Ask Yavin IV Test Day

[Jacata Lurel]

Jacata yawned as he pushed himself out of bed. It was early, before sunrise but the Jedi didn't believe in waking up at a normal time. Today there would a series of tests for him and a group of other Padawans. It filled him with excitement which chased away the usual groginess.

Determined to eat something, he made his way to the cafeteria before he would need to report to the training yard. He sat down, a tray filled with food. He had always been bigger and taller than most of his other Padawans. The constant growth had caused a near-constant hunger in the young Jedi. There were others in the mess hall, though no one that he personally knew. There always seemed to be Jedi he didn't know, constantly filtering in and out of the Temple.

He pulled out a datapad, flipping through some of his notes. He doubted today would the "book" sort of test, but it never hurt to be prepared. This was the stuff he struggled with so he spent more time on it than his other areas of study.

He grabbed another fruit from his tray, it was bright orange in color and was somewhat spiked. He bit into it, groaning quietly. He had no idea what it was called, but it was so good. He took another bite, letting himself already get distracted by his food.

 

[Larana Basai]

It was early. Too early to be exact. The sun hadn't even slipped above the horizon and already Larana had been forced out to bed. The still warm blankets beckoned her to return to them and it took no small amount of effort to refuse. She yawned, eyes closed as she drew her unkempt hair into a messy braid and moved at a sluggish pace to dress. It was safe to say that she despised mornings almost as much as she despised tests and today neither one would be avoidable. It was going to be a long day, but somehow she'd survive it – she always did.

It shouldn't have surprised anyone that she was one of the last to arrive in the cafeteria. It appears that her peers were already awake and eager, while she quietly dragged her feet through the food lines. It was already cold by the time it hit her tray, but that didn't matter as she had little interest in eating it anyway. Instead, Larana took her metal tray and wandered to the nearest available seat, next to a Mirialan student, and tossed her tray down.

She practically fell into her seat, looking to him only briefly, before groaning in frustration and burying her face within her arms, slouched forwards. Was it rude for her to avoid speaking a friendly introduction before stealing a seat? Quite possibly, but she'd never been the best at introductions and this particular morning seemed a not so great time to start. Perhaps he'd forgive her or perhaps he didn't care at all, either way it was done.

@Raydo

 

[Jacata Lurel]

A small clattering sound shook Jacata back to reality as the woman all but collapsed in the chair across from him. She gave him a groggy look and buried her face in her arms. He didn't know her, but it wasn't too big of a surprise, after the attack on Ajan Kloss there had been an influx of new faces.

"Not a morning person, huh?" he said with a grin. Jacata never understood why some people were morning people and some were not. He was just glad he had been chosen as one of the morning people, it made the life of a Jedi much easier. He felt for the woman. He slid her the cup of caf he had gotten for himself. The cup was filled with dark-colored, steaming liquid and smelled amazing.

He went back to eating for the moment, leaving her in silence for the time being. "I'm Jacata" he finally said, breaking the silence a moment later. He didn't expect her to answer, but at least he had introduced himself.

 

[Larana Basai]

For a moment, she was silent, face still buried in her arms. It wasn't that she wanted to seem ill-mannered, but rather that it took her time to gather the energy needed to actually sit upright in her chair. Larana groaned in exhaustion, looking up to offer him a groggy and half-hearted smile, hair still wild and eyes heavy. "I so despise mornings." She rubbed her eyes, forcing herself to wake up some, and tucked a stray hair back into her braids.

Jacata had been kind enough to offer her his cup of caf, still steaming in its mug. She pulled it close, warming her hands on the cup, eyes closed as she inhaled the strong aroma and then exhaled again. Larana looked over to him, somewhat envious of his energy. "Why do they insist on waking us before the sun?" Her lips touched the mug, burning as she took a sip, the dark-colored liquid almost too hot to ingest, but she found that she didn't mind it. She was grateful to him for offering; most mornings it was gone by the time she convinced herself out of bed and into the cafeteria.

"I'm Larana." Some charm returned to her smile, taking another sip and keeping the mug close to her lips. "Please feel free to ignore my complaints, Jacata."

@Raydo

 

[Jacata Lurel]

He chuckled at the sentiment. "You chose a terrible lifestyle for yourself," he said jokingly. She spent a moment trying to tame wild strands of hair as Jacata turned back to his food.

"Jedi Masters are old people, and old people like to get up early," he said with a shrug. It was generalizing, and he was sure there was some deep reason to it all but his explanation seemed more simple.

"Pleased to meet you, Larana." he replied as she introduced herself. He held up hands as she apologized. "The cafeteria is sacred, you are safe here." he joked again. "Oh, but don't eat that," he said, grabbing the bowl she was about to eat from and set it aside. It had been one of the only things left when she arrived, there was a reason for that. He threw some of the good food on a plate and slid it to her. "I wouldn't make my worst enemies eat that gruel you about to eat," he said, already biting into a piece of toas.

"So you know anything about these tests today?" he asked casually. He doubted she did, but the other Padawans had been gossiping about it all week with one theory or another.

 

[Larana Basai]

He pulled the slop from her tray, admitting that he wouldn't have offered it to the worst of his enemies. It did look unappetizing, which explained why it was the only thing left by the time she had managed to make it to the cafeteria. However, Larana hadn't really planned on eating it — whatever it was, it was grey in color and grainy like sand. She wasn't even sure why they continued to make it when no one bothered to eat it.

"I'm not sure anyone really eats it. I'd be willing to bet they've been heating up the same batch for years." The thought made her grimace. "They only scrape the mold off the top so we won't notice."

Larana took another sip of her caf and set the mug on the table beside her, reaching for a slice of buttered toast he had tossed on her tray. Her stomach rumbled, but she was still too tired to eat and thus only nibbled on it as the two of them conversed. She would regret not eating later, come lunch when she felt on the verge of starvation, but they never served slop for lunch.

"I heard they're going to make us all fight to the death with wooden sticks." She chuckled, taking a bite of her toast. Larana had heard the other students whispering about it over the past week, but she hadn't really paid much attention. Her circle of acquaintances was limited to Master Ris and Kalen, both of whom had been absent for quite a while. Beyond them, she had a bad tendency of keeping to herself and avoiding the other students.

"Really though, it's probably something dull like saber forms or ethics. It usually is." Larana shrugged, reaching to finish her caf. "Have you been told anything?"

@Raydo

 

[Jacata Lurel]

"I heard Master Rey actually made the stuff herself when she reformed the order." he said with another shrug. If that was the case, she was not a great cook.

He leaned in, his voice turning quiet. "I heard we would have to fistfight a rancor," he said, laughing after a short pause. "But you are probably right, its probably something simple enough," he said.

Jacata downed the rest of his juice and started to push himself up. "Guess we shouldn't keep the Masters waiting any longer," he said even as others were starting to get up. Jacata hated being late. Though he gathered that this Larana had her fair share of instances being late. He made it his mission to get her to the test on time.

They made their way to the training grounds where a bunch of small sections had been squared off. It was cool, almost uncomfortably so, a strong breeze blowing through the courtyard. "Good Luck out there!" he said the Larana before moving to stand in the crowd. It was several minutes before the rest of the crowd gathered before the ancient Jedi Master Tal Ren got up to address the gathered Padawans.

"Good Morning, Padawans." he said with the group murmuring back a greeting before he continued. "Today we will be testing your teamwork skills in a variety of tests. A Jedi will often find themselves having to rely on and be relied on their fellow Jedi. If one of you fails, you will both fail. The first test will be working with your partner in combat."

One of the Master's assistants started moving through the crowd, assigning them teammates. Jacata was assigned the girl who had briefly shared breakfast with. They were assigned one of the squares and Jacata met Larana there. " Guess you're stuck with me for today." he joked. "Don't kill me with a wooden stick." he said, face showing mock concern.

As they spoke, four advanced training droids walked out onto their testing area. Jacata looked around and could see the same was happening all over the courtyard. These droids were no joke, programmed to mimic lightsaber users, just one could be a challenge. Four would be incredibly difficult.

 

[Larana Basai]

The two of them walked together to the training grounds, met with a bitter cold breeze and dew covered grass. It was uncomfortable to say the least, the sharp cold stinging her cheeks as she tried to find a warm spot to stand among the other students. Jacata disappeared among the faces as Master Tal Ren addressed them, his voice shattering the still morning silence. Larana warmed her hands in the pockets of her robes, awaiting her assignment to one of the squared off testing areas to meet her partner for the morning. She felt apprehensive to entrust her success to another student, having worked with none of them in the past, but admittedly sighed a bit in relief as Jacata approached her again.

"I could think of a few worse scenarios than being stuck with you for the morning, Jacata." She smiled and took her place.

That brief relief was interrupted when four advanced training droids marched out onto their testing square. Larana had fought them in the past, but had never won against one. They were trained to be relentless, never tiring machines who mimicked lightsaber users. One had been too much for her in the past and four of them suddenly made the task feel daunting. She turned to look at Jacata to see if he looked equally as concerned.

"I think I'd be more concerned about them killing us with sticks." She glanced back over to see them lowered into position, waiting on their command to begin. "Ever been hit by one? It's not pleasant."

@Raydo

 

[Jacata Lurel]

As she asked if he had ever been hit by one, the droids all pulled out staves with electric ends. The courtyard nearly vibrated with the buzzing sound in the air. "Yeah, I'd be alright with skipping that today," he said, rolling his shoulders as the test was about the begin.

He unclipped the lightsaber from his belt, his finger tightening around the worn leather wrapped around the hilt. When the signal was given, he ignited his blue blade as the droids started to approach. "Stay close, they will probably try and separate us," he said. He didn't know that for sure, but it would fit the test, besides, he always preferred a friend at his back as opposed to an enemy.

The droids all moved forward, the outer ones moving to circle around them. Jacata had earned about Jedi who could communicate so well with the partners in a battle that it was like one person fighting, unfortunately, they were not that in tune. He just hoped she would follow his lead.

As one circled around to the left, Jacata lunged at it, swinging across at stomach level. The droid spun its staff, catching his blade. Jacata pivoted swinging again, leaving himself open as another one of the droids lunged at him.

 

[Larana Basai]

The intimidating vibrations of their weapons and the smell of electricity that cut through the cold morning air caused her heart to race. Larana hadn't prepared for this — the last time she had fought an advanced training droid, it had only a metal rod. She had left covered in welts and bruises and worried now that she might face worse today, or let Jacata down and see him injured instead. In reality, any injuries they might sustain wouldn't prove fatal, but she wouldn't wish that pain on anyone.

"Then we won't let them separate us." She assured him, positioning herself at his back so that neither of them would be left exposed.

Her fingers curled tight around the hilt of her lightsaber, igniting the pale yellow blade as the droids began to circle around them like vultures. Larana could hear the crackling current at the end of each of their staves and had to remind herself not to focus on them, but instead on their movements so that she could mimic them and avoid being struck or letting Jacata be struck.

To her right, one of them lunged to meet her partners blade, to her left, another moved in to take advantage of his exposed side. Larana quickly interjected, crossing blades and forcing the droid back, though it took much of her strength to do so. Her balance was thrown momentarily, but managed to remain on her feet as the same droid lunged back, attempting to prod at her right side.

She swung horizontally, knocking the stave away from her side and followed-through into a downwards strike, hoping to sever the droids dominant right arm from its torso to hinder its movements.

@Raydo

 

[Jacata Lurel]

As Larana blocked the strike, he could feel the heat coming from the electric staff. The droid he had swung at blocked the first swing, but Jacata followed up with a heavy overhand swing. He battered the machine with two heavy swings, it falling back as Jacata attacked.

As the droids circled around them, one lunged at Larana, jabbing with its staff. Jacata raised a hand and flung the droid sideways into the droid next to it. Their robotic limbs entangled as they fell to the ground. They would get back up, but it bought them a few seconds of breathing room.

He turned back just in time to see the droid in front of the swing in a motion that looked like it was trying to take Jacata's head off. He ducked, the tallest of hairs singing slightly from the heat.