Beating Hearts

[Warren Century]

"To be honest, better than I have in the past. Your exercises have helped me a lot, and provided me with more energy than the regular training I go through each and every day does. As to what I know about the Force, here's some of what I know. ignoring the religious dogma, the force is an energy field that can be accessed through the Midichlorians in the bloodstream of the Force User. The Force has many abilities. I am quite skilled when it comes to use of the Narrikian runes, and at the insistence of Mr.Shatter I have learned how to do... I'll just show you." Sirius outstretched his hand, and a scarlet sphere of fire crackled into existence above it. "I can also do Force Push, and Force Pull but that is about it, all that I've been able to learn on my own."

Dismissing the orb he had made of fire, Sirius nodded at her. "You've now seen what I'm capable of with the Force. What do you think on the matter?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza watched with a critical eye, brows arching as the sphere of fire materialized in his hand. After [member="Sirius Nova"] was finished with his explanation, she nodded.

“You seem to have a solid background in the basics. That’s good—a strong foundation is important. I won’t prattle on about dogma to you, given that I’ve only experienced the Jedi side of things. From what I’ve seen, more and more force sensitives are opting to learn about the force without the influence of the Jedi and Sith.” At least from her experience, given that Joza tended to keep rogues and neutrals as friends. She had a few liaisons of the darker might, but those were scrutinized more closely than those of the light.

“Summoning fire is a bit of an advanced move, but it looks like you’ve already got it down. In part, at least.” Joza wasn’t sure of the extent of his abilities. “The fire you summoned—can you control it, as in fire shaping? Or just create it, as in pyrokinesis?” Part of teaching would be snuffing out exactly what it was he could do and going from there.

 

[Warren Century]

"So far I can summon, and control fire to a degree. Well, I can launch fireballs from my hands at my enemies..." said Sirius Nova, to [member="Joza Perl"]. "Every day, I practice with my fire so that I can learn how to control my fire abilities, and master them. So far I've learned how to expand the orb until it's the size of a beachball." Sirius said that, as he thought about the situation he was in. She was okay with training neutrals like himself to use the Force. "I've been doing my best to work on my skills, Joza. As it stands, I haven't made any progress with my fire. Yet my unarmed skills and skills with a lightsaber are improving. It's a shame there's not a single lightsaber that completely fits my style, and that I have to use multiple ones." said Sirius.

 

[Joza Perl]

“So that’s pyrokinesis and fire shaping—good. Sounds like you’ve got a grasp of the basics.” There were many ways to use manipulation of heat beyond generating fire. Superheating liquids and gasses, while dangerous, could prove to be an asset for combat capable of bringing down heavy machinery or anything else that had a fuel source.

A crimson brow arched. “What style do you use for lightsaber combat?” Joza’s knowledge of the different saber forms was largely taught to her through her days as a Padawan. Most who wielded a lightsaber knew of the seven different forms and their distinctions…but perhaps he used a unique blend where different styles of sabers would be necessary.

[member="Sirius Nova"]

 

[Warren Century]

"Well my style isn't exactly one of the traditional ones, but contains techniques I've come up with yet... it's not exactly a form that most Jedi or Sith use at least to my knowledge. My style is mostly guess work, if you can call it an actual "style" combined with gymnastics, acrobatics, and my abilities over both Fire, and Wind." said Sirius Nova to her. "Thank you for sparing me the Dogma of the Force, it's something I never understood, why people possess the need to insert Religion into something like that. They should simply explain the abilities, without the Dogma. It's one of my personal pet peeves about the Jedi and Sith, that they can't see past their own Ego and stop their wars that are ravaging the galaxy. My former instructor, Ken Sol believes that I am ready for someone besides himself to teach me. I've gotten this far on what he could, but I am ready to have instruction from you, @Joza Perl. I am not honestly sure what style of Lightsaber Combat would be a good fit for me, given that."
[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“You don’t understand it?” Joza paused before tilting her head to the side, sizing Sirius up. “On second thought, it might be good for you to get at least a taste of the Jedi and Sith codes. Not in practice, but from a more clinical perspective—it’s good to have at least a basic grasp of major Force dogmas. Or whatever you’d like to call them.”

She was far more familiar with the Jedi side, but only understood the Sith Code in concept. Even then she’d come across numerous darksides, many who have called themselves Sith simply for the freedom to do as they please and free themselves from any mental burdens that may come with their actions.

Or something.

“I have some texts that I can give you that will explain the basics of both sides. I urge you to read them. It’s not a lot.” As she spoke, she walked towards the corner of the room where a watercooler sat and poured herself a glass. “It’s also good to remember that those who do not call themselves Jedi or Sith are not immune to their own egos.”

“Now,” She walked over to Sirius and handed him the glass of water. “If we’re going to get bare bones, fire shaping is really just manipulating molecules to move faster and give off more heat. It has applications beyond creating fire—you can superheat certain soft metals to make them melt, or cause gasses to explode. Try focusing on manipulating the molecules in the water to speed up and make the water boil.”

[member="Sirius Nova"]

 

[Warren Century]

Causing Gasses to explode could be a useful ability to have, to say the least. If someone unauthorized brought a ship to the planet, containing bio-weapons, Sirius could if he was powerful enough with the Force superheat the fuel inside the ship, and blow it up before it could contaminate Setus Prime. Really, they'd need more than one world eventually, and he planned on making sure they had one at their disposal.

"You're right, I'm ill-informed about them, and should at least know some. I will read the texts you offer," said Sirius.

When she handed him the glass of water and asked that he manipulate the molecules in the water to make it heat up he concentrated. After about three seconds of intense focus, he'd manage to do what she asked for to the water. A smile formed on his face as he watched the water boil. With this ability, if he practiced every day he'd get strong enough to do multiple things. Of course he'd also need to practice with his Air Shaping, as well.

"So, @Joza Perl, is my work sufficient?" He'd ask, the water still boiling. "Also, when we finish my instruction with Fire Shaping, and Pyromancy, would you be willing to teach me Force Pull, Force Push, and the Airshaping?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza watched with mild fascination as he brought the water to a rapid boil. “Very good, yes. You must have advanced manipulation of heat if you’re able to make it boil that quickly, so I’m not sure what other instruction I have for you besides to practice!” She laughed a little before eyeing the glass of water once more.

“You can stop manipulating it now if you’d like. The same concept is applicable to gasses, like I said. For example, you can manipulate the tibana gas in a jetpack to explode or super hear the power cell in an opponent’s lightsaber. But it’s a technique that takes a lot of concentration no matter how good you are and should be used carefully lest you leave yourself open.”

“Would you like to move onto telekinetics?”

[member="Sirius Nova"]

 

[Warren Century]

He'd stop boiling the water at that. So he could explode the fuel in a Jetpack, or superheat the power cell in an opponent's Lightsaber with enough concentration. Honing his skills with Fire Shaping was a definite must then because if he could do that, no Jedi or Sith could stand before him. Without their Lightsabers all they'd have was the Force, and he could probably learn enough from her to counter most things.

Would he like to move onto telekinetics? Of course he would. He needed to learn how to do that, and he needed to learn how to do it fast. "Teach me the arts of Telekinesis." He said.

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

“You can also use it to sterilize water if you’re stranded, or cauterize wounds in a pinch.” Wasn’t the easiest or the best way to do those things but it could help with survival.

Extending a hand, she concentrated on the cup of water he held, extending the Force outwards to grasp it. The cup would slowly float from his hands, steadily making its way over to her before it landed gently in her outstretched palm.

“Just like fire shaping and pyrokinesis, telekinesis takes skill to master at a higher level. The more often you use it and practice in daily life, the more of a second instinct it will become. Try extending your presence in the Force outwards to grasp the cup and pull it over to you.”

[member="Sirius Nova"]

 

[Warren Century]

Sterilizing water, and cauterizing a wound were both VERY good uses of the Force, which prompted Sirius to ask. "Are there any Force Powers that could be used to kill the disease, or biological terror agents the moment they touch the atmosphere of Setus Prime?" He was asking this so he could be damn ready for the next idiot who decided to play "God" and unleash a bio-terror weapon on the Galaxy. Sure there was no vaccine or cure or antidote of any kind or even treatment for the Gulag Plague. However, if it came to his world again? It was going to be destroyed. Holding out his hand, Sirius channeled his anger at Zero and those who were like him. However, he underestimated JUST how much power he was pouring into the Force Pull, and crushed the Glass after it was pulled towards him.

"Sorry."

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza looked as if she were about to speak then paused for a few moments. “There are Force abilities that let you detoxify poisons on yourself and others, but those are healing arts that I am not familiar with. As far as I know, there really isn’t an application of the Force that can neutralize a bio weapon on a planetary scale.”

She watched as the glass crushed in his invisible grip, inwardly sighing as she felt his anger spike. Thankfully it was a cheap plastoid disposable cup so it only crinkled to the ground along with the spilled water.

“Is something wrong? You were upset just now.”

Normally the Zeltron would be more nuanced, but using emotions to fuel Force abilities could be dangerous territory.

[member="Sirius Nova"]

 

[Warren Century]

"I was thinking of an individual in the past, who killed millions if not more Narrikians....Zero. If he were still alive I'd love to choke him to death," admitted Sirius. "He's the reason the Narrikians are more than a bit paranoid, and militant about preventing biological weapons from ever reaching the planet... The Gulag Plague hit us hard." Sirius sighed. "And we're still rebuilding, and healing from that insanity." He groaned. "It's one of the things that pisses Narrikians off the most, when some idiot decides they want to play "God" with biological terror agents. The moment I'm able, I'm putting up a ten-layer planetary shield designed to keep such OUT, and off of Setus Prime. Our numbers were decreased badly the last time, if another hit like that happens, the Narrikians could go extinct probably as there's no way to immunize ourselves against it."

[member="Joza Perl"]

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza frowned in sympathy upon hearing Sirius’ story. Unfortunately genocide was not an uncommon tune in the galaxy—though the methods varied—and often gave rise to disgruntled populations. She couldn’t blame him for his anger.

“I’m sorry to hear that Sirius. May your people recover and return stronger than ever.” He seemed to be on the right track in trying to install defenses to protect his people from similar harm. “I can understand your anger and it is justified, but be wary of it. Focus your anger into something productive instead of destructive. It’s easy to get lost in it.” Forcers were particularly susceptible to falling victim to their own emotions which lead to them becoming dangerous and volatile.

“You’re the planet's ruler, correct? They must see you as calm and in control.” Walking a few paces over to the cooler, she poured more water into one of the disposable cups and held it out to him. “Again, and try not to spill any water. Even if you have to use all of your concentration, focus on maintaining a grip that’s not overly firm. If you can do that and practice it, it will be easier to do in the future.”

[member="Sirius Nova"]

 

[Warren Century]

Taking a deep breath, and forcing himself to calm down when she apologized for what had happened and wished his people would come back stronger than ever, he allowed himself to smile. Perhaps in time, the Narrikians could rebuild to the point where he wouldn't need to lead them, where they could operate without an Emperor. It was a dream of his, a dream he knew was not likely to actually happen. Of course, having Zero's and subsequently every other bio terrorist's head on a pike... no. He was not that merciless or relentless. Anger shouldn't be the source of his power, she was right. He couldn't let the other Narrikians see him like this, it simply wouldn't do. Breathing deeply.ly again he'd reach out with his telekinesis, and grab and hold the disposable cup as she had asked.

"I am sorry I nearly snapped, [member="Joza Perl"]. It's just a sore subject for the Narrikians..."

 

[Joza Perl]

[SIZE=11pt]"That’s alright. Anger is natural, acknowledge the feeling but do not let it control you.”[/SIZE]

She felt the telekinetic energy extend towards her and wrap around the cup in her hands, standing motionless a few feet from Sirius.

“Try pulling it over to you again.” To her, emotions—good and the bad—should be felt and understood. That way they would pass over you easily when you needed them to, such as the case with anger and sorrow. It wasn’t easy, but understanding your emotions was a good way to master them.

[member="Sirius Nova"]