Years. Roughly five of them. Pilgrim's Point on Jedha was the closest thing to a childhood home that Isen had, and it had been five years since he left on a ship and dropped off at Ajan Kloss to meet his Master and Mentor, Izel Thral. Isen didn't have a reason to return until now, and he wasn't particularly keen on the idea of doing so. His childhood and early teenage years were filled with rather boring lessons and older Jedi Masters and Knights who were more interested in gardening in their greenhouses than seeing the galaxy while completing missions for the good of all people.
As he sat in the public transport vehicle that was entering Jedha's atmosphere, however, he became acutely aware of how much he benefited from being raised on this cold, relatively inhospitable planet. He had a natural thirst for action and adventure that bordered on carelessness. He naturally gravitated to the lightsaber and was perhaps too quick to solve problems with it. The Jedi at Pilgrim's Point, however, were older, slower, and contemplative. It made for a boring childhood, but Isen couldn't help but smirk that his raising likely tempered some desires and temptations that could have done him more harm than good.
When they landed on a landing pad in Pilgrim's Point and he exited the transport, he was surprised to see Jedi Master Yuul Tik waiting for him. The Mirilian Master's arms were crossed and he showed no emotion for seeing Isen Ramm for the first time in half a decade. Not that he would. Isen was considered a poor "student" by most of the Masters at Pilgrim's Point. Fraught with potential to be sure, but a dangerous potential that took only lightsaber training seriously and ignored the more scholastic pursuits that Pilgrim's Point was noted for. "Isen Ramm...Jedi Knight they say," Master Tik said as Isen approached him.
"What does that say about their standards, Master Tik?" Isen asked giving no hint of humor with his face. "They'll promote anyone these days."
Tik had a fine memory and remembered the dry wit of Isen Ramm as a youngling. He grinned finally and put a hand on Isen's shoulder. "Indeed, but I dare say you are proving yourself worthy of the title."
They started walking together, but the comment took the Kiffar by surprise. "Why do you say that? Have you been keeping tabs on me? To punish me once more, no doubt?"
Master Tik laughed gently and shook his head. "No, no. But when you blow up a Sith base on Sullust, word travels around the Jedi circles. When the others here heard that it was one of our younglings that set the bombs, why, they didn't quite know how to respond."
"Oh? How so?"
"We're not a very adventurous lot here, Isen. You know that well enough," Tik said. "The Jedi here aren't interested in war or missions or saving the galaxy anymore. Many of them think it can't be done. Others believe what the Force wills is what will happen regardless of Jedi intervention. Still, to know that one of the younglings they taught became a Jedi Knight and played some an integral part in dealing a blow like that to the Sith? Even those that wouldn't admit it are proud of you for that."
Isen continued to walk shoulder to shoulder with the aging Master as they entered into one of the greenhouses from an outside door. "I didn't know the Jedi here were staying up to date with all of that."
Master Tik lifted a brow as he looked at Isen. "Come no! It was in the monthly newsletter!" Both of them had a good laugh at that. "Isen, I know you aren't here to reminisce. That isn't your way. You're here for a purpose. What is it?"
Master Tik sat down on a bench that was surrounded by beautiful flowering vines that smelled of honey and nectar. A quick look around and it was easy for Isen to see how many of the aging Jedi wouldn't want to leave this Eden to put themselves in mortal danger. Isen never felt that he would have that same issue, but then again, he wasn't aging yet. He motioned to the many plants in the greenhouse, most of which grew larger and their colors more vibrant under the cultivation of the Jedi and their use of the Force. "This, Master. I'm here to learn how to manipulate plant growth. There is no better place to learn, is there?"
The Mirilian sat back deep into the bench, leaning away from Isen as he considered him. "Consitor Sato, hmm?"
Isen tilted his head and shrugged which brought a laugh to Master Tik's lips. "Consitor Sato. It's the formal name we use for "plant surge," because it's so much more than just plants growing real fast. Tell me, Isen. Why do you wish to learn Consitor Sato? Are the fruit trees on Yavin IV not providing large enough melons?"
Even Isen had to smirk slightly at that. "Not exactly. I'm becoming and more and more adept at using the Force to create Force bonds and taming wild beasts, and..."
"And, if you can control the plants and the beasts, what a formidable Jedi you would be in the wilderness, yes?" Tik interrupted.
Isen nodded. Master Tik had the right of it. While the Jedi here at Pilgrim's Point studied botany for purely academic pursuits, Isen was preparing to specialize in mastering the wilderness- the jungles, forests, and even the shallow seas to help him on missions, particularly when missions involved hostile opposition. He had no idea how Master Tik would respond to such a request, but he had come here to learn nonetheless.
Tik sighed and eyed the young Jedi Knight for several moments. "What you truly need, we do not have."
Isen deflated slightly and asked, "You can't teach me what I want to learn?"
"We can teach you what you want to learn, but not what you truly need to learn," Tik responded. "I say that. You could learn it here, but it would take longer than I know you have the patience for using our methods. Look at these plants. They may have started wild, but they have been trimmed, groomed, manipulated by us. They grow for us as we bend the Force to our desires because these plants have been trained, bred even to respond to us through the Force. That will not be the case in the jungles of Teth or the forests of Daltarri. Perhaps...you could do us a favor here at Pilgrim's Point and through that favor, you would get what you need."
Now it was Isen's turn to sit back and consider Master Tik. He didn't like where this was going. Master Tik was about to send Isen off to get something, and whatever it was, it wouldn't be easy. If it was, they would have handled it themselves. "What sort of favor, Master Tik?"
Tik shrugged and grinned. "An adventurous one. Right down your alley, yes?"
"What do I need to do?"
"Track down the holocron of Master Sabla-Mandibu. It has precisely what you are looking for. While I don't condone it personally, I know what you seek is a way to weaponize the plants that are around you. I'm sure you have given great contemplation to befriending a rancor or a loth-wolf to do the same if you haven't already, hmm?" As always, Master Tik had the right of it. "Whether I agree with it or not, you're stubborn enough to figure it out, so we may as well recover Master Mandibu's holocron. I have been searching for it for more than twelve years."
Isen looked at Tik incredulously. "What makes you think I can find it any sooner than that?"
"Well, I have a lead," Tik said back. "And...there are three parts necessary to open the holocron as it turns out."
"Three parts?" Isen asked. "Three parts to the holocron?"
"Not exactly," Tik said. "I've spent decades scouring what was left of the Jedi Archives. So much has been lost. Master Mandibu's holocron has been missing for nearly one thousand years. But, in my research I found a ledger written by Jedi Master Astaal Vilbum who was Caretaker of First Knowledge for the Jedi Order during the days of the Galactic Republic. According to that ledger, we need a memory crystal that is tied to the holocron as well as a living branch from a lightning tree to provide an electrostatic charge in order to open it."
Isen should his head. "And if they're not all together?"
"They're certainly not," Tik responded. "The most likely location of the holocron itself is on a downed High Republic Era cruiser on the Rooted Moon in the Hertzal system orbiting Hertzal Prime. It was in transport during the time of the Great Hyperspace Disaster it is believed, and the cruiser it was on was rerouted to help with cleanup. However, a straggling piece of debris struck the ship and it went down on the moon."
"Ok, that's the holocron," Isen said. "What about the crystal?"
The Mirlian master sighed and said, "Well, we believe that it is in the hands of a pirate gang that operate with the protection of the Pykes near a slaving camp on Kessel. It's not an easy ask, I know."
Isen rubbed his face with a downward motion as he asked, "Dare I ask about this lightning tree? Should I? What are the odds that we will even find the holocron and the crystal? We don't even know for sure if they are where you think they are? It's just another lead, right? You've been tracking leads for decades now."
"True, but none as promising as this," Master Tik said. "As for the tree, they grow naturally on the planet Radhii, but they are far too dangerous to try and bring a living sample home. But that should be the easy part. I have a contact in Coruscant who runs a nursery that specializes in rare plants. He happens to have a small lightning tree with formed branches producing electrostatic. He's just..."
"What?" Isen asked. He was afraid to, quite honestly.
"He's going to require some sort of payment, but he won't take credits. He'll ask you to perform a task. Maybe it will be getting a dangerous plant from a different location or maybe it will be providing protection duty as a highly valuable specimen is transported from his shop to a new buyer's. He's a strange bird, so there really is no telling." He handed Isen the ledger with all of the information on it. "Will you try to bring this holocron and what we need to open it to Pilgrim's Point? After we have some Jedi here that have mastered its techniques so that we can teach others, we will gladly return it back to the Jedi Archives."
"What's left of them," Isen said dryly.
"Yes, what is left of them," Master Tik said. "The only way to refill the archives is to do exactly what I am asking of you, Isen Ramm."
Isen took a long look at the ledger. Learning Consitor Sato was going to be a much more involved and dangerous prospect than he originally expected. The Jedi Knight took a deep breath before standing and bowing to Master Yuul Tik. "I will do my best, Master Tik."
Master Tik stood and bowed back. "I know you will, Isen. And I am quite confident that your best will be more than sufficient. Just...don't blow anything up if you don't have to, hmm?"
As he sat in the public transport vehicle that was entering Jedha's atmosphere, however, he became acutely aware of how much he benefited from being raised on this cold, relatively inhospitable planet. He had a natural thirst for action and adventure that bordered on carelessness. He naturally gravitated to the lightsaber and was perhaps too quick to solve problems with it. The Jedi at Pilgrim's Point, however, were older, slower, and contemplative. It made for a boring childhood, but Isen couldn't help but smirk that his raising likely tempered some desires and temptations that could have done him more harm than good.
When they landed on a landing pad in Pilgrim's Point and he exited the transport, he was surprised to see Jedi Master Yuul Tik waiting for him. The Mirilian Master's arms were crossed and he showed no emotion for seeing Isen Ramm for the first time in half a decade. Not that he would. Isen was considered a poor "student" by most of the Masters at Pilgrim's Point. Fraught with potential to be sure, but a dangerous potential that took only lightsaber training seriously and ignored the more scholastic pursuits that Pilgrim's Point was noted for. "Isen Ramm...Jedi Knight they say," Master Tik said as Isen approached him.
"What does that say about their standards, Master Tik?" Isen asked giving no hint of humor with his face. "They'll promote anyone these days."
Tik had a fine memory and remembered the dry wit of Isen Ramm as a youngling. He grinned finally and put a hand on Isen's shoulder. "Indeed, but I dare say you are proving yourself worthy of the title."
They started walking together, but the comment took the Kiffar by surprise. "Why do you say that? Have you been keeping tabs on me? To punish me once more, no doubt?"
Master Tik laughed gently and shook his head. "No, no. But when you blow up a Sith base on Sullust, word travels around the Jedi circles. When the others here heard that it was one of our younglings that set the bombs, why, they didn't quite know how to respond."
"Oh? How so?"
"We're not a very adventurous lot here, Isen. You know that well enough," Tik said. "The Jedi here aren't interested in war or missions or saving the galaxy anymore. Many of them think it can't be done. Others believe what the Force wills is what will happen regardless of Jedi intervention. Still, to know that one of the younglings they taught became a Jedi Knight and played some an integral part in dealing a blow like that to the Sith? Even those that wouldn't admit it are proud of you for that."
Isen continued to walk shoulder to shoulder with the aging Master as they entered into one of the greenhouses from an outside door. "I didn't know the Jedi here were staying up to date with all of that."
Master Tik lifted a brow as he looked at Isen. "Come no! It was in the monthly newsletter!" Both of them had a good laugh at that. "Isen, I know you aren't here to reminisce. That isn't your way. You're here for a purpose. What is it?"
Master Tik sat down on a bench that was surrounded by beautiful flowering vines that smelled of honey and nectar. A quick look around and it was easy for Isen to see how many of the aging Jedi wouldn't want to leave this Eden to put themselves in mortal danger. Isen never felt that he would have that same issue, but then again, he wasn't aging yet. He motioned to the many plants in the greenhouse, most of which grew larger and their colors more vibrant under the cultivation of the Jedi and their use of the Force. "This, Master. I'm here to learn how to manipulate plant growth. There is no better place to learn, is there?"
The Mirilian sat back deep into the bench, leaning away from Isen as he considered him. "Consitor Sato, hmm?"
Isen tilted his head and shrugged which brought a laugh to Master Tik's lips. "Consitor Sato. It's the formal name we use for "plant surge," because it's so much more than just plants growing real fast. Tell me, Isen. Why do you wish to learn Consitor Sato? Are the fruit trees on Yavin IV not providing large enough melons?"
Even Isen had to smirk slightly at that. "Not exactly. I'm becoming and more and more adept at using the Force to create Force bonds and taming wild beasts, and..."
"And, if you can control the plants and the beasts, what a formidable Jedi you would be in the wilderness, yes?" Tik interrupted.
Isen nodded. Master Tik had the right of it. While the Jedi here at Pilgrim's Point studied botany for purely academic pursuits, Isen was preparing to specialize in mastering the wilderness- the jungles, forests, and even the shallow seas to help him on missions, particularly when missions involved hostile opposition. He had no idea how Master Tik would respond to such a request, but he had come here to learn nonetheless.
Tik sighed and eyed the young Jedi Knight for several moments. "What you truly need, we do not have."
Isen deflated slightly and asked, "You can't teach me what I want to learn?"
"We can teach you what you want to learn, but not what you truly need to learn," Tik responded. "I say that. You could learn it here, but it would take longer than I know you have the patience for using our methods. Look at these plants. They may have started wild, but they have been trimmed, groomed, manipulated by us. They grow for us as we bend the Force to our desires because these plants have been trained, bred even to respond to us through the Force. That will not be the case in the jungles of Teth or the forests of Daltarri. Perhaps...you could do us a favor here at Pilgrim's Point and through that favor, you would get what you need."
Now it was Isen's turn to sit back and consider Master Tik. He didn't like where this was going. Master Tik was about to send Isen off to get something, and whatever it was, it wouldn't be easy. If it was, they would have handled it themselves. "What sort of favor, Master Tik?"
Tik shrugged and grinned. "An adventurous one. Right down your alley, yes?"
"What do I need to do?"
"Track down the holocron of Master Sabla-Mandibu. It has precisely what you are looking for. While I don't condone it personally, I know what you seek is a way to weaponize the plants that are around you. I'm sure you have given great contemplation to befriending a rancor or a loth-wolf to do the same if you haven't already, hmm?" As always, Master Tik had the right of it. "Whether I agree with it or not, you're stubborn enough to figure it out, so we may as well recover Master Mandibu's holocron. I have been searching for it for more than twelve years."
Isen looked at Tik incredulously. "What makes you think I can find it any sooner than that?"
"Well, I have a lead," Tik said back. "And...there are three parts necessary to open the holocron as it turns out."
"Three parts?" Isen asked. "Three parts to the holocron?"
"Not exactly," Tik said. "I've spent decades scouring what was left of the Jedi Archives. So much has been lost. Master Mandibu's holocron has been missing for nearly one thousand years. But, in my research I found a ledger written by Jedi Master Astaal Vilbum who was Caretaker of First Knowledge for the Jedi Order during the days of the Galactic Republic. According to that ledger, we need a memory crystal that is tied to the holocron as well as a living branch from a lightning tree to provide an electrostatic charge in order to open it."
Isen should his head. "And if they're not all together?"
"They're certainly not," Tik responded. "The most likely location of the holocron itself is on a downed High Republic Era cruiser on the Rooted Moon in the Hertzal system orbiting Hertzal Prime. It was in transport during the time of the Great Hyperspace Disaster it is believed, and the cruiser it was on was rerouted to help with cleanup. However, a straggling piece of debris struck the ship and it went down on the moon."
"Ok, that's the holocron," Isen said. "What about the crystal?"
The Mirlian master sighed and said, "Well, we believe that it is in the hands of a pirate gang that operate with the protection of the Pykes near a slaving camp on Kessel. It's not an easy ask, I know."
Isen rubbed his face with a downward motion as he asked, "Dare I ask about this lightning tree? Should I? What are the odds that we will even find the holocron and the crystal? We don't even know for sure if they are where you think they are? It's just another lead, right? You've been tracking leads for decades now."
"True, but none as promising as this," Master Tik said. "As for the tree, they grow naturally on the planet Radhii, but they are far too dangerous to try and bring a living sample home. But that should be the easy part. I have a contact in Coruscant who runs a nursery that specializes in rare plants. He happens to have a small lightning tree with formed branches producing electrostatic. He's just..."
"What?" Isen asked. He was afraid to, quite honestly.
"He's going to require some sort of payment, but he won't take credits. He'll ask you to perform a task. Maybe it will be getting a dangerous plant from a different location or maybe it will be providing protection duty as a highly valuable specimen is transported from his shop to a new buyer's. He's a strange bird, so there really is no telling." He handed Isen the ledger with all of the information on it. "Will you try to bring this holocron and what we need to open it to Pilgrim's Point? After we have some Jedi here that have mastered its techniques so that we can teach others, we will gladly return it back to the Jedi Archives."
"What's left of them," Isen said dryly.
"Yes, what is left of them," Master Tik said. "The only way to refill the archives is to do exactly what I am asking of you, Isen Ramm."
Isen took a long look at the ledger. Learning Consitor Sato was going to be a much more involved and dangerous prospect than he originally expected. The Jedi Knight took a deep breath before standing and bowing to Master Yuul Tik. "I will do my best, Master Tik."
Master Tik stood and bowed back. "I know you will, Isen. And I am quite confident that your best will be more than sufficient. Just...don't blow anything up if you don't have to, hmm?"
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