Fiction Gallery

"I did what?!" The Proconsul exclaimed and the Roll Master cringed.

"You approved an order for one thousand Porgs and a dozen Nexu." Mune had the decency to act sheepish. He had been commanded by the Consul to follow up the discrepancy in the Proconsul's holiday budget. To say that she had been... upset... would be an understatement.

"Does that sound like something I would do?!"

Mune held up the datapad. "The first order was for 50 Porgs - for roasting. And a Nexu on... the Barbie? What is a Barbie, Braeby?" The Roll Master knew he was pushing it. The Elder was turning red in the face, but he didn't reach for the datapad to dispute the entirely fabricated statement of his peer. Instead, his eyes darted from the left to the right as he ran the calculations.

"I thought you said-"

"Yes, the order was much greater. But that was only the initial order. Apparently you put one in through the Excidium Headquarters then amended the order several hours later... and changed the notes on the order concerning its purpose."

The ice blue eyes of the former Krath bored into the fox-eared Roll Master. "And. what. did. it. say?" His words were punctuated with a seething hatred building within him.

Mune continued to adlib, "To repopulate Caina with a species of bird that is both hard, fierce, and loyal to the Empire." Mune thumbed through several screens on his data pad. "And it says here that you also requested for the Porg to become the official mascot of the Clan; though, you did stipulate that Sith could hunt the small creatures with assistance of the Nexu."

"Oh, did I?"

"Yes," Mune nodded, "as long as the Nexu didn't eat you. That was your only requirement."

Braecen turned his back towards the Equite and stared out the window in his office. It was the centerpiece of the room - everything was positioned to accentuate its dominance and the landscape that is surveyed below. It was a trapping of power and prestige that the Elder could not let go. Even with the destruction of the Cocytus System.

"I will be on my way to the Excidium Summit," Braecen barked. "I will sort out this matter immediately."

Mune watched the black clad man storm from his chambers towards the landing pad that would escort him to one of the Clan's larger ships. From there he would make a short jump in-system to come to the Bandit Moon that Excidium now considered their domain. The fox-eared man laughed to himself, stopped recording his entry, and sent the video file to Raiju with a simple message: "Merry Christmas!"

The song 'Turbo Killer' by Carpenter Brut, found here officially on their channel. It reflects the wild shift between feel power and triumphant. Even the doubt and worry the moment he thinks, or discovers, his opponent in whatever battle.. could possibly kill or capture Ondur. I hope i understood and followed correctly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy9r2qeouiQ

Ondur's been standing in one spot staring at a projection of his home planet for twelve hours. This is not out of desperation. Though he would enjoy a visit for the first time in a long while. It is his main form of meditation lately. The lessons of struggle and backstabbing, the bond of those few you trust until you toss them away. Those are channeled inside Ondur for everything. Especially meditation and focusing on Number One, himself. Nerve shredding moments where indecision would give your killer, your opponent, your enemy of whatever total victory.

Deep inside he misses the constant darkness and connection to the Dark Side itself there. The chance to be alone with IT, the very power in and around him. Ondur is going to return and Force a lot of relaxation on the petty squabbling idiots. Those with the Force can join him and the Brotherhood or they become one with it.

So here he stands, standing being a position of power. He reminds himself that his strength is a nit and some lice compared to others..

But it is his own. Perhaps he could take a planet all his own, and reshape it in the image of Umbara. Only better, more beautiful, with a Ruling class.. Just him of course. No war even! Except the thrashing inside his heart and soul. This was usually part of the routine, the piece of the plan where he sits and deactivates all light source. Of course he can see fine, well, fine compared to a blind human fumbling around. Then there is to come his favorite meditation.

Here now, is the beautiful practice he called: Go in your head and spread the darkness. Even smear the damn power all over the place. Remembering what his failings were and imagine triumphant laughter. his or is it the Dark Side itself that had been laughing each time he set this stuff in motion? Bringing to life the days where he was weak in the Force but still had to beat the life out of children, rival children, and sometimes it fully involved beating out their life entirely.

As he trained away from the Dark Brotherhood, there were time he had to hunt down fools. He had to chase and kill escapees. Sometime slaves and other times other Force users. The focus always grew strongest when he thinks about the many times he feigned that he would let them go. The surprise that blew out their face when he demonstrated that he had lied; That was fun. It wasn't cruel. It was Umbara.

Then he would like to focus on the family. Not his. But those that had many come and trained. They varied with power in society. They often varied highly with their access to the Force. Testing his manipulation and how he envisioned the fates of his cohort. He especially enjoyed bringing a younger student to hunt the rogue escapees. It taught them what happened if you try. And sometime he saw weakness in his little helper and chose to report of the tragic loss of such potential, especially if the students he executed were friends or family to his rivals. Ondur did have a petty streak. At least more than now. Of course he wasn't a wanton psychopath. Ondur was trained by the Academy's own Krypteia. Weed out the Weak, There Go The Paperwork Left For The Weak. It was their creed. It was his tool.

His meditations focused on the heart pumping, muscle aching, triumph over someone or something that was in your way. Accident or no, it was the end of that.

Arron stalked silently through the trees and grass, carefully so not to spook the woodland creature before him. This new planet had an abundance of fresh and unfamiliar wildlife; a perfect hunting ground. Seraph was an unfamiliar planet to the Dark Jedi, but it was where Scholae Palatinae had chosen to make their new home. He needed to get acquainted.

He burst from the coverings, his claws flashing out, one set bone, one set metal. Green eyes flashed sulfurous yellow.

And the forest life would need to get acquainted to him.

Cathar was a wild planet, and its people were hunters of that wilderness. Hunting was in Arron’s blood, in his soul. And through his soul, he connected with The Dark Side.

It had been a hard lesson, long in learning, and cruel in living. It wasn’t until he had come to Antei, and learned of the Dark Side, that the scattered pieces fell into place. The universe was wild, and all in it, were the predator, or the prey.

The animal bleated and screamed, thrashed about, but Arron was relentless. He had let go of thought, let go of reason, and embraced the Hunt. He was predator, it was prey; this was the way of things, the Dark Side itself was proof of this.

The creature, a thing with black fur and five twisting horns, finally fell silent, and the woods fell quiet once more. It didn’t last long; a howl broke the night, and Arron could sense them coming in the Force.

A group of three broke into the clearing where Arron stood over his prey, large and bear-like, with vaguely humanoid forelimbs. The lead one, bigger than the others, and with a nasty scar across its face, stepped forward. The Alpha. And Arron was in its territory. That could not go unpunished.

The creature charged, bellowing in rage. Arron didn’t bother returning the gesture. He crouched low, waiting for just the right-NOW!

Arron leapt into the air, the Force granting him altitude no mundane body could reach, and landed on the monster’s back. Before it could react, Arron sent a stream of lightning into it’s body, and listened as the creature shrieked-

“Arron!”

Arron blinked his eyes open to see his Battle Team leader Callindra waving her hand in front of his face.

“C’mon, eyes open Arron, we’re landing in ten.” “Right,” Arron said, the memory of the hunt a week prior receding in his mind. “I’ll be ready.”

That seemed to satisfy the Sith Lady, and she went to check with the other members of the Battle Team.

Arron stood to stretch, and caught his reflection in to metal of the ship. The bright yellow of his eyes was slowly fading back into its natural green, but flecks of yellow seemed to linger. That had been happening more and more lately, he knew.

As the ship landed, and the Team gathered to disembark for their mission, Arron allowed his thoughts to return to that hunt once more. It had been good, but the memory had begun to grow a bit...stale. He’d need to hunt again soon, after this mission preferably, to make fresh memories to meditate on. Perhaps see some of the other wildlife of Seraph…

The way of the Dark Side was the way of passion, and while many Sith and Dark Jedi chose to meditate on their rage, their hate, or even their lusts, he communed with the Dark Side through the thrill of hunting. Cathar were hunters, and in this way, he knew he’d surpassed the most legendary of his ancestor’s numbers.

The bay doors opened, and a humid wave of air, accompanied by the sounds of strange birds and beast heralded the sight of a lush jungle. Arron smirked. Or perhaps he’d get to hunt again sooner than he thought.

No question Nardash is a big city. Some people might even call it huge. Those people had never been to Coruscant, or even Nar Shadaa. Those were huge cities. As it stood, Nardash was just big. Twenty million residents, a few hundred square miles of concrete and steel, and the heart of the Meraxis Empire, naturally they would have a massive and strict police force to maintain absolute order.

And without a doubt, the Nardash Police Department (on paper a civilian organization, in practice a subdivision of the Military) was the picture of discipline, ever ready to crack down on the first sign of a crime, felony, or minor misdemeanor (really, they were all pretty much the same under Meraxian law).

Disciplined, dedicated, unwavering. So, naturally, they were a major hotbed of corruption. That’s where the Wayward Officer Correction Tribunal, WOCT, (Watchers, as their nickname goes) sprung up a few decades back.

The whole group was founded just two years after the coup that put the previous emperor in power, and only lasted for about two more years after that. In the decade since, they’ve become a kind of a ghost story among the populace, mostly cause of the weird rumors surrounding them, and the increasingly more weird rumors that have been popping up since.

Officially, the Watchers were an internal affairs division. The MP’s kept the populace in line, the Watchers kept the MP’s in line. The weird stuff was in how. See, the Watchers, they didn’t have the authority to make arrests, or even to open investigations. If an officer was accused of breaking the rules they were supposed to keep, the Watchers would simply “ask” them to come in for an “interview”.

See, that was another weird thing, nobody knew where the Watcher operated out of. They had no official base of operations, at least not one that was listed on paper. They’d just show up, at your precinct if you were lucky, if you weren’t they’d be at your house. And you didn’t have the option to refuse either. No word on where those souls went, but when they came back…

Take this one guy I heard a story about, Jaxos Reed...or was it Reen? Sheen? No no, it was definitley Jason Reed. Yes I’m sure, stop interupting!

So, Jack, he’s you’re standard slimeball, right? Taking bribes, dealing spice on the side, than using that money to set his wife and kids up in the nicest penthouse he could afford. One day he comes home to find a Watcher in that penthouse, sitting at the table with his wife and kids.

Jaxos didn’t show up to work the next day. His kids didn’t show up to school. Not for a week. Then two. Then four.

When they showed up again, they were the picture of Meraxian propaganda, “Hail the Emperor” and all that stuff. Reed punched the next guy that tried to bribe, the spice dealing stopped cold, and a lot of his regulars weren’t heard from again. I even heard a rumor that one of his kids nearly killed a classmate who said some unkind things about the regime. What happened to the Watchers? Got shut down. Official story was “budget cuts”. Course you still always got the rumors. That they went underground to do their work more “efficiently”, that bad seeds still disappear and come back changed, that they’re the ones really running the Empire, that they’re a Sith sect or a bunch of disguised Rakatans or some nonsense…

Me? Well I take the Empire at it’s word. Course they’re gone. Take my advice, you tell people the same if it comes up. Just, trust me on this one?

Meditation: THOUGHTS BROKEN, that’s the only thing that came into her mind…But how? “Jedi are not suppose to be like that” a voice inside of her said.. Why??? Oh,she definitely knew why….And that’s when tears filled her brown eyes..She couldn’t hold it anymore,Zeline covered her eyes,sat down because she had no strength and started crying…If anybody could see her right now,they would think she was mourning a beloved one…But that wasn’t far from her reality..At a later time when her eyes turned red because of crying she thought: Meditation is that the medication? Zeline Nemesis was a Jedi,she had to reorganize herself and exceed that situation.For her,meditation works only if she closes her eyes ,takes a deep breath and rub her belly,she was pregnant at the time and it should be kept as a secret from everyone including the Force. Zeline had to focus on her thoughts but that was what scared her the most,because by thinking and clearing her mind even if she could realize the situation better,the bad facts still were remaining facts.Although she could analyze them,step by step try to understand why is this happening and what to expect,so when the final result would come,to be able to deal with it.Her thoughts wouldn’t leave her alone not even for a minute. Zeline Nemesis wanted to scream to stop it but she couldn’t..Only choice she had,was to focus on the future.Hope guides her,this is what its takes her through the day and especially the night..With meditation everyone can understand itself better..First she tried not to think of anything, then she organized her thoughts according to the time that everything happened and by pretending she was someone else not related to the situation she tried to solve it,so she would be objective…If not anything could be solved,she would try to focus on the AFTER time…BUT so many questions with no answers from the person she cared about,no way to reach him,his absence made it seem like he didn’t exist in real life,even if she was sleeping and waking up with him on her mind..Therefore,even if she had the willing to solve the situation or find out the truth,how would she solve the problem if the answers weren’t possible to come from her but only from him?At that moment she reminded to herself that everything has to do with balance in meditation,embrace the good emotions but not go that deep into feelings and lose control… While doing meditation at the same time you are letting yourself free,you control everything that has to do with evil bad and negativity and try to stick with the Jedi Code … “Never leave the light path” a friend said in the past but Zeline Nemesis already knew that falling in LOVE for a Jedi is a dangerous trap.. And that has to do not only with emotions you can’t control but with the fear of being betrayed by the person you love and become literally broken,that can turn you into the evil path..It wasn’t a secret anymore she struggled,she suffered, she felt betrayed, that was more than she could ever handle.When he disappeared everything happened so fast for no apparent reason and the explanation she received after pursuing it,didn’t match with the facts she had seen… Yes,meditation may helps when she tried to cope with the situation but in the area that she suffered only that person could actually save her by telling her the truth…Waiting endless days,counted every minute,every second but meditation didn’t really help her because the facts and her reality were harsh .She didn’t want to be betrayed,who does? She didn’t want to live in a lie or hear lies again..The baby inside her belly kicked her again,that made her come back to reality and deal with the struggle for her lost love or waiting to find out if her beloved one was actually being captive..? Meditation: Does it really help or we make ourselves believe that it helps,until the situation is being solved on it’s own,so we won’t have any more thoughts to analyze..? But a fact for real: In meditation beautiful things will happen if you distance yourself from negativity .Inside her mind all these occurred in silence…Besides meditation has to do in some type of way with SILENCE!!! P.S I don't know how to upload a music video from youtube so it's: How far i'll go-Moana!! But the lyrics define me and i love the music too♡♡♡ "so come find me and let me know what's beyond that line....no one knows How far it goes.."

The sound of a waterfall glistened in the ears of Sariel, the raging water cascading over rocks and providing a cooling mist.  The human’s muscles ached from his morning exercises, his daily ritual of practicing kata and weapons forms always doing the trick to awaken his mind with a tempest of thoughts and feelings.  He sat in a lotus position, the coolness of the moss covered rock he sat upon providing him a small degree of comfort from his sweat covered clothing.  
He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes as his mind wandered through the rapid fire of images and memories. He allowed each one to play out, embracing both the positivity and negativity that came from each.  The music made by the natural beauty that surrounded Sariel allowed him to further grasp these experiences, working through the emotions that came from them and scrubbing their hold on his conscious thought away.  It would not be long, however, until the memory that refused to leave would surface and Sariel could feel the anxiety in his chest swell at the fear of experiencing it once more.  
In his mind, he saw the orange hue of flames in the darkness.  He smelled the soot and ash of his monastery burning, the scent of charred flesh stinging his nostrils as he heard the crying and screams of those he was meant to protect.  He felt the ache of his failure as he witnessed his Grand Master struck down by a man in black, the ringing of the vile beast’s cackle stinging the human.  His home laid waste, his brethren butchered and slain, and the feeling of hopelessness attacked his heart and mind in a horrid offensive.  
His eyes burst open as the image of the beast entered his view.  A monster in the guise of a man, blood stained skin coupled with a horrible visage of a face roared in his mind.  A single tear rolled down his cheek as he closed his eyes once more, refusing to fail again at his mental exercise.  He focused harder, trying his best to control the memory in his mind as if it were a lucid dream.  In his memory, he saw himself look down at his hands and see the weapon that he could not find that day.  It was a long ebony staff, the special carvings and carefully wrapped linen seeming to smile as he held the trusted friend in his hand.  He forced himself to approach the beast, destroying the memory in his mind and creating a new experience.  He was younger then, when fear and anger still held him back from action.  He could not change yesterday, but he could make it so that the tragedy of his past no longer held sway over his future.  
“Oh, another notch for my belt.” said the Umbaran, his hand holding a black leather sash that was mangled and mutilated by tally marks. 
Sariel ignored his taunt, instead gathering his inner strength and energy in preparation for the battle.  A crimson blade came from the beast, his cackling renewed with vigor at the sight of his weapon.  The human gave no reaction, staying his position and readying himself for the Umbaran to strike.  Like a creature uncaged, the black clad warrior lunged at Sariel with his saber in a downward strike.  Sariel rolled forward, past his opponent, and placed three strikes against his enemy.  One blow landed behind the knee, forcing his opponent to stagger, the other two strikes landing on one side of his body and the other side of his head.  The Sith howled, immediately turning around and striking wildly.  A thrust burst forth, another lunge, another downward strike.  Excitement roared in Sariel’s mind, the path his new memory was forging far better than any previous attempt.  Sariel counterattacked, his quarterstaff sending a flurry of strikes in various spots.  Like a whirlwind, Sariel came down upon his enemy and made multiple strikes against him.  Each hit, however, only caused laughter to come from his enemy.  It unnerved the human just enough to provide a window for the beast.  

As Sariel attempted another strike, the Umbaran used his darkness to summon a telekinetic thrust against the human which sent him spiraling backward. His hands released his quarterstaff and sent it flying. When he landed, his head hit the rubble of a building that sent shockwaves of pain throughout the Odanite’s body, dazing him just long enough for his opponent to stand above him and smile. It was then that Sariel saw the true face of the creature, a beast with no lips, nose, or ears staring at him with murderous glee.
“Not this time, boy.” said the beast, readying his saber to plunge it into Sariel’s heart. As it came down, darkness covered the memory in the man’s mind which forced his eyes to open and bring him back to the present. Once more, the human failed to banish the last bastion of memory that harbored the emotions he worked so hard to suppress. The beast lived by a code of death, destruction, and chaos, and Sariel knew that only through life, meditation, and serenity could he hope to change the hold the creature had on him.

Remember my apprentices the force surrounds us, penetrates us, and is present all around us. Think of it as if you are a power coupling. With out the electricity that flows through it the coupling is nothing but an unused machine part. But together you can generate enough energy to power a light saber,"said the male human Brotherhood instructor, Mordred Darklighter, to the group of 8 Clan Tarentum apprentices who all stood around with their training lightsabers at the ready. This was the day they would challenge their teacher to see if they were worthy of receiving their first real lightsaber. If they failed they would start their training all over."Now which one of you would like to be the first?" Asked Darklighter with an horrid smile on his face. Tristan raised his hand. "Yes apprentice Rivers?"

"Can we use an form we want?"

The young Instructor chuckled a bit to himself. "By all means, but since most of you are familiar with form I Shii-Cho, I recommend you stay with that form."

going to opposite sides of the training arena Tristan and Darklighter squared off against each other. Tristan could feel the huge dark power of his instructor. "Could someone this strong have really just graduated from the Shadow Academy only two months ago?"

“I sense your fear apprentice good use it to your advantage." Darklighter told Tristan. Tristan turned his attention towards his teacher. "So apprentice are you going to attack sometime this century?!" Joe said positioning his red lightsaber around until he was standing in a defensive position of form 6. Both of them were 18 years old and had the same amount of training as each other, but despite this Joe was extremely more powerful than any apprentice at the Shadow Academy even some Masters.This is how he was able to graduate and be assigned as an instructor I in Clan Tarentum so quickly. Raising his training saber slightly above his head, Tristan readied himself into an offensive position of Shii-Cho.

"Begin!" Yelled Darklighter.

Sticking his hand out Darklighter force pushed Tristan back several feet knocking him out of his offensive position. Using the force he managed to reach Tristan with in two strides. Jumping over his head Darklighter attempted to strike him but Tristan managed to barely block Darklighter’s blow aimed for his head.

Landing, Darklighter started attacking him with a series of spins and quick attacks. His Ataru form was having the desired result he wanted, for Tristan could barely keep up with his numerous flips and rolls that were quickly followed with a saber attack.

Dodging a force pull that Tristan aimed at him, Darklighter landed on his feet with his back to Tristan. Swinging around Darklighter tried to slash him across his chest but instead of blocking the attack, Tristan turned his body away from Darklighter’s crimson blade missing his skin by mere inches.

Stabbing forward, he forced Darklighter to jump to his right. Spinning around Tristan swung low attacking where his legs would be once he landed. However Darklighter brought his blade down easily deflecting Tristan’s attack and force pushing him into a nearby Pillar and onto the floor. Flipping himself up Tristan was now forced on the defensive blocking Darklighter’s strong but precise attacks. Recognizing his teacher’s use of Makashi, Tristan stopped back pedaling and stood his ground responding to Darklighter’s precision with the strong defense of Soresu. Tristan swung his blade down at him from an angle trying to get Darklighter to move away but instead he brought his red blade up meeting Tristan’s training saber about half way through his swing.

Swinging to the left and right quickly, apprentice Tristan barely managed to deflect each of these blows when Darklighter responded by kicking him straight in the chest knocking him to the ground several feet in front of him. Tristan thinking Darklighter would press the advantage rolled to his right swinging his blade in a high arch. Back to his feet, he was surprised to not see Darklighter in front of him but still standing in his same position he was earlier.

"Ahhh!" Darklighter yelled having both of his hands back before reaching out and striking Tristan with a torrent of black force lightning, sending Tristan’s body flying backwards until he hit the wall with a loud thud.

Looking down at his stunned apprentice, Darklighter spotted his training saber laying several feet in front of him. Using the force he attempted to brought the weapon to him ending their duel. In the middle of flying towards him the weapon stopped in mid air with Tristan’s hand reaching out with the force as well.

"This is not over!,"he yelled struggling to over come Darklighter’s telekinesis, which was causing the training saber to flip violently in both directions.

“Yes it is," Darklighter added overwhelming his opponent, realizing Tristan was growing weaker and weaker by the second.

In a surprise twist Tristan let go of the training saber which caused the weapon to violently whip back at Darklighter who with the aid of the force easily caught the weapon. Not waiting around Tristan sprinted forward meeting Darklighter with a crash of yellow and crimson blades.

"You're beginning to look tired,"Darklighter said raising their blades slightly up at an angle.

"Unlike you,"Tristan added breathing hard and realizing Darklighter was holding back the entire fight. He wasn’t even using a quarter of his strength. Switching off his training saber, Tristan suddenly moved forward not being able to stop his own momentum as Darklighter side stepped his saber coming down. Swinging his lightsaber handle around Darklighter brought it to the back of Tristan’s head, ending the duel.

"Well fought apprentice, now stand down,"said Darklighter with his arms crossed.

Breathing hard, Tristan put away his weapon. "You held back?” Tristan asked his teacher. “Only because you wouldn’t have lasted 2 seconds if I was really trying to kill you.” Darklighter said, angering Tristan at his own weakness. “Don’t worry you have proven yourself worthy of receiving your first lightsaber apprentice.” Darklighter reassured him. “Thank you master.” With that Tristan bowed and to his seat next to the other apprentices. “So who’s next?” Asked Darklighter.

This had been unbelievable. The events at Nancora had been so awful they had robbed him of restful sleep. The Brotherhood was in an odd state of flux as the full effects of Rath Oligard and the Collective were realized. The galaxy was already a harder place to deal with now. He feared for his wife, for his daughter, and his Clan. Then Sanguinius came to his office and asked him to volunteer to provide some additional training. What did Bentre have to pass onto the others that had not been learned through blood, sweat, tears and misery?

It was his lot as Proconsul. He realized that people expected him to be the leader, not the loner on the edge of the Clan. He kept putting up the face of being the good and friendly man- though far friendlier than good- and did the service due to his position. Yet he found himself in a very odd conundrum. The more knowledge he imparted to the others, the greater the chances they would find themselves in situations that would put them into mortal danger. Still, if he did not teach them, there was an increased chance they would be caught unaware, or be left incapable of liberating themselves from the cold embrace of death. To die was to be one with the Force, but for many like the Warhost of the Clan death remained the grandest mystery.

Ultimately, the philosophical questions did not matter. The Consul had made his desires no. Which meant that, for now, Bentre Stahoes acted as his left hand. It was to this end that he had directed the sizable crowd into the depths of the Sadowan temple. Humans and aliens, men and women, soldier and Clanmates- they had all come to the Sith for instruction. The hallway stretched before them, a large door awaiting them at it's far end. The Proconsul smiled to himself as he motioned for his retinue.

"Come on, everybody. We do not normally open these portions of the temple to outsiders, but it has become clear that you need instruction. I cannot guarantee that this will help, but I am going to teach you in the same way that I learned the basics among many skill sets. I hope this will be acceptable." There was feigned joviality in his voice. He could feel the confusion of several. It did not matter, really. Striding forward, Bentre pulled the large doors open. "This is one of our vaults. Normally I personally use this room to store the subjects of experiments." He stressed the last word with a small shrug.

"What?" A voice rose up over the crowd.

"Ah, there are all sorts of things that I like to do. I have been taking part in some studies on mystical arts, their effects on various biological subjects, or ways to create or imitate life. It is all just little things like that." Bentre waved his hand in the air as he strode through the now open doorway. "See, this room is a special vault secured against natural disasters, as well as any number of attacks you could likely imagine. In the past we sometimes kept artifacts in here. This will be your training area."

Stahoes walked over to the wall beside the door, punching keys in a flurry of muscle memory. Several loud clanks, hisses and the grinding of something mechanical in the walls echoed in the sizable room. Heads swiveled and eyes focused on the Battlelord's form as he turned back to face them again. "You see, the fun thing is this. I have to leave you all in this room while I take care of some things. We have lots of training to do today. I hope you will find your way out easily enough. In the corner you will find your tools." Bentre pointed at the far corner, which prompted several of the group to move toward it. The Sith could not keep the laugh from his voice as he spoke again. "Once I close this door the room will lock down. It is up to all of you to figure out a means of escape. Pressure brings out the best and worst in people, after all." As he spoke the last words, Bentre stepped backwards out of the room, pulling the door closed. The sound of locks engaging preceded several muffled cries.

Turning from the door, the man pulled out a commlink, shaking his head before activating it. "Well, the first part of the training has begun, Consul. I have some blaster training exercises and a few other fun things planned. Figured you might like to know. I will leave an order with one of the servants on duty to unlock the room in a few hours. They should have enough air, I think." He mulled over the question for a moment. "I might have to open the vents about halfway through. With any luck, a number of them should pass with flying colors."

As he clicked off the commlink, the Corellian considered the situation. He had been in a similar bind a few years ago. A risk of life and limb pushed people to some amazing highs or crushing lows. He had meant it, the part about with any luck. Experience was the best teacher, and by the gods he was going to give his assigned group all of it they could put up with. Or perhaps, he smiled to himself, a little more.

It had been a stressful seventy two hours and thirty six minutes. Not to mention all the preamble beforehand. However, it had been worth the wait. All the uncertainty. All the waiting. All the preparation. But all that was over. An even scarier adventure lay ahead. And this was one neither of them, or anyone else, could prepare them for. All they could do was hold tight for the biggest, terrifying, yet undoubtedly the best adventure of their lives...

It had been a stressful seventy two hours and thirty six minutes. Not to mention all the preamble beforehand. However, it had been worth the wait. All the uncertainty. All the waiting. All the preparation. But all that was over. An even scarier adventure lay ahead. And all she could do was lay there helplessly. Totally dependent on others. And the only way to communicate with these giants was to make an ear-piercing noise. The biggest, terrifying and the best adventure ever was beginning to unfold.

Tabby and Mostynn stepped out of the medcentre and headed towards a speeder. They proudly looked down at the bundle in their arms. The snow was starting to get heavier. The baby opened her mouth and a snowflake landed on her tongue. As it melted, the new parents chuckled. Her father shushed her gently.

"I think Kooki likes the snow!"

"Hey." "Hey." "Over there."

Seeing the four cadets jumping from the speeder and dashing joyfully into the closest snowdrift made the mandalorian Instructor smile. They all ranged between six and seven but even at this young age, the ardeous training down in the military academy demanded from them to betray what after all still were: children.

All the more they deserved such breaks from the daily drill and seeing them laughing and throwing snowballs after each other told the seasoned warrior that he had made the right decision, taking his nephew and his friends with him to their family lodge high up in the mountains of Concordia. Sure Arden would use the opportunity to take them with him hunting but right now watching them romping around happily was a priceless view.

From the moment Professor Justinios Drake received approval to use the Thracken Observatory near the Corellian North Pole he was curious if he’d experience his first snowfall. Six days passed without event but that changed his final evening upon the planet. As the twilight hour commenced a blizzard descended upon the scientific outpost.

Allowing himself a break from scanning distant galaxies, Justinios marched outside to view the snowfall first hand. There was not any weather back home on the middle levels of Coruscant so a snowfall was a truly new experience. As soon as his reptilian eyes saw the white flakes something inside of Justinios clicked. Without hesitation he climbed onto a large snow drift. The logical, scientifically driven portion of his mind begged him to stop the silliness.

This is just frozen, crystallized water falling from the middle atmosphere. You have created anti-matter in particle accelerator, how is this more exciting?

The logical side of his mind had a point but there was something about freshly accumulating snow that was fun at a primal level. He could only think of one response to speak aloud to himself, “I have no idea, just go with it!”

Using his stubby legs Justinios leapt out onto the fresh snow below and promptly began making tiny, Aleena shaped snow angels. The professor found himself giving no care to who else might be watching and simply enjoyed having a moment free from the weight of life’s problems.

“The Great Jedi War is finally over!” ”What a great victory for my Clan” Zeline Nemesis thought.Of course it was a great team work and needed a lot of effort from everybody within the Odan-Urr!!! She could still remember her Master’s words in her ears to become better and better,otherwise victory won’t come. But after so much fighting and mental effort a good time off to rest her body and her soul was exactly what she needed.. “Maybe a little bit of time to sacrifice in meditation isn’t a bad thing for recovery” another voice inside her mind said.And while she was making plans about her life and how to spend her time off,all sudden everything changed…She definitely needed vacation to get away from her issues after the War,you can only imagine how bad she would need vacation afterwards since her “demons” returned.It was a regular day for Zeline when she received first the good news,that she earned her first Dark Cross,the GJW seal,her new robe and on the top of that she got promoted to a Padawan!Two hours later she found a note that her beloved one probably was being captive or just disappeared for no apparent reason.That situation without a warning,without further details or a way to receive more information about the case “teared” her “up”.She had to do something drastically she felt,to resolve it but no good plans or tools to utilize were available in this weird situation.Zeline Nemesis to take out of her system all of her anger and stress went to her room and grabbed her lightsaber..It’s blue light reflected on her dark brown eyes and made them sparkle!That was the beginning,she started training as fastest she could,as hardest she could..Every position difficult for her body to maintain balance she tried it,while she was holding her lightsaber.But she didn’t want to sit down and do nothing about the situation..When it comes to help,care and protect people she is the one! Zeline placed down her lightsaber,left the room and started running…She run and run with all the strength she had,until she couldn’t breathe anymore.She almost fell and sat down..Her brown sweet eyes were sparkling but this time wasn’t from the reflection of her lightsaber but from the wetness because of tears..Poor Zeline nobody should let their feelings to “conquer” them especially Jedis..But when you actually love somebody how can you be able to control such a strong feeling?She was already inside the trap by falling in Love with him..A forbidden for Jedis situation because they should stick with balance.Time for meditation?Time for training or earning more knowledge as she did?Time for vacation and distract herself from the real situation? Honestly,nothing really helped..Zeline Nemesis never felt more helpless in her entire life..Should she ask the help of her Clan or take this battle on her own? All these thoughts in her mind.. Another voice in her mind said: “Patience,just be a little more patient and everything will come up to light” She tried to think what relaxes her and she thought maybe she should write some poems for him since the War was over and had plenty of time..Oh,she missed him,she dearly and sincerely missed him..And what’s left in the END? Only Hope.. P.S the song that came into my mind as soon as i put the last dot on my text is: Only Hope by Mandy Moore from a walk to remember one of my favourite movies but i don't know how to upload it!