Ask Skill is Better than Strength

[Theia Durand]

It was a rather dull day in Theia's opinion, she had done her homework and too bored to work on her projects, too bored to meditate, too bored for anything. The droid beside her, Gee-Gee, tried to list off ideas about what she could do. The droid had been a pleasant to have around, she decided to drag him back from her family home and it seemed to help with the homesickness she often experienced. Instead of finding something productive, Theia continued to let out heavy sighs which drove her roommate out of their quarters and warned not to bother her until she said so. Eventually she dragged herself off her cot, the droid following, a scowl crossing her face as she made her way down to library, but the path she would take would suddenly become more interesting.

She overheard some other padawans speak about several knights gathered in a meeting after someone returned from Denon. Theia quickly went to find this meeting, eavesdropping on it for certain, but it was the cure for her boredom that she needed. She paused a pair of double doors, the soft mumbling behind the walls as the briefing continued; the redheaded teen quietly leaned near the door, pressing her ear against it, the droid also copying her lead and tilting its audio sensor closer to the door.

It was difficult for her to discern what was being said, something about a Darth, poor manners, near death...it all sounded typical for what has been happening in the galaxy. She thought with Raze dead that the sith would quiet down for a while, but it didn't seem like that was the case at all. The droid rolled closer, bumping into the back of Theia's thigh, distracting her from the door as she glanced down to sensor eye of his dome and gave a frown. Though realizing she was not listening to what possibly could be important information, Theia placed her ear once more against the door just in time for it to open as the meeting concluded and the padawan fell into the room in a not-so-graceful manner in front of all the knights with a audible "OOF."

@Rom

 

[Tycho Denarii]

Tycho was exhausted after giving his report on the events of Denon, the pain of his injuries eased after another bacta immersion but the wounds to his mind and soul were another matter entirely. He'd just learned that while he was failing to stop the Sith Lord who's ritual sacrifices had birthed a dark nexus another Jedi Knight had tried to stop the Sith leading the abominations running rampant through the city and had payed with their life. The Masters had recommended he meditate to release the feelings of failure and frustration, the Healers wanted him back in the Halls for further treatment... 'Honestly,' he thought to himself as the gathered Jedi adjourned the briefing and the chorus of whispers rose to a crescendo, 'I just want to get drunk enough that I forget I ever heard the name Denon.' Probably not the greatest coping mechanism bu-

A clatter by the entry caught his attention as a Padawan fell through the door, a B-series astromech whistling innocently at her feet. Before one of the older Knights could start berating the girl for eavesdropping Tycho limped over and reached down with his good arm to pull her up onto her feet. "Hello there, Padawan - I know I'd promised to meet to go over that... thing, but the briefing ran a little late. Thanks for coming to get me." Patting her on the shoulder, Tycho dipped his head to the Knight's and then swiftly limped out the door with his hand on the girl's shoulder, thanking her loudly for escorting him back to the Halls until they'd turned a corner and were out of sight.

Heaving a sigh, Tycho leaned heavily against the wall and offered the girl a wry, knowing grin. "You gotta be more careful when listening at doors, kid - especially the kind that swing open like that." Rubbing his shoulder where the fast exit had jostled his healing collarbone, the Ossein looked at the girl and quirked his eyebrow. "Why were you eavesdropping, by the by? Stars know the Jedi Rumor Mill would have the details circulating before late meal... prefer to be in the know as soon as possible or are you just that impatient?"

 

[Theia Durand]

Her face was glowing as red as her hair when she looked up to see the other Jedi Masters starring in annoyance at her mishap. However, an injured Knight came hobbling over, reaching down to help her up; still in mild shock from even being caught in this manner she quickly caught on to the Jedi Knight when he patted her shoulder. "Yeah, I don't want to miss my other studies..." she said surprised with how quickly he was ready to leave the meeting room despite how injured he looked. Theia went along with it, walking beside him until they were out of sight and ear shot of any of the nosy masters.

Theia let out a long sigh, not realizing how tense her shoulders had been when she felt them relax. Running a hand through her hair, the girl smirked to his comment about listening to doors, her face was still very red from earlier, "Bored...but my master tends to think my boredom is impatience..." she had to catch herself from rolling her eyes as she spoke; she didn't think of herself as impulsive or impatient, "You should hear the rumors though, some even involve you turning into one of those creatures..." Theia paused, "Did you? Is that why you..." she pointed to her arm and leg and then to him, making an awkward sound to indicate his injuries were from transforming or something.

Regardless of his response, she felt relieved that she wasn't in trouble, or least she didn't think so, "However, it seems like I came at just the right time- you should show me some of your tricks that helped you off Denon." she suggested, seeming hopeful that he would help cure her boredom.

@Rom

 

[Tycho Denarii]

The Ossein Knight tried to hold back a grin at the sullen tone when she mentioned her Master, his own mind flashing back to happier times when his own Master Undomiel would chide him for his tendency to look before he leapt. Looking down at his injuries with a grimace, Tycho shook his head and said, "No, no - nothing quite so fantastical." Giving her a measured look, he heaved a sigh and tilted his head towards the Halls of Healing as an unspoken command to follow before setting off with a limping gait down the corridor.

"You'll hear about it soon enough anyway - and I'd prefer not to frighten any Padawan or Initiate waiting for me to 'transform' on my way into the Dining Hall, so - I got these injuries fighting against the Sith Lord that attacked Denon." He spoke without pride or bravado, the sense of him leaking out of the tattered holes ripped through his shields painting his aura with regret and frustration. "I'm not sure why she didn't go for the kill and left me to those creatures, but my co-pilot is a disobedient scrapheap and managed to rescue me before the beasts could finish me off."

He let her mull his words in silence as they entered the Halls, letting out a sigh of relief as he sat down on the edge of the cot he'd been assigned and nodded toward the twisted metal cylinder that she'd recognize as the remains of a broken lightsaber. "I didn't have any special tricks in the Force that I could show you, but there was a moment or two during the fight where a bit of saberplay nearly turned the tide - if you're not against a little underhandedness." He met her eyes, one eyebrow raised in challenge though the rest of his emotions were hidden behind an unflappable sabacc face.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia gave him a look of disappointment, him transforming in the mess hall probably would be the most exciting thing to ever happen at the temple. Though when he mentioned the Sith Lord, the girl's eyes opened wide, in disbelief he was able to even still be walking. "A Sith Lord?!" that was impressive to the padawan, "Maybe they wanted to be dramatic about it, I heard they have a flair for melodrama." Theia informed, seeming fairly confident from the stories she heard on the sith from other jedi when they were visiting. Her droid whistled in agreement though, so perhaps there was an air of truth to it.

"Well, I'm glad your copilot was disobedient." she said quietly.

The padawan followed him, the longer they walked, the more exhausted he looked, she was uncertain if he was just putting on a mask and it was now running its time, or that the walk back to his quarters was still too exerting for himself. He sat on his cot and she leaned against the frame of the door until he gave a nod to direct her attention; glancing over she picked up the cylinder, amazed by the power it would have took to cause such a sturdy weapon to be bent and twisted like it was clay. The redheaded teen glanced back to him.

"In practice, we were told not to do anything underhanded because it could lead us to a darker path." she frowned, but seeing him present, clearly not twisted in corruption after doing so, perhaps it even saved his life. "You should show me what you did..." obviously curious, "You know, just in case... in case that sith lord comes back..." she quickly added a, what she thought, good reason know these things.

@Rom

 

[Tycho Denarii]

Tycho looked at the redheaded Padawan as he turned the saber hilt over in her hands and snorted softly, a tired smile that seemed just a touch bitter twisting his lips. "When we're young and learning the Masters caution that anything but the most forthright action can lead to a darker path. It's a good mindset to begin training with... but I've found that in practice, out there - beyond the archives and training rooms, where the galaxy awaits? The most straightforward action oftentimes isn't the right one."

Heaving himself up onto the bed fully with a groan the Ossein Knight waved off an approaching Medical Droid and then turned back to the girl. "All you or I or any Jedi can do is remember why you are fighting, and trust in the Force to see you through."

Tycho let out a pained sigh as he sank back against the thin pillow on the cot, his ashen skin highlighting the dark bags beneath his eyes and the bacta patches covering his wounds. "Tell you what Kid... I've got another date with the bacta tanks tonight, but why don't you meet me in front of the Academy tomorrow morning and we'll see what nuggets of wisdom I can pass on?"

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia listened carefully to Tycho, stepping also out of the way for the medical droid to help him, to which he quickly waved them away. She would admit to herself that she had heard from many that the training in the temple was not like the experience in the greater galaxy. Erza had told her to see them as a foundation and she had to many times remind herself of all the parts to ballet lead to a more effective performance. Right now she was just seeing the trees...in all she would soon see how it all fit together. However, the question of why she would be fighting seemed easy to answer, but something in her gut said it was more complicated than that. Regardless, his invite to meet him again tomorrow seemed to bring back an excited spark as she met his gaze, a grin spreading from cheek to cheek as he instructed where to meet him. "Yes! Thanks Master Tycho!"

This also meant she got bragging rights with her roommate this evening.

Next morning, Academy Entrance

Instead of dragging herself out of bed, hitting the refresher, drills, PT, and breakfast, Theia was up early and probably concerningly early for some of the masters who knew she struggled with mornings. However, she didn't want to be late, in fact she was probably a few hours early, but it gave her plenty of time to practice sketches she needed for a later project. Though, it didn't stop her from looking up from her work every couple minutes, eventually feeling worried that she misheard, or something happened...which lead to her thinking of how she should go check on him. With a few deep breaths, she had to refocus, trying to keep her hand and mind busy on the small sketches until Tycho arrived.

@Rom

 

[Tycho Denarii]

The cool morning breeze sent a shiver through the Jedi Knight as he ducked out of the front entrance to the Academy, his hair still damp from the quick shower to get the last of the tacky dried bacta off his skin. He still walked with a slight limp, though it was much less pronounced than before, his arm had been removed from the sling, and he was finally back to wearing his battered old flight suit beneath a brown Jedi cloak. Raising his hand to shield his eyes from the bright morning sun, the Ossein Knight began looking around for a place to meditate until the Padawan arrived only to startle as he caught sight of red hair bent over a drawing pad.

"Well youre certainly up earlier than I ever was in my Padawan days, Kid," he quipped, gingerly making his way down the stairs to meet his student for the day. "Come on then, fuel's a-burning and we've got a lot to do before sundown." Tilting his head toward the small cluster of airspeeders parked beside the main academy building Tycho climbed in and settled behind the wheel, fingers practically flying across the console as he flipped switches and tweaked the controls until he was satisfied. Once his redheaded companion was settled and buckled into the passenger seat, the Ossein gunned the throttle and pulled back on the wheel, sending the open-cockpit speeder whizzing through the air and headed south.

After a few moments of only the wind whistling by to fill the silence Tycho looked over at the Padawan and asked, "So... I just realized I never exactly got your name or introduced myself. I'm probably just going to keep calling you Kid, but my name's Tycho Denarii." He reached over to offer a handshake, flying one handed and without looking at the twisting spires of rock ahead of them approaching at speeds most sentients would consider uncomfortable.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia looked up quickly when she heard someone speak, seeing the Jedi Knight she was meeting with for today. Her eyebrows rose, eyes widened slightly in relief of seeing him present. He had mentioned something about her being up early and Theia gave a shrug, "I think today is just a fluke. Probably will not happen again." she was being honest, mornings were difficult for her as she much preferred the evening and night She tucked away her book and pencils and walked beside Tycho as he motioned to the speeders nearby.

The padawan noted his gait, less of a limp today, and he certainly didn't need her help with walking anywhere, for now. She was always amazed at the quick response of bacta, and then she learned about the healers and their ability to repair and heal. It was fascinating to the redheaded girl, but she couldn't see herself ever having the patience to sit long enough to heal someone she didn't know on a regular basis. She could certainly give it a shot if it meant saving a life on the street, but to be doing it every day, that was not where her path laid.

Climbing into the seat, Theia watched as he effortlessly got things warmed up and quickly they would speed out of the hanger. It was as though he was also super eager to get out of the temple. She guessed she would be feeling the same if she had a meeting with the masters like he did yesterday. Theia glanced to the Knight when he spoke over the winds; he was right they never had a formal greeting and she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you master Denarii, I'm Theia Durand." she said, feeling herself sink back into her seat from the speeds they were going. She didn't complain, she was rather enjoying it.

"So where are we going exactly?" she asked, feeling a bit thrown off that she didn't have to do a whole briefing prior to this.

@Rom

 

[Tycho Denarii]

"Well met, Theia Durand," the Ossein Knight said with a grin and a quick shake of the Padawan's hand before turning his attention back to the path before them, winding the airspeeder through twisting passages of stone as they left the hills that surrounded the Academy Valley behind and approached the mountains. Mist and dew still hung heavy in the air beneath them as they entered a shadowed valley filled with lakes and rivers fed by a massive waterfall cascading down from the cliffs above.

Here and there was evidence of the old Order, stone statues and collapsed structures worn by rain and wind and time to be nearly unrecognizable but too uniform and deliberately spaced to be natural formations. Bringing the speeder in for a landing, Tycho turned to the redheaded Padawan as he climbed out of the vehicle and gestured toward a cleft in the cliff-face above them - a cave.

"I heard rumors from the archivists about a cave system where Kyber formations were known to form. I can't very well teach you some saber tricks with mine destroyed and yours nonexistent so..." The Knight smiled and made a sweeping gesture toward the dark opening and began walking up the incline toward the cave opening. "Force willing, we find what we need inside without too much fuss - when I found my first Kyber crystal on Jedha I was held fast by a vision for nearly a full day and night."

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Her curiosity piqued as they passed remnants of the old jedi temple; her imagination ran with what it was like all those years ago and how things would be now if the great purge never happened. The speeder slowed and Theia climbed out, listening to Tycho explain what he had overhead the archivists talk about in this area. He spoke about saber tricks and herself not having one, but it took the teen a couple seconds to process what he was implying. Walking up to the entrance of the cave did it click for her, eyes widened with excitement as she did her best to contain her eagerness to be able to build herself the weapon crafted by many jedi before herself.

However, when he spoke about the crystal that gave him a vision, it gave her some worry, "They do that?!" she sighed, "I can't have that happen, tomorrow is garden meditations and I am not getting a detention for missing it." she said as though she fully believed she had full control on what the Force would decide to do for her. She focused on her senses, a skill that was becoming almost second-nature as she listened; far difference from just being aware of who was around her for security details, but this went beyond that. It was fairly cool inside the cave, quiet even as they stepped carefully; Theia reached into her pack for a small light and clipped it onto her pack strap, giving them some light. Listening closely, there was a trickle of water ahead.

"So...what did you see in the vision?" she asked, curiosity biting.

@Rom

 

[Tycho Denarii]

Tycho hid a grin as they entered the entrance of the cavern, the sound of water dripping from the stalactites and the echo of their footsteps on the stone mostly disguised the soft huff of laughter in the silence following her worried rant about not getting a detention. Patting the redhead on the shoulder, Tycho reached for his belt and cracked a lumrod. "They do do that, Padawan, and it's not us that decide what we see or how long the vision lasts; as we move through the Force, so too does the Force move through us - and as Jedi we must follow the Will of the Force... even if that means missing garden meditations." Glancing at her crestfallen face, the Ossein smiled and nudged her forward into the cave, the path sloping downward as they walked. "Tell you what, if you get stuck in the grip of a days long vision I will get you a pass to miss meditations - no detention necessary. Sound good?"

Biting the inside of his cheek to hold back the visceral initial rejection of the young woman's question, Tycho cast his mind back to that day and night on Jedha - the echo of the devastation wrought on the Holy City reverberating through the kyber that surrounded him, the way the Force held him fast as he witnessed futures forged and unmade, paths that ached of familiarity replaced by roads less traveled - the consequences of choices he had made, or would make, or would strive to avoid and in doing so ensure their result. Twisted visions that melded the past and the future, shadowed figures and flashes of battles, echoes of lives not his own etched into the hearts of those softly chiming caves - and beneath it all, a reminder of a fate he'd escaped.

"Things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be..." his voice trailed off as the trickle of water that could be heard from the entrance was growing louder as they moved deeper, the clear sound of an running water roaring through the silence as the tunnel began to brighten and when they turned a final corner they were standing in a large subterranean cavern. Fissures in the rock high above allowed beams of sunlight to shine into the cavern, reflecting off of crystal panes to illuminate the cave as a river wound through the cave, flowing into clear pools with cracked mosaic tiles covering the bottom showing cowled figures kneeling in meditation or holding aloft what were clearly ancient styles of lightsabers. "But things that were may be found again; the past meeting the present to guide the future."

Whistling quietly at the sight of the cavern, Tycho looked across the platform in the center that the pools surrounded and saw three openings in the rock flanked by carved statues of meditating Jedi - each illuminated by a shaft of light that was quickly swallowed by darkness, giving no indication of what lay beyond the first turn.

"Which path will you chose?" he asked softly, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Theia and waited to see how she would react to the decision laid before her.

@GABA

 

[Theia Durand]

Theia was unamused by his riddle as he answered her question about what he had seen in his vision. The frown that crossed her face made it pretty clear that wasn't the response she was expecting or wanting. Though she was starting to wonder if riddles were just part of being an elder Jedi; at least Ezzie never used riddles, he just always used that stare and Theia knew what she needed to do next. The padawan inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh as they approached the shallow pool; her gaze went to each figure that kneeled where they were and she wondered who they were or what purpose had they served in a previous life.

As she looked further, she would see the three paths she could choose, darkness settled far inside each, unable to give her any ideas on what to expect. Tycho spoke and she glanced to him before turning her attention back to her decision; she stepped forward, walking past each opening, eyes closing briefly as she listened and quieted her mind, observing wordlessly to the echoes of trickling water and her footsteps and then a whisper. Theia paused as she stood before the tunnel left of the center; her head tilted slightly as she stepped forward, the whispers remained, still intelligible, but she knew it was the right way to go.

She didn't have a flashlight or saber to light her way, the tunnel darkening the further she moved inside until there was no light to her back. She couldn't even see her own palm before her face. It made her come to a pause, her eyes creating their own shadows for her to see and the girl would shut them tightly- if she couldn't use them anyways there was no use trying. When she did, the whispers grew louder, almost like a conversation, pauses as though they were waiting for the padawan to join before continuing. Eyes shut, her senses warped by the darkness, she could only rely on the Force to guide her, a test of trust as she furthered into the cave.

@Rom