STAR WARS: CONFLICTED

CHAPTER III - SPARRING

The humming and clashing of lightsabers echoed inside the sparring dojo. The blue and green blades, both in safety mode, were spinning and gliding elegantly around the hall, in the hands of Barriss Offee and Ahsoka Tano respectively. Tano had decided to try wielding just one blade to practice with, so that she could be prepared for both single and double bladed combat. This was an idea encouraged strongly by her master, who also had knowledge and experience in wielding in both styles.

The sabers clashed and locked once more, this time with Barriss slightly overpowering the small Togruta. With nowhere to go, Ahsoka summoned her yellow blade with the force and ignited it, crashing it into the waist of Barriss, obviously in safety mode.

"Ah!" Barriss exclaimed, staggering back. "For goodness' sake!"
"I win." Ahsoka smirked, shutting off both blades.
"You cheated, I thought we had one saber each."

"A strong Jedi uses their surroundings to their advantage to gain the upper hand, Miss Offee."

Both Ahsoka and Barriss turned to the entrance of the dojo, where Nathan stood, arms crossed. His darker robes flowed as he walked towards them, smiling as he used the force to flick the scoreboard so that it read:

TANO 3 - 1 OFFEE

"Well fought, though, I will admit."
"You sound like Master Kenobi, Nathan." Ahsoka chuckled, folding her arms.
"That is where the resemblence stops." Nathan replied, laughing too.

Barriss bowed to the Togruta.
"Well done, Ahsoka. Care to join me for lunch?" She asked, placing her saber at her side.
"Actually, I was hoping to speak with Ahsoka myself, if that is okay with you." Nathan butted in, now stood alongside the Togruta. It was almost comical how much he stood over her. He wasn't exactly tall, but her smaller height made for a funny sight.
"I'll catch up, Barriss. Save me a seat." said Ahsoka, smiling.
"Will do." Barriss replied, as she made her way out of the dojo and towards the cafeteria, closing the door behind her and she left.
"You know, I never got to see you train yesterday." Ahsoka said, breaking the short silence after the noise of the door.
"No, you didn't." Nathan replied, looking down at her as he spoke.
"You ready for a spar? I need a little bit of a different challenge, and Barriss doesn't quite offer much of one." She frowned jokingly.
"Okay, but I need to talk to you abou-"
Ahsoka stepped back slightly.
"Nathan, spar now, ask me out later, okay?"
"What? That wasn't what I sai-"

Ahsoka's distraction worked perfectly. Nathan's confusion allowed her to spring at him with both blades, catching him completely unaware. Nathan managed to jump backwards just in time, before the sparring blade could connect with his head.

With his hilt by his side, Nathan called upon the force to summon it to his right hand, before flicking it on, displaying the ocean coloured blade with the sound of an ignition so loud it echoed itself.

"Woah, that looks amazing." Ahsoka said, stunned by the beauty of the blade. She had only ever seen blue or green, or her own yellow blade.

"You'll be sick of the sight of it after we're done here." Nathan replied, twirling it before leaping towards her, saber over his head. The three blades clashed and rubbed against one another, causing a ripping sound.

Nathan's size and power far outmatched Ahsoka's. He knew this, but he also knew that she would be far quicker than him, and he couldn't allow her to gain the upper hand. With a push of his hilt he unhooked the lock up, and continued on with a combination of swings and thrusts, all parried almost perfectly by Ahsoka.

She knew she had to get creative to beat him here. She tried countering with an attack to Nathan's kneecap, but it was perfectly jumped over. She even tried launching the smaller yellow blade at him when she could create enough distance, but he just swatted it aside.

In one last ditch attempt to catch him out, Ahsoka sprung from the floor, spinning her body around, and just as she was above him, she used the force to pull his legs out from beneath him, which made Nathan fall to the floor suddenly, and causing him to drop his saber. Ahsoka, realising her victory, stood over Nathan, green blade by his throat.

"You are beaten." She said defiantly, with a smile.
"Impressive." Was all Nathan said, as she pulled him to his feet. "Not sure that's legal, however."
"What did you say before we sparred, Nathan?" Ahsoka asked.
"A strong Jedi uses their- yeah, okay, fair enough." Nathan tailed off, laughing at his own hypocrisy.
"So," Ahsoka said, slowly, "what was it you wanted to ask me?"
"It wasn't really a question, more of a confusing moment." Nathan responded, not sure how to word it.
"Go on." She implored.
"Well, I had a vision. Last night while I was meditating."
"And what happened?"
"There was a Sith. Well, what I thought was a Sith. He had a red saber, and they were at a village, which was set on fire, and there were captives, and then I heard your voice, and then it cut off." Nathan rushed.
"That is a lot. So, you're saying I was at a burning village, with a Sith?" Ahsoka asked, now just as confused.
"Yes, but you sounded different. Older. Not that old, just maybe 18 or 19."
"Did you see me?" She asked.
"No, your voice was the last thing I heard. I wanted to talk to you about it, as a warning, I guess."
"Well, if I ever find myself in a burning village with a Sith there, I'll be sure to let you know." She said with a slight laugh.
"Appreciated." Nathan replied, smiling.
"Right, I need to find Barriss now, I told her I'd catch up." Ahsoka finished, turning to leave.
"Woah, woah. Hang on." Nathan stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder before she could leave. She turned back around, confused.

With a wave of the hand, Nathan flicked the scoreboard again, so that it now read:

TANO 1 - 0 TYNAN

"Thank you, Tynan." She smiled at him, folding her arms.
"Same time tommorow?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow at the Togruta.
"Of course." Ahsoka replied, setting off towards the canteen, where Barriss was located. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face the entire evening. She had made a new friend, one who she felt clearly had good intentions. She only hoped they got to spend more time training with each other from now on. Both their fighting styles could teach each other a thing or two.

Nathan chuckled slightly to himself. He saw a lot of himself in Ahsoka. Her attitude and determination was admirable, and she was the padawan to Anakin Skywalker, which gave Nathan the comforting feeling that she would be in safe hands, as well as learn a lot from the slightly spontaneous Jedi Knight.