Lost in the Supermarket

[Cathul Thuku]

Significant headway has been made in getting Skor rebuilt, with the Metrobig Salvagestuff Platform now reopened, but more stuff still needed to be done to address the devastation caused by the Graug, Vong and the First Order. In that occasion, she used what time she had to get the work finished on Skor. Certainly the Squibs would appreciate a new concept for Pizza Hutt shops: a Pizza Hutt where the stuff is separated in two areas. The supermarket part, where the locals can shop for groceries coming from all over the sector, and the restaurant part that everybody in Alliance-land has come to know and love. Today [member="Taunwe Trebor"] has come to witness the supermarket being built around Metrobig City, near the site of the slaughter inflicted by one Kaine Zambrano around the Hall of Big-Time Heroes of Beyond-Squib Eliteness, and not just because she invited him to learn a few Force-powers. And how to use the powers outside of battle, which all too many of her fellow Jedi failed to show. Because there is more to Jedi-hood than combat... then again she spent several weeks back at Therapy Command HQ on Sullust tending to the wounded of the Ison Corridor that somehow survived this defeat.

"Welcome to Skor" Cathul told Taunwe in the supermarket still under construction.

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

" Thank you for having me. Cathul is it? "

Taunwe was looking around at the big construction zone. Everywhere he looked there was something being built. It was very busy. He felt the presence of many beings getting to work. After the force hibernation he was in, he was still not yet used to what the galaxy held out for him. Now he was going to be under instruction of a Twi'lek who would teach him a few force powers to use.

It was sort of shaming Taunwe, but he did not mind. In the Kunri Realm, the force was more strong and easy to connect to and manipulate. But here in the galaxy, it was more difficult which meant that Taunwe would have to seek techniques and powers to better assist him in and out of battle.

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Yes. Today's agenda will comprise three or four things. Telekinesis, pyrokinesis, cryokinesis and possibly Force-healing"

She could feel that [member="Taunwe Trebor"] was a little rusty in the ways of the Force, and with limited power, he was going to need every help he could get to get back to speed. While the kitchen in the restaurant section was nearly complete, the supermarket section was anything but. For this reason, he was being brought to a spot where beams still needed to be assembled, and welded into place, using telekinesis. Hopefully the beam won't melt away and then trouble would likely ensue, but Cathul remained calm in that light: she trained several Jedi in these very things. There was a reason why she would ask for training as many Force-powers as they can when they still have little power. For now, anyway, he would have a rivet handed right in front of him, on the floor, for him to place into the hole, using telekinesis. Meanwhile, around the two, Squibs were hard at work assembling other rivets and other durasteel beams into position so that the building they call a supermarket could be finished for the new building they called a Super Pizza Hutt, with a crane overhead them.

"Today's first lesson is about telekinesis. Try to move the rivet into the hole without physically touching it"

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

Alright, let's see if I still have it. Taunwe thought. He felt the rivet and moved it without any ease what so ever. Now he concentrated on placing the rivet into the hole of the steel beam. It required more effort. In the Kunri Realm, things like this were a cake walk. But since he was out of the realm and was pretty old, Taunwe needed to put more work into his force abilities.

Luckily it took him two tries to put the rivet into the hole. The first try consisted of him trying to be aware of his surroundings with the force. It was proving a difficult thing as the construction was going on around him. But as he balanced himself for the second try, he had no problem.

I definitely need to get practicing. He said to himself.

" I did not think it would take more oomph to get it done. This galaxy is more dense. "

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Perhaps if you could get the second rivet into the hole, you would get some much-needed practice..."

[member="Taunwe Trebor"]'s comment about him needing more oomph to get stuff done is an indication of just how rusty he is. However, she could tell that he is also rusty with Force-sense, using the first try to get himself aware of the surroundings in the Force. If there are work accidents then I can get him to learn Force-healing, she thought, while realizing that Force-sense is usually an innate thing used by Force-users well before they formally begin training. In contrast, the Squibs were a little puzzled to see how slow the processes have been in that area of the supermarket under construction. She used several methods to get around the thermodynamics problem for teaching what would come next: talking about dancing molecules, tanking about how temperature is about how fast the molecules move (even though the latter would get dangerously close to thermodynamics) being the main ones. With Cathul patiently awaiting Taunwe's attempt at getting the second rivet inside the second hole...

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

Taunwe heard Cathul's instruction and tried again. He focused and made the rivet hover into the air. He inserted into the hole without any ease. He was starting to get a hang of it now. He has happy with the result. In the Kunri Realm, Taunwe focused more on the philosophy of the force, with combat and force powers used a bit less than what it should have been prescribed. But with Cathul helping him learn and to get back into the swing of things, he was very grateful for her taking her own time to teach an old man a thing or two. When the rivet made it into the hole, Taunwe let a smile on his face and looked a Cathul.

" I think I have done well on this part. Would you like me to insert more rivets or try something else? "

With his feelings of force powers coming back, Taunwe feels like he can go another round or two to get even more familiar with things. But. if Cathul was ready to move on then there would be no problem at all.

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"I think we can move on. You will get more opportunities to practice whatever power you are learning here today afterward"

Yes, practice made perfect, to an extent. Yes, she could feel [member="Taunwe Trebor"] was making a step in the right direction. But it was time to proceed with additional items on the agenda for those Squibs to get a taste of the new Pizza Hutt location, especially since the Squib chocolate was launched not long ago. Squib chocolate, oh Squib chocolate, when those Squibs would get to eat their own chocolates and some to also be produced for off-world sale. Then now was the time to ponder exactly how Cathul will go around teaching pyrokinesis to the elderly man. He would realize that he could use the Force as a tool. There was little chance that someone that does not practice mechu-deru would be familiar with what the root-mean-square of a substance is, or the kinetic theory of gases, much less as applied to a Debye solid (which is essentially a bosonic gas of harmonic oscillators within a crystal) so she would rather stick with molecular dancing.

"The next item on today's agenda is pyrokinesis. Pyrokinesis is too often associated with weaponized uses: however, I mostly use it for cooking or welding"

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

Taunwe listened to Cathul's input on more opportunities to getting practice. That was fine by him. With him getting used the force, he might be more prone to using it in his life. Telekinesis was something that he could do , but needed more practice on. Either way, he was now ready for the next lesson. Cathul told him it was pyrokinesis. That was a subject that Taunwe had only barely touched, but was willing to learn more about. Cathul told him that it is mainly used for weaponized purposes and also for everyday life like cooking. Taunwe liked that. The power seemed two faced.

" Pyrokinesis. Yes, I have heard of the ability, though I was barely taught of it. Wasn't it where you manipulate atoms and make them faster? "

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"So you have an idea of how it works. By that same token, cryokinesis is a very similar idea, except that it's about manipulating atoms and making them slower instead"

So he was familiar with what happened at the molecular level when these two items are in use? she thought, while also being remembered of thermodynamics and how it all meshed together with those ideas. Images of the Debye solid are conjured in her mind, where the gas is that of the harmonic oscillators inside the solid. [member="Taunwe Trebor"] will soon realize that the very reason why she even made him move rivets into these holes will soon come: welding. Meanwhile those Squibs used plasma blowtorches for that sort of stuff, while assembling beams, roof trusses in what will be a future Super Pizza Hutt...

"Now try manipulating the atoms inside the rivet and then you can weld them into place"

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

" Alright. "

Taunwe reach out to the first rivet that he put into a hole with the force. He felt it magnifying in his mind, until it got so big that he could see the tiny bits that made it up atomically. He was holding his breath for too long. He stopped his connection and let in a burst of air. He put is hands on his knees and stopped before he could go again. He had the same mistake before trying once more.

He felt the image of the rivet in his mind vastly expanding until he saw its atomic composition again. He made one atom move faster, and it bumped into others, if he could even call it bumping. Then he manipulated more and made them go faster. His breathing was set. In and out. The image of the rivet started to de-magnify and soon he opened his eyes.

He had finished what Cathul instructed him of, but it took too long for someone with the amount of experience as him. He felt shamed. But he always had to keep in mind that he was in a place that was not his home, not on his level of existence. He looked over to Cathul and gave a firm nod.

" It is very hard to channel the force here.. In my home it would not have been a problem. I think I am holding myself back. Nonetheless, I have done what you have asked. "

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Your home is built on a Force-nexus, whereas Skor II does not have a Force-nexus"

Even the massacre that took place here did not somehow create a dark-sided Force-nexus, unlike the Stalgasin Memorial Stadium on Geonosis (which is a massacre of Jedi at the onset of the First Battle of Geonosis) or the Galactic Cemetery on Jiroch-Reslia (the Reslian purge was a wholesale slaughter where nearly every Tunroth dark-sider was killed, with light-siders being mostly off-world on bounty hunting business at the time). In Cathul's mind, [member="Taunwe Trebor"] used to live on a Force-nexus: even with practice he found it somewhat hard to get the re-training done. Once both rivets are welded into place, then I can have him do cryokinesis practice, she thought, while the rest of the Squib workers are becoming increasingly restless as they seem to be waiting on the two of them to put roof trusses in place overhead them. And yet he only did so for one rivet: the Squibs needed to make sure both were firmly secured in place beforehand.

"Perhaps you could try doing the same on the second rivet, and then we can move on to the next item on today's lesson plan"

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

Taunwe heard Cathul's instruction and obliged. If he could weld one, another would not hurt. He channeled the force again, magnifying the rivet in the second hole until the atomic structure was visually in his mind. He manipulated the atoms, speeding them up once more while keeping a steady breath, with the image of the rivet de-magnifying as he still focused on speeding up the atoms.

He welded the second rivet in the hole without any trouble. Though he did wonder about something. How could you actually "speed up" the process of pyrokinesis without having to do his process of magnifying? Maybe there were certain techniques of this practice though he was not very sure. Either way, he is quite satisfied with what he had done. He looked over to his instructor.

" I have accomplished what you have asked of me. What is the next lesson? "

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Your next lesson is cryokinesis. Come in the kitchen, I have a surprise for you"

With [member="Taunwe Trebor"] vacating the spot, alongside the white Twi'lek, the Squibs promptly take that place with a proper construction crew in place, and also the crane overhead them pulling the roof truss up above the beam they welced using pyrokinesis. Meanwhile, the two are being taken into the restaurant kitchen, where Cathul pulls out a bag of soft ice cream powder, the very same that is fed into the ice cream making machine for Pizza Hutt patrons to eat. With that said, the powder cream was emptied into the bowl, large enough for two servings of soft vanilla ice cream. As they now stand somewhere in the kitchen...

"As I said earlier, cryokinesis is about slowing down atoms. Now try this on the powdered ice cream"

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

Cryokinesis. Another subject that Taunwe was seldom taught of, just like pyrokinesis. Well, if it slowed down atoms then Taunwe would probably not have a problem with it... Maybe. He would just have to work backwards? He did not know for certain, just as much as he did not know about this food called, "Ice Cream". This food was very peculiar, just as much as anything else in this galaxy. All Taunwe ever ate in the Kunri was herbs and meat. nothing else for over 40 years. Well, over 800 years for this galaxy's time anyhow. He enjoyed the simple life much more than now. It was not that he was lazy, but enjoyed to have more time to ponder rather than to worry about the next day to come.

Anyways, he looked at the powdered ice cream. He felt its atomic composition this time, instead of visually seeing it. He felt the atoms moving, and Taunwe slowed them down. It was honestly a bit of a challenge for the old man, but nonetheless he could accomplish it after a decent amount of tries. Instead of trying to be aware of his surroundings to change the atoms' movements, he instead had to focus on his speed and breathing most of all. But in the end he accomplished what Cathul asked him to. now the appearance of the ice cream had changed. It was bizarre to Taunwe!

" What is this food? Is it organic? "

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Ice cream? I get that ice cream may be nonexistent at your home, just that ice cream is first manufactured from nerf milk"

Pleased to see [member="Taunwe Trebor"] get the hang of thermokinesis as performed in both directions, and to see that he has come to realize that pyrokinesis and cryokinesis are two faces of the same coin, she was nevertheless puzzled. True, ice cream was common in this galaxy, but not everybody had access to it. Which led her to wonder what did they eat at the place he calls home. Also, nerf milk is white, although bantha milk, also known as blue milk, was in used for blueberry-flavored products or other flavors whose natural color was a shade of blue. She could also tell that Taunwe's Force-batteries may not be full enough for the next Force-power to be learned, and that no Force-user education would be complete without some worldly or intellectual instruction. Would Taunwe even know about these three Codes? She followed all three at some point in her life, albeit no more than two simultaneously. She could probably talk about Mandalorian Jedi and Sith...

"So yes, it is organic in nature. You probably realize that foods that you took for granted back home may be scarce here, and vice-versa. Next topic, while your Force-batteries are being recharged: the three mainline Codes of Force-users in the galaxy: the Jedi, Sith and Mandalorian codes"

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

The Jedi and Sith codes were something Taunwe knew a lot about. But Manalorian? That name was alien to him. He did not know what a Mandalorian was, so he thought of them as some other force users. Maybe they were like something in between? Like he was possibly? Taunwe did not know the answer to this question, but soon will find out thanks to Cathul's teachings. She was a good teacher as far as Taunwe could tell, as they only have spent a little time together as of late. But the man thought she was more than satisfactory in teaching the ways of the force, especially to an old man like him who comes form some other place...

" Ah, the Jedi and Sith codes. Yes. I have heard of those and I was taught to recite them, to mix them. But the Mandalorians, what are they? Are they force users like the Sith and Jedi? "

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

OOC: Soooo sorry for posting so late. Life has been catching its grasp on me as of late.

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"Even though the Mandalorians, or, as they are often called, the Mandos, are most often known to be hesitant to embrace the Force, there are Mando Force-users. Also, the Mandalorian code is much more cut-and-dry than the other two"

The thing is that Cathul used to be a Mando once upon a time, and even serving as Governor of Azure, taking five standard years to refund the loan taken out for seed money. The planet was notorious for systematically testing any medical student for Force-sensitivity, and also marine salt along with salt. The final year or two of her gubernatorial tenure were definitely more troubled, even though the fiscal aspect was the main area spared by popular dissatisfaction. In Mando'a, the Mandalorian Code is also known as the resol'nare or Six Actions. [member="Taunwe Trebor"] will soon realize as much. Yes, she probably heard about how Mando clans welcomed most people (that is, those who weren't declared dar'manda beforehand) and forget about their past so that their lives as Mandos would begin on a clean slate. However, Force-users are a different topic altogether and the main point of contention among clans. Clans Lok (which was her clan as a Mando), Verd and Vereen are all clans who would field both Jedi and Sith, and Clan Qarmast fielded at least Jedi, like Clan Balor, but for each Clan Lok there were clans like Mantis or Spar.

"Speak Mando'a, wear armor, raise one's children as Mandalorians, protect one's self and family, ensure the welfare of the clan(s) and finally, answer the call of the Mand'alor. So technically one could be Jedi and Mando simultaneously, and likewise with Sith among Mandos, so long as one wore the armor (many coveted the beskar variety, although some would have to make do with durasteel armor), spoke Mando'a, raised one's children as Mandos, used the Force to protect one's self and family, ensure the welfare of the clan and answer the call of the Mand'alor"

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

" So there is a certain armor one must wear? That is peculiar. I would say that one would be a Mandalorian because of their actions and morals. That is a strange code indeed. "

Taunwe thought about the code. The Mandalorians were a strange people indeed. He thought more of them as prideful and very dedicated to traditions. From the code, Mandalorians can be taken as super loyal to their home and family. Yes, some actions in their code were reasonable such as protecting children and answer the call. But raising children to be Manalorians? Taunwe thought that every person has a path and it was their job to find theirs and not let anyone decide for them. The man believed in fate and destiny, and to have people decide what is "best" for someone makes Taunwe a little angry.

[member="Cathul Thuku"]

 

[Cathul Thuku]

"What many people conceive as Mandalorian armor is full-plate, with T-shaped visors, and usually quite heavy. To non-Mandos, they are nothing but suits of armor with few differences between them aside from the made-to-order nature of the suits, especially if they are of the beskar variety, which needs to be forged by hand. Also, to Mandos the ties of blood are not the only ones that count: clans will welcome most people with the understanding that their past will be left at the door, because there isn't a whole lot of people who make breaches of honor to all clans at once, and they are usually called dar'manda"

Much like Cathul's very own turjilyi'r'gam, which is of the beskar variety and that which she named after her former profession. Seven years ago, she was proud to practice it, but it was around that time that the chain of events that led her to lose favor among Mandos began, culminating in the exposition of her incompetence as a therapist. She could understand how angry [member="Taunwe Trebor"] would be at not leaving Mandos' progeny the choice of belief systems.

"Now you understand what I mean when I say that the Mando code is more cut-and-dry. Sith traditionally valued individuality over collective duties, but I could probably talk about how the verd'goten, the Mando rite of passage that demonstrates how one has the skills to function in Mando society, which is known to be very martial. But don't go thinking that there is a Jedi temple on Mandalore or anywhere else in Mando-land, even though I know that today's Mando dark-siders often tend to congregate on Dxun for training: while Mandalorian Force-users are, by and large, decentralized, much like the clan structure is, there are few training standards on either side, and light-siders train all over the place"

 

[St0rmSlaSh]

To Taunwe, this was a lot to take in. The Mandalorians' traditions still seemed a bit strange to him, but as Cathul explained it in a bit more detail, Taunwe learned more and reasoned somewhat with their culture. As he learned more about them, he was glad they were their own thing and not aligned with the Sith or Jedi ultimately. But there were some who did align with those sides although there would be some that aligned with either true good or true evil.

" So their past, they are just supposed to forget it all? What if the person had a family? Would they have to abandon them and make the journey to becoming a Madalorian?"

[member="Cathul Thuku"]