Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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The Final Test [Spencer]

Qae Shena

Super Shaper Puppy!
@[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

There was no room for mercy, no place for doubt, no time for second-guessing. This was it. This moment had a certain finality to it that Qae could not readily ignore, nor could he resist. This moment was the moment that his Master had summoned him for, after what felt like an eternity of being on the same side. It was a momentous occasion, a last test of his will and abilities that she could pass judgement on him for. It was a battle of wills and bodies, to see if he was worthy, if he had successfully made it through his trials.

Fist against fist. Qae and Spencer, surrounded by the fires that would claim them if they took even one wrong step stop this cliff.

Qae meditated as he waited for her, his mind wandering into the depths of the Force as he contemplated the many possibilities, the many skills and strategies, even the depth of the infinite and balanced Force itself. His surroundings made themselves plain as he considered the latter, at least. The heat was all-encompassing, the lava flows below radiating dry, harsh warmth. It was antithesis to Qae, who preferred cooler climes - fire and water never mixed. Indeed, in being here, he would not be able to showcase his ability to shape water like a conductor moved a symphony. It would, truly, be a test of the skills that she had gifted to him. His hand-to-hand skills, tutaminis, his mental barriers, his empathic powers. All of them would be stretched and tested. Along with his focus and the diamond body that he had been developing, he would be tested in ways he normally did not.

It had been a long journey, being the apprentice of Spencer Jacobs. The time had flown past, in all truth, since he had taken up under herself and the formation of the Vagrant Fleet. Memories flooded his mind as the Nautolan sat, waiting, listening to lava crash on the rocks below as waves might on his beloved homeworld of Glee Anselm. Once more, she would pull him out of his comfort zone in order to push him and break him past his limits to re-forge him. However, it was not their minds that would be doing the talking this time. In the truest of Echani fashions, it would be their fists doing the talking for them. Perhaps Spencer might employ a lightsaber, but Qae would not. His had been left on the ship, where he could not use it.

Only one thing rest in his mind: victory. He was her sword, just as much as Ashin was her shield. This was true. He had learned tutaminis from Ashin for the purposes of protecting his Master from the greatest evils, to be wielded like a weapon. What happened when a sword turned on its owner? Certainly, Spencer was no slouch in battle. She could kill him in a heartbeat if she so chose, tearing this landscape-- perhaps even the planet-- apart with a whisper of the Force. However, his was willpower. His was strength and honour, a mind and body forged by years of fighting and the harshest of training under his Master, the Echani and the Yuuzhan Vong. Qae had skills and knowledge and the ability to destroy that which sat in front of him. He needed that killer instinct. His life was on the line, no doubt. If he could not rise, it would be over.

To that end, he dove into the Force, valour filling him as he used her last and greatest of gifts to bolster himself and his will. Qae was ready for her, at last.
 
The Peregrine had landed several hours before. The woman stood in her meditation chamber going over the things she had taught the man. He was her senior, older and experienced with life though she was the teacher, the mentor and the Master. Today was a test, she knew that after this she would either be granting her student the legacy that was bestowed on her, or she would be walking away from this as a failure. Something was going to happen today, she felt it in her bones.

Slowly standing, the youth removed the mask along with the robe she wore. Both left abandoned on the floor of the meditation room. She wasn’t going to do this as her alias, she would give the test as herself, the woman that he knew. Leaving the Peregrine was hard, she sensed him quickly in the fire pits of the molten planet. She remembered this place and a phantom pain surged through her body focusing on her shoulders and her stomach. This was a place she tasted death and for some will of the Force was rescued. Closing her eyes she moved towards him finally till she was close enough that he could hear her.

“A Master chooses a student, not only by their will to learn, but how well the teacher can teach the student. The skills that are bestowed on us through our Masters are skills that are passed on like stories. Qae, if you survive this you will have my story, you will have Ashin’s along with several other Masters before that. I’m the product of an unorthodox way of teaching – Ashin along with myself have molded you.”

Pausing for a moment, she took in a deep breath. She sensed the valor surging through his body – he was focused and using the skills she had given him. As quickly as she felt him in the force, her influence spread about her and soon attacked head on with everything she mustered diving deeply into the mind she knew so well. The woman searched for the horrors that resided in the man, she searched for weaknesses and for anything that could break his valor.

Her words haunting in his mind as she grinned.

You are my first, but do not be my first mistake.
 

Qae Shena

Super Shaper Puppy!
She was here. Spencer Jacobs, his Master, his mentor, his best friend. She was here, and now she was his final hurdle before he could ascend to being even remotely close to her equal - not that he ever would be. No, she had powers and abilities that he never would, and that strength was beyond his. No, he was to read the ripples that she left behind, and that was the end of it.

Qae could still fight like a champion, however - and not because of the Force. He had worked hard, sacrificing his body, in order to attain his abilities. Left shirtless, Qae revealed the endless amounts of scarring that the Yuuzhan Vong had left on his body,

"My story does not end here," was his final word to her, the resolution of combat coming to him moments as she assaulted his mind. He knew it was going to be her opening strike - it was her greatest strength, and to a degree, she was predictable; their bond was so strong that they knew each other's fighting habits. She had yet to see the fullest extent of his new powers, but he knew she'd be able to read into his mind for their intent. It was unavoidable when you dueled the greatest mentalist in the Galaxy that was already in his mind.

His defences, as she had trained them, went up immediately, enough for him to hold on. However, it was like a leaf against a current; there simply was no resistance. She knew his fears, his hatred of slavery, his fear of the colour pink, the darkness from whence he came, the loss of love and friendship and her - she knew all these things already. She knew how to expose them and attack with them, but she was playing it strong. He, however, could respond in kind. Mental powers required one thing, focus - and before she could incapacitate him, he had to rise. He knew the sensation of her attacks, when to feel for them, how to feel for them - and when she did, he was already on his feet, his body fueled by Valor, running towards her at super-charged speeds...

...and, now that they were within earshot, all he had to do was disrupt her connection by throwing her off her feet with telekinesis, before he closed and attacked. He wasn't close enough just yet. All he had to do was stop this attack, get in close, and he had her on the ropes.

But if she attacked any harder, or any longer, those defences would not hold.
 
His defenses were stronger than she had initially expected, but with her extensive knowledge of the man, she continued to press deeper into his mind. He knew how to counter her and she sensed the valor quickly as it helped his mind fend her off. His mind was quick and his speed was quicker he closed the gap between them quite quickly. Spencer feeling the brush of the force pushing her back, she had to focus now on protecting herself from him. A hand moved pressing and manipulating the force in front of her to counter his blast. A step forward against his push, she waved her free hand forming 3 small spears of midnight black. Flicking her wrist she threw it at his charge.

Sharp eyes glanced at his scarring, where had he been, and what had he gotten himself into? Not making a move towards his mind she used empathy to feed off his Valor forcing him to fuel her as well. The Master smirked; the student should have realized this and used the lesser Battlemind to keep his buffs to himself. She felt his determination and knew that this was his last moment as her student. Once this was over, he was going to be her equal. No holding back, she had to give everything she had to defeat him.

“Tell me your story then Qae, I seem to have missed some of the chapters. What did you get yourself involved in?”
 

Qae Shena

Super Shaper Puppy!
There was one very good reason he had used Battlemind, really - he needed that speed and strength boost to smash through her physical and mental defences. It also had one very unintentional side-effect that neither of them had likely considered until that moment - he was in her head, quietly, without either of them realising. If he had the ability to manipulate his aura, make it a dizzying presence, he would have had her on the ropes in a heartbeat and probably have beaten her with that alone.

Shame he couldn't, huh.

Instead, Qae saw her draw her hand back, knowing the ability forthcoming - the invisible dark spears, ones that he was going to have trouble ignoring. Instead, Qae rolled forward, using one hand to push as he rolled rather dynamically, coming up onto his feet and evading the strike fast enough that he could keep running forward. He was close now - but not close enough.

Instead, his fingers curled up and pulled on an invisible string, as if it rapidly yank Spencer forward, into Qae's waiting hands. After all, Battlemind helped the physical more than the mental; if it were mental, it was battle meditation. To use his physical skills however, he was going to have to get her close.

Then, naturally, beat the crap out of her.

"Zonama Sekot," was his response as he sprinted in. "Nothing more, nothing less. I am one with Sekot - it taught me to shape water as you shape minds."
 
Although strain etched itself onto her face, there was a sense of pride coursing through her body. The man had become something far from what he was when she shoved him into a pink puppy bed. The girl was also inexperienced with taking on students and Ashin did her best to help the man. They both had helped each other grow and it was apparent, Qae showed Spencer the importance of disciplining one’s body even though physical combat wasn’t their strength. A good base provided Spencer with defense incase her enemy was able to draw her in.

Like now…

She could have fought off his pull, but she allowed it to happen. Unlike before, she wasn’t scared of the close vicinity. She had the ability to defend and to protect herself from her heritage, though she didn’t’ have the strength to fight back – she could defend long enough to regain control of the other’s mind. As he pulled her in, she prepared her body to land hold ground as she quickly focused on his mind. Her focus was not only to burrow deep inside of him, but to put a physical strain on his mind as she dug relentlessly at his memories. With the woman’s knowledge of Force drain and Force subjugation she focused on draining his valor pulling any of the buffs from him putting him back to his normal state.

Element shaping – how cute Qae – you and your water fountains won’t do much on a planet filled with lava.

@[member="Qae Shena"]
 

Qae Shena

Super Shaper Puppy!
@[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

It was one thing to attack his mind, his defences crumbling around him. It was another to try and strip the buffs that he was applying to his body, to reduce the valour and take it from him. However, as he felt her draining her mind in that instant, he knew what he had to do. On one knee, now, biting back a scream on his tongue as she assaulted his mind, Qae struggled. He was taught to show no sign of flinching or pain by the Yuuzhan Vong, to keep fighting on until his death. He would do that right now.

While she attacked him, Qae summoned his energies, ready for the only thing he needed to fight her. The Force was like the tide, it pushed and pulled, and came in waves. When one acted, one changed the tide, in some way or another. The tide rolled from Qae to Spencer as she manipulated his energies and took them from him. However, this also meant one thing: he could use that to his advantage. When she took his buffs, he resisted for a moment until he realised what to do, and then gave them. Willingly. All of it, the Force that he had stored for his use, was willingly surrendered to Spencer as she took it from him. Certainly, it took his strength from him, but it also meant that as the Force followed the wave, this strike directly to the face-- a power that, in the hands of a real Master like Siobhan Kerrigan, could kill-- would be a bonus cherry on top of the Force Valor sundae.

"I-I won't need it to beat you, Master!"

She had taught him well. She had taught him to fight hard, fight well, and fight smart, for that which he believed in. And he believed in her.
 
The shift in the force alerted her as he moved never giving into her attack. Pulling her presence back from the offensive she mustered the strength to protect herself in a protective shield of the Force. Despite the barrier that protected her from his blast of telekinetic energy, she felt her footing give and she was pushed backwards. Spencer remained standing as she dug her feet in using the lessons from her father and from Ashin. Her base strong with the teachings of Shii-Cho and Echani Combat, finally once she recovered her footing she reached out with the force pulling at the rocks that lingered around them. Quickly they scattered and flew towards the student.

“Keep trying Qae; prove to me that you’ weren’t a waste of time. Show me that you’re capable of leading others and that my faith wasn’t foolishly placed in you.”

Like her spears, Spencer focused her force energy back onto his mind. His defenses were strong, but she knew him like the back of her hand. Once more she launched an attack on his mind putting the pressure on his frontal lobe attempting to cause a massive headache. He needed to show resilience, she was a Master in the Force and for him to step up to that level he needed to prove himself beyond the classroom and her meditation studio.

@[member="Qae Shena"]
 

Qae Shena

Super Shaper Puppy!
The fact that she had to let up was a start and then switch to a defensive indset, which let him change the way he played. More to the point, he was a martial arts specialist. There was no such thing as a 'defensive' mindset or an 'offensive' mindset - there was only the fight in all its aspects. His was not to change between them, because that change was unnecessary. He had to defend and attack at all times. Her telekinetic toss of the rocks was already committed when he was prepared to use his telekinesis, which meant he could pull them past him by deflecting them inches off-course, angling them either side of his body to fly harmlessly past.

However, when Spencer had the moment to resume the mental attack, he had to take pause and stop. She was going right for the heacache clusters in his mind. She knew how to do it, too - and it hurt. "Pain is temporary," Qae growled, resuming the mantra of the Yuuzhan Vong as his war-cry. "Pain is temporary!" He didn't quite have the Warrior caste's total resilience against pain... but he was getting there.

Every step forward was staggered as he strode forward, as if pushing against an invisible barrier with every agonizing inch. She could be made to suffer, however. While she was focused on him, he reached out to return the favour - but he was going for a Force Crush to her throat, to choke the very life out of her, the same way she was doing to him. Enough to ease the pressure, at least, then launch himself at her such that he could snap her in half with his fists properly. Break that, then leap at her, and let her try and fight him as he made it to her with the Force Speed to carry him.
 

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