Tricks and Treats

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

There it was, she thought, as the snow covered her from head to foot but mysteriously stopped before hitting any of her books. It was refreshing being covered head to toe ... but unfortunately for Connor, now she had all the ammo and he had introduced using the Force in this. Still smiling, the sweetness at odds with what her eyes were promising, the snow on her pulled away and formed into multiple snowballs.

"Tsk tsk, you must never of had a decent snowball fight in your life," she said, shaking her head sadly before letting all of the snowballs fly at him. "Never give your opponent all of the ammo."

She wasn't worried about any damage happening to the ship or her possession, that's what a shield was for after all. She had activated the security field in the main hold to protect the stuff she had moved, not to block any exits or anything like that. She just didn't want to dry out her chairs and couches and books.

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a cocky shrug, Connor stood there, thinking what to do – thinking, thinking, always thinking. Too much thought, and the snow flew at him with great speed. He had a fraction of a second to react, a sever lack in speed with no use of the Force, and his eyes closed before he could turn away before the snow covered him and fell to the floor.

It shook his body with a coldness he underestimated – this was snow as cold as Rhen Var. He gasped! Stumbling back he convulsed a little and tried to brush the snow off his bare arms and chest.

"God…ok stop that! Jeez."

Shoulders hunched, he looked at the snow beneath him and knelt to brush it up in his hand.

"Give me a sec…."

And he turned around with his back to her, right arm turned to her with the small snowball. Then, the flung it back, turning to see where it landed. Hopefully her smug little face.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Stop thinking and just do," Taeli said. She could tell his brain was trying to over analyze the situation and it was really simple. Pick up snow, make ball, throw snowball at friend. Really simple. And then he threw a snowball over his shoulder and it smacked her in the face. Cold wet droplets slid across her face as the snowball fell to the floor with a wet splosh.

It was going to take moments like this, moments where he didn't need to think or plan or anything except do something. In a way, she knew this trip might ... just might help Connor discover his true calling.

"At least it's getting some of that mud off," she replied, chucking another snowball at his back.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Spinning to see, he met another snowball, this time he embraced the cold and shook it off, a smile cracking and waving his finger at her.

"It’ll take more than snowballs you know."

He stopped and rested his hands on his damp hips, the smile fading a little as his thoughts took over. Looking up, he let out a sigh.

"I don’t know what’s me and what’s not anymore, you know that feeling? You can’t blur the lines between fact and dream, to know which is the truth and which isn’t? I’m like that with me. I feel so...devoid of…anything."

Looking at her, he played with slushy snow on the ground and side-kicked it over to her in a daydream.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Then take this time to really discover yourself," Taeli said, sweeping her hand and the snow disappeared as she let the molecules warm back up, leaving the floor dry once again. "I learned long ago who I was, not a Sith, not a Jedi, before all of that. I learned I was a student and a teacher, I can always teach something and always learn something. Go shower up and get some real rest, sleeping on an actually comfortable bed and a hot shower will do wonders."

She didn't say trust me, but she smiled a little as she walked past him, bumping him with her hip.

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that, you know you did," she whispered before heading to the maintenance. She had forgotten to boost the signal strength of her holo-terminal and the comm array. They were going to need that while they explored the galaxy as she would need to be contacted wherever they might be, even in the most obscure places.

"And Connor," she said, turning for a moment. "Thank you for coming along, I do know how you're feeling ... and it always gets better eventually."

 

[Connor Harrison]

He watched her effortless use of the Force, as if she was just breathing. One think Taeli did was command the Force perfectly – she knew her ability and controlled it. Connor would have made something as easy as melting snow back into moisture far more complex. Complex and complicated like everything else.

Standing still, he followed her with his eyes as she gave him what he wanted to hear – permission to wash and rest. As she nudged him, he turned to her, and she walked by.

With her thanks, Connor turned and gave a tired smile.

"Thank you."

He had a select few people right now who understood him, or tried to – Keira and Kyra – but there was one who did more; support him and take his hostility. Taeli Raaf. One sister had broken him, one was trying to heal him.

As she left, Connor rubbed his face with his hand and walked through to where the shower cubicles were, taking time look around the ship as he walked over and in, closing the door behind him. It was a cozy cubicle, and smelt fragrant. Within minutes, the shower was on, warm water flowing over his arm as he tested it.

Minutes later, he had taken off his dirty clothes and was letting the water flow over him. He didn’t stop or move, just let it wash away the aches and exhaustion. His head hung down, and then he lifted it up. Right now, he was flying to a place he didn’t know, away from everything that had hurt him. He was stripped, literally, of everything right now and had to relax.

Brushing the water from his eyes, he took to finally washing himself down, looking at each scar and bump and mark on his body that painted the picture of where he was now.

Once he was done, he slowly sat in the cubicle, leant his head back, and closed his eyes to listen to nothing but the warm water falling around him and washing away the pain.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

While she had her toolkit slung over her shoulder, she had something else in her hands. A small gift to the man, and one he had been obsessed with when she showed him it. She was in the process of designing a brand new one, but for now, she thought he might like to have the one she currently possessed.

Slipping into the quarters he had claimed, she set the bracer on the table next to the bed, hearing the water running. He felt ... more relaxed now. He was still not in the best of places, but a hot shower could always wash away the pain. She also placed a small bottle of a green gel on the table next to the bracer with a small note about how the gel was something that could wipe away scars and that he could keep the bracer until she finished making her new ones.

Satisfied, she went back into the main hold and she started undoing the paneling to get into machinery within. She was going to need to get inside on her back to actually access everything she needed. I'm going to need a shower myself after this, she thought, prying the panel loose and lying down to slide inside with her tools in hand.

 

[Connor Harrison]

The shower dripped the last of the warm water as he wiped down his chest with the towel before wrapping it around him. Exhaling and looking into the mirror on the wall, he nodded and ruffled his damp hair. Picking up his clothes, he carried them to the door, opening it and gently waking out into the cool corridor.

Across the way, a small bunk was made and it looked inviting. Glancing down into the ship, he heard movement and smiled.

Stepping in, he dropped the training gear and his boots down and sat on the soft bed, taking the note in his hand to read. Eyes moving over, he saw the gel and the bracer and smiled.

"Well well well," he muttered.

Taking it in his hand, he turned it around to see it was hers, worn and showing signs of use across many adventures probably. He caressed the blade underneath and ran his finger along the buckle. This would be treasured, and be very useful. Placing it back down with the note he took the gel and applied it into his palms and massaged it into his arm, torso and neck.

He turned and opened his mouth to call Taeli to do his back, on the very scars she caused years ago, but stopped himself. They would be ok untreated, they had been for this long.

Wiping his hand on the towel, he returned the gel and lay back on the bed, working the panel to turn down the light above a little and lay there. He was relaxed and clean and comfortable and it felt good.

He wouldn’t be laying long as he listened to the diegetic noise of the ship before he fell asleep.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

Finally finishing her work after an hour, she stretched and went to check on the man accompanying her. Peeking into his quarters, she smiled softly as she saw him fast asleep and some of the gel missing. It would take a few applications, but eventually the scars would fade as the excess tissue was softened. Although, examining the amount left, she knew he hadn't done his back. Those were the scars she had caused ... it was only right they were wiped away too.

Gently using the Force to roll him so his back was exposed, but making sure he didn't waken, she applied the gel across the burn scars the lightning she had unleashed on him had caused. A different time, a whole lifetime ago almost. Finished, she gently placed him back so he could rest easy. He finally looked like he was actually at peace, a good bed would do that after all.

Quietly closing the door, she was tempted to go shower herself but she had another idea in mind. Heading to her private quarters, she sat down at her work bench and pulled the semi-complete prototypes out of the box she was keeping them in. Opening the schematic file on the holo display screen, she started tinkering with the new bracers again.

A brand new hidden blade, three of them in fact, but nothing like the hidden blade the Sith Assassins used and she had left with Connor. These were something just a bit different, but they still required some alchemy to create. Opening the bracer's upper portion, she put on her glasses and zoomed in so she could observe the emitter matrix and make minute changes. It had taken her a bit to figure it out, but she had finally adapted the old lightwhip gauntlet tech she had made when she was a Sith.

Now, the idea was for something like a hidden blade crossed with a Mandalorian gauntlet vibroknife crossed with a lightsaber. The force containment fields still needed adjusted so the blade would appear the correct way, instead of just like a standard blade. She wanted it wider and tapered to a point, so it would require a totally different style to fight against and fight with. Slipping the blue Adegan crystal into the matrix, she double checked the power cell that was housed in the bracer as well. It was just as powerful as a normal power cell, but miniaturized to allow it to fit within. More adjustments were needed, she concluded.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

The focusing lenses were going to be a small issue, she had known that. Just the way the system was designed, she had known two issues were going to emerge. The lenses and the power insulator, but one of those had been fixed by another process. An insulating material layered into the bracer itself to prevent the energy discharges that could occur as the bracer just didn't have room for the internal one. She had also designed it so it would act like the hidden blade as there was no activation switch per say, but a pressure sensor that would pick up on a certain muscle tension similar to flicking one's wrist.

"Okay lenses, how to solve that issue completely?" she mumbled to herself. Then the proverbial light turned on as she examined the currently installed lenses. Normally, one needed several to focus and channel the blade's energy, but the idea that formed in her mind was a finely tuned and highly focused singular lens. Making the needed adjustments, including pulling the lens out and manipulating the molecules within it to align differently, she smiled as she held up the first possibly complete prototype.

Slipping it onto her arm, she flicked her wrist and a blue beam erupted from above her hand, wide at the base and tapering to a point. A large smile broke out over her face as she moved out to the main room and set up a training drone. She could feel some heat radiating off her hand, so heat resistance would be needed in the gloves. Alrighty, here we go, she thought.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Again - no dreams. Just the hum of the ship and the gentle stirring when he woke. There was no clock, nothing to identify how long he had been asleep. Propping himself up on his elbows, rubbing his eyes, he looked around, and felt a cooling sensation over his body. His scars had calmed down, the rawness gone and instead a faint pinky colour with no irritation. Smiling, he threw his legs over, still in the towel, and stood.

Looking around for something to wear, he was stuck. Nothing.

"Hm."

Bare footed in the cold corridor, Connor held his towel and walked towards a strange humming from the main hold. Slowly appearing in the circular entrance, he saw Taeli wielding a strange lightsaber...bracer? He cocked his head, leaning in a little watching the fascinating contraption.

"Sorry to disturb you...but do you have anything I can wear while I wash my training gear?" The sheepish voice spoke up.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Rise and shine sleepyhead," she said with a smile, flicking her wrist and deactivating the lightsaber bracer. "You've been out for a few hours so I decided to get this prototype working. Turned out quite well I think."

That was when she registered his question and immediately thought of Connor wearing one of her dresses. The image made her giggle, but she could clearly see the scars had faded a bit. That was good.

"Unless you want to wear girl clothes, don't really have anything," she giggled, and also well aware he only had a towel currently. "You didn't do a whole lot of packing, did you? Well wait, there might be some basic clothes, some shirts and pants in the spare room. When we arrive at Dorin, we might want to get you some more clothes."

 

[Connor Harrison]

"Looks good, and - well, thanks for the gel and bracer. I appreciate that and I'll look after it with my life."

He smiled and tightened the towel with this hand, getting a little embarrassed.

"Ok, one sec, I'll go check. I didn't really pack anything except my training gear and my coat so...yeah...wait there..."

Connor vanished back down the corridor, past a small droid rolling around and into the spare room in which he opened the two wardrobes there. Well there was spare outfits but were very obscure - a sandy coloured tunic and trousers. What the...?

Sighing, Connor got them out and soon slipped them on, looking like some martial arts master than a Jedi. Bare footed, he walked back into the hold and rolled up his sleeves.

"Well this is rather fetching don't you think? So what is the plan at Dorin then?"

He began another look around the room, glancing at her new gauntlet with interest.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Oh yes, Sensei," Taeli said, giving a small mock bow and teasing smile. "Sorry that was all that was in there, I don't exactly pack for male guests. You're just lucky those were there. Anywho, our plan for Dorin is quite simple but should prove to be very interesting."

Smiling, but in a more natural way now, she slid the lightsaber bracer off and handed it to him to look over.

"Works on the same design as the hidden blade bracer," she explained. "Miniaturized lightsaber components in the top, blade activates by muscle tension when you wear it and only if the sensor on the under side detects the muscle movements consistent with a flick of the wrist. There's also a safeguard, which can be overridden, that if you're holding something the blade won't activate in case you forget about it. Just using a simple Adegan crystal for it right now."

She gave him an apologetic look now.

"Sorry, I got off topic and couldn't resist explaining about the new toy," she said. "I have to ask, what do you know about Dorin and the Baran Do sages?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Walking full circle, he stood in front of her, listening at her in-depth explanation, still a little fuzzy to him, and folded his arms.

"No, no, please. Sounds good. You certainly have brains. I can see that coming in very handy."

At her next question, he winced and shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm afraid I know nothing about Dorin or the sages. Never been there. Never heard of it actually. What are you involved with? Healing?"

Taeli was like a riddle - opening more cryptic clues about her personality and knowledge each time he saw her he was trying to answer and put together.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Oh good, I can do a bit of a lesson then," Taeli said brightly. "Dorin is the homeworld of the Kel'Dor species, famous examples being Master Plo Koon, Master Gnost-Dural, and our own Kian Karr. The atmosphere is suffused with electromagnetic radiation so it can get a bit stormy on the surface. The atmosphere is also not fit to be breathed by those of us who breathe oxygen, but we have rebreathers to help with that and the Kel'Dor have areas that are designed for us to be in so we don't have to wear masks all the time."

Running over to the holo-terminal, she brought up an image of the planet in question.

​

"Now, we're going there to meet with the indigenous Force sect known as the Baran Do Sages," she continued, in full on lecture mode. "Not entirely sure when they were founded, but they were formed by Force Sensitive Kel'Dor that were able to detect changes in the atmosphere to warn their people about incoming storms. They're a generally peaceful order, focusing on meditation and viewing the future, but they have some unique techniques known as the hassat-durr family. That roughly translate to lightning rod in Basic because the techniques, if done improperly, will make the user get struck by lightning repeatedly during a storm. They're quite useful actually, you can short out stun cuffs, boost the range of a comlink, deflect and reflect electromagnetic radiation, disable prosthetics and other electronics, and so on. Those are the techniques I'm interested in learning, especially given that they would be dead useful for an excursion into the Kathol Rift."

Here she sighed a bit though.

"However, they might have gone to ground given the Sith raided the old Jedi enclave here a few years ago in one of their Inquisitions," she said, scowling a bit. "I was against those when they started, but Darth Hauntruss had seniority and many of the others were gung-ho in destroying everything tied to the Jedi. Anywho, that's why we're traveling to Dorin."

She smiled again.

"You can try that bracer by the way, I need to get the other two working before we land in a little bit."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor stood still and watched with his eyes and listened with his ears, and didn't move. He looked at the display of the planet and nodded slowly at the species he knew from others.

While the journey and planet didn't sound the most easy-going, there was an interesting purpose behind it and he was still in autopilot mode and would follow when needed, and try to stay away when wasn't. Maybe he could sleep a little more at certain stops if she was out learning and forming new relations?

"Ok, ok. Sounds good. Glad I brought my breathing mask then if I'm going to be taking that leave time on dangerous planets!"

He raised his eyebrows at her a little playfully.

"Can I get my clothes washed before we land? I don't fancy walking around looking like this much longer. You've already mocked me so that's enough of that. Don't want any more snowball incidents do we."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Yes, the washer is down the hall at the very end," Taeli laughed. "And the planet is not that dangerous, it just supports a different type of life than most terrestrial planets. I can't promise everywhere we go will be peaceful and serene. All I can promise is you're going to see and learn things that most sentient life never experience, even for Jedi."

Taking her lightsaber bracer back, she smiled and sashayed her hips a bit playfully as she left to fix up the other two bracers like it. As one last parting comment while he went to get his training gear washed and she went to her workshop, she flicked her hand and sent a small ice crystal towards him with a sly grin.

 

[Connor Harrison]

He had to work with an A.I system to get his clothes washed, and in that time he thought about everything that had happened in the course of a day as he sat waiting for them to dry.

The Raaf sisters, both playing one end of the Connor Spectrum. Kyra waiting on Jakku. Coci and Thurion leading the SSC into realms without him. He wondered if he was part of the Order at all anymore.

A chime signalled his clothes were ready, and it snapped him out of his day dream. Time to rid these awful tan robes.

- - - - -​

Kitted out in his clothing; boots a little dirty, but clean combat trousers and his comfy black vest, greatcoat now hanging up in his room, Connor felt the first steps were taken to getting to normality. 10% out of 100%. Retracing back to the hold, he gingerly stepped through but didn't see Taeli, just the hum of the ship around him.

Walking through slowly, looking around, he looped his thumbs in his belt.

"Hellooooo?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Back in the workshop," she called, hearing Connor's yell. "Take the first left and go down the small set of stairs there."

It wasn't a lot of space to fit a workshop, but it worked and was actually sort of cozy to her. There weren't any books in this room, but when Connor got there, he would see plenty of electrical components, prototype tech she was working on, different lightsaber parts, parts for a droid drone that he had seen her use on Mustafar.

"Sorry it's a little cluttered," she said, smiling. "We've got about a minute or two before we arrive at Dorin. What do you think of them?"

To make it clear what she was asking his opinion of, she flicked both wrists and two silver lightsaber blades ignited from the bracers she was wearing on her arms. She had switched the blue out for silver as it suited her better.

"There's a third one too, if you want it to compliment the hidden blade I gave you," she said, pointing to the third bracer sitting on the workbench.