Jedi Academy on Yavin IV (open to the Jedi Order, regardless of faction)

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[SIZE=12pt][member="Shule Windspeaker"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Coci Sinopi"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Vilox Pazela"] | [member="Jorus Merrill"] | [member="Kian Karr"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]I snorted at my Master's response. "I thought Jedi were too stuffy to have barbecues?" I asked, making my way to the boarding ramp. Before I exited, though, I paused, my head tilted slightly. Ah, what the heck. Never hurts to be safe. Quickly turning on my heel, I snatched my training saber (I'd stolen it from the storage rooms at the Academy a long time ago. Granted, I probably should have returned it by now, but I needed some type of weapon) and attached it to my hip. A sudden feeling hit me as my fingers left the metal, as if I would be needing it later. But I merely dismissed it with a shake of my head. I'm either paranoid or haven't yet shaken off that dream. Granted, it could have been the Force telling me something, too (Karr would be delighted by that), but I wasn't too keen to believe that. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Yet.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]My stomach grumbling in anticipation of wonderful barbecue food, I began to walk along, hand in my pockets and a random whistling tune on my lips. Eventually I managed to come across the gathering and had just caught a glimpse of the Kel Dor when his voice invaded my head. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Gritting my teeth slightly, I opted to use the comlink instead of my thoughts -- unlike a certain someone who was well aware of my thoughts on telepathy. "You couldn't have just used your doohicky, Double Kay? Or did it suddenly die -- like your datapad has a tendency to do? Maybe I'll buy you that for Life Day, huh? Five billion comlinks, datapads, and batteries!" Through my entire rant, I'd been trailing along behind the two older Jedi, not quite catching up to them but not losing sigh, either. "Anyway, I'm on my way."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Finished with my brief tirade against the mental intrusion, I quickened my pace until I was practically running, my steps quieter than most due to a mix of previous, ah, "forced entries" and my Shadow training under Karr. Eventually I drew close enough to slow down, walking up so that I was on the other side of the female Jedi -- Corvus, if I recalled right -- and across from my Master. In front of us was a scary-looking dude and an old-looking dude. While my Force abilities weren't honed to peak...whatever, I could still sense the dark side in the scary-looking dude. A Sith at worst, then. Fun, fun. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]"Now this is a more believable atmosphere for you, Master. And, if I'm honest, you too, Jedi lady." The "Master", of course, was for my own. Ever since that...incident, I'd reserved the moniker "Double Kay" for private use. After all, Karr had earned my respect enough for me to honor him with his title.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]If any other Jedi -- or person, in general -- expected me to title them, though, they'd quickly learn to change their opinions. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]"So what's the sitch?"[/SIZE]

 

[Kana Truden]

Two e’s and two elle’s, a good thing to remember for later. Upon the extension of a hand Kana conveniently enough also extended her hand and shook her fellow party-goer’s hand. Or well, party crasher but who cared? They were all jedi here and that was all that really mattered, wasn’t it? Yeah, it was and frankly…

“It’s okay, Taheera.” Kana leaned towards [member="Taheera Sollo"] in a whisper. “So would I.”

“We have nothing to fear but running out of that sugarbeer.” She hadn’t exactly come up with that rhyme herself but for all intents and purposes she was willing to claim she had. “Just, you know, don’t go around telling everyone. Not that I suspect they will throw you out or something but it’s good to play it safe, right?”

“So uh, you said something about giving it a shot to fix my nose?” Blood trickled gently and all that. “I mean, I know how to do it myself but I never turn down the help from a helpful stranger, right? I think the code says something like that about it.”

Well clearly it didn't but Kana was in a good enough mood to joke around. Must have been the weather or something.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Kana Truden"]

A bell like laugh left her throat. She was already beginning to like Kana. Watch out [member="Olivia Durant"], someone was quickly going to take over Taheera's straight, girl-crush position!

Nose crinkled as Kana moved her hand away from her nose. Yup, definitely busted. "Yeah," easy-going expression turned professional. "I don't know what it is," okay, that wasn't true, she knew it was due to her genetic history but she didn't want to say it out-loud, "but healing comes naturally to me. I mean, compared to all the other force...stuff."

She grinned.

"It's a good thing you're asking me to look at this before sugarbeer. Let's see...," stepping up to Kana, she dipped into the force. Her fingers rose slowly and tapped the air just above Kana's nose as if playing an intricate instrument. Slowly Kana would feel ruptured cartilage and broken cells begin to heal through a warm-feeling spreading along her face.

Fingers lowered when she was finished.

"Better?"

 

[Judah Lesan]

Engines roared, then disengaged as the center cockpit yt-1300 Shadow Runner landed on the near by landing pad. The pilot would see the quartermaster for a permanent bay after he was all checked in. For now the Jedi hopeful entered the academy seeking to gain admittance. A duffle was slung over his shoulders, and the tall scoundrel walked into the main hall of the praxium.

Eyes darted around as the near two meter tall young man walked through the hall. Everything about the hall spoke to a world he did not know. The orphan was used to the life of the smuggler, con artist, scoundrel. This place was all about peace keeping, order, and righting wrongs. Jacen had wronged so many people, and he wanted to change that. Jacen wanted to make things right. There was a guilt no one could understand. He didn't expect anyone to. All that Jacen hoped was he could be accepted.

He found a stone ledge near by and leaped up on it. Like any great hall, the place was buzzing with activity, enough activity that anyone like him could go unnoticed. Thus far he had, or so he thought. Jacen had been guided this far, hopefully he would go further.

ooc: Anyone welcome to jump in

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

Jaxton would walk on the courtyard of the Yvain IV temple, taking in the scent of the morning dew as it mixed with the honeyed odor of flowers, the aroma of the jungle trees. The screams of woolamanders and screech of Howlers off in the distance making Jaxton more than aware of wildlife teeming on the forest moon. He paused, taking a moment to close his eyes and feel his surroundings, taking a deep breath of the forest air. Pulling out his saber the retractrable beskar-reinforced fibercord he ignited the blade with a snap-hiss, the azure plasma letting out a gentle hum as he began to go through the katas of Djem So, his preferred lightsaber form. he had volunteered to teach a class today, and students should have been coming in before long. Jaxton was patient, but he also knew how to manage his time. If he wasn't teaching he could be practicing, at least until the students got here and started asking questions.


OOC: This is a few days after Shule's previous class/scuffle with Vazela. Anyone is welcome to join and learn, gonna be learning lightsaber techniques and some Force usage to help along with it. Hope to have some fun guys.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Jaxton Ravos"]

Jacen wandered out onto the floor of the courtyard, enjoying the waft of fresh air. He was garbed in a loose jerkin and cloth trousers, giving him plenty of freedom to move. As he crossed the ground, he observed the distinctive Jedi Master as he moved seamlessly through some katas which were unfamiliar to the padawan. He briefly considered getting on with some Shii-Cho katas or warm ups of his own, but unsure of himself, he simply hitched up his trousers and sat cross legged on the floor.

A long time ago Jacen had completed the basics of Shii-cho and started to learn some Ataru. Returning to the Order over a decade after his failure, he found his appetite for learning any more of the flashy form long diminished. Instead over the last few weeks he had simply started recalling the basics and supplementing these with some basic Soresu defensive katas. Was it losing the infinite confidence of youth that had changed his mind, he wondered, or was it simply a pragmatism that had matured in the intervening years. Either way, he could do with supplementing his skills with further offensive routines and moves that didn’t necessitate wasting energy bouncing around.

 

[Kana Truden]

A savant with healing? Kana knew how to pick them, or well, get picked by them. To one minute be face down in the mud only to be helped up by a nice stranger was certainly appreciated. It couldn’t be helped that she gave the woman a smile. While it certainly felt like the norm to be met with kindness from Jedi there were still enough of them out there to who were rude enough to quite frankly not be considered part of them at all.

Eh, she was going off on a tangent. [member="Taheera Sollo"]’s fingers dangled in front of Kana’s face as slowly but very steadily the trickling feeling in her nose stopped and all was back to normal like a runny nose that just decided to stop being runny.

“Thank you, Taheera.” The patient nodded in appreciation. “That was a good treatment.”

“You know, I rarely see others who seem to be in the know-how of these aspects to the force. Most seem to go for other things like lightsabers, telekinesis and anything that would be more beneficial in a combat scenario.”

“It’s a shame, really.” Kana shrugged. “Anyway, where did you learn all of this?”

Kana half-expected her to say 'ghosts' but surely not everyone had to get help from the other side, right?

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

OOC: This occurs at Master Jaxton's class a few days before Vazela appears and a few days before Mark embarks on a very dangerous mission which I like to call "Origins of the Jedi".

Mark emerged from the trees into the courtyard after returning from a relaxing walk in the jungles of Yavin IV. He'd arrived just in time to attend Master [member="Jaxton Ravos"] 's class he'd said he'd be holding today. Mark would always be ready to practice some lightsaber combat techniques and a bit of force usage when it came time to do so. Even though he considered himself a man (err... boy) of science, Mark had always stayed true to his training and wasn't too far off from knighthood, or at least he hoped he wasn't.
Mark found Master Ravos in the courtyard practicing form five with a blue lightsaber that, interestingly enough, had a cord attached to it. Retrosabers were nearly unheard of, but Mark knew better than to question it very much. For all he knew, there could have been advantages to Retrosabers. Still being in the process of completing his own, Mark still didn't know everything there was to know about the inner workings of the lightsaber.
He waited a moment to see if anyone else would show up besides a young man sitting cross legged nearby, but none came. So, Mark began warming up.
[member="Jaxton Ravos"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Mark Sage"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

As Jaxton continued on with his practice student came to join him, albeit slowly and in lesser numbers than he'd anticipated. The first was a decidedly older man, at least as far as the typical Jedi were concerned. In modern times it seemed most started their Jedi training around twenty and were 'done' by twenty three or four. This one, judging by his gait, was a padawan or a knight, still not fully entrenched in Jedi teachings but he carried a weight to him. A weight Jaxton knew well, the weight of experience. All Jedi went through trials and tribulations, but he wasn't sure if this man faced his while he was a Jedi. Perhaps that was why he was here, to learn to tackle problems he couldn't before. He could only hope the Jedi Order, whatever that meant now, didn't disappoint him.

Seemingly content to wait for the official lesson the older padawan began to sit as Jaxton completed his kata's. The two were soon joined by another padawan, one who in many ways was a foil of the first. Barely old enough to take up a razor blade let alone a lightsaber the boy was of a shorter yet gaunt frame, not quite having filled out into his body yet. At least, hopefully not at that size. The boy had a walk of one new in the galaxy, waiting to experience life in all it's splendors, His eyes were ever moving, quick to observe and try to figure the world around him. It seemed he was the curious sort. He began stretching his muscles and getting ready as Jaxton put the finishing touches on his last kata, then deactivated his lightsaber and stood, as if to say it was time.

"Well, I guess if that's it it's time to start. I'm Jaxton Ravos." He said to them, fairly certain he'd seen both the two at the dance class earlier, but introducing himself anyways. "And the majority of my skill in the Force focuses on reinforcing the body and using a Lightsaber. Making yourself stronger, faster, more durable. Finding how to push your advantage with a weapon that is so-often traded in this day and age for things like Sith Swords and Beskads and repulsor-powered Phrik hammers. Since both of you have made similar choices to me in your choice in weapon." He said, referring to the lightsabers both carried. "We'll start there."

"What is a Lightsaber, and why is it unique?"

 

[Lina Ovmar]

[member="Jaxton Ravos"] [member="Mark Sage"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Aella padded quietly into the courtyard, yawning as she did. she'd stayed here for a few nights now, gaining a feel for the temple and for the Jedi way of life and delving into the archives where she cold, but she was far from fully understanding anything that was laid before her. she'd had a brief opportunity to handle a lightsaber before the gathering had been interupted, by, what she had been informed of later, someone who had had ties with the Sith. Aella was far beyond understanding the wars of the galaxy, that was something she expected to come with experience.

Eyes widened and she quickened her pace upon seeing the Jedi Master rising to his feet to teach the small class. Biting her lip she slid behind the two already present, catching the question he asked, Aella took a small breath and spoke up. "Its a symbol." she paused for a heartbeat, checking her train of thought before continuing "Or at least it was before the need to start hacking at the sith arose. Its not like a blaster or slugthrower, weapons like that are objects in your hand, whereas the lightsaber should be an extension of yourself."

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

Mark thought carefully for a moment.
"A lightsaber is a weapon of a jedi knight. Under the use of someone out if tune with the force, it can be a clumsy weapon that is hard to wield, but under the use of a careful force user, a lightsaber can be so much more than just a weapon. It's almost an extension of yourself through the force. A symbol representing your personality that you pour your heart and soul into creating, as if your personality was made into a weapon which matches your fighting style."
"And when combined with the use of the force, it can be both one of the most dangerous and most beautiful things in the galaxy..."
He trailed off at this, hoping that he thought a lightsaber was meant to be was correct.
[member="Jaxton Ravos"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Aella"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen took a moment to digest the responses of the other Padawan's replies. Far more eloquent than what he would manage, he surmised. He had been watching the Jedi Master carefully. He flowed through postures with a remarkable grace, and yet never left an opening by compromising his balance. His footwork had been immaculate and yet seemed completely natural. It occurred to Jacen that perhaps the dance class had been a lot more than a distraction for the younger padawans.

Voidstalker was a practical man. Anyone who spent days digging latrines just so you could sleep in a freezing muddy ditch that didn't stink and give you disease had to be. "The lightsaber is unique because the blade has neither mass, nor weight. There's no balance between point and pommel, and almost no momentum to a strike. Gyroscopic forces make it a queen to swing, but it cuts through durasteel like butter," he continued, but he gave an almost apologetic shrug as he finished. That answer sounded almost pitifully mundane after the other padawans had hit some pretty philosophical notes in their own.

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Mark Sage"] [member="Aella"]

"All good answers." Jaxton said with a small grin. "Any spacer can pick up a blaster or a slugthrower and figure out how to use it with relative accuracy, but a lightsaber is different. Due to the gryoscopic effects and lack of any noticeable weight in the blade it doesn't handle like a simple sword, and typically takes decided unnatural reflexes and skill, along with extensive training, to use properly. The creation of one's own lightsaber is an exceedingly personal process. Finding a focusing crystal that feels right to you is the most often thought of way to personalize it but that's only the beginning. Handles can be made of durasteel, a rancor's tooth, even wood if you can find the right kind. Grip and blade length can be adjusted to fit your needs. Aquatic species can customize a blade to work underwater, telekinetics can make blade that can't be ignited without using the Force, duelists can make a blade that feels the pressure of your hand and deactivates if you're disarmed."

"In this way the lightsaber is a symbol. A symbol of our skill in the Force, dedication to our training, and personal journeys we've gone through in it's creation and with it at our side." Jaxton would then pull out his retrosaber and ignite the blade with a snap-hiss that the trio of padawans probably found familiar. "But even then it's more than the simple sword of plasma that most expect it to be. In addition to the normal weightlessness and cutting properties when one looks at the actual beam of plasma they'll notice it's not a blade. It's a cylinder." Jaxton would begin to rotate the hilt of the retrosaber in his palm to demonstrate.

"There is no edge. But at the same time it's a beam of plasma. The entire cylinder is an 'edge'. While a sword will have one or two edges, limiting how you can swing and cut with it a Lightsaber can be swung in literally any direction and still be used as a weapon. A weapon of extreme power. So much power in fact, that it becomes less lethal than one would think. When a man cuts away at another's arm with a sword with sufficient strength he'll sever it, and the victim has a chance of bleeding out. Dying even though the strike wasn't a lethal one. But with a lightsaber everything is burned clean through, instantly cauterized."

Jaxton would deactivate his lightsaber. "Now, chances are if the three of you haven't had to kill someone you will. The Force is an amazing thing, but all too often it means a life of strife whether by choice or by chance. I'm not going to say that you shouldn't, because I believe there are times you should, but I also believe that killing a person should always be your last option. With that in mind, and what you know about a Lightsaber, and what you know about the Force how can we as individuals exercise restraint?

 

[OriginsoftheJedi]

"Well," Mark began, "before you even begin to think about fighting, it's best to try to negotiate. And if it comes down to it, it's best to disarm versus kill your opponent. Not only have you spared a life, but they can't hurt you without a weapon of some sort, and using the force in conjunction with your lightsaber can help remove the weapon from the situation."
[member="Jaxton Ravos"] [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Aella"]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen felt like he was shrinking back away from the world as Master Ravos talked about killing. It wasn't that he'd killed many people, in months of armed conflict it was surprising how few people a grunt on the ground had to shoot. The real guilty consciences should have resided with the men who called in orbital bombardments. Many deaths he'd seen down the barrel of a blaster scope. He'd felt almost removed from those events.

Once he'd struggled for his life over a single bayonet. There was no way he could put push that memory away. Nausea crept into the edges of his mind as he vividly recalled the gurgle the boy had made as the blade sunk home ever so slowly.

Failing to shake those feelings away, he concentrated on the question at hand. Mark had certainly hit the nail pretty well square in his estimation, so he considered the wider implication of the question. He started to think on how both sides would lay down rules of engagement, and the volume of treaties a soldier had to adhere to.

"What's acceptable varies massively between different cultures and species," he thought out loud. "So rules and guidelines that have been agreed are always useful. To understand where that line is. Like to say I have a good moral compass, but they might think mine skewed in the unknown regions.

"That said, I like Mark's point. Better to avoid the point where someone raises a blaster in anger altogether. A few good words... And a lightsaber swinging from the hip, probably help there."

[member="Jaxton Ravos"]

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Kana Truden"]

She pulled her fingers back, wriggling her own nose. Arms lowered back down to her sides. "Spacetube," the deadpan left her throat as she managed to keep a serious look on her features.

She smiled and shrugged a pair of unassuming shoulders.

"I just picked it up. I've been studying in the archives, reading all I can get my hands on about healing. Master Eden said she'd teach me some stuff too. It seems like one of the only things that I just get, when things about the force are involved. Does that make sense? Just don't ask if I can do any illusion stuff. You could make me see a fake banana in your hand and I would totally believe you."

 

[Kana Truden]

“We should get more of that Spacetube at the temple then.” Kana joked back. “Serious note, I never had much of an easy time learning the stuff. At first because of a slight communcations error on my behalf,” Her voice lowered in to a mumble. “For a year,” And then back to normal. “Then it was that this ghost, [member="Adele Adonai"] approached me.”

Just this once, Kana let herself claim the spotlight in a rant that went on to explain how she had met the ghost. No details in the how-to’s, [member="Taheera Sollo"] didn’t seem to need that. The reading Kana had done, the nagging she had handed to [member="Corvus Raaf"] about the training not going anywhere (despite the fact that Kana herself had not really done anything to fix said lack of training either.)

The evening would go on. The two women talked your general small talk before Kana had to leave. A brief exchange of communications channels -- by which they really meant numbers -- took place and off Kana went.

“See you around, Sollo.” Kana placed two fingers on her forehead before pointing them at her newfound amigo. It would have to do as a goodbye.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Mark Sage"] [member="Jaxton Ravos"]

[Sorry guys, RL stuff happened]

The hum of the lightsaber made the hairs on Aella's neck stand on end, she found herself inching closer, drinking in Jaxton's words and watching the blade with childlike awe. She became aware that the other two, seemed less awed by the weapon than she and as such, she shrunk back slightly attempting to fit in with the two and trying to maintain an impassive expression on her face.

She was saddened slightly when he deactivated the weapon and fired them another question. She listened to the other's answers before speaking up herself. "Even negotiations can become heated." she said, recalling the few negotiations she'd witnessed between smugglers and the like. "In order to restrain yourself, surely you should start with control. If you can't control your emotions, what good is negotiation?"

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[A different time to training with Jaxton]

Ah hell, he thought, pausing at an intersection between three corridors. Lost again in the maze of massassi temples. "Why the feth didn't anyone put a map around here?" His legs were already aching from the morning's physical training, and his hip was starting to play up again. At least he was on the correct floor, or at least he hoped he was. Damnit, why did one of the teenage padawans have to stroll up whilst he was getting directions from Kali. The nautolan had asked if he needed her to write the directions, and naturally he'd declined. Stubborn old bastard.

Jacen was looking for the quarters of [member="Shule Windspeaker"], not having been able to find him around the temple grounds. Whilst the older padawan had picked up some basics in telekinesis and saber duelling, he felt he needed more hands-on tutelage. Shule was said to be a master in training both the saber and the senses.

Placing his hands on his hips, Jacen came to a halt and gave up. "Anyone about?" he called down the barren corridors. "Looking for Master Windspeaker?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

The occasional referral from passersby would eventually lead Jacen to an open-air garden in what had been a defense turret emplacement on the side of the Great Temple. Shule was meditating here, his eyes a little red, his hair a little untidy. He hadn't been sleeping well, but life went on and there were more people to teach regardless. He had no intention of making his life intrude on instruction time. In basically every way possible, this wasn't about him.

He looked up as Voidstalker stepped into the garden, basically an uneven patch of soil and plants surrounding a group of interwoven small trees. Shule gestured with a pruning shear. "Morning. You must be Voidstalker. I'll be right with you -- I'm just trimming back some deadwood on the bafforrs. They asked for it, and I'm almost done."