"Not much improvement in your blade work, huh? Looks like you've been slacking on your training," Obi-Wan teased.
"You know what I've been doing lately, Master. I haven't had any spare time," Amir said helplessly.
"Then take this chance to properly refresh it," Obi-Wan said, stepping back and setting himself into the opening stance of Form III.
Amir set himself into Form III as well. For a moment the two faced each other at close range, circling and shifting continuously, neither taking the initiative to attack, both searching for a flaw.
After more than ten seconds like that, Obi-Wan finally put on his "teacher" face—he stepped forward and pressed the attack.
Amir adjusted his posture instantly and parried with practiced ease. The lightsabers met in the air, producing a clean, resonant hum.
No. 32 watched their sparring, a trace of recollection rising in his eyes. But it quickly returned to normal. One of his past training regimens had been using a lightsaber to deal with dozens of droids at once; when he was unskilled, he'd been beaten until he was riddled with damage.
Millisyn wasn't Force-sensitive and hadn't experienced that kind of training, but her situation hadn't been any better. To draw out their latent potential, the experiments often arranged a series of stimulus trainings—using pain and fear to stir emotions and pull the dark side of the Force toward awakening.
Fortunately, Millisyn was forgetful. That pain had gradually been buried deep in her mind, slowly dissolved by the happiness of the present—until all that remained was the brightness in her eyes when she looked at Amir now.
No. 32 stopped thinking about it and went back to reading the training materials Amir had given him, his lips moving silently...
"Try this!" Obi-Wan said, extending his left hand from the side and shoving toward Amir.
A force that could not be resisted slammed toward Amir head-on. It was sudden, but Amir reacted at once—he raised his left hand and pushed forward as well. In an instant, the two Force pushes locked in a dead struggle between them.
"Not bad," Obi-Wan said, sounding genuinely impressed.
"It can be stronger," Amir said, increasing his output a little. He was only holding it back—he still wasn't using full strength.
Obi-Wan smiled faintly and simply released his left hand, stepping forward.
Amir's eyes widened in shock. Obi-Wan wasn't going to resist his Force push? The strength Amir had put out wasn't small—Obi-Wan could get hurt.
Amir quickly tried to retract the Force he'd released, but then he realized something: the effect on Obi-Wan was almost negligible. Obi-Wan was advancing without the slightest hindrance.
What was going on? Did the Force push stop working?
Facing Obi-Wan's reassembled offense, Amir found himself responding a little hastily in his surprise.
The blue blade pressed tight against Amir's, then followed Amir's own exertion and suddenly shoved—throwing Amir's stance off-balance. Obi-Wan didn't stop. As Amir tried to halt him by applying counter-force, Obi-Wan again flowed with Amir's strength, drawing an oval through the air.
At that moment Amir knew he'd lost. Already off-balance, with Obi-Wan guiding the engagement, Amir's wrist was driven to its limit. With a final deft flick from Obi-Wan, Amir's lightsaber flew from his hand, automatically shut off, and only the hilt dropped into the sand.
"How did you do that?" Amir asked in astonishment.
"Hah, it's a very simple application. Want to learn it, my apprentice?" Obi-Wan quipped again.
Amir knew that if Obi-Wan had shown it, it was because he intended to teach him.
"Of course. Of course," Amir played along.
"This is an advanced application of Force defense. In the past, your control of the Force wasn't good enough—you could only manage simple resistance. But against powerful Force techniques, that kind of defense can't protect you."
"And this method is to use the Force to form a much stronger barrier around your body, nullifying the Force's effect on you. As long as your Force is stronger than your opponent's, you can easily cancel the attack. If you're a bit weaker, that's fine too—it'll still help you hold out more easily. It doesn't just block Force pushes; it can also ward off other powerful techniques, including many abilities of the dark side."
As Amir listened, he fell into thought. Before, when dealing with a Force push, Amir could only use the Force to shield his body, or push back with the Force to cancel part of the strength so he wouldn't be hurt too badly—but he would still be affected by the pressure.
But what Obi-Wan had just demonstrated was different. As long as Obi-Wan's resisting Force was stronger than Amir's push, the Force acting on him seemed to lose its effect entirely. He didn't need to strain to fight it—he could just walk forward as if nothing was happening.
Obi-Wan continued, "With Force defense maintained, it's like you've gained a suit of powerful armor. As for how to use it..."
He began explaining to Amir the operating method of Force defense.
Through repeated attempts, Amir had to expend a great deal of effort before he managed to construct a small, invisible shield in front of him.
The Force flowed and spun rapidly across that shield—like a vortex, or like a transparent balance-sigil: two interlocking currents, light and shadow, chasing each other in a smooth loop.
"It's still not very stable," Obi-Wan said after sensing it. "But it's already very good. This technique is hard to pull off. Learning it this quickly proves your talent. And besides—learning and training are your real strengths. I'm sure you'll be able to use it with great proficiency very soon."
Amir felt the Force defense rotating in front of him and smiled in satisfaction. He could already foresee that if he kept training it, before long he'd be able to form a stable "field" around his body—like invisible armor protecting him.
Amir had worried about this before. When he used Force choke on the Imperial Inquisitor, he'd thought about how one day it could happen to him too. Facing the Force choke of the Sith Lord Darth Vader, his Force would be very hard-pressed to defend him. But now it was different. Amir felt that in the future he might even be able to tank heavy laser cannon fire head-on with ease.
Watching Amir enthusiastically test his new skill again and again, Obi-Wan smiled and said, "I'm going to Mos Eisley. I just found a new job. When you and Ahsoka are ready to move, remember to contact me."
"Okay, okay," Amir replied without even turning his head.
Obi-Wan mounted his eopie with a hint of melancholy and set off down the road.
"We should go too," Amir said, stopping and turning to No. 32, Millisyn, and BD-4.
"Where? Where?" Millisyn asked excitedly. Tatooine had its own kind of beauty, but Millisyn couldn't appreciate it—here there was only sand that made her miserable, sand and more sand.
"We're going to Hoth—a white world made entirely of ice and snow," Amir told her.
"Wow! Yes! Let's go, let's go!" Millisyn tugged on Amir's robe, urging him along.
"First we'll buy you and No. 32 some clothes. It's very cold there. Without a padded coat, you'll freeze stiff," Amir said.
"Clothes!" Millisyn swayed happily.
No. 32 lifted his head in confusion.
"You need to wear them too. If your machine oil freezes, you'll just be a several-hundred-pound chunk of metal. I can't carry you."
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🌌 Star Wars: Relics of the Past
📢 The Force Calls! 📢
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