Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Janlu...it is time for your knowledge of the force to progress...I suggest we endeavor to go to a place that Master Yoda once mentioned to me. The Cave in question lies on the jungle planet Dagobah, hidden amidst the swamps and foliage there. This place is a place of trial and self discovery...I believe it will assist you in discovering a closer connection to the force as well as a better understanding of yourself. Once there I will train you in a few additional aspects of the Force and it's applications." Malice took Janlu's hand and gazed into her eyes..."I trust you will pass this test. I have faith in you and your abilities, I know you will not fail...but first things first...we must make a stop on Dantooine at the crystal caves. You must find yourself a crystal you can use in the lightsaber you will construct at the end of this mission." Malice led her forward, toward his chambers where he had kept the saber he had prepared for her. It contained the Krayt Dragon Pearl from his silver saber and would make a fine weapon in her hands.

Malice smiled, picking up on his apprentice's enthusiasm. Gesturing for her to follow him he strode towards the hanger, knowing already what ship they would take. The BTL-B Y Wing starfighter was an excellent choice for this endeavor. It possessed a class 2 hyper drive unit, and room for two. The pilot who flew the ship and operated the forward weaponry, consisting of twin medium blaster cannons, MG7 proton torpedo launcher with armament up to 10 torpedoes, and a proton bomb launcher. The co-pilot served as a gunner, handling protection with a bubble turret with a 360 degree field of fire. Malice's personal BTL-B Y Wing had had the dual ion cannons that came stock for the gunner replaced with heavy repeating blaster cannons. A well rounded and durable craft to be sure. In it he and his apprentice would be able to handle any surprises that might arise from galactic pirates should they encounter any in the surrounding area, though Malice doubted they would have to. But as Malice well knew, preparation was half the victory, and he would not under prepare. Entering the hanger, he walked the line, coming to stop in front of the ship he had chosen. His BTL-B Y Wing was painted an after market black and red, lending it a look of a poised predator ready to strike. Pulling the docking ladders to the cockpit of the craft he entered the pilot seat, motioning for Janlu to take the seat behind him.

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Malice had previously prepared for this flight...knowing this day was soon to come. As he and Janlu strapped in, he ran a short series of flight checks. Entering his key log, he punched the ignition codes into the navi-computer. The BTL-B Y-Wing started up smooth...Malice sensed a small difference in the left engine power output as well as a slight gap on the 30th count of the rear power couplings. Both normal for this craft, they wouldnt cause a problem. Malice keyed in the secondary systems for Janlu...and switched the crafts controls to Janlu. "Your first test....have you had any experience piloting a starfighter Janlu?"

Malice brought out a pazaak deck and turned in his seat to show the cards fleetingly to Janlu. "Another drill for you if you dont mind. I figured we'd play some Pazaak while we traveled, but there is a catch. You'll have to close your eyes and sense the cards. I will do the same. You may of course look at your side deck, but the cards that we each draw must be felt rather then seen. I'll call an end to each hand when it is finished. Your familiar with Pazaak correct? We'll play by Republic Senate rules." Malice shuffled and dealt the four cards for each of hands. "those can be used to modify the sum of your draws." Malice had a Minus -4, +2,-1 and a +6 and Janlu recieved a +/-6 +5 -4 and -1. "The Idea is to get 20 as the sum of your dealt cards. The cards in the draw pile are numbered 1-10. Each player must draw a card at the start of his/her turn and decide whether they will play a card from their hand to modify the sum, which can be done once per turn, to continue to the next round, or to stand and keep their total. So are you ready? I'll begin" Malice drew a card...

((I figured we'll do the random draws of the card by generating a random number....1-10 each post that we choose to continue to the next round))

Malice drew a second card...his eyes still tightly closed. He noticed with a mild sense of curiosity that Janlu was doubting herself. Unsure if she was correct. "Trust your feelings my apprentice. The force is a powerful ally. Believe in it and it will not lead you astray." Malice knew before he had touched his card that it's value was 1. That meant his total was now 8. He smiled. Still well in the clear he sent a thought to Janlu. 'You may continue...'

Malice focused solely on the game, pushing aside outside influence as he drew his next card. He saw the number 6 clearly in his minds eye. That put his total at 14. Reaching toward his side deck he played his +6 and chose to stay. His total was now 20...the highest it could be, the only way for Janlu to avoid losing the hand was to match him in a tie. He smiled, and he felt something through the force...as he cocked his head to one side, his smile faltered for a brief moment. Could that have been? No...such was impossible. He waited for Janlu to continue, trying and failing to put thoughts of his past out of his mind.

Malice turned his attention back to the crafts controls, negating the switch and bringing the ship back under his command. Those were sith interceptors...two of them. Had his old Master's other apprentices finally tracked him down? He had left Korriban quickly after slaying his master with the help of Kurosaki, his own apprentice whom he had begun training in secret. The other two sith that had apprenticed under Malice's master had been off planet. Malice had nearly forgotten them. One was a changeling female, much like Janlu he supposed. The other a Zabrak male. This was not good...they had begun training under his master before Malice himself had...at one point they had been stronger in the force then he. Malice only hoped that all he had done and discovered in the past years was enough to make him more powerful. Beginning Evasive maneuvers as the two interceptors opened fire, Malice dumped the ship into a steep dive towards Dagobah's atmosphere. He hoped he could lose the two crafts in the thick gases of the swampy air. He signaled Janlu to take control of the rear laser cannons and lay down some return fire. "When we enter the atmosphere in full, cloak your force signature and stop firing, we will try to shake them." Malice prayed they could...those ships were lighter faster and more agile then his own...if they didn't break the pursuit, those interceptors would blow them from the sky.