TK Troubles

[Cedric Grayson]

Telekinesis was not something easily mastered. It was the backbone to most techniques used later down the line, but using it for anything beyond basic applications could prove difficult for some. Darius in particular.

The padawan had learned the skill on his own; he had to. Endor was an unforgiving world, and when you were unarmed and left to fend for yourself against all the beasts that prowled its jungles, you had to adapt. The force kept him alive, and telekinesis helped ward off the predators.

Unfortunately, calling upon it for anything more than light shoves or anything of a similar manner was beyond him. His old master was never particularly talented with the skill, and no one was very willing to help him back on Sullust. Everyone there was busy with the war.

Fortunately, his new master's lady fried, a Jedi Master herself, was experienced with the art. Darius would learn whatever he could from the duo before he had to return to the front. Thus his days were filled with study, and when the two had the time, actual training. Today was going to be one of the latter.

The padawan knocked on the door of the couple's apartment. "Master Shel'tah?"

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Most days lately were rather quiet for the Twi'lek. She'd spent the majority of her own life up until recently in constant battles with the Sith and their allies. After leaving the Order her schedule seemed to open up rather drastically. Even still, it was not a decision made lightly, and she wouldn't try to convince any others in doing so. Everyone had their own paths to walk. Whatever Varus chose to do, he would do for himself. She made sure not to raise the discussion of her own accord. It was a subject best left to ghosts.

The knocking on the door was expected, it wasn't locked. "It's open." She said politely. When Darius came through she tossed her legs off the couch and onto the floor and sat up. "Sera is fine, for the record. I'm not your master, just a friend." She smiled and stood up to offer him a hand shake. Sera assumed he had come for the offer she made regarding telekinesis, though she hadn't quite thought through the practicality of teaching Varus' new student the skill. Where were they going to train this skill? They had no Jedi temple nearby, and Darius knew the basics, so lifting tiny rocks was going to beneath him, and most of the rather difficult or more prominent applications of the ability required a fair amount of space, not to mention things that wouldn't shatter to pieces around them. "Varus isn't here at the moment, if that's who you're looking for."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Darius shook his head. He had plenty of things he planned to bombard Varus with in the future. His lightsaber skills were more than a little rusty after all. Fortunately for the Jedi Master, and perhaps unfortunately for his lady friend, Darius had taken Sera's offer to heart. He needed to brush up on his telekinetic abilities, and if what she had said was true, Sera was quite skilled. He just had to convince her to work with him today.

"Nope, here to see you Mas-...Sera." Gods that was odd. "I wanted to take you up on your offer. The telekinesis I mean," he cracked a grin. He'd had the same concerns that were plaguing Sera. There was nothing close to a temple here on Zeltros so far as he knew, but the apartment complex Darius had chosen to live in did have a park. It was remote enough compared to the rest of the city, and more importantly, it was large.

"There's a park near where I live. It has some space," a pause, "If you have time I mean."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Oh!" She exclaimed, "Well in that case...I'd be happy to oblige." Sera quickly jotted down a note for Varus in case he came back looking for her. Took your student to the park for a walk lesson in telepathy.

"Let's go there then, that would be best. A large open area without a room through of fragile objects would be much more suitable." Reaching over toward a small end table she snapped up her pair of lightsabers and hooked them to either hip and slipped into her boots. "Right. Let's get going! It'll be a long day for you." As the pair stepped outside Sera turned and locked the door, before turning back to Darius. "So, if I might ask, what made you decide to come here, to look for Varus? I know I was sort of unexpected, but you obviously were looking for him."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

The question was to be expected. Darius had, after all, more or less invited himself to their meeting. The reasons why were probably less interesting than one would think. Master Sedaire had simply been too busy to finish his training, and Master Shatterstar was recommended as one of the more neutral teachers.

"Master Sedaire had his hands full with the Corellian Jedi. I needed someone to finish my training, and I was pawned off to a number of different masters." Darius led the way toward one of the elevators, and clicked the button to descend. "Most of the Masters in the Galactic Alliance are radical. I understand disdain for Sith, but I was being taught more about military procedure and reasons to eradicate the Sith than the Jedi way."

The padawan cracked a warm smile, "One of the older masters tipped me off about Master Shatterstar. I sent a comm message, and now I'm here." The boy bowed his head, "It was good to meet you as well, Sera. I admit I was a little surprised seeing you two together - not that relations are a bad thing! I'm just..."

The elevator reached the bottom floor.

"I suppose I've always been taught differently."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"So you were Sedaire's student, huh? Interesting. I know him as well." Sera laughed lightly. The galaxy wasn't so large after all. She listened to Darius' explanation of what he felt the Galactic Alliance was, as she had no formal introduction to their ways since their official formation, nor had she been close with most of their members. To each their own though. She shrugged. "I'm not entirely familiar with the Alliance, truthfully. I've been doing things on my own for some time. I released my ties to the Republic and the Order, and since have simply been doing what I can on my own."

Jedi were all so different now, so many different belief systems, so many different Orders, opinions, and regulations. It was neigh impossible to keep up with everything. She stepped out of the elevator and headed for the lobby doors that led outside with Darius beside her. "Depends on who is doing the teaching I suppose. I was always taught against such ties as well. It's something you must decided for yourself, or follow the beliefs of the Order you choose. I've come to terms with what could come from this relationship, just as if one of us were to be killed. It's just something I try to keep at the back of my mind, and not let it distract me from the objective at hand."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"He's more like my father than anything. He took me in when I was ten. I didn't have much of a memory - couldn't remember anything before then besides wandering in a forest. He found I was force sensitive, trained me, and now I'm here." Darius allowed the memory to take him for a moment. It had been so long since Master Sedaire had come across him. He'd been very small then and terribly emaciated. The Green Jedi had wrapped the boy up in his cloak and brought him back to his ship. The rest was history.

"The alliance is...it's not like the Republic. They're very militant," Darius shrugged, "It's hard to explain. It's run by people who've lost everything. Just about everyone you meet there has nothing to live for, save for putting down the Sith. They won't ever waver from their cause, but it makes me worry what will happen if they win."

He shook his head.

"I just try to help everyone. I was never a part of any particular order - I jump around. Do whatever I can. Learn what's available to me." He drew his cowl over his face as they exited the building. It wasn't particularly cold; Darius just didn't like making eye contact with folks. The park was not particularly far, and they would arrive soon enough.

"I can't fault you for what you want. You've lived through more than I have. I just have an old code to guide me; you have experience," the padawan frowned, "Still...I've felt that kind of thing for a woman. I didn't feel like a Jedi - I was vulnerable. Scared even. I don't know where we stand now. She's halfway across the galaxy doing gods know what."

He sighed.

"Sorry, I'm rambling again."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Sometimes I think the Republic could use a bit more of that militant motivation. Always reacting instead of acting. It doesn't bode well for them in the end. Never does." She'd lived through enough of the Republic's failures to know it was causing their inevitable fall. That was partly responsible for her own departure from the war. It no longer held meaning to her. "You were fortunate to have been found by him, though. He's a good guy."

The streets were filled as usual - Zeltros was after all the galactic party planet afterall. Normally Sera would find herself out of place in most places, given her rather vibrant skin color. Here though was one of the few places she could actually blend in, relatively speaking. It made her smile a bit.

"As they preach; A Jedi is never through learning." She nodded to her own assertion. "Knowledge is your greatest ally." She waved her hands a bit in no particular manner, simply speaking with her hands as they walked. "I don't think it has much to do with experience. More so it is accepting of the consequences for the actions you take later on down the road. Our greatest strength is our closeness, but at the same time is our biggest weakness. It is simply one we both understand."

Walking for a few minutes longer they would reach the expansive park, a few benches spread out throughout the area, a tree here and there, but for the most part it was relatively empty and open. Perfect. No-one to hurt, and less to pry. "Ready?"

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Darius had heard of the Republic's failings. Democracy was an ideal; one e could easily see himself striving for. Unfortunately slow leadership and an unwilligness to truly aknowledge the One Sith threat until it was too late had brought about their downfall. Now they clung to handful of core worlds, desperately trying to retain some semblance of peace in the war torn parts of the galaxy. He admired their tenacity.

"I'm not sure I could accept the weakness," he sighed as they entered the park. Varus and Sera had fought their war. They had their medals, their memories, spilled their blood. For them, the war was over. For Darius, it was just getting started. He couldn't afford to have something such as relations hold him back. Not now after he had come so very far.

"Absolutely," he quipped, cracking a wide smile as she changed the subject to the current matter at hand. He was eager to show Seraphina what he'd managed to master on his own, and more importantly, to further build upon it. Sera was a master in her own right. Perhaps with her help he could manage to hold his own against the Sith he so feared.

He drew back his hood and drew in a deep breath. The force was here, and it was alive.

"How do we start?"

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"You've said you're proficient with the ability, so I have to assume you are versed in all of the basics then." She counted with her fingers, "Push, pull, crush, levitate, and grip?" She spoke as the pair walked closer inwards, toward the center of the park. It would be safer to be as far from the street and other people as possible, just in case something went awry, or got out of control for a moment or two.

"Those five are the building blocks of telekinesis. From those however, there is a near endless road of implementations for telekinesis. There's not enough time in a day to truly teach you even the basics of every application for telekinesis, but we ought to have enough for a few of them, at least. You'll have to spend time on your own as well, but the fundamentals of the skills will be enough to get you started. Just keep in mind that I've been at this since I was a child, so if you falter at any point, don't get discouraged."

Sera set her pack down on the grass just out of the way for the moment. "Answer me this, there is no right or wrong answer. It will simply determine how we go about teaching you this first lesson. Do you view telekinesis as a skill primarily to be used in an offensive or defensive manner?"

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

"Of course M-...Sera. There's no point in studying if you don't take the time to practice on your own time." Darius agreed. He was a tedious learner - things did not normally come particularly quickly to him. Still, that did not mean he would ever be allowed any handicaps; thus he trained far more than most padawans. There was very little room for recreation in Darius' lifestyle.

"I generally use it for offense. There haven't been many situations where I really needed to use it in a defensive manner. Of course, I've never really gotten into it with a Sith before," the padawan shrugged, "I s'pose you could say I've been lucky. I have basic control over the the pillars of telekinesis."

Very basic.

To prove his point, the padawan held out a hand. His eyes drifted half-shut. A few seconds passed, and then one of the nearby rocks lifted half a foot off the ground.

"Basics." He repeated, letting the rock fall.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Seraphina tipped her head in acknowledgement of his assertion that he primarily invoked telekinesis in an offensive measure. "Very well then. I will teach you two things today. The first will be the utilization of telekinetic energy into that similar to a bomb. You will be the center, the bomb will surround and expel from you. Such a technique is effective when you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being surrounded. The sheer power of the ability will give you room to breathe, as well as set back and scatter those who have boxed you in." Sera reached down towards her sides, lifting the two sabers she carried from their place. This technique was incredibly effective, yet dangerous to the untrained. "The second thing I will teach you, with substantial caution and safety precaution will be the manipulation of your lightsaber through telekinesis. This can be used both offensively and defensively, depending on how you are to go about it."

The park was certainly not the best place to be displaying Force abilities or lightsabers. It would no doubt draw attention, if not a crowd. They had little options at their disposal though, so this would simply have to do for now. She would reserve the full demonstration of multiple lightsaber telekinesis until Darius was proficient with the skill and had advanced his training further. Focusing on two or three sabers to form a barrier while blocking or striking at foes was just a bit too advanced for now.

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

A bomb? That seemed useful. Darius was never the most creative when it came to applications of telekinesis. He was trained by a blademaster; a man who knew little of the force's power beyond what it could do to his lightsaber. Those teachings had carried on to his student. While the boy had taken steps to branch out from his old teacher's rather strict approach to combat, he was never particularly good at doing so. The force was a difficult beast to tame, and even more insurmountable when you were alone. Luckily, Sera was here to make sure he didn't actually impale himself with a flying rock, or something of the like.

"I'll do my very best," he promised, "I think I've seen the bomb thing. Just once, back on Coruscant. A Sith was chasing me, and used it to...thin out a crowd." The padawan frowned. He was sure Sera could guess as to what he meant by 'thinned out'.

"Just tell me what I have to do. I know it won't all come at once, but...well, I'm confident I'll be able to do it eventually." He flashed Sera a wide smile. He was genuinely grateful for her assistance, and he rather enjoyed the Twi'lek's company. It rare for him to ever be graced by someone with enough experience to help him work through his issue.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

It was pleasing that Darius was eager to learn the application of the techniques, just as much as the techniques themselves. It seemed as though he understood the importance of taking everything in stride, and not pressing one's self beyond practical capability. "There's two variations of what could be considered the bomb. The first is Repulse, which more suits the theory of being bomb-like, as it extends in a spherical direction from the user, and can cause substantial damage to everything nearby."

She considered for a moment the best way to describe the second variation of the same ability.

"A more controlled version of the technique is the Wave. This variation is more directional, focusing on a path and extending outwards. Collateral damage is mitigated more this way, but when you find yourself cornered, the prior may be a better application. Both are very similar in their invocation though, so learning both is simply a matter of focusing the energy, rather than simply releasing it outwardly."

Once again she ensured there was nobody in the vicinity. "Now, for the practical part. To invoke either one of these techniques the process is relatively the same, the only difference being how you choose to expel the energy once gathered." She gestured with her hands upwards and around, then again by pushing her hands opposite directions from her body. "One way is to simply unleash it, causing a ripple like effect that will surge like an explosion. The other will being a directional wave, like that of the ocean, aggressively pushing everything in its' path away in one or two directions."

She held up a cautionary finger. "Though be warned, these will be taxing to perform, so I recommend using them only when absolutely necessary. First, focus inwards, allow the Force to well inside, make yourself the conduit. You'll feel a great abundance of energy surging through your core. When you can no longer maintain control over it, that is when to release it. Try doing this twice, once for each technique. The more attuned to the Force you become, the larger, and more powerful this will become."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

She'd given him the reins, and he had no intention of letting her down. With practiced silence Darius listened to the Twi'lek's explanation. He'd learned not to interrupt under Master Sedaire's tutelage. The battlemaster had always rebuked him with extensive physical exercise. Though the padawan doubted Sera was going to make him run laps around the park, he had no intention of testing her.

When she finally finished speaking, he found his voice, "I'm not the best at attuning to the force. I mean -...It's difficult," the padawan shrugged. He had managed thus far on his own, but immersing himself within its currents in the way that Seraphina described was difficult. He had managed it only once, and that was the only reason why he felt it was possible.

Still, he would try.

He took a few steps away from Sera, not wishing to cause her any form of harm. His eyes drifted shut. His breathing was controlled. He did his absolute best to shut out every possible distraction, and allowed himself to connect with what he felt was the force. It was a small trickle, just enough to be felt, but it was something. He let that build for a time, siphoning it in the way one would steal fuel from a speeder rather than calling upon it with ease.

After a few rather long moments, he held up his left hand toward one of the larger rocks. He expelled his breath, and with it the energy he had been gathering. It was flung forward, and the rock was sent tumbling a few feet from him. It certainly wasn't powerful, but he'd managed.

With his chest rising and falling violently with each breath, Darius turned toward Sera. "Not the best, but...I moved it!"

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The Twi'lek looked on as Darius concentrated for some time before releasing the energy and sending the stone tumbling off a ways, clapping for him once he'd finished. "Nobody moves mountains on their first try. You did well. Now -" She looked around for a minute, then glanced to the small pond a short distance away. Her eyes shut with a single hand extending outwards toward the pond. A moment later, a half dozen large rocks lifted from the water. She navigated them towards Darius, releasing each one to encircle him. "Now, what I want you to do is exactly what you did a moment ago, except this time, do not focus on one rock, do not focus on two. In fact, do not focus on anything in particular. Focus on everything around you, but nothing specific. Draw in as much of the Force as you can, think of it in terms of pressurizing it. When you have to, release it. This energy will become the bomb, or, Repulse."

She took a number of paces back away from him and the stones. "Over time, as your connection to the Force grows, you will find that this becomes substantially more powerful, as well as dangerous to your surroundings. So take care when using this."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

The first display took quite a bit out of him, and Sera wanted another one? Well, he'd promised to be determined, even when doing what he might have felt was impossible. With his chest rising and falling heavily with each ragged breath, the padawan turned and nodded at Sera. It was all he could really manage to do right now. Talking took too much concentration.

Still, he had succeeded somewhat, and his confidence was skyrocketing; in no small part due to the Twi'lek's show of approval.

"I'll do my best," he mumbled as he eyed the rocks. Keeping that power in a controlled area had been difficult; perhaps letting it run wild would be easier? There was only one way to find out. Once again, he called upon the force. The trickle felt faster this time; more open to him. It did not take him as long this time to prepare, though the effort alone left him mentally fatigued.

His hands thrust outward. A wave of telekinetic energy followed, though it was particularly weaker than the first. All of the rocks moved, but not by much. One tumbled a bit to the right. Another tipped on its side.

"Harder...harder than I thought."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Quite hard, in fact. This was not a technique I learned as a Padawan." She walked back over to Darius, placing the stones back in a neat array before placing a single hand on his shoulder. "I don't expect you to send these stones off into the far reaches of space, and neither should you. You'd likely kill yourself trying." She patted that shoulder twice before lowering her hand. "The energy required to create such a powerful sphere is quite substantial. This is the reason I'd only recommend using it when in dire need. Otherwise, more practical implementations can be used."

Sera took a few steps back, but continued to face Darius. Her hand raised again and she pulled three of the six stones towards herself, levitating them lazily in the air in front of her. "We'll do one more exercise with these for now, before moving on." As she motioned with her hands the rocks danced about almost as if they had life of their own. "I want you to focus on your three rocks. Levitate them. Focus and use the Force to simultaneously thrust the stones in a controlled manner. Hit the three I have floating here. I want you to try until you succeed in hitting all three."

[member="Darius"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Darius certainly didn't feel like dying today. He felt a certain amount of pride when she spoke of the difficulty of his task. To succeed, even a little bit, was commendable. Despite his overwhelming exhaustion, he would not give up just yet. Sera had something else to be taken care of, and he would rise to the challenge. Bright blue eyes fell to the stones that she levitated. His targets.

"If I do die, you can have my speeder," he sighed, gaze falling to the rocks he had moved previously, "I'll see what I can do."

He paused for quite some time. Recalling the force once again was a difficult task for him right now. He needed a few moments to recover mentally. Then, with all the might he had left within him, he reached out to the stones. at first they resisted him Though not particularly large, each felt like a massive boulder in the force. It was all he could do to grasp them, let alone lift them.

Then, with all his effort poured into the effort, they began to shake. One wrenched free of the soil. Then another, finally the third. The three stones floated momentarily. With a groan, Darius forced them forward. Unfortunately, all three of them skidded close to the ground and missed their mark completely.

"...Kark."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"No worries." Sera released her hold of the stones, allowing them to drop back down to the soft patches of grass below. Each one made a small indentation in the soil beneath them as they landed. Sera stepped over to Darius, and sat down in a kneeling position beside him, placing her hands on the tops of her knees. "Take a short rest. We'll try again after." She closed her eyes, slowed her breathing, and spoke quietly, near to a whisper. "Don't allow yourself to have doubt, or hesitation. Your success depends just as much on your belief as it does your connection to the Force. If you think you might fail, you will."

In reality, what she was teaching to him was generally reserved for Jedi of higher skill level, at least in theory. Sera believed in pushing one's self to the edges of limitations, and then peering over that edge. She would push Darius to his limits, to show him what he is capable of with the right attitude and dedication. "Try to relax. Quiet the world around you. Listen to the Force and feel it, allow it to invigorate you. Meditation is an important exercise. It will give you clarity at times of confusion, energy in times of need, and a path to walk when you are struggling. Use it to bind yourself closer to the Force."

[member="Darius"]