, outside the door, when she arrived. Just removing his helmet, he was met with Rhianna nearly skidding directly into him. She gulped back her momentary hysteria when she saw he was fine. Walking forward with her chin up mutinously she gave him a sound smack in the arm, it was half hearted and she wasn't trying to hurt him. She was simply distraught. She went off in a miniature tirade in her own language, which he understood perfectly well, about how he had scared the life out of her.

It came to a close with, "You're.. craiceáilte! Tá eagla orm!" It was just the tension in her talking. The Tincéir were known for having short tempers that blazed quickly and then died out. When it was spent, she swatted a stray deep red curl out of her face, then yanked Morgan to her in a hug, apologizing for smacking him and yelling at him when he had actually done quite well.

Rhianna turned her attention to the inside airlock door as it opened to reveal their new passenger. He looked just like she knew he would, like he was going to keel over at any moment. Serena was right behind her and probably witnessed her rare and fleeting Tincéir temper. At the moment though, Rhianna was more concerned with the man on the floor, but she knew who could better help him than she could.

"Banfáith, d'éirigh sé tuirseach agus tinn." Rhianna sank to her knees to help lift the man and take him to the bunk she had prepared, if that was what Serena thought best.

[Serena Laran]

"Is cinnte go bhfuil sé i gcontúirt de dheasca imspás breoiteachta..." Serena agreed, and added in Basic, "I will help you move him, Rhianna." She bent down to help the man with his helmet, but left the rest of the EV suit on and grasped him under the arms. "Morgan, if you can bring some water and some light food?"

Rhianna took his legs, all trace of her earlier flare up gone now as she was all business. Morgan was pulling off his magnetic boots as they got their visitor fixed up in the bed, the two women stripping off the EV suit and his boots.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan shrugged at Rhianna. Seriously, what was he going to say? Soon the EV suit was off, but he still smelled like old clothes. While he removed the boots, he made a mental note to make them much stronger for future excursions, or find some designed for Wookies.

Now free of the bulky suit, he dashed into the pantry.

“Light food for normal people.” He muttered to himself. The fruit sauce would do. He grabbed it and a liter bottle of water.

Serena and Rhianna had already placed their lucky visitor into the nicest floor bunk. His extremities were blueish, along with his lips. He was suffering from severe exposure to cold. If anyone could mend him, it was Laran.

[Serena Laran]

The man was wearing a simple jumpsuit with no insignia under the EV suit, and Serena unfastened the front to his navel, propping him up and drawing his arms out with Rhianna's help. His body was cool to the touch, lips blue, and he was barely conscious. He seemed to be muttering "Thank you" over and over, but at times it sounded like profanity.

"Kneel here beside me, Rhianna." The girl did as she was told, visibly concerned at the grey countenance of their visitor. "Pay close attention to what I do, and remain calm and quiet." Morgan entered the room and sat down on his bunk, holding the water and food she'd asked him to bring. "You too, Morgan. There is much to learn at every moment, but especially now. Let yourselves view me through the Force."

She carefully folded the man's arms across his chest, and held them down with both of her hands. Closing her eyes, Serena felt herself slip into a meditative state, expelling a breath and with it all consciousness of the room around her. Her contact with the man's body through her hands served as a junction, allowing her to delve into his body with the Force. It was simple enough to see what was wrong - exposure to the cold of space with very little life support had caused some frostbite to settle into his toes, and he was extremely dehydrated.

After diagnosing the problems, Serena set to work warming the man's body back to a more normal temperature. Through the Force she started at his core and worked outwards, exciting and warming the vessels that carried his blood throughout the body. She could feel Rhianna beside her, watching actively. Her presence was like a bright light in the Force, even strengthening Serena's connection to Abhairt Saoil, the Life Giver.

After a while, Serena opened her eyes, slowly removing her hands from the man's chest. His skin was pink and he was sleeping normally.

[Rhianna]

Her eyes closed, Rhianna knelt beside the sick man, as if in prayer. She watched Serena through the Force, as instructed. Althought she was seeing this for the first time from this perspective, Rhianna had been through this before now, twice. She thought back to the time that she had been shot and knew that this was how the Jedi had also saved her, through intuitive healing guided by the Abhairt Saoil. The same had been done for her when she had grown ill shortly after Morgan had joined them. She had been aware then too of them both focused on her healing. She felt honored to now be learning of this technique first hand.

It was as if the aura of the man before them had grown spotted with darkness at his extremities and around his throat and chest. As she watched Serena, a light filled with warmth bloomed within his chest and spread outward chasing the darkness away and warming his blood. He was still very weak and would likely sleep for many hours, but he was well..

When she felt that it was time, Rhianna opened her eyes and smiled. "Magic.."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan tried, but the fact of the matter was that he didn't really understand what Serena needed him to do. He ended up watching more than doing. Serena understood, though. He could see Finor's body warming steadily in key places. He could feel something change, the exchange of energy, the boost of a body's natural tendencies to fix itself. It was an unknown process to him.

He decided that this would be something he would learn in time, and that it's first practical application would not be on someone suffering from severe exposure.

“Magic...” And to Morgan, it may as well have been. He had already started the hyperspace recalculation, and nudged the ship back in line with Vortex while the navicomp chewed through the figures.

Vortex. Security through obscurity was only a short term solution. Fortunately, the number of people who knew where they would be numbered no more than five. Vortex also offered the fact that it was strategically worthless, and only offered cultural exports and somewhat minor tourism.

The Vors would likely leave them be. For brand new Jedi, this was probably for the better.

“We're ready for hyperspace.” Morgan said to Serena as she returned to the ship's cockpit.

[Serena Laran]

"Not magic," admonished Serena, "The Abhairt Saoil." Morgan got up and left for the cockpit, leaving behind the water and food she'd asked him to bring.

For now their passenger would sleep, but he would awaken hungry and thirsty before too long. "Sit here with him and watch him, Rhianna. If he wakes..." The Jedi motioned to the food and water, and pushed herself up to her feet. "We must get back underway."

Rhianna nodded, a studious look on her face, and she sat on Morgan's bunk, watching the man sleep. In the doorway Serena paused. "Practice meditating while you wait, padawan." She smiled, and then slipped into the passage and walked to the cockpit. It wasn't a long trip.

"We're ready for hyperspace," Morgan said, and she nodded, taking the co-pilots seat as he was sitting in the 'captains' chair working with the navicomp.

"Then let us go, Morgan." Serena smiled, though her eyes looked weary. As her mathmatically inclined padawan informed Rhianna via intercomm that they would be shifting to hyperspace, she ran a hand over her face.

Serenity sped up towards the jump point, and when it jumped to hyperspace Serena sagged backwards into her seat, eyes closed. She was exhausted.

[Rhianna]

After the jump to hyperspace, Rhianna sat up and crossed the room to dim the lights, thinking to make the sleeping man more comfortable. He clearly needed rest. She paused by his bunk on her way back, to lay the back of her hand against his formerly cold cheek. She was pleased to feel it warm and see that it had remained a much more vital color. She tucked the blanket further around his shoulders and then left him to his rest.

Rhianna plopped down once more onto Morgan's bunk and pulled off her shoes, tucking her bare feet beneath her. Sitting up and laying her hands, palm up in her lap comfortably, she closed her eyes. Serena had said to spend the time while their guest was out, in meditation. That was exactly what she intended to do. She let her mind go quiet and breathed slowly in and out.

She thought briefly that she heard music, but realized it was coming from her own lips, she had begun softly humming a Tincéir lullabye that had been taught to her as a child by her Grandmother. She lost track of the time and began to yawn suddenly. She was going to do no one any good half exhausted herself, she checked one more time on the sleeping passenger, then curled onto her side and closed her eyes..

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan seemed mesmerized by the swirl of hyperspace. He was not certain if Serena had gone into a trance or just genuinely fell asleep. His mouth moved of it's own accord, silently trying to express concepts that translated poorly to spoken language. His mind was absorbed in the nature of hyperspace and it's mathematical relation to realspace and the transition between. Distance over time and the perspectives of their respective waypoints became clearer. He felt as if he knew where they were, and he knew where everything else was, too.

Hours past. Morgan fell in and out of the trance, alternating between sleep and the trance.

They had entered the mid rim, and with it, the Glythe sector. Past Fornax, beyond Fef they flew, until they neared Vortex. Morgan woke right before the proximity alarm went off.

[Serena Laran]

The alarm jolted Serena out of a dreamless sleep, and she sat up slowly once she realized what the noise was. Morgan was at the controls, supervising the yacht's transition back to realspace, and the Jedi rubbed some of the sleep from her eyes. "We are there."

He nodded, glancing over at her as the ship slowed and the swirls of hyperspace straightened and resolved into the pinpricks of light that were the constellations around Vortex. "See if you can get Jedi Nytherciria on the comm. She may have gotten here before us. I will check on our passenger."

Stretching as she walked, Serena made her way to the back cabins where Rhianna was sound asleep on Morgan's bunk. Their guest was also sleeping, but Serena woke him with a touch on the shoulder. "You need to drink," she said, helping him sit up in the bunk and putting a glass of water to his lips.

[Daria Nytherciria]

After securing the autopilot, Daria left the cockpit of her ship to return to her apprentices side. As she approached, Wyl looked up expectantly. The Jedi Knight was not the most sociable of traveling companions, and so when Daria did seek Wyl out of her own accord it was with reason.

“That was Master Laran,” she said. That had all met, albeit briefly, on Arkania some time ago.

“Apparently, she and her apprentices have found us all... a new home.”

Daria shaped the word home with some difficulty. She had never known her home world, only briefly known the family home kept by her parents and then found it near-impossible to think of the subterranean bunker in which she was trained as anything more than a giant classroom. Home was an alien concept, and she doubted that Wyl would be any quicker to warm up to the idea than she.

“We're going to be arriving soon, if you'd like to pack your things. We won't be living out of the ship anymore.”

[Wyl Staedtler]

Daria's announcement was a welcome one, though not neccessarily in and of itself. Long, silent hours in space were ideal for quiet lessons in the Force and young Wyl had been, for the last hour or so, trying to grasp one such elementary teaching. The boy sat with his back against a wall panel, trying in vain to empty his mind; it was a tedious process for a child of seven, and already he had listed meditating right below mathematics on his list of least favourite activities.

Thus, even though he listened to the news with something approaching apprehension, Wyl was glad for the interruption. With a grateful stretch the boy lifted himself from the floor, gladly escaping to his quarters. There wasn't much in the way of belongings and it was only the work of a few hurried minutes to stuff his bag. Closing the zipper was a bit of a struggle, and in the end Wyl had to lay across the canvas and flatten it before it drew shut with an annoyed scuttle.

He tossed it beside the door as he passed through, returning to stand next to Daria quietly, both lost in their own thoughts. Hopefully Vortex would have some great open spaces; Wyl's legs were cramped from the limited area on the ship. Besides that, the boy wasn't especially looking forward to arriving. It couldn't possible be long before they'd be on the run again, he imagined.

With a soft sigh the boy hopped into one of the ship's chairs, strapping in before Daria could remind him.

[Rhianna]

At the soft sound of Serena's voice, Rhianna's eyes opened. She couldn't believe she felt so rested. She had only meant to close her eyes for a few moments, but she could tell she had slept much longer than that. She sat up, rolling off the bunk and stepping into her shoes. Rhianna hurried over to Serena's side in case she was needed.

"Gabh mo leithscéal!", she began softly, continuing in her own tongue. "He hasn't moved at all. I checked on him a few times, the chill never came back and he rested well."

[Morgan Evanar]

Knight Nytherciria had responded via a short text burst that simply said "Acknowledged." Socially graceful she wasn't.

Morgan nudged the ship slowly toward Vortex, going over the ship's systems well in advance. Vortex was known for it's tumultuous weather, and having something fail on approach would bring their journey to an abrupt end.

He wasn't much of a pilot, and felt his was something best left to Serena with such tricky conditions.

[Serena Laran]

Leaving the man sitting up with Rhianna at his side helping him eat, Serena returned to the cockpit. Morgan looked up as she entered, and relinquished the pilot's seat.

A quick perusal of the planet's surface with the sensors indicated that they were approaching the sector where the Cathedral of Winds was located. The Jedi pinged the spaceport nearest to the landmark, and recieved audio confirmation and an approach vector. The Rebel Alliance had helped pave the way for her arrival, subtly of course, and while the Vors were not friendly to the Rebellion, they were not friendly to the Empire either.

Rebel Intelligence had offered to help them set up shop, wherever it was the Jedi decided to settle. Vortex might indeed be the place. Serena guided the yacht down the approach vector, piercing the atmosphere and entering a turbulent cloud layer.

Letting the sensors guide her as she could see nothing visually, the Jedi reached out with the Force as well to make sure they stayed on target.

[Finor Ztnnova]

Drifting in and out of the neither regions of the mind was surreal. Finor Ztnnova’s body and mind were in a touch and go state of turmoil; however his soul was completely at ease. His essence had not felt this strong since his childhood back on Kuan, before the loss of his father, Ganyc, at the battle of Geonosis. Finor was a child and never fully understood nor accepted his father’s passing. It felt like ages ago, but the wounds of his father’s death were fresh refusing to heal.
<o></o>
There was an aura of concern and warm feelings surrounding the fallen Jedi. The room was alive with goodwill. His body and mind were feeding off of the force strength or those around him. It was safe to say that Finor’s recovery was aided by his well wishers.
<o></o>
In a moment of clarity, Finor slowly opened his eyes and saw a concerned yet confident women. He managed to push out the question, “Where am I?”