Ghost of a Rose

[Riamah]

About a week passed before Ra was able to arrange for an outing for Milo, Freya and herself. Getting out of the fleet for any amount of time was sometime difficult. However, when they were stopped and making deliveries, Ra was sometimes able to escape from it for a time. Once her duties were done and before needing to move on to the next stop, she had asked Milo if he was ready to start the training of his daughter.

Over the course of that week, they had met up a few times to converse about work mostly. Sometimes she revealed that there was still some humanity in her. Asking after Freya and if they settling in well enough as well as other general pleasantries, it showed at least on a surface level, Ra cared about her people. The two of them were among them.

Using her own ship to go the planet below them, it was small enough to land almost anywhere and she had researched the location a little. Here there were enough different kinds of land for training and she hoped to make use of as much of it as possible.

Meeting the two of them at her ship, she lowered the ramp and invited them aboard with a polite welcome.

"Are you ready for this?"

Not questioning so much in a mental way, but more to ask if they had everything they would need while they were away.
​
[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

"Ready."

Milo and Freya both met Ra at the lowered ramp of her vessel. He was in a snug leather jacket and loose pants, his hair, instead of long and untamed, now sported a close crop. He had taken the liberty of dying it brown as well, in an effort to blend in more amongst the fleet's populace. Most others reacted somewhat abnormally to the unnatural hair color. His lightsaber sat in one of his jacket's pockets.

Freya was dressed as per the norm, with loose, baggy clothing. Her knives were sheathed at her sides, and her hands rested on the hilts, absentmindinly drumming on them with her fingertips. She gave a curt nod to Ra before boarding her ship. Although she didn't trust her completely, it was a step above not acknowledging her presence at all.

Milo turned to look at Ra, with a slight smile on his face. The two had grown moderately closer in the week that he had been with the fleet, and little by little, they were opening up more to each other. He placed a gloved hand on her shoulder and squeezed, then left it there as he spoke.

"She may not seem it, but she's excited about training. Just wait."

 

[Riamah]

Having grown used to his look, Ra was a little surprised by the change. She wondered if he was still trying to hide from him past, but kept the question to herself. Hoping that wasn't the case as she felt she had gone out of her way to make it clear he no longer needed to fear his past. The droids on the ship wouldn't treat him any different than any other organic, but it was possible those humans had.

Since they were actually going to be leaving the ship, Ra did openly carry her blaster, but her sabers were kept hidden. The two up her sleeves and then one in a pocket of her cloak. There were also two boot knives in her boots. Many people assumed Force users only used lightsabers, but for a few years Ra had used those knives and she knew Freya did as well. Just one of the things the two of them had in common.

Another thing they shared was silence. That may not quite be the right way to describe Ra since she did speak, but it more or less when she needed to. In the week since they had joined her fleet, Ra and the girl had exchanged maybe a handful of words so the silent nod wasn't unexpected. Her eyes followed the girl's advance up the ramp and she turned her attention to Milo when he spoke.

The physical touch barely registered on Ra until she went to climb aboard her ship. Maybe it was a sign of how comfortable she had grown around him, but she didn't push it away or resist when it happened. Retuning the smile slightly and tipping her head in the direction of the ship, she would speak to him.

"I'm looking forward to this as well. Honestly, this is going to be very interesting and possibly quite fun. C'mon, let's go."

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

"All right. Let's do this."

Milo lowered his hand and went aboard Ra's ship. Freya was already there, sitting on the floor, cross legged. Upon further inspection, she was sharpening her knives. When she noticed he was looking at her, the young woman raised her head up and smirked. Milo nodded in approval, then continued on to the cockpit, planning on helping Ra copilot down to the training area.

 

[Riamah]

Even though it was her ship, Ra allowed Milo to reach the cockpit first. After making sure the ramp was up and door secured, she joined him. Nodding to Freya as she passed, she did not comment on the sharpening of the knives. Ra was confident in her own ability to defend herself in training, she would still request using practice blades for the exercises when they came to blade work.

She prepped the engine and quickly got clearance to leave the fleet proper. Nodding to Milo, Ra checked to make sure everything was set.

"Take us out and down, Milo. I trust you to get us all down in one piece."

Setting the course to follow, she waited on him to engage the engines and take them down.

"Does Freya know how to play tag by chance?"

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo looked over to Ra as she took her seat next to him.

"Tag? Er, probably not. It's a simple concept, though. Why do you ask?"

Hands over the controls, the former Ren primed and engaged the engine. He gave it a little too much power for taking off from a hanger, however, and the ship nearly hit the border of the open exit that lead into space.

"Sorry. I'm a bit rusty when it comes to leaving a hanger. Haven't done that for a while."

Meanwhile, Freya replaced her knives in her sheaths. She wisely decided that sharpening her blades while he was piloting was not the best idea. Silently, she ran a hand through her hair, a short, practical buzzcut, before walking over to the cockpit, taking a seat between Milo and Ra, looking at the latter expectingly.

 

[Riamah]

Almost wincing as Milo came close to hitting her ship on the hanger door, he might pick up on the fact she was slightly tensed at the flight. It wasn't often she allowed somebody else to touch her ship, but figured she would let him take a shot at it. More than likely she would be flying after this.

"Well, you see I figure you and she may like to have the same training and there are a couple of ways to go about accomplishing the goal of hiding yourself. Both in the Force like I do all the time and from physical vision like I showed you in my office. Playing tag is the nice way to go about it."

Hoping he would regain his spatial awareness, Ra attempted to relax. When Freya joined them, she was a little surprised but welcomed her. They both looked at each other for a moment, before spoke again.

"What has your father taught you or anything you've learned on your own? This will give me an idea what I need to teach you about protecting yourself."

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

Freya turned to Milo, who gave her a silent nod. She could speak for herself. In a somewhat rough, gritty voice, due to little use, she spoke.

"He taught me how to hunt and forage. How to survive. How to hurt someone with a knife. A little bit on how to use the Force. To do this."

She reached out an outstreched hand towards Ra. A disorienting ringing would pulsate in her eardrums, and a throbbing, screwing sensation would burrow into her sinuses. It was a telepathic attack meant to disorient.

"I think he taught me how to kill with a knife before...I can't really remember. If he did, he stopped."

Milo's eyes searched the floor of the ship somberly. That was when Freya's initial purpose was not daughter, but assassin. He snapped out of it, though, and focused on the task at hand, which was getting them all in one piece to the landing zone.

 

[Riamah]

Making a mental note on the fact Freya knew how to live off the land, Ra nodded. When the light mental attack came, she actually smiled at it.

"That is something great to know. I don't think I even know that one. My parents died when I was an infant and the man that raised me taught me far more about manipulation through words. When it comes to defending myself, well I learned on my own. Now, I've learned a few other escape tricks and I'd like to see about teaching them to you."

There were other things besides teaching the tools of an assassin she wanted to pass on, but for now, she would keep it to hiding and escaping.

"If you know how to live off the land, then you would need to know how to kill with your knives. So I'm not surprised you might know that."

Of course, was implying killing a person, but Ra choose to twist it and give it a far more innocent connotation. Freya may not remember that part of her life clearly, but Ra knew of it. Not pressing that on the girl though, she watched as the ship broke through the atmosphere of the planet. Pointing ahead and little to the right, Milo might see the mountain range Ra had in mind for the day.

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo brought the ship down to the mountain range. Deploying the landing gear, the vessel landed in a clearing, a space of flat land surrounded by rocky geographic faces. While he was doing that, Freya surprisingly continued to speak to Ra.

"What are you going to teach me?"

The landing ramp hissed and descended. Soon, the trio would enter the outdoors and the training would begin.

 

[Riamah]

In the few minutes it took for Milo to bring the ship down, Ra was able to briefly tell Freya what she intended to teach her. That was going to be how to hide herself within the Force and through a sort of illusion on a visual spectrum.

"Allow me to show you outside. The land around the ship with the clearing is a wonderful place to learn. Then the trees and rocks outside of the clearing is where we practice. Do you know of a game called tag?"

Walking down the ramp, Ra turned slightly to look behind her as she asked the question. She waited until Freya answered before showing her what skills she was going to teach them. Including Milo in this exercise would also be interesting.

"Alright, there are two skills that can be important to know. One more than the other. First if you want to just get out of combat, escape and get away, then you need to how to disappear. The other is staying hidden from other people that can sense you through the Force. Now watch and reach out to me with the Force as you can feel me right now."

Going in relative slow motion, Ra would appear to place like a shield or bubble around what she was within the Force and what she was went away to be replaced by neutrality. On the visual spectrum, all they would see if they looked close enough was a bending of the light waves around her. At the center of her torso and radiating out was a reflection more or less of what was around them. A slight wave or variation is all they would see.

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

"Tag? What is that?"

Freya would give Ra a slightly confused look as she walked down the ramp, then look back to Milo, wanting an explanation. Her questioning gaze was replaced by rapt attention as Ra explained what was going to be taught.

Milo could literally see what Ra was explaining. The faint shimmer that enveloped her body, hiding the fact that she was Force-sensitive with nothing more to give it away than a bending of light. Freya, however, couldn't see it. She could tell that something was wrong, that there was a certain...energy that Ra was lacking now. She could, however, see the faint shimmer.

"Impressive," Milo stated.

Freya tilted her head in slight confusion.

"You feel different."

 

[Riamah]

Not having moved, they would clearly see where Ra was hidden by her illusion. Taking that away, Ra reappeared in front of them and nodded.

"The disappearing is the first skill I feel you should learn and the other will also help if you're trying to avoid somebody that can feel you through the Force. That single skill is almost always around me. You see, those people above don't know I can use the Force at all. So I keep it that way. In fact, you and your father are the first people I've taken aboard my ship that know I can. I hope you can keep that secret?"

It was a chance for Freya to feel like she played an important role with Ra. The truth was there though and Ra hoped her secret would be kept.

When Milo said what she did was impressive, Ra shook her head slightly and maybe had a slight blush. At least her face felt a bit warm.

"Would you like to try? Then I'll tell you about tag."

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

"Let's try it."

Milo would focus on the task at hand, enveloping his body with the same bubble that Ra had done before. Slowly, he began to fade from view.

"Did I get it?"

His silhouette was faint, but still visible. It would take a few more tries before he could actually become invisible. Now it was Freya's turn. She concentrated as well, trying with all her might to become invisible. Surprisingly, she got it perfect on the first try. The only thing that gave away her position was the telltale shimmer of light reflecting off her body. She gasped slightly. It seemed Freya had a unique natural talent with this ability.

"Do I have it now?"

Milo was completely invisible from the neck down, but his head was completely visible, appearing as a floating head, unaware of his appearance. Freya, meanwhile, took a few steps forward towards Ra, trying to see if she could detect her.

 

[Riamah]

Watching as the two of them attempted to only accomplish becoming invisible, Ra nodded as they practiced. It took Milo a few tries to get it done, but there was decided improvement each time. Eventually his body disappeared, but his head showed clear as day. Freya got it just right on her first try, of course this was just on the visible spectrum and done right in front of Ra so she knew where the girl was.

Looking at her as she took those steps forward, Ra gave her slight smile and pointed at her father.

"You're great from the shoulders down, however, you missed your head and leave a perfect target to be decapitated."

Bending over, she picked up a pinecone and lightly tossed it at Milo to hopefully hit him on top of his head. It was done in play and fun. Away from the fleet and anything business related, Ra changed slightly. Able to be without a guard on her ability or alignment, she certainly appeared more relaxed and more human than she had since they met.

"Now tag works like this, Miss Freya. I will be the person that is 'it'. Now that means I need to lightly tap you...that's called a tag."

Closing the distance between her and the hiding girl, Ra tapped Freya on the shoulder lightly and smiled. It may or may not surprise her enough to come out of hiding and Ra would be surprised if it didn't.

"You're it."

Disappearing from view, Ra would move to the other side of clearing and ship. Out of line of sight, it should make it more difficult for Freya to find her.

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

The pinecone thrown at Milo thunked off his head, surprising the former Ren. He cracked a large smile, then completely went invisible. It seemed he got it down now.

Freya was slightly surprised that Ra knew where she was. She kept silent as the rules of tag were explained to her, then came out of hiding when she was lightly tapped on the shoulder.

"How'd you know where I was?"

Freya looked around, bewildered as Ra disappeared from view. A smile crossed her face as well as she began to search for the woman, stepping carefully to listen for any sound that she could make. She received a flick on the ear in the middle of her pursuit, and Milo appeared next to her, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Kark off, dad," Freya giggled. Milo smirked mischievously and disappeared from view again. Wow. It was the first time he had ever seen Freya giggled or laugh in a long time. It brought a certain warmth to him. The young woman continued to hunt for Ra, following displaced dirt that lead to the opposite side of the clearing. She was an expert tracker, after all. The tracks led to a faint shimmer, and Freya reached out, making contact with Ra's upper arm.

"You're it now!"

 

[Riamah]

When Freya found Ra with the tap, she came out of stealth and nodded. In the blink of an eye, Ra went invisible again and waited a few moments for the girl to go find a place of her own. Tag had turned more into hide and seek, but it was still similar in results. Including Milo in the game, this went on for a couple hours before they all met back at the ramp of the ship for a short break.

"Now it seems you two have gotten pretty good at hiding yourselves visually. Now you need to try and combine that with keeping yourselves hidden within the Force at the same time. I showed that off earlier. It is called Art of the Small and basically makes your Force signature very tiny. Have a seat while I get some food and drink for us. We can practice this while we eat."

Going into the ship, Ra returned after a few minutes with some food that had been prepared for the trip today.

"Imagine a sphere or bubble around your core. Where the Force is within you and make it tiny."

As she ate, she again did it more or less slow motion until there was no feeling of the Force coming off her at all.

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo wiped the sweat from his brow as Ra explained her next lesson, how to shrink one's Force signature. As she left and got food, the man took a look at Freya. A slight smile seemed to stick to her. The former Ren put his hand on her shoulder and smiled as well. He was glad she was enjoying herself.

The food arrived, and with it the lesson on how to compress a Force signature. The two did as they were instructed. Milo envisioned the Force in him shrinking down to the size of a pea. He was still giving away his presence, though. Meanwhile, Freya again effortlessly demonstrated that she was quick to learn as she didn't register in Milo's senses at all. To him, she seemed like a normal person, mute to the Force. Freya looked at Milo, then Ra, then back to Milo with an all-too superior look on her face.

"Keep showing off and I'll give you something to show off!"

Then Milo playfully began to wrestle with his daughter, accidently throwing both of their meals to the ground. They didn't care, too busy having a father-daughter moment. When he eventually released her, Freya levitated one of the many pinecones on the ground and flung it towards her father's head. He deftly intercepted it with the Force and crushed it a foot away from his face, sending brown shards flying everywhere, including towards Ra.

 

[Riamah]

It was nice to see the two of them relaxed and enjoying themselves. The lunch would give them a chance to sit, chat and...apparently wrestle? With a slight blink, Ra placed a barrier up around herself to keep from getting hit with the pinecone projectiles. Ended up having to flick some off her food, she continued to eat as they romped around.

Feeling this was something rare to happen, Ra didn't stop them or make a noise that would distract them. Eventually she knew the game would end and they could continue the lesson. Unless they included her in the romp, Ra would stay out of it.

[member="Milo Ren"]

 

[Milo Ren]

Milo noticed that Ra was sitting there, simply observing the two wrestle. Well, that was no fun.

"Come on, Ra!"

This time, he would pick up a pine cone and throw it at her. Freya would follow suit, both of them laughing away as they threw the hard brown objects at Ra, hoping she would join in.