The Pilgrim doing Pilgrim stuff

[Akio Diachi]

Akio had rarely ever felt as purposed as he did now. His pilgrimage had not ended exactly, however it seemed it had taken a second turn. One that he was glad for. With the assistance of Master Robberts it seemed that he would finally be able to being reaching for who--or rather what--he was trying to become. A better man. Someone able to do the right thing and make up for all the red in his ledger.

As part of that, he had stumbled across something he wanted to learn; Tutaminis. The art of absorbjng energy and difusing it could be the difference between life and death. Taking Karen up on her offer, the Chiss had called ahead of time and set up an appointment to learn from her.

He took a seat in the lobby of the DAS, waiting for a brief moment in the one of the nearby chairs and quietly folded his hands together.

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

"Good morning Master Pilgrim."

Came the booming hello of a very bright and very familiar face. Karen walked in the large front doors of the DAS with the large tap of her boots and the quiet swing of her fashionable Tetan purse.

"Tut tut. Follow me please. The holodeck is on sub-level three. Walk and talk dear."

Without stopping for introductions she trotted over to the elevators. Casually dressed for another day in the city. The silver Staff elevator opened and only she and [member="Akio Diachi "]got on. She pressed the down key.

"So? Small talk. How have you been since we last saw each other? Adapting to city life yet? Hehe."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio quickly rose and began to follow after her. "Good morning, Master Roberts. My apologies, I will remember for next time."

He made a mental note to be on the third level--and to find out what exactly a holodeck was. Though he had a feeling he would soon enough. His plain black jacket and pants swished softly as he walked. They were nothing special, just durable and rather cheep. The two things that he was looking for in clothing these days.

"Oh, I suppose they are," Akio said with a half smile, "I made work for myself teaching some of the local underclass children and teens martial arts," he gave a slight shrug, "Its harmless unarmed combat mostly. In return they give me donations of whatever they can find. I rented an apartment, its not much but," he chuckled, "its a roof and four walls with a mattress. I will confess, it is very different from life hoping from ship to ship on the road-so to speak."

Truth be told it was rather difficult to go from nothing to something, but he was making it work. And, he had been with worse, at least he had a chance to move forward in the galaxy, if not materially then at least spiritually, "How are things here at the Academy?"

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

She smiled but ignored his question with a quick snap of,

"Busy."

The elevators swished open and the prompt woman was already out the door. Clutching her handbag close and whisking herself down the grand white hallways with terrible speed. Good heavens. This girl had a stride.

Walk and talk dear.

"I'm glad you're adjusting Akio. Evolution is a firm Jedi trait and one that will come in handy during your training. Mmm. Yes. In fact? I expect you'll enjoy this next part swimmingly."

Now she really smiled. As if the very thought of rigorous training or bloody backyard torture was anything but glamorous fun. And in city clothes too? Shame.

She stopped in front a truly massive durasteel door. The kind they kept inside dangerous nova reactors and the core of a starship's energy bays. It was marked, "Site 19" in large orange letters. The entrance to the grand arena. The doors, to the holo-deck.

"Welcome to the holo-deck Master Diachi." She gave with a wave.

The grand doors churned slowly and opened with a tremendous, spectacular reveal.

"Or should I say? ...Welcome, to Tython,"

​

The world of the DAS faded from view as the orchestra of the Sumeridian Temple bloomed into full color. Surrounding them both with the sights and sounds of temperate Tython. The sky was a perfect blue vista and tall sand colored walls of the port city gasped to life and towered up, and up, all around them. Birds flew overhead and child Jedi run up and down the cobblestone Temple steps. Giggling and grasping all the way. There were lightsaber classes upon every tall tower and tiny gardening women in every paradise glade. Small carts rolled through the Temple's streets and strange wild creatures were tended comfortably in every red-vested stable stall.

As the durasteel doors closed behind Akio. A whole new world opened up before him. With the great desert sun of the Southern Continent flowing down upon him. Luminous beyond words.

Yet her words, fell like the summer sun. Dispelling the illusion and welcoming them both back into the present year.

"Mmm. This is a holographic recreation of the Sumeridian Temple as it existed on Tython over two thousand years ago. It was taken from one of our Holocron's memory banks and re-imagined using raw data we've collected from the Imperial Archives of Coruscant. We believe it to be quite accurate. If only visually. ...The umm. Smells? We're still working on those. Hehe. So pardon our dust, yes. Hehe."

A loud moo came from one of the stables as Karen stepped out into the summer courtyard. Beckoning all the way for Akio to follow. Oh my? And how out of place they both looked now. For ever single resident of the Temple, both near and small, were garbed only in the traditional robes of the Jedi. White and brown. Just like the locals.

~ "Good morning Master Roberts." ~

Came the sweet, yet robotically familiar, voice of a beautiful stable girl. With her white flowing hair and a face that was washed twice over in a child's immortal youth. She stepped forward and gave the two newcomers a slight, and wonderfully proper bow.

"Good morning Ciri. And how is our little program running today hmm?"

~ "Very well indeed Master. And I shall also note? That everything has been prepared out in the martial courtyard for your and Apprentice Diachi's training this morning. Please just ask if you need anything. I will be here. Tending the Malas." ~

"Thank you Ciri. Enjoy the animals dear."

Karen waved Akio past the elven teenage girl. A hologram herself, Ciri was actually the very same Master A.I. that Diachi had meet earlier in the conference room. The stewarding personality of the DAS. No mere white-haired girl at all. Fascinating.

Down a flight of stairs and past the green arid courtyards of the Temple lay the martial yard of sand. A beautiful stone forum with a square training area in the middle. Filled with glittering dry desert sand, the training square was the perfect location for hosting mortal combat excessive and for cushioning tumbling falls. No doubt any martial arts master would approve likewise. Here, in calm afternoon of Tython's greatest wonder, Karen moved to the edge of the square and nodded approvingly. Swinging her modern handbag around with glee and promptness. It was time to begin.

"Well then. Now that all that's over with? Hehe. ...Shall we begin your training Apprentice?"

[member="Akio Diachi "]

 

[Akio Diachi]

As the Chiss gazed in wonder at the glorious creation before him he was purely convinced a manner of sorcery or Force Magic had opened a portal to another world. To say it was breath-taking was an understatement. He was lost in wonder at it and--it was beyond anything he has seen before.

"I've been to Tython," he said at last when he had caught his breath. "Twice as part of my pilgrimage. The planet is," he searched for the words, "Different. It's heart breaking to see how it has changed."

Though of course both times had been incredibly different. The first time he has crashed on accident while stowing away on a ship flown by a hotheaded booze selling and swilling smuggler. The second time he had journeyed to make a set of force imbued rings, and required the aid of the aged planet to do so.

There was something familiar about this sparing arena they had entered. The Chiss had seen some of the training areas he had been instructed in with his flash backs. Seeing the familiarity in this place brought a warmth of fondness into his body that made him smile. He gently set his pack of weapons aside. Thought "pack" was something of an upspeak for a worn blanket tied with ropes as a makeshift bundle and shoulder straps. It was a humble containment for his cortosis Katana, Force imbued throwing quills, force imbued Wazikashi, and ultrachrome monk's spade. He didn't know if the lady would want him to use them or not but he wanted to be prepared.

The Chiss rolled his neck and back, warming his muscles up before giving a slight bow, "Yes, Master."

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

Karen moved to a bench and sat down her things. Clapping her hands free of all loose articles and then returning to the edge of the sand pit. Though, more into the shade this time.

"To begin. You'll need to show me what you can do. Let's begin with the basics, shall we."

She straightened her back and nodded.

"You are now to demonstrate knelling meditation. Connect with the Force in a prompt and timely manner. Then, you shall levitate the sand around you and hold it in place for as long as you are able. This will be the first test of your bloodline's proficiency and your own skillful potency."

She motioned to the training grounds,

"Apprentice. You may begin when ready."

To note. This test was applied firstly to all of her students before their actual training in Force Abilities began in earnest. She needed to know where they were at. Where their comfort level was. Only then could Roberts approach her student's training with the proper care and efficiency to see them learn and grow. Push too hard and they break. Push too soft and their efforts are wasted.

Now was the time to see just how strong [member="Akio Diachi "]was in the Force.

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio nodded before sitting cross legged in the sand. He took the time to smooth the wrinkles out of his jacket and pants. It was not so much a matter of necessity, only a way to help him clear his mind and focus. Each wrinkle represented a rogue thought, a wayward child or an emotion. As the chiss straitened his garments out he let his his mind still and quiet, like a tranquil pond.

Satisfied, Akio closed his eyes and delicately set his hands on his knees. His back was strait in ram-rod posture, as he assumed the lotus position. His breath became deeper, slower and richer as he gradually began to let go. He released his sense of self, his sense of autonomy, as he has released the rogue thoughts he forsook the illusion of control and singularity.

We are all one, he thought with each inhale. We are all the Force, he thought with the exhale. We are all one. We are all the force. We are all one. We are all the force. We are all....

Drenched in this trance like state of purest harmony, he extended his awareness to the sand around him. He visualized it, embracing is oneness with the sands. He felt his mind extend around him, into the sand in a spiritual and merging expertince.

He wasnt just the sand. And he wasn't just Akio. They were one. He felt it as his own skin. He felt the courseness and spent several moments savoring the connection and deepening it. Longer. Wider. Stronger. We are all one. We are all the Force.

At last the sand rose, Akio picked it off the ground like it was his own arm. The sand stopped, hovering at his eye level in a tranquil circle around him. He kept the circle suspended as long as he could. A minute passed without a shake or a sound. Another. At the third the sand quivered as his concentration threatened to break. At the fourth it wavered with the fifth minute came shaking as the sand began to slowly lower. At last it fell to the ground as Akio lost his connection. The Chiss sighed before rubbing his eyes and looking to Karen. "How did I do, Master?"
[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

Karen stood with her arms behind her back. Nodding as he finished,

"Excellent. Indeed, already you possess the magnitude of focus and skill that is required of all senior Jedi students. As such. We can begin your training with fully mature techniques. So... We'll skip the novice stuff for now."

She returned to her handbag and withdrew a small white stone. Rounded and polished, as if having spent it's long life at the bottom river bed. It would do.

"The next technique I want to try with you is Energy Manipulation. We'll begin with flame dampening and move up from there. ...You may stand."

Roberts entered the sand pit and stood a ways off. She rubbed two fingers across the polished stone and then stroked the air with a horizontal flick of her wrist. As if she was painting some unseen statue about the shoulders. Immediately the air that she had passed with her two fingertips burst into rolling flames. A somber torch which lingered for a moment, then dissipated.

Karen nodded and rubbed the stone again. This time she simply swatted the air as with a bull whip. There was a quick crack and then the fluttering air withdrew inwardly to reveal a gaping ball of fire. Pulling it's lashing flames outwards and back into the physical world. This softball sized flame rolled and quenched itself like a tiny flowing sun. With real heat that could be felt from even a moderate approach.

It remained hovering in rolling stillness exactly where it was summoned. A sobering ball of fire.

"There. ...This flame is a construction of the Force and will last for about fifteen minutes. At it's core is a stable fuel source which I have anchored into our gravity with the power of the Force."

She gave a wave for [member="Akio Diachi "]to approach,

"I want you to approach this flame and extend your hand towards it. Then close your eyes and experience it within the Force. I want you to manipulate the flame and learn it's boundaries. Play with it. Hehe. As if it were clay to mold with your mind. Learn how to touch it's edges and see how the Force builds it so. Probe it. Push it. And, of course, learn from it."

Karen returned her eyes to the rolling star,

"Then. When are you comfortable. Extinguish it with the Force. This will prove to both of us that you have the skill not only to command latent energy? But also that you can learn, grow, imagine, and perceive the Force in new ways."

She took a step back and waved him to the flame,

"You have fourteen minutes to complete this task. You may begin when ready Apprentice."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio could feel the heat wafting off the fiery orb like..... like nothing he had ever experienced before. He hated the heat as it was, his Chiss nature preferred cooler climates, but this was even more intense than your usual desert. For obvious reasons, deserts were usually not force created balls of fire. The Blue Pilgrim took a tentative step forward, licking his lips.

"Confidence is key," he told himself, "Confidence is key."

He didn't feel very confident.

All the same, the Chiss closed his eyes and stretched out to the fire. He swallowed what he could of his fear and stretched out calmly, quietly. His mind, his aura was tentative, lacking the assurity it had before. He tapped on it gently, the fire tapped him back with a flicker. He tried again, pressing it harder. But that which is given, is mirrored. The fire kicked him away, knocking Akio back a physical step. His fear mounted, his anxiety increased. He wanted to run, he wanted to get as far from that as possible.

Something triggered inside the Chiss, something he hadn't felt in many years, since he was a child. He pushed back with the Force, making the flame flicker and shimmer for a moment before he pressed and grasped it. It was a mental battled and he had gained the upper hand. His arms extended upward, pushing the flames just a bit higher. Akio threw his arms wide, stretching the fire to either side in a flat, horizontal line. It pushed him, but Akio pushed back, his control over it like a vice grip. Then, the flame died on him.

Akio opened his eyes, a slightly puzzled look showed on is face. He wasn't sure what to think about that, but what he felt most of all was relief that the fire was gone.

"I--I--I" he didn't know what to say. The Chiss cleared his throat before smoothing his hair back into place in its top knot, "I am not entirely sure what happened."

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

Karen shrugged,

"No idea. ...Try again please."

In martial arts sometimes there are great leaps forward. Sudden breakthroughs and instant endowments of power. But... Other times, (and more likely the case,) you simply had to practice the technique a thousand times. Again, and again, and again. That, was how you got the hang of it. That was the difference between a novice and a master. Thousands and thousands of tries.

Karen recreated the ball of flame again. Just exactly as before. Fifteen minutes of sustainable flame. Then she stepped back and waved [member="Akio Diachi "]forward.

"Well. Go on then. Don't nancy out now."

Yep. Stern taskmaster was stern.

 

[Akio Diachi]

The Chiss nodded at her words. He felt slightly deflated for a fraction of a moment. It wasn't that he had to do it again it was that he failed--and had to try and find out why. He knew it was on him, which made the perfectionist feel no small amount of angst.

Akio looked at the ball of flame, into it. He steadied himself, suppressing his fear and anxiety for a moment. It was fire. He could overcome it. He was in control, it couldn't hurt him if he didn't allow it.

If he didn't allow it.

The Chiss took his step forward and extended his hand toward the flame. His fingers hovered just a few inches from its boilingly hot surface. The thing was a mini sun and he was standing next to it. He took a moment to dwell on the thought before getting to work. Akio reached out through the force and touched the ball of fire. This time instead of breaching it with fear and worry he reached into its depths with confidence. The flame followed his orders, his lead like a faithful hound and Akio felt it. He moved his hand to the left, the flame followed it in a jet of plasma-like matter. Twisting his hand upward, he flicked it upward, arcing the fire back into itself. His other hand circled the ball with a swift motion, stirring up more before sending it cascading to the ground. Both of his hands began to circle it's circumfrence, scooping the glowing flame into his palms. He tossed both hands into the air and the flames fell towards the ground in a glorious rain of flickering sparks.

Satisified, Akio wrapped his mind around the ball. He envisioned his focus circling around it like a cage, a net of control. Pulling his hands together, he made it smaller, tightening the net. Small flames flickered along the edges of the net until it was the size of a baseball. Akio folded his hands on each other, and the ball vanished into nothingness.

The Chiss smiled at his master, there was no denying the confidence that glimmered in his eyes. "I can control it."
[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

Better.

"Very good. Now we'll move on to the more spontaneous part."

She turned her shoulders and her chin to one side. Aiming off in another direction as she once again rubbed her strange rock. Then with a quick flick of her wrist, she flicked a ball of flame out into the air like a magician flips a face card. Then she did it again, and again, and again. Flip. Flip. Flip. She cast at least six tiny fireballs out into the sand pit. Plop. Plop. Plop. And each of them arched through the air and came smashing down like a potato. Plop. Extinguished in a sudden splattering of flame. As if they were water balloons or paint balls full of splattering fire.

"As you can see. I'm quite comfortable casting a few fireballs myself. Indeed, with a only a flick of my wrist I can toss out one as easily as a baseball."

She smiled and returned a gaze to [member="Akio Diachi "],

"Make ready please. As, now you'll be extinguishing the flames as I toss them through the air. You must grasp the summoned flames with the Force and quench it before it can touch the ground. A test of moments, rather than minutes. Make ready now."

Yet another simple preparation for eventually learning to catch blaster bolts. Yet, far less deadly and far less likely to lose a student or two this way.

"Begin when I toss. And... Go!"

She flicked another fireball right over the sandpit. Just high enough to pass over Akio's head if he wasn't careful. Oh dear!

Here we go again.

 

[Akio Diachi]

He couldn't help but feel a bit of awe watching as she flicked the fire balls around like they were candied fruits. He wanted to reach that level of ability one day. Not for the power itself but for the strength that it could offer. The ability to be that in tune with the Force.

In the moment. Akio straitened his arms down by his side. I can do this, he reminded himself. I've caught arrows in mid air. I've dodged slug throwers, I can catch... fire. Oh dear. He balled his fists, summoning his will and courage with all of his might. Yes indeed, he could do this too. Even if he was terrified of fire itself.

I can control it, he reminded himself once more.

And just in time. The fire ball formed in [member="Karen Roberts"]' hand and the Chiss felt his mind go strong. His emotions were silenced. His will alone was what remained. He flicked his hands open and watched as the fire ball began to arc in the air. His eyes locked on the flaming projectile, just as his will did. The moment it was directly over his head, Akio's hands clapped in front of him, envisioning a pair of massive blocks snuffing the flaming blocks out of existence. He felt the heat dissipate as his desire manifested into reality.

 

[Jsc]

"Bravo!"

She smiled and gave a happy nod. Yeah... I think he's getting the hang of this energy manipulation thing.

"Now for consistency. Let's do it again please."

Karen continued tossing fire with the flick of her wrists and [member="Akio Diachi "]was once again expected to keep on quenching them. Roberts would continue until Akio was fatigued enough that it was time to call it quits. After all. Stopping fireballs was actually much, much easier than stopping automatic blaster fire or the stray blast from a distruptor cannon. If Akio was going to enjoy the merits of a real battlefield application for this little talent of his? ...Yep. He was gonna need a lot more practice.

She aimed to tire him out for the day. It ain't Jedi training if you ain't sweating bullets now. Hehe.

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio clenched his fists again, pulling his will around him again. He was feeling more at ease with himself and this fire business. The flames seemed less dangerous. He wasn't fearful anymore, though he felt a healthy level of respect for it.

When the first ball flew through the air Akio snatched at it with his right hand. The flames snuffed out in a shower of sparks. He silenced the second with his left hand, the flames dissipated with a soft hiss. Right. Left. Right. Left. His body and mind fell into a quick dance-like rhythm to keep up. His arms move with fluid grace as Akio's body and mind went into a zen-like trance. There were no thoughts. No emotions. No distractions. Just the moment and action. He actually found no small measure of enjoyment in the zone as he snuffed out each ball of fire. There was something familiar in it. A strong familiar sense of security.

Fatigue began to wear on Akio as the exercise went longer. Sweat not just from the heat, began to coat his blue skin. Akio could feel his breath getting faster, sharper, and more ragged as he worked to keep up. He could feel himself being pushed to his limits, the edge of what he was capible of. His reaction time slowed, the targets were getting closer and closer to passing him, edging along the Chiss' boundaries until at last one soared right by him into the sand.

"How did I do?" he asked between panting breaths.

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

Karen clapped her hands together to get rid herself of the pale white dust. Bleh. Pyromancy was such a messy business. Ugh.

"Well... Let's see? You successfully used a mystical energy field to control the latent energies of natural fire and had them bend to your will enough to quench a fireball."

She smiled playfully and tapped her chin.

"So... All in all, I'd say it's been a rather accomplished day. Wouldn't you? Hehe."

She flicked her hair aside and threw [member="Akio Diachi "]the small white pebble she'd been using to summon the flames.

"That's a volcanic sand rock from the crusts of the planet Sullust. It's energy in the Force is all used up now from our exercise, however it still makes for a fine Jedi trophy. Keep it. To remind yourself that you're always playing with fire."

Karen winked.

"Next week we'll dive deeper into the final introductions for energy manipulation. You're to meet me outside the large bay doors to this holo-deck. Promptly at ten o'clock. Now. In the mean time. I except you to practice meditation every day for at least one hour. Ah... And to keep a journal of your training."

She moved back to her handbag and removed a small black datacron.

"Use this datacron to keep a voice record of all of your thoughts and feelings about your training here on Denon. I will never hear it or read it, so you can be very honest in your recordings. However. One day. When you have students or children of your own? This record will inspire your own training program. Teaching you not only to appreciate with I have taught you as your Mentor, but also about how you feel you could improve the routine and exercises yourself. Strengthening the chain and enlarging the path that is the Jedi Way."

Roberts handed him the stick and nodded.

"Now come. Ciri will show us out."

 

[Akio Diachi]

"Thank you, I would say so," he chuckled.

Akio accepted both gifts with a slight bow of his head. He looked them both over in his hands, feeling each before storing them in the pocket of his jacket. He could feel fatigue begging to set in but he was already swirling with the things he wanted to say, that he needed to say. Not just for the coming generations but for himself, to remember and organize his own thoughts. He followed Karen and the strange talking AI out of this maze of the fake world. It was still strange to him that this place was an illusion, but wasn't that a strong metaphor for the rest of the world?

"Until next time, Master," he said as his farewell before exiting the building. "Thank you for your patience and your efforts."
__________________

"I learned a lot today. Not just how to do something, but I learned something about the universe. And something about myself. For the longest time I believe I have just been tapping on the Force. I thought I knew what it was capable of, for learning. For seeing. For thinking. but--no it was so much more. That is a fraction of what it can do.

"Today I learned that the Force can be changed. That the Force can be shaped as well as shape. Its a new thing for me. A new idea, one that is very strange, all things considered, for me to believe. I have been like a ship pushed around on the ocean when I can can instead make waves of my own and determine my own destiny.

"I learned that the universe is what you bring to it. That it responds to how we treat it. If we come with fear, we will receive a slap and be put down into our place. If we come with anger we will be given anger in kind. But if we come with love, strength and confidence, then the Universe will bend to your will. I think that is who I want to be. Good. Strong. Confident."

________

COOL MEDITATION MONTAGE, INDICATING THE CHANGE TO THE NEXT TRAINING SESSION.

Akio came dressed in the same nerhu jacket and pants as he came for the next training session. This time he remembered, instead of waiting in the lobby, he took the elevator to sublevel three, where the holodeck was.

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

​

The iron doors opened for [member="Akio Diachi "]and immediately he was greeted with the sights and sounds of an old Jedi Temple. Or rather, it's massive marble balcony. Flanked on both sides by colossal stone statues. Statues who's gaze looked out across a vast eclipse of Tython's northern frontier. Green jungles for as far as the eye could see. Akio now stood on the rooftop of one of the oldest Jedi Temples known to exist on the Jedi planet. Shel Balon. The Keep in the North. A grand marble fortress destroyed less than ten years ago by a One Sith Invasion fleet.

Here in the courtyard of the rooftop, lay a grand stone training ground. Jedi armories stood in the shade to both sides. Decorated in bronze and copper, and waylaid with all sorts of ancient custom arms and armor. A practice arena for the devote Knights of the Order and a balcony vista without equal. As the large iron closed behind Akio, a familiar white-hair girl appeared at his side.

~ "Hello Pilgrim." Ciri said with her robotic voice, "Master Roberts is waiting for you over by the landing. Just there. And please. Enjoy your visit to Tython." ~

She folded her arms into her cloak and remained smiling in the shade.

Karen stood at the edge of the Temple's Landing Pad. Just below the training grounds and with a mighty view of Tython beyond. Clad in all black, she pulled the fuzzy trench coat she wore up higher against her neck. Gazing off into the distance at the lost Jedi world. Lost in thought and in memory. She did not turn as he approached.

"Good morning Apprentice. ...Or, should I say? Good afternoon."

She raised her chin to notice the sun. Dwindling high into the noon time sky.

"It matters not. Perhaps I dwell too long upon the past anyway. Far far from the Jedi mind."

She pulled her coat tight around herself and gave a nod to the grass far below.

"...Ciri. End program. Return the stadium lighting to natural settings. Point zero four."

~ "Yes Master Roberts. Ending Tython Version Five simulation now." ~

The sky abated and the wind drew down to a whisper. The stone landing disappeared and their vertigo height was washed away. As the digital realm fell, [member="Akio Diachi "]and Karen Roberts were both returned to the very present holo-deck of the Denon Academy of Science. A giant arena. A colossal coliseum. A massive Olympic field born of polished white steel and tall heavensward lights. Indeed. Had there been grass or turf under their feet right now? One might even have desired a game of Foot Ball.

Karen glanced over her shoulder and slowly began to turn. So small now. Like two tiny dots in the echoing abyss that was the stadium sized holo-deck.

"Mmm. Much better. ...So? How fairs the new week of our wandering pilgrim? Become a steadfast resident of our fair city yet? Hehe."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio watched as the hologram around him vanished as strangely as it had been there. He was rarely one to follow the illusions and was most certainly something of a strong mystic--but he was beginning to wrap his mind around this strange stuff. It was so realistic he wanted to call it some sort of magic, or some sort of Force-trickery, but---he knew it wasn't.

The reality that has replaced the temple was just as striking as the illusion. The great sweeping Colosseum was--a feat of engineering and design rolled into one. He took a moment to drink it in before answering her question.

"Oh, yes, indeed. I secured work for a local restaurant," he began, "Its a small job, just waiting tables for the time being, but I am content. It pays the bills as they say." Though, to tell the truth, it was the first time he had ever had to 'settle down' and worry about bills in time that he could remember--or probably ever for that matter. "The owner says that I am a hard worker, and if I keep up the effort, I may soon find myself in better employment within the company."

He turned outward, 'And how are things with you in the Denon Academy? Have you made any discoveries of late worthy of note?"

[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[Jsc]

Karen smiled and waved them towards the exit. [member="Akio Diachi "]'s comments had given her a new direction for today's session.

"Nothing impressive, no. We're still just cataloging all of the old data from ancient times. Attempting to bridge the long gap of knowledge between now and then. I don't actually 'discover' anything new. We mostly just rediscover the past. Hehe."

Alas. Unlike most students, the past held very little sway over the Chiss Pilgrim. Hell. He didn't seem to be able to grasp the present very well anyway. I mean... Waiting tables. Getting an apartment. Learning what a computer is. ...Damn. Karen wasn't sure if she was training a Jedi or raising a newborn teenager. And you've got to balance that, ya know.

They moved towards the large durasteel doors.

"So. Tell me Apprentice. Before we continue again today with your knowledge of energy manipulation. I was wondering? ...What is your opinion on our very modern society here on Denon? Have you taken much notice of the galaxy at large, as it surrounds you now?"

It was a political question as much as a philosophical one. Though, mostly she was just wondering how he was developing as an adult these days. Magical powers aside.