Dashel Illioni

Suitably chastised, Dashel deactivated the second saber and replaced it on his belt. The Saber-claw deactivated itself when the need for it was no longer in Dashel's mind. Dashel refocussed his mind on beginning the entire learning process again. He began breaking down each and every step of his approach to his form. Mentally, he praticed against what his race's temple had always called the greatest enemy...one whom is an exact duplicate of you, bet better, stronger and quicker. Dashel sparred with this invisible enemy, pushing himself to achieve the greatest perfection he could. He thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Watching their master teach them, Dashel experienced a strange exhiliration. He already knew much of these forms from his Ranger training. The exhiliration was immediately followed by an equally deep sinking feeling. At the High Temple, he had been an indifferent student, caring more about succeeding than what he was actually learning. He looked at the Saber in his hand, the one on his belt, and the saber-claw attached to his wrist. No longer would he be afforded that luxury. Dashel closed his eyes. A jedi could only function at peace, and being lost in the past was not calming for anyone. Instead, Dashel sought only the quietest place he could find. As always, he found the force waiting for him. He used it now to enhance his memories of what his master had shown him. The former soldier concentrated on the images as they played out in his minds eye, examining and memorizing everything he had seen of the form he had asked to be taught. As for the one Sahv was now practicing, Dashel filed those memories away for later, as a thought occured to him. Immediately, he thought to and shared it with his fellow padawan and Master Starspanker. "Sahv, when we began training we swore that we would learn and grow together, and that as knights we would support each other. I am assuming that means at some time we will be in battle together watching out for each other. Sometime in the future, we are going to have to learn each other's forms. Not to master to them, but for better understanding of each other. Then we will add the force in." Calm, Dashel began practicing the sequences that Master Starspanker had shown him, taking his time to make sure he knew the form's routes perfectly before breaking them down to the basics and mastering them with power. Once he was satisfed he knew them with power and each route was still perfect, he went on towards speed. Quickly, it became apparent that he could not handle the weapons at his full speed or his full strength. It would take time and practice to reach both. For now, however, he had a thorough understanding of what had been taught to him. He turned to Master Starspanker and bowed his thanks for the lesson. "Master Starspanker, I know that most forms can be expanded two accomadate different weapons, form Great Lightsabers to Dual Lightsabers, but is there any record of three weapons being used?" To demonstrate, Dashel whipped his prehensil tail around to grab and activate from his belt the twin of the saber he held in his hand, thought the activation of the saber-claw, while still holding the blade he had been practicing with in his off hand. "Granted, I know I am a long way from being able to do this proficiently, but I though I would ask."

Dashel was glad he and Sahv had discussed these forms earlier. Seeing them, however, provided an insight that would not have been possible with vidscreens or text. "Master Starspanker," said Dashel, "for me the choices before me are fairly straightforward, or at least they seem so right now." He looked at his hands, and flexed the claws from their sheaths. "As I have said many times, I was a soldier. A soldier's duty is a constant struggle to know when to be aggressive and when to be defensive. I thought being a Jedi would supplant that training. Instead it seemingly complements it on more than a few levels. If the Jedi have no problem with it, then I will endeavour to master two styles. Form III, the more defensive style fulfills one side of the equation, while Form VII fulfills the other." He answered the question he knew would come before it could spoken, "Yes, master, I know that I will be training longer and harder than most."

Dashel stared at Sahv for a moment, then he activated his saber claw. The symbiotic weapon was already a part of him, that part was easy to understand. He stood still and reached for the force. When he was calm and had fixed his concentration on the longest of the saber claws blades, he waited for the sensation Locke had described. Eventually, he grew tired of waiting and committed more of himself to the search for the cold fire of his blade. His aggressive probe found something around the blades fire, preventing him from sensing anything about it. He paused and contemplated why this might be happening. Dashel found his answer and was quite suprised. The barrier consisted of the force being used by the force itself. He deactivated the claw and examined the twin hilts he had also constructed. Again, he extended his senses into the force and used that awareness to examine the hilts before him. One called to him and he activated it, unconsciously putting its mate back onto his belt as he did so. His green eyes sought the end of the blade, starting from the hilt up. Blinded by the yellow blades light, he never found it with his eyes. Instead of his eyes, he found the force waiting for him, and through its guidance he found himself inside the blade. Sheathed in yellow flame, he traveled towards the heart of the blade. As he traveled downward, he was not consumed. At the sword's bottom, he found the crystal that had sung just so when he had taken it as payment from Kala. Instead of the faintly warm crystal he had installed in this blade, he found himself descending into a blaze of energy so cold he recoiled from it. Dashel found himself staring at his blade, his eyes watering from not having blinked in his quest to do as Locke said. He began again, determined to succeed. This time, though, he began with the basics. Dashel submerged himself in the code of the Jedi, letting the power of the code surround and nourish him on his descent through the cold fire that was his saber. When he got to the point where the blade and crystal met, he passed through and beyond the crystal and found a new fire waiting for him. It was cool to his mental touch, and oddly familiar. Not wanting to rush, he considered the familiarity of this fire and reached an understanding. While science could explain how a blade was built and worked, it could never know just how intimately a part of the Jedi each blade was. It was that connection, where the sword's heart, the Jedi's spirit, and the force all interconnected that united them all. Even as he learned the secret he felt his unconscious mind block any memory of the concept and instead replace it with the knowledge that the force now had another way to touch the galaxy at large. It flowed freely through Dashel, through his arm, down to his hand and out the blade and back again. Dashel sat among the nexus of the three energies for a long time, simply observing the energies that seemed to crackle about him. As he gazed, he realized the ribbon of energy he had ridden here was actually composed of millions of small strands. Closer examination revealed even sub-bands among those and again each sub-band had individual strands of its own. He left the nexus and began the trip again. Instead of letting the force blindly guide him from the beginning of his journey, he used it to select a strand and follow it all the way to the nexus and outwards from it. It became another strand and fell back to the nexus and moved outwards again. Each time he completed the loop, Dashel knew he gained a more complete understanding of his saber. He completed another turn and another, knowing he would continue as long as he was not disturbed from the outside.

Dashel walked out of the room that he and Sahv shared. His meditations had left him feeling very peaceful and with his feet firmly set on a path set for the future. The force had shown glimpses of the suffering to come and he had been among the carnage as a warrior. The future after what lay ahead was less clear. A strong theme had been present in that he sought the healers of the Jedi temple. It had not been clear whether or not he was to master that skill or to be healed by them. The lesson about the future had been clear. Shaking his head, he joined Locke and Sahv outside the ship. Before settling down to wait instruction, he thought of Kira's precipitous departure and shook his head. His ship was docked on Mon Calamari and he would have gladly lent it and his pilot's services to her. He nodded to Sahv and Locke his readiness, banishing his master's departure from his mind. He had to focus on his now, not the negative feelings that might result from worrying over another capable warrior's actions. <> edited for untimely content, Thanks Kakuto! <>

Dashel looked up Sahv, his entire being still. He responded very quietly to Sahv's question. "I thought I was joking earlier. To me there was some humor in the two very martial and aggressive styles being used by a trained healer but when you spoke I suddenly remembered the corpsman who we always deployed with. She was quite aggressive, whether it was with a weapon or while fighting to keep one of us alive. Perhaps it is something I should meditate on." After a moment's pause, he went on, "Yes I will go meditate on it. Thanks Sahv." Dashel stood, stretched and walked into the small cabin figuring Masters Kira and Locke would call him if needed. Once in the cabin, he sat and began meditating, seeking the guidance of the force.

the feed interupts everyone's daily programming to the consternation of execs and engineers all of the net. What people see is initially discounted as a hoax until the headlines scream forth from multiple outlets the following morning. Uggloth Borgo is seen levitating in midair, slowly choking to death. Around his neck is a sign that says "thus is rewarded those without faith in the Jedi" The camera slowly pans backward, and the room around him is a carnal house of disected bodies, some crucified, others racked, and others bear no mark except a second smile that bled them out. Many are clearly twisted in silent agony clearly relieved only by a death that took a long time to come. No one particularly race or age has been spared by whomever perpetrated this grisly scene. Finally, the camera zooms in on two madly capering figures. One is concealed in a black, hooded robe while the other is the former hostess from 'Galactic Free Press and News Corp'. She is dressed in the remains of an expensive business suit and her eyes are clearly vacant after having witnessed the massacre and torture of so many victims. The black robed figure pulls back his hood to reveal a head mask of hideous design, clearly made from small patches of skin and fur from the varios beings lying about the room. It throws its head back and laughs, loudly and piercingly. "Beware Sith the justice that is Tanimus Sulstrum, for I will find you no matter where you hide."

Dashel gave a slow nod. He was obviously tired. "Indeed, the Force has many mysteries." Sahv finished. Tired he may have been but Dashel decided that his friend had the right idea. Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed his datapad and began researching the various lightsaber forms and the force healing techniques they were sure to need once they started practicing with lightsabers. He became quite engrossed in the subject of healing techniques. The more he read, the more he wanted to know and expand his knowledge base. He stopped, looked up at Sahv and grinned. "Sahv, how is this for a split personality: a jedi healer who practices lightsaber techniques designed to put one on the attack and that emphasize duals."

A newsflash interupts the daily programming of All Media Holonet Corp. channels on the holonet. All channels promptly cut to a newsdesk and a casually dressed newsanchor whom is not part of the regular team. The individuals looks up moments after the camera starts rolling, obviously memorizing the papers in front of him, as if there is too little time to enter them into the teleprompter. Greetings, fellow sentients, and pardon the interuption of your daily programming. We have the following unfortunate news to report to you. Even as the reclusive Nepharius Fontaine was agreeing to demands by his workers, those same workers were losing their families to Jedi attrocities. I have here with me Seargent DeUnger of Corsec (who enters from offscreen). She is the corsec spokeswomen for the metropolis where so many of these worker's families were murdered. "Seargent," says the newsanchor, "can you tell me whom is among the dead and what happened. "You know its our policy to only release the names of the dead once all family members are notified. As for how they died lets say that whomever murdered these people had to have the force as an ally. Several had asphyxiated without any markings on the persons while witness at other scenes indicate that the individual seemed to come out of nowhere and moved at incredible speeds and performed acts that were out of the realm of possibility for all but Jedi." The cop pauses for a moment, then continues. "Another indicator of Jedi involvement is the very detached way in which the killer murdered his victims. He was relentless, very discreet for most of them, and utterly unfazed by the amounts some witness tried to bribe him with. Also, none of the witness whom did survive seem to be able to remember what the murder looked like despite having seen him up close. i belive the jedi would file that one under "Mind Trick"". "Thank you Officer DeUnger." The hosts pauses for a moment as if reacting to something off camera. He turns back to the camera, pastes a smile and begins speaking again. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this network just made a huge scoop. Our Ken Marich has made contact with the Jedi whom massacred these unfortunate people. Let me asure you, our viewers, that if we could we would have Ken give up the scoundrel to the local security forces we would, but the foul Jedi has kidnapped our reporter and hijacked a feed from a remote location that seems to be untraceable at the moment." "Ken, can you hear me?" "Yes I can," said Ken, "fairly clearly despite the illegal-jack in of my host." In the backround there is a guite humming, identical to that of an activated lightsaber. The voice that follows is cold and toneless with a faint sibilance. "Listen, oppressed citizens of the Republic. I am the Jedi Knight Tanimus Sulstrum and I have taken your news reporter hostage to explain why the families of so many innocents were murdered before I join the Imperial Order to help combat the very leaders that ordered such a slaughter." "You see, it was ordered by your Chief of State Kirana Sunrider through the offices of her secretary Onderin Starlisk. It was an open secret among Jedi that the two are lovers, and that he holds her in thrall and is the actual power broker for those in the know. And the chairman of ISTS is very much in the know, as he is supplying arms to what I can clearly see are the terrorists claiming to be the Alliance and its allies." The disembodied voice goes on, "You should also be aware that many of the children missing from the families of the labor leaders are being secretly held at the Jedi temple for anatomical alterations. For the first time, Ken spoke. "What do you mean by anatomical alterations Jedi Sultstrum?" Sultrum spoke, his voice full of sympathy. "When the Jedi are done, your beloved children will be little more than sub-humans whose every whim is the service of the perverse masters, mindless drones in constant physical agony for the pleasure of the masters, or pleasuring their master per the whim of the Jedi involved. I cannot and will not be a part of that. I am sorry Ken, but I have information for the Empire that will greatly aid them in bringing the Jedi down. You will be returned safely to your station Ken. I am sorry for how I had to bring you here." The image blacks out leaving a rather stunned anchor sitting in front of the screen. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I assure you we will work diligently on this story"

During a comercial break, an All Media Allert is played by several stations. In it, the controversial and extremely attractive Ken Marich is standing at a streetcorner. He begins speaking after a moment of silence. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am standing alongside what everyone in the galaxy always seems to want, a quiet street with green grass, trees and a little blue sky. This family had that dream, only for them and several others on the block, it quickly turned to a nightmare." "Charles and Marie Evans started their day off as normal, pack the kids off to school and take the mono to their jobs in the city. That was the last time that either could remember their day being normal. It seems Charles and Marie both recieved phone calls from anonymous callers telling them their children had been selected for service at the Jedi temple. When they came home, they discovered an empty house with the doors slashed open by what investigators have positively identified as lightsaber damage. Their children are gone, with a note their only connection to their precious and now missing children. We are told it said simply that their failure to comply with Jedi testing protocols had resulted in the children being taken by the Jedi temple as payment for mandatory services not rendered by the Evans." "The Evans family has asked us to pass on this message, should you see their children (photos flash on screen) please contact this station or local authorities to help the Evans find their children. They can't offer much of a reward outside of a simple thanks due to emergency war taxes that the alliance uses to oppress it citizens, but they are asking for the kindness of the common people through the galaxy." "On that note, we will return you to your scheduled broadcast. This is Ken Marich, signing off."

Dashel followed Kira's advice. He gave himself completely to force and floated among its currents. Its power suffused his entire physical being and his wounds quickly healed themselves. Once his body completed its healing, he found himself drifting to sleep. He woke from a dreamless sleep and let Kira know through their bond that he was healed of injuries he had sustained and that he was ready to continue training or at least he would be once he finished digesting a very large meal. The Trianii left the small sleeping area and proceeded to a com link to place an order with a local restaurant for a steak approximately the size of the planet Yavin along with enough side dishes that his appetite would be satiated for several hours. He paused, then decided that ordering a plethora of dishes for everyone else was in order. The order was soon completed and he eagerly awaited its delivery.

Dashel was thankful for Sahv's help in cleaning the various burns and cuts that he had suffered. He had pride, but he had learned that even pride has its limits when one is training to be a jedi. When his various wounds were cleaned and dressed, Dashel and Sahv limped back to their quarters and commed Mistress Kira Dashel's readiness to begin his lesson on healing trances. As they limped the short distance to their quarters, Dashel quietly told Sahv what had gone wrong with the teleportation technique he had used. "You have got to remember that when you change the location of a moving object, you need to redirect the energy that it is already using. Best bet is too set up a link with an existing power grid before trying to teleport anything...if all else fails you can always use the earth as a ground. I wouldn't recommend that though unless you have some means of absorbing the energy that will end up coursing through you. Its an experience you will never forget."

Dashel heard Kira's voice close to him. His first major impression was a great deal of pain slightly abetted by Kira's healing abilities. He gathered himself, then reached out to her through the force to let her know that he was still among the living. His muscles were just not responding the way they should. Rather humbly, he asked her if she would be teaching him some healing techniques after he managed to get up and about. Exhausted, he willed himself to relax and trust Kira to know how to revive him. He had faith that she, Locke and Sahv would find someway to restore him to full function. He took the time to reflect on what he had done wrong in getting rid of the missles. It proved very difficult indeed to concentrate over the screaming of a tortured body, and he knew immediately that it would have to wait. For now he had to concentrate on getting better.

Dashel nodded to Sahv in thanks for the immense trust he had just placed in him. He then settled his mind and spirit for what was to come. When the eight warheads had reach a point where they were relatively close together, Dashel surrounded them with the entirety of the his and Sahv's power. In his mind, he seized the lot of them and forced them down a narrow tube. The tube stretched itself out, just ahead of the blazing rockets and let them out only when Dashel had decided to do so. For those in the warehouse, the individual missles seemed to be guided to a central point. When they got to the location they were being guided to, they were surrounded by a physical manisfestation of the force that flared with power. Each rocket began to stretch to an impossible length, then flicked with psuedomotion similiar to a hyperspace jump. The warehouse was filled with a pregnant silence, as a wary Dashel seemed to be come lost within the force for a moment. Seconds later, the building rocks with the sounds of the rockets exploding a safe distance up from the building. All is quiet again until an odd crackling fills the air. Dashel is physcially lifted from the ground and surrounded by a bluish light that plays about his body. His hair stands vertically and soon the smell of burning flesh fills the air, as the backlash of energy goes through him and into the ground. When it was over, Dashel fell to the floor. He lay unmoving in a smoldering heap on the ground.

Plastered across every tri-D and holonet system in the galaxy: Kakuto Ryu, The emperor and the Head of the Serpent order stand beside a large bell, several hundred meters in diameter. It is made of musicum, the best element in the world for creating musical harmony of perfect pitch. The camera zooms in to characters on this bell, they spell Jedi Order in Basic and other languages. The three gentlemen are then seen slowly tolling the bell. The screen fades to black, but the lone, sorrowful pitch rolls outward for several seconds.

"Sahv," thought Dashel, "I think I understand what you intend. There may be a better way." Dashel lent his strength to Sahv, but also sent him what he learned from the holocron he had studied so often together. Perhaps the technique would escape one of them, but together they would blaze and scorch any obstacle they chose to overcome. The idea the old knight had pursued was simple in thought, but difficult to do alone. Few jedi had the raw connection to the force to singulary shift an item from one point to another without passing through all the points in between. <> Basic principle of geometry states that between any two given points on a line there is a infinite number of points between. <> <> Except Dashel and Sahv had multiple targets to shift. Still, it was an easy problem to fix. Dashel reached out with several tendrels of the force and guided the rockets to a central point. He trusted Sahv to understand the techniques concept, and to use the new skill at the approprate moment.

Dashel went left, using the force to once again enhance his speed while Sahv went right. The missle tracked on Sahv and turned his direction. Dashel, seeing the weapon was no longer tracking him, levitated three or four marbles from the bag he had set out earlier. "Sahv," he said through the force, "keep running that direction, but curve a little as you do so." Dashel stretched out to the force and waited until the appropriate moment and then said to Sahv mentally, "turn back towards me, now. Once you get to the halfway point I will cut inside your arc and have the missle follow me for a little while." As the missle began following the new path Sahv was taking, Dashel began running to meet Sahv at the designated point while using the force to slow the missle down considerably. He strained to do so, and maintain the neccessary concentration to begin pelting the missle with the marbles he had brought out earlier. He knew that shredding the missle into inoperability was better than exploding in this area.

Dashel stands quietly, his mind working to find an acceptable solution to demonstrating his proficiency with the tasks Kira had given him. He smiled when it finally came to him. Dashel bowed to Kira, then went into her ship and retrieved the bag of marbles he had purchased earlier. Carefully selecting those boxes that are the heaviest, yet contain goods capable of enduring some severe jostling, he used the force to line them up on the ground. The line was far from perfect, yet it would suit his needs. It was also the easiest part of his self-examination. Still using only the force, he levitated several of the marbles to a point fifteen feet from the farthest point of the row of boxes and set them gently on the floor. He paused for a moment, gathering his strength and calming himself so that he was more fully in tune with the force. He let if flood through him, expanding his awareness to the maximum limit on both the micro and macro levels. Shakily, the row of boxes simultaneously rose into the air, a little over double dashel's height. He ran, using the force enhanced speed to go under the first box as it dropped towards him. The second box, he leaped over and the third he ran under until the line was completed. For thirty seconds, boxes crashed to the floor while a gray streak narrowly avoided being crushed. When Dashel skidded to the end of the line, he was bleeding in a half dozen places from box fragments that were too small to have been dodged. At the end of the line of boxes, Dashel skidded to a stop mere inches short of the marbles he had placed earlier. Starting at one end, every other marble exploded, while the ones between were shoved off at a respectable velocity. Once finished, he stopped and awaited Kira's critique. While he waited, he reflected on what he had just done. Sahv's words from an earlier time came to him at the point, "Someday you will be a powerful Jedi if you have faith in the force." Dashel knew he was far from being a Jedi, but at that moment Sahv's words fell into place for him. He had not stopped to think about the force, merely trusted that it would give him the tools to do what he needed to do an done it. Looking back at the course he had thrown himself through, Dashel stopped reflecting and reached for some cleaning tools. He figured Kira's critique would come when she was ready. Meanwhile, he thought it would be extremely rude to leave a mess for someone else to clean up.

Dashel completed what he considered the minimum absolutions quickly. He concentrated on removing the worst of the salts and other minerals from Mon Calamari's oceans from his fur and then left the ship to join the other three.

Dashel was deep in the force when the summons came to him to return to the ship. He made sure that he took all contamination from the island, loaded his speeder bike, and proceeded to return to the ship. Halfway there, he diverted his course towards his freighter to give the bike over to Kala. He met her and handed the bike off. She had already summoned a small hover cab, and he boarded it to return to Kira's docking bay. The trip to the landing bay was eneventful and allowed Dashel to rest a little before returning. Once again, he had discovered that his own percieved limitations were just that...limititations caused by his perceptions and that he could and should be striving to go beyond them. When the small cab had gotten him to the bay, he announced his presence to the three beings he sensed on board through the force. He badly needed a shower but new he would be waiting on either his mistress's pleasure or Locke's.

Dashel was deep in the force when the summons came to him to return to the ship. He made sure that he took all contamination from the island, loaded his speeder bike, and proceeded to return to the ship. Halfway there, he diverted his course towards his freighter to give the bike over to Kala. He met her and handed the bike off. She had already summoned a small hover cab, and he boarded it to return to Kira's docking bay. The trip to the landing bay was eneventful and allowed Dashel to rest a little before returning. Once again, he had discovered that his own percieved limitations were just that...limititations caused by his perceptions and that he could and should be striving to go beyond them. When the small cab had gotten him to the bay, he announced his presence to the three beings he sensed on board through the force. He badly needed a shower but new he would be waiting on either his mistress's pleasure or Locke's.

Since Kira decided to pilot the freighter to Mon Calamari on her own, Dashel had some free time on his hands. He decided to make use of it by examining the Jedi holocorn he had been carrying with him since he had left Triani. The item positively called to him now, and he knew that some secrets would be revealed. He spent the entire trip in the cabin he shared with Sahv, quietly examining the object. The occasional murmor escaped from him as he addressed the guardian, but the sound was generally to low to be heard over the ships backround noise. Approximately ten minutes before the arrival at Mon Calamari, Dashel emerged from the cabin and accessed a small terminal. Into it, he issued several commands for Kala and R4 that would be delivered upon their arrival at Mon Calamari. Satisfied, he sat back a minute and pondered the situation. It was then that he ordered a small canister of marbles to be delivered to the Kira's ship upon touchdown. They were to be of all shapes and sizes. He also sent Kala and order to bring his speeder bike to Kira's ship and located a small, unoccupied island on Mon Calamari that he could commandeer for his training. Finished, he cleaned and checked his equipment. All of it was in satisfactory order. Once finished he looked at the chrono and decided that a calm mind would be essential to any task he would face on Mon Calamari, so he found a comfortable spot, and entered into the place of calm where he knew the force always lurked. He extended his senses into and was in that state when Kira's telepathic message arrived. He sent a short reply in the positive back to her, then added that his plans for doing so would be logged on the computer for her and Locke to find him by. He also set a com frequency that he could be reached at and after a moment, a message for Sahv to join should Knight Locke not give him anything to do. As they passed the shipyards, Dashel simply stared. While his people had produced medium sized ships at their home shipyards, the massive scale of the ships being produced and the facilities which produced them left him feeling a little awed. Everywhere he looked, ships marked with the Alliance flag floated majestically in orbit, waiting for a command many no doubt hoped would never come. He buried himself in the text he been commanded to read, noting on his datapad relevant information that he could use at the sight he had decided he would use for practice. Once Kira had docked the ship, Dashel left and picked up his order of marbles and placed it upon his speeder. He left the docking port and headed for the small island that was the planetary authority had told him would be unoccupied by anything besides himself and any guests that joined him. Dashel quickly arrived at the island, noticing with distinct pleasure that his speeder bike had performed acceptably. He wondered how you could modify one to perform to a Jedi's skill. The thought delayed him from the practice Lady Kira had assigned him, but not for long. Of the three topics assigned to him, Dashel looked forward to levitation the most, thus he saved it for last. That skill, according to the holocron he had viewed earlier, had greater implications for those whom mastered it. Besides,t he two physical skills would exhaust his body considerably and make conentrating on the levitation and associated skills much easier. He started with the strength enhancements. From the tome's lessons, he knew that beginners rarely wrestled trees and other objects from the ground at first unless they threw caution to the wind and acted restlessly. Dashel had made that mistake on Coruscant and had decided to take things slowly. The padawan meditated, drawing the force into his body to enhance his knowledge of the various muscles of his body. As before, he had to contend with a rush of the force into his body, making him feel as if he was on fire. He let the sensation pass through him. Then, the force seemed to go away all together, but Dashel knew better. He waited, and when calm was restored around him, he focussed inward one last time. This time he felt the force enter the fiber of his being and knew that it would help his body as he needed it. For two hours, Dashel sat surrounded and filled by the force, letting it fill him with a level of knowledge of his own body that he had never dreamt possible. He reveled in the sensation momentarily, then focussed on learning as much as he could on a semi-conscious level. The text had been adamant that using the force in this matter required the user to know each cell of his body and how much of the force was neccessary to enable that cell to function at its greatest capacity. When he though he was ready, he slowly stood. EVery muscle in his body lay quietly. It was a quiet that was full of the promise of something wonderful about to happen. Dashel squatted and attempted a broad jump using the force to enhance his strength. He mistimed the surge of the force through his cells. Instead of going through as he leaped, the surge occured after the leap and Dashel kicked at open air. He felt something pull in his legs and had the time to register a slight shock just before he landed. He got up, dusted himself off, and tested the leg he had felt pain in. The leg was okay, and he began again. He repeated the process many times over the next few hours. He was so frustated by the number of complete catastraphes, near misses, and over extensions that when he got it right, he felt joy in his accomplisment only briefly. The joy was combined with a determination to keep working at it until he mastered this discipline at whatever level the force would allow him to reach. He picked up speed next. This one appealed a great deal to him. Being a male triani, and therefore smaller than the females of his species, his training had been on speed and accuracy when delivering his strikes and the necessity of being quick on any battlefield. His enthusiasm quickly faded when he discoved how hard of a task this was for him. Unlike the force jump, where he could easily flood his muscles with force enhanced strength, he found his body badly suited for the discipline need to increase his speed. Dashel desperately wanted to master his technique and use it in combination with the light, quick twin lightsabers he had constructed or even the light-claw he had developed. Everything combined to cause Dashel a great deal of frustration. He set aside the technique eventually, knowing that his master could answer questions on it and help him achieve the desired effect in a way that was right for him. It was not a sign of him giving up, rather an admission that he needed guidance. Blasting was an easy and addicting rush. Something in him reveled at the various subcategories of this, such as force push. Gleefully, he spent some time moving progessively larger rocks and trees around. When the chrono that he had set beeped its alarm at him, he continued for several moments enjoying the power that was his to command. That single thought set off alarms throughout his mind and he forced hmself to begin practicing levitation. He knew that that technique would be one he praticesed diligently with to know when its use approached the dark side and to discipline his joy in it. Levitation felt different to Dashel. It shared various elemets with the other techniques, yet required even greater faith in the force on the part of the user. Dashel used the marbles he had ordered earlier, and practiced lifting them individually and in small sets. He found levitation a curious sensation, one that he knew would have to be explored at length as he practiced under his Master's tutelage. There was no exhilartion in it, yet it felt relatively natural. He failed to levitate anything larger than a softball and knew immediately that he had lacked both the proper amount of discipline and faith to do so. When he had practiced all four techniques, Dashel knew he was not ready for what had been revealed by the Holocron. He reread the notes he had taken on the techniques, read what he had written about each one after his practice and meditated on what he had learned. He concentrated on examining each failure and success eliminating his emotional responses as much as possible and examining the truth beyond them. He knew that he was far from perfecting any of them, but the time he had spent on this lonely isle had given him a beginning that he could build on with his Master.

Jill is gone, obviously the target of a grass roots organization to remove her from the anchors chair. Popular rumor has it correct that she was kidnapped while exitting her former place of employment by a masked assailant driving a heavily armed custom assault vehicle the same day. In her place is a young and pretty women with black hair, but one instead whom has the mentality to match her looks. She is reading through some heartwarming material when she stops briefly, looks up at the cameron and says, "We now take you to Artus, where it appears that the planet has fallen to Imperial forces. Here is our field reporter Ken Marich." Ken's well coifed image appears beside her. He introduces himself and then points in the distance through the observation ports of his personal ship. "Debra, before me you can see the Imperial Battle Fleet, unmatched by any the Alliance could field for the defense of Artus. Its rumored that the Emperor himself has come to Artus to welcome a new age of peace and prosperity to its inhabitants, free of Alliance sponsored atrocities. Speaking of which, we recieved this archival footage captured from the Alliance base of a funeral pyre involving the bodies of hundreds if not thousands of Imperial troopers and Artusians. The video plays with the two news reporters, the other anchor, and the various cameran and technicians watching. Debra herself is affected, turning briefly away while her facial coloring fades under the makeup she is obviously wearing. When it is finished, Ken speakes briefly before one again signing off.

Jill, whose recent flashing of attributes resulted in the firing of the stations costume director, is on again. This time she shows significantly less skin, but the outfit is of a very sheer design. It actually reveals more than it conceals despite having the lines of a proper suit. The news broadcast goes through the usual mindless dribble. It is at the end that breaking news interupts the station manangers equal mindless editorial. It is everyone's favorite reporter Ken. This time he is dressed in a business suit who's cut empasizes his chiseled physique without revealing a single inch of skin. More than a few male spouses grunt with annoyal at the sight as their wives drool and fuss over him. Jill, breathless at the sight of him said, "and now we take you live to our field reporter Ken Marich inside the Kuat drive yards for a first hand look at imperial efficiency at work." Ken's face fills the screen as the camera slowly pulls back from a view of the massive imperial shipyards at Kuat. "Good Afternoon Jill. We here at the Galactic Free Press and News Corp. thought our viewers would like a first hand glimpse of the security and prosperity the empire brings to the sytems it toues. With me I have Commander Kordigan, the media liason for the directior of the Kuat drive yards." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "Commander Kordigan, how would you rate secuity procedures here versus the procedures in place at the Jedi Temple or even the procedures in place at the Mon Calamari shipyards, both places which obviously have ties to the Alliance." As Commander Kordigan speaks, it is immediately obvious why he is the media liason for the drive yards. His language is not the usual clipped navalese. Instead it is a warm voice that invites you to trust the information it is about to present. Instead of the imperial reception hall where it is taken place, many people feel it is one they would be comfortable next to a fireplace with. "Ken, as your viewers can see, the Imperial shipyards at Kuat could not be more secure. Our defenses, against both terrorists such as Open Skye and an Alliance assault are staffed by superior ships and crews. This security means prosperity for all whom decide to embrace it." The man's open demeanor proclaimed his passionate belief in the statement. He continued before Ken could interupt. "As a matter of fact, Ken, I thought I would share a bit of information with you concerning the recent attacks at the Jedi Temple. There were two seperate attacks that occured. The first was perpetrated by a rogue jedi whose name the Jedi will probably claim is actually a Sith which everyone knows is the Jedi's convinient excuse for their brutal use of force. The second was an attack by a group of Jawas, a group of people downtrodden almost universally by the people of both the alliance and the Jedi. More importantly, their attack was as a result of their anger at the Jedi for not protecting them from persecution despite pleas to that group for help over several centuries." Ken's clean shaven and exotically beautiful face appeared on screen again. "Commander, you make an excellant point concerning the Jedi and their so called guarantees of freedom. Another question if may, "What is the imperial reaction to the accusations made on Space Once concerning the allegations of Imperial threats to the lives and families of the reporters?" Commander Kordigan's face darkens. "Ken, that Space One would air such allegations at all is troubling to me. Imperial forces have specific orders not to harass legitimate public news organizations. People, both aliens and human alike, have to have viable and timely information availabe to make informed decisions in order to be better and more productive citizens and so they can make good choices for their families and loved ones." As Ken begins to ask another question, a comm link goes off at Commander Kordigan's side. "Excuse me Ken, but I need to take this call. I will gladly continue this interview at another time." Ken nods, and then turns to the camera one last time. "This is Ken Marich, signing off from the Kuat Drive yards."

<> An neat and clean young man appears on the holonet. Behind him is the damaged Jedi temple, where workers are making an attempt to repair the damage caused to the structure. "Your seeing behind the work being done to repair the damage wrought to the Jedi temple by an attack carried out by what some sources claim to be members of the Sith Order. According to official sources, a transport arrived earlier this week carrying the bodies of several Jedi slain in recent action against the Sith. One or more of the bodies were obviously rigged with explosives that Jedi security obviously failed to detect. Other sources indicate the trapped bodies were the cover for something more sinister." The image cuts to the beautiful but vapid host whose primary attributes are youth, blond hair and a large cleavage. "Ken," she says huskily, "Has their been any word from the Jedi Master concerning this attack or any evidence of a response to it? The Jedi claim to be able to respond to any crisis, seeing as this one is on their doorstep, what have we seen and what can we expect?" Ken blinks, obviously waiting for her voice to finish before responding. "Well, Jill, security has obviously been increased, as you can see by the increased patrols being conducted by Alliance military personel. Notice a discreet lack of Jedi among them or even pulling a visible guard shift." Jill waited a moment, then responded, "Ken, viewers of this network have been following reports of the battle of Artus, which it looks like the Empire is winning back from occupying forces. Wouldn't the troops now guarding the Jedi temple, even the Jedi themselves be better fighting at Vjun?" "Jill, obviously the Alliance and the Jedi have their own concerns and views of the many situations occuring through our galaxy, Perhaps they are stretched to thin in too many areas, an indication perhaps that superior military might and minds of the Empire are slowly winning the war. "Ken Marich, signing off. Back to you Jill." Jill finished the newscast, entertaining many a male viewer with attributes to the disgust of a greater number of female ones.