Duel Jedi and Sith Down

[Cadere]

Above Dagobah's surface

Cas had been assigned to track down the deserter Castor Azari after rumours surfaced of him joining the Sith with the goal of bringing him in for questioning. After their first and only mission together when he was a Padawan, Cas had always felt something was off with the former Jedi Knight and wasn't surprised at all when he found out that he'd eventually left the Concord... although, nothing could have prepared him for the fact that he had joined the Sith. Cas took this mission personally as he had seen signs of the former Knight's Dark tendencies and could have, potentially, put a stop to all of it.

After weeks of tracking him down, Cas learned that Castor had indeed joined the Sith which angered him further. Cas and BB-5 had managed to track Azari into the Unknown Regions before eventually chasing him into the Dagobah system.

Things came to a head as the Jedi Knight opened fire on the Castor, thus engaging in a dogfight with him. Activating his deflector shielding, he prepared to open fire once more with the starfighter's laser cannons. But before doing so, he quickly addressed his astromech through the comms "BB, patch me through." he ordered with a hint of aggression in his voice, directed at Castor. Once BB-5 did so, Cas immediately spoke through to the former Jedi Knight "You damned traitor!" he yelled in anger before sending off to laser shots at him "I'm gonna make you answer for everything!" he concluded, preparing to shoot him down to the surface below.

Castor Azari

 

[Castor Azari]

On the day of his final mission with the Jedi Order, Castor had vanished from the temple and did not return. He knew the Padawan who accompanied him on the mission had spoke of his intention to inform the council of the events on the mission and unable to do anything to prevent him from doing so, Castor accepted the inevitable and left the Order before he could be confronted for his actions. In the months that followed, his anger and frustration towards the Jedi Order and his parents who had placed him in that situation grew until his inevitable renouncing of the light side in favour of the dark.

Now in battle with a Jedi, it was the first time he had encountered one of his old allies since leaving them but he held no feelings of warmth towards them any more. Anticipating the volley of bolts, he was able to dodge them through skilful manoeuvring, though it was clear his piloting skills left something to be desired compared to Cas. He tried to get behind the Jedi to get a vantage point but to no avail.

Upon hearing Cas' voice, Castor gave a humorous smile. "You again?" He replied, amused. "Oh you wound me." He replied sarcastically after being called a traitor. The unexpected conversation had distracted him long enough for him to make a slight error in avoiding the next attack, resulting in a bolt clipping a wing and severing wires which caused warnings to blare in the cockpit. Aware he was losing height, he put all power into the thrusters and in a final surge of energy he flipped upwards and over himself to fire at the underbelly of Cas' fighter from below.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas rolled his eyes at Castor's sarcasm, positioning his ship ready for another shot - luckily, one of his shots managed to clip one of Castor's wings. A grin grew on the corner of his lips as he watched the enemy starfighter begin to lose altitude, Cas quickly rushed in to provide the finishing shot to ground Castor. Unfortunately, despite attempts to evade Castor's returning fire his hubris caused him to get hit as well.

"Kriff!" he explained as the shot hit a vital point of his starfighter, Cas began frantically tapping away at various buttons inside the cockpit in a desperate attempt of stabilising his ship. As it began to trail smoke, Cas quickly began steering the starfighter in the direction of the planet below. The damage to his starfighter, sparked a small explosion inside his cockpit knocking him out temporarily.

Luckily, BB-5 took control of the starfighter and safely flew the smoking ship to Dagobah. Eventually the starfighter crashed into the murky swamp below, startling Cas awake - groggy, he groaned and began rubbing his forehead as he hissed in discomfort. Squinting outside of the canopy, he realised that they had made it onto the surface safely. A small smile formed on his face as he raised his hands up and pushed open his starfighter's canopy, crawling out of the starfighter he turned BB-5 and gave him a thumbs up "Thanks, buddy."

Glancing around the foggy and the heavily forested area, he wondered if the traitor was nearby. He was hoping to settle some personal differences before bringing him in.

Castor Azari

 

[Castor Azari]

There wasn't time for either to celebrate a victory as both had seemingly doomed the other to their fate below but with any luck the blow Castor had received might not have been a fatal one. The starfighter was losing altitude quickly but he did all he could to keep it from plummeting into the planet's surface by directing power to the thrusters in attempt to soften the inevitable blow.

The starfighter hit the ground at the least damaging angle he could manage before skidding along the swamp until it jerked to a sudden halt with such an impact that would've launched Castor out of the cockpit if he hadn't been strapped to the seat. He took a moment to gather himself, seeing no sense of urgency, before unstrapping himself and abandoning the starfighter, aching from the impact.

Visibility was poor but through the Force he could sense Cas' presence, alive. Though Cas was not visible in the fog, Castor knew where the Jedi was and approached him with a distinctive sense of purpose. No doubt the Jedi could sense the same so once he was almost within visible range of Cas he ignited the scarlet blade of his lightsaber, expecting to be met with an attack.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

He sensed it, it took him a moment but he sensed Castor's presence - although, it was different from the last they met... tainted, colder. It was no doubt due to his conversion to the Dark side. The thought of it caused him to boil inside, if only he'd done more he kept thinking to himself.

As Cas felt the Sith's presence draw nearer, he heard a familiar snap hiss sound following a scarlet illumination within Dagobah's fog. Without a word, he turned to face the red light before igniting his own amber blade. Eyes still locked on the Sith's position, he quietly commanded his astromech "Try and get a signal out." he'd need a way to get Castor off planet once this was all over.

Engaging in an Ataru stance, Cas swiftly harnessed the Force to rush toward Castor in a burst of speed - the Sith becoming more visible the closer he got to him. When close enough, the Jedi Knight swiftly lifted his lightsaber upward and in a blinding yellow flash, slammed it downward over Castor's head - fully expecting him to block or dodge, Cas was ready to counter any attack the Sith would return.

Castor Azari

 

[Castor Azari]

In the months following his final mission with the Jedi, Castor had become more disconnected with the Order and eventually his anger and frustration led him towards the Dark side which had started with his brother's death and finished with the fallen Jedi's manipulation of the Jedi Code.

With only a brief encounter with Cas' fighting style, the Sith was unsure what to expect from the Jedi but he trusted that he would be able to handle his opponent through utilising the Dark side and it was of utmost importance that he did since he didn't want to lose and risk facing the Jedi again - The people he had betrayed and would likely imprison him for his crimes.

Castor met the Jedi's blade above his head and made a few short jabs in the matching Ataru style, though it was clear his opponent wasn't to be as easily beaten as he had imagined. "You've improved." He told the Jedi between blows. Using the Force to aid him, he sent a powerful swing towards Cas which would likely be met with a lock of blades and if Cas were to break away then he would be met with equally as powerful blows as they were in the early stages of their duel so fatigue hadn't taken hold.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

As expected, Castor managed to meet Cas' strike - he was aware that the turncoat was a proficient duellist from their time together but, things were different now. The Jedi Knight managed to evade or block Castor's jabs "Awh, you noticed?" he retorted in a fake happy voice between swings. Seeing the Sith telegraph his next attack which would be a powerful swing.

The Jedi Knight tightened his grip on his lightsaber's hilt, placed a foot backward in order to create some distance between them. Blocking Castor's swing and engaging in a blade lock "Is this it? I had a harder time sparring with a Youngling." he quipped, trying to goad the Sith. Using the strength of his mechanical arm, Cas would force Castor back slightly before ultimately breaking the blade lock.

Using the Force to enhance his speed and strength, following breaking out of the lock, in a blur Cas rolled to Castor's left flank before swiftly standing up and horizontally swinging his blade at Castor's thigh.

Castor Azari

 

[Castor Azari]

It had been some time since he has last seen Cas in action and while they had never fought before, Castor had a fairly good idea of what to expect from the Jedi, or so he thought. It seemed that with time Cas had only improved whereas Castor was at a similar level of proficiency in lightsaber combat to when they last met aside which was owed to his focus on learning to utilise the Dark side and the months of aimless wandering after running away from the Order.

The Knight's comment noticeably irritated him but he didn't overreact, knowing it to be the Jedi's inention and instead pushed on but the brief break in concentration allowed for Cas to pull away from the blade lock. In the next attack, Castor was noticeably caught off guard, barely managing to meet Cas' blade which in turn forced his own blade dangerously close to his thigh but with enhancements in strength through the Force he was able to force the Jedi's blade away before taking a few steps back to create some distance.

With the face paced nature of the battle, it was hard to get a moment to make an offensive Force attack but with the small amount of space between them, he sought to use the advantage he had over the Jedi through the side of the Force his opponent wouldn't touch so he raised a hand as though he was grasping something and began Force choking the Jedi.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Unfortunately, Castor wasn't as easy to take out as he had initially thought - the impatient Jedi Knight was eager to end this as fast as possible. The Sith managed to block Cas' attack before creating distance between them, before Cas could press on against Castor but he then felt a sharp, invisible force squeeze around his throat.

Clutching at his neck, he began gasping for air before realising what Castor was doing. He really needed to remember his Force barriers. Brows furrowing in anger, the Jedi Knight extended his arm forward with his palm facing a nearby tree behind the Sith Knight - gripping the tree trunk's internals with the Force, once he curled his fingers into a fist the trunk would snap apart and collapse in the direction of Castor.

Certain the Sith would release his grip over Cas, as his concentration would be broken from avoiding being splattered by the collapsing tree. The Jedi Knight, in the ensuing commotion, prepared to propel himself into the air and over the tree, hoping to land closer to him or even thrust his lightsaber into one of his limbs and take him out of commission while Castor was distracted.

Castor Azari

 

[Castor Azari]

Sensing the growing anger in the Jedi, the corner of Castor's mouth began to curl into a smile as he could see an opportunity to change the situation to his advantage but before he could do anything, he heard the sound of bark ripping from a tree behind him and glanced over his shoulder before diving out of the way of the falling tree.

Aware that the Jedi would attack again imminently, Castor scrambled for his lightsaber hilt and rolled over to avoid Cas' jab while igniting his own lightsaber to block any following attacks while he got back to his feet. After securing his stance, he got back to work attacking with Ataru and while level-headed at first, his frustration began to grow. "The Jedi Order is weak. You can't make change by being passive." He told Cas angrily between blows.

His last attempt to get through to the Jedi hadn't worked but now his words were much more emotionally fuelled as he had no reason to supress his emotions any more. "My brother's master turned on him and killed him. They rehabilitated him and he went on to kill another Jedi. Now he's free in the galaxy somewhere. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have killed him when I had the chance!" The intensity of his attacks increased as the intensity in his emotions grew and it was apparent his focus was elsewhere.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas stabbed his lightsaber into the ground where Castor initially was, landing in a crouched position he remained there as the pulled his lightsaber from the ground and spun his lightsaber around in Castor's direction to further his attack, however it was swiftly blocked. Quickly, Cas rolled backward and transitioned into a small backflip onto his feet to meet Castor's offence.

The corner of the Jedi's lips quirked into a smirk as he sensed the Sith's growing frustration, between blocks and blows Cas listened to what Castor had to say, his reasonings for-- no, his excuses for leaving. Matching the intensity of Castor's attacks with his defence before attacking back, Cas would respond "Cry me a river, Azari! You know what we stand for! The Jedi believe everyone deserves a chance at redemption until proven otherwise. I don't agree with all of the Jedi's methods, but I believe what they stand for!" raising his voice as he said so, slamming his lightsaber into Castor's in order to engage in a blade lock "You're just looking for excuses. Way I see it, all you boil down to is a coward and a traitor... but guess what?" he said coldly "You still deserve a chance at redemption."

Using his cybernetic arm's strength coupled with his own, Cas force Castor back with his lightsaber and in-turn breaking the blade lock - if Castor staggered, Cas would take the opportunity to plant a push kick on the Sith's shin in hopes of knocking him onto the floor.

Castor Azari

 

[Castor Azari]

The Sith was surprised at Cas' outburst, having not been paying attention to his opponents emotions since he was clouded by his own growing anger but nonetheless it pleased him. The passion Cas seemed to hold for the Jedi had the potential to be of benefit elsewhere and even if his words had no effect today, he was hopeful that the Jedi would be able to come to that conclusion on his own.

The battle was fierce and showed no signs of easing. It seemed like the way forward would be when one of them made a wrong move and losing focus was an easy way to make an error. Cas' words bit into him and only seemed to irritate him further. "I am not a traitor! The Jedi betrayed me and now I'm enacting revenge." He growled. "There's nothing to redeem. I am no Jedi." He attempted a final push, fuelled by his anger, but was quickly met with resistance.

With a surprising amount of strength, Cas managed to knock the Sith back a few feet and before Castor could regain his balance, he was met with a swift kick to the shin which knocked him off of his feet and though the lightsaber remained in his hand, there was little he could do to defend as he was in a vulnerable position of being unable to dodge attacks.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas' words seemed to strike a nerve in the Sith. Good. It meant there was, in fact, some truth behind his statement even if Castor himself didn't want to believe it. After his attack on Castor succeeded and the Sith fell to the ground, Cas didn't stop there and raised his lightsaber above his head "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about this." he said vaguely but with authenticity as he brought down his blade in a yellow blur, striking it into Castor's wrist and severing his weapon hand.

The moment his blade touched the Sith's wrist, Cas cringed with his body tensing up as a result - despite his intense negative feelings toward Castor and his traitorous ways, he didn't feel good about what he had to do. With Castor's severed hand on the floor and the lightsaber hilt in its hand, Cas kicked it away before crouching down beside Castor's intact hand, grabbing it, he hoisted him up and wrapped the Sith's arm around his shoulder.

"You alright?" he asked, knowing that it was an obviously stupid question he quickly elaborated "You're not dying, right?" with a tiny, minute hint of concern. Whether he answered or not, Cas raised his wrist near to his mouth and spoke into his communicator "BB-5, managed to get a signal yet?" Cas queried and following a series of responsive beeps and chirps, BB-5 confirmed that he had managed to get a signal out to the Concord "Nice one BB-5, see if they can't send any Concord frigates anywhere to pick up this trash." he ordered, referring to Castor in his last sentence.

With that, all they needed to do was wait - but first they'd have to get back to his starfighter. This was going to be a long and awkward wait...

Castor Azari

 

[Castor Azari]

Castor raised his blade to meet his opponent's but his efforts were futile as he was met with a clean slice through his wrist, prompting a painful yelp from the Sith who appeared more shocked than anything. He silently cursed himself for allowing his opponent the opportunity to disarm him as he considered returning to the Jedi a fate worse than death.

With little say in the matter, Castor had no choice but to take Cas' hand and allow himself to be pulled off of the ground. While he could still resist the Jedi, he knew any attempt would be futile and that his fate was sealed so he begrudgingly accompanied his opponent. "No, but I wish I was." He replied coldly. At least the tiny glimmer of hope he had was that he could escape, perhaps fake redemption if the Jedi were foolish enough to try it and then Cas would see the issue with the Jedi.

The Sith glared at Cas for his comment but didn't otherwise say anything lest he risk condemning himself further. Once at the starfighter, Castor sat on the floor with his back against a tree and remained silent, hatred stirring inside him.

Cadere /End Thread