9089/Jedi In Spaaaaaaace!

Jedi In Spaaaaaaace!
Date of Scene:	14 December 2021
Location:	The Gardens
Synopsis:	Madison meets an ancient relic - and teaches him about the Jedi.
Cast of Characters:	Madison Evans, Paris Bennet

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Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison doesn't get to visit the asteroid often, so when Theo invited her up for another visit - she'd jumped at the opportunity. She'd been disappointed, at first, when he was called away for some mysterious purpose which was never divulged to her - but that disappointment was short lived for the young, overly-eager teen, who took off to explore the Asteroid at her leisure. Eventually, her steps guided her towards the garden - hoping that she'll be able to find the Mutant Wolf Witch she'd met once before.
    After all, that had been Exceedingly Cool, especially given that her Jedi Mind Tricks had, at last, worked on someone - a feat she was determined to repeat, and yet has never succeeded at.
    Currently, Madison is exploring the depths of the underbrush under the copse of trees into the garden - humming quietly to herself as she does.

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet is in rare form today.

The former, or current depending on perspective, Knight crusader is in the gardens getting his workout today instead of the training room. Sword in hand, he is working through a routine of precise and deliberate slashes. The very real and well crafted blade of his longsword cuts through the air with singing swishes as he pivots and steps in self conscious manner suggesting this might be a rehearsed pattern rather than necessarily a shadow fighting routine.

This is happening alongside a brook, the sound of the small waterfall providing backdrop for the exercise and the shore clear of interrupting plant life. He doesn't want Pamela irate with him.

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison emerges from her exploration of the trees and brush - with no wolf to show for her efforts, unfortunately. The man practicing with a sword, though - that quickly catches her attention, and she crouches in silence, watching. She doesn't have any of her practice swords with her - they were both tucked safely under her bed at home, to her disappointment, but inspiration suddenly occurred to her. Hadn't she spotted a fallen stick back there?
    She dives back into the brush, emerging with a large, mostly straight branch, and starts pulling twigs and leaves off of it as she emerges into the open.

Paris Bennet has posed:
The practicing knight delivers a stout chop with the blade when the teenager emerges, thankfully well out of the line of advance!

Twirling the blade once into a reverse grip, he smartly returns it to its scabbard and offers a cordial,"Mademoiselle. I had not expected to see another here, my apologies."

Bennet then arches a brow at the stick in her grasp, and a hrm escapes his throat as he divines her intentions.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh, that's fine!" Madison says brightly. "I was going to practice, too," she explains in a cheerful voice, as she takes up her own fighting stance - several paces away from Bennet, and with the stick grasped in a two handed grip. She starts running through one of the newest practice forms she's been learning, and while the style of fighting is very different from Bennet's, it's clear enough that she isn't just play-acting with the stick. She's been training with boken - practice katana, for the past several months, and she moves smoothly, breathing calmly and evenly as she flows through different stances.

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet hrms yet again as he watches the girl with the trained eye of an actual professional knight. It isn't a form he knows, but he understands the basic underlying principles of what she's going on about. There is one point or order he is curious about however..

Bennet inquires as he is watching,"Mademoiselle... should not a sword as short as that be wielded with one hand not two? The reach is more important than the power of the stroke on a proper battlefield."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Do you think so?" Madison asks, without pausing in her motions. There were times, after all, that her teacher would try to distract her as she practiced - the movements should be instinct, as natural as breathing, and requiring no thought. No one should be able to distract her from her practice. "I'm just doing what my teacher taught me," she adds. "Though I might be learning a two-bladed style soon, where I fight with a sword in each hand." There's a smile of satisfaction at that thought - after all, that's how Ahsoka fights, and she's excited to learn how to do just that. Besides, she's hopeful that more options will make her more capable in a fight.

Paris Bennet has posed:
The old school knight studiously observes her unfamiliar method, noting the solid posture and efficient balance underpinning every strike. A contrast to his own more free wheeling technique that emphasizes quickness of step, and therefore loose posture for swift transition. The difference between xing yi ba and Wing Chun, or western boxing and shotokan karate. There are other differences that he notes, but the rigidity is the primary point of order in his eye. Likely not how her instructor would see it.

Bennet approves in the one hand,"Very graceful. Whoever taught you has an eye for aesthetic..."

And in the other,"But it does not seem a very practical method. How long have you been taught?"

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh, only a few months," Madison replies, as she takes the final position of the set she'd been practicing, and after a deep breath in, and quiet exhale, she lets the stick she was holding lower towards the ground. "But I have to practice every day - or I //hear about it,//" she remarks with a wry smile. "Plus I have all sorts of other homework. I've been learning how to pick locks - and even reading philosophy and stuff. It's hard keeping up with all that, and all my school work, sometimes. I'm just glad mom doesn't expect me to get a part time job on top of it all!"

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet smiles at her enthusiasm, nodding his approval at this, then asking as the point about philosophy caught his ear,"This is proper. Daily application is necessary for progress, else one is merely maintaining. Pardon moi, might I inquire as to your philosopher of study?"

He himself has been making headway with his latinized Plato, but is keen to learn of others, perhaps modern!

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well. The latest thing I've been reading it 'An Inquiry into the Good' by Nishida Kitaro," Madison explains - though her expression is a little bit sheepish. "I haven't really, uh, figured it all out yet. He writes about something he calls 'pure experience,' and it's all a little confusing, but I usually get there in the end," she explains. "It just takes a lot of figuring sometimes. Ummm... why? What philosophers are YOU studying?" she asks in a curious tone.

Paris Bennet has posed:
If Bennet has a skeptical look, it is over the unfamiliarity of the sound of Japanese names to his ear. It's merely a flicker however, just one more oddity to his growing list of things to investigate.

Bennet replies after this moment of curiosity, wherein the names are committed to memory,"Plato. He seems to cover wide ground with his dialogues, at the moment I am reading his Gorgias wherein his protagonist seems to be disputing the worth of rhetoric in the face of proper virtue and wisdom. His prose is impressive."

Bennet then smirks as he admits,"I myself have but a Bible based education so cannot admit to always grasping nuance."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "A //Bible// based education?" Madison repeats in surprise. "Gosh! Are your parents like - religious nuts or something?" she asks with puzzlement. "I mean, the Bible's no sort of education! Didn't you learn about science, and evolution, and all that? I did an experiment that won the science fair, you know. I was experiment on the jaw strength of various sizes of ants," she explains with pride. "I could show you!"
    Pulling out her phone, she starts to access her photo album.

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet furrows his brow as he hears of things that he only just discovered listening to recordings of Lensherr speaking. Very compelling material, but also mystifying to his ears.

Bennet replies diplomatically,"Where I hail, tis... expected. Such things are novel to mine ears, I must confess."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Where you hail? You mean where you're from?" Madison repeats. She leans on her stick, studying the man with a curious, furrowed brow. He talks strange, and he has a Bible education... what does that mean? What weird, backwards country or place is he from?
    "Where were you born?" she asks uncertainly. "I was born in California - but I live in New York now, that's where I met Theo, you see. We go to school together. Sometimes I come up here to visit him after school - but then he got busy all of the sudden so I went exploring," she explains. Then almost defensively she adds, "I'm allowed to be here."

Paris Bennet has posed:
Deciding it serves no purpose to dance around the subject, Bennet just throws it out there,"Paris, some eight hundred years ago. My name is Bennet du Paris, I was told that I was born when only cavemen and nomads are believed to have lived in North America."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Eight. Hundred. YEARS. Ago?!" Yes, there's a full stop after each word as Madison gapes at the man. "I- whoa! Wow! That's- that's //wiiiiiiild!// You're eight hundred years old? Then you should like - know //everything//! Except maybe rocket science and brain surgery and stuff. Duuuuuuuude." She stares openly and unabashedly at the man.

Paris Bennet has posed:
Shaking his head in feigned remorse as Maddie finally shows her age, Bennet admits,"Hardly. Though I'm told my grasp of Latin is considered impressive by today's standards."

He then smirks in amusement at that, then admits,"Apparently I was asleep for the duration. Now I have a very impressive telekinesis, I am told. And can teleport, among other details that I am sorting out."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh, gosh, then you missed a loooooot," Madison remarks in an almost awed voice. "Talk about bed head!" She tries to wrap her head around everything she was just told. "Slept for eight hundred years I- whoa. So like - you slept through cars, and the internet, and 'moving pictures,' and radio, and telephones, and cellphones, and airplanes, and space travel, and like... like... //everything//," she remarks in a thoughtful tone.
    "...what it like waking up to all //that//?"

Paris Bennet has posed:
Fortunately, Bennet has had enough time to process the existence of all these things. And why he doesn't need them, and why people would probably be better off without most of them!

Bennet replies rather frankly,"Atrocious. Worse than all of that is learning of the lies that were taken for granted, but that's not a subject for here. Tell me, is there a reason a young lady such as yourself is interested in philosophy and the swordsman trade? Such weapons I am told are obsolete in this era of firearms and explosive ordinance."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh, because I'm a Jedi," Madison declares matter-of-factly. That's something she's been growing more open about, little by little - at least, amongst people who showed signs of being exceptional, like herself. Belatedly, it occurs to her that this man would have no idea what a Jedi is.
    "Jedi are from a movie," she explains. "They use the Force to affect the world around them. I can use it to run fast, and jump high, and heal people, and move stuff with my mind. Jedi use swords. Well - laser swords. But I have to learn how to use a regular sword safely first."

Paris Bennet has posed:
The big knight hmms as he listens to her explanation, noting right off that it originates from a medium he would commit to the fire. That inclined him to skepticism even though his own power lets him do all of those things as well.

Bennet inquires then,"What manner of sword is...a laser sword?"

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Umm... It's a sword made of light that can cut through aaaanything," Madison explains. "And its blade weighs nothing, because it's just made of light, so I'm sure I'll be learning a lot more one-handed fighting eventually," she remarks in a bright, cheerful voice. "Everyone's worried I'll accidentally hurt people with a sword like that, but a Jedi wouild //never//.

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet slowly nods, mentally pressing X to doubt. The big man replies with some skepticism,"I would suggest that you keep to ordinary swords, as your master evidently agrees..."

He then purses his lips and grows reflective. His thoughts consume him for a few moments, then he starts,"Curious that a girl child would take interest in a combative vocation of her own whim. These times are decadent indeed compared to my own bloodstained era. Such shame."

Bennet shakes his head wistfully at that.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "But Jedi are //supposed// to have laser swords," Madison insists firmly.
    "What I've been thinking instead - is if we could build one that doesn't cut through stuff - but still looks like a lightsaber - but like, instead, can stun people? That could be good. Real useful, and less lethal than a real sword, even. But then I'd also want a //real// lightsaber that //does// cut through things - just incase I need it. Or maybe there's a way to work both modes into the same weapon?" she proposes.
    "Anyways. Don't really know how it's all going to work out. But I'll get it sorted eventually!" She beams brightly. "We've been working on the ability to block and redirect weapons fire with a sword - that's something else Jedi can do. But it's hard! But I'm getting better."
    Her brow furrows before adding, "Oh, gosh, like - 800 years ago women were probably supposed to be all Suzie-Home-Maker, huh? Cooking the food, and taking care of the babies and stuff? You're gonna have to forget about all that nonsense pretty quick or you'll just piss people off."

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet just groans at all of the latter points. It's not likely to happen any time soon. More pressingly, he emphasizes,"I should caution you. As one who lived when everyone at least knew how to swing a sword, I never once saw a soldier successfully slap away an arrow or bolt with his sword. That is what a shield and armor are for."

Of course, he hasn't crossed paths with the descendant of his old companion..

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well. ...you don't have a sling or a bow 'n arrow, but how about that rock," Madison, remarks, pointing to a small stone, a little smaller than a golf ball lying nearby. "I'm gonna turn my back, and close my eyes, and you throw it at me as fast and as hard as you can," she suggests - before setting her words to action, lifting her 'sword' to the ready position as she simply closes her eyes... and waits, breathing slowly and evenly as she concentrates on her gift - waiting until the exact moment when something inside her will //tell// her to move.

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet, still a bit dubious, plucks the rock from her palm to take it over some distance away. Tossing it up and snatching from the air to get a feel for it, he eyes the girl with her stick for a moment...

Then slings the rock with an amused smirk, she did invite this after all!

Only to watch her whirl and whack the rock up through the air in a home run arc, pinging off of an overhead girder!

Madison Evans has posed:
    "HA! Got it!" Madison crows in triumph, grinning over at Bennet with a sassy, confident grin on her features. "The Force is my ally and a powerful ally it is!" she crows, before letting out a laugh. He won't get the reference - and she's fine with that.
    "I mean. I still need a looooot of practice. But I keep getting better and better!"

Paris Bennet has posed:
The rock is arrested in its descent, lowering gently to hover over his palm,"Impressive. I still don't suggest taking a sword against a gun unless thou art truly bullet proof."

Like himself.

Bennet then knits his brow in consideration, and offers,"I would be interested to see how skilled you actually are. Though not at this time, when you have a proper sword."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "I mean, I'm not exactly //planning// on it for //real,//" Madison replies. "Like - I wouldn't jump in front of a gunman with my stick at a bank robbery or anything. But I want to keep practicing so I'm ready for anything. We're gonna practice with rubber bullets," she explains. "'cuz I'm really, really //not// bullet proof."
    She gets a thoughtful look before adding, "I could bring my boken up... but I mean, my sensei hasn't given me real swords yet. They're wooden swords."

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet slowly nods, still amused by the whole idea. He folds his arms then, crumbling the rock to dust that falls to the ground beside him, and offers,"That would function suitably. I'm relieved to hear that you would not engage in such a manner, also. "

Bennet lowers to a seat as if on the ground, but his feet curl up in an Indian seating in mid air then, hands resting on his knees.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Dude," Madison says in an impressed tone as she watches the stone crumble to dust. "I can't do //that.// I can only lift and move small things. You know?" She gives a shrug of her shoulders.
    "Anyways. My mom insists I'm not allowed to be a super hero because I'm still a student and I have to finish school. And I'm not even sure if she means after high school, or after college, and I never thought I'd even go to college - except when I won the science fair I got a huuuuuuuge scholarship so I guess I have to now and OH! I never showed you the photo!"
    Pulling out her phone again, she hastily reopened it to the image of her riding an ant the size of a small pony. "How. Cool. Is. THIS?"

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet chuckles at how easily impressed she is, admitting,"I am still practicing, my full capacity has not yet been verified."

He then somewhat boggles at the picture, and has to ask,"What manner of beast is that?"

Speaking of easily impressed...

Madison Evans has posed:
    "It's an ant!" Madison says brightly. She flicks through more pictures of ants in increasingly small sizes. One the size of a mastiff. One the size of a house cat. One the size of a hamster. Finally, a normal sized ant. "Like I said - we were testing the jaw strength of ants of varying sizes. Dr. Pym increased their size using Pym particals." She plays a short video which shows the largest ant - the one the size of a pony - tearing down a tree. "It was a lot of fun."

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet furrows his brow as he observes the litany of photos with mild curiosity. He admits with some wonderment,"Things like some Greek epic. There is a story from old about giant scorpions, the size of a man. One wonders after seeing such as this..."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "I don't think they had Pym particles in ancient Greece!" Madison replies with a laugh - before turning her head as she hears a voice calling, 'Hey, Mads!'
    "OH! That's my friends," she says brightly. "They must be done with their work or whatever." The activities of the Brotherhood were mysterious to her - especially what they could have to do with a 17 year old boy like Theo.
    "Anyways. Nice to meet you! Oh! I'm Madison Evans, by the way," she adds hastily, over her shoulder as she runs off.

Paris Bennet has posed:
Bennet offers a wave to the girl as she almost sprints from him. She was the first who had bothered to spend any time with the temporal freak, and he appreciated it both for the novelty and what it represents in the grand scheme to him.

A future.

The knight sits there in mid air and reflects on this for a time in the quiet he finds himself in once more...