Home Sweet Home

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Kalee. The desert planet in a far area of the galaxy. Rael, the Jedi padawan, had no wants to return here. His family, however, specifically his brothers, had been hounding him to return. They all wished to know what Rael had been up to. As an attempt to ignore any any negative feelings that might come with visiting his family, was his reason for not going. However their messages had become too much. Now, the Padawan trudged through the desert sand, his body wrapped in the native, desert ware of his people. His yellow eyes stared ahead at the sand before him. And, at the small village off in the distance. His home. Probably still a few hours away. Rael stopped at the top of a small hill, his hands resting on his recently crafted lightsabers.

The Kaleesh took a few deeps breathes. Even for him, who had been exercising more rigorously with the Jedi than he ever had with his own people, the long trek was rather tiring. He knew his old home was but a few hours away, but the sun was about to set, and he decided to make camp, and return home in the morning. The padawan laid out his blankets on the sand, and sat down. He sat, munching on dried fruits he had brought as he watched the sun slowly set. He thought, for a second, he had felt a Force sensitive. Rael shook the thought off, and went back to his fruit.

 

[Boethiah]

Kalee, home of the Kaleesh. The world wasn't unfamiliar to the Host Lord; afterall she had a Kaleesh Warlord in her service whom wanted to liberate the world from the Imperial Remnant. Anja had found her way to Kalee by chance, rather than choice; she was tracking a runaway Jedi that had escaped her clutches -- despite unknowing that they were halfway across the galaxy, it was good to check nearby. Reaching out with the force she sensed a nearby presence along a hill. Whoever it was felt similar to that which she was searching for.

Drawing her vibroblade the Host Lord snuck from around and slowly made her way until she saw a shadowy figure barely it by the orange-blue glow of a setting sun.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

No, he'd felt something for sure. Rael kept munching on his fruit, looking at the sunset. He reached out with the Force, trying to sense what is was. He didn't recognize it, and it did't feel like a Jedi. The kaleesh readjusted his tightly wrapped, yet light clothing. He tried to get a location, but couldn't. The padawan wasn't yet skilled enough. He made sure his lightsabers were at the ready, but made no movement towards them. Rael bit into his fruit again. If he could just stall, then he might have an advantage. The kaleesh possessed natural night vision. While he didn't know what species this was, perhaps his might be better than theirs. So, he sat, waiting for the attack.

 

[Boethiah]

As an Umbaran, Anja also possessed natural night vision. Her race had been born of a world commonly referred to as the 'Shadow World', a perpetually dark planet due to sun rays never completely reaching the surface. They could also see ultraviolet light and possessed a natural ability that allowed them to easily influence others. It is said few were foolish enough to consider an Umbaran their enemy but The Primeval were different. Their Umbaran weren't the same as those from Umbara itself. They were far more dangerous and whilst they were less sly they weren't lacking in secrets of their own.

The Host Lord's vibroblade fluttered lightly with energy as it activated; a click could be heard as a small explosion released energy around it strong enough to block a lightsaber and easily cut through steel. The largest benefit of such a weapon was that it could easily slice through energy shields and worked through energy resistant armours and materials. Of course it seemed the one before her was lightly clothed; hardly a warrior and did not resemble the human woman she was tracking. Although by the looks of his lightsabers and force-sensitivity it seemed they were possibly in league.

She did not say a word, simply brandishing her weapon in a Niman stance.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Rael paused as he heard the click. Slowly, he stood up, and turned to face her. The kaleesh could clearly see the woman, even in the dark sky. He looked over his shoulder, back to his old village. He could see the smokes of their cooking fires rising up into the sky. His weapons were still not drawn, and he turned back to the woman. "What do you want?" Rael called down the hill. He lifted up the final piece of dried fruit to his mouth, and crunched it under his sharp teeth. His mandibles twitched, anxious for the coming battle.

 

[Boethiah]

The Kaleesh before her seemed to match a description of a Jedi, although his force signature -- if she would consider it that -- did not feel same as the Jed he was hunting; it was subtle in comparison, perhaps something to do with the dark and light sides she was told of. At the very least, she could perhaps use him as a method to experiment her growing powers before confronting the Jedi at large in the upcoming Invasion of Kashyyyk.

Her weapon was not without a sense of poise as she walked forward neither too swiftly nor too slowly; it was a balance between calm and aggressive. Her breathing began to steady, it was one of the ways she could breath life to her force powers like breathing into a flame to make a fire. If one could sense her own signature it would feel wild but not untamed as it once was.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

"So be it." Rael gently unclipped his lightsabers from his belt, one in each three fingered hand. As he had down a thousand times in his youth, he slid down the sandy hill, his feet kicking up sand. He stopped at the bottom, and looked at her once more. He could feel her presence much stronger now. All he knew was that she was no Jedi. The padawan had not met a Sith yet, and had know idea of their presence in the Force. He did assume that she was not one. He ignited both the blades. The area around them was quickly mingled with the blue of his sabers. Rael's muscles twitched in anticipation. He had never fought another Force user before, at least, not for real. But he knew he was ready. He raised his blades defensively, and walked forward to meet her.

 

[Boethiah]

Anja continued her Niman stance, the form was well known for having no true weaknesses but lacked any particular strengths save for its balanced fighting style; a style she used quite frequently in an open environment. Her other form, Juyo, was used more in a closed space against weaker opponents. She devised that perhaps it wouldn't be wise to use the form against one wielding two blades; a dangerous form that but one that allowed more aggressive moments. Whether or not this meant he sacrificed any form of defense was yet to be seen but it was something she assumed; not counting on it.

Her blade crossed over the air swinging from the the hip, it was a slow hit and didn't use too much force or momentum, but neither did it leave much of a gap for her to block a blade incase of a counter attack or parry. Her agility was perhaps one of her best attributes, counting on reflexes and stamina over sheer strength and tremendous skill with a blade. It worked well in situations against a single opponent, there was a greater chance of wearing them down. One could focus without getting distracted by other threats. The force began to carry into her swing, as she did, not imbueing the weapon but rather gracing it with some added power.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

As her attack came, Rael realized he might have made a mistake. While two blades could provide a very good offense, he had intended to use them to combat multiple opponents. The Kaleesh should've just used one, or brought the modular blades together before the fight began to make one double bladed saber. The warrior brushed the thought off, and met her attack with both his blades. He had seen an opening to attack, but one of his arms wasn't strong enough to defend against both of here. Instead, as soon as he was satisfied her attack was done, he swiped both his blades at her, one low, one high. He wasn't intending to hit her, just get her to back off. "What do you want?" He called to her. He frowned, and tried to move back, once again raising both his blades.

 

[Boethiah]

Anja had dropped back as he swung, allowing the lower blade to scrap up against her vibrobalde and dodging the high attack.

"Your mind.", she said. It was the truth; she was after his knowledge , a power the Host Lord had been attempting to perfect for some time.

She took her blade, both hands on the hilt in a more sturdy posture and went to swing once, stopping halfway in a feint before leaving it into her left hand, revealing her ambidextrous nature and swinging in a twisting motion across at his legs in an attempt to throw his balance off; before proceeding to swing down again at the center with both hands. The idea was to put pressure on the opponent and make them lose focus, in a duel skill was useful but more importantly the mind was the key. If you could disrupt your opponent's focus they'd leave holes in their stances which was beneficial for someone like Anja who relied on endurance and stamina over sheer strength and talent.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

The Jedi Padawan was now fairly certain this was a darksider, he simply didn't know what type. Rael fell for the feint, and barely stopped her second attack. He thrust one blade down, stopping the attack. He stepped to the side, giving himself more room. As her blade came up, over, and down he borught both of his up, crossing the ends together. He caught he blade between the two of his, and kicked at her stomach. Assuming she would either be hit, or jump backwards, he stepped forwards after his kick, slashing both of his lightsabers down from the crossed position they were in. "Why're you doing this?!" He grunted as he attacked. Rael was truly confused. She seemed to have attacked him out of the blue. The Kaleesh tried not to focus on it, knowing it would distract him.

 

[Boethiah]

The sudden kick was too much to merely dodge, instead she moved her body in a way that when it contacted she would not be tensed up, loosely moving with the foot just breezing along her stomach. she then stepped back as he began to slash, blocking one with he blade and flicking his wrist up with the other, but that last brief moment was risky; she felt the heat of the lightsaber near her skin before pulling it away. They were still close enough to engage but Anja changed tactics. She decided it was best to keep him on his feet, never let him stand still; his sword arm was physically stronger than hers, even with two blades.

The Host Lord took a more basic stance and began to slash down and jab out towards him but pulling back right before it touched in order to prevent their blades locking again; the idea was an attempt to keep him moving back and towards the edge of the hill to either throw him off balance or force him to disengage, albeit momentarily, and attempt to retreat to a more suitable position.

Of course this was just a tactic, she had little knowledge of her opponent and was uncertain what tactics they had of their own. [member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Rael winced as he jumped to the side. He was a little too late, and her blade scraped him. He turned his dodge into a full spin, and came around quick. He brought both his blades about a foot apart, and swung at her. At the last moment, he brought his lower blade straight down, with the intent of scraping her.

 

[Boethiah]

Anja felt the pressure change as the blade scraped against him, it wasn't full contact but it was enough to throw her defense down as he moved away; if he hadn't used that opportunity to quickly counter-attack she would've retained her stance. Instead, the change in aggression threw her off momentarily, enough that he was able to bring a good swing down at he, catching the first blade before being scraped along the leg. Good thing it was only a scratch, but the sear was enough to signal all of the nerves in her thigh to shoot out in pain. The painful instance was a brief spike that was quickly drowned by adrenaline; forcing her to stumble back before regaining composure.

Instead of striking with her blade she gathered her angst-filled rage and unleashed a blast of force-concentrated energy in an attempt to push [member="Rael sul B'an"] back and perhaps even down, if possible. Unknowing what would happen she took her Niman stance and once again maintained her initial strategy, but a bit more slowly as to avoid turning her seared thigh into an disadvantage.

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Rael felt the blast of energy hit him, and he flew back. He shut of his lightsabers, so as not to cut himself. He landed about 5 feet away, and rolled another four. His body hurt, and he knew he would be bruised. But, so as not to allow another attack, he sprang up, ignoring the pain and reactivating his blue blades. "We're both injured. Leave me be or this'll only get worse for the both of us." He turned his left foot to her, and put himself in a Soresu stance, but instead of his hand jutting out, he held a blade.

 

[Boethiah]

"Unfortunately a wise man warned me against such techniques, but you seem to misunderstand.", she walked forward slowly and although she was still in Niman stance it seemed she became unconcerned with the combat itself. Her piercing milky-blue eyes gazed palely at him with an emotionless stare; although that was merely a symptom of her race it did tend to come off as pure apathy towards life in general. Was she apathetic? Not necessarily but she had no qualms with death; after all she had massacred an entire world once -- she wasn't afraid to do it again, if necessary. "It's not about you, not personally, so don't be afraid that I'm after you.", she quipped. Her feet stopped so that she was at a comfortable distance from him in that she would be able to come up with a strategy incase he decided to get aggressive again.

"My leg, may have been scratched...", truth be told it was seared, "But I've suffered worse pains and come out on top.", she didn't mean to sound arrogant of her own powers but she felt confident that she could beat him. He didn't respond to her use of the force with his. That either suggested he was being conservative with his powers as to not waste energy or that perhaps he knew not many at all. Either way that would suggest a more novice opponent; despite his baldework she had been able to overcome him merely through strategy alone. Whether the tide would remain the same or if he would come up with his own is yet to be seen but for now she saw no reason to discontinue her tactic. It was working. He was getting tired and she gave him a much needed break by talking only to prove that he sought a break, even if it was only enough time to plant his feet and have a second or twos rest from an attack. She took the blade back in both hands and circled to the side of him, slowly enough with the intention that either he would turn to face her or attempt to lunge out and attack. As she did so, she began to channel the force; just inside of her. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but she felt it scratching to get out and it was giving her confidence, stamina, strength. She almost forgot what great boons it provided to her.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

She may be smarter than me, but this, is my planet. Rael thought. He listened as she spoke, playing into her game. Truly, Rael wasn't tired, he had simply not wanted to fight her even more. Even darksiders were sentient. A year ago, he would've attacked her in a blind fury, and it would've killed him, too. This Padawan spun slowly as she circled him. He too, was taking up the time to build up what energy the Force could give him. He had could tell she was more powerful than him. Rael had felt the sheer power in some of the Jedi masters, and while he didn't feel that in her, he could tell she was no Padawan learner. "Then I'm afraid you'll-" Rael cut himself off abruptly, and in that instance, sent a large pile of sand flying towards her with a blast of Force energy. He wasn't trying to blind her, just distract her. He knew the Force could help her fight blind. In the second he stopped talking, threw the sand, he also began running at her, as fast as he could. He slashed both blades at her from each side.

 

[Boethiah]

The sudden kick of sand had actually caught her off guard, he hadn't used the force thus far; a miscalculation on her part. She knew if she didn't think fast that she may very well pay dearly but she believed her theory correct. She had many options to choose over but one, one quite bold, played into mind. Using what power she channeled -- almost impulsively -- she used her agility to drop low, keeping her knees bent until she had to falter flat, dropping her sword in the process and using the force to push her underneath him just as the blades were meant to close in, unless she was able to trip him, he'd have to jump over her in an attempt to dodge the sly move but she was not finished. The moment she had engaged the rather brash action, she closed her eyes, reaching out in the force for her blade, the metallic object shaking only for half a second before pulling towards her and gripping into her arm. Depending on his move it may have very well went through her path but depending on his reflexes, and his two blades, it could've been parried or dodged.

Anja then took her Juyo stance this time, rather dangerous but if her theory was correct, that he felt that she was stronger than him, then she could use that to her advantage. Make the battle hopelessly one sided and blind the opponent of her weaknesses by forcing him to focus on remaining alive. Survival instinct was indeed a great ally to many lifeforms but in this case it could be turned against them; even if it means they live, she may yet win her battle.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]

 

[Garik Reed]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

Rael jumped up at the last second, and she clipped the bottom of his legs. He flipped forward, and landed on his back. He was just in time to see her sword fly over him. He stood up, and turned around to face her. He raised both his sabers in the same Soresu stance as before. If this fight lasted too long, no doubt she would beat him. He waited for her attack, noticing a new, more aggressive stance.

 

[Boethiah]

Anja was a bit surprised at his reflexes, taking her stance she approached him quite fiercely and swung greatly down upon him and as quickly as she could; trying to leave him little room for thinking. She too would perhaps be lost in this focus -- after all Juyo required a great amount of concentration to use properly, especially if one didn't want to leave themselves far too vulnerable in the process. If she could perhaps just weaken her opponent, she could begin to influence his will and convince him to surrender before her.

[member="Rael sul B'an"]