Ask Onderon Spillways

[Crix Aran]

Dxun hadn't changed since the last time he had visited it with Willa or Clove and he doubted it would have changed even if he was somehow able to visit the demon moon some time in the far-flung future. A thousand years could pass in a blink and Dxun wouldn't have changed - Onderon? Sure. Onderon likely would have changed a lot but Dxun was as unchanging as the void of space itself.

And probably just as likely to kill someone actually.

"Alright Atias, you've already got a lightsaber and I don't force people to adopt my style when I train them."

Meaning his preference for using one main saber and a shoto saber in his off hand. He knew that some people, like him, preferred it but he was still very much in the minority and that was fine.

"That said - if you want a spare, nows the time to pipe up." he commented as he finished re-assembling his lightsaber after going through some maintenance on it as the ship came in to land, Red Lancer the pilot droid actually handling the flying with Sebastian assisting, "Because this first mission is a bit of a doozy for you to get your teeth sunk into."

With his lightsaber prepped, he stood back up and patted Atias on the back as he clipped his lightsaber to his belt and moved to wait by the top of the ramp. They weren't quite landed yet but that just gave him a bit of a chance to talk to the kid.

"Grab that biological sample lock box please. We're going to be grabbing some Orbalisks and we don't want them running amok."

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

During their entire trip to Dxun, Atias couldn’t control his excitement for what was going to happen. This was not only going to be his first training session with his Master, but also his first training session outside of Yavin IV. Of course, he had left the Temple sometimes before, but never to train. All of these occasions were class trips.

The idea of going to a place like Dxun also helps to increase his excitement. He never visited the moon, but he had read some things about it. He was fascinated with the idea of visiting a place that was covered almost entirely by dense jungles that were populated by many species of fierce, predatory animals.

Atias loved an adventure and this training trip seemed to be going to become one.

While the ship started to land, Atias helped his Master prepare the things that they would need for the training in the jungle. He watched the Zabrak disassemble his own lightsaber for quick maintenance and then reassemble it when he finished. "I never used my lightsaber in a proper mission before, maybe I could use a spare." he said, after Crix asked if he wanted a spare. "Would you teach me how to use a shoto saber? I heard that they can be very useful."

The Padawan moved to grab a biological sample lock box like how his Master had asked for him to do. "I read that the Orbalisks can be used as armor, so strong that they can protect from a lightsaber. Is it true?" he asked Crix, while waking back with the box in his hands. "I don’t know if it would be worth it. These things can kill someone if allowed to grow."

Then, he gave the box to his Master. "Do you think that it’s still possible for someone to ride one of the animals of Dxun? People used to tame some species and ride them in the past." he asked, showing great interest in it. Atias already could imagine himself riding one of these creatures. It would be so cool.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Well if the kid wanted to learn how to be awesome like his Jedi Master who was he to say no to that? Crix grinned a little bit at the question as the ramp came down and the humid air of the demon moon washed over the two of them. Despite the fact that literally every jungle had tried to kill him? Crix couldn't help but rather enjoy visiting Dxun.

Even during those attacks he'd learned a lot about the place and he really enjoyed exploring it.

"Alright well luckily for the mission too, there's a lot of animals around the forge." he declared as he started walking briskly in a seemingly random direct, not stopping for a second to consult any kind of map, "Some practice with both sabers and you'll be getting on like a house on fire with the other dual blade users. That reminds me though - word of advice from someone who knows? Don't try juggling them."

Hans had juggled his lightsabers around a little bit during a bit of a boring hyperspace journey and by freak accident one had activated. They'd spent the next three hours trying to put out the fires that kept cropping up because the blade had nicked one of the heat regulator lines... good times in hindsight.

"The Orbalisks feed off the Dark Side too - so an old Jedi thought that they would work as an anti-Sith measure of protection for the forge. Resistant to blaster fire and immune to lightsabers? Parasitic of the Dark Side and poisonous when trying to remove them as they feed?" he snorted in amusement, "Built to poison Sith to death if you ask me. Oh? You want to ride?"

He looked Atias up and down a little bit as he mentally tried to figure out how much he weighed.

"Okay I've got a plan." he decided at length as the continued on their path, "But first? That Maalraas has been following us since the ship. Take this."

He tossed Atias a stun baton.

"I'll step in if you need it." he assured the Padawan with a thumbs up, "Try and avoid the claws that you can barely see because of its camouflage."

Was there a Maalraas? Absolutely not. But the creatures were known to be incredibly hard to sense with the Force so Atias would need to actively look and engage his mind to figure that out.

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

Atias followed his Master out of the ship and into the jungles of Dxun. While Crix talked, the Padawan noticed that he didn’t use a map to look to where they were going. The boy was going to ask the Zabrak about it, but had decided to remain in silence. He should trust in the Knight, he probably knew this place very well and didn’t need a map to move around here.

“I never thought about juggling with lightsabers. Knight Orash always said that lightsabers are the greatest ally of the Jedi, treat them with respect.” Atias playfully mimicked the serious voice and the demeanor of the old Quermian that used to be one of his teachers of lightsaber combat. “But now I’m curious to know about this story.” he looked at the Zabrak, a smile appearing on his lips. His Masters seemed to have some very good stories.

While Crix talked about the Orbalisks and their parasitism with the Dark Side, Atias wondered if the Jedi could use them as some type of weapons. Finding a way to throw these creatures in the Sith during a battle could be useful. He decided to maintain these thoughts as a secret for now. When they return to the Temple, the Padawan would search about this possibility in the Library.

Suddenly, his Master said that he had a plan and threw a stun baton at him. Atias grabbed it and turned at Crix with a quizzical look. The half-Morellian only understood what was happening when the Zabrak explained that there was a Maalraas following them. The Padawan remember having learned about this creature and how they were capable of using the Force to cloak themselves.

And apparently, his Master wanted him to deal with this thing alone.

“Alright! I’ll deal with it.” Atias said, before turning to walk away from the Zabrak. He was never someone that skipped a challenger and would not because of a Maalraas that he would do it. Holding the baton tightly in his hands, the half-Morellian would walk carefully while looking in all directions.

He couldn’t hear anything strange and even less see. Knowing that his Master would help if the creature attacked, Atias decided to close his eyes and use the Force. He still remembers the classes about creatures with affinity to the Force with Master Traylessend, where she said that only a very skilled Jedi could locate Maalraas. However, it was something worth trying.

The Padawan would use the Force, focusing on his surroundings. He would remain this way for some time, without feeling anything beyond the small creatures of the forest. It was strange that he was feeling them, since they would usually flee when a predator was near. After some more minutes without feeling anything and since the Maalraas also didn’t attack him, Atias would risk turning to Crix. “I think that it went away.”

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix decided to humour Atias while his Padawan was unknowingly providing humour to his Master on what was, otherwise, a rather dull walk. He had walked the path before, after all, and had gotten Red Lancer to park them relatively close to the Lightsaber forge - more as a landmark he knew about than anything else.

"My Jedi Master, Hannibal, was a respectable Jedi Master in a lot of ways but he was flippant about things that he shouldn't have ever been flippant about." he told Atias with a small frown, "He juggled lightsabers because he got bored and he wanted to see if he could do it. He could but one activated and cut through some technology we really needed - no one died that time."

He eyed Atias over his shoulder as the Padawan went searching for a threat that didn't actually, in this case, exist at all. Watching silently for a few moments, he decided that he would wait until Atias had finished doing a proper sweep of the area before he admitted.

"There was no Maalraas." he told Atias with a little smirk, "A joke and a lesson wrapped up in one - never rely on one source of information for anything. Yeah you should listen to me as your Master but question me when we're like this. In heat of battle? Sure, do as you're told. But any other time? Question me. Do your own search like you did - you figured out that there wasn't one there and that's good. We'll work on your tracking skills another time though, kid, cus we're here."

Pushing through the undergrowth, Crix held back a few of the bushes and branches with the Force to reveal a collection of natural granite that had been roughly cut into the shape of a large entranceway with a boulder covering the back wall where the door would typically be. Between them and the boulder, the jungle ground seemed to have transformed into a writhing black carpet... one that Atias would be able to quickly deduce were Orbalisks.

Stepping forward, Crix gently urged the Orbalisks to move around him with little taps of his feet. Not wanting to be stepped on, the creatures flowed around him as he moved to stand in the middle of their mass. He gestured for Atias to stand beside him.

"Stand here... they won't attack unless they feel the Dark Side." he assured the Padawan with a wave before pointing to the boulder, "The door is behind that rock. The rock is too heavy for you to move with your hands and blasting it would destroy the doorway and block your path even more. You can only move it using the Force... and the Orbalisks will latch onto anyone using the Dark Side. See with a Sith they don't get a choice of using the Dark Side or not - its just how they use the Force. There's no flipping a switch and using the Dark Side... they're constantly using it because that's how they connect to the Force. But you don't."

He patted Atias on the shoulder.

"Now... lift the boulder."

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

”Your Master seemed to be a fun guy.” Atias said, after Crix told him what happened when the man decided to juggle lightsabers. The Padawan started to think that perhaps he would have liked to meet Hannibal. It was really sad that an incredible Jedi Master like this one had died.

When Crix said that there was no Maalraas, Atias looked at him with disbelief. “Wait, are you serious?” he dropped his left hand that was holding the stun baton, placing the point of it on the ground and leaning, while his right hand moved to his waist. He couldn't believe that he had fallen in a joke from the Zabrak. “You got me! I really thought that there was one of these creatures stalking us.”

He paid close attention to the explanation that Crix was giving to him. “I think that you are right. I believed in you because you are my Master, but usually I try to discover if things are true by myself.” the half-Morellian was never someone gullible, or at least he thought that he wasn’t. This lesson taught him that he needed to be more inquisitive. He couldn’t believe blindly in what anyone said.

At some point, while they moved through the undergrowth, Atias watched his Master use the Force to hold some bushes and branches. Rather than focusing on the entranceway blocked by the boulder that laid before him, the Padawan stared at the jungle ground that was between them and it.

It was black and moved as if the entire place was alive. Didn’t take much time for the Padawan to understand that what he was seeing was an enormous swarm of Orbalisks. The first thing that crossed Atias’ mind when he understood what he was seeing was that if a Sith fell there, they would be dead in seconds.

The half-Morellian watched Crix walk through the sea of Orbalisks without being covered by the small creatures. Even after the Zabrak explained that they would only attack if they felt the Dark Side, Atias still felt a bit uncertain about following him. “If you are sure about it.” he said, before starting to tiptoe toward his Master. He didn’t know what he was more afraid of, being covered by these things or ending up killing them by accident.

“This is a clever natural defense mechanism.” Atias said, after having heard Crix's explanation. “If a Sith tries to come here and open the door, they will be killed because of the Dark Side. Maybe we could put some of these in our temples. We would have another line of defense against them.”

Then, Crix asked him to lift the boulder. “Alright, I’ll do it.” he said, a smile appearing on his lips. By now, the Padawan was more calm around the Orbalisks, only being careful to not crush them. He stretched his arms toward the rock and focused the Force on it. Using the Light Side, the boy slowly moved it out of the way. The small creatures on the ground did not even notice what he was doing and continued to move. The half-Morellian was careful enough to make it float toward a corner where there were no Orbalisks, this way the small creatures weren’t crushed.

Once the boulder was out of the way, Atias would be able to see the entranceway. He turned to look at his Master,a triumphant smile on his lips. Then, he looked at the creatures at his feet. “You are right. The Orbalisks didn’t even care while I was using the Force.”

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix grinned a little bit as his Padawan seemed to find both the lesson and the humour in the comment about the Maalraas. In the future he hoped to see Atias being more open to the idea of questioning Crix himself and other members of the Jedi Order who might otherwise presume to order him to do things without enough prior thought. The actions of the pair of Jedi on Kashyyyk had, after all, been done with the authority of the Jedi Knight of the pair.

And Clove felt that she was able to say "no" when they tried to rope her into their insane scheme. If he accomplished nothing else than teaching Atias to be confident in himself enough to refuse outright stupidity like that? Well that would be a lesson that some of the Jedi Order had not yet learned... it would make him more of a Knight than the one who thought strapping sentients to the outside of a spaceship was a good idea.

"I'm sure." he reassured Atias, "Good test of someone who says you need to listen to them - see if they're putting themselves in the line of fire. If they're willing to stand beside you during the whole thing? Less likely its going to blow up in your face."

Grabbing the specimen containment case that he had picked up from the ship, he flashed Atias a smile of sharp teeth as he started to coax several dozen of the orbalisks into the container. They seemed to be annoyed he was literally scooping them into the container by hand but not annoyed enough to actually do anything about it. Instead they flowed like slightly-annoyed water into the awaiting container.

"Good eye, kid, but I'm way ahead of you." he assured Atias with a laugh as one of the orbalisks tries to make a run for it, "Little buggers are going to make one of our Temples literally poisonous to the Dark Sider users."

Not just Sith.

Fallen Jedi as well.

These little creatures would make for something akin to an internal test of character, like an internal affairs branch for the Jedi. Of course theirs wouldn't be corrupted by politics like the IA of the Sector Rangers because it would be based on the impartial truths of the orbalisks. They attacked people who used the Dark Side... that was it. It was enough to get people into being questioned at the very least.

Finishing up his collection of the annoyed little creatures, Crix slung the container over his shoulder by its strap and watched as Atias moved the boulder with minimal difficulty. Reaching out, he patted the Padawan on the back.

"Good job Atias - lets head inside."

The inside was a lot less protected than the outside... by orders of magnitude. It was literally a tunnel carved through the stone that widened into a rectangle chamber as they went deeper into the ground. The only light came from some of the local moss which glowed in the dark along some patches of the granite walls. Statues of Jedi ten feet tall flanked a slab of seemingly solid stone. As they approached, Crix placed his hand on the stone... and drawers began to open when there previously had been none before, opening to reveal a drawer for each of the different major components for a lightsaber with several variations therein.

He removed his hand and the Lightsaber Forge of Dxun folded back in on itself to become a stone slab again.

"Reach out through the Force just like when you made your first lightsaber... it will respond and guide you."

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

While he watched his Master collect the Orbalisks, Atias thought about what he had said. Having an entire Temple poisonous to the Dark Side would be perfect for the Order. The next time that the Sith wanted to attack the Jedi on their own home, the Dark siders would regret it. They would be eaten alive.

Thinking about someone being eaten alive unsettled the Padawan. It probably was a terrible and painful experience, something that no sentient deserved. However, the Sith were too dangerous, killing innocents and terrorizing the Galaxy without any remorse. If the Orbalisks could stop them, it was a necessary evil.

Atias smiled at Crix, after the Zabrak said that he did a good job. While moving the boulder was nothing difficult, but hearing praises because he did something right was always good. Now that the entrance was no longer blocked and his Master had finished collecting the Orbalisks, the two Jedi could enter.

The half-Morellian eagerly followed the older Jedi. He was curious to know how this secret place was inside. His first impression was that it looked like some of the ancient Jedi Temples that he used to see in some holobooks. “This place is so cool! Who build it?” he asked, while looking around, trying to absorb every detail of what was around him. He paid special attention to the Jedi statues, wondering if they were of Masters that lived at the time that this place was built.

Then, the Padawan watched Crix place his hand in a slab of stone. For the boy's surprise. drawers started to appear from the stone. “Amazing!” he muttered, while he watched the drawers appear. He could see how each one of them was full with materials to be used for the construction of a lightsaber.

“Now I really want to know how and who made this place! Was your Master who found it?” Atias asked, he never heard about a place where the Jedi could make lightsabers like this one. If the half-Morellian could learn how this place was built, maybe he could make more places like this one on other planets.

“I’ll do it.” he said, before walking toward the drawers. Closing his eyes and stretching his hands, Atias used the Force. Using it as his guide, the Padawan would feel some specific materials to resonate with him. These pieces would start to float toward the half-Morellian and slowly would assemble in a new lightsaber. Like how he wanted, it was taking the form of a shoto.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

One great thing about having a Padawan was that they asked questions. Sometimes it could get a little bit much but, by and large, he loved it. The curiosity was something he would always do his absolute best to try and satiate and this was actually a topic that he was rather knowledgeable about.

"You know, I asked the exact same questions when I first came here." he admitted with a grin, "So, luckily, I know exactly the answers you're looking for."

He gestured around the underground forge.

"This place was half-found, half-built by a small group of Jedi thousands of years ago. The Galaxy had long since turned its back on the Jedi at the time and the Sith had managed to convince the population of the Galaxy that they were the guardians of democracy under the leadership of an Empress as scarily charismatic as she was fearsomely powerful." he pointed to the forge, "Knowing that the Jedi would bee needed again, massive amounts of raw materials for lightsaber construction were left here with instructions that every time it was found it was to be restocked by the Jedi Order."

Moving to one side as Atias stepped up to the Forge, Crix would continue the story as his Padawan worked on his new lightsaber with the guidance of the Force.

"Close - one of Hannibal's friends, a Jedi Master by the name of Maxims Tionson. He found it and started bringing Padawans here - restarted the tradition as it were."

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

Atias paid close attention to what Crix was saying. He had heard the stories about this dark period of the history of the Galaxy. The time that the Jedi were considered as the villains, while the Sith as the heroes. It was so bizarre to think about it. The Padawan would never understand how the population could ever think that the Order was evil.

Through his use of the Force, the materials would come together to form a new lightsaber. When it was completely finished, the Padawan would make it fly to his hand. Atias would move it around, admiring its appearance. He always felt impressed how the Force was capable of being used to even build things.

The half-Morellian activated his new lightsaber. Like his other one, its blade was yellow colored. Atias would move it, doing some combat forms. With it being a shoto, the boy would notice that its short hilt felt different on his hand.

“I feel honored to be able to see this place.” he said to his Master. Atias deactivated the lightsaber and put it on his belt. “Do you think that we could build places like this one on other planets? With what is happening with the Galaxy, I feel that the Order would need more secret sanctuaries like this one.”

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

By the time story time was over, Atias had finished constructing himself a sleek and modern shoto lightsaber. As someone with a mixed series of colours between his blades (his main was blue and his shoto green), Crix could appreciate why Atias had focused on keeping the colours the same. Uniformity bred understanding and acceptance a lot better in the minds of most sentients - especially humans and the like.

Emotional connections to the familiar did wonders to help integrate the new.

"I think we might need to." he candidly admitted to his Padawan with a soft smile, "Places like this? They're often needed for people like us. The Galaxy has a troubling habit of lashing out violently at those it finds to be too different and Force Users are always different."

Nature of the Galaxy and it had taken him quite some time to be able to come to terms with and accept this despite its default state of being incredibly unfair. The Galaxy wasn't fair but that didn't mean that he had to bend and become unfair in response. Instead he grinned wide through it all. Reaching out with the Force to ruffle his Padawan's hair, he started for the exit before pausing for a moment as he sensed something beyond the exit.

"Hmm." he frowned ever so slightly, "I think there's a bit of a commotion outside... Rupings are hunting the Orbalisks for food. But we need the Orbalisk colony here to thrive."

He eyed his padawan.

"How do we resolve this issue without killing any of the Rupings, Padawan?" he asked, smirking slightly, "I've got an idea but I want to see what you come up with. Just because we got you a new saber doesn't mean you need to rush to use it after all."

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

”Yeah, you are right. The parents of my mother didn’t accept that she had married a poor near-human and expelled her from home. Some people really don’t like those that are different.” this was the first time since he met his Master that Atias sounded melancholic when talking. While he didn’t care about his grandparents in Brentaal, the Padawan saw several times how talking about it hurt his mother.

“I’ll never understand why people act this way with others without even knowing them. It’s so stupid!” he said, this time Atias didn't sound melancholic. He felt annoyed and mad with how prejudiced people could be. “In the end, we all live in the same Galaxy, under the same stars and part of only one Force. There is no sense for people to be obsessed with the differences between each other.”

Atias demeanor only changed when he felt his Master use the Force to ruffle his hair. “Man, don’t do it! Do you know how much time it takes to make it stay this way?” he tried to remain serious, but ended up laughing. He didn’t forget how the Galaxy was full of prejudice, but for now the Padawan wanted to think about things that were less depressing.

Then, his Master said that something was happening outside. The Padawan turned to look at the exit and focused with Force. Indeed, he could feel that the Orbalisks were in panic, trying to flee from something, probably the Rupings that Crix mentioned. It was sad that they would need to stop the meal of the animals, but they needed the creatures alive to protect this place from the Sith.

He didn’t take much time to think about a strategy to stop the Rupings. “Maybe we could try to make a bond between us and the animals? If it works, we can convince them to stop hunting the Orbalisks.” Atias said to Crix. “I would never use a lightsaber against them. It wasn’t their fault, they only wanted to eat. I would not be surprised if the Rupings came here to hunt centuries before the Jedi and Sith existed.”

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Yeah... the Galaxy was a bit shitty like that.

Atias' story about his mother was hardly unheard of. Indeed, Crix's own mother had a relationship with a Zabrak and that had resulted in him. Some people back on Coruscant had tried to hold it against his mother but she had, being herself, told them where to shove it with all the righteous fire and fury that made her a household name back when the New Republic wasn't a shell of its former self. But all that it meant for the Jedi was that they had to do something about it.

They didn't live in the Galaxy just to watch and shake their heads at all of its little injustices building up to bigger ones. No, the whole point was that they were just going to have to roll up their sleeves and do something about the fact that they didn't live in a perfect Galaxy. One person, one world, at a time if needs be and no matter who stood in their way.

"Ruminating on all the bad shit in the Galaxy is going to make that carefully tussled hair go grey." he joked lightly, shrugging slightly, "We gotta do what we can, kid. We can't force people to see the light - but nothing says we can't just bring the light to them anyway. Being the change we wanna see and shit like that."

Probably a speech that could have been delivered better by one of those elderly, bearded, Jedi Master types but Crix was never going to be one of those. If nothing else, he lacked the beard to be able to actually pull off the look without looking stupid for attempting it.

Moving up to the edge of the exit, he leaned against the granite as half a dozen of the winged creatures were diving and scooping up claw-fuls of the Orbalisks with every swooping dive. He eyed the scene with calm as he turned to watch his Padawan as he thought up a possible solution for the problem that had presented itself.

"That's probably fair assessment." he agreed, gesturing to the six Rupings in the air, "See if you can link up to the biggest one - probably the leader of the group. If you can convince that one to stand up to the others, feeding time will end and they'll fly off. The Orbalisks breed quick but these guys seem unusually greedy for some reason."

He placed a hand on Atias' shoulder.

"Reach out with the Force toward the Ruping you wanna link up with and remember... you're not pushing your agenda onto them. You're coming to an agreement."

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

Crix joke made Atias smile, dissipating a bit of the melancholic feeling that had overcame him previously. “Would be terrible if I start to have gray hair before even reaching 70 years.” the Padawan said playfully. “I think that in this case you are the lucky one. Without hair, no one will ever be able to say how old you really are!” he smiled at his Master. Now was his time to make a joke.

However, what Crix said made sense. They shouldn’t force the others to think and act how they wanted, but at least they could show them what was right. After all, the Jedi needed to respect the free will of the people. If this way they were able to convince them to change, good. If not, they would continue trying to convince others.

“You are really wise, Master.” Atias said, smiling at the Zabrak. He felt lucky and happy for being Crix’s Padawan. The half-Morellian was starting to notice that behind his playful appearance, Crix was someone very wise.

Then, Atias followed his Master toward the edge of the exit. From here, the half-Morellian could see how six Rupings were attacking the Orbalisks, picking several of them with their claws. While he doubted that they would kill all the Orbalisks, the boy could easily see the number of these creatures being reduced enough to leave this place unprotected.

The half-Morellian nodded after Crix finished explaining what he should do. “Ok, Master!” He turned his attention to Rupings, running his eyes across the flock in search of the largest one. Atias would see it as the one that was leading the attack against the Orbalisks. It would dive down first, with the others following it.

Once he had located it, the Padawan stretched his right arm and closed his eyes. He would focus the Force on the large Ruping, seeking to establish a bound with it. Like how his Master had said, Atias would seek to convince the animal to stop rather than trying to force it to go away. He would show the Ruping that they needed the Orbalisks alive to protect this place against evil people.

After some time, the Ruping would stop leading the attack and turn to the Padawan. With a scream it would fly up, with the rest of the flock following it. “Master, while I was connected to it, I felt that they were having some problem. I think that we should follow them.” Atias said, while the creatures circled the sky.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

The jokes were facts - Atias was going to have grey hair long before Crix ever did because Crix didn't have any hair to begin with. Also, Zabraks were hard for humans and near-humans to really get the closest read on when it came to age. Typically they guessed based on how the wrinkles formed around the forehead and head-spikes but that tended to only really happen when they were already pretty old, so he was pretty sure he was going to age gracefully.

Plus he had his mother's good looks - he was going to age like her and get better with time, bet!

Crix's more jovial smile became more of a softer, smaller, expression as he let the compliment wash over him. He'd never really been one to put a lot of stock in what others thought about him but it was nice to know that someone else was able to see something like that in him. Wisdom wasn't something that he thought of when he thought of himself because he tried to focus on a teaching his Master had passed onto him from Master Tionson.

"Thanks Atias - just trying to be decent, you know?" he patted the kid on the back fondly, "A great Jedi Master once said, 'Focus on being a good person and being a good Jedi will follow'."

Paraphrasing for the win because he was terrible at remembering quotes... he was never going to be the bookish kind of Master that people imagined. Standing beside his Padawan as he worked on the Ruping through the Force, Crix coaxed the boulder back into place covering the entrance to the forge. Seeing it was going well, he hummed a little bit and gave a small suggestion to the Orbalisks that the needed to replenish their numbers.

"Good job." he assured his Padawan before reaching out to make a connection to the second largest of the Rupings, "Now comes something to tell all the other Padawans about - time to mount up."

The Ruping he managed to come to an agreement with landed with its winds down, giving Crix enough space to climb up on the back of the creature. Using the Force he grabbed lengths of vines and tossed some to Atias before tying himself to the Ruping he was riding.

"Let yours lead the way!"

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

Atias stared at Crix as if a third eye appeared in the middle of his forehead. "Wait, are you really asking for me to mount on the Ruping?" he asked in disbelief. However, it would soon be replaced by a smile full of excitement. "This is so cool! I always wanted to do something like that!"

The half-Morellian closed his eyes and called the Ruping back to him. The creature would fly down, landing next to the Padawan. Before he could climb on the animal's back, Atias would approach its head and pet it. "Aren’t you a good guy?" the boy said playfully. He couldn’t believe that some minutes ago it was attacking with ferocity the Orbalisks. In the end, it only happened because they were hungry.

After he finished petting the Ruping, Atias mounted the animal. He watched his Master make one of the Rupings come to him. Like the Padawan, Crix had also established a connection with the creature and had mounted it. Then, he threw some vines at the half-Morellian, who quickly grabbed it.

"What do you think of a race?" Atias said, while he tied himself at the Ruping. "I think that he would not mind. Right boy?" the Padawan smiled while scratching the neck of the animal, making it vocalize with happiness. It seemed that he already made a new friend. "To make things more interesting, who arrive first will need to clean the ship when we return to Yavin IV."

However, when his Master said that he should lead the way, Atias felt a bit disappointed. "Fine, but we can still have a race later!" he turned to the Ruping. "Let's go buddy!" the Padawan said, then he instigated the animal to fly. The Ruping took the sky, making the others follow it.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Yeah, Crix wasn't quite as concerned about feeling old - it seemed that he knew exactly what the young kids of the day wanted and that was to ride Rupings off into the sunset! Ah he was going to enjoy this. He wasn't much of a pilot (at all) but he found that riding on animals or riding behind a skilled driver was something he really enjoyed doing. It really did make him feel like he was having a lot of fun, which seemed in short supply these days.

"As if I'd agree to that!" he joked as their mounts began to rise, "Face it kiddo - being a padawan means I get to have the best of all worlds! Like having a kid but I don't need to feel bad about making them do things so long as I can call it a lesson."

He paused before adding.

"Besides, Sebastian cleans the ship - we don't need to focus on stuff like that."

The skies of Dxun were just about as safe as the jungles of Dxun in that they were, in a word, not safe. By their very nature, the Rupings began attempting to head toward their nest but it was on the way to the nest that the two Jedi would be able to identify the problem. A pair of enraged drexl were cruising around the area and even as they watched the two of them worked together to tear an adult Ruping in two in order to snatch what little food it had hunted in the local area.

Ah.

A predator in the area that was refusing to share the territory - and judging by the outright hostility and rage that he could sense from the creatures, it seemed like this kind of thing had been happening for awhile. As they circled the territory, never getting too close, Crix pulled up close to Atias.

"I think they've got some kind of feral disease like rabies." he admitted to his Padawan, "We're not going to be able to animal friendship our way out of this one..."

It'd be like trying to hold a conversation with an AMS zombie.

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

”You are only saying it because you are afraid of losing.” Atias said playfully at his Master, while he raised an eyebrow. Only because Crix was his Master, it wasn’t going to stop the half-Morellian from teasing him. He knew very well that the Zabrak would do the same if he was in his place.

While they flew with the Rupings, Atias would be able to see the forest below. There were different types of trees, exactly what you would expect from a tropical place like this one. There were even some with different colors, probably due to their flowers that were covering most of its branches. If someone looked at the forest from this way, they could even think that this was a peaceful place. Who could imagine that there were so many dangerous animals living down there.

Atias was reminded of the dangers that plagued Dxun when he saw a pair of drexl attacking a Ruping. The Padawan needed to turn his head away when the creatures ripped the poor animal apart. Even if it was the way that nature was, the boy wasn’t prepared to watch such a gruesome scene.

“Yeah, I agree.” there was no way that the drexl would allow them to approach them enough to establish a Force bond. The Padawan also doubted that, if they were able to indeed approach the creatures, there would be anything inside their minds beyond pure ferocity and violence. This would not help establish a bond.

“Any idea of how we can deal with them?” Atias asked his Master. If these creatures were really with some type of rabies, they needed to be killed. The drexls were resistant animals, the two Jedi would need to do something more than waving their lightsabers to deal with them.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

"There is no fear, there is serenity!"

An older reading of the Jedi code from a time where the Jedi Order expected them to be unflinchingly serene at all times or be acknowledged as failed Jedi. Crix himself was very aware that he would have been considered a wildcard by the old version of the Jedi Order so he wasn't really someone who had much respect for those old ways - however he would absolutely use something like that to rib his cute little Padawan.

The Drexl were often a species used by the locals as riding beasts, even more than the Rupings were really. But they were, by their very nature, far more aggressive. Rupings were mounts but Drexl? Drexl were warbeasts for the locals and they had been for millennia. It hadn't done anything to tame the beasts over generations either it seemed.

"I have some ideas." he admitted as he eyed the Drexl, "Sorry to say, kiddo, but we're going to need to use violence here. Lots of it."

He gestured to the strong wings of the Drexl.

"Their wings are stronger than a Ruping's but they are still a weak point - your lightsaber will be able to cut through. Its good to target because they're primarily an aerial combatant too. Cut their wings and you ground them."

And they went from lethally dangerous to merely incredibly dangerous.

"I'm going to take the one on the right, the one with the scar on the left side of its face. Work together with your Ruping and if you need me? Call for me." he told his Padawan with a smile, "But I believe in you."

With that said, Crix guided his Ruping up high above the Drexl before leaping from atop of his mount. Using the Force he guided his own descent and grabbed hold of the wings of the targeted Drexl, causing it to begin rapidly plummeting to the ground. Landing atop the creature's back, he ignited his main saber, stabbing it clean through the main wing joint of the Drexl as it crashed through trees and branches to crash heavily to the forest floor.

Leaping from its back, Crix's own Ruping came swooping down lower to begin circling the downed Drexl and Jedi. Already the Drexl was shaking itself back to awareness and Crix lowered his stance.

@LouJoVi

 

[Atias Zaldreell]

Atias turned his attention to Crix , when the Zabrak said that he had a plan. “I understand. They are too dangerous right now to be left alone, violence is the only option.” the half-Morellian didn’t like to kill animals without a good reason. However, in this case their actions could be justified by them protecting Dxun against these drexls that were out of control.

The half-Morellian paid close attention to the Zabrak’s plan. When Crix finished explaining what they were going to do, Atias stared at him. “Wait, do you want me to attack this thing while we are in the middle of the air?” he asked seriously, but soon a smile would appear on his lips. “This is so cool! I never thought that a Master would allow their Padawan to do something like that in their first mission. You are the best!”

“Ok, Master. I’ll call you.” Atias said, before Crix moved away from him and toward the drexl. The boy watched the Zabrak engage the creature. He watched with awe while the Knight flew over the rabid animal with his ruping and then jumped over the drexl. After a brief struggle, the Padawan saw his Master hit the creature’s wing and it soon fell into the forest below. Now it was his time.

“Let’s go, guy.” Atias said to his ruping. He guided the animal until it was flying over the drexl and then he mimicked the actions of his Master and jumped over the back of the rabid creature and grabbed the wing of the animal. It started to fall toward the forest.

It struggled against him, nearly making the Padawan fall from there. Moving fast and still holding the drexl’s wing with one hand, the half-Morellian grabbed his lightsaber and cut the joint of the wing. The animal emitted a painful scream and crashed in the forest, ripping off several trees and leaving a path of destruction.

Thankfully, Atias had jumped back to his ruping before he could fall off the drexl. While flying safely, he watched the rabid animal crash on the floor of the forest. The creature continued screaming in pain. This wasn’t a good scene to see. “Boy, we need to end this thing’s pain." the half-Morellian said to his ruping before diving toward the agonizing creature.

@Nefieslab