Karvis
Player Journals => Collan Rostiern => Topic started by: Collan on December 01, 2016, 02:12:48 PM
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Collan had wasted little time during the travel to Kota's secret hideout. While Niil healed up, he cleared a practice circle in the workroom and took out his training saber. The sabrestaff stayed in his room for now.
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Niil walked into the work room, a towel slung over his shoulder and a training saber in his right hand. Waving at Collan with his free hand, he chuckled, "Well, I hope that this will be less risky than our attempt at extreme sky-diving. You know, I never did ask you . . . when you were sparring with PROXY, what trainer did you ask him to emulate?"
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Collan paused and searched his memory. An older man. Beared with a twinkle in blue eyes.
"I've no idea who it was. I asked first if he knew Juyo...and he became a murderous looking Zabrak. When I switched Shi-Cho, he became an older human," Collan proceeded to describe the hologram.
"Who was PROXY for you?"
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Niil laughed. "The same opponent. The, umm, 'template' you were sparring with was none other than General Obi-Wan Kenobi. That's who I was sparring with." Wait . . . a murderous-looking Zabrak? "That Zabrak you spoke of . . . PROXY took that form when you asked for a Juyo trainer, right? Did the Zabrak have a saberstaff?"
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Collan whistled.
"The General Kenobi? Jedi Master and all that? Wow. So that's what he looked like," the latter came out as a rhetorical question. But at the same time, Collan searched his memory for what the Zabrak had looked like.
"No...I don't remember a saberstaff. I had 'mine'," the quotes were evident as it really wasn't Collan's but he hoped someday it might be, "but I'm not ready to learn how to use its full capabilities yet. I've almost got Shi-Cho down but need a little more time with it. Makashi or Juyo are my only real options for training now. I don't have the flexibility or strength to handle the other styles."
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"All in time, Collan." The smile was back. "Sorry, you have me curious about this Zabrak. You said he was, umm, 'murderous looking', right? Anything else you can tell em about him?" Niil hesitated. "He didn't have yellowy-orange eyes, did he?"
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"More red than yellow," Collan noted, "And an extremely menacing but smooth voice."
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Niil was grinning now, and he replied, "Well . . . it's good thing that PROXY's unable to spar with us the same way he did with Galen. I could be way off, but from what you've told me about this Zabrak, he sounds like a Sith lord. Murderous looking, menacing and smooth voice, reddish eyes . . ."
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Collan may have turned a little pale, but his eyebrows definitely went up in some shock.
"Yeah...I knew that...impersonation...wasn't going to win Miss Congeniality at the Galactic Beauty Pageant but not that he was a Sith."
He shivered a bit, "Juyo must cut it closer than I thought to the Dark Side."
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[Intervening here. Darth Maul was not well known. His role in the Clone Wars was not common knowledge, and would be beyond what Niil or Collan would know.]
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Niil shrugged. "Like I said, it sounds like he's a Sith from the description you gave me, but I'm hardly the galaxy's font of knowledge on them. I just remember Master Dhoresh mentioning a few of them. PROXY would probably know who he the Zabrak is."
He draped his towel over a nearby chair and started to stretch his muscles. "So, just out of curiosity, did 'General Kenobi' say anything to you prior to the start of your sparring match?"
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Collan shrugged, "Not really. He had this somewhat amused tone and asked if I was ready. That was it."
He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brow in thought. He was curious as to this line of questioning. PROXY was a droid that emulated the combat styles of various masters of the forms. He really wasn't them.
"Why do you ask?" He inquired.
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Niil shrugged. "Just curious. When PROXY took General Kenobi's form, I ahh, remember saying something like, 'So, how do we do this? I'm not good enough to spar with real lightsabers yet.'" Niil chuckled. "PROXY's not a Jedi, but his response reminded me of a very valuable lesson."
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Colln cocked hsi head to one side, asking, "Which was?"
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Niil grinned, and without warning, activated his training saber and aimed an overhead vertical cut at Collan's head.
OOC: RP response/reaction is up to Collan, but Niil would bring the blade to a halt before it contacted Collan's head. ;D
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Collan saw the saber and combat instincts kicked in. He immediately folded his left knee faster than he folded his right and took a rolling tumble that turned into a somersault. At the same time, his right hand went for his own training saber. He shifted his weight mid-roll and used the kinetic energy of the spin to boost himself upright.
At the same time, Collan flicked the activator on the saber. The silvery blade sprang to life with a shearing buzzing noise that crackled the air a bit. The quart crystals were far less efficient than true saber quality ones and the energies bled off more easily into ionization.
Unfortunately, Collan's skill at the Force meant that he really couldn't use it on a moment's notice to Sense the world around him and use the saber most effectively. At least, not yet.
He offered Niil a wry grin, "Sounds like a stimulating conversation. Let me guess how you replied," Collan went into Jedi Ready and proceeded with a standard though basic series of Shi-Cho attacks.
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Niil chuckled as he met Collan's attacks, and countered with some of his own. "All he said was 'Well . . . ' and then pulled the same stunt I just tried on you. So yeah, my 'reply' was the same as yours. After a few . . ." Niil went silent for a few seconds as he dealt with a few strikes from Collan, " . . . exchanges, he said, 'First, don't expect your opponent to wait until you are ready.' A very good point. If we run into some dark Jedi . . . or fate forbid, an Inquisitor . . . I don't think they're going to follow any tournament rules."
Another few exchanges, and Nill added, "Let's keep with this Shii-Cho free-for-all for awhile; we need to deal with unpredictability, and avoid developing predictable patterns at the same time."
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Collan kept his footwork as tight as he could. Sweat beaded on his brow as he fought the better trained Niil.
"Well...yeah. It's not tea time after all. This is for keepsies. But that's the problem with most of the forms. They have established patterns and routines. If this attack; then this counter. It comes down to who had better training; who's stronger in the Force; or, even who got a little bit extra sleep the night before. Juyo is the only form where unpredictability is built in."
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Niil shook his head slightly. "True, Juyo can be more unpredictable than the other forms, but it relies almost solely on letting the Force guide you. You're right . . . from what I've heard, using that form can be skirting a very thin line along the boundary between the Light side and the Dark Side. It's already an aggressive form, and if you don't have near-perfect mastery of your emotions, it's easy to let anger or fear feed it."
He aimed an attack against Collan's leg, who in turn caught Niil's blade neatly, spun it around to deflect it, and countered in a riposte aimed at Niil's chest. Niil was barely able to deflect the lunge with an rising inward block. Their two blades locked for a few moments, and Niil planted both feet and shoved Collan back a few paces. "True, the other forms do have established attacks and counters, but there are also ripostes and physical attacks if you're quick enough to take advantage of an opening. I suppose what also helps a great deal is your reflexes, and being able to direct your opponent into what you want him - or her - to do."
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The crackle of the blades filled Collan's ears as he and Niil sparred. He was clearly Collan's superior with the lightsaber. By no means did Collan have a wild swing, but Niil still turned a parry of a zone three stabbing attack into a riposte and was somehow able to lock his blade onto Collan's and use the energy of the attack to pull Collan's forward to the side, leaving his left side exposed.
A tumble would leave Collan exposed on his back to a zone four strike. Not good. Niil still had his blade locked and would release shortly lest he be pulled along as well. Instead of tumbling, Collan pushed forward on his left and spun with his blade. He turned into a spin leading with his right arm tight against his body to increase his angular moment. As his left side spun around, he kicked out his left leg to slow the spin and hop backwards. Hopefully out of Niil's reach or at least to outer ring.
This all happened inside a few hundred milliseconds. Collan's blade came around in an arc and found Niil's blade.
"So basically, it's a battle of attrition to see who can force a mistake first or see the opening left from an attack or parry. Or making an opportunity happen by manuevering your opponent into a trap."
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Niil's eyebrow rose at Collan's maneuver, and he chuckled as his blade clashed against Collan's. "Nice move. But from what I've gathered during my training with Master Dhoresh and Ch'lana, yeah, in a broad sense. If you're able, use the first few exchanges to watch your opponent and how he reacts. Maybe his form isn't perfect, or maybe he telegraphs a certain attack before he launches it."
Niil winked. "And remember that in a lightsaber duel . . ." Niil launched an overhead chop aimed at bringing Collan's guard to the high position, then just as quickly dropped down to the deck to deliver a foot sweep, his free hand posted on the ground and his saber hand held in a high horizontal guard to ward against a saber strike. " . . . that it's not only the lightsaber you have to watch for."
OOC: I'll leave it up to you to determine if Collan got taken off-guard by the foot sweep. ;)
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[OOC: To help, the foot sweep would be a Brawling move, countered by Brawling Parry or Dodge.]
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Collan saw the sweep coming but his reaction time was off by just a few milliseconds. He'd timed the kick slower than it was and it clipped his foot hard enough to send him to the deck on his back. He landed hard and had the air knocked out of him. His instincts said to roll left a few times and try to get up. In doing so, he'd lost situational awareness and instead clanged his head on a strut.
He'd rung his own bell and couldn't stand but only work to use control pain to shut it out.
"Ow!"
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Niil winced as he both saw and heard Collan wallop his head against one of the ship's struts. Taking a few steps back, he still kept his saber at an on-guard position, but said, "Collan? Malf me, I'm sorry about that! You all right there? Do you want me to call PROXY?"
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Collan laughed but that hurt too. His head throbbed and he could feel the muscles in his back tightening a little already. Combat sucked!
"Nah. Give me a second here," he was focusing on the Force and letting it slide his perceptions around. It took a moment but the pain was gone as Collan used the Force.
"Yeah...I'm gonna have a headache later, but I'm okay," he said.
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Niil eyed The back of Collan's head, then reluctantly nodded. "All right, as long as you're not sporting a concussion there."
He chuckled as he gave his saber a few swings to loosen up his arm. "I, ahh, was thinking on whether or not to keep up my attack for the 'realism' effect, but not after springing that kind of stunt for the first time." He gave Collan a salute with his saber. "Actually, you're not that easy for me to tag. I might have an edge right now with the Shii-Cho forms and a fraction of speed, but you have an edge in using the Force to sense my moves."
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"You'd be surprised. It takes a lot of effort with the Force too. Defense is a lot simpler but if you want to attack," Collan shrugged, "It just stacks up."
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Niil nodded. "Oh, I know, believe me. You've got a bit more of en edge with controlling and sensing through the Force, which means you're physically exerting yourself a bit less than I have to. If you and I were equally proficient in Shii-Cho's forms, you'd probably eventually wear me down simply because you have a slightly better connection to the Force than I do. Now . . ." Niil swept in low and aimed a lunge at Collan's chest, " . . . mind your surroundings! I'm a red-blade out for your blood!"
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Collan ignited the saber and met Niil head on.
"Oh come on!" Collan said getting a little exasperated and grunting with effort to deflect Niil's saber.
"This is just getting cliche," he added. Collan let a few exchanges get a little more and more wild. A little too hard here. Then there. Always a little more power than precisely needed. After a few exchanges, Collan did a low swing aiming for Niil's left but the strike was deliberately soft so it would leave Niil slightly off balance on the parry. He'd have put more effort in, expecting a heavier attack. And that was when Collan swept out with his left leg to kick Niil's right leg out.
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Getting frustrated? Careful, Collan. You're losing focus and putting more force than necessary behind your strikes. You'll . . . hold on! Oh, you sneaky son of . . .
A fraction of a second before Collan's leg shot out, Niil realized that he'd been played like an electro-harp. Nightshade's training took over and Niil tried to leap over the scything kick. Instead of catching Niil in the back of his calf, Collan's toe struck Niil in the heel of his foot.
It was still sufficient to bring Niil down hard on his backside. Only a hastily-planted left hand and a desperate swing-over of his right leg stopped him from skull-planting on the deck or landing on his own lightsaber. Without thought, he took a short, horizontal slash with his lightsaber, more of a warding move meant to discourage a follow-up strike than an actual attack.
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Collan batted the wild horizontal slice and moved in for the 'kill,' a quick jab at Niil's chest.
"You're holding back on me," Collan teased and he brought his blade close to landing.
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Niil barely swatted the blade aside with a back-handed parry, although Niil expected that the blade would've been buried in his heart if they'd been fighting to kill. Still in a semi-reclining position, he used his right leg to snap a kick at Collan's lower left leg, which forced him to retreat a few steps. Niil took the brief respite to do a quick backward roll and spring back into a crouch, his saber held in the Jedi Ready stance. "Not really. You caught me fair and square with that trap, and I sure as hell should've seen it coming."
He straightened, and cocked his head slightly to the side. "You've been shown the three, umm, 'specialty' moves of Shii-Cho, right? The heavy strike, the swing attack and the quick parry?"
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Collan raised an eyebrow and smiled. Ch'lana had shown him all three. As per hus standard, he'd then left Collan to his own devices with occassional advice and correction.
"Of course," he offerred, "That was the heavy strike I was doing to you."
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Niil shook his head, although he was smiling. "Yeah, the first couple of strikes, but not the last. You led me into a trap. So you used a form with established patterns and routines and used it to do something unpredictable." Niil took a step back, and held up his free hand to signal for a brief break.
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Collan offered Niil a wicked but playful smile.
"Yup," he grinned, "I made a hole and let your expectation of a pattern fool you. Street magicians do that all the time."
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Niil nodded. "That's right. Still think that Makashi or Juyo are your only real training options?"
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Collan smiled, "I need options...or at least think I do. Now...I need a pain reliever so this headache doesn't get too bad."
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"Sure thing." He took two steps back and shut down his lightsaber, although he still held the saber by his side in case Collan tried a sneak attack. "Yeah, exploring other styles couldn't hurt, but I'll pass on what Ch'lana advised me. Start training with Soresu next."
Niil thought back to Ch'lana's first instruction. "Shii-Cho was developed before blasters came out. Once blasters became mainstream as the ranged weapon of choice, the Jedi found out that Shii-Cho couldn't deal with the threat very well. That's why they developed Soresu. It's a defensive form, and it works against lightsabers and blasters. You don't really use it to attack, but to strengthen your defense. The idea is to create a strong barrier that the enemy can't penetrate, and you wait him out until he makes a mistake or tires out. That's where you strike."
Niil lit his lightsaber and started to demonstrate the Soresu form as if he were facing an invisible opponent Smiling, he said, "I've been at it for a short time so my form's hardly perfect, but notice how I move; how my lightsaber moves. Economy of motion, strength and energy. Stay light on your feet. Bend out of the way of attacks when you can instead of blocking or parrying them. Use the minimum strength necessary to deflect a strong attack . . . one doesn't always need to parry a hard strike head on; sometimes a light deflection can be more advantageous to you if it throws your foe off-balance. Let him burn his stamina out trying to get to you."
Niil shut off his lightsaber again. "So Soresu is all about survival. You use it to wear down your opponent, forcing them to expend more energy than you. But it's also a form of movement, so it's not the best choice for confined spaces. Still, it does have considerable advantages."
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[OOC: Collan would know legends of duels between Soresu masters lasting days.]
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Collan nodded.
"I've heard stories. Well read. Duels can last for days til one gets tired and makes a mistake. I have the stamina for the Form but not the dexterity. I can't make my body move the way it needs to."
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Niil shrugged. "That can be improved on. You already have martial arts training, so I'd focus primarily on its stretching exercises to improve on your dexterity. Another thing that could help with that is, say, performing your strikes greatly slowed down . . . especially kicks." Niil grinned. "Try taking five to ten seconds to execute a round kick from start to finish - all the while keeping your form - to see what I mean. Another thing that's useful is hand-eye coordination exercises."
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"And who knows what the General will have us doing," Collan added.
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Niil snorted as he grabbed his towel. "HALO jumps."
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Collan guffawed.
"Hah! Without jet packs!"
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Niil shook his head. "Nope, we've already done that. Maybe rancor castration."
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"Blindfolded pod racing!"
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Niil grinned. "Seen the way I used to drive? Pretty well the same thing. Well, at least my repulsor piloting's gotten better since then."
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Collan gave Niil a grin.
"I mostly remember you blasting those grass pirates in the Bladesea. I have to wonder what happened to them."
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Niil shook his head. "The ones that survived? Probably had a long walk home and decided to take up a less risky profession. If they were smart. Damn, I sure hope the Empire didn't go sniffing around that farmstead we stayed at. Jerrol and his wife are good people. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to them because of us."
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Collan frowned in thought.
"They should be okay. Should be. We used pseudonyms as much for them as us. And we blasted those pirates to hell. And I don't recall any pings as we approached the farm. And the transport was clean."
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Niil shook his head. "The pirates were unskilled idiots. Jerrol and his family would make short work of them. No, it's the lady in red and her team that I'm worried about. All it would take is for one of Jerrol's hired hands to squawk."
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Collan smirked, "I get the feeling that wouldn't happen either."
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Niil shrugged. "Probably not voluntarily, no. I just hope to hell that they're safe and well."
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Therer two broad groups That could brutalize those farmers. First, the pirates. Could wasn't the same as can though. Were those scums able to inflict themselves upon the farmers, it seems likely they could already have done so, but they hadn't. Ergo, the pirates were not an issue.
That left the Empire. Collan ran a mental map in his head. He didn't recall circling around Tzesent. Even had they done so, it was a simple issue to draw a line between their start and finish then send reconnaissance over the line to find any settlement for an interrogation.
Still...
"I think it'll depend on who's asking and what they're after," Collan noted after a minute of silence, "And the amount of effort it will take. I don't think my father would. He would likely want to know where I am now or will be. Where I was may be less important."
"All in all. They're probably safe."
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Niil wasn't fully convinced; he'd remembered what Ch'lana had told them about the lengths the Empire was willing to go to in hunting down Jedi and Force-sensitives. He'd already seen what they did to Lendt, and that was just to eradicate dug-in KDF forces.
Niil nodded silently, then muttered, "So . . . go get your skull checked out, then food?"