Luke Skywalker, the Last Jedi, faces his toughest challenge yet. To rebuild the Jedi Order, he must give up his personal hopes and dreams. Every move is critiqued by not only the New Republic Senate but also the Force-ghost Jedi Council of the past...
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❶ The rain fell in sheets, drenching the area around Luke, but he pushed back the droplets with the Force. His sapphire blue aura burnished in the downpour.
Standing a few meters away in the center of a glade, Naluma shivered, soaked. The rain plastered her hair to her scalp, her uniform saturated and her boots squishing as she shifted her weight.
"Let the storm flow around you. Just you and the Force. Concentrate."
She slammed her eyes shut and furrowed her brow, but the rain continued to pelt her.
"Focus, Naluma, you can do this. Just like your mental shields, build a wall with the Force. Let it envelop your skin."
A violet fringe glowed around her, darker near her head. "I'm trying."
"Do."
"I know. Do or do not." She sneezed as a rumble of thunder and a crackle of lightning ignited in the distance.
The purple glow strengthened.
"Good. Now push it out just a little further. Exhale. There. Hold it."
She stood like a statue.
"But breathe. This should become natural to you. Just breathe."
Another rumble and crackle, this time closer.
"How much longer?"
"Until the storm passes." Luke reveled in the rain, not even a dribble breaking his shield. The datapad in his hands dry.
A few minutes passed with Naluma's shield phasing stronger and weaker. The storm intensified as the thunderbolts approached.
"Form IV, Drill 8."
Their shields dissipated for her to grab the hilt of Luke's lightsaber from his belt. She ignited it as both shields snapped back into place. Her purple aura doused for a moment and then flared again as she started the eclipse orbit procession to her right. She followed with a polar jump while rotating the blade around her body and landing in a drop stance with her fist clenched near the ground.
Drawing the saber from the mud, she pulled her left arm to the side and lunged toward an imaginary opponent in front of her. She yanked back and thrust again, ending the motion with her blade above her head like a scorpion's tail.
"Great form. Hold your shield."
Wielding the saber above her head, she rotated it outward and then struck parallel to the ground across her waist. The movement ended with Naluma in a harmonious balance, stretching forward with her left arm and countering with her leg extended behind.
