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EXT. DEEP SPACE SILENT BLACK.
We sweep slowly across an endless tapestry of stars. A SHIP ROARS INTO FRAME: the N.R.S.S. CROSSROAD, a small scout vessel that moves under full ion thrust past the camera. As it does so, the camera tracks the ship’s path, thus bringing the Republic ship INTEGRITY into frame. 

INT. CROSSROAD COCKPIT
Piloting the ship toward the INTEGRITY is CROSS. She speaks into the vidcom:

CROSS
(tightly)
…my authorization code is DV-86-niner, INTEGRITY; Flight 5 Exploration. Permission to dock requested.

INTERCOM
Confirmed, ahh... Crosshairs; proceed on current heading. Welcome to the party.

CROSS
Glad we got the invite, INTEGRITY.

The group meets up with the Republic squad that is going to work it's way into the base on one of Corellia system's outlying planets. The general plans are laid out, and a partial map reviewed, and the group sets out. They arrive at the base in a Lamba shuttle hauling supplies, and proceed to offload to support their 'cover'. After the unloading, the cargo area of the base grows quiet while the group munches on MRE's in the Lambda, and the troops-plus-padawan contingent heads towards the base.

The entire group slips into the main security room. A quick scuffle ensues, but things stay quiet and the troops therein are quickly subdued. The insertion team quickly sets to work on the security measures in the base, and within about 3 or 4 minutes, inform the rest of the group that the security net has been temporarily disabled.

They are very wrong.

The padawans and Dev plan to spilt from the Republic troops at this point but never really get a chance to; as everyone departs the security room, several transparisteel blast-doors slam up from the floor, cutting the group into thirds. Dar and two troops head south down a hallway, Dev and Vai head east, and Cross and four other troopers try to figure out how to get out of the hallway intersection where they are trapped.

The various sections of the original group try to make their way through the halls of the base as transparisteel doors open and close around them. They begin to feel very much like lab-animals in a rather sadistic experiment.

Dar and his two close friends have something of a difficult time of it... eventually, trapped in a room not far from where he began, Dar finds himself sliding down a curving shoot. While disorienting, it doesn't seem to descend very far.

Dev and Vai fend a bit better, and while they hit their fair share of transparisteel doors, are working their way towards where the intelligence reports indicate that the Moff's quarters are.

Cross and entourage eventually work their way down to the main rear entry chamber, at which point all the doors in that area slam closed, and 8 light repeating blasters drop out of the ceiling. Cross' most viable move at this point seems to be screaming '"we're all gonna die!", but she opts for the second most-viable: dodging.

When the smoke clears, the troops are dead, Cross isn't hit, and a door to the east is open.

Cross has a bad feeling about this.

Dev and Vai locate the Moff... Lucky Them.

The Moff looks like he could stand in as one of Jabba the Hutt's bodyguards. He is close to 2 meters tall, and very well-built, seeming to stretch his uniform at the seams a bit. A thick Lightsaber hilt hangs from his belt, and he wears an ornate glove on the opposite hand. As Dev and Vai enter, he smiles, makes pleasantries, stands, and ignites his saber.

He looks quite imposing.

<p align="left">Dar and Cross find themselves routed to the same room, where they manage to avoid stabbing each other. They proceed carefully down a dark corridor, and into a suddenly-bright room filled a 'short' squad of six storm-troopers. The Troopers are very interested in Cross and Dar's surrender, and not at all interested in witty banter. It figures: they seem well-armed for the former, but ill-equipped for the later. Cross and Dar exchange looks, and slowly lower their vibro-knives to the floor (They were trying to be quiet.)

The battle royale begins.

Vai and Dev face off against Moff Vorhone. They don't fare particularly well. The Moff is very strong physically, and remarkably skilled with his Lightsaber, using in both the traditional blade, and the hilt (as a bludgeoning weapon). Shortly thereafter, the Imperial throws another wrinkle into an already rumpled mess: flexing his left hand and depressing some sort of pressure switch in the palm of his glove, the Moff ignites a small 'lightblade' whose emitter is mounted along the back of the glove. This makes things much more complicated for the Master and Padawan: in the following flurry of attacks, Vai is stabbed through right (?) shoulder from underneath by the light-blade, and Dev shortly collapses to the floor, holding a dangerous 'saber wound in his side.

(Meanwhile...)

Dar and Cross slowly lower their blades to the deck, BUT, as they stand up and strongly kick the knives over to the Troopers, they make their move: Cross pulls out both of her blaster pistols and lays down a heavy pattern of blaster fire, while trying to remain a difficult target. Dar produces his second vibro-knife, uses the blaster fire as cover, and charges the three troopers on one side of the room. He leaves the knife buried in the chest of the first trooper, renders the second one useless as anything but a boat anchor with his bare hands, and stuns the third. Cross likewise drops two of 'her' troopers and singes the last one (guess that nice white armor is good for something...), and calls for THEIR surrender. The troopers decline, and Dar and Cross end the fight quickly.

Vai, on the other hand, would love to trade in his current situation for a double-handful of Stormtroopers. His main arm is weak, his master is down, and his opponent is just getting warmed up. For a moment, Vai's concern over his perceived failure in this place threatens to overwhelm him with frustration, but he manages to calm himself. Using his speed against the Moff's strength, Vai manages to gain the upper hand for a moment. Although he sees the counterattack coming, Vai ignores everything else in favor of an up-swinging attack that takes off the Moff's arm between shoulder and elbow!

Vai's relief is short-lived, however, when he realizes that instead of smoking blood and the smell of burnt flesh, his success has been greeted with smoking circuitry and burnt synth-flesh! Is seems the Moff isn't the man he used to be. Still, even this machine-and-man monstrosity doesn't want to play the odds of a single glove-mounted lightblade against Vai's Lightsaber, and he retreats while he has the chance. Vai does not pursue.

Not long thereafter, Cross and Dar arrive on the scene. After stabilizing Dev, the three quickly scout out the Moff's chambers through which he fled. The Moff is long gone, but Cross locates several treatise on Lightsaber construction, a half-constructed saber and, wonder of wonders, several un-used Adegan Crystals hidden in a case with a false bottom. The crystal colors are red, amber, green, blue, white, and a smaller violet gem, possibly to be used in another infernal device like the Moff's glove. They quickly gather up the goal of their mission and flee back to the Lambda, where they discover the two surviving Republic troops. Cross takes the Lambda out of dock in a hurry, and flees the system before the Imperial's discover that the distraction the Republic planned was a Ruse.

The Crossroad eventually makes it back to Dantooine, where they report to the Council and turn over all their findings (although Cross did make a point of scanning all of the Lightsaber construction texts into the Crossroad's databanks). The council is grateful: so grateful that they award Cross with her very own set of Jedi robes.

Oh Joy. Oh Rapture.

Several days later, the Council awards the group with their pick of the looted Adegan crystals. Vai, with first pick for obvious reasons, chooses the Amber gem, since that is the color used in both his training saber and in his Master's weapon -- Headmaster Shadax comments after the choice that the amber crystal is a high-quality mephite Adegan. After some consultation with Headmaster Shadax (who is presenting the gems), Dar opts for the green, and Cross can't seem to decide. Were it not for her lingering unease over the very mention of Darth Vader, she might choose the red, but...

Headmaster Shadax quietly comments that Master Nalak's people, of whom only three have ever become Jedi, traditionally favor blue-bladed sabers. Nalak himself has an Adegan crystal with which to build a saber, but has opted not to, in hopes of finding a blue crystal. He suggests that Cross trade, since the blue crystal in the collection is of good quality. Cross is quite taken with this idea, and agrees.

Nalak and Cross confer, and Nalak happily gifts her with a fiery orange relacite Adegan.

The three padawan learners under Master Dev finally get some well-deserved downtime.

They proceed to ignore this, and work themselves ragged on self-improvement:

Dar is reveling in a much more physical regimen under Master Dev. MUCH more physical. Maybe... maybe... nah, it's not too hard, but he sure does need a (yawn) nap.

Vai is practicing.  Heavily.  When he's not eating or sleeping, he hones his Lightsaber skills.  In his mind, he failed in his Master and his calling miserably and wants to prevent that from happening again at all costs.

Cross is putting all of her considerable talents at research and study toward learning the ins-and-outs of Lightsaber construction. She and Dar do manage to get their first real sabers working, but only with a great deal of help from Master Dev, and Cross is unsatisfied with this. When she isn't memorizing the intricate circuitry layouts for a Lightsaber, she is relaxing by... working on a backup shield generator for the Crossroad. Like Vai, she has been somewhat shaken by her recent adventures, and wants very badly to be ready for whatever the Force throws at her and her friends next.

(Did she just say friends? Ooooh, boy.)

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