Ask The Jedi: An Answer Key

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia was uncertain what she had just agreed to but as so far, she was still alive and in the very least, this would make a great story she could tell her friends one day. Then again, she would need friends to tell this story to and therefore, she was just not entirely too certain about anything. However, Thalia for once felt fully safe from harm for the first time in her life as she sat beneath the tree. Max had told her to wait for him there, but she felt curious; never had she been to a world that was not touched by the ecumenopolis' such as Coruscant, Taris, and Nar Shaddaa. Even where she had grown up there was nothing natural, just duracrete and steel. There were serene feelings attached to this place that felt foreign, but left her relieved.

She pushed her fingertips into the cool dirt, feeling the dry soil in her hands as she let it spill from the spaces between her fingers. The girl repeated this gesture a few more times before she looked at her palms, dirtied by the soil, but now there was something tangible that made it look like there was something abnormal, unclean with her. Brushing her hands together to clean off any loose dirt, she pushed herself to her feet trying to see if Max was coming while removing her jacket. Unlike space, the air here was warm and dry and it certainly beat the downpours of the streets of Corellia.

Not seeing anyone around, Thalia looked at her hand and raised it, trying to see if she could project as she did back on Nar Shaddaa. Nothing of course came and she stood there instead with feelings of being a dork.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max liked to think that all Jedi had a list of planets that were just... empty like this one was. It made him feel like he was less of an outlier if it wasn't just him who felt so very much at peace on a planet that held no civilization and no life save for the most basic kinds of plant and fungal life.

Probably was just him.

But it made for a great place to start someone's journey into using the Force and it had worked for Nashyr in the past so he held hope that it would work out for Thalia as well. Wandering over to his sort-of Padawan, Max was carrying two long staffs of wood with him along with a couple of canteens filled with water. Setting the canteens down, he tossed one of the staffs for Thalia to catch.

"Alright lets get the blood pumping a little bit first, alright?" he called out to her, "Then, when your instincts have taken a step closer to the driving seat... we'll slow it right down and draw them, and the Force, out in a slow and measured way."

He twirled his staff with a grin.

"Plus I'm betting you wouldn't mind trying to hit me in my face."

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

She retracted her palm back to herself, looking down at it when she heard Max call out; caught a little bit off guard she rubbed her hands on her back and then comfortably rested her fists on her hips. He carried with him two staffs and some canteens and Thalia quirked an eyebrow as he explained his plan. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant or what it would entail as she caught the staff. She was still trying to wrap her head around the idea that her ability was not so abnormal as she once thought; and not only that but there seemed to be more like her and Max out in the galaxy.

It was a familiar idea, as though she knew he was telling the truth, but she was unable to back it with her own evidence- or experience. However, anytime she reached into the crevasses of her memory it felt like she was grasping barbs.

"Huh? Yeah..." she frowned, her thoughts escaping her as she thought she heard him say something about smacking him in the face with the staff. He made the twirl look so easy, "Lots, mostly other thieves, slavers are up there...you might be well at the bottom of that list." she said nonchalantly as she tried to twirl the staff, only sending the end flying into the center of her face with a THWACK.

Thalia cursed as she rubbed her face, irritated more so at the idea she just smacked herself with the staff than the pain it was causing her. "ARGH, kriff..." she groaned, "Okay! I'm ready now...this time for sure." she fussed and then took a deep breath in, "For sure..." Thalia sighed.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

He had caught her off balance he could tell... the fact that she had hit herself in the face with the staff was enough of an indicator of that and it had been hard for him to actually see that considering he had started trying to stop himself from laughing. Instead he managed to just grin a little bit but there was no way she wouldn't be able to tell that he was very amused by what had just happened. He almost couldn't help himself.

In fact, no, he couldn't help himself.

"If I say I caught that on holo, do I go up that list?" he joked a little bit before mournfully shaking his head, "Alas, the cameras weren't set up yet."

But she was ready to go ahead and so was he.

He didn't bother twirling or announcing that they were beginning, he just began. Moving forwards, he swung the staff at her in a quick horizontal swipe from her left as she was fussing and taking a deep breath and, strangely, still talking after she had declared that she was ready.

In his defense she had said she was ready.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Thalia held out her staff in front of her as though it were cursed to do as it did. She could hear Max laughing in the background, her eyes were watery, making it difficult to focus visually, but her own pain seemed to drown out the words he spoke. However, what she was not expecting was Max to immediately attack her with this staff. She wasn't even certain on what this training was about and it did not even register to her that she should be ready as he approached closely and quickly.

It was upon her inhale were her words and every breath she had was jutted from her lungs a he swung his staff into her side. At first she was stunned, but then she was suddenly annoyed and irritated that he had taken advantage of her while she was vulnerable. Nothing was making sense as she coughed and stumbled away from Max, her staff held in front of her, "What-cough-the kriff was that!" she coughed some more, "How is that going to help?!"

This wasn't the answer she was looking for, nor did she really understand how this would draw anything out except for her own blood.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max held up his left hand, still holding the staff easily in his right hand. He idly spun the staff in his right hand, his experience with his saberstaff meaning he was quite adept at it. He smiled a little bit at her reaction. She wasn't really badly hurt because he had been careful where and how he hit her.

It was more the shock mixing with the pain he supposed.

"You said you were ready." he pointed out before pointing to her with the staff, "It's going to help because it's an incentive. The Force will guide you to block when you know that not blocking will be painful. You can sit there and not feel any of it if there's nothing real behind the strikes I direct at you; you can't fool the Force. But if you know that you need to move, you need to react, faster than you have ever before?"

He nodded once.

"That's when the Force guides you and you slip into it without even meaning to." he gestured with his free hand, "Now try and hit me. If you can hit me once then we'll swap to my other method - deal?"

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

She was uncertain how he was yet to be shot dead by his enemies for how cheek he was. She guessed being ready was a different meaning for the old Jedi and grumbled to his observation that she could not argue with. He continued though, pointing to her staff and she looked down at it as though it had something special about it. She still wasn't understanding what he was necessarily speaking about, but a part of her still wanted to place the trust that it will all fall together and she would come to better understand how to recognize and control this innate Force ability.

He welcomed their lesson to continue, but this time, he instructed her to come to him. The agreement to hit him in order to move onto the next lesson.

Thalia frowned looking back down at the staff, "Okayyy..." she sighed uncertain how this was going to play out, there was clear self-doubt in what she was about to do. Her mind played with what she needed to do, where to hit him, how hard to hit him. She thought about the what ifs she hit him too hard or if she would just do so poorly he'd tell her to leave. Thalia shook her head and then gripped the staff with both hands. She closed the distance between the two of them her staff raised for a strike as she swung at him from over head. There was still uncertainty in her swing, but she was unsure what to expect as she then paused before striking him.

"I don't want to hurt you!" she gasped, "I'm not going to hurt you if I do manage to hit you will I?"

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Well she was more interested in the training now, even if she wasn't quite as eager as he would have liked. He understood why she might not be but it was still a little bit jarring. He was honestly used to people seeing the Force as an honest to god gift rather than a burden to be hated and hidden away.

Probably why he wanted to draw it out in her so she could find some kind of enjoyment in it.

But even as she seemed to find some resolve he could see it crumbling even as she grasped it. It wasn't something seen through the Force but rather something he could see in her eyes. Years as a cop and years as a Jedi now... he could see it when someone wanted to do something and here she was.

She didn't want to do this.

He took a deep breath as she shook her head and prepared himself. Rather than moving to block, Max relied on his instincts and merely looked at her as the staff came swinging at him. He was committed to staying where he was so he was able to see it almost reach him before she pulled it to a sudden stop.

"I'm glad you don't." he assured her with a soft smile, an air of understanding, "I've never enjoyed hurting people and I never got the impression you did either."

Reaching up, he pushed the staff away from himself.

"Don't worry; the Force can reinforce your body. Make hits feel like love taps. Your muscles so much stronger... you'll find out what it feels like as an ally soon I promise you Thalia."

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

She felt a little stupid asking such a question, but his reassurance would be what she needed. Pulling the staff back, Thalia took a step back and took a deep breath to clear her thoughts. It certainly different from firing a blaster and Thalia gripped her staff now with two hands, nodding in compliance to show she understood what Max was trying to teach her, or at least she was hoping she soon would; at the very least, she could use some tidbits in hitting others.

Backing up a few more steps, Thalia readied herself, her brow narrowed as she kept her focus on Max and not the doubts that were screaming in her mind. Swiftly she would approach Max, springing her staff behind her as she swung it around, her inexperience showed, but she had committed to this journey and she knew she would push through to get the answers she needed.

Thalia's staff flew into Max's left side, falling through with the hit regardless if it would make contact with Max or not. He would either move out of the way or blocked, her mind already trying to decide what move with next before she could even process.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

She seemed happy enough with his reassurances even if they were a little bit over-inflated. While it was true that the Force could protect him from much harm, it was also true that there wasn't much that could change the fact that being smacked in the face with a stick was going to hurt like... well like a smack to the face with a stick honestly.

"Good!"

This time he readied himself.

Thalia telegraphed her strike rather overtly so Max was able to react with plenty of time. Rather than block the strike straight, he had his staff cover his left side and as her strike came on in towards him he moved it upwards, sweeping her strike up with his staff over his head and away from himself to his upper right.

With Thalia likely overextended he would push forwards with his left shoulder to essentially shoulder barge her backwards in a push to try and unbalance her.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

Her strike came and Max was ready for it, his own staff lowered to meet her weapon, the goal was to strike him with her weapon, and now it was adverted. Max used his weapon to quickly raise her own over her head, Thalia pulled away, however, it was too late as she had left herself exposed to the Jedi; he stepped into her space, his bony shoulder was uncomfortable as she was knocked backwards, falling back onto her rear with an Oof.

Thalia jumped back up though, rubbing her chest where he had made contact and grasped her staff tightly, never minding the dirt on her clothes as she focused on Max. This sort of fighting was new to Thalia, but she would be a quick learner.

"Just need to hit you once, right?" she asked as she went for an attack, swinging the staff again at the same location as she stepped into Max, ensuring she closed any distance.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

That she jumped right back up spoke well of her resolve.

She might not have chosen this fight but now that the fight was upon her she did not back down from it and he respected that. It was the kind of attitude that might serve her well in the future. He did not know yet if she would become a Jedi or perhaps even a bounty hunter or ranger.

Hells, he didn't know if he was training a future enemy of the Galaxy in the making.

All he could see was that the young girl he had chosen to help was coming along. Grinning a little bit, he shrugged slightly as she rubbed at where he had made contact with her. With her coming at him again he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Just once, however you can."

She was coming in for an attack from the same angle and he suspected a trap but... well he wasn't going to just disarm said trap now was he? No, he was far more curious as to what the trap actually entailed and that meant springing the trap. Rather than dodging he held his staff to guard the side she was attacking in a straight block.

Max kind of hoped she would manage to send him sprawling.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

She was entirely expecting him to react the same as he did earlier, her instincts were already calculating before she was even aware, a feeling stirred that she couldn't control. When her staff made contact with his, her free palm jutted forward before he could giver her another shoulder to her chest and the Force erupted from her palm. It would in return hit Max in the chest, and as he hoped, it would more than likely send him sprawling backwards.

Thalia gasped, surprising even herself as she looked back at her palm, never minding Max for the moment as she tried to process this power that kept appearing when she least expected it. Though in his presence, she still felt more at ease to exposing it than those in the criminal underground. She did not feel the panic that often arose around strangers and she looked at Max, slowly walking over to him.

"Does that count?!" she asked before offering a hand. She wondered if that was what he was looking for, the use of the Force, but part of her was on guard, ready to withdraw her hand if he decided that they were continue with the spar.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

...

YES.

Max laughed all the way down to the ground and his backside's sudden introduction to the ground resulted in a jolt that caught the laughter in his throat... for about five seconds before he was laughing again. He grinned up at her as he looked at her both physically and with the Force.

She was aglow in the Force, having just tapped into it and used it consciously for the first time. Taking her offered hand, Max didn't bother to pick up his staff as he picked himself up off the ground with her help.

"Knocked an old man around - you proud?" he teased her but his grin was still in place, "That was perfect Thalia!"

He gestured to her hand.

"How did it feel? That time compared to the others?"

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

She smirked at his quip, feeling more relaxed about what she had just done than any other time prior. He took her hand and helped himself up form the ground, seemingly rather amused by her hit. She looked up from her hand, and in fact things felt different, "It..." she tried to search for the words on how it felt.

"Different..." she paused, her face contorted in puzzlement on how to further describe it, "It always was unpredictable, or at least it felt like it, but I could feel something-inside me-that knew more than what I knew for certain." Thalia frowned and relaxed her hand, "However, strange...I'm not having to run for my life following using it." she scratched her head clearly confused still, but more now in the sense of past and present, "I could trust myself, I could trust this instinct and everything would be okay." continued Thalia.

"What else can I do with it?" Thalia asked, feeling an acceptance that was pushing her curiosity, "How can I do that thing you did, so others did not see us?" she asked, "Can I do that? Or is it all just pushing things away? Can I use to disappear? Become invisible? Make you invisible?!" her eyes light up with ideas, trying to push her imagination as to what she could do.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Different huh?

Well he could deal with different. Different meant that it was no longer a source of panic, no longer something that rattled her to even feel let alone use. Hopefully it meant that Thalia was going to become far more comfortable with who she was beyond just her past and her actions.

The Force was a part that could not be denied.

He just listened and smiled a little bit as she described how it felt now. It felt good to know that he had helped someone to develop their skills a little bit more. He patted her on the shoulder lightly.

"The Force can do many things." he assured her with a widening of his smile, "Some things are illusions, like what I did on Nar Shaddaa, and some are more physical in natural. If you can push...? You can Pull."

He tugged at her ear playfully with the Force.

"Pushing and Pulling are some of the most basic but they're also some of the most consistently useful. But so are some other aspects of the Force; but they all require research and practice that we can't fit into one day. But..." he reached down into a bag he had brought along with him to reveal something she had likely never seen before, "I brought them with me in a way."

A Jedi Holocron unlocked itself as he held it within the palm of his hand until it hovered slightly over his palm.

"Psychometry, the beginnings of it at least. Force sustenance to ensure you can avoid ever feeling the gnarl of true hunger. Force enhancement to improve your body's durability and strength." he gestured for Thalia to take the holocron, "I know you don't want to be a Jedi, Thalia, and I'm not going to force you to. Instead I want you to take these teachings and become whatever you want to be."

Spoiler: Holocron

The holocron here isn't a named one and is one Max found himself on Yavin 4 before he repaired it and refitted it with the basic teachings for the Force powers listed above.

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

He patted her shoulder and Thalia inhaled deeply, letting out a long breath as though she had been holding it all in for many years. She glanced up at Max as he informed she could pull also, opposites in action and Thalia now wished she had a rock to try it on, she was certain Max did not want to be victim in her experiments of her abilities. Though a gentle tug on her ear brought her back to focus, informing research and training would be needed if she wished to continue to further develop and growth in her abilities. She watched him dig through his bag until he pulled out a cube, the device glowed and the pieces separated as he explained what she would be able to find on it.

Her jaw dropped slightly, having never seen such an object. She extended her own palm to collect it, the device closing up as the holocron sat in her grasp. Thalia frowned and stabbed her staff into the dirt to leave it upright as she tried to open the magic box again. She was uncertain on how Max did it as she looked for grooves to her finger nails in between to pull the pieces apart.

"Psychometry?" she asked, her face contorted in her puzzlement, suddenly feeling stupid for trying to open a box that was not going to open. "Is that like measuring things with the mind...doesn't sound useful...everyone should know how to do that in their mind." she stated, turning the cube in her fingers to look for a way inside.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Ah the young.

So taken by baubles and shiny things even if they had no idea how to actually use them properly. It was so bad in some people that you could give them an entirely useless, thoughtless, present of a metal orb and they would act as though it was the best thing they had ever experienced in their lives.

Still made him smile though.

"Psychometry to a Jedi is the ability to reach into the Force and see the history of an object." he informed her with a bright smile, "So if you held my lightsaber, for example, you would be able to see every time I have ever used it all the way back to the day I first created it. It really does help in investigations normally or to bolster understanding. Here..."

Holding Thalia's hand in his own, he let her feel the way he used the Force physically as he opened the holocron. He opened and closed it a few times to let her feel more closely how he actually did it before he let her try it for herself.

"Feel the connection; don't try and force it open."

@GABA

 

[Thalia Windraider]

As she fumbled with the cube, she listened to Max explain the ability and the longer he continued, the slower she turned the holocron, her thoughts drifting to past memories, once that seemed to fit inline with what he defined the ability. "I know that..." she whispered with her own inner realization. He reached out holding her hand, feeling the Force flow through him, and then through her, the holocron opening and closing slowly in response. She remained silent, just taking the moment to feel the Force.

There was warmth and peace, similar to that of the glow of the sun, but she felt it inside as it spread throughout her body. Thalia closed her eyes, becoming acquainted with the feeling before she felt Max release her hand, giving her a chance to open and close it on her own. Max of course made it look easy, but it felt like more effort when she did it on her own, though that same feeling of peace returned and Thalia opened her eyes to see the opened device before letting it close again.

"There are things I shouldn't touch though, right?" she asked and reached into her back pouch to pull out a small journal, "Some items I feel cold and full of pain...almost as though I am drowning." She looked at Max and glanced back at the book and handed it to him, "I have dozens of stories from things I would try to sell...but they always needed a story, and it seemed like the darker the story, the better they sold."

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Ah.

He wondered when the Dark Side would rear it's ugly head but it had always been bound to do so considering her past in dealing in Dark Side relics for profit. Taking the offered book, Max leafed through some of the stories with a small frown. It always amazed him, the depths of depravity and cruelty that some Sith had pushed themselves into in their quest for power.

How someone could so powerfully, utterly, lose their way from the side of basic morality always eluded him but he supposed if he understood them then it was because he was lost himself. He closed the book slowly, softly, before handing it back to Thalia with the reverence owed to such a dark collection of cautionary tales.

"I'm old enough and wise enough to know that I cannot forbid you from anything, nor even suggest it." he told her quietly, "Part of me wants to tell you to never touch something like that and dip into it's history. But the truth is... that is will always be your decision to make."

He smiled but it was smaller, shakier, than before.

"If you do, you will find yourself experiencing all of the pain, the anger, the fear and the hate. You will feel it as though it is your own and it will burn inside of you, Thalia." he grimaced, "If you must do it; don't hold onto it. Experience it and try and push it away. They are foreign emotions forced onto you by the object so you should find it easier to push them away from your own mind. And remember that if you need me, I'll come find you to help you."

@GABA