A wrinkle in time

[Cale]

The Theme​

"Now where were we? Mm. Christophsis, that's right. Mira Albion had just died at my hand, moments too late to save Master Haas, and we were about to take off. Our intention was to return tto Anoth, and give over the two fallen for burial. As well as to report our findings, and conclusions regarding whether or not the world was suitable for use as a safe-haven. Neither of us were particularly cheerful, or entirely mentally sound, it must be said. Shock was taking its toll, and thus, what happened next is all a bit of a blur."

---

The Liberty, formerly belonging to Kiro Haas seemed almost like a cathedral, or a tomb, given the almost oppressive silence that reigned. Only the hum of the engines broke the quiet reverie that Khaimov and Nakoma found themselves in as the giant Kiffar slowly lifted the ship from where it had landed amid the crystalline debris. Khaimov was not an expert pilot, though he had learned a few tricks here and there of late, and so the rise was slow and deliberate, almost funereal. As the ship rose above the buildings, it rotated 180 degrees, and its nose lifted to point towards space. Then, with a roar, it surged forward to break through the atmosphere into the darkness.

As he made the calculations needed to send them homeward, the jedi knight sent out a probing thought towards the young padawan "Are you alright, my friend?"

He himself was not doing particularly well, given the rather bloody death suffered at the hands of the masters, and the feeling of failure that lingered like the sword of Damocles. Perhaps this was the cause of what happened next, as he engaged the hyperdrive. Perhaps it was simply one of those terrible accidents that occurs every so often, catapulting strange jedi into the future.

The hyperdrive engaged. The stars started to become lines. And then everything twisted, the bright white of hyperspace spiralling and becoming blue and golden for a moment, accompanied a loud bang of something exploding, possibly the universe. The lights faded, and reality came back into view, along with a weird wrenching sensation and great nausea, as though gravity was operating in several different directions all at once.

And there, on the vid screen, was a world. It was not a world that would be familiar to either Nakoma or Khaimov. It was a blue and green world, with clouds and oceans. It was certainly not Arbra, or Anoth.

 

[Wolf]

Nakoma was relieved to be leaving the surface of Christophsis. Her visit had been short, a lot shorter than she had anticipated, in fact. She and two of her fellow Jedi had been sent by the council to the crystalline planet to scout the possibility of constructing a temple. It would have served many needs for the Order, but those hopes had been dashed by a chance encounter with three stray Sith. No sooner had the trio of Jedi set out on their mission when they were confronted with the darksiders. A battle ensued, blood was shed, and lives were lost.

The Padawan was almost in a state of shock from the events that had unfolded before her eyes. Though she walked away victorious over her foe, she felt ashamed and disappointed in herself. With the hands that she had sworn to use for peace and justice, she had severely maimed the Sith Acolyte. Not just by her hands either, but with the Force...the Great Wind that had been flowing so strongly through her since she could remember. It was through this power that she had lifted the crystal shards that effortlessly severed the leg of the stranger.

Part of her wondered if he had survived the potentially fatal wound. He had lost a great deal of blood in just seconds. That blood was now upon the hands of the Laku'na and this weighed heavily upon her heart as she sat quietly in the seat near Khaimov. They said nothing to each other for quite some time and so in the lull, the images from the brutal fight replayed in the woman's mind. Never before had she seen someone die, especially in the manner in which Master Haas and her Sith equivalent had been struck from the land of the living.

"Are you alright, my friend?" Khaimov's gentle words touched her mind and it pulled her from the desparing train wreck of thoughts. A sad smile graced the woman's lips as she pushed a fallen lock of coal colored hair behind her ear. "I have to be, right?" The words carried a slight hint of sarcasm that Nakoma barely attempted to hide. She had been told countless times on countless occasions that this was the life of the Jedi, and to expect nothing less. Somewhere along the line, she lost the truth in this lesson, but had just been given a harsh reality check.

As the words meandered through the distance between them until they settled within the mind of the Bear, Nakoma watched as he flipped switches and pushed the buttons that would send the ship into hyperspace. Then something went wrong. For possessing a very limited knowledge of flight, the Laku'na was even aware nearly immediately that something had gone wrong. Her eyes darted to the windows as she searched for the familiar star streaks that indicated that they were moving in one direction. This is not what her gaze was met with however.

When the ship finally stopped jolting about and feeling as if it were being tugged from multiple directions, the Padawan placed a hand upon her stomach as nausea overwhelmed her. "What happened?" Her telepathic voice was shaky and frantic as she fixed her amber eyes upon a strange sight in the distance. "Where are we?" This was a thought of her own, but perhaps one that was also echoed by the Kiffar. It definitely was not Arbra and it looked nothing like anywhere else that she had ever been since leaving Galtea.

"Khaimov...I'm afraid."

 

[Empress]

Light had finally broken past the jagged, ancient snow packed peaks to the east, flooding the valley bellow with a warm radiance as it pushed the shadows away revealing the vast array of life that called this place home. Herds of Nerf grazed absently across the nearly emerald grass which had recently begun to turn the vivid hue as the snows continued to melt away. The scene was almost peaceful, and that the large horned beasts had nothing but the most care free of lives had it not been for the knowledge that just beyond the dense tree-lines lurked hungry vorn eager for a meal.
Above low mountain clouds split apart as several Thranta flew past, calling to each other in deep reverberating tones, diving periodically to just above the tree tops then back up. repeating this several times before vanishing over the nearest ridge. This was a typical morning in the Juran mountain range - and home to the noble houses of Alderaan.

It was here Sinuma found herself. While the view was one to take the breaths away of many a visitor, and native alike- she remained in a state separated from all forward thought. The Jedi Master found this an ideal place to simply sit- and let her thoughts fall away. Experiencing things just as they were, as they came to her TO be experienced. Something she had neglected to do as often as she would have liked.Work was still to be done, and much of her focus has gone into this one project that she hardly had time for moments like these.

Moments...

the woman forced herself to smile as the word played in her mind. All life is a moment, many moments shaped by conditions, but we lived in only one at any given time. It was in this moment that a soft breeze picked up, blowing her oddly streaked hair of platinum and black about her face, forcing her to tuck several of the loose strands behind her high pointed violet ears. she paused her motion for a moment as the breeze continued, bringing to her a new sensation, one redolent with the scent of the grasses and early flowers below. Shutting her ice blue eyes she paused a moment and just slightly reached out to allow her senses to mingle with the winds when.....

Eyes shot open and instantly she turned her attention to the sky, using her hand , placed just above her protruding brow ridges to protect herself from the glare of the sun. While she could not " see" anything - she felt it, something that should not have been there. a presence, or several. Something felt odd. Individuals coming and going from alderaan, force attuned or not was common. the " traffic" was by all other terms " just normal static. This... this was different, as if it had just suddenly appeared. Not like hyperspace, it seemed more forceful than that almost as if something tore.
moving swiftly The half danthiri, half sith Jedi bundled her long skirt about her as she began to leap from stone perch to stone perch trying to separate herself that much more from the plethora of life below her as to better get a feel for the anomaly above her.

 

[Cale]

The Bear's hand was on the console almost immediately following their sudden journey and the resultant sickness. It felt like he was exceptionally drunk, with the nauseous churning of his stomach and the way it seemed like the galaxy wouldn't stop spinning around him. The feeling passed after a moment and he slowly straightened up as Nakoma's words penetrated his skull

"Khaimov...I'm afraid."


He reached out his hand, and turned to look at her. "It will be okay, little bird. We just need to figure out where we are, and try and get the hyperdrive repaired. I assume that's what happened, anyway. Because this isn't Chrystophsis, and the trip wasn't nearly long enough to reach any of the systems around Arbra."

He said it out-loud before realising his mistake, and then sent the thought pattern to her, before turning to look back at the controls, and the planet. It was about then that he felt something, a strange presence in the Force. It beckoned him towards the planet, shining in his mind's eye as though a lighthouse amidst a storm. He shrugged to himself, looking a little perplexed, and then took control of the ship again, aiming it downwards, towards the stranger who shined so brightly below him.

"I think I know where to go. There's a jedi down there. Or at least some other very strong light-side force sensitive. They should be able to help us."

The ship cruised through the atmosphere, slowly making its way towards Sinuma and her mountain.

 

[Wolf]

Through the Force, Nakoma was able to decipher the speech of the tongue. It was with other sounds around her though that she struggled. Her connection to the Force had to be solid lest she fall prey because she did not feel what was coming. Most of the time, there was complete silence in her mind. When others spoke, if she was not completely focusing her mind's eye to decipher their speech, it would literally fall upon deaf ears. She did not expect everyone to use telepathy, as was the case with all of the other members of her tribe. Though this constant deciphering proved quite mentally taxing at times, the young woman had been building stamina for it since becoming a Jedi.

As Khaimov spoke, Nakoma was still defecting from the state of shock that had temporarily taken over. She did not even know that he had said anything, until the words entered her mind. For someone of such an intimidating exterior, the Knight was quite thoughtful and gentle. She smiled when he called her "little bird" and quickly regained her focus as he described a possible issue with the ship's hyperdrive. Though only having a limited knowledge of a hyperdrive and its function, the young woman nodded in agreement.

Though not as strongly as Khaimov could feel the presence, Nakoma felt some kind of tug from the planet below. It was a similar feeling that she had while upon Arbra, or in the presence of other Jedi. Then another thought crossed her mind and she allowed it to drift into Khaimov's. 'What if it's a trick? A trap?" She did not wish to have another surprise encounter like the one that they had just left upon Christophsis. Something deep within her let her know that this was different, somehow. The woman squinted her eyes as she focused upon the tranquil looking planet below while the ship began its descent.

 

[Empress]

With narrowing eyes, Sinuma Baatch watched from her perch upon the summit of the smaller mountain she had sought solace upon- watching the skies for signs of the new arrival she had picked up. Her mind reaching out the Jedi Master pushed past all that was about her, " looking" through the minds eye to take a look at the flames of life those incoming illuminated into the force. She felt warmpth, compassion, and even heart ache and sorrow - and confusion. They Felt to be in touch with the light side of the force- though her own dealings in life kept her from leaning too heavily on labels as light or dark when the force itself was mentioned. It was however a familiar glow wrapping about her senses in most cases but.....different.

Straining harder the half sith, half danthiri focused more on these differences, Their connections....they felt...wrong, out of place. It was a sensation she couldn't describe well. It was as if their connection to the force was intact, and awakened, however to look upon it closely was to see a distortion, like a layer of oil smeared across glass. Unsure of their intents Sinuma pushed out her essence about her, as if acting as a ancient lighthouse or beacon - had these individuals come to cause trouble it was best she kept them away from the larger populations. Her instinct told her she had little to worry about, yet she still found herself reaching behind and unclipping the saber-staff from its housing at the small of her back.

With a natural, and practiced movement of her thumb the air about was filled with the multi toned " snaaaap- hisssss". from both ends of the ornate cylinder sprang two blades of a righ magenta hue, however unlike most sabers which featured a brilliant white core, Sinuma's cores were a pale pink in nature, similar to that of a Voss cherry blossom. With herself exposed, beaming her presence she could only wait as she watched the craft descend, taken back by the rather unique design. Her curiosity was growing indeed.

 

[Cale]

The ship landed without much incident, though it's design was exceptionally foreign to these times. Whilst technology may not have greatly improved over the four millenia that separated them, aesthetic choices had. This ship was certainly one of a kind. As were its inhabitants. They had followed the force beacon across the countryside to this location, and it seemed that for the moment, their travels were at an end. What they didn't realise was just how long it would be before they got home.

The ship touched the ground, and Khai powered down. He looked over at Nakoma and gave her a reassuring smile. "Even if it is a trap, we shall overcome it. Trust in the Force, little bird. It is our ally and all shall be right I promise."
With that, he stood and began heading towards the docking ramp, saber held loosely in his right hand. Whilst the presence didn't seem hostile, the knight was in no particular mood to be trapped, and the recent death had hardened him a little.

The giant lead the way down the ramp and out into the sunlight. It was there that he saw the waiting figure, looking alien and attractive with a magenta saber-staff held at the ready. With barely a thought, his saber activated with the traditional snap-hiss and he frowned.

"Is this the way you treat all your guests, madam?"

 

[Wolf]

A crimson blush touched Nakoma's cheeks as Khaimov addressed her as "little bird" once again. His friendship was comforting in such a time as this when uncertainty abounded. As the ship touched down onto the foreign land, the young woman stood and brushed a few wrinkles from the black cloak that covered her dark tunic, leggings, and boots. She noted that Khaimov was reaching for his saber, and so she too took in her hand the only real weapon that she possessed.

As the pair emerged from the ship and stood upon the docking ramp, the Padawan's eyes searched the horizon before them. There she saw a figure with a brightly illuminated saberstaff. The woman did not feel hostile, but she was armed and this put the young Jedi on edge. Without hesitation, Nakoma followed Khaimov's example and ignited the saberstaff of the deceased Sith Juggernaut whose body now resided within the ship that they had piloted to this strange place. Two glowing beams of orange shot forth from each end of the dark hilt within the Laku'na's hand.

Nakoma's eyes were wide as she stood there, staring at the stranger across from them. So many thoughts crossed the Padawan's mind as she stood there, armed and possibly ready to defend herself yet again. This was shaping up to be more of a tumultuous day than she had ever imagined.