The Republic has fallen.
In the final days of the Clone Wars, Chancellor Palpatine died under mysterious circumstances. With the Senate struggling to retain a sense of unity, it was the perfect time for the Separatists to strike. And strike they did...
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"Mind your left side!"
Lux snapped his arm out just in time to block the Alynna's jab – which was aimed at his right, not his left. "Trying to trick me, are you?" he said, pleased he'd caught the feint in time to react.
She dodged back out of reach of his answering strike, shrugging as she dropped down into a ready position. "It's good advice at any time."
"Even when it's a misdirection?"
Alynna gave a secretive smile, then shot forward, trying to catch him with the same high kick he'd fallen prey to on his first day of training. Since then, she'd taught him how to widen his stance and tense his shoulder, absorbing the shock without giving her an opening – but instinct was telling him to do otherwise now. He ducked beneath her leg and aimed another punch at her stomach while she was off-balance.
She danced away again before his knuckles could do more than graze her. It was closer than he'd ever gotten before, though, so Lux counted it as a victory.
"Good," she said, circling him. He fell into step with her, mirroring her every move. "Maybe I should stop going so easy on you, now that you're thinking on your feet more often. Even if I did say not to use your kickboxing know-how this round."
Lux chewed on his lip, suitably chastened, but didn't apologize for breaking the rules of the exercise. If it saved him another bruise, he was willing to cut corners.
"Mind your left," Alynna said again, and he nearly snorted.
"That was a fifty-fifty chance last time. Now it's downright transparent."
Her smile bled into a grin. Then she charged him faster than he'd ever seen her move – faster than he'd ever seen anyone move.
Lux had no time to think about how to counter her. He fell back on Saw's old teachings without meaning to, trying to give himself some space with a Corellian front kick. He soon came to regret it. Alynna sidestepped him easily, and with a hard punch to his left flank and a sweeping kick to take out his single pillar of support – his right leg – she knocked him to the ground.
His knees took the brunt of the impact, but his side ached from the punch. Lux groaned and gingerly touched his fingertips to it. So much for not getting any more bruises. "Some warning that was."
"But I did warn you," Alynna chirped, putting her hands on her hips.
Lux was tempted to roll his eyes. He forced a smile instead. "To be honest, I worry about how often you keep beating me up. I understand why I'm getting beat up, thanks to your lessons, but I don't feel like I'm making any progress."
"I have more experience with beating people up than teaching them," she said softly, oddly contemplative. "But don't worry. Your reflexes will start to kick in soon – if you're not afraid to make mistakes and get hit enough for them to form."
