บท 35: Sword Hunt
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* Shili, Anakin Skywalker. *
Today Toshi promised to take me on my first real hunt. But not for a quick and easy kill of a poor predator called a shark, oh no.
I woke up early. Since going into the woods like partisans, Tosi and I had become quite close as student and teacher. She was quite demanding, if not cruel in her teaching methods.
She taught me to recognise the great number of poisonous and not so poisonous snakes in the large fields covered with red and white grass - "if you get bitten, it's your own fault". I had to follow with the help of intuition during the usual hike "up to the wind". Although it was difficult only in the first month.
During this month I did a lot of things. To start with at least, I finished with the basics of physical training and the first form - shii-cho. Simple as a primitive man's club, this form of lightsaber combat was quite effective against blaster-armed opponents. Though ideologically I was closer to speedy fighting styles - I did not recognise aesthetic swings of a saber. Yes, I was a man for whom the most effective way to kill a Sith was a shot from a grenade launcher or a flamethrower, which could not be blocked with a sword. In case of contact, I could also hit pain points from the knee. But these are my personal observations. Sure, lightsaber combat, but I was a pragmatist. Light saber should be waved to kill your enemy, not for the beauty and aesthetics of the fight.
The training didn't centre on sword swinging, though. Toshi began to teach me the powers of strength, starting with stunning my opponents. The first test subjects came soon enough - local rodents. I practised on them. At first either nothing worked, or the animal died on the spot from unknown reasons. Tosya could only scratch her chin thoughtfully and, having given some general advice, went into the forest to hunt. She didn't take me with her - she told me to do business.
As soon as I was successful and guaranteed to kill any rodent, she brought a bound shark from somewhere and told me to train on it. The shark was a wolf-like creature with sharp teeth and fangs, about a metre and a half at the withers.
He was a little more complicated.
- Let's start with emotion projection," said the teacher, finishing her part of the dinner. "Otherwise, you're a fast learner, but you won't need my direct supervision to hone your skills. You'll do it yourself later, when you have some free time.
- I don't understand," I said, "I've got a long way to go before I'm ready to learn?
- Exactly. But we'll learn the basic skills here, and then you can practise without me. And don't ever slack off - you're in desperate need of experience. We only learn the techniques here, not the mastery of them. Toshi got up from the ground and stretched and went to sleep.
The next day I was taught the beginnings of mind deception. That is, projecting my emotions outward. As soon as I got up, I found the teacher at the edge of our camp. She was dragging the local rodents, tied up, into the camp. I stepped out of the tent and Toshi immediately jumped on me:
- 'Hennia, can you create cages for them?
- No problem, - I nodded and, leaving to the wind, with the edge of my consciousness I grew small cages from the saved metal and scattered rodents by telekinesis on them. The teacher quite picked up the cages, and after waiting for me to tidy up, demanded:
- Now sit down and listen.
I complied. Our camp was located in one of the meadows. The camp was relatively cosy, thanks to my telekinesis and forging. The trees surrounding the camp had been ripped up and used for building materials - I had created everything necessary with the help of telekinesis. Benches too, not to mention tables, a fence, cupboards, a shelter made of planks that protected our supplies from rain and weather, and everything else. Erdva, however, helped me a great deal in this endeavour, being equipped with quite a wide range of tools.
The teacher was cool to my habits, so she didn't pay much attention to the fact that we were settling in. But she pushed me more and more, so that I wouldn't have too much energy left.
I sat down on a bench, in front of which there was a table with cages on it. There were three thymiars in the cages. The unfortunate ones were not waiting for their fate, but fountaining fear, trying to break free.
- Remember, power can transmit emotion. You can either channel your emotions in a directed or personalised way. The latter is much easier. Your job now will be to broadcast emotion to the Timiars. First of all, calm them down by concentrating on your consciousness, evoking the desired emotion, and touching the power of a particular beast to release the emotion.
- Teacher? - I asked perplexed. - That's it? - It was understandable, Toshi didn't usually give such general instructions. This time it was rambling, in a "feel the power" kind of way, as if I had to figure out exactly what to do.
- Yeah, that's it. You have to figure out how to do it yourself, otherwise you can't. Everyone has their own individual methods - some people imagine themselves as the target and manipulate them in this way, some people, on the contrary, cause emotions first in themselves and then direct them to the target, some people use already existing emotions of the target in order to reduce or increase them. It's more a matter of concentration and understanding of emotions than technique, if you can cope with your emotions, and you will, you will understand what you need to do," Toshi left me and went to sleep. It was not uncommon for her to sleep during the day, leaving for the night to hunt. This day was no exception.
I sat down on the bench and tried to calm the animals. It didn't work at first - I tried my best to convey calm and serenity to them, but it didn't work. That is, I could connect by force and concentrate on my sensations, but....
After a couple of hours of ineffectual pounding around the cage, I changed approaches before I found my own. Or rather I worked it out, based on intuition, meditation, and complexity. I weakened the original channel to the maximum, allowing my power to merge with the animal's, so to speak, to send a Cossack into the enemy's camp, after which I sent calmness and serenity through a continuous connection. It didn't work the first time, so I sent images of familiar plants that these rodents feed on. They gradually stopped being frightened of me and even drooled at the animals. Having finished the fun, I tried to return the fear - it turned out to be much easier to do. The first test subject huddled in the corner as I built up the scale of fear. The beast died, simply from fear. Its neighbour was also affected, but not as badly. I seemed to have found the right way of the first step of "mind trickery", which is the projection of a thought image or emotion into consciousness through force. In this case, one's power, just as in the case of treatment, must be introduced into the victim, so that it in turn influences the Force inside the thymiar.
I had two test subjects left - the carcass of Timiar, who was frightened to death, I cut up and, having got rid of all unnecessary things, put it to soak under a kebab.
A timiar is a rabbit-like rodent. But unlike a rabbit, it had no valuable fur, and only one or two kilos of tasty meat. However, after months of living in the forest, anything tastes good to me now. Timiars were like mice in that they ate a lot of things, they bred quickly, natural enemies were not enough to kill, and these assholes crowded the whole planet. They were actively going for meat for all the Togrutas - it's certainly not a delicacy, but still...
Having soaked the meat, I moved on to the second test subject - I thought to give him more complicated emotions, rather even commands. Half an hour later, the beast obediently fulfilled my wishes, moving from one corner of the cage to another. And the best part was that the beast didn't run away, so I opened the cage and let him out. I nipped the urge to run away from me in the bud.
As planned, Timiar walked around the table, jumped down, and then let me hold him - I was able to make sure I wouldn't do anything to him.
Having mastered the new skill, I continued experimenting, but my attempts to make the third subject, after soaking the second one, had no result - the beast was too stupid to understand what I wanted.
So I soaked the third subject and began to make preparations.
Toshi was snoozing in her tent, and I put the meat on the fire and began to repeat the training with the lightsaber.
It was so nice to feel strong, flexible, able to stand up for myself... weak, of course, but at least somehow....
Battle form number three came as a surprise to me. This form required predicting a certain number of shots and thinking out sword movements so that to reflect them all. A kind of space war game. A funny analogy, given my current situation. It turns out that this skill is considered standard for training, and Qui-Gon, training me, after he realised that I was able to deflect ordinary shots without any problems, loaded me with this form of training. I thought it was just an ordinary, unremarkable general training. However, my ability was both a plus and a minus at the same time. The plus side was that I could predict the shots ten seconds ahead, and extremely accurately, because I saw them in the future, and the minus side was that the masters of this form can predict the shots a minute or two ahead, accordingly changing their location, hiding from the most "hot" areas of the battlefield in the shelter. I didn't know how to do that, and I couldn't develop such a skill in myself - it was completely overridden by my usual foresight. The sense of danger remained, but to predict the shots that would follow after the period for which I could see the future - no.
The teacher, convinced that I could do the same as I had done in training with Qui-Gon, smiled more and more - we were a little behind her schedule, despite my incredibly fast training, she said. And if I excluded the third form as originally present, I was left with almost a month of "unaccounted for" time, which my teacher said would immediately turn into a hell of a training session.
From the teacher, I learnt about seven forms, of combat.
The first is Shi-Cho, the oldest and least popular because of its simplicity. But as a foundation, it is taught to all Jedi on a mandatory basis.
The second form - Makashi, is much more complex, based on fast, smooth movements, short stabbing blows and numerous tricks.
The third was purely for defence against blaster fire, I skipped it.
The fourth form was the Ataru. Old, but eternally popular because of its speed, aggressiveness. Ataru included quick strikes, equally quick dodging, and sweeping, chopping blows. Stabbing were rare and only to get the opponent at a distance. The disadvantage of the form is that the sword had a gyroscopic effect, and that to strike, had to overcome the sword a decent distance, overcoming the resistance of the light blade. Without a constant power boost, Ataru's movements look like slow waving of the light blade like a fan - the faster the lightsaber moves, the greater the resistance, and if using Shii-Cho felt like swinging a regular iron sword, then the user of Ataru felt like he had put a couple of centimetres of "pancakes" on a barbell and was swinging it. Hell of a style, but with enough skill at fuelling the power of one's body like Palpatine's, effective. For me, as someone most adept at fuelling my body through a highly developed subtle infusion of force into my muscles, ataru suited me best. However, as a result of my training, I struggled to understand the gyroscopic resistance better. The speed of combat was directly dependent on this resistance.
I did not like the number five form because it was designed primarily for defence and counterattacks. Going into a deaf defence and powerful counterattacks to exhaust the enemy - that's its basis. I didn't like the wait-and-see combat tactics, although the idea of counterattacks is a good one.
The sixth form was Niman, which the teacher didn't recognise as a full-fledged fight at all. So, some techniques from other forms and improvisation based on them.
Rounding out the seven was the Jedi-Sith style of Juyo, which the teacher practised. According to her, this style was something head and shoulders above all others, though I chalked it up to a bias. But you could argue with that - the form was based on the fighter's attitude, emotions, speed, acrobatics, a lot of tricks and counterattacks and combining them with basic techniques like stun or even lightning, amplification, acceleration, even hand-to-hand combat....
My respect for my teacher increased when she demonstrated her skills by smashing me to smithereens in just a couple of seconds. Even my powers of divination were no match for the seventh form. According to Toshi, there are very few masters who practise Juyo, and it is forbidden to pass it on without the master's personal permission, let alone record lessons on media or leave them in holocrones. It was too dangerous a style for a beginner - it was too easy to become proud, having learnt even a part of it, and start to feel anger or even hatred during a fight. I knew better than anyone else that my head had to be cool, or else I was dead. And taking pride in your skills is the last thing you want to do. A queen can be proud of the fact that he is stronger than a pawn, but they will remain pieces that kill each other, and the benefits go to those who have never held a weapon in their hands, politicians. Hence the conclusion - even the strongest Jedi in the galaxy will be just a figure in the balance of power, that to really be above it, it is not enough to train cool sword swinging.
After I finished going through the ataru exercises, I switched off the training sword and decided it was time to go wake up the teacher, but I didn't need to - Toshi was already up and, noticing me training, went for a late breakfast. Four hours of sleep was enough for a good night's rest, and we took advantage of it.
- How are the results? - The teacher asked, looking at the frying subjects.
- Not bad. At least it all worked out, but the Timiars are too dumb for anything complicated..." I said. - But I hope there are smarter animals out there?
- We'll find some," the teacher smiled. - Usually it takes a few months to learn it...
- I trained before coming to you. Not in this, of course, but still, I've been working with power for years.
- So be it," she nodded, "you still have a lot to learn. Is the emotion suggestion finished?
- You could say that," I thought, because I still had a lot more training to do before I would be able to compel emotions easily and effortlessly. So far, I couldn't distract myself from the suggestion, and this skill was useless in battle.
- In that case..." Toshi said, looking back at her breakfast, "let's start with speed, then acrobatics, and finally your favourite - we'll start studying barriers.
- Finally," I was glad, and after breakfast we started training.
The time was really passing - half of the scheduled time had already passed. The teacher, as soon as we had finished with the basics of putting the barrier around us, turned to me:
- Tomorrow we go hunting. You know how to heal yourself, you can cope with stun or sedate the target, so you can start practising.
I didn't say anything. But I wanted to try my hand at being a hunter-if I could stun an enemy instead of just dodging, I wouldn't have to put my life on the line on Mandalore. After all, the beast that attacked me was damn fast!
Hunting was the main local pastime - the teacher had already amassed a centner of hides and fangs to sell in the village. I had no trophies of my own yet.
It was still dark when we set out - sharks are nocturnal predators. I didn't have a problem with the light, I just looked through and followed my instincts. Tosi took her rifle with her, and only allowed me to take my lightsaber.
Tosi's movements were more than natural in the forest, and judging by the calm background, she didn't use force, but I had to - otherwise I wouldn't have been able to keep up with my teacher. We moved quickly, but the teacher did not stop breathing and began to tell us:
- We hunt sharks. They walk in packs of ten to twenty individuals, their hearing and smell is good, fast, cunning, but with intuition you will have the opportunity to overtake it. The grip of the jaw is strong, without strengthening the body do not even think to come close. If it bites you, release immediately, as the others will pounce. It's best to start with a surprise attack from cover, with a blaster. You'll take out one or two while the others find you. Running away from them is unrealistic - fast and tough, they can easily catch up with anyone. If you manage to kill them all, you get a dozen skins, and they're highly prized.
I didn't answer. The briefing was over, though I had read about these creatures and knew a lot about them. There were no hunting methods, though. The speed decreased noticeably and the teacher began to walk a little more quietly.
- Shh. There are Sharks. A dozen of them. Let's go to them," the teacher said, immediately heading off. It didn't take long to walk - after five minutes of quiet walking, she gestured for me to be quiet. I had to step carefully, so as not to scare the Sharks away.
After a couple of dozen metres the teacher jumped into a tree, standing on a thick branch. I followed her example, making a dizzying jump to a height of four or five metres.
- They're here," Toshi said, nodding to the side. I looked closer, and there was indeed a pack of a dozen or so doing their business about half a hundred metres away. They looked like huge wolves, and the cubs looked like dogs, but with a lot of teeth.
- What are we going to do? - I asked in a whisper.
- I'll open fire with my rifle, and you use the stun if you can. The more you capture, the better.
Tosi took the rifle off her shoulder and leaned her back against the tree trunk and took aim. I took aim too, aiming the pulse at the largest group of individuals. A few seconds later, the rifle shot rang out and I hit stun. The impulse in strength was exactly as I had hoped, but I overdid it - I used more force than necessary, and five adults fell down dead where they stood. The rest of the pack immediately howled. There were five adults left, who rushed at the sound - towards us.
- I'm not going to help you with a lightsaber now, Hennia. - said Toshi, perched on a branch with her legs overhanging. Although I didn't want to slash the beasts with my lightsaber, I jumped down, armouring myself with my power as much as possible. The ability to amplify skin resistance so that the body was invulnerable to cold and bullet weapons was something most Jedi had to some extent, and had encouraged the Jedi to switch to lightsabers, which easily cut through any force armour.
The brutes didn't know such a thing, though, and lunged at me. It was a little scary, but I managed a shiver at the sight of five one and a half metre tall wolf-like creatures charging at me. Closing my eyes, I saw their trajectories and jumped up, pushing myself hard off the tree trunk. It would not have been possible to develop such a horizontal speed by jumping from a place, but the Sharks' prey suddenly rushed at them. The first targeted enemy reacted to me, but I twisted my sword to correct my flight and blew its head off with a single sword swing. The next shark rushed after the previous one, and was much angrier. The angry foe posed little danger, as his movements were predictable - he jumped as soon as there was enough distance between us to jump, but I accelerated with my strength and moved sideways, blowing his head off with a second swift movement. At the same time a third was coming up behind me, and the others were coming round me in a circle. I didn't lose sight of any of my opponents, and when the next one jumped, I used the surrounding scenery for a more opportune victory - I jumped back towards a tree, simultaneously switching off my lightsaber. The beast realised I was no threat and jumped again, but I quickly moved out of the attack's trajectory. The shark flew into the tree, injuring himself. The beast's speed made it impossible for him to stop. I jumped to the other two while the shark was staring at the hard wood, killing one, instantly activating my sword and severing its head, while I stabbed a force channel into the other, giving it the emotion of fear. As expected, the terrified opponent backed away, deciding to retreat.
The fight was over - the only thing left to do was to finally give one a heart attack and chop off the other's head, which was no longer a problem - being lame on his front legs, the target couldn't move as fast as before.
His last jump was slower than the previous ones, and I didn't even have to speed up. Except just a little, to give room for the decapitating blow.
On the "this" side, the fight didn't seem that spectacular - I just dodged the attacks and chopped myself when I had the chance, that's all. He also jumped, but that didn't count. From the outside it should look much more spectacular - the first jump to a decent height, with pushing off the tree, so that my speed was under a hundred and fifty-two hundred kilometres per hour, and the tree shook violently, creaking, then spectacular evasions from attacks - untrained eyes will see only a blurred silhouette, a flash, and falling decapitated beast. I won't say anything about the last sword disabling trick. The teacher stopped fountaining interest and came down to me when I switched off the sword.
- You did well, Henya. Why didn't you use the barriers?
- There was no need, Master.
- Your Ataru is at padawan level, your speed is well above padawan level - usually sharks are too fast for the average padawan and can only be taken down by Jedi Knights using fast forms of combat. What doesn't keep up is usually the sword. That's where you stood out too. I'm not even talking about the fact that you used a trakata with a sokan.
- Sokan? - I didn't understand and the teacher explained:
- Without going into details, it's a tactical use of the surrounding area. Trakata is when a Jedi turns on his sword only to strike, to deceive the enemy. You used trakata against two, you baited one, killed the other, and the first one flew into a tree, that's sokan.
I didn't find an answer to that. Although my teacher was right about speed, my acceleration abilities were uncommon, and as a rule, Toshi had to sweat when we practised "speeds" - punches and blocks with acceleration. But in the fight, she could easily crush me with her style, with her abilities.
After the fight was over, I finally relaxed, not feeling any living organisms around me.
- And now, we're cutting up the prey! - Toshi announced with exaggerated joy. - Guess who's going to do it? - she smiled.
- Oh, no.
- Yes. You killed them, so you get to skin them," the teacher announced menacingly and then softened. - You'll get some good practice.
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