Wololo

[Jessica Med-Beq]

With the arrest of Trandoshan gang members in Ittummi, some of them were detained on remand in Kachirho because the police station in Ittummi wasn't big enough to house the entire gang. Some of them proved resistant to conventional interrogation techniques short of torture, and it was time for [member="Paige Blossom"] to consider learning a new tool in her Force-arsenal: the mind trick. But before Paige would actually have a chance to actually try the mind trick on one of those Trandoshans, she had to think long and hard of how she would go around teaching the mind trick. Yes, it would be construed as an intrusion into somebody's mind, but she always found the more physical Force-powers easier to teach. Once she could finally find the words, she had to begin with the agenda, even though it's a rather preliminary agenda. With the Trandoshan test subject behind bars, Jessica takes Paige through the jail cell where the Trandoshan test subject was going to be interrogated, using rather humane methods (by Trando standards).

"Welcome back for another Force-lesson, Paige. I know you made good progress in the past few weeks, or months even. But there's still a trick or two up your sleeve that I feel you can use, the mind trick"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

This was really learning by doing, as Paige already had some of the fundamentals of understanding the mind when Jessica had taught her about telepathy, though they were not exactly the same, one being consensual in most cases and the others requiring to "trick" the other person into allowing you access, it would certainly help her in the field today. From what Paige had heard, trandoshans were an ugly bunch, and not just appearance wise. Most of them were scoundrels and had a reputation of being slavers, or that was the stereotypical view of them was. Using mind trick on this individual would probably just confirm the investigators suspicions, but due process and all that in a civilized society.

"Shouldn't be too hard to utilize, given my success in the past."

In comparison to what the trandoshan would do if the situation was worst, Paige was about to just poke him in equivalence. Most successful uses of mind tricks wouldn't cause distress.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"There is one reason why I picked that particular Trando. Conventional interrogation methods have failed to produce anything meaningful; due process demands us that we try conventional methods first prior to resorting to the mind trick. Before we interrogate that Trandoshan gangster, I have one thing to tell you about the mind trick: you can potentially ruin the target's life without wanting it if you're careless. Also, the likelihood of success depends on the mental defenses of the target"

Yes, [member="Paige Blossom"] knew where telepathy fit in this, and could intuitively understand the relationship between the two. But perhaps what truth serums work on Wookiees may not have been working with Trandoshans. She goes out and collect the manifest of questions left for the police agents stationed in that location that they fruitlessly attempted using more conventional interrogation methods to obtain answers about. Crimes, the motives, the employers, the loot, the full monty. They knew the Kashyyyk courts were more lenient in a plea bargain, and perhaps a plea bargain will get the Trandoshan imprisoned, albeit neither on Lola Sayu nor in the Prism. And yet, she couldn't help but feel that the Trandoshan gangster has something to hide; then again, that's what she would hope to achieve with Paige doing mind tricks on the Trandoshan criminal. So there was one final thing to tell Paige before she could be allowed to try doing mind tricks on the Trando criminal in question, captured with the help of one Asaraa...

"Whereas in telepathy, you can engage in consensual communications without altering the other person's thought patterns, whereas you will do just that in a mind trick, so that you want that person to say and do something else"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

Paige couldn't help but feel the guilt of essentially tricking the Trandoshan into a confession, but justice always came at a price.

"Wouldn't that run the risk of me potentially just forcing the target to say what I want them to say, rather than simply getting a confession?"

She supposed it was alright to do this, given the circumstances and it being a fear tactic to get a plea bargain out of him, perhaps the simple mention of him potentially being mind tricked would actually make them confess. Though, there was no reward to them doing that considering it was likely going to go to trial anyway, and confessing would save him all of 3 months that it would probably take for his affiliates to bust him out of whatever facility he was going to be in. 3 months in this galaxy wasn't an awful long time, and even in a prison environment people like them would thrive off of the corruption that was vested deep within such institutions.

"Well, anyway shall we proceed?"

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Pay attention to wording, but this is also a tricky issue for even experienced interrogators"

Yes, to some, a mind trick was more or less like hypnotism. While she was fully confident that [member="Paige Blossom"]'s brain was fast enough to make her an effective mentalist, sometimes mentalists can be careless or otherwise unable to think critically, and she knew Paige could do just that. As for plea bargains: it's not a secret that only a minority of criminal cases end up going to trial, and, while Paige estimated that the test subject will shave off three months if he pleads guilty, it was an estimate to be taken with a grain of salt, even though it wasn't baseless by any stretch. That was assuming that he was getting the same sentence with the same charges, regardless of the trial verdict. But sometimes a criminal can actually serve shorter sentences and not simply serve a prison sentence with only a plea bargain. Just that the Trando would probably have a clue as to what would await him, even though he doesn't know the first thing about thought patterns. So she was nervously awaiting Paige's attempt at questioning the Trando using the mind trick.

"Yes, you may proceed"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"Alright..."

Paige was unsure of how to go about this situation really. Should she try to question him first? Good cop bad cop? She reckoned on short notice to simply just try mind tricking him in a similar vein to telepathy, though she didn't really expect a meaningful response, given she could probably tell he wasn't force sensitive. While not knowing exactly what to ask him, she started with something simple. All she was trying to do was getting him to answer the questions, so as to not influence the answer that he ultimately gave.

"Tell me your name." she said into his mind.

Surely she couldn't mess this one up, the Trandoshan seemed weak minded based on her brief analysis that she could attempt at that moment, and when she outstretched his hand before hesitating and looking directly at her.

"Arg.. Argo"

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"How could two tall human ladies of the beautiful varieties roam free?" Argo asked.

So [member="Paige Blossom"] got Argo to reveal his identity. Not much of a progress. Crimes... what could her padawan possibly ask Argo about? His other accomplices were either going to accept plea bargains or being interrogated. She could sense that Argo's surface thoughts were mostly centered on what made Paige, Jessica beautiful. As beautiful as they could be from a Trandoshan standpoint, that is, which is not very. She could also sense that he tried pretty hard to repress any thoughts pertaining to another related topic, loosely connected to the criminal implications of capturing either lady, maybe rival cartels, maybe their values to clients, maybe the ladies' values to the Scorekeeper, possibly a combination of the above. Anyhow, she was puzzled by Paige being able to mind-trick her: what sort of Trandoshan criminal would be vulnerable to mind tricks but handle NFU interrogation methods just fine? What sort of SERE training must that gangster have had? she thought, while she regained her composure and ask Paige about the next step in the questioning session.

"For example, you can ask about the involvement with the gang, or its crimes"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"I'll be asking the questions around here." Giving the Trandoshan a stern tone of voice, something she was not used to doing.

Paige was kind of stumped as to questions, though she assumed the best thing would be just to fire out as many as possible. Once more, she looked at Argo and then began to ask him more questions through mind trick.

"You will tell me the scale the scale of involvement in this crime, along with any possible co-conspirators involved."

It took him a second to respond, but perhaps him knowing the information would incriminate him withheld his response this time, instead trying to diverge the conversation away from this topic.

"Enough about me! Tell me about yourselves, pretty ladies. I didn't even catch your name before you tried to invade my mind. Ah you! Such long legs, I like that in a woman." Referring to Jessica. "And you! You seem so young, so pretty, so agile. We could use a girl like you in our squad! But since you tried so nicely, the only name you'll be getting from me will be "A". Zip!" Doing a "zipping" motion across his mouth.

Paige looked puzzled at Jessica. "While I appreciate the offer, A isn't a real name."

"We don't use real names."

It was a starting point at least.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"That's the trick with gangsters: the flow of information between each other is often pretty limited" a police agent told the two of them, overhearing Argo's mention of an individual codenamed A.

This seems to suggest that they were using letter-coded identifications internally, she thought, upon hearing Argo's answer, as extracted by [member="Paige Blossom"]. Of course, it is tempting for Jessica to attempt extracting the information using Drain Knowledge, but she just can't use it, no more than she can use Force-comprehension. But hearing about what made both herself and [member="Paige Blossom"] "tall human ladies of the beautiful varieties", as Argo put it, she began to think of exactly how they would fit in a Trandoshan crime cartel: Paige would likely be an exotic dancer, well, actually, they likely would both be. And yet clearly Paige seemed to be much more agile than Jessica was, which would open up a different batch of possibilities. Ouch: coming from someone as unsavory as Argo, I feel like it's Ossus all over again from that standpoint. Sure, I might be pretty, but the First Order qualified me as a cantina bimbo dancer, even though I actually lack the agility to make a good one, she thought, while asking Paige about whether there is anything else she may be wanting to learn.

"A lead may be better than nothing but we'll leave it at that. Is there anythign else you may want to learn?"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"Is that all we needed?" Looking to Jessica in curiosity and turning her back to Argo.

"I'm no investigator but should we not press him for more?" Standing in silence awaiting for a response.

Paige would never make a good exotic dancer, given she was really flat chested, probably not what the consumers wanted, and she held herself to a high moral standard to not be drawn into such crowds. Moreover, she didn't really know what could be taught to her at this skill level, given she was still, in comparison to most a novice. At the moment, she knew the basics, those being force heal, telekinese and the ability to manipulate temperature. On top of that, the grasping knowledge of electric judgement and mind trick were just added to her arsenal.

"Is there anything you think would be beneficial for me to learn especially?"

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"Sometimes it's best not to interrogate in one sitting. For what we know, new information may surface from the forensic evidence that might make the criminal more talkative; the lab guys are not done with the forensic evidence as collected in the bunker. It's still early in the process, and the case can't go to trial just yet" that agent told [member="Paige Blossom"].

Jessica was rather unfamiliar with forensic policing, other than she knew that the military police also ran its own forensic policing units. Yes, forensic policing holos in SJ-land, old or new, tended to include Jedi, often with psychometry. Understandably, examination of the forensic evidence was at its early stages, and that might explain why they were having so little success. There is very little to compel them to talk; then again, innocent until proven guilty is a thing. But from what she observed, the hard part of the prosecution is making sure the evidence, forensic or not, is actually proving anything. The police also had to signal its readiness for trial, especially if some of the forensic evidence was actually inside a location like a gang's bunker. As for what would be beneficial for Paige, Force-barrier. And maybe psychometry if she was up for it. Then again, she was much more confident in teaching psychometry than she was in teaching Force-barrier; would the imagery of how shields, ray or particle, operated work here? She had to be mindful of letting the police do its job.

"Perhaps the ability to use the Force to absorb hits might be beneficial to you. But I don't think we should train that here: we may startle the agents and prisoners"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"Seems useful enough. Agreed, perhaps outside would be a better venue?" Smiling to her.

Using the force to absorb hits sounded bizarre but at this point she had already imagined making particles dance to heat them up, blocking shots with the force seemed a bit more grounded at this stage. Moreover, what would she be blocking? Would Jessica be attacking me? Would there be an elaborate stage set up where we get mugged and... no. I don't think that's going to happen. Followed by a giggle aloud as she let her imagination run wild.

Paige looked back at Argo.

"See ya later buddy."

Winking to him, assuming he would be dealt with however the local law enforcement officers saw fit, now standing still awaiting [member="Jessica Med-Beq"] to give her orders. Usually, she would be more than happy to work with intuition but right now didn't seem like the correct opportunity.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

And so Paige would leave the police station, aware of what has transpired with the Trandoshan gangsters that were captured in a police raid Jessica conducted with another padawan. She couldn't help but pick up on Paige's thoughts about elaborate stages were people get mugged. I guess, sometimes fast minds can wander very easily, she thought, while realizing that the usual training mechanisms for Force-barrier are usually something else entirely. Maybe those training spheres people often use for training in lightsaber combat would be of use here. But now that they were back at the Jedi Temple, [member="Paige Blossom"] entered a training room that was usually used for the purpose of training Jedi in lightsaber combat. She thus summoned a training sphere so that she could have a thing to help Paige train, set to a power level that wouldn't be overly painful. With the remote in hand, she begins lecturing the Ming Po on Force-barrier before the training sphere is activated. And hopefully expand on this and turn it into tutaminis, she thought.

"Because you have learned battle precognition subconsciously, I believe you can have a much better idea of where the hit will be, so you're killing two birds with one stone here. You will also, based on what battle precognition does, form a shield around that spot. It will most likely only last a few hits, but that can often be crucial"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"If you say so."

Paige faced Jessica while she spoke, but her head often turned sidewards to see the training sphere.

"And I won't die from this?"

Her tone of voice shifted from her regular pitch to one a bit higher, though nervous she as always trusted [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]. Still, she was calm being surrounded by the Jedi Temple, being able to add this one to her catalog of places she's traveled to while away from her homeworld. Every location brought new vivid colours, even the snowy ones were a far cry away from her birthplace. In a semi-ready stance, she stepped back from the drone and raised her hands slightly into a battle position, and in this particular instance not closing her eyes, sensing that it may be unwise to do so. While she had no doubt she could sense an attack before it struck her, better safe than sorry; she thought.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"For this training session not to hurt you, the remote's beam emitter will only emit light"

Or at least not to the point of lethality. Remotes like this one have three modes: light, stun and kill, but the kill mode is used only in an emergency, she thought, while [member="Paige Blossom"] was standing ready to have a shot blocked using Force-barrier, and remaining mindful of monitoring Paige's use of computational power, realizing that, if Paige used too much, she might be in trouble when using the Force. Especially since that Pecha Kucha night, where she realized just what would happen in a padawan if their mental activity spikes: big, very big headaches and, most of the time, their ability to use the Force is impaired. Sure, she knew opinions differed among Jedi as to what are the best conditions to train Force-barrier: some believed that motivation would increase if students were trained on at least stun level, while others, like Paige, would prefer to put the students' health and safety as a crucial matter. Now that the remote was going to be activated, she was to cautiously watch for signs that something could be wrong in Paige.

"The drone is now activated, good luck!"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"Oh great."

Taking a few steps back, one leg placed infront of the other and slightly crouched she prepared herself for the droid to aim at her. It took a few seconds before the droid fired, Paige not inclined to be completely focused got hit in the arm. Thank God it had been a 'light' shot, she thought. Though, she still found herself in a manageable amount of pain, a red circle now forming where she had been hit.

Once more, she stood ready and waited the droid to fire, her teeth grinding in an effort to manage the pain in a physical sense. While she could have tried to mend the wounds with force healing, she suspected the droid wasn't smart enough to give her a break, nor was that what it probably wanted to do. Awaiting the shot, this time she had some forethought and managed to raise a mental barrier, effectively stopping the shot but instantly when it hit she could feel the start of a dull headache coming on, though not as bad as a migraine it was noticeable. Her hands immediately raised to her head and she looked [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

"Another headache, not quite a migraine.."

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

Good. Yes, she did increase her use of computational power, but not enough to debilitate her much, she thought, while looking at the first two attempts at blocking the fire from the light shot, fired from the drone, using Force-barrier. Which, from the looks of it, the light setting still was more like a sting setting, after having looked at the red spot on [member="Paige Blossom"]'s body, which looked very much like a hornet sting. Oh and she also realized that the Ming Po's skill at battle precognition was a little slow to awaken, but that's consistent with what happens when someone subconsciously learned items; after all, subconscious learning does not dispense with the need to train and cultivate the talent. Like Jessica with psychometry: while nowhere near the best, she is still the go-to lady for teaching that power across the Silver Jedi - but that's perhaps because few people even wanted anything to do with the power. But perhaps a few tries at that level of power are in order before she can move on to tutaminis. And also some practice with battle precognition.

"Maybe you should try again: I feel that the basics of Force-barrier are required for what will come next"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"Alright."

Shaking her head and slapping herself back into reality.

It wasn't long before the droid fired again, before doing so she had placed her hands up in a battle stance once more. Similar to the last attempt, she had managed to shrug off the blaster with ease, though the pain from the headache spiked when doing so, though opting not to be seen as weak she powered through it and simply stood still, her face tightening slightly and sucking air through her teeth. She could feel the frustration of not being able to manage the pain start to come, but internally she began to count to 10. 1... 2... before she could even finish the droid had fired at her again, this time much stronger than before, in a physical sense there was some sort of translucent magnolia and specled barrier erected, though it soon disappeared before she could heed any attention to it.

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

"In the world of Force-barrier, there are two separate skills: the burst, which is about how much of a hit you can use Force-barrier to take in a pinch, like blaster fire, and the sustain, which is about how much of a hit you can continuously take. Don't worry about sustain just yet, however: your Force-batteries are a limitation at this stage. And yet, I have a question for you: do you think I am leaking knowledge in the Force?"

Now, Paige has gotten better at battle precognition, enough to be usable in combat, she thought, while also being reminded that a low sustain kind of thing was often associated with padawan-level users. But no, [member="Paige Blossom"] wasn't subconsciously learning anything. Or did she? Oh boy, would I be leaking knowledge in the Force if such was the case, and then Paige finds it ridiculously easy to exploit any leaks of knowledge I might exhibit, in which case she may as well be subconsciously learning shatterpoint, too. Which is not good: this will make me vulnerable, however much I trust Paige, she thought, realizing that this chain of thoughts depended on whether or not there actually was a leak of knowledge to begin with. To the extent she is grateful for her memory being in the sweet range, in that she is able to avoid the worst problems commonly associated with (near-)perfect memory, while her memory still being good enough to reliably support her intellect, maybe her neuroses are showing up once again, pretty similar to the kit of neuroses that even led her to realize that she was a Force-user in the first place.

"Now you realize how Force-barrier ties into what is to come next. Tutaminis takes Force-barrier one step further"

 

[Priscilla Utorna]

"I don't really know what you mean by that..."

She shrugged her shoulders, trying to catch her breath and turned to face [member="Jessica Med-Beq"]

"If you mean... subconsciously leaking me knowledge, then I don't really know because it's subconscious. I'm probably not the best person to talk to about those sort of things, I'm still pretty new to all of this."

Paige tried to catch her breath again, panting for a few seconds.

"But to be honest, even if you were would that be a bad thing? I mean, you're helping me learn to at the very least, defend myself and others. Is that not a good thing? Though I can see how it could potentially be an issue if you were doing so towards dark siders, but I doubt any of them would make their prescence known in a populated Jedi temple, even still you could defend yourself if worst comes to worst, you are a master after all."

Paige nodded as she spoke about taking it to the next level.