Welcome To The Jungle

[Sol Damerin]

There was a whole lot of action on Mariya's par that ended with Sol holding a chopstick and giving her his signature look. This variant of stony implacability managed to convey that he thought she was being weird. It shifts ever so subtly when he realizes what she wants to do to convey that he now knows for certain that she is weird. Twirling the chopstick in his fingers for a second he says calmly. "For your first lesson." He chucks the chopstick at her head. "These aren't going to work."

Getting to his feet he shakes his head. "I probably won't show you any real lightsaber forms, since for those to be really useful you need a lightsaber and The Force." Neither of which she had at the moment. "But I'll show you some basics with a vibroblade, that include some lightsaber combat basics as well." Gesturing at the door he starts toward it. "But we shouldn't do that inside so come on."

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

"Ouch..."

The chopstick landed on her forehead and she rubbed the spot, knowing full well that she appeared to be out of her mind to suggest chopsticks. She obviously knew it was better to use a real blade, but the chopsticks were meant to be used if they were staying in the kitchen. [member="Sol Damerin"] had decided to stick to the conventional method of showing her, so she definitely was not about to complain.

"I'm coming. Wait for me!"

She hopped out of the chair, gladly following the slightly old man who looked much older. The pair exited the kitchen and headed towards the training shed. In the middle of the night, there was no one else except the two of them. There were some melee weapons left behind on the rack, not the best quality but sufficient for practice. Or sparring, if Sol decided to incorporate that into his training later. She grabbed one blade and handed another to Sol.

"Okay, no chopsticks this time."

 

[Sol Damerin]

Well, it might have been amusing and fun to have a fight in the mess with a pair of chopsticks, it wouldn't have really taught her much. A chopstick was a better approximation of the weight of a lightsaber than a vibroblade but the size of it was utterly wrong. Going around the mess with their fists clenched tight around something the length of a knife and the width of a pencil wouldn't have taught her anything no matter how much waving at each other they did.

Once inside the shed, he grabs two suitable training blades and tosses one to Mariya. Then he takes a ready stance, left foot forward right back, blade held in a two-handed guard. "Basics of weapon combat are the same as any melee combat. Minimize your profile to offer your opponent fewer places to hit, keep your knees bent, and stay on your toes so you are ready to move. It's all about staying mobile, dodging or blocking attacks, and waiting or creating an opportunity to strike."

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

Her hands were occupied with the blades that she had picked out initially for the duo, but it seemed her trainer preferred to use his choice. No matter. She dropped her own blades back onto the weapon rack and caught the training blade tossed to her by [member="Sol Damerin"]. Mariya knew it would never be the same as training with a lightsaber which had no weight for its blade, but it was too risky to flash a giant light stick out in the middle of the night.

A training blade was better than a chopstick anyway.

She stood next to her new teacher and adopted the en garde position shown to her, left foot forward and the right leg backwards. "Okay, sounds similar to any other form of melee fighting," she nodded her head, trying to link what she knew about boxing to this swordsmanship lesson. In boxing, one would skip to improve mobility, agility and stamina. Hopefully all her own physical training would help her to learn whatever Sol was going to teach her tonight. She had already learnt about other useful bits of information about the Force and would reflect upon them in the future. The inclusion of this lesson was an icing on the cake to complete the night.

 

[Sol Damerin]

Sol probably should have said something before throwing the training blade at her, but she'd been getting ahead of herself so he'd tried to catch her off guard. He certainly hadn't missed the fact that she'd been picking out her own blade. No sir, a Force wielder would never miss such a detail. "Now." Sol begins as she mimics his stance. "Actual lightsaber combat involves a whole mess of theory and words that I had drilled into me as a child. We are skipping all of that because I am trying to keep this to what is practical. So we will stick to the basics, stuff that will help you if you only have a melee weapon to defend yourself."

Cracking his neck he suddenly pushes on his right foot closing the gap between himself and Mariya in an instant. His sword comes across in a slash that would trace a line along her left shoulder if he was actually close enough to connect. Even if she took no defensive action the blow would come short as he'd stopped mid-lunge, so even fully extended the tip of his training blade would barely be able to touch her.

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

"Hey!"

She raised her blade to block the sudden incoming blow from [member="Sol Damerin"], a clash of metal ringing off in the training shed. She might not know much about fencing, but her instincts had kicked in even though the incoming attack was barely going to touch her. She was not able to risk getting hit for no reason, even with her armour on. She pushed off the attack with her blade and looked at her trainer.

"That's not very nice to do a sneak attack," she grumbled, knowing full well that anything was allowed in a real fight. "I don't even know anything yet, and yet here you are forcing me to engage y-."

Before she finished her sentence, she did a cross using her right hand. It was a basic boxing move, but the blade on her hand allowed her a much longer reach, hissing in the air towards Sol's shoulder region. The mercenary was testing Sol's reaction, knowing full well that he should be able to block this attack. So before the blade reached his shoulders, she switched the direction of her blade abruptly and went for his waist instead.

A fake cross. Sol should be able to handle that.

 

[Sol Damerin]

The training blades clashed as Mariya turns his aside. She then tries to counterattack, using the same tactic to the one Sol had used talking one moment before launching into an unexpected blow. Sol didn't block it though, he barely even moved beyond a slight sway backward. Mariya's blade passed harmless past his chest short of its intended target. Sol had a few inches on her in height, which typically translates to a few inches in reach. At a full extension of his arms, he wouldn't have just been able to scrap her shoulder with his blade. That meant that without stepping further into his reach Mariya couldn't touch him. Which was the entire point of the lesson.

"The most important thing to remember when fighting with melee weapons is adjusting to the new reach it affords you and learning how to tell your opponents reach."

Slowly he repeats his first swing so she could see just how short it would have been.

"Knowing when and how deeply you've entered your opponents range and when they've entered yours is vital to staying alive."

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

"That's... a good point."

Mariya had forgotten all about reach in her excitement. The demonstration from [member="Sol Damerin"] had certainly been effective to make her remember this point, probably forever. The image of her training blade missing Sol completely while he remained standing. Definitely not a mistake to make during a real combat. It appeared that Sol preferred to explain himself after his actions, something which she would need to adapt to quickly.

"So how to tell the opponent's reach? Let me guess, if I had calmly analysed your earlier attack instead of jumping in eagerly, I would have a gauge on your reach already."

The mercenary applied her own knowledge of brawling in the fencing lesson. She might be wrong as a Force User could have other means to pick this information up, but with no help of the Force she had to fall back on her basic training. Things like letting the enemy attack first to judge the style, position and reach. Stuff that she knew but needed to remember them again. All the time spent behind a rifle had dulled her melee training.

"Okay, I definitely need to get used to this close up stuff again."

 

[Sol Damerin]

"If you are waiting for an attack to get a gauge you've already lost."

Sol's says rolling his shoulder and taking a few practice swings at Mariya. He'd closed the gap so if she didn't defend herself she'd get a few stinging smacks but she shouldn't have any trouble defending herself. He wasn't attacking swiftly his swings were almost lazy.

"You start by gauging your opponents reach before you are even close to them. If it helps imagine their reach and your own as three circles around you. It should be pretty obvious where you are well out of range and that is the outer circle, the inner circle would be where you know you are for sure in range, but it's the middle circle that matters. That is where you might be in range or where they might be in range for you. You can always do so, but I do recommend doing what I am doing now. Stay just on the very edge of your opponents reach and make a few attacks without full commitment to test their range and get a solid feel for it. Like any fight, additional information only helps your cause."

He stops his attacks and gestures for her to do the same. He then lifts his blade up with his arm fully extended. He'd ask her to do the same and he'd move in so they could put their arms next to each other, comparing range. Since he had a few inches on her in height but their blades were the same length, he had about an inch, inch and a half extra compared to her.

"A difference in height or in length of weapon will create a disparity between your reach and your opponents. If you have a shorter range you want to get in close if you have longer you want to maintain difference. This..." He gestures at their arms to indicate the small difference. "May not seem like much, but if we traded thrust it might mean the difference between a fatal thrust for you and only a grievous wound for me. That's why, if you remember my circle discussion, it is important to not just know your opponents but your own and how they overlap. This may seem like a lot to take in and do in the heat of battle, but if you practice it becomes second nature and it's among the most important lessons I can teach. If I were seriously training you, I wouldn't have gotten to this until much later but since this is just a few lessons to help you survive it's a good place to start."

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

Mariya blocked the next few attacks easily, since [member="Sol Damerin"] was not exactly focusing on them. He was busy explaining the concepts of reach for swordsmanship, something which she had already learnt earlier from the failed attack. It sounded easy for Sol to talk about staying on the opponent's edge. The extension of a weapon made it more difficult compared to bare fist brawling, and also more lethal. There was only one way to improve and it was practice. That was something that she would need to pick it up in her own free time.

She returned the same attacks back dutifully when Sol requested her to mimic his actions. Sometimes learning through observation and imitation was just as effective as verbal teaching. First was a slash, then a half pirouette move, also known as a jung in lightsaber combat (not that she knew any terms) and a downwards slice, tossing it a few extra moves of her own to test out her own swordsmanship. The next part of lifting the blade up to her chest level, a move that she had seen some blade wielding mercenaries done before. When Sol explained how height difference made a impact to the reach, she began to understand why some of them did such a move.

"This sword position, I have seen it before done by others. I would assume that this is also a position where you could use your weapon like a ruler to estimate an opponent's reach, since you would be well versed in the length of your own weapon and arm length."

The blade was solid from head to toe, requiring her to put in some effort to maintain it at her chest level. If she were using a lightsaber, it would make things easier. But her mentor was older and doing perfectly fine, so she continued.

"So, one and half inch difference. How can I compensate the difference in reach then? If the enemy uses his reach well and holds me at bay, I need to find some way to move in. Footwork?"

 

[Sol Damerin]

It was becoming apparent that Mariya was experienced. She had a quick mind for concepts related to combat, had clearly seen enough to have a base to make deductions, and she moved well on her feet speaking of previous melee training. If Sol had to guess she'd probably picked up a martial art of some kind at some point, although she probably preferred rifles. He couldn't really blame her blaster pistol versus vibroblade wasn't usually much of a contest. It took a lot less time, physical conditioning, and skill to get dangerous with a blaster than it did with a melee weapon.

"You are right, there are a variety of stances that will open with blade extended to the enemy at the beginning before switching to a guard. By opening at a full extension of range you can get a good gauge of your opponents compared to it. Fencing stances usually stay in that guard though I don't recommend trying to fence with a lightsaber." He'd fought someone once who'd tried to use a lightsaber like a rapier not realizing how different the two weapons were. Then again, they'd also been a sport fencer lacking real-world combat experience, not realizing that getting the "point" didn't matter much if you left yourself open to a counterattack at the same time.

"As for getting in close, you are right again footwork combined with knowing your terrain. Something I am sure you are familiar with." Most snipers he'd known usually knew how to take in and memorize the terrain around them. Something that was fairly vital in Melee combat since knowing when you were being pushed towards a wall or knowing how to force your opponent towards a slippery spot could often win you the fight. "Circle and close distance. If they try and maintain use it against them. If they stand their ground make sure you close the gap quickly once you are at the outer ring of their reach."

There was one last thing he wanted to check for this lesson and without a word, he brings his sword up and down in a powerful two-handed chop. He isn't aiming at her though he is aiming at her blade. A lot of rookies gripped their blade too tightly which meant their muscles were tense and didn't absorb impact well. They would often lose their grip under heavy blows because of that. The key to a good grip was the same as holding your self-ready to move. Tight enough to hold steady but loose enough not to lock up.

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

Mariya stood there with her sword still in position at the chest level, listening attentively to the explantion from [member="Sol Damerin"]. Then without warning, Sol brought his sword up, which made her snap to attention immediately. As he brought his blade down against her own, she bent her knees slightly to absorb the impact. The blades clashed, the familiar ringing sound echoing through the training shed again. Her blade shook in her arms.

"Ooof..."

She grimaced, blocking the blow and took the momentary recoil from the blade clash to move herself backwards. Based on the weight difference, she could never hold her ground if Sol pressed downwards further, so avoiding that situation was her call.

"That's a pretty stong blow," she admitted to Sol, wondering if he was going to teach her anything else. She gave a yawn, her body telling her that it needed rest from the late night.

 

[Sol Damerin]

Sol added good instincts to the list of things Mariya had going for her. Bending her knees to take the brunt of the impact was not something he'd have expected her to do. However, based on the way her arm shook under the jarring impact he'd been right that her grip was off. Even in the face of a powerful blow, there shouldn't be the possibility of dropping your blade. If there was you were either holding it wrong or fighting something stronger than a human.

"Loosen your grip. Think of it like holding your gun, grip too tightly your palms begin to sweat and your muscles shake. Grip it firmly and your muscles can absorb impacts. Give way rather than be knocked away." He pulls back and gives her a curt nod. "You seem tired, go rest up. I'll clean up." He puts the training blades away and makes sure the room is neat. Once that is done he'd go help with the clean up from the attack. He was not as tired as she was and could sustain himself with the Force if need be. Soon he'd have to settle down and meditate for some time but for now, there was work to be done.

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

"I see, that's definitely a good tip," she nodded her head in appreciation for the final bit of advice. The correct way of holding a weapon was a basic but fundamental lesson, just like how she was drilled to hold her rifle when firing. The grip should not be too tight but firm enough to support the weapon position. It seemed that the same principle was extended to blade weapons as well.

"Alright, I'll wash up first then. Thank you for the lesson," Mariya bowed at her trainer politely and left the shed, hitting the temporary barracks for a shower and a fresh change of clothes. It took her a while, probably enough time for [member="Sol Damerin"] to clean up the training area and other stuff.

Soon, she found herself clad in her casual sleepwear and was brushing her teeth. Curious to see what Sol was doing, she stuck her head through the window and noticed the lights of the training shed were off, indicating that he had left as well. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided to turn in for the night to rest her tired body. Tomorrow she could catch up with Sol again before the whole expedition was over.

 

[Sol Damerin]

Sol was up until the wee hours of the morning. He helped move the Drexl bodies out of the compound, except for one which was placed in a large storage container. Once that was done he pitched in repairing the damage. Most people took a break to get some sleep but the old mercenary just kept at it until a few hours before dawn. At that point he headed into the male dorm for a few hours of meditative rest.

One of the leading perks of being a Force user was using it to refresh your body. He found he couldn't do it consistently or he risked some weird side effects, but he could forgo a night's sleep in favor of a few hours of meditation and be fine. Damn convenient in his line of work especially when he had to take the night watch. So the following morning he awoke feeling a lot better than most of the guards who'd helped him out despite getting less rest.

Heading into the mess he rolls his neck as he heads to the buffet like set up next to the kitchen. He piles his plate high with eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, sausage, more bacon, and more eggs. Just because he wasn't sleepy didn't mean he hadn't burned a lot of energy. The protein would stop him from having a crash later that day as well as quell the rumbling in his stomach. Looking around the room he'd take a seat, probably next to Mariya if she was already there. He didn't make friends easily but he liked the woman well enough and he actually didn't mind a bit of conversation in the morning despite what most of his co-workers thought.

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

Mariya found herself slapping the alarm clock to keep it quiet. Her eyes could barely open. When was the last time she did mercenary work and had to do guard duty? Probably a few years ago. She groaned at the thought of waking up, burying herself in the blanket for another minute before forcing herself to get up when her stomach complained of hunger.

She yawned, hopped into the shower and brushed her teeth again to have a good breath in the morning. Dressing up followed, giving her armour a pass and putting on a casual athletic outfit. She headed into the mess, piling her own plate with eggs and two toasts. A cup of yogurt and a glass of blue milk for additional proteins. She walked over to [member="Sol Damerin"]'s table and sat down.

"Good morning, Sol..." Her eyes caught sight of his outfit, which remained unchanged. Left eyebrow raised in surprise. "Looks like you didn't sleep much last night. And yet you look energetic.

Her fork went to tackle the eggs as she tucked in. Breakfast was calling.

 

[Sol Damerin]

Flicking his eyes up from his meal Sol gives Mariya the flat look that passed for a smile from the unemotive merc. "And you look like you didn't sleep at all. Life can be funny like that." If her memory was good she might remember him mentioning the rejuvenating aspects of meditation last night. If so, she could certainly put two and two together. However, he wouldn't remind her. He was big on letting people figure things out on their own if it was possible.

"So, you going on the expedition?" He asks nodding at the job board. The holo board had updates on their current job and a list of things that were happening throughout the day. Apparently, last nights attack wasn't sufficient reason to cancel the planned foray into the jungle today. Probably since the attack was going to push forward their timetable to leave Dxun. The crazy scientist wanted to get one last go at all the crazy fauna out in the jungle before leaving.

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

'I am quite sure I slept more than you, because I changed and you didn't," she smiled. "Must be something about the meditation, some advanced recovery technique using the Force." While [member="Sol Damerin"] did not explicitly mention the details and benefits of meditation last night, the blonde assumed that was the only possible explanation. Sol had used the Force to relieve his tired body while she slept through the night.

Mariya saw that the older mercenary still needed the conventional way of refueling his body. Judging from the amount of food he had piled onto his plate, she reckoned that using the Force had increased his metabolism rate to be more than an average human being. Or maybe he was just a big eater?

"Expedition? I haven't seen the updated holo board yet but I am not about to do another round of guard duty. Won't mind seeing some wildlife on the expedition speeders. Besides, I still have questions to ask you about the Force."

She drank her milk halfway and left the bench to grab her stimcaf, mixing it with her blue milk to give it a bluish brown tint.

 

[Sol Damerin]

Mariya continues to impress with her observation skills and memory. Inclining his head to indicate that she'd gotten it mostly right. Of course, it wasn't really an advanced technique it was honestly a pretty basic one. Still, no reason to burst her bubble on that one if for no other reason than to continue being deliberately vague.

"Oh?"

Sol says when she notes that she had more questions about The Force. Cutting into some sausage he takes a bit as he considers it.

"Well, I suppose we can find time for a talk while we explore."

He finally says with a nod of his head as he continues to demolish his giant plate of food.

[member="Mariya Fleischer"]

 

[Mariya Fleischer]

"Cool, I'll come up with a list of questions for you to answer then."

Mariya said in a joking manner, even though she knew that [member="Sol Damerin"] would probably never laugh at her jokes for eternity. The odds of seeing him smile was lower than striking lottery. The rest of the breakfast was done with little talking, since she was hungry and was also rushing to get ready for the expedition. Once the meal was done, she left Sol who was still tucking in to his big pile of food and tossed the dirty plates into the sink. The cleaners would take care of the dishes while she hopped out to see the holo board.

"Hmm.... expedition... there. Nine o'clock, standard galactic time..."

There was just enough time to get back to her room and dress up. Her armour always served as the bottleneck when getting ready, something which she dreaded the most. She had a love and hate relationship with the armour, but it had served her well over the years. Still, it took her at least ten minutes to suit up properly. Another five minutes to check her utility belt and goggles, making sure there was sufficient batteries and blaster packs. Satisfied, she spread a coat of sun block lotion on her face to stop her skin from getting too much sunlight. It was a ritual she had picked up from a magazine years ago, where the secret of aging slower was reducing exposure to sunlight. She was not the most vain, but every woman would love to find ways to slow the aging process.

She stepped out of the room, heading to the fields where the expedition speeders were parked.