Private Bladework

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri's lightsaber was a beautiful thing, almost too lovely to be anything more than ceremonial. The hilt had been carefully crafted from durasteel, accented with copper and chrome and inlaid with pearl. The violet blade, generated by two rare focusing crystals, was sharp and deadly.

It was a shame, then, that its wielder barely knew how to use it. Miri had found the lightsaber ill-suited to her tastes and had turned to guns instead, preferring to keep her distance from enemies. But as of late, her poor performance with a blade had caused her untold problems, as she was left largely unprotected in battle and helpless in a close quarters duel.

Standing in the training halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, she struggled to keep up with a sparring droid. Her bladework was sloppy, and she seemed almost afraid to get too close to her opponent, a tactic that kept her constantly on the backfoot as the droid advanced mercilessly.

Jun Chiyo​

 

[Jun Chiyo]

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Miri Nimdok
Soundtrack: Tea With the Pansophical

Jun blinked as she watched, her dark-blue eyes absorbing the Padawan's footwork. Years spent under the strenuous teachings of House Chiyo's blademaster left her with an analytical eye that couldn't help but spot technical flaws.

She hadn't meant to stare in the first place, truthfully. Jun had completed her own lightsaber training session earlier that day and decided to use the remainder of the afternoon to explore the Jedi Temple. It was by happenstance that she ran into Miri in the dojo, but not an unhappy one. When the Jedi came to a natural resting point in her exercise, Jun called out to her from across the room.

"You hesitate," she said matter-of-factly, a curious tone in her voice.

"You're not confident in your offense, are you?"

Jun crossed the dojo, stepping closer and offering a friendly bow.

"My name is Him-- Jun. My name is Jun."

She picked that name herself, but she still wasn't used to it. Better work on that.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri kept up her defense until it started flagging under the blows of her opponent. Eventually, the droid reached a time limit and ended its programmed exercise by stepping away and deactivating its training blade.

Sweat dripping from her brow, Miri turned off her lightsaber and rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"You hesitate."

Slowly, she turned her head to face the speaker. A girl, short in stature and of hair, stood off to the side. How long she had been there, Miri didn't know. She had been completely focused on her bladework, if one could call barely blocking the droid's blows that.

"You're not confident in your offense, are you?"

"I'm not confident with a lightsaber, period," Miri replied. "I normally fight with guns. Blasters and slugthrowers." More softly, she added, "I don't like my enemies getting too close to me."

The girl moved closer, bowing and introducing herself as Jun. Despite the strenuous workout she'd just endured, Miri managed an elegant curtsy. "Pleased to meet you," she said. "My name is Miri Nimdok."

Jun looked too young to be an instructor. So why was she taking an interest in Miri's fighting? Was she just curious? "Are you a Padawan?"

Jun Chiyo​

 

[Jun Chiyo]

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Miri Nimdok
Soundtrack: Tea With the Pansophical

"I am," Jun said, realizing she may have overstepped her bounds.

Up close, and without the blurring motions of training, Jun could see that Miri was several years ahead of her. Still, she found it curious that an older Padawan - or even a Knight? She wasn't sure - had such reservations about the signature weapon of the Jedi.

The young Atrisian had spent many hours training under House Chiyo's blademaster, learning the subtleties of swordplay and martial combat. Perhaps she could share a bit of that experience with Miri.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miri."

Jun nodded her head to the training droid, a warm smile on her lips.

"I could show you a few tricks, if you'd like?"

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"I am a Padawan as well," Miri said. "Master Yenna is my teacher."

It was a little strange to be schooled by someone so much younger than herself, but Miri's pride wasn't so great as to stop her from accepting an offer of help. "I would appreciate it," she replied.

Jun Chiyo​

 

[Jun Chiyo]

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Miri Nimdok
Soundtrack: Tea With the Pansophical

Jun frowned a bit at the mention of Miri's mentor. She hadn't yet been assigned to a Jedi Master herself, hence the solo sparring sessions and aimless wandering about the Temple grounds. Perhaps she needed this training opportunity just as much as her new friend.

"It's my pleasure," Jun said as she stepped over to the training droid and coded some calculations.

She lowered its agility, hoping the delay in speed would allow Miri to grow more comfortable with timing her strikes. It was monumental to overcoming your enemy. Footwork was a close second, but even the most elegant dancer must hit her strides just right, or the entire display would fall apart.

The droid's eyes flickered to life as it registered the layout of the dojo. Its sensors locked onto Miri, tracking her as it closed in.

"Watch it closely," Jun instructed. "Keep your eyes open for any openings. Exploit its weak spots while protecting your own."

The training bot's arm rose sharply, albeit noticeably slower than before, and came down in an overhead strike. Jun watched carefully, eager to see how Miri reacts to the droid's attack.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri watched as Jun fiddled with the training droid, then turned it on. Once active, the droid attacked at a far slower rate. So she was being pulled back to almost the level of a child in terms of skill, then. Miri chewed her lip, but didn't complain.

She knew she was bad at this.

Now that speed wasn't an issue anymore, other problems with Miri's technique became noticeable. Her reflexes were poor. Or rather, they lacked the enhancement associated with Jedi. She reacted at the same rate as an ordinary human. Almost as if she didn't have the Force, or could barely sense the danger before it struck.

She parried the droid's hits, found what she thought was a weak spot, and went for it. Only to get clipped in the arm by the droid's training blade. She winced, leaping out of the way, and grit her teeth. Her next move was a hit, but it was motivated by anger, or at the very least irritation.

Jun Chiyo​

 

[Jun Chiyo]

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Miri Nimdok
Soundtrack: Tea With the Pansophical

“Breathe,” she said, in a tone nearly identical to that of Blademaster Takara.

Hours spent in the training yard under the beaming Atrisian sun had certainly become a part of her.

Jun suffered from a similar flaw as Miri. Impatience. She watched as the older woman struck at the droid, only to take a blow in return. Her next attack was undertaken with noticeable frustration.

“It’s better to hold your guard than take a hit,” Jin remarked.

“Sometimes, even when your enemy’s weakness is exposed, it’s best to wait.”

Again, she stayed to the side, watching Miri’s process. If she seemed to grow any more frustrated with the exercise, Jun was prepared step in and offer a visual display.

She doubted Miri would need this, though. The older girl may have grown irritated with herself, but Jun sensed she was more skillful than she let on.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri was breathing hard, her pulse pounding in her temples. The rush of adrenaline at least gave her a fighting chance, as she met the droid blow for blow.

Another exposed weakness. But Miri didn’t try to exploit it. She took Jun’s advice, focusing on defense, waiting for a better opening. Patience. Humility. Don’t let it get to you.

But inevitably the droid managed to break through her guard, singeing her neck. The pain led to another failed parry. Even when she was shoved back, humiliated and enraged, the droid kept coming.

Miri thought of Tionne Solusar, the Jedi Archivist under Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Order. Tionne was not skilled with a blade. She had to work harder and longer than her peers to pass the Trials and be deemed worthy of knighthood. But she succeeded. Though she was not a great warrior, her role was no less important than any other Jedi.

If I can get through this… if I can just be good enough…

She opened herself to the Force, not expecting it to answer her weak call. But when the droid came for her again, she was ready. A block, a dodge, misdirect, feint—and she scored a hit, stabbing the droid under the arm.

Jun Chiyo​

 

[Jun Chiyo]

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Miri Nimdok
Soundtrack: Tea With the Pansophical

Jun's lips curved into a smile as she watched Miri's success. 'There you are!' she thought triumphantly. She continued to observe her friend's efforts, nudging her on through the Force.

<You can do this> Jun eased, not wanting to interrupt Miri's flow.

The young woman seemed to be reaching a crucial understanding, realizing the first tenant of swordsmanship that all combatants - Jedi or otherwise - must master before they can progress: patience. Not just with the enemy, not just in waiting for the right time to strike, but with yourself.

<Remember to breathe>

 

[Miri Nimdok]

For a few moments, Miri seemed to be on a winning streak. She parried blow after blow, took her chances with only the best shots, and generally kept pace with the training droid.

But then the droid, perhaps due to some fault in its programming or something that had been left active by mistake, resorted to dirty fighting. Their blades became caught in a bind, then suddenly the droid’s saber was gone, leaving Miri stumbling forward. Trakata, she knew, even as she felt the droid’s blade stinging her back in a blow that would have left her paralyzed, had this been a real duel.

Miri yielded to stop the droid from attacking again, dropping her weapon and turning to deactivate the machine. Her expression was unreadable.

Jun Chiyo​

 

[Jun Chiyo]

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Miri Nimdok
Soundtrack: Tea With the Pansophical

The Padawan’s eyes following Miri across the dojo, watching carefully as she dodged, parried, and countered the droid’s offense with increasing accuracy. She was getting ready to disengage the droid herself, when it suddenly resorted to a grab bag of dirty tricks.

Jun winced as the droid’s training blade zapped Miri’s back. Something had clearly tripped in its programming. Initially, she shuddered to think that maybe she miscalculated in some way, but she figured it would have taken some pretty serious coding to enable such advanced dueling techniques. At least, more than what Jun had done when manipulating the droid’s speed and aggression levels.

She crossed the dojo floor tentatively, walking over to where Miri stood. Her face was expressionless, and her signature in the Force was fickle. Whether the older girl was frustrated, angry, or disappointed, Jun could not intuit. Instead, she offered a consoling bow.

“You should be proud of yourself, Miri,” she said.

“Dirty tactics aside, you made very good progress.”

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"Progress aside," Miri said, turning to Jun. "It just goes to show that I don't have what it takes to be a great warrior. A Jedi would've been able to sense what was coming. I can't."

Jun Chiyo

 

[Jun Chiyo]

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Miri Nimdok
Soundtrack: Tea With the Pansophical

"Great warriors also refuse to give up," Jun said sternly.

She eyed Miri carefully as she replayed the droid's action over in her mind; She hadn't sensed the maneuver, either. Had she been in Miri's place, she would have made the same mistake.

"Regardless, a Jedi should be- a Jedi is more than their lightsaber," Jun said reassuringly.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri clipped her lightsaber hilt to her belt, her brow furrowed in thought. "All that you say is true. But not everyone is called to greatness. At some point you must realize your limits and accept them." She inclined her head. "Or perhaps what we think of as great is not the only greatness there is. There is more to being a Jedi than a lightsaber, as you say."

She gave Jun a slight bow. “Thank you for your assistance.”

Jun Chiyo​

 

[Jun Chiyo]

Location: Coruscant
Tags: Miri Nimdok
Soundtrack: Tea With the Pansophical

Jun offered a nod, a hollow smile on her lips. She was happy to help. Proud, even, of the strides she watched Miri make. But part of her wondered if she could have done something differently.

Was this how Jedi Knights and Masters felt, when their teachings and advice fell short of success?

The thought was too heavy for the moment, so Jun shook it away. Her eyes met Miri’s, and this time she smiled with conviction.

“Your greatness is your own, Miri. It is as unique and powerful as you are. Don’t ever forget that,” she said dutifully.