More than a Padawan

[druchi]

Tarkov was nervous - this was not an uncommon feeling for a Jedi padawan on Arba, if anything socailising with the others had taught him how behind all the self reassurance everyone was just full of the same sithspit. Still though it had also not been so long since his meditation and basic force training with the Councillor and he could not help himself from worry. He would try to clear his emotions with the Force but each time they would recoil back to him.

In frustration he decided to take a walk around the campus. It had been a frustrating six months since his arrival in the Order everything seemed to move SO SLOWLY. It wasn't anyone's fault they kept telling him the training would advance when he was ready and that he would be ready in time.

"Just was not ready." He muttered mimicking one of his instructors. He still had his own collection of books he could read from about the Force which were far more advanced than the training he had received so far. But that was about to change. Only a few hours ago had he been told a Jedi Knight no less had taken interest in him and wished to meet him and possibly train with him at first he had been excited but even now as he walked around the campus he felt awe and intimidation. He spent another hour walking around and managed some idle gossip with some other students hanging outside with some lho-sticks.

As he was taking some jubi berries from one of the vending machines his datapad buzzed and he reached inside his jacket and pulled it out. She had arrived - the Jedi Knight who was to train him. His mind rushed and he went towards the main reception area. He had brushed himself up and was wearing a rather simple grey panzer outfit with a black belt hiding his lightsaber. As he came into the main area he tapped a young padawan on the shoulder he had not met before.

"Hey there I'm looking for a Jedi Knight? Uhh Brangwing? You come in on the shuttle with her?

 

[Radiwalker]

Fragile was too soft a word to describe the state of the jedi order. The rise and apparent victory of the sith had set the mood of defeat, insignificance, weakness and in many cases - distortion, for the jedi of all ranks. It was no different for Jaina, especially given her background. She had always had a scent of doubt, mostly in her own abilities, yet she hadn't given up, even after everything she had experienced and seen, she still struggled and kept moving forwards. The past ten years had been long and exhausting, but now things seemed to be changing. Stories of hope were spreading across the galaxy and a new mindset was rising, perhaps the rule of darkness was at an end...

Jaina had not yet been to Arba. She had kept away from the clashes between jedi, between brothers and sisters who should be fighting on the same side. Instead she had traveled about the independent systems. Helping with what she could, while keeping her identity a secret. Perhaps the small hint of darkness, sorrow and sadness that resided within her had kept her hidden from the eyes of the jedi hunters and the sith as a whole. Still, she had had her encounters with the enemy and had survived, mostly by using her mind than might, but both had come in handy.

Her shuttle passed the security checks and descended into the planet's surface, landing in the enclave. The rest of the passengers hurried off the shuttle, while Jaina took a moment to thank the pilots. She came off and looked about, admiring what the jedi had done with the place, despite the harsh times they had managed to preserve their appreciation of beauty and instead of giving in, they had created these symbols of hope, these new temples that, despite their solitude, reminded one of the times of peace and prosperity for both the republic and the jedi order.

Whilst having a good look around, Jaina she received a tap on the shoulder. She quickly turned around, with a smile blazing on her face, as she was caught by the magnificent looks of her surroundings, she couldn't help but feel the quiet and peaceful joy of the place. "That would be me. I'm Brangwing, but call me Jaina." She stretched her right hand to shake that of her counterpart. Her hand was bandaged, it was obvious she had not been inactive. "You must be Tarkov Campbell, it's a pleasure to meet you." She took one more look around, while sniffing in the fresh air, as the shuttle ride had been rather long. "Would you like to out into the forest. I would like to have a look around..." she realized she was supposed to be thinking about her padawan, rather than herself. "And it would be better to start your training in a more natural environment." Of course, she hadn't planned any big practice session for the day, but she wanted to see what Tarkov was all about. There was fairly little information in his profile and Jaina could already feel that something was amiss, but she was too inexperienced to make a guess based on that.

Another smile appeared on her face and she pointed towards a door, clearly indicating that that was the way out. She would then proceed to walk in that direction, with the consent of her padawan. "While we walk, would you mind telling me a little about yourself?" Her tone had changed, it was more concentrated, her eyes were centered as if fixed on something and her face wasn't holding that smile any longer, but rather looked a bit more concerned.

 

[druchi]

This was not what he expected. He could start with the fact she seemed not at all older than him... was she older than him? By looks no but her eyes certainly seemed aged. So whilst she had talked he had merely nodded his head but then she got to the purpose of her meeting.

"While we walk, would you mind telling me a little about yourself?"

"Well I was not quite expecting ah, you. If I'm honest aren't you a little young to be a Jedi Knight?" The look he received made him blabber on a tad however. "Erm well I haven't been here long so I suppose that's why it's pretty empty I mean I guess you know the basics so I won't bore you with that but I'm not sure where to start I mean if I asked you the same question I'm sure you would be in a similar position. But I'll try. I was born into my planets Ruling Class, found out I was a force sensitive in an argument with my mother one day and I was banished on pain of death would be the short version. After that I spent some time as a spacer hauled cargo to and from even for Light of the Force. Took some odd jobs before that worked the Cartel angle for a while but that seems longer ago than leaving home. I got lucky I guess managed to survive. Then some old geezer Jedi recruited me to run the supplies for Arba and Light of the Force and he musta known I was Sensitive to the Force - I'm sure you've read on the file but my connection to the force is shaky at the best of times it feels wrong to me, everyone even you I bet talk about this deep comfort in the Force but all I get is it lashing back and when I try to let the Force flow through me it just avoids me. It's so fru-!"

He stopped hismelf on his little rant and he gave a sort of nervous smile to the Knight. Don't sell yourself short was something he had learned in the military.

"Of course it's not always so bad I'm good at the practical stuff I've been told my push and pull are well above what they should be for someone at my level. And the guys an gals here are wonderful it's just. Sometimes I feel I'm being heldback I have potential I know I do. Heck it wasn't so long ago they told me you were coming. In fact if you follow me just down this way a little." He indicated towards a winding stream. "It's somewhere I like to go to relax on my own and try to connect with the Force. Uh shall we?"

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina wasn't disturbed one bit by the comment on her youth. She didn't consider herself too young to be a knight, after all she had been with the order for about 20 years now, she had witnessed it at its best and at its worst. Furthermore she knew someone who became a knight long before her, who tried to fight off the sith invasion and who she had not seen for a long time, but that was a different and distant topic.

The girl concentrated on the words of her padawan. It was clear he wasn't revealing everything about himself, but then again who in their right mind would unravel all the secrets of their heart to a complete stranger? That didn't trouble Jaina too much, instead she was more concerned about the current state Tarkov was in. Feeling like he's held back, being impatient, there was clearly confusion, or rather disturbance inside him, but it was not one that would be easily removed, as it seemed that those dark parts of his personality were mixed with his lighter parts, the ones which allow him to appreciate the kindness of others. To some extent Tarkov reminded Jaina of herself, for even now she did not feel the presence of the complete and divine light a jedi is supposed to uphold.

She inclined her head, trying to hold back her concern and followed her padawan towards the spot where he likes to relax. "Show me then, how you practice on your own."

 

[druchi]

"Sure I'd be happy too Brangwing." As they walked down the river he set himself atop one of the stones. There were small objects scattered all around it that he had been practicing with including a couple of practice droids. He motioned for her to sit down. He stood up and readied his lightsaber. "It helps to stay focused on more than one thing." He give a short shrug then moved into his favoured Niman stance. He flexed out with the Force and the small droid ball rose. It activated itself and buzzed around. As it began to buzz some of the rocks started to rise from the ground.

The droid blasted a few bolts at Tarkov who rather easily blocked them. He was not aiming to take them out however. The few rocks that had levitated suddenly began whirling at the droids knock them around the air a little. Tarkov was quite amused that he had pulled it off but he tended to work well under pressure. He smiled a bit more and decided to show off a little. Dodging and deflecting a few more blaster bolts he managed to pick up the stone he was on top of and hurl it towards the small training droids which upon being hit shut down. He nodded to himself brushing off some dirt from the shoulders of his jacket.

"So yeah I think I've got this co-"

One of the stones he had been levitating fell on him.

"Ouch! Sithspit awwh jeez." Pretty embarrass ordeal if you were trying to impress someone. "Uhhh sorry about that but yeah I can do that stuff. I'm wondering what made you want to see me though?" He rubbed his forehead

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina was rather impressed by the performance, she remembered how she had struggled to achieve any control over the force and had failed, until she received some guidance. She chuckled silently, as one stone fell on Tarkov's head. It was quite obvious that he had good control, what he lacked was patience... patience to improve. Judging by his words one could assume that he wanted to rush up the ladder, prove himself and become great. Was that a reflection of his past, was he trying to prove himself in his own eyes, or in the eyes of someone else, one could never truly know the reason behind any given behavior, what one can do, however, is to guide and support.

"You're doing quite well. When I first started I had trouble with even the simplest of techniques and here you are performing some rather complex combinations." a smile settled on the girl's face and she waved her hair back, as the wind was blowing it in front of her eyes. She pulled out a small band from one of her pockets and put it around her hair, tying it in a ponytail and leaving it to fall on her back. "However, it seems to me that this is your comfort zone. You feel at peace here and hence you perform better. But what if I take you away from your comfort zone." She used the force to push the padawan into the water and then activated the little droid balls before he had the chance to stand up. This time, instead of having time to settle in and prepare, Tarkov would have to respond to an unexpected situation, furthermore, he no longer held the high ground and was inside water, which would restrain his movements. This was all just a small test Jaina had thought of on the spot, to see how the padawan would handle stress and pressure.

 

[druchi]

"Fuuuuu-"

He crashed into the stream. The droids activated and swooped towards him, he didn't think he felt and brought Jainas saber crashing into the first droid ball and the saber spun off. The second one fired twice at him, one shot caught him but the other he dived out of the stream to under the small droid and deactivated it. The final droid swished away from and he reached out with the force...

To be stunned again. He wasn't fast enough that time. He tried again to call on the Force but it would not answer him. He did a dive roll and came up rock in hand and threw it at the droid which dodged to avoid. He ducked behind the rock and scrambled for Jainas lightsaber - he fell and blocked another two shot routine from the droid ball. He always set the droids to two shot, that had been a military thing - soldiers didn't just fire in single blasts (if they were trained) or like in the movies blasters at hips on full auto. They aimed two shots for the head or body always. It had made sense to train against droids programmed with similar techniques.

The droid pivoted up and fired another two shots at him. He tried to force jump over it but the Force was not responsive. Instead he merely rolled from the jump and brought the saber down on the droid slicing it in half. He was soaked, muddy and his hair which he had tried for ages to get to sit right so he could look presentable for the Jedi Knight was a mess. His thoughts clearly betrayed his frustration but he calmed himself as best as he could and he felt the Force flow back into him.

"Thanks for that little test. I appreciate the chance to... ahh hell. Look I am really sorry I didn't mean to disappoint you I'm just trying my best here. It just goes sometimes for me stops responding the Force or it doesn't turn out the way I wanted it - other times it's better." He wiped some of the mud from his knees. "Here you want this back I take it?" handing back Jainas saber to her.

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina took her saber back and clipped it to her belt. She was surprised to the quick response to the sudden situation, but then the problem, if it could be called a problem, unraveled itself. She wondered whether it was the dynamics of the fast revolving situation, the adrenaline, the lack of belief, or something completely different that caused the loss of connection, or rather control over the Force. Whatever it was she did not know how Tarkov could overcome it. She kept thinking though, there had to be some way.

Reminiscing about her training she remembered the guidance she had received. It had never been clear to her, yet once she had overcome the difficulty it all seemed so logical, yet the advice itself didn't guide her through the process, but rather taught her that the process is different for every person and thus you cannot tell one what to do to overcome one's problems, but can support and encourage them. She thought that that was a good approach.

"Patience." She smiled at the padawan, while stretching out her hand and lifting his chin up. "You'll get there." she retracted her hand, wondering whether she had gone a little too far with that gesture, but still she contained her composure. "What you must remember is that there is no try, you either do, or do not... just like a wise master once said." her memories got the better of her again for a moment, but Jaina quickly returned to the present. "Practicing in different environments and under different circumstances can help you develop." She looked around and realized she wanted to go for a straw through the forest, or better yet... "I think I have something in mind that could help. We'll play a game of catch. You'll chase me around the forest, but beware, the longer we run the faster I'll become." Without further ado, she leaped away and began running. Of course she didn't plan to run on the ground all the time. She would often cross the river, occasionally jump on a tree and hop from branch to branch, or any other creative maneuvers the environment would allow.

Overall this wasn't just a test of speed. It was a test of endurance and willpower. How long could Tarkov keep up with her, could he actually catch her, he seemed fit enough, so why not, or perhaps his connection to the Force would once again prove fatal to the exercise? It all remained to be seen.

OOC: We could play the chase through, or you could describe it all in your post. It's up to you :P

 

[druchi]

The chase was beginning to wear him out. It had been going on for at least ten minutes now. She was further and further away. She would zig zag and cross paths and lead him in loops. She was getting a lot faster than he was and he could run a mile and a half in nine minutes. It was then he had the idea not to catch her but to trap her. So he would try and lead her gradually slowly towards a narrow cliff face.

As the chase went on he felt his lungs take in less and less air but they were nearly there. Just a little more, just a little more. by the time Jaina had realised what was happening it was already too late the pathway was too narrow to turn around without being caught so instead she stopped. As he went to catch her though he stuck out her leg and tripped him over. He floundered but caught himself and twisted back around into a combat stance arms up at ninety degree angles ready to jab. But that didn't seem to be the situation so he let down his guard to catch his breath.

"Is there a point to this? Jaina because I... hold on give me a moment, I gotta admit this is not exactly turning into the day I had thought it would."

 

[Radiwalker]

"Good, you're tired out, we can stop now." she took a good look around, scanning the environment, almost as if she was assessing it. They were pretty far from the temple and the day was approaching its end. The sun was setting far over the trees on the horizon, a great shadow was falling over the planet, as night was ascending and the flickering stars in the sky started popping out one by one.

She took another look around, turning in her spot, then, finally, addressed Tarkov. "Here, take my lightsaber." she threw the weapon to him. "You'll need it." a smile crossed her face. She wanted to put him in the most unusual situation imaginable. Make him wonder, stress him out and then have him concentrate on drawing out the force and strengthening his connection to it. "You will remain here throughout the whole night. Meditating. On your own." She jumped to a tree branch and gazed in the direction of the temple, as if she was planning a route back. "I shall return to the temple and wait for you there, you are yo report to me in the morning, but you will not break your meditation before sunrise..." she turned back looking the weapon "unless you are attacked." a faint smile could be caught crossing her face. "In that case - run."

Without saying anything else, she spurred off towards the temple. It was important for the sake of the exercise to leave the padawan in a distraught state, to make him question her motives and her methods, to draw him completely away from his comfort zone and have him try to draw on the Force and thus strengthen his connection to it, whilst also increasing his belief in himself and his own capabilities.

Of course, Jaina was no fool. She was not about to leave a padawan on his own in a forest of a planet she had only just arrived on. No, she just wanted him to believe he was alone. Just a few seconds after heading towards the temple, she turned and ran around in an ark, getting in a position just behind the place where she had left the padawan. She was, of course, careful, not to make any sounds and reveal herself. She was complete silent in approaching the place. The girl positioned herself in a small bush, that was several meters behind the spot Tarkov was standing when she left him. She would observe the padawan's actions, his manners, his resolve and overall, his behavior. Perhaps the most important thing was that she left him her lightsaber, for that way she would truly have him believe he was to remain alone in the forest, when actually she was just a few steps away, watching and evaluating.

 

[druchi]

"Awh for Sithspitting sake. Huh , alright then - stay out here all night don't worry I don't need a warmer jacket or nothing not like I had plans to socialise or fix the power converter or something. Right fine fine I can do this just focus my mind... focus... focus. Not really focusing but I'll get there. Meditation when I might be attacked fantastic. Stars help me if one of the natives decides to mark his territory on me. Right no focus." This was all muttered just under his breath as he tried to find a spot he liked to sit down and meditate, he wanted a more open space so anything that came at him would have to come out from the bush and hopefully give him time to react. It would be apt to say Tarkov was not focused and not having a very good night so far. He kept both lightsabers in his hand. He had taken some meditation training over the 6 months from Arikka-Mar so he tired to remember and put into practice what he had learned about meditating - it was not something you could easily forget how to do but after around half an hour his stomach started rumbling. He had used a lot of energy chasing the woman but he did not particularly feel that he should just wait around an entire night. Still she had kept using the word patience so maybe this is what he was being tested on? Or maybe she's just screwing with me he decided to try and settle in and ignore the hunger, deep breaths in and out. He would try and let the Force guide him. He was more relaxed as the time passed and eventually he broke into a trance probably for the first time he could truly see the Force it was everywhere all around him the sky, the ground, the trees, the... the bush over there for some reason. He tried to focus in on the bush but it wasn't happening so he shifted his weight and tried to see further and further - there were Jedi Masters who could see through walls and honed this ability but Tarkovs was entirely untrained he was more in awe at finally being able to feel the Force and it was not barking against him or putting up much resistance. He guessed this is how it must be for all the jedi... he reached out towards the temple but of course it was too much of a distance for him he could barely get his own sense further than a few dozen meters but still he felt out with the force touching the trees and the creatures, the small nest of bugs protecting their nest from a larger group of bugs. It was all interlinked. He tried again to see further with the Force and keep his meditations...

 

[Radiwalker]

Progress. That's what Jaina was observing. The padawan had gone through a state of full confusion to a state in which he managed to achieve a fairly good connection to the Force. She was glad for Tarkov, but also for herself. Her methods seemed unconventional even to her and yet they seemed to be paying off. Her thoughts wondered for a moment, she was uncertain what the rest of the jedi would think of her methods, but in the end was she not teaching her padawan to maintain his composure, to become one with the Force, even if that meant having him believe that he was being left alone in the middle of a dark forest, without food, or shelter?

But her thoughts returned to the matter at hand. It was time to try and break Tarkov's concentration. What Jaina hoped was that the padawan would endure through the pressure she would put on his, that he would keep his concentration and overcome the difficulty placed before him. She concentrated and reached out through the Force, making some leaves shiver, when there was no wind, causing a tree to creek, having an old branch move. She was creating illogical sounds from different directions. To someone frightened those sounds would alert of danger, but to someone concentrated and relaxed, those sounds wouldn't make sense, until their real source is located. The question was, which of those two people would Tarkov react like?

 

[druchi]

It had been a couple of hours since Tarkov had broke into the trance when strange unexplained noises started to occur. It was smaller things at first and he thought his mind was playing tricks on him but more and more the noises become more obvious and louder, it was not just his head.. well it might be but he was pretty sure it wasn't. He started shifting and tried to focus on the source of these strange sounds but there was no pattern - it was obviously some kind of test... had Jaina really lead him to this cliff face above the forest floor? He thought he had chased her but perhaps she was leading him here. He spread out more with the force and tried to catch the small disturbances each time he was too slow. He instead focused on finding the source of the disturbance and let his mind wander... the bush it had a far higher energy around it. There was no sound coming from it. If there is one thing an Imperial style military did teach well it was how to respond to the unknown and that was usually with extreme prejudice.

Both sabers screamed on and he leaped from his meditative stance and ran towards the bush. Jainas yellow saber in his left hand and his own blue one on the right. He reached with the force and pushed at the bush. It scattered and he was confronted with the sight of Jaina she must have been hiding in the bush and this had all been a test. He was not angry but more confused. He stopped running and deactivated the lightsabers. He threw Jainas saber to the ground infront of her, turned without saying a word and started to walk back towards the temple. He was done with being manipulated for today.

 

[Radiwalker]

Jaina smiled. Her idea had paid off. Tarkov had managed to maintain his composure and strengthen his connection. He had kept his cool and analysed the situation well. The girl caught her lightsaber and followed after her padawan, while clipping the hilt to her belt. It seemed like Tarkov didn't want to speak, so she left him to his thoughts during the walk back to the temple. She event kept a bit back, allowing the padawan some space.

The wind had grown quiet. The forest was engulfed in darkness and silence was prevailing, with the exception of a several small birds tweeting from the left and the right. Jaina let her hair loose, putting the band back in her pocket. Her red bank fell in front of her face and another smile crept along. It had been a long and rather tiring day, but she was happy with the progress Tarkov had made. What troubled her was his thoughts. What was going though his mind, did he realize why she had done what she did, or did he disapprove? Could he feel the progress he had made?

Finally as the pair reached the temple, Jaina caught up with the padawan. "You've made some great progress today." her eyes examined the padawan's face, tracing for signs of emotion, for some feedback. "I hope you feel as good about it as I do." she made another short pause, as if trying to figure out what Tarkov was thinking. "We'll continue tomorrow. Meet me here before noon." With that she waited a moment to see if Tarkov had anything to say, after which she would offer a faint smile, a short inclination of her head and then she would turn and leave, heading towards the room designated for her residence.

 

[druchi]

"You didn't need to manipulate me like that."

And with that he went to go get some lho-sticks from the vending machine that always jammed. Of course he intended to use push and pull and not actually pay for anything in the machine. No one ever did he'd even caught a few of the Jedi Masters do it when they thought no one was watching. He wanted a decent rest before more training.