Kelsie Sylvan
Tired Trigger Finger
Kelsie had had three teachers.
One. The first face she can remember aside from those of her squadmates was that of Colonel Plaisei, a lean and silver-haired man with those awful frown lines. He was a true Imperial. It wasn’t any wonder that they’d chosen him to be the head trainer of the Vanguard program; he had an iron will and a mind for science. That was what they were, after all -- experiments. He was fair and relatively honourable as Imperials go, but he didn’t treat them like snowflakes. They needed to be prepared. Kelsie was very prepared.
Her opponent slashed and hacked, Kelsie’s red hair flying around as she swiftly moved out of the way of attack. She was dancing gracefully, he was sweating profusely. He finally made a risky lunge forward -- Kelsie’s eyes flickered with delight. He realized part way through his attack that he was finished.
Two. Kelsie’s squad escaped Nelvaan when they were eighteen. It took them a year and a half to finally find a home, and they found it with the Alignment. Kelsie found herself under the wing of Blank, another Vanguard program graduate, one of the first batch. His codename was appropriate -- Kelsie blanked whenever she tried to remember his face. But she remembered what he was. She looked up to that ruthless, cold, efficient man. He was a killer, through and through, but Kelsie had always had the vague feeling that he mildly enjoyed every moment. She knew she sure did.
The young man was right handed, so Kelsie easily slipped to his right, allowing his attack to move past her. She was out of his line of sight. From there it was simple -- her right hand snatched her opponent’s right wrist and began to twist as he moved by. Her left hand was just as fast as it grabbed the back of his neck. He was already off-balance from all the forward momentum, and Kelsie’s feet slid easily into a stable position, her toe just barely touching his as she guided his fall.
Three. The teachings had been instilled in her from her two previous teachers -- fulfill your potential. So when Kelsie unlocked her Force abilities she immediately looked to learn more. She didn’t have to search far, only four cells down in the detention block in the secret compound on Jaemus. Voron was interesting. Significantly less competent than the previous two, surpassing them only in one aspect: the Force. He held the unique title of being the most powerful Force user she’d ever met. All these Confederacy kids couldn’t hold a candle to him in her mind, and at most she could hold a torch. Still, he’d bothered to teach her -- and she’d bothered to put up with him for three years.
Kelsie was efficient as always. Her opponent fell face-first onto the floor of the training room, with the young woman putting a knee on his back to keep him that way. She immediately pulled his left arm behind his back to pin it down and twisted his right arm until the knife fell out of his hands. The cold, almost evil stare penetrated the back of her opponent’s skull. He didn’t wait long to speak. “I yield,” he said, gritting his teeth.
She kept him in the lock for another few seconds before releasing him and getting to her feet. He rubbed his wrists before Kelsie offered a hand to help him up, which he promptly took, scooping up the knife he’d dropped in the process. His head hung as he moved back to the group of spectators -- Kelsie’s squad. “Can anyone tell me what Kicker here did wrong?”
The two other girls of the group snickered. “Tried to put the moves on you?” “Went up against you in the first place?”
“Yes and yes. But when he was actually fighting.” There was a short pause before the smallest of the group she’d been given raised his hand. “Alright, what you got blondie?”
The boy -- Kelsie was sure he was younger than eighteen but she couldn’t actually prove it -- spoke up in his fittingly meek voice. “Um, I noticed that when you were fighting you kept guiding Fa- I mean, Kicker, into doing lunging stabs. When he went for his biggest one you struck.”
Kelsie smiled softly. She’d make a soldier of him yet. “You’re right, Hal. I said at the start I’d limit myself to one attack, so I had to make it good.” She gave him an encouraging nod, and the boy’s face flushed with pride. “As the Dauntless Commandos, we’re the first line of defense against threats to the Confederacy. Rapid response. And when there’s a time crunch we won’t always have the chance for a perfect landing or insertion. So start by knowing yourself. If you’ve only got one chance to get it right, you’ve got to get it right.”
Funny how she'd become rather 'patriotic' -- spending time on these Hellspear Frigates had given her an appreciation for the CIS, and it seemed that the other commandos' enthusiasm about their cause had rubbed off on her a little. At least enough that she was sticking around on the Dauntless flagship at the moment. Maybe she just really liked the name -- the Rebellious Hawk. Fitting for Kelsie.
“Now pair up and practice the move I just showed you. One is the assailant with the knife, the other is unarmed. Remember to move out of their field of vision when you’re doing it.” She clapped her hands together, and the eight newbies hopped to it.
[member="Luna Terrik"]
One. The first face she can remember aside from those of her squadmates was that of Colonel Plaisei, a lean and silver-haired man with those awful frown lines. He was a true Imperial. It wasn’t any wonder that they’d chosen him to be the head trainer of the Vanguard program; he had an iron will and a mind for science. That was what they were, after all -- experiments. He was fair and relatively honourable as Imperials go, but he didn’t treat them like snowflakes. They needed to be prepared. Kelsie was very prepared.
Her opponent slashed and hacked, Kelsie’s red hair flying around as she swiftly moved out of the way of attack. She was dancing gracefully, he was sweating profusely. He finally made a risky lunge forward -- Kelsie’s eyes flickered with delight. He realized part way through his attack that he was finished.
Two. Kelsie’s squad escaped Nelvaan when they were eighteen. It took them a year and a half to finally find a home, and they found it with the Alignment. Kelsie found herself under the wing of Blank, another Vanguard program graduate, one of the first batch. His codename was appropriate -- Kelsie blanked whenever she tried to remember his face. But she remembered what he was. She looked up to that ruthless, cold, efficient man. He was a killer, through and through, but Kelsie had always had the vague feeling that he mildly enjoyed every moment. She knew she sure did.
The young man was right handed, so Kelsie easily slipped to his right, allowing his attack to move past her. She was out of his line of sight. From there it was simple -- her right hand snatched her opponent’s right wrist and began to twist as he moved by. Her left hand was just as fast as it grabbed the back of his neck. He was already off-balance from all the forward momentum, and Kelsie’s feet slid easily into a stable position, her toe just barely touching his as she guided his fall.
Three. The teachings had been instilled in her from her two previous teachers -- fulfill your potential. So when Kelsie unlocked her Force abilities she immediately looked to learn more. She didn’t have to search far, only four cells down in the detention block in the secret compound on Jaemus. Voron was interesting. Significantly less competent than the previous two, surpassing them only in one aspect: the Force. He held the unique title of being the most powerful Force user she’d ever met. All these Confederacy kids couldn’t hold a candle to him in her mind, and at most she could hold a torch. Still, he’d bothered to teach her -- and she’d bothered to put up with him for three years.
Kelsie was efficient as always. Her opponent fell face-first onto the floor of the training room, with the young woman putting a knee on his back to keep him that way. She immediately pulled his left arm behind his back to pin it down and twisted his right arm until the knife fell out of his hands. The cold, almost evil stare penetrated the back of her opponent’s skull. He didn’t wait long to speak. “I yield,” he said, gritting his teeth.
She kept him in the lock for another few seconds before releasing him and getting to her feet. He rubbed his wrists before Kelsie offered a hand to help him up, which he promptly took, scooping up the knife he’d dropped in the process. His head hung as he moved back to the group of spectators -- Kelsie’s squad. “Can anyone tell me what Kicker here did wrong?”
The two other girls of the group snickered. “Tried to put the moves on you?” “Went up against you in the first place?”
“Yes and yes. But when he was actually fighting.” There was a short pause before the smallest of the group she’d been given raised his hand. “Alright, what you got blondie?”
The boy -- Kelsie was sure he was younger than eighteen but she couldn’t actually prove it -- spoke up in his fittingly meek voice. “Um, I noticed that when you were fighting you kept guiding Fa- I mean, Kicker, into doing lunging stabs. When he went for his biggest one you struck.”
Kelsie smiled softly. She’d make a soldier of him yet. “You’re right, Hal. I said at the start I’d limit myself to one attack, so I had to make it good.” She gave him an encouraging nod, and the boy’s face flushed with pride. “As the Dauntless Commandos, we’re the first line of defense against threats to the Confederacy. Rapid response. And when there’s a time crunch we won’t always have the chance for a perfect landing or insertion. So start by knowing yourself. If you’ve only got one chance to get it right, you’ve got to get it right.”
Funny how she'd become rather 'patriotic' -- spending time on these Hellspear Frigates had given her an appreciation for the CIS, and it seemed that the other commandos' enthusiasm about their cause had rubbed off on her a little. At least enough that she was sticking around on the Dauntless flagship at the moment. Maybe she just really liked the name -- the Rebellious Hawk. Fitting for Kelsie.
“Now pair up and practice the move I just showed you. One is the assailant with the knife, the other is unarmed. Remember to move out of their field of vision when you’re doing it.” She clapped her hands together, and the eight newbies hopped to it.
[member="Luna Terrik"]
