jeredu:

Setting info ahoy! (Terminology is subject to change, I guess)

[ Destiny Star ] doesn’t really have fonons or true magic, per se, but explaining the various phenomena and workings of the various planetary forces and energies and such involved will be a post for another day. It will take a while.  In any case, ‘artes’ as we know them aren’t really a thing, but.  There are traits and latent abilities shared, in different forms, by the various branching evolutionary paths which humanity took over the course of eons. It is said that all the humanoid races, including Elves and possibly even the so-called Seraphim, as well as Humans, might all be connected by a common ancestor race.  It is unknown if this ancestor was related to the Precursors, and nearly impossible to prove, because nothing remains of the Precursors themselves- only the things they have built. 

In any case, some individuals have found themselves in possession of latent, unusual abilities.  Such a person, or Talent, is generally gifted in a particular way common to their heritage.  Such a gift manifests very differently in those with Elven blood than it would within a human. 

Commander Jade Curtiss is not one of these people. He is no natural born Empathic or Psionic talent, and possesses no such gift.  But Jade is hardly one to back down from a challenge to his ingenuity, and so he has found methods of bridging this genetic gap through technological means. While he normally makes use of special materials and control devices integrated into the gloves of his suit, his original prototype was never discarded, as doing so would pose more problems than not. The original prototype is an extensive set of implants, like very fine wires, grafted into his hands and arms, hidden beneath the skin. His mild healing factor (stop testing your own nanite prototypes on yourself, Jade!) ensures that there are no scars. 

When Largo encounters Jade, Luke, and a few others early on (part of a series of events that took place prior to the present arc), he managed to severely limit Jade’s offensive CQC capabilities by destroying the gloves. In a pinch, Jade will use the prototype if necessary, but doing so for extended periods tends to have unpleasant side effects.  He might spend a day or two with burn marks branded into his skin – at least, until they heal. The control matrices allow him to manipulate ambient energies with great finesse, but he can only push his body so far. The gloves, on the other hand, are self contained and create a barrier between the so called ‘mana’ and Jade’s body, where it would otherwise want to disperse, which can be quite harmful to organic life in high concentrations. 

However, despite many attempts and experiments, Jade has never been able to recreate the mark of a true Talent- the ability to heal others.