thepurpleone | Cyberformed [] Inbox

[Ohmygosh he fistbumps Donnie wants to keep him.]

Huh? Oh that sounds amazing! Now that sounds like a sport I can get behind!

[Donnie follows Cal inside, smirking.]

If that's an option...

But maybe later. Tell me more about this lightsaber!

[ BD makes a little noise that sounds like a snicker and jumps from Donnie's shell at last to land on the workbench once he's close enough to. Easier to be part of the conversation this way!

Cal picks up the saber hilt from where he'd had it out to fiddle with and gives it a little twirl. ]

Stars I can tell you literally everything about lightsabers. They're literally one of the coolest things in the galaxy-

[ He's interrupted by an accusatory beep from his droid companion which makes the Jedi scoff a little. ]

I'm not going to go on about it for hours! Anyways. [ He flicks the main ignition switch and the purple blade flares to life with that characteristic 'snap hiss' ] Here it is. The traditional weapon of my order for thousands of years, the lightsaber.

[He smirks at BD-1's input. But the lightsaber easily draws his attention once Cal activates it.

Ooh shiny. Donnie's own eyes seem to light up at the purple blade, or maybe it'sjuat the glow's reflection. ]

It's beautiful....

[So biased.]

How does it keep its shape? You said it's some type of plasma blade? Does it cut through everything??

[ He's personally of opinion that purple is the best lightsaber color as well. He He does a couple slow flicks of the blade, the plasma humming. ]

Yep, plasma blade. Cuts through almost anything. There's a rare metal called Beskar, strongest known metal, also a hundred percent lightsaber proof.

As for the shape, there's a few things that help it, first is the emitter...

[ He clicks the blade off and points out slot on the end where the plasma physically exits the hilt. ]

The internals are the most important part though. There are stabilizers and energy modulators that essentially puts the energy emitted from the kyber core under a gyroscopic pressure and gives it a very specific spin. Basically, it's not a single beam being emitted, it's a loop that shoots out and turns back in on itself, but it's so tight it ends up looking like a solid blade.

[ He is so happy he can info dump lightsaber stuff to someone who's eyes are NOT glazing over. ]

[He's totally taking mental notes.]

Gyroscopic pressure... Oh, okay, I think I get it. That is...actually fascinating.

[His fingers wiggle with a barely contained urge to hold the thing.]

That's a lot to be compacted into a hilt like that but I guess that'd explain why it's on the bulky side.

The average saber is a little slimmer then mine. I just kinda pack every single mod and upgrade I can possibly think of into it. And change things out constantly-

[ The droid on the bench, not to be ignored beeps a sassy little boop which makes Cal roll his eyes. He's not translating it but the context clues may lead one to believe BD just called his human a nerd. Or something similar. ]

But even standard sabers have a lot going on them. Guess it's easier to show then just tell though.

[ He holds the hilt in the palm of his hand and it floats an inch or two above it. There's a few clicking sounds and each part of the saber slowly turns and unscrews, pulling away from each other with a practiced ease. There's a litany of tiny parts and connectors and rings which Cal dutifully names. There are also an assortment of crystals, multiples that shaped into lenses and two pretty important looking ones that glow the same purple of the blade. There's a faint almost musical sound that come from them, it's a bit odd though, like they're being heard with something other then ears, and even then on certain people can pick up on them. ]

[Donnie grins. Oh, he is all about mods.]

I know how that is. That's why my tech-bō has just about everything I can jam into it.

[He can guess at BD's commentary. which is kind of funny coming from a droid either way.

And then Cal does magic except Donnie's never seen anything like this. His eyes widen as he watches the lightsaber dismantle itself.]

Whoa....

[Can be takes pictures? Because he is totally going to take pictures with his phone as he tries to keep parts straight while Cal names them.

He squints at the pretty purple crystals there.]

It's... There's no power running through it, right? Or does it usually hum? Maybe not hum...

Edited 2023-11-13 03:52 (UTC)

[ He can ABSOLUTELY take pictures. Nearly everything that makes up the hilt is custom made. Half because he needs very specialized parts that even standard sabers don't have and half because... well. No one else is really around to make them. ]

When it's disassembled like this there shouldn't be any power... ugh... if it's the new power field conductor...

[ Brow furrowed he examines the floating bits. Nope not the power field conductor... Nothing's making any noise right now. Well, except the kyber, but only Force sensitives would be able to hear that. And Donnie as far as he can tell isn't but... If he concentrates there's SOMETHING there, something different. It's not the way the native magic users feel either. It's something else.

With a sweep of his hand he moves all the hilt pieces to his workbench and just holds out the two small crystals. Get rid of anything else that it could possibly be here. ]

It's a song, if you're hearing what I think you're hearing. Can you still pick up on it?

[DOCUMENTATION. Donnie is doing it. All. The. Pictures.

He watches, fascinated as everything just conveniently floats itself to the bench, but now it's quite clear there's no reason there should be any sort of sounds. Donnie makes a face, looking at the crystals.]

It's... Kind of? I don't know, it's almost like that sensation you get when your ears are ringing but fainter, and...not as annoying. It's hard to describe, but...I think it's coming from those?

It's because you're not hearing it with your ears. You're hearing it with your mind. This is kyber. It's what makes a lightsaber truly a lightsaber.

[ He thinks back briefly to his second time in the caverns of Illum, begging the Force for a another chance after his Master's crystal was crushed, and how lucky has was to be called by this split crystal. He didn't think he'd get that chance. ]

Kyber is... alive you could say. It's an existence that's unfathomable to someone like me or you. But what you're hearing is proof of that life. That's it's voice, it's song. And where I'm from only a very small number of people can hear it.

[In his mind? Donnie's brow furrows as he tries to work that out, logically, of course. But nothing quite fits an explanation for how anything could be singing in your head.]

Can I..? [He points at the crystals, wanting a closer look if Cal will let him hold them.]

...you did mention something about them being alive. That's... [He frowns. Only a small number of people?] So what does that mean exactly?

[ Cal hesitates, his immediate instinct is just to say no but Donnie is very earnest and and he kind of reminds him of how he was way back when in the temple when he and his crechemates were first learning about lightsabers and kyber, and how excited he was when the teacher let them hold theirs.

And he's also pretty sure Donnie isn't gonna run off like he did with BD. ]

Be SO careful.

[ The purple crystals stop floating and drop into Cal's hand and then he places them into Donnie's. They're slightly warm to the touch and there is an odd sort of energy around them and just below their surface. A buzz or a pulse that isn't a buzz or a pulse. ]

See that's the question. My Order has used them for twenty thousand years and we still barely know anything about them. They can't be scanned by any means, radiation, electrographic, sonographic, matter composition... anything you can think of it just gives you error messages or weird inconsistent results.

[ BD beeps sadly and shakes his head. Clearly he's experienced first hand himself the weirdness of scanning kyber. ]

But people like me, people who can do the sort of things I can are called Force sensitive. We can hear them. And apparently you too.

[The turtle nods-nods his head, holding his breath as he cups his hands and the crystals are deposited. They're completely different from what he'd stolen from Draxum's lab, and he's not entirely sure that the warmth is just residual from when energy had been passing through it for Cal's earlier saber demonstration or if that's just how they are naturally. That doesn't really explain the general sense he's getting from it, almost a palpable thing.]

How about by magical means?

[Donnie lowers his goggles to have another look.]

Force? Oh, you mean like...when you lift things and push without physically doing so? I sure can't do that sort of thing. My brothers...

...well, they said we have some kind of ancient family...power? It's called ninpō, and it's somehow connected to us and the Hamato clan that our father comes from. I don't know what it does exactly. Well, Leo can open portals- I thought that was just because of his magic sword but I guess it isn't. Maybe the sword was like some kind of focus.

Don't know about magical means, all I know is that they're rocks that like to keep their secrets.

[ He laughs a little. He kind of doubts the turtle will find anything useful, but he doesn't stop him either. Probably can't help, but also can't hurt. ]

I use the Force to do those kind of things, yeah. The Force is... it's like an energy. It flows through everyone and everything, and people like me can manipulate that energy to do certain things. I even have a friend who can open portals too actually. Always teleports herself to the tops of cliffs so she can make fun of me for being a slowpoke since I have to climb.

[ He frowns, and rubs his chin. It's a little vague but he's never really been in a teaching position before. ]

So you're a tech savvy kid. Think of the Force like a giant invisible computer, the meditations, gestures, and thought I use to manipulate it are like lines of code telling the computer what I want it to do for me. It's possible that your ninpō is kind of like the equivalent of what I do in your world. Just a different different coding language that achieves the same results and kyber is a sort of universally understood bridge between them.

Whoa...

[The Kyber certainly puts on quite a light show. Nothing that seems particularly helpful by way of information, but it's...something?]

There's kind of...an extra glow? Like an aura. It seems to be resonating with you, but I guess that makes sense.

[Donnie shoves his goggles up, picking up one of the crystals to turn between his black-coated finger and thumb. The stone fused to his skin is a different sort of magic that he can't even begin to explain. What is it with magical rocks?]

An energy...

[Just putting it that way already makes it a whole lot easier to grasp than his brothers simply throwing fire and trucks or growing in size and opening portals without any sort of prerequisites.]

Hah, magic users, am I right? [He laughs dryly. Poor Cal, having to deal with sassy Nightsisters.

The Jedi gets his full attention again as he starts to try and describe the Force in a way Donnie can better grasp it, and that effort alone elicits such a strong tug of emotion. He looks like he's about ready to cry before he sucks it in. Or tries to. He's got an image to uphold, dangit!]

You have no idea how much I needed that. I don't know who I'd even ask to explain magic back home but I don't think anyone's really cared to try putting it into terms I could possibly understand and it is maddening.

[ There's something in his chest that swells a little. A bit of pride maybe. He doesn't know that he'll ever get the chance to be a proper teacher, have a proper padawan. But this feels a bit like it should. ]

When I was young my master would always tell me a teacher should fit a lesson to the student whenever possible. [ He laughs and rubs the back of his neck, looking vaguely embarrassed. ] I think that was his way of telling me I was a difficult student. He wasn't wrong though! On either counts.

[ He gives him a considering look and takes the crystals back after he's through examining them. He turns to his bench and starts fitting the pieces back together. ]

You're right too, it resonates with me because it's bonded with me. The crystal chooses the person, and you could say it becomes somewhat of another limb, or an extension of one. That's why even though there are a few other things in the galaxy that can produce a stable blade, kyber is the best. It fights with you, anticipates your movement, and can cover at least a few faults. Which is good when you're wielding a weapon that could lop of your own limb if you sneeze real good.

Your master sounds pretty wise.

[Not that Donnie will complain too much about his own master and father. When dad puts in the effort, he's a very effective teacher. Just...in very specific things.

As Cal turns to his workbench, Donnie drifts closer to watch.]

Ooh...Yeah, that's...a very good point. And kind of cool. Wow...

Master Tapal was very wise... Stern too but kind. Probably the best saberstaff wielder in the Order and I'm not just saying that because I was his student.

[ He laughs a little. He misses Master Tapal a lot. It used to hurt talking about him but in more recent times it's felt better. It's keeping his memory alive. ]

I wasn't going to but... I think it might be easier to experience a bit of what I'm talking about for yourself.

[ The hilt reassembled he twists it and it comes apart in two. He hands one half to Donnie. ]

Click the biggest button for ignition and keep it away from your face. It's in training mode so the most it'll do to you if it slips is sting you real good. But give it a coupe swipes, tell me what you feel.

[ The hilt itself weighs next to nothing, and a blade of light should weigh nothing at all... But to anyone not Cal when ignited it feels heavy, like there's something in it actively resisting. Not to the point where it can't be used, it just makes things more difficult. ]

Just uh, don't touch the intensity dial. Don't want a sneeze incident.

[The choice of tenses don't go missed, Donnie's expression sobering a touch.

However being offered a chance to actually try out Cal's lightsaber easily banishes that brief cloud.]

Really?

[Donnie gasps eagerly, taking the hilt in hand, making sure to hold it in the right direction, even as he looks the thing over. It feels a little unwieldy to him but that's mostly because he's not accustomed to a sword. Once he feels he's ready to try, the turtle thumbs the lightsaber on, excited as he sees the blade thrum to life. But he can feel the difference, it's so strange, fascinating, even!

Making sure he's nowhere near Cal, he gives it a few swings. Wow, swords are weird to wield, he remembers trying Leo's blades once, back when they were tots and curious about each other's choices. Being so used to a staff, this feels so imbalanced, but Donnie can tell there's something else.]

Weird... It's... I don't know, like... You know with magnets? When they're turned in opposite directions rather than towards each other to attract?

[ The thought of letting Donnie use it in full staff mode DID pass his mind but... well... Lasers on both sides just means double the chance of accidentally injuring yourself when you've got a weapon that is mildly uncooperative with anyone aside from it's usual wielder. ]

Magnets is a really good way of putting it. Doesn't resonate with you so it's pushing away. Now, imagine it's the opposite. That instead of feeling a resistance, it moves with you. It makes every strike feel faster, more accurate. It knows in a way what you want to do and works with you instead of against you.

[ He crosses his arms as he watches the turtle test it out. ]

I'm letting you try my saber. and telling this all to you because I think... I think you could potentially connect to kyber yourself. You can hear it, that means you could hear if one calls to you.

[Oh man but wouldn't lightsabers make for such cool rave sticks??

Donnie tries to give it a spin but quickly has to readjust his grip on the thing as the resistance proves a bit too much to do so properly.]

That's... cool. Imagine one of these on the end of a staff? Like... a light...naginata, is that a thing?

[He blinks and looks back at Cal.]

Wait, seriously? That sounds amazing!! But...this is something from your universe or whatever, right?

[ YOU CAN'T USE A LIGHTSABER AS A RAVE STICK! It is not a thought Cal has ever once thunk. ]

I think I know what you're talking about, they're called saber pikes. The Temple guards used to use them back home.

[ Cal just shrugs at the question. ]

From what I've seen different universes don't effect the elements. Iron is iron, mercury is mercury, rhodium is rhodium, silver is... you get the picture. Kyber crystals grow on the metal kyberite. It's quite obviously stands to reason that here kyberite is kyberite. It's probably just like my world where it's simply absurdly rare in quantities large enough to to be detected.

[IT'D BE PERFECT!! If not for the fact that you might just dismember a whole bunch of people okay let's not think about that]

Pikes, huh. Hm.

That...is an excellent point though. But hey! If it exists, there'd have to be some trace of information regarding it. Maybe it's just called something different but you know, can't hurt to try plugging in the name into a search or checking out the library, right?

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