Originally posted by Spidervlad"Hm, honestly I wouldn't have minded having Ascar aboard. He seems like a fellow with a lot of stories, having obviously explored many, lesser known, places of the Galaxy. I'm fairly curious about what extraordinary sights he's seen."
"Well, whatever it is, at least we get some time to meditate and rest on the way there... Can't say the same for Roan's group - Ascar is probably driving them crazy over there."
Originally posted by Ushgarak
"No," says Ascar. "What connection could they possibly have for me? I wanted to learn about the Force, not my biological origins."
"Perhaps I am biased," Gallagher says. "If I were to leave the Order I would most likely become very involved with my family... but doing so is not something I am currently entertaining, of course.
"I understand you are a collector of Jedi and Sith artifacts?"
"I am a collector of many interesting things," says Ascar. "Accumulation of knowledge is a worthy goal. Something to bear in mind, Gallagher. You won't find the answers you are looking for at the Temple. You may have much potential, but you lack power. You know little of the true nature of the Force."
-
Your ships continue to plunge into deep space- beyond the limits of known civilisation.
Last time you went this far out, Roan, it was to Zeiton. Not going quite that far this time, but it's still into the unknown.
This is not like Alura, on the edge. It is beyond that limit.
"I know you beleive in a... 'Grey' Force... for lack of a better term, but we have seen again and again, throughout history, that there is a Light and a Dark. And we've seen what happens to and around those who stray. At the risk of sounding narrow-minded as you say, what more can we learn outside of the Temple?"
"Always this obsession with colours!" says Ascar. "The Force is a circle, Andro. Never ending. It is only your perceptions that cloud you."
Ascar extends his hand forwards- and the dust on the floor rise and swirls around into a passable image of the Galaxy. Turning his palm upwards, the representation settles above it, as if he is holding the galaxy in his hand.
"Not something they teach on Coruscant," he says. "Though this is just a parlour trick. The truth to be found out in the galaxy is far more fundamental. Everything I learned, I learned out there."
Andro decides to stop probing Ascar, seeing he will get nowhere. Not that Andro himself is a great debater of the Force, anyhow. Still the image of Ascar holding the Galaxy in the palm of his hand, shaping it, gripping it with his twisted understanding of the Force, is chilling. No, they certainly don't teach that kind of Power at the Temple. This Ascar is a man to watched. Carefully.
Gallagher admires the dust galaxy for a moment, considering how the Galaxy came from dust in the first place.
"I concur that knowledge is a worthy goal," Gallagher says. "As far as training beyond Coruscant, though... I am curious. I know you believe that the Force is a circle- shapes rather than colors, yes?- but it is uncommon to find powerful Force-users outside of the Order that do not use their gifts to further ill will."
Gallagher thinks of Sienar.
"Jelena mentioned Sirckara. What is that place?"
"It is a place far from here that you will never see. Nor would you be accepted there if you did.
"And that is because most force users have this desperate desire to become... 'involved'. Don't get me wrong. I'd rather a galaxy of Jedi than Sith. To be guided by your emotions is disaster for all. But to suggest that either one must train as a Jedi or fall is to show no faith in people. Indeed, this extreme pressure from the Jedi is probably what contributes to what you say."
Originally posted by Liberator
"So Xeth, tell me about the ship, I want to get an idea of what I'll be living on for awhile."
Xeth has left the cockpit, only clambering up top to it to enter a few course changes when Ascar issues them but mostly leaving the fine-tuning to the navcomp and R3.
"Nexu's Grin is a modified Geonosian freighter," Xeth says. "I've had it for years and had it tweaked to fit my needs. Hell, originally it was unarmed. I've added at least eight laser cannons and the bubble turret... oh, and the torpedo launcher of course. I added the link-up for R3 inside, too. Wish I could say I did that all myself. I'm not very tech-handy. That's what R3 is for."
The astromech gives a sassy beep-boop in acknowledgement.
(For reference, it looks like a fatter version of the Geonosian starfighter, with a boxy area toward the back that form thick wings. A multi-eyed, sharp-toothed face is painted on the nose of the ship. Otherwise it is that dull brown color. Four laser cannons along the nose, two on the tips of each wing, torpedo launcher on the underside, bubble turret toward the front, cockpit toward the back.)
"I am not well-traveled, so I could not say that I have encountered many communities of Force-users that do not follow the Jedi path. You may as well be the first that was not found wanting for emotional control. I pin it on inexperience rather than a lack of faith in people."
Does Gallagher know much about other Force-user communities?
Not really!
"Well now. When I began on my travels, I let the Force guide me. I travelled a long way out, to areas not seen since truly ancient times. It was in these areas that I found the Astrolabe that became such an issue on Malastare. As I told Xeth and the rest at the time, I found it out on a very primitive world, where so-called cultists came together and thought they were as gods because they could lift rocks with their minds. Untrained, you see, that was all they could manage.
"Still. Even at the time, it struck me as odd, how a group of people could come together, even with only rudimentary powers. And this began a pattern I noticed. We know- indeed, I have seen- there are some places on some worlds where the Force is strong. We see the same in families sometimes. I think it goes beyond that. Some entire parts of the galaxy have a remarkable tie to the Force. I believe the Sith used them as recruiting grounds.
"Of course, I don't need to tell everyone here that, Roan and Xeth have been to the place that must be the strongest example of all- Zeiton. I never saw anything like that. But there were areas of space where certain talents were not quite as rare as we see in civilised space."
Originally posted by Craft
"Hm, honestly I wouldn't have minded having Ascar aboard. He seems like a fellow with a lot of stories, having obviously explored many, lesser known, places of the Galaxy. I'm fairly curious about what extraordinary sights he's seen."
"I'm surprised the council let him travel with us. From what I know, he disagrees about the ways that a Jedi is taught. Thinks they should be given more freedom to learn throughout the universe, no matter where it is. A bad thing for the Padawans to hear. On the other hand - it might be a sign that the Council trusts Roan, Andros, and Jelena to be able to make sure that their Padawans don't become corrupted with Ascar's misleading opinion. "
Vlad stretched his legs in the passenger seat before continuing his talk with Wentar, who was piloting the ship.
"Giving that much freedom to learners of the force can have dire consequences. Too many will turn to the dark side. The exploration outside of civilized space can be beneficial, of course, but what if the force-user isn't ready for what he finds? "
Originally posted by Bespin Bart
Xeth has left the cockpit, only clambering up top to it to enter a few course changes when Ascar issues them but mostly leaving the fine-tuning to the navcomp and R3."Nexu's Grin is a modified Geonosian freighter," Xeth says. "I've had it for years and had it tweaked to fit my needs. Hell, originally it was unarmed. I've added at least eight laser cannons and the bubble turret... oh, and the torpedo launcher of course. I added the link-up for R3 inside, too. Wish I could say I did that all myself. I'm not very tech-handy. That's what R3 is for."
The astromech gives a sassy beep-boop in acknowledgement.
(For reference, it looks like a fatter version of the Geonosian starfighter, with a boxy area toward the back that form thick wings. A multi-eyed, sharp-toothed face is painted on the nose of the ship. Otherwise it is that dull brown color. Four laser cannons along the nose, two on the tips of each wing, torpedo launcher on the underside, bubble turret toward the front, cockpit toward the back.)
I give a crisp nod. "I'm not sure why I joined up with you, nor am I sure what precisely we are doing, but know that we've got your backs." I nod to MONARCH who gives a stiff bow.
"Anything specific you want us to do?"
You can make a kind of... vague mass of dust. That sort of precise control is far, far beyond you.
-
"Well, an open mind is a good start," says Ascar. He blows into the dust galaxy, and it scatters across the room, becoming invisible in moments. "I've not met this Kara Katai person, nor do I have any idea where she comes from. But something Ithrorn described raised a memory from me. I want to see if you find what I remember interesting."
But he won't be drawn further than that.