More to Learn {Max, er... Dutch}

[Rugs]

Locke Nemsee walked through the Jedi Temple, his footfalls echoing hollowly throughout on of the great hallways. The cloak that his master had given to him, with the symbol of the Jedi Order emblazoned on the back, flowed smoothly behind him, blown out by his brisk pace. The day had been a good one; it hadn't been too busy, and he had a bit of free time since he wasn't training with his apprentice, Jazen Solari. No, today, Locke would be the apprentice, and he would be learning from one of the Order's best.

He had a meeting with Ozzril Ackbar, the Mon Cal Jedi Councilman, to learn a few things about Soresu. Locke's preferred form was Makashi, but he recognized the strengths of Soresu, and his master had instilled the fundamentals of the form into him. But even though Locke was a Knight, there was always more to learn, and he looked forward to being the student again, rather than the instructor.

Locke stepped into an empty training room, fiddling with his blaster pistol absentmindedly, as he had a habit of doing from time to time. The room was average sized, and circular. It was Locke's favorite room though; a floor-to-ceiling window ran around a portion of the wall, giving a breathtaking view of the city and the Temple grounds. Locke walked over to the window, grinning a little. It was evening outside, and the sky was a brilliant blend of oranges and reds.

Well, I don't think there could be a finer backdrop for this lesson, he thought contentedly. After staring out in wonder for a moment, he returned to the business at hand. Now let's see... It's been a while since I've practiced my form with Soresu, so I should probably go over the basics. Locke crossed his arms in thought. Minimal movements, small expenditure of energy, using your opponent's strength and momentum against them... Locke nodded. That last one, at least would be easy enough. He wasn't a particularly strong person, and he had learned quickly to fight in a way that let his foe's momentum keep going, but still keep his blade between theirs; it was a sort of blending of the principles for Soresu with Makashi, something his master, Tiino Xeis, who had been a master of both Makashi and Soresu, showed him how to do. Now it was something he did automatically.

As he continued to look out of the window, he felt a presence approaching in the Force. I guess that's him. He turned around, so that his back was to the window, and waited, ready to greet Ozzril when he entered the room.

[Dutch]

It was always a great thing when a teacher admitting he himself needed more teaching. Knight Nemsee was no exception. Master Ozzril Ackbar had finally made his way to the sparring chamber he had instructed the young knight to meet him in, sensing the man's presence as he arrived. He opened his mouth in a Mon Cal smile as he pressed the entrance panel to the door, feeling and hearing Locke's thoughts as the door slid open.

"And most importantly, young Locke, striking when the perfect moment shows itself, not to kill if possibly, but to disarm, disable, and end the fight."

Said the Master as he entered, bowing his head in greeting at the young sentinel.

"It pleases me to see you once more Locke, how is Jazen these days? It seems so long since he himself has graced me with his presence as a student..."

Added the Mon Cal, his eyes glinting with life at the thought. Each and every padawan and youngling he had taught, had become apart of him, especially his own padawan. The Jedi smiled once more and held a hand out, Locke's blaster flying from his person right to Ozzril's awaiting right hand.

"Such a crude weapon- you won't be needing this for our lesson today young Locke. Soresu requires complete and total focus, an almost meditative state. Much like Ataru, the Way of the Mynock requires a constant channel of the Force. Not a strong one, but a good, steady flow. Keep yourself rested, keep yourself focused, do not block anything that comes at you, but redirect it. Now, Nemsee, show me what you know of Soresu so far."

Said Ozzril as he set Locke's blaster aside. But the aged Jedi moved surprisingly quickly as he finished his last sentence, his lightsaber flipping up into his hand as the aqua-blue blade ignited. It slipped into a reverse grip and Ozzril leaped at Locke, his lightsaber held high before rapidly descending down at the sentinel. But before the attack finished the Sage Master used the Force to spin himself the opposite direction from the original attack, the tip of his lightsaber literally being rammed towards Locke's core now.

[Rugs]

Locke's eyebrows shot up in surprise as his blaster pistol flew from it's holster into Master Ackbar's open hand. Crude?! I'll have you know that thing has save my life several times before thank you very mu- He actually squealed in surprise when Ozzrial launched himself forward at him. The Mon Cal was fast, and Locke was caught completely of guard by is sudden attack. He stumbled back, fumbling for his lightsaber as the master closed on him. Luckily for him, Ozzril's first strike was a feint, else that would have been the end of Locke Nemsee. His yellow-orange blade just barely flashed to life in time to parry Master Ackbar's second strike, getting in beside his blade and pushing it to the outside, so that the blow slid harmlessly by Locke. The work was sloppy though, not with small, conservative movements that Soresu was known for, though at the moment Locke was just trying not to get hit. He stepped back as he parried, and was rudely interrupted when his back bumped into the window behind him. Well, if I had known I was going to be assaulted as soon as he got here, I'd have stood closer to the middle of the room, Locke thought in mild irritation.

So Locke was essentially trapped, his back literally against the wall, with nothing between Ozzril's blade but his own. Not really the best situation to be in. "Well, Ozzril, it seems you've got me in a bit of a bind here," he said, smirking a bit. The lack of a title wasn't meant to be rude, nor was the smirk; Locke hated titles (he hated the way his own padawan called him 'Master Locke,' even, instead of just 'Locke') and he didn't like to be called by a title, or to use them for others, though it had gotten him reprimanded before. In fact, the use of a title by Locke was more a sign of a lack of respect than on of respect, and Locke respected Ozzril very much. The smirk was just part of Locke's ass-ish personality; there wasn't really anything behind it. "Jazen is doing just fine though, thanks for asking."

Locke suddenly raised his blade up, hoping to gain some room to move, and pushed himself out to his left, away from Ozzril and the window to give himself some space to work. He assumed his fighting stance, turned almost sideways toward Master Ackbar, with the curved hilt of his blade held in his right hand. The yellow-orange blade was pointed up at in the direction of Ozzril at a forty-five degree angle. "I know I should always be ready to defend myself, Ozzril, but that you really caught me off guard there. I know my parry was sloppy, so let's try that again, eh?" He spoke amiably, and was a bit eager to get deeper into the lesson; it had been so long since he had been in this position, a student, and learning felt good. Of course, no sooner than he had finished speaking did he realize that he had assumed his Makashi stance out of habit. "Speaking of sloppy," he muttered as he adjusted himself, bringing his lightsaber back so that it was even with his temple, pointing towards Master Ackbar, with his free hand held out in front of him. He could feel his cheeks reddening; he was embarrassing himself in front of one of the Jedi Council members, something he had hoped to avoid. But that was the way learning went.

Finally, he nodded at Ozzril, that same smirk returning subconsciously to his face. "Ready when you are." Or at least he hoped he was. No doubt the Mon Cal would find some other way to surprise him.

[Dutch]

Ozzril laughed wetly at Locke, the young man always a pleasure to be around. But as he spoke, the old man's expression got a bit sterner.

"A bind? A Jedi does not deal with absolutes, there is always another option. When one is pinned, Soresu can be its most deadly, less motion used, less energy spent, the more focused you can be."

Locke's relaxed ways when it came to titles did not bother Ozzril, as he himself never used them. Not out of detest of formality, merely because he knew they were all children of the Force, and thus, all on equal terms. He was pleased to hear that his former student was well, at least to a point.

"And his training? Young Jazen is such a promising student of the Force, I hope you are keeping him sharp. He's your first apprentice, am I right?"

He was surprised as the young man quickly moved out of the way of the bind Ozzril stepped back and turned an eye to Locke as he spoke, the Master taking in his words and nodding.

"One can always expect an attack from an enemy, assume a stranger, but never expect a friend- this is one of the reason more traditional Jedi feel even friendships are bad for Jedi. However, one simply needs to tap into the Force to see, and know when an attack will come. This is actually one of the most important things for using Soresu- Use your skill to defend and deflect, but trust in the Force to tell you the precise moment to strike. And, as a Makashi user, you should know all about precise attacks."

Ozzril laughed at Locke's obvious embarrassment, but was unsure why the young man would be embarrassed. Maybe he found it intimidating to be in the presence of one of the Order's top swordsmen, or one of the top Masters. Either way, he wanted Locke to be comfortable for his session, not embarrassed. He spun his aquamarine blade in his palm before snapping it into the reverse style, held pointing up behind his back with his left hand open and facing down.

"Don't be embarrassed young Locke, even old men such as myself drop the ball every now and then- don't let that emotion cloud your lesson, focus."

With that the Jedi brought the Force through him, and lunged forward, pushing with his free hand as he did to launch himself at Locke. The aquamarine blade hummed loudly as he flew forward, the Jedi bringing the blade sideways in a forceful blow as he landed, using his full momentum to power his attack. But the Master wasn't done yet, showing surprising vigor for an older man, he spun low to the ground and aimed two quick, fast blows at his knees and thigh, jumping high afterward to bring another mighty blow down towards Locke's head, the Mon Cal landing and spinning on the ground before snapping back into a Djem So stance, ready to launch another series of attacks.

[Rugs]

Locke nodded at Ozzril's words of not expecting attacks from a friend. "Aye, we can agree on that. Though I'd have to say I cannot agree with those that say even friendships are something to be wary of." He shook his head slightly at the thought of that. "If you can't have a friend or two to lean on when you're going through some trouble, who can you go to?" He shrugged. "I mean, I personally would much rather go to someone that actually knows me than some stale old master that I've never met before, y'know?" He quickly realized who he was talking to and added "Not that I'm saying that you're a stale old master, I actually have a lot of respect for you, which isn't something I can say for everyone. But I think you know what I mean."


Locke felt a bit of relief when Ozzril told him to relax, and that even the more experienced Jedi made mistakes, which Locke new; no one was infallible. But even so, it was a bit reassuring to hear it from one of the Order's best. He took a deep breath, and reached out, letting the Force flow into him. It was good for him that he did, because no sooner than he had, Ozzril was upon him once more, striking out with surprising speed. Locke blocked the first blow by quickly tossing his blade lightsaber from his left hand to his right (he was ambidextrous, after all) and holding it out so that Ozzril's blade slammed into the middle of it. The Mon Cal's assault continued, though, and as Locke moved his lightsaber back to his right hand, he dropped it down so that it was vertical and flicked it, so that the tip of his blade stopped the strike aimed at his knee. With a flick of his wrist, he snapped the blade in the other direction, so the blow that was meant to hit his thigh was stopped by the part of his blade closer to the hilt.

Before Locke could think about striking in a counter attack, the old Master was in the air, and his watery-blue blade was coming down at Locke's head. Now Locke wasn't a fan of blocking high in the way he'd have to to stop Ozzril's blow; he could, he just didn't like to. He felt it relied a bit to much on physical strength, something he didn't have much of. Couple that with his natural agility, and his insticts kicked in, and he escpaped the way he always had; he reached out deeper into the Force, using it to strengthen his legs and given him just a bit of an extra burst of speed. At the same time, he pushed off with he legs, jumping back to dodge the strike instead of block it. He had underestimated Ozzril's speed though; his strike missed by inches. But a miss was still a miss, even one that was a bit too close for Locke's comfort.

As the Sage Master returned to his ready stance, Locke started to shrug out of his cloak. The thing could get hot, and it had a way of getting in the way when he was trying to move quickly. "Jazen is a gifted student," he said as the cloak fell to the floor around his heels, leaving only his sandy brown and cream colored robes. "Why, the first time we met, we had a sparring session, so I could feel out where he was at. He's good, I have to say. In fact, the boy surprised me and kicked me in the stomach towards the end. It knocked the wind outta me, and he might have gotten me if it was a real fight. I think that speaks to his potential as much as it does me having my guard down, though." He barked a laugh at that, and resumed a Soresu en garde stance, and waited for Ozzril's next actions, along with whatever advice or criticism the Master may have to offer on his form.

[Dutch]

"Good, good Locke, Soresu doesn't just focus on blocks and parries- dodging when applicable can save your life. But, only as a last resort, dodging requires physical, and at times Force exhaustion, one might not be too bad, but if it adds up, you won't have the endurance to last. Soresu is all about outlasting the opponent, exhausting them, not yourself."

Ozzril turned an eye to Locke as he began to move sideways, looking for any signs that Locke wasn't ready for the next assault. But he was, a good sign for the student. With that the Jedi began his next attack, lightsaber held high as he lunged forward, delivering a series of mighty blows at the younger Jedi. The aquamarine blade hummed as it swung left and right, the mighty ticking of the deadly tool slower than Ozzril could move, but still fast enough to keep Locke on his toes. As he assaulted the Mon Cal spoke again.

"And that very weakness that Padawan Jazen exploited is what Soresu will patch up. Due to it's lack of energy compared to other forms, it is very easy to fall back on when needed. If you find yourself unsure of what style to fall back on, choose Soresu, if not just to bide you some time while you prepare your plan of attack."

[Rugs]

Locke nodded at Ozzril's words. They rang true; after all, it would hardly do him any good to wear himself out in a duel before his opponent tired. That would only lead to hardships. "I will keep that in mind," he said with a slight bow of his head.

And then Ozzril was on him once more, bearing down with a rain of blows from every side. Locke moved quickly, using the small, precise movements of Soresu, but parrying with the precision of one who had used Makashi for a long while. But even so, the master's assault was relentless, and after a short while, Locke was forced to start giving ground in order to keep himself in the position he wanted to stay in. As the assault continued, Ozzril spoke to him of using Soresu as tool to fall back on, in a situation when he might not know what to do. Locke snorted. "That sounds a bit like my situation now, to tell the truth." He was able to stop the Mon Cal's blows, yes, but he could not find an opening to strike back. So he continued to give ground, angling so that he'd move around the room instead of getting trapped against the wall again, as their blades wove a tapestry of orange and blue in the air between them.

Then he saw it. An opening. Maybe? Or perhaps a trap? He hesitated for the only the slightest moment as he contemplated what to do. Seize the moment, he thought. There's no better way to learn than failure. I hope that I'm not misjudging things. So he struck out, as fast as he could, with a simple Makashi cut aimed high at Ozzril's shoulder. He hoped he had seen true and not fallen into a trap, or even worse imagined an opening where there was not one; he also hoped that one moment of hesitation wouldn't cost him.