New Alliances (Ask)

[Santoro]

A man stood alone on the docking platform, leaning against a support strut. He was clad in dark green and black robes, rippling from the tip of his hood to the tails of his cloak due to the high atmospheric winds of Coruscant. It was especially gusty today- but at least it was warm. He smiled lightly, raising the small cigarra to his lips. He patted his robes in search of a flame... And grinned broadly.

With a snap-hiss, a deep green blade burnt the tip of his cigarra clean off, and he inhaled, allowing the narcotic to catch flame. He disengaged his lightsaber and gave a quick look around... Good, nobody. He exhaled, a long plume of smoke circling his head to be whipped away. He wasn't sure about his new habit quite yet, didn't quite compare to other vices. He shrugged, and shoved his hands in his sleeves, waiting.

The new kid was supposed to be here any minute. Vilo Targas- a Zabrak Force Sensitive. He hadn't heard too much about him, and he hadn't really cared- an apprentice was an apprentice, and it was his master's wish he take one on. He was still for a long moment, mulling over his thoughts.

Kid probably could outperform me someday, anyway. He shook his head, scanning over his gleaming ship, waiting for Vilo to arrive.

 

[Hakon]

For most Force-Sensitives, they are capable of sensing or feeling someone of similar predicament due to their shared affinity for the Living Force.

Even on a dismal, windy day in the overpopulated capital of Coruscant, someone with such abilities might notice almost a ping; the feeling of another Force-sensitive who has not furthered their knowledge. A novice.

Thoughts of hesitation and fear flew through the mind of young Vilo Targas as the Unkillable, a Cal-class cruiser restored after thousands of years of sitting around a ruin, stumbled into its latest destination. With a loud thud and the mechanical scraping of landing equipment forced to work its best by touch down his cue, Vilo bid farewell to his pilot and pushed forcibly against the gangway-release switch. The gangway's hydraulic systems coughed and wheezed and groaned as the ancient door slid open. Plunking one foot at a time down the rickety hatch, Vilo scanned the immediate area for the signs of his target: His future master. He knew very little about the man, only his name and where he was to meet him.

 

[Santoro]

It began with a little spec in the sky, hardly noticeable among the swarms of speeders and ships in this sector of Coruscant. A tingle in the back of his mind guided his eyes towards the sky, and to the growing dot, now the size of a pebble. There was surely a Force Sensitive aboard. The passenger was nervous, a twinge of fear... Just as he had when his master had first taken him, and just as he was feeling now. I'll do it just as he would... Nice and friendly. The ship was closing in on the landing area, a little fast for his liking. He tried to push the image of a wrecked ship out of his mind.

Aevis winced a little bit as the ancient craft 'landed' with a too loud clank, the next pad over. He took one last inhalation of his cigarra before tossing it over the ledge, pushing off of his post and striding forward with quick, deliberate steps, an air of confidence and power radiating away from the hooded Corellian.

He was halfway to the landing ramp before the old hydraulics kicked in, and it separated from the rest of the hull. Three fourths of the way as the ramp clattered to the deck, and all the way as he saw the boots of his apprentice-to-be descend. Boots much larger than he was expecting. He looked up, not trying to mask his surprise. The 'boy' was not much younger than he was- a man in his own right... And maybe even a little bit taller. He regained his composure, then waited for the Zabrak to reach the bottom of the ramp, shrugging down his hood. He jutted out his hand for a shake.

"Vilo Targas? My name is Aevis Santoro. I'll be the one completing your training."

 

[Hakon]

Vilo was not mistrusting of his future teacher by choice, it was simply something that he had come naturally to him after years of life experience. His gloved hand extended towards the slightly shorter man, minding his manners and thoughts lest he offend his new trainer.
It is nice to meet you, Master Santoro. As you have of course correctly guessed, my name is Vilo Targas, and I will be your new Apprentice.

Vilo made special attempt to keep his head angled lower than that of his teacher, keep his feet together, shoulders straight and back upright. First impressions were just that, a one time thing, and he wanted to make the best one he could.

Sir I especially apologize, for I have in the past had another teacher, but I promise I will not allow this to undermine your instruction, Master Santoro.

 

[Santoro]

Aevis grinned, and waved a hand, dismissing the notion.

"By all means undermine, I was never a 'Yes, Master' kind of Padawan. Feel free to call me Aevis when outside of formalities, also." He turned and beckoned for the younger Jedi to follow, whisking away from the older ship and to the next pad over- his own.

"Let's start with getting to know each other a little bit. I'm a Corellian, by blood and nature. My master and I never participated in a large-scale war, we preferred the peaceful and backwoods methods, so don't expect to be reflecting blasterfire any time today- that's next week." The corner of his lip turned up slightly at his own joke.

"I know I'm not much older than you, and maybe not experienced in the same fields, but I think we can both work well if we overlook that. You'll be knighted in no time."

 

[Hakon]

Vilo breathed a silent sigh of relief to himself, feeling as if a great burden had been lifted by the easy-going attitude of his new Master

Well Aevis, I am born of Iridonia, raised on Corcuscant for the most part. I've learned a great deal of form VII, although I have yet to construct my own lightsaber. Also, I have learned of utilizing the core Force abilities, but..

He trailed off a bit, perhaps out of embarrassment or anxiety..

But so far, I have not been capable of finding the way of Light Force abilities..

As his master took towards his own ship on the pad over, Vilo stayed no more and no less than two steps behind him. He had not been feeling particularly chatty due to his nerves, but felt some kind of uncomfortable in the silence as they walked. Deciding to strike up a little conversation, Vilo glanced over his Master's ship,

Where are we going anyway?

 

[Santoro]

"Form seven, huh? Can't say I'm all too familiar, although I HAVE seen it in use. Effective, but dangerous." He paused, mulling over his new apprentice's embarrassment.

"Well, that's not too unbelievable. Actually, that's more of a new area for me as well, it's something that I'm increasingly having trouble finding. Be it the war going on or something else, the Light Side is elusive. That won't stop us." He flinched inwardly as the truth came out. Although he could perform some of the more advanced abilities, they seemed far from easy. He shook off the thought as he slowly ascended his boarding ramp, a midriff sized Slice Hound bounding down the ramp and saying hello. He caught the canine and rubbed it behind the ear.

"Our destination is something we have to decide together. I make a practice of exploring a bit past the edge of the charted galaxy, so we may spend time doing that... Very educational. If you have any suggestions, fire away though. Ah, and this of course is Erade." He patted the Slice Hound, and the canine turned to sniff Vilo warily before trotting back up the ramp. Santoro led the way in, and waved at his ship.

"Make yourself at home."

 

[Hakon]

Vilo rubbed his chin for a second in thought, contemplating all the possibilities of where a trip like this could take them. He kind of liked the idea of exploring uncharted areas, and the knowledge they could gain from them..

Actually, Master, I like your idea of exploring outside of the known galaxy. It sounds interesting, and potentially very educational.

The Zabrak gave a thin smile acknowledging Aevis's suggestion further. His skilled eyes scanned the interior of the ship intently taking its details as they walked through it. Not completely sure if its layout yet, Vilo simply continued to stay a step behind Aevis, presumably towards the cockpit.

 

[Santoro]

Santoro did step foot in the cockpit first, waving a hand over the glistening new controls, all functional unlike so many vessels in the galaxy.

"This is the cockpit. Seating for two, a pilot and a co-pilot... Hopefully you know how to use targeting programs, comm systems, and engine commands. We've got a couple forward firing cannons on this baby, enough to vape any starfighter ahead of us. Got two turreted missile launchers, fire linked, and you would control those... Depending on the payload, we can target starfighters or warships. Little faster than normal Hyperdrive due to it's purpose, sublight speeds are higher at a cost of maneuverability... But that's all in the databanks." He sat in the pilot's seat, indicating Vilo to sit in the co-pilot.

"You mentioned you had a Master before. Where did he leave off?" Aevis leaned back, knowing it was a touchy subject. He awaited the reaction.

 

[Hakon]

Vilos indeed took the seat of co-pilot. To his master's first question, he chuckled.

I grew up on Coruscant, with a partial Jedi education.. I was all about speeders and ships. And as far as my Master's furthest education, well..

He trailed off slightly, prefering to demonstrate. Vilo closed his eyes, holding onto absolute concentration, setting his body as still as a rock. Very slowly, he raised a gloved left hand into the air, palm facing upwards. Nothing happened at first, but then a whisper. Something moving? The ship rocked very softly from side to side, barely noticeable at first, until the entire craft came maybe a foot off the ground, enough to notice that it was in fact no longer terrestrial. Just as gently as he had raised it, Vilo again set it upon its legs, and let out a huge, very audible sigh.

I apologize if this disapoints; I possible could have lifted it higher, but I was not sure that I could set it back down again smoothly any higher than that. However, beyond that skill level of knowledge in the Force, my former Master also taught me an ability that I have seen little of.. He told me that most if not all Jedi could see slightly ahead into the future, enough to appear to have ultra fast reflexes, hence the skill of deflecting blaster fire. He told me however, that those who can concentrate on the Force enough can not see, but feel a little farther into the future at all times, enough for a skilled user to see three or four of their opponents strikes with a lightsaber in advance.

Vilo looked upon the controls of the ship, making certain measure to memorize to the best of his abilities the functions of each and every one as quickly as possible, so that he may make use of them in a pinch, if required. Hopefully there won't be many "pinches"..

Through training however, I have only become so capable as I was able to see one or two of my Master's moves before he executed them; though he still maintained a perfect record over me, he would always find a way to defeat my style rather than my reactions. This I would think, means I should perhaps familiarize myself with additional style elements in my training under you, Master.

 

[Santoro]

Aevis rubbed his chin in thought as his new Padawan opened up, and looked out the window in satisfaction as the ship lifted off without help of technology. He grinned, then turned back to Vilo.

"My friend, you've got a talent. And with powers like that, you'll certainly be helpful out in wild space, couldn't count the times I've had to slam away objects. Keep in mind though... To the Force, there is no distance, or height, or size. There is only will, and the courage to push yourself beyond your known boundaries." He sat silent for a moment, repeating Vilo's abilities in his mind.

"It's true, Jedi can read their opponents to guide their movements... And if you can see that far ahead, then it is a talent for sure. There's a lot of hyperspace downtime, which we can meditate on or train. I have an interesting idea on how to train you." He smirked a bit.

"Anyway, that's soon. I assume you have an issued lightsaber, we'll begin construction of your new one immediately, theres a few tools in the back. Once you have a hilt we'll find a crystal fitting of the blade- I assume our travels will bring us along some interesting options."

 

[Hakon]

Vilo nodded towards his masters approval. His head tilted to one side, perking at the training idea.
What do you have in mind as far as training? And can one really increase their feel in the Force through pure meditation?

Vilo folded his arms and sat back into the chair a little further, getting more comfortable.

(Sorry for the short post, on iPhone.)

 

[Santoro]

Aevis smiled and nodded, glad his apprentice was settling in.

"You said it yourself, actually. He would defeat your style, not your reflexes. Your reflexes are guided by the Force, and naturally you rely on them, but you rely on them too much. Blind yourself to the Force and train as a warrior, not a Jedi. Then, when you use them in conjunction... You'll be both insanely skilled and shockingly quick." He sat back a little more as well, and nodded, considering the possibilities.

"The only thing I can think of that could simulate this are the ysalamiri of Myrkr. Uninhabited, full of danger... You might like it." Aevis turned to his rucksack, rummaging through until he pulled out a long flimiplast chart, unrolling it and looking along it's finely drawn pathways, with annotations. He looked a minute, tracing the route... And then tapped on a small planet.

"Here. And as for your second question- meditation is the only way. You can fight all of your life, and you can collect as many artifacts as you want, it doesn't mean you're enlightened. True power isn't how many people you can defeat, or the firepower you have behind you. True power can only come through knowledge and truth."