Raven pulled a couple of skipping ropes from her bag and tossed one to Kaden, her intent clear. When he didn't begin immediately, she started herself and instructed for him to get moving.

The boy dragged a hand down his face. He didn't know why this felt humiliating to him. Raven was his superior yet taking orders from her felt strained! He just stood there.

Raven raised a brow and, without stopping in her own warm-up, she told him: "I've been instructed to teach you Ataru. You have two choices; obey me and we get through these lessons together and maybe you learn something, or disobey me and make it hard for both of us. I guarantee that the latter choice will not buy you any favours with your master. C'mon, let's get going, we need to warm up." She gestured towards the rope in his hands, her expression expectant.

Just when Kaden thought this could get no worse, it did. Luckily for him, though, his sense of self-preservation kicked in and he started skipping. He was quite certain Raven wouldn't go too hard on him, and if she did, it wouldn't be anything he couldn't handle; he was huge compared to her. That said, the humiliation of having to submit to such a thing was horrifying, as was the thought of what Drex would do or say to him if she sent for him to supervise their session.

Raven picked up on Kaden's hesitation as they warmed up, so when they finished, she told him" "Let's get a few things straight about this arrangement because I don't want to be explaining myself indefinitely. Be on time. I get precious little free time, really, and I don't want to waste it waiting around for you. Obey first, then ask questions. I really do want you to ask me questions or ask for help if you don't understand something. Be respectful. I will respect you and I expect the same in return. And finally, try to learn something. This is an opportunity for you to improve. Treat it as such and you will get far more out of it." It was a speech she gave before every class, yet today it felt awkward.

Thanks to their skipping, Kaden was more winded than Raven was. So, it took him a moment to pull himself together and reply without sounding strained. "Suits me," he eventually said, forbearing to add that it wasn't his preferred choice because Raven could probably tell that for herself.

Their warm-up routine was thorough and by the time the ten minutes allotted to the task were up, Kade had worked up a light sweat.

They spent the next half hour running through choreographed attack and block sequences so that Raven could get a better idea of the boy's skill level. She was also curious to see how he would respond to her way of teaching, which was very hands on; if he got something wrong, she physically moved his foot, hand or bumped him forward with her hip. It was the most effective way to explain subtle differences in movements and stance.

"I can tell you're frustrated, but you are not letting it take over. That's good," she praised, having batted aside one of his more ferocious, less controlled attacks. They had been doing freestyle sparring for the last ten minutes now and although he was a talented fighter and she had to work hard to get close to breaching his defenses, Kaden was no match for her offensive skill.

By the time they were done, Kaden was spent, both physically and mentally. Panting, he made to sit down, only to be told otherwise.

"Walk it out, we'll use this as our cooldown. Stow your saber and make arm circles." Raven led by example and began walking around the large cargo area, one arm circling, then the other. Once they had sufficiently stretched and cooled down, she asked how he thought that went.

"It was okay, I guess." Kaden replied. Truth was, he had been frustrated. He had not expected her to be that good. In fact, he had expected to trounce the girl and end up teaching her. As it was, he hadn't landed a single hit, and she had almost divested him of his lightsaber, twice! Not that he was willing to say as much.

"Gee, don't hold back on me here," she guffawed. "I am nineteen, you know. What'd you expect, a cake walk?"

"I dunno. I thought I'd do better is all," Kaden answered honestly.

Raven smiled at that and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good fighter, Kade, very talented and very strong. Learn to harness all of that and focus on the Force and you will become a formidable opponent. I think I can help." With that she shoved the ropes and her own towel back in her pack and led the way from the cargo bay.

She walked with him until he split off into his own room to shower. Given that Raven wasn't nearly as sweaty as Kaden had been, she didn't follow suit. Instead, she detoured into their kitchen, poured herself a large glass of water, sat down next to Eeth and peered at his data pad curiously.

Eeth was just discussing the political situation on Barslaa with Drex who had already listened to the information on the data pad and memorised most of it.

"Colonists are not likely to hinder us too much if we explain to them that we're removing the threat that the goyts pose to their fields," Drex was saying to Eeth as Raven sat down. "Hello, Raven. How did the lesson go?" he asked.

"Alright. I don't think Kade was happy about taking lessons from me. I'm sure that master or Lakhri would be a better choice for him," replied Raven.

"They might have been his preferred choices," Drex said calmly. "Like everybody else, though, Kaden will have to live with not always getting what he wants and making the best out of the situation."

Eeth nodded. "There is an important lesson for him to be learnt here," he said. "Of course I could have offered to take over the lessons. And of course he would have readily accepted me as his superior. With you, he finds it more difficult; and yet, in the interest of the work he will be doing in the future, it is imperative that he recognises when other Jedi are his superiors, in rank or in skill, regardless of size or age."

"True," said Drex. "He can learn a lot from you. If he doesn't, it's his own fault. Since it's him who absolutely wants to learn Ataru, it would be in his own interest to make this work."

"I said as much, although I'm not entirely sure this will go smoothly. I'd prefer to be able to deal with it myself rather than need to have one of you step in, though. So far the threat of calling in reinforcements seemed to be enough motivation." Raven smiled a bit at that and had to admit she didn't blame the kid. Drex could be wholly imposing if he had a mind to be, something the teen knew from personal experience.

It was at that moment that Flynt wandered into the kitchen. "Don't you lot ever get sick of staring at data pads?" he asked. Of course the comment was not meant for Drex who was 'listening' to them, but he wasn't about to get that technical.

"How goes the robotics?" Raven asked him, watching as the tall teen pulled a bag of dehydrated crisps from the cupboard.

"It goes… Lakhri's helping me with this section, it's tricky. His payment was me fetching us a snack." He grinned and popped the bag, offering them around. "How'd it go with Kaden?"

Raven shrugged. "Okay for a start," she said, declining the offer of crisps. "I might come and watch what you're doing," she said and looked across at Eeth for permission. "Please?"

Eeth nodded his consent.

Lakhri was waiting in a work room, holding a screwdriver out to Flynt.

"Hi," he said to Raven. "Feel free to stay, but please keep a safe distance. Parts have been known to fly around." He grinned at Flynt. "It was a bit corroded," he told him. "I treated the joints with oil. You should now be able to remove it."

"Everybody's a smart ass," Flynt quipped, the memory of a coiling spring taking flight and almost wiping them both out coming to mind. Despite the occasional bit of airborne shrapnel, Flynt was actually quite good at this and seemed to know what he was doing. It was entertaining enough. Besides, Raven wanted to spend some time with Lakhri. His presence rarely failed to put a smile on her face even if she did have to keep her distance.

In the meanwhile, Drex went looking for Kaden who was just emerging from the shower. "How was your lesson?" he asked.

"Fine," Kaden replied, his response sounding muffled as he was drying his hair at the same time. He didn't want to tell his master that they'd had problems to begin with. Besides, he doubted Raven would have said anything. He tossed the towel aside in lieu of finding his sleep pants. "Do you think we could ask Eeth or Lakhri to do this instead, though? It's… I dunno, awkward learning from Raven. I'm not sure I'll get the full benefit from it." Of course Raven had already told him that how much he got out of this would depend on him, and not to waste it, but if he could somehow talk them into exchanging teachers it would make these lessons so much easier on him.

"And why," said Drex evenly, "would there be any reason for you not to get the full benefit from it? Raven excels at Ataru, and she has quite a bit of teaching experience. If this feels awkward to you, then you will simply need to learn to deal with that feeling. You wanted to learn Ataru; I offered you a chance to do so. Either you take that chance or you leave it and stick with Soresu. Those are your options."

Kaden didn't want to admit that he found it difficult to submit to Raven's authority, so he went for the easier emotion to deal with: anger. "Those are crap options. Why is it this or nothing? Why can't I have a choice in teachers?"

"You do not take that attitude with me," Drex said, causing the boy to straighten up. "Will you drop it by yourself or do you need a reminder of who's in charge here?" He asked this quite matter-of-factly. Drex was rarely annoyed, and he certainly was not now, but he was usually also very clear about which lines he did not want Kaden to cross, and this was one of them.

"No, master," Kaden said quickly because he knew that to preface what he was about to say with anything else would probably end painfully. "I know who is in charge, everyone is in charge of me. That's the problem! I don't know why it is so important that I have Raven as my teacher, other than to make something I would ordinarily love doing awkward." Of course, it was still risky stating all of that, but the kid was frustrated.

"You are the one who is making this awkward," said Drex firmly, "not the choice of teacher. Your pride is getting in your way. And you urgently need to overcome that, not only because it is a trait that is not encouraged by the Jedi, but also because it will cause serious problems for your future work if it continues. On missions, you will have to recognise and accept when others are superior to you in skill, regardless of their age and size. Preferably without complaining about how awkward this feels. Since this is obviously a habit you still need to acquire, consider yourself lucky that I am giving you an opportunity to do so."

Kaden's pride was a constant issue with him, and Drex knew he had to cure him of it, else he would not be able to advance and would cause trouble on top.

It was a lecture familiar to the boy. He scuffed at the floor with a bare foot. His pride was somewhat of an issue with him and he knew it. He also knew what Drex was telling him was right, and he trusted the man implicitly. Still, this was not something he found easy to swallow. "Have it your way, then," he snapped, his tone bordering on acceptable, and threw himself onto his bunk to sulk. There was no point arguing with Drex. The man had made up his mind and there would be no changing it, he knew.

"You want me to have it my way?" Drex asked mildly. "Alright. We will cancel the Ataru, lessons, then, and you go on focussing on Soresu."

He turned and made for the door. Kaden might think that his behaviour was acceptable, but Drex happened to disagree, and if the boy did not come around fast, there were not going to be any further Ataru lessons in the near future.

Kaden was losing his temper. He got to his feet and pelted his pillow at the wall. Hard! "Is that what you want, for me never to learn anything but Soresu? Is that what your way would be?" he shouted at the man's retreating back.

Drex stopped, paused for a moment, and turned. He knew Kaden quite well by now. His temper was taking over, which was a constant issue with the boy. He had been working on teaching him ways to conquer his temper: Counting to ten, calming down, and then meditating; or asking for help if this seemed impossible. He certainly knew better than to throw things around and shout at his master. And Drex was intending to make that clear to him; but only after having given him a last chance to get his temper under control.

"You know better than that Kaden," he said quietly, the expression on his face suggesting that Kaden would be well-advised to pull himself together fast.

Kade recognised the expression, but he was pissed. "Well, is it?" he pressed, folding his arms across a bare chest. "Is that what you want, that I spend the rest of my apprenticeship learning nothing but how to block blaster bolts?" He made an effort to lower his voice this time but he was still clearly annoyed.

Soresu was, of course, about a lot more than blocking blaster bolts. So far, Drex had fared quite well with it. More to the point, Kaden had had a chance to stop his disrespectful behaviour, but he had failed to take it. The mere fact that he had stopped throwing pillows and shouting was simply not enough. Drex walked over to the desk, pulled out a chair and sat down. "Pants down and over my lap," he said calmly. "I will not answer your question before you have lost your attitude. And since you seem to be unable to lose it on your own, I will help you along." In his experience, a spanking was the most efficient way to snap Kaden out of his tantrums, much as the boy disliked this method.

Kaden wanted to throw the mother of all fits, to jump up and down and scream that this wasn't fair, to pound his fists into the wall! His eye twitched and he began to deep breathe, something he should have started doing thirty seconds ago. Wordlessly, and still seething, Kaden stomped to the man's side, dropped his light cotton sleep pants to his knees in one agitated movement and bent over. He wasn't going to give Drex the satisfaction of hearing fear or remorse in his voice so he just lay there, brooding. At 1.75m in height Kaden was not impressively tall. He was, however, impressively built. His upper body was thick and muscular. It was somewhat of a vanity thing for the kid at times as he found his body had begun to build adult level muscle far earlier than his peers, most of whom still appeared wiry and lithe in comparison.

Drex calmly pushed Kaden forward into the position that guaranteed maximum exposure of his bottom, which he knew his padawan hated. Then he raised his arm high and gave him two swats that were as hard as they could get. "When I tell you to lose the attitude, I mean it," he informed Kaden and dealt out another two swats that rang off the walls. "I am happy to discuss this with you, calmly and respectfully. But not with you shouting, throwing pillows and making accusations," he continued. The next two swats targeted the tops of Kaden's thighs, garnering a grunt of protest from his charge. "And you really know better than to give in to your temper like that," he added. After which he stopped the lecturing and focussed on dealing out a sound spanking. He was really starting to feel the strain, but he suppressed that feeling for Kaden's sake, who urgently needed to learn a lesson. Maybe I should get myself a lightweight paddle for such occasions, he mused while swatting Kaden's bottom over and over again, without holding back.

Fuck! The boy hissed, gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes shut against the pain because if that first round was anything to go by, he wasn't going to get through this in stoic, brooding silence as he had planned. The lecture didn't help his plight. He had stopped counting at some point, possibly when the burn across his ass and thighs was demanding his full and undivided attention. Of course, like most Jedi, Kaden could use the Force to block pain to some extent. It wasn't something the fifteen-year-old was overly proficient in yet, but he could still do it if he chose to. Unfortunately, doing so during a punishment was not an option for an apprentice. Thus, he was forced to experience every smack to its full potential.

Drex had had a lot of reservations about taking Kaden as a padawan, not because of Kaden's issues, but because of his own age. He had been sixty-eight at the time and still in very good physical shape, but he had not been sure how long this would last. Right now, for the first time, he realised that dealing out a thorough spanking was a lot harder on him than it used to be. Of course, he could have made Kaden get the hairbrush, but he had reserved that for serious cases of disobedience, often related to the unauthorised use of a lightsaber. Drex did not want this to change. Therefore, he gritted his teeth and carried on, focussing all of his attention on the lower part of Kaden's bottom and the tops of his thighs.

Drex's discomfort was completely overlooked by Kaden as the boy was now entirely focussed on his own pain, which was fast approaching unbearable. He fisted the rug in both hands, drummed his toes on the floor but inevitably a pained cry escaped. His feelings of guilt and remorse over his behaviour coupled with the pain that was exploding across his nether region proved too much for Kaden. "Alright! I apologise, I apologise!" he stammered through a sniffle.

"Good," Drex said, sounding unfazed. "Now let me make sure that the lesson sticks for a while." With this, he dealt out a dozen further swats, all on the crease where Kaden's bottom met his thighs, and he made them as hard as he could. He knew from personal experience that this could be quite excruciating.

When he was done, he continued to hold Kaden down with his left. He knew that Kaden hated this position and found it extremely humiliating, but then, this was all about the need to conquer his pride.

The boy was crying softly. His ass, undercurve and thighs were on fire! This was not as bad as an encounter with the hairbrush, or Force help him, the tawse Drex kept at the temple, but it had been enough to bring Kaden to tears.

Drex waited for a few moments until Kaden seemed to be able to take in what he said; then he started talking. "Let me answer your question, padawan," he said calmly. "Personally, I don't think that it is imperative for you to learn anything but Soresu at this point; it won't bring you to knighthood faster, nor will it improve your ability to fulfil your duty. However, I have no issue with taking your wishes into account as long as I feel that this doesn't jeopardise the considerable progress you have made in conquering your temper. Taking your wishes into account does not mean that everything has to be done your way, though. Eeth, Lakhri and I agreed that it would be best if Raven taught you, for good reason. I expect you to trust our judgment and make the most of this chance you're given. If you don't, there will be no Ataru lessons. And no amount of sulking or throwing fits of temper is going to change that. It is merely going to make sitting very uncomfortable for you. Do you understand?" He released his hold on Kaden, allowing him to get up. Drex was not as cruel as to expect Kaden to have an actual conversation with him while lying over his lap.

When Drex was done with him, the boy was sniffling quietly. His ass, undercurve and thighs were on fire! This was not as bad as an encounter with the hairbrush or, Force help him, the tawse Drex kept at the Temple, but it had been sufficient to bring Kaden to tears. The lecture afterwards elicited honest remorse; he felt bad for having lost his temper. Okay, so he hadn't completely lost his shit like he had in the past. The air had not prickled with the power of his Dark Side, but he had still lost it enough to deserve what he got, and he knew that.

He found his feet, somewhat stiffly, and gently rubbed both hands up and down his backside. He hissed at the sting while taking a moment to collect himself. He could feel the heat coming off his ass without even touching it. "Yes, master," the boy replied subduedly, swiping a sleeve across his face. He wasn't crying any longer but his eyes were stinging and red-rimmed.

Drex was sympathetic, he really was. He rose and pulled Kaden into a hug. "Padawan, I know it's not easy, being fifteen years old and having everyone making decisions for you," he said gently. "But you have set yourself a goal that is very, very hard to reach, even under the best of circumstances, and you need guidance to do so. Sometimes, you will simply have to find it within yourself to trust me, even when I don't do things the way you'd prefer me to do them. And you have really made a lot of progress with that. Try to keep your larger goal in mind whenever you feel hard done-by." Drex himself definitely was feeling hard done-by; his palm was aching and his upper arm, too. But he was not letting it on.

The hug was accepted gratefully, as despite his efforts to appear unfazed, it had hurt the boy, a lot. As had Drex's lecture. He trusted the man, really he did, but he had such a hard time with his temper that sometimes it blinded him to the fact that Drex was here to help him, not make things harder than they had to be. "I get the big picture thing, really. It's just frustrating." He pulled away from the comfort of his master's arms and raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I will do as you say, though." Because he was not suicidal. He bent down and gingerly reached for his sleep pants. They had coiled around his left ankle so he was forced to detangle them for a moment. Sliding them up his roasted ass was not exactly pleasant either. Still, he did his best to hide his discomfort.

"Good," said Drex. "You'll be doing yourself a big favor if you do so. Try to consider these lessons a learning experience. If you do, you might end up learning more than Ataru. Such as conquering your pride." That was a constant issue with Kaden, and Drex knew that Kaden knew it.

He did, but conquering it was no easy feat. Well, it was what it was; Drex had his reasons and it was not his place to dispute them. Still, Drex's lecture elicited honest remorse; Kade felt bad for having lost his temper. He stepped back to stand by his bunk. It was still too early for bed. He looked to Drex, hoping that he hadn't lost his hour of free time.

"You may have an hour of free time now," said Drex. "After that, we need to turn in. The ship should be stocked with some hologames and other entertainment in case you want to check it out. I think Raven, Flynt and Lakhri are still busy with Flynt's robotics project."

"Thanks," said Kaden, hiding his relief at hearing his free time was still going to be free time. He was disinclined to join the others given he'd just had his ass handed to him. Okay so it wasn't an extravaganza, but still it had hurt the boy enough so that others would undoubtedly notice. He decided to seek out the holodeck and spent that hour lying on his belly while playing battleship builder. This sort of game wasn't his preference, yet neither was it unwelcome. This one took some thought which was preferable to jumping around fighting things given how his ass felt. He frowned at his thoughts. Sure, he knew that all missions were meant to teach him something, to test his skills. Well, it would appear that this one was testing him before it had even really started...