The six Jedi finished eating lunch and continued to discuss the mission. Then, after cleaning up the wrappers, they went to explore the ship.
"Should be enough room since the goyts are not exactly huge," Kaden remarked, taking in the large cargo area.
Raven took in the space as well. "There's room for feed and food. Dealing with their waste might be an issue. We had best look for a planet that is not too far out of Barslaa."
"Yeah, I don't particularly want to be shovelling shyte for days," Flynt commented as he leapt onto a platform. This room had a lot of retractable ledges which were used for storing things off the ground.
"Let's do some freestyle sparring while the hangar is still empty," Lakhri proposed. "Eeth against the rest of us, just in order to offer him a mild challenge."
"That," said Eeth with unparalleled dignity, "is absurd. These days, Raven and you taken together can reliably beat me. Add Drex, Flynt, and Kaden, and this is going to be over in a few minutes at most."
"Aww, don't underestimate yourself," Lakhri retorted with a grin. "Always so modest."
"Since your former master is so intent on having a fair chance," Drex said mildly, "why don't you pair up with him, Lakhri, and the rest of us take you on? We can switch later. That way, we can all get to know each other better."
"Sounds good," Lakhri said. "I haven't sparred with you in ages, Eeth. Only against you."
Eeth gave a slight nod.
"Alright," he agreed. "Let us change into workout clothes and meet back here in five minutes."
These days Raven was really quite good. She had to be after having spent the last seven years with Eeth who, since the death of Bai Li last year, was now considered the most talented swordsman in the Temple.
"Sure thing."
"Bring it on," and…
"Yes, Master," replied Flynt, Kaden and Raven respectively.
Kaden was rubbing his hands together in anticipation as he preceded his master into their small room. As was typical of Drex, everything had been put in its place. His clothing hung on the rail provided, the chairs were moved to a more familiar placing and his data pad was charging on their desk. Kaden knew if he were to walk into their refresher that Drex's towel, toothbrush, paste and, unfortunately, his hairbrush, would all be in their place. He hated that brush. He'd had many a run-in with the business side of it. His master's silver-streaked hair was thick and curly, and his hairbrush was correspondingly broad and heavy. It hurt like a bastard whether applied to a bare or clothed ass.
Kade changed quickly, taking a moment to spin his saber in his hand before clipping it to his belt. Drex had allowed him to construct his weapon after returning from a successful mission to Tnangan-at-Val during which he had gained a lot of experience and, more importantly, maturity and discipline. He looked over at Drex who was pulling on his tunic and asked something that had been on the tip of his tongue since Eeth sent them to change: "Soresu or Ataru?"
Drex considered this. He had mostly restricted Kaden's training to the defensive form of Soresu since any form that was focussed on attacking tended to bring out the aggression in Kaden. However, Kaden had recently been allowed to use Ataru in freestyle sparring when suitable. He had received no formal training in it for three years now, though; and he had only had permission to use it in selected one-on-one situations. Drex had occasionally allowed Kaden to fight against others, using Soresu and sometimes Ataru, but he had avoided open sparring classes and similar situations that were hard to control.
"Do you feel confident you can control yourself when using Ataru under the circumstances, in a six-person fight with very strong opponents?" he asked. "If yes, you may try. But if I see it doesn't work for you, I'll revoke that permission and I expect you to follow that decision, instantly." If it did work out, this mission might actually be an opportunity for Kaden to develop his Ataru skills with Eeth or even Raven as a teacher. But that would remain to be seen.
Kaden wanted to blurt out that of course he could control himself, but the truth was, he never knew when, or if, he was going to lose his shit. Sure, those times had become few and far between, in the last six months especially so, but he'd sparred with Eeth before… Eeth was a powerful opponent, and Kaden remembered drawing off that and allowing the thrill of the fight to fuel his attacks. Fighting had always been a passion for him, all through crèche and even during the last few years despite being heavily restricted. "I can," he said quietly after a long pause, sticking his hands in his pockets and scuffing at the floor with his boot. He didn't want to be held back like a baby. "And I will do as you say," he hastened to add. Kaden rarely disobeyed simply to be defiant.
Meanwhile Raven changed into an old workout tunic. The material was almost threadbare but it was her favourite and so comfortable that she couldn't bear to part with it. She had a hair clip between her teeth and both hands were pulling back her long hair when Eeth met her at the door. "Tink, 'Aden ill ee okay?" she asked through her hair pin, and then spat it into her hand to pin back her fringe. "I remember he had issues with sparring and his aggressions," the teen clarified.
"Yes," said Eeth. "But I have great faith in Drex. He has been training Kaden for three years now, and he knows what he is doing. From the fact that he allowed him to build his own saber, I deduce that there must have been significant improvement. If there are any remaining issues, I trust Drex to handle them."
A few minutes later, Lakhri was making his way to the hangar, together with Flynt at a leisurely pace. He normally tended to run late although Eeth had cured him from actually ARRIVING late. This time, as a matter of fact, he was unusually early. He and Eeth had not seen much of each other lately due to the fact that they had spent most of their time on missions, and he realised that he had missed his former master's company. He got along well with Raven, too, and Raven well with Flynt; the times they spent together were quite enjoyable unless Raven and Flynt managed to get into trouble of some kind. But they had not done so in a long time. After all, they were practically adults now. On a more basic level, Lakhri enjoyed sparring with Eeth. Years ago, as master and padawan, they had developed a method to make efficient use of the immense difference in size between them. Lakhri genuinely liked the feeling of covering for Eeth, and having Eeth cover for him. They had not done this in years, he realised, and he was really looking forward to it.
"You're looking forward to this," Flynt stated, amused. By now the two had a well-developed bond and unless Lakhri was actively shielding, Flynt could pick up on his moods easily.
"Totally," Lakhri affirmed cheerfully. "C'mon, let's run through a joint kata." This was his favorite method of warming up. It combined activity, controlled movement, and an intense focus on the Force, as well as on their training bond. That said, he realised he would have to pay attention to his shields or Flynt would be so tuned in to him that he would make his life rather difficult during the match.
Eeth and Raven arrived a minute later. Eeth raised his eyebrows in surprise to see Lakhri already there, but did not comment. He simply nodded at Raven to get started on her warm-up, which she did. A short time later, Drex entered the makeshift gym, preceded by Kaden. Drex didn't need help navigating the ship, per se, but it was a new environment and Kaden instinctively took the lead for his blind master.
When everyone was ready, Eeth called them to the centre of the room and the fight started. Lakhri knew that this was going to be a real challenge. Eeth was, of course, a supremely good fighter, but Drex was extremely experienced and his defences were nearly impossible to penetrate; Raven was an excellent fighter; Flynt was not half bad either; and as for Kaden, Lakhri had no idea, but he was bound to be advanced enough to enhance the others' efforts.
Lakhri was surprised at the ease at which his and Eeth's moves still combined after all those years. They immediately backed up against each other, moving in circles to make the best of their respective sizes depending on who was facing them. Lakhri was determined to give his best, and to his slight surprise, he felt that Eeth was doing the same, as opposed to his usual laid-back style that he employed when sparring against a weaker opponent. Obviously, he was taking this seriously.
As far as Flynt was concerned, this was just another match. He wasn't a particularly competitive personality. That said, nor was he willing to stand down from a challenge. He eyed them critically, watching to see what they would do both with his eyes and through the Force. Raven, for her part, had focused on the others in her team. She was trying to link with them, Drex in particular, to gauge how she would be most effective here. While she did this, Kaden was sizing up Eeth. He wasn't one for waiting around, but neither was he about to run off half-cocked; he would be calculated about this. Besides, one of them had to move so it may as well be him. He knew there was little chance he'd actually land a hit on Eeth but, like the first shot in a game of smashball, someone had to start. He feigned left, then came at the man from above.
… And it was on.
Flynt vaulted over the fray and was now engaging Lakhri who looked to be watching Raven and Drex, both far superior fighters to himself.
Lakhri was not likely to be surprised by Flynt, nor Eeth by Kaden. They could easily fend off these attacks. Both of them knew that the greater danger came from Raven and Drex; Drex in particular because he had decades of experience and was extremely good at working with others. He had a way of being able to gauge his team's strengths and then playing to them.
Indeed, that was what Drex was doing. He was not in a hurry; he focussed on supplementing and backing the three others' attacks while finding out more about their skills. Unfortunately for him, Eeth knew what he was doing, and Lakhri understood it, too. The best way to make that difficult for him was to force the opposing four Jedi into the defensive. So they immediately launched into a combined attack sequence that was ferocious enough to split the four up and drove Drex backwards.
Very well, thought Drex while calmly and deftly blocking the attack. He started giving out orders, organising his team as best he could after what little he had seen of them so far. He had Flynt and Raven in the offensive and Drex and Kaden holding their backs. Doubtlessly this was not what Kaden had in mind, but it was what Drex thought would work best. Kaden was good at Soresu, after all, even if he preferred Ataru.
No, Kaden wasn't happy about being relegated to defence. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 'he was good at Soresu', but that didn't mean he liked it. He was a strong, organic, aggressive fighter. Far stronger than Raven! Or so he thought. It should be him up front and the others backing up. He did not dare disobey, however, as he knew to do so would be to secure a fast end to the match. Thus, he took up the ordered position without challenge.
Raven did as instructed, quickly moving in to force Lakhri back and leaving Flynt to take on Eeth. Her movements were lightening-fast and her agility was exceptional for a Jedi. Both worked in her favour here.
"Harrrrr!" Flynt bellowed, the ruckus making Raven chuckle and garnering a frown from Kaden. He had been trying to make some noise in an effort to make himself scarier as Eeth attacked him. It didn't work on the Zabrak, but the theory behind it was sound. Quite literally.
Lakhri didn't think he had enjoyed himself so much in a long time. The fight was turning out to be a real challenge. He was usually able to win against Raven, but she was fast becoming as good as him; and now she had back-up. Drex just seemed to be everywhere in his calm, unhurried way, forcing Lakhri to run into an attack of Flynt's which, when he had dodged it, led him into Kaden who left him no other option but to expose himself to Raven's attack. But then Eeth was there, driving Raven off, leaving Lakhri to take a swipe at Flynt that nearly had the boy on his back, had it not been for Drex coming in. This was the most fast-paced, demanding fight he had had in a long time. It was all the more fun to discover how well he still worked with Eeth who was simply absolutely everywhere.
Lakhri was under no illusion that they could keep this up forever; it was only a matter of time until the speed of the fight, which took a higher toll on him and even on Eeth than on their four opponents, caused them to leave an opening. But it was still fun, and he had the distinct impression that Eeth was enjoying himself, too. So much so that he went in on Kaden and sent his saber flying; the look on the boy's face was priceless. Drex came to his padawan's rescue, which left Lakhri an opportunity to drive Flynt into the back wall of the hangar, only having to flip out of harm's way when Raven vaulted in on him in an attack sequence that nearly had him flat on his back.
The split-second it took Lakhri to react to Raven's attack was all she needed to grab Kaden's lightsaber. She thrust it into his hands, practically knocking the boy backwards in the process. "Move faster," she snapped, causing him to clench his jaw in irritation. Losing his saber had rattled Kaden. Hence, he was soon knocked down again, only this time, he retained his saber; he would die before that left his hands again this fight. The kid was annoyed but knew that if he wasn't able to get a handle on it, he would be pulled out, scolded and sent packing. He gritted his teeth, deciding that just one chance at getting Eeth back for disarming him would probably be overlooked. He channelled his frustration and directed an attack at Eeth that was so powerful that Flynt actually pulled back his defence a little lest Kaden's attack be uncontrolled. Thankfully for all involved, it wasn't.
The ferocity of Kaden's attack took Eeth by surprise. It was a good thing for him that Flynt had withdrawn; that gave him the space to move into a complex aerial counterattack sequence. Lakhri immediately realised what Eeth was doing; he disengaged from Raven and backed Eeth up by drawing Drex away.
Having moved so fast that he was practically a blur, Eeth reappeared behind Kaden and sent him stumbling. Flynt and Raven immediately covered for him, though, and the fight was on again.
Again, Kaden was peeved that his attack had not been effective. He swallowed it, though, forcing his frustration into the Force in a burst that would no doubt have been felt by anyone paying the slightest attention. Kade was a powerful kid, dangerously so, and he knew that he had to temper that side of himself and keep control if he were ever to become a Jedi knight.
Drex now started to see what they could do to win the upper hand. He began organising his team again, ordering Kaden to get Flynt's back when he went to separate Lakhri from Eeth, while he himself sent Raven at Eeth with an attack sequence that he could not counter but only dodge, sending him into Drex's block. A minute later, Eeth and Lakhri had lowered their sabers in surrender, smiling. Lakhri was gratified to see that even Eeth was showing signs of exertion.
"Yeah!" Flynt whooped as his master and grandmaster surrendered. He levitated his saber offside and held up two hands, one mechanical and one flesh, to his team mates for 'high fives' which was given by both Kaden and Raven. Drex took a moment, but made all three padawans smile when he followed suit, slapping the boy's mechanical palm.
"Great fight," Lakhri said cheerfully, noticing that even Eeth was smiling slightly at the padawans' antics. "Raven, how about we take Drex and go against the other three now?"
By the time this training session was through, Flynt was starfished on the floor, Kaden was standing stiffly trying to appear that he wasn't really tired despite his body language screaming otherwise, and Raven was pacing the floor. She had caught her breath but was walking it out all the same. "Good fight! We have to do that again." She glanced at Flynt. "The new arm taking some time to get used to?"
"Yeah," replied Flynt, still catching his breath. "My brain controls it, but sometimes it feels weird. Lakhri's been helping me." He looked at Eeth and held up his good arm. "It won't impede our mission. I'm not as awesome as I usually am fighting in a multiple person lightsaber duel, but I'm more than up for our task." His gaze rested on Drex, on whom it was probably lost.
Raven tutted. "'Course you are. You wouldn't have been on our list if there were any doubt."
"Indeed," said Eeth calmly. "You did well. Even if you had not, though, it is highly unlikely that we will have to fight the goyts with our lightsabers."
That mental picture had Flynt smiling, and Raven frowning.
When they made their way to their cabins in pairs in order to take a shower and get changed, Drex asked Kaden quietly: "How do you feel about the fight?"
"Fine," Kade replied, his short answer typical of the stoic boy.
"We all sensed a considerable amount of frustration from you," Drex said matter-of-factly. "What was that about?"
Kaden didn't want to answer that. Still, he knew that Drex wouldn't have asked if he didn't expect an answer. "I was frustrated," he admitted. "Being relegated to defense meant that I couldn't focus on offence… I could have done better had I not been relegated to Soresu for the last three years." The comment had come out before he'd thought about it. He fell silent, not wanting to dig himself deeper.
"You did very well at your offensive," Drex said mildly. "Eeth, however, is far superior to you, and so is Lakhri, for that matter. And that would be the case even if you had spent the past three years training Ataru, only in that case your defences would be a lot worse than they are now. Plus, I suspect the same would be true for your ability to keep your frustration in check. Which you did manage during the fight, despite some difficulty, and I am glad for that. That said, your command of Soresu is fairly good now, and I am not opposed to letting you take up Ataru again. Under supervision, and in addition to your usual training. Are you interested?"
That Drex deemed his efforts adequate gave the kid cause to smile just a bit. However, his brows rose into his hairline at his next comment. "Yes, I'm interested," he replied, unable to hide the fact that he'd been completely taken off guard by the offer, from his tone. "Do you mean now or, when we get back to the Temple?" he queried, not wanting to get his hopes up only to be told again that he had to wait.
"Well, we have some real experts in Ataru with us during this mission," replied Drex. "There is no reason not to make use of that fact. I will ask Eeth and Lakhri what they think; one of them might teach you, or possibly Raven who takes after Eeth where sparring skills are concerned. One thing needs to be clear, though: your school work comes first."
In contrast to Raven and Flynt, Kaden was still taking regular classes, and that meant he had to do school work on missions. Flynt was at an age where most of his teaching was of the project type and fairly practical, and Raven had, at age nineteen, stopped taking regular classes altogether, with Eeth completely in charge of advancing her training.
The prospect of having Eeth, or Force help him, Raven as a teacher had Kaden wince slightly. Eeth was uber strict, and Raven? Well, he had once had a crush on her and she had treated him like a little kid. He wasn't sure how that dynamic would work out now. But Lakhri? Yeah, the man was lightening-fast and seemed a lot more laid back than Eeth. Plus, Kade certainly didn't fancy the man. Lakhri would be the boy's choice. Still, he would take what he could get, thus he did not make his thoughts known.
"As if you would let me miss out on school work," he said instead. "Just for the record: it sucks that I'm the only one who has a full workload. Raven has none and Flynt is doing some project. It's not fair." It was unlike Kaden to whine about such things, but being singled out did make him feel particularly childish on this mission.
"You will probably thank me for this particular type of unfairness when, at age nineteen, you do not have to do school work any more either," Drex said calmly, but with a firmness to his voice that showed he was not altogether pleased. "Besides, I am sure that Eeth will find plenty of things to do for Raven who has already completed all her required classes. I am trying to make sure the same will be true for you when you are nineteen. Now take a shower."
While Kaden did that, Drex commed Eeth about Kaden's Ataru lessons.
"It would be best if Raven or I did this," Eeth said after a moment's thought. "Lakhri is busy teaching Flynt robotics because Flynt wants to take an advanced course after his return. I have no objection to teaching Kaden but it might be a good idea to give my padawan the chance to acquire some more teaching experience."
Drex nodded. Raven was at an age where it was common for senior padawans to give lessons and even teach classes of their own; entrusting her with teaching Kaden made sense.
"I am not entirely certain he will hold up, though," he said. "He mostly manages to control his aggression and frustrations these days, but I don't know what will happen when neither you nor I are present. That said, I don't think supervising these lessons will be a good idea either. That would make it hard for Raven to focus on teaching and would make Kaden feel like a toddler."
"We can give it a try and see if it works out," Eeth said. "If it does not, and you still want him to learn Ataru, I will be happy to step in."
Thus, when Kaden left the shower, Drex told him that his first Ataru lesson with Raven would take place after dinner, provided he had completed today's workload of lessons by then.
"You want me to give Kaden Ataru lessons…" Raven repeated Eeth's instructions. She dry-washed her face with a hand and barely refrained from adding: 'you must be out of your mind' but fortunately for her, she did leave that part out. "I know Lakhri is busy, but wouldn't you be a far more able teacher for such a volatile personality?" she questioned him, folding her arms.
"Oh, probably so," Eeth replied coolly, raising his eyebrows at her stance. "I want you to become an able teacher as well, though." He was certainly not going to give her more reassurance than that before she lost the attitude.
Raven unfolded her arms, her gaze dropping. "Of course I am an able teacher. I've taught before. Kaden has issues, though. Why else do you think the Force paired him with a master who has a million years experience?"
"In order to get his issues in hand, of course," Eeth replied with more patience than he felt. "Which Drex has done, quite successfully, for three years now. You might have noticed that Kaden did manage to keep his temper in check today, despite his frustration at being relegated to the defensive and his loss of his saber. You, on the other hand, will at some point have to learn to work with students who pose a challenge. If the challenge becomes to high, we can always switch."
Her mouth opened to retort, then closed, then opened only to close again. Humph! Well, it would seem he had her in a quandary. The task wasn't too hard, because saying as much would be admitting defeat, something Raven would never do, but nor did she want to teach Kaden! Her back straightened and her chin came up. "I can manage," she told him stiffly, completely aware that she didn't have a choice; if Eeth ordered it, she had to obey him. It was that simple.
"Good," said Eeth calmly. "We will start working on the mission files now. I want you to study all the details of the planets we might take the goyts to so that you can immediately start matching them with your observations when you arrive. After that, we will work on your Huttese. Your lesson with Kaden will be after dinner. Lakhri said he would cook something while Flynt works on his robot."
"Yes, Master," Raven replied. She was not happy about this but nor was there anything to be gained from voicing her opinion. She brought up the mission file and set about doing as he said.
Flynt, in the meanwhile, worked on his robot. To him this was personal… The boy had recently had his arm amputated (not an easy thing to endure for any being) and robotics attached. He wanted to know more. He knew that each robot was unique. For instance, the lighting on this very ship was simply applied mechatronics. He would master it if it took him a lifetime, which it probably would.
"Can I help?" Kaden asked, wandering into the kitchen and finding Lakhri cooking. Drex had sent him off to make himself useful.
"Sure," Lakhri said with a smile. "They packed us some fresh stuff so we can have decent food for a couple of days until we're down to starship food. Can you wash and toss the salad?"
Wordlessly, Kade took the bowl and began to do as asked. He was used to this sort of work and really did take pleasure from being of use.
The ship was relatively large and well-equipped and had a fairly big kitchen. This was mainly because nobody had any idea what kind of food they would need to take for the goyts and whether this might have to be cut up or sterilised or treated in some other way. For now, this made for a quite comfortable trip: their cabins were reasonably spacious, they had a large hangar at their disposal for workouts, a big kitchen and galley and lots of supplies. Force only knew how comfortable they would feel with hundreds of goyts on board!
"Did you get assigned a lot of school work for our trip?" Lakhri asked Kaden. "You probably did; teachers usually hate to think of you being idle. Let me know if you need help with anything. I'm good with most languages. I also have ample experience coaching padawans through maths classes. It wasn't exactly Raven's favourite subject." He flashed a grin at Kaden and handed him a bowl to put the salad into.
Kaden nodded at Lakhri's assumption regarding his school work; he had more than enough in his opinion. Then he sighed. He would have liked to take lessons from Lakhri, but his master had other plans. "Drex has instructed me to work on Ataru with Raven. I'm not sure how that will work out. Not that I have much choice in it…" He flung the salad around in the colander for a while making sure that all of the dirt and water was off. Then he added it to the bowl and tossed in the dressing.
"Raven is extremely proficient at Ataru," Lakhri said reasonably. "And she has already done some teaching and did quite well. I think you'll be fine. Or do you have any reason to think otherwise?"
Did he have reason to think otherwise? Yes! But he wasn't willing to admit that he felt somewhat belittled to be taking fighting instruction from a girl barely four years his senior. "No," he said through a sigh, and kept at his chore. Thankfully the man did not press this and soon they had prepared a wholesome dinner of salad, cooled grains with mixed vegetables, which Kaden had cut into cubes, and a few pieces of rehydrated meat. "Thanks," he told the man when they were done. Lakhri had taken time to teach him how to make the cooled grain with vegetable concoction and it had turned out delicious, something that everyone agreed on during dinner that evening.
Kaden and Lakhri were by far the biggest eaters. Flynt had gone through a couple of stages during the last few years where he had been the same. However, at age seventeen he was no longer having massive growth spurts. Force, he couldn't grow any more! As it was, the Temple healers suspected the boy's lineage was not entirely human, as they could find no abnormalities to explain his lofty height. He was eating using his left arm with mixed success, not that anyone at the table minded. They had advised him to do as much as he could to gain mastery over his robotic arm, that it would take time and practice to achieve the fine motor skills of a real arm. For Flynt this was still a huge improvement; his arm had been burned beyond healing as a child and as a result had been rendered almost useless. He could move it but his fingers had been burned to stubs and it was grossly deformed. Having it removed had been daunting, but ultimately had improved his life and his usefulness to the Order significantly. "Sorry," he said with a slight grin as a piece of cut tomato managed to slide off his fork before he could get it to his mouth.
Kaden ignored it, and Raven gave him a playful shove with her shoulder. "You gotta show me that later, I want to see you with your shirt off." Raven said as casually as if she were asking to see his latest hologame.
"It's mostly healed now. It was pretty gross there for a while." And it had been, not that this had bothered Flynt or Lakhri. Flynt had been fascinated which was what had spurred him on to learn more about robotics.
"Me too, I wouldn't mind seeing how they did that," Kaden added.
Flynt just shrugged. It didn't bother him and as long as none of the masters took issue with it, he would show them later.
After dinner, Drex helped Raven clear the dishes. "Thank you for teaching my padawan," he told her. "If there are any issues with Kaden, call me. Otherwise, I'm going to leave you to it."
"It's my pleasure," Raven replied. It wasn't, not really, but she wasn't about to say as much and offered a bow instead. She instantly felt a bit stupid; she was still not accustomed to the fact that Drex couldn't see her gestures. Drex inclined his head, however, which surprised the teen.
Kaden noticed her expression, but remained silent until they were walking towards the cargo bay where they were to have their lesson. "He can't see it, but if you bow to him, he'll sense you moving and more often than not he can sense the intent behind it. Like the high fiver he caught off Flynt yesterday, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," she said thoughtfully, then met Kade with a smile as they entered their makeshift gym. "Right, let's not waste any more time," she told him and clapped her hands.