Blade Training

[Nike]

The clang of clashing blades echoed off the walls of the empty training room. Zara swung her blade overhead, only to be parried again by the ancient droid. If she’d had the breath, she would have sworn. Her muscles protested as she stepped back and adjusted her slipping grip. The tip of her blade almost dragged on the ground. The droid advanced. Its right arm creaked as he slashed at Zara’s legs. She tried to deflect it, but she didn’t have the strength to keep the drooping blade in her hand. She watched it skid across the floor, out of her reach and out of the game. Just as she turned to face the droid, crack, it smacked her aside the head with the dull training blade. An involuntary cry escaped her and for a moment, black spots danced across Zara’s vision. She sat down and rested her head in her lap. No blood, but there would be a knot the size of a bolo ball by morning. “Fatal blow. Training program f-f-f-f—” CT-0Y hit itself in the head. “failed. Are we finished now?” Its tinny voice seemed to sigh. Zara looked up and narrowed her eyes. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to turn off the droids casual speech. “What’s the matter, rust bucket? Got a date or something?” “Your form has gotten exceedingly worst. I do not see a purpose in continuing.” “Shut up and hand me my water.” It did, shaking its head and muttering about not being meant for this sort of abuse. As Zara stood to accept the bottle, she clenched her teeth to keep from groaning. Every bit of her ached, whether bruised from previous matches, or simply fatigue from the day’s earlier training. Sweat dripped from her brown, stinging her eye, and her thin black shirt clung to her skin. “Oi, what time is it, anyways?” “Three and a half Galactic Standard hours before offical training begins.” Time enough for one more match before snatching a quick nap and some caf. Zara took several gulps of water, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and went to retrieve her training blade. She hated the thing, hated the way it felt in her hand, hated the way it felt getting smacked against her shins. She hated being so close to an opponent, but mostly she hated how bad she was at swordplay. It took a few rolls of her shoulders before she could hold the blade up, even then, it seemed to take all her strength. “Alright. Oi, activate vibroblade training, level six.”

 

[Sisk_Renelo]

Sisk stood silently in the recesses of the practice room, oiling his beskad as he watched the new recruit fail again. He shook his head. This was unacceptable. No Protector should fail such a basic combat drill.

With an audible sigh, Sisk walked into the light, becoming known to the bay. His buy'ce was off, hung from his hip, and his Beskad was gripped loosely in his right hand. "Ge'verd Cabur, how can I expect you to defend yourself in the field if you can't even defeat a training droid? It looks like you need a real lesson."

Sisk rolled his shoulders, and brandished his Beskad. "Real weapons, recruit. To truly learn there must be something at risk."

 

[Nike]

The sigh from the shadows set a fire in Zara’s face, though it distracted the droid long enough for her to kick it to the ground and slash across its torso. “Fatal blow. Training program complete.” It didn’t feel much like victory.

“Osik,” Zara mumbled under her breath as she turned to face the speaker. When she saw him, she dropped her gaze and stifled a groan. The Sol'yc Cabur. Just her luck. “Alor. Su’cuy. I, I…” She swallowed hard and forced herself to look up from his boots. “I apologize. I thought I was alone.” Of course, there was no answer to his question, but she cracked an awkward smile and answered anyways. “I could always shoot them.”

Letting the smile fade from her face, Zara nodded slowly. “I would be honored to receive a lesson from you.” She looked at her fingers still grasped around the dull blade, and then back at Sisk. “Of course,” she said, speaking quickly and gesturing awkwardly with the blade. “I…I just didn’t want to damage the droid.” That was a lie and a not very convincing one either. Still red in the face and with a knot it in her stomach, she walked to the equipment cabinet and exchanged the blade for a sharpened one.

 

[Sisk_Renelo]

Sisk walked over to the rack and placed his hand on her blade. "No. To heavy for you. I've been watching. Your movements are to slow with a normal beakad." He took the blade, placed it back on the rack, and selected a thin, 46 centimeter blade. With a twirl, he moved it through several motions, then, satisfied, handed it to her with a warm smile.

"Try this. With your size, you don't want to go for a killing slash. You want to pick at the weak points, like the joints. Enough damage from pinpricks can bring down even the mightiest opponents." He took a few steps back, and studied her.

"Starting position. I want to make adjustments."

 

[Nike]

Zara clenched her jaw as Sisk took the blade from her. Too heavy, he said. She was too slow, too weak. Instead, he handed her a thinner blade with a smile that almost made her feel better. She tossed it from hand to hand before trying a lunge at the air. It felt too light to do much damage, but at least it didn't pull at her shoulder the same way. Still, she found herself somewhat missing the solid weight of the training blade.

"Joints, pinpricks." She repeated, gently running her finger down the blade. She looked back up at him and nodded. "Right. Got it." Taking a deep breath, she got into her starting position, holding herself a little bit straighter than usual.

 

[Sisk_Renelo]

Sisk looked her up and down, his practiced eye noting several problems. He walked around her, moving her where he saw fit. Her left arm was too low, she wouldn't be able to block incoming blades quickly with her gauntlet. Her right arm was too tense, she needed to be able to move fluidly. Balance was too far forward, it would be very easy to knock her off her feet. With gentle motions, Sisk corrected all of them, and then moved in front of her, his arms down by his side, his blade held loosely and easily in his right hand.

"Attack. Quick and fluid, allowing the blade to be a part of you."

 

[Nike]

Zara accepted the corrections. Raise, loosen, balance. Closing her eyes, she stood completely still and tried to burn the stance into her mind. When she opened her eyes again, Sisk was standing in front of her. Attack. She hesitated for a moment, not sure if she was worried about hurting him, or about him hurting her. It was a stupid thought. The galaxy would collapse into a wormhole before she could actually hurt Sisk.

So she feinted to the left, and then lunged forward, aiming for his right wrist.

 

[Sisk_Renelo]

The move was easy to read, her inexperience showing. Sisk moved his right hand slightly, and caught her blade with his gauntlet, allowing it to slide harmlessly along the outside.Then he stepped in with his right foot, bringing him alongside Zara and pushing her blade arm open, and brought his open left hand in an open palm strike that ended less than half an inch from Zara's nose.

"You're dead, vod'ika.Broken nose, possible bone into your brain. If that doesn't kill you, it blinds you, leaving you open for an easy kill strike." Sisk stepped back, raised his beskad, and demonstrated the proper move. His feet shuffled, maintaining contact with the ground, and his blade moved easily, darting forward.

"You're overextending. Leaving yourself open. A verd's feet never leave the ground, it leaves them vulnerable. Your hands stay relaxed, able to move quickly in every direction, ready to intercept a blow. Your weight stays over your feet, in perfect balance, ready to dance away or in close for a strike." He demonstrated again, and again, and then assumed the same stance.

"Again. Try another technique."

 

[Nike]

Zara was expecting Sisk to avoid her attack, but she hadn't expected the hand in her face. Her eyes widened, and she pulled her head away from it. His explanation didn't help. She made a face. "Sounds pleasant."

At least the slight jolt of adrenaline made her less tired. Or maybe it was the mild fear she had of Sisk. She stepped back and watched him show her the move. Heat pricked at her face. This was stuff she knew, or was suppose to know. Stuff she had been taught. As he showed her the move again, she tried to shuffle along beside him. "Relax, " she told herself. "Fluid. Balanced. Relaxed. Relax" She got back into her starting position, making sure to remember the adjustments from before.

Another technique. Head cocked slightly, she studied Sisk. He was bigger, stronger, and dressed in armor. Keeping her eyes locked on him, her feet on the floor, and her hands as relaxed as she could, she struck at him again.

 

[Sisk_Renelo]

This time, Sisk caught the blow on his beskad, and with a twist of his wrist brought her blade high. Reversing the parry, he brought his blade across low, catching the tip of his blade across the fabric of her jumpsuit across the abdomen. It parted easily before the sharpened beskar, leaving a small cut across the material. But Sisk had been careful, and the flesh beneath remained unmarked.

He took a step back, and adopted a ready position of his own. "Better. Focus on your speed and your accuracy." He flicked his blade up, and touched the seal around his neck. "Killing blow." He moved it to his shoulders, tapping the fabric lightly. "Slowing blow." He tapped his stomach. "Incapacitating blow." Then he tapped the rest of his joints, in sequence. "Each of these contains the key to victory. Remember, a verd's quickness and accuracy determines the victor. The strength of your arm and the power of your blows have little to do with the kill."

He settled back, and motioned with his free hand. "A series, now. Do your best to take my joints."

 

[Nike]

Better, but not perfect. Zara stiffened slightly as she ran her hand over the tear across her stomach. She almost rather he'd have actually sliced her. It was humbling that he could attack her with such skill that he won and she remained unharmed. She tried to shake the thought from her head as Sisk demonstrated the different blows.

When he motioned for her to go again, she waited a moment in thoughtful consideration. He was almost a foot taller than her, so it didn't seem prudent to aim for his neck or shoulders, and he had easily deflected both attacks to his arms. "Alor, should I..." She shook her head. Nayc. She wouldn't ask for help of any kind. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the question she had been starting to ask and got back into the starting position.

After a short breath, Zara ducked low and made a slash for his knee, then quickly darted back and spun so that she was behind him and attempted to kick his feet out from under him.

 

[Sisk_Renelo]

Sisk watched her movements, and as she ducked low, he raised his shin, allowing the blade to impact harmlessly off his shin guard. As she ducked behind him, he chuckled softly. "Clever girl." As she kicked at his legs, he planted his right foot squarely and dropped to his left knee, allowing her foot to impact the back of his thighs. Then he did the unexpected, and allowed himself to roll back, capturing her leg with his weight and the joints of his knees, completely reversing her center of gravity. His back hit the ground with a thud, and the beskad flashed, the strike halting right above her throat.

"Kill strike. But much better. You're thinking like a Cabur now. Using the unexpected to give you an advantage. Very good, verd'ika." Sisk pulled the beskad back, placed his hands behind his head, and pushed himself into the air, landing lightly on his feet, no easy feat in full beskar'gam. He extended his hand to her, and helped her to her feet.

"You don't like that blade. I can see it. Here, hold the weight of true Mando'a beskar." Sisk flipped his beskad, catching it with his right hand on the backside of the blade, and extended the hilt to her. "You have something to prove verd'ika, and perhaps feeling the weight you must carry and the history that it holds with spark something in you."

 

[Nike]

Zara wobbled uncertainly as she tried to keep her balance, but it was no use and she fell with a small gasp, her weapon also falling from her grasp. Gritting her teeth, she tried to yank her leg free while reaching for her blade. That didn't work either. Before she knew it, his beskad was at her throat and the round was over.

She bit her lip and let out a disgruntled sigh, but there was a new light in her eyes. Finally, she felt as if she'd done something right, and even though the fall had hurt both her back and her pride, it couldn't take that slight joy away. She even allowed herself a small smile as she used Sisk's hand to pull herself up. "Vor'e, Alor. You're a good teacher." Emboldened by his praise, Zara used her foot to kick her fallen blade into the air and raised an eyebrow in surprise when she actually caught it. Maybe its lightness wasn't a bad thing. Still, she almost dropped it when Sisk offered her the handle of his beskad.

"Par veman?" For real? She set her weapon on the ground and gently grasped her fingers around the hilt. She raised it in front of her and studied the steel it was made of. "Mesh'la." Stepping back, she swished it through the air. Her control over it was poor, but just holding it gave her confidence. She threw a glance at Sisk, smiled slightly, and moved towards him, attempting to bring the blade across his shoulder, then quickly darted back.

 

[Sisk_Renelo]

The beskad flashed in the initiates hand, and reached towards Sisk's armored shoulder. He raised his right arm, and allowed it to leave a groove in the painted beskar. His left hand came up from underneath, catching the hilt of the weapon and knocking it into the air. It twisted twice, and as it descended, Sisk caught it neatly in his right hand.

The girl had already started her pull back, and she seemed surprised to find herself without a weapon. Sisk sheathed the sword, and stepped back. "An attempt to surprise. It would have worked on a less seasoned opponent." His right eyebrow quirked up, and he looked her up and down.

"Training begins at 1730. I suggest you get some sleep. I'm sending Protector Markus to run drills today, and he's nowhere near as forgiving as I am." He stepped forward, and extended his arm, in the traditional style. "Consider your lesson today finished. If you need more, send me a message."

(OOC: after your next post to finish the thread, feel free to add a point to blade skills.

 

[Nike]

A slight furrowed formed in Zara's brow after she saw the beskad back in its owner's hand, but all in all, she was rather pleased with herself. Tired, but pleased. She picked her practice blade off the ground and twirled it between her fingers. "Vor entye," she said earnestly with a sharp nod. "I appreciate the lesson, alor. I promise your time wasn't wasted." She watched him leave, waiting until he was gone to drop her shoulders and sigh.

Sleep sounded wonderful. Her eyelids took a little too long to open after she blinked. Still, she didn't feel done yet. Rubbing her face with her free hand, Zara beckoned with the tip of her blade towards CT-0Y, who had turned itself on standby and stood in the corner of the room. "Oi, wake up. I want to try something." The droid creaked as it booted up, and let out an audible sigh. "Again?"

Zara chuckled and grinned wearily as she got into her position. "Just one more. Come'on, rusty. Give me all you've got."