The Way of the Jedi

[Niil Spaar]

Niil waited until Collan was done talking with Ch'lana, and nodded.  "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the lightsaber.  That, or take some extra time and go over one of the training ones and that broken one to see how they tick." 

Niil sat up straighter, and closed his eyes.  "Give me a few minutes, Collan. Time to get the metabolism running at full power again," he muttered softly.

[GM Craig]

A few minutes later, Ch'lana enters the cargo bay. Without a word he moves to the circle and sits down cross-legged. He waits for you to join him.

"Be careful when you awaken. If you move or engage in psychical activity before your metabolism has recovered, you will face muscle cramps and possible injury to oxygen starved tissues. This is a survival technique; use it to play dead, withstand deprivation, or to aid in healing. It renders you helpless while you are in trance, and vulnerable during recovery, so use it only as a last resort."

He pauses. "You have questions."

[Collan]

Collan considered it for a moment.

"How do we use this to hide ourselves or smooth our impact through the Force? It took a lot of effort out of us just for the hour we hibernated."

[GM Craig]

"This is the first step along the road to obscuring yourself entirely. The ability to control your metabolism is the foundation upon which we will build. Once you have mastered this, I will teach you Emptiness, which depends on this ability.

"In hibernation trance you will, to all appearances both physical and in the Force, appear dead. Powerful forces-sensitives may still detect your life, and someone doing a detailed physical examination will find you are alive, but the trance reduces the chance you are discovered. If you face a powerful foe where defeat seems certain, you can enter hibernation trance to appear dead as a last-resort chance of escape. If you are mortally wounded, you might be able enter the trance as a way to buy time for friends or allies to bring you to medical care. As I said, it is a last-resort option, but it may well save your life when there is little or no hope.

[GM Craig]

[OOC: You may buy another Pip of Control, and add Hibernation Trance to your character sheets.]

[Niil Spaar]

Niil thought about that for a moment, then asked, "While we're in hibernation, is it possible for us to change the, umm, 'trigger' we've set to bring us out of it?  Like changing the trigger from a set amount of time to, say, a ship's alarm instead?  Or a code word?"

[GM Craig]

He shakes his head. "No, for that would require too much awareness of the world around you, and require a higher metabolism. You are, in effect, removing your spirit from your body, leaving only the most tenuous connection to bring you back. You must leave connections in advance, for once you are free of your body, you only have those connections to bring you back."

[Niil Spaar]

Niil nodded.  "So . . . think very carefully about what you want as the trigger before you go into the hibernation trance.  Got it."

[Collan]

"How long can you stay in the trance?"

[GM Craig]

"That depends on the environment. Your body will still dehydrate, though medical intervention can take care of that. And it will need food, though again medical intervention can aid there. With the proper support, you could maintain the trance for many months.