Jedi Master Indara

by WillDreamer

There were SO many ways this fight could have gone down. Why did we have to get the version where the Jedi Master almost never acted like one?

Jedi Master Indara sensed a hostile presence, and she turned her eyes away from the people at her table. Locals she swore to protect, as guardian of the entire town.

A young woman, masked and ominous, met her eyes.

The highly suspicious newcomer, whose clothing declared obvious ill intent, spoke. "Master Indara."

"Yes, my child."

"We have unfinished business. Attack me with all your strength."

While her companions laughed at the absurdity, Indara's mind raced. She quickly concluded this masked figure was serious, and likely quite dangerous. "If you wish to test your strength against me, first allow my companions to leave. Involve no one else."

SCRIPT: "Nope! I want Mae to show off her skillz by beating the crap out of a ton of guys twice her size! Roll that back!"

"There is no glory in fighting a Jedi. We are guardians of peace. Why would you provoke–"

SCRIPT: "Nope! My villain is awesome and Indara should agree! Roll that back!"

"I appreciate your courage, young warrior, but I have no quarrel with you."

"Attack me!"

"Jedi do not attack the unarmed."

"Yes you do."

Indara frowned. Clearly, this aggressive youth was badly unhinged, and knew nothing of–

SCRIPT: "Nope! The Jedi are baddies in this show! Indara has a guilty past! Roll that back!"

Indara frowned, suspicion deepening. Could this petulant little rogue know–

SCRIPT: "Nope! Not petulant! She's awesome! Roll that back!"

Could this rogue know the truth?

Losing patience, the masked woman struck. With a low, spinning kick, she knocked the chair out from under one of the men at the table.

Before he even hit the floor, Indara's hands shot forth. She caught her friend even as she seized the assailant with the Force and held her helpless in the air.

SCRIPT: "Nope! Did you already forget that I want Mae to show off her skillz by beating the crap out of a ton of guys twice her size? Roll that back!"

Indara… just… kinda watched? Yep. She just watched the smackdown. Like a spectator at a cage match.

The attacker smashed an innocent man's face into the table, while the others lept into action to help their friends.

But Master Indara… just sorta rose to her feet… in slow motion. Like, really really slowly.

Like "there's a T-rex in the room and I don't want it to see me" slowly.

The attacker didn't move slowly of course. She kept beating the crap out of a bunch of innocent people who were sharing Indara's table mere seconds ago. An especially brutal kick sent a man sailing through the air, crashing into a distant wall. The difference in mass between the two should have sent the woman flying back at least as far, proving that kick must have involved use of the Force.

SCRIPT: "Nope! She's just super strong! Why would she need the Force just to kick a guy twenty feet through the air?"

Facing down a man with a blaster, the attacker flipped a large metal table onto its side and launched it across the room with a mighty kick, likely pulverizing her target's legs.

SCRIPT: "That didn't require the Force either! She's just stunning and brave and strong!"

Like a supervillain watching all of her disposable minions fall, the Jedi Master intervened only after the damage had been done, coming from behind and seizing her in a headlock–

SCRIPT: "Nope! Too soon to get serious! This Jedi ain't worried yet! Roll that back!"

At last, the Jedi Master intervened, coming from behind and seizing her hand.

The attacker whirled, striking with reckless aggression, with punches, kicks, and spinning elbow jabs.

For several seconds, Master Indara casually blocked or sidestepped every attack, demonstrating the insurmountable difference in skill between them, allowing the attacker to see her folly and surrender. When she just kept attacking, Indara finally did her duty as a Jedi. To decisively end the violence, she snapped both of the woman's wrists with expert skill and–

SCRIPT: "Nope! She doesn't strike back!"

Why?

SCRIPT: "She's a noble pacifist!"

Jedi… are "knights." Have you actually seen Star Wars?

SCRIPT: "Roll… that… BACK!"

Indara refused to take any offensive action, while the attacker's victims writhed on the floor in agony. Some were disfigured, some were maimed, all were baffled at why the town's protector refused to protect them… and wouldn't bring their assailant to justice.

Two attempts were made to steal Indara's lightsaber. The symbol of a Jedi Knight, one of the deadliest weapons in existence, it would be disastrous if this maniac got ahold of it. Knowing her duty, Indara drew her lightsaber and–

SCRIPT: "Nope! Just nope! Roll it back!"

Indara casually prevented the theft, but saw no need to alter her tactics.

The assailant drew a knife, and lunged at Indara's face. With an outstretched hand, Indara stopped the knife with the Force–

SCRIPT: "Not quite! Try again!"

Indara stopped the hand holding the knife. After a moment, the assailant–no, the assassin–switched the knife to her other hand and nearly stabbed the Jedi.

With the violent madwoman clearly attempting murder, and having narrowly missed a killing blow, Indara finally had no choice but to strike back–

SCRIPT: "Nope!"

Um… why not?

SCRIPT: "Just nope! Roll that back!"

As the assassin slashed and stabbed again and again, Indara continued to dodge, block, and sidestep, doing nothing that could possibly put an end to the fight. Maybe the crazy lady would eventually get tired? Or slip on a puddle of beer?

At last, during a brief pause, Indara asked, "Who trained you?"

The assassin smirked. "Shouldn't you wait to interrogate me until after you've won?"

SCRIPT: "Don't you dare! Mae sure isn't gonna question me! She's my favorite! Roll that back!"

"Who trained you?"

The woman turned, springing up toward the second level, where there were many more civilians. Seeing this had gone way too far, Indara snatched her enemy with the Force to prevent–

SCRIPT: "Nope! She just watches the parkour! Roll that back!"

The woman turned, springing up toward the second level, where there were many more civilians. One was immediately seized and held hostage with a knife to the throat.

At last, Indara's instincts and training as a Jedi Master kicked in, and she knew this must stop. With a mighty Force pull, she yanked the knife from the maniac's hand–

SCRIPT: "Nope! We're just gett'n started! Roll that back!"

Despite the knife held to the throat of a civilian, Indara ran up the stairs and toward the attacker, giving ample opportunity for the hostage to be executed. Thankfully, the assassin instead took far more time and effort to throw her victim over the railing, giving Indara an opportunity for a last minute rescue with the Force. Throwing someone from such a height might be villainous enough to justify a serious smackdown from the town's guardian… but if Indara didn't bother helping the men that shared her table, why would one more attack on a civilian matter?

SCRIPT: "You're learning! She's too stoic and cool to get bothered about that silly stuff! Get back to the Matrix fighting! We need that trailer footage!"

While Indara caught the falling civilian, the assassin vanished from sight. Reaching out through the Force, Indara quickly located–

SCRIPT: "Nope! She just goes looking for her!"

Indara cautiously headed down the hallway. Upon reaching a corner, she pitched backward to avoid a surprise attack. Despite all her skill and precognition, Master Indara took a direct kick to the chest and crashed into a wall. Clearly, she'd underestimated the danger this violent attacker posed. It was time to end this–

SCRIPT: "Stop trying that! We can't let the Jedi Master try to win! Cuz she'd win! And then there would be no show!"

Three minutes in and I'm already wondering if that would be such a bad thing…

Still refusing to draw her own weapon, Indara continued to block and dodge against a knife-wielding multiple assault perpetrator who clearly wanted blood. At last, she managed to pin the assassin and remove her mask… and recognized former Padawan Osha. "You…" She reached out as if to touch Osha's face, but the young woman recoiled. "What are you doing here?"

"You're joking right? You can't guess?"

SCRIPT: "Nope! Too soon for snark! Just state the obvious, it'll sound awesome!"

"I'm here to kill you!"

The bartender facepalmed, but he wasn't on camera at the time.

With that, Osha blasted Master Indara down the hall and into a wall with the Force.

That settled it. A Force user with enough strength to breach Indara's Force shield, even briefly, was far too dangerous. Indara sprinted back down the hall, readying her lightsaber for a maiming strike–

SCRIPT: "Nope! She just stands there!"

Sigh…

Mae might have breached Indara's Force shield, but only briefly. Indara was confident she could prevent any further attempts to attack her directly through the Force.

The assassin hurled multiple knives down the hall, and for the first time, Indara drew her weapon. Her green blade burned through the knives, which fell at her feet in molten bits. This had gone on far too long. Indara dashed toward–

SCRIPT: "Nope, she still just stands there!"

You're killing me…

SCRIPT: "Nope! I'm killing Trinity! Shock value is always genius!"

The Jedi Master addressed the attempted murderer who severely injured so many that Indara swore to protect... with mercy, and a warning. Like a mom counting to 3 when the kid already deserves punishment. "You do not want to go down this road. This is a fight you will not win."

"A Jedi doesn't pull her weapon unless prepared to kill."

Indara blinked. "What the…? You trained with us for years. How could you say something so idiotic? There are so many things wrong with—"

SCRIPT: "Nope! It's true for just this one scene! It proves Mae is cunning and clever and manipulative!"

"A Jedi doesn't pull her weapon unless prepared to kill."

Nodding, Indara killed her.

SCRIPT: "Whoa! Hold up! That's not the message at all! Indara was wrong to pull her weapon in the first place!"

"A Jedi doesn't pull her weapon unless prepared to kill."

Nodding, Indara put away her lightsaber.

SCRIPT: "Well, okay not that either. She just sort of lowers her weapon and drops her guard."

I'm gonna start screaming soon.

SCRIPT: "No one's gonna hear or care."

Indara lowered her lightsaber, unwilling to use the weapon of a Jedi Knight against a violent maniac who mangled civilians and wanted to kill Jedi.

Totally logical, totally in character, makes so much sense it's practically a fundamental law of the universe. Jedi never ever ever use their lightsaber without being ready to kill. Obviously. No one has ever seen a lightsaber and lived. They're freaking bonkers with those lightsaber murders, them zany Jedi.

SCRIPT: "Your sass can't change my mind. And I couldn't care less about your opinion or feelings. Just do what I say!"

Mae's eyes strayed toward the bartender, who stared back in horror. Indara sensed it too. There could be no doubt. This psycho was about to murder the bartender. Indara struck out with the Force, hurling Mae into–

SCRIPT: "Nope! She stands there and waits until Mae actually throws the knife!"

What… What is wrong with you?

SCRIPT: "ROLL IT BACK!"

Horrified, Indara saw the attack in her mind's eye, and stood transfixed in disbelief… for an embarrassingly long time. Long enough for vision to become reality. The knife left Mae's hand, and Indara struck with all her power, knocking the knife off course while smashing Mae into the–

SCRIPT: "NOPE! She can only do one thing at a time! She used her combat turn to stop that knife, so she has to wait a full round before taking another action!"

So… Jedi Masters don't get, I dunno, a bonus action? Or action surge? She just–

SCRIPT: "Who do you think you are? DO WHAT I SAY!"

Indara reached out through the Force, stopping the knife mere centimeters from the bartender's face.

And in that moment, she felt a deep, sharp pain.

Indara looked down, and saw a knife buried to the hilt in her chest. Not quite in her heart (we'll get to that), but still lethal.

So... The Jedi Master can't do two things at once, but your precious assassin can?

SCRIPT: "Shut up!"

The former Padawan had mortally wounded a Jedi Master, and would surely kill again if allowed to escape…

Knowing she couldn't survive, Indara seized her enemy with the Force, pulled her into range, and bisected her with a vertical chop from–

SCRIPT: "Nope!"

Knowing she couldn't survive, Indara seized her enemy with the Force, pulled her into range, and disabled her with precise slashes to–

SCRIPT: "Nope!"

Knowing she couldn't survive, Indara hurled her lightsaber—

SCRIPT: "Nope nope NOPE! She just drops to her knees all serene-like. It's very poetic. A beautiful tragedy."

Oh, it's a tragedy, but not the sort you think…

Indara dropped her lightsaber, which powered down, and fell to her knees. Mae slowly approached, while Indara looked on in helpless disbelief. More than ten seconds passed, and Indara was still conscious, so the knife must have missed her heart. Surely, she still had time to disable this deadly–

SCRIPT: "NOPE!"

Indara looked into the eyes of her killer, who clearly intended to kill again, and was within easy reach…

But if Indara was gonna die, why should she care about anything or anyone else? What was she, a freak'n Jedi? Nah, better to just give up.

So she slowly lied down, and died a passive, silent, meaningless death, having done virtually nothing against a vastly inferior opponent.

The Jedi killer was free to kill again. Who would have thought a Jedi Master could go down so easily?

---

Author's Note:

If you enjoyed "The Acolyte," that's your right. It's okay to enjoy your entertainment. But you will face a brutal uphill battle if you try to argue that this stuff is logical, consistent, and in harmony with what had come before.

Seriously people, the fight looked cool (sometimes) but it demonstrated a horrible lack of understanding of the Jedi philosophy. The so-called Jedi Master in the scene might have been a strong force user and skilled fighter, but that's the only thing she had in common with real Jedi. She watched civilians get hurt badly for a despicably long time before taking action, prolonged a fight that should have ended quickly, allowed more people to get endangered, and when mortally wounded, she just lay down and died, allowing the killer to escape and keep right on killing.

This is what happens when very shallow fans who only care about superficial appearances get paid to write a Star Wars fight scene. You get a Jedi Master who is arrogant, cold, plays with her opponent even after taking a couple hits, pulls her punches to an unconscionable degree, and ultimately dies for nothing. It's weird how many articles talk about the "care" and "thought" that went into this fight, and how it "tells us everything we need to know about these characters." Well, if that's true, then it tells us that the Jedi Master in this scene is a terrible example.

A Jedi should stand between the danger and the innocent, putting a stop to violence promptly and decisively, acting as a defender of civilization and a shield against chaos. She should not be a showoff who only cares about looking cool, who saves only two of the many threatened civilians, and then dies to an inferior opponent using a painfully obvious distraction tactic.

This fight did tell us a lot.

And I hate it.