Wars Amongst the Stars: Rebellion: Vol. 2

Chapter Five

When Ar'iabel arrives back at her room, her knees give out, as she falls to her bed. She clenches her eyes shut, crossing her legs. She focuses into the Force, meditating.

She can feel a presence behind, as she turns around. Standing behind her is Jedi Master Depa Billaba. "Depa," Keen smiles, "why are you here?"

"I'm worried about you. We all are. You should have waited, healed." Keen opens her mouth to protest to the Jedi, "Don't claim that you are all right, I'm a spirit, I know you're not."

"Master, worrying is not the Jedi way."

"Neither is killing yourself!"

"I'm not dying. I am healing, just as I should be. You know how I hate being inactive."

Mace Windu appears alongside Billaba, "At least go into the Bacta Tank that Alderaan has. You will at least heal faster."

Keen glares lightly in his direction, "If I feel worse, Windu, I will. Was there anything else?"

Depa once again looks at Keen, "I want to offer you my sincerest thanks for looking out for Caleb."

"I just wish that he hadn't had to endure any of the torture he did. It has been nice to see you again, see you again, soon."

*The Next Morning*

Ar'iabel drifts into a large open room beneath the castle, a cup of Caf firmly in her grip. Leia is standing in the center of the room when she enters. "You're late," the Princess informs her.

A smirk crosses Keen's face, "A Jedi is never late, nor are they early, they arrive precisely when they're needed," she replies, while the girl continues to glare at her, fists on her waist.

"I want you to try something with a lightsaber today."

The princess gulps, "I don't know that I have enough training for that.'

"We never know unless we try," Keen shrugs, pulling one of her blades from her bag, tossing it to the Princess. The Jedi sits down on the floor, her legs crossed. "Okay, I want you to ignite it."

Leia looks at her, turning a dial on the side of the saber, the blade drawing from the hilt. She holds the orange blade out in front of her, vertically in front of her face. The Alderannian princess gives it a few test swings in front of her, getting a feel for the blade. "It's lighter than I thought it would be," she comments.

"I know, I felt the exact same way." The Jedi pulls a small rock from her bag, tossing it lightly from hand to hand. "I'm going to throw this at you, you are going to hit it with the saber."

"Okay, yeah, I think I can do it."

"Close your eyes."

"Now just wait one second. How am I supposed to hit something I can't see?"

"You can see it, if you focus on seeing it. Now close your eyes. We'll start with something else." Keen reaches into her bag, pulling out a small package of sand. She picks it up, and tosses it gently at the girl, who barely misses it.

The Princess peeks open one eye, and then the other, "How did I do?"

Keen stands to her feet, retrieving the little ball of sand. "Good job, you were close. Considering what little training you have, it's most impressive." The Jedi pulls out her other saber. "The way you're holding it is more defensive, and less offensive."

Leia disignites the blade, "Is that bad?"

"No, not at all. There are seven forms of lightsaber combat. The first form is known as Shii-Cho, which is the most basic form of lightsaber combat, and the one that I would like to teach you today." Leia walks across the room, and sits down, eyes on her Master. "This form focuses on large, sweeping arches, like this," the Jedi sweeps her lightsaber in a quick, downward arch, following by a large side sweep. "Often times, when using this form, your focus is to wear your opponent out, rather than killing them." She demonstrates by doing a few furious jabs and taps at the air. "Alright, show me."

The Princess climbs to her feet, approaching Keen. She ignites the saber, holding in the position the Jedi Master just demonstrated. She swings it in a huge sweep from over head, stopping halfway and doing a semi-circle, ending in three quick jabs forward. Her eyes meet her Masters, as she disengages the lightsaber.

Ar'iabel claps, a smile on her face, "That was amazing. Now, the seven basic forms of combat can be combined, or used just as they are taught. We'll go through them all as time progresses, and you can decide which one, or ones feel most natural to you."

"Which forms do you use?" the Princess questions.

"I like how you assume I use more than one. Personally, I combine all seven of them, but I mainly focus on Form IV, Ataru, and Form VI, Niman. I will give you a brief summary of each form, and then I'll go more in depth of Form II in our next lightsaber session." She ignites her blade, standing in front of Leia. "Form II, Makashi, is mainly about the footwork. You focus less on what your hands are doing, and more on your feet." She shuffles back and forth, the saber held out in front of her, occasionally swiping in small circles. "Form III, or Soresu, is more defensively focused. It leans more to deflection, than attack. Say someone was firing at you, you would block the bolts, maybe even use your saber play to deflect them back at the shooter." Keen swings the blade in front of her, showing off two different defensive stands.

The Jedi starts to feel a little dizzy, but decides to ignore it, pressing on the lesson. She glances at the Princess, and smiles slightly. "Form IV, Ataru. This is one that my former Padawan, Qui-Gon favoured. And one that I personally favour. This form focuses more on channeling the Force. You will use more acrobatic movements, and leap higher." She takes a deep breath, shutting her eyes, before leaping up and using the ceiling for leverage, jumps against a wall, striking at an invisible attacker with deadly aim. The dizzyness increases, as she sways slightly on her feet. "Form V, Shien/Djem So. This is another, more defensive form. As I mentioned before, using a defensive position allows you to deflect your opponents fire, which is what Shien focuses on. Djem So allows you to block an enemy lightsaber." She demonstrates blocking again, in less detail than the first.

"Form VI, Niman, is more favoured by those with more than one blade, such as myself. It focuses more on using the Force to push away your enemies. It combines blade, and Force techniques. We shall focus more on this form, after I teach you some different Force techniques." She shows how one would wield a saber and shove an opponent away. "And last, but certainly not least, Form VII, Juyo/Vaapad. This form is the most dangerous, and difficult form. It is a chaotic, undisciplined and unpredictable form of saberplay. A friend of mine, Mace Windu, created Vaapad, where, instead of ridding oneself of your emotions, you channel them into your fighting. This will be the last thing I cover, you will not attempt this form until I am certain you are ready." Keen swings her saber in very chaotic movements, not focussing on a single target but many. Her knees buckle beneath her, and she falls to the floor.

The Princess rushes forward, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Ari, are you alright?"

She clenches her eyes shut, shaking her head slightly, "Have you got a Bacta Tank?"

"Yes, c'mon, I'll take you there."

Leia assists Keen on her way to the med-wing. She must stop a droid somewhere along the way, because when they arrive, both Bail and Breha are there.

"Hey guys," she wheezes, slinging her arm off of Leia's shoulder.

The Alderaan royals look at her with concern, but she can't bring herself to care. Some med-droids assist her into the Bacta Tank, and she slowly falls unconscious.