Even the smallest pebble...

[Veino Garn]

... can change an avalanche.

So spoke a very old saying among the Jensaarai, learned from a Defender Kyal, a sage who was the greatest master of ballistikinesis to walk Susefvi. There were others around who probably matched him now, but among the Jensaarai, he was the legend. And in that quote why, he illustrated both his own wisdom and the strength of ballistakinesis. It was not a dramatic skill at its core. Simply the movement of multiple small objects, but as Veino had discovered before his collapse, multiples can be taken up to dozens, if not hundreds, of objects, all propelled above beyond the sound barrier was quite terrifying.

But that was before. Now he did not have that strength. What he had was a small pyramid of ball bearings, an empty training room, and lots of time. Fortunately, it was just a specialized use of telekinesis, which was a remarkably simple skill compared to everything else, and he had mastered it in the past. Not to the level of a few... certain women around the galaxy, but he had mastered it nonetheless.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall from where he sat. The tension on his body relaxed as his weight sagged against the wall. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat on an endless cycle until it became a perfect habit. That was beyond this training session though, he just had to center himself.

The Force flowed around him, just little more than a trickle at this point. A small stream weaving between his fingers and mind. A river of peace, one that flowed into the ocean of the galaxy. One whose tides lapped against the pile of bearings in front of him. He reached out with his minds, tying the stream around one and lifting it up. It strained his connection and his mind lunged for it, straining to hold it. The connection snapped and the bearing fell to the floor, rolling away.

Veino grimaced. Way back at the beginning again. He closed his eyes and took another breath. So the journey began again.

 

[Ikki Ike]

Ikki had been interested in some of the small improvements that had been made to the honorable and well she had seen it. A new model jedi star fighter that was designed for those who served the lightside of the force to be able to use only. It was rather exciting and the small padawan stood there in the krayt dragon outfit when she stopped and was looking around. The ships weren't going anywhere but there was news about possible training and she liked to at least give it her all when it came to training and working on things. The padawan maid shifted through the doors and stopped standing as tall as she could being tiny compared ot the others and her eyes shifted back and forth. "Hello."

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Ikki Ike"]

Someone was coming. He could see the ripples in the Force. Actually see them, now that was something different. He had never been able to see the Force presences in this way before. What else had happened since the invasion? He opened his eyes as the girl walked in, she was young, and her presence didn't burn. So a student or a young knight. Perhaps someone else wishing to learn this skill, perhaps? Hopefully.

"Hello," She said as she entered. Veino rose to stand and gave her a slight bow.

"Well met," He paused, trying to remember if they had met before. She was familiar, but he couldn't place why. "I'm Veino Garn. Don't think we've met before. Here to train in ballistikinesis with me?"

He stepped over to the now toppled pile of ball bearings and reset them, chasing down the strays that had rolled away earlier.

 

[Ikki Ike]

[member="Veino Garn"]

She was looking at him and the name seemed familiar but she couldn't really place it. Maybe something she would have heard in passing as opposed to meeting the man but the class and the chance to train skills was a very important thing she could work with. "Yes, it is something that might be able to help me since I do not normally use sabers." She said it standing there and she was small compared to him but entered in more moving her feet swiftly with awareness of it all while still maintaining her eye contact with him. A small quick nod of her head before she stopped and stood there. "Do you know if anyone else is coming."

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

One could only study for so long before wishing for a more hands-on approach.

A smaller Hutt slid into the training room slowly, green eyes darting between the two already present. Padawan Oluja slowed his crawl, and bowed deeply to [member="Veino Garn"], bringing his stubby hands together. "Good day. I am Padawan Tyyni Oluja. I hope you do not mind if I join you." He smirked, and bowed again.

He began his snail pace again, finally stopping beside [member="Ikki Ike"]. He cast her a glance sideways, and offered a small grin. He didn't recognize either of them, but he could sense the Force's strength in the man. He had been patrolling the practice halls, looking for someone to watch. He had been confined to studying in the library for some time now, and missed the thrill of training.

Tiny the Hutt coiled his body around himself, and waited diligently. Something told him he would enjoy today.

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Ikki Ike"] [member="Tyyni Oluja"]

So, she didn't normally use a lightsaber. Interesting. Veino had met a few of those before. They usually had alternate preferred choices, although judging by this one's choice in apparel, it would hardly be conventional. He paused as a Hutt slid in. Now that brought a raised eyebrow. A Hutt Jedi was one he had never met before, at least not in memory. Although, to be fair, he had fought with, or under, Popo when he had been Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. That had been a new one in Galactic History before as well. But such was the times they lived in.

He returned the bow.

"Well met, Padawan Tyyni. You are most welcome to join. What knowledge I have is for the free sharing among all those who serve the Light." He paused as the two stood next to each other. Now that was something he was also unfamiliar with. Usually when he taught, he taught in circles, but with three individuals, that was rather impossible. He reached into his pouch and pulled out another several handfuls of ball bearings and threw them. They scattered, bounced, and rolled across the floor. Veino kicked his own pyramid across the floor. They skittered through the room, several bouncing off the two other students.

Then he sat, crossing his legs and strengthening his back.

"Whatever skill we learn, whatever we use, relies on the Force. Until our connection to the Force has grown, nothing will be of use. So, let us begin with meditation. Let the Force fill your mind and body. Only then can you effectively use this skill."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, opening his empathy to feel their response. It would be hilarious. As a student, and most students, he had detested meditation. It always seemed so... passive. He wanted to get out and move, to act, to work on his fighting skills and spar. But the key to all of those was a stillness in the Force. A centeredness and immovability that, paradoxically, allowed greater movement than anything else outside. One had to be the eye of the storm to defeat the storm. But was that a lesson the other two would receive today?

For ballistikinesis was a perfect example of this skill. Everything else moved, but the person had to be still. Now to see how they responded, as he meditated himself. He opened his mind and the Force flooded into him once again. Waves of soothing water, it felt like, lapping at his mind and his consciousness. Something still held back though, something pulled him away. Veino frowned. What was that? What kept him away from where he once was?

Thyria.

Her face floated into his mind. So that was what. Her disappearance still tore at him, and hurt. There was no closure, for good or ill. The time had come, no, it had come and been long past, for him to find her and settle this once and for all. But not for now. He had to let go of his attachments. Including Thyria. But that would be difficult.

 

[Ikki Ike]

[member="Tyyni Oluja"] [member="Veino Garn"]

Ikki looked at the two of them now observing while she stood still with a bow of her head to the hutt who introduced himself. She was remaining there with a small look to keep her hands together listening and going over the skill as she touched lightly the small carbon tips of her gloves looking over the different things. She had practiced with kei and learned how to better control her own projectiles and wires but stayed with a small look of neutrality before she moved over to the side so she had some clear space to work and wouldn't harm the others.

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni nodded thoughtfully as [member="Veino Garn"] spoke, absorbing his words greedily.

'Let the Force fill your mind and body.'

The Hutt noticed [member="Ikki Ike"] move away from him, and wondered briefly if he had done something wrong. Perhaps he hadn't showered well enough today to get his natural grease out. Perhaps he had accidentally licked his lips, quite the gross thing for a Hutt. So many things could have gone wrong. However, Padawan Oluja got the feeling she was leaving just to get more space. That was fine.

Tyyni had read a little about ballistikinesis in his studies. The act of using many small things, like pebbles, or ball bearings, to create a sort of buckshot with the Force. It sounded exciting, and useful for many situations.

The Hutt closed his large, verdant eyes, shrinking his world down to himself. Master Garn would find it surprising how quickly Tyyni could clear his mind from distractions. When one's species often lives over one thousand years, they have all the time in the world. The Padawan lingered on his own thoughts, pushing them away one at a time, until his mind was blank.

Tyyni felt the Force begin to flow through his being like a soft, warm current. It felt familiar, enveloping, relaxing. He tried to move the sensation into his body, and frowned. The flow of Force was constrained to his mind, unable to flow anywhere else. The sudden doubt brought him flooding back to reality, a short gasp escaping him. He looked apologetically to the Knight. "I am sorry. Something went wrong."

The Hutt looked down to his body, and frowned. He didn't know what had happened. He used Force Augmentation all the time, and that let the Force flow through him. Why could he not meditate the Force through it as well?

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Ikki Ike"] [member="Tyyni Oluja"]

Spoiler

Sorry for the delay, guys. I'm staffing freshman orientation this week.

Let go of your attachments. It had always been a hard lesson for younglings to learn, harder still for padawans, and no less difficult for even many knights and masters. It went against every fiber of sentient nature. To have attachments was to be anchored and stable, and that was part of what allowed sentients to thrive. To let go of that and rely fully on the Force? Well, now that was a difficult thing, and it took time and conscious effort.

One he now had to work with, slowly and methodically. Thyria still pressed in on his mind, prodding at his conscience. But deep breaths would calm the mind, and that was the first step.

"I am sorry. Something went wrong," One of the padawans said, and Veino opened his eyes. He gave them a measured smile and nod.

"I'm sorry. That is probably me. I have something weighty on my mind and it is disturbing my meditation, and probably you by proximity. I'm calming that now," He paused again, trying to figure out how to work on their training. "If you so desire and feel capable, just do some telekinetic practice. Start with one bearing and see how many you can hold at a time."

It was trickier than it seemed. To use telekinesis required one to focus on the object, especially if precision was desired. Otherwise, for a push, just a wave of Force energy would be enough. To hold two things, now that required two points of focus, and to continue adding? Well, even more points of focus. For a dozen ball bearings? Or like when Veino was at his peak, close to a hundred ball bearings? It was impossible to hold that many points of focus and be aware of them all. Instead, one had to take a larger view. Not one that saw dozens of individual objects, but one larger one. Just as they were all parts of the Force.

He closed his eyes again. Breathe. That was the beginning of the process- in and out, nose and mouth, like waves upon the seashore. He continued to breathe like this, relaxing into the warmth of the Force. Thyria still hung in his mind, pulling at his heart, perhaps even strong enough for the students to pick up on. But he began to force himself to distance himself from those thoughts. Not to lose them or force them away, but to let them drift and become less important.

Peace settled around his body finally and he let out another deep breath. It was not done completely, but it was a start. Enough to resume practicing.

 

[Lynn Nantaris]

Jacen was not familiar with anything outside of the Republic Jedi Temple he grew up in and the Voss Academy was even more different than the Republic ones. It intrigued the young Jedi. The architecture was similar yet vastly different. The whole experience here was similar to meeting an old friend after decades. You could see the roots of the Jedi, yet it had evolved, grown to something better? Jacen wasn't sure, but he did know the buildings were far from the only thing different from his familiar home.

As he passed through the hallways he saw lightsaber training, something he was not eager to join. It was not the training itself, but the idea of one day using a lightsaber to hurt another bothered him. To protect this Galaxy he would learn to fight only to the point to stop the violence. The irony not lost on Jacen, but the Grandmaster seemed sure off himself to teach Jacen how to protect and defend without the need of killing. On that subject, Jacen was still not sure where he stood there. Was he the padawan of the Grandmaster or was this temporary? All the questions gave him a headache.

It was then Jacen stopped at the classroom, "ballistakinesis." Jacen stood there as his brain went through all he had studied. He knew this word, but from where? He thought on the Jedi, but there was no answer, until he went to a more older, orthodox branch known as Jensaarai. He did shutter at his minimal understanding of them. He read a book of the rise of the Jensaarai during the Clone Wars. A group that blended Sith and Jedi teachings. A very dangerous combination, one Jacen wasn't sure he wanted to involve himself in; he considered walking away. It was then he spotted the instructor and he used his observational skills to assess.

His body looked worn, maybe he was tired. His eyes, they spoke to Jacen whispering a sense of goodness or a desire to do good. How Jacen saw this, it was how the man looked at the two before him. You could see questions in his eyes about the pair, even Jacen thought it odd to see a Hutt in there. In his eyes though was a determination to still help the two learn and that spoke volumes to Jacen. He opened the door.

"I hope I am not interrupting..."


[member="Ikki Ike"] [member="Tyyni Oluja"] [member="Veino Garn"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni thought about [member="Veino Garn"]'s words, quietly taking them to heart. Was the knight experiencing life troubles? The Hutt let his senses wash over the room, and noticed the disturbance in the teacher for the first time. Perhaps it was clogging his own abilities. Slowly, Tyyni began to concentrate again, instead focusing on one ball at a time.

The Hutt Padawan's verdant eyes focused on a bearing in front of him, and stared intensely at it. Slowly but surely, Tyyni called back the small metal object, smiling as it began to float back towards him. Gingerly, he focused on another ball bearing, letting it fly towards him, stopping short of his face. He now had two satellites orbiting around him. Just as the Hutt was about to grab a third, he heard a voice behind him.

[member="Jacen Clanstrider"] was an unexpected interruption. Tyyni had been so engrossed in trying to concentrate on multiple items, he hadn't noticed the Jedi's presence. Flinching, the ball bearings fell out of suspended animation, scattering across the floor. Padawan Oluja turned slowly, getting a good look at the newcomer. He decided to keep his mouth shut, only offering a shy nod.

Slowly, Tyyni closed his eyes again, beginning to gather the obects again. This time, he went slightly faster, more comfortable concentrating.

- [member="Ikki Ike"] -

 

[Veino Garn]

[member="Jacen Clanstrider"] [member="Tyyni Oluja"]

Another student? Veino could sense the curiosity and presence from the young man as he approached. Veino opened his eyes again as he entered as the boy asked if he was interrupting.

"Not at all," Veino answered, sweeping his arm wide in a welcoming gesture, indicating an open part of the bearing-strewn room. "Come in. We are practicing to develop the skill of ballistikinesis, a specialized use of telekinesis with many objects rather than one, of precision rather than weight."

He shifted where he sat. "The tricky part is maintaining the precision focus required, in a manner which allows even up to more than a hundred objects at a time." Or more, if he wanted to get into specifics, but that was something they could eventually discover for themselves if they so desired. He had. It was a good thing about telekinesis, that it was simple enough that once one understood the basics, it was essentially self-taught.

"We are practicing holding multiple objects at once for now, as many as you can. Practice will help you hold more over time."

He closed his own eyes again and reached out with the Force. Or perhaps reached out was the wrong term. No, he let the Force flow out from him, not very much, but that would come again in time. A trickle was enough for this.

He could sense them, the students, the bearings, and if he pushed it farther, to just outside the room, about his limit for now, he could sense others as they walked along. But he focused on the bearings, letting the stream of energy flow and curl around them. Just one at this moment. The Force surged around the cold metal and lifted it into the air, where it hung, oblivious to the normal laws of physics and matter. Interesting how that happened. But the ball hovered even as he thought.

So he curled out another tendril- encompassing another bearing. It too rose, but Veino was beginning to feel the strain. He let them both hover there for now, for his attention was starting to wander.

Deep breaths, in and out. Settle for a rhythm like the rhythm of waves upon sand. That would bring it back to where it needed to be.

 

[Ikki Ike]

Ikki was reaching out and practicing as she held the small carbon tips of the slice wire away from the others. She could feel the force around them with a small look on her face. She saw another join them and the hutt was there while the other one explained. It was a rather interesting group to have going around with the training course as they were all as far as she knew padawans. That was a rather interesting time while she remained focused on the carbon tips and the wires were there gleaming over the small flashes of light but surrounding her.

 

[Lynn Nantaris]

Walking further into the room he nodded his head as a slight bow to all present and took his instructions. For now he would ignore the actual objects and focus on the understanding. He took a seat and crossed his legs. Closing his eyes he let his mind go to the deepness of the Force. He now had a problem to solve and so he began to unravel the problem in the calmness of the Force.

The problem was to hold, through the Force, many objects and then using them as projectiles. Holding one object meant taking one's mind and focusing on the object letting the Force flow through your focus and grip the object. The problem with focus was the more you focused on the less it had in power. Thus the problem was how to focus on multiple objects giving each attention, but making it powerful and equal.

If he could bind the objects much like a chain he could focus on the bond which would unite many into one, but how could he bind them in his mind? The same material? No, this would not create the sort of bond he needed. He needed to focus more on the Force to gain insight. That was it, the Force. Master Heavenshield had spoke to Jacen about the Living Force when he arrived. The Force was in all things, living and not and through the Force, maybe he could create such a connection.

He opened his eyes once more, unsure how much time had passed. He reached over to his bearing and then placed them around where he was sitting in multiple places and at different distances. He closed his eyes once more and counted in the Force the bearings; he counted 16 of them. He let his mind go into the Force using his presence in the Force to connect with the bearings. They barely had a presence in the Force, not even a percent. If he was not in such a peaceful place he would find this near impossible to perform at his level, but one by one he found them in the Force and the Force that linked them. After what felt far too long, he had them all and focused on them. He tried for something simple, lifting them at once.

He opened his eyes and used their presence in the Force to lift them to a new presence. Together they lifted slowly, but not at the same rate. Jacen had to focus once again to correct his flaws so they moved in unison. Once they were at eye level, he tried for rotation clockwise around himself. It was slow at first, but he was getting the hang of this. He tried to be a bit more brave and reverse the rotation on a dime, but lost a bearing as it shot out of alignment. Jacen quickly reconnected with it to return it to formation.

He then brought all 16 to float together above his hand. He would continue to practice and in a smaller area he would work on multiple different rotation directions. The different directions would give him the ability to launch objects to different locations, but first he had to teach himself how to bind them, but also to work independently of each other. His binding theory was already beginning to show future flaws, but as of now it helped him solve this basic problem.

Spoiler

Sorry for my late reply!

[member="Veino Garn"] [member="Tyyni Oluja"] [member="Ikki Ike"]

 

[Dravis Rosilla]

Tyyni nodded to [member="Jacen Clanstrider"] as he joined the small group of Padawans around the Knight. He listened to [member="Veino Garn"]'s words, and took them to heart, hovering five bearings around his head.

Precision focus.

The Hutt prided himself on being very focused, in-tune with his mind, and his surroundings. Grace under fire was very important in the field, and Tyyni was very good at keeping his head in difficult situations, diverting his attention where it was needed. This translated well into the skill they were learning.

Slowly, the small Padawan began to take in more and more ball bearings, creating a sort of asteroid belt around the celestial body that was Tyyni. He had collected around twenty when the strain finally set in. The Hutt knew he had reached his limit. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he spread his concentration thin. He knew he had reached his limit. With Tyyni's current skill level and understanding of the Force as it was, he had no chance of gaining more. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed [member="Ikki Ike"]... playing with string, it seemed. Well, to each their own.

"Um... Well, I have all the spheres I can muster." Tyyni's voice shook, all energy being diverted into the Force. "Now what?"

 

[Veino Garn]

The bearings hovered there, floating slowly in a circle like planets about a star. The others were training and he could sense their struggle, the hallenege they were facing. Ballistikinesis was a challenging skill to learn, given its apparent simplicity and lack of dramatic flair. For effort versus rewards, Force Light was undoubtedly better. But this was a way of applied meditation, meditation while moving and remaining in meditation.

"Now, Tyyni," Veino said, his own voice strained as a bead of sweat ran down his face, still and serene as it might be. "For as one pushes the body to strengthen through pushing it to the limit, so we push the extent to which our minds can become one with the Force. For we do not find our strength in ourselves, but in the Force. It is there we transcend our limits."

He clenched his teeth then and closed his eyes. It was time to let go of himself and let the Force guide him. He opened his eyes. They shone more silver now, or gray, along the pupils. He let out his breath and a peace settled over him. The bearings stabilized, hanging absolutely still. The Force flowed into his mind and body, holding the bearings.

Then they crashed to the floor with a clang.

War was coming. A war that would tear at the very heart of the Galaxy. images flashed before him, of faces he knew and faces he did not, of death and destruction and fear and dark. The Light would suffer more than it had ever suffered before. Then he saw one more face, lost and alone at the far end of known space. Thyria let lived, although she had been broken. He has failed her.

Then the vision was gone and the training room flashed back into focus. Sweat poured down Veino's body, drenching his clothes and hair, while his breath ran fast and ragged. A time was coming when Veino Garn would be needed, and at his strongest. But by the appearance of the visions, he didn't think that even at his strongest he would have been strong enough.

Spoiler

Sorry y'all! My bad for not posting

[member="Tyyni Oluja"] [member="Jacen Clanstrider"] [member="Ikki Ike"]