Third Time Lucky-ish

[Beowoof]

OOC: You can wrap your text in BB code with a hex color code. For Taci's text, I write [ color=#80365b]text[/color].

IC:

The ride in the taxi was about as pleasant as that time she had hidden inside a dishwasher for two hours to keep from getting caught with a bag full of batteries. Not exactly the most enjoyable--nor upright--moments in her life.

Nar Shaddaa makes one numb after a while. And when it does not, it makes them miserable. Or was it both? The tyrian had not quite reached either stage, but there was certainly a decline in her grasp of the gravity of actions and consequences. She had gotten away with a few things in her time; she had seen others get away with much worse. When the 'law' got involved, sometimes those actions were even considered 'good'. And while Taci had not yet succumbed to this sort of apathy, she could certainly understand Asemir's disposition considering the culture in which he had been brought up.

Killing a classmate at ten years? She shivered and her lekku twitched in some empathic way. How did he sleep at night?

Her thoughts shifted darkly. What would it take for you to kill me, Asemir? she wondered, eyes wandering the interior of the cab. She still trusted him for now; for the foreseeable future. Despite all she had seen so far from him--good and bad--there was still something she believed was safe about him. And yet, there would be an itch in the back of her mind from this point onward. Could you kill me ever?

There's always exceptions.

"Well, no one is perfect," she replied ambiguously. And she agreed that some people needed to die. Seriously, her life had only improved since her mother's 'owner' had been shot, so there had to be good that came out of the deaths of evil people. It only made sense! The only thing she was not sure of was if she could do it herself--kill a person. Perhaps what most disturbed her about the video had not been the act itself, but how Asemir could carry it out so candidly.

But everything made sense now. At least, it did in this case. She glanced out at the dark buildings contrasted with their sparkling billboards, noting the contradiction in everything about this place. Things could only get better from here, right? "We're cool."

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

OOC:
Page 4! Yay!

IC:
"Well, good." Asemir nodded, glad that Taci was willing to stick with him. He leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes, wondering not for the first time how he would train this girl. What techniques he would teach. What fundamentals she would need to learn. This would be quite different from the Sith acolytes he had taught, from the troops he had trained. There's always something new in life, right? he thought.

It was a quick trip, to his relief, and the cab dropped them off right at the proper gate. Asemir paid the driver, leaving a generous tip, and pointed Taci to the quite-ordinary looking freighter. "Well, here we are," the Forgotten said. "The Redemption. She's an ancient YZ-900 that had been mothballed centuries ago. I had to dig her up from the Sith Empire's armory."

As he led them up the boarding ramp, Asemir explained with a hint of pride. "I wanted something inconspicuous. Too many people choose a ship that's flashy and catches far too much attention. Of course, I had to have the ship modified. There's state-of-the-art communications and electronic countermeasure suites. Some additional weapons have been installed, all mounted within hidden compartments. The shield system was replaced with something far stronger. And it's all automated. No need for additional crew."

Asemir took a deep breath and smiled. "I've called the ship home for quite a while now. Ever since leaving the Empire, I think. Aside from all the performance-related modifications, I've made some other changes to make the ship more livable. The galley has a luxury food prep unit. After living on combat rations for so long, I've come to enjoy good food."

He pointed down a hallway. "The guest cabins are down that way. They're pretty spacious. The original specifications called for cabins for fourteen passengers, but I had that converted down to four. The extra space meant each cabin is that much larger and that much more comfortable. You can choose one and stow your gear and get situated. I'm going to pull up that manual that Shyd put together about Force techniques and machinery.

"Any questions?"

[member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

She was finally going somewhere! Corellia had felt like ages ago, but now she was on her way to travel the galaxy again. And, even in the wake of their solemn discussion on morality and what some would call 'gray areas', there was an undeniable tension in her fists as hey traversed the docking port's floors. Here was a ship that looked like an engineer's playground. It was nothing flashy, as Asemir had admitted, but it was a treasure trove of opportunity. Taci's creations were never particularly beautiful, anyway. But they worked. The Redemption looked like something she belonged in.

Stepping aboard, the twi'lek found little to be any more aesthetically eye-catching than the exterior, but one would say it had character. At least, that was what she would afford it. Its age alone gave it a charm. This came from the Empire?

And good food was something she was not really used to, though maybe it was something she should have expected after the dinner the bounty hunter had provided. She could certainly get used to that. Also, having an actual bedroom sounded ideal. "I love this," she commented, just scooting around with her luggage bag and peeking into the rooms about the midsection of the freighter. "I love it. It's super spiff." Was this to be her home for the foreseeable future? There would be no complaints about that, that was certain.

Picking one of the bunk rooms, the new apprentice to the bounty hunter quickly slid her baggage under one of the beds and knelt be her bed, lips to her necklace in reverence to her mother. It was a longtime practice of hers. Taci would never deny that she was superstitious. "Thank you," she whispered.

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

Asemir nodded at Taci's retreating form before heading to the cockpit. The computer acknowledged his presence, and with a chirp, asked for instructions. It took a few moments of consideration, but then he punched in a command. The disembodied voice of the computer AI whispered an acknowledgement, and the Redemption trembled gently as it lifted from the spaceport to begin its journey through the Y'Toub system. It was a temporary course, until Asemir could decide where to take his apprentice for further training.

Apprentice. What a development. Had he ever taken a true apprentice? He'd taught several people, but he couldn't remember ever calling someone an apprentice. Someone who looked to him for guidance and teachings not with just the Force but with life as well.

He sighed, both at the gravity of this new phase in life and in satisfaction. This was a chance to create something in the galaxy, to produce something, instead of just killing and marauding. It was a chance to do good, tangible, objective good. It was a change, a positive change, and for the first time in a long time, life felt a little more meaningful, with more purpose than just continuing to exist.

The Forgotten checked the monitors and displays just to make sure the ship was acting as he wanted, and then headed to his own cabin. After the hatch hissed shut behind him, he blinked to the storage rune on his HUD. It took but a moment for the nanomachines to slither from his body and take their inactive form, that of a simple brick. He placed the inert block in a tub of scrap, and there was a slight rustle as the nanomachines began their work of consuming the raw materials and repairing their battered forms.

After donning some simple clothes, Asemir glanced around his fairly bare quarters. His eyes settled on the hologram sitting in an alcove. It showed five figures, his original squad. Untai, Lycis, Nycha, Shyd, and him. He smiled as he remembered when that hologram had been taken. Their first successful mission. Nycha had insisted that that moment be immortalized. And so it had been, even as the majority of them had proven to be not immortal.

As he sat at his desk, he glanced at the two small hardcopy photograph sitting in an simple double-frame. They looked identical, two ingr'nysk sitting side-by-side on a riverbank, but he knew that sameness to be an illusion. There were very subtle differences between the two, and he could always recognize the left as the original and the right as the near-perfect duplicate that Shyd had created, of the first of many signs of Shyd supplanting Nycha in his life. Thinking back to that period of life only made him wince as he recalled the convoluted and confusing path that the Force had taken. And even after all these decades, it still made his heart ache as he remembered all he had lost. How he had lost both of them in turn.

He shoved the memories aside. To lock them away. He had moved on.

The safe opened easily after he keyed in his code, and he pulled out a small cube and a datachip. The metal faces of the cube, so blue that they appeared almost black, were etched in a pattern of swirling runes. Asemir set the holocron and chip on his desk, and regarded the inert block.

In it, Shyd had stored all of her theories, hypothesis, and research about her own quirks as a Forgotten. There terrabytes of data on her ability to manipulate the mechanical and technological, how her talents came to her as easily as swimming came to fish. It was a treasure trove of information.

He had only activated once, when she had given it to him, just to verify that it worked properly. And since then, it had sat unused in his safe. How long had it been? Thirty years? More? He now wondered why he had never activated the thing, knowing immediately that it was fear. Fear of seeing his old friend - lover - and the emotions and thoughts and everything that would bring back.

And now he was to give this to Taci. He hesitated as he contemplated that thought. It probably wasn't wise. At least not yet. She was untrained and he had no idea how Shyd's residue presence within the holocron would react. If anything, it would be far safer to view the holocron contents together with Taci. Shyd wasn't malicious, but she could be mischievous, and Asemir did not want Taci to fall for any of her tricks.

He returned the holocron to its place in his safe, but left the datachip on his desk. He would deliver that to Taci without any worries. It was a simple manual, a briefing document that Shyd had compiled for the benefit of her squadmates. It wasn't anywhere as dense or detailed as the holocron but it provided a general assessment of her own abilities. It was safe, Asemir decided.

The ingr'nysk dropped the disk into a pocket and headed to the Redemption's galley for something to drink. Water perhaps, just to wash away the thoughts the holocron had started to seed in his head. And then he'd have to check on his apprentice. There was training to discuss.

OOC:
Not sure exactly where we're heading now, but it'll be fun! If you need to, I don't mind if you "move" Asemir around a bit so that your post(s) will flow correctly.

[member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

Her reprieve was not lengthy in the slightest. Sure, she had had an exhausting day, but when did a thief--even a 'good' thief--not have a tough time about things? She had seen late nights turn into tomorrow's evening on several occasions, thanks to some stupidity on her end or just plain excitement. This day had been exciting enough to warrant a sort of restless anticipation. Asemir had already shown her the tip of things, enough to get her sense of imagination riled up. Who cared if the Jedi legends were stuff of myth? She had seen enough to marvel at already. There had to be more down the road. She had only been the bounty hunter's 'apprentice' for about half a day, if even that. There was plenty of magic left to be discovered. That much she was certain of.

Redemption was already on its way somewhere, rumbling through the atmosphere on its way to the heavens. That was a sight that never got old, and after changing into her ratty pants and a clean tank top, the official tagalong was rushing up to the cockpit to catch the view. Nar Shaddaa was nothing pretty until one broke the haze of the smog and saw only majestic lights and the reflective, golden crowns of the casinos. She had been living on a moon, though. The exit flight did not take too much time to reach that point.

It was confusing to Taci as to why she held any sentimental regard for her home. Nothing good ever happened there. And yet she caught herself waving back at its thousand glimmering eyes, feeling like she might miss it for some reason. Perhaps it was simply familiar territory to her; a place she knew like the back of her hand. Actually, that was kind of funny. The twi'lek glanced at the back of her hand a moment and noticed a burn mark she was not familiar with. She probably should have not swiped that conductor rod from the power converter yesterday until after it had cooled down. And, if she had known what events would be taking place today, then she would not have filched it at all. Maybe that was supposed to be some sort of lesson. Natural consequences.

And, about nature--she was getting a little thirsty. Galley towards the center. Half the ship's layout had already been memorized. So, as Redemption soared away from the party moon and began its navigational calculations, Tacitanya took her leave of the cockpit and swept across the deck for the galley fluidly; silently. Sneaking around--that a bad habit?

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

He fixed himself a glass of water with a few drops of juice that came from the bluish fruit of a type of cactus found in the wastelands of Tatooine. The juice add a hint of tartness, something to break the pure neutral of the filtered water. Nothing too strong or noticeable, just enough to make the water a bit more interesting. It also made the water a slight neon green.

As he sipped, Asemir took a seat at the central table and picked up one of the data slates. He began to page through the list of messages, skimming over the junk mail and automatically sending them to the trash. Towards the bottom, however, his eyes caught something interesting. A message from an old contact. Very old. From the Jedi Order.

The ingr'nysk's eyes flicked up. There had been no sound, but only slight whisper from the Force. Taci had changed into a different outfit, and had come from the direction of the cockpit. It struck him that he probably should have kept that area secure, but decided against it. She placed her trust in him, and he needed to do the same with his apprentice.

"Hey," he said, noting how the twi'lek moved so quietly. A useful skill, he thought, something he could add to his training, to show her some Force enhancements. "So you've got your stuff settled? If you want anything to drink or eat, help yourself," Asemir said, waving towards the food prep unit.

"I was thinking about where to go next. You've probably noticed that the ship isn't heading anywhere just yet. And then I checked my messages, and this came through. It's from an old friend in the Jedi Order." He slid the data slate across the table towards Taci. The message was highlighted. "Jorus wants us to head to Kamino and check out an underwater city. Apparently there's an ancient Jedi library buried in the oceans there." Asemir paused. "Is 'buried' the right word? In any case, Jorus is looking for Jedi artifacts, data chips, that type of thing.

"I think it'll be a good opportunity, a good way to get some more hands-on training. Plus, it's not like we'll be going someplace dangerous. No fighting or anything. What do you think?"

[member="Tacitanya"]

OOC:
PS, I just now realized what you mean when you refer to Taci as "tyrian", thanks to this thread. Took me long enough.

 

[Beowoof]

She had helped herself to a multitude of meals in the past. Those instances had most often been without permission from the 'donors' and potentially worthy of jailtime if one stacked all the offenses together--even on Nar Shaddaa. Did she feel guilty? Marginally. Some said stealing was the coward's way to survive off of others' hard work, but Taci had never found thievery to be cowardly herself. Sometimes it was downright frightening. Not that she would ever argue against her deeds being wrong, but there were circumstances where she had felt like she had to commit such a petty crime just to keep from withering away. Hopefully, those days were behind her.

The point of it was that the twi'lek suddenly found herself shy in the kitchen--one in which she had actually been generously invited to essentially take what she wanted without penalty. She could not understand her own hesitance. It was a base, courteous offer. Maybe she was a coward after all. "Thanks," was all she said at first, and took nothing for herself but water.

Taci then sidled over to her new master, ears clearly picking up the reference to the Jedi Order and a Jedi library. Was Asemir so connected with the Jedi to be in good relations with a man (or woman) of that league? Maybe her naive perception of the Republic's Defenders was misconstrued; distorted from its true Code and history by myth and fantasy. "Is Jorus the Jedi Commander or something? And are you sure I'm ready for this sort of thing?" Diving into an underwater adventure after just having formed this understudy partnership sounded a little too soon--especially for a young woman who had never learned to swim. Sure, she had yet to find out what this mission entailed, but did Asemir already have so much confidence in her to trust that his brand new student would not mess up an important expedition? He said it would not be dangerous, but there were other ways for things to go wrong.

Maybe she just needed to trust him completely and trust in herself a little more. When had she ever been ready for the things that happened in her life, anyway? They would find a way to make this work. "If you think it's best, I guess we should go."


OOC: Interestingly, I didn't even realize they weren't at least 'Legends' canon designations! I just found the "twi'lek rainbow" chart online one time and have been using it ever since.

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

"You know, I'm not quite sure if Jorus is a Jedi commander." Asemir thought back to the few dealings he had with the man. "We aren't close friends, you see, but more of acquaintances. He's a friend of a friend. I've worked with him in the past, but haven't really gotten to know him that well except to know that he's trustworthy.

"As for your second question, am I sure that you're ready for a mission like this?" The Forgotten shook his head. "No, you're not truly ready, but that's not really the point. If you're ready, if you're well equipped, this mission won't be that valuable. You'll learn some things, but you won't be challenged to grow. I'm sure you've learned that in life, you have to do things that are outside your comfort zone and experience to get better. As for Kamino, it'll be tough, different, and a challenge, but you won't be in danger. I like challenging people, but I won't put their lives at risk."

Asemir pulled a data disk from his pocket and slid it to Taci. "This is a manual that my friend Shyd put together. It's really just a briefing document she wrote up for my squad. It's an assessment of her Force talents. All of us did something similar, to teach the others our abilities. It's pretty high level but it'll give you an idea of what she's capable of, in terms of manipulating technology. What you're capable of.

"I'm hoping that we'll find some Jedi libraries on Kamino that haven't been plundered already. It'll be a long shot, but you never know. There might be something there that will help with your training, maybe even expand on that technology affinity that Shyd wrote about."

He finished his glass of water-with-juice. "So, Kamino it is then. It'll be a long trip. Any questions for me?"

OOC:

[member="Tacitanya"]

After consulting with Jon/Ashin/Jorus/etc., he pointed me to the canon Mechu-deru Force skill as a basis for what Shyd knows. I took a look and it's pretty spot on to what I had envisioned. Of course, there's not a whole lot of detail, but that's a good thing because it gives us a lot of leeway for interpretation.

 

[Beowoof]

Taci was no stranger to challenges, and she had agreed to this whole good-bounty-hunter-Jedi thing, even with Asemir's promise that there would not be much to this process that was easy. She would keep her reservations to herself. She had made the choice, and she was going to stick with it. If Asemir thought it was best to go to Kamino for whatever it was that they would be doing, then she would follow. "Let's do this, then." Even if it was not entirely sincere, the twi'lek considered it a good idea to exude confidence--fake or not.

Her hand slapped against the tabletop to trap the disk that her master had sent skating her way. Was it really possible to learn a skill of this variety from a manual? Obviously it would not be that simple, but could it be compiled in such a way? Asemir just mentioned libraries. If this was a way a Jedi could learn, then what could be possible with a complete library of manuals?

"Not sure I have any questions," she replied, though that was, of course, not true in the slightest. But all her questions could wait. And Taci was sure that her teacher would get around to telling her the answers eventually without her even asking. It was difficult to not be impatient at the prospect of becoming something legendary, but if there was one thing she had learned in her youth, it was that one could not rush into things right away. "I have to do something at some point, right?" Right.

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

[member=Tacitanya]

OOC:
Hrmph. The Mention didn't work. Odd.

IC:
"I'm not quite sure what you mean, but, yeah, you'll have to do something at some point," the bounty hunter replied, wondering what Taci was referring to. People have to do something at some point all the time, right? He thought a moment. "If you're talking about some kind of Force-related thing, then, definitely yes. Which is a perfect segue to some practical Force training."

Asemir leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. "So, back in Thorin's place, I had you trying to feel out the surroundings. Get a sense of what others were feeling, their intentions, pretty nebulous things. And you did a great job at it. The point of it was to introduce you to how the Force flows in all things. You saw for yourself how the Force is all around us. If I were a poet, and I'm not, I'd make some kind of analogy of the Force being the ocean and how we're all fish. Or something like that.

"I'm sure the Jedi and Sith have terabytes of theory behind the interlocking relationship of the Force and the universe, and I'm sure it's probably useful to understand all of that if you want to true Force scholar, but the point of it is what you saw. The Force is everywhere, and as a Force sensitive, you're especially attuned to it. And since it's everywhere, you can manipulate it everywhere you go."

Pausing, Asemir reached out with his mind, grabbed a small saucer from a countertop and set it gently on the table between the two of them. "It's all a lot of theory, and like I said, that's great, but it can get pretty boring. Let's do something more hands-on. Something more exciting." He nodded at the saucer and gave her an encouraging smile. "Move the plate. Go ahead and give it a shot. I won't give you any hints, not just yet. Discovery is an amazing learning tool."

 

[Beowoof]

The funny thing was, the ocean-and-fish analogy--silly as it may be--actually made things click for Taci better than the rest. Feel the ocean; the currents; the wake of the other creatures within the waters.

Yeah, that really did make sense--a lot more sense than when someone had tried to explain gravity to her. She had laughed at the guy, thinking that there was no need to do that. Why would anyone make things more complicated than they needed to be? Gravity makes you fall down. Then again, Taci was familiar with her own topics that registered little with most others, like how a switch on a circuit board redirects electrical currents or even reverses them sometimes. And why it was safe to touch one wire but not both.

Oceans, though... Oceans--she could not stop thinking of that now, even as the plate was laid before her. "So, is it something I can touch? Do I move the Force somehow? Like..." She lowered her head and squinted as she waved her hand back and forth in front of the dish, imagining the tailfin of a fish. Perhaps that was carrying things a little too far with the ocean analogy, but the twi'lek was not sure how else to go about this. As ludicrous as it was, maybe it would work.

But, nothing. She raised her head, breaking concentration to look back up at her master. "I guess that's not quite what you're supposed to do..."

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

"It's actually pretty close," Asemir said. "Using your hands, gesturing, it's what the vast majority of Force users do. It's a way for your body to conceptualize the idea of using your mind to manipulate the world around you. Your body recognizes the idea of picking up a plate with your hand, so it makes sense to use that same movement to pick up the plate with the Force."

Asemir paused, thinking back to how his teachers had taught him. What had they said about the Force? "Try this. Pick up the plate with your hand, and get a feel for it. Notice how much it weighs, what it feels like. Is it warm? Cold? Smooth? Okay, now set it down again.

"Once you have all of that, close your eyes. Do you see the plate in your mind? Maybe it's just a memory of the plate. But imagine it. Focus on the details. The shape, the silly off-white finish. Imagine its weight in your hand. Remember what it felt like while you held it? Focus on it, and ignore everything else.

"Now, imagine it moving. Visualize it. Visualize nudging the plate. Just a little, it doesn't have to be too fancy. A small push. Imagine the whisper as it slides against the table. Imagine what sounds the ceramic might make as it moves against the metal surface."

The Forgotten watched as Taci gave it another shot, and wondered if this would work. That first touch of the Force, the first time a student was able to personally move something. That was a challenge. He remembered how each of his classmates responded just slightly differently to the instructions, and his teachers had to change each lesson to accommodate each student. It was difficult, but once they discovered that personal connection with the Force, then everything just started to flow.

It was just a matter of figuring out how Taci would connect to the Force.

[member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

She did as her master instructed, taking the plate off the table and twirling it around between her palms, then placing her hands underneath or clamping it vertically as she gauged its weight and feel with fingers tapping and scratching on the ceramic. Committing mass to memory was possible (She had done it before with not-so-noble purposes.) but not exactly something that happened right away. It took a lot more than a few seconds. But maybe the Force could help things a little.

After setting the dish back on the tabletop, Taci shut her eyes and took a deep breath, recalling everything she had done and measured not even a moment ago. She 'played' with the image, analyzing the plate even closer in this somewhat detached state. She then visualized herself shunting the plate back and forth between her hands like someone paddling a hockey puck. She extended her hands and giggled a little as she imagined how silly she looked with the 'zombie arms' extension. "I look silly, don't I? I can't imagine doing this in public."

Her brow furrowed a little afterwards, wondering if she was actually doing anything at all. She could not hear the sound of the plate dragging across the table yet. It was just so awkward to act like she was moving something without making physical contact or having a sensation of touch to guide her. "Oh, I am hopeless," she lamented after an unsuccessful minute or so. Frustrated, she mimed violently batting the plate aside and opened her eyes.

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

OOC:
Let me know if this is too much. If it is, I will edit my post.

IC:

As Taci set the plate down and closed her eyes and stretched out her arms, Asemir watched intently. He wasn't sure what to expect. Would she be able to move the plate? Was the second try going to succeed? And if so, how much would the plate move? He recalled one student who far surpassed everyone else. He was some prodigy. Would she be like him? Probably not, Asemir reminded himself. Most everyone started small and worked up to higher levels of proficiency. But wouldn't that be great, if Taci was some super-powered vessel of the Force?

Stop it, the Forgotten chided himself. Realistic expectations. He refocused, watched the plate, looked for any sign that his apprentice had been able to touch the Force. But, after a minute, two minutes, a few minutes, nothing had happened. The plate lay where Taci had set it down. It had not budged, moved, or anything.

"Oh, I am hopeless," the twi'lek exclaimed, and Asemir read the frustration on Taci's face, hearing it in her voice, and seeing it echoed in her life aura. The glow that surrounded her, the glow that all ingr'nysk saw when seeing others through the Force, pulsed strongly. A flare of emotion. The pulse grew, increased in speed, and then flashed brightly, quickly, suddenly, as the twi'lek slashed her arm horizontally. Her eyes opened.

The plate moved. Just a little bit. A tiny bit.

The ceramic saucer sat just barely a centimeter to the left from where it had started. Asemir stared at it for a moment and then smiled. "You did it," he said, looking up at his apprentice. A mix of satisfaction and genuine admiration filled his voice. "You moved the plate. A little bit, but you did it. What were you thinking? What went on in your mind right before you opened your eyes?"

[member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

She froze as her ears caught the familiar sound of ceramic grating across a solid surface, wide eyes catching the end of the plate's very short journey just in the nick of time to believe it. She had done it. Maybe all it had needed was a little push. "Did I really do that?" Taci asked, though she doubted Asemir would play such a cruel joke on her. He had been kind to her so far and faking that she actually had somehow manipulated the dinnerware to slide a few centimeters sounded far from ideal if he ever truly planned on tricking her.

Taci did feel badly for even entertaining the thought, though. She had been snookered before, though. It was hard to simply believe everyone was honest. Let that go. "I wasn't thinking much of anything, really." The student continued to stare at the plate, shocked that she had provoked even the most miniscule of movements. Who else could do that? No one she knew--save Asemir, obviously.

"I was just kind of... grrrrr." That was a strange way to describe it--growling like a big cat. Real words might be better, perhaps? "Frustrated, I guess."


OOC: Post #75, exactly one year later! Chugging along!

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

OOC:
Man, an entire year! Time flies!

IC:

"'Frustrated.'" The Forgotten nodded, thinking. "Strong emotions. That was something my teachers taught us. The connection to the Force is stronger when you involve your emotions." He glanced around, grinning foolishly. "This reminds me of my own training time, my teachers. I feel like I should be showing you a manual or datapad or something, or pointing to some holoprojector.

"Anyways, I don't know if you've read anything about the Light Side or Dark Side of the Force, but the two philosophies are opposites of each other in terms of the use of emotion. The Light Side advocates no emotion, while the Dark Side says emotion is the source of power. My tradition doesn't view the Force in so black and white terms.

"Strong emotion, or passion, equates to a stronger connection with the Force, but it's a double-edged sword because it's very easy to lose focus or control when you're emotions are running wild. So, I was taught that while you need your passion to fuel your strength, you also need to learn to control that passion and keep it from overwhelming you."

Asemir paused, thinking of a better analogy to illustrate his point. "Think about an engine. An ancient internal combustion engine. Now, you're more mechanically inclined than me, so I might not get all of the details correct, but a combustion engine works by harnessing exploding fuel, right? The fuel injectors carefully controls how much fuel is exploding and uses that explosion to drive the pistons. The fuel is like our emotions or passion. If left uncontrolled, it'll go out of control and consume us, like an exploding fuel tank. But we control the flow carefully, sometimes not even using all that much, and only pull on our emotions when necessary.

"I'm not sure if that's a good analogy, to be honest," Asemir chuckled sheepishly. "I never learned the intricacies of small engine repair, just enough to jury rig a vehicle if necessary. My point is to use your emotions to create the initial connection with the Force, to feel the Force. The second step is to learn to control your emotions so you aren't consumed by anger, happiness, rage, passion, and all that. And then you learn to wean yourself off of your emotions so you can use the Force while not feeling anything, but still tap into your reserves when you need to."

He pointed at the plate. "Want to give it another shot?"

[member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

OOC: Writing has been off for me lately. Sorry for such a long delay!


So far, Asemir had been two-for-two with analogies that Taci could really work with. "I get it. That makes sense. A regulated boat in an ocean of fish..." So a dose of emotion was the catalyst as she saw it. And the control--well, she would have to figure that out, probably. There were undoubtedly certain processes one might go through in suppressing overly passionate emotion, but for now, she just wanted to move things around. What could she hurt, anyway? A little snarl had propelled that plate enough to be noticeable. Maybe getting a little testy with the dinnerware might help get things done. Taci waggled her fingers like an athlete stretching before lobbing whatever ball was used in their sport and gave the plate--the 'enemy'--a wicked smile. She was going to do this the first time. Or at least by the fifth time. Better give herself a little grace.

Following this probably unnecessary 'warm-up', she got into position with shoulders forward; teeth clenched and eyes narrowed as if she was trying to intimidate the plate into sliding for her. She then repeated the stretching out of her arms, the twi'lek sneering and motioned with her hands for that pesky saucer to move. "Haha, get lost." she mumbled. Swipe.

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

OOC:
Sorry this took so long! It's been a super busy week. And of course getting back into writing is tough. I've forgotten how much effort it takes to focus and put words on paper/hard drive. But, it feels good to write again, to have the words flowing from fingertips to keyboard.

Also, it's crazy that it's been a RL year now. More than a year.

IC:

The Forgotten smiled to himself as the twi'lek focused on the plate again. She took to the task with such intensity, an enthusiasm he seldom saw in other students. And it was more than the fact that she was giving the effort her all. She was so animated, so outwardly eager to master this newfound power.

The plate moved again. It wasn't launched across the table, but it did inch more than the centimeter that Taci had accomplished just a few minutes ago. It was difficult to tell if that was because of the emotion she had applied or if she was just getting more attuned to the concept of touching the Force. Asemir wasn't sure, but it was progress nonetheless.

"Good", the Forgotten said as Taci looked up from the table. "The plate moved a bit more. And don't be discouraged that it didn't move a meter or anything. You're just learning how to apply the Force. It takes lots of practice to progress. I remember spending hours and hours and hours that first week just to get a stone to move noticeably. But I got there."

He rolled his shoulders a bit to loosen them. "For most people, it's not super-clear that you're using your emotions to fuel your Force connection, but it's important to recognize when that happens. I've heard it described as warmth flowing through the body, or tingling or something. For me, it's more of an extreme clarity of mind, as if everything is slowing down and I'm speeding up. It was honestly a little frightening at first.

"Did you feel anything when you reached for the emotion? Anything different at all?"

[member="Tacitanya"]

 

[Beowoof]

The twi'lek felt lost in another world for what seemed like quite some time, yet no significant amount of time had truly passed at all. She had to shake off that feeling, realizing once again where exactly she was and that, yes, she had just moved that plate on her own. There was no doubt in her mind now. When she had moved it previously, it had been in a blind fit of annoyance and there was little concentration involved. But with a little more guidance and a lot more confidence, she had managed to focus herself much more and literally feel things out. When the plate was nudged along, there was no doubt in her mind that she had done it and no suspicions that Asemir was just trying to make her feel better about herself. Her own conscious had somehow detected it; clasped invisible fingers around the dish and push it forward. Granted, she had hoped to move it farther than that, but as her master seemed to be saying, it comes in steps.

That old adage "practice makes perfect" ping-ponged around her mind and brought mixed feelings to betray her preciously pure sense of accomplishment. Everything took time to achieve, but it was just no fun to have to wait and work towards results. It was like a teasing sample of something far along the way, with no hint as to what would stand between her and that goal in the meantime. Anything could happen. So would it be worth it?

Well, one rule Taci had always followed was to keep to her word (unless she was dealing with crooks and goons, obviously). She saw her commitment to staying with Asemir and learning under his direction as a promise of sorts, so she would keep with it no matter her feelings. She owed it to him for his generosity and owed it to herself for finally finding a way off that rock. There was a bit of emotion in that. So there must have been emotion in her metaphysical thrust to move that plate. "There was something, definitely," Taci stated. "I think it was mostly me wanting to do it so hard. Like determination. Though... Is that even an emotion?" Think what they may, but anyone who considered this young woman to be some sort of scholar was likely mistaken.

"What do you feel when you do... things? Is there a different emotion for each sort of action?" Maybe she just needed to find a special feeling for moving things. Was it anger? Happiness? Sorrow? Or was she looking at this the wrong way again?

[member="Asemir Lor'kora"]

 

[Asemir]

Asemir had to stop and think about the question. "It's been a while since I've really thought about it." He wiggled his fingers and the saucer danced a little. "A lot of what I do with the Force is second nature that what it feels like, what the actual technique is, I don't really think about it anymore. If I want to leap fifteen meters in a bound, I just do it. But that's because of practice, lots of it, so I don't have to consciously pull from my emotions."

The Forgotten chewed on his thumb as he really considered Taci's question. "But, you know what, I guess it does depend on what I'm doing. There was a time, many, many years ago, that I went through a pretty rough time. Some things happened that were bad enough that I gave up everything I knew just to seek some kind of vengeance on the galaxy. The pool of bitterness and anger and hate was essentially a bottomless well of power."

Asemir decided he couldn't share with Taci all of the details of that chapter of his life, not at this moment at least. "I went sort of crazy then, went on this rampage to try to get revenge on Fate for dealing me a pretty awful hand. And every time I pulled on those emotions to power the Force, I felt satisfaction or righteousness or exhilaration, or something. I felt power. But, ultimately, it felt empty, especially as I started to realize the pointlessness of what I was doing. Of course, I'm not sure how much of that was using anger and hate as the source of my power, and how much of it was post-traumatic stress or whatever, but that's what it felt like.

"A few years later," he continued, "after I had figured out my life a little more, I was in this weird situation. I found myself doing a favor for an once-friend and had to face down this Sith Lord." Asemir smirked as he remembered that duel against Rolf Valkner. "I won't go into all of the details of why I was fighting him, but suffice it to say that the Sith was pretty powerful. During our duel, he summoned an army of undead. Zombies. Or something.

"I wouldn't say I felt panic, but I definitely felt desperation. I mean, really, how common is it to actually see legions of the living dead? It's like some holovid or something. Anyways, remember how I told you how people can focus on different aspects of the Force? Well, I focus on mostly martial abilities, and less so on the magical side. Well, the only way to deal with that many zombies was to summon a Force lightning storm, which was not a skill that I had any sort of mastery in.

"My desperation was my power, and that was what allowed me to conjure the lightning storm to fry the zombies and eventually defeat the Sith. Desperation."

Asemir took a sip of his water. "I guess my point is that, yes, there are different emotions for different actions, but I don't believe there's anything set in stone. Like, moving a plate might be determination for you, but for someone else it could be hunger. Whether it's determination or desperation or hate or anger, it's that emotion, that passion, that really strengthens your connection. That passion is what will allow you to save yourself, or someone else, with the Force.

"And as you get more practice and the Force becomes second nature, you won't have to consciously tap into your emotions. It just happens. It'll come naturally, smoothly, without thought. And then you'll only pull on your passion when you're faced with a very challenging situation." Asemir grinned. "Hopefully it won't be zombies."
[member="Tacitanya"]