May Mingle (Caprine)

[moonofmylife]

Who: The crew of the Caprine and visitors
Broadcast: N/a
Action: Yes
When: Throughout the month of May

[Enjoy the snacks! Sadly they are mostly goo.]

Comments

action; ota (despite the ic callout)

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka stands in the cargo hold of the Caprine, hands resting on her hips, grinning playfully.]

Finn! [She calls out, and her voice echoes nice and loud around the place.] You ready to get your butt kicked?

[archaeotechnician]

Oh, you're way too late, kiddo. Pancakes beat you to it.

[ barely acquaintances, already dragging the poor guy.

drawn by the shouts, aphra perches on a box. her feet kick idly. she carries with her one of the cleaning droids, its interior exposed. ]

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka tilts her head, lekku swinging slightly as she does so. One of her eyebrows is raised in confusion.]

... Pancakes?

[What sort of a name is that.]

[archaeotechnician]

[ a shrug! ]

Picture a flat cake. At least, that's what it's supposed to look like? I stuck to the bacon.

[resnipstance]

Oh-- no, I know what a pancake is. I just thought--

[She thought it was a nickname for someone. Because that's where Ahsoka's nicknaming mind naturally goes.]

How can a food beat someone?

[archaeotechnician]

You ever see anyone who doesn't have a very good idea of what they're doing try to do that thing anyway?

[ that's how. ]

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka snorts with good humour.]

Well, everyone's gotta start somewhere! At least he's optimistic.

[She's had about enough of Anakin's particular brand of pessimism for a few days. Maybe this will be a nice change of pace.]

[archaeotechnician]

That's one word for it.

[ straightening, aphra views ahsoka with interest. ]

So what brings you all the way to our humble ship? Does he owe you money? Stand you up for a date?

[resnipstance]

[That earns a chuckle.]

Nothing so serious. He asked me if I could teach him how to use a lightsaber.

I think he thinks I'll go easier on him than Anakin or Obi-Wan. Boy is he in for a surprise.

[Nah, she probably still will. She just likes to talk big.]

[archaeotechnician]

[ interest doubled. ]

You have a lightsaber?

[resnipstance]

[She pats one of the two practice sabers hanging from her belt.]

Not really. My real ones were confiscated-- they all are, when we come here. But these are good enough to learn and practise with.

You know what a lightsaber is? [Because most people here don't. It's w e i r d.]

[archaeotechnician]

I've come across them once or twice. [ aphra, you're hilarious. ] They're pretty rare.

[ she doesn't even pretend to be interested in the droid anymore. setting it aside, she rests her hands on her thighs. ]

Where did you find yours?

[resnipstance]

Well yeah. They are a Jedi weapon, after all. But-- that means you're from the same world as us! [That cheers her immensely.]

I'm gonna have to disappoint you though. I didn't find them, I made them. Spent the better part of three months saving up credits and scrounging around different spare-parts shops on different planets, too. When it comes to a lightsaber, even a practice one, it just isn't the same if you don't make it yourself, you know? The weight's never right!

action;

[forcesensitive]

[After a few minutes, Finn makes his way over and grins brightly. He's wearing the standard issue light armor that Atroma gives to Security personnel, and he's got both the staff Obi-Wan gave him and a weighted practice sword from down on the planet.]

Hey Ahsoka! I'm ready if you are!

action;

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka takes one look at his armour and gives him a lop-sided wry grin.]

First things first-- you should probably ditch the armour. A real lightsaber can cut through it about as easily as butter anyway. You're better off capitalizing on freedom of movement.

action;

[forcesensitive]

[He nods and starts to strip it off.]

The movement's not bad, but you're right - I've seen it go right through armor. Still useful if you're in a big battle, though. I bet most people we're going to meet here don't have lightsabers.

[There, that didn't take long.]

action;

[resnipstance]

True. It can be useful for absorbing blaster fire. Though, once you get proficient enough with a lightsaber, you'll be able to redirect blaster fire back at whoever's shooting anyway.

You can dump your other things too, by the way. Today we'll be practising with this.

[She tosses him another lightsaber hilt she'd been hiding somewhere. In terms of weight and feel, it feels almost identical to the one Finn held before, even if it looks a little different on the outside. That's because she based this one off Anakin's-- a saber she's already intimately familiar with.]

action;

[forcesensitive]

Now that sounds like a goal.

[He catches the tossed weapon and gets a sense of deja vu. Granted, he hasn't seen a lot of lightsabers, but the size and feel of this one is very similar to the one he'd carried before. Skywalker's.

he turns it around in his hands a few times, smile growing subconsciously. This feels right.]

I like it. You made this one, too?

[resnipstance]

That's right. I based it off my master's. My sabers are smaller than average, so I didn't think they'd be a good template.

Go on, press the button.

[forcesensitive]

It's the same size as the one I used to carry.

[There's a reason for that, Finn. Holding it carefully in the correct position, he presses the button and is rewarded with that unique activation sound - even if the blade looks a little different from a real lightsaber, it's a hell of a lot closer than anything else he's found so far.]

I really like it!

[resnipstance]

Good! [It's blue, too. Who doesn't like a blue lightsaber?] I made them to resemble real sabers as closely as possible. While they won't cut through anything, they'll still give you a mean-looking burn if you get hit on your skin. Clothing should be alright, so long as it isn't held there too long. [In a lighthearted, jesting voice:] You could probably iron with it!

[forcesensitive]

[Blue lightsabers best lightsabers. He'd only be worried if it was red.]

I don't think I need ironing that bad.

[He swings it through the empty air slowly a few times, getting a feel for how it handles (and to hear the whoosh).]

So all it's missing is the, what do you call it, kyber crystal?

[resnipstance]

That's right.

So-- this is going to be a little bit boring to start off with, but I need you to bear with me before we can get to the good stuff. You mentioned you had prior combat training, right? So maybe it won't be too bad.

[forcesensitive]

Depends on how much I need to unlearn.

[Which honestly shouldn't be much - there are a lot of similarities between standard weapons training and lightsaber tactics, and Finn was always a quick study.

And he's pretty much immune to boredom, which helps immensely.]

All right. So what's the best way to start?

[resnipstance]

You're going to hate me for this, but Form One. Also called Shii-Cho. Back to basics-- it's the pillar on which all other lightsaber forms are built. You can't master any of the others until you learn it. Sorry, but that's just the way it goes. Good lightsaber technique is reliant on a good foundation.

[That said, she takes her main lightsaber off her belt and holds it in both hands in front of her, standard grip, legs planted firmly beneath her at a decent width-- one slightly in front, one slightly behind, to maximise balance, stability and movement. It's reminiscent of the one Luke first used on the Millennium Falcon when Obi-Wan was instructing him.]

This is the opening stance. Super basic. Both hands, weapon in front of you. I suspect you probably already know this one, or a variation of it.

[So she doesn't bother explaining it further than that-- just to see what Finn does naturally.]