The Training of Zev Verbril Seyyak (Lalita Zaryet)

[GABA]

Lalita smirked at her padawan's comment and sped up even quicker, the padawan would have to use the Force to keep up.

The forest begun to thin out and only too quickly did it become a plain. Tall yellow grass dotted with an occasional violet flower moved with the winds. She pulled out her lightsaber as well as another and waited for the student to arrive.

 

[Ascending_1]

Zev growled and tried to keep up with Lalita. He began pushing himself harder, spending less time on the branches than was absolutely necessary. Without consciously knowing what he was doing, he was changing his movements from normal, stretching out longer and moving more fluidly. He didn't feel as much effort being exerted, but he was totally focused. After he broke through the tree line, Zev was propelling himself further than should have been possible, the Force working through him.
The padawan caught sight of Lalita as he sailed overhead, and he realized how high he was. At least twenty feet separated his feet from the top of her head, and there was nothing to catch him now. Deciding not to worry, he simply focused on landing like he normally would have. He felt the wind blowing over him as he fell towards the ground, and he could see the spot he was aiming for in the plain below.
Zev landed on the balls of his feet, bent at the knees, and rolled forward on his right shoulder, coming up to his feet fluidly and stopping. When he stood up, he was barely six feet away from Master Lalita.
"I think your familiarity with the environment is a bit of an advantage..." Zev muttered, patting the dirt from his hands and approaching her. He saw the metallic cylinders in her hand, and his right hand strayed back towards the hilt of his own knife unconsciously.
"What's the lesson plan, Master?" He asked, reminding himself that he was the student, and returning his hand to an unthreatening distance from his blade.

 

[GABA]

"Trust in your feelings and perhaps my advantage would become yours too." she informed the padawan, "You did good, we will start with the basics and incorporate what you have developed." she handed him the spare lightsaber.

"I have set it as well as mine to not cut off any limbs, now," her blade alerted them with a snap-hiss, "Lets get started."

 

[Ascending_1]

Ooh... Non-lethal... And yet... Zev thought, looking over the lightsaber hilt in his hand. It felt like his own blade in terms of weight, although the hilt was a bit longer, and not quite as menacing if one didn't know what it was. He identified the activation switch and pressed it with his thumb, recoiling slightly as the blade burst into life, assuming a steady humming as he moved it through the air.
Still a lightsaber... Zev tried to acquaint himself with the blade, moving it in a simple pattern and following the beam of energy as it moved.
"Get started how?" Zev asked, twirling the blade at his side and catching the hilt in a reverse grip. "The only blade experience I have is with a knife... This thing's a bit longer than I'm used to." To demonstrate, Zev tossed the hilt to his left hand, the cylinder producing a small metallic sound as it hit his metal palm, and drew his knife with his right. There was a significant difference in the length of the blades. He held his right arm up in a defensive position, the spine of the blade pressed against his forearm. Obviously, this would be an issue with a lightsaber blade. Even if his cybernetic limb could withstand a glancing blow, maybe, continued contact would have somewhat of a detrimental effect.

 

[GABA]

Lalita observed his own weapon, "Knife experience has nothing against knowing how to wield a lightsaber." she moved into a defensive stance, "Now I will strike and you will block." she said as her green blade came overhead at her padawan.

 

[Ascending_1]

Taken slightly by surprise, Zev swung his own lightsaber blade at Lalita's as it came down, stepping out to the side and forcing her weapon down. He held it still as he tucked his knife back into its sheath, before backing away and switching hand and hold on his sabers hilt. Now, the blade was pointed towards the ground in a normal grip in his right hand. His natural reaction would have been to step into her space and swing his arm back out, drawing the blade across her throat. If it had been a normal blade, and if he had actually countered, her throat would have been opened. With a full-powered lightsaber, it probably would have decapitated her. Luckily, he was getting better at controlling his instincts.

 

[GABA]

"Good." she nodded, Lalita extinguished her blade and moved toward her padawan, helping him adjust his posture before moving on, "Now, lets do it again." she said, this time taking her blade and swinging it up across the padawan's torso.

 

[Ascending_1]

Zev smirked as Lalita positioned his body according to the appropriate forms, and he remained still as she assumed the position once again. As she made her strike, Zev brought the lightsaber upwards, meeting her blade with his own. The sound of the lightsaber blades' contact was unusual, but not unpleasant.
Probably a better sound than that of lightsaber on flesh... He thought, looking up Lalitas' green blade and into her eyes. He wasn't sure if he was expected to continue, or wait for more adjustments. Either way, he wasn't sure how to continue. If he were fighting himself, he would want to push the opponent's blade away, and come in with a short horizontal swipe, but the fear of the opponent pivoting around and hitting his open side would prevent him. Perhaps it would be better to simply step slightly to the side and force their blade into their own body. He might have been physically stronger than Lalita, considering his more violent history, and his advantageous cybernetic enhancement, but he had no way of knowing how much the Force could be used to make up for that difference.
"Better?" Zev asked, smiling once he felt her stop pushing her blade towards him.

 

[GABA]

Lalita's eyes studied his, "Much better." she put more pressure on her blade, "We will continue, I see you are a natural at sword-play." she pushed harder on his blade until she created distance between them.

 

[Ascending_1]

Nodding, Zev took a familiar combat stance, one of the first that Krave had taught him. His right leg forward, left leg back, weight on the front foot so he could push himself back to evade an attack if he needed. His left arm was hanging by his waist, fingers slightly curled in preparation to release his katar-blade, and his right was held before him, bent slightly at the elbow with his borrowed lightsaber pointed up over his left shoulder. It would have seemed like a normal lightsaber stance, if his left hand had been on the hilt, but he liked to keep his options open in a fight. He was more skilled with his katar-blade than with a sword.
"Would you like me to push, or defend?" Zev asked, moving backwards and bringing his right arm up and around his head, and down to his waist, moving the lightsaber's blue blade down his shoulder, across his back, and up his other side, using the natural motion of his arm to bring the blade down quickly. If he wanted to attack something in front of him, he would have brought his hand to his opposite hip, causing the blade to slash diagonally downwards. The force behind it with the proper performance would have been enough to cleave an unarmored being in half, with a normal sword. It also served as a suitable defense to a mid-level attack at his back, if one were to be aimed there. This movement would have been a simple attack.
Zev released his grip on the lightsaber's hilt in mid-rotation of his wrist, allowing the weapon to spin into a reverse grip with the momentum. He brought the blade in front of himself in an X pattern, stepping back with his right foot, and reversing the grip again, to assume his previous stance. The movement would've deflected some attacks, and might have unnerved an opponent into retreating. This defensive motion had been taught to him during one of Krave's do-or-die training sessions, when he had been ordered to gut an enemy. He had used the attack to put the opponent in a high guard, then switched to the defense to push them back. He had followed it up by pivoting on his feet and bringing the sword across their stomach.

 

[GABA]

"Do what your feelings tell you to do." she flashed a grin and attacked, bringing her blade overhead, and down at her padawan, it was feint. Even without the aide of the force, Lalita was quick, her blade dropped to her right side and then brought up diagonally across her padawan.

As experienced as she knew he was, he should be able to recognize and act.

 

[Ascending_1]

Zev laughed in surprise as Lalita attacked him. He stepped to his right at her overhead blade position, aware from the stiffness in her arms that she was feinting. He knew that, when someone moves, their muscles tighten in a particular fashion, and there are several different forces moving them. With a normal blade, the signs would be obvious. With the lightsaber, the motions became somewhat jerkier than normal. And although Zev was inexperienced with the Jedi tool, he noticed the change in fluidity from before, and made the determination.
When Lalita's blade met his, Zev angled his lightsaber and moved towards her, causing her blade to slide harmlessly over his head. He circled her quickly and confidently, taking her back and holding his blade a few inches from her body.
"My feelings tell me that I'm too excited to make my own decisions. My previous training tells me to finish a fight as soon as possible and make my escape." Zev said, deactivating his lightsaber and backing away. It wasn't necessary to switch off the weapon, but he was uncomfortable still with the blade, even if he didn't show it, and he would have hated to explain why he burned his master to the higher-ups.
When Zev was at a safe distance, he activated the blade again and held it loosely. "Am I in trouble, Master?" He asked, grinning sheepishly.

 

[GABA]

"No, you are not in any trouble padawan. You will learn to control." Lalita stated, she turned around swiftly, her green blade ignited again, "We will practice until you can control." she said.

The knight helped her student, teaching him to rely on the present, not to predict what his opponent will do. She taught him to move fluidly, listen to what the Force had to say about his opponent's next move and how to protect himself from a range of possible attacks.

After several weeks she finally informed her student:

"You are ready to make your own lightsaber."

 

[Ascending_1]

Zev looked up from his cybernetic limb and cocked an eyebrow. He'd been wondering when he would get one of his own, but he hadn't known how to bring it up.

In the weeks since he came to the temple, Zev learned and progressed in the Force quickly, becoming well acquainted with it during his long meditations, and frequent lightsaber exercises. Still, he felt that he could be better. His senses had sharpened, and his telekinesis had become average, compared to the rest of the students he had met. But he dominated in combat, with his desire to end each bout as quickly and efficiently as possible. Often, the matches ended in only a few moments, after a few steps, parries, and connections.

A thought occurred to Zev. He hadn't had much chance to use his katar blade at the temple, but it remained one of his favorites. He often wondered if he would be able to make it more fitting as a Jedi weapon. If a blade coming from a prosthetic were surprising, a beam of energy would be even better. However, he didn't know if it would be wise to tinker with his left arm. Maybe a droid might be of assistance...

"And what exactly would that require?" He asked, curious.

 

[GABA]

That was an easy answer for the Knight as she brought him back to the temple. "You will have to listen to the Force, it will tell you." she informed the padawan.

She lead him down a hall were spare parts where stored, "You may use anything in your construction," Lalita pulled out a very small black bag, "Here is your crystal. I cannot instruct you for this task, this is your challenge, but the Force is always with you, listen to it." she told him handing him the baggie in exchange for the lightsaber she loaned him, "When you have completed, come find me."