The Rebel Faction

The feeling of somehow being, expanded, faded away as Tobal stood. Jade, or now, Master Jade, was looking out the window, gazing though the lattice.

"Do you wish to continue? Or would you rather sleep?"

Tobal gestured. “I am awake, am I not? If I become tired, I will sleep.”

Remembering the loneliness he had felt when remembering, Tobal formed a question in his mind, carefully forming it. He had no desire to say something wrong, consequences could be relationship shattering.

“Master Jade… does the force… live? Is it a living being, something I can talk to, converse with? Or is it simply a mystical invisible field. I fear if it is not something I can touch, I may never learn about it.”

Tobal followed Master Jade outside, listening to her speak.

“Its kinda hard to explain, really, but once its in your heart, youll know what it means, to you and you alone, for everyone has different knowledge of what it is."

Tobal smiled. That made sense... it was like his mother, constantly questioning him “do you love this girl, do you love that girl”. When asked what love would feel like, she had said the exact same thing that Master Jade had just said. It would be different for everyone, but you would know, you would know.

"Why don’t we try something else, out here?"

Jade’s voice brought Tobal back from his thoughts. They were standing in a large courtyard, grass all around the edges, the courtyard its self covered with intricate stonework. The usual fountain was not in the center, but was instead offset so as to allow the design in the stone floor to be the centerpiece. It was dark, and Tobal could not quite make out the symbol on the ground. He had seen it before though, the symbol of the Shadow Jedi.

“If you wish, Master Jade, I would like you to show me how one can battle effectively with... this. Tobal reached under his shirt, and retrieved the practice lighsaber he had taken from the Iron City. He pushed the only button, and the pale, almost watery blade extended with a thrum.

“I do not understand how one can fight with such a weapon. It must only be good for speed, for there is no weight with which to batter your opponent. All the weight would come from your arms...”

Tobal swung the weapon as hard as he could through the air. It moved so fast the light trail appeared to be a ring about him.

“No weight... no weight at all. I am used to something with a little weight to it. I can see how you could move incredibly fast, and by just touching an opponent you can hurt them. But if someone is faster than you, there is no overpowering attack that you can use the weapons weight to aid you in making an escape.”

Tobal ceased speaking, almost embarrassed. Speaking about a familiar subject had made him feel more at home than he had felt for a while.

He heard the humming of Master Jade’s lighsaber increase in intensity before he saw the halfmoon white come at his side. Ducking instinctively, Tobal put both hands on the ground to steady himself. In doing so, the blade of his lightsaber hit the stone. Instead of simply stopping, as he was used to, the blade continued to pierce the ground. Resistance was slight, in fact, nonexistent.

The white arc of Master Jade’s lighsaber passed over Tobal’s head, as the man wrestled with his weapon as it began to bind. A desperate pull, and it was free.

Tobal jumped back, looking about, and attempting to locate any threat. Master Jade had stopped her attack, apparently waiting for him to finish freeing his weapon.

Tobal adjusted the smooth cylinder in his hand. It was awkward, having no weight to counterbalance, and adjust. He moved the glowing beam of light so it pointed away from him, slightly up. He couldn’t use a staff stance with this weapon; it was only half the size as a staff. Or could he?

As Master Jade moved in again, a little slower this time, Tobal readjusted his stance, to that of the Huk’Luktor. It was a difficult stance to pull off, for it was meant for speed with one side of the staff, and a heavy blow with the other.

The blow to his chin had caught him almost by surprise. He had managed to move with the blow somewhat, but it still stung horribly. If Master Jade had actually been out to kill him, he would have been dead long ago.

Before he knew what happened, both Master Jade and himself were fighting, weapons bound together. The blades squealed, an electric sound that scared Tobal. He had seen one of these cut through meters of duracrete wall.

Master Jade’s kick to his knees was not unexpected. It was a common tactic, one which he himself had used plenty of times when fighting his peers back home. He lifted his leg, while shifting his stance. This allowed him to block Master Jade’s kick with the front of his leg, instead of the weak back.

Time to counter Shoving all his strength into his weapon, Tobal began to force Master Jade’s blade down to the ground.

Unexpected, and unpredictable. The amazing kick Master Jade had just done not only shocked Tobal, but it caught him by surprise. Stupid, stupid fool; Never put all your beans in one bowl.

Wiping a small trickle of blood off of his lips, Tobal readied himself for a different approach. So far someone who was smaller than he had hit him twice; without seeming to make an effort at doing it. Defensive was going to give way to Offensive. He would use the incredible light weight of this weapon to his favor, going for speed instead of power.

Tobal rushed Master Jade, and whipped his blade at her head. She blocked the move easily, and he allowed his blade to bounce off of hers. Using the bounce’s inertia to move in the opposite direction, Tobal spun quickly, and ducked. He yanked his weapon along with him, creating a moon of white light about him as he swung low and hard at her feet.