He rolled his eyes a little and stood up, straightening his hair. He looked around and found his saber underneath the bed. He snatched it and clipped it on his sash once more. He stumbled over to Annika's chair and leaned his elbows on it, yawning a little.

"How many-" he yawned, "hours left till we hit open space?"

"Less than one," Annika answered. "Should be about 25 minutes."

He nodded, moving around and sitting on a small bench next to the Galaxy map, gathering himself.

Ave and I went out in into the desert and began to start shooting at dewbacks and bantha's for the fun of it. "We need to get back to the ship and see if there is any trace of them."

"Where will we head from where we fall out of hyperspace?" Lilah asked. She shared a grin with Annika at Lionel's recent misfortune and she turned to look at the systems of the ship. She began to sing a song in her head, "Shadows trip across the river, falling in a stream of silver..." She didn't realize that she was vibrating it through the Force and Lionel and Annkia where hearing it as well.

"Heard that before.." He said to himself, shaking his hair a little. He started to get up and walk around the room, pacing the cockpit.

Annika nodded. "It does sound familiar," she murmured. Then, she shook her head. "Well, these days, the planet is called the Watchtower. Its people are warriors, thanks to me, but at a glance, you'd never know. Even the children are deadly."

She tapped an empty square in space. "Like I said, it's right here, but no map you'll ever find of the galaxy has it mapped. Unless you know where to go, finding the Watchtower is worse than finding a needle in a haystack."

"You mean, without the bloody mess afterwards.. unless you're careful.." He said, smirking a little. He walked to a small window and looked out it at the blue tunnel they were in. "I think we're about to hit space.." He said, taking note of the fading tunnel.

"I'm sorry. Was I singing through the Force again? It was just a song that my parents used to sing of a great warrior called Kirabaros or something. That is what it is translated but the original is even better," Lilah realized that her companions were curious about the song. She looked at where Annika was pointing for the Watchtower and continued, "It was a song my parents used to sing when I was little. When I was older, they claimed they could hear me singing it in their thoughts. I don't know."
Lilah cheacked the console to make sure the ship was steady as they were going to jump out of hyperspace. Aware that she was talking at a different rate than her companions she caught up, "Thw Watchtower is like the system that my people are from. It is said that it is a place that can't be found by those unless they have already been there. It was said that it was a haven for the Force sensitive or something. I don't know. The system is the Avalonian system but it is not on any of the charts though few of the Republic have claimed to have been there and back. Maybe it was your Watchtower that they found," and she smiled trying to make light of a grim situation.

"Whatever the situation, I'll just be glad to set foot on a planet where i'm not hunted," he said, walking over and sitting in a chair behind the pilot, strapping himself in as the ship slid out of hyperspace.

"Alright.. now where is this.. Watchtower.. of yours?"

"If that where the case, then we should head for my people's haven. They from what I remember but here looks good from where I'm sitting," and Lilah checked the systems for approach.

"Hunted?" Annika laughed. "No, no. You'll be protected. They trust anyone with me."

"As for where your people are from," Annika went on, turning to Lilah, "I really don't think it's the Watchtower. There can't be more than a thousand people living on the entire planet... and they all live in one place. Not to mention, there are all different races there."

Suddenly, the comm crackled to life. You bring visitors to us, Annika Venn?

"I do," Annika answered. "We'll be..."

The ship rocked. Don't bother landing. We'll guide you down. Power everything but life support off.

"They've always been touchy about that," Annika said, smiling slightly as she complied with their orders.

He felt uneasy about what she was doing. "Are you sure about this?" He said, gripping the arms of his chair.

Annika smiled encouragingly. "Relax. I've done this several times. It's always abrupt, always the same."

He nodded and waited for the ship to be brought down onto the planet below. (I'm gonna head to bed.. night)

Lilah was surprisingly calm. She was feeling all corners of the environment around her, 'seeing.' She wasn't concerned by the abruptness of the people. She went back to her singing where she left off, through the Force, "...the Heart leads the sun when all have long been gone. He brings the hope through the land, and peace settles in the palm of the hand..."

Lionel blinked and raised an eyebrow, "You make that all up by yourself? Or do you just see the future and sing what you see and hear.. like a Force siren?" He said, walking over and leaning his elbows on Lilah's chair.

Lilah turned to stare at Lionel. She replied, "No I didn't make that up. It's a story sung way before I was born. My mother used to sing it to me and I remembered. It is about a great waarrior who united the tribes on my parents homeworld." She gazed thoughtfully at the console behind Lionel as if debating on whether or not to continue. With a sigh, she spoke again, "Sometimes when I see things, I do sing about it. I used to do that when the other padawans would get in trouble or were going to get in trouble. The masters never knew what to make of it."

Ave and him got to the ship and checked the machinery, "Okay. How does this thing work?" Ave asked and turned to the technology specialist.

He nodded, pacing the cockpit again. "I never knew any of those things, or songs for that matter. Grew up dirt poor, my dad was a dead beat and my mom died when I was born. Ate off of table scraps 'till the Republic brought me in, I never got to learn anything.. about everything. Until Revan," he said, concentrating for a moment, as if actually reconsidering going back to him, then realizing he's gone too far to go back now.

"About two minutes until landing.." He said, not even looking out the viewscreen.

Two minutes later, the ship was settled gently on the surface in the Watchtower's only city, Andarin. Annika powered down life support and headed for the boarding ramp. It slid down and Annika disembarked, approaching a young man there waiting for them.

"Welcome back, Annika Venn," he said. "You and your companions are to follow me."

"These two are trustworthy, Gan," Annika said. "Trust them, protect them."

"We protect," Gan answered stiffly. "Trust must be earned."

"Of course," Annika said quietly. She turned to Lionel and Lilah and said sharply, "Follow closely. The path we are about to take is easy to get lost in."

With that, she followed Gan into what could only be described as a maze. There were so many twists and turns, abrupt drops, climbs, and anything else imagineable, it would be impossible to remember the exact path taken.

"Stay close," Annika warned again. "It's very easy to get lost in here."

He followed Annika and the man(or woman?) through the maze of ancient walls. He took a tight corner and slammed his knee into a corner, stopping for a second and rubbing it before catching back up with Annika.

"This is one hell of a maze you got here.." He said while panting.

Lilah took a look around and she felt at home. The trees, the brush, all felt familiar and she was at ease. She allowed Lionel to hold her hand as she followed Annika becoming acutely aware that there was alot going on. She would turn her gaze to look at something and it scared Lionel that she might get them lost but she always had a bearing on Annika. She was thoughtful about the Watchtower. All felt right.

((I have a couple of problems with your posts. First, this is not a maze of trees and bushes. The city has been built in such a way that the walls of its city, all the buildings sort of overlap. Some walls have even been added to increase the confusion of the maze. If attacked and overpowered, any living citizens run to the maze. There's more than enough room there and they all know the maze very well.

Also, JM12, you're still making it sound as if Lilah's from here... Watchtower is a planet I created. The only connections it has to the Star Wars universe are the ones I make for it... it has been cut off from the rest of the galaxy for at least a thousand years. It's not on star charts or anything. If you wouldn't mind, could you pick a different planet?))

edited my post))

((Sorry I was trying to convey the impression that the surroundings were familiar. Not that she is from there but certain things remind her of home. Sorry for the confusion.:))
Lilah spoke to Annika as they were walking through the maze, "This place reminds me of home, or at least a time when I found more of my people." She kept stride fairly easily and didn't break it when Lionel hit his knee.

Annika seemed amused. "Though I'm sure your people didn't have anything quite like this," she said. "The people here are very concerned with safety, as you can see. Inside this maze, there are enough rooms to hide all one thousand current residents and leave room for expansion."

Finally, they came to a door. Their escort opened this door and went inside, gesturing for the others to follow. Once they were inside, he went out, closing the door behind him.

"There," Annika said. "We will be safe for as long as we like in here."

Lionel stepped inside, letting go of Lilah's hand. He slowly walked in ahead of Annika and the guide, looking around the entire place with wide eyes.

"Wow.."

Lila smiled. She liked Annika because she reminded her of a friend she had when she joined the Order. She asked, "Where are we?"

Annika laughed. "Oh, dear. Please don't ask..." She looked around the large room and grinned. "Somewhere beneath the surface of the planet and quite a ways away from Andarin... the city, that is."

She crossed the room and opened another door. "They keep this place well cared for. Food and other supplies are replenished every other month."

With a little sigh, she turned to Lionel and Lilah. "But one thing I'm sure you've both felt. It will do no good to hide here forever."

"Yes, but I can't pinpoint why," Lilah was saying. She felt at peace but the back of her mind, a shadow.

"Yeah.. even thought this is a serene place, I don't see it staying that way for long," he said stepping forward a little. "So... How long has this village been here?"

"The way the locals tell it, a thousand years," Annika answered. "They say their ancestors' ship was pulled out of hyperspace and crash landed here. For a while, they tried to communicate with the Republic, but eventually gave up and started living with what they had here. Then, others started crashing into the planet. Now, there's a small network of beings in the galaxy that know of the place and we bring supplies when we can."

She smiled thoughtfully. "Supplies in exchange for the occasional need for hiding."

"Seems like a melting pot for a variety of species... tell me, who are the dominant species here?" He asked, looking around and the few people actually visible walking through the city.

((We're underground several miles away from the city... nobody's visible... we're in a completely enclosed room. No windows or anything.))

"Humans are dominant here, as with the galaxy," Annika answered.

"Hmm..." Lilah was thoughtfully listening. She looked at the empty place and asked, "Why have you brought us here?"

"For a little peace," Annika answered. "For a little training. You are both new to being on the run. You must learn to be uncatchable."

She paused toughtfully. "Then, there's me. Lionel has alerted me to the reason I seem to have been loosing my power." She looked at him. "And you say you can help. I'd rather get that help in peace than on the run. So if you don't mind, I'd like to get that over with while we're here also."

(My bad, this planet doesn't seem to be like normal planets.. sorry for not paying attention to your posts WildJedi, you at least deserve that from me. I apologize.)

He looked at Annika and nodded, looking her over. "What kind of training do you want to begin with? I'm sure you're rusty on just about everything.. " He said, taking off his robe to reveal his jet-black Dark Jedi attire.

Lila cocked her brow, "That incident I did? That was like a one timer. Even if I could do that again, it takes much out of a person, particularly when you have multiple people you are trying to hide. I don't really want to go through Jedi training again mainly because I don't feel belonging to either. There is no honor in the Sith or the Jedi. The way of Bushida is the way." It came out as a surprise because she didn't know what Bushida was. Somehow she felt the need to say it but didn't understand why.
((This is common among those from the Avalonian system. They live by codes of honor and the most able train in Bushida, something like the samurai. Mostly it's the idea of not to get captured but to die in battle. Those that know Bushida and the ways of the Jedi are filled with conflict.))

((Apology accepted. And it may be partially my fault. I've really only described where we are OOC.))

"You mistook my meaning," Annika said. "I do not refer to Jedi and Sith training. The two of you need more training than I do." She sat in a nearby chair. "One of the benefits of the maze is that it is a wonderful training ground, provided you're wearing a tracer being monitored by one who knows the place very well. We'll get some rest and then your training will begin."

Standing abruptly, she went on. "Training for what? You already know how to fight. Now you get to train how to hide from those looking for you. Face it: you are being hunted. You must learn to turn the tables, to hunt your hunters and to evade them until you are in a place where you can strike before they know what happened."

"Then, you need to learn to slip away without attracting attention," she finished. "I will be your instructor here and the citizens will help." She nodded slowly. "You have a lot to learn."

With that, she went through another door and shut it behind her. This was a bedroom and here, Annika would get some rest. After all, it was nighttime over Andarin and, though they were underground, it was always better to keep with the schedule of the place. Much easier to get help from the locals, if needed.

He sighed. "She doesn't even know us, yet she thinks we need training." He started to feed his anger as he walked away. "I don't care what she thinks, i'm training how I ought to be training.. " He said, walking out of the empty room.

Lila was confused. Her people were experts at living on the run. Those that watched the Jedi and the galaxy lived in the Shadows. She didn't say anything more but sat and meditated.

He leaned on a nearby wall, thinking about what Annika said. He'd go along with the training, but he'd be sure as hell she wasn't getting any. After a few minutes, he slid down the wall, falling asleep.

Seeing that Lionel was asleep, Lilah then began to sing the song she had been singing, "...he has the greatest gift and honor, the chosen of guardian warrior..."

((Xbx, why are you so sure Annika needs training? Come on! She trained with both Jedi and Sith for five years each... so she's had ten years of Force training. She's 29 now and has been slipping around without being noticed for five years. Do the math. She's good. She doesn't need training. She needs help so she doesn't loose her Force powers, but training is unnecessary. And please allow Lionel and Lilah to be startled at times during the maze training. The people of this planet have spent their entire lives training as warriors and they know this maze better than you know your own house.))



"You have a beautiful voice," Annika said quietly, standing in the doorway she'd gone through just moments ago. "But you really ought to get some rest. Trust me. The training you will undergo here will be completely unlike anything you've even imagined before."

With that, she retreated into her room and shut the door again.

Lilah smiled and decided to rest. She walked up the wall to the ceiling and sat cross legged and fell asleep. She wasn't sure by this training that Annika meant but was willing to go along with it. She dreamt of the lands that she had only heard of in song.

MAN! WHEN WILL THIS GUY POST! I asked a question a long time ago and it isn't being answered. Where is.. I forgot his name. The RCOF guy.

whoops, im waiting for them to reveal their position so we can confront them.

"Just let me handle it Ave." a few minutes later a beeping sound came from the console. "There they are, put in these coordinates. Wierd, this place is uncharted." We should survey the system first before landing anywhere. Put the ship in stealth mode.

(Well, I didn't mean training.. I meant like, training in force powers, to help her reconnect to the Force)
He was still asleep, snoring away.

Lilah saw vast plains and a forest on its edges. She saw the animals roaming and the sun rising from the east. She felt the freedom. She had never seen this land but her parents spoke of it. She found herself face to face with Inkosi Kanji, the medicine man who took her on a journey to find courage and her place. She was dreaming in her sleep not realizing that she had lifted a sleeping Lionel in the process. She was hearing the singing in her ears of the same song she had been singing but it was different; it was a tribal song.