Duel Galactic Kaggath Round 1: Thalia Senn vs Allyson Locke

[Razmir Tezhyn]

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Thalia Senn vs Allyson Locke​

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!”

“Hailing from the stormy seas of Pamarthe, please welcome into the ring a walking fiasco of a Jedi, THALIA SENN!

“And her opponent, having discarded the weakness of the Jedi and embraced what she wants, competing as the CHAMPION OF THE SITH ORDER, please join me in welcoming the master of shadows, the tournament favourite, it’s ALLYSOOOON LOOOOCKE!!!”

“CHALLENGERS! BEGIN!”

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Thalia Senn //: Razmir Tezhyn //:
//: Attire //:
//: Equipment //:
//: Bow & Arrows //: Contact Lens //: Jacket //:
//: Non Transferable "Equipment" //:
//: Ava'kash Brand //: Emperor's Echo //:

Hearing her name announced, the words chosen, and the crowd's roar. It made the Corellian wince. Being known was death to an operative, but she had already carved her name deep enough into the history books. At least once she died, most of it would be erased - a figment of the imagination and a warning to younglings.

Allyson snorted, remembering the exaggerated tales Darth Virelia had told her they told the children of the Jedi. If anything, Allyson hoped they helped someone - it was apparent it didn't help Serina. But much could, minus a nanite arrow to the throat.

Unlucky for the Corellian, she didn't get the Witch from Polis Massa in the first round. At least then, she'd be willing to sacrifice the higher-end gear she typically used on missions. The risk of losing it all was worth it if she could rid herself of the festering boil of a woman.

The crowd continued to roar as the arena shook, forming the battlefield. Allyson felt a hint of annoyance with the arena choice. It was one that she didn't fight in—but her father did, and she had heard stories, mostly about naval combat.

The Republic was home, flawed - but it was home. Still, she knew Kashyyyk - better than she should. Having lived there and then several missions on the planet's surface, the jungle felt like home.

The gate shook, opening to begin the dramatic reveal of the Corellian. The moment light peeked through the bottom of the door, Allyson faded into the Force. Her lips parted, exhaling as she drew in her presence. Her goal was to be nearly invisible to her opponent, allowing her to gain the advantage of surprise. Even with her skill set and years of experience - she didn't plan on taking the Jedi lightly.

ALlyson had learned to value survival. Those who were able to survive, make it through their trials, and continue were worth respect. Thalia was someone she had heard about in passing through small investigations, but the woman had never been a focus for the spy.
Still, she was a Jedi, someone who knew how to survive.

Allyson crept from the hold; she could feel the eyes of the crowd searching for her. Their cheering was hushed as the sound of whispers echoed. She had disappeared and had not shown her face the moment the doors had finished opening. If she had, it would have given Thalia a moment to gain a visual. From there, it would only be a matter of moments before the Jedi could figure out where she had gone.

Her goal was to hide in the foliage and gain ground on the Jedi.

Drawing the bow, Allyson brushed the finger pads of the leather archery glove, a quick patter to command the quiver on her thigh to prepare the nanite arrow. Another movement of her fingers in a different pattern formed a second arrow in the quiver. Her feet moved carefully, lightly, not leaving a sound or a print in the soft arena ground. Her eyes scanned quickly, searching for the gate from which the Jedi had entered.

The contact in her eye adjusted, zooming in on several points of the arena from the safety of the jungle terrain. She paused her search for a moment to let her ears catch the cracking branches of others.

Seems they weren't alone. Allyson got a feel for her surroundings and continued moving, invisible from sight and the Force. A hand reached, drawing the first arrow and drawing it tight, her grip tightening. It was a familiar feeling; the bow she used was her first - a gift on Life Day.

Her first one.

Another cautious exhale as she waited.

 

[Thalia Senn]

Allyson Locke​

Thalia's booted feet clicked on the worn bark of the Wroshyr tree as it rose in an opulent display for the arena to see. Her eyes peeked out from beneath her long locs, her hair partially hiding the burns on the right side of her face. She frowned up at the cam droids and cheering crowd, her hand blocking out the bright arena lights. It bathed the fighting pit in a sterile light. Every part of this tournament had been so meticulously fabricated, from the name, drawing in fools like her, to the custom battle fields that seemed to have been snatched straight from their native lands. She glanced down, the hunger in the Force drawing her attention.

Well, it couldn't be 100% authentic. Honestly, from what she remembered of Kashyyyk, it was probably for the better. Poor things, they probably hadn't been fed in weeks.

“Hailing from the stormy seas of Pamarthe, please welcome into the ring a walking fiasco of a Jedi, THALIA SENN!

Thalia kissed her teeth and shook her fist up at the cameras before offering a rude gesture.

"I ain't no stormin' Jedi!" she shouted. Salt and spray, she hadn't even been to Coruscant in years. Nary an outpost had heard whisper of her name. It was probably better this way though. Wayseeking, she'd called it when she told her last and final Master, Amani Serys , that she was leaving Coruscant after her promotion. Lots of things had changed since then. Old Ghosts like sirens and starweirds kept rearing their ugly heads. It was part of why she was here in the first place. An old com device she'd kept secretly from her days running with the Maw had gone off.

They were apparently still kicking. She needed to find them, and end them. A Kagath'd seemed like the perfect place. Instead, she was packed up against yet another old Jedi she'd idolized in her stary-eyed childhood. Though, the Sith? That was new. Thalia could understand being manipulated into joining the Sith, but for the brief moment she could sense her opponent, there was no hatred, no malice, no greed. None of the hallmarks of a Dark Lord's touch on the mind so much as tickled Thalia's senses. She shivered, remembering that old creature's grip on her mind. She still had nightmares.

A black-winged Drake on the high seas, her father bleeding out in their family home, the stump of an arm where it had been vicously torn from his shoulder by those things of the deep. The buzzer blew and the bout began.

Clear your head, fool girl. Allyson's hunting.

She'd noticed the girl vanish from sight and the Force. A hard youth on the high seas of Pamarthe and the brutalist trainings of Darth Solipsis had trained her more human sense of self preservation though, and just like she felt the hunger and gnashing jaws of the vornskr below, she knew, could feel it in her very bones, that she was being watched.

Sstay true, Thalia. Handle thiss like the Jedi you are.

The voice of her second Master, Khefiir slithered into her brain. She felt the hair stand up on her arms. She hadn't heard his voice in her head in a long time. But...

"I am no Jedi," she said softly to herself. Longing, fear, feelings she hadn't felt since she was a teen welled up. The anger too. But she wouldn't let his voice or her's taint Kherfiir's well meaning memory. If she wouldn't show herself, Thalia would just have to be ready. Power began to swell within, Thalia tapping into the Force, catching its waves like wind in her sails. She got the feel of them, catching them and adding them to her well of strength. The Force flowed through all things in these waves, it was what made the Order of Shasa such powerful telekenetics, but you had to know how to read them first. Every being was like a stone in the wake of these waves, the water crashing around some, bifurcating around others.

"Before we start," Thalia said, loud enough for Allyson to hear, wherever she was, "I wanted to tell you I looked up to you as a lass. I looked up to a lot of you geezers. I promise I won't do you so bad as the Old Man or Romi Jade ."

The Force exploded from her in a telekinetic burst. Force repulse was an unfocused, brutalist technique, but when you couldn't see your enemy...Well. If you wanted the eels out before the Weeping, you made sure to toss the whole barn. It came from her in waves, pulses. The power she'd stored was not for a single burst but several, each reaching farther and farther, until it shook the edge of the arena Thalia was closest to. Drinks were thrown into the air, vornskr sent to the far end of the arena, whimpering, their spiked tails between their legs.

​

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[Allyson Locke]

//: Thalia Senn //:
//: Attire //:
//: Equipment //:
//: Bow & Arrows //: Contact Lens //: Jacket //:
//: Non Transferable "Equipment" //:
//: Ava'kash Brand //: Emperor's Echo //:

Used to look up to me and the other old geezers? Kid needs some new heroes or something…​

Allyson thought to herself as Thalia came into view. So the girl knew her, meaning she knew what skill set the Corellian carried.

Unfortunately for the girl - well, woman, Allyson had picked up some new tricks in the Empire. She wondered if that disappointed Thalia - someone she had looked up to falling so far from grace. Or was it something that was expected of the Shadow?

No one ever trusted Allyson as far as they could throw her, with or without the Force.

Everything around her began to pulse, and Allyson was hit quickly by the first blast of telekinetic waves. It launched her back, but focusing on her body and how the waves pulsated against her, the Corellian could balance herself.

With each pulse that shook the arena, Allyson let it carry her higher up the tree. The moment the calm came between the waves, Allyson prepared herself, grabbing ahold of the next branch. With some distance between her and Thalia, she tucked behind some of the larger trunks, which gave her a somewhat effective break between her and the pulses. Her body hurt, each wave was intense, and she had minimal protection from the Force, which enhanced her body and minimized the pain. Still, Thalia wasn't just a force user.

She was strong in her own right, and Allyson knew she needed to respect that.

A hand reached for her quiver. Luckily, the explosive tip was protected from the blasts. If they hadn't been - it would have been goodbye legs and probably goodbye Allyson.

The explosive arrow was drawn, its tip protected as the wave passed. She wondered if she was going to fire the arrow between the pulses. Once more, she dug deep, focusing on her core, arm, and everything tied to firing the bow. She wasn't a master of telekinesis, but she understood how to create her body and the objects around her to resist.

As the wave passed the tree, Allyson whipped around the corner and fired the explosive arrow towards the canopy over Thalia; upon contact, the arrow would explode in a wide radius, burning whatever it came into contact with.

In a fluid motion, the trained archer retrieved the next arrow and fired it in rapid succession. This one was tipped with a vial of acid, and the moment the wave of telekinetic energy hit it, the vial would shatter, raining the acid upon the Jedi.

She needed the woman to be distracted by the inferno that began to burn around her. Allyson crouched, hiding behind the tree truck as she ran her fingertips over the edge of the glove. Three more arrows formed in the quiver, and she waited - still hunting.