Ask Ajan Kloss A Helping Hand

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Brienna had learned of her friend, Oren Zapan's capture and imprisonment watching the holonet in her dormitory on Ajan Kloss. Sure, Oren was foolhardy, and a little naïve, but he always meant well, and if the Sector Rangers had now set their sights upon the Jedi; well, something didn't exactly add up. Bri stood and paused, pondering what she could do to help. Her analytical mind ran almost too fast, thinking of varying ideas, trying to brush away those which were rather too outlandish (prison breaks). Taking a moment to pause and center herself, she breathed in and out deeply, connecting her sprit with the force around her and the temple. Something was unsettled, no doubt the other Jedi, learning of the news which would have new repercussions for the Order across the Galaxy. What would the implications be for those who didn't understand the Jedi? There were dark happenings in the Galaxy, that Bri sensed went much deeper than what appeared on the surface. If beings started to see Jedi as lawless hunters, acting as they please, the balance would shift. Trust would be eroded. The Jedi frowned at her line of thought, and tapped a button on the wall which opened her dorm door.

As Bri felt the force around her, a thought dawned in her mind. Oren had a Padawan, who was probably at this moment very confused, upset, and maybe fearful. Bri had met Nara Allam when she had visited Oren in recover after his arm incident. Her first impression of the padawan was positive, she was snarky, but good humored; impulsive, yet thoughtful. The makings of a fine Jedi, and not too dissimilar from how Bri was at the same age. The Jedi walked quickly through the temple her brown boots tapping on the stone floor, trying to find Nara, but not exactly sure where she might be located.

The Padawan dormitories seemed like a good place to start, and Bri took the short route over, eventually finding Nara's assigned room. The door was locked. Bri offered a light knock on the outsite. "Nara?" she called, trying to sound friendly.

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara had been locked in her dorm for... well, a while. After her outbursts in public, after her decidedly aggressive response to the events, she'd had a stern talking to from a couple of the Knights and had... been sent to her room. The anger and humiliation of it all hadn't subsided, but it mixed and churned deep in her with all the nervousness she had about Oren.

When the knock came from the door, Nara was curled up in her bed, waiting for somebody else to come and tell her off. Or tell her that she wasn't right for the Jedi. It was only what she'd been thinking right then. Left to stew with just her thoughts and her embarrassment, Nara had been wondering why she was even there. With a bunch of haughty Jedi she was sure looked down at her.

No use delaying the inevitable, she thought as she slipped off her bed, blanket still wrapped round herself. She padded towards the door and unlocked it, opening it wide with a stony look on her face, ready for the...

Ready for the woman in front of her. The look changed quickly, eyebrow raising with confusion. "Hi... Br... Brienna, right?" she asked, thinking back through her memories. She'd been there when Master Oren'd come back from an adventure, minus an arm. She wasn't what Nara'd been expecting. She sniffled a little, turning aside. Her eyes were a little red and puffy, but she wouldn't admit a thing.

"Um... why are you here?" she asked gently. You're not gonna kick me out, right?

@ModernMarvel

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

As Bri waited for the door to open, she wondered exactly what she could do too help Nara. Did she just want someone to talk to? Bri would make a poor replacement for Oren, feeling that the bond developed between teacher and student was difficult to replace. Had anyone else come to check on Nara? If they hadn’t, what did that say about her fellow Jedi? Surely they didn’t just leave people behind in challenging situations? Bri shook her head at the amount of thoughts rambling around her mind, clearing them away. I definitely worry too much... Bri sighed to herself, reflecting inwardly.

Bri was about to move on to searching somewhere else, before a soft hiss opened the door in front of her. Nara appeared, standing with a blanked wrapped around her. Bri didn’t need to use the force to determine how Nara was feeling. The emotions were evident from the red eyes, and frowned face. Something Bri did note, was that Nara seemed surprised to see her there. “Yeah, Bri is fine,” the Knight smiled in response to Nara’s question.

“I wanted to come talk to you after the news about your Master,” Bri replied, hands open, trying to sound approachable. “How, uh, how are you?” It was obvious that this was not exactly Bri’s strong suit. “Do you mind if I come in?” she added, smiling.

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara watched nervously as Brienna stood at the door. Asking awkward questions. Well I'm wrapped up in a blanket looking like death, so I feel peachy-keen, obviously. She blinked back that one back though, deciding it was a little unfair. She was just lashing out at everything. At least Brienna had come to see her.

"Yeah sure, come on in," Nara said to her, stepping out of the way. Her dorm room was the same size of every other one, dominated by a small, messy bed to one side. The other held a desk, littered with different small tools and various parts. Plastic cases, wires and filaments, little bits of silicon chips. Her droid was laying there, snoozing against a power-meter. The lights were low and the floor was covered in bits of clothes and parts. It didn't look like she'd been having a great time.

Nara slumped back onto the bed, pulling her blanket tighter around herself. It slipped off her head, showing her tufted, messy hair underneath. "What's up?"

@ModernMarvel

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Nara seemed perplexed as to why Bri had come to see her, which, all things considered, was a fair question. They had never really interacted, and Bri was often put off by forced social interaction, yet here she was, with a Padawan looking up at her with a face of confusion. Something had compelled her to seek out Nara, and it seemed she was alone in doing so, as no one else was present, and the Padawan didn't exactly give the vibe of someone who was tired of talking to visitors.

Bri followed Nara into her room and had her memory of her own time as a Padawan come flooding back in, being reminded by the cookie-cutter dorm rooms. The simple furniture. Standard bed. Small window. Though, Nara's was decidedly much more cluttered than Bri's had been. Various bits of electrical equipment were littered around the desk, and a droid rested in the corner. The bed was a mess, and a similar description could have been given to the Padawan as her blanket fell off her head, showing her tangled hair. Bri's first question was rather answered by the state of the room and Padawan, causing the Knight to frown slightly.

Bri's evaluation of the room was halted as Nara asked a question. Bri turned and replied, "You obviously know Oren better than I do, but I think we both know that he's not the criminal type. There's something deeper going on here," skipping the small talk. "Has any other Jedi come and talk to you after he was arrested?" the Knight added. "Also, I don't know what I would have done if my Master was taken while I was a Padawan, and I just wanted you to know that you're not alone in this. Whether with the Force, or the community of your fellow Padawans, Knights, or Masters, a Jedi is never alone," Bri finished with a smile, hoping she sounded as reassuring as she felt.

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

"I didn't really give them an option about talking to me," Nara admitted to Brienna, looking up forlornly from the bed. "I shouted at a lot of them and called them.. a few unpleasant things." She'd stormed off after the last argument, after getting chewed out from just about every Knight that was still on-planet. "None of them have really talked to me about it afterwards though. Not that I blame them." They'd probably avoid her now. She was more than likely lucky to avoid getting pulled up in front of the Jedi Masters for the stuff she said.

"Thanks... but I don't particularly feel part of the community at the minute. The only people who were nice to me were my friends, and they're all padawans." They'd stuck up for her, at least. Shown her the support she'd wanted. "And you, I guess.." she said, looking up at Brienna with a small smile.

"I just don't feel particularly... great with it all right now."

@ModernMarvel

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Bri smiled softly at Nara’s explanation of what had transpired between her and the other Jedi, following her ‘outburst.’ She had already heard the story from some her more gossip friendly colleagues. Nevertheless, Bri felt that the other Jedi had been too quick to admonish Nara, not fully understanding the unfortunate position she had been put in through no fault of her own. Perhaps she would have a discussion with them later on the subject.

“I’m not exactly condoning your,” she paused, finding the right word, “loud,” she continued, “reaction, but I think you have a right to be frustrated. We as Jedi try to guide and channel our feelings, but that doesn’t mean we turn into emotionless robots, you know? Sometimes people miss that.”

Bri was disappointed to hear that Nara didn’t feel a part of the Jedi community. Now was when she needed to be reassured most, not shunned or ignored. The Knight placed a reassuring hand on the Padawans shoulder. “Despite how it may seem, we’re all standing with you. No one gets left behind.”

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

There was a difference between 'channeling you feelings' and 'shouting and screaming at everyone in the hall,' but Nara was aware of that. Precisely the reason she'd slunk off to her dorm for the last couple of days. She hadn't always managed to fit in well with the rest of the Jedi, but before the last couple of weeks she'd started to feel... a bit more welcome. Now, her master was in prison and it felt like the galaxy was moving without her.

She looked up at Brienna, managing a small smile. You're standing here, at least. That's something, right?

"Thanks," Nara replied, looking up at her a little more before she shrugged the covers from her shoulders. She looked over at her desk, at the parts on there. Remembering what she was getting up to before the mess had all started. The kyber crystal twinkling on the desk.

"Just before Oren was arrested, I got my kyber crystal," she said softly, playing with her fingers. "I only just brought it back when he set off for Naboo. He was gonna help me build my saber," she explained. Why do I feel nervous asking for this?

"If you're not busy... can you help me?"

@ModernMarvel

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Bri felt her mood lighten as Nara seemed receptive to her message of support, even offering a small smile in response. Plus, she got Nara to shrug off the outer cocoon of blanket, which, judging by the state of the Padawan’s hair, has obviously been a fairly long amount of time.


As the Knight smiled at Nara, she couldn’t help but feel bad for the other half of the Master and Apprentice partnership, Oren. Bri know how much Oren cared for his students, and the fact that he was just taken away from Nara must be absolutely excruciating to him. One problem at a time. Bri thought to herself, trying to remain centered.


Bri looked over at Nara, and then to the supplies on the desk, as the padawan asked a question. “I’d love to help,” she replied with a friendly grin. Constructing her own lightsaber was one of the highlights of her time as a student learner, and indeed an important milestone for any padawan. A pang of guilt struck as Bri knew it should be Oren in her place, but that was beyond her control at the moment, unfortunately.


The Knight sat-up from the bed and ran her hand over the assorted pieces, using the force to call the Kyber crystal to her palm. She felt it’s energy and strong connection to the Force. “Looks like you’ve got just about everything ready,” Bri added, nodding in approval to Nara.

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

The kyber crystal was a deep blue, gleaming in the soft light of the dorm room. Rough but warm. Fresh from Dantooine. The rest of the parts, the emitter and the fixtures, were all scattered around. Her and Oren had found them, taken them from various planets and her own droid parts. They were boxy and bulky, chrome with chunky buttons. Much like her droid.

Nara slipped up from her bed. Without her long coat, she felt underdressed, but at least she wasn't just curled up in the total mess of the bed cocoon. She made her way over to her workbench, pushing some of the parts aside. She nudged her droid out of the way, but he chirped angrily, beeping as he snapped at her fingers.

"Hey hey, stop being crabby..." Nara groaned, pushing him back as he stood up and stretched, giving her a dejected wink while looking up at Brienna. Nara reached for her droid-kit, pulling out her little plasma torch and circuitry melder.

"Okay so... um... what do I do?" she asked, staring at the components on her desk. "Do I... do I just put them together?"

@ModernMarvel

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Bri laughed a little at Nara’s interaction with her droid, being reminded of her own electrical companion, NL-142. The Knight looked up from the pieces on the desk, as Nara asked a question. Taking her time to respond, Bri felt each piece individually, combing the frequencies of the parts with Nara’s feelings to build a story. The journey that had been undertaken to collect the materials. The various meanings that they had to Nara. It all flowed together so well, and Bri had wished she had the industrious skills the Padawan did, when she constructed her own saber.



The Jedi Knight was not an expert on saber construction, but did know how it was done, and could use the example of her own saber to show how it was done. “The amazing thing about a saber, is that it has one key component that binds it all together.” She paused, then looked into Nara’s eyes. “You,” she smiled. “The kyber crystal specifically resonates with your own force frequency. Like an extension of who you are. I can tell that you’ve chosen each piece specifically,” Bri added, picking up a couple.


Bri unhooked the saber that was hanging from her belt. It was simple, yet contained a sense of elegance. A smooth copper finish surrounded the inner workings of the hilt, three horizontal grooves decorating both the top and bottom. The Knight let go of the saber, as it slowly floated above her left hand. Bri closed her eyes, and brought her right hand parallel to the left with the saber floating in between. Her deep breathing evident, the saber slowly twisted and turned, sounds of metal clicking and snapping. Each piece slowly removed itself from its counterparts, with the entire hilt eventually floating in individual pieces in Bri’s hands.


Her kyber crystal was in the exact middle of the construction, a light blue gem that combined with Nara’s to soak the room in a pleasing azure. Bri opened her eyes and said, “Using the Force, and your own connection to the crystal, your saber will know how it’s meant to be put together. Feel each individual piece, the strength of your resonance the the kyber.”


Leading by example, Bri concentrated and her own saber began to snap and click its way back together, eventually resting softly in the palm of her left hand. Truthfully, it was not as easy as it may have seemed, yet Bri had confidence in Nara. She looked back at the padawan and added, “mine’s not so complicated so it more or less just snaps together. You’re obviously more of a craftsman than I am, so once it’s tougher, you can work in the more intricate details,” she gestured down to the torch and melder in Nara’s hands. “It’s not as complicated as it seems,” Bri grinned with a smile, “just trust in yourself.”

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

Nara watched Brienna unhook her own lightsaber and disassemble it right in front of her, just using the Force. She watched with a smile as every part slipped out, snapping and floating aside gently. It moved slowly, carefully, allowing Nara to just take it all in. What seemed to fit where, how it all came apart and pushed back together again.

Bathed in the blue light, Nara nodded. She'd felt that resonance with her kyber crystal too. Brienna made it seem easy, but that was obviously with practice. But everyone had done it. Countless Jedi before her had made their own sabers, so why should she be any different. She smiled at the compliment but shook her head. "I think you're flattering me a little bit. I'm good at functional, not pretty."

She took a breath and knew she had to try it. Just to do it. Carefully, she placed the kyber crystal down in the middle of the arrangement of parts. She chose carefully, thinking about each piece. Mumbling to herself as she chose the parts from the collection she'd assembled, little words like "... casing from Quesh..." and "... little grating from the Condor..." as she decided what would work. And she did it by instinct, just relying on what she knew and felt about each piece.

Once they were vaguely together, Nara sighed and nodded. It was time. I can do this. It was a problem she was grateful for. She hadn't felt this drawn into something in days. That's all it was, a device to be built. A droid to be programmed. A door to be sliced. Nothing but a problem... and she was good at solving those.

Her eyes closed as her hands moved closer together. Nearly locked together, but with the barest, slightest gap between palms. Her breathing slowed and she focused. Focused hard. Until she could feel nothing but the energy around her and... through that energy... the pulse of the crystal. Her crystal. That link between them that she couldn't describe but she could feel, from head to toe. And with that, the parts started to move.

They came together quickly, brushed metal locking together, sliding over the crystal. Flashes of blue light slipped over both of them as the metalwork twisted, the grating sliding over the top. It wasn't done but... it was there. She held out her hand and the saber dropped into it, nearly ready. Opening her eyes, she placed it on the desk and took her torch to it, fixing the emitter a little better in place, making sure the grating was rough enough that it wouldn't slip out of her hands. She'd thought a lot about how her hilt was going to be designed.

And finally, after some meddling, torching and needling... she held it up. Her saber. Turning towards Brienna, she took a deep breath. "Here goes..." she muttered, like she hadn't expected it work. Carefully, she twisted the top, brown dial with her thumb. The room bathed in blue light as the saber ignited, stretching the beam of pure energy and light up near the ceiling.

"Oh wow..." Nara breathed, open mouthed in amazement.

@ModernMarvel

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Bri watched intently, large blue eyes focused on Nara while she worked. A hand was brought to rest against her chin as she concentrated on the saber construction. Nara seemed to be both in control and strongly connected to the pieces of her saber. Bri could feel her connection to the Force and the return from the crystal in the middle of the desk.

The Knight nodded along and smiled as the pieces slowly lifted up from the table and began to fit themselves together, sliding, locking, and clicking into place. Nara then took a few additional pieces and details, welding and attaching them to the nearly completed hilt. Bri nodded in encouragement as Nara offered a hesitant statement.

The blue saber ignited with a pleasing hiss and immediately cast shadows of sapphire light around them dim room. Bri was thoroughly impressed. “Way to go, Padawan,” she smiled, offering a reassuring pat on the younger Jedi’s shoulder. “Your Master would be proud.”

@Charndley

 

[Juniper]

It worked. It totally worked. I have a lightsaber.

Nara swished it around a few times, grinning at the pleasant sound in made, swaying through the air. With another flick of that dial, the saber cut out and the blue light was gone. The room seemed so much darker for a few seconds as her eyes adjusted to it. She hefted the hilt in her hand, feeling the weight of it happily.

"Thanks," she said to Brienna, looking up into her blue eyes. A rare smile on her face, ending in the dimples on her young cheeks. "I... I hope he would be too."

She reached down and clipped it onto her belt, getting used to the way it hung close. Shifting slightly, Nara felt the hilt move gently against her hip. This is gonna take some getting used to!

"Thank you so much. I never thought I'd do this without... without Oren being here..." Nara admitted, biting her lip. Slightly hesitantly, she moved in and put her arms around Brienna, giving her a hug. That's just for making me still feel like I might belong here.

@ModernMarvel

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

Bri’s expression turned to a wide smile as she watched Nara tentatively offer a few sings of her lightsaber. The saber responded with the standard whooshing sounds, more noticeable in the quiet room. After a few moments the saber was disengaged, and relative darkness returned around the two Jedi.

Nodding along to Nara’s message of appreciation, Bri felt quite content with being able to help the younger Jedi. The construction of a lightsaber was a pretty major milestone for a young Jedi. It signaled not only the development of one’s abilities, but also a deeper and stronger connection to the Force. The lightsaber was truly a Jedi’s weapon. Nara had taken the next step in her journey to understanding the Force, and Bri was quite pleased to be able to help out.

The Knight was a little surprised when the younger Padawan reached her arms around and wrapped Bri in a thankful hug. Bri smiled and placed her arms around Nara, returning the gesture. She replied, “It was my pleasure!” the smile evident in her tone. “I know I’m no comparison to your Master, but I think we can make do,” Bri added.

@Charndley