Tutorial ((RP for emperors_hand))

[the_starkiller]

Puffing out a breath, Galen dragged his sleeve across the perspiration on his forehead. He swallowed, throat a little dry, and it finally occurred to him just how thirsty he was. But he couldn't allow himself to reward his body's needs like that, not in the middle of training. That was how he had been taught, session after session and year after year under Vader's tutelage. Granted, the Sith Lord that he had served had turned out to be using his Secret Apprentice as little more than a hunting dog meant to flush out Vader's prey, but it had made him a skilled and powerful Force user.

Now, Galen meant to see if he could do the same.

Focusing his mind, he felt the crackling internal warmth of the Dark Side pushing back his fatigue. Galen thumbed the control on one of the training lightsabers he had constructed and watched as the bright red blade came to life with a familiar snap-hiss sound.

He turned to face toward the center of the training ring. There wasn't a lot of room for one in the ship's cargo hold, but it would do. R'alla was an entertaining and luxurious planet, but after a few days without contact with the Emperor, Galen had gotten restless. Training was his idea. He knew that Mara Jade had power in the Force that the Emperor had never even hinted to her about. She deserved to be able to use it.

Galen looked intently at the woman who, for the moment, was his trainee and not his lover, waiting for her to ignite the red blade of her own training weapon. "You ready?"

Not waiting for the answer, Galen lunged forward to strike.

Comments

[emperors-hand.insanejournal.com]

Mara hated this already.

She missed the familiar feel of her own lightsaber in her hands, the purple color of it that belonged only to her and set her apart from other Jedi or Siths. Still, she'd asked Galen for this, even if it was his idea. She needed to be pushed to her limits, to find out exactly what the boundaries were, since she had no clue if Emperor Palpatine had been lying to her about them or not.

She was tired and sweaty, and she saw Galen was the same. Had he been holding back on her somehow? She shut her eyes for a moment to allow a brief bit of re-connection to the Force before she ignited the training lightsaber in time to block Galen's attack.

"Ready," she gritted out, minutes after he'd asked the question and charged her. She pressed against him, using every bit of reserve strength she had within her to see if she could somehow push him bodily away for an attack of her own.