A Recruit as Old as Time

[cheshire_kitty]

Location: Anaxes

Whether you were a force sensitive or not, as long as you were a part of the One Sith Army, you were to be trained on Anaxes, a Sith military stronghold. It was a planet of temperate climate with a terrain of canyons, caverns, forests and valleys. The man who oversaw this planet was the Grand General, head of the Army – Isamu Baelor. Konrad had arrived early and waited on top of a canyon overlooking a valley, waiting for the arrival of his apprentice.

A new force sensitive recruit had found his way into the ranks of the One Sith Army, and as an apprentice under Konrad as a result. This was not a responsibility the Sith Knight had taken up by choice but under obligation as per Grand General Baelor’s orders. Orders from the head of the Army had to be followed to the letter. It did not matter how you felt about them. Orders are orders.

The name of this new recruit was Oodar Zelko, a Neti, long lived creatures. When Zelko would arrive was something the Brigadier General did not know exactly but he could feel the creature’s presence. Instead of notifying Zelko of the location, the Knight had the Neti dropped in the proximity and ordered the creature to find his way to Konrad, though the force as a test.

[member="Oodar Zelko"]

 

[Darth Hashira]

Perhaps as some sort of light-hearted joke, or perhaps mere coincidence Oodar was dropped off in the middle of a forest. Not permitted to see the scenery whilst being transported to the drop zone, Oodar had no idea how large, or how small this forest was. His first instinct was to start walking in a direction and not stop, however he knew this would merely get him more lost. Instead, he sat down and began to meditate, to call upon The Force. For a few short moments he could feel his master's presence to his left, the east. Feeling confident that his master wouldn't place him half way around the planet, he began to walk.

After about 10 minutes of ducking beneath branches, and constantly checking his surroundings, Oodar emerged out of the forest and found his master....on the other side of a canyon. His instructions were clear, ''Get over the canyon''. Oodar backed up a few meters, slowed his breathing, and then started running. When he was about a meter from the edge of the canyon he used every bit of power inside of him to call upon the force and propel himself over the small 10 meter chasm. Blasting at the ground with the force, he became airborne. Taking special care to avoid crushing his master with his large frame, Oodar made sure to land a few meters away from the knight who was observing his every move. Landing so hard the rock cracked beneath him, Oodar was relieved to have his first test over with. Usually having to accommodate for low ceilings or small doors, Oodar's posture was horrible, steeping down to a stature of only 3 meters, however in the presence of his master Oodar stood up to his full height of 3.7 meters. ''A true test of my abilities, master'' [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"Sir." Konrad corrected Oodar as he briefly glanced up at the creature. "The army comes first for me above all." he could understand the Neti's sentiment but he did enjoy being called master none the less.

He was pleasantly surprised by the creature's ability to find him in such a timely manner. He had not expected Oodar for at least another hour and a half. "Very good." Konrad praised the Neti. He was not one to praise his subordinates often but he had to give praise when it was well earnt.

"You obviously have experience in the use of the Force so let us start by having you show me what you know. We will conduct this show of skill in the form of a short spar. The best way for me to understand your abilities is to experience it for myself," the Knight smirked as he put a few meters of distance between himself and the Neti. "You may begin when you are ready," he announced, waiting for the creature’s first move.

[member="Oodar Zelko"]

 

[Darth Hashira]

Oodar was too tired to immediately start a spar, so after a minute of long deep breaths he had finally controlled his breathing and slowed his heart rate. Oodar would draw his saber, ignite it and give a nod to his master.

Oodar would immediately charge in with a Shii-Cho stance and start a Sarlaac Sweep when he was within melee range of his opponent. Oodar had an advantage his master did not, a longer blade. Being far too tall for a regular lightsaber, Oodar had constructed his so that it would be the same proportions as a regular lightsaber to an average height being. Utilizing the difference in their weapon lengths, Oodar would try to complete this Sarlaac Sweep when his master was just out of range and he was just in range.

[member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Konrad ignited his lightsaber in response to Zelko. It seemed that the Neti intended to show off his knowledge in the art of battling with a lightsaber to his superior. Konrad examined the creature's lightsaber. It was obviously one that was custom made as it was longer than a standard one in length and made to accommodate the Neti’s huge proportions.

The Sith Knight watched as the creature assumed the Shii-Cho stance and opened with a Sarlacc Sweep, taking a few steps back in response, Konrad parried the move with ease. Shii-Cho was designed for the engagement of multiple opponents so the effectiveness of the style against a single opponent was decreased. The Kinght made a note to himself to throw Zelko in a battle against multiple opponents to assist him in perfecting the skill. There was no better method for perfecting an art in the middle of the battlefield confronted with the option of life or death.

Following up his parry, Konrad performed a Disarming Slash in attempt to disarm his giant of a student.

[member="Oodar Zelko"]

 

[Darth Hashira]

Holding tightly to his saber, Oodar would maintain a strong grip on it, however his master was stronger than he looked. Oodar may have held onto the saber but it came at a cost, his right hand had been throw far away from its most protected position, a Shii-Cho stance. Attempting to compensate for such a glaring mistake, Oodar would attempt a Falling Avalanche, made more effective by his incredible physical strength. Oodar quickly moved his out of place right hand to above his head, his left grabbing onto his saber, he would start the downward strike. [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Unsurprisingly, the move did not disarm the Neti. It only takes one look to see that Zelko was stronger than not only him but most people. The creature, using his great strength to his advantage, performed a falling avalanche - a move Konrad knew he could not just parry if he wanted to come out of unscathed. Tapping into his Force reserve, he speedily dodged the move - something that he had yet to do in a lightsaber fight against an apprentice. The Neti seemed to know his strengths and how to make good use of it.

Konrad followed up the dodge with a forward jab at his apprentice. The Neti knew how to attack but how was his ability to defend from strikes?

[member="Oodar Zelko"]

 

[Darth Hashira]

Oodar managed to preform the falling avalanche but could he parry the move? Oodar was slow so being able to parry this move was unlikely, dodging it almost impossible. After Oodar completed the falling avalanche he would attempt to pull his lightsaber up and strike @Konrad Von Grimmelshaunsen 's lightsaber when the move was partially completed. His speed made the move's success rate unlikely, but he would wait to see what would happen.

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Under his orders, Konrad was not to injure his apprentices on purpose so he extinguished the lightsaber before it could touch Zelko.

"You maybe have great strength, but you lack speed," the Knight observed. "On the battlefield, speed could determine the difference between life and death. I recommend that our first lesson be on Force Speed so you can at least try to match the speed of a human opponent. Once you have learnt the ability, we shall duel again to improve your mastery of both the ability as well as Shii-Cho and so I can witness your use of the skill in a battle."

Staring at the Neti, Konrad awaited the creature's response to his recommendation.

[member="Oodar Zelko"]

 

[Darth Hashira]

''A wise choice mast-, sir'' Oodar said deactivating his own saber and placing it in his cloak. ''Shall we train it here, or make way to the training ground?'' Oodar was fascinated with the vast amount of force powers waiting to be learned, the ability to make yourself faster, sensing your opponents future moves, summoning lightning from your finger tips, all were ones he planned to learn and many, many more.

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"Here is fine. Visiting the training ground is a waste of time," Konrad did not think highly of training grounds. "I find that students learn the quickest and most effectively in the face of danger. Due to the present lack of danger, I have brought some help." The Knight then opened a commlink channel on his wrist mounted DataPad as he finished that sentence.

"Bring them in." the Brigadier General commanded his men. Within minutes a small One Sith corvette arrived on the site. The soldiers hauled down a cage of slaves as they disembarked form the ship. The slaves, who were big in size but not as big as the Neti, exuded a murderous aura towards the creature.

"We will begin by having you kill these slaves. They may not compare to you in strength or Force abilities but they out number you 10 to 1. This forces you to outrun them and pick a few off from a safe distance before you can engage on combat,” Konrad smirked. “These slave will try to kill you with all their power as they were informed that if they would be awarded freedom should they manage to kill you."

Once the Knight finished his sentence, he gestured for the slaves to be released. "Run," he commanded.

[member="Oodar Zelko"]

 

[Darth Hashira]

Not a fast runner, Oodar would ignore his master's advice and simply back a few meters away from the cage which was being opened. ''The power of the dark side is sufficient, I do not need to run'' he said, drawing his saber. The first three salves emerged from the cage, the three fastest. The made a mad dash for Oodar with shivs and blunt weapons like pipes and large pieces of wood. When they got close to Oodar unleashed an onslaught of force lightning killing them.

After this, five more, bulkier stronger slaves charged Oodar. Listening to his master's advice, Oodar concentrated on his movements trying to speed up. Using his enhanced speed, Oodar charged this second group, killing 3 and wounding a fourth. He turned around and simultaneously stepped on the wounded one and force choked the fifth.

Oodar was so concentrated on force choking his opponent he did not realize the final two strongest slaves had sneaked up on him. One of them hit him hard in the back with a huge, rusted pipe. Turning around to meet the two, Oodar kicked the one closest to him, sending him flying until finally the ship stopped him, dropping him to the ground, dead. For to final one, Oodar reached down, grabbed him, and strangled him.

''Any more?'' Oodar would ask, deactivated his saber. [member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"No." Although Zelko did not follow his instructions, he still achieved the result that he had wanted and able to make use of the skill. However, Konrad needed to ensure what the Neti did was not a fluke.

"Run," he commanded the creature. "Start off slow and slowly increase in speed until you are running at your fastest. Then using the Force, enhance your speed to the maximum you can run with assistance with the Force and finally, alternate between using the Force to enhance your speed and your natural speed. Even if you are able to use the ability, you still need to be able to call upon it at will."

Konrad had seen many over confidant Acolytes on the battlefield be able to use a variety of different Force abilities and fall as a result. That was one mistake the Knight would ensure his apprentice did not make.

[member="Oodar Zelko"]

 

[Darth Hashira]

Oodar ran, he ran until he thought his endurance was depleted and then he called upon The Force to sustain him. Oodar closed his eyes and concentrated on the movement of his legs, he imagined them going faster than they ever had. When he opened his eyes, he was going twice as fast as he ever had. He ran for a while, at least a minute. After he felt he had demonstrated the power, Oodar turned around and ran to his master, ''The Force has proven once again it is the most powerful weapon in the universe'' Oodar said looking down at his master. Suddenly, Oodar was hit with a wave of exhaustion, such a wave he stumbled and fell to the ground.

[member="Konrad von Grimmelshausen"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

It was obvious that the Neti was exhausted. Remembering the Grand General's orders, Konrad decided to end the training. It was his job to train his apprentices in a safe manner and having someone who is obviously exhausted continue training was not a safe practice.

"We will end our training here today," he said as he helped Zelko up. "You have done well, I expect you to practice the skill you have learnt today and we will have a short duel in our session so I can see your use of the skill in practice."

Although Konrad would not willingly take up an apprentice had he the choice, he was pleased with [member="Oodar Zelko"]. The Neti showed potential with the Force.