revivalproject | One More Stranger

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One More Stranger

WHO: Ikora Rey & Others
WHERE: Around Coruscant
WHAT: A little temple and a little fighting
WHEN: The Coruscant trip.
WARNINGS: Some violence

I. The Jedi Temple

When she asked the locals where to go for help almost every single person directed her to a place called the Jedi Temple. "It's a beautiful building," she said as she ascended the steps with Ophiuchus floating at her shoulder.

"And heavily guarded," he pointed out with a nod in the direction of the guards at the entrance.

"If it's as important as the people here say it is it makes sense for it to be guarded." Ikora continued up the steps with her hands folded behind her back. "Perhaps you should stay more hidden for the time being."

"... as you wish." With a little hiss of Light Ophiuchus vanished though Ikora could tell he wasn't happy with the suggestion. She would rather her ghost was out of sight if these temple guards didn't turn out to be as friendly as everyone suggested.

When she reached the top the guards asked her what her business was with the Temple. Ikora explained she had recently arrived on the planet and was seeking knowledge of where she was and in what system. The guards exchanged looks and then seemed to have a conversation without speaking. One stepped away with a nod and Ikora watched him pull a communication device from his robes and speak into it.

She waited patiently for them to decide what to do with the stranger at their door Ikora looked out over the endless city. Golden Age Earth might have resembled this place at one point, she imagined. Flying cars, spaceships, and technology as far as the eye could see.

It was beautiful in a way but Ikora couldn't help but wonder what sort of secrets this place hid.

"Come with us," The guard said.

"Of course." She only raised an eyebrow as the two guards flanked her and led her inside the temple.

"Wait here." They left her in some sort of waiting room.

Apparently, her presence had caused some sort of stir. Ikora wondered just what sort of stir that was.

II. Pit Fights

After arriving in the strange seemingly endless city, Ikora found herself exploring the deeper, more dangerous parts. She was drawn to the secrets hidden in the shadows and unlike some other Warlocks she was not afraid to take physical risks as well as mental ones. Ophiuchus was against the plan, of course. He felt they could stay on the surface and find a way to contact home. They could feel the Traveler out there somewhere even though it felt very far away. There had to be a way to get a signal into deep space.

Instead, Ikora found herself in the middle of a pit with shouting voices in seemingly hundreds of different languages. Some cheering for her. Some against her. She tuned them out and focused on her opponent who looked like a large green pig humanoid.

There were no firearms allowed in the ring which suited Ikora fine since she hadn't arrived on this alien planet with any. She held a mid-sized staff with a hook on the end tipped with a sharp pike. Her opponent had a large bladed weapon and his form was awful. So open. So easy to read. He would have never lasted long in the Crucible.

He charged, clearly relying on his size and muscle mass to overpower her. Ikora sidestepped, hooked the staff around the alien's leg and pulled. He landed on his face as Ikora stepped back. When the alien got up a charged her again she threw her hand forward and a blast of Void sent him reeling back. Ikora followed up with a swift drive of the staff into the alien's gut and then a blow to the side of the head.

She put the spiked point of the staff to the alien's throat. "I recommend you don't get up."

III. Wildcard

Want something else? Go for it.

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“Then I can assure you kyber crystals are nothing of the sort. Jedi would never touch something so dark. In fact it would be... painful to even come close to such a thing.”

And he spoke from experience having been very close to a Sith temple once.

“As for the information, I suppose it would be doable but I’m uncertain what would be done with such knowledge. Our very presence here is disturbing in itself considering its 900 years in the past from my perspective.” There was so much he wanted to tell the Jedi here, to warn them about. But should he?

Ikora’s reassurance about the lightsaber knowledge did put him more at ease. An amused look being passed to the ghost before he nods. “I see. Then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

"The Hive have driven some mad." Ikora thought of Eris and worried if she was alone. Others in the Tower were more trusting of her now but... she didn't have many other friends. "Or tried to corrupt them but they've made it into a strength, a skill, to help us."

Obi-Wan had a good point... if one wasn't used to disrupting timelines and changing destiny. Ikora saw no reason not to warn this place of the dangers of the Hive and the Darkness. "Even if the knowledge is simply stored in your Archives and isn't read for nine hundred years or more it would be there if it needed. And believe me, your people have never felt corruption of life like the Hive. Ophiuchus can you find a way to leave information here?"

"An interface? Maybe. One moment." The ghost started to dart around with more purpose now.

The whole thing brought him pause, and the Jedi frowned a bit. "Are you certain it's a good idea? To be quite honest, the Order has plenty to worry about in the future as it is."

He keeps his voice low, not wanting his words to carry through the library where other Jedi could hear. The question of warning them about their dark future had been brought up by Ezra. Though Obi-Wan still wasn't if it was a good idea or not to leave them any sort of warning.

"I do." Ikora said it firmly, no hesitation. "I've seen what the Hive can do to worlds unprepared for their arrival, unaware of their existence. Why not leave them a warning and information? They may never need it. They may need it a thousand years from now."

"Found it!" Ophiuchus stopped over a console and started to interface, a beam of light shooting out from his eye. "Wow... there's a lot in here..."

"Ghost..." Ikora warned.

"Okay, okay, right. Leaving data on the Hive for the Jedi Order."

"If your people have questions or a problem, they can talk to me." Ikora was used to acting firmly with the simplest, clearest logic possible. Leave the information. Only time would tell if it would be used.

He supposed she had a point, and so he didn’t protest as the information was downloaded into the temple’s database. Though Obi-Wan was now standing there with his hand on his beard and brows furrowed. As if the Jedi was in deep thought.

If Ikora was kind enough to leave such a warning for his people, did it not stand to reason that he should do the same? Though perhaps not quite in the same fashion. They were always warned on how to interpret visions as ones actions could lead to their fulfillment and not in a good way. He didn’t wish to make things worse by giving them details of the future. Though he can’t really fathom how it could get much worse.

When the guardian spoke to him again, the Jedi blinked and looked up. “Oh. Yes of course. Thank you.”

Whatever thoughts troubled the Jedi Ikora didn't ask. It felt rude to pry into his thoughts when they were practically strangers. She could tamper down that curiosity. Not all Warlocks even had it. Sometimes, they were so concerned with the mysteries of the universe that they forgot people existed.

"You're welcome," she said with a little nod.

Ophiuchus worked quickly uploading a great deal of data to the Jedi. It was all the details that they knew of the Hive, how their magic worked, how they acted in battle, and the various rankings and types. It was detailed and very informative. Chilling, as well.

The ghost floated towards them when he was done.

Obi-Wan remained quietly in thought until the ghost floated back over to them. Seemingly done with its task. He still had a lot to consider, but he would leave that for later.

“Well then, shall we move on to the training rooms?”

He had promised her a lightsaber demonstration after all.

"Yes, that is a good idea."

Her ghost flew ahead of them, occasionally scanning anything he found interesting. Ophiuchus kept glancing back to make sure Ikora was still near by and that what he scanned wasn't of any religious significance.

"It wouldn't be possible for me to spar against you and the lightsaber would it?" She asked with a slight smile. "I imagine there aren't many weapons that could withstand it."

Except, perhaps, another of its own kind.

“A real lightsaber would most certainly damage just about any weapon easily,” Obi-Wan confirmed as they walked. It might not be much of a fight if she wanted to truly spar with him.

“However, I could use one of the training sabers. They are kept at a much lower power to prevent serious injury.” Not that one couldn’t kill someone with one but it was much harder to. And it wouldn’t cut her weapons in half at least.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any weapons." She held her arms out to indicate her lack of weapons. "When I arrived here all I had was my ghost and his storage of my weapons was empty."

A rather frustrating and annoying situation to find herself in. She was a talented fighter without weapons but if he wanted to face off she would need a weapon to use.

And she doubted they would let her use a spare.

"I will just have to observe."

“Then I will be sure to give you something worth observing,” he said as they walked. The two of them and the ghost boarding a turbolift to take them to another part of the temple. Where they emerged was the training halls.

As they made their way to the different sparring rooms, someone caught his eye and he beckoned to them. “Padawan, with me.” The young Rodian stared at him with his glittering eyes before scrambling to join them. “Yes, master.”

"I hope so."

Ikora had high standards. She was considered one of the best to ever fight in the Crucible. Not with a sword but she knew how to handle herself in combat. Obi-Wan seemed confident enough in himself which was a good sign.

While he addressed the young Jedi Ikora tilted her head towards Ophiuchus who darted off to scan things after a little hesitation. She could feel his judgement wanting to have him scout while the Jedi were slightly distracted.

She didn't expect him to go far. She didn't want him to go far but just to get a sense of the training room and the technology here.

Sneaky. Obi-Wan was busy talking with the Rodian Padawan so he didn’t notice as the ghost floated away. He had seen the student training a few days ago and had been impressed with his skill. So that’s why he invited him to spar. By this point everyone knew about Obi-Wan and his group. While he was a virtual stranger the children had been told to treat him and his friends with respect. He was still a master and should be regarded no less. So the boy was quick to obey and even seemed a bit excited to have a chance to cross blades with this strange master.

“There’s an observation deck if you would like to have a better view,” Obi-Wan pointed out to Ikora as they paused at the training room’s door. “And this is Padawan Chonda Lar, he will be my opponent today.” The reptilian Padawan dipping his head respectfully to Ikora even as his antennae twitched in anticipation.

No one seemed to notice the little Ghost float away from them. The training facility didn't have as many interesting bits of data like the archives did but there were plenty of training weapons to study and scan.

"Hello, Padawan Chonda Lar." Ikora returned the little incline of her head. She looked towards the observation deck and after a second of consideration she shook her head. "I would rather observe from up close, if you don't mind."

Ikora was not worried that she would get caught up in their practice fight. They would be careful and she could move and avoid things if the young padawan lost control of himself. A Blink would be exhausting but she could avoid a lot of danger that way.

“Hello,” the Padawan said politely while giving Ikora a little bow. The master Jedi smiling at the young Rodian before looking back to their guest.

“That will be fine. Come then.” Turning, he walks through the doors of the training room with the Padawan following after him. Obi-Wan putting his cloak aside and unhooking his lightsaber. Chonda Far did the same, with both of them taking positions at opposite sides of the floor. After a courteous bow to each other, both Jedi took they’re opening stances before beginning. Two blue blades whirling through the air as both of them moved in a virtual dance. Their moves fluid, elegant, and precise as their lightsabers clashed against each other.

The fight was quite the show. Graceful. Intense. Skilled.

Ikora watched with her hands folded behind her back as she paced slightly to stay level with the two of them. She could see the potential in these lightsabers as a Guardian weapon.

It was sacred though and she would respect that.

Her ghost, meanwhile was wandering wherever he felt might have good information. He didn't expect to get hurt in the Temple. People here were nice. He just had to be a little sneaky. Luckily, his black shell let him hide in shadows when he did spot someone.

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One More Stranger

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