Chapter Five
Kyra walked into one of large sparring rooms at 0500 and began warming up. Soreness in her limbs greeted her as she began limbering up-a reminder of her hard work during yesterday's assessment. She could feel her pulse through her temples, her heart beating hard in anticipation for today.
She didn't know what to make of Aedan Kahl. Before Obredaan, she rarely saw him as he was always off on missions. Talk of his skills with a lightsaber was widespread among younglings and padawans, and the rumor was that he had even beaten Master Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saese Tiin. No easy task. But could that possibly be true? He was so young.
When she had seen him, he always gave Master Bando a kind and familiar greeting, which never ceased to warm her heart. And while he had been friendly that day in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, she was bothered by yesterday and that moment of shocking intensity.
Her failure yesterday unnerved her. He had purposefully exposed her weaknesses and stripped her down to her most vulnerable point. Yes, there was a reason for it, and afterwards she understood why, but she still couldn't help but feel spited and deceived.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as the turmoil began building.
"You are no Jedi," the voice whispered from the darkness.
Gritting her teeth, and shaking her head, trying to dislodge the errant thought, she began going through the warm-up exercises Aedan had showed her yesterday. A few minutes in, she felt Aedan enter the sparring room.
"Good morning, Padawan," he said.
"Good morning, Master. I'm ready to begin."
He nodded, "Okay, let's go for a run." And they both took off at a moderate pace. Kyra's long legs nearly matching Aedan's stride. "The three keys to running are form, breathing, and mental fortitude. Each stride should be short. Your midfoot should strike directly underneath your hips. Any farther out than that is called over-reaching and it puts too much strain on your knees and feet and can even slow you down. This can take time to fix, but I'll help you. Your torso should never be hunched over, your shoulders and head should be upright. Just like you're doing now. And breath just like you do during meditation. In through your nose and out through your mouth. On the longer runs, it may prove better to just breath through your mouth as you get more oxygen that way, but for now, inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth."
"Yes. Master," Kyra said between breaths, absorbing this new knowledge. No one, not even Master Bando had bothered to show her proper running form.
"It will feel odd at first," Aedan said, "But that's just your body getting used to it. Just stay with it, and soon it will be natural."
She nodded in response and concentrated on matching Aedan's silky-smooth stride. His form did look simple and effortless, but emulating that was a different story.
After the run, they made it back to the sparring room, and Aedan lead them through a multiple exercise circuit of Pullups, pushups, and body squats. Kyra was already fatigued from the run, so this proved very difficult for her. Aedan himself was breathing heavy, so that made her feel better. After six circuits, she had done twenty-four Pullups, eighty Pushups, and one hundred and fifty body squats. She was hurting. Aedan had nearly doubled that. They both collapsed on the floor afterwards and laid there breathing deeply. Though he had thoroughly trounced her in the workout, it pleased her to see he was every bit as worn out as she was. She couldn't help but admire that.
"We'll call that workout," Aedan said between breaths, "Circuit One."
"How original, Master."
"Fair point. You name it."
"How about, Decimator."
"Too negative."
"Lungs on Fire?"
"Nope."
"Burn, Baby, Burn?"
Aedan gave her a look.
"Ugh, fine. Well, who came up with the workout?" Kyra asked
"Have you met Master Coleman Trebor?"
"The really tall Vurk? No, I haven't yet, but I'd like to."
"Well, he came up with it. He's extremely strong and fit, and he does double what we did today."
"How about the Coleman Crucible?"
"Perfect," Aedan laughed. "He'll get a kick out of that."
"Now we meditate."
Kyra nodded, but Aedan sensed her apprehension.
"Do you know what it is I specialize in," Aedan asked, as they both sat up, "As far as my missions go?"
"No, I don't."
"I am typically given missions involving infiltration and investigation."
Surprise lit up her face. "That's exciting."
"Honestly, it is. But it can be very dangerous. One very important aspect of it is the ability to use shields, and to hide your force signature. Did Orrick teach you any of that?"
"Only a little."
"Good, well today, and perhaps for the rest of the week, we'll focus on that."
Kyra fiddled with her braid, and then said, "May I ask a question, Master?"
"Of course, Padawan."
"Well, only other force sensitive people can sense other force users, and since I won't be running into any Dark Jedi or the Sith, and I don't mind other jedi knowing I'm a Padawan, is that the best use of our time considering my other severe shortcomings?"
"Well for one, shields don't just conceal force sensitivity, they also protect your thoughts and emotions. You'll find that most jedi, particularly the masters, put up their shields a good bit of the time. Privacy is still important to most. Second, and more importantly, what makes you think you won't run into a dark jedi or the Sith?" he said, giving a mischievous look.
Kyra mouth was agape, "Because…they don't…exist."
"And you're certain of that?" Aedan eyed her speculatively. "Qui Gon and Obi-Wan faced off against that Sith on Naboo. And as far as Dark Jedi, well…"
"Well, what?"
"I've encountered five, all in the last two years."
"Five!" Kyra yelled, quickly covering her mouth in embarrassment.
Aedan smiled. "Yes, because of my skill with a lightsaber I am one of a few Jedi who are tasked with seeking them out." Kyra just stared at him dumbfounded. "They keep these missions and ordeals as clandestine as possible. You are now one of maybe two dozen people who know about it. The council doesn't want the temple, or the public to be aware of it. The thought of Dark Jedi rampaging about would not only be terrifying, but it would detract from us true Jedi and the Jedi Temple." Aedan waited because Kyra was still at a loss for words.
Then realization dawned on her face, "You're a Jedi Shadow!"
Aedan nodded, "Essentially, yes, I am. But keep that to yourself."
Kyra bobbed her head up and down quickly, still awestruck.
"But we'll discuss this more at another time. Today, and for probably the rest of the week, we'll be focusing on shielding."
"Sounds good. Well, now that I'm no longer in the dark," she said, shaking her head, "Sounds great!"
After some success with shielding, Aedan called an end to the session, stood up, and walked over to a crate on the floor. Kyra's watched intently, eager to see what was next. Aedan noticed her watching and smiled. He opened the lid and pulled out a grey and white sphere.
"Ah, an old friend of mine." Kyra stated dryly.
"Let's see what you can do," Aedan said, and tossed the Marksman-H combat remote into the air. It immediately began moving around, letting out audible puffs of air.
Kyra ignited her saber and readied herself. The first non-lethal blast fired, and Kyra blocked it, and then blocked the next six shots without problem. Then she saw Aedan reach into the crate, program another remote, and toss it into the air. It began rotating around in conjunction with the other remote and started firing as well. Almost Instantly, Kyra was overwhelmed, and four blasts got past her blade, stunning her. Aedan waved a hand and the remotes ceased fire. Kyra retracted her blade, and looked down at the ground, noticeably distraught.
"Kyra," Aedan said, causing her to lock eyes with him, "You did great. You're totally fine. Take a deep breath and calm yourself. Doesn't matter how long it takes you. Connect with the force. Find your peace."
She nodded and closed her eyes. Those last words of Aedan's, "Find your peace," echoed in her head. If only it were so easy. She concentrated on the air she was breathing, letting it fill her lungs. But the sight of Master Bando giving his last breath flashed in her mind, and whatever progress she had made with clearing her thoughts vanished. Now all she saw was the mask. She shook her head, trying to rattle the image away, and she squeezed her eyes shut, but that just gave the demon more time to take up residence in her mind.
She opened her eyes, and saw that Aedan was staring at her, his face completely passive. He did not look at all perturbed or impatient. She tried again, this time she saw the silver and black blade stabbing through her master's chest, causing her eyes to open wide again before anymore horrors came to haunt her. Aedan, still at ease, was eyeing her. Before she could say anything, he spoke.
"Let's try a different route," he said, voice reassuring. "In order to defend and deflect blaster bolts, the blade only has to move centimeters, so try shortening your parries to as small a movement as possible. Economy of motion is the goal. I'll show you."
Aedan ignited his own saber and triggered the remotes with a nod. They began firing and Kyra felt her jaw drop. She had heard the rumors, heard the stories, and listened to Master Bando talk about Master Kahl's skill, but never had she seen anyone move like Aedan did. It wasn't fast or flashy, but it was the epitome of smooth and methodical. Every movement was so precise and measured. Using the force Aedan floated up a third remote and turned it on. Now she watched as three remotes blasted away at him, and he kept the same systematic precision. With three remotes now, though, it forced him to move around more. And now he just seemed to flow. She would have thought such meticulous movement would appear robotic or mechanical, but it wasn't at all. He appeared graceful, and it made since now that grace, fluidity, and poise, were a part of that precision. She observed intently, seeing the tall, lean Jedi move like water.
Aedan stopped the remotes, and looked at Kyra, "The force is in us, but the way we channel that force makes all the difference," he said.
"Yes, Master."
"I want you to try it now, without the remote firing."
"Just...in the air?"
Aedan nodded. "Go through the motions, but imagine or visualize the remote firing at you, and move your saber just as you would if it were real."
"Okay," she said, and adopted a fighting stance. She began to move her saber back and forth, up and down, but stopped suddenly. "I feel silly."
"Do it regardless," Aedan said without humor. "Practice using crisp, short movements."
She took a deep breath and raised her saber back up. She saw in her mind's eye a remote firing at her and she moved her blade to deflect. Her imagined Marksman Remote fired off bolt after bolt, and she, while trying to mimic Aedan's precise actions, blocked them. She had shortened the blade's path, merely moving her hands a few centimeters, or pivoting the blade slightly up or down. It was awkward at first, as it was so different then how she normally parried blasters with wild, sweeping cuts. After some time, she began to see the simple brilliance to Aedan's technique. She did that for minutes, not bothering with wondering how long. He gave her a task and so she would do as well as she could.
Without a word, two remotes began firing, and Kyra already deep into the movement, began parrying them effortlessly. Her brain didn't have time to register that now she was deflecting for real. She kept her motions compact, and the notion that she was doing extremely well pleased her immensely.
Aedan activated the third remote, and that changed things drastically. She tried to keep up with the barrage, but her concentration began slipping, now that her brain had time to catch up with her body, the notion of fighting three remotes seemed far too daunting, and after about a half dozen blasts or so, she lost her focus, and started getting stunned.
This time, however, when Aedan stopped the remotes, she wasn't frustrated or despairing. She wasn't smiling either, but there was a faint light in her eyes, a small measure of hope. She looked to Aedan. He held her gaze for a second, squared his shoulders, and then, very slowly, nodded once, as if the nod sealed in the lesson, and confirmed the victory.
Later that night Aedan Kahl sat in his room, contemplating the long road ahead. He saw how tortured and unsettled and unnerved she was. Merely reaching out to the force was a struggle for her, and once she did connect, it was a shaky connection at best. The events on Obredaan had left her traumatized, and emotionally compromised.
He'd have to push her to her limits. Make training so tough and demanding each day that she had no time or energy to think about anything else. The rigorous schedule would force her to focus only on getting better, improving. And she needed him, her instructor, to be an unyielding rock which would require him to be a strict and objective master. He would find no joy in this manner of instruction. But it would work the same as it had for him when he was forced to cope with the loss.