It is the Still and Silent Sea That Drowns a Man (Shepard)

[Arrbi Betna]

The galaxy was at war. Worlds burned as cities crumbled, pounded to ash and dust as millions of soldiers' feet marched between the very stars. In the far flung future, it seemed, there was only fire and death and the laughter of dark gods as they gazed upon the material universe in perverse glee.

In such world Betna found himself and his clan. In such a world he'd brought his family into the light and found that the line between hope and despair was as keen as the blade of a knife. He could and would do anything to protect them and establish their safety, but even as a Mandalorian warrior and Alor of his clan, he was lacking in some areas.

He was a crack shot and an experienced pilot. He could fight on the front lines and had seen his share of close combat and brutal fighting. He'd killed and wounded the enemy and been wounded in turn, sometimes badly. But not matter how hard he fought and how many times he walked or limped away, it always felt like he was holding his own by the skin of his teeth. He fought as he had been trained and added to it the desperation of a fighting man caught far away from home and within arm's reach of the enemy. What he needed was a more formal concept of the art.

He couldn't rely on his armor and luck forever.

With that in mind, he'd asked for help in the matter. Another Protector, another Mandalorian warrior. He'd worked with the man long ago during a mission to Tatooine with a Jawa he'd admittedly become fairly annoyed with. He figured that such a person would be a fair place to start.

For the moment, he waited on the landing pad of the Betna homestead. It was a platform atop a hill made of simple, hard-packed dirt. It was large enough to handle most starships and speeders and had seen a great deal of use over time.

He wore only an old pair of trousers and his boots. the clothes were light and flexible, making it easy to move around. He wore no shirt or tunic as it was fairly warm and because he hated sparring in one as Anija tended to chide him ceaselessly afterwards. Besides, he'd spent too much time in his armor or indoors. Anija had complained he'd looked pale the other day and since it was bright and sunny out, why not.

For the moment, however, he was content on waiting on the tarmac in the sun. Soon enough, the real work would begin.

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It was a fairly crappy freighter that descended from the heavens and landed on the pad of the Betna Clan Homestead, for a man like Serock Hoath it was still a lot to get used to. Where once he had been the Grand Marshal of an entire nation, armies bowing to him and great fleets jumping at his call, now he has [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]just[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] a warrior.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]One of the many men that had pledged their allegiance towards the Mand’alor.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But getting used to something was not the same as being [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]bothered[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] by it, in some ways it was a liberating feeling that you weren’t in charge of anything anymore, that your only responsibility was to come when the banners were called and no more. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Still.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]A bad taste existed in Hoath’s mouth, as he left the freighter and set foot on land. It was a taste that had been there for a while now. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Monroe had promised him glory, a nation worth fighting for and a brotherhood that would exist for eons to come. Instead he was dealing with bickering, with the weakness of fools and stagnation that he could not wrap his mind around.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Such [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]waste.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Vod.” Shepard would finally nod and greet the Alor of Clan Betna. “Your home is beautiful.”[/SIZE]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna stepped forward and clasped the man's hand with his own; a warrior's grip. To outsiders it looked odd, almost silly. Mandalorians gripped each other by the wrists, not by the hands. It signified that each was able to pull the other out of harm's way should the need arise. To foreigners, it appeared strange, but to Mandalorians it was one of the many small, seemingly insignificant ways that each Mando looked out for his fellow warriors.

"Thank you," Betna said with a grin. "It's quiet here. Secluded, too. The only way in is by flying in or taking an hour by road from the nearest town. Means we get very few visitors outside of friends and family unless they really need something badly."

He gestured to the road from the landing pad leading down to the many homes and houses making up the homestead.

"Walk with me?"

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Lead the way.” Hoath would reply with another nod.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Betna had always seemed different though.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Not a talker like Mand’alor the Indecisive, a man who would get out there and [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]do [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]things, put his money where his mouth was. So it wasn’t strange that he was one of the few people within the Mandalorians that Hoath could truly respect. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]And the fact that he didn’t mind asking for help, when help was necessary.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“So tell me what you need, Betna. You were a little bit vague about the details.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Eyes wandered and took in the scenery, part of him wondered if he could make something like this for himself. Settle down and create a home for himself, now that would have been a beauty.[/SIZE]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Well, I'll be blunt," Betna started as they walked down the dirt path. He was never one to beat around the bush with things. At least, with anything that didn't involve his wife's ire. "I hear you know your way around hand to hand. I only received basic training in that which has kept me alive, but... I'm fairly sure that was also combined with a healthy amount of luck."

As he spoke he gestured to a few of the more prominent scars on his torso. Most were knotted scar tissue, others showed where old wounds had been stitched and healed.

"I figured since I'm a little on the lacking side of that area, I figured I'd call on you in the hopes of helping me out with that," he continued after a moment. He gestured up ahead at a beaten circle of dirt slightly beyond the homestead. "Maybe some sparring and some training if it's not too much."

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Mhm, doable.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]When he had been only a young buck a strange traveler had come to his village, a Teräs Käsi Master no less, and he had offered the teach them the trade. It had been a no brainer and in the end it had helped him through some hard times.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Not that Teräs Käsi was the only way to fight in CQC. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It was simply one of the more well known combat disciplines in the Galaxy, highly effective too, but there ain’t nothing wrong with some good ol’ fist-fighting either.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“There’s a reason why people invented guns though.” Hoath would say as they reached the circle, he took off his duster and hat - just letting them rest on a nearby bench and pulled off his shirt too. Ain’t necessary to put blood on it. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Ya might be better served with a sharp knife or some brass [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]knuckles[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] with ostrine attached to ‘em.”[/SIZE]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Yeah, but you won't always have the opportunity to use a gun," Betna said as he stepped into the circle of hardened earth. "Someone gets up close and personal, you don't always have the chance to shoot first. Sometimes they can get the muzzle away or maybe knock the weapon from your hands. People forget that even something as basic as a sharpened stick can kill."

Betna started stretching a bit. Training was always a huge stress on the body if you did it right. It was important to limber up to prevent basic, preventable injuries and sprains. Otherwise, you risked hurting yourself or possibly making a minor injury more serious.

"As for knives and knuckle dusters, those do work well, but sometimes you just don't have them in your hand when you need them. In those cases, hand to hand training is key."

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Aye, fair point.” Hoath would reply with a nod. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Duster and shirt off, left him with some trousers and boots. When ya are sparring, training even, you don’t want too much clothing restricting your movements, it only hampered your ability to get a sense of your own body and that was the most important part of learning how to apply combat to close quarters situations.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Make sure that you know your own limits first. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]He started stretching himself, man had the right idea on that one. Very important to warm yourself up before a spar, you didn’t always have that kind of freedom in a real engagement, but that wasn’t a reason not to watch out for your muscles.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Tearing one can be a schutta.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Been fighting with my fists for as long as I can remember,” Hoath would add. “Most important thing ya gotta remember, the most important thing in battle? Is movement. Foot placement and [/SIZE]maneuvering, gotta be quick and fluid in your movements.”

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna stepped to the center of the ring, his stretching finished, and took up a stance. His feet were a shoulder width apart and leading with his right foot. He kept his hands and arms up and waiting at a basic ready stance.

"Footwork and maneuvering," he repeated as he waited for his opponent. "Sounds simple enough. Seems to be the case of most fighting, though. Sounds simple and basic, but the actual actions are far, far more complicated."

Betna took a moment to close his eyes and clear his mind for a moment. It wouldn't do to be distracted in the middle of sparring match. At best, he'd miss something important. At worst, he'd get a kick in the head when he wasn't paying attention.

"Actually, sounds like life in general. Simple in concept, complex in execution."

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Mhmmm.” Hoath grunted softly, as bones cracked under tension. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]In a lot of ways he was still a [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]young[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] buck, at least young when compared to the rest of his species, he still had a few hundreds of years to live if the normal history accounts were to be believed and yet… yet, there was this prevalent feeling of [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]oldness.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Of being around a lot and having seen everything that there was to be seen. It filled him with all kinds of feelings and most of them weren’t so positive.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Lot of it is practice, vod.” the Shepard would reply, cracking his neck to loosen the tension in those particular tendons. “Ya’ll get knocked down on your ass a couple of times, but slowly ya will get the hang of it.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Scratch of the chin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Tell me, Betna. What do you fight for?”[/SIZE]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"I fight because I have to," Betna said, his eyes opening, his mind cleared. "Because that's who we are. What a Mandalorian is."

He began sizing up his opponent, trying to pick out details. To see how he moved, to watch how he stood or walked. It was a sniper's skill that had served him well in the past. If you watched your opponent long enough, patterns emerged. Patterns you could exploit. Patterns that you could use to play the attack right where you needed it.

"Mandalorians see conflict as a way of growth. To better oneself. Fighting and, by relation, war and combat are but an extension of this," Betna paused then, thinking a moment about the question. He'd rattled off the typical Mandalorian views and how the culture saw itself. He'd said what he'd been raised to say. He'd said what Mandalorians say, not what he himself thought. Though, truly, it was less what he thought and more what he... felt.

"... I guess I fight for myself," he said after a moment. "For my family. For my clan. I fight in the hopes that my children don't have to. I bear the scars of war so that my offspring and the offspring of my clan can instead bear the callouses of hard work. So that they can live in peace and prosperity. They will train as warriors, as I have, to defend themselves if need be, but I hope that my sacrifice keeps that war at bay so that they may only face the conflicts of the seasons and to test the mettle of their patience and ethics rather than their valor on the battlefield."

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Hoath would nod silently, finally ending his own warming-up and approaching the center of the circle himself - only leaving about two meters between the two of them, which was far enough that they couldn’t just punch each other out without moving, but not far enough away that it would be an entire chore just to get at each other.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“I have fought for many things in my life.” Serock would reply, sizing up his own opponent. “My village, tribe, family and an empire once.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“But in the end, with everything burning behind me? I found that these days I fight… because I [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]like[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] to fight, the struggle, the adrenaline rush and the clash of weapons.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]A sigh.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Never get caught up in the dogma, Betna. Always remember to think with your own head first, because it’s those who keep to the dogma that are at a disadvantage in a battle. They cannot improvise when it gets heated and end up in a [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]rhythm.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Hoath scratched his chin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Now, there are billions of fighting styles out there. Some will tell ya to keep your elbows close to you, others will tell ya to keep your arms loose and to your sides, some will underline that you [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]always[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] need to go for the head-kick while a few will brand you a zealot for using your legs in combat at any time.” He chuckled softly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“What I am trying to say is, there ain’t no [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]one[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] way of doing it. Most styles have some merit for any situation in combat, what you need are styles that tailor towards your own body and thinking.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Ya dig?”[/SIZE]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"Tailored fighting style, eh?" Betna responded after a moment. He filed away the rest that was said for later contemplation. Now wasn't the right time to mull it all over. "Let's start with the basics, then? Something easy, versatile, and simple."

Betna was no martial arts master, but the concept of mastering the simple before moving onwards was a simple one. You practiced one move hundreds of times so that it was reaction rather than practice one hundred moves once, making it a process and robbing all of the techniques of their mindless reaction.

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Hoath would nod, pondering for a second. There were a lot of things ya could learn at your first try, things that could save your life in an instant if you kept to it during the thick of battle. His mind wandered over the various techniques of Teras Kasi that could be [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]beneficial[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] and [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]easy[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] to learn, but eventually he realized that this wasn’t the way to go.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Teras Kasi was a martial arts form, starting from the ground-up would take years to properly master it and until you mastered it? It wasn’t exactly effective in a real combat situation, so it would be better to focus on what could be made effective relatively soon and [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]easy[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Picture yourself as a… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]whip.[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]” Shepard would finally say, as he started to move. His feet sidestepped in a constant motion to minimize the ability of a sweep of the feet, Serock would circle Betna, constantly moving to his own right.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“You aren’t tense, you are free, [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]swift until the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]moment[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] comes that you need to strike. Only then do you transition from a feather to a boulder, locking up your feet against the ground for extra kinetic energy.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Moments passed as the information was transferred, before the warrior continued.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Scan your opponent, note his body language and his tells, but never lose sight of his eyes[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] - the eyes never lie… unless your opponent is wearing a helmet, then you are shet outta luck.” suddenly Serock moved, his body blurred as his left arm left his hip and started to traverse the space between his own body into the direction of Betna’s gut.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]During this trajection, his hips would rotate clockwise with the punch, his right leg would bend at the knee at the end of the punch with his left leg stretched and its heel digged deep into the earth itself.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]If the punch landed or if it was blocked by Betna, Hoath would utilize the bend knee to rotate his right leg clockwise and sweep the Mandalorian from his feet with his stretched left leg.[/SIZE]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna listened and filed the information away once more. It made logical sense and he understood, as best he could, what the concept was in hand to hand, but knowing and doing were two separate things. That was the purpose of today's events; merge thought and action together. Only then would the two form reaction. Martial arts and hand to hand fighting were all based on an action-reaction foundation. Actions occurred and training created a reaction which, in turn, formed a further action. A victor emerged when there was no reaction to make or when one side or the other had their reactions devolved into a slow action.

Unfortunately for Betna, his training mainly consisted of action-reaction combinations from a bit further away. In hand to hand, he could rely on his armor or tools to keep himself alive. Here, it was just pure action-reaction.

He spotted the punch as his opponent was halfway through the attack. Acting as fast as he could, Betna snapped both hands down and across, pushing the strike intended for his midsection away and to the side. He'd successfully saved himself five or ten minutes on the ground trying to suck in air through a proverbial straw.

Unfortunately, as his brain registered the feeling of dirt and dust digging into his bare back and the fact that he was now looking up at the sky when he was previously looking at an opponent, he realized that not only was the punch not the only attack, but that he had a lot to learn.

"Alright, so," he said with a cough as he shook off the impact he'd made with the ground from the sweeping kick. "How do I not do that again?"

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Hoath offered a hand and pulled his sparring partner back up with a chuckle.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]There was no malice in it though, everyone landed on their ass the first few times during training, no matter if you were a veteran or a little greenhorn still learning the very first robes. It wasn’t the mind that needed to be trained, in [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]theory[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] the mind knew exactly what the body needed to do, it was the body itself that needed a training course.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It needed to react on things on instinct, and it had to be the right instinct. Because acting on a wrong instinct could get ya just as killed as not reacting at all.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Tough call, vod.” Hoath would reply, before taking a few steps back and giving Betna some space to dust himself off and get some room. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“In the end this is all about letting your body do the thinking, bypassing your mind entirely. Ya can’t let yourself think too hard during a battle, because it will be over like…” and he snapped a finger, signaling that a battle can be determined within the first few seconds. “...that.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Pondering thought.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Personally, I would have done either of the two things - depending on my position and the stance of my legs. Either I would have taken a step back, forcing my opponent to follow me and [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]then sweep him off [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]his[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] feet in his step or- and that’s if you are confident, you instead step into the punch, breaking most of the kinetic charge behind it and making it impossible for your opponent to finish his leg sweep.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]He scratched his chin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Savvy?”[/SIZE]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Betna dusted himself off a bit and thought hard for a few moments while his trainer spoke. Stepping back made sense, as did stepping forward. The thing was, if someone with Hoath's experience knew those two options and if Betna was to face someone equal or greater than Hoath in hand to hand, how was he to cope? Sure, this was but the tip of the iceberg for Betna, but perhaps there was something to it he just couldn't quite grasp to explain.

"Step in or step back," Betna mulled a bit more, speaking aloud. "I understand, but I have a question. That move you did. It's designed to act and react to a physical strike, correct?"

A germ of an idea began to form slowly in his mind as he spoke. It was a natural thought process for him, though it wasn't quite complete just yet. He knew that it wasn't and it frustrated him quietly to an extent. Hopefully, if he mulled aloud more with further questions and their answers, it may fully form and be something tangible and useful.

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Hoath took some time to ponder that question, before he realized the question behind it and the idea that was being formalized within Betna’s mind. There was a reason why he himself never stayed too close to an opponent in a fist-fight, too many forcers running around that could fry your face off with just a shake of the hand - don’t want that kind attention, so keeping your opponent at arm's length was key for him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Didn’t mean that others wouldn’t have a different idea on that, there were thousands of routes to Coruscant and none of them could be considered the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]best[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]. They were just different routes, all leading to the same conclusion.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Basically a feint, Betna.” Hoat would finally say. “You distract your opponent with a punch, and make ‘em forget that there is so much more going on. But aye, it’s mostly that, yeah - what are you thinking?”[/SIZE]

 

[Arrbi Betna]

"I'm not fully sure just yet," Betna said with a chuckle. "I'm fairly certain it should work, but mostly I'm sure I won't hurt myself in the process. Mind if we give it a try before the idea try? If I tell you, I'm afraid you'll counter it in your head which would be... unrealistic, I guess? At least in a true battlefield situation, that is."

With that, Betna finished dusting himself off and moved back to the center of the ring. He took up the same stance he had before and slowly cleared his mind once again. If he planned it right, or just got really lucky, he might have something tangible to work with.

[member="Shepard"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Arrbi Betna"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Hoath grunted and then nodded.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]As much as anything this was a learning process, he had a good idea on what Betna was gonna try on him, but that was just because he had been around for a [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]long[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] time. So he knew the in’s and out’s of most tactics and what kind of people used ‘em in the first place. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Stretching his neck slightly, he then approached the ring once again. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]The only way to train a certain [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]automatism[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] in a battle was to keep training, doing the same thing until it became natural - but it could never become a habit, because habits killed warriors and Hoath didn’t want Betna to get capped because he was playing for a robot in the fields of battle.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Once again they started to circle around each other, testing and prodding at the angles to see what their opponent was made of and once again Hoath’s form blurred as he moved. But the Mandalorian didn’t repeat the same attack, or at least… he varied it up just a little bit to make his apprentice confused and keep him guessing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]The change was a simple mirroring of movements, which was far harder to compensate for then one might expect.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Instead of the one arm, the other lashed out; slightly more angled to the face this time and instead of the one leg the other was rotating on its axis with the second leg swiping in from the side. At least that was the idea, what Betna had in mind?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Could change anything in the span of a couple of moments.[/SIZE]