A/N: Reworked the fist chapter and reposted the story. Please to all who read this if you do read it please review.
Chapter One: Beginning an Adventure
Long ago, there was a great war between the forces of eternal darkness and the forces of everlasting light. During this epic struggle six mighty heroes died while sealing the darkness deep into the Heart of Infinity at the universes core. These six heroes where then granted a gift and thus became the first Ascended Beings, beings comprised of the energies that made up the universe, and each of them had gained the ability to control the elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Thunder, and an element which name has been lost to time.
There was peace under these six, self proclaimed, Ascended Lords, but peace would not last. The Lords of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Thunder became corrupted by their powers and quickly proclaimed that they were gods that the people should worship unquestionably. The Lord of Lost Element watched as the people suffered under these want to be gods, and eventually decided to end their evil rule.
She chose four people in the universe and granted them incredible magical powers which they quickly harnessed and turned into abilities all their own.
One became a powerful unarmed fighter, and possessed great skills in combat while also able to unleash powerful bursts of energy in order to devastate opponents. He was known as the Titan of the Stars.
Another rose to the challenge by developing a variety of magical abilities that stemmed from a person's spiritual prowess. She was known as the Titan of Spirit and was by far the strongest of the four.
A third devoted themselves to keeping a more controlled approach to their new powers and always kept the four from waging battle against each other. She was the Titan of Balance.
Lastly, the final Titan seemed to control a power that not even the mighty gods had. The powers to manipulate the flow of time and reverse it, stop it, or even speed up time itself. This Titan was easily named the Titan of Time.
Rumors spread quickly of these four warriors. The people of the universe called these Titans the ones who opposed the gods, but the time would soon come when the battle between the faux gods and the Titans to take place. The fight was long and tiresome, but eventually ended in victory for the Titans. Unfortunately, the victory came with a price. The Elemental Lord that gave the four their powers was mortally wounded.
Before she died the Titans said that they would never forget the goddess. She told them never to call them that, but the four beings insisted that she was a real god because of her kindness. She smiled at this and then told the Titans to take the powers that they had developed and teach them to the people of the universe so that these events could never happen again. They agreed to do so as their last task to the woman; she continued to tell them that they would be forever reincarnated so that the strength and power of the Titans could be there if the universe ever needed them.
Now a new false god seeks to rule over the universe. Lasher Lavasuer, the newest ascended Lord of Fire, and his army called the Ori are running rampant through the universe making the people worship at their feet by the use of force if they have to.
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A nineteen girl with long blue hair walks out onto a large shimmering water-like platform. She surveys the surrounding area with deep navy blue eyes to see nothing outside the platform other than cold black empty space. On the edge of the blue shine is a large dark grey colored metal ring. The girl walks carefully toward the center of the platform while keeping a keen eye on her surroundings.
"I see that you have arrived," a voice called out from the darkness. It sounded elderly, much like that of a kind old grandpa.
"Is someone there," the girl asked in surprise as she tries to find the source of the voice.
"Only a friend," the voice said calmly, "or perhaps an enemy, it all depends on your choice, but now is not the time to discuss who I am. Now is the time for you to awaken."
"Huh," the girl asked with a confused look that quickly changes to surprise as the liquid-like platform around her dissipates and she plummets through the large metal ring that supported the platform.
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Rin Kosuke springs to life as her alarm clock blared through her overly messy room. It was a wonder that she was able to hear it because it was under so much garbage. Her long blue bangs rested gently on her collarbone as she yawned and stretched in the classic "I just woke up" way of stretching. She then slowly left the comfort of her covers as she got out of bed and silenced the incessant racket that her alarm clock was making with a swift kick into the pile of clothing and paper that the noise was coming from.
She yawned once again as she placed her body into a sky blue T-shirt and a navy vest with white trim over that. She then pulled up a pair of jeans that barely stay on her thin frame, but she insured that the pants stay in place by securing them with a sapphire belt. She then grabbed a sky blue hair tie and proceeded to tie her long blue hair into an equally messy ponytail, while taking into account not to tie back her bangs.
After she gets dressed she throws a pile of paper, books, dirty clothes, and quite possibly a week old sandwich aside to find her red messenger bag. She quickly shouldered the bag before petting her stuffed animal beetle on the head while leaving her room.
"Are you just now getting up?!" Rin's mom screamed as her teenage daughter put on her sky blue tennis shoes. "I don't pay good money for you to go to that school, so that you can be late all the time." Rin scowled at her mother and quickly leaves the house to begin her walk to school.
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As the nineteen year old college sophomore walked to her intended destination, she began to think about how different she and her mother were. In fact, they were virtual opposites of each other. Her mom's hair had always been a light brown almost orange color that her judgmental eyes shinned through; while Rin's own hair had been the color blue all her life plus her eyes were naturally a deep navy blue. Rin also towered over her four and a half foot mom at five foot ten inches, but as she thought about it she had never seen her father let alone a picture of him so all of her qualities could have come from him. She sighed as she stopped and looked up into the deep blue sky of the planet Kuon.
"One day," Rin said with a smile while she blocked the sun from getting into her eyes with her hand. "I'm going to explore space."
The blue haired maiden was blissfully unaware that she was being followed. That is until she was alerted by the screech of a cat as her pursuers tripped over it. Rin cautiously turned to stare at the three men that were dressed in grey plate armor as they helped each other up. Their armored bodies definitely made them stick out amongst a crowd, which oddly there was no one in sight for a good couple of blocks. Rin concluded that they were the "overly obsessed with role-playing games" types.
"And you three are," Rin asked in an annoyed tone as she recognized that the three of them weren't from Kuon.
"We do not wish to harm you," one of them shouted quickly as he pointed some kind of wrist mounted taser at Rin. "We are here to take you to our commanding officer. He wishes to have a word with you in private."
"Listen," Rin said calmly. She didn't really want to fight them, but she had taken, and excelled at, some self defense classes in case she was ever attacked, but she still didn't believe that she was that good at it. "I'm flattered that your commander wishes to speak with me and all, but I don't even know who you people are let alone who this commander of yours is, so if you don't mind…" She then felt a slight tingle as her entire body went limp and her world turned black.
"We have her," one of the armored men said into his wrist, "get us off of this filthy planet." He then shouldered Rin before the group is teleported off of the planet.
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Rin woke up hours later in what appeared to be a jail cell.
"Where am I," Rin asked as she rubbed her sore head. Judging from the way she was laying on the ground, her captors must not have cared much for her personal well being. She looked around the cell with an inquisitive nature. The cell was a dull color and only really had a small bed sized piece of metal that stuck out of the wall.
"You are in the brig of an Ori C90 Conquer class vessel," a hooded, robed, elderly man said in an enigmatic tone and startled the young woman. His clothing was mostly a red color with a black trim, and his face was mostly covered by his hood, but his bushy medium sized beard stuck out from underneath it. It surprised Rin that he was there because upon her inspection earlier she saw no one else in the cell with her so where did this man come from.
"And you are," Rin asked with a weary stare.
"A friend," the man chuckled as he walked around her, "or maybe an enemy." Rin pulled herself into a defensive position upon hearing this because that was what the voice she had heard in her dream said, and in her dream something bad happened afterwards.
"I meant a name," Rin stated as she stood and readied herself in case this man tried to attack her. She needed a way out of this cage and a fast one.
"If you must call me anything," the man said before pausing for a moment, "call me Ore. Yes, that should be good."
"Okay, Ore," Rin said in a skeptical tone while becoming more perplexed by the old man, "how do I get out of the brig of a C90 Conquer Class Vessel?"
"Easy," Ore said waving a hand through the air, "simply walk out the door."
"Yea," Rin said as she turns and walks up to the energy barrier that was holding them in. "I'll just walk right through the energy…" Her sentence is cut off an the punch she threw at the cage door, that is supposed to be holding them in, sends her off balance as nothing connects with it. She then turns back to thank Ore for whatever he did, but sees that he is gone and all that remains in the cell is her bag and a small purple gemstone.
She cautiously reentered the cell, reequipped her bag, and picked up the gem while beginning to examine it. Her examination however is cut short by the sounds of alarms, and a lot of footsteps. She quickly put the gem in her bag and ran out of the cell turning in the opposite direction from the incoming guards.
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As she ran through a long hallway, to god knows where, her eyes catch a glimpse of space outside of the windows. She skidded quickly to a stop on the slick metal floor, and her face lit up with a childish grin, that was seemingly inappropriate for her current situation, as she stared into the depths of space.
"I can't believe it," Rin giggled with joy, "I'm actually in space."
"You there," an armored man said angrily. Judging from the difference in his armor from those of the people she met on the planet's surface Rin assumed that the man was a patrol captain. "Don't move."
"Bite me," Rin said as her moment of nostalgia is ruined. She then runs at the captain before using the slick metal of the floor to slide under his legs. She then continued to run farther down the hall and ducked into the first door that she came across. She panted a little from the exercise before finally looking around to notice that she had entered a mess hall that was a quarter full of people.
She waved at the twenty men that were ready to beat her unconscious and return her to her cell before quickly running back into the hall only to be fired upon by the patrol that she had just ditched. Thankfully, their aim wasn't their best attribute, but the scald marks on the walls to her left and right definitely portrayed the message that one does not want to get hit by those.
Rin took a quick right to end up in a large hanger. She grinned seeing her escape on one of the jet/ eagle like mobile fighters docked there, but she turned to see that her path was blocked by a man with pure white hair wearing a long grey cloak. His dark gun metal colored eyes coldly stared at the blue haired girl while his pale skin made him almost ghost like, but Rin wasn't afraid of ghosts, that and her only other option was to go back and fight the guards.
Rin grinned as she readied herself to fight her way through the cloaked figure. He appeared a little sickly to the young girl what with his pale skin and all, but there was something about him that unnerved the girl.
"So you are the girl," the cloaked man said in a very cold tone, "I am glad you are awake. There are some questions that I wished to ask you."
"What makes you think I want to answer the questions of someone who had me kidnapped," Rin said defiantly while swiping her hand through the air.
"Then I take it you wouldn't want to accept an offer to join us as my subordinate," the cloaked man said in the same cold tone.
"That's some pretty good guess work there," Rin said, "now step aside. I really don't want to hurt you."
"Unfortunately," the man said coldly and sadistically, "since you refused my offer. I cannot permit you to leave this ship alive."
"Then I'll knock you aside," Rin said in a confident tone.
"You can't fight me if you want to leave this ship," the cold tone of the man's voice showing a hint of laughter while his squinting eyes appeared to stare into the depths of Rin's soul.
"Watch me," Rin screamed entering a fighter's stance.
"Wait," Ore's voice whispered into Rin's ear, "don't attempt this battle. That is Squi Tendras one of the Ten Ori Sages. You are not yet ready to take on the likes of him."
"Ore," Rin questioned while diverting her attention.
"Look out," Ore's voice whispered causing Rin to return her attention to Squi, and narrowly avoided a long blade like tendril. She is the able to hop out of the way of a second one from above, but one from behind slammed quickly through her back and forced her to the ground.
"Now die," Squi coldly proclaims as a tendril careens at Rin's head, but before the point could hit a pool of blue energy formed under Rin and she falls quickly through.
"Lord Squi," a patrol captain said as he entered the room and kneeled, "we have yet to find the escaped woman."
"She got away," Squi said in an annoyed tone as the four tendrils retract to underneath his cloak. "With sheer luck she got away."
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Rin woke up in what again appeared to be a cell, but apparently she had been more delicately placed within this cylindrical energy cage.
"Why is it everywhere I go," Rin asked herself; "some numbskull puts me in a cage?" She sighed noticing that she wasn't wearing her clothes, but was instead wearing what appeared to be a robe without a cloak. She then blushed in surprise as that means that someone must have changed her while she was unconscious. She then angrily scowled as her imagination went wild before noticing that the wound on the back of her shoulder was gone.
Rin then heard the sound of a door opening and sits up quickly to see three robbed figures enter the room. One was a tall pink skinned man with an overly large forehead that wore a dark brown robe... Rin began to think that most of his bald head was the forehead, and his dark brown eyes gave Rin an uncomfortable feeling, almost as if she was looking at Squi once again.
Another was about Rin's height with light skin, but he sported a set of feathery wings and was wearing the same type of robes as the forehead guy, only his were a light tan instead of the darkened robes of the other man. Beautiful sapphire eyes shine through the long blonde hair that draped his head; the made the young caged woman jealous because all she had were dull navy blue eyes.
The third was about Rin's age, but slightly shorter, with shoulder length black hair and piercing orange eyes. There was calm yet a turmoil showing through those eyes. It was as if two massively powerful entities were fighting just to the privilege to glance through them. They made Rin feel unnaturally timid. Her grey colored robes were different from those that the two men wore. The arms had been cut off to reveal what appeared to be an elaborate tattoo pattern on the girl's skin. The legs had also been shortened and she was not wearing a pair of boots to reveal that the pattern was also on her legs.
"And you three are," Rin asked in an annoyed tone while crossing her arms impatiently.
"We are the one's asking the questions here Ori," the one with the forehead rudely said to Rin. It was odd to Rin that he called her this as it was the term that Ore had used to describe the ship that she had apparently escaped from.
"You first," Rin smugly said with a smug grin.
"It is only polite to give ones name before asking for someone else's," the one with wings said calmly.
"Very well," the girl said in a timid tone, "I'm Aki Miyazaki." She politely bowed as she spoke causing the hood of her robes to flop onto her head.
"I am Master Foreg Gracion," the one with wings said while also bowing. As he rose his wings flutter a bit to help return him to his standing balance.
"And I am Sinom," the forehead one said without copying the polite bow of the other two. Rin could already tell that she wasn't going to like this guy. She never really could stand the type of people who thought they were better than everyone, and being better than everyone was the message that this guy was trying to portray. "Now your name."
"The name is Rin Kosuke," Rin proudly exclaimed as she hopped into a standing position and pointing her thumb at herself, "and don't you forget it."
"What made you come to this world, Rin," Foreg asked in a kind tone.
"I don't know," Rin said placing her hands behind her head while her face turned to a more thoughtful expression, "one minute I was getting my butt handed to me by this Squi guy and then the next thing I know I'm being questioned by you three."
"You escaped the Hyperion," Aki asked quickly.
"What's the Hyperion," Rin asked with a confused look on her face.
"It's Squi's personal ship," Sinom answered Rin's question in a tone that made it as if he thought Rin was stupid.
"Well if I'm alive," Rin said while pinching herself to make sure that she feels pain, "and I think I am. Then, yes, I did escape. Even though I have no idea how I did it."
"If you are an enemy of one of the Sages then you must not be an Ori," Foreg said with a confident grin.
"Nope," Rin said with a joyful grin, "besides isn't the Ori a type of ship."
"No, they are the people on the ship," Aki giggled at Rin's comment before noticing that Rin was serious. "They wish to rule entire universe, and they will use whatever means necessary to do it."
"Then I am definitely not one of them," Rin stated while rubbing the back of her head. "Why would you guys believe that anyway?"
"You came mysteriously through a mode of transport that only the Ori seem to favor," Sinom angrily said while glaring at Rin.
"Transport," Rin said in a quizzical manner, "what kind of transport."
"Let's save that for another time," Foreg said before deactivating the energy cage that surrounded Rin. "You can stay here at the temple for the time being, and your personal property will be returned to you."
"What," Sinom said as Rin waved a hand in front of herself to make sure that the energy is indeed off, "how do you know we can trust her."
"An Ori would not be so open to questioning," Foreg said to Sinom before returning his attention to Rin and Aki. "You may stay in Aki's room for your stay. You belongings will be returned there." Rin nodded to this comment as Aki led her out of the room they were in and toward the room that where Rin would be staying.
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As they walked down the hall Rin glanced around the temple, most of which appeared to be dormitories. She noticed some students being lectured by a little green creature while another group meditated not far from them. Rin and her guide then walked over a massive library where many students were reading and practicing some kind of martial art. Rin's attention then turned to her guide who was shyly keeping in front of her.
"So, Aki right," Rin asked in an attempt to break the silence.
"Yes," Aki timidly answered.
"What is this place," Rin asked quickly.
"It is the Jedi Academy on Cusino," Aki answered calmly.
"What's a Jedi," Rin asked while looking out a large window to see a city surrounding the complex.
"The Jedi are defenders of the galaxy," Aki said with a proud smile.
"Then why aren't they out fighting these Ori guys," Rin asked as they enter Aki's room, which was as sanitary as someone being completely submerged in iodine compared to the pile of garbage that Rin called a room. There was also not much in terms of things to put in the floor. There were only two cot-like beds, one of which had Rin's bag on it, and a small chest which most likely held Aki's clean clothes.
"That kind of action leads to the Dark Side," Aki answered coldly.
"The Dark Side of what," Rin asked quickly.
"I'll have to explain later," Aki said as she left the room, "I still have some chores to do around the temple." She quickly bowed and walked away leaving Rin still very confused.
Rin sighed before quickly disrobing and putting her previous blue outfit and noticed that the hole where Squi's tendril hit her was mended. She didn't care though, as long as it was still blue. She liked blue. It was her favorite color. She then checked the bag to make sure that the gem was still there. It was along with her school supplies for the classes she most likely missed. She grinned as she placed the bag across her shoulder before she left the room with the dirty clothes littering the floor.
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Rin wandered the halls of the temple for what felt like hours until eventually stumbling into a massive courtyard. The sun was starting to set and it looked as if two students under Master Foreg were ending the day with a sparring match. Rin watched as the black haired girl was wiping the floor with another winged person, but before the final blow was delivered Foreg stopped the match and declared the black-haired girl, apparently named Chi, the victor.
"Can I try," Rin confidently asked while she removed her bag and walked up to the group.
"Please," Chi smugly scoffed, "with my Jedi training it would be easy to defeat one who isn't connected to the force."
"Sounds to me like someone needs to be put in their place," Rin said with a defiant look on her face while clenching her fists. Foreg looked on as if noticing or waiting for something to occur.
"Very well," Foreg answered calmly, "it may prove interesting."
"I'll show you just how weak you are," Chi chuckled at Rin as she readied herself for the fight. Her deep purple eyes focused quickly on Rin as the two took fighting stances. Something was different about Chi. It was kind of like the feeling that Rin got when she first looked into Aki's orange eyes when they first met. Only Chi's eyes didn't show the same fear and deep hatred that Aki's eyes possessed, or the tranquil chaos. Chi's seemed dark and vicious, like looking into a black hole. "But just to make it fair I won't use any of my force abilities."
"You'll find that I don't need any handicaps," Rin said with her confident grin spread across her face. Rin then sprinted toward her opponent with impressive speed. Chi quickly sidesteps the first hit, a quick jab from the left, with ease, but barely makes it under Rin's kick. Chi attempted to catch Rin off guard with a backhand, but Rin flawlessly grabbed hold of Chi's arm and threw her to the ground in front of her. Chi then quickly rolled to the side before Rin's axe kick could connect. Rin retracted her foot and returned to a ready position leaving a miniature crater where her blow had hit. Both combatants were fast and had the reflexes to back up their words.
Foreg watched as what he believed about Rin was proven with this fight. The speed and flawless motion of the blue haired girl's body was enough to make Foreg's suspicions correct. Chi was second only to Aki in combat, and Foreg believed that the reason lied behind that Rin and Aki were the same, though not in terms of the use of the Force, but in terms of overall natural ability.
"Enough," Foreg said while he caught one of Rin's powerful kicks easily with one hand. "It is time for dinner, and I'm sure you girls are hungry."
Chi sighed angrily having not known what was truly behind Rin's kick as the blue haired girl rushed to grab her bag. Foreg looked quickly at his hand. If he hadn't put a barrier around the dexterous appendage then he would be without his hand as a large bruise quickly covers the entire palm.
"Um," Rin asked shyly, "would you mind helping find the dining hall Foreg sir."
"Oh," Foreg said being pulled from his musings, "not at all. Along the way maybe you can tell me a little bit about yourself Rin."
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After dinner Rin stood outside Aki's room, after the young Jedi threw her out for leaving clothes on the floor, and stared up at the sky. Just a day ago she was up there with the stars and now she couldn't wait to return. She then noticed a small pod like craft landing in the courtyard closest to Aki's room.
"That's weird," Rin said while leaning against the glass in the hallway.
"What that you're a slob," Aki complained while she cleaned her room.
"Nah," Rin said with a curious expression on her face. "It's just that some kind of space pod thing landed in the courtyard."
"So," Aki scowled as she came out of the room to look on with Rin.
"Let's check it out," Rin said with a joyful grin.
"Are you crazy," Aki continued to complain, "we are already up past curfew because I had to clean my room."
"That's your problem," Rin said as her face turned serious as she sees Sinom walking out into the courtyard. Rin always did have good eyes. "Besides, I think Sinom is up to something."
"No way," Aki said attempting to defend Sinom while Rin begins to sprint down the hall before turning toward the courtyard, "I'm so going to be in trouble for this." Aki then followed Rin and easily caught up after using the Force to increase her speed.
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"So," a robotic behemoth said as Sinom approaches the craft. The massive machine was at least seven feet tall and had the appearance of a man crossed with a dragon only without the tail or wings. "The time has finally come to take this world."
"Of course Lord Tyrannous," Sinom said while kneeling before the massive being.
"So," Rin interrupted the conversation, "you were planning on taking over this planet huh. Well we won't let you."
"What do you mean by we," Aki yelled at Rin for getting her involved in this as well.
"I meant you and me," Rin said through clenched teeth.
"There must not be witnesses," Tyrannous shouts holding up his hand as Sinom draws a green light saber and runs at the two girls. Rin quickly hopped out of the way of the first swing which barely misses Aki. Rin then reacted quickly and kicked the shimmering blade out of Sinom's hand. Sinom then backed away as Aki picked up the blade's hilt.
"You know how to use one of those," Rin asked as Sinom retrieved a red colored blade from Tyrannous while the robot's talons simmered with red light.
"Kind of," Aki responded while Rin pops her knuckles, "why?"
"I'll take Sinom," Rin said calmly, "my fists won't really do anything to something made out of metal."
"You want me to fight a Sith Lord," Aki yelled in an even more annoyed tone. "I don't know if I can."
"I'm sure you can," Rin said as she rushes the two. Sinom grinned with joy at what he saw was stupidity out of the young female and thrust his palm forward at the blue haired woman launching her back into a nearby wall.
"A head on attack won't work here," Ore's voice whispered into Rin's head. "Think strategically; lure him into the close confrontation before landing the finishing blow."
"Right," Rin said as she stood while rubbing her right shoulder. Sinom was walking toward her with a smug grin on his face that he would win the fight. Then once he was within range he swung the red blade toward Rin's throat only to have the young girl duck quickly. She was faster than him, but how. Rin then saw her opportunity and quickly sent a kick up into Sinom's chin that effectively launched him into the air before landing hard on the ground.
"Your friend has abandoned you girl," Tyrannous said as he stormed up to Aki while he brandished his glowing claws.
"You don't scare me," Aki said quickly while she tried to hide the fact that she was terrified. She had never fought with a real light saber before.
"I don't," Tyrannous chuckled evilly, "then die." The metal warrior quickly slashed Aki's position with its claws, but the young Jedi was easily able to avoid the attack and landed behind where she once stood. She then avoided a second swing of the large arm as she ran toward the torso before slicing into it with the blade. Tyrannous roared in what the girl hopped was pain, but he still didn't fall.
Aki turned and avoided a powerful backhand. It was obvious that she was a little better at avoiding attacks than Rin. Energy gathered in the black haired woman's palm before she slammed it into the beast's torso. Electrical current then coursed through Tyrannous' body and he roared once again in hopeful pain, before the red blades deactivated and the large metal body fell over very much dead.
"Told you that you could do it," Rin said as she runs up to Aki while the robed woman deactivates the green beam of light. Aki then fell to her knees from the exertion of her first real battle.
"Are you two alright," Foreg asked running into the courtyard to see the unconscious Sinom and a damaged mecha. "We heard the sounds of battle."
"We're fine," Rin said with a childish grin, "I beat that Sinom guy, and Aki here took down a giant robot that called himself Tyrannous."
"I see," Foreg said as the two girls broke into a fit of joyful laughter, "you two get some rest. Tomorrow will be a big day. In the morning I want you both to report to Gyme and me, understood."
"Yes sir," the two nodded and quickly return to Aki's room for much needed rest. Foreg then turned to look at the battlefield before he looked up into the night sky.
"It seems that the advantage is in our favor now," Foreg said to no one in particular before he too walked back into the temple.
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"So, what do you think this meeting is all about," Rin asked Aki as the two walked toward the council chamber. Rin figured that she probably should have asked last night, but she figured she would have got one of those overly cryptic answers that sage-like people used.
"Probably to punish us for breaking curfew," Aki sighed in anguish as they walked into the open doors of the council chamber before they shut behind the two females. Inside the chamber sat Foreg and the little green person that Rin saw earlier. He definitely had a sage quality to him and he wore a set of tan robes. This must be Gyme was the first thought that came to Rin's head as the little green man smiled joyfully.
"Punishment, this is not," Gyme spoke in the weird grammar of his kind though he still sounded very elderly. "Congratulations, this is."
"Congratulations," the two asked the little green man in surprise.
"You two make an excellent team," Foreg said in explanation, "a trait that will help you in the months to come, so we have decided that the time has come for you to leave this temple and explore the universe."
"But we don't have a ship," Rin yawned while placing her hands on the back of her head.
"Ship," Gyme said, "we will provide."
"Really," Aki said enthusiastically while the tattoos on her body glow a bright yellow. Rin had to block her eyes as she just now learned that she could do that.
"Yes," Foreg said with a nod. He then stood and walked over to the window that overlooked the southern courtyard. The two girls quickly followed and looked out the window to see a shinning silver saucer shaped ship. Three triangle shaped pieces attached to its back to cover the engines while two larger triangles rested in the front on the ship's belly. "It is the most advanced ship ever conceived."
"Thank you very much," Aki said while bowing and then used the Force to make the joyful Rin bow too.
"Not all, we have to give," Gyme said as he approached the three while holding up a metal case with the Force. "With these, defend yourselves in the universe." The case then opened to reveal a light saber and a pair of gloves with metal plates attached to them.
"The light saber is for Aki," Foreg said quickly as he took it out of the case and handed it to Aki. She then received a nod of approval to turn on. It hums as the long white light stops at a point and lights up the room like a lamp. She then retracted the blade and bowed in thanks to the two Jedi Masters before her.
"And for young Rin," Foreg continued as he took out the pair of gloves and handed them to Rin, "you'll find that these are very damage resistant. Even against something like a light saber." Rin grinned as she quickly pulls the fingerless gloves onto her hands. They fit perfectly as the girl flexed her hands with them on.
"Use them always to defend yourselves and others," Gyme said calmly, "now hurry and pack. A long road this is." Rin bowed politely to the two before the two turn and leave the chamber.
"You believe that they will be alright," Foreg asked as the doors closed behind Rin and Aki.
"If they are what you believe," Gyme said calmly, "no doubt fills my mind."
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"So are you going to explain that whole glowing line thing," Rin asked as she waited for Aki to neatly pack her clothes inside a duffle bag, which was again the total opposite of what Rin would do. In fact, Rin's favorite way to pack was to stuff as much as possible into one bag.
"Huh," Aki said while looking puzzled.
"You know the things on your arms and legs," Rin explained while pointing at the tattoos.
"Oh you mean my Luminous," Aki said as if it were common knowledge. "All of my species have them. We use them to express emotion."
"What is your species exactly," Rin asked in a quizzical tone before yawning in impatience. Aki's lines then dimmed to a dark orange glow.
"I am a Raspik," Aki sourly said her face looking as if thinking about what she was hurt.
"Sorry," Rin said calmly, "I didn't mean to dredge up any bad memories."
"It's okay," Aki said as a small grin spread across her face. This girl was one of the few people who weren't afraid of her because of what she was. "You just wanted to know more about me. If you want I can teach you what the colors mean. We'll start with yellow."
"I'll go out on a limb and say it means excitement," Rin said as the two leave the room. It was odd but after last night Aki had really opened up to the blue haired girl.
"How'd you know," Aki asked as she walked beside Rin.
"Call it a hunch," Rin said as she put her hands behind her head.
"The how about…" Rin stopped Aki's next question.
"I'll find out when they come up," Rin grinned as she spoke, "right now we have a ship to fly."
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"So," Rin asked as the two approached their ship. The bright sun glared off of the magnificent silver hull. "What are we going to call this thing?"
"How about Order," Aki responded.
"Nah," Rin said while thinking, "that's way too corny."
"How about MINE," Chi said as she leaded up against one of the ships landing gears. "I'm not going to let some powerless fool and a freak, steal all the glory."
"Really," Rin said while looking around, "all I see is a loser who can't accept that people are better than her, besides that is our ship."
"Not anymore," Chi retorted with cynical laughter. "Besides you were never better than me."
"You want to prove that," Rin said as she charged only to be thrown by Chi's use of the force.
"I thought you said you didn't need a handicap," Chi scoffed, "you obviously can't win without one."
"I could beat you easily Chi," Aki said with a grin, "so, could you please move."
"Could you please move," Chi said mimicking Aki, "Let's see, no wa…" Suddenly, Chi dropped to the ground screaming in pain while clutching her shoulder. "What did you do?"
"I only crushed the ball part of the joint," Aki said as Rin ran back up to her side.
"This isn't over," Chi screamed while running off with a very angry look on her face.
"Aki," Rin said as the two started to board the ship, "remind me never to get on your bad side."
"Now why would I want to do that," Aki chuckled.
"Funny," Rin said with a small chuckle. Aki was probably the only person that Rin would be afraid of, even though Aki's excessively timid nature dwindled that intimidating feature.
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"I just realized," Rin said as she sits in a chair in the average sized bridge. There were plenty of monitors and terminals for using all of the ships systems, but the most impressive part would have been the pilot's seat in the center. It looked like the controls that you would find on a motorcycle or a mobile fighter and not the piloting system of a battle cruiser. Wrapped around this simplistic looking system was a sphere of energy screens. Rin just assumed it was for the pilot to be fully aware of what surrounded the ship. She was most likely right. "We still need a name for this thing."
"How about," Aki said with a proud tone because of her superior vocabulary, "the Kineta Astra."
"And that means," Rin asked in an annoyed tone. She really didn't know fancy words all that well.
"It means," Aki explained in a teacher like tone, "full of energy from the stars."
"I like it," Rin said as she leaned back in the chair while the ship's powerful engines begin to roar to life for the first time. "Now where should we go?"
"How about we go to your home, Rin," Aki suggested while sitting in the pilot's seat. Thankfully, she had taught herself how to fly a starship, or it would have been a very short and painful trip as the ship began to leave the planet below.
"Why go there," Rin asked starting to dose off.
"Your parents are probably worried about you," Aki said noticing Rin's reaction turned to one of disbelief at that statement.
"Okay," Rin yawned, "besides I need a change of clothes, and my beetle baby." Rin said the last part in a whisper.
"Alright," Aki said while trying to contain her laughter, "where do you live?"
"A planet called Kuon," Rin answered while watching the pilot do her work.
"That's not far from here," Aki said as a space map that showed their destination appeared on her right, "we should be there in no time flat." Rin nodded and continued to try to sleep as the Kineta Astra blasted into hyperspace.
-Coming up next-
Chapter Two: Going Digital
Rin and Aki stumble upon the wreckage of a space battleship. While exploring the wreckage they encounter a new friend and a new enemy.