Vilyam and Mirelia vanished beyond the massive door, which was heavily marked with scorchmarks.
This was largely due to the fact that nobody wanted to get on the Jedi Knights' bad side, especially after hearing what had happened to one of the newer hires.
Even some of the older guards here felt a chill run through them when they recalled the moment Mirelia first stepped onto the facility of Paragus.
One of the guards, a powerfully built Devaronian who had previously slapped Mirelia's shapely behind, the Jedi becoming visibly shocked by what had occurred.
Once the initial shock of the situation had subsided, Mirelia swiftly revealed her yellow lightsaber and expertly sliced the offending hand clean from the Devaronian's arm, before proceeding to beat him with it.
Mirelia stepped into the center of what appeared to be something like an arena for training guards, while Vilyam was marveling at the sheer size of the room.
It's like a small hangar!
"Or perhaps just an old repurposed storage area..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Mirelia's voice interrupted his musing thoughts.
"ARE YOU PREPARED FOR YOUR TRAINING PADAWAN?"
SNAP!
HISS!
With a flick of the wrist, she activated her yellow lightsaber, the intense light it emitted causing her shadow to visibly shimmer and ripple in response.
For a brief moment, a spark of excitement flashed in William's eyes, after which he too unclasped his newly crafted lightsaber.
He then carefully lifted the weapon slightly above his head and, with a decisive motion, pressed the activation button!
SNAP!
HISS!
A vibrant green blade of plasma, characterized by a slightly chaotic and blazing energy, erupted forth, casting an eerie yet strangely calming light along with an equally chilling shadow of the boy wielding it.
"Prepare yourself, I'm coming!"
Vilyam steeled himself, planting his feet firmly into the duracrete floor as he watched his master launch towards him.
She is fast...
Mirelia swung downward with her weapon arm.
Vilyam raised his lightsaber to meet it, and the two sabers clashed.
KKSSSSHHHH!
The weapons impacted together, the magnetic fields casting a nearly blinding light as the repelled the other.
Mirelia twisted the lightsaber downwards, the blade arcing back in an upward manner, forcing Vilyam to bring his own blade down to meet it.
"Nnnnnnnnn"
The sheer force behind the strike was so immense that it lifted Vilyam several feet off the ground!
After the vehicle had slid to a complete stop, he was immediately struck by the distinct and authoritative sound of her footsteps approaching, and Vilyam looked up to see Mirelia walking slowly towards him, a playful smirk playing across her face.
She lifted the yellow lightsaber above her and brought it down over Vilyam who barely had time to defend with his own.
BZZZAATTT
FWWAASSHH
Mirelia pressed Vilyam back, his feet sliding against the dura-steel floor.
She is so strong...
Vilyam pressed his emerald colored lightsaber hard against Mirelia's to yellow lightsaber while leaping backwards.
Nevertheless, it appeared she was anticipating William's actions, as she promptly hurled her weapon in his direction.
The blazing yellow blade then executed a series of arcs and resolutions as it approached him.
"Oh shi..."
William barely had the opportunity to curse before he found himself forced once again to raise his blade in defense.
KKSSSSHHHH
However, quite unlike the deflection that he had been anticipating, the yellow lightsaber continued its unrelenting advance, slowly but surely pressing into him with increasing force, until the young apprentice found himself with his back pressed firmly against the wall.
How is she doing this without her body? Is this an application of Force Push?
BZZZAATTT
The yellow lightsaber began its attack on the thick metal wall, leaving a series of bright sparks flying from the point where it made contact.
In the distance Mirelia was walking calmly towards him, her hand outstretched as if she were manipulating the lightsaber.
Vilyam grit his teeth, channeling every ounce of his strength into a furious push against the yellow lightsaber.
With a surge of raw Force power, he sent it screaming back towards Mirelia, his master performing a graceful backflip as she expertly caught it.
Did she just do the hero landing?
He rushed forward, his emerald lightsaber carving a horizontal arc as he attempted once more to land a blow on Mirelia, but before the attack could land, she ducked beneath it, twisting in a way that would break the spine of a normal human before bringing her knee up hard into Vilyam's ribs.
CRACK
Vilyam spat out a mouthful of blood, the feeling oh his shattered ribs grinding against his insides with every breath.
However, just as the young Padawan was about to cry out in agony, his master suddenly appeared behind him in a flash of movement, blurring into existence before delivering a swift open-palmed strike to the side of Vilyam's neck.
THWACK
A violent, searing burst of pain exploded through the side of his neck, followed almost instantaneously by the entire world tilting sideways.
His emerald lightsaber slipped from his fingers.
SNAP!
HISS
The blade, already exhibiting a noticeable instability, disappeared just moments before the weapon fell with a useless clang onto the dura-steel floor.
For a brief, unsettling moment, William's vision seemed to flicker violently back and forth between absolute darkness and blinding light.
The vast arena looming above him seemed to stretch and distort, its edges blurring and warping like molten glass, while distant voices drifted together into a chaotic and ultimately meaningless noise.
Then everything went black.
Silence swallowed him whole.
The arena itself had become deathly quiet.
Several of the onlookers standing safe behind some kind of high-performance glass stared down with pale expressions, many instinctively rubbing their own ribs or necks in sympathy.
One man slowly lowered the credits he had been holding.
"...I owe you ten."
Another simply folded his arms.
"Told you she wasn't using a training saber."
Mirelia exhaled slowly through her nose before deactivating her lightsaber.
SNAP!
HISS!
The yellow blade disappeared, leaving only the lingering smell of scorched air and ionized plasma drifting through the arena.
She looked down at the unconscious Padawan laying in the middle of the battered floor.
The boy's chest rose weakly.
Unevenly.
Cracked ribs.
Possibly a injured lung.
Minor nerve disruption along the neck.
A small smile tugged briefly at the corner of Mirelia's lips.
Not bad for a first lesson.
Without another word, she bent down and scooped Vilyam into her arms with surprising gentleness.
Despite the damage done to him moments earlier, she carried him carefully, one arm beneath his legs and the other supporting his back so his injuries would not worsen.
The crowd immediately parted as she approached the arena exit.
Nobody wished to delay a Jedi carrying a half-dead apprentice.
Especially not this Jedi.
The massive blast doors groaned open once more.
SHHHHHHK.
Mirelia strode through the metallic corridors of the Paragus facility at a steady pace, the overhead lighting casting long golden reflections across the polished hilt attached to her belt.
Workers and guards alike quickly moved aside.
Some winced at the sight of Vilyam's blood staining portions of Mirelia's robes.
Others merely sighed knowingly.
"First training session?"
"Yep."
"Damn..."
One older mechanic shook his head slowly.
"Kid's lucky she likes him."
The medical wing of the Paragus facility was cold.
Far colder than the rest of the station.
The sharp scent of antiseptics and sterilized metal lingered heavily in the air while pale white lights illuminated long rows of medical chambers and diagnostic equipment.
The moment Mirelia stepped through the entrance, several medical personnel immediately rushed toward her.
"What happened this time?" one exhausted medic asked before noticing the unconscious teenager in her arms.
"...Oh."
Mirelia remained perfectly calm.
"Training accident."
The entire medical team collectively gave her a look that suggested they had heard that exact phrase far too many times.
A pair of medics carefully lifted Vilyam from her arms and transferred him onto a hovering stretcher.
The moment they laid him down, warning alarms immediately began flashing across one of the scanners.
"Multiple fractured ribs."
"Internal bleeding detected."
"Oxygen saturation dropping."
"Get a respirator on him now!"
One of the medics quickly secured a breathing apparatus over Vilyam's face while another pressed a cylindrical injector against his neck.
HISSSK.
A cooling mist vented from the injector as medicine entered his bloodstream.
Mirelia simply stood nearby with her arms crossed.
Watching.
Silent.
The stretcher rapidly floated deeper into the medical wing before finally stopping beside a massive cylindrical bacta tank filled with glowing blue fluid.
The medics moved quickly.
Efficiently.
Almost mechanically.
One began removing portions of Vilyam's damaged clothing while another attached monitoring cables across his chest and neck.
"Easy now..."
"Lower him carefully."
The unconscious Padawan was slowly lifted upward before being submerged into the cool bacta fluid.
GLUUUUNK.
Bubbles escaped from Vilyam's mouth as the breathing apparatus automatically sealed into place over his nose and face.
The glowing blue liquid swallowed him completely.
For several long moments, the only sounds within the chamber were the muted hum of machinery and the rhythmic bubbling of the bacta tank.
One of the medics glanced toward Mirelia nervously.
"...You shattered his ribs."
Mirelia tilted her head slightly.
"He can take it!"
The medic blinked twice.
"...What does that have to do with anything?"
Mirelia's expression remained perfectly serious.
"If he had been weaker, he would have died"
The entire medical room fell silent.
One younger nurse slowly looked toward the floating unconscious Padawan suspended within the glowing blue fluid.
Then back toward Mirelia.
"...Remind me never to become your apprentice."
For the first time since arriving, Mirelia laughed softly beneath her breath.
A dangerous sound.
Soft blue light filtered through the bubbling bacta fluid as Vilyam drifted somewhere between unconsciousness and wakefulness.
At first, there was only warmth.
Warmth surrounding his body.
Warmth filling his lungs.
Warmth threading itself through shattered bone and torn muscle like invisible hands carefully stitching him back together.
Then came pain.
Not the unbearable, blinding agony from before, but a dull soreness that pulsed throughout his ribs and neck like the fading echo of a detonator blast.
Consciousness returned slowly.
The muted humming of machinery became clearer.
So did the rhythmic bubbling surrounding him.
Vilyam's eyes suddenly snapped open.
Blurred blue liquid greeted him from every direction.
For a brief moment panic surged through him before memory slammed back into place.
Arena.
Mirelia.
The knee strike.
The neck hit.
His expression twisted slightly.
Ow...
The breathing apparatus sealed over his face released a faint hiss as he instinctively took a deeper breath.
Surprisingly...
It no longer felt like broken glass was grinding around inside his chest.
Vilyam slowly shifted within the bacta tank, testing his body carefully.
The pain was still there.
But diminished.
His ribs had improved dramatically in what couldn't have been very long.
The wonders of bacta really are ridiculous...
A nearby monitor emitted several sharp beeps.
Almost immediately, the tank began draining.
GLUUUUURK.
The glowing blue fluid lowered rapidly until only a thin layer remained around his feet.
A mechanical hiss echoed outward as the cylindrical tank opened.
Cool air rushed against his skin.
Vilyam stepped forward carefully, still slightly unsteady as bacta fluid dripped from his body onto the metallic floor below.
His wet hair clung messily against his forehead while the overhead lighting reflected faintly off his skin.
A towel was suddenly tossed directly into his face.
FWAP.
"You're awake."
Vilyam pulled the towel off his head.
And froze.
Mirelia stood leaning casually against the opposite wall with her arms crossed beneath her chest.
Her warm golden eyes were practically glowing.
Not with concern.
Not with relief.
With excitement.
Pure terrifying excitement.
She had the expression of someone eagerly waiting for round two in a gladiator match.
Vilyam felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"...Master."
Mirelia tilted her head slightly.
"You were unconscious for one hour and thirty seven minutes."
She sounded oddly pleased by that number.
"Your recovery speed is impressive.
Most Padawans would require at least five hours inside the tank after taking that knee strike."
Vilyam instinctively touched the side of his ribs.
Still sore, but functional, mostly.
"That was definitely broken earlier..."