Session 23: The Infinity Path, Part I

General Summary

Day 9, Evening
  Dal Konur, Dorsk 82, and Kyp Durron explain their plan to the three padawans. They plan to enact a plan that will allow them to eliminate all power structures in the galaxy and keep any person or organization from gaining power over others. They see the addiction to power structures as the true enemy in the galaxy, and if people everywhere can learn to live without the crutch of organized political power that it will lead to a philosophical singularity, allowing the galaxy to ascend to a new and better existence. When they are asked how they plan to possibly accomplish such a task, Dal tells them to follow them to the nearby mountain and it will become clear. Tomla doesn't trust them and so stays behind while Rin and Lem follow.    At the base of the mountain they find a large, ornate, and ancient stone door. The group meditate on the inside of the mountain and find that they can easily see, with perfect clarity, a massive room with a large, glowing dais and spires reaching far into the dark ceiling. They also sense a very large lifeform inside. Kyp explains that there is a vergence of the Force at this location, and the structure inside is a Star Temple. They plan to harness the power of the infinity gate within the Star Temple to instantaneously travel anywhere in the galaxy, eliminating political power wherever it can be found, starting with the dismantling of the Imperial Remnant and The New Republic, as well as the imminent Yuzzhan Vong invasion force headed toward the galaxy.    Moment later, the stone door bursts open and a colossal whuffa worm emerges and immediately begins attacking the Jedi. Kyp uses his immeasurable ability in the Force to life gargantuan boulders which he smashes into the worm over and over again. Dal leans into his strength with a lightsaber and slashes and distracts the worm. The worm grabs Dorsk 82 with its maw and attempts to eat him, but Dal is able to pull him free. Lem and Rin do their best to contribute to the battle, but the worm is nearly impervious to most attacks. Tomla, hearing the commotion, rushes over. She tries to sense the animal's mind and soothe it in order to resolve the situation without further violence, but the worm's mind is particularly strong and resistant to the Force. As Lem tumbles and strikes at the worm, it picks him up and bites into his torso, attempting to devour him. Dal and Dorsk 82 are able to break him free just as Kyp runs in and cuts the beast deep with his saber, ending its life.    Tomla is distraught and angry that the Jedi killed what is likely the very last member of a species. Kyp asks the group to pay their respects to the worm and uses the Force to move it to a resting place in a mountain crevasse.    Once they have a moment to collect themselves and address their more serious wounds, the three Jedi invite the padawans to come back to the settlement, New Bendu, to eat, rest, and discuss the situation. However, with the stone door open and the temple exposed, Lem says that he wants to see the Star Temple now. With it getting dark, and given the massive power that the Temple represents, Kyp insists that they wait until morning at least, as well as discuss and meditate on this before exposing themselves to the tempting power of infinity. As Rin and Lem ignore Kyp's concerns and head into the cave, Dal, Dorsk 82, and Kyp head back to the settlement. As they walk down the long, dark tunnel toward the Temple, Tomla keeps her feelings open in case there are more whuffa worms in the mountain. When they finally reach the glowing dais of the infinity gate, Rin sketches the cave and Lem investigates the inactive gate. After exploring and discussing, they realize that they don't know enough about the gate or how to activate it, and Tomla can't find any more worms, so they head back. Tomla goes back back to the ship to research whuffa worms and see if she can find out if there might be any more in the galaxy while Rin and Lem head to New Bendu.   At the gate of the colony, Kyp, Dal, and Dorsk 82 are waiting for him. They show them around and the padawans see some familiar faces, including Ismar Tun from Carida Memorial Station. Ismar reveals that he has been working with Kyp from the beginning and was on the station specifically to help assess whether Dal's padawans were good candidates for their plan. The fact that they were able to "rescue" Dal from the The Alderaan Raiders that "captured" him peacefully, as well as the fact that none of them attempted to utilize the power of the Solari crystal that he gave them, convinced Kyp that they were. After Lem has his wounds healed at the camp medic, he and Rin briefly join the Jedi at the colony mess hall.    Meanwhile on the ship, Tomla realizes when she is unable to access the holonet for her research that all interplanetary communications have been blocked, in a way that sounds very similar to what happened on Yavin IV. Concerned, she reaches out in the Force to sends a message to Lem, "come". Lem, hearing this, immediately grabs Rin and leaves the Jedi in the mess hall to head back to the The Mynock's Wing to talk to Tomla.    Back on the ship together, The Initiates takes time to discuss the situation. They all agree that Kyp's plan is intriguing and has its merits, but they can't get past the idea that they would end up enforcing their will and ideals on the entire galaxy. Tomla convinces the others to go to the infinity gate and use it to get off this planet, having Salty pilot the ship to Khomm and get a message to Lyshea about what's going on if they aren't back by morning. They also remember that Vass Manduc is still on the ship and that he will take over the ship and kill Lyshea if given the opportunity. So they have no choice but to take Vass with them to the gate. Rin leaves the instructions with Salty and discovers that his memory has been wiped.    When they get to the cave, they are shocked to find that Kyp, Dal, and Dorsk 82 are there waiting, expecting them. Hesitantly, they agree to enter the Temple together, Vass included. Once they reach the infinity gate, Kyp instructs them all to meditate together on Ismar Tun, someone they have all met. As they do, the portal opens and they see the Duro in his residence at New Bendu. Dorsk 82 steps through the portal, greets Ismar, and then comes back through. As he does, the group ceases their meditation and the portal closes. Dorsk 82 explains that the experiment worked perfectly, and interestingly, Ismar wasn't able to see the portal at all, so it seemed to him that Dorsk 82 simply appeared and disappeared. Lem expresses his disdain for this supposedly powerful infinity gate, wondering how appearing a kilometer away will help them accomplish their goals. Dal responds to him and the other padawans and asks them to think of any person in the galaxy. As they each consider carefully who to name, not knowing what the Jedi will do with this, Kyp becomes impatient and says that they have all forseen this moment and know who they will be visiting and who will name her. Dal turns to Vass and asks him to name the person he wants to see, knowing who it will be. The padawans, confused as to how the Jedi could have seen this future and know that Vass would be here, are horrified when Vass exclaims that he wants to see Lyshea so that he can find her and take his revenge. As he does, they begin meditating again and a portal opens, showing Lyshea in a dark factory, tied up and bleeding, with Rosk 5 torturing her. Dal tells them, "You may use the gate to help her if you wish. See for yourself the opportunities that this gate can provide us to help others. When you are ready to return, simply let us know and we will reopen the gate. Of course, you must say nothing about any of this to anyone. We will stay here and monitor you through the Force."   With that, the three companions walk through the portal and into an abandoned factory on Khomm.

Character(s) interacted with

Dal Konur, Dorsk 82, Kyp Durron, S19-A1, Ismar Tun, Lyshea, Vass Manduc, Rosk 5