Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Season 1 Episode 15 [after]
Year is 22 BBY

A GALAXY AT WAR
Chapter Three

"The greatest teacher, failure is."

"Again."

Her master stood firm and unbothered despite her numerous attempts to disarm him. They had been sparing for a few hours and in that time Zenovia had been unable to break through his defensive moves. In her hand was a training lightsaber, the faint white light pulsed quietly in the low power mode. No matter what tactic of surprise she tried Master Kenobi swiftly swept her aside. Her insecurities were rising as she failed over and over.

"You always look at where you are going to strike," her master said. "try not to be so obvious in your intentions."

Despite her frustration, Zenovia tried once more. This time his lightsaber was not as quick to block, however, he flourished his hand and sent the training sword flying. He held the icy blue low-powered blade pointed at her and Zenovia used the Force to pick up her own. Crossing lightsabers the collision hummed quietly. While she knew that while her master was exhibiting restraint he still overpowered her. Kenobi stepped forward into her close range and again disarmed her. Raising his hand he moved to swing at her. Rather than grab the blade again she outreached her hand and pushed back with the Force.

Kenobi staggered backward which gave Zenovia an opening to draw her lightsaber once more and press on the offensive. Moving forward she reflected on the dueling form they had discussed earlier, Makashi. She felt more drawn to Form II than the other styles of lightsaber combat. Turning side face Zenovia held the white lightsaber with one hand and in a fleeting moment of clarity, she effectively countered her master's blade. Entering his personal space she spotted an opening and moved to strike. Once again she was too overt in her intentions and Kenobi bested her with his use of Form III; Soresu. Unfamiliar with how to properly combat the highly defensive form Zenovia was not able to block and this time his attack sent her toppling over.

Landing ungracefully on the floor her golden eyes closed in shame. The training blade skidded across the floor and she felt utterly defeated. She paused, waiting for the scolding to commence. Suddenly Zenovia sensed her master still approaching and she hastily grabbed her personal lightsaber and ignited it. The dark violet light glowed over her face as Kenobi swung at her. While laying down she was at a great disadvantage for physical leverage. Using both hands her arms strained against his strength. Aware of her fatigue Master Kenobi stepped back and deactivated the lightsaber. He ran his hand through his beard and she worried he was going to change his mind about training her. The Council will never make me a full Jedi... she thought. Sitting up Zenovia felt embarrassed to think she could have made it as a Padawan, let alone a Knight. Solemnly she returned her lightsaber to her belt.

"You cannot give up, not against me, not against any opponent."

She could not bring her gaze to meet her master's. His tone was not harsh, rather as if he had calmly stated a scientific fact. Zenovia doubted that she had been able to make an attack naturally, she suspected her master allowed it to happen. Doubting her abilities in a real duel she feared an encounter with a Sith Lord or another who was capable with lightsabers. In all the holographic media she had seen the thought of coming face-to-face with General Grevious frightened her. Zenovia felt hopeless in comparison to Master Kenobi who had defeated Darth Maul when he was just a Padawan.

"Zenovia, look at me," Kenobi said gently, waiting for her to stand.

Rising from the floor she looked into his blue eyes. She sensed no anger or other feelings of regret. Silently Zenovia awaited his words and expected they would have daily training sessions as a result, that was if he didn't go back on taking her for an apprentice.

"My Padawan, try not to be too hard on yourself. You possess an affinity with Makashi and you are naturally cautious, that along with your already strong connection to the Force I believe that one day we will make an accomplished duelist of you." He said placing a hand on her shoulder. Zenovia was shocked and glanced down at his hand. Master Kenobi was not mad at her in the slightest, he was only displeased with her lack of resolve to persevere against defeat. She still felt ashamed despite this. Her eyes met his gaze again and he smiled at her.

"I am going to make arrangements for you to have lessons with our Battlemaster Cin Drallig. We will also begin daily sparring sessions, I expect you to come prepared with sufficient knowledge of the seven forms of combat. In your spare time, you will attend as many exhibition matches between the knights as you can to reinforce learning through observation." Kenobi concluded his list of instructions.

Zenovia was excited at the prospect of impressing her master with her knowledge and research into the different lightsaber forms. She had spent several hours reading about them as a Youngling. Being able to watch all of the knight's matches was alluring to her since she would only be expected to sit from the vantage seats and hopefully not draw any attention to herself. The aspect that did make her anxious was meeting Cin Drallig. He was a legendary swordsman and she worried he would despise her for her skills. Zenovia had also heard some of the other members of the Order rudely called him the Troll in remarks about his personality. She knew now that if asked by Master Kenobi, she could successfully recite each of the seven types of lightsaber combat forms.

"For now we are going to visit Professor Huyang so you can make a proper lightsaber hilt of your own design."

Taken back she frowned and wondered what was wrong with hers. The kyber crystal was an uncommon purple color and she had found it on Ilum during the Gathering. Zenovia remembered the architect droid had seemed dismayed by her lack of creativity since she followed the basic example design. She had felt uncomfortable when constructing the lightsaber and wanted the whole process over as quickly as possible. The Professor had quietly pointed out that she was merely afraid of it, rather than embracing it. The hilt she created was simple and identical to the demonstration model.

"Master, what's wrong with mine?" She asked following after him. Kenobi had turned to exit the sparing room.

"While it functions normally that design is not unique at all. It is clear to me that part of you dislikes wielding the blade and I expect that if you create something of your own interest then the lightsaber will become more familiar and comfortable to you."

"Master, why should I like a weapon that is heavily associated with the war? Lightsabers are an unfair advantage as they are inaccessible to the rest of the galaxy." Zenovia asked, reflecting on how the Jedi were involved in the Clone Wars yet they had been peacekeepers for thousands of years. She flinched and hoped that her master would not think she favored the Separatists or did not support the Order. Zenovia knew that her new master was one of the most recognizable Jedi Masters for his efforts throughout the star systems.

"I appreciate your understanding of a lightsaber's rarity. The Jedi have used them for over a millennium. Have you ever thought about how many countless lives have been saved? One day, before this war is over, you will defend civilians on the battlefield with the 212th beside you."

Zenovia mulled over his words as they walked to the lower levels of the Temple. The thought of being face-to-face with the war frightened her. The 212th Attack Battalion of the 7th Sky Corps was a massive collection of infantry, armor, and aerial forces under the direction of the High Jedi General. She realized that as a formal Padawan now she was raised to the rank of Jedi Commander on the battlefield and would lead troopers into battle. Breathing deeply she calmed her mind, it was not something she would have to deal with immediately. Zenovia wondered where exactly they were going since she had only seen Huyang onboard a ship. She assumed he would leave it whenever any Younglings were not on a Gathering. There were plenty of Jedi who needed to repair lightsabers when some broke or were lost.

Soon enough they arrived at the workshop space and she waited quietly as Master Kenobi knocked on the door. A few seconds later the doors parted and the architect droid's long arms retracted back. Zenovia looked around as she followed behind her master, the room was a bit of a cluttered mess. The walls were lined with shelves and various drawers. On the floor, there were stacks of more organizational boxes and several tables were scattered around.

"Ah Master Kenobi, it's always a pleasure to see you." Huyang greeted him before noticing the Pantoran. "Oh? It has been a while- is it safe to say Padawan Royce now?"

"Indeed she is, we've come to you today to help Zenovia redesign her lightsaber," Obi-Wan explained.

"Yes, yes how exciting this is! Come sit in the middle and begin whenever you're ready."

Sitting down in the center of the workshop Zenovia meditated. She tried to at least. There was an odd sense of pressure she felt from the watching eyes of the crafts expert and her master. Huyang spared Zenovia the speech she had previously heard about the different stages of construction and pictured her success. Slowly she dismantled her lightsaber with the Force. Piece by piece she removed it all until only the dark purple crystal floated in the air. The soft light glowed as Zenovia looked inwards. She imagined what hilt she saw in her hand. She envisioned something sleek and modest. The hilt was lightweight and silver-colored with a glimmer of elegance. Sensing the desired material Zenovia used the Force to reach out and pulled a cylindrical body of metal to the crystal. Within her mind's eye, she could see the layout of the interior and by waving her hands she brought all the components to her. Zenovia reflected on how the exterior would appear when fully assembled. The pommel was smooth and tapered off slightly from the rest of the body.

Surprisingly it came to her naturally. What she found to be successful and strong was inspired by her master's blade. It shared a similar exposed skeletal ignition point though there was no ribbed black grip. Instead, it was smooth with the grip embedded into the middle with a small ignition button. Zenovia liked the idea of a Force-activated blade but worried that when she was disarmed she might not be quick enough to deactivate it. On the other hand, the Pantoran felt reassured that only a Force-sensitive person could use her lightsaber.

"Songsteel, what a uniquely interesting material." The professor commented when she opened her eyes.

The process was quick, as she had a rare moment of trusting her mind's eye and pictured something to bond to. She smiled and noticed that Master Kenobi looked pleased and Zenovia wondered why she had been so opposed to doing this in the first place. It did give her anxiety, at somehow making something of her liking wrong, but their training session showed her new master would not scold her for her setbacks. All those years ago when she refused to make her own hilt looked foolish and wasted now, her confidence was building. This fast onset startled her and Zenovia was unsure of what it would mean going forward. She was still nervous and worried about training and actually using the blade in combat. It felt natural to hold it in her hands now. Before it was always uncomfortable and off-putting.

"Now, that wasn't so hard was it?" Master Kenobi teased as she stood up and offered him the lightsaber to look at up close. "This is good work and you have already made improvements this morning with practical use. Take the rest of the day to study as you please and be sure to go over the drills I showed you. We will meet again tomorrow morning, same time and place."

"Yes, Master." Zenovia acknowledged his instructions and felt relieved to be granted alone time.

The library was comforting to her with all of its areas for isolation and individual reading. They both thanked the professor as they left his workshop. Obi-Wan departed from her in the hallway, stating that there was a meeting he had to attend. Zenovia walked around the temple and made her way to one of the walls with floor-to-ceiling windows. She enjoyed the view of Coruscant. Her thoughts wandered to the future and what could happen on future missions outside of the temple. Orto Plutonia had been eventful but not in the context of the war and large-scale battles. She dreaded the forthcoming moments when she would have to activate her newly created blade. Before that would come to pass there were many hours of training to take place. She looked forward to seeing her master again, his seemingly infinite pool of knowledge was captivating. Not to mention she was learning of his great patience and slowly feeling more comfortable acting normally around him. Leaving the window vantage point Zenovia headed for the library to read more about combat forms in the hopes of impressing Kenobi tomorrow in their lesson.

REVIEWER REPLIES

Thank you all for reading and leaving comments! It does take me far too long to update this and the Obi-Wan Kenobi show has spurred me into fresher motivation to do so. I disliked the show, though none of it will be reflected here in the narrative. Next up for Zenovia is the Ryloth Crisis content, skipping Blue Shadow Virus, and eventually an original content battle of Alderaan. This is a shorter chapter, I have tendonitis in one wrist and it makes extended computer work painful.

~Shifty830, thank you for the ship classification correction - that is definitely one of my weak spots in Star Wars knowledge
~PurpleNightwing, oh yeah it's slow as hell but here now
~JimmyHall24, thank you so much! I love good ole Sheev and while I had not originally thought to make conscientious parallels to Palpy I like this idea
~Le-Weeb, thank you, hope you continue to enjoy the chapters!
~Latias Flower, yes I will add more dialog, it does help to keep things on track and better fit into the canon events
~Kitamaat, I will feature the Pantorans more, there's only one Pantoran Jedi, Tatsu, and he was alive during the Clone Wars
~Comrade Goose, oh good- I am glad you don't find her to be OP, that is the most deterring factor for me when reading FF
~The-Sunflower-Knight, you best believe Zenovia still lives!
~OdeClock, yes I wanted to have another character trope or dynamic to play with Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan's vibes, plus I love how Ahsoka is described as a similar version of Anakin I thought to feature a cute and inspirational parallel of Ahsoka and Zenovia becoming great like their two masters are. Qui-Gon is amazing too!
~FallenAngelOfMadness, boof, you got me XD you are correct and I will strive to update sooner than once every five years