Different is Good (Jev's training/third kill)

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

"Interesting methods..."

Ledo, standing over the charred remains of what once was a human Jedi, attempted to examine the rigged lightsaber; he greeted his Writhe in success yet again from atop of the highest floor of this skyscraper, the open office space torn apart with a bit of a draft coming through the shattered wall windows. Of course it was much more than a rigged lightsaber, but unorthodox to be certain. Some sort of backfire, upon which the hilt's reactor spat back a wild energy from what usually focuses up through the coursing emitter. Instead, the user felt all its shocking damage unexpected; leaving himself open for death's final embrace.

Looking back up to his pupil, Ledo wondered how ready this one was for a real challenge; when one was not surprised by fowl play, and when the odds were not so in his favor. Perhaps this one needed some attention. His investments needed some sort of security after all. To blindly send them out and hope for the best was not his way. Before moving on to his third and final training target, Jev Alamat would once again feel his teachers dominating will in combat; though he had yet to know it. For now, Ledo simply thought to understand his 'child's' ways.

 

[Wit]

Jev stood near the back of the room, or at least what had once been the back of the room. Now it was a gaping hole in the wall which opened into the adjacent room. He nodded once in response to Ledo's approval, or at least he thought it was approval. Even after over ten years spent learning from him Jev still found it difficult at times to discern what his Father was thinking. This particular kill was one of his more masterful ones, letting the Jedi corner him and then letting his own blade finish him off. Killing a person was simple, there were a million ways a person's life could end. But causing them so much grief that they almost begged for that end was an art. This fool of a Jedi had been too confident of himself, too confident in his skills with the blade. It had been a simple matter to play on his hubris, goad him into a confrontation. He had died knowing his own arrogance had been his undoing. But that was in the past, right now Jev had a feeling something big was about to happen. It was not everyday that Ledo came to personally see the results of his work. He was here for a reason.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

"You have survived... But, before I reveal your next mission..."

Trailing off, Ledo's back was to his child in the darkness, he'd control his power into an even tighter density of untold magnitude; as he often was able to lower what many believed to be his normal output of connection to the Darkside, though this time it rendered his intentions even more elusive. Of course, that in itself could tell one of his pupil's of the incoming danger; they had trained for years under his relentless anger and tedious practices. And still, each time he revealed more of himself to his acolytes, an abundance of a near infinite wealth in his knowledge of power was yet to be seen.

Ledo, the Father of the Animus, stepped over to the edge of the floor to look out over the many towers and buildings. His dramatic pauses were always extensive, as an old man takes his time to best relay his position in accordance to the audience in question. Yet as his ability was always under current, so too was his age; he still would seem a young middle-aged monstrosity to his pupil. And so, his cockiness would show in purpose. "I ...am your Master, am I not?"

 

[Wit]

Jev took a a step forward when Ledo mentioned his next mission. He knew the next mission was important, Ledo had always said that this kill would be a sort of ascension for Jev. But then he stopped, another one of his long pauses. They had always been a little disconcerting, Jev could never figure out what went through Father's head during these times. He was still thinking about his next mission when Ledo began speaking again. What he said threw Jev off for a minute. What's this? What was Ledo planning? Asking the obvious. Clearing his mind he replied "Yes, of course you are...Father."

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Ledo waited still, as his silence in disapproval awaited further example of that obedience. Ledo sighed over the need to explain further. He was setting his child up for the fall, though it was necessary to teach this next lesson in full.

"And how does this faithful child show his loyalty?" He was looking for the physical gesture of kneeling. It would be the only means of subsiding Ledo's queries in ambiguity. With the deceased body still inbetween them, Ledo pictured his follower to trust him. Yet, that in itself was what he sought to guard against. He did not lead in loyalty or in partnership, but in fear.

 

[Wit]

Jev stepped forward and quickly kneeled in front of Ledo. He knew from experience that it was not good to test his Father's patience.

[Sorry for the short reply.]

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

And just as his 'Ledo' witnessed Jev kneel, through the Darkside, the Fallanassi Animus Grandmaster evaporated into nothingness exactly how he had arrived. The deceased body awoke before Jev, violently scrounged up to leap at him as if functioning with dozens of broken limbs and half working systems; at the same time, Ledo reappeared through the swing of his igniting lightsaber to score a thin burn across Jev's back and disappear into the momentum of the swing like blown dust.

His voice would echo into the reaches of his child's mind like the day they met, hidden behind projected illusion. "How do you fight what you cannot see?!!" Ledo paused, releasing a trickle of resurfacing echos that sought to catch up to the originating sounds. "The Jedi are simple, they walk a straight line. How, I wonder, would you fair against one as devious if not more so than yourself?"

 

[Wit]

Upon seeing Ledo vanish and the Jedi's body rise Jev started to get up when a lightsaber burned his back. Instinctively he took a step forward and almost walked into the fallen Jedi's arms. Reaching out with the Force he telekinetically caught the Jedi's body before it landed and slammed it into the wall. Through the Force he began to search for Ledo as his voice reverberated in his head and began waking steps back towards the wall, the one with the hole leading into the adjacent room. Reaching the hole he felt around for something he had noticed when the Jedi's lightsaber had exploded, the piping carrying the coolant for the air-conditioning in the room. Good, the coolant's still flowing, he thought as he held up the severed pipe. Carefully stepping back he moved away from the puddle that the leaking pipe had already created and began directing the fluid into the room. Within a few seconds it was already halfway into the small room. Smiling slightly he ignited one of his lightsabers and made a quick slash over the fluid, igniting it. As the flames spread across the room Jev put up a protective Force bubble around him and catching the pipe with the Force began moving it around in the room, spreading the coolant fluid everywhere. The fire, spreading all across the room, would most probably incinerate the Jedi's body, but more importantly it would force Ledo to use the Force to protect himself. And that was what Jev was waiting for, the moment Ledo used the Force he would sense it and rush in to attack his teacher.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Arms extending out into an appearing Ledo in full depiction, the Force ruptured out in a wave of intense power that blasted the flame's entirety to hug along wall's edge; also rocketing the charring body out through the already partially shattered glass overlooking the city. Such power, as even the tube itself could not produce any more flame in conduction with the puddle, the fire held at Ledo's command; and as he smiled at his student's clever fortune, it would seem for his sinister acts to come.

Having blasted the fire out and away (powerful enough to knock back even the strongest names in the Force known to the galaxy) not holding back, Ledo threw his arms forward with a swimmer's motion; simultaneously blowing out all hints of fire, crushing the pipe in on itself, and lifting the Writhe to be thrown to Ledo's right through a burnt yet still standing wall.

As contact was no longer an issue, the challenge of being seen overtaken, Ledo spoke with a rumbling magnitude into Jev's thoughts. "Good, my pupil!" He'd pause, waiting for a sign of the male's body in the Force through enhanced sight, then continue. "Now... how do you approach the unreachable?!?" He'd continue his dominance in sheer power over the Force, to keep a telekinetic distance between them; waiting to see how his disciple could get close enough for striking range. Yet, as Ledo was not one to leave any possibilities available, he used this broken line of sight as the perfect time to project himself still standing there; when in reality, or in concealed illusion of Quey'tek, he'd stay out of contact. Most likely his secret would be revealed ever time he used the Force to distance himself from his student, but he'd still be located in a different place each occasion and that would add to the situation's complexities as a true test of wit and skill.

 

[Wit]

Jev pushed himself up from the floor and spat out some blood. Looking up he saw the hole in the wall through which he had been thrown into the room. Just then he heard Father's voice in his head, "Good, my pupil!". He got up and took a step forward and again Ledo's voice came to him. Unreachable. Indeed he thought as he felt the telekinetic bubble holding him back. He could still sense Ledo to the left of the wall, in the same position he had been before he had thrown Jev through the wall. But how to approach him? Jev tried to force his way against the telekinetic push that was holding him away from Leod, but to no avail. He had already known his Force powers were still nothing in front of his Father. But he was not one to leave any stone unturned either.

Making up his mind quickly he ignited both his lightsabers and pointing them both straight downwards thrust them into the floor and began spinning his body. Soon he had cut a circular hole below him and as the floor gave way he fell to into the room below. Running into the adjacent room he levitated one of his lightsabers into the air and began cutting right below where he sensed Ledo. As the blade cut into the roof he crouched with the other lightsaber in his hand, ready to to jump in through the hole as he expected Ledo to move as soon as the lightsaber appeared in the ground. But as the circular piece fell to the floor and even as Jev jumped into the room he sensed that Ledo was not there. Landing in the room he once again searched for Ledo and found him once more in the adjacent room. This time Jev attempted something else, if the first one had been a projection why not this one as well. He ran to the wall and stopped when he felt Ledo right in front of him on the other side. This was as close as he could get, Ledo's push was not letting him get any closer. But this was close enough and he began began making X shaped cuts on the wall, weakening it. Once he was satisfied with his handicraft he stepped back and gathering the Force about him let out as powerful a telekinetic blast as he could manage, blasting the wall into the adjacent room. He did not expect to hurt Ledo with this strike but this time he was ready, as soon as Ledo's projection vanished Jev was waiting. He was completely immersed in the Force and when the wall crashed in he felt Ledo's projection vanish and reappear elsewhere. But in between, for the briefest of instances he felt him elsewhere, exerting himself in the Force. If Jev hadn't been looking out for it he would never even have sensed it. Somewhere behind him, in the very same room. The Force was still holding him away from the projection of Ledo, but maybe not from the real Ledo. If Jev understood his teacher then he was using projections to distract him, to test him, while himself staying hidden in the shadows. But he could not hold him away with the Force from his real location without revealing it to him. So at the last moment Jev lunged towards the real Ledo, his lighsabers ready to strike, hoping that he was not going to crash into another Force bubble keeping him away from Father.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Making sure he had enough time to react, Ledo dropped the charade and emerged before the engaging student; and in Jev's readiness, Ledo clutched out a claw to the air that ripped his child's motions frozen in mid stab. Holding him there perfectly still, Ledo teethed a grin to the cunning pupil. "Yes, child!" It was a clever tactic, and though Ledo was off of Jev's exact line of sight, he had the right idea and general area of Ledo's presence.

Practically roaring out his praise to the child, Ledo's being enraged in malice and bloodshot power madness. Moving on to the next challenge, his means of questioning suited the situations beckon. "You are weak!!!" Spitting out the crimson of his magnificent lightsaber from the arm of his sleeve, Ledo's swing intentionally came straight across Jev's sabers to bash them away from the frozen prison of Ledo's command. Unable to be released until Ledo's connecting saber would knock the trainee back a ways, Jev would now face the next challenge. "How do you defeat the stronger opponent?!?" Ledo yelled these demands, hailing power from within his rage; both physical and metaphysical, as his very presence knocked a punch to one's personal space. Rushing in for the next attack, he'd not wait for the disciple to regain footing; swinging down a diagonal hammer of a stroke, no doubt too much for this student to straight on block more than once without pulling or dislocating something.

 

[Wit]

Before Jev knew it he was caught in such a tight Force grip that he could not move a muscle. As Ledo's lightsaber suddenly appeared in his hand he slashed it against Jev's two sabers with such force that not only were the two sabers sent flying out of Jev's hands, he himself was thrown back a few steps. Before he could regain his footing Ledo's voice came crashing on to him like a physical entity of such force that the air almost rushed out of his gut. It was all he could do to get up on one knee and summon one of his lightsabers into his hand in time to block Ledo's next attack. As the two lightsabers clashed the force of Ledo's strike was so great that Jev's knee pressed so hard into the ground that it created cracks in the floor below and the pressure would have shattered his kneecap if he had not used the Force to soften the blow.

Knowing that he could not afford to block another such strike, Jev jumped back while executing a defensive slash with the saber in his hand and at the same time reached out with the Force and catching his other saber, rolled it along the ground and brought it behind Ledo. Once he landed he caught the ceiling with the Force and brought a segment down down on Ledo. He knew full well that Ledo could easily block such an attack, but that attack was not meant to harm Ledo. As the segment of the roof came crashing down towards Ledo, Jev ignited the lightsaber lying behind him and floated it up to run right through Ledo's back. At the same time he jumped forward and lunged at his Father with his lightsaber ready to stab him so as to launch a three-pronged attack on him. He could not defeat Ledo in a fight of brute strength, but maybe where strength failed him strategy might find a way.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Standing in his reverberating power, Ledo believed his pupil the capable sort; though he could not read Jev so easily in this state. Currently all his focus fed into the power of his physicality. And so, watching his student reach for the ceiling, he reacted with confidence; a confidence that changed any user in the moment of such raging hate.

Ledo was a fiery being, both strengthened in power and agility. As such, he had ample time to react to the first stage of his student's attack. Of course, he felt with the Darkside and had yet to discover any signs of other attacks. He spun around with an overhead slash that easily blasted a wave of power with the stroke, destroying projectiles not only with his saber but with his explosive energy; and then he saw it. In the swirling moment of desirable enjoyment in power, Ledo reached up with a punch into the air. He shattered the last main falling piece with his clenching fist that tore the shooting lightsaber out of the air and from it's course below to be brought up above. It activated, as Ledo moved without thought but in his heated moment of amplified power/speed/and fortune. Finally whirling back around to face his pupil, whom had come to him, Ledo swung a complex crossing of the two sabers now in his possession to entrap his student's saber and force it over his head along with his arms. An underhanded swoop with his left and a guiding over handed clamp pinched Jev's lightsaber beam between them, and circled Jev's saber up and over his head to be stabbed into the back of his spine with his own saber. In the maneuver, Jev's and Ledo's chests would bump in the closeness; Ledo's face grinning deviously. He'd not shove the beam immediately into the young one's back, but enjoy the slow push of strength in overpowering might as he forced the point into its destination.

Had he not seen this attack before, he might not have been so ready to expect it; though it was the first natural movement to flow in him as it was the last complex trick brought to the table by another. Not to diminish the cleverness of it, but Ledo had seen just about everything in his long life and would require something a little less ...thought out.

 

[Wit]

Jev felt not only the strain on his weirdly positioned arm but also the lightsaber slowly burning into his back. But the situation was not as bad as it seemed, Ledo had made one simple mistake. He had used Jev's own lightsaber on him and Jev used that very fact to his advantage. He expanded himself in the Force and reached for the energy modulation circuits, he had built the blade after all and knew exactly where each component was, and disconnected one connection. That very instant the lightsaber went out, as good as a stick now. With the threat of the lightsaber gone Jev twisted around and straightened himself. He kicked off Ledo's chest and executed a back-flip, in the process kicking Ledo in the chin with the momentum of his flip complemented by the Force. He landed a few steps back and summoned his second and now only functioning lightsaber into his hand. Letting the lightsaber rest in his hand he waited for Ledo to make a move and looked around himself, searching for something to use against Ledo.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

"HAAA!!!" Ledo's overpowered arena-like voice let go a pleased sound in surprise. In his state he could not feel his child's reach of the Force into his own saber hilt to disconnect its inner workings, and as such was surprised with each impacting kick thereafter.

Stepping back from the force, though not taking much damage in his outlasting rampage, Ledo whirled his lightsaber in enjoyment. He rolled his head as what was left of his hood slipped off and revealed his crazed face, long beard, and bald head. His teethed grin carved away any look of a normal jaw in crooked dimension. His power had reached its final stretch, as such amplifying rage was only temporary in its feed off of his own strength and will. Should the pupil survive these last few moments, Ledo would deem him worthy of more teaching and move forward.

Ledo blasted through the Darkside with a speed that warped the colors of his image, as he came down with a two sided attack. Ledo's right hand came from a diagonal slash that would hit square in the center of Jev's body or guard depending. And his left hand reached through from underneath to grab his student's saber wielding wrist no matter the decision of block or attack, as best as he could in this highest point of rage. His strike would be the most powerful yet, though even still held back so as to not leave zero chance of success. Though even Ledo had difficulty in control in such a state of raw explosiveness.

 

[Wit]

Jev was completely overcome by Ledo's speed and strength. As if from nowhere Ledo had his saber wielding hand in his grasp and Jev could see the other descending down towards him. Time seemed to slow down for Jev as Ledo's hand came swinging in. In that instance Jev knew, with the certainty of the Force, that this was the critical point in this confrontation or training exercise, what ever one may call it. He knew he had to somehow survive this attack and a way would come to him. With that epiphany came a new sense of determination and strengthening of Jev's will to live. Grasping completely the darkness within him he took hold of the Force and bringing his free hand up to block the strike, imagined in his mind a wall holding the strike back. His hand was the wall, the wall was his hand, they were one. Reaching within himself, he reached out to all his emotions, hate, fear, desires, aspirations and channeled it all into the Force. The strike hit, in his mind the wall began to crack, but it held, just. Jev was spent, but he forced himself to remain conscious. But he was drained after that exertion and his body sagged, only Ledo's grip on his hand holding him up. As he fell to the floor he whispered out, "Forgive me, ... Father."

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

Standing in witness to his student's finishing acts, Ledo came down from his extreme high; seeking a replenishment of strength. Kneeling down upon a single knee over Jev, Ledo out stretched his arms to closing fists that tore at the Darkness around them. An advanced technique, Ledo had come accustomed to during his days in banishment; it was as if life itself was being deprived and stolen from the world around them, to feed these two here. The Force squirmed and ached at this bending of will, as Ledo's power grew; and as such, both individuals felt the stronger for it.

Ledo would rise to pace back and forth beside the regaining pupil. His malevolent vocals would brood in the wanting student's mind. He had succeeded and, as such, Ledo would further his abilities in the torture of life a bit longer.

"You have reached out in wanting. You have seen what weakness requires. You have felt what only power can provide." Ledo referred Jev to his newfound ability, one of a stemming beginning. "You will reach past what physical limits you have been cursed with. You will see that which passes through the intangible. You will feel with a force of darkness that prohibits and controls your victims! ...The energies all around have become your tools." Ledo knew of techniques he never sought to reach, as his aim was a focused one. That too would be the platform he would hold his students to, of such great limits that none could reach it. Ledo would work with his student's talents and focus on what those specifics were, though they were not of his own focuses.

 

[Wit]

Jev felt strength flow into him once more, strengthening him, invigorating him. As Ledo's voice reverberated into his head once more, Jev slowly pushed himself off from the floor and rose to his knees. Opening himself to the Force Jev sensed energy flowing in from their surroundings into Ledo and him. That along with what Ledo was saying enabled Jev to understand the workings of this new technique. Once again he was in awe of Ledo's knowledge and grasp of the Force.

Still on his knees Jev tried to use the technique on his own but was unsuccessful on his first attempt. He could understand the principles of the technique well enough. It was a simple transfer of energy from a source to a destination. A simple application of the conservation of mass and energy, so simple that Jev started to wonder why it had not occurred to him before to try applying the principle using the Force. But theory and application are two greatly different things and Jev understood that this was not a simple technique to use, no matter how well he might have understood its workings. But he tried and after a few attempts felt energy flow into him much in the way when Ledo had used the technique. He still needed to practice to truly master the technique but now that he had caught the basics of the technique he was sure that in time he would master it.

Bowing in front of Ledo he spoke, "Father." Though he spoke one word he let his emotions flow to Ledo through the Force. His determination and eagerness to learn, his desire to help fulfill Ledo's desires, his fear of failing Ledo and above all his gratitude and unwavering loyalty to the one he called Father.

 

[Lyeric Ubbal Arathilion]

"Now..." Ledo held to address his pupil. Jev had witnessed two abilities, one some would call much darker than the other, and soon he would come to know their uses. The taste of power, especially as such sweet darkness lies, had already led this one down the path of Ledo's control; now it was just as apparent to see how much further it had taken hold of him under Ledo's care.

"The lives you are meant to take will not hold so gently. They must understand with the utmost intensity! ...Your next target awaits. You will continue to learn, as only conflict can teach; as you have today!" Ledo began to preach, as he so often trailed off in unnecessary meaning and point. "Extreme conditions draw out extreme knowledge! Strange challenges demand unorthodox methods, and so you will strengthen... or die!"

Ledo turned to his student, however positioned, and locked into mental connection. The sensation would be jarring, even painful due to Jev's recent state in injury, as their minds folded over each other. Ledo's fingertips curled as the reaches of his thoughts dug into Jev's veins. His 'child' would see what he willed him to see, now and fully: ...a Bimm. Likely unknown to Ledo's student, this 'Knot Vulsuav' was but a failure to the name ''Force Sensitive". A self deemed unworthy user to the Light side. In exile, the Bimm had concluded his negative and dark thoughts enough reason to flee any further station with the Order.

Facts and information would flood the pupil, though not particularly sentenced to, and so he would know just what Ledo knew... or would allow to be known. Vulsuav had taken refuge in the trees of a nearby jungle planet, to hide there for the rest of his days. If he hadn't broadcasted it to everyone he knew in hopes of a possible redemption, he'd have successfully disappeared from notice. Though in recent days his anger in resentment, as day by passing day no one seeks him out, grows in wallowing selfishness.

 

[Wit]

[[OOC: Skipping to the last leg of his journey to the planet.]]

Jev sat in the cargo hold of the small freighter as it hurtled through hyperspace towards his destination. Once Ledo had left him Jev had made his way to one of the smaller spaceports on Coruscant and had managed to convince a freighter pilot to take him to the planet where his query was hiding. Jev had used the time taken to travel to the jungle planet to heal the various injuries he had picked up, both internal and external. Now, as he was almost at his destination, Jev began contemplating on the information Ledo had given him about his next target, Knot Vulsuav.

From what Ledo had told him Jev had tried to infer what he could about his target. The fact that this Knot had gone into exile due to his fear of his own darkness showed Jev that he was not brave enough to embrace darkness and feared taking the step towards true strength. His going into hiding showed a desire to prevent harm to others, a weakness stemming from the pathetic principles of the Jedi, a weakness Jev intended to use to use advantage if possible. At the same time the fools greatest mistake, letting others know of his location in hopes of redemption showed not only his lack of confidence in his own ability to attempt to defeat the darkness, a persistent trait Jev had seen in numerous Jedi and which along with their unwavering will and determination had earned them a sense of grudging respect in his eyes, but he also showed foolishness in hoping that they could help him where he could not help himself. These things along with his selfishness , evident by his willingness to put others at risk for his own gains, showed that he was not a true Jedi, at least not emotionally. Whether or not he had the skills of a Jedi was another matter altogether and something Jev would only find out by engaging him. But knowing that this was all but speculation on his own part, Jev put the matter out of his mind and concentrated on using the Force to heal himself. If Knot indeed turned out to be as he had pictured him then Jev would have a slight advantage, if not then he would just have to make do with what he what.

As the freighter popped out of hyperspace Jev walked into the cockpit and reached out with the Force towards the planet. The Force was strong on the planet, teeming as it was with life. But there was something there that was spoiling the balance of light and dark seen in any natural environment. Where life and death went on as naturally and undisturbed as it did here the Force was in a balance of light and dark. But in one area that balance was being disrupted, something was not in harmony with the planet and was sending out ripples of disturbance through the Force. There, found you. Giving directions to the pilot he got him to land the freighter as close to the source of the disturbance as he could. As the freighter landed Jev told the freighter captain to wait for his return and made to head out into the jungle.

After walking slowly and stealthily for almost half an hour Jev finally sensed that he had almost reached his target. Having concealed his presence in the Force, Jev climbed up a particularly tall tree and after clearing the canopy of the forest he saw a small clearing a little north of his current location. And near that clearing he sensed his target.