Mind Over Matter

[Allu'rah Danan]

In the weeks since coming to the Knights, Akira had been training fiercely to get a grasp on how to use the Force. Wholeness of body and mind was key, but the Togruta was beginning to feel restricted. First the ships, now these sub-levels. She longed simply to be on the planet surface, but ever since the attacks... well, training was starting to almost feel like a prison. However, she needed to learn, and she studied as hard as she could.

Akira sat quietly in the center of a training mat in one of the main chambers of the sub-level. Everything was so still. She could sense everything around her despite having her eyes closed. Her montrals picked up every vibration through the air, the most noticeable being the sound of her own deep, measured breathing as well as her steady pulse. She was a picture of stillness, save for the rise and fall of her chest and the beads of sweat running down her body.

The casual observer would have thought she was quietly meditating, but any passing Knight would know just how intensely she was training at the moment. Her attention had to be split. One part was running the constant filter on her mind to prevent too much gray noise from distracting her. It was a skill she had focused on developing quickly, trying to keep the emotions and woes of war from drowning her. The shield was not as taxing to maintain anymore, but her focus did slip occasionally, and she had yet to fully get the hang of keeping her mind shield in tact as she slept. The other portion of her attention was on the datapad ten feet away from her, trying to coax it into her upturned hand. Every now and then, the tiny device would twitch and fidget.

An hour went by, and her greatest success was when she managed to drag it about a foot forwards, but Akira's thoughts strayed to the whereabouts of some of the missing Knights, especially one particular Guardsman whom she had not been in contact with since long before the attacks. The Togruta dried her eyes, reset the datapad's position, then sat down and tried again.

The dead of night gradually faded into early morning, and other Prospects began to trickle in and out of the room, awkwardly trying to keep out of each other's way. Akira tried to pay them no mind, filtering them out with the rest of the gray noise. She focused on the datapad. Its mass was only an illusion, a thing irrelevant to the Force. She was a conduit for the life energy of the galaxy. A datapad was irrelevant. She just had to open herself to the Force, and channel its power to accomplish her goal. Just a little effort now. Just lift the object, and draw it in. Akira opened her tired eyes and glanced down, staring with a blank expression on her face at the datapad resting in her palm. The stare lasted for several long moments, and then her shoulders and arms started shaking as she drew in hard, ragged breaths. With trembling hands, she made a note of her success on the datapad and added it in with the rest of the entries tracking her progress. Akira tried to catch her breath and calm herself, but this was a great success.






Still no word from Elliot. Akira made herself believe that he was alright. It was becoming both easier and harder to convince herself. She had not seen him at all in almost two months. But she seemed to have a gift for being able to sense the galaxy around her, a gift the Imperial Knights seemed very interested in honing. But Akira could almost feel a chord or a chain or something extending from deep inside herself. Ever since the dig on Ossus, there had been something there. Akira just hadn't been able to sense it until later, when she had learned to shield her mind from all the turmoil. But nothing she did could erase the feeling of that... link. The Togruta knew the other end was fastened to something, and in her heart she knew it was a man far from her sight but on her mind. Even over the past few weeks of chaos, the link had not been severed. On the contrary, it grew more solid with each passing day. Even though Elliot had not made contact, she was sure he was alive.

The Togruta finally exhaled and panted, catching her breath. She was learning to sustain her body on trace amounts of air in her lungs. It was a good exercise for focus and control. Once she caught her breath, Akira inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. Very slowly. With the Force, she was able to use the oxygen she had taken in more effectively. As a result, she was able to hold her breath for up to fifteen minutes. Maybe tomorrow she would try a few combat drills while trying to hold her breath.






Another day, and Akira was in the training bay in the wee hours of the morning. She was sitting quietly, covered in a sheen of sweat as usual but she did not dare pause for a break. A large stack of mats seemed to be sliding across the training room floor of their own accord, while a few cushions sailed towards the Togruta from the edges of the room. They stopped abruptly and fell into her lap, but then her head perked up. The mats ceased their slow migration, as something pressed on Akira's mind. It wasn't a wave of emotion or anything, but...

There was figure amongst a sea of faceless people. The perspective changed, and it seemed that this figure towered over the typical stock. Then that figure detached from the crowd and flew right at her. Somewhat shaken, Akira glanced towards the main chamber entrance. "Someone comes," she said quiet;y to the deserted room.

 

[Syn]

Knight stood in the doorway as she looked at Akira. She had tried to meet all the people they had and was finally after some time and business getting around to it. The girl was a well of potential and Knight stepped forward rolling her shoulders. "Akira Ven, I am sorry I have not been able to get to you. I am Knight and I have been observing on the monitors. You have talent and we need to nurture that. May I train with you?" Knight moved and stood there, the new measures had her as well as everyone in the base in regulation outfits so she rolled her shoulders and stood opposite the prospect. "Now lets see your telekinesis."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira's eyes flashed up to meet the strange woman's face. Contrary to what she had expected, the woman was actually quite diminutive. But the Togruta Prospect had to rush to untangle her legs so that she could kneel in a proper bow as soon as she heard the woman's name, or rather, her title. It hadn't taken long for Akira to hear about the new Knight Commander, a young but incredibly talented woman with no name to speak of. Any doubt as to the woman's identity was banished by the vision that the Togruta had seen only moments ago.

"You honour me, Knight Commander," Akira said with a heavy accent to her soft, meek voice. Her eyes were downcast out of humility and respect. But this was not an idle visit. It was a check on her progress. Akira chewed her lip nervously. The Knight Commander said she had talent, but had she made enough progress? Sitting back down and folding her legs in to a meditative stance, Akira picked up a cushion up out of the pile in front of her and laid it down in front of herself about a meter away, a silent but courteous invitation to the other woman to take a seat and make herself comfortable.

Akira was cold and nervous. She tried to calm her mind, but it was proving difficult. She gave the Knight Commander a feeble, nervous smile and tried to concentrate. The Togruta didn't know that what she was experiencing was the phenomena known as stage fright. Sure, other Prospects had seen her practice, but they were more or less equals. And she had trained with other Knights, including the late historian (Shili give rest to her soul). But Akira half-feared would be banished if she could not do as was asked of her.

The Prospect banished such foolish thoughts from her head, walling her fear off in an isolated section of her mind. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she focused on the three remaining cushions before her. One by one, they floated into the just above Akira's head, and about half a meter outwards from herself. Slowly they began to rotate clockwise in a circle around her. As the pillows orbited, their elevation increased. However, they fell out of the air with a very quiet thud as they hit then ground, and Akira drew a sharp, ragged breath. Her face scrunched just a bit at her failure. Her silver eyes were watery and shiny when she opened them. "I am sorry Knight Commander," she apologized in a quavering voice. She was so nervous she thought she might be sick. "My thoughts seem to be elsewhere." The Togruta held her tongue for a few moments as she waited for a scolding, but there was only silence. In order to fill it, she felt she owed an explanation for her distraction.

"I know an excuse is not necessary," Akira said, hesitating. "Because there is no excuse for failure where I only need duplicate earlier success. But this day I come to the Imperial Knights with my friend and it is the last day I see him, so I find my thoughts with him frequently."

 

[Syn]

Knight looked at Akira and sat down as she watched with interest. The prospect was talented and nervous. It was rather refreshing and she observed the pillows floating then fall. She didn't say anything just kept her face gentle while listening about her friend. "Your friend? Ah yes I remember he was named Elliot he is doing well in his new post. You should be able to see him soon. The Resolve has been checking in they have found what we were looking for." Knight offered a smile as she finished and spoke holding her hand out. "And you do not need to apologize Akira. Often my mind is plagued by thoughts that distract from training. The trick is not to let them rule you otherwise you'll worry. Just think about how protected he is in the ship and take to heart that he will come back to you. Or if he wants to stay I can have you transferred to be closer to him." Knight was talking but she had lifted the other pillows slowly and held them up as she just laughed a little. "Another trick is to use your anxiety to get your force powers to flare."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira smiled a genuine smile at the news. "Thank you, Knight Commander," she said with a bow of her head, "That is all I wish to know." The Togruta was immensely relieved. With the weight of her friend's fate lifted from her mind, Akira looked around the training room for something with a bit of substance to it to lift. She settled on the maintenance droid that was scooting about the chamber. She seized it in her mind, closing her eyes as she ignored the physical world around her. There was only her, the droid, and the Force. She wrapped the little machine in energy, using invisible, unstoppably strong hands to lift it. There was no mass to the object. Just volume. Lifting was easy.

The Prospect set the droid down gently between her and the Master Knight. It was beeping crazily, alarmed at its lack of control. As soon as its treads touched the ground, it zipped away and shot out of the room. Akira opened her eyes slowly as beads of sweat rolled down her face, quietly proud of herself.

"Does this please you, Knight Commander?" she asked, panting. She tried to square her shoulders, but she couldn't help but sag. "I am sorry, but there is something I do not understand," she said, and flinched as someone's anguish collided against her mind. She reinforced her mind shield, and she rubbed at her temples. "I feel things. I feel the emotions of people near and far. But I can always feel Elliot, stronger than anyone. It is this way ever since our dig on Ossus. Ever since I awake from my first vision, I can feel his mind. Why? How is this possible?"

 

[Syn]

Knight watched with interest as Akira lifted the droid and set it down. The droid zooming away was funny and illicited a giggle from her she was very much the child still herself. Hell she was only knight commander because she was third and the strongest of the rest. Meant little in the grand scheme but she was getting stronger. When she heard akira talking about Elliot she spoke with a smile. "It is a bond one you share with a special man. You'll be able to feel him and he you but be careful it can be dangerous and exploited. For the rest it is the force that you feel. Alive and untamed it will give you whispers of many things the past present the feelings of people but it is hard to judge. You should work on thought shields to better protect and shield yourself but you have been doing very well"

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira looked a little surprised. "I practice my mind shield always, and I do continue to do so," she said with a small, curt bow of her head. "But is this normal? To make a bond with your friends? Would I feel more people had I more friends? And how can this be exploited?" The young Togruta gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Am I... a danger to Elliot?" A thousand horrible thoughts sank in all at once, and the shield around her mind crumbled, and she followed suit. Akira cried out and clutched her head, flailing mentally to try get her defenses back in place.

The Prospect's vision cleared into an image of the Knight Commander looming over her. Akira was trembling all over, and her breath came in short, ragged gasps. Worst of all, she could faintly hear an echo of her own distress over the Force bond. "I'm sorry," she half-sobbed, and not even she was sure if she was apologizing to the Knight Commander, Elliot, or both. It was just so difficult, sustaining this barrier all the time while also pushing herself beyond her physical limits each and every day to learn as much as she could. She was homesick and exhausted.

 

[Syn]

Knight moved as Akira was talking and stood near her then knelt down as she spoke. "It can be exploited like that, getting yourself worked up. I suppose it would be possible to make more bonds with more friends but that can be dangerous as well. They could begin influencing your thoughts and actions." Knight remained there and placed a hand on the girls shoulder as she spoke more. "You have nothing to be sorry about Akira Ven. Here you are safe and everything will be okay. Worry not for your friend." Knight remained kneeling while she twisted so she was facing the same direction as Akira and patted her on the back.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira nodded. "I waste my time worrying for him," she said in a cold, hollow tone. "Elliot is strong. He is capable. He can handle himself. I have no abilities to protect him with, so do not occupy my time fretting. There is much to learn, and too little time for fear."




The other student was escorted from the sparring chambers with several black bruises and a minor plasma burn. Akira had won the match, but now had to listen to a Knight preach to her about the dangers of anger and emotion in a combat, all because she had used a battle cry. The Knight did not understand that she was neither angry nor frightened. While Akira hoped she would never have to strike down another person, she already knew effective hunting. She knew how to use fear as a method of staying aware of her surroundings, and frustration could be released harmlessly in a battle cry that might even unnerve a foe. It was important on a hunt that emotions not cloud your perception, and it was true in battle as well. But the Togruta huntress let the man preach, and took note. Zhane had given her a similar speech when she was 14. It was a good lesson to remember.




Akira wrapped herself in the Force as she leaped over a six meter gap. In mid-air, she pushed out with her left hand, amplifying that motion like a growing wave through the Force, and the two droids standing at the edge of the gap shooting at her were flung away. The Togruta twisted and hit the ground rolling, using her momentum to carry her up into a crouch and then to spring to her feet. She turned around and looked back on the obstacle course that she had just completed, panting. It looked as if she had passed this test. In the months since her arrival, Akira had come far in her training. What was next for her though, she really couldn't say.

 

[Syn]

Knight had continued to observe Akira, the girl was capable she had to admit. But she was ready Knight hoped as she entered and spoke after Akira wasn't distracted. "How are you doing Akira? I have another lesson for you if you wish to learn."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

"Knight Commander," Akira panted, bowing deeply in her presence. "I become more and more capable at sifting through my senses, and using the Force. But the more I study, the more I realize how little I know. I appreciate any lesson you teach me." The Togruta wiped the sweat from her brow and calmed her breathing. Whatever this lesson was, she was ready for it.

 

[Syn]

Knight looked at Akira and nodded as she spoke. "The lesson will be for the force but I think it is time you construct your own saber. We will do this and then it will be stored in the armory in your locker." Knight set down a kit cause it was they armory had made pre made kits for them that were safe and vacuum sealed as she opened the different pieces and laid them out. "Now take your time some knights take an entire day to create theirs."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira was silent, then nodded slowly. "Please guide my hand, Knight Commander. I never do anything like this," she said a little nervously. The Togruta approached the workbench where the Knight Commander was laying out the construction kit. There were a few different styles of each piece, different coloured crystals, and casings of varying shapes and lengths. Akira pondered, and decided she would go for a longer hilt in order to allow for better control with two hands. Having spent so many years using a vibropike, she didn't think she would ever be able to switch to using two weapons independent of each other. And while lightsaber fighting and polearm fighting were nothing alike, Akira thought that focus on a single weapon would be much more within her grasp.

The Prospect worked through the day and well into the night. Her feet and back ached from stranding at the workbench for hours, but she refused to lose her focus. Her choices were slow, and she frequently stopped to ask the Knight Commander questions to banish any doubts and answer any inquiries on her mind. At long last, Akira sighed and beheld the assembled lightsaber. It weighed a little more than two pounds, and the chrome casing gleamed in the lamplight. She held it out and away from herself as she pressed the button on the hilt, and the blade ignited with an astonishing hiss.

The beam of light shone brightly at its core, and a cyan blue aura glowed around the edges. Akira's face split into a wide smile as her heart filled with pride. She had done it. But the hilt still didn't feel quite right. "Knight Commander," Akira said as she deactivated the lightsaber, "is there any leather strips to have? It helps this blade better fit my hand, I think."

 

[Syn]

Knight stood there and answered what she could watching her work. It was always good to see and the leather was an interesting choice. Knight smiled and beheld it when Akira activated it. Then thought about better strips. "We have some hides from a monkey lizard. It might be better but nerf hide is strong and reliable. If we got lucky and you felt like hunting there is rancor hide."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

"I do not believe in hunting an unknown prey with an unfamiliar weapon. That is a straight way to death," Akira said with a shake of her head, causing the akul teeth to rattle against her montrals. "I hear nerf is good, strong but soft. Is there nerf to hunt on this planet? Am I permitted to venture outside? It is a long time since last I see the the sun." The Togruta was eager to get outside and hunt. She feared her tracking skills were a tad rusty, and she hated losing her edge, especially where she had been such an honoured huntress among her people. What she really wanted was to be left alone in the planet wilderness for about a month to see and discover and hunt, but Akira had since learned of her rather feeble immune system. A month in the wild would probably see her dead of some ailment or another.

 

[Syn]

Knight looked at Akira as she spoke coming close. "This world Akira none of us can survive on the surface. Not without a suit and the creatures that still live are the perfect defense against people snooping around." Knight expected disappointment then spoke more. "But you can hunt, I know Mara wishes to see her pets and wants to do the same as you but HOMEFRONT is buried deep below the surface of a dangerous world in a system that no one suspects. We are safe."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira nodded solemnly. She had hoped to go about freely, perhaps even in her own clothes. Not be burdened down with a bulky environmental suit. They probably didn't have anything to fit her head anyway, since the majority of the Knights seemed to be Human or Near-Human. "Perhaps another time. Perhaps I go to another world, at the time that I am ready. I hope soon, I learn enough to operate outside, like the Guardsmen and other Knights." She sighed, and wished she were elsewhere. There was just so much to learn. Would she ever get out of this place? Would she ever feel grass on her feet or sunlight on her face or mud between her toes? She missed home, in the jungle and on the savannah.

 

[Syn]

Knight looked at Akira and spoke. "You will be able to, I promise you that. I know in New Bastion they want to make a park and you are skilled. You could take a mission with another knights and get outside. If you wanted to, it is my burden to stay down here."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira perked up. "What is Nu Baztson?" she asked curiously. "Where is it? Please, Knight Commander, tell me of it." The Togruta had always been most skilled as a hunter, but of course knew the tricks of gathering for when the hunt ran long or went poorly. However, she had never particularly tended to plants. On her world, they grew just fine without any aid. But she knew it was not the case on every planet. She had seen a few during her travels that were dominated by cityscape, and the sparse regions that had not been conquered by duracrete had felt poisoned and sickly. Perhaps this garden was an attempt to nurse one of these regions back to health, an endeavor in which Akira would eagerly participate.

 

[Syn]

Knight looked at Akira. "It is an endeavor we are undertaking. A colony that is a home. A place for us to live and thrive. HOMEFRONT is the base but this will be our home in on this world. We are still building it but it can be seen. The protective shell for it has been completed."