Punishment...

[Destiny Stormrider]

Destiny felt really ashamed of herself. She had managed to get punished (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?threadid=26141) the first day she had a lesson with her Master. She wondered why she lost control of herself. Destiny knew she acted crazy and wild at times, but she had enough common sense to know when it was inappropriate.

So here she was, sweeping the whole Academy. It was tiring, especially since she wasn't used to cleaning in her own house either. Whenever Destiny had household chores to do, she'd find a cheap excuse and end up not doing them.

"That's it! My arm's killing me!" she exclamed, frustrated and exhausted.

The youngest of Stormriders leaned back against one of the Academy's walls. She looked at the mop and back at the bucket filled with soapy water. Going back and forth from one object to the other, she realized that this wasn't exactly a punishment.

"Hum..." she sighed, before concentrating on the Force. When she thought she was ready, she concentrated on the mop. Destiny tried lifting it, but realized that it was an impossible task for her yet.

Lazily, she picked up the mop and plunged it into the bucket. She took it out and leaned it against the wall. Once more Destiny, come on.... The adolescent focused on the Force and the mop as she had done previously. Soon, a smile could be seen on her face as she saw the mop move slightly.

[Zeke]

"Telekinetics?"

Zeke had caught sight of Destiny cleaning the training room when he'd passed the open door, and had stopped to ask her why she was doing it. Now it seems to be a self-taught lesson in telekinesis, but he's still not sure.

"Odd way to practice, ne?"

[Destiny Stormrider]

Destiny's concentration broke as she heard Zeke. The young girl hadn't seen him approach. She looked up at him and could simply manage to smile.

"We could call it practice.....but honestly, why would I try cleaning the room? I could do something easier to improve my skills."

[Zeke]

"Hm...that's a good question. Why would a Padawan of your age spend her time cleaning a training room for practice when she could be out having fun?"

[Raj]

Destiny turned back towards the mop and tried lifting it with the Force again.

"YES!" she exclaimed as she was able to bring the object up with ease. The mop moved slightly from left to right before falling back on the ground.

"Darn!" Destiny said, trying to avoid answering Zeke's question. "Well... it was my first course....and...I...well...I KINDA misbehaved...and...my master punished me!"

[Zeke]

"Oh?"

Zeke decides not to embarrass her further by asking what she did wrong. He can't help her in cleaning the room, but he can at the very least help with her telekinesis.

"Don't be so upset. If you'd calm down you could move that mop."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"It's not that easy!" she said giggling. "You know, I've been trying hard, but I guess it's not working, I can't calm myself down! I've got too much energy!"

Destiny took a deep breath to try and follow Zeke's advice but it simply made her laugh harder.

"I'm tryin', I'm tryin'! So what's your name?" she asked, taking deep breaths. "Mine's Destiny!"

[Zeke]

"I'm Zeke. Here, let's focus some of that energy. Imagine for a moment something that makes you smile. Something you love, something that makes you happy."

[Destiny Stormrider]

It didn't take long for Destiny to find 'something' she loves and that makes her happy: her mom! Just thinking of her brought a smile to the girl's lips.

"Ok done!"

[Zeke]

"Now, imagine this emotion as something tangible. Focus on the mop and use that tangible emotion to lift the handle."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"Tangible? How can an emotion be tangible?!"

Destiny was confused but she'd try. There was a link between her happiness and moving the mop. She thought of her mom again and tried lifting the mop, a big smile on her face.

"There you go!", Destiny exclaimed, proud of her accomplishment. "Gee thanks! So moving it around is the same thing?"

[Zeke]

"Yeah. Do it the same way you lifted the handle."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"Alright!"

Destiny would've tried it earlier but didn't want to make the mop fall, after all the effort she had put into lifting it. She slowly saw it move around as she focused into directing it the way she wanted it to. First, Destiny made it go from right to left and right. Then she plunged it into the water bucket. Finally, the Stormrider used it to clean the whole room. She observed the mop's movements with amusement. It didn't take long before she was done.

"Man, this save a lot of time!"

[Zeke]

"Telekinesis has a knack for making jobs less tiring, and can be faster if one has a strong mind. This same task could have been completed just as easily using Force Boost, but why run around after the mop and make a mess behind your cleaning? I like doing work without doing work, if that makes sense at all."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"Force Boost? Could you show me what that looks like?"

Destiny was intrigued. Zeke seemed to know much more than she did; he had probably been here longer than she had.

"Oh, and I know what you mean: achieving what you had to do without working hard to do so, right?"

[Zeke]

"That's right. Force Boost is the ability to heighten one's speed, power, and other attributes through the Force. Not a hard task...its actually a fairly basic skill, and a useful one. To do it, do like you did with the broom, but focus instead on what you want to increase. If you want to heighten your jumping power or running speed, focus in your legs for instance."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"You're not a Padawan are you?" the young girl asked. She stared at Zeke, amazed by his knowledge.

[Zeke]

"Nope, I'm a Knight. Fairly new to it, but I know my stuff. I was taught well, and put my lessons to good use every chance I got."

[Destiny Stormrider]

Destiny nodded. Zeke made her realize how hard it would be for her to become a successful Jedi and how much work it involved.

"It feels good to listen to you. I get to learn a lot. I only have one more room to do, I think. Wanna come?"

Destiny started walking towards the exit, using her newly acquired ability to move the bucket with the Force.

[Zeke]

Zeke folds his arms behind his head and walks along beside her.

"Sure, I've got nowhere else to be, so may as well spend it doing something constructive, rather than waste it."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"Great!"

Destiny was still thinking about Force Boost. She found it intriguing. Hum... She stopped walking and thought of what Zeke had just told her. Then she followed his instructions:she thought of her mother again, concentrated on the Force and on her feet. Then, Destiny tried to run. To her surprise, she arrived into the next room before she knew it! She tried again, going back towards Zeke.

"Knight Zeke! Knight Zeke! I can do it! I can do it!" she exclamed. The teenager was jumping all around the Knight.

[Zeke]

Zeke holds an arm out and stops Destiny with ease, though he grips her with little more than his thumb and the tips of his fingers. The power in his arm leaves her no room for movement, and once she's looking at him, Zeke gives her a smile of approval.

"Useful, ne?"

[Destiny Stormrider]

Destiny stared at Zeke with a blank expression on her face. No one had ever stopped her from doing anything throughout her entire life, and here he was, a complete stranger, making her calm down. All she could do was nod at his words.

[Zeke]

Zeke smiles more broadly and claps her on the back, forgetting his Force boosted strength and staggering her a few paces ahead.

"Just another demonstration. Don't look so discouraged! It's good that you're happy."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"Okay"

Destiny walked quietly into the last room. She concentrated hard to have good control over the mop's handle. The Stormrider swept the floor with care. She was satisfied because she had done what her Master had instructed her to do, and she had learnt a lot as well. But suddenly, a question popped to her mind.

"Say Zeke, why would you punish a Padawan, instead of simply explaining to him what he did wrong?"

[Zeke]

"Hm. I guess I'd punish one of my padawans if they disrespected me or someone else. Tell them why I felt what they did was wrong, and then set them to a task or something that would keep them busy and let them think on it a while."

[Destiny Stormrider]

Destiny thought about it for a while.

"But while I'm doing this, I'm not thinking!", Destiny laughed out loud, "it's just getting me annoyed....but it's not very Jedi-like is it?"

[Zeke]

"Which? The not thinking, the punishment, or the annoyance?"

[Destiny Stormrider]

Destiny laughed at the thought.

"I meant the annoyance, but I guess not thinking isn't Jedi-like either...maybe I wasn't made to be a Jedi...", she paused to think about it, "...HECK YEAH I WAS! I'll show Lance I can make it!"

[Zeke]

Zeke smiles at her resolve and speaks up.

"Everyone feels annoyed or angry or sad, Destiny, even Jedi. It's not that we try to never feel these emotions; rather, its learning to control them and not give into them that gives a Jedi strength against the darkside."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"And the Force is supposed to help us control them? Help us not give in?"

Destiny took note: From now on, everytime I get mad, I'll try to calm down. I can do it!

[Zeke]

"Yes, it can. However, if you lack resolve, it can also throw you at the darkside's mercy should you let your anger control you, instead of the other way around."

[Destiny Stormrider]

"I see..."

Destiny thought she understood what he meant. Power corrupts... she had often heard, and the Force was a power in a certain way.

She was still lost in her thoughts when Destiny noticed that she had been here for the past couple of hours. She felt tired from all the work.

"You'll have to excuse me now, I'll take leave. I'm...", she paused to take a deep breath, "...really tired!"

[Zeke]

"Of course. You just cleaned the whole Academy, I expect. Go get some rest, you've earned it."

[Destiny Stormrider]

Destiny tried to smile at Zeke but was unable to do so due to her fatigue. She turned and quietly walked away.

The Stormrider thought about her encounter with Zeke and found him really nice for a Knight. He didn't fit the image that Destiny had of a Jedi Knight at all: he wasn't as arrogant as she had imagined.

Lost in her thoughts, the girl soon realized that her eyelids felt heavy; she really needed to get some rest. She started walking faster towards the Living Quarters...

This would be the right time for Force Boost....but I'm too tired!