Private Flight of the Jedi

[Starlin Rand]

Somewhere deep in the Shadowlands, Kashyyyk

"Aw yeah, that hit the spot," Starlin said, disposing of the remains of his lunch. He was sitting on a cliff overlooking a vast chamber built from the roots of a massive fallen tree. Somewhere in the dark valley below, a terentatek roared. It was almost certainly descended from the one Starlin had killed some years before, when he was just a teenager.

Glancing at his Padawan, Starlin cracked his knuckles, grinning in excitement. "You ever play holo games, Eli? 'Cause you got a boss fight coming up soon. But first, I'm gonna teach you how to fly."

If that sounded far-fetched even for a Jedi, Starlin demonstrated his faith in his abilities by standing up, wiping the crumbs from his hands, and then promptly jumped off the cliff.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Their lunch break had been more than appreciated, and as Starlin tossed aside the last remnants of his dish Eliphas took the final bite of his own. His gaze drifted down over the pit, the distant roar of the Terentatek having taken the form of a musical accompaniment to their meal. Only there was nothing left to eat... So what was to become of their one man band?​

​

Starlin's cracked knuckles drew his attention, and Eliphas' brows furrowed to the question posed. "Erm... No..?" No Hologames for Eliphas, there had been far too much to do back home. Lessons, hobbies, adventures. Still he could gather more or less what his Master was hinting at. Something dangerous lay in his future... Something roaring down below.​

​

"I already know how to pilot a ship" he said insofar as flying was concerned, not daring to believe that Starlin meant legitimately fly. Only when the man rose up and jumped off the edge he realized there was folly in that assumption. "Star--" ​

​

Feth.​

​

He was Apprenticed to a maniac.​

​

Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

A few seconds passed in silence after Starlin took his leap of faith, before the Jedi Knight slowly rose up from the depths. He was floating in midair, no jetpacks or repulsorlifts necessary.

“Pretty cool, huh?” he asked, doing a backflip. “It’s an applied form of telekinesis. Instead of making objects float with your mind, you make yourself levitate.”

Starlin did a few more spins and cartwheels before he landed on his feet, spreading his arms and bowing theatrically. “It helped me to survive the original terentatek, now it’ll help you. Are you ready to fly, Eli?”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

He stared out over the edge with wide eyes, barely able to breathe as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. "Kark" he whispered, "Kark, kark, ka---" Then he saw it, the visage of his Master rising up toward him almost as though he was on his way to the world beyond. But nope, it was Starlin alive and in the flesh, going so far as to do a backflip.​

​

"Empress" he huffed, "Don't... Do that." Eliphas was clutching a hand over his heart, and he looked pale as a ghost. His cheeks slowly regained their colour, though they erred more on the side of red than pink. "Am I going to have to jump into the void too..?"​

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Eliphas gulped down the nerves which rose with that thought, and took a small step back from the edge. Was he ready to fly? Force no. But he doubted that mattered all that much. "But... I suck at telekinesis" he explained with a frown.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“What, this?” Starlin did a little midair dance routine. “I mean, if you’d like to jump into the void, who am I to stop you? But no, you don’t have to. For now.”

Starlin looked affronted. “No student of mine will suck at TK. It’s easy, baby. Well, it’s not a spell-based art, but it’s like the bread and butter of Jedi.” Bending down, he picked up one of the empty plastic containers that had held their lunch. “Here, we’ll start small. Try to lift this.”

Down below, the terentatek roared. “I know, I know! We’re coming soon!” Turning back to Eli, he shook his head. “You’re not you when you’re hungry.”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

By the time that Starlin did his little mid-air boogie the horror factor had more or less worn off. Still the lad shook his head, and was more than grateful when informed that he didn't have to leap off the edge to get the job done. Last thing he needed was to be put into a coma, or worse. He was much too young for any of that nonsense.​

​

Eliphas paled slightly when Starlin made it known that telekinesis was not a thing he should be slacking on. "Sorry, Master" he mumbled nervously. "I've been trying, I swear..." He watched as his Master leaned down to pick up the flimsy plastic container that had held his lunch. Then he clapped back to the Terentatek, lightening a little of the nerves Eliphas had been feeling. ​

​

He sat down and focused, a hand extending out toward the container as he crossed his legs. It jiggled and lifted a few inches. "I managed to hit Miri with a pillow" he said with a tiny shrug of his shoulders. "That's about as far as I could get..."​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin snorted at the thought of hitting Miri with a pillow. “I mean, clearly you have a basic idea of how to do it,” he said, gesturing to the trembling container. “Maybe it’s just a confidence thing?”

“I don’t have that blast shield helmet with me this time, but I do have this blindfold.” He stooped to tie the strip of white cloth around Eli’s head, covering his eyes. “Now, try to do it. Don’t worry about succeeding, just reach out with the Force, feel the object, and will it to rise.”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Confidence... "Yeah.. Probably.." The lad wasn't known for having the most faith in himself, was he? Still, he was a Jedi. What sort of Jedi couldn't move things with the Force? Starlin referenced a blindfold, and before Eliphas could agree or complain it was set into place over his eyes. Blocking out the room itself, and even the sight of the object. Instead he was left to feel for it.​

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And in the Force, its presence wasn't all that specific. It didn't seem like some insurmountable obstacle.​

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Inhaling through his nose, he nodded his head simply. Lifted his hand again, and felt through the Force toward the container. Nothing happened at first, so he focused again, willed it again. He didn't realize he'd made it move until it smacked into his forehead, not quite as precise or fluid as one might have hoped but hey at least it had moved.​

​

"Youch" he yelped, reaching up to rub at his head.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Though he couldn’t see him, Eli would certainly be able to hear Starlin’s laughter. “Be careful with your aim, kid. Keep going…”

The boy’s grasp of telekinesis improved with each attempt, until he was able to lift the container with ease. To make sure he wasn’t getting too used to the feel of just one object, Starlin switched it out for one of his boots—a decision which almost gave him a taste of his own shoe, but soon proved that Eli’s proficiency wasn’t a fluke.

“All right, I think you’ve got the hang of it,” he announced. “Now, you’ve got to make your body float the same way. Don’t worry about falling, I will catch you. Are you ready?”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

It wasn't the first time he was struck by the container that afternoon, but it was the hardest that it came at him. Soon he gained a little more grace, a softer but more direct pull, until it was landing within his outstretched hand consistently. Sweat had formed upon his brow, but he paid it no mind. Time drifted past them, though Eliphas had no concept of how long had actually flown by. He sensed the change in object, it had a different shape in the Force, but he worked with that too.​

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A boot, he realized, when it struck him sole first and left a footprint on his shirt. "There are easier ways to give me the boot" he said with a smirk, before tossing it back toward Starlin with his hand. Back and forth, until that came easier too.​

​

Eventually Starlin called an end to that exercise, and Eliphas slipped up the blindfold to peer over at him. "I don't have to jump over the edge right?" he asked. "Should I keep the blindfold on..?"​

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Of course he trusted that Starlin would catch him no matter what. He was his Master, he had to have a little faith.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin howled with laughter at the joke. “Hey, that’s a good one!”

"I don't have to jump over the edge right?"

"Not until you've mastered the art of Force Flight. Otherwise, you'll just wind up as that terentatek's dinner."

As if it knew they were talking about it, the terentatek roared. Starlin roared back, which bewildered the monster into silence.

"Should I keep the blindfold on..?"

"If you think you need it." Starlin leaned back against a rock. In spite of his relaxed posture, he kept an eye on Eliphas' progress.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Eliphas most certainly did not wish to become the Terentatek's dinner. In fact, in the long list of things he didn't want to do it was probably somewhere near the bottom, hopefully never to surface. The roaring down below definitely did wonders toward setting it in last place.​

​

That Starlin chose to roar back did lighten things though, and Eliphas couldn't help but smirk in amusement.​

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He pondered for a moment whether he did in fact need the blindfold. It did help to snuff out distractions and keep him focused, but how was he ever to do this in the field if he couldn't master it with extra stimuli? He slipped the blindfold off completely with that in mind, and wrapped it around his belt for safe keeping. Maybe he would need to see it used again today.​

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"Okay, Master... So, uh... How exactly does this work..?"​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Pretty much the same way as lifting any other object with telekinesis,” Starlin replied. “It’s harder because your physical sense of your body is stronger. Your nervous system especially, with its constant sensory feedback, will get in the way. You have to override that and learn to feel yourself only with the Force.”

He winked. “Oh, and remember to think happy thoughts.”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

"Think... Happy thoughts..?" Was that an actual requirement, or was Starlin having him on? Eliphas didn't seem entirely sure either way, maybe it was best he try just in case. Happy thoughts... Happy thoughts... His mind drifted back to the afternoon he'd last spent alone with Iris, in the park near her apartment. He'd given her the new Hermes Holopad, helped her set it up and figure out how to use it. They'd spoken on their past, the traumas each had faced, and come out the other side stronger.​

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He'd never had a best friend before.​

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Eliphas blinked, realizing that he'd been stuck on that thought for much too long, and sheepishly smiled toward Starlin. "Okay... Wait, so am I focusing on the ground, or on me?" Empress this was all so confusing. He inhaled a slow breath, and mentally backtracked over their conversation. "Never mind, myself..."​

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Starlin was correct, of course, it was much more difficult to see oneself as an object capable of moving. So difficult in fact that he outright floundered.​

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"Would practicing on something else organic help?" he asked with a frown, "Like, I don't know, a pug jumper?" They weren't aggressive, and had a nervous system and the like. Was it such a far cry from a person? Eliphas pouted at his own thought.​

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If Starlin wanted him practicing on spikey frogs he'd have suggested that in the first place.​

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"Okay... Here goes..."​

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He closed his eyes, took in a slow breath, and tried to focus on himself as a whole rather than all the various nerves and systems which made up his body.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin just grinned. Technically he was messing with Eli, but in his own experience with the Force, it reacted best to his joy. His optimism, his positivity, his stupid jokes—it all made him feel more alive, and so brought him more in tune with the life energies that bound the universe together.

“A pug jumper?” The mere mention of those froggy-looking creatures made Starlin giggle, let alone the thought of one of them flying. “I guess, if you want? But it’s going to be different from making yourself fly. That self-confidence thing applies, remember.” Lifting other objects or beings was quite different from putting your faith in the Force and trusting it to lift you in the air.

Starlin fell silent as Eli made his first attempt at Force Flight, watching the boy closely. He held his breath as he saw his apprentice’s body shift ever so slightly—was he just adjusting his posture, or was he starting to move? Starlin waited, his eyes glued to Eli… Yes! Yes, he was definitely rising! Okay, don’t panic. He wanted to whoop and holler, but he knew that would just disrupt Eli’s concentration. Stay quiet… stay quiet…

Eli was roughly a foot off the ground when Starlin lost it. “Holy chit! You’re doing it! WOO!” he cheered.

The terentatek roared as well.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

He'd already dismissed the idea of using a frog, though knowing that Starlin wasn't entirely against him altering the program some was a nice relief. No two people learned the same way after all, life was weird like that.​

​

Eliphas had no idea that he was floating, he just continued to close his eyes, hope, fuel himself with the Force, and try to remain optimistic. It was a lot all at once, of course, reminded him almost of meditating. Bleh, he hated meditating.​

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Starlin's cheer had him opening his eyes, and he certainly felt a foot taller... That was until he crumpled unceremoniously to the ground, landing with a thud that knocked the air from his lungs.​

​

"Oof..."​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Even though Eli was only a foot off the ground, Starlin’s protective instincts kicked in. He didn’t react fast enough to halt the boy’s fall, but he cushioned the impact with the Force.

“You were doing so well!” he exclaimed with a sigh. “All right, c’mon. Try it again…”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Okay so maybe his fall wasn't that dramatic, or that far, and maybe it was cushioned by the Force, but that did not stop the embarrassment from stinging any less. "Empress on a speeder-bike" he mumbled, raising a hand to his heart as though he'd dropped a hundred feet and barely landed safely, "You scared me!"​

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He almost, almost, felt tears springing up. No doubt his eyes turned just a teensy bit red. He held it back though, and instead dusted himself off. "If I try again, will you promise not to scream so loudly..?" It might have been construed as a snippy little joke, if not for the fact that it was uttered feebly. Like he was actually asking.​

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Eliphas closed his eyes, inhaled through his nose, and tried again, but he wasn't quite as quick to grasp himself as before. His expression strained, nose wrinkling as he tried so damn hard to make it work, then with a heavy sigh he slumped to the floor in defeat.​

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"Maybe Telekinesis just... isn't my thing..?"​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“I’m sorry! I got too excited.” Starlin looked genuinely remorseful. “Promise I’ll keep a lid on it this time.”

Eli tried again, but with far less success. Starlin was stumped, scratching his head as he tried to figure out what was wrong. He quickly shook his head. “If you were total crap at it, maybe that would be the case. But you were doing fine earlier. You were improving, making progress. Are you nervous? Tired? Do you just need a break? Come on, we’ll take five…”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Eliphas felt bad for poking fun almost as soon as Starlin's remorseful apology was made.​

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That... Didn't help with his concentration. Soon he was all tuckered out, and he ran a hand up through his hair in a very mild and brief show of frustration. Eliphas wasn't usually one to let such claim him, he was always willing to keep trying.​

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Maybe Starlin was right. Maybe he was just tired.​

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"It's been a long day" he mumbled, thinking back to their crazy hijinks pre-lunch. "And... I uh... Don't know if I really want to fly down there to fight that beasty..." He pouted.​

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Maybe that was the real issue all along.​

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Starlin Rand ​