The Jedi Shuttle landed at the large orbital medical facility, MedStar One Zero Three and the five passengers debarked and were directed to board the Reliance, a Space Master Medium Transport ship that was acquired by the Republic for troop transport.

  There the Jedi and Droid slicer were directed to their shared quarters, and invited to a meeting with the ship's captain, and the clone leaders. As they made their way forward to the captains room, the ship jumped into hyperspace.

  CT-4805 the acting Clone commander and the ships captain, CC-1521 were already seated as the clone trooper, designated CT-101 entered, closely followed by four Jedi and a dark metallic, humanoid shaped droid with a long, red optical sensor on its face entered the room.

  The Captain and acting commander are seated at the plain white, anticeptic duraplast conference table with equally plain, stiff grey chairs. They have their helmets off and watch as the rest enter the room.

  The Captain is the first to speak. "Welcome aboard the Reliance. I am CC-1521, also called "Batch". We will make two jumps and arrive at Cato Nemoidia in approximately two and a half days. This will be brief from my part since I will receive additional orders from the fleet when we arrive in system." He turned to the Clone Sergeant next to him. "CT-4805, do you have anything additional?"

 
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:33, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

The clone sergeant stands up, and begins to speak in a gruff voice befitting a combat veteran.

"As the captain said, I'm CT-4805. The troopers call me Boss or Sergeant, you Jedi can call me what you like. I'll be commanding your escort to Cato Neimoidia and joining you and Commander Relliri on your missions. I've got 24 troopers under my command, including Charlie here. He'll be commanding 1st Squad. If you can't reach me for some reason, talk to him."

"Orders are still up in the air, since the battle's high intensity and the situation is constantly changing. We should receive our orders from Commander Sev once we arrive."

Kalyx loped into the room. Now free of the claustrophobic intensity of life in the Jedi academy and the oppressive scrutiny of Master Windu he had begun to relax again. In the back of his limbic system a primal voice growled at him, it wasn't Windu, it's the prospect of battle, of being a predator again. He shook his head to silence it. It was not in control, he was.

Grinning at his fellows he takes one of the sterile grey chairs and sits. The others were better at picking up the nuances of a situation than him. Kalyx wanted something more tangible.
"Boss. You say the battle situation is changing. Can you give uss the latest state of play? I realise these thingss get...   messy, but it would sure help to know a little in advance. What iss our expected deployment?"

"The latest reports indicate that the CIS still has a significant naval presence above the planet. Until we achieve orbital superiority and can begin bombarding their planetary defenses, it'd be a suicide mission to land anywhere. But our fleets are pushing them back, so we may achieve a breakthrough in the near future. Commander Sev seems optimistic, or so my superiors tell me."

"So we are to sit tight on the Reliant till the orbital control has been achieved?" Asked the Trandoshan, a little disappointment creeping into his voice.

  The Captain, Batch, answered the Trandoshan, "The situation will change drastically one way or the other by the time we arrive in two and a half days. We will have additional updates on on our next two jumps about the SitRep."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:45, Mon 06 Mar 2017.

   The dark gunmetal grey droid entered the room behind the Jedi as sensors filled in the information about the room, as well as who was in it.  It stopped to one side of the room while the audio pickup registered the two new voices, both Clone troopers.  It quickly filed away information about the two troopers and their designations, then shifted its focus to the conversation between the Trandoshan and the Clone Sergeant.  It sounded like one of the new Jedi Padawans' inflexions carried a note of disappointment, something that the droid noticed was common amongst newly promoted Jedi.

   The droid continued to listen but it remained quiet as it absorbed the information...

The Trandoshan unconsciously tapped a claw on the plastic table, leaving tiny scratches in its surfaces.
"Do you have study and training suites aboard?" He asked, hopeful of an avenue for distraction.

  The Captain shook his head, which looked exactly like Boss'es, though his was cut shorter on the sides and his skin wasn't quite as gruff as the Clone Sergeant. "I'm sorry, but we have no suites or any extra space. We are crammed full of Republic troopers and their gear as well as supplies we are bringing to the op area. What sort of training are you referring to? I was told that you have passed your training already..." He gave a questioning look to Jini, but she just smile and watched the Trandoshan padawan, curious at how he would answer the question.

"It seems that we will have to settle for image training then, Kalyx," the Miraluka replied, turning his face to his fellow Padawan with a bemused smile on his face.  It was not that he did not understand Kalyx's urge to scratch the itch, but it was still humorous nonetheless.

"I do have a concern that either you, Sergeant, or Captain, could address," he continued, facing the two clone troopers.  Tarrin had changed out of his long, flowing robes into a rather fetching vest with synth-leather gloves and matching boots with the goal of having some mobility wherever they were going.  Jedi robes were all well and good, but without the Order's classic battle armor that was often given to Jedi Knights, the Miraluka did not feel comfortable going into a potential battle zone encumbered by the flowing robes.  As to why the vest was stylish: well, why not?

"You mentioned that the battle could go either way in the next couple days.  If it goes against us as we are approaching the system, would our transport not be caught out of position?"  He quirked an eyebrow at them questioningly.  "I would rather my first mission did not result in something so unfortunate."  The statement was finished with a wry grin that would convey the joke.

After a brief pause, Tarrin touched a finger to his chin as he considered a thought before speaking.  "Also, you mentioned that you have brought supplies.  We may be short on room, but do you perhaps have some tools for weapon maintenance you use?  I would like to see if I could make a couple adjustments to the lightsaber I recently received.  They are stock weapons, and I am sure that experienced veterans like you both could appreciate the value in making sure a weapon is tuned to your specific style of fighting.  Nothing complicated that would require extra parts.  Just enough to see if the crystal is focused in a manner more fitting to how I would use it."

Charlie frowned at the padawan's question, did he really think everyone was as fresh at this as he was. He spoke up in nearly the same voice as the other two clones "Our crew will follow established protocols for a troop transport entering uncertain space. You are not at significantly higher risk now than you will be after you are deployed."

He thought to his own heavily modified weapon "Lightsabers are the purview of the Jedi, I don't know know what is takes to tinker with one but if you need tools find me later and I can find you something."

  Batch nodded his head to Charlie. "He is correct, we have plans and contingencies ready. We have done this before. But, I'm guessing you are asking for purposes of learning tactics. We will get our intel on the last jump and that one is fairly short so the battle conditions shouldn't change much. Regardless, we will jump in system just out of range of the battle and wait for orders before we move in."

  "As for a place to perform weapons' maintenance. The aft engineering section has a couple of fully kitted tech workbenches. You can talk to the men in that area and ask to use them, I'm sure they won't mind if the crewman there aren't in the middle of some equipment repair themselves."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:09, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

"Your guess is correct, Captain," the Miraluka replied respectfully.  "The Temple tends to stress history in their lessons in the field of tactics, so I thought it would be prudent to get a better understanding of the more current methods of weathering conflict.  Forewarned is forearmed, after all."

Nodding his thanks to the two of them, he smiled.  "I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you both.  When we are finished here, I will find my way to the engineering section, then.  It is, in my opinion, important to make sure tools of defense are in working order before stepping into an area of open conflict."  While Tarrin was not afraid, he did feel that it was important to not be foolish.  He had been handed the lightsaber attached to his belt less than half a day ago, and it would be prudent to understand its inner workings at the very least.

Den is silent for now, as his mind wanders to the library back in Coruscant. He knows he should focus, but he remembers reading about an ancient Jedi battle that had occurred that he compares that to what he's experiencing now.

K1T1 looked to the Jedi, almost studying them while Ferruwi spoke with the Captain. She waited until the young one was finished before speaking calmly.

"Sir, if there is anything I can do to assist you in this matter, I am of course, at your disposal."

  The fleet commander was about to respond to Tarrin, when K1T1 spoke up. He looked at a datapad, and scrolled through it. "Ah, yes. K1 unit. I see that you are a slicer. The ground forces will surely appreciate you cracking the systems at Nemoidia. I'm sure you will help uncover much to help us end the war, along with several other slicer units already there. But, here onboard, everything is running fine. You can sit tight, and... relax or recharge or whatever it is that you do on your downtime."

   He shifted his gaze back to the blind padawan. "We are done here, if there are no more questions."

"Master Yoda says that learning is an eternal journey, never a destination," Kalyx mumbled.
He waited for the other two to take the lead on productive use of the two days. He wasn't a mechanic, nor as good a librarian as Den, but if that was what was on offer, then so be it.

  The fish-like alien Jedi responded, "Thank you, Captain. We will keep ourselves busy. If you need our assistance, don't hesitate to ask. You and your brothers in arms have done a great service for the Republic and it goes too often unappreciated. But the Jedi do appreciate your efforts."

  Batch seemed a bit surprised at the comment, but nodded and responded sincerely. "Thank you, ma'am."

  Jini turned to the other three Jedi padawans. "Since Tarrin would like to tinker with his weapon, I can help instruct all of you on lightsaber construction. I'm no expert, but I can show you the basics while I help Padawan Feruwi. It will be a good way to pass the time, I suppose."

K1T1 nodded at the Captain's dismissal, then moved to where Jedi Master Jini and the three padawans were, listening to the amphibian as she spoke and offered her advice on lightsabre construction. Once the discussion was finished, the droid moved into the Jedi Master's view.

"Master Jedi, if I might have a moment of your time? I was given a message that I think you should see first."

"Nothing says image training isn't useful learning on that path, my friend," Tarrin replied to the Trandoshian with a grin and a good-natured clap on the back.  "If you would rather not do it alone, I will join you.  After all, we probably have the time to spare while we are in the ship."

Letting his hand drop back to his side, the Miraluka turned to face the Jedi Commander.  "I would appreciate the opportunity," he said, nodding more deeply to show his gratitude to her.  "I lack the experience with these devices in particular and would rather not have some untoward accident.  I have read extensively about their structure, but theory and practice are often quite different things."

Den approaches his fellow jedi, "It would be greatly appreciated." He says with a small smile and a nod. "I, too, have read about the ancient weapons of the Jedi. The lightsaber is such a fascinating weapon considering they are relatively new in terms of history of the Jedi."

  The meeting was adjourned, and everyone filed out of the room. The captain headed back to the bridge which was closed after the captain went in.

  Jini looked at the T1, and gave her a silent acknowledgement, then spoke to the others. "You three make your way to the engineering section and see if we can get a workbench. I'll will join you shortly."

   As the others went down the main corridor leading aft, she walked the droid to right, around the forward docking ring access, and stopped at the door to the bridge.
 

    The Jedi Knight joined the three padawans who were able to obtain a workbench easily, since the ship was in dock for several days and all of their equipment had already completed all maintenance required and both are available.

  The padawans gather around as she steps up to the table, listening to the thrum of the hyperdrive engines as Jini began to instruct them with her own blade on how to disassemble the lightsaber so that it can be modified, and goes into more detail about the components. She talks about the crystal focusing mechanism that generates and directs the plasma beam. The coil redundancies, magnetic aperatures that focus the magnetic beam that contains the plasma flow and allows it to perpetuate the energy back and forth from the hilt to the focus point of the magnets which determines where the blade ends and the plasma flows back to the hilt. She also goes over the capacitors, couplings and various other subcomponents necessary to achieve the magnificent weapon's energy output equal to the heat of a star. She then put the weapon back together and stepped aside motioning for the Miraluka padawan to step forward.

  "Tarrin, the Ilum crystals in which is used for your blade, and most of those used by the Jedi, have several ways to modify them to be more efficient. Adding conducting coils to allow better flow of energy will increase the temperature of the plasma. You can add as many as four coils to this (OOC: generates +1 damage). Adding another magnet ring, through the focal array will also make the weapon oscillate at a higher frequency (Vicious +1 quality). You can also add an inductor feedback loop to the capacitors so they discharge at a higher rate (Decrease the weapons crit rating by one). Which modification do you want to attempt?"

 

Stepping forward, Tarrin considered the Commander's words carefully.  Each component had its own benefits, but which would really be best for him?  There were many aspects he looked for in a weapon, but what aspect did he really need the most?

Taking a deep breath, the Miraluka closed off his senses as he often did when he was going to sleep.  Since he had no eyes and instead saw with the Force, often times he saw too much information.  While other races had difficulty using the Force to perform feats with their senses as his did, the Miraluka had problems from the opposite end.  It was not a matter of using the Force to aid their perception so much as it was trying to stem the rapid stream of information assaulting their senses.

Slowly, he shut down his senses of all the lives of the troopers in the ship.  Next, came the hum of the ship itself.  After that, he slowly turned down his perception of the other two Padawan behind him.  And finally, he let the strong Force presence of the Commander herself ebb from his mind.  All that was left was his lightsaber at his hip and himself.  Reaching down with his right hand, he detached the weapon from where it was hanging and held it before himself in both hands.  Pouring his focus into the device, he examined it, felt it, peered into its depths with his mind's eye.  He let go, searching his feelings and letting those guide his decisions.

Conducting coils would add raw power to he blade, but that was not who he was.  The style of how he used the lightsaber with Makashi was more like a swift, flowing river than the wrath of a rancor.  He fought with finesse and force of personality.  Maybe at a later point in time he would add another magnetic ring, but what he needed now was to cause the capacitors to discharge at a higher rate.  It would add intensity to his lightsaber style instead of power.  The difference was subtle, but there was most definitely a difference.

"I will add an inductor feedback loop, I believe," Tarrin finally replied to Jini, extending his senses once more to their normal range.  "That should be the best thing for me."

With that, he stepped forward to the table, setting his lightsaber at the center of the table and spreading the tools around it in a semicircle.  Then, he took the first tool, taking apart the housing to expose the inside, acknowledging the points that the Jedi Knight made from over his shoulder as he began to add the extra component inside while making sure not to alter the angle at which the crystal was focused significantly.


15:43, Today: Tarrin Feruwi rolled 2 successes, 1 threat using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 1P 1B 3D with rolls of 2(A), 6(A), 6(P), 3(B), 5(D), 5(D), 4(D).

  The Miraluka completed his modifications and connected the coupling to the power flux unit. He picked up the hilt access panel and put it in place to cover the components, and secured the bolts in place. He turned it on and it ignited, then shut off, then ignited again and did that over and over again rapidly until he shut it off with the thumb switch to stop the oscillations.

  Jini stepped forward and informed him, "that usually happens if the capacitors are not firing in the correct sequence." She knew the fix, but let him figure that out on his own.

  Padawan Feruwi could feel the capacitors firing and understood right away. He tweaked the voltage regulators and used a scanning tool to check each voltage output and then adjusted them to the correct timed pattern. He re-assembled the parts and this time his blade lit up and stayed on, the plasma stream hummed with unbridled energy, smooth and powerful as he swung it through the air to test it. Satisfied, he shut it off and clipped it to his side.

  "Well done, padawan. You have taken the first step toward your own lightsaber creation," remarked the Mon Calamari woman in her watery, high pitched voice.

Kalyx frowned at the show of technical proficiency here. He had read a little on the saber maintenance, but in truth was a poor mechanic. Nonetheless this is yet another useful lesson, and he persevered to improve his weaknesses.

Rolling the shaft of green light around his body he studies the more primal elements rather than the internal power flows. The handle itself and its relationship with his clawed hand. Trandoshan padawans were rare, Jedi more so. These standard models were not really designed for his kind. He closed his eyes and imagined the changes he would need to bring more balance to his grip.

"Master Jini, iss there not something we can do on the hilt itself? Some loopss or ridgess to better my clawss purchase?..." he asks the Jedi.

Den nods, watching his fellow padawan alter his lightsaber to improve upon it. "Most impressive, Tarrin. I'm not even certain I have the hands to do such intricate work." He looks down at his hands, wiggling his fingers.

  The blue-striped alien Jedi Knight tapped the bluish scales on her chin, and squinted her large, deep set black eye as she thought about it. "We would normally just re-design the entire hilt, but we don't have the resources to do that, or the time. For now we can weld some metallic rings or ridges on the hilt. It'll make it harder to add modifications later, but it should give you a bit of a better grip for your claws. Why don't you see if you can find something that we can weld to the hilt in here."

  Around the room it is full of containers, bins and tools. The two workbenches are there, and two monitoring consoles. Currently there is just one person in the room, other than the Jedi. She is a stocky human woman with long, wild blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail. She is wearing a Republic fleet officers uniform, and sits at the console going over reports on the data screen.

OOC: Kalyx, make a perception check to search for something that could be made to work. Difficulty 2 (2D), but one boost (+1B) since you can tell what you are looking for. If you get the others to help you it can be a group roll or if they don't have stats to add it will just be a boost for the extra set of eyes, urrrm.. well eyes or Force sight..

  The ships isn't that big, its really more of a medium sized freighter, so K1T1's stroll through the ship doesn't take long. He arrived in the Engineering section, just as the Mon  Calamari suggested that Kalyx look for some parts to weld onto his hilt.

 

Kalyx drifts around the workshop crates and trays, looking for useful brackets and braces. He comes back with a couple of steel loops, and a hopeful suggestion that they may fit on his hand piece.
He offers them to Jini, clearly hoping she or one of his colleagues will at least guide him in the use of tools to work on the hilt. The last thing he wishes to do is damage his weapon going in to hostile territory.
"I really don't know where to begin," he mumbles.

OOC: Today: Kalyx rolled 1 success using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 2A 2D 1B ((3(A), 2(A), 8(D), 5(D), 5(B))).
Just cosmetic RP stuff. Balanced hilt later ;)

  Jini put her webbed hand on the tall reptilliod's scaly shoulder, and spoke up so the others could hear her. "I will guide you through the procedure. It is fairly straightforward. We'll just use a duralloy soldering wire, and melt the wire tip into beads along the gap between the ring and hilt with the plasma arc welder. Move it slow and steady to make it as even as possible." She used her long fingers to demonstrate the technique on her lightsaber.

 She cocked her large, fishy head to the side looking over at the other two Jedi, with a smile. "I'm amazed at how much training we are doing already without me even having to think of subjects. You three are making this temporary mentoring very easy."

OOC: You can make a group check with Jini. The difficulty would be only 1 for the cosmetic change. You can use her mechanics skill rank of 1 and your INT of 3 and a boost since they have a full stocked tech bench. (1P 2A 1B 1D) for the roll.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:10, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

The droid made the last of the trip and wound up where the Jedi were working on their weapons. Each seemed to be coming along in their own fashion, and K1T1 surmised that the group would have their weapon modifications completed long before they were to arrive in the Separatists' system.

It moved to where the Republic officers stood in the Engineering section and approached the closest one. "My apologies, but could you tell me if there is a Droid technician on this vessel, and where I could find them?"

  The heavy set Fleet officer swiveled around in her chair as the droid spoke, causing her blonde pony tail to swing around to the other shoulder. She smiled at the dark metal droid, causing the skin under her speckled hazel and brown eyes to crinkle. "Well, well. A K1 unit, interesting. Droid tech, that would be me, mainly. I have done extensive repairs on all types of units. I have another crewman that is part of the Engineering group and he has some experience with droids.  On this ship it is just the two of us officially. The cargo operator also has some maintenance duties to help us out. He might be able to do some minor fixes for you. But if you get really messed up, you'd better come see me. I am Lieutenant Gada Chirris."

 She looked over a screen again before continuing. "I don't see a K1 unit on the ships roster, so you must be with the Clones or the Jedi over there. What is your designation?"

Den sees all this success from his fellow padawan and now wants to join in, though he thinks modifying a lightsaber is something he is not ready to do. "How many modifications can we perform on our lightsabers? Is there a hard limit on the improvements we can make? I'd like to add additional coils if it's possible."

The Droid bowed slightly to the Republic Lieutenant before it spoke, the feminine tones almost sounding pleased. "Lieutenant Chirris, a pleasure to meet you and my apologies. I am K1T1 and currently attached as a Protocol unit with secondary computer information gathering and slicing support for the Jedi under Master Relliri."

Kalyx sets to the task under Jini's watchful eye. He wields two loops with precise skill, testing the hilt as he does. As he attaches the off side hooks he gets carried away in his enthusiasm, sliding the plasma torch neatly across his left wrist. Crying out in pain he backs away from the workbench, clutching his arm. In a moment he is grinning at the master again.

"Lost concentration right?" He asks.

On the bench lies a finely put together piece of work, if mostly unrecognisable as a traditional lightsaber.

OOC: Today: Kalyx rolled 3 successes, 1 threat , 1 triumph using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1P 2A 1B 1D ((12(P), 1(A), 4(A), 1(B), 6(D)))

  The Jedi Knight nodded in approval. "Excellent job, padawan. I think even the engineering crew would be impressed with your arc welding work."

 

Den Jaxon:

Den sees all this success from his fellow padawan and now wants to join in, though he thinks modifying a lightsaber is something he is not ready to do. "How many modifications can we perform on our lightsabers? Is there a hard limit on the improvements we can make? I'd like to add additional coils if it's possible."

  "Yes, Padawan Jaxon. It depends on the attachments and crystals, but a handful usually. You can make modifications to the crystal and some of the components by just adding some small electronics coils, wiring, capacitors, etc. Each attachment can be modified a few times to improve it. Though it becomes increasing difficult due to the tight fit of electronics to install and not short it out. So you have to be a pretty skilled mechanic to make two or more modifications. You try too much and you could pretty well ruin the lightsaber and have to rebuild it. I'd be happy to help you modify it, as I told Tarrin. The same choices apply to you and I will help guide you through the process."


   

Den nods and looks for appropriate parts to add to his lightsaber. After carefully opening it and inspecting it carefully, he starts adding the appropriate parts. He has a lot of difficulty in putting it back together. It was as he expected. He doesn't quite have the careful fingers for the intricate work. When he actually did finally get it back together, he smiles and pushes the button to activate. Nothing. His shoulders slump as he goes back to the workbench to try again.

After a while, he starts getting the hang of it, finally putting back together with the guidance of Jini. This time, after assembly, it hums to life. He quickly turns it off, nodding in approval.

11:31, Today: Den Jaxon rolled 1 success, 4 threats using the Star Wars Edge of the Empire with a dice pool of 1P 2A 1B 3D.  Lightsaber.

  It was getting late, the modifications all took some time and it was well past dinner time in the 'mess hall', which is what a ship's crew calls the dining room. The Jedi Knight complimented Padawan Jaxon on completing his modification successfully, albeit after a few tries.

  The fish-headed alien then turned so that she could face all three Jedi students. "My master had a saying: One often can learn three times as much from failure as from instant success. I thought that seemed odd at first, and that he wasn't as wise as I thought. But I eventually learned.. I was ignorant. You really get to understand things better by figuring out what went wrong than doing it right the first time and not thinking about how and why it really worked. Since this is part of training, hopefully you have learned more about the components for your sacred weapon. I felt I learned something as I tried to figure out what went wrong that I didn't know or think about before. Anyway, it is getting late and I am starved. Our training session is done for the day. Grab some food, get some rest and meditate in the morning on all that you have learned thus far. You three are well on your way to being fine Jedi Knights if today was any indication."

OOC: maybe have the hilt give setback to non Trandoshan users? I don't really need it to have anything special. Happy to play it as a quirky alteration for narrative purposes. :)