Naboo

[Mara N. Jade]

"I will do my best, but what do you want me to try to lift?"

[Leonardo Stovachi]

As soon as those wordsleave her mouth, the darkside inside Leo begins to turn, trying to convert him and his new bride.

 

"I was trained in how to levitate items by the threat of death. I was told to lift a large tree and move it 50 meters or I would be killed. The darkside within me is brewing to get me to do the same to you. But it would not work nor do I want to do it. Instead of telling you what to lift, I will let you choose the item you wishto move and feel you have the ability to move. That is what I say to you. Please, if at any point in your training, I demand more than you can do, do not do it. Instead remind me that the darkside is working through me."

 

Leo treads water and uses the Force to put some leverage underneath her in case she had to use all her concentration to move an object.

[Mara N. Jade]

Mara thought about what she would try to levitate on her first try. It had to be something fairly small, but also something she could focous the force on. She spotted a rock by the side of the lake that was just about the right size. She concentrated all of her energy on the force. She knew that she could concentrate fully on the rock, because she could feel Leo holding her up in the water. She imagined the force as a large hand, reaching out towards the rock. She closed her eyes, and saw the rock in her mind's eye. She could see the hand lifting the rock, and holding it about a foot off of the ground. She opened her eyes, and the rock came crashing back to the ground.

[Leonardo Stovachi]

Leo watches as the stone falls back to the ground. He knew that Mara would eventually, over time get better at lifting things. But he wanted to move on to what she wanted more than lifting things.

 

"To feel things through the Force, like people, animals, as well as unliving objects. You must reach out with your feelings, stretch them out to the farthest reaches. Let yourself go and open yourself to the Force. Let it flow through you and let it control you."

 

He opens himself to Force and allows his emotions to spin, his thoughts to wander, the Force to flow. He first began to feel Mara in the water next to him, then the water itself, then the bacteria in the water, then he began to feel the animals outside the water. Then the other people on the planet. Soon he was feeling people in nearby planets. He could begin to feel Maras feelings stretch out.

[Mara N. Jade]

Mara let her mind wander, drifting out away from her and into her surroundings. She could feel Leo's mind streatching out beside her. Instead of trying to reach outward though, she reached inward. She reached towards the two minds growing and developing inside her. She also tried to reach out to Leo's mind. She was trying to create a connection between all of them, as a family, but she did not quite have the skill yet.

[Leonardo Stovachi]

Leo feels Mara tugging at him with the Force. He feels her trying to create a connection within them all, to make them a family. He smiles inside knowing what she was trying to do was impossible.

 

"Mara, do not fret over your inability to create a bond between us. A bond is already there between myself and you. Love is our bond. It cant be created through the Force, the same as it cant be torn down. Once our children are born, there will also be that same bond between them and us. I will always be there. No matter what."

 

He wraps his arms around as he supports them with the Force.

[Goodwood]

*Ben'a sat in a meditative position as he heard DJK and the hopeful discuss their future. It seemed kind of unusual to the Padawan for someone who had only recently lost his family to suddenly throw himself back into the Jedi Order. But it was, perhaps, fortunate that the Dark Side did not claim this Master, at any rate. As the two headed off to begin their own adventures, Ben'a opened himself up fully to the Force, sensing that something momentus was on the horizon for himself, and perhaps for others.*

 

I'm feeling something funny, a disturbance in the Force...

 

*There was, indeed, something odd within the Padawan's expanding sphere of Force-sensitivity that was tickling his perceptions. Something that was beckoning him onward, almost trying to seduce him to explore further...something very dark, yet still seemingly lightyears away.

 

Ben'a's eyes snapped open as he realized what this could mean. The Sith were getting stronger and planning something...but as to the specifics, Ben'a had no clue. As quickly as he had percived the tickling disturbance, it was once again smoothed. But though the perception was dim, the Padawan knew it could not be ignored.*

 

"Master Keiran, I'm sensing a disturbance in the Force..."

[Keiran]

Keiran closed his eyes and expanded his sphere of responsibility, not sensing anything within the general vicinity, he turned to Ben'a with a confused look.

 

"I sense nothing, where are you sensing a disturbance?"

[Goodwood]

*Ben'a looked up at his Master, perhaps a little confused himself.*

 

"It wasn't so much a 'disturbance' as it was a 'tickling', it was something like a seductive touch that could only have come from the Dark Side, or so I felt. Anyway, it wasn't so much a 'local' thing anyway...but I can't place it."

 

*Ben'a fell silent for a moment as he brooded on what he had felt. Realizing what this thought could possibly be left a bad taste in the Padawan's mouth, and the fact that Master Keiran hadn't felt it at all made it even more unattractive. Without warning, Ben'a stood up from his cross-legged position (without using his hands or the Force) and began walking off into the jungle, his Master close behind him.*

 

"Where is the ship, Master? Suddenly I don't feel quite right here, though I am at a loss as to why that is...."

[Myth Hunter]

*Myth shrugged*

 

He was an old... aquaintance. Very sweet bloke. Charming as well. But, well. *Myth sighed* Neither of us really had respectable jobs, and in that sort of thing you can't trust anyone. So, despite how much I liked the guy, I just couldn't bring myself to trust him. he was very clever when it came to undercover espionage and stuff. It was awesome to watch him work.

 

But then, things changed. I moved into a another group, he went his own way... and you know. Things dissipate after a while.

 

... well, most things do.

[Amidala Skywalker]

"I see...." Indy says. "Well, to say the least, I definately didn't trust him. He had a very odd air about him...Anyway, what's next on the Death Striker agenda?"

[Keiran]

Keiran shook his head

 

"I'm sorry Ben'a, but without any substancial basing or feeling, I will not change our plans. I know that I have told you to trust the force, but the force can also be manipulated, which you have done, but it can be manipulated by the sith to draw jedi into traps. Be wary, try to understand any situation around you before you jump in..."

 

"Why didn't I follow my own advice on Nghathul... 3 sith masters jumped onto me at that time..."

Keiran shook away this thoughts, clearing his mind.

 

"Anyway, enough chit-chat"

 

Keiran pulled out his black lightsaber hilt and held it in front of his eyes.

 

"Ben'a, you've been an excellent apprentice, but it's unfortunate for me to say this, but, it's time to see if you can place what you have learned to good use."

Keiran pressed the activation switch on his saber and the white blade extended, Keiran twirled the saber in front of him before stopping and coming down on Ben'a with a top-down strike.

[Goodwood]

*It was something of a consolation what Master Keiran had to say. At least Ben'a now knew that he wasn't going mad, nor was he being too hasty in his feelings. But still... -- there was a sudden motion of the elder Jedi's saber -- in a flash Ben'a had jumped back, a full three meters out of range of the slash. Quickly, the Padawan yanked his own lightsaber from his belt and had its emerald blade activated and ready to fend off the renewed attacks from his Master.*

 

So this is the trials, eh?

 

*As soon as the thought occured to Ben'a, he batted it aside -- this wasn't a time for wistful thoughts, as far as he could tell this wasn't a stunsaber being weilded against him. Ben'a saw with the Force before his eyes precived the renewed charging of his Master, and letting himself slip once again into its guidence, the Padawan batted aside strike after strike. The last stroke, aimed at his midsection, missed Ben'a by inches -- the Padawan used the momentum of his sidestep to get behind his Master...*

[Keiran]

Keiran finished his swipe on one knee. He rotated his eyes around, searching his peripheral vision.

 

"Dissapeared"

 

Keiran opened himself to the force and sensed the many lifeforms around him, one caught his interest.

 

"Human...right behind me..."

 

*Keiran smiled, he rotated the saber with his wrist and thrust it backward, allowing the blade to slice under his armpit and come out behind him, taking anyone behind him by suprise from below*

[Myth Hunter]

"ok, I'll see what the senate has approved for us and then, I believe we start looking for some teachers and students."

 

With a smile, Myth made her way to the communications console. She sent a query to the senate and sat back waiting for the reply.

[Goodwood]

*Ben'a wasn't quite surprised by the unorthadox thrust, as he hadn't made the mistake of being right behind Master Keiran. Instead of parrying the thrust, however, and risking making his master loose an arm, Ben'a lashed out with the Force, sending his Jedi teacher flying forward, where he landed face-first, but more or less intact, in a clump of dead leaves.*

 

*Ben'a knew, however, that this wasn't over, so he tried a different tack -- he tried to completely disconnect from the Force. Though it might not work if the pair of them were on Hoth or Tatooine, the Padawan might get away with it here in the Naboo jungle. Once disconnected, Ben'a began to slowly creep off to the side, hidden for the moment behind a large, fallen tree.*

[Keiran]

Keiran spit out leaves from his mouth and stood on one knee, he began looking around again.

"Dissapeared once more... he's quite good at that"

 

Keiran closed his eyes and expanded his sphere of responsibility in the force.

 

"Nowhere around..."

 

Keiran expanded his sphere to a full kilometer and noticed the only humans around were DJK and his padawan a long way away.

 

"Interesting, geuss I'll try a new approach"

 

Keiran let himself be touched by the minds of the many creatures in the jungle, finding anything wrong. Suddenly, he sensed that a pair of mynocks were disgruntled because they were moved from there tree when it was bothered by something. Keiran nudged a hint into their mind.

 

"Retaliate"

That was the final push, the mynocks took off from their perch and dove at Ben'a, shrieking. Keiran smiled and walked towards the tree as well, he sliced his saber horizontally. The tree began creaking then tipped towards Ben'a, with Ben'a so close to the base of the tree, there was no way he could run...

[Tarrian Skywalker]

Tarrian sent out a comm to all sith informing them to gather on Mimban.

 

((OOC: This is a private comm to only the Sith and it is encrpyted so that no others except sith can recieve it.))

[Goodwood]

((OOC: That tree was already fallen, but we'll do it your way))

 

*Ben'a knew it wasn't quite over yet. As the mynocks attacked, he could only surmise that his Master had caught onto him, but the saberslash to the tree caught him slightly off-guard. With the aid of the Force, he was able to maneuver out of the tangle of branches as they fell, but his cover was blown.*

 

Time to take this up a notch...

 

*With a newfound quickness that surprised Master Keiran, Ben'a lunged at him, executing a perfect base-slide at the last second just as the elder Jedi attempted to bring up his blade to defend against an attacking slash. The resultant maneuver once again had the Padawan in behind his Master, and this time Ben'a did not hold back. He launched a fury of slashes and up-under thrusts, careful not to injure his Master, but still demonstrating his skills with his saber -- the odd thing was, it no longer felt to Ben'a like he was weilding a lightsaber, but rather the weapon was an extension of his own hands...*

 

*Ben'a continued to drive his Master back with powerful attacks, mindful of the lesson learned back on Hoth to always be on the offensive when in battle...*

[Keiran]

Keiran smiled as he parried Ben'a's blows, inch by inch, Keiran backed up.

 

"You've learned the art of the lightsaber well Ben'a, I'm proud"

 

Keiran continued to back up, only blocking to prevent personal injury, then, when Keiran sensed he was nearing the trunk of another tree, Keiran reached into the minds of the mynocks behind Ben'a.

 

"He destroyed your home..."

 

Enraged, the Mynocks dove at Ben'a from behind with a hidden anger, the pair slammed into Ben'a's head, sending him face-first into the mud, Keiran then reached into the mynock's minds once more.

"Halt"

 

The mynocks flew to an upper branch and landed, perched, they observed Ben'a. Keiran held his saber in a defensive stance and continued.

"However Ben'a, never forget about what is around you"

[Leonardo Stovachi]

Leo feels something in the Force. Somethin tugging at him from Ilum. He thought this might be a good thing. He wanted to give Mara her last step. Most Jedi would not approve of this limited training. The Correlian Prince had taught he the basics of the Jedi ways. Now he needed her to build her lightsaber. He would let her do this the way the Jedi build their, not the same way his Sith teachings taught.

 

"Come, I have but one more task for you to complete."

 

He leads her out of the water and to the speeder. They soon reach their house and start to pack their clothes and what not. Leo attached his lightsaber to his belt and carries their bags back to the ship. They are soon in Space heading for Ilum.

 

((Continued in Ilum))

[Goodwood]

*Ben'a scraped an eyeful of muck out of his face as he got up, seeing his master already looking him over from next to the tree.*

 

He's got a point, the Padawan thought to himself. But two can play at this game...

 

*Without warning, Ben'a jumped a full ten meters into the damp jungle air, landing on a thick, gnarled branch that was wet with slime. But he held on, sturdy in the Force, and soon he was aware of just how much life was in this place, apart from the Jedi staring from below, looking awestruck, up at him.*

 

I could get used to this place, the Padawan thought briefly before focusing his energy on what lay before him. In the back of his mind, he knew that he should have expected more then a simple lightsaber duel for his trials, but he didn't quite know what else there would, or could, be involved.

 

*And then it hit him.*

 

The Living Force!

 

*That was what enabled Master Keiran to summon the mynocks to help him...and Ben'a must do the same. But as he thought about his next course of action, a wistful flicker came over him, and he remembered what he had once told his friend Aryian Darkfire back on Hoth.*

 

Training to be a Jedi is not a game, nor should it be treated as such.

 

*Master Keiran continued to stare up at his Padawan, unsure what Ben'a could be up to -- but then, Ben'a wasn't quite sure either. There were so many possibilities in just this jungle, let alone the rest of the universe -- the rest of the Force -- that one could spend an eternity contemplating them. And it was obvious to Ben'a that his Master could sense the thoughts circulating in his mind, as he had made no attempts to hide them. His mind was an open book, one that both would work to fill.*

 

*Ben'a, still standing on that branch ten meters above the jungle floor, pulled up his legs and began to meditate...*

[Keiran]

Keiran smiled as he watched Ben'a meditate.

"He's truly learned all there is I can teach him... Except one thing..."

Keiran yelled out at Ben'a, 10 meters above him.

"Congratulations Ben'a, you have learned much in the force, this is not what I had expected you to do during your trials yet I understand why you do it. I'm sure you understand why I landed in the jungles of Naboo instead of the civilized cities..."

Keiran turned his back to Ben'a and spread his arms

 

"The living force is strongest where there is life!"

Keiran raised his hands over his head and brought them down quickly, sending a mass force message throughout the jungle.

"Fly!"

 

Hundreds, thousands, no, millions of birds, mynocks, butterflies and various other insects leaped out of there homes and flew into the air, breaking the canopy of the jungle, soaring in a beautiful group. The sight was invisible to Keiran however, being so low in the jungle. He turned back to Ben'a.

 

"You have done well my young padawan. You are among the select few that understand that not all jedi solve their problems through combat. I am proud"

Keiran began walking towards the tree Ben'a was perched in.

"It has been my pleasure being your master, and I wish to thank you for being such a successful apprentice. I now grant you the rank of jedi knight!"

 

Keiran stopped at the tree trunk of Ben'a's tree

"However there is one last lesson I must teach you"

 

Keiran ignited his lightsaber and tapped into the force, however he tapped into a side of him that he rarely accessed. Keiran drew upon the anger, hatred and greed he had experienced during his mercenary days, he let the feelings flow through his veins, speeding his blood, speeding his heart, increasing his reflexes. Keiran drew his saber back and sliced through the 2 meter wide tree trunk in one, quick, effortless slice. His saber hung from his forearm on the otherside of the now-cut tree trunk, his veigns popping. Keiran looked up at Ben'a.

"Not all force users are as congratulatory at pasifistic views as I."

 

Keiran nudged the tree, slightly, through the force, providing the tree with the push it needed. The massive tree gathered momentum and slammed into the ground, sending Ben'a flying 10 meters into the mud as well. Keiran sighed let go of himself, allowing the anger, hate and greed to leave him once more, cleansing his mind. He then proceeded to Ben'a's broken body and helped the man up.

 

"One mistake I have made during your training, which I will forever regret, is not exposing you to the evils of the sith. I have tried to simulate what a sith will be like, I hope you take that state of mind to your heart. Never allow those feelings to run through you, no matter what, the sith will always use those feelings against you. They will attempt to draw you into those feelings, but you know better, resist."

[Goodwood]

*Ben'a allowed himself to be helped up by his Master -- no, his fellow Jedi -- Keiran Valoria. Though he was bruised form the fall, though he was nearly exhausted from the fight before, Ben'a still managed a weak smile as he began to focus on healing himself. But there still remained much to be said.*

 

"I am glad that you feel you can be proud of me. That display, when the birds and the insects took flight -- I could sense its power, a living, breathing, thriving power! I will be forever grateful to you for showing me this."

 

Ben'a sat down on the remains of the tree there, as did Keiran. Though his master seemed bothered by the fact that he hadn't properly exposed him to the Dark Side, at that point it didn't seem to matter. There was life here, and thinking on dark entities light-years apart could only serve to spoil the bliss that was this living Force.

 

In due time...in due time...

 

The thought was just enough to provoke a sense of destiny in Ben'a. But somehow he knew that, through that thought alone, the waiting would be as nothing.

 

"If you mean that, by simulating a Sith, you have taught me to be ever mindful of my surroundings, you have succeeded. If your intention was to show their merciless nature, I need no further convincing. My feelings will be as nothing if ever I meet the Darkness; they will have nothing to cling to.

 

"Thanks to you."

 

*And with that, Ben'a Solo the Jedi fell asleep right there on that tree-trunk, somewhere in the depths of the Naboo jungle, the comforting presence of his friend and mentor close at hand.*

 

In due time...[/u][/b]

[Keiran]

Keiran smiled

 

"Time to go..."

 

He left Ben'a to his sleep and proceeded to DJK and his own padawan

 

"Master DJK, Ben'a and I are done what we came here to do, Ben'a is now the newest jedi knight to grace the ranks of the jedi. We are going to head back to hoth, maybe you'll bring your padawan to hoth with you as well? Either way, I must take my leave."

Keiran bowed to both DJK and Umbra and walked back to the sleeping Ben'a. Keiran double-tapped his belt buckle, activating the Strife III's recall function. Keiran heard a soft hum in the jungle and looked up to see the beautiful sight of a sith infiltrator descending into a nearby clearing. Keiran turned to Ben'a, he extended his hand and opened himself to the force. Careful not to wake the man, Keiran levitated his body and slowly moved him to the Strife III as Keiran walked behind him. After settling him down in the sleeping quarters, Keiran proceeded to the cockpit and lifted the ship off. He blasted off into space and progressed into hyperspace soon after.

[Amidala Skywalker]

While her and Myth are waiting for a reply from the endlessly bickering Senate, Indy decides to busy herself with final adjustments to the Death Striker base. She starts a list of things that she needed from the city to modify the base.

 

"Hey, Myth," she says one morning, walking up to her friend. "I'm going into the city to pick up some supplies for the base. Do you have any other ideas about what we'll need?"

[Zero]

Dhan-Jaroe sent a force message.

 

"I will not be going to hoth, untill next time my friend."

[Myth Hunter]

*Myth sighed. There were a lot of things they needed. but none sprang to mind that they could get easily fom the city."

 

Just... bring back some... fabrics. I think I'll make myself some new outfits while waiting around here.

[Amidala Skywalker]

"Alright," Indy says. She gets into her ship and takes off.

 

It was a short distance to Theed. Landing on the outskirts, Induran decided to walk a little around town before doing her shopping. After all, it's not like I'm in a rush or anything.

 

As she enjoyed her walk, she found a small fabric store. She walked up to an employee.

 

"Can I help you?" the woman said, eyeing the alien customer.

 

"Yes," Indy replied. "I need some good quality fabric. It should be very durable and lightweight."

 

"Hmm..." The employee thought for a moment, then said, "I think I have just what you're looking for. Wait here."

 

A few minutes later, the woman returned carrying some fabric that fit the description. "How much would you like and of what colors?"

 

"I think I'll take 20 yards of each," Indy said.

 

"Very well. That'll be 200 credits."

 

Induran knew that was a little expensive for fabric, but in her mind, it was worth it. She paid and left the shop.

[Zero]

Dhan-Jaroe felt a disturbance in the force and left for Hoth.