Noto Saar

This time, Noto did not react as quickly as he would have. His excitement from earlier had distracted him, and the drone moved much quicker then he would have anticipated. And this time, Noto was unbalanced. Yipe! Ah!” Noto exclaimed then scrambled slightly as he fell over backwards, clutching at where the training remote struck. Being slightly on a hill, Noto continued to tumble backwards until he eventually came to rest at the bottom. Noto pulled off the blindfold with a huff and for once, gave a look towards Genesis that was easy to read: a slight glare. “That wasn’t fair. I wasn’t even ready for that…”

The tingling in the back of Noto’s brain grew a bit more violent. Noto wasn’t sure if it was a sign that something was about to happen or if Noto was about to have a force vision, so he reacted as he only could. With a dash of panic. Noto’s tentacles flailed as the Krevaaki tried to pointlessly dodge wherever the electric jolt would come from. While his flailing did help him not get struck in the tentacle again, it only rewarded him by accidentally placing his head in remote’s targeting sensors. “Gah!” Noto again shouted, not in pain, but annoyance. His faceplates took the brunt of the pain, but his pride was hurt. “Sorry, sorry, I just, um… let me try again, ack, sorry…” Noto took a few deep breaths and quietly recited his mantra under his breath. The tingling began to return as usual. In the hot sunlight, a trickle of pale slime-sweat dripped down from under the blindfold down Noto’s face plates. “The Ocean…the Force. The Ocean….the Force” Noto whispered. He was beginning to feel some of the life around him. At his feet something was crawling. No, burrowing. About a few centimeters down…a worm? There, a six winged bug brushed past on his left side. The air was not perfectly still, there was a breeze. No, not a breeze. There was…something floating… The tingle in the back of Noto’s head became violent again. Noto wasn’t sure if he moved, or if the Force moved him, but his entire body leaned to the left. The remote’s prod grazed the Krevaaki cloaked shoulder. Had it been where it was a moment ago, Noto’s exposed neck would have been struck. The air grew rancid as Noto’s musk began to smell with excitement. “I did it! I did it! Hahaha!”

"Calm yourself Noto. Trust in yourself and in the Force." Noto took a deep breath at this. A youngling raised in a worse situation would’ve made some snide comment about how easy that could be for someone, but the years of living with elders, loving parents, and calm oceans taught Noto to say something much more respectable. “Alright. I got this…” In truth, Noto did not have this. The sound of the device changing to a silent hum instantly captured the Krevaaski's attention. Noto’s attention only shifted slightly to Genesis when his master spoke again. “Right, I got to make my force sense more sense like. I need to open myself and YOUCH!” Noto yelped as the training sphere struck. The brief moment of pain in Noto’s hand tentacle was minor. The electricity, like Genesis had said, was harmless. But the surprise of it made it seem five times more intense than it actually was. Noto yelped and jumped backwards instinctively, nearly falling over before catching his balance. Noto grumbled slightly as he rubbed where he was struck. Still, he got back into a ready position and prepared himself. “The Force. Focus on the Force…” Noto whispered to himself, which then turned into a silent monologue. The Force is an ocean, and we are all in it. Listen to the Ocean, feel the waves. The waves. Everything makes a wave. Everything makes a wave. Listen to the waves. Listen…Feel and listen. Just feel and listen. Let the water ebb and flow… The tingling in the back of Noto’s head began a bit. It was slight, but it was there. The feel of the Force touching his mind ever so slightly. The waves that the Force was feeding him was miniscule at best, but it was there. Noto’s body visibly began to relax. His arm tentacles loosened while his locomotive ones swayed. His facial plates returned to a resting position. The Force, in its mysterious, unseen ways, fed the young squid-like being quietly.

When Genesis brought out the training device, Noto’s excitement rose a bit more. However, all of his excitement instantly turned to confusion when the blindfold was brought out. “Uhhhh….” Noto uttered as his master explained what was going to happen. “Ah, you mean this is how we, um, ok…” Even as Noto tied the blindfold over his eyes, his thought process was going as fast as usual. “But, if its not dangerous, will I honestly sense it? I mean, I don’t doubt you, but, er, I, ah nevermind. " With the blindfold on, Noto rebalanced himself. He had forgotten how much he actually relied on sight out of the water. In the water, he could swim blindfolded, at least for a long time. The currents, the temperatures, all the factors of the water could guide him. But here, it was different. Much more empty. Even the breeze felt empty compared to the water he was used to. Still, Noto would try. Slowly he got himself into a ready position. “Alright, sense it. Avoid its attacks. Ok, I can do this. Ok, just got to focus on the Force. Focus on the force…”

Noto looked in the direction that his master had gazed towards, seeing the ships moving. However, where Genesis looked with deep thoughts, Noto’s brain was active with imagination. How to improve his concentration, how to build upon himself, how to deepen his connection. But these were not in any way deep, only the thoughts a child would have when discovering a new formula for a sweetened mixture. “So, then sir, what is next? More hiking? Running? Or something different? I don’t mind anything, I’m up for everything!” Noto bobbed his head up and down in excitement, eager to move on with his training, thinking he was showing traits of being a good student. Truth be told, he wasn’t one for physical exercise out of the water, but he wasn’t going to communicate that now.

Noto’s face turned into confusion at first. Each face plate tried to move together in the center of his face, taking each millimeter as far as it could go. “So, you are telling me to treat my force sense as that...a sense...but…” Noto reached up and stroked his face plates again and looked around pointlessly, trying to piece things together outloud. “I do not use it as a sense. But with time it will become more sense like? I’m not sure how that makes sense. Not that I’m questioning you, sir, um, sorry, but uh, I am not eyeless, erm um, I mean…” Noto placed a tentacle on his face in embarrassment. In that moment of silence and embarrassment, Noto felt a little bit of his suckers on his face. This momentary distraction led him down a new line of thought. “But, if I keep practicing it, like you said…aha! I get it!” Noto suddenly jumped slightly, and in an entirely uncivilized way according to his peoples, brought out 6 of his eight tentacles from his robes for showing. The black mass of chitin, tentacles, and water probably would’ve made a frightening sight for any onlooker. “You say that meditation helps with focus! Like muscle memory! Like my tentacles! See, my people, after our first full lunar year cycle, we do a ceremony where our elders tell us which of our tentacles are meant for grabbing and which for walking. But we don’t know how to use them like that yet! So we practice and practice till it becomes second-nature! Aha!” Noto’s face beamed with pleasure as he quickly put his tentacles back under his robes, aside from the two ‘hands’ he was used to having out. Still, he wiggled a bit in joy, which was very visible. “Thats why you had me do that meditation right after that hike! I see sir! I see!”

Noto's hearts skipped slightly at the compliment. Hearing how good he was doing had been a relatively rare thing. It was hard to exceed at something on a planet that pursued spiritual enlightenment over most things. "Like the fish of the sea, even the subtlest of changes within it can alert us of potential dangers or those in need of help. And through this, we can attune our senses to notice like second nature, a living sixth sense." Noto looked at Genesis with a slight crooked tilt. "Sixth sense...you mean like precognition? " Noto stroked his chin face plates and recalled what he had read on the force alerting people to danger. "If I recall correctly, master Bodo Bass described the force as a guide in of itself." Noto started. Then he raised a tentacle up as a quoting indication. " some hear the force as a silent whisper, while some see it as a splash of colors when it is trying to communicate with the sensitive. It is neither aggressive, nor caring, but a simple feeling or statement. When it speaks its unbearable voice, it speaks with purpose. Those who listen to this voice appear to know the future, or are able to react faster then the speed of thought. In all actuality, they are simply listening and reacting off what the force is telling them. It is imperative to listen to that voice in times of trouble, or it may become the last voice one might not hear." Noto lowered his tentacle, indicating he was done quoting Musings of an Old Crab. "If I didn't believe in the force sir, I'd call it magic or something. But sir, I've never heard a voice or anything like that before. I've had to focus myself to know that the city is busy but calm. How is that going to protect me in the middle of conflict? I doubt my enemy will simple let me meditate in the middle of a battle...though, that would be funny to witness" Noto giggled a bit at the image that popped into his head. A massive red painted warrior, about to kill noto, but then stops because noto wanted to meditate.

“Technically I have two hearts sir, its common for my species and um…” Noto stopped himself, partially from breathing hard, but also from realizing how disrespectful he was being. Many times he had received a sting on the back for back-talking his elders. “Sorry, sorry...breath deep. Breath deep, I can do that.” Noto took a deep gasp of air, using two of his ‘hand’ tentacles to make a gesture of breathing in and out like a human would do so. Breath in. Breath out. Noto felt both of his hearts beat slightly slower, but not by much. Breath deeper. Let the air go in and out. Not just the air. The Force. It was in everything, correct? Why wouldn’t that include the air? Breathe in and out the Force. Feel the Force. Feel the presence of Genesis in the Force. Even as Noto’s heart slowed, he could begin to feel the presence of things around him. Next to him on the ground there were eight different species of insects crawling around. The dirt they walked on held small pebbles, sand, and a tiny bit of water, barely holding the mixture together. The water. The water held it together. Like the force. The force held life together. The Water held the dirt, the Force held life. No, something was not correct in that. The Force held not just held life together, but him together. They were linked. The insects were linked with each other through the Force, and he was linked to the Insects. "Drop a stone into the flow of the water, and it ripples. But dip a cup in it, and you capture a part of it." Noto nodded to these words. That was it. He was supposed to dip himself into the waters of the Force. He needed it to refill him. Without the binding agent, the dirt and pebbles and such would separate into useless, shaky ground. Without the Force, he would separate into a useless being. Don’t draw the Force in. Let it fill the body up. Let it flow like rain from a cloud to the ocean. Let it naturally flow. Noto breathed in deeply, his body completely at peace, and more importantly, rejuvenated. “I see the city where we came from. It’s… busy. But calm.” Noto opened his eyes and looked at Genesis with both wonder and curiosity.

“Ah! I see. We are passive guardians.” Noto nodded, but still scratched his chin as he sat beside Genesis. "But still, sir, it, um, doesn’t make sense that if the military knows an attack could be incoming, why don’t they issue an evacuation? Surely more lives, um, could’ve been saved on Corescant had they known one day ahead that the moon was going to...um…” Noto stopped. A few people were looking at him. It wasn’t clear if they had overheard, so Noto quietly silenced himself before causing what Genesis would call, mass hysteria. Still, he thought himself right. Fear might occur, but wouldn’t a little fear that saves thousands be worth it in the end? The sight that greeted Noto when he got off the train made his twin hearts drop. The glamour and the richness of the city was absent here, but some of the heartless trash and scraps of society were. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like they would be here long, as Genesis went through the forests. Noto followed. Quickly, Noto began to tire. Having the body of a student and not an athlete, his skills at navigating the underbrush was impressive only for his species natural advantage of numerous tentacles. Normally he kept two tentacles out for fine motor control, and two for propulsion, via walking. However, his species had a total of eight tentacles, and Noto had trained for of them for movement over both ground and sea. These four tentacles allowed him to travel longer than a human of his age, but he was still quickly tired and had to stop to take some deep gasps. "You've shown your potential to focus and hone the Force, but now comes the taxing of it. You are tired. Your legs are likely stiff and sore. And even your breathing may be heavy.” Noto nodded at this. He could feel some of the burn in his tentacles. And the arid climate was not helping him retain a cool temperature. “But the Force can aid you. It can grant you strength and endurance. It can grant you speed and agility. But first you have to expand yourself and know it's own. Open your mind up to the Force, relax and take deep slow breaths, focusing on your breathing as your mind reaches into the Flow of Life and of the Force here around us. Be a leaf upon it's stream, and travel it's waters." Noto felt a bit confused. The Force could aid him? Nowhere in his reading did he hear about that. Though, maybe he would discover more in the readings that Genesis gave him. “Um, uh...um, ok...one second, let me...hoo, just need to breath a bit…” Noto took a few more breaths and then closed his eyes, focusing on the Force like before. He began by speaking the mantra again. But between lines he gasps a bit more for air. Noto shook his head. He was having trouble focusing. “One second sir, I, um, just need a moment...hoo, one second, um…”

Noto took the pad excitedly and quickly started reading though it, then realized there was too much information to take in right now. Instead he deemed it study material for later and placed it inside his robes for safekeeping. Perhaps he could copy the information down into his own datapad if Genesis decided he needed the pad back. Still, what little Noto saw filled him with greater excitement. “I'm sure there are some who carry the Lightsaber as identification, but most only carry out of necessity. And not all who carry the Lightsaber is a Jedi. All of which are simple choices, like any aspect of life. And like life, each choice has both it's benefits and consequences. These choices are what define us." Noto nodded as he took the tea that his master ordered. Noto studied the tea carefully, wondering if this was like the ‘sugar’ he had tasted last night. Lifting it to his mouth, he was surprised the taste was a bit more bitter than expected, but not repugnant. A little hot, but that would cool in time. Noto looked over the area while Genesis spoke. Where his master was focused on the vastness of the world, Noto was focused on his master. Reading the movements, the facial cues, and the tone of voice simply came natural to the squid-like crustacean. He read Genesis’ face like a book, and hung on every word. Then Genesis demonstrated his ability with the force. Noto never understood how people needed to still beg in this wide open galaxy, when there were so many jobs in the galaxy to take, but still he watched the beggar. When the beggar stood up and left, Noto looked at Geneses curiously. “He'll be back here tomorrow. Don't worry." Genesis spoke after he filled his mouth with the remnants of his tea and rose, leaving behind a healthy tip. "Think of the Force similar to spice. Used correctly and as defined, and it is a healthy and manageable medicine capable of helping those in need. But use it recreationally, and it's a hole you will inevitably drown yourself in." Noto nodded. “Sir, if you are able to do that with the Force, then why don’t you help get people to evacuate the planet with that ability? After all, if the military is confident that the...um…” Noto lowered his voice in case anyone nearby could overhear normal chatter. “If the sith forces attack, shouldn’t the planet be evacuated? Surely that wouldn’t be using the ability negatively?” Genesis continued, with the subject of weapons "It's not to say I fear falling to the Darkside again. No. That was a lesson well bought. I simply choose not to carry weapons or use them, especially blades, because I fell. And that is a part of my past, something I should not dwell on. Nor should you dwell on it. I am your teacher, and I have the knowledge to teach you the tools you will need. The choices of how you use those tools will be your's and your's alone." Noto nodded at this. “ I understand, I think. I only hope I can make the right decisions with the tools. So, if I may ask sir, what is it you want me to learn first? I do want to be helpful in the upcoming days sir."

“I actually don't wield a Lightsaber. Only the Force." “Oh! How fascinating!” Noto exclaimed, genuinely shocked. “It was my belief that all Jedi carried that sacred weapon, if not for self defense but also as a mark of recognition. I’ve heard it said you can identify a jedi by the weapon on his belt…” Noto was shocked that he had missed such a detail. It was not like him to miss such a thing. "But that will come later when you're more trained in using the Force. A weightless blade is hard to control, and I'd rather not having you lopping off any of your limbs." Noto nodded, though slightly disappointed. He did realize that he was essentially a child, but he was a little anxious to see such a blade in action. The years of peace and quiet made the legendary stories of Jedi walking into enemy armies and dispatching droids with ease made them more than a tall tale around moonlit story circles at his home planet. Noto stood with Genesis and nodded. Even if his face said little, his smell pointed out he was excited. “Yes sir! After last night, I am, um, really hopeful I can prove myself. And this time I'm going to bring some food with us, so that way if I get hungry again...“ As Noto followed wherever Genesis led, he couldn't help but ask questions and let his thoughts emerge in a flood of words, complete with a tentacle coming up to stroke his facial plates quizzically. "So, if you don't use a blade, but just the Force, how do you fight? I mean, I know Jedi like peace above all, but violence is so common and um...well what i mean to say is that you said the Sith are very violent and without a weapon...um, sorry, I don't mean to be rude, I just don't understand. Oooh, are you one of those Jedi I heard about who, um, those...what are they called, Sages? I mean, those ones who prefer um, that thing you had me do last night? I mean i didn't think about it, but that makes a lot of sense now and I guess but then again does that mean..." As the Krevaaki rambled, his scent became much stronger. It was more than obvious that Noto's true nature, quizzical and active, was emerging.

Noto sighed slightly in relief at Genesis words about worrying. However he instantly noticed his master’s demeanor change when talking about Corescant. After all, Genesis had witnessed first hand the chaos that the moon had caused, while Noto only had seen it through a vision. “Resonated with a ripple...that sounds right I think. Though I do not know if you are right or not…” Noto commented, stroking his face plates thoughtfully. He was learning so much. Noto perked up as well, matching his master’s mood. He figured it would be best to learn via imitation. “Um, training or exploring? Uh um…” Noto began to think out loud. “Well, I uh haven’t had any physical training….but exploring is good, and we could help with defense…” Noto shook his head suddenly. “No no, training. Yes I know that a Jedi must be well bodied and fit, so I say training. But um, sir, uh...what kind of training did you have in mind? Would I be using a lightsaber?” Noto said this questioningly. He was both excited at the prospect of using such a prodigious weapon, but to use a weapon would go against most things his people had taught him. Living well and wise was always better than living short and violent.

Noto stirred to life slowly but surely. Never before had he had such a decent sleep, despite the dreams he had. And the fact that the sleep occurred on dry land made it all the more extraordinary. “Sleep well?” Noto looked at his master and more noticeably, the food he had brought with him. Noto shifted his face plates a bit, indicating that he had indeed, but then realized that a simple nod would do. “Yes sir, thank you.” Noto said, moving the covers off and taking the food and busily chowed the food down, crushing it in his mandibles behind his facial plates. He spilled crumbs, and quickly wiped them off, trying not to appear too sloppy. “Such good dreams… well not good dreams, but well…” Noto struggled to put to words how he felt. “I...saw Coruscant again. I mean, I’ve never seen in it person, but I saw it in my dream. Hesperium fell. But it was different. I...uh…” Noto paused and scratched his head. “See, um, my family and I discovered I was force sensitive sir when Hesperium fell. I uh....well they said I nearly died. Went into a coma I guess. But I dreamt and I witnessed Hesperium and it was terrible, like really bad, like, um, I don't know how to explain it…” Noto shook slightly at remembering how he felt when he had seen the fall of Corescants moon. The fear was almost palpable. The chaos was overwhelming. The fire from the sky. Those armored warriors attacking everyone they found. “But see, it was different this time. I felt...calm. Like, I was seeing it, but it wasn’t as vivid, or intense. I still saw things like people running and such. A huge firefight for a ship just to get off world. Men in armor attacking and destroying buildings. It was still terrible but.... I don’t know...it was different.” Noto looked at Genesis face and noticed something. A bead of sweat. Another being may have ignored it, but for a Krevaaki who spent their life reading the tiniest adjustments of faces to read impressions… “Oh! I’m so sorry sir, did I oversleep?” Noto got up, almost dropping some of the leftover food onto the floor, catching it just in time with a tentacle. “You’ve been busy! And i’m the padawan! Oh I’m so sorry, here, uh, let me clean up, ah, um, sorry. Usually I don’t sleep this well. I’ll get better at being alert sir, I’m sorry…”

When given permission, Noto devoured the candy bar with a maniacal energy only seen during a feeding frenzy in the shallows. Not only was Noto hungry and exhausted, he was eager to try the flavor of chokolate. And was it worth it. The sweet chokolate had been further dulcified with various sugars and mixtures. The chokolate itself was a little hard from age, but immediately became soft as the Krevaaki’s natural moisture was absorbed. Only the nuts remained hard and salty, giving the entire bar a sweet and crunchy sensation. It only took two large gulps to stuff the entire bar into Noto’s mouth. Each faceplate shifted up greatly, the only look of intense pleasure he could possibly give that anyone could understand. “Mmmmm, this...mmmm” Noto had no words for the sensation he was having. "As we've discussed, the Force flows through all things, and as Sensitives, we are privy to it's currents. We can alter it's flow as well, just as you've proved. But we do not manipulate it." Noto silenced himself, realizing he was still in the midst of a lesson. However, he did not stop eating, continuing to devour the protein bar with abandon. "There is a fine line between altering the flow of the Force and manipulating it. To alter it is to simply use it momentarily and let it resumes it's course. But to manipulate it is to alter it's entirety before unleashing it. This is the basis that separate the Jedi from the Sith. We only alter it for a moment. They will alter it entirely." Noto nodded, chewing a piece of the dry bar. “So we are like waves, where the sith are like dams. We push gently, where the sith completely changes it. I believe I understand sir. That must be why the Jedi are usually passive and reactive.” At his master’s indication he crawled into his own bed, a mass of tentacles. It was a bit uncomfortable to be sure. Noto was so used to sleeping in water, drifting to sleep. But that didn’t bother him. Whether it was the excitement of the day, or the fact that the sugar had just kicked in and was giving his poor brain an excitement rush, Noto couldn’t focus on the lack of species-specific comforts around him. His mind was thinking about the force and the world around him, and how back at home he would have never had this kind of teaching, and how his parents would be proud of what he just did, and how the sith would eventually back off cause he was going to help the Jedi, and how his homeworld would stay safe, and how something like Coruscant wouldn’t happen again, Noto fell asleep almost instantly, his mind drifting through the force. Or rather, the memories of the past drifted back through the force. The memories of the vision of Coruscant came back in a rush. The hellfire from above. The screaming and running. The people taking off and the people stuck behind. But this was different. Noto was there this time. He could perceive himself. He could feel the heat on his plates. He could taste the smoke in the air. He could feel his eyes tear up and sand and debris hit his face. And he was calm. So much different from when he last had this vision. And so he dreamed through the night, watching Hesperium fall all over again, until he awoke the next morning.

“Yes sir, it flowed through it and into me, but also the other way I think. Kinda like a tide or something. Water flows in. Water flows out. So you want me to move the force back into it and move it?” Noto looked at the candy bar and felt his stomach gurgle a bit. “Um...yes sir, I will try...No i mean I will do so sir. I know Jedi like confident individuals, so I will do so sir. Truthfully, Noto just wanted to eat. But he didn’t want to disappoint Genesis. And he really wanted to learn more then anything else. If he had to have some stomach cramps first, then so be it. Once again, the tentacles wrapped around his body, grabbing himself into a resting position. Noto slowed his breathing a bit with a few deep breaths and began the mantra again. "Let the water ebb and flow. Let the life grow and wither. Let the peace reign over. Let the storm quietly pass" The sensation began much quicker and easier this time, almost immediately after the repeating the mantra with another repeat. Noto couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of the force flowing through him. It started again like a tingling sensation at the base of his back where his exoskeleton connected with his nerve tissue. It felt like warm water flowing on a cold spot. Soothing and gentle. And Noto could feel the bar much easier. It’s presence was much easier to find, probably from the fact that Noto had felt a piece of its past. But could he influence it? Noto focused on the bar. It’s history. Its composition. Its texture. How was he to move it towards him? Just imagining it moving? Noto’s stomach growled again. He was very hungry. He just wanted to eat it. Like the fruit he had eaten earlier. Just to taste its sweetness, and crunchiness. If only he could move it like a wave of water moved a rock. Water...to move it like water. Like a stream moving a pebble, the force could move the candy bar. It wasn’t a powerful flood, but a stream. Noto was the guiding power of the stream. To focus the stream into a point. To make the direction be towards… The candy bar suddenly flew through the air and struck Noto’s faceplates. Noto snapped out of his meditation with a slight scream and fell backwards.