Hey ya'll! Here's chapter two. Please leave me a review with any comments or questions. As I move the story forward, I love to know what I'm writing well and if anything I'm writing is unclear. Enjoy!

Chapter II - "Leaders"

The six Jedi woke the next morning, only partially rested. It had taken them many hours to fall back asleep after Mila's cries had stirred them, and the next morning they were feeling the effects. Training that morning went similarly to the previous day. Each student took up their training sword, and Thorne led them in the same warmup routine as he always used. It was an elegant dance, just as before; few who ever witnessed it would ever suspect they were training for combat. In truth, training with a lightsaber was always more of a spiritual practice. In the time before the Clone Wars, lightsabers were ceremonial items. Rarely did a Jedi have to brandish it, let alone use it in combat. Thorne was one of the last generation at the Temple who trained in a time outside of war. Sha'veen and Shen were among the first who, from the moment they constructed their lightsabers, trained specifically for battle. They were each only fourteen when Order 66 brought the Jedi to the brink of extinction; five years younger than Thorne at the time, and three years older than Tarro.

"For the last few weeks, I have had you all facing one another in combat," Volka said, beginning her lesson. "In doing so, you have had the chance to analyze your own styles. Your strengths have been made clear, as have your weaknesses. Tarro, tell me how you have progressed."

The young Zabrak seemed unsure of himself as he replied. "Well, I'm not nearly as advanced as Shen or Thorne, but I am improving. I've become more adept at Shii-Cho, and soon I'll be able to challenge the more advanced students."

"Yes, you are improving," Volka said, "but what challenges have you overcome? What hurdles still lay before you?"

Tarro was silent for a moment before responding. "Confidence, Master. I have realized I am more skilled than I once thought. I could've won against the others many times if I had only believed it was possible. In the future, I must let go of my fear and leave nothing in reserve when I face off against a skilled opponent."

"Exactly. Remember my words to you from yesterday. That goes for all of you," she said, looking around at her students. "None of us is without room for improvement. We will not be doing any sparring for a while. Instead, I want each of you to work on your weaknesses. Mila, I will continue to train with you separately so that you can advance through the basics."

"Yes Master," they all said in unison.

As they all began to go separate ways, Shen was flagged down by Tarro. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, I was wondering. I need to practice going all in, train my body to use everything instead of holding back and focussing on defense. I think having a partner would best suit me," Tarro explained.

"Of course I'll help you," Shen replied, smiling warmly. "Besides, I need to practice defending against strong attacks without rooting myself in one place. You can help me with that as well."

Soon enough, the two had begun their training. Shen focussed entirely on protecting himself, at first falling back on his old habits of stopping Tarro's momentum with each parry. The younger padawan seemed to be frustrated by this. He was irritated that his strikes were being stopped with such ease, unable to penetrate Shen's defenses. With every attack, he became more aggressive. His blade swung with reckless power, now more akin to a mace than a sword.

"Watch your aggression," Shen warned, but he seemed unheard.

Soon enough, he began to feel Tarro's full strength. The Zabrak seemed to have abandoned all technique and a fair amount of speed in an attempt to bash through Shen's defenses. He was showing strength almost on the same level as Thorne, but with no semblance of control. Shen realized quickly that if he continued to defend as he was, Tarro would eventually get through. Just before the next attack, he shifted slightly on his feet and angled his parry, guiding the younger student's blade down and away instead of stopping it outright. Now having an opening, Shen twisted his blade around and brought it down to gently rest on Tarro's shoulder. Both of them froze in that position for a few moments, panting slightly.

"Your power is impressive," Shen said. "But you must not let aggression control you. You now know what it feels like to commit all of your strength to an attack, so now, follow me."

That said, the two stepped away from each other and took their opening stances. When they were ready, Shen began calling out strikes from their practice set while also holding his blade in the appropriate parry position. He took it slow, only doing one attack every second or two.

"Good, let go of your strength but focus on your technique. Daiki!" he said, blocking a powerful horizontal strike. "Use your hips, drive your blade against me. Daiki!"

While Shen and Tarro were training together, Thorne watched. He was the eldest student, and was considered to be the best duelist by a wide margin. But the previous day had shed light on a very large flaw in his form: his footwork. He was always on the attack against his fellow students, and in the battles he had seen during the Clone Wars, there was not much else he could do but march forward and cut down B-1's one after the other. Other than his Master, he had never faced a superior duelist in a fight. He thought hard on how he might go about training his footwork, but it was a weakness inherent in his chosen style of Djemm-So.

"I suggest using Ataru," Sha'veen said, announcing her presence to him and breaking his concentration.

"What?"

"Ataru. You're trying to figure out how to improve your footwork, but you can only go so far with Djemm-So. Ataru's footwork is much better," she explained.

As a practitioner of Form Six, Niman, the young Mirialan had a rudimentary understanding of each of the first five lightsaber forms, as well as how to blend them together. She was also the most adept of the five students in her usage of the Force, showing her talents as she was able to feel out Thorne's thoughts and emotions in that moment. Hearing her words, Thorne snickered and offered no response.

"You know I'm right. One of the strongest practitioners of Djemm-So did the same thing."

"Well I don't intend to be like him," Thorne retorted.

"Makashi, then?" she suggested.

He shook his head. "Too linear. It bottlenecks my offense."

"Well, while you're trying to figure it out, you might as well do something useful. Come on, I need a partner to practice on," she teased, taking a ready stance. "Defend against me while I attack. Take any openings I give you, and try to give some advice for me along the way, would you?"

Thorne rolled his eyes as he took his own stance. "Boy, she's getting bossy," he thought to himself.

Only a moment later, Sha'veen was on the attack. Naturally, she was unable to breach Thorne's defenses at any point. He effortlessly weaved a shield around his body with his blade; one which she had no chance of penetrating at her skill level. Eventually, Sha'veen went for an attack that left her wide open. His speed was blinding, and the impact of his blade painful against her leg.

"Blast!" She cried, hobbling back a few paces as she reeled from the pain. "You could hold back a bit, you know!"

Thorne laughed at her. "Regret to say I was. You did say to take any openings you give, did you not?"

"Oh shut up."

Sha'veen resumed her assault soon after, but still could not score a hit.

"I'm not sure how to give advice here. You need to up your speed," Thorne said while blocking her attacks. "Every move you make is from a different form. You should be blending their strengths together, not swapping between them."

"And how…exactly…should I…do that?" She asked in between strikes.

"How should I know?" he replied, snickering as she continued her onslaught. "You're the Niman user, not me. I'd prefer to be a master of one than a jack of all."

Sha'veen only grew more frustrated by his words; Thorne was being no help. Like most Jedi, he held the belief that Form Six, Niman, was an inferior style. The core principle of it being a mixture of the previous five forms, taking in all their strengths and none of their weaknesses. The main problem with Niman, as most thought, was that by not focussing on any one form, you keep yourself from being able to master any. Sha'veen was of the opposite opinion; that if she trained hard, she would eventually be able to become a master of Niman and in turn, be able to fight as a master of any needed technique in any given situation. Few agreed with her. Elsewhere in the yard, Volka was carefully training Mila in the ways of Shii-Cho.

"Alright Mila, Form 1, First Cadence. I'll count out your strikes, then your parries. All eight strike zones, in order. Ready Position!" Volka commanded. Mila quickly took her stance, left leg forward, two hands with her blade at her side. "Set, Suko! And one, two, three…" She counted all the way to eight, during which the youngling swung her sword from eight different directions. "...and moving to parry one, two, three…" Mila's sword now acted as a shield for the exact same attacks she had done before, in the same order. Soon, the set was complete.

"How was my form, Master?" Mila asked, hopeful that she was improving.

"Much better. Just remember, when in a bladed stance, your outside swings will always be weaker. To compensate, you have to get your hips involved in the motion. Now, ready position, let's do a defensive exercise."

Mila visibly gulped. She was clearly not confident in her abilities. Being the youngest, she had also had the least training of the five students. Though she had done plenty with training remotes, fighting a living being was much harder. She would have stood no chance against the Clones had she not been speaking with Volka in the temple the day Order 66 was executed. With shaky hands, she took her stance and prepared for her master to attack. Volka took in a deep breath, and as she exhaled she moved in for an overhead strike, aiming for the young girl's head. Mila was able to block the first strike, but as the others came in moderately quick succession, she was less and less successful. She couldn't seem to predict where the next strike was going to come from, forcing her to rely on reflexes; muscle memory which she had not yet developed. Soon enough, she took a light hit to the arm.

"Focus, Mila. You know I won't hurt you."

"I know," she replied, exasperated. "But I can never tell where you're going to attack from!"

"Have you forgotten your teachings, young one? Quiet your mind. Let go your conscious self and the Force will guide your blade. Feel, don't think."

Mila took a deep breath. "Yes, Master."

The next round, things went much more smoothly. Trusting in her master's words, she decided the best thing to do would be to close her eyes. She took in a deep breath and reached out with her feelings, letting the Force speak to her. Unfortunately, her reflexes still weren't fast enough. Though her anxiety was gone, her arms still couldn't move her blade fast enough to block every incoming attack. She lasted only one move longer than before, taking a light tap to the leg.

"Good, very good," Volka praised.

Mila still seemed frustrated. "I only lasted one more move."

"Yes, but your fear was gone. You trusted in the Force, and that is what is most important," she explained, getting down on one knee to look her student in the eyes. "When the time comes, you must be able to quiet your mind and let the Force guide you. You will understand in time."

Mila sighed, still unsure of herself. But still trusting in her teacher, she smiled. "Yes Master."

Volka returned her warm smile as she stood back up. "That's enough for today," she said, addressing the rest of the class at the same time. All of the students stopped training on her command. "Thorne, don't forget to pick up the next rotation on your way home tonight."

"I won't," he replied, stretching out his shoulders as he left Sha'veen behind. She was breathing hard as she watched him walk away.

Tarro was also panting heavily and looked at Shen with guilt in his eyes. When Shen noticed, he addressed his fellow student with concern. "What's wrong?"
"Thank you for your help today. I'm sorry that I couldn't help you as much with your own training," Tarro said, his eyes falling low.

Shen placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. "You will. As you improve, I will too. I can't very well keep up with your strength unless I adapt to it myself, can I?"

Tarro smiled, put at ease by his words. "I'll work hard then, to help you all the sooner."

"Very good. Go on, get cleaned up and help around the house. I have to get to work."