Remora Selachii's Training

[Jace Darklighter]

Temple Avalon stood high in the distant setting, acting as symbol of truth where the Jedi Council resided. Jace Darklighter sat against a tree, looking skyward with a pleasant expression. A cool breeze drifted through the grass and caressed his skin with a gentle touch. To him, Yavin 4 was a paradise compared to the swampy lands of Dagobah. Waiting patiently for his newest Padawan to arrive, he passed the time by staying in tune with the life that surrounded him in a Jedi trance.

[Remora Selachii]

The soothing daytime breeze provided an excellent heat resistant against the reasonably hot temperatures of the day. As wildlife scuttled past, slinking into tree trunks or fluttering past in mid-life, the Jedi Padawan traced his hand across the swaying branch of a large blossoming tree.

Just a short distance away he could see his master relaxing against a tree. Picking up his walking speed a little, Remora cleared his mind of the thoughts of the interesting wildlife and foliage, stepping to his Master with a light smile on his face.

"It is a wonderful day today, Master. I did not realise Yavin 4 could be so pleasant."

Remora remained standing for the moment, looking up into the sky to where Jace was looking before down to Jace himself.

"I have come to begin my training as a Jedi, Master..."

[Jace Darklighter]

His right hand pressed against the tree trunk as he stood to his full height. The Jedi Knight brought his arms together, wrapping his hands in a link underneath his robe's long sleeves. A smile eased its way across his face as he looked to his Padawan.

"To begin, Remora, perhaps you could tell me about your past? Do you remember any specific events where you felt the Force or recognized it? Have you constructed a lightsaber and/or do you have possession of such a weapon? Do you have any experience in fighting? And last, but not least, what is the Force…in your own words?"

The Jedi looked to his student as he awaited a reply.

[Remora Selachii]

And so begun, what Remora knew, would be the speech which would determine his future as a Jedi.

"My past. To be quite frank, Master, I do not have much of an interesting past. I was raised by my mother and father along side my younger sister in a manor on ... I forget the planet.. began with a C.. Coruscant?"

Jace nodded in recognition of the planets name.

"Well.. I was raised not to be a fighter, but to be a scientist. My parents believed in a good education, and that self-defense was not part of it. The Force.. well, I am sure that in some point in my life I have truly experienced, but the idea was shunned by my father. Any such event which could be considered as being … a product of the force was, according to my father, the result of science.”

Remora glanced down, nodding in a comforting manner to himself.

“I have one lightsaber which I call Ion. It is a twin-bladed teal saber. I did not, however, construct it myself. It was given to me as a present by my sister upon my leaving to join the Jedi Order. It is probably obvious from what I’ve already said that I have very little fighting experience…”

He paused, his thoughts running over the idea of the Force.

“The Force is a tool. It can be used to help or hinder people. As is with the Jedi and Sith. The Jedi use the Force to help protect and stand for the good in the galaxies, where as the Sith use the Force to bring destruction. It is, I believe, a natural force not to be underestimated as I have heard from some that you can do almost anything with the Force. To me, personally, the Force is a liberation tool. Freedom for the oppression which is being brought upon so many by the Darkness..”

His voice trailed off into a quiet tone before fading completely.

[Jace Darklighter]

"The training that you will receive, Remora, will be to enhance your dexterity that you already maintain and to give you a better feeling of the elements which exist around you. Not all Jedi are fighters, in fact, many are scholars. I, myself, love to indulge in any kind of Jedi philosophy or history when I have the time. Although I would rather spend less time fighting, it could be a huge mistake to over look this area, what with the numerous enemies that the Greater Jedi Order has."

Jace began to walk around Remora, keeping his line of sight on the ground. As he walked, he spoke.

"The Force can be a great tool, as you said Remora. But as Jedi, it is vital that we don't use it as a tool for our own ambition and selfishness. As we serve the innocent, we gain a greater appreciation for this special gift which we have."

The Jedi Knight stopped once he was behind Remora. His eyes fluttered shut and he spoke to Remora's mind.

Tell me, what is life to you Remora? Is it eternal?

He continued to walk again.

"That is something the Dark Siders don't understand. They fail to realize that as they destroy life, they destroy themselves. The Force is made up of life; every living organism acts as a single entity to form the Force. The more life that is destroyed, the weaker the Sith and Dark Jedi become….until they destroy themselves completely. …..Do you understand?"

The Jedi was standing in front of Remora again, looking directly into his face as he sought an earnest and sincere answer. The Padawan slowly nodded his head, but there was a confidence in that nod as well. Jace smiled and pointed to a small grove of flowers.

"Now I would like for you to reach out the Force, as best you can. Try to feel the living things around you. Tell me…..how do you feel, Remora?"

[Remora Selachii]

“I understand, myself, the obvious need for fighting skills. As the Sith are brutes, and will not resolve things diplomatically, so we must be able to control them, and if physical force is what is needed… then it should be learnt. I also, now, understand what you mean by not using the force for personal gain.”

Remora knew infact that he did have some lust to wield the force to gain things for himself, but hoped that his training with the force would disable this feeling. It was as Jace spoke of life and death, Remora began to realise the idiocy behind the Sith. Destroying life, thus destroying the force? What a logical way to live.

On his Masters request to reach out to the force, Remora nodded, his eyes shifting to look at the small group of flowers. Calming himself he felt his nervousness slip away as the serenity of the day and surroundings lulled him into peace. A gentle breeze cast over his face and the flowers themselves, causing them to wistfully dance.

“Reach out to the force…” came his words with a quiet yet confident tone. A small feeling began to nag at him, one of a greater being, a greater presence, a greater force. As he observed the plants, he slowly eased his eyes closed, allowing the feeling to spread. So it did. He felt something inside of him that he had not felt before, as if a dormant sense was awakening.

“Master... I feel something.”

[Jace Darklighter]

At first, the Jedi Knight said nothing. Jace recalled those feelings and emotions well when he, himself, was a Padawan. A revival of the soul blossomed in Remora's heart, an occurrence that seldom ensued with other beings of the universe.

"Wonderful, isn't it? You have just gained a deeper understanding of the universe and our purpose in it. Perhaps those feelings you now have are joy, satisfaction, delight, happiness and a greater wisdom. Remember this event well, Remora. In your darkest hours of gloom, if it should ever befall you, look to this happening."

Slowly, the Knight stepped away and bent down to brush his hand up against the flowers. Jace watched as Remora's expression intensified in an effort to gain more knowledge and to grasp hold of this new link, which brought such virtue into his heart. Abruptly, Jace yanked one of the flowers from the earth, breaking its stem and causing it to wither away.

The Jedi's eyes narrowed as he stood up again. "Now tell me what you feel, Remora…"

[Remora Selachii]

It was, as if, once the seedling was removed from the soil, the feeling which had sept through Remoras body began to now trickle away. With the removal of this one plant, so came the feeling that the force had taken away part of this gift it had only just previously given him. This was a most unpleasant feeling.

"I feel as though someone has taken something from me. It is like..." he paused in mid speech, thinking of how to put his words, "... part of me is gone."

[Jace Darklighter]

Jace nodded.

"And that is the most important lesson that you can learn."

The Jedi Knight walked away from the circle of flowers and sat on a large rock. "Now for you next lesson, Remora. I would like for you to lift this rock that I am sitting on by concentrating on the Force. Put your trust in it. Remember that size doesn't matter. To the Force, everything is equal. Don't let your eyes deceive you. Don't strain too hard, let your control be natural."

Jace's expression remained impassive as he watched his Padawan.

[Remora Selachii]

Described by his Master the task seemed to be simple, although the logic of science on which he was raised did not permit such events, unless of course you bent science to reach around telekenesis.

"Very well Master. I shall complete the task you have set."

Moving forward a few paces, the padawan absorbed the light of the radiant sun as he looked to his master upon the rock. It was all a case of concentration by putting your mind to the task at hand. Shrugging his shoulders to physically ease his body, he ran his tongue over his parched lips, trying to calm himself as best possible.

He thought of the rock. The details which covered the rock. All around and inside the rock. The rocks place in the current plane. How to bend the fields around the rock. With hope in his heart his eyes looked to the rock, awaiting its movement.

"Master, why does it not move for me?"

[Jace Darklighter]

"You must believe in yourself. Unless you can do this, then you will never be able to accomplish this task."

Jace's right hand slipped into his cloak and came back out with a handkerchief. His knuckles bent as he clutched the cloth tightly. "You are putting your trust into your eyes. Don't believe them, for they can mislead you. Your reliance must be in the Force."

The Jedi's fingers uncurled and allowed the handkerchief to float in midair. Smiling, Jace waved his hand and the cloth glided through the air till it reached Remora. The material curved and twisted until it was placed perfectly over his Padawan's eyes, removing Remora's sight temporarily.

"Undertake the job again. Only this time, listen to the Force. Feel your surrounding environment through its eternal presence. It is there, waiting for you to give it guidance. Now, my student, lift the rock."

[Remora Selachii]

With vision obscured it now became apparent to Remora what blindness must feel like. It was sort of eerie, and thought darkness and lack of vision was experience by all at night, it was never forced and could be escaped easily, unlike this training exercise.

“Yes, my master…”

Once again, he began to attempt to feel the rock in a mental sense. To tune into its presence, and then to shift its current place, that was his goal. Although the more he thought about it, the less simple it seemed. So, instead of this hard concentrating method, he allowed his mind to roam freely. As it did so, every so often small nagging feelings would alert him to something, although exactly what? He was unsure.

From behind the blindfold Remora could not see what was unfolding. He was actually succeeding in causing the boulder to shift a little to the side.

[Jace Darklighter]

The immense granite rock nudged to the side and Jace instantly came up to his feet, managing to maintain his balance on the rock. The Jedi Knight's surveyed his Padawan as he slowly moved the rock. A smile tiptoed across his mouth while watching, nodding in approval.

"Continue to keep your mind at ease. Remained focused and maintain your control."

The Jedi continued to watch Remora, as the rock kept moving.

[Remora Selachii]

Although the idea that he had actually partially accomplished the task surprised Remora a little, never the less he continued to concentrate. His mind focused on removing the impaired vision that the blindfold had given by using the Force as a visual aide.

“Master, am I doing this correctly?” he said in a quiet tone, the rock stick dragging itself to the side through the grass and now churned up mud.

[Jace Darklighter]

"Not exactly, " he chuckled. "But you are improving, my Padawan."

The Jedi scooted himself from off the rock, landing lightly on the soles of his shoes. He walked forward and removed the blindfold from Remora's eyes. "Observe."

Jace pointed his finger towards the boulder, now lying in the mud. "You managed to move it more horizontally, rather then vertically. But don't lose hope. Practice and control is what tunes this fine art of the Force to your guidance. Of course, patience is a necessity in this field."

The light on the horizon began to fade, signaling that dusk was near. The Jedi Knight motioned for his student to follow him. "Tomorrow is another day. We will begin again."

He looked out of the corner of his eye towards Remora and spoke after a few moments. "Every morning I like go for a jog, care to join me? Physically fitness is a good attribute for a Jedi." Jace smiled. "And your next lesson will be conducted in the forest."

With a quick nod, they separated for their different paths. Remora walked towards the rooms of the Jedi, while Jace walked towards the Jedi Temple. "Until tomorrow, Remora, " the Knight spoke from the distance.