We've Taken Care Of Yesterday (Vexander / Niamh)

[Connor Harrison]

Temple of the Silver Jedi Order
Voss​

Connor was progressing well with his re-training, or his re-birth, as a Silver Jedi. Just outside the Temple grounds, standing below the might East wing tower that rose into the sky and housed the Masters chambers, Connor was stood in his black vest and combat trousers and boots, activated lightsaber in hand.

The blue blade swung around his head, carving thought the air as his boots kicked up some dust and gravel from the dusty ground he stepped and span over.

Away from others, he had the space and peace to hone his attack, his defense and general feel for the blade as well as the Force around him.

He was that focused he failed to pick up those around him...


[member="Vexander Graves"] [member="Niamh Raste"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

"Another one?" said the Jedi Master to himself, surprisingly; he was not talking about the man that he could see across the Temple, but it was more due to the fact that he was taking another walk around the Temple without actually any meaning. "Why am I doing this?"

Vexander was finally dressed in the silver robes usually seen across the members of the Order he was part of, it was not like he just got rid of the brown robes that he usually had, he had them in his chambers; he just felt that wearing the silver robes would make him part of the Silver Jedi as a whole... like be part of something bigger?

But you are part of something bigger said a voice in his head

Almost immediately, the Jedi shook his head and attempted to take off the words from his mind, like when you try to take something out of your ear. Nevertheless, the corellian kept doing it briefly as he approached the man training with his blue lightsaber... perhaps it was just the fact that both were distracted in their own affairs... but he didn't noticed that he was extremely close to the man practicing his moves.

Looking straight to the man in a safe distance, Vexander tried to get his mind focused while admiring the skills of a promising dueler... one that had experience while using the lightsaber... it was interesting, it even seemed that he had more experience than the average Jedi...

Without saying a word and without any change in his demeanor, he just remained there for a moment and began to evaluate each move, perhaps to learn something... or teach a bit? he wasn't sure... he just needed to be there at the moment in order to keep his mind occupied.

[member="Connor Harrison"] @[member="[COLOR=rgb(235,235,235)][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/1177-niamh-raste/"]Niamh Raste[/URL]"][/COLOR]

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Voss was an interesting place. Growing up where it was pretty much always a frozen tundra had left Niamh in a state of mind that anywhere was interesting by comparison. In this case, the world seemed more like a vegetated rainforest than anything else. Not only did she like it, it was rather comforting. Althought with her pale skin and white hair she kind of stuck out like a sore thumb. The downsides of being an Echani.

The waterfalls were really nice, though.

She was taking a trip around the temple grounds when she came across a rather interesting scene. Two men she didn't know were milling about. One seemed to be going through some form of a kata. The other seemed to be watching in apprehension. Either the two didn't know each other, or one was the other's Master. Neither of them seemed particularly new to the Force to her, but appearances could be deceiving, as could signatures in the Force. Even though they both felt exceptionally strong to her, that could be a sham.

There was fun to be had here. Masking her presence in the Force, she approached swiftly, doing her utmost to stay in Connor's blindspots. As she did so, she drew both of her short sabers, imagine Yoda's sabers in length, and thumbed the activation switch to bring two orange blades to life. As he spun to attack the air, she stepped in and caught his blade on one of hers, inverted in her hand. The other, also inverted, sliced towards his back, though she would be careful not to cause harm if he wasn't able to stop it.

Niamh had a knack for interesting introductions.

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor felt a tiny prickle in the Force and eyes on him; an observer. Using his movements with the blade to turn to face the direction he felt it coming from, he wasn’t prepared for the dual blades coming towards him.

”Feth…!”

His blade crackled with the orange saber held by the young girl before him, and instinctively as she swung the other blade he pushed himself into her to avoid injury, making her stumble back and also causing him to trip over his own boots, losing his balance and rolling over onto the dusty floor, saber falling from his hand.

Sitting on the ground, he shook his head and looked over at the girl, but also saw another, behind them, an older man whom he thought he recognised, but he couldn’t be sure. Picking up a stone, he threw it across the floor, breathing hard.

”Well that was clever. What you playing at?”


[member="Niamh Raste"] [member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

[member="Niamh Raste"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

Although the Master was surprised at the whole display, his face didn't show any sign of it... it was thanks to his background and that he was trained to just conceal his feelings and reactions... that was the only way he could perform his job properly... although he didn't have that job anymore...

One thing was certain, the blonde girl caused a big impression on him, and Vexander was sure it caused an impression on the other man present... however, he didn't know if that man was as impressed as he was.

With a small smirk on his face, finally he decided to provide some input on the matter without actually getting in their nerves, nor lecturing anyone, after all; he was not in a position he could lecture anyone.

"We can't even feel safe inside the Temple... I guess that is part of minding our surroundings at all times" without even looking at the young blonde, the man began to evaluate her just as he was doing with the man in black... part of his marksman skills honed and enhanced with the Force "but I am also curious" looking at the girl, with a neutral expression he proceeded "for a moment it seemed like part of a planned exercise... or is that my mistake?"

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

She stumbled back, but regained her balance swiftly. Such a maneuver was not going to put an Echani into a precarious situation, but it did save the man from getting a nice gash. Not that she'd have allowed him to become injured regardless. Niamh liked to fight, but that didn't mean she would do anything to harm her allies, unless they became not her allies anymore, and then she'd stop them no matter what was necessary.

"Nowhere is ever safe," she said in response, first, to Vexander. "Especially not here. It's easy for people to fall at a moment's notice."

What, exactly, she meant by those words wasn't immediately clear. She did tilt her head as she regarded to Connor. In truth, she would guess that they weren't far apart in age, but Niamh did look very much younger than she was. Many Echani did. The rigorous training that they put themselves through ensured that they remained at a prime level of physical fitness.

"I was testing your response. You were so locked into what you were doing that you didn't notice me until I was right on top of you. If I were an assassin, you'd be dead right now. Fortunately, I'm not. Just an Echani who thought surprising you might goad you into a spar."

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Shaking his head, he pushed himself up and dusted down his trousers.

"If you were an assassin you'd be through that Temple wall right about now. You may have been on me but the second I saw you, your aura told me you weren't out to kill - if I felt that, my Force repulse would be strong enough to send you back with more than just a headache."

His pride was hurt, and the fact he didn't recognise the Jedi only irritated him further. But, all was fair in the Silver Jedi. He held out his dusty hand.

"Connor Harrison."

His eyes flicked to them both.

"And you might be...?"


[member="Niamh Raste"] [member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Niamh Raste"]

Sometimes, you just have to read between lines, and with this exchange of words Vexander tried to... however, he didn't know them enough in order to understand a couple of things such as the level of danger that someone could encounter in the Silver Temple and also the defensive response of the man now identified as Connor Harrison.

Vexader remembered the name briefly, mostly because back a few months ago, it was his duty to known information about members of the Silver Jedi and Connor is one of them who joined quite some time ago.

In order to share the salute, the bearded man proceeded to extend his hand and immediately shook it firmly

"Vexander Graves... it is a pleasure" if it was a pleasure, his face didn't show it; but it didn't show any sign of ill will nor sarcasm.

Turning to meet the blond girl who now he knew had some Echani training and should be an skilled combatant, and with interest of sparing. As someone highly interested in observing and analyzing as a he was, such information was quite valuable.

"I guess I'll have to be honest..." said the man while he caressed his beard a bit, a small habit he had when he was truly interested in something, one of the unconscious mannerisms that showed his real feelings when his face wouldn't "... seeing an spar between you two would be interesting..." at that moment, the man crossed his arms "...perhaps even try a "free for all" spar for the three of us?" the young man smiled, a real smile for the first time... perhaps it was not part of the normal sparring rules nor echani rules since they focused on duels, but such exercise would allow him to test a lot of things he needed to know.

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"An assassin doesn't have to have a darkside presence."

She winked at Connor, and glanced between him and Vexander for a moment. The two of them were interesting to say the least. Mostly Connor interested her the most. Something about him felt off to her. She was very good at tracking things, but the side of her that could feel taints and such wasn't all that developed. She supposed this feeling could have been a fluke, but it wasn't just a feeling in the Force. It was a feeling in the pit of her stomach as well, and that's what bothered her the most of all.

When they gave names she took note of each and dipped her head in turn. Neither of them had names that were familiar to her, but she'd only been with the Silver Jedi for a short time now and her role was mostly confined to her other persona, which nobody but her would ever know about. Except perhaps Izzy. She couldn't hide anything from the girl.

"Niamh Raste. Nice to meet you both."

She didn't care if they new her name so she didn't leave a lot of time for comment.

"A free for all spar sounds great to me. I can always use the practice!"

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Spinning the saber hilt in his hand, a little tick of his that Connor did to help him concentrate on not dropping it rather than speaking without thinking, he nodded to each of the fellow Jedi before him.

”Graves…yes, I believe I have heard of you within the temple walls. It’s a pleasure to meet you, a Master as well.”

He looked to Niamh.

”And you Miss Raste, a pleasure. Such an entrance as well. But if you were an assassin, I’d have expected a killing blow rather than simply waiting for me to turn into you. Maybe next time you’ll kill me correctly.”

Stepping sideways, he helped form a rough triangle shape that naturally started to form on the dusty ground separating them; Vexander standing before the temple wall, Niamh standing before the long stretch of greenery and Connor himself before the backdrop of the cliffs over the planet that the temple stood on.

”I would relish the chance to develop skills and bonds with fellow Jedi, so I accept your challenge, Master Graves, Miss Raste. I warn you though, a live blade is all I carry, so let’s try not to lose limbs shall we?”

Connor hopped on the spot, eager to push himself and control the Force to allow him greater perception of things. His blue blade spat into life all of a sudden, and he rocked gently back and forward on his boots, holding the hilt in his right hand.

He gestured with his left.

”Ladies first.”


[member="Niamh Raste"] [member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

[member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Niamh Raste"]

With a slow move, the bearded Master reached to his belt and un-clipped one of his lightsabers with his right side, the blue one he was using the most nowadays due to his lack of shadow work...

Moving his saber to the side, he prepared himself in the normal Makashi opening stance but without his blade ignited, he didn't see the need of it just yet seeing that Niahm was the first one that would be delivering the first blow.

Just as Connor stated, this was a challenge and had some honor with it... providing the lady present with the advantage was the respectful thing to do.

Vexander look at the male Jedi and then his eyes went to the blonde girl. The Jedi Master felt as a third wheel in the middle of a date in Corellia... but he had his own intentions and sparring with both at the same time would allow him to test a lot of things he needed to know.

"So lady Raste, whenever you are ready".

A wide smile showed up in Vexander's lips... the first one since he saw the two around the training grounds and the first honest one. He was definitely going to enjoy this a lot.

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

"Wouldn't be very realistic if we didn't use live blades. Training sabers are for young padawans."

She waved her hand, still holding one of her sabers, dismissively at the notion. Being an Echani Firedancer, she'd been training with deadly weaponry ever since she was a little kid, and that was before she even knew she could touch the Force at all. Now that she did know that, she had an even greater control over her body and had become rather adept at lightsaber combat. So she wasn't afraid. Fear was an emotion that would only enter her if someone threatened Izzy.

Both of them went on calling her a Lady, though. She looked around at first, wondering if they were talking about someone else. When she didn't see anyone there, she looked at the both of them and lofted her brows.

"Lady? Me? Please. I'm a ladykiller, not a lady."

She grinned at this, but she wasn't about to let the opportunity to strike first slip away. While she could have attacked them with her blades, she liked to be a bit more unexpected than that, so she decided to try out using her control of telekinesis to her advantage. She brought competing waves of Force energy from either side, intending to sandwich the two males together between. Not the most hideous of sandwiches, but still not her taste.

[member="Vexander Graves"] [member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor nodded his head to the side, acknowledging her Niamh’s fiery little reply, and gave a little smirk at her front.

Flicking his eyes between the two, watching Graves take a stance without activating his blade which suggested once he did, he was going to launch a full frontal assault. Niamh began her assault, but with the Force which prickled Connor’s senses.

As he felt the pull from her power, he dug his boots in and pushed outwards with his left hand, sending a challenging wave of energy to repel against hers. He managed to stop before coming too close, but he had been pulled forward without expecting it.

”Sneaky.”

With one hand open to the Force and the other holding his blade, Connor pushed harder to try and send Niamh back off balance so he could work on Graves – his first mistake was already present, attacking one without defending against the other.


[member="Niamh Raste"] [member="Vexander Graves"]

 

[Vexander Graves]

Vexander raised his eyebrow as soon as he noticed the use of the Force in the middle of the duel. He had the impression that they would practice their mastery of the lightsaber and not their full combat capabilities... A broad smile came to his face, delighted to be a part of such event that would allow him to express himself with the full extend of his abilities... although he was not a hundred percent sure he needed to give a full display just yet.

With the blink of an eye, Connor managed to repel Niamh's telekinetic abilities with one of his own... allowing Vex to remain untouched and just a pushed from his position a few inches... completely available to attack either of them. The most common move would be to engage Connor now that he was distracted with the "ladykiller"... but was he really distracted? Vex knew it was not necessarily the case, but for the sake of learning and testing he decided to move against Connor.

Calling to the Force, Vex proceeded to rush in to battle against the man with what seemed to be a left to right slash without his blade on... however, Vex's intentions were quite different... the normal behavior would be to ignite the blade and clash with Vex's blow or he would be open to a devastating blow... but Vex's idea was to leave the blade un-ignited and use the back of his hilt as a blunting object straight to Connor's jaw. A risky move but one Vex knew he wouldn't expect.

[member="Niamh Raste"] | [member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Eyes on both, holding the Force firm against the glaring grin of Niamh, Connor saw the expected attack from Vex and trusted his move to encourage Nimah to break with her Force concentration to attack with the blade.

As Connor released his Force grip and brought his blade upwards by his head to parry Graves, nothing was there for him, except the bone thudding impact of an inactivated saber hilt to his jaw.

Knocking his head back, Connor automatically turned away and hobbled forward a few steps, reaching up and cursing, facing away from the two as he touched his jaw – no broken bone, but the taste of blood seeping into this mouth from his left gum.

He exhaled sharply and turned to face them, maintaining a steely gaze. He inclined his head at Graves and analysed the two before him.


[member="Vexander Graves"] [member="Niamh Raste"]