Log:The Blade That Was Broken

The Blade That Was Broken

OOC Date: January 16, 2016
Location: Nar Shaddaa
Participants: Narsai Ordo, Rax Vaelus

Rax Vaelus marches down the descending ramp of the Infiltrator like a man driven. His eyes are wide but focused and his expression grim. His grey greatcoat flares wide at his heels, occasionally catching the wind and flying high in twin tails. As soon as he his pavement he is heading toward the Thunderheart, at speed.

From near, or almost certainly 'in' the turbo-laser turret Narsai climbs...and nearly bumps face-first into Rax. A blink, a pause, she looks down at his hand and her eyes widen in surprise before she nods wordlessly and gestures to the Thunderheart. "I'll set to work on it," she says with a nod, wiping her face and unknowingly leaving a smear of grease on the bridge of her nose. "But with all the pieces, I can finally get somewhere." Seeing her brother climb back aboard the marauder and the others drifting away she tilts her head to the side. "How?" she finally asks as she starts to walk towards her ship, noticing Sorsha clinging to Ori now.

Rax Vaelus mutters as he walks with Narsai toward the Thunderheart, "It's a very, very long story..." He looks as though he may actually be about to explain... But he glances sidelong toward Sorsha, who is groping Ori, and he shakes his head. "I'll tell you later. But things did not go as I had hoped nearly from the beginning." Walking swiftly, his expression settles into a faint, irritated grimace, making good speed toward the Thunderheart. Almost as an afterthought, he adds, "Nice Marauder."

"We've got time," Narsai says as they climb the ramp, rolling up her sleeves and waiting till the man joins her before sealing the ship. "Even with the Crystal, the work will not be instantaneous." She moves into the central lounge now, clearing a space as she sets down a cloth sheet and moves towards her quarters, where she'd kept the rest of the weapon. "Tell me what happened."

Slowly unfolding the brown cloth, a new lightsource suddenly geams in the space of his hands. Opening them up, a glowing blue jewel rests between his hands on the tiny blanket of the brown cloth he was keeping it in. "Well, there was that one time that a masked Force wizard attacked us on Serenno...or when I got tracked to Tatooine by him...or when Ax of the Waywards went psychotic and threatened to kill me. Then put out a 50,000 bounty on my head, which I claimed... So he could hand me over to someone who didn't give a care and immediately released me..."

He shrugs, slowly setting the jewel down on the cleared space, still on the cloth. "Then there was the mysterious, crashed Jedi Starfighter I found on Bimmissili, that lead me to a lost world of apocalyptic cold, where there wasn't a single Force-cursed crystal of the right size... Until that mynock Kirk Applestar managed to bumble his way into activating the laser drills..."

He shrugs. "It's been a bit of a year."

"That bounty was from Ax?" Narsai repeats, but she drifts to silence as Rax continues his story, listening to how he first found the starfighter. Moving her hands slowly to take the crystal she shivers a little, feeling the 'coolness' of it even through her glove. Not like the spine-chilling cold of dread, but of comfort like a drink on a warm day. "This is the real deal," she says softly to herself before looking up at him while she reaches for an eyeglass to inspect the crystal for cracks or damage. "You know, you once promised to tell me where you found it. Way back when you first brought this to me."

"Yes, it was. They attempted to interrogate me. It did not go well for them." He smiles coldly. "Needless to say, the Waywards made a very unfortunate enemy for themselves that day. I'd given the First Order nothing about them, yet Ax went completely insane. More insane than you know." He leaves that vague, for now. But then he...blinks at her, when she reminds him of his old promise. He'd truly forgotten. "...So I did. Very well."

He shrugs, sliding his hands into the pockets of his coat, "...It was on Ord Mantell. I was fifteen years old. I'd just escaped from an Imperial prison, after they destroyed my father's pirate vessel." He smiles grimly, "I hid in a pile of trash in an alley. As I was cowering in the dark, trying not to choke on the stench, I saw a glint of light. I grabbed at it, and pulled out a mummified arm...followed by a face. In robes."

He shakes his head slowly, "I don't know how long she'd been there. Years. Decades. Centuries. Millennia. But they were Jedi robes...and the glint of light...was that." He nods down to the electrum-embellished saber.

She listens quietly, no words till the story was finished and she gives a quiet little breath. "A pirate prince," she says softly, her hands moving to the precision tools set on her belt while she begins setting things out. There's no rush to her motions, everything is careful and almost ritualistic while she sets things up. "So you took the lightsaber and carried it all this time while you traveled, using it in your battles and to earn a name for yourself, a reputation?" she questions of the man.

Rax Vaelus smiles wryly, "Yes... Though..." His eyes flick away. "Now... Now I almost regret that Kirk activated that laser. I'd renounced the thing. The Force, if it has pull in the Universe, was doing its utmost damnedest to keep me from Ilum... To keep me from locating a crystal. To keep me from reactivating..." He looks down at the lightsaber, "...her weapon."

His eyes close slowly, and he hangs his head a bit. "I used that blade to carve a path of destruction across the galaxy. I have spilled innocent blood with it. Anything good and pure that nameless woman put into that blade, any dreams she had for its future... I have scoured them black. As black as the spaces between the stars."

He sighs suddenly, looking up and off to the side. "I'd left the saber behind. Set it before the crystal bigger than I was. I'd relented, surrendered to the will of the Force at last. ...And that idiot carves this thing out of the pristine wall of crystal." He shakes his head slowly. "What a waste."

"Then..." Narsai says slowly, looking up at the man. "Perhaps that was the point?" The mechanic looks at the crystal, staring as if she could almost see something beneath that blue surface but still speaking to the man softly. "You carried it for the wrong reasons and it was taken from you. Maybe something didn't want you to have it back until you'd...I don't know. Thought about all you'd done with it, what you wanted to do next." Slowly her fingers move to open the precision tool set and she starts the task of opening that electrum casing once more. All slow, all smooth, almost religiously. "The very first time you showed me this thing I felt...wonder, but something else. Not just because I'd never laid eyes on a lightsaber before, or that it was a challenge I'd never seen before. Even Mandalorians know that these have done great things, or terrible things."

She looks up at him, finally and tilts her head to the side. "When this is finished, when I've rebuilt it. I've had to swap parts, replace others and fix many. This crystal is yours. This lightsaber? It'll be your lightsaber. Not hers. So the question is what are you going to do with it next?" The redhead looks down at the casing and she gives a little dry laugh. "I am going to hand it to you. You could probably cut me down with it right afterwards and it's not likely my vibroblade or blaster would stop you..." That last is said calmly, a look at the man suggesting this is more something one had warned her about then something she truly expected.

Looking down at the partially disassembled hilt, Rax does not immediately answer her question. The silence lingers, and it's nearly two minutes before Rax speaks again, "...I don't know." His eyes lift to hers, even though she's likely working on the saber again by now. Either way. "The Force won't speak to me. All these years that I have carried that blade, not once has it revealed itself to me...except recently, and at the hands of another."

Shaking his head slowly, Rax's eyes are closed. "I'd hoped Ilum might hold answers for me. But even there, in the shimmering light of the crystal cave...there was nothing." He shrugs, "I don't really understand magic... Or Fate. Or destiny, for that matter. It's not really about the...power, I suppose. I've just always kind of wondered...why."

He tilts his head with the last word, narrowing his eyes. "Why her? Why there? Why was her arm stretched out to me? /Me/ of all people?" His brow furrows, and he shakes his head again, more firmly, "I get the distinct impressed that the universe is dicking with me, and I would like to know why."

He sighs, losing the anger. "But most of all... I think I am tired. Tired of fighting it. I knew it was a Jedi's weapon. I always knew. But to hear someone else -tell- me that she was a great master. That it had history. That...hurt. I'd taken her hopes and dreams and coated the galaxy in blood with them. So... I don't know."

"Then," Narsai says slowly as she takes the casing apart. Already his eyes would be able to see the new parts that had replaced many of the old, machined and produced with utmost care. The power cell is a little bigger then the ancient one, the weapon might even be the slightest bit heavier with the new materials, but everything had been produced to be as close to the original as it could be. "I'd like to hear about her some time. To learn who she was. But for now? I want to make you an offer." She pauses for a moment, carefully removing the crystal seating in the housing bit by pit with a held breath before she continues. "Take the lightsaber and come with us. I'm not asking you to be a Mandalorian. I'm asking you to be a friend. You want to fight for something with meaning, more then just spilling blood for the sake of blood? Fighting for the person next to you is the place to start." She holds one of the old pieces, broken and battered with time. "Maybe you'll feel like your old self when you feel it alive in your hand again, or maybe you'll feel like a new man with a new blade. I'm not asking you to plan on being a hero of the down trodden on every rock and moon and I'm not telling you you need to live up to the person who held it first. You just have to let it sit right with you."

The raider's eyes narrow. Not with malice, however. Clearly considering her words, Rax is slow to respond. "...I don't actually know anything else about her. Until a few weeks ago, I didn't even know that much. And my contact has dried up." Watching her work, the new components are just as alien as the old ones that he had never seen. Finally returning to the offer at last, Rax's eyes close. "I will...consider your offer."

Suddenly furrowing his brow a bit, Rax glances down at his gloved hand, giving it a testing flex. He seems to be considering something new as he watches his fist thoughtfully, "...A new man...with a new blade, you said." He turns his hand over. "There was a girl. Selino Antilles...or Dooku, whatever her name was. She called to us over Serenno, as we were staring down a Super Star Destroyer. She begged us for help."

He shrugs, "I voted to go because I wanted that wizard's crystal. But... As the Force-wave dissipated I was free to move. I ran to the man's cut down saber. Only a few steps... But then I stopped, and considered trying to save the girl." He grimaces, brow furrowing, "...Right as she fell."

He leans back a bit, staring at the ceiling, "...I've often wondered what might have happened if I'd run straight at them, tackled the guy off the roof. We all would have fallen. But at least it would have been something."

She's silent as he tells his story, after all she'd heard parts of it already from other sources, but nothing so personal in detail from Rax himself. Her hands slowly work the rest of the casing apart, clearly checking every last part very carefully before she's going to assemble and activate the blade. Last thing she needs is a weak part exploding or something like that. "You'll have to live with that doubt then. Even those force wizards can't change the past, let alone your and I." Placing aside one tool she moves to the next, very clearly almost done with the disassembly. "You can wonder if it would have saved her, or if both of you would have died...but it won't change what happened now." Moving now she takes a breath, reaching for the crystal. It's time to start.

Whatever answer he was going to give her dies as soon as he sees her take up the crystal. Seeing the frozen bolt of plasma, jittering in the air before him, and the outstretched hand of the man in the black mask, Rax slowly narrows his eyes. His hands lower to his sides, not quite curling into fists. He's almost as tense as Narsai herself. Watching. Waiting. ...Hoping.

Narsai's hands work. She's practiced, talented...but something isn't working. Her face shows her frustration as she adjusts, tweaks, frowns and even mutters a curse. After all this time it's almost like the lightsaber was puting up one last fight. Closing her eyes the woman sets her hands aside, clenching and unclenching them a few times to catch her breath.

Then she opens them again and those emerald orbs carry a bright focus to them that hadn't been there before. Her movements are light, precise and neat. It's no longer a work of machinery and tools, it's almost like the weapon has finally decided it wants to be assembled. That blank crystal, only just 'born' after being carved into existence from the cave's wall. When the last piece of electrum plating is put back into place the woman lets out a long exhale of a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding and lifts the hilt gingerly. She blinks a few times and stands, stepping away from the work surface into the clearer space and then finally holding the reforged hilt out to Rax. "Do you want to do the honors?"

Narsai Ordo gave you Lightsaber - Rax.

He seems a thousand yards away, from the way he looks down at the saber, standing slightly profile to the Mandalorian. It's not immediate. There is a short span of heartbeats during which he simply stands there, staring at it as though from afar...

But he nods, and takes a step forward, grasping the offered hilt. Gloved fingers slowly tighten around the black grip, and he takes back the blade that was broken. Turning aside, Rax regards the weapon, tests its weight... And he nods, his eyes slightly narrowed with grim intent. Whipping it back, he suddenly thrusts it outwards, away from them both, pressing the activation switch at the apex.

Rax Vaelus depresses the gold button on his lightsaber. Suddenly a blinding bright blue energy beam extends from the metal hilt with a snap hiss!

There's pride. The smile is pretty plain on her face as much as in her eyes reflecting that glowing blue blade. She crosses her arms, not stepping back while he tests the weapon. The warm light and humming sound filling the ship? It's music to her ears at the moment. All that time and effort, her hard work and focus has paid off in that ancient blade reforged. "How does it feel?" she finally asks of Rax quietly.

Rax Vaelus grasps the hilt with both hands, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Making a few, testing gestures with his forearms thrusting forward to jar the weapon, he nods. Whirling it very slowly around the back of his hand, he nods. He straightens, holding his left arm out. For those who know, he tests hit locations one, two, three, four. Over left, over right, under left, under right, looking like figure eights to the uninitiated.

Finally, he just looks down at the electrum, chrome, and black grip, considering. "...You've increased the weight. The balance is better. I can spin it more easily. ...You've /improved/ it." Disbelief. He slowly looks up, his cerulean eyes matching the blade nearly perfectly. His tone is one of the utmost sincerity. "...Thank you."

"Well," the redhead says as she steps back now, but not out of fear. She gives him space to test the weight of the weapon and leans against the wall of the Thunderheart, watching him closely and inspecting that form and technique. "If someone is going to get a weapon right, it might as well be a Mandalorian." Uncrossing her arms she smiles again, looking at the wman. "I guess now you get to use it to improve yourself then, huh?" A wink of one jade eye and she chuckles. "I wouldn't go carrying it openly through the streets. But when you need it? It'll work like a dream."

Lifting the hilt, Rax peers at it closely. "There's someone on Coruscant who can read this writing... I think it's time I spoke to him again." Tucking it away into his coat, he nods, turning to face her. "You've done me a service I cannot repay, Narsai... Consider me in your debt. When the Thunderheart goes to war in the future, I go with it."

Looking off to the side thoughtfully, he nods. "I think I have a good idea of where I need to go next." He smirks, looking back at her, "These parts couldn't have been cheap, either. While I cannot repay you for what you've done for me...I /can/ repay you for parts and labor."

A shake of her head, some of that loose ponytail dropping to leave a stray bang obscuring her eyes before she tucks it back. "You can pay me when you've used it, what you feel is fair." A pause from the Mandalorian and she looks at him. "I'm aware you could take it and run without a single credit paid, but then that's on you. A weapon is made to save your life. When it's done that? Then you can pay me." Taking a breath again the mechanic chuckles. "I've just built something most people haven't seen their entire lives. That's not exactly a small thing to me."

Thinking it over, Rax suddenly reaches into his coat and whirls around, the blade coming to life as he rakes it through the air. The bright blue blade becomes a wide band of light, humming sharply as he brings it around and down, whirling it around himself. It's really a very simply maneuver, but the trails of light, the thrashing hum, and the blaze of chrome and electrum make it all seem much faster than it is. Several quick strikes through the air, and underhand disarm, what might be a parrying riposte, Rax moves through the motions of the blade he has known, comparing it to the blade it has become.

Pausing for a couple breaths, Rax suddenly swings one way, whirls back around the other way, and pauses as though frozen, eyes narrowed in mid motion at an unseen enemy. Nodding in satisfaction, the blade sliiiiiides back into the hilt, and Rax grins over at the curvy Mandalorian. "Somewhere, there are Force spirits spinning in their afterlife, at the notion of a Mandalorian-made lightsaber, you know."

The woman laughs, even as she watches the strikes and techniques, similar in some ways to her own blade techniques and in other ways very different. It's a different blade after all! The woman moves to sit herself down now, resting her backside down on the same table she'd just assembled the weapon and giving a shrug of her shoulders. "Well, they can go space themselves. Noone makes a weapon like a Mandalorian and there's no weapon like a lightsaber." She pauses again, leaning forwards and resting her elbow on her knee as she continues to watch the swordplay. "Do think about my offer Rax, and when you need an ally? You know where to find me. Just...try not to break this one."

Rax Vaelus smirks, nodding back at her, over his shoulder, "Trust me, 'not breaking it' is one of my highest priorities." Glancing briefly at the table and where she sits upon it, Rax turns about to face her, wearing a faint grin. "I'll think about it." His grin fading into a faint smile, he nods his head one last time, "Take care out there." Turning aside, his eyes stay on hers, "I have business with someone on Coruscant..." He holds up the hilt, "...Someone who can translate this." Tucking it away, he turns and strides toward the exit hatch, stopping in front of it, with his back to her.

Turning slightly, Rax glances back over his shoulder, his eyes barely visible over his high, folded collar. "...Thank you. For everything." And then, he's gone.