Hard Knocks - Kita

[Jacobi Wylcott]

Four hours had passed since their little scuffle and Tormentous had settled in for a nap in the cockpit - content to spell out the rest of the time he had available right there without further interaction with that viper. But as the time ticked away and he rested up, the ship board AI woke him with a ping on the internal computer that their destination was two hours away. This gave him time to wake and stretch out, grab a small bite to eat and drink. Once awake enough he stared at the bulkhead for a time before finally relenting and acknowledging his decision to keep the whelp instead of giving her to Blood.

If he was going to do this for real then he needed to go through with it and absorb the good with the bad. Accepting his lot in this he took a minute to prepare himself mentally - this would be an exercise for himself just as much as the girl. Though before he went down that ladder he put the grieves of his armor on. It was not the entire set but the upper portion only which plated his thighs well and gave him cup armor - indeed - she would be getting no further opportunities to impugn his manhood.

Descending the ladder he made himself known to Mercy and Kita without a word and he approached the cell, stopping its rotation once more. For a moment he said nothing, sorting his thoughts, but finally he broke the silence. “Let’s get one thing straight, girl.” He pointed an angry finger, “Try anything funny and you lessen your worth to me. So long as you behave yourself and prove your value we won’t have any problems - and believe me - where we’re going you’d do well to stay in my good graces.” He reached over and keyed the deactivation stud, the containment cell fell away and Kita was left to climb down herself. “We’re going into Hutt Space for some business. A backwater world of criminals and cutthroats.” He leaned in close, “Once we get on the ground I make no exaggeration - I’ll be your one and only friend out there. One look at a beautiful girl like you and those animals will be looking for a new slave and when they are through you’ll wish a thousand times that you’d die - and they’ll never let you go. So once more - be nice and you’ll have nothing to fear. From me and especially from them.”

With that dreadful note he moved away from the girl and gave her plenty of room to stand alone within the cargo hold of his ship. “This is no trick, this is where the training begins to make yourself more independent and reliant on one person,” he pointed at her again, “on yourself.”

Jacobi sat down on the cold deck and took a deep breath. He knew he had to start from square one too. This was as much for him as it was for her. “Sit,” he said, barking the command out harshly, his natural impatience showing through but he swallowed hard and took another breath - he nodded to her and repeated his word in a far more amicable tone though still strained. “Sit.”

“You were a target of Blood, the current Dark Lord of the Sith. I was the contracted mercenary to go and get you. In that, I know your name and short biography.” His mind pulsed with the beginnings of a headache as he had to focus on having a conversation with someone instead of simply talking down to them and barking instructions down their throat. He had to remind himself that right now he was not at the threshold of limitless power and as such he needed to repair that connection slowly. Until then, he had no true hold over the girl save for physically restraining her and reality told him that she’d never stop fighting him if he kept pressing his luck. If he wanted Kita on his side then he’d have to approach this more differently than he ever had before.

He needed to set himself up as an ally more than a tyrant but all while still giving her no choice but to stay. It was twisted logic - but he needed this to work.

“I am Jacobi,” he said, finally introducing himself. “Jacobi Wylcott. And I mean to teach you the ways of the Force.” He specifically left out Dark Side of the Force as he felt she was genuinely a nice person and wouldn’t go the route of evil. Instead this would be a slow indoctrination - he grinned to himself beneath the mask - yes, the Dark Side would corrupt her for him. Inside, Tormentous laughed mockingly as he utilized Jacobi’s calmer demeanor to speak to the girl. Lies within lies. Had Jacobi conscious control he would never lead Kita down the path of damnation - Tormentous on the other hand would stop at nothing to realize his own schemes.

After a moment he continued, “We’ve a long time together, Kita. It is time to prove to me that you have the potential of which I have sought you out for. If you do not, if your capability is lacking - then I’m afraid our time together is over - and we aren’t going back to Tibrin anytime soon.” Without any specific threat he moved on quickly, she would have to decide for herself now and he was offering this knowledge to her freely. A chance to realize power the likes that few in this galaxy could ever even hope to possess.

“Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you could see or do things that normally any normal person shouldn’t be able to? Quick reflexes, an uncanny understanding of something that outshines your age, unnatural toughness or strength when you really desperately needed it? Even the moments when you seem to feel someone watching you from afar or the simple tingle of the hairs on the back of your neck when something is wrong or perhaps even the attention to detail or ability to recall events or faces to a great extent? Kita, these things are the Force. The Force is an energy field surrounding each of us and each field holds an aura or a signature - one’s own fingerprint within the Force - if you will. Yours, I have reason to believe, is exceptionally strong and you,” he pointed to her heart, “are more sensitive to that energy field than others are.”

“This is what is called Force Sensitivity. And this is what we’re going to discover right now. If you’re actually capable of feeling the Force and how it shall respond to you.” He gave her a long moment to consume this information and ask any questions that she may have at this point before they were to begin.

[Kita_Ikari]

Kita's eyes narrowed at Jacobi as he walked into the cargo hold. As he approached her pointing a finger in her direction, if it had been close enough to her face she would have bitten it. After all, it was rude to point. "Good Grace's huh? I didn't know you had any." She retorted sarcastically. As he deactivated the cell, she jumped down and gave him a small smile wanting to say something more but kept quiet instead. Any further comments in his direction would be said at a later time. 

As he mentioned hutt space, Kita's smile quickly faded. She remembered seeing once in a great while scumbag creeps stopping by the shops in Tibrin when buying supplies for their travels, but Kita always hid in the back of the shop to avoid them when they approached her family's stall. Mentioning he would be her only friend seemed like a joke to her. But she knew he was dead serious. And he was right. Jacobi honestly was her only protection from them. She wasn't willing to risk that.

Walking away and turning back in her general direction, she liked the idea of Jacobi's words to become more reliable on herself. Something she definitely had no time to practice while working on Tibrin. The only thing she had been reliable on was business related ventures. Nothing else. She started walking towards him but stopped abruptly as his voice raised at her to sit. She crossed her arms defensively and tilted her head at him with an unpleasant look in her blue gaze. "I swear your the rudest person I've ever met." She said irritably. "No manners or respect at all. Completely hot headed and short tempered." Kita paused briefly before continuing. "That won't get you far with people or in life." She stated. 

But as he quickly changed his attitude and more calmly asked her to sit, she then relaxed a bit and took a seat next to him on the deck, though cautiously kept an eye on him and Mercy who was hanging out nearby. As he told her about his job as a mercenary, It was still hard to believe that so far everything that had happened to her was because of the Sith Lord Blood. Kita's life had certainly gone from relatively peaceful to instant chaos.

Kita leaned forward in interest as Jacobi offered to train her in the force. Hearing it would be a long time before getting back to Tibrin, what else was there to do? And needless to say, she was curious on learning what he knew. Kita looked down thinking on it as Jacobi explained some of the things people who had a connection with the force could do. Her blue eyes grew wide in realization as she looked over at Mercy and back at Jacobi. Quite a few of those things he had mentioned she had experienced growing up. It did make her feel out of place a lot of the time because she didn't understand any of it. But now it made sense to her...and comforting to know she wasn't alone. And she had felt something was wrong the day Jacobi and Mercy arrived on Tibrins shore.

"Force sensitivity? How exactly do you test that?" She asked. So many questions in mind, yet she only chose a couple. "And how come if your a mercenary, your not working with the jedi instead?" She added. It was a sincere question.

[Jacobi Wylcott]

The lesson was more important than beating the girl into silence - that was likely the only reason Tormentous allowed the little whelp to verbally attack him for being rude. He wasn’t very good at the whole patient thing nor was he very caring of her lecture. Honestly that airlock was looking really good right now - it’d been a long time since he’d tossed anyone outside of it. No! He needed to press on, gain her trust, gain her willingness to grow in the Force, the subjugation would come later. Swallowing his massive pride for the first time in a long time he continued with the lesson without rebuking her idiot comments even though he wanted to with the fury of a star. A vein pumped across his temple as he suppressed his rage. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could put up with this game - but he was giving it a monumental effort.

If he’d learned anything from this entire experience - he was thinking more instead of acting impulsively which had ultimately and nearly gotten him killed by his own son. To think things through, that was how one made a long future as opposed to a short and bloody one.

Pulling his murderous desires away and removing the mental imagery of both his hands locked around her throat as crushed the life out of Kita - he pressed on.

The first question was sensible enough and he’d almost willingly answer it without further stress to his current mental stability. The second set though was near pointless to him as it didn’t further his goal to give her more understanding of the situation. With grit teeth though he answered to as much as she needed to know - without snapping back, “I’m not working with the Jedi, because, I’ve got an issue with the Dark Lord that I mean to settle.” A short idea came to mind and he thought to press upon it, “The Dark Lord of the Sith is an evil man and I’m going to take him down. I have a fundamental disagreement with the Jedi, the way they handle things takes too long in deliberation and my methods are far too aggressive for them,” he nodded towards Kita, “Such as using you to get to Blood. The Jedi would never condone such a thing. My way is just a short cut to rid the galaxy of a dangerous Sith Lord.” Indeed, he had played a heavy card. He didn’t even have to suffer a lie to the girl as he told her the truth. Sure there were some huge details left out just like before about the Force instead of the Dark Side of the Force as well, but it still served his purpose all while appealing to her innocence. There was much good in Kita and while she opposed his brashness thus far, perhaps he could appeal to her sense of honor and goodness by suggesting that she help him in taking down the galaxies’ number one nightmare. Of course he left the part out that he’d be the one to take the throne and he by all measureable rights was far worse than Blood, but that was the hand he dealt.

In any case, how could she assume he’d take the throne anyways? At this point he’d not shown any power of the Force so Jacobi couldn’t possibly be Sith, right?

Back to the lesson, he began almost in earnest. “There is no real or true test to tell of Force Sensitivity. It is simply something that you know. And me, being not one to have such powers, can only guide you down this path.” He fought back a snarl at the mention that he was not sensitive - for that too was a lie, perhaps the most severe he’d yet told to her.

“This portion of the lesson calls for you to become completely relaxed. It will not be easy, but you need to focus. The point here is: you are already Force Sensitive, you only need to actually realize what it is you are feeling. To recognize that it is really the Force surrounding you. It’s already there, Kita. All we’re doing is pointing it out.” That alone would likely serve to stoke her curiosity to know that she already could feel the Force, she just didn’t realize it yet. It’d also serve to ease some tension hopefully that she wasn’t jumping off of a steep cliff and into some mystical realm of fantasy she knew nothing about save for the tall tales of the Jedi Knights of old. For the moment he hoped she would understand that the Force wasn’t some fabled myth of ancient lore, but it was a real tangible thing that she could touch and feel at her will if she’d only listen to the instruction given.

Tormentous gave her plenty of time to swallow the information, when he began he would follow his own instruction that she would feel more secure and not actually sense that someone was leering right at her. To follow along meant hopefully she’d find herself in her own world, listening to his voice alone. “Close your eyes.” He did so and then fell silent for a moment, “I want you to listen to only three things: my voice, your breathing and your heart beat.” For another long moment he fell silent, also following his own instructions.

In a minute or two of complete silence he was able to close out the rumble of the ‘Jai-Galaar’s’ engines and later he closed out everything surrounding him until in a muffled and faint way he could only feel and hear the pumping of his heart and the swelling in his chest. His voice came out low, “With every beat of your heart there is an echo through the Force. It is connected to each breath you take and that is connected to the energy field surrounding you. Open your mind to these things, they’ve always been there and with your level of sensitivity - once you begin to understand and believe, the truth will reveal itself.” Another moment he waited and soon enough just as he had instructed and he followed his own words, a thread of light appeared in his mind that came from what was once dull and grey. He followed the thread until he viewed the churning maelstrom all about him. Within moments he began to feel things he’d been closed off to - once that gate was opened - he began to feel.

The chill of the air against his skin, he not only felt it but he could see it. Vibrant specks of energy running the length of his bare arms that reflected away as air and oxygen does and it churned with the temperature controller of the room in a constant flow. But most of all he began to once again see that energy field that flowed like the air though was unaffected by the physical - he knew this as it was - The Force.

“The energy of the Force will feel warm, electrical - with your eyes closed and your mind tuned in to search for the Force - open yourself and it will come to you.” Slowly he lifted his arm and with palm outwards he very slowly and gently moved his hand in front of Kita’s face from left to right. Slow enough not to create a passing gust of air, though if she was actively searching then she would feel the energy field of Tormentous cross over her own. The collision of the flowing energy fields would spark and shift in the Force where with eyes open and in reality nothing would occur at all. But in the immaterial world of the Force the shifting energy would create motion and a disturbance to the natural currents. She would see light - and perhaps that is all it would take for her senses to open up and the realization become complete. It was indeed a mystical revelation in the making and one that would not only open the doors to such a vibrancy in her life never before experienced but it would and could even become a sensory overload as she would suddenly see the things that were right in front of her for her whole life.

To him and him alone, the feeling of the Force awakening within his own energy field brought pain. Where the wonder of a new world awoke within him, the old scars of Tormentous were still very much alive and when the Force touched upon the ruined places of that aura, there came sharp pains upon his mind. Fighting these feelings down, Jacobi Wylcott began to stir within Tormentous.

Jacobi hated the Force. As a Mandalorian Warrior he abhorred it. Thought it as a weakness.

Tormentous hatred the Force too. Since the Dark One was essentially an unnatural abomination of the Dark Side of the Force that had been tethered to Jacobi’s own aura within the Force, it was as if Tormentous was an object that went against the natural current of Jacobi - or rather he went against the grain. That friction could cause immense pain that was as unending as much as it was unyielding. Such suffering - such torment - it was nearly unbearable once it became fully manifest. Indeed, Tormentous’ worst enemy was the Force itself. He loathed it with every fiber of his being, yet he needed it like a well dug in addiction to the raw and unlimited powers it granted him.

Mad with power, it was the twisted fate of a Mandalorian that wanted nothing more than to banish it forever but that never could. Tormentous was a cancer to Jacobi, a being of the Force could not be undone without it. To defeat Tormentous, Jacobi needed the Force and he couldn’t rely on the Jedi to get the job done - all they wanted to do was purge him with the Wall of Light and Jacobi had come to understand that the Wall of Light wouldn’t banish Tormentous as proven on Moraband when the Dark One stepped right through a Jedi Master’s Wall with mocking laughter.

Jacobi was living a nightmare, one that he could not see the end of.

[Slade Xandir]

Her emergence from the side of the prior Dark Lord, she found her own patience being tried by the girl who just didn't wanna cooperate, seemingly no matter what. She was just being a smartass, and if she didn't understand there was a hierarchy in this little space group of their's, then she was gonna slow down their progression. A pissy Tormentous was not someone she wanted to be guarding. A calm and composed and non-pissy Tormentous was a Tormentous she felt less need to worry about. The girl was just making her unwanted job harder. Rifle-gloved hands perched on cocked hips, as a heated huff left the Vyler's lips. "Do you think everybody you're gonna come across is gonna have a 'please' and 'thank you' on their lips when they walk past your ass? There's frakking slavers on this damn planet, Kita, and I swear to the damn gods above, if you get snatched, I'm not rescuing your ass, again." Vyper leather jacket arms crossed over her chest, hot hazels threatening the girl to contest her facts. "Either take the lesson and keep yourself alive with a team, or get yourself killed. But don't waste our goddamn time." Turning away to pass a passive glare at the ex-Dark Lord, she mumbled in an irritated growl that she didn't care whether he heard it or not. "However much that 'time' is before we end up frakkin' dead, anyways."

The sigh left her lips as she kept a lookout both visually and Sensually across the mess of land they stood in, ignoring the vibrations of the ship from just sheer irritation as she cast out her own net of awareness in the Force. As she kept mind of what was happening around them, she listened to Jacobi's own method of teaching, his explanation much more intimate than anything she had ever received. She couldn't even remember her lesson from the early days. They just were...old. Past. She tried not to dwell on the past too much. Only what she had learned from it. Once Mr. Wylcott had finished his own introduction to the Force, her own memory of Dastan teaching her with Naria so long ago. "Not everyone senses the Force in the same way, but you will become much more aware of it when you feel the abnormality around you. It might not even feel like a beating pulse to you; it could be just like...what? You know how on the beach, if you stuck your foot in the water, you messed up the smoothness of the actual wave? How a star in the sky takes away from all the blue and just gives you that feeling that you just wanna either touch it, piece it together or get rid of it? That could be how you sense the Force." Blood felt the Force as a spider would have, he told her. It came to him in strands, trickles and pricks, until they wither melded into fumes of colors or scents or they kept themselves hardened into threads. Herself? Everything was a coal to her, how she would investigate something in the Force, and it would set alight as her own aura wrapped around it to take in all of the information she could. If she moved on, the fire would lose it's oxygen, and it would choke out, no oxygen of her energy to keep it sustained. Thus, she no longer received information on it. Even now, everything in her mental sight was set within a blaze of her focus, herself, Jacobi, Kita, all under her mind's sear of attention just as their surroundings were. Should anything inter her inferno, she would immediately have her eyes upon it, a bird of prey upon the next mental meal. But that was her own experience- Kita might feel the waves, or the flap of a flutterby's wings, or even a constant drum within herself. Everyone was different, especially in the Force.

[Kita_Ikari]

Kita was taken aback by Mercy's input on her attitude towards them since her capture. She knew people weren't always gonna be polite, but her sarcastic comments to their behavior towards her was her way of dealing with it. And she hadn't planned leaving her home in the first place. "Hey, I'm willing to work with you guys...but don't expect a polite response from me in return when you both can't control your own behavior towards me either." She responded cooly. Her blue gaze held an icy stare at the women. Kita always believed in treating others the way you want to be treated, however sometimes keeping her mouth shut and following along was a good option as well...depending on the circumstances and benefits. Her treatment and circumstance so far though with them "both" had her obviously lash out in turn since leaving Tibrin.

She watched as Mercy turned away from them before bringing her attention back to Jacobi.

Without question, Kita found Jacobi's reason for not working with the Jedi reasonable. Sad to say, her sense of fighting for what was right blinded her to Tormentous plans. She truly wanted to help bring down the Dark Lord. And if leaving her father and home behind for a while would do that, then so be it. Kita knew many people would benefit without the Dark Lord causing trouble throughout the galaxy. "Ok, I'm in." There was enthusiasm in her response.

Quickly the mandalorian went in to further explanation learning the force and afterwards Mercy had put in her own input about what the force was like. Kita wasn't a closed minded person. On the contrary, she was open to many mysteries and possibilities. Like a child she was eager to listen and learn every aspect of the unknown. Asking questions as they came to mind. All of this is where her natural curiosity stemmed from...which was a good thing and potentially a bad thing...especially now that she was in Tormentous hands. 

She did as told and closed her eyes, following Jacobi's instructions...

---Begin Force Sensitivity - 100 words.---

With slow and steady breathing, Kita's mind and body began to relax. Her mind started leaving the sounds of the physical world behind. 

Listening, feeling intently her own heartbeat, Kita started to take notice of an odd sensation of energy coursing through herself. The more she took notice of it, the more it became pronounced.

Her body tingled. The tingling sensations were like small electric pulses, and became more noticeable to her through her arms, legs, feet and fingertips. It was a warm sensation...enveloping her like a blanket. Kita felt surprised, excited, and a bit wary…

Wary because she wondered just how powerful the energy of the force was. 

She wanted to explore further...but as Jacobi moved his hand in front of her face, she instantly felt his own energy colliding with hers, causing a light to be seen. She could see his energy moving her own, causing her own electric pulses to shift in movement. It was as if he was touching her in reality. Which in turn irritated her. This broke Kita's focus...

---End Force Sensitivity - 177 words complete.---

Her eyes instantly opened and she looked over at him, obviously upset from his interference. "Do you mind?" Her brows knitted inwards as she scowled at him. "I was concentrating and you interrupted me!"

[Jacobi Wylcott]

When she snapped at him he looked on her with disdain. “If you cannot keep your mind focused when something moves in front of you then clearly you weren’t trying hard enough - secondly it also means you need to shut up and pay attention.” Even sitting down he seemed to loom over her menacingly, daring her to peep out another word, “You are here to learn, I am here to teach. Now zip it or its back into the cell with you.” He snarled. His patience was running thin - had any other pupil verbally lashed out at him they’d have received quite the beating and even now his fists reflexively clenched tightly into white knuckled balls, opening and closing as if visibly throttling her with thunderous blows. His chest heaved at the sudden lurch of adrenaline and he really wanted to crush her like a zit.

Instead he leaned back and closed both eyes, his hands trembling with fury as he fought to calm down. Such was it that he was on a knife’s edge - so close to losing his volcanic temper. But there again he was also still getting used to talking with ‘normal’ folk! For many years Darth Tormentous had reigned in the lofty position of Emperor of the Sith Empire! Slaves aplenty and minions uncounted. The way Kita spoke to him - hundreds had died for far less. In his presence the slaves would fall to their faces and make no sound, speaking to another Lord or Sith Acolyte rather than the Emperor lest they find themselves screaming into oblivion - for Tormentous saw and believed that the strong ruled the weak and the weak were undeserving of life, had they a purpose then so be it, but they were only too easily replaced. Tormentous had dehumanized everyone that wasn’t among his chosen Sith. Everything and everyone else were less than insects and unworthy to breathe the same air as he. To Darth Tormentous, humanity and their ilk were no more than a resource more plentiful than raw iron ore and he cared little of them for every campaign across the stars served to replenish those that were worked to death in the labor camps and mines that had fueled the Sith war machine.

To go from there - now go humble himself before a seventeen year old girl of all things - it was humiliating and it was nearly as much as he could stand. He wanted to rip her tongue out that she may never speak again. Oh how Tormentous was growing to hate this little viper.

Jacobi on the other hand was loving her defiance. Not essentially in the act of defiance itself but her heart - it was filled with her bravery, her unflinching gaze in the face of a man that promised such vile things against her did she not cooperate, and most of all her determination. Without a doubt she had the spirit of a warrior and it drew him to her like a moth to the flame.

He made a huff and opened his eyes, focused once more on the task at hand. She could now feel the Force, it was time to direct those feelings and actually teach her how to use them. “Resume your focus,” his voice was low and devoid of the previous aggravation, “when you’ve once more managed to take hold of your mind and have once more felt the Force around you, it is time that you learn to see what the Force can feel.” It was perhaps confusing at first but ever the in depth teacher, he didn’t let her ponder long.

“Your energy field that surrounds you. You must imagine that it is not so much a separate entity of the Force but it is more so a part of you within the Force. Close your eyes and picture the current flowing around you, slowly move your hand and watch as that current isn’t moved by your hand as if water being pushed away - but it is an extension of your own hand. Though it doesn’t stop there at just the physical limits of your body, it is also your mind.”

“We can just as easily utilize our mind to further extend the range of the Force around us. As you sit there in this very spot you are surrounded by many things - in this moment you are to feel out with the Force and Sense the things around you in your immediate proximity.” He got to his feet and moved to a crate that was filled with this and that, he took out a pouch of old leather bound with some twine. He also picked up his Mandalorian helmet. He marched over to Kita and flopped the heavy armor onto her head though he left the visor unpowered to it was sure to obscure all sight while already shutting out smells and much sound. Resuming his seat with her he set the pouch down between them though he didn’t take it out of the little bag - he didn’t want her to open her eyes and cheat. He activated an ear piece that he could speak right into the helmet’s own audio system.

“Focus yourself again, recall the Force around you. The discomfort and disadvantage of the helmet will serve to help you focus while under some distress. Training in a difficult situation will make it easier to use your abilities when not in one. Now, focus and remember how it interacts with other objects that you sense nearby. As you delve deeper into the Force and become more and more familiar with how it feels, you must begin to look outside of yourself and allow the Force to guide you into a much larger world. You will taste, hear, smell and even see - all through the Force. The imagery is different for everyone and the intensity will not be too keen as you’re only beginning. But now that you know it is real and that you have it, all you need to do is believe.”

“Once you begin to come to grips with these new sensations, I want you to try and focus them. All the world around you will be a sensory overload so you must realize that focus is the key, otherwise you may as well be being punched in the head over and over. Begin closing out your senses one by one, sight, smell, taste - these things you do not need for this as you focus and make obtuse senses acute. Focus on the pouch before you, feel it out, one by one open your senses to it - tell me how it feels, what material is it, smell, taste and then I want to know what’s inside.”

The small brown leather pouch held a kyber crystal inside. Kybers were some of the rarest gemstones in the galaxy and were once used by the Jedi Order of old to power lightsabers and later by Emperor Palpatine to power the super laser of the Death Stars. They were imbued with the power of the Force and felt cool to the touch and they brought a sense of calmness to the senses. Once Kita would key in on the stone, they would surely see its radiance and natural beauty with the Force by an extreme. To the naked eye the crystal was small and clear, within the eye of the Force the crystal was as vibrant as a rainbow and more.

[Kita_Ikari]

The look he gave her only made her more irritated. If you cannot keep your mind focused when something moves in front of you then clearly you weren’t trying hard enough - secondly it also means you need to shut up and pay attention. She narrowed her blue eyes at Jacobi as he leaned over her. If he thought she was gonna allow him to intimidate her, he was wrong. However she did keep quiet for now since he was teaching her...but she wasn't sure how much longer she could refrain from saying something snarky back his way. You are here to learn, I am here to teach. Now zip it or its back into the cell with you.

As Jacobi laid back to try and calm himself, Kita looked away in thought. She wanted to help bring down Lord Blood, but she also really wanted to smack Jacobi in the face and bring him down a peg. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. It wasn't right. Even if his arrogance and unpredictable temper were extremely annoying. If only I'd taken another punch at him earlier. She thought. In the cargo hold while she ate, Jacobi actually seemed to have a moment of concern and talked a bit before eyeing her menacingly.

No threats. No guard up. But now thinking about it, she liked seeing that side of Jacobi...but she also hated him too. Kita felt confused about everything. Especially on why he was so...harsh. Much like a mystery to solve, she wanted to figure him out. 

His huff brought her back to reality. Kita turned and silently listened as he went on with the lesson. When he got up and took out a crate, she wondered what he was gonna be doing with the helmet he brought out from a nearby crate...only to find him putting it on over her head. Jacobi's voice came clearly through the helmets audio. Focus yourself again, recall the Force around you. The discomfort and disadvantage of the helmet will serve to help you focus while under some distress. Indeed Kita found the helmet uncomfortable. "No offense...but it smells like something died in this thing…" 

Even though she couldn't see anything from inside the helmet, Kita closed her eyes again as she attempted regaining her focus...

---Begin Sense 1 - 400 Words.---

Subconsciously Kita begun focusing on her breathing. Not fast, but a steady even pace. The pounding of her own heart felt like a good main focal point to start opening her mind to the energy of the force. As Jacobi had said earlier...the force was in all living things. And the knowledge of that made her realize the heart was the one thing in all creatures that was constantly transferring and moving energy through the body, thus making it a perfect focal point to focus on the energy flow she wished to delve herself further into. After a few moments of concentration, her body's muscles went slack and a peaceful calm overcame her. 

The familiar tingling sensations felt throughout her limbs only got stronger by the minute. Her chest also started to feel the same tingling sensations...but instead of just flowing, it felt more like their was a core within herself radiating energy. Her senses intently followed the small path of blood vessels that the force flowed through throughout her body. It gave her a feeling of comfort and awareness that wasn't present before. She almost felt...weightless. Her mind started to wander as she subconsciously followed the energy around her. 

To Kita, the force moved about within the air they breathed like a fine mist or calm current...always flowing...like a river of water. It was embedded within the cold metal used to create the ship, and drifted outside the ship within the depths of space. Every object and person became very noticeable to Kita within her mind's eye as she followed the forces movement within the room.

She felt the presence of energy flowing freely from Mercy as she stood looking out the window. Mercy's energy gave Kita the feeling she was distant and lost within her own thoughts. She didn't know what was going on in her mind, and she wasn't planning to ask. Quickly Kita's consciousness shifted as she started focusing on Jacobi. His energy radiated more strongly. But it felt different. His energy didn't seem to flow as smooth as Mercy's did. It was strong...but not fluent. It felt a lot more like two magnets moving and repelling around each other.

Ignoring that unusual fact, Kita finally came across the cool small leather pouch resting at Jacobi's side. The energy of the force was very noticeable as her consciousness drew closer to it. Following the current, she could see the small crystal that rested inside. Kita's mind was growing accustomed to the movement of the force, which in turn helped her begin to see the forces current. The energy radiating from the kyber crystal was beautiful. She was in awe as bright colors swirled and mingled inside the crystal's core. The energy everywhere else around Kita was not as pronounced visually to her as the energy was inside this crystal...

Sighing inwardly, Kita felt disappointed in herself. To think that she never noticed the flow of energy coming from everything else aboard the vessel at the very beginning of her lesson made her realize she needed to be more aware of her surroundings. And taking Jacobi's advice, she did need to work on not getting distracted so easily…

---End Sense 1- 536 Words Complete.---

Taking off the helmet, Kita calmly set it down in front of her before looking at Jacobi. "What's up with the crystal?" She asked.

[Jacobi Wylcott]

“That’s a kyber. It is heavily linked to the Force in many ways. The Jedi use them to power their lightsabers as do the Sith. But they are extremely rare and they should be handled with extreme care, while tough, if they are cracked then they become volatile and possibly useless depending on the fracture. Years ago the Empire mined most of the known locations where kyber crystals could be found to use them in their super weapons.” He took up the crystal and returned it to the crack along with his helmet, almost subconsciously tossing a scent packet in the helmet as he put it away. He wanted to snap back at her about his helmet smelling but as it turned out she was right and instead he just grumbled to himself and ignored the remainder of the comment.

He came back to her and knelt back down. “Your senses can be refined and tuned to seek out many things. In fact you’ve already accomplished the next task without even realizing it. So for the moment I want you to refocus your mind back to the Force and open your senses once more. In each of us, within our personal space, we call that our sphere of influence. This is the natural area where your senses are constantly on guard and anything entering that sphere should be easily detected without much effort.” He motioned that she should close her eyes once more and once she did he repeated his hand wave, crossing in front of her face by an inch or less. “You should feel the energy fields colliding, this is natural. It means you are seeing exactly what you’re supposed to be seeing.”

“Next, you’ve already expanded your senses but this time instead of searching and seeing everything around you, we’re going to focus that attention and look at something specific.” He only paused a moment, he appreciated her curiosity as it overwhelmed her desire to fight back now that she knew he wasn’t going to hurt her - at least for the moment. It was as if this learning position was her element as her mind was sharp and like a sponge she soaked the information up. It also helped he wasn’t lying or providing half truths, Tormentous had always been that way though - when he taught he was more than willing to give his student the knowledge they needed to excel for the stronger they were, the stronger he was. With Jacobi given the reigns, it seemed Kita would be able to benefit the most from the training here today.

“Life,” he bluntly explained, “you are to seek out life and what it feels like. You’ve seen Force energy and the feeling that a heart beat gives off, but instead of actual Force energy you will be looking for life. Vibrant in the young and fading in the old, it is the sustaining presence in the Force that in turn gives the Force its own power. Without life, there would be nothing. While the Sith extinguish life wherever they go, they still have a firm grasp upon it. Most often a Sith will kill and give that spent life to the Dark Side of the Force, empowering him and intensifying the call of Darkness.” Tormentous stirred within Jacobi’s heart as he realized the Mandalorian was getting into the elemental Light and Dark debate and he pulled the conversation back. There was time for that later, right now he needed to keep her focused on the Force in general - corruption came later.

“The life force of any life form will always shine brightly through the Force. It is a visible beacon, a flare for you to easily see. It is the heartbeat, the inhalation of lungs, the mental pulses of the brain, it is all a unique feeling and to you it will be clear as day.” To Jacobi, whenever he sensed life around him he felt the warmth of the body through the Force and to his mind when he looked upon the area in question he could see the silhouette in a glowing green hue. It was the glowing source of life and sensing it was a simple thing.

[Kita_Ikari]

Looking at the kyber crystal as Jacobi picked it up, Kita wondered how possibly a kyber crystal was so strong with force energy. So far it was much stronger than the natural flow everywhere else, and it made her want to look up exactly how they were created naturally. "That's so cool!"

Ignoring Jacobi's grumbling, Kita was happy to see he put a scent pack in the helmet before putting both items away within the crate. 

Your senses can be refined and tuned to seek out many things. In fact you’ve already accomplished the next task without even realizing it. So for the moment I want you to refocus your mind back to the Force and open your senses once more. In each of us, within our personal space, we call that our sphere of influence. This is the natural area where your senses are constantly on guard and anything entering that sphere should be easily detected without much effort.

Kita was surprised she had already taken a step ahead in their lesson unintentionally. When Jacobi sat back down and gave her a signal to close her eyes again. This time she didn't snap at him as she realized what he was doing as he waved his hand in front of her.

Life, You are to seek out life and what it feels like. His words however quickly left her as he mentioned the sith reason for killing. She wanted to ask about how the sith did that, but figured once again to ask at another time. Their was definitely a lot for her to learn. She didn't mind the lesson...but she just wished sometimes her mind could stay focused on one thing without popping up new questions and thoughts every waking second during something important...like right now.

The life force of any life form will always shine brightly through the Force. It is a visible beacon, a flare for you to easily see. It is the heartbeat, the inhalation of lungs, the mental pulses of the brain, it is all a unique feeling and to you it will be clear as day.

---Begin Life Sense 1 - 100 Words---

Letting go of the visual world, Kita concentrated on the force energy that surrounded her. Its movements easily drew in Kita's attention as its presence helped her begin to regain focus once again as a sense of calm overtook her. 

Life...that was something Kita needed to figure out for herself. What was her visible beacon within the force to a single living being? When she thought of life...she instantly thought of the movement coursing through her and everything else. With that in mind, she remembered what she saw inside the kyber crystal. An idea came to mind. Kita suddenly knew how she could find and see life within the force. It was in front of her the whole time.

She let her senses focus upon Mercy. The brunette's own energy pooled within her bodies main core. The heart. Like the crystal, their had to be a focal point where the energy met before distributing energy throughout the body. The brain did help with the function of the body, but the heart is what kept the whole body working to begin with. Without it, even the brain would cease to work.

Mercy's energy was similar to the kyber crystal... only less vibrant. It was still bright in rainbow colors...but nothing compared to the colors she had seen in Jacobi's last demonstration within the crystal. Kita could easily see the waves of color within her. As felt even within herself, Mercy radiated the familiar warmth that accompanied it. To her, the force was life. It gave and sustained life...

---End Life Sense 1 - 260 Words Complete---

[quote/]

Opening her eyes, she looked and waited patiently for Jacobi's next lesson. She felt content enough to not have to say anything. Kita was sure Jacobi knew she had accomplished her task.

[Jacobi Wylcott]

There was little time left - Tormentous knew this and so no sooner had he sensed that Kita was finished in her task did he move on. The rate at which this young woman was soaking in this information and knowledge was incredible, her natural affinity for the Force was such that it seemed easy for her to process the information and turn it into reality. Her open mind helped much in this respect as well.

“In the Force, your senses can not only point out life energy as you’ve just learned but they can also speak to you about certain occurrences that are traumatic enough through the Force to create what is called a tremor or more commonly, a disturbance in the Force. As the Force is connected to all living things we can therefore sense all living things though should a catastrophic even occur through the Force it could create a ripple effect - sometimes this tremor can be mild, other times it can cause actual pain and shock even to the point of making you pass out.” He did not move for this lesson, they had everything they needed right here.

“For this lesson you will simply enough look upon me through the Force. Recall that the Force is connected to us and likewise we are connected to it. Recently I have experienced a massive trauma to the connection I hold in the Force where the Force is still connected fully to me, but my own connection to it is in a constant state of flux - it is broken for lack of a better term. This state of flux through the Force creates one such tremor and the reaction it creates is minor - at most mild.” Again he instructed her to close her eyes and concentrate back to square one, reasserting her senses as her most prominent tool of guidance. “Do not worry about sensing life, for this you just need to feel the Force, open your senses to your energy field and expand your sphere of influence to encompass my own. Reach out and see my own energy field and notice the sporadic connections within the flow of the Force itself.”

“Each time the Force comes into contact with my energy field it reacts violently like two live wires touching each other and sparking. Calm yourself Kita and listen to the Force as it shows you what you need to know. Feel the coarse connection and the damage that has been done, feel the echo through the Force with each brief brush of the energy field to the flow of the Force itself. These minute events are disturbances, tremors in the Force. Expand your mind to recognize the feeling.” He gave her quite some time to realize these things and exactly what the disturbances felt like.

Then as their ship came out of hyperspace and began to near Nal Hutta, their course would take them right by Nar Shadda, the moon. Such a world was incredibly dense in population and all of it was covered by the business of the Hutts. Death was smeared all over Nar Shadda. It was possibly more a hive of terrible things than Nal Hutta itself was.

As they neared the world, Tormentous spoke again. “Turn your gaze now to the moon that we pass by. The teeming life will be easily spotted through your senses. Look closely. Among this sea of life is an ocean of death. It is death that tolls the bell the loudest. Death creates large gaps in the Force that swell and echo through the Force as large tremors. Each and every death is a ripple. Each ripple is something we can feel. Reach out to the moon Kita and concentrate. Feel the tremors that reverberate from Nar Shadda, feel the quaking. The pain of loss is hard to miss here and you must learn to recognize it well.”