36 Distortion in the Force (1/2)

Valad, Fay, Leia and Riané as a group walked out of the 'conference' room. Leia was back in her white dress, Riané was dressed in her pants and leotard, but lacked boots. She was completely barefoot. Then there was Fay, dressed in her earthly robes which turned many eyes to look to her.

Fay was a Jedi Master, her exploitations were legendary by the Jedi Order, but they were extremely real to the people living in the areas she had visited.

”Is that...”

”It can't be...”

The oldest of Clan Aku seemed to have noticed something first, the identity of the woman before them. A Jedi Master was standing before them. They could feel her strong connection to the force and were almost enthralled by her ageless beauty.

Boys with temptation and girls with admiration, they all looked on at the elvish humanoid.

Valad was dressed in black pants and a matching tank top. Much like Riané, he was barefoot and just looking over at the gathered individuals and a single droid which remained on the bridge.

Raising a brow as he looked at the droid, his eyes then turned towards Ashoka who was standing beside it. A look of awe upon her face as she stared at the Jedi Master. The question she had asked herself earlier about being trained as a Jedi, seemed to have been answered in her mind. She was going to be trained by a Jedi Master, a lovely and fair looking one.

”Welcome to the Bridge of the Imperius, your compartment is being moved to the Core for training. Here you will have your mind 'opened' to the force and trained for our Order of Knights.” Valad spoke up with his hands folded behind his back. His gaze surfed along the faces of the younglings before singling out Ashoka Tano once more.

He knelt down and reached a hand out towards her from behind his back. ”Ashoka Tano... Please approach, if you will.” He said in a gentle tone, coercing her to come towards him.

Fay watched from the corner of her eye. She was astonished he was able to collect so many force sensitives at once to a single place. That and they were all children, or teenagers. They had ripe minds, and some of them unripened.

Ashoka looked at her fellow friends, before nodding slowly and walking towards the man. She admired his skill the first time she saw him on the planet surface. This was her second time seeing him, but the first time actually meeting him.

Once she was in arms reach, she felt his hands cupping her cheeks. She blinked a few times as she felt an odd warmth enter her mind. A tingling sensation following, but she couldn't help but smile and lean into the touch.

Fay's expression changed slightly as she noticed this. It was like a distortion was emanating from around the two. The power he was exercising wasn't dark, and while it seemed like light, it felt as if it was altering the younglings mind.

”What... Are you doing?” Fay stepped forward, observing as she walked in a semi-circle. She didn't know if interrupting what he was doing was detrimental to the person it was being used on.

”Opening her mind,” Valad said in a half truth which covered for a lie. He was sharing his knowledge of the core powers of the force, which would accelerate her training in the long run. Yet he was also installing new perceptions of reality, such as the loyalty to himself.

Fay sensed that he was telling the 'truth,' but she wasn't entire convinced that he was telling the whole truth. ”I see,” her brows furrowed as she tried to unravel the truth within her own thoughts.

The warmth from the information being brought into her mind, filled Ashoka's smile to the brim with her pearly whites. Her expression was almost dreamy, dazed. Her big eyes remained on the man whom held her face in his hands. Her little hands reached up and gently grasped his hands, closing her eyes partially, almost affectionately.

Then the warmth suddenly faded and all that remained was the feeling of his hands on her cheeks. Her daze slowly followed the feeling and she wore an expression of intrigue.

”What was that feeling?” She seemed to bounce in place, not having noticed that she had dropped her apple earlier when she went to touch his hands.

Valad chuckled softly, ”I shared a little bit of my knowledge with you as I opened your mind further to the force.” He would reach up and gently pet the top of her head with a smile across his lips.

Fay listened to his explanation to the young Tano and pursed her lips. She had learned a bit more about his ability. Then she paused, mind altering powers and sharing of knowledge? It was like he was shaping her mind, tailoring little bits so that she still had her own will.

He was doing what the Jedi did, just through the use of the force rather than academic schooling and conventional means of brainwashing.

”Can you share more?” Ashoka Tano had enjoyed the feeling of the warmth which had penetrated her mind. It was Euphoric, something she had never felt before.

Shaking his head slightly, he would poke her nose. ”Maybe when you're older.” Winking softly he stood up and looked towards the others with a grin across his lips. His surveying eyes rested their gaze upon Kana, giving a gentle gesture for her to step forward as he turned his body to face her.

Ashoka blinked a few times as if her nose was tingling from the touch before looking up at the Jedi Master and smiling up at her. It was as if nothing changed at all. Her demeanor had completely reverted to the way she was prior to him touching her face.