Protective Posture [Jedi Order Force Shield Training]

[Aran Finn]

Ossus​

Jedi Temple Courtyard​

​

Alen Na'Varro did not live on Ossus. As soon as it was possible, he had moved to Ruusan, his former home of around a decade, and established a home on Charny, one of its three moons. Focusing more on his own training and raising his daughter, he rarely made the journey to Ossus. This time, however, he had made the hyperspace hop to the main Jedi Temple, with the intention to teach. The Jedi had given him redemption and a new life, and an opportunity for his daughter to flourish and grow. Teaching the less experienced Jedi everything he knew was the least he could do. And if he was going to enact some change on the galaxy for the better, he'd need help from well-trained Jedi. The more tricks they knew, the better.

Na'Varro made his way to the courtyard, with [member="Ryan Korr"] in tow. The Council member would be observing his teaching style today. Not that the Jedi didn't trust him ... but he was only recently off restrictions. According to the Council, he had done enough to convince them that his intentions were pure. But as for teaching fragile, susceptible Padawans and Knights? He still required some supervision.

Reaching the courtyard, he moved to the front of the assembled students and dumped his jacket.

"All right, team," he said. "Let's get to it."

Today, they were going to learn how to utilise Force Shield, Alen's signature Force power, both offensively and defensively.

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Alen Na'Varro"]

Mara Merrill did not live on Ossus either. Part of the majority of the Jedi Order that didn't consider itself affiliated with the Republic's Council, she trained on Yavin and Dayark under a former Grandmaster and the Order's Barsen'thor. But Laura'd said her dad was the best at this stuff, and where one Brat went, the Pack tended to follow. And she was a Republic citizen, probably, so whatever. Lightfoil dangling at her belt, she stood with the rest of'em, all the clean-cut Core Worlds aristos and wide-eyed Rim-born heroes-to-be in their tidy burlap. For her part, she wore the same spacer clothes she always wore.

Her eyes brightened as Na'Varro took his coat off. Sure, he was Laura's dad, but he was still kinda...interesting. Ish.

Force shields. She had the basics, just the standard apprentice-level exercises. Enough to stop or slow a bullet, or block a shot from a training remote, like just about any advanced Padawan. Enough to make Na'Varro's teachings accessible? Maybe, maybe not. She'd be the first to admit that, between instinctive astrogation, hand-to-hand training and sabre combat, 'Force powers' as a whole just hadn't been a priority in her education. What was the old line? Good against remotes is one thing; good against the living, that's something else.

 

[Micah Talith]

"Sup squirt," a voice would come from behind [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"], followed by the playful ruffle of her hair. It was Micah, complete with impish grin and all. The lanky boy came to a stop beside the shorter girl, casually standing as he would drop his hands to his pockets.

Bright orange eyes would curiously latch onto [member="Alen Na'Varro"]. "huh," he'd mull aloud. "So this is Cricket's dad?" Cricket was the nickname for Laura. Like his mother, Micah had a tendency to give nicknames. Rare it was that he'd used real names, and when he did it would mark a far more serious circumstance than the mischievous boy was normally in.

Without even waiting for a reply, he waved a hello to the man.

"Hi Cricket's dad!!!!"

 

[Kon Uulon]

Kon was not native to Ossus either, nor did he inhabit this planet for training purposes. Kon trained at the Jedi Temple on Yavin IV, and that was the only planet he had trained on that wasn't his homeplanet...If learning means to travel planet to planet, then Kon would be up to that task, for knowledge is not something to be toyed with or abandoned, but something to be nurtured and cared for.

Kon stood next to [member="Micah Talith"] as he spoke to [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] and ruffled her hair from behind. Trying his best to ignore Micah's behavior, he focuses on [member="Alen Na'Varro"] as he awaits for the teaching to begin in his usual tan attire of a long sleeve tan cloth top, a matching pair of tan trousers, and a pair of brown leather footwear.
(OOC: here is a picture to make it easier to picture, just change the coloring to match)

Kon's patience is nearly broken with Micah as he begins interrupting the class in such a manner with his audible mumbling and suddenly waves and calls out 'Cricket's dad', yet Kon keeps a cool head as he lets out a long exhale, turning his head to his left to face Micah as he asks him, "Excuse me, but may you please refrain from making such outbursts in the future?" After asking Micah his question, he turns back to face Alen, but waits for a response from Micah.

 

[H3xle]

Dair walked swiftly from his quarters in the Tempe on Ossus towards the courtyard. He, in fact, did live on Ossus almost exclusively, and had since he had been rescued from life as a slave and brought here for training. Over the years he had grown into a constant presence here, truly Valkyri were not common in this Jedi Order and so seeing the large nordic frames was unusual except for Dair. He wore his usual earth tone Jedi attire, consisting of boots, loose pants and shirt with a kimono style vest over the shirt. He wore a utility belt, believing it was always good to be prepared, upon which hung Winter, his personal lightsaber. At all moments he could feel the connection he bore to the lightsaber and its solari crystal. Its aura one of a wintry pureness that mirrored his own.

Dair was excited to learn Force Shield, being as he trained mostly to defend others and battle the enemies of the Jedi Order and Peace. Force Shield, as he had learned, was a very versatile power. Despite the name, it was useful for both offense and defense. The teacher also struck him with curiosity. The man was a former Sith Lord who had turned away from the dark side. Dair knew he had nothing to worry about from the man, he had cleared his presence at the training session with his Master, [member="corvus raaf"], before he had truly planned on being present for it. Her trust in the man meant that there was no worry of him trying to turn others to the dark side.

Dair saw the gathering people, many of them he didn't know. 'This training must have brought in more than our teacher from off world...' Dair thought to himself as he joined the group. He nodded with a smile on his face to everyone present, drawing it into a bow towards both [member="ryan korr"] and [member="alen na'varro"]

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot ambled near the back of the assembled students, occasionally sparing a glance at another padawan. He knew a fair amount of the students present at least by face, even if he did not know their names. He too lived on Ossus, but the large man did not enjoy the Academy itself. There were usually too many people for his comfort. Instead, the man frequently retreated to the nearby mountains to practice and hone his crafts. But there were some things that one could not learn well by reading or teaching yourself, even with the aid of a holocron or a typical academy instructor. It was not so much that they were incompetent, but sometimes it helped to have an expert explain and teach the intricacies of the techniques.

Travot eyed the former Sith Lord in front of them with interest. He knew the man only by reputation, but it was quite the reputation. This should be an interesting class, if nothing else...

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

A former Sith lord?

Teaching here? Curious would not have been an apt enough word to describe the pull that had brought the small Anzat from out of the Temple library to witness this.

He'd have preferred a spot toward the back of the encircled students, but being short as he was such placement was hardly practical. So the tow-headed Corellian had moved toward the front. The man before him was interesting for how very human he looked. The tales of the Dark Side of the Force painted the Sith as monsters, misshapen husks filled with evil and vile intent. But this teacher seemed nothing so much as a man.

Taking hold of the edges of the emerald cloak that he wore, the boy crossed his arms across his chest and turned his gaze across the assembled audience. He recognized no one, except... a boy with brown hair, and orange eyes? Sor-Jan couldn't have said the youth's name, but he knew that he had seen him before. Likewise, the boy with the orange eyes stood next to a girl, and she invoked the same feeling of deja vu.

Ithor?

Yes. It had been Ithor, and the girl had been using a wooden sword to cut down weeds. Edging his way along the fringe of students, the small Jedi neared closer to the two youths that he recognized. If they took note of his approach or looked his way, he would greet them with, "Hello."

[member="Micah Talith"] | [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]​

 

[Joshua Vantai]

Josh followed the Jedi Master out onto the courtyard. Today would be his first lesson as a Jedi Padawan. His master had recommended that he do it.

He looked at all of the other apprentices around him. He honestly didn't have any friends around here, as he was brand new, so he just kept to himself and listened to the instruction. Maybe it's finally time to make some friends.

The power being taught today was "Force Shield". He didn't know much about the ability, but the name gives him some obvious ideas. He looked up towards the instructor and listened, unsure of what to expect next.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

There were always children wherever Jacen went in the temple. Every exercise, every lesson, every drill. Damn peppy children making him feel insignificant with their confidence and talent.

General Na'Varro. He'd known him as a soldier. Watching him admit to his past as a sith lord on the temple steps had been a revelation.

Jacen spared a sombre glance for Korr. The Jedi Master was clearly keeping tabs on the ex-sith. Frankly, it was a surprise to Voidstalker that he was even allowed contact with the rest of the Order so soon. Seemed a good ploy to take names, then slip out when the opportunity presented itself. Still, Shule had also confessed a similar past.

Maybe people just yo-yo'd between the light and dark forever.

 

[Tydeus of Tion]

Korr stood at parade rest in an out of the way corner of the courtyard, where the boughs of a tree overshadowed him. Here he could watch [member="Alen Na'Varro"]'s teaching, without distracting the others (as seemed to be so often the case). Ryan mentally reminded himself not to comment or step-in on the training unless absolutely necessary.

The Jedi's stern features hid an infinitesimal smile at the content of the training. Force Shield. That had been his very first lesson under the tutelage of Grand Master Kiskla Grayson. Back when the Temple on Coruscant still stood and when the Jedi Order hadn't been betrayed for the hundredth time. Korr lost himself in the nostalgia, remembering a time when life seemed simpler. Blame the Council. Hate the Sith.

 

[Aran Finn]

[member="Ryan Korr"] got a nod from the older Jedi Master, before he turned to the assembled students. Not many of them looked familiar ... a few he knew of by description from talking to their Masters, a couple he knew of by description from talking to his daughter. A boy with wild hair and orange eyes? Great, this one will be trouble. The son of one of the most powerful and ancient Masters living, and one of the most socially hyperactive. The girl next to him? A Merrill. Na'Varro knew all about Merrills. He'd worked with one for a few years, and the other one had been a thorn in his side by association for slightly longer. The rest were a mixed bag, new Padawans, experienced Padawans, and even a Jedi Knight who looked like he was about nine years old. All eager to learn. That was all Na'Varro needed.

"Hi Cricket's dad!!!!" That was young Talith. Na'Varro was about to reply before an older Kel Dor Padawan stepped in with a rebuke. Alen waved it away calmly.

"No no, that's quite alright, Padawan Uulon." Later on, the Master would give the Kel Dor a friendly reminder about the virtue of patience, and young Micah a reminder about how there was a time and place for everything. His focus turned to the group. "My training sessions tend to be more informal than formal, so relax. Call me Alen or Na'Varro, I couldn't care less. If you have any questions or queries, just shout 'em out ... only not at once. All that I ask is that you do everything asked of you, try your hardest, and accept that you might walk away from today with a few more bumps and bruises than when you started. It's a hard galaxy to be a Jedi in, team, and the only thing that's going to save you from everyone who wants a piece of you is hard, realistic training. Trust me, I happen to be in the know."

He had a silent chuckle at his own little joke.

"Alright, so ... hard training session now, then afterwards I'll be in the cafeteria with a hot brew in my hand. Feel free to come up, say hello, and ask me anything. But for now, Force Shield. Despite what the name suggests, it's a very versatile Force power. My first exposure to it was against a Sith Knight on Kashyyyk, and he almost killed me with it. Safe to say, I started training the crap out of it. Never regretted it. Saved my life more times than I can count, and won me a fair few duels of significance that I should have lost. Spend time honing your Force Shield, and you won't regret it. Now-"

Stopping abruptly, his eyes roamed over the assembled frontage of students. There were many ... but too many for what he had in mind. In order to tailor his lesson to each individual student, he had to get an idea of what they were capable of already. For some, this would lead to their first bump or bruise of the day.

"On go, form one rank in front of me, one arm's distance between you. Go!" Alen watched as the students formed the rank, standing facing him, perhaps twenty metres from where he stood. He didn't smile, but he thought with great mirth about calling a "right dress" and seeing if Padawan Voidstalker would instinctively mark time on the spot. The older Padawan was a former soldier, he knew, with serious combat experience ... which indicated that drill wouldn't have exactly been high on his priority list. So no right dress, then. Instead, the Jedi Master planted his feet, heels stretching into the soil. The Force welled up inside him, filling him up with warmth. The warmth spread to his arms, his hands, tingling with power. The Light Side felt different ... in many ways, it felt better.

"Remember, Force Shield is the power of the day!" The bearded man yelled, changing the tone of the lesson immediately with the pitch of his voice and setting his students on edge. Some would know Force Shield. Some would not. But this way, he could get a gauge on where everyone was at ... who needed to start from the beginning, and who needed only to refine the art of it. "Now. Defend yourselves!"

Pushing forward, a Force Wave erupted from his hands and cascaded towards the assembled Padawans. It wasn't exceptionally powerful, but it would be enough to take even Padawan Ravenna off his feet.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Joshua Vantai"] [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"] [member="Travot Ravenna"] [member="Dair Cotarin"] [member="Kon Uulon"] [member="Micah Talith"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham had stood present towards the back of the group of learners because he had been slightly late. By slightly, he meant that [member="Alen Na'Varro"] had already lined up the other Padawans as he came running into the session.

Sometimes, Haytham would be early, other times Haytham would be trying his best to sneak in when the back of the Instructor was turned. But he didn't think that would work this time, especially since Alen was addressing the group already. So he just ran up and stopped at the end of the forming line, and stood there as if nothing was wrong.

Before he had become a Jedi, running long distances would've kept him tired, but he had always been in shape, and with multiple years of Jedi training at his back, Haytham was beyond ready to run a handful of miles with small changes to his breathing pattern.

He had the basics of what force shield was. He didn't come to the training session ill-prepared. He trained... slightly, the days leading up to the training session, and once Haytham had realized that it wasn't an actual shield, the sort that you carried on your arm, it had gone a lot better. Like, he actually had results those times. What he had learned when investigating with it more though, was that it was capable of blocking actual people, similar to how a force grip worked.

He was certain that... It tied in heavily with the telekinetic side of the Force.

It felt as if there was a lull in time, and as Haytham raised both hands, giving the imitation of erecting a wall. There was a small moment when he felt as if the Wave was crashing against his wall, but he was still thrown backwards over a dozen inches, and climbed back onto his feet. He didn't expect to fall over, and not so suddenly either.

Yup, it definitely wasn't the type of thing you held on your arm.

 

[H3xle]

Dair had stood in the ranks in the front, his six foot seven inch frame fairly towering over most of, if not all of those present. He wasn't military trained, but he did his best to assume a rough position of attention. He was keeping his attention on Alen, wanting to gain this power and master it quickly. He felt, as Alen himself seemed to think, that it was a power worth developing combat plans around.

"Remember, Force Shield is the power of the day!" The bearded man yelled, changing the tone of the lesson immediately with the pitch of his voice and setting his students on edge. Some would know Force Shield. Some would not. But this way, he could get a gauge on where everyone was at ... who needed to start from the beginning, and who needed only to refine the art of it. "Now. Defend yourselves!" Pushing forward, a Force Wave erupted from his hands and cascaded towards the assembled Padawans. It wasn't exceptionally powerful, but it would be enough to take even Padawan Ravenna off his feet.

Dair's eyes went wide. He had been paying attention, not even meditating a little bit, so he knew that he hadn't missed a word that the Jedi Master had said. Dair didn't have any idea how to make a shield. As swiftly as he could, Dair shifted his feet into a stance that might be able to difuse the force wave throughhim and into the ground. Being as Alen was a master with more than Dair's lifetime of combat experience, Dair's quick stance shift did next to nothing. Dair was pushed back a bit at first, a furrow digging in the ground behind his back foot. Then, Dair was pushed over backward and onto his butt. Due to his size, it is possible he smashed into the row behind him.




[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Joshua Vantai"] [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"] [member="Travot Ravenna"] [member="alen na'varro"] [member="Kon Uulon"] [member="Micah Talith"] [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

Force shield ranked amount the abilities that Mara's teachers had considered 'nice to have'. Most of them, anyway: her aunt had sworn by it, but Rave hadn't had much time to teach her, and it had been years. Mara's shield wobbled into view like half a matte bubble. Well, roughly half, anyway. The most intuitive shape for a Force shield, so far as she'd been told and so far as she could tell, was sort of ovoid and shallowly curved. Like a Gungan handheld shield, but bigger and a bit wider. Hers frayed around the edges as her focus moved from place to place, shoring up the barrier of congealed willpower. Her navigation instincts suggested standing behind Voidstalker, or maybe that was her Zeltron instincts, but she stayed in the line and did her level best to trust the shield.

And, to her immense surprise, it held. It just did not a fracking thing against the parts of Na'Varro's Force wave that propagated around the edge. She'd neglected to set a firm stance, and the edge-wash of the blast shoved her over. And as soon as that happened, well, goodbye focus and goodbye shield.

With a grimace, she picked herself up. So what if she'd stopped her part of the blast? Dead was dead.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

The small Anzat just blinked.

Do what now?

Defend..? Was he..? No, he wasn't going to...

The displacement within the Force was preceded by a slight tug -- as though there was an undertow or current drawing in toward the former Sith Lord. And then that flow blossomed outward. As the sudden waveform of Force energy started to wash over him, all that the young Corellian could think was... Yes. Yes, he was.

Lifted from off of his feet, the small Jedi started to blow backward. The green robes were whipping about his slight frame as through he were in some sudden blast of wind. Twisting his body, the youngling shot his right arm back. Stretching out with his mind, the child Jedi pushed against the ground in order to keep himself from being propelled any further off his feet. Holding himself in mid-air, telekinetically anchored, the blue eyed knight waited for the waveform to pass before he finally dropped back down to the ground. The child was about two feet back from where he'd been standing earlier, taking several steps forward as he resumed his earlier place.

The Sith had summoned that energy and created the wavefront with a particular kind of ease that was... mind-blowing to be honest. Even as he thought back to what he had sensed in the Force, Sor-Jan wasn't all that certain that he had followed all of the mechanics of what, precisely, the Sith had done. De-constructing the movements left the child silent, quietly mulling over the analysis and theories forming in his mind.

Shrugging off the emerald robe, the Anzat shook out his limbs in preparation for any further demonstrations. This was getting interesting...

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot blinked as the instructor sent out a wave of energy. Instinctively, the large man raised up a hand, letting the currents of the Force flow through him to quickly form a shimmering man-sized barrier in front of the former fringer. While he had practiced forming a barrier many times before among the kingwoods, he had never actually tested it against anything formidable. It was one of those things that was hard to do by oneself, but Travot enjoyed his almost hermit-like training in the mountains too much. It was soothing and relaxing in a way.

But this training wasn't.

The energy smashed into his barrier before Travot had fully formed it. I'll have to work on getting it up quicker...He strained his will around the molecules and energy that made up his shield, managing to hold most of it together until it had fully passed by him. But some of the concussive wave managed to break through the shield, and send him reeling back several steps. But aside from a brief spout of nervousness, he had emerged from everything relatively unscathed. He quickly breathed a sigh of relief, though he knew that the training would likely only get harder from here.

 

[Micah Talith]

Well, one thing Micah will definitely need to learn is to keep his focus and be at the ready. He was prone to jokes and being a bit more carefree, so when the massive wave came at them, he wasn't too ready.

The bubble came up instinctively like his mother had taught him, but it also came a second too late, The end result was the young lad reeling back a few steps, stumbling to catch his bearings.

"Well that didn't go as planned, did it," he'd mull aloud, shuffling back to the line. Okay, time to focus.

 

[Kon Uulon]

Kon let [member="Alen Na'Varro"] 's words be embedded in his brain, "Remember, Force Shield is the power of the day!" Kon kept those words in mind as he listened to the Jedi Master, his body immediately tensing up as he hears the words "Now. Defend yourselves!" erupt from Master Na'Varro, watching his hand push forward. Kon felt something unusual from what Master Na'Varro had done, it was something he had never experienced before, in an effortless attempt of trying to shield himself from the wave of energy coming towards him and the other Padawans, he raises his hands and tries to have the image of a wall come to mind, but it doesn't work. Once the wave hits, Kon feels as if time had slowed down around him as he is sent off his feet

Blast! I don't understand how this works, how am I supposed to defend against something I cannot see?

After his thought finishes, time catches up and he finds himself laying on his back, only inches away from where he last was in the link of Padawans. Kon lets in a deep inhale as he processes what had happened and calms himself. He then gets back to his feet, walking back to his position in the chain of Padawans..

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

Jacen grimaced as he slowly got up off his rump. He managed to avoid cuffing the lad, [member="Micah Talith"], round the back of the head for berating himself despite being one of the last standing. Cock little bugger, much like a younger Voidstalker who'd failed the academy. He even had ridiculous hair too.

Quite proud of himself for barely even glowering at the youth, he twisted awkwardly as he stood up to avoid putting too much weight on his left hip. One month in hospital and a good chunk of leave following one of his shortest ever campaigns had left him with that. He still wasn’t sure why he’d returned to the military to carry on losing a war when he could have taken leave at that point. Say one thing about how he had changed since his youth, it was that he’d swapped boundless confidence for grim determination.

Creating a barrier was something he hadn't done since his youth, he’d been focussed on defensive saber work and telekinesis since his return months ago. As well as endless, gruelling physical training in a vain attempt to reach the standards of his seventeen year old body, of course. His eyes had been closed as he’d stood in the slovenly attempt at a line and hadn’t even felt the wave building before it hit.
Stepping back up to the line, Jacen shot Ne’varro a half grin. Without instruction his focus turned back towards building a shield. One eye and one ear stayed on the Jedi Master this time.

 

[Arage Bao]

Ossus wasn’t his home either, but the old man had been here before.

When the Galaxy had been a different place, when the Republic had stood firm against the darkness and the Sith were but barely a hint of a scenery somewhere far away. Things change though and it was no different for the role that the Republic was currently being assigned, some part of Sardun couldn’t help but ponder if this was the Force’s way of showing some ironic sense of humor.

The Sith Empire rose up in Wild Space, until finally the Republic had come and unleashed a war waged on any Darksider in sight. Yet soon all of that changed, and now it was the Republic being the target of an unholy war.

Michael Sardun sat underneath a tree, leaning back against it and meditating. Truden had accepted him back into the Order, but the Jedi were still tentative about him- much the same as Na’Varro in that particular regard.

Can’t just come back from the death and expect them to accept you immediately, Sardun.

Ain’t that the truth.

Sardun’s focus was mostly the saber and the Matukai techniques, but Force Shield was an option that could come in handy for future fights. So the Jedi Master started to focus his energy outward, attempting to project a shield around him.