Post by TopSecretSpyGuy on Jun 21, 2017 23:51:59 GMT
OOC: The following story begins right after the crash on Ilum, and will work its way to the present day. I will post parts as I can. Hang in there. :P Also, most of this is a reposting of those jammered posts on the original LMBs.
IC:
*Juren woke up in a void. There was nothing but blackness on every side. He tried to climb to his feet, but found that there was no ground beneath him. It was as if he was floating in zero gravity, but he felt no motion. He shook his head, and blinked his eyes, but it didn't help. The blackness was overwhelming. He felt over himself to make certain he was still there. He was not. There was only a void which he did not have the hands to feel. Impossible. Illogical. Maybe.* *But he was conscious. Wasn't he? Yes, he was. Was he trapped inside or beneath the ship? No. There was no way he could have survived that crash. What was going on? He needed to sense what was around him. He closed his eyes, focusing not on the void, but on the Force. At first it was quiet, but then he became aware of motion around him. Nay, through him. He could feel no air or matter surrounding him, yet vibrations were rumbling across his nonphysical existence, as if an entire planet were collapsing beneath the feet he didn't have. He tried to pinpoint where they were coming from, but it seemed to come from the space itself.*
*And then there was a voice.*
"Juren."
*Juren looked around quickly, only to remind himself that there was only blackness. Or maybe there wasn't. He couldn't tell. He must concentrate. He felt nothing. No matter, no light. He only felt the motion of Force-vibrations moving across empty space. The only option left was to speak.*
"Where am I?"
"You are not."
*Taken aback by this, he decided to try again.*
"Who are you?"
*At first there was no answer... but then things began to happen. He saw things... no, he didn't see them... but he did. He saw them in the Force. Forms began to come into being. There were trees... mountains... water. It was raining. He blinked his eyes, trying to concentrate on the Force-sight, and suddenly it all became clearer than if he were seeing it with his eyes.*
Known everywhere else as Topplenaut. You can call me Top for short.
I'd like to get in on this story, but I'm not sure how. :P
Thanks!
Like I said, a lot of this is a flashback to something that was going on behind the scenes, but it will make its way to the present-day and then we can hopefully work you in somehow.
Known everywhere else as Topplenaut. You can call me Top for short.
{JAMMERS! On whoever cares ONLY!} Darth Dylo saw the trial on television, or though a spy cam or whatever. He believes one of the Jedi is a traitor, so his plan is to help him escape, take him to the Sith's moon, and turn him over to the Dark Side, thus creating a new ally. MWA-HA-HAA!
It's a cool idea, and normally I welcome people to join in on the story, but this is a very important point in the story that must go as scripted. Sorry!
Okee-dokey, then. My guy will just watch from the sidelines and send secret messages to Juren's mind. Mwa-ha-ha.
Post by TopSecretSpyGuy on Jun 28, 2017 0:07:30 GMT
*He was standing in a forest. A cool breeze passed through the trees, creating a gentle whisper of leaves brushing against each other. Juren gazed over the beautiful area surrounding him, and was momentarily lost in thought before jerking himself back to reality. Or whatever this was. He looked around more suspiciously.*
"Show yourself."
"But here I am."
*The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, as if the air itself was speaking of its own accord. Juren began to walk, looking behind the trees.*
"How did I get here?"
"You were always here. Everyone is here... but only when the distractions are gone can the gifted ones begin to see it."
*He continued to walk, but it became evident that he was not going to find whoever it was that he was looking for. He noticed the sound of trickling water, and pursued the gentle sound.*
"And what of the ungifted?"
"They must wait in the dark until balance is found. Only then will there be peace for everyone." *The sounds of rushing water grew louder, and Juren finally came upon its source. A small pool of water, fed by a waterfall, rippled gently under a break in the trees. Juren bent down, and dipped his hands into the water to get a drink. While doing so he saw his own reflection. He was wearing his Jedi robes, but they were completely white, and his face and hair appeared completely clean. He stood back up.*
"I still don't understand. Why did my ship crash? Something wasn't right about it. Someone was behind that."
"Do you still think this is about the crash? Clear your mind."
*Juren looked down at the water again. Then he tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply. His brow furrowed.*
"I can't. There are still loose ends."
"You are right. There are a lot of loose ends."
Known everywhere else as Topplenaut. You can call me Top for short.
Post by TopSecretSpyGuy on Jun 29, 2017 3:55:41 GMT
*Juren noticed a glimmer of light inside the pool. Should he investigate? Of course he should. He stepped into the water. It seemed to refuse to soak his clothes, keeping separate from the cloth and leather. He walked toward the deeper water, and then he took a deep breath before plunging his head beneath the surface. He opened his eyes, and looked around. It was dark, but the starlight shimmered in through the high windows and provided a dim luminance to the room. He almost immediately recognized it as the Baran Do Temple. He heard a voice behind him.*
"Why are you here?"
*Juren turned, and saw Master Helios Mygora standing ten feet away from him.*
"I'm... I don't know. I'm confused."
*Master Mygora stepped forward, his face coming into the dim light. Fury was written all over it.*
"You have no business coming back here."
*Before Juren could respond, he heard an explosion behind him, and turned around. On the back wall of his Jedi Temple office he saw the molten remnants of a camera, the blaster in his own hand still hot. He wheeled back around. The computer was blasted as well. He looked up and saw Helios still in front of him, standing near the doorway of the office.*
"With every move you make, you betray me and everyone you know."
*Juren shook his head, and stumbled backward across his office. He tripped over the windowsill and fell backward, shattering the ice. He rolled over on his back, soaking wet from the ice cold pool of water he just fell out of. Breathing hard, he stood up and walked off of the frozen surface, being careful not to slip on one of the ice shards or fall back into the hole. He shivered, but failed to notice how cold he was. He was too busy thinking about what had just happened.*
"What was that?"
"What indeed?"
*Juren tried to shake some of the frigid water out of his clothes, and his head started to pound. The images from the scene in his office flashed through his mind. The blasted camera and computer, the mess, the broken window, and Helios's presence. He knew he had planned it all out very deliberately. But he had never asked himself why. He had never allowed himself to ask.*
"Think about it, Juren."
*But he didn't want to think about it. Juren sat down on a rock, and put his head in his hands. He quickly grew restless, and walked away from the frozen pool. He soon came to the edge of the woods, and found a large, sunny meadow. Grateful for the warm sunlight to dry the moisture out of his clothes, he took long strides across the gentle rolling landscape. The air was extraordinarily clear, and the sounds of the air and the grass seemed to create a form of music. After walking for an hour, he was ready to rest his legs, and he made his way to a lone tree that seemed to be standing in the middle of the world. His clothes completely dry now, he lied down, propping himself against the tree, and quickly drifted off to sleep, until he was awakened by a horrible, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He leaped out of bed and looked around. The windows that looked out on Coruscant from his quarters were dark. The very air seemed to be trembling with dread, but his senses failed him. He could not pinpoint the source of danger as he should be able to. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall. All was quiet. Everyone was in bed. Except for Extor. The younger Jedi was standing alone in the hallway with a strange look in his eyes.*
"Something is wrong. We have to fix it."
*Juren answered.*
"I know. What is it?"
*Extor stared at him unblinkingly.*
"I don't know... but it's close."
*The feeling was beginning to close in. Both Jedi activated their lightsabers and spun to face away from each other, covering each other's backs. The source of the darkness was becoming clearer, and they could now sense that it was very near by. The fear intensified... Juren closed his eyes. He didn't want to know what it was. Closed though his eyes were, he could feel the presence of evil. Oh, it was so close. He heard a yell behind him, and spun around. Extor was fifteen feet away pointing his lightsaber at Juren.*
"Traitor!"
*Juren dropped his lightsaber, raising his hands, and took a step forward, and Extor took a quick step back. The terror and confusion in his eyes was too much. Juren took off down the hallway. The halls seemed to stretch as he ran. He ran harder and harder, but he could not escape from himself. He darted into an elevator, and closed his eyes until the door closed, hoping that somehow the darkness that followed him would somehow be left on the other side. There was no such relief. Suddenly the elevator plummeted, freefalling downward into a bottomless black abyss. He tried to pry open the elevator doors, but to no avail. He searched around for another opening, but he didn't have enough time. The elevator impacted with the bottom of space, and shattered. Juren felt his back collide with the ground with a painful thud, and he opened his eyes. He saw the tree above him, and the evening sky darkening, stars beginning to peek out from behind their blue curtain.*
Known everywhere else as Topplenaut. You can call me Top for short.
*Extor found himself sitting on a bench outside the courthouse. Had he even won a small victory inside that courtroom? Whatever darkness was behind everything... it was still there. Extor knew nothing of Juren, or his clone, or how anything tied together. He pondered many things, sitting quietly.*
*Astro had some paperwork to finish in the courthouse, but he hoped to be able to find Extor. With the phony Juren locked away, Extor should hopefully have been in higher spirits than... a few days ago, when they had last spoken before meeting in court. But besides clearing up that issue, Astro hoped to figure out more about the fake Juren. It didn't help when he learned that Juren had fallen into a coma. Regardless, he exited the courthouse and was happy to find Extor still nearby. Astro approached Extor.*
"May I sit here next to you?" he asked.
"Hm? A-- Commander Astro?" Extor started, alarmed that Astro would willingly sit near him after all that had happened. "Um... sure, yes, go ahead. I'm... sorry." He said, sinking his head lower than it already was.
"Sir, I'm not trained to accept apologies, but I am trained to accept anything that comes my way. So of course I shall forgive you. You've been under a lot of pressure lately, after all." Astro was legitimately unsure how to handle apologies, and so he hoped his answer would suffice.
"I've hurt you, I've hurt Juren... how is he taking all of this? Is he okay right now?"
"I'm... sorry, Commander, but Mr. Cerud has reportedly entered into a coma."
*Extor breathed a heavy sigh.* "I don't know what's happening anymore. Juren has turned against us, and even now the darkness looms right over our heads."
"You... must realize now. That man is not Juren Cerud. He may have the same memories and thought processes, but he does not possess the Commander's very being. They are as different from each other as... well, as I am from Ben, or any other clone. ... You say there's darkness? Here? Everywhere?"
"The darkness... it continues to tie itself to any form of Juren. But with him in a coma... it must be loose now. There's no telling what will happen next. You say that is not Juren? Then we may be in even greater danger. The true Juren... exists somehow. That fake Juren wishes to carry out the evil desires of the darkness. And now, the darkness... Commander, even the courtroom battle was planned out. There's no telling what's next."
Astro is leaving Astro is everywhere ~Fantasius1111
Post by TopSecretSpyGuy on Jul 10, 2017 3:13:33 GMT
*Juren stood up and stretched. It felt as if he had been lying there for days. A cool breeze brushed through the lone tree, causing its dry leaves to rattle together. He looked up, and saw that they had dried to an orange-brown color, and many of them had fallen off, littering the ground as well as Juren's clothes. He shook them off and looked around. Off in the distance, at the base of a mountain, he could see a dim glow coming from a grove of trees. He would need shelter for the night. Maybe there was someone there who could help him. He set off in that direction.*
*By the time he arrived, the stars had all come out, and they looked twice as bright as normal. The yellow glow that he spotted from the field was brighter, and seemed to be coming from the base of the mountain. He made his way between the trees, knocking over small glowing mushrooms with his feet, and found the spot, but there was no fire. It appeared to be a sort of glowing sap that has dripped down from a tall tree and collected in a puddle. He looked up, and saw a cave in the cliff, about 80 feet up.*
*The cave was pretty high up. Maybe it would be better to sleep under the trees? Juren looked around. In the distance, some of the stars were vanishing as a storm approached, and lightning could be seen flickering on the horizon. He'd better get on up there. He took a few steps back, looked up the cliff face, and leaped, using the Force to boost himself halfway up the cliff face. He gripped the rocks, reared back, and pulled himself upward with all four limbs, reaching out and grabbing the ledge at the cave opening with his hands. He pulled himself up, and took a look around the cave. It stretched inward about 25 feet from the opening, and the solid stone floor was wavy, but flat and level in several places. Juren walked toward the back and sat down. He knew that he would not be able to sleep again soon, after that last nightmare. What was this all about?*
*He stood up, and walks back to the opening of the cave to look out. The storm had approached quickly. A few drops of rain turned into a steady downpour, and the lightning was scattered across the entire view. It was strange how quickly it had seemed to come out of nowhere. Unexpectedly, a large bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky and touched the tree in the center of the field, where Juren had been lying hours before. The tree lit up as if it were a giant blue glowstick, and it faded to a transparent tree of blue light floating in its place in the field. The same thing gradually happened to all of the other plants visible from the cave entrance.*
"What is happening out there?" *He wondered aloud. He did not expect to be answered.*
"What you should really be asking is, what is happening in here?"
*He felt a physical touch on his chest, right over his heart. He looked down, and could see a blue glow, like three fingerprints, shining through his robe. Juren knew exactly where this was going. Exactly the place he had been avoiding all of his life. He went to the back of the cave and sat on a rock, placing his head in his hands. The cave was silent for a while, and then the voice returned. Gently.*
"Your time to run, your time to hide, your time to pretend that all is well within you... is over. You must face the storm inside your heart."
*Juren was silent. He did not know why he was the way he was. He did not know what he was running from, because he had never turned around to see what it was. And he did not plan to. He sat there for several hours, dead to the world, his mind completely blank except for a vague emotion of sadness. And then he slept.*
"You must. And you will."
Known everywhere else as Topplenaut. You can call me Top for short.
Post by TopSecretSpyGuy on Jul 19, 2017 6:53:38 GMT
*Juren's own shivering woke him up. He became aware of a cold draft hitting the back of his neck and passing effortlessly through his clothes. He sat up and turned to look at the opening of the cave and was almost blinded by a brilliant white light. Standing up and covering his eyes partially to let them adjust, he walked to the opening. The entire outdoors, as well as a good portion of the cave, was covered entirely in a thick blanket of snow. More continued to come down, pouring from the sky in a swirling display of millions of tiny crystals. He looked down the mountain. It was covered entirely in a thick sheet of slick ice. What was the best way down? He supposed there was only one way down, and that was the most direct approach. He leaped forward, using the Force to slow his descent when he neared the ground, the last of his impact being absorbed by the two feet of snow that covered the ground. He wondered to himself what he should do now.*
"Time is running out."
*Juren looked up, as if he expected the voice to have a body attached to it this time.*
"What do you mean time is running out?"
"This place is effected strongly by the people who visit it. Your inner conflicts are not yet resolved. If you do not face yourself, the storm within you will tear you apart."
*As if on cue, the wind picked up a bit more, and the snowy downpour intensified.*
"That's ridiculous. The storm will blow over."
*He began to trudge his way through the snow, looking for a place where he could construct a more airtight shelter.*
"It always does," he muttered.
"You have pushed it aside for the last time. I told you, there is no more running to be done."
*Ignoring the voice, Juren pushed forward, plowing through the snow for two hours. The cold penetrated deeper and deeper into his body, though he did his best to use the Force to warm himself. It stung his skin, and his clothes would have been soaked if his body temperature had been high enough to melt the ice. The shivering never ended, but his mind became as numb as his skin and he plowed ahead. The wind had become merciless, blowing this way and that, sometimes thrusting him forward, sometimes pushing him back. Finally the strain on his body became too much, and Juren collapsed. He lied on his face in the snow for a long time, until an invisible force gripped his left arm and rolled him over. Looking up, in between blinking as the flakes of snow attacked his eyes, he could see hurricanes filled with ice and snow whirling around on several sides of him. The sky had become very dark, the white snow in the air illuminated only by the frequent strikes of lightning. He could feel his body ready to give in to the cold.*
"You must make your choice."
*He mustered the strength to shake his head slightly. He was ready to let it end. But then he saw a face, pushing its way through from his memory. Extor Tol. The young Jedi was alone, left to lead the Jedi with no one to teach him, no one to turn to if things became difficult. Here was his one chance to redeem himself, to be a real friend to someone before it was too late to become one. Juren struggled with himself internally, but finally he made up his mind. Or rather, he stopped himself before he had a chance. His eyes frozen shut now, he reached out his right hand and gripped a forearm that was positioned above him. At the same time he felt a large hand plant itself firmly on his chest. He took a deep breath of the frozen air, and nodded his head. The hand thrust downward, and Juren felt his body being pushed not through the snow but pushed right out of space itself.*
Known everywhere else as Topplenaut. You can call me Top for short.
Post by TopSecretSpyGuy on Jul 23, 2017 7:18:12 GMT
OOC: I'm going to try and get through this section fast while still having some decent writing here...
IC: *Juren experienced the same sensation that he had experienced before entering whatever world he was not exiting. The feeling of being in complete void, having not even a body to contain his consciousness. The only difference now was that he could feel himself moving through space that did not exist. Then he started to sense something. Old, familiar something. Was it... matter? Suddenly he found himself burst through a dimension and he found himself in a small room. It was difficult to make out, as if he had not fully entered existence, but he saw Extor. Could Extor see him? He needed to make it through, he needed to return to this world.*
"Extor. Extor! You have to help me, I'm... no..."
*He could feel himself slipping. He was literally losing his grip on reality. And then he was gone, He could feel his consciousness moving, tumbling, tossing, and then there was an impact. He had stopped. Had he made it through? Was he... physical? He stood up. Yes, he could do that. Wonderful! But this place didn't feel like a normal place. Juren opened his eyes, which he realized he had and were closed. He was standing in a museum. What? No. He took a step forward. Thousands of objects surrounding him seemed to swirl in and out of existence as if in a kaleidoscope. What kinds of objects? All kinds. Things Juren had seen at all points in his life. Then he laid eyes on one thing. It was a ship. A blue two-man starfighter. But... this wasn't right. The Blueshift was only a design. Juren had never actually built it. How was it here? He walked over, and as he walked all of the other objects swirled away and were replaced with things related to spacecraft and technology. He reached out and touched the ship. It was physical enough. Flawless, too. There were no battle marks or even so much as wear from atmospheric dust. How could this be? Juren turned to step in another direction, opening his mind and wondering what he might find. He saw people. Some he knew, some he didn't know, all going about various tasks in various places. He soon began to realize what this was. Somehow, Juren was experiencing his own mind. These were memories, ideas, thoughts, plans. As he thought about plans something caught his eye. In the floor, a hole, and inside was a set of explosives and a pair of Taozin nodules. What was this? He didn't remember any of... he walked closer, and the scene began to open up and unfold. A courtroom filled with people. These people were not like the ones he had seen a moment ago. They were faceless. All except for a few, who he knew. Extor and Astro were the clearest. Then he began to really pay attention. The court scene was playing out, and Juren could hear the words, and he could see the reactions of Extor and Astro. He watched the trial take place, and was confused. He had a sort of script himself, a train of thoughts in front of him which contained lines for himself, Extor Astro, and a few other people. The ones for himself were clearest, and the ones for Extor and Astro were more fuzzy and difficult to make out, but laid out in order nonetheless. What was this, and when had it happened? Slowly as it played out, it began to sink in. Juren realized this was not a memory, but a plan. Once it dawned on him it was quite obvious. The whole process was familiar, the way he planned and predicted in all situations. But when had he made such a dastardly plan? This was nothing he remembered setting up. As he thought all of this through other thoughts in his mind museum cycled their way past him and he stopped on one. It was the Immortis program, step one being to clone himself should he ever be smashed. Of course. After that crash the Immortis program must have been triggered. This was all in the mind of his clone, his... replacement. This had to stop. Juren reached out with the Force, wondering if he could even do that... and yes, he could. He took control of his own mind and telepathically contacted Extor. It was difficult, and the connection seemed weak. Ah, no wonder. Extor was restrained in a suspension device, which were designed to block Force usage. And Extor was asleep. That didn't help. Juren did his best nonetheless. He told Extor the entire plan, as he had just seen it. Perhaps now Extor could stop this from happening.*
*Juren continued to explore his mind, and to see all that his clone had been up to, until the day of the trial came. Then he watched, helplessly, as the trial proceeded. At first it went forward according to plan, but finally Extor took control and stopped it from happening. Juren cheered silently. Then came prison. Was this how Juren was to spend the rest of his days now? Trapped in his own mind, inside a prison cell? Perhaps it was what he deserved. He had come back, he had stopped his own plan, and he now must take his punishment. But then... about an hour after he was locked away, he turned around and there he was. He saw himself, standing there, staring back at him. At first he thought it was a memory of a mirror... but then it spoke.*
"I found you. The party is over."
Known everywhere else as Topplenaut. You can call me Top for short.
*Extor and Astro sat in silence for a bit of time. Eventually, they said some sort of goodbyes and went on their way.* *Extor returned to the Jedi HQ, hoping to find it not entirely abandoned.* *Astro entered his Bluetail starfighter and received a message. His plans did not change. He returned to the Clone HQ and the CEP.*
Astro is leaving Astro is everywhere ~Fantasius1111
