A New Partner

[ToKola Bakari]

​

Location: Knight's Obsidian Headquarters, Ryloth | Time: Early Morning | Tag: [member="Scherezade deWinter"]​

​

In his office, Cardinal was reviewing a series of reports that had come over his desk. It seemed that all over The Confederacy there were events and circumstances that needed the attention of the Knight's Obsidian. Thankfully they were in a time of peace so the rapid deployment of the Knights was possible, just not preferable. At any given time eighty percent of the order was deployed to CIS worlds and border systems to settle everything from border issues to terrorist activity. It was not entirely a bad thing that the Knights were staying busy, however the rise in activity left too few of their men in the garrison. Seasoned Knights were being deployed for months, sometimes as long as a year to see their objectives met.

Setting his papers down Cardinal glanced over to the clock that hung above his door. He had ordered Knight Antares to report to him before four in the morning. An early time even for Cardinal, however it was the best time due to the rotation of incoming Knights and those who went on leave right at midnight. The knightly order practiced nocturnal operation as much as possible, yet it did have it's significant drawbacks. Cardinal looked into the cup of café that had been sitting on his desk. It was painfully empty and he did not have enough time to get to the mess hall before Madelena would be here for their meeting. "Chit..." He muttered before standing from his desk, drawing into a long stretch. His braids were as they usually were. Kempt, but with a rather bulky appeal to them.

Rather than his usual Strike Armor he was in a simplistic military uniform. It wore the standard of the Knight's Obsidian over the left chest and was no more than a sleeveless tunic with a pair of thin trousers. He pulled a pair of glasses from the top of the desk and slid them into the top drawer. As he waited for Madelena he would draw himself into a type of moving meditation to focus on the thoughts that were on his mind.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Ryloth. The mere thought of it mad her uneasy, just as the thought of going back to Coruscat did. For Coruscant though, she had her reasons. Coruscant was where her parents died. Coruscant was where the final war had flattened the only home she’d known. Coruscant was where up until then she’d lived with her twin brother. So yeah, it made sense. But Ryloth? Anytime its mere name passed through her mind there was a horrible and ugly symphony of alarms that rang through her senses, trying to block her from going.

For months, she’d listened to these blocks, kept herself away from the planet of which half was eternally in daylight and half was eternally in night. The first time she could no longer listen to them though was five days after her acceptance to the Knights Obsidian, when she’d been ordered to go there. And now was the second time.

She’d found her ways around it, of course. For instance, she kept her ship just in orbit rather than planet-side when she wasn’t needed anywhere. But now she was. The time at which she was requested to show wasn’t an issue; Madalena rarely slept properly as it were, woken every few hours because of nightmares that did not cease to haunt her, nightmares of a Nothing and a girl with eyes like hers, bright and glowing and green.

Still, she was at the HQ, and she was there on time. There was little to keep her from making it to her appointments, especially when she was summoned by her higher ups. Whatever thoughts crowded her mind, thoughts of her brother’s return from the unknown region and all that was still ensuing as a result, would wait for a breath of a moment.

Dressed in a civilian attire of tight leather pants, a faux-corset shirt, and her ever present combat boots, Madalena quickly made her way through the halls and to the Dominus’ office and knocked on his door.

“Dominus?” she asked, peeping her head in and offering the man a friendly smile, “you asked to meet me?”


[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

A knock erupted from Cardinal’s door pulling the man from his own thoughts. He looked back up to the clock that hung over the door, it must have been Madalena. She peeked her head into the door, calling out to him and was met with a quiet gesture to come into the room. His hands rolled over each other while he made his way back to his desk, setting a stack of papers to the side while he looked to the Knight with his usual piercing gaze. His sunburnt eyes rested on her searchingly before he finally spoke.

“Knight Antares. It seems you've been doing very well since joining the Knight’s Obsidian, well done.” He offered, inclining his head towards her.

Cardinal had taken a rather unique and uncharacteristic interest in Madelena, watching her training and progression closely, to the point where it had surpassed any Knight in the order. As the Dominus Prime it was his duty to search and find the most exceptional warriors in the order. Madelena was fast approaching that list with interesting speed.

“The Knights are spread thin, too thin. I've mobilized over seventy-five percent of our Knights to various tasks across The Confederacy. Some of these missions take weeks, some days, and some have taken nearly a year. The Knights have to be prepared to defend against external hazards as well as internal. It's difficult to do that if we're scattered and engaged. So I'm going to be bringing back some of our less experienced teams from the field.” His explanation did not give much insight into what he was moving towards, yet it would soon become apparent that if Knights we're being recalled that means some missions we're not being completed.

“I've tasked some of the simpler missions to the main army. Their soldiers can handle border skirmishes and the like. However that still leaves a rather lengthy list of missions that will need our attention.” He explained, tapping the stack of papers on his desk with the tip of his knuckle.

“So I've decided to take on these missions myself. I'm sure I can complete many of these missions faster than many of the teams and with less of the resources.” His words were not spoken from a place of overconfidence merely a fact that was apparent to The Dominus.

“But I could use a little help.” He admitted, his expression never changing as he gestured to Madelena. “I've been watching your progress and you've vastly become one of my best soldiers. Of course, I believe you could benefit from a bit of instruction. If you would like to join me, there will be plenty of time for me to show you more about The Force and some rather useful abilities.” Cardinal’s offer was not one to be taken lightly. Seldom did he ever take on a partner, and this man who had been trained in the ways of The Force by Darth Metus almost never revealed the secrets of his own power.

“Keep in mind, we will be very busy for the next few months. It won't be easy.” He warned.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

As the Dominus stared at her with his piercing gaze, Madalena stared right back. There was nothing defiant about her gaze though; she merely used the chance to study the man before her, while hoping that she showed him that she had both respect and lack of fear. Maybe it’d be lost in translation. Maybe not.

As he complimented her performance within the Knights Obsidian though, she couldn’t help but beam. Ever since officially joining, most of her breathing time had been dedicated to mission after mission, not to mention the hours in the training halls on Geonosis. She was a beast in terms of schedule as well as on the field, though is she had to be honest about it, she hadn’t expected anyone to really take note or notice her doings for at least another year. It was the good kind of thing to be wrong about.

Madalena remained silent as the Dominus explained about the current disposition of the Knights. She completely agreed with him; they were spread too thin. Oftentimes, she was alone on the field, or at most, paired up. When other people showed up, they were usually not Knights Obsidian at all, but other Confederates. Not that this was a bad thing per se, but it spoke volumes to the Sithling about how thin they were really spread out. Part of her reasoning for taking on as many missions as she did was to hoe to conceal that fact to potential outsiders that might have been watching. And of course, there was the matter of necessity.

Yet even with the changes the Dominus intended on doing in the list of priorities, there was still more that Madalena felt could be done. She had just been about to make a suggestion, when the Dominus shifted his words to speak about her. Saying she’d become one of his best soldiers.

Emerald eyes stared wide with surprise at that. No, she didn’t have false modesties, and she was well aware that she was performing her job well enough. But between that and being told she was among the best… A part of her wanted to run back home and scream the news to her twin brother. Most of her though, knew that it was best to keep her romp in that chair and keep listening. She nodded enthusiastically when the mention of further training was made, and then… An offer to join. Not just join, but learn.

Oh my Force was the only sentence that rang through her head.

“Yes!” she almost screamed, reigning in on herself to keep her emotions in check. Too excited? Maybe. But this offer was a huge deal!!! “Keep me busy. I’m good with busy. Oh Force, yes! All the busy!” Okay, so she managed not to scream, but it was a mission impossible right now to keep the excitement out of her voice. Her eyes lit up, a faint glow of green forming in front of her, and her smile reached from ear to ear.

“Do I need to sign papers? Let family and friends know I’ll be gone for a while?” she asked, trying to keep herself from bouncing in her chair, any trace of thought that was she was still on Ryloth entirely vanished from her mind.

And then she forced a cough.

“Also, Dominus,” she said, now succeeding in bringing her tone a tiny bit down, “if it’s not too brazen, might I make a suggestion as to an additional way we could use to deal with the not enough butter on too much bread situation?”

And before she could inhale, the excitement returned to her features once more.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Yes!

The loud acceptance caused Cardinal to shut his eyes for a moment. A slight cringe of his lips formed a rather interesting smile that quickly faded away. As her excitement continued it became obvious that the rush of her words caused Cardinal a bit of agitation. He abruptly cleared his throat to gain her attention and draw her excitement back to Ryloth. He crossed his arms, pressing a finger to his temple while shaking his head at the woman. “We’ll be on continuous missions for a while. So yes, I would inform them you'll be occupied for some time.” He said.

Taking out a small datapad the man glances over it as he spoke to Madelena. “I've already had all of your missions and assignments adjusted. However, we leave tomorrow so if you have any affairs to get in order I recommend you see to them soon.” Cardinal had expected Madelena to accept, as such most of the preparations for their travels had already been pre arranged, including their ship, wardrobe, and extra supplies.

Settling back over his desk Cardinal gestured for Madelena to speak when she said she had a suggestion for their current situation. “There are few times I'm not open to suggestions, Knight. Go ahead.”

Though Cardinal and even Darth Metus had attempted to fix this problem for months, the older man knew there was more than one way to skin a Loth cat, and no one man had all the knives, not even his former master.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Continuous missions. She was going to be gone for a while. Oh, she was going to have to let Brayden know. And send some messages to a few friends as well, but Brayden, her twin brother, would always be her first priority. Her mission were already adjusted and she’d have the night to herself. Madalena glanced at her holodevice for a moment, noting exactly how many hours that gave her. Just enough. Especially if she wanted to bring her own armor and equipment in, as she usually did.

Back to their conversation, Madalena nodded as she was given permission to give her suggestion.

“It’s basic, really,” she started, “but I always wondered, Dominus. When I’m on a mission, whether I’m alone or in a pair, there’s almost never any droid activity. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve seen them involved in Knights Obsidian related missions, and there are a lot of missions that could be delegated to them. With the amount of resources the Confederacy spends on acquiring and maintaining the droid forces, wouldn’t it make more sense to actually use them more often and leave the things that require a more… Sentient touch to the Knights Obsidian?”

[SIZE=11pt][member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"][/SIZE]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Cardinal listened to Madalena’s words closely. The young woman seemed very bright and perceptive for her age. Of course even The Dominus was not keen to her actual lifespan, but her youthful appearance led him to believe she was merely very wise for her age. Her suggestion was a good one, however one that Cardinal had already attempted. While it was not necessarily a failed plan, it was one that would not work under the current circumstances.

“As I said, all of the missions that I could delegate to The Confederate army have already been tasked out. Many of the missions we have been assigned come directly from the office of The Viceroyalty and require our unique attention. Still, I do appreciate your suggestion.”

Glancing up to the clock again, Cardinal would stand and gesture towards the door. “Now. Why don't you go and tie up any business you have and meet me in hangar four first thing tomorrow morning.” Once Madalena showed herself out Cardinal would begin to get his own affairs in order. As he eyed a datapad before him he saw their first objective and narrowed his eyes at the planet with an interested gaze.

Rishi

​

The next day had passed relatively slowly. As Cardinal had officially delegated all of his administrative work as Dominus Prime there was little for him to actually do. This had led to a fairly lax day of rest. Awakening the next morning, Cardinal was clad in his usual garb. The Master-Strike Obsidian Armor was freshly polished and had a certain gleam to it as The Dominus Prime strode down the darkened halls. He had always taken pride in the upkeep of his armor as it was a key part to being a true warrior, or Knight in his case. Pressing a hand to his lips he gave off a slight yawn as he turned towards the Hangar section.

The morning had been void of a cup of cafe so he was not exactly firing on all cylinders. When he finally made it to hangar four his eyes settled on the starship that rested in port. The ship was no thing of luxury or beauty, in fact it was an older light freighter that Cardinal had pulled from The Confederacy starship impound. With fresh codes and identifiers it was marked as nothing more than a standard civilian ship. In fact, it was more akin to a smugglers vessel than a military craft. Though the ship seemed a bit run down it was outfitted with some very subtle, but useful, functions.

“It will do.” He muttered, looking over the rustic brown exterior and yellow stripe that ran from one end of the ship to another.

A blue protocol droid approached Cardinal, his arms raised in protest as he walked away from the ship.

“Purely insufferable!” He remarked, taking notice of Cardinal’s arched brow.

“Oh, Dominus Prime. Excuse me, sir. I just finished loading the last of the supplies on board. I must say sir, the ship is in prime condition, but the crew…. Ugh. You could have chosen better sir. We have hundreds of expert crew droids, why you insist on those miscreants is beyond me!” Cardinal looked to the trio of somewhat dated R2 units that moved about the ship’s exterior. They we're no longer Confederate issue, which helped the image the man was attempting to paint.

“They will do fine, 271. Is everything ready to go?” The whiny metallic voice turned to one of simulated pride as the droid seemed to been at the question.

“Why yes sir, of course. Everything has been taken care of.” He returned.

“Good. Why don't you go and get an oil bath. Loosen up.” Cardinal said, eyeing the ship and hoping to dismiss X-271. As expected the droid seemed pleased by the offer, as his voice continued to been at The Dominus.

“Oh yes sir!” He exclaimed. With no further words the blue droid would make his way out of the hangar and back into the main halls. Cardinal could not help but chuckle as the Droid began to mumble to itself, something about defective astromechs. He looked back to the ship and made his way towards the loading ramp, waving at the trio of astromechs and their chirps of greeting.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

She’s miscalculated her time. She hadn’t had hours – she’d had a full day. The moment she realized that, there was no question in Madalena about how she was going to use it, leaving Ryloth immediately to go see her twin brother in Geonosis. If she was going to be absent for a while, he was the one she wanted to see in person before she left. To the rest of the friends she’d made, both within the Confederacy and out of it, she’d sent quick messages, letting everyone know that she could still probably be contacted, but that it’d be a while before they could meet. To Daisy she’d even sent a holo of herself grinning with a victory sign. Things were improving. Quickly.

At the appointed hour, Madalena was back on Ryloth, suited up in her armor. A gigantic duffle bag dangled off one of her shoulders, containing her weapons, some experimentations that she was working on and figured she could keep working on during space hours, a few things for when she needed some down time, and a huge bag of various meat jerkies that she’d made herself over the past few weeks. Oh, and a few chosen civilian outfits. In other words, she’d packed most of her life into that bag, and was ready to go do any mission that the Dominus chose they’d go off and do.

Emerald green eyes widened with surprise as she saw the vessel they were to travel in.

“Is that a smuggler’s ship?” she asked as she quickly approached Dominus on the ramp, the heavy bag on her shoulder not causing her to slow down in any apparent way.

Information regarding their destination, who to kill, where to stick the pointy end in, and whether or not she’d be allowed to contaminate drinking water or set things on fire, Madalena assumed, she would be told soon enough.

And despite the early hour, it was more than easy to sense and feel the excitement that rang along every fiber of her being. Madalena had exactly one worry regarding this trip; waking Dominus up when she herself woke up screaming from her nightmares. “What are the odds the room I’m in is sound proof?” she asked.


[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Since Cardinal’s equipment was already stowed he spent a few minutes giving the ship a look. The man’s knowledge on starships was equal to his knowledge on technology. There was a reason his desk was covered in papers and not datapads. It was too much of a pain for him to learn how to upkeep a ship, flying was bad enough by itself. One of the reasons he had such a large Droid crew. Cardinal was kneeling in front of one of the R2 units, checking it's dome closely for any damages. For whatever reason it had run into the landing ramp four times and was not exactly the most coordinated.

“If you would slow down maybe-” He was cut off when he heard Madalena behind him, regarding the freighter. He looked back up to the ship before nodding. “Actually, yes. We need to be able to move without people recognizing us. So I took a ship that's been impounded for a few years and had it outfitted for our travels.” He said, before looking to the woman with a curious gaze. “Oh, can you fly? I hate it with a passion.” He muttered before tapping the droid on the top of his dome and gesturing to the loading ramp.

“This time try not to hurt yourself.” He said, watching the R2 unit successfully climb the ramp. He disappeared into the ship and Cardinal paused just before a loud clatter erupted from inside. A weary expression crossed the man before he ran a hand over his grizzled beard. “Keep an eye on that one, will you?”

Madalena’s question about a soundproof room was met with a challenging glance. “Zero.” He did not bother to ask why exactly the woman wanted a soundproof room, but he doubted it could be that troublesome. The likelihood of them sleeping on the ship was not as great as she would probably think.

“Get your stuff inside. There are three rooms but one is going to be our training room. There is a refresher in the back of the ship and a kitchen down the left hall, rooms are opposite to the kitchen.” Without anything else to be said, Cardinal climbed the loading ramp, trailed by another of the energetic little R2 units. Making his way to the cockpit, he would raise the loading ramp once Madalena had boarded and immediately move into the preparations for departure.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"I can press the auto-pilot button’s on and off,” Madalena answered with a grin, “I’m a wicked driver with most planet-side vehicles, but piloting… Not really on my skill set. We’re going to have to rely on these R2’s for that.”

Which was something the Dominus had probably accounted for already, considering the number of them wheeling about. Madalena knew she’d made a suggestion to use more of the, but personally… She preferred as few as possible unless the situation really demanded it. There was a reason she only had a single droid, and it was just plugged into the CIS’ comm system most of the time. She preferred to take care of almost everything manually whenever she could.

As the Dominus mentioned to keep an eye on one of the droids, Madalena lurched forward, a small tube of bright red lipstick already out, and drew an X on the top of its head. “Now don’t clean it up, I need it to easily identify you,” she told the droid with a wink, and pocketed her lipstick. Why did she have it for a mission? Force knew. But as the size of her bag suggested, she was ready for almost anything.

And there would be no sound proof rooms. She chewed her lip regarding that one, but opted to say nothing, trying to calculate whether turning an alarm clock that would wake her up every 55 minutes on the clock would avoid her entering REM sleep and thus, keep her away from nightmares and waking up sleeping.

Nodding to the Dominus’ instructions, Madalena hopped into the ship, taking up the room that was still unoccupied. The only thing she bothered to remove from her bag at this point was the food; and that all went straight to the kitchen. Clothes and drawing equipment could always wait for later. Or forever. Really, Dominus had said they’d be gone for a while, but she had no idea what this mission was or how long it was going to last.

It was only a few minutes later that she walked into the cockpit as well, seating herself down in one of the passenger seats and, annoyingly, strapped herself.

“What’s our destination, Dominus?” she asked pleasantly as she made sure the belt was secure, “and what’s the mission?”

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Just as the starship began to lift off the landing pad Madalena stepped into the cockpit. Cardinal heard her words but chose not to answer them, his mind on the task at hand. As he pulled on the flight controls the ship began to tilt up and hover out of the hangar. Cardinal kept his eyes locked on the controls as the ship gave the slightest bit of resistance. Once they had cleared the edges of the hangar his hand flew forward and their ship darted towards the clouds. It only took a few moments for them to breach the atmosphere and find themselves in the endless black void of space above Ryloth.

Clearing his throat he called back into the ship, absently. “Z7. Come take over.” His voice brought the same droid that Madalena had marked into the cockpit. Though there was an ungraceful bump into the terminal Cardinal relaxed as the droid plugged itself into the navicomputer. A series of questioning beeps erupted from the droid as it's inquiry mirrored Madalena’s own question.

“We're going to Rishi. Flight should take about two days, maybe a little less.” He said, patting the R2 units dome before he looked to Madalena. “Do you remember the cult that captured you a while back? Well a few weeks ago we got a report from a small village saying something has been killing livestock and even a few unlucky farmers not far from the cults former base. Some giant made of green mist with blood red eyes. At first I didn't think it was anything, probably some superstitious farmer who ran headlong into an aggressive animal.”

Cardinal paused for a moment, running a hand over his beard. “That was until a platoon of droids was dispatched…. about six hours after they went into the forest there was a report of blaster fire. Immediately after that the droids transponders stopped working. Scouts found their spare parts about a mile off from the village. They couldn't pull anything from the units, not even audio banks were in tact.”

Cardinal seemed visibly displeased by this report. Anything that could tear through fifty battle droids and come out alive was an extreme danger to any civilian population. “I don't know if this has to do with that cult but whatever it is needs to be put down before that village is put in anymore danger.” He explained to Madalena before looking to the droid in between them. He gave an intersecting set of beeps just as they began their shift into hyperspace. Looking to the viewport Cardinal watched as the thousands of stationary stars began to fly by them in an endless sea of lights.

“Now. I believe there was another part of this deal with you accompanying me. Ready for your first lesson?” He asked, showing a challenging gaze.

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Rishi?! Madalena swallowed. She hadn't thought she'd be back to that dreadful planet so quickly. It was impossible for her to forget that little "adventure". A bunch of Confederates had gone missing, only to wake up more or less around the same time in the jungles of Rishi, not wearing their own clothes, and all of them with Force-blocking collars. There had been ink on their forearms, and it had taken days to wash off. Madalena still shuddered when she remembered the Terentatek, still found herself holding her breath when she remembered the stampede that had almost snuffed out the lives of six people.

Had they ever discovered how it was done? She, Dia, the others, all plucked from their daily lives like cherries from a tree. What sort of drugs had they used? How she loathed to think about it. Think about their failure. They hadn't made it the eight miles north that they were supposed to. They had to be rescued, like little children. They would have died if that hadn't happened. It was maddening.

The Sithling forced herself to swallow down her emotions enough so she could focus as the Dominus explained what had happened on the planet. Wasn't there a governor or a viceroy or someone who was meant to take care of those things? A creature made of green mist, with blood red eyes. A creature of fairytales. Madalena nodded. She was good with those kind of things. It wasn't too long since a dragon had come out of a rift in the air and tried to eat her. She'd tossed a fork up its nostril.

"Hunt down or a creature out of a child's nightmares or let it hunt us down and then kill it," Madalena summarized the situation before breaking into one of her smiles, "sure thing. If it eats, it bleeds, if it bleeds, it can die." If she were honest, she didn't really care about the lives of the villagers. She wanted the glory of killing that thing.

And now… Now, she was being challenged.

A hungry look took over Madalena's face. "I am!" she said, the excitement back as though it had never left her, her hands already working on opening the seatbelts.


[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Cardinal recognized the expression on Madalena's face and he recognized it well. It was one Cardinal held in the early days of his training with Metus. An eagerness to take on each new ability and skill as a challenge and then conquer it. If it stuck with the woman it would become an invaluable trait. Another soft tap to R2-Z7's dome was given as he spoke to the stubby astromechs. "Keep us on course. Call us if anything goes wrong, ok?" A responsive set of beeps chirped from the droid as his dome swiveled to look at the Dominus Prime. With a silent thanks Cardinal would stand and gesture for Madalena to follow him through the hall.

"Your skills with The Force are competent and even impressive. However I've noticed there are several gaps in your training that I believe I can fill. Keep in mind Knight Antares I am not a Sith nor am I a Jedi. My beliefs in The Force stem from my homeworld but they are my own. I will teach you about the abilities I wield and help you to perfect your own. Of course while on the ship there is only so much we can do, but there is much you can benefit from." As he said the third room on the ship had been emptied out and made into a mock training room. A rather large space it was obvious this was intended to be the Captain's quarters, however among the Knight's it had a knew use.

Once they stepped into the room Cardinal tapped a button on the side of his gauntlet. It caused his chest piece to give a loud hiss before several clasps were freed from the base of his uniform. Sliding the chest piece off and setting it down in the corner, he began to swing his arms around freely. "Now. You're not a novice so teaching you these techniques should be fairly easy. We'll start with using The Force to shield yourself." He said, clapping his hands together.

"Here." He said, gesturing for her to join him in the center of the room. Cardinal spoke plainly yet there was an instructive tone to his words. "As you know The Force binds and connects all things in the galaxy. It creates fields and tethers where there would otherwise be emptiness. You can use these fields to protect your body from harm."

Digging in his pocket, he continued with his lesson. "You must take control of The Force as it flows around you, use it as a barrier from all other things." Finally The Dominus produced a small metal coin, obviously not of any worth in the galaxy. The small token seemed crudely cut and primitive in its make. Cardinal held his free hand out and let the coin fall onto his arm. Rather than fall onto his arm it was deflected off a few inches from his skin, as if stopped by some unseen force. "Focus on preservation of your life and all you are. About maintaining your body as it is in this very moment. Will the Force to keep all outside things out." He bent down to pick up the coin, holding it out for her.

"Here, give it a try. Focus. Bring your attention to your arm and bend the fields to block all else out."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Gaps in her training. Of course. Madalena was all too aware of them herself; if you needed someone fast, if you needed someone who dealt out a lot of damage, she was your person. But she was also easy to get off the field, with her blocking abilities being so limited. Usually, if she did not move out of the way fast enough or killed fast enough, she was easily injured. There were countless of scars on her body to tell those tales, though she couldn't for the life of her guess why her back was so clean and smooth.

When the Dominus said he was neither Sith nor Jedi, she blinked in surprise. Now that he said it… Yes, she could sense that he wasn't entirely a Sith but… "But you have Ancient Sith in your blood," Madalena noted, and then paused. How aware was Cardinal that she was, for lack of a better term, a blood hound? Her ability to "smell" races and bloodlines as long as she was not cut off from the Force was sharp, and she had yet to stumble into someone who shared those gifts.

She followed him to the third room, emerald eyes taking in the sights. It wasn't as fancy as what they had on Geonosis (and some would say Ryloth, but she hadn't used the training rooms there), but it would be more than enough to practice now.

Quietly, she listened to the instructions, eyebrows frowning. She knew that the Force could be used to block incoming things, she knew there was a thing called a Force Bubble, but she hadn't known you could turn your body into a never-ending spring that just sent back what you threw at it.

Her gaze fixed on the coin, all she could do was nod, and then closed her eyes.

She could feel the Force around her, invisible currents, another form of viewing it, one that was different from the Great Web, but useful nonetheless.

Just as instructed, Madalena grabbed control of the Force around her.

She relished on how much she loved the sensation of it, that moment in which it was all so not-tangible, when she swam among life itself while both being herself and not. It was almost addicting. She ignored that unlike other times, this time the nothing had a green tint to it, for when she opened her eyes, her arm was extended to the Dominus.

"Do it," she grinned.



[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

For the first time in what had likely been years Cardinal held a stunned expression on his face. Madelena had been right, of course, the Dominus held the blood of the ancient Sith species in his veins. Through years of breeding out the genes most of the features of the Pureblooded features had been washed from his family, yet his piercing sunburnt eyes were an obvious give away. Most who saw Cardinal did not see him without his helmet, or they merely assumed his eyes were the result of genetic tampering. Some even believed the man merely wore colored contacts. In his years in the CIS few had figured out where his distinguishing trait had been birthed from. He spoke softly as he gave Madalena a meaningful look. “I would appreciate it if you would not speak on this.” He said, gesturing to his eyes.

“Most don't piece together the eyes and I would rather keep my ancestry a secret.” The CIS was growing warm towards the Sith, however it was another thing entirely to be linked to the Pureblood race that once sought to dominate all of the known galaxy. It was better to merely allow people to move along in their bliss.

As Madalena turned her attention to her task Cardinal watched closely. It was rare for such a task to be accomplished on the first attempt, but not unheard of. However it was not her success in the task that he was watching for. He could see how she took The Force into her ethereal hands so easily and a smile came to his face. Truly she had an understanding of The Force that had taken him decades to grow. It was always an interesting thing to see The Force as it flowed and shaped those around him, especially those with talent. With a hand propped over his chest and the other running along his beard he watched the currents around her closely. The Dark Side was a presence in these currents, the way it corrupted and drew other currents to it, maximizing her power. It called out to Cardinal’s own darkness which forced the void feeling to rise in his chest. He cleared his throat as the icy chill fell over his entire body. It was a maddening pain but one he had long since learned to ignore.

Her arm stretched out in challenge and he offered a rather assuring grin. “Remember. Block out all other fields, command The Force to repel.” He would drop the coin and his eyes would watch it as a hawk would it's prey.
[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

"It's not your eyes, Cardinal," the Sithling replied, trying to offer a reassuring smile. She had overstepped by pointing out something that…Well, she didn't understand why he was secretive about it, but perhaps she should have thought at all before mentioning it. There were people who didn't even know what blood ran through the veins (such an ironic notion, considering the girl who no longer existed and that Madalena knew nothing about). "There are a few species with eyes like that, though it is rather rare." Should she tell him how she knew? For now, she decided to leave it at that. If he wished to know, if he would ask her, she would not hide it. But if merely pointing out was enough to cause him distress, perhaps the rest of what she could tell him could wait until he actively showed an interest in it. "But don't worry," she reassured him, "this will not be repeated by me, anywhere."

As she concentrated and followed his orders though, her focus had been so complete that she had not realized that the Darkside called to him, had barely been aware of the volume at which she was omitting it.

The hungry expression returned to Madalena's face as Dominus reminded her to block the other fields and command the Force. She nodded, watching that coin like a hawk, already knowing that it was not going to touch her skin. The only question was if it wouldn't because she'd succeeded with the blocking, or it wouldn't because she would move her arm at the last second.

She could see the coin dropping in slow motion, all other sounds gone from her ears. The coin cut through the air, rolling around almost lazily, making its way towards her. Her hand held firm, unmoving, unrelenting. She could do this. There was a shield on her arm, gauntlet-like, that she had created herself with the Force, and it was going to, it had to-

There!

The coin bounced off of Madalena's arm after it got too close. It had worked!

Looking up at Cardinal though, there was no smile on her face. "Again, please," she asked him. Once was lucky. Twice was practicing. Thrice was an ability learned.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

There was a pause as Madalena spoke to Cardinal. She had used his first name which was both an oddity and a bit of an irregularity for Cardinal. Normally he would scold his Knights for the informality yet he realized it would have been an unnecessary reaction. Her promise to keep his secret was met with a silent but appreciative nod. When it came time for the coin to fall it was met with the invisible barrier of The Force. Cardinal would nod approvingly at her progress and even more so at her own reaction. Rather than go into an explosive cheer or even acknowledge her skill she had decided to try again. It was a humble response that he had not been entirely expecting.

With another silent nod he held his hand out towards the coin that had fallen to the floor. In a flash the small metal token shot back into his hand. With a brief flip of the coin in his hand he would catch the token in the opposite hand and wait for Madalena’s hand to be outstretched once again.

Again he would drop the coin on Madalena’s arm and watch closely. Though her barriers were structured they were roughly sewn and would need work. He looked them over and as she performed he spoke plainly. “Like all things manipulated by The Force this technique is dependent on your will to harden the barriers around you. They can be hardened to the point of stopping blaster fire or so weak a metal dart could easily penetrate it. It takes time and practice to perfect this ability, Knight Antares. However meditation will harden your ability to draw a barrier and reinforce it.”

[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

A second time.

Madalena listened to the Dominus' words, nodding. She hadn't known that this type of barrier could actually be strong enough to stand against blasters. "You're not going to shoot me right now, are you?" she asked. Though there was a pleasant enough expression on her face, she was genuinely worried. Had the roles been reversed, she most definitely had offered.

But even if he wouldn't, she got the point. Madalena closed her eyes and re-concentrated. Now she could see that her barriers were constructed like a child's sandcastle; they existed, they would guard against coins, probably some minor debris, but she wouldn't be able to depend on them for much more than that. She had to make them stronger, make them better.

And the she realized he'd said something about meditation.

"I don't meditate, Cardinal," she admitted, "I find that it makes me lose focus rather than gain it."


[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Madalena’s words caused Cardinal to draw his lips into a slight smile before he shook his head. “No. But when it's time to test this ability to it's limits I would be sure I'm ready, if I were you.” He said, hinting that there may be such a time for a test like the one she had recommended. Again the coin would fall and again it would be deflected just short of falling on to her skin. With an accepting nod Cardinal clasped his hands together in front of his waist. He arched a brow when Magdalena said she could not concentrate while she was attempting to meditate. It was a common problem with Force Users. Stationary meditation was droll and distracting in it's unnatural serenity. Cardinal had been particularly stubborn when it came to the necessity of meditation, in his youth.

“How many types of meditation have you tried? Meditation is not simply sitting in silence and bringing your mind to focus. You can meditate when you train, when you fix things, I've even met a Sith who meditates when he eats.” Cardinal explained, running a hand over his geared chin.

Cardinal had taken notice to Magdalena calling him by his name once again. Perhaps he had made a mistake in not correcting her but he knew it would harm nothing. So long as she remembered the customs of their order in public what she did here meant little.
“There is something to be wary of. Barriers built by The Force have their limits and once shattered they are not easily rebuilt. A Sith or Jedi of significant strength can break through your weaker barriers with ease. After such an event you will feel the effects and they are not good. Some people have even passed out due to their barriers being broken so be ready in the event such a thing happens.” Cardinal was stern as he spoke, yet it would quickly turn back to its neutral tone.

“Now… Again.” Cardinal said, his hand falling back to his equipment belt. The man produced a small knife, holding it before the woman with an expectant gaze. “Not a blaster but much more than a coin. I recommend you focus this time but remember it is no more difficult to deflect this than the coin. The only difference is in your mind. In the realm of The Force they are the same.”
[member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Madalena nodded. She would be ready. Missions were not the only thing that occupied her time, as unless she was on them, training was what often made most of her day up. Sometimes she was amazed at herself that she still had time to go to parties with the Honey Boos or spend hours with her brother. She knew that she could not keep going at the same rate for a long time though. She was bound to get exhausted sooner rather than later. But now that she was on the few months of hard work with the Dominus, she'd already filed for a week or two off for after that. She was perfectly fine for the moment, but she'd need it by the time it came around.

And then it was back to the subject of meditation. "All of them, Dominus," she admitted. Could she tell him why? Could she tell him that she had nightmares that plagued her sleep and that she saw their visions again every time she attempted meditation? It seemed so silly, at the tip of her tongue. Childish, eve. "I would rather not discuss this now," she added, finalizing her thoughts on the matter. No. Her problems were personal and she was already a beast on the battle field. She could do better and be better without the meditation.

Then came the warnings about having her barriers destroyed. It sounded terrible, but Madalena was already calculating ways to have it done safely so she could understand the deeper mechanics of it and know what their breaking down felt like.

And now they would do knives.

Madalena concentrated, strengthening the barrier on her arm once more. "Do it," she nodded to the Dominus. Knives didn't scare her. The scars on her body attested to the amount of times sharp blades had gone through her. She was ready.

[member="Cardinal Vi'dreya"]