The Force of Fear

[Hadrian Bjormund]

As the tour of the Praxeum continued, Mac began to fully realize how little he knew about the Force and about Force users. He looked through a window in the training quarters and what he saw surprised him. Mac witnessed a duel between two young force users, their light sabers whirling about and clashing with the signature hum which initially made Mac cringe a little. But it was not the fighting style nor force abilities that took him by surprise, but rather it was the color of their lightsabers. Mac had never seen a lightsaber that wasn't red, the thought that lightsabers could come in different colors hadn't even occurred to him until now. Sure, he had seen a couple force users in his work as a mercenary, yet his line of work tended to attract the less savory lightsaber wielders. He walked past many more windows and saw a variety of colors, mostly blues and greens although he did see a yellow lightsaber as well. This seemingly small and simple detail was what truly hit home for Mac and made him realize that there was much more that he didn't know.

He began to keep a more open mind as [member="Veiere Arenais"] continued his speech. While Mac was set in understanding the Force as a neutral tool to be used and skeptical of the Force on a spiritual level, perhaps he was a little too dismissive of what Veiere was trying to do here. This Praxeum was just to teach kids how to use their natural talents in a safe and responsible way, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. Restraint. Moderation. Discipline. This was the first time which Mac saw these characteristics applied to Force abilities. "I think what you are doing here is great, Veiere. This is the first time I have seen anything like this, the first time I have seen any amount of moderation or restraint in using the force, outside of [member="Lady Kay"] of course." Mac motioned to the woman standing beside of him He still had a lot of respect for the amount of restraint that she showed in using her abilities, and seeing the Praxeum had not undermined that respect at all.

Then, an idea popped into Mac's head. "Listen, I'm not sure if this is entirely appropriate, but would it be ok if I came down here sometimes and sparred with a couple of the more experienced students here? I think it would be a great way to come over my apprehension and I could certainly use the practice against lightsabers." Mac looked down at his axes. "Don't worry, these babies can certainly handle lightsaber blows."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay followed along, listening to what [member="Veiere Arenais"] had to say in regards to the Praxeum. She watched the younglings as they practiced, hoping that the trio wouldn't be noticed as she didn't want to disrupt their lessons. Her mind drifted to the past and to what could have been. She placed one of her hands on the window, if not to keep her from drifting too far in her thoughts. A school such as this would have been wonderful for her growing up. Instead of being shunned and abandoned, she could have been nurtured properly.

As Veiere and [member="Macoda Haberon"] headed off further down the wing, Kay remained behind for a while longer. She pictured her younger self as one of the students, sparring and twirling her lightsaber, being able to defend herself with growing confidence instead of with the fear of losing control and killing without mercy.

Kay turned away from the window, letting her hand slide off of it as she walked with quickened steps to catch up to Veiere and Mac. The healing center was a part of the Praxeum that she had yet to visit. It was interesting to see healing taught in a lesson structure. She just learned on instinct and with plenty of practice out in the field. She could've been one of the greats had politics not taken her from that path.

She smiled a little as Mac complimented her restraint, yet her eyes were drawn to Veiere as he made his request. "The students might get good value from it too. Afterall, they wouldn't only have to deal with other Force users. But if you don't think it'll be okay, then I'll continue to practice with him. We all know that I could use the lessons."

 

[WolfMortum]

The prospect of non-force users working alongside force users in order to develop their skills and train together wasn't at all a new concept to him, in fact as it currently stood, [member="Ardgal Raxis"] had already agreed to work with some of the more advanced students in helping them to learn how to counter soldiers or opponents already skilled in combating those alike the Jedi or Sith, talented in anti-force tactics of warfare. It was a little surprising [member="Lady Kay"] might have forgotten this though her memory of Ardgal wasn't the same as it used to be, nor did she seem to take an active interest in the day to day proceedings over the Praxeum when she had the rest of the body of government across Commenori space to manage. It was no doubt an after-thought to her as politics was to Veiere.

"No I don't mind in the least, providing you make use of the mobile shield emitters" Veiere chuckled at [member="Macoda Haberon"]'s sudden enthusiasm, regardless of how he perceived the force, it was nice to hear that the man might visit from time to time; a good first step in a truly positive introduction to the force for an NFU. These personal shield emitters that he spoke of, lined the shelves of every dojo, for the use of individual's not yet ready to spar against a full frequency lightsaber or otherwise a live weapon such as those of steel like vibro-swords or in Mac's case, an Axe. "Perhaps the young ones will give you a good run for your credits" he smirked, throwing his gaze aft across his shoulder to look back in the direction the students were, knowing that despite their lack of years and field experience, their talents in self defense were quite exceptional for many of them. They had a rather gifted group here, which had encouraged Veiere having founded the organization from the ground up with nothing but his aspirations for a piece of his old lifestyle again.

 

[Hadrian Bjormund]

Mobile shield emitters. Mac had some fighting experience with them before and they always came in handy on merc work. However Mac preferred to fight with both of his axes instead of a shield when he didn't have to worry about opposing blaster fire. The axes were forged of phrik and could be used well defensively in experienced hands, giving more flexibility to an aggressive fighting style. But Mac wasn't going to argue with [member="Veiere Arenais"] on his condition. After all, he wasn't opposed to the students using a shield and what Veiere won't know won't hurt him. Mac chuckled, "Give me a run for my credits eh? Well there is only one way to find out." A somewhat mischievous smirk crossed Mac's face. He was really grateful for [member="Lady Kay"] bringing him here.

He turned to Kay who was standing beside him. "You know, I'm really glad that you brought me here. Training in moderation, emphasis on responsibility, I had never witnessed anything like this before." Prior to Commenor, Mac had only ever experienced force users during Kaine Zambrano's invasion of his homeworld and the odd lightsaber wielding marauder on a merc mission. This tour of the Praxeum was eye opening for Mac to say the least. Mac's fear of the force was probably never going to go away completely. It was branded in him by his past. But this tour helped immensely. Mac felt that he understood the Force as much as an NFU could, or at least enough to not faulter in the protection of Lady Kay as Head of Security. He said as much to the two force users who stood beside him. "I understand enough now to know that my previous beliefs about force users and the Force was incomplete, looking simply at one side of a two sided coin. I'm not sure if my uneasiness will over go away entirely. But I shall not falter as Head of Security. Here I stand."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Mobile shield emitters. Kay was surprised that people didn't force her to wear one all the time, not to mention armor. Instead she just spent some of the time with bodyguards. Not that that has always helped, however.

She looked to [member="Macoda Haberon"] as he gave her a smirk that told her that he was already plotting out matches in his head. Kay wasn't sure who she should be more worried, Mac or the students. He would tower over most of them. Except for maybe one.

Kay bowed her head as Mac thanked her, giving him a small smile as he understood more of what she was trying to convey to him earlier. The Force itself wasn't something yo be feared, despite the fact that she tried to avoid using it if at alll possible. There were other reasons for that. [member="Veiere Arenais"] understood some of her reasonings, however she knew that he wanted her to be more open about it than she was. But she just couldn't do that yet...

"You're welcome, Mac. I'm glad that it's helped. Commenor has no current enemies and anyone that wishes to harm me avoid this sector. So hopefully you wouldn't have to test your fears for some time."

 

[WolfMortum]

He was relieved some to hear that [member="Macoda Haberon"]'s discomfort around the prospect of working with Force Users had even minutely been put at ease, no doubt he was to come across more people alike himself and [member="Lady Kay"] that might not hold the same strength of integrity that those of Commenor did and personally Veiere would hope that such run-in's wouldn't deter the man from wanting to stand tall as the head of security for their government and for their family. If they were to ever come across the Sith again attempting to reach out and manipulate the trade world any, Veiere wondered how Macoda might handle such an incident; further interaction between him and the Order of Commenor could better prepare him for such a time, if not physically than mentally as that was often half the battle. "Across the Woodlands and within the Praxeum the Government of Commenor has full access to maintain priority over the needs of the majority, thus as head of security you will be welcome to come and go as you please Macoda" Veiere spoke up after a moment, smiling faintly and glancing to Kay Larr as if to remind her of the same.

"If there is anything that I can do to further encourage you to spend some time with us, to look further into our lifestyle here then I would be happy to accommodate you. Unfortunately many of the force orders within the galaxy prefer to refrain from being open with the public. It's no secret that we're feared for the power that we can practice and such is true of the contrary, our people are intimidated by the unease of society and fear degradation and judgement from the ones they hope to protect. You can understand why we've chosen a quiet area to settle ourselves here on Commenor..." He spoke solemnly, his gaze being taken to the Praxeum around them whilst they would soon begin to head back in the direction they had come from. The establishment was a marvel to behold yet behind the building, the innocence of youth in the younger students and the wealth of abilities and theories taught there, the fear and reluctance that macoda had shown was one of the core examples as to why Force Users met with so much difficulty in outside interactions. A catch twenty-two, the never ending cycle of fear and ignorance that often contributed to peoples swift conclusions of others.