The Time Has Come [Metus De'cal]

[Sheff Zee]

[member="Metus De'cal"].

The time had come for Metus to learn how to fight for his mission and for the coming fights with the Galactic Republic.

The Sith Knight couldn't have it being said that he trained the future Sith Lords to be cowards and weaklings, could he? Or would their dying and failures simply be because they were too weak and no one would bat an eye at him?

He couldn't let that uncertainty fester and make him nervous at every point. No. He would crush those thoughts at that moment with a single commlink summoning to the Sith Apprentice, and a wait. It would take a few minutes at most, he knew that Metus was quite the eager fellow to learn the ways of the Sith to become a 'scarier' being.

Malphas snorted.

There was an arrangement of weapons and rocks encircling the rim of the room. That would be for a test later to come, but for now the way of the lightsaber came first. Whether Metus proved himself to be worthy to use a real lethal lightsaber came or not, it'd be good to know how to actually use one right? Right.

 

[Metus De'cal]

The apprentice arrived as soon as he was able, still wearing the simple black tunic he wore while studying, and the amount of weaponry that greeted his sight was enough to make him hesitate a moment before entering the room. His master stood among it all with the usual air of mystery, and as Metus approached he wondered how brutal the training would be on this day.

"Hello my master." He said with a slight bow to [member="Darth Acarus"], "I assume that these weapons are mine to try and master?"

 

[Sheff Zee]

The one time his Apprentice spoke without being spoken to...

"Sometimes it is best to keep your mouth shut until told otherwise."

He pointed to the lightsaber rack. It only held training lightsabers, and that was all he'd get. From the depths of his robes a remote was revealed and his finger remained on the button. "You have five seconds."

Whether he began to move, by the time he started to take a training lightsaber hidden compartments along the walls would open up and reveal the training droids flying around the room. Small and spherical in shape that only shot bolts that were capable of burning just a little, but deliver enough sting to deliver... Punishment for failure. Or to at least gather a reaction that would necessitate a flinch or hurt.

"Destroy the droids."

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus' body tensed at the mention of keeping silent, preparing to receive another punishment, but was surprised to see the remote emerge from the darkness of his master's clothing. As to what it controlled was a mystery, but knowing [member="Darth Acarus"] meant that it would be something brutal, but important for his training. He was given the answer to the method of training by the next words that were spoken.

"You have five seconds." As soon as he heard that Metus sprang into action, rushing towards and grabbing a lightsaber as the training droids emerged to do battle, "Destroy the droids."

The first of them let loose a bolt that grazed his head just as the lightsaber was ignited, sending a quick sensation of pain through his body that told him to act quickly. He sprinted towards the initial attacker with his weapon held high over his head, yelling in anger as the weapon came down and struck the droid's small form and turning it junk. Before Metus could feel proud of his first victory another bolt found itself in his leg, a more powerful shock of pain running through from the direct hit.

In retribution for this offense the apprentice picked up the largest half of the first droid's remains and threw it as hard as he could at the attacking droid as he rolled away from another incoming shot from another one. The piece hit its target and momentarily knocked it off balance, just enough time for Metus to move forward and strike at it with a quick horizontal slash. That made two, but the intense shock of pain that ran through his back told him that he was still not fast enough. And it was making him angry.

The adrenaline mixed with the anger pushed him onward, one by one destroying the droids as he sustained injuries that he ignored now, but would probably feel later once the rush was gone.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

Acarus watched in disappoint. Metus charged head first to slash at the remote control droids only to be swinging at them rather than actually blocking and deflecting the blaster bolts. Was it his fault for not explaining? Maybe. Was it not clear that the Sith Knight didn't want a savage for an Apprentice? Quite so.

There was a second button on the remote. He pressed it. He wouldn't be kind to his foolish apprentice, no, he would receive full punishment and eventually collapse. Or so he believed. He sensed the anger from his Apprentice as the droids strafed around him, now practically moving too fast and too high for him to even reach if he was swinging at them. If he thought to swing the lightsaber at fast moving droids then...

Well it'd be interesting to see to say the least.

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Back during his days in the underworld of Coruscant if there was something he didn't like Metus simply chose to ignore it, run from it, or simply destroy it, but here two of those options were completely out of the question and the last was not much help as the droids began moving faster and higher while still keeping him under fire. Trying to reach them now with his weapon would be a pointless pursuit, and would make him even more tired that he already was. No, he needed a new approach.

The question was how he could use his lightsaber to bring down a foe he couldn't reach with it, and it was then that he remembered the stories of Jedi and Sith sending enemy fire right back at their foes with their legendary weapons and skill...but was Metus capable of such a thing after little training with a lightsaber? There wasn't much time to debate it since every second was another blaster bolt to either dodge or get hit by, so against the odds he would at least try to do it.

The apprentice held the lightsaber in front of his body, slowly edging about as he focused on the ones he could see and prepared for a sudden attack. A few seconds later one came from behind, but when he wheeled around he missed the deflection with the lightsaber and received a shot to the chest that dropped him to his knees in pain. His eyes closed as he tried to focus himself, Metus suddenly felt something and quickly moved his weapon without thinking, and when he opened his eyes he noticed the deflected shot hitting the wall. He could do this, but he just had to let go and act on instinct. The force would hopefully do the rest for him.

After that he managed to find himself blocking more and more of their shots as time passed, the deflected blaster bolts going in various directions while Metus took the blows he missed and managed to keep himself standing.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Sheff Zee]

His Apprentice surely truly did impress him, but he was going to have to do better if Acarus was going to be training him in the Ways of the Force more. The Fore was superior to the lightsaber, but he was definitely going to have to be able to use both if he was going to be the terror that he wanted to be. Or the weapon that Malphas was planning to fashion him into.

Do better.

He found himself supporting his Apprentice rather than wanting to crush him this time, but it was only because he had several plans, maybe too many for him to complete on his own.

Soon his Apprentice began to bring down the droids one by one, and from the significant mount of remote controlled droids that had been levitating and zooming across the area had been reduced in only a few moments. Now all [member="Metus De'cal"] had to do was last a few more minutes and bring down the rest which was barely a handful.

 

[Metus De'cal]

With a grunt of exertion Metus deflected yet another blaster bolt, sending it directly into the offending remote droid and turning it into a small heap of scrap metal before repeating the process on the quickly dwindling group of other droids. After seeing other more powerful Sith in action the apprentice wished that he could simply use telekinesis as they do to end this little test, but without the training all he could do was practice his basic defenses to take them out one by one. Eventually the last droid met its fiery end and Metus stood tall among the wreckage of his 'fierce' opponents, breathing heavily from his nostrils while deactivating the training lightsaber.

Once settled, the student of the dark side wordless turned and knelt down in front of his master with a bowed head, ready for any further instruction.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Iroatas]

A respectable feat to be sure, but not one that impressed the Sith Knight.

An obedient Apprentice...

He clasped his arms in front of him and stared down upon hi s Apprentice in front of him. He was learning fast, and Malphas enjoyed that. He didn't like long term things, but it would give more time to train his Apprentice to kill Ballen-Ist, but wouldn't it also give Ballen-Ist more time to become stronger right?

"Do you now realize how useful a lightsaber is? If you had been trained previously you would've made short hand of this... Obstacle. Of course if everything in this 'simulation' had been real you would've been killed." He shrugged.

"Again. This time deflecting them back to where they come from before pressing whatever advantage you imagine you have." His finger pressed down upon the remote again, and then they were upon him.

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

A flash of anger ran through Metus as his master belittled what he saw as an accomplishment, and for the way [member="Darth Acarus"] seemed to treat him as a child who was struggling with his first steps instead of a grown man trying to master such a powerful weapon. In any case the apprentice did his best to keep the feeling buried within his soul, and brought his weapon to the ready when more of the remote droids appeared to attack him once more. This time he would be as effective as possible, and rely on concentration instead of brute force.

Metus jumped to the side to avoid the first initial blaster bolts, and then used his lightsaber to begin deflecting the rest that came at him. He was becoming more and more exhausted from his previous wounds and the physically demanding way he went about it before, causing him to breathe heavily as he blocked bolt after bolt, successfully deflecting some back towards the attackers while others simply were deflected into the walls of the training room. He needed to work on his accuracy, but over time it began to improve as more fell to his increasing skill.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Iroatas]

Acarus watched.

He pressed the button on the control again and then the droids, or those that remained returned to the slots in the walls and disappeared.

The training exercise was done.

Malphas had need to speak with [member="Metus De'cal"]. "I sensed anger within you..." He let his Apprentice guess at what he was speaking of, usually when you were angry for but a moment you didn't recall it. It was the same for any emotion, but he had sensed it and there was no doubt about it. "It seemed you thought it best to hold it down rather than release it."

Another pause.

"Why?"

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus became suddenly concerned, wondering if his master would punish him for not properly lashing out with the spark of anger. Or would he punish him if it was discovered that the anger came from his own words? In either outcome the student guessed there would be pain, and deactivated the lightsaber before falling to his knees and bowing his head before the master.

"I...did not believe it would help me in this case. If I allowed myself to become to enraged I assumed my focus would be lost and the droids would overcome me."

It was the best answer he could think of on the spot, and seemed almost logical instead of the entire truth.

[member="Darth Acarus"]

 

[Iroatas]

Acarus regarded [member="Metus De'cal"] in silence.

"That... Is something that you will have to learn to control of course. Anger is an emotion that should empower your use of the Force. You must use the Force and anger to destroy your foes or whatever obstacle that is blocking your path. I will of course, teach you." He didn't bother to tell his Apprentice he could rise, if he wanted to bend his knees like a common servant that was something he could do.

"Why were you mad?"

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus continued to stay low, but glanced upwards at his master. The man above him was able to crush him at any moment chosen, and the cowardly thug would continue to bring himself low if it made him seem like less of a threat. It was those who put themselves at the bottom who were considered the least significant enemy, and he would use that to his advantage if he had to.

"I...was mad because..." Metus debated on what sort of answer he should give, but decided that in the end he was only going to make it worse for himself if [member="Darth Acarus"] discovered his falsehoods, "I was mad because of your words my lord. I was upset at being belittled, and it stroked the fires of my anger."

 

[Iroatas]

Acarus nodded.

"I had thought so. Next time, use that to your advantage. Let the anger and rage you felt burn bright and push you to even great endeavours. If you will not do such a thing, then you are truly not fit for being the Sith Lord that you aspire to be, my Apprentice." He stared down upon his Apprentice with contempt, and a thinly veiled curiosity. Was [member="Metus De'cal"] truly capable of being a Sith Lord that was feared by many?

It was possible, but the Sith Knight was unsure as of at that moment.

He took a step back and raised his arm up to his Apprentice to signal that he could rise.

"Strike me."

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus listened intently to his master's words as if they were the only thing keeping him alive, which could easily become the truth in the future, and once [member="Darth Acarus"] finished speaking the student finally went so far as to fully raise his head with a look of pure confusion on his face at the command to attack. Thoughts ran through his head as the time to act drew closer, along with the time to prove himself.

Was this a trick? Maybe Metus' master was finally sick of him and would simply kill him after the initial strike and claim he was defending himself. No, he didn't need a reason such as that to get rid of a student he did not want. Maybe it was simply a test to see how much anger and hate he could put into an attack? Possibly, since the attack would most likely be deflected with no damage done to his master. In any case, it was now or never in deciding what to do, and for him there was only one way.

"Master...I don't know if I-"

Metus dropped his act and struck, sending a hate-filled horizontal slash directly towards his master's stomach. If he failed to kill him then it was just as he expected, but if by some stroke of incredible luck his master fell for the ruse and was killed...glory and respect would be his.

 

[Iroatas]

There were multiple things that could've occurred in those few moments as he awaited his Apprentice's attack.

If he was a Master of the Force he would've simply formed an illusion in his Apprentice's mind to making him think that he saw the real Acarus, while it was simply a fake illusion and when he cut through it, he, the real one would be standing behind him with a look of disappointment at falling for the trick. The Sith Knight aspired to be a Master of the Force, but the lightsaber part was something that he excelled at, as well.

The Sith Knight leaned backwards and then extended his foot behind himself as a lunge to escape it, but the lightsaber still connected with his midriff. It was the Vonduun Crab Armour that [member="Metus De'cal"] made contact with, and most likely made a dent in, but that was it. The Sith Knight glanced down at his burnt robes and shook his head at his Apprentice.

"And by killing your Master, did you think you would advance further?"

 

[Metus De'cal]

The apprentice froze for a moment in fear after his attack merely grazed [member="Darth Acarus"]'s armor, looking up in anticipation of a powerful counter-attack as his master spoke. Whether the man planned on punishing Metus for his attempted action or not was still not out of the question, but for now the man simply lowered his weapon and kept it activated at his side. No matter how he defended himself Metus would be no match for a trained Sith such as this one, and would be destroyed no matter what defensive actions were taken to prevent it.

"I...expected to be praised if you were killed by my attack, yes. Whether it brought me new rank or not I would at least be able to spread the tale of how I defeated you in single combat, spreading the "truth" as I chose to tell it in order to enhance my reputation and encourage some to fear me."

 

[Iroatas]

"Indeed, some may fear you. The one who killed a Sith Knight who has barely made an impression on the Galaxy. Yes, some know of me, some will be interested, fearful. Others, will kill you themselves to prove that they were dominant over me through killing you. Or, you could simply be challenged and cut down like that, no?"

He paused for a moment.

"After all, you wouldn't have been striking me down in combat, but rather killing your empty-handed Master."

He chuckled for a moment. Probably the first time in the presence of [member="Metus De'cal"]. "As a Sith, it is sometimes best to think before you strike. One day, you will be moving fast enough so that it becomes second nature."