Force Be Good

[Qhorin Solas]

--Corellian Corvette, Somewhere in space

Since their first meeting on Ossus, Cronos hadn't truly had any one-on-one time with his Padawan, for training or otherwise. She'd learned various techniques from a variety of teachers, his own contributions mainly being to her lightsaber combat.

Today, and in the days to come, he meant to learn exactly what Morgana was capable of, what she wanted to learn, and, perhaps most importantly, what role she intended to serve as a Jedi Knight. Would she be a Guardian? A Consular? A Sentinel? None of the above?

Cronos set a course to Taris. The ambient sounds of the cockpit helped guide his thoughts along, coaxing them through his mind. He might've used the meditation chamber, but he'd sent [member="Morgana Forceborn"] there to meditate and gather her energies before her training began.

He'd repurposed a Corellian corvette for use by a Jedi, incorporating the aforementioned meditation chamber, and restructuring the hangar to serve as a gym. Weapons systems were standard, as was the hyperdrive. There was a trio of astromechs wheeling around in the corridors, and a couple protocol droids to cook and clean. The ship was as much home as it was transportation, which suited the former Inquisitor well during his lengthy travels across the galaxy.

Course set, he engaged the auto-pilot systems and went to check up on his padawan.

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

As they rode for Taris Morgana was curious about what her master [member="Cronos Aegir"] had in mind for her when they arrived. This had been the first real teacher-student time they had to themselves in a long time. Not to mention the first time Cronos had seen her new look, no longer the punk rock girl theme she had before but a more normal ambitious girl she was underneath. Though Morgana was more curious about it having anything to do with her future training and her hopefully eventual promotion to knight status. Whatever it was she intended to prove to Cronos she was ready.​

​

When going to the meditation chamber, however, Morgana had found it hard to stay awake. She'd not had the best of sleep the night before and given how early they left for the trip had obviously put more of a hindrance on her resting time. So instead of meditating she wound up passing out. However. as she slept in the center of the room, things around her began to float and however about her. Her small sack with a number of things and her training saberstaff all acted like small moons as they floated around where she slept.​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

She was asleep when Cronos entered the room. She'd let her hair grow out, foregoing the old red and black.

Her belongings were revolving around her like satellites; in fact, everything that wasn't bolted down was floating in the air. He couldn't say that he'd ever seen anything quite like it. He watched the drifting items as he considered how best to wake her. And punish her. And was that... drool?!

Cronos kept it simple, giving her a strong telekinetic nudge to shake her awake. He could understand being tired, all things considered, but she could've said something. There were techniques for restoring stamina an revitalizing the body. Push come to shove, he'd have just sent her to her bunk to have a nap.

"I hope you slept well," he said, voice as calm and steady as the doldrums. He didn't mention her subconscious telekinesis. Instead he said, "I'd like to get a rundown of what you know. Then, I'll share with you our purpose on Taris. Unless you'd rather nap a little longer?"

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

The sudden telekinetic nudge had awoken Morgana. She sat up with a sudden gasp, everything falling around her the moment her eyes opened. She looked around, seeing everything jumbled, before looking up to [member="Cronos Aegir"] as he commented on how she had slept instead of meditated. She gave a shy look away before realizing there was drool on the side of her mouth. She wiped it away before looking back and sitting up at attention when Master Cronos asked her what she knew; obviously in terms of the Force.​

​

"Well, Master, I've learned the basics like Force Jumping and Speed. I've learned an ability known as plant surge which allow me to tap into plant-life and control it. And Master Manto taught me the Malacia Technique." She thought for a moment before adding "I've also learned a good magic spell, but I'd need fire to make it work." She looked around before finding her training saberstaff as well, picking it up and saying "And I've learned how to use this, of course." ​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

She knew the basics and a few more specialized techniques. It was about what he'd suspected. Now it was just a matter of applying those skills, and, perhaps, teaching her a few more. But first,

"Our business on Taris will see your talents put to the test." He waved his hand and rearranged the debris, putting everythinmg back in place, bit by bit. "One of the Republic's senators was abducted by pirates. They are hiding somewhere on Taris, and have made ransom demands of the Senate. It is our job to engage in... negotiations for the hostage. Secret negotiations -- they cannot know if our presence, nor that we are searching for them, or else they might kill the senator. Any questions?"

All in all, it was a relatively straightforward mission. Find the bad guys, arrest them, save the senator.

"We'll arrive at Taris within a few days. Until then, you and I are going to stay awake for every hour of everyday. You'll learn to give your fatigue to the Force. Meditation is a great place to start." But there was something he wanted to know, first. Meditation was such a broad, vague thing. Did she look to the Living Force, or the Unifying Force? Did she turn her thoughts outward or inward? Did she seek to clear her mind of feelings, or understand them?

So, he asked.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

After hearing the rundown of the mission itself Morgana nodded, understanding everything and not needing to ask any questions. They had to be discreet as possible, not only for the senator's sake but for their own sakes as well. Whoever these pirates were they must've been pretty powerful or pretty desperate to make such an attempt and claim fro the senate itself. Either way they would both find out on Taris. Though when she heard him say how they were still days away she gave a confused look, only for him to clarify that it was a means of more force meditation.​

​

When he asked how she would meditate Morgana thought for a moment before answering "Well it's more for me a matter of relaxing thoughts. Things that always make me happy, or keep me calm. I just think about them whenever I'm meditating. Usually music, but sometimes other things. Like my friends." ​

​

[member="Cronos Aegir"]​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

"You've never meditated on a problem or an event to better understand them? Or meditated on the Force itself? Meditation is a tool for relaxation, yes, but it is also a tool for understanding and discovery."

The former Inquisitor took a seat across from Morgana. Only twice before had he done what he was about to do. Once, with his first apprentice, Krae Varo, and again, with the young beacon of light, Anwen Talith.

"Open your mind to the force, Morgana, and let me show you what I mean."

He guided her, slowly, into the great rivers of the force. It spread out before them, as vast and unfathomable as the universe, great swaths of power and life, all interconnected, all beautiful to behold. Everything is united in the Force, he said. Life, death, happiness, misery, everything. He spoke not with his mouth, but his mind. Pick a thread, any thread, and follow it as far as you can. Focus only on that thread, on that connection, and let your senses expand. Give yourself to the Force, every breath and every thought.

He didn't expect her to succeed, not completely, for this was an admittedly advanced meditation technique. However, it was a step in the right direction, a step as necessary as any other.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Given his reaction it was clear the way Morgana had done meditation wasn't the right kind. But, at least, it had helped her better focus her powers with the force. Before she was unstable, almost dangerous, but now with the right time and patience she was starting to get the hang of it. As he took a seat she listened and nodded before he told her to follow as he did. She closed her eyes before feeling herself fall into the great expanse that was the Force. She breathed in deeply as she followed his voice, telling her to take a thread and follow. The closest one she could seem to connect with, of all things, was happiness. She found it odd since she didn't consider her life an entirely happy one, but she did find herself following on it. Further and further she went, feeling herself become almost encompassed in the Force itself.​

​

[member="Cronos Aegir"]​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

Morgana zeroed in on a font of feeling. Happiness. It was borne of billions, if not trillions of sentients, and was naturally connected to other such emotions. Of course, not all happiness was positive. The thread split off into a countless number of branches, and some of those branches came from black minds expressing happiness at the suffering of others. Some happiness was fleeting, and before their eyes, the thread shifted and changed, rising and ebbing as a tide might, lapping against a beach. The Force was always changing, growing, as life entered and left the universe.

Now let the thread go, and see where your mind takes you when it is absent thought.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Following his command she did. She felt herself falling for a moment in the force, her mind making a "splash" as she finally landed. And then it came to hear. A tune. Something familiar and yet strange. It was soothing. Calming. A mother's lullaby. Morgana began to realize what it was, the only real thing she remembered about her mother. A memory locked deep within her mind now set free by the Force. It was beautiful. A tear shed on Morgan's eyes, rolling down her cheek, as she felt truly at peace for once.​

​

[member="Cronos Aegir"]​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

Good. Very good. The better you can connect to the Force, the more powerful you will be. Tell me, padawan: have you ever run afoul of the Sith?

Regardless of her answer, their meditation would come to an end. He spared a glance at the clock high on the wall; hours had passed. Very good, he thought again. Morgana seemed more inclined to internal reflection and discovery than external. The Force was nothing more than endless possibility; it could take you anywhere and show you anything, if one would only hazard to look. Interpreting those trips and visions was another matter entirely.

"Come with me to the hangar," he told her. "You've told me what you've learned. Now I want you to show me."

_______​

The hangar was set up to reflect the training gym on Ossus, complete with weights, training droids, training remotes, a dueling ring, and various instruments for climbing and jumping and tumbling. There was a table against the far wall upon which sat increasingly large and heavy hunks of durasteel -- for practicing telekinesis, amongst other things -- and Ina seperate table there was an assortment of blasters, with a target set into the other wall.

"Whenever you're ready," he said, after entering the room, "show me what you've learned."

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

No. At least...none that have tried to attack me.​

​

She was mainly referring to her aunt, Taeli Raaf, and how she used to be a Sith even before she decided to convert to the Jedi order. Even then she was so kind and nurturing to her she would hardly count for being a true Sith. Finally, after the session was over, Morgana opened her eyes to [member="Cronos Aegir"] as he explained he wanted to see what she could do with what she learned with the Force. She followed him to the hanger before seeing the entire set up, taking note of what there was and what she could do. In truth she was limited, given that more of her powers were based on natural targets and not droids. Still she'd find a way to make due.​

​

When he gave the word she started with the more trivial obstacles like lifting durasteel with the Force. She only had to close her eyes and motion with both of her hands before the chuncks floated, she lifting them one at a time. Next she went over towards the jumping and climbing obstacles, though using speed force to maneuver to them easier and to actually pace herself. Jumping via the force to aid her was easy as well. At points she would have to be careful when it came to hands-on climbing. When she reached the top she jumped down, the force aiding her again. After that she went into the middle of the ring, pulling out her training saberstaff in the process, before the droids and blasters were active. From there she began to dodge and maneuver, showing how handy she was with the blade, while managing some shots to bounce back towards the droids while others only flew overhead.​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

Morgana put forth a solid showing. She had a good grasp of using the Force to run and jump. Her showing with her saber was admirable, but he expected such, after all the combat instruction he had given her. More meditation would only enhance her grasp of the techniques she'd shown. Time would increase her familiarity. How good were her senses?

"Run it again," he said, "but blindfolded."

He took the time to check over the mission parameters. He had already programmed the ship's computer to jump them over to the next hyperlane after leaving the current one. A third jump would see them to Taris. All in all, another 36 hours of travel, most of which would pass between jumps.

As for the pirates who had been so bold as to kidnap the senator, there were an unknown number of them, but analysts speculated anywhere from eight to twelve. More worrying was the suspected Sith involvement. Possibly an independent, but the possibility existed that the One Sith was involved, in which case the ransom demands could only be a ploy -- the One Sith had no need of whatever paltry credits they might get for one senator.

Unless something greater was afoot...a diversion for something else, maybe? The dark side clouded all -- he could hardly make heads or tails of why pirates and/or the Sith would kidnap a senator. The Force showed him so little...

It just didn't make any sense.

After Morgana was finished with her second run through, he took her aside and gave her a datapad with all the relevant information about their mission. "What do you think about all this?"


[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Morgana needed a minute to breath before hearing [member="Cronos Aegir"] tell her to try again, but blindfolded. She was a little surprised at first until she realized what the real reason for the test was. She nodded before pulling one out and wrapping it tightly around her eyes; after she'd gone back to the starting point. After that she needed a minute to meditate again, breathing deeply and letting herself be engulfed with the Force again before finally starting to see. Only without truly seeing.​

​

She started the track again, reaching out and focusing to find the durasteel before lifting it. Once it dropped back to the obstacle course. She jumped, missing her foot at one point bit managing to catch herself. All the way to the top until dropping down again, this time into a roll right into the arena. She drew her saberstaff but did not activate it. The droids did not fire right away, instead aiming and lining the shots. Morgana had proven wise to wait as the first bolt that came out was blocked the moment she activated her weapon. And, as before, she proved a deeper connection with the Force as she was able to block and dodge.​

​

When it was over and Master Cronos pulled her to the side, asking, she nodded and said "I do. I shouldn't rely only on my sense. But with the Force. It guided me the whole way through."​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

I...wait... what? Cronos opened his mouth, then closed it again, one brow arching to show his confusion. "What do you think about the mission, Morgana. On the datapad I just gave you?"

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

"Oh. Apologies, Master. I didn't understand." (In that I missed that part of the post lol) Taking another look at the information she said "I seems like whosoever is behind this is either really desperate or just crazy. But what do we do? Someone should save the senator while another tries to distract the pirates."

[member="Cronos Aegir"]

 

[Qhorin Solas]

"Simple plans are usually the best. When we arrive on Taris, we'll assess these pirates and see which of us is best suited to what. In the meantime, I want you to return to the meditation chamber. Your body is strong enough; now you must strengthen your mind. I will come collect you when we have arrived."

_______​

Taris loomed beyond the viewport. Cronos eased his ship into the atmosphere, eyes falling upon the vast Crystal City that spanned the entire planet. He angled the ship towards the docking bays, noting the differences in general upkeep of the upper city limits versus the degradation of the lower. It reminded him of Nar Shaddaa, if the infamous smuggler moon had buildings made of what appeared to be Quartz.

He scanned the Force, looking for some sign of the senator, or her kidnappers. Most importantly, he searched for Sith, combing through minds as one might comb through hair.

He found nothing.

Ship docked, he went to collect Morgana, his thoughts again turning to reasons why a band of pirates might kidnap a senator. Morgana had had the right of it; they were either crazy, desperate, or both. No matter, he thought. They would find out soon enough.

"Morgana," he said upon entering the room. "We have arrived. Gather your weapons, and meet me in the hangar in ten minutes." He went to gather his own things, and from there, to the hangar. Before they had reached the planet, he had focused his energies to minimize his presence in the Force, to better facilitate stealth.

The hunt was on.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

On his word Morgana bowed before retuning to the meditation chamber. This time she was careful not to fall asleep. And thanks to the teachings now granted by [member="Cronos Aegir"] she was able to fully delve into the greater power that was the Force. It helped to keep her focused and yet serene while the ship made it's way onward for Taris. Almost no time seemed to go by and yet so much time seemed to pass before Cronos arrived and told her to gather her things. She broken from her concentration to see him before using the force to summing her saberstaff to her hand and putting it on the back of her belt. It took her exactly ten minutes to arrive before joining in in the hanger bay.​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

"You have your comlink? We'll keep use of the Force minimal until we have a better idea of what we're dealing with. Any Sith worth the name would sense us."

The hangar door lowered, and Cronos stepped off the ramp to look upon the docks of Crystal City. He'd docked them at the shipyards of the middle city. Frieighters and corvettes and even starfighters were docked all around the yard, hovering above the winding walkways. And the people -- the majority were human, or at least humanoid, from all walks of life. The upper city, he knew, was nearly entirely populated by humans. The lower city was home to aliens; they lived in filth and squalor, still victim to discrimination. The middle city, where they were, was a blending of the two.

A crystal concourse wound around the shipyard, and was connected to dozens upon dozens of other such walkways, all knifing through the towering crystal structures. Some were thin and spindly, others wide and jagged. He was reminded of Coruscant, only instead of various metals, these buildings were made of crystal.

He walked over to the edge of the concourse and peered over the railing. It was a loooong drop to the surface. "You take the upper city," he told Morgana. "See what you can find, but keep a low profile. I'll search the under city.

Keep your com on; don't hesitate to message me if something happens."

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

When he mentioned it she tapped her ear, feeling the commlink still inside. She nodded to him before the ramp lowered. Seeing Taris in person was quite the site. It wasn't too often she found herself in the cities of the galaxy, let alone one as large as Taris. Everything looked so large and packed together it was an amazement anyone could find anyone in this place. She looked to [member="Cronos Aegir"] when he told her to head upward, nodding before mentally preparing herself to journey alone without him. She knew it was dangerous but the Jedi always had to risk a little danger if it meant the security of the galaxy itself. She went upward and kept a casual profile, only walking about and often gazing at something in a shop or passing by an odd looking object or alien race. She looked, for all intents and purposes, like just another teenager out on the town. So far nothing but Morgana kept a vigilante eye the entire time for anything that might hint as to where the pirates and senator were.​