I prefer more straightforward tactics

[Fiach Dubh]

“Even with my vision clouded, I recognize the fighting style of Count Dooku. Your version is unrefined, amateurish, sloppy.”
― Jedi Master Luminara Unduli on Form II when dueling Asajj Ventress

Fiach had a goal. In truth, she had many, but her principal one was to become a Jedi Knight. But her reading for doing so was not necessarily every Padawan’s. For she aspired to teach others what she had learned. To pass on what she had been taught and prepare the next generation of Jedi who in turn could spawn the next.

And so, despite being entirely comfortable with Soresu as a saber Form, she wanted to at least be competent with the others, so she could pass her expertise down to a Padawan should the day arrive when she could take one for her own. And in addition, she sought the wisdom of viewing an opponent who espoused the third Form from a first-person perspective.

So she sought out Jedi Knight Eckaaso Shyn. She was aware that he was known as most proficient at saber combat and in particular Djem So. So she decided the fifth Form was the next to study.

She arrived at the dojo early — as she invariably did — and awaited the Jedi Knight’s arrival.

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

In truth, the Kaleesh was already there, sitting cross-legged on the ground, meditating apparently, given that his lightsaber was floating in front of him, getting disassembled and reassembled several times in a row through the Force. Despite being focused on the meditation, he said "Fiach. Welcome, my dear. Sit in front of me, give a minute" with a soft, welcoming tone.
After a few minutes, the man rebuilt the lightsaber and made it land between the two of them, and opened his eyes, his yellow gaze glancing over the young woman. "Tell me, what do you know about lightsaber combat? I mean, what forms you're studying at the moment?"

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach prided herself at being prompt and so found it slightly disconcerting to find the Jedi Knight was already there. But she took this in her stride - assuring herself she wasn't late, he was simply earlier than she was. AShe removed her robe and folded it neatly before putting it on a nearby bench - and then sitting in front of the Jedi instructor.

As instructed, she remained silent, allowing her host to perform his current task without interruption. Finally, he spoke again and she paused slightly before responding.

"I know what the textbooks say, of course. I also believe that saber combat should be a a last resort, never the first option. I also believe it is every Jedi's duty to be proficient with the saber and to that end, I am keen to understand all Forms, their strengths and weaknesses in relation to each other and what to anticipate in a duel."

"I believe I am best suited to the third Form. I am patient and am most likely to be successful by allowing my opponent to tire or make a mistake and capitalise on it. But there will be times I need to press an advantage, so I am keen to learn from more proactive Forms"

@samdragon

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

The Kaleesh listened to her carefully, observing her like to evaluate what form would fit her the best. He nodded in approval and said "Very good. Even though using a lightsaber is a last resource, you have to know how to handle one. Form Three, Soresu. The Resilience Form, as it is known. In the hands of a skilled Jedi, it can make them almost invincible. Although it has a huge drawback: it's essentially only defensive, and so you need to compensate by studying another form. I guess you asked me because I practice Djem So and Niman, right?"

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach nodded as the Jedi Knight spoke. Yes, she was entirely open to new ideas - but she was also the sort of person to amass as much information as she could on a given subject to enable her to form an opinion. And yes, she vastly preferred facts, but when it came to the Code, it was as much about belief as any statistic (if not more so) and so was embracing this side of her personality.

So, the words the Jedi Knight spoke echoed her own learning.

"Indeed. Unlike my preferred Form, Form V is based on defending with solid blocks and parries, then immediately countering with strong counterattacks and ripostes. Although less useful against blasters it is ideal for saber to saber contests - indeed, I believe it was created for this very purpose."

@samdragon

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

The man nodded with a smile. "Very true. Although allow me to correct you on a thing. Remember that there are two forms of Form V: Shien and Djem So. The former is characterized by its reversed grip, and is more focused on defense while still having a good offense, while Djem So, as you correctly said, is way more suited for saber to saber combat. There's nothing against mixing these two forms of course. Niman, so form VI, on the other hand encourages improvisation and the use of the Force to get out of sticky situations. Anyway, I guess you're interested in Djem So, right?"

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach listened and nodded to show she understood the difference between the two variants of the Form and also the Knight's guidance on the matter.

Once he'd prompted her to respond, she replied, "As much as Shien is worth understanding, I cannot see me being able to learn sufficiently well to use it in anything other than a training situation. So, you are correct, Djem So is the variant that I am more interested in right now. Both to learn it as a Form but to understand how it might be used to exploit the weaknesses of Soresu and by extension, how to defend against it with the third Form."

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

Eckaaso nodded with a smile. "Remember, Shien and Djem So have been created from form Three users in fact that found it too passive, since it is, as you rightfully said, based on counterattacks and of course attacks. Now, let's get started" he said as he stood up and walked to a shelf where he fetched two training lightsabers, and tossed one at her. "So don't think that Djem So and Soresu aren't that different" he said as he took the Djem So starting position, with his hands above his head, blade inclined backwards at a roughly 45 degrees angle.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach listened and caught the saber that was thrown to her. She passed it from hand to hand to feel its weight and balance, before holding it in the palm of her right hand.

And she knew that all Forms had similarities in terms of moves - and as much was about your mindset as anything else. She knew she had a lot to learn. Success was all about being ready to spring to the attack from a defensive position. She was used to waiting patiently for an opportunity to attack, whereas to be successful, she would have to learn to control the momentum of the encounter.

She took a deep breath and mirrored the opening stance of the Jedi Knight. "I am ready," she said softly.

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

The Kaleesh took a deep breath, and stepped forward, swinging down the saber, aiming to the young woman's head while saying "Djem So isn't a very mobile form, if compared to other attack forms like Ataru or Juyo. For this reason is the favored form of large creatures, who can use their sheer physical strength to give strong blows while attacking. That's the base of Djem So: use your raw strength to make the attacks, and perhaps use the Force to enhance them for extra hitting power. Of course, this can be taxing on your body." In case Fiach blocked the attack, the Kaleesh would attack her from the side, slicing horizontally, aiming at her neck.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach parried instinctively — or rather, the Force guided her to do so. For she believed in the Force implicitly and allowed it to guide her actions in such times. And she parried as opposed to blocked given her relative weakness. She would likely break a bone if she tried to stop the kinetic energy in its tracks, so instead merely deflected it.

She nodded at the Knight’s words. Strength was a weakness of hers and she knew this Form would never be her preferred choice, but she at least needed to understand it, see where it complemented Soresu and also appreciate how to counter it if using the third Form.

As his saber moved on and he effortlessly continued the next attack, she remembered her basic training. Defensive moves were based upon vertical and horizontal moves — and every Padawan learned when to engage with a saber and when to take evasive action. And so she stepped backwards and instead of trying to block or parry this attack, which would leave her exposed to a third strike, she evaded it altogether.

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

"Very good. You're quite agile, a good way to counterbalance your physical weakness" he said, not meaning to offend her of course. Meanwhile he stepped forward and attempted to stab her in the chest! "Looking at you, if I can give my humble opinion, I think that Ataru, form four, would be the most suitable for you" he added.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach nodded at the Knight’s comments. She never took negative feedback personally, for she appreciated and expected the truth always. She’d seen other Padawans react negatively when told they were less flexible or not as strong at a particular task. She did not share these feelings and to be frank, did not understand them. Fiach was less strong. She knew it and accepted it. Rather than try to build muscle against what nature had intended, she worked with what she had — for she was agile, quick and flexible. Useful tools if used wisely.

He quickly closed the gap between them and stabbed directly at her chest. She knew instinctively that she did not have sufficient time or space to perform any acrobatics, so held her saber vertically and swept it from left to right, pushing the advancing blade in that direction. And doing so, opened up the Knight for a counter-strike. It was not her usual approach, but she was here to learn. And so she quickly reversed the direction of her motion and slashed at the Knight’s left shoulder.

As she did so, she responded, “Do you think so? I appreciate your wisdom and shall learn it as a matter of course.”

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

The Jedi's eyes widened in both surprise and delight seeing how Fiach managed to parry his stab, although instead of making him open his guard, since he was using only his right hand, he found his lightsaber get close to his body, and so he quickly moved his saber, locking their sabers together, hers above his own, and he pushed, forcing her to move up her lightsaber, effectively opening her own guard! "Good try" he said. "But yes, I believe it's the best form for you. Ataru requires agility, quick reflexes, speed, flexibility, all perks that you definitely have"

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Of course, it was one thing to study saber combat in theory. She would spend hours in the library watching holovids of encounters, and spent countless time in the Padawan Dojo honing her skills. But watching — and even sparring with relative novices — was one thing. Practicing with a Jedi Knight was quite another. His speed surprised her, or rather impressed her. As did his power and control.

She was a firm believer that proficiency came from practice as opposed to natural talent, and that to truly improve, it was important to face better combatants. Progress, she was coming to be sure of, was quicker the more superior the opponent. For every incremental improvement you made, they could always be that step ahead. There was no room for complacency or plateauing of skill.

And with their sabers locked, she knew his superior strength would soon wear her down. So she took a slight risk and using his own force to her advantage, jumped backwards, creating space between them. Despite her regular endurance training, she was already breathing heavier than usual.

“Is Ataru something you can teach,” she asked, keen to find both a competent and willing teacher.

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

The Kaleesh smiled under his mask with satisfaction seeing how the young woman get free from the saber lock, and gestured to say that the fight was over fro the moment. "Well, honestly no, I can't teach it yet since I need to learn its basics too" he chuckled softly. "I'm not sure if there are any Ataru users, but I may be wrong. Otherwise, we could learn together through the training holocrons the library has" he suggested. "After all, one of my aims is to become a Battlemaster, which means knowing at least the basics of the seven forms, and be able to mix and match them based on what I need."

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach was getting better at multi-tasking - in this case being able to spar and talk at the same time. It seemed only a matter of months ago that she could do one or the other, but never both simultaneously.

Her saber hiss-snapped inactive and she clipped it to her belt and bowed by way of an acknowledgement that the spar was at least temporarily suspended. "I like the idea of learning together and I am aware of some of the training holocrons. But, my research suggests there is a far better source of learning, not currently within the Jedi Temple - unless I am very much mistaken."

She paused before continuing. "There are a number of well-known exponents of the Form in recent history - Master Yoda and Ezra Bridger amongst them. But another, more infamous user also existed at this time. Anakin Skywalker. And if the records in the library are correct, he made adjustments to the classic Form IV techniques and demonstrated them in a holographic recording. Which were apparently t be found on a holocron in the possession of Kanan Jarrus. Now, if we could find that, just imagine what training we could undertake."

She paused again, "But I accept my proposition is based upon obscure references and there is no reference as to its precise location now. So I will be guided by your judgement on this matter."

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

The Kaleesh seemed to ponder on what Fiach said, and sighed. "You have a good point, although from what I know, that holocron got destroyed after Bridger's idea of combining it with a Sith holocron, so its contents are irrecuperable. If I remember correctly though, from what I heard about these modifications Skywalker did to form IV, they involved some defensive techniques to compensate the lack of defenses Ataru has, but I may be mistaken" he said as he briefly examined the training lightsaber he had.

 

[Fiach Dubh]

Fiach was not disposed to opinion. She liked facts and the harder the better. Which is one of the reasons she spent so long in the library. She paused for a long moment, before taking a deep breath and finally saying, “From cross-referencing many documents, I have reason to believe that the chain of events were that firstly two holocrons were brought together — one Sith and one Jedi. There was then an explosion that damaged the two. But the wording is precise. Damaged, not destroyed.”

“A separate record suggests a fragment of the Malachor Sith holocron was then used to then re-activate Kanan's Jedi holocron. There is no record of any subsequent damage but sadly nor have I found a specific location. The only known future places they were seen were either Tatooine, where Master Kenobi resided or the Ghost, the ship owned by Hera Syndulla.”

 

[Eckaaso Shyn]

The Kaleesh tilted his head at Fiach's remark, and chuckled. "Welp, apparently I was wrong. But I don't think it would be worthy trying to look for it. The holocron could be literally anywhere, since as far as I know, we don't know the whereabouts of the Ghost" he said, sitting down on the padded ground.