Space

[Rose Cariadus]

The scalpel floated slowly back to the table and Zuko laughed triumphantly, his old training came in handy. He let the shadowy fire subside slightly as he made his way from the room. His legs shaky, and unsure.

 

He entered the cargo bay and leaned against the wall, wiping away the blood leaking from his mouth. He sighed, and placed his hands upon his hips.

 

He was ready, he was prepared, and his old training was rushing back with abandon. The old scar upon his forehead ached in pain as the anger began to build....

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

As Lucifer entered and after seeing Zuko leaning against the side of the cargo bay...feeling in the force his intense anger slowly building, the kiffar spoke.

 

''Control your anger, less it destroy you. Anger has it's uses but only if contained and controlled. For uncontrolled and left to it's own devices the darkside shall consume you turning you into nothing more than a slave to your own impulses and emotions that will destroy you.

 

That said let us continue.''

 

Pausing a moment the Sith Lord continued.

 

''This next technique works on the same principle as that of telekinesis in that you must use your emotions and concentrate fully, no doubt your master taught you of it if not let it be a new experience. The difference between this technique and telekinesis is that you will need to push out with your mind instead of lift an object. Visualize your target with your mind, then force it away from your consciousness. This should generate a force push for you. The more will power you pour into it, the greater the force exerted toward your target. The opposite would be to draw objects to you. The same principle applies, just the opposite affect. Try this now upon a blaster if you have one, place it at the other end of the cargo bay and bring it to you or push it away if you place it close.''

 

With that Lucifer again waited and observed.

[Rose Cariadus]

To control rage and keep it from consuming you. A good lesson, to control the inner fire, akin to a swordsmith at the bellows. To concentrate the energy of the blazing soul and use it as a weapon to be feared, and create a great masterpiece, worthy of the dark lord himself. Whoever that may be. Zuko bowed low to his master and his yellow eyes closed in earnest. A look of concentration passed over his scarred face, and he let himself slip slowly back into the raging fires of the force. This time, he would not be consumed. He built up mental barriers, channels, guides, and pathways, concentrating the fire into a single vessel. And from that scorching vessel, the energy could be tapped. His hands came to his chest, where the centre of the power was. The stomach and the heart, formed the root of power. His hands drew across his belly, gathering the power from the vessel stored there.

 

He let his hands slowly extend, and the power was in his control. He reached out with his mind and grasped the object, it was tangible, fluid to the thought. It could be grasped and mulled over, he could find its points of weakness. He concentrated hard, the lines and thoughts intersecting until they were one. With a snap of his wrist, the blaster within his holster flew through its restraints and crashed into the bulkhead at the far side. Zuko winced. That was expensive. And now it was most likely broken beyond repair. At least DL-44s were selling cheap on the market.

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

Lucifer gave a nod of approval as he spoke.

 

''Excellent. Now sit and meditate let us see if you remember how to sense other beings out, focus yourself and use the darkside to heighten your senses with the Force. See how the Force binds all living things together, and recognize these bonds as threads that can be recognised individually....see how they interact with each other.

 

By doing this you shall enable yourself to feel your environment, detect danger and the location of hidden beings or enemies even through barriers, as well as see in complete darkness without the use of your eyes allowing you to find, engage or avoid a being. Try this now as I stand in the room opposite, locate and track my presence.''

 

With that Lucifer moved himself down the hall to a lounge of sorts and waited, he would know when Zuko was successful for he would feel the sensation of being detected.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala nodded, though from the back of the ship she knew that Fett couldn't see her. "My understanding of the jetiise balance that they all strive for is actually in effect not so, as evidenced by the observation that too many of them rely too heavily on their connection to the Force that they don't quite know how to rely on their own natural instincts, I think." She rose from her chair and shut down the work station, pausing at one of the lockers to grab some ration sticks to munch on.

 

As she joined Fett in the front of the ship, she offered him one, as she also handed back his special case. "Here's your lizard," she said without ceremony, and it was obvious from the look in her eyes that she was still processing the new information of how much she lost when her own tenuous connection with the Force was suppressed by the little creature. "I suppose as I train in the Force, the more these things will affect me if I don't keep balanced. What do your jetiise memories tell you?"

 

She munched quietly on the ration stick as she glanced out at the streaks in hyperspace as she waited for his response.

[Scubby]

The Everready stormed down a gigantic blue-lit tunnel slash funnel thing, blasting through hyperspace for a specific destination.

[Raven37]

While Lucifer was busy instructing Zuko, Drake thought it best to practice using the force. He had learned to push and pull objects and how to sense the presence of others and to pick things up. Deciding to practice the levitation he placed his gun in the middle of the floor of his quarters and stretched out his hand while drawing upon the Force. It had become much easier to call on the Force but bending it to his will was still difficult if only slightly. He focused on his rage, most recently about Lucifer taking on yet another apprentice. He already had to compete with Calmin now he had to contend with this Zuko also. Fearing that this would be some sort of competition to see who really deserved Lucifer's training Drake thought it may be in his best interest to thin the competition but he wasn't sure how yet.

 

The blaster rose about 3 feet off the ground and hovered there steadily for several moments before returning to Drakes outstretched hand. Maybe I should meditate for awhile He thought to himself trying to shake any ridiculous ideas of betrayal from his thoughts, at least for the time being. Sitting cross legged in the middle of the room Drake closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He called upon the Force once more and began to reach outwards with his subconscious. Everything was connected through the Force and that being true Drake attempted to sense the ship around him to feel hear the whir of the hyper drive to feel the metal walls around him. He could sense Zuko and Lucifer in the cargo area and Calmin just down the hall and yet he yearned for more. He pushed his boundaries as far as he was able. He could sense the entire ship though it was a bit shifty as there were times his mind tried to draw back into himself but he forced it to remain as it was untill he could no longer hold it. He sighed and stood and Decided to go observe Zuko.

[Moon Knight]

ShadowFett took the offered ration stick and popped off his buy'ce so he could eat it, meaning he had to suspend his pre-mission study. That was fine--there came a point where all the studying had been done, and just sitting staring at the data wouldn't yield anything more than he'd already gathered. The rest of it would just have to come once they were on the ground. He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, processing the question his traat'aliit'ad had asked.

 

"Isolder was a bit more than a jetii," he explained. "He was more pragmatic. No code, no limits." It was a bit strange talking about this. Fett was talking about himself, in a way. He had lived that life. Sometimes they kind of ran together. He tried to focus on his Isolder memories, the ones that involved the Force, and not the memories of Marc Spector and Yuusuke Hakusho. It was a lot to have in his kovid sometimes. "He was pretty heavily reliant on the Force, too, but it didn't hold him back because he didn't let it. It was power only, and by keeping himself physically strong, I don't think he would have been helpless without it."

 

ShadowFett took another bite and met Mirdala's eye. "Just don't stop being a Mando and you should be fine. I'll make sure you don't start slacking off, vod."

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

"Burc'ya, I wouldn't expect any thing less," she laughed, smiling for a moment before her features reset to her more customary down-to-business demeanor.

 

"How are we wanting to handle crashing this party? I've already plotted four escape routes ret'lini we need to make a ba'slan shev'la. From the encounter on Taris, I'm betting that these hut'tunn will be just as skittish. I know I wouldn't exactly be happy with a police visit if I had something to hide." As she spoke she held out her arm, examining the latest addition to her beskar'gam, a very well hidden compartment that housed a six-foot collapsible beskar-bladed glave or staff depending on how far it was extended. Her kukri's were good for close-in-your face action, but she wanted something for when keeping her opponant at a greater distance was preferable. Not to mention it helped compensate for her lack of reach.

[Moon Knight]

"As soon as two Mandos show up, the party is crashed," ShadowFett said. "Let's plan on a discreet approach, leaving some backup far enough away not to draw attention, listen in, make sure we want to arrest these people, then shut everything down at once." It wasn't the kind of plan the ori'ramikad usually used, as he preferred shooting first. But knowing when to shoot was as important as shooting well, particularly when it wasn't clear how corrupt this organization was, or how involved they were in the murder of the senators. Arrest was probably a much better idea, especially because if they were proven innocent, they could just be let go.

 

Finishing his ration bar, Fett put his assault rifle on the table, disassembled it with practiced ease, then grabbed a rag and started to clean the pieces. "I figure one of us can be on the ground and close enough to listen in, and the other can find a good sniper post and hear it through the comm," Mand'alor suggested. "Your call which one you want to be." If she wanted to try out that new glaive, she'd stay on the ground--Fett was a perfectly competent sniper with his Verpine shattergun. He had no preference. He was just as comfortable storming the meeting with his assault rifle.

[Guest]

As she entered the vast and endless expanse of space, she couldn't help but smile. It had been quite some time since she had become one with the starry night sky. She found the twinkling lights of stars lightyears away to be of both comfort and beauty, too soon in her mind she streaked off into hyperspace to embark upon her plan and lay her trap.

[Rose Cariadus]

I must focus myself, for better or worse, dim the fires of my soul. He sighed, and squeezed his golden eyes shut. He first concentrated on maintaining the silence within his own skull, silencing the shouting voices in his mind. Still maintaining a semblance of his prior anger, he fell into total silence. He reached out with his thoughts to the surrounding ship and concentrated. Slowly, things began to focus in his mind, until he was able to see a sort of order to the ship around him. Metal and bulkheads shone in a dull grey blending into the background of his vision.

 

His thoughts and vision were spherical in shape and projected in all directions. Zuko could remember the distant lessons long forgotten, from his prior master. His mind opened fully to the influence of the force, and slowly the sphere of influence expanded, until it encompassed the cargo bay, and fled into the hallways. Zuko's brow was furrowed and beads of sweat poured down from his hairline, along with a single bead of crimson dripping from his mouth to splash upon the bulkhead. His reserves were draining quickly, so he stopped the growth of the sphere and concentrated on maintaining his current sight. He focused his sight until a figure stepped brightly into his influence. One of the other apprentices was quickly approaching. Zuko laughed softly, as he could vaguely read of the man's emotions.

 

Deeming him not worth the concentration, Zuko focused elsewhere until he found his quarry. His master, Lucifer, sat silently within the ship's lounge, highlighted by his fierce power within the force. Zuko smiled and concentrated again upon him, until he was sure, Lucifer would have noticed. He then switched his vision again upon the other apprentice; he was almost to the door. Zuko opened his eyes and his hand slipped to the disruptor upon his side.

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

Lucifer felt Zuko feel out his presence, the ever present sensation of one whom was searching always left it's mark in the force. As the apprentice latched onto his thread so did Lucifer also know whom was searching..the technique worked both ways.

 

Heading back to the cargo bay the Sith Lord noted Drake had decided to observe. He spoke briefly as before passing him by to Zuko.

 

''If you wish to observe you may do so my apprentice, however keep out of the way. Once on Dagobah I shall continue with the three of you together, for now I am getting Zuko up to speed with both Calmin and you.

 

Yet there is one technique I told Calmin on Onderon to aid his former task ehivh you have not yet learnt..now seems as good a time as any to teach you this that you may practice which may keep you busy for however brief a period.

 

Just as the force can be used to sense others it can also be used to physically help you. One such use the force can grant is to speed up, both physically and mentally, allowing you more time to make decisions and react in both combat or simply as I said to run faster.

 

However there is but one drawback when using this ability, after extended use despite the appearance of no visible signs of fatigue it has a draining effect on a Force-user's energy and metabolism, and thus requires a longer recovery period than other abilities. Greater aptitude of the force with training grants greater boosts to speed and/or greater duration of the technique. This increased speed enables us to see the world and the entities around you in a slow motion like state, allowing you to dodge attacks easily and attack quicker with greater accuracy.

 

To use this technique focus on channeling the force through your body and into your muscles in your arms and legs to augment them to move faster this should grant you a speed burst unlike you have ever felt. To others you will be but a blur but to you all around you will slow down and mere seconds will seem like an hour. Try this now, travel around the ship using this technique for as long as it allows you.''

 

With that Lucifer headed inside the cargo and faced Zuko.

 

''Well done. You found me just as I anticipated you would now on to the next technique...that of Empathy, the ability to sense the intentions of others or rather picking up impressions of an individuals emotional state to guess their next reaction, of reading them so to speak, their current train of thought.

 

This technique is useful in that it shall enable you to sense if someone is decieving you or not when speaking to them if their mind is open although those of a strong mind can block such probes as can those who are aware of your intention. Try this now, focus your anger and hate upon sensing the current emotional state of myself...of sensing the impressions in the force, using them and deciphering from this what I am feeling however I shall only leave my mind partially open for the purpose for obvious reasons.

 

However to try this I need you to open your mind to me as much as I shall you. How much though is up to you.''

[Darth Furion]

((Your ship's interior resembles that of a Lambda Class, yes?))

 

The copilot chair. The name amused him for some odd reason. It was so called under the pretense the one utilizing it would be there to aid the pilot, or step in and take control should he fail.

 

This, of course, was foolish.

 

Such extra precautions were pretense to preparation. Such a small ship did not necessitate a second pilot. Every control should be accessible and maintainable by one pilot. An added pilot could stand to mean they expect him to fail. Not a specific pilot, but rather a pilot of they model ship somewhere will fail. Is that statistics, or wool over the eyes of the ignorant? Statistically speaking the odds of a copilot managing to take control and maintain the ship after the event that incapacitated the pilot are remote, and by no means justify the cost of the added seat and control panel. Millions, if not billions wasted galaxy wide on the pretense of preparation, squandered to make everyone feel a little better about themselves. We'd all like to believe that copilot can save the day, that we can somehow mitigate the unknown by simply being prepared for 'what if'. Ultimately we're alone, left to face whatever reality is forced upon us and conquer it. Not necessarily destroy it, but make it beneath you.

 

A slow, catlike blink brought him lazily from his head. Bright blue hues streaked by the front viewport at terrific speeds and he remembered where he was, or rather where he was going.

 

Stop here. Slowly. We'll coast for an hour or so then make another jump.

 

No one was following them, but that didn't mean other methods for tracking couldn't be implemented.

 

Emily, would you be a dear and fetch us something from one of the cargo holds? I don't know what provisions Lord Ason keeps, but we really must make ourselves eat. Sometimes it isn't until my stomach growls something fierce that I remember I'm still in this body.

 

He smiled as if there were an irony to it only he knew.

 

When you get back you'll get to listen in on a rather engaging discussion between Ason and myself.

[Ason Antilles]

The Co-pilot chair

 

Bare pretender of a throne. Marketing gimmick. A delusion of safety. Were technology still in its infancy, that co-pilot might've been integral to the flight, but at present it seemed as though a more compact control layout and a central orientation of a lone seat would be quite capable of eliminating the position's utility entirely. Millions, if not billions wasted galaxy wide on the pretense of preparation, squandered to make everyone feel a little better about themselves.

 

This was the way of the galaxy: to resolve the dissonance with defense mechanisms. Still, in the proper context, a co-pilot chair was just what it was. It was a chair that, even if it were bordering on statistical insignificance, might still a slight edge over the absence of one.

 

Ason was partially amused by Furion's word ”œfetch”

[Emily]

Emily was determined to stoically accept what path fate was leading her down, but she still found herself sitting silently in her chair as they entered hyperspace. After a short time, they dropped back out into the blackness of the dark space between systems, drifting in the void of emptiness.

 

That was when Furion told her to get some food for them. She bristled at his tone and choice of words. She was not some slave to be ordered around! And she didn't fail to notice that being the only woman onboard, she was the one being sent to get the food. She snorted. Would have guessed he's a chauvinist on top of everything else.

 

But she couldn't hide the ripple of hunger that passed through her. How many hours ago had she eaten? Quite a while. After a moment, she glared at Furion, then unstrapped herself and headed back into the cargo area. It was easy enough for her to find the rations. She took her temper out on the cabinet, however, slamming the cover shut with more than necessary force. It felt good.

 

After a moment, she controlled herself. There was no point throwing a tantrum; it was childish and beneath her. But she was pissed off at everything right about now, and Furion's casual dismissal of her rankled already raw nerves. Getting a grip, she headed back into the cockpit. It took more self control not the throw the ration pack in his face. Instead, she tossed them onto the control board, keeping one for herself. Settling back into her chair, she began to munch on the flight food, seething, but determined to listen to the men's conversation.

[Mirdala Ad'Goran]

Mirdala sat opposite him and placed her side arm, a Mandalorian heavy blaster, on the table and began dismantling it for cleaning as well as some calibration work. "I agree, a quiet approach is best," she'd noted when the backup units shuttles had departed headquarters just before the Justice had entered hyperspace so at most they'd only be a few minutes behind the two Mando'ade at worst. She pondered the two options that lay before her.

 

On the one hand, she was a very experienced and trained sniper, and the city's layout lent itself well to having several sniper nests in the area, and while one sniper was good it would be better to have one of the two of them and at least one other of their team on the roof tops or in the buildings ensuring coverage of the building from all angles. Mirdala was a very patient woman both on the battlefield and off, which made her nature ideal for sniping and her implant completely alleviated the need for her to use a spotter. She could easily enter anyone of the buildings and get set up with arousing little unrest or suspicion. However, a pair of CoreSec officers in full gear entering surrounding buildings was sure to tip someone off that there were going to be some uninvited guests to this meeting. ”œI think that either way we need more than just one on the rooftops or in the buildings, with one of us leading the sniper teams. Since we want to keep this quiet, we should to some recon on the buildings we set up in so we can get our men in there without arousing suspicion.”

[Moon Knight]

"You're on the ground, then," ShadowFett responded. "I want to learn as much as possible before we blow the place to haran." Sending Me'suum'ika Cabur down there might make them spill their guts, but it would also put them on edge. It could make someone get all heroic and try to take a shot, then the whole mess would go down as a gunfight and any sufficient gathering of evidence would be impossible. Of course, in that case, being fired upon was sufficient reason to take the meeting down, but Fett also wanted to know more about the organization behind it, not just jail a bunch of people in a meeting.

 

The Mando'ad finished cleaning his assault rifle and turned his attention to his shattergun, a more delicate and more deadly weapon. He'd spent a lot of time with it, practicing his sniping and programming it to deliver rounds at close intervals at long range. It was a carefully-designed way to kill dar'jetiise, though he had never done so at range. It had killed that chap Procs on Coruscant, though, before the war ended.

 

Soon the hyperspace alerts started ringing, informing him that they were getting close to Nubia. As a core world, it would be easy to get any extra support they needed there. Fett got up and headed up to the cockpit, nodding at his beskar'ad and pulling his buy'ce back on. "Let's crash this party."

 

((Feel free to post our arrival.))

[Rose Cariadus]

Zuko sat and concentrated, he opened his mind, and soul to the darkness within. Upon gathering his strength, he pushed out his sphere of influence and found his master. He concentrated upon the man's thoughts, attempting to pick up the various flashes of memory and thought. It was hard, yet he could decipher some things here and there. A secret malevolence emanating from his master's mind. Shadows of his influence spread about the galaxy, those he had fought and killed. It was enlightening to be sure.

 

((Sorry for the crappiness of this post, I didn't have much time.))

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

((Ok you are near enough now at the same level as Calmin and Drake aside from one technique which you'll be learning once we're planetside since there will be more space. Calmin I'll control you only for this moment albiet indirectly if you'll let me just to speed things up a little.))

 

Lucifer looked upon Zuko and could instantly tell he was feeling his emotional state. It was upon that moment that the kiffar was informed both by his ship AI and Calmin that they ahd exited hyperspace and were now finally above Dagobah.

 

Upon being informed Lucifer spoke to Zuko briefly.

 

''That shall be all for now for we have arrived. Your training shall continue once we make planetfall and our meeting with Lord Ar-Pharazon is concluded. When we are below be on your guard there is no telling of his reaction to our presence or if he is indeed alone or not, we must account for every possibility.''

 

With that the Sith Lord headed to the flight deck and entered the cockpit to manually fly the craft in.

 

((Continue Sith Temple - Dagobah))

[Darth Furion]

Very well. Julio said lightly as Emily huffed out of the cockpit. Oh, to be youthful again and filled with such angst. He wasn't old by any means, a mere twenty-seven years old and a master at that, but youth had long left his eyes, replaced by a hunger for that which no one would ever let him have.

 

When she was clear of earshot Julio turned. I'll not insult you in asking if you understand what my plans are. Nor will I lie and say that I'll tell you everything. But unless I'm mistaken, we have both observed each other in the past and understand the fundamentals that drive one another. We share the same dream, you and I.

 

Without thinking much of it Julio pulled out a crumpled pack from his pocket and rummaged out his last, oddly bent and twisted but not broken cigarette. As he sparked it, the thin paper bound narcotic gave off a very pleasant smell of exotic spices and unfamiliar flavors. He inhaled deeply, passively staring into the vast openness of space before them.

 

Transcendence. He said in a hushed, reverent tone, as if the word itself captivated the very essence of his faith. About that time the soft patter of light feet against grated metal crept behind them, growing with each step. The rations, if you could call them that, landed in a crinkled bounce against the control panel an his gaze broke from a particular star. The wrapper said 'protein bar', but it was a lie. Nothing but sawdust and filler. Without any hint of dismay Julio hit his cigarette again and spun his chair around to see them both equally.

 

What are your dreams, Lord Ason? Your ambitions? What pushes you to those dark depths others dare not conceive into conscious thought?

[Ason Antilles]

”

[Emily]

Emily was still seething, but Furion wasn't paying attention to her anymore, and her anger cooled a bit. I am not a Nohgri, she thought contemptuously. If only her mother could see how she was being treated. Emily almost smiled at the thought. Sirvani would have no scruples laying into this man for not showing the proper respect.

 

But the question that was asked and the answer that was given drew her attention towards the present and not the past and hypothetical possibilities. She turned Ason's answer over in her head and decided that was a terrible price to pay for power. It was a balance. He had freedom, he had ability to do what he chose, but at the cost of his humanity. Was it really worth the trade-off? Certainly, Emily desired power. But power without a sense of morality and humanity? She didn't think she was willing to go that far. Life still had much to offer her. She was a young woman and had not seen much of the galaxy. There were many pleasures she had not yet tasted or experienced, and those still had sway over her.

 

Nevertheless, Ason's philosophy was fascinating. Emily sincerely enjoyed learning about other's outlooks, especially on the nature of the Force. She hoped they would come to that eventually. She truly believed that only a careful examination of many people's individual beliefs and outlooks would reveal something of the true nature of the Force.

 

But for now, the thought of the price Ason had paid, the confusion he sensed, was foremost in her mind. "So which will you become?" The question slipped out, catching her by surprise. She had had no intention to speak. But she wasn't apologetic for it. Instead, she asked the second question that was on her mind. "And was it worth it?"

[Darth Furion]

'Was' infers an end. There is no end for us, you understand? He was looking at Emily now, however the question was posed generally. A waft of spiced aroma feathered his nose and he thought of Ronin.

 

As Sith, we must walk the chosen path. Wherever that path leads us, be it against heavy tides of conflict and strife, or the heartrending undercurrents of sorrow and regret, we cannot waiver even for a moments rest. The only direction is forward.

 

He hit the cigarette again and aimlessly flicked the ash onto his filth jacket.

 

But this does not preclude other ambitions or dreams. Often we see our brethren forsake all other joys in life in a narrow minded pursuit of power. Not at all an unjust crusade, but far too constricted thinking. In this mindset, a Sith thinks only of his power, and almost cyclically feel only through anger and hatred. They forgo any past love of music, their favorite foods, the idea of friendship or family, even greater intellectual advancements. All for another taste of darkness. They let go of their humanity and give themselves wholly over to the beast. They think this is the only way to be free, to purely pour everything out into whatever is in front of you and destroy it. To simply let go.

 

Another hit and he no longer bothered paying attention to the ash, instead letting gravity do his work when the stack was long enough.

 

Your error, Emily, is consigning Lord Ason to this group of madmen without ever really knowing him. Assuming he has utterly lost all he ever was to his path. However you must understand that to us our path is ourselves. We are the path. Without us, without the bound collectivity of our mind, body and soul there is no purpose. We are the path because we forge ourselves into that which we want to be. We want the freedom to choose, and we will take that freedom from any and all who stand in our way.

 

He spun back around after that, killing what remained of his cigarette after such a long rant in one long drag before putting it out between his fingers and dropping the butt in his pocket. He needed to stop lecturing. More and more he noticed he couldn't help but step into the mindset of an instructor, speaking with certainty on and on about something most simply didn't listen to.

 

The protein bar crinkled between his fingers, back and forth as if they were making the decision for him. He set the bar back on the console.

 

But I may be speaking out of place. I can't say how much Lord Ason has lost on the trail. Personality can be such a transitory thing when we give up so much of ourselves to something greater. Everyone seems to forget that they are that something greater, and that they should give up nothing.

[Ason Antilles]

Emily's questions were quite unexpected. Ason had been studying her face, ready to scour it for every microexpression it betrayed. Giving those questions voice spoke to an inquisitive character, which was the right one to have.

 

He had no problem letting Furion address the questions though. It was the truth he spoke of that had brought them to this point; an acknowledgment of the plague they spoke of earlier. Still, her questions made the sorcerer wonder if he conveyed power as the most final end, that value for which everything else was done for the sake of. If he had, further articulation was clearly necessary.

 

”

[Emily]

Emily followed Furion to a point. She had seen, even in her compartively limited experience among the Sith, those who strove for power as the end. But Emily had always struggled with that. In her mind, power had always been a means to an end. Yes, accumulation of power was important, but as a tool, a method of achieving whatever it was that in the end you desired. Precluding all other ambitions, dreams, passions, and desires was foolish, for if you lost all of those, what would there be left worth striving for? Power was a tool, not an end in of itself.

 

But she lost the train of understanding when he began to talk about the path being themselves. Don't all Sith have the freedom to choose their own path? Or is he talking about losing oneself to power so completely that they become controlled by the power? This too, Emily had seen, and almost tasted for herself. She felt the edge whenever she reached into the Force; the glorious vortex that was as deadly as it was entrancing. She had always known that if she slipped up for one instant, she could easily lose her mind to the sheer power of it. Perhaps that was the distinction Furion was making--the difference between those who slipped across that line and those who retained the control to use the Force for their own sane desires.

 

As Ason spoke again, she gave a slow nod. "But how do you know what to sacrifice? And how do you know when you have found the truth? What does that even mean in a galaxy so full of different viewpoints?" Emily was quite skeptical of anyone who claimed to have found absolute truth. There were many in the galaxy who would claim so, and yet often their truths disagreed with others'. It was from those observations that Emily's own viewpoints originated.

[Sheog the Mad]

The unidentifiable shuttle continued its jumps through hyperspace, making 73 small microjumps in order to avoid any tracing of the shuttle. Sheog sat within its confines, meditating, and eating fistfuls of worms. He smiled at his apprentice and waited for the babarbel to respond.

[Ason Antilles]

"Logic."

 

"I know the answer must seem vague and unsatisfactory to you now, but we each have our own journey to enlightenment. If we had more than hours and minutes I would much enjoy discussing the subject with you further, but that's unfortunately not our purpose here today. What I can briefly say is this:

 

You are right in saying that absolute truth is, in most instances, unverifiable. To take a ludicrous proposition for the sake of demonstrating even the certainty of reality as a whole might be called into question: how can you verify that all you see around you isn't the creation of some malevolent author who exists in an entirely different plane? How do you know your every pain and displeasure isn't foretold by the thoughts of some sadistic, omnipotent being who takes pleasure in placing you in this universe also of their own creation. Perhaps I am not even here, but you believe that I am here because these gods of creation have ordained that you will perceive me as being here.

 

How would you disprove such a claim? Can you see past this galaxy to see if it isn't created at the tip of a pen? In this sense, the objective truth of the matter becomes relatively unknowable. Still, there are ways at arriving at the absolute truth. Deductions, axioms and the like. They may not give you the solid world-view you crave, but they give you some solid ground from which to view this hollow and mysterious galaxy. That ground can be said to be one of absolute truth.

 

Let me tell you further that there is only one absolute truth, and the existence of a multiplicity of views is no proof of post modernity. On the contrary, it is just evidence that the absolute truth is relatively difficult to come to. I have followed the logical pathway to what I am today and act in accordance with the virtues that arise from it. I have sacrificed the portions of my humanity that sway me from dispassionate observation of truth. This is the error of many of the moral theorists of this galaxy: they are all swayed by their humanity. The ultimate results are invariably either non-happiness or an inferior degree of happiness. Only by giving up that human error can one become something more. Yes, biologically human, or of any other race truly if we are to be fair, but greater. Not to say I am less passionate, but that I am capable of deeper passion than any other."

 

He referred not to himself, but to this part of his general character that might be shared by others.

 

"Can I know this with absolute certainty: no. Just as I cannot know if I am not a figment of some demon's imagination. However, I can be sure of a number of things, and because of some universal laws, it is clear and evident that the path I 'ought' to take to arrive at the end I 'ought' to arrive at is the one I am on. I aim to be the conclusion of this logic which, oddly enough, ends up concluding that I am the conclusion."

 

He wished he hadn't spoken so much already. It felt like an oppressive wealth of words for such an unsubstantial conclusion. It was a massive qualification for his forgoing of the more massive response she asked for. All those topics he restrained himself from diving into previously struggled to keep themselves from his throat for fear of being launched into far too lengthy a discourse for the occasion.

 

He gave her a look that seemed to state that at any rate, she wouldn't be ready to accept their truth immediately anyways. Hers seemed to be the character that would exhaust the galaxy of all it had to give and then forge her own answer from the fragments. It was a journey Ason Antilles could identify with, which is why he was sure that if she gave the subject sufficient treatment, she would arrive at the same conclusion. For that he was glad, for if he did explain and she were to accept his words, it would be a great disservice to herself and a great disappointment to him.

 

Still, the ambiguity of facial expressions could lead to the mistaken interpretation of that look as condescension. It wouldn't matter if it was.

[Darth Furion]

((Edited for order. Em and I posted at the same time and didn't notice one another. Post that was here down below.))

Edited June 10, 2011 by Guest

[Emily]

Ason launched into a much longer explanation than Emily had been expecting, and it gratified her. She listened as he explained his perspective. It was fascinating. For the most part, she found she agreed with him. All one could do was forge forward on the path they felt was right. She did find it a little strange coming from a Sith; other Sith she had met had been so set on forging their own path, making the galaxy bend around their will, that they hadn't stopped to think if it was the right path. Ason, it seemed, had. To her, that was what seemed like the most important thing. To have the ability to look down the road ahead, see what was best, and have the power to shape things so that the best did come.

 

It was the biggest way she differed from the Jedi philosophy. The Jedi accepted whatever the future held, believing that the all-knowing Force would work things out for the best. Emily didn't really believe that. She couldn't, having seen what she had seen and experienced the things that had happened to her.

 

She burned to question him more, but held her tongue. She had satisfied her curiosity enough for now, and though she wished to hear Furion's take on it, she somehow got the feeling the Sith Master would not be as accomodating.