Ask Ajan Kloss The Jawa and The Zeltron

[Mnoc Quipac]

Mnoc was overjoyed he had just heard from The Jedi Council that he had got a Jedi Knight to train him in the ways of the Jedi, he was worried that he was gonna end up like those Younglings who were never got a Master and ended up excommunicated from the Jedi Order because they weren't considered worthy.
"*Young Master Mnoc, are going to see this new Jedi Master of yours, I believe her name was Jedi Knight Nykoria Tallis*" T-3PO said in fluent Jawanese to Mnoc as he sighed, he decided to bring T-3PO along with him so he could make a good first impression "*You know that I know who my new Master's name is right I'm just following the direction The Council gave me for her location*" Mnoc said to T-3PO in fluent Jawanese as he continued walking towards the location.

Mnoc was nearly at the location of where The Council said Nykoria Tallis was so he decided to bring up his little pad to see the picture of Nykoria and that's when he spotted her meditating "*Ah there she is T-3PO, you better not mess this up for me you hear*" Mnoc said to the droid standing next to him, to which the droid flustered "*Do you really think I would mess up something that's very important to you, Young Master Mnoc, now let us proceed to Jedi Knight Nykoria Tallis*" T-3PO said as both him and Mnoc began making his way towards Nykoria.

"Are you Jedi Knight Nykoria Tallis, I believe I have someone here who wants to meet you" T-3PO said to the Jedi Knight before showing the Young Jawa Youngling now soon to be Padawan, Mnoc approached the Zeltron and presented a Hologram message for Nykoria "Knight Tallis! The Council have decided to bestow a Jedi Padawan onto you, to continue your training as well as his. This young Jawa's name is Mnoc Quipac. Until further notice, he will be your Padawan. Please be kind to him; he has only recently come out of our Youngling program." the hologram message then finished.
"Mnoc Quipac" The young Jawa said with his hand extended.

@Catbert

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Emotion, yet peace, Kori. The voice of the Zeltron's old Master resonated in her head. Repeating the single thought that Nykoria needed right now. She was trying to meditate, but the pesky thoughts clouded her mind, breaching through the wall of peace she was trying to build. A piece of news she had heard a few days ago was to blame. "You'd be assigned a Padawan learner, Nykoria."

Kori had feared that moment would come since she had lost her own Padawan braid. Being led on a mission by a Master or looking out for herself was one thing. But training someone? Being responsible for his or her life and limb? Having to risk her own life on a mission to protect someone who wasn't ready? Kori had seen all too well what an untrained Padawan could lead to.

The Knight tried to meditate; her eyes closed, breathing measured. It didn't kriffin' help! But then... A question from the robot made the purple-skinned alien open her eyes. A protocol droid? Why the kriff... Then Kori saw HIM. A young Jawa. Before he opened his mouth and said a word, the Zeltron had already realized what it was about. Yet she still hoped it was something else...

"The Council have decided to bestow a Jedi Padawan onto you..." Please, no! "...to continue your training as well as his..." Wait, what? "This young Jawa's name is..." How young?! "...he has only recently come out of our Youngling program." Oh, you've got to be kriffing me, Master!

No, no, no, why me?! Is that some sort of sick joke? They know what I feel about teammates, Padawans, and why I feel that way... Kark, they had to pick a youngling, and from Tatooine of all places! However, as one fellow Knight had noted during a mission, the Council weren't known for their sense of humor. As much as Nykoria hoped that the message was a fake, a prank played by some fellow Knight, she knew it to be genuine.

Obsessed with all these thoughts, the Zeltron ignored the young Jawa's extended hand a bit longer than she should have. However, she hadn't been a Jedi Knight for nothing. All those questions were only raging inside her mind, manifested on the outside by this small delay. It was the emotions of the Jawa that brought her back into the real world.

Near-humans were the easiest to read her. Jawas though... Nykoria couldn't say for sure, but she felt she had sensed... An surprising level of confidence, bordering on arrogance. The pride and joy of being selected. And impatience for the handshake, which was slightly eroding that pride by the moment? JUST DO SOMETHING, KORI!

The Zeltron stood up and knelt, shaking the Jawa's small hand. However, her expression remained that of stone. "Knight Nykoria Tallis," her tone was less emotional than that of a droid. After a handshake, she stood up. Can he even understand me? Will I be able to understand him? Why else would he keep a protocol droid around?

That's why the Zeltron addressed the droid: "And you would be...?" After the droid's introduction, she would ask them both: "We'll commence the training immediately. To begin with, I'll need to know as much as possible: age, prior training, experience with the lightsaber, and the level of command of the Force. After that, I'll figure out the appropriate exercises." A ray of hope illuminated the Zeltron's mind. Perhaps, if the youngling proved incapable enough, she'd be relieved of all this?

@Hank Beast

 

[Mnoc Quipac]

Mnoc was left hanging for quite sometime with his handshake before Nykoria returned the handshake but the emotions she was exuding, Mnoc could see more emotions coming off his droid then her "As Ikee and Councilman was saying Ikee Mnoc Quipac and Ikee new Jedi Padawan" Mnoc said to the Jedi Knight before she moved onto knowing the droids name to which T-3PO figuratively jumped with joy "Oh yes, allow me to introduce myself, my name is T-3PO and I am here to help Young Master Quipac here with some translation issues if they are to show up, but Young Master Quipac here can speak pretty good Basic for a Jawa though there might be a few words he can't say" T-3PO said quite bluntly.

"Immediately, oh my I was at least hoping to get some technicalities out the way about what Young Master Quipac would be doing during his training but oh well" T-3PO said in quite a surprise before Mnoc began talking in some Jawanese to T-3PO before the droid relayed the message onto the Jedi Knight "Okay Young Master Mnoc said that some of this stuff is quite hard for him to say so he had to ask me to say it for him" T-3PO said before Mnoc began talking in Jawanese again before showing his 10 fingers on his hand and then another 3 to the Jedi Knight as well as shining his yellow lightsaber for here to see.

"Young Master Mnoc said he is currently 13 years old in Jawa years, meaning he had just finished the Youngling program in this temple, he has minor knowledge of anything outside the basics taught so he knows how to block blaster bolts with his lightsaber and a few small defensive techniques and he also just got his lightsaber when he passed The Gathering just before he finished being a Youngling. As for command with the force Young Master Mnoc knows only how to lift things slightly and that's about it for him" T-3PO said to Jedi Knight before Mnoc cleared his throat and began talking "But Mnoc want to become better, Ikee know Ikee not good at being Jedi but that what Nykoria Tellis is here for Mnoc is to make Ikee better" Mnoc said with a sincere tone.

@Catbert

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Alright, Kori, relax. Things aren't that bad. He can speak Basic. Beginner at telekinesis... But most importantly, he has a lightsaber and can deflect blaster bolts. Good, good. At least he won't be as much of a dead weight as you were to your own Master. And you only have to babysit him for about... 5 years?! The struggle inside her mind continued, as the Knight desperately tried to find the good things in that undesirable arrangement. On the outside, however, she remained nigh-emotionless.

"T-3PO..." the Zeltron Knight replied, still deep in thought. "What technicalities do you mean? If you're wondering what sort of training the Padawan will undergo, then I can indulge you. The training of a Jedi is all-encompassing. Lightsaber, melee combat, the Force, technology, diplomacy, history, and more. Some aspects can be emphasized, to either strengthen the natural talents, or to compensate for weaknesses." The Knight spoke like reading an excrept from a Jedi textbook at this point; not really minding if her new Padawan understood it. Finally, she turned towards her new charge, hands clasped behind her back.

"I know I'm not good at being a Jedi. But you're here to make me better." That phrase by the Padawan made something click in Kori's mind. There was sincerity, disappointment, desire to be better. Strangely enough, it resonated with her own wishes. Exhaling through her nose and smirking slightly—for the first time since meeting the kid—she tilted her head and replied in the words that her own Master had told her years before: "Indeed. That is why you are here. Let's see what you can do, shall we?"

A snap of Zeltron's fingers, and four training remotes floated into the clearing. "I use these drones for my own practice with the lightsaber. They sting a little if they hit, just to keep you focused," Nykoria smirked. "On your command, one of the remotes will attempt to shoot at you, and you'll deflect the bolts with your lightsaber. I'll adjust the difficulty depending on how well you do. What do you think?"

@Hank Beast

 

[Mnoc Quipac]

"Oh history, I sure hope I will be able to be with you for some of those lessons I do enjoy getting more information in my data banks or updated histories to things I already know and I've also been told by Young Master Mnoc that some of the other droids like me are used for diplomacy as well" T-3PO said quite excitedly before relaying some of the information onto Mnoc who was quite surprised with all the stuff he was going to learn "Utinni all that training, Ikee remember when the Jedi that was teaching us said we would learn alot more once Ikee came out of the Youngling Program" Mnoc said joyfully "Ikee not very uban with diplomacy though, Ikee can't even talk very good basic but Ikee have T-3PO" Mnoc said poking T-3PO.

Mnoc watched as the training droids he had all but become accustomed to during his Youngling training came out into the clearing "Oh Ikee, Ikee know buja to use these" Mnoc said excitedly doing a little giddy jump "Um...Ikee don't know if you altered your's like Ikee did to mine during training but if it's like the normal pos Ikee should be able to do well on level Ko" Mnoc said before T-3PO interjected with a translation "I don't know how well versed you are in Jawanese Mistress Tallis but Ko means the number two in basic, Mnoc still hasn't quite mastered numbers in basic yet" to which Mnoc nodded, as he held onto the none activated yellow lightsaber.

@Catbert

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

"I'm sure you will, T-3PO" Nykoria sighed, realizing that an interpreter might still be necessary. So far, she had only figured out the word "Ikee" on her own. And got a general idea that "uban" meant "good" or "proficient". "Not to worry, the language barrier won't be a problem. Especially with your help." Kori tilted her head, as it occurred to her: "I bet you're good with Binary too, right?" Perhaps something productive could come of it. The Zeltron didn't understand Droidpeak, but had to deal with droids from time to time. Her new Padawan's droid might prove helpful.

"Level two, huh? Ok, that will do for a start," the Zeltron shrugged. That wasn't much, but what was she expecting from a youngling? Hopefully, he'd be a fast learner. She didn't show her slight disappointment; instead, she just turned to one of the remotes: "Level three it is." The Zeltron Knight wasn't malicious; she didn't want the poor Jawa kid to get stung by blasters, nor did she seek to get rid of him that way. But progress lied in getting out of the comfort zone, and overcoming challenges that were slightly more difficult each time. Sometimes even with landing a face in the dirt, as Nykoria had experienced herself during trainings.

She turned her face to the Padawan again, giving him a comment that was supposed to sound encouraging: "Don't worry if you get hit during this session. That is the point of this training: to stop getting hit. Ready your weapon, Padawan. Once you're prepared, give the command to the droid."

@Hank Beast

 

[Mnoc Quipac]

Mnoc was caught by surprise once Nykoria said that it was going to be level 3 "But Ikee said Level ko not Level kyo, but okay Ikee can do this" Mnoc said with gusto before he ignited his light and as he said "Ashuna" the training droid spurred to life and began flying around while Mnoc tried to keep his eye on the droid making sure to keep close attention to it, quickly a blaster bolt went off and Mnoc deflected the blaster bolt, then another one was deflected.

Mnoc was keeping a very close eye on it as T-3PO began running off saying "My word, this is quite the dangerous situation I better not get involved" the droid said as he went to go hide from the flying blaster bolts even if they were all directed at Mnoc anyway, Mnoc continued deflecting the blaster bolts showing how much the Jawa could focus on a single target and then the droid shut down "Huh...It's over already" Mnoc said a little disappointed he always enjoyed using the training droid.

Spoiler: Rolling to see how well Mnoc did

Deflecting blaster bolts
@Catbert

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

Nykoria didn't expect much. She thought that the kid would deflect a couple of bolts before getting a sting. And yet there he was, handling his yellow blade quite efficiently and effectively. They were past the middle of the session, the droid had run off, but Kori didn't care. She looked at how the young kid managed to deflect a barrage of blaster bolts, not letting a single one through.

For a brief moment, the Zeltron almost felt... pride for having such a promising youngling as her Padawan? But then she realized that it was just level three; the real problems started at five, and the remotes had nine difficulty settings. Despite surpassing expectations that day, the boy had a long road ahead of him. That is, if he was honest about his abilities and didn't name an easier level than he had practiced on.

Still, she had to give credit where it was due. With a raised eyebrow, and without much emotion in her voice, she commended the young Jawa: "Impressive. Most impressive." Then she turned her head to the direction where the droid had run off: "It's ok, 3PO, the session is done. No more blaster bolts today."

After that, the Jedi turned her attention towards the new Padawan: "I could have said it was luck. But the Jedi know there is no luck. There is only the Force." She made a pause, letting the young Jawa realize what that implied; and to get over the excitement of surpassing expectations. "The Force was with you today, in this exercise. But such a state isn't always the case. As long as you put in the effort, and with my help, you'll learn how to feel the Force at your side all the times. In time, you might even find multiple remotes at level seven a little bit easy for you."

The Zeltron smirked, making it one of her few expression of emotion: "But until that day comes, Padawan, don't let this success get in your head. Give yourself a pat on your back and move on."

@Hank Beast

 

[Mnoc Quipac]

"Oh thank you, Mistress Tallis" T-3PO said while slowly coming out from around the corner as the Jedi Knight said there would be no more blaster bolts today.

Mnoc smiled when Nykoria said that he was impressive as he turn off his lightsaber and then Nykoria went on to talk about The Force which Mnoc tried to take in as much information as possible, he obviously heard about The Force when he was in The Youngling Program but even so he had to take in all the information "Level um...see ven that is quite high, I could barely hold off that Level kyo Training Droid how can I hold off a Level see ven, but taa baa for the compliment" Mnoc said before patting himself on the back as his Jedi Master told him to not knowing it was a figure of speech "So what do you want to do next, Master Tallis" Mnoc said exuding positive energy.

@Catbert

 

[Nykoria Tallis]

The Jawa's hesitation about the future trainings and difficulty settins was expected. But for some reason, the Zeltron was positive. Much more positive than she would've expected an hour ago. The Padawan, albeit raw and young, had potential. And Kori saw it as a challenge to unleash it. A daunting and frightening task, but it seemed much more doable now that she had started already.

She still was uncertain how to go about it. The path ahead looked like a mountain, with the top hidden behind the clouds. There could very well be another mountain behind them. Worry about it where the time comes, Nykoria. For now, live in the moment and learn to enjoy the little successes.

Meanwhile, the Jawa—no, her Padawan—asked her a question: "One little step at a time, Padawan," the Zeltron retooled for the occasion what her Master had taught her. "For now, you should rest and prepare. The Jedi training regimen is difficult." She looked at the Jawa, and then at the droid, as if to make sure that the latter would hear that comment too: "Be here with your lightsaber at 6:30 am tomorrow. Then the real training will commence."

The fact that Mnoc had already gone above and beyond today when dealing with the remote at a higher difficulty must've slipped the Zeltron's mind by now...

// END THREAD