To Lie With Lions {Request for Lore and Knowledge on Control Beast}

[Jak Skirata]

To dominate a beast, the Mandalorian clan of Betna were masters of beast taming, without the Force. He himself was no stranger to the difficulties of taming a wild beast. Though the Besu'liik were by no means wild, obtaining the beast's undying loyalty like in the stories of old was something that needed to be earned.

However, no matter how much knowledge he held, wild animals were unpredictable, and in his line of work, that sort of variable was undesirable. These Jedi archives weren't completely useless it seemed if they would help him learn this power.

His search through the massive archives proved difficult for the Mandalorian and he needed to ask for aid in his search. And so he went to a place he could ask for help.

"Umm...I'm looking for lore, maybe a holochron or datachron on Control Beast."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus welcomed the Apprentice with her customary bow. This was an unusual request but no less respecting a full answer.

“There are two things to consider here. The first is knowledge. I can certainly provide the information you seek for there are two Force powers that fit the requirements you have requested. But first I need to explain that knowing of an ability, that understanding its theory is not the same as learning it.”

“Now I’m definitely not suggesting it’s not possible - just that learning from a teacher would be infinitely more likely to be successful.”

“But to your original question, two Force powers spring to mind, depending on what you want to do. The first is Force Subjugate which can be used to calm, enrage, or direct the attacks of creatures with a low amount of will power. This should be treated with caution as it can be used in a way that feels very Dark in my mind. The other is Animal Friendship, sometimes known as Beast Control or Beast Trick and is used to control an animal. Once calmed, the animal could be used by the Force user in various ways, including as a mount or guard beast.”

“Was your interest theoretical or were you looking to learn the Ability?”

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

"I was looking to learn this technique." That was sufficient information right? She didn't need to know his ulterior motives. Shifting in his armor he removed his helmet as a sign of respect and clipped it to his belt. "And I work better...alone."

He didn't much trust that the Jedi would outright help him learn a technique without attempting to force their ideologies down his throat, but if that's what it came down to he would do it...Just not willingly.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus smiled but clearly in a perplexed way. "This is an Academy and therefore learning is what we are about. But your approach...surprises me. The Code states we should Conquer Overconfidence. Your expectation you can teach yourself means you have only planned for success and have concluded there can be no failure. Every Jedi, in every task, should prepare for the possibility of failure."

"And a desire to work alone feels to be at odds with the requirement to cooperate. Tell me, what was your Master's counsel when you discussed this training need?" Corvus was genuinely curious what advice this Padawan had received thus far.

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

Master? Counsel? He hadn't had anything close to a "Master" since before his verd'goten, and that was ages ago now. He pinched the bridge of his nose, half in confusion and half in frustration. His brother and the other Field Marshals were working hard to keep relations with the Republic well so he had to go about this...carefully.

"Look," he started, "I'm not a Jedi." It was the truth, a solid fact, in fact in most cases he disliked Jedi for their sneaky and non-direct roundabout way of doing things. Plus, he thought it would have been at least a little obvious with him in his armor...Then again, the crudely constructed lightsaber at his belt could have caused some confusion..Maybe? Either way, Davin was a proud Mandalorian. Conflict was the precursor to change and he preferred to say what he meant than dance around formalities. "I have no Master and the only counsel that I had was with myself. You have a skill that would greatly aid in my work and keep those I love safe."
[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

A slightly glazed look came over Corvus’ face as she processed the information. She’d encouraged fellow Jedi of the Order to be part of the Academy Network – to allow them to train Jedi regardless of affiliation – as long as they abided by the Code and were truly Light-sided.

She’d even allowed the Network access to the Jedi Order Holocrons – although she technically hadn’t had this approved by the Council yet – an oversight she needed to remedy as soon as she could.

But she sensed his hesitation, his frustration and what seemed to be a desire to keep his emotions in check. Admirably he was doing so.

“Not having a Master is not the end of the world, so I appreciate your candour. But your honesty in admitting you are not a Jedi does conflict me. This,” she waved a hand expansively as if to illustrate their surroundings, “Is a place where Jedi come to learn. Where, quite simply, Jedi teach Jedi. It’s not a public library open to anyone who wishes to learn anything.”

“But the greater challenge is this. I don’t know what you know about Holocrons? They are not simply repositories of knowledge. They are controlled by gatekeepers. They are a teaching device but controlled by the cognitive networks of the original owner. They are a guide and can show the learner what they need to know.”

“But the crucial part is that the gatekeepers can sense the ability and level of any Jedi that requests information – and they will restrict it accordingly. A holocron I access now will provide me with more information than I was able to access when I was a Padawan. Animal Friendship is at least a Knight level Ability. You would have to fool the gatekeeper you were both a Jedi and a Knight before they revealed anything to you. Does this make sense?”

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

This was becoming...Quite the hassle. He had seen and used holochrons in the past, albeit they were mostly Sith in nature and he was accompanied by Ember during his research of the Dromund Kaas archives after the Mandalorians took the planet during their war with the Sith Empire so he hadn't noticed that they restricted information in any such way. Mumbling something rather crass in Mando'a as he placed his hands on his hips and looked towards his boots he began to think of a way to get the information he wanted.

"So what you're telling me is that I need to join your Order before I learn anything from these archives." It would be a pain, yes, and no doubt they would try to curve the aggressiveness that was not only engrained but recently bubbling to the surface...But if they were to fight the Primeval and The One Sith he would bite the bullet, if it meant not losing his brother again.
[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus sensed his hesitation. “Perhaps you’ve heard of Holocrons offering information freely? They would be Sith Holocrons. They pay no heed to Light or Dark or level. In fact their gatekeepers are notorious for looking to corrupt the knowledge-seeker and handing out potentially dangerous knowledge. They are the Sith you know.” She smiled at this point.

“And maybe you’re missing the point. It’s not about joining a club, it’s about becoming a Jedi. That’s not the same. And if you chose to become a Jedi and developed your knowledge and abilities and then were Knighted, then you would be able to access the Holocron without fear of it restricting access.”

“But if the life of a Jedi is not for you, there may be a teacher somewhere who is willing to give you this training – but the fact remains that using the Force isn’t just about learning.”

She held out her arms as if to indicate holding a large box. “The Force is ‘so’ big. I know it’s bigger, but it’s an analogy – bear with me. And your access to it is,” she now tapped the side of her own head, “Much smaller. As you develop, your ability to draw on the Force grows – both in a daily amount without fatiguing yourself – but also in the amount you can use at any one time. A Padawan can lift a ball easily. A Knight could lift one of the Muntuur stones – weight what, a ton? I can lift three at what, six tons? The most accomplished Master lifted all five.”

“My point is that you would not be effective if you tried to start by learning such an Ability. You’d be eaten by something before you tamed it. You would need to learn Telepathy and Mind Trick first – build up to it. Battle Meditation took me six years to learn.”

“I cannot and will not advise you to become or not to become a Jedi. If it is the path you wish to walk, then I and other Jedi can guide you. If not, then your solution lies elsewhere. I am not saying other Jedi won’t help you. I’m simply saying that I cannot under the current circumstances and the Holocrons won’t help you yet.”

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

Was she goading him? Challenging him? Telling him he didn't have what it took to be a Jedi? Granted...He didn't think he would be the best of 'Jedi' in their strange robe wearing, peace-loving ways...But he had decided a long time ago that nothing would stop him from protecting his vode.

He Sighed.

"Where do I sign my life away then," he paused as he struggled to say the words, "Master?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

She was rarely lost for words, but this was one of those rare occasions. Her mouth opened and closed but nothing came out.

"That was...unexpected. Not in a bad way just not where I anticipated the conversation to go. Guess nobody will be coming to me to teach them Farseeing." She smiled but was still clearly unsure of herself - or the situation.

"You are Force-Sensitive, that much is clear. As to who might be your best Master and how you'd like to develop, that needs a proper conversation. I suspect your first allegiance is to the Mandalorians - just as mine is to the Republic. So a Master or Knight from your neck of the woods might fit best. Perhaps...[member="Anastasia Rade"]? Off the top of my head, I can't think of others - but I'm sure there are many."

"Another factor will be your approach. Although there is a central Code, some are more...shall we say liberal with its adaptation than others. I recently had to deal with two Jedi that thought it reasonable to steal our property and use Dark-sided abilities. It is not for me to say they're wrong or I'm right. We're just different is all."

"So tell me, what are your thoughts?"

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

"My thoughts?" What were his thoughts? He wasn't quite sure where to go from here. He would stay in the Temple at Yavin, that much was certain. With the Primeval dancing along their borders he couldn't be too far from his people but...

"I've been to university, I don't need to have someone I like to learn from. As long as I get put on the road to where I need to be I don't care much for who teaches me." Blunt, but ambiguous enough to be flexible enough to give him options. "But I guess for now, where should I be, uh registering? Or however you do that."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus seemed slightly uncomfortable - as if she were on unsure ground. Finally she spoke. "The thing is, this," again she waved her hands to indicate the area they were in, "Is not an Order in and of itself. It is a place where various Orders come to learn. You cannot join the Academy as if it were an Order, at least that's my understanding."

"So first you need to decide which Order to join - for example the Silver Jedi - and adhere to that Order's teachings and ways of doing things. That would give you access to the Academy and different teachers for example. Sadly I am so busy teaching Jedi dedicated to the Republic I have never had the time to teach anyone from outside my Order - despite my affiliation to this Academy."

"You also need to understand that the solo approach is not typical of the Jedi. And will prove difficult when it comes to learning. Am I making sense?"

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

"I can't dedicate myself to the Republic, as Mandalore and its people are my home. But I am more than willing to join their 'Order'" He paused. He had understood that this in itself was not 'The Jedi Order' but he had at least hoped she could have told him where he could go to find them. He thought he had made it obvious, but being a jetii was more complicated than he thought.

"Your order." he said, in case his last statement wasn't clear enough.
[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus blushed, which was probably a first. “Oh dear, I’m making a real mess of this.”

She looked around the room for inspiration and then shook her head. “Imagine you wanted to race pods. And you asked to join Team Pubblies. You wanted us to train you and provide you with the pod and the fuel and the mechanics and put up the entry money. But you wanted to actually race for Team Mando. That’s kind of what you’re asking for.”

“I know you can’t dedicate yourself to the Republic and I’m not asking you to. But because of that you can’t you can’t join their Order. You need to join with the Mandalorian Jedi and be part of their Order and ask one of them to be your Master.”

“My Order is the Republic Order. It is for those that are dedicated to the Republic. I can’t think of another way of saying this. I can’t be your Master because you're not a Republic Jedi.”

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

If Davin was anything, he was tenacious. In war if you gave up, if one accepted defeat, you were betraying your people, the planet, your men and their families. 'No' wasn't in his vocabulary, at least in this instance.

For starters, he didn't much trust many of the Mandalorians whom proclaimed to manipulate the Force. His brother trusted Isley, but the man from what he could tell had delved far too deep into the Dark to be trusted fully. Ordo had vanished without a trace and the witches? No. He required something more than the likes of them.

And so he threw a hydrospanner into her analogy.

"Let me ask you this then," he began, his eyes becoming serious and his voice low. "If two other teams were hell bent on destroying pod racing forever and team Pubbie and team Mando were the only ones who gave a kark about it and the only way to save pod racing was to join forces, wouldn't it make sense to...how did you put it, provide us with pods and mechanics and vice-versa?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus chuckled. “I admire your persistence, I really do. It’s an admirable trait – a Jedi trait. And I’d hate to think you saw this chat as some sort of battle from my side. I’m just failing miserably to get what’s in my head across in a manner that’s making any sense.”

“I see fine Jedi like [member="Xander Carrick"] who is a Mandalorian and wonder why you haven’t approached him for example. But we all have our reasons of course.”

As he continued, she listened attentively. “Your use of my analogy is sound and yes, in many senses the One Sith present a significant challenge to the galaxy. But if a Mandalorian planet were under attack at the same time as a Republic one, which would you choose to defend? I’m not expecting you to answer that because I would be amazed if you said anything other than the truth. A truth I can sense in you. An admirable truth – but a different one from mine.”

“So let’s be clear on this. Am I saying you can’t ask any of the Jedi Order Masters or Knights to teach you? Of course not. Am I saying that all Padawans, Knights and even Masters in the Jedi Order put the Republic first? This time a regrettable no. Am I saying that as a member of the Network I would not train you? Yet again no. But I don’t know what you want or expect beyond this. I sense what I’ve offered is not enough, but it’s all I have to give. If you joined the Order I represent, I would expect you to put the Republic first – that’s the deal. Not every Order thinks that way, but I can only be true to the vows I took by retaining that outlook.”

[member="Davin Skirata"]

 

[Jak Skirata]

"Hm."

It was all he said in response. He wasn't giving up, not by a long shot. But he wouldn't find a road to his goal here, not through her.
[member="Corvus Raaf"]