Monica Stott's Training (#2?)

[Kassa]

Monica sighed; her life had been uneventful. Having had to take a leave from her training to be by her father on his sick bed, the thirteen year old looked at how little she knew. The feathery boa constrictor wrapping around her dark green, scaly vest and red scaled shirt didn't even manage to calm her nerves.

Her Jedi, Link Nono, somehow disappeared. What worried her more than normal, was how she was going to find a replacement. But it finally came: One Jedi in particular asked her to meet here. It wasn't above the girl not to accept. In fact, she didn't even know their name.

Her Padawan clothes seemed to fit her more snug than usual; perhaps it was just her nerves, or it might be her pet slithering around it's owner anxiously. "Calm down, my pet..." she chimes lightly, looking around for this so called Jedi.

 

[Malon]

Siri Firestorm, a now well known Jedi Knight in the Jedi Order, came strolling through the halls of the Ossus Temple. Her life was becoming more and more busy. Only weeks ago, she had finished training her second apprentice, Ena, and was now already on to her third apprentice. This one, however, had different circumstances. Her master had up and vanished mid-training, leaving her without any instruction in the ways of the Force.

She arrived confident, clad in Jedi Knight robes; two lightsabers hung from her right hip, while a Jedi katana hung from her left. Her self-training to become a blade master was progressing even faster as the weeks went by. Now she stood at the entrance to the Great Library in the temple and awaited her new apprentice.

 

[Kassa]

The stohl around Monica's neck hissed silently. Turning to look in a certain direction, she could see a lone figure with two lightsabers sheathed by her sides. The thirteen year old maiden could tell that it was a woman by the curvature and length of her hair. In a rather quick dash, the frantic girl appeared held out a hand as a tile flew from the floor.

Hoping on the tile gently, she guided it towards the woman ahead of her with a surprising speed. The timid girl had a lot to learn from this woman, and hopefully she could assemble her a lightsaber, teach her a combat stance, and a few more force skills.

"I'm Monica Stott. I know Telekinesis, Force Push and Pull, and I'm skilled in the use of fans. Are you the Jedi that was sent for?" the Padawan asks, pulling at the leathery outfit that was choking a little bit away from her neck.

 

[Malon]

Siri was surprised by the enthusiasm of the girl she was to train. As she thought, the girl had a basic knowledge of the Force from her previous master's instruction, but had not learned a Jedi's behavior quite yet.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there." Siri said with a smile. "Its nice to meet you too, Monica. I'm Siri Firestorm, a Jedi Knight. And, as to your question, yes, I am the Jedi that is to continue and finish your training."

Siri gestured to an empty room across the hall and then led Monica there, shutting the door behind them to prevent any distractions.

"First there is a few things I need to know about you. Those things include a little bit about yourself, and what you learned from your previous master before he cut off your training."

 

[Kassa]

Monica nodded apologetically to the woman who would now oversee her training. Following Siri across the hall and into a room, she stroked Lady, her attack stohl, nervously.

"Well, I'm thirteen, and am skilled in the use of fans for attacking. My attack stohl's name is Lady, and she's done most of the fighting up until now. I think it's time I learned how to fight on my own, though if I could use the force on Lady here, she might prove herself to be deadlier than before.

"Link Nono was my previous Jedi. As his charge, he taught me Telekinesis," she says waving her hand as a smaller tile lifted itself off the ground. "And how to push and pull," Monica says, thrusting out a hand to send the tile flying towards a wall, before calling it into her hand just as easily.

 

[Malon]

Siri stroked her chin. The girl was around the age that she herself was when she had begun Jedi training under a Jedi Master. She could already tell the girl lacked emotional discipline and patience; essential traits in a Jedi.

"Those things are nice, but a Jedi doesn't want to be deadly or lethal. We're keepers of the peace. Recite to me the Jedi Code. No, better yet, don't recite the code line for line, merely tell me what you think the Jedi Code means. Knowing the code and interpreting it are two different things, yet you cannot have one without the other. Give me your interpretation, Padawan."

 

[Kassa]

Monica looked thoughtful for a moment as she let out a sigh as she recalled Link. "Link asked me to do the same thing. And from the look you're giving me, I seem to have said what I wanted to say a bit too different,"

Nodding slightly, the young girl recalls the Jedi code. "The Jedi Code, to me is stating that we need to be calm and collected to use the power of the force. Emotions, Ignorance, Passion, Serenity, and Chaos are all what blocks us from being as powerful as the Jedi. Jedi have detached themselves from these things. As Death approaches, it is our duty to embrace the Force, because we will become one with it after we die,"

 

[Malon]

"Good." Siri nodded her approval.

Siri led her new apprentice into a room just across the hall from where they were standing. The room was lined with racks of training lightsabers and other items used for the training of Padawans.

"The Force is what we will discuss today. I know that you must be anxious to learn about lightsaber combat because your former master has already instructed you in some ways of the Force, however, I will cover the areas he did not, and when you are ready, we will begin lightsaber instruction." she explained.

Siri cleared her throat and began.

"The first thing you will learn from me is Control. It is basic knowledge of the Force that will serve as your foundation for future Force abilities. From the sounds of it, your Master leaped right into the Alter stage, but control is necessary. You can't have the chicken before the egg." she explained. "Tell me what you consider the Force to be."

 

[Kassa]

Monica followed Siri into the room. She stared around it in awe, padawan equipment was everywhere. Crossing her arms and dipping her head as she began to think of how to describe the Force to Siri, her voice rang out clearly.

"The Force is the essence of everything. Force Sensitive people like us can 'use'-" Pausing, she wrapped quotation marked fingers after she said "use" and then continued, "-it, but how we do effects us. Thus, the Principles of the Light and Dark Side of the Force,"

 

[Malon]

Siri nodded, but decided to elaborate further for her new apprentice;

"The Force is what gives a Jedi our power. It is an energy field that resides in all things, living or non, that penetrates and binds us. The Force is like a friend or a symbiont, we mutually use one another to accomplish our own ends. A Jedi uses the Force for defense, never for attack. Do you understand?" she asked.

 

[Kassa]

Monica nods, understanding this a bit better now. The concept was mildly foreign to her at first; her father and previous Jedi had only explained so much. Monica wasn't sure what to do next, so she waited for her new Jedi to tell her what to do.

 

[Malon]

"What have you been taught of the three core categories of Control? Probably none, so I will explain them to you as best I can. The three categories are tutaminis, curato salva, and altus sopor. All Padawan learn abilities from these categories of Force powers. The first deals with energy absorption, the second with healing oneself, and the third with focus on the Force. We will begin with the third, altus sopor, today. I want you to sit, cross-legged, and focus on the Force. When you have it in your mind, I want you to let me know and we will continue the lesson." she explained.

 

[Kassa]

Monica nodded, raising a hand as a larger tile that could support her levitated into the air. Relaxing herself, Monica dropped her legs over the end, crossed them, and focused.

Simple, happy thoughts enveloped her mind. This would be the passage to her visage of the Force. Becoming a Padawan and all that jazz fluttered in her brain, cranking the wheels. Monica embraced the power that being a Jedi could give her, for she would only use it to protect.

The white side of the Force flooded into her brain easily. "Alright, I'm ready,"

 

[Malon]

Siri nodded and spoke softly so as not to break her Padawan's meditation, "Good. Hold your focus. No matter what happens, you must focus on the Force and keep that tile levitating." she explained.

She waited for a moment, for all to settle down. Then she picked up a nearby tile with the Force and sent it spiraling towards the apprentice. It wouldn't hit the apprentice if it was left alone, but was only meant to distract her.

 

[Kassa]

Monica was so in depth in her focus, that she didn't even notice the the oncoming assault. She let a deep breath escape as she remained sitting. This concentration thing was actually mildly relaxing. Feeling her thoughts wander, her concentration on the Force came back at full velocity.

 

[Malon]

"Good." Siri noted, pacing the floor around her apprentice.

She then summoned the Force to her and summoned more tiles, numbering around ten. Again she hurled them at Monica, and, like last time, they would wizz harmlessly by the young girl if she remained perfectly still, but Siri was betting the increased number of tiles might provoke some response in Monica.

 

[Kassa]

Monica's concentration did waver slightly this time. The number was substantial enough to break into her untrained concentration slightly. A sudden stiffening of her body happened to occur, but nothing else happened.

 

[Malon]

"Good. Even under immense stress a Jedi must remain unmoving, untempted by the ways of darkness. You've done well. Grab a training lightsaber from that rack over there. We will move on to the next step of your training." Siri said.

 

[Kassa]

Monica nodded, disappearing over to the rack to take a small, cylindrical object. Examining it, she awaited instructions on what to do.

 

[Malon]

Siri unclipped her own weapons and sat them on a table at the far side of the room. She then returned to the center of the room and began her next lesson.

"This lesson is meant to show you the superiority of the Force to weapons, even weapons as powerful as a lightsaber. I want you to attack me with everything you have. My weapons are over there on the table, so I will only use the Force. Furthermore, I will only use the Force to defend, not to attack, so you will not be harmed. When you are ready, switch on that lightsaber and do as I have instructed."