Getting Accustomed
[Play Star Wars Battlefront 2 OST Main Menu Music 0:00 - 1:06]
The Venator class Star Destroyer known as 'The Negotiator' had departed from its docking station on Coruscant, and left the atmosphere of the Core world, alongside multiple other Venators and Acclamator class assault ships. Once they moved past the blockade that was protecting the planet, the fleet made the jump to hyperspace.
Inside the flagship of this fleet was Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Clone Commander Cody, and Padawan Learner Orion Dusk. They were in the main hangar bay of the Venator, primarily checking that they had everything they needed. By the time that the ship had made the jump, the three were finished and found nothing they needed was missing. "Everything is accounted for, General." Cody stated.
"Excellent." Obi-Wan was pleased. "You're dismissed, Commander."
"Yes, Sir." Cody saluted before leaving to do whatever else he might be needed for.
Kenobi turned to his Padawan. "I'll be heading to the bridge, Orion. Meet me there after you've finished exploring."
"Exploring?" Dusk did not understand what his master meant.
"Yes. Exploring." Obi-Wan repeated. "You haven't exactly had the opportunity to get acquainted with your current surroundings. The only places that you've been to on this cruiser are here and maybe your quarters."
"Oh." Orion realized now what his master wanted him to do. "Well, that is correct. I haven't familiarized myself with the whole ship yet."
"Now would probably be as good a time as any." Kenobi suggested. "When you reach the bridge, we'll continue your training."
"Of course, Master." Dusk respectfully bowed to his Master as he watched him leave. Now alone, Orion wondered where he should go. It would be a good idea to get acquainted with the ship's crew quarters, as that will essentially be his home, whenever he's not on Coruscant. Another place to get familiar with would be any training areas, as those places would be a bit better suited for him to practice saber techniques and potentially blaster deflection, rather than swinging his lightsaber in the middle of the hangar bay. The medical bay would also be a good place to find, on the off chance that he or someone else has an injury that needs looking at. A few other places that would be interesting, but not really a priority for him, would be the turret bay, the mess hall, and the vacc tubes. And of course, after that, he would need to find the command bridge to report back to his Master.
He honestly had no idea where to start, much less where to go to find any of these things. He didn't exactly get a chance to look at the layout of the Republic warships back at the Jedi Temple, so he was going into this blind. But then it came to him. It didn't matter if he was going in blind. He's a Jedi, and as such, he should trust his instincts to help him find these places. So he closed his eyes, focused his thoughts, and extended his hand out. He turned his body, feeling a slight pull in that direction, before pointing in said direction and opening his eyes. He saw himself pointing towards a blast door, and decided to walk towards it. His instincts are telling him to go that way, so he'll trust them.
[Play Star Wars Attack Of the Clones OST "She Hardly Recognized Me " 0:00 - 0:48]
The boy went to the doors and they opened for him. He traversed down the corridors of the Cruizer and took in his surroundings. While the halls were pretty barebones looking, he noticed that wherever he turned, there was always at least one clone walking down or across that hall. There were plenty of soldiers and crew members stationed onboard. It'd be pretty hard to feel lonely here. He made another turn and soon noticed one of the things he was looking for.
A training room was to his left, and in it were a few clones doing some target practice with some floating platforms that were acting as the targets. They seemed to have come from the wall of the room. Curious about how this worked, he decided to enter the training room. A few clones noticed him immediately and stood in attention. "Commander on deck!" One of them spoke up, making the other clones stop what they were doing and also stand in attention.
Knowing that it was because he was here, Orion expected this. "At ease, soldiers." He told them. The clones then relaxed a little, as Dusk explained why he was here. "I'm just getting acquainted with the ship's interior. And I was wondering how this training room worked."
A clone near a control panel at the other end of the room spoke up to answer his questions about the training room. "This room was built so that the walls could come apart and move about, via repulsion tech. They can either have targets on their sides, or can hold training droids that will also act as targets for us. The platforms can move too, which can make it a bit more challenging."
"Huh. An interesting training module." Dusk admitted. "Is it only used for target practice, or can other things be done here too?"
"A few things." The clone answered. "Weapon Clearing, Breach and Close Quarters training, Limited Terrain training. You interested in trying one of these, sir?"
"I feel enthralled to, but probably after I familiarize myself with the ship." The Padawan said. "Thanks for the info...um..."
"Wymer." The clone introduced himself.
"Right. Thank you, Wymer." Orion said to the clone before taking his leave.
[Play Star Wars Revenge of the Sith OST Going to Utapau 0:32 - 1:34]
Dusk continued walking through the halls of the Venator, letting his instincts guide him to wherever they wished him to go. A few clones passing by would stop what they were doing and salute him, some occasionally referring to him as Commander, to which he would politely gesture them to be at ease. After turning at a few more corridors and halls, he found another area that he wanted to know about. The crew quarters.
He knew that he was in that area, because there were more than a few clones that were not wearing their armor, and were instead wearing gray pants and shoes, and a gray shirt with the republic logo on it. The clones themselves looked a little more relaxed here too, at least until they saw him and would straighten up, to the boy's slight embarrassment. He would tell them to be at ease and that he was just getting acquainted with his surroundings.
As he looked around the crew quarters, he soon found his room near the other end. Seeing no harm in a small detour, he entered his room and looked around. It was nothing special. The room was a plain gray color, like the halls. A flat elevated platform on the wall, with a sheet on it was his bed. There was a small chair that was next to another elevated platform that acted as a table for him, which had a holo puck he owned and a small box that he would use to store his lightsaber, should he rarely ever not need it on him. A closet was in the corner and it had a few spare robes, on the off chance that the robes he was currently wearing got too damaged for him to keep using.
The room was plain and simple. Just the way he liked it. Nothing of personal value, and nothing to distract him from his studies and training. And it adhered to the Jedi code of no possessions. The ideal room of a Jedi in his eyes.
After taking a look at his room, he decided to leave. As he began to leave the crew quarters, he spotted the area where vacc tubes were in here, and across from them were the showers. Convenient. That's one more thing he doesn't need to look for now, so now he can focus on finding the other things that he was curious about.
[Silence]
As he walked down more halls and turned around more corners, he soon noticed a few groups of clones entering and exiting an area up ahead of him. Curious about this particular place, Orion decided to follow the clones entering the area, and he soon got his answer as to what this place was, when he saw the seats and tables neatly scattered about, with many clones sitting at them, enjoying the food they procured from the stalls on the far end of the room. He found the Mess Hall.
[Play KOTOR OST Javyar's Cantina 0:00 - 1:30]
As if on cue, his stomach lightly growled, which could not have been any more well timed. He followed some clones to the stalls on the far end of the room, grabbed a tray, and looked at what was there. The first thing he saw were ration bars. It wasn't something that he was expecting to see, to be honest. It made sense that the ship would carry them, but he would expect rations bars to be used as...well...rations. Not only that, but they didn't exactly taste good, not to say that they tasted bad, but they really didn't have a taste. Seeing that the ration bars were practically untouched at the stall, he could guess that the rest of the crew also at least agree about the taste.
He looked at the next dish, and saw that it was a bowl of rather plain looking soup. It didn't really look appetizing, but then again, the look could be deceiving. He decided to take a bowl and see what else there was. Something else he saw was a cornbread blanket that wrapped around some diced fruits and noodles, making a burrito. Dusk wasn't exactly into foods with various ingredients, so he passed on that. He did take some bread rolls when he noticed them however. He skipped on the salad for now, and decided to take a few strips of meat, and a small plate of tiny fruits. At this point, he felt like he had enough food on his tray, and left the stall to go eat.
He looked for a seat that he thought would be best for him to sit at, and soon saw an unoccupied table and thought it best to sit there. Considering that most of the clones here slightly tensed up seeing their Jedi Commander here, the boy didn't want to have any awkward moments with the troops. As he sat down and began to eat his food, he already knew that he was going to have to get used to this type of lifestyle.
He took his time eating. There wasn't much of a rush for him right now, seeing as his assignment was just to get acquainted with the ship. A slightly prolonged stay at the Mess Hall wouldn't be a waste of time, he thought. And then he heard a clone behind him speak. "You mind if I sit here, Commander?"
[Play The Bad Batch OST First Time in Space 0:00 - 1:22]
"Hm?" Orion turned behind him and saw a clone trooper with a tray of food, waiting for an answer from him. "I don't mind."
"Thanks." The clone sat next to the boy and began to eat his food, while the Padawan quietly ate his own meal. The boy didn't exactly know how to start a conversation with a clone trooper, so he just kept quiet, at least until the clone spoke up again. "That hit the spot. Nothing beats a good meal before another mission."
"Well...maybe the meal you get after a mission." Orion commented.
"You got a point there, Commander." The clone agreed. "Though it probably tastes better when you're not eating alone."
"Is that why you sat here?" Dusk questioned. "You saw that I was alone?"
"Well, that and I wanted to make a good first impression." The clone explained.
"As far as first impressions go, this one isn't too bad." Orion said. "Though, I could do with knowing your name."
"Nova." The clone introduced himself.
"Well then, nice to meet you, Nova." Dusk said with a pleasant smile on his face.
"Likewise, sir." Nova replied.
The two of them continued eating together, until three more clones came to the table. "Are these seats available?" One of them asked.
As Orion was about to answer, he felt something familiar about these clones. "You can sit. Um...excuse me, but have we met before? I feel like I know you."
The clone seemed a bit surprised. "I'm surprised you knew that. We're some of the troops you rescued back on Teth."
"Oh. That's why you felt a little familiar." Dusk realized. "It's nice to see you again, um...I might need you guys to tell me your names again."
"Longshot." The first clone said.
"Gearshift." The second clone spoke up.
"Trapper." The Third clone stated his name.
"Thanks. Take a seat, guys. There's plenty of room here." Orion welcomed the extra company.
The clones sat with him and ate their food together. The troopers would also chat amongst themselves, and occasionally, Dusk would join in on the conversation. He learned a few things about these particular clones that helped him distinguish them from each other. While Nova and Longshot regularly went to the training area to do weapons training, Longshot preferred the blasters, while Nova liked practicing with grenades and droid poppers. Trapper seemed to enjoy more quiet activities, like reading reg manuals, while Gearshift was a guy who seemed to be more into tinkering with and cleaning his blaster. It was refreshing for the young Jedi to not only be around the troops, but to also learn about them, in a friendly, noninvasive way.
But it had to come to an end, as Dusk finished his food, and felt that his stay in the Mess Hall was prolonged enough. "Well, that was certainly a pleasant meal. And an even more pleasant conversation, but I should get going now. I still need to acquaint myself with the rest of the ship." As the clones bid him farewell, the Padawan left the Mess Hall, feeling refreshed and ready to continue exploring the vessel.
[Silence]
Orion once again walked down more halls and turned at more corners, until he reached an elevator. As it was currently not being used, he decided to take it, electing to go to the lower levels.
[Play Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga OST Coruscant Jedi Council/Jedi Archives/Coco Town 0:00 - 3:38]
Once he exited the elevator, he was surprised to arrive in the Detention Area. None of the cells were occupied at the moment, but it was still probably a good idea to at least look around and get a feel of the place. He was greeted by some clones who were stationed in the area, and after explaining why he was here, the troopers allowed him to walk around and familiarize himself with the area, seeing no harm in that.
Oddly enough, the Detention Area had more color to it, compared to the gray and black halls and crew quarters of the Venator. The irony did not escape the people stationed there, who also noted how for a section of the ship that was essentially a prison, it looked more vibrant than most other sections of the ship. Maybe that was the point? Maybe it gave the prisoners less incentive to leave? Dusk made a mental note of that, and thought to make that a quip he could use for later. As fun as it was to explore the Detention area, Orion had his fill of it, and took the elevator to another level of the ship, this time going up instead of down.
Once the elevator reached a stop, the Padawan exited the tube and walked down more halls, until he saw another room that looked interesting to him. Upon inspection, the room was a chamber that had a few seats with targeting computers and triggers attached to them, positioned near windows that were currently closed off by metal sheets, covering the transparisteel to avoid having anyone accidentally stare into hyperspace and risk getting Hyper-rapture. Even with the boy's view of the outside blocked, he could still guess that he was in one of the many manual turret bays.
If the ship wasn't in the middle of traveling through Hyperspace, he would have requested to try out one of the turrets, so he could get used to the controls of them, on the off chance that he needed to operate one for some reason. But, seeing as this was not the best time to shoot a turret at targets, he elected to continue walking, making a mental note to remember what level he found this turret bay on.
After even more walking down halls and turning corners, Dusk soon came upon the final place that he was actually trying to find. He finally reached the medical wing of the Venator, and noticed a few clones in there getting patched up, or resting, either on a bed, or in a bacta tank. It felt a bit rough, seeing the injured clones, but Orion knew that he was going to have to get used to this, and also the inevitable deaths of the troopers under his and his Master's command. It's going to be a bitter pill to swallow, but the boy knows that. For now though, he can at least appreciate the lives here that were being saved and well treated.
He then heard his comm link go off, and his master's voice came through. "Padawan, have you finished your tour of the ship?"
Dusk tapped on his comm link and spoke into it. "Yes, Master. I believe I've familiarized myself with enough of the ship."
"Good. You know where to find me then." Obi-Wan reminded him.
"Yes, Master. I'll report to the bridge now." Orion said, before ending the transmission.
He went back the way he came and entered the elevator, taking it as high as he could, until he was back at the middle levels of the ship. From there he walked down the halls of the Venator until he found the twin central elevators that could take him to the bridge of the ship. He noticed both of them were about to depart, but he managed to catch the attention of one of the clone naval officers. "Hold the elevator!" The Padawan called out, which the naval officer did, allowing the boy to enter the elevator as well. "Thank you."
"What's your floor, sir?" The naval officer asked.
"Command Bridge." Dusk stated. The naval officer pressed the button to close the doors and then the button that would take them up to the command bridge. As the elevator made its way up, there was a bit of an awkward silence between the two, until the boy broke the ice. "Big ship, huh?"
"Uh...yeah. Pretty big ship. Easy to get lost in." The naval officer agreed.
"Yeah. Took me a while to figure out where everything was." The Padawan commented, before he could hear and feel the ship coming out of hyperspace. "We're at the Eridau System already? Wow, I must have taken longer than I thought to explore this ship."
"Well, at least you kept yourself occupied during the trip." The naval officer pointed out.
"I suppose that's true." Orion agreed with that. The elevator then stopped and opened its doors, allowing the two of them to leave and enter the command bridge, which was the brightest, and currently most lively section of this entire ship. Everywhere he looked, there was either a clone naval officer doing something on a terminal, an officer looking over schematics and maps on screens, an officer looking out of the windows into space, or the planet that could be seen in front of them, or an officer at the holotable, looking over strategies. Even the Admiral was busy, looking at Star Maps on a handheld hologram he was holding. Everybody here was busy, except for one person, who saw the Padawan enter. "Master." The boy said to him.
"Ah, there you are." Obi-Wan spoke up. "I was beginning to think that you got lost on the way here."
"Considering that this is only my second time on this ship, that scenario was not impossible." Dusk replied.
"It's fortunate that it wasn't the case. Otherwise you would have missed this view." Kenobi said, before looking at the planet Eridau, with his new Padawan also taking in the view. "Pleasant, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It is." Orion said, seeing the beautiful blue planet in front of them. "Makes me more determined to protect it."
"Indeed." Obi-Wan agreed with that sentiment. "Well, as our ships get into position, I believe it is time that we attend our meeting."
"Meeting, Master?" Dusk was not informed of a meeting.
"The Jedi council and Chancellor of the senate had scheduled a meeting during our jump. I was told to attend as soon as we reached Eridau, and seeing as we are now in the system..." Kenobi went to the holotable, with his apprentice following close behind him. He then contacted Coruscant, and Master Mace Windu, Grandmaster Yoda, and Chancellor Palpatine appeared on the table. "I've arrived at my assigned coordinates."
[Play Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga OST Capital Ship Steadfast/Executor/Trade Federation Battleship 0:00 - 2:07]
"Good. Now that you have joined us, we can get this meeting underway." Mace stated. "We need to discuss the matter of the new mystery weapon that the Separatist have deployed."
"Agreed. The last time it struck, we had lost contact with General Ares Nune, after he began to sweep the Phu System. But once a transport was sent to investigate, they saw nothing but debris and corpses of Republic soldiers in space." Kenobi stated. "The problem is that like the other attacks, it's not in a set pattern. It's too random to predict."
"Intentional, that is." Yoda explained. "To keep us from preparing for its attack, yes."
"One can only hope that there will soon be a pattern to follow, Master Jedi." The Chancellor said. "The losses that we have had because of this new threat are quite alarming."
"This mystery weapon has struck in a dozen systems and disappeared without a trace." Windu stated.
"We cannot afford to lose any more ships, my friends." As The Chancellor spoke up, Anakin and Ahsoka appeared on the holotable as well, just now joining the meeting. "Ah, Master Skywalker. Have you had any success in finding General Grievous' secret weapon?"
Anakin pressed a button from where he was at, and then a hologram of a red planet appeared, along with three Venators approaching it. "Master Plo was here in the Abregado system when we lost contact."
"When was the last time you had contact with Master Plo?" Obi-Wan questioned.
"Not even ten minutes ago." Skywalker answered. "However our transmission was cut off midway through and we have had no further contact with General Plo Koon. The absence of distress beacons indicate that his fleet was..." He paused, seeming hesitant to say what everyone feared he would say. His Padawan looked at him with a worryful expression as well, but the Jedi Knight chose to finish what he needed to say. "...that his fleet was destroyed, like the others. We are about to prepare a rescue mission."
"Hasn't clone intelligence reported that this weapon never leaves any survivors?" The Chancellor brought up a valid point.
"The Separatists are being unusually tidy." Kenobi pointed out. "They don't want any witnesses."
"Tragic, are these losses, but prevent more, we must." Yoda said.
"All our battle groups will be reassigned to guard our supply convoys, including yours, Skywalker." Windu instructed. "I'm afraid we can't risk any more ships with a rescue mission."
Orion noticed Ahsoka looking very conflicted, but then the young Togruta spoke up. "Wait! Just because there haven't been any survivors before, doesn't mean there won't be any this time." That outburst surprised everyone there.
"Boldly spoken, for one so young." Palpatine commented.
"She is learning from Anakin." Kenobi pointed out.
"Excuse my Padawan." a slightly annoyed Skywalker said to the group. "We will deploy, as you have instructed, Master."
Dusk wanted to say something to his fellow Padawan, as he did agree with her, and was not happy to hear that there wouldn't even be an attempt to look for potential survivors, even though the chances of there being survivors were so low. However, the boy kept his mouth shut and gave a solemn look to Tano, before she and her master left the meeting. "Considering that Eridau is part of one of the paths that our convoys take, I assume that my fleet will remain here and keep this sector protected?" Obi-Wan spoke up.
"That is correct, Master Kenobi." Mace confirmed.
Yoda then noticed Orion's conflicted look on his face. "Something on your mind, is there, Padawan?"
Dusk was surprised to be called out like that, but immediately spoke up. "N-No, Master. Nothing that...hasn't already been said."
"Very well then. Meeting adjourned." Windu said before the transmission ended.
[Silence]
As a map of the sector that Obi-Wan's forces were in appeared on the holotable, the Jedi Master spoke to his pupil. "You're conflicted about master Windu's orders to not send rescue ships to Master Plo's location."
[Play Star Wars The Phantom Menace OST Are You A Jedi? 0:00 - 1:56]
"I..." Orion didn't want to go against the council's judgment, but it didn't sit right with him to not at least confirm if there were or weren't any survivors.
"It's okay to not always agree with the council's word, Padawan." Kenobi said, as he could read his Padawan's feelings. "So long as you understand why the decision is made, and understand the logic to it. The previous reports confirm that no one survives an encounter with this mystery weapon. Sending in rescue ships could potentially endanger them as well, and lead to even more deaths."
"But that's not going to stop this new weapon from going to another Republic controlled area, finding another unsuspecting fleet, and wiping it out." Dusk pointed out. "Even if the chance for there to be at least a single survivor is .01%, shouldn't we still take it, if at least to confirm the casualties, rather than leave it up to a highly likely speculation?"
"If we had the ability to, we would. Trust me." Obi-Wan said to Orion. "However, we currently don't at the moment, and if we try to, we will most likely end up just like the other victims of this weapon. For now, there are only two things we can do. The first is to prepare ourselves here, so that if this weapon comes for us next, we'll be ready to put up a fight. And the second thing will be to remain focused and alert. We cannot properly battle the enemy if we're not able to focus."
"Yes...Of course, Master." Dusk understood the logic behind that and was willing to comply.
"Good, then we'll head to one of the training rooms while Admiral Block sets up things here." Kenobi suggested.
"A smart decision, General." Block agreed with the Jedi Master. "I will begin fortifications immediately."
"Good." Obi-Wan replied before turning to his Padawan. "Come Orion. It's time to train you some more."
"Yes, Master." The boy said, following his mentor to the elevator. The two Jedi left the command bridge together, leaving Admiral Block to take command of the fleet and begin positioning them in locations that he believed to be ideal for a defensive line.
Once the elevator reached the middle levels of the ship, the door to it opened and the two Jedi exited from the elevator. Kenobi instructed Dusk to take them to the training room, as a sort of test of memory, to see if the Padawan could remember where it was. Orion was fine with this, and took the lead. It took a bit longer than expected, but the pair were able to reach the training room, which was currently being used by a few clone troopers, at least until one of them noticed the pair. "Attention! General on deck!" The clone spoke up, alerting the other troopers to the Jedi's presence and prompting them to stop what they were doing and stand in attention.
"At ease, troopers." Obi-Wan told them. "I simply came here to train Commander Dusk."
"Understood, sir. The training ground is yours." One of the clones said.
"I appreciate that." Kenobi replied to him, before speaking to his apprentice. "Alright then. Hop over the gate and prepare yourself."
"Yes, Master." Orion said, before going over the gate, and walking into the center of the training area. He remained in that spot and watched as his master went to the controls of the training room and pressed a few buttons, altering the terrain to have a few platforms hovering about. He then saw Obi-Wan open up a compartment nearby with the force, and out of the compartment, came three training remotes, which actually surprised the boy. He didn't expect to see these things stored on a republic warship.
[Play Tales of The Jedi OST Let's Go Again 0:00 - 2:18]
"Seeing as I already know how much you need to learn with the form, I think it's time I start teaching you how to actually use Soresu." Kenobi spoke to him, as the training remotes hovered around the boy, who had activated his lightsaber and took a defensive stance. "I see you're eager to start. Then let's see what you can do."
The training remotes circled and hovered around the Padawan, who was paying attention to his surroundings. When one training remote took a shot, the boy saw it coming and blocked it with ease. Another remote took a shot at him, but he was able to swing his saber at the bolt and deflect it away. The third remote as well as the second one both shot at him, but Dusk managed to sidestep one bolt while deflecting away the other. The first remote shot at him next, followed immediately by the third remote, Orion blocked the first bolt, but nearly got hit by the second shot. All three then fired at him one after the other, and while Dusk managed to block the first two bolts, the third one struck him in the stomach and stung him enough to make him flinch and drop his guard. The remotes stopped their attack and hovered around, waiting for him to get his guard back up.
"It seems that you already know the basics of it. Your reaction time needs work, though." Obi-Wan critiqued.
"Understood." Dusk replied, before putting up his guard again. The remotes hovered around him, and soon one of them took a shot that he quickly deflected. The second remote shot at him twice, while the third remote moved behind him. The boy deflected the first bolt, then dodged the second one. When the third remote shot at him, he turned around and blocked the bolt in time. The second remote shot at him again, making him turn around to block that bolt. While the first remote moved to his left and took a shot, the boy barely dodged, only to get stung in the back by a bolt shot by the third remote, then stung in the stomach again by the second remote, making him drop his guard once more. "Ngh!...Ssss...ouch."
"You don't have to face the blaster bolt in order to defend yourself from it." Kenobi stated. "Don't make any unnecessary movements, or else you'll tire yourself out, or worse, leave yourself open."
"Yes, Master." The Padawan replied, before putting his guard back up.
The training continued like this for several minutes, and with each time, there were noticeable improvements with each session. Of course, there was always a mistake that Obi-Wan would point out, but Orion understood that his master was stating these mistakes to help guide him on how to improve. It was surprisingly easy to learn Soresu's techniques and stances, but the problem of mastering it came to changing how he would approach a battle. He was so used to using Shii-cho's broad swings and attacks, that when he was advised to be more precise and use less energy, while only defending himself, it was clear that he needed to break a few habits if he wanted to be proficient in Soresu, let alone master it.
Dusk eventually ended up being able to handle deflecting the bolts from the three training remotes with minimal effort, even when they began to continuously fire at him to increase the intensity of the training, so Kenobi brought in two more, while the other three were keeping his apprentice occupied. When the extra remotes started shooting at the boy as well, it surprised Orion, but he was able to adapt quick enough to not get immediately overwhelmed, though five continuously moving targets that were constantly shooting at him from multiple angles did prove to be a bit of a struggle for him.
At this point, Obi-Wan spoke up once more, during the training. "You know, another key part of Soresu is that those who use it should also exploit any openings to either end the fight, or lessen the required effort to defend themselves."
While Orion heard that, he had difficulty executing it. The remotes were not in range of his saber for him to swing at them, and while he is decent enough at blaster deflection, the training remotes were still very mobile, and very small, making them difficult targets. Nevertheless, he did not wish to disappoint his master, and so he began to plan his next move, while simultaneously defending himself from the continuous fire that came from the remotes.
As Kenobi observed his apprentice, he could tell that the boy was planning something. Curious to see what Dusk would come up with, he watched the boy closely, choosing to not add any more layers of difficulty to this training exercise. After about twenty seconds, the Padawan looked ready to do something, so the Jedi Master simply observed.
Orion tapped into the force and in a flash, he had closed the distance to one of the remotes, which tried to fire at him point blank, only for the boy to move out of the way and let the blaster bolt strike another remote, taking it out. Dusk then grabbed the first remote with his right hand, while deflecting a few blaster bolts away from him with his lightsaber held in his left hand, before crushing and throwing the remote in his hand to one of the last three remaining remotes. It avoided the damaged remote, but was then struck by a deflected blaster bolt, before the remaining two remotes were gripped by the force and slammed into each other, damaging them enough to turn them offline.
[Silence]
The Padawan looked around him and saw that no more remotes were approaching him. He let out a calm sigh and then deactivated his saber. Orion then saw Obi-Wan approach him, and he turned towards his master, prepared for any critique that the Jedi Master had.
[Play Star Wars Revenge of The Sith OST Searching for Grievous 0:00 - 1:18]
"Not bad for your first attempt. You're a quick learner, and a good listener." Kenobi stated. "However, your ability to adapt needs work. Unless I tell you your mistakes, or recommend an action to you, you don't seem to understand what you need to do or improve on, even if you know you need to improve or do something."
Dusk looked down, reflecting on what he was told. It was true, he did need to learn how to adapt on his own. But, he had no idea how to do that. There were times he was able to think on the fly, the Black Heth and Jin'ha incidents, as well as his skirmish on Teth being three of those times, but he was also given a general goal to achieve, or someone helped him out of a situation with their own idea, that he simply just helped execute. He never really got anywhere on his own, which may not seem like a negative, but if he were to be stuck alone and with nobody to give him direction on what to do, he would be lost, and that would be very bad in a wartime situation. "Understood, Master."
"Good. Then reflect on that for now and see how you can improve that part of your mind." Obi-Wan instructed before his wrist comm went off. "This is General Kenobi speaking."
"General, this is Admiral Block. Our forces are in position and ready to defend this sector." The Admiral said through the comm line.
"Ah, yes. Thank you, Admiral. The Commander and I will be back with you shortly." Obi-Wan replied before turning back to Orion. "Come then, Padawan. It's time for us to return to the Bridge to report our status and check in with the other battle groups."
"Yes, Master." The boy responded, following his master out of the training room, while some clones decided to enter after they left to continue to sharpen their skills with a blaster.
[Play Star Wars The Clone Wars (2008) OST The Republic Fleet 0:00 - 0:34]
As the two Jedi reached the Bridge together, Commander Cody was there as well, who spoke to the two Jedi. "Our ships are in defensive formation, sir."
"Alright, Commander. I'll check on Anakin's progress." Kenobi said, before the two Jedi approached a nearby monitor and turned it on. The screen showed Wullf Yularen and Captain Rex. "Admiral, how goes escort?"
"Oh. Convoys are proceeding on schedule, General." Wullf replied. "No sign of enemy activity."
"And where's Skywalker?" The Jedi Master questioned.
"Uh, the General felt a redeployment of this fleet would increase our defensive perimeter." Yularen explained.
"I see." Obi-Wan calmly replied, with his Padawan looking confused. "Thank you, Admiral. That'll be all."
Cody then noticed his General pondering something, which prompted him to speak up. "Problem, sir?"
"Anakin has just 'redeployed' himself...again." Kenobi stated.
[Play Star Wars The Clone Wars (2008) OST Anakin Redeployed 0:00 - 0:42]
"Ah. I see." Cody understood.
Dusk however didn't, and spoke up next. "Um...is this a common occurrence?"
"Too common, I'm afraid." Obi-Wan confirmed. "And if I know Anakin, I have a feeling that I know where he is."
"Probably where he was told not to go." Commander Cody spoke up again.
As Orion heard that, he once again was confused. "Wait, how does he get away with that?"
"Usually, by the time we figure it out, he's already in too deep for him to pull out." Kenobi said, as he went to the holotable. "At least you'll get your answer now, Padawan." Before Dusk to question what he meant by that, Anakin and Ahsoka appeared on the holotable, sitting down, meaning they were currently piloting a small ship right now. "Anakin, where are you?"
"Oh, hello, Master." Skywalker replied. "Uh, we made a quick stop in the Abregado system."
"A rescue mission, I suppose." Obi-Wan correctly guessed, while Orion realized what his master meant by getting his answer. "You had other orders."
"It was my idea, Master Obi-Wan." Tano jumped in to defend her master's case.
"Oh I'm sure." Kenobi said to her, believing that she would do this, but not convinced that Anakin didn't come up with the idea. "Well, have you found any survivors?"
"No, you were right." Anakin said. "The Separatists don't want any witnesses."
"All the more reason for you to rejoin the defensive escorts." Obi-Wan pointed out. "We need you, Anakin. You're going to miss the rendezvous with the fleet if you don't hurry."
"I know, Master. We're on our way." Skywalker seemed to be willing to comply with those orders, as the transmission ended.
[Silence]
Kenobi then spoke to Dusk, while pressing a few buttons on the holotable. "Here's hoping that he actually follows those orders. Nevertheless, I'll need to report this to the council, and probably the Chancellor as well."
The holotable then showed Master Windu, Grandmaster Yoda, and Chancellor Palpatine, who saw him enter the conversation. "Master, Kenobi." Yoda spoke up first. "Here to report on the convoys, I take it?"
"Indeed. The convoys are proceeding on schedule, and there's no sign of any mystery weapon at our location." Obi-Wan answered. "Even so, the threat of it lingers."
"We must find a way to destroy this mystery weapon." Mace spoke up.
"In this war, a step ahead of us, Dooku always seems." Yoda pointed out.
"Tell me, has there been any word of Master Plo Koon and his fleet?" Palpatine wondered.
"No, we must fear the worst." Windu answered.
"Actually..." Kenobi spoke up, getting their attention. "I just received word that Anakin has found the remains of Master Plo's fleet and is searching the debris for survivors."
"On whose authority has he done this?" The Chancellor asked.
"His own, I'm afraid." Obi-Wan stated.
"With his fleet out of position, we are left vulnerable." Mace said.
"Oh, his fleet is right where it should be." Kenobi pointed out. "He's taken only a small ship, and his Padawan." He emphasized that last part.
"Hmm. Twice the trouble, they have become." Yoda noted. "A reckless decision, Skywalker has made."
"Let us hope it is not a costly one." The Chancellor said, before he left the conversation.
"Anything else to report, Master Kenobi?" Windu questioned.
"No, Master Windu. I'll be getting back to managing the defenses here." Obi-Wan told him.
"Very well. May the force be with you." The Council member said, before the transmission ended.
[Play Star Wars The Phantom Menace OST The Arrival 0:00 - 2:32]
"Well, now that that's over with, I think it's time I teach you about Republic battle strategy, seeing as we currently have some free time." Kenobi spoke to Dusk.
"Yes, Master." Orion replied.
"Good. Then let's direct your attention to the Holotable, and I'll start with how our current defensive lineup would work in a standard space battle." Obi-Wan pressed a few buttons on the holotable and soon enough, the holotable showed the current formation that the fleet was maintaining.
As the Jedi Master was going over battle strategies with his Padawan, he immediately noticed how the boy reacted to each type of strategy and formation. Most of the attack formations were confusing to the boy, primarily, because most of them were focused on only the attack, and not having any potential defense for if the attack were to fail. The primary one catching his eye was the deployment of all fighters and all squads being ordered to push and engage enemy forces in an attempt to overwhelm them. To him, that is a needlessly risky gamble, especially when the droid army most likely did the same tactic, which would likely lead to a very bloody battle.
The famous Marg Sabl maneuver was also something that the Padawan pondered about. Primarily, because while the bridge and hangar doors cannot be targeted, allowing safe fighter deployment and tactical overlay of the battlefield, the number of targets that the enemy can focus on dwindles down to just the engines, which if destroyed, would make the ship a sitting duck for repeated canon fire, and no way to reposition to counter with the automated or manual turrets.
Most of the offensive strategies that were made, while useful, were still confusing to the Padawan. Especially when he considered the fact that the Venator was almost always spearheading these attacks, despite being a Carrier class Star Destroyer, which should normally be in a support position. Yeah, the Venator can be used as a front line attack ship, but that role should honestly go to the Acclimator, which was not only better armed, but also meant for that purpose. To put it in Orion's own words. "Using three Venators as an attack group is like the droids using two Lucrehulks as one."
Obi-Wan felt inclined to agree. From a logical standpoint, most of the attack groups and formations were either needlessly risky, or should be used with different ships in different roles. However, he also understood why these formations were the way they were. They were made, based on how the Republic had predicted the Separatists would use their fleets. The droids would almost always send out all their starfighters to pester, bombing run, or in extreme cases suicide bomb the enemy forces into submission. While Acclimators are great against most Separatist war machines, small starfighter drones are not one of those things, and the assault ship cannot deploy or even store as many ships as the Venator can. After explaining that to the boy, Dusk could see the reasoning behind using these attack formations more clearly.
They then moved on to the defensive lines and tactics to employ when blockading anything. Kenobi once more watched how his apprentice reacted to each specific battle strategy, noting how he was not nearly as confused behind the layouts of these formations. Though the fact that most formations used strictly just Venators was a little weird to him, since variety in a defense fleet would make it harder to break, and depending on what starfighters the Venators are carrying, the ships might not be equipped to fight against certain Separatist attack groups.
Of course, the traditional blockade, as flawed as it can sometimes be, was still the most tactically efficient way to defend a planet, especially if the planet in question has only one section that can be safely jumped to via hyperspace. Frankly, the only way to improve upon it would be to include a space station, or a planetary shield, but both of those options are ridiculously expensive, and could only be applied to on vital Core Worlds and important Mid Rim planets.
Another solid defense is planetary based weaponry that yielded enough firepower to take out an attack cruiser. One of the primary reasons for this being valid is that it would be too risky for the enemy to fire upon said defenses, lest they risk destroying the resources on the planet that would no doubt be stored there as well, making the whole reason why they would take control of it pointless. The only downside to this method is that it is set on a specific part of the planet, and therefore will not always be in position for an enemy fleet to approach, because almost all planets have rotational cycles.
[Silence]
It was at this point, when the Padawan had mostly gotten the basics down that another transmission from Skywalker was pending, which Obi-Wan noticed. "Let's stop here. It seems that Skywalker has something to report." After pressing a few buttons on the holotable, what appeared in front of the two Jedi, surprised them both.
[Play Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back OST Yoda's Teachings 0:00 - 1:13]
Anakin and Ahsoka were there, as expected, but then they saw that Master Plo Koon was now also with them. Kenobi briefly looked surprised, before speaking up. "Do I even need to ask, what you're going to report about?" He saw Skywalker smirk, before he spoke up again. "Needless to say, It is good to see that Master Plo has survived, and that you were able to recover him, in spite of going against your orders."
"I apologize for placing them in such a position, Master Kenobi." Plo Koon said to Obi-Wan. "However, thanks to them, not only was I able to be brought back to you in one piece, but also with vital intelligence, about the Separatist's mystery weapon, including how it is able to leave no survivors and decimate all Republic attack and defense formations. I must speak to the Council and Supreme Chancellor about this, immediately."
"Of course, Master Plo. Our next meeting with them will begin soon." Kenobi told him, before feeling his Padawan's relief, in spite of the boy keeping his composure. "It might please you to know that my Padawan was praying for your safety and survival, in spite of all odds."
That made Dusk react, and he reacted accordingly, with surprise at being called out. "Did he now?" Plo Koon replied, only further inciting a surprised look on the boy's face. "My thanks for you having faith in my survival, little one, as I am equally thankful to Little Soka and General Skywalker for their faith as well."
Though a bit embarrassed Orion took the praise. "Th-Thank you...Master."
"Alright then. Time for me to get another earful from the Council." Anakin said, which made Obi-Wan roll his eyes, before the group prepared to share their findings with the Council and Chancellor, so they could plan their next move on how to deal with it.
And here is the next chapter of my Star Wars fic. As you can tell, this is my take on Obi-Wan's side of the first episode of the Malevolence ark, as I don't want to just copy a bunch of scenes from the Clone Wars series for every chapter, I wanted to make this chapter entirely dedicated to Orion figuring out the ins and outs of the Venator he was stationed on, as well as familiarize himself with Naval strategies. And also practice Soresu. The next chapter will continue on with the Malevolence ark, and maybe the chapter after that as well, if I can't fit the rest of the ark into one chapter. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and until I decide to upload again ;)