Lost Stars

[Alysanne Drast]

Anchorhead, Tatooine​

Alys was rather pleased with herself. Her trip to Coruscant with Greybok had been a success, though slightly more eventful than she would have preferred. But it had borne fruit, and what they had discovered was too big for just the two of them to deal with. That's why she had left Coruscant almost immediately, trying to find Aurora again and ultimately tracking her down to Tatooine, where the rebels had just gained a small victory.

She had been going through the books she had found on the flight to Tatooine, and she was convinced that this was every bit as big as she had hoped it would be. As she waited in the kitchen of one of the houses the rebels were using as a base of operations on Anchorhead, she idly flipped through more pages and marveled at the simple fact that she was holding something in her hands that had been written on well more than half a millenia ago.

Hearing a sound from outside, someone entering the house, she looked up from the book and glanced towards the entrace to the kitchen that lead towards the front of the house. "Master Blackwood?"

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Al’doleem was a near paradise. The river world was tranquil in a way few places ever were. Savareen was all ocean and sand, but fairly temperate. All things considered, not a terrible place to spend some time. Tatooine was a whitewashed hell scape. A world ruled by unbearable heat and insufferable sand. Cities were conquered by gangsters and the deserts marauded by murderers. Of course, this was the world the growing Alliance had decided would be a suitable location for new endeavors.

Aurora understood the reasoning. Tatooine was far from the Empire’s power, and they could easily blend in with the riffraff. That didn’t mean she had to like it. She didn’t particularly enjoy regularly bumping elbows with the dregs of the criminal barrel. Well, and the sand. She really really disliked the sand. There was no way to keep it out of your clothes and she was constantly finding grains of sand weeks after she left Tatooine. Unfortunately, Tatooine was becoming a hub of Alliance activity. Setting up their operations here meant a great deal of time and effort. Aurora was finding it impossible to escape the sandy desert.

At least this time she had a good reason for being here. Her young student Alysanne had uncovered something apparently marvelous. So wonderful it couldn’t wait and she dragged Aurora to Tatooine. The Morellian Jedi could only pray that it truly was marvelous and wonderful. Alysanne had not shared her discovery over holo or truly how she had stumbled upon it. The young Drast was typically fairly measured which meant it must have been something important. Aurora stepped through the door of the small safe house Alysanne was using. She was wearing her customary travel worn robes, black boots, and earthy toned clothing. Aurora raised her voice as she heard her name called. “Not a murderer.” Her boots clanked on the floor as she wandered into the kitchen. She smiled at her young student. Every once and awhile she had to remind herself that a name meant nothing. “Alright kid, what’s so important it couldn’t possibly wait?” A ancient looking text was on the table. Curious. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Alys flipped the book around and slid it towards Aurora, getting straight to the point. She was way too excited about this to bother with niceties, though she got the feeling Aurora probably liked this approach better than idle chit chat. "Back when I was on..Korriban" she lowered her voice as she uttered the last word, Aurora might know who she was but not everyone did, and she had grown to like how everyone treated her here and didn't want the small matter of her name ruining that, "I stumbled upon an old text in the library, not as old as this one but pretty old. It spoke of the fall of a precursor to the Galactic Alliance, a few generations before the one that..er..the one that Alais overthrew." Still a little uncomfortable talking about anything and everything Drast with her Jedi Master, Alys paused for a moment, not sure if Aurora would explode or roll her eyes, but after a moment she soldiered on.

"It said that a lot of Coruscant was destroyed during the fall, but some of the older Coruscant might still exist, buried beneath the surface." She waited for Aurora to process that, maybe expecting to see some of her own excitement reflected on her face, but whatever Aurora's reaction Alys could not contain her own excitement and continued speaking, getting to her feet now and her voice slightly sharper and words coming out a little faster. "We found it! Grey and I went to Coruscant and we found one of the lost archives! There were so many books, and rooms full of records, and..." She realized what she was about to say next and her excitement subsided, the young Drast visibly deflated.

"We only managed to save this, there were killer droids and they went a little crazy.. She dropped back into the seat as the disappointment of saving only one book dampened her mood once more as she continued speaking with much less excitement, the words coming out almost like an afterthought. "I don't wanna talk about it. This is good though, it mentions a lost world in the Mid Rim, thought it might be a good base for us. Thought you'd wanna know."

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Alysanne was still adjusting to her life as a Rebel. There were times Aurora could still see it in the young Drast’s eyes. The Morellian Jedi had not exactly made things easy on her newest student. Their first meeting had been filled with judgment Aurora should have been above. Alysanne was very much not her lineage. She was a young girl tying to find her place in the galaxy. A place Aurora was trying to solidify. She wanted Alysanne to feel comfortable so that she could learn. “You don’t have to whisper the word, I won’t turn to dust if you say Korriban.” There was guilt Aurora was only beginning to uncover. She understood the burden of legacy.

What was more important was whyAlysanne was excited. Aurora listened carefully as the young girl exuberantly explained her little adventure and the reason for the excitement. She frowned slightly. “I wish you’d spent a little less time with the Wookie…he’s a bad influence.” That wookie was going to get them all in trouble, along with that damnable droid. She didn’t need young Alysanne getting any ideas from the pair of them. “We are going to talk about the killer droids and I’m going to have a chat with Greybok about this little adventure.”

There was difference between practical experience and being reckless. She suspected Greybok was being far more reckless than Aurora desired. Her eyes ticked down to the book, scanning the very old pages. Interesting. A lost planet in the Mid-Rim would truly be a miraculous discovery. There wasn’t much left undiscovered in the Mid and Inner Rim. This could truly be a fate changing event. Aurora smiled broadly. “Alysanne, this is truly incredible. I am frankly speechless.” She looked around the room, the Force tugging at her mind. “We have to go.” She felt compelled to get moving. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

"It's not you I'm worried about." Alys said somewhat glumly at Aurora's comment about turning to dust. "I've seen how some of the others talk about the Empire, I doubt they'll like who I am." She knew how impractical it was to assume that no one would ever come to know who she was, a lot of them probably already knew. But what was the harm in a little caution. Maybe she'd get a little more time before they came to know and started treating her differently. She liked how they treated her right now. As just another stupid kid.

She tried her best to ignore everything Aurora said about Greybok and her misadventures, what was pretty clearly a scolding. She could see the manuscript was having the same effect on the Jedi Master that it had had on her, and her excitement was returning. But when Aurora did speak up after examining the book Alys was a little surprised by what she said. She was about to make some comment about how Aurora had to agree that Alys had done the right thing in dragging her to Tatooine, till she heard the rest of it.

"Go? Go where?" She just stared at the Jedi Master as she slowly got to her feet, "Wait, you don't mean go look for this planet on our own, do you?" She was feeling a weird mixture of confusion, excitement, and fear, and as a result was blind to the tugs of the Force. She had hoped to convince Aurora to get the rebels to go search for the planet, but and wanted to be present when that happened, but did Aurora actually mean for just the two of them to go it on their own?

"Do you?"

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

One day Alysanne would conquer the insecurities surrounding her name. Aurora suspected it would be a longer journey for Alysanne to herself. It would happen. In time, and with a little help. She forced her mind back into the room. This was not the time to consider the personal battles of her young student. The new discovery was what required her attention. She honestly couldn’t even begin to wrap her mind around how this could change everything. There might finally be a place outside Al’doleem where the Jedi were safe. A world that Sith didn’t even know about. Aurora couldn’t help but laugh at Alysanne’s question.

“Oh, we are going my young Padawan.” Her hand reached out to flip through the pages of the book. She raised a hand to stop any panic. “But not alone. I’ve lived too long to mysteriously disappear on a forgotten world no one knows I went to.” Aurora could be borderline reckless at times, even a little overconfident, but she wasn’t dumb. This was a discovery they needed to share with the Alliance. A discovery that required a proper exploration. “We need to inform Commander Ion and our fellow Jedi.”

She started to walk around the kitchen, her boots thudding on the floor. A thousand thoughts were whirring around her mind. “This is bigger than us, much much bigger.” Aurora wanted to get moving quickly. “What else do you know about the world? Anything?” It would be helpful if they sort of knew what they were going to get into. She didn’t like the idea of totally flying in blind. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten how you got this.” That damn wookie was turning them all into criminals, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it. She was trying very hard to avoid it. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Aurora's words helped calm some of the nerves that had crept into Alys, and being called a padawan and hearing Aurora mention informing the Jedi and counting Alys among them brought a smile to her face. The simple fact that Jedi existed and she was actually training to be one of them still blew her mind on a regular basis.

"Nothing," she spoke up in response to Aurora's question about what else she knew about the planet, "the archives we found this book in was practically a graveyard for books. Almost everything had turned to dust. And what little survived was lost in the uh.." she paused for a moment as she recalled Aurora's reaction to her earlier mention of the killer robots, "the rest was lost in all the blasterfire when the robots attacks."

"It really wasn't Grey's fault, I dragged him along. So in a way it was my fault." She liked Grey, and she really didn't want him getting in trouble on her account. So whatever salvaging she could do, she would. "So, the Commander. He knows about me? Do you think he'll trust this information? Maybe we can tell him you found the book?" She had brought up the Commander just to change the topic, but as she had started speaking she had realized a genuine concern. It really was going to take quite some time for her to become comfortable with her name among the rebels.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

She grunted. It was disappointing they had no other information on the lost planet. They would be walking onto a foreign world with no sense of what they might find. Dangerous, but thrilling. Aurora couldn’t help the shiver of excitement that climbed up her spine. This all almost seemed like a dream. A very strange and unbelievable dream. As Alysanne mentioned the fire again, Aurora fought to keep the frown off her face. She really was going to have a long long conversation with Greybok about the safety of her students. The Jedi Master wagged a finger. “Don’t think I place the blame fully on Greybok. You know better than to be so reckless.” She was carefull to ensure her tone was not a harsh rebuke. “But Greybok, for all his flaws, knows much better.”

Aurora could just hear that infernal droid screeching away in the back of her mind. By the Force she disliked that thing. “We have promised to keep Commander Ion informed of those we take as students…but he does not dictate who I decide to teach.” There was some tension between Aurora had Hugo. She really did not like being told what to do. She had never been great with authority. “This is your discovery Alys. We are going to tell him you found it, and if he doesn’t trut you…” Aurora paused for a moment. Her face became light as she smiled. “Then I will remind Command Ion the Order is not beholden to the Rebellion and I trust my students completely.”

She shook her head slowly. “Your name is not who you are…I was wrong the first time we met to judge you because of your family.” Aurora smile broadened. “I trust you, and that is all that matters.” She let the serious tone fade from her voice. “Get your stuff together, we need to get moving, kid.” Aurora felt like a kid again, she wanted to get on their way. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Alys nodded as Aurora explained the relationship between the Jedi and Commander Ion. She felt a little comforted by the Jedi Master's words. Like a child she still felt relieved at reassurances of what Aurora had already demonstrated by taking Alys on as a student, that she seemed to trust her despite who she was.

"Thank you." She said as Aurora reaffirmed her trust in Alys and she finally pushed away her worries and let the excitement of what was to come take over again. Gathering her things, few though they might be, she followed after Aurora as they headed to meet the commander of the Galactic alliance.

A few hours later...

Having presented her findings to the Commander, and explained what she thought waited for them, Alys was waiting outside the small room where Aurora, Ion, and a few others were discussing whether or not to go ahead with her plan, to send a small team to search for this secret planet. She hoped that they were see things like Aurora had, the potential benefits of discovering such a world from a purely strategic point of view alone were tremendous for the rebellion, forgetting the purely scientific and exploratory rewards.

She was playing the meeting in her head, trying to think if she could have said something better, or if she had forgotten to say something altogether. For now she was trying to ignore how she thought the Commander might her reacted to her, she needed to move on from that and focusing on the planet was a perfect distraction. As the door finally opened and Aurora stepped out, Alys jumped to her feet, falling into step besides the Jedi Master. "So? What did you decide? Does he agree? Are we going?" The questions flew out of the padawan's lips, giving the Jedi Master no opportunity to answer one before she jumped to another.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora wink at Alysanne. “You can always count on me, kid. No matter what…give me a few hours to call Hugo.” She didn’t exactly relish the conversation with the Galactic Alliance Commander. A part of her wished she could simply take command of these things herself. But, the Jedi were still a secret within the Rebellion. That meant she needed to operate within the confines of the command structure. Aurora couldn’t simple go about demand action because she was a Jedi Master. She would be the good little solider. Over the next several hours the Morellian Jedi made a series of calls. She alerted several trusted Alliance members of the planet, including Devrim, left a scathing little message for Greybok, and contacted a handful of her other students. They all needed to be ready if she called on them.

Finally, Aurora reached out to Hugo. The Commander of the Galactic Alliance gave his stamp of approval to begin exploration of the planet. Aurora and Alysanne were given permission to organize the missions down to the planet’s surface. They were also given whatever resources they needed to ensure the safety and success of the exploration. It was all coming together nicely. In short order, Aurora had everything arranged. She made sure Hugo knew this had been Alysanne’s discovery and she deserved every ounce of the credit. He could do with that what he would.

Aurora walked back into the kitchen to be bombarded with questions. She should have been ready for the steady stream from her young Padawan. The Jedi Master held up a hand. “By the Force, one at a time.” She smiled softly. “We have the blessing of Commander Ion…he agrees the uncharted world could potentially be of great use to the Alliance.” Aurora pointed at the book. “So yes, we are going and we need to get going soon.” She didn’t want to waste any time. A discovery like this needed to be jumped on. @Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

If Alys had been excited before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now, after hearing Aurora's answers to her many questions. They were actually going!

Barely able to contain her excitement, she practically skipped along besides Aurora as they began discussing logistics and personnel assignments and a great many other details that she would normally have found exceedingly boring but now she couldn't get enough off.

There was still much to do, and even after reaching the coordinates hinted at in the book there was the matter of actually searching for the planet, but she was sure they would figure it all out. This had been what had her worried the most, actually getting permission to go explore this planet. And now that they had that she felt as if nothing could stop her. They were about to go on an adventure like the ones she had read about as a child, and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

They were actually going!

OOC: End Thread.

@Valen Pelora