The Trial of Skill

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla reflected as she walked around the enclave. How it might have been to have been a student here to be raised into a keeper of a Republic’s peace and not a soldier in a galactic war. But you played the cards you were dealt and Lilla could hardly complain.

For the first time in her life she belonged. And her moral compass was aligned to something far greater than she was. Risking her life on a daily basis was a small price to pay in her opinion.

And she also wondered about the benefits her current training afforded her, compared to being a Padawan in a time of peace. Because in real life you rarely face your enemies one by one, in a closed room, with comfortable mats on the floor.

Missions were more chaotic. Instead of fighting in a sparring room, you found yourself drawing your lightsaber in a docking bay, or a library, or in a city street.

Or even a dining room. And your encounters were not timetabled. You may have just eaten a large meal or been woken from a deep sleep. Or have already fought the two toughest opponents in your short life – and be feeling the wounds from those encounters.

At least in here she would know who her opponents were. And how many remained to face.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

As if on cue, the remaining three dark siders entered the dining hall. Lilla’s senses told her they were no doubt apprentices, like her. And, from their progress, not used to working in a team. They immediately split up and went to different corners of the room. If she were lucky, she might get to face them one at a time.

If that constituted luck of course!

Lilla scanned the three, doing her best to work out who she should deal with first. Tactically she knew the answer. The common approach was to eliminate the weakest first, but in doing so, she would negate one advantage she had. For the worst of the three was most likely to get in the way of the other two. She should face them last – if at all possible.

Lilla glanced at the one with the weakest aura, checking to make sure the he wasn’t sneaking up on her. So far, so good. He was playing to type, haging back – and would probably only engage when she was fighting someone else.

She edged over until she was closest to the strongest dark sider. In purely physical terms, he was by far the strongest, a huge young man with muscles like tree roots under his gleaming skin.

What had transpired so far felt like slow-motion. And then, it was as if someone had flipped a switch and they were know in fast-forward mode.

The dark sider grabbed for his lightsaber and Lilla reached down to the table beside her and grabbed a mug. She then tossed the juice in his face. Up snapped his hands, the lightsaber a beam of red light humming wildly over Lilla’s head as he frantically tried to wipe the sticky and acidic juice out of his eyes.

Ignoring her lightsaber completely – there was no point in trying to duel him up close – she charged straight into his chest, letting her hands find the neck of his tunic. She found the sweet hold, her strong wrists cranked, and she felt the old familiar pressure of fingers and cloth cutting into her opponent’s neck. Great, she thought. Now all I have to do is count to ten and hold on.

One, two...

The muscles in the dark-sider’s legs bunched, and with a little Force tingle Lilla knew what was coming next. He launched himself backward, twisting in mid-air like a dragonsnake in its death throes so as to come crashing down on the tabletop with Lilla underneath him, but she had felt it coming and wiggled around him in mid-flight, so she was on top again when he hit the table with a whump.

Three, four...

The dark sider kept rolling. His giant hands flexed, but for some reason the Force was flowing easily for Lilla now and she knew he would try to pull her hands away before he knew it himself. Keeping the choke hold on with her right hand and forearm, she reached down with her left and popped the pressure point in his elbow, so his arm went numb and tingly.

Five, six...

The dark sider stopped thrashing and lay on the tabletop, blinking as if trying to summon the Force, but his eyes were glazing over. He gave a long, despairing gurgle and glared at her with bulging eyes, his face congested and still running with juice.

Seven...

Eight…

Nine…

Ten.

The time was the same as with the Knight, but the risk of another reaching her before she concluded the fight made time drag.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla sensed the attack and rolled off the Dark Jedi appprentice and rolled under the table, just as a saber sliced through the table she had been lying on – killing the dark sider she’d rendered unconscious,

This mistake slowed her opponent fractionally, Lilla identified her as now the stronger of the two remaining.

Lilla stood and faced off to the young woman. Right now, the fight would be at range but ideally she would make it go to ground, where it was all grappling skills and joint locks. This is where Lilla believed she had an advantage.

Their eyes met, and they exchanged weary, wary smiles.

Lilla leapt at the dark sider but something about the set of the Dark Jedi’s body whispered to Lilla that she knew exactly what she was planning. The dark sider leapt into the air, six effortless metres, turned a backflip, and landed gently on a tabletop behind Lilla.

It was fortunate she sensed this, as if her Force talent hadn’t come to her aid she would have continued blindly forwards, leaving her back at the dark sider’s mercy. Instead, she had changed move in mid-air and was ready with a whirling lightsaber slash at the dark sider’s legs as she landed on the table. The dark sider met her green blade with a red one in a shower of sparks.

Then Lilla was aware the other Dark Jedi was fast approaching, seeing an opportunity to fight with minimum risk to himself no doubt.

He darted in to attack. Lilla knew he would thrust low, and jumped high, hoping the dark siders were not working effectively as a team. And she was proven right as the woman leapt high and backwards, and away from Lilla’s reach.

A Force shove in her back sent Lilla sprawling into the table the dark sider had been standing on. She rose and shook her head, shaking little bits of stale lunch out of her hair.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Whilst Lilla was distracted, the female Dark Jedi circled the Padawan and rushed her.

At the last moment, the young woman had to swerve to avoid her comrade’s wildly swinging saber and Lilla turned her around, and put a sturdy arm bar on her. Lilla used the woman as a shield, and the weakest of the Dark Jedi seemed confused.

In fact, if Lilla were fond of gambling, she’d read the look on the dark sider’s face to reflect indecision. Keep his comrade alive, or kill Lilla. They were mutually exclusive right now and the vacillation played into Lilla’s hands.

Lilla threw the female Dark Jedi’s body away from her, using the Force to propel her, into the other dark sider.

There was a smell of burning flesh and then Lilla saw the tip of the weaker dark sider’s saber poking through the female’s back. Was it all Lilla’s doing or did the remaining Dark Jedi take advantage of the opportunity to remove a friendly foe?

It was immaterial. There were just two left in the room and Lilla was determined she would not be felled now – not after all she’d endured.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Perhaps the success had buoyed the Dark Jedi’s confidence. Or maybe he’d been deliberately hiding his light under a bushel? Because his look of apprehension was replaced by one of calm pleasure – as if this was what he had planned all along.

His saber became a spinning cage of crimson light around him.

Lilla sprinted towards him. She activated her saber as she ran, and went through a parry-feint-beat attack-fleche combination, trying for a straight thrust into her opponent’s chest. He sidestepped, limber as a whipcord. He used his blade to guide hers harmlessly by while at the same time letting his free hand clamp on to her sword hand. He continued to pivot, sinking his weight and now Lilla’s sword hand was caught in a thumb lock that her own momentum was making worse. The whole thing was incredibly smooth: the fighter in Lilla couldn’t help but admire his balance, his precision and body awareness. She would have had a hard time countering the technique, even if she had wanted to. Three seconds into their fight, and it already looked to be over. He was standing behind her. A single nudge, exactly placed, sent pain shooting up her thumb and into her wrist. She dropped her lightsaber with a clatter.

A small serving droid wheeled through the swinging doors from the kitchen area and surveyed the refectory, emitting a series of dismayed beeps and whistles as it took in the shattered crockery and the food spattered over half the floor and some of the walls. Several tables showed scorch marks from stray lightsaber strokes.

“We don’t have to fight,” she said. “You can always surrender,” she finished.

“Me? Surrender to you? I don’t think so.”

He gave her thumb another nudge, and she found herself standing on tiptoe, as if somehow she could climb away from the little needle of pain shooting through her thumb.

And then, gritting her teeth, she dropped down, into the pain, and back, driving straight into the teeth of his hold. All he had to do was keep it steady, and her thumb would snap like a dry stick. But he let go, as Lilla had hoped he would.

Her actions were too irrational, too unconventional. Too disconcerting.

Her Master had always told her that a large proportion of duels were won in the mind. If you can unsettle your opponent, or distract him, or simply confuse him, you’ll create the opening you need to end it in your favour.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

The Force was with her now, and the element of surprise. She turned into him, unwinding the arm he’d had pinned against her back as he loosened his hold. The instant before he decided to leap clear she felt it coming, took his arm like the spoke of a wheel so that when he made his jump she could swing him fluidly into a perfect shoulder throw.

Three seconds later it was over. The dark sider was lying flat on his back on the floor gasping for breath, while Lilla sat on his chest and grinned. She had her right hand twisted in the collar of his robes, which she bunched as he started to twitch.

“Un-unh,” she said, tightening her hand just a little to show she had the choke hold if she needed it. The Dark Jedi glared up at her, sighed, and allowed her to manoeuvre him into a position where she could bind his arms and legs.

The little serving droid rolled back and forth in dismay.

“Oh, dear,” it said. “There’s been a spill.”

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla gathered the Dark Jedi into a secure room and checked over the reminder of the enclave. In the courtyard she found what she had been dreading. Dead bodies – and from the number, it appeared to be the full complement of Jedi for such an outpost.

She radioed in her findings and had her fears confirmed.

Then she went to the infirmary and allowed a medical droid to tend to her wounds. The lightsaber burns on her leg and hand were throbbing with dull red fire.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Master Mei was amongst those that arrived first, and she greeted him with a formal bow at the entrance to the enclave.

“I am sorry we could not have saved those stationed here.” Lilla did not say ‘I’. She did not believe it was her fault, but that the Jedi had a collective responsibility for any deaths that could have been avoided.

“You did well,” Mei said, putting his arm around her.

“I’m less sure,” Lilla replied, honestly. “I mean, I survived, but I’m less sure my means were precisely Jedi-like. They were stronger in the Force than I am.”

“Lilla,” her master said firmly, “Being a Jedi is about being resourceful, keeping your eyes open, and never ever giving up. You demonstrated what it means to be a Jedi today.”

Lilla looked at him, speechless.

“Spirit and determination, you have in abundance. There is so much darkness between the stars. And around so much darkness, you are one who burns so bright.”

Lilla stared. Since she’d begun her training, she had been trying not to let Master Mei down. Her eyes grew hot and filled with tears.

Mei nodded, as if he understood. “You feel the band around your heart loosen, and the blood running back into it. And it almost hurts!”

“Yes!” Lilla cried. “Yes, exactly!... How did you know?”

Mei smiled. “Shall I tell you a secret?”

He leaned in close.

“I am a Jedi Master of many years standing” he said. “Do you think I won this title in a game of Sabacc?”

He gave a roar of laughter. “I know these things because it’s my job to. Just as one day it will be yours.”