In Search of A Storm

[Freyja Storm]

The Vanir, sat on the packed earth of Savareen, there were about five miles from the main, hive that the Galactic Alliance called home on the planet. From her vantage point on the hill Freyja could see down to the growing complex of shacks and ships that seemed to be growing by the day. She had been on the planet for around two weeks now, it was a long time since she had spent time with Aurora or any of the Jedi. Most of her recent time had been spent on the growing Alliance that she had been pulled into under the wing of her Jedi Master.

Since she had left her master on the planet she had gathered the core of her new cell around her, The Valkyries had been born and now she felt secure in their running without her, she had returned to her Master to continue the training they had started. Freyja and Aurora had spent a little time training martially but not much further before she left to help the Alliance at her Master's behest.

Returning to the planet, she waited near their original camp site used long ago, her travel clothes ready and a blaster strapped to her hip. Kara sat in the pilot chair of The Vanir, keeping the engines warm for when Aurora arrived.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

At least it wasn’t Tatooine. Aurora had to constantly remind herself of that simple fact. Savareen was sandy, and dusty, but it wasn’t the hell scape of Tatooine. The sun was not nearly as oppressive, the heat nowhere near as painful. Oh, she was still forced to clean sand out of every little single thing she owned. That was why Aurora only came here when absolutely necessary. It was the home of the Alliance to those who were unaware of Al’doleem. Only the Jedi, and Alliance High Command knew of the hidden base on the river world. So, Aurora was forced to venture for Savareen for small gatherings like this.

That and Freyja was making quiet the name for herself within the Alliance. The Valkyries were a growing cell on par with what Greybok was building. Although, she had a few concerns with rumors of xenophobia. The Force welcomed all beings, no matter their species or background. It was a reminder that Freyja was at once one of her most promising students coupled with deep troubles. Aurora needed to keep a careful eye on her young Padawan. It had been about two weeks since she last saw Freyja. Her training needed to continue. There was value in working along side the Alliance for every Padawan. They learned valuable skills that way, but there was no substitute for what Aurora could teach them.

Her boots thudded on the sand as she approached her student’s vessel. Aurora could sense Freyja. Slowly, connections were developing between Master and students. Aurora could feel her other Padawan’s in the back of her mind like a bundle of nerves. With each day those connections grew stronger. Her mind reached out and touched Freyja’s. “Ship looks good.” Finally Aurora crested a hill to set eyes on her fiery Padawan. A smile easily spread on her face. “Kriff, I am sick of this damn sand.” Her smile widened. “Ship ready to go? We have a short little journey.” Aurora had been told by Master Orady of a lost temple, one she wasn’t sure truly existed. @Braden Drake

 

[Freyja Storm]

Freyja had to hold herself still with a great deal of effort when Aurora's voice flashed into her mind. She was still to get used to it, though the Jedi had begun to teach her these things during their last stay, it still took her off guard. Her body going rigid for the moment before she calmed herself and waited patiently for the Jedi Master to arrive. When they were here before, Aurora had spoken much of the Force, the Jedi and their applications upon the Galaxy, most of their training was philosophical only a little was actually done with a weapon in hand. But even though this frustrated greatly before, she understood more after the fact the reasoning for her master's methods. Unlike those she had met on Kashyyyk or within the Alliance, she did not have this love or deep belief in the Jedi's training or methods, her mind and body were still moulded by the Sith. Something she needed to change to develop in the eyes of her master.

As Aurora crested the top of the hill, Freyja turned to face her before she spoke. Using that small pull in the back of her mind which she was beginning to understand as the force to tell her when her Master approached. Aurora still looked like a blinding white light to her mind's eye, so it was easy to sense her coming compared to others, but she still smiled inwardly at herself for the little trick. She was learning. "You're not the only one." She replied to the comment about the sand as she gestured towards the ramp of the ship as they continued to speak. "She is ready to go. Do you have a heading, nothing of this planet you are speaking about has come up in any records we could find." She added as the stepped up onto the metal platform and away from the dust of the planet.

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

This probably wasn’t a terrible idea. At least she thought they wouldn’t die in horrible fashion. Although, Aurora couldn’t exactly make that promise. She shrugged as Freyja asked for a heading. “Here’s the thing, I don’t know exactly where the Temple is.” The Morellian Master walked beside her student as they ascended into the ship. “When the Order fell the locations of the Temples were sealed away to prevent further destruction by the Sith…only faithful members of the Order would be permitted to reopen the Temple.” Aurora paused for a moment. She had heard this speech from Master Orady a hundred time over.

“The problem being, the locations of the Temples were lost. Of course, we know of Tython, Jedha, and Ossus.” Not all had been forgotten. “But Tython is too dangerous, Jedha and Ossus are watched carefully by the Empire. We cannot return to the most prominent homes of the Jedi…so we must seek out the lesser known Temples…Temples that have been forgotten.” Her boots clanked on the durasteel as she walked further into the ship. “I know it’s on the planet, I just don’t know precisely where.”

Aurora smiled and shrugged again. “But I have a plan for that. Most importantly, we have to fly under the storm. Otherwise we’ll get torn up trying to land and that wouldn’t be much fun for either of us.” A small laugh escaped the Jedi Master. “Come on, no sense in wasting time.” She also needed to explain her little plan of handling the situation. Freyja was going to have to quickly learn a few ropes of the Force. “When we get there, we are going to join strength in the Force. That should give us the clarity we need to find the Temple or at least something useful.” Aurora wasn’t exactly sure that would work, but she had done it before with success. She could only pray it would work again. @Braden Drake

 

[Freyja Storm]

The confidence of her master was not assuring her in the slightest. The planet was known to be home to some of the deadliest storms in the galaxy, over a dozen ships had been lost in the last three years trying to figure out what was happening down beneath the storm. The irony of her fake last name was not lost on her, as she made her way through the centre of the ship, the whole on the floor was fully patched up. The panels on the walls were still bare, pipes and wires showing through, Kara had seen them coming on the internal sensors and was beginning to power up the ship. The hum of the engine began to rise, lights flashed within the walls as electricity ran through the visible power converters.

Freyja moved through into the cockpit as her Master brought up the force. The thought was actually slightly worrying to the woman, she had little practice in it since their last departure spending more time with blaster and grenade than quiet contemplation. She gave the woman a look as she took her seat beside Kara, she gave the later woman a nod. Kara flicked the last switch drawing up the loading ramp and then they were away. Freyja sat at her own controls kept an eye on the systems as they began to accelerate away from the ground and into the upper atmosphere. "How did the Jedi expect them to re-open them if they were so easily lost?" She said as they broke through the atmosphere and into the open nothing of space. "Setting Hyperspace Co-ordinates," Freyja said this time to Kara, before turning back to her Master. "How do we join strength?" She asked not wanting to beat around the bush.

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Freyja was blunt. That attitude was one of the reasons Aurora liked her young student. There was no room for careful niceties in what was to come. When the Jedi finally revealed themselves to the galaxy it would be a bloody affair. She knew that, deep in her heart. They would need blunt. Aurora carefully considered her answer while taking the lone remaining seat in the cockpit. She gave Freyja’s co-pilot a similar nod. She didn’t have a great answer. There was much Aurora knew, and much she didn’t. Oral history had kept the Jedi alive for five hundred years. She had been meaning to pester Luy about a few things. “They were not easily lost, Freyja.”

It was time for a little history lesson. She assumed she could trust Freyja’s co-pilot. “The Order was hunted to near extinction…the Masters who knew the temples locations were slaughtered.”. Aurora shook her head in sadness. “They weren’t lost. They were taken from us. Taken by the Sith and their Mandalorian dogs.” She would never understand Val and Vu’thari so readily working alongside those beasts. Aurora would not forget her history and she would not let the Order forget. “It is our duty to return them.” A duty she took incredibly seriously. The Order could only be reborn if the temples were restored.

Of course, Freyja’s next question was a great deal more difficult. “It’s not so black and white…we must reach for each other in the Force.” Something Aurora could easily do, she doubted it would be so simple for Freyja. “Connect so that the Lightside flows through us both. Your mind and spirit must be open to the Force so that we can share in that connection.” Such workings of the Force could typically only be achieved between Master and Apprentice, or two Force users who them each other deeply. She leaned back in her chair to feel the ocean of the Light. @Braden Drake

 

[Freyja Storm]

Freyja looked over her master as she spoke, the women showed some sadness in her face as she spoke, Freyja could also feel something of this sadness from another place. 'The Force?' she thought to herself, perhaps she could feel it through that small connection they had made over those two weeks. That first awakening, when she had concentrated on Aurora's light came to mind when she spoke about connecting their light-side flows between them. "Like Ando?" Freyja asked the Jedi as she watched the women lean back in her chair.

She could almost see a glow around the women within that third eye inside her which she had learned to realise was her connection to the force. It seemed Aurora was already getting ready for this connection. Turning back to the front of the cockpit she noticed that the ship was now in space and making its way quickly through the darkness, the orb of Savareen was coming into the righthand side of their viewport. "Hyperspace route plotted," Kara said to the paid. "Let's go," Freyja replied, it would be an easy jump, so Freyja sat back and tried to open her own mind to the force. It took her much longer than her master to let go, the snap bang of the ship launching into Hyperspace broke her concentration and she had to try hard to let go of everything around her.

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora nodded slowly. “Yes, like Ando, but there is far more for you to learn.” She laughed softly. “But more than I can teach you in one hyperspace jump.” Her smile got wider. “I’m good…but not that good.” Aurora leaned back and closed her eyes. She let the Force simply ease around them. Her mind drifted on the waves of the Light. Aurora felt Freyja connect for a moment, but as they made the jump to hyperspace the concentration was broken. Concerning. She cracked one eye open. “Lesson number one, you must maintain your concentration.”

She cracked her knuckles lazily. “The Force can easily slip away if you let your mind wander. Here…” She gestured all around the cockpit. “It doesn’t matter but when it could be the difference between life and death, you must learn to maintain your concentration.” The familiar lights of hyperspace were streaming by. It truly was a short jump and they didn’t have much time before the planet was rising before them. “Try again…settle your mind.” Aurora reached for Freyja in the Force.

“You can do this Freyja, you just have to reach for the Light.” She stuck her hand out. “It is as easy as reaching for my hand, but you must do it” Aurora shot a glance at the navigation charts. They were almost finished with the jump already. She had to take advantage of the little time they had. She cocked her head to the side, waiting on Freyja. She knew the young rebel could do it. There were still barriers Aurora had to break down with Freyja. Barriers that had arisen from a life lived under Imperial influence. It was not easy, but it would be worth it. Aurora was certain of that. @Braden Drake

 

[Freyja Storm]

The lack of knowledge of the subject was frustrating to Freyja, it was not something you could read about, watch a holo-vid and practice yourself, it was something that needed to be taught thoroughly and through only a select few avenues. Unlike any other training of her life, she was restricted to only that Aurora showed her or what Freyja could figure out on her own. Part of her wanted to tie the Jedi to the floor and get to spill everything and not leave until Freyja felt fulfilled and unfrustrated, but that was not the 'Jedi Way' she thought to herself.

The woman's comment about her concentration slipping also annoyed her, she was not attempting to fail. She greeted her teeth as she continued to talk, her face still looking at the front of the ship, she could feel that Kara had turned to look at her but she didn't give the pilot the satisfaction of a facial expression or comment. Taking a deep breath out she tried to let go, to feel nothing but the force around her. This time it came quicker than before, each time she did it the time gap shortened but this one was noticeably different, was it the presence of the Jedi Master behind her, or perhaps a greater desire in herself to reach this state. Her mind shifted as the feelings of her body shifted away, the presence of everything around her becoming clear, she could feel the cold hard metal of the ship, the energy of Kara and the blazing fire of Aurora behind her, beyond the empty blackness of space.

The light inside Aurora reminded Freyja of that light she had found herself back on Ando, like their ship in space it was still surrounded by darkness. But she could see it and with a little effort, she was able to reach that light and pull it to the surface, a smile cracked across her face as she did. @Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Freyja was undoubtably Aurora’s must challenging student. Not because the rebel lacked skill or determination, but because of what lurked in Freyja’s past. A life under the thumb of the Sith. A life shattered by that same Empire. Aurora had no doubt about what that life could do to a soul. Freyja was not all sunshine and rainbows. That was a darkness that surrounded her heart, but beneath it all her heart beat with the Light. It was simply a challenge to get Freyja to accept that Light. Aurora continued to stay silent while Freyja searched through the Force. She could tell it was getting easier for her student. Eventually, the Force burst with a second strong pulse. The LIghtside flowing between Aurora and Freyja. The Morellian Jedi Master easily returned her student’s smile.

“Wonderful…absolutely wonderful.” She pointed at Freyja’s heart. “That is where you find the Force…the Light.” Her voice was soft as she spoke. “In your heart.” She stretched in her seat. “The first few times are always the most difficult, it should be easier now.” The familiar twist of hyperspace began to fade into pinpricks of distant stars. The ship slowed as they left the hyperspace lane behind. Her eyes rested on the stormy planet beneath them. The storm covered entire sections of the surface and was visible from space. A truly awe inspiring look. “Remember we must find an opening and fly under the storm.”

Aurora frowned slightly. “I really doubt any of us want to find out what it is like to fly through that thing.”. She leaned forward slightly. “Once we get closer to the ground we should be able to find the Temple…probably.” She shot one quickly glance at Freyja. “Try to maintain your hold on the Force while we land. Focus on the Light within.” Aurora checked her harness one last time as they began their decent. @Braden Drake

 

[Freyja Storm]

Freyja concentrated on that small island of light within herself for what felt like an eternity, trying to focus on keeping it locked firmly within her mind, body and soul as she tried to activate the other senses around her. First, she reached out gripping hold of the controls for the ship, that was easy, the harder bit came when she opened her eyes. She had lost this focus a dozen times when she had opened her eyes before, but again this time she seemed to control it, keep it within her as she opened her eyes. The snap bang of the ship exiting hyperspace coming a split second behind.

Again she wasn't sure if it was the essence of the Jedi behind her or that determination to not make another mistake, to save her own pride more than anything else. As she planet came into view she smiled, the swarming storm that covered its surface was something an adrenaline junkie pilot loved to plunge into, to test their metal and that combination of anticipation for that hit and the positive flow of Lightside energy flowing through her, lifted her. She sat up straighter in her seat as the ship turned towards the planet. "Kara, give me the controls." She said to the main pilot. The woman began pressing a few buttons, flipping a pair of switches before turning to face her. "You have the controls." She replied.

As the ship began to near the atmosphere, her vision seemed to narrow, everything sharpens, like it all came into focus at once. 'The Force' she thought to herself, it was guiding her. Her smile widened a crack of her teeth showing to the pair in the cockpit. Freyja was not going to preach about how she felt the force within her and that he was guiding her every movement, that was too wishy-washy, puppy dog eyed for her. But that was the case, it was like landing lights appeared from thin air, guiding her through the upper atmosphere and plunging into the storm.