Way of the Colt

[Eralam]

Eralam didn't often take students.

It wasn't that he wasn't willing, far from it. The Shard might have been somewhat reclusive, but he enjoyed passing his knowledge on. No, the problem was that his particular skillset wasn't in high demand. There weren't many people willing to work with someone who claimed that both light and dark were illusions of the organic mind, and even those that could overlook that were usually less than interested in combining sword and gunplay into a comprehensive style.

This [member="Heol Wraith"] was a rare exception. They had corresponded briefly, and from what the Iron Knight could gather, his prospective student wasn't a heavy hitter in terms of Force potential. That was possibly a blessing in disguise, however. Weaker Force users tended to be smarter and more resourceful by necessity when compared to their more powerful brethren. That wasn't to say a Jedi master or Sith Lord couldn't be smart, just that they tended to rely on power overwhelming when sometimes, a lighter touch was called for.

Eralam himself was an example of this. Though acknowledged as a master level Force user, the Shard's powers were quite limited. His mastery of telekinesis and Absorb notwithstanding, he was useless at anything that called for interacting with organic minds. Any powers that required mastery over Light or Dark were beyond him as well.

He did have one massive advantage, and it was currently sitting on the table in front of him: his trusty Colt.

The revolver was a reproduction of a design that had gone out of fashion centuries before energy weapons came about, but it had several key advantages over a blaster. It was extremely accurate, even at a distance. An experienced marksman could engage targets up to 50 meters away, and even a novice could reasonably expect to hit a human sized target at 20. The weapon's grip also made it easy to instinctively hit targets without careful aiming. The massive .45 caliber slugs might not be the fastest things out there, but sometimes fat and slow gets the job done just fine.

Sure it was battered and banged all to hell, but that just meant it had proved its worth.

Now it was time to see what the student chose. Eralam had instructed him to pick a pistol and bring it with him to the training. It really didn't matter what he chose, but his choice would influence the direction of the training.

 

[Zinai]

Interesting.​

Heol was fascinated. A style that fused the use of the saber, and the traditional blaster pistol.

He had only gotten in contact for a moment with a Force master known as the 'Iron Knight'. Puzzled, he wondered about the bizarre sword style the robot offered to teach for a few minutes. However, Heol decided to take the risk of learning such a unique style.

He realized the skill could prove handy against multiple targets.

As soon as he accepted, his new mentor assigned him a task instantly: Find a suitable pistol for training.
It wasn't easy, he didn't have a lot of money. Although, he did remember that he salvaged an old pistol he found in another stock ship, holding military secrets and weapons.

Approaching the scene, he could see an iron robot, frozen in a position. Beside him, a table with a large revolver atop.
Pacing himself carefully towards the 'Iron Knight', he carefully picked up a small, aluminum brief case, that lay in front.

Now stationed beside the table and his new master, Heol placed the small case onto the sturdy, hard table.
Opening the case, he revealed a military-grade pistol. An old, and possibly familiar weapon from the Clone Wars.
Instantly, the case revealed a projection:

He looked up to the Iron Knight, and spoke in a thin voice:
"What do you think?"

 

[Eralam]

It wasn't a bad learner's pistol. Old, cheap, but utterly reliable. The stun setting would come in handy, too. Eralam was skilled enough with Absorb that he wasn't worried about catching a stray round, even if [member="Heol Wraith"] was hell on wheels for this style of fighting. But it was bad form to practice the actual techniques with lethal rounds right off the bat. It tended to instill a sense of flippancy in inexperienced students that could get them in trouble later. If they ever forgot that the weapon they held was deadly, tragedy was often the result.

His own pistol would be loaded with wax rounds when they sparred. They'd hurt like hell when they hit, but even at point blank range they weren't deadly.

For the moment, however, it was loaded with standard lead.

The Shard looked his student dead in the eyes, and without breaking contact, snatched up the Colt and fired five rounds into a target about 10 meters off to their right without looking. It was a standard pistol target, marked with various scoring zones. All five rounds could have fit under a .25 credit coin.

"It's not bad. A bit old, but never let anyone trick you into thinking newer is better when it comes to guns. Sometimes the old ways are the best. Now I want you to do what I just did. Don't look at the target directly. Use the corner of your eyes. My way of fighting doesn't rely on precision marksmanship so much as it does instinct."

It was important to try this cold. Eralam wanted to see if his student had any habits, good or bad. A lot of experienced shooters had trouble with his way of doing things, not because they were bad at what they did, but because it required unlearning a lot of prebuilt instinct and muscle memory. That could mean the difference between drilling a hole in your opponent or picking your head up off the floor.

This first go round, he didn't expect much. Was a rare student that managed to hit the target even once the first try.

 

[Zinai]

Heol was puzzled.​

Well, the master was right. Any old weapon could prove to be better than newer models. However..
The corner of his eye? So, peripheral view? It made some sense, instinct wasn't difficult on his part, but...

He never fired a gun in his life...

Picking up his DC-15s Sidearm, he tried to identify the functions on it. He picked around with buttons, and made sure the barrel wasn't facing his new mentor.

He tried to raise the gun, and press on the button. Didn't work, strangely. He continued trying to pull the trigger, yet failed.

Confused, he began picking around with the buttons, and heard a sudden click. A tiny lever labeled: Safety switched off.
Perhaps that was the reason why it did not work in the first place.

Fascinated by the mechanism, Heol continued to play around with the buttons for a few more seconds, then attempted to do what his master did. He pointed at the first target, and tried to use his peripheral view. Indeed, it was difficult to aim using simply the corners of your eyes. Controversially, the mentor did say he had to use his instinct.

Although he didn't have the Force often by his side, Heol's instincts were sharp, trained from his old Sith master.

He lowered, then raised the gun again, and fired five rounds towards the five targets, his eyes frozen. It was like the time he was blindfolded, learning how to deflect bolts with his lightsaber by instinct and reaction timing. Heol remembered nearly two whole years of simply deflecting bolts, of such repetition.

Grimacing at the difficulty, he turned to discover that 2 bullets hit, 1 barely hit the edge, and 2 others completely flew out of the range.

He sighed. Indeed, a very difficult skill. Yet, this was the fighting style he would use if he did not have both lightsabers in hand, or if he needed range. It would, in the end, prove to be very efficient.

[member="Eralam"]

 

[Eralam]

Eralam whistled appreciatively. It was a mechanical, unnatural sound.

"Not bad kid, not bad at all."

Kid was not used here in a derogatory sense. The Shard was older than any three civilizations warring among the stars these days. Anyone made of flesh and blood qualified for the title in his eyes.

"No bad habits. No good habits either, but you'll pick those up from me."

Two of the blaster bolts had indeed hit the target, though not in the X-ring. The third had winged it, but the other two went wild.

What was really impressive was [member="Heol Wraith"] hadn't taken his eyes off the old Iron Knight, trying to take a peek at the target. Discipline was important in this art.

"I'm sure that felt awkward as hell, but don't worry, it's supposed to. This ain't a natural thing. I wouldn't have taken you on as a student if you had any experience with a gun. Too hard to get an organic to unlearn all the stuff they've picked up over the years."

The Shard's mechanical voice carried a distinct drawl. It was slow and laconic, the sort of thing you'd expect from a career soldier from a backwater, not one of the galaxy's oldest warriors.

"Alright, keep your arm out. We're gonna try this again, but first, I'm gonna correct your stance, and I want you to look at the target this time."

Suiting action to words, Eralam stepped forward and gave several pointers. Keep the wrist and shoulder locked, but the elbow relaxed. That would soak up recoil. The pistol would ride up a bit with the shot, but would return to the same point of aim with practice. The trigger should be squeezed, not pulled. A steady pressure would keep it from jerking the aim off to the side. Breathing was important here as well. Not so much as in long range shooting, but rapid, unsteady breathing would still throw off the aim.

Once Eralam had his student straightened out, he stepped back.

"Again."

 

[Zinai]

His teacher prepared him this time.​

What had he to fear? If his teacher corrected his stance, then he just had to lock into it and take as much information from it as he could.

Giving himself a few minutes, he began imagining the position, and repeated the suggestions over and over throughout his mind.

Still locked in, he took a look at his target, and shot five times once more. His mentor was right, his arm easily soaked up shots from the stance and pressure, and all Heol had to do was refrain from breathing for a while until he delivered his shots.

4 hit, 1 on the edge.

He needed practice, nevertheless. None of his shots hit the center point, and another shot hit the edge of the board.

Yet he was surprised at the efficiency and how uncostly his pistol seemed. It didn't require ammo, and just charged up one bolt a second.

His attention diverted back to his peripheral view. Heol knew for sure that his corner eye sight needed a bit more instinct out into it, if he wanted to shoot as well as he did now, for next time.

He grunted gently. The style could develop soon.

Heol looked up at his mentor, and asked,
Do you have a name for this style yet?

[member="Eralam"]

 

[Eralam]

"I call it Form VIII, the Way of the Colt," Eralam replied, a laugh on the edge of his voice.

He patted the revolver, long since moved to its holster on his thigh, with great affection.

"Ain't nothin' official, mind. Most Jedi and Sith think I'm half crazy to begin with. But an old man is allowed his jokes, and this old Colt is the best joke ever made by man. Folks might laugh, but it's laid low many a fellow who didn't quite get it."

They continued the pistol drills well into the afternoon. [member="Heol Wraith"] was an astoundingly quick student. He quickly mastered shooting from the side. They moved on to draw and shoot drills, sometimes from the side, sometimes from the front. The Shard was as patient as only a rock could be, correcting mistakes, praising success, and always moving at the speed of his student. There were no complaints of fatigue or hunger, despite the fact that Eralam knew it was well past lunchtime. The constant bucking of the pistol had worn blisters into his student's hands. That was pretty common. Most saber users had a very well defined set of callouses, but they weren't in the right places or the right thickness to deal with a pistol.

Finally, after a discreet check of the chrono showed that it was well after 1500, the Iron Knight called for a break.

He pulled out a large brown bag, made of thick plastic and sealed at both ends. Anyone with military experience or who was used to needing sturdy rations in remote places would recognize it as an MRE. This one was shaped bantha patty with gravy, with terrible mashed potatoes as a side, sickeningly sweet stewed apples for desert, a protein bar, and a packet of instant lemonade that would almost, but not quite dissolve into water. Speaking of, he pulled a case of water bottles out as well, and passed them both over to the student.

"Take yerself a break, kid. You've done well so far. Now that you've got the basics, we're gonna do this again tomorrow with your off hand. Most folks would rather keep a sword in their primary and shoot from the other, and I don't reckon you'll be any exception. That's for the mornin' though. After you eat and rest up, me and you are gonna have a little tussle, see where you are with your swordsmanship. I gotta coupla practice sabers, so we ain't gonna lose anything we'd rather keep."

He pulled out a sturdy wood pipe from a pouch on his belt and lit it with a spark that arced between his thumb and index finger. How a Shard managed to enjoy tobacco was a mystery to most, but Eralam wasn't telling. Instead, he just let the sweet smell of the tobacco drift across the training area.

"Got any questions, while we're resting?"

 

[Zinai]

The robot could smoke.​

That's what fascinated Heol more than their lunch. However, he didn't wish to act rude.

Shaking his head, Heol continued to eat his ration gently. Appreciating the food (which he had not had for weeks), he slowly devoured pieces of the lunch. He couldn't wait to learn more. Indeed, this skill could be his extra ace in his deck. An unexpected skill.

Standing back up, he finished his food, and left the scraps behind in his spot. He could throw it out later.

What's next, master? Do show me the best of this technique.

[member="Eralam"]

 

[Eralam]

Eralam cut loose with a short bark of laughter.

"Ha! Ain't no need for all that master business. Just call me Eralam, or Era if you've got the wind knocked outta yer lungs and syllables are at a premium."

He could hear the kid's stomach working on the food. There were enough calories in that ration pack to keep a soldier fighting for a day, and he'd wolfed it down in one go. The Shard was becoming more and more impressed with his student's self control.

He dumped the remnants of the tobacco out on the ground with a deft flick of his wrist, then turned to the pair of wooden swords resting against the table. They were weighted both about a meter long, with a slight curve towards the tip. Unlike a lightsaber, they had a definite striking surface, requiring a greater degree of precision, and weighted, requiring greater strength.

Though the swords couldn't cut, they were more than sturdy enough to break the fragile bones in the hands and wrists of a careless swordsman. The idea was to push the student out of his comfort zone, force him to adapt and overcome when faced with an unfamiliar situation.

There were practice sabers, and they'd use them when it came time to train on the proper form. Right now though, Eralam needed to see how resourceful [member="Heol Wraith"] was when pushed. The clumsiness of the strange blade in his hands would mimic the mental stress of dealing with a pistol in his off hand. If he took to it like a babe to milk, they could continue training at a brisk pace. If he struggled, however, the Iron Knight would adjust accordingly.

He tossed one to his student and took up a stance with his own blade. He favored a high guard, weapon held over his head, blade at a 45 degree angle. He'd have no trouble with blocking body blows, and could rain down powerful strikes if the kid got smart and went low. It was a good stance for a tall fighter.

"This lesson will be over if you land a hit to my head, neck, or torso. Otherwise, we'll keep going until you pass out or are too injured to continue. You can strike whenever yer ready."

 

[Zinai]

A blow to the chest.​

It was a hard target. The robot held solid ground, and his height led him to an advantage.

The sword weighed a lot, to Heol. Even heavier than the one he used to learn Echani. His reaction timing didn't keep up as fast as it usually did, and unfortunately took a toll on his body.

Heol could manage deflecting two shots barely, however the others would pelt him quick, and painfully. Instant reaction timing was too difficult on such a heavy sword.

As for his gun, it worked some wonders luckily. He could manage utilizing its functions during the spar, distracting his mentor and going in for quick jabs and slashes. However, the robot continued to hold solid ground. He could deflect Heol's shots quickly, and counter attack many times in surprising ways.

It seemed tougher to manage the sword than the gun, now.

----

An hour had passed, and the two were still sparring. Heol didn't manage to hit the mentor on his upper body. He was beginning to get tired.

As his breathe heavied, his mind processed more. Thinking up many different maneuvers and plans were certainly difficult for him, but they just popped whenever he needed them. Once more, dashing towards the robot in exceptional speed, Heol attempted to feign a shot and feign another jab for a clear shot to the chest.

Leaning forwards, Heol instantly raised his gun as if he were to fire. But in a quick motion, he changed to a jab, and feigned once more.

He was going in for the shot.

[member=eralam]

 

[Eralam]

Eralam did not tire. He did not lose focus.

[member="Heol Wraith"] fought well, but it was clear he was worn down by this point.

So far, he had mostly kept on the defensive, encouraging his student to strike and leaving slight gaps so as to present opportunities. The student was good at spotting gaps, but the clumsy sword and unfamiliar nature of the blaster made it difficult to exploit them.

Now though, there was a real danger of the student making a mistake out of fatigue that could seriously get him injured. Eralam couldn't be hurt by the sword or the blaster, but a careless step or swing could cause damage that would take days for the organic student to recover from. Best to end the lesson quickly.

The jab was most likely a feint. Layering feints was all well and good, but getting too clever and overthinking was almost as bad as getting careless and acting without thinking at all. It was true that duels between Force users were more a matter of instinct than cautious thought, but there had to be some level of strategy or planning, otherwise it was just a brawl.

The Shard, who had yet to abandon his high guard, swiftly dropped his arms and stepped to the left, interposing his blade between the students. Only instead of stopping there and letting the blaster come up again, he lunged forward quickly, throwing his shoulder into the poor kid and sending him sprawling.

"I think that's enough for now," he said. "You're pretty good, but there's plenty of room for improvement. We'll get there though. There's no substitute for a few decades of experience, but I reckon you've got the natural talent to pick up the basics and make it your own before too long."

 

[Zinai]

The robot was strong.​

Well, it was a robot. It would make clear sense if Heol hit the robot and expected a large bruise the next day.

Laying on the ground, Heol started up. He began thinking of many other ways he could utilize techniques, maybe even combine Ataru with this form.

Grateful to Eralam, Heol nodded, and thanked him for today's training. He would soon return the next day to learn more.

[member="Eralam"]

 

[Eralam]

The next morning, Eralam was waiting on the training ground before dawn. He hadn't specified a time to arrive, but figured his student would show up when he was good and ready.

The Shard hesitated to use the word "apprentice." That implied a deep level of commitment, to nurturing growth over a span of years. That wasn't really his thing. The Way of the Colt could take years to master, sure, but most of the basics could be taught in a span of a few weeks. The form was a paragon of simplicity on paper. There were few katas or set moves. It was all about adaptation and improvisation. A good grounding in any lightsaber form and a quick mind were the only requirements.

But much like dejarik, what took a short time to learn would take a lifetime of study and practice to truly master. It wasn't enough to know how to shoot or swing a lightsaber. Knowing when and where to shoot were equally important. A bullet might catch a duelist unawares and kill them outright, but might be a poor choice against an armored foe, whose armor might shrug off the projectile. Or maybe you could catch a gap between armored plates. There were hundreds of variables, and a true master of the art needed to be able to assess them on a subconscious level.

It had taken Eralam decades to condense the form into something usable. His own preference for dueling combined the precise movements of form II with the unbridled aggression of Form VII, along with elements of Teräs Käsi. It was a bastard style that, while undoubtedly effective, was scorned by more traditional masters of the saber. The addition of a firearm was almost seen as blasphemy. Blasters were looked down upon by Force users as clumsy and random, and slugthrowers were all that and archaic to boot. The fact that they were undeniably lethal against Force users didn't make them any less hated; in fact, the opposite was true.

On top of that, despite the New Jedi Order's supposed acceptance of the Iron Knights, the prejudice against them was still strong in the Force user community. Jedi saw them as abominations, as they viewed the Force as the property of living beings, not glorified talking rocks. The Sith's hatred was far more pragmatic. A single skilled Iron Knight could take down five equivalent level Force users in close combat, simply because they used droid bodies to their fullest potential. And since they didn't often understand the difference between Light and Dark, the Sith's philosophy made little sense, which made them unlikely to ally themselves with the needlessly destructive cult.

Finding sparring partners willing to humble themselves had been next to impossible.

Still, it had happened slowly, and now Eralam was in the process of cementing his mastery of the unpopular style. If there was one thing that was agreed upon, it was the fact that you weren't really considered a master of a skill unless you could teach it, and that's what the Shard had set out to do with [member="Heol Wraith"].

His hopes were high for the young human. Today would be much the same as yesterday, only focusing on hitting targets with the off hand. The student had shown great promise, but his accuracy was still crap with his left hand, and that would need to change. He didn't have to snipe targets from a mile off, but being able to hit the broad side of a bantha with his gun shoved up its arse would certainly be a start.

 

[Zinai]

Refreshing.​

A decent bed in an inn nearby the training grounds. Heol did not feel this refreshed in a long while, until now. Getting up from the soft, comfortable bed, he immediately wrapped his arms with bandages, and entered the washroom to clean up.

---

Quickly, Heol arrived onto the training ground. He ate as soon as he could, and ate as fast as he could.

A tad bit late, he said.

It wasn't unusual that Heol was late. He was often rushing around to do tasks or jobs for money. As for the cargo or materials he would usually steal, he could not sell them unless he approached various illegal underworld centers. Thus, they became paperweight. Or decors during his travels.

The blaster skill could certainly aid him to overcome other duelists with high natural intellect. It was an unexpected style, and Heol was sure not many people were familiar with it. Especially the Sith, he knew no other that held a blaster and a saber together. It wasn't dishonorable in any way to the art of killing, however it could be said that it was not pleasant to the eyes of any saber master. Yet, Heol was unique. He did not concern of such an issue, even less consider it.

His handy DC-15s. He did research on it. The gun was used by the Clone Commandos of the Clone Army of the Previous Republic. Such a tragedy it was, Order 66... Heol heard many Jedi went into exile and nearly all of the Jedi were massacred by the act. However, that was the far past. Nowadays, Jedi sprout everywhere. Siths, possible. The regrowth rate was astonishing, since the first Imperial Empire had fallen.

Nevermind that. I'm at the training ground now, he muttered.

Standing in front of the robot again, he glanced beside the walls. Targets, again.

Perfect. Repetition was necessary. Just as long as it involved a bit of improvement.

In quick response, he pulled out his gun, and awaited his mentor's word.

[member="Eralam"]

 

[Eralam]

Eralam nodded to his student as he arrived.

Given the workout from yesterday, showing up a bit late was understandable. No one was perfect, especially organics. The needs of the flesh had to be accounted for, and there was no point in a training routine that left the young man too weary or injured to focus on anything more pressing than the discomfort. That sort of training had its place, but not when they were learning the basics.

"Same drill as yesterday, but with the left hand this time. It's gonna feel awkward as hell at first, and you're gonna have blisters by the end of the day, but it needs to be done."

Most beings with bilateral symmetry had a primary and an offhand. The offhand was almost never as good as the primary, even with practice, but through constant training, it could get close.

In one smooth motion, the Shard drew his old slugthrower and fired all five rounds into five targets, placing each shot into the sinus cavity. He didn't so much as look at the targets. Rather, he used instinct and intuition to guide his hand.

"It'll be a while before you can do that, I'd wager, but it'll come. Today though, just focus on hitting the target."

[member="Heol Wraith"]

 

[Zinai]

Heol's arm was in pain.​

He had spent the whole afternoon shooting off of his left hand. His, bad hand.

It wasn't fun, but it was definitely worth the practice. By the time the sun began setting, his accuracy improved to the extent where he could hit the target with 4 shots. As for his other hand, he had completed the near-impossible: A close to dead-on accuracy shot in the middle. A surprising match, Heol didn't expect such fast progress. He was beginning to get attached to this style, it was going to be deadly.

Perhaps, enjoyable too.

Such a sport, art, whatever the robot called it, was a precious style, that many others did not bother to use. It was a great style, in fact. He could simulate many battles, ending with a simple shot to the chest. Even bounty hunters wouldn't be able to do too well against him, anymore.

Panting, and wheezing at all running and shooting, Heol collapsed in a puddle of sweat. His left arm was twitching, an insane scene. Nearly like his arm was being possessed with a morbid sense of humor.

Laughing, he looked up at the sky. He was such a dark character sometimes, he couldn't even tell how light, and gentle he looked. It wasn't in his nature. This was something he enjoyed, for sure.

"Will we spar?"

[member="Eralam"]

 

[Eralam]

"Not tonight, kid," Eralam said. "You've done one hell of a job today. I'd say you've earned a break."

The Shard gave the impression of grinning maliciously.

"How much of a break is up to you," he said. He unholstered his revolver, checked to make sure that it was loaded, and then set it down on the table before sliding it over to his student.

"So far we've not tried shooting past ten meters. In a real fight, it's rare that you'll need a handgun for ranges greater than that anyway. If you've ever got to do any distance shooting at all, you'll want something with a stock and a longer barrel. Even a light carbine is better than a pistol for distance work."

For the average soldier, a pistol was the weapon of last resort, one step above a knife. They were compact and capable killers to be sure, but only at close range, and they were never the first choice. Even as far back as the days of the Empire, records showed that time and time again, Imperial stormtroopers armed with E-11s, barely more than carbines, were able to overcome superior numbers of Rebels armed with sidearms. A few extra inches on the barrel, enough to put a second hand on the weapon, added a great deal of stability.

The Colt was, in many respects, an unusual weapon. The design was archaic, the ammunition large and slow compared to most contemporary designs, and it only held five shots. On the other hand, the .45 Long Colt round brought stopping power best described as "conclusive" to a fight. The Shard had never seen a non Force user get back up after taking a hit to center mass. Even through armor it tended to break ribs, which was enough to take the fight out of all but the most hardened soldiers.

It also had a much longer barrel than the average pistol. At nearly 19 centimeters in length, the barrel itself was longer than most handguns, and heavier too. With the combination of the long barrel and single action design, which made the weapon fire more slowly but far more accurately than the average semiautomatic slugthrower, it was formidably accurate. In the precise hands of the Shard, it was a precision instrument of death.

That [member="Heol Wraith"] had chosen a blaster pistol as a sidearm didn't bother the Shard. It was a personal choice, and in many respects, a blaster was a superior choice at the close ranges the fighting style was meant to deal with. But the old Iron Knight had a special pride in his Colt, and he wanted the apprentice to learn firsthand what it was capable of.

"You've got five shots," he said. "If any one of them hits the 50 meter target within 30 centimeters of the center, you'll have tomorrow off. You're close to getting the hang of that blaster pistol, and once I'm confident in your marksmanship, we're gonna bring the sword into play. Believe you me, that's gonna be rough on the both of us, and days off are gonna be few and far between until you get the hang of it. So go ahead, earn yourself a break now. If you can."

 

[Zinai]

[member="Eralam"]

Heol stared down the target range. Five shots.

The colt was heavy, certainly. It was not as light as his sidearm pistol had been. A long barrel, and expectancy of heavy recoil. Heol could only expect more.

Hanging his arm up in the air, aiming for the target ahead with the air of his peripheral vision, he attempted two shots. The heavy recoil nearly sent the pistol flying from his arm during the first shot, however Heol barely managed to keep it in his palm. The next three completely flew off, as the next two also flew off. The weapon held heavy ammunition and for sure, could do an immense amount of damage towards enemies. Yet, it was heavy, with large recoil, and a longer range.

The long range would be necessary against targets that continued to flee as they attacked, however the short range was something Heol was more used to. It would act more as a hidden knife, rather than a massive artillery cannon.

He shook his head. Nope, certainly not with such a heavy weapon. I am not that type of heavy-hitter.

His sigh flew over his head, as he gripped his DC-15s sidearm. He didn't need to reload with such a light, renewable pistol. Sure it didn't do much damage, but it would do enough to stun or throw off his enemies.

As far as the Colt went, it was not respectfully, a gun that could match his style of fighting.

 

[Eralam]

"Oh well. It was a good try. Meet me back here at noon tomorrow. Things are about to get serious, and it won't kill you to have a little time off."

And with that, the Shard began cleaning up the training area. Most of the targets had suffered a great deal of abuse. [member="Heol Wraith"] was really getting the hang of the sort of close range marksmanship the style required, and he had more or less bored through the centers of the targets. This was especially impressive considering they were made of high strength durasteel. His pistol was powerful enough, but the alloy used in the targets could stand up to a lot of abuse. The fact that he had overloaded their capacity to disperse the thermal energy of the blaster bolts by drilling the same spot over and over again said a lot about the progress he had made in the last few days.

Tomorrow, they would work on integrating the lightsaber into the practice sessions. It wouldn't be easy. Even with his mechanical precision, it had taken Eralam some time to work out how to do it properly. His student had the advantage of a teacher who had been using the style for centuries, but that didn't guarantee success.