Marin's room was cool and dim, but still she couldn't sleep. Her entire body ached, and she couldn't shake the sense that something was... off. Something about this whole thing wasn't right. Frowning, she finally sat up, dangling her feet off the side of her bed for a moment. Her pulse was elevated. Breathing slowly, Marin tried to breath the irritation out and center. It didn't come easy.

And frankly, it was frustrating. She knew she had better control than this. It usually took a lot before something bothered her this much. But she was still bothered by what had happened a couple days ago... and also still a bit upset about Ethan's choice of punishment. She knew he was right, of course. Closing her eyes, she drew several slow breaths as she tried to relax into the Force.

For several long minutes, nothing happened. Then, abruptly, Marin found herself back in the same empty space as in her vision before acquiring the materials for her saber. Once again nothing seemed to happen, then Ethan walked into view, appearing abruptly even though she should have been able to see him coming from that direction. And when he spoke, it was firmly. "Now then, what exactly is bothering you, girl? Think hard..."

For perhaps two seconds, she stared at him in mute surprise before she shook herself and frowned. As there wasn't anywhere to sit, Marin sank down to the ground with a sigh, gesturing for him to do the same if he chose to. "I'm... not really sure." she admitted after a moment. "The main thing that keeps coming up is.." she paused, and her blue eyes locked with his for a moment. "This whole thing with Aran... it's brought back things I thought I'd laid to rest years ago.."

Her suggestion to sit was declined with a dismissive wave of his hand, and he waited patiently until she was done speaking before nodding. "And why is this, exactly? What is it that seems to bring these memories back?"

Her frown deepened, and she was silent for several minutes as she thought about it... examining the events of the last few days. "It's like... certain situations trigger it... but that's not what I intended. Our intent was to help me work on resisting techniques like J'oran used. I had no idea it would have that result..."

"And why do you think it did? Do you have an idea as to what might be preventing you from accepting these memories and moving on?"

For a long moment, she stared down at her hands, her left one flexing unconsciously. "I... thought I had. But... it's like I'm holding onto them... maybe because I feel I need validation... I don't know."

Frowning, Ethan himself paused for several moments at that. "And why would ye feel the need for validation? And validation of what, exactly?"

Again she was silent for perhaps a minute as she really thought about his question. And when she answered, she didn't quite look at him."I... thought that maybe some people would think I was too young... and moving to fast. And... I guess I thought perhaps they needed to know what I'd been through before they'd accept me..."

At that, he shook his head firmly. His response was soft, yet never lost it's firm tone. "And yet, has anyone you've met so far honestly felt that way?"

"A few times, but ... not in a while.." she whispered, looking away in shame as she began to realize what she'd been unintentionally doing to herself.

"For example, the colonists know very little of your past, and yet they trust you to protect them without question, do they not?"

"Aye... though a couple know most of my story now. They've sworn to not tell anyone else." She sighed and flexed her left hand again, feeling the ghost of pain.

Another nod, then Ethan continued. "Proving once again that they trust in you, correct? And how many around you have ever once brought up your age when determining if you could or could not do something, whether they know your tale or not?"

"Well... no one...that I'm aware of..." she said softly after a second or two.

"And think, how many of us have questioned Aran's character or skills since he's arrived? He's only older than you by two years, by most cultures he isn't an adult yet. And he hasn't even been through as much as you have."

"Point..." she allowed softly, absently twisting a lock of hair in her fingers before she looked up at him. "I... still don't know why I was so quick to trust him... Until that one incident he's never lied, nor misled me."

"And that is part of why no one has questioned him. You're good at knowing when someone is lying, but you sensed nothing of the like from him. It may also be why you trusted him that easily. The entire encounter in the woods, he threatened when necessary, but when it was no longer needed he simply talked...and spoke honestly the entire time."

"Aye..." she said softly. "I felt no deceit nor ill will from him, and that rattled me a bit, because I recognized the kyr'tsad sigil. I almost didn't want to trust him... but then he gave me no reason not to..."

At this, he smiled. "Aye, but one always needs to remember that someone being aligned with a certain faction does not necessarily mean the individual's character is the same as the general conception of said faction. There are always anomalies."

She flushed slightly. "I know it upset Jarod a bit when he learned of it." A sigh before she continued. "I'm just not exactly sure how to... let go of those memories.."

"First off...you acknowledge that they are events from your past, correct? And that they should have no right to govern how you act here and now?"

She nodded after a second or so."Aye... I do."

Nodding, Ethan then continued calmly. "And your left arm...what do ye see when looking at it?"

She frowned slightly and actually looked down at her left hand in time to see the fingers flex for a moment. As if she was getting sensation back - but she knew they were fine. She studied her hand for a moment before closing her eyes and feeling it in the Force. "I still get twinges now and again, even though I know it's fully recovered."

"It is your arm, is it not? You're allowing a memory to control it...you need to regain what should be yours to use freely."

She looked at him askance for a moment. "Of course it is... what do you mean...?"

"You know it is in fact your arm, and yet it frequently flexes on it's own...why is this?"

"I..." She stopped and frowned before she looked down at her left hand - just in time to see it start flexing again. She stared at it, willing it to stop... and it did, but not easily. "I..think... perhaps there is a buried memory there... somehow..."

"Correct, you keep dwelling on the memories of what happened when J'oran had you...and that arm keeps constantly reminding you of that. And it will do so until you've faced the memory there and accepted it for what it is...a memory."

Her next question was blunt and to the point. "How...?"

At that, Ethan quirked an eyebrow and managed a slight chuckle. "If it were as easy as something that could be taught, ye wouldn't have had to deal with it this long. Nayc...that is something you'll have to find out on your own."

She sighed in exasperation then and carefully pushed to her feet again. "You did make your point yesterday..." she told him quietly.

After a moment, he responded cryptically. "Did I...?" This being said, he slowly faded out of view. He did continue speaking as he did so, however. "Take time to try and move past these memories, when you feel that you've succeeded in doing so...I will return and you will be able to leave. But, you have to do the rest on your own."

Swearing under her breath, Marin sank to the ground again and sighed heavily. So... she was stuck here until she figured it out. Just kriffing wonderful. Her left hand spasmed again, and she sighed as she turned her attention back to her breathing.

A few more deep breaths, and Marin slowly began to sink into herself, even as she reached for the Force. This wasn't something she'd done before, but she knew it was necessary. Cautiously, she moved her consciousness into her left arm, and expanded her senses to surround it. What she felt shocked her. She could clearly feel the echoes of what had happened to that hand... the pain, and the despair.

Frowning, she moved her consciousness deeper into her arm and reached for the tendrils of pain that she could feel surrounding the muscles in her arm. When she pulled on them, she had to bite back a scream. Kriff, it hurt. How could she untangle that emotional mess without a huge amount of agony?

Back in the workshop, Aran had finally finished working on the speeder. Jarod left a while ago, leaving the young man to his solitary work. But, he honestly preferred it that way. No distractions, just him and a specific task to complete...it was simple and allowed for a great deal of focus.

Now that he was finished, however, he decided to check on Marin. He knew she was resting, but he was more concerned with her mental state. And so, he carefully reached out in the force to locate her. Once this was done, he gently probed at her presence to see if he could get a feel for her mental state. Instead, however, he was assaulted by the distinct feeling that he was being sucked in.

Moments later, he Aran found himself in a blank space, looking down at Marin. After a few seconds of staring in confusion, he stammered quietly. "Where...? Wha...? Marin, what the kriff is this?"

At his words, Marin was jolted from her meditation, and completely lost her focus in the process. In her mind, she could see the tendrils of pain reattach themselves to the nerves in her arm, and her entire left arm spasmed. She cursed then, and in reflex reached for her DE-10. Her voice was ice. "I'd ask you the same thing..." she said slowly, her blue eyes burning into his. "I was not expecting... visitors.."

Backing off a few steps, he tried several different responses, but wound up with unintelligible syllables. After a moment, he managed to take a calming breath before finally speaking as close to calmly as he'd managed so far, though it was still shaky. "How would I know...? I haven't seen or done anything like this before! I was trying to check and see how you were doing, and then, well...this happened!"

She held his gaze for a long moment. "How..." she swore softly. "Nevermind. I was... meditating and ended up here, myself. And, I'm not to leave until I have... learned a few things. Trust me, I've tried to leave twice already. It's like a holovid being stuck on repeat." She frowned.

At this, he frowned deeply before looking around in confusion. "So...you have no control over this, even though it's clearly in your head...? How is that even possible?"

She frowned and then shrugged. "I didn't choose to enter this vision. Sometimes, they just happen... the Force trying to teach me something more often than not. For me, I'm trying to figure out exactly what that is. But, the figure I saw in my vision told me that I'm not to leave until I've figured out what the lesson is... and how to apply it." She frowned. "And, as has happened in the past, it... manifested in the way of someone close to me... which given recent events - made it a bit difficult." She broke off. "Still doesn't explain how you're here, though. I thought you could only read thoughts.."

"I see..." He trailed off in thought for several long moments, then, as he considered that last bit. "That's what I thought, aye. But...this place gives me the distinct feeling that I'm not wanted here, so I doubt the vision itself is to blame. I just...I don't know...could I be wrong?"

She frowned. "What do you mean.. this place gives you that feeling..?"

"It feels as if it's...trying to force me out, like it's trying to reject a foreign object that doesn't belong in this place. If that's the case, then I somehow put myself here."

She frowned again. "This place... its where I'm brought by the Force when there is something I need to learn. That's why I'm here... but you being here is strange... you don't know how it happened?"

He shrugged, sighing in frustration. "I was trying to sense your emotions, but I couldn't for some reason. So I pushed a bit harder...and now I'm here."

"Perhaps there is more to your ability than you originally thought..." she said softly, and closed her eyes, trying to reach out and eject him from the vision. Although... maybe there was something to be learned from his being here. If he could insert himself into her private visions like this... what was to keep him from doing other things..? She was still troubled by how easily she had trusted him.

Aran shuddered slightly as he felt her trying to eject him, and for a moment did nothing, beginning to slowly fade out. But, then he decided to test and see if he was in fact the cause of him being here...and exerted his own will back towards staying. Within seconds, not only was he fully there again...but he'd managed to surround himself with a translucent bubble of protective energy. When he spoke again, it was softly. "This is...your vision...I shouldn't be able to mess with it, right?" He was panicking slightly, and that crept into his voice.

She stared at him in shock. "What the... kriff...?" her left hand spasmed again, and she ignored it for now. "Nayc.. you shouldn't..." She muttered under her breath, starting to panic as well. Her calm was starting to fray.

With this revelation in hand, Aran began backtracking over his past, trying to find discrepancies. And in this endeavor, he succeeded. No one ever seemed to question him...why? After a moment, he spoke again...more calmly this time. "I'm going to try something...see if you can sense deception in the next thing I say." He let a few seconds pass for this to sink in, then continued. "I bear no ill will towards Beviin." Even though Marin knew this to not be accurate, and could thus ignore it, she would nonetheless have the distinct feeling that he was speaking honestly.

She frowned again, and something in his voice changed now that she was paying attention. "What the kriff...?" Her tone was... wary, and yet there was a slight edge of panic to it, even as she tried to keep her focus. She knew the vision wouldn't end for her until she'd learned what she needed to.

Swearing profusely, he sank down to a seated position. "It felt like the truth, didn't it...?"

"Aye..." she said softly, her gaze not leaving his face. "Which means, you may have been unconsciously manipulating... not only me, but others you've come into contact with.."

He was silent for several long seconds as this sunk in. Sure, he'd come to the same conclusion...but hearing it out loud made it that much worse. When he finally did speak, it was nearly silent. "Ni ceta...I, I had no idea...I guess that explains that..."

She sighed, and her left hand flexed again. "Leave, gedet'ye..." Her voice was a bit strained, and her hands were shaking slightly. She didn't know what to make of the most recent revelation. Taking a slow breath, she tried to strengthen her mental shields.

A moment passed in silence, then Aran nodded and wordlessly began to fade away. He had no words to properly express how he felt at that point, so...there was no point in trying.

As he faded away, Marin drew her knees up at buried her face in her arms. She was shaking badly, and it was all she could do not to scream in frustration. She felt... betrayed.

Ethan's voice filtered in, then, even though he did not show up visually. "That was...unfortunate, but don't tell me you're going to let this keep you here? You can deal with that later, with assistance...right now you have a task to focus on."

She stiffened slightly at his words, feeling almost like he'd verbally smacked her. She knew what he was trying to do, though. Growling under her breath, Marin slowly unfolded herself and settled into a seated position again. "How..can I trust him after something like that...?"

"Time, let him prove himself honestly after he's figured out how to control his abilities. You know about it now...so spotting it's use should be simple, girl."

She sighed heavily. "You're right..." She then let her hands fall to her lap again with a sigh as she tried to focus again. "I... tried to eject him from the vision, but I couldn't... why?"

"He exerted himself against the attempt, quite simply...he's able to exceed your control over this space. It's...rare, but not unheard of. If one follows reasoning, it would seem his inability to manifest externally has led to a dramatic increase in his ability to alter mental states, much as blindness enhances your other senses. Useful, yes, but also potentially dangerous."

She shuddered slightly at that thought. "It.. scares me a bit that he can do that..." She muttered under her breath. "I just wish there was a way to keep him out of this space. It's hard enough being here, but it feels like he... invaded a private place.."

"It may very well be possible when you're in the right state of mind, but right now you are not...we both know why."

Sighing again, she closed her eyes and tried to breathe out her frustration as she tried to focus again.

After a moment, Ethan's voice softened ever so slightly. "This time, try focusing more on dissolving it instead of pulling it apart...you never know."

Frowning, she focused in as she had before. The ghosts of memory and the remembered pain sent a chill down her spine. When she was focused in again, she breathed deeply and carefully pushed out towards the tendrils of it that wrapped along the length of her arm like a spiderweb. "I don't..." she started to say, but then she decided to try it. Instead of trying to forcefully detach it as she had before, she began projecting Force energy at it. As pure of energy as she could manage, trying to dilute what was collected there.

This certainly had more of an effect than her attempts at forcing it, as the tendrils shrank down ever so slightly. No pain was caused by this, either.

Frowning, she continued working at it in this fashion until the tendrils were all but gone, leaving nothing more than a black mass of... she wasn't sure what it was... floating freely a few centimeters above the muscles of her arm. She then focused in tighter, and drew deeper into the Force, pulling more energy into herself as she sought to break up the remaining mass.

This garnered a reaction, however, as the mass abruptly assaulted her with images and sensations attached to the memories of what happened back then. It was trying to overwhelm her and defend itself.

Marin gasped, and her entire body went rigid for a moment as her mind struggled to process the overload of information. But she fought it. Gritting her teeth, Marin began whispering something under her breath, even as she drew even deeper into the Force. Her body began to glow faintly, a golden aura shot through with flecks of silver and orange... not unlike the blade of her lightsaber. And still she struggled to maintain focus, even as the assault continued. The mental force of it causing her body to spasm a few times - not unlike her left hand had done for the last 3 years.

The assault slowly began dwindling then, even though it occasionally flared up with sudden intensity. It was still fighting back, but Marin was slowly gaining the advantage.

Her breathing was labored, and her eyes tightly closed as she worked to keep her focus on her task. Finally, with a last push, she felt the last of it explode into nothingness before she collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, sweat streaming down her face.

After a few moments, Ethan once again walked into view, and his voice was firm as he spoke. "Do you feel that your memories have been overcome and accepted, then...?"

It took a few moments for Marin to catch her breath. But after a minute, she nodded. "I..." she said softly, sounding rather tired. Her hands shook slightly - not from the nerve damage, but from the sheer amount of energy that had flowed through her. It took a few more breaths to still that before she slowly sat up, brushing hair from her face.

He was smiling, then, and slowly faded away once again as he spoke. "Your work here is done, then, girl. You can leave now...well done."

She took a deep breath and after a few seconds, the vision-space slowly began to fade away. When she came to her senses, she was sitting in the same position she had been before entering the vision. Slowly, she unfolded herself, wincing a bit at how stiff she was. it had been... hours by her guess.

Her guess as to how long it had taken was indeed accurate, and several hours had passed even after Aran had left as per her request. He had considered physically leaving, but, he wasn't about to go back on the punishment Ethan had assigned...so he had spent the time curled up nearly in a ball in the corner of the room he had been given. This latest revelation had him questioning everything he'd done over the years, and well...he wasn't even slightly happy about the whole thing.

Slowly, Marin stood... and then wished she hadn't. The room spun alarmingly, and she sat down hard, but missed the edge of the bed and instead ended up on the floor. Her hands were shaking slightly, and she didn't much care if anyone had heard her fall. She was still trying to sort out what had happened over the last few hours.

It didn't take long for this to garner a reaction, as Ethan came storming into the room less than a minute later. Not wasting time, he spoke calmly. "Marin...? What happened, girl?"

As his voice filtered into his awareness, she looked up sharply and then immediately held a hand to her forehead. "I... I'm not sure how to explain it..." she whispered as she tried to get her hands to stop shaking.

He sighed at that, and crouched slightly so they were on about the same level. "Just try listing everything important for now, then..."

She swore under her breath then and closed her eyes for a moment. "I had... a Force-vision... similar to the one where I saw buir during the construction of my saber. This one... lasted hours... I don't even know how long." For now, she did not mention that he had been in the vision. She was rattled enough as it was.

"A figure appeared to me, and we spoke. He.. urged me to... face my past... to overcome it.." she shuddered slightly. "Not a simple task." She briefly outline what had happened, even though she wasn't sure he understood it all. And.. she wasn't sure how he'd react to the news about Aran.

Almost a full minute passed as Ethan processed this, and then his response came. "So...let me get this straight. You've finally managed to overcome your memories, though with great effort, but now we know Aran is a lot more potentially problematic than we originally thought? Do I have that about right...?"

"Basically, yes..." she replied quietly, not quite looking at him. She was to blame primarily for everyone else trusting Aran. She felt like a di'kut.

He swore softly at that, but managed to continue calmly. "Let me ask ye this, then...in your honest opinion, do you believe he was actively trying to deceive us?"

She sighed then, and carefully pushed to a sitting position against the side of her bunk. "I don't feel he was, no. It's more of an unconscious thing on his part. Something he wasn't aware of. He... somehow inserted himself into my vision when he couldn't find me..."

"This is probably something we'd need to consult with Callista on, then, isn't it? Or even Karrde, if she can't figure it out."

Nodding, she spoke softly. "Aye. I should probably talk to one... or both of them... I can't fully make sense of it, myself."

Sighing, he gave a slight nod before responding to that, offering an arm for support standing as he did so. "Come on, then, she's in the kitchen...you should probably eat, anyway."

Nodding, she carefully pushed to her feet, and with Ethan's assistance slowly made her way into the kitchen. Callista was indeed there, busying herself at the stove with a boiling pot in front of her. As she heard them enter, she turned slowly and reached out to Marin in the Force. "Mar'ika... are you alright..? Ethan... what happened?"

Ethan helped Marin over to a seat before turning to address Callista. "She's more or less fine, or will be, at least. But...good news and bad news..." He then went on to calmly and carefully explain what had happened, with Marin offering information when he wasn't sure on something.

Callista frowned as she listened, and absently fiddled with the hem of her sleeve. "It does sound like he has some untapped ability there..." She looked to Ethan for a moment before looking back to Marin as she reached out. "He's still in the house... in his room, it looks like. Ethan, what would be your recommendation?"

He frowned at that, and contemplated the question for a few moments before sighing. "Well, he needs to learn how to not mess with people...that I know for certain. Beyond that, I'm not sure there's much else we can do other than us or Karrde keeping a close eye on the boy."

She nodded. "I can try and work with him some, if you think that will help?"

"I seriously doubt it could hurt, at least. He's not trying to cause harm...just doesn't know how to control it as far as we can tell."

"Aye, that was my read on it as well." she paused and looked at Marin. "Are you ok, Mar'ika?"

Biting her lip for a moment, Marin nonetheless nodded. "Elek, I think so...just feel like a bit of a di'kut for not realizing sooner, I guess."

Callista squeezed Marin's shoulder for a moment. "It's alright, you didn't know.."

"But...how could I not? Shouldn't it be simple to pick up when someone's trying to influence my thoughts..?"

"Not always..." Callista said softly. "That's part of why it tends to work so well."

A few moments passed in silence, then Ethan sighed heavily before speaking again. "Would you mind having a word with Aran, then, Callista...? I can keep Marin company here."

"Certainly..." she said softly. "I can go do that now, if you like.."

"Probably wouldn't be a bad idea, I think...odds are he's at least as confused about this as we are."

"Mhm.." She looked to Marin. "Is there anything else you need before I go, Mar'ika?"

At that, Marin shrugged before responding quietly. "Something to eat would be good, though I can really grab something myself."

"If you're sure, Mar'ika.." she replied before before passing her a bowl filled with the stew she'd been making. To this, she added a chunk of fresh-baked bread. That being done, she shared a look and a brief kiss with Ethan before she rose and headed towards Aran's room.

Sighing once again, Marin then concentrated on eating to keep herself occupied for the moment.

Meanwhile, Aran was still curled up in the corner of his room, muttering almost incoherently. In truth, it was a mix of curses in several different languages, including Mando'a.

When she reached his room, Callista knocked quietly. "Aran.. may I come in..?"

Quietly hissing out a particularly unpleasant curse, he slowly shifted to a seated position against the wall. Working out a few kinks in his joints, he sighed before calling out softly. "I suppose so, aye..." If she was here, and not Ethan, he had a feeling Marin was back and told them what happened. He wasn't sure what to think of that, but...it had to be done.

Sighing, she slowly pushed the door open and stepped into his room. "Aran..." She frowned when she saw him and moved over to him quickly. "Anything I can do?"

Sighing heavily once again, he shrugged before responding quietly. "I have no idea, to be honest. Thought I was more or less harmless when it came to Force use...so much for that theory..."

Callista was silent for a moment. "You weren't aware you were doing it. And, with time and some training it could be put to good use." She sighed. "As far as Marin goes, she's been through quite a lot lately."

"I...suppose you're right, but it doesn't change the fact that I've been messing with everyone here. If you ask me...not being aware of the fact just makes it worse." Was his quiet response, and he shuddered slightly.

Sighing again, she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Stop beating yourself up. It's not something you could control, so we can't really fault you for it."

Aran sighed once again at that, but finally nodded. "I can't really dispute that, I suppose...but what exactly can I do about it?"

"Marin said you consciously tried to show her once you figured it out. Now that you know it's there... you need to focus on not letting it exert control."

Frowning deeply, he fell within himself for a solid minute. Then, he spoke quietly and without warning. "Let's see...there are no hidden weapons in ner beskar'gam." This statement, unlike everything else he'd said so far during his stay, was quite easily recognized as untrue.

Her eyebrow quirked at that. "Again..." She could feel the pressure his inherent ability was trying to exert on her mind, but she easily ignored it. And only because she'd trained to do so after her own bad experiences.

Several more moments passed in silence before he tried again. "I...hold a grudge against Ethan." This time, the suggestion was minimal...but it was still there to an extent.

"Good... Again..." she said evenly, sending him calming thoughts.

Closing his eyes, he focused intently on what he needed to -not- do. Several moments later, he spoke once again...this time managing to keep any influence out of the false statement, though he actually shuddered slightly from the effort. "I agree wholeheartedly with the ideals of Kyr'tsad."

"Better.." she said softly, as she gently reached out in the Force, trying to ease his worry. "How much longer are you on house restriction..?"

"Five days, unless I've lost track of time."

She nodded, hoping her efforts were having an effect. She could tell he was really worked up about the whole thing. "It'll work out, Aran. Marin just needs a little time to work through her experience today. Visions like that.. and her vision encounter with Beviin are... difficult to handle for some. Marin's only dealt with visions three times. Two of those, she had to face some hard lessons about herself."

Sighing once again, he nonetheless nodded. "I can understand that...time can easily be provided. Myself, I...think I'll stay in here whenever I'm not currently working on something."

"Are you sure...?" her question was quiet as she studied his face for a few moments.

"Aye, I'm sure...the last thing I want to do is cause more trouble."