Back to Basics

[SoloWing]

Nuala was beginning to give up hope of ever getting past her chronic space sickness. What was this, her thirteenth foray into space? It didn't matter. She was still really green around the gills and felt two minutes away from hurling at any given moment. She popped a few more of the sickness pills that the Jedi had given her. Hopefully, they'd work this time. She doubted it.

Ugh... No. She needed to stop thinking about it. Nuala pushed those thoughts aside and tried to ignore the queasiness of her stomach. First impressions went a long way and she couldn't falter right now. Not when there was a new master at hand.

Hopefully, this guy would be on the saner end of the spectrum. After dealing with nutjobs on Empress Teta, Sarka, Naboo and Tatooine... she had suffered about all of the crazy that she could handle.

Well, there was only one way to find out. Nuala hit the proper switch and the door to the training room slid open. She tried to calm her stomach and keep her confidence about her as she stepped through. She was on time and this was the right place... what happened next would be dealt with as it happened.

 

[Dmitri]

Shi-Gel-Hu arrived at the training room ten minutes early as to meditate to center himself. His schedule had been hectic lately, and this allowed him some free time, if only briefly.

The Nautolan Jedi Master sensed Nuala arrive. She seemed a little sick, which had Shi-Gel-Hu worried, though luckily (if such could be used), it was only physical illness, and not Force-driven.

"I am Shi-Gel-Hu," greeted Shi-Gel-Hu. "Are you okay? You don't look so good. We can reschedule if need be." Shi-Gel-Hu touched Nuala through the Force using Force Heal in hopes it might help settle her stomach. "Better?"

 

[SoloWing]

A roll of... something rolled through her that somehow calmed the rolling of her stomach. Nuala blinked in surprise at the sudden change. She had to learn how to do whatever had just been done.

"Yes, thank you." Nuala replied with a customary bow. "My name is Nuala, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She rose, felt a little of her old self returning, and then continued: "I don't think we'll have to reschedule. Me and space don't get along too well, but I won't let it slow me down. I can give you my word on that."

Hey, if she'd held up throughout the rest of the torture training sessions, then this one should be a piece of cake, right? Hopefully, the old notion of 'famous last words' wouldn't come back to bite her. That wouldn't look so good after that display of bravado. It shouldn't, though. That something had really cleaned her right up.

 

[Dmitri]

OOC: Sorry for the late post. I forgot about this thread. My apologies.

Shi-Gel-Hu's touch on Nuala seemed to work, as the Padawan was feeling much better.

"The pleasure is mine, Nuala," Shi-Gel-Hu replied politely. The Nautolan guessed that Nuala might have been intrigued by what Shi-Gel-Hu did, so he gave an offer, "What I used was Force Heal. If you want, I could teach it to you today."

 

[SoloWing]

((OoC: S'alright))

"I'd appreciate that." Nuala gave a polite nod. "My guess is that that's a handy thing to know."

She entered the room fully and tried to relax. A lot had changed in a short time, but she could adjust to it. And who knew? Maybe this was a change that would do her good.

 

[Dmitri]

Shi-Gel-Hu nodded, glad that Nuala was interested. However, other business came first.

"I heard you've trained with another in the past," said Shi-Gel-Hu. "Please tell me what you learned from your former instructor and your impression on them." He grinned. "Don't hold back. This won't go into the report, so you can be as critical as you want."

 

[SoloWing]

Nuala felt herself sigh. Someone evidently wanted fresh fuel for the rumor mill. Oh well. They were bound to stop asking about the past at some point in the future, right? Yeah. She didn't think so either.

"There's nothing I can tell you that I haven't already told the Council." For all the good it had done. "Cath was obsessed with power, the Sith and authority-- unhealthily so. She had literally made her entire life into training and combat. Nothing else. That sort of imbalance isn't good for a person. She needed help. I know that that's no excuse for what she did and for her behavior, but she needed to be shown that there was a life beyond combat... and, in the end, there just wasn't enough help to make a difference."

Her gaze fell. She'd tried to reach out to Cath. But, in the end, it had been much too little much too late. Sometimes, try as you might, you just couldn't save a person from themselves. It was a fact of life, something she understood far too well, but knowing that didn't make it any easier.

She forced her line of sight back up and then continued: "Cath taught me a lot of techniques, but not much else. I've learned force push, force pull, telekinesis, detox poison, force weapon, and electric judgement... and that's all."

 

[Dmitri]

Shi-Gel-Hu had heard from Garth the stories pertaining to Cath. However, such rumors were better heard from the people involved. Thus, he had asked Nuala. This knowledge would also give him an impression on how much Cath influenced Nuala. Considering Nuala's attitude towards Cath's tutelage, it was evident that Nuala disagreed with such methodology.

"Thank you for sharing," said Shi-Gel-Hu. "They first impressions are vital. Now, this is generally towards people, but I've noticed that it can apply to other areas as well, including the Jedi lifestyle." The Nautolan formed a hand motion in Nuala's direction. "For you, it seems like Cath's influence resulted in you solidifying a stance that the Force is more than just something to be used in combat."

The Nautolan paused. "Cath seems to have shown you the basics, though I'm surprised you were taught Force Weapon and Electric Judgement. Those are generally tiered with Knights and Masters."

Shi-Gel-Hu walked over to a console and typed in a command. A tile on the floor slid open to allow two probe droids to float out. One had a metallic orb tied to it, while the other had a vibroblade tied to it. Shi-Gel-Hu took the items so the droids could leave. Shi-Gel-Hu used telekinesis to move the metallic orb on the opposite side of the room from Nuala, it floated in the air.

"I would like to see how well you know these two powers," explained Shi-Gel-Hu. "If you would, could you please use Electric Judgement on that orb?"

 

[SoloWing]

Eh... Nuala hadn't really considered Cath's views on the force much-- well, she guessed she had come to think of it. Nuala had gotten into the habit of tossing just about everything that Cath had said into a big mental folder marked 'I don't quite believe that'. So she didn't feel the need to challenge that assertion.

She did feel the need to explain the oddball force powers, though. "Well, Cath was kinda helter-skelter with her training. If we were in the middle of a spar and she broke out a force power, I was expected to learn it. It took a good long while for me to get the hang of it, though... just ask engineering."

Once she'd gotten the basics of the power down, learning to control it had taken a lot longer than intended. She'd put more than a few dents in the Light of the Force during her studies of the technique. Come to think of it, it was amazing that she hadn't gotten in trouble for the little escapade.

Then it came time to display the technique. "Sure thing."

Nuala took a deep breath and quietly centered herself; letting her arms hang loose and digging deep down into herself. She plucked out strongest emotion, loyalty, and drew power off of that. The power was then rolled into her arm and focused into the palm of her right hand.

She brought her hand up and pointed it at the droid as electricity began to build between her outstretched fingers. The green arc of power tore away from her fingers and shot through space towards the droid. Nuala kept at it for several seconds, demonstrating that she could maintain the flow, and then shut the electric power down.

"See? Not even singed." To match those words, a satisfied grin passed over her face. Nuala brought her hand up to show that it was unharmed. Why shouldn't she be satisfied. She'd just shot lightning from her fingertips. How cool was that?

 

[Dmitri]

Shi-Gel-Hu sighed. Cath was not sounding like a good teacher. Just demonstrating wasn't good enough for a student to learn properly. However, in Nuala's defense, her demonstration was remarkable.

"Nicely done," said Shi-Gel-Hu. He slid the vibroblade over to Nuala. He then levitated part of the destroyed droid. "Now let's try Force Weapon."

 

[SoloWing]

This was going to be relatively easier. One of the many mishaps that Nuala had experienced during her prior training was that she had a natural talent for the force weapon technique. Maybe it came from her natural dislike of lightsabers. But, whatever the reason, it had been nice not to have to spend days on end at a technique.

"Alright." Nuala said as she accepted the blade.

To help her gather the force energy of the area, she took a deep breath. Upon the exhale, Nuala poured that energy into the vibrosword. There was a familiar snap-back and she became one with the weapon for one long moment. She became more familiar with the vibrosword than anything else.

Nicks and dents in the long blade, unseen to the naked eye, stood out vividly to her. The force flowed into the weapon, causing it to glow ever so briefly. Molecular bonds were strengthened and defects were shored up. The second ended and Nuala dropped back to the land of the living.

She brought the vibrosword up and slashed at the demolished droid. The blade passed through the machinery cleanly-- not unlike a lightsaber. Nuala slowly brought her sword down to a low guard position.

"How was that?" She asked.

 

[Dmitri]

Shi-Gel-Hu was in awe. It was clear this Padawan had a gift in manifesting Force Weapon. Though such a technique was generally waited for Knights, this Padawan had shown skill that many knights who had attempted to learn it failed to accomplish. He could do nothing but give a clap in admiration.

"Marvelous," said Shi-Gel-Hu. "Not to sound rude, but you did better than what I would have expected from a Knight. You must have spent a lot of time on that technique. You should feel proud of your accomplishment.

"Now, the Force Weapon technique was originally developed on Tython millennia ago, back before lightsabers were created. However, the technique was advanced that they could stop lightsabers." Shi-Gel-Hu took out his lightsaber and ignited its blade. He held it out in Nuala's direction. "To advance, it's best to know one's limitations. Some Force Weapons are only empowered, while others can deflect lightsabers. Swing your Force Weapon-amplified vibroblade at my lightsaber. If it deflects, then we'll know where to go from there. If the vibroblade is cut, then we go into further teachings of Force Weapon so that you can deflect lightsabers and blaster bolts. You may do so at your disgression."

 

[SoloWing]

The basics of the technique had come quickly enough, but refining it had been a whole 'nother thing. Most of Nuala's immediate previous life as a jedi had been spent having the kinks worked out of her ability to use the force. And when she meant 'most', she meant 'most'. It wasn't uncommon for Cath to drive people for a week on end at a time.

How Cath didn't have more students drop dead from exhaustion was beyond her, but it wasn't like Nuala had to worry about that any more. Things were starting to look up.

She nodded in response to her master's question, but it was another question that she already knew the answer to. Well, in a sense. Meh. Less thinking. More thwacking. Nuala brought the vibrosword up and hefted it to get a feel for the weight.

"Okay. Here goes nothin'." She said.

The vibrosword came up and around to crack against the lightsaber. The blades smacked against each other, held for a moment, and then bounced off harmlessly. Nuala bled the momentum off by twirling the blade around, bringing it back up the guard position. She felt herself grin in response to the success.

 

[Dmitri]

Shi-Gel-Hu nodded. "Very good. You can keep that vibroblade, by the way."

Shi-Gel-Hu stood up and headed for the door. "Make your own path, Nuala. Do not let Cath or anyone else tell you what your limits are. If you work hard, you can do so much. Our training is over for today. May we meet again, Nuala, and may the Force be with you."

 

[SoloWing]

Well, they'd barely gotten started, but sure, why not? After all of the heck that had happened in the past few days, she could use some more time studying and less time banging her head against the wall of force prowess. Nuala bid Shi-Gel-Hu farewell and then set off to forge her own studies.