The Art of Incapacitation

[Jannik Morlandt]

This was the first of those agreements made recently in the Archives between himself and a couple others, the first to begin fulfillment. Today, he would impart knowledge, and would gain other needed knowledge in turn. There were two similar items on the docket, and one of them required a droid to accomplish.

Turning his head away from the entrance to the room, he looked to the training droid he'd appropriated for today's work, and gave it a short smile as he remembered the first time he'd practised on a droid. The droid looked back blankly, unsmiling, unmoving, waiting for command... just floating there like the little sphere it was.

Speaking of firsts... this was a first for him. The first time that he was the teacher, rather than the student; the first time that he would pass on what his masters had taught him. Was he nervous? Not so strangely, no. That was one of an increasing number of things that were benefits of his time on Byss - stranger still, that there were so many benefits from such a harrowing experience.

What he was, was tidy and put together (unlike the day they'd met), as he waited in one of the training rooms of the Ossus temple for [member="Corvus Raaf"] to arrive.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus arrived on time. Not fashionably late like [member="Kian Karr"] or [member="Kana Truden"] and not early as she was prone to do. As someone who had taken classes so many times now, the last thing you needed was students turning up early when you were trying to prepare. So she arrived at precisely the time she'd been asked to.

Entering the training room, she took in the droid before her eyes swept to Knight Morlandt. She bowed and then smiled. It was funny how you could spend a couple of years never meeting a specific Jedi and then you'd bump into them time after time. [member=" Jannik Morlandt"] was one of those Jedi. She knew very little about him - save he'd had a terrible experience previously - but she hadn't pried. When the time was right, he would share what he felt was appropriate. And if he didn't? Well then, the time might never be 'right.'

"I really appreciate this. Since losing my braid," she fiddled with her hair where the tell-tale sign she was a Padawan used once used to lie on her shoulder, "My personal training has been limited. And for a Jedi that would never do." She smiled again and removed her robe, folding it neatly and putting on a nearby table.

 

[Jannik Morlandt]

A small smile lent the barest curve to his lips as he returned the bow. He'd never had a braid, coming in as an older student, but he grasped the concept and had seen the braids of many a younger padawan and youngling over the breadth of time since his initiation. Somewhere, he'd lost track of time, so he wasn't sure if this feeling of it being longer than it actually had been was right or not. No matter.

"Aye, that'd never do," he gave in agreement with [member="Corvus Raaf"], "an' just as important tae exercise th'skills we've already learned, such that they gain in strength."

Which he knew he need to do, sooner or later, himself. He waited for her to finish with the outer layer of her robes, securing his hands behind his back, one folded into the other.

"Alri' then. What d'ye know about Force Stun?" he started, having gathered that she had academic inclinations from that day in the Archives. "An' speaking of, how'd it feel tae get stunned?"

How he'd gotten as far as being a Knight without the strike of a blaster bolt against him, no-one would ever know.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus' face reddened. He'd been present when she'd been hit flush in the chest by a blaster when learning Force Deflection. In truth, there wasn't mush to say. One second you were thinking 'Oh my goodness this is going to hurt' and the next you woke up wondering if you were drooling out of the corner of your mouth.

"My experience might not be typical of the effect when a Force User utilises it. I was knocked out, rather than stunned. Whereas my understanding of the application of the Force tends to deaden senses and perceptions. As if the person were still awake but in a catatonic state. But I get the feeling I'm going to find out soon enough."



[member="Jannik Morlandt"]

 

[Jannik Morlandt]

"Eh, well. Th'extent o'my stunning experiences has been wi'th'learning of Force Stun itself..."

He patted his left arm.

"...only to me arm, though. One of th'verrah first lessons ah received from Master Liadain, alongside that'f the Protection Bubble, an'the'Mind Trick."

A small smile ghosted up on his face at the mention of his first master. This was what he had progressed to, fond reminiscence of memories, rather than agony over what had happened, tempered with the faith-based fact that he had not felt the light of that spunky Lorrdian's existence snuff out.

"Thar be three degrees o'Force Stun, increasing in duration, potency, and spread, wi'each subsequent level. Th'first is rather temp'rary, an' is the common definition o'Force Stun, bearing th'name, therefore, effecting perceptions, senses, and giving pause tae movement for a matter o'moments. Secondly..."

He paused, clearing his throat.

"...secondly, is Force Stasis. Deadening of th'senses, near-catatonia, an' a freeze o'movements, for longer. An' lastly, we hae Stasis Field, affecting multiple targets wi'temp'rary, harmless catatonia, all at once."

His eyebrows perked over a somewhat thin smile.

"Something tae work up to. Ah'm not quite there yet, meself. All in all, more'f a hindrance to feel, than a pain. Suitable for a Jedi, ah think. Any questions?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus listened intently to Knight Morlandt's words. He spoke with great insight, which was typical for a Jedi teacher but moreover, his words were very personal - far from the cold theory she'd endured at times when she was a Youngling.

His explanation was so complete, so thorough that she had no questions - but felt slightly guilty for it. She patted her arm. "Better than a direct hit to the chest then?" Knight Morlandt was there when she'd been hit and it was, for her, all part of the learning curve.

Smiling, she added, "I am ready."

[member="Jannik Morlandt"]

 

[Jannik Morlandt]

A faint grin cropped up on his face at what was surely a rhetorical question, bringing to mind the stun he'd affected on the arm of his master that'd ended up being far more than what she'd enacted on him, spreading from her arm to other parts of her body and leaving her with a humourously numb tongue.

"Ahright, so... th'way this works that ye send a charge o'energy tae o'erload th'nervous system at one specific point, or inna broader stroke o'er th'whole individual."

He looked her over, perceiving the flows of the Force in her, the energies that ran through her body's core and every extremity.

"Th'first piece is perception, mapping th'energy of th'Force that flows through th'subject, an'their nervous system. It's something ye will be able tae do faster and faster with each attempt..."

That faint grin grew a little.

"...and th'Temple is a target-right environment."

He let that hang for a moment, before a few notes of a laugh escaped him.

"Ah'm only joking... or am I? For now, take me as y'subject, map tha' energy that flows through me."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

ooc: Sorry for the absurdly long wait!

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded as he spoke. In practice, what he was describing sounded particularly uncomfortable and the sort of things that Sith probably did for fun. But on this occasion, she realised there was no other way to learn.

“Charge…overload…nervous system...specific point or whole.” She nodded again. Hopefully the fear of something would again prove to be worse than the thing itself.

She was aware of his roving eyes, but unlike some Younglings and Padawans she’d encountered, she was sure this was purely in the interests of the lesson.

“Mapping…Force flowing…practice…” She gulped involuntarily. “Temple, right.”

Now was he joking or not? Corvus found that, especially when learning an ability for the first time she would start with a brief Meditation. She relaxed and pulled the Force to her, allowing it to flow through her and seeing how it permeated the room. By using an extension of this ability and perhaps using Force Sight in some way – she was never sure where one skill ended and another began, she could see Jannik’s aura. White and whorly. And the more she focused the more she could see how it flowed through him. And after a short while she had a simple mental map of the Force within Jannik’s body.

“OK, I’ve done that.”

[member="Jannik Morlandt"]

(Sorry - I missed this )

 

[Jannik Morlandt]

"So ye should now hae a better idea as tae what it will take tae stun me," he said, "energy-wise."

Then he lifted a hand, with intent to demonstrate. The energy gathered, just enough to accomplish what they had set out to do, for he had mapped her, as well.

"Tit for tat - ah'm going tae stun ye, and ah want ye to do it in turn. Gather th'energy, an'..."

He let loose, the charge of Force energy zapping at her upper left arm, with the aim of making limp and full of 'pins and needs'.

"...zap!... y'target."

Better than the first time all those years ago, where he'd put a bit too much into it and left Kira speaking funny!

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

(I'm terrible, I really am!)

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded at his words. So many Force Abilities overlapped either in their preparation or their application. Understanding how the energy flowed through someone – through them specifically – would no doubt have benefits when learning other Abilities. But she was getting ahead of herself.

So she focused on the here and now and...”Ow.”

She smiled an apology. “Sorry,” she added, rubbing her arm. “I wasn’t paying enough attention.”

She lifted her own hand and looked at it, turning the palm over before pointing her fingers at Jannik. She closed her eyes momentarily and focused on pulling the Force to her and then channelling it down her arm and into her hand – in a similar way to when Phylis taught her Force Light. Except this time she imagined the Force as an energy source, and her hand was a battery, storing the charge. She always seemed to work better with analogies.

Unsure how much power to impart – or even how much she could stun her fellow Jedi, she tentatively allowed the Force to flow from her fingertips and hit his upper arm in response. “Zap,” she said, as if that made a difference.

[member="Jannik Morlandt"]

Spoiler

And no worries at all