Blood and Wine (Dominion Tier 2 Dom of Serenno and Kushiban)

[Cedric Grayson]

11/25

Arken telegraphed his strike from about forty miles away. Darius couldn't help but smirk at the rookie's mistake. It was a common one, of course. The boy didn't know how to turn his body so that his movements were hidden as of yet. Such was to be expected of a novice; it was Darius' job to solve that problem.

"You're telegraphing your strikes." Darius shouted as the blade soared toward him. Darius caught the strike on the tip of his own weapon and rolled with it, the force of the strike rolling off the blade rather than hitting his own body. At the end of the roll, Darius attempted to shove an elbow into Arken's back, intending to shove him down into the grass. "Combat is a combination of the force and skill. You need to keep your movements as tight as possible. The less I can tell from your stance, the better."

The knight grinned. "And you must open yourself to the force, just as we practiced. Simple precognition will tell you what I am going to do instinctively. It'll save your life." The Jedi Knight held his blade out in a challenging gesture. "Again."

[member="Arken Lussk"]

 

[WolfMortum]

7/20

For the most part Veiere had remained silent and perceptive of the situation before them, these raiders having a presence nearby complicated things and as it turned out, Abraxas appeared to be set on the matter of dealing with them. Deciding better to go along with the Sith reformant, Veiere nodded in acknowledgement and farewell to [member="Darius Sedaire"], [member="Arken Lussk"] and, before setting off after him.

As always Veiere was armed with his lightsabers, the single hilt of his former padawans and the staff interchangeable, carrying the darkness of his past within its make. He hoped that neither of the weapons would be required for this soon to be meeting. "So..." Veiere spoke up, returning to [member="Abraxas"]' and [member="Dune Rhur"]'s side and keeping in stride with them, hoping to define some sort of working relationship there, searching for better insight as to who he was not as a former member of the Sith but a prospective supporter of the dominion, "Why the change of heart" He offered an intrigued glance to Abraxas, though his tone was nothing if not light and seemingly carefree.

 

[Bartic Myth'rand]

Post 10/20

Woke up in his quarters back on board the 'Interrogator' with a pounding headache, pulling himself out of bed he stumbled to his personal refresher and ran himself a cold shower and took a couple of headache tablets, helping his mood significantly. With his head taken care of his primary problem was his stomach, as if on queue it growled angrily, Bartic threw on his uniform and headed for the common mess, it was far faster than the officer's mess, plus the greasy eggs and nerf strips were much better for a hangover.

Three minutes and eight decks later he walked in the doors and it took all he had not to physically cringe at the noise coming from the symphony of conversations, the director quickly piled a tray high with eggs, nerf strips, toast, and a giant mug of caf. Turning to search for a seat he spotted [member="Grace Darkson"] and moved to join her hoping she might be able to shed some light on what happened after he started drinking.

Taking a seat across from Grace he nodded in greeting before taking a drink of the caf.

 

[Arken Lussk]

Post: [08/20]

Arken didn't want to use the Force. That was the problem.

He knew he was going to mess up but threw himself at his master with nothing but sheer confidence. However, sometimes he didn't like calling upon the Force. It felt like he couldn't do anything on his own, like that mysterious invisible force was just a crutch to be used whenever he couldn't do something on his own. He could feel that he knew what parts were in computers and droids but he bided his time and chose to check out specs and blueprints instead.

Elbow contacted with spine and he toppled over, hands digging into the dirt as he threw himself back up and swung again. And again. And again.

Heavy breathing, blood pounding in his temples.

Frustration.

"I don't want to use the Force. It feels like a crutch."

Another swing. More frustration.

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Dunames Lopez]

Location: Serenno
Allies: Dominion and friends
Enemies: Unknown
Post: 7/25

The coordinates of the local bankruptcy trustee responsible of the Serenno spaceport dossier in hand, Dunames leaves the ballroom where the ball is held and heads for their office, and whips out a datapad to write to the bankruptcy trustee's office: the Garner, Dooku & Glabados liquidator firm. Dunames hoped that she would never get to deal with bankruptcy trustees, and she knew that bankruptcy paperwork would get very, very complicated if Star Tours ever was to go bankrupt: corporate bankruptcies of megacorporations are usually orders of magnitude more complex than would be the case for personal bankruptcy and their services are priced accordingly. But if they were to buy the whole project off from their predecessors, they would count on having to deal with the liquidators; on Serenno, bankruptcy trustees were also responsible for liquidation.

-------------------------------------

To whom it may concern,

This is Star Tours, and we're interested in seeing the Serenno spaceport refurbishment completed; it has come to our attention that the project has stalled because the previous general contractor has gone bankrupt and it is undergoing liquidation. We are requesting an appointment to see what options Star Tours have.

Dunames Lopez
CEO, Star Tours

-------------------------------------

 

[Darth Eversor]

10/20

Abraxas looked to the Jedi that asked him of his standing relating to allegiance. Already dealing with the stress of such a foreign environment and predicmanet, the former Sith gave the man a side-glance through his helmet, brow furrowed slightly. "My change was necessary. I no longer wished to be buried underneath the weight of a dying cause."

Then his attention snapped to the alien Jedi.

"If they wish to make amends, then it will be through understanding. If they decide to make the first move, then it will be through force." Abraxas remained cold, the only way he really knew how to act. He walked on, rifle equipped. "Their atonement will be subject to their choices. Nothing more." Crouching down to a knee, Abraxas gestured a "halt" with his left hand formed into a fist. "Up ahead, there they are." Going by the military experience he received n a past life, Abraxas moved slowly, keeping an eye on them before they could ever see him or the Jedi.

"Ready yourself."

[member="Dune Rhur"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Post 8

As [member="Bartic Myth'rand"] sat down, Grace gave him a nod, managing to mutter, "Director" between mouthfuls of bagel. She had been more than content to struggle with her own hazy memory of the night before. She could remember agreeing to drink it away with [member="Alyson Halle"], and then shooting at someone before passing out in the speeder back home. Part of her was worried she'd killed someone important, but she was pretty sure if she had she's be in jail, rather than gnawing at some stale bagel. Either way, it would be best to ask.

"Do you remember much of last night? Everything's hazy after about an hour or so into the party."

 

[Cedric Grayson]

12/25

"You may think that to be so," the blade crashed against one another. Arken's strikes grew more hurried; panicked. He was getting annoyed, perhaps even angry. This was what he had expected of the padawan, though he would not give voice to such things. The knight grunted as he caught the blunt of Arken's blade upon his own, the strike jarring his arms and sending a shock through his muscles. With that came pain, but such distaste was a temporary thing.

"But the force is a part of you. It is not a crutch. It's as much a piece of you as your arms or legs. It is both a companion and a tool. Deny it, and you will fail," the knight rebuked another flurry of aggressive strikes. This was unlike Arken - he had never come off as one to let his frustration get the better of him. The young man Darius had come to know was a careful one. He relied on a cool head and his own knowledge to achieve his goals. This Arken was different, and in that, Darius had found his weakness.

"That was how I learned, but you -" the knight grunted as a strike almost managed to hit his arm. " - you must learn otherwise. Combat is no different from the work you do on your technology. It requires the same clarity of mind. The force will not control you, Arken, but it will give you focus. You're getting angry. Your strikes are sloppy, blunt, there is no thought behind them. You have to learn my weaknesses as we fight and compensate for your own. Once you've learned accurately, you capitalize on them."

An open palm sprung forward to hit Arken hard in the center of the chest. "Your weakness right now is your emotion. You're fighting blind. It cripples you."



[member="Arken Lussk"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Abraxas"] led the way during their hike. At some point later the Bith once again followed instructions. No sense not to considering this being knew his craft well. Sadly that craft was war.

He let his hand unhook his lightsaber without igniting it. Blood need not be spilled if they did this right.

"We should give them a chance to surrender," he whispered "Most likely will under the threat of what we can do. Better a few years on a prison world than death."

Bandits were often criminals of opportunity and not true psychopaths and fanatics. They acted when no consequence looked. Dune thought​ death was far less appealing than imprisonment of perhaps a few years at most.

"Let's give them that opportunity," he implored his fellow in an urgent whisper.

 

[Dunames Lopez]

Location: Serenno
Allies: Dominion and friends
Enemies: Unknown
Post: 8/25

Dunames received the response from the bankruptcy trustees, urging them to go visit them before any work on the local spaceport resumes. She was more than flabbergasted by their speed of action; they were expedient given the nature of the dossier that was entrusted to them.

 

[WolfMortum]

8/20

"Agreed..." He responded very simply to [member="Dune Rhur"], the two had not had a chance to speak again since the incident over Deneba, something he would have to remedy later. For the time being, the Dominion had a priority here that outweighed his personal need to better get to know the people around them. "Try to avoid killing them if possible, we could use any intel they're holding over the system...". The Kushiban were relatively cooperative, it made things rather easy but these Raiders, the possibilities might not strictly start and end with them, if there were other cells or groups in the system causing trouble that these rogues were affiliated with then the dominion would be responsible for bringing them to justice.

Reaching to his belt, he unclipped his staff hilt from his belt, taking the moment of quiet before the storm to detach the weapon into two separate hilts, here there seemed to be a good number of them and with his talents focused more in the force than in the art of the sword, the extra blade would do his defense some justice here. He however did not move further, letting the sleeves of his robe to cover the weapons, shielding his hands from their sight in the case that they did remain neutral to their presence. Honestly, he doubted that would be the case...-Especially with [member="Abraxas"] who Veiere considered far more willing than he or Dune to take into the fight on this one.

 

[Arken Lussk]

Post: [09/20]

He tried to slow his breathing, to calm himself down just like he'd done before. Clearing his mind was probably going to be the hardest thing. It was hard to do that even while sitting still in peace and calmness. Adding a swinging lightsaber and an opponent made it that much harder than before. This whole Force thing was impossible.

Combat is no different from the work you do on your technology. It requires the same clarity of mind

Maybe that's what he needed to do. Look at it like he'd look at a latest software update, the latest manumission module, the newest protocol droid: with joy, happiness, and a wonder of what he could do if he got his hands on it.

Arken hurriedly paced back, narrowly avoiding that palm to the chest by a hair.

He closed his eyes just for a moment, closing them and sinking into that attempted clarity. Focus, focus. It was just technology. This lightsaber was a tool and he needed to use it as such. An extension of himself, like that screwdriver he'd used to build his own Xcalq PC. It was pretty snazzy stuff and he doubted the end result would've been the same had he not used such a tool, so he figured the same concept applied to combat.

Eyes opened, filled with determination. Ready.

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

13/25

He sensed a change in the padawan. Darius drew himself up to his full height, his stance lost for the moment. He saw the determination in Arken's eyes: the certainty. The boy might have found the balance he needed. Darius' old masters had always taught him to bend his lessons to the needs of the student, rather than to force them to follow his way. If you gave someone something they could relate to, they would take to it that much better. With Darius, the lightsaber had been a natural thing. With Arken, it required a parallel to his love for technology and all the fine details that came with it. He'd only needed to bring that up to the younger man, and now it seemed that Arken had taken up an entirely different persona.

"I like that look in your eyes," Darius cracked a pleased little grin and pressed forward. Happy that his palm strike had missed, the knight took up the opening stance of shii-cho. It was an all-purpose form, and would do him well in this training enviroment. It was the form he had begun to teach Arken so that it might better suit him.

His blade flashed toward Arken as if he intended to bisect the boy from shoulder to hip. The strike halted halfway through, proving the feint that Darius had planned. It twisted to a torso-wide chop that would sting if it landed and little more.

"Keep that focus. Watch my arms, not my blade, and you'll know exactly where it's going."

[member="Arken Lussk"]

 

[Bartic Myth'rand]

Post 11

Bartic had a mouthful of egg when he was asked what happened by Grace.

Swallowing and taking a drink of caf he replied, "The last thing I remember clearly is drinking from that bottle at the bar."

He immediately had to take a drink of caf to wash the ghost of the liquor out of his mouth, it was very strange Bartic hadn't drank like that since, well since he was a pirate, usually to celebrate some big score. But it had been a long time ago, and this time it was to forget his failure, rubbing his temples he tried to think. At least he didn't get into a fight, he would have felt that this morning, he certainly didn't shoot anyone, the indicator on his hold out still showed he was only missing the one shot.

"As far as I can tell, I didn't kill anyone, I'm an angry drunk, or so I'm told."

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Post 9

Grace frowned as she swallowed. "I don't think we killed anyone." Shaking her head, she winced. It hurt to do that. She tore another bite from her happy little bagel, taking the time to chew it so she could think. "I remember shooting at something, but I don't remember what. Still, I doubt we'd be up here if we'd killed someone." Her free hand came up, propping one elbow on the table and pinching the bridge of her nose. Her brain hurt. It usually didn't hurt this much, even after a day at using it. Maybe she needed to remember to not drink so much in the future.

"Do you remember me shooting someone?" She paused. "Or even someone who it would make sense to shoot?"

[member="Bartic Myth'rand"]

 

[Arken Lussk]

Post: [10/20]

Darius's grin was infectious, to which Arken responded with his own wry grin.

He lifted a hand to wipe the sweat off of his brow. He could feel the calm now, analyzing the situation as if he were planning out the schematics of building his latest mainframe. Do this, do that, the device will react like this. Wash, rinse, and repeat. There was a cyclical process to this whole thing. If he would've known that since the beginning, this would've been such a breeze. With his confidence now bolstered and the feeling of adrenaline flooding his veins, he dashed forward to enter the fray once again.

He watched his arms, the way his torso shifted. It was all telling. If he would change stances, throw a kick, or lean his gait in order to balance for his next strike. It was a narrow interception, but Arken's green blade sharply snapped upwards to catch the feint that Darius had thrown. The receivement of the blow was quite clumsy though he did safe himself from earning a bruised shoulder from the low-density blade.

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Bartic Myth'rand]

Post 12

"Yes, you tried to shoot an unidentified assailant, the local enforcement appended the man, he got very lucky, the slug thrower misfired and jammed."

It was a good thing that Bartic had avoided drinking up until things started to settle down, so at least he had a fairly accurate account of most of the night.

"That noble of ours, Alyson, she hit him square in the jaw took him to the floor, then one of the teams I had down there showed up to assist, I wish I knew which one but we're out of luck on finding out that way, I won't until I get reports in or doing a load of pointless legwork."

Bartic shovelled more egg into his mouth with trying to think, just what had he done none of his stuff what where he normally put it so someone helped him to his room and into his bed, this was also backed up by the fact that he slept in his dress pants and under shirt.

[member="Grace Darkson"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

The blow barely struck, and Darius backed away from the conflict. The Jedi Knight's grin seemed only to grow, though that was a physical impossibility. "You've got it down now Arken," the Jedi Knight praised. "I'm proud of you. It took me a helluva a lot more work to get down the patterns."

The blade leveled out in both his hands. Green eyes flicked forward to meet those of his padawan. There on Kushiban, Darius opened himself to the force. It flowed into him like a tidal wave, filling his senses with information and giving him a sensation of connection with the greater galaxy as a whole.

"Come at me then."

The Jedi Knight just kept on grinning.

And so their mock battle would play on...

[member="Arken Lussk"]

 

[Arken Lussk]

Post: [11/20]

He could feel it now. Feel the frustration slowly withering away back into his core while a newfound confident exuberance began to shine through. It felt so good to finally get the hang of it. It had been weeks since Darius had first assigned him the lesson and it felt like the studies and practicing on his own had barely made any progress.

But now, he was able to actually cross sabers with someone who'd spent far longer on the subject of the Force and even just combat in general. His own experience was limited to that one battle on Mirial and boundless knowledge in online gaming.

"With pleasure." And he charged forth, once more.

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Grace Darkson]

Post 10

Grace let out a low sigh, relief sweeping across her face. "Good. I know I tend to get flirty when I'm drunk, but I woke up in my own bed this time." A small smile crossed her tired face, and she took the last few bites of her bagel. "So that's good." She looked up in mild surprise as one of the agents in the DSB approached the table.

"Director, how are you feeling this morning?" She could sense he was trying to hold back laughter, and as she watched him, mare and more approached their table. Something was going to happen soon, and she figured it could be entertaining.

"Aaaaand I'm going to take this chance to get some more food." Grace commented, headed back to the line to get herself more than just a bagel for breakfast.

[member="Bartic Myth'rand"]