Bounty Children of Shiraya: Training with an Edge

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Orange dust floated up from the edge of the cliff face and caught the breeze which disipated the dust into the vast valley beyond the cliff's edge. Brandyn's foot lifted again, kicking up some more dust into the wind behind him, he pushed off and jumped forward towards his 'assailant'. He knew that she had, with relative ease, put his back towards the edge of the cliff which put him at a distinct disadvantage. Regaining that advantage would be paramount.

One jump lead him to a point half way towards his foe, he lifted his blade as if to prepare to strike her in a downwards fashion, but instead planted his foot, dug in the sole of his shoe, and jumped over his assailant. Saber pointing down to prevent her from landing any strikes upward.

He landed, grin spreading across his face, and probably an unreasonable degree of hubris rising within.

"Like that, Master Noble?"

| Valery Noble |​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Ossus - Eocho Mountains​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren ​

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With precise and elegant steps, Valery was pressuring Brandyn as he had gotten himself in a troublesome situation. She wasn't actually going to drive him off the cliff, but she wanted the pressure there so he'd learn to think and act quickly. The indecisive were always two steps behind, and only a single step was enough to lose. ​

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But as she got closer, she watched him perform a two-step jump to get over her, and rather than attempting to strike back, she kept low and transitioned into a quick pivot on her leading foot. He made his landing and she had him back in front of her, the lightsaber drawn up between the two with a single hand. ​

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"Good..." she said in return but her eyes narrowed at the somewhat smug grin that covered his face.​

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Without warning, she suddenly allowed the Force to freely flow through her muscles. Her speed increased drastically and in the blink of an eye, she took a large step forward with her leading foot while the other remained behind. In that same motion, she thrust the tip of the blade forward and sought to complete her lunge by stabbing him in the gut.​

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Of course, her blade was set to low power, allowing him to get away with just a mild sting if it were to hit.​

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"...But don't drop your guard until I say we're done," she said before withdrawing from her lunge. Whether or not it connected, she would be ready for a follow-up or him being 'miserable' about getting poked with the lightsaber. Both of those things would be rather amusing to her, although she wouldn't make that obvious.​

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[Eliz Krayt]

"You ready, Aubin?" Eliz turned his gaze down to the Ursod companion. They'd been trekking through the mountainous terrain for hours now, avoiding the use of speeders and the like. They needed to keep a low profile until they at least found the target. A Brandyn Sal-Soren. Runaway from home. To be a Jedi? Eliz rolled his eyes when he read the bounty. What was so special about being a Jedi that someone would give up family?

Dad wanted their kid back. And Eliz was happy to oblige.

Flashing light caught his attention. As well as movement on his sensor. Up on a cliff? His helmed gaze shifted upwards before he faded from sight. Jettise. His fractal coating activated, leaving him at least invisible to the common eye. A low whistle echoed softly, and Aubin took off. Climbing the mountainside to get a better view of the pair. Eliz followed behind, slowly so his image would remain hidden. Too quick and he'd 'glitch', making it all too easy to see him.

Last thing he wanted was a couple of Jedi knowing he was coming.

Valery Noble

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Brandyn offered a quick, ungainly swat to try and deflect Valery’s lunge away. He realised quickly that it was not going to be enough, and pivoted away, spinning about to regain footing again. Perhaps it wasn’t a great idea to so briefly turn his back on an assailant, but maybe he would get away with it. At leas he had not gotten hit by the lightsaber.

”Don’t drop my guard,” he repeated to himself, “understood, Master Noble.”

He was struggling to catch his breath. Perhaps it was the altitude, or just that the duel had been going for something time. Even with Noble operating at less than her peak proficiency, Brandyn was still having to hustle to keep up with her.

He stepped forward to strike, but as he did a bead of sweat dripped into his eye causing him to blink and lose focus. What was supposed to be an attempt at a quick Ataru attack that he had been practicing, ended up looking more like the limp flailings of a Gungan’s ear.

| Valery Noble | Eliz Krayt |​

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Ossus - Eocho Mountains​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren Eliz Krayt ​

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Valery kept her orange gaze narrowed at Brandyn as he managed to avoid her attack, but she noticed that the prolonged training was beginning to wear him down. Good, that was exactly the point. Every day they trained, she hoped to push him just beyond his comfort zone, to force him to grow and never accept stagnation for as long as he remained a Jedi. ​

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Right now, he seemed to have understood this - despite exhaustion or problems with altitude, he kept going. ​

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The attack that resulted wasn't nearly as precise and well-executed as his earlier strikes, but she knew he was trying to keep up and fight regardless of what was holding back. Or at least, she hoped that was keeping him going. In response, Valery decided to control the distance between them, and avoid his attack.​

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She took a step back in retreat with her rear foot and with a quick and elegant side, her leading foot followed. The blade she held between them served only to parry away the tip of his lightsaber, should it reach her. But following her defensive counter, she moved to flank his left side, and aimed a quick flick to strike his left thigh, hoping his brief lack of focus would help her land a hit.​

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Whether it hit or not, she moved to distance herself and dipped her head, "Well done, Brandyn. You're making good progress with these training sessions."​

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[Eliz Krayt]

It was him. The target. And.. Someone else. He didn't care much about who Valery Noble was, but from the perch he'd found to keep an eye on what was going on, it was obvious there was some kind of training. So Brandyn Sal-Soren really was able to find a teacher. Just meant he could ask for more credits from the kids father now that the difficulty spiked. Aubin was crouched beside him, gone from sight just the same. Both waiting, watching.

They were tiring each other out, huh? Even better.

The Chissalorian looked down the scope of his sniper, a gift from Gwyneira Vizsla . It seemed fitting to use it now, where he needed to try and keep surprise on his side. He took a calming breath as he lined up the shot. Bounty was to bring him in alive, and he certainly didn't want to kill the other Jetti. Jedi always found a reason to get revenge under the guise of justice.

So his target? He squeezed the trigger once. Not a sound was made as the blue arc of Charric energy flew towards Valery's lightsaber.

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Ossus - Eocho Mountains​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren Eliz Krayt ​

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Valery had just finished her training routine with Brandyn when she felt something strange. Out here in the mountains of Ossus, there was hardly ever anything wrong. Their training was always peaceful and undisturbed, but she suddenly felt a rush of danger wash over her through the Force.​

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All of it happened too quickly, however - as Eliz pulled the trigger, Valery could only turn to keep her hand from being hit, but the lightsaber was struck instead and dropped to the ground. Her hand was slightly burned by the thermal energy, causing her to grit her teeth but she was still standing, and aware that they weren't alone​

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With her free hand, she immediately reached for her second lightsaber, which had been clipped to her belt, and drew it in the hand that wasn't injured.​

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"Brandyn! We got company!" she called out as she shifted into a more defensive stance. Her senses then extended but to her surprise, she couldn't feel the presence of the shooter.​

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[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

It was not the danger from the attacker that alerted Brandyn to trouble, but instead the sudden spike in alertness sensed from Master Noble. He glanced about, looking for someone, or a ship…something, but could not make out any potential danger - besides the cliffs of course.

As Noble was hit by a charring blast of thermal energy, Brandyn stepped over to ascertain if she was desperately injured. By the time he arrived, she was already pulling out her other saber and commanding his attention that which he had already become aware. He stood with his back to hers, keeping his eyes peeled for any potential attacks from their flank.

What did the attacker want? What did they hope to achieve? Was this a test? Questions flooded his mind as Brandyn struggled to maintain focus.

”Master Noble…is this…some kind of test?” He said, already somewhat knowing the answer.

| Valery Noble | Eliz Krayt |​

 

[Eliz Krayt]

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She had a second? Eliz cursed under his breath, but he kept his mind focused. Clear. It'd be annoying to deal with, but neither Valery Noble or Brandyn Sal-Soren had realized where the shot came from. Though, his next shot certainly would give his position away. He let out a low whistle. A signal to his Ursod. Aubin hopped off the perch, it's own natural camouflaged rendering it, too, invisible to the naked eye.

Eliz fired again. Not for the master, though. She'd already realized the danger in blocking his shot. Instead, he fired for the padawan. The target. Jedi were easy enough to predict in that she'd focus on protecting him. Give both the Mandalorian and his animal companion enough time to close the distance. His charric was left behind as his jetpack kicked on. He rocketed from where he'd been hiding, his armor shimmering faintly as the Fractal coating kicked off. He pulled free the heavy charric blaster on his left thigh, clicking on the EM setting.

Even at the speed he was soaring he fired. Accurately, at that. All for the Jedi master. She'd be the real threat of the two.

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Ossus - Eocho Mountains​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren Eliz Krayt ​

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Valery gritted her teeth and extended a hand to the lightsaber that lay on the ground - it was made of highly resistant materials so it wasn't broken by the shot. But with her hand burned from the unexpected shot, she decided to just pull it towards her, and clip it back to her belt. Her hand was rendered useless and this situation was much more problematic because of that. There were typically very few threats combatively that would worry her, but the combination of an injury and training exhaustion was something she couldn't ignore.​

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"This is not a test, Brandyn. But whoever is attacking us isn't here to kill us. They wouldn't have aimed for my weapon, if that were the case." she said as she glanced around.​

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While she couldn't sense the presence of whoever was attacking them, she could feel the tremors that echoed through the Force whenever he attacked, and another one followed as a shot was fired towards Brandyn. This time, rather than using her blade to block it, she shoved Brandyn aside with her body and deflected the incoming shot away. ​

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The Charric weapon, however, delivered way more kinetic power than other weapons, so she stumbled a little after the shot. "Brandyn, you need to get back to the Praxeum!" she called, not caring much for her own safety. Her Padawan was her priority.​

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Valery then stepped away from him and began to rapidly move in erratic patterns to avoid the bolts that followed, the ones aimed for her as the attacker to flight using his jetpack. "Start moving!" she exclaimed to Brandyn.​

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[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Not a test. Right.

Brandyn was preparing himself for what was to come, when Valery suddenly pushed him to the side. He resisted the push on pure impulse, and found himself not falling as far away as Noble had intended. The shot from their unseen assailant barely missed him, singeing a few threads from his Jedi robes as he fell. Realization hit him hard, Noble had known he was the next target and had pushed him for that reason. Mentally, he scolded himself for not just rolling with her push, not doing so had nearly been his undoing.

"Brandyn, you need to get back to the Praxeum!"

"But Master Noble...I can help!" He said, still unaware that he was the prime target in this scenario. There was a very real feeling of being a child that was being put in their place, or ejected from the room so the 'adults could talk'. That had been his life growing up, and no matter how lovingly his mother had looked at him the feeling had never changed. "I am better use here...I can fight!"

"Start moving!"

As a small animal with its tail between its leg, Brandyn obeyed, but with heaviness of heart. For him, the moment felt like he could not be trusted, even if that were not the case. Pushing up from his haunches, Brandyn began to run towards the rocky, craggy path that had led them up here. With each step he ran he felt the Force propelling him the more he indulged the fear of not being believed in. He began running faster than he had before...pushed by slowly growing waves of dark energies.

| Eliz Krayt | Valery Noble |​

 

[Eliz Krayt]

The EM setting took far more charge than he'd like from his Charric. Even after the several shots he was getting an alert to reload on his HUD. Eliz frowned, but that's just how it was. His sensors picked it up. The Master's orders. The targets apprehension to leave. Though it seemed Brandyn Sal-Soren was going to listen to his master after all. He frowned under his helmet as he came to a stop some several feet above Valery Noble and him.

His blaster still fired off the stun setting of his blaster, still focused on the Master. She was on the back foot after the Charric's shot it seemed, so focusing on her now would be best. That, and he was waiting. From under his helmet he watched the padawan run.

Then let out a whistle, echoed from his mic.

From seemingly nowhere Aubin would reveal himself, running alongside the padawan. He jumped, fangs biting for the Jedi's wrist. His weapon. The last thing the Ursod wanted was to be cut by the plasma weapon. He hoped to catch the Padawan off guard in his attack. At the same time, Eliz switched up his own firing. The last shot in his clip was let loose at Valery, and as the Ursod made his move the Mandalorian would raise his opposite wrist, firing a Clingwire to try and wrap around the Master's hand she'd been using to deflect his shots and yank it away.

 

[Valery Noble]

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Location: Ossus - Eocho Mountains​

Valery: Appearance​

Outfit: Factory Link​

Ship: Factory link​

Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren Eliz Krayt ​

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With the shots of his weapon continuing to focus on Valery, she decided to channel the Force and used it to project a Barrier outwards to absorb the last few shots. While it drained a bit more energy, it allowed her to balance her stance again. But it also further reinforced the belief that he was after her. ​

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This resulted in her coming up with a plan to lose him.​

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Once Brandyn was cleared and the last few bolts had struck her Barrier, Valery began to move in the opposite direction Brandyn went - away from the Praxeum and further into the mountains. Under normal circumstances, she may have sensed the animal approaching Brandyn, especially because of the danger it brought to her Padawan. But the exhaustion, injury, and some other underlying problems made this impossible.​

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"Come on Brandyn..." she muttered but it was at this moment, she heard and noticed the release of the Clingwire. With a burst of speed aided by the Force, she launched herself aside to dodge it, but it didn't help her situation too much, as more energy was spent. She knew she had to strike back and keep him distracted so she once again channeled the Force.​

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This time, she extended her grip through the Force and tossed a group of rocks towards the flying target. It included a few larger ones, but many smaller ones, hoping it would be harder to dodge that way. Unless a bigger one hit, it was unlikely to hurt an armored target but that wasn't her intention. ​

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She kept moving, hoping he would continue a pursuit. ​

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