The Awakening

[Komo]

It was hard to believe that enough people as resolute as the Jedi would resort to unfair play in times of need. Greta guessed that it was just embedded in human nature, or rather the nature of all sentient beings. With the basic footwork lessons completed, and out of the way, the apprentice was ready to move on to whatever her master deemed was next. Today was a day of learning, and she still had plenty to learn, that was clear for all to see.

If the girl was about to make an educated guess, she would say that choosing one of the forms would be the next stage for her. The apprentice had done her homework, and firmly understood the gist of what each of the form entailed. Would she go for the swift form of Ataru, or the most elegant of the lot, Makashi? The Sith Lady then posed a question to her.

What was her greatest asset? That was something the girl needed to figure out on her own, and she thought long and hard about her strengths and interests, going over all the forms available at hand. Greta eventually came to a decision, after keeping The Sith Lady in her thought assessment. After all, master-student dynamics were incredibly important.

Her master's build was not suitable for a form such as Djem So, and so she had picked Makashi as the form to be learnt today. From the way she had seen the Sith Lady wield her lightsaber, the apprentice had figured that Makashi was the form that the Darth was most familiar with, Learning it from her would allow her to maximise her learning efficiency.

Yes, that would do.

[member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Mere little orbs would not suffice for the forthcoming demonstration of Makashi. No, the Dagobah Sith elected to up the ante and use real droids; battle droids equipped with Force pikes. The weapons were not powerful enough to kill but had a nasty charge that when it hit you, every bone in your body rattled. On one occasion, when she was an Acolyte, she witnessed another student shake so violently after being zapped that he bit down so hard that he shattered a couple of teeth. ​

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After a few key buttons pushed and a couple of texts written on the computer console, a medium sized ball vibrated slightly then transformed into a six foot droid. Following the commands installed from her programming, it walked over to the weapon racks and acquired a Force pike; activating it. When the droid positioned itself in the centre of the room, only then did Darth Venefica ignite her weapon. Actions, not words, would begin this lesson.​

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"Begin!"​

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The droid attacked without emotions, driving the tip of the pike at the legs of the Sith, while she countered the attack with a well timed parry. The droid twirled the other end up in response driving it toward her chest and again, Darth Venefica parried the attack while on both occasions keeping her feet moving and repositioning her body to the left of the droid after every assault. Then she took to the offensive. In blurring fashion, she swept her blade in a downward angle aiming to sever the droid's leg from it's chassis. The droid blocked the attack to it's right and Darth Venefica, using that momentum, swung her blade upwards toward the mid-section of the droid.​

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This time the droid locked the pike with her saber but she countered by thrusting her right hand out, and releasing a wave of Force energy that sent the droid sprawling to the ground on it's backside. The droid attempted to rise to it's metal-clawed feet and was knocked back a second time from another energy wave.​

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"Halt!"​

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That single command word shut down every function in the droid.​

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"Makashi relies on parries than blocks. The difference....parries are more fluid to perform and take less energy while preventing saber locks. Blocks, on the other hand, require two hands and exerts more physical energy because you are bracing against the strike. Also, it leaves you open to be saber locked."​

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A quick glance at the droid, she added, "As a practitioner of this form, you have the advantage of a free hand....such as I used to knock the droid to the ground."​

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"Remember, allow the Force to guide you...to work through you. And when you are ready....." She nodded at the droid.​

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[member="Greta Kohler"]​

 

[Komo]

Greta watched as her master summoned up a droid with nothing much than several flicks of her fingers at a nearby datapad. The droid rolled itself into the centre of the room before standing up to its full six feet height. It then equipped itself with a force pike and assumed a combat stance, waiting for whatever instructions would come next. A simple yell from the Sith Lady was all it took for the droid to spring into action, attacking the Darth with mechanised precision and efficiency.

The girl watched with intense concentration, focusing every bit on her master moves as she swung the saber elegantly using only one handed moves. She attacked and parried with the same hand, always making sure to have a free hand ready at all times. Makashi was truly an artistic dueling form indeed. The droid picked up the slack, increasing its speed as the Sith Lady increased the momentum with her strokes.

It was then that the pivotal moment in the fight presented itself, as the Sith Lady used the free hand she had been keeping free all this while to let loose a burst of force energy, knocking the droid down, before yet letting loose another, preventing the droid from getting up. Another yell, this time, ordering the droid to stop, ceased all actions of the droid, as it assumed a neutral stance once more. The apprentice was then informed about the differences between parries and blocks while using Makashi.

She would do well to keep it in mind. As the Darth nodded to the training droid, Greta understood what she wanted her to do. Igniting her saber, and lowering in the usual makashi style, she awaited for the attacks of the charging droid, parrying its strikes in a one-handed fashion, utilising every bit of knowledge and technique she had seen her master perform earlier with pin-point accuracy. As the droid struck with a high blow aiming for her head, she swung her blade in a riposte, and with her free hand, she called a training saber from one of the racks, before sending it shooting towards the droid, impaling it.

"Oops. My bad."

[member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Darth Venefica smiled as she watched the droid fizzle and sizzle then fall over on it's side. She was pleased with the creativity of her Apprentice. Such an act pushed the balance to victory over defeat. She had witnessed countless times young Sith overeager to square off against a Jedi or any kind of Force user with the delusion that the fight would be clear cut; white and black. Sadly, the young fools died never knowing their own failure.​

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"Droids are just droids," she spoke gazing at the droid as it continued to making popping noises. "The real test begins when you face off against an opponent that is not programmed...but can think and assess situations for itself."​

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The Sith Lady returned her own lightsaber to it's resting place, pulled the skin cloak around her and headed for the exit. There wasn't anything she could teach the girl while they remained in the safety of the temple. The galaxy was filled with all manners of nasties, even some more than a challenge for a young Sith Acolyte.​

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"Say your farewells to anyone you know here," she said stopping at the exit/entrance. "It will be a long time before we return to this.....place."​

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Darth Venefica reached back with a hand and pulled the hood over the top of her head, leaving the hood's front to drape just above the brim of her nose. Then she exited the chamber.​

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[member="Greta Kohler"]​

 

[Komo]

Greta's on-the-ball display of combining force usage with lightsaber technique seemed to please the Sith lady. A smile had graced her visage, which would usually a good thing. The acolyte would think so. Although, sometimes it was hard to tell. But in this case, she thinks that she was probably right on that count. Greta was glad that her master was pleased with the display, this was but merely the beginning. There was plenty more where that came from, and she aimed to please.

The Darth then informed her that fighting a living opponent capable of fluid actions that were unpredictable, prone to changing on the fly, was where the true test lie. There was no failing in such a test. You fail, and you die. It was as simple as such. There can only be one victor. Greta was drenched in sweat from the physical exertion of the training, causing her clammy clothing to cling to her figure.

The feeling was not a pleasant one, but her attention was then diverted elsewhere as the Sith lady made her adjustments to her cloak as she headed to the exit. The acolyte skipped along after all, following shortly behind her master. She was told to say her farewells, as it would be some time before they would be back here again. The girl had no farewells to say, the only one who mattered in the academy was leaving with her, that was what mattered. As [member="Darth Venefica"] left the temple, Greta followed suit.

A whole new period of time together would await the pair.
Only time would tell what was in store for them.