Post by Marshall on Apr 17, 2019 10:05:43 GMT -5
A short time after Solomon had left Dr. Azair and Jeryndi, Jeryndi would return to Breis with a very obvious and light hearted step to him... Excitement. Clear as day. "So!"
Breis and Dorara spoke across a low hook of frozen stone, Breis leaning forward on it, weight on his elbows. When Jeryndi's voice snapped into the air between them, he twisted in surprise. His focus went past Jeryndi, to where a tired Jujanaj Azair trailed in his wake, and then centered on Jeryndi again. "So? We have our mounts?" The big man straightened up.
"Of course," he said, nodding. He clapped hands together. "We've been discussing the Dreamers... Those who've woken up from it describe a sense of others. I felt it, too, when I was trying to take stock of the man I was working on... It occurs to me, it seems like it is a sort of synchronization... Either the Dreaming is -the- Form of synchronization or it is a side effect of it. We were talking about what could be causing it-- what is connecting them all? What if it's the Red itself? "
Breis frowned, shook his head. "I don't follow. What if it is? We can't get out of it unless we fix the Hapan ship, get rescued, or set out for the border you say exists near Keldabe."
"If we can successfully wake them up, there is much potential for more information... If we can find a way to bring them back..." He looked to Breis. "It occurs to me... If we have a way to bring them back... We might learn even -more- if one of us were too actually, willingly go into the Dreaming."
There was no such thing as privacy at Tal-Keb, just as it had been a myth at Tal Ruus. Only near the wakeks might one find time to be semi-alone, but being alone around giant angry carnivores and whoever watched over them might not have sounded terribly invited. Where Breis and Dorara were, people milled off-duty from their various tasks, not yet ready to sleep and face the fear they might not wake up again even with the use of the mysterious pods. A bit farther out, the nearest pair of sentries watching over the approach up to Tal-Kebii'tra could be seen, right at the edge of the visual distance allowed by the Red. Breis looked around to take note of who all was hearing this.
Rather than asking questions immediately or voicing any opinions, he nodded toward Jeryndi. "Tell me your idea in detail, Trander."
"There's a lot of 'ifs' involved," he admitted. "But those who have Dreamed that have come out of it don't remember much. Only a sense of there being others... And they all seem to be aware of each other. So... If we can find a way to bring someone back from the Dreaming... Someone trained, someone Sensitive, might go into the Dreaming. There's a chance we might be more aware of what's happening. A chance we might glean more information... I'm not back up to full strength with my Healing yet. And I've never tried to go into other people's dreams before. That was where the sense of others came from. Was from that attempt... But the more times I try, the more I work at it, the more efficient I'll get with it. If we can wake them up... One of us can go into the Dreaming willingly and another can pull that one back."
Dorara was quiet. She had an impulsive nature, a reputation for acting and speaking before thinking, but a particular recent experience in her life--months before Um-Shara--had been a lesson in biting her tongue and waiting an extra minute before responding to things. The disaster here compounded the lesson.
Breis, too, was quiet, as were those who had turned to listen to this, attracted by Jeryndi's excitement. For Breis, many thoughts collided in the shadow of this idea. After a long moment, he asked, "If such a thing is possible, your goal would be to find other sleepers?"
"My goal is to find anything that would be useful," he admitted. "I can't say what we'd learn there, if anything... But the possibilities are... Extensive. We may be able to find or identify individuals. Other sleepers. Learn about the invaders. Learn about the Red and its origins... It's a lot of 'ifs', but it holds so much potential."
It did. More than anything else the Mando'ade has thus far tried. Breis could see that plainly, but he didn't know how to process it in terms of risk. The easiest way was to say that Trander would be the only one lost if it went awry, which was fair, but Breis was a warrior and a leader. It was often easy to think that losing a lone scout was a small loss... until one considered that smarter preparation could mean the loss of no one at all. He stood just breathing again, chasing down the exact questions he needed to answer. "I understand Azalee put a... you called it a mark? In place? Does that mean she has some...." The big man looked to another face instinctively for help, but his gaze met Dorara's and she had no help to give. "... talent in this?" Like many before him, Breis felt the full chasm of the unknown stretch out before him, separating him from the arts of those adept with the Force. But maybe the answer was to approach this as he might any other uncertain operation. He cleared his throat. "You get together with your companions on this. Make me a list that I can understand that outlines all the safety precautions we and you have the means right now to offer you should you undertake this. List all goals, all potential pitfalls you can think of, and what you and your companions would do to counter them. I don't care how much vakishit you pile into it. I want the list. Make it real. It's got to be solid enough, and tempting enough, to outweigh your potential use as a defender here, or your muscle in helping us to find more water. Got it?" Which meant he wanted to say yes, but needed the incredible to be brought down to his level in this red-cloaked world.
"And if you think you might have to use pods, I want a number I can budget for. A real number. In an emergency, we give you up to that number and no more, and if you don't wake up again we will mourn you."
He nodded. "Fair enough... Before we do that, though, we need to see if we can actually wake up the Dreamers," he said.
"-all- of this hinges on -that-."
"Go, then. You have exactly as much time as exists before Captain Black and I gather everyone together to discuss our salvage mission to the graveyard, so hurry. If you haven't succeeded before that, I have to call it a failure. I want to find everyone I can. But now that we know the Hapans have a Plan B, we've got to do everything in our power to help make sure the next ship they send down here makes it in one piece. There's a big mountain range of fucked up rocks moving around overhead, and that second ship is just as likely to crash as the first if we don't get very clever very fast."
He nodded. "That's where I'll be," he said decisively. He gave a nod towards Jujanaj. "Take care of the wakeks for me if they get hostile... I don't expect that to happen within the next day or so." With that said he turned to go towards where the Dreamers were being kept.
He intended to go to the Dreamers when he'd turned away... But diverted his course towards his cousin after a few steps.
Solomon would be found in the company of a group of Mandals sitting in a rough circle, while he stood just aside from it with a spear in hand that was too large for him to hold. The length of the thing, and its apparent weight were too much for even someone of his six foot stature to handle well. It was something suited for a bigger being, one far more muscular than a lean and trim human from Corellia. The bottom of the spear rested against the floor of the formation they were in, while the tip was pointed up and was well above his shoulder's height. He was standing with his eyes closed, focused inward. What he was sensing for within The Force, concerning the spear, was the density of the material that comprised the thing. He was also looking for something within the weapon. Since he already had an idea that these beings were as low tech as they could get and very primitive in nature he was looking for something that was might have been a natural feature to the weapon -- a resonance chamber, perhaps. He was feeling down into the thing where eyes could not go, where mere hands could not feel, to get a better sense of what he was holding in his gloved hand.
Jeryndi approached him with some hesitancy... There was the sense that he was focusing, using the Force. Not quite introspection, so not meditation... So he stood beside him, uninterruptive and silent until Solomon came back to himself.
Of that spear: dense and strong, the haft. Not wood; metal only for the long, slender spearhead. It might have been bone--yes, or if not bone, then something like it, fortified with a resin. No resonance chamber. Even any hollow that might have been inside of it, if it was indeed bone, must have been filled with something.
He hadn't found what he was hoping to find in those few moments of feeling through The Force, but with a change at the edge of his awareness Solomon forced himself to pull back on what he had been doing. Someone had gotten close, someone was standing right next to him. That was disruptive enough in his mind to shut his efforts down in favor of being aware of what was going on within the physical world around him, instead of being focused on what was in his hand. Whatever it was, though, it was almost all completely organic in nature. He breathed out as he opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to look at who was standing there to find it was his cousin.
"That from the invaders?" he asked when his cousin finally looked at him. Meaning the spear.
Grot, who had tossed Solomon the spear for his inspection, headed back to pick up the last of his rations, just gesturing that Sol should put the weapon back with the cache when he was finished with it.
"It is," Sol confirmed, catching the gesture from Grot, "Apparently, the big guys can get them to emit some sort of field -- a barrier or aura, as I was just told. I was trying to see if I could sense any way within the thing that it might be possible."
"Ah... Makes sense," he said. "I have something I need to talk to you about." He was hesitant to approach the topic, but still... He dove right in. "So. I have an idea... It's gonna be really bad or really good... But I need you to hear me out."
"Not all of the big guys--" Grot started to tell them, because it was one of the few observations that seemed to have held true so far in sightings of the invaders. But with the shift, someone would surely tell the newcomers later.
That Jeryndi didn't seem intrigued at all about the idea caused Solomon to blink. The utter dismissal, and what came after, was the cause of Solomon looking toward the group of Mandals sitting there, Grot in particular as the larger Mandal spoke, and then toward the spear in his hand. With the way this was already sounding, he thought better to rid himself of the heavy weapon rather than stand there with it and listen to what Jeryndi had to say. He moved, dragging the spear with him in an awkward manner, to cross just those few feet to place the weapon back where it had been. "If you need to approach it like that," He stated as he moved, "I can tell already that I'm going to hate the idea. But -- go on."
"I've been talking with Dr. Azair... And I had mentioned that the Dreamers had a Form of synchronization... That sense of others, in the Dreaming state. That which we felt, too... What is connecting them all? Why are they in this perpetual state?" he gestured excitedly." What if it's the Red itself?!?! "
That excitement was certainly heard, but the motions were missed. Sol's back was toward Jeryndi as he struggled with getting the spear to lean back where Grot had taken it from. It was a battle of awkward balance, and it took him a few tries to master it without the spear sliding this way, or that, where he had placed it, "What makes you think it’s The Red?" He asked, glancing just over his shoulder but still unable to see Jeryndi with where his cousin was standing.
"I don't have any kind of proof, it's just a theory... But something is obviously connecting them.... Which brings me to my next part-- there are a lot of 'ifs'-- what if we can find a, way to confidently wake up the Dreamers? One of the Sensitives-- you, me, Ava-- one of us can willingly go into the Dreaming and another can pull us out... Think of the things we might learn! "
Just a theory -- he had said -almost- those same exact words to Breis Teimar before leaving Tal Ruus. "I'm glad we agree on -something- in all of this," He said finally turning back to where Jeryndi stood, "That being that The Red could be involved. But this idea -- putting one of us to dream --" He shook his head, "It has potential but only -if- the Dreamers can be woken up consistently without problems, and that -might- is a pretty big one. We don't know what we are dealing with, and I think the dangers inherent in that trump whatever potential we might be facing to learn more by putting one of us under."
"Yes. There's a lot of potential, but just as many dangers... Which is why we need to decide what to do. I'm going to try and wake them up, but the more we work together, the better our chances we're all on the same page to wake them up... And us being all on the same page is exactly what we need."
"You need to slow down," Sol responded, "We had already been in agreement that we were going to try to wake them up -together-. Remember? We agreed on that before you went with Dr. Azair to work with the wakeks?"
"Yes," he confirmed.
"So that's still the plan. -That- first. Right?"
"Yes," he said again, bobbing head within the helmet.
"Good, and even so I'm not in for this putting one of us under thing that has you excited. I don't like the idea of it, no matter what we -could- learn from it. -Especially- without knowing what The Red is, -or- what kind of damage it could do to any one of us while we're in that state. The risks are too high for me to condone it. Sorry, Jer. Even if we can wake the Dreamers, I can't back this and be comfortable with the execution of it."
"I was in the sleep for a very brief time," Liv spoke up finally, having been listening to Sol and Jer not far away. "As one of the Prince's tests. It nearly killed me, the medics said. Though the specific risk happened upon pulling me out of the Red and not while in it, the medics believed that had I been in the coma-like state any longer, it would certainly be fatal. So yes, I do believe it is tied to the Red, and a focus needs to be on waking them if it is at all possible... because we won't be able to take them with us like this. But purposefully going under? It's a dangerous gamble."
"I know," he told Liv. But looked back to Solomon. "Can I at least get you to agree to discuss it again after we try go wake the Dreamers up? If we are successful?"
"Discuss it, sure." He nodded. They could talk about it all they wanted.
"We need to make sure we can walk before we run." Ava finally spoke. "Solomon and I have worked with the Dreamers. You have worked with the Dreamers. And while I feel like we are making progress..." Her eyes shifted around the group. "Jumping into the Red seems a bit premature at this point. Whoever goes in, we have to know there's a way to pull them out."
"Well, yeah. I said that. A lot of ifs. All of it hinges on being able to wake them up."
"I don't think it -all- hinges on being able to wake them. I think there is far more to it than just being able to wake them. It’s not a question of skill, but of an attrition. How long would the one who does it need to be under? Would there be a way for them to actively control what they do while under? What if something goes wrong while they are asleep, say an attack or something else that would require emergency awakening? Would we be able to do it fast enough to both help that person and be of help to our friends who haven't gone under? There's just too much to consider, and too much that could go wrong."
"These are the things we should be putting together for Teimar's list." Ava offered.
"One step at a time," he said softly. "All of this idea of going into the Dreaming -does- hinge on being able to wake the Dreamers... Because if we can't even wake them, there's no way to pull this off. As I told Breis, there are a lot of potential positives... We might be able to sense individuals within the Dreaming. We might be able to glean more about the enemy. Or the Red itself. Or, hell, even wake up other Dreamers from the Dream itself... The possibilities are -endless-. But if we get to that point, it needs to be one of us. We're trained, we're sensitive, if we go into it willingly, we might see, hear, sense, learn things the other Dreamers haven't been able to."
He let Jeryndi's statement lay for a moment, looking between his cousin and Ava, "Teimar's list?"
"Breis requested a list." Ava explained. "A list of goals, potential pitfalls. Basically an outline to help him understand what we are doing, what equipment we might need - like the pods, what this could accomplish, and what could go wrong if we tried."
"Pretty much," Jeryndi confirmed. "He wants it laid out in easy to understand terms. He gave us until the Hapans are ready to go."
He took that in, looking then toward Liv, "You've been in it. I know you have duties with the Hapans, and that drop ship needs to be repaired, but anything you can give us in this -- I'd welcome."
"I'll help however I can," Liv offered, "as long as it doesn't interfere with getting the ship and the cable repaired. As for being in the sleep myself, I don't remember any of it, unfortunately. But it was a very short period of time before the Hapans pulled me out."
"Did you get the sense of others being out there like other Dreamers did?" he asked Liv.
"Liv..." Ava spoke with hint of hesitation. Her dark brown eyes locked onto Liv's startling green ones. "If I might, could I..." She searched for the wording. "Do you remember the meld? Although you don't remember much... there might be... and imprint or something left behind. With your permission, and your trust, I'd like to find out. See if there's some knowledge to gain."
Looking to Ava, Liv hesitated a brief moment. The Meld was a remnant of the war, and something she had tried putting behind her... But this was important. The former Jedi nodded after that pause. "I remember the meld. I'm willing to give it a try, if it can help."
Ava could see the hesitation on her face. Beyond Geraint, it was the reaction she'd come to expect when bringing up the technique. But with Liv's consent, the Jedi Knight felt some unspoken tension ease in her shoulders. Her face softened as she, too, nodded.
"Thank you, Olivia." She said gratefully.
Mimicking Ava subconsciously, Liv also let the tension ease from her shoulders.. and then the rest of her body. The meld required concentration and focus; releasing tension was a good step in that direction. Another nod was given to Ava at her statement, but silence won the Captain over. Focus, now.
Breis and Dorara spoke across a low hook of frozen stone, Breis leaning forward on it, weight on his elbows. When Jeryndi's voice snapped into the air between them, he twisted in surprise. His focus went past Jeryndi, to where a tired Jujanaj Azair trailed in his wake, and then centered on Jeryndi again. "So? We have our mounts?" The big man straightened up.
"Of course," he said, nodding. He clapped hands together. "We've been discussing the Dreamers... Those who've woken up from it describe a sense of others. I felt it, too, when I was trying to take stock of the man I was working on... It occurs to me, it seems like it is a sort of synchronization... Either the Dreaming is -the- Form of synchronization or it is a side effect of it. We were talking about what could be causing it-- what is connecting them all? What if it's the Red itself? "
Breis frowned, shook his head. "I don't follow. What if it is? We can't get out of it unless we fix the Hapan ship, get rescued, or set out for the border you say exists near Keldabe."
"If we can successfully wake them up, there is much potential for more information... If we can find a way to bring them back..." He looked to Breis. "It occurs to me... If we have a way to bring them back... We might learn even -more- if one of us were too actually, willingly go into the Dreaming."
There was no such thing as privacy at Tal-Keb, just as it had been a myth at Tal Ruus. Only near the wakeks might one find time to be semi-alone, but being alone around giant angry carnivores and whoever watched over them might not have sounded terribly invited. Where Breis and Dorara were, people milled off-duty from their various tasks, not yet ready to sleep and face the fear they might not wake up again even with the use of the mysterious pods. A bit farther out, the nearest pair of sentries watching over the approach up to Tal-Kebii'tra could be seen, right at the edge of the visual distance allowed by the Red. Breis looked around to take note of who all was hearing this.
Rather than asking questions immediately or voicing any opinions, he nodded toward Jeryndi. "Tell me your idea in detail, Trander."
"There's a lot of 'ifs' involved," he admitted. "But those who have Dreamed that have come out of it don't remember much. Only a sense of there being others... And they all seem to be aware of each other. So... If we can find a way to bring someone back from the Dreaming... Someone trained, someone Sensitive, might go into the Dreaming. There's a chance we might be more aware of what's happening. A chance we might glean more information... I'm not back up to full strength with my Healing yet. And I've never tried to go into other people's dreams before. That was where the sense of others came from. Was from that attempt... But the more times I try, the more I work at it, the more efficient I'll get with it. If we can wake them up... One of us can go into the Dreaming willingly and another can pull that one back."
Dorara was quiet. She had an impulsive nature, a reputation for acting and speaking before thinking, but a particular recent experience in her life--months before Um-Shara--had been a lesson in biting her tongue and waiting an extra minute before responding to things. The disaster here compounded the lesson.
Breis, too, was quiet, as were those who had turned to listen to this, attracted by Jeryndi's excitement. For Breis, many thoughts collided in the shadow of this idea. After a long moment, he asked, "If such a thing is possible, your goal would be to find other sleepers?"
"My goal is to find anything that would be useful," he admitted. "I can't say what we'd learn there, if anything... But the possibilities are... Extensive. We may be able to find or identify individuals. Other sleepers. Learn about the invaders. Learn about the Red and its origins... It's a lot of 'ifs', but it holds so much potential."
It did. More than anything else the Mando'ade has thus far tried. Breis could see that plainly, but he didn't know how to process it in terms of risk. The easiest way was to say that Trander would be the only one lost if it went awry, which was fair, but Breis was a warrior and a leader. It was often easy to think that losing a lone scout was a small loss... until one considered that smarter preparation could mean the loss of no one at all. He stood just breathing again, chasing down the exact questions he needed to answer. "I understand Azalee put a... you called it a mark? In place? Does that mean she has some...." The big man looked to another face instinctively for help, but his gaze met Dorara's and she had no help to give. "... talent in this?" Like many before him, Breis felt the full chasm of the unknown stretch out before him, separating him from the arts of those adept with the Force. But maybe the answer was to approach this as he might any other uncertain operation. He cleared his throat. "You get together with your companions on this. Make me a list that I can understand that outlines all the safety precautions we and you have the means right now to offer you should you undertake this. List all goals, all potential pitfalls you can think of, and what you and your companions would do to counter them. I don't care how much vakishit you pile into it. I want the list. Make it real. It's got to be solid enough, and tempting enough, to outweigh your potential use as a defender here, or your muscle in helping us to find more water. Got it?" Which meant he wanted to say yes, but needed the incredible to be brought down to his level in this red-cloaked world.
"And if you think you might have to use pods, I want a number I can budget for. A real number. In an emergency, we give you up to that number and no more, and if you don't wake up again we will mourn you."
He nodded. "Fair enough... Before we do that, though, we need to see if we can actually wake up the Dreamers," he said.
"-all- of this hinges on -that-."
"Go, then. You have exactly as much time as exists before Captain Black and I gather everyone together to discuss our salvage mission to the graveyard, so hurry. If you haven't succeeded before that, I have to call it a failure. I want to find everyone I can. But now that we know the Hapans have a Plan B, we've got to do everything in our power to help make sure the next ship they send down here makes it in one piece. There's a big mountain range of fucked up rocks moving around overhead, and that second ship is just as likely to crash as the first if we don't get very clever very fast."
He nodded. "That's where I'll be," he said decisively. He gave a nod towards Jujanaj. "Take care of the wakeks for me if they get hostile... I don't expect that to happen within the next day or so." With that said he turned to go towards where the Dreamers were being kept.
He intended to go to the Dreamers when he'd turned away... But diverted his course towards his cousin after a few steps.
Solomon would be found in the company of a group of Mandals sitting in a rough circle, while he stood just aside from it with a spear in hand that was too large for him to hold. The length of the thing, and its apparent weight were too much for even someone of his six foot stature to handle well. It was something suited for a bigger being, one far more muscular than a lean and trim human from Corellia. The bottom of the spear rested against the floor of the formation they were in, while the tip was pointed up and was well above his shoulder's height. He was standing with his eyes closed, focused inward. What he was sensing for within The Force, concerning the spear, was the density of the material that comprised the thing. He was also looking for something within the weapon. Since he already had an idea that these beings were as low tech as they could get and very primitive in nature he was looking for something that was might have been a natural feature to the weapon -- a resonance chamber, perhaps. He was feeling down into the thing where eyes could not go, where mere hands could not feel, to get a better sense of what he was holding in his gloved hand.
Jeryndi approached him with some hesitancy... There was the sense that he was focusing, using the Force. Not quite introspection, so not meditation... So he stood beside him, uninterruptive and silent until Solomon came back to himself.
Of that spear: dense and strong, the haft. Not wood; metal only for the long, slender spearhead. It might have been bone--yes, or if not bone, then something like it, fortified with a resin. No resonance chamber. Even any hollow that might have been inside of it, if it was indeed bone, must have been filled with something.
He hadn't found what he was hoping to find in those few moments of feeling through The Force, but with a change at the edge of his awareness Solomon forced himself to pull back on what he had been doing. Someone had gotten close, someone was standing right next to him. That was disruptive enough in his mind to shut his efforts down in favor of being aware of what was going on within the physical world around him, instead of being focused on what was in his hand. Whatever it was, though, it was almost all completely organic in nature. He breathed out as he opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to look at who was standing there to find it was his cousin.
"That from the invaders?" he asked when his cousin finally looked at him. Meaning the spear.
Grot, who had tossed Solomon the spear for his inspection, headed back to pick up the last of his rations, just gesturing that Sol should put the weapon back with the cache when he was finished with it.
"It is," Sol confirmed, catching the gesture from Grot, "Apparently, the big guys can get them to emit some sort of field -- a barrier or aura, as I was just told. I was trying to see if I could sense any way within the thing that it might be possible."
"Ah... Makes sense," he said. "I have something I need to talk to you about." He was hesitant to approach the topic, but still... He dove right in. "So. I have an idea... It's gonna be really bad or really good... But I need you to hear me out."
"Not all of the big guys--" Grot started to tell them, because it was one of the few observations that seemed to have held true so far in sightings of the invaders. But with the shift, someone would surely tell the newcomers later.
That Jeryndi didn't seem intrigued at all about the idea caused Solomon to blink. The utter dismissal, and what came after, was the cause of Solomon looking toward the group of Mandals sitting there, Grot in particular as the larger Mandal spoke, and then toward the spear in his hand. With the way this was already sounding, he thought better to rid himself of the heavy weapon rather than stand there with it and listen to what Jeryndi had to say. He moved, dragging the spear with him in an awkward manner, to cross just those few feet to place the weapon back where it had been. "If you need to approach it like that," He stated as he moved, "I can tell already that I'm going to hate the idea. But -- go on."
"I've been talking with Dr. Azair... And I had mentioned that the Dreamers had a Form of synchronization... That sense of others, in the Dreaming state. That which we felt, too... What is connecting them all? Why are they in this perpetual state?" he gestured excitedly." What if it's the Red itself?!?! "
That excitement was certainly heard, but the motions were missed. Sol's back was toward Jeryndi as he struggled with getting the spear to lean back where Grot had taken it from. It was a battle of awkward balance, and it took him a few tries to master it without the spear sliding this way, or that, where he had placed it, "What makes you think it’s The Red?" He asked, glancing just over his shoulder but still unable to see Jeryndi with where his cousin was standing.
"I don't have any kind of proof, it's just a theory... But something is obviously connecting them.... Which brings me to my next part-- there are a lot of 'ifs'-- what if we can find a, way to confidently wake up the Dreamers? One of the Sensitives-- you, me, Ava-- one of us can willingly go into the Dreaming and another can pull us out... Think of the things we might learn! "
Just a theory -- he had said -almost- those same exact words to Breis Teimar before leaving Tal Ruus. "I'm glad we agree on -something- in all of this," He said finally turning back to where Jeryndi stood, "That being that The Red could be involved. But this idea -- putting one of us to dream --" He shook his head, "It has potential but only -if- the Dreamers can be woken up consistently without problems, and that -might- is a pretty big one. We don't know what we are dealing with, and I think the dangers inherent in that trump whatever potential we might be facing to learn more by putting one of us under."
"Yes. There's a lot of potential, but just as many dangers... Which is why we need to decide what to do. I'm going to try and wake them up, but the more we work together, the better our chances we're all on the same page to wake them up... And us being all on the same page is exactly what we need."
"You need to slow down," Sol responded, "We had already been in agreement that we were going to try to wake them up -together-. Remember? We agreed on that before you went with Dr. Azair to work with the wakeks?"
"Yes," he confirmed.
"So that's still the plan. -That- first. Right?"
"Yes," he said again, bobbing head within the helmet.
"Good, and even so I'm not in for this putting one of us under thing that has you excited. I don't like the idea of it, no matter what we -could- learn from it. -Especially- without knowing what The Red is, -or- what kind of damage it could do to any one of us while we're in that state. The risks are too high for me to condone it. Sorry, Jer. Even if we can wake the Dreamers, I can't back this and be comfortable with the execution of it."
"I was in the sleep for a very brief time," Liv spoke up finally, having been listening to Sol and Jer not far away. "As one of the Prince's tests. It nearly killed me, the medics said. Though the specific risk happened upon pulling me out of the Red and not while in it, the medics believed that had I been in the coma-like state any longer, it would certainly be fatal. So yes, I do believe it is tied to the Red, and a focus needs to be on waking them if it is at all possible... because we won't be able to take them with us like this. But purposefully going under? It's a dangerous gamble."
"I know," he told Liv. But looked back to Solomon. "Can I at least get you to agree to discuss it again after we try go wake the Dreamers up? If we are successful?"
"Discuss it, sure." He nodded. They could talk about it all they wanted.
"We need to make sure we can walk before we run." Ava finally spoke. "Solomon and I have worked with the Dreamers. You have worked with the Dreamers. And while I feel like we are making progress..." Her eyes shifted around the group. "Jumping into the Red seems a bit premature at this point. Whoever goes in, we have to know there's a way to pull them out."
"Well, yeah. I said that. A lot of ifs. All of it hinges on being able to wake them up."
"I don't think it -all- hinges on being able to wake them. I think there is far more to it than just being able to wake them. It’s not a question of skill, but of an attrition. How long would the one who does it need to be under? Would there be a way for them to actively control what they do while under? What if something goes wrong while they are asleep, say an attack or something else that would require emergency awakening? Would we be able to do it fast enough to both help that person and be of help to our friends who haven't gone under? There's just too much to consider, and too much that could go wrong."
"These are the things we should be putting together for Teimar's list." Ava offered.
"One step at a time," he said softly. "All of this idea of going into the Dreaming -does- hinge on being able to wake the Dreamers... Because if we can't even wake them, there's no way to pull this off. As I told Breis, there are a lot of potential positives... We might be able to sense individuals within the Dreaming. We might be able to glean more about the enemy. Or the Red itself. Or, hell, even wake up other Dreamers from the Dream itself... The possibilities are -endless-. But if we get to that point, it needs to be one of us. We're trained, we're sensitive, if we go into it willingly, we might see, hear, sense, learn things the other Dreamers haven't been able to."
He let Jeryndi's statement lay for a moment, looking between his cousin and Ava, "Teimar's list?"
"Breis requested a list." Ava explained. "A list of goals, potential pitfalls. Basically an outline to help him understand what we are doing, what equipment we might need - like the pods, what this could accomplish, and what could go wrong if we tried."
"Pretty much," Jeryndi confirmed. "He wants it laid out in easy to understand terms. He gave us until the Hapans are ready to go."
He took that in, looking then toward Liv, "You've been in it. I know you have duties with the Hapans, and that drop ship needs to be repaired, but anything you can give us in this -- I'd welcome."
"I'll help however I can," Liv offered, "as long as it doesn't interfere with getting the ship and the cable repaired. As for being in the sleep myself, I don't remember any of it, unfortunately. But it was a very short period of time before the Hapans pulled me out."
"Did you get the sense of others being out there like other Dreamers did?" he asked Liv.
"Liv..." Ava spoke with hint of hesitation. Her dark brown eyes locked onto Liv's startling green ones. "If I might, could I..." She searched for the wording. "Do you remember the meld? Although you don't remember much... there might be... and imprint or something left behind. With your permission, and your trust, I'd like to find out. See if there's some knowledge to gain."
Looking to Ava, Liv hesitated a brief moment. The Meld was a remnant of the war, and something she had tried putting behind her... But this was important. The former Jedi nodded after that pause. "I remember the meld. I'm willing to give it a try, if it can help."
Ava could see the hesitation on her face. Beyond Geraint, it was the reaction she'd come to expect when bringing up the technique. But with Liv's consent, the Jedi Knight felt some unspoken tension ease in her shoulders. Her face softened as she, too, nodded.
"Thank you, Olivia." She said gratefully.
Mimicking Ava subconsciously, Liv also let the tension ease from her shoulders.. and then the rest of her body. The meld required concentration and focus; releasing tension was a good step in that direction. Another nod was given to Ava at her statement, but silence won the Captain over. Focus, now.