So, what did I learn in the end? The identity of my teacher—Knight Lorm Decer—is slightly older than Ian Dooku, a Zabrak, an archaeologist, one of the best in the Temple. The choice was clear, if only because he wields the Force at a sufficient level, definitely above average. At least, that's how I assess it... Naturally, he can't compete with the recognized master Yoda, who also lived through the times of the Fae Coven. Lorm has studied dozens and hundreds of places that are the historical heritage of the Galaxy. Places that once belonged to the Sith, Jedi, and other currents of Force users. And he clearly shows what the Council wants from me. And they want me to focus on the Force.
Indeed, I have mastered the Soresu form of swordsmanship excellently; I have even been quietly recognized as the best youngling in this form. Of course, for each form, there is its "best." For example, Soresu—me. Shien, also known as the fifth—the barbarian Drallig. Ataru was best mastered by a Zabrak girl from the Bear clan, Shira, I believe. Almost no one practiced Shi-Cho, and Makashi was best mastered by Marquis Zholir from the Tapani sector. There, by the way, is their own Lightsaber fencing. Even the Force-un gifted fence in this sector, although I saw their duel... If desired, any above-average youngling would defeat two or three local fencers. Simply because of the Force... Although there are masters there, but there are always few of them.
And, of course, how can we do without a Tournament? Usually, I only observed it briefly, but did not participate, although I was offered, purely out of interest. But I wanted to participate, being in the best form I could achieve as a youngling. Constant training, studying Force techniques, swordsmanship, survival. The Tournament will simply show what I have achieved as a fighter. Of course, younglings will fight with training swords. Because in the heat of battle, you can kill your comrade easily. And this is no joke: in endless sparring with Drallig, and not only with him, there were many cases when I "killed" my partner with a counter-attack. Naturally, with a training sword. A combat sword is only under the supervision of Knights.
But at the Tournament, they all sit in the stands and can hardly intervene in the duel. In addition, there is also an educational aspect: a blow with a combat sword will be stopped, but not with a training sword, and the loser will be able to feel the full deadly power for himself... Eh, no, that's not from there. "The full erroneousness of their actions"... Something like that. Drallig often got me with counter-attacks. The whole point of Soresu is to wait for a convenient moment, and I struck precisely on timing. But it didn't always work out; Drallig himself couldn't explain it to me, nor could others. How do they manage to catch me? And the theory why I had such failures appeared right before the Tournament. Thanks to Yoda, who gave me his knowledge of Ataru in a Holocron and... I thought that since everyone was so aggressively pushing it on me, there must be some reason.
"Reason?" Leia asked when I bothered her with this question. "Why were all the adults so obviously campaigning for you?"
"Yes, Master. I explained why I needed Soresu and why I wanted to master it and..."
"Enough," Leia interrupted me, rising from her meditative pose and looking at me. The meditation room was not huge, about twenty places, no more. Other Jedi were not distracted from their meditations, and I would call myself an indecent barbarian, but when I wrote to Leia that I wanted to talk to her, she herself summoned me here. "The Jedi strongly advise it for one simple reason, Light. Your body is literally made for it. Haven't you noticed?"
"And what was I supposed to notice?"
"It's simple. You are not the 'Center of the Storm' of Soresu. I agree, you have mastered it excellently, but everything you have is geared towards a different style, towards Ataru, which you once called too dangerous in my class, dangerous not for enemies, but for yourself, because it has no defense. Your predisposition has led to you occasionally performing the katas of this form during combat. You dodge, move aside, deliver quick strikes during a counter-attack, although Soresu's counter-attack is close to Makashi—one, but strong and precise strike. Jedi can clearly see the sphere of your talents—it's not that difficult for the Gifted," Leia smiled. "When I had a student, I also understood perfectly how to develop her to become a great Jedi."
"And did she become one?" I asked involuntarily.
"She..." Leia's voice grew cold. "Was a very unstable girl, emotionally. In terms of skills, everything was perfect, but when she failed the Knight Trials the first time, she attempted to attack a Master of the High Council who was observing the Trials."
"And what happened to her?"
"She is now working in the AgriCorps... She always wanted to be a 'protector of lives in the Galaxy,' but in the end, she became a Jedi of the AgriCorps and saves millions of lives across the Galaxy with her work... I hope you don't think, like most, that they are all failures?"
"No, Master," I raised my hands in front of me. "I understand the importance of the AgriCorps. It's just that I... don't see myself there."
"And who do you see yourself as?" Leia asked a reasonable question. "You children always dream of great achievements from the very beginning of your training. Each of you sets goals and achieves them. But there is a global goal that every child sets. It's not a mundane thing: I will taste this or that chocolate, and so on. It's something great. Of course, most dreams," she touched her stomach, "are shattered by the surrounding reality. But while you are in the Temple—your dreams are still with you."
"I... Well..."
And what could I say to get out of the conversation? Anyway, I already understood that the Will of the Force had messed with my body, and the Jedi now saw me as an adept of Ataru, which doesn't suit my character. It's better to wait for an opportune moment than to attack. So what to answer? That I want to sleep with Twi'leks, like Secura, Togruta, like Shaak Ti... Well, what? They are exotic and I like them. Too bad there are no Asari here; this is not that universe. I have encountered fanfics, of course, where heroes couldn't stand exotics, let alone mock those who ran to sleep with them... What can I say about such people? Impotents.
"I would like to bring our Order to glory."
"Glory?" Leia arched an eyebrow. "But how? Look for yourself—the Sith are destroyed..."
"Uh-huh..."
"The Republic is experiencing its dawn..."
More like its sunset. Corruption, pirates, murderers. So far, closer to the Outer Rim, but only for now. The plan of Hego Damask and Sheev Palpatine, hiding in the shadows—to gain power over the Galaxy and destroy the Jedi. And I will try to prevent this. According to my plan, I need to become a Knight first, then start unraveling the "Sith tangle," leading the Jedi to this pair. And then the Council will calmly send assassins or appear in full force. And most importantly—to manage it at least before the fortieth year before Yavin, which will not happen here. So that upon discovery, the Sith do not cause a schism throughout the Galaxy, hiding in chaos.
"I don't know yet," I answered evasively. "But I will find out."
"Be careful, Light. Especially if the Force shows you something. Visions are a very cruel joke, yes, a joke indeed."
Anakin has already proven everything. The Force... It strives for balance, conditionally. But to indulge its aspirations with so many sacrifices? No, thank you.
"And yes, Light," I froze at the door. "The Tournament will begin in three days. Show Knight Lorm everything you have learned."
"I will," I can't wait to meet this sentient being.
***
Three days passed very quickly. Two days before the Tournament, Drallig was constantly flustered, hiding in corners, and practicing combat as best he could. According to Gol, the barbarian had set himself a strategic goal to defeat me at all costs. He even attacked Knight Roan, asking him to train him until he lost consciousness. Roan himself didn't need such happiness, and without thinking, he agreed, immediately suppressing Chin's defense and knocking him out. Versarius also reported that he advised Leia to tie Chin to a bed. Because he got on her nerves. I, on the other hand, was calm as a snake, meditating in the Hall of a Thousand Fountains, which I had grown to love. Waterfalls, fountains, trees... It was so peaceful.
And then it arrived—the Tournament. It was merely an intermediate stage of the Chunin exam from the world of Naruto. That is, a holographic projector displayed the names of the participating younglings before everyone, and they entered the arena, a circle thirty meters in diameter, bordered by stone stands. Knights, Masters, and the Council were seated on the stands. Some Padawans also came to watch their younger comrades if they were in the Temple. A total of about forty younglings participated, meaning twenty battles awaited us. We were all issued training swords with blades as white as ice. But the duels were only until the winner was determined. Five younglings advanced to the finals, and among them, a Battle Royale was held.
But we didn't start with the younglings' battles, but with a show of "Knight combat." Two Knights—Roan and some other blue-skinned Twi'lek—put on a show, fighting each other with combat swords. Roan's staff seemed to disappear; instead, only flashes of blue light were visible. The Twi'lek used Jar'Kai, a regular sword and a shoto... And the fight was "something else." They didn't hold back... This is the level I aspire to.
Okay, so, the youngling fights... They weren't exactly quick. Especially considering the fifth fight was between two Soresu adepts. Their duel lasted a full five minutes, with one minute spent just standing and staring, waiting for an attack. Then one of them got fed up and tried to use Shii-Cho. The other managed, after some time, to catch the first with a counter-attack and defeat him… My own fight will be… I glanced at the holo-projector. With Shira. Among the younglings, she's the best at Ataru. I walked onto the arena when they announced us. Dressed in classic Jedi attire in light colors, I stood opposite a smiling Zabrak girl. She stood with her feet shoulder-width apart and assumed an Ataru stance, you could say the canon of that form. What I called the "Qui-Gon mod." The girl's lightsaber activated. I, on the other hand, took the standard Soresu stance, which I mentally called "I'll poke your eyes out," or "eye-poker." Obi-Wan used it against Grievous…
The fight… The gong sounded, and the girl leaped at me, performing a "hawk-bat throw." This Ataru attack is also a classic; you don't have to look far for an example, Yoda used it during the start of his battle with Dooku… Alright, time to stop recalling analogies and focus on the fight. The girl delivered a classic downward strike… The Force flowed through my body, making me physically stronger and more resilient. Catching the blow on my blade, I quickly extended my left hand forward and pushed Shira back with the Force. She slid across the arena floor but, quickly somersaulting backward, stabilized herself. Again? This time she attacked, striking me in the side. I began to retreat, stepping back. Blocked a blow from right to left, then she repeated the same strike, but from the other side, which I blocked again. A strike from bottom to top? My body acted on its own; I jumped back, performing a backward somersault. But she wasn't about to let me go and rushed towards me.
I tried to attack her with a simple swing when she came within range, but she jumped over me. I spun around sharply and tried to catch her as she landed, but she ducked, letting my saber pass over her head, and delivered a rather unpleasant Shiiak. I didn't have time to bring my saber up, so… I acted even too quickly. A sideways roll, to the left, to evade the Shiiak, a thrusting strike. So, she reacted and attacked me, quickly, but. I used the Ataru combination I started learning in Yoda's holocron. Three movements of Su-ma, revealing the essence of Ataru. A somersault — en-su-ma, I dodged Shira's attack after the somersault with a flip — ton-su-ma, and a wide backhand strike, after which I found myself, along with a spin — jung-su-ma. But even here she reacted…
"Holy hell," Shira exclaimed, blocking the lightsaber at the last moment.
"That's pure Ataru. A bit late to switch styles, Light."
"Learning… It's never too late," I kicked her in the stomach, though she had already started to jump back from my attack, and my blow didn't connect.
Shira began to use a combination of quick strikes again. I dodged… and blocked, and then I felt that she was slowing down. After all, her Force potential is many times weaker than mine, and she can't sustain the high tempo of Ataru for long yet, which I took advantage of. Simply, during her next strike, I deactivated my saber, shifting slightly to the side. Shira didn't have time to react when I struck her in the face with the steel hilt, breaking her nose cleanly, and then delivered a Shiiak directly to her chest.
"Ouch!" the girl clutched her chest.
"That hurts, damn it!"
"Winner, Light Flaingstar," announced the judge.
In real life, a similar combination — a hilt strike followed by a Shiiak — killed an entire Jedi Master. I'll have to spar with a holo-projection of Maul later, though will Maul be in this era? Who's next? And the next participant was announced as Cin and Gol… Oh, that was something — the battle of two Juyo adepts, the dueling part of the fifth form was much more spectacular than mine and Shira's. Each of them tried to break through the other's defense, though Gol was more successful. But Cin didn't give up, deciding to use a different tactic at the end of the fight — not brute force, but playing the counter-attack, which helped him. Gol, caught off guard, sadly held his right hand, which had taken the blow, while Cin returned to the waiting room with joy and pride. The other battles weren't particularly interesting to me. I just watched them…
"So!" announced the leading Jedi.
"We've completed the first stage. Twenty participants remain. The next fights begin right now."
And I got a boy who wielded Makashi. I dealt with him relatively quickly, if only because only the best can adequately oppose me. Of course, he's in the top percentage of younglings; otherwise, what is he doing in the Tournament, which this year was based on the principle: "forty best younglings." They should have selected sixty-four younglings; then there would have been an adequate final round, not a Battle Royale. But compared to Shira, my new opponent wasn't even in the same league. So, I simply and unceremoniously knocked the lightsaber out of the Togruta's hands with the Force during the fight… The third fight, when there were ten of us left, and it was another round that involved halving the number of participants, again presented me with an unpleasant surprise. I mean — I ran into Drallig. Oh, how much joy he had. Joy, anticipation, excitement. Everyone remembers perfectly well that Cin and I are rivals, practically since we were accepted into the clan… Cin was infuriated by the fact that, according to him, I succeeded at "everything"… In reality, I never understood why it bothered him so much, since I achieved everything through hard training, exhausting myself, sometimes staying conscious thanks to the Force. But Cin was still infuriated, although he also put in the effort during training, but unlike me, he didn't waste his time; the idea of being a generalist was repugnant to him, unlike me, so he focused on the desire to become the best duelist. Which he tried to achieve.
Cin, before the signal that started the duel, seemed to be suffering from constant enuresis🔎 A condition characterized by involuntary urination in humans. . He so wanted to start.
"Finally! I've waited for this moment for a long time. I've beaten you, you've beaten me, but we've never fought in front of such an audience! I'll defeat you in front of everyone, and then I'll be taken as a Padawan much earlier than you!"
"Umm," I drawled.
"Didn't you hear? The whole clan already knows."
"Know what?" Drallig asked.
"I've already been taken as a Padawan, before you. I'm participating because I'm interested and haven't been assigned a status yet…"
The signal to start rang out, and Cin immediately attacked. His attacks were a bit different from Shira's. The pattern of the fight itself was different. No, the attacks of a Juyo adept are fast, I don't argue, but the logic and philosophy are different. Shira struck quickly and, if blocked, immediately changed her position and angle for the next strike, making it faster, which was the essence of Ataru. Cin struck with power; his blows were mighty. If Shira tried to dodge attacks and blocked, it was infrequent, but Cin, on the contrary, blocked, like a Soresu adept. Precisely, effectively, but not perfectly. As a Soresu adept, I can do better, which I demonstrated. Calm down… The Force flows through me. Cin increased the tempo, but I stood and caught every one of his blows, occasionally dodging. The hilt with the activated blade fluttered, demonstrating wonders. What were they? Blocks for counter-attacks. As is common in some games. According to the philosophy of Soresu, I took the blows, deflecting the blade, forcing Cin to obey inertia. He suffered a lot in the past because of this.
But in general, if the Ataru style is a complete reworking of Soresu into something new, then Shien/Juyo is precisely Soresu, with a changed philosophy. Instead of defense, it's offense, physical strength, and counter-attacks with brute force. And if Soresu and Ataru are a confrontation between attack and defense, then Ataru and Shien are a confrontation between physical strength and agility. And I am all about agility. They weren't lying; Ataru is still close to me, if only because dodging and outmaneuvering an opponent is the right thing to do, even as a Soresu adept — I consciously and unconsciously wove elements of Ataru into it… Precisely, but I could create my own style, purely for myself. Ataru and Soresu — powerful offense and perfect defense. But how to combine them? Because one style involves constant movement, and the second — only defense. But if I manage to create my own style, based on these two, then Windu… What Windu… Even Exar Kun or Tulak Hord would be no match for me.
The blades clashed, striking sparks, creating characteristic sounds. Here it is… Another Shiiak in my execution, everything was perfect, but Cin managed to sidestep and immediately attacked me in the side. Turning slightly, I managed to place my saber in the path of his attack, changing my position, I stood where Cin had been, and he stood where I had been. But we didn't stand for long; he attacked again, pressing, using enhancements and Juyo, he forced me to retreat. My counter-attacks became rarer, and Cin's tempo became faster. This couldn't go on for long, and I simply used the Force. He dodged the push, jumping to the side, and I rushed into the attack. He delivered a horizontal strike, but I didn't even try to block it, falling to my knees and sliding under the saber… He reacted! He reacted to my subsequent attack from behind, and delivered such a blow that I barely managed to block it myself… Damn it! Deflecting one of the blows aside, I aimed my left hand with the bracer at his leg.
"What?" Cin was surprised and wanted to attack, but I activated the mechanism on the bracer, hooking him by the leg, and sharply pulled him towards me.
Cin fell flat on his back.
"Ugh! Hutt!" he exclaimed. I walked up to him, placing my saber at his throat.
"Light wins!" the judge proclaimed.
"But Knight!" Cin stood up sharply.
"That's not fair! How did you count him as the winner, he…"
"This is a YOUNGling tournament!" the man shook his head.
"Not a pure lightsaber duel. You use the Force, don't you?"
"You don't understand, that's different!" Cin continued to protest.
"I mean, I…"
"Calm down," the knight punctuated.
"Out there, in the Big World, they use all sorts of things for survival. Or do you think a lightsaber is the only weapon of a Jedi? Learn to think!"
"You'll get yours, Light!" Drallig roared, walking away.
***
The Battle Royale was quite strange. It all started with two younglings clearly intending to duel. Two guys, according to rumors, were rivals just like Cin and I. No, according to the girls, they were both fighting for the attention of one girl in their clan. Growing up, hormones, physical activity, and as one corpse said: "To hell with the code." Try to explain to a physically healthy teenager that the call of the flesh is evil. It's impossible; he'll just twirl his finger at his temple. In short, a picture-perfect scene — they met, and an epic brawl began. Two girls approached me calmly and slowly. One of them, Fela — clearly used Makashi, and the other, Hookera — Soresu. First, I need to get rid of the second one. Soresu is the path of counter-attacks; if I give her time, she'll find a loophole in my defense, I know about such things myself and am working to eliminate them, if she hasn't already found one. And she'll defeat me quickly… It seems they colluded.
"I'd surrender if I were you," Fela told me.
"After all, there are two of us, and only one of you, Light. No matter how much of a Soresu master you are, you can't defend against two at once."
"Soresu?" I asked.
"By the way, the Sith were destroyed almost a millennium ago. And you use such a useless style as Makashi? Any mercenary would gladly send you to the afterlife."
"Your Dun-Moch is terrible," Hookera said, the girl playing with her saber.
"It's worth a try," I suddenly lunged towards Hookera. I lack basic Ataru knowledge, so I could at best move according to the canons of the style's fencing, and I attacked using Shii-Cho, from behind. Indeed, they colluded.
I spun like a top, deflecting the girls' lunges and attacks, which became faster and faster. I parried one blow, turned, parried the second girl's attack, dodged the first one's. I had to use Ataru more often, or rather, its characteristic jumps, with Force augmentation and… They couldn't defeat me. If I had fought purely with Soresu, I would have already lost, but by using elements of Ataru from time to time, I literally avoided defeat, evading attacks at the last moment. Jumping over their sabers when the girls tried to attack me simultaneously, I struck Hekura in the face in mid-air; she jumped back, hissing angrily. Fela tried to attack me, but I blocked two of her blows and, with a counter-attack, knocked her saber out of her hands.
"OW!" the girl clutched her arm, and I turned towards my "colleague in style."
"Now you," activating the saber no longer needed by Fela, I attacked Hekura. And she fell quickly, apparently not yet having mastered the style enough to counter Jar'Kai adepts, although I wasn't one.
The guys were still fighting when Fela held her arm due to the blow it had taken. But now I saw that one of them was already starting to falter, which I took advantage of by attacking the one who was pressing him from behind. I felt no moral anguish; this is a Battle Royale, whoever is last is the winner. The second one's eyes widened in surprise when his opponent dropped his saber, which I again took advantage of, hitting him with a Force Push — I defeated my last opponent…
***
"That was impressive," a voice said as I left the arena for the Tournament, after all the honors bestowed upon me.
"For a pathetic Jedi larva that you are."
I turned towards the voice. Before me stood a tall Zabrak, with a well-developed physique, dressed in white Jedi robes. Over them, he wore a brown cloak.
"Master," I began.
"Correct," he nodded.
"I see you've been gathering information, so you're not hopeless. We'll see what you grow into, Jedi larva. My name is Lorm Decer, Jedi Archaeologist. Get ready, in two days we'll leave the Temple and head to your homeworld, Tustra."
"There?" I asked.
"But why?"
"My ship has completely fallen apart," Lorm said, stepping closer.
"That bantha poodoo from the hangar swore by the Force itself that the ship would withstand the flights… He's even making me the guilty one, saying I shouldn't have flown to that planet with 'permanent storms', so, don't let him near the helm." He sighed heavily and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Alright. My creed is: if you've started something, do it perfectly. Yoda believes I can be an excellent teacher for you. And he also believes you can teach me something. So I'm interested in teaching you, let's see what comes of it. Any questions?"
"Master," I called to him.
"And I'll need equipment…"
"Of course, you will!" he exclaimed, a bit too sharply.
"I thought you were an idiot, but you have potential," the second time I've heard the same thing from him.
"We need to visit a planet. I'll use it as a teaching aid, an introduction, to archaeology. The equipment is in the warehouse; I've already taken care of it, just pick it up. And by the way," he nodded at my left hand.
"Interesting idea. We'll start deeply exploring the Force on the way, which is what Yoda wants. As for lightsaber combat, Yoda warned that he has a solution. And besides, I can do a lot myself, although I use Niman, I have the basics of all styles. I won't talk about Ataru; if you want to remain my Padawan, you'll have to study it."
"I don't mind, I just wanted to study Soresu before going out…"
"Into the big world, where every bum sleeping in his own excrement has a blaster?" my teacher asked, nodding at the passing Knights.
"Not every…"
"How so? So you study bums sleeping in their feces and are ready to confirm they don't have blasters?" Lorm asked.
"Although the fact that you figured out Soresu is commendable. My generation were all either Makashi or Shien. And those who mastered Makashi are already dead, well, except for one Count who always goes on about his origins, that snobbish bastard," wait a second, isn't that Dooku?
"In any case, in two days. We'll fly on a regular flight; there's no one in the Temple to fly to Tustra, and taking fighters or other ships to leave them there. What a waste…"