Location: New York City
Date: December 23rd, 1988
---
Mark P.O.V.
By the end of the wait for his new template to be equipped, Mark was surprisingly composed.
He had not been able to sleep at first, but after an hour of laying awake he'd had enough.
Only knowing one actual workout routine, he had started working on a set of 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats. When that was not enough he did three more sets before he was tired enough to be able to fall asleep late into the night.
Even so, Mark had awoken early and now he was sitting on his couch, waiting for another countdown to end.
'The Force... maybe I will not need to keep as low a profile anymore. After I train it up from zero anyway.' he thought.
It was clear to him that he would need to train from 0% for every skill and power he got. That was not too bad for all the abilities that came from a template. But separately purchased powers and disciplines would probably be a different story. It would only be a matter of time before a good one he wanted came into the store.
'Well, that was a future problem for another time.' dismissing the thought for now, he turned his attention back to the time as it reached zero.
With 24 hours finally done, Mark spent a moment to take stock of himself. Just like when his Aragorn template was finished equipping, he did not feel any different.
With a thought his status screen appeared.
Name: Mark Smith
Race: Human(Numenorean)
Age: 17
Equipped Template:
-Jedi Padawan
Traits:
-Keen Mind
-Fair of Face
-Force Sensitive
Powers:
-Grace of the Valar: 18%
-Aura of Majesty: 0%
Disciplines:
-Force Fundamentals: 0%
Skills:
-Weapon Mastery: 10%
-Wilderness Survival: 1%
-Elvish Language: 17%
Items:
-None
'Oh? Force fundamentals huh? Well, I guess describing a Padawan's level of Force ability in that way makes sense.'
'!!!' Mark jerked his full attention onto his status. 'What happened to Weapon Mastery? It was at 15% before, I was sure of it.'
At a bit of a loss he decided to test something. Grabbing the piece of broom handle he had been using for sword training, he tried his usual practice method. But the new template guided him with lightsaber techniques that were contradictory in some ways to Aragorn's swordsmanship.
'Has my mastery actually dropped? Is it interference? Maybe... It could also just be more weapon skills to master leading to the corresponding percentage drop.'
He continued practicing for a few minutes, but soon stopped.
As far as swordsmanship went, and from what Mark could tell, Aragorn's skills were way beyond the Jedi's lightsaber forms. That said, they were all designed around the Force, so for now he would need to forget about Weapon Mastery.
'I have something more interesting to do anyway.' he thought with a grin.
Mark sat back down to consider how to start using the Force. With the Elvish language he focused on what he had wanted to say and the template assisted with the rest.
'So if I focus on connecting with the Force then...' Mark closed his eyes and cleared his mind. Thinking only of the omnipresent energy field, nothing happened. With a frown he changed tactics and tried focusing inward, but still nothing.
'Damn. I was not expecting this.' Mark thought, crossing his arms and trying to remember everything he could from the Star Wars movies. 'Obi-Wan taught Luke in A New Hope, but what did he say... Hmm, something about reaching out with his feelings I think. How do I translate that into something I can clearly envision?'
After a moment an idea came and he focused on expanding his inner self, as if the room was being filled with his presence.
In response the template guided him with a small correction to help relax his mental boundaries.
Mark sucked in a breath as he went rigid, his mind flooded with an overwhelming clarity. His perception of the world felt like it went from black and white to exploding with color.
A barrier in his mind that was keeping him separated from the world had fallen away. Now he could see for the first time, though not with his eyes, more like feeling the world directly with his emotions and instincts. It was as if he had become aware that he was within, and a part of a vast ocean of energy.
It was beautiful.
He could feel what would best be described as currents or flows within the oceanic energy field, but the details were hard to distinguish. The whole was clear however. Everything was connected to and influenced by everything else. All living things were linked, and they all somehow resonated together. The result was an energy field known as the Force.
Mark pulled his attention back to himself and let the Force awareness fade into the background.
After a few deep, calming breaths he examined his experience.
He had not been sure what to expect when connecting to the Force. But it was more like connecting to the unseen, unheard music of life that was underlying reality, rather than gaining access or control of some kind of power.
"Wow."
His template clearly expedited his connection, rather than him needing to struggle with it like natural Force users.
'The next step will be training powers like telekinesis, but now I need to get to school. It is the last day before the start of winter break.' he thought. 'School should be a good place to test the empathic abilities of the Force with people I am at least somewhat familiar with before break.'
He could remember in the Jedi council's testing of Anakin from episode 1, that they knew what he was feeling and even that he was thinking of his mother. Though they were masters, so he might not be very insightful in comparison.
---
The walk to school was uneventful.
It had snowed last night and the day was cold. On the way he saw that most houses had Christmas lights and other decorations hung.
Things got much more interesting after reaching the school though.
He really could feel the emotions of the people around him. It was a little strange.
It was also not very clear at first, only vaguely feeling if others were in a good or bad mood. But after an hour or so of practice, if he focused on just one person, a clearer picture of their inner feelings would start to form.
After another hour he started to realize that the Jedi Padawan template was barely needed to guide him. His learning and usage of the Force was surprisingly smooth.
By lunch he figured out why after rapidly building up the ability to feel the presence of others around him, though still imprecise. He could not walk through a crowded hallway with his eyes closed, but he had gotten used to feeling the presence of living things around him.
Mark had come to understand that using the force requires focus, willpower, and a clear mind, at least for a Jedi. It was easier for him than it would be for a normal person because his Numenorean blessing enhanced his mind and will.
Needless to say, Mark was in a very good mood after realizing that.
It was when he sat down in the cafeteria to eat that he started noticing something new. He was getting occasional looks from people, who were mostly trying to be subtle, and looking around, it was not just one or two.
'Do I have something on my face?' he thought.
Focusing with the Force on the people around him, the emotional landscape was very noisy. He could not get much from more than one person at a time yet.
All he got from the first person was a bit of curiosity. However, when he started looking into the emotions of a few teenage girls that kept looking his way, it should not have been a surprise what he found. Honestly anyone with eyes could have seen they were horny and apparently he was the current object of their desire.
Then Mark remembered the people of interest here at Midtown High.
Looking around he saw Peter Parker first, across the room. But other than a stronger life presence Mark could not feel anything else.
'I have a good idea of what is possible with the Force and if this is my current limit I still have a long way to go.'
Another quick look around and he spotted MJ leaving the cafeteria.
'Well, maybe that is for the best. She is a 17 year old party girl right now anyway. Sure she is hot, really hot actually, but I do not really want to get involved with her.' and he turned his attention back to playing with his new power.
The rest of his day went much the same as he continued to refine his perception.
But when he got home there was only one thing on his mind to try.
Going to his couch-bed, he moved his broom handle out of reach and then sat down.
'Alright, lets do this.' and with that he reach out his hand toward the handle.
He knew it was not going to move by magic, and also focused his perception on the piece of wood. But for the first time his Padawan template's guidance was not so easy.
Everything is connected through the force. First he had to feel that connection to the object. Then move it with the currents in the Force using his focus and intent. Turns out, that is not so easy.
After an hour he barely got the handle to wiggle, just a little bit.
Sitting back, Mark considers everything he had learned and felt about the Force. But it was to soon for him to reach any real conclusions. It certainly was not just some power, and he could see why the Force users turned into a religious order in the Star Wars universe.
'As for telekinesis, even a Padawan should be able to do much more than this. Maybe I am getting ahead of myself.'
Mark thought back to A New Hope again. From what he could remember, Luke never used any other abilities besides Force perception in that film. And Mark was not going to delude himself thinking that a Padawan template made him the equal of Luke. 'Yeah right.'
'So, I am probably trying to do something beyond my current abilities. The question then becomes, how do I increase my connection to the Force?'
He had been able to refine his perception with the Force through practice. But instead of continuing with that, he had the idea to focus his new perception inward.
Mark was almost taken aback at how much clearer he could perceive himself compared to everyone else. As he started looking at himself, his template revealed several training practices to build shields from mental attack or control, calm his inner noise to enhance his perception, and most of all, how to deepen his connection.
'Perfect. Training montage start...and for me, back to the grind.'
---
2 days later.
Mark stepped out of his house into the cold, early evening on Christmas Day.
It was the first time he had stepped out since getting back from school, and he felt like a different person.
After spending over 24 hours focused inward without even realizing it, he had worked through several emotional knots from his past. Apparently he had not 'just' gotten over dying 3 months ago and it was effecting his Force connection.
Then he had been guided by his template into a deep meditation. After waking, Mark could tell the difference in himself immediately. When his initial mental barriers fell, it had only been the door unlocking. Now he had entered the door and truly connected to the Force.
Now walking down the street, he let himself be guided by the currents in the force, leading him toward the Manhattan area.
But as he walked, Mark was not only keeping his supernatural perception open to guide him, wherever it my lead. He was also looking for a place to eat. His last meal had been a school lunch over 2 days ago.
---
As the sun was setting on his seemingly random walk through the big city, Mark had gone in a strange zigzag through multiple alleys, around the same block 3 times, and was even guided to walk back and forth on one street several times.
And somehow he never passed even one place to eat. 'How is that even possible?'
He was starting to wonder what he was even doing out here. But Mark had felt something that pulled him from his meditation, and with no experience in what different feelings meant, he had decided to follow.
Before he started doubting enough to give up the search and head for the nearest place to eat, he felt something different ahead.
It was the presence of someone moving toward him on the sidewalk, but looking ahead Mark stopped. The entire street was deserted.
Focusing with the Force he was sure someone was there, a woman, and she was upset. A woman, an invisible woman...
'That certainly narrows down the possibilities. But I can only think of one, Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four. So why is she upset out here on Christmas Day?'
As she approached Mark's position he called out to her, "Are you ok?"
---
A.N. - Someone brought up some good questions about the templates and how they work.
This detail may not come up in story, so to clarify: A template provides Mark access to the powers and skills of the templated person, but does not provide anything more. A template does not add to abilities that Mark already has naturally.
For example, if Mark got the templates of 100 regular humans, he would only gain access to their significant skills, but he would not gain the strength of 100 men or anything. Templates do not stack in that way.
However, he would increase in physical strength if one of them was enhanced or nonhuman like Captain America or Aquaman. Mark would be altered from a normal human and gain Super Soldier Physique or Atlantean Biology(in addition to being a Numenorean). But a second Atlantean's template would not increase his physical strength again.
Only separate sources of power can stack: Numenorean + Atlantean, etc.
Lastly, if a new template gives a stronger version of the same power he already has, then he will gain the new, stronger version.
Those are the rules, at least for now. ( I reserve the right to change anything I want if I feel it is needed. )
Hopefully that all makes sense.
Thank you for reading.