Earthlings 3: RISE

12 (Part I)

4 BBY, Space

"Ezra, watch closely," Kanan intoned amidst the soft clashing of low powered lightsabers between Eli and Arion in the training room of the Dove. Unlike the Phoenix Home, the Dove  wasn't as Jedi-friendly when it came to training a padawan, given that the overall personnel lacked Jedi. Despite this, Matsuo had been kind enough to prepare an empty room on the ship in case any Jedi decided to use it... in this case, Eli and Arion, with Kanan and Ezra deciding to hang around. 

Eli locked blades with Arion after about 5 minutes. "Don't let up."

"Wasn't going to," Was the boy's witty retort as he pushed back against Eli's advances, breaking the bladelock before parrying another set of attacks, then going on the offensive. Eli smirked in approval, dodging and blocking the strikes. So far, so good...

"Arion's catching on pretty quickly," Ezra quipped from the sidelines. "How long's Eli had him for-?"

"Not long before Mustafar, I was told," Was Kanan's response. "But it's remarkable, the way he's adapting to everything. Especially given the short amount of time he had so far to even train."

Eli chuckled softly. Arion was far  from perfect, and it was true that he'd only had a couple of days to get used to Jedi training, whereas Ezra had weeks. There were still times when he grew exhausted, and there were certainly  times when he complained about how hard Eli was on him, but through it all, he always pushed himself to meet his goals and expectations. 

"Resilience is a key component in a Jedi,"  Windu would often tell Eli. No matter what happened in life, no matter what trials and tribulations came their way, the Jedi always  got back up after a fall. Even in the face of war and near extinction, some Jedi still stood as a testament to that resilience- one that Eli could clearly see in Arion now.

"... But Eli's always been a skilled warrior," Kanan continued. "He was trained by Master Windu, who was probably the strongest Jedi out there besides... well, Masters Yoda and Skywalker."

"Didn't he train your  master-?"

"Yeah, he trained her, then him. It sucks that the Jedi Order was destroyed before he could finish Eli's training..."

At this, Eli's heart sunk a little, and it made him resent Palpatine more for taking that chance away from him- the chance to face his Jedi Trials and undergo a formal knighting ceremony before the Council in a post-war Republic. All those solo missions he could have been assigned by the Council, perhaps with the former clones of the 91st by his side... the opportunity to choose his own padawan on his own  terms and watch him or her go head to head with the padawans of Odyn, Eliezer, Ferren, and other friends in the Temple... all of that, and all of them, gone. Because of stupid old Palpatine and Order 66.

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Hate was not the Jedi way.

Before he could resume his attacks, the blastdoor opened to admit Makai, who cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt your little training session, but Matt says you four are needed at the Command Center. Now."

"Matt-?"  Arion raised a brow.

"Captain Yoshida," Eli clarified. "Matt  is short for Matsuo."

"I thought it was short for Matteo," Kanan quipped.

Eli nodded, retracting his weapon and holstering it. "That too."

"Isn't Matteo the other guy?" Arion asked. "Uh... the one with the weird looking speeders."

"They're called cars, " Was Eli's amused response. "Earthling vehicles. Only downside- they don't tend to fly."