New Friends

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Isabella thought for a moment. "Well, I'd love to learn to use the force. Ever since I found that I had it, it's been hard to keep under control. Hmm, well, let's see, I've been on my own for at least 9 or 10 years now, I know how to pilot a ship, I'm pretty good with a light saber or I'm good with light sabers. I made two to have around to keep me safe when I went into the market, along with two WESTAR-35s. I've carried the light sabers and pistols since I was at least five. My parents I think we're both Jedi."

 

[Ral]

"Well, I'd hope you'd want to learn how to use the Force. It is sort of important for a Jedi to learn after all," Kai remarked as he grossly under-exaggerated the importance it played for anyone in the Order. There was a smile on his face clearly indicating to the young girl that he was having a go at her. This girl was humorous, whether she was purposefully trying to be funny or not. It was a little surprising to hear that she had constructed, not found, two lightsabers, especially at the age of five, it was almost completely unheard of without instruction. Of course, some people were naturally gifted with the Force and such things. Continuing on he said, "That's all really surprising..." Kai's voice trailed off, he could tell she was being honest, but there was such a thing as being too good to be true. "You must be really rather gifted with the Force. So what's the first thing you'd like to learn as part of your training in particular? Force or lightsaber or whatever. What tells you I'd be a better teacher than most of the other Masters in the Order?"

@Isabella Rae Jarrus

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

She smiled back at him. "Yes, I guess i am, and honestly, I want to learn all of it, nothing specific, just all of it. And what makes me think you'd be a better teacher than others? Hmm, well, I think it was when we first met, it just felt... Comfortable, it sounds weird I know, but it's true, and that's when I felt that you'd be a good master for me." She explained.

 

[Ral]

Kai sat silently, eating his food while Isabella spoke to him, telling him that she was eager to learn as much as she could, and that she felt comfortable around him. It was a nice sentiment for her to have, and while Kai appreciated it, he also hoped it was because the Force was making her feel that way, and not just her own reaction to being around a person who was naturally friendly. Because, in the case of the latter, Kai would be swamped with more apprentices than he could handle. "I see..." Kai hummed quietly to himself when she finished. He finished his meal then sat back. "Alright, tell me, what do you feel around here. With the Force, of course, I want to see what kind of abilities you have."

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Isabella looked at him for a second. "Well, I feel that there is happiness, especially with the table over that way." She nodded towards the table a few feet away from the door. "I sense alot of different attitudes her. And it sounds like someone is sassing somebody about.." She thought for a second. "About a few halls over. That may or may not be important. Oh yeah, and I think Kyle fell asleep. I sense he's not moving at this very moment."

 

[Ral]

"Alright then. Tell me, what'sthe single strongest emotion you can sense from this room right now. And then, tell me why you think that person or people feel that way," Kai placed the fork he had been using onto the empty tray, studying the girl before him for several seconds. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated Isabella and his options. He certainly liked this teenage girl, but whether or not she would end up being apprentice material was yet to be determined. Kai would wait for the girl to answer his question before moving on to the next test. Looking at her plate he would ask, "Are you done? There is something I'd like to try if you're all right with it. It might help me see how good of an apprentice you'll be with me, if it makes a difference."

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Isabella thought for a minute and looked through the force. "The strongest one, is on the other side of the room, which is excitement, and they also just got here, like me they are excited to be here, having just arrived on the ship also." she explained. She then opened her eyes and looked up at him returning the look. There were a few crumbs and a little bit of gravy left on the plate, but nothing really left. "Yes, I am done, and I don't mind."

 

[Ral]

Kai was more than pleased to hear that Isabella's senses were in fact quite attuned to the Force. That was good, it meant she was already ahead of many Padawans first starting out. The Jedi Master could feel the excitement issuing from the other side of the room as well. Only, he was able to get a more defined reading than the young girl, though that was to be expected. Two aliens, four humans, half male, half female, all excited, all recent arrivals, all ready to start their training, all hopeful for a master, and last of all, all hopeful that they would remain friends and would become knights very soon.

"Let's get out of here then," Kai remarked standing, grabbing Isabella's plate and taking it to the repository. "Alright follow me then," Kai said leading her out of the mess hall and towards one of the nearby training rooms. The young master was hopeful that the young girl would be somewhat nervous, he wanted to see how she acted when there might be something on the line. Something, he hoped, would be important to her. Leading her to the nearest training room, a small durasteel grey box compared to the larger training halls, this one would be perfect for both of them to do what Kai wanted. "Alright," he said as he walked over to the nearby rack which held several training droids and ball-like remotes. Activating a pair of remotes, he set them to the typical training routine. "Let's see how well you can use your lightsabers."

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Isabella smiled as she got up and started following him to the training place. "Ok!" She responded excitedly. She knew something interesting was going to happen when he pulled out some training droids. She looked at the ball-like droids. As soon as he pulled out the droids, she felt a few butterflies in her stomach, but she pulled out her sabers and prepared herself for what came next.

She looked between Kai and the droids. "What happens next?" Isabella smiled slightly.

 

[Ral]

The dark-haired master looked at her contemplatively; he could sense the nervousness and butterflies coming from her stomach. Watching silently as she pulled out her twin sabers and steeled her self, he smiled faintly. As she askes him what happened now he chuckled. "Now, we see how well you can use those weapons to defend yourself, dear." He stated energetically. With a wave of his hand, Kai used the Force to activate the training routine. The small hovering remotes would now spin around Isabella and shoot at her with training lasers. Enough to sting, but not enough to do any serious harm. Kai wouldn't say anything; he'd just wait and watch and see how well this 13 year old would do.

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

She returned his glance quickly and then she ignited her blue and green lightsabers. Isabella then took a deep breath and watched the droids carefully as they circled around her. "Ok then." She said. She sensed one behind her getting ready to shoot. The blast came towards her and she spun blocking the blast back at the droid. They all started firing at her gradually, and she continuously blocked the blasts coming towards her. She did a spin and a back-flip, blocking a blast coming at her waist.

 

[Ral]

"Good, get ready," Kai stated simply, his voice calm, but his eyes showing how eager he was to see what the teenage girl could do. The dark-haired man was ready to be impressed by the Padawan. She had made some rather impressive and almost unbelievable claims so far, so he wondered what she could do to show him it wasn't all just talked or self-created exaggerations of the truth. Not that Kai disbelieved her, but he wanted to see if what he thought about her was accurate, if the way she made her sound to him was the real deal.

As the remotes started to fire, Kai watched attentively as the green and blue blades moved almost in a blur to block the bolts. Not one got through so far, which was impressive, but that was not the end of the test. "Alright, let's take this up a notch," Kai remarked, his voice largely impassive, though the smallest hint of intrigue was hidden away behind the neutrality. He used the Force to increase the remotes' difficulty by one step. If Isabella proved herself even capable of this, Kai would have one more test to find out how well she could use the Force and those lightsabers of hers.

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Isabella smiled as she blocked a few more blasts. She nodded as he said he would take it up a notch. She watched them carefully again and blocked the blasts that came at her faster than the last time. She did a few more complicated moves as the droids shot at her. One blast got past the blades, nearly hitting her, but she was able to quickly dodge it and continuously block more blasts as she did spins and flips blocking them.

 

[Ral]

Though Kai perhaps not appear it, the young Jedi master was indeed satisfied with the young girl's performance. There was only one more thing he wanted to test with the remotes before moving on. Then perhaps one, or two, more things to check out before he made up his mind. As Isabella dodged the training bolt, a faint smile crossed Kai's face before leaving just as quickly. A few more seconds passed and he paused the remotes. "Good," he started. "Very good. Now, last test with the remotes."

Reaching over, the young man grabbed a training helmet. He wanted to see what she could do without her eyes, to see how well attuned her own senses were with the Force. If she would be able to spot and accurately deflect the bolts with a blade. Placing it on her head, he smiled, "Alright, now same thing. See if you can get by without letting a single bolt hit you." Kai remarked as he adjusted the remotes up two whole levels now. Perhaps it was a little unfair, but Kai wanted to really push the limits and see how good she was.

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Isabella stopped when he started to talk to her. It was finally the last test and she smiled. "Ok!" She stated excitedly. She watched as he walked over and grabbed a training helmet.

Isabella saw him walking back towards her with the helmet as he then continued to place it on her head. She sensed that this was going to be a little harder without her eyes. Underneath the helmet she smiled and got ready. She then sensed that he upped the difficulty on the training remotes. She got excited at this point and ignited her sabers again readying herself. "Ok, Im ready." She said as she then waited as she heard the soft hum of the droids circling around her until she heard the first blast from a droid behind her, which she spun and blocked the hot back. At that point then, all of them started firing at her and she blocked all of the blasts. One behind her had fired at her back as she had jut spun to block another blast and she quickly spun blocking both blasts plus two more while turning around to block the one behind her. Another blast had then fired, nothing more than a centimeter away from hitting her in the stomach and she dodged just in time.

 

[Ral]

"Hmm," Kai hummed thoughtfully to himself as the Isabella seemed to block and dodge all of the shots aimed towards her. Sighing a little to himself he deactivated the remotes with a wave of his hand and a minor application of the Force. The Jedi master stood in silence for several long seconds as he thought to himself. There were a few things that bothered him, but perhaps they could be worked out through time. He was willing to take the risk to make sure this teenage girl was given good instruction. He'd remain silent until Isabella said something about the quiet between the two of them. When she did he'd simply say, "We start tomorrow. Early. I don't sleep much, so you better get used to it. My friend Saana will join us."

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Isabella noticed when he finally turned off the remotes. She let out a short breath, as that had been a work out for the girl. There was a long silence between her and Kai. She then took off her helmet and looked at him. "Is everything ok? You seem quiet..." she said raising an eyebrow.

She had sensed he was thinking about something and let out the tiniest smile that he would probably barely even notice it if he looked at her.

Finally, she saw him look at her after she asked him why he was so silent. She had then heard him say:

"We start tomorrow. Early. I don't sleep much, so you better get used to it. My friend Saana will join us."

Hearing this a smile spread across her face. She didn't sleep very much either due to the fact of living on the streets for so long, so she would already be used to it.

"Perfect. How early? I'm used to waking up very early. I don't sleep well either. You don't really find sleep much of an option when you live on the streets for years."

She said. Isabella tried her best to make it sound like it wasn't much of a big deal. She was definitely very excited to finally have someone to start training with.

 

[Ral]

"Heh," the master chuckled a little as he took a step forward. Placing a hand on the girl's narrow shoulders he gave it a squeeze before patting Isabella on the head like a brother would to his adorable younger sister. The truth was that he found this girl to have a cute and spunky attitude about her that he liked. "Don't worry, you'll know it's time when I come to wake you up in the dorm room. Do you have any other questions for me before we leave here?"

 

[Rae Anne Jarrus]

Isabella smiled at him as he then came over and patted her on the head. She was definitely going to like it here, because she already did!

"Ok. It won't take much to wake me, I'm a light sleeper."

She said smiling wider and giggling. He then asked her if she had any questions for him before they left. She thought very hard this time. There just had to be a question. Then there it was. The question.

"Uh, actually, yeah I do. Who is Saana?" she asked with a smile.

 

[Ral]

"Good to know," Kai stated as though such a thing was of great importance. He gave the girl a wink as he placed a hand on her back to lead her out of the training room. She seemed really quite excited to be with him, which was a good sign, Kai just hoped the excitement remained with her. When she asked about Saana he grinned at her as he replied. "Ah, Saana is a Togruta Padawan who is almost to knighthood. She's quite a bit older than you, but quite nice. I like to take her along for training. She helps quite a bit. You'll probably like her."

He gave her another wink as he made for the door. "Alright anything else? Anything about me or the ship or the Jedi?"