Mart Webber: Preparation Part I

[JacobIsHusky]

Mart steps into the training room of a Republic carrier orbiting Kashyyyk, glancing around at those who stand at attention around him, quietly analyzing and eyeing them up as he walks past them. Darian had contacted him in regards to helping new recruits get into fighting shape to take on the Sith in both regards to the normal troops and the force wielders. “Am I truly their best option in this regard?” The thought rolls through his mind for just a moment before he pushes it to the side for the moment, taking position at the far end of the training room, turning to regard the recruits once again before beginning to speak

“Today we’re going over the basics. General fighting styles the Sith use, how they operate and their demeanor and reactions to surprise attacks and ambushes. Do not expect this to be an easy exercise. You will each be pushed to your own limits as you prepare for what lies ahead. Questions will have to wait until the end of the training exercise, as their is very little time and so much to go over.”

Mart goes on to separate each recruit into pairs for sparring and practicing hand-to-hand techniques, guiding them through the basics of fighting up close and personal with both troopers and Saber wielders, showing them how to properly disarm a blaster with a kick or slice to the arm, how to be quick on their feet and force the Sith to stay on the offensive for their comrades to find openings in their defense with. The lesson is long and brutal, leading to several shallow wounds on nearly every recruit, though Mart ensured that none of them would be injured beyond superficial wounds. With the lesson finished, he finally opened the floor to questions, the first to pop up as thus

"Why did you force us to injure each other during a training exercise? We could have been seriously injured or killed!

Mart turns to regard to recruit who asked the question, his head tilting as he considers it before answering

“Because this isn’t boot camp, nor are we walking into a cake walk. This is a full-out war for the galaxy, with the loser being destroyed or subjugated. The worst thing you can do to someone in a combat situation is hold their hand. You have to be ready for every situation you can be, as a battlefield is the most unpredictable place in the galaxy. Plans change, men falter and flanks shatter. Today’s training will be the easiest of the days ahead. Keep your heads up and your wits sharp, as you will not be prepared for the battles ahead otherwise.”

With that, Mart goes back to scanning the room, waiting to see if there are any other questions from the recruits, and upon seeing no others come forward with any, he steps back to allow the Republic officer in the room to dismiss the recruits to rest and have their wounds tended. As he watches them file out, a single thought comes to his mind. “Will they be enough? Will I be enough? Will the Republic succeed and destroy the Sith, or will our best efforts be in vain?” He shakes the thoughts away as he moves to head back to his own bunk to rest, glancing over to a fake wall panel he has hidden a small box in, the Ark’s manifest figure appearing before him

"Release him…release him and he will destroy your enemies. Release him and b̴̙̾ë̴̳́ f̴͕͊ř̸̡̰e̵͓̿ͅe̵̱̒̂d̵̢́̀ ỏ̸̦͑f̵͍̥̎͒ ̷̰͇͛͌͠y̵̡̙̎͊͌o̵̜̻̩̊ǘ̷̢r̸̍͂ͅ ̷̢̟̍ͅp̷̛̼͝ā̴̟̪̫̾̐ĩ̷͆̽ͅn̷̫͍̐͗."

Mart ignores the entites’ attempts to manipulate him, rolling over to try and find sleep. He had accepted this haunting burden, the entity cannot do anything more to him that his own mind or others haven’t already

[JacobIsHusky]

Mart stands in his bunkroom on the Republic Carrier, staring out the viewport down onto the planet of Kashyyyk below. He stares at the lush forest world for far longer than he had expected to, his mind going over past memories time and time again as he stares at the planet idly. The nuking of Serroco, the desolation of an entire planet his people had caused. A world left to burn in nuclear fire as millions upon millions died. His perception of Kashyyyk distorts for just a moment, his mind imagining the forest planet burning, charred beyond recognition. The whispered screams of those who wouldn’t have been able to escape echoing through his mind before he is finally snapped out of the waking nightmare from the muster call, the recruits ready for their new lesson

He steps into the training room and regards the recruits who have gathered, noting that there are a few less today than their were a first day, something Mart had expected. His methods for preparing the recruits were unorthodox and potentially dangerous, but there was very little time and trial by fire was the best option they had. You don’t win a war by coddling your soldiers, they need to be ready to face the battlefield without letting their fear hinder their actions. Mart walks to the far side of the training room and turns back to face the recruits, his visor panning the room slowly as he regards those who decided to stick through with the training.

“Today we will be working on fighting a force-wielding Sith. The first rule that you must follow is that you -never- fight a Saber wielding Sith head-on and one-on-one. That is one of the quickest ways to find your own death. They are far too dangerous for any normal person to fight on their own. If you have a Jedi with you, rely on them to deal with the threat. If you do not have a Jedi to support you, then either retreat or resort to taking on the Sith at least six on one if you have no other choice.”

He looks over the recruits as he finishes speaking, seeing a few who seem skeptical that someone could be as strong as he had stated. He takes a few steps forward and unsheathes one of his swords, flipping it so that the dull end is facing outwards “If any would wish to test such a concept, come forward and face me. Six of you who believe they are up for it, step forward.”

He watches as six recruits slowly step forwards out of their rankings, picking up a training sword though Mart quickly shoots that down, telling them to pick up true vibroblades, a notion that the recruits seem hesitant to go through with until Mart insists for such. The six of them take their stances up around Mart, the Mandalorian shifting his own stance slightly to compensate for being surrounded, waiting patiently for the recruits to make the first move, the most confident among them finally stepping forward and moving to strike Mart, who quickly dodges and catches the man along the side with the dull end of his sword, causing him to grunt out in pain before the remaining five move to support their comrade. Mart quickly unsheathes his second sword and flips it to the dull end, beginning to intercept and parry their blows as they come in, quickly finding holes in their own defenses, landing several painful blows against them as they fall one by one until only Mart still stands, a single cut along his arm where one of the recruits managed to slip through his own defense, his visor slowly panning down to regard the battered and bruised recruits

“This is why you should never take a lightsaber-wielding Sith on one on one. If this were on the battlefield, all of you would be dead. Take a moment to gather yourselves and then get back on your feet. The goal of today is not to fight them in melee, but instead at range.”

He sheathes his swords before slowly walking over to a wall, motioning over to the rack of standard-issue blaster rifles that fill it, their power cells intentionally tweaked to be forced on the lowest power setting. Mart turns to regard the six recruits that he had just beaten down, having a feeling they would wish for payback

“You six may be the first to attempt this exercise if you wish.” The recruits move over to the rack in an almost eager fashion, each of them pulling off a rifle and readying it, moving to the designated points that Mart has them stand, ensuring that the remaining recruits would not get caught in any crossfire. He stands in the middle of them as they make a crescent moon shape around him, letting out a breath as he prepares for the coming pain “Begin.”

The six recruits waste no time in opening fire on Mart, who begins to use his armor to block as many shots as he can to simulate a saber wielder doing much the same. Bolts careen into his chestplate at a rapid pace as Mart uses his vambraces to protect his unarmored areas, weaving in and out of the fire as best he can, attempting to make his way to the recruits as he deflects or absorbs as many of the bolts as he can, managing to disarm and knock down one as the others begin to pelt him with fire from behind, several bolts hitting his undersuits’ armorweave, leaving surface burns as he does his best to ignore the pain. He continues on, making his way to two other recruits and disarming them before he finally falls to a knee, conceding defeat to the remainder, his breath haggard for a moment as he comes to grips with the burning pain he feels from the nearly two dozen hits he took, slowly standing again and looking out to the other recruits

“In order to defeat a Sith, you must overwhelm them. Cause them to lose their own center and hit them from as many angles as possible to ensure they go down. Force them to come to you, as it puts them on the disadvantage as you can continue to make room for yourself in return. Though remember that such engagements come with a many great risks, and there is no guarantee you will all survive.” He motions back to the three recruits who slowly get back to their feet, the six who had originally stepped forward moving back to their spots within the recruits’ ranks “Each of you will get a chance to do this drill, so let us begin…”

Mart goes through the drill with the remaining recruits, each new rotation more painful than the last for him as he gets hit again and again in the same places, barely able to stand by the end of it but forcing himself to his feet, having known and expected this outcome for himself when he decided to go with this training regiment, taking a moment to focus himself as he looks over the recruits

“You all have done well today. This concludes todays’ lesson.” He steps back as their Commanding Officer dismisses them, slowly moving towards the infirmary afterwards to get himself checked up, glancing back towards his bunk as the Arks’ figure manifests itself behind him, though he turns and continues on, ignoring the whispers and promises of no longer having to deal with the pain as he does