Log:Jedi Order: Byss - Guard Duty
Jedi Order: Byss - Guard Duty
OOC Date: December 11, 2020
Location: Byss
Participants: Jedi Order: Chani Tahn, Aryn Cole, Kasia Ashkuri, Vhe Tenara, and Elrych Cometburn with Ben Solo
After the prior night's excitement, Empress Palpatine's Royal Guard have been allowed to stay in their original rooms rather than being relocated to the new suite that the Moff had been preparing for them. Likely to Moff Pax's great disappointment, but some concessions must be made with a Palpatine assuming the throne.
And by extension, the Jedi-Guard have a bit more freedom to explore and make themselves at home. Everyone knows who the guards in red answer to and whose commands they obey; it's been the talk of the Spire and the city since they arrived, and the buzz has only intensified since the Sentinel's test last night.
And so it is that Ben has taken the group to a large, empty space, a polished grey floor with matching walls, bars and dots of light illuminating the space uniformly. He's dressed in his reds, carrying the force pike in one hand. "We got lucky last night. Or the Force was with us. Maybe both," he announces, stepping out in front of the others and stamping the weapon down. "We need to run through a few scenarios so we all know how to react next time." The mask he wears scans the group. "Have any of you actually trained with anyone outside the Jedi?"
The stark room mimics the architecture and design of most of what Chani Tahn has seen on bliss: bleak, without color, and utilitarian. Hidden behind the robes and the helmet, she is identical to the others gathered save for the disparity in height, which she shares only with Aryn. Both of them stand inches under their compatriots. As Ben stamps his Force Pike on the floor and begins to ask if they've done any kind of training with anyone other than Jedi, Chani finds herself once more without anything to say. Given her newness to the group, one could say she's barely even trained with any of the Jedi. Meditational exercises and one brief sword fighting lesson don't constitute the kind of training she gathers Ben is speaking of. Quiet she remains.
Aryn raises a gloved hand sheepishly, unsure of what constituted training. "May I ask what you mean by training? Like.. combat training?" She clears her throat then orients her hand back down to lock at the small of her back. In this respect, Aryn appeared like a small soldier, standing at-ease in front of their superior, listening to what word was to be passed. She did not have a force pike with her, she left it against the bulkhead nearby.
"It depends on what you mean by training," Kasia answers, helmet tucked beneath one arm as she turns her focus over to Ben. "Though most of my training does come from outside the Jedi. So, yes?" She turns her gaze to Chani for a moment, studying the still unfamiliar young woman for a few beats before she looks over to Aryn, then back to Ben.
Elrych is meandering around the room, looking about idly. That is to say there isn't /much/ to look at or muse over as the room is stark of anything joyful, artistic, or at all interesting. He seemed to be occupying himself simply for the sake of doing so. MEditation was difficult to achieve at a time like this and with what they were doing.
He turned towards Ben as he asked his question, nodding to Aryn's own inquiry. <<"If you mean military training. Served four years in Corellian Military, Logistics...">> IE he was a freighter pilot who moved goods from one place to another. Though that explained his ability to handle last nights situation as well as he did.
Standing with the others, Vhe is silent for a moment before she answers. "No. Not so if it is in regards to martial skills." Her hand flexes on the pike in her grasp before leaning into it a bit. Her eyes look across the rest of the others gathered at their replies, a curious uptick of her brow. "Interesting." She smiles a bit, the quirk of her mouth drawing one cheek up to dimple it as she smooths her free hand lift and smooth over the tight braid. "The scenarios will likely help either way."
That leaves Chani and Vhe as the standouts with NO training indicated, with the rest of the others indicating some type of prior experience. Certainly there are other Jedi that aren't in the room that might have shared their situation, if they weren't off attending to other errands. To Kasia, Ben replies with a succint "That's not what I had in mind," giving a curt shake of his head. He knows what she's referring to. MYSTERIOUS.
Elrych gets a nod, since apparently he's done some time in a place where uniforms are standard and a certain manner of standing, walking, and so forth is expected. Aryn, standing in front of him, draws his attention down, given that she's quite a bit shorter. "I do mean military training, or something remotely like it. I used to see Snoke's Praetorians regularly, and the regular troops. There's a certain way they move. The way they stand. The way they react to threats. We need to emulate that."
He's got his force pike, and he raises it slightly. "When you're out being a guard, have this with you. I never saw them without weapons." Ben waves Elrych over, indicating the spot next to Aryn. "Stand at attention. Both of you." He skims his eyes over the others. "The rest of you, line up where you can see them."
With the Force Pike braced over her shoulder, as she always keeps it when she's out and about, Chani steps around to observe Aryn and Elrych from the side. She faces them to do so, given the highly restrictive nature of the helmet and how it refuses to let her neck turn naturally. Her lack of experience with such armor shows in the way that her motions are slightly stuff as she does so. Any kind of look down or up is accompanied by a slightly exaggerated lean, and while the Force Pike is on her shoulder, she doesn't hold the base of it like someone trained in its use would. She instead has her fingers wrapped around the haft of it near the bottom, like she's ready to swing it around, not support its position against her shoulder.
Ah, military service. Aryn shakes her head no, to indicate she'd not been in the rank and file. She was raised on self-defense, be it basic and not something they often taught a Lady. Her combat training came later in life, from a Mandalorian. She makes no mention of this though. Returning to her spot, she stays where Ben indicates, and keeps the weapon posted up-right and against her shoulder much like the guide-on bearer of a military unit. Her other arm is held straight and against her left side, her hand formed in a fist. She stands at attention, or her interpretation of it.
Kasia gives Ben an inscrutable look, but she doesn't have further comment on the matter. Instead she folds her arms across her chest and turns her gaze to look over at Elrych and Aryn to watch them stand at attention.
Drilling, he remembered it. He remembered hating it and having one of the more difficult times getting the hang of about facing or turning on the heels. It really was not as easy as it looked. He didn't have a Force Pike, as he was in the TIE Flightsuit again, but he did have a blaster at his side... and likely more things tucked away elsewhere if it was so needed.
There is a glance towards Vhe. Then to Kasia and Ben. Back and forth between those two before his helmeted gaze settles on Ben as he instructs him to go and stand at attention. The Jedi Ace hesitates but a moment before doing so... snapping his heels together, hands rigid at his sides. Head held high. Imperial, precise.
Military training? Vhe just looks bemused and looks ready to watch the other two when the rest of them are instructed to line up so they can see the others. This means shifting her position to better see Aryn and Elrych. The tap of her pike sounds upon the floor until with a subtle twist she finds her vantage to watch from. Once more she adopts a subtle lean upon it to relax for the moment during their instruction.
At least one of them knows how to stand at attention! Ben nods in the helmet appreciatively, pacing slowly back and forth at the front of the group. "Good. Notice the way he moves. Precision, but more than that for you will be certainty. We don't have time to learn precision with these," he explains, indicating the force pike by lifting it a bit higher and giving it a shake. "Whatever you do, don't hesitate. Don't second guess. Whatever position you take, take it with confidence." His words are slightly altered by the mask, but far from indecipherable.
"Elrych, relax. You will be Rey. The rest of you, line up to each side. Try to look professional. You've been training for years. You're an elite group. If you think it, you can be it." Does it work that way? Here's hoping.
Chani scans Elrych from head to toe, looking over everything from his posture to the positioning of his hands and feet. She attempts to mimic that after she moves off to one of the sides, arranging her feet together and once more utilizing the subtle technique of not keeping her knees locked out just so she doesn't cut off the blood from necessary to stay conscious. First she simply tries to get into that position. Only when she feels like she's made some semblance of that positioning does she relax from it and try 'snapping' into it. It feels awkward, and with the inability to easily scan over herself to try to find her mistakes, she's left to being criticized by the taller man helping them go through this exercise.
Aryn has NO DISCIPLINE. She looks over when Elrych snaps to attention, then looks him over instead of looking ahead. It seems humorous from where she's standing and the general cluelessness this portrayed coming from a short royal guard. She saw his feet, heels together, his hands, and how he held his head. For a moment, Elrych seemed like a different man, and Aryn quietly wondered what he was like in the rank and file.
When Ben spoke again, she turned her attention to him. When he called for them to line up, she took a side (or where ever he dictated) and waited to be told more. In her head, she played back what Elrych looked like at 'attention', then tried to hypothesize what she should do to emulate this.
<<"He's right... the more confident and self assured you act in any task usually means people will buy it even if you're faking it...">> Elrych adds to Ben's dialog, a rendition of fake it till you make it... something the Jedi was intimitly familiar with.
There's a double take to Solo then, <<"Wait what?">> He looks back to the group facing him. This would likely turn out interesting.
Hucking her helmet up atop her head after picking it up off the ground, Vhe slides it down over her features as she takes up a space to Elrych's right. She rolls her shoulders and sets her pike, butt to the ground and straightens her shoulders. She tries to look uniform and professional but her usual casual stance is her go to so this is something that draws her focus. She waits to be told what she is doing wrong in any case and clears her throat within the helmet. All in order here.
"The good news is, the Praetorians were so good at watching that you couldn't tell they /were/ watching, so the effect is about the same," Ben assures the more reluctant members of the group, stepping out of the way of the small honor guard and their high value person. "Empress, walk towards that end of the room," he says, pointing with his force pike. "The rest of you, at least keep your pikes straight. Holding them all the same is a good start."
Watching as the contingent prepares to move, he mutters to himself, "We need to figure out where those Sentinels are quickly."
The mention of the weapon they're all carrying has Chani check over the way the more experienced members in the group are holding it. She doesn't see anything particularly uniform, but she does go from holding it near the bottom of the haft to letting it rest into her palm. This feels far more natural, wrist turned and kept more in line with her forearm rather than angled up. It also takes some of the weight of it off her shoulder, becoming more a place for it to lean rather than a place supporting all of its weight. Chani glances around at the others, once again making slightly exaggerated movements to see what everyone else is doing. "This is difficult. Is there some trick to looking around? My neck feels like it's in a trap."
Aryn reaches over to take hold of the pike that's being held against her side (by her other arm) and lifts it up. Once up off the ground, her arm falls back to her side and she follows the 'Empress' holding the pike against her side, with her hand oriented in a way to maintain control of the long pike and keep it pinned and unmoving. The rest was just walking with confidence, which was something nobles did coming out of the womb.
Kasia lifts the helmet and places it back atop her head, appearing relatively comfortable while wearing it. What she doesn't have is military precision, she's never had to have it, what work she did for military anything was never in the form of a well trained soldier. A glance is shot around to see how others are carrying the pike, and she at least does her best to mimic the stance.
Elrych is tempted. He really is to do a really bad impression of the way Rey walks. At least the way her alter-ego walks. However, he steels that particular eurge and begins to walk as instructed, without and form of mimicry. <<"This good?">> He asks, turning his head over his shoulder to look back at Ben. Though he does chance a couple glances towards the others to see how they move.
Nodding her head, that bulky helmet moving, she glances to her pike to make sure its straight. It is. That is one thing she can get right, it seems. Maybe not the best posture but passable likely due to the voluminous robes they are wearing. She glances aside to the others and then looks to Ben. "The Sentinels?"
They walk, and Ben watches, and Elrych and Vhe both ask questions, but Ben just nods along for a few moments. Then as they near the far side of the room, something changes.
"AHHH!" With a shout of rage, the big man charges straight at the group at high speed, robes flapping, heading right for the middle with his force pike brandished overhead, intending to slam it into the 'Empress's head.
Hearing the outcry, Chani twists to observe Ben suddenly rushing through the middle with his force pike raised. A moment of panic triggers the adrenaline in her body. Rather than freeze up, however, Chani recalls just yesterday, when the stormtroopers rushed in with their weapons and also threatened Rey. Rather than allowing him to charge Elrych unchecked, Chani steps into the way and turns to face Ben, comical as her dimunitive height and absolutely zero training makes such a thing. Her force pike comes from her shoulder and into a grip with both hands, putting the end forward as a means to intimidate and provide a guard for Elrych. This is a class on being a Royal Guard, after all. She doesn't actually try to attack him, though.
Aryn turns at the sound of an attack, pivots and lowers her weapon in the same moment, then charges at Ben after toggling the stun feature on the pike. She misses, valiantly, and stumbles off to the side before falling over into a heap of armor and red robes. Her pike hits the ground beside her and she lays on her back a moment, sounding out "Oooof." Then begins the process of rising back up. A swing and a miss, but the pike was something she had no training with. Maybe she should have pulled the blaster and shot at him! Her blaster had no stun feature, though. So it wasn't an option.
Kasia isn't trained to be a royal guard of any sort, but the one thing she generally knows about it is that you're supposed to put yourself between danger and the subject you're meant to protect. Which is precisely what she tries to do, though it's tricky to get there quickly enough. Which is why she attempts to swing the pike at Ben, aiming wide and missing him by a fair amount as he charges.
Elrych certainly didn't expect the attack from Ben. He probably felt it, a mediocre sort of precognitive ability. He wasn't about to draw his blaster, he had a roll to play for the others. No, he simply turned to watch those attempt to stop Ben from getting at him. He stood rather laxed, readying himself for a potential reposte.
Vhe moves with the others, making sure to make room and as she watches each strike she adopts a reverse grip on her pike. Its a strange and odd weapon for her and the way she sweeps it is even more so but the others had angled in other directions. Her stance widens as she becomes one of the group that shields the Empress. Its definitely not a weapon she is used to for the strength is the blow is there but most definitely not the handling.
As each of the guards turn to attempt to strike him with their pikes, Ben hurtles into their midst, slams a foot down to halt his wild advance but plows into Chani, Vhe, and Kasia anyway, reaching out with his pike to thwack Elrych, but can't quite reach. Then the collision has him falling in a heap, perhaps taking the smaller people down with him.
"Not terrible," he assesses then, with appreciation in his voice, reorienting his tangled robes and picking himself off the floor, scrambling away from anyone he may have flattened in his mad dash. "You reacted, that's the main thing. Pikes aren't great, but you used your bodies. You're guards first and fighters second. Good work." His hands reach up to pop the helmet off, breathing in a deep breath of fresh air as it clears his sweaty head. "That's enough for one night. Just try to remember and do the best you can. Hopefully we won't have to spend much more time being watched."
Aryn picks up her pike and uses it to leverage her rise back up. Heavy armor made it difficult, but she got back to her feet without much ceremony; well, slightly less ceremony than how she got on her back anyway. A slight dusting of one hand saw anything that latched to her red robes discarded, then she looked to the others in a more approving nod. Body shield! Check! Learning has occurred!
Kasia may not have hit Ben, but she's certainly hit by him, collapsing so that she's pinned on the bottom of the heap. A grunt is muffled inside the helmet, and then she simply lays there on the floor for a moment after others climb up. That's gonna smart in the morning. She's not actually hurt though, so after that moment is relaxing she's back on her feet, adjusting the robes and then picking up the fallen pike. "Hopefully not," she remarks on the matter of them being watched. "Hopefully with the verification, they'll not be quite so... attentive."
Elrych just stares at the heap of red that moves before him. He can't help but chuckle a bit as he watches them, full well knowing that if he was in their position he'd probably be just as bad. Re looks over towards Aryn and asks, <<"You okay, Doc?">> He moves to help the ladies up if they need it because it was the nice thing to do. <<"You guys were pretty good, yeah?">>
"Don't count on it. I wouldn't be," Ben replies to Kasia, running a hand through his mat of sweaty hair, trying to get some ventilation going now that the helmet is off. "Pax can't be trusted to trust us. I've seen his kind before. And these are Palpatine's droids. I doubt they're programmed to stop their plans for someone less than Palpatine himself." He sniffs, adjusts the robe again so it sits more squarely over the red armor beneath it. "Be careful. Be on your guard. Keep your eyes and ears open. And uh, get some rest," the man adds as an afterthought, pulling the long mask down over his head again as he gathers up his force pike, a long stoop down and a clack of the butt on the floor. It makes a reassuring clack, and it's hard not to do it again once you've tried it the first time.
