Chapter 9
Jof
The third week of Jazz's training. Jof shook her head in disbelief at the thought. Jazz was her first apprentice; to say that she was having a difficult time to keep her nerves under control would be an understatement; she had to work in conditions no Jedi had ever faced in millennia. Last week's lesson about the Qel-Droma's seemed to have worked to keep Jazz from falling to the Dark Side, Jazz didn't have another outburst like the one she had before, but it had only been a week, and Jazz's training was far from over. After a few minutes of meditation to calm her mind; Jof lit her lightsaber and went through the seven forms of lightsaber combat. It felt good to see the glowing green blade once more and stretch her legs and other muscles as she flowed from the basics of Form 1, Shii-Cho, to the more combat oriented Form 2, Makashi, then to the more defensive Form 3, Soresu, and it's more efficient defensive style.
Jof took a deep breath before moving on to Form 4, Ataru, as she leaped higher than any being of her size was possible without the Force's aid. She leapt and spun around with all the lithe grace of her species and acrobatics that would put any circus performer to shame. Jof sensed Jazz coming into the room and moved to Form 5, Shien variant, blocking countless imaginary blaster bolts and sending them back at the imaginary attackers before then going on the attack with the Djem So variation, striking with power and focus on victory. Finally Jof ended with Form 6, Niman. She defended efficiently ala Soresu before striking decisively with Djem So then leapt up and into the wall and jumped off it as in Ataru then going through the forms of Makashi once more before ending in the basics of Shii-Cho.
Jof turned to see Jazz standing at the doorway, her eyes wide in shock. "What…was that?" she whispered. Jof smiled and said, "That was a demonstration of lightsaber combat." "Lightsaber? That's what you call your laser…sword…thing?" Jazz said. Jof walked over to Jazz and showed her the lightsaber handle. "Yes, the lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi. In order to maintain peace, sometimes one must fight. The lightsaber is a nearly flawless weapon, able to cut through almost anything, able to deflect blaster shots, and, it is not something easily mastered. You will, in time, learn how to wield a lightsaber, but not now. You still have other training to do," Jof told her padawan. "What's this week's lesson?" Jazz asked. "Before we do that, I need to see what kind of shape you're in. Let's head to the 'lobby'," Jof told her and they went down to the front of the Hotel where there was room. "Alright, start jogging around the room, I will tell you when to stop," Jof told her padawan.
Jazz went off running and managed to keep it up for a quarter of an hour before she started slowing down. Ten minutes later she was struggling to keep up her pace and Jof said, "Stop." Jazz leaned against a wall while she caught her breath. "Now, I want you to jump up in the air, as high as you can. Do that three times," Jof ordered. Jazz jumped up once, about a foot. On her second try she jumped up one and a half feet. On her third time Jazz put everything into it and rose up three feet, then fell on her behind. "Ow," Jazz said as she stood up, rubbing her backside. "Are you alright?" a concerned Jof asked her. "I'm alright," Jazz assured her, "What is this, some kind of fitness test?"
"Yes, I wanted to know what your body's natural limits are. This week I will begin teaching you how to use the Force to enhance your body, to allow the Force to empower you beyond your limits, to run faster, jump higher, hit harder if necessary, and for a longer time than is natural for your species," Jof told her. "You mean like what you were doing in your room?" Jazz asked, sounding very intrigued. "Yes, exactly. I have seen the Jedi Masters do incredible feats through the Force, I once saw Master Yoda, our most ancient Master, jump as high as the ceiling above us, Master Mace Windu could dismantle droids with his bare hands, and my own life has often been saved with a small burst of speed," Jof explained.
She then demonstrated by running around the lobby, looking like a green blur before she then jumped high over Jazz's head. "You really think I can do all that!?" Jazz nearly yelled. "Yes, I know you can do it Jazz. I sense how strongly the Force is with you, your power can surpass my own in time," Jof assured her. "I'm really not all that sure. For all I know your species can do all that stuff easily," Jazz told her. "Not quite. While my people are different in many ways from humans, strength wise Twi-leks are very similar to humans," Jof explained. "What about your planet? You said it was a desert," Jazz said. "We are getting off topic, but I don't blame you for being curious. You've trusted me this far, so I will tell you about myself for every successful lesson you give, do you accept those terms?" Jof said.
"Alright, what do you want me to do first?" Jazz agreed to Jof's terms. "Alright, now, first I want you to feel the Force around you. Feel the energy, and let it flow into your body," Jof instructed. Jazz closed her eyes and started breathing. Jof felt as the Force went into Jazz's body. "Now, open your eyes while mentally letting the Force enter your body and start running," Jof told her. Jazz did as she was told and started running around the lobby again. She was running faster than before and Jof told her padawan, "Very good. Let the Force flow through you, let it empower the crude matter of your body, go past your limits." Jazz started going even faster, but then she missed a turn and started running head first into a wall!
Jof quickly reached into the Force and lifted Jazz off the ground right before she hit the wall. Jazz was breathing heavily as she said, "That was close!" "Yes, too close. This is partly my fault for teaching you these things before you're ready. Let us focus on jumping instead for now," Jof said and telekinetically floated her back to the ground. "Now, let the power flow into your legs and back as before, then jump up. Wait until I tell you when you can jump, so you don't hit the ceiling," Jof instructed. Jazz took a minute to catch her breath and said, "Okay, but after this I'm gonna need to stretch."
Jof felt as power entered Jazz's body again and then said, "Jump." Jazz leaped up to six feet then landed wobbly on her feet. "Ah, now I know the problem, its control. You need to learn to control the flow of power through your body. You made a good jump, but your landing was very poor," Jof told Jazz. "Master, can we stop for today? I don't know if I can keep doing this," Jazz said between breaths.
Jof looked at her, scolding herself for pushing her apprentice so much and finally said, "Yes, we'll stop for now." Jazz immediately sat down and stretched her legs out, and reached for her toes. After fifteen minutes of stretches Jof told her padawan, "You can stay on the floor if you like, if you still wish I can tell you about my homeworld and my people." "Thank you, Master. I've wanted to learn more about you for a long time," Jazz said. "Alright, listen closely. My species is called the Twi'leks; we evolved on a planet known as Ryloth. Ryloth is the second planet of the Ryloth Solar System in the Outer Rim of the Galaxy along the Corellian Run; Ryloth that is what we call our planet and our sun. The Planet Ryloth had five moons, and the seasons were always turbulent. The days are thirty Galactic Standard Hours and the years are 305 Galactic Standard days.
"The seasons on Ryloth were always turbulent, ranging from freezing temperatures to incredible heat. Because of this, the Twi'leks had to live a nomadic existence to survive as herders and farmers; we never developed space travel on our own. About 10,000 years before the Clone Wars explorers from the Galactic republic discovered Ryloth. My people assimilated using our cunning, trading, and at times our physical wiles. Many other sentient species view us as very beautiful, especially the females. Because of this, many Twi'lek females are sold as slaves around the Galaxy as dancing girls and consorts. I was lucky; my parents were traders closer to the Core Worlds where I was found as an infant.
"My parents knew that I was destined for great things and gave me to the Jedi to be raised by them. As time went on I was eventually trained by the male Rodian Master Arkova Tan. Master Tan was a great teacher and scholar who instilled my own love for knowledge. When I was fully recognized as a Jedi I became a Chronicler for the Jedi Archives, the greatest collection of knowledge in the Galaxy. My task was to go to archaeological sites and record the findings for the Archives," Jof stopped there. "What about afterwards?" Jazz eagerly asked, "The Clone Wars, the Empire, and Master Tan?" "All in good time my padawan," Jof said with a mischievous smile. Jazz sighed then pulled a device, a 'phone' she called it, and looked at it.
"I gotta go; you will tell me more, won't you?" Jazz asked. "Provided you do well with your lessons, yes," Jof agreed. Jazz left the lobby and Jof returned to her room.
Danny
Danny flew above Amity Park while Tucker and Sam rode on scooters below looking for…something. Danny's ear mic went off and he asked, "Yeah Sam?" "Danny, are you sure that the 'Galactic Empire of Evil' will appear?" Sam asked him. "I don't know, but well, let's face it, anything can happen since Jazz is now getting magic lessons from an alien and all," Danny replied. Danny's Ghost Sense went off just then and he barely dodged the ghost ray that headed his way. "WHOA!" Danny yelled and looked around. "Aw man, the ghost is cheating!" Danny complained as his Ghost Sense went off again and he dodged another ghost ray from nowhere. "Danny, we're right below you but we can't see the ghost," Tucker told him. "He's staying invisible!" Danny yelled as he got hit by a ghost ray from behind. "Danny got closer to us so we can cover you," Tucker told him.
Danny flew lower and watched as Tucker got out an ecto-blaster and Sam used her ecto wrist ray to blast behind Danny. They managed to hit something and Danny yelled, "Keep it up!" The ghost was hit three more times and stopped being invisible. The ghost looked like a red blob with arms and glowing green eyes. Danny grabbed the ghost and said, "What's the big idea?" The ghost just roared at him in answer so Danny slugged it in the face before sucking it into his Thermos. "Well, score one more for the good guys," Tucker said. "Yeah, but that's not what I wanted," Danny said, and he and his friends continued the search.
Alright, I'm going to tell you about Lightsaber Forms to help you visualize them. Form 1: Shii-Cho was used by Kit Fisto in Star Wars: Clone Wars and is the most basic Form. Form 2: Makashi is more lightsaber vs. lightsaber oriented and based on western fencing, and was Count Dooku's preferred style in Episode 2: Attack of the Clones and Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. Form 3: Soresu is used more for defense, especially against blasters, it was Obi-Wan Kenobi's preferred style in Episodes 2-4. Form 4: Ataru is a more offense oriented Form used against a single opponent and was Qui-Gon Jinn's preferred style in Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and Yoda's as well in Episodes 2 and 3. Form 5 has two variations: Shien and Djem So. Shien was used to deflect blaster bolts back at the shooter while Djem So was based on using one's superior strength to batter at your attacker and was Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader's preferred style in Episodes 2-6. Form 6: Niman is a hybrid style combining aspects of all of the previous styles mixed together, just about every Jedi and Sith character uses it. Finally the last Form, Form 7:Juyo. Juyo is only usable by one with the Force and relies on using your aggressive energy and that of your opponents to empower yourself and strike harder and faster than anyone. It is usually preferred by the Sith, but it was the preferred style of Mace Windu in Episodes 2 and 3 as well as Darth Sidious's in Episode 3 as well as Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Look up clips of you want, there are people out there that apply them pretty well in demonstrations.