Episode One: The Jedi Academy

[wildknight]

The Jedi Academy

It has been five years since the Battle of Endor crippled the Galactic Empire. The New Republic has re-taken Coruscant and most of the Core Worlds, but the remnants of The Empire are fighting back. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, Hero of the Republic, has trained a handful of students in the ways of The Force, igniting once more the flame they once carried throughout the galaxy.

Using a series of rapid assaults, the Empire has recently begun re-taking worlds once lost to them. Fear spreads throughout the New Republic. The Senate has begun to apply political pressure to Master Skywalker to find and train as many Jedi as possible...

The Jedi Temple on Coruscant

The Masters Skywalker sat, brown robed and silent, while Senator Calrissian of Bespin, an old friend from the war years, outlined the Senate's current plan.

"... that by planting a Jedi Academy... a Praxeum, if you will, on Yavin, we get a huge symbolic victory. The problem being we need you two at the Temple here. If you could just name someone else a Master, so that..."

Luke shook his head. "Lando, I know that Mon Mothma convinced you to come here, but I don't appreciate you trading on our friendship like this. I can't just name somebody a Master... there simply isn't anyone who has advanced enough in their understanding of The Force. We don't even have enough young Sensitives to make it worth having two training facilities."

"What about Kenth Hamner, or Corran Horn? They began their training just after Endor, right?"

Luke looked at Leia, exhaustion evident in his still-young face. Leia, the practiced negotiator, nodded in silent agreement before proceeding. "Lando, you and my husband go way back, so I know he's told you how stubborn I can be. You tell the Senate this. If they want us to train Jedi more quickly, they need to provide us with the proper resources. And no, I do not mean one of their public relations jobs, like this proposed Praxeum. I sent a report to the Senate months ago, and they still haven't discussed it, much less voted. My brother and I only want one thing from you. We want the resources to track down the Children of the Force."

Lando nodded. "General Antilles said you would say that. He's allocated you a portion of his military budget for just that purpose, as well as a ship. Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors are on stand-by to run the mission for you. All you need to do is choose your operatives. Speaking of which... there are two people waiting outside, that the Chief of State would like you to consider."

Luke was already frowning. It seemed that the Senate had given a lot of thought to what should, ostensibly, be solely a Jedi matter. On top of that, he didn't trust Kyle Katarn. The man had the potential to become a Jedi Knight, but rejected training in favor of staying with his special ops unit.

Turning to C-3PO, Luke said, "Go find Tala Mei, and bring her here." Turning back to his old friend, Luke sighed. "Fine, bring them in."

Lando grinned broadly. "I think you'll like this, Luke. Sure, Mon Mothma may be doing it for the sake of image, but I think its got a nice sort of symmetry..."

"Who is it, Lando?" Leia cut him off.

"His name is Darrius Vahn Draay, and..."

"The actor?" Luke was incredulous.

"Well, this is going to be primarily about convincing people to take up Jedi training, right? Besides, after sending out you, this is the next best thing."

"He cannot pass himself off as me. I won't have the Order recruiting through treachery." Luke demanded.

Lando held up his hands. "Just meet with the guy. And his bodyguard..."

Luke and Leia both nodded. "Alright. Bring them in."

[dorkknight23]

"Mistress Mai?"

Tala was sitting in the middle of her room with her hydrospanner, focusing on it. Master Skywalker told her to feel the movement of the Force, and then she can pull the spanner towards her. She gently gets it up in the air, it wobbles for a second.

"Mistress Mai?"

The spanner drops. She grumbles, "What is it, Threepio?"

"Master Skwyalker requested your presence in the main chamber..."

She stands, wrapping her robe tight, muttering curses in Huttese.

"Language, Mistress Mai."

She makes her way to the main chamber.

=============
27 HP
Ref 15 (13), Fort 13, Will 11
Passive Perception 15

[brainstem]

Jam stands patiently by Darrius as they wait to be summoned into the room. While he knows that he's here on duty to his employer, he has not yet realized that he is also here as a potential recruit to the Order. The Force works in mysterious ways and, to Jam, it hasn't yet surfaced, although it certainly is there... somewhere.

"Mesa no likin' dis place," Jam says to Darrius, the thick bass in his voice resonating.

When Lando comes to get them, Jam strides into the room. His gait is less awkward than the normal lanky Gungan's walk, but his limbs are long enough where it is at least a touch interesting to watch. With his hand gripped firmly around the base of his atlatl, Jam cautiously waits to hear what the siblings Skywalker have to say.

-------
31 hp
Ref 18 (13), Fort 19, Will 13
Passive Perception 18

[Cernunnos]

Darrius Vahn Draay, or Luke Skywalker as he would have others think, was beside his bodyguard as he was called into a meeting room inside Coruscant’s Jedi Temple. As the two made their way toward the room Darrius, speaking in his normal overbearing voice, retorted in response to his bodyguard.

“You don’t have to like this place… just do your job.”

As they made their way toward the room when summoned, the two passed by other wanderers. Darrius looked up and spoke in his Luke Skywalker voice to the passers.

“May the Force be with you.”

Nodding in addition, he continued into the room.


===============================================================

Initiative: +6
UTF: +7
“Passive” Perception: 17 (Perception: +7)
Defenses: Ref 12 (flat-footed 11), Fort 13, Will 14
HP: 19
Threshold: 13

[dorkknight23]

Tala does a brief double-take at the sight of the two "Skywalker"s. For now, though, she says nothing. She just prayed this wasn't a test. She hated tests.

[wildknight]

The Masters Skywalker looked over the actor and the gungan, briefly exchanging glances. Rumors (and numerous holovid movies) told of a link between them that allowed for much more in-depth exchanges than was usual for Force Users. Watching the two, it was suddenly very believable.

"So," said Leia, "the Senate suggests we send a pair of Special Ops officers who are barely above mercenaries, along with an actor and his bodyguard." She turned to the young Twi'lek girl. "Looks like you're going to be our eyes and ears on this mission."

Kyle Katarn visibly bristled at being called a mercenary, but his pilot and longtime friend, Jan Ors, put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

Luke smiled serenely. "At least you have Force Sensitives along, so that you can read the Holocron..."

[dorkknight23]

Tala immediately felt the weight of these requirements on her shoulders. "I'm sorry, I haven't been briefed. What exactly is our mission?" She looks over to the seasoned mercenaries, the remarkable stand-in for Master Skywalker, and the Gungan. Whatever this mission was, it had to do with holocrons, for one, and likely was dangerous. Her lekku bristled with the possibility of danger.

=============
27 HP; Threshold 13
Ref 15 (13), Fort 13, Will 11
Passive Perception 15

[brainstem]

"Meesa has one question for you," Jam addresses Luke. "Why yousa be needin' meesa and darrius?"

------

HP 31
Ref 18 (13), Fort 19, Will 13
Passive Perception 18

[wildknight]

Luke looked at the small team, emanating serenity as he almost always did. Leia, not quite as practiced in the meditative arts, let her inner struggle show.

"Whether or not we need you is a question for debate," Leia began, "but the Senate has requested we use you, and in the spirit of cooperation, we will."

Luke nodded. "Its well known that the Jedi Temple here was destroyed, and nothing was left. What we didn't publicize was the fact that we did find some holocrons in Palpatine's private quarters, as well as records indicating that he sent every holocron from the Temple to storehouse worlds. Unfortunately, those worlds are still in Imperial Control.

"However," he produced a plain looking metallic square, "this one, one of the two we recovered, seems to be the real prize. It's Keeper, Master Anrit, tells us that it stores knowledge of Force-Sensitive Legacies, spread on over a dozen worlds. Some of those worlds are within our reach.

"We currently have nearly a dozen active Jedi Knights, but only two young Sensitives capable of undergoing training... and there's no saying that either of them will prove suitable for the Jedi path. If we could find more potential students, we could expand the Order rapidly. That's where you come in.

"Meanwhile," he addressed Tala directly, "You will begin training with Master Anrit. Though his ways are those of the old Order, he should be able to help you acquire a working knowledge of your potential and abilities at least."

Leia nodded, smiling to encourage Tala. "You'll be taking the Holocron along, obviously, but we've gone through the leads, and we think that your first stop should be the smuggler's moon of Nar Shadaa. The lead there seems the most solid."

[dorkknight23]

Tala holds the holocron diligently. She's honored and feels the history of the entire Jedi Order, Past and Future, lingering on her fingertips. The sense of millennia-long, often-broken but never fully destroyed, history is staggering.

She then shudders when Master Skywalker talks about returning to Huttspace...

Nar Shadaa. Now that's a wretched hive... She had never been to the jewel of Nal Hutta, but had considered herself lucky to have avoided that particular "pleasure." Luckily her Huttese was still pretty good.

"As you wish," she says softly, showing a bit of her own unease at the mission, but also her willingness to do what she could to help.

[brainstem]

Smugly, Jam accepts Leia's response. It's clear that he and Darrius are only there to advertise the Order, but a job is a job. With Darrius as his client, Jam is obliged to follow. His body language displaying clear discontent, Jam waits for more information.

[Cernunnos]

Darrius Vahn Draay, now himself looks over at Luke Skywalker.

“With what you have showed me thus far… I feel an unsettling in your presence through the Force. Know that this holoshow will reach numbers unimagined and should bring prosperity and attention to your newly forming academies. Think of it as a symbiotic relationship… where all parties involved get what they truly desire.”

Bowing, Darrius continued.

“Master Skywalker, know you this… Along my travels I will do my best to not do anything that will cause your name to be blackened. As such… before I leave, I will need to spar with you in lightsaber combat as well as relearn Jedi techniques and philosophy.”


===============================================================

Initiative: +6
UTF: +7
“Passive” Perception: 17 (Perception: +7)
Defenses: Ref 12 (flat-footed 11), Fort 13, Will 14
HP: 19
Threshold: 13

[brainstem]

Jam shoots a quick look at Darrius. While he doesn't utter a word, his body language clearly reads "Yousa bein' a muy bombad fool."

[wildknight]

Luke Skywalker glanced at Leia, then back to Darrius. "This isn't a show. This is very real, and you're being asked to carry out a very serious task. Is this something you're equipped to handle?

"As far as sparring... the lightsaber is an absolutely lethal weapon. I would never place one in the hands of the untrained. What you need to know of the Order, you can learn from the Holocron on your journeys."

At that moment, both Darrius and Jam felt something touching them... a small, tickling sensation at the back of their skull. Leia leaned over and whispered something to Luke, and as he looked at them in turn, each felt the sensation again. An eyebrow raised slowly on each of the Skywalker siblings' faces.

"What are the odds?" Luke asked, half joking

Leia allowed a self-satisfied smile to cross her lips. "The Force will do as it wills, Master Skywalker."

"So it will."

Kyle Katarn, clearly impatient, stepped forward. "If mystic theater is over, I'd like to get moving. One of my contacts told me of a young woman currently staying in Little Duros who might be able to help the team navigate the Smugglers Moon. I think it would be better if they went down there and made contact... they're going to have to learn the ropes of this sort of thing sooner or later."

Luke and Leia both nodded. "Sounds like a plan." Luke said.

[brainstem]

Shrugging off Luke and Leia's comments, Jam thinks onto more pressing matters. The slight tingle in the back of his head is something he's felt before and has trained himself to ignore. If anything, he feels that it acts as a distraction, causing his focus to shift away from his goals.

Little Duros, Jam thinks. That's a place that meesa is no likin'. He quickly recalls a run-in he once had with a man from Little Duros. Although he hasn't been to the city before, its impression has stuck with him.

"Who wesa be meetin'?" Jam asks Katarn, hoping to glean a little bit more information about this all-too-mysterious mission.