Duel Machine Hunt | Lily Decoria vs. Arris Windrun

[Arris Windrun]

MECHIS CITY
Lily Decoria
​

Fire swirled through the black plumes that engulfed Mechis City, an industrial complex on a volcanic world lying at the edge of Sith Covenant space, where megafactories spit out droids around the clock.

Arris Windrun had been frequenting the planet quite often lately - specifically, the Arakyd Industries research complex. It didn't take more than a few days until a brave (or foolish) whistleblower sent word through the wire that there was a Sith Lord on Mechis III.

The cyborg had just left the building, making her way to a lone landing pad at the center of an abandoned ore-processing yard. She stopped, maybe a few dozen meters away from her light freighter, and whipped out a cigarette. Yeah... She was having a smoke break. Completely unaware of the Jedi Knight nearby. Not that she would've sensed a Jedi, even if she wasn't distracted.

This Jedi had encountered Arris before - quite some time ago, on Genarius. The sinking of Edic Bar. Arris had changed a lot since then. The Tapani Massacre. The conquest of the Galactic Empire. The Devastation of Humbarine. A trifecta of atrocities that did more than destabilize the Deep Core, displacing millions and leaving countless more trapped in suffering; each event was like a wound in the Force. A cascade effect where atrocities led to suffering, and suffering led to chaos, and in that chaos, force-sensitives awoke, and many now flocked to the Sith Temple on Coruscant.

But that wasn't the only way in which she had changed. Back then, the cyborg was blonde, most of her body was covered in synthflesh (even if it was largely metal and wire underneath), and her presence in the Force was far more volatile. Now? She wore dark hair, ditched the flesh from the neck down, and the Dark Side was a taut hatred rather than an unstable cocktail.

Probably the only thing that hadn't changed... the only two things... were the pair of heavy revolvers at her hips.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

Lily had spent time organising things to leave the High Republic, sending her belongings back to Eshan and coordinating with her Padawan, ensuring what Kito wanted to do. Lily couldn't assume that the apprentice wanted to join Lily on her new path that was away from the Jedi, Kito had her own goals and Lily couldn't make the Padawan follow her on this less predictable path. There was no knowing where Lily would be next, what Lily would be doing next and where she could settle. Lily was not used to this concept, being without a routine, a schedule in which she could do things. She felt some loss in her since Lily was not needing to get up, train, teach and do the things that she had done as the Battle Master.

Before completely abandoning the Order and her path as a Jedi for the foreseeable future, Lily decided to play one big gamble. The Sith Covenant were too comfortable, they were living a life that was too relaxed and unchallenged, so Lily decided that she would remind them what a Jedi could do and what threat they will pose. If she wasn't trapped by the rules and red tape of the High Republic and the Jedi Order any more, then Lily was going to act as she had desired to from the start. Campaign hard in fighting and never allow the Sith to feel safe.

Make sure that they understand that their oppression is balanced so very precariously.

She hunted down several leads on the current heads of the Sith Covenant and a familiar name came up on a world that Lily felt confident she could get to without detection. It was one that she hadn't encountered in a long time but Lily was focused on the fact that this was a leader for the Sith Covenant so either eliminating the threat or bring her in for an arrest would be a big blow to the Covenant. At least, Lily hoped that it would be. So, when Lily approached the targeted Sith, there was a moment of hesitation. Arris in her memory had been someone different, there was a look that was not recognisable to what she saw now. But the information for location had been solid. There was no room for doubting it.

Walking forward, Lily ignited her cyan Lightsaber and held it firmly. "Arris?" The Echani asked, making sure this was who she was chasing before the attack begun.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
​

The tell-tale hiss cut through the monotonous factory hum. Arris plucked the cigarette from her mouth, exhaling a cloud of smoke as she looked over her shoulder, the cyan blade reflecting off her eye.

A Jedi? It took a few seconds to click that she had seen this woman before, though she was more surprised to hear her own name. No point in lying, she figured.

"Yeah," Arris replied. It was a soft, almost exhausted answer.

Were it not for the darkness she harbored in the Force, Arris might've given off the impression of someone who had given up.

She flicked the cigarette off to the side, not turning to face Lily, and her fingers then twitched a hair's breadth from her revolvers.

"You sure you wanna do this?"

Again, her tone lacked passion or malice. Even her expression seemed particularly undetermined, but not the fingers fidgeting to grope steel, or feet that seemed ready to turn on a dime.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

Lily breathed in deeply, feeling the Force flowing through the crystal in her Lightsaber and connecting with Lily. Strengthening the Jedi's own connection with the Force and allowing Lily get some prepared Force powers in place, such as Force Shield and Valor. The Jedi Knight was not particularly skilled in flashy or large displays in the Force, she was focused more on techniques that would increase her capabilities, skills that would ensure that Lily held the best chance of survival in a fight and could fight for as long as she needed to.

Adopting the defensive form of Soresu, Lily looked over towards her opponent, her sharp eyes could spot the blasters from where she was. The Force began to pool in her legs, strengthen them, preparing to leap out of the way in case Arris attempted to quickfire at Lily. "Surrender. Now. I am going to arrest you, take you back to the High Republic and end this farce of a Sith Covenant."

"Don't fight this, it won't end well for you." Her grip tightened on the Lightsaber as she thought about the potential outcomes, surrender was the bottom of the list. From what Lily had heard, Arris was a prominent warlord of the Covenant. Surrendering to Lily before anything began did not seem like a possible outcome. The most likely was a rain of firing so Lily feinted her gaze to the left to show that was where she was thinking of darting to avoid the blaster fire from Arris's attack.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
​

Anticipation built as Lily took her stance. Windrun's fingers stilled, ready to draw, but then...

Wait. Surrender? Tsch. A ripple of anger emanated in the Force. Her fingers recoiled into fists before she lazily raised her hands and turned around.

The hypocrisy dripped in the Jedi's words. "Arrest me?" Arris laughed dryly. More in disbelief than vanity.

"I don't understand," she said, looking at Lily. "You Jedi sent a child to spy on me - let him murder his way into trust to bring us down... It nearly destroyed him... and in the end, you show up anyway? Couldn't have done this from the start and spared him the suffering?"

"I've come too far to stop, Arris. Lost too much. I've murdered people. Ruined relationships. Ruined parts of myself just so I could keep going." A bitter breath escaped him. "I did it all for them... if I can't be with them, I can keep them protected. If I stop now..."

Arris never knew the whole truth, but she pieced together a pretty picture.

"Fine." Ace said, looking between them again. "A tracker."

Yeah - it was silly of them to give the kid a tracking device when his master was a technopath. Ace must've realized it at some point, though, because suddenly she couldn't sense it anymore.

"Your apprentice is a rat, probably, maybe."

Vestra's words only confirmed what Arris already suspected.

"You wanna talk about a farce? Maybe you should go back to the Republic and look around."

She kept her hands high, but her feet told a different story. Arris wasn't going to surrender, but she also wasn't gonna give this Jedi the benefit of a first move.

"You know, I don't sense Jedi well. You should've jumped me when you had the chance."

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

"A child?" Lily was confused, she did not know what Arris was talking about. She would never have agreed to send a child to spy on the covenant, she would have been reluctant to send anyone to go spy on the covenant, they were a dangerous and volatile group from Lily's own understanding. So, she thought it was ridiculous that someone would have agreed to do such a thing. "I never would have sent a child to spy on people. Especially your faction." There was a firmness, a disappointed honesty in her tone.

This had to be about Acier, she had met him in prison recently and she knew what he faced and done within the Sith Covenant, while she did think he was a little on the older side to be called a child. He was clearly too young and inexperienced to face spying on the faction.

"I do not need to return there. I know the issues within the Republic and within the Jedi. However, I think it is more ironic that you call yourselves Warlords and claim to have an empress of the Core but to me it seems more like a long leash from Srina Talon, one that could be reigned back into behaving like tamed beasts. Not warlords." Lily laughed a little, a jab based on seeing Srina Talon within Covenant space in the past and the fact there was a clear lack of infighting between the two Sith factions so some agreement must be formed. Especially since they had competing titles. Both could not claim to have the Empress of the Sith.

Shaking her head as she twisted the grip on her Lightsaber, Lily moved to the side, seeing how much movement she could make before the Sith got trigger happy. Lily was patient and happy to ensure that the first strike was not done by her. "I would never dare to dishonour myself or you by fighting in such secretive ways. I always fight in the open and honest." Perhaps a belief that came from her Echani heritage.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
​

"Well, someone did." She replied. "And I had to talk him into leaving... Pretty annoying, considering that's a big fuckin' secret I have to keep from Mercy now." Arris sighed.

Her hands slowly fell back to her sides. The fingers on her right lazily drew a pistol from its holster, the songsteel weapon hummed faintly as it moved; the word 'Out' etched on the casing.

Arris snickered. "Yeah - I don't think Mercy plays with leashes. Not that I'm inclined to ask her... As for this whole 'yourselves' and 'we' business? I think you might have the wrong idea, sweetheart. Empress of the Core is a mockery of the one she took it from. Y'know, that old man who kicked the Alliance in and then threatened to obliterate half the galaxy? Yeah, you're welcome, by the way."

Arris and Mercy even showed up to his throne room on the Death Star. Talk about a long Kaggath... She was glad to see that over with, though.

Her wrist snapped into place, and within the same split-second, fire roared from the barrel, sending a slug cracking into the duracrete maybe a foot in front of Lily. The shot continued to echo, breaking the tension of monotonous machinery and the humming lightsaber.

She took one, then two steps forward, expression flat. "This isn't a ceremony, girl. We're not going to bow and say 'good match' at the end, you know that, right?"

Arris fired again. This time, aiming to graze her leg. Enough to sting and scare. Of course, that depended entirely on what the Jedi did, too.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

"And that someone was wrong, they did far more harm than good and I appreciate that you released him from that path." Lily did not lose focus even though she was expressing gratitude towards someone that she was about to fight. "I will point out that you need not keep it a secret if you surrender. Comfortable prison cell far from Mercy, means you never have to talk to her."

Lily laughed, "sure, you convince yourself that the Sith Order respects your independence. That they see you as equals and not merely an extension of their reach and control on the galaxy." It was always the arrogance of the Sith that Lily found so unbelievable, that they truly saw themselves as untouchable when it was their own egos that were their undoing most of the time. "Is it a mockery, or is it a desperate desire to establish authority and equivalency to your main rivals?"

"Welcome for what? Retiring a dying empire? They failed to destroy the galaxy and the High Republic were just as crucial in preventing that as the Sith Order was. But that was before the covenant's time." Lily shrugged her shoulders, "perhaps not, but I am treating you with the respect I believe you deserve."

As Arris fired upon Lily, the Jedi Knight used the energy pooled in her legs to dash out of the way of the second shot. Then the ball of her right foot pushed with all that kinetic energy to dash full speed towards Arris. A sharp arching slash came down towards Arris as Lily utilised the most out of her saved speed and strength. Lily was determined to demonstrate that she was going to end this fight as fast as possible.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
​

The cyborg had to act fast when Lily came rushing in with a downward slash. Her left, empty hand coiled around the plasmic blade, halting its momentum long enough for her right leg to deliver a forceful, cybernetic kick directed at the Jedi's side.

Regardless of whether the kick connected, the Force behind it caused Arris to recoil in the other direction, creating distance between them. She planted her feet and slid to a stop. Molten slag crumbled onto the duracrete at the end of her left wrist, where a metal hand once was. Arris pointed the barrel end of her pistol in Lily's direction but didn't fire - yet.

"You still don't get it, do you?" Now the Sith's expression steeled. "How about this... Before you decide to chop my other limbs to pieces and drag the rest of me back to the Republic, you listen to a story. I promise you'll find it interesting if nothing else."

If Lily rejected the offer, then Arris would fire two well-timed shots: one on the right thigh and a second on her left shoulder. Even accounting for the Jedi's speed, Arris Windrun's co-processor could keep up.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

The blow impacted against the Force built defences that Lily had, absorbing the kinetic energy for the most part. Though the power was enough to make Lily wince at the impact, she could tell that this was a leg cybernetically enhanced but that wasn't a massive concern for the Jedi Knight, she had trained most of her childhood against someone with similar enhancements. Maintaining her composure, Lily noted that the hand though initially absorbed the energy from her Lightsaber was still damaged heavily. There was little reaction to this on her face as she remained stoic, thinking what would be coming next.

A question. It was not something that Lily had predicted to happen. It was not something that Lily assumed would happen. But, without lowering her guard, the Echani nodded her head. "I will listen to what you have to say, but you are still coming with me afterwards." There was a firmness in her tone. A resolution that would not be wavered.

She could sense that the blaster wielding opponent had an itchy trigger finger, ready to shoot. Predicting that it was only in case Lily was someone who would not listen, would not hear the other woman out. But that was not what Lily was attempting to build as a Jedi, if this was a chance to shorten the duel, to ensure that either redemption or imprisonment for the Sith was found, then it was the path that she had to take. That had been her stance when standing against Lorn. She knew that other Jedi were going to see this as a weakness, especially when this new Vanguard was holding onto a no mercy mindset.

But things must be done to protect the future ways of the Jedi and how a Jedi should conduct themselves.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
Down & Out
​

Arris grinned, if only for a second, when Lily acquiesced to her offer. Then, her expression turned dead serious. She kept the gun level, just in case, but didn't really expect a ruse from the Jedi.

"Three Black Sun... Mercy Star-Arm, Arris Windrun, Vestra Tane... Just hit an Enclave on Kattada." She pointed at herself with the metal nub of her handless wrist. "That's us," she snickered half-heartedly.

"Afterwards, we were approached by a Nabooan named Veruna, who told us of a world called Genarius, on it, Edic Bar, a tibanna refinery that was quite important to the family business. It was a job. They gave us everything we needed to hit it. That's where I met you." Her nub now pointed at the Jedi.

"You Jedi saved the people. We Sith sank the city... bye-bye tibanna. We both played our roles beautifully for the Republic, yeah? Netted us a fat payday... a payday that bought us Tapani. We met again with this Veruna, after the Massacre, you know. And then I met a Veruna again on the Trinity."

Arris chuckled and frowned, looking at Lily.

"I'm not a great storyteller. Honest. But I'm sure a bright Jedi such as yourself can piece together the meaning. The Republic is sick to the core. I can't say for sure, but something is going on. And we're all being played. Jedi... Sith... the little people caught in the middle. But one name seems to always come out on top - I'll give you one guess."

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

Lily listened and didn't drop her guard, the name stuck in her mind. Veruna. It was a name that Lily had heard before but nothing sprung to mind immediately. She had learned a number of names and faces over the years that it had been a lot to deal with. Then it came to her, the King of Naboo... His name was Veruna... His attitude to the Jedi was not something that he saw in high regard but she had assumed that extended to all Force Users. It seemed this Sith Warlord was attempting to insinuate that he was far more comfortable cooperating with a Sith than he was the Jedi. Lily breathed in deeply and stared Arris down.

"I do not take your word at face value. I cannot." Lily stated firmly, "Sith lie, they will do anything to win or survive. I will not have you throw rumours at corruption living within the core of the Republic without evidence to back up the claims." Lily was not going to just dismiss the rumours as irrelevant but she needed more to even consider seeing the Republic in a poorer light.

Moving a step forward, "and even if you hold evidence, you will still need to come with me. Testify to the senate, to the High Republic and tell them what this Veruna did. Just because there is minor corruption does not mean it cannot be excised and the High Republic cannot move forward. If the information is credible enough, there could be some leniency demonstrated to you. Redemption and forgiveness is never a path removed." Lily mentioned as she held her ground, expecting that her offer might be rejected but Lily was determined to show that fighting was not all that they needed to do.

That the system of peace and justice worked, it would work and she would ensure this idea of corruption and causing oppression was not going to last. People did not want to be oppressed.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
​

It was good that Lily didn't take her word at face value. Doing so would have been naive. But she knew who to ask if she wanted the truth. A certain former spy.

Arris smirked when she mentioned testifying before the Senate. "Oh, that'd be rich." She interjected. "Were you on the Trinity?" She asked.

"One of our own left with your Chancellor, you know. We walk among those daring representatives of democracy that run your Republic..." Not to mention a Covenant Sith sitting on their Senate. Though she didn't say as much. Implied, maybe.

Her eyes remained fixed on the Jedi while her co-processor analyzed their surrounding environment. High-pressure gas pipes, an inoperable ore cart conveyor above them, and all sorts of abandoned machinery lying about.

"If I wanted to turn myself in and go back to the Republic, I would've taken the King's offer."

She decided it was best to play back her conversation with Acier from her vocal synthesizer. A neat trick the cyborg didn't get enough opportunities to show off.

"It's funny, this guy and I were talking, right? And in all of it, he knew what I was. What I had done. And he offered me amnesty." She chewed on the word with more than a little disgust.

"Threw a title in." She stepped back and snickered. "Me, a noblewoman, could you imagine?"

She glanced off to the side. "Do you think I deserve amnesty?" She asked.

"No." He said it plainly. "You don't. What happened on Coruscant. That purge order." His gaze didn't move. "You lost that chance."

When he spoke again his voice had lowered. "If it means anything…"

He paused, eyes dropping briefly before lifting back to hers.

"None of us deserve amnesty."

She turned a bit melancholic. "Listen... No one can offer redemption or forgiveness; it begins and ends within. You Jedi should realize you are just as responsible for the Republic's corruption as Veruna or anyone else. You come to us, chasing the obvious enemy, because we kill, we commit genocide. These are evils that cannot -- should not be ignored. But you've come to the battlefield before you've sought clarity on the enemy. If you choose to fight me now..."

Arris trailed off there. She felt her speech had gone on long enough, and it was up to the Jedi now. The cyborg's finger slowly began to tighten around the trigger, ready to squeeze. If it wasn't clear before, then her body language said it then: she had no intention of turning herself over.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

"I was not on the Trinity, but I don't think either of us believe the Republic is as corrupt as you are trying to claim it to be." Lily countered, she was not falling for the stories, there had been too much good done within the Republic for Lily to fall for claims that it was rotten to the core and destroying itself inside and out.

Pausing, Lily sighed, "if not the Republic, then the Jedi but I fear that you don't understand the importance in all this." There was a tension and it was clear to Lily that this was not going to settle in a peaceful manner. Disappointed, the Jedi Knight composed herself and knew that there would be shots fired at her as soon as she attempted to move again. Arris had technology that helped her adapt to speeding individuals. It was smart but Lily was aware from this, she had remembered their previous fight and she knew what to expect.

"You are deeply mistaken. Forgiveness and redemption can be freely given by anyone. Whether you accept the hand that reaches out is up to you. You can deny that path but that does not mean it isn't offered." Lily mentioned, she did not believe the ideals that Arris, Acier and many others threw at her. Lily was determined to show there could be another path. That her kindness was not dependent on how nice or willing the other person was. Lily offered redemption because she was tired of fighting, of creating conflict that only seemed to spread like wildfire across the galaxy. "Redemption and forgiveness is never about undoing the evils done, it is ensuring that evils does not continue, that this cycle ends with you."

Both Acier and Arris were misconstruing a clean slate with forgiveness and redemption, from Lily's conversations with them. That had never been what Lily offered. There were always going to be consequences for the actions they took and it was determination to keep doing good despite that, that was what Lily thought was crucial for true redemption.

"You are the only choosing violence. I have told you want is going to happen. I am not going to allow you to just continue down this path." Lily stated, there was not a chance she could just walk away from all this. Lily feinted a dash right before switching direction to the left. The Lightsaber in her hand was aimed to strike low, at Arris's lower limbs.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
Down & Out​

Arris was disappointed, too. "Okay."

For her, this exchange all but confirmed that Jedi were willing to uphold, stand, and fight for an institution without examining it. Exactly what she and Acier had talked about some time ago. He may have been gone, but Arris Windrun intended to continue her course and root out the Republic's diseased heart.

The moment the Jedi moved, Arris fired. Not at Lily, but at a valve, then a second shot at the link connecting the chains of the ore conveyor. It groaned as the chains collapsed inward, sending the empty, durasteel containers crashing into each other, then falling across the battlefield.

As soon as Lily came in for the strike, the cyborg had rapidly moved out of the way, leaving room only for her lightsaber to nick her metal leg. A master in mechu-deru, her cybernetics were imbued with the Force, no different than if they were organic. The Jedi would learn just how far a body could be taken with so much sacrifice.

Just as quickly, the cooled nub of her severed left cyberhand pointed at Lily, firing off a telekinetic burst with the impact of a hammer.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

Using the Force to speed her movements, the dropping debris did not concern Lily. Her precognitive abilities as both an Echani warrior and a Jedi Knight ensured that she knew where to move and when. Using the Force, Lily moved with Ataru grace, jumping and bouncing around. Demonstrating how truly talented the warrior was to adjust Forms and utilise them the most effectively at the drop of a hat. Keeping herself focused and sharp, Lily noticed the small nick. Nothing useful yet.

The hammer like energy of the Force Push sent Lily's way was met with her defensive wall of a Force Barrier. Only the slight sliding of her feet indicated how quickly Lily had moved to create the barrier. It was part luck but a big part of experience in fighting Sith that ensured that Lily could always conjure something defensive so quickly. Lily then gripped a piece of debris with the Force and launched it straight towards Arris's head. Dashing forward impossibly fast, due to the Force, shifting from the Ataru style of fighting to Shii-Cho.

Her aim was not to create a killing blow opportunity but to disarm, disable and ensure that the fight was not escalated further. While Lily was sure that the Republic and the Jedi Order needed to re-evaluate the conduct that they performed themselves in. The Sith were still far too dangerous and she couldn't allow Arris to leave. "You truly believe that this Sith way that you follow is better than the Republic, than the Jedi?" Lily questioned, thinking it was ridiculous to defend the genocidal ways that Arris and her other Sith acted. "What happens if you die here today? Would anyone care? Or would it matter more to them that the opportunity to grab more power had arisen?"

"I die here today and there are people who love me, people who care about the legacy I carry that will never allow my death to be forgotten."

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
Down & Out
​

The improvised projectile crashed into Windrun's face, cutting away synthflesh and revealing more metal just under her left eye. Lily arrived in a flash afterwards, with a swift, disarming strike.

Arris swung towards it with the back of her gunhand, parrying the hammer of her songsteel revolver with the brilliant cyan blade. Her thumb had flicked the accelerator somewhere in the motion, turning the already powerful hybrid slugthrower into a made-for-hand railgun. She pulled the trigger, using the ungodly recoil to violently push her strike away, possibly forcing the Jedi to choose between planting her feet or being sent spinning.

The hypersonic shot was deafeningly loud, enough to disorient an organic at this range, and the impact left a small, smoking crater in the duracrete with a spider-web fracture around it.

The proximity of her metal hand to the blade left a melted scorch mark, but otherwise it remained intact, and Arris entered a controlled slide in the opposite direction, creating space between them again. Her weapon was down to just three rounds now. And her left-side vision was still shaky from thrown debris.

"Oh - we're something truly awful," Arris barked back. "But you dismissed me already and picked your role. You're a weapon, not a mediator. Trying to be both just makes you a cop."

She fired a second, accelerated round towards Lily. With the accelerator on, each slug was wrapped in an energy sheath. A blaster and a slugthrower combined, with enough power to punch a fist-sized hole through the durasteel armor of a battletank.

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

Lily felt her body spinning in the air backwards after Arris shot her gun with some intense and explosive round. Her body suffered little cuts and scratches. Nothing deadly but a few had trails of blood. Lily maintained a calm and steady breathing pattern, not allowing herself to get worked up and she wasn't going to surrender the satisfaction that she knew Arris might want in being able to keep up with the Jedi Knight. Lily was going to keep fighting, giving her all. So, when she saw the cyborg Sith lining up shots to fire upon Lily, the Echani instead used the Force to enhance her speed, making sure to wait until the last moment and leap out of the way.

Moving with the grace of her trained ballet movements, Lily didn't need to fully ground herself to keep moving. Keeping on the move and with the Force enhancing her physical abilities, Lily could move in more dramatic and complex manners. It was utilising all the skills that Lily had developed over the years but the Echani was going to demonstrate that she was not like other fighters. She was not like other Jedi. Too many would have struggled with these tactics. That was something she had to give to Arris, the cyborg was not an easy opponent but Lily thrived in the challenge.

"Don't lie to me. I gave you every chance to surrender without conflict. I would have even ensured the Order knew that you were willing to surrender peacefully." Lily growled, hating the fact that someone was lying directly to her face about the events. "You decided to fight, you decided that you wanted to bring out the weapon and challenge me. I am not a cop, I am doing my duty as a Jedi Knight. You have chosen this path of genocide and suffering, I have given you the option to stop and take another path. But you rejected that and therefore you must be stopped. I cannot allow you to continue to harm others."

Slamming her palm on the ground, Lily blasted the debris up in the air, making it harder for Arris to track Lily with the gun. Using the Force to speed her movements, the Jedi Knight intended to close the gap once more. Arris needed the space to have the edge in the fight but Lily was determined to never allow that to happen too long. She was going to fight in close quarters and strike Arris down if she had to. For now, the focus was on disabling strikes, still utilising Shii-Cho. Death strikes were a worst case scenario in Lily's mind.

 

[Arris Windrun]

Lily Decoria
Down & Out
​

This Jedi was nimbler than she expected, able to turn the sudden, opposing momentum into a prompt for more graceful movements.

Her revolver was emptied by that last shot, so she stowed it back into the holster at her hip.

A shockwave, carrying debris, rolled towards her from where the Jedi's palm met the ground. The cyborg braced herself as pieces of duracrete and rusted metal flew in her direction, scratching and denting her mental form.

It was a good move. Great use of their environment, even, especially with her on eye still a bit fuzzy. However, it was dangerous to assume how it might affect her.

Three particular details - likely unknown to the Jedi - mattered.

First, Arris Windrun's coprocessor provided extrasensory data. This allowed her track opponents through walls, low visibility, and the like.

Second, she was a technopath - and a very good one at that. Machines and electronics spoke to her in the Force, and the more familiar the object, the easier it was for her to separate it from the background noise. In the Jedi's case, that would be her lightsaber.

Between those two details, the debris cloud would not offer the expected screen for cover, and Arris Windrun wouldn't be unaware of the Jedi's approach. Though having to brace herself did cut through the amount of time Arris had to react.

But that was where the third and final detail came into play: Arris Windrun was a close combat specialist. Her guns were a means to harass her opponent, not a main method of fighting. Anyone who mistook the Dark Horse for her guns learned the hard way: you're safest when her finger is on the trigger.

Up close and personal was where Arris thrived. It was how she had pinned Drystan Creed to a hover barge as it sank into the lava. It was how she defeated Allyson Locke in a nail biter that ultimately earned her that nickname. It was how she nearly felled Mercy, the eventual Galactic Champion. It was how she killed Vestra Tane, the late Triumvir. It was a lesson Arris didn't get to teach Lily last time, however, as the cyborg didn't stick around.

When Lily passed through the obfuscating cloud of debris, she'd find Arris Windrun meeting her with the same momentum, dashing forward, Force and cybernetic strength in her step, to close the gap. Really, killing blows should have been the play from the beginning. Because this was a worst case scenario.

The cyborg went low, raising her leg to hook around Lily's waist and pull her down. At the same time, her remaining hand reached for the Jedi's wrist, the one wrapped around lightsaber. If successful, Arris would have the Jedi pinned to the ground, knee tightly pressed into her chest, and sword arm pinned.

"Demanding actions with a weapon in your hand?" Arris spat back. "We call that coercion where I'm from."

The gloomy, jaded cyborg had been replaced by an excited, psychotic opponent, and the Dark Side bled from her in palpable waves.

The whole facility groaned.

"Don't lie. You want this - you want to fight me, and you want to win for the pleasure of it."

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Mechis City
Outfit: Jedi Attire
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (concealed)
Tag: Arris Windrun

Arris might find herself comfortable in close quarters combat but Lily was forged from generations of Echani combat and developed that into her Jedi fighting style. Getting close and fighting one on one with a person, that was where Lily could sing and truly demonstrate her abilities that far exceeded what was considered a normal level of skill for a Jedi Knight. Lily didn't fall when Arris attempted to drag her down with her body weight. The muscles and weight training kicked in. Lily was not built strong because of the Force, she was strong naturally and the Force only enhanced that power.

Lily charged forward, aiming to slam Arris into a metal wall. Grapple fighting was far from a fighting style that Lily was unaccustomed to. Lily fought Carnifex and survived, she trained with Valery Noble and she had fought other powerful Sith before she had even made it to being a Jedi Knight. Lily had been fighting from the moment she began her training. That was all she knew as a Jedi, was how to fight and how to either survive or win a fight. Lily stared at Arris with silver eyes, focused.

"It is understanding the threat that you pose. I did not know if you would shoot first talk second, or if you would be open to reason. I had to ensure that I was safe." Lily mentioned in a cold tone, she was not surviving her emotions in this fight as she splayed her hand against Arris's stomach, shot a concussive Force Push with the power of a sledgehammer to rip the cyborg off her.

The Lightsaber strengthened in the deep cyan glow. The more Dark Side energy emanating from Arris, the stronger Lily's Lightsaber would be. "I do this for peace. To save lives. I do this because you refuse to understand or see reason. I do this because too many people have already died and I will not allow myself to stand by and have you harm more."

"I do not take joy in fighting this way, I do not seek to kill or find thrill in that. You are placing your beliefs and feelings onto me."