Let's Get Down To Basics, To Defeat, The Training Remotes

[Minch]

​

Silver Rest Training Grounds​

[member="Caelag Vass"]

The midday meal came and went, leaving the grounds to be busied once more by padawans and initiates scurrying about back to their set schedules of learning. So, too, was it now Minch's time to pick up his feet and move with the flow to a new class as part of the new set of learning criteria he had to swear to as part of his involvement with the Silver Jedi Order.

Minch's induction into the Order as a Padawan had been a unique case and atypical of usual decision making. Given that he was of a species known for its strong connection to the Force, the fact that he was 127 years old and already had an array of Force and outreach experience, the SJO had decided to allow Minch to skip the Initiate phase and move onto being a Padawan. Of course, a condition was set for Minch to take the necessary prerequisite classes that would fill in the gaps in his skill set. He had agreed happily at the time, but he now felt a little funny to be walking around with a training saber befitting a youngling amidst many more experienced and much younger individuals than him.

​

"Greetings, Padawans. I am Kro Gar and I will be your training instructor for this class," stated the calm, yet firm Zabrak in teacher robes.

Kro's skin was the color of a dry, sun bleached desert; the palest of earthen browns. A scar ran up the inside of his right bicep and he had four fingers on his left hand. He also had a bandage under his chin, but it was anyone's guess as to how and when that happened.

"In this class, we will be going over Form 1. Now, I know that many of you have likely already studied and practiced this form aplenty while training as an Initiate. Before you grumble to yourself about how redundant and unnecessary this may be, I would say to look on the bright side: if you're as good at the Form as you think you are, this class should be rather easy compared to your other studies. If not, then you need to train more and complain less. Form 1 is a foundation for all other Saber Forms, so you'd best know this simplest of forms if you have hopes of learning or even mastering any other form."

"Now, I want you all to greet the Padawan on your left and the one on your right. You may be sparring with them sooner or later, but more importantly, they're the ones you need to give some space to. As soon as you're done with pleasantries, be sure to spread apart so that you're not stinging each other with your every swing. If I so much as see you goofing off with each other and try to rough house sting someone playfully...well, let's just say that Kitchen Patrol is always looking for more volunteers, willing or not....Proceed."

Minch watched passively and took in the words. He very much doubted that he would be tempted to "rough house" with the others, but he did cast a sidelong glance down the line at a Twi'lek and Human youth who were being a little too casual with each other instead of heeding the Zabrak's words. His intuition told him their shenanigans were going to cause a disciplinary pause in training at least once during this class.

When prompted to greet those around him, he turned to his left, but the Zygerrian was already busy greeting the Padawan on her left. So, he turned to the right to greet the...young, blind woman. Miralukan, perhaps?

"Greetings. Minch, I am. Hope I don't make a fool of myself, I do."

 

[Caelag Vass]

Typical was not in Caelag's dictionary.

For one, her species was not exactly abundant in the galaxy. Their numbers were far from endangered anymore, but to see a woman blind from birth standing in a training hall, with an ornate silver crown mask covering her sockets was more than a little uncommon. Even more uncommon was her attire. Consider for a moment the attire of a Jedi, dull browns and robes.

Instead, Caelag wore her personal armor, as she did at any training session she had taken in her career before as a soldier. Black rancor leather, black cloth, accented by what appeared to be gold plated breastplate and gauntlets (but if course was in fact phrik). Coupled with the hood covering her extremely light brown hair and the several knives strapped to her body, she looked almost the furthest thing from a Jedi padawan. Granted she did not see herself as one, more a force sensitive soldier working for them, but the point existed.

Fortunately no one could offend her with their looks anymore, she'd grown accustomed to veiled concern and disgust so the pack of fitting in here felt amicable compared to the orphanage she grew up in. At least the humans here were too enthralled with themselves and rough housing to pay the grown woman any mind. Though a few did stare, lingering on the weapon in hand. Set to a proper training mode was her lightsaber, a hilt designed so elegantly it was almost more art than weapon.

She could not learn with a standard lightsaber, you see, as hers had no space for a second hand. As such, she received permission to do this... class of trust. Considering her entry was, a bit unorthodox to be generous, she had thought it best to at least try to act in a trust worthy manner, taking their classes where her skills admittedly lacked and give her own help to others. She was a school teacher technically, after all.

The human on her right exchanged names quickly, all fine by the disciplined soldier, when the odd syntax to her left peaked her interest. She turned her head to be polite, and spoke to this... @Minch... clearly as she could.

"Colonel Caelag Vass. I would not worry so much. You have a strong glow to yourself." Bright too, but that was often to be expected of Jedi.

 

[Remy Singh]

A chance.. a chance to work on some fo the skills as she moved. SInce coming here with Sorel she had been confused. Being found by the jedi who had offered her a chance to at least be different then the other purebloods. She had taken it coming out fo the unknown regions and there was the whole darkside thing but she could get over that. if she tried really hard. So saber training to make sure her meditations were there... something that made the smal tendrils on her face twitch as she entered the room and some two people. One she wasn't certain of and the other was short and green. Her first instincts were to move to the side and stalk around potential threats but she needed to be careful and friendly going forward. Black hair oiled and scented, red skin clearly visible with the twi'lek inspired training garb that offered plenty of freedom of movement as she wore the saber vambraces. "hello."

 

[Minch]

[member="Caelag Vass"] | [member="Remy Singh"]

"Ah. Woman of the military. Impressive, it is, that a colonel is here with us," Minch says quietly and respectfully. "As for the glowing, credit, I must give, to my L'Oreal Bioluminescence shampoo."

He began to laugh a mirthy, throaty laugh.

*HMM, hmm hmm!* "Funnyyy JOKE!"

Minch turned to the curiously dressed Sith Pureblood whose physical appearance distracted the Human and Twilek student down the line, much to Kro's annoyed dismay.

"Hello, too, to you. Minch, I a---"

"Alright, that's enough, class. Spread out and we shall commence."

*Hmmmm...* Minch grumbled regretfully. "Another time, perhaps," he said before turning to face forward. He didn't have to move far to make space as he required little space himself.

"Now, class, Form 1, otherwise known as Shii-Cho, is the oldest of all forms and the first to come from the ancient discipline of swordfighting. Also known as the Determination Form or the Way of the Sarlaac, Form 1 teaches the basic moves of attack and parry, focusing on the humanoid body's target zones: left side, right side, head and legs. It doesn't matter if your body is spherical, segmented or even serpentine. If you can manipulate a saber, you can master Form 1...Unless, of course, you decide that class just isn't nearly important enough, Benj and Ar'Kod Junior!"

Kro's withering gaze settled on the Human and Twilek from earlier, who practically jumped out of their skin at the loud mention of their name. Embarrassment settled into their stances as they looked around at all the faces now looking at them. They both uttered weak apologies and went silent and still. Kro's gaze passed to look at the ill-dressed form of Remy Singh, to which his eyes narrowed somewhat, before he looked back to the front of the class and resumed his neutral teaching position. He launched back into his monologue.

"As I've said before, Form 1 is the foundation upon which the remaining forms build. It is not the best style for blaster deflection or for lightsaber-to-lightsaber dueling, but it's a superior all-around form you can fall back on in the heat of combat. Thus, you must demonstrate a mastery of this form before you can continue."

He proceeded to talk about the history of the Form, including the unique Jedi Knights and Masters who especially focused on mastering and utilizing Form 1 on a regular basis and giving instances in how they applied it during critical moments in their work. Eventually, the time allotted for this class was used up and it was nearly time to adjourn. Benj and Ar'Kod Junior seemed to be paying more attention to the little hand on the clock than their teacher's words.

"...I know that history lesson wasn't exactly what most of you were hoping for on your first day of a saber class. That is, however, what you should expect to go through before moving on to actual training and application of any saber form class here at Silver Rest. A Jedi's most powerful tool is their mind and history is a lesson best learned sooner than later. Tomorrow, I shall teach you all about how you will be actively practicing Form 1 in class. If none of you delay the flow of class time, then we may actually get to activate our sabers tomorrow. Remember: as a Padawan, never physically practice with sabers, let alone a real lightsaber, without the direct supervision of a Master or Knight."

"Before I dismiss you, I ask that Ms. Singh come speak with me immediately after class. May the Force be with you all as you go about your day...Dismissed."

The class broke apart every which way as students quickly or slowly exited the Training Grounds. Minch smiled peacefully at Remy and gave her a reassuring thumbs up before he turned his attention to Caelag Vass in case she desired to talk.

 

[Caelag Vass]

It hardly took much effort to see Caelag was, dissatisfied with her current situation. She cracked a slight smile at [member="Minch"] and his joke, but between the off putting presence of [member="Remy Singh"] and the lack of practical lessons in the class. Caelag was not a historian, she did not care for the history and theory of the saber style. She was a woman of action, who learned by doing, who could not be satisfied sitting quietly and listening. This lesson, if you could call it that, was beyond frustrating for her, and it showed in her demeanor for those paying attention.

For one, the way her fingers tapped on the hilt of her lightsaber, impatient and irritated, her mind racing with thoughts. How could she get around this man's reasonable request to not train with a lightsaber, while intending to do just that. The simple answer was that she was not a padawan, and thus his order towards padawans only had the authority of a request. However, she intended to show good faith, and not listening was rather, deceitful in that lawyer-esque loophole.

Not to mention that someone was certainly watching her at all times... she sighed and turned to leave a moment, before she noticed Minch's form seemed directed at her. She thought for a moment, before speaking somewhat quietly, enough that it would be difficult to overhear her words to the... strange little green man. "Minch, you said? Pray tell, as a jedi, the teacher's words are binding to padawan learners, yes? What of those not of Jedi persuasion?" In complete fairness, she never used the word jedi or claimed to be one. Soldier above all else. PErhaps if Minch agreed, enough anyways, she might circumvent the older zabarak's words anyways. And, have an accomplice.

 

[Remy Singh]

[member="Minch"]

Remy looked at the small being who was talking to her before the class started... with a raised eyebrow though she was turnign her attention to the man before he dismissed the others. "Well that was interesting.' She said it more to herself but stood there until the thumbs up, the being getting a bow of her head until she moved over to look at the instructor. "Yes master?" She was curious while looking at him and remained in a neutral stance. She waited to hear it but sucked a little air in through her teeth as the tendrils on her chin wriggled.

 

[Minch]

[member="Caelag Vass"]

*Hmm...* grumbled Minch thoughtfully. He took a few moments to gather his thoughts before he said,

"Jedi, Sith, Dathomiri Witch, Grey Warden, it matters not. Only as strong as a student desires, will a teacher's bond be. If happy with what you are being taught, then happy you will be with the teacher. Perhaps, as a colonel, you feel held back. T'is an introductory class. Best to bide time, it is. Perhaps, not easy to accept, as you are young and eager. Yet, history is the experience of the ages, if my life of 127 years has taught me anything. What may be boring now was once another's life lessons."

Perhaps it wasn't what she was looking for, but it came from Minch's heart and mind.

​

​

Battlemaster Var waited patiently for [member="Remy Singh"] to approach. When she came and enough padawans had left the immediate area, he turned his eyes to her and spoke.

"Thank you, Ms. Singh. First of all, greetings and welcome to Silver Rest. I hope you've been enjoying your time here in this place, regardless of the recent bedlam Kashyyyk has witnessed these past couple weeks. Now, the reason I've called you here is a bit...shall we say, awkward. Your presence, both in person and in the Force, is somewhat...unsettling. I know that may come off as rude or discriminatory, but I'm bringing it up in the interest of transparency and honesty."

"I'm not trying to call you out for being who you are, but one can have concerns about unique students, such as yourself, the blind woman, the little green man, etcetera. I'm talking to you first and foremost because I sense a potential problem arising. Perhaps you noticed, or perhaps not, but Benj and Ar'Kod Junior were regularly distracted by you in class. They can be good students when they apply themselves, but they are seasoned troublemakers who need...worked on. Whether they were distracted by your apparent heritage or, well, whatever goes through the minds of young adults when they're not invested in a lecture, my request is that you distance yourself from them during class. At least, for the time being. That way, they have one less distraction. I wouldn't go so far as to petition what you do with your free time outside of this class, but I would suggest being careful about how often you interact with them in general."

He pauses and waits to see what you think so far.

 

[Remy Singh]

[member="Minch"]

She looked at him with a raised brow ridge but didn't snap back or argue it. More trying to think of... who are those ones? She was thinking it to herself for a few moments when she finally spoke some confusion. "What is distracting about me being here? Have they not seen a sith before, or there are females all around." She was trying to figure it out and she had a guess but looking at her outfit it was natural for her world. Deserts with lots of heat and sand which you wanted to keep out of some places so wear tight clothing there. The rest you wanted to let breathe.

 

[Caelag Vass]

Unfortunate. [member="Minch"] it seemed was too smart to be ensnared as her unwitting partner in crime. Granted, he admitted to being old enough to wisely escape this, and offered wisdom that was logical and genuinely the smartest option to avoid creating more bad rap around the SJO. Still, he was right that it was not the answer she wanted. He was wrong on one point of course, perhaps the age that granted him wisdom was the same reason he missed the point of her frustration.

"I don't know the day I die. I only know I am walking towards it, be it today, tomorrow, or years from now. I am a soldier, my home is the battlefield. Every day could be my last call to arms. I don't often have the luxury of time. I simply wish to be able to fight, that the last day I draw breath I can give another day to someone else. Better to die alone than fail." Even saying the word made her lip twitch, curl slightly. What a despicable word, the venom almost dripped in her pronunciation of it.

She fiddled with the weapon in her hand still, halfheartedly walking towards the door. So long carrying this weapon, and her only proper lesson came from one she hated whole heartedly. Too ironic.

[member="Remy Singh"]

 

[Minch]

[member="Caelag Vass"]

Minch's pointy ears drooped as Caelag walked away. It was quite clear that conflict and war was her sole focus, which was not the Jedi way. Battlefields were not homes and especially not something to face alone. The necessity of soldiers were born from the need for men and women to stand, rise up and defend their people from violent intrusion. Conflict is intense and is not stable or suitable for normal living. The reason soldiers were made to begin with was so peace could be re-instated and life could continue as normal.

Though, she was right about something. Minch was able to advocate a slow pace far more easily than most other species, the reason being that his species' life span was much longer under normal conditions. It had to be difficult to see such things from Minch's perspective when you only had a century to live under ideal circumstances. Back when Minch was in his late thirties, early forties, he was also hasty with many things. With experience to draw upon, he was more at peace with dying at any moment, though he would likely ironically outlive nearly everyone else.

He let her go. Minch felt it would do no good to bandy more words and chase. If she were to change, it would be on her own terms. If she wanted his opinion, she would come to him.

Minch waited for most others to clear out before he padded his way onto his next class.

​

[member="Remy Singh"]

Battlemaster Gar sighed.

"Both, one of those reasons or something else, perhaps? Who's to say why they let themselves become distracted. The important thing is to dress appropriately, exercise professionalism and do our best to pre-emptively remove unnecessary detractions so that they do not become obstacles in another's way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take care of some more business."

Kro bowed and took his leave.

​

The next day, the class assembled once more on the Training Grounds to begin their next lesson. Battlemaster Gar took his place at the front of the class and opened his mouth to begin speaking promptly upon the appointed time. As he drew in breath to launch into his opening statement, he immediately exhaled with exasperation as Benj and Ar'Kod Junior filed quickly into the class ranks in an annoyingly late fashion.

Kro cast a disparaging look their way, but re-centered himself and began speaking.

"Welcome, class. Today, you will learn how to practice your strikes with proper Shii-Cho form. We'll also be going over a bit of vocabulary that you'll need to understand during training. Just like yesterday, spread out in your ranks so that you have enough room to swing without crossing blades or striking another student."

He waited for those gathered to finally settle.

"Now, everyone, activate your training sabers and follow my lead. Remember, speed is not the name of the game. If you're going to do something, do it right and deliberately the first time. Speed will come naturally as you become more comfortable and skilled."

Across the Training Grounds, the snap-hiss of sabers erupted in a random tandem. Minch held up his short training saber, looked at it tentatively and activated the button. A yellow blade lurched forth and manifested itself as a thin, short blade before him. Though not exactly his favorite color, it would do.

For the rest of the session, Kro instructed those assembled on how to execute Shii-Cho strikes and parries. He also established the Six Body Zones: 1 for Head, 2 for Right Arm/Side, 3 for Left Arm/Side, 4 for Back, 5 for Right Leg and 6 for Left Leg. To end the session, Kro demonstrated the Six Step Advance, which was a sequence of traditional Shii-Cho strikes that would be committed with each step. Kro stood at the end of each line (starting at the front and working his way back) and had the line of students repeat the moves with him as they all stepped forward. He did this with each rank until the entire class had finally moved 6 steps ahead of their original positions.

Before and though class time, Minch saw and recognized Remy and Caelag. He smiled briefly, but let them be. He didn't want to risk overstepping and training during class used his entire concentration as he tried his best to rigidly snap into the proper strikes and blocking forms with each prompt. His issue came when the entire rank was supposed to step forward in tandem with each other. His short gait forced him to run forward and stand next to the others after completing the Six Steps.

 

[Caelag Vass]

Caelag left that day without much more issue.

Woman of little conversation, despite being rather wordy in those little times.


It would be the next day before anything of significance thankfully. That left it to be her turn to momentarily distract the collective assembly of padawans. After all, while her saber was set to training, same as theirs, and to be no shorter, there was one very, very noticeable difference. The padawan training sabers ignited to blues, greens, yellows, colors that they expected. Caelag's, Caelag's lightsaber ignited to a bright, brilliant white, like the snow of Ilum. And no sooner than she had pressed the ignition did she feel collectives of their gazes linger on her for an uncomfortably long, agonizing moment, before they returned to their instructor, Kro. Thankfully, only the occasional glance seemed to be shot her direction, either for her blade's color, or lack thereof, or its hilt design.

It was... bearable.

On a more positive note, the simplicity of the lesson provided meant Caelag was more than capable to translate the motions taught to her single handed grip. Awkward, clumsy even compared to the other learners around her, it was almost like watching a child who only knew the intended outcome of what she was doing, but not the proper motions. Yet despite that, she put an unnecessary amount of force into the practice swings, not quite as though swinging the blade in a fight, but with vastly more energy than needed to combat, well, air. There was a snicker behind her as she very nearly swung the weapon hard enough to dislodge it from her hands. She could feel the air around herself heat up from the unwanted attention, but a few breaths let her calm herself down, cooling the air to normal. No need to shape her will by accident around the Jedi as of yet.

At the end of her Six Steps, she huffed once, the hair that had come to dangle over her eye crown blown aside in the simple effort. Calm, for a moment she'd forgotten the others were here. A far different dynamic than her first 'teacher', if one would call him that.

@Minch || [member="Remy Singh"]

 

[Minch]

​

[member="Caelag Vass"] | [member="Remy Singh"]

One week later​

​

"As you are, or should be, aware, Form 1 was the original lightsaber form. It was developed during a time when lightsabers started becoming stable and uncumbersome, requiring training that utilized a lightsaber's strengths and compensated for its weaknesses compared to traditional swordplay. However, it was also developed prior to the emergence of Dark Jedi, so it was never formed with lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat in mind. Instead, it provides the basic knowledge for sword-fighting and blaster deflection skills."

Battlemaster Gar walked over to a covered cart and removed the thin sheet that was laid over its contents to reveal rows of training remotes. The students, recognizing the traditional devices, looked on with a mixture of fear and excitement. Off to the side, a small gathering of Jedi Knight volunteers stand off to the side, waiting.

"We have been training our minds and bodies to instinctively react and snap into the proper positions required for Form 1 strikes, blocks and parries. Now, we move onto something much harder: training remotes. Back when I was in your shoes, similar training remotes have served to be the source of a many number of shocks as I tried and tried again to block the stun bolts. For some of you, deflection may come more easily, but you'll all most likely become shocked a handful of times at the very least. Do not let this discourage you. Although we do caution and even encourage you to take the necessary break time away from the remotes, should you receive one too many shocks, I must also implore you to consider the pain as another form of test."

"Throughout your lives, there will most likely be someone or something that will try its hardest to cause you pain. Be it wounds from a battle or emotional trauma inflicted by the depraved, your determination and resolve will inevitably be tested mightily by those who ride the faster path to unstable, craven power. Although the intent of this exercise is to deflect and parry bolts, you will find that failure is its own lesson here that can reward you on another level. Keep your composure, Padawans."

Kro walked over to the line of patiently waiting Jedi Knights.

"These Knights have volunteered to help out with this phase of our training. As all of you are likely to advance at different paces and each have a unique issue or take on this type of training, these Knights and myself shall be spread out among you; ready to guide each of you as the need arises. Take your time with the remote you are to be assigned with and raise your hand if you have any questions."

Kro spent the next few minutes instructing the class on how to operate these remotes, how to begin, pause, continue and end the training session, etc. It wasn't long before the students had free reign to progress at their own pace as the Knights and Kro paced around, occasionally stopping to watch a student here or provide advice there. It also wasn't long before yelps of surprise erupted amongst the students as they experienced a training remote stun bolt for the first time. The Knights tried their best to keep the amused smirks off their face, as they remember fondly the rude awakening that these remotes provided.

Minch used both of his small, tri-claw hands to get the remote to activate. It hummed to life and he released it to float up into the air. The sound of its repulsor tech was a little unnerving, as though it had been specifically developed to leave the trainee on edge while anticipating the next randomized shot. He breathed in, he breathed out and he activated his training saber with a snap hiss. The training remote's sensor array picked this up and immediately started the training session, having been programmed to notice when a saber ignites and extinguishes.

Minch's diminutive stature and subsequently small hitbox made the task of deflection far easier than the rest of his howling classmates. It was far more obvious where the bolt was going to go and most deflections only required a minimal degree of turn or twist to catch the bolt with his saber. However, it wasn't long before the remote adapted and unexpectedly bolted to the side in order to catch Minch off guard.

Minch's yelp joined with that of two other students.

"Don't grow complacent, Minch," came the voice of Kro. "You must anticipate the possibility of surprise in all things."

 

[Caelag Vass]

This was where Caelag could shine, possibly. The white weapon in her hand thrumming in anticipation as the training remotes were activated, one way or another. A different instructor helped her, seeing as the woman lacked eyesight to do it herself, which pretty instantly began the training program. Unlike the other students, save perhaps [member="Minch"], Caelag's senses within the Force were extremely defined, due to her heritage, and she caught on pretty quickly to the remote's patterns. Her abilities deflecting the first few bolts were rough, as she learned more how to anticipate the remote's firing, rather than rely solely on reaction. A number of shots hit her, but unlike the others she didn't cry out in pain.

Why would she? She had a habit of getting shot with a full powered blaster every mission she went on. It stung yes, and her lip twitched in annoyance (causing her free hand to heat up a bit before subsiding) but it didn't make her cry out. It just got her head more in tuned with the situation. Slowly, very slowly, it became less of a training session for her, as her battle instincts began kicking into drive. More than once she ducked a shot, rather than try to catch it, simply assuming she wouldn't be able to deflect it in time. The ball began to move more and more erratically, which translated to more ducks, dodges, and weaving than actual deflection.

Perhaps it missed the point of the exercise, as she got stung in her extremities and did everything in her power to not get hit rather than try to deflect every single shot.



After some time, she slowly seemed to be getting it, starting to deflect more, when a shot deflected from one of the other students accidentally went straight for Caelag's back. To her credit, she swung the weapon around, managing to deflect the shot into the ground, but in the process got stung in the back by her own remote that had happened to choose right then to fire. That one hit her in the back of the neck, which more than a little bit upset her as she spun back around and made a swing for the remote itself.

It didn't work of course. Just got her stung a few more times as she tried to calm herself back down. The air around her felt warm to the skin as she tried to do so, not realizing turning the lightsaber off would stop the training program.

 

[Remy Singh]

Remy arrived late to it but she had been spending some time thinking about it... distraction seemed a strange word when she had come from a world full of being who used their passions... Yet had more self control to not be distracted. It was different while she stood there in the training gi style robes and could feel them. Skylar and synthmesh but it would work as she wriggled her face tendrils holding the gauntlet sabers to join in the lesson and listened about form one. She could work as the breathing she did came to her. Defending and awaiting what could be but first she looked towards the battlemaster who had been instructing and stood there waiting to be let in. Wouldn't seem fair to just jump into it.

 

[Minch]

[member="Remy Singh"]

Kro's left brow raised as he turned to see the tardy student stand apprehensively at the edge of class. She was simply a late pupil, it seemed. Kro jerked his head and eyebrows to the right as a silent way of beckoning her to come over and join the class. He walked over to the cart, pulled a remote off one of the racks and went over the instructions with her personally.

"...When you're ready, activate your training saber and the remote will begin the session. Simply deactivate your saber to end the session. Lay on when ready, Padawan Singh."

Kro took a few steps back and watched her start off before he went on to walk among the others.

[member="Caelag Vass"]

Suddenly, a nudge in the Force ripples across the silver lightsaber's activation button and your blade dissipated into nothing. The remote freezes and then slowly hovers to the ground where it engages sleep mode. A soft hand would partially clasp the thumb and index fingers of her sword hand and guide your arm downwards. Then, another hand slides into the crook of your back and guides you away from the class. The newcomer is a pink, female Twi'lek who says,

"Let's go over here..."

Spoiler

Away from the Training Grounds and closer to the gardens, the Twi'lek slowly relinquished her hold and walked ahead a little. Then, she stopped and turned back to face Caelag, her hands clasped in front of her stomach.

"I am Jedi Knight Kishra," she says as she does a small curtsy.

"I must say that you're doing quite well for your first time, Padawan. You are quite agile and physically capable. Yet..."

She pursed her lips, as she knew most people didn't like it when the other shoe dropped.

"...You're deviating from the purpose of the exercise. The purpose of this phase of the class is to utilize the proper form you've been practicing and to put it to use under duress of fire. Although you're doing better than most Padawans around you, you're letting your emotions get the better of you and inviting more trouble than is necessary. If you stopped moving around so much, you wouldn't be getting shot at from veering too close to the others and the training remote wouldn't be trying to ramp up the difficulty. Again, the purpose is to continue developing good form and learning to deflect blaster bolts."

Kishra smiled, hoping she would understand.

Minch was doing well enough; at least, when the training remote first started out. His small hit box made it far easier for him to deflect bolts back, as his hand had less distance to travel in order to shift the blade from one angle to another. However, as the remote tallied the amount of shots being successfully deflected, its reactive training began to ramp up the difficulty. Soon, Minch was forced to move faster and block more rapid shots from different angles. Naturally, as it got more difficult, the number of bolts he failed to deflect rose, which caused the training difficulty to lower. It would go back and forth in flux like this so long as he continued to train, but he was able to gradually hone his mind and reflexes to move faster, react quicker and anticipate.

Minch wasn't afraid to deactivate his lightsaber and stop to catch his breath, wait out the pain and calm his mind. In fact, he probably did so a little more frequently than anyone else. However, his approach to training didn't require much intervention from the teachers, aside from the occasional compliment or hint. So, it was likely he was doing it mostly right. Either that or the teachers were prioritizing those who were performing more poorly than he.

 

[Remy Singh]

[member="Minch"]

She moved seeing some fo the others and the training saber was there, something that she might be able to use in place of her wrist blade sabers. The tonfa's off to the side and with her normal gear until she twirled the hilt within her hands. She held the blade as it activated with a snap hiss, the humming there while the remote moved around and her tendrils wriggled on her face. Brow ridges raising but watching it ready for anything as she tested her movement within the robes. SHe couldn't move as freely as she would have liked but it did provide her some freedom at least and it wasn't a thick robe so there was that... She held the blade with one hand at first in a reverse grip tracking the remote while her mind went inward.... calmness and that natural aggression her people had. The first shot came and she moved seeing it slowly int he force while her blade moved to catch it and send it up into the ceiling.

 

[Caelag Vass]

Something finally touched her arm gently, guiding her away from the situation at hand. Without the repeated stings of the remote and the stares burning holes into her back itwas, easier to calm herself. Granted, the woman was right that she was letting her emotions burn violently, though if she didn't simply assume that the Miraluka was a padawan then she'd have understood it better. The Miraluka wanted to respond to her, but first she had to cool herself more. So, quietly, she let the Twi'lek talk, as the heated air around her slowly returned to room temperature, the indicator that she was finally managing to get herself under control.

Finally, she could manage to speak calm and softly, crossing her arms as she did so. "A comment. One, I am not a padawan. I do not pretend to be a jedi. I am a soldier who works for the Light, I just happen to be a force sensitive." She kept her own arms crossed, her head tilted down. She wasn't ashamed of her more, emotional susceptibility, and she was well aware that for a professional soldier it might be odd that she had melted down, no pun intended. But as a side effect of her minimalist training and practice, she knew that this was bound to happen.

No reason to be ashamed for being a person. "I'm well aware of what happened, Miss Kishra, and you have my thanks for stopping it. This usually only happens when I'm this.. entrenched in Force intensive activities." A quiet way of admitting she loses control, occasionally, when practicing more than her sight.

[member="Remy Singh"] || [member="Minch"]

 

[Minch]

[member="Caelag Vass"]

Kishra gave a small sigh of exasperation before replying.

"Yes, yes, the faculty is well aware of your military background. Whether you like it or not, as a student training here at the Rest, you are officially considered at the rank of Padawan. There's nothing and no one here who'll force you to pursue Knighthood, but, if you play on the same team, you go by the same name. There's no point confusing the other students or have them call into question your loyalties and intentions just because of some antisocial preference. If you are not a Jedi, nor plan on presenting yourself as one, then why are you here? For power? You think this place is some kind of boot camp to churn out warriors? Are you here to become a Silver Jedi or not?"

Kishra gave a little sour look off to the sideline, so as to express her slight build of frustration, but not aim it at Caelag. She couldn't understand why someone would want to train in the ways of the Jedi, only to disparage and shun the title. It made her appear as though she was only here as an opportunistic scavenger; someone who wanted to pick and choose what she gained here and be on her way without a second glance back.

 

[Caelag Vass]

Caelag sighed, shaking her head. Nuance was lost on some people. She pinched the tip of her nose to help calm the slight frustration. "I believe you misunderstand greatly exactly what I mean. I am not a Jedi. I am not what a Jedi should be. I cannot be what a Jedi is, even if I uphold their ideals and morals. Jedi simply are something above what I can be no matter how hard I try. I am being realistic. If you must call me Padawan around others then so be it. But I will not pretend to be so high as what the title might imply. I am here to bring some measure of peace and safety to the galaxy, and the last thing I can allow is myself to be so untamed as to risk that very thing." Did her exact feelings come across? Perhaps, she was poor at hiding them. There was a lingering sense of shame, and even tints of anger, lingering about her. Whatever she might say, her past lead her to believe herself unfit for anything more than a soldier for a noble cause.

It was the most she could do.

Without much more to say, she turned on her heels, the black cape of her bright gold tinted armor billowing to signal she intended to walk off. "Again, I thank you for helping me to calm, but there is still work to do. There is little to gain by arguing here, except for the sour expression on your face." Soft footsteps punctuated her words. Honestly people forgot that Caelag could more so in a bubble around herself, with that focus in 'normal' sight lines. She could see the face well defined, even turned away from her. A pessimist like her easily could misconstrue such an expression as meant for the blind woman...