Alice, Meet Katarn. Welcome to the Dark Side...

[Keinushi]

"Very well," Katarn nodded. "What did you want to learn?"

 

[Zach]

Alice smiled. "I'd like to learn Juyo, the seventh form. I'd like to be able to use the Force in my attacks to make it strong enough to overcome defensive Force abilities and lightsaber parries that try to block my strikes, mostly," she said, wanting her offense to be better than anything else.

 

[Keinushi]

"You understand this technique is one of the weakest techniques right?" Katarn asked.

 

[Zach]

Alice thought for a moment and nodded, realizing that she was right. "Perhaps a mixture between Force abilities and lightsaber combat then? I read something about a form called Ataru, mostly using the Force to increase acrobatic skills in melee combat," she said, trying to think of another lightsaber form.

 

[Keinushi]

"Ataru is good." Katarn nodded. "I will teach you whichever you choose, I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were learning."

 

[Zach]

Alice pondered for a moment. "I think Ataru would be more beneficial and effective in battle. Perhaps if I learned Juyo later and applied with Ataru it could be more useful," she thought aloud. She looked to Katarn and nodded. "I believe that Ataru would be better suited for me," she said.

 

[Keinushi]

"They are unfortunately completely incompatible." Katarn frowned. "Juyo relies on holding your ground and swinging with all your might. it is entirely strength based. Ataru however relies on movement. That you're never in the same place twice. An Ataru master spends most of their time in the air. You'll noticed I called Juyo the weakest of the forms, its because it is entirely offensive. One good blow to the leg of a Juyo user and you have won."

 

[Zach]

Alice nodded, realizing that Katarn was right, "I see. Perhaps I overestimated Juyo. I suppose Ataru or Niman would be more efficient in a battle, focusing on speed or defense to give yourself enough time until the enemy slips up or wears themselves out," she said.

 

[Keinushi]

"That's your best bet if when your a girl." Katarn nodded. "We can't rely on our strength like men can."

 

[Zach]

Alice nodded in agreement. "Is that why Kel sees us as weak? Because we're not built as strong?" she asked, trying to figure out why he thinks the way he does.

 

[Keinushi]

"He's just sexist." Katarn shook her head. "Probably got picked on by a girl as a kid and now hates us all. Just ignore him. Oddly enough though his dark aggressive attitude is very conducive to a learning environment since he doesn't hold anything back when fighting you. You lose your guard around him and he will kill you."

 

[Zach]

Alice nodded. "Did that girl happen to be you?" she asked, snickering. The thought of Kel being bullied by Katarn nearly sent her into giggles. She looked back up to Katarn and saw that she was almost the same as him. Only in the aspect that they both embrace their emotions, just in different ways. Kel uses his anger, his hate, and prejudice and turns it into his strengths, as Katarn was bubbly, and caring, and sarcastic. They both take hold of their emotions and view it as a strength, not a weakness.

 

[Keinushi]

"I'd sooner kiss a wookie." Katarn laughed. "No, it was probably a childhood trauma. Now, what do you want to learn today?"

 

[Zach]

Alice smiled and said, "I think that learning Force Lightning would help me the most right now. I'm still learning how to use the Force, so until I can better control it, I think I should practice as much as I can," she said, considering her options.

 

[Keinushi]

"It's not that difficult to perform." Katarn held out her hand. "Concentrate on the direction you want to go, then use the force to remove the air from that space." There was a loud crack and lightning shot from her hand, far more powerful then the beams she had used previously. Over time you can refine it to change direction, but this is the simplest method.

 

[Zach]

Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She held up her arm and extended her fingers slowly, focusing on the Force energy flowing through her body. She felt her fingers surge and she felt the spark appear between the tips of her nails. She opened her eyes, looking at the stream of electricity coursing over her palm and she concentrated and thrusting outward. Alice Scrunched her nose slightly and narrowed her eyes, focusing on the Force Lightning, sending it jerking out in jagged paths in front of her. The lightning blasted a stack of training discs and they went flying from the rack. She held out her second hand slightly bend back at the elbow and focused on sending Force Lightning through both hands. She focused hard and directed it all at a short training dummy in the corner. When it had been thoroughly fried, Alice lowered her hands and was breathing hard, still new to the ability and unsure how to restrain herself to conserve stamina.

 

[Keinushi]

"Excellent." Katarn smiled. "Since you're pretty much finished with blaster training, I want you to practice this in the morning instead. Now, in the interim, is there another technique you would like to learn?"

 

[Zach]

Alice smiled, glad that she'd made Katarn smile. She looked over to her when asked what else she wanted to learn and thought for a moment. "I've seen some other students learning to use the Force as I passed by the training rooms. I overheard some of them talking about using the Force to increase their speed, when they move or attack. I was pretty interested so I did some reading in the library a few days ago," she said, sure that Katarn knew the ability.

 

[Keinushi]

"Force augmentation." Katarn nodded. She then seemed to disappear one second and reappear inches from Alice. "A most useful technique. It allows you to not only double but to sometimes triple your natural abilities. It's quite simple to learn as well. By concentrating on the limb you wish to augment, the force will flow into that limb strengthening it."

Katarn then smiled and turned around, slowly walking away from Alice, back to her original position. "It's what allows us to run faster and jump higher than anyone else."

 

[Zach]

Alice nodded and smiled, glad that Katarn knew the ability. She thought that it was a useful ability and thought that it would be good to know. Alice tried focusing on both her legs, concentrating her energy on amplifying her speed and enabling her to run faster. She concentrated on the movement of bending her knees and joints and sprinted forward a few feet at a rapid pace, but not quite fully using the ability. She frowned a little bit and tried again, concentrating harder right before she moved, and she burst forward to the other side of the room. She turned to Katarn and smiled. "Is there a specific way I should be focusing my energy? A certain when I should concentrate on the limb I want to speed up?" she asked, wondering what she was doing wrong.