Needed Training (Neive)

[Jom Etro]

Onboard the Sparrowhawk

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The interior of the carrack cruiser was surprisingly spacious. As Jom wandered through the halls looking for a training area, he stopped to view the many details of the ship. Gazing through the viewports he passed by, the pilot visualized the events that had led up to this moment.

Etro has been quite caught off guard when the inquisitor, Prazutis, offered to give him some extra, not to mention desperately needed, training in ground combat. In all honesty, he didn’t even know what to expect from the dark being. What would Jom be learning? He really hoped that he wouldn’t waste the inquisitor’s time.

As he finally found the room that matched the description, Etro entered. While it wasn’t as spacious as those Jom had previously used, the room was definitely more than good enough to use. It appeared that nobody was there yet. Hopefully that would change soon when the inquisitor arrived. Jom was sure he would arrive in due time.

[Neive Undant]

Prazutis nodded and walked away from the commander of the Sparrowhawk after having a talk with him about future missions and affairs. The man seemed like a sensible one, somewhat alike Captain... or now Governor... Vassyl. However, as he walked towards the cruiser’s gymnasium, Prazutis took out his lightsaber and turned down the dial for the energy concentration, and also grabbed the old training lightsaber he had used for a long time.

Entering the empty space, he saw the pilot awaiting him.

“Pilot”

Prazutis called for his attention before tossing the training saber to the man.

“If you are going to fight with me, you’ll need to know more than anything, how to defend yourself from another force user.”

Prazutis ignites his own saber, checking the energy dial on it again.

“both of these blades we have are now non-lethal. You can hit me all you want, if you can. And in turn, I can hit you. Won’t leave anything but a bruise.”

[Jom Etro]

Jom’s attention was brought to the high inquisitor as he entered the room and called out to him. What appeared to be some sort of short metal tube was sent hurtling in Etro’s direction. Catching the object in his hands, it became more clear. It appeared to be a hilt. A lightsaber hilt. Confused, Jom looked up from the round weapon. His confusion was short lived, as the inquisitor began instructing.

“If you are going to fight with me, you’ll need to know more than anything, how to defend yourself from another force user.”

The mans helmet was illuminated by the crimson glow of his lightsaber. After adjusting something on his saber again, Prazutis spoke again.

“Both of these blades we have are now non-lethal. You can hit me all you want, if you can. And in turn, I can hit you. Won’t leave anything but a bruise.”

Things began to become more clear. It was a training saber that Jom had in his hand. Fair enough. He was eager to begin his training, and maybe in time he would be able to beat any force user he might encounter on his journeys. However, those thoughts were for a later time. Now, he would fight.

“Yes, sir.”

Igniting the training saber, a deep yellow beam appeared out of the hilt. “Wait a minute, is there a way I’m supposed to hold this?” The pilot thought to himself.

Holding he saber out in front of him, one hand gripped above the other, Jom did as the inquisitor said. He would strike him if he even could.

Etro ran at his superior, and brought his weapon down to his waist for a wild horizontal strike.

[Neive Undant]

Prazutis looked to the man as he ran at him, and with one step shot behind the man, swinging his blade back at the pilot's throat, between the rim of his helmet and the shoulder of his armor. He had seen the second the pilot dropped his blade to his side, knowing where the strike was coming from, and from such, kicked himself to the opposite side before continuing just behind him to initiate the blow of his own.

"You announce your attack so?"

He looked for just a second at how he was holding his blade. He knew everyone had a different form of lightsaber combat, but this man would have to find his own form through trial and error... however, in this case, the error would eventually grow more and more painful as he caught the end of Prazutis' crimson blade.

he prepared as the blade came back at the pilot, bringing his right foot out to create a distance between the two as soon as the blade connected, or by the off chance the man had the reflexes to dodge and try to counterattack. either way, the second the encounter would end, they would be far enough apart for Prazutis to speak to him without them engaging while he did.

[Jom Etro]

The strike against the inquisitor never even came close to the target as he sidestepped the blow and, in return was given a powerful blow to the back of his neck. The crimson blade had found its way into the gap between Jom’s helmet shoulder armor, causing him to stumble. That was definitely going to leave a mark.

Just as Etro had regained his balance another precise strike connected on his upper back, sending him to the floor before he could react. This was going to be a lot harder than he had thought. Jom quickly rolled over onto his back and got up.

Prazutis had put distance between the two of them. It was clear that Etro had made his first attack to clear, and would have to tread more carefully. He was inexperienced with a blade, but would have to learn to use it.

Readjusting his grip on the lightsaber, Jom moved his right hand close to the top of the hilt while keeping a few fingers distance from the blade. He thought to himself. “This feels comfortable.” Putting his left hand a short distance under his right, Etro prepared himself for another round.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Of course it wasn’t. He knew that Prazutis was the high inquisitor for a reason. Jom just wanted to lighten to mood with some friendly banter.

Inching forward, Jom kept the saber in front of him. Taking care to to position the practice weapon so it was almost vertical, but the tip was directed towards Prazutis’ helmet. He might look ridiculous right now, or he might not. Jom was actually trying to mimic stance he had seen force users use in the holovids. Though this footage was scarce and hardly shown in the Empire, it was useful nonetheless.

[Neive Undant]

Prazutis watched the man adjust his grip on his hilt, nodding to himself.

"When it comes to dueling, there are seven different styles of combat. You must experiment and find the one that fits you the best."

Prazutis walked forward, spinning his blade around in one hand as he approached.

"First, you may try the defensive style: Soresu"

Prazutis prepared to mount an offense of quick but weak swings of his blade at the pilot, nothing that he expected to make contact, but enough to keep him on his toes.

"Watch my wrist movements, and watch the edge of the blade. These will tell you where the strike is coming from. Block every strike, and if the saber goes low or the end dips down, jump aside to dodge the thrust."

[Jom Etro]

The high inquisitor educated Jom, and as he spoke, his voice steady with purpose and thought. As the man spoke, Etro learned. Near the end of his instructions, he told the pilot to watch his wrists. On the surface, it was a seemingly basic task, while in reality, it would be more difficult to keep track of as Prazutis moved.

When the two were prepared, the next blows began. This time the inquisitor moved to attack Jom. In quick succession, the man delivered a series of strikes, which Etro was semi-successful at blocking and evading.

At the sight of the first swing, Jom saw Prazutis’ wrist but barely managed to dodge the blow, although he assumed the inquisitor wasn’t aiming to hit the pilot this time. When he saw the inquisitor’s wrist rotated to the side, Etro began to see what he meant about watching the enemy’s wrist. When the crimson blade swung to hit the side of Jom’s upper body, he swung to intercept, batting the blade away. Next, a similar blow came to the pilots opposite side, only to be hit away once more. Jom began to celebrate silently. He was starting to get the hang of this.

Suddenly, his opponent flicked their wrist upwards, slicing through the air vertically and catching Etro by surprise. In the same motion, Prazutis rotates his wrist elegantly and battered the yellow beam to the side, almost knocking the practice saber out of Jom’s hands.

“Blast it.”

He had been bested by his superior again.

[Neive Undant]

“This isn’t something to be mastered in a day. I’ll soon have my lightsaber training droid here, so while I’ll overlook your training, you’ll be up against a less... aggressive opponent.”

Prazutis wasn’t one to brag. But what he spoke was definitely the truth. His attacks, if he were to train the boy, would generally become more aggressive as he learned. He remembered the incident on Spintr, when he crushed a trainee because the boy shot off a live round at Prazutis, though whether such was an accident or not was never found out. But what was found out was the young man suffered several broken bones and was still recovering months later from the punishment he had suffered. Prazutis didn’t want such a thing for this pilot.

“For now, keep the training saber. It’s useless in a fight, but in spare time, use it to find a comfortable style of holding and swinging he lightsaber.”

Prazutis put his own blade away, looking to the door.

“You’ll need all the experience you can get with that blade. When we go on missions... it will definitely give you an advantage.”

[Jom Etro]

“Yes, sir. Thank you for your time”

As Prazutis deactivated the crimson saber, and headed towards the door, Jom deactivated the borrowed training saber and saluted. He would continue to practice holding the weapon for a little while longer before retiring to pilot’s quarters along with the other pilots. Etro was eager to continue learning, but also had other duties to attend to.

Alone in the gymnasium, Etro experimented with different stances and grips, occasionally striking out at the air to test how it felt and worked. When he eventually tired out, Etro finally deactivated the practice weapon once more, content with the progress he had made. What the inquisitor said was true. It would take time for him to become more skilled with a blade, and the time would come soon enough when his own life depended on it. These were the first steps to a long journey.

Removing his helmet and tucking it under his arm, Jom made for his shared quarters. He had much to learn. Much to learn indeed.

[Jom Etro]

There was a quiet hiss as the dark helmet sealed around Jom’s head. This seal kept the flow of oxygen in his armor, allowing him to go as far as surviving a short period of time in space, not to mention helping any pilot to fly a TIE Fighter effectively. After ensuring that every piece of armor was in place, Etro keyed the door controls and left the dim quarters of the pilots.

He walked down the now familiar hallways of the Sparrowhawk, focusing on what sort of techniques should be employed this session of training. Jom was a more experienced and slightly more skilled soldier than he was when he first began training with the help of the High Inquisitor. The pilot’s tireless work with balancing duty and training had begun paying off, with Etro even utilizing these skills on a few recent missions. However, there was still much Jom needed to learn. It would take only a fairly skilled fighter to best him at this point, and Etro didn’t plan on that happening any time soon. Not if he wanted to stay alive in this ruthless galaxy.

Moving down the corridors, the viewports showing nothing of particular interest, Etro could feel the metal object locked in his grip. It was the same training saber that Prazutis had given him on his very first day of training. Since then, Jom vowed to not let this generosity go to waste. He wanted to prove to himself and the inquisitor that he could serve his Empire to his best abilities.

There was little time for sleep in the current way Jom was living, as he would constantly be practicing with the energy weapon, and if he wasn’t, he was training himself to be a better marksman. This way of living had begun to take a toll on the pilot, but he would rest soon enough. Etro checked his chrono. He didn’t have active duty for hours. Until then, he would train and rest along with the other pilots.

Jom came to a halt outside of a door, and keyed the controls. The door hissed open to reveal the gymnasium. It’s familiar air greeting him. It was a fairly spacious environment, with some space being dominated by equipment. This was where large amounts of his time had been spent. It wasn’t a particularly bad thing to be spending great amounts of time here. The pilots quarters could be uncomfortable at times, with the pilots on board the carrack cruiser sharing a space too small to house all of them. Still, none of them spent very much time there, so there were no complaints. Here, in the gymnasium, Jom was free to work as he pleased.

Entering the room, Jom prepared himself. He would need to work hard to improve his skills. Although it would be hard, Etro looked forward to it.