Phu

[Cade]

Cade glanced over Arec once again, noting the gaze the individual gave him, and spoke.

 

"If you say you're his son, that's good enough for me. Tone down the vocab though, if you could. I'm not the simplest of men, but some of the things you say mean as much as Shyriiwook to me."

 

He didn't fully trust this guy, but honestly look where they were, the Jedi Grandmaster a few yards away on a veritable fortress-world for the Order. No, they had no reason to worry. Hopefully Elnia would pick up on his returning calmness, she seemed a little freaked out with Arec.

 

"What are you trying to push anyway? Thought droids, or whatever you are, couldn't use the Force. What're'ya offering us?"

[Ary the Grey]

Arec nodded.

 

"My apologies, Master Cade. It is a side effect of an artificial intelligence that is allowed to search the infinite reaches of the holonet without bounds. My knowledge is great, and thus my vocabulary tends to match. However as you wish, I will 'tone it down' for the time being. Also, you do not need to refer to me as his son, but rather...his emissary. And you are also correct, like I have previously stated, I am not capable of feeling or using the Force. However, Aryian has passed to me knowledge to which he intended to be passed to you. In this time of his need, he desires you learn as much as possible within the shortest timeframe your bodies can handle. Not only will you gain knowledge of the Force, but your bodies will be tempered and forged to withstand the greater strains and burdens drawing on the Force can cause, and will be more ably prepared to use these techniques in combat."

 

Arec paused a moment, data processing in his memory core.

 

"Shall we begin, or did you have more questions?"

[Ary the Grey]

Arec nodded.

 

"My apologies, Master Cade. It is a side effect of an artificial intelligence that is allowed to search the infinite reaches of the holonet without bounds. My knowledge is great, and thus my vocabulary tends to match. However as you wish, I will 'tone it down' for the time being. Also, you do not need to refer to me as his son, but rather...his emissary. And you are also correct, like I have previously stated, I am not capable of feeling or using the Force. However, Aryian has passed to me knowledge to which he intended to be passed to you. In this time of his need, he desires you learn as much as possible within the shortest timeframe your bodies can handle. Not only will you gain knowledge of the Force, but your bodies will be tempered and forged to withstand the greater strains and burdens drawing on the Force can cause, and will be more ably prepared to use these techniques in combat."

 

Arec paused a moment, data processing in his memory core.

 

"Shall we begin, or did you have more questions?"

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Elnia gave Arec one final look up and down, his explanation serving to account for his different appearance for her. Cade also seemed willing to trust the being, so by extension she chose to accept his judgment, knowing in her own heart that her initial reaction was unfounded.

 

She did, however, file away "cloning" in a corner of her mind so she could become familiar with the subject as well as the base knowledge of life that so many of the others around her knew about. It seemed that more and more her knowledge gaps were becoming more apparent. She shook her head a gave a wry laugh.

 

"Yes, many, but too many for now, and not all pertain to the issues at hand," she smiled, now curious to learn what Arec had to teach them.

[ObliviousKnight]

It had been so long since Armiena had set foot in this base that she couldn't rightly guess what would be in any room, crate, or supply closet””the base's droids handled the task of maintaining its supplies. Fortunately, the droids at least knew to follow universal safety protocols, so at least these crates weren't marked with warning designs to denote explosive or flammable hazards.

 

But they were quite large, quite heavy, and on a collision course with Armiena's face. Handling them was no great feat for a Jedi Master, but the distraction would nonetheless buy Arlan a few seconds of time. Throwing her body to the floor in a forward roll, the Half-Miraluka hastily threw up an invisible barrier to protect her body from the projectiles””impacting heavily against the Force Shield, each collision caused her presence to shiver with concentration and the smile on her lips to tighten grimly.

 

Enough. Sensing that the final crate would harmlessly pass over her crouched body, Armiena released her concentration from her protection and allowed the last to sail over her, crashing with a final titanic thud against the leg of the Wolf Spider before her. It peered at the intrusion with mild annoyance, having experienced some minor cosmetic damage at the collision. Directly behind the settling crate, the form of the Jedi Grandmaster straightened from the roll and entered her sprint again, one boot landing on the top of the box and using it as a boost into a Force-assisted leap over the huge walker.

 

Hey, Inquisitor. Smiling as she slowly flipped through the air, Armiena's emerald eye winked down at the Wolf Spider as she soared over its legs. Just beyond the metal monstrosity, she could see her Padawan, no doubt staring with some small amount of shock at seeing his teacher ready to swoop down like a humanoid bird of prey upon his shoulders. Literally””the Force had helped her time the jump so accurately that her feet would hit at his shoulders and knock him to the floor if he didn't get out of the way.

 

Then her vicious grin faltered, mouth open and eyebrows furrowed in a frown towards her husband's students. Armiena had seen that”¦ droid only once before, and it had not been a pleasant memory””then her attention visibly returned to her target, though her expression had lost its exuberance.

 

Her eyes remained unblinkingly wide, lightsaber angled for an urgent parry, knees ready to brace for the impact.

[Arlan Vass]

Seeing Armiena descend upon him from above made Arlan's heart skip a beat.

 

Make that two beats. He had to move. And fast.

 

He grasped his hilt with both hands, and, swinging the lightsaber as hard as he could, brought it up to hit his master's blade aside. Following this counter-attack, he quickly stepped to the side, under the left arm of the Wolf Spider. Should Armiena try to strike him again, she'd hit the lightsaber-resistant plating of the arm. He would have, perhaps, four seconds before she actually tried to hit him again. Unless, of course, she decided to use the Force against him - in which case, he would have no chance of defending himself. She had not yet taught him how to use the Force defensively; only offensively. He hoped that after this fight was over, she would show him how to do just that, so that the next time they sparred against one another, he would have a better idea of how to use both a lightsaber, and the Force to aid him in combat.

[Cade]

Cade noted the expressions Elnia put forth, she seemed to follow his lead in these situations... but that was far from the entire truth. Honestly Cade looked to her reactions to guide his own convictions. He may have the greater experience in combat, but she had intuition- even if she did not fully know it yet.

 

The smile on her face as she spoke of many questions she still had had Cade feel once again that she was definitely the more academic of the two; she was the more inquisitive one in the group. While Cade would simply follow the "flow", forgiving the cliche, her cautiousness would one day save him... at least that's what he felt.

 

He turned to the droid, Aryian's son or whatever it or he wanted to be called. Again, he didn't know quite how to approach the being. Droids had never been a part of Cade's understanding, in fact most machines did not make too much sense to him if they could operate without an organic behind them.

 

Call it good old mistrust of Artificial Intelligences, and well founded... IG-88 had tried to destroy the Galaxy using the Death Star at one point, even if none really knew about it. Gut feelings, while not as powerful as intuition, did reach Cade's thoughts.

 

Honestly he was mildly uncomfortable with the thought of a droid training him, but if that was Arec's (he would deign to call "it" as such from now, it saved him confusion) purpose... so be it.

 

He spoke again, mindful that his thoughts had probably caused an awkward social silence.

 

"I've got a few questions as well, but none that have to be answered hastily. I'd much rather see what it is exactly Aryian wanted us to learn from you, Arec. So for better or worse, I'm ready."

 

This beskar'ad would serve its purpose at least.

[ObliviousKnight]

She wasn't quite surprised to find herself in this situation; Armiena's flight was highly visible, and even a novice would know to strike at an opponent at the moment they couldn't maneuver. Her verdant gaze hardening in concentration, Armiena swung her lightsaber in a desperate parry, a vicious two-handed slash that managed to prevent Arlan's blade from disemboweling her, but also upset her flight so that landing on her feet would probably result in broken ankles.

 

In the final split-second before she made contact, Armiena's thumb extinguished the lightsaber. She hit the ground solidly, but allowed herself to topple on impact so her momentum was transformed into a side take. After bleeding away enough momentum, the female blademaster came to an abrupt halt by rising to her feet.

 

Executing an about face, she reignited the lightsaber and frowned at her apprentice's retreat.

 

Inquisitor, need a bit more room.

 

The two legs directly in front of Arlan sprang apart and rose into the air with ponderous grce, and Inquisitor leaned heavily on the limbs behind Armiena's student. In essence, the droid had just transformed itself into a jagged amphitheatre, turning their exercise into a cage match with lightsabers. The Jedi Grandmaster nodded in silent thanks to the huge walker, lifting her borrowed lightsaber above her head with both arms in a recognizable Djem So dueling stance and striding inexorably towards her opponent.

 

The first strike, as could be expected from the Form notorious for its kinetic power, was a devastating downward chop, more intended to stagger Arlan's guard. After that, however, it was”¦ different. Unpredictable. It seemed as though Armiena was hesitating with each attack, as though she was working with a technique that she was unfamiliar with””her wrists occasionally shifted the edge or tip of her blade to choose a new target, or turn a slash into a stab. It was clear that she was experimenting.

[Arlan Vass]

Backing straight into the mechanical beast, Arlan came to an abrupt halt. Armiena was advancing on him, the emerald green blade of his mother's lightsaber proving to be a dangerous threat to him. Any second now, she would make her move and either disarm, or injure him. He had to do something before that happened.

 

He was too late.

 

Before he could do anything, she had made her way over to him, the blade of her lightsaber cutting through the air from straight above him. If it were to make contact with him, he'd be out for the count, no questions asked. He was no match for Armiena, who was not only an expert in lightsaber combat, but also very strong when it came to using the Force in battle. He didn't stand a chance against her; he knew it, and he knew that she knew it, as well. No matter how strong a defense he put up against her, it would most likely be countered, and he would be defeated.

 

He didn't stand a chance against her... yet he couldn't let that bring him down. He had to stand up to her, until he was actually defeated. He couldn't simply back out of the fight now. How would that look to her? To Elnia and Cade? To himself?

 

He couldn't let Armeina win. He wouldn't let her win... at least, he'd do whatever he could to prevent her from coming out as the victor in this duel. He brought his own cyan blue blade up to meet hers, though the sheer force that she put into her swing was not only far to great for him to deflect, but it was also unexpected.

 

He lunged forward, his eyes ablaze with the determination to defeat her. He swung the blade towards her with all of his might, but was careful as not leave himself vulnerable to another attack. His footing was sudden and deliberate. He inched closer to her, making sure to leave about four feet between them, so she wouldn't be able to repeat the same maneuver she had performed earlier by grabbing him by the arm and twisting it behind him.

 

Now, he wished that they had been using training lightsabers. He would have been able to unleash all hell on her with one, without the risk of critically injuring, or even killing her. This was part of the reason why he made no move to stab her through the chest or decapitate her. Not that he would be able to, anyway, the more he thought about it.

 

The Force had replaced the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins when the duel first started. He could feel it aiding every movement he took. He had embraced his new power with open arms. He welcomed it. Cherished it. Respected it. Never before would he have thought that he would be here, sparring with the Grandmaster of the Jedi, who had taken him under her wing as her Padawan. With all that she had shown him over the course of their being together, he was changed. For the better, of course; he felt more at peace with himself and his surroundings. He was more patient with others - and himself-, and open to judgement regarding any sort of issue. Not only had his training as a Jedi shown him what he was able to do with a lightsaber and the Force, but he was a more well-rounded person than he was before he and Armiena first met on Gala.

 

He would never be able to find the appropriate words to be able to thank her for everything she had done for him...

 

***

 

He continued to strike his lightsaber against her own, doing his best to find a weakness in her stance. He was about three feet away from her now, and just as he knocked her saber to the side, he swung at her with his own, intent on leaving - at the very least - a minor scratch across her chest.

Edited March 19, 2009 by Guest

[Ary the Grey]

Arec smiled softly, accepting of their response.

 

"Neither of you completely trust me yet. It is easy enough to read in your body languages and vocal patterns. It is fine...I seem to recieve such emotion constantly. Since my making I have never truly been...accepted, as I am a unique being. There is none other like me in the galaxy, and with such an existence comes a heavy burden. But, I will not bore you with prattle. Firstly, we will begin with exercises designed to heignten your connection with the Force. Then, a practical exercise...and finally..."

 

Arec paused, hesitating to search for the proper phrase so as to convey the proper meaning.

 

"A final exam."

 

His voice was slightly worrisome, but the organics shouldn't have been able to tell that. The Force might have given them a slightly bad premonition, and Arec wasn't sure how that worked, but he certainly didn't wish to dwell on their final task.

 

"Follow me please. The first phase of instruction will be held in the holographic training rooms."

 

Arec began walking, leading them both away into the fortress, coming to two different doors in a hallway. He quickly motioned who was to enter which door, and then walked further down the hall to the holographic control room.

 

Cade's room was pitch black, no light anywhere. Arec's voice quickly came through a speaker in the wall, explaining the scenario.

 

"This is a long hallway with moving padded poles, some horizontal, some vertical, all moving slowly in different directions, in, out, up, down... Your goal is to make it to the other side of the room in the fastest time possible. Be careful not to get disoriented, and though the room is designed so as not to inflict injury, as a safety precaution I must insist that you remain vigilantly careful. Good luck, Master Cade."

 

Elnia's room was similar, though lit with light, the little good it would do her. The main focus of it was there were Force-charged Ilum crystals everywhere, nearly blinding her ability to see things with her natural Force sight. Again Arec's voice came over a nearby intercomm.

 

"This room is filled with walls and obstacles, some moving, some charged with a mild stun setting electricity that won't injure you. Your goal is to find the object shaped like a sphere, place it atop the pillar, and exit the far side of the room. Complete this task in as little time as you can. And do be careful, Mistress."

[ObliviousKnight]

At times that Armiena Darkfire was in true danger””situations that she was in real danger of losing life or limb, the Force had a tendency to scream out the danger she was in. However, Arlan had no real intentions of hurting his teacher, only of holding her off just a few seconds. Without murderous intention, these alarms tended to be much more subtle, a hushed whisper of warning in her ear to take action quickly.

 

What the Jedi Grandmaster had planned was bound to surprise Arlan; while most Jedi had a tendency to fight conservatively, focusing on merely surviving a fight, their leader believed in ending a fight as quickly as possible, even if it meant taking inordinate risks. Armiena didn't try to shrink from the slash to her torso””she stepped directly through its path, staying its keen edge by gripping it just below the emitter. A hiss escaped from her own weapon when she deactivated the blade, suddenly ramming Arlan with her back in a crude tackle.

 

If Armiena wasn't the uniquely deadly duelist””or brawler, some might say””that she was, this would have been a wholly undesirable situation: her back was to her opponent, her blade deactivated, and barely controlling the weapon of her apprentice by holding it in a viselike grip just above his hand. However, her back was pressed against Arlan's front so closely that he couldn't employ any number of crude fighting tricks; she had his weapon under control and one of her arms free; Arlan was still a relatively inexperienced warrior””this was almost an ideal situation for her.

 

Abruptly twisting away again to face her student, Armiena brought her deactivated hilt around like an overglorified cudgel, bludgeoning her student's right temple with the unlit emitter. The impact came as a warhammer's blow, delivering far more power than could be expected from such a small weapon and from a woman with such a lean build. Armiena had to act quickly to catch him and his lightsaber before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

 

When he finally came to, he would see his teacher crouched at his side, peering at his face with an expression of mild concern in her eyes.

[Arlan Vass]

Before Arlan knew what hit him, he felt an excruciating amount of pain explode near his eye, directly on his temple. Before he could cry out, try to catch himself from falling, or see what it was that Armiena had hit him with, he blacked out.

 

***

 

A good five minutes passed before Arlan came around. There was a very noticeable, painful ache near his left temple, which was where Armiena had struck him with his mother's hilt. He raised his hand to the side of his head and touched the area where she had hit him. He tenderly ran his index finger over it, but he quickly pulled it away.

 

”œOw...”

[ObliviousKnight]

Armiena stared into Arlan's eyes for a moment, brow furrowed in thought. How to explain this”¦ then her decision came with a nod to herself. She tapped her right temple with her fingers, exactly where the warrior had struck her student; next she smacked a tightly balled fist into that hand; then she tapped between the swell of her breasts. ”œMind, body, heart; you need to learn to fight with all of those. I could have taught you that through a lecture, but pain is one of the best teachers for teaching fighting technique. If that's the only thing that you learn from me, I'll consider your training a success.”

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan was about to tell Armiena that he was both talented, and interested in building things. However, what she said made him sit straight up, and drop his hand back onto his lap.

 

”œBefore my training is... over?”

[Darex Trevelian]

A comm arrives for Armiena, causing her comlink to buzz annoyingly in her pocket.

 

An image of Darex appears. Armiena, I hope you and Aidan are doing well. My padawan has a message for you from Emperor Black that must be delivered in person.

 

Armiena would know Darex well enough to see there was something else that Darex wanted to speak to her about but wasn't saying over the holonet. If you could send us your coordinates, or arrange a place for us to meet, we'll be there shortly.

 

He thanked her for her time. May the Force be with you, my friend.

 

End communication.

[Cade]

(OOC: I was waiting for Elnia to post first so there'd be no big wait, but as it is I'll post first)

 

Arec's words carried heavy weight, especially the part concerning a final exam. Cade knew that there was something about that he didn't like... even if he had no idea what that was exactly.

 

Still Cade followed him silently to the holographic training room.

 

The lights went out, and in the pitch black darkness Cade felt that he had lost his strongest sense.

 

Trained by the Mandalorians his ability as a marksman was incredible even to amongst the warrior society he had been... or rather still felt... a part of. It was due to his keen vision that he held such skill with a rifle, but this robbed him of other senses. Without the light, for the first time in a long time, Cade remembered why he was to this day still afraid of utter pitch darkness.

 

He lost himself in it; lost all sense of position; lost all sense of time or space.

 

Arec's voice crackled through a speaker warning Cade of the task ahead of him.

 

Poles, moving horizontally and vertically, slowly moving into many different locations. Some up; some down; some in; some out.

 

As soon as he heard that his goal was to reach the other side of the room, in the quickest time possible, Cade's brashness set in.

 

He forgot that he was completely disoriented and sped off, almost at a sprint, forwards.

 

And promptly tripped over a pole near the floor that was apparently moving back into the wall, in falling he put his arms forward and hit one of the vertical poles going down. His arm landed under where it would make contact with the floor and with inhuman intuition Cade pulled it from the area only moments after regaining his senses and a few seconds before the pole would have crushed his hand into the ground. Padded or not, it would've been painful.

 

Getting back up to his feet Cade tentatively scanned the area around him by reaching out his hands and like a blind man relying on touch to feel if he was safe.

 

At least for the moment he was, but Arec had said that the poles all moved. Some could be retracting at the moment, only to return and create an impossible scenario.

 

And Cade knew that he had been going about this all wrong, he was still relying on his senses... the very ones that were dulled and disoriented in this environment.

 

Aryian, if he had been the one to set these tests up, had been through Mandalorian training... he had said that to Cade, and if he had then he knew the importance of the eyes to marksmen such as Cade. This test was designed to force Cade into an area he did not function well in.

 

With that thought squared away Cade knew he had to approach this task differently.

 

He closed his eyes, for they were no good here anyway and only served to disorient him further.

 

Then remembering the feeling of the Force flowing through him, as it did when he had fought against the remote and the droid that Aryian had set him and Elnia up against, Cade opened his other senses up.

 

How he was now Cade did not understand much of the Force, especially beyond changing parts of himself with it. Increasing his reaction speed, strength, agility, dexterity, all this he could fathom... but he still did not realize that with the Force he could make himself see this room as plain as if there was illumination everywhere.

 

He did understand, however, that he could alter himself physically and mentally, and in the little time that he had been training he had become slightly proficient at it. Of course, while he had tapped into it naturally and fully when his urge to protect Elnia had fired during the duel with the droids, now he had to push harder for lesser effect.

 

He still needed a spark to open himself up entirely, but for now what he had under his control was enough.

 

In understanding that he could alter himself physically and mentally Cade let his other senses take over. His hearing could now map the area as well as his eyes ever could, the poles not being entirely silent in their movement. Using the Force to make his hearing function closer to sonar he had mapped the room out, planned his course through the hallway, and took off once more at a full sprint.

 

Only this time he had the Force guiding him, his reaction time had him move through the room as gracefully as a professional burglar entering a laser grid defended museum.

 

And within moments he had reached the other end of the room, stopping only a very short distance from the wall on the other side and breathing out heavily as he let go of the concentration that allowed him to call on the Force as he did.

[Ary the Grey]

((Guys, I'm getting tired of waiting on my main plotline, plans will change shortly. More towards focusing on this training. I apologize for the holdup, but I've been waiting as well, and the wait's over. One way or another. I'm going to train these characters up to full knight the good and right way, I swear it.))

 

Arec was intrigued Cade had made it through the first room so fast, adapting quickly to the changes in his environment by listening. He would not find the next room so easy, unfortunately. Aryian had designed these rooms specifically for his padawans to overcome, their individual challenges forcing them to rely on a whole new skill set they had yet to discover. It was a rather dangerous way to go at it, but apparently the Jedi knew what he was doing, and he also had faith in them.

 

Arec keyed the controls, a door in the wall in front of Cade opening, revealing a dimly lit very tall yet narrow room. Deep cushion pads served as flooring, and as soon as Cade entered, the door hissed shut behind him, and the lights again went to pitch black. Immediately afterwards, small ledges slid out from the tall wall at various points. Arec's voice once again sounded from a nearby speaker.

 

"This room is the next step in the training. You are to use the skills you learned in the other room and apply them to this room. However, there are no moving parts, so you will not be able to actively hear anything. Aryian specifically noted to tell you to trust in yourself, but trust more in the Force, as the Force is in you, but it is not you. The wall is seventy-five feet high, and one hundred feet wide. There are various ledges that will allow you to climb to the next level, but the ways up are limited, and there is only one correct route to the very top, others dead end ten feet before the top. If you make it to the top before twenty minutes has elapsed, you are to be given an advantage for your next room, the room before the final exam. It as well has another similar test an advantage, both of which may be used on the final exam."

 

The speaker cut out, leaving Cade to his thoughts in the dark. If he thought it out right, he had about two chances to make to the top within twenty minutes, three if he pushed himself, but exerting his energy here could very well prove to be a disadvantage elsewhere. It was up to Cade how he would proceed next with the challenges.

[ObliviousKnight]

For a second, a grin flashed across Armiena's face, enjoying Arlan's consternation at the idea of his tutelage coming to an end””but she quickly killed it, reminding herself that he was still just a kid. Force-sensitive and precocious, perhaps, but the idea of independence without any resources was a frightening one. ”œNot yet,”

[Arlan Vass]

((No problem.))

 

Hearing that they would be going to Gala, Arlan smiled to himself. The Jedi temple on Gala was where he had met Armiena for the first time, and it was where she had taken him in as her Padawan. He was looking forward to visiting the planet again. He had never been to the Republic base before, but had heard that that was where the survivors of the attack on the temple had flocked to for safety. He learned that another temple had constructed, and was glad to hear that there were minimal casualties when the attack was launched on the original one.

 

They boarded the Ghost Breath, the navi-computer's coordinates already set for Gala. Before the ship left the ground, Arlan sent a message via the Force to both Cade and Elnia - a feat that he had been practicing on for a while. He only hoped that it got through to them.

 

What they would hear, though, was his entire message in his voice - give and take a few parts of it.

 

::Cade. Elnia. Armiena and I are leaving .. go to the ........ base. I hope that . can see ... two again soon. Be safe, and ... the Force be with you.::

 

---

 

Minutes later, Armiena's ship left the temple hangar, en route for the Republic base on Gala.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

"A Final Exam," Arec finished.

 

Elnia couldn't explain why, but she suddenly had a very sick feeling in her stomach, much like she'd felt when she'd been starving and her body had turned against itself. For a moment, her normally pale skin drained a shade lighter than her normal pallor, but she mentally dismissed the feeling for the moment so that she could focus on the task at hand.

 

Quietly she followed Arec and Cade to the holographic training rooms where Arec first showed Cade into his room, Elnia glanced once in his direction before entering her own door. The bad feeling came back, and once more she brushed it aside, trying to clear her mind and focus, the fact that she was nervous didn't help a bit either.

 

There was a brief wait while the program loaded, and then suddenly Arec's voice came over the intercom, causing her to jump back slightly and hit the now closed door.

 

"This room is filled with walls and obstacles, some moving, some charged with a mild stun setting electricity that won't injure you. Your goal is to find the object shaped like a sphere, place it atop the pillar, and exit the far side of the room. Complete this task in as little time as you can. And do be careful, Mistress," Arec's casual tone expounded on the challenge ahead.

 

Suddenly she lost sight.

 

This was different from how it had been when Armiena and Aryian had died, there'd been a nothingness that overwhelmed her. Now it seemed as though the entire room was alight with the Force, and once more she found herself overwhelmed, though through information overload more than anything else. That much Force energy quickly made her dizzy as she'd never before experienced anything like the symphony of swirling, convalescing, and coalescing morass that swirled into and out of itself creating a thick soup of Force energy that she felt as though she were drowning in.

 

Part of her wanted to run and quit; she was free wasn't that enough? She could go anywhere, do anything that she wanted. For a moment she considered this possibility, by no means did she have to endure this training. It was something that had been offered to her as an alternative, and for a moment longer she allowed herself to consider that possibility.

 

A greater part, however, refused to betray the faith and trust that Aryian had placed in her. She would not go back on the promise that she'd made her teacher. If she was going to be more than she had been then she was going to have to take that step into a much larger world.

 

After a short moment from her collision with the room's entrance door she took her first step forward into the room and was almost immediately met with a shock that made her cry out briefly in surprise, but she stepped back as Arec had promised, a little stunned but unharmed.

 

Pausing for a moment to reassess the situation, she felt out to the sides of her both feeling equally of immediate lack of charged walls. She turned to her right and took a hesitant step forward.

 

She tried to concentrate on locating the sphere with her feelings, but her insecurities at essentially running blind kept clouding her vision. She made her way a few steps further and was knocked back into another of the stun walls.

 

Dizzily she reached out with her hand to try to steady herself, and found an open gap in the moving obstacles. Panic rose within her, but she quickly found it within herself to find her calm as she tried a different approach.

 

Crawling up to a sitting position, she took a moment to reach out with her feelings, rather than the Force vision she'd relied on for so long. The process was similar, but at the same time akin to learning Braille for a sighted person. Beside her she could feel the slight change in the air currents of the room as a wall shifted in her direction. Rising quickly she side-stepped the in-coming obstacle and stopped short as she sensed another coming to meet it, effectively closing off her previous path. The same wall motion clipped a section of one of the Ilum Crystals, sending the piece skittering towards Elnia, who scooped it up without really thinking why.

 

She took a moment to revel in the small triumph she'd achieved, slowly and steadily picking her way through the room keeping ever-vigilant for the sphere.

 

It took her several minutes to finally track down the sphere, using the a similar version of expanding her awareness to feel the flow and pull of the Force around her, even in such a Force-laden environment. She nearly hit her head on it as it whizzed by lazily, as though it had grown tired of waiting to be found.

 

With the previously elusive sphere in hand, she began to shift her focus trying to find the call of the pillar, trying to find the Force connection between the sphere and its resting place, only meeting with the occasional wall collision as she strove to complete her task.

 

Finally she found the pillar and immediately placed the sphere in it's resting place, causing the walls to freeze and stop moving. Somehow she knew that this wasn't the end of the training that Arec had planned for her so she strode to the room's exit, taking a brief reprieve as she waited further instructions.

[Cade]

The challenge was simple enough, climb a vertical face with a rough surface that spanned 75 feet to climb up, and another 100 feet from end to end. 20 minutes or less and get an advantage, simple enough vod.

 

Well, at least that's what one side of Cade's thoughts were saying. The other side was saying something along the lines of frag this. The stereotypical double sided personality, the angel and the demon, only not over a morally ambiguous question. The question here was whether it was possible, and the debaters were his inexperience and his confidence. As a warrior he had often faced this dilemma, previous experiences made one confident in the face of utter destruction. Fear and instinct told the warrior to run, bravado (bolstered by confidence) told him to attack.

 

And like any other time, that third voice, the unintelligible one, the one faintly heard as a whisper in the back of his mind clawing at his reason in an attempt to make its presence heard.

 

"K'uur", it said,"quiet yourself and listen."

 

Although the message of this voice never formed, the intention it had in making itself heard was felt and Cade halted the doubt that had been steadily forming in his mind.

 

He had already wasted 3 minutes looking aimlessly at the wall, it was far too much surface area to form a perfect route and climb, and even if he did the strength he would have to exert to do it quickly would more than likely wipe him out.

 

He decided then and now he would take the path slow and steady, to reserve his strength. For it would be a far better ally than any gift given to help in the next trial.

 

Walking up to the wall he began to scale it, slowly opening his mind to the voice in the back of his mind. Within a few minutes of climbing, meditating while doing so, he must have looked like a fool aimlessly wandering up the wall. In truth he was not even focused on his own actions, instead inwardly looking for the answer to even this problem.

 

And with that a feeling of nausea overwhelmed him, he fell off the wall a good 10 feet from his previous position of 30 feet up before catching a ledge with his right arm.

 

Reason flowing back into him Cade grunted while pulling himself up, 15 minutes passed he figured, and the path now as clear to him as crystal in the sun light.

 

It was unexplainable to himself, but he felt as if another being was guiding him from his current ledge to the next, and so on and so on, until he reached the top.

 

It took another 15 minutes to do so, and a few times the feeling of guidance faltered, flickered, and failed. But within moments he felt his mind telling him to once again quiet down and listen. Listen to what he was not sure, but he knew that whatever aspect of the Force it was (for he was sure it was an embodiment of the Force that had been actively guiding him through the path) had left him feeling just a little bit more in touch with part of the Force he had until now been ignoring.

 

A warrior would always take pride in his skills and accomplishments, and a particularly haughty one such as Cade rarely if ever requested help from others. It was their souls lot in life to suffer the hardships so that offers would not need to know of them, and to never accept an others charity for fear of tarnishing their own independence.

 

Realizing that he had been using the Force in this way opened his eyes a bit more. Instead of only focusing on using it as a tool to improve his own abilities Cade had began to understand it was also a separate entity, one that could make a powerful ally and not just a powerful weapon. And while he was confident that using it either way he would've been able to find a solution to the challenge of scaling the wall, Cade was glad that the lesson turned out the way it did.

 

If he received nothing else from the challenge Cade was comforted in the feeling that there was always at least one being, or power, of whatever the Force defined itself as (for Cade had given up on trying to define it for himself) that would walk side-by-side with him for the rest of his days.

 

Resting atop the wall, for it had a narrow edge that allowed him to lay down a moment, Cade awaited Arec's voice.

 

He was wondering that taking thirty-five minutes instead of less than twenty would be something he would be chastised for, but at this point he strongly believed he had made the only logical and correct actions for the task that had been assigned to him. And when Cade was sure of something he would be completely adamant, even against the wiser and more experienced.

 

His verd pride and all.

[ObliviousKnight]

For the next fifteen minutes, the Jedi fortress at Phu resembled a disturbed anthill, it so swarmed with departing craft and other activity.

[Ary the Grey]

Phu was a small planet, hidden, but it was the only place left Aryian could turn to. In the end, he knew that only he could heal himself, and modify his own body to the specifications he needed. He was tired of relying on others to get the job done. Not to mention, his padawans were here, and he needed to train them pretty badly.

 

His emotions ricocheted through the surrounding space nearby, striking the two humanoids still on Phu rather strongly. The Master had returned.

 

In the training rooms, lights came on, and safety measures extended to guide them safely out of the training scenario. For the time being, they had done enough, it was high time they put their training into action. Aryian himself left his ship upon landing, quickly moving himself down to the medical facilities of the fortress and locking everyone else out. Arec sent summons to the Padawans to meet him in the hangar, before leaving his control center and making the final shutdown of the training scenario.

 

Once in the medbay, Aryian immediately went into operation, his body being reformed in his own design. In hours, it would be finished, in a few more hours after that, his recovery time would be complete. He always healed fast, and bacta only accelerated that process.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Elnia was shocked as suddenly before her was a "dark" globe floated before her, guiding her out of the obstacle course. What she didn't know is that it contained an embryonic ysalamiri, breed from Myrkr stock and frozen at that state so the force suppressing radius was lessened significantly.

 

Unsure of what to do, as if she'd done something wrong, she cautiously followed the orb until she met with Arec and Cade on the outside of the training area.

 

Though she was relieved to have her normal sight back, she could help but sense that something was still off. "Arec, what is it?"

[Ary the Grey]

Arec turned to Elnia, regarding her calmly.

 

"Your master has returned. He is here, now, on Phu, and has requested that your training be stopped for the time being. Whether you know it or not, your own skills within the Force, both of you, have risen significantly in overcoming those obstacles. They have subtly taught you to tune in with its ebbs and flows, trusting in something beyond your immediate skills to overcome a scenario greater than yourself. And it is most likely for the best, because now you need not face the final test."

 

He hesitated a moment, before continuing.

 

"He didn't completely explain everything to me, but it seems that right now the Order is in need of you, and of him. War has broken out again, and you are the foundation of the forces we need to overturn the Empire...and likely the Sith. Ready yourselves, familiarize yourselves with your weapons, use this time ((one post, if that. Not necessary)) to hone your own skills a bit before you go off to war. I wish you both the best of luck. I would wish the Force to be with you...but it already is."

 

Bowing, Arec retreated down a hallway, disappearing into the maze that was the Phu Fortress.

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

Aryian's surgery was well underway at this point, his muscles being regrown with special nanites and biologically engineered tissues, building him better than he was before. He knew this was going to be his last hurrah, and unless he was prepared to go all the way, it would be meaningless.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Quietly she listened to Arec as he explained the current situation, her stomach performing a slight flip-flop as she considered the journey that she was about to embark on.

 

War with the Empire, and possibly with those same people that killed her teacher's last physical body, the Sith.

 

Though she'd never before been directly involved in a war, she knew all too well the toll that it could take on all parties, both innocent and not, on both sides. She had to ask herself if she was ready to take this next step down the path that she'd taken: to assume the role of a protector, the role of the Jedi. In her heart she knew that she was.

 

Elnia didn't have really anything to gather up, other than the lightsaber that Aryian had originally bestowed upon her. What did concern her was her lack of combat experience. Would she be more of a hindrance than a help to Cade and Aryian? She began to think, trying to already plan her course of action on a battleground she had no knowledge of.

 

With her Force vision back up to it's normal level, she decided to do a little experimentation as she waited for her teacher to meet up with her and Cade. Across the hangar, there were several boxes and crates that were neatly stacked. Allowing herself to fall more deeply into the Force, she visualized a strong tendril of the Force and snaked it towards the boxes and crates. She chose a relatively small one to start with, watching her guided tendril as it scooped up the smaller sized crate and gently lifted it from the ground as she willed it. This was easier for her than it might have been for others new to this kind of Force ability because she could actually see the living Force as she was manipulating it.

 

She expanded her awareness once more, sensing that the contense of the crate were not breakable, but only raw materials to be broken down and used later. She watched her created tendril and pulled it towards her, then snapped it forward, launching the crate and it contense a short, but powerful distance.

 

Then, turning her thoughts inward, she attuned herself with her weapon once again, finding it much easier this time. Once again, utilizing her Force-sight, she first held the hilt in her own hands and then extended Force versions of those out from her body, still gripping the hilt tightly. Once more a *snap-hiss* erupted from the blade with a nudge of her mind, leaving the ignited blade suspended seemingly to outside observers in mid-air.

 

The blade itself rotated for about a half of a minute and then her concentration from exhaustion broke her hold on the blade and it fell, deactivated, to the floor with a loud clatter. Mental exhaustion took hold of the young Miraluka and she sat back down on the ground, resting for a moment.

 

She decided that it might be best in the future, at least for now until she built up her Force abilities a bit more, that she should perhaps use the lightsaber in her own two hands before trying the more complex method.

 

((Ready when you are Boss.))

[Ary the Grey]

((Cade, sorry, but I need to make this hard and fast. Post where and when you can. Elnia, you're not required to post much if at all while at Sullust. You know why.))

 

Before everything was complete, it took a few more hours to seal the critical components of Aryian's ship from an EMP blast, reducing recovery time to seconds rather than minutes, and preventing the potential scramble of the AI's circuits. He also added two more features, a small comm rocket of his design, as well as two shrouds, held in outer cargo compartments. Twenty crates of high explosive warheads were attached to the outer hull of the Blur on its latch points, for later use. The ship was restocked with its own personal weapons store, ready for war.

 

Aryian approached them from a shadowed hallway, covered in a dark-tinted armor, sporting his lightsabers and a few other weapons.

 

"The time for action has come. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of practice and training anymore, all your tests and training will come directly from the field. I'm not going to give solid instructions like I used to, you'll sometimes have to make snap decisions on your own. Needless to say, both of you have grown immensely in the Force. I can feel it, even if you can't. Your Knight trials are right around the corner...trust in the Force. Without that trust, all your effort will have been in vain. Now let's saddle up. We have a few things to take care of."

 

Aryian turned, entering his ship and longtime AI companion, his Mech not far behind, blasting off into the atmosphere. It was high time they were on their way.

[Cade]

Leaving the training room wasn't something that Cade was all to sad about doing, especially hearing that from now on he would be in a trial under fire. Live training seemed so much more dangerous, but so much more in tune with Cade's personality.

 

So when Aryian told them to leave, he did so.

 

(OOC: Out of sync post and all, but had to post leaving so...)

[Ary the Grey]

Following the proper protocols involving security and prevention of backtracking, Aryian's ship ended up here of all places. There were some things he needed to do.

 

 

And some things his Padawans needed to do.

 

((Cade, Elnia, take all the supplies you need from here, weapons, armor, ships, make sure you keep this place secret when you leave. You are now directly under the council, both of you awaiting trials, not under me anymore.))

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian was busy, making a new lightsaber and working with computers, coordinating galactic changing events from afar. Things were coming together.

 

 

Change was coming.

 

 

He paid little attention to his Padawans, knowing they were nearly ready for their trials already, and that after they would serve the Order with pride.

 

EDIT----

 

Aryian left is Padawans with a Starfighter of their choosing from the hangar, and droids capable of flying them if they were too inexperienced. He didn't expect Cade would have any problem, but Elnia might. Thankfully for them, The droids had vocoders, and understood Basic. They would also be able to find the Blur, but only once, as the program was set to delete upon use.

 

With all that, Aryian boarded his ship, modified the settings to make him appear different to sensors, and took off. On the flight outbound, all security measures were taken.

 

((Come to me when you're ready for your trials. I'll be on Trulalis.))