Inner Workings

[Vereshin]

t H e M e​

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Two figures emerged through steam hovering inches above a bridge of concrete and steel. Moisture evaporated from a vast reservoir acting as a moat and surrounding a factory located somewhere in the mid-rim. Two Sith had been deployed to infiltrate the facility and raid valuable resources. Vereshin walked among them as the senior figure and utilized the task as a training exercise in effort to hone the skills of the Acolyte beside him. The task was ripe for practicing deceptive powers and tricks of the mind.

Vereshin chose Jyn specifically for his lack of fear, knowing that the mission would test the Acolyte's control over his instincts. The two Sith drew into the steam and the Knight stopped, splaying a palm beneath his lowered wrist in a gesture signalling for Jyn to wait. The sorcerer turned around and kept his eyes sharp for any approaching guards who may have sighted them from the entrance. Looking back towards Jyn, he felt somewhat amused to see another male Sith shorter than himself.

"Sorcery of the mind requires immense control over the instincts of a Sith, or else the spell will break and he will reveal himself." Vereshin explained and raised his hand, brushing the palm over the air surrounding his form and lightly distorting the particles making his appearance visible. His clothing, the dark coat and plus fours transformed into a three piece suit above a pristine shirt with a standing collar and a thin tie. "Emotions are the fuel which feeds a Sith his power, but they must be controlled with an iron will and utilized when needed, lest a Sith be ruled by them." Vereshin finished and gripped the edges of his blazer. He flexed his fingers and a briefcase formed from nothing within his grasp.

"Concentrate and pour your bloodlust into your reach. Allow your feelings to extend your grasp." Vereshin explained as he demonstrated the technique by altering the light particles forming his appearance to create different shapes and colours. "Hold the energy in your hands and bend it to your will. Disassemble the inner workings of the light and weave the imagery it creates." Vereshin allowed Jyn to practice creating his own illusions in preparation for approaching the guards. He turned around and waited for the Acolyte to follow, moving into the steam and striding with poise.

Two guards stood several meters away. Each wielded a scattergun before the entrance of the facility. Vi and Jyn walked towards them steadily, with the older Sith heightening his senses through the Force. "I do not want you to use any weapons. Dominate the fellow on the right using only your mind." Vereshin said following a pause while he allowed Jyn to think or meditate if he wished. With a nod of his head, he signaled to the Acolyte to move forward.

[member="Jyn Cvetkovic"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

He was proud.

He weas proud to have been chosen to operate alongside an accoplished Sith Knight in his own right. He was proud that even though they were working, they would be training. Jyn was proud to have chosen by the Knight. He believed that the story of slaughter of the pirates during the raid on Oorn Tchis had leaked and Vereshin had gotten wind of it, although it was also possible that something else entirely had occured. Either way, he was proud no matter what had lead to this. He was proud to be learning from such a man, experienced and scary both. It was the outfit, Jyn decided that it was the outfit that made the man seem scary.

Sorcery of the mind. It sounded exciting, that was true. Jyn was slowly becoming powerhungry, even he to admit it. He was craving that feeling, that one he had experienced during his slaughter. He wanted that, he wanted that power. He felt unstoppable. He felt unbeatable, golden. He felt like everything he did was power. The force had guided him, controlled him. It had showed him the true power of the dark side and he wanted it. He wanted it more than anything. He knew that sorcery of the mind was the right place to start. Starting easy was no fun, starting powerful was always more fun, it always would be.

He listened to the wiser man explain the task to him. It seemed simple enough, tap into the force and then execute. However, it was never going to be that easy. Jyn had yet to learn master the force but even he knew something was wrong. The force was always there, but sincle the raid of Oorn Tcis the man had struggled to access, tap into the force. Jyn refused to let that beat him, he needed to tap into the force or he'd be dead. Maybe not Vereshin, he could probably protect himself. However, Jyn wasn't that good. One wrong move and he'd be dead, he knew that. One wrong move and he'd be shot.

Then he felt it. He kept focusing, straining. He felt it breifly before he lost it again. He knew it was there, he just needed to tap into it, keep it. He felt out again, it was there. He knew it was there, he just needed to secure it. He kept feeling, keeping poking and touching and trying to manipulate the force to do anything, to bend to him as if he was the master and the force was but a tool, a slave that he could use to assist him.

He had it.

He reached out with the force. He felt the man, he felt the man there. He was stood tall, gun in hand. Jyn needed to get into his mind, that was the difficult bit. He held out his palm lightly, beginning to copy the technique that Vereshin had shown with the colours. They were pretty colours but not useful to him. Or, were they? Jyn offered a sly grin, picturing the space around the man was one thick black void. He then began to picture a mind, imagine a mind. He began to order the force, tell it to twist the man's brain, control him. He needed, he was determined to make the man bend to his will.

Then the man fell. He was breathing, just.

[member="Vereshin"]

 

[Vereshin]

Vereshin allowed Jyn to approach the guards first, as to survey his use of the techniques the sorcerer previously explained. The Acolyte demonstrated adequate skill by destroying the light surrounding the guard and concealing his vision in darkness. With a nod of satisfaction, Vereshin extended a palm and gripped the blaster of the guard on the left through the Force, crushing the components and causing the weapon to split and explode into a small nova of metal dust. The sorcerer lowered his hand and cocked his head to one side. Gripping the edges of his jacket, he raised one eyebrow and delivered his energy into the body of the guard, dominating his mind and puppeteer the form of him.

The guard's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his mouth hung open in an incoherent drift. He raised both of his hands to his face and skewered each finger into the balls of his eyes, crushing them and causing them to sputter and burst from his skull. Blood and fluid dripped down his face and his mouth remained hanging open as though he had not even noticed a thing. Vereshin waved a hand and the guard awoke. He shrieked in agony and fell to his knees, grasping his face in horror and confusion over what exactly had happened. With both of the guards robbed of their sight, Vereshin strode forward and stepped directly over the stray leg of the wailing guard and passed into the facility.

"Very well done, Acolyte." Vereshin said with a nod of his head. They walked across the concrete bridge and below steel frames constructing the massive entrance. A tiny doorway stood in the center of a windowless slab of steel cascading far into the clouds. "Although I told you not to use weapons, there are means of disabling an opponent physically entirely through the Force." The sorcerer brushed down his suit as though it were real. "Collect your own thoughts and sew them into the body of your opponent, as though you are delivering your hatred and anger into an external form." They arrived at the doorway and two men waited to receive them. Unarmed, they merely served to escort businessmen into the facility.

"They are not armed. This time I want you to use only words. Rely on the Force to deceive their minds, but carry it on your manner and fool them genuinely as well." Vereshin instructed as he moved on. He would wait until the next round of armed guards to allow Jyn to instigate violence through the Force. Carrying the illusion briefcase in his hand, he walked ahead of the Acolyte and approached the two doormen with his usual coy smile. They stood boldly, arms folded, displaying posture of suspicion and mistrust.

"Good morning gentlemen!" Vereshin brushed a hand over his slick hair and greeted with an aura of joviality. He entered their minds with his Force essence and dominated them with insidious subtlety. Not knowing any wiser, they relaxed their posture and lowered their arms. "I am here to purchase a supply of materials for the Sith Empire and concrete the terms of our arrangement with your superior." Awaiting their response, Vereshin paused to allow Jyn to expand on their cover with his own objective and idea of the situation.

[member="Jyn Cvetkovic"]

 

[GhostOfProtocol]

Slowly he nodded. He accepted the congradulations, he'd earned it. He didn't need a weapon, the lightsaber that he'd only used twice before was clumsy and weak compared to the mind. He was slowly learning that as he worked with Vereshin, sometimes the only weapon you needed was the mind you were born with and the power of the force to manipulate and twist the winds of the enemies that opposed you, opposed him. He could put down the weapons, clumsy and inaccurate and instead use his mind which was much more accurate and much stronger. He smiled softly, knowing the power that he was being taught.

He didn't need to dirty his own hands, he could make the opponent dirty his or her own hands instead.

The duo kept walking through the facility. He listened with interest and the older Sith described what else he could do with the power. The older Sith seemed amazingly powerful in this situation, he seemed like he could break the mind of anyone who attempted to oppose him, anyone who tried to oppose him and anyone who even dared to oppose him. Vereshin seemed powerful enough to do anything he cared for.

Then they came up on the unarmed guards. Vereshin carried himself amazingly well. The guard easily appeared to buy his story athough Jyn assumed there was some prodding with the force that was in play to make sure that the guard brought his story.

The older, wiser Sith had put the young acolute on the spot.

He needed to talk his way into the base all while twisting the mind of the man. He imagined a brain once again and began ordering and directing the force to penetrate and twist the mind. However, this time he wasn't aiming to do any damage to the guard in question, he was attacking the parts of the mind that allowed for common sense so that the story that Jyn formulated would be brought.

"I'm here to oversee the transaction and provide the funds to purchase your wares"

[member="Vereshin"]