For we are Many (Twysper, Kella)

[Sporky]

Space. The final frontier of exploration.

Every sentient species, from Humans to Duros to even the ancient Celestials all looked up at the sky at some point and wondered what lay beyond their skies. What mysteries lay in the unfathomable depths of space. Once a species began colonizing, their wonder grew. What lay outside their star systems, their regions, their clusters.

Yes, space is full of mysteries. Her unending depths hold countless surprises. Some pleasant, and some...malicious.

---

The Rocky Outcrop tore through the blackness of space, approaching the Ralltiir system. Wanting some extra time to meditate and talk with Sellah and Ekerin, Sigourney, the Jedi that used the Outcrop the most due to her being the only Jedi geologist, had set the ship to jump to a point outside the Ralltiir system, in 'dead space'.

After having a rather interesting conversation with Sellah about the Selonian's bandolier, she had retreated to the room she had set up for meditation. Under her direction, the room had taken on a 'botanical' look. Recessed lights lit the room, potted plants were strewn around, and a pool no bigger than 7 feet in diameter rested in the center. It was on a raised platform in the center of this pool that Sigourney sat meditating. As always, her body was giving off a white light, which would no doubt have lit the room if the overhead lights weren't on.

Sigourney felt serene, as she always did when meditating. Through the Force, her mind journeyed to Ralltiir. Across the farmlands, through the city streets, and down into the tunnels. Ralltiir was special to Sigourney, though even meditation did not tell her why. But she didn't mind. She accepted the 'good vibes', s she called them, whenever she visited Ralltiir.

[Kella]

Sellah was practicing.

Whenever she had a free moment, and nothing more important to do, she was practicing.

She moved through her form, from stance to stance, saber hissing like a snake, under the influence of her grasp. Hiss, twirl, kick, jump. Her Ataru was somewhat constrained in this small space, but she could still practice.

Sellah stopped in the final stance and held it, chest rising and falling quickly with every breath, small wisps of steam clinging to her muzzle.

Almost perfect. Always, always, always almost perfect.

Sellah sighed. She deactivated her saber, and relaxed her stance.

She was hungry, and it had been some time since she'd told Ekerin he was allowed to roam the ship.

It was time to find Ekerin and food, in that order.

Sellah stepped from her quarters, slipping her saber back onto her bandoleer. The first place to check was the bridge. Even if she didn't find Ecky, she'd be better acquainted with their position in hyperspace, and that was never a bad thing -- even though inter-planetary travel was somewhat beyond the Selonian.

Off we go, she thought to herself, and began to walk briskly down the hall.

[Twysper]

"I know what that is!" Ekerin, much pleased with himself, said as he stood on the bridge of the Rocky Outcrop, looking over the control panel. "And that, and that, and this little knob here..."

The young Amaran's clawed fingers ran over the hardware lightly, as his mind tempted him to fiddle with something, and his conscious shook its head no.

Caribbean blue eyes peered out into the currently star-pointed space without really focusing, as Ekerin's thoughts turned to Sigourney. The Wroonian Jedi Knight was eccentric, to say the least; nothing like his master Sellah. Personally, he couldn't picture himself studying rocks for an occupation. But that was what she did.

So... therefore he should be happy she enjoyed it and did it for everyone else so he didn't have to?

A long, thoughtful "Hruuuum..." escaped from his muzzle as he stared at the flashing instrument board again. He really shouldn't. But he could always return things to their original position, right?

Ekerin cast a dead-guilty glance over his shoulder to make sure neither Sellah nor Sigourney was waiting to catch him, then he reached out and pulled a large lever downwards.

"WHEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOP, WHEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOP, WHEEEEEOOOOOOOOOP!"

The Amaran cringed as loud ship-wide klaxon sirens rang out. Frantically, Ekerin grabbed the lever and boosted it back up to it's original position, at which point the alarms saw fit to stop their deafening clatter, and resume their stoic silence.

The padawan looked around the suddenly quiet bridge, and entertained optimistic hopes that no one had noticed.

Maybe he shouldn't stick around at the scene of the crime...

Ekerin was briskly loping towards the large door, when it foreboding slid open of it's own accord, to reveal none other than Sellah.

The padawan's ears drooped, his tail seemed to try and hide behind him, and his eyes suddenly became fascinated with the floor paneling. Words fled from his mind, and so he stood there quietly.

[Sporky]

In the tranquil chamber, the geologist meditated. Her mind roamed through the Force as if it were an unending library stacked with square miles of dusty tomes. The light emanating from her body was peaceful and pleasant to look at, sort of a contrast to the dorky woman whose body produced it.

Then the claxons went off, the change from silence to annoyance striking her like an armored fist to her brain. Startled, the attractive Jedi topped over into the water, the wetness providing another shock to her senses.

"Son of an autistic mynock!!" she cursed, sitting up. Part of her robes were now wet, something that some immature younglings would no doubt find amusing. She rose to her feet, her mind slamming back to reality. Huffing dark purple hair from her face, she left the meditation room, wondering which of her companions had set off the noise.

[Kella]

The noise simply made Sellah walk faster towards the bridge. Just as she opened the door, she found the one she was looking for.

Now, Sellah was not a terribly perceptive person. The subtle nuances of politics and conversation insisted on eluding her, and as far as telepathy went, she was barely average, at best.

Even so, it took no expert to know that Ekerin's too-innocent behavior meant that he was guilty, guilty, guilty.

Sellah almost surprised herself at being able to figure this. Though, perhaps it was because she knew Ekerin a little bit better than she knew most people.

But why in the world would he--

Sellah surprised herself again, by answering her own question. He was probably just being curious.

"Ekerin," she said sternly, "A moth on the bridge is no reason to pull the alarm. It has to be at least a squirrel, then it can be considered a life-threatening menace."

[Twysper]

Ekerin caught his master's rebuke under the playful words, and nodded balefully in recognition.

The dark little devil on his shoulder giggled.

“I just wanted to see if I remembered my lessons on ship controls s’all.” The Amaran said quietly with a glance out the viewport, shifting uncomfortably. A thought came to his mind then, an unhappy one-- had Sellah been watching him the entire time, waiting for him to do something like this? She had appeared awfully fast…

Ekerin frowned irritably at the notion. Perhaps he had just failed a test. Something to do with his maturity. He had acted like a hyperactive youngling, for crying out loud. Playing with the controls on a ship like he couldn’t control his impulses… That was not how a Jedi should act.

And then he was through kicking himself. He pragmatically realized he couldn’t do anything about what had happened now.

“Err, do you know where Sigourney is?” The padawan’s wry humor returned quickly after that. “Seems like she’d want to join the party we’re having up here.”

A subtle glance at the navigational computer’s screen told him they were nearing their destination.

…Providing he was reading it right…

“Our trip is almost over, I think.”

[Sporky]

Leather boots padded down the rough durastee; floor-plating of The Rocky Outcrop, carrying the Jedi geologist to the ship's bridge. The Force told her where both her companions were, and though it led her there, ti didn't need to.

The corridors and chamber of this ship were well-known to the Wroonian. She'd spent quite a bit of time inside it since gaining the autonomy of a Knight. This ship now felt more like home to her than her quarters in the temple, strange as it sounded.

The door to the bridge slid open with a hiss, and the blue-skinned Jedi regarded her furred compatriots with a raised eyebrow. "What's going on here, free cake and sandwiches?"

[Kella]

There was a pulse. A subtle thing.

A byte.

A flash.

Existence and space. Light and silence. Ones and Zeros.

Another pulse.

The ship was dead. Masses and masses of conductive copper, resistors, tranducors, silent. Perpetual darkness. Eternal zeroes.

Except for the core.

Except for the pulse.

---~~~~~~~~---

Sellah turned her golden gaze on Sigourney.

"They don't allow food on the bridge," she said matter-of-factly.

Sellah's ears piqued to the sound of a quiet 'whoah'. She glanced towards the source, one of the flight engineers across the room, but quickly disregarded it.

She turned back to Sigourney and Ekerin. 'What is that?' 'Jus' Space Junk.' 'Awful big for space junk.' 'Looks like a whole--' 'I don't have any records of a Republic ship in this sector.'

Sellah reconsidered. Maybe this was not something to disregard.
She glanced back at Ekerin and Sigourney, then walked over to the engineers.

"What is it?"

The one who'd spoken first whipped around. "Ah, ma'am. We've got a very large object on the radar, possibly a ship."

"Definitely a ship," another one cut it. "A gh--"

"Just on the edge of dead space. We'll need to pull out of hyperspace as we pass it, for cautionary reasons."

"A Ghost ship," said the one again. "Read about 'em in Flight school. Drift off into dead space and ain't worth retrieving, so they just... drift."

"Exiting Hyperspace," Announced the pilot.

"You should be able to lay eyes on it in a moment," the engineer said, gesturing towards the bridge glass. The stars came into focus. "And then we'll see just what it is," he said, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shoot a glare at the superstitist.

Sellah climbed the four steps to the upper level of the bridge, approaching the pilots and the glass. At first, the shape was nothing but a shadow, an absence of stars. But then, it began to come into view, the sharp angles and metal faces, the ambiguous cylinders and crevices. It was a ship, a full, intact ship.

"Well I'll be..." Muttered the pilot.

Sellah narrowed her eyes.

[Sporky]

There she was. There, in all her ancient and decrepit glory. The Lady Peace, drifting through the blackness of dead space like the carcass of some beautiful beast. There was a hushed silence on the bridge before the Wroonian broke the silence. "Is it just me....or are we all looking at the same ship I read about in the archives a little while ago? The one from the Mandalorian Wars?"

"Mando wars...frell." "That girl's oooooolllld" Murmurs such as these went along the bridge crew, as Sigourney slowly approached the front of the bridge. She could feel...something. A little ping in the Force, similar to what she had felt on Onderon when she'd found her piece of amber. One of her heands absent-mindedly fingered the hilt of her saber, and she bit her lip. "Bring us in. There could be something worth salvaging, like forgotten technology, or, if she was a pirate ship, credit chips that can be given to charity."

[Twysper]

"What's going on here, free cake and sandwiches?"

"They don't allow food on the bridge,"

Ekerin forced his best diplomatically straight face at his master's quick reply, thankful for the diversion from his 'accident' with the ship-wide sirens. With any luck, by remaining quiet, his mishap would remain silhouetted in the light of more interesting going-ons.

Like finding large unidentified, ship-shaped objects...

...By the Force that was convenient!

The padawan's ears seemed to lean towards the more superstitious crew member's ramblings immediately, capturing sound waves like the radar dishes mounted on the ship's sensor array. The scowl he wore on his face unsettled the t

The Amaran balanced lightly on his digit-grade legs as the Rocky Outcrop glided out of hyperspace. The intelligent curiosity hidden behind those innocent blue eyes was roused from its slumber as the derelict Lady Peace filled the viewport.

The term ghost ship murmured in the back of his mind with foreboding, and Ekerin shifted just a small bit closer to Sellah and Sigourney. As was his common habit when unsettled, his clawed hand sought out the lightsaber on his belt. It reminded the aspiring Jedi he was not exactly unarmed or helpless; the so dubbed 'ghost ship' was just a bunch of welded metal, really. They'd be going right by it, no problem at all.

"Bring us in. There could be something worth salvaging, like forgotten technology, or, if she was a pirate ship, credit chips that can be given to charity."

Ekerin's tail flicked anxiously twice, as surprise registered across his face for an instant. He looked over to Sellah to see her response to this detour, and seeing her no-nonsense expression, proceeded to imitate it.

No danger...

... Just a bunch of welded metal...

[Kella]

"Bring us in. There could be something worth salvaging, like forgotten technology, or, if she was a pirate ship, credit chips that can be given to charity."

Sellah's brow tightened and her whiskers flared, like a leopard catching a new scent. She regarded the ship. Some felt inexplicably drawn to such things, others felt deep foreboding. Sellah wasn't particularly stricken by either.

It was a ship. Ships were constructs of metal that got one from one place to another. A crew spent a lot of time on a ship, and one could learn a lot about a crew by looking at their ship. Besides, seemingly dead ships should always be suspected. It would serve as an excellent hide-out for fugitives or smugglers.

"It would be irresponsible to ignore it. We have forty-eight hours before we need to check-in planet-side. We won't need more than five hours to decide how to report it. Yes," she nodded in response to Sigourney, "Take us in."

-~-~-~-

Air rushed past Sellah, ruffling her fur and spilling through the widening crack in the door. The ships ancient metal creaked and moaned, protesting its disturbance. A scan had revealed that the ship was retaining its seal against the vacuum of space. Latent life support systems maintained the ship at a brisk forty-three-point-seven degrees. Sellah took a deep breath, and puffs of white frost streamed from her nostrils.

She took a step beyond the airlock, paws touching the chilled floor, the first heat to stir the frozen metal. Her whiskers twitched. The ship had an odd, musty smell. Smells were like wine, or cheese -- when they aged, they gained a peculiar flavor.

Small currents in the air pushed on Sellah's whiskers, as the slight differences in pressure settled. She could feel something else, a slight... charge in the air, but she dismissed this sensation. Surely it was due simply to the metal leeching into the air over time.

Distant metal creaked, sending vibrations through Sellah's paws and ears.

Her eyes searched the opaque darkness that lay beyond the open door, opposite the airlock, then flickered back to Sigourney and Eckerin. She shifted her grip on the electric torch in her paw.

"Which direction should we start?"

[Sporky]

((This seems like appropriate music, don'tcha think? :3 ))

Sigoruney tread carefully on the metal floors of what the three all assumed to be a dead husk. In lieu of a flashlight or handheld light, she'd brought along the helmet she often used when spelunking particularly deep caves. With a simple telekinetic flick, the bright lamp cut a lance of illumination through the darkness.

She pulled her robes tight around herself, feeling the cold worse than her furred companions. "Alright...first order of business..we see if there's any power left." Several moments passed before she added, "If we can find the main power room that is."

[Twysper]

Sometime in the last second, Ekerin had become rooted in place. This ship was disturbed. He could feel tinges of it in the Force.

So when Sigourney posed her question to no one in particular, the twelve-year old Amaran's ears reflexively folded flat and he forcibly clamped his muzzle shut. He wasn't willfully going to endorse exploring the derelict, creaky vessel.

Sellah could decide. She was older, fuller-er of wisdom, and much bigger.

So, naturally, Ekerin looked to her for a decision on the matter.

Because where his master went, he would follow, but not simply of his own volition...

[Kella]

Sellah's brow furrowed at Sigourney's words. That was not what she wanted to hear. 'Left' or 'Right' would have been better.

Sellah looked at Ekerin to see if he had any opinions. But all she saw as him looking expectantly up at her, waiting for her to make the decision.

Sellah's muzzle twitched uncomfortably. She did not like being the leader. She did not like making decisions. But this decision had latched itself onto her.

Trillian, her old master, had once said that what makes a good leader is not someone who seeks out leadership, but someone who is able to make the decisions that they find thrust upon themselves.

There was a more important decision here -- whether or not to be the leader and the Jedi her vocation called her to be. She would decide.

"The engines. Those are located in the aft of the ship, and if we're on the port side, then we should start by going right."

It was up to her now. To take the first step into the hall.

Being in charge was much, much more frightening than facing any Sith. Sellah wondered if this wasn't her trial of courage.

She stopped thinking about it, and stepped into the hall. Then another step, and another. She continued right down the hall, her whiskers twitching at the air currents, feeling the lingering musk. The slightest glow of light hit the hall. After twenty paces, Sellah stopped short.

The reason was simple; a closed blaster door was blocking her way.

"Should we--" She stopped herself. She was asking them to make a decision, but it would just come back around to her again. She sighed. So she needed to ask a different question. Tail flicked at the effort.

"Can you... think of any reason to go back the other way, instead of cutting through the door?"

[Sporky]

Sigourney sighed in relief as Sellah took the lead. Sigourney was far from the leader type..she was a scientist, not a fighter. Having someone like Sellah was a weight off her shoulders.

She followed behind the mustelid as she led the trio through the ancient halls of the ship. The foul scent of rusted metal and burnt-out circuits stung her nose, but she'd long grown accustomed to foul odors. When one regularly delved deep into caves with odorous minerals, that happened.

And then they found their first obstacle; a heavy blast door barred their way, its ancient blank surface glaring at them in its own way. Sure, it would be easier to just burn a hole in the door and carry on, but who knew what sort of volatile gases would be ignited by the burning plasma of their sabers?

And then Sigourney spotted a button on the wall behind Sellah. No..it couldn't be. It was too convenient...or was it? Taking the off chance that the Force had smiled upon them centuries in advance, she cautiously stepped forward and pushed it.

.....Nothing. Silence. No motion. No lights. No anything. Sigourney shrugged, and turned to say something to Sellah when there was a loud groan from somewhere deep in the ship's bowels. Sigourney's mind produced two possible outcomes: Some long-lived beast that had been kept prisoner on the ship had smelled fresh meat, or it was the generators protesting having to do their jobs again. Luckily, it was the latter.

Slowly, the overhead lights flickered on, and Sigourney flicked her headlamp off. She turned her eyes to the blast door, waiting for it to rise or open or slide across or whatever...it didn't. She shrugged, turning to her companions. "Well...at least we can see now, right?"

[Twysper]

"...Not really..." Ekerin ventured, in response to his master's query, shuffling his clawed feet on the cold deck awkwardly.

And then an unholy grating sound resonated off the floor below him.

Already coiled muscles launched the Amaran towards the ceiling like a spring while the lights flickered on, immediately casting the room in pools of dim yellow light.

He hit the floor again a moment later, losing his balance and falling backwards onto his tail with an echoing thud.

Ekerin scrabbled to regain his footing on the dead metal as the empty sound echoed through the chilled backbone of the ship, muttering darkly all the while.

Ghost ship. Two simple words whispering of the cryptic unknown had him skittering around, afraid of the frelling dark.

Panic, panic was the enemy of peace, and that ran contrary to the tenets of the Jedi Code; this recall shaded the padawan's thoughts in abashed red. Ekerin reached out in the Force and steadied his emotions against Sellah's stoic presence. She and Sigourney were still in the room, and were experienced Jedi Knights, and there was no danger to be found here.

[Kella]

Sellah had hoped they'd be more helpful with the decision-making. But the lights were on! That was... something. She tried to think for herself if there was any good reason to go back the other way. Deductive reasoning she could do, inductive... Sellah groaned internally.

~~~

Something else was groaning, but much more loudly. A connection has been made. A connection that sent a pulse of electrons, a pulse that spun a magnet, a magnet that drew energy through a wire, a wire that channeled that energy to a terminal, and a terminal that was coming to life.

Input. The terminal had been dormant for years, but it was as if time had never passed. Output.

~~~

Sellah hadn't come up with any reasons. She leveled the tip of her lightsaber against the blast door, and pushed. It was only then that it occurred to her that the room beyond could be filled with extremely flammable gas that might explode as soon as her lightsaber touched it.

Nothing exploded. But Sellah was not expecting what did happen. The door lurched within its frame, and she quickly retracted her saber. The metal slid past, opening to another hallway.

Sellah lead the way through. To her left, she noted another closed door. She paused to examine it, placing her paw to the metal. The metal suddenly began to move past her claws. She took a startled half-step back, looking to Signourney and Eckerin to see if they'd touched a switch. They hadn't. Sellah peered into the room. It was dark.

As if in response to her thought, the lights flickered on.

Sellah stepped inside. The room was a barracks, with rows of double-stacked beds. Some of the linens were neatly laid, others rumpled. She ventured forward, feeling Eckerin and Signourney follow behind.

Slowly, Sellah made her way to the far end of the room. One bed had caught her eye, as it looked like there was something under the linens. She approached it, carefully.

Something about it unnerved her, but she proceeded. Gently, gingerly grasped the edge of the linen, slowly lifted it...

Sellah gasped and leapt back, as if she'd just grasped an angry viper. Her heart raced and her breathing came quick. She'd left the linen cast back, and her eyes were trapped by what she saw. A few strips of dried flesh still clung to the skeleton.

The Skeleton. Sellah had never seen a skeleton before, not face-to-face. Empty, gaping pits where the eyes should have been...

She shook her head viciously, searching the room for her friends. "Guys?" she said, her voice wavering. "Sigourney, Eckerin," her tone steadied, "You need to see this..."

[Sporky]

Not only were the lights on, but the doors seemed to be working! They were off to a great start! ..Right?

And then...Sigourney felt something in the Force. A twitch. A very slight twitch, equal to a light poke in the shoulder. There was something...wonky about this ship, something she couldn't place. Or maybe she'd imagined it..Jedi or not, spooky places could mess with your mind.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she thought she saw something. Movement, something flitting down a hallway..no, that was just her mind. Just. her. mind. She was getting edgy..but why? She'd been to the bottoms of labyrinthian caverns and had walked through miles of abandoned mine tunnels. They'd been just as eerie as this place, but..they hadn't gotten to her like this ship did. Maybe she was just out of her element, but...

Then Sellah called her and Eckerin over. Shaking her head, Sigourney poked her head into the room...and saw the skeleton that Sellah had. A burning, vile taste rose up her throat, and Sigourney had to cover her mouth. She forced the bile back down, and shuddered. She'd seen the odd skeleton in caves and mines before, but...not like this. Never like this. It was...haunting.

"What...IS this place?"