Author's Note: This will be a Jumpchain story using the Milestone Rewards Supplement Redux. All of the Jumps and supplements I use will be found on my google drive.
This chapter is still about the MC participating in the Initiate Trials to become a Padawan.
Words in World before this chapter: 9537
Setting
"Speech"
Written Text
[Digital Text]
{Digital Voice}
Divine/Super Being Modification
Chapter Eight: The Initiate Trial Tournament Phase Three
Star Wars Movie Compilation Part 6
Jedi Temple, Coruscant: 7941 CRC / 36 BBY
I was instantly on the defensive as Dininni used her curved hilt to attack with more precision than I could even with my greater connection to the Force. I was stuck relying on the Force to keep up with her thrust and aggressive attacks as she knew that I was a better duelist, and her only chance was to catch me off guard. After another thrust that I finally managed to sidestep I tapped her outstretched arm earning me a point and a headache as she let out a Wilhelm scream. I was able to regain my breath before the second bout of the match began the same way as the first but this time when I sidestepped I had to guard as Dininni flicked her blade using the curved handle to nearly secure me in the side. This caused me to stumble away and forced me to on the defensive without a solid footing to fall back on.
My stumbling kept me from taking a hit for a few minutes before I leapt up over Dininni which was something I was not known for as I was known to despise Ataru. With the leap I flipped and delivered a lucky strike to the back of Dininni's head only to fail to land on my feet as Dininni struck my ankle with the thrust that I had been trying to avoid. I slowly rose to my feet with my head ringing as Cin Drallig the head proctor for this round met with the other three proctors. Once their short conference was finished Knight Drallig stepped to the middle of the arena. "The point for the second bout goes to Initiate Bansell while Initiate Lushan shall given counselling following the Initiate Tournament due to his late hit upon his fellow initiate." I let out a sigh in frustration because I knew that this would not end well for me. I took the time that Dininni was being checked for injury while I was ignored to center myself in the Force once again.
It took only a moment for me to renew myself with the Force and be prepared for the third bout of this match. I let the Force guide my blade as we met for this third bout of our match parrying or dodging all the attacks that Dininni sent my way. I was barely conscious of the actions my body was taking as I let the Force flow through me without forcing it. This Zenlike state was difficult to reach and almost impossible to maintain but it allowed me to out preform any normal Jedi Padawan. As I focused on remaining in this state my body was defending itself with my defensive style deflecting everything that Dininni threw at me without striking back. After another exchange of blows I felt that the time was right and struck out with an attack for the first time this bout. My strike was unexpected, and my blade caught Dininni's wrist scoring a point for me as Dininni let out the annoying scream like everyone else did.
I was quick to step back to my starting position and let the Force flood me once again since it was the only way I would win this match as I did not have as clear an advantage over Dininni as my previous opponents. As this fourth bout began I stepped up while dodging a thrust from Dininni who flicked her blade around to deflect my counterattack. I settled into a Soresu defense and focused on the Force while wearing down Dininni's remaining stamina. She kept up simple probing strikes trying to get me to attack so that she would have an opening to strike but I just kept focusing on letting the Force feed into me so that I had the strength to protect myself and added insight to defend from Dininni's probing attacks. My focus on defense was clearly frustrating my opponent which was my strategy for this bout as I could not commit to any aggressive actions because I was under too much scrutiny as it stood. Dininni was easily the second-best duelist in Thranta Clan while I was a better fighter than her blade and style made her too dangerous to take easy in a one-on-one battle. I knew that she was not going to take her loss well even though she had been the only one to score a point on me in the tournament. I was not certain how she would react if she does not get another point off me, but I will let the Force guide me in my actions for the remainder of the tournament since it is my only option.
The bout continued for over five minutes before Dininni started to slow down with her probing strikes even as my defense held strong. My breathing had picked up along with my heart rate throughout the bout even though I stayed on the defensive I had not yet recovered from my full immersion into the Force during our third bout. With my focus on the defense I was easily handling Dininni's slowing strikes, but I knew that I could not go on the offensive unless I wanted to be accused of being overly aggressive. My reluctance to being seen as overly aggressive was the reason I had not shifted into Form V, Djem So, which was my best form against a Makashi user.
Once Dininni slowed enough I stepped back disengaging her and settled into a Makashi stance before she stumbled forward in an attempt to preform hit me with a straight thrust with her lightsaber. I struck out taking advantage of her exhaustion with a simple flick of my wrist hitting the back of Dininni's hand forcing her to drop her lightsaber as she let out the now familiar Wilhelm scream. "Point and match to Initiate Lushan." Cin Drallig called out as he came forward to assess the injuries that I may have given Dininni even though I knew that I had not hut her much at all. I slowly made my way out to the edge of the area and settled down into the lotus position near Master Dooku as I tried to recover from the excessive amount of energy that I had spent on the last match. Now that I was set to advance into the eight-initiate free-for-all I was certain that I would be accepted as a Padawan learner this year. The questions now were how well I would do in the free-for-all and who would try to take me as their Padawan learner.
With the future Sith Lord at my side while I meditated I waited patiently while letting the Force rejuvenate my body. I knew that today would be taxing but I did not think it would be this bad since I have a stronger connection than most of the other initiates in the order. My meditation was interrupted by the Jedi Master beside me acknowledging me for the first time since I settled down without even looking at me. "You have done well so far Initiate even with the bias calls being made against you so do not become too discouraged by the counseling that you will receive after the tournament. You have shown great restraint and followed the rules although it is clear that you panicked when pressed by Initiate Bansell and tried to use an Ataru maneuver something you have clearly not trained in. I would suggest next time just taking the hit as it would look better on you to surrender gracefully rather than make a desperate attack."
I knew he was right, and I respected the man as a master of his chosen form for lightsaber combat to admit that he was correct. "Thank you for your advice Master Dooku I will keep it in mind during the next round." Through the Force I could sense him nod accepting my words as he continued to observe the current match going on while I recovered from the previous match.
It was clear that Master Dooku was not done giving me unsolicited advice as he continued talking. "It is good to know one's limitations and try to overcome them as you are an excellent defensive duelist. If you had shifted into Djem So then you would have fared better in your match with Initiate Bansell but that may have been viewed as too aggressive Master Cin Drallig. If you did take that into account then I commend you for not attacking too recklessly." I nodded while Dooku kept his eyes forward I knew that he could feel the movement from where he stood beside me. "Being conscious of the results of your desperate gamble and predicting that she would have ample time to strike at your exposed body would have done you better." I now knew that there was no getting out of this lecture no matter what I tried as it would look bad if I left and Dooku was just now getting on a roll. "Your unrefined attack patterns shows that you have not trained enough against true opponents while your defense is very impressive as you can clearly hold your own even against foes who are stronger than you physically." I guess he was referring to my match against the Wookie initiate with that last comment. "If you were not being judged as harshly as you seem to think you are then you might have been able to show more of your offensive capabilities but that is not something you should dwell on right now."
The lecture continued as I tried to focus on the Force in order to regain my strength and stamina before the free-for-all round. I responded to Master Dooku's lecture as the matches continued to go on before us. None of the matches stood out as overly impressive but the came before I would have liked, and I rose to stand before the judges that were gathering all of the remaining winners into the center ring. Battlemaster Bondara stepped forward to address us in a slow and deliberate manner. "You eight are currently undefeated and shall experience the chaos of combat with more than just one opponent soon. You will face off against each other while avoiding bolts from the training remotes that we will be setting out around the arena. You will be eliminated if you take three hits no matter the source and remember that you should not be overly aggressive as it is unbecoming of the Jedi Order." With those few words he and the other proctors stepped out of the ring and told us to move to our starting positions and prepare ourselves for combat. I went into the opening pose for Soresu as it would be the best defense with none of the aggression of either of the Form V variants, Djem So and Shien.
Author's Endnote: Even though it will be a while before I get to it please vote to let me know if I should have the Mini-Jumps as their own for Milestone Tokens as right now there is only one vote which is a yes to that idea. Remember to review as if more people like how each Jump went then the MC receives a Milestone Token. I am also working on another Jumpchain story that will use the Milestone Supplement but restrict the warehouse in the form of a motorhome using the Cosmic Motorhome Supplement. I have also started cross posting this story on Questionable Questing under the same name.