6-Way Meeting of Fate

[Lucius Alexandros]

The room was quiet. It was late. He couldn't sleep. He mumbled and turned on his side in his bed. He got a little more comfortable. But...
It still wasn't enough. He sighed and shifted on his bed once again, but this time he was too uncomfortable, so he got up. He rubbed his eyes, and yawned quietly. Knowing he could not fall asleep, he silently got ready and crept out.

He knew he had to get some training in. He was unsatisfied with his technique. It was sloppy, and needed more memorization. Training for about 45 minutes may satisfy him and allow him to pass out once he got back to his bed. He wanted to be the best possible apprentice for his master. Starting tomorrow, he would start socializing again much more often.

He walked at a relaxed, calm pace. He stretched, aiming to get his body more energetic. His mind continued to wander, not noticing anyone or anything he really passed by, hardwired to focus on only his destination, as if his mind was thinking only in a straight line. He began to analyze his force abilities as well, considering he needed to improve his abilities. He possessed significant talent but had not focused on it for quite a while.

He noticed he brushed past someone. He apologized while not turning back an looking at them. He bumped into another person, due to being distracted.
"Sorry." He said quietly and quickly, before continuing his walk, not paying attention to the other person's face.

Arriving at his destination, he let loose a sigh of relief. He took a training sabre and began to practice some sequences. But this would not continue for long...

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

THe sounds of meat cook and the smell of the rice was there. Fish, pork, beef all of it going in the pan as she swirled it letting the oils cook without it getting stuck to the metal. THe small Jin jedi cook usually found purpose in making some of the better dishes and went over as she scooped it draining off a little of the oil then placing it in the larger bowls. She turned her head as the water started to boil over with bubbles. Meaty dumplings that were off to the side as she drained the water then set them in soup. "Perfect." THe jedi master relaxed a little and she had her lightsaber on her hip, the robes form fitting and her scarf hanging lightly off of her back. SHe was walking around and towards one of the tables to set it down in case any of the others wanted a late night or graveyard snack.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

He still remembered the sound of that first shot.

A Clone Trooper was bred for war. From the time they could walk, they were taught to march in the face of explosions, blood, gore, or the overwhelming hordes of the droid army. Fear was a four letter word. They were bred to be obedient, violent but not aggressive, and above all else, without fear.

Three hadn't just been afraid, he'd been terrified.

Terrified at a sight unlike anything his training could have prepared him for. Instead of the faceless hordes of droids, it was an army that wore a face. His face. Their face, staring out at him from behind a dozen blaster rifles. Each of them pointed at the group of younglings. Their fingers on the trigger as each of the clone youths could only stare with mouths open in wide-eyed confusion at what was taking place.

The five boys - the four clone younglings and General Xantha - had been playing. Passing the time with a game that the Jedi had taught them as the Sentinel headed back toward Kamino. Just a matter of seconds later, 3V229, a clone youngling identical in all respects to himself, hit the deck. A trail of vapor rose from the exit wound in his chest.

On a purely forensic level, the boy's training supplied his brain with the cold, detached reality that the boy had just been shot in the back by one of their own clone brothers. Clone Troopers, massacring younglings. Massacring their own, in some mindless vendetta to attack their Jedi General...

...the young clone woke screaming.

It was a moment in which the boy was disoriented. In the darkness, he could hear the murmur of younglings stirred from their sleep by the noise. Faces staring back at him from the shadows, but these weren't the faces of clones.

Because this wasn't the Clone Wars.

Slowly, numbly, the young clone of Jango Fett remembered. This was Kashyyyk. He was on Kashyyyk. The Silver Rest. And it was almost nine hundred years since any of what he'd just re-lived had happened.

It had all been just a bad dream.

The youngling shift uncomfortably as he realized something else. Something wet. The boy's coppery complexion turned red, anger and embarrassment twisting his emotions in different directions as he realized that he'd pissed the bed. Rising, the clone started stood there, wearily, for a moment before he started stripping off the sheets...

[ pain ]​

​

The child soldier of the Republic's foreign wars found himself in the training room.

Two training droids circled around the small, Mandalorian boy, each armed with a low-powered lightsaber.

Three had changed back into his clone cadet uniform. The blue-on-blue tunic still displaying the Clone Army patch on the dark colored sleeves. The child was holding a police baton in either hand, casually spinning them as he readied himself for the next sequence.

He was tired, but he didn't want to go to bed. Not now.

He ducked low as the droid to his right came in swinging. Doing something physical helped. Helped to let him work out the conflicted ball of emotion that was still twisted up inside of him from when he'd woken up earlier, his body here and his mind still drifting back to what had happened on the Sentinel hundreds of years past.

Sparks flew as he snapped his right arm up into a watershed block, the baton angled back along his forearm. The second droid's lightsaber deactivating as it connected with the cortosis club. Swinging his arm out, the clone used the weight of the baton as a counterweight as he spun himself around. His footwork betrayed the training in Jiu-Jitsu, as the small clone came around and then up in a jumping roundhouse kick that connected the side of his foot to the two-meter-tall droid's head.

He made the landing, shifting back to the other droid.

He was too open. The training droid snapped up a knee, catching the boy straight in the chest. Knocked back, Three found himself taken off his as he went flying back to the matted floor. He gave a grunt as he smacked down, loudly, and felt the wind knocked out of him.

Kicking his legs up over his head, the small clone neatly flipped back up to his feet. Twirling the batons in his hands, the child was panting for breath as he watched the training droids circle around him again.

...also, was that food?

 

[Ravenfire]

Tom wandered the gardens as he always did of a night when he was at the silver rest. He preferred to stay on his world but every so often he was needed by Rachel or other people at the rest. He was wondering what he would do next when he heard fighting in the training room. He wandered in to see a padawan training on his own. From what he had heard he was training under [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] a master Tom had yet to meet.

He also saw a rather small clone he thought who was training with some droids and a police baton. It was an interesting battle in any case. The short boy was gaining the upper hand on the droids quicker than Tom would have thought. He could also smell food. An unusual scent this late in the night, maybe someone was making a snack?

[member="Lucius Alexandros"] l [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] l [member="3X744"]

 

[Lucius Alexandros]

Makashi. The 2nd Form of Lightsaber Combat. A form that he needed to master. It also happened to conserve his energy. He would be able to wake up in the morning early-

He sniffed. Food? He stomach began grumbling. He was not one for fish, but everything else smelled good. A meaty, dish with rice it smelled like...
He briefly stopped his sequences. His stomach growled. He shook his head. He began practicing Niman instead, aiming to avoid the dish like a test. But...It smelled so good.

He struggled to keep focus, his sequences slightly sloppier than usual. He noticed another person. Training with a Baton? Did he not have force abilities? He stopped for a moment, lowering his blade, and cocked his head slightly. He was interested in this young boy's contest. He felt a presence and looked over, noticing another person. He briefly forced a small smile before turning back, observing the practice fight.

His stomach growled again, louder this time.

He chastised his stomach for making noise. A Jedi was supposed to be able to resist hunger. His stomach seemed to be turning into a Sith.

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

She was moving around with all of the food and the sounds of people practicing as the jedi master hummed to herself. She gathered the food and one of the smaller hover carts while she was taking it with some bowls and utensils for them. Some drinks from the water to well they had tea or special awesome flavored work out drinks that replaced what your body used up... jediorade as it were and she moved with the trey going into the training room and seeing the others. It was later then expected or was it early as she spoke and the petite jedi master barely taller then most padawans and barely a buck ten soaking wet stood there. "SNack time."

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Block. Step. Block. Step.

The young clone was circling around with the two training droids. Neither was giving him a good opening, so he on the defensive trying to keep one from flanking behind him. It seemed like an exercise in futility.

...and one that he was too tired to solve.

Twirling the batons in his hands, the boy returned the weapons to the holsters on his belt. The motion triggered the training droids to shift back into stand-by mode, their lightsabers de-activating as the humanoid automatons made their way back toward the droid corral.

Stepping over to where the Jedi lady had the tray of snacks, the young clone trooper ventured for a closer look.

Since he was awake, there was no harm in a midnight snack... right?

"Is there juice?" the boy asked, curiousity.

 

[Trayze Tesar]

It was late, the Nautolan knew this as much as anyone would. Whoever was staying up further either had some business to attend to or was just doing the rounds. The general atmosphere and rhythm of life, Raj would admit, was finally something he could find himself in. Sure there were a few Jedi he sometimes willingly butted heads with, and he wasn't afraid to scoff at the concept of the Force being within all beings (although his skepticism was quickly being eroded, he nevertheless became a consistent devil's advocate). All in all, he caused no trouble, and created no trouble in kind, and Raj Lono was very much content with that.

That was until someone bumped into him, specifically one Lucius Alexandros, the impressively named padawan to an equally impressive named Josh Dragonsflame. The two, despite being apprenticed to the same master, couldn't be more opposite of one another. Where Lucius roared with idealistic rhetoric, Raj countered with pragmatic poise. Where Lucius danced with a myriad of eloquent lightsaber forms, Raj focused on the Force itself, and his hand to hand combat skills, almost forgoing the weapon entirely.

Whatever this try-hard is doing must be important. The Nautolan reasoned, and ghosted behind him. ​He has an early day tomorrow, could Dragonsflame have called for a meeting?

Of course, the answer was far more mundane, the lad was truly burning the midnight oil to train. Form II, specifically or as Raj called it "Swashbuckler". The eloquent swipes faded to the standard Niman, before resigning completely. Perhaps the scent of food was getting to him, or he was intrigued by the clone cadet nearby. Either way, he couldn't resist the opportunity to call out.

"Your stomach isn't turning into a Sith Lord." he answered, Lucius's tired thoughts no match for the urchin's intuitive nature. "It's just reminding you that pride goes before the fall. If you push yourself too much, you'll fall flat on your face in front of Master Dragonsflame." The Nautolan chuckled, emerging from the darkness. "Why don't we fuel up, then we can really start sparring, eh Lucius?" he would turn to the young Clone Cadet nearby. "Maybe this bloke'd like to join in, both on the chow and the match. We're all supposed to be fighting together, right? Best to know our strengths and weaknesses."

Truth be told, he always wanted to know a Clone, really know them. Not the almost pre-programmed responses some gave, but the honest opinions of someone fighting for the Jedi who wasn't one.

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

Juice... juice.. Wu looked at the one asking and she offered a wide smile just being a little taller then him when she finally spoke. "Yes we have juice." She was looking at it and slid a hand to one of the smaller slots with the different drinks. Orange, apple, grape, watermelon, cranberry and some other juices that they could get. Sasori and Saori well they made a great number of drinks and worked to have drinks for anything that could work. SHe was looking at the other san dmotioned them forward and around. "Come eat, the kitchen won't have much until the morning crew gets there to start making food for the younglings who will be starting their training."

 

[Lucius Alexandros]

Lucius, with his messy black hair, was slightly startled, then looked at the Nautolan. His black hair, with a little tip on the top flipping sides, swept to the side of his head. He was slightly impressed that he had read his mind with the force, but then again, nothing too special. He was tired after all. He smiled at the Tentacled Jedi and laughed a little, cheerful, but soft laughter.
"Indeed it is, so you're right, it's best to eat. However, I am more concerned with you getting enraged if someone eats fish." He teased. "Anyway, it would be an honor to train with you and the others, if they are interested. I could use an exciting sparring session." He replied, eyes glinting with fire and passion, a sort of playful, competitive, childish one.

He could not resist the food anymore and walked quickly over to the carts. He saw what he wanted and his eyes gleamed. He quickly but politely took the food and thanked the Master, sitting down on the ground, in a casual fashion. He dug into his food. The tender meat, mixed with the deliciously spicy and sweet sauce made for an entertaining mixture that melted in his mouth with each bite. The Rice was buttery and smooth, having a seedy texture, and relatively basic and bland, but for him, exceedingly enjoyable taste. He savored each bite, scarfing it down, taking drinks. At one point he swallowed too fast and started coughing intensely, chuckling while doing so, before soon taking back control of his breathing. As he drank, he noticed that the water he had grabbed was slightly...sweet. Not very much, but it had just a hint of sweetness, mixed with a pure fresh taste. Icy cold, yet not enough to chill his hard teeth enough to irritate them, he downed it quickly. When done he sighed and sat back in content, watching the others and engaging in conversation casually and cheerfully when it happened, smiling, satisfied and now with more energy than before.

He took particular interest in the Nautolan, as he was interested in his telepathic abilities. He had after all, telepathically discovered his name and master, at least, presumably so. He had to have significant potential in the force. Something, Lucius wondered, transferred over to his ability with a blade or not.

He always had had fascination with combat. As a youth, he had studied politics where he could, living in a relatively poor family, but taking an interest in warfare and economics. He remembered with some haziness, visiting the library each week, voraciously studying the history of the Jedi and Sith, and the great empires that had risen and fallen. The Rule of Two...The Brotherhood of Darkness....The Eternal Empire....

They each fascinated him with their divergent philosophies on how to both rule and how to pursue their goals in the dark side. He hypothesized, that their fates had been largely due to their interpretations of the dark side. The Rule of Two succeeded, but due to so few disciples, collapsed when the two Sith that were dominant in the period had internal conflict and lied to each other, leading to them both killing the other. The Brotherhood of Darkness, fell due to it's incompetencies and encouragement of weakness in dark side terms, by allowing lesser force users to be treated as equals, something which seemed to go against the very basis of Dark Side philosophy. And the Eternal Empire seemed to have had concentrated power in a single Ruler-much like The Rule of One's Darth Krayt-only for it to collapse when he was inevitably defeated.

This led him to study those who were able to both turn and defeat them in both one-to-one combat and warfare. What struck him was how the Sith relied in the end on brute force, and were always defeated by more deceptive and subtle opponents, who prioritized speed and flexibility, usually the Jedi. This directly led to his own evaluation of his own fighting style. Relying on agility, a flexible balanced technique, and a aggressive fast style with a flexible defensive component he could reliably use in any situation, led him to be a very flexible and balanced, yet fast and aggressive fighter. It also happened to suit his physique. He was not as tall and imposing as many other Jedi who used Form V like he did, so he tailored the Shien Style to his needs and adapted it into a lightsaber-to-lightsaber style for if the need arose, as well as to be able to deflect blasters. He was familiar with some basic maneuvers of Djem So, but deduced he should use those basics against foes who could withstand his speedy strikes with Makashi despite Makashi's own lack of kinetic force and mixed record on countering Shien and Ataru, two forms he used more often than Djem So. And of course, he would be able to use Niman to off-balance the opponent, or mix up his style, using a balanced fighting style and being able to use the force in attack or defense whenever the need arose.

It would be interesting to see the combat philosophy of the Nautolan, and he had a feeling that the upcoming spar would be quite an interesting one...

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

The young clone smiled as the lady affirmed that there was, indeed, juice on the menu.

"Thank you!" the boy chirped brightly, helping himself to the food and a thing of a juice. The idea of coming here had been to try and work the anxieties out of his system... but Three was not one to object to a midnight snack. 3X series clone troopers needed a lot of calories for their diet. Also, it smelled delicious. Plus reasons.

As the boy ate, a Nautolan joined the slowly growing masses that came for the smell of food. The distinctive head-tails and the large, abyssal black eyes made the aquatic an unmistakable presence around such a human group.

Or, at least, human-ish.

Near human?

Probably, the boy thought, as he looked around at the different people that were present.

"Maybe this bloke'd like to join in..."

Perking up, the boy looked over at where the Nautolan and a Jedi with black hair were talking. "What form are you studying?" the boy asked curiously.

Sor-Jan had shown him a few things. He knew what Shii-cho was. And Soresu. Sor-Jan used Soresu a lot, actually. And the other was called.. Atari? No, that wasn't it...

[member="Lucius Alexandros"] | [member="Wu Yeoh-Mei"] | [member="Trayze Tesar"] | [member="Tom Taff"]​

 

[Trayze Tesar]

Raj smiled in kind, a bit of physical exertion could help with sleeping, as well as a bit of a light snack. "Careful Lucius..." he teased, "Us Nautolans evolved to be the bigger, badder fish of Glee Anselm." he would chomp his teeth audibly on the pork and rice to accentuate his point in a humorous manner.

The Nautolan was still very much an outsider in many ways, having been in the Temple and Order less than a year. So many things about the Silver Jedi, and the Force in general, were new and somewhat unusual to him. Lucius wasn't a stranger to him, excelling in almost everything lightsaber-related, where Raj preferred less orthodox and surprisingly more simplistic styles to cover whatever he couldn't punch or kick, mostly Djem So and Shien. But facing off against an opponent with a lightsaber...? He wasn't ready for that, not just yet.


While enjoying his juice, the clone asked what forms he was dabbling in, "Ataru, Form V, mostly." he explained. "Though Sokan is what I need to work on, along with sixth Form, Niman. I either use the Force solely, or my body solely in combat, and need to focus on bringing the two of them together." he would explain. "Nowhere near the best lightsaber combatant here, but I'd reckon I can deck him pretty quick." the Nautolan chuckled in a challenging tone.

 

[Lucius Alexandros]

Lucius quickly took another bite of his food, chewing little and swallowing his food in bigger chunks than most. He chuckled and laughed, pointing cheerfully at Raj when Raj made his joke about Nautolans being bigger badder Fish of his planet. He listened carefully to the Nautolan's description of himself. Ataru. Djem So. Sokan. Niman.

His brain's gears began working quickly, deducing his opponent's likely fighting style.

Ataru and unarmed combat must be used to off-balance the opponent and to score dangerous hits, while Djem So is used to power through the enemy, He thought. It only made sense. The Nautolan seemed to be more of a Force-user. His initial approach most likely had been to integrate physical combat into a strong lightsaber technique and integrate his force abilities later into his lightsaber training. That was why, he was just now beginning to study Sokan and Niman. His capabilities with his lightsaber were most definitely greater than he let on, with his unarmed combat and force abilities used as strong supplements. Overall, his technique seemed to be an aggressive martial Jack-Of-All-Trades. This meant, that Makashi and Niman could work well against his tactics.

He continued eating, every bite slower, every thought racing through his mind carefully considered. He went to take another bite, before noticing his food was gone. His stomach was filled up as well. He placed his dishes were they belonged, and stood up, stretching.

He casually leaned against the wall nearby, waiting for the others to finish and be ready to fight.

 

[Wu Yeoh-Mei]

Wu looked at the ones eating and drinking with a nod of her head. Stopping only to make sure they all had firsts before making it so that some fo them could have seconds. Training could be busy work and more so when you were younger and trying to do some of the more advanced saber skills or forms. "Well you are all looking better, hopefully the practice of your skills won't be impeded. I know how much harder some of the advanced skills can be." A smirk on her face while she moved around getting them drinks and what they would need to keep going and work on it. "So what form are you all trying to practice?"

 

[Trayze Tesar]

Wu looked at the ones eating and drinking with a nod of her head. Stopping only to make sure they all had firsts before making it so that some fo them could have seconds. Training could be busy work and more so when you were younger and trying to do some of the more advanced saber skills or forms. "Well you are all looking better, hopefully the practice of your skills won't be impeded. I know how much harder some of the advanced skills can be." A smirk on her face while she moved around getting them drinks and what they would need to keep going and work on it. "So what form are you all trying to practice?"

"I'd reckon we'll both work on Niman." Raj shrugged. "Seemed simple enough, not as simple as Shii-Cho of course but still." he would nod at Lucius "Perhaps we'll teach each other stuff, then get into the actual spat. Give each other a chance to study the other person before I knock Lucius's teeth in." He concluded with a confident smirk. The main difference between Lucius and himself, the Nautolan thought, was not simply the techniques but the very mindset that they approached combat with. Lucius prioritized going to class on various lightsaber forms, and then seeking to win a typically unpredictable situation with those lessons. Raj on the other hand sought to control the battlefield and win first, and then incorporate the various lightsaber forms that best suited his strengths and weaknesses. Of course, most wars were based off of keeping your weaknesses, as well as your strengths, secret. Shii-Cho and Soresu he pretty much had in the bag, and Shien as well, using the lightsaber as largely a defensive tool against things that his body simply couldn't withstand against, like a blaster bolt to the head.

If Raj could take on a half a dozen of training blast-drones blindfolded, both with and without his lightsaber, then by focusing his attention on Lucius in a one on one duel, the poor boy would be on the ground before he even could say "en garde". Raj almost pitied the poor boy. He was bright, smart as paint for certain, but book smarts did not always translate into the practical skills of fighting and fixing items.

 

[Lucius Alexandros]

Lucius noticed a smirk on the Nautolan's lips. He was confident, that's for certain, in Lucius's view, arrogant, for he had given away the basis of his fighting style and Lucius could calculate the rest. He kept a straight face however, smiled, and nodded.

He had trained to become a deadly lightsaber duelist, so he could be prepared for any situation. And while he now had to take his master's advice of not trying to be a one man army, he still had the capabilities to back up his strategic mindset. Indeed, it could be said that the reason he had vast potential was that he combined both strategy and skill, instead of relying on raw talent. His force abilities had not been neglected, incorporating force attacks into his lightsaber sequences, aiming to make Niman the basis of his personal deadly hybrid fighting style. He was more unpredictable with the blade than most might expect. A fierce, rapid sustainable offense, with a strong active defense would catch his opponent off guard and cause him to slip up and make a mistake. A punch or kick here and there from his opponent may distract him, but as long as he stayed on the offense, his opponent would not be able to bring his supplementary style to bear in a serious contest. His tone and style setup seemed to enjoy using it for offense, as well as that seemed to fit his psychology. Had he had a slight alteration, Lucius would certainly have given him credit for a more defensive technique with his physical martial arts. He was studying Niman, but Lucius had taken to studying Makashi, Ataru, and Shien with the added benefit of using Niman as the basis of his style.
He of course, had some proficiency in Shii Cho and knew a couple moves in Soresu-to supplement his defense-, but overall was a sustainable offensive duelist with a surprisingly strong defense.


The Nautolan was the perfect match for Lucius to defeat, as it would show how versatile his own style was, and if he won, would allow him to focus on his current forms and not reevaluate anything, which would mean he could focus on perfecting his style, and studying more stuff, as well as socializing more.
He gripped his training saber a little, anxious to start the duel already, but remained polite and pleasant, biding his time to take on this interesting and fun challenger.

 

[Trayze Tesar]

Lucius noticed a smirk on the Nautolan's lips. He was confident, that's for certain, in Lucius's view, arrogant, for he had given away the basis of his fighting style and Lucius could calculate the rest. He kept a straight face however, smiled, and nodded.
He had trained to become a deadly lightsaber duelist, so he could be prepared for any situation. And while he now had to take his master's advice of not trying to be a one man army, he still had the capabilities to back up his strategic mindset. Indeed, it could be said that the reason he had vast potential was that he combined both strategy and skill, instead of relying on raw talent. His force abilities had not been neglected, incorporating force attacks into his lightsaber sequences, aiming to make Niman the basis of his personal deadly hybrid fighting style. He was more unpredictable with the blade than most might expect. A fierce, rapid sustainable offense, with a strong active defense would catch his opponent off guard and cause him to slip up and make a mistake. A punch or kick here and there from his opponent may distract him, but as long as he stayed on the offense, his opponent would not be able to bring his supplementary style to bear in a serious contest. His tone and style setup seemed to enjoy using it for offense, as well as that seemed to fit his psychology. Had he had a slight alteration, Lucius would certainly have given him credit for a more defensive technique with his physical martial arts. He was studying Niman, but Lucius had taken to studying Makashi, Ataru, and Shien with the added benefit of using Niman as the basis of his style.
He of course, had some proficiency in Shii Cho and knew a couple moves in Soresu-to supplement his defense-, but overall was a sustainable offensive duelist with a surprisingly strong defense.


The Nautolan was the perfect match for Lucius to defeat, as it would show how versatile his own style was, and if he won, would allow him to focus on his current forms and not reevaluate anything, which would mean he could focus on perfecting his style, and studying more stuff, as well as socializing more.
He gripped his training saber a little, anxious to start the duel already, but remained polite and pleasant, biding his time to take on this interesting and fun challenger.

If Lucius thought that Raj didn't have any more surprises up his sleeve, he was sorely mistaken. While not the most adept in lightsaber combat, the Nautolan made up for this in sheer unorthodox tenacity, and psyching out his opponents. Case in point, the flashy movements of the Makashi or expert Duelist would no longer have an effect on him, as he attached a blindfold to himself. With almost sloth-like movement, Raj calmly grabbed his lightsaber, assumed a normal Soresu stance, and steadied his breathing.

Those in the Force would notice that Raj's presence flushed for a moment, like a blowtorch before becoming taut and rapidly flowing. While his stance was normal for a Soresu practicioner, dual handed, his lower right hand was open, as if to push the very ligtshaber itself. Before any further observations were noted, Raj leapt with unnerving silence, his dual-handed strike tense and close to his body, the lightsaber itself oddly unlit until it could make contact with Lucius's ribcage.

Fights were rarely fair, and Raj figured blinding himself was a fair enough disadvantage as being slow on the draw.

 

[Lucius Alexandros]

If Lucius thought that Raj didn't have any more surprises up his sleeve, he was sorely mistaken. While not the most adept in lightsaber combat, the Nautolan made up for this in sheer unorthodox tenacity, and psyching out his opponents. Case in point, the flashy movements of the Makashi or expert Duelist would no longer have an effect on him, as he attached a blindfold to himself. With almost sloth-like movement, Raj calmly grabbed his lightsaber, assumed a normal Soresu stance, and steadied his breathing.

Those in the Force would notice that Raj's presence flushed for a moment, like a blowtorch before becoming taut and rapidly flowing. While his stance was normal for a Soresu practicioner, dual handed, his lower right hand was open, as if to push the very ligtshaber itself. Before any further observations were noted, Raj leapt with unnerving silence, his dual-handed strike tense and close to his body, the lightsaber itself oddly unlit until it could make contact with Lucius's ribcage.
Fights were rarely fair, and Raj figured blinding himself was a fair enough disadvantage as being slow on the draw.

Lucius was caught by surprise by the Acrobatic Shii Cho Sweep, and quickly leapt out of the way. Igniting his Lightsaber, he quickly launch a quick cautious probing offense, using jabs and thrusts. His blade cuts were used minimally, as he was not naive enough to believe his opponent had given himself a handicap out of arrogance without a countermeasure. However, he quickly disengaged when it became clear he was not making progress, and used a force push against his opponent, aiming to off-balance his enemy and use the brief opening to think up a strategy.

 

[Trayze Tesar]

Lucius was caught by surprise by the Acrobatic Shii Cho Sweep, and quickly leapt out of the way. Igniting his Lightsaber, he quickly launch a quick cautious probing offense, using jabs and thrusts. His blade cuts were used minimally, as he was not naive enough to believe his opponent had given himself a handicap out of arrogance without a countermeasure. However, he quickly disengaged when it became clear he was not making progress, and used a force push against his opponent, aiming to off-balance his enemy and use the brief opening to think up a strategy.

Each cut was ineffective, as the Force seemed to flow through the saber itself, punishing any probe with simplistic but powerful strikes. While Lucius darted about, Raj moved like a glacier, slow but night unstoppable thanks to a solid Soresu defense. The Force push had buffeted the Nautolan, not to the extreme like Lucius may have hoped for, but still enough to send him back a few centimeters. Regaining the momentum, and taking advantage of the lull in the action, the Force danced around Raj like ripples in a pond, striding forward with his own physical ability, but enhancing a flurry of one handed strikes with the Force, with the effect of demoralizing the usually confident Makashi practitioners.

He relies too much on his blade... The Nautolan smirked. Time to press in. In almost an echo of his first attack, Raj pressed a flurry of two-handed attacks, pressing Lucius's own one-handed stance to the limit and forcing him on the defense. Just when he allowed himself enough weakness to be countered by Lucius, he would feel an etheral wave wrap itself around Lucius. Too late, did he notice that Raj's hands were loose, too late did Lucius realize that he was being lifted over Raj's body and slammed down once, twice on the nape of his neck. The second and mercifully final blow to body and pride was finished with a slightly-gentle Force push to the wall, with Lucius almost humorously upside down.

The Nautolan raised both his fists in triumph, "Used to want to be a trained fighter, wrestler and mixed-martial arts whenever I got bored of fixing repulsorlifts." he would explain. "Could've made pro if I didn't have these midi-chlorians. Now? I'm better than pro." he boasted.

 

[Lucius Alexandros]

Lucius was disappointed with his force push's and he was unable to calculate a plan of attack in time, if he had only 2 more milliseconds, he had been so close...
He didn't linger on this at all however, as he was caught off guard by a series of capable one handed strikes by his opponent. He dodged each strike capable and deflected a few, but he was cautious of his opponent's new strategy.

He focused his energy into blocking his opponent's strike and waiting for a chance to counterattack when he overextended himself. His signature one-handed stance assumed an almost Soresu-like posture alongside his usual Makashi and Niman defensive techniques, with a hint of Shien splattered here and there. His opponent then launched a series of two handed strikes, which allowed Lucius to easily defend now against his opponent's offense. It was capable, but Lucius could no doubt weather the storm. Lucius began to regain confidence in the engagement, but remained cautious of any tricks his opponent might pull.

He saw an opening in the Nautolan's guard, and lunged. However the Nautolan sidestepped the strike, and launched a devastating physical force-imbued strike at Lucius's exposed rear, and then he felt himself flying. The world seemed to turn topsy turvy...Wait no, he was just upside down. He was against the wall. He groaned. He overheard his opponent's victory boast.

Lucius got up, impressed and red faced, both from being excited and impressed, as well as being slightly embarrassed. Nonetheless, he chuckled.
"Very impressive. However, if you think that your bag of tricks will defeat me every time..."

He spaced his feet, something he rarely did, placing his blade squarely in front of him, advancing cautiously but confidently.

"...Then you'll be sorely mistaken. I do not fall for the same trickery tactics twice."

He launched a surprise force push against his opponent, then leapt at his enemy, using a rapid flurry of Ataru strikes to catch his opponent off balance. Afterwards, he integrated a few punches and kicks, then a few Makashi lunches, cuts, and thrusts. He was using an all-out offensive. However, he still had tricks up his sleeve...