Yavin IV Jedi Academy: Part II (open to the Jedi Order, regardless of faction)

[Morgana Forceborn]

At least they were going into the jungle. Morgana was glad to here [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] agreeing to go with both herself and [member="Cronos Aegir"] into the thick of it to practice. Her little smile at her young friend was enough of an indication. Though the thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the large owl-like alien Jedi. Morgana had gasped at his sudden appearance before watching him try to get his hands on a bunch of beetles. She cocked an eyebrow and titled her head to the side before hearing Cronos call the possible name "Quori" to it.​

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Morgana had leaned down to Mara and whispered "I wonder if he even talks." After that she looked to Cronos and, after he asked, handed him her saber staff, answering "Not as often as I'd like to. But I did use it to take down some Trandoshians once." she said, moving her hands in a fighting manner to illustrate it.​

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[member="Quorl"]​

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Quorl"] [member="Cronos Aegir"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"]

Suddenly, there was an owl. Piranha beetles scattered through the rain -- feth. That might have been close. "Thanks for that," she said to Master Quorl, and meant it. "Yeah," she added, echoing Master Aegir's invite, "we're going to do some saber training. If you want to come with us, I mean."

She ignored Morg's comment. When a buddy said something a little racist..well, you either pretended they didn't say it, or you called them on it, or maybe you mentioned it later. Besides. Owls had really, really good hearing. She bowed to the owl, a little belatedly, and her wet hair flapped down over her eyes. Feth.

 

[Laura Na'Varro]

ELSEWHERE IN THE PRAXEUM

Dad had dropped her off yesterday. 'Have fun!', he'd said, and by the Force, Laura Na'Varro aimed to do just that. Her idea of fun, however, was not like that of other 12 year old girls. Her idea of fun was getting stuck into some holos and some training, and learning something new. For a girl like her, that wasn't easy. She was a walking fountain of knowledge, and Dad had already taught her how to do the "important" things in life. Sure, hot chocolate was nice, but there were too many people in the Temple. She was no good with social graces, and felt embarrassed whenever identified by someone she didn't know or trust. It was safer out in the courtyard, out in the rain. Just her, a training saber, and one of those annoying remote thingies that zapped you whenever you missed a beat.

Wizz clack ... wiiiiizzzz clack clack clack ... wiiiiiz- "OW!" Laura exclaimed as the remote zapped her hand. She could do this, for a time at least, but after a while all the "stretching out with your feelings" and "being part of the remote" got a little boring. But if she was gonna be a precog, she had to keep going. Force Sense was a basic skill, and she was nowhere near close to mastering it. Not yet, anyway. "Gorrammit.. stupid remote."

Grumbling, she picked up her little training saber and got back into it. Wizz clack... wizz clack clack ... wiiiiiiizz clack ... clack clack-

"Inside, you should be." At the voice's interruption, Laura's concentration broke and the remote zapped her in the rib.

"Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow." Her jaw set in mild frustration, she turned to regard the intruder. He was small, green ... she didn't know what he was, but dang, he looked old. Hobbling along with a little walking stick, the tiny Jedi approached the young Na'Varro with a cheeky glimmer in his eye.

"Distract you, did I? Hmmm ... more to learn, you have." The little green man waited for a response, but the shy youngster couldn't bring herself to say anything. "You are Laura Na'Varro, yes? Daughter to the former Sith Lord? Master Yuyo, I am. For four hundred years, trained Jedi Knights I have. How many years have you, hmm?"

"Twelve," Laura managed.

"Ah, words, it speaks. Twelve ... four hundred, that is not. And to what end do you spar with the remote?"

"I want to learn to precog." This time Laura found herself, her words coming easier and more confidently.

"Hmm ... some way off of that, you are. Firstly, Sense, you must. Then predict. But why precognition. Wish to predict your opponents moves, do you. Or perhaps the future, you seek? Farseeing?"

"No. Just precog. That's all." The girl shrugged.

"Afraid of the future, are you?"

"I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Afraid of something, everyone is. Even me." The old Jedi Master harrumphed, and then winked at the young girl. "With me, you will come, inside into warmth and comfort. There, drink hot chocolate and learn how to Sense, we will. Play air hockey, we will."

 

[Quorl]

Quorl shifted his head back and forth and bobbed it up and down slowly helping him get a better image of the three compatriots. “It is always a pleasure to help Jorus’s Owlet,” he said to [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] hopping forward to wrap a wing around her. Then he focused on [member="Morgana Forceborn"]. The question now was what to say? What owly wisdom to give. “Remember Padawan, the galaxy is a vast place with all sorts of strange creatures, many of which may be smarter than you suspect.” Standing to full height he pecked at Mara’s head affectionately before reaching out a clawed hand and pulling a small stick to him.

Hunching over he put his weight on the stick. “I shall join you,” he said replying to the invitation of [member="Cronos Aegir"]. “Maybe I shall learn something from you, and perhaps,” he looked over to Morgana twisting his head around nearly three hundred and sixty degrees to look behind him as he walked, “you will learn to judge slowly.”

 

[Qhorin Solas]

I hadn't heard what Morgana whispered to Mara, but from Master [member="Quorl"]'s reply, I suspected it was something tactless. Taking her saberstaff in hand to test its balance, I looked to her and said, "You can decide for yourself if what your comment warrants an apology." I activated the saberstaff, mindful of the people around me.

The blade wasn't all that much longer than the standard, if it was longer at all, but the hilt was at least three times longer than a standard hilt, and heavier as well. But the balance was superb, and when I twirled it in my hand, it rolled almost gently across my fingers.

I deactivated it and handed it back to Morgana. We pushed deeper into the jungle -- aware, now, of its dangers, I opened myself to the Force. It was like pulling back a viewshade to bask in the warm light of the sun. The Force had a distinct flavor here on Yavin IV, a sort of earthy headiness that matched the planet's verdant jungles.

Soon, I deemed we had gone far enough.

The area was as close to a clearing as a jungle planet like Yavin IV could have. Footing was treacherous, for all the loose rocks, branches, tangled vines, and mud. A huge tree trunk had fallen at some point, its thick, knobbly roots reaching for the sky like an outstretched hand. The tree lay between the boughs of another, and slanted gently towards the canopy. I turned my back to it, focusing my attention on Morgana and Mara.

"First," I began, "I'd like to get a feel for where you are; your technique, your skill level, your natural movements... this will enable me to discern both how and what to teach you." I activated my own saber, and golden light splashed across my face. I made sure to turn the power output down; it wouldn't do to accidentally dismember one of the girls. I settled into one of the basic opening stances of Soresu, feet planted, knees bent, shoulders squared, my blade gripped in both hands. "Attack whenever you are ready."

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Given the comment by Master [member="Quorl"] Morgana went stiff as a board before feeling sorry for what she said. She did apologize to the wiser looking alien master just after [member="Cronos Aegir"] had told her it would be best. And now she had felt bad for saying it, but only because she wasn't any wiser about his species. The fact he was joining them made her feel mixed, glad to have another master to possibly help [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] more but also awkward for the little mishap that had just occurred. After that, when Cronos haded her saber back, she followed him and everyone else deep into the jungle before they stopped. She stopped along with the others, having taken the lead behind Cronos before seeing the spot he wanted them to practice in. His talk of needing to understand where they stood on skills made sense, Morgana nodding as she drew her training double-saber.​

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After a small turn in her hands Morgana activated her saber and advanced, trying to start with an open sweep followed up by a turn to bring the second blade in from the other side. She already knew the setting on the training weapon was low, not enough to cause serious injuries but enough to leave a mark if she made it.​

 

[Laura Na'Varro]

"For you, this is," said the old Jedi Master, holding out a black blindfold to the young girl. Laura looked at it skeptically, and then took it with a soft hand. She looked down at Master Yuyo quizzically, not putting it on just yet.

"A blindfold?"

"Yes. Not teaching you to be a Master of Air Hockey, am I. Merely the byproduct, that is." The old alien grinned. A human gesture, it didn't physically achieve the desired effect, but Laura appreciated it regardless. She was starting to like this old codger. "Deceive you, your eyes will. In the Force you must trust. And impress your friends, you will.."

Laura wondered what friends he was talking about. So far, her only friend was her dad. From what she could understand of Yuyo's riddling words, playing air hockey blind would increase her ability to Sense through the Force exponentially. This she liked. And the old Master's use of an unorthodox teaching technique was akin to-

"So we're doing wax on, wax off?" she asked, alluding to the family holo and instant classic The Jar'Kai Kid, which she had never seen but thanks to the Holonet feed attached to her brain during stasis, she knew the plot of inside out.

"Exactly, young Laura! Exactly! Brilliant holo, that is. Like the new one, it is not." The old Master frowned. "The one with Jackie Chun and that Pill Swyft's kid. Horrible, it was. Ruined my three hundreds, it did!"

While the old Jedi Master grumbled about leaving perfectly good holos alone and how the holo industry obviously didn't have any good ideas anymore so they had to ruin their best ones with crappy sequels with generic plotlines and cardboard cut-out characters, Laura donned her blindfold and made sure she couldn't see a thing. Both hands found the edges of the table, and then one searched blindly for the wacky-thingy. As it was a dead object, she had to fumble around a bit. Once it was in her hands, she set herself ready to go. She stretched out with her feelings as her Dad had taught her, assimilating herself into the meld of the Force. It was a different gear of consciousness. Once she had understood that, accessing the Force had become easier. Her connection was weak, like a blurry holo resolution, but it was there, and it would grow. She searched in the dark of the Force for Master Yuyo's presence and found it. She locked on.

"Ready to go, Master." And the puck slid across the table at breakneck speed-

 

[Qhorin Solas]

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] opened with a sweeping attack. I stepped back just out of reach, stopped from advancing to attack by the back end of the blade swinging around as she turned. She'd need to incorporate a lot of those types of movements, pivots and spins and the like. And speed. Lots of speed. Elements of Ataru, essentially, of which I had more than a fair amount of experience with.

She'd need a touch of Shii'cho, too. With such a long hilt, wide, sweeping attacks were her best bet. Aside from that? Footwork. The elegance of Makashi's footwork would work well, but as of now, she was still raw. There was talent there, though. Moldable talent.

I lashed out with a quick three pronged attack, more probes than anything, steps sure and deliberate. I stepped and thrust my blade at her chest in an almost shoving motion; a feint, for I turned the thrust into a downswing aimed at the long hilt. Then I spun around as quick as a blink, sword arcing along beside me, trailing golden pennons in its wake. The blade's hum remained steady and constant as I loosed an upward slanting cut, from hip the shoulder.

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Just as soon as Morgana finished [member="Cronos Aegir"] had responded almost ten-fold. She was worried when he began with the little prongs, managing to dodge two before needing to actually block the third. The next strike for her chest she brought up and blocked with the other side of the saberstaff. She fell for his feint and wound up only slightly managing to defend from the next cut, only for the force to throw her off balance. After that she barley blocked the last shot before falling on her back. She groaned and rubbed where she hit before trying to get back up, dusting herself off. She was annoyed but didn't say anything, knowing it was part of the training. After hearing whatever Master Aegir might have said she only readied herself for another round.​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

She defended reasonably well against my opening salvo, all things considered. But I intended for this to be more than a simple duel of sabers. Her name was Forceborn, she'd said. I meant to see just what that entailed.

"You did well, Morgana." I shifted to a one-handed stance, lightsaber splayed before me. Beyond it's bright glow, Morgana had taken on a golden tint. "Now, we go again. I'll hold back a little less this time. I suggest you call upon the Force. You will need it." I watched her in the Force, to see how it formed around her, how it flowed through her, how she shaped it. I reached out to her with my mind, and a tendril of thought formed between us, carrying four short words.

Prepare yourself, my padawan. I gave her time to gather her energies, and then --

I attacked.

I gave up power for speed, propelling myself forward with a telekinetic burst. I stopped a blade's length in front of her, cut twice at both arms in a golden arc, continued the motion to carve a u, down one thigh and up the other. Probing attacks, to test the edges of her defense. I shifted left with another quick burst, and with a wave of my off hand, launched a hail of sticks and pebbles from the right. Nothing that would seriously hurt her.

I repeated my opening attack then, but in the reverse, from knee to knee to shoulder and so on, cutting in increasingly smaller circular patterns. I wanted her to settle into a rhythm, a melody, almost, one that sped up in increments as opposed to bursts.

Then I broke the rhythm with two dart-like thrusts at her hands.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

Despite the fact she was knocked back apparently that was good to Master [member="Cronos Aegir"] . Morgana wasn't so sure, feeling a little like she might not be up to it. She was having better chances with the Force abilities now, not the blade. Still Master Cronos insisted, she nodded and preparing herself again. She heard how it was a matter of letting the Force flow through and guide her moves but she was worried again. She had not tried that, only thinking on meditative states when in training. This was different; at least she saw it that way. Even as Cronos gave a telepathic message to her she braces herself.​

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Finally he attacked, first catching her off guard with his speed. She braced and managed to dodge only one of the shots to her shoulder. The other had scratched at her, making the padawan hiss. From there she recovered and managed to block the next few that were coming in. Then when he followed up with a volly of stones and sticks she held her arms up she managed to spin her saber in one hand to burn the all instantly as they flew at her; one trick she knew well enough by practicing on her own.​

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He attacked again, only this time doing more towards her knees and shoulders. As before one had managed to sneak through and scratch one of her knees. She fought against the pain in both areas he hit before he tried to dart at her hands. She avoided the but only by a small margin. She'd felt the heat of his saber for a moment. After that she leap back to keep distance before needing to stop, finally feeling the shots to her arm and knee. She groaned and looked at both her jacket and pants where they hit.​

 

[Qhorin Solas]

She managed to fend me off, for the most part. But, "You doubt yourself," I said. "Doubt slows you down. Makes you err. More than anything, you must cleanse yourself of doubt. Of all worries and anxieties." He started to circle her as he spoke. "Believe in yourself. In your ability. Let the Force guide you."

I settled into a different stance, still one handed, blade angled diagonally in front of me. I noticed, finally, her scorched clothes. "I'll get you new ones," I said. "Now, again. You attack this time; give it everything you have."

After this last exchange, I meant to take my leave. There was much to do -- evil to vanquish, tyrannical regimes to topple, downtrodden souls to protect. Much, yes, and more. So much more.

[member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

At first Morgana avoided eye-contact with [member="Cronos Aegir"] when he spoke of doubt. She didn't want to admit it, despite it being true, even as he told her how it would slow her down and keep her from her true potential. It was only after he'd told her about letting the Force be the means to guide her that she looked back to him. He finally stopped, telling her to attack, before Morgana nodded. As she took a stance she breathed, trying to do what was needed to rid herself of any doubt. Despite the images plaguing her mind, of failures of the past, she tried to wipe them away and instead let the Force be her guide.​

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Finally opening her eyes with a more bold intent Morgana advanced. She started with a lung from one end of the staberstaff before turning her body to have the other side try and strike at Cronos' open side. After that she turned again, spinning her saberstaff overhead before bringing it back under her arm to hold so it would not hit her. From there she advanced again, saber overhead before bringing it down across his chest and then following up with another spin to try and knock him off-guard.​

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

As [member="Cronos Aegir"] sparred with his Padawan, [member="Morgana Forceborn"] -- 'Morg,' to Mara -- the Queen of the Spacelanes sat on a rock and watched. She'd had enough sabre training in the basic Forms to follow what they were doing, and while some people learned best through action, others got a good bit out of observation too. She traded quiet comments with Master [member="Quorl"] throughout, his familiarity overcoming her reticence. Yet another person who knew her father.

Correction. I KNOW your father.

Her head tilted. Had that been a Force-whisper? An echo, or a premonition? Funky.

Cross-legged on the rock, surrounded by a handful of slowly rotating pebbles, she kept watching and listening. Master Aegir's comments on doubt reminded her of two things -- of her aunt Rave giving similar advice, and then her dad taking her aside afterward to have a talk with her about self-examination and feeling justified.

 

[Qhorin Solas]

She came at me again, faster and stronger than before. She lunged, lashed out with one end of the saber, pivoted, and struck with the other end. I batted the first away with a backhand blow, snapped my arm back across my body, and caught the other with a crackle and a shower of sparks. There was power there, in that strike. A touch of precision, too.

Then she twirled her saber with a flourish, and I held back, barely, from snapping out an attack into the resultant opening. She swung her blade overhead and came down across my chest. More power than before, and not worth the effort to block. I stepped aside the cut, felt heat tickle my face. She turned the attack into a spin, coming around with the other end of her blade. I swung downward, as if my saber were a hammer, and knocked her blade into the ground, scorching the earth.

I backed away and deactivated my blade. "Much better. I think, in time, you will become rather formidable with your choice in weapon. I must take my leave now, however. There are... matters, that I must attend to. I'll be on the planet until tomorrow. Come find me, Morgana, when you are ready. I imagine the Order would want to know of your apprenticeship under me."

I turned to Mara and Master [member="Quorl"]. "It was a pleasure to meet the both of you. Master Quorl." I dipped my head. " Miss Mara." I dipped my head again. "I expect to hear great things spoken of you. Or entertaining, at least.

"Farewell." I darted off into the jungle.

[member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] [member="Morgana Forceborn"]

 

[Morgana Forceborn]

She might not have won but Morgana was glad she put up an effort in the fight. When the blade was smacked down to the ground she looked up, hearing [member="Cronos Aegir"] say how better she was. She nodded, taking any little victory where she could, before standing as he let her. When he told of how he would be leaving she was a bit disappointing, wanting to go on with the training. But she nodded and knew that they would again, in time. She bowed to him when he left while saying goodbye to the others. As he left she watched until he was out of sight. She was glad to have him for a master, knowing he would make her into a skilled Jedi with time.​

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Looking back to both [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] and [member="Quorl"] she asked "What do you think? How was I?"​

 

[Laura Na'Varro]

Under Master Yuyo's deft direction, the puck flew towards Laura's goal from all sorts of angles and at great velocity. Blindfolded, Laura managed to block a few. Searching with the Force as if using a radar station, she stretched out with her feelings, using her meagre connection to the Light Side as a conduit. No doubt, she had a knack for this sort of thing, ... but in their first game, Master Yuyo beat her 10-0 within a couple of minutes. Game two was no different. Game three went worse. Clang! GOAL. Clang! GOAL. Laura tried to settle into a calm space, to calm her mind and sense Master Yuyo's intentions through the warm light of the Force, but she couldn't. As she grew more frustrated, her ability to Sense fell apart. Clang! GOAL.

The black blindfold went flying through the air, and Laura let out a frustrated groan. Yuyo, the little Master shook his head. She clearly had a long way to go.

"Calm yourself, you must, child. Improve, you will not, through letting your emotions defeat you." The ancient little green man waddled over to where Laura sat, head in hands.

"I can't get it! I suck!"

"Hmmm. Sucking, leads to improving. Improving, leads to mastering. If brilliant you were at everything, nothing would you need to learn." Yuyo prodded her with his walking stick. "Improve, you would not. Grow, you would not. Stagnate, you would. A good life, that is not."

The blindfold flew across the room and into his grasp. He held it out to her.

"Again, we will play, until a victory you achieve."

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Morgana Forceborn"] [member="Quorl"]

"You did fine," said Mara absently, watching Aegir run off. A private man, maybe, or just a busy one. Either way, an absent Master. As a Merrill's child, she could understand that to some extent; didn't mean she liked it. Shrugging, Mara slipped off the rock and ignited her own lightsabre. Flick-flick; a nearby vine lost its structural integrity. She slipped into a Makashi velocity, one hand behind her back. The ground they'd mussed up in training served as a piste for her to practice lunges, parries, and side-to-side footwork. The velocity was a short one; she blurred to a halt in a Makashi salute, rain evaporating on her blade. Her nose dripped.

"What you think, Master Quorl? How'd Morg an' her Master do?"

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Kaili Talith"], her youngest daughter and definitely the most excitable. Kira would shine a matching grin at Nohei, both quite buzzing with the endless posibilities of adventure!

Well, until she had to go conduct lessons. Thankfully, the travel day would allow her to rest a bit, and in that she was going to make the most of it to spend it with her daughter. Micah was already out as quick as he was wont to do, and she didn't blame him. He was just getting to that age of wanting to have a bit of personal space.

Not to mention with the tension going on between Esmae and him, perhaps it would be good for him.

Banishing those thoughts that she will likely end up discussing with her husband later on that night - via holocall, they always would have some form of communication between the two nightly if possible when seperated -- Kira would join Kai with a bounce in her step. It might be raining, but that would not put a damper on their mood!

"So!" Kira would begin, giving a small flounce.

"What do you want to do first?"

 

[Kon Uulon]

As Cronos ran deeper into the jungle, vines and other foliage are moved out of the way, revealing Kon to [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"], [member="Morgana Forceborn"], and @Quorl. Kon simply sits there with his legs crossed and his elbows resting on his thighs as his hands join each other, appearing to be meditating in rather soaked attire, his tan trousers and long sleeved top being soaking wet, seemingly he had been meditating for awhile since the rain started. Approximately ten seconds after Cronos ran into the jungle and Mara asked what Master Quorl thought of Morgana's duel, Kon silently stands up and looks around at the three before bowing before all three of them, saying, "Greetings." After greeting the three, Kon wipes the condensation from the black non-transparent lenses of a pair of sophisticated goggles. He then says, "Whom ever was asking how they did in the duel, I must say that you did pretty decent for going against a Master. But what the Master said was true, you did doubt yourself. While I was meditating I felt negative energies, again like the master said, you must cleanse yourself of your fear and anxiety. Have confidence in yourself." Appearing to have finished speaking, Kon then bows once again, speaking once more, ​"Forgive me for the intrusion and interruption, and in case I have not yet met you, I am Kon. I have arrived to this Temple two days ago." The Kel Dorian known as Kon then stands up straight, staring at no one in particular as he awaits a response.