Private Gilded Stars

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora's smile turned a little sheepish from behind the mask. "You're very gracious, Desric. I do apologize again."

He was both a good fencer and good-natured, two traits that Cora appreciated in the moment. Perhaps another Noble brat would whine and complain, but Desric did not seem particularly bothered. "Perhaps my instincts kicked in because of your skill!"

As the match continued, the pair of aristocrats exchanged blows, parried away strikes and dodged thrusts. Cora found herself enjoying their exchange. At one point, Desric had her on her toes—a jab aimed for her midsection caused her to skitter to the side, narrowly missing the tip of his foil and putting her off balance.

Ever the refined Noble lady, Cora responded by charging Desric with her shoulder in a ruthless tackle.

Desric Terassi

 

[Desric Terassi]

"Perhaps," he acquiesced, before commencing once more.

Just like last time, it was fast-paced and exhilarating - it had been a while since he had been in a proper match with a fellow organic. Of course, Cadence was an excellent opponent, but the knowledge that she had to hold back to give him a chance made it feel different. Quite different from this, in other words.

Unless one categorised not using the Force actively as 'holding back'.

That said, she could do with showing some restraint in certain areas.

As she shoulder-charged him, he responded with less confusion than last time - instead of just standing there, he sought to grab her with his left hand, pull her down with him, and use the momentum to throw her a short distance.

Naturally, his lacking experience made it unlikely that the move would play out particularly smoothly.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

While likely not expected, Cora's attempted tackle hadn't caught Desric off guard as much as the leg sweep had.

What had caught her off guard was his swift reaction.

Taking advantage of his size and strength, Desric's hand had intercepted her shoulder, blunting Cora's momentum as she charged him. She'd managed to wriggle from his grasp with a sharp twist of her arm, effectively dropping the foil in her grasp.

As it clattered to the ground, the blonde realized that she'd lost her footing. As her opponent went down, Cora crashed into him with a yelp.

The result was Cora sprawled awkwardly atop Desric on the dojo floor. For a few seconds she was simply dazed, likely from the jolt of their masks bumping against each other.

When she blinked away the confusion, Cora slowly realized what had happened and where she was. Panic lanced through her, and the Padawan jolted upwards before scrambling desperately off of Desric and onto the matting.

"I-I apolog-i-ize-" She managed to sputter out in a tone of voice where one could hear how beet red her face was. Cora busied herself by fumbling with the foil she'd dropped, pointedly looking anywhere but in his direction. "A-are you, uh, alright?"

Desric Terassi

 

[Desric Terassi]

Desric was slightly proud of himself. Sure, his trick hadn't worked as intended, but it had arguably worked.

The move ending with him on the floor and Cora on top of him was unexpected, to say the least. For once, he blushed as well, the close contact much more suited to get a reaction than teasing or the like. Still, his blushing was easy to miss when compared to Cora's near-panicked response. Drawing a deep breath, he smoothly regained his feet.

"Hah, I did not know I was that terrifying." The words were as relaxed as usual, though his pitch was slightly off - and a hint of colour remained in his cheeks. Still, his poker face was very good indeed.

"I dare say I'll be alright." Padded clothing and padded floors? Even he wasn't that soft. "That was most certainly not an accident, however." The statement was matched by a gently judgemental raising of the eyebrows.

What in the stars were the Jedi teaching their pupils?

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

As far as Cora was concerned, Desric was entirely unruffled. Anxious as she was, she couldn't quite pick up on the way his voice shifted.

The fact that he'd noticed her little mistake only made her flush harder. As if it would be difficult to miss a leg sweep and a shoulder charge. "It's not—it wasn't entirely—" Trying to make a point, she gestured wildly with the foil still in her hand before realizing what she'd been doing.

"This is the first proper fencing match I've had since leaving Ukatis." Shoulders dropping, she tucked the foil between her arm where it wouldn't accidentally swat him in the masked face. "I've only been training with a lightsaber since, and well-"

One hand came up to rub at the back of her head, sheepish again.

"-I suppose I'm having trouble differentiating the two." Cora admitted. "I probably wouldn't need to rely on some of the more...aggressive teachings if you weren't such a good opponent."

From behind the mask, she offered an apologetic smile. Desric wasn't the only one who knew how to wield flattery.

Desric Terassi

 

[Desric Terassi]

A good apology, albeit one lessened by being the second one in this session alone. Still, it was not as if he was hurt and he was by no means immune to flattery. Quite the contrary, really - which was not to say that he was unaware of his own vanity.

"Does lightsaber combat really involve this much physical contact?" His smirk made it clear that he was teasing her, but the question was at least halfway genuine. None of the lightsaber training he had seen in the Golden Order featured kicks and tackles, but then its teachings were not exactly known to be grounded in pragmatism.

The New Jedi Order, on the other hand, seemed the sort to teach 'whatever works'.

"You know, if you want to practice lightsaber combat, Cadence is at your disposal." His expression remained casual, but the glint in his eyes was downright predatory. He was not about to hold a grudge, but that did not mean he would not derive some satisfaction from seeing Corazona put in her place by a droid.

After that mess on Commenor, Desric had requisitioned bodyguards able to handle Sith - or Jedi.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Yes. Well, no, not really. Not traditionally."

Cora rolled her wrist, trying to parse out what exactly it was that the NJO taught.

"It's sort of like…fight to win, I suppose?"

She'd been sent sprawling more than once by older Padawans who'd seen live combat against Sith and Imperials. She'd figured that they knew something she didn't.

Cora did a double take when Desric offered Cadence up for saber practice. She'd used training droids before, but none were nearly as refined as Desric's personal AI.

There was something in Desric's voice that made her a little wary, but Cora's curiosity won out in the end.

"I'd like to take you up on that offer, Desric." She responded with a diplomatic smile. "Provided Cadence would like to, of course."

Desric Terassi

 

[Desric Terassi]

Fight to win? He could not argue with that outside friendly fencing matches.

It was not as if he would fight 'honourably' if some Sith or another tried to decapitate him. Instead, he would instruct his bodyguards to deal with them and run away in case they failed. "Fair enough. I am not entirely convinced of the wisdom of shoulder-charging someone wielding a real weapon, however," He noted, a smug smile on his lips.

That smile only broadened as she agreed to his offer.

"I'm happy to help." Came Cadence's cheery reply, followed soon after by the door sliding to reveal one of Desric's bodyguards. This was no second-rate battle droid or time-worn MagnaGuard - no, it was droid purpose-built to take on anything and everything the galaxy could throw at it, up to and including the Force Sensitive.

In stark contrast to the intimidating exterior, Cadence was expressing her appreciation for Cora to Desric via their 'techno-telepathic' link. It was not every day that someone genuinely cared about the wishes of an AI, after all.

"Unfortunately, the only lightsaber on the yacht is yours." Extending a telescoping staff-weapon of some kind, she twirled it once, before slamming a tip against the floor. A happy chirp made the move less menacing. "This should do just fine - or do you mind? I will be using the stun mode, but you can use whatever you like!"

Cadence's harmonious, almost musical voice seemed a bit out of place coming from such a droid.

Meanwhile, Desric stepped back to the sidelines - and sampled refreshments brought by a second droid.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Oh…"

Perhaps unknowingly, Cora paced back a few steps at the sight of one of the most menacing opponents she had encountered thus far. Intimidating by design, no doubt.

She'd since removed her mask, and now she was clutching the face shield to her chest as she looked over Cadence's new form with a discerningly nervous eye.

This wasn't your mother's training droid.

"Very well," Handing both her mask and foil to one of the attending droids, Cora hoped the anxious swallow that bobbed her throat wouldn't be visible to Desric. True to her noble upbringing, the Padawan's tone and posture were even and dignified.

…None of which would probably last particularly long, given her subtle flinch as Cadence butted the end of her staff to the floor. The AI's cheerful tone sat in stark contrast to the sinister looking droid body she currently inhabited, and it was certainly unnerving Cora.

"Not at all, Cadence." Cora gave her opponent a polite smile, feeling a bit silly for doing so. "In that case, I will use the non-lethal phase of my lightsaber."

As if that's going to make a difference, She thought almost bitterly while unclipping the hilt from her waist and thumbing on the ignition.

She may look scary, but don't let that make you sloppy. Remember your training. You can do this!

Cora stared down the droid with rekindled determination, doing her best to steady the heart pounding behind her ribs. Then she charged, aiming a jab at the droid's shoulder before quickly pulling back—a test of the bionic reflexes.

Desric Terassi

 

[Desric Terassi]

"Probably for the best," Cadence chirped. "That way I don't have to avoid knocking your blade back at you."

Corazona was in good shape, to be sure, but compared to a proper battle droid she might as well be a diseased sufferer of starvation. There was simply no way she could hold a candle to mechanical strength, at least without Force-based techniques unlikely to be taught to mere Padawans, excepting those with an exceptional aptitude.

Desric was, of course, relishing Cora's apprehension-bordering-on-fear. He did not want to see her hurt or truly scared, but a bit of harmless payback was in order. Even if she got tossed about a bit, the ship had an excellent medbay.

A medbay staffed solely by Cadence, ironically.

Speaking of Cadence, she responded to Cora's probing jab by dodging to the right while simultaneously driving the end of her own weapon forward with bone-shattering speed - drastically reducing the velocity in the last moment before impact if the target seemed unable to evade it. If not, she would smoothly transition into a series of jabs, swings, and feints.

For the moment, she desisted from hitting her opponent's lightsaber with too much force.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

The Force flared, sending the hairs at the back of Cora's neck rising in warning. The Padawan had very narrowly managed to dodge the probing end of Cadence's staff, caught off guard by the incredible speed. Perhaps she shouldn't have been as startled, given the droid's imposing build and Desric's ability to acquire top-of-the-line materials.

What followed was an onslaught of strikes and staffwork, relentless yet controlled. Cora had very quickly realized that she was outmatched, barely managing to keep up with Cadence as she struggled to put up a defense against the AI's superior capabilities.

She chanced sending Desric a look of wide eyed realization, upper lip suddenly curling back when she realized that he was indulging in refreshment. The milisecond she'd split her focus had cost her, barely managing to catch the blunt end of the staff with the edge of her lightsaber and parrying it away with a grunt. The effort it took had pushed Cora back, leaving her wide open as she flailed to regain purchase.

"You're…not so bad, Cadence."

Cora almost chuckled darkly between labored breaths. Was she sweating? She was sweating. How unladylike. Desric was a skilled opponent in fencing, but Cadence was in a class far above them both when it came to combat. Had she taken another second to think about it, Cora would have realized that this was some form of well-deserved retribution.

She tried to dodge, but the staff connected with her jaw, sending the Padawan sailing through the air and crashing against the forgiving padding of the dojo floor. The stun current seized her body in a brief surge, and the tremble of her limbs gave way to a dull ache. Cora groaned, and after a few moments managed to prop herself up by one hand, the other gingerly touching the deep red mark at her chin. Smaller blood vessels had burst beneath the surface of her skin and would eventually give way to a bruise.

Spitting crimson onto the floor, she rose carefully and regarded Cadence with a glare. Her entire body ached, nerves still tingling unpleasantly from the stun current. It had not been lost on her that had this been an actual battle, she'd have been thoroughly dispatched before now. That thought burned at the back of her mind.

This had been a friendly duel, but Cora's instincts had other plans. Before she knew what she was doing, both hands had extended forward as she sent a telekinetic wave of Force towards the AI's droid body, intending to push her back.

Desric Terassi

 

[Desric Terassi]

In between bouts of fierce fighting, Corazona was able to squeeze out a few words. Unbound by concepts such as 'stamina', Cadence's response was as cheery as it was unconcerned. "Likewise, Cora. You use the forms well."

Well did not mean difficult to predict, of course.

Soon enough, Cora was sent to the floor. Bleeding. Desric winced.

He and Cadence were about to suggest calling an end to the bout, but Corazona evidently had other plans. At first, her use of telekinesis would prove successful, but within a fraction of a second the droid's body would grow heavier - soon after, its gravitic orientation seemed to contort until it was 'falling' in the opposite direction of Cora's push.

After a bit of back and forth, its feet returned to the ground with a thump.

Without further ado, the droid extended one of its own hands and Cora would suddenly find herself on the receiving end of a Force Push, or rather a simulacrum generated by microscale tractor pressors.

Desric's taste in personal defence technologies was as expensive as it was exotic.

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora couldn't deny herself a measure of haughty pride when the droid's body was pushed back by her concentrated assault. It was clear that she couldn't beat Cadence through saberwork alone, so she switched tactics.

Which wasn't entirely appropriate for a friendly duel as it was for fighting a bloodthirsty enemy.

One corner of her lips twitched upwards to in the beginnings of a smirk, but it quickly turned to a frown as the droid planted its feet firmly
on the ground.

Then retaliated.

Cora's eyes widened as she was repelled backwards, and she clumsily switched to defense—which meant lifting her focus from her own offensive and crossing her arms in front of her to try and lessen the force of whatever was pushing her.

It ended with her back hitting the wall quite forcefully, and Cora raising her hands slowly with a grimace.

"I…yield."

She knew when she was beaten. Reluctantly.

Desric Terassi

 

[Desric Terassi]

"Alright," Cadence chirped, before swiftly retracting her staff into a compact form and attaching it to the hip of the droid. "You fought well, though the telekinesis was unexpected." There was a knowing inflection to her musical tone, but she did not seem at all cross with her. Questionable dueling practices notwithstanding.

On the sidelines, Desric finished a cupcake, then shook his hands in an unusual fashion - a barely visible pulse of energy danced across the skin, cleaning it instantly. The cause was some expensive gadget or implant, no doubt.

"Are you quite alright, Corazona?" Desric said as he rose from his seat and ambled over.

"I had not expected blood to be shed-" He looked faintly nauseous. "- but you certainly gave it your all!" Smiling wryly, he nodded towards the door. "Perhaps a tour of the medbay is in order?"

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"And you, Cadence." Cora smiled awkwardly. "You gave me quite the thrashing. I...cannot say that I didn't deserve it." She admitted with a short chuckle which erupted into a brief cough.

"I'll be alright," She offered Desric a pained grin, the white of her teeth outlined with thin streaks of crimson. "Enjoy that, did you?"

She'd imagined that he did, especially after she played dirty in their duel.

This only meant that she had to work harder at her training. Absently, Cora felt along the swelling of her jaw.

"You have a medbay? Ah, of course you do." Perhaps it was the exhaustion or the strike that had sent her head spinning, but Cora's courtly mannerisms had loosened slightly. "Certainly."

Desric Terassi