X Never Marks The Spot

[Meeristali Peradun]

As was par for the course, he sat quietly and listened. Sure he could talk like the rest of them, he had adapted to being social over the years, but deep down his true self was contemplative, and of few words unless another failed to bring up a crucial point that he felt had bearing in being voiced. Corvus tended to have plenty to say and generally covered a lot of the factual bases with her words, while others such as Kana tended to follow up with pertinent questions. It was of some interest that there was someone who didn't feel at all like a Jedi in their group, aboard this vessel, but it seemed she had some sort of connection to Master Alince - a friendship, perhaps? Something more? It was hard to tell, and ultimately it was none of his business.

As for the telepathic chit-chat, he wasn't privy to it, tending to keep his own receptive telepathic ability to only those who deliberately, purposely pointed their thoughts at him. It was a matter of respect for privacy, as tempting as it might have been to see what was the cause of the undercurrent of amusement coming from the Kel Dor. All in all, for the time being, he was content not to speak until spoken to, and remained settled in his seat on-board, unconsciously fiddling with the end of his tail.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Spike Arrel"] | [member="Uther Weiss"] | [member="Veino Garn"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Veino Garn"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Spike Arrel"], [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Kian Karr"], [member="Meeristali Peradun"]

Phylis Alince also did not have her telepathic radio tuned, so the discussions of everyone except Kana and Siobhan were lost to her. The fact she possessed no ability with telepathy at all, especially not as an instant messaging service, a fact which seemed to make her stand out from most Jedi.

“The local wildlife is generally not aggressive, but it’s best to be on the same side. The creatures usually encountered are lizards or other such animals. Not aggressive, but potentially hazardous if provoked.”

She looked unimpressed at Siobhan’s words. “There will be a test, later,” she warned with a smile.

“Right, any further questions? Hmm? When we are finished here, I would like to offer my services to help you all in any areas you are lacking in.” Too late she realised that Siobhan would make a comment on that, so she hurried on. “ As you know I have attained a certain mastery in Soresu and defensive aspects of the Force which I would be happy to share with you if you wish.”

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus literally beamed at the prospect of learning. Could this trip get any better?

Taking the natural break in conversation, Corvus turned to Kana. "Listen, there's no apology necessary. I'm sorry if I made it seem I'd been offended. You all know me so well - and on reflection, I must have been rather comical."

Turning to Master Alince, she said, "Master, I for one would appreciate some teaching on Force Light in particular and perhaps Force Healing - but the former is definitely my preference."

[member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Spike Arrel"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana nodded and mimed a quiet 'thank you'. That was one stone of bad conscience off her back. The only stone of bad conscience come to think of it. Still, lesson learned (again). Even jokes can be hurtful and Kana should know better.

Then again, seeing Corvus shine up again at the mention of learning Kana could feel the urge to joke once more resurface. She contained it though for at the mention of learning some form of healing she too lit up. Was it possible? Did this Master know this skill?

“You know how to heal wounds through the force?” Kana tried to remain calm but just enough of a hint of excitement managed to latch on to her words. “Or is Corvus making things up? Because that is definitely one of those things I don’t want her to joke about.”

Said the girl who just joked about knowing stuff.

[ [member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Spike Arrel"] | [member="Uther Weiss"] | [member="Jannik Morlandt"] | [member="Veino Garn"] ]​

 

[Veino Garn]

So that was where the Army of Light had gotten its name. No wonder he hadn't known about it. The archives on Susefvi didn't go anywhere near that far back. Stuff started getting spotty right around the Gulag plague. Did any archives still go back as far as the first Army of Light? Or had they all been lost and forgotten.

Then [member="Kana Truden"] asked about healing, and he nodded, "It can be done, yes. I know a little bit." It was a challenging application of the Force, especially for an empath, as it required him to slip inside the other person and take their pain on as his own before nudging the tissue to begin knitting itself back together.

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

Well, the offer from Master Alince was something the polymorphic feline could get behind, and he felt compelled to answer it. The thought of acquiring knowledge in another form of lightsaber combat was a thought he needed to entertain, an opportunity he couldn't pass up particularly if he could take the lesson from someone who proclaimed mastery. So he waited for the others to say their pieces, then made his interest known.

"I'd be interested in learning Soresu, Master Alince," he spoke up, looking to the woman, "and I'm curious as to what defensive techniques you know in particular, in case there are any I might be able to add to what I have already learned."

And it was as simple as that. Perhaps some knowledge in healing, or at least the attempt to see if it was within his capabilities to perform (how else was he to know whether or not he could do a certain thing without the attempt?) wouldn't be unreasonable. And then he thought of it - Avalore was a healer, wasn't she? It was something to consider.

[member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Spike Arrel"] | [member="Uther Weiss"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Veino Garn"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Spike Arrel"], [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Kian Karr"], [member="Meeristali Peradun"]

Phylis was pleased. There were all manner of people actually interested in learning things! Most Jedi seemed smugly self-confident in themselves these days. Or perhaps that was just Phylis’ prejudice.
In my day we used to have to work for our powers, it wasn’t boom, you’re 16, have a Jedi Master’s seat!
And so on.

“Right, well, Jedi Raaf. Force Light is a very intense manifestation of the Force. It works best when another is helping to channel power into you. It requires a very great focus and the ability to project the Force through yourself. Gather around, class, and I’ll show you.”

This would not at all become important later in this story. Oh no, absolutely not….

Phylis produced a piece of blank flimsy and crumpled it up, putting it on the table. It wasn’t much of a Sith artefact, but it’d do.

“Now, all of you, focus on the object, see it through the Force. It’s more difficult because we don’t have anything really Dark Sided to cleanse, but we’ll make do.”

“Now, call on the Light Side, feel the Force’s more protective, healing elements, and channel it outwards through your hand, into the item. If you have ever aided another in battle or used battle meditation you will know how it feels.”

She would see how everyone dealt with this, before moving on to the next topic.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Phylis Alince"], [member="Veino Garn"], [member="Spike Arrel"], [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Kian Karr"], [member="Meeristali Peradun"]


Needless to say Siobhan would not be able to learn Force Light because Dark Jedi. Who was also obviously not a member of the Jedi Order. But then she was a Master who could throw walkers like ragdolls with her mind and fly when she was in the mood so she was not particularly broken up about it. Or that desirious about learning it. Presumably being caught in the radius of a blast of pure Light Side energy would be bad for her complexion so she shifted her position a bit so that she would be out of the way.


She did not want to end up with her Force connection being burnt and cleansed after all! At least she would get a dramatic light show to watch.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Aware that nobody else was moving forwards, and one person in particular was moving slightly in the opposite direction, Corvus felt honour bound to initiate the practical aspect of the lesson. She’d been the one to ask – after all.

There were two minor drawbacks to this as Corvus saw it. Firstly, she’d never performed any Force Healing specifically and secondly she’d never used Battle Meditation.

Putting these minor issues aside, she focused on what she did know. She knew Force Sense and Force Sight and had linked with Kian Karr and Kana Truden in helping the Youngling's minds that had been affected by the Sith.

Using that as her reference point and, as ever, trusting implicitly in the Force, she closed her eyes and using Force Sight saw the room in an entirely different way. There were no colours but she could easily differentiate between organic and non-organic materials. In her mind, the room appeared as a 360-degree image. The walls appeared translucent – as did the ‘Sith artefact.’ She was also able to feel the Force aura of those present and…well…that was something to speak to Master Alince about later – but back to the task in hand.

Pointing towards the ‘artefact’ she pulled the Force close to her and felt it flow through her. Avoiding the initial response to will the Force to touch the item in question, instead she reached out with the Force – towards it. In her mind’s eye, tendrils of Light came from her hand and the wispy ethereal matter stretched towards the table. It was weak – but it was a start. She wished to envelop the ‘artefact’ to surround it with the Light and deny it access to the Dark.

[member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Spike Arrel"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Kian Karr]

Kian watched as [member="Corvus Raaf"] did as instructed and was impressed by how quickly she picked it up. Kian stepped forward in order to attempt it as well. The closest Kian had ever come to aiding another in battle was through the use of his telepathic abilities to instill emotions in others. He had done it with soldiers to help ease their fear in the moments before battle and to expressing his own emotions to others as his mask hid much of his facial expressions.

This, however, was completely different. Kian stretched his hand outward, mimicking what Corvus was doing and began to focus on the healing, more protective aspects of the force deep in his chest. He pictured it there, building in potency and the focused on moving it down his arm and out his finger tips. He could feel the force flowing from his talons....but with his eyes closed and unsure of how to do it...he had no idea if it was working.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] - [member="Phylis Alince"] - [member="Meeristali Peradun"] - [member="Veino Garn"] - [member="Spike Arrel"] - [member="Kana Truden"]​

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana looked on as both of her friends would hold their hands out in hopes of projecting light onto the artificial artifact. Despite having not a slightest clue what to do she still did her best to do that thing the others were doing.

The first obstacle to overcome would of course be getting a clue about what to do in the first place. She mentioned healing and battle meditation yet Kana had lacking experiences and knowledge of such feats. Sure, she had still managed to read up on them, especially the part about healing another through the force but that was about it.

With a hand held out to imitate the others she tried to see the object as well. It wasn’t easy but she tried to. The next step would be to try and ‘cleanse’ the item. Kana kept her hand raised towards the object, let the force flow through her in an attempt to project light onto the artifact. Slowly a feeling would emanate from her hand. It was almost… Numbing.

That was of course because her hand was, in fact, going numb. Kana opened her eyes and shook her wrist in an effort to get the blood running again. Well, that didn’t quite go as planned.

[ [member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Spike Arrel"] | [member="Uther Weiss"] | [member="Veino Garn"] ]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Veino Garn"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Spike Arrel"], [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Kian Karr"], [member="Meeristali Peradun"]

Phylis watched as they attempted to 'purge' the paper. Difficult for a first target. She also noted Siobhan scoot a bit away, and smiled.
"Good work, my friends," she said eagerly. "Now, let me know you what happens when I channel some of my energy into you, it allows me to help guide you. The Light Side is about working together, about using our combined strength to achieve a common goal."

Stretching her hands, she extended her hands towards Corvus, Kana and Kian, putting a bit of her Force energy into them, allowing them to work together. Combined, with four Jedi united, they were able to have Phylis direct them, and unleash their energies on the sinister paper. With a flash of Force energy the paper actually burst into flames, and Phylis flailed at it until it was extinguished.
"You see? Working together allows us to achieve far more!"

 

[Veino Garn]

Veino actually edged a touch farther away from the Force Light as well. Not that he was dark, per se, but Jensaarai had a little more edge to them than traditional Jedi, and he wasn't entirely sure what effect that might have. That and highly concentrated amounts of Force energy in people who weren't sure what they were doing wasn't exactly pleasant to be around. This was coming from someone who had assisted in the creation of a Light Side nexus as well. Once he was farther away from any potential unintended consequences, he went to assist. Not quite as she described it though. The way she described it was more along the lines of his empathy.

Then it caught fire and he was very glad he had moved farther away. He extinguished a few stray sparks that singed his clothes and hair, frowning slightly. That was a tad reckless and he never encouraged recklessness. Actually, that was one of the things he'd give a severe frown to.

 

[Meeristali Peradun]

Another time, perhaps. Force Light wasn't something he'd read up on beyond a cursory mention, so he wanted to see it in practice first... that aside, his mind was rather focused on that which was most applicable to offense and defense, rather than the purging of the Dark. Not to mention the sensitivity of his feline eyes. Perhaps another time. However, he didn't step back unlike the other nonparticipants, having no reason to do so.

But when the paper burst into flames, and Master Alince began flailing at it, he did step back. That wasn't an effect he'd expected this power to have, but there it was! He shook his head in mild disbelief, and waited for what was next while wondering at the reasons why Garn and Kerrigan had backed off. It was suspect, but if it was okay that they were here, then he really had nothing to say about it at all.

[member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] |[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Spike Arrel"]​

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus made sure she filed away the analogy of working together being a Jedi trait for when she next shared her knowledge with Padawans or Younglings. It was a powerful way of demonstrating the fact.

But for now she waited and listened as Master Alince had promised Kana to show her the first steps towards learning Force Healing and, as ever, Corvus wouldn't be able to help herself from learning too.

[member="Veino Garn"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Spike Arrel"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Veino Garn"], [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"], [member="Spike Arrel"], [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Corvus Raaf"], [member="Kian Karr"], [member="Meeristali Peradun"]

Phylis dropped the burnt piece of paper in a trash can. “Normally our targets are not so…hmm…flammable,” she said as final explanation.

“Right, now that’s done, let us move on to the art of Force healing. In many ways it is similar. Using the force for healing is not the instant panacea which many people suspect. It does not regrow arms or heal gaping wounds in an instant. Rather, it brings relief from pain, promotes faster healing, and through trances can slip the subject into a coma-like state. What I will show you now is the basics of healing minor wounds. Here at least the effect is somewhat instant. Healing trances are something I cannot easily teach in this setting, so you are welcome to find me at the Temple once we’ve returned.”

Phylis went to her bench and produced a small needle. After carefully disinfecting it, she lightly poked it into her own palm, extracting a bead of blood and a small puncture.
“Gather around, please. The first thing to do is to feel your connection to the Force. Direct it to the injury. Through the Force you can feel the pain and discomfit. Use the Force to shield that, and then attempt to mend it. I will guide you.”

Using her powers, as each younger Jedi came forward she tried to join with them in directing their efforts towards her admittedly minor injury. Only time would tell if her efforts were successful.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

Siobhan's sadly deceased former master and lover, an Eldorai by the name of Adril Tythorin, had burnt paper a lot. This was due to the space elf having a bit of a temper and also being a pyromancer. Truth be told, back in the day Siobhan had been a bit jealous of her pyrokinetic prowess. These days she was not, because among other things she could fly.


In any case, the light show was nice to watch and then [member="Phylis Alince"] launched into teacher mode again. Siobhan found herself wondering how long the trip to the planet would take. Probably as long as the plot demanded. Anyhow, it seemed force healing was next on the agenda. One of Sio's best friends, a Jedi Master by the name of Coryth Elaris, happened to be an apex healer. But learning the power probably required more of a light side connection, which Siobhan did not have.


So she could watch lecture hour...and check her messages on her datapad. It appeared that a great deal of fanmail had accumulated in the interim, for she was popular it seemed. Some of it was the sort of stuff she felt like responding to, the rest was just plain creepy or idiotic. And it appeared lots of people on Spacebook wanted to be her 'friends'.

 

[Veino Garn]

Ah, healing. This Veino was more familiar with, albeit in a different manner, as he was an empath, and that took the feeling of another's pain and discomfort to a much higher level. Unpleasantly so, in fact, for he felt everything. He felt it all to an extent that it was dangerous to use it. This entire series of lessons was running along that theme, actually. First fire in a pressurized and oxygen rich environment. Wasn't that a travel hazard? Now this. But so be it.
He took a deep breath and dropped his defenses, wincing as the emotions and feelings of the others slammed into him. Not terrible, as most were Jedi, or something along that line, but it was still disorienting. He slumped a little, focusing in on himself, remembering who he was, not getting lost in the emotions and identities of others. Then he brought them back up, and his eyes cleared and refocused. Let others with no experience practice. This was unlike his first lesson where his teacher broke her own finger and had to pull him out of his own mind when he started feeling that too keenly.

 

[Spike Arrel]

Veino Garn / Siobhan Kerrigan / Kana Truden / Corvus Raaf / Kian Karr / Meeristali Peradun

===================================================================

Spike decided to step up to the task of healing the master [member="Phylis Alince"]'s boo-boo. Although Spike himself had basic knowledge and practice on how to use force healing, he still felt he could manage, especially on something as small as a needle prick. He walked up to the master after setting down his data-pad, and he began focusing himself on the wound itself, visualizing it and feeling what pain he could from it as to become familiar. He finally channeled the force through the wound itself, hoping to have it scab over if possible.

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana shone up. This was what she had waited for, the part of the trip that would have her repeatedly stabbing herself with a needle over and over if she had the possibility to do as such. Some would call it foolish and stupid, she called it eager and willing. Ever since she had heard the stories of the Jedi Healers she had wanted nothing more but to learn their secrets. In a sense it broke her heart that she had chosen the life of a sentinel, but a skill such as this would help beyond her wildest dreams.

Or well, in her wildest dreams. It wasn’t the skill but the duties that made the jedi into what they were after all. At least so she told herself to have an excuse to learn this. Kana carefully observed as Master Alince pierced herself. At the Master’s instruction she carefully reached out with the force to feel the ‘wound’ on her hand.

As she found it Kana could feel a small prick of pain on her hand. Nothing serious but she could feel it. She focused her mind on the pain as she tried to see herself mending the wound. It felt like soldering a wire in place almost. Maybe not quite but the feeling was the same. She kept going until she felt like the wound was closed.

That was fun, well not fun-fun but good-fun. She withheld the glee at her newfound knowledge. That would be inappropriate and so against what the code said. Probably.

[ [member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"] | [member="Meeristali Peradun"] | [member="Spike Arrel"] | [member="Uther Weiss"] | [member="Veino Garn"] ]​