Free Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens the Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure by Jason Fry Page A

arc. Then he took hold of it with
both hands.
    The remote floated before him, turning lazily in the air. Itzipped to one side, then the other, and Luke had the distinct feeling the device was sizing him up as an opponent.
    “Be careful, Master Luke,” Threepio urged.
    Feel the Force,
Luke reminded himself.
It will give you the reflexes you need to guide the blade where it needs to be
.
    Luke remembered the first time he’d ever held his father’s lightsaber, in Ben’s little stone house on the edgeof the Dune Sea. He remembered how the brilliant blue-white blade
had dazzled his eyes and then seemed to draw them in, and the almost hypnotic sound of the blade. And he remembered how even though he’d never seen a lightsaber, let alone held one, the
weapon had instantly felt right in his hand.
    Ben had told him to hold the grip so the blade would be high and ready when it appeared. He’dshown him that everything you could do with a lightsaber—attack, defend, advance,
withdraw—began with the initial stance. Dominant foot back, blade held in parry position on the dominant side. Feet not too wide, the better for speed and agility.
    Luke assumed the position, watching the remote as it eased back and forth in front of him, its movements deceptively slow. He wondered if it hada way of sensing his ability, or if different
remotes were programmed for different levels of skill. What if the remotes used to train raw apprentices were all damaged and the Force had brought him there to be peppered with laser bolts that
only advanced students could have swatted away?
    The remote dove to the right and zipped at Luke’s head. He dodged instinctively, raising the bladehigh and keeping it between him and his attacker.
    First defensive posture,
he remembered.
Now pay attention. You can worry about programming remotes later
.
    The remote returned to its initial position in front of the pillar, with Luke turning to face it. Then his blade was diving down and to his right, to protect his hip. The remote’s laser
blast struck the blade, sending tendrils ofenergy snaking across it, and then dissipated in the morning air.
    That was the second defensive posture
.
    Threepio raised his hands in celebration.
    “You did it, Master Luke!”
    Somehow Han’s mocking laughter at his getting zapped by a laser blast aboard the
Falcon
had been less annoying than Threepio’s congratulations. Luke smiled at the thought,
then had to dodge left in responseto the remote’s feint, holding the blade in the third defensive posture. He glanced quickly at the pits gouged in the glade, marking their position. It
wouldn’t do to tumble into the depths.
    The remote weaved to the right, then darted behind him. Luke whirled, blade high, and a bolt of energy shot by his head to sizzle in the damp grass. The remote retreated, and Luke brought his
lightsaberback to the ready position.
    “Excellent, Master Luke,” Threepio called.
    “Not really—I should have deflected it,” Luke said. “I got lucky.”
    That attack forced me into the fourth defensive posture,
he thought.
The remote ran through all four basic defensive forms in order. It’s testing what I’ve learned
.
    Which meant it would now attack him for real.
    The remote floated in frontof him, its jets hissing faintly as it moved up and down, then left and right. It dodged left, but Luke was already bringing his blade down to the right, even as the
remote reversed course and fired at his knee. Luke deflected the laser bolt, then wheeled his blade the other way, sending energy beams flying back the way they’d come.
    This time the remote didn’t back off but accelerated, followinga zigzag course and peppering him with fire. Luke’s blade was a blue blur, deflecting bolts all around him. He slipped
slightly as he tried to return to ready position, then leapt over a flurry of bolts aimed at his feet.
    Luke’s mind flashed back to the Mos Eisley cantina, where two alien thugs had picked a