Duel Galactic Kaggath Round 1: Maestus vs Jacen Breska

[Mauve du Vain]

x

The arena floor rumbled and shook, the entire surface sliding open like a missile silo to reveal… an enormous Wroshyr tree rising up from the lower levels. It towered so high that its upper branches crested the arena and stood nearly eye level with the skybox. It sat upon a grassy, fern littered field. Amid the ferns, shapes prowled. Dangerous predators. Vornskrs. Force hunting beasts.

The boughs of the Wroshyr tree criss-crossed, forming limbs as wide as Coruscanti skywalks that the combatants could duel upon.

Droids hovered in the air around the tree, some with cameras, but many projecting interlinking rayshields so that the duelists could not interfere with the duels of the others. Of course… ray shields could always fail.

If any of the combatants fell to the ground far below, they risked being set upon by the vornskrs.

The announcers’ disembodied voice cut through as the combatants took their places on the boughs of the tree. “Honoring those who fell in the Battle of Kashyyyk between the One Sith and Republic, so many years ago, I give you the FIRST ROUND of the GALACTIC Kaggath!”

“Facing off in the Wroshyr, we have the Lethal Lethan, the Infamous, the Wanted, the Bloooodpaaainter. MAESTUS!”

“And her opponent, fighting for BESPIN GAS! The suuuuupeeeer trooooopeeeer. JACEN. BRESKA!”

"CHALLENGERS! BEGIN!"

Maestus | Jacen Breska

 

[Jacen Breska]

K A G G A T H ​

WEARING:: Halcyon Armour | Contact Lenses | Wrist Mounted APG | Ancile Shield
EQUIPMENT: MAIN WEAPONRY: VW 864 Maser Rifle | LK-Sweeper Shotgun | Sunshot Pistol | Shiva Knife |
ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT: 3x Ravenous Grenades | 2x Kushute Grenades | 1x Ion Grenade | 1x Flash Grenade | 1x Incendiary Grenade
LOCATION: :: Ruusan - Arena ::
TAG: Maestus

She gets all of these names and the best they had for me is 'super trooper'? Whatever. Doesn't matter. Win enough of these, they can add Champion to my name.

Jacen exhaled deeply as he readied himself and tried to control the anxiety growing in his chest. He stared straight ahead towards his foe, a red-skinned Twilek adorned in tattoos with a look that could kill and the power to prove it. CT-312 gets a nice fuzzy dog-creature to fight and Jacen gets the perfect embodiment of everything he hated and feared in the Sith. Some would consider that to be a tad unfair. Perhaps a bit rigged. They had to justify why they all seemed to think she was a runner up to win the tournament and he was merely the Dark Horse? And a RUNNER UP AT THAT?


"If anyone's anyone's opponent," he said, calling out to whoever cared to listen, "She's mine," then, directing his response only to her, "You're in my way, freak," he spat.

He toggled the Halcyon armour's repulsor pack to stay reliably on standby. At this height and with her ability to use the Force, the last thing Jacen wanted was to be thrown off the tree or tossed around. Staying able to, at least somewhat, control himself if his feet left the stable ground gave Jacen even more comfort and confidence in this fight. Securing John Locke 's support could very well have meant the difference between victory and defeat as far as defensive equipment went. For purely offensive? He was thankful for the ghosts of the past, providing him his Maser rifle and his trump card.

Jacen took one final deep breath before he pulled one of the Kushute Grenades from his chest and primed it. Then, he programmed the grenade to form a net before he broke forward into a sprint, seeking to close the gap between the two competitors before throwing the grenade forward. Using the momentum of the movement to carry his body forward, Jacen rolled over himself and rose to a knee before he sighted his opponent and pulled the trigger on the Maser twice, sending two bolts of the maser projectile lancing through the sky towards his target.



​

 

[Mauve du Vain]

The announcer appeared on screen and started screaming something about no official bespin gas endorsement intended.

 

[Maestus]

Ruusan
A...Tree...Aight
Jacen Breska

Well this was not the scenario she had pictured when she entered this...Farce. When news began of the Kaggath, to say she had a mixed reaction would mute the intensity of said mixed thoughts. Anything for a credit, even monetizing a ritual such as the Kaggath. If she was on her deathbed, she may finally confess some jealousy for not having thought of it first. As she thought deeper, her curiosity started to perk up. How it had come to fruition was of keen interest, as most Sith tend to regard the Kaggath a most sacred of rite. A sick thought crossed her mind as she considered the various avenues a true Kaggath could be using at any given moment.

Still, she entered the farce. The location sealed the deal for her. Ruusan held some interest to her for various reasons, least of its historical significance as well ecological interests. Science never rests.

Which is how she found herself in the arena studying the aforementioned Super Trooper Jacen Breska . As the Announcer called things to order, Maestus took her opponent. She didn't need any assistance from the Force to feel the hunger driving him. Learning what he hungered for would require experimentation. A hungry opponent was a very deadly opponent. Hunger can propel one to incredible feats. Or incredible foolishness. She intended to see what kind of hunger drove the Super Trooper.

She stood flat footed, occasionally shifting her weight easily kept on the balls of her feet. For all the grandeur in her announcement, Maestus did not resemble it much. Crimson skin with runic markings etched in black, her Lekku shifted at her knees. Her trusty ole boots that have seen her from Mustafar to Csilla and Cademimu V scuffed the dirt. No fancy robes or armor, she wears a tank top and loose fitting cargo style pants. There is a single hilt sticking from a pocket of her pants. Maestus Fury, her lightwhip handcrafted a long, long time ago.

Super Trooper wasted no time. She had a solid appreciation for time management and efficiency. Work smarter, not harder. As Jacen broke for her, her weight shifted more evenly as her stance widened, her right foot sliding just a touch behind. She watched, patient as he closed the gap. Feckin hell, he was fast.

Seeing him with the grenade, she quickly considered the possibilities and her options. Without knowing what type it was, knowing the exact counter was problematic to say the least. That left her few possible options. And did he just pull...Shit! The Maser kinda made her decision for her. The grenade would clean up whatever the Maser didn't so clearly there was only direction available.

Her body prepped, she waited...waited...With an explosion, her knees bent and she leapt from the arena floor. Propelling herself with the Force, she caught hold of a branch from the Wroshyr tree and swung herself firmly on top it. Squatting down, she beckoned Jacen with a hand, motioning to the amazing creation they beheld.

Let's climb a tree, Super Trooper​

 

[Mauve du Vain]

"Wow look at this, that droid is swooping in pretty low there," muttered the announcer.

The droid did indeed swoop low, something detaching from its underside to fall right in front of Breska.

"Some sort of... bracelet," the announcer mused, "Huh. You'd have thought he could have just entered the fight wi- I MEAN UH. WOW. LOOK AT THAT! SOMEONE'S BENEFACTOR SHOWING SUPPORT!"

Maestus Jacen Breska

 

[Jacen Breska]

K A G G A T H ​

WEARING:: Halcyon Armour | Contact Lenses | Wrist Mounted APG | Ancile Shield
EQUIPMENT: MAIN WEAPONRY: VW 864 Maser Rifle | LK-Sweeper Shotgun | Sunshot Pistol | Shiva Knife |
ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT: 3x Ravenous Grenades | 1x Kushute Grenades | 1x Ion Grenade | 1x Flash Grenade | 1x Incendiary Grenade
LOCATION: :: Ruusan - Arena ::
TAG: Maestus

Jacen watched with a frown as the Sith woman jumped up and away, easily distancing herself from the Kushute. The grenade erupted, as planned, into a sticky/solid substance that securely trapped a poor defenseless portion of Wroshyr tree.

One wasted, he scowled silently, pushing up from his knee and tracking her movements in the canopy.
"That's what I get I guess," he shrugged a shoulder, "Wouldn't'a been that easy but oh, could you have imagined?" He smiled under his helmet, "Remember how great that move was? Sure do, son, Wow that Jacen. Whatta guy." He chuckled and exhaled as he strode towards the tree, "Anyway. Back to it." He gave the goopy Kushute net a lazy kick where it sagged in its useless heap, then turned his focus back to the canopy.


"Hmph."

He looked around and spied a convenient path up the various branches of the tree. Just as he was about to commit to a plan of attack, a small droid approached and dropped a bracelet down in front of him with a barely audible clink against the wood. Jacen eyed the droid as it flew away, then cautiously approached the bracelet as it lay on the ground.

Jacen squinted. "A bracelet?" he asked rhetorically.
"...What the-, why-" he muttered as he kicked at it. Satisfied it wasn't about to blow, he stooped and picked it up

"What is this?" He said, holding it up to the cameras and the crowd. "Some message that you think I don't accessorize enough?!"

Jacen grumbled and adjusted his rifle in his hands before slapping the bracelet on over his gauntlet, "There," he muttered, shaking his head, "Freaks."

He shook his head and looked up at the camera again, "Oh. Uh. Bespin Gas. First or...Myeh..." The words trailed off half-heartedly with no conviction in them. "And uh." he furrowed his brow, "...What was the other one?" He looked up at Maestus , then back at the cameras, "Whatever. Thanks, I'll..." he sighed and shook his head in frustration before muttering, "...do the other ones when I win."

Satisfied that he'd done enough to appease his new corporate overlords, Jacen returned his attention to the task at hand.

He couldn't let her dictate the pace. Letting himself get lost up in the foliage? Able to be attacked from any angle? It'd be an easy win for her. He hmm'd in thought as he strategized, contemplated his plan of action.

He might just have to do it, he thought, press his attack. Elsewise they'd just sit here and stare at each other. If she wasn't going to attack...

"Climbing trees..." he muttered, then yelled out, "What are you? Twelve?!" He started approaching the trunk of the tree, keeping his eyes dead set on her. "You want to play queen of the treetops that's fine by me. But!" he said, bringing his rifle back to his eye and sighting the branch she perched up on.

"...Do it on your time. Not mine," he muttered as he squeezed the trigger again, sending another quick twin lances of Maser screaming through the air as they flew towards her, then the second he recovered from the recoil, Jacen sprinted towards the Tree trunk, jumping up and engaging his repulsorpack as he looked to close the distance again, making sure to try to keep an eye on his foe for as long as he could.

​

 

[Maestus]

Ruusan
A Twi'Lek and a Super Trooper Climb a Tree
Jacen Breska

From her perch on the branch, flame-rimmed eyes studied Jacen's reaction to her circus acrobatics. As he muttered about couldn't be that easy, she raised both her hands in a "Hey, what can I tell ya" kinda way with an expression of feigned innocence.

His ability to improvise, adapt and overcome was scrutinized carefully. Would he allow her easy escape to effect him, and how? You really increased your chance of success with a little homework to prepare. Measure twice, cut once. And when you cut, it must be precise and surgical. Efficient. She did prize efficiency.

So intent was her focus on Jacen that the droid wasn't detected until it had released its cargo. What was this...Hunger Games? So Super Trooper with a very serious loadout already was getting gifts from above. Interesting indeed. Just who -was- the Super Trooper? Her appetite for discovery went from peckish to FEED ME SEYMORE in a heartbeat. Strategy shifted around as she pondered possible options.

And then the damn Maser was hoisted again. Would she be lucky enough that he was merely aiming to bring the branch down, sending her back to solid ground and away from the Wroshyr leaves and branches that offered some protection? Nope, he was gunning for her. Sum queen.

Down was not going to help her any. To the left was the branch's end. The right and up, more tree. Tipping her head upwards she swiftly took in the best vertical route as her end game began to coalesce. She would need time and space so her first move became clear. Lacking any of the grace her species is renowned for, Maestus just throws her body to the right. She'd taken too many precious seconds figuring her next steps out, leaving no time to do anything but the minimum to just not die.

Immensely grateful for how fethin' girthy the branches are, she lands a couples meters closer to the tree's trunk to her right. With her next breath she cursed the same sturdiness as her face, nack and shoulders caught gashes as she crashed through them, landing in a rough and awkward barrel roll. Hissing in pain and rage, she lifted a hand to her face, her left cheek. She felt sticky warmth and drew back her hand. Thick, viscous dark blood covered her fingertips thanks to a deep and jagged tear running from just below the eye down to her upper lip. Blood was running freely into her mouth and her tongue tip touched it. The taste of copper brought an immediate tang to her senses. Like the lightswitch just got flipped.

Finding her feet quickly she looked for Jacen. Her crash through the branches had given him precious seconds of advantage and Maestus was well aware what could happen in such a short span of time.

12 at heart, sure. Loosen up, Super Trooper, and you might just have some fun along the way.

She flexed the fingers on her left hand, splaying them open. As they were extending, the hilt in her pant's pocket slid free and nestled firmly within its mistress palm. Curling her fingers, she watched Jacen ascend. Great, he could fly. What couldn't he do, she mused silently. While her goal was not kill Jacen, she certainly wasn't opposed to a lil maiming. All in the name of Science.

Whip in hand yet unactivated for now, she shifts her focus from Jacen to the branches and leaves all along his path. Raising her right hand, a leaf erupts from its place nestled on the branch. Deciding to up the ante a touch, Maestus channeled more of her will into the spinning leaf as it whistles through the air on its vertical axis, increasingly the velocity and thus the potential impact damage.

She didn't wait to see how it all turned out, she had things to do. With the lead speeding towards Jacen, she bends low in her knees. Knowing she needs to put time between them, she went for a vertical obstacle course. Above and to the left was a tangle of smaller branches and leaves that formed something akin to a ladder or net. Something climbable. This was a tree. Trees needed climbin'. With a controlled push of the Force Maestus leapt upwards. This time smart enough to put her left arm in front of her face.

Impacting against the sturdy Wroshyr with a lengthy groan as the air was beaten out, she lost time gasping like a fish for air while she berated herself for improper planning. Soon as she could swallow and had her breath, her right hand with a firm grip, she scanned below to see where Jacen was and what other tricks lay in wait. ​

 

[Jacen Breska]

K A G G A T H ​

WEARING:: Halcyon Armour | Contact Lenses | Wrist Mounted APG | Ancile Shield | Aredian Amulet
EQUIPMENT: MAIN WEAPONRY: VW 864 Maser Rifle | LK-Sweeper Shotgun | Sunshot Pistol | Shiva Knife |
ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT: 3x Ravenous Grenades | 1x Kushute Grenades | 1x Ion Grenade | 1x Flash Grenade | 1x Incendiary Grenade
LOCATION: :: Ruusan - Arena ::
TAG: Maestus

Jacen continued his ascension up the tree as he hopped from branch to branch, aided by the repulsor pack built in to his provided armor. Unsurprisingly his opponent didn't just let herself get shot and opted to continue ascending upwards into the tree.
Works for me, he thought to himself, Get yourself higher up into the brush, witch, I got somethin' for ya.

As he kept his attention split, half on following her movements and half on making sure his own were executed properly, a glint of movement that could have been explained away as wind caught his eye. Mid jump, he spotted a leaf spinning towards him at speed. He initilizaed the boosters on the side of the pack and adjusted, moving himself out of the way of the spiraling killer leaf, but the object still struck onto his shoulder. The impact, while in the air, was enough to knock him off course and caused the shield to flare slightly.

Witha grunt, Jacen dropped down to a branch below him and looked up again, trying to reacquire her.

"Leaves?!" He yelled up at the tree, having lost sight of her with the distraction. "Oh we're throwing leaves now?!" Jacen grumbled in annoyance and continued to scan the tree, looking for any sign of his foe, "leaves..." he muttered as he searched.

A flash of movement caught his eye, and the contact lenses he wore enhanced his vision, zooming in to confirm. "There you are," he said quietly to himself. His opponent spotted, Jacen quickly re-strategized.

He knew she was going to keep going up. If throwing leaves was her master stroke, there were plenty up there to choose from. But. What if there wasn't? Jacen looked down at his belt and eyed the incendiary grenade, then looked up at the dense foliage above them.
What if there was no cover for her to hide in? Nothing to throw?

Fine. Burn the cover. Strip the canopy. Turn her terrain into a liability.

"Every second you're in this tree you think you're winning huh?" he called out to her as he readied himself, engaging his repulsor pack to it's full capacity, "Okay. Let's take that from you."

Jacen sprinted towards the trunk of the tree and engaged the pack, launching himself upwards as he pulled the incendiary grenade and primed it.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Jacen willed the pack to push him higher, push him faster. Jacen kicked the repulsor pack to full, blasting upward in a rush of heat and speed. His arm cocked back with the primed incendiary, just as he reached the level below her perch. At the peak of his arc, just before the climb gave way to the fall, Jacen hurled the grenade into the mass of branches above her position, cutting off her escape before it could start.
Then gravity took him.

He twisted, kicked the repulsors again to slow his descent, and watched the sky above them ignite.

The flames spat out in a beautiful red-orange plume that covered the area above her in flame. The leaves and smaller branches quickly became kindling for the small but growing fire. Jacen watched, a smile creeping across his face underneath his helmet, before he looked down and aimed for a branch to land on.

"THERE'S YOUR BESPIN GAS! HAHA!" He roared with glee, staring up at the fireball.
"Where ya gonna go now, huh?" He asked rhetorically, the smile never leaving his face, as his feet found solid footing and he raised the Rifle back to his eye. Another two blasts in quick succession raced towards Maestus. Force her to move, force her to adapt, see what she does when her path upwards is literally in (some) flames.

​

 

[Maestus]

Ruusan
Wroshyr Bonfire
Jacen Breska

"Leaves" he shouted in what sounded to her like disbelief. She had hoped he found some scant bit of humor in their "deadly" environment but it seems today was joy the day. His ranting about leaves did bring a satisfied smile to her face. Super Trooper busied himself with getting facing the right way and finding her, and after quickly tracking him visually, she climbs the net of branches like a spider monkey on spice. It was a short climb to her target, the remnant ledge of a branch broken long ago. It extended about 20 meters or so out from the trunk. It was from this ledge that she observed her opponent as he adapted and set a new strategy into play.

With a frown, Maestus took note of another grenade appearing in his hand. How many did he have hidden away? Explosives never being an area of interest, any chance of identifying what the effect was going to be could prove hazardous to her health. Big difference between a flashbang and a thermal detonator, kids, just don't ask Maestus to tell them apart. It was the damn Maser she was more concerned with anyways. So as Jacen accelerated closer, she watched to see what was coming first: Grenade or Gun.

She had counted on the grenade first to flush her out, rapidly followed by well aimed shots from the Maser to finish the job. But when the grenade went over her head to the branches above, she was perplexed. Until the flames erupted.

As she watched the grenade land and ignite the leaf canopy above, as the flames forced their way into existence and devoured the leaves to spread and grow...The world slipped away for Maestus. A Wroshyr is one if the largest, densest trees in the galaxy. Interconnected and woven together where there is no beginning of one or end of another. The flames from the grenade expanded with a frightening urgency. The heat generated from the chemical components of the grenade were designed for maximum impact, and the poor Wroshyr paid dearly.

Maestus though, she was worlds away. Physically, she stood on that ledge, the hilt of her lightwhip grasped firmly in her left hand. The raging flames around her triggered the memory what is the single most pivotal moment in her long life. Massive heat was generated in mere seconds as each and every leaf in the searing path was devoured. It was the intensity of the flames and heat that combined to trigger a memory she was loathe to let see the light of day. One that formed the very core of who she was.

She was on Mustafar, long ago yet she could feel the rolling waves of such intense and pure heat. She could see the ruins of Fortress Vader looming high overhead, glaring down at her with contempt. The very ledge she'd stood upon at the fateful gathering of Sith, where lines had been clearly drawn. The acrid stench of boiling lava burned her nostrils as she inhaled it deep within her. Her blood started to churn as the searing vapors mixed with thick viscous fluid. As it spread through her veins, a searing pain developed as nerves long dormant explode into life once again. Something was waking up inside her, roused from its deep slumber from the sudden inferno Maestus stood within.

Had Jacen thrown something other than fire, had the canopy not erupted into flame and spread into a wildfire, they both would've walked away from this unscathed for the most part. Maybe Super Trooper would've managed to have some fun along the way. But the flames awoke an aspect Maestus put great effort into subduing over time. Even she could not get it back in it's box. Too many years in the lab, countless experiments and months at a time spent in research. Use it or lose, and she had definitely lost it. Sorry Super Trooper.

As her vision cleared and she was fully aware once more, her eyes shifted to Jacen as he made his descent. He may be wearing a helmet and his face hidden, but Maestus had little doubt but she was looking at the place on his helmet right between her gaze and his eyes. As the flames licked at her clothes, she didn't move. Jacen would start to feel sensations within his very mind, as Maestus took the kid gloves off. The fire within demanded it. Wielding the Force with all the force of a sledgehammer at terminal velocity guided with surgical precision. She had no concern for his comfort, she was after his memory. The most effective tool was never a weapon despite what any self respecting arms smuggler will tell you. It was, is, and always shall be, information. And so it was she reached back to a technique she was quite familiar with and extremely skilled in: Memory Walk

She would twist, turn and uproot every bit of Jacen's mind if necessary. With steadily increasing force of pressure from her will augmented by the Force, Jacen's worst fears were available to her. She would have her choice of memories to torment him with over and over and over, until madness finally takes over.

And then flames burnt the tip of one Lekku, a painful reminder to remain aware of all her surroundings, lest the flames consume her because she had tunnel vision. She blinked. And blinked again. Jacen, without warning, would find his mind empty all of a sudden. The pressure, the memories, it was all just stopped and she vacated his mind. As a deep sense of irony set into her chest, she stepped off her ledge and let herself fall. It had been her very first lesson as his apprentice. When your master throws you off a cliff and says yolo, it's amazing how quickly your fight-or-flight kicks in. There was no flight in her so she had to learn how to pull the Force to her to slow her descent. She didn't have a repulsorpack but she managed to land on the same branch as he. She stood a good distance from him, but given they both had ways of closing the gap quickly, it was moot really.

Without warning, the hilt in her left erupted as a dazzling deep crimson whiptail formed. As the tail curled round her feet, she looked on the Super Trooper a moment then turned her gaze to the crowd around them. After a heartbeat or two of silence passed, her eyes found his once more. Up close now, he could see the glowing amber centers surrounded with edges of flashing, flickering flames.

Ask and ye shall receive

​

 

[Jacen Breska]

K A G G A T H ​

WEARING:: Halcyon Armour | Contact Lenses | Wrist Mounted APG | Ancile Shield | Aredian Amulet
EQUIPMENT: MAIN WEAPONRY: VW 864 Maser Rifle | LK-Sweeper Shotgun | Sunshot Pistol | Shiva Knife |
ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT: 3x Ravenous Grenades | 2x Kushute Grenades | 1x Ion Grenade | 1x Flash Grenade | 0x Incendiary Grenade
LOCATION: :: Ruusan - Arena ::
TAG: Maestus

The fire spread rapidly, and she did not move. His blasts seared the air past her, and she did not move. Her attention seemed divided. She kept her eyes locked on the flames. It seemed to Jacen, even at this distance, that the sight was triggering something for her. And when her eyes focused on him, a renewed sense of hatred seemingly emanating from them, he knew he must have been right.

His goal was to provoke something. It must have worked. He held her gaze, his weapon lowering from his eyes as they locked eyes, even through his faceplate.
...For a moment, Jacen felt it. Not pain, not memory either...but something brushing against the edges of thought. A knock with no door to open.
Then...nothing. Whatever that was, that presence, it didn't get in.
Jacen didn't know what just happened, but he knew whatever it was wasn't as bad as it could have been. He wasn't sure if she had tried anything, or if that pressure in his mind was just some anxiety. It didn't matter. The pressure was gone almost the moment it began as the fire reached her, singing her lekku slightly.

That brought her back to reality. She looked again at Jacen as if seeing him for the first time, then stepped off her perch as the flame threatened to engulf it. She dropped down to the same branch Jacen was on and ignited her weapon.

That's not a lightsaber, Jacen thought to himself, taking a step back, that's not a lightsaber at all.
The same basic...foundation was there. A metal-ish hilt that concealed an energy blade. But the blade wasn't a blade, it was more fluid then that. No rigidity, no form. Complete and utter chaos. Not at all the elegant weapon a lightsaber was supposed to be.

No matter, he thought, steeling himself, same rules. Don't let the glowie touch you. Easy.

It made the next part of his strategy a bit more perilous. Her range was greater, and that weapon was impossible to predict. But now she was able to be engaged. Keeping his eyes locked firmly on hers, Jacen reached over, attaching the Maser rifle to his back, in the same breath pulling the Shotgun so generously provided by Locke and Key out and holding it with both hands.

"You looked like you forgot where you were for a second. Don't worry, I'll remind you, but wherever you went? I hope it hurt, witch," he spat, putting as much venom into the words as he could.

Get close. Come closer, give me all you got, he thought to himself, get her mad. Madder. One step too close and she meets the Ravenous.

"I thought you were going to do a magic trick for me, you looked awful upset," he cocked his head to the side, putting on a mockingly sarcastic tone of voice, "did I make you mad? Oh I so sorry," he shook his head and shrugged a shoulder, then looked at his new jewelry on his wrist, "Hey, you think this stopped whatever it was you wanted to do?" He looked back at her and clicked his tongue, "Rough. Y'know, if you took it seriously from the jump instead of climbing a tree, your little trick probably would have worked." He sighed again and raised his shotgun, "Oh well."

He pulled the trigger, sending a wave of shot screaming towards her.

​

 

[Maestus]

Ruusan
10 Toes and 2 Lekku In
Jacen Breska

He had no way of knowing just how successful he had been in provoking something from her. While the goal seemed to be to goad her into falling prey to the rage, hate and chaos the galaxy has come to be synonymous with Sith, allowing the Super Trooper to gain the advantage of her lashing out in a blind, uncontrolled rage...The provoked effect was quite the opposite. The heat the Jacen and the arena's spectators felt rolling off of her had nothing to do with concepts like rage or hate and everything to do with a release of bonds. The fire Jacen started in hopes of cutting off Maestus upwards ascent did have his intended effect, she was forced to alter course. The unforeseen consequence of setting a tree as massive and vibrant as a Wroshyr is everything is flammable, and the heat created as the flames spread right before her eyes slipped around her skin as a lover's caress. It was the heat that absorbed into her skin, triggering the one memory so terrifyingly potent that she could not resist it. The moment she lay crumbled on Mustafar with a broken leg suffered in her first lesson under him. And he spoke to her with cryptic words on matters both profane and prophetic. But it was only the moment when she lay crumpled, body broken but mind and heart fiercely alive, that she drew the heat and fire from Mustafar itself into her own body and healed it. As she pulled the life-force from every scrap of life around her, and the heat from the flowing rivers of lava perfuming the air with an acrid, bitter stench, that was when she experienced true and complete power for the first time in her life.

And she had been afraid. To know she could pull the very life from another living organic was too much for the young Twi'lek. So she buried the memory of that revevalation deep, deep down. So deep, she convinced herself it had never happened and eventually forgot the moment all together. But with a lil help from Super Trooper...She remembers again.

A sudden tip of her head, and both Lekku begin to shiver in uncertainty. What the fethin'...Ran through her mind as she was stunned when Jacen shook off her attempted mental torment. Granted, he could give a Wookie in a Wroshyr tree a tough time with his skills and loadout. Given her recent trip to Kashyyyk, the image fresh in her mind. But strongly tricked out and with a resolve that was earning the Twi'leks grudging respect he still did not possess the strength to not just get her out, but she didn't make it past the doorbell. Super Trooper is not that super. The gear he came in with hadn't set off any substantial alarms, minus the unknown grenades. Even the damn Maser was within the realm of no severe threat unless she got sloppy. And then her eyes landed on it. The damned bracelet from the gods. Pushing her senses towards it with the Force, she felt a bone chill spread through her body as she probed the bracelet and by extension, Jacen. Or tried to, that is. She recognized it immediately, the sensation of cold and absence that seemed to be a bubble around him. She couldn't find a crack in the armor and the sensation maintaining contact was causing in her body was weakening her the longer she stayed around. She withdrew her Force presence from around Jacen and the bracelet, and she regarded him evenly.

Had I taken this farce seriously from the jump, and before you got your very stylish accessory, we wouldn't be here. We'd miss all this fun we're having.

Apparently, Jacen's idea of fun was to see what kind of impression of Swiss Cheese Maestus was capable of. Good thing she's lactose intolerant. Bad thing, she is taking their battle very seriously now. When they'd started, she had no intentions of killing her opponent. She'd outgrown useless violence long ago, something many apparently didn't. This was purely a diversion for other priorities on Ruusan that she preferred have little to no attention paid to. Truth be told, she couldn't remember the last time she did anything that wasn't motivated by her insatiable thirst for knowledge, the ever changing galactic political drama or some eternally damned quest for domination. So she had stepped into the arena with noble, for her dammit stop laughing, intentions.

The fire changed everything, and now Jacen wanted to turn her into cheese. It wasn't even good cheese, but stinky, bitter and flimsy Swiss. Maestus took offense to this.

As the trigger was pulled and the shot released, her vision swam with black and grey dots that raced towards her. She lifted her right hand, palm out. The air surrounding the cloud of shot lurched to a violent halt mid-flight. The kinetic energy stored within each piece of shot caused an audible vibration as Maestus manipulated the Force in such a manner to place each piece of shot into a paused state, a stasis. Maintaining control of an air bubble is easily child's play. But when the air pocket is filled with multiple pieces of shot that's had their flight frozen in time, and each piece is full of the energy and force required to discharge it from the gun and send it at a lethal velocity...All that energy is there. With nowhere to go. She locks eyes with Jacen's helmet once more. In her left hand, the lightwhip sizzled and hissed as the lava crystal within begged for a target.

I like how you think, Super Trooper. You're adaptive mindset and well-honed skills are very impressive. I can hold this for only a lil bit longer then I will be letting go. How fast can you run?

1...

2...

3...

Her wrist snaps forward and the shot Jacen had intended for her was being returned to sender violently. As she released the stasis hold on the shot, the tail of the lightwhip was ripped high over her head, creating an intensely dizzying series of flashes and embers trailing in the air surrounding them. In the midst of it all Maestus stood. There wasn't rage or hate in the eyes Jacen saw. It was conviction. ​

 

[Jacen Breska]

K A G G A T H ​

WEARING:: Halcyon Armour | Contact Lenses | Wrist Mounted APG | Ancile Shield | Aredian Amulet
EQUIPMENT: MAIN WEAPONRY: VW 864 Maser Rifle | LK-Sweeper Shotgun | Sunshot Pistol | Shiva Knife |
ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT: 3x Ravenous Grenades | 1x Kushute Grenades | 1x Ion Grenade | 1x Flash Grenade | 0x Incendiary Grenade
LOCATION: :: Ruusan - Arena ::
TAG: Maestus

That didn't work exactly like he'd hoped. She had stopped the shot mid-air. All of it. Jacen stared, slack jawed underneath his helmet. The power of the Force was something that could be circumnavigated. But it was still impressive. This fight was far from over, and Maestus was far from an easy win for Jacen.
It didn't take a tactical genius to see what came next. At least she had the common decency to pause for dramatic effect before sending Jacen's own shot back against him.
He didn't flinch, and he certainly didn't run. Instead, his left arm snapped forward as the Ancile shield roared to life with a deep THWMP, a pulsing arc of translucent energy flaring outward in front of him just as the scattered shot impacted. CRACKCRACKCRACK! The wall of energy rippled violently as each pellet slammed into it. The force was enough to knock him a full step back on the branch, boots scraping bark, teeth gritting behind the visor as he rode out the surge. The full weight of the Force-imbued shot hitting the shield caused it's capacitors to overload. As the last pellet struck the shield itself shimmered then shattered. The voice in his helmet spoke

Ancile Shield Offline. Recharge time: Thirty Seconds.

"Grr.." Jacen grimaced as he rose back to his feet, looking down at the shotgun in his hand before putting it back on his back.

"Fine," he snarled at Maestus, "if you're just going to throw the shot back at me...I'm not going to make it easier for you," he said, then he chuckled, "I do have this, though," he said as he unhooked the flash grenade off of his belt, "and even a few more tricks besides. I don't need a shotgun to beat you."

Just then, interrupting his next move, a startling crack erupted from the top of the Wroshyr tree. The entire top of the canopy was ripped away sending a rain of broken branches falling down towards those below.

And it sent flaming pieces of wroshyr along with it, spreading the fire from the incendiary as embers and small fires fell away, creating new infernos across the tree. Instinctively, Jacen huddled, crouching down and covering his head with his gauntlet, and looked up. The canopy wasn't just ripped away. It was falling down.

Flaming branches rained around them, crashing and snapping as fresh fires ignited lower and lower. One ember-rich log slammed nearby, splitting the branch in two and forcing Jacen to duck hard.

"Shit," he muttered.

No more waiting. No more room to play the long game.

"Shit!" he repeated in a panick. Thinking as quickly as he could, Jacen primed and tossed the flash grenade at Maestus' feet. "Here- take that!" He shouted as the grenade left his hand. The roar of the collapsing canopy, mixed with the bloodthirsty, or perhaps terrified, screams of the crowd, drowned out his thoughts. No time to watch the flash, he trusted his visor and his instincts.
Jacen surged forward just as the grenade went off in a deafening crack of light.

Sunshot pistol drawn from his hip and teeth bared underneath his helmet, he fired as he closed the gap. One, two, then three quick pulls of the trigger in rapid succession as he sprinted towards her. Step after agonizingly long step he approached, then one hand reached down, fingers brushing the cold weight of the Ravenous grenade.
All he had to do now was get close. Closer. Close as he could.
Let her try to stop that.
He couldn't afford to think about what would happen if she countered this too.
Not now. Not yet.


​

 

[Maestus]

Ruusan
Wroshyr Enflambé
Jacen Breska

Picture it. You and your best friend are enjoying a leisurely tree climb on a beautiful day. Minding your own business. Not bothering a soul. You're spending quality time together and outta nowhere, somebody decided the Wroshyr needed a haircut. Too tall or some such nonsense.

At this point in their battle, Maestus wasn't expecting the shot to do more than give Jacen something to react to and keep him on the defensive. His ability to adapt without losing his focus was impressive, and she had a feeling she'd only seen a hint of what the Super Trooper was capable of. It wasn't whether or not someone had the power of the Force at their disposal that made them powerful. When it came to those in the galaxy Maestus truly respected, the scant few in that group were not Force Sensitive. She'd discovered long ago the hubris inherent with having a Force connection. She's seen well designed tactics and strategies crumble under one Force wielding ego after another. She would not underestimate Jacen, he'd earned some level of respect from her.

If someone cuts the top of a Maple or Elm tree, there's minimal chance for collateral damage. They're normal sized trees, right? When someone tops a Wroshyr, the branches screaming down can be the size of an Elm or Maple tree, capable of tremendous collateral damage. This was a workplace hazard, to be sure.

When the first CRACK echoes throughout the arena, Maestus wasn't sure what happened. It sang through the air aa it howled it's pain and anger. Her vision scans where the canopy was a second ago, pausing to behold the change. The thick, lush foliage that blanketed the trunk below was gone. The sky seen clearly above now, distorted by flaming branches, leaves and logs plummeting down to impale anything in their path.

As the inferno surrounding them was fed from above and the heat increased exponentially. Maestus considered all that armor Super Trooper was wearing, and how it was like cooking the rabbit in the pot on old Bugs Bunny cartoons she mused with a smile. A smile that curled into a deep frown as Jacen snatched yet another fethin' grenade. Making a mental note to dig into research on explosives; Not knowing what's coming is a serious liability. Going by his pattern in their fight so far, she was anticipating a secondary, and potentially more deadly, action. Jacen seems to be cautious in his confidence, not arrogant enough to think one shot will do the trick. Thorough is good.

She chances it and shifts her eyes upwards. With flaming spears raining down on you from all angles, the risk was acceptable. Good thing, as there was a branch thicker than her coming straight at her. As the branch they were on had just been busted all to hell, her options were incredibly limited. Jacen was moving towards her with the damn grenade now. Spear of death was seconds away from putting Robin Hood to shame over accuracy.

If she survived this, she was moving her research into time up to the same priority as genetics and bioengineering. Neurons were pushed into overdrive as she calculated rapidly. Distance, speed, velocity. Flaming branch spear. Grenade of unknown effect. And an almost guaranteed followup attack after the grenade detonates. Right.

Sacrificing grace and dignity in the name of self preservation, she jumps backwards to avoid being kabobed and put a few more paces between her and Jacen. She would need those precious seconds if she was going to triumph through this. Her feet tangle in each other as she awkwardly manages to put about another meter between them as she drops to a knee. Unseen by Maestus, a flaming leaf she'd failed to notice slammed into the branch she and Jacen battled on. From Maestus throat a scream erupted. She looked down beside her, where the leaf impacted and smoldered. The leaf had landed veryically on one of her Lekku and severed roughly 4 inches of the tip. The pain coursing through her every nerve was an overload of unknown proportions. Howling her pain and frustration, she picked up her severed flesh, shoving it into one of the pockets on her pants. Be damned if she left a sensitive piece like that behind. Internally, the pain was like gas on the fire. She battled for control of the fury within. A deep and shaky breath was all she had time for. Being on the ground was not part of the plan. She was at an insane disadvantage having very limited mobility. Time to improvise, and she snapped her focus to Jacen as the grenade leaves his hand. Maestus couldn't help but question his sincerity with this as he'd just endured every piece of shot he'd fire be turned back at him. Left hand still holds her lightwhip, her empty right flashes up, open palm out. Her fingers curl inward and the grenade stops in midflight. There would be no more warnings now. Her wrist flips forward and she shoves the grenade back at Jacen face. Whatever it's going to do, it would be rude of Maestus to keep it all to herself. Sharing is caring mamma said.

She had no idea what the grenade was going to do but she knew enough to know grenades explode violently. Whatever was inside, Maestus didn't want to catch it straight to the face. Her head tucked to her chin, took a quick gulp of air and closed her eyes til it detonated. While she waited to see what happened...

She struggled against herself. The control she'd meticulously built within was being worn down rapidly. And the biggest question plaguing her? Is there truly a reason to keep control after all this time. For now the battle was being fought and she was maintaining her grip. Leaping to her feet, she hoisted Maestus Fury overhead once more. The long, lava crystal fueled tail was giving the arena a spectacular display of shifting prismatic colors as the plasma reflected the flames from the bonfire. Her movements slow and controlled. Rhythmic and hypnotic.

Until she brought it crashing down at the branch between them, scorching the bark at Jacen's feet. The whip returns to its mistress and resumes its slow circles above. A snap of her wrist and the tip of the tail cracks a leaf falling over Jacen's head. Back to lazy circles while she studied and readied to put the final moments into action. Concentrating with the tip of one of her Lekku suffered was terribly distracting. When a blaze of electric shock-type pain would surge, her hand holding her whip would shake and the plasma blade twitched .





​

 

[Jacen Breska]

K A G G A T H ​

WEARING:: Halcyon Armour | Contact Lenses | Wrist Mounted APG | Ancile Shield | Aredian Amulet
EQUIPMENT: MAIN WEAPONRY: VW 864 Maser Rifle | LK-Sweeper Shotgun | Sunshot Pistol | Shiva Knife |
ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT: 3x Ravenous Grenades | 1x Kushute Grenades | 1x Ion Grenade | 0x Flash Grenade | 0x Incendiary Grenade
LOCATION: :: Ruusan - Arena ::
TAG: Maestus

His pistol shots must have missed, he thought as he continued to push forward. As Jacen worked to close the gap between them, go for the finishing move, Maestus continued to widen it. Partly, he figured, out of a want to not be skewered by falling bits of the tree. And she was quick. Damn quick. He said a silent thank you in his mind to John Locke . If it wasn't for the Halcyon, Jacen wouldn't have had a chance in hell. Pushing himself further, Jacen tilted forward, pouring every ounce of strength he had into this sprint.
He'd noticed his chance, she was distracted. A burning leaf had taken some flesh from one of her head tails. Maybe this was the moment.
He allowed a smile to creep onto his face for a moment in between breaths, until she turned her attention back towards the grenade sailing towards her.

Jacen hated force users. If there was ever a question about it before, it was decided now.

Maestus caught his flash with the Force and redirected it back at him just in time for the detonation. A flash of white and a loud BANG emanated from the canister, joining the symphony of falling and burning Wroshyr.
"KARK!" Jacen cried out, stumbling slightly. The contact lenses he wore paired with the HUD of the Halcyon Armor blunted the blinding effect of the grenade. But only just. The flash still caused a slight disorientation, like when someone turned the lights on too quick, but the sound...
The grenade detonated right in front of his visor. The loud explosion caused Jacen to instinctively reach a hand up to cover and ear as his body halted mid stride and tried to back away from the source of the sound. As he stumbled back, she demonstrated her skill with the lightwhip she had, pinging a leaf above Jacen's head, and scorching a line between them in the bark. A move that caused the branch to start to weaken as Wroshyr continued to rain down around and on top of it, and helped shock Jacen back into his combat mindset, as he tried to shake off the ringing in his ears and dove forward past the burning line in the branch. He took the moment to gather his breath and pushed himself up to a knee, relocking eyes with Maestus.

The moment had passed...At least to immediately capitalize on her pain and distraction. That had to hurt, though. He respected her dedication to remain focused on the battle as much as she could. And to pick up your own severed flesh?

Jacen didn't think he could ever be that hard core.

She was doing well to keep the distance between them. It wasn't something Jacen was prepared to deal with against a Force User. He'd be the one to work distance of the two, you'd think, and she'd be the one wanting to close it. But she knew her effective range and knew to keep Jacen at or beyond it.

He looked down at his gauntlet.
Ancile Shield: 20 seconds to full charge.
"TEN SECONDS?!" He yelled, blinking in confusion. The past ten seconds had felt like an eternity. He grunted in frustration and pushed up off his knee, then looked up. Sure as chit, the tree was continuing it's way down.

"It's time to end this, woman!" he shouted, looking back down at her as he unhooked a Ravenous grenade from his belt and primed it. "You and me, COME ON!" he roared, aiming and firing three charged shots from his Sunshot pistol before he charged forward again. As branches and debris continued, Jacen proceeded undeterred, jumping over or sidestepping any obstacles as he once again pushed himself as far and as fast as he could go. Jacen felt his lungs screaming at him, his legs protesting, but he willed the sensations away. It didn't matter. None of it but the victory mattered. Instead, he focused his mind on the plan to come, and tried to remain as aware of the positioning of her lightwhip as he could.

Just get inside her range, he told himself, then this fight is yours to lose. He yelled out again in a fury as he approached. If he'd reach her, he'd go for the tackle to try to take her down to the ground.

If.

​