Ahsoka paced quietly down a long hall in the jedi temple on Coruscant. Her footsteps echoed around the empty tunnel, off of the pristine marble that provided the camber to so much of the temple. The sound was almost eerie to Ahsoka's mind. She had, of course, called the temple home for much of her childhood, but this part formed the university.
The university was not formerly named as such; technically these halls and rooms formed part of the jedi academy (the part of the temple used to instruct younglings). The university was the title bestowed by jedi padawans on those parts of the academy rarely used for the teaching of younglings. Instead, these halls and classrooms were used for exams, demonstrations, ceremonies, and the continued training of older jedi. As Master Yoda was fond of remarking to his pupils, "never complete, a jedi's learning is." For that reason, these structures gave none of the familiar comfort Ahsoka gained from other areas of the temple. They had always been associated with stress and excitement in her mind.
And this was exactly the nature of Ahsoka's business here today. Every jedi padawan had to attend to a minimum amount of time studying, even those in active duty. Since the inception of the clone wars, the jedi council had progressively slackened the definition of 'study', allowing the missions in which Ahsoka regularly participated to count as 'field work', but, even so, a few weeks of the year had to be spent refining skills and knowledge in the academy on Coruscant.
A throng of other students moved along an adjacent corridor up ahead, some of whom Ahsoka recognised as her classmates. Just then, another set of footsteps joined the rhythmic tapping of Ahsoka's own, a little faster in tempo as the owner rushed to catch up.
"Ahsoka!"
"Hello Barriss" Ahsoka greeted her friend warmly. "Do you know what the fuss is about today?"
Ahsoka had picked up on the excitable demeanour of the other students, and it was becoming clear that Barriss herself was excited, or nervous - her temperament made it difficult to tell sometimes.
"Apparently, Master Drallig has been urgently called away, and so we are to receive a lesson from Tau." Barriss fidgeted with her sleeve cuff a little as she said his name.
"Tau? That name sounds familiar..." This was met with a look of incredulity from her fellow padawan.
"He was that kid, here on Coruscant. His force powers went crazy, and the Jedi had to chase him down and capture him. It destroyed a whole city block, apparently. Anyway, supposedly he's some sort of prodigy." Barriss clenched her jaw a little before continuing.
"He completed the training quite young. His master just died, and the council decided that he's talented enough to have him here instructing younglings and other padawans while they figure out what to do with him next. I've heard rumours they were considering letting him take the trials to become a knight, only..." Barriss tilted her head slightly, as if trying to remember the phrasing, rather than formulate it.
"...Only, I've heard he's also a little...original?" Ahsoka frowned as Barriss said the word.
"Original? That hardly seems like a criticism."
Barriss shook her head dismissively.
"What was it Master Luminara said? Original...in his interpretations...of parts of the order...of our principles...or, conventions. Something like that..." She trailed off, then blinked, resigned to that half-remembered explanation, adding almost as an afterthought, "He's younger than I am." Then Ahsoka placed what she had thought of as excitement or nervousness: it was annoyance. She grinned to herself at her colleague's discomfort and broke into a light jog at the realisation that they were running late.
Ahsoka entered after Barriss, a tad embarrassed to find that they were the last to arrive. The voice that greeted them was deeper than she was expecting, and commanding.
"Ahsoka, Barriss, take a saber from the case and fall in." Ahsoka was already heading for the case in front of her and reached in to take one of the training lightsabers. A quiet relief filled her. Saber skills, good, she was ahead of most of her peers in that discipline, having trained under Anakin and having had her skills tested in real combat. Her relief was quickly tempered with unease, though. The hilt of the saber was twice the standard length. This was to be a saberstaff class, it seemed.
Ahsoka took her position at the end of the row, and for the first time took a proper look at her instructor, who was talking again.
"As I was saying, Cin Drallig is indisposed, and has asked me to fill in for him this session." If there was any more to the explanation, it was not offered to the class.
"I'm aware this is not your first exposure to the saberstaff, so I'll make this brief. The design of the saberstaff, or double-sided lightsaber, was likely influenced by the Zabrak quarterstaff, or zhaboka..."
Ahsoka had heard this before, and took the opportunity to examine their teacher more closely. Barriss had indicated that Tau was younger than she was, but he also looked to be older than Ahsoka. He wore loose-fitting black combat gear with dark red trimming. The tunic was fairly open at his torso, revealing muscular arms and chest, all of which were covered in intricate black tattoos. He was taller than she was, but not the tallest in the room. No doubt the most imposing though - he was stocky, with more of a fighter's physique than the lithe athlete's or gymnast's found in the other padawans present.
The curious thing was his species. The small horns that could be seen on the top of his head, coupled with the tattoos (which Ahsoka recognised from pictures of Nightbrother Dathomirians) would suggest Zabrak, except that his head also boasted short shaved hair, and a dark stubble lined his jaw and chin. His skin, as well, was not quite any Zabrak shade. Evidently Zabrak was part of his lineage, but as for the rest, something human-like she supposed.
On occasion, he would lift a hand to stroke a symbol looped on a discrete chain around his neck. The movement seemed so relaxed that Ahsoka suspected he didn't know he was doing it. He was quite still, and his voice steady, so that might have been an unconscious symptom of nervousness, she decided.
As his eyes roamed back across the line, Ahsoka's own snapped up to meet them. She was accosted then by a sharp stare, made all the more entrancing by an almost luminescent violet pigmentation to his iris.
She suddenly found that she had lost track of what he was saying.
"Those of you who have studied Jar'Kai may find it useful to employ similar mental techniques to the saberstaff." Ahsoka relaxed again. She had studied Jar'Kai to some length, and often practiced with a short 'shoto' lightsaber in her off-hand, with the intention of eventually making it a permanent feature of hers.
"However, it is not necessarily helpful to imagine the saberstaff in the same way as two distinct blades. I think the sentiment is best explained by the words of a blademaster, penned over a millennium ago." Tau paused, and proceeded to recite the quotation to the group.
"In combat, your mind tries to keep track of each blade separately, effectively doubling the number of possibilities. But the two blades are connected: by knowing the location of one, you are automatically aware of the location of the other. In actual practice, the double-bladed lightsaber is more limited than the traditional lightsaber. It can do more damage, but it is less precise. It requires longer, sweeping movements that don't transition well into a quick stab or thrust. Because the weapon is difficult to master, however, few among the Jedi or even the Sith understand it. They don't know how to attack or defend effectively against it. That gives those of us who use it an advantage over most of our opponents." He paused again to let the words settle in the minds of the students, before adding a hushed remark.
"It would not surprise me if this is the first time you've heard the concept phrased that way. They are the words, after all, of a sith blademaster."
That caused a stir in the pupils, though nothing punctured the silence more than murmuring. Ahsoka was aware of a glance that Barriss shot to her. Clearly, this was the 'originality' of which she had spoken. But Tau was talking again.
"The saberstaff was, however, originally a sith weapon. The best way to defend against it, is to understand how to wield it. I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone of what happened the last time the Jedi were surprised by a sith employing such a weapon." The murmuring stopped dead then, and Ahsoka knew an image of Qui-Gon Jinn came in to more than just her mind.
"I thought not." The silence lingered a moment more.
"Well then, we'll begin with some kata. Pair up." The upbeat tone of the command startled Ahsoka, but she quickly regained her bearings and spun around to meet Barriss. Igniting the lightsabers, they backed up to find some space in the hall, neither feeling any easier about what the lesson might bring.
A/N Hi again, thanks for sticking around. Nothing much to add, comments still appreciated, next chapter will be up soon (I'm rather enjoying this).