Raize wasn't sure what to make of this new mercenary. They were wearing a fancy-looking outfit, buttoned up, long-sleeve, orange in color. The mercenary had heterochromatic eyes, one was green, the other red, and she wore little pince-nez glasses over her little pink nose. The faintly rabbit-esque alien mercenary had a golden and silver cane that they twired, long ears flopping down from their white-furred head, a smile on their face. They had a long tail ending in a light brownish/tan tuft, and big feet, with three toes as she bowed to Darth Raize.
"You sure about this?" Raize asked of Furiosa. They were standing in the top floor of their beautiful headquarters as the dark-skinned woman nodded, Raize twirling a lock of her dark hair, frowning a bit as the merc twirled their cane. "I know Frequency highly recommended them but…I mean, they look kind of ridiculous. And their connection to the force is…strange."
Indeed, this being felt…off. Odd. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was sure they were a Force Sensitive, but the type of power she was emanating was so…strange, so unusual, so…exotic. The merc smiled as they tilted their head a bit.
"Want me to show you what I can do? Attack me." Ember said, the mercenary nodding as Raize stared at them, confused.
"…full on? With my powers? You're sure."
"Yep. Go for it." Ember intoned. Even how they SPOKE sounded odd as Raize shrugged, and then launched herself forward, tapping into the force to accelerate her speed, swinging with her fist to punch Ember.
Big mistake! Ember launched their cane up and swept their hand as they got into a fighting stance, one fist held up behind the merc's head, the other having their palm held up in the other. Burning flames swept forth as they swept their palm, Raize reeling back, gasping in surprise as Ember then caught the cane they'd tossed up, and shot forward, easily bursting through the wall of flames they had erected. THA-THWOOOSH!
THWAM! In an instant, the mercenary had struck Raize with the cane, knocking them through the air, sending Raize cascading across the floor, flopping onto her back as she groaned, struggling to get to her feet as Ember then launched herself at Raize. She swept at her with the cane, Raize leaping back again and again, twisting and turning, avoiding Ember's strikes as best she could. At last, she launched herself at Ember, leaping over her thrown punch, slamming her foot down.
THWUMHF! Ember caught her foot, and grinned, launching Raize back as Raize righted herself in midair, landing down as Ember spun their cane, fire twirling around it as Raize rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "How are you doing that?"
"I can't connect to the Force as you do…I tap into the "Living Force" naturally in my body, known as "Ki", I suppose you'd call it." Ember intoned as they shrugged. "So who exactly is the target you want me going after?"
Raize smiled. "We've got spies everywhere checking in on various Republic figures. We want you to check in on this temple and bring it down…"
"I have to admit, when you arrived, I reached out with the Living Force when I sensed you had Force Users on board. But I didn't think you'd have…well, I mean, for one, I thought you were bringing two children."
Kendall deeply turned red in the face. Here he was, facing THE Luke Skywalker, brown hair in a fringe that flopped over his forehead, a slightly cleft chin, blue eyes, soft and deep, and he wore a simple black robe with a white long-sleeve shirt and pants underneath, with a big belt on it that had many satchels. And…well…he wasn't measuring up at all.
"I know, I know, my connection to the force is abysmal, right?" Kendall sighed as he glanced away, shamefacedly shaking his head. He stood alongside Omarosa as the orange-eyed teenager put her hands on her hips, looking balefully at Luke. Luke, meanwhile, was rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he glanced at Kendall, then at Omarosa, then back at Kendall.
"My connection to the Force is just fine, thank you very much, you disgusting-" Omarosa began to say before Chewie let loose a loud "HRRRAAANNNGGH" of a noise as he stood right behind her, Han cringing as Omarosa "harrumphed". Chewie did NOT want her saying such stuff around a child. Indeed, he had a cute little kid with fluffy red locks, thick hair indeed that was a mess over his little head, an adorable baby boy around two at most that was held carefully in Luke's synthetic hand.
"Your connection isn't "marginal" but it is, well…" Luke tried to find the right words. He knew full well what it felt like to not measure up to the standards set by Jedi legends. He didn't want to follow Yoda's path of mentorship. It had worked for Yoda well enough, but he wanted to be his own teacher. "It's small. It's very limited and meager, but you should be very proud of it all the same. Think of it as…an early version of a ship's computer." He stopped rubbing his chin and gently rocked his child back and forth, smiling warmly at the tyke before smiling up at Kendall. "Compared to later models, it might not be as powerful, but you are wringing every little ounce of power you DO have out of it. Many who use the Force only coast on a fraction of what they can do, and think that's enough. It means a lot to be able to have such a wide use of the Force skill you have, even if you're working with a limited sample. You simply need to expand that sample!"
"I…guess that makes me feel a little better." Kendall admitted quietly. "Do you think you could help me, sir?"
"I take everyone the help of any who want it here at Pokito." Luke said as they walked along the natural pathway towards his home, winding along the hills as the water beat at the edges of the large island he lived at. Beautiful lush green grass lined the hills of the island, the call of gulls and marine animals breaking the noise of crashing waves whilst small little packs of odd, strange, squat creatures poked their heads up from rock formations. They appeared to be a mixture of puffin and mammal, an odd blend of white and brown with big black eyes as Chewie frowned a bit, seeing a few following after him, waddling about like penguins.
"Those creatures are called "Porgs". My little peanut Fa'hn loves them. Just adores them!" Luke admitted as he ruffled little Fa'hn's hair, the baby giggling as he reached out with cute but stubby little hands at the porgs. The salty air of the sea wafted into their nostrils as Kendall took in deep, long breaths. He felt oddly…at peace. Calm. It was so strange. He'd almost never felt that at home on Logos except for…well, in a few very specific locations. One had been with his beloved Link, and the other, ironically…had been in his local church.
The music had always been…there were few things his race did well. But he did always like the music at church. It WAS a comfort to him. Looking at the beautiful statue of Ethos that hung in the church was immensely pleasing to Kendall. He could stare for hours at the craftmanship put into Ethos's statue, the amazing detail in how the artist had rendered the face, the eyes, and the texture of his leafy Crown of Morality…
Being here brought that same feeling as Omarosa felt over herself, blinking strangely. "This can't be right. I feel…oddly…okay."
"Why's that weird?" Kendall asked, confused.
"I haven't felt so not tense or angry or irritated in weeks. And yet now I feel really…well, DANDY!" She admitted, throwing her hands up in the air. "The fuck is going on?"
"Pokito has an incredibly free-flowing, natural, and immensely…well, FORCEFUL connection to the Force." Luke chuckled. "Specifically, the Unifying Force. You're all probably going to have a special experience here."
Up ahead was quite an impressive facility indeed, an enormous circular thing with smaller buildings spiralling around it, almost looking like a makeshift eye if you viewed it from above. There were very lovely, large windows lining the facility where, if you looked within, you could see people sitting down on mats, concentrating, clearly in meditation. Others were hovering above these mats, a few others were testing out lightsabers in combat against training droids, the soft hum of the sabers echoing through the air, wafting out of the slightly opened windows. The wind wafted through all their hair as Han chuckled.
"Quite a nice sight, Luke. And thanks again for letting me be Fa'hn's godfather. Leia said she wants to stop by soon to have a talk with you too, and to brush up on some lightsaber training techniques she'd like to dive into." Han confessed. "Or at least that's what she says, I think she also has a birthday surprise planned for me. Whenever she wants to plan something for my birthday, she always rushes to you and says it's "Jedi stuff" and the like." Han sheepishly confessed.
"It'll be great to see Leia again. Now remember, everyone is here to learn at their own pace. And the teachers here, myself included, are here to help, however we can. My wife Mara especially." He said as they approached a group of students who were currently outside of the facility, sitting around Mara Jade herself. Omarosa let loose a deep whistle as her eyes went wide.
"Now THAT'S…a woman." She murmured as Kendall went "Huh" looking at her. Were he actually into women, he probably would have, indeed, found her beautiful. Long, flowing locks of red hair, majestic green eyes, a powerfully-built, well-toned body, not overly muscular but refined like a fine athlete…and wearing a pair of tight-fitting robes and cloth wrappings around her arms and legs. She was showing off a lightsaber, waving it softly through the air, the purple lightsaber looking impressive indeed!
There was an edge to her eyes, though. Kendall could see it. As somebody who'd frequently treated people at the free clinic, he got to know people through their eyes, and those were the eyes of somebody who'd taken life many…MANY times before. He hesitantly gulped as they approached Mara, who held the lightsaber up, pointing at the handle.
"Now, remember, a lightsaber is going to be unique to each of you. You may feel a kinship with it because your own power flows through it, the way the Force flows through you. That's natural. But remember, it's also just a tool. Do not get too attached to it. Never get so attached to ANYTHING if you want to follow the Jedi path. You have to be willing to put aside even your deepest personal feelings if it means doing the right thing." Mara was explaining. "If the choice is between your own life…the life of the one you love, even, and and saving the lives of hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions…you know what you have to do. With luck, what we will teach you will make sure that day doesn't ever come, and you'll be able to find a better solution. But sometimes, you'll be forced to set your moral code aside in the name of saving lives."
"Does that mean you'd even give up your own child if it meant…well…saving a city? A planet?" One of the students inquired, raising a hand up, the Nemoidian looking confused as Mara clearly hesitated, before a sad expression crossed her face and she nodded.
"I…I would." She murmured. "Because I know my son wouldn't want a mother who'd let thousands or millions of innocents to die if it meant she got to live and they didn't. And my husband wouldn't want that. And…and at the end of the day, I don't want that either. I would live with that guilt forever…but if I had to…I would. A Jedi has to be willing to give everything up if it means saving innocent lives. You have to put others, the greater good, before your own desires."
"That sounds super difficult. I mean, the greater good can be so subjective." The Nemodian student admitted as several others nodded.
"It can seem like that, yes." Luke announced as he stepped forward, people gasping in awe at his appearance or smiling broadly or grinning. "But we live in a galaxy with a literal Light and Dark side to the Force we tap into. There is a right. There is a wrong. And the distinction isn't too hard to make. Do right by all." Luke said as he ruffled Fa'hns hair and Kendall gulped. "Mara, Han and Chewie brought some friends."
Mara saw Kendall and smiled cheerily at him before she noticed Omarosa, whistling a bit. "Oooh, I think I can see what type of Force skills you'd be good at based off how you're dressed." She admitted as Omarosa snorted.
"Oh c'mon, you can't tell that." She said as she shook her head, hair flopping about.
"You used to box, right?" Mara inquired as Omarosa stared at Mara, her mouth becoming slowly agape. "Or perhaps…mixed martial arts? And I'm guessing you did a lot of hunting on desert planets?"
"How did you know that?" Omarosa asked, stunned as Mara pointed at Omarosa's hands.
"I can see, faintly, scars on your fingers and your wrists and hands. Those are incredibly common boxing injuries." Mara nonchalantly intoned. "You've got some little hunting trophies hanging from your belt and your backpack that you brought here, all of them are reptilian tails that I recognize, the majority are from creatures like dewbacks, anoobas, orrays, ro hypa's. They all live on desert planets. And those tattoos…" Mara rubbed her chin. "I used to run in Sith circles when I once worked under the Empire, directly for Palpatine himself. They're not all recognizable, but enough of them are that I can tell they're Sith tattoo markings, inspired by the original Sith race that first established a galaxy-wide empire." Mara admitted.
"You used to work for Palpatine?" Kendall was astounded, his eyes going wide as Mara nodded.
"I was the "Emperor's Hand" a long time ago. Luke and I found each other completely by accident. I was certain he'd kill me because he could tell I was a Sith, and I HAD been in the middle of trying to contact Imperial forces for a pickup on the planet I'd crash-landed on." Mara sheepishly admitted with a nervous smile. "It looked very bad indeed, but instead, he turned his saber off and said he'd hear me out. We just sort of…began to talk. And talk. And…well, one thing led to another and before we knew it, we were leaving together on his ship and chatting like we'd been friends for years. Then within a couple years, we'd gotten married, then had a child a few years later."
Luke smiled as he nodded and let Fa'hn run over to his mom as she turned her saber off and picked him up, swinging the adorable tot around as she gave her son lots of cute horse kisses on his tummy. PHHBBBTTT! Omarosa visibly flinched, glancing away as Luke turned to Kendall. "What would you like to try and focus on first?"
"Can…can you help me connect to the Force through…um…visions? That sort of thing?" Kendall nervously asked. "I know my father was a Force sensitive. And I know that…well, when you die, if you've got a strong enough connection to the Force, you can become one with it. I-"
"Say no more. I understand completely. There's nothing wrong with wanting to see the ones you love again. There is no Death. There is the Force." Luke offered. "Within the Force, we all live on." He led Kendall through a doorway, into the facility as Kendall glanced around, Mara looking over in Kendall's direction again as she then let Han hold Fa'hn, as Han tickled the kid and gently rocked him back and forth too. Chewbacca leaned in as Fa'hn reached up, and grabbed the wookie's nostrils.
Chewbacca groaned…but he let the kid hold on as Han chuckled, Mara frowning slightly in the direction Kendall and Luke went.
"You know, his face is sort of familiar. Like…I feel like I've seen him somewhere before, but I can't remember where." She admitted with a shrug.
"Yeah. Leia and I noticed too, he does sort of seem a little familiar somehow." Han admitted. "Maybe his dad is somebody we know?"
"What about his mom?"
"He says he didn't have one, evidently he's some kind of test tube baby."
"Hmm. Listen, uh…there is one sort of problem we've had lately. The local town a few miles down the road's had some issues with people going missing, we'd like to put together a team to investigate it all. Would you like to be a part of that?" Mara inquired.
The furniture inside the Jedi Training Academy was beautifully carved, the draperies and bed coverings of nearby rooms of the finest quality, with the mattress looking soft and luxurious. Shafts of morning light shone through the windows, bouncing off the polished stone surfaces. Dozens of other Jedi trainees of varying ages and species were sitting around, talking, or practicing moving objects about with their Force powers, or showing off their lightsabers as a wide blend of languages and sounds came to Kendall's ears, along with the rich open-air, salty sea smell that came from the beautiful land outside. He glanced up at the temple ceiling above, which cascaded around, made up of various shapes and with a fascinating blend of mosaics combining together as Luke led him to a private room, in the middle of a stony floor. A fountain was behind them, soft water cascading down into a pool as Luke sat on the floor, and Kendall joined him.
"Now…I want you to hold out your hands, hold them palm up. And try and focus only on what you can instinctively feel around you." Luke offered. "Close your eyes, deep, long breaths. In through your nose, out through our mouth."
Kendall nodded, and closed his eyes, trying to just "feel" the Force around him. He took in those deep, long breaths, sighing softly, waiting for-
Wait. Wait, he…he felt something. "I…I think I've got it!" He remarked. "It's…it's like a tickling feeling in my hands!"
"Yes, yes, focus on that. What else do you feel?"
"It sort of feels like…like a frond from a tree-HEEEYYYYY!" Kendall opened up his eyes as, sure enough, Luke was holding up a palm frond that he'd taken from a tree on the beaches not far off, giving a cheeky smile.
"I always do this to all the new students. Good on figuring it out quick. Just try and relax. Untense yourself. Hands in your lap or on your knees or anything like that. Doesn't really matter. What matters is you just…relax and let the Force flow through you." Luke said with a wink as Kendall, slightly red in the face, took in deep, long breaths. "Now, you're feeling a little irritated. Good, good. Now, things like aggression, anger, hate…they belong to the Dark Side. You can't give in to them. They have an influence on you, and you need to rise above it. You can't let them control you. Instead, let compassion into your heart. Let the Force flow through you through that compassion."
"Well, I am a nurse. That's not too difficult for me." Kendall admitted as Luke clucked his tongue.
"Now, now, don't brag." He insisted. "We're always going to continue learning. I myself am no master until the day I actually die. I'll always be learning. So will you." He told Kendall. "Just keep taking deep, relaxing breaths and let the Force flow through you."
Kendall sighed softly, keeping his eyes closed. He let the sound of the fountain's trickling water slide through his mind. It was like he was falling asleep, and yet not, a kind of "Sleeping Awake". A strange netherrealm between consciousness and slumber that he was dipping his toe into, sinking into more and more with every passing minute as he could picture his father's face.
For a few brief moments, he felt like his father WAS right in front of him, gently putting a hand on his own, a smile on his features before Morgan vanished a few moments later, and then what laid before him was…another man. He had Morgan's ears, his smile, and brown hair he'd brushed back slightly, along with a beard on his face. He looked quite nice, all things considered, and he was looking at Kendall, as if trying to place him. Was this Morgan when he was a younger man or…or?
A moment later, that man was gone, and Kendall was now floating through the air, cascading high, high above the world, gazing down as…as he saw a town. It was oddly empty, as if frozen in time. Where were the people? Where were the pets? There were toys lying around on the sidewalks, as if whomever had held them had dropped them on the spot. And he felt an odd, strange chill sliding up his back.
The Force was trying to tell him something. But…what?
And then, in an instant, he was back with Luke as Luke smiled at him. "Well?"
"I…I saw a lot." Kendall admitted. "I think I'm getting better at connecting through the Force."
"You'll have plenty of time to get better here." Luke offered warmly as he bowed his head. "Trust me. This is a safe space to learn." He comfortingly told Kendall. "I want you, when you're here, to learn action, how to DO things, not just THINK about them. There is no "try", as one of my own jedi Masters, Yoda, once said."
"I don't get that." Kendall admitted. "I mean…surely you've tried and failed at things. Nobody can always succeed at what they want to do."
"True. But I didn't say I don't fail. No Jedi ever becomes perfect. Sometimes, though, what we succeed in doing isn't what what we intended to do. So focus on what you accomplish, rather than what you hoped for. Rather than what you failed to do. Recognize you've lost…but see also what you've gained. Failure can be a wonderful teacher. Not the best one, though." Luke admitted. "Because if it was the best teacher, you WOULD always be getting better and better. I've found…experience…to be the best teacher, all things considered."
Kendall whistled, clearly impressed. "Wow…I have to admit, listening to you is like…it's as if I'm hearing the wisdom of the ages."
"Oh, what a crock of shit!"
Kendall turned, looking surprised as Omarosa frowned, standing in the doorway. "You and I need to talk, you murderer."
"Whatever do you mean?" Luke inquired, looking genuinely hurt by this accusation, pursing his lips a little.
"You killed my mother! On Corsucant! She'd been trying to sneak out Jedi artifacts from the temple remains there, and you murdered her in front of me!"
Luke frowned a bit, his eyes slightly narrowing, as if trying to remember. "…I…DO remember fighting a Sith quite some time ago, I'd gone on a kind of walkabout to discover myself and to better hone my skills, and I'd gone to visit the Jedi Temple because of the connection it had to the Force. But I don't remember murdering anyone." He remarked. "Of course, that was years and years ago, I've had to fight many Sith who've tried to fill the void to become the next Emperor or Darth Vader, at a certain point, they blend together, each thinking they'll be the one to take down "The Legendary Luke Skywalker"." He commented with a shake of his head, sounding somewhat bitter. "It only came to a crawl when I set up the temple here. It's scared most of them away because of how many Force users are here. They know if they try anything, a dozen people with lightsabers will be on them in a second to make a name for THEMSELVES by taking down an actual Sith."
"Isn't there some way we can prove what really happened?" Kendall inquired, a look of concern on his face. "Like…I don't know, a truth serum? A mind-scanning technology?"
"The Republic doesn't have the technology to peer into somebody's mind. Now, with the Force, you could see into one's mind, but not necessarily find the truth. It'd just be what you believe in your head to be the truth. A certain point of view." Luke intoned. "To know the "real" truth, we'd have to perhaps look deep, deep into the Force and see a vision of the past."
"Well then…it's a good thing this place is soaked in the Unifying Force then. I suppose we've lucked out." Omarosa remarked coldly. "I'm going to find a room of my own. As far away from you as possible." She muttered as she stormed off, Kendall cringing.
"Sir…I don't want to imagine you ARE guilty but…based on how Omarosa talks, she sounds absolutely sure, and you yourself said the Sith attacks have all begun to blend together…what if you just plain forgot how you killed her and it WAS a murder?"
"I hope not." Luke admitted. "…but if it was, then…I'll have to make amends. Whatever it takes."
"She'd probably demand your head."
"Yes…yes, I suppose she would." Luke sighed.
But Kendall noticed he didn't exactly object to that…
