RPlog:A Lesson Set in Stones, Part II

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.

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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.

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.

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Mira glances up from the pile of rocks at the mention of being tied to something. The thought of being tied to anything wasn't particuarly pleasant, as her parents had, on occasion, threatened to tie her up and put her in the closet if she didn't behave. She was pretty sure they were joking, but could never be sure. She tilts her head suspiciously to one side, protectively reaching out to scoop up the pile of rocks on the ground as she suddenly decides that listening might be important here. Perhaps she had missed something in the conversation, as the only words that had really jumped at her had been the last three.

"Huh?" she grunts, raising her eyebrows to glance at Simon.

Markus listens to the words from the man that has been slowly becoming his mentor, or as Simon himself prefers, 'Brother'. He had been shown close and personal, how small he was in this new area that he was just starting to explore. Slowly the Corellian nods, a thoughtful expression all over him.

"The Force..." Markus says, softly. The words coming up as quite unfamiliar to him. It had become easier to refer to it as the True Source, as it was the term used by his friend and teacher.

A smile appears on Markus' face as Mira grunts, slowly the man shakes his head and turns his attention back to Simon.

Simon's gaze shift to Mira as she emits her inquiring grunt, and one of his eyebrows raises questioningly. Ah, so she was listening. How good, since this was going to be so important.

"Every living creature throughout the galaxy, both large and small, both dangerous and peaceful, carry with them a piece of the True Source," Simon explains slowly, looking back to Markus but directing his words to both people before him. "Perhaps you call this your spirit or soul. However you wish to think of that which you carry within you, know that it is special, and more precious than anything else you will have your entire lives. It is precious, because it comes from the True Source of Life, the lving All Mother from which all life comes. The True Source."

After so many words, carefully put together in the same way that they'd been told to him with reverence, Simon pauses to lick his lips and clear his throat. Even after all these years, the last part of this that he had to say was still difficult. "All carry a piece of the True Source within themselves that is unique and precious and apart from the True Source from which it is derived. Yet, there are those such as us and the Jedi that are somehow still-born, connected in a way that is dangerous to our spirits, and those of the people around us. It is like a babe that is born that remains attached to its mother."

Simon's speech is mostly lost on Mira, his funny way of talking and abstract concepts serving more to confuse her than enlighten. And the aspect of being tied to anything had still not yet been resolved. But what she could dig out of what he was saying was that somehow being able to use the True Source, or Force as it was apparently more commonly known, was a bad thing. "Dangerous?" she echoes questioningly. Moving rocks around didn't really seem dangerous. If anything, it was a neat trick. An oddity.

Glancing down at the rocks in her hand, she fails to see anything dangerous about them. They didn't seem to have taken on a life of their own. They seemed exactly the same as they had been when she had picked them up on the ground in the spaceport. And she didn't feel any different. She had hardly felt anything at all, even when she was moving them. Except maybe tired. She was tired. But not dangerous. Or scary. "I don't get it."

Simon gives Mira a questioning look before he turns to study Markus as he speaks, searching the Corellian's eyes for questions as well. "There isn't much to understand about it, Little Sister," Simon says, turning his gaze back to Mira. "It's one of the many things in the galaxy that just is, like water being wet, and stone being hard. A piece of the True Source is given to each of us to protect and to carry to the end of our lives. Most people can not touch the True Source, so the corruption of their soul can only come through dire actions and a will to do evil. For us, our spirits are open to us. Through the True Source, our corruption can be made complete in the span of a heartbeat, in the moment after a poor decision. The Selas Brotherhood... and the Jedi, I suppose... look to live as honorably as they can in spite of this burden."

Mira nods slowly, only half understanding but not wanting to appear too stupid. She got the basic idea, and that was probably enough. What she didn't understand was what line she had to cross to corrupt her soul. Or if she had already crossed it. Of course, if she had, Simon would probably know. He seemed to have a deeper understanding of things. "Where did you learn all this, Simon?" she asks, curious. Of course, the question might also steer him towards more tangible things, instead of the souls and spirits that she was having trouble grasping.

Markus listens in his silence. If he has questions of his own, he seems to be going over the whole thing in his mind before speaking them out. He is not the type to discuss philosophy right at the moment, he needs more time to go over things before he can start asking questions himself. He reasons something that he had heard some of the Jedi metion, "The Dark Side," the words escaping his lips.

Simon looks back at Markus as he speaks, and he nods slowly, hesitantly. "The Jedi refer to the corruption as the Dark Side. There are many things that it is called, but that is as good a set of words as any, I suppose. It is the natural path of those that are not guided, just as the Selas were unguided before the Jedi came to Telgosse."

Another pause as Simon licks his lips again, then he presses on a little more confidently. "I do not tell you these things so that you will fear for the sake of fear. I tell you this so that you have a firm respect for what it is that you do, and that you may know the dangers involved in learning to touch the True Source. I also tell you these things so that you will know more about where it is that you draw your power. It is the True Source of Life, and deserves respect. The Jedi may call it the Force... but I have always thought that term made it seem like less than it is."

Again Mira nods slowly, dropping the rocks into one of the pockets of her cloak. She would need to practice more, despite the foreboding warning of Simon. But then, perhaps using the true source of life to toss rocks around wasn't a particuarly productive conduit for such power. But it seemed safe enough. At least it wouldn't consume her soul. Right?

Her train of thought is interrupted as a beeping sound emerges from the cockpit, calling Markus away like a hungry baby bird chirping for something to eat. Or just an irritating beeping noise that needed to be stopped. As he walks away, she turns her attention back to Simon and tilts her head to one side. "So are you going to guide us then?" she asks, reasonably sure that Simon wouldn't start them down this path if he didn't intend to make sure they didn't stray from it. "Do you know how to? Have you done this before?" Simon had a way of eagerly jumping into things he had never done before. Like flying the shuttle on the way to Caspar. And they all knew how _that_ had gone.

Once more, Simon is taken aback by Mira's exceptional ability to cut right through all the fluff and hit a target that few would have noticed at all. Was she just lucky, or was she really that much more perceptive than she let on?

"I am going to try to guide you, though I have not done this before." Simon says quietly as he watches Markus make his way toward the cockpit. "It is not like when we flew the ship, though." He didn't have to read her thoughts to know what she was referring to. "The True Source is something I am familiar with, and respect, while the workings of a ship... a hunter may reach a point where he can no longer bring down the big game, but he can still teach a young man to hold a spear. I am hoping that I will be like the old hunter."

Mira looks wary, despite Simon's reassurances that he knew what he was doing. "Okay," she says, sounding as if she were not quite entirely sure that it was okay at all. She sits in silence for a moment, pondering things for a few minutes, before deciding that if they were going to proceed, they might as well get along with it. "So what now?" she asks, tossing a glance back towards the cockpit where Markus had gone. She felt funny that they were continuing without him.

Once more, Simon's thoughts almost mirror Mira's as his eyes turn toward the cockpit, a considering look in his eye. At this point, they both needed to train, and they both needed to work on where their strengths were so they'd be a greater help to the other. Naturally, he was going to have to teach each of them individual lessons, but after giving the warning about the path they were to take, and skillfilly pegged his own doubt... he was wary.

"Now, we are going to do something a little different, if you are not too tired. When first learning to touch the True Source, it can be like running barefoot through the woods carrying a bundle of logs on your back."

The mention of something a little different seems to picque Mira's interest. As much as she enjoyed her rocks, and staring at things in general, she had grown tired of rocks. And the inside of the ship. And her interest was almost enough to override the fact that she was half asleep. "I'm tired, can we start again tomorrow?" Mira asks, clambering slowly to her feet. Without waiting for an answer, she begins to wander off towards what she had salvaged from her bags of "belongings". As she passes by Simon, still sitting on the floor, she gives him an affectionate pat on the head. "Good night," she calls into the cockpit as she passes by. She had some things to think about. But she had a feeling she wouldn't get a lot of thinking done tonight. She would fall asleep fast.