Faction Move Unseen, if you Wish (RTL, JAN)

[Veino Garn]

JENSAARAI-JEDI ACADEMY NETWORK CO-OP
SUSEVFI
OBJECTIVE- FORCE STEALTH

Veino rolled his head slowly before cracking his knuckles. He had set aside a portion of the courtyard in the center of the compound for this lesson. Around, the various academic buildings and dormitories were quiet with the previously flourishing Jedi Academy Network going a bit quiet. There had been rumors of a Jedi Praxeum revival under Romi Jade over near Ossus and the Scar Worlds, but that trail had gone quiet as well.

He intended to change that, as much as was in his ability. Jedi were, ultimately, not his concern. Well, unless they turned into fascists or terrorists. Then they became his concern as much as everyone else. But he recognized the necessity of cooperation between the many Force sects in the Outer Rim. The League of Light, as some had taken to calling it. It was cute, in a punny sort of way. He'd be able to work with that, even if officially, the Jensaarai had been disbanded and hunted down.

This would be revealing one of the ways they had been able to pull that off, but it was a worthwhile risk. War was brewing in the Outer Rim. Titans clashed in the Core, causing untold devastation, but tensions in the Rim were beginning to simmer.

It was only a matter of time before boiled over.

Veino intended the Force users of the League to be prepared for whatever came, preferably before those that threatened the Rim even knew they were approaching. Space stuff, he would leave to the Wardens, and the esoteric arcana to the Light Hand.

He knew three things. Secrets. Violence. Espionage. The dirty underbelly of the Light. Jensaarai walked in the gray. Not by using the Dark, but recognizing the ambiguity of the galaxy. What was good and evil, really? Intent? Means? Ends?

The Jensaarai answer was that there was no universal answer. Easy answers were illusory, deceptions. Mental shorthands. Sometimes aggression and violence were necessary, even ruthlessness at times. But that was the burden of the Jensaarai, not the Jedi. He cleared his throat and looked up, assessing the students who had gathered before pacing up and down along the cleared area in the center.

"My name is Veino Garn," he began, "I will be your instructor in Force Stealth today, as is one of its names. Also known as Concealment or Buried Presence, depending on who is describing it and their own tradition. It has been used by both Jedi and Sith at various points in history, making it a very versatile skill. Can one of you explain the gist of it for everyone else? And please, if you disagree, speak up."

 

[Cintero]

He adjusted the saber at his side, fixed his hair, and checked his armor one last time before he'd joined the rest of the group. It was hard not to be precise with his appearance when it seemed to put many people on edge. He couldn't entirely blame them. He still wasn't sure how he felt either about his own appearance, or that of others. But he was well aware of the context that was brought to mind when seeing him. Fortunately, there were also a lot of understanding people among the understandably suspicious.

He stood, waiting, patiently as he could for things to start. Running his thumb over each finger as he waited. He was already aware of force stealth and what it was. He'd even used it before...sort of. Such skills always seemed to pose problems for him, too lasting, too passive. He knew that's not really how they worked, not quite. But it was how it worked for him. Moments of power, or physical changes, those were what he could understand. Though he struggled with those too.

Everything just...took so long. Finally Veino Garn spoke. He wasn't sure he was supposed to answer or not, having already learned what it was, or how blatant 'Buried presence' was of a name. But if he didn't speak, he felt it would look bad. He raised his hand, if there was no protestation to him speaking, he'd go on, "It's the skill utilized to hide, disguise, or shrink ones presence in the force from other force sensitives that might seek it out. Either to appear normal, or perhaps to go entirely unnoticed."

Cin was not here to learn the skill from scratch. But if that's what it took to make it work, he'd do it He needed to get better at it. And given is difficulty with it previously, he was hoping he could get a bit more help, or at least practice, from this.


Equipment:
Purple bladed lightsaber
cirgun-plate-body-armor

tags: Veino Garn

 

[Veino Garn]

Cintero

“Excellent answers, Cintero,” Veino responded, pacing slowly back and forth. “That is a textbook answer. The challenge we face is that the Force is living, every bit as much as we are. So like any symbiosis, there is more than meets the eye.”

He ran over what he knew of Cintero from his other instructors. Challenged, in some ways, by his species. Some could be frightened of him. But Veino had spent too much time around the Anzati Jedi Tiland Kortun to be concerned about species. If the vampiric Jedi could live off of nothing but tea and meditation, there’s no reason a Sith pure blood couldn’t make a fine Jensaarai.

He came to a stop and knelt on the floor, resting one palm on the ground, letting his body absorb the sensations of the dirt. He softened his voice. “I understand there’s been some challenges with these, yes? Perhaps there’s a way we can resolve that.”

 

[Cintero]

Well yeah it's textbook. I can't seem to wrap my hands around it. He thought with some frustration. Of course, that was why he was here, listening to people who knew better. Cintero was grateful at least that he didn't have to explain his presence here, whatever an average person might do, the teachers here seemed more aware of his circumstances, or perhaps considered the possibility. So long as he wasn't constantly hounded he was happy with that.

Cintero watched his every move, just in case what Veino Garn was now doing was relevant to his teachings. But he didn't really understand what he was doing. "I'm open to any suggestions." he said. Perhaps somewhat in poor taste, given some suggestions might not be quite as pleasant as others.

 

[Veino Garn]

Cintero

A smile quirked slightly at Cintero's response. Veino waited for a moment, letting the little sensations of emotion slide through him and then away, passing through him and dissipating.

"Fortunately, we are not Jedi," Veino replied. "We are less concerned with passivity or using the Force passively than they might be." He paused for a moment, raising a finger. "What if we could develop a new way to help you cloak yourself in the Force."

His mind churned over the thoughts as he paced back and forth before coming to a stop and settling himself down to kneel on the ground and exhale. "For me, when cloak myself in the Force, I do it actively. In many ways, it is like... dilution." He was tripping over the words now, trying to put words to experiences. "Expanding my presence so far out among the stars that I can't be consciously felt. Does that make any sense?"

 

[Cintero]

Cintero tilted his head as he listened. Indeed, a more active approach from some other method would be much more preferable. Though he wasn't very aware of one. And he was hardly a prodigy in inventing them. "Dilution" Cintero wasn't sure how much that was passive or active, but he was working out how to make it feel active. And Veino's final comments definitely made more sense of the matter. If he could cast his presence away in pieces rather than just trying to disguise or hide it, that might just work.

"I could try that." He said, the thought of it was certainly more pleasant. He tried to focus, the non-physical presence of the force being harder for him to master. So he tried to 'grasp' at it. His feet planted and grip it like one might prepare more external abilities. He had an image of it in his mind, and then trying to spread it, 'casting' it into the distance bit by bit. To remain his.

It wasn't perfect, it was slow. And even though his presence did become harder to distinguish. These casted pieces would make their way back to him, like attached to an elastic string. Still, it was progress.

 

[Veino Garn]

Cintero

"Very good," Veino said, eyes half-closed. He could feel the changes in Cintero's Force presence. "That's an excellent start." He let his eyes close the rest of the way and inhaled deeply, considering his own practice. He felt for his own presence in the Force and.. dispersed it, casting it out further and further.

In a way, it was not unlike ballistikinesis. He opened his eye again. "How confident are you in your ballistikinesis?" That could be a way to tie it into the more physical, more direct applications of the Force. A way to anchor it to physical skill. "We may be able to use the same process in this case for your Force presence."

 

[Cintero]

Veino Garn

It was definitely an improvement. And one he felt he could continue to practice on his own to further his proficiency in it. Strange how much of a difference it really made. It was almost comical how easy that should have been had he been doing that this whole time. Perhaps there were many ways to use the force this way, ways that he'd have to use instead of the traditional to try and fit in properly.

Cintero returned to reality as Veino asked him about his Ballistikinesis, "Much better, I mean...I do have some trouble with accuracy. But I can usually still hit the target even if I end up hitting something else along the way...best not for crowds. But...yeah, that sounds like it could work."

He started trying to think on the precise pieces of how to make it fit. He didn't need to be accurate with where his presence went, so long as it was away from him. It also meant the 'casting' motion he was doing wasn't nearly so necessary, as he already grasped that concept with ballistikinsis. Jumping past that step.

The improvement was considerable already, the real challenge wasn't the action of casting it aside now so much as grasping it. He was clearly focusing hard on it though, trying his best to effectively grab hold of his own presence and launch it away with the force the same way he would any physical object. Though he did sometimes slip up and create small jets of wind instead.

 

[Veino Garn]

Cintero

"Well," Veino admitted after a moment of thought, "If you're using ballistikinesis, crowds probably are your target. Not that it's impossible to use them with precision, but that can come much later. If you can use it, generally, rely on the general concept, especially for this."

He closed his eyes and felt the ripples through the Force and the changes in Cintero's presence. It was working, more or less, although he was also feeling the disruptions in the air as small bursts of telekinetic energy escaped instead.

That was probably to be expected in this case, given the way they were adapting skills outside their traditional usage.

"Good practice, excellent," Veino commented after a moment. "It seems you're getting an excellent grasp of it. Let's keep working on the fundamentals."

 

[Cintero]

A fair point. Though he had hoped for more precision, that might require yet more practice. It remained useful however. Even with that issue. So the process was getting better, still more to practice, and more practice itself. "Which ones?" he asked after a pause on Veino's final comment. He was merely unsure if he meant the fundamentals of the force itself, or of stealth or ballistikinesis. Any of which seemed relevant, but the actual answer could certainly change the results.

Veino Garn

Spoiler: ooc

Sorry for short and long delay. Been having issues posting.

 

[Veino Garn]

Cintero

"Stealth, primarily," Veino said, considering the various aspects they could use to keep practicing and honing the skills. "The others can be practiced at another time."

It was practical problem solving, which he appreciated. No wide-ranging ramifications nor any obtuse strategies are needed.

"I will go away for a minute, to give you time to hide, both physically and in the Force. After that, I will try and find you."

 

[Cintero]

Cintero nodded, there was always more to practice. Always more time. Well...to a point. Years and decades to be managed. Was there a point in having a goal for the end of life? Or to just see how many he could complete along the way. Decisions for later.

He hid the amused smile, "Hide and seek it is." He muttered. He looked around, trying to figure out the best way to do this. Once he could find it, he could focus on the force. There weren't exactly many ways or places to hide here. But maybe he could find one...perhaps one a little unusual. Cintero quickly moved to a corner, insuring his tracks weren't visible by scattering dirt across the courtyard using ballistikinesis as he went. And then further used the force to help him very quickly dig into the ground creating an angled tunnel. Not especially deep, but enough that the hole itself for him to enter was only as wide as his shoulders. Then he merely covered himself with it, putting his helmet on in the process so he'd not struggle with the breathing problem.

The covering wasn't perfect of course. That was nearly impossible from his position. But it was such an unusual spot that he hoped that would help him, along with his previous scattering of dirt. He held almost completely still, and began casting his presence away from him with more minute gestures. Better than last time, less motion, and he had an easier time keeping it up this time around. Though he was still somewhat relying on the fact he had essentially buried himself alive to help him through it.


Veino Garn