Welcome to the story of the another member of the Hallcaster Legacy. This is my Jedi Knight who is fairly neutral. This story transpires parallel to my SI story since the two are twins. I have small additions to the general storyline due to the fact that's how I roleplayed my character. Apologies for any missed typos and autocorrect- my IPad hates me at times. Enjoy!
==GL: BOJ==
La'monia Hallcaster felt positively giddy with excitement as she felt the shuttle duck into the atmosphere of the ancient Jedi homeworld - Tython. She was here! She was finally going to step foot onto the ancient homeworld of the Jedi Order, not to mention the fact that she'd at last get to see her mentor again. Well, technically most people wouldn't acknowledge that person as her mentor, but she was someone La'monia or Nia as most people ended up calling her looked up to and to who she would be eternally grateful. This was a new step for her, a new step to becoming a fully fledged Jedi knight. Well, at least that's what she told herself. Nia just hoped that her bad luck curse wouldn't start acting up. It was the odd thing about her: bad luck seemed to follow her wherever she went, though recently the incidents had been weaker and farther apart so Nia hoped the curse would soon die down. However, she didn't know if this was just her fate or if there really was some odd reason for all these unlucky events to occur. Sighing, Nia ran a hand through her short ginger hair that hung loose to her neck, tucking the unruly strands back behind her ears, accidentally brushing her warm skin against the cool metal of the implants in her ears.
As the shuttle ducked lower, Nia's hearing suddenly disappeared completely and a strange tingling pain exploded in her ears. Cursing softly under her breath, Nia quickly reactivated the implants and slowly, with another shot of pain her hearing returned. The pilot's voice sounded over the intercom:
-M'am, are you alright?
Nia smiled to reassure him and waved her hand, brushing it off as nothing:
-I'm fine, don't worry. This always happens. Are we close yet?
-Just getting the landing clearance. I'll open the viewport in a few minutes. Tython is quite beautiful from the air.
-I'd like to see it - I've only ever heard stories.
-Then I think you'll like what you see. Excuse me, m'am, I've got to transmit the registration codes.
The intercom crackled before the room went silent once more. Releasing another heavy breath, Nia buried her face in her hands and shook her head slightly as if to ward off the torturous images filling her mind. That didn't help. Nia still remembered it all. The implants in her ears were what allowed her to keep her hearing after she had lost as a child as a result of endless torture she and her twin had endured before being sold to a Hutt on Nar Shaddaa. Nia's slender fingers reached up to brush against the brand on her forehead that her bangs hid - a slave brand. They'd served the Hutt for a couple of years and then, when she was only six, her sister went missing - she'd never seen her again. Nia only hazily remembered that day: she remembered being sick and pushing herself as much as she could, she dimly remembered the overseer shouting and Noli retorting, she remembered the sound of the Shock whip being cracked and the fear that that sound roused and the last thing she remembered was her twin, Noli, shouting and the sound of lightning crackling before everything faded to black. She'd never heard her twin sister's voice again. Nia and Noli or Nolianna were identical twins and separated or not they shared a bond that had been present at birth so even though a lot of people told her otherwise Nia knew Noli was alive and kicking. They were both too much of a fighter to give in. They probably had inherited both their father's and their mother's spirits - they, too, were fighters. Nia only faintly remembered her mother: she remembered her mother's long and curly ginger hair, her grey coloured eyes and her soft and warm voice, she remembered the feeling of being loved. Subconsciously, Nia's hands reached up to grasp her trembling arms as her heart clenched painfully. She knew her mother had been murdered when she had been but a toddler and she and Noli had been turned into slaves.
After the Noli disappeared Nia had done everything she could to find her, but being a slave her options were limited. A year after that the Hutt sold her off to some noble on Alderaan who secretly owned slaves. Life hasn't been much better there, the amount of abuse Nia suffered had only been increased. And then, after a few years, when Nia was nine, a miracle happened. It was an accident really, but, one day, a mysterious guest had come to visit the Duke's manor. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for the Duke to have guest, but from the moment she showed the guest to the grand hall where the Duke was holding a party Nia had felt as if something was odd about this guest. She, Nia had been fairly certain that it had been a she, was wearing strange clothes and a grey cloak with the hood drawn up to hide her face. As strange as she was Nia had shown her to the room where all the guests were before she was ordered to start serving the guests drinks. As she walked around the room Nia's vision suddenly swam and instead of the hall she saw the table at which the Duke and the mysterious woman were sitting be covered in glass shards from a falling chandelier. Worried, Nia rushed over to the head guard to tell him about it, but the head guests had only ridiculed her and after punching her he warned that that he could easily tear out the implants keeping her hearing intact. Nia had been forced to get back to work, but, when she saw the chandelier start falling as per her vision, Nia dropped the tray she'd been carrying full of expensive crystal glasses and stretched out with it. She didn't know what that "it" was, but somehow she managed to catch the chandelier and the glass before it hit the Duke and his guest with it and safely float it down to the ground. Seeing the shattered crystal glasses and her display, the Duke had stormed over and slapped Nia hard enough to rattle her left implant enough so that it broke. He had wanted to hit her again when suddenly that woman, Nia's mentor, grabbed his hand and pulled Nia to her side. That was the moment when Nia's fate had changed. That woman had been a certain highly respected Jedi Master who had come to investigate the dirty dealings of the Duke and to recover the Force artefacts he had stolen and with Nia's help she'd accomplished her mission, but to the child's immense surprise the woman didn't just leave, she turned to the Duke and demanded that he release custody of Nia to her. Spluttering and enraged, the Duke ordered the guards to attack the woman, but with a single wave of her hand she subdued all of them inspiring awe in the young child clinging to her. Defeated, the Duke easily conceded and soon the Republic's people arrived and arrested the Duke while Nia left with the woman. She'd felt uncertain what the mysterious woman had wanted with her back then, but instead of treating her like an object the woman treated her like a person in an odd, sort of motherly way. She even got Nia fitted with better implants before offering her the path of a Jedi. She'd said it would be difficult since Nia was older than most and perhaps people would be reluctant to accept her, but she believed Nia could do it. Nia had instantly agreed. However, when she learned the place of that woman in the Jedi Order Nia had been shocked. In any case, it had been ten long years since then and with patience and perseverance Nia had completed her training on the Jedi enclave on Bakura before being sent to Tython to finalise her training.
Nia glanced at the two practice sabers lying on the opposite seat in the shuttle with a small smile. This was it: her final step. She would do it, she would become a Jedi that would make her mentor proud. The pilot's voice sounded over the intercom, startling Nia out of her thoughts:
-I have the clearance to land and I'll open the viewport right now. I believe you wanted to see Tython, m'am.
The shutters slid aside and the viewport opened, letting sunlight stream into the shuttle. Unable to sit still, Nia jumped to her feet and turned around to look out of the viewport. The view she was met with was gorgeous. Tython was a planet that brimming with life. From the air Nia could see it's lush forests, mountains and fields. She could see the rivers running and glinting with the sunlight. The planet itself felt powerful and alive within the Force. It sung with life and peace. It was a planet completely submerged within the ocean of the light side of the Force. Nia couldn't contain a small bubble of joyous laughter from erupting from within her as she exchanged glances with a bird that flew beside the shuttle. Pressing her hand against the glass, Nia reached out with the Force and touched the bird's mind gently, greeting it. The bird gave a small cry as it's own greeting before soaring up, higher into the wide blue sky. Smiling, Nia sat back down - it seemed she could connect with the animals on Tython too. Her sorrowful seemed to have vanished completely at the sight of this new world. The smile seemed to light up Nia's entire face, it was light a ray of sunlight had broken through the stormy clouds. The pilot's voice sounded again:
-Please buckle up your harness, m'am. We're landing.
-Right.
Nia quickly did up her crash webbing and just in time as the ship ducked down and suddenly levelled again before turning around and settling on the landing pad before some structure that Nia assumed was part of the Jedi's enclave here. With a small dip the shuttle finished the landing procedure. Unbuckling her webbing, Nia stood up and strapped both of her practice sabers to the back of her tunic. She walked past the cockpit and peeked in for a moment to thank the pilot who smiled at the young woman and wished her her luck before lowering the landing ramp. Nia hesitated at the top for a moment before taking a deep breath, breathing out slowly and descending down the ramp. As soon as she had stepped foot on the landing platform the ramp was drawn back up and the shuttle took off. Nia looked around herself in wonder, revelling in the warm gentle touch of the sunlight and the soothing feeling of the wind playing with her ginger hair. She could feel the warm calmness of the light side wash over her, and the Force with both it's light and dark warp herself within it protectively. She frowned a bit at that: was something wrong? However, that thought was soon washed out of her mind as she caught sight of the giant lake below the landing platform. Unable to restrain herself, Nia rushed to the railing and with a bright grin on her face looked down at the sparkling lake that reflected the blue sky and the few white clouds passing overhead. Nia's gaze ran along the lake to it's centre where there was a rather large statue of what appeared to be a Jedi holding a deactivated lightsaber with both his hands. Nia couldn't help wondering what the story behind that was. The young woman was jerked out of her thoughts by a male voice:
-Excuse me, but, would you happen to be Padawan Hallcaster?
Nia turned around to see a man standing at the top of the stairs leading towards the structure to which the landing platform was attached. A bit reluctantly she pulled away from the railing and decided to focus on her training as she ascended the stairs. She nodded at the man as soon as she reached him:
-Yes, that's me. Sorry, I got a bit caught up in the sights - I've never been to Tython before.
The man smiled and shook his head:
-Welcome to Tython, Padawan . Everyone at the temple is looking forward to meeting you.
The man who greeted her was middle aged with neatly combed brown hair and brown, almost black in colour eyes, he was also dressed in brown Jedi robes and a single lightsaber hung at his side. He motioned Nia to follow him and as they walked towards what she assumed was his office he commented:
-Your former Masters praise your combat skills. They say you're becoming an expert duelist.
Walking into the man's office, Nia bit her lip. She wasn't sure how to respond to that so she chose the simplest answer possible and one that would help her accomplish a second goal at the same time. Nia shrugged her shoulders noncommittally:
-I'm sorry. I don't think we've been introduced.
The man sighed at his own forgetfulness and extended a hand towards the padawan:
-Sorry - Derrin Weller, watchman of the training grounds. I greet new arrivals, show them around.
Nia smiled and shook the offered hand:
-La'monia Hallcaster, newest padawan here probably.
-Pleasure to meet you. Let's bring you up to speed on what'll happen next.
-Please do.
-The Jedi Council will assign you a new Master to oversee your final trials. You'll be tested in ways you can't imagine. But when you leave Tython, you'll know what it means to be a Jedi Knight. More importantly, you'll know yourself.
Nia shook her head gently, protesting softly:
-Being a Jedi Knight is my calling. What else can the Masters tell me about myself?
Derrin sighed:
-Many padawans feel the same way until they face the trials. That's why releasing preconceived notions is part of the Jedi Code,-Derrin explained, failing to notice Nia give a little sigh at the mention of the code,-"There in no ignorance, there is knowledge". Enter your training with an open mind. You might surprise yourself.
Derrin met Nia's disbelieving look with his own stern one. The padawan relented raising her hands in defeat. Nodding in approval, Derrin continued:
-There's a speeder here that will take you-hang on. Getting an emergency signal...
The holocom had started beeping a few seconds prior and just as it did as bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Why did she have a feeling that her bad luck curse was acting up again? Derrin hastily pressed "accept transmission" and the sound of blaster fire filled the room. Yep, definitely the bad luck curse. A Bith padawan popped up on screen:
-under attack, repeat, under attack! Flesh Raiders are invading the Padawan training grounds! They have blasters! Send Help!
The padawan' voice was panicked and tense. The next moment the transmission turned to static and fizzled out. Jaw set, Derrin shut off his holocom and stowed it away, murmuring:
-Flesh Raiders, armed with blasters? He must be mistaken.
Nia, who could feel the pain and fear coming from the training grounds, shook her head, placing her hands on her hips:
-Obviously not! You could hear the blaster fire! Go help!
Derrin shook his head and in that infuriatingly calm tone of voice reprimanded her:
-Calm down, Padawan. Never rush into a fight before knowing your enemy.
Well, she hat to agree with him there: a cool head was no match for irrational blind impatience. Still, she couldn't just sit around while people were getting hurt and she could help. Turning around, Derrin started typing out something on the terminal as he explained:
-Flesh Raiders are a species of hostile natives. They're smart enough to use tools and violent beyond reason. I'm sending every able-bodied Jedi down to the padawan training grounds right away - especially you.
Nia's light blue eyes widened at that, she hadn't expected to be allowed to go into the fray herself:
-What makes me any better than the others?
-You've been trained for dangers like this. I know I can count on you.
Nia frowned at his words. No matter what her Masters said, she never felt like she was good enough for real combat. To have Derrin say this too was like another brick on top the pile. Could they really count on her? Nia shook herself mentally: what was with that wimpy attitude? She wanted to be a capable Jedi, didn't she?! This wasn't the time for this uncertainty and pity-party! She noddded, her confidence returning and her mind focusing on the task. Derrin continued issuing instructions:
-Take the speeder outside to the Padawan training grounds. Push back the Fleash Raiders,- Derrin paused and looked over his shoulder at her,-and find out if they're really using advanced weapons. Go. I'll catch up after I alert the Jedi Council. May the Force be with you.
Nia nodded and instantly set out towards where she'd noticed the speeder as they'd walked. As she moved she unstrapped the two practice sabers from her back. She reached the speeder and after the droid confirmed where she wanted to go she climbed on, grumbling:
-Why does this always happen where ever I land? Guess I better go tell these Flesh Raiders to back off.