The Master... (Buggie Training)

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Level 6' begins here.))

Placing his feet into the hot sand, Buggie gingerly stepped his way along the beach to an open spot near the water. It was another beautiful Naboo day, and the sun was shining directly over the beach. Removing a small backback and dropping it onto the sand, Buggie then removed his shirt and threw it next to the backpack. Sitting down onto the shirt, Buggie unzipped the backpack and looked through the contents, double checking to make sure he had packed everything. When he had made certain that his lightsaber, sun lotion, and water were all inside, Buggie zipped up the back and relaxed, basking in the sunshine. As he listened to the wave rolled in on the sand, Buggie closed his eyes and meditated.

As Buggie sat meditating in the sand, he began to enter a trance. Enveloping himself within the Force, Buggie was closer to the energy that gave him his abilities. With nature surrounding him, Buggie could easily feel the Force flowing all around him, even though him. Everything was at peace here in nature...

At least for the moment. Almost instantly, Buggie felt a twinge in the Force, warning him of a disturbance nearby. Whatever it was, the disturbance was not far off from where Buggie was sitting. Channeling his senses through the Force, Buggie could feel the disturbances emanating from an object not far under the surface of the water. Troubled, Buggie snapped out of his meditative trance and looked out over the lake. Reaching out with his senses, Buggie attempted to find what it was that was causing the disturbance within the Force. Unable to further analyze the disturbance, Buggie attempted to sense the life that surrounded him in order to match the disturbance with a lifeform, if there was one. Allowing the Force to guide his senses, Buggie searched out the area of the beach near him. Although the swimmers and other beachgoers could easily be sensed by Buggie, none of them were the cause of the disturbance. As the Force aided Buggie in searching farther out into the water, he immediately picked up on something. A small human boy swam alone out in the water. Surprisingly, Buggie discovered that the disturbance was emanating from this young human. As he concentrated further, Buggie came to a harsh realization. The disturbance wasn't coming from the boy, it was coming from under him.

Quickly standing, Buggie realized what was happening. There was a predator steadily circling the young boy, waiting for its chance to strike. Judging by the strange way that the Force reacted to the predator, Buggie knew it could only be one thing. As the boy went under, Buggie knew that his fears had come true.

"Beck-tori!" a nearby Gungan screamed out, swimming frantically to the shore.

Mass hysteria followed immediately thereafter. Buggie had been learned of the Beck-tori fairly quickly when he had arrived on Naboo. An aquatic predator, the Beck-tori resembled a leech. What made them dangerous; however, was their parasitic tentacles and spines located on their underbelly that could tear and consume flesh in a horrible fashion. Their connection to the Force made them even more dangerous. Buggie had read stories of the Beck-tori healing themselves with the power of the Force and coming back fully healed to attack their prey once more.

All of that combined made the human boy's situation near hopeless. Buggie knew that he would have to act fast in order to save him. Without a second thought, Buggie tore into his backpack and grabbed his lightsaber. Sprinting into the water, Buggie dove in and began swimming to the boy's position. Using his senses to locate the boy, Buggie could tell from the Force energy that surrounded both the boy and the Beck-tori that there was a struggle occurring. Feeling the need to go faster, Buggie called upon the Force to boost the muscles in his body, allowing him to move faster and pull the water behind him more efficiently. As the Force flowed through his muscles, Buggie could feel the water slipping past him. Swimming harder than ever before with the aid of the Force, Buggie narrowed the gap between him and the Beck-tori. With the Beck-tori in clear sight now, Buggie strained as he called on the Force to boost his speed more. Just before Buggie reached the boy and the predator, he sensed something awful. Buggie could sense that the Beck-tori had successfully bitten into the boy. It was now only a matter of moments before the creature's parasites infested the wound.

Buggie wouldn't allow that to happen. Diving down and ramming into the Beck-tori, Buggie hit the predator full speed right in the snout. Luckily for Buggie, this caused the predator to drop the young boy from its clutches. For one instant, Buggie took his eyes off the Beck-tori and looked at the boy. To Buggie's dismay he didn't seem to be conscious. This only meant that Buggie would have to act faster.

Igniting his lightsaber, Buggie turned to attack the Beck-tori. Not finding it in its previous location, Buggie reached out with his senses. As an alarm sounded in his head, Buggie instinctively dove down farther into the water. Out of the corner of his eye, the Beck-tori shot over him. Silently thanking the Force for his danger senses, Buggie swam after the predator before it got away once again. As the Beck-tori turned sharply in the water to charge yet again, Buggie prepared himself. As the predator shot toward him, Buggie called upon the Force to boost his reactions. Buggie would need all the help he could get to move faster in the water, so he called upon the Force to aid him. As the midichlorians within his arms and torso responded to the Force energy surrounding him, Buggie felt quicker. The strain on Buggie's body had taken away from his oxygen stores, though, and Buggie knew that he only had time for one strike.

As the Beck-tori lanced through the water, with the aid of the Force, Buggie swung back his saber and shot it forward, connecting with the aquatic predator's underbelly as it shot past him. With a tremendous cry, the Beck-tori shot off deeper into the water. Buggie wasn't sure if the strike had been fatal to the predatory creature, but he didn't have time to check. Realizing that the human boy was still underwater, Buggie powered off his lightsaber and ignored his painful lungs that yearned for air, diving down to where the boy rested. Picking up his unconscious body, Buggie could barely make it to the top. As he exhausted the last bit of air from his lungs, Buggie reached the surface of the water. Gasping for air, Buggie held the boy close and began to swim toward the shore. While his strength had been nearly extinguished, Buggie used the Force energy that surrounded him to assist him in making it to the shore. With the Force as his ally, Buggie knew that he would be able to make it to the shore in time. As he swam, Buggie looked to the boy he was holding, examining the young human's wound. A deep cut ran through the boy's chest, an ugly cut undoubtedly from the Beck-tori.

As he swam, Buggie's senses picked up the last thing that he wanted to feel. The Beck-tori had come back for more; the lightsaber wound on its underside had not done enough damage. Either that, Buggie thought, or the predator had healed itself with the Force. Unable to protect the unconscious boy and fight the predator, Buggie did the only thing that came to his mind. Releasing the boy, Buggie tread water and focused on the Force energy that flowed nearby. Letting it hold the small boy and cradle him in its energy, Buggie lifted the boy with his telekinetic powers and moved him toward the shore. In the back of his mind, Buggie could feel the predator closing in. Shutting the thought from his mind, Buggie continued focusing on the boy. Buggie knew that if he didn't get him to shore he would be doomed. With the Force aiding him, Buggie moved the boy closer and closer to the shore. With the Force's embrace surrounding the boy, he moved through the water faster than he could have swam it himself. As Buggie continued calling upon the Force, he knew that it would be close. The Beck-tori was closing in fast, angered by Buggie's attack. Buggie could sense the danger approaching quickly, but he continued moving the boy to safety. As the alarms began filling his mind, Buggie ignored them and moved the boy into the shallow water near the shore.

Just as the boy was safely onto the shore, Buggie's focus was cut by the Beck-tori's attack. Slamming into his back, the predator upended Buggie, not only causing him to gasp in pain, but making him lose grip on his lightsaber. As Buggie went one way and his lightsaber went another, he inhaled a mouthful of lake water. Needing to rise to the surface, Buggie choked along the way. Finally surfacing, Buggie frantically coughed up the water that he had inhaled. In his mind, he knew that the Beck-tori would be back. Struggling not to cough, Buggie dove back in and searched for his lightsaber. Calling upon the Force to aid him, Buggie immediately located the familiar weapon and swam for it. Using all of his will to call upon the Force to assist him, Buggie could feel the Beck-tori breathing down his neck. Drawing the saber to his palm with his telekinetic powers, Buggie spun in the water and ignited the blade. With the Beck-tori's fractured mouth shooting a fraction of an inch over his head, Buggie jammed the blade deep within the predator's stomach. Cleanly slicing through the creature, Buggie was blasted aside by the force that the Beck-tori had been exerting.

Regaining his composure and rising to the surface of the water, Buggie looked upon the remains of the Beck-tori. Buggie could sense no life coming from the creature; this time he had finally beaten it. While Buggie regretted killing any living being, he knew that this was a matter of life or death. Disengaging his lightsaber, Buggie swam towards the shore. Immediately, he noticed that a large crowd had gathered nearby the boy. When he had reached the surface, Buggie pushed through the crowd to see what was going on.

"He's not breathing!" a woman nearby Buggie cried.

As Buggie looked upon the boy, he saw that there was a man beside him attempting to help him. Unable to push the water out of the boy's airway by means of chest pumping due to the large wound, he looked around for help. Buggie could sense that the boy's life was fading quickly. He knew that he had to act or else the boy would perish. Focusing on the boy, Buggie reached out with the Force for one last time. Using telekinesis to push down onto the boy's chest, Buggie avoided touching the wound. Pumping the young boy's chest rhythmically, Buggie hoped that his plan would work. As he focused, desperately trying to save the boy, he pushed down. Suddenly, the boy gasped and turned, vomiting into the sand before passing back out. As the crowd reacted, the man next to the boy checked in once again. When he was found to be breathing, the boy was rushed off the beach to the nearest hospital.

Collapsing onto the beach, Buggie was drained by his battle. His back had undoubtedly been bruised badly from the strike by the Beck-tori. When he reached the Enclave, he would report to the medical bay. For now though, Buggie was proud that the could use his powers to help others. As he limped over and picked up his belongings, placing his lightsaber into his bag, Buggie laid back down onto the sand. He would need to rest for a while before making the trip back to the Enclave. As Buggie closed his eyes in exhaustion, he thought of the boy he had saved. The Force was truly his ally today.

((OOC: Training for 'Level 6' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Force Jump' begins here.))

Once he had decided that the beach just wasn't for him, Buggie began visiting one of the large ponds that lay near the Enclave. While there, Buggie could meditate, train, or lounge whenever he wanted. Being away from the public ensured that he wouldn't draw any unwanted attention to himself. As Buggie removed his shirt carefully, his back still injured from the recent fight against the Beck-tori, he leaned down and tested the water. Feeling that it was a satisfactory temperature, Buggie backed up a few steps. Taking a running start, Buggie leaped high into the air and dove into the water. Swimming down towards the bottom of the pond, Buggie found it to be very deep. Barely able to touch the bottom of the pond, Buggie pushed off and launched himself up to the surface. Warming his body with the Force, Buggie made his body more suitable to the water.

Climbing out and stretching his legs, Buggie looked out toward the large pond. Briefly wishing for a diving board, Buggie wondered how he could make his dives more exciting. As he looked away from the pond and focused down toward his legs, an idea suddenly sprang into his mind. What if the Force could be influenced to boost his jumping ability? Buggie knew that by using the Force many new options became available to him. Imagining how high he could jump with the assistance of Force energy, Buggie took a step back from the pond and prepared to experiment.

Standing still a few feet away from the edge of the large pond, Buggie reached out with his senses, trying to determine how the Force flowed through his body, specifically his legs. Although Buggie knew that the Force flowed through him, he wanted to observe how it reacted with him. As he began channeling the Force to strengthen his muscles, Buggie knew that the midichlorians in his legs were reacting to the Force, changing the biological structure of them to match the influence of the Force. Based on his experiences yesterday, Buggie knew that the Force could aid him by making his body more efficient and athletic. With his legs being aided by the Force, Buggie would attempt to boost his jumping power by bringing the Force to jolt his muscles at the right moment.

Setting himself to run, moments later Buggie sprinted to the edge of the pond. Feeling the Force aiding his muscles, Buggie concentrated on the right moment to influence the Force. Setting his feet, Buggie pushed off with the assistance of the Force, launching him high into the air. As Buggie sprang up, higher than he had ever jumped before, he called upon the Force to balance him on the way down. Regulating the trajectory of his body with the assistance of the Force, Buggie turned in the air and dove into the pond headfirst. Shooting straight down, Buggie glided down near the bottom of the pond. Pushing himself off of the bottom again, Buggie called upon the Force to assist him here. With the Force aiding him, Buggie shot up toward the surface faster than he had ever done before. Almost completely coming out of the water as he surfaced, Buggie dropped back down and swam toward the edge of the large pond.

Getting out and shaking himself off, Buggie had another idea. Previously, Buggie had used the Force to jump high into the air. This time, he would attempt to jump out toward the center of the pond. Instead of pushing off the ground and allowing the Force to influence his jump, Buggie would spring out and dive horizontally.

Allowing the Force to flow through his legs once more, Buggie sprinted toward the edge of the pond yet again. As his feet connected with the edge of the pond, Buggie called upon the Force to help him spring from the edge into the water. Rocketing himself off the land, Buggie shot out over the water. For a moment, Buggie imagined that he was being shot out of a cannon. With the Force boosting the muscles in his legs, Buggie had almost reached the center of the lake by the time he hit the water. Slicing through the top of the pond, Buggie continued gliding under the water. Coming up after the glide had been completed, Buggie looked out toward where he had jumped in. Impressed by the distance, Buggie was very satisfied with the results.

Now sure that he could use the Force to aid his jumps, Buggie wanted to continue practicing. He was having so much fun that he almost forgot his sore back. Swimming to the edge of the pond, Buggie climbed out and readied himself to jump again, intending to try to beat his previous jumps. As he looked out over the pond, Buggie happily thought of how much more fun swimming had become.

((OOC: Training for 'Force Jump' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Truth Sense' begins here.))

Searching for articles on the finer points of the Ataru form of lightsaber combat, Buggie had been sitting in the Jedi Archives for hours. Maintaining his studies had been an important part of his training as a Padawan, and the curiosity had never abandoned him. Always desiring to improve his understanding of the Force, Buggie devoted large portions of his week studying in the Archives. Scanning through the articles and information that came up from his search, Buggie landed upon some information that he deemed interesting. Shifting in his seat at the computer console, Buggie prepared to begin reading.

Almost as soon as he began reading, Buggie heard a crash from one of the nearby rows of books. Turning to look, Buggie couldn't see anything strange, so he returned to his reading. Hearing giggling coming from the about the same location, Buggie rose from his seat and walked over to where the distractions had come from. Stepping over to the row of books and looking around the corner, Buggie saw two young Human boys hurrying away from a spot where books had been dumped off the shelf onto the floor.

Hustling over to catch them before they got away, Buggie sternly called out, "Hey! Get over here!"

Stopping and looking at one another, the boys said, "Uh-oh..."

Coming over to the boys, Buggie pointed at the fallen books and said, "Did you make this mess?"

The Human boy with red hair said, "Nuh-uh. It wasn't us."

Immediately, something felt strange within Buggie. A mental ping had sounded in his head, unlike the kind that the Force used to notify him of danger. While he could feel that the Force was telling him something, Buggie wasn't sure what the reaction meant. Feeling out with the Force, Buggie couldn't sense anything unusual occurring. While the Force had used his senses to tell him something, Buggie was clueless as to what the message was. He would need to investigate further in order to determine what the Force was trying to warn him of.

Still standing in front of the Human boys, Buggie said, "Listen up, I want both of you to tell me what happened back there. One of you tell me what happened, and the other will tell me next. I intend to find out what caused this mess and you had better believe that there will be consequences for the guilty person."

As the red haired boy began speaking, the brown haired boy waited and listened. Focusing on what the boy had to say, Buggie reached out with the Force to analyze the Human's words. As the boy's story unfolded, a series of mental pings began to sound in Buggie's mind. Soon, Buggie began to realize that the Force was trying to notify him of the lies that the young boy was telling. Whenever the boy told something that wasn't entirely true, and this was happening fairly often, the Force gave Buggie a warning of it. Concentrating on what the boy was saying with the assistance of the Force, Buggie was able to gain a clearer picture of what had really happened. By sorting through the lies, Buggie suspected that the boys were horsing around near the shelf of books when one of them knocked the books down.

When the red haired boy had finished telling his story, Buggie then allowed the brown haired boy to tell him what had happened. Buggie was sure that the brown haired boy's story would differ from the red haired boy's story at some points, making their lies even clearer. When the brown haired boy began speaking, Buggie again focused on what he had to say. Sure enough, the brown haired boy contradicted something that the red haired boy had said, sending a clear ping through Buggie's mind with the Force. As the Force alerted him to more and more lies that developed in the boy's story, Buggie became sure that both the boys were responsible for the mess. With the Force assisting him, Buggie was able to sort out the lies and tell that the each boy had played his own part in knocking over the books. With one final ping created with the Force, the brown haired boy wrapped up his story with another lie.

After thinking for a moment, Buggie finally said, "Both of you clean up the mess you have made. You must understand that the Archives are a place of learning. I plan to see to it that you aren't permitted here until you've come to appreciate that fact."

Groaning, the Human boys shuffled over and began to place the books back on the shelf. Under Buggie's supervision, the books were returned back to their proper places. After seeing the boys out of the Archives, Buggie returned to his computer console and continued reading. He felt satisfaction at learning a new skill, and hoped that no other distractions arose that would keep him from his studies.

((OOC: Training for 'Truth Sense' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Control 3' begins here.))

As Buggie sat in the middle of a patch of woods on Naboo, he reveled in the sights and sounds that surrounded him. Everything was peaceful here, from the birds chirping to the wind rustling the leaves. As the sun shone through the canopy of branches and leaves on the position where Buggie sat, he felt soothed by the undisturbed nature that surrounded him. A recent storm had knocked a tree down nearby, but everything else seemed untouched by the outside world. This was truly a place where Buggie could lose himself in the Force and gain a better connection between him and the energy that flowed through the woods.

Feeling the desire to strengthen his control over the Force, Buggie closed his eyes and prepared to enter a meditative state where he could tap into the vast energy that surrounded him. Starting out by letting the Force wash over him, Buggie allowed the Force to surround him, allowing him to gain a more vast connection with it. As he reached out with his senses, Buggie could detect the life that surrounded him in the woods. The birds, the trees, everything around him was connected together within the Force. For a start, Buggie decided that he would practice his control over the Force by using telekinesis. It had been a handy power to have, but Buggie felt that he could improve his ability to move objects with his mind with a little more practice.

Reaching out with the Force, Buggie sensed that there were some stones nearby. Allowing the Force to create a connection between his mind and the stones, Buggie lifted one of them through his telekinetic powers. Raising the stone and moving it carefully toward him with the Force, Buggie kept the stone suspended in the air. Observing how the Force ran though the stone and the connection that the Force energy made between both himself and the stone, Buggie paused for a moment as he studied it. After he was satisfied, Buggie began to spin the stone with the assistance of the Force. As he focused on the stone, he put more and more Force energy into spinning it progressively faster. When he was satisfied, Buggie then focused on the stone once more, stopping it from spinning suddenly. As the stone again hung in the air motionlessly, Buggie called upon the Force once more to pick up another stone.

Keeping the first stone suspended in the air with his telekinetic Force powers, Buggie brought the second stone over so that it hung in the air next to the first. Again, Buggie called upon the Force to assist him in telekinetically spinning the first stone. As he spun the stone faster and faster, Buggie then shifted his focus to the second stone. Calling upon the Force to keep spinning the first stone, Buggie then began spinning the second stone in the opposite direction. As the first stone moved counter-clockwise, Buggie influenced the Force in spinning the other stone clockwise. Feeling his use of the Force place a bit of a strain on his mind, Buggie smiled under the pressure. He was pleased to know that he was pushing the limits of his control over the Force. Now he would attempt to push it further than he had ever done before.

As the stones spun quickly in opposite rotations, Buggie attempted to maneuver the stones while they were spinning. Moving one over the other in a wheel-like pattern, Buggie rotated the stones as if he was juggling them with his mind. Feeling a definite strain within his mind from the amount of Force energy that he was manipulating, Buggie decided it was time for a rest. With the assistance of the Force, Buggie stopped the stones from spinning and placed them down on the ground. Pushing himself too far could lead to an abuse of the Force. Perhaps attempting a different type of exercise would help build his skills while exercising another region of his mind.

Next, concentrating on the tree that had fallen in a recent storm, Buggie planned on performing an exercise with it. He had learned that once the mind had gotten past the natural awareness of size, that a Force user could accomplish greater tasks with his or her mind. Focusing on the fallen tree, Buggie connected to it with the Force. As the energy from the Force flowed through his mind and around the tree, Buggie attempted to lift it. Easing himself, Buggie reached his hand out, guiding his mind as it attempted to lift the tree. As the Force enveloped the tree, Buggie sensed that it moved slightly. Considering it a small victory, Buggie quickly moved past the small movement and continued focusing. Extending his hand and raising his palm in order to physicalize the Force energy he was influencing, Buggie once again attempted to raise the fallen tree. Inch by inch, Buggie influenced the Force in raising the tree a little more. As the fallen tree began to get hooked on the surrounding foliage, Buggie began to focus more. Pushing past the interfering branches, the tree began to rise even more easily as Buggie manipulated it. While it wasn't as well done as Buggie had intended it to be, he eventually succeeded in using the Force to aid him in raising the fallen tree to about his own height. Easing the tree back down with the Force, Buggie set it back to where it had been when it had fallen.

Now searching for other objects to manipulate with his telekinetic powers, Buggie reached out around him with his senses. After a moment, Buggie sensed that there was a large bird's nest up in a tree. Not feeling any life within the nest or sensing any eggs, Buggie decided to use the nest for another exercise. This time, Buggie would test the precision of his telekinetic movements.

Stretching his mind out to the rocks that he had used earlier, Buggie lifted one of them with the Force. Feeling the energy of the Force flow through his mind as he lifted the large stone, Buggie focused as he continued raising it. Steadying his mind, Buggie called upon the Force to guide him and his senses in placing the stone inside of the abandoned bird nest. As he rose the stone to the level of the bird nest, Buggie carefully positioned it over the top with the help of the Force. Sensing that he had pushed it too far, Buggie guided the stone back over a small distance. Lowering the stone carefully as he focused on the Force energy that surrounded it, Buggie slowly inserted the large stone into the bird nest. Barely fitting the stone within the nest, Buggie made sure that it would stay by easing off the amount of Force energy that he used to balance the stone. When he was satisfied that the stone would remain in the nest, Buggie moved on to the second stone.

Using the same strategy as the first time, Buggie positioned the second stone above the bird nest with the Force. This time, Buggie would have to find the precise location where the second stone would balance on the first stone while they were stacked in the bird nest. If they didn't balance, than the second stone would come toppling out of the nest and hit the ground. As Buggie concentrated on the position, he carefully used the Force to lower the stone. As he made minor adjustments to the location where it would contact the first stone, Buggie used the Force to guide his senses. Detecting that he was very close to contacting the first stone, Buggie focused intensely on easing the second stone down. As the Force assisted him in touching down the second stone, Buggie carefully attempted to stack the stones on top of one another. As he let go with the Force energy that assisted him in moving the stones, Buggie sensed that the stones were balancing on top of one another within the nest. Satisfied, Buggie used his telekinetic powers to remove the stones from the nest for one last exercise.

Dropping the stones back onto the ground, Buggie prepared for his final exercise. Taking a deep breath, Buggie cleared his mind from any fatigue that he had worked up so far. He planned on pushing his powers to the limit in this last exercise, combining a couple of the earlier exercises into one. Readying himself, Buggie began the final exercise. Raising the stones with the Force, Buggie began to rotate them in opposite directions yet again. As he moved on, Buggie then allowed the Force to assist him in moving them one over the other in a wheel-like rotation. As the stones moved and rotated, Buggie spent a few more moments concentrating on them before he moved on to the next stage. After he had allowed his mind to get used to the Force energy necessary to keep the movement of the stones going, Buggie moved on to the next stage.

As the stones were spinning and rotating, Buggie shifted his focus onto the fallen tree. Buggie planned on raising the tree yet again, while he kept the stones moving with the aid of the Force. This task would require immense concentration and focus, and Buggie felt prepared. Feeling the energy of the Force under the tree, Buggie cleared his mind of any thoughts of size or weight. He only concentrated on the infinite power of the Force and what it could achieve. Determined to successfully pass his final exercise, Buggie used the Force energy within the tree to influence it to rise. As the stones began to slow with the focus Buggie put forward toward the tree, Buggie paused to regulate the Force energy needed in both locations. Recovering from the minor setback, Buggie resumed spinning the stones and continued focusing on the tree. Raising it very slowly, Buggie felt the Force energy surging through the tree and the stones. As he finally lifted the tree to about the height where he had raised it before, Buggie slowly lowered it. When the tree had once again found the location where it had originally fallen, Buggie then turned his attention to the stones. Slowing them down and stopping them, Buggie used his telekinetic powers to put them back where he had found them.

Breathing heavily and tired from the amount of mental strain, Buggie began to rest himself. He had gone through a very good mental workout, and he felt that he had achieved a stronger control over the Force. Once he had forgotten about size and weight and allowed his mind to open to the possibilities of the Force, Buggie was able to achieve his goals. Satisfied with what he had done in his exercises, Buggie looked around the woods one last time. Everything was just about where he had found it when he had arrived. This pleased Buggie, as he didn't want to upset the natural beauty of where he had just trained. Rising from the ground, Buggie began to head off toward the Jedi Enclave feeling like he had a better understanding of what it was to control the Force.

((OOC: Training for 'Control 3' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Psychometry' begins here.))

Walking the streets of Theed, Buggie looked around him, taking in the beautiful architecture that the city was known for. The buildings and their fantastic emerald-colored roofs had always caught Buggie's attention ever since the first time he had come to Theed for a show. As Buggie marveled at the cityscape that surrounded him, he turned in to a narrow street. Buggie had come to learn shortcuts around the city in his many visits, and narrow streets between buildings were a common way to get from place to place faster. As he walked through the empty space, something caught Buggie's eye. Approaching it, Buggie bent down to examine the object that he had noticed. Picking it up, Buggie examined the strange access card. It was a gold color and had multiple rivets on it. Flipping it over, Buggie looked to see if there was a name on it. Finding none, Buggie then began to wonder how the card came to be dropped.

An idea began forming within Buggie's mind as he pondered the origin of the card. He had read in the Archives about Force powers that allowed the user to see within the future or the past. As the Force united and connected all three realms of time, it was possible for it to give its users visions of either. If Buggie focused enough on the card that he held within his hand, he was sure that he could get a glimpse of how the card came to be left here.

As he looked upon the card and focused, Buggie stretched out his senses with the Force. Trying to get a feeling for if the card had been handled by someone in the Jedi Coalition, the Force didn't give off any unusual reactions to the card. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, Buggie shifted his focus to attempting to sense other things about the card with the help of the Force. As he stood in the spot where he had found it, Buggie tightened his focus on the card, allowing the Force to help him sense where the card had come from. As he entered a state of near trance-like focus, Buggie connected himself with the card, becoming familiar with it through the Force.

Allowing the Force to guide him in his trance-like state, Buggie began to hear faint footsteps in his mind. Calming himself in order to maintain his focus, Buggie continued to concentrate on where the Force led him. Soon, anxious breath could be heard along with the quickening footsteps. Buggie knew that in order to keep gaining information, he would need to allow the Force to open his mind to the past. As Buggie was carried away by the Force energy that led him, he began to feel more and more of the emotions that surrounded the holder of the card. Soon, Buggie could feel the physical feelings that he holder would have felt. The clothing and leather jacket in contact with his skin, the breeze blowing lazily against his face, and the temperature of the Theed night. Once the Force had led him to experience the physical feelings, Buggie could feel that he was on the verge of experiencing the emotional feelings as well. While the emotions of the man were cloudy at first, Buggie began to develop a feeling of the man's emotions as the Force opened his mind to them. Buggie could feel a lust within the man, passion waiting to be unleashed upon someone who waited for him. The man was yearning to feel the touch of the significant other, to hold them in his arms. The Force alerted Buggie of the man's thoughts, mostly crowded with quick reminders of the time he was supposed to meet his significant other and how they would react to seeing him.

As the Buggie became alerted to all of the man's feelings and emotional thoughts, only one thing remained. It started as a bleak spectacle, but soon the Force had begun to paint a clearer picture for Buggie. As the man's vision progressively grew clearer in Buggie's mind, the Force allowed him to feel what the man had felt. As everything was visible to Buggie now, he allowed the Force to carry him along on the tale of how the access card came to be where he had found it.

With quick, anxious breaths, the man walked quickly down the narrow Naboo street. Reaching into the pocket of his fine black leather coat, he withdrew his access card, giving it a quick look. The man knew that this card would be the key to the night's pleasures. As one of Naboo's moons broke through the space between the building, the man looked ahead. There, his lover stood, illuminated by the moonlight. Sprinting now, the man frantically rushed to his lover's side. Embracing his lover, the man's long dark hair spilled over the other's shoulder. As his eyes moistened from the thought of how long it had been since he last had seen his lover, he gripped the other's cold arm.

"It's been so long," the man whimpered.

"Swipe me," the lover said in a cold, emotionless tone.

"My pleasure darling, anything for you," the man said, withdrawing the card from his pocket and running it through a slot on his lover's torso.

As he placed the card back into his jacket pocket, the man's pale skin shone ghastly white in the moonlight. Quickly looking back up, the man threw his arms around his lover yet again, leaning in and resting his head against their cold shoulder. As the man proceeded to kiss his lover's cold neck and face, the lover reached around and embraced the man in return. Pushing the man's head closer to their neck, the lover let the man kiss more passionately.

As this went on for some time, the lover requested that the man continue to swipe on numerous occasions. When it had finally ended, the pale man withdrew from his lover, his long black hair falling before his eyes.

"You have reached your maximum limit for the night. We will meet again next week. Goodbye," the lover said in the emotionless tone.

As the man placed his card back inside of his jeather jacket, he coughed. Quickly covering his mouth with his hand, Buggie could hear the faint clicking noise of the card falling to the ground. Although the man must not have noticed, this was where he had dropped his card in the street. As the lover began to turn to walk away, the moonlight shone once again on their position. What Buggie saw next shocked him. The "lover" had been a droid the entire time. As Buggie was repulsed by the thought of the twisted man having just made love to a droid, he quickly ended the vision of the past.

As the Force reverted him back to the present, Buggie quickly threw the card to the ground and stepped away from it. Whomever this man was that made love to droids would find his card in the same location where he had left it. Quickly rushing from the scene, Buggie high-tailed it out of the narrow street that ran between a couple of buildings. Although he was happy that he had gained experience and learned a new Force power, he was a bit queasy due to what he had just witnessed. Rushing back to the Enclave, Buggie tried to forget what he had just seen and felt.

((OOC: Training for 'Psychometry' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Level 7' begins here.))

As Buggie walked through the halls of the Enclave, he approached one of the eating areas. Risa Yissik, a Togruta Padawan, had asked for his assistance in practicing some of the Force powers she had recently learned while her master was away. Gladly accepting, Buggie had arranged to meet her in the eating area where he had conducted one of his first training sessions with his previous instructor, Master Godot. As Buggie entered, he sensed the Togruta Padawan nearby. After scanning the crowd of Jedi and Enclave workers, Buggie finally spotted Risa sitting at a table.

Approaching the table, Buggie waved and said, "Hello Risa! Are you ready to begin your exercises?"

Quickly rising from the table, Risa bowed and said, "Yes, Buggie. Thank you for meeting me today."

"It's not a problem," Buggie said, waving off the comment, "I'm glad you asked me to help. Perhaps by training you a bit, I can pick up on something new as well. If you're ready to begin, follow me."

As Buggie motioned for Risa to follow, he moved toward the door of the eating area, entering the kitchen. Buggie could sense the Padawan's hesitation as she entered the off-limits area of the eatery. Quickly moving through the kitchen, Buggie and Risa passed stoves, pots, pans, and supply racks full of food. Buggie ignored all of this, moving past the cooking area and heading toward the freezer. Buggie was surprised that Risa had not objected to what they were doing so far, a sign of discipline in the Padawan learner.

As Buggie held open the door to the freezer, he gestured inside and said, "After you."

Following Risa inside of the freezer, Buggie shut the door and sat down on the frigid floor. Motioning for Risa to follow along, she carefully sat down on the uncomfortable floor of the freezer.

"I can sense that you're a bit curious as to why I chose to bring you here. My instructor brought me to many adverse locations in order to teach me a lesson. You can't always choose where you'll be using your Force abilities. It's better to learn to use them when you're uncomfortable so that you can get past all of the barriers in your way and strive to gain complete focus within the Force. Now, what would you like to start out with for practice?" Buggie asked.

"Well... It's pretty cold in here, can we practice changing our body temperatures?" Risa asked, giving a hopeful look.

"Certainly," Buggie said, before continuing, "The Force can affect your body in many ways. By allowing it to run through your body and alter the energy that warms your body, you can achieve a comfortable body temperature in many different environments. Let the Force take control and course through you, warming your body. Watch as I do it first, and then sense the subtle ways that the Force reacts with my body. Once I've finished, than I'll have you go."

Nodding, Risa said, "Okay."

Feeling the Force even in a small freezer like this, Buggie called upon its energy to alter his body temperature. As the Force flowed through him, Buggie used it to increase the temperature of his body. While he was chilly now, once Buggie had directed the Force to warm him, he would maintain a comfortable body temperature even in freezing conditions. Calling upon the Force to change the temperature of his body, Buggie allowed it to increase his metabolism to a higher state, warming him. Using the energy of the Force as the power source that would fuel the warmth, Buggie lost little body energy in the process. As his body temperature steadily rose with the assistance of the Force, Buggie grew more and more comfortable as time went on, finally reaching a body temperature he was satisfied with. With the Force's assistance, Buggie maintained that body temperature and could no longer feel the uncomfortable temperature of the freezer.

"Your turn," Buggie said.

Nodding, Risa relaxed herself visibly and set about imitating what Buggie had just done. As Buggie watched her, he could sense that the Force was interacting with her body. The Force energy in the freezer began to run through her more as she called upon it to warm herself. As well, Buggie could sense within a few moments that Risa was successfully using the Force to warm herself. In essence, she was using the Force to surround her like a blanket, warming her body.

"Well done Risa, it seems that you had almost no difficulty in that exercise," Buggie commented.

"Thank you. It's one of my better powers," she said.

"Now let's move on to creating light with the Force," Buggie began, before explaining, "Force energy can be employed in a number of ways, from warming your body, to creating an orb of illumination that can light a dark passage. Allow the Force energy in the room to gather in your palm. Once you have the energy, let its waves turn into a guiding light. Though it may start dim, remember to keep your focus and improve the way you're seeing the Force. It should all come together with enough concentration."

Reaching his hand out before Risa, Buggie allowed some of the Force energy in the room to come to him. As the Force energy gathered within Buggie, he channeled it to his palm. With the midichlorians within his hand reacting to the Force energy, Buggie was almost ready to release it in an orb of pure Force light. With a flick of his wrist, Buggie released the Force energy that he had built up and illuminated the dimly lighted freezer. The orb of pure Force energy in the form of light hovered slightly above Buggie's hand. With a telekinetic push of the Force, Buggie raised the orb near the ceiling of the freezer and lit up the entire room. With another flick of his wrist, the orb had disappeared back into the Force energy that flowed throughout the room.

As Risa did the same, Buggie could feel the Force energy in the room once again flowing through her. Within moments, Risa cast a dim, unstable orb of light. It hovered above her hand, shifting in intensity.

"Remember to focus. You can't allow your thoughts to stray. Concentrate on the task at hand and let the Force do its part," Buggie added.

Buggie could see by Risa's facial expression that she had entered a deeper state of focus. The Force energy that flowed through her was now being channeled to the orb. Within moments, the orb shone brightly inside of the freezer.

"Excellent! Well done! It's even more impressive when you factor in that you're still regulating your body temperature while casting light. You're making great progress if you can use the Force in different ways at the same time," Buggie said, praising the Padawan.

"Thank you, Buggie. Could we try the other end of the spectrum now? How about causing darkness?" Risa asked.

"Sure," Buggie said, "The process is quite similar to creating light. Instead of releasing Force energy for light though, you'll be using the Force to absorb light. Since the Force binds all things in the galaxy together, with enough focus you can essentially take the light straight from the source and absorb it. Study how the Force interacts with the lights and allows the waves of illumination to travel around the room."

Reaching out with his senses, Buggie could feel the Force interacting with the frost covered lights in the freezer. Buggie recalled that redirecting the light that traveled throughout the room to his own body with the help of the Force was the best bet for casting darkness on the freezer. Reaching out and calling the Force to him, Buggie prepared to take the light from the bulbs. Exerting control over the Force to make the light travel from the bulbs to his body, Buggie was ready. Closing his hand into a fist, all of the light in the freezer was redirected to his body with the help of the Force. After a few moments, Buggie opened his hand and the Force stopped redirecting the light in the freezer. The freezer was once again cast in dim illumination.

As Risa once again followed along, soon she had too cast the room in darkness. Buggie noticed that she had also physicalized her will with the Force, closing her hand into a fist before the freezer was cast into darkness.

"Well done again," Buggie said, "Now let's shift our focus from controlling the Force and altering it to sensing the life around us. Allow the Force to identify the living beings around you. First, you should notice me, but then move beyond that. As all of us are connected through the Force, it should be fairly simple."

Together this time, both Buggie and Risa expanded their senses, attempting to sense the life around them. Buggie could sense Risa and how the Force connected them together. While they were such a short distance apart, Buggie knew that he was hardly using his Force abilities to sense her. Reaching beyond that, Buggie could sense the cooks and chefs in the kitchen, the Force giving Buggie an idea of how they moved about preparing their meals. Further beyond that, Buggie could sense the Force connecting the Jedi and Enclave workers eating at their seats. There were many signs of life within the Enclave, and the Force connected all the individuals together for Buggie. He could sense the Force energy flowing through them, binding and connecting them all under the Force. Whether or not they were able to manipulate the Force, Buggie could not tell. All that the Force told him was that they were all united under its power. Stretching his senses far, Buggie could sense the Force identifying the life within the Archives, many different beings studying and walking among the rows of knowledge materials.

Shifting his focus, Buggie could sense Risa using the Force to sense life as well. When she had finished, she looked at Buggie, expecting the next exercise and lesson.

"Okay, last one," Buggie said, "Let's try a more advanced way to use your senses with the Force. Using the surveillance method of sensing, you can gain knowledge of your surroundings without others knowing. I'll go first and identify some things about this freezer. I'll ask you a question about something within here, and you look me in the eyes and tell me the answer after gathering the information."

As Buggie once again stretched out his senses with the Force, he looked upon Risa. With his mind concentrating on surveying the room, Buggie narrowed his Force-boosted senses as he scanned the shelves of frozen goods. With the Force allowing him to scan the shelves without even touching them, Buggie gathered information on the frozen bags of meat and cans of food. As he aimed his senses high upon one shelf, the Force alerted Buggie to something peculiar, a glove frozen to one of the shelves. As Buggie examined the glove with his senses, the Force relayed the information back to his mind.

"Risa," Buggie began, "There's something strange in this room. Tell me if your senses pick up an unusual item on one of the shelves."

As Risa began to search with her senses, Buggie could sense that she was using the Force to aid her. Keeping her eyes forward on Buggie, she was doing a good job of gathering information without looking where she was searching. After a few moments, she sat up, possibly having discovered the same thing Buggie had.

"There's a glove frozen to one of the shelves!" Risa exclaimed.

With a smile, Buggie said, "Well done. It must have been left by one of the workers. You've done an excellent job today, Risa. Your master would be proud if he had seen you."

"Thank you, Buggie," Risa said.

Rising, Buggie motioned for her to follow. Exiting the freezer, Buggie and Risa made their way out to the eating area. When they had said their goodbyes, Risa once again thanked Buggie for his help. As he departed, Buggie was happy he could have helped one of the young learners within the Coalition. Perhaps one day he would have a Padawan of his own. Risa was a very talented learner with much potential and Buggie envied her master's luck. As he walked down the hallway, Buggie thought it felt good to be able to spread his knowledge of the Force. While Risa had gained valuable practice, Buggie felt that he had learned much as well. Going back to the basic skills kept his mind fresh. While Buggie could use most of his skills quickly, it felt good to take the time to get down to the finer points of them. As well, Buggie had gained the experience of teaching another Jedi how to use the Force. With a smile, Buggie hoped that more Padawan learners would come his way for further instruction.

((OOC: Training for 'Level 7' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Sense 3' begins here.))

Having climbed high onto the ledge of a bell tower in Theed, Buggie looked out across the city. As he watched the crowds of people going about their daily lives, Buggie decided it was time to work on improving his senses. He knew it was one thing to be able to see the crowds of people, but something else entirely to be able to sense them and feel their presence through the Force. Buggie had recognized that his senses had been his weakest Force ability, and he intended to improve them. Seating himself on the wide ledge of the bell tower, Buggie prepared to begin exercising his senses.

As he found a comfortable position on the ledge, Buggie began his exercise. Letting out a deep breath, Buggie felt the Force flow through his mind, contacting his senses. As the Force strengthened his senses, allowing him to become more aware of things surrounding him, Buggie reached out his senses to the areas below him. As Buggie used the waves of Force energy to relay information to him, he began to examine his surroundings. In the marketplace nearby, with the assistance of the Force, Buggie could sense crowds of people gathered around various stores. Upon further examination with the aid of the Force energy nearby, Buggie could feel the live near the marketplace with a stronger sense of clarity. He could sense through the Force that there were Gungans travelling together among the Humans, scanning the stores for any interesting wares that they might find. Occasionally, the Force alerted Buggie that there were even other races mixed in the crowds, including a few Mon Calamari, Sullustans, and Kel Dor. Because they were all united under the Force, Buggie had no problem in identifying the familiar races. As the Force ran through each of them, binding them together under the Living Force, Buggie found it simple to sense them as they moved about below.

While Buggie knew it was simple to use the Force to identify living beings above the ground, he knew it was slightly more difficult to sense them deep within the water. While it would take more focus to sense the living organisms deep below the surface of a nearby river, Buggie knew that the Force penetrated even the molecules of water. Using that Force energy to relay information back to himself would prove useful in sensing the organisms that lived within the depths. As Buggie's focus stretched deep within the nearby river, he called upon the Force to give him information regarding the life under the surface. Before he could even sense the life below the river, the Force alerted Buggie to the various algae and aquatic plant life near the river bank. While the plants were far different from a mobile organism such as a Human, the Force still ran through them. As Buggie examined the plants with his Force-boosted senses, he could tell that they had grown from a small seed to a large plant, just as a Human would grow from a fetus to an adult. As Buggie thought on this, he recognized that the Force allowed similar growth through vastly different living organisms. Buggie knew that this was only a simple way that the Force united each organism under its energy.

As Buggie shifted his focus past the plants and algae that resided near the bank of the river, he used the Force to push past the surface and detect the variety of life living within. With the Force energy flowing through each molecule of water, Buggie focused on the way that the Force interacted with its surrounds to sense the aquatic life. It wasn't long before the Force helped Buggie sense a school of fish darting about beneath the surface of the water. Gooberfish were abundant on Naboo, and the Force quickly alerted Buggie to the large number of them travelling together beneath the surface. With his mind acting like a microscope examining a small particle, the Force was the power source that allowed Buggie to see. Focusing his senses past the gooberfish; the Force energy that Buggie was using shot through the depths in search of more life. As the core of the planet was liquid, Buggie scanned down further in search of any signals through the Force. While he wouldn't come remotely close to sensing the core of the planet itself, with concentration, Buggie could sense life a considerable distance from the surface through the Force. As the aquatic life grew larger and larger, Buggie's Force senses picked up on them as he scanned further down. Far down under the surface, Buggie could sense an Opee sea killer swimming through the water, it's massive body fairly easy to spot with the Force energy that penetrated it. Scanning further down into the depths, the Force alerted Buggie to a bongo watercraft speeding up toward the surface. As he concentrated further, the Force yet again allowed Buggie to sense a mammoth sando aqua monster chasing the bongo. As Buggie shifted his focus to the bongo yet again, the Force allowed Buggie to see that the bongo was successfully pulling away from the gigantic sea creature.

Withdrawing his senses back up to the surface, Buggie immediately recognized that the Force was alerting him to a flock of ducks swimming on the surface of the river nearby. As the ducks all swam in a row, Buggie happily examined the waterfowl with the Force; sensing their connection to the Force energy that surrounded them. As they all took off from the water, the Force snapped Buggie's focus to the now airborne creatures. As the ducks began flying high up to the level of the bell tower, Buggie could sense through the Force that there were even other types of birds nearby. In the decorative patches of trees within the city of Theed, Buggie could sense with the Force that there were many small types of birds within the trees themselves. As he focused his senses to a nearby patch of trees, the Force relayed that there were even unhatched eggs within the bird's nests. The tiny, unhatched baby birds had even given off their own signal as they reacted to the Force.

Now stretching his focus to a wide portion of the streets below, Buggie used the Force to gather as much information as he could about his surroundings. Carefully regulating the amount of information the Force gave him so that he wouldn't overload his senses, Buggie scanned the streets below. The sensation that followed was indescribable to Buggie; the Force began to relay so much information to him, it was almost as if he was on the streets himself, everywhere at once. Through the power of the Force, Buggie could sense mothers carrying and leading their children through the crowded streets, all types of beings moving about surveying the marketplaces, and those going about their daily jobs. To an extent, Buggie could even sense within the surrounding buildings, as the Force gave Buggie a clear image of employees busily working at desks, reading papers, and writing. Feeling the strain of his exercise, Buggie allowed the Force to let go of it's influence on his mind. As his senses resumed a less powerful state, Buggie relaxed his tired mind.

Buggie was satisfied with the progress he had made in exercising his senses. The focus that he had exerted in sensing below the water and into his surroundings was tiring, but he had gained valuable experience from doing it. As he moved off the ledge and back into the structure of the bell tower, Buggie prepared to climb down the long, winding staircase and return home back to the Enclave. With his strengthened senses, Buggie could now focus more on how the Force interacted with living organisms, among other things. Hopefully, with more control over his senses, Buggie would be able to do a better job of observing his surroundings.

((OOC: Training for 'Sense 3' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Force Shield' begins here.))

"Tell me Buggie, have you ever practiced the ability to shield yourself with the Force?" Kyle Char asked, sitting on the cool floor of one of the Enclave's training rooms.

After a particularly energetic sparring match, both Buggie and the Echani Kyle Char were resting for a break. Kyle was a Jedi Knight, the same as Buggie. Their skills were nearly identical, which proved to make the sparring match even more challenging. The Jedi Knights were forced to make split decisions during their duel in order to throw off their opponent. Unexpectedly, the duel had come to a close with both of the Jedi having disarmed each other.

"No, I haven't heard of the ability. What is it used for?" Buggie asked, sitting down nearby Kyle so that he could rest his tired legs.

"It's a way to protect yourself from enemies overpowering you with the Force," Kyle explained, "For example, if I wanted to grab away your lightsaber in a duel, the Force would protect you in that my power would be negated and you would keep your lightsaber in hand. I actually just ran across some information on it in the Archives before we met up."

"That certainly sounds useful, Kyle. Why don't we give it a try?" Buggie offered, rising from the floor and offering Kyle a hand.

Taking Buggie's hand, Kyle pulled himself up to a standing position and said with a wink, "Oh Buggie, you're such a bookworm. I should have known that as soon as I brought up a new power you'd want to practice it. Can't you just take it easy for once?"

"No," Buggie said plainly, "You know just as much as I do that every skill we learn puts us at more of an advantage against our enemies. What good is a Jedi that can't even defend himself?"

"Not a very good one at all," Kyle admitted.

"Well then we agree on one thing at least," Buggie said with a smile, "Let's begin."

"Okay. From what I gathered in the Archives, you should use your senses to gain a clue as to what I'm attempting to do to you. Once you pick up on my intentions, you should channel the Force through you in order to protect you from whatever I'm trying to do. I know it sounds vague, but as long as you're focused, the rest should come fairly easily," Kyle explained.

"Okay, well there's only one way to find out of this will work," Buggie said, drawing his training lightsaber, "Whenever you're ready."

As Kyle ignited his training saber, the two Jedi began to clash. As the sound of their lightsabers striking each other filled the room, Buggie focused on Kyle, just as he would in any other situation. Feeling the Force flow through his body, Buggie heightened his senses as he prepared for Kyle to strike. Stepping through an attack, Kyle then reached out and attempted to snatch away Buggie's lightsaber.

Suddenly, the Force alerted Buggie to what was happening. Sensing the Force energy flow from Kyle in a straight path directly to his lightsaber, Buggie had only moments to react. As Buggie called upon the Force energy within his body, he pushed out, sending a current of Force energy to block the incoming telekinetic pull. While the energy that Buggie released wasn't that of a Force Push, he maintained it as a barrier around him through his control of the Force. As Kyle's pull met the barrier that Buggie had created, the Force energy that the Echani had released dissipated before Buggie, never reaching his lightsaber as intended. Through his concentration and control over the Force, Buggie had successfully maintained a shield of Force energy that countered Kyle's attack.

"Well done Buggie, but I'm not finished yet!" Kyle announced.

Before Buggie knew what was happening, Kyle sent a blast of Force energy through his mind, hampering his thoughts and reactions. As the Force suppressed Buggie's thoughts, his mind was filled with a static-like noise. As the duel continued, Buggie's danger senses through the Force were rendered unusable. Though Buggie usually used the Force to boost his reactions and movements in a battle, he couldn't maintain the concentration he needed to keep up. As a result, Buggie, now relying on a minimum amount of Force energy to assist him, began losing ground to Kyle as he advanced with quick lightsaber strikes.

Needing to react quickly, Buggie attempted to overcome the interference within his mind with superior Force concentration. Though he felt the Force flowing through his body, Buggie was unable to channel it to his mind in order to stop the interference that Kyle was sending his way. Pushing out his senses, Buggie could barely tell that Kyle was transmitting Force energy through to his mind. Countering one of the strikes that Kyle sent his way with his lightsaber, Buggie bought himself a moment to recover his Force senses while the Echani was distracted. Instantly setting up a shield of Force energy before him once more, Buggie concentrated on protecting his mind. As Kyle regained his focus, he began transmitting the interference once more. As the energy met the Force shield, the static in Buggie's mind was cut down significantly. Allowing Buggie to react, he strengthened the shield through his control of the Force and regained his focus. Bringing his lightsaber down through a powerful Djem So strike, Buggie struck Kyle on the hip.

"Gah!" Kyle yelped.

"That was a close one," Buggie said, after Kyle had recovered, "I overcame your mind interference while you were still trying to distract me."

"I thought I had you for a while there! I must admit, though, you did well," Kyle said, patting Buggie on the shoulder.

"Don't be too sore over letting me strike you; it's your turn to try to create a Force shield," Buggie said, stepping back from Kyle.

Laughing, Kyle rubbed his leg for a few more second and said, "If you say so. This time you'll be the one with the bruised leg!"

As Kyle came at Buggie, he prepared himself in a defensive stance and said, "We'll see about that!"

((OOC: Training for 'Force Shield' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Level 8' begins here. I'm also using my 200 word discount on this post.))

As Buggie raced through the thick woods of Naboo, his quick footsteps pounded against the grassy trail. Buggie had been running for quite some time, pushing his endurance as he ran deeper into the woods. Although Buggie usually ran for exercise, never had he advanced so far into the woods. Through the thick canopy of leaves and branches, Buggie could see that the sun was beginning to set. While he wanted to continue deeper into the unfamiliar woods, Buggie knew that he would have to turn back if he wanted to reach the Enclave by sundown.

Cooling down, Buggie progressively slowed until he had come to a halt. Taking a moment to rest, he looked around the woods, observing what surrounded him. Though there was only grass, trees, and other flora nearby, Buggie still felt that his surroundings held natural beauty. When he felt ready, Buggie prepared to begin running back to the Enclave.

Just as he took a step forward, Buggie heard the snap of a twig resonate through the woods. As Buggie stopped to see where the noise had came from, he briefly saw a pair of golden eyes watching him. In an attempt to get a closer look, Buggie approached the eyes, only to see them disappear once more into the darkness of the woods. Though he thought it was strange, Buggie turned and prepared to return to the Enclave once more. Once more preparing to run off, Buggie heard another sound, this time from behind him. Turning quickly to look, Buggie was greeted by the sight of a wild tusk cat silently stalking him from behind. As Buggie backed up away from the predator, his senses alerted him to more danger nearby. Glancing over his shoulder, Buggie saw that he was progressively being surrounded by a pack of wild tusk cat. As a sense of urgency arose within Buggie, for a split second he wondered why the predators were advancing on him. Tusk cat weren't known to attack Humans, though Buggie knew that he was obviously far from being one himself. Perhaps, he thought, Verpine were a desirable meal to the predatory creatures.

In any case, Buggie wouldn't let himself be their meal this evening. As the pack of tusk cat moved in, Buggie quickly came up with an idea. Not wanting to kill the creatures unless he absolutely had to, Buggie prepared to defend himself. Feeling the Force run through his body, Buggie expanded his senses so that he was aware of the predators' movements as they surrounded him. With the aid of the Force, Buggie identified three tusk cat moving toward him slowly. Drawing in a concentration of Force energy, Buggie held it within his body, allowing it to well up within him. Maintaining a balance of the Force energy that he had gathered, Buggie waited patiently until all the predators had come within range. Moments later, Buggie released the Force energy within his body, feeling it course through every inch of his body and flow out in an invisible wave of energy. The Force energy that Buggie had emitted shot out in a shockwave of telekinetic power, blasting the tusk cat back.

Without his lightsaber, Buggie would have to rely on the Force to aid him in this fight. As the biggest tusk cat recovered, leaping to its feet, Buggie called upon the Force once more, using the energy within his body to send another blast of energy toward the pack leader. As Buggie used his control over the Force to guide the blast to the pack leader, he could feel the energy bursting from his body in a direct path to his target. As the pack leader went flying, the Force alerted Buggie yet again to more danger approaching quickly. A tusk cat leaped into the air behind Buggie, raising its paw for a death blow. With the Force sending a screaming message to the back of Buggie's mind, he quickly hit the ground and rolled away from the attack. Unfortunately for Buggie, this left him on the ground in a tough position. The last tusk cat quickly took advantage of his position, pinning him onto the ground and moving to maul Buggie with its tusks. As the tusk cat moved to kill, Buggie desperately channeled the Force energy within his body for assistance. As the Force seemed to slow the world at that moment, Buggie quickly grabbed onto the tusk cat's head and channeled the Force to strengthen his legs. Feeling the energy burst forth into his muscles, Buggie kicked up as hard as he could in an attempt to stab the tusk cat with the talons on his feet. With the Force aiding in the kick, Buggie's sharp talons drove deep within the belly of the tusk cat.

Before it could strike, the tusk cat screamed, rolling to its side to escape the sharp talons that Buggie had inserted into its flesh. Realizing his chance to escape, Buggie called upon the Force to help him leap up. As the energy of the Force ran through his legs yet again, Buggie jumped up from the ground and ran. Before he could get moving, though, the Force alerted him that the two remaining tusk cat were quickly approaching him from opposite sides. With no chance to outrun them, even with the help of the Force, Buggie followed the progressively growing sense of danger within his mind and dove to the ground once more. The second that he hit the ground, the two tusk cat collided in mid-air over the top of him. Quickly using the innate Force energy within his body to quicken his reactions, Buggie rolled out of the way as the two predators landed in a heap where he had just been laying.

With the Force flowing fully through his body, Buggie allowed it to guide his actions. With the pack leader nearby, the Force mentally alerted Buggie that he should attack. With a leap of faith, Buggie latched onto the back of the pack leader as he rose to get up after the collision. Dazed from the impact moments before, the pack leader was startled to find that its prey had attached himself to its back. Digging his sharp talons and claws into the flesh of the beast, Buggie held on for dear life. Using the Force to strengthen his hold onto the back of the pack leader, Buggie continued holding. As the leader began to buck and twist in an effort to throw Buggie off, he reared into the air. At this moment, the wounded tusk cat and the other tusk cat came to help. Using the Force to pull himself closer to the back of the tusk cat as it reared into the air, Buggie felt his grip strengthen. With the wounded tusk cat in a rage, it clawed at Buggie, slashing with power. Unfortunately for the thrashing pack leader, it had come into the way of its fellow tusk cat's attack. As one tusk cat accidentally struck another, the pack leader's chest erupted in a spray of blood. As the pack leader began to fall backwards, Buggie kicked off of its back as the Force quickly channeled to his legs, allowing him to perform an athletic jump.

With the pack leader fatally wounded, the uninjured tusk cat backed off, realizing that its leader had been defeated. Still, the other wounded tusk cat pursued its attack on Buggie, still in a rage. As Buggie landed on the ground, he quickly turned and saw the wounded tusk cat charging at him. With just enough time to formulate an attack of his own, Buggie once more began to draw in Force energy within his body. As the Force energy began to well up, Buggie cocked back his hands, channeling the Force to gather between his palms. With a thunderous roar, the approaching tusk cat bellowed its battle cry and put its head down, ready to inflict fatal damage on Buggie. Using his control over the Force to gather even more Force energy, Buggie prepared to unleash his final attack. Just as the tusk cat was about to meet Buggie head on, Buggie brought his hands forward and unleashed his powerful blast of Force energy.

As the power of the blasting Force energy pushed Buggie backwards, he telekinetically controlled the blast to strike the tusk cat head on. As the Force shot out, the tusk cat was thrown back, flying into the air. The power of the blast had sent the tusk cat flying through a thin tree that had been growing within the woods. As the tusk cat landed hard onto the ground, it rolled along into the dirt, its momentum carrying it a short distance. Recovering from the amount of Force energy that he had just released, Buggie stood for a moment, breathing heavily. With two of the tusk cats defeated, the remaining tusk cat ran off into the deep woods. Not wanting to stick around and attract any other predators, Buggie quickly jogged away from the scene, still exhausted. As the Force energy within him began to accumulate once more, Buggie felt stronger from the experience. Still, he didn't want to risk running into any more predators within the woods. Buggie decided that perhaps it would be better off if he stopped running in the woods.

((OOC: Training for 'Level 8' ends here.))

[Master Buggie]

((OOC: Training for 'Force Comprehension' begins here.))

Spending another afternoon in the Archives, Buggie wondered what useful information he would run across. As he sat at a computer console and scrolled through a list of materials regarding starfighters, an idea began forming in his mind. Slayn & Korpil, the famous Verpine manufacturing corporation, had played a large role in the development of the B-Wing starfighter. His own parents, in fact, were members of the lead engineering team that developed the concept of the rotating cockpit made famous by the B-Wing. Though Buggie had gained basic knowledge of the B-Wing starfighter in school back within the Roche Asteroids years ago, he desired to study it further.

Typing in the command to search for articles related to the B-Wing starfighter, Buggie waited shortly for the results to appear on the screen. Judging by the results, the Jedi Archives contained extensive knowledge of the starfighter. Sitting forward in his seat, Buggie rested his head in his hand and began reading. After a few moments of studying the material, another idea began to form in Buggie's mind. Since he was within the Jedi Archives, the most extensive database for material related to the Force in the galaxy, perhaps he could use his control over the Force to boost his learning capabilities.

Sitting back in his seat, Buggie prepared to begin his experiment. Feeling the Force flow through him, Buggie opened his mind up to the energy that surrounded him. As Buggie channeled the midichlorians within his body to react to the Force energy, he felt his mind begin to change. Though the change was slight, Buggie could feel the Force strengthening his mind, allowing it to take in details at a higher rate. With the Force boosting his level of awareness, Buggie's senses began to pick up on the material before him, streaming information into his mind. As Buggie began to set eyes on the computer screen before him, it seemed as if the Force itself was carrying the information and channeling it right to his mind.

Still, Buggie could feel that he didn't truly understand all of the material before him, even though the Force was allowing his mind to absorb it. It was one thing for the Force to allow Buggie to see the information and run his eyes over it, but it was another to truly interpret and understand what lay before him. Focusing yet again on the Force energy within his body, Buggie allowed the Force to flow through his mind further. Buggie was determined now to control the Force so that a manageable amount of information would cross his mind. Before, the Force had brought everything into Buggie's mind at once. Now, Buggie attempted to cut down the information into bits and pieces that he could interpret quickly with the Force before moving on to the next piece of material.

As Buggie studied the technical information regarding the B-Wing starfighter, the Force once again began transmitting the information quickly to his mind. Narrowing his focus to small pieces of information, Buggie steadily controlled the Force as it relayed the information to him. As Buggie flicked through charts and models of the starfighter, the Force allowed him to study them individually for only a moment before interpreting the details that they displayed. Instead of spending minutes studying the information on the charts within the article, the Force allowed Buggie to spend only matter of seconds studying the details. Using his Force-boosted senses in addition to steadily controlling the amount of information that the Force relayed to him, Buggie began to get a feel for using the Force to study. As the Force interacted with his body, allowing his neural processes to speed up so that he could interpret the information faster, Buggie began cruising through the lengthy article as if it was a children's book. Before Buggie knew it, the Force energy that transferred the information from the computer to his mind had lead him to the end of the article. It took Buggie a few moments to realize what had just occurred before him; the Force had allowed him to finish a complete scholarly article in a handful of minutes. In addition, Buggie felt as if he had completely understood the article. As Buggie sat completely still in his seat, he could help but feel that he had cheated somehow.

Clearing the article from the computer screen, Buggie then rose from his seat and began to exit the Archives. While he had gained valuable experience in learning a new method of using the Force, Buggie wanted to meditate on what he had just learned. After meditation, Buggie planned to test himself on the information he had just learned. It seemed impossible to Buggie that a person could gather information and understand it so quickly. As he exited the Archives and entered the halls of the Enclave, Buggie was once again reminded that the Force was truly a miraculous thing.

((OOC: Training for 'Force Comprehension' ends here.))