Teaching the Unteachable [Ishmel's Training 2]

She was sitting in a chair in the Iziz City library, waiting for her apprentice to arrive. They'd straightened out a bit of confusion the day before, and she felt certain he'd come willing to learn. Or...perhaps he'd surprise her once more.

Iziz didn't have a large library, the books it's citizens had written were held in two special bookshelves near the front of the large spacious room. Most were available in a bound form, as well as in datapad form. There were computers to access the intranet, and a recent addition that the king's new advisor had insisted upon, an uplink to the holonet. This connected Onderon to the outside world for the first time in hundreds of years, although not many people would notice.

In a search engine the holonet would be able to provide a little more up-to-date information about the ferocious planet, but that was about it when it came to Onderon's impact on the universe. However, brining the information from the universe to Onderon's fingertips...that was something worth accomplishing. And De'Ville had gone crazy having to go to her ship every time she needed to know something about the outside worlds.

Beyond the 'net terminals were rows of shelved datapads, most written at least a hundred years ago if not more. No one had thought to keep this planet up to date when it came to literature.

Right now she was researching a name on the holonet. A name with an interesting past, and a nearly untraceable present. Apparently the woman had been taken by one of her own bounties in an awkward accident, but then dropped off...where...it was hard to say.

The doors opened, and both Lilaena and the elderly librariab looked up. The newcomer was being quiet, so the grey haired woman returned to indexing her stack of datapads, but Lilaena made sure to catch Ishmel's eye as he stood looking for her.

He ran a hand through his greasy, long, grey hair and started toward where De'Ville was waiting for him. He was still sore from yesterday but when hadn't he back at Coruscant? It was no different except one person who might be beating him up for a while instead of a bunch of nameless ones.

But the library? Hardly a place to fight. Ishmel hopefully concluded this would get him somewhere as to what he wanted. He approached his "Master," as she requested to be called, and gave a sarcastic bow.

"I'm here. What now?"

"Have a seat." The chair at the terminal next to her pushed out for him to sit on, to his surprise. "Teras Kasi. You wanted to learn it, I imagine you still do, right? Of course. I promised you teaching, but I have no knowledge of the thing myself.

"However, I have a lead on someone who does. Zu Pike, a female bounty hunter who disappeared off the radar over fifty years ago." She watched her apprentice, to see what he made of the information. "We are going to locate her, and bring her here."

Ishmel scolded the chair for a moment before taking a seat. His arms crossed over his chest, the scold never leaving his face.

"Pike should be dead shouldn' she? I've done mine own research and she'd be pretty frelling old by now."

Rykov shrugged, thinking for a few seconds.

"But hey, if we can just show up, stuff her in a bag and bring her back so she can teach me, no problem. Well... not exactly like that, but easy enough right?"

He begged to whatever thing might be out there that it would be just that easy. His skin crawled at the fact that a master of Teras Kasi might still be alive... He clenched his fists, his drive to go find her already building.

"Well, if she were human, then yes, she'd be in her nineties at least and much too old to help. But she's not, Zu Pike is an Epicanthrix, very human-like in appearance, but alien nonetheless." Lilaena tapped the screen in front of her, selecting a choice to take her to another page. "And much longer lived. She'll appear older, but not as old as she really is."

"Ah..." She fell silent, reading for a moment.

"What?"

Ishmel was possibly too eager, oblivious to his impatience. Teras Kasi was his drive for existing, the ability to destroy something with his bare hands. He craved for it.

"If that is so? Any clues to where she is? I mean, she can only be so many places righ'?"

Ishmel was nigh oblivious to the magnitude of the galaxy but hope was blinding factor.

She chuckled as she read the screen in front of her. "Only so many places? Out of a billion? Yes, of course, she isn't here, so that only leaves ninety-nine million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine places Zu might be."

Ishmel's face darkened in either embarrasment or anger, or perhaps both. Lilaena jabbed her finger at the screen. "However, I think we should start at Kessel."

Ishmel severely wanted to spit, namely in her face but he held back his humiliation to retort with a biting question,

"Why Kessel out of the ninety-nine million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninetu nine places this ol' hag might be?"

"Last job recorded for the Pike sisters is the one where her sister was killed. Zu wasn't killed, but she didn't take any more jobs solo, either. There are a few possibilities there - her sister's death straightened her out and Zu walked the straight and narrow from then on is one of them." De'Ville sat back and studied Rykov.

"Kessel's mines are full of political prisioners who people have forgotten about, criminals, social misfits, and slaves. I have a hunch that Zu was captured on that same job, and if so, she could very well be on Kessel, serving a life sentance. If she was, it wasn't through any official channels, most likely if this happened she was just dropped off, or maybe traded for spice." She raised an eyebrow. "Try to think intuitively. The Force can tell us things through hunches, and intuition. Do you think Kessel is as good a place to start as any, or does my hunch suck?"

The last phrase caught Ishmel off guard a bit. He'd thought De'Ville as the perpetual woman of steel but the slip of language almost made it sound like she was talking to him like a person. Not that he cared but at least he took notice of the small things amidst the big picture.

More out of desperation than intuition, Rykov thought of the odds and possibilities. How bad would it be anyways to get off the planet and go somewhere else for a bit? Almost like a vacation except he'd be going to a darker place than the Coruscant slums.

"I'm not about to make assumptions as to why the lady's there but, I mean, it sounds like something. That being much more than nothin' righ'? I'd take my chances there and from there we'll check our reach of goals I guess."

Being willing to take his chances was one thing, but he hadn't appeared to try to feel for a subconscious nudge in any direction. Lilaena frowned slightly, Perhaps he has no precognition ability, or danger sense... These all worked through the Force working subconsciously through you - although when it was put like that it made her skin crawl. To think that the Force could do things when it was not asked to was akin to not being in control of your own destiny.

"Very well. We leave in a week." De'Ville shook her head, and added, "Have you ever tried feeling information through the Force before?"

The question made him feel dumb. At the same time though, he grimaced and clenched his teeth. Had she ever considered a face lift before? Did he know a thing about the Force other than what she had told him? No.

"Maybe you misread me and this force thing. So far I know it's like teleki-whatever and I can focus my anger through it. I'll ask you, you think I ever tried feelin' fo' information with it before?"

The question was bit off in an angry retort. He clenched his fists and slowly bit down on his tongue to keep himself from saying anything else as he slowly reminded himself of the Apprentice to Master relationship he'd agreed to earlier. But out of curiousity, he asked the next question, trying to sound a bit more pleasant.

"How the frell am I to do that?"

She held onto the last strand of her patience with a bit of work. "I just asked you to try, and you did not attempt. Apparenly you only listen to me when you think I have insulted your intelligence. But how could I do that, when so obviously you have none?"

De'Ville got to her feet, turning off the terminal she'd been sitting at. "To feel for information in the Force is to try to listen to your intuition, as I already stated once. The Force will not blaze it for you across the skies in neon lights. It is much more subtle, and for a beginner it often seems as just a hunch, or an intuitive nudge in one direction or another."

She growled, "I do not know why I bother with you. If your potential was not so high..."

His face went dark grey with a tinge of pink as he was infuriated by her words. He was about to stand and argue with her but as he got to his feet, it felt as if his head exploded. The pain sent black and white splotches across his vision and when his eyes closed they wouldn't go away. His hands instantly went to his temples as his body spasmed in pain and barely rolled from side to side. It took a moment longer before it subsided.
Ishmel slowly sat up, glaring at De'Ville. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands were shaking as he supported himself on his elbows.

"What'd you frelling do that for! Putting the bloody images of some hag in my head! I could get your point withou' you tryin' to stick an invisible hutt in m' ear that split my head wide open! And that'n wasn' no pretty gal either."

He hit the floor with his fist before he stood up. She'd told him what he'd had to do to listen to the Force and he had tried but not before she had done whatever he thought she had done to put the image of an older woman surrounded in darkness inside his mind. And it wouldn't go away.

She stared at him, curiousity and anger mixed inside her. "I cannot put images in your head, even had I tried. My talents do not lie in that direction. What exactly did you see?"

Ishmel ignored her lies. If this was some kind of lesson, he'd stay on his toes. What did he see? She knew of course. She had put them there. Was it a test to see how well he could remember it after the splitting head ache? He'd show her, the image was still vivid, like'd he almost been there to actually see it.

"Some hag wearin' goggles surrounded in comeplete darkness. There ain't a single speck of light around her but I seem to be able to see her all stooped over and what not. She's old but you can see her eyes through them goggles and you know she'd whoop a rancor still."

He paused for a bit, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, trying to ease the stagnant pain.

"Is this the witch we're looking for? You coulda shown me a picture or something. I don't need it crammed into my frellin' skull through m' ears."

She shook her head at his coarse accent, and silently held out a datapad with the only holo of Zu Pike that she'd been able to find. It had been taken when she and her sister were taking bounties together, many years ago.

The woman in the holo was young, with long black hair and green eyes. "This is the only holo I have, I have no idea what it is you have seen. I have never heard of a Force vision coming accompanied by a headache, but I suppose it could happen..." De'Ville sat back down. "An old woman surrounded by darkness? Perhaps Kessel isn't too far off then."

Ishmel eyed her through his fingers as he held his face in his hands. Whatever game she was playing, he wouldn't lose. But moving on would make him more comfortable all around. He wanted to get on with it and lose the headache as well.

"Sure then. Guess it ain't since it was your idea in the first place."

Ishmel stood and straightened his jacket, preparing to leave.

"What time are we headin' out then and what do I be needin'?"

She frowned, "We will leave in a week. Bring whatever you need, we will probably be gone at least a month. I know you will miss your run-ins with Salvestro, but that cannot be helped." De'Ville chuckled a bit as Ishmel's face darkened even more.

She pushed the chair into the desk, and started walking towards the door, nodding at the small librarian as she passed. "One week from now, at dawn, at the spaceport. I will not be holding a training session between now and then, so enjoy the break."

Ishmel sat there for a few moments as he watched De'Ville leave. Blast that woman... All this had best be worth it in the end. He'd be at the bloody spaceport in one bloody week from now at bloody dawn.

And she wouldn't even bother with training him? Fine. He'd go find some wretches to stomp or something. He felt like it was about time to go mutilate something again. Wonder if he would get a chance to run into Salvestro now that she mentioned it... Blasting that little smart aleck in the face would be very stress relieving right now...

Ishmel was up at his feet in a moment, newly inspired to continue on now with a new goal for the remaining week. He smiled and then spit, leaving in a hurry without a word to the librarian.