Diana took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. Then smiled.
"Welcome back Apprentice."
She looked around slowly and then moved to stand. Giving a small nod to the emptiness of the dojo.
"Master Vort and I have agreed that your physical training shall begin immediately."
There was a certain firmness to her voice when she said that. As if their training relationship wasn't just casual anymore.
"The Circle has taken notice of your vision, manifested earlier today. They say your connection to the Force is unusually strong for an adult of your species. As such. They've given me leave to test you to the fullest of my abilities."
She smiled and motioned to the door.
"The dojo no longer serves our needs. To increase your training from here on out? We'll be moving to the Holographic Training Center. So. If you'll follow me please."
The blonde exited the training room and made for the elevators.
"We'll grab a cab at the Hanger Bay exit. The Training Center is next to the Ranger Compound. So it should be a short jaunt across the campus."
As they walked together, McClaine seemed a good deal less chatty. More mindful. As if, expectant. Like a soldier readying themselves for a mission. Even as other students and teachers past her in the hallway and gave a nod. She ignored them almost completely. A woman on a mission, indeed.
They climbed in a silver shuttle, similar to a city bus, and Diana stood behind the driver.
"JHTC. Double time."
"Aye aye ma'am."
The doors closed behind them immediately and the driver hit the road with gusto. Diana did not look at Kresslyn the whole way.
...
Jedi Holographic Training Center
It looked like a sports stadium. Tall and imposing. With too gladiatorial statues flanking the grand entrance way. Past the wide glass doorways lay a series of circular corridors surrounding a large center mass. The duracrete walls here were spartan and rough textured. As if the foundation blocks had just been laser cut yesterday and slapped into place without paint or spectacle of any kind. All visible electronics ran underneath the duracrete floor in wide metal pipelines. You could even hear the electricity humming under foot as you walked. More military installation. Less Jedi Temple.
Diana moved to the side of the hallway and pressed the button for the lift. Sub-level 2. The Locker Room.
"From now on, you'll report here for training. Sub-level 2. Don't mind the soldiers. They're here just like you. For training."
She walked into the lift and hit the button. The doors closing shut behind them.
"We use this center to simulate battle situations for the Ranger Divisions. Special Forces. Jedi Shadow Ops. Zero Gravity training. That sort of thing. Any type of stressful condition that Kashyyyk can't offer us naturally? We attempt to recreate here. Using holographics and A.I. interactive HEAT programs. ...You'll get used to the buzzing noise in the walls too. We pull a lot of electricity. Naturally."
The doors opened again into another long curving hallway. It smelled damp and dark down here too. Like the ventilation system on an old cargo cruiser. They were definitely underground.
As the walked down the spartan hallway, they would pass a number of doors marked with Clan Symbols. Heliost, included.
"Don't mind those. We used them for the Clan Tourneys and Shock-ball games. You'll be down the hall for general training. Locker Room M2."
They found the door and walked inside. Sure enough. It was a very military-style locker room.
"This room is for Jedi Knights. The Rangers use the other one. Women's is across the hall."
She pointed to the exits.
"Showers are over there. Power Armor Bay to the right. Weapon Lockers there. And the exit to the arena is over there. Store what you need here for quick changes. ...Oh. And the A.I. doesn't have cams in here. But you can still talk to her. So don't feel embarrassed if she comes of the speaker while you're changing."
Diana motioned for him to follow her out into the arena.
"Training happens out here."
They passed down a small tunnel to a wide blast door mark JHTC in bold lettering.
"And this, is where the fun begins."
The wide doors began to hiss open. Slowly rolling back as if pulled by a thousand heavy pistons. Revealing the way out into a giant plasteel arena. Three stories high with segmented walls and a glass roof looking out into stadium seating, high above. It was a twice as long as a Shock-ball field too. Maybe even bigger than the Jedi Hanger Bay honestly.
"This is Arena Two. We reserve it daily for training exercises. Luckily for us, nobody is here right now. So you can see it when the holo-emitters are down."
She walked out past the duracrete foundation and onto the plasteel segements that marked the floor. Yellow paint and warning labels where everywhere.
"The floor and walls are segmented so that the arena can be recombined into different shapes or sizes. Each panel under our feet houses an emitter under the trans-plas too. So when you turn everything on it can simulate multiple surfaces or obstacles. Works great to fool the mind into thinking you're somewhere else when the pictures are running."
She smiled and shrugged. Guess now he knew why this place used so much power. The whole darn thing could shift at a moment's notice. Fancy.
"Okay. Now that we have you here and you've seen the place. Let's start with the basics."
She moved to stand firmly on the center of one of the segmented floor pieces.
"Hera. Open Command Console. My location."
~ Affirmative Master McClaine. ~
A segment of the floor gave way and a data tower emerged at the edge of Diana's platform. A personal console.
"Hera. Load program. Padawan Training. Tomb Raider, Part One. Mobility Course."
~ Affirmative Master McClaine. ~
Suddenly, the floor panels began to shift and rise into a diverse set of complicated stair and ledge formations. Much like an obstacle course. Just, without the soft sand landing pits or shallow watery pools of most Army campuses. Here. Nothing looked to cushion a fall.
"Okay Apprentice. Time to learn to trust that Force Connection of yours."
Diana pointed to the obstacle course in front of him. Tall climbs, long jumps, hanging stretches of steel bars, and even some moving platforms later down the line. Just like the tutorial section of some popular video games back on Coruscant. Except, he was really here. Really doing this. And, this whole room could shift into something totally different in a heartbeat.
"It's time to learn the basics of using the Force. You'll need to complete this mobility course by using the Force to enhance your physical capabilities. To jump higher, to balance longer, and to sense the best moment to leap around the platforms. Failure, will mean you'll fall and almost certainly break an ankle."
She shrugged.
"Unless. That is, you learn not to panic and use the Force to cushion your fall. ...Remember. Stay calm. Focus on your connection. Fear, anxiety, panic? These things will break your connection. But faith, bravery, and trusting in yourself? These will see your connection flow and your abilities made manifest."
Diana pointed back to the tall stairs and ledge-like climbs.
"Okay Kresslyn. Time to get to work. Show me what you can do. Run the whole course. Any speed you'd like. Oh? And, try not to die while doing it. I'd hate to tell the council I lost another Apprentice on his first day. Mm."
[member="Kresslyn Cantor"]