Part Fifteen: Lightsaber Training/The Sith's Master Plan
Arnold, Helga and Grandma Gertie were standing in a field not too far away from the farmhouse, training Helga on the use of the Force.
Arnold marveled at how fast Helga was learning to control the Force as he sat back and watched her use balance on a rock, blindfolded, using the Force to sense out the various objects his Grandma had placed out for her to locate using her instincts. Slowly, she would raise her hand and one of the objects would rise and move slowly towards her and settle down in front of the rock she stood on.
Another thing Arnold thought about as he watched her was how cute Helga looked in her new outfit, which was more fitting and practical for her training than her usual pink and purple Senator robes...though he tried not to stare too noticably.
Helga was now wearing a green and blue shirt, with black pants and short, black ankle boots. A blue waist belt completed her new look, along with her constant pink bow in her yellowish-blonde hair.
"That's really good, Helga," Arnold told her smiling. "I think you're starting to get the basics."
Helga removed her blindfold, smiling happily. Arnold was again surprised at how much it made her face look more peaceful and beautiful.
"It's funny," Helga mused aloud to then. "I could almost see the objects in my mind somehow. Why is that?"
Arnold smiled more, "Well, The Force can help people with their other senses, when one is down...for instance, if one concentrates, they can actually invision things in their minds..."Arnold trailed off as he remembered the visions in the smokehouse.
"Arnold? Are you okay, 'football-head'?" Helga asked, slightly concerned, though trying not to show it by using a different, more irritated tone.
Arnold shook his head quickly. "I'm okay, just sort-of lost in thought a second there."
Gertie smiled, "You always had a problem with letting your mind wander, young padawan."
Helga looked at Arnold's belt a moment where his lightsaber hung at his side.
"Arnold, does my training include learning how to use a lightsaber?" She asked him, thoughtfully.
Arnold blinked. "Well, not really. You only need to learn how to control The Force. Lightsaber skills are usually a part of weapons training for Jedi Knights."
Helga looked at him a moment, then asked, "Can I try it?"
"Well, I don't know...if you are not careful, you could lose a hand, or a leg or something." Arnold said, wondering if that would change her mind.
"Hey, you said I was getting better, right?" She asked.
Arnold nodded slowly. "Yeah, but..." He looked at the determined look on her face a moment, then looked over at his grandmother, who gave him a 'it's your call' look.
He sighed. "Okay, but you have to promise to be careful." He told her firmly.
Helga smirked slightly, seeing that she was getting her way, again, and said, "Sure thing."
Arnold took his lightsaber from his belt and handed it over to Helga, who looked at it for a moment, before pressing her thumb against the power switch and activated the blue glowing blade of light. She held it arkwardly in her hands a moment, trying to move it, but the movement was clumsy.
"Here, you're supposed to hold it like this," Arnold said, getting behind Helga and, putting his arms around her, and adjusted her hands on the handle. The close contact made both of them blush slightly.
Gertie noticed this smiling slightly as Arnold and Helga, realizing they were so close again, quickly seperated and looked away at the ground shyly.
"Um, now try it," Arnold said to Helga.
Helga moved the blade slowly at first, fascinated by the glow of the blade, being really careful. A lightsaber could cut a small boulder in two with one slice and could easily cut through a person more efficiently. Then, Helga felt out with the Force as Arnold had instructed earlier and began to move the blade with more confidence, visualizing what she wanted to do with it, her wrists and hands followed in suit.
Arnold was astonished by the grace that Helga handled his lightsaber, the ease that the girl used to make the blade move in almost expert quality.
Grandma Gertie watched also, a small smile on her wrinkled face, she too was impressed. "You have quite alot of natural ability, young one."
Now Gertie picked up a small rock and tossed it at Helga.
Helga, sensing the rock coming, quickly turned and cut it into half with the lightsaber.
"Not bad," Gertie said. "Now, you must learn to act on instinct. Put your blindfold back on."
Helga deactivated the lightsaber. "But how am I supposed to see the rocks then?"
"A Jedi does not only rely on one sense alone, young one," explained Gertie. "Sometimes your eyes can decieve you, or you can indeed lose your sight. So you have to rely on your other senses and instincts."
Helga sighed and put on the blindfold, then reactivated the lightsaber.
Gertie used The Force to make a couple of rocks fly from the ground torwards Helga, who missed both and was hit in the arm with one.
"Ow!" Helga said, rubbing her arm and sighing in frustration.
"Helga," Arnold said, gently. "Search out with your feelings, just like you did earlier."
She sighed, "Okay, I'll give it a try..."
"No," Gertie said, "You will either do it, or you will not, there is no try."
Helga readied herself, the lightsaber held out in front of her, her stance relaxed, yet her mind alert.
Three rocks flew from the ground, coming from three different directions. Helga doged one and, using the lightsaber, destroyed the other two swiftly. Two more rocks flew at her, she destroyed one and, using The Force, deflected the other.
"Wow! That's really amazing, Helga!" Arnold said, in awe at how quick she'd mastered the beginning points of lightsaber training.
Helga smiled at the fact Arnold had given her a complement...so she lost her concentration when Gertie sent a rock flying that hit her in the side hard, knocking her off her feet. The lightsaber fell, deactivated next to her in the sand.
Arnold ran quickly over to her and knelt beside her, "Helga, are you okay?"
Helga removed the blindfold from her eyes and said, "I guess I need to work on my concentration, huh?"
Arnold smiled.
Gertie smiled too and nodded. "That is a good idea, young Helga. Arnold, you could practice that yourself as well."
Helga grinned at the look of embarrassment that crossed Arnold's face. "Yeah, but that was a good first try, I didn't do half as well as you did my first time."
He stood up and offered her a hand up which she took.
"That was very amazing," Arnodl said, using The Force with his other hand to bring his lightsaber from the ground to him.
Helga smiled and leaned in near his ear and whispered, smugly, "Well, I'm a pretty amazing person, 'football-head'." Then she walked off towards the farmhouse, leaving Arnold smiling behind her.
"I never doubted that," Arnold whispered to himself, before shaking his head and following her.
Meanwhile, aboard the deadly Trade Federation Battleship still orbiting the Planet Geonosis, Master Phoebe was hanging around in one of the upper level rooms...literally.
She was suspended by an electric forcefield which bound her in place, preventing her from using The Force, an electric shock would surge with any effort making even the slightest movement painful. Worse yet, a hot spotlight was aimed right at her face to keep her from being too comfortable, even if she somehow could actually manage to adjust to her position.
From where she was, Phoebe could see that this room was meant as some kind of a throne room. A chair was set up at the top of a staircase near a large, round window where the starfield shown.
She looked over past that and saw several dozen droids working on a large mechanical device set next to a pit of some sort. She recognized a few parts as carbon freezing devices. But what would they need that for? She wondered absently, trying desperately to take her focus off of her situation and her worry for Gerald. Did he escape?
From below her, Phoebe heard a snort. She looked over to see Rhonda, the Trade Federation Viceroy and her toadie, Commander Nadine looking at her with disdain on their evil faces.
"White robes after Labor Day?" Viceroy Rhonda said, a look of utter disgust crossed her face. She turned to Commander Nadine and snapped her fingers.
Nadine took out a pad with the words FASION POLICE TICKETS on the cover and wrote out a pink sheet which she tore off and stuffed into Phoebe's robes.
The doors on the other side of the room opened and Darth Curly entered the chamber, smiling widely in malace, his dark cloak flowing behind him.
"Well, Master Phoebe," the Sith Lord said, smiling evily, "How do you like the accomidations? I designed them myself."
Phoebe frowned. "Why did you bring me here, Darth Curly, you scum!"
Darth Curly sighed, "Why to do the typical badguy thing and show you the means to my master's plans so I can gloat." He turned torwards the platforms and the equipment being set up.
Both Rhonda and Nadine turned to look at him, eagear to know what sort-of machine the droids were designing from the Sith's blueprints.
"You see, my old master," Darth Curly began, "This unit was once used to encase precious metals and such in carbonite, which keeps them well preserved, I'm told. As for the rest, the latest in mind-altering and re-education equipment..."
"Re-education equipment! You mean brainwashing!" Phoebe said, recognizing some of the items now, the disgust clear in her voice.
Darth Curly heard that digust, and smiled more. "My, such a crude term." He pointed at the hole nearby. "The subject is placed in there where they are frozen in perfect hibernation in carbonite. Meanwhile, the mind-altering programs are introduced to the subject, completely erasing their previous memories and pushing away such useless and mudane things as free will and weaker emotions and gives the subject new directives, such as obedience and training tactics..."
He turned back to Phoebe, smiling, "Do you see the genius of my master's plan yet, Master Phoebe?" Without waiting for her to say, he continued, "Now, if a certain Galactic Senator, who happens to have the powers of The Force, even if they are the weaker ones, and were subject to this procedure for, oh say about 12 hours, poof! Instant Sith Lord!"
Phoebe was absolutely horrified by what she heard. Free will was a part of ones individuality, the most precious part of a human being's soul. To rob someone of their identity, destroy their warm memories and turn them into a mindless puppet...
She looked at Darth Curly, "You're a monster!"
Darth Curly smiled more, the arrogance ozzing off of him. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Master Phoebe."
Rhonda looked over at him, "Lord Curly, why don't we test the machine on the Jedi, just to be sure it will work." The malace and eagearness were clear in her voice.
"The Jedi is to remain in captivity until after my master arrives to take charge of the final stages of the plan." He informed her.
Rhonda paled, a look of abject horror crossed her face. "You mean, the Emperor is coming here?"
Darth Curly nodded, "Yes, and my master will be most displesaed if your droids have not completed the task by then." Darth Curly smiled terribly then, "My master is not nearly as forgiving as I am, Viceroy."
Having seen how much terror Darth Curly had shown to date, Rhonda was visibly shaken at the thought someone else was worse! She bowed at once, "We shall have them redouble their efforts at once, my lord."
He turned to Commander Nadine, "Set course for Tatooine, Commander!"
Nadine bowed and marched off.
"Succeed, you will not, Lord Curly!" Master Phoebe said, quietly and with absolute faith.
Darth Curly laughed out loud, it wasen't a pleasant sound, too high strung. "You amuse me, Master Phoebe. You honoestly thing Gerald Windu and that pathetic Padawan, Arnold Skywalker can stop me?"
Phoebe looked strait into the red lenses covering the Sith Lord's eyes, "See, we will, Darth Curly."
To Be Continued...