Ask Ajan Kloss A Thing or Two

[Roland Rook]

THEME

​

As the Cobalt Viper touched down close to the Jedi temple the world around the ship began to brighten. The clouds overhead grew thin allowing sunlight to break through though gentle rain continued to fall. The last time Roland had been to Ajan Kloss he had attended a funeral. Now he was here of his own volition in an attempt to gain some knowledge.

Stepping out of the firespray class ship the Ranger would bring his hood up. The plinking of rain drops from hitting his metalic helm changed to a softer pittering as it struck his rugged cloak and ran rivulets off his form. There were a few Jedi immediatly in sight but already he had gained some glances.

On his person, tucked away, was the lightsaber he had liberated from the body of a Sith during the Coruscant prison break. He had yet to have any force wielder take a look at it and had only practiced with it minimally. It was different than the times he had practiced with melee weapons in his youth among other Mandalorians. It was the tool of a force wielder but with the growing danger of the Sith he knew he needed to be better prepared to take them on. Considering his culture, it made sense to use the tools at his disposal. It made sense in his mind to seek some instruction on wielding the energy weapon.

Approaching calmly and looking at the architecture he spoke to the nearest Jedi. "Hi, Ranger Rook..." His hand touched his chest plate in introduction. "....There wouldn't happen to be a Jedi Knight or Master around that could spare a few minutes by chance?" The hands dropped to rest on his hips and his helmet scanned the area. The planet had been green and lush before but the ambience was different than last time. He could see smaller padawans, or at least he assumed they were padawans, moving in a group to one side. Many of the Jedi openly had their lightsabers on their hips which Roland's eyes naturally looked at. But despite everything that the man brought with him, he felt like he was looking at a peaceful environment. For accomplishing that, he had to give the Jedi some credit.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

The Jedi who was looped in by the Ranger seemed surprised; since the funeral, not many, if any, Rangers dared to come to Ajan Kloss, and one so armored... he blinked, then tilted his head. "Sure, um... I believe there is someone who may see you. The Masters are at this moment indisposed." Not waiting for a reaction, he tilted his head once to indicate that he follow, then strode away. Wasn't there a Knight in the training dojo...?

She was standing before a lanky teenager, dressed in simple leggings and a light tan tank top, long violet hair up in a ponytail braid. Sweat beaded at her lower back and down her forehead and neck, but she was smiling. The Padawan before her had been caught in a front-lock, his blade pressing forwards, and he grunted, trying to sweep a leg towards her.

Right as he did, she attacked, catching it with a sweep of her own, then a light arc and twist, her own green blade humming as it swept towards his chest. But like all training blades... he jolted, and she clicked her tongue as he folded to the ground. "You use aggression, you use anger..." she sighed, and the boy colored. "You can't keep doing that, Mathias, or you'll find yourself on a slippery slope."

She could sense others approaching, but she was prepared to lecture the youth before her. Whomever it was could spare a moment before she could address them... perhaps a new face to join the fold. Hopefully not a Padawan of her own, she thought, grimacing. She wasn't ready to babysit more than she already did... She offered a hand down to the youth, but he frowned, rolling upright instead. She sighed again, then shook her head.

"Go cool off outside, training is over," she dismissed, and he walked out, face coloring as his fellow classmate stared... then cleared his throat.

"Knight Sati?" he managed to eke out, and she glanced over.

...Ah. Not one of theirs, then.

"Can I help you?" she asked, one hand on her hip. Not the most graceful or ostentatious of greetings, but it seemed now she had time to spare. She glanced at the newcomer steadily, golden eyes assessing. Strange, she knew that helm design... though if he intended ill will as a Mandalorian, he chose the wrong place to establish that.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Roland followed his recently acquired guide. It wasn't long before the two were approached what looked like a sparing session. It didn't last much longer as the Pantoran seemed to lay out her partner. Roland's eyes looked at the lanky teenager and where he could have sworn seeing a lightsaber connect. But he did not have any marking as far as the Mandalorian could see.

The Ranger gave the youth a glance as he was dismissed by the woman. It seemed even Jedi had their fair share of teenage angst among them. Roland's escort spoke up first but the Ranger followed through and introduced himself much like before. "Knight Sati, I'm Sector Ranger Roland Rook." He approached her, forgetting about the young man that had led him here since he had achieved his goal. An arm reached out for a handshake towards Jedi Knight. "I was hoping you might have a few minutes to talk." His head turned to the side to see if the other student was still there but even if he was, the Mandalorian wouldn't do anything but give him a sideways glance before looking back towards Indy. "You wouldn't happen to be skilled in...what's the word....psycho-cometry? psychometry." The naming of different force techniques was still new to Roland.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

Sector Ranger, huh? She glanced at the T-visored man with interest, and seeing the extended hand, pleasure crinkled a smile on lips and the corners of gold eyes when she took his hand, giving it a firm shake. "Pleasure to meet you, Sector Ranger Roland Rook... please, just call me Indy. 'Knight Sati' seems a bit formal considering meeting circumstances." The other young man was openly gawking; but when he caught the slightly raised brows of the Knight and Sector Ranger, he flushed.

"Why not help Mathias in meditation exercises," she requested firmly, and he nodded, grasping for the sliding door before stepping out, offering a brief nod to them both and vanishing.

Her brows raised higher at his questioning, arms crossing beneath her bust. "I wouldn't say skilled like a Master," she deferred, head tilted thoughtfully. "But I at least know its' methods of use, perhaps... Psychometry, you said. Something tied to the Force?" she asked him patiently, head tilted slightly.

"Also, forgive me, I'd offer a place to sit and would have showered before meeting anyone, but..." there was a one-shouldered shrug, as if to say, what can you do. Still, she would wait... it was interesting a Ranger would come here for answers, despite allying; or at least, it was to her. But idly, she wondered if that T-visor was what she thought it was... and if so, she was definitely interested in this Ranger Roland Rook...

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

"Roland will do fine as well." He said and nodded slightly with the shake. The Mandalorian had not come on official business technically and this was an informal event so titles and status were not something he was too worried about.

With a turn of his helmet, Roland watched the younger Jedi present depart and then turned back towards Indy. A hand raised an waved off the apology. "I arrived unannounced. No apology necessary." Inside his helmet, most scents were muted anyways. Reaching into the confines of his garb he produced the weapon and held it out in the flat of his palm between them.

"During the Coruscant prison I fought on of the Sith. This was his weapon and perhaps you could glean something from it." It was a stab in the dark since he was ignorant of what Indy or any jedi could really do. "At the very least I was hoping to get some training in possibly using it...safely." Blaster handling and the care of utilizing other weaponry was common place for Mandalorians as well as Sector Rangers. But lightsabers were still exotic compared to most weapons. "Didn't imagine much sitting anyways." Roland added even as she had stared back at him. Looks were nothing new.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

Her smile slowly faded as he spoke, listening with head tilted. At the mention of the prison however, she nodded once, her expression turned thoughtful. "I might be able to help," she replied, but then he mentioned being able to train with it, and her brows raised slightly.

Her smile returned with his mention of not sitting much. "Fair enough," she grinned, the tense atmosphere from earlier dissipating. She turned away to snag a towel, slinging it over her shoulders and blotting at her forehead. "Though if it's a Sith lightsaber... it won't be easy, to utilize or to read," she answered honestly. Perhaps it wasn't the answer he was hoping for, but she wasn't going to lead the Ranger on to anything. "I'll still have a look, if you like... and even toss in some training."

She was about to turn her head to offer him to step further in to the dojo... then paused.

"Does purifying crystals ring any bells for you?" she asked, golden eyes flicking to where she guessed the approximation of his eyes were. She was definitely curious... but yet, grateful for the change of pace.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

"Sounds about right" He muttered as Indy spoke about the potential difficulty of the task. It was not something to be taken lightly it would seem. But he was glad she would still be willing to give it a look. Even if she had refused to look at it he would have pushed for at least some advice in terms of combat. Then again, some would probably have seen it as being rude.

"That wouldn't be some slang for doing drugs because..." His hand gestured towards his obvious badge and representation of his status as a law enforcement officer. But he said it in a way to make it seem like he knew that wasn't the case. all the same, Roland had no idea what 'purifying crystals meant and in the end just shrugged. He stepped into the dojo but kept his helmet angled towards her as he spoke. Just because he didn't need to look at what he spoke didn't mean it helped. His helmet as a Mandalorian was his face so unlike some, he preferred to actually make sure his expressions were misconstrued with the rest of his body language.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

She stared at him a couple beats and his indication to his badge... and uttered a rather undignified snort. It then turned into full laughter, golden eyes crinkling at the corners and a wide smile on her lips. "Hardly," came the easy response, gesturing him to come further in, and pacing in for herself. In reality, it was also to gauge his movements; no doubt he was a formidable adversary as it was, since he was not only a Ranger, but had taken down a Sith as well.

She held out her own lightsaber. With a snapping hiss, it flared to life, a brilliant green that hummed with the familiar sound. There was no warning, no statement, and yet she held it nonthreateningly; he was far enough away she could stretch her arm out with the saber and still not reach him, and yet she did not.

Instead, she held it parallel to the floor, wrist and elbow level with her shoulder, almost as though she would offer it to him should he extend his hand. "A lightsaber..." she hummed contemplatively. "There are a few, but key differences between a Sith and a Jedi. The first is their crystal. Yours would light with a red hue, if I'm not mistaken." She powered it off with a flick of her thumb, then hefted the hilt easily. "A Sith's crystal is a corrupted version of ours; we are chosen by the Force, they take theirs by force, and do something that is called 'bleeding'. A very grueling process, if historical text is correct." She kept her features cool, calm. "Rage, anger, passion some say. All the poison within them, subjugating the crystal to their will. It is a conduit of power; though anyone can use it as a tool, it works better for the one it is intended for. You must treat it carefully... but to purify it is to release all that corruption within, if you'll mind my flowery words." A slight smile touched her lips once more, but it wasn't a happy smile. She once more replaced her hilt to its' clip, then tilted her head.

"Do you want me to take a look at it now?"

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

The Ranger stared at the weapon Indy produced and stared at the blade she produced. He listened intently, processing the information and trying to stifle the parts of his mind that instinctual wanted to dismiss any mystical and fantastical explanations. A lot of things were unexplained these days.

After she finished Roland would hold the black handle of the dark side weapon. Making sure the immiter was pointed parallel to the ground and to the side much like Indy's, he activated the blade. A faint crackling sound imminated from the weapon whereas the Pantoran's had just hummed. He moved it around, pointing it up towards the ceiling and feeling the weight of it and then turned it off. After staring at the inert device for another silent moment he would walk a little closer to her and hold the dark side weapon out for her to take.

"I am mostly interested in finding out information it might have about its previous owner and his affiliates." A lightsaber was an amazing tool the likes of which some people don't witness in their entire lives let alone possess one. "Would purifying the crystal....erase or bury that kind of thing?" He didn't care of the weapon remained 'bled' or not but as he looked at the Jedi Knight he wondered how big of a deal it was. He knew of some traditions in the Mandalorian community that were outright blasphemous. Perhaps bleeding a crystal was tantamount to one of those trespasses.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

His questions were legitimate, but seeing the red blade in person was... disarming to say the least. She stared at it for a few moments, a slight frown touching her lips. "I'm... not sure," she finally answered, her gaze going from the hilt back to his own helmeted visage. "I've never attempted to heal a Sith crystal before; from what I believe, many were manufactured rather than taken from caves, so they might not respond well at first to any healing. It can wait until afterwards, if you want me to try. It will make handling it easier."

That was putting it mildly. Even from here, she could feel its' corruption, the anger and hatred its' user must have felt even to the last moments of their death. Slowly, she closed her hand around the hilt, then gestured to a seat. "This may take a while. Unfortunately, I am not as adept as the Masters are. But I'll tell you what I can read."

She knelt down to a sitting position, herself, and sighed, closing her eyes, holding the hilt in her hand. She knew it was inert, merely a metal casing around a crystal that was like a void in the Force...

But that didn't mean it didn't feel slimy to the touch just to handle it. She began to focus her breathing... and then felt herself falling in darkness, a deep, darkened pit of despair and low keening. Whomever it was died suddenly, and a fierce flash of rage pierced her chest and she gritted her teeth, forcing herself to focus.

Back to the beginning... show me the beginning.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

He was glad Indy prioritized getting information over purifying the crystal. He was curious to know more though and shrugged knowing she was more versed in these things than he was. When she took the lightsaber he watched to see how she reacted, a sign of visible discomfort showed on her face.

A part of Roland was concerned for the Pantoran. The way she had spoken about it made it sound like tapping into or just observing the dark side of the force was dangerous. Considering the events that had lead to him getting the dark side weapon he thought about giving a word of caution to the Pantoran but she already seemed to be focusing on the hilt. Would she see him in his final moments or would there be other parts of his past that the Rangers did not know of yet.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

She could feel the pain of dying.

She flinched back visibly as the sympathetic pain whiplashed around her and she shuddered, exhaling slowly. A single name hissed from the dark, a flash of rage echoing behind it and leaving her stomach roiling. "Sin," she finally managed to utter out, sighing. "His name was Sin Windrider. But he..." another vision flickered to the fore, and she forced herself to be still, to be calm. Pain still radiated in sympathetic reflexes to the shot; not as hard as though she had been shot herself, but enough for her hands to tremble slightly. She swallowed, and continued.

"A dark planet, with choppy waters..." Her breathing slowed, her shoulders relaxed as she forced herself to focus, to breathe through and process all the many images piecing together rapidly. "Ren," she muttered, frowning. "No... Knights of Ren. Masks, and.." a skeletal face fighting another in a long dark hall, and a chorus of red sabers. "Myr."

It was flashes of instances, all flickering together, but the clearest was the one of a place she didn't know on sight; but she could almost feel the salty sea spray, the roar of the ocean and lightning flashing above, and then a masked face with red eyes---

She exhaled, and slowly opened her eyes. Forced herself to look at the Ranger, and gave another weak smile. "Just snippets and glimpses, I'm afraid," she managed, before letting out a slow breath. "And a life of misery." But her voice didn't inflect any sympathy, in fact, she felt disturbed at all the glimpses she had seen. No names, frustratingly enough, at least not helpful ones. But there was a location... and if she glossed through some of these memories, she could perhaps identify the place. But she knew in her bones she had never been there before; the tie to the Dark Side was strong, strong enough to make her head spin at all the corruption, the seething hatred that boiled beneath its' surface.

She held it back out to him, keeping her features calm. "I'm sorry I'm not of much help, but... there's a name. And a place... a few places, actually."

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

It was strange to watch but Roland remained silent. He could only imagine what it was like to have a what he imagined was one part memory one part waking nightmare. He didn't envy anyone that delved into the mind of some of the galaxy's more depraved individuals. Indy said as much as she returned from her trance.

"Thank you. That's more than we had before." The Sector Rangers had been able to recover some data from the storage banks of the BG unit left onboard thhe Tie Elder Roland had taken during the prison break. He took the lightsaber back and looked at it, expecting some kind of change in sensation this time but receiving none. "There's more of them. The Knights of Ren and these Sith. I wouldn't be surprised if one is just a small sect of the other."

His hand still held the dark and intert hilt. The smell of ozone from the sabers being ignited was dissipating. "If you have the time I could use some lessons, at least so I don't cut my own arm off." He was still at the stage of consciously trying to make sure he didn't stab himself or put a hole in his ship any time he had the lightsaber activated. Actually he had only ignited it a handful of times since he had taken it. It was a tool the Mandalorian was not going to use with confidence, not yet. But fighting the Sith meant he would undoubtedly come in contact with them again and next time he did not want to just have what he felt to be a lucky win.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

Her grin warmed, and she stretched. Some of the pain still lingered, but she wasn't going to think it over too much; they were dead, and she didn't know them personally. And their choices led them down this dark path... she wasn't to mourn someone with the willingness to do what the Sith had done in any capacity. She grinned at his statement of not severing a limb, nodding. "True, that would be a terrible shame," came the light response as she rolled back upright, easing the stiffness from her limbs.

She withdrew her own lightsaber once more; when it thrummed to life, she showed the small controls on the blade hilt. "Non-lethal settings; intended for sparring only, much like I believe a safety is for firearms." She stood with knees slightly bent, the blade held in a light one-handed grip. "Never taught a non-sensitive, though," she spoke easily, nodding her head briefly. "No offense meant, of course... but if you're in a fight with one of these..."

She lashed out her other hand in a Force Push, her bladed arm lashing out as though to strike his shoulder in her left-hand grip, right hand empty but extended.

"Be prepared to fight dirty and hard." Golden eyes glimmered lightly, and she was smiling openly.

The attack was a weak one, of course, but a rapid lesson itself. And it'd give him plenty of time to turn on the nonlethal setting to engage or move out of melee range.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

He had not realized that there was a non-lethal setting until Indy pointed it out. Or make one hell of a stun baton He thought to himself as he imagined taking out the legs from some running criminal with the glowing blade. It was far better than getting their legs cut entirely off though. Then again he was also glad that if the two of them were sparing he wasn't going to lose a limb either.

He activated the blade and switched the setting to stun, trying to discern the difference. "Non-sensitive? He commented a moment knowing she probably meant his lack of affinity with the force rather than someone who was just rude or ignorant. But instead of answering she lunged. Behind his visor his eyes widdened instinctually and the crimson blade came across in front of him to reach the green saber lancing towards his shoulder. While scorring a hit with the lightsaber would be prevented the force push was not.

Roland was thrown back several meters but he managed to stay upright. The Knight's advice was already something Roland had taken to heart. He knew his tools and his skills were what was going to have him come out on top when fighting the Sith. He smiled underneath his helmet. "Glad you won't take it easy on me then." He lunged forward closing the distance that had been made using his jet boots, keeping him just a few centimeters off the ground with the black hilt and crimson blade between him and his newfound trainer. If she was going to use her abilities then he would use what he had at his disposal.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

When sparring, she often entered into a relaxed almost trance. True, there was the danger of losing, but that wasn't the lesson here. The greatest lesson was keeping her calm, and an even keel. She didn't know the spectrum of Roland's fighting capabilities, though if rumors and historical references were true, he as a Mandalorian would no doubt adapt quickly and even turn the tide against her if she wasn't careful. So she'd have to test him a little bit, though curiosity was definitely a part of it.

So imagine her delight when he did take the push... but pushed back with his boots. His reply brought a chuckle to her lips, golden eyes glimmering. "Of course not, this is a fighting dojo..." she met his forwarded blade with a block of her own in her left hand, using the Force to once again push, this time at his left knee, her right leg lashing out towards his other one with the intent to attack and possibly weaken the joint if it struck.

"Not a flower garden."

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

The zapping of their blades collided was a unique sensation. He had never fought even with a vibroblade against a lightsaber. But there was more to a fight than just the weapon as Indy expertly made his left leg drop to its knee. Roland's other leg braced slightly, not being able to do much else. The shinplate facing the Pantoran's strike that would likely make her regret striking with just her own limb.

Believing she would likely reel from the attack, the Mandalorian would raised his open hand and fired a near point-blank blast from his armor's repulsor. Indy had pushed him twice with the force but she wasn't the only one that could do that type of trick. This was the first time Roland had needed to use it in such a situation and also had not braced for the repulsor's recoil. While he smiled as he triggered the function on his wrist his world was sent upside down as he went tumbling back a little but trying his best to quickly recover.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

The kick hadn't gone as planned, and her foot smarted from the armor. Not many wore full armor these days, and so she limped her leg back, intending to strike again. Roland, however, beat her to the punch.

Figuratively and metaphorically speaking, it would seem.

The repulsor shoved her back hard enough she lost her balance, tumbling backwards and landing on her knees. She held her blade level and away from her body as she moved; too often falling backwards with such a thing, if it weren't nonlethal, could be deadly for those that hadn't trained. She didn't like using her lightsaber too often, so this was good practice. And he seemed to get better with each second. She stood and grinned, offering a short bow when he would rise as well. "Good. Very good. How's it handling?"

Perhaps not many would pause a spar to chat about handling a weapon, but in her eyes, learning to use a lightsaber was far different from learning with any other blade she knew of. And a Sith lightsaber, perhaps, would put more resistance to use than a vibrosword; most would not think crystals sentient, but to her, they sometimes seemed to be of a level of loyalty to their alignment and user.

@Darasuum

 

[Roland Rook]

Indy recovered but he saw more than just an opponent he was trying to beat. She had initiated this match as the opening lesson in training and Roland wanted to make the most of it. Across from him he would see how she held her blade. It was never in a careless direction or moved without purpose.

The man's heart was beating quickly after their short exchange and his visor dropped to look at the lightsaber in his grip. "A little different than I expected I'll admit. You know if flat-bladed sabers handle different than like what you've got?" His free hand gesture towards her more typical green shaped emission.

"I think the color might actually make it a bit dangerous for me to be seen with." He looked over his shoulder to see if they had drawn a crowd. There were several people watching from a distance and others would mention a mandalorian with a red lightsaber sparing with a knight. "If you purify a crystal does any properties about the lightsaber change?" she had touched on it earlier but had not expanded on specifics with purifying the crystals within.

@Killa Ree

 

[Indy Sati]

She eyed his blade; it was unique, for sure, more reminiscent of images in texts she'd seen of darksabers than the one she held herself. She tilted her head slightly, eyeing the red blade before deactivating her own, and closing the distance with a crisp pace. "For lightsaber combat, there are different forms," she replied, giving a thoughtful hum. "Perhaps we can study alternatives, and do some drills. For now, though, you seem to adapt well; impressive."

She nodded along with his statement of color. "I've heard purifying it can turn them white..." she replied absentmindedly, turning the idea over in her head. "But otherwise... I'm not so sure. Perhaps we can seek the help of a Master, when one is available?" she asked, tilting her head. There was no point in lying, or hiding information; he seemed earnest to do the right thing, and she felt just as earnestly to do the same. "I can still try myself if you like, but I can't guarantee the outcome."

@Darasuum