Settling into my starting stance, I stare down Anakin. In order to get into his good books it was important that I impressed him with my abilities. Show him that levitation is not the only trick I can help him with, and then leave the door open for him to come to me for help in the future.
"Any limits for this match?" I ask, my eyes never leaving my opponent, his stance steady, the smile on his face showing his confidence.
"Not this time, you may begin when ready," I heard Knight Kenobi say after a moment.
With a nod I activate my saber and dash in to test Anakin's defenses. After a quick exchange we separate again. Having spent the past near year since I learned I had been taught Form VII, I had taken to learning about the differences in the various styles. Anakin's appeared to have a bit of an aggressive air to it, but with significantly more defense than my own Form VII. The lack of acrobatics in his movements knocks out the possibility of Form IV. Form III is too defensive and Form I too basic. That left the possibility of Form II, V, and VI.
Going in again, I aim to strike at his legs. He sweeps my saber up and out of the way before coming in for a slash at my newly opened centerline that I just barely get out of the way of. That counter knocks out Form VI which emphasizes avoidance over going for deflections.
If this was an actual fight, this would be very worrying, Anakin is clearly using one of the two styles best suited for dueling a wide range of lightsaber combatants, whereas my style worked best on the highly emotional and aggressive dark side users.
Deciding to ramp the match up and give myself an edge by switching from fighting on a flat, two dimensional plane, I ready myself for flight. It would not do to show my hand too early though.
Seeing the strike coming, I jump over the horizontal swipe of Anakin's saber, flipping while aiming to deliver a strike to his head that misses as he ducks. Using his distraction I change my direction mid air and aim a strike at his open back.
The blades meet in a bind as Anakin holds his blade behind his back before twisting to face me. We both thrust out our hands and I can feel it as we use the force to push each other away. I manage to arrest myself in flight less than a meter away from our clash.
The smile is still on my opponent's face as he slowly raises into the air himself before taking a stance like he is about to push off something.
So fast, I barely manage to avoid him as he suddenly rockets himself at me. Keeping my eyes facing towards him, I see that he over shot my position by several meters, but he is able to change direction and rocket back for another pass.
And another pass.
And another pass.
Each time he is getting closer to making contact with me. I need to change the equation quickly.
He is coming in for another pass. I enact my plan, creating an illusion of myself going for an overhead strike while I actually go for his side.
Separating, I can see he is rubbing his side and his face no longer has a smile. His lips are now held tight and he is rolling his shoulders.
I roll my shoulders to loosen up the muscles as well, readying myself for the next exchange. I take my stance, feeling silly to have my legs spread out when there was no ground beneath me to stand on. No time to think on that, we rush back in, Anakin moving fast, though his lines of attack remained straight and steady. I could not keep up with his speed, but I could out maneuver him and twist in any direction as he struck.
Eventually he caught me in an exchange of blocks, and strikes before we both thrust our hands out. I stayed in relative place as he was sent away. He had a smirk on his face. I could feel the exertion of this match making my chest warm and my body was getting slick in sweat.
"Stop!" Knight Kenobi said strongly and motioned for us to come over.
Master Labooda's face was pale and she was holding a med kit. What was wrong? We hadn't landed many strikes.
She reached for the front of my robes and I looked down at what she was doing. I don't remember having red robes. Or robes with such a large slit in the middle.
I would have thought such a large cut would hurt. Opening my robes, Labooda used a wipe to clean up the blood before applying a patch covered in a thick blue goo.
"What is that?" I asked, realizing I haven't needed to visit the med center for anything besides regular check ups at all this life.
"Bacta, it'll help this cut heal."
I nod my head, remembering many accounts of the importance of keeping bacta production and supplies open and available during many skirmishes in the past for use keeping soldiers alive and healthy.
After situating my robes back into a modicum is modesty, I walk over to where Kenobi and Anakin were talking.
Seeing me approach they quiet down and separate slightly.
"Ah, Tanya, I believe Anakin has something to say to you," Knight Kenobi said, giving his padawan a look.
I didn't need any platitudes, I knew I was not going to come out on top of our sparring match considering I was going up against someone who had been training as a padawan for far longer than I had been. I plastered a large smile on my face and gave a bow.
"There is no need, I understand. I hope we can have another match someday."
Straightening myself up I readjust my robes. "If you don't mind, I believe I need to go change before Master Labooda and I head out for some lunch."
Knight Kenobi nods his head and mentions meeting us for lunch. I keep my smile the same as I realize that I had succeeded in building a rapport and that we would be continuing to build the rapport over lunch.
—-
Labooda sat in the kitchen working her way through a calming cup of tea. There was a reason she had not trained into the medicorps. A very good reason. The sight of blood unnerved her. Her hands would shake, her breathing became shallow, and she would begin to freak out. Labooda was glad that she managed to hold it together enough to treat her padawan, but seeing all that blood made her remember things. The smell of blaster fire, the cries of agony, the coldness, the glassy eyes of her parents.
Labor took a shaky breath before taking another sip of tea and focused on trying to push her waking nightmares away. Away into the Force and away from her.
Tanya came stepping out of the fresher, looking much cleaner in a fresh set of robes tied shut in the manner that she preferred. In her hand was a surprisingly innocuous bag. A bag that Labooda had to force her gaze away from lest her mind travel back down paths best left in the past.
"Bacta works great, my cut is already nearly healed up," Tanya stated as she headed towards the door to the apartment.
"It is a wonderful medical marvel made up of several bacteria suspended in a thick ambori fluid. It can heal most wounds and even regrow muscles, organs, and skin to an amazing degree."
"Are you alright, Master?" Tanya asked her babbling Master.
"Yes, sorry. I just, I'm just not comfortable with the sight of blood." Labooda gave Tanya a smile that did not reach the eyes with lips not curved fully up and teeth closed tight. A weak, brittle smile.
Tanya was silent for a moment before she asked a question. "You were studying ancient Mirialan architecture. How has that changed over time?"
Labooda's smile became a little more real, seeing through Tanya's question to the true reason of it, but choosing to go along with it by answering the question in depth.