Ask Return What Was Stolen

[Maxims Tionson]

One of the 'good' things about both the Empire and the First Order was that they were so very interested in keeping account of all of their assets. They kept track of where their assets were, what they were supposed to be doing and when they were supposed to be doing it. Max wasn't sure he'd have lasted long in the time of the Empire purely because they might have arrested him early for not being so incredibly lax in his ship logs.

It had happened before when the Jedi in charge of the hanger had given him a few lectures about making sure he kept his logs up to date... and he had cheerfully done so for a few weeks before forgetting again.

Irrelevant though because the point was that the Empire kept records of all their ships and all of their cargo. One ship carrying something Max wanted had crash-landed on a speck of a forest moon in the Mid Rim but it had been deemed unrecoverable and the remaining crew were told to scuttle it. Unfortunately for the crew, the message of their success and request for pick up had been pinged to a different Imperial ship that had been in the middle of a losing battle with Rebel forces.

The message had survived only as part of the black box the Rebels brought back.

Now though? Well now it was free game and Max wanted what was still within the cargo hold of the half-sunken crashed ship. His ship had landed and this time with the help of his unnamed droid friend... and a newcomer.

"Xaissir - you ever seen a Star Destroyer in a lake before?" he joked lightly to his new padawan, smiling a little bit at the helmeted head, "I can't say I have. I've seen a TIE fighter cemented into the foundation of a building but never a Star Destroyer in a lake... you ready to help me raid it's cargo hold?"

@Snek

 

[Xaissir Solus]

Xaissir's helmet covered head turned at the sound of his name being called before he poked it out of the ship to see what he had been called to help with his new master. His gaze from under the helmet scanned over the horizon, tracing the lines the downed ship made against the light. As if he was sizing up a mighty beast that was asleep. Ready to come to life at any moment. His head turned to Max, "Are you sure this is a good idea, Master?" He asked, almost as if he was dodging the first question. He slowly got up before climbing on to the wing of the ship to see if he could get a better look, "How do you know if it hasn't been flooded? Infested? Maybe even collapsed...." He said, though his words trailed off in to a mutter the more he stared at the ship. He hated to admit it, but his own curiosity was starting to get the better of him.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

His young padawan raised several valid points.

The simple fact was that the ship could be all of those things - it could be infested with local wildlife or some of it's hull could have been breached and the ship's internal doors not activated in time to close off the damaged areas. Whole sections of the old Imperial ship could be so ruined that getting to them was harder than they thought. Hard enough, perhaps, that the work to get inside was too much effort for too little reward.

But Max just smiled.

"We can't know until we go in and find out." he admitted to his Padawan learner as he made the relatively short jump to the shoreline to stand atop part of the ship's exposed metal hull, "And we can only find out by going in. Remember Xaissir; you can only ever learn so much from observation, eventually you must take the plunge and find out the truth for yourself."

He gestured for his Padawan to follow him up as he stomped on part of the hull with his right foot. Through the Force he could feel that the metal under his right foot was thinner than it should have been. Either due to poor maintenance prior to the crash or stress factors from the crash itself, it was a weak point.

"You got your saber ready?" he nodded to the point in the metal, "Carve us a way in through this section of the hull - should be one of the hallways that gunners used."

@Snek

 

[Xaissir Solus]

Xaissir stared at his master before sighing, though he seemed to be smiling underneath his helmet. He followed after his master, jumping to him, though he gave the metal he landed on a good ground of his feet to make sure it would hold. His gaze this time wandering around to the surrounding waters. His attention quickly snapped back to his master and his command, the young Mandalorian grabbing for his saber before igniting the crystal. A purple beam would shoot out before he turned it upside down and stabbed it right in to the spot he was told. Metal hissed from the sudden heat as Xaissir slowly pulled his lightsaber around to form a circle. Once it was finished, Xaissir would let the beam go away, put the hilt back on his belt, and kick the metal in to make it fall inside. He peered in carefully before looking up at his master. Taking his words to heart, the boy simply jumped in.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max didn't miss the way his Padawan's gaze lingered on the waters below them for a moment but he couldn't blame him for his caution. While he had no fear of deep waters himself, Max wasn't exactly looking forward to taking a dip himself. If they needed to he was prepared with a rebreather attached to his utility belt but he really did hope it didn't come to that.

He grinned a little bit at the lack of hesitation his young charge showed in jumping right into the ship feet-first. Following after his Padawan a moment later, Max landed in an easy crouch within the ship. Due to the fact that the ship was sat lower on one side than the other, they were standing in the hallway at an angle but it wasn't extreme enough to make walking difficult.

"Alright Xaissir - we're heading for the cargo bay. How's your knowledge of Star Destroyer layouts?" he teased his Padawan with a smile, "Don't worry there's no test at the end of it."

The inside of the ship was almost pitch black with the only source of light being the hole they had cut through the hull. Thankfully for Max, having lost an eye meant he had gotten Force Sight down on an almost instinctive level and it didn't take him a second to start using it to help him see. The darkness held no mysteries for him as he became far more aware of his surroundings.

He walked without hesitation.

"I'll give you a choice here - you can either ignite your saber to use as a light or we can have ourselves a little lesson in Force Sight. Up to you my Padawan but no using your helmet's vision modes."

As much as it was his job to teach Xaissir, it was also his job to try and have him develop the hunger to learn. It was no good Xaissir just learning whatever he gave him - Xaissir would need to want to learn more if he was going to progress.

@Snek

 

[Xaissir Solus]

Looking around at the dark insides, being only lit up by the hole he made for a foot or two around him, made him instinctively reach up to his helmet to use said vision modes. His hand froze at the choice given to him, though he grumbled under his breath. It was taught to trust his instincts when growing up, but there were some things Mandalorians couldn't do without help. Like, say, see in pitch darkness. A torch was also an option, but he shook his head as he tried to follow after the voice of his master. This choice, however, made him trip over some wiring and land with a THUNK. He grumbled again as he stood up, "Using my saber could give us away. Might as well learn the Sight before I drown." He grumbled again, though a shudder ran up his spine at the mention of drowning. He wasn't very fond of water so being in a broken tin can like this was already making him on edge.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max didn't begrudge his young Padawan for the way he instinctively reached up to his helmet as though to activate it's vision modes. In a more combat-focused scenario he wouldn't have any issues with Xaissir using the helmet but this wasn't combat; this was a lesson that needed to be learned. While his Padawan might never be without his helmet, there were always going to be times when he couldn't use it's features to the best of his abilities.

There always came a time when all you had was yourself and your own wits. Still though... Max reached out with his right hand and poked Xaissir's helmet right in the forehead with the two metal fingers of his half-replaced hand. There was a short ringing sound from the small impact.

"Hey none of that." he gently chided his Padawan, "There's no drowning here today; we're just learning a few lessons and picking up something that was stolen from us. Now... close your eyes and reach out with the Force."

He placed a hand on Xaissir's shoulder and reached out with the Force as well. Seeking to make a connection with his Padawan, to let their connections to the Force touch so he could see how Max was manipulating it to use Force Sight.

"You can feel me in the Force - right? Relax. Relax and let yourself see how I'm doing it. When you're ready, disconnect from me and try it yourself. We've got all the time in the Galaxy, kid, don't you worry."

@Snek

 

[Xaissir Solus]

He nodded with his masters words. They were only here to learn and pick up something. He took a deep breath as he did what he could to reach out to the Force. His eyes scanning the darkness around him, as if waiting for such a sight to turn on by itself. The feeling of his master connecting with him only made the young Mandalorian straighten his back and become more relaxed. When nothing had happened for a few minutes, the boy decided to close his eyes and concentrate. Feeling his master in the force was easy. The man was right next to him and even touching him, but he was guessing he meant beyond the simple senses. He tried to reach out, his own grasp on the Force trying to see what his master could. All that came to him was the added shadows of his vision being closed off through his own choice, "....I can't see anything." He grumbled under his breath. A faint blip had caught his attention, the edges of his vision suddenly lighting up from the echo of metal on metal, but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

It was good that he didn't have a prodigy for a student - Max wouldn't know what to do with a genius in the traditional sense but he figured that Xaissir was going to be a different type of student. Mandalorians were the kind of people to keep throwing themselves at something until they figured out how to beat it and he just needed to present lessons to his Padawan like that.

Humming a little bit, he shook his head ever so slightly and squeezed Xaissir's shoulder ever so slightly.

"You're focusing on your eyes and what you 'see'." he lectured his Padawan gently, "Your eyes can deceive you but the Force will not. Breathe and feel it as I do it - I'll slow it down so you can tell what I'm doing."

Reigning in his own version of Force Sight slowly, the definition of the area around him began to fade as he slowed the speed of the 'pings' he was sending out into the Force around him. With his level of mastery they were usually very fast and the detail in the area was high because of it but he slowed it down, scaling it back in terms of skill to something a Padawan could do.

To something a Padawan would be able to feel him doing with the connection they shared.

"Pulses - stop and start rather than full blast all the time."

@Snek

 

[Xaissir Solus]

Xaissir grumbled again as he shifted his feet. It was frustrating to say the least, not seeing what his master could, but he was going to get it before they left this ship. Another deep breath, relax, and try again. Once again nothing came to him....at first. Stop and start. Like the pings. He tried again, scrunching his face under the helmet to focus deeper. He finally caught something. The ping from before returning, though he barely caught it. His muscles visibly relaxed as he tried to focus on that ping. Little things in very blurry shapes began to take form before slowly easing back in to darkness. It was like radar to him. One second, the room was lit up like he was looking through foggy glass before easing away in to shadows.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

"Yes, you saw it that time."

He didn't need Xaissir to tell him that he did because Max had tied himself to his Padawan's connection to the Force so he could feel that he had felt it. Max could feel the connection his Padawan had made with the pings that he was sending out and that was a start - he knew how fast to go now.

"Alright now you know what to look for, keep focusing on them as I speed it up. As I speed them up, the 'picture' will become clearer. You ready?"

Without waiting for an answer, he would begin to gradually increase the speed of the pings so that the image he would get from the feedback was of greater quality.

"When you feel like you're ready - start letting out your own pings."

@Snek

 

[Xaissir Solus]

Xaissir simply nodded as a smile had spread across his face from under his helmet. He couldn't help but feel happy he was learning such an interesting power, one that would be useful for many situations that his helmet could fail at. He took another deep breath and nodded once Max had warned him he would be sending the pings out faster. He had to focus. Each wave rushing over the Sight now much quicker than before. The blurriness of his surroundings becoming more detailed with each pass. Sharper edges, rounder and more defined forms. Once he was ready, Xaissir would start sending out his own pings. While he tried to do it like his Master had done, the quality was not as good as his. Some objects were still blurry. Fuzzy. Some still stayed detailed enough to make out. The Mandalorian took a confident step forward, stepping around things in the dark, though he did seem to go slower and more carefully around the things he still couldn't fully detail out.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Max was able to sense his young Padawan's excitement in learning a new application for the Force and it made him smile right back. There was something about teaching someone the intricacies of the Force that had always appealed to him. Perhaps it was the teaching aspect? He'd have never guessed in a million years that he would ever be a teacher back when he was just some cop walking the beat.

But, then again, he'd never imagined he would be a Jedi Master either back then.

He didn't do a thing to stop the feeling of pride that grew a little in his chest when his Padawan took his first steps with the Force, literally, guiding his way. As a Jedi Master, he knew that pride could be dangerous but he allowed himself to enjoy it before he let it go into the Force, leaving just a slither of it for himself. It would not rule him but he would not deny that seeing Xaissir doing so well so quickly was a welcome sight.

"Alright then Padawan - onward to the cargo hold."

The cargo hold was kind of misnamed only because ships of this size actually had multiple cargo holds and some areas that acted as cargo holds even though they had other functions. Still, he walked on ahead deeper into the darkness of the old Imperial ship, feeling his way with the Force.

He could feel how cold it was becoming which was a given considering the lack of power to the life support systems and the fact that it was at least mostly submerged in a lake. Stopping in front of a set of heavy doors, Max reached out and placed his hand against the smooth metal surface.

"Alright Xaissir this looks to be the place." he told his young Padawan, stepping aside slightly and gesturing to the door, "The locking mechanisms are located at the central point and the middle at the bottom. I do believe it is time for the subtle application of a lightsaber, young Padawan."

He'd been a Padawan in his twenties and even he would admit that firing up the lightsaber as a Padawan was never NOT cool.

@Snek