Vandelhem's Open Terrain

It had been...what, a month? He had landed on the planet via his personal fighter, and locking it away in a hangar in RImma city, he had gone about the tedious process of purchasing a sand crawler. Yup. A Sand crawler. He didn't know what he had been getting into. Obtaining one of the massive land transports had required him to go through several legal restrictions, jump through hoops of varying sizes, and balance the proverbial credit on the tip of his nose. When he had revealed he was a Jedi, and none other than the infamous Deveaux, things had progressed MUCH more quickly. The idea was to turn it into a kind of mobile base for the Jedi on this planet...

He hesitated greatly to use the word "enclave" or "Praxeum"

But, rather, a mobile base. A place for meditation, rest, and coordination of operations. Towards that end he had purchased an ancient M-ETT, courtesy of Czerka surplus. Several million credits later, and he had refurbished the ancient machine up to more galactic standards...a complete refit had the inner surfaces gleaming, the ancient reactor replaced with a standard fusion generator, and gutting the machine of ore processors freed up space enormously. The outer surface he had armored, for protection, and then painted in sunshield white - to reflect heat. In red paint, the logo of the Jedi order was displayed rather prominently on the port and starboard sides of the great machine. Spare parts in the cargo bay, a vaporator assembly for water, and a triple redundant enviromental system meant the crawler was largely self sufficient...except for food of course. Stripping out the ore processors freed up space for some meditation rooms, some sparring areas, and some large spaces for training acrobatics and blaster deflection...while the top deck was turned into an observation deck under the heat resistant sails.

All in all...it was still greasy, dirty, and dusty...but it was home.

"No no NO!" We need to go OVER the hill, AROUND the bend, and DOWN into the canyon!"

Standing on the bridge of the...uh...well, he didn't have a name for it, the METT anyway, Dante Deveaux waved his arms about the spacious bridge at the pod of ten or so V-1 series pilot astromechs. In unison, they turned and looked at each other, before turning their domed heads back to him and setting up a raucous din of chirps and beeps. Originally designed for starship piloting and starship operations control, a new piloting module allowed them to jack in to the different systems of the METT and pilot it that way. Saved Dante having to have an actual crew...albeit, he had to fix some mechanical problems himself as a result. In all, it was a quiet ride...there were no other sentients onboard besides him, in fact. Indeed, the only things he had to deal with was this damnable pod of droids.

"Ok. Ok FINE! We'll go AROUND the hill, OVER the bend, and travel ALONGSIDE the canyon. HAPPY?!"

There was a chorus of assents from the droids, and their domes swiveled back to their respective stations. Throwing his arms up in the air, Dante started to stalk off the bridge before there was a series of chirps from V-4. Or was it V-5? Who the hell could keep them straight anyway - they all looked alike. Turning, Dante opened his mouth to shout at the droid again, but it chirped another long series of sounds at him, and he frowned.

"Wait...what? Someones approaching?"

Drawing close, he tapped a button to turn on the visual display for the droids station. He usually kept them off because it was a waste of power for a droid that could just communicate directly with the machine itself. On the screen, a small dot steadily approached the METT, and Dante frowned. Tapping a few buttons, he brought up a telemetry scan of it...the sensors unit positively identified it as a small speeder bike. Heading at a rapid pace from...where?

"Bring up long range scans. Where did he come from."

There was a whistling sound of agreement from the droid, a series of chirps as it processed, and then more data rolled across the screen. Telemetry said that a small starship had landed a long distance away, and that the speeder had departed from it. Where it had landed was unclear, only that once it touched down on the surface that it was largely shielded from scans, with the exception of some background energy emissions. Shaking his head, Dante straightened slightly and crossed his arms.

"...Bring us to a full stop. Monitor our...guests...progress. Give me a progress report every fifteen minutes, linked to my gauntlet, ok?"

There were chirps from the droids, and the usual rumbling of the METT slowly tapered off...to a low thrum, the massive machine coming to a stop in the midst of the desert. Going to his room, Dante put on his clothes, including his blast vest, and strapped his stun pistol to his thigh and his saber in its rig. Pulling his great cloak about him, he made sure his appearance was...presentable...he HAD been living alone for several months now. And then eventually made his way back up to the bridge. Hitting the comm station, he tried to hail the bike, which according to telemetry, was about ten minutes out now.

::This is the Jedi Peacekeeper Dante Deveaux, you are breaking my self imposed exile. If you have business with me, state it quickly, otherwise...leave. Be you friend or foe, it makes little difference.::

Headmaster? Of the Yavin academy? Dante tried to remember who that was...and then cringed: it had been a good four years that the Jedi council had sentenced him to exile on Dagobah, and another six months or so that he had been on Vandelhelm. He was, sadly, out of touch with the goings on of the Jedi. That an the fact it was a droid was unusual...though by it's face...why was its face familiar?

"Diamonte? Diamonte's droid?"

That would make sense. Monte was an artisan...figured he would send a droid. Was Monte at the Yavin academy now? A greeting from a headmaster was too notable to simply turn down with ill manners. Perhaps Monte, er, his droid anyway, could tell him who this headmaster is. Clearing his throat, Dante hit the comm once more.

::Very well. There is an aft garage bay with room for your speeder. You have permission to dock there. If you are not who you say you are, I'm going to turn you into scrap.::

Peacekeepers: a little more rough around the edges than most Jedi, a little more in tune with the "common" folk. Not all Jedi were high and mighty knights and masters. There were also those that failed the trials, that were far closer to regular ordinary beings - to that lot more menial duties were given. And, to that group Dante belonged. No doubt Frore knew this already, and knew of Dante's...history...with the council.

Hurrying down the halls of the METT, Dante eventually made his way to the turbolift, and taking a quick ride about four decks down eventually arrived at the bottom most level of the crawler. Stepping out, he walked down the halls to the rear of the craft, and keying in a code, opened up the garage bay. Hitting another button, the outer doors slowly opened and the ramp descended, allowing a Diamonte look alike to walk his speeder bike in. Crossing his arms Dante waited for the droid to parks its speeder in the bay, before walking up to the droid to converse with it. Before he could speak though, the droid began to speak in a heavily synthesized though still recognizable tone of Diamonte.


Taking the datapad, Dante briefly looked over its contents before handing the pad back. It was clearly Diamonte's work...that combined with the holo-message eliminated any doubt from Dante's mind that this was some kind of...trap. Clearing his throat, Dante gave a stiff bow to the droid, and gestured to the crawler around them.

"I...er...that is to say I'm no Count. Not...not anymore at least. Just a humble hermit. My though, I must have been out of touch for a long time indeed: last I met Monte he was but a humble Knight artisan...to think he's become a headmaster! Then again, I myself have come far as well..."

Clearing his throat, he gestured to the droid to come in, and Dante went about the process of shutting the garage bay. Once sealed, he began walking back to the turbolift, talking to the droid all the while.

"Nearly five years ago I sat on the Council of Reassignment. However, an ill mission begotten by my own arrogance and impatience took the lives of many Jedi and several civilians...as punishment, I was exiled to Dagobah for four years. This was done relatively quietly...I wouldn't be surprised if you...er...your master...hadn't heard of it. Anyway...I don't feel as if I've changed that much. So, I continue my exile here on Vandelhelm...as remote as you can get in the expanse. Maybe I can do some good out here, away from a place where I can cause true damage."

Shrugging, Dante hit the turbolift button to ascend to the second deck (the first being the observation deck) and waited silently for the lift to come to a stop. Clearing his throat, Dante shrugged at the droid.

"It's, uh, an honor to be visited by a headmaster. Or his proxy anyway. I don't have a need for your shuttle...ALTHOUGH...if it has any weaponry on it, perhaps the METT could be retrofitted to have some defensive armament. The sensors could be given a boost as well...your help with this would be appreciated. Beyond this...I've been trying to survey vandelhelm for crystals appropriate for use in lightsabers. I thought that maybe I could at least be of SOME use to the order...but I lack the proper survey equipment, and knowledge, to complete this task. I'm a doctor, not an engineer. A fault METT track drive I can fix...but not divine a likely spot for crystal formations. Could you help with these tasks?"

Dante smiled wanly, and waved a hand dismissively.

"Oh, I'd hardly call this a "base"...more of a wandering habitat than anything. Yes, your appearance is acceptable...though somewhat unnerving; very realistic generators you have there. Eh...a sensor refit should do nicely. I'm not that keen on putting armament on this vessel anyway...this is supposed to be a Jedi outfit after all. Most threat we have coming this way is a sandstorm and an cranky desert worm...not much else that can't be dealt with either a saber or the force."

The lift chimed, signaling they had reached deck two, and Dante signaled for Frore to follow. Walking through the long tube like hallways of the METT, they eventually came to the bridge - a large squarish room with plenty of windows, consoles, and an impressive view of the terrain around them.

"Well, this is the bridge. As you can see I have a pod of ten V-1 pilot droids - adapted modules for terrain piloting of course. But, we've been having all kinds of problems with V-4 and the communications station. He cant seem to fix the holographic tank"

Dante gestured to a table in the center of the bridge, apparently a holographic generator that displayed terrain, sensors, and various other functions on the METT.

"Czerka tech is second rate it's true - but they built things sturdy. Thing is, its not very modular...getting new tech to interface with Czerka specific ports and modules is damn near impossible. Your help would be most appreciated."

Inputting coordinates manually rather than via droid, Dante nodded his throat at the suggestions and explanations, clearing his throat slightly as he worked.

"Uh...ahem...so Frore. Your master is a headmaster now? When did this happen? In fact...what exactly HAVE I missed, in the past five years with the Jedi?"

Slowly, the METT ponderously changed directions towards the shuttle at some speed, it would arrive within the hour. In the mean time...Dante's curiosity would most likely get ahold of him.

"And, for that matter, how is Adi the Watchman? Raven Alora? Devlin Dewe? How is....everyone?"

He wasn't exactly a favorite at parties - Dante knew that. But, despite his past with the council, he did his best to stay in touch with the goings on of the Order. Even if his best was a five year check up to see if anyone was still alive.

Dante openly snorted at those words, and slowly shook his head. Picking up a microprobe, he gently re-calibrated the newly repaired hologram emitter for his own eyesight - most forgot he saw into the UV spectrum as well...made things a bit more blue and purple scale than he cared for, but that was the truth of it.

"Posh. Initiatives? Secret Agendas? Sounds like the Order hasn't changed at all with its elusive machinations and vague mysteries. Don't presume I don't know of the secret things that lurk in the order, the shadows and investigators, that the order itself is..." there was a clatter, as Dante's microprobe tumbled from his hand to the deck plating, and his eyes seemed to gain a far away look. Several moments later his eyes seemed to refocus, and he blinked at Frore "I sense a disturbance in the force. The city is once again churning with intent and direction under the still living force...grave things are afoot...but I sense...something different. Someone different. A force-user has joined us on this world...a...Jedi."

A scowl stretched itself over Dante's face, and he manually increased the speed to the cave that the shuttle was parked at. Pushing the track drivers fast their safeties. He was certainly eager to get away from the city.

"Tut tut. Seems like the Jedi follow me everywhere in my isolation...seeking to draw me out of reclusion. Alas, my exile is not complete. The murders of Masters Borri, Thantain, and Dorex are still on my heart and conscience...I cannot return until I have found the balance I speak. Understand this, and report this to your master, yes?"