Star Wars: Ascension to Power (Unfinished)

'We were proving our skills to Master Trusk when they stormed the Temple.'

Venn's eyes narrowed as he looked his opponent up and down; a Zabrak, larger than him and of the same age. His race was renowned for naturally excelling in close quarters combat and agility. 'This will be hard,' thought Venn, as his eye line rose up and met his opponents. The Zabrak's eyes glimmered bright yellow, the wet surface glistening in the dim morning light of Coruscant and great horns protruded from all over his tattooed scalp. 'Very hard indeed'. He couldn't quite recall the Zabrak's name or any specific fighting details. This meant that he would have to be on his guard.

'Are you ready to begin?' The Combat Droid spoke in a monotone, moving to stand between the two Younglings.

'I am ready' Venn croaked, his hands shaking lightly. He glanced to the side and caught the eye of Master Trusk, his arms folded and face stern. He gave a gentle nod to the Youngling, his expression remaining the same, and his eyes moved onto the Zabrak. Venn turned his head back to face the droid and his opponent, who simply gave a nod in answer to the question.

'Then you may begin. Good luck.' The droid moved out of the training area, it's motor buzzing as it moved. When it exited the room, there was complete silence. The Zabrak stared at Venn, moving a hand to his belt. Venn copied his move, his hand firmly clutching the training saber. The pair simultaneously moved their hilts to their sides, and flicked down their thumbs on the Activation Stud. Both the blades ignited with a hiss, the light extending in size until they reached their full length. Venn tilted his head to the side, looking over the glowing green saber. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, composing himself for the most important battle he had ever commenced. He opened his eyes as he exhaled and brought the training saber round in front of him. It hummed as he moved it, the weight steady in his hand.

The Zabrak's blue blade, however, remained perfectly still. With his arm extended straight downwards, it was hard for Venn to predict his fighting stance, and in turn choose one to counter it. He felt the Master's gaze linger on him. He did not, however, give in to temptation and return the gaze. His eyes locked onto his opponent. He was focused. He was ready. 'I am a Jedi.'

The Zabrak moved his saber a little behind him and bent his knees. The blade hummed as he moved it, the hilt flowing almost expertly through his hand. Without a second delay he dashed forwards, charging at Venn with great speed. Venn moved his blade up to the left and side stepped. The Zabrak brought his blade downwards as he passed, the powerful blow only to be blocked by Venn's training saber. His opponent scowled and stopped a small distance away from him, the humming sounding again as he adopted the same position as before. The Zabrak moved into his previous stance, but angled his feet upwards. Venn did not see this slight tweak in his footing, and was taken by surprise as the Zabrak leaped into the air, the training saber above his head. He rolled backwards, but was too late to totally avoid the attack; the blue light caught his shoulder. The Zabrak landed in a crouched position and Venn recovered from his roll. Stroking a hand over his injury, he felt the small lumps of a minor burn. The Zabrak charged once more, but this time Venn was ready. His opponent moved his saber upwards as he passed, similar to last time. Venn outstretched his foot to meet the Zabrak's hand, instantly knocking him off balance. Venn then took a small spinning jump into the air, moving his saber round in a larger circle with him. The blade singed the Zabrak's face, gliding down from his check to the side of his mouth. His pursed lips opened to let out a small cry, and dropped to the floor. The humming sounded once more as Venn brought his hilt round, the saber outstretched so it glowed next to the Zabrak's neck. He then moved his finger over the Activation stud and the light retracted back into the hilt. Replacing his hilt with one hand and offering the Zabrak his other, a small smile spread over his face. The Zabrak turned to face Venn and their hands met. Venn hauled the bigger boy onto his feet, his lips sprawling into a grin.

'My name's Venn.' His voice was not croaky this time round, but clear and soft.

'I'm Voorsk.' The voice clearly belonged to the Zabrak, the whispering accent pronouncing things slightly different to that of Venn. 'Who taught you to fight like that?'

'Master Kenobi held a session on it a few weeks ago.' The boys walked side by side until they came directly in front of their spectator, Master Trusk. He smiled and clapped as they came to a halt, his eyes focused on Venn.

'Well done, the pair of you. What an exceptional pair of Younglings you are. I really do think that-'

The double doors crashed open, interrupting Master Trusk in the middle of his sentence. The light was blinding to the trio in the room, it blocking their sight of who stood in the doorway. After a couple of seconds pause, Master Trusk's brow moved downwards, and his lips parted way for the command: 'Run'. Venn and Voorsk turned on their heels; the sound of the light saber ignition rang in their ears as they set off deeper into the temple. The sound of light saber movement behind them and blaster shots kept them moving.

'We didn't know what to do… so we just kept on running.'

Fear powered their legs, motivating them to move faster and faster. They rounded a corner, eyes flickering over the corridor in search for hostiles. Luckily none were found, so they paused momentarily to catch their breath. Then they turned to each other, serious expressions replacing their tired faces.

Even at their low level of understanding in the force, the pair slowed momentarily as they felt it; a ripple in the force. Venn felt a cold shiver run down his spine and Voorsk seemed to feel it too.

'What was that?' The Zabrak asked.

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