Private The Eyes of a Knight | Training Thread

[Taramaz Arcturus]

L E A R N​

Location: Naboo – Theed – Pergola Bridge – On Foot
Time: 1315 Hours
Mission: Practical Research Task on Crime and Law Enforcement
Equipment: Fangs of Death, Sean-Olc Robes
Tag: Oleander Webb | Dreidi Xeraic | Teyla Sal-Soren | Insert My Name Here | Lefwen Claskier | Lavria Xedrim | Et al. |​

The unsuspecting citizen could look upon Theed, and think that it was a Haven. A place free of crime. The Garden of Eden placed in the mortal world. Heaven incarnate.

And, to some extent, they would not be wrong. Theed was, without reserve, a beautiful city. Built upon a cliff, with beautiful stones. The Solleu River ran through it, and poured off the cliff it was built upon.

It was truly a marvel of architecture and beauty, no less so on this very day. If one were to stand in the forest and look up at Theed, on it's cliff so high, they would be blinded by the Midday Sun, just past the peak of it's journey across the sky.

It was, truly, a capital fit for the magnificent world of Naboo, with it's lush forests and mist-covered mountains. The planet, truly, had no competition in the whole Galaxy. It overflowed with life, love and happiness. It was the ideal home for many, and the capital of one of the largest, most powerful Nations to call their Galaxy home. It was the headquarters of the Knights Obsidian, the Federal Law Enforcement Agency and Force User Sect of the Military.

It was, for this very reason, that the Knights Obsidian could never grow lax in their duties, in their vigilance. For crime to occur on a backwater world where there was just a single, if any, Knight's Presence was one thing. For it to be committed upon the very soil where they planted their flag, where they trained the next generation? It was unacceptable. A relaxed and careless Law Enforcement Agency was not one that had any reason to operate.

Once they let crime into their Capital, they let it into their Hearts. If they could walk the streets, and not be trusted to stop a mugging, then who could trust them to put an end to a sentient-smuggling operation? A cataclysmic threat of monstrous proportions? What Nation could trust ineffective warriors who can't even hold their shields to protect them from the enemy's storm of arrows?

The Knights Obsidian had found themselves rather short-staffed, after a recent Cataclysmic Event of Monstrous Proportions that had targeted their Order specifically. And so, Taramaz, the man you might least expect to lead a training exercise, much less a practical research task, was found leading a group of Squires and Knights through the streets of Theed.

He was not walking them around simply to showcase them, no, they had parades for that.

As the Sun shone high above in the Sky, casting it's golden rays down to them to light their path, he guided them through the streets. To watch. And to theorise. It was quite like I Spy, a game for children, but on a much more real scale. They were not spotting green leaves, grey stones, or blue skies. No, they were spotting crimes, crimes that could be. Merchant stands left unattended, benches where one might forget their handbag, houses with locked doors but open windows.

It was not the regular territory of a Knight, true, but it would foster and develop skills in them for later in their lives and career. An invaluable skill was the eye that could predict and see what others couldn't.

As he walked, the hilts of his lightsabers brushing against the cloth that form his tail-coats, he asked the Squires that followed him a question. With the voice that sounded as though it had seen War, and loved it. Gone to Hell, and gotten bored, and lead Armies, and watched them die.

"Squires, tell me, each one of you, what it is you are learning from this task."

 

[Oleander Webb]

Wearing: X
Wielding: X X
Tag: Taramaz Arcturus | Dreidi Xeraic | Lefwen Claskier | Teyla Sal-Soren | Lavria Xedrim ​

The more the small group walked the streets of Theed, the more it began to dawn on Oleander just how out of place he was among such crowds. Not in the sense that he didn't belong with the Knights Obsidian. No, that level of sore thumb mentality was thankfully a level he wasn't so bold to assume applied to him. Rather, the awkwardness of being a knight among squires was nagging at him just a little. And perhaps more importantly, the content of the lesson.

He was pretty sure he'd used some of hiding spots that were being pointed out a few times. ​

Admittedly, there was a difference between committing crimes and feasting on soup for strictly survival purposes. That was the excuse he'd give superiors should they question him, at least. It was a man eat man world out there (and in the Anzat's case, quite literally).

Nevertheless, he followed along with the lesson. Piping up only rarely, giving the squires a chance to answer for themselves. It was a different sort of lesson for him. Less learning what to look out for, more learning what others knew to look for. All the better to circumvent them should the hunger strike. Something to keep complications to a minimum.

"Eyes open. Always," he answered Taramaz's question after giving the squires their chance to respond. "You seldom know what's hiding in plain sight."

 

[Lefwen Claskier]

Equipment: A backpack full of nothing much.
Apparel: x
Tag: Taramaz Arcturus Oleander Webb Dreidi Xeraic Teyla Sal-Soren Lavria Xedrim

What was she learning? It was difficult to say. So far she had learned that she had spent years picking pockets in the wrong cities, and that market-holders in Theed were some of the most naïve in the sector. So far she'd spotted no less that six situations in which she could have made off with items the value of which exceeded her personal wealth many times over, although the stern Knight who was leading their small group would likely have taken a dim view. That was one of the harder things she'd had to learn... That joining the Knights Obsidian would require a rather drastic change in how she had been living.

The city was truly magnificent, and Lefwen felt somewhat out of place with so much clear, blue sky above her. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling, but ever since she had arrived on Naboo she had found it hard to shake the impression that this was all a dream. The city was too clean, the people too polite and well-dressed. One could immediately tell that this was a world of importance, filled with important people going about incredibly important business. And in truth, she didn't feel all that important whatsoever.

However, she arrived here with a mission, even if she still had not quite worked out what that mission was.. The man she had met at that strange party on Roon had been right: the badge he had given to her, which was currently was pinned proudly on her backpack, had been immediately recognised by the first starship captain she showed it to, and without any assurance of payment or recompense he had ferried her to Naboo. Once she had arrived at Theed, she had been met by a droid, and that droid had directed her to a magnificent temple which, it turned out, was one of the primary training facilities of the Knights Obsidian. After that it had been a rather rushed process, but all of it had led her here. A Squire, was that what they had called her?

She looked around once again at the rest of the class. There did not seem to be any particular unifying feature; aside from herself there was that peculiar, gifted child she had begrudgingly worked with on Montitia, a slightly foreboding Zabrak woman, and another woman, altogether more composed that the rest, that was about Lefwen's age. There was another man as well, in addition to the one who was leading them, although she could not quite work out if he was a member of the class or not.

Lefwen was the first to answer Master Taramaz's question, "The people in this city believe they are safe, and that safety has made them careless." She nodded to one of the stallholders ahead, an uncannily tall man who was deep in conversation with a customer, his entire stall of ornate vases and sculptures open to the world behind him. "It would not be hard to steal one of those statuettes," she stated before hurriedly adding, "I would imagine."

 

[Dreidi Xeraic]

Tag: Taramaz Arcturus Oleander Webb Lefwen Claskier Teyla Sal-Soren Lavria Xedrim
Attire: Over sized plaid shirt, band t-shirt, blue well worn jeans and dark sneakers.

Dreidi kept her hands in her jean's pockets as she looked around the place. She was puzzled by this marching around Theed. Yes, Theed was pretty and it was the capital so there was plenty of security and civilians, however, was it exciting? No, it was rather mundane and the people for the most part seemed too passive and uninspired, at least not inspired in the same way she was. She wanted to start a band, try out singing and playing an instrument, she had a few lessons and it was going okay but her preferred style was not the one she was being taught and she felt like she was being held back from her passion. It was frustrating, as frustrating as this wandering around and not actually doing anything. Where was the Force training or Lightsaber combat? She wanted to do something and it seemed that this was just a class in how to march around the capital.

Looking at the other students, Dreidi felt a little too casual, one was covered in armour and another was in some sort of stylish get up that Dreidi couldn't tell was protective of the wearer or just something else slightly casual... It wasn't mentioned that they had to dress formal or anything so Dreidi felt a bit miffed that everyone seemed a lot more formal and professional than her. When they stopped, Dreidi had to stop abruptly before she would bump into the person in front of her. Dreidi listened as the guy in front asked what they were learning, were they learning something during this task? She was just in her own thoughts, how was she suppose to be learning when just boringly marching around Theed somewhere she had been a million times before. This was insane, and she was sure everyone was just making up answers as they talked.

"So, like the guards and armed forces over there, think you could commit a crime and get away from them?" Dreidi asked pointedly, she was thinking on the spot and didn't know what she was going to say till she said it. "A Sith would look at this scene and state that peace is a lie, that right here, right now people believe themselves safe and secure but it wouldn't take much to change that. A Jedi would argue different, that right now there is serenity, hope, creativity and peace within these people and while that peace can be shattered with war and crime, it can be strengthen and that these people deserve the peace that we provide them. My point is that, what we will see is no more or less valid than what you see, we just have different perspectives. Perhaps the lesson is to be mindful of what others might see and think, whether you agree with the view or not."

Dreidi then shrugged and looked around some more.