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[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera panted quietly while taking a rest on a small storage box. Inside one of the thousands of hangars of the Chardaan Orbital Works, the Jedi Councilor trained quietly by herself. Atop another crate, a small golden book lay open. Its glowing words taunted her attempts to learn from it. The Albion Holocron, or so it called itself, was a simple work of her family line that taught more doctrine than anything in the Force. But there was an ability her lineage used, a refinement of Force Speed, that spoke of the ability in a manner Hera had never seen.

To move faster than the naked eye could follow, even in light and medium armor, was unheard of to Hera. Yet the Holocron treated it as a core tenant of its method of utilizing the ability. Hera groaned and allowed her sweat-laden body to fall back and off her sitting crate, her green medium armor clacking loudly as she hit the floor. The pain cleared her mind a little, but she didn't dwell on it. She could almost hear the voice of her ancestor, Mira Albion, speaking to her through the words of the Holocron.

"Speed, speed, fucking SPEED. This is what keeps us better than the weak-willed rabble beneath us! Other Jedi and Sith will increase their speed to catch us, and we will become even faster to match! At my height, I moved so fast it was almost Teleportation! Armor never slowed me down and it shouldn't fucking slow you either!!"

Hera groaned and shouted back at the book, even though the voice played solely in her own head, "You were also a psychopath Mira! I'm supposed to be better than that!" Then, standing up slowly, she began to prepare herself to try again. Her thought drifted momentarily to her previous Padawan, Dash, a powerful Knight now. She had invited him to the Chardaan Orbital Works, home of the First Defense Mercenary Enclave, to train with her. She had specifically chosen this location because her influence over it would not be possible without Dash. That, and no other Jedi really knew about the place yet. Though in her truest belief, she didn't think Dash would come.

She knew he was still angry with her, or at least still healing from the hurt. Hera didn't blame him, she didn't take anything personally. She wasn't even sure she still felt bad about it, and that worried her a little bit. She had called her ancestor a psychopath, and surely Mira Albion was, but Hera wondered if that trait was hereditary. It should have scared her, but she didn't feel fear either. Shaking her head, Hera put it out of her mind. She had to focus.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

It was a little weird to be back at the Orbital Works after so long and so much had changed since Dash was last here.

Back then, he had been an eager, fresh Padawan, doing his very best to learn from Hera and impress her with his efforts. He was returning a more seasoned Knight, flush with a full set of his own problems and worries and arguably more mixed feelings about his former Master.

He worked his way across the main yard towards the hangar number Hera had given him. There had been no question of ignoring her invite. The training opportunity she had mentioned was invaluable and their relationship had taken a few knocks, nothing more. Hera had trained him, protected him, taken him on missions and supported his interests. She had been a rock right until she told him to give us Ezra. Even then, he knew she thought she had been protecting him.

Dash had not agreed with her then, but he at least understood now. It had been their one misstep and he'd had time to get over it. She had backed him again with Starlight Beacon and, given everything that had happened, they had to stand together.

He slipped through the hangar doors in some casual activewear, aware the training was something fairly physical. He found Hera sitting on the floor by some crates, looking a little frustrated.

"Master" Dash said, doing a little bow to the woman on the floor, a wry smile on his face. "Promise me Michael does not know we booked this hangar". Hera would know he was talking about Harda of course; their mutual creation and ongoing source of awkwardness.

@Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Her self-doubt melted away as the face of her former padawan came into view. Grinning while Dash spoke, Hera stood up from the floor and brushed herself off. Laughing in response to their little inside 'joke' -or inside problem for Dash- Hera responded, "No no, I mean, he knows I am here, but I hardly interest him! Ha!" Shaking herself off once more, she turned and headed toward the Holocron.

Glancing back at Dash, Hera looked him up and down before chuckling, "Always in something appropriate. I swear you've got to have the best fashion sense of anyone I've ever known. Maybe better than your boyfriend and his weird dad too, but I haven't spent enough time with them to know better. I'll need to take some notes from you, I'm really not one to dress up very often."

Stopping at the Holocron, she started reading it once more. Most of it was angry ranting about how the Jedi and Sith both sucked, though no better alternatives were presented at any point. There would be the occasional note here and there about how to increase speed, where to channel the Force into the muscles, and why it was necessary to pace certain muscle groups through the movements. But mostly, it was angry ranting.

As she read, she asked Dash, "How have you been? Your knightly duties have been keeping you busy I imagine, have you considered taking on a Padawan recently? I'll be looking for another myself soon, Leon is ready to take the trials in my opinion."

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash had to smile at Hera's excuse that she did not interest Michael. "That makes one of us" he snorted. He was perhaps being a little unfair to the man, who had served them ably and even done Dash a favour recently. But Harda's affections were an ongoing challenge to navigate. Flowers still occasionally arrived at the temple without warning.

Hera's kind words about his fashion sense only softened Dash more. His former master was an incredibly strong Jedi and a fierce fighter; he had seen that himself firsthand. But maybe she was indeed less comfortable with certain everyday things. "Thanks" he said, still a little embarrassed even though she was not the first to compliment his fashion sense. "You look great. But sure, if you think so then I'd be happy to give you some ideas - just ideas - if you're ever going anywhere fancy".

He noticed the Albion holocron next to Hera, the vast tome reminding him of what they went through to retrieve it from Eshan. It seemed he was not the only one with a personal connection to a holocron. It dawned on him that out of everyone Hera might actually be best placed to understand his issues with the Casket. Maybe in time he could talk to her about it.

He would have answered the how have you been question almost automatically from most people, but Hera was not most people. She had saved him from a gang of thugs on Coruscant and taken him under her wing. She deserved more than an automatic response.

"Yeah" he said, sighing deeply "I've been throwing myself into everything I can with the Order. Ez - Ezra and I - clashed a bit and I've been trying to keep busy". It was still uncomfortable mentioning his boyfriend around her but she had done it first and a small part of Dash still wanted to remind her it was a thing. "That's great about Leon. He is going to be so good!". The Adumarian was a beacon of light all on his own and Dash could not wait to welcome him to the ranks of the Knights.

Dash had never properly thought about taking a Padawan. He had teamed up with several junior Jedi, including Ezra, Ferrin and Leon, but also Vand and Dim. But he had never considered taking on real responsibility for one person, like Hera had done with him. "I guess I haven't really thought about a Padawan" he replied, being honest. "Do you think I should?"

@Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera nodded softly as Dash spoke, her mind split between listening to him talk and reading the ranting of the 'Holocron.' As Dash asked about having a Padawan, Hera looked up to affix him with a quizzical grin. "What kind of question is that? Of course, I think you should." Looking back to the book, she studied it a bit longer before realizing she should elaborate. Stepping back, Hera spoke once more while moving toward a training staff in the corner of the room.

"You and Ezra are good for each other, I have faith you will work through your rough patch. You're both good men." Picking up the training staff, she tossed it to Dash while using the Force to snap another into her hands. "Taking on a Padawan is more than just teaching someone else about the Force, it's about mentorship. Not just a Master teaching an apprentice, but also a Master learning from their apprentice."

She twirled the staff, continuing with a smile, "As iron sharpens iron, so too have we become better people by learning together. You made me a better person during our time together, and I know you're a great man. Though I'm not sure how much of that I can take credit for-" A laugh, hard and quick, "You would do well to take on a student of your own. There is much you know that someone younger could benefit from, and I feel you would become a better person through teaching as well."

Hera paused for a moment, thinking over her own words, before snapping her head up with a wide grin. Taking up a battle stance, she called out, "Now! I want you to come at me, make your best attempt to strike me with the staff. I will focus solely upon defense, trying to move as fast as possible. Make as many attacks as you can, I need to strain my limits of movement. Then, we'll switch and I'll put you on the defensive."

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

"Thanks" Dash said, both for the endorsement of him and Ezra and for the staff that landed in his hands. It had not been that long since she had thought their love incompatible with Jedi life. They had both come a long way since then.

The Rhinnalian hefted the staff, getting used to its length and weight as he listened to Hera's advice. He could certainly see that working closely with another Jedi might be good for them both, though he raised an eyebrow when Hera said he had made a positive impact on her. "I thought I just got us into brawls and drinking contests" he joked, feeling more serious as he leaned on the staff. "But you're right, I would not be where I am without everything you taught me".

Could he do that for someone else? He had certainly tried helping others, Dim and Maura to name a few, but he had never offered to take on someone's training full time. Did he even know enough?

But Hera was bracing up, asking him to come at her. Dash gave her a sideways look, wondering just how much of a chance he stood. Still, if this was the game, he at least had to try and play.

"Ok then" he chuckled "here it goes". He leapt left, then right, sweeping the staff up from one side, then the other. He was not as strong as Hera, but he was smaller and pretty quick, so he did his best to dance around her, swinging and jabbing repeatedly with the staff.

@Black Noise

 

[Hera "The Joyful" Albion]

Hera's movements were a blur as Dash came at her, a quick block to her right, then left. Dash sparred with the fluid grace of someone who knew their strengths well and leaned into them. He had clearly kept up with his own personal training, and for that, Hera felt a small glimmer of pride. With every swing of Dash's staff, Hera dashed in its direction to slam her own. Harder and harder she hit the Knight's staff away, faster and faster she pushed herself.

Then, after only a few minutes of movement, Hera found herself needing to stop once more. In her medium green armor, her body and face slick with sweat, Hera could feel her strength sapped and drained with each increase of her speed. Tossing the staff to the side, Hera shouted against the tiring of her muscles and the strain exerted on her body. It was a defiant yell to the wall, an emotional outburst that might've seemed out of place had it come from anyone else.

Without skipping a beat, she snapped her fingers and the staff flew back into her hands. For a moment, she seemed about to say something to Dash but stopped mid-opening her mouth. Her emotions had begun to well up again, a rolling tide of rage at herself for failing to immediately master this new skill's improvement. Stepping back, Hera sat on a nearby crate and attempted to calm herself. Her body and hands shook with anger as she tried to breathe herself into serenity.

Rubbing her temples with her free hand, she spoke once more, "I'm afraid, Dash- no that's not right. I know I should be afraid, or worried, or stressed, at the tide of the galaxy. But I'm not, I'm just angry. I've been feeling less and less in control, ever since-" Ithor, Hera should have thought Ithor, should have felt 'Ithor.' But that was not where her change had occurred, not where her mind had begun to slip.

It was Akiva.

@Alhon

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash would like to have said there was a moment when he nearly had her, but there was not. Hera blocked his every attack, twisting and twirling to meet him despite his acrobatics. She had trained him after all and was well versed in his style. Too late he realised he should maybe have gone in heavy and thrown her off guard.

He at least seemed to present a challenge though and he was taken aback when Hera stepped aside and threw her staff down with a shout. It was back in her hand within moments, but it was a rare loss of control that he had not really seen before. Was she ok?

She seemed to pause, uncertain, before sitting down on the crate. Her words of admission were all the more surprising and he wondered briefly what to say for the best.

"I know what you mean" he said finally, sitting down beside her. "Everything that's happened, it just makes me want to strike back". He gripped the staff hard in his hand, wishing it was as easy to get a grip on the dangers they faced. "Is it Ithor for you too?". The loss of the temple and so many Jedi had hit them all hard, though ashamedly it was often the single Sith who had threatened his friends on Berchest that appeared in Dash's nightmares.

"Maybe if we can learn this...this speed thing...we can be quicker next time. Help before it's all lost".

@Black Noise