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[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra channeled the Force to himself while he had some space, the part Sephi calling on all the knowledge he applied while on Byblos or Coruscant. He was still as a statue, the battle raging around him blurring all around. He saw through the plane of the Force, spotting the abomination as a dark taint in the fabric of it.

Natalie’s voice issuing orders blended into the background, as did the shouts of men or blasterfire. It all swirled into a low hum that fell into the calm he created around himself. He found his peace, searching deep within himself for the Light that that tucked away under the influence of the abomination. He leaned on all the things that strengthened him - his friends, his love, his drive, his belief in himself. All of it channeled into the Force and manifested rapidly around him.

The Force gathered in his palms as he gazed towards the abomination. The channeling he was doing of the vast amount of Force energy caught the beast’s attention. The monster turned towards him and began to make a beeline right for him. Ezra remained unmoving, Light gathering at his palms as he summoned that energy.

After a moment, with the beast almost closing in, he finally unleashed the blast. The impact would be felt by everyone there. The grounds shook, the earth cracked and fissured, the brilliant light burst through his hands and out towards the beast. Ezra’s eyes themselves glowed white as he unleashed the incredible attack that could only be summoned by a Jedi Master.

The Light tore into the abomination, the beast screeching and twisting as the very fiber of its being began to tear apart. Flesh tore into shreds, the Darkness that manifested within the beast burned away, and even the spiritual imprint of the abomination was outright erased. By the end of that assault, there was nothing left of the abomination, even the flesh turning to dust and brushing away with the wind.

Ezra finally lowered his hands, staring calmly towards where the abomination once stood. His eyes were still glowing brilliant white for a moment before they slowly eased back into their usual icy silver.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie continued her stalwart defense of Ezra as he did his thing. There was no time to think of his glistening muscle, or the fact that he exert power far beyond that which she had ever see- DEFENDING HIM, NATALIE. NOW IS NOT THE TIME. She kept her blue lightsaber spinning, twirling through her fingers and from her wrists. As the militia began to move in, using her guidance in tactics, moved into the encampment.

As Ezra took on the beast, Natalie began to move out, joining the advancing line of militia. One wouldn't think they were militia the way they were moving and firing, cutting down bandit after bandit that dared show their face. When Natalie reached a set of tents that marked as far as she could go in the camp without losing sight of Ezra, she stopped, letting the militia press on. Only then did she turn to see the effect that Ezra had on the beast.

Ezra was a beautiful man, and Natalie had no issue aside from hating herself in admitting it. But he was down right angelic when he used the Force to extend the light, practically banishing the beast. It was like an angel striking down a demon, a kid using a magnifying glass to set an ant on fire, or just a really hot fucking man taking down a really bad thing. She caught herself staring at him, mouth agape, before realizing there was a battle to win.

"Bandits are starting to retreat. Tanks, target the bandits moving into the minefield. Hill squad, accurate shots but don't give away too much of your position," she ordered. The units did as they were told. In the minefield, tank shells exploded along with mines the bandits were missing. Natalie helped a team of militia rooting out a small pocket. She leaped in, spun her lightsaber around to deflect some blaster bolts, but ultimate cut down the bandits crouched in a corner of a tent.

A cheer began once the beast was downed, starting from the back of the militia lines. Natalie turned, taking a long moment to truly admire the man that had, effectively, saved all of their lives. After that moment, whether he noticed it or not, her infamous shit-eating grin spread across her lips as she made her way back. There was still tank and blaster fire, but the bandits were on the retreat in far fewer numbers, and those numbers lessened with every explosion and bark of a rifle.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

“No,” Ezra stated flatly into the comms after Natalie gave her order to shoot at bandits that were retreating, “Disregard that order. Capture any bandits still on site, hold fire for the rest but track movement,” He commanded them, canceling out the execution of her order. He didn’t look at Natalie, but he observed the bandits running away. No one would be shot as they were crouched behind tents or running away, but instead be forced to abandon their weapons and be physically led out.

The part Sephi approached the padawan after a moment, eyeing her calmly, “We are Jedi,” He reminded her, “We do not operate by the same rules of engagement as a planet’s military force. We do not mow down retreating parties. We instead lean on the Force to learn that their fear has overwhelmed them enough to where they won’t return,” He felt their terror when they watched him destroy that abomination. If Ezra could do that to a beast that had been terrorizing the lands, what could he do to them? As a Jedi, he had to be constantly aware about all his surroundings and that included the psyche of individuals around him.

“We were born with the Force for a reason,” He told her, “Choosing to become Jedi means seeing beyond black and white. Mercy is its own display of strength.”

Ezra looked out towards the vast fields, “You adapted quickly to a rapidly evolving situation, Padawan,” He stated. It was the closest she was going to get to a compliment.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Well that was a bummer, like the winds were taken right from under her sails. It was only fair though; he was the Knight and she the Padawan. Wait, was she disappointed at having command taken away from her, or because she seemed to have disappointed him? It wouldn't be that far fetched to think, considering she couldn't get a good sass on him from the start. Still, the way he'd looked at her before when he had counted on her to keep the bandits off of him was... different.

Her questions were answered with the lesson. He had a point, as he had always had, but it wasn't the lesson she expected to learn from him. Despite his designer wear, and aloof attitude towards most people and things, he was more a Jedi than she. Maybe he wasn't so ba- Nope! Shoving that thought down deep with the rest of her terrible coping mechanisms and feelings she never wanted to feel again. She wasn't ready to give up his nickname just yet, and if she started thinking of him as a nice person, a friend, whatever it was she was about to feel about him, she most certainly would have to drop the nickname.

Natalie answered him with a quiet nod. Even as her mind settled back into it's normalcy, she knew it wasn't a lesson she was meant to forget. Much like the EZPod thing. Even though she was being taught something serious, and Mr. Jawline was no where near smiling, it still felt good to have a victory under her belt. An actual victory, against actual things. No hermits in abandoned temples, no gangs that didn't know how to shoot. Actual enemies, actual evil.

Though his compliment did through her off guard a bit. She looked up, cheeks flushing a bit. When the hell did she start blushing? Oooooooh Natalie we are having a serious talk later about this. "Back home on Ord Mantell you had to learn quick or you'd bite it," she said, though her voice was much quieter than normal, and less... sarcastic. "I learn a lot better by doing things. It's why I can't stay awake in classes." Her hazel eyes watched the retreating bandits, and the militia setting up a perimeter and finding their old tents if there were still up and ready.

"What was that thing you did? To... what ever the hell that was?" she asked. She'd heard of the abominations of course, but had never seen one. She remembered that the lightside was supposed to harm them, but had no idea how to channel it to actually do damage. "Uh, and sorry about... everything." If she had a mirror, she would glare at herself.

@Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra smirked at her, “I didn’t pay attention in some of the classes either,” He said with a shrug. He was notorious for zoning out in classes, and he could completely relate to learning better by doing. If it weren’t for his Master, he would have missed out on a lot of fundamental Jedi training. He briefly wondered if Natalie’s master was exposing her to the right kinds of missions to prepare her to be a Knight.

“It was Force Light,” Ezra explained as he walked back towards one of the tents. The soldiers were pooling back to the camp. It was a huge, resounding victory and they would win over the locals. The part Sephi looked over at Natalie as he popped open a can of Emryc Energy. He normally despised his father’s silly drink, but being around it all the time with Leon and others drinking it got him hooked, “It’s the purest form of the Force. You have to clear your thoughts of any impurities and draw from deep inside. It’s why I had to stand there for a while before I launched it,” Ezra took a sip from his can, “You kept me alive.”

He said nothing in response to her apology, mainly because he found the apology unnecessary. Ezra wasn’t the type to offer empty platitudes, so the apology was met with a blank stare until she moved onto a new topic.

@TheDudeMike

 

[Natalie Hope]

Natalie never grew up with dial-up HoloNet, but she came to know the sound the moment Mr. Jawline hit her with a smirk. Where her mind could wittily come up with a thousand ways to make any situation entertaining, it was now blank with the screeching dial-up tones filling every thought instead of words. The rebooting process restarted when he actually admitted that they shared something in common. Ho-ly shit.

Thankfully her mind was present enough to listen to him explain Force Light, her body following muscle memory to keep up with him as he walked back to a tent. Natalie couldn’t remember a time that he mind was going at a million miles per hour. The thought to quip that he must not have had much to clear out came to mind, but now most certainly wasn’t the ti- oh no no no, not that empathy thing again! Natalie shoved that thought back down real quick.

Of course, she wouldn’t get the chance to say her quip because her mind went into reboot mode again when he said she had kept him alive. It didn’t even sound like a compliment, but it felt like one. This man. This bea-NATALIE FOCUS!

“Can you teach me how to do that? Doesn’t have to be right now,” she blurted. And just like that, her mind was internally screaming at her. She was so close to becoming a Knight. So close to the freedom of being able to wander the galaxy as a sentinel, fighting evil where it reared its ugly head, and getting herself into trouble. Yet here she was asking for Mr. Jawline of all people to train her some more. Padawan Hopeless was right.

Her mirror-self was going to get a real stern talking to later.

@Sreeya