Bluebirds Fly: The Forest

[Amelia Saltori]

“This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or as random as a blaster.”

A lightsaber is the trademark weapon of choice for a force wielder, be they Jedi or Sith, and the construction of such a device is said to be a great challenge for the user, and an opportunity for them to show their devotion to their cause, almost like a right of passage.

Today was such a day for Amelia Saltori, who would be embarking on a journey to craft the most personal of weapons - some say that it should be an extension of one’s own arm. After long sessions of meditation, a destination for the first part of her journey had become apparent to her, Endor...

In a galaxy as hostile and dangerous and this one, it was unwise to travel alone, especially on a spiritual journey, so Amelia had opted to bring some companions along with her: Leviticus, and Terria, both padawans aswell, but one much newer, just like Amelia. She would meet them in a hangar on Jedha, dressed in her regular Jedi robes and no weapons to weigh her down.

Perching herself on a supply crate, just below the ramp to a Nexus II Light Freighter that they would use for their travels, she waited patiently for the others to arrive.

OOC Note: While this first post occurs in the temple on Jedha, the thread is set to take place on Endor.
@Panda @vamp @Nor'baal

 

[Levi Solus]

Though for Amelia today was important because she was crafting her lightsaber, today was important for Levi because he would be helping. He'd been pushed to that—being happy to just help, without expecting anything in return. It was quite clearly Jedi-like and grounds for praise, but if someone had told Levi a few months ago that this would be the type of person he'd become, he would have scoffed. The Empire really brought out the worst parts of him, and being separated from it for so long was doing him wonders. He felt like he'd escaped an abusive relationship, which, really, was not entirely inaccurate.

He strode over the durasteel floor with light steps, his lightsaber clipped to his belt and occasionally bumping into his hip as he walked. Sure, he could have built one of his own alongside Amelia, but though he embraced the light side, it did not yet embrace him. Trying to tame a kyber would simply result in it refusing to work with him, and that would just be a waste of time that would also make Levi very sad. There was still some time to go until he could make a new lightsaber without being forced to bleed the crystal—not that he wanted to. The one he currently had now had lasted him his entire life, and he'd loathe to part with it. It only made him more desperate to purify the crystal, which was still crimson—and, to be fair, an alarming sight, should he step onto the battlefield amongst other rebels. Friendly fire was a very real thing.

Levi entered the hangar and immediately spotted Amelia on top of a crate. Finding that he was the first to get there, he waved as he approached, a small introductory smile on his face.

"Nervous?" he asked, leaning up against the crate she was sitting on.

@Stratus @Panda @Nor'baal

 

[Donny]

Endor was a strange place, quite unlike its more popular Forest Moon (also, confusingly known as 'Endor' to just about anyone who had a ship), it was a gas giant, and noteably lacking in any sort of dense foliage and small bear-like natives that one came to associate with the name. For Donny, the fact he was standing on an atmospheric platform some hundred kilometers above the center of a gas giant, and not in a deck chair, surrounded by small furry creatures with a deep loving for foliage, was a dead givaway that he was in-fact, on the wrong Endor.

"Shit." he swore to himself, much to the dissapproval of the somewhat haughty owners of the yacht he had arrived on. Lord and Lady Wandrilliax, who came from a sizable gas mining inheritance, considered Donny to be rude to say the least, and uncouth to state the worse. After all, when he had pitched up on their ship, a lop-sided grin on his face, and a Nalfrixian Jucrbid Wranger (one of the strongest jelly based drinks in the Corellian sector) in his hand, and had askd, quite clearly, to go to 'Endor, or sumthing.', what did he expect...if not to actually go to Endor?

Deliberating what to do, Donny inititally settled on trying to make the best of a bad situation, and scanned the horizon for a bar.

A few moments later, he was blagging his way on a mega-freighter, waving goodbye to the Wandrilliax', and heading for the Forest Moon of Endor, which he hoped would have, A. more bars and B. less gas gaints.

He was not to be disappointed, and a short trip through the sub-eather saw him arriving on the 'other' Endor a few hours later. With a 'thank you' and a half-meant promise to write, made to the Captain of the Mega-Freighter, he stepped off the docking ramp, and breathed in the heady air of the forest moon. Putting on his sunglassed, he walked forward, gave the immigration official the slip, and headed for the nearest authority figure he could find...otherwise known as the nearest barman (a noted authority in many regards, most involving drunkenness) and made himself known.

"Donny," he said, slapping five credits on the counter "...Encylopedia Galactica, Researcher and Field...Agent? Two of your finest Endorian stouts please." he winked, watching as the barman gestured to the prices board, and feeling his jaw hit the floor, apologise to it, and jump back up again. "One tapwater please." he continued, as if nothing had happened, the only good feeling he had, being the practical operating song of his liver, as it realised its daily waterboarding had been delayed.

 

[Terria Cyrrl]

It had been a little while since Terria had been lifted into the ranks of the Jedi. Her rebel days were long from over, but for the first time a long time, she felt like she was truly at peace with herself to a certain degree. Sure, she still had her moments of weakness, anger, fear, etc. but she was only a Padawan, the whole point of the rank was to learn and try to master yourself to the point where you could be called Knight, maybe Master too one day. One of the things she had looked forward to the most was finally building her Lightsaber, it was like a rite of passage for a lot of fledgling Jedi and, although the Jedi in her wanted to deny this, the fact that she would be making a laser sword was just so kriffing COOL.

Good for her, then, that she wasn't the only one that was undertaking the journey at this point. A few other Jedi had decided to make the journey and they'd all decided it was probably best to travel together for the sake of safety. She'd met Levi already with their investigation into the weapon smuggling ring a few weeks ago, but Donny and Amelia were new to her. She hadn't been aware of many Padawans outside her immediate circle, studies and training took up a lot of her time so she didn't really have a chance to get out, as it were. Still, hopefully, this trip would be a good chance for her and the others to get to know each other a bit more and, maybe, become friends.

@vamp @Donny @Stratus

 

[Amelia Saltori]

Amelia looked up as Levi approached her. She was obviously nervous. Who wouldn’t be? They were heading out into the unknown (to her) galaxy to forge laser swords to fight as “magic” wielding beings in a galactic-wide conflict, If she had been told this just a year ago she would have scoffed at such an idea, but today it was a reality.

Bricking it, mate she mused. Levi didn’t need to suddenly develop telepathy to see that, but it doesn’t hurt to feign confidence; what’s the worst that could come of it? “Only a little. I’m just excited to finally get going. I’ve been waiting so long and I feel so helpless without a way to defend myself...” Amelia self consciously looked down at her palms and made a clenched fist, before immediately looking back up into Levi’s blue eyes, where she lost herself. Snapping back to reality, she quickly averted her gaze and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Over Levi’s shoulder, she noticed Terria walk into the hangar. “Hey!” She waved her over, eager to make another new friend. “It’s so great to finally meet you- both of you”, she corrected.

“Let’s get going shall we?”

~*~​

The ship rocked as it left hyperspace over Endor, and Amelia’s eyes almost became as large as the moon itself as she took in the sheer beauty of the forest moon. Uninterrupted greenery was quite a stark difference to the ecumenopolis of Denon that she had grown up on. Maybe that’s why I felt the connection to this place... it couldn’t be further from my past...

Beaming, she turned to her companions and shook with glee, physically resisting the urge to jump on the spot. Leaving the cockpit, she ran to her quarters to gather her belongings for their time on the ground. Amelia’s room looked like a bomb had gone off but, to the amazement of the rest of the people on board, still seemed to still know exactly where things were.

As the ship shook during reentry, the young Jedi tried her best to swallow her nerves and prove to the others that she was as brave as she tried so hard to appear, but couldn’t help a tear forming in her eye. This is it.

@Panda @vamp @Nor'baal

 

[Levi Solus]

It was strange how there were some Jedi that still did not have lightsabers, and he was walking around—a mere hopeful, no less—with one that he had built and been using for so long it may as well have been an extra limb. Levi could not imagine going out without his lightsaber at his side—perhaps a problematic attachment, but a natural one. He was looking forward to helping Amelia—and Terria, since it seemed she was looking to make one too—out.

Offering a reassuring smile as the girl seemed to stare at him—out of nervousness? attraction?—he did his best to seem supportive. "But remember—a lightsaber should be your last resort," he remarked, flashing Terria a knowing look. He wouldn't be surprised if the Echani didn't reprimand him for his mistake on Jedha again later.

—— Ω ——​

Their ships landed without issue, the journey having been relatively long but uneventful. He'd gotten to know the two women better in the time it took them to get to Endor's moon, which, truth be told, he had been growing more and more eager to see. When they arrived, he immediately tore out, staring at the forest around them with relatively well-contained awe. "I like it," he remarked. "I'm gonna go get a drink," he added, noting a bar and immediately heading off toward it. While Amelia was having a moment of genuine self-discovery, Levi was just eager to see if Mandalorian alcohol tasted the same on the other side of the galaxy. Oh, his father would be so fekking proud.

"A Keldabe city whiskey for me!" he called to the bartender the moment he walked in through the door, noting that there was just one other person in the entire cantina. Either no one drank on Endor's moon or this place was notoriously unpopular. Uncaring, he simply headed up and sat down next to the man, curious as to what brought the two together in this run-down bar. Levi was here out of convenience's sake; perhaps the man could shed some light on why it was so empty.

"You a local?" he asked, looking at the traveler as the two waited for their drinks—a whiskey and a glass of tap water.

@Stratus @Panda @Nor'baal