Private A Long Time Coming

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Veridia
Tag: Braze

Ko hadn’t even taken the time to grab his larger outer robe to shield him from the pelting rains. He had dismissed Master Raene’s protests after sensing danger at the temple. He understood the Master’s wishes but believed that it wasn’t entirely appropriate to let such a threat escape. What did it mean for the Jedi if even their most remote establishments were now at risk.

The Kel Dor dashed through the dark forest that surrounded the temple. He kept his eyes closed, relying on The Force to see what was ahead of him. Or else he would need to rely wholly on the sporadic flashes of lightning that illuminated the sky and land around him.

The culprit hadn’t managed to get very far. They collapsed onto the muddy ground face down. Hardly capable of even crawling. To hurt and exhausted now to put up much resistance. Ko approached the mysterious figure from behind. The Kage mercenary had noticed him, using up what little energy they had drawn their blaster pistol and shot up at Ko.

A mere tilt of his head was all it took for the blaster bolt to whiz past him harmlessly. In retaliation Ko held out his one arm and telekinetically pried the weapon from the Kage’s weak grip before crushing it like a tin can and tossing it away. Ko wanted revenge and to slay this man where they lay. But the rational side of him knew better than that.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

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From the darkness stepped a hooded figure, familiar to Ko even before the lightning illuminated him. Braze placed himself between the fallen mercenary and the Kel Dor, his presence calm but commanding. One hand rested lightly on the hilt across his ventral mount, as though the gesture alone was warning enough.

"You should really give yourself time to recover," Braze remarked, his tone edged with dry reproach. "Running out into a storm like this, and chasing after shadows… you'll do nothing but exhaust yourself, and catch cold for your trouble... Best you hurry home back to your cozy bedroll, little knight. The storm is kinder than I am, and you'll find no victory here."

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Veridia
Tag: Braze

The mask hid most of it. But it was clear that Ko had frowned when Braze revealed themselves and insulted him. The gall to pretend that Ko should be concerned about Verida’s light drizzles.

Ko felt both of his hands clench. He hardly ever talked or taunted with a foe. “The ways you’ve fraternized with Sith has always been unbecoming past time of yours Braze. But joining forces with a thug, that’s low even for you.” Ko hissed from under his mask. In many ways Ko found the criminal elements of the galaxy more repugnant than even the most tainted of Sith lords.

With his single arm he pointed at the two of them. “The two of you will be apprehended tonight. Maybe then we’ll finally be given some answers and closure for how one of their own was responsible for such a grievous betrayal.” Bringing his hand down to his waist he grabbed his saber hilt and activated his weapon. Highlighting himself in his lightsaber’s emerald glow. “If you choose to fight back…” The Kel Dor paused for a moment. “I’ll make you regret not severing my head instead.”

Heavy breathing came from Okuma below as he tried to form a sentence. “B-Braze… wo… Would you kindly kill our pursuer…” He commanded before exhaustion finally captured him and he fell unconscious.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

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Braze had no intention of killing Ko. He only meant to stand guard over his captor, to hold the line, and perhaps to intimidate the Kel Dor into reconsidering his reckless pursuit. Yet his own taunting words seemed only to stoke the embers of defiance in Ko until they burned into open flames of reightous fury.

As Okuma's final syllable left his lips, Braze's pupils dilated, wide and dark, just as the lightning split the sky and washed him in pale light.

"As... You wish. "

His hand found his hilt, the blade singing free in a heartbeat. It was almost surreal, as though his body acted without his consent, each motion pulled from him by an unseen will. He strained against it, but could no more stop than halt the storm around them. It was almost dream like being force to take a back seat in his own body as it moved taking deadly aim.

Chalcedony teal and blue-violet light burst into the rain-slick underbrush, flooding the forest with unnatural colors that melded against Ko's emrald glow. Then suddenly Braze advanced in a blur through the seets of raim with in the storm, driven by the Force and speed beyond measure. He crashed upon Ko in a barrage of blows, each strike falling heavy, and merciless, delivered in rapid succession. The form he wielded was one of harsh momentum, his ferocity magnified until he seemed like the very predator Djem So was so aptly named after.

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Veridia
Tag: Braze

Ko noticed that something was off after the Kage spoke. The phrasing was odd and specific. Braze’s tone and energy changed as well. A shift in their entire being before dashing into combat with a style that caught him off guard.

Braze seemed to lack the economy and refinement of Makashi as well as its clever and thoughtful foot work. They were employing a much stronger and forceful style that instantly put Ko on the defensive. The Kel Dor’s shock of seeing his close friend suddenly not act like themselves was being countered only by his own brawns and the simplicity of his preferred style. Allowing him to not be completely outclassed with just one arm.

Ko used his larger stature to keep Braze from completely overpowering him. Even now he didn’t want to hurt his friend. But in a moment like this he couldn’t really worry about Braze’s safety.

The Kel Dor pushed his blade against Braze’s main for a moment in a bind. The rains above hissing into little puffs of steam as they make contact with the lightsabers. Concern crept into him over the second weapon. It was smart of Braze to fully utilize their numerical advantage when it came to their limbs. Ko shifted his body some, pulled the shoulder of his missing arm back before pushing it forwards. Conjuring a force push through the motion to create some distance between them. As though his arm was still there to do the maneuver with.

Getting flanked by Braze’s second weapon while in a bind wasn’t something Ko could afford.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze's off-hander barely missed the Keldor's head by a few inches as his small frame was thrown back by the Force. He twisted mid-air, feet connecting with and rebounding off a tree stump in the slick rain before he launched himself back at the Keldor with a blend of Ataru and Djem So. A flurry of slashes and strikes struck out with deadly intent. He passed by the Keldor, and his footing gave way to the slick mud below, all the while Braze was trying to arrest control from himself, feeling as if he were trapped within a nightmare. He was pulling back in little ways as he fought himself, making executions come close.

​

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Veridia
Tag: Braze

It was difficult for Ko to sense the deep internal struggle within Braze. Needing to focus on not dying more than whatever inner turmoil had been unleashed on his former comrade. The ferocity of Echani's assault had felt more indicative of the fighting style of his own mentor than what he’d come to expect. Ko wondered if this sudden employment of Forms IV and V were possibly some kind of overcompensation. Perhaps the kel dor could see this as some sort of bizarre testament to how the younger jedi felt towards him. Knowing that Ko preferred to keep his fights hard and fast, removing the economical advantages of makashi in favor of something more explosive.

Ko needed to stop his racing mind. To stop trying to mentally and emotionally dissect his little brother in the middle of such a heated moment. He’d just grown so used to it during all of their spars and duels. Perhaps Braze’s Echani nature had rubbed off on him some. Coming to view their fights as forms of expression and communication.

“I don’t understand what has overtaken you Braze…” Ko finally spoke as he tried his best to thwart Braze’s attacks with a single blade and arm. “I’ve known you to entertain the company of darkness, but I know this is something else…” In some ways it made their betrayal more painful, more real. He sensed no taint of the darkside from the mercenary. It made him worried that there could be no darkside corruption within Braze, that this was possibly voluntary.

The poison of these doubts began to creep into Ko’s performance. Quickly struggling to keep up with Braze’s onslaught. His emotional limits were being pushed. Typcially quick to judge and act, Ko was finding out if he could really bring himself to commit fratricide.

Sensing a brief opening Ko moved his single blade in such a way as to catch both of Braze’s in a cross. But the Kel Dor couldn’t be slow since with two weapons his opponent could be much better with single tempo maneuvers. Ko moved his weapon in the bind and his arm to the center of his body before letting go of it. Yet his lightsaber remained engaged with Braze’s Currently being held up by an invisible telekinetic limb. But for Ko he moved as though his severed arm was still attached to him. With his free arm he pulled his arm back and clenched his fist before committing to striking Braze in the face to daze and stagger. All as lightning crescendo in the sky above the two of them.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

Braze wasted no time pressing the attack. His off-hand blade twisted sharply against Ko's, locking it down for just an instant. In that heartbeat, his main hand flared, Tràkata employed then re-igniting beneath Ko's guard, driving the sapphire blade upward in a precise thrust toward the shoulder seam of Ko's armor. The strike found its mark, but before he could drive deeper, Ko's fist crashed into him. The punch hit like a shockwave, hurling Braze back.

He staggered, spat a red froth of blood onto the stone, and grinned through the sting. His boots bit into the floor as he launched forward again, this time with renewed fury. The sharp elegance of Makashi guided his blade like a duelist's rapier, every movement efficient and cutting. Yet it was laced with the reckless, acrobatic unpredictability of Ataru, each strike delivered with sudden leaps and wild arcs.

Grace and precision wove with chaos and speed, a deadly combination that made Braze's assault as beautiful as it was lethal. He did not engae Ko in verbal conversation as he was driven to satiate the compulsion to fufill the order.

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Veridia
Tag: Braze

Ko often had to work hard in not developing too much tunnel vision in his fights. Fortunately to help him in such endeavors he made a habit out of using the rest of his body as a weapon in tandem with his lightsaber. A core principle of Ataru that he admired about the ostentatious combat style.

After knocking Braze back harshly Ko passed his saber from his invisible phantom limb to his physical one. Just in time for the young echani to spring back towards Ko with seemingly just as much vigor as before. The Kel Dor didn’t just stand there, instead opting for a more active defense and rushed Braze, meeting him in the middle and clashing once more.

But Ko could tell that something had changed. Still acrobatic and exaggerated. But gentler. The switch from Djem So to Makashi had Ko over extended and over committed to his clash. A battle of raw strength against Ko, even with a single. But the subversive nature of Form 2 could more easily bypass his own Shii-Cho defenses.

It didn’t take much, a simple poke, a gentle tap at where his one remaining arm connected with the rest of his body. Forcing Ko to react and recoil from the harsh burning sting. Ko stepped back as his saber fell from his grip. Deactivating and falling to the soaked and muddy ground beneath them.​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto

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In a flash of lightning Braze was upon his foe, blades scissored across Ko's neck. The crossed plasma hissed so close that the rain itself steamed against the heat, the vapor curling like smoke between them. He stood locked in the executioner's stance, poised to deliver Sai Cha; the severing of the head, the final cut.

Yet he did not move.

His arms trembled but held, the strike incomplete. His breath tore ragged in his chest, eyes wide and vacant, as the frigid downpour drummed relentlessly across his robes. Something unseen clung to him, an iron will pulling him back from the precipice of the act, even as the killing stroke begged to fall.

 

[Ko Vuto]

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Location: Veridia
Tag: Braze

There was a subtle flinch from Ko as the sabers rushed for his neck, crossing and flanking either side of him. The rain that fell onto the plasma blades crackled and sizzled next to his ears.

Here he stood defeated, squarely, honestly. Sure he could point towards various reasons for why he failed here, but they would only amount to lousy excuses. At the end of the day he acted too rashly, and recklessly by pursuing them here. Ko’s googled gaze looked down at Braze critically. Silently judging the younger knight who has now surpassed him.

“It’s been a long time coming… hasn’t it?” Ko said as the rain continued to pour from the sky and through the lilac canopy above them. “I was a fool for thinking… wishing that it could last forever.” The Kel Dor lamented. The vagueness of his words stretched beyond what was happening in the moment.

Ko couldn’t understand why, but in this moment his mind drifted back to his old bonsai tree. How it has been left behind. Likely to wither away into a dry husk in his old room. Or maybe even growing uncontrollably into a gnarled mess. ​

 

[Braze]

Tags: Ko Vuto
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Braze panted, his gaze seemingly boring through Ko and past him a thousand yards. Ko's words tugged at something deep behind those haunted eyes , a faint, fragile flicker of recognition breaking through the static.

He staggered backward, whole body trembling in the rain like a leaf in a storm. A guttural scream ripped free crying out in a raw, strangled sound as he tore himself back from the brink.

Every nerve lit up at once. His entire system revolted, a riot of flesh and will. It felt like drowning inside his own body, and fighting a tide that wanted to move him like a puppet. Every drop of rain against his skin was a needle, every heartbeat a hammering blow.

His muscles jerked and locked, tendons burning as though his own body were trying to devour him. Inside, his mind felt fractured: two currents colliding and fighting one another; one cold, mechanical, and precise; the other fiery, human, and defiant.

And when the collision broke, what remained was neither peace nor victory, only a man gasping for air, shaking in the downpour, newly aware that his own body remembered obedience far too well. It was as if he was stuck in behavioral muscle memory rather than voluntary motion.

He didn't want to hurt Ko, and he had nearly extinguished his life. Tears spilled forth in the rain, invisible even as the guilt washed over him anew. A sudden Force push came to send the Kel'dor away from him. He couldn't trust himself not to act. He gathered the injured man and fled.