The Force 101 (IC)

[Poliwirl100]

Gabriel and Lucifer tapped into the force as they had learned how. For Lucifer the force was lake a cool rush and took on a more physical connection for him. When someone around him began using the force a a pleasant coolness would radiate from them. As for Gabriel it had more of a mental rush and he felt it as a voice, not loud but as a bunch of whispers. It would be like standing in a room full of people who were whispering, you can make out a certain sound but you would be unable to make out what they were saying. Lucifer took off being the faster of the twins and the more excited of the two, his excitement nearly got the better of him when he nearly tripped after his foot got caught on a rock but luckily Gabriel wasn't that much slower and grabbed his twin's arm and helped him regain his balance. "Careful brother." Gabriel said before taking off again, only to be outpaced by Lucifer and Shade.

When the group reached the cave Lucifer shivered from the cold air the force was making him feel, Gabriel heard the "whispers" get louder yet they stayed just outside the range of being able to eavesdrop. "How are you here already?" Gabriel asked, knowing she couldn't have been THAT much more inclined to the force

"Well Sarina seems to come down here every chance she gets so I can't say it's a surprise. She probably knew it was here before the.....task was given." Lucifer said slightly smiling at the false breeze he was feeling.

Gabriel looked at his twin "How would you know that? You're almost never to be seen when she's around and when she vanishes you show up....or at least at our free time. Then when you two are together you're all...uh...moody."

Lucifer blushed beneath his dark fur and punched his brother in the arm "Claude ostium tuum, Gabriel" he said before averting everyone's gaze "L-Let's get going" he stammered before entering the cavern first to avoid any questions.

"I'll open my mouth whenever I choose" Gabriel mumbled and rubbed his now sore arm as Lucifer climbed into the cavern

"Careful it's really dark in here!" Lucifer called back to them only a few feet into the tunnel

"You're supposed to use the force remember?" Gabriel shouted back before looking at the others "Who wants to go next?"

[Eian]

Jeb sighed as he saw how quick Sarina, Shade and the twins moved.
He knew they were rather impatient and that could happen but losing them out of sight got him nervous. Hurrying in his step and taking advantage of his armor's enviroment protection he managed to catch up to Sarina and Shade, trying to keep a proper eye on all of them to keep them secure. Finally nearing them he took a quick look around at the crystals on the walls, he was speechless for a moment. His mind couldn't help but race at the idea of 'what if i had actually stayed here'.

The idea was more than plausible. Had Jeb stayed in the academy with the rest he would actually be a padawan by now just like them, on this very steps....
But he had already chosen his path, one that required a different but equally needed set of skills in this galaxy.

He snapped himself out of it quickly and concentrated in the task at hand "Carefull in there...you don't want the boogeyman to come out and get you" he said in a joking manner as he looked inside the completely dark cavern along with the rest , his hand on his pistol's grip, ready to pull it out of the holster should anything go south "Something doesn't feel right here..." he tought as he saw the rest looking concentrated only in the crystals.

[Buzzwolf]

"...They're definately down there...so are a couple lava rivers, lava falls, and pools of molten lava. but who's worried?" she rambled sarcastically Of course it's dark and dangerous, where else are you going to find saber crystals? she thought to herself, producing a small, high power flashlight and getting an odd look for it as Jeb commected about the 'boogeyman' "Boogeyman my ass...we're not three anymore Jeb...what...I like being able to see when i'm allowed..." she followed the fox, into the dark tunnel, hearing more voices approaching behind. the brothers, she could feel their presense and sighed. everyone seemed to be 'sensing' their crystals in this cave. She flicked the light off after a few minutes walking into the cave, a soft, warm glow replacing it from somewhere down the tunnel giving the cave an eerie light.

As the tunnel opened to a larger chamber, a few rivers of lava were visable criss crossing the chamber, tracks half buried and a long since used power station partially sunk in the lava "This is a different route than I took last time...must be an old power station that ran on the geothermal energies of the planet" the light was on again, and flicking around the room again. she closed her eyes and waved it across the room, trying to feel the energies she saught. something about the place felt odd, she could feel the crystals, but...something was between them..it almost felt like...a buffer of somesort...no emotion, no purpose. simply to hide something from force users, it felt like it pushed her attention aside making her focus on something else. she couldn't hardly believe something like that even existed. it felt like it was muting all her senses, not just her sense with the force, and she'd forgotten the 'oddity' a few moments later under it's influence, leaving nothing more than an odd feeling in the young force user "My uhm...crystals are this way..." she said, pointing off down one of the side caverns, visibly distracted by the odd sensation in the force.

______

"I sense it too" the shorter of the vixens looked in the direction. something felt horribly off, and she went wide eyed as a few of the students 'vanished' from the force "Something doesn't feel right at all...I can't sense any of the students...or that merc that went with them..." she said as Jeb vanished in the force as well. She nodded to the taller white vixen "Sasha and I can go check it out. we'll figure this out before things get out of hand." They each bowed politely to the master before turning and sprinting off into the Lava fields toward the cave that seemed to have swallowed up the students

[Takeru]

Marcus had closed his eyes and let his mind connect to the force when they had reached the bottom of the mountain. He had done this only a few times before, but it was always a rush for him. As he let the force take over his senses, he felt as if the air around him had turned to a liquid that flowed over everything, vibrations from everything giving off similar, yet distinct vibrations that Marcus could feel on his very skin. He felt something unique to him deep in the cave, as if it was his own vibration that he was feeling. His feet moved on instinct, his eyes never opening. He was drawn along the same path as Shade , the twins, and Sarina. He could feel them near him, their vibrations strong in his mind, due to their connection from training. He opened his eyes as something felt incredibly wrong for less than a second. He gasped as if something had sucked the very air from his lungs, and found himself deep in the cave. He gathered himself and took a few deep breaths as the feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come. He looked around to see with his eyes the others, and nodded to himself. Must have just been me not concentrating enough. A stupid mistake. he thought.

[Shade Leshyr]

The path into the cave curved sharply to the right, descending in a rapid spiral. Shade barely kept his footing on the strangely smooth floor, making his way into the cave slowly. His form bobbed at the edge of Sarina's light as he let go of his vision and reached out with all his other senses. The cave jingled with strange, twisting notes, each one vying for his attention and he wished he could give them all the attention they deserved, to unravel their mysteries.

The vulpine forced himself to focus, leading his steps toward why he was here. He didn't know he'd arrived until Jeb gasped, making the vulpine open his eyes to see, his eyes going wide in wonder. Sarina's light lit up the entire cave, crystal cluster upon crystal cluster casting it all over the room as every shard seemed to soak in the light and make it brighter as they cast it about in a rainbow of colors, ranging as far as the visible spectrum did, oranges singing praises with purples, greens standing guard against browns, blues mingling with silvers and through it all, the Force flared brightest of all.

Shade gazed around, wondering how he would ever choose just one or two with all the dazzling displays around him. However, as he closed his eyes, he could feel... a pull, an insistent nagging and his feet were pulling him along through a will of their own. He moved, wandering through the clusters, each foot stepping with a sureness he hadn't known since the jungles of his home. The closer he came to the pull, the more he came to hear a tune he hadn't expected to hear...

His mother had always been musically talented and Shade often wondered if that was where his connection to the force had come from, but here in this place, he heard, once again, the lullaby his mother had so often played for him. Tears sprang unbidden to his eyes as he stumbled toward the sound, his minds eye seeing his mother standing there, bathed in lights and music and as he drew closer, there was his father next to her, smiling proudly at his son, They reached out to him and he brought his hands up to take theirs...

Then they were gone and Shade could feel the strange warmth of the crystals beneath his palms, vibrating with raw energy. He opened his eyes, blinking away the tears as he looked at the formations. It was the first time in years he'd reflected on homesickness, always so caught up in his learning and yet these crystals had reached into a part of him that had been ignored so long and brought these memories to mind...

Jedi can't have attachments...
He reminded himself silently, staring at the crystals for several moments... Then he took off his back pack and got to work. There were tools in the pack and he used them to slowly extract a crystal from each formation, his hands moving with a will of his own. The components were there and ready, but he started with the casing... Using a small plasma cutter he cut out the tribal figures on a pair of casings, stowing it away and assembling his lightsaber with the force as his guide.

Soon they were finished and he held them up, reading the words aloud. Activating one, a vibrant gold blade sprang to life, "Mom," the second sprang to life in a flash of silver, "Dad." His parents were in a past he could never go back to, but now his parents would always be with him, guarding him...

He heard other sabers spring to life around him and smiled for the accomplishments of his friends, but then movement caught his eyes. Swinging his gold saber around like a flashlight, Shade saw nothing... But a strange rock formation... It was dead to the Force and Shade approached it as curious vulpines are apt to do...

The formation turned and Shade glimpsed serrated teeth moments before something larged slammed into his chest, sending him flying to land in a heap at Sarina's feet.

The beast towered over them, slashing out in a rage, smashing crystal clusters in its fury as it stomped toward them. Blaster fire struck its face and seemed only to enrage it further as it tore at everything in it's way, huge claws flashing in the light...

[Takeru]

Marcus followed the others as the path curved, and could feel something new, yet strangely familiar. He reached out with the force and closed his eyes. He recoiled as he was met with hundreds of vibrations in the walls around him. They all reached out, in all directions, as if they were searching for something, trying to connect to it. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Suddenly he felt a pair of vibrations he could have sworn was his own. Each called to him in turn, one at a time. They called to him patiently, and he was compelled to answer, and didn't even considering trying to resist the call. He opened his eyes to find himself in front of a vein of dark-blue crystals. His hands, guided by the call, reached for the tools he had been given, but not instructed on their use. He watched as his hands cut a crystal from the wall, as if he was watching another person do it. He closed his eyes again and felt the second vibration, and was once more willed toward it. Again he opened his eyes, this time finding himself in front of an emerald green vein of crystals, and proceeded to extract a green crystal. He sat down on the stone floor, setting his pack in front of him. He laid the pieces of two sabers in front of him, setting a crystal in the relative place. He looked over the pieces carefully, and once more felt his hands guided by the force. They moved quickly, assembling one, and then the other, sabre. He looked over their completed forms, and held them in front of him in the reverse grip. He activating them both at the same time, the blades forming and 'x' across his face, which was now bathed in the lights from the saber, casting a cyan color over him. He smiled proudly, and felt a strong connection to the weapons.

Marcus was pulled from his blissful state as he heard, then saw, Shade knocked off his feet. He turned to face the giant rock monster and a look of shock came over him. "What IS that?!" he asked, falling into a combat stance. He wasn't nearly as talented as some of the others in his group, but he could hold his own... in training at least. This was new, and he could actually be hurt... maybe even killed... Marcus flung those thoughts from his mind and looked at the others, then nodded, and charged.

[Poliwirl100]

Lucifer smiled at the cool rush he was feeling at the crystals that surrounded him, they all felt so cold which was a relief after being on this planet for so long. He nearly gasped when he felt his hand touch something bizarrely cold. When he opened his eyes he found himself moving yet not thinking as his lightsaber was beginning to be constructed. The handle was much longer than the normal sabers and therefore required twice as many crystals. He breathed easy as he watched the saber build itself. When it was constructed he activated it, quite pleased when both vibrant green blades appeared out of the ends. When he turned after hearing the collision of body and ground he nearly jumped at the thing that seemed to be getting more and more angered by the minute. He glanced around and saw that Gabriel was still in construction of his lightsabers and sighed "Fine I'll handle it my....self?" he seemed to question as Marcus charged the creature "Ahh you idiot" he said as he followed suit knowing full well they might get killed

Gabriel on the other hand was taking his time constructing his weapons, they were delicate as they made a shorter blade and had two handles per saber. Once finished he activated them as two brilliant blue blades came to life with that unique buzzing that the sabers generally make. He wielded them by the handle that stuck out in a 90 degree angle as the blades traveled up his arms, each one reached his shoulders. He was pleased but knew there was a matter at hand. He stopped and helped Shade up "Any ideas?: he asked once he helped the fellow vulpine to his feet. Once Shade was up he reactivated his blades and spun them in his hands so they were in a more offensive position

[Eian]

Jeb reacted quickly as he saw Shade getting launched in the air by the beast, he quickly pulled his pistol out and took 3 straight shots at it's face, all 3 of them seemed to not affect it however "Dammit!" he yelled out as he tried thinking of some way to slow it down...then he realised there were some loose rocks on the ceiling of the cave, they would not destroy that...thing, whatever it was, but they would at least slow it down enough for the rest to get their crystals if they hurried.
another 3 consecutive shots from his pistol with dead on accuracy, this time aimed straight at the source of one of the stalagmites of the cave wich made it fall down, barely missing the beast and stopping it momentarily before it broke down the obstacle, leaving big pieces of rock scattered in between itself and the group

"Agh. How i hate being f---in right" he said to himself thinking back at his boogeyman comment, even though he was thinking of a creature of more fleshy composition than this monster. He put his pistol away and pulled out his vibroblade, figuring that laser firearms weren't able to get through it's skin. He had dealed with a lot of things before, but never a being made out of rocks, he was prepared to fight to protect the padawans either way.

A firm hand on his blade, and in a defensive stance, he stared at the beast and prepared to counter whatever it threw at him.

[Buzzwolf]

Sarina followed her own senses as the others split off to gather their respective crystals, hers though, took her down another tunnel, and into a dark cavern, the mass cluster of crystals stopping some thirty or forty feet behind her. 

Sitting in the middle of the dark chamber, was a pair of rather unique stalagmites, unique in the sense that they were not normally found on this planet and that they were spiraling around one another as they reached for the cavern ceiling high above. Ancient pieces of lava rock littered the ground around them, providing some basis of rocks to climb, but at the very top, in the short space that separated the tips of the stalagmites, were the crystals she sought. A single pair of flawless emerald crystals. 

She remembered the awe of it all the first time she'd found this place, the beauty of the crystalline cavern had her staring in wonder at all the beautiful saber crystals of every color surrounding her, each calling out to her in their own way. But there had been another pair, this pair atop the spiraling stalagmites, that had carried a different tune in the force, they called out to her, not louder than the others, but sweeter, softer. An island of calm among the chaos of the many voices. 

Many time she'd tried to reach that pair of saber crystals when she was younger, and each time she'd failed. Each time falling short of meeting that resonance they gave off in the force, a pair of perfectly balanced, flawless crystals. Their impression in the force the exact mirror of the other as if together the two were one. 

And today, was the day she would finally meet those crystals. Through her sense of the force, she'd crafted the hilts of her sabers to perfectly fit the pair of crystals, the resonance amplified to create a pair of the most beautiful blades when power was put to them. 

She stood at the base of the formation, looking up at it in awe, no matter how many time she came here, she always found herself awestruck by them. 

She ran a hand over the smooth rock face, this would be her test. The force would guide her to the pair of crystals. She closed her eyes as she circled the formation, looking for the place the force would have her start. Her hand ran over a small crevice, and she stopped. No more than a few seconds later, she found herself atop the formation, guided jump to jump by the force till she was nose to nose with the impression the crystals made in the force. 

Up close the crystals were more beautiful than she could have possibly imagined. The tools she carried seemed to move on their own, and soon enough, the crystals were rolling back and forth in her hands. 

She sat on the small ledge just below where the crystals had sat, a rolled mat coming from her pack carried all the tools and pieces she needed for her sabers. Her hands moved with ease across the the pieces, constructing the blades as if she'd done so a thousand time before. 

The shimmering emerald blades sprang to life in her hands as she lifted them before her. They were perfect, one designed to be held up, the other in a reverse grip, each with a slight angle to tip the blade from the hilt. Two halves of the whole. 

She didn't have time to admire the further as a wave of panic washed through the force, and the blades vanished as she leapt from the ledge, crouching as she landed on the ground far below and dashed off down the tunnels to where the other padawans were. Why could she only feel their emotions? What was going on?!

Her blades snapped back to life as the crystal chamber glistened before her, only to have shade crash to the floor in front of her. She stumbled to a stop, the pair of blades coming up in a defensive position. Her eyes going wide, and her ears dropping some as she saw the creature climbing to it's feet before her "...shab"
______

The pair of vixens were getting closer to the cave when they both felt the wave through the force and picked their pace up, reaching the cave entrance in no time at all. Their blades sprang to life in their paws as the darkness of the cave surrounded them. The darkness didn't so much as slow them down. 

Both could feel something very wrong in the force. The shorter of the vixens charging in full tilt, putting a shoulder into the creature, aided by the force to lessen the impact on herself and stunning the creature "get them out of here!" she auspices at the other vixen, the rock beast already recovering "This isn't part of their training!" one of the brilliant white sabers flashed out as the creature swiped a rocky mitt and she leapt over it, now having it's full attention

"this way! Quickly!" the white vixen ushered them the direction of the tunnel leading to the surface

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade sat frozen in terror as the beast seemed to get stronger and stronger as its rage rose. The rock formations falling on and around it only enraged it as its massive hand closed around the rocks, crushing them in its rage. It reached out its large, clawed hand to snatch up Marcus, yanking him off his feet, snarling as the young padawan slashed out with his sabers. Twisting its hand, it flung him straight at Lucifer, roaring in pain as its hide hissed and steamed. It rose up to charge... before the small, vixen projectile, empowered by the force, slammed into its side.

It picked itself up off the ground as the vixens urged the group to hurry away. Driven by fear, Shade twisted around, holding his sabers in a death grip and sprinted for the exit. His instincts were overpowering his sense of duty to stand and help his master against the beast as he ran, even his curiosity forgotten in the terror. The beast swung its arm at the saber-wielding vixen, missing her by mere inches, it's appendage slamming into the wall. The already weakened ceiling shook violently, rocks cascading down on the escaping students.

The short vixen held the beast off with short strokes of her saber as the students escaped, the taller vixen calling out to her as the last rushed out. However, the call distracted the vixen long enough for the large behemoth to snatch her about the middle, flinging her to the back of the cave heavily. It turned, facing the taller vixen, bellowing in rage that its prey had escaped, rising up again to charge, but as it rose, the vixen raised a hand weakly and the cave shook even more violently, splintering and caving in. A large piece of rock slammed into the beasts head, making it let out a pained roar, backing up into the cave reflexively and the short vixen smiled softly as the cave gave way, falling in on itself, burying Jedi and Beast in a tomb of solid rock.

The short vixen's impression on the force vanished...

Shade gasped for breath as he fell to all fours on the surface, the hot air burning his lungs...

__________________

Meanwhile, another group of students were in a flat out run, trying to get back to the Academy. Their newly created sabers bounced around at their belts. One of them tripped, a young vixen, and the others turned, rushing to help her to her feet when the voice rang out. It was synthesized, a droid, "Condescending Statement: Run little Jedi, run. You can't possibly hope to get away from sophisticated models like us when your construction isn't complete. Amused Query: Where do you think they are running to?"

A second voice in the steam that rose from the lava answered, also droid in nature, "Amused Speculation: I do believe they intend to race us all the way to their Academy." A third droid chirped up, "Statement: We can not allow them to reach their master or he may prove to be a wrench in the gears. Let us finish this." Three shapes appeared in the steam, hardening into black armor plating as three HK-150s broke free of the veil. The assassin droids had their rifles raised, but they stopped as a young female Twi'lek activated her double bladed saber, standing between the droids and her friends.

"Run..." the Twi'lek said with a determined look on her face. The center droid piped up, "Surprised Query: You intend to fight all three of us alone? A gross miscalculation of abilities on your part Jedi. The droid raised his rifle and fired...

The bolt flew back, taking off the droids head, the remains dropping to the ground in a twitching heap. Ven-Notch's Violet lightsaber hummed threateningly as he stood between the students and the two remaining droids, his face set in a protective determination, "What are assassin droids doing on this planet, hunting my students?" The droids were silent for several moments, then the one on the left spoke up, "Statement: Your time has run out Jedi, our employers have made that clear. You may destroy us, but more will rise from the-"

The droid slammed into the rocky formation behind it, impaling many vital systems. Ven-Notch's lightsaber split the final droid through the chest before flying back to his hand. The blade winked off as Ven-Notch turned to the padawans, "Hurry back to the Academy and barricade yourselves in the library." With that, he raced off, following the flow of the force...

[Kiva Darkbane]

In a panic Ashley tripped over her self "This is why I stick with books" Ashley thought to her self. As the other students ran over to help a jedi appeared and faced off agent the droids. I sat there stunned as the jedi took each one out with such ease "well. . . i cant do that with books" Ashley got to her feet as the jedi ordered they go barricade them selves. Once all the students got into the room the strongest ones began blocking the door. Ashley sat there quiet head low the words echoing through her mind "your time has run out. . . that cant be good. . ." Ashley Tied her light sabers to her arms "I hope i don't have to use these for a while. . ." Ashley then sat and meditated to calm her mind. hoping to detect other droids that might approach.

[Eian]

Jeb had ran outside of the cave with the students, looking back at the collapsed cave. His hud showed a chance of survival rate...it was little to nothing "Great...this day just keeps getting better."
He looked back at the group, all of the students seemed to have gotten out safely, Checking his gear he noticed the distinct crackle of a rifle firing off in the distance, something was happening closer to the academy "We have to go back. Now"

Swiftly putting his blade back in place, Jeb kneeled down next to Shade, who was still breathing heavy over the exposure and running away from the cave "You ok, mate? think you can walk?" he was trying to asses the situation quickly, things were getting too dangerous around here way too fast, but he had to keep a calm head if he wanted to be of any use right now.

First a beast made out of rock formations, now rifle fire in the distance, just what the hell was going on?

[Takeru]

Marcus growled as the beast picked him up, slashing at it with his new blades, only to find himself hurled toward and into Lucifer. He quickly untangled himself from the other, and stood up to see one of the masters coming to help them. He followed instructions quickly and ran for the exit, deactivating he lightsabres for now. As he entered the tunnel he heard the cave start to collapse and quickly turned to look, his eyes growing wide as he saw the rocks begin to fall, encasing the short vixen in solid rock. He reached out with the force, trying to find her, but couldn't. "No!" He shouted, closing his eyes and focusing harder, reaching through the rocks to try and find her. After a few moments he would give up, and stare at the rocks before turning to the others and saying, "we should get to safety..."

[Buzzwolf]

Sarina tore blindly after the vixen, a fear in her eyes of something she had no knowledge of, and couldn't sense even the slightest impression of in the force. It went against everything she as ever taught! Everything made an impression in the force, from planet sized silent behemoths, right down to the smallest grains of sand! Yet this monster made of solid living stone left no impression!

She almost got knocked from her feet as it made another attempt at her, only managing to dodge clear hearing the sound of the swing coming, and even then, she could feel the draft it carried.

She scrambled to her feet as another tremor shook the cavern, she looked back in a panic just in time to see the smug look of her master pulling the cavern down around herself and the creature before vanishing entirely. It barely even registered in her mind. Every part of her being was simply telling her get the fuck out. This was waaaay above their heads. 

She didn't notice as her still lit sabers cut glowing streaks into the walls of the cavern. She collapsed with her hands on her knees, the twin emerald blades hilt pressed heavily into her thigh panting heavily. 

As her mind finally began to wind down, she noticed the blades were still on and flicked them off, letting them clatter and chip the lava rock in front of her. Her master was gone. She couldn't feel her in the force anymore. Her pupils dilated as she realized the beast had been too much for even the best of the Jedi.

No. She wasn't supposed to feel fear. Not like this. The Jedi were a force for good. A power even the old with couldn't overcome. Something as simple as a rock monster shouldnt scare her. 

Her impression in the force changed as her mind started to focus and work. Her confidence and control returning to her after the panicked flight. She was a mando for fucks sake! This was little stuff compared to what they'd been known to deal with! She scooped up her sabers and hung them each at her belt, ignoring the cuts and scrapes she endured from the sharp lava rocks all around them. Her chocolate and gold fur now stained with blood and ash, her ceremonial garbs shredded where they'd rubbed with the rocks around her. She ran the back of her hand across the side of her jaw, looking down at the fresh blood dripping from it for a moment "back to the temple then" she flicked the blood away, spattering it on the ground as she started toward the temple, wincing as her leg nearly gave out under her to an injury she hadn't realized existed till then.

Sasha watched each of them a long few moments. Intended or not, this test had just become so much more for the young Jedi. Her danger sense now passed, the twin crystal blue sabers of her own vanished, returning to her belt. She knew the girl would accept no help. "very well. The sense of danger is gone...we cab take it easy on the way back" she said as she stepped off at a light trot, doing her best to maintain her composure both in the force and outwardly for her students over the loss of a fellow master, and close friend.

[Shade Leshyr]

Shade looked at Jeb, seeming not to recognize him at first, but then he stood quietly, looking at the cave, wondering if it had all been a dream... but no, they were all hurt and clasping their lightsabers, numbed by shock from the sense of loss. Shade stepped up to the cave in, placing a hand on one of the rocks, not believing that the vixen that had been one of his masters was gone. He shook his head, and started mumbling in his native language, too low for the translator to pick up and then he was screaming "NO!!" at the top of his lungs, dropping his sabers and yanking desperately at the rocks, ignoring the protests of those behind him as he pried at the rocks, succeeding only in splitting the pads of his hands, the rock seeming to grow bright as his blood covered them.

Even when strong hands grabbed him and started pulling him back, he kicked and screamed, trying to get back in there. He shouldn't have run, he should have stayed and helped her! "Let me go," he pleaded, "let me go!" The next moment was a blur, but the next instance he remembered was being flat on his back with Sarina's foot pressed firmly into his chest. She glared at him and seemed to be about to speak. Something in the force told the remaining master that what she was going to say would be for Shade's ears only and she found herself quickly shooing the other students and Jeb back toward the Academy, hushing their protests...
__________________

The Academy itself was in chaos as the security teams rushed to their stations, many of them convinced that there was a full on invasion going on as groups of padawans rushed back, embellishing the stories of droids and foes in their panic. The other padawans joined Ashley and her group, speaking in panicked voices, all of them worried that this might be the end of the Academy and their lives, but others were confident that Ven-Notch and his fellow masters could handle anything, trading stories of Ven-Notch's timely arrival to help them out of their various situations.