And So Starts The Journey (Colton and Arruna)

[Hanix Bnar]

Hanix had followed Colton, trailing him by only a few steps, allowing him to lead the way. As the two headed towards the Skipray Blastboat, the elder had begun his teaching of the young boy in the ways of the force. He started by describing and explaining what the force was and explaining that it was multidimensional. It made sense as he listened, that the Jedi and Sith would be at ends through out history. They believed and practiced in two completely different aspects of the force and seemed to have two different goals in their use of it.

Hanix listened as Colton continued, reciting the Sith Code and then Jedi Code. As he listened to them, he realized that his new mentor was indeed right. The two codes were narrow minded. They dealt in absolutes. Even he as a young boy knew that emotions existed; he knew that death was real; he had seen chaos and ignorance; but he had also seen peace and serenity. Both Codes were right and they were wrong. He then listened as the older man explained to him his belief; his code. As Hanix listened, it seemed as if this code was more realistic. It dealt with the actuality of the universe. There would always be life and death; peace and war; chaos and serenity.

As he finished listening to the codes, a ship appeared in the distance. Hanix looked to his mentor and realized that this was the ship they were headed towards. As he continued to trail behind, Colton continued his lesson. The boy listened as it was explained to him how the two sides viewed the force. One viewed it as something to control, while the other viewed it as something too vast and powerful to control. He listened as Colton explained that he walked a fine line, never falling to the dark, but never devoting himself fully to the light. He allowed himself to be used by both sides of the force; trying to be the balance between the two sides. It seemed to Hanix that the Sith and Jedi were merely weak pawns in a battle being waged within the force itself and that men like Colton withstood the storm and brought peace and balance to the force within themselves.

As the thought upon these things, they finally reached the ship and walked towards it, getting ready to board and be on their way. Before they did, Hanix looked to Colton and spoke,"So, if the Sith and Jedi wage war against one another, and they have been doing so for years; it seems to me that their doing so keep a balance as no side has been able to truly emerge victorious." The boy paused for a moment, thinking upon what must come with thousands of years of war between two powerful groups; he then continued,"It stands to reason that if they have been at war, their must have been several innocent casualties. It makes me wonder if the galaxy would be better without them; I wonder if anyone has ever tried to get rid of them both."

[Colton Hunter]

Colt merely smiled at his assessment. The boy, like Adara before him, already showed a wisdom of understanding beyond his years. He led him up the ramp, and once more removed his helmet, revealing his scarred visage. The helmet was set upon a rack deeper inside.

"Sevenate, we have one more passenger today, once she's aboard, lock up and begin lift off sequence, we'll be heading straight home," he said, there was an affirmative beeping sound, as he led the boy into the small galley. It was meant for single crews for long flights. A semi-cramped space, but one of the more wider sections of the ship, that allowed for more than one person to sit, even if it wasn't comfortable for long sessions.

"Have a seat, and close your eyes, still your mind, still your heart," he told him, simply. "I've often asked myself that very same question, and I've found cause to work alongside Jedi before, my blade is often aligned against the Sith... because you're right, innocents are often caught in the crossfire, but the Jedi try to protect them. Without the Jedi, the Sith would run amok, without the Sith... things would be calm and peaceful. I am allies with the Jedi, the Galactic Alliance, the Galactic Empire, and even pirates... the Jedi have their uses, the Sith do not, but that is my opinion, you must form your own," he told him.

"Now let your mind just drift, among the clouds... Tell me what you feel.." he told him.

((OOC: Whenever you're ready, that can be used to go for Force level 1 - 100 words))

[Hanix Bnar]

(Force Level 1 Application)

Hanix took a seat, nodding to his mentor as he closed his eyes. The boy emptied his mind, trying to allow himself to still his whole body and focus on himself. He tried to disconnect as best he could, allowing his mind to pull away from his physical body, drifting away for a few moments. As he did though, there was a loud sound in the ship that caused him to snap back, his eyes opening and looking around. He had failed, he knew that he had failed. Hanix had felt nothing as he looked up to Colton for a moment.

He didn't need to hear anything from his mentor. He already knew what he would say, he would say to block everything out, to just focus and try again; so that is exactly what he did. The boy took another deep breath and started all over again, closing his eyes once more as he tried to push out all the sounds of his environment. Hanix began to disconnect from everything once more as he focused in on himself. There was something inside of him, calling his mind to it. Hanix spoke softly,“There is something, I can't explain it. It is calling me.” His presence followed the calling and reached a central part of his being.

The boy reached out and touched it, as he did, he got hit with a mixed wave of feeling. He felt warm and cold at the same time; he felt happiness and sadness. Hanix took hold of the presence that was within him and took it outside of his body. He allowed the presence to guide him, following it as it moved him around. First it took him out into the wilderness of Naboo. It felt warm and happy; it reminded him of the times when his family was still around. This was a happy place; a good place that he did not want to leave. The boy once again spoke,“I feel happiness. There is so much life and light here. I feel warm.”

Despite this though, the presence wished to move on, so Hanix followed it. It took him from the wilderness and moved him deep into the city of Theed; it moved him towards the palace. The boy followed it deep into the underworkings of the palace. There were platforms and walkways suspended all over the place. As he moved through the area, it began to get cold. Hanix felt as if all the happiness in the area was being drained out. Everything he had felt just moments before was gone. This was a dark place, he knew it was. Still, there was something drawing him closer, so he hesitantly followed the presence. Hanix trembled slightly as he spoke,“I don't like this place. It feels cold and damp, but there is still something about it. I am not sure what, but there is something alluring about it.”

They entered a chamber, and in the center of the circular room, there was what seemed to be a pit. That was where the presence was calling him towards. Hanix made his way towards it and looked over the edge. Now it wasn't just a calling though, there was something pulling him; trying to drag him into the pit. At first it was just a light tug, but now it was really pulling. Then there was a sudden jerk, but Hanix resisted and snapped away, coming back to his physical body. He gasped as he came back and almost doubled over, looking up at Colton as he did. “I couldn't...I didn't want to be there anymore. Something was there, it wanted me; it wanted me to come to it...it was pulling me. I had to get out of there. I am sorry Colton; I failed,” he said as he seemed out of breath.

(Force Level One Application Ends - Word Count - 638)

[Colton Hunter]

Colt didn't say anything as he felt the boy leave his own body and go venturing forth. He felt him on the wind, and merely stared at his corporeal form. It was when he snapped back that he shook his head.

"There is no failure here so long as you learn a lesson... what you felt was the Dark Side, the city of Theed was the battleground for a fierce war once. And there the Jedi fought a Sith Lord, two on one, and the Sith killed one of the Jedi, and nearly killed his apprentice as well, but in the end, the apprentice fell the Sith Lord... giving him wounds that should have killed him, but the Force sustained him, you see, he survived in that pit, and resurfaced many years later... he finally died on Tatooine, killed by the man who was once the apprentice who beat him so long ago, now a Master in his own right, slain by his own hubris," he mused. Colt had followed that story closely as a child, impressed by the sheer force of will of the Zabraki Sith.

"Reach out again, but this time, look to the sky, the wind, the air... the void beyond, the sun, the moon, the stars," he offered him. "Feel it, sense it, and describe it all to me, as it passes through your senses," he offered.

((OOC: On the Sithlore.com site, you need to apply for your FU level 1 app as well, with a link from here, once that's been approved, you can try for Sense level 1, for 400 words, if you'd like))

[Hanix Bnar]

Hanix listened to the story of the epic battle between the Jedi and Sith that had taken place here. He had heard the story before, but no where near as detailed as the one that was just told to him. The boy had known about it, but not where it had happened or what had happened exactly. It intrigued him, and he wanted to know more, but that was better asked another time. He listened to Colton's instructions and simply nodded his head in understanding.

(This is the beginning of my Sense Level 1 – 400 Words Needed)

Hanix closed his eyes once more and searched within himself. He searched for that beacon that called to him, but it wasn't as easy to find this time. The boy was a little tired from his last task. It had been a very draining experience. He focused on it a little, but all he shot back to was that pulling force that tried to drag him into the pit. It scared him as he thought about it; it was all that was on his mind. What if he did what Colton asked and he encounted something even stronger out there; what if he couldn't resist and he dove right in. Hanix opened his eyes and looked over at his mentor, taking a deep breath as he did so.

He wanted to say something, but something inside him already knew Colton's response. Hanix needed to clear his mind and push everything else aside. The boy needed to forget about all the voices in his head; he needed to forget about how tired his mind and body were and just focus on The Force. He took another deep breath as he looked inward once more. The voices tried to creep in, telling him he was tired or that he was scared, and he pushed them aside as he once again found the beacon and took ahold of it.

He leapt outside his body once more and went up and away with it. First he could see the sky,“The sky is clear, with very few clouds.” He then went up a little more, and as he did, he felt the wind brush past him. The hairs on his arms began to stand even though he wasn't physically there, it felt real to him. “The wind is light and cool,” he spoke as he continued he could almost taste the air. It was fresher up here, much more crisp, but it was lighter as well. “The air up here is better,” he said.

He pushed further, out of the atmosphere and into the vast void known as space. It was cold and the air from the atmosphere was no more. “It is dark and cold here, and the air is gone. Still, there is something about it that is comforting; it is beautiful,” he spoke as he moved around in the space just outside of Naboo. As he continued out, he ran into a mass amount of free debri that was floating around. He knew what it was; he had heard the stories about the battle Naboo had fought against the Trade Federation. As he continued past it, toward the sun that Naboo orbited, he spoke,“I just past the debri from the space battle. I sensed a strong, and conflicted force presence there. I felt warm and light, but I also felt cold and darkness.”

As he continued, he began to pass the several moons of Naboo. One looked to be nothing more then a large asteroid, while the others were indeed much larger. Two of the moons appeared as just empty bodies. Another appeared to have civilization as he passed it. The last looked to be a watery world, and from it, he sensed a darkness. It felt as if something tragic had happened there. Hanix spoke as he continued past,“I passed the moons, so beautiful; but something cruel and tragic happened at one of them. I felt sadness as I passed it.”

As he continued towards the sun, he looked into the distance, noticing the other stars that were lightyears away. He wondered, as he assumed many had, if anyone had traveled to see them all. From here, they all seemed so beautiful, but yet, so far away. He knew almost all of them had planets that orbited them, and from the stories he heard, he knew many had life. Some were humanoid, like him, and others appeared differently. Still, he loved the view from here more then on the planet source of Naboo. “It is so beautiful out here. The view of the stars is so much more amazing and brighter,” he said as he finally got closer and closer to the sun. The sun was named Naboo, after the planet that he was from. It was so bright, almost blinding as he got closer and closer. Hanix began to feel the warmth coming from the star that helped provide life on his planet. As he continue to get closer, he sensed a conflict from a planet near him. It seemed to have a positive outcome, but there was still darkness there as well; the same darkness he had felt just outside him planet. It was as if the same person had been in both places. “That same feeling I got in the debri, I get here. I also feel the warmth of our Sun, Naboo. It is fierce and strong. I am sure that if I were really here, the heat would boil my insides and the light would have destroyed my sight, but here, I can see as clear as day,” he said as he snapped back and looked to Colton.

(End Force Sense 1 Application – 852 Words)

[Colton Hunter]

Colt followed closely, keeping an eye out for any inherent dangers. Free of his body he travelled, studying the two moons... he could feel the tragedies that he spoke of, and listened to his way of describing things... that was good, he was pushing himself further, he was delving deeper into his mind, and thus letting it soar to the stars. He was achieving in a short time, what it took many days to accomplish.

"Ohma-D'un... a long time ago, a weapon was released into the atmosphere, killing the colonists that lived there," he said, "The water-based moon is Rori, and it's history is rather varied. A rebel base once resided there, and Imperial fighting began to kick off near the end of the Galactic Civil War," he explained. "They had developed a powerful device, a battery called a Star Core, that could fit in your hand, but power a destroyer, in the fight, it became unstable, and detonated... the city was wiped off the map," he explained. "Know this, youngling, a smart man learns from their mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others... the Rebels did everything they could then, but they were focused on destroying the Core, the Empire would only use it for their weapons... short sighted..." he said.

"Death happens though, and sometime, it may be by your hand it happens... but always approach with an open hand first," he offered. "Now stick closer to the ground this time, there is a river that leads to the lake, focus on the river, it's small and teeming with life," he said, "Reach out for it, find it, and feel the flow of the Force, let it guide you, and listen, find the heartbeats, the pulse of the Force. All things are connected, and all things affect the Force in different ways as the Force affects them. It changes, you'll feel light and dark, cold and warmth, don't shy away, we'll teach you to guard your mind later, right now, just feel," he told him.

((OOC: An opening for: Force power - Sense Life - 100 words))

[Arruna Lom]

The exchange with the supplier to say the least had taken far longer as expected. When the Twi'Lek arrived there, the supplier tried to charge triple what the agreed upon price had been, and Arruna nearly lost it. There was no way this backstabbing, two timing, good for nothing supplier was going to get away with that.

Arruna felt her blood curdle as the stocky man said there was no way he was going to sell the parts for the agreed upon original price. Needless to say after what seemed like hours of Arruna raising hell about the price and negotiations, the two were not getting anywhere, so Arruna threatened the man with her lightsaber, regressing temporarily back to her Sith tendencies, but managed to keep her composure.

The man finally gave in, and went to the back room to deliver the goods to the Twi'Lek. While waiting there, Arruna would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted to snatch some merchandise on the front shelves and sell them on the black market for herself to teach a lesson, but good thing for the supplier, Arruna was on a tight schedule and kept herself from giving into temptation.

Thankfully preparations regarding delivery, transfer of codes, etc. back on her ship went far more smoothly. That and amazingly her superiors gave her no grief about going to Jakelia with Colt for Force Training. Apparently, Colt was most definitely on good terms with a high ranking individual for the Blue Star Pirates, and Arruna was really interested in knowing who. Maybe she could ask him during the journey.

Unfortunately, courtesy of the less than pleasant exchange with the supplier Arruna was running late, and hoped Hanix and Colt hadn't left without her.

Thankfully, they hadn't and Arruna profusely apologized in between gasps for air when she bordered.

Arruna was exhausted. So much she realized kind of late that she interrupted perhaps some training.

"Sorry a million times over but the supplier tried to charge us triple the agreed upon terms when I got there, which led to aggressive negotiations that seemed to last forever. Don't worry, no one got hurt," Arruna paused and with a wry grin before finishing up, "this time."

It was meant to be a joke, but just in case the two didn't pick up on it, she added sincerely.

"Just joking. Really. And uh sorry for the delay and interrupting. Please continue. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two by watching as well."

And with that Arruna took a seat and said nothing more at the moment.

[Hanix Bnar]

(Force Power Application - Life Sense)

Hanix listened to his instructions from his teacher and then began to try and focus himself. As he did though, his attention was broken as Arruna walked in. The boy opened his eyes and looked up towards her for a moment as he heard the words leave her mouth. Hanix smirked slightly at her joke and then took a deep breath. He brought himself back to center and focused in on himself as he tried to bring forth the connection that was there.

He grabbed a hold of it and moved out. Hanix went out until he found the river that Colton was talking about. “I found it”, he said as he tried to use his connection with the force to try and feel what was under the water, but he couldn't. The boy went to speak, but he already knew what the response would be. Colton would say keep looking, keep exploring, you will find it. So that is exactly what he did. He continued to focus, not just on the water, but what was underneath.

Then he felt something, he felt something underneath the water that was making quick movements as it moved underneath the flowing river. First it was just the one fish and then he began to feel others moving through the river. As he continued to focus on his connection to the force, he began to feel the force flow through the water itself. As he watched and felt it all move, he began to see the harmony in it all. “The fish, they move as one through the water. It is as if they know how it is going to flow and cut right through it.”

Hanix continued along, feeling the warmth of the force move throughout the water as it got closer and closer to the lake. As he got closer to the lake, he began to feel a dark connection waiting for the fish down at the mouth of the river as it poured into the lake. As he continued to get closer, he discovered what it was. There were several large, carnivorous fish waiting at the opening for their helpless prey to flow right towards them. Hanix wished there was something he could do, but he was not physically there. He opened his eyes and looked to Colton,“I felt the fish and the water. They were all moving in harmony, as if the fish just knew how the water was going to flow. I felt the predators waiting for them to reach the bottom. All those fish are in danger of being eaten.”

(Force Power Application End - 413 Words)

[Colton Hunter]

Colt didn't even glance up as Arruna entered, his helmet on the floor beside him, his eyes closed. He didn't so much as crack a smile at her words... his mind had ventured far and wide as he communed with Naboo...

"Perhaps you could join us, Arruna..." he said simply, "Your anger, during that negotiation can't be healthy, let's just let our minds wander Naboo, hm?" he asked, finally opening his eyes to look pointedly at her, he was okay with threatening people to some extent, but the lightsaber was an extension, the color varied, based upon many factors... sometimes, one of which, was the user's own will. A blue lightsaber, in the hands of a Sith Lord would eventually begin to bleed crimson... the crystal, a bond to the user, was a pure essence of the Force made material object. It was a portion of one's soul... to taint that was a horrible thing. He closed his eyes again, nodding toward Hanix.

"The circle of life, you need to eat as much as those fish do... now expand your senses... feel the ripples, nothing is minor... if you feel something, cling to it... the Force is in all things, but there are things that cause it to tremble, things that break the Force... it can hurt, but it can also be a portend to greater things, it can warn you of what's to come, or let you know something has come... listen to the Force, feel it in it's peacefulness, and in it's pain..." he told Hanix.

((OOC: Hanix, if you would like, that could be an opening for the power Sense Force Disturbance, for 100 words))

[Hanix Bnar]

(Force Power Application – Sense Force Disturbance – 100 Words Needed)

Hanix looked at Colton and Arruna for a moment before taking a deep breath, starting the whole process over again. The young boy focused in on himself and then pushed outwards, letting the force guide him out into the wilderness of Naboo. He once again found himself at the river and followed it past the opening into a massive lake and dived deep into the lake itself. As he continued to push through, he began to sense something. There was something wrong going on, but he couldn't pin point from where.

So Hanix pushed further down into the depths of the lake,“I sense something...I'm not quite sure what it is.” As the words slipped out of his mouth, he followed the force into an underwater cavern that was rather massive. As he pushed through the cavern, he began to get a stronger sense of things. He was getting closer to the source, he just had to push further.

As he finally pushed through, he moved into an even more massive part of the underwater cavern system. In fact, it seemed now as if he was in the open water. Hanix almost instantly realized where he was. He had heard there was water ways that moved through the planet and went all the way down to it's core. He had heard stories of the type of fish and wildlife that lived here and how dangerous they could be.

“It's near the core. Something seems off. I sense, death...a good amount of death.” He said as he pushed further down and that was when he found was he sensed. There was a massive floating graveyard of creatures he had never seen before. There were teeth marks in them all, and they all looked to be similar. As he pushed through all he could sense was an emptiness in the force, as if everything that was connected to it there was dissapearing. Then he found what he was looking for and snapped back to the ship. “There was a massive creature down there, killing everything. Not for food, but just to kill. There was so much death. Why would anything just want to kill like that?”

(End Force Power Application – Sense Force Disturbance – 364 Words)