Private A promised lesson

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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After meeting again in a park on Empress Teta, Valery had promised the Sergeant that she'd be helping him gain more control of his Force sensitivity. It had been rather surprising for her to find out that he had such a connection, but now that she knew he did, she wanted to make sure he was ready to handle it. Without any training, the Force wasn't necessarily always the ally it seemed to be for Jedi, and he understood that himself as well.​

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For this reason, Valery decided to invite him to the Enclave on New Cov, a planet with dangerous jungles that most tried to avoid heavily. But deep within the dangerous environment, built into some of its larger hills, was a temple originally created thousands of years ago. In the days of the Old Republic, Valery had been its Grandmaster and now that her fiancé had finished rebuilding it with a group of Jedi, she planned to use it again.​

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Without any consistent staff or Jedi present, it was a quiet place, and that's exactly what made it ideal for meditation or training. There was nothing or nobody out here to disturb it.​

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"A ship was just detected entering the system, Master Noble." one of the ground crew told her, as she waited for his arrival at the landing pad. It was difficult to find your way around a Jedi Temple, so she figured she'd meet him where he would land.​

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"Good, I'll wait for him here. When he lands, take care of anything his ship needs."​

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[Sergeant Omen]

As the Reborn slipped through the temple's protective dome, Omen felt a smile slip onto his face. It had been nice of Val to invite him to her private residence. As he understood it, the temple was like most other training places the various Jedi sects used. Isolated and out of the way, places like this were perfect to set up bases for the Jedi to train within and operate from. Seeing he had spent a lot of time cooped up in his own isolated outpost, he could get where the desire to be away from everything came from. Either way, it would be nice talking with Valery alone and getting the training he desperately needed.

As Omen stepped out of Reborn onto the landing pad, the armored warrior would wave to the Jedi as he hopped off the ramp. "A very nice setup Val. I'm guessing it's all self-sustaining?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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From the landing pad, Valery watched his ship come down and offered the ground a crew a nod when it finally settled on its landing gear. They immediately moved over to refuel and resupply the Reborn if it needed anything and went through the routine of maintenance checks one would expect at any hangar.​

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"It's good to see you again, Omen," Valery said with a soft smile.​

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"As for this Temple, it has very little to offer. Mostly just shelter, places to sleep, and training or meditation rooms." Valery explained as she gestured for him to follow her. She'd begin leading him to the main structure, which started with a large open hall and various rooms at its sides. After going up a staircase in the back of the hall, they'd leave through the back of the Temple building, and stepped onto a large bridge that led to more open terrain.​

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"We'll be handling your lesson at the Temple grounds. But before we begin, how have you been since we last talked?"​

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[Sergeant Omen]

After a slight look at the maintenance crew to make sure they didn't damage his baby he would return the Jedi's smile. "You as well Val, you as well. And it is not like I expected a five-star hotel. I know the Jedi are skimpish on decoration, rather taking with a more natural look. I'm guessing it is a good thing I filled my freighter's hull with rations in case you needed them."

The Clone would follow the Jedi through the grand hall, glancing up at the craved pillars before following the Jedi out of the Temple's back door and into a grassy plain with a large canyon in front of them. A large rope bridge spanned the gap with Omen only hoping the Jedi kept it in maintenance. But Valery seemed to step on it without fear so it should be okay right? Right?

Looking out into the distance before answering, he tried to not seem too tired. It had been a hard couple of weeks in Enclave space and he didn't have a lot of progress to show for it. "I've been alright... Just hard breaking into the Enclave. I've been trying to get an official government [osition but you know how it is... Every appointment block is filled up for months on end and then they cancel and you have to reschedule... Just the usual frustration but I have my bar and right now that's enough for me. And you Val? You, Plank, and the baby alright? To be honest I'm surprised you are not more tired looking. I can only imagine how she keeps you up at night."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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"We should have plenty of food here to last us a while, so hopefully there's no need for rations," Valery said with a faint smirk on her face. If there was a way to avoid rations, she'd always take it — too long had she lived on them in her younger years at the Battlefields of the Old Republic, and getting used to them was impossible.​

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The two then walked over the bridge, and Valery would offer him a smile while he talked about his life. Bureaucracy was always a difficult thing to be dealing with, and while it was less of a problem within the Jedi, she certainly felt it in her cooperation with the Alliance. ​

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But when he turned the question back and mentioned tiredness, she stopped walking and smiled a little weaker. "I'm a lot more tired than it seems," she said before she continued walking. "Taking care of Vera is demanding, but..." she frowned a moment before she decided to just be open about it. ​

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"I've learned that a parasite was placed within me, likely by the scientists who kept me in stasis on Onderon. It has caused me a lot of problems but I'll be dealing with it soon. Going to be traveling back to Onderon for it." she said right as they crossed the bridge and ended up on the Temple Grounds. More specifically, she brought him into the beautiful Gardens.​

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"But enough about me." she smiled sheepishly. "I brought you here so I could teach you something; not to ramble about my problems."​

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[Sergeant Omen]

Omen just chuckled at Valery's disposition. It looked like she had misunderstood what he meant by rations. "Don't worry, it's fresh fruits and veggies, not any of that freeze-dried stuff." The Clone had guessed she would like those better than battlefield rations and he did have a pretty full kitchen. He could afford to give some food away.

When Val shared about her parasite, Omen frowned behind his helmet. "I'm sorry... but at least you have a place to start. Thats alot better than I have with my halved lifespan." At least she could try to look on the brightside with that.

As they began to walk into the sea of flowers, Omen took his helmet off and enjoyed a good siff. It smelled so amazing her. He was alittle jealous that Val got to do this all the time. He would return a smirk as he thought of a little joke to cheer the sheepish Jedi up. "I thought you had brought me here to try on bridesmaid dresses. Too bad... I was looking forward to showing off my nice meaty thighs." He gave his thigh a playful slap while trying hard not to laugh at his own jokes. "But if you want to train, I'm all yours."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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"I'm sorry... but at least you have a place to start. Thats alot better than I have with my halved lifespan." ​

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Valery chuckled at it, clearly appreciating him trying to lighten up the mood a bit. But in reality, she wasn't sure if she'd even make half her normal lifetime at this point anymore. Her situation was far direr than she made it seem, but she didn't feel like troubling others with it right now​

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The two then entered the Gardens and he cracked another joke that actually made her laugh, "Oh dear, I'm not sure I'd want to see you in a dress like that." she smirked. "But I already picked mine, so I'm afraid it's going to just be training today." Valery said as she sat down at a small bench within the Gardens.​

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"In terms of what you'd like to learn, I recall you want to be able to hide your presence in the Force, right?"​

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[Sergeant Omen]

Omen of course was still smiling at her as he sat down on the bench with her. "Wow, you actually have a start on wedding planning. I'm impressed. I thought it would be a little much for you with Vera and no this new problem to solve. As for the skills I want to learn, hiding my presence in the force would be a nice start."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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"When Kahlil and I aren't both watching Vera, we take turns. He insisted that I got a day off, so I went shopping with a friend," she explained with a warm smile. If it wasn't for days like that, she probably would have gone insane a long time ago. But a day to teach or take care of small things made it all that much easier.​

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"As for the lesson, the ability I'm teaching you is called Force Concealment or some refer to it as Force Stealth as well. It can be used to mask your alignment in the Force, or even your presence entirely. There are a few ways to do it, but I'll start with something that isn't very difficult."​

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"First, I need you to be entirely calm and focused. Try to feel my presence in the Force — I'm not suppressing it, so try to feel my aura if you can."​

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[Sergeant Omen]

"Maybe I'll meet her someday too, Three lines. I know it probably gets lonely here at times with just a baby and a smaller order to care for, especially with Kal away a lot." He sometimes felt alone late at night, staring up at the ceiling. Like he was in his own little bubble, unable to reach out to anyone else.

He couldn't focus on her situation now though... He had a lesson to ace. Quietly he closed his eyes and ride the raging currents he knew as the force, reaching out an invisible hand through the ether towards her aura. After a few seconds of feeling around, his hand would eventually grasp one of hers and it was a mighty strong one at that. He reminded himself never to force arm-wrestle with this chick. "I think I got it..." So far it hadn't been that hard but the clone bargained it would become harder much faster than he thought. He only could focus for so long after all.

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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Three lines? Was that her new nickname now? Well, at least it was better than being called a loth-cat scratching pole. Either way, it got a chuckle out of Valery, who nodded with a friendly smile. "I luckily don't have to run an entire Enclave here, but it can be difficult to spend a lot of time away from family." she said in all honesty.​

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Valery then remained quiet as he tried to focus and feel her presence in the Force. It wasn't a direct step needed to conceal yourself, but she had a reason for it.​

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"Good, it's this aura you feel that we're looking to conceal from others. If you can sense mine, you can also turn inwards to feel your own, and how it interacts with the environment. The Force flows everywhere but in those attuned to it the way you are, it's more prominent — you stand out." Valery explained.​

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"One way to hide your presence is to blend into the environment so you no longer stand out. Dissipate your presence, and let it flow along the currents of what's around you." she said and while he was still focusing on her presence, she began to do just that. Slowly but surely, it felt as if her connection to the Force grew weaker, until she barely felt different from the animals that wandered around or people without Force sensitivity.​

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"You try it."​

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[Sergeant Omen]

Wasn't that the truth... It was even harder when you didn't have any family to speak of. To be honest, Omen didn't know what having a family felt like since he had never really had one. Minus his brothers which he guessed counted but she meant a real family, not one manufactured with him that he had to interact with on a daily basis. The closest he had gotten to that feeling was when he was with Aren but now those days were few and far between. Val might sense the Clone's internal aura become sadden and a little depressed for a couple of seconds before he returned to the task at hand, melting into the earth like he wasn't even there.

Following the Master's instructions, Omen would slowly become a rock in the river of the force, burying himself deep within the flowing currents. Soon enough, the handshake had been released and both of the force users' auras had melted away into the wind. Opening his eyes and giving the Master a small smile. "There, it is not that bad once you get a handle on it. Just take practice like all things."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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Focusing on Omen's presence in the Force, Valery picked up on the shift in his emotions — Force Empathy had always been one strength of hers, but she wasn't one to dig overly deep. She respected the privacy of others, and only dug when it was necessary for a particular situation. In this case? Valery believed it was up to him to talk about his feelings if he wanted to.​

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But after a few seconds, the Sergeant shifted back into focus, and his presence began to fade into the environment. Valery offered him a gentle smile and nodded once he commented on the ability.​

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"It's not a very difficult skill to use, but the tricky part is maintaining it passively. In most cases that you use this, you're on a mission somewhere and you have to focus on the objective or other things in the environment. So being able to use this passively is what you should aim for with your practice." Valery explained.​

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"As one other important comment — never believe yourself to be entirely undetectable. With this variant of the ability, you can still be sensed if you get really close to a trained Force user, or if they are specifically looking for you. You can get yourself in serious trouble if you deem yourself to be completely invisible to senses."​

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"Any questions?"​

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[Sergeant Omen]

Omen just nodded at Valery's comments. "Plus you lose focus over time just from general exhaustion, making it harder for you to use your abilities as the force drains your... what is the acceptable term... Would mana be correct? Sorry... I still need to learn all the terminology." While he did know the basics, some words eluded him still. Either way, he knew a Jedi wasn't invincible. Either a blade or a blaster bolt would get through eventually, no matter how skilled the force user was. It's why lightsaber jockeys depended on speed and stealth to get the job done.

Chuckling softly, the Clone would pat the Master's hand to let her know that he was very vincible before pointing to a far-off set of bushes on a hilltop close to the bubble's wall and several other spots that imaginary villains might be hiding. "There could be someone monitoring us from there... and there... and there... Point is, no matter what you can't control what others might know or abilities they have. You can only just take the punches being thrown at you and maybe even throw some back. I know I'm not invincible and can have an invisibility cloak around me whenever I want. Still, something that makes me a little less noticeable is always good to have."

The Clone pondered a bit when she asked for questions only to shake his head. "As for questions, I haven't come across any yet. Maybe I will in due time. So what next Master Jedi? More training or should we have some lunch?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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Valery smiled and nodded along as he spoke — she clearly appreciated the fact that he understood, and that he wasn't going to be reckless now that he learned this ability. It was something she typically saw in younger students. They would get overly excited about the skills they developed and grew overconfident as a result. ​

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There was a time when she had been like that herself, and the scar that was caused by her reckless actions at the time was still visible on her face to this day.​

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"You're a quick learner and no questions either?" she chuckled. "But for now, a small break probably wouldn't hurt. Do you want to grab something at the food hall or prefer to get something from your ship?" she smirked a little — the food hall didn't exactly offer the best quality meals.​

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[Sergeant Omen]

The Clone shrugged and smirked as the Master complimented his competency. "I've done a lot of research on my own to fill in the blanks on the subject of the force and its usage. Sometimes I spend all night scrolling through what public knowledge of the force there is on my datapad. It's how I can learn right now... and get lots of eyestrain..." It wasn't without its downsides, however, mainly in his lack of sleep and sometimes his lack of sanity. At least he had learned enough to get a basic knowledge of the force and the abilities attached to it. It was a start at least or rather a beginning to his relationship with the force.

"Plus I'm not stupid enough to just assume that someone else might just be better at everything won't kill me where I stand. Years of straight war will do that to you." No, being paranoid wasn't a bad thing. It never was. It just... changed your perspective on things to make sure you weren't killed when the fire started.

Getting up to his feet, he would offer a hand to the Jedi Master. "How about we compromise and I get food from my ship to prepare in your kitchen. Is that agreeable?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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"Just always be careful in your studies," Valery said with a soft smile. She didn't explain much more about her statement — she figured that he understood. The Force was a mysterious thing to be studying, but also dangerous if one wasn't careful enough. It wasn't uncommon for some to get too lost in a search for power that ultimately doomed them to a darker path.​

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But for now, on to less serious matters.​

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Valery pushed herself up to her feet as well and shook the man's hand with a smile, "That sounds like a good plan. I quite love cooking so if you have some good ingredients, I'll prepare us something nice." she offered before she would begin leading the way back to his ship.​

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"Gives us some time to catch up more as well."​

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[Sergeant Omen]

Omen nodded at Valery's statement. "Don't worry, I'm not going to go dark alchemist on you. Except for maybe on Shai but that's beside the point... Anyway, I'm not going to take the evil path anytime soon." The Clone had no want to fall to the darkside though he wasn't exactly lightside either... Maybe he was what was called grey but that didn't exactly fit either... Well, he could figure that out another time... Right now he had lunch to make.

Once they got back to the ship, he would open one of the various cargo holds and start to carry out crates of preserved meats, fruits, veggies, cheeses, bread, and other goodies. "I hope this is enough to make sandwiches. If you could get your staff to help bring all of this inside, it would help a lot."

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: New Cov | Jedi Enclave​

Valery: Appearance​

Tag: Sergeant Omen ​

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Valery rolled her eyes a little at his comment, but a smirk quickly came through, "You better not go down a dark or evil path. Would be a shame." she said as she continued the walk back to the landing pad. With that, she dropped the topic for now as well — it was time for food and better conversation.​

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"This is... a lot." Valery looked around the cargo bay and blinked, seeing all the stacked crates with fruits, vegetables, and more. There weren't a lot of Jedi who lived at this Temple, so it would last them quite a bit of time.​

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"I'll get the maintenance crews to give us a hand but are you sure about this? I could likely arrange some compensation for all of this food; it's quite a lot." After signaling the maintenance crew to come over so they could help carrying the crates outside, she looked back at Omen with a warm smile.​

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"Or do you have these kinds of supplies just lying around usually?" she grinned a bit.​

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[Sergeant Omen]

Omen tried not to laugh as they walked back towards the landing pads. Valery was nice company to be sure and they seemed to work well together. "Yes, it would be. Hopefully, we won't have to be on different sides in the future." Two could play at the sass game though. As they reached the small spaceport, the clone would cough with some words dropping out of his mouth. "Jedi Master scared to face me say what?"

The Clone chuckled as he saw the blank expression on the Jedi's face. "It is not that much... And I would like to give it away but if you don't want to feel in my debt then I'm willing to take market value for the lot. As for me usually having these supplies around, that is a long story. I may be using a Venator right now to ship basic foodstuffs from Ukio to the Enclave proper. It is still far from its glory days but I'm working on rebuilding it bit by bit."

The Clanless was still a long way from completion. Hell, the broken front end was just attached back a week ago and some of the internal still needed a professional-looking over but it was turning out to be a real ship rather than just being a hunk of junk. "Better here being used than laying rotting in a warehouse somewhere."

Valery Noble