Total Defense (Helenias and open)

[Pierce Tondry]

With a snap and a hiss, the lightsaber blade slid into existence. Pierce took a few deep breaths, expelling the tension from his body, then activated the holographic computer.

An image of a human Jedi appeared before him, dressed in a brown robe with a white undertunic and trousers. It held an unactivated lightsaber in its hand. "Greetings," Pierce said.

"Greetings, Padawan of the Jedi Order," it replied. "I am Jedi Master Tot Frinthwross. Though others have later refined it, it was I who began the Defensive form, and your choice to learn it says something about who you are- that is, you desire to safeguard things. Even now I feel the Force within you. That is good. Come. Let me show you my way."

The holocron-linked imaging system adopted a posture that carried with it the vague impression of an attempt to fend off an onrushing avalanche. Pierce examined the posture carefully, then set his own stance the same way: feet a little more than shoulder-width apart, lightsaber held in both hands at his right hip.

"Very good," the hologram complimented. "You have some previous training in martial combat, I see. Nonetheless, what you are about to learn is very different from the First Form of the Jedi. To defend, you must have an assailant attack, and that is what we will add now."

A nearby remote activated and began to hover in the air. It oriented itself on Pierce and then stood still.

"By bringing your lightsaber to bear in an angled set like this, you can deflect enemy projectiles away from you. We will try it now."

The remote fired- nothing more than a painful stinger dart- and Pierce imitated the computer's instructions.

He missed.

Quietly cursing, he shrugged off the pain in his right shoulder. "You were too slow, Padawan," said the hologram. "You must learn to trust your feelings more readily. Only then will you have the necessary time to react."

Pierce set himself again, ready to continue.

[Helenias Evenstar]

Amusing to think a hologram could possibly feel the Force flow through someone I thought, coming quietly into the room. Dressed in a simple smock and pants, I looked far from a Jedi - I looked more like a peasant. I didn't even have the usual boots or other heavy footware - I was barefoot. Quietly I made my way to the side wall, where best for now to observe my Padawan begin learning.

Interesting style choice to learn I added to myself, watching and assessing. Not quite what I would have expected

[Satine]

Satine was wondering through the halls, when she felt the familiar presence of her master. She follwed the presence and came to an open door. She peeked her head in the doorway and saw her master, and another padawan involved in some sort of saber training. Not wanting to interupt anything she stood silently, waiting to be acknowledged.

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce took a few breaths, allowing the pain in his shoulder to dissipate to a throb. Then, with one last inhalation, he nodded. "Start."

The drone leapt and spun through the air, pausing and orienting on Pierce again. The Padawan spun out of his set and swung at the stinger.

He missed again.

"That would have hit your stomach, had it not hit your hand," the holoimage told him. "A lethal shot. Please- retrieve your lightsaber and we will continue."

Rubbing his hand, Pierce bent over and picked up his fallen weapon. "When you set yourself, you must not only attune your body, but also your mind and senses. Defense is a crucial art that requires the link between your thoughts and reflexes be at its strongest. Many Forms can attack, but a true Form III Master will never be defeated in combat."

Pierce swallowed, nodded, and set himself again.

[Helenias Evenstar]

I was glad Satine had also come in. I nodded to my other Padawan, indicating for her to come quietly over to me, keeping one eye and one ear on what Pierce was doing, wondering about the Form III choice.

And nearly choked upon hearing the last statement of the holoimage.

"Never be defeated?" I stated calmly, though still in disbelief at that statement. "That I believe is not true. If it was, the pogrom that wiped out the Jedi at the time of the Empire would not have been as successful. Obi-Wan Kenobi was a practicioner of Form III, yet Count Dooku easily defeated him with Form II. Form III is indeed useful in defence against blaster and other energy weapons, but proved fallible with duelling against another sabre weilder"

"Excuse my interruption" I ended, "but if there is one thing I have learned is that never is a word that tends to get contradicted all too easy in a genuine combat situation"

[Satine]

Satine walked quietly over to Helenias' side and stood, listening and watching everything going on with great interest.

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce started- he hadn't realized there was anyone else in the room, let alone his own Jedi Master and a fellow apprentice.

On the other hand, the holoimage smiled. "I became one with the Force before these times you speak of, fellow Master, therefore it is possible the application of my techniques is less effective during times of peril- that is, times where things are out of balance. Still, to discuss semantics with one long dead seems a futile exercise."

The holoimage abruptly fuzzed as Pierce put the program on hold. "It's right, you know," he said with a wry smile. "You are arguing with a computer."

He gave a brief nod to the other woman in the room. "Pierce Tondry," he said by way of introduction.

[Helenias Evenstar]

"Oh, I'll argue with a dead rat if I thought it was giving wrong information" I said with the hint of a smile on my face. "And computers can be wrong. Usually, a threat to reprogram them with an axe makes them see reason quickly enough. Oh, this is Satine, a Padawan I am also training. Satine, this is Pierce Tondry"

[Satine]

"Hello Pierce, nice to meet you."

[Pierce Tondry]

"Nice to meet you, too," Pierce replied courteously. He keyed for the remote to work without the additional input from the holoimage and set himself again. "In any case, I suspect this defense technique will come in handy."

The remote fired and Pierce's hands shfited. The stinger dart missed both lightsaber and wielder, however, and ended up flashing beneath one of Pierce's arms to hit the wall behind him.

He sighed. "Maybe I should try something else that doesn't involve prediction," he said. "I successfully block about one out of every ten of these. I would probably pick it up better as part of a style. What do you think?"

"About learning the techniques that way?" Helenias asked.

"About the whole thing," he responded. "The style, the techniques themselves, how well I'm not learning them..."

[Helenias Evenstar]

"That is one reason I was surprised you were trying to learn it. Form III" I began, including Satine in this as I did not want to leave her out, "being as defensive as it is, requires the most attunement to foresight. It requires a strong stance and a more circular style of sabre play. It also has a good deal more blade speed, but not power, control as well. I personally would not call it an easy style to learn"

But if that is what you want....

"There is however benefit in learning a style like this and it is to learn other parts of the Jedi way as you have surmised. Form III, despite my distain for it, embodies some of the core Jedi teachings. Would you mind if I faced the remote for a moment..? I find it much easier instructing while giving practical examples"

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce worked with the controls to the remote for a second. The hovering globe spun, suddenly finding new interest in Helenias. "Go ahead," Pierce said. "It's ready."

[Helenias Evenstar]

"Thanks, I noticed" I added dryly, as the sabre on my hip came into my hand and lit up in one smooth motion., deflecting a shot away that had been aimed at my shoulder.

Despite for my spoken distain for Form III, it was fairly evident fairly fast I knew it well - for it was a style that suited my strong points - fast, smooth and used precognition to a higher degree.

It also was the style best suited for defending against blaster carriers as well.

I felt in the Force where the next shot was going to, and hence, even before the machine fired, my blade was moving, deflecting the energy beam away.

"To do this, you need a clear mind to begin... with" I began, blocking another shot "for if your mind is clouded, how can you allow the Force to show you what is to be? If your mind is filled with other thoughts, then your not listening to the Force and your not concentrating. Do that first"

[Pierce Tondry]

"Clearing my mind has never been the problem," Pierce said. "My problem is that whatever the Force is saying, it's not loud enough for me to hear. I still can't pick up people, just stray thoughts that seem to be particularly strong."

[Helenias Evenstar]

"Not entirely unexpected" I commented. "Most adults have problems listening. It is one of the reasons the Jedi before the Empire began training so young. It's so much easier forming a child who has no fixed ways, than an adult, who has years of things to unlearn, thoughts spinning around their heads, connections and ties to others - things that demand their attention. Does that seem to make sense to you both?"

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, it makes sense to me. I guess I ought to give sensing stuff a little practice then. Later, though."

Pierce flipped a switch and the remote suddenly took notice of him again. He set himself, began focusing on the device, slowed his breathing, and tried very hard to shut everything else out of his head. The remote fired, and Pierce swung the lightsaber in a perfectly fluid motion.

It just happened to be a second too late. The dart hit his arm and Pierce gritted his teeth, wincing. "I am going to get this down," he said doggedly.

[Helenias Evenstar]

I very deliberatly stepped in front of the next shot that the remote fired, my lightsabre deflecting straight back at it's target. While it dealt with that, I turned to face Pierce.

" Let's not focus on the remote. Instead, I want you to simply stand there. I want you to close your eyes. I want you to keep them shut. I want you to simply relax and not do anything. I don't want you to lift your blade, I don't want you to speak unless I ask you to. What I do want you to do is simply just be there and be quiet"

At this point, my lightsabre blade switched off and the weapon started to float in the air, seemingly of it's own volition.

"I have my lightsabre floating in front of you. Don't say anything, just point to it. Keep pointing to it as it moves around the room. Just see if you can imagine in your mind where it could be. Do not point unless you have a knowing you will be right. - for this is not a guessing exercise. I can't tell you how it will seem that you are pointing in the right direction, you know the feeling when you have to do something but you can't explain what it is. It's different from you to me. Just simply wait until the time feels right, then point. Until then, just relax"

As an addition, I made my voice sound as friendly as possible, as calm and as gentle, soothing.

"It does not matter if your wrong. What matters is that you wait until you feel the time is right. Not before and not after"

As well, I was also allowing calm and peace to radiate from myself. it was hard to exactly describe how, but I had used that to make Jax stop crying when he was in my care. It had a soothing effect on others I had discovered. A good trick for a Senator to know when arguments were being had and tempers frayed.

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce shut his eyes. Then he reopened them. "Nah, this isn't going to work. And stop that."

"Stop what?"

"The calm radiation thing. I know that's not me. It feels like I'm a piece of carpet rubbing against another piece of carpet."

The pricky feeling on the back of Pierce's neck vanished. "Better?"

"Yes."

"Good." Helenias pointed at the floating lightsaber. "Now try."

"Just a sec." Pierce cut off his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. His hand fished around inside a pocket and came out with a strip of black cloth, which he tied around his head, over his eyes. Then, he took the lightsaber back into his hands and turned it on.

The blade hummed, drowning out everything else. Pierce tried to focus, to concentrate. There was only the hum, and the blade, and nothing else. Just the hum and blade and nothing. Just the hum and blade and nothing...

Several minutes later, there continued to be nothing. "I got nothing," he said.

[Helenias Evenstar]

"I see" I said, calling back the sabre to my hand, "You may take the blindfold off. Maybe we really need to go back to square one and start from the absolute beginning"

"What do you mean, from the absolute beginning?" came the reply

"Can you tell of a time, with absolute certainty, that something was going to happen and it did? A fight you knew the opponent's moves before they happened? Can you remember what that felt like?" I requested

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce neglected to take the blindfold off in his concentration. "I can't really remember when I knew what someone else would do. I never really focus on that anyway."

"What do you focus on?"

"What I can do. I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"You don't remember anything unusual, ever?"

"Well, of course I do. You didn't ask if I remembered anything unusual, you asked if I'd ever knew what someone else was going to do. I haven't. What I do remember are two wierd things. Once, I happened to be fighting Leia Solo and I managed to successfully set off a chain of events that I later realized was pretty difficult. The other was when I was fighting Marcus and everything around me seemed to slow down."

Pierce stopped. It occurred to him to wonder how Helenias might take the news that he'd once tried to kill her husband.

[Helenias Evenstar]

"Yes, he mentioned something about having a fight with you. Didn't say much about it, but that's his way. Why not tell me about it after you take your blindfold off?"

"Sadly," I added, "I don't think he knows you are my Padawan."

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce turned his head towards Helenias and grinned. "Pfft. I wouldn't put it past him to know," he said. He reached up and pulled the blindfold off, then cracked his neck. "Just like I know he's off working on some secret project or other. The two of us have always liked to be informed. It's just the way we are."

[Helenias Evenstar]

Secret project... I wish it was that simple

"Ordinarily I would agree that he knows. However, not only has he dissappeared yet again, the last I knew was 3 months ago and he had been blinded. After that, I have heard not a thing. Now. How about you tell me of your fight and I'll tell you something of the future that makes me think Marcus won't know for some time. Not until you two meet again"

[Pierce Tondry]

"Not much to tell," Pierce said. "It was Arcan IV's liberation day. I was working on the inside to take over the regime, he was trying to bring it down, but we caught him. We were showing him on some live holofeed when the Governor ordered the alien quarter gassed."

Pierce paused and lifted a meaningful finger. "You don't want to threaten other people when he's around. Something in that Jedi Warlord psyche of his goes snap. He was moving so freaking fast, I almost couldn't see him."

"What happened then?"

What did happen then? Everything was going so slow... "I don't really know. One moment he was a blaster bolt, the next he was going normal speed and everything else was slower than we were. I remember feeling really high, like my brain was running on twenty stim tabs injected through IV."

"You sped up?"

"I guess. Don't really know- it never happened again." Pierce looked down at the blindfold in his hand, wondering.

[Helenias Evenstar]

<font color=red> We had been walking for a sometime, Scorpion and I, with the troops trying to figure out what to do next. We were all short on ideas except wait for the New Republic to come and make contact. It was, Scorpion assured me, only a few hours before the New Republic arrive. Maybe we would, with the Major’s help contact a few more like minded soldiers and civilians. Or just lay low. That wasn’t a bad option and it might give me some time to question the General and find out why he had gone Jedi. That was the single most amazing and improbable thing to happen to me in this day of surprises. Scorpion, Jedi? Who had managed to turn him?

“It's Governor Yveyss! And some guy strapped to a chair.” The call interrupted my musings. I went over, to see a man strapped to an execution chair, with what the troops called the Governor standing by, gabbling some rubbish. But the intent was clear. This man was about to be executed.

Jyanis frowned, "It's Tohmahawk!".

WHAT?!?!?! When the hell had he come back from the dead? Didn’t that man Force Master Hunter kill him? Well, come to think of it, Hunter had an odd resemblance to the man, who was now writhing and screaming some nonsense. I saw that the injection for death must have been made, as the man slumped. If that really was Hunter…. Where was Jina? I cursed. Now This was today’s most unexpected twist.

I was about to turn away as the man was obviously dead…. When he spoke. The voice clear – and to my complete shock, familiar.

“People of Arcan IV. I am a Jedi Master and you Governor is about to gas the Alien quarter. Run”

I watched as this man exploded into action, tearing the execution chair to pieces, then doing the same to the guards in the room. I saw a man who revealed himself as Tondry drawing guns in a flash, ordering everyone out. Tondry holstered his blasters and took up a defensive fighting stance. "I can't let you leave here," he said "Too many people will die- too many good and loyal soldiers will die- too many of my comrades will die- if you do. Their lives are in my hands and I WILL NOT let them down." He took of a mask and spoke again.


"My name is Pierce Alexander Tondry, and I will stop you, Marcus Q'Dunn."

………

The men around me were exclaiming about the gassing of the Alien quarter. I didn’t I didn’t give a damn. My helmet would filter any gas.

No. This was not possible. Tondry did NOT identify Tohmahawk as Marcus Q’Dunn. That was not possible.

“Scorpion…. SCORPION!” The Chiss was distracted, staring at the screen. He snapped his attention to me. “That man that they tried to execute. Who was it”

“That…. Is my friend”

“Is he really a Jedi?”

Something in Scorpion’s face seemed to twitch. The Chiss’ eyes was focused on the empty room that was still the focus of the holoview. “He… told me…” The alien gathered himself up and looked at me. “… everything. I didn’t believe it…. Until now”

“Who else knew?”

“His wife. But she’s dead, so he told me”

I had to thank the Force that the helmet covered my face and the vox box covered my voice. There was no way my expression would have ever stayed stoic, not at a time like this. It took me a moment to mentally recover and be able to speak again. I had seen Q’Dunn die. I had seen it as I had fallen. The last thing I had heard from his lips was my name, cried out in horror. I saw the flames, I saw one standing next to him vaporised. I never got to see what happened, but as I had recovered from the fall, in a medical centre, I learned enough. My own survival was no more than a lucky chance, landing in a rubbish cart that broke my fall enough so I was not killed outright. But as I had recovered, I found out what had taken place.

He had been nothing more than ashes. I had mourned where they told me his last resting place was. I had fought on against Callista alone, for what she did. She denied me my husband, the only man I had loved. Many nights spent alone, fighting grief. 11 years of pain and sorrow, to see that clone take his place. I cried so many times at his memory…

I knew he was gone. He had to be gone. Nothing or no one can bring back something taken by death.

For years I had hidden my face from the Galaxy, as Lord Fire Blade, feared Imperial Royal Guard, destroyer of the Jedi Temple. I hid as Elieen Cross in the most depraved and disgusting places known

How could I possibly still be Helenais Evenstar, wife and lover?

Someone was lying. Nothing now was making any sense. I put my mind back on track, for now I would need my wits about me. As I refocused, I noticed a huge pouring of beings, all running. Somewhat puzzled I asked what was going on.

“Didn’t you hear that Jedi? He said Yveyss was going to gas the alien quarter! And this IS the alien quarter!” yelled Ramjet. Oh @#%$, that’s right. So taken aback by the thought Marcus could really be alive, I had forgotten.

“Ramjet, it seems your Governor has had his hand tipped. Get to a command post, shoot anyone who opposes you. Find out who is with us and round them up. Begin to make this place friendly to the Republic. Understand?”

“Yes my Lord! Don’t worry, I think after this Yveyss will find he wont have lot of support. Come on men!” The squad ranoff into the crowds, leaving the Jedi, Scorpion and I still there. He was still thoughtful in view.

“General, I want to speak to this Jedi friend of yours. Can you find him?”

While I waited for an answer, I could only wonder how this day and night could possibly get any more incredible. </font>

"Oh, I remeber that broadcast well, Pierce"

"You do?" he answered, sounding a touch surprised

"Oh yes. I was there. I can still remember it. It gave me hope and a light from the bottom of an 11 year hell"

"I'm sorry, but what's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, that's a long story. I'll tell you that if you want to listen, but it could be a bit boring" We were getting a bit sidetracked here. The point wasn't about the past, it was about the present and equipping my Padawan with Jedi skills. For what he would face in the future. "From what you said, getting back to today's subject, you sound like you have touched what is known crudely as Speed, the ability to move far quicker than normally possible. Not quite what I was hoping you had experienced, but it's a start. A very good one." And here was a glaring problem and a indication of how I was not an experienced teacher. I had no idea how to take advantage of this and use it to explain what I wanted.

"You dont sound like it's a good start"

"Well it would be if I had any clue how to explain what I want you to do. I'm a warrior Pierce. I kick heads for a living. I'm no diplomat and I'm no teacher. Yet, I'm a Senator, I'm on the Jedi Council and you are my Padawan. Life has thrown me a bit of a spitball, hasn't it?"

[Pierce Tondry]

"I dunno. With a little ingenuity, problems can often be turned into levers."

Pierce's lip curled in a half-smile. "I gotta say, it's a good thing I didn't know you were around. I might've tried to bring you in on my side, only to end up fighting two experienced Jedi instead of one. Marcus was tough enough, but you, too?"

A quick chuckle escaped his mouth, then his face sobered. "Only thing I really remember about that time was this intense pressure, this... this need to win, like if I didn't, things were going to go wrong. Like I had no choice."

His voice trailed off and he furrowed his brow, lost in thought.

[Helenias Evenstar]

"I'm not sure what I would have done. Even when I knew, I didn't go to him or reveal my presence. It was only after... I thought he was truly dead in an ambush near the south pole of Arcan did I come and be a Jedi. Continue his work."

But yet again he was alive. Again. How does he do that, escape death like he does?

"I'm also afraid your showing up my lack of knowledge Pierce. I know what you mean but I have no idea how to extrapolate that into ... danger.."

There. That was it. The sense of danger that forced Pierce on. that was something I could work on.

"Cancel that. You said you felt the need to win? Think about this - do you think that feeling would come back if your life was endangered, or if Jax was similarly under threat? "

[Pierce Tondry]

Pierce's breath caught in his throat. "Jax... yeah. Yeah, Jax."

For a moment, it was all he could say, but then he forced a breath out. "If Jax was in danger, hell wouldn't have enough demons in it to stop me from saving him," he said softly.

"As for myself," Pierce shook away the disturbing feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I don't think so. I don't get any charge when I think about that. There would have to be something I had to do that I couldn't let myself die over. Then I'd feel it."

A flutter ran through him and Pierce shrugged uncomfortably. "Gotta complete the mission, you know," he said evasively.

[Helenias Evenstar]

I wasn't much of a teacher, that was true. But I was quite good at reading a person. It came from the way I probed for weakness and exploited it in battle. A good thing for the Senate too - while not physical, the mental battles were every bit as taxing. Pierce hadn't evaded my question, in fact I believed he answered it. There was something about this however, he didn't want to touch on. I could read that quite clearly. Not it took much skill, he was fairly obvious.

"How is Jax?" I asked, switching subjects. "I have not seen him for some time"

[Pierce Tondry]

Fatherly pride shone through in Pierce's smile. "He's doing fine. Learning new words, growing. I swear that kid is starting to keep me up at night, and I'm the one with the military training. You probably wouldn't recognize the little kid you took care of."

"Anyway," Pierce said, glancing at his chronometer. "I've got a meeting to get to at Intelligence Central's adjunct compound. We can continue this line of thought later. You look like you have some ideas you want to mull over anyway."

[Helenias Evenstar]

"Yes, indeed I do. I have some work I need to do at the Senate, so I cant reconvene in the next few days - tell you what, how about if you bring Jax with you over to my apartment for dinner in a week's time?"

My hands however said something different.

I'm going to the medical wing, quietly and privately. I keep on getting ill - something's wrong and I dont know what it is. Bring Jax if you can, I could do with his face to brighten things up.

[Pierce Tondry]

"Sounds good," Pierce said. "And maybe I can work on some of this telepathy or sense stuff then, too. Seems to be a prerequesite for this kind of lightsaber form."

His fingers flickered. I have suspicions. Talk later.

"Take care of yourself," he added aloud, then left the room.

(ooc) Unless you have something in mind you want to begin, I'll start a thread in the Sense forum tomorrow.