The republic in danger

[TheUsurper]

Helia moved into the captain's room, treading as lightly as she could as she extended her Force perception to search for any other hidden traps that may have been lurking around. Finding nothing else potentially harmful, she entered the room and surveyed it. It seemed perfectly normal, with nothing really out of place, but with a sigh Helia stretched out her arm and pushed one of the paintings on the wall out of the way. As she expected, there was a locked safe dwelling behind it. She pressed her hand to the safe and began feeling to the inside of the lock. All the internal mechanisms began to reveal itself as she shaped a mental map of it in the inside of her mind. Eventually she felt confident enough to start turning it, slowly but surely, and with a final noise indicating success the safe swung open. There were a multitude of datacards inside.

Then Midnight's transmission came over. "Found some datacards. We'll have to feed them into our flagship's computers later to sieve out the info. Give me a little while longer to search for anything else."

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight continued to find strange items, but one thing stood out to her. It was a box of metal parts, most of which she didn't recognize at all, but that in itself was strange. She knew a lot when it came to machines, so what was in this box? She kept an eye to remember it, overall, it was just spare parts, blasters and credits. Nothing too exciting, but honestly, she wasn't expecting much.

She heard Helia reply to her "Nice find, i found some credits, weapons and a box of, things that i've never seen before. Temped to bring that stuff on board to shift through it, see what secrets are lurking inside of it"

Midnight grabbed the box, and poured it's content into a backpack she found before moving. She exited that room, seeing 2 troops exiting the elevator. Raising her hand, she felt danger surge around her as she fired electricty at them, killing them.

Midnight looked at her hands, they were looking worse from her continue use of lightning....

[TheUsurper]

Helia continued to scour the room for anything else. With the aid of the Force, she ripped drawers out of tables, lids off chests, and curtains and paintings off walls, in the pursuit of any other hidden secrets. She found a few more safes, with mostly gold and other valuables in them, including, she was pleased to note, what looked like lightsaber crystals of assorted colours. Certainly nothing like the most common blue that many Jedi unearthed at Ilum to make their first lightsabers. She wondered if these really worked, or if they were even what she thought they were, but pocketed them anyway.

In the meantime, she unearthed many other secrets, bringing up boxes and small letters that she kept with her, as she continued searching the room. At last, when she was confident that she could find no more, she proceeded out of the room and met Midnight in the corridor. "Hey, is it alright if you keep this stuff in your backpack?" She gestured to the boxes and papers. "I don't have much room on me." She decided not to tell Midnight about the lightsaber crystals yet - if they didn't work she'd be disappointed, and if they did it would be a pleasant surprise - and then noticed her burnt hands. She sighed. "You might want to let up on the lightning until I teach you how to properly control it. For someone of your power, it's a lot more painful than it would otherwise be for weaker apprentices." She held her own hands over Midnight's and let the healing power of the Force flow into them again.

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight smiled as she saw Helia. She nodded her head at when Helia wanted to store more equipment in the pack she'd picked up. She opened her bag, allowing Helia put them into her newly acquired bag. Midnight heard Helia sigh, and she presumed she could see the scaring on her hands. She didn't know how not to burn her hands, she didn't have that knowledge.

"I-i'm sorry. I just, I'm trying but i'm using the force. I didn't choose, w-well, i'm sorry. I just, i need your help to learn how to control my powers, I need you".

She looked at Helia sheepishly as Helia healed her.

"Lets get off this ship, unless you think we can find anything else"

[TheUsurper]

"Don't worry about it." Helia nodded, patting Midnight's back, as she shifted her items into the bag. "Just keep in mind the need for self-control, and also the need for self-regulation. You'll go far." Finishing up the loading process, she took a step back. "Also remember what your limits are. What you can and cannot do. For instance, you should try to use Force Choke, or some other types of Force abilities, until I get the chance to teach you how to negate the injury. It's not only about using the Force with power, but also about using it with finesse. You've already got the power down pat; come finesse and you'll be great beyond your imagination." She turned to the lift. "Alright, let's get going. Let the clones finish locking down this ship. I doubt we have very much more to do here."

With that, she entered the lift and waited for Midnight to join her before going back down to the ground floor.

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight smiled, she was grateful for Helia's care and healing. She needed Helia's guidence for the force, and what she was told made sense. Instead of using lightning, where she could hurt her. Using her other powers would be a stronger idea.

Midnight followed Helia to the lift loyally, entering next to her.

"Helia...Why me? Why do i have this power? What makes me special enough to have this power, and so much of it as well? I never asked for this, and yet, look at me now. Why me?"

[TheUsurper]

Helia pondered the question Midnight had asked. Why her indeed? Was there even a reason? Perhaps she was just lucky enough to have been blessed with such ultimate power. She wasn't the type to believe that the Force was something that guided the Jedi like some sort of higher being, so she discounted that. All she could do was shrug. "I can't say. Perhaps it was meant to be, or perhaps it was simply a result of chance. But there's not much to be attained in questioning why, so much as learning what you can do with what you have." Helia touched her hand to Midnight's. "In these palms of yours lie power beyond imagination. But what matters the most is how you use it."

She leaned in closer. "Here's a personal tactic of mine to steer away from corruption when using more emotional techniques. If you lose yourself in the relishing of your power, that's the first step to corruption. So I always keep in mind a greater goal, and not focus on what I am doing so much as what it will achieve."

At that point, the lift door hissed open, and Helia set off. "Alright, we'd best get to our ships. Where do you think we should go first?" she asked Midnight. "Back to the flagship to drop this all off, or over to help your allies in whatever conflict they are in now?"

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight doubted Helia could actually answer her question about why, but she wanted to ask. There were thousands of people who wanted this power, and she didn't, yet she had it. She never asked for this, it had been trusted upon her. All she could do was use this power now, and like Helia and Fire had warned her, not fall to the dark side.

Midnight sighed, she knew Helia was right about corruption. Hey biggest fear was she wouldn't be able to stop it. She was impulsive, moody, emotional. She would just have to try. Hopefully she didn't lose herself. Once again, Midnight followed Helia closely as they made their way back to the hanger.

"I don't know, part of me says the flagship cause it'll be safer. And we can start translating their documents"

[TheUsurper]

"Flagship it is, then." Helia nodded and strode over to the next doors, easing them open and stepping out into the hangar. She leapt into the air, somersaulting and landing in the cockpit which she opened with the aid of the Force just briefly before she fell into it and sealed the compartment. "Let's go!" She said to Midnight over the comm systems before taking off and heading towards the flagship, sticking close to Midnight's ship as far as she could in an escort.

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight followed Helia to the hanger. The flagship would spell safety to her, and would allow her to learn her powers. She needed to perfect what she'd learnt and that would give her the time to do so.

Arriving at the Hanger, Midnight watched Helia perform an impressive jump. While tempted to copy it, Midnight instead walked to her ship, got in it and taking off. Heading back to their ship.

"Helia, I must ask. A-about the children....that the Jedi steal. Why aren't they given a choice...And what do you do about it?"

[TheUsurper]

Helia was comfortably in her plane and, having set her course for the flagship already, was fairly relaxed. Then she heard Midnight's question and remembered the earlier conversation. She prepared her explanation. "Well, you see, the children are but babies when they are spirited away to the Temple. So there isn't much of a choice to be given there, except to the parents, but according to the Jedi they cannot be given a choice either. The reasoning is that they are afraid anybody who is not trained in the 'correct' ways may end up following the 'wrong' path." She made sure to put a heavily ironic emphasis on the necessary words. "Anybody who is not with them may well end up against them, and they don't want to risk someone strong in the Force up and about, opposing their policies." She shrugged. "Like me and you, I suppose."

She then considered the other part of the question. "What can I do about it? I'm afraid there's not much I can do, by myself. What can I hope to do? I'm just one against an entire Order. Such impotence comes into play here." She lowered her voice. "But I do want to change them, one day, if possible. And numbers are needed; I need people who think in the same way and can see the injustice and restriction of freedom that many others, the Jedi included, seem to be blind to. One day." She sighed. "Maybe. But at this point it's more wishful thinking than anything else."

[RainbowDaringDash]

Sky had fought his way off the bridge, and was now in a gunship heading for their own ship. "We won this fight, all units back to the ships" He calls over all comm frequencies,.

[Shadowbolt0]

Just listening to Helia made Midnight sick, the Jedi could literally do anything. She remained silent, but the force around her made it clear, she was angry. Midnight was almost shaking with rage, at the bravado, the arrogance of the Jedi! What gave them the fight to choose the path of a child, why couldn't they make that decision on their own? She landed her ship on their flagship, quickly getting out the ship. She needed to move! She couldn't stand not moving.

She began passing around the hanger, trying to calm herself before anyone saw her. She used the force to pick up a piece of metal on the ground, before throwing it away, the device went flying across the hanger, nearly hitting a Clone. She felt herself calming down, but her anger still lingered around her.

[TheUsurper]

Helia landed in the hangar shortly after Midnight, feeling the anger in her Force aura. She didn't want to induce too much of it, but insofar as it was directed against the Jedi it was most welcome. She popped the cockpit open and climbed out herself, watching Midnight use her powers to throw a device across the hangar and almost hit a clone. She walked across the floor, mindful of any other planes that might be docking, and walked over to Midnight, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. The anger you're feeling is righteous. This is the kind of anger you should be feeling, because it drives you to correct injustice. But you must not let it consume you. Just let it all go, and remember this anger when you need it. Though no one has ever beat an opponent on anger alone."

She tapped a finger to her temple. "Anger clouds your judgement and charges your actions with emotions. If you need to make a decision, you must think it through carefully. Only then can you avoid the pitfalls of what the Jedi describe as the Dark Side."

[SymphonicFire]

Fire could feel the anger of someone as she lead her squad through the corridors. This reminded her of the kids she trained with that where taken from rich families who were proud that they had children that were sensitive to the force. They were the lucky ones, once her parents knew she was abnormal, she was left in on a street on Nar Shadaa. Many children like Fire had the same thing happen to them, parents wanted their children to be normal, some where forced out of their home if they got a chance to stay for a few years. She was happy because the Jedi saved her, she would be dead if it hadn't been for Master Kion. The Jedi order was her family, a better one than her biological family. She would always feel annoyed of a kid would say that the Jedi "stole" them from their family. They would have the same fate if they were to fall in the hands of a sith.

"Roger that" Fire said as she lead her sqad back to the hangar bay. Now to only worry about Midnight...

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight felt something on her shoulder, and she turned. Helia was there, telling her to not let it consume her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She needed this anger for later. What would stand in her way, that she'd been to draw on this, hatred? She didn't want to fall to the Dark Side, and soon, she felt herself calming down.

"I'm sorry Helia, just, children are a weak spot for me. I can't stand those who abuse them, it makes me sick. I can't just watch children"

Midnight stopped speaking, dropping the bag onto the ground. She slumped onto the ground, and start shifting through it's content. She needed a distraction away from her emotions, and machines were a perfect distraction.

[TheUsurper]

Helia nodded in understanding, watching as Midnight sat down. She let her hand slide off her shoulder and she sunk to a sitting position beside Midnight. Her eyes settled on the objects she was sifting through; everything that they had managed to take from the enemy ship. With any luck some of it might turn out to be useful. Nonetheless, she was just an expert in the Force, so she wouldn't pretend to know like she knew what was valuable and what was not. She simply sat and observed Midnight silently as she went about her task.

[RainbowDaringDash]

Sky sighs as the gunship lands on the flag ship, Harbinger. He had lost a lot of men bringing the fight to a end, and he was lucky he, Flame and Frost had made it off, though he knew it was not goign to be the last fight. As the door to the gunship opens, Sky and the rest of the survivors walked off, though Sky walked towards Midnight, though he could see someone he didnt recognise there. "Hey Midnight, you seen the jedi Fire anywhere" He asks, before walkign up to the figure in a Jet black coat. "I dont recognise you, im Sky, the commander of this assault, mind tellign me who you are?" He asks in a friendly voice. He was ready for anything, it was how he was, though as normal he always gave someone a chance.

[TheUsurper]

Helia stood up, turning around and taking stock of the person behind her. He was a soldier, it seemed, who had finally returned from the battle. When he introduced himself as Sky, he finally reaiised who it was that Midnight had been talking to earlier. She kept her lightsaber hidden in her cloak as she extended her hand in the offer of a handshake, along with an awkward smile on her part. "Hello, I'm Helia. I'm, uh... a kind of Jedi, I suppose. It's a bit difficult to explain, so that's about as good as I can say it." She reached into her cloak and pulled out her lightsaber, showing it to Sky. "Proof of identity, as far as it goes."

[RainbowDaringDash]

"There was no need to prove your identity, though i do appreciate it. Well, Helia, if you need anything, ddont be afraid to ask, your welcome here as long as need be" He says to her, accepting the handshake. Sky sighs as he cracks his shoulder. "How long have you been here for?" Sky asks, sitting down on a near by fighter.

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight looked up as she heard Sky approach. She put her equipment down, but didn't stand up."No, i haven't. I got here before you, she was on your assault ship. We've only been here a few minutes"

Midnight watched Helia show her lightsaber to Sky to prove she was a Jedi. But once again, she said she wasn't a jedi, a kind of Jedi.

She turned her attention back to her bag, before spotting something odd. It looked like a handle. She lifted it out, before putting it back. She had an idea, looking at Helia's lightsaber. Could she, make her own lightsaber??? She remained silent as she watched Helia and Sky talk, watching them as she shifted through the contents of the bag.

[TheUsurper]

Helia stayed where she was, not willing to walk too far away from Midnight, to whom she was feeling slightly attached to at the moment. "I've been here for a while," she said in response. "I only got an opportunity for proper battle during this fight, though." She smiled apologetically. "Please forgive me for using the fighters without seeking your permission. I just saw a chance to help, so I did. I hope I wasn't too much of a bother." She gestured to Midnight. "Midnight and I did manage to acquire some enemy intel from one of their ships, though. You might want to take a look at these datacards, they might have something on them."

[RainbowDaringDash]

"I dont mind ya using the fighters, though i do have one question. Which of you two Maniacs took out the gravity? Yu do not know how hard it was for me to finish the objective with that. And you two got intel? Alright, that would be helpful" He says before turning to midnight. "How did you enjoy your ship, did it fly as well as you hopped?"

[Shadowbolt0]

Midnight looked up the moment Sky mentioned the gravity. She knew she'd accepted blame for it before and didn't want Helia to get the blame.

She stood up quickly "It was me. My shot was off and i hit the wrong part of the ship. I'm still getting the hang of the fighter, so yeah, But it was great. And the intell is here"

Midnight took the datapad out of the bag and offered them to Sky "Helia found them, she'd know more that i do about them"

[SymphonicFire]

"Sky, we are back. No one was hurt" she said. She smiled at Midnight but her eyes narrowed at the other person. She felt a dark force inside the both of them. The last time she checked, Midnight was neutral. She directed her eyes to the person's lightsaber, define NOT Jedi. All this evidence made it clear...Midnight had dark influence with that stranger.