COMPLICATIONS OF TRAINING

With Quinn being the newest addition to the crew, not that anyone could even call them that – it was his Lord, himself as the Captain and second-in-command, a slave and a droid who did the rest of the difficult aspects second to him. Reviewing the contents of the datapad, the Captain couldn't help but had his gaze landed on the door to his Lord's quarters.

Vette was quietly cleaning her blasters on the couch, not saying a word or even paying attention to the captain. It would take them another few days before they could arrive at Nar Shaddaa, and the Captain had this strange sense of curiosity on what his Lord might be doing inside.

He noticed that the Lord would only come out of her quarters during meal sessions and when she decides to have updates on the ship's condition, she would go out and consult with him about those. Sometimes she would have a small chat with Vette but that would mostly happen during meal times and from time to time she would leave her quarters for the droid to clean.

The more she stayed in, the more the Captain grew curious about things.

"What do you think about her?" Vette asked out of the blue, as the Captain turned his head to face the slave. There was a hint of a smile on her lips as she finished cleaning her blasters. For him, it would make sense for her to ask such a thing, even if her nonstop blabbering has annoyed him for his short stay in their Lord's crew. Vette has been with her the longest.

"I beg your pardon?" The Captain asked.

Vette gazed at him rather innocently. "What do you think about her?"

"I think she's an exceptional Lord." There wasn't a lie in those words. He admired her, she's a formidable woman that has great strength deep down inside of her.

"I noticed you staring at the exceptional Lord's quarters, Captain." Vette pointed out. With those few weeks he joined them, she did notice that he would stare at her friend whenever she was out. Captain blushed and avoided her gaze, which made her burst out of laughter. "It's alright Quinn, I know what you're thinking… you're wondering what she's doing inside."

Quinn looked at the slave once more and gave a firm nod. Vette laid back on the couch and crossed her legs, being as comfortable as she is – she always found the Captain in a stiff position and wondered, if the man knows how to relax. "You'll get used to it. She always traps herself in thereafter we were deployed from Dromand Kaas."

"But what does the Lord do inside?"

Vette shrugged. "Who knows – reading, meditation, Leena is always the type to know as much as she can when she can."

"Has she been like that in Dromand Kaas?" Quinn asked curiously. Vette needed to be careful with her words. She may have been part of Leena's life for the last seven years, but the Twi'lek felt that it would be betraying her if she said a word about Arrun without her consent. It was still a sensitive topic – it hasn't been a year since he was killed.

"No," The slave answered. "Leena would go out from time to time and run errands for her Master or for herself. When I wake up, I would find her in the balcony training with her lightsabers – at the first part, she would practice with one lightsaber and then she would go for two, the rain kept pouring and she wouldn't even go inside until she thinks she's finished for the day."

Instead of receiving more answers, the Captain began to ask more questions in his mind. He never understood force-sensitives, not the Sith or the Jedi. He was a soldier, like his brothers and his father before him. He never regretted joining the Imperial Military, he was determined to reach the highest rank it has to offer and he saw that through the new Lord he serves.

He never saw her training outside of the Lord's room. It made him wonder more as he glanced towards her door. What could she be doing?

The apprentice stayed in her quarters for as much as she can, trying to master the basics of the Sith Code and understand the Jedi Code as much as she can. Meditation wasn't doing anything for the past days. She wasn't getting much of things without a teacher, and she knows that her mother wouldn't be as much help as she claims to be.

She took the Jedi Holocron and thought maybe the Master Tarun could assist her in this experiment of hers. She never attempted to open the Jedi Holocron back on Dromand Kaas, in fear that Baras would find out and torture her. She had Arrun's wisdom at the time as well, but when everything fell down to this moment – she knew that she had to seek knowledge anywhere she could.

It was odd for a Sith, but knowledge leads to power.

She could use his words of wisdom, and at the same time, she needed to be stronger if she would bring Baras down with her own hands.

"What do you wish to know, young Sern?" Master Tarun asked with a kind smile.

"I asked my mother if it was possible to wield a lightsaber with the Force, and she told me there was one person in history that wielded three and I have to be creative on my own training but… I don't know where to start." She was honest and eager. The Jedi could find the sheer determination inside of her eyes as he nodded. He can't help her much but, he hoped that his guidance can assist her in any way he can.

"The ways of the Living Force are beyond our understanding. Has your master taught you the four aspects of the Force?" Tarun asked as Leena shook her head. Perhaps it is the guidance of a Jedi is what she needed for this impossible task.

"The nature of the Force is difficult to study as a while. In which a student could easily become lost in its own depths or even flounder in the shallows trying too eagerly to focus on a speck in the void. In the thousands of years that it has served both Jedi and Sith, there are always four aspects: the living, the unedifying, the cosmic and the physical Force. For you to proceed to your training, you must use your instincts and allow the Force to guide you and learn these aspects on your own."

"How…" Leena was a loss of words and was swallowed into utter confusion. Even Tarun couldn't help her much, she knew that she was too eager to even have the basics of patience. The patience that she needed the most when it was only the beginning. "…how can I know?"

Tarun just smiled. "I can tell you what I believe, Leena. I believe that you will learn how to balance the Force. Don't let fear keep you from greatness, this is your destiny."

When the image of Master Tarun retreated back inside the Holocron, the apprentice felt even more lost. All she understood was that the Force has two sides, the light, and the dark – nothing more, it was the balance that she was after. But then, she remembered Baras saying something that the Force is strong within her. That there is untapped potential inside of her.

If she can master that potential, who knows what she can become.

Leena sighed. Not knowing what to do. Her mother gave her a history lesson while Tarun gave her lessons of the Force, that she has to understand for herself.

'Trust my instincts…' she thought to herself. Taking a deep breath as she sat down on the floor once more, placing one lightsaber in front of her. She placed her hand out and began to focus on the lightsaber in front of her.

She was able to lift it easily and yet, she knew she was doing something wrong.

Leena stood up with her lightsaber still unopened and floating through midair if one holds a lightsaber the wielder should master a form. Forms were required to compensate for or take advantage of the unique attributes of lightsabers, notably the odd balance of the weapon, all the weight being in the hilt, and the omnidirectional cutting edge.

The basics of lightsaber combat were established by the Shii-Cho lightsaber form, it was the first things that any wielder would know – the most basic form developed and even specialized towards training individuals all over the galaxy for generations. Attacks and parries in the lightsaber combat were described by the body zones they target, being in a specific position as Leena slowly moved her body and the lightsaber to the position she wishes by the command of the Force.

Naturally, she would be looking for a larger area to train and someone to assist her in the basics of sparring drills, in which most attacks are executed with horizontal swipes, while the parries are carried out vertical blocks meant to push the point of the enemy's blade away.

Leena took a deep breath as she continued to remember the first lessons with Tremel as a child. Zone One, the head. She thought to herself. Zone one is an attack consist of a vertical chop on the head, with the goal of vertically bisecting the opponent and the corresponding parry is a horizontal block.

Zone two, the right arm and side. She continued her formations as the lightsaber continued to move, absolute concentration was needed for her. Horizontal sideswipes with the corresponding counter being a vertical parry position. The sparring drills she had as a child had the handle held at waist height with the blade extended upwards. Though other combat forms employed drop parries with the handle held high.

Zone three left arm and side. She sighed, considering that zone two and three are the same but the directions are reversed. Zone four encompasses the entire midsection and torso. But refers specifically to the back. Tremel taught her that a successful zone of four attacks is almost fatal. As a classic parry four positions is a drop parry position with the blade angled downwards behind the duelist's back. The classic attack four is likely a variation in zones two and three.

Five and six left and right legs. She proceeded with low sideswipes or slashes, with corresponding defensive positions were drop parries with the hilt held at the waist.

"Okay…" Leena mumbled. "Now to turn this on… when I have a bigger space and a practice partner." She paused for a moment as she reached out her hand as the lightsaber quickly went to her. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

The apprentice couldn't help but glance on the other lightsaber strapped on her belt, having this slight discouraged feeling. No one has the knowledge or even the experience to teach her what she wants to know.

She can't have Vette or Quinn to teach her, both of them were more on blasters and have no knowledge of lightsabers. "Four aspects of the Force…" she mumbled to herself. Placing the lightsaber back on her belt, Leena proceeded out of her quarters.

Quinn was rather shocked that his Lord came out of the room without being called, Vette was already in the female crew quarters taking a nap before they could even arrive on Nar Shaddaa.

"Quinn," Leena addressed him by his surname instead of his rank. "What are you doing up?"

"I should ask the same, my Lord." The Captain bowed in the presence of his Lord without any delay. Leena wore a small smile as Quinn watched her sit down on the couch, she didn't wear her usual garments when she would be out and about in the field. She wore simple clothing, a pair of pants and a loose shirt with her white hair neatly tied up, not a single strand on her face.

"Well if that is the case, Quinn – I was proceeding with my own training in my quarters. I can't just sit around and think I could slice down every enemy I see when I'm not prepared mentally and spiritually, even if they say that the Force is with me. You and I both know that Baras doesn't accept failure, as what you saw back on Balmorra." The Captain listened to his Lord, being comfortable where she sat – she leaned back to watch the busy Imperial Captain. "I answered your question, now it's your turn to answer mine."

Quinn nodded and proceeded his report. "I wanted to update you on the condition of your ship when you were no longer… inside your quarters."

Leena nodded. "Proceed."

"Very well. It has responded extremely well to my optimizations. I'm pleased to report that we are operating at peak efficiency."

As amused as the Sith apprentice was, she was lucky to have someone as efficient as Quinn. Or else the droid would do all the work and she would have to see through things manually. "Keep up the good work then."

"I fully intend to, my Lord."

She sighed with a smile still, one thing did bother her as much as Quinn was brilliantly performing his job on her ship. "Your demeanor makes me feel rather… tense, Captain. Learn how to loosen up." This kind of performance and even aura reminds the apprentice of her father. A nice man, a brilliant military man.

"I see." Quinn acknowledged as he placed the datapad down and turned his attention to his Lord again. "My Lord, I don't see."

Leena burst out of laugher with his second statement. Making the Captain even more confused. "Is… that order or are you testing my professionalism?"

"I'm going to get a kick out of you!" She continued to laugh.

"I hope to be of greater service than that, my Lord." The more serious he sounded, the more amused his Lord was becoming. Vette was always the one cracking down jokes and stories for her amusement back in Dromand Kaas. This kind of amusement was rather charming and different from her.

She's not a typical Sith.

Apprentice to Lord Baras who seems to have actively followed his orders time and time again, even when the results were acceptable. For a cruel Lord like Baras, he had some plan for this apprentice and Quinn couldn't pinpoint why. She's powerful, her skills as a warrior are acknowledged, she's not a rebel to her Master and yet even as she follows orders – she has placed personal feelings over the mission.

Which was unacceptable for the success of the Empire.

Quinn had his orders, and he intended to follow every single one of them but he can't help but think.

Can she be so bold to go against Baras's orders

Would she use mercy over cruelty?

She smiles even when her Master almost had her killed in Balmorra, and yet there she was, sitting in front of him like a pet who is punished when she disobeys and is rewarded when she obeys. She confuses him, as much as she managed to inspire him back in Balmorra.

An odd woman.

A confusing woman.