Private Putting the Can in Coruscant

[Jonyna Si]

​

As her padawan asked that, Jonyna couldn't help but smile widely. "Lemme show you something."

She led them deep into the tree's branches, waving brightly at any passerby as if they were her neighbor. "Cathar society is built on tribal rank." She explained as they walked. "That rank is decided by a couple things. Age, career, but most importantly, merit. And, to us, there is no merit greater than becoming a jedi. To be chosen by the Force, by-" She once more spoke a word that didn't seem to have a Basic translation from Cathar. One could consider it another word for the Force, but it could also translate to Mother or even God. "-is to have your destiny spelled out in the stars for you, to be a hero." As they got deeper into the branches, Ko Vuto would notice that the wood of the tree was often carved into with paintings that seemed to display various events.

"To be a hero." Jonyna repeated, walking towards a particular branch of the tree. "That's what our people see as the highest place in the tribe. Us Denik, we don't leave the planet much, let alone our home-tree. Most stay here their entire lives. So...stories stick around. 900 years is a long time when you're people are spread across the stars, but when your people stay in one place for that long? There are stories the elders can tell you that go back before even Val's time." She stopped, staring up at a huge mural on the trunk of the massive tree. It depicted what looked to be Jonyna fighting an Inquisitor, while several cathar hid behind her. Jonyna frowned slightly at the sight, her tail flicking at the memory. "...the Inquisitors tracked us down back to Cathar just after we had took out an Imperial dockyard. My fault for using this place as a base, but...ya know, it felt nice being back with my family again. I should've figured the Empire would find us eventually. But when they came...I fought them off. Killed one, and the other seemed to flee. Saved the tree, and Cathar. The Empire didn't have the resources to follow up. We...stopping coming back after that when we didn't need to. But...seeing a jedi again. It gave my people hope. Like I said, we don't leave the tree much. Most of the families here are the same families I grew up with. So...when I came back, it was like an old friend returning home..."

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

The Padawan listened intently as he followed alongside his Master as she explained more about her society and culture. All the while walking along the massive tree, further into its branches. Ko felt a little similarly to those who were force sensitive. That they kind of had a destiny. Since Dorin produced a rather high level of individuals who can hear the will of The Force. Many of them often became a Jedi, one of the local sages, or oftentimes both.

Ko looked up at the mural, seeing the depiction of his Master fighting off an inquisitor, one of the darkest aspects of The Old Empire. Before now Ko had largely imagined Jonyna was more of a scrappy rebel from a different time. Not as some folk hero to her kin. She was a living legend. It was difficult for him to wrap his head around, yet it also made total sense to him as well rather paradoxically.

Her words also highlighted something eating away at the Kel Dor. Guilt. “In my homeworld, we had a complicated relationship with the Empire.” When he said that he didn’t specifically mean The Old Empire that Jonyna was familiar with. Neither did he refer to the one that sprung up hundreds of years later, or even the one he grew up in that was still in living memory for many in the galaxy. But all of them. Imperial sympathies waxed and waned on Dorin as it was often caught in the crossfire of larger galactic powers. “Growing up I was an Imperial citizen, to me Stormtroopers were heroes and role models. Yeah I was just a kid, that didn’t make how I felt any less real, and through the years the Vuto family always had a proud military history. We were outliers in Kel Dorin society as a minority that supported the Imperial take over. As I’ve gotten older I’ve had to come to terms with that more and more.” Ko explained to his new Master, as if not wanting to hide this about himself and to start off their relationship with honesty and respect. “My big brother enlisted in the Imperial Military and I looked up to him a great deal when I was little. I guess I’m just telling you this so that you understand we’re likely going to have differing views on what it means to be an Imperial.” Ko very much hoped that she understood what she was trying to say or get across. Looking back up to the mural he pointed at it. “But this inspires me, and I get the feeling that despite our backgrounds I believe I’m going to be proud to call you my mentor Master Si.” He said looking back at her. A great deal of sincerity in his voice. Looking forward to training under her with a more optimistic outlook.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

As the Cathar listened, she seemed to stare at the mural, not saying a word as she let her new padawan talk. Her demeanor seemed to shift, going from passionate to dead neutral. This boy she had been entrusted with now told her that the Empire that had enslaved the galaxy under it's jackboot, had slaughtered entire species and had hunted down their kind for simply existing, was sympathetic.

As he finished, she let out a sigh, gathering her words. She had never been one for this kind of diplomatic speech, but she would try. The Force gave us many challenges, this was yet another she had to overcome.

"When I was only 5, I encountered my first Stormtrooper. He at first thought I was just a lost child running around Tatooine looking for my mom. When he finally got a hold of me, I pushed him away with the Force. I saw within seconds that mask go from empathy to brainwashed malice. The people who chose to be troopers back then, they weren't...people. They were monsters in masks, hunting down children and murdering them for sport, on orders of a madman. I don't know what stories your big brother told you, but...anyone who wears that mask isn't a good person. Not by choice, but because they're trained to be monsters. Some of them go into it as good people, but I can guarantee you they don't come out as good people. That part of them is...beat out." She frowned, not wanting to tear down the kid's optimism. "...years later, I came across a girl. Zash. She was...a Tie Pilot, Was being the most important word there. She had dreams of becoming an Ace. Then she got into her first battle, and...her wingman died. Was sent into the slaughter for no reason other than overwhelming force. She was told that they expected her to just...move on. She went to the Rebels after that. She was a good person, but...she realized that the people above her...weren't. That's the reality of the Empire. That's what I fought against. I've...never been smart enough to lead. To do politics, I mean. I can lead on the battlefield, I know how to do that, but leading a country? A planet? That's not my strong suit. But what I do know about that is that it's not an easy experience. You have to make a lot of choices that push your ability to stay morally sound. That's why we need good people in charge. Because what happens when the bad guys get in charge is...The Empire."

She finally looked down to the Kel Dor, her eyes long and distant. She'd seen so much on the run, and yet she still somehow stayed hopeful. The fire in her eyes refused to go out, but in this moment, she had taken the chance to look back, and it showed. There was so much pain in those eyes, so old and cracked. But never broken. Like a vase that was held together by it's own weight, despite by all logic dictating it should've shattered long ago. She looked down at the boy, still seeing innocent eyes. She deep down hoped that she could help him find the same strength. Find the same fire, deep down, and keep it burning. Kindle it and nurse it into the firestorm she had. But she knew that only would be achieved through adversity. Through pain and suffering.

"Keep moving forward." She spoke, her words suddenly have much more weight behind them. "No matter how much it hurts. One step at a time."

With that, she smiled. "I...hope I can inspire you too. Be the mentor I want to be for you. I've never done this, ya know?"

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

None of what Jonyna said was much of a surprise to him. Although he didn’t grow up as an Imperial citizen for long he was well aware of the horrors they could and did inflict. He was a xeno under a very human-centric authority. But his master’s experiences were just different from his, and he didn’t really have much to say about it. Only able to speak for himself. Ko had doubts that his brother was even still alive, not having been able to contact him for some time. He thought, no, he knew that his brother wasn’t a monster. “There’s a saying about The Empire I grew up with that I’ve heard from time to time. It goes, "Every man woman and child, who loves freedom owes such a debt to the Imperial Military that can never be repaid…” It was an alliance senator that said that.” Ko paused for a moment, the words were somewhat absurd. How could an authoritarian regime be such a vanguard for freedom? But it was true through their sacrifice, and one that would not be forgotten by Ko. “It was The Empire that brought The Sith to heel, a state that had terrorized so much of the galactic north for generations. Not the Jedi. Shortly after fending off the barbarism of the Maw alongside the Galactic Alliance.”

Ko wasn’t trying to justify The Empire’s actions. Because there was no justification. But it didn’t exist in a vacuum, and to him it wasn't a cult of tyranny like many believed. Jonyna knew The Empire and knew it well, but so did Ko. They were just familiar with different parts of it. He also didn’t doubt that about a thousand years in cyro didn’t help their differing perspectives. “Now it has fallen to warlordism, kept on life support by idealists while being fed off by vultures. But it’s like you said, we have to keep moving forward.” That sentiment was more true to him now more than ever. Largely in regards to what he witnessed and what he had done on Chaldea.

Jonyna mentioned once more how she hasn’t done this before. He smiled back under his mask. “Me neither, but we can learn it together. On the bright side I’m not some fresh youngling. So you’re not dealing with some bratty little child.” He gave a soft laugh. Hoping that his maturity would help Jonyna with teaching him. Already having some experience on his belt. Then again, would dealing with a teenager be much better? He just hoped his Imperial background didn’t make her regret picking him as a padawan this soon. “I remember you wanting to get an idea for my abilities, perhaps we can go to the savannahs that you mentioned earlier too.” Ko suggested, by bringing up her own ideas.​

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

That got a snort out of the Cathar. "Would you believe me if I told you I almost got Braze as a padawan? I feel like he would've been too much for me to handle. I'm glad my first was someone like you. You're a good kid. Yeah, come on, let's get to the forest floor." Jonyna smiled, leading them to...a branch that seemed to twirl around the base of the massive trunk, just far enough away from it to not strangle the tree. It was one of many, and Jonyna looked to her padawan with a knowing look. "You been tree surfing?"

Internally, Jonyna could only absorb the talk of what the Empire had become. To her, it didn't much matter. They still used the symbols of old, still called themselves by titles from her era, still hung on to an ideology and belief in the superiority of strength and their definition of 'order'. So long as they did that, they'd still be the enemy of hers. What they had done since was a non-factor. Fighting off the sith? Sure. It sounded nice on paper, but one enemy against another doesn't make the first any less evil. She didn't hate the people, she hated the mentality. The ideology.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

Hearing that Ko felt like he died a little inside. Of course Braze would’ve been a first choice, how could he not have been. But at least his Master confessed that she felt like they would’ve been too much to handle. Which Ko definitely had to agree with. He’d started to hear that Council member Jasper might take the younger padawan under his wing.

Standing behind Jonyna he listened to her question before shaking his head some. “No, not at all.” Ko wondered if it was a weird mistranslation, in his mind surfing required water, or at least some kind of fluid. As far as he could tell there was none of that up where they were. Maybe the large tree had exuded a very runny sap? "What is it?"

 

[Jonyna Si]

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Jonyna smiled. "Consider this lesson one then. As a shaper of the elements, nature is deceiving. Use that to your advantage." She walked up to the branch, bringing one foot up onto it. "In the jungle, everything is at least a little bit wet. Called a Rainforest for a reason." She slid her foot across the branch as an example, it seeming to act slick. "Once you understand that, the forest is your gymnasium. Us Denik use it as a highway around the tree. Since it's close enough to the trunk, we can use it as leverage. Wanna give it a try?"

Ko Vuto

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

The words of his master made a lot of sense to Ko. Especially with his desire to become an adept elementalist himself. Watching as Jonyna slid her foot across the wood. “That sounds awesome, I imagine it makes getting back down much easier, and exciting too.” Ko said as he stepped over to where she was. Feeling how seemingly slippery the branch was.

“I could see it being a pretty g-” His words were cut off as he quickly lost his balance. Slipping and falling onto the branch before beginning to slide down on his butt. “Gah!” Ko began to try and regain his footing with little to no successes.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

The Cathar tried, and failed to hold back a snort. She'd seen it plenty of times before, young cathar trying their first time to treesurf. It was never not funny, but lucky for Ko Vuto , Jonyna was quick to grab him with the force, picking him back up and allowing him a second chance.

She offered a demonstration this time, stepping up onto the branch, digging her claws in at first to allow herself to simply stand on it. "Like this. First you gotta find your balance, then..." She loosed her claws, sliding about two stories downward letting out a howl as she slid, then jumping off at the next level below them. "Come on down! I'll catch you if you fall!"

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

Fortunately for Ko he didn’t slide down too far, feeling himself get snagged by Jonyna’s telekinetic grip. Setting him back where he was, his legs felt a little wobbly from the fear that he was about to fall of the branch and down the tree. "T-Thanks…” Now he stood back and watched as she gave him more of a demonstration.

After she let out a howl he stepped back up to where he was now that he was able to regain his composure. Readying himself a bit before finally trying to slide back down. Being able to actually anticipate it helped a great deal in not falling back on his rear again. The Kel Dor still waved his arms around some trying to keep his balance while following behind Jonyna.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna looked proud as her padawan slid down, the cathar keeping a hand raised just in case to catch him with the force. It took a couple more branches, but they finally got to the ground level. Ko Vuto would then witness the size of the roots that anchored the tree the size of a mountain, massive wooden tentacles shooting out that dwarfed the two by a good three times their size. To make the two look tiny in comparison. Jonyna however, didn't seem phased by it, running a hand across the bark of the tree as if to pet it. "You couldn't imagine the shenanigans I got up to here as a kit. Mom used to chase me around the tree, and the folks around the city would keep a look out for any missing kits. I've never been to the Kel Dor homeworld. What's it like?"

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

Ko almost fell over a few times but still managed to keep his balance as he slid across the branches. Once he finally got to the bottom with Jonyna by all the roots he stumbled forwards a bit when his feet finally touched ground. Once he was back to having something solid below him he listened again to Jonyna. From what he’s seen of his new master so far it wasn’t hard to imagine her being a troublemaker in her youth. Then she asked him about his homeworld.

“Well, there’s not a lot of vegetation on Dorin so you’d never see a tree like this there. It’s also very rocky and stormy. That’s all I really remember, oh and not needing to wear a mask everywhere I went.” Ko explained some. He left the planet around the time he was six or seven. He couldn’t really remember the exact age since it was in Kel Dor years.

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"Right, you've got the whole breathing problem." Jonyna considered that. Her tactical mind considered the thought that her padawan's mask could become a liability in the heat of battle at some point. She wasn't sure yet how to fix the problem, but it was a problem none the less. With war on the horizon, she needed to make sure Ko was ready. Things for later though. "Stormy can be cool though. Maybe we'll visit sometime for training. Learn how to block lightning or something like that. For now though, come on, let's see what you can do, and lemme show you what I can do."


The Cathar led the two past the jungle floor, and into what looked to be open grassland. There were a couple clearly walked paths, though actual roads seemed to be non-existent. Cathar society seemed to have forgone the typical infrastructure of other planets in favor of natural pathways, grass that grew shorter from generations of feet crushing it beneath them. Jonyna seemed to instinctively know the way towards their destination, a huge opening in the tall grass about the size of a soccer field. "Here we are. The Warrior's Field..."

Ko Vuto

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

That was definitely an interesting idea, he knew of stories where the Baran Do Sages of Dorin could manipulate the storms and even call upon lightning as a devastating display of their power. But from Ko’s understanding such actions were ancient legends. Also Ko didn’t himself have a breathing ‘problem’ but it was certainly a disadvantage of his.

Walking out into the grasslands with Jonyna reminded him of some of the sprawling fields and farms back on Nubia. It seemed as if the locals had little use for roads here. Getting by with simple paths through the grass. Ko looked around some as his master announced the area. A sizable clearing in the tall grass. The Kel Dor knelt down and touched the dirt beneath him. Almost as if he was trying to connect some with the planet himself. Looking up to Jonyna he spoke, “I think should do well to train in my elemental abilities Master Si” Standing back up Ko added. "Although with all the tall grass I imagine fire might be a poor choice to test out here."

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

"Like I said, we're not here to train just yet. Show me what you got now, and I'll teach you a few things after." She smiled, giving him the floor to just...show off.

Ko Vuto

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

That sounded simple enough, yet Ko still wanted to at least impress his new master some. Stepping out closer to the center of the field, the Kel Dor took a deep breath to try and center himself. Thinking it best to perform a sort of Kata infused with elemental manipulation of the earth around him.

Ko assumed a sturdy and rooted stance before moving his body. Letting the movements of his body help give him focus in guiding the currents of The Force. The ground and rocks around Ko shifted and moved. Flying away or towards him in conjunction with the motion of his body. Invisibly connecting himself to his environment like a like a wireless remote or controller manipulating gadgets and other technology. Ko created small barriers, or had narrow pillars of stone jet out of the ground with momentous impact and energy. Showing that he had a decent aptitude for this style of elemental control.

To finish it off he tried to display a technique he himself was developing. Ko telekinetically held up a large rock. Squeezing his fist to crush it into dozens of smaller pieces. The plan was to have them suddenly and violently burst out into a cone. Like a devastating improvised scattergun. However, at the last moment all the rocks just fell to the ground instead of shooting out. Feeling rather dejected, Ko's shoulders sagged some. Letting out a sigh he spoke. “Well that last trick is still a work in progress for me.”

 

[Jonyna Si]

​

Jonyna watched, a careful eye analyzing every move her padawan made. As he seemed to struggle, Jonyna picked the rocks up herself, explaining as she goes. "You're splitting one stone into several. Controlling one is easy, even if it's big. That's one point of focus. But the moment you split it into several, you're splitting your focus several ways. How you done much training controlling a lot of rocks at once instead of just big boulders?" Her tone was calm, taking a queue from her mother to always be patient and simple in your language to those trying to learn.

Ko Vuto

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

“Well only a little, mostly in the form of moving meditations. But I’ve been able to do the technique before. Just not with the velocity that I’m looking for yet.” The closest thing he’d done in recent memory to manipulating a bunch of rocks was when he used the force to disassemble and assemble his lightsaber.

Ko understood what she was saying. He hasn’t trained much in splitting his attention and focus. So it made some sense to him as to why he might have flunked his finishing move. Especially if he had to crush the stone before hand into multiple pieces.

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"You any good with a saber then?" She asked, pulling Lucy off her belt. "Come on, show off kid. Show me everything you got so I know where to start."

She took a few steps away from Ko Vuto , before taking a Form I stance, and igniting her saber.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Cathar
Tags: Jonyna Si

Ko watched his master ready her lightsaber. It was red (or ruby technically) which surprised him some. He gave a nod to her request before telekinetically summoning his own hilt to his hand, igniting its green blade before assuming a neutral Form I stance as well. It was what he was most familiar with afterall.

When he started engaging her with his lightsaber it was clearly still Shii-Cho. Although basic, maybe even ‘clumsy’ with his maneuvering, he was quite fast at striking towards the different body target zones against Jonyna. Likely showing evidence of being well practiced in lightsaber training velocities from the broad yet speedy swinging of his lightsaber.

Unlike the brief display of force abilities that Ko demonstrated earlier, it was clear that it had taken a higher priority in his training and study over lightsaber combat. Where his fundamentals were fine, but that’s all he really had. The Kel Dor needed to work more on his swordsmanship and broaden his skillset with a lightsaber in regards to the classical forms. Since he was behind many of his padawan contemporaries given his age. While Ko was strengthening his connection to The Living Force and working with plants and animals, others were studying the blade.