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| - Ring Corridor -- White Ghost This is the curved main corridor that connects the various locations on the freighter. About 3.5 meters in diameter, the paneled walls are rounded for the best structural support, covered along the length with white padding. Between the pads, large grey plastisteel tubes, protecting various cables, run along the wall. The 1.5-meter-wide floor is covered with special black anti-skid coating, with only several service hatches visible. The ring leads from the exit hatch, around the hyperdrive motivator, to the lounge. A 5-meter-long side corridor leads off starboard near the exit hatch end, connecting to the cockpit. Halfway down the corridor, near the rear of the ship, is the big plastisteel door leading to the aft cargo hold. Several recesses and metal casings allow easy acces to various flight and lifesupport machinery. ________________________________________________________ Mira What can be seen of this woman under the large, grubby cloak that she wears isn't a whole lot. One might be able to tell that she is small and wiry, almost painfully thin. The bottom of the cloak drags on the ground, and looks frayed, as if it has been trod upon often. The hood of the dirty, dusty cloak that she wears manages to throw a shadow over most of her face, leaving it mostly obscured. A clump or two of frazzled, dark hair finds its way out of the cloak's hood to stick out at odd and unnatural angles away from her face. Markus A man in his late twenties, he appears to be a little bit more than six feet. He sports his silver white hair cropped short. The large brown inquisitive eyes, along with his full black eyebrows, seem to be attentive all the time. His skin is a tanned white, along with the hard jaw line and well-defined nose and the short stubs he sports as a beard, give this man a look between a gentleman and a scoundrel. His lips, almost constantly in an impish grin, along with the sparkle on his eyes project a very fiery personality. His body looks to be well maintained and built; strong, and definitely in shape. He is currently wearing a light gray long sleeved shirt. The sleeves folded half up his arms. Over it, he wears a sleeveless black jacket that obviously has seen one too many days. The dark black pants, worn loosely and fitted to perfection, seem comfortable enough in him. Everything is complemented by a set of dark gray boots that definitely have seen better times. Simon Before you is a young human male of average height and narrow build. His hair is a deep brown, parted and cut short. A strong jawline and deepset eyes of blue-grey give the man a stern look at a glance. For facial hair he wears a well groomed goatee and mustache, trimmed short and of the same deep color as the rest of his hair. All in all, the man's demeanor can be summed up in a word: aware. Simon is dressed in earth tones. Light tan, loose fitting trousers are tucked into soft leather boots that come up to just under his knees, and are tied tight with brown, leather chords. Tucked into the top of his pants is a simple shirt of a matching color. Over this is a loose wool tunic of dark brown, covering his arms completely and hanging down below his waste. It's comfortable clothing, suitable for most climates and cultures. ________________________________________________________ A fitful rest had come to Simon after the brief lesson he'd given Mira, filled with nightmares of raising these two new initiates to darkness and setting fire to the universe through their corruption. It came to pass that the testing of Mira and Markus's limits couldn't take place because of the distraction the next morning, or the morning after that. This morning, however, Simon awoke rested and more at peace. Calmness had returned to him, and all that prevented Simon from offering the initiates their first joint lesson was the errand Markus needed to attend on Coruscant. As gracefully and succinctly as he could, Simon bowed out of the offer to escort the Corellian out onto the planet where stone and steal had over-run the forests and meadows. As the ramp opens allowing Markus re-entry onto his ship, Simon is waiting, sitting across from the entryway cross legged and with his eyes closed. His inhales and exhales in slow, steady breaths, looking as if asleep. Mira had never been one to want to wait around for anything. The lesson that Simon had given her a few days before had piqued her curiosity enough to get her to wondering. And since she was used to working on her own, and enjoyed staring at things, Mira had been working with the small rocks she had found on Caspar. She hadn't done anything spectacular with them, but she had done enough to figure out that if she stared at them long enough that she could, indeed, make them roll around a little. Feeling most triumphant, she walks into the cargo area of the ship where Simon was waiting, carrying the rocks in her hand. "You were right, I can make them move," Mira announces, plopping down on the floor next to him. She does not, however, make any move to show off her new trick. She would wait for Markus first. Well, it had been quite a day for Markus outside in Coruscant. He still found the planet shocking in some way, as he was too used to places like Agamar now. However, after coming back to more populated areas of the galaxy, like any Corellian Markus was finding himself easily adapting. He enters the ship, locking it down from a panel next to the door leading towards the landing ramp. He makes a note of Simon, but for now, he decides not to get him out of whatever trance the other was in. Of course, with the way Mira addresses him, it occurs to Markus that perhaps he wouldn't be bothering the other by approaching. So he makes himself more visible, the telltale white hair having a hand ran through it. "Brother, sister," he offers in greeting, just as Simon had taught him. Not a difficult task, considering that he already saw them that way in his mind. The first stirring from Simon is a quirk at the corner of his lips, as a grin starts to spread there. Slowly, he opens his eyes and turns them to regard Mira and Markus in turn, focusing first on the Corellian as he was directly in front of him. As his gaze shifts to Mira, he speaks in a light-hearted tone. "If you were told that you could capture a star and put it in your pocket, I think that you would find a way to do that," he says. He turns back to Markus then, nodding to the man before saying, "Brother. I am glad to see you safely returned from... out there." Obviously, he had other words to describe what he thought of the city/planet on the other side of the hatch, but he was trying his best not to let the place bother him so much. "I think Mira wants to show you something, don't you Little Sister?" With the last, a broad smile spreads on his face, and an almost mischievous look enters his eye. Mira opens her mouth to respond to the statement by Simon, but finds herself puzzled enough by his riddlish talk that she doesn't actually say anything. She just sits there as if she is about to say something, but can't think of what. This is slightly troubling to her for all of five seconds, before Simon's attention shifts to Markus and she forgets what it was that she was trying to figure out. "I do," she replies to Simon's second inquiry, which she is able to understand and reply to without any trouble. Casting an expectant gaze up to Markus, inviting him to hurry up and sit down, she begins. Opening her hand, she lets the small rocks slip onto the ground in a neat pile. "Jumping rocks," she says, announcing her trick. "It might take a minute," she adds, as a disclaimer. She really had very little control over what or when they would do something. But they usually did. Leveling a determine gaze at the pile, it is much to her great surprise that almost immediately one of the rocks from the top of the pile seems to roll over of its own accord, tumbling down to the bottom. The first statement on Mira, makes Markus smile. He had similar thoughts on the girl, it seems. His little sister, as he had come to regards the girl. A lot of things have happened now, that made him see the young woman that way. The Corellian then turns to Simon, slowly nodding. He could understand in a way, Simon's dislike for Coruscant. His wasn't as strong, but still some of it showed on Markus face. His curiosity becomes evident as it is pointed out that Mira wants to show him something. Arching an eyebrow, the white haired man turns towards her, curious. He does as invited, quickly taking a place next to Simon and Mira. And as the jumping rocks are introduced, he evens seems, impressed. And then he arches an eyebrow, as he watches the rock tumble down. Trying very hard with his limited senses, to see if he picked up any changes in the True Source. Simon is more than a little please at Mira's rapid success, though he tries to let little of it show on his countenance. His eyes widen slighlty, and his smile takes a different tone, belying his indifference to the display. It was exhilerating, seeing her grasp blindly at something slippery... and succeeding. As he stretches out with his senses to feel the connection between Mira and the True Source, he notices the subtle shifting of Markus's senses, and another look of mild startlement enters Simon's eyes. Both of them had already found something within themselves. "You have been practicing," Simon says facing Mira. He quickly shifts his gaze to include Markus, continuing, "Both of you. Markus, perhaps you have something to show Mira, now. It is good that you should both have learned in different directions." As the rock tumbles down the side little pile, Mira smiles gleefully, looking up from the ground and practically beaming at Markus and Simon, who she had come to think of as her protectors, as well as her very close personal friends. The former title, as it turns out, was a greater honor than the latter, as the trash lady back home who she threw trash at was also considered one of her great personal friends. As was the man whose cardboard box she had "borrowed" back on Caspar. Anyone reaching out to the True Source at the moment the rock tips over might note that any slippery connection Mira might have managed to establish with it was immediately dropped as soon as she acheives success. As if she had never touched it at all. "See!" she exclaims. "Jumping rocks." Mira then turns an expectant gaze towards Markus. "You have a trick?" she asks, tilting her head questioningly to one side. Markus reaches up with his right hand to scratch his head. He chuckles, "I'm not sure how much I've really practiced. I guess part of it I picked when captured. Too much time on my hands." he offers in a somewhat playful tone. A deep breath is taken, as he tries to ehance his limited awareness. "I can see if I can show her something." he finally says, nodding his head. "Try making the rock jump in one particular direction. And don't tell me," he requests, trying very hard to open himself more. Simon licks his lips which, suddenly, appear to have gone bone dry. There was a part of him that still realized that this sort of training was akin to giving infants sharp knives to play with. Yet, Markus and Mira were not babes. Even considering Mira's more diminutive frame, they were both adults, and both keenly intelligent. Still, the danger of them hurting themselves gravely existed, and it was going to be Simon's job to try and prevent mishap. He watches both initiates quietly, keeping his senses open to whatever it is they may do. He speaks quietly after Markus gives Mira his instructions, saying, "There is a lesson here beyond the moving of rocks, or seeing beyond what the eye sees." He leaves his words at that as he continues to study Markus and Mira in turn. Mira furrows her brow. She couldn't, in general, pick a direction for a rock to go. She was generally happy if they did anything at all. But, for Markus, she would try. Patting the rocks gently, as if this was somehow helpful, the student again stares at the rocks, taking care not to mutter to herself about any direction in particular. As it turns out, the direction she is trying to push the rocks is towards Simon. Unfortunately, the rocks are less cooperative now that they are given a more structured command and do not move right away. But Mira, stubborn as usual, continues to leer at the rocks, grappling with an invisible force she herself could not yet feel or sense. All she knew was that it was out there somewhere, and if she did something right seh could make it work for her. Eyes closed, Markus frowns. His knowledge on what he was attempting was quite limited. Yet, he was conscious of the existance of the True Source. And this, is something he can use. So he reaches out, his efforts most likely quite evident to anyone with the ability and tries to get a feeling of where the rock is going. He raises his hand, pointing... and at first, he seems not sure of where to point. And as the rock move, a second before, Markus points. "There," he states, eyes still closed and he is successfully pointing in the direction the rock had started to move. The sensation of feeling Mira and Markus reach toward the True Source somehow reminded him of baby birds in the nest, reaching blindly for nourishment they couldn't see. Small pecks, small victories, yet from his own experiences, he knew that what was discovered and accomplished was never enough, at the beginning. The new Selas initiate could actually find themselves forgetting the curse aspect of being tied to the True Source in the exhiliration of achieving new accomplishments. These two would probably never fully understand that humbling shame. After the brief joy in watching Markus's success, the frown that furrows his brow seems that much more severe. "As I said, there is a lesson beyond the obvious here, that you should both know. Markus, do you know what it is I am about to tell you?" Good question. Markus wasn't into the philosophy aspects of things, so to him the answer is not as obvious as it must be to Simon and maybe even Mira. He frowns, trying to come up with something... but fails miserably. Slowly, he accepts his defeat by shaking his head. "I'm not sure, brother..." he admits, now trying to see if he can see beyond that what is evident. But again, Corellian and all, Markus is not exactly a person to get insight on things like that easily, which probably made him a lousy student for some aspects, if he was maybe brilliant for others. Simon tries to give Markus a reassuring look before he turns his attention back to Mira, who has become quiet. Whether it was because she found the conversation terribly interesting, or was enrapt, studying the rocks she was perfecting her mastery over was hard to say. "It's okay, brother," Simon says, his blue-gray eyes shifting back to Markus. "I only asked because, as I had told Mira a few days ago, I want to test your limits. Thus far, both of you are like young hunters with new spears. You're both strong and agile, yet experience is not on your side." Simon pauses to take a deep breath, then continues, "From where you are from, that which you are connected to is referred to as the Force, rather than the True Source. It is about this that I want to speak to you, since you both are so strongly tied to it."
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