STAR WARS Episode i: The Subtle Nightmare [Always Accepting]

[Supreme Gamesmaster]

[center][url="http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/268571-star-wars-episode-i-the-subtle-nightmare/"][img]http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/7672/subtlenightmare.png[/img][/url][/center]
[center][url="http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/268571-star-wars-episode-i-the-subtle-nightmare/"][img]http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/8286/subtlenightmarecrawlp.png[/img][/url][/center]

Varluscant was a small world, rocky, its colours varying from green to blue to grey to urban silver. It still retained its wartime trade ties with Ryloth, Corellia, and Trandosha.

Shrike Arkada, a Jedi Padawan of five years, had read this in the planet's description. Now, she could see it was true. Star traffic was heavy along the commerce lanes; Shrike could see the long lines of trading ships touching down on Varluscant's ports.

Of course, the Jedi weren't going along the commerce lanes. Rather, they were taking a reserved route in a diplomatic cruiser designed by the Kraant Private Security Firm as a gesture of good faith towards the nascent Republic. Shrike couldn't help but think the design was oddly militaristic -- the ship was blocky and angular, with four long, powerful engines and a heavy shield generator -- but then again, the KPSF, as it was called, did specialize in military equipment. The Council's inspectors had cleared the vehicle, called the [i]Beacon[/i], though: not only was it not equipped with explosives or toxic gas reserves of any kind, it was completely unarmed.

Of course, the Council didn't trust the KPSF any more than it did Tarturus Securities or Gundire Escort Forces. All three were Varluscant-based, barely-legal mercenary companies in the business of giving corporations highly trained security personnel. Thus, all three were suspects for a rumoured assassination attempt on the upcoming Varluscant Senators to the new Galactic Republic: Tavsiri, Faram, and Drakaron. In reality, it was doubtful that any of the new Senators would dare cross the securities businesses -- they kept Varluscant's economy alive. But mercenaries didn't survive by dismissing unreasonable doubts, and Republic soldiers had already captured a conspirator. That was where the Jedi would have to begin, Shrike knew.

"Attention, passengers."

A hologram sprang up in the corner of Shrike's cabin. It depicted the chief stewardess, a young human. The KPSF had spared few expenses in pleasing the Jedi; except for maintenance droids, the [i]Beacon[/i]'s crew was all-sentient. Even through a hologram, Shrike could tell that the woman wasn't a conspirator with Kraant, if there was a Kraant conspiracy. She was much too genuinely bouncy and nervous, too much like young civilian clients of the Jedi Knights, to have malicious intent. She didn't need the Force to tell her that, though she reached out with it anyway to be sure (she was right). FIve years of experience serving Master Noga-ta had taught her a great deal about what normal citizens of the galaxy were like around Jedi.

"We have, as you can see, arrived at Varluscant," said the stewardess. "I hope you've enjoyed your trip. We have administrative clearing to land, so we'll touch down at the capitol spaceport in Danelci within the hour. Please gather your things and be ready to disembark. Thank you!"

The hologram shut off. Shrike stood and moved to put on her robes. No doubt the various Jedi Knights aboard would want to reunite with their Padawans before they touched down.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

[i]The young Cathar rushed through the tall grass as the black starry sky began to give way to purple bands that slightly illuminated the clouds above. She knew from her Jedi training that the period before the sun rose was the perfect time to execute an attack, as most sentients' guards would be down due to sleep deprivation, even the night watch. She had crossed the Vast Veldt to this Kiltik hive, which she was now stalking. As the patrols approached the point where both would meet, she readied herself to pounce at the drones. Finally, she did, soaring through the air and activating her lightsaber to slice off the heads of both Kiltik. Blood splattered all over her simple form-fitting hunting suit and her face, but she happily licked the blood, enjoying its taste as it triggered poorly-suppressed instincts. She charged into the hive, growling and mowing down any drone she faced. It was all a blur from that point on, until she stood up in the center of the hive, hundreds of bodies surrounding her. She went over to the decapitated head of the queen and lifted what was left of the neck over her, showering herself in the blood of her prey. She roared triumphantly in happiness over a successful hunt, until a hologram of a Human woman appeared to her side, and announced...[/i]
"Attention, passengers."
Taska bolted awake, sitting up on the futon in her quarters. She was in a cold sweat that was easily corrected with a towel near her bedside. Ever since her blood hunt, every few days, she would have a vivid dream of some part of the hunt, the one she just experienced, the slaughtering of the Kiltik hive, being her favorite. As she listened to the stewardess drone, she was thankful that the KPSF had insisted that she have a separate room from her Master for modesty's sake, as she was part of a minority among Padawans that had a Master of a different gender than her own. This led to some very interesting situations, as her Master seemed totally oblivious to the fact that she was considered an adult female among her species, and a fine specimen of Cathar as well.
She entered the refresher, stripped of her sweat-soaked undergarments, and activated the shower, purring contently as she used some of the complimentary soaps and shampoos to clean herself. Her life as a Jedi was supposed to be that of simplicity, but she couldn't help to indulge a bit when her latest mission had her traveling first-class in her own suite. She was keeping some of the Trillium Soap provided for her for herself, and hoped no one would notice. Finally, she exited the shower and delicately groomed her hair and fur before re-entering her room and donning her robes. After double-checking her utility belt and making sure her lightsaber was secure, she packed up what little belongings she had into a small bag and quietly sneaked out of her suite room, hoping she would be able to enjoy the complimentary buffet before her Master met up with her.

[Mecha Love]

A middle aged man, or close enough to be classed as so, sat cross legged on his bed, silent, calmm, but sad. He was meditating, allowing the force to guide him through hard times, wondering for the future and reflecting on the past. The future was clouded, as it should be, but hope shone in the Jedi's mind. Yet the past was sad, despite there being achievements and honours, saddness struck hardest.
Yet the silence unerved it all, it helped this particular Jedi relieve the grief. But then, the silence shattered.
"Attention, passengers"
Auros Stellae opened his eyes slowly, looking briefly at the hologram before moving off the bed. Quickly, he threw his belongings and spare garments into a small rucksack which he left laying on his bed. He draped his white cloak over his shoulders and after checking both his lightsabers were where they should be, swept out of his room the cloak billowing behind him. Passing several more rooms, he finally reached the one that his padawan was using, had begged to use, as to not share a room with his master.[i] Fair enough[/i]. He knocked twice on the door
"It is time to prepare, young one. Our missing is soon to begin and you must be ready." Auros called to his padawan.

[Aesirson]

Torne stood in front of a window that covered the entire wall. His room was rather small, with only a bed (that had been properly made after a night of sleep), a small station where one could order service from the ship's crew and a sofa turned toward the window, probably placed in that way to allow passengers to view the stars and planets the ship passed by.

The planet they were about to touch down on was truly a sight. A sight that Torne couldn't take part of. To him it looked like any planet. Any rock, even. His thoughts were interrupted by a couple of knocks on the door.

"I'll be there soon." Torne said quietly, but loudly enough for his master to hear. With a simple click on a remote he was holding the door opened, revealing his teacher. "Master, what color is this planet?" Torne spoke in a voice that expressed curiosity, but at the same time strength and certainity.

[Mecha Love]

Auros stepped into the room politely. "What colour is it? Like many, it's a planet of several colours, blue and green are some of the more lively colours, yet there is also a large amount of urban land, tainting the surface of the planet with silver and grey. Some places are not so spectacular as others, for much of it [i]is [/i]urban, due to an industrial age, yet at some locations, there are some amazing wonders, which rival those from other planets, even if the technology does not. Perhaps you will see a few of these wonders, but I am not sure. As a Jedi, you cannot side track to see views and such." Auros sighed quietly. "It is almost time Torne. Ready yourself."
[i]At least he is in a more learning mood. Perhaps the excitement of this mission, perhaps not. Let's try to keep it this way, it certainly makes a change.[/i]
"Anything else you wish to know? Knowing ones surroundings is important."

[Aesirson]

"See? You keep mentioning it yet you know I can't." Torne said with a hiss. Had it been any other than his master who had insulted him Torne would've thrown a barrage of threats and other un-Jedi-ish things at the insulter, but Auros was the only person Torne truly respected, although lightly. Torne didn't like it, though. Respect was something he desired, not something that he willingly gave to someone.

"I am ready, I've been for quite some time now." Torne turned to the open door and walked past his master, throwing the remote onto the bed as he walked, but it wasn't the same remote he had used to open the door. Since he had opened the door Torne had used the Force to shape the remote into a man-like figure, making it unusable but at least artistically nice to look at. Modern art, as it was called. "Now let's see what this rock has for us..."

[Mecha Love]

"My young padawan, you will get chances. But as a Jedi, and a fine Jedi you will be, you must put the well being over others before your own desires. It is our sacred duty, as guardians of peace. You will, in your life, see wonders, such magnificent wonders. But here and now, we have a mission, one we must complete. It is the way of the Jedi and we must make sacrifices."
As Torne threw away the remote, Auros frowned and followed after his padawan. "We have a little while, perhaps a little training will lighten your spirits before landing. Let's see if there is a safe place we can practise, shall we?" Patting his right hand lightsaber, he led the way to a large room in the ship he'd seen earlier, that was empty, give or take a few empty boxes. It'd be the perfect place for a light duel, to practisewielding a lightsaber effectively, and possibly releasing anger and strain, for Torane's sake, before the real danger began.

[Quiksilver]

"Taska, come here."

The words were spoken in a quiet undertone, yet carried the weight of authority. The voice reached Taska's ears as she tried to sneak out of her room, almost exactly as the thought she wouldn't meet up with her master before the buffet sounded in her head. Turning her head would provide the Padawan with a view of her master; the tall Twi'lek, already cleaned up and cloaked in usual brown robes, was striding down the hallway towards her.

"Come." Silaris Komad repeated, motioning for his Cathar Padawan to follow. "We're going to touch down soon. I want to make sure we're ready." The cold, forbidding features of his face softened as he looked over Taska. He stopped, and a ghost of a smile touched his face.

"But I can sense that's not what you want to do, is it, my Padawan? Fine. Get to your complimentary buffet, but be quick about it." Silaris chuckled lightly. "Your lightsaber style needs some work, I think."

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Taska's froze in her tracks upon hearing her Master's gentle and quiet, yet firm and authoritative, voice behind her. He always managed to appear both when she needed him and when she did not. She turned around, hiding her embarrassment that she had been caught red-handpawed. "Good morning, Master." She replied, bowing as she faced him. As he neared, she heard his command, and was ready to let go of the complimentary buffet below, when she saw him smile, albeit slightly, and allow her to feast. For a brief few seconds, she didn't care that, even though she was trying very hard to have a stoic expression, she was crying with joy internally, until he mentioned that she should practice, at which point her elation turned into irritation. He always had managed to find some way to work in the fact that she needed practice, no matter what the situation. It was almost a running gag at this point, like some sitcom. She sighed and nodded. "Yes, Master. When we settle down planetside, I will find some time to practice."
She then turned to leave, but she suddenly realized that the food might taste better with some company, and turned back to her Master. "Master, would you care to accompany me to the buffet?"

[Aesirson]

Torne followed his master towards the "training room". He stroke the hilt of his lightsabre to make sure that he had it with him, even though he already knew he did. Torne and Auros had practiced duels a bunch of times, usually with Auros as the victor. This assured Torne that he still had stuff to learn from his master. The few times that Torne had been the winning duelist he suspected that Auros lost on purpose to keep Torne's mood up, but Torne didn't like it. Losing on purpose was a sign of the absence of respect, and Torne didn't like to feel unrespected. On the way to the training room Torne heard someone walking towards them and felt the aura of another Jedi.

"When will we touch down on the planet?" He asked Auros.

[Mecha Love]

Auros touched the scanner by the door, which promptly opened the double door with a hiss. He turned to Torne and checked his watch.
"Still about half an hour, plenty of time yet. However, I'm sure that we won't be off the ship as soon as we land, rather we'll have to wait at least another quarter of an hour. Preparations, searches and such... The usual."
Auros studied the face of his padawan. "You ready for whatever comes our way? You must be, otherwise we will fail. No fear, be calm. But be ready for anything." He smiled reassuringly and walked into the empty room. He pulled out his two electrum plated lightsaber and flicked a switch near the top, lowering the power of his plasma weapon to a strength that would merely sting. Yet he didn't bother activating them just yet, rather he'd let his padawan strike first.
"Come, let's begin shall we? Dueling can help your wits and senses."

[Supreme Gamesmaster]

Ah, Master Tesar was meditating. That made sense. He always did like to meditate before setting out on a mission. The other Jedi aboard, however, were up and about. Master Silaris was quietly trailing after Taska, who was bound for the ship's buffet table. Taska was as easy to read as a large-print child's book, and Master Silaris had no cause for ulterior motives. Master Auros, on the other hand, was taking his Padawan, the brash and irritating Torne Keldrona, aside. Why?

Well, Shrike would need to read much tougher targets on Varluscant. She may as well get some practice. She reached out with the Force and looked the Master Guardian over carefully with her eyes. There was no point in concealing her interest. Aha – he sought to engage Torne before the mission. That was a clever move; Torne would need to vent his violent impulses before meeting with the diplomats on Varluscant.

Shrike sighed as she recalled her history with Torne Keldrona. He'd been awful to Shadra ten years ago, when they were still younglings. He was the sort that always needed to be on top of everything and everyone – not precisely a Jedi-like temperament – and Shrike had hated it. When he'd been accepted as Master Auros's Padawan, she'd wondered why – he certainly didn't seem ready.

At that moment, though, she'd realized that she didn't hate Torne any more, or even the domineering archetype he represented. If anything, she'd almost pitied him, disapproving only of his actions. The realization had shaken her quite a bit, but a conversation with Master Tesar had helped her understand the implications of her lack of hatred. Now that she thought of it, that had been a sign of the turning point, hadn't it? When she'd gone from brash to laid-back. Ah, the things Padawanship could do! She'd never have dreamed, when she was a Youngling, that her attitude would change so much.

She left Torne be and strolled over to the buffet table herself. She wouldn't eat a third of what Taska, a surprisingly new Padawan for a woman of twenty, would devour, but there was no reason to turn down the kindness of the KPSF. She chose a few simple fruits and vegetables, nothing cooked, and took a seat at the long dining table set across the middle of the room.

[Aesirson]

"I am always ready, master." Torne said and drew his lightsabre.

The red lightsabres of the Padawans were already adjusted to not being able to kill a healthy and full-grown humanoid with one attack, although multiple stings would be lethal. Torne knew how to override this lock, but he hadn't done this yet as he had yet to meet someone he wanted dead. He swinged the lightsabre in the air for a few seconds before raising his hand, causing a few of the boxes thrown around the room to flie towards Auros. After the distraction, Torne slid to the side, moving at an unnatural speed before trying to strike against Auros side.

[Mecha Love]

Auros nodded in agreement, and lifted his two lightsabers into a defensive 'X' shape, neither of them activated just yet. As several boxes flew towards him, he lifted his hands, stopping the few that would actually hit him, not bothering with the ones that flew past his head, and scattering them across the room, creating more obstacles for his padawan. He himself stayed quite still where he was, deciding that he would test the fighting style of his padawan, rather than show off his own.
As Torne came to strike at Auros' side, he activated one of his lightsbaers, naturally the one closest to Torne, his left, and sweeped it upwards in a broad and powerful strike to counter the red lightsaber. They struck, creating a bright glow as plasma met plasma. He held it there, pushing against his padawans strength and gazed at his padawan.
"You can go faster than that, surely?"
Then with a click and a hiss of sorts, the second golden yellow blade was activated, and Auros swept it from his right side towards Torne's left shoulder. At the same time, he increased the force he was pushing at Torne's red lightsaber, attempting to increase the pressure, and possibly catch his padawan off balance, at least for a second, to give his second lightsaber the time to strike. It was these sorts of exercises that kept people on their toes, and ready for more pressured situations. More than anything, it tested retaliation time and agillity, as well as testing an opponents mind against more than one danger.

[Agro]

Tesar's mind wandered through the ship in the stream that the minds of the other passengers of the ship created in the force. He'd been meditating ever since they'd left the port, both to relax, but more importantly to keep track of everything going on on the ship.

The Council didn't trust the Security Firm that offered them this transport, and neither did he. If there were a mechanical problem, that would be out of his control, and another Jedi would be better equipped to dealing with it, but if there were a spy or a saboteur, he sure wasn't going fail their mission before even arriving.

From a dark corner of his senses, he heard a voice echo on the intercom aboard the ship. Within another second, he could feel one of the being sitting close to him move to lay his hand on him.

"What is it?"

The man stopped short, nervous, but not afraid, of the Barabel's sudden address. Tesar opened his eyes to view the cockpit of the transport they were now in, the co-pilot slowly moving his hand back from him.

"Master Jedi, we've arrived at Varluscant. We'll be touching down soon."

"Thank you." Tesar's head twitched slightly. Apparently his padawan was ready to go as well. "You've gotten us here safely and without any difficulties. I hope your employers pay you well."

The reaction was only one of thankfulness, if there was any doubt or malice, even if they were trained to conceal their emotions in the force, he would have sensed it there. Thankfully there was none, and Tesar exited the cockpit and began walking to where he would exit the ship.

No doubt there would be some waiting involved. Shrike would most likely try to train a bit beforehand. Well, he might as well meditate until the ship had landed, it would do well to clear his mind.