[ASK] Building The Necessary Tools

[Officer Griddlez]

Kree sat in the middle of the room, legs folded beneath him with his back straightened in meditation. In front of him was the compressor, which was shaping and forming his lightsaber crystal, the light casting a shadow against the dark concrete wall behind him. Other than that there wasn't much of anything in the room. It was just him, his thoughts, and the compressor. He had his lightsaber parts sprawled out in front of him on a piece of maroon silk. There was enough for two hilts, which he planned to allow them to latch together and separate if needed. The hilts themselves were simple durasteel cylinders, but some of the other parts were purely for aesthetics as well as grip. Each hilt, individually, would be longer than most. This allowed him to have more leverage in his swings, providing him with more striking power and maneuverability with the saber. When joined together they would have a combined length of 48 inches, meaning each hilt would be around 2 feet long.

Kree sat there meditaing, and two days had already passed. His concentration on the crystal was unfaltered for the most part, however he also had to use the force to sustain himself since he hadn't brought any food with him. He focused on the crystal, moving the heat and intensifying it in some places, and decreasing the heat in others so as not to compress the crystal too much. When the materials were first placed in the compressor he would move the materials inside, to shape the crystal itself. After the first two days passed, he felt it was ready. After waiting a few hours for the comprressor to cool down. Remaining seated, Kree reached out to the compressor with the force and opened it. Gathering energy around the crystal, it rose into the air and per Kree's will, guided it to the silk cloth in front of him. He surrounded himself. Dark energies began swirling around him, his emotions of anticipation being sated as he was now halfway done. After the crystal was placed next to the saber parts it was meant to combine with, he began gathering his strength. Feeling prideful of his latest accomplisment he began swirling the Force around the parts, allowing his emotions to come forth in controlled bursts of pride, envy, empowerment, and they rose. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together gorgeously, forming the electronics first with the crystal at the center. Next came the hilt, which after guiding all the electronic components inside of it he added the four grips to it. All four of the grips for the first blade were hardened rubber, two of them had ribs running parallel to the blade, the other two had the ribs running perpendicular. This gave him more traction with the blade, and made it so that his grip on the blade would be extensively more stable. Now that the grips were attached, guided the blades' emitter on top of the hilt and fastened it. Then, he attached the belt clip to the bottom of the hilt before fastening the special cap that would interlock with it's other half. The grips on his lightsaber were arranged in a patter, the grip under the emitter was the perpendicular-ripped grip, the one underneath that was the parallel ripped grip, the pattern repeated for the last two, ending with the parallel grip sitting ontop of the cap. His first blade was complete. But, he would wait for the other blade to be finished before trying them out.

He repeated the process for his second crystal. Now that he knew he was almost done, he paid no attention to his growing hunger for food. This didn't stop his stomach from growling often, though. After placing the materials into the compressor for a second time, he immediately sat down behind the silk cloth and became attentive towards his now forming creation. No longer worried about sustaining himself, his attention and awareness were solely on the crystal and it's formation. Hours passed, and the gases in the compressors' chamber heated up the materials and expanded them, then cooled down and allowed them to contract, this process repeating itself as Kree guided it every step of the way. The first day passed, and Kree continued to meditate on it. Just like the first crystal, this one would be a reflection of himself. What he needed from it, what he would use it for, it was his. It was a part of him. Though long and boring, he knew his wait was finally coming to an end. Just a few more hours and this crystal would be everything he needed it to be.

After the crystals formation was complete, and a few hours passed to allow the compressor to cool down a bit, he once again reached out to the compressor and opened it, guiding the crystal to the cloth in front of him. Both crystals were red, but that was generally what happened. He had no idea how to go about changing the color of the crystal but color was no concern of his. For the second time over the course of 3 and a half days, he tapped into his emotions and felt the strength of the force move through him, guiding the circuitry, the crystal, and all of the components for his final saber. Slowly moving the crystal into the circuitry where it's housed. After sliding the circuits into the hilt, Kree decided to repeat the same pattern as his previous lightsaber, but in reverse. Instead of having the perpendicular-ribbed grip underneath the emitter, and continuing from there, he slid the parallel-ribbed grip into place under the emitter. The fourth, and last grip, was the perpendicular grip. Sliding the belt clip onto the hilt, followed by the cap, his saber was finished.

The parts for it were simple. He had two standard hilts, and through bartering with other Acolytes and searching around, he came across two different grips. The grips were just about the same size as the hilts, but the belt clip would make up for the difference. Instead of using one grip for each hilt, he decided to cut the grips into four sections. Of course, one of the two grips was ribbed horizontally and the other vertically, but after cutting each into fours he decided to mix and match them. There was no button on either hilt. Instead, there was a locking mechanism inside the hilt built into the circuitry. The housing for the crystal, when turned, would activate the lightsaber and complete the circuit.

Kree stood up, both sabers in one hand as he tucked away the cloth with the other. Placing one of the sabers in his other hand, he ignited one saber at a time. Prodding the insides of the saber with the force, in his left hand, he turned the crystals' housing and ignited the blade. The color was nothing special. It was actually boringly typical of Sith to bear red blades. But there was something off about it. The blade sparked, sputtered and crackled. Electrical energy ran rampant throughout the blade. It was.... unstable. Kree felt a bit displeased with it, at first. Unstable crystals were considered failures. However, they did provide more power and pain with it's instability, so he fully accepted it as his own. Deactivating the saber in his left hand, he ignited the one in his right hand.

A brilliant red blade, just as boring a color as his first blade. This one, however, wasn't sparking or crackling. It was... alright. Nothing seemed off about it, it was just the average blade. But it was his, and he was okay with that. He had practice with single bladed sabers, but he always wanted to try his hands at a double-bladed saber. Connecting the hilts together, interlocking the caps, he ignited both blades. One was unstable, and the other was basic. He could feel the crystals hum in the force, the unstable one now perfectly distinguishably from the first. Deactivating the saber, he clipped it onto his belt. Reaching into his coats pocket, he pulled out the maroon colored silk cloth he used to place the parts on top of. After thinking for a few seconds on what to do with it, he decided on using it as an aesthetic accessory. He reached under his coat, and pulled out a short, curved dagger and neatly cut a strip of the cloth with it. It was a straight, neat piece of the silk that he tied around the hilt of the saber with the stable crystal. Kree put the dagger back into it's sheath under his coat. He grabbed the cloth with both hands, and tore a piece off. Stuffing what remained of the silk back into his coat, he tied around the ragged, shredded strip of silk around the hilt of his unstable saber.

Now to go test out his new lightsaber.​

 

[Symbiot Spider]

For weeks now, there has been a gnawing feeling in the pit of Reilu's stomach. For weeks now, he has learned how to meditate and place himself within the force for its guidance. For weeks now, he had honed the skills he had learned in the jungles of Endor. For weeks now, he has worked on making himself better and for all of this, nothing has changed. The gnawing would only grow. From the thing that felt the size of his pinky had grown into what felt like the size of his fist and continuing to grow.

For two days, Reilu allowed himself nothing but meditation to hopefully bring an answer to the peculiar issue happening. He swam through the force until he arrived at another gnawing feeling, his father's lightsaber. The one he recreated even though it didn't work ignite for him any longer. He knew that it wouldn't ignite because he chose to move on his own path instead of honouring his father.

When he came out of his exhausting meditation, he opened his eyes and withdrew his father's lightsaber. With a hot fury directed at himself, and a defiance for his father's saber, he clicked the ignition on his father's lightsaber and watched as it blazed to life and held true; something it hadn't done since the crystal cave. He was amazed in the moment, his mind clear on the picture of his father he could barely remember, just the hair he shared with him. The lightsaber wavered at the exact moment his thoughts did and vanished as soon as his concentration was removed.

It was what he needed in order to give his coming actions solidification in his mind. He rose from his spot and reached through the force to acquire his own lightsaber. He sheathed his father's inside his vest and his own along his back, balancing the meter long hilt so equal amounts sprouted from his shoulder and opposing hip. He rearranged his room so things were back in their place before leaving the room and eventually the academy.

He found himself not walking blindly, but offering himself to the force; something he had grown used to over the passed weeks. Without much thought, Reilu found himself walking towards the large central courtyard. He wasn't sure what he would find there, but he knew that he would need to start there.

 

[Officer Griddlez]

Nagging at the back of his mind, it urged, necessitated that Kree leave room. Something was calling him, and Kree couldn't comprehend what exactly wanted him. Nonetheless, he decided to indulge in this odd sensation. Kree walked. He couldn't tell where exactly he was supposed to go, but he pressed on and kept turning down each hallway until he had an idea of where the nagging sensation was leading him.

The courtyard? he thought. After the thought passed his mind, he was at the entrance to the courtyard. In the center, stood a large black pillar topped off with a pyramid shape, with geometrics carved into the base. Surrounding it was a bed of polished ebony stones, extending about a meter in circumference.

As quickly as he noticed the pillar, he also sensed someone else. A young male with messy dreaded hair walked in at the same time as him, and Kree could feel the force flowing through him. Is that what called me? I don't know, but I'll go with it.

"You," Kree spoke, "You feel it too, right?" Kree looked at the man again. The long protruding piece of metal on his back wasn't a staff, it was the hilt of a lightsaber. It was... oddly long, but he couldn't exactly say anything since his hilts were longer than normal as well.

He could feel it again. Something urging him to continue. The force kept beckoning him to do something... but what? Before giving the man a chance to reply, Kree figured it out.

"You don't look too busy... might I make a request?" he asked, reaching to his side and unclipping one of his new sabers. He felt the torn cloth on the hilt, and new that he grabbed the one with the unstable crystal. Without igniting his saber, he stood there. Is this what he was meant to do? He believed so, letting the Force move freely through him, becoming a conduit for it's raw power.


​

 

[Symbiot Spider]

His train of thought was broken by a tall man cloaked in heavy amounts of black or gray. It wasn’t the look of him that stopped him, adjusting to the monotonous colour pallets of the Sith was one of the first things Reilu had to do. It was moreso the presence that he carried; it reminded him of himself when he first came to the Sith. He suddenly spoke which also surprised Reilu.

“You, you feel it too, right?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Reaching through the force, Reilu could sense an uncertainty in something, but couldn’t put his finger on it. He tried to reach deeper and find the answer, but before he could see it the man took out a saber hilt. It was clearly a modified saber like his own and Reilu could sense that this man wasn’t afraid to use it, but did he know how to use it was the question.

“You don’t look busy… might I make a request?”

Reilu remained still as he wasn’t totally sure what to expect from the man, but knew that he was trying to make an aggressive stance for whatever it was. He slowly reached to the hip where the bottom of his lightsaber’s hilt was, reaching through the force, he detached it from the clips holding it in place and could sense it drop under the gravity now controlling it and pivot around the hand holding the bottom. It swung in a rather large display, but anything this elongated hilt did would be considered this. Reilu could feel the point of balance roll to a certain point and let go, watching it spin in place so he could grab a more centered position on the hilt. He didn’t take a stance, didn’t make any aggressive moves of his own, but allowed the message to be clear that if attacked, he would defend himself.

“That would depend on the request; I was on my way somewhere if you must know.”

It was a partial bluff, he knew that something here in the force was holding him still instead of completely ignoring and bypassing this man, but at the same time it pulled him away knowing this wasn’t something that would be integral to his learning.

 

[Officer Griddlez]

How should I approach this? I probably should have asked before taking my saber out... What's done is done, I suppose. Thinking to himself, Kree responded in kind. "I was on my way somewhere too. But it seems this is where I was intended to be." A short pause in his words, before he continued, "But I saw you standing there, and figured you must be feeling the same thing I felt in the Force." Slightly relaxing his grip on the hilt, but not so much as to have it taken from him, he pressed on with conversation.

I don't really don't want to make this more awkward than I've already made it...

"Long story short, I need a sparring partner. New saber, you see?" Slightly adjusting his grip, to shift attention to his weapon. Brushing his hood off of his head, he made his last statement before firmly gripping his saber in both hands and taking a stance with feet spread neatly apart, allowing him to effectively utilize his strength and remain balanced.

"If you wish to spar, ignite your saber in kind."

Kree had yet to practice with his sabers when they were combined at the hilt. For now he decided on using them the way he knew how. Maybe later on, once getting used to them as a double-bladed saber would he use them. But that would be for another time; impaling oneself on your own blade isn't exactly a story you tell to your grand kids... Should that ever happen, chances are you wouldn't even have grand-kids to tell.​

 

[Symbiot Spider]

If a sparring partner was all this man wanted, why would he go to an extreme like this to do so; were all Sith like this? Reilu still had a lot to learn about the Sith, but he also needed to learn how to use his lightsaber. With a slight smirk, Reilu gripped his lightsaber a little tighter and adopted a basic stance for lightsaber combat before igniting his lightsaber. The bright orange glow with a solid black core, it illuminated his face in a cascade of gold that seemed to only highlight his tanned complexion.

“Let’s see what happens, shall we?”

He surged forwards while side stepping the man to his backside and slamming his saber for his chest. Knowing it would be blocked easily, Reilu through more strength behind it to knock him slightly off balance if possible. He remembered his training and kept the aggressive nature by spinning the opposite way and jabbing the hilt for the man’s now exposed ribs before stepping around the man’s back and away.

“Name is Reilu, it is nice to meet you, friend.”

There was a little play on the word ‘friend’ but Reilu smirked to play it off. It wasn’t offensive, but Reilu couldn’t help keep the arrogance from his voice. He would take this opportunity to practice, after all, real people were better then a sparring droid. Reilu reached through the force and allowed it to sink him deep inside it. He tried to balance himself within it before the man could retaliate.

 

[Officer Griddlez]

Kree braced himself as his opponent rushed towards him. His opponents attack towards his chest was easily deflected, as Kree batted his foes saber away with his, using equal strength to combat it. However, he realized a moment too soon that it was a feint as his opponents hilt slammed into his ribs before backing away behind him. A brief moment of weakness, on Kree's part. As his opponent backed away, he gave his name. Not taking his eyes off of his opponent, he quickly spun around as Reilu backstepped behind him.

Now it's my turn.

Gathering the force around him, he focused on his legs and speedily rushed towards him. Kree held his lightsaber, right hand below the emitter with his left palm on the cap, he repayed Reilu's assault in kind. With his palm on the cap of the hilt, he assaulted four of the five target zones. Since his hands weren't both on the hilt gripping it, there wasn't much force behind it. He wasn't going for force, he was going for speed by using his palm to readjust the saber with each consecutive strike on his opponent's defenses.

"Pleasure to meet you. I am called Kree."

The strike against his ribs hurt, but Kree used that pain to fuel the Force, letting it envelope his body. After Kree's attack on Reilu's arms and legs, he ducked down and aimed a kick meant to sweep him off his feet. Kree's speed and strength were fine, but he knew that balance was a difficulty of his. Knowing your own weakness allows you to improve it, so if he could prevent his enemy from throwing him off, as he almost did with the strike to his ribs, Kree would be fine.​

 

[Symbiot Spider]

Reilu sunk low into his stance as the man charged. The swings from his saber weren’t particularly strong, especially seeing as Reilu was using both hands to utilize his saber still. He wasn’t completely sure what Kree was trying to do, but it clearly wasn’t about brute force. Kree dropped down even lower than Reilu and attempted to sweep his legs, but upon instinct, Reilu found himself stepping into it to cut the strength and momentum like a natural Djem So user. While stepping in, Reilu rammed with his lead shoulder, not giving much room for evasion. At the same time, he spun his elongated hilt around to reverse the blade and to help extend his push attempt, Reilu surged the hilt forwards directly for Kree’s sternum. Fully extended now, Reilu took in a deep breath and felt the force flow through him as he returned to his heavily rooted stance; he had noticed that he didn’t move backwards any which impressed himself, he was learning clearly.

“So this is fun. You need to think more of what you are going. Don’t just attack blindly hoping speed or strength will get you anything else but killed.”

It wasn’t much in terms of advice, but Reilu certainly was feeling a little under whelmed with this opponent. He had made such a show of force that Reilu had expected the brawn, but Kree was certainly not using any tactics when it came to fighting and if nobody told him, he surely would die. Ready for anything, Reilu stood still rooted in place.

“Think about your momentum and your opponent’s body language. It will lend you some information about how to deal with them.”

 

[Officer Griddlez]

He was getting pissed. Not at Reilu, of course, but at himself. His saber was different from his old training saber and it definitely took some getting used to. However the man was right. What was it that Kree had that he could use to his advantage? He was bigger which meant he presented more of a target, but he was also strong and fast. If he couldn't use those things to advantage then he might as well leave the Sith. Reilu headed straight for him; even though he wasn't as bulky he was still fast, and quite strong too. Winding up his feet, he spun around and aimed at Reilu's shoulder with a palm-strike meant to redirect his attempt at unbalancing Kree. The part Reilu said about momentum was right too. I need to get some space between us. Kree somersaulted a few meters away from Reilu, taking a stance and braced himself.

"Now you know why I needed a sparring partner." Thinking a minute, before adding "again, I could have approached this in a more... less awkward way. Sorry."

He needed to create a false opening; and he needed to get some practice with sabers when they were combined at the hilt. But that would wait for a little while. As Kree inhaled, he gathered the anger he had, and the frustration of being wrong. Upon exhale, he allowed his body to lose tension and limber up; he'd need more flexibility right now. The stance he was in, and the positioning of his saber, made a small opening by his ribcage. Though it was an opening, it was intentional. Should Reilu try the should strike again, Kree would send an elbow intended to smash into his opponents shoulder-blade. If it was another pommel strike, Kree would lean into it, turn slightly, and let it graze him a bit as he sent a kick out towards Reilu's abdomen.

 

[Symbiot Spider]

“There was definitely a better way that you could have gone about asking, but it’s done now.”

Reilu calmly began to walk up to him with a smirk playing on his lips. When he approached the last four feet, he leapt quickly into a small hop and thrust out with the tip of his lightsaber lunging for his exposed ribs. It was a feint, but Reilu couldn’t stop his attack at this point and was struck in the shoulder with what felt like a rigid elbow.

He stumbled forwards but on the third step caught himself and spun fiercely to sweep down through Kree’s knees, if connected, and then again sweeping broadly around Kree’s neck level. The strikes were quickly tied together so if Kree were to jump to evade, he would be in danger of the second strike with no options for evading it. After the second large sweep, Reilu would step forwards while calling to the force to wrap around him so that when he extended his hand a torrent of air would push Kree and lob him backwards like a small stone.

This all seemed to happen in a matter of seconds, after the Force Push, Reilu balanced the lightsaber hilt on his shoulder and extinguished the blade. It wasn’t to signal the end of the battle, but rather because there was so much distance between them now that he had time, and was boasting.

 

[Officer Griddlez]

He watched as his opponent stumbled forward, with a slight smile on his face. That smile quickly disappeared when Reilu had spun around. It was aimed at his knees, however he wasn't as agile as he'd like to be in the future. Knowing he wouldn't be able to jump out of the way fast enough, he somersaulted over the knee-swipe, only to notice a second strike fly above his overturned feet as his somersault almost came to an end, when he felt a forceful impact on his chest that blew him a few yards away. That smirking face of Reilu's began to piss Kree off. It wasn't his boasting that angered him, it was the fact that he hasn't been doing this the right way. Something about this was holding him back, and he didn't know what exactly it was. It had seemed like his opponent wasn't taking this too seriously, and maybe that was influencing Kree to not take it seriously as well? He stood up as Reilu just stood there.

I have the distance, and the time. Might as well use it.

He reached for his other lightsaber, and connected it to the one he already had ignited. Igniting it, he now had his saber-staff ready. The trick was quickly learning how to use it without cutting himself in half. He began slowly walking towards Reilu, using the anger that was directed both at himself and his opponent to draw on the Force, to make his actions faster. Strength alone would never help him, and speed could only do so much. Skill. That's what it came down to. And he hated his lack of it. As he paced forward he was twirling his saber-staff, making sure not to cut himself in half and to get a general feel for how it worked. The weight was even, it was balanced, and it was fast. However he wouldn't be able to utilize any sort of acrobatics when using his sabers like this. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he never was one for acrobatics. This suited him well. He kept spinning his saber-staff, focusing on his hand-coordination and what he could do with it. He stared at Reilu as he got closer, his saber gradually getting faster. If his opponent wouldn't take this seriously, he would. With his last step forward, he gathered as much tension in his legs as he could, and concentrated the Force on what he was about to do next.

He leapt forward, speeding towards Reilu. As soon as he got within his opponents' striking zone he ducked down and vaulted forward, getting behind Reilu and swinging at his shoulder with the unstable blade. Alternatively, the opposite end of his saber, the stable end, aimed for his adjacent leg. After his two swipes at Reilu, Kree kicked outward towards his abdomen. He was sure his attacks would get blocked. That didn't bother him; he would continually batter at Reilu's defenses for as long as he could and as hard as he could. He wasn't able to do anyting fancy with his saber-staff since this was his first time using it, but he knew it enough to not impale himself. After his assault Kree backed off to avoid another blast of air to knock him off his feet. So he stood there, both hands on his saber ready to snap into whichever position he needed. He was more relaxed now, though that previous gust of Force-conjured wind caught him off guard. His skin was getting hot, his frustrations and animosity boiling to the surface. A drop of sweat fell from the tip of his nose only to fall into his saber, sizzling as it did so. This only proved that there was always something to learn.