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Connor had experienced taxing, challenging and at times life threatening situations in his years as a Silver Jedi.
He had battled Sith Lords.
He had been possessed by an evil Taung spirit.
He had defeated a Krayt Dragon.
He had walked the line between Light and Dark.
But word from Coci Heavenshield on a new assignment filled him with a genuine dread – one he could not turn down for her, however, but one that he knew would test him and his being to the limit.
Standing in the training grounds of the Academy, Connor felt a shiver up his spine as the air tickeld his skin over the training vest he wore. Blue eyes fixed on nothing and his stomach turned as he waited for his latest assignment for the Silver Jedi.
Exhaling softly, he closed his eyes and calmed himself for the approaching storm, embracing the peace around him while it lasted.
The Silver Jedi brats, [member="Zak Dymo"] and [member="Théodred Heavenshield"], were on the way.
Holding his mother's hand, Théo eagerly ran up the long corridor in the Voss Academy, he was practically dragging her. As soon as they reached the door, he kissed his mother's cheek in farewell and watched her walk away. Théo pulled on his robes, more nervous reaction than wanting to look good, but he did look good! And he felt like a Jedi Knight.
He is excited, not only to begin his training with a lightsaber but to see his friend again, Zak would be here too! Not sure what to do, Théo waited in the hall before curiosity got the better of him and he walked into the training room. There stood a man he had not seen before, he would only see his back and wide shoulders, but he is tall. But not as tall as his father, no one is that tall.
His hand raised to his face, and like he had seen his father do, he stroked his chin as if he had a beard, in thought. Finally, "Excuse me Master, what do I do?".
Connor opened his eyes with a familiar presence behind; thankfully she had come along as well. Coci, and her son Theo. The soft voice of a child broke the silence, and with a soft smile he turned to face…him. Coci had been here, hadn’t she? Oh no – only leaving the child outside for him to find his way. Now it was just the two of them.
Looking down at the little Heavenshield, he looked much like his parents, holding his father’s confident stature and mother’s authority. What a combination – this child would grow to be a leader of men one day.
Crouching down to be on the level of the Padawan, Connor rested his hands on his knee and smiled.
”Welcome, Padawan. My name is Connor Harrison. I know your Mummy and Daddy very well – my closest friends here. I am very pleased to meet you.”
He held out his hand – he would know to shake hands, wouldn’t he?
While her little brother dragged Coci after him, Nina was far more timid about her first-ever lesson in wielding a lightsaber. She did as she often would, holding her father's hand as the two walked a bit behind the others. Despite being older than the other students that she'd been told would attend the lesson, she was probably the one with the most dread. Not including their instructor, no doubt.
Seeing Nina wear the youngling robes for the first time made Thurion painfully aware of what was going on. No longer could he protect her as he would like, but would rather be forced to watch her become an instrument of the Force. Before joining the others out in the training grounds, he stopped to kneel down before her. "Are you ready?" he asked, to which her only response was a slight nod. "You look ready," he told her while fussing with her small set of robes. In the end, he couldn't resist throwing his arms around her and hold her in tight embrace. "Be careful, will you? Do what Master Harrison tells you and take care of your brother."
Watching her turn away to step out into the training grounds by herself, all he could see was the little girl he rescued on Umbara years ago, before he met Connor or even Coci. But in his heart he knew she wasn't, anymore, and that was what scared him the most. He would remain a little while longer before joining his wife. He held her hand firmly, finding strength in her presence. Nina, meanwhile, now stood beside her brother before Master Harrison. She'd met him before, during the wedding on Midvinter. He was a trusted friend of her parents, and so she felt comfortable having him as her teacher, if only for today.
OOC Note: My apologies for not replying sooner. I had a lot of trouble getting the site to work yesterday.
The young Nautolan appeared to be the oldest of the students.
As per his usual habit, the amphibious youngling eschewed the traditional attire of a Jedi hopeful or padawan in favor of a water-resistant tunic that was more easily adapted to movement in water as on land. He didn't boast a braid or similar ornamentation, which was a trend that went in and out of Jedi fashion in varying eras, though a lightsaber belonging to a Jedi Knight hung from off the belt cinching together the child's simple outfit. It was the weapon of [member="Nefertari Sovint"], the master assigned him during the period in which the Nautolan had studied at the Jedi Academy on Ossus.
The handle of the lightsaber bore signs of its use. Master Sovint had spoken to the boy about constructing his own lightsaber, but the Nautolan imagined he still had much to learn about the Force before then. Plus, he'd heard that the Sith were expanding toward Ilum. An already dangerous quest into the crystal caves had become even more perilous.
But that was why lessons such as today were necessary, even as the Nautolan had doubts from the violence he had witnessed on Attahox or Cyrillia. When he had grown up at the Ossus Temple, the young Nautolan had dreamed of being a Jedi Guardian.
Now... he wasn't sure.
Whether Guardian or Consular, Sentinel or Healer, the work of the Jedi was a neverending story. Jedi like Master Heavenshield, or Harrison, or Whitelight were the ones who turned the page.
Could he learn to be like that?
One thing about being a Jedi Youngling was that no one had ever asked whether Zak wanted to be a Jedi or not. It wasn't something he had ever thought about, raised in the Jedi Academy from the earliest memories that he had. He had no mother that he knew of. He had no father he could recall. Such things didn't exist in his childhood, only Jedi Masters and Youngling Clans.
Watching Theo interact with his mother made the boy wonder what had happened that his parents had let him go. He didn't even know who they were, so they couldn't know who he was.
Because he was a Jedi, and Jedi meant having no attachments.
Except that he did. He had the Jedi. But that was all that he had.
Which, was still amazing for everything that the Jedi were and everything he had learned. He'd helped to liberate Attahox, or free Cyrillia of oppression, or Antar from terror.
But when he saw younglings with their parents, the small Nautolan couldn't help but wonder what else he had missed for all that he had been given.
As he passed Master [member="Coci Heavenshield"], the boy bowed respectfully as he hurried along to where the other students were gathered around their instructor for the day. Master Harrison. A human of whom the boy had heard of in passing, one of the masters of the Council of the Silver Jedi.
Coming to a stop, so that he stood with the group, the Nautolan's black eyes looked over a near-human girl who seemed close to his age. At least, closer than Theo was -- being that there was a six year gap between the two boys.
"Master," the boy intoned politely, as he turned toward the human man and bowed. Straightening back up, the Nautolan looked at the girl and said, "Hi! I'm Zak."
Theo, he already knew.
On that note, the boy wondered how [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] was enjoying the skylight that the two of them had installed in the Grandmaster's office for him.
Although Théo is excited to be here and begin training, he is nervous. He took the masters hand to shake and looked into his face, and relaxed a bit when he spoke of his parents. Having not met this master before, it was a welcome relief that he was a friend of the family. His countenance relaxed further when Nina entered the room and stood beside him. Without thoughts he reached out for her and held her hand, this for her comfort as well as his own.
But a smile broke across his face as his friend Zak arrived, "Hello Master Harrison", he finally spoke firstly to the elder. "Hello Zak. Nina can't talk but she understands you". It was difficult for Théo to speak to Nina as well, not having great ability to use telepathy yet but they had developed a means to communicate. But he was getting better.
This was getting intense now – three youths were suddenly present. Nina he recognised from Midvinter, and young Zak from around the Temple itself. But Théo making a point Nina couldn’t talk was a surprise to Connor – was this intentional, or part of an accident? A sudden wave of uncomfortable heat ran up his spine.
”Zak, nice to meet you! Nina, it’s a pleasure to see you again. I hope you’re all well? This is my first time training Younglings, so I look forward to seeing what we can do.”
He smiled and stayed crouched down – the future of the Silver Jedi never looked so eager and cute, but terrifying, at the same time. It was ghostly quiet, and Connor felt he was the only adult Jedi in the entire Temple at this point.
”So, do you all know why you’re here today? Tell me your biggest dream as a Silver Jedi. What do you want be like as Jedi when you’re older?”
He suddenly remembered what Théo said, and he looked at Nina.
”Words or no words, the Force will paint your picture to me, young one. It’s ok.”
Suddenly it dawned on him he may have made a vital mistake he was going to keep the reigns tight – he’d admitted this was the first time he’s trained Younglings. Let’s hope that comment washed over them.
Nina felt her brother's tiny hand in hers and squeezed it softly. For all his sometimes annoying antics, she still loved him dearly and would protect him no matter what. That's what big sisters do. When Master Harrison introduced himself she bowed, having watched her father during many Jedi interactions. It did feel odd, though, bowing instead of curtseying like she was used to.
As the obvious topic of her inability to speak arose, Nina looked down at the ground briefly. She felt she'd disappointed their teacher and her fellow students, but eventually she reached out to touch Zak's hand. "Hello, Zak," she voiced in his mind while offering a gentle smile. Not waiting for Zak to reply, she did the same to Connor, speaking into his mind. "I want to be like dad," came her answer to the question posed.
He felt her gentle squeeze and returned it, they stood side by side as Heavenshield's and would always as far as Théo was concerned. No matter what Nina is his sister and would protect her equally, regardless of the constant looking out for him when he does not want it or need it. She is his star in the darkness. She just needs to stop pestering him to play with those confounded dolls and stuff.
Théo considered Master Harrison's questions for a moment, sure his Papa was like the most powerful Jedi Ever! and as a man commanding and imposing. Mother of course is simply awesome! ( ) but she has that look, you know the one? just that simple look given to say she is not happy about something and you cannot do nothing but stop. But as much as he would hope to be half as great as his parents .. there is only one person that Théo looks to for inspiration to be great.
"I want to be like my grandfather Dawnbringer", he said shyly. Grandfather Dawnbringer is no Jedi or even force attuned but he is the most strongest man Théo has meet, not just in physical strength but in life.
The young Nautolan put a hand on the shoulder of the smaller boy as he spoke, though the green-skinned amphibian wasn't quite following. Couldn't talk, but she what? So, she was mute?
"Hello, Zak."
The boy's head-tails bounced as his head perked up, immediately breaking into a smile as the voice echoed in his mind. She was a telepath? "That's so cool!" the boy blurted aloud.
The question from Master Harrison was a little more complicated for him. Turning toward the older Jedi, the boy frowned and looked down in thought while the other younglings spoke. When he had looked up, the boy opted to answer honestly and said, "I used to think I wanted to be a Guardian, but... now I don't know."
Staying crouched, Connor nodded and smiled gently at all 3 younglings before him with their answers; each wanting to be someone they modelled and respected, bar Zak who didn’t seem to know, but that was good enough. They were young – times and minds would change in years to come. This was simply a way of ice-breaking.
”Good. Good.” Connor said. ”Ok, well, today, let’s have some fun, alright? Don’t tell anyone – but when you train with me, I make sure it will be exciting and fun and not borrrrrring like other Jedi can be.”
He grinned and little and stood up, clasping his hands. So far so good.
”As you can see, there are remotes here and training sabers. So we are going to have a session with blades today.”
Connor walked back to the far table of the arena they stood in and opened the large compartment that stored training saber hilts – large and small – and took three out. With nothing more but a sharp jolt from the sabers if they connected with a body, these were perfectly safe for training and a comfortable size for little hands and minds. He turned to the younglings.
”Now I’m sure you’ve all seen the lightsaber in action – looks pretty exciting doesn’t it? Well today we will start your journey to becoming a strong, galaxy-saving Jedi.”
He let go of the hilts, and used the Force to control them floating in the air as he stepped back. Each one rotating slowly, held by his mind as he stepped back.
”Come choose your hilt, and find a safe space to activate it, and we will begin.”
Connor seemed like a nice man. She'd thought so since their first meeting on Midvinter when her parents got married. She even managed to offer him a shy smile before she took a step back to stand beside her brother and Zak again.
Once the tube-like objects were presented to them, she recognized them as lightsaber hilts. She'd witnessed her father use it on many occasions, again on Midvinter but years before he met Coci or even knew Thrand was his father. When asked to pick one, Nina didn't take long to decide on the one she felt was most comfortable; it was slightly curved and weighed practically nothing.
Activating it, she gave it a couple of careful swings to get a feel for it, and immediately she felt graceful just holding it. She then remembered something, also from Midvinter: She used her father's weapon to kill one of those undead things that tried to sneak up on him and grandpa, thinking they'd already disposed of it. It terrified her at the time, but now she felt she was in control.
He admires the hilts of his mother and father, as they walk around with them clipped to their belts. But that was as close to them as he was allowed, forbid to go anywhere near them. He had gotten close .. once. His parents keeping them locked away in a safe, when at home on Tabaqui, he had just about got the combination to the safe, when he was interrupted by a call to dinner. Although he had never really seen one in action, he knew well enough what they are for.
As the training sabers floated toward them, Théo spied one that took his fancy. Just the right size for his small hands, thin and long and silver. There seemed to be some sort of engraving on the side of it which fascinated him as he plucked it from the air. It was engraved with words of a different language he did not know but something told him this saber was old, had a history and he wondered which Jedi might have trained with it, just like himself.
Then a wave of doubt set in. His former excitement replaced with nerves as he moved to find his own space in the room. What if I am not good enough? What if I can't do this? Although unwarranted he did not wish to let his parents down, he did not wish to see the look on their faces if he failed today. These things and more ran through the mind of a child.
Théo ignited his saber, a shorter blade sprang to life before his eyes, blue just like his Papa's.
Smiling, the small Nautolan watched as the two younger children selected their hilts.
It wasn't that long ago that he'd had a similar experience on Ossus. And, yet, it seemed as though a great of things had happened since then. Reaching to his belt, the amphibious youngling lifted up the hand-made training saber gifted to him by [member="Nefertari Sovint"] on the occasion of his becoming her padawan. "May I use my master's saber, Master?"
He held the inert handle out for the human master to inspect if he chose to. It was a simple design. Non-lethal, low power by default -- though it could be switched to lethal power levels by a Jedi Knight.
Master Sovint had enabled the lethal power setting for him during the Cyrillia mission.
And the Jedi Shadow mission.
And the mission to Tattooine.
For guardians of the peace, Jedi sure hurt a lot of people. Or, at least, it seemed that way. Sometimes.
As each saber was taken by their respective Youngling, except Zak, who had his own which Connor openly agreed to after inspection, he returned the spare and pulled open another cabinet – remotes were lined inside.
”Now, Younglings. We are going to see how quick your reactions are against these harmless remotes.”
3 small orbs came to life behind Connor, and moved up with a hiss and a jerk to hover in a line before each of the children.
”They will each give a loud beep when they are going to fire a bolt of energy – please do not worry, the energy is harmless and will simply dissolve on impact. After each beep, the remote will fire and I want you to absorb the bolt with your lightsaber, and not your head or your arm!”
He smiled and walked behind the trio.
”Let the Force help you feel when the shot will come and act, just as you have seen other Jedi do. Do not hesitate, and let trust your instincts. Let’s see who can repel most blasts shall we? Each will fire 5 times, so do your best.”
Taking a few more steps to the side to make more room, Théo looked up at the floating ball that appeared to be blinking at him. It rotated in a jerking motion with several round holes like eyes, and seemed to Théo like it was looking for something. It was! Him!
Although he heard the words of Master Harrison, he did not understand them all, but he did understand that this ball was about to fire at him. His gut lurched and his nerves formed like butterflies fighting to get out of his stomach. Use my instincts? what are they?
The first bolt came and Théo jumped to the side. His saber had not moved and remained high above his head but the bolt hit the floor. Théo's instincts had kicked in, and the force was pulled to his legs for speed to move out of the way.
The second bolt issued for the ball, this time it seemed to anticipate his move as he jumped away once more, this time it hit him in the leg. The surprise of it made Théo yell out. "Hey!" and he began to run around the room with the ball chasing him, firing as the two circumnavigated the room.
Nina gently switched her training saber back on, then tensed up as the little droid buzzed around in the air. Her stance was a timid one, and a bit stale, so when the first shot came she jumped, then puffed her cheeks as she'd missed blocking it. Determination began to settle in, and her body-language shifted. She'd watched her father on numerous occasions, and decided to mimic his movements going by what she remembered.
Eyes narrowed and the tip of her tongue peeked out of the corner of her mouth as she adjusted her stance, both hands grasping the hilt with renewed focus. When the next zap came, she was ready and rather handily absorbed it with her weapon. She felt overjoyed and turned to her little brother, who somehow had managed to seemingly teleported to the other side of the training area. It didn't take long for her to notice him running in fear from the tiny droid firing at him. Her first reaction was to giggle at her brother's misfortune, but then as he came around for another lap, she plucked him off the ground and held him.
"Théo, it's fine. See?" she told him via telepathy before letting him back down. The droid has ceased firing and now sat floating, waiting for further commands from their teacher. She then gave her brother a soft pat on the head and smiled.
It hasn't happened a lot, that people were actually kicked from the Sith Academy, because they were too light aligned and a Sith would've almost shown a pity on her rather than corruption. She got at the Silver Jedi Voss Academy last night and was being taken in the hands of the Silver Jedi to rehabilitate her from the dark-side if she was influenced in any way, but also help her to become an asset to the Silver Jedi.
The girl had no track of time and was taken out of her room a bit too late. The class had already started and she was being escorted by a protocol droid. She held her own Teddy bear in her Padawan clothes close to her. When they were finally after a long slow walk by the speed that the protocol droid maintained at the classroom. It opened the door and stepped forward.
"Greetings, Master Harrison. I have come with an escort. This is new padawan Chashmona. She had no track of time and I apologize for not having escorted her earlier."
When the girl appeared before the droid she held her old Teddy Bear tightly against her chest. She made quick eye contact with everyone and looked down after that towards ground close near the master feet. She was so tense, even if children her age were there, she had been for quite some time anti social.
As Master Neffy had been teaching the boy Makashi, and the young Nautolan had sought out a teacher to induct him in the aggressive blade work of Djem So, his training had focused a great deal on lightsaber combat. The aquatic youngling hadn't thought about blaster defense. At least, not since the Republic's mission to Cyrillia, when he'd saved his master's life with it.
Strange, how important it had seemed then. And how quickly he'd let it slip his mind and focused on everything but that.
As the training droid gave a beep, the Nautolan snapped from out of his brooding. The moss green skin took on a yellowing tinge as the orange blade ignited in his hands, the same moment in which the harmless training bolt was fired in the air. A flash like amber lightning illuminated the area in front of the aquatic youth, as the nine year old padawan absorbed the bolt from the droid and then dropped into a basic defensive stance.
Theo's cry stole the Nautolan's attention away, as Zak turned to look away and realized that the smaller boy was now running from the training droid, as it prepared to take a second shot at the boy.
Zak's was preparing to take a second shot as well.
At the sound of the beep, the boy's arm swept upward even while the tip of the lightsaber was angled downward. As the bolt was absorbed in another flash of amber light, the youngling spun the weapon in his hand. Nina had absorbed her shot as well, and was now reaching out to console Theo. "Just relax," the Nautolan offered by way of advice, casually throwing the training lightsaber behind his back, catching it with his right hand and twirling it as he readied himself for the third shot from the training droid. "Your body will know what to do."
No, that hadn't made any sense to him the first time he'd been told it either. But, it was more or less how it worked. Zak had learned that the challenge was to stop trying to tell his body what to do, or anticipate what he'd need to do. Don't think, feel.
Which, if there was something Zak was good at, it was not thinking!
Just for a fleeting moment, Théo reverted back to the small scared boy and clung to Nina as she scooped him up. When she said it was nothing to worry about, he grew in confidence and turned to look at the remotes. However he became annoyed at himself of letting them get to him and annoyed that Nina had picked him up in front of the whole class and the Master Jedi! Oh how fickle a boys mind is.
Deep down however, he is grateful to his sister, loves her for her kind nature and when he is feeling bad about something it is she that he turns to. But not in front of Zak! How embarrassing.
At this moment a new comer entered the lesson, a small girl . . Oh not another girl! Zak and Théo are becoming over run with them. Internally, Théo sighed and went back to his remote. But before he took stance once more, he watched Zak. Wow he is good! Right! if Zak can do it, so can I.
He positioned himself in the way Master Harrison had instructed and relaxed his body and mind, the remote whizzed once more and looked menacing and fired. Again Théo jumped to the side, his training saber remained high and in fixed position, as the bolt hit the floor once more, but this time Théo stood his ground and waited for the next.
The blue blade moved to strike as the second bolt fizzed through the air, he made contacted but before the energy bolt diminished to nothingness, the strike pushed the saber with enough force to make Théo drop it. Bending down to retrieve it as quickly as he could, he was not quick enough and another bolt fired hitting him in the bum.
"Ahhhh!". Théo shot bolt upright rubbing his wounded area, cheeks puffed out in anger, and his mind now focused on destroying the horrid thing.
) but she has that look, you know the one? just that simple look given to say she is not happy about something and you cannot do nothing but stop. But as much as he would hope to be half as great as his parents .. there is only one person that Théo looks to for inspiration to be great.