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[ Akobi starts the video seated at his desk. Not the desk in his office at Helix Station; he doesn't want to make personal requests on Aegis time. The desk in his home office. The hour is somewhat late-- after dinner but before most people would turn in for their night's sleep. From the looks of him, Akobi hasn't been doing much sleeping lately. ]

Good evening, ImPorts. I come to you today with a request. I recently ported... [ He pauses. He didn't port back home. He has nothing left to port home to. ] ...out, for a period of about a week, and upon my return, I found myself with a new ability. This isn't the first time this has happened to me, but I confess, the ability I find myself saddled with now is more than just a mere annoyance.

That is what I come to you seeking. Aid, in learning to control my new ability. Meditation has been recommended to me as one possible avenue to explore, but I have no experience with such a practice, and would not know where to begin on my own. The ability in question involves a certain amount of... extra-ordinary senses of the world around you, and the ability to manipulate one's environment through control of that sense. In the galaxy I come from, it is known as "The Force."

[ Never have two simple words been uttered with such disdain. ]

Normally, I would not trust anyone claiming to be skilled with such things, as Force users in my galaxy have a long history of being manipulative and deceitful. [ Or so the Empire has led him to believe. ] However, now that I find myself with the potential for such a skill... [ He sighs. ] I must learn to control it, lest I accidentally let it control me.

I would compensate anyone offering training fairly and promptly. Money is no object. Should you wish to discuss matters privately, I can be reached at this number.

Thank you.

[ As he concludes his broadcast, he reaches across the desk for the camera, to turn off the recording, but accidentally Force pushes his comm unit away, where it clatters to the floor. A brief, unfamiliar curse word is heard before the feed goes black. ]

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How are you finding the experience?

Frankly, it's a headache.

Yes. I imagine it is, attempting to process information from a sense you never had before. But making room for the perception of an entirely new and boundless dimension to your existence was never going to be easy.

No. I would have liked to have some say in whether I developed an entire new sense, but I suppose the Porter is not that kind.

The Force is not kind.

It has not been to me, yet.

How do you do it? How do you shape it to your will? Become the master of your senses, instead of letting them be the master of you?

You don't control your senses. Do you control your sight? Your hearing? Taste? Touch? Pain? No.
But you can learn how to discern the relevant from the irrelevant. You can decide where to direct your focus.

Or you can choose to close your eyes. If being blind is preferable.

Which is easier? Sifting the wheat from the chaff, or closing your eyes completely?

How much can you accomplish with your eyes closed?

I see your point.

Sifting it is, then.

Discerning, first.

I will teach you, if you ask me to. No philosophy, no judgement, no demands or expectations. Only the Force.

You would ask for nothing in return? No compensation?

No loyalty?

[ He knows what Jedi are like, with their apprentices and masters... ]

You're welcome to offer me something if it will make you feel better, Commander, but we both know I have no need of your money and no use for your servitude.

[ There's a brief pause in the reply because Akobi feels caught off guard, like there is such a clear imbalance between them, in more than just knowledge of the Force. ]

I appreciate your candor, if nothing else.

I would be much obliged to take you up on your offer.

[ Luke tried to school his expression before he answered, because his disbelief was something that Akobi didn't really need right now. But it was hard to do so, because something just giving control of the Force so someone was mind boggling and completely baffling. ]

[ Besides, the least he could do was offer some support, if nothing else. ]

How... how are you holding up so far?

[ It's the best question he can think to ask at the moment. ]

[ For once, Akobi is (maybe... a little bit) relieved to see Agent Skywalker. The young man clearly knows his way around this Force mumbo jumbo. ]

The extra sensory input has been... giving me quite the headache. I haven't been sleeping well. I can only hope it isn't affecting my work output.

[ Luke nodded in understanding; he had been unconsciously using the Force since he was a child, able to feel and hear things. But he also grew up on Tatooine; not exactly the most inhabited planet in the galaxy. ]

Some planets can feel... loud. Maybe you could try going some place where there isn't a lot of people -- maybe on the outskirts of a city, or somewhere in the country. If you can sense the feeling of calm found in nature, it will help you differentiate it from the 'noise' that people make.

Knowing the difference could help you push away the noise from your senses.

[ He doesn't want to admit that Skywalker has good advice. But who would know better than a Jedi how to deal with the Force? He must begrudgingly accept the help. ]

That... sounds logical. I will try that, thank you.

[ Luke nodded, offering him a faint smile, but... it didn't feel like enough. He should have been offering more help than that, offering to teach him or something more than just what boiled down to meditation advice. But even as he thought that, there was a terrible little voice in the back of his mind, whispering faintly. ]

[ Look what will happen when you do teach someone... ]

[ He let out a faint breath, focusing back on the screen. ]

If you want to learn more, maybe you could ask my father for advice?

[ Yes, send an Imperial to his future lord and commander. Nothing wrong with that. Nope. ]

Yo-your father?

[ He's gone this long without having to interact with the not-quite Lord Vader. Has his streak come to an end? ]

I would not want to burden him with something such as this...

[ Smiling was probably the wrong response to Akobi's reaction, but Luke couldn't help himself. At least he made the effort to hide it. ]

I assure you, he isn't going to strangle you for asking.

[ Luke's smile only engenders a deeper frown from Akobi. ]

Thank you, I appreciate the reassurance. [ Said with as much dry sarcasm as he can muster. ]

I will consider him as an option, but I don't think I'll be reaching out to Lord Vader as my first effort.

[ Well, he tried, but despite Akobi's answer, Luke's smile still lingers. ]

I wish you the best of luck, Commander.

Thank you, Agent Skywalker.

[ Nope. Not gonna call him "Master Skywalker" or any Jedi mumbo jumbo like that. ]

Just because you don't trust the people teaching you doesn't mean you can't learn from them.

[ He ruins the serious sentiment by snickering at the curse word. Sure, it's not a curse he knows, but he recognizes a curse word when he hears one. ]

[ Oh. It's this kid. While Akobi doesn't appreciate the snickering laugh, he supposes he does somewhat deserve it for losing his decorum at the tail end of his broadcast. ]

I am aware. That is why I issued this request. To seek to learn from those who understand the Force better than I do.

[ Yup, it's that kid. ]

I take it you're not thrilled about being able to control the Force. Why?

When I've spent the last several decades being inundated with the mentality that Force users are duplicitous, reckless, and not to be trusted, it is jarring, to say the least, to find myself with that ability myself.

Well, you could look at it as a great intel opportunity? The better you get with understanding the Force, the more you can understand the capabilities of your enemies?

[ Marco knows that's not true about the Force users, but he's also learned to be a bit more tactful in his discussions of other people's timelines. ]

[ Akobi sighs, resigned. ]

You may not have heard, but the wars which we were fighting back in our galaxy have been put on pause in this world. A truce has been established between Empire and Rebellion, between First Order and Resistance. The Force users present on this planet are not technically my enemies any longer.

[ Stars, he even works with one of them. ]

Even if that weren't the case, it's not like I can return to my galaxy armed with the knowledge to take up the fight again. This world is all I have left.

[ Yeah, it's a fair point, so Marco nods. ]

That is the weird part about all of this. On behalf of those of us not involved, the truce is appreciated. That said, it can be strange to figure out what to do with the time here.

At least you got a power you're familiar with.

Yes, there is that. I could have ported back in with Pokemon, of all things.

[ He would NOT know what to do with those, even less than he knows what to do with the Force. ]

[ Marco thinks that would have been amazing. ]

I do have to admit I'm curious if I could morph into them. But yeah, not a good match for you.

Have you asked Archie? He is fairly forthcoming about his creatures.

No, I haven't.

Thank you for the advice.

Just-- Don't tell him I sent you.

You got it.

So I take it you didn't ask for this new ability.

I'm sorry, but I'm fairly new here and I didn't know that could happen.

As for The Force, I'm only aware of it in theory, so I can't help you with that.

Do any of us ask for our Porter-given abilities? I certainly would rather not have any of mine.

[ Some are worse than others, but all three he's currently saddled with are no good, in Akobi's opinion. ]

I'll take even theoretical advice, if you have any.

Well, some of us already have abilities. I hadn't considered random ones.

The Force is... something your mind can use, right? So I expect that training would involve things like concentrating your actions and things like that. Mind over matter, so to speak.

Some do. I am not one of them.

[ He was perfectly content being an unpowered, baseline, normal human. The Porter has tampered with his very being and he hates it. ]

Mind over matter. Yes, that does sound like practical advice.

I believe it would be a convenient power to make use of, once you master it.

If there's anything I can do to help, sir, I'll be there. [He has to be supportive. This is the Porter's doing, and they can work past it. He probably can't help with teaching--there's not much he knows about the mental side of warfare that Akobi doesn't know better than him already. But he's there to stand by his commander.]

I know you will, 622. Your unwavering support has been a boon to me for many years now.

Thank you, my friend.

[ She's actually in the middle of enjoying a cup of morning tea when this pops up. So here she is, slowly sipping her tea while saying nothing, only a brow quirked.

Well well well well well. ]

[ He should have known this was coming. ]

Well? You might as well say what you're thinking. I'm not skilled enough to read your mind just yet.

I'd actually prefer it if you stayed out of my head, thank you.

Believe me, as would I. I did not ask for these powers. I would rather not have them at all.

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i swear i typed a reply to this like three days ago but i guess it didn't send....

np!

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these two are going to be such good friends >]

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