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walbournSolitude
Several days of trekking and camping in the pouring rain through the hazards of the Cularin jungle would probably dampen most anyone's mood. Dangerous mud slides that can cut out your footing from underneath you, raging killisan concealed by the thick rain, the constant splash from soaked leaves, and the isolation of being hundreds of clicks from civilization all ensure that even the natives would probably choose to stay indoors instead.
The truth is that Sara loves every minute of it.
She and Lu'Taak had left the Gadrin Groundsport just over a week ago in a battered YT-1300 transport registered as "Future's Hope" loaded with a stock of supplies. After an hour of tricky flying, they had set the transport down under the canopy of the jungle, covered it with a scattering net, and completely shutdown down the power core. Thanks to access to high-resolution terrain data compiled by the Cularin Militia, Sara had choosen the ideal spot a good distance from the nearest Tarasin territory, but still possible to reach by foot from Gadrin. A tough trek, but doable. If pressed, she felt confident she could get there from Gadrin in a hard two days of travel.
She was not, however, in a hurry to get back. It had been months since she could get away from all the pressures of life in Gadrin, and it seemed an ideal time to get some intense training in for Lu'Taak. The jungle provides opportunities at every turn to learn the Tarasin Way, and on a personal note she hadn't felt so relaxed in recent memory. It was easier to empty her thoughts when dealing with the day-to-day challenge of survival, and honestly she needed a break.
A momentary twinge of guilt at her desire to run off into the jungle to hide for a while came and went, as it had several times over the past few days. She had told Denny that she needed some time to focus on Lu'Taak's training, and that she had something important to do for their future together. While she could sense he didn't really understand what she meant by that, he had been supportive of her taking the time now. The wedding would be happening in a month, and it wasn't clear when she would be able to find the time before then otherwise. All those reasons were true and real, but she still felt a little selfish given how much she joy such an adventure brought her.
Finding shelter for the night, Sara and Lu'Taak spoke at length of the future. She had confided with him a bit about her vision and why she had chosen to buy a ship only to immediately abandon it in the wilderness, but for the most part she was trying to gauge his sense. As always, he was reluctant to express himself fully, but it was clear he felt the uneasiness in all the residents of Cularin. Many Tarasin felt it would be best to return to a policy of minimal contact with outsiders, and some irstats had begun to do just that. Lu'Taak had learned much of non-Tarasin in his time with Sara, but part of him felt that perhaps that was the best path for his people. For himself, he had started his path with Sara and would walk it to journey's end. Sara pointed out that they may be closer to the end of that journey than the beginning, and both sat in silence for a time.
Taking the first watch, Sara found a comfortable spot in the nook of a nearby tree. The spattering sound of rain against her poncho kept her focus, drowning out the urge to dwell on the troubles ahead. Extended her senses through the Force, she took in all the sounds of the jungle: tiny movements of the ground as the water trickled through it, a dozen tiny tree-lizards taking shelter under a nearby outcroping of leaves, Lu'Taak's soft breathing as he sleeps nearby, then a soft beeping. The unusual sound immediately caught her attention, and she focused to find it's source. Dropping quietly to the ground, she narrows the sound to her pack. Pulling out her commlink, she notes a blinking message light.
"So much for vacation," she thinks, taking out her datapad and linking it to the comm to quietly check the display without waking her apprentice. It was from Dennis, the only person she had given contact information.
"Something strange is happening with the Almas Jedi. Rumor has it some kind of big order from the Republic is coming down. Might want to get back here sooner than later. Miss you. Love, Denny."
Closing down the link, she stows the equipment again and takes a deep quiet breath. That sense of impending darkness was back, but she was grateful for a few days respite from its presence. Giving up their easy pace, they could make it back to Gadrin by late the next afternoon. She wasn't sure what exactly was waiting for them, but she felt at peace with herself. Her friends needed her, and so would Cularin, and while a time might come to return the way she and Lu'Taak had come to hide from the coming darkness for the sake of the future, she knew that time had not yet come.
Several days of trekking and camping in the pouring rain through the hazards of the Cularin jungle would probably dampen most anyone's mood. Dangerous mud slides that can cut out your footing from underneath you, raging killisan concealed by the thick rain, the constant splash from soaked leaves, and the isolation of being hundreds of clicks from civilization all ensure that even the natives would probably choose to stay indoors instead.
The truth is that Sara loves every minute of it.
She and Lu'Taak had left the Gadrin Groundsport just over a week ago in a battered YT-1300 transport registered as "Future's Hope" loaded with a stock of supplies. After an hour of tricky flying, they had set the transport down under the canopy of the jungle, covered it with a scattering net, and completely shutdown down the power core. Thanks to access to high-resolution terrain data compiled by the Cularin Militia, Sara had choosen the ideal spot a good distance from the nearest Tarasin territory, but still possible to reach by foot from Gadrin. A tough trek, but doable. If pressed, she felt confident she could get there from Gadrin in a hard two days of travel.
She was not, however, in a hurry to get back. It had been months since she could get away from all the pressures of life in Gadrin, and it seemed an ideal time to get some intense training in for Lu'Taak. The jungle provides opportunities at every turn to learn the Tarasin Way, and on a personal note she hadn't felt so relaxed in recent memory. It was easier to empty her thoughts when dealing with the day-to-day challenge of survival, and honestly she needed a break.
A momentary twinge of guilt at her desire to run off into the jungle to hide for a while came and went, as it had several times over the past few days. She had told Denny that she needed some time to focus on Lu'Taak's training, and that she had something important to do for their future together. While she could sense he didn't really understand what she meant by that, he had been supportive of her taking the time now. The wedding would be happening in a month, and it wasn't clear when she would be able to find the time before then otherwise. All those reasons were true and real, but she still felt a little selfish given how much she joy such an adventure brought her.
Finding shelter for the night, Sara and Lu'Taak spoke at length of the future. She had confided with him a bit about her vision and why she had chosen to buy a ship only to immediately abandon it in the wilderness, but for the most part she was trying to gauge his sense. As always, he was reluctant to express himself fully, but it was clear he felt the uneasiness in all the residents of Cularin. Many Tarasin felt it would be best to return to a policy of minimal contact with outsiders, and some irstats had begun to do just that. Lu'Taak had learned much of non-Tarasin in his time with Sara, but part of him felt that perhaps that was the best path for his people. For himself, he had started his path with Sara and would walk it to journey's end. Sara pointed out that they may be closer to the end of that journey than the beginning, and both sat in silence for a time.
Taking the first watch, Sara found a comfortable spot in the nook of a nearby tree. The spattering sound of rain against her poncho kept her focus, drowning out the urge to dwell on the troubles ahead. Extended her senses through the Force, she took in all the sounds of the jungle: tiny movements of the ground as the water trickled through it, a dozen tiny tree-lizards taking shelter under a nearby outcroping of leaves, Lu'Taak's soft breathing as he sleeps nearby, then a soft beeping. The unusual sound immediately caught her attention, and she focused to find it's source. Dropping quietly to the ground, she narrows the sound to her pack. Pulling out her commlink, she notes a blinking message light.
"So much for vacation," she thinks, taking out her datapad and linking it to the comm to quietly check the display without waking her apprentice. It was from Dennis, the only person she had given contact information.
"Something strange is happening with the Almas Jedi. Rumor has it some kind of big order from the Republic is coming down. Might want to get back here sooner than later. Miss you. Love, Denny."
Closing down the link, she stows the equipment again and takes a deep quiet breath. That sense of impending darkness was back, but she was grateful for a few days respite from its presence. Giving up their easy pace, they could make it back to Gadrin by late the next afternoon. She wasn't sure what exactly was waiting for them, but she felt at peace with herself. Her friends needed her, and so would Cularin, and while a time might come to return the way she and Lu'Taak had come to hide from the coming darkness for the sake of the future, she knew that time had not yet come.
