Ask Learning the Moves

[Max Dram]

HEDION UNIVERSITY, DSC DAEDELUS
4.00pm local time​

"You are not listening, Lieutenant! It is not that simple!"

Max ignored the man for a moment, turning to watch a peculiar perpetual motion model doing its thing on a side table. It was a funny little thing, as pointless and infuriating as the University Principal.

"I can assure you I am listening loud and clear, Principal Roe. Some of your students have lost the plot and you need me to dole out some discipline". He prodded the model with a gloved metal finger, interrupting its flow and sending its components into a tangle.

"No, no no!" the Principal fumed, his face turning red, one eye on the broken model. "These students are special, extremely special - I don't expect the likes of you to understand - but their abilities are extremely volatile, you can't just go down there being heavy handed-". The man stopped himself, looking uncertainly at Max's metal arm as if he might accidentally give offense. "I am not sure the Empire are the best people to handle this situation, we-"

"Your superiors think we are though" Max said with finality "so let's not waste time on what you think".

Indeed, when a whole section of Daedelus' prestigious psionic university had gone dark, seemingly at the hands of its most promising students, the authorities had turned to the Imperials for help. As the only power in the region, only the Empire had the resources to put down a serious threat of this kind, whether accident, terrorism or something else.

Max had hoped to get some useful intelligence from the Principal before his unit headed down to the University, but he was proving useless.

The door chimed and Max straightened, hoping it was his counterpart. He was glad to have a platoon under his command again, but this kind of mission needed more unorthodox talents. She had them in spades and he was pleased for an excuse to call them in. They had unfinished business.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

It was, indeed, Max’s counterpart that stepped through. It was a fully decked out Mandalorian in obsidian armor. The principle visibly stiffened, as did anyone else in the surrounding area. The man appeared as if he would faint, but Shale largely ignored it. She was briefed on this less than an hour prior to coming here. She was busy trying to score some permits to open up a shop, but the hoops to jump through were extensive. When this popped up, she hoped it would get her in the good graces of the local authorities and expedite the process. Plus, she didn’t mind seeing Max again.

“Today is supposed to be day off for me,” Shale said dryly to Max as she arrived, though her tone wasn’t too serious. She had set the day aside to do what amounted to dull chores, after all.

“Forcies?” Shale asked Max before they ventured further into the mission. Psionic sounded an awful lot like a group of Force users. And if they weren’t Sith or Jedi, it meant they operated by no rules and were far more volatile.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Her day off. Max was not sure he believed Shale had those, but he had been wrong about the woman more than once before. He would add it to his list of questions for her when they had a breather. Besides, he could tell she was far from annoyed her plans had been thrown into disarray. She would not be here unless she wanted to be.

He finished up with the Principal, gathering what little intel they had. "Damn right" Max replied, leading her out the room "they call them psionics, but seems a bit fancy to me. I hear most of them are undergrads who can barely lift a teaspoon. Don't know what's going on down there, but can't imagine what has got station security so riled".

His two men outside the Principal's office snapped to and hurried after he and Shale towards the elevator. The rest of the platoon were already down on the campus level, staking out the East Wing that had gone dark. Max was eager to join them and get to it. It was another chance to prove his worth.

"Thanks for coming by the way" he said discreetly, as he stepped into the elevator, his back to his men. The Warmaster had spared his life, but it was Shale who had done the most to restore his soul. He felt he was rediscovering who he was, uplifted by his new arm. With the restoration of his rank, he had recovered another part of himself.

She did not know, but none of it would have happened without her.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

The dynamics had changed since she last saw him. He carried himself differently, with far more confidence and self-assuredness. Having his rank back had done wonders for him, though she could tell it would take some time before his men gelled with him again. They weren’t the men he had led for years prior to his desertion, and this lot had their reservations just like anyone else did.

Shale wasn’t a fan of working with Force users, but she also knew the average soldier would struggle against them. The trick was to always be quicker on the draw and to keep the heat on. Most Imperials allowed that fraction of a second for a Sith to overwhelm their mind or throw them across a field.

She was lost in her thoughts when Max thanked her. Taken by surprise, her helmet slanted slightly to regard him, “Not a problem,” Her gaze flicked towards his new insignia, “...Sir,” She added, grinning beneath the helmet. Technically he could boss her around now.

The doors opened and right away she could tell something was off. There was a long, empty corridor in front of them. There were several overturned desks and pieces of paper strewn about. The lights were flickering, several tiles from the walls missing or strewn about on the floor. There were doors lining both sides of the corridor, some open, some closed. Something was very off.

Shale already had her blaster out and she could sense the soldiers around her tense up, “Must be heavy teaspoons they lift...” She whispered quietly, gingerly stepping out of the elevator. She already knew they had underestimated these 'psionics'.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Shale's helmet slants were like the cocked head of a little bird. When you had seen them enough times, you could almost start to read into them. Max read more into that visor than he could ever explain, but Shale's mystique had all the curiosity of nature. You kept wanting to know more.

He contained a chuckle when she called him Sir, but if she looked she would see him smiling at the elevator ceiling. The idea of ordering her around had a certain appeal, particularly as he suspected she would hate every minute, but he did not intend to exploit it as he might do with others. Besides, he was far from confident she would listen.

The Mandalorian was a unique package, three parts experience, two parts skill and one part attitude. Even after their success on Ord Radama, he was under no illusions that she was still not sold on him or the whole Imperial project. Maybe clearing up yet another mess could help endear her to both.

When the elevator slowed and the doors opened, the hairs on the back of Max's neck stood on end. The corridor was supposed to be full of his platoon, but only his 2IC and a comms officer were visible down the hall, huddling between two desks, their faces white.

"Teaspoons..." Max breathed. He was already regretting that remark, but none of the intel backed up a major threat. Something was totally off here.

"What the fuck Bakkar?" he said, striding over to his second with one hand on his holster "where are the fucking men?".

"I know you said to wait Sir, but it seemed overkill" the private said, clearly regretful but his voice level. "I sent out two teams, one on this floor and one above. We thought it would be straightforward to clear the wing and isolate the targets. I'm not sure why-"

Max's hands clenched into fists, both organic and cybernetic. He wanted to rip the man's throat out. His old unit would never have defied his orders, there has been camaraderie, deference, respect. These knew men seemed to have no sense of orders or what it meant to obey them.

"We will rendezvous with the ground level team" he said, motioning to Shale and the two soldiers who had come down with them to follow. "Radio the first floor team and call them back. We don't know what we are facing here and we need them to hold this position until we do". He glared at the man, daring the private to disagree, but he reluctantly obeyed.

"Official line is that these guys are prodigies, but still can't do shit without half a day's warm up" he said to Shale "either they are covering something up, or there's something else involved here". Ord Radama had brought home just how insidious the Sith could be in their efforts to reassert themselves and Max had already considered they could be here, seeking new recruits. But it was equally possible there was something else at work.

"How did you get here so fast anyway?" he asked, holstering his rifle and starting to clear the closest rooms. When he had put in the call, he had expected her to take days to arrive if she came at all. Her sudden appearance suggested she had been in the neighbourhood already.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale was quiet during the tense exchange between Max and his unit. It was still interesting seeing a whole different side of him as he eased back into a position he carried with confidence. Being a lowly subordinate never fit him. She wondered if he deserted or did what he did because he thought it would advance him through the ranks. Would he have been wrong? Under the old regime, didn’t currying favors with Sith get you further? Could his core faults simply have been his ambition? He didn’t seem stupid enough to just think with his dick…but then he was a man and men were simple creatures.

She kept her focus on scoping out their surroundings, her rifle in hand as they began to clear the rooms. The ones they passed were empty and Shale was beginning to get an uneasy feeling. She saw evidence of workbooks, arts and crafts, and other clues that there were children here. She almost didn’t want to find out what happened.

She was shaken out of her thoughts when Max addressed her. It was almost jarring how calm he was, keeping that same unwavering resolve. She wondered what kinds of atrocities he had witnessed in his time as an Imperial soldier with Sith at the helm, “I’m trying get permit to open shop here,” Shale said, walking past a room as she spoke. However, she stopped and walked back to glimpse into it. She could have sworn she saw movement.

Shale slowly walked into the room, lowering down to a crouch and tilting her head to look under a desk. She gazed into the face of a girl that gasped. She looked absolutely terrified.

“It okay!” Shale said, trying to calm the girl that scrambled back and was soon stuck in the corner wall when she realized the way out had more soldiers. The girl hugged her knees to her chest, curling into a ball in terror.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Shale said slowly, but the girl looked at her visor and only cried worse. The Mandalorian thought about how daunting she appeared and she doubted Max was any good at this. With a soft exhale, she slowly took off her helmet, revealing her face as she gazed at the girl of about 10.

“See? I’m not monster,” She said to the child, her voice for the first time not mechanized through the helmet. The girl calmed down almost immediately, pausing for a moment before she flung herself at Shale. Shale held the girl, her mind racing.

“It’s okay,” She said softly, rubbing her back and waiting for a moment for her to calm down. After a few minutes, the girl was relaxed and looked at Shale.

“What happen here?”

“Sulana…Sulana just..went crazy!” She said simply, looking around at everyone with dread, “Please let me go. Please find my friends!”

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

The first few rooms gave them nothing useful. The workstations and cluttered teaching materials gave little hint of the special nature of the students here. From what Max gathered, the psionics started young and graduated from little kids through to young adults. Maybe the older ones were taught upstairs. Of course, whatever their age, the main question was where were they all.

"A shop?" Max raised an eyebrow at that, following the Mandalorian into the next room. "I didn't have you down for a merchant" he mused quietly "but if you're selling bodily upgrades I might leave a review". If she was serious, then it had to be weapons surely, or perhaps armour. Something at the sharp end of life that Shale would know well.

Her instincts were certainly top notch and when she uncovered the girl beneath the desk Max had to wonder if he would have actually found her himself. The little thing ran into a corner, but after that had nowhere to go. Maybe she could tell them what had happened.

Shale went after her, displaying a gentleness Max had only seen glimpses of. She spoke calmly to the girl, trying to earn her trust. He decided to keep back for the moment, lowering his weapon and letting the Mando work. He was very eager indeed to discover the truth here, but talking to kids was not among his skillset. He kept one eye on the doorway instead, hoping Shale could shed some light.

She did more than that. Indeed, when his counterpart took her iconic helmet off, almost casually, Max was momentarily thrown.

Long dark hair was revealed, bound with military precision and framing a striking face. He found himself stepping around to the side, losing all interest in the girl for a moment as he drank in the real Shale Vizsla. She had smooth skin, grey-green eyes and strong features that seemed to fit beautifully together. Shale was both everything he had expected and also completely different, pretty but in a distinctive way.

Her voice was new too, unfamiliar tones free of the helmet's filter. Max had a curious urge to say hello again, as if for the first time, but he kept it down, watching in silence as Shale and the kid spoke.

"No" Max breathed, managing to spare a look at the girl and back at his comrade "she's no monster". He could do little but stand and watch as the two embraced, Shale looking like a totally different person from the zombie killer of the Murkhana wastes. He was struck by how much he still did not know about this woman.

"Who is Sulana?" Max asked after a long moment, conscious that there was still a mission at hand.

"My friend" the girl said, looking teary and unconvinced about speaking to the big man in assault corps armour. "She started screaming and her psi blew everything up". She gestured around them, but while the room was a mess it had clearly not been the subject of an explosion. Max guessed kids only had so many words to describe. "Everyone went running and she chased after them, I was slow so I stayed and went hiding".

Max pondered for a moment. So one of the kids had lost it a bit, but one kid could not make entire classes of them vanish, overwhelm comms and security and bring down the power in a whole wing of the university.

"Go with these men" he told the girl, motioning towards the two troopers with him and Shale. "They will take you to the way out and get in touch with your family". He gestured to one of the men to offer her a ration bar as an incentive. "Catch us up once she's back at the checkpoint".

The hallway ended at a set of double doors a little way off, marked Library. They would have to go on if they were going to get to the bottom of all this.

"So did I just need to cry a little?" he asked, taking a long sideways look at Shale's face again. "We fought, we drank, we partied, not a whisper of that helmet coming off. Little Cinderella there gets a bit upset and she gets a proper introduction no trouble?".

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

The girl’s story sounded unsettling. Blowing things up with just a thought sounded very Sith and dangerous. Shale glanced up to catch Max looking at her, the sight almost bringing a smile and distracting her from the mission. He was clearly caught off guard by her appearance. She rose to stand again, falling into step beside Max as they approached the doors to the library. Shale was still thinking about the other kids when Max spoke. She quirked a brow as she looked at him, “We only meet when working. Helmet always stays on when I work,” She said with a grin before the helmet popped right back on. Shale wasn’t going to entertain curiosities about her appearance for just that alone.

As they arrived at the door, Shale paused to listen for any movement on the other side. With nothing but silence, she opened the door and burst in, rifle leveled as she ducked behind cover. She didn’t pick anything up initially and slowly emerged from the cover. From the looks of it, the library was in complete disarray. Tables were cracked and overturned, papers and physical books were strewn all over. It looked as if a tornado hit the large hall, but there was still no sign of anyone here initially.

“Is there other way out of this level?” Shale asked curiously. Nothing explained the emptiness and the children being scattered. They would have had to go back the way the Imperials came down unless there was a secret path out somewhere.

She kept walking until she saw someone lying on the ground around a table. With a sigh, Shale walked over and spotted a teen girl lying dead with vacant eyes staring at the ceiling. There was no sign of any physical injury, but there was a tortured expression on her face that would haunt Shale for a long time.

“I think…Sulana is long gone,” Shale said quietly, “Would not stay around to get caught after this. We focus on recovering victims..”

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Max could not argue with her response. It was factually correct, though it made him wonder if Shale might respond better to direct questions in future. "Well let me know the next time you are off duty" he replied. It was now a little easier to actually imagine the woman having a day off, though not much. The preoccupations of a Mandalorian were many.

He remained focused, hefting his rifle and following Shale into the library. She peeled right and he want left, putting his back against a bookcase of data pads. The room appeared clear though, until they came across the form of Sulana.

"I'm not liking that face" Max said grimly, standing over the dead girl. "Either she did this to herself, or something else fried her brain". He was guessing of course. All of this was totally outside his experience. "The Wing must go on" he continued, surmising that his own ground floor team had to have passed through this way "there has to be a door, or maybe a stairway to the upper level".

He surveyed the perimeter but the library was large and segmented, dimly lit under emergency lighting. Someone had even drawn the damn curtains. Max searched in an expanding circle, moving towards the nearest window and yanking the huge drapes back to let some light in.

Suddenly a young man was in his face, all frantic gasps and bloodshot eyes. Max went to grab him but the guy screamed, a harsh almost metallic sound that hit the Lieutenant like a cannon blast. Then, somehow, he was flying through the air.

Max crashed to the floor several feet away, his fall partially broken by the plush rug. The psionic student he had discovered was already darting frantically, unleashing another blast of psionic energy in Shale's direction.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

“Probably after we done with this mission,” Shale said in response to his request. He was right- directness worked far better than trying to navigate some complicated way to get answers from her.

She was still studying Sulana while Max surveyed the room. What caused Sulana to snap like that? Why would she hurt her peers? Shale looked up when she heard the commotion, seeing a student throw Max clear back and that unnatural scream. That shouldn’t have been possible from an untrained Force user, but Shale wouldn’t be taken off guard after Max had to pay the price. Shale dropped to a crouch to be directly out of line of sight. She leveled the rifle, switched it to stun and fired square at the boy. It was enough to drop him like a sack of potatoes right there.

Shale rushed over to make sure the guy was truly down before she moved over to Max, extending a hand to help him up, “You okay?” She asked, hints of genuine concern bleeding into her tone, “What the hell going on here,” She muttered in frustration. Shale walked back to the stunned boy, rolling him on his back. On his forearm she could see parts of a tattoo. Upon rolling the sleeves back, she could make out what looked like runes. They meant nothing to her, but perhaps Max would recognize them? They were ancient Sith.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

"I'm good" Max reassured Shale, taking her hand and rising to his feet. "Must be how it feels to have a jet pack". In truth he was a little stunned the scrawny guy had the power to send him flying. "His party tricks were no match for you I see". Shale had the guy down and out on the floor and it had barely taken her a minute. She was pretty damn dependable.

Max stepped around the limp form of the student on the panelled floor. He looked like a young teen at first, but on closer inspection the Lieutenant noticed the closely shaved stubble and ill-fitting student clothes. The guy looked sixteen, but was probably a fair few years older, the runes on his arm the final clue needed.

"Sith markings for sure" Max said, his nose wrinkling. "Rumour was they had a power of their own. I've seen them on half a dozen Sith before, though usually big bruisers or the sorcerer types. This guy must be a real new recruit". He did not know enough to guess the runes' purpose. Maybe they helped hide the Acolyte's true identity, maybe they radiated an aura that drew others into his web. But they left one thing in no doubt; the Sith were the web spinners here.

"The Order are weaker than they have ever been" he said, bending down to bind the young man's limbs to a steel radiator. "Maybe they are also more desperate than ever for new blood. I bet you they sent this guy to embed with these psionics, turn them into assets the Sith can use". He glanced involuntarily at Sulana. Clearly the Sith's influence had been too much for some of them.

"We could beat some intel out of this guy, but I doubt we have the time" Max said, straightening and finally spying the door on the far side. "Reckon we head on and find the kids?". He would have told most people what they were doing, not asked. But he valued Shale's instincts and try as he might it was him who kept getting thrown on his ass.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale nodded with his assessment, “We hand him to Imperial Knights,” She said. When it came to interrogating Force users, Imperials had limited capabilities. Imperial Knights could do whatever magic they needed to extract information. She drew up her comlink and called for reinforcements to take the teen away.

She eyed Max curiously when he asked what she wanted to do instead of just bossing her around, “The teams find two more kids so just one left,” She said as she started looking around for another doorway. She almost missed it, but there it was - the outline of a doorframe in between two bookshelves. Shale pressed a button next to it and the door hissed open, revealing a spiraling staircase going up, “Oh good. I thought it would be cliche..take out book, open secret vault.”

She had to duck to go up the stairs, which meant Max would definitely have a tough time squeezing his frame in through the narrow passage. It was dark and dingy, and she was thankful for her helmet, “Did you always live with fear? With Sith?” Shale asked quietly out of the blue. She could vividly recall Darth Raze on her home planet and even today provided a glimpse into the atrocities they were capable of committing. Max had lived for years under Sith rule.

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

As expected, Shale had an answer. "The Knights yeah, they will sort him out".

Max still found it hard to get his head around the Imperial Knights. For so many years the Sith had been the upper echelon of the Empire, now those that remained were relegated to a special ops squad of sorts. He had barely met any of them and he was glad. He did not know what to make of the idea, but Shale was right. They had the skills to get everything from this guy without hours of hard work.

When she found the door between the bookshelves he was impressed. Her armour made her seem a blunt instrument of battle, but he was learning all the time that she was more than met the eye. Climbing in behind her made him feel a little like a giant in a gingerbread house, but he could cope. Every soldier was comfortable with tight spaces.

"Not exactly" he answered as they crept along "we were always on the same side". A little voice questioned whether that was even true, but he brushed it aside. "There was some fear" he conceded, unsure why he was divulging this "the stronger ones could snap necks with a thought. I'd seen it done. The higher rank you earned, the more responsibility you got, the closer you came to pissing off the wrong Sith on the wrong day". It was true and certainly what many of his comrades had felt, even if his own personal experience of the Sith had been more benign. Even if he had felt the Sith were entitled to their power and prestige. Still, he could scarcely believe how quickly the galaxy had turned on its head. Only a few months ago he had lined up behind the Sith, now he was engaged in fighting them.

The dim light of the passage reflected off Shale's helmet and he had to wonder. "Where are you at with all this, the Empire? Do you believe in it?". It was a bit philosophical for Max Dram, almost definitely too much for Shale Viszla, but she was here in the trenches with him. He had to understand why.

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale shrugged vaguely at his question, “I have freedom to believe whatever I want,” She said as she tilted her head towards Max, “Luxury only without Sith,” She said, remembering the omission of choice when it came to dealing with Sith. No matter how things were presented, there was never a choice when a Sith wanted things done a certain way. While Shale wasn’t bought in on the idea of this new Empire just yet, she could at least breathe easier knowing she wouldn’t have her neck snapped for the slightest mistake.

She thought she heard some movement.

“We are friend,” Shale called out. She could hear some shuffling, and she picked up the pace, coming across a girl that held up a book menacingly as if to hurl it. Shale put her blaster away at once, “Friend!” She said again. The girl was trembling, looking from her to Max. She looked absolutely terrified and Shale did the same routine from before with taking her helmet off, comforting the girl and reassuring her that the bad guy wasn’t going to get her.

By now the backup teams had arrived and they were able to escort her out. Shale made her way back down to the library, her helmet back on. She exhaled a sigh of relief, “Well this was better than last two missions,” She mused, “Though I feel bad for Sulana.”

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

Freedom. It was a tricky thing, Max felt. Most people said they wanted to be free. But free so often meant on your own. There were so many 'free' peoples in the galaxy, all of them totally defenceless when they encountered real power. They were simply swept away, clutching their hollow freedom.

"Do you not have to follow your clan? What do they think?" Max asked. He himself had never been truly free, first bound into the politics of the Houses of Adumar, and later to the military strictures of the Empire.

There was a noise up ahead and Shale flushed out another student, a young girl who looked thoroughly terrified. Max lowered his weapon, knowing now his Mando companion was more than equipped to deal with the challenge. Sure enough, Shale swung into action, her exotic unhelmeted face and unexected compasison on show once again.

"Better?" Max scoffed, as the backup squad escorted the girl away, clearing the vicinity. "Well I didn't lose a limb and neither of us got too shot up by any Sith, so I guess I'd agree". The University had held an unexpectedly dark secret, but dealing with it had proved a little less lethal than their struggles on Murkhana and Ord Radama. With their mission winding down, he was reminded of how they had once again been thrown together.

"If you are really after a shop permit, you must have earnt it after today". He meant it. Max had seen more than a few empty units on his way to the university district and if he could not get the Principal here to wrangle a discount for Shale then he was losing his touch. "Let's go get you set up".

@Sreeya

 

[Shale Vizsla]

Shale was silent about the clan question as they walked back. In truth, she didn’t know what the clan meant anymore. The elders were directionless and many of the families scattered all across the galaxy. Shale shrugged vaguely at his question, her body language betraying it wasn’t something she wanted to discuss. Anything regarding her clan or her home was a sore topic for now.

She paused when he mentioned the permit, her posture revealing surprise. By now he likely began to be able to tell her emotions based on her body language, “You..will help?” She asked incredulously. There was a pep to her step as they walked out of the university area. She pointed out a specific spot that she had been eying for a while.

“I will open armory,” She mused, tilting her head. She glanced over at him and chuckled beneath the helmet and playfully nudged him, “Maybe make you nicer armor.”

@Alhon

 

[Max Dram]

"Damn right" Max replied. Helping her might be risky, she still only had one foot in the Empire after all. But if he was honest, it was more personal. Shale did not know it, but weirdly she had played a big part in getting Max back on his feet, even if she had cut his arm off in the process. The Lieutenant's basic code of honour made him want to return the gesture.

He saw the unit she had in mind as they strode into the neighbouring district. It looked well suited for an armoury and there was no obvious competition nearby, even if he suspected the Mando would outclass any local dealers.

"Oh you would, would you?". It was Max's turn to look at Shale, wondering whether she would really put herself to the trouble of making armour for his large frame. He certainly could not argue he needed it, he hated making do with secondhand scraps from military stores. "What would it set me back?". He would have to pay her, or at least earn quality work like hers some other way. Mandos took their craft incredibly seriously and he could tell from everything he had seen that she was no different.

"Do you want to get a drink, to celebrate?". Max had little doubt he could help secure the permit, either using his own fists or pressure from the higher ups. Ord Radama had shown she drank, and well. They may not be thrown together for a while and he quite fancied having some of that downtime they spoke of.

@Sreeya