((started up a new one so we don't have too many comments to scroll through))
"Oh ok," Set says happily. "Thank you," he calls out as Sera walks off.
Xol puts a hand on Set's back to lead him down the hall in the opposite direction of where Sera is headed. "Hutts, big slimy creatures, aren't terribly interesting and neither is Nar Shadda...it's all dingy with less than nice people...we are simply going there to pick up a friend."
"Oh yuck," Set says as he walks with Xol to the cargo area.
"Are we going to watch Ti?" Set asks bouncing.
Xol takes a seat on the floor away from and facing Ti and Cyrus. Set goes to sit down next to Xol, but Xol gently spins him around so Set has his back to the training and is sitting across from and facing Xol.
"But I can't see!" Set whines.
"We are going to practice calming your mind and focusing," Xol says.
Set listens to the sounds of the light saber and squirms a bit. "Can we go some where quiet then? It's hard to think..."
"If we go some where quiet and "easy" how will you learn, practice, and get better at this?"
Set sighs as he has no answer to Xol's question.
"Try and listen past the sound..." Xol says, watching Set fight his urge to get up and run around, and he fights his own urge to chuckle at Set's efforts to try and do his best.
After some brief instruction on lightsaber theory and the various forms, Cyrus decides its time for a piratical demonstration. He takes a Sorsu stance and instructs Ti to come at him as best he can. To any one who is watchings' surprise, TI seems to grasp the concept of saber combat very quick, and moves like he has done this before.
ReplyDelete"Good, good." cyrus says. The clash of enegery blades ring out thoughout the ship and the two almost appear to be dueling.
"Time to switch it up, I think. this, my friend" Cyrus says "Is known as form 7, juyo" and immediately spins underneath Ti's guard, tagging him in the chest and giving him a small jolt of stun energy
Ti's lightsaber scores the floor of the deck slightly as its knocked out of his hand from the sudden shock. He rubs his chest, picks it up, and begins to mimic Cyrus's stance.
"Let us take pause for a minute and talk theory" says cyrus. He pulls out a canteen of water, and takes a swig, and then offers it to Ti, who gulps it down.
"The form I have chosen to master is Juyo. It uses bold, direct motion. It is more more open and kinetic than Shien, and has a less elaborate appearance then Ataru. Its main strength is its unpredictability. It also draws from my inner determination, and my unique connection to the force. I also employ Vaapad and Soresu. With this mixture, I can eviscerate an enemy, and protect my self from incomming attacks. As you learn your place with the force, you will learn which forms will work for you. As I grow older, I see myself applying Vaapad more then I do Soresu, simply because the enemies we face are becoming more potent."
"I wanna learn how to use juyo master cyrus! It sounds like its the most powerful!" Ti says excitedly
With a chuckle, Cyrus replies " Juyo is beyond your skill at this time, my friend. Those that use it blindly can easily fall to the dark side. The Jenasaarai way scorns the use of form 7. We are to know no emotion in battle. My master was looked down on by his peers for his use of Vaapad and juyo, reguardless of the fact that he was considered one of the best swordsmen in our order.
A loud metallic clang echoes from the open door of the workshop followed by a sharp curse. Sera rushes from the door with her left hand wrapped in a rag.
ReplyDeleteThe white rag is stained a deep red in spots as the girl rushes across the deck and into the medbay. "Incoming Siel'la!" she says between clenched teeth.
As the doors on the medical bay shut, a shallow metallic thunk can be heard from the workshop. Lying in the doorway is an oddly shaped piece of metal. Part of it is oval, another flat with some assembled pieces, a slit cut across it, and etchings.
A trickle of blood runs from the half-finished slit, pooling lightly on the deck in the doorway.
The object itself feels innocuous through the Force, just a simple piece of metal. However, something appears unsettling about it.
Xol winces for Ti when he gets hit by the saber and wonders how such a young child can be still so excited to continue doing something that caused him pain.
ReplyDeleteMust just be a match made in space...
Xol hears the loud clang and notices Set jump at the sound of it.
"What was that," Set asks as he looks around.
"I don't know...sounds like it could have been Sera," Xol says as he stands up. "I'll go check."
"Can I come too?" Set whines as he stretches.
Xol ponders for a moment, remembers this is Sera, and then says, "Stay here and continue practicing."
"Awww DARN!" Set huffs and gets as comfortable as he can.
Xol walks over to the workshop and notices the metal object on the floor. He picks it up and looks it over, wondering what it could be.
As Xol turns over the object, it looks like a metal mask. Superficially, it bears resemblance to Koro's helmet and the "head" of the Basilisk war droid that stands covered a few meters away. On the inside, connectors exist for a visor insert and some type of voice modulator.
ReplyDeleteAs he holds the mask, Xol gets a flash of a dark robed figure with a lightsaber, wearing a black and red painted version of the mask.
Taken back, Xol can see a similar figure projected in tiny holo inside the shop.
Seeing Sera in pain and Xol investigating the cause, he figures the best way to handle this situation for the younglings is a distraction.
ReplyDelete"Set, come here for a moment. I wish to see you and Ti try some simple telekinesis." He pulls the closes pair of spherical objects to him, and sets one infront of each of the padawans.
"see if you can levitate these, I'll be back shortly" says cyrus, and he storms off to the medical bay.
For all the luck he had with sabers, he had to opposite effect trying to lift the object. It sat there like a lump in front of him. at some point it wiggled slightly, but after that it just kind of sat there
Inside the medical bay, Sera hisses in pain as the 2-1B droid cleans the wound.
ReplyDeleteThe droid turns to Cyrus as he enters. In a monotone bass he greets the Miraluka. "If you are in need of medical attention and can wait, I will be done cleaning and treating the young lady's wound. Otherwise, I will summon Mistress Siel'la."
Turning back to Sera, "You are quite lucky that the metal working tool missed several of your tendons. There is a high probability of that occurring is such cases."
Sera tosses a glare at the droid. "Thank you for the words of comfort and reminding me to update your bed-side manner protocols. Just finish cleaning the wound and put on a bacta wrap. I should be fine in a few hours."
Taking notice of Cyrus, "Yes?"
"No need, I am uninjured" cyrus tells the droid as he sticks his head in. He attempts to asses how sera managed to cut herself so badly.
ReplyDelete"Are you ok?" Cyrus asks. "Its not like you to get hurt so easily."
((waiting for liz before posting more stuff with the younglings))
Set sighs. "How are we supposed to do this?"
ReplyDeleteHe picks up the object he is supposed to be levitating and thinks for a moment then he begins to run around the room making blaster sounds and whooshing noises.
"Captain! We've been hit! OH NO!"
--------------------------------------------
Xol walks slowly toward the small holo in the shop, still carrying the mask.
"You are ganna get in big trouble, Set!!!" Ti whines.
ReplyDeleteTi stares at the object, shaking an tunring blue in the face from the pure strain of effort. Right before he feels like he is going to pass out, he stops and thinks.
"Hmmm....master cyrus seems to do this efortlesssly. What could the trick be!? Maybe instead of trying so hard, I should try...well not hard."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkOaopiJd8U&feature=related
Cue to 0:30, then continue reading
Ti sits up straight, centers him self, and begins to calmly concentrate on the object.
The ball slowly starts to slowly rise infront of the natulain, as do his head tenticle things
Sera, Xol, and Cyrus and set can all feel a vibration in the force at Ti's sudden burst of force power, almost like his potential has just been "unlocked"
ReplyDelete"Naw I'll be fine," Set says as he runs back toward Ti. "Shields up! HURRY!" He then stops in his tracks and watches Ti actually make the thing float. "Woah...you did it." He walks over, still holding onto his "space ship", trying not to disturb Ti.
ReplyDeleteSera turns back to watch the droid wrap her hand.
ReplyDelete"Accidents happen sometimes even when you are being careful. The tool slipped and got me in the palm, a bit more serious than a basic cut or abrasion, but not too bad over all. I'll have to hold off my tinkering for a day or so, but that's about it."
She cocks he head slightly and turns a bit to look at Cyrus. "You might want to check on your kid. He just did something."
______
The holo seems to be attached to a small datapad Xol had never seen Sera carry. The image is of a robed figure with an nearly identical mask. Beneath the figure scrolls lines of text detailing small amounts of information. Xol can easily read the following...
"Those who use the dark side are also bound to serve it. To understand this is to understand the underlying philosophy of the Sith. The dark side offers power for power's sake. You must crave it. Covet it. You must seek power above all else, with no reservation or hesitation. The Force will change you. It will transform you. Some fear this change. The teachings of the Jedi are focused on fighting and controlling this transformation. That is why those who serve the light are limited in what they accomplish."
Xol rubs his chin. Being in the company of others who can tap into the same power he can just continues to be more and more enlightening and disturbing...
ReplyDeleteAs Xol holds the datapad, the words scroll down.
ReplyDelete"True power can come only to those who embrace the transformation. There can be no compromise. Mercy, compassion, loyalty: all these things will prevent you from claiming what is rightfully yours. Those who follow the dark side must cast aside these conceits. Those who do not—those who try to walk the path of moderation—will fail, dragged down by their own weakness. Those who accept the power of the dark side must also accept the challenge of holding on to it. By its very nature the dark side invites rivalry and strife. This is the greatest strength of the Sith: it culls the weak from our order. Yet this rivalry can also be our greatest weakness. The strong must be careful lest they be overwhelmed by the ambitions of those working beneath them in concert. Any master who instructs more than one apprentice in the ways of the dark side is a fool. In time, the apprentices will unite their strengths and overthrow the master. It is inevitable; axiomatic. That is why each Master must have only one student."
"I felt it also" cyrus says in a worried tone as he turns and leaves.
ReplyDeleteHe walks down toward the cargo bay and gets the young ones into view just as Ti Loses control and drops everything to the ground.
Ti flops backwards onto his back and lays there for a bit
"whew that was harder then I thought. I need a rest." He is startled by a slow claping and the clang of boots walking towards them, as cyrus enters the area.
"Well done little one. I managed to catch the last of that. What about you set, what Have you managed?"
Xol continues reading despite the fact that something is gnawing at him to leave before Sera catches him...He finds it interesting how something so violent could last...and yet he is not surprised by that fact, seeing as how some beings think in this galaxy...
ReplyDelete------------
Set looks up at Cyrus, back down at his "space ship" and back up at Cyrus. He knows Xol may get a kick out of it, but to Cyrus he says, "Nothing really..."
With more enthusiasm he says, "Nothing like Ti anyway! It was neat!"
The words scroll on.
ReplyDelete"This is the reason there can be only one Dark Lord. The Sith must be ruled by a single leader: the very embodiment of the strength and power of the dark side. If the leader grows weak, another must rise to seize the mantle. The strong rule; the weak are meant to serve. This is the way it must be."
It then hits Xol that all those poor children he and Cyrus helped...the humans, Set, Ti...were going to be trained in this tradition.
ReplyDeleteAnd poor Sera has already been brain washed.
"The galaxy needs balance," Xol says thoughtfully.
As Sera walks across the cargo hold, she gives a wistful glance at Set and Ti. "Life is so simple at that age. It's a shame it changes." she whispers to herself.
ReplyDeleteContinuing into the workshop, she notices the dab of blood on the floor and bends down to wipe it up with her rag. As she stands up, she notices Xol and hears his musing.
"Balance? Interesting proposition. So who gets to make that call, Xol?"
Actually startled, Xol fumbles with the mask and the holo. He puts them both down and mumbles something in Kel-Dor.
ReplyDelete"Balanced is just how things SHOULD be. It isn't obvious that when one thing is off balance, something tries to even it out? Where there is too much good, and there can be such a thing...doesn't evil come to balance it? Same when there is too much evil..."
"Again. Who gets to make the call? Good and evil exist in equal proportion everywhere. Who is to say one exists more than the other on such a cosmic scale? How can one of us tiny specks judge that?
ReplyDelete"Somewhere on Coruscant a guy is embezzling millions of credits to sate his greed. Meanwhile on Corellia, CorSec is busting a murderer. On Hutta, the Hutts kill a guy for being late with a delivery. But on Alderaan, a group of refugees finds comfort and shelter.
"Its why I believe the word 'evil' is just a term used by the 'have not's' of the galaxy in order to justify their suffering.
"Think about it, Xol. Next time we are on some world like Nar Shaddaa and beggar crawls out to you begging for money. If you give him nothing, he probably thinks you are evil. Evil is in the eye of the beholder and only that much.
"What was that little phrase tossed around during the Clone Wars? 'One person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter.'
"I think the man in the holo would agree with me there. He was a Jedi who disobeyed direct orders to not help people. He rose up with a lot of other like-minded Jedi and stopped the Mandalorians. You saw his handi-work first hand... Malachor V.
"After the end of the war, the Jedi were not happy with him. He, who had helped people doing good and saved the Republic. Good deeds, you'd agree? Its when he left the Jedi and began his turn to the Sith.
Sera picks up the mask with her good hand, looking over it with a nod of approval at her craftsmanship.
"Darth Revan knew balance, Xol. He also knew good and evil. If I could be a tenth of the person or the Sith he was... I could do great things for the galaxy. He also is one of the last people to break the Mandalorians. It's something I am hoping they remember that well."
She turns over the mask and holds it in front of her face. "Because, I think we're going to need every edge when we go to Mandalore and set our trap for Jopal."
Flipping the mask down, Sera gives Xol a sly smile before setting the metal piece on the workbench.
Turning around, she picks up the datapad and switches it off. With a sigh, Sera glances back at Xol.
ReplyDelete"I know my philosophies are odd to you. Just as your's are odd to me... You've been a true friend in a lot of aspects, Xol. It's something I'm not used to and I don't know if I will ever be. But you showed me the next step of ascendance last night with a vision. I shouldn't have done what I did, but you seemed so dead set against things. Also... the other things in that vision... well, even I did not enjoy seeing those. You were right, it is better to not know some things.
"I will do everything in my power to change that part of the vision. I won't let anything happen to you or Ti."
Sera clenches her good hand into a fist. "I swear it."
The girl's face softens as she looks back toward Xol
"You might want to check on Set. Cyrus is trying to sit him down and teach him telekinesis. And i don't think he was having much luck."