Lending a hand (GJO only)

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

It was a fresh, brisk daybreak. The suns were just beginning to peak across the vast horizon. A chilly gust of wind coursed through the morning air. Yet even in the early morn, people were up and at it, after all it was Coruscant. Like the rest of the world, the Jedi were also awaking from a good night’s sleep, something they never seemed to get enough of.

Within the main hangar of the Greater Jedi Order, Ki Adi Kindo stood silently by one of the transporters, gazing off into the brilliant sunrise that towered over Coruscant’s lofty towers. Though the crowded planet didn’t offer the serenity and landscape of Arcan, it was where the Jedi were required most. It was turning out alright though, he was quickly adjusting to the new base.

Alongside the Jedi Knight were two bundles of luggage resting upon the ground. Within the luggage were his equipment for an overnight trip, which consisted of proper attire and a few accessories. During his childhood, he would oftentimes run off into the dense forests of Serenno, camping out overnight at the spur of the moment.

Just a few days ago, Ki Adi had approached the High Council, requesting that he be allowed to take a few Padawans for an overnight trip to a small village on Tattoine. The community they were to visit was one heavily damaged by a band of angry Tusken Raiders, and their task would be to aid in repairs, prepare rations, and help with many other basic chores. It turned out that most of the Greater Jedi Order wanted to come along on the short travel, which greatly pleased him. It would be a wonderful chance to do many things; to aid a village in dire need, to teach Padawans that there is more to being a Jedi than just combat and recognition, and to allow a rare opportunity for the Jedi to spend some quality time toghether.

Ki took in a deep breath, admiring the exquisite view and basking in the cool morning enviroment, all while awaiting the soon arrival of the others.

[Zeke]

"Ding! Word, Kindo!"

Zeke arrived without equipment, aside from the weaponry he usually wore on outings.

"What goes, fearless leader?"

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB made her way into the lift that would take her to the hangar bay's level, followed silently by Gurney, her new Padawan. He'd already had training with Master Yoghurt, but other duties had taken the ancient Jedi to other parts of the galaxy. In no way was she replacing Yog, but she did want to aid in Gurney's training so that he would not be forgotten. ::

:: She had her usual healing satchel slung over her left shoulder, while she carried a small duffel in her right hand. As the lift sped them upwards towards the hangar bay, she turned to Gurney. ::

You all set for our trip to Tattooine?

[Chance]

clop...clop...clop...clop.. The Blind Knight's boots clicked as he strolled torward the hanger in which the Tattooine trip had been reserved for. Nodding and speaking good morning to most who passed him, Chance seemed in a great mood.

Aside from the light brown cloak he wore, a silver hilt of a sword could be seen sticking out through the cloth (although he may not need it, it was wise to keep armed,) and he carried a large duffel bag over his shoulder.

Hearing Zeke's voice, and redirecting his course more torwards it Chance continued onwards. Soon stopping under the nose of the transport, Chance gave a nod to both Ki and Zeke.

"Good Morning, Fellows!"

[Gurney Devries]

"As ready as I'll ever be, Master."

Even now, after such a lengthy time as a Padawan, Gurney was unaccustomed to the role of a learner. It had taken him some time to adapt to the position under Master Yoghurt, and it would likely take just as long for him to adapt to it under his new master. He felt it was strange to call a woman 'master', but 'mistress' seemed flat out inappropriate.

He hoisted a large-ish duffel bag and slung it over one shoulder, tightening the strap until it sat comfotably. Inside of it was a wide range of materials, ranging from bacta canisters to food rations. He wasn't quite sure what to bring on this trip, as he didn't know much about the nature of their trip.

"Um, Master Rie? Just what will we be doing once we arrive on Tatooine? I mean, I understand that the village we are visiting was attacked by some Sand People, but how is it that we are to help?"

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor smiled gently as she approached the group of gathered Jedi who all appeared awake and ready for the helpful mission to Tattoine. The Garou Knight approched her former Padawan and placed a hand upon his shoulder, sqeezing it softly before she let her eyes come to rest upon his face.

"Greetings Chance.....I am glad that you will be joining us on this mission too."

She said to her blind friend. Her heart went out to him and she thought it quite noble that he was willing to extend himself even with such a handicap. Turning around to face the group, the Knight bowed once again and then let her eyes drift to the passageway where hopefully her own Padawans would be coming in from, if they chose to join her upon this mission with the others. It would be an excellent learning experience...plus, they were doing what they loved....helping others.

[AmazonBabe]

Well, Gurney...

:: She shifted the bag on her left shoulder a bit. ::

... we're going to be helping them to rebuild and pick up where they left off before the attack occured. A lot of people were injured, and a good size of their underground moisture crops were ransacked.

We'll be aiding them in getting some of their lives back.

:: She took on a sad look. ::

Though we won't be able to mend the wounds caused by the death of loved ones, we can at least offer them some hope for their future.

:: She jiggled the duffel she held. ::

I've got enough seeds in here to help them grow back most of their crops, and...

:: She then jiggled her satchel over her shoulder. ::

... as to healing, I'll be damned if I leave that place before I've bandaged every wound and eased every sore muscle.

:: She looked at her new Padawan, smiling. ::

But in the long run, our presence there will show them they are not forgotten and are cared about. Hope is what we must keep alive in these people. Hope and faith that all will be well again.

:: As she finished speaking, the lift's doors swung silently open and spilled them into the hangar bay, where a group was already gathering near their intended transport. As she led the way towards the group, she looked for Morgan, but did not see him yet. But that didn't worry her as she knew she'd see him in due time. ::

:: As she reached the group, she smiled at Kindo, nodding her head. ::

Looks like the crowd's starting to show.

[Sejah Haversh]

With a soft thwapping of his sandals, Sejah entered the room with a small duffel slung over his shoulder. Unlike most days, he was dressed in work clothes. Plain heavy canvas carpenter's pants, and a gray tee-shirt with the screenprinted image of an Eight Millimeter video camera on it. He didn't know what the thing was, but, it was a cheap shirt.

A light coat hung from his other paw as he walked up, his fur blowing in the wind, and the mongoose nodded to the others, "Good morning, everybody. We ready to go?" He asked good naturedly. He hadn't packed his lightsaber, or even his .45, not thinking they would be needed on a help trip. But his kris was visible on his belt in its wooden scabbard; he went few places without it.

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

" Indeed they are. "

Kindo grinned back at Rie. It gave him great pleasure to see the Jedi begin to arrive, to heed to the call of a needy village. All was going according to schedule.

" Before we board the transporter, I am going to say a few words to everyone. "

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei showed up just in time. "What's a party without me, eh?" He said, running up to stand near Sejah.

"Speech!" He yelled at Kindo. Wei was excited about the trip to Tatooine. Wei liked helping more than hurting, even though he was skilled in combat.

[Rognan Dar]

Rognan was dressed in a plain white robe, jogging down the hanger toword the group that was already there. He was caring a backpack over his left shoulder and a case in his right, with his wevicat a step ahead of him. As they aprouched the group Yarden started to grawl but with one word, spoken in Lorrdian, calmed her.

"I hope im not late?" Rognan said know next to the group.

[Sejah Haversh]

"Calm down there, Wei," Sejah minded his friend quietly, "I think the time for fun will come later; now is a time to watch silently and listen."

To be quite frank, Sejah was slightly worried about going on another planetary trip, seeing how badly his last one turned out. But it was a mission of mercy, and he wished to make himself useful, so there he stood with the others.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion loped over to the transport, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Morning, guys..." Lion said, stifling a yawn. "You mind if I take my own ship? I've got a medical droid and some other equipment on it..."

Lion had decided that, since this was a peaceful mission, not to carry anything other than a heavy blaster and his saber.

[Maia Tharrinn]

Maia rushed to the landing bay where Kindo had told her to meet him. She could already see a crowd gathering around the ship. She slung her bag onto her shoulder and rushed faster.

"She skidded to a stop next to the large group, a sheepish grin on her face.

"Sorry I'm late guys." Maia was excited to be going on the mission with her former Padawan Kindo and her new Padawan, it was a rare pleasure to be able to do this with Kindo.

[Sene Unty]

Sene emerged onto the landing platform with a single duffel back in his hand. Attired in Jedi robes, his lightsaber was clipped to his belt. He didn't know if he may need it or not, but he decided to bring it anyway. As he approached the large group of Jedi that had congregated on the launch pad he spotted his master talking to Chance. Shouldering his bag he made his way over to Xazor.

"Good morning Master.", he said with a smile. "I hope I haven't kept you all too long."

[Kurzen Fox]

I cringed – was I late? Zeke was no where to be found and Azhure seemed to have disappeared from our room. With a slight whimper I gathered up a few things and charged out into the living block cloisters, stumbling as I tied the laces on my boots whilst trying to hop along at the same time. Utilizing the techniques Zeke had taught me, I was able to run at three times my normal speed and skidded to a screeching halt just outside the room I’d been called to. Then, smoothing my hair down and brushing away some dust from my clothes, I walked calmly into the gathering, and pressed two fingers to my temple as a salute and greeting.

“… ‘lo all.”

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

With a broad grin across his face, Kindo embraced Maia with a hug.

" Greetings Master, it brings great joy to my heart to see you here. "

How Ki addressed Maia bewildered many astanding around, for he was no longer her Padawan. Still, he would always maintain that obedience and respect now just has he did has a Padawan.

Glancing around, the Jedi Knight couden't help but notice that many of those arriving brought various weapons. He himself had a small blaster placed within a holster that rested against his hip, something he would only use if necessary. A tight, black shirt and identical black pants, along with his usual combat boots completed his attire. It wasn't has trendy or dazzling has some of the Jedi robes, unadorned yet comfortable. He casually placed his arm around Maia's shoulders, a friendly gesture.

[Zeke]

Zeke noted all the duffle bags and Kindo's weapon check. He'd have stuff like them, if he owned anything apart from the outfit he was wearing and the weaponry. But Zeke didn't intend to use any of it for fighting; swords cut timber and cleared wreckage just as well as they cut people.

"When's this get started?"

[Lion El' Jonson]

"No idea when this lil' trip starts...anybody wanna come on my ship?" Lion asked, starting towards the recently repainted Black Dawn, which was now, strangely enough, a pale white.

[Rognan Dar]

"I'll go with you Lion, that is if you dont mind?" Rognan said starting to follow him. "Unless my master wants me to go with her." He said turning around looking at Maia.

[Zeke]

"We don't even know the plan...Kindo, what's the deal?"

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Ya, dude..." Lion added.

He had been wondering what to do. Tatooine wasn't hard to find, but maybe they had something else in store....?

Lion turned to Rognan, smiling at the man.

"Sure, dude...that is, if Maia is okay with it??"

[Maia Tharrinn]

Maia smiled at her Padawan and Lion. "I am going o ride with Kindo and no of course I don't mind him riding with you Lion. I know he is in good hands with you. We are all meeting in the same place, so will see you both there." She bowed slightly to them and picked up her bags.

"So when we leaven." She grinned and nudged Kindo with her shoulder.

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

" If everyone will go ahead and board the transporter, we will be off to Tattooine in good time. I'll explain the rest when we arrive. "

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei shrugged and got on Lion's ship without another word.

"We're going on a fieldtrip, we're going on a fieldtrip!" he chanted.

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB shook her head at Wei's enthusiasm. While she had nothing against the boy being eager, she sometimes wondered if it may be too much. ::

:: With no more thought to it, she boarded the transport, Gurney following behind her. ::

[Rognan Dar]

Rognan walked after Wei and Lion to the ship, caring his stuff and Yarden, the wevicat, behind him.

"So how long will it take to get to tattooine?"

[Zeke]

"No one knows, its a grand mystery."

Zeke boarded Kindo's transport with a wide smile.

[AmazonBabe]

:: AB was already seated and strapped in when she overheard Zeke's reply. She smiled, a chuckle escaping her lips. ::

It'll take quite a few hours, Tattooine being one of the outer rim planets.

[Chance]

Chance boarded the transport at the same time as the others. Smiling broadly, Chance took a seat near the cockpit and latched himself down after stowing his bag,

"Well, works for a quick nap on the trip eh?"

[Sejah Haversh]

Sejah boarded the transport, then dug a pair of motion sikness pills form his pocket and tore open the protective wrapping. Popping them into his mouth, he swallowed them dry and only hoped they would go into effect before they took off. It felt good to be doing something again, something useful.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion smiled as he led his friends to the living room and turned on the TV. Wei knew where it was, as they had gone on an adventure once, but Rognan hadn't quite seen it. After making sure that Wei hadn't broken the remote control, he ran up a small set of stairs and emerged in the bridge. His R6 droid, "Weedle" was whistling wildly at him. Lion smiled again and led the droid over to the floor mounted astromech port.

"Over here, lil' dude." Lion said, as he made sure that Weedle had their destination in his memory and that he wouldn't come loose during takeoff. With that little chore done, he triggered the engine prestart and leaned over to the comm board.

"This is the Black Dawn" Lion said, his lip twitching as he thought of how unappropriate the name was, now that the NR techs had repainted it....

"We're ready to disembark, Starport control. We'd appreciate clearance to get outta here, so...."

[Wei Wu Wei]

Wei sunk into one of the cush chairs and shut his eyes. "Now we wait. Wait, wait, wait, what can we do while we wait?"

Then in answer to himself he said, "Take a nap." Then he fell promptly to sleep.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Lion returned to the living room to find Wei already sleeping...he was tempted to yell VIDEO GAMES!, but instead he just smiled and went to check on the engines after making sure that Rognan was okay.

[Xazor Elessar]

Xazor follwed her Knighted Padawan, Chance, onto the Transport. A smile crossed her lips momentarily as she sat down beside him and closed her eyes, falling into a deep meditation.

As I have stated so many times before, it is good to see you again....

She spoke softly in his mind before falling back into the depth of the Force to pass the long flight to Tatooine.

[Chance]

Chance let a slight smile spread across his face as Xazor sat beside him, her aura flowering greatly in the ship along with the others.

As it is always a pleasure to hear you, Master. He replied, slipping into a light doze, Narsil propped against his right leg and out of harms way..

[Rognan Dar]

Rognan sat in a seat across from Wei and was tempted to do the same, but decided to play some music to pass the time.

He put his stuff on the floor and opened the case that held his Garow. He always tuned it before playing, a musicain thing, and started to play, and it made him want to sleep even more. His wevicat came and lade down on his lap and fell asleep. Soon he did the same, after putting his instument away.

[Lion El' Jonson]

Their ships were still stuck on the ground, and already his passengers had fallen asleep..."So much for entertainment!" Lion thought, smiling, as he returned to the living room and flopped down on one of the couches, waiting for takeoff clearance.

As he laided down on the couch, he felt a warm presence fall over him from somewhere on the other craft and instantly identified it as Mistress Xazor. It was nice to know that she was coming along...

[Sene Unty]

Sene followed behind his Master Xazor onto the transport, seconds before it departed. Spotting an empty corner, Sene placed his bags down against a wall and leaned back onto them. With a single breath he dosed off, letting the force take him away.....

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

Picking up his equipment, he made his way aboard the ship and towards the pilot seat. Tossing his baggage aside, he sat down and latched himself. Rubbing his hands together, a clever grin appeared across his face.

" Here we go. "

Increasing the throttle, the ship begun to lift above the hangar floor. With a sequence of system checks, Kindo began to direct the transport into the atmosphere until gradually reaching the beautiful, yet cold galactic environment. It had only been a brief matter of minutes since they were resting against the ground on Coruscant. Has he leaned back and gazed through the cockpit window, he couden’t help but admire the breathtaking view.

Space always brought Ki contentment. The feeling of soaring through the vast expanse freed him of much stress and worry. Turning on the ship’s transceiver system, he set it to the frequency of Lion El’s Black Dawn. The GJO transporter was unlike his advanced starfighter, but he quickly adjusted.

- Lion, you on your way? -

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Ya, brotha', except control wants to check out my missile pods...Forget that..." Lion added, as he jammed his finger down on the computer board.

The repulsorlifts boosted his ship into the atmosphere in no time at all. Lion felt the feeling of his stomach sinking as they rapidly accelerated upwards, before he threw the throttle forward and his immense thrusters ignited. The ship shot forwards towards Kindo's transport.

His small droid made rapid beeping noises, and Lion smiled...

"Yes, Weedle...go plus yourself in..." he said, amd the cylindrical R6 droid wheeled over to a socket mounted into the floor.

Checking to make sure that the comms still worked, Lion toggled the transciever:

"Hey, Kindo...ready, man?" he asked.

[Zeke]

Zeke hijacked the comm unit.

"Been ready, pal."

[Lion El' Jonson]

"Alright, then..." Lion said, smiling at Zeke's voice. He left for the couches one more time.

"Ladies and...well, fine, just gentlemen...we'll be departing on a trip for the planet of Tatooine very soon now. Please make sure that your traytable is in place and that your seatback is in the upright position. We'll be entering hyperspace shortly...thank you..."

...Satisfied, he returned to the cockpit...He'd always wanted to do that...

[Maia Tharrinn]

Maia settled back in her seat on Kindo's ship. A pleased smile rested on her lips. She remembered the first mission she had as a Jedi with her Master, AB. it had been an experience she would never forget. She was glad Kindo had asked her along. She knew his heart was always in the right place and she was so proud of him. She was proud of all her Padawans.

Maia called on the force and connected with Kindo's mind. Her soft voice filled his head. "Tell me a little more bout this rip my friend." She settled back enjoying Kindo's voice telling her his plan.

[Ki-Adi Kindo]

Kindo heard the sweet and soothing voice only one person he knew possessed; Maia. Her voice, however, was not heard audibly, but through Force communication. With his gaze still focused fowards, he began speaking back the same way.

: We are venturing to a small village damaged by a band of Tusken Raiders, where we will stay the night to help with repairs and any other needs they may have :

Getting his transceiver device back from Zeke, he began speaking once again with Lion El'.

- You ready for hyperspace? -

[Lion El' Jonson]

The comm crackled with Kindo's voice, but Lion was too lazy to pick up the mic. Instead, he settled into the force and searched for Kindo's presence. Finding it, he sent:

: Ready, man...should we link the navcomputers together? :