To bonk ones mind

[Mantic Dorn]

Location: the Republic Military fort on Yutan'

The air was brisk on Yutan. Mantic had started to get a feel of the planet and with the recent surge of Republic activity the new temple near by could not have found a better location. It was here that the Republic Force Enclave would support the armed forces in better understanding and hopefully resist force abilites directed at the minds of the soldiers.

It was a gruesome affair to see a soldier on the field turn on her comrades or have her feelings roused to such levels that she simply collapses or flees the battle. Methods the sith did not hesitate to use and thus there was a need for countermeasures.

Soldiers were being lined up platoon wise all were the courtyard and beyond. Jedi and force adepts were lining up behind Mantic as he took the high position to adress the soldiers.
They were so many... but never the less, the work had to be conducted. It was important to the Republic, important tho the soldiers and to their families.

"Are they ready," he asked the commander present.

If Mantic could have seen through the helmet he would have seen the roll of eyes and smirk that accompanied the classic:

"They are marines master jedi. They were born ready."

Mantic nodded.

"Soldiers of the Repubilc, defenders of the free world! I am humbled in your presence here on this day." he began

"You are all veterans of war and know what we are facing on the battle fields against the enemies of the Republic. The force is something that we have found to have a constant presence on these fields. And while the battles are not won by single jedi or so called hand waving it has a great impact on how you, the core of the body manages to stand in the way of great darkness."

"Know that the force has two sides, one that will be your companion and friend, and one that will present dangers to you. You as soldiers will, if you have not already, face the attacks that can not be held of by a shield, nor an armor. These attacks will center upon your very minds and will be a grave danger to both you and your comrades. Aimed to destroy your own free will, aimed to cause chaos in your ranks."

"This is what we will begin to prepare against here on this day. We will help you all to recognize and be better prepared to withstand these sinisters attempts on our proud troopers. Stand tall as you accept this training, you are soldiers of the Republic and for that we are all grateful." Mantic spomke from hjis heart, sensing that each word was truth to him and hopefuly to the listeners.

"These jedi and force instructors," Mantic motioned for the group that had lined up behind him. "... will go out to a company present and start tutoring. Listen to their words and notice how they act as they will give you example on how the force can be used upon another individual. Each present CO monitors the training and will together with the instructor decide when the training of today is fuillfilled."

"Good luck and may the force be with you, always."

Mantic stepped to the side allowing the jedi and force instructors to go out their and find the unit assigned to them for the lesson.
He knew that this had to be repeated in the future but it was a good start.

 

[Cyrus'Relk]

Having listened to the speech done by Mantic, Cyrus was thoroughly impressed with the words the jedi master spoke before allowing the jedi instructors and COs to begin there end of the training, he waited until Mantic cleared an area large enough between him and his marine bodyguard that followed him...

"well said, very well said Master Dorn, your giving the speechwriters of the galaxy some competition..." he laughed a bit although the mask he wore concealed most facial expressions he made.

he bowed in respect to his superior of force power. "I am Cyrus, capable jedi reclaimer, or at least thats what ive been told anyways..."





[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

As the jedi and for e instructors began to walk out to respective units and start the training Mantic Dorn felt the presence of a new one. He turned around and face [member="Cyrus'Relk"]

Returning a slight bow he greeted him back.

"Thank you padawan Cyrus. The knights surely need the capable." he spoke in response and gestured toward the massive amounts of soldiers and the far fewer force instructors.

"Will you be guiding a few soldiers on your own or will you join your Master for this?" he inquiried. While there was pure light in this one Mantic did not know him well enough to determin how far he had come in his teachings or his insigjts of the force.

 

[Jaccer Ramirez]

Jaccer had never really liked the Jedi Order. It was nothing personal, he didn't particularly dislike any of the members. Instead, it was the concept of the Order he did not agree with. The fact they had to follow the rules by the book never settled with him and would often cause clashes during the joint operation between the Military and the Order. They simply didn't understand that sometimes men had to take matters into their own hands and do what was right. However, Jaccer's thoughts and opinions did not matter today. All he was required to do on this day was to observe.

The idea to train soldiers to combat force abilities was supported greatly by high ranking officers in the Galactic Republic Military and Jaccer agreed. Giving regular men and women the skills necessary to defeat a force user would also be welcomed by Jaccer. These simple techniques could mark the turning point in the war against the Sith. Although only a handful of soldiers had been taught these skills thusfar, it was hoped that in these marines would pass their knowledge down until every soldier was as capable as them. A whole army specialised at combating force users, a truly intimidating thought for any Sith opponent.

After the Jedi Master Mantic Dorn, who Jaccer had met on a previous occasion on Ruusan, had finished his speech, which the Major had almost completely zoned out of, he and various other spectators would give a brief applause. Soon Jaccer would find himself speaking to one of his commanding officers. He was being asked to get himself acquainted with some of the new marines and those in charge of this new scheme. Reluctant as he was, Jaccer could not simply deny a request from one of his superiors. One-by-one he would pick several marines and several Jedi instructors to see how they felt about what was this newly implemented program.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Cyrus'Relk]

Cyrus scratched his mask a bit, "well... no unfortunately however i am here for a branching purpose, you see my title prior to the purge of the jedi waining in the rise of the Empire and Sith was to reclaim lost artifacts and holocrons as well, sadly during the rise of Darth Sidious he made it so several thousand years worth of jedi history was destroyed, or locked up in imperial databanks. so i am tasked by members of different councils to retrieve that information, my latest task has been to acquire some of the lightsabers used during the clone wars here that were left behind on Yutan and as well seek out any temples or relics not yet catalogued by the order..."

He knew this all sounded sort of shady at best, to another Jedi a master especially, "My skills lie in that i am acutely aware of the force resonance attached to certain weapons, items and holocrons you see, training isn't my forte but... i can offer the best locations to setup fortifications should you and your marines need it. i have extensive maps of the areas on Yutan. temples, old outposts and the like... essentially what i am here for is to ask if you know of any specific areas to which i should looking in you see my maps are a little outdated by about 10 to 15 years or so, any you help you and your COs and jedi training staff can provide would be greatly appreciated."

He hoped upon the force that the jedi master wouldnt consider him an intrusion upon his affairs here considering his non combat proficiency.



[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Raising an eyebrow Mantic pondered the words of [member="Cyrus'Relk"] - it was a bit unexpected to find such a request here, considering the purpose of this training session but he tried to understand what the jedi suggested.

"If you wish to pursue and help the Republic Knights in this task I would greatly support you padawan. But as you know the jedi are broken and dispersed, I can only offer you a small portion of what the old jedi order could regarding history and information. You would be in for a monumntal task to fill the gaps padawan. I belive that for you to truly be able to reach such insight as you claim further training of yourself is required as well."

"If you would indulge me on expanding your role here as in to assist us in instructing these soldiers, I would consider it part of your own training, to be able to enlighten others is a reflection on your own progress after all."
Mantic felt curious about this one. He was new, yet held interesting ideas that fell in line with the Republic Force enclave even without realizing it.

"We do have use of your knowledges regarding places and locations to errect forts on Yutan. And considering what I now know of you I will summon you for a repuboic project regarding a new installation in the near future."

"But, one thing at a time, let us for now focus on the present task at hand..." Mantic motioned toward the sea of Republic soldiers before them.

"If you can not find it in you to talk to an entire platoon, a single soldier at the time is still making a great difference."

Watcing [member="Cyrus'Relk"] carefully Mantic tried to asses this jedi and if he would abide or deny the request ot help teaching.

 

[Cyrus'Relk]

"Well, if such is a move would help both mine and your cause, i suppose i could move about and speak to a few of the men and women of the republic marines..."

Cyrus had spent years out of conflict zones for many reasons mainly due to the fact that prior to return of the galactic republic, he had nearly been killed several times while reclaiming jedi items both newer and older in fashion. so by definition he almost had a fear of going anywhere near soldiers or warzones in general that and he was slightly forgetful of his whereabouts now and again.

"well... i guess i'll head down to the training area and mingle about with the jedi and marines around, it is greatly appreciated Master jedi Dorn.
is there anything i should be aware of ahead of my interactions with the jedi and soldiers below?"

Cyrus not wanting to irritate or anger any trigger happy riflemen and women.




[member="Mantic Dorn"]

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic nodded to [member="Cyrus'Relk"]
The padawan was interesting and Mantic made a mental note to follow up on him in the near future. The Republic Knights had lost most lore keepers and were mostly made up by jedi warriors. But this was a weakness and one that he would like to repair, the force willing.

He cast a eye over his shoulder to see if [member="Rafeesh"] or [member="Ella Nova"] was present. Their help in instructing the soldiers would be very valuable if they had the time for it.
HE had also heard that [member="Spencer Varanin"] - a almost legendary jedi that had agreed to come on a sort of consultant basis. But he had not felt or seen her so far and Mantic was not assuming anything, merely hoping.

Seeing as the instructors started to find their respective units Mantic decided to focus on tutoring himself and started to ascend the stairs leading down to the "floor."

He passed through several ranks of troopers before finding one Lieutenant Locke.

The officer saluted.

"Fifth platoon standing by Master jedi." the lieutenant reported with military sharpness. Mantic was not a stranger to military life although he was no soldier himself. He had been around soldiers enough to recognize and appreciate the straightforwardness and discipline they offered for occasions like this.

"Good morning platoon." he began and let his eyes wander along the lines of hardened faces.

"You should have the men at ease lieutenant."

"Platoon, at ease!" was the lieutenant’s response and the platoon fell into a more casual stand. Mantic wet his lips and prepared to begin his lesson.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

“The force is not to be underestimated; it can be just as lethal as a rifle, or as powerful as a bomb. You know this already, but furthermore it can also act in much more subtle ways. IT can be used to influence one’s own actions.”

Mantic talked rather softly forcing the soldiers to keep very still and quite in order ot hear his words.

“Usually, to force ones own will on someone is an act of the dark side and because of this we must recognize the fact that our greatest enemy, the sith Empires utilize this strategy on regular basis.”

“We are here today to try and learn how to be able to resist such foul tactics by the enemy. We are here today to give you a better chance of opposing these mind tricks.”

Mantic kept walking among the soldiers trying to discern their feelings as he did. Some were very nervous, afraid even and so he wanted to calm them before he could take the training to its next step.

 

[Caius Flavian]

Yutan was quit the distance away from my constituency of Carida and my political power base.
One of my top commanders of the Flavian Storm Corp advised against this trip.
Here I was though.
I was guarded by several Senatorial guards along with one of my own personal body guards.
As a former officer in the Imperial Remnant I had or at least thought that I had some enemies out there.
A healthy level of paranoia helped exercise caution.

Speaking of caution...
My goal here was to observe the latest military formation and the conditioning of them.
While specifically the wording in the last Defense bill had allowed an extraordinary level of funding to be utilized in improving the military
Those funds had been abused by the previous administration for a sort of revolution that nearly destabilized the Republic.
Now a lot more oversight was rising in the Senate and a separation of power had really taken hold.

Odd for a former Imperial Commander whose goal was to obtain Moff hood, now here I was a Senator of the Republic, the greatest irony in my life.
The goal though was simple and that was to defeat the Sith.
[member="Kista Fel"], my Empress at the time before she abdicated the throne in light of her failure to maintain the government of the Galactic Empire, she gave me one last order to fulfill as a Flag Officer. Because I believed in her ideals of bringing about galactic peace I had sworn an oath to her and thus I must carry out this last order until my death.
Through what ever means necessary.

I did not dabble in the force, I was not blessed as some would call it, I've been under the influence to battle meditation to sharpen my tactical thinking.
It was both fascinating and euphoric, but also terrifying that another could use their minds to influence my actions.
I had many a time debated whether my zealous loyalty to her last order may have been because of her ability to use the force.
I would never know, but it was a cause worth living for and fighting for.

The conditioning of the Republic's Marines would ideally bring about a distinct change on the battle field.
The Sith warriors were fueled by a constant stream of raw individuals who were broken in some way or form and easily susceptible to the idea of power to change their lives.
While the root cause of their recruits was something that quite obviously would take years upon years to change the socioeconomic status to prevent such situations the present problem of dark siders utilizing the force against our military on the battle field has had a profound effect.
While under the Imperial Remnant I had watched first hand the effects of force users turning comrades against each other.
So here I was as an observer of this project.
As always I carried my grey steel travel mug filled with one of my favorite teas, Yavin Green Leaf, its aroma was what kept my mind aware.

I watched Jedi Master [member="Mantic Dorn"] as he taught a group of marines.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Stopping in between two rows of marines Mantic sensed the tense shifting slightly to more of a curious nature. Some of the soldiers despised jedi, they made no difference between the dark and the light. How could they? These were soldiers with years of training and time in the field. Soldiers like [member="Sofia Annesley"] - soldiers that were the true heroes of the Republic. Men and women without the force sensitivity but that still offered themselves as the protectors against all the darkness that was haunting the free worlds of the galaxy.

Lowering his head he gathered his thoughts somewhat more. He needed to make them relax more, to if not befriend them at least make them realize he was an ally.

“The force can be your ally as well however.” He continued slowly.

“Yes, even if you are not capable of sensing it the force is a part of us. You actually effect it throughout your lives, and your collective choices have a more profound impact on the force then any single sith lord or jedi master." he stopped there for a moment to give them all some time to ponder his words.

“And this tool can be used to better arm yourself against those individuals that try to claim your will. There are ways to steel yourself and fight it.” he spoke, now with a more energetic tone to his voice.

“You need to embrace yourself from your emotions to be able to do this however. You need to use your military training to raise mental shields against fear and hatred, because these are emotions that fuels the dark side and our enemy. Without them, they are rendered helpless.”

“But we are beings of emotions, and so we can never completely separate ourselves from them.” He shrugged.

“We can however train to keep them in check at the times when it is the most needed.”

 

[Rafeesh]

Rafeesh moved to another part of the room with different soldiers. He could recall training soldiers in much smaller numbers. But then there had been many more Jedi and fighting the Sith had been a part of basic training due to the recent Hyperspace war. Then again, they had not been as well outfitted. Technology had advanced and because of it tactics had hardly changed. The armors had become stronger while blasters became more powerful, basically negating all changes. It was an interesting dynamic an ever expanding work towards that perfect tech which would kill anything anywhere, and then that defense that could defend against anything. It was an endeavor doomed to fail.

He was woken out of his reverie by a soldier saluting, "Leftenant Burke reporting for Platoon Nine Sir." It was the pronunciation and the way the man's body tightened up a little as he saluted that caught Rafeesh's attention. He was Imperial, at least the evidence pointed to the man being ex-Imperial. Perhaps a traitor who had changed sides. It was a good thing to see. Even non Force sensitives were given a place if they decided to leave the Empire.

The Jedi nodded as he replied, "Thank you, have your men at ease."

"Yes sir." This was followed by a tight 180 degree turn before yelling out to his troops, "Platoon. At. Ease!" He then turned again and then stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he listened to the Jedi.

Rafeesh knew something of how this man would think, if the Sith Empires of today was anything similar to Sith Empire of old. Ease was not a word that could ever be associated with the military, except perhaps how the Sith lived in comparison to any of the troops, officer or otherwise. It would be interesting to hear what had changed. But that was a talk for another time, under different circumstances. For now he had to speak.

"Welcome soldiers of Platoon Nine. My name is Knight Naroth. You may call me this or Rafeesh, each to his own. Now today you are here to learn about the effects a Force user to can have on a battle. Specifically, how to protect yourselves from Sith mind tricks. Unfortunately there is no foolproof way to defend against a deception through the Force. What I will teach is just a basic catch all defense, it will be effective based on the individual will of the people in a scenario. What may just work with a young Sith is unlikely to help against the Sith Lords. I will aid to give you best possible training." He felt out with the Force and could sense the uncertainty that some had. Others seemed confident. It was good to know that none were absoluately terrified, but then these were soldiers. Training didn't exactly frighten them.

Rafeesh felt their minds and tried to calm those that were even somewhat unsure. It would be the first step in training these men. "Let us begin with the idea that in a battle a Sith will use whatever they can to accomplish victory. Much like every one of you they have a certain number of resources to their disposal. Sadly one of those is the Force, as such they have the ability to manipulate the battlefield and not always in the way expected. Yes they can cause physical disturbances, like throwing a rock with nothing more than the flick of a wrist. But their more powerful methods are less obvious. They can push their will upon those around them. This can be to aid allies or to trouble enemies. Some of the ancient Sith Lords were capable of commanding and coordinating an entire army with their mind. I do not believe you will have to concern yourselves with that level of power, but do be aware when taking on a Sith that it is entirely possible. Now when a Sith uses the Force to manipulate someone one of the first things that one may noticed is a change in their attitude towards something. You may suddenly not feel like running into battle, or that you are afraid of an enemy in front of you."

 

[Cyrus'Relk]

Cyrus went about to some of the COs and Jedi trainers to speak with them, he also walked around and spoke with some of the men and women of the republic corps there on Yutan... although to no specific platoon or battalion

"the trick to rejecting force manipulation is always keep your thoughts in line with your target, sith will always try to mentally warp your target and make it seem as if your pointing your weapon at the wrong person... for example, uhhh... you there in the scratched helmet come here..."

he placed the soldier in front of him, "ok, now take aim and kepp your weapon steady and keep in mind what i said previously", he then put his hand out to try his attempt at a force mind trick, the soldiers body began to shake slightly, "KEEP STEADY AND REMAN ON YOUR TARGET!!!" he shoutedthe soldier did just that and then Cyrus released his hold, "good, good... ok whos next?" some of the soldiers began to crowd around the masked man and he obligingly gave them a chance to prove force immunity.

 

[Rafeesh]

Rafeesh continued, watching the men and feeling for their anxiety, "This is the Force, you can fight it. However, in order to truly succeed you have to put your entire will into it. This is a difficult procedure, one that was seemingly first perfected by the Sith Lords of old. The first step to making your mind safe from these attacks is to make your mind difficult to penetrate. Keep your mind busy with anything that will last, like playing a game of pazaak in your mind. If you do this often enough you will notice that it becomes almost second nature. At that point you will be able to think about other things, while still maintaining the false front."

The Jedi had learned of the technique during his time in the Sith of the old days, used to train non-Force sensitive assassin's. He had had a basic training in the concept, but had focused more of his efforts on the warfare side of the Sith tactics. As it turned out, the Force had used even that time in evil to give him something that he could use later on. Now he could pass on this technique to these soldiers to help them fight against the Dark Side.

Even now, he could sense some of the soldiers trying the idea. Some played cards in their head, others went through mathematical equations, and still others went through the mental process of cleaning their armor or weapon. While Rafeesh could not directly sense the thoughts, he could feel that their minds were becoming more focused, which was exactly what needed to happen. He hoped that this would serve them well on the battlefield.

The Jedi Knight looked around to see how others were doing, [member="Mantic Dorn"] was doing well, or so Rafeesh guessed.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Having tried to give the troopers some theory behind how the force was working Mantic now decided to move on.

"I will now stir the force around you. Giving you a sensation off how it might feel when someone is manipulating the living force."

With that he closed his eyes and raised his hand. The soldiers became tense, that was expected and Mantic connected carefully with the force, making sure he would not take anyone with too much surprise. The troopers feelings and sometimes even surface thoughts started to slip past Mantic. He kept it in check however, he did not want to abuse the situation. Opening someones mind was a grave matter and he did not take lightly on the morality, or rather lack or morale regarding these things.

He allowed a sensation of warmth spread through the ranks, it would probably tickle the soldiers mind but not affect them any further than that.

Lowering his arm he opened up his eyes again.

"Yes, it can sometimes be difficult to separate the flow of the force from your own emotions. That is why it can be used as a secret weapon. But to assure you, allow me to control this again. Try to picture a cold place, the planet hoth or somewhere else."

Then Mantic repeated the procedure and spread warmth through their minds. A low mumble broke out among the troopers which did not astop until the Lieutenant barked fro them to fall silent.

[member="Rafeesh"] [member="Cyrus'Relk"] [member="Caius Flavian"] [member="Jaccer Ramirez"] [member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Rafeesh]

Rafeesh took his time walking among the troops again. This time he felt for the weakness in their mental defenses. They had a good foundation, but it would not protect them from any Force user who knew their stuff. But that was why they were learning here, rather than on the field. They could make the early mistakes, grow stronger, in a protected environment where there would be little in the way of dangerous repercussions.

He waited until he had returned to the front of the soldiers before saying, "Good start. Know now that this will be an uphill battle, the mind is not normally made to accomplish a feat like this. Success is commendable and failure is not to be seen as wrong. Your mind is yours and yours alone, if you feel something trying to manipulate it fight back. These Sith can only go so far in order to break your will, practice will make your will stronger. Now I will try to enter your minds, your goal is to keep me from doing that."

Just to test where they were at properly, on the battlefield their minds would be sharper than standing at attention for long periods of time. Hopefully it would be balanced by the fact that they knew he was coming, whereas it might not be known if a Sith were attempting it in a fight.