"It's just a matter of how each of us seek enlightenment, my Ithorian friend. You use the Force and meditation while us simpler folk seek solice in the bottom of a bottle of ration-can Vodka."

Erit nods.

"You are a wise man, Mr. Wayde. In your own way."

Jileeza laughs as though greatly amused, though it's not immediately obvious what has tickled her so.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Wayde, but I'm not really interested in rotgut. I'll just have to wait to unwind until we find someplace a little more civilized."

Erit perks up at the word "civilised", then walks off, concluding that his understanding of Basic must be somehow lacking.

Mak catches up with Erit and gives him a grin, "urban to the bone, these people. Point me to the nearest temple, I'm ready for some enlightment."

Erit lights up at that.

"No, my friend. At an Ithorian temple, enlightment is ready for you."

Aurelia listens to the conversation, and tosses a spanner at Wayde.

"All talk, no rock. Get to work." she grin and winks at the soldierly type. "If you're lucky and we get this stuff put back together in time, I happen to have plans for a um..."inter-engine fermentation system"...worked out for the Chance."

She smiles and heads back down to engineering to make more perminent repairs, after asking Erit, it a polite and rather hopeful tone, to bring her back some fruit.

The immediate interior of the Ithorian worldship is not unlike any other docking port on any other space station - a little less frequented, perhaps, but still recognizable as a docking port. Their repair facilities are adequate for what Aurelia needs, and she (with Wayde's help) set about fixing, not jury-rigging, the damage their ship has sustained.

The chief tech in the area, a wizened Ithorian named Mowmohon, gleefully accepts the bounty of Erit's plants (although as he would likely tell you, they are no more HIS plants than Wayde is his human, for example) and grants the usage of the dock's R2 units and power droids.

There is even a saloon, although it's nearly always empty except for the occasional trading ship or freighter crew.

Other than the "crust" of the ship, which contains the majority of the things that make it "shiplike" - docks, conning towers, weapons systems, auxiliary reactors - fully half the interior is comprised of an artificial ecosystem designed to recreate the habitats of the once-beautiful Ithor. Most of the Ithorians aboard the Spirit of Ithor live in communities surrounding the bulk of the jungle, though some live as hermits in the very depths of the habitat. It is there that nearly all of Ithor's force-sensitives go to meditate and worship.

That said, not every Ithorian is a peace-loving hippie hammerhead. It's not often one sees Ithorians decked out for battle, but the worldship does have a contingent of warriors and mercenaries.

Wandering around a bit outside the ship, Jileeza spots the saloon and decides to see if she can get a passable drink. If she can locate a bartender, 'Za'll ask for a glass of decent wine or a shot of something stiffer that wasn't brewed in someone's back yard.

After having completed the sacred ceremonies (which are a bit boring and long-winded even by Erit's standards), the Ithorian monk begins to wander around the worldship, asking the to-be-expected questions about the ecosystem of the worldship and the state of Ithorian hydroponics. After that, he heads for the local temple for some meditation and spiritual guidance, inviting Mak along - never know when you can use a Bothan.

Arnae gets a list of necessary parts from Aurelia and goes shopping. The necessary ones being, of course, the components for the shipboard still.

As Arnae, Wayde, and Aurelia get parts and get to work, Jileeza finds that the saloon, while hardly bustling, simply means that there's a better selection of well-aged vintages for her. Erit and Mak make their way into the Spirit of Ithor's ecosystem, towards the "temple" near the center.

Several hours pass, whittled away with hydrospanners, shocked fingers, samplers of Esoomian whiskey, butterwine, and Filthy Rodians, and the joy of communing with nature. Mak, on the other hand, finds out that Ithorian insects must think Bothan is tastier than anything else they could possibly eat.

It looks bad aboard the Chance - Patching the hull damage wasn't hard, but the deflectors wanted to stay down - when Aurelia somehow just "gets it". The ship's previous owner must have wired it the wrong way, or maybe this particular model should have been recalled, who knows. Whatever the cause, after hours of painstaking work, Aurelia makes the Chance's systems do her bidding without question. And the still works too!

In the jungle, Erit and Mak arrive at the temple, if it could be called that. A grove of trees twisted togther at the tops to form a living teepee might be a better descriptor. Inside, a handful of Ithorian priests are slowly going about their tasks. The newcomers feel the Force in this place - it's strong here, and a calming presence.

Erit breathes freely; the air seems to be even fresher here than elsewhere, and that's saying something. Calmly, he turns to Mak.

"You understand that I must ask you if you are really willing to walk this path. It will change you; the way you understand your present, the way you see your past, and the way you shape your future."

Hanging out in the saloon seems likely to offer a relaxing change of pace. Jileeza will chat with whomever seems friendly, while keeping a subtle ear out for interesting news.

Mak stops swatting at the constantly harrassing insects and thinks for a moment. The past is just memories, and memories change all the time. The future exists only in our imagination, often turning into the present in different ways than we thought it would. So what matters is the here and now, which are never the same anyway.

"There's nothing to lose, and an awful lot to gain. I'm ready."

(Edited by CuteMotherFucker at 12:12 pm on April 13, 2004)

Repairs to Chance nearly finished, Wayde sits down at the navicomputer plotting and programming figuring out how to install a [color=red:183cb8471d]"GO ANYWHERE!"[/color] big red button peripheral on the control panel.

The "G-A Button" would automatically plot a course to a nearby neutral system and activate the ship's hyperdrive.

Erit leads Mak around the temple, passing by other meditating Ithorians.

"It is not a great secret that the Force is with many beings; it is a simple fact of life that it binds us all together. Everybody has at least a limited, subconscious awareness of it. Call it intuition; call it a sixth sense, it's there, but not strong enough in most people to significantly affect them. There are theories, of course, but I have learned not to trust them. Science has it's place, but the Force transcends it by far. It is a matter of faith, in oneself. The Jedi dedicated themselves to understanding the Force. But they can not truly teach, because there is nothing to learn - the divine can not be learned, only felt and understood. The claim that they searched for people with high potential is evidently false; they recruited their disciples from those who had already made the first step. Once somebody comprehends the nature of the Force through it's guidance, the rest can indeed be learned under guidance."

He pauses for a moment.

"Ah, the Jedi. Noble though their goals were, they allowed themselvs to be tainted by worldly political goals, bolstered their ranks with scores of initiates who had not archieved true understanding. They spread themselves so thin that the few true masters they bolstered were overwhelmed by sheer force, if you'll forgive the pun."

He chuckles.

"The Sith, on the other side - they had been few and hunted for long. They knew how to keep to the shadows. A few Jedi, it is rumored, managed to learn in time. They are still hiding, waiting for their time...spreading legends of indefeatable warriors. They generate hope by perpetrating myth. A Jedi Knight is indeed formidable in combat, but the true power of the Force lies not in physical prowess. You have used the Force like a hammer, but imposing your will on it is a field that produces no lasting success. What you need to learn is how to read the Force, how to strengthen some aspects and to dampen others to archieve your goals. Understand that I am not a warrior and will not teach you to be one. However, I *can* teach you how to choose your fights."

After what seems like too much trouble, Wayde finishes with the "Go Anywhere" button. Without testing, of course. The astrogation coordinates it spits out seem to match up within the correct parameters, though.

At the saloon, Jileeza's reverie is interrupted as a shadow falls across her table. A human male stands there, just managing to position himself so that his head is silhouetted by the overhead lamps. As Jileeza's eyes adjust, she picks out piercing green eyes and a swarthy complexion, standing out from a close-shaved head.

"You look like you could use a drinkin' buddy, little Rodian," the man drawls. "Ain't many people know about Lou Jahk's saloon, but damned if it don't serve the best whisky in the sector."

Jileeza's initial irritation is softened by the human's words. "It would be my pleasure," 'Za purrs, gesturing towards a seat and flashing a smile. "Please, have a seat."

She pauses a moment to let him sit. "I'm Zinestra - Za' to my friends. Just arrived, and was lucky enough to stumble into this place. And you?"

The man takes the seat offered with a nod. "Name's Molan... Bak Molan. I'm between jobs and figured here'd be a nice place to spend some time. Peace and quiet, that sorta thang. Although it's nice to have a conversation with someone who don't look like a tree trunk, if yer catch my meaning. Speakin' a which, you hear anything interesting from 'out yonder'?" He asks, gesturing as if to say "those other planets".