Kriegspiel

[Connor Harrison]

Kriegspiel;
A popular variant in which players do not know the moves of the other,
and determine their moves based on limited information from observation.

Unknown Location
Erilnar, Centrality Sector ​

Connor would be lying if he said he wasn’t annoyed. Not at Taeli, , or that idiot Solan, or the Silver Jedi…not much anyhow…but with the galaxy in itself. It was just a place that bred nothing but uncertainty and bad-taste. There was always someone out for something better than someone else, and in turn had power behind them to fight another power. The cycle would repeat itself, the blind leading the blind, and nothing good would come of it. Something had to change, soon, for the greater good. To shake things up and unsettle the balance that lulled people into stagnant routine.

Licking his lip gently, sore from his recent encounter with a brash but rather similar soldier of the Force, Connor sighed and followed the signal on his com that [member="Taeli Rae"] had left open for him in the unknown Centrality Sector; the planet Erilnar. Connor hadn’t been to his place before or even heard of it, but coming down through the atmosphere he was greeted with a breath-taking landscape that looked to be dominated by more water than earth.

Outposts were dotted alone the way, lush green fields and temples, raging rapids and waterfalls and peaceful lakes. Quite a peaceful looking planet, and just the sort of place he expected to find one seeking a path back to the Light.

Brushing a hand over his heavy stubble, far more than just small whiskers, Connor honed in on the signal and saw her sleek ship first on one of the bigger…islands? Was it an island, or just a large stretch of mainland surrounded by lakes and rivers? He didn’t know, but he circled overhead to gauge the terrain and had to come in a little further back from where her ship was, and would have to traverse a little over walkways to reach her.

The E-wing came down, with a large observatory-esque building looking to the right and a number of small barns and mills to the left. Truly a unique little planet if ever he’d seen one. Killing the engine and taking a minute to gather his thoughts for whatever lay ahead, Connor pulled back the cockpit hatch, reached in for his lightsaber hilt just in case and pulled himself up and out and down onto the soft ground below.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

To say she had been waiting in anticipation was a bit of an understatement, she had gone through five books since the short little com call . . . and that was just from nervousness. She did enjoy the scenery though, it was one reason she had decided that the company she ran might actually establish their new headquarters out her. It was such an idealistic world and it was just off the major hyperlanes in this sector. Looking up, she saw a familiar E-Wing cut through the sky and land a bit further than she expected.

Then again, the land around here was rather . . . lacking. It was mostly lakes and other bodies of water, but that just made the place unique in her opinion. She didn't have her lightsaber on her, just her shoto and hidden blade. She had finally finished the designs of her new glasses though, and she was dressed in just a light blue sundress since she was currently here just to relax.

She had no idea how this meeting would go, well she had hopes anyways, but from what she had felt . . . Connor didn't seem as confused about his path in the Force now. She wondered what he was thinking though. She would find out soon enough though.

 

[Connor Harrison]

The city over in the distance was breath-taking to the point that Connor stopped mid-way through setting over the stone walkways to Taeli’s ship to look at it. The spires reached up into the skies, the domes were big and helping reflect the sun and the perimeter walls were imposing and looked strong, but in a planet divided by nothing but water, defence was probably important for the cities in bad weather.

Connor let the water splashing over his boots bring him back, and he looked down to focus on stepping over the stones and makeshift bridges to his destination. A few more steps, a little leap and he landed on the bank.

He pressed on another minute and came up behind her ship, sleek and stylish as ever. Running a hand over the hull, Connor lowered his head as he walked around and under the wing, to come out the other end. Taeli was there; he could feel her peaceful demeanour, sitting just beyond the ship. The butterflies in his stomach were unexpected, but he knew that this was still shaky ground, and their last few encounters had been nothing but disastrous and eventful, and painful, for both.

”Hi Taeli. I said I’d be back, so…”

A little egotistical, arms open and a smile under the heavy stubble, he certainly looked like he’d been living these last few days. The air was fresh, the Force was strong in the life around them and the water was peaceful and soothing.

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Hello Connor," she said, slowly getting up as he spread his arms. Walking over slowly, she embraced him with a smile, even as the nervousness in her continued unabated. Running a hand along the stubble, she giggled a little bit and added, "I think someone is in need of a shave. That piece of scruff must be itchy. I don't think I will ever understand the appeal of someone with a beard and I feel like I'm rambling again. Am I rambling? Oh yes, I suppose I am."

She was letting her nerves get to her, but she took a deep breath to calm herself a bit.

"So how do you like Erilnar?" she asked, taking a step back but still had her arms wrapped around him. "I rather like it a lot, but then I'm a sucker for peaceful and quiet atmospheres that are great for reading and research. I thought I might set up my company out here, away from the hustle and bustle of Coruscant . . . and the Sith. And I'm doing it again, anyways, how was Voss and another trip to Nar Shaddaa? Learn anything new about yourself?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

With the smile from Taeli warming him, he returned her hug as she came to him and looked out at the city in the distance, and everything felt ok again. Sticking out his chin a little at her comment, he too ran a hand over the stubble.

”Mm, yeah a couple of days is fine but I can’t have a beard, I’m not a walking carpet.”

He rested an arm around her shoulder and walked slowly back towards where she had come from, books over the floor like a mini-library, again, casually as if nothing else mattered and he could try and find his way.

”My trip wasn’t as ground-breaking as I may have wanted it to be, but confirmed that the Silver Jedi aren’t functioning well at all, and my patience is running thin with them. And...” he stopped and turned to look at the smiling Raaf.

”How did you know I’d been to Voss at all? And Nar Shaddaa? Keeping an eye on me in case I went to Coruscant or did something stupid, hm?”

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

Grinning sheepishly, she reached up to the collar of his armor and removed the tiny transmitter so it was sitting on the tip of her index finger.

"Something I've been working on, a tiny micro transmitter that uses the Holonet relays in a system to transmit a location of whatever it is stuck on, in this case you," Taeli said, grinning a bit. "I did indeed want to make sure you didn't go harrowing off on some dang foolish crusade without knowing where you were so I could come help if you got into a situation that was . . . a bit more than you could chew by yourself."

Placing the transmitter back inside the small pod it was kept in, she turned her full attention back to the man in front of her.

"I'm sorry the Silvers have been straining your patience, I suppose that can happen eventually," she said, a soft smile on her features. "Look at me and the Sith. I'm out here on the Outer Rim currently, doing my business, and avoiding going back to the Core for a bit. I'm tired of them, all of them except for my former master who I still get along with, but I'm just about ready to leave them. Also I'm sorry your trip wasn't as ground-breaking as you hoped for, but you look much more rested than the last time I saw you."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor let out a long breath and shook his head, looking at her dainty finger and the small transmitter on it. She was clever, he’ll give her that. And sneaky. A model Sith in her day.

”Well, I’m glad I disappointed you and made it back in one piece and not one bone was broken or anything.”

It sounded to him that Taeli was in a position similar to him; seeking solace away from the headache of Orders and duties that just didn’t make you confident you were doing your full potential or greater good for the galaxy.

”It’s fine, and I think I’m doing what you are. Trying to make sense of things, evaluate my affairs as such. I feel a little clearer than before. I just need to find a way to go, otherwise I’ll let myself down and just be living a lie.”

Looking out again, all around, he nodded in approval.

”And sorry, yes, this is a beautiful place. Not the most practical however. You just live out of your ship? Saying that, do you have anything at all I can use to freshen up because, I’m starting to feel I can speak Wookiee and that’s not good.”

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Oh, I'm not disappointed in the slightest, I like you in one piece," she said, smiling, while internally facepalming at her choice of words. He knew she liked him, he could always feel it when around her if he focused just a little bit. "It's more of the sense I just don't belong with the Sith anymore. I mean you can feel how light I've become, that doesn't make for a good Sith."

Some playful teasing came from his mouth about her living out of her ship, and she both wanted to laugh and lightly hit him. He had absolutely no room to talk at all.

"Says the person who flies around in an E-Wing and doesn't appreciate that a decent size ship can actually allow one to live comfortably while they fly around from site to site and enjoy themselves," Taeli said, some good-natured teasing in her voice. "There should be some stuff in the refresher to help you get that carpet off your face, freshen up a bit."

Taking him by the arm, she led him over to the ramp of her ship and actually gave him a bit more of a tour this time. He had been unconscious last time, and then only seen her bedroom and the common area that had the entrance and exit ramp. One thing he would certainly notice was just how many full book shelves she had lying around in the place, along with a small workbench with parts, and a small alchemy set she kept on board if she really needed it.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Rolling his tongue around his teeth, he blinked in defeat at her quick repartee.

”Size isn’t everything y’know,” he muttered, letting her lead on to the ship.

Having a good look around with her as guide, Connor wasn’t overly fascinated with ships and the whole mechanics by them, but the design and practicality did. He could spend hours standing out in Voss watching ships pass overhead, full of who knew what, going who knew where on some voyage to help or hinder a planet.

The way ships looked to move so slow up above by cut through the atmosphere and even hyper drive at speeds that were dizzying. And the fact, as Taeli noted, one could live out of a ship and need nothing more. Connor would love that luxury, but he had neither the funding nor knowledge of where to look and what to go for. He lived only for the Silvers, and had nothing to call his own. From the Corvette that Corvus had shown him, now to this from Taeli, the Raaf sisters really hit home to Connor that his E-wing relic was good, but could be better. Just like the owner.

He smiled and took in all her books, and trinkets, and decorative clothing and alchemy sets in various rooms and quarters. She certainly was rather clever, and fuelled by a quest to learn and harvest knowledge.

Breaking away from Taeli in the refresher, Connor pulled the door and began a slight detoxification process. Turning on the hot water, he had enough to fill the basin he stood in front of. As the steam began to rise, he worked to unclip his armor; the neck, the abdomen, the gauntlets. It fell to the floor with his aide, and then he worked the groin and thigh plates, also falling. With his combat trousers and boots, he reached up and pulled his vest up and away.

The steam rose before the small mirror, and it allowed Connor chance to check he was still in one piece – one big broken, horribly wounded piece anyway. Inverted pot-hole scars that still made his stomach turn when he touched them, mangled flesh from burns and a nice couple of bruises. And that was just the front of his body. The tapestry of scars left by the very lady outside was something he had never seen properly, and didn’t want to either.

He rolled the neck muscles and set about washing his face with the water, hot enough to take his breath away as he looked for something to shave with. Two blades of various lengths were on the side, and although there were shaped more for a female, Connor had to make do. He set about a slow-process of shaving with foamed up soap, and wouldn’t be too long before he would be done.

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

While he was in the refresher, Taeli went to grab a book she had been reading beforehand, a detailed history on this sector of the galaxy with an aim at the people that had formed the Centrality. She had been curious about the people here and the history of the Centrality, so she had picked it up at one of the local book stores.

She wondered what he thought of her ship, and the fact her ship was literally piled high with different books and things. It was quite clear she was a scholar at heart from just one glance at her ship, and that her primary goal in life was the acquisition of knowledge just because she liked to learn everything she could.

Sitting in one of her comfy armchairs while Connor shaved, she also pondered something else. She had seen the scars and injuries he had acrued over a long career of being a Jedi, and no doubt others had suffered such. Maybe it would be good to develop something that might wipe away some of those scars, help them repair the physical damage they had taken so they could be more effective in the field. It might also help with the psychological scarring if their bodies were fully healed.

Food for thought, she thought, turning a page of her book. She wasn't without scars herself, but the biggest one was the incision she had given herself so she could place a Vong seed within her so she could access Vongsense. On the advice of a friend, she had had that removed, but she needed to make a trip to Yuuzhan'tar in the Outer Rim to gain a lambent crystal to get that ability again.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Holding the small towel to his face, ice cold on his skin, the pores closed up and he felt far better. Wiping his brow, hair slightly damp after the cleansing heat from the steam, Connor pulled on his black vest and left the armour – he’d move it later. Typical man.

”That felt good. Don’t worry, I’ve cleaned the basin out. You’re all clear.”

Walking out and stretching his arms to the side and behind his back, he moved through the narrow walkway into the main hold and saw her, once more, in a book. The corner of his mouth curled into a smile as he craned his head to see the title. She may note his broken body, but he knew she'd seen it before when she had repaired him the first time.

”What you reading? Anything interesting?”

As he spoke, he stood by the book shelf beside her in the comfy chair and turned his head to read the spines of the random selection of books in his eye line. Thick ones, thin ones, some in a foreign text, some catering to simply hobbies.

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Just a history of the Centrality," she said, looking up and she felt her breath catch for a bit. Why oh why did he have to look the way he did? Without the scruff, those cheekbones and good looks were once again on full display. She did feel a pang of sadness at just how badly scarred his torso was though, and she resolved to develop something to eliminate the scarring.

"Ahem, well . . . um . . . huh where was I again?" she asked, more to herself than anything else. Noticing he was looking over her choice of books, she smiled a bit as she once again was able to restore her calm demeanor. "I have a wide taste in books, covering a huge range of topics, and I'll just say I have a few guilty pleasure romance novels hidden away somewhere and why am I saying that aloud?"

Her face went red yet again. He always seemed to cause that reaction for her.

"So um . . . did you want to talk about anything in particular?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor grinned as he looked over the shelves of books - her radiance in the Force was obvious, but he didn't want to read too much into it. He couldn't. Someone always got hurt.

His fingers tickled the sleeves of the books as he slowly sidestepped to the edge, and then naturally came down to crouch by a table with some interesting alchemy set.

”Beauty AND brains...and a babbler of words. You are so your sister's sister it's scary.”

He tapped a glass vial with his finger and studied it, drawn to his tender finger - it wasn't sore, but it tingled with the burning of the nerve endings.

”I would like to ask one thing, and don't bite my head off, but could you - would you - teach me how to channel the Force lighting in a more controlled manner?”

It was a big question, and if he looked at her, he'd feel bad for asking, but he had to.

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"I'll take that as a compliment, although as I'm older than her by four years, it's more of the reverse, she's more like me in those regards," Taeli said with a soft smile as she closed the book.

As he observed the alchemy kit that was bubbling away, she couldn't help but still feel bad about what she did to his back. Although the current view was rather pleasant. Then he asked his question about Force Lightning.

She was torn because she didn't want to endanger his wellbeing and soul be showing him how to channel the dark side power, but she also didn't want him hurt either.

"I won't teach you how to use Force Lightning," she said, a small note of hesitation in her voice. "However . . . I suppose I could tell you the theory and such behind it, but on two conditions. One, you use light side emotions to create Electric Judgment and two, you take me out on a date in the nearby city."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Eyes danced to Taeli in his peripheral vision, and then back to the bubbling liquids. A response he expected, but also not expected. He smiled, a very natural one and he felt slightly flattered - a date? This was all too surreal.

”I can't argue with that, can I.”

He stood up and linked his hands behind his back, chuckling again and trying to find somewhere to look, anywhere but those violet eyes.

”Well, I would love to learn more about the Force in anyway I can - please, you tell me and show me about the way to control Force Lightning...this Judgement...and, I will see that we can have some time together, in a city or wherever you want. It's up to you, I don't mind, really.”

Connor looked to her and scratched his shoulder and narrowed his eye playfully.

”That was a bit forward for a Raaf wasn't it?”

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Well I'm not as oblivious as my sister in such things," Taeli laughed, standing up. "Let's move this outside as I really don't want to risk any damage to my books. I'd be very cross if anything happened to them."

Heading down the ramp again, Connor following behind her probably, she stopped in a relatively clear area that was far enough away from her ship that there was no risk of any spillover. She was still uncomfortable in doing this, but as long as he didn't use his darker emotions to fuel it, she would be fine. First sign of darkness though, she was slapping him across the face.

"So, Lighting, or in this case Electric Judgment, is best learned by experiencing it," she started to explain going into full lecture mode. "As you . . . uh undoubtedly know that, we will skip that whole part. So, to effectively use these techniques, the energy needs to be sent in one continuous flow. The visualization that I used to help teach this was to think of your arm as a river, the energy is the water flowing down the river, and your fingers are the smaller rivers that feed out into a larger thing. In this case the air since we don't have a target unless you aim for the ground. Basically, you want to keep the flow even and steady, otherwise, you'll end up burning your hands again."

Demonstrating, she pointed her hand at the ground and focused on her love for her sisters. Allowing the Force to flow through her, she called upon the memory of performing the technique and the feel of the energy racing down her arm, doing all of this slowly and openly for Connor to sense how she did it. The energy flowed down her arm, towards her fingers, and out as a spray of green electricity that erupted from the tip of her fingers and singing the ground.

Cutting it off, she looked at him expectantly.

"If I see blue or purple, I'm slapping you, fair warning," she said.

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a small bow, Connor let her lead on, laughing to himself at the contrast between two sisters never so more apart but so similar at the same time. It was just a horrible situation that it was the same gene pool effectively pulling him in two ways.

Stepping out, the chill in the air hit his skin and he felt it, but it didn’t faze him. Following her out to the bank of the ground, with the water out all around them, Connor stood and rested his chin on his hand as he listened, watched and raised his eyes in surprise seeing the green energy flow from Taeli like, as she said, water – controlled and direct.

”Just…be patient, alright?”

Connor walked up beside her and rubbed his fingers, the seed of doubt starting to eat at him; the pain last time was something he had to overcome or he would build a dam in that river of energy and it would hurt again.

He rubbed his hands and thought about what he could as he allowed the Force around him to flow through him, and he could feel it controlled by his intention to release it. The image of warriors on Panatha came to him, and the death of Iella…and then the Sith attacking him in the Ranger ship where Sochi died.

Pushing out his right hand, he sharply let a burst of Force energy come from his fingers, and it was wild, sparking in no clear way – and it was tinged with purple, and it hurt.

Connor winced and snapped his hand back as the wisps of energy died in mid-air. He cursed and clenched a fist.

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Slap number one," she sighed, lightly hitting his face, although this one was in more of a teasing way than anything else. If it happened again though . . . well, he would know he deserved it fully. "I'm guessing you let too many dark thoughts and emotions cloud your mind as you pulled on the energy. This is different than Sith Force Lightning, Connor. You can't think about any of the traumatic events in your life, you need to either stay calm and focused . . . or draw on positive emotions like hope and love."

Leaning up to whisper in his ear, she added, "Don't doubt yourself that you can do it, I believe you can. Just think of it like water flowing down a riverbed."

Moving back a bit, she gestured for him to try again. She hoped she wasn't wrong about this, she truly did believe in him that he could do this version of lightning and not give into the darkness that had tainted this first attempt to control it. If he needed another demonstration to comprehend how to do it and see it in the Force, she would of course, do so.

'Come on, Connor, I know you can do it,' she thought to herself.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Not really reacting to her gentle slap, Connor nodded, looking at his hand and felt embarrassed and frustrated. This was where he knew he would falter, so he stood back and exhaled, as if ready to run a gauntlet ahead of him.

Rubbing his tender fingers over his palm, his blue eyes looked into the mesmerizing city in the distance and focused on nothing except what Taeli said. He reached out with his right arm, shaking slightly and closed his eyes.

The Force wrapped around him and he let it flow to the point where it had to be expelled from his body in the form of energy, and his emotions went array at that point – the thought of love turned to being along and hitting Nima, and being rebuffed by Corvus, and the thought of hope led to him thinking about his redemption only to see the faces of those angry at him in the Silver Jedi. Anger.

He held it back, but it came out – purple lighting, and when he felt the release, he pushed harder and didn’t fight it, he let it snap out of his fingers into the ground below and exhaled as he did, the light dancing off his black clothing. Naturally he stemmed the energy, and it didn’t hurt as much, but it wasn’t the result Taeli wanted. Connor tilted his head back, sighed and scoffed.

”Guess I’m all out of hope and love. Better keep practicing.”

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

She was silent this time before her hand shot out, slapping him across the face again. Huh, didn't cut herself, but those cheekbones were still great. Still, now she finally had an understanding of why he had been faltering on his path. He had no hope or love left within him, only pain. Oh Connor, oh Connor.

"Let me try something," she said, her voice soft as her hand gently caressed his cheek where she had hit him. It was a soft gesture, her eyes locking onto his. Purple met brown as she just stared into his eyes, before leaning in to kiss him ever so gently and pulling back. He would feel her emotions clearly, but she wasn't pushing them or anything. She would simply let him see her belief in him.

"Now try again, and don't look away," she said, her eyes still locked onto his and her hand on his cheek still. "Don't let your mind or heart focus on the pain in your life, or your anger, or your annoyance. I know it's hard, but try and focus on something else."