Storm's Trials

[Master Armoth]

Master Silvan Armoth entered the small Jedi hanger, immediately scanning his surroundings for threats. With a Sith having infiltrated their ranks, there was no telling where the first strike would come from. Ever since Master Sephios and Master Valm had spoken at the Council meeting, Silvan had been anxious about the survival of the Jedi. While the future was always clouded, Silvan had developed a talent for isolating possible futures and following that thread as far as necessary. While this took time, he had spent the better part of two days focused on this task, and he had not seen one future in which the Jedi survived if they did not forcefully fight the Sith.

Storm had not yet arrived, so Silvan headed over to the modified B-wing snub fighter that they were to take to Korriban. The mission was to seek out a mercenary group that had apparently been gathering on the old Sith planet of Korriban. Not a fun place to go in the best of times. Now that the Sith had arisen again...well, Silvan and Storm might both get to prove their lightsaber skills in battle. Silvan knew he was not supposed to help, but he didn't fancy letting Storm get killed on the eve of his knighthood. If he knew anything about the Sith (which he did), Silvan knew that the Sith would toy with the Padawan before killing him. It would attempt to turn him before destroying him. If Storm passed that test, Silvan saw no reason to not enter the fight.

Silvan checked the B-wing over carefully. Something didn't feel right about it. He wasn't a mechanic, but there was something...wrong with the ship. He called over one of the mechanics, a Wookie that he knew well. "Ralak, check this ship out carefully please. Look for evidence of sabotage." The Wookie growled out a response and began a search.

Silvan stood back and closed his eyes, meditating on the Force. He calmed himself and reached out with his feelings, searching the future for evidence of trouble. There was danger on Korriban, he felt, but there didn't seem to be an unnatural concentration of the Dark Side, as their would have been if a Sith was there. At that moment, Storm interrupted him.

[Storm]

[glow=blue,2,300]Excuse me master, but I am ready. There is mischief among the air. I sense it too master. We must tread lightly. Is there something wrong with the ship?[/glow]

[Master Armoth]

Silvan had felt his Padawan approaching and knew his question before he asked it. He decided it would be a good test for his Padawan, a preliminary warm-up exercise, for him to figure out what the problem was. "Ralak, hold on a moment," he said. The Wookie growled his disapproval, but Silvan insisted. He then turned to his Padawan. "Storm, I want you to go over this ship. Find what the problem is, if you can. Use the Force to guide you. However, I think we'll take a different ship, anyway." He turned back to the Wookie as Storm began his task. "Ralak, come with me. Let's pick out another ship," he said as he started walking deeper into the hanger.

Ralak suggested several possible ships as they walked, but Silvan didn't respond to any of them. The Wookie was getting frustrated. What did this Jedi want? There were plenty of Y-wings, B-wings, a modified E-wing, and even a modified X-wing. Ralak couldn't understand this Jedi's silence. He held his temper in check, though. He'd seen Master Armoth in action only once before, but once was enough. The Wookie didn't want to experience the burn of a lightsaber.

Finally Silvan seemed to spot what he was looking for. Ralak, relieved, followed Silvan toward an old freighter, then up the access ramp. They entered the cockpit of the old YT-1300, and Silvan closed the ramp. Ralak cocked his head questioningly. Now what? he thought.

Silvan turned to his friend. "No one can hear us in here. Ralak, old friend, I know I can trust you. I want you to take a message to Master Jaxon Sephios for me. Tell him, in secret, to prepare a ship and meet me on Korriban. I feel we may need more than one Master there. Do not trust anyone else.

"You are the first outside the Jedi Council to know this, but I am telling you because I know I can trust you. The Sith have risen again. Yes, you heard correctly. The Sith. I have reason to believe they have infiltrated the Jedi Order, maybe even the Council. Trust no one now saving Sephios, Storm, Valm, Dehoir, and myself from the Jedi.

"I need a second favor from you as well. I want you to accompany Sephios. While you are not a Jedi, I know your proficiency with a bowcaster. We may need you there."

Ralak thought for a moment, then growled out a question. "No, especially don't trust Master Karn. As good as he's been, I believe he may have turned. I haven't seen him since the first meeting." Ralak thought again, then nodded his head in agreement.

Silvan thanked him, then lowered the access ramp again. The two exited and headed back toward the B-wing. Silvan stopped by the old X-wing and looked it over. The space for an astromech droid had been replaced by a compartment for a passenger - perfect for two Jedi headed off on a mission. He jumped up to the cockpit and ran a quick systems check. When he saw everything was clear, he initiated the startup sequence. He flashed a quick salute to Ralak, who growled in return and headed off to find Master Sephios.

Silvan engaged the repulsorlifts and turned it towards Storm, who was still checking out the B-wing. He landed near the suspicious snub fighter and called out to his Padawan. "Storm, delegate that to another mechanic, and lets get out of here."

[Master Armoth]

Ralak jogged toward the hanger-bay exit, heading for the turbolift that would take him to the quarters of Jedi Master Jaxon Sephios. He heard a engine roar to life behind him, and he knew that Silvan and Alexander had taken off on their mission. He turned and watched the fading shape of the X-wing before turning back to his duty.

He was sad in a way to see his old friend go. He believed Silvan to be at least the best fighter of the Jedi, if not the wisest as well. Coruscant was safer when he was around. But that wouldn't matter to Ralak soon. He'd be on his way to Korriban with Master Sephios.

That was another Jedi that Ralak liked. Sephios had been trained by Silvan; though he was not quite as good, he was extremely competent when it came to combat. Ralak had once seen Silvan and Sephios duel during Sephios's flirtations with the Dark Side, and the younger had held his own. Silvan had finally reached Sephios's good heart and had drawn him out of the dark pit, but even Silvan admitted later that he wasn't sure during the battle if he would win.

Ralak jogged down the corridors until he came to the turbolift. Normally a code was required to access the floor that the Jedi quarters were on, but Silvan had given him his code years ago (without the knowledge of the Council). Silvan had always been one for learning from the past, and he wanted to be able to call for help if something ever happened.

Ralak entered the lift and waited for the doors to close before punching in the access code. After pressing the button for the desired floor, he stood back and waited for the lift to begin its ascent. After a few moments, he frowned and punched the button again. Something wasn't right here. He growled softly, then pushed the button to open the lift doors. Nothing happened. Hmm. Well, he could fix it - he could fix anything.

Ralak opened the panel next to the floor buttons and began tweaking the wires. Everything seemed to be in order. He touched two of the wires together and waited for the doors to open. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. Ralak cocked his head in contemplation. Why wasn't the turbolift working.

He tried two different wires, which should have sent him to the floor he desired, but that didn't work either. He frowned; his frustration with the lift was building. Well, it seemed the only way he would get out was to climb up to the next level and pry open the doors. Ralak pulled out several of the wires, making sure the lift couldn't start up while he was in the shaft, then stood and punched out the access panel to get through the turbolift to the shaft itself.

Climbing out of the cab, he looked up toward the next level. It was only eight feet above his head - no problem for a Wookie. Extending his rarely used climbing claws, he dug into the metal sides of the shaft and began climbing. He reached the next level and, standing on the ledge, began to wedge his claws in between the heavy doors. Just as he started pulling, he heard a mechanical whine behind him.

He looked down and knew he was in trouble. The turbolift was making that noise, and Ralak was not a small Wookie. He still hung half over the shaft. Thinking quickly, Ralak released his hold on the door and jumped into the shaft, landing on top of the rising cab. The lift kept picking up speed, passing floor after floor. Ralak saw the top level coming up - he was about to be crushed against it. He rolled into the cab through the still-open access hatch just as the lift reached the top and stopped.

But the doors still didn't open. Ralak was about to attempt to pry both sets open when he felt his stomach fly up into his chest. The lift was dropping, and it was dropping quickly. Too quickly. The safety cables had been cut. The Wookie climbed out of the access hatch for the second time and stood on top of the plummeting cab, trying to time his jump.

Just as the cab passed a floor, Ralak jumped. Unfortunately, he had neglected to factor in the time that the actual jump would take, and he missed his hold, crashing instead against the side of the lift. His claws were extended, though, and they found purchase on the wall. Ralak climbed up to the next floor and pried open the doors. As he did, an explosion echoed up from the first floor. The turbolift had landed. The doors shut behind Ralak just as the shock wave from the explosion passed.

Exhausted, Ralak sat down for a minute on the floor to catch his breath. As he did so, he took in his surroundings. He was alone, in a foyer of some kind. He'd never been on this floor before, he didn't think. The furniture was different from anything he'd seen - it was plush and comfortable. Very unlike the Jedi. Hmm. At that moment he realized he wasn't entirely alone.

The figure cloaked in black spoke. "Ralak the Wookie. Friend of Master Silvan Armoth. I have been expecting you."

Ralak couldn't place the voice. It seemed distorted, but it seemed that he had heard it somewhere before. He closed his eyes for a second to think when the figure spoke again. "Don't bother. You won't figure it out. How do you like my handiwork?" The figure pointed at the turbolift shaft. Ralak refused to answer.

The figure's voice grew colder, if such a thing was possible. "Master Armoth took you into his confidence about something. I must know what it is. You will tell me, or I will force it out of you." As much as he tried to suppress it, Ralak couldn't help thinking of the message he was supposed to take to Master Sephios. "Ah," continued the figure. "I see. One more thing, and you can be on your way." The figure reached out his hand, and Ralak felt an exploding pain in his skull. He roared, then felt himself being pushed back into the turbolift doors. He smacked his head, and everything went black.

When he awoke, he looked around him. He must have fallen asleep. The last thing he remembered was climbing out of the turbolift shaft and collapsing on the floor, exhausted. Strangely, though, his head hurt. I must have bumped it and not noticed it. Adrenaline, probably, he thought. He rose and headed for the stairs. Fail-safe, in his opinion. He doubted he'd be taking the turbolift anytime soon. Too much for him.

He headed down to the first floor to see what kind of damage had been done. The doors to the shaft were blown out and the floor and walls nearby had been scorched. Other than that, though, nothing seemed wrong. Several Jedi and a few others were examining the damage. At that moment, Jaxon Sephios walked in.

"The cables were cut," he said, "on the top floor. And they were cut with a lightsaber." Apparently he had been heading up the investigation into the explosion. "I'm going to report this to Master Valm."

Ralak growled a greeting to his friend, who turned to him. "Oh, Ralak, good to see you. Hope you weren't anywhere near here when the lift blew. Dangerous stuff." Ralak, in no uncertain terms, informed the Jedi that he had been on the lift. "Oh," replied Sephios, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Well, its good to see you're OK." The Jedi turned to leave, and Ralak followed him.

When they were outside the room, Sephios turned to Ralak. "What's troubling you, friend? I can feel your anxiety." Ralak delivered Silvan's message, and the Jedi pursed his lips in thought. "Let me deliver this news to Master Valm, then I will join you. Wait here."

Twenty minutes later, the young Jedi Master returned and accompanied Ralak back to the hanger bay. Ralak walked immediately to the old freighter that Silvan had given him the message in and ran an extensive systems check. No problems visible. He motioned for Sephios to enter, then he closed the access ramp and roared out of the hanger bay, headed for the planet Korriban.