This ain't no ball-o-yarn son.

[Ordo]

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

Ordo sat in a clearing behind the Jedi Temple. His big frame was covered in a pair of simple blue overalls that were better suited to a gardener or maintenance worker than a man intending to train jedi. He was plopped happily beside a bag of Corellian apples on a rock as he waited for his student. What was he teaching? Stay tuned.

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

[member="Ordo"]

As a new knight, he didn't feel like much had changed. Didn't feel like he deserved it, but by the same token, nor did he feel like he did. It was simply another echelon, added responsibility, and nothing he hadn't dealt with before on a basic level. It was the element of being Jedi that was different from his prior experiences, and now he was entrusted with guiding new minds on this path? In that respect it was daunting, and all from how different of a culture it was. It had been a long while, but still. You could take the man, or cat, out of the military, but you could hardly take that same thing out of him no matter the time or distance from it.

And here he was, heading out-of-doors from the temple, just out back to a clearing a short ways into the jungles that overtook most of the planet; jungles that for a great distance outwards of the temple in all directions he knew like the back of his hand - many of those kilometres explored in the company of his cousin, Mara Tallen. He often wondered how she was doing, and his mind went to the chip she'd left him that was hidden in his quarters, granting him access to a remote little sanctuary she'd made for herself.

He would have to make a point of visiting, if and when he could. Reaching the clearing, he saw the face he was looking for - not an overly familiar one, but one he'd put to memory enough to recognise it for the purpose of their meeting today. He glanced over the man - older, certainly - a gave him a short, one-tip nod.

"Morning," and that was all he said, unsure of what this one should be or preferred to be called.

 

[Ordo]

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

Ordo took a bite of his apple and tossed it into the jungle before hopping off his rock. His scarred face bending at odd angles as he gave a pleasant grin.

"Mornin' bub." Ordo said his deep voice sounded like he had gravel in his throat, "ready to get to work."

Ordo brushed off his hands and crouched down. A heavy hand dug into the ground, pulled up a hand full of black soil and rubbed it between his hands. He cupped a hand not looking up and took a deep whiff of the dirt before tossing it down.

"This may surprise you but I used to be a farmer," he said standing and putting his hands in his overalls hip pockets, "Damn good one too. They got good soil here, shame to let it go to waste I'd reckon."

He gave the man a brief look and sized him up with a glance. He was built well, good bone structure, steady frame...he'd make an awfully good farmer...yup Ordo could always tell. "Follow me fella." He said as he walked to the edge of the clearing. There just inside of the Jungle was a massive beskar plow with thick straps. Ordo stopped at the plow and held up the harness.

"Come on let's plow this Jedi field." Ordo said though there was not a beast of burden in sight and a lot of field to plow.

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

[member="Ordo"]

Was he ready to get to work? Always. Work wasn't something to be shunned: it was something to be done, whether you wanted to or not. It was necessary.

"Sure am," he said, the roll of his voice subdued as it often was - it seemed that the purr in the full brunt of his accent had a particular effect to some. Females, for the most part. Here, he was simply doing it out of habit. In most cases, now, it was habit. Eyes moved over the older man, the scars on his face, his manner of dress, the way he moved - you could tell a lot about a person from these things. None of them outright told him what Ordo said next, and it was a bit surprising for certain - not many farmers had a face marked as such, not that he knew much about farmers in the first place. "Must be good," he said of the soil, "what with the vast growth, the tangle of the jungles."

He followed after the former farmer, thinking on how much he liked those jungles, when he was shown to a harness, attached to a contraption he didn't have any familiarity with.

"So, what are you looking to grow, and..." he said, simply getting with slipping into the harness, "...what is this thing I'm getting hooked up to and what's it for? Afraid I'm not very familiar with farming."

 

[Ordo]

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

Ordo nodded his head and pointed at the patch of ground. His think index finger followed the contour as if already picturing a field of plants.

"Nearly all flat. Dark rich soil, smells strongly of minerals. Damp but not too wet." he said walking over and looking up slightly at the young jedi, "can't ask for much better."

Ordo pulled an apple from his left overall pocket and a knife from his right as he looked at the harness. He cut a chunk from the fruit and popped it in his mouth Before puttimg the knife away and yanking on the straps.

"You let me worry about the growing, son" he said as he pointed back at the heavy bladed plow. "This here's gonna teach you more than one of those damn dead men's boxes."

Ordo bent down and picked up the straps to the harness then lay them over the plow. He gathered his apples and put the bag on the cross beams of the plow handles. With a nod to the Jedi He picked up the reigns and snapped them lightly.

"Now pull haas." He said loudly, "this field ain't gonna plow itself."

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

[member="Ordo"]

So he fitted himself into the harness - funny thing about harnesses? Most of them were never all that hard to figure out. Straps were tugged so as to be not loose, but not too snug. Enough to breathe and so on. Settled in, hardly a second or two passed before the reins were snapped and he was being urged to move. So he did...

...or at least that was what he thought he was doing, except the thing didn't budge. A deep breath, and he tried again, putting a fair measure more of his naturally potent strength into it, and was still straining. So a bit more oomph, and he thought the thing budged, because he heard a ponderous groan of metal, but still, he was straining, the groan continuing until he stopped. Tired? No. He'd hardly started.

"So..." he said, glancing over his shoulder at the old Mandalorian, "you mind telling me what this thing's made of?"

It couldn't be durasteel. Nope. That was a fair sight lighter and pliable to the claws of his feline form. Whatever it was, it was much heavier and possibly solid. There was no way it was hollow - of that much he was certain.

 

[Ordo]

[member="Meeristali Peradun"]

"Beskar, boy'o." Ordo said matter of factly, "solid beskar. It was my old basilisk war droid that was destroyed on Oreen. Heavier than durasteel, and strong enough to make lightsabers bounce off."

Ordo took a bite of his apple then put it in his pocket as he took the reigns again. His thick fingers curled around the thick ronto leather straps. His jaw muscles worked under his scarred skin as he chewed the fruit and waited for the young man to continue his training.

"Now focus on what you're about." Ordo gripped the handles of the plow, "too much thinking makes the pulling harder, plenty of time for talk when the work is done."

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

[member="Ordo"]

Sounds like great stuff, this beskar, he thought, even if it's the heaviest I've ever dealt with.

And he pushed his thoughts about the whole thing out of his mind, instituting a measure of meditative focus without going into the full act, and began to pull again, putting every ounce of his strength into it at first, just to get it to budge an inch, and it did so he kept pulling and went to the one thing that was bound to make this a simpler matter: the Force. He had enhanced his movements with it in so many ways, making himself faster than fast, jumping higher than high - couldn't he apply that here, too? Well, it didn't seem possible to make the thing lighter, and while he was an okay hand with some telekinesis, that wasn't the point here. If only he could be stronger.

That might be it!

Well, the surprise of the thought almost stopped him in his slow-going tracks. He managed a sly grin with his clenched teeth, gave it a little thought, thinking over how that might work as he continued the slow tug of the plow. It was worth a try, he figured, so he began to let the Force into his muscles, into his bones, giving the muscles of his arms, his legs, his back more than what they could do alone, letting the Force fill his bones, shoring them up, and he heaved the hardest, far harder than he had, as of yet...