Hyperspace, The Testament, Wednesday evening [FT]
"I'm glad to help, Zayne," Captain Telletoh said as he settled into his chair at the officers' dining table. Zayne and Gryph were also seated with drinks in front of them. Rohlan - in his full replica "Spikes" armor to hide his true identity - stood at the other end of the table, somewhat impatiently. "Malak's still on Coruscant anyway. And Karath's no happier about ferrying Jedi than the Jedi Council is!"
"But I thought Ferroh and Malak said their Crusaders had full support," Zayne said.
"Wishful thinking, I'm afraid," Telletoh said. "Cathar changed some minds, but not all. And the Republic wouldn't risk working with rogue Jedi. But Revan found a way. In the Sith War, the Admirality deputized various mercy corps - teams of civilian healers - to travel with us to hotspots. In thirty years, the Council had never rejected an active Jedi's request to volunteer for them. So our Jedi Expeditionary Task Force is actually one big mercy corps, under Revan! It's fragile and tentative, but the Council has allowed it... for now. Revan's really quite clever."
"It's a fraud," Rohlan said. He didn't care for such trickery from Mandalorians and he certainly didn't care for it from the likes of Revan. "You're taking them off to fight."
"And you're not a real Mandalorian, Spikes, or we wouldn't be taking you anywhere," Telletoh pointed out. It turned out, he was still of the belief that Spikes was just a regular sports champ with a controversial gimmick. Nobody was rushing to point out his mistake. "Let me show you around. It's not often we have a celebrity aboard."
Once Telletoh and Rohlan had left, Zayne turned to Gryph and grinned. "I guess it was lucky Shel found a connection between Golliard and Karath. And luckier still he was the one on patrol out there."
"Yeah, right. 'Lucky,'" Gryph mocked.
"Huh?" Zayne asked.
"I've been thinking. This Demagol, he's more than a bad break. He's almost a bad break for every good break we ever got. But that happens to you, doesn't it?" Gryph asked, scratching his chin. "You use the Force to fake an invasion on Vanquo, and then the Mandies actually invade. You use it to get the Mandies to leave Flashpoint, only to have the WORST Mandie sneak off with us! You use it to help us enter the Draay palace, only for us to find the real trouble's someone we never heard of! I've been at this a while. I know when the fix is in. Which leaves me with only one question... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"Oh. That," Zayne sighed. "It's a learning disability. Or, that's what they called it. When I reach into the Force to affect an outcome, I don't have a good grasp, for lack of a better term. And fate sort of rocks back and forth, like a tipped glass." Zayne held his hand out near his cup and nudged it lightly, sending it wobbling.
"I'll survive a fall, only to land at my teachers' feet. Or in a vat of industrial waste. And it can work the other way. Yeah, we arrived at a different party than we were expecting at Luciens, but we also arrived just as they were preparing a banquet, so the dining room was all set up with debris when I needed to protect myself," Zayne continued as the cup started splashed wine. He kept trying to steady the cup, but each nudge turned out to be an overcorrection until the cup fell over, spilling wine across the table.
"The Force didn't set the table for me. People did. But you don't get timing as good - or as bad - as mine without... a nudge," Zayne said. "I just wish I'd gotten a better handle on things before Jarael got the worst of it."
"They thought it was a disability," Gryph laughed as he lifted his own cup. "Just goes to show the Jedi don't play cards. What kind of teachers don't play cards? In Pazaak, it's not the swings that break you. It's how you bet during them. But you know they're coming. And if you can see 'em, you can play 'em."
Gryph lifted his cup in a toast. "Don't you get it? For you, the galaxy's a fair game. Things might look bad, but in the end, everything balances out for you. If you know that, you can use that... my young apprentice."
Zayne took a moment to consider this advice before answering, with much thought given to it, "I'm not calling you 'Master.'"
"That's 'Mastermind,'" Gryph corrected. "At least I'm smart enough to let you face death on your own this time...."
[OOC: Finally, the explanation of Zayne's special relationship with the Force. Also, ONE MORE POST (excluding epilogues next week). Sorry, I'm excited. From Demon Part 3 by Miller and Ching.]
"But I thought Ferroh and Malak said their Crusaders had full support," Zayne said.
"Wishful thinking, I'm afraid," Telletoh said. "Cathar changed some minds, but not all. And the Republic wouldn't risk working with rogue Jedi. But Revan found a way. In the Sith War, the Admirality deputized various mercy corps - teams of civilian healers - to travel with us to hotspots. In thirty years, the Council had never rejected an active Jedi's request to volunteer for them. So our Jedi Expeditionary Task Force is actually one big mercy corps, under Revan! It's fragile and tentative, but the Council has allowed it... for now. Revan's really quite clever."
"It's a fraud," Rohlan said. He didn't care for such trickery from Mandalorians and he certainly didn't care for it from the likes of Revan. "You're taking them off to fight."
"And you're not a real Mandalorian, Spikes, or we wouldn't be taking you anywhere," Telletoh pointed out. It turned out, he was still of the belief that Spikes was just a regular sports champ with a controversial gimmick. Nobody was rushing to point out his mistake. "Let me show you around. It's not often we have a celebrity aboard."
Once Telletoh and Rohlan had left, Zayne turned to Gryph and grinned. "I guess it was lucky Shel found a connection between Golliard and Karath. And luckier still he was the one on patrol out there."
"Yeah, right. 'Lucky,'" Gryph mocked.
"Huh?" Zayne asked.
"I've been thinking. This Demagol, he's more than a bad break. He's almost a bad break for every good break we ever got. But that happens to you, doesn't it?" Gryph asked, scratching his chin. "You use the Force to fake an invasion on Vanquo, and then the Mandies actually invade. You use it to get the Mandies to leave Flashpoint, only to have the WORST Mandie sneak off with us! You use it to help us enter the Draay palace, only for us to find the real trouble's someone we never heard of! I've been at this a while. I know when the fix is in. Which leaves me with only one question... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"Oh. That," Zayne sighed. "It's a learning disability. Or, that's what they called it. When I reach into the Force to affect an outcome, I don't have a good grasp, for lack of a better term. And fate sort of rocks back and forth, like a tipped glass." Zayne held his hand out near his cup and nudged it lightly, sending it wobbling.
"I'll survive a fall, only to land at my teachers' feet. Or in a vat of industrial waste. And it can work the other way. Yeah, we arrived at a different party than we were expecting at Luciens, but we also arrived just as they were preparing a banquet, so the dining room was all set up with debris when I needed to protect myself," Zayne continued as the cup started splashed wine. He kept trying to steady the cup, but each nudge turned out to be an overcorrection until the cup fell over, spilling wine across the table.
"The Force didn't set the table for me. People did. But you don't get timing as good - or as bad - as mine without... a nudge," Zayne said. "I just wish I'd gotten a better handle on things before Jarael got the worst of it."
"They thought it was a disability," Gryph laughed as he lifted his own cup. "Just goes to show the Jedi don't play cards. What kind of teachers don't play cards? In Pazaak, it's not the swings that break you. It's how you bet during them. But you know they're coming. And if you can see 'em, you can play 'em."
Gryph lifted his cup in a toast. "Don't you get it? For you, the galaxy's a fair game. Things might look bad, but in the end, everything balances out for you. If you know that, you can use that... my young apprentice."
Zayne took a moment to consider this advice before answering, with much thought given to it, "I'm not calling you 'Master.'"
"That's 'Mastermind,'" Gryph corrected. "At least I'm smart enough to let you face death on your own this time...."
[OOC: Finally, the explanation of Zayne's special relationship with the Force. Also, ONE MORE POST (excluding epilogues next week). Sorry, I'm excited. From Demon Part 3 by Miller and Ching.]