Open Kashyyyk A New Leaf II

[Jade Hart]

There had been a bad storm, and the forest was awash in slick mud and broken branches. A group of Wookiees was trying to lift a broken tree trunk off a building. They raised it a few feet off the ground before dropping it, sweating. Deciding to take a break, they talked among themselves and laughed.

Jade sat on a mound of moss and watched them work from a distance. She felt bad that she couldn’t do more to help, but they had specifically told her to stay still unless needed. Not all of the Wookiees trusted her. Well, few trusted her. Actually, none trusted her. She couldn’t blame them. She sighed and gazed around at the trees.

Suddenly, there was a sharp crack. A large branch fell from the canopy towards the Wookiees. “Hey!” Jade cried out, leaping up. The branch halted in midair right overtop a Wookiee’s head. With an outthrust hand, Jade had caught the piece of wood with the force. Carefully, delicately, she lowered the floating branch. The Wookiee who would have been hit looked at her in disbelief. Maybe this was going to be a good day afterall.

 

[Brutus Kiner]

Brutus Kiner walked through the bushes and broken branches of the ancient Woshyyr trees. He had arrived earlier in his Snubfighter to help with the relief efforts. The Jedi Knight walked down through forest and jungle until at last, he came upon where he was supposed to help. He walked towards someone named Jade Hart. He stopped in front of her and spoke. "Hello, fellow Jedi, how may I be of assistance?" At least he thought she was a Jedi, she couldn't be a Sith, the Wookies weren't attacking her, and she was helping with the relief efforts, and she had an affinity for the Force, so he settled on the idea that she was a Jedi, as it was also in his eyes unlikely that an Exile would help either.

The Lightsaber-Blaster Hybrid dangled from his belt, and his armor weighed little on his body. He was usually fighting for the Jedi, you know, being a Justicar, but right now, they needed more Jedi here, so he was called upon to help. Proof of his combat capabilities and his ability to fight the Sith and the Darkness was clear to those who knew him, he did after all have a mix of blaster and lightsaber, and even if the blaster part wasn't all that powerful, it was still an option in combat. He even focused much of his Force study on combat capabilities, such as the powers of Force Weapon and Force Deflection.

Some may consider his focus on combat a path to the Dark Side, but he was careful to only use his combat abilities for good reasons and righteous causes. He wasn't eager to kill Sith, but he knew he must be trained to if he is to help end this war and ultimately bring peace and freedom back to the Galaxy. He even wore his hair in a military haircut, because he wanted to be seen as a soldier of peace and justice in the Jedi, and it just went to show his dedication to the Jedi's arts of combat.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

She kept her eyes on the Wookiees as they continued to clear forest debris but felt Brutus' force presence as she listened to him. At this point, Jade was no longer surprised by random Jedi finding her in weird locations. This one seemed trained, like he could defend himself if necessary. She thought how such a guy could be put to good work.

"So I'm Jade. Jade Hart. I'm here to make sure branches don't fall on the Wookiees as they work. There was a bad storm last night that beat up a lot of these trees."

She thrust out her hand and tried to lift a log near Brutus, who was perhaps five feet away. The log trembled and levitated a few inches before falling down. Jade yawned and scratched her neck.

"I promise I can do better than that, I'm just kinda tired. Hey I know! Maybe you could teach me a force power or two. Something that would help keep them safe. You look strong. I bet you know a lot of cool techniques."

@Stormtrooper

 

[Brutus Kiner]

The Justicar listened as she spoke. Then thought Well, I'm not a Seer, I mostly focus on combat techniques, but I have studied telekinesis, and it's unlikely that we will be needing my other Force Powers. The Jedi told her "Well, with our combined telekinesis abilities we could better control the falling branches. And, I believe I forgot to introduce myself I am Brutus Kiner, Jedi Knight, and Justicar." Another branch began to crack.

Soon it was cracking faster, and as it began to fall out of the tree, he threw his lightsaber, the blue blade spinning as it cut through the branch. It came back to him, and he was able to move both pieces of the branch separately better, using both hands as a conduit of Force Power. He was able to push it away as it landed on the ground away from the Wookies. "So, what's your path and rank?" He spoke the words, unaware of her no longer being part of the Order.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade sat down on a log, chin on wrist in a thinker's pose, watching Brutus throw his lightsaber at the tree branches. She thought it was very impressive, as it had been a while since she had seen a lightsaber attack with such energy. Not since her spar with Leh'. She smiled and with her free fingers drew in the air as if it were her chalkboard, calculating trajectory and velocity of the blade straight out a course in Newtonian physics. "I'm going to try and copy what you did."

She took out her lightsaber, ignited it in a blue line, and chucked it at another falling tree branch (opposite direction of the Wookiees). The lightsaber whizzed through the trees, head over hilt, and... just kept going. She didn't see where it landed, but hearing no screams or crashing sounds, assumed she had not caused another tragedy. "A justicar huh? Well you must hate me then. I'm a Jedi who has been exiled. A padawan, as you can probably tell-" she chuckled and kicked up some leaves-"damn what did I do wrong? My saber didn't come back when I threw it. Guess I miscalculated the angular momentum."

@Stormtrooper

 

[Brutus Kiner]

Brutus let out a long sigh, then said "Look, I don't hate you, or other exiles, that is a wrong path, hate, anger, fear. All of it." He watched as the saber threw off into the air, then chuckled. "It's not about the physics of it, well it's a small part, but it's about the Force, use the Force to bring it back, to guide it, it's not a kid's boomerang." He laughed again at the last comment. Then he thought about her saying that she was an exiled Padawan.

He spoke again when he had given it some thought "I can hardly believe we have the numbers or strength currently to exile another Jedi, wouldn't any Jedi be a boon to the war effort? Why did you get exiled anyways? Not that the Council is wrong to exile you, I trust in their wisdom, I'm just curious as to why they would have to exile someone in hard times like these." When another branch came down, he took the opportunity to show her the move again.

Channeling the Force through the hilt and blade, he threw his lightsaber and guided it as it sliced through the branch, and, as it came back to him, he pushed the branches away, easier to do when in two lighter pieces. Nobody was harmed. Once he showed her how to do it, he allowed her to try the next time.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade watched the Justicar’s lightsaber fly there and back like some acrobatic drone used in fireworks displays. Its arc of flight printed on her retina as burning afterimages. Red fires and glowing trees, smoke and sweat and fur and... Jade blinked, and blinked again. Then she forced herself to meet Brutus’s eyes. “The war effort? I went to Kashyyyk as a padawan to help evacuate people during the last Sith invasion. I failed.” In and out, she breathed, in and out. “The Jedi exiled me, my master, Silex, because–” picking a thorny leaf off a browning bush, playing with it until it pricked her –” To put it diplomatically, I was negligent in my duties. To put it directly, a few dozen Wookiees died that day because of me.”

It hadn’t even been that long since the Jedi stripped the force from her. Although she could now feel it again, regaining control was a slow, meandering process. Some days she was a toddler learning to walk, on others she struggled with this boomerang technique. Jade attracted an arm-length stick to her palm with the force. She flung the stick in the way Brutus showed her– stick a safer substitute than lightsaber– but though she tried to guide it with the force, it went in a C-shaped curve and landed a stone’s throw away.

“The Jedi need people here who are strong. People here who not only put out fires, but who fight the firestarters.” She stuck the leaf back on the wilting bush from where she plucked it. Then she concentrated. “I knew someone like that once. But he’s gone now. I knew others like that once. But they’re gone now.” The leaf, glistening in green dew, sprouted a new stem as it reattached to the bush. A tiny trick Master Thayd had taught her. Jade smiled in some anguished, fragile way like a religious devout trying to convince themselves of a miracle. “My Master Silex was the strongest Jedi I knew. Now she’s gone too.”

@Stormtrooper

 

[Brutus Kiner]

The Justicar listened closely to what she had to say, thinking about her tragic story of loss and exile. "I'm sorry to hear about that." Not knowing what else to say, he stayed silent. He grabbed his lightsaber and ignited it, showing the exile the long blue blade, and the stun blaster handle. "Well, I'm not sure I should do this but, we need people to be able to fight with the Sith, even if they are exiles, and I think the Sith will try to kill you if given the chance, so, I would like to teach you a method to strengthen your lightsaber abilities."

He sat down on the ground, then using the Force, he strengthened his lightsaber, using Force Weapon to do the trick. "This is called Force Weapon. It is extremely helpful before combat, as it strengthens your blade, hilt, and nearly everything about the saber itself" Another branch fell down, and he did the same trick as he had done before, removing the falling branch as a threat.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade went and got her lightsaber. It had deactivated after she'd thrown it away. She returned and sat down on the ground across from Brutus and listened to him carefully. The less said, the better. She tried reaching out with the force to strengthen her weapon. The hilt vibrated as the mystical energy entered it. Standing up and backing away from Brutus, she ignited her blade. The light was brighter, the heat more intense. She smiled and looked at him for approval. Just as she did, the light filled with static and buzzed loudly. She grimaced and shouted at Brutus over the roar of the blade. "Is this normal?"

@Stormtrooper

 

[Brutus Kiner]

The Jedi Brutus Kiner looked at the blade, nodded in approval, and said "You learn quickly, it seems." Brutus ignited his blade once again then said "Use this to deflect Force Lightning, and to reinforce your blade, it can also be used for other weapons to make them capable of resisting lightsaber strikes, such as a wooden staff." A few small branches fell, and he pushed them away easily. He began practicing with his lightsaber strikes, specifically, Djem So, since he often used that form more than the others.

The Jedi was a master with Shii-Cho, as were most Jedi since it was taught when they were first learning to use the lightsaber. He knew the basics of most lightsaber combat forms and was adept in a few, but he was good with Djem So and Soresu, as they were his go-to attack and defense forms. Djem So relied on strength, and Soresu was good at defense and lightsaber deflection. The Lightsaber arced through the air and made its loud vibration sounds, as he went through his repetitions of attack, parry, and deflect.

When he was done, he deactivated his saber and holstered the weapon. Another branch was beginning to crack, and it was a rather large one. "Okay, I'm going to need help with this one, I'll cut the branch in half, push away the left side, and you push away the right side, got it?" Before she could answer, the branch was falling, and quickly, the lightsaber cut through the branch, and he pushed away one of the branches. He could only hope that the exile would push away the other half.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

She gulped. It felt like she was choking on her own tongue. Summoning up some courage, she deactivated her lightsaber and followed his gaze to the trees. A lot of branches were falling now, partly due to the storm, but also because Kashyyyk Blue Primates were up there scampering across the limbs. Jade stepped forward and pushed out her hand at the right-side branch. It flew away and landed somewhere with a crack. "Not bad," she said.

@Stormtrooper

 

[Brutus Kiner]

Straining, he manages to use the Force to bring back his lightsaber. He laughs a little and says "I'm not exactly a Seer, I'm starting to really wear out." He holsters his Lightsaber-Blaster hybrid and states "The blade of this lightsaber is longer than average, so it can catch Sith and other foes off guard in combat. Also, it's just good to have a bit of a longer blade." He started to remember the day he had crafted his lightsaber, and at that young age how it was hard to carry the heavier-than-normal hilt and blade.

The Lightsabers many other younglings had crafted were very similar to each other, with a few oddities here and there, but he was the only one to use this type of saber in his class. The other students often had average-sized blades and average-shaped hilts. However, he did specifically remember one using a curved handle and a single student using a double-bladed lightsaber. He had only recently seen anybody who had gone with the crossguard lightsaber style, and the saber itself was used by a Jedi Master he had met a few months ago.

Many people in the Galaxy had surprisingly never seen a lightsaber, and many just assumed they were all the same size and type, and that no colors existed but green, blue, and red. Of course, the Jedi knew better, but in the end, did it matter that a commoner didn't know much about lightsabers? It certainly didn't matter to a Non-Force Sensitive farmer or the average security guard for that matter. Most people in their lifetime would never see a Jedi or even a Sith, except on the Holo-Net, so what did it really matter to them?

Brutus Kiner noticed that the large majority of the branches in the areas they were assigned to had already fallen and that almost none were falling at the moment, and those that were, were too far away or too small to be a concern. This was good, as he wasn't sure he had the strength to keep this up. Sure, he was a Jedi, but he had more physical strength than strength in the Force it seemed. He then took out a package of rations and began eating as he sat down on a nearby rock.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade nodded and absorbed Brutus's teachings, plumping down on some lime colored moss opposite him. She wasn't sure when she would use his knowledge, but she was thankful that anyone was teaching her anything. It was unlikely someone would ambush her, but now at least she'd be somewhat prepared. Jade took out two water bottles from her pack and tossed Brutus one. Taking a drink from her own bottle, she cocked her head at the man. "Ok there's something I got to know," she said. "You're not at all like the other Justicar I met. So who exactly are you anyway? And why did you choose to become one?"

@Stormtrooper

 

[Brutus Kiner]

Brutus thought a bit about the question, then said "I became a Justicar since it was a more adventurous life than a Seer's, and my combat abilities would be better as one. My master was also a Justicar so it just worked out that way, ya know." He drank the water bottle handed to him, thanking her as well. He took out some of his rations, eating some sort of jerky-like food item, along with some nuts and some form of hard grainy substance.

Taking another swig of the drink, he spoke again "So, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you been, you know, exiled." Grabbing his lightsaber he practices with the stun blaster, firing two shots off at a nearby rock, hitting his target both times. After doing a quick flourish he puts away his weapon. His weapon should recharge in a bit, not that he has already used all of the shots, of course. He waits for a response.

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

Jade took off her holes-in-the-heel socks and holes-in-the-end shoes and rested her tired feet on the soft moss. She smiled at her feet and tried to make them smile back, wiggling her toes one by one. Then, nodding at Brutus’ explanation, she said, “Have you ever fought the Sith? Were you there at Yavin? I heard the temple fell.”

She took a drink of water and glanced over at the Wookiees. They seemed busy cutting wood, making her useless as a fifth wheel. She turned back to the bush she had aided with the force earlier. The leaf was still attached. Small but hanging in there. Growing strong. Brutus’ next question took her by surprise. “I guess–” holding up one-two-three fingers –”I was 15 when it happened. Now I’m 18. Maybe three years.”

Maybe three years, she thought, ruminating over the time, checking and crosschecking it, slipping like sand between fingers. Her cheeks reddened and she massaged her forehead. Her stomach turned over, but she suppressed the urge to vomit. Jade took another drink of water and forced it down. Then, she looked back to the leaf– the one she had used force grow on. She only saw an empty space. The leaf had broken off its stem and fallen to the ground. “Do you think I’ll always be an exile?” she suddenly asked the Jedi Justicar.

@Stormtrooper

 

[Brutus Kiner]

The Justicar was taken aback by the comment, then thinking a little, an intelligent conclusion came to him. In these trying times, we needed more Jedi and more sabers on the battlefield. If the Jedi could see reason, maybe she didn't have to stay in exile. But was Brutus ready to take on a Padawan? If it was for the good of the Jedi he probably could, he was a Jedi Knight after all, and he could keep his Padawan safe.

Brutus Kiner concluded, then spoke "I believe that if the Jedi can see reason, then maybe you don't have to stay in exile. I could take you as my Padawan, I am a Jedi Knight after all, and the Jedi do need more warriors, after what happened on Yavin IV. Oh and, about your earlier question, I was, unfortunately, unavailable for Yavin IV." He then gestured at her to follow him.

"I believe however if we want to do this, we should head out right away, the Wookies will be safe, we have stopped all of the falling branches that will be any real problems, and if it comes down to it, the Wookies are strong." He walked over towards his Malla-Class Starfighter, then stopped to ask "Do you have a ship?"

@Taygood

 

[Jade Hart]

“Wouldn’t you get in trouble? I was officially exiled by the Jedi. Don’t you need someone’s approval?” she asked. Jade gave the Justicar another good look, squinting into his pupils as if she could pressure the answer to leak out of them. She chewed her nails. She hadn’t expected him to offer to train her as a padawan. Brutus had certainly been a good teacher so far. She didn’t doubt his abilities.

For a moment she smiled, but then she remembered her responsibilities. She had been convicted in a Wookiee court of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 10,000 hours to help rebuild the planet she had hurt. It was a promise. That she would respect the court’s ruling. That she should would not try to run. She looked back at the Wookiees, taking a nap on some logs. Not again, not anymore. It was a promise she intended to keep.

“I want to join the Jedi again. I do. But I can't. I won't leave Kashyyyk until I’ve served my time here. I won't break the law. There are still more ways I can help,” Jade said. She plucked up some green moss and rolled it between her fingers. “But, maybe, you could stay here a little while longer and teach me things…”

@Stormtrooper