Shade: Training Coron

[Archeleone]

Coron had never been to Thyferra before.

He decided he didn't like it very much. It was hot and humid, and Coron was more of an air conditioning, artificial weather kind of guy. Living on a starship got you used to stuff like that. Thyferra was very outside his comfort zone.

Still, Coron figured he would have to start getting used to stuff like that. He wasn't a pirate anymore - at least, he wouldn't be a pirate for a while. He was a Jedi now...or not quite a Jedi. A member of the Shade Order, but these guys used lightsabers and moved things with their minds just like Jedi so there really wasn't that big a distinction in Coron's mind. It was almost like the difference between smugglers and pirates. Sure, the differences were there, but they were negligible.

Really, all he wanted to do was learn how to use a lightsaber. The force stuff was nice, but no weapon beat the shock-and-awe reaction inspired by the lightsaber. It was swinging around a frozen laser beam! How cool was that?

He had been told to report here to receive training, and his palms were itching - he was excited. Why wouldn't he be? He was going to be a Jedi.

Or Shade Order guy. Whatever.

 

[Wit]

As he stepped out into the Shade Order enclave's courtyard, Kalen Navarr thought back on his time here. This would be the first padawan he would take up after Master Xall's death and his rise as the fallen master's replacement. He had been bogged down by the more mundane aspects of being a leader since then, leading the Order had taken first priority. But he was now in a position where he could resume his other duties, of which the most important was training others. Teaching and passing on knowledge was an important part of being a Shade and Kalen was eager to begin training once more. He could sense a darkness approaching, the galaxy was poised on the edge of a sword, the peace that had been established four years ago looking more and more fragile by the day. If war did indeed break out once more then the Shades needed to be ready to face the agents of chaos. That made the training of new recruits even more important, they needed to be prepared to face the dangers that lay ahead.

It was with these heavy thoughts that Kalen stepped out into the courtyard, but the sun shining brightly in the sky and the sight of Shades training brightened his mood significantly and brought a smile to his face. Spotting Coron, Kalen made his way towards the young man. "Hello Coron, I am Kalen Navarr. I was told you have settled in and are ready to begin your training. So we shall begin immediately, is that acceptable to you?"

 

[Archeleone]

Coron looked at his master. Temporary master. Maybe. He was still fuzzy on the details. The man, who identified himself as Kalen, was taller than Coron by a few inches. Brown hair, mid to late thirties maybe. Had the look of a warrior about him.

Coron liked that. He wasn't here to study philosophy, or the greater message of the universe. If that was some required class or something he'd put up with it, but if it could at all ignored he would do it. He was here to learn how to fight, and Kalen looked like he could teach him.

That, and Kalen was the Grandmaster of this little not-quite-jedi club. Coron certainly wasn't learning from second best.

Coron nodded, and then bowed hesitantly, unsure of the Shade Order's customs. "Of course sir. Uh, Master."

 

[Wit]

Kalen smiled and nodded upon hearing Coron's reply, "Good, then we shall begin at once. Come, walk with me." Leading the way, Kalen began to guide them towards the edge of the courtyard, towards a spot in the far corner which was more or less empty. "Before we begin, I would like to know a little more about you. Who you are, where you're from, the kind of life you have had?" Kalen already knew much, he had been provided some information about Coron when he had decided to take him up as his padawan. But he wanted to hear Coron's own description of his life till now, what he thought of himself was much more important than a third person's opinion of him.

 

[Archeleone]

"My life?" Coron asked. He shrugged, following Kalen as they walked through the courtyard. "Uh, I was born on Couruscant, or at least that's where my mom found me." He paused for a moment, chewing on his lip. "My mom...she's not really my mom. She's a Zeltron named Kaya. But when I was three she found me on Coruscant and she kinda adopted me. Anyway, after that the crew kinda all raised me together. I never got to do any real pirating, but every once and a while my mom would send me out on little missions. You know, take this parcel here, go buy this, stuff like that." He looked up at the sky and frowned. "I learned how to do a lot of different stuff, like repair an engine or patch up a blaster wound, thought I'm not particularly good at any of it. I guess what I'm best at is using a vibroblade - I've had one since I was seven." He nodded, getting more comfortable telling this stranger his entire life. His instinct was screaming at him not to tell everything, but logic told him not to leave important stuff out. The Jedi could probably sense if he was lying, so it would be better just to tell the truth. "Uh, so we landed on this random moon...I can't remember which one...for supplies. But a fight broke out, and I got separated from the crew. It wasn't all bad though, cause this guy found me and told me I could be a Shade Order padawan." He shrugged. "And now, here I am."

 

[Wit]

As Coron talked they had managed to reach the edge of the courtyard. The boy had obviously been through a lot, much more than most people went through in their whole life. Normally any teacher would have started off by asking him about how all this made him feel about his life, what he had learned from it all or discuss the moral implications of his path in life till now. But Kalen knew that the time was not right for such discussions, the boy hardly knew him and he thought it would be better to discuss such things once Coron got to know him a little better and began trusting him a little.

"Interesting, you sure have been through quite a lot. So you have some level of proficiency with blades, right? How about we begin our training with something you are comfortable with?" He put his hand into his robes and drew out two training sabers that he had brought long with him. He passed one to Coron and ignited the one in his hand. "This is a training saber, it's similar to a lightsaber but won't cut through you like an actual lightsaber would. But it does sting on contact, a lot. It will be a little different from the vibroblades you have used till now, the blade here has no mass, so it takes some getting used to. Take your time and once you think you are comfortable enough with it come at me and show me some of your moves." He took a few steps back and waited for Coron to attack.

 

[Archeleone]

Coron caught the hilt with his right hand, tossing it back forth between his palms. A lightsaber. A training lightsaber, but still, this was the stuff of legends.

And not only was he holding one, he was getting taught how to use one. Coron felt slightly light headed as he flicked the ignition switch with his thumb. The blade hummed to life, a light blue blade that flickered in the light, and Coron swung it once to test the balance. It felt weird. The blade had almost no weight, if any at all, and after years of training with a vibroblade Coron felt like he was swinging around a kitchen knife. Hard to believe this thing was one of the deadliest weapons in the galaxy.

He stepped forward, adjusting his grip on the training saber, and thrust out towards Kalen. It was a simple maneuver, but Coron was betting that he'd never be able to touch Kalen with anything too fancy, so he might as well go with the the simplest stuff he knew. Not that it would make much difference, but hey. He might have a shot of getting close to the guy.

 

[Wit]

Kalen waited patiently as Coron got use to the blade. As he finally came in with a thrust Kalen activated his own saber and made a small swipe to the left to parry the blade away from his body. But he did not push forward, instead waited for Coron to attack once more, letting his left hand swing to his side, leaving himself completely open from the right as his blade lay in his left hand at is side. He wanted to see how Coron would take advantage of this opening and get a better understanding of his skills.

 

[Archeleone]

Kalen's blade knocked Coron's away with ease, and yet the master did not seek to press his advantage. Obviously this was simply a test of his offensive abilities instead of a real fencing match.

It made a certain sort of sense. Jedi were unstoppable at close range, their special blades carving through all but a select few metals, and therefore only the very skilled or very stupid would try a toe to toe melee fight. Jedi probably wound up fighting opponents armed with blaster much more often than someone wielding a cortosis laced vibroblade, and therefore a highly offensive style would suit him much better than a more traditional fencing style would.

So Coron charged forward, spinning to build up momentum for a second strike. He brought the saber towards Kalen's right side, dipping his blade slightly in an attempt to sneak past the master's defenses.

 

[Wit]

Kalen sensed Coron's confidence rise as he came in spinning to attack from his right. As his move came in Kalen moved his own blade form his left hand to his right and brought it up to intercept Coron's blade at just the last instance and then pushed outwards to send him backwards a few steps. The boy had talent, Kalen had to agree with that, he was already decent on the offensive, but a good defense was just as vital. So Kalen switched from Soresu to Makashi and turning towards Coron moved in with a jab each to his right shoulder and left hip, attempting to stretch him, before making a slash at his feet.

 

[Archeleone]

Just moments after Coron had gotten comfortable with the test he was taking, Kalen threw him another curveball.

The jab towards his shoulder came hard and fast, but a combination of stumbling back and batting his opponent's glowing blade away did the trick. But Coron didn't even have time to take a breath before another jab came towards his left hip. He twisted violently, throwing his hips to the right, and the blade cut through empty air, but it was close - and now Coron was stumbling.

Then a slash at his feet. Coron, without the footing nessecary for a traditional dodge or block, fell backwards. His right shoulder hit the ground and Coron grunted, but he managed to roll back up to his feet without significant injury. He was breathing heavily - if he had been a second slower, or Kalen a second faster on any of his strikes, Coron would've taken a hit. Thank the Gods this was just a training session...

Coron took a deep breath and charged forward, turning to the side and gripping his lightsaber with both hands. He brought his blade up towards his right shoulder and swung down and then up in an arc - like a golf swing - it left him open, but maybe through this he could get the power to break through Kalen's defenses.

 

[Wit]

Kalen was ready as Coron came rushing in, standing ready in the calm assurance of the flows of Soresu. There was power behind Coron's swing, but he did not need to pit his own strength against Coron's. All the power in the world would make no difference if the swing did not connect. As Coron's blade came swinging in, Kalen beant backwards, just enough that the blade missed him by mere inches.

With the swing having passed he jabbed his blade forward so that it pointed straight at Coron's throat, "Never put all your eggs in one basket, always be prepared to cover up if your first attack fails. Lightsaber combat's won in your head, remember that. This is enough for now, you held yourself up well, good job. How about we learn a little about the Force now? Tell me, what do you know of the Force?"

 

[Archeleone]

Coron nodded eagerly, and though he was breathing heavily felt like he could do this forever. Kalen was incredibly good with a blade, far beyond what Coron had seen in caverns and back alleys. A chance to learn from someone on his level was an amazing opportunity, and though Coron was admittedly a little disappointed that they were moving away from swordplay, he was still interested in this "force" thing.

"Um, not much," Coron admitted, flicking the training saber off. "I know it's the source of you guys' special powers...well my powers now too I guess. I've seen Jedi fight once or twice. One picked up a guy from all the way across the room. Others used it to be faster and stronger than normal. Some seemed to be able to anticipate attacks. But to be honest I only really know how it can be used, not like what it is or anything."

 

[Wit]

"Well, you can think of the Force as a energy field that surrounds us, binds us together. It is everywhere, within every living being, permeating everything. And some people, like you and me, can use its power to do things that most would consider impossible. But that isn't all there is to the Force. It has a sort of will of its own, it can guide you, show you the way. If you are in sync with the Force then you could get small whisperings of the future. For instance, if you are engaging in a duel, it might warn you of an enemy's attack a fraction of a second before it lands, giving you that small advantage that could turn the battle in your favor." He could sense the boy was interested in lightsaber combat, maybe describing it the way it had would spark more interest in the Force from his side. "Tell me something, have you ever consciously used the Force or can you recall any instance when you might have unknowingly used it?"

 

[Archeleone]

Coron nodded as he absorbed the information. He didn't really get it, but he had always been a more experience over lecture type of guy. Now that he knew what it was, he'd know it when he felt it - understand it when he used it.

"Consciously use the Force?" He asked. "Uh, I mean...

Chaos. The bar had exploded into lights and noise. Coron ducked behind a table and pulled his blaster loose, aiming at someone he didn't recognize and firing. It went left but his target was picked off a second afterwards by Rolf, who was using a ridiculously large gun as he mowed down those stupid enough to fire on him. Coron dove from cover, breathing heavily, and sprinted towards the door. It was closed, but he knew someone was about to open it...

He broke down the door and fired rapidly, crashing to the ground with a wild cry. A lizard-like alien lay dead under him, grenade in hand. Coron swallowed and tucked the grenade into his pouch.

"Maybe once or twice," Coron admitted. "Little flashes of what's going to happen. And, well I've always been kind of ridiculously lucky...is that the Force too?"

 

[Wit]

"Yes," said Kalen, with a smile on his face. "The Force can act in ways that others may call luck. But there is no luck, in the end there is just the will of Force." He thought for a second how best to teach Coron to use the Force and decided that drawing on his experiences would be the easiest way. "So these instances where you used the Force, do you remember how you felt then? Using the Force is something that is best described by example, theoretically describing how it works will only get you so far. Actually experiencing it will be much more descriptive than any lecture I might give you." He bent down and picked up a small pebble from the ground and held it on his upturned palm. "Try to remember how you felt the last time you used the Force and try to lift this pebble into the air. Envision it in your mind that it is rising up into the air, if it helps imagine an imaginary hand lifting it into the air. Go on, give it a try"

 

[Archeleone]

Coron nodded, swallowing and focusing his concentration on the pebble. He used an old trick Kaya had taught him, slowly blocking off the rest of the world with an impenetrable grey fog. The world around hims vanished, until it was only him and the pebble in a field of grey.

He reached back through his memories and found it - an intuition, a flash of knowledge somewhere in his gut, and yanked it out, imagining it as a large blob of silver-ish light. He shaped the light into a hand with his mind. It was easier than he had expected, and within moments he had directed it to the pebble. Delicately it prodded the pebble, causing the tiny stone to shake and rock. He focused harder, tiny beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead, and finally the hand grasped the pebble, raising it a few inches into the air before vanishing.

Coron exhaled as the world came rushing back, grinning slightly. "It moved," he said incredulously. "It actually moved. it's real."

 

[Wit]

Kalen smiled at Coron's success, "Good job. But this is only the first step. Telekinesis is a basic ability, but one that can be of great use if you use it wisely. Tell me, what ways do you think you could use it in a lightsaber duel?" He wanted to see what the boy would come up with, to see how his mind worked.

 

[Archeleone]

Coron was getting excited now. A whole new realm of possibilities was opening up right in front of his eyes, and he couldn't wait to see where it would lead.

He had always thought Jedi (or Dark Jedi or Shades or what have you) were just very skilled warriors who knew a few good tricks and used an aura of mysticism to intimidate opponents. In his mind, they had always been just normal people with a glowy sword and a few magic tricks.

But they weren't tricks. They were real, and now Coron's head was spinning with possibilities. "You could throw pieces of the environment at them," he said. "Push them, trip them up at vital moments. Put more power behind your strikes. Manipulate different lightsabers or even blasters at once...you could wield 3 or 4 weapons simultaneously, if you had enough concentration. You could rip the ground out from beneath their feet, warp the environment to block blows...you could do almost anything."

 

[Wit]

Kalen's smile widened on hearing Coron's answer, on sensing his excitement. "Good, but before you can do any of those you have to increase your control over the Force, improve your concentration. But we will begin that part of your training tomorrow, you are free to do as you please for the rest of the day."

--
​

The next morning, Kalen sat facing Coron in one of the training chambers, a few pebbles and a bag full of eggs placed in front of him and a glass of water by his side. "We will start with a simple exercise that will help improve your control over the Force. First I will be throwing these pebbles at you and you will catch them using the Force. Once that is done we will move on to a slightly more difficult exercise." Kalen then began launching the pebbles at Coron, first slowly but then more quickly and with greater speed.