Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Baesal Zyn]

The hand was finished and was quite the masterpiece, in her humble opinion. She hoped Daz would enjoy it.

''The resonance is clear...the Force will flow well into it.'' she inspected it some more with her precision lens to see if she would notice any flaws.

She sighed ''Not like the real limb but the best replacement in the galaxy.''

[Dapper Dog]

"Ready when you are, Master," he said warmly.

[Baesal Zyn]

She turned and presented the hand to her apprentice, the light reflecting on the surface

''I did not put spikes in. Would be uncouth to rob you of that challenge.'' she said, returning the smile

''Present your arm'' she instructed, ready to insert in the socket the doctors had installed

[Dapper Dog]

Daz did as instructed. "This looks wizard, Master," he said.

[Baesal Zyn]

She smiled and inserted the hand

''Run a few tests for be Daz, I'll calibrate it to your movements''

[Dapper Dog]

Daz tested it out and said, "A little stiff. but it feels good so far."

"Manual dexterity is improving."

[Baesal Zyn]

She read her numbers and made adjustments before asking an entirely different question

''Do you remember how you got your lightsaber?''

[Dapper Dog]

"Of course, Master," he said with a nod. "You never forget your first."

[Baesal Zyn]

"Of course, Master," he said with a nod. "You never forget your first."

''I ask because, in my old age, I have became convinced of something.'' she began ''You know the lightsaber is not seen by the Jedi as a weapon but rather as a symbol of the order and their connection to the Force?...There is more to it then just that.''

She paused to make calculations on the hand

''I came to think that the moment a jedi gains his crystal and lightsaber is a mirror that the Force briefly puts of him and that can tell much about their personalities and the approach they are likely to take in their new role.''

The data on her screen indicated acceptable levels but she could tune it further

"I received my first crystal just like most people at the academy: it was handed out by the administration since we had failed to procure one on our own. I was not content with it, however, I had the part I needed to build my weapon but I needed more...I needed to understand how it was made and how it worked. Pursuing that I worked all through our first week of vacation under the tutelage of Lord Savas to master the principle of Force Alchemy so I could craft my very own, using some of my blood in the mix before crystallization. That was the silver khyber piece I embedded in my shoto, Memory.''

She raised an eyebrow

''That can resume much of how I function, yes? I am not content to be given a tool or a piece of knowledge...I always try to delve deeper to master the principles behind something and I always put a piece of myself in what I build...metaphorically''

She let the silence linger for a moment

''Do you know how Layne got hers?''

[Dapper Dog]

"She found it in the wastes of Korriban," he replied."

[Baesal Zyn]

"She found it in the wastes of Korriban," he replied."

''Yes...and no..." she wondered about how to say it ''I don't think she would never quite go into all the details with anyone. I am more aware simply because I've been around her the longest so I could gleam stuff here and there''

She frowned, trying to see back to those days

''Korriban was especially difficult for Layne. She had been pulled straight out the mines of Kessel where she had been treated as something lower then an animal into a prestigious school for the elite...to say she was misadapted was an understatement. The academy's structure was made to reinforce the social and cultural hierarchy, making sure that those outside it always got the worst punishments or took the fall for their betters...which was made worse by Layne's antisocial behavior pushing almost everyone away making her the prime target for the school's wanna be bullies."

She paused

''I cannot imagine the weight of the compounding trauma she was under during that time. Then things changed when she found her ancestor's darksaber: she was not trash to be discarded anymore, not anyone to be overlooked. She was special...the heir to a legacy.''

She frowns

''This is where the tragedy begins, I think. Instead of finding worth within herself and her own actions she found legitimacy through heritage and bestowed purpose...and that quite never left her because she never had enough time to heal and coming her reopened the wounds all at once.''

[Dapper Dog]

"It's not an excuse for what she has done, we have to own every action we knowingly take," he responded.

[Baesal Zyn]

''Explanations are not excuses. Insight brings undertanding and understanding brings greater empathy'' she said ''People like Layne is the reason why we do what we do. There are many who could do great things, be shining lights in the night's sky, that will never be because they were crushed before they could take flight. Suffering begets suffering and those who have victimized will go on victimize others in turn...unless they are helped.''

The tests were about to be completed

''Layne still has the potential to heal and be the one we know she can be.''

[Dapper Dog]

"Potential, but she should have known better," he responded. "She will have to be held accountable for whatever she has done and then we can talk.

[Baesal Zyn]

"Potential, but she should have known better," he responded. "She will have to be held accountable for whatever she has done and then we can talk.

''She will need to be held accountable, that much is true.'' she closes the test screen and looks straight at him ''What about what she as done to you?''

[Dapper Dog]

"I had not thought about it, I don't believe she meant to, but it does not mean it didn't happen either," he responded.

[Baesal Zyn]

"I had not thought about it, I don't believe she meant to, but it does not mean it didn't happen either," he responded.

"Indeed..." She gave a slow nod "...what are your feelings about this?"

[Dapper Dog]

"I just look at it like I look at my duties for the Sixth Line, endure it and move on," he said honestly. "There is no contemplation, there is only duty."

[Baesal Zyn]

"I just look at it like I look at my duties for the Sixth Line, endure it and move on," he said honestly. "There is no contemplation, there is only duty."

She closed her eyes, thinking

''I cannot help but think that this deprives you of valuable wisdom and opportunity for growth''

She opens them again

''You have grown much already...in many ways more so then myself...but you should not rob yourself of going further.''

[Dapper Dog]

"Well I have been robbed of a hand, what's one more experience," he joked.

[Baesal Zyn]

"Well I have been robbed of a hand, what's one more experience," he joked.

She pinched one of his cheeks

''Wise-ass''

She got serious again

''You know what I mean...I want to make sure you will be okay coming out of this.''

[Dapper Dog]

"I understand Master, it will take time, right now, I just want her to find the right path before she does something worse," he admitted.

[Baesal Zyn]

"I understand Master, it will take time, right now, I just want her to find the right path before she does something worse," he admitted.

She nods in understanding

''I'll keep an eye on her''