A/N: Here is the second interlude episode, a little higher-action.
"Hold your saber higher," the blonde Jedi directed. "You'll never get ahead if you let your sword droop."
Rho walked into the large cargo bay, where Bardan was training Omney. "Sure you didn't mean 'get the upper hand?'"
Bardan smiled. "You have a cutting wit," he remarked.
"I try," the bounty hunter slyly replied. She then pointed, in caution. "Behind—"
Bardan had already noticed Omney moving to attack him and had activated his own lightsaber to parry.
"A Jedi is never off their guard," Bardan informed the grey.
"But you said the Jedi only defended themselves, never attacked," the student contested.
"True," the Knight admitted. "That does not mean we are at ease. Part of defense is recognizing a threat."
"I see," Omney acknowledged. She raised her blade. "Shall we spar again?"
"Yes," the older Jedi replied. "But you would do well to honor your opponent."
"Right." Omney bowed, taking an Ataru guard stance, her saber straight in front of her, her right foot back. Only one blade was active.
Bardan bowed, countering with a Soresu starting position, saber raised above his head, ready to parry. Sometimes it was better to attack by defense.
Omney attacked the older Jedi, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not so much as singe his robes with her saber in low power training mode.
"Use your full saber," Jusik directed. "There's no reason not to use every advantage."
"But wouldn't that be too much?" the Zabrak wondered.
"Then you can expect a swift victory," Bardan replied with a smile.
Omney ignited the other half of her saber, continuing to fail at connecting the blade with her opponent. Frustrated, her form grew increasingly sloppy.
Bardan seized the opportunity to go on the offensive, making a few strikes to test Omney's defenses. She parried the assessing blows with ease.
Within seconds, the older Jedi was overpowering the Zabrak, making her step back with every blow.
Rho watched in awe as the duel progressed. Every motion was so careful and meticulous, each step planned almost to the point of choreography.
Moments later, the Jedi's low-power blade was centimeters away from the zabrak's neck.
"I think that's enough sparring for today," Bardan directed. "We should work some more on your forms."
Omney sighed in slight complacency. The repetitive motions were starting to wear on her. Nonetheless, she spent another hour going through the motions, her every step corrected and critiqued by Bardan.
She would show rapid improvement in her dueling technique over the next few weeks, training while the rest of the crew ran various other errands...