Kuat

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian sighed as they entered realspace. Now came the part he hated.

 

"Yeah, pretty much. We're supposed to meet an old associate of mine here, but when and how he'll make contact...I don't know. Might as well bring you up to speed, though. There's a big, nasty Sith we're hunting right now, who we think is behind a series of mass ritual killings on several planets. The media and CoreSec are keeping it fairly hush-hush for right now to prevent a panic, but it honestly could be something big. There's several reasons to believe it is big, and that this guy is behind it. His name is Vladimir Faust, also known as the Hunter.

 

"You may or may not have heard of him before, the galaxy is a pretty big place, but he's most famous in the inner circles of intelligence for being the man behind the Coruscant shield fiasco a few years back. Son of a b**** somehow disabled the security settings on Coruscant's planetary shield arrays, and then changed the emitters to lower the shield to about halfway through the upper levels...cutting hundreds of buildings in half and causing planetwide devastation and death. Most of the general public still doesn't know for certain it was him, though it's a pretty big conspiracy on the holonet, has been for some time."

 

He paused for a moment, thinking about all that. On a whim, he also sent out a comm via his implant, calling for one of his assets to join him.

 

"He's been tried many times, jailed and escaped several times, died a few times...it's hard to keep track of him. It doesn't help that he's a criminal genius as well as a Sith Master. Oh yeah...which reminds me..."

 

Aryian reached down into his robe, pulling out a medical-gun looking device. After giving it a once over, he pressed it against Khal's leg and pulled the trigger in one smooth motion so the other wouldn't have time to react to the sharp sting as a small needle quickly drew a pinprick of his blood, as well as injecting a miniscule amount of nanites.

 

"Relax, it didn't hurt that bad. This is so we can 'back you up', as it were. If you wind up dying, we can clone you. You don't really have the mental conditioning or training yet to transfer your consciousness to it, so...the nanites I just injected can record your thought patterns and transfer them at the time of your death to the clone. Meanwhile, the blood on the needle will be used as the template for the clone."

 

Aryian fiddled with the gun a little more, plugging his comlink into it, and transmitting the data on a highly encrypted and secure line back to the facilities on Mechis. Looking back up, it was quite obvious that Khal was still slightly miffed at the gross invasion of privacy that Aryian hadn't even bothered to consider.

 

"Oh, come on, think of it as free health insurance and terms of our arrangement. If, after we're done, you don't want it, you can terminate the clone and remove the nanites yourself, using my equipment if you even like."

[Ary the Grey]

((Khal, feel free to describe your reaction to both my posts with yours.))

 

A slight ripple, but Aryian felt it nonetheless. He pointed, recognizing a Mandalorian ship configuration.

 

"There. The ones with the CoreSec markings. Follow them. Tell the landing controller whatever you like, we'll be fine."

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian nodded.

 

"Just stay close and you should be fine."

 

He didn't go far from the ship, merely walking towards the other three, waiting for Fett. He still wasn't even sure Fett knew he was here, or even got his comm.

[Ary the Grey]

((I had my last two wisdom teeth pulled thursday, I've been out of it more than I expected. I'm back, and have permission to post Khal's minor actions.))

 

Aryian approached Fett, who was talking with a Captain Miller, or so his rank and name tag indicated.

 

"There's going to be an attack? What makes you think it'll be a plain attack? Nine times out of ten, when someone wants to attack Kuat, it's to steal something. I'm guessing if there is an attack, it'll just be a distraction."

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian nodded at Fett's suggestion. He trusted Fett greatly, being the commissioner of CoreSec, a former member of the Augury, and basically the only person he knew who most closely resembled Batman. It was when the droid approached him that he felt it though...something subtle...something wrong. Such a slight twinge of danger that only a master of the Force would have been able to feel it. Aryian listened to the droid's proposal before speaking his mind.

 

"Something feels wrong here. Knowing Faust...this is some kind of trap." He shook his head as the droid jerked its head back in mock offense. "Not necessarily your little meeting. Just...us coming here. Kuat in general. He might have something here he wants, or maybe this is just a dead end designed to eliminate some of his opposition before he makes another major move. I mean, this is just based on his past modus operandi, but still. Something isn't right. Maybe I should be the one to go to this meeting. That way I can read the security people, make sure they all check out. Khal, stay with the ship. If we need to get away fast, you'll be my out."

 

He turned to the droid, gesturing. "Lead on. Might as well give me an abbreviated tour of the facilities that are on the way, I've never actually seen the shipyards up close and in person."

 

----------------------------------

 

Meanwhile, Aryian's 'asset', smaller than a starfighter, arrived in system. Broadcasting a signal that marked it as a courier pod, it approached a low orbit near Kuat, close enough to the shipping lanes to mask its presence to any but those that would be specifically searching visually for something out of the ordinary, but close enough to the shipyards to execute a hasty insertion. Quietly, Saladin waited for it's master's call.

[Ary the Grey]

"No shit."

 

Aryian spoke quietly to himself in response to Fett's comm as the cogs had turned, the Hunter's plan unfolding before them. He'd expected a trap due to the lack of tour and abundance of large tibanna gas canisters outside the warehouse they'd been led to, and now, coinciding with the arrival of Faust himself, it has triggered. For a small moment, Aryian's presence burned bright as he threw himself fully into the Force, his body a mere instrument of its will. As he spoke, his eyes shimmered with a faint silver light as the Force surged within him.

 

"Captain, get out. Now."

 

The movement was faster than the eye could see, as in one fluid movement Aryian had stood and moved to the two droids guarding the doors, lightsaber already slashing through the external (and unarmored) power cords of the darktrooper droid. Not a second later, his free hand was punching through the head of the protocol droid with the assistance of a light Force shield over his fist, and a vicious Force blast as it impacted, destroying its main processors. As the soldiers cleared the room, heading back for Fett, Aryian turned back, surveying the room.

 

Knowing Faust, it was a bomb. That much was clear due to the presence of the tibanna gas alone, but it also had to be one large enough to engulf and detonate the canisters with the initial explosion in order to set off the secondary explosion. All this flashed through his mind; it was mere common sense. He'd dealt with bombs and using the Force to locate them before, but that was back when he was in the Jedi Special Operations Division and a Sith terrorist had hidden bombs across Coruscant. And...he'd died then. It wasn't an easy thing to do. There had also been much more time then, and now Aryian knew he'd probably have less than a minute, maybe two if he was lucky. He could get out, but the soldiers...would likely still be at the edge of the secondary explosion zone, and would die from the raw concussion. Tibanna was known for it's instability, not necessarily its explosive potential...

 

The variables were too many for him to simply stand and try to determine a course of action, so instead he chose the one that made the most sense: get the f*** out, and now. He pivoted, legs recoiling with the Force's aid, and in no time at all he'd caught the group of running soldiers. As he felt the first explosion, the Force once again swelled as Aryian pulled them together to the floor as they ran, and leapt on top of the pile as he summoned one of the strongest barriers he could muster. If fate held true, when the dust settled, he might live through this.

 

----------------------------------------------

 

Saladin knew that when the fleet jumped from hyperspace and began taking an aggressive posture that things planetside had just gone sideways. Its orders were clear, however, the pilot was his designated asset to protect, not the Master. Thrusters fired, putting the mech into enough momentum to send it slamming down to Kuat's surface in less than a minute. It landed right outside the hangar where Khalthis's ship was docked, sensors and weapons bristling. The processing speed of the Wolf Spider's AI was on a reactionary level about two quintillion times that of an average human, and immediately identified the tech applying 'tape' to the outer hull as a threat. Sensor readouts clearly identified the isotope utilized in the blast tape as baradium. With a single shot from a railgun, the surprised tech was little more than red mist, the round leaving a crater under Khal's ship.

 

On a loudspeaker setting, the flat mechanical voice of Saladin resounded as a blast was heard in the distance. "KHALTHIS TORG. PLEASE EXIT YOUR SHIP AND BOARD IMMEDIATELY. YOU ARE IN DANGER."

[Ary the Grey]

((Robbie, guys, I have no excuse for this horsecrap. I'm sorry, and I expect better from myself, as should you all. To be frank, I should have simply gotten three dayed. I'm not going to post a reaction for the Mech until Khal comes back or this mess is done with. As for Aryian, I think a punishment is in order. So temporarily, I'm bringing another factor into the mix. I won't be fighting at full strength if and when something happens, and I'll have lasting consequences to deal with. Apologies to all, and hopefully I won't do this again.))

 

 

A thought occurred to Aryian as the explosion and fireball passed over them. That although the shield would protect them from the concussion, it wouldn't stop the heat transfer of the ambient air, and would roast them alive. This thought occurred right as his robes caught fire from the nearly 2,000 plus degrees of heat roaring over him, easily cooking the skin on his back before he even had a chance to begin to react.

 

Instinct kicked in, and for a moment, Aryian was no longer in control of his own body. Muscle memory and the will of the Force took its place, but to any sensitive enough in the Force, they would feel the pain and turmoil surrounding him. When Aryian opened his eyes again, he was no longer on Kuat, rather buried deep inside his own mind.

 

"You're weak."

 

The Grey Master's eyes narrowed, recognizing the voice. "Am I?" he challenged back at the nothingness. He knew he was not weak, but it made little difference.

 

"Yes. And out of practice. You treat the Force like a plaything rather than the tool and weapon it was meant for. You blunder into obvious traps, hoping to, what, martyr yourself? Fool. You don't deserve our body."

 

Aryian struggled as invisible binds wrapped around his consciousness, dragging him down, further, deeper into the subconsciousness of sleep. The thing that opened its eyes after that moment had passed, was not Aryian Darkfire. Reddish hued fire cracled behind the silver eyes now, the Dark side exuding from every pore on the still-burning body. But pain was fuel. Pain led to anger, which led to rage...rage that would empower him to rise from the ashes and strike down all before him. As the heat was absorbed as energy into the body, so was the technique turned on the soldiers in the pile beneath him. The very men he had strived to protect were now simply tools, batteries to draw upon to heal his wounds and at the least, continue on. The scarring would be nasty, but it wasn't as if he minded, it was simply a device to strike fear into the thoughts of others, and a reminder that pain was a necessity of life.

 

As the fires died down, Darth Ares stepped up from the bodies of the men, specifically using Captain Miller's lifeless face purposefully as a foothold as he strode down, gripping steaming lightsaber hilts in each hand. His robes were tattered, his face and body covered in charred skin that was only partially healed, still painful with every movement.Deliberately, he removed the upper parts of the robe, displaying his bare torso. It was time to take revenge.

Faust...oh Hunter...I am coming for you...

 

Ares picked up a light jog, grinning at the pain rippling across his body. It wouldn't be long now before he was able to engage Faust directly, they weren't far away at all. A few minutes at most. And after Faust...the galaxy.

[Ary the Grey]

"You will try, Hunter..."

 

Whispers from the corpses that littered the hallway echoed about, soft but with a resonating strength behind them. The Force was turbulent, it was as if Faust felt like he was on the onset of a massive hurricane as the Grey Master, now steeped in darkness, closed in on his position.

 

"How does it feel...the Hunter...now the hunted?"

 

One of the corpses to Faust's left jerked as invisible fingers guided it, pointing its weapon and firing. The shot went wide, but the intent was clear. For a moment, the face wore a crazed grin on its face, eyes still rolled back into the head. Again came the whispers as the corpses spoke quietly in near unison.

 

"You've unleashed the Beast, and I am not so nearly forgiving as my senile counterpart. And now, a present? You've left several toys for me..."

 

Several more shots simultaneously, two of which were meant to hone in closer on him, one aiming to skim the right leg, the other his left shoulder.

 

"Allow me to introduce myself...You've tormented us for so long, but you're not familiar with me...I am the beast from the pit, the ghost that kills in the night. You can call me...Ares. It's the last name you'll hear before I put you down. Time..."

 

Every single corpse moved now, slowly, as the Force began surging to incredibly high levels, even for a Master. Every last weapon in the room was slowly moving to aim at Faust, box him in, cut him down. Ares relished in the slight fear that must be passing through Faust's mind...This was something that wasn't exactly impossible, but several magnitudes above what any normal Force user should have been capable of.

 

In unison, the corpses pulled their triggers.

 

 

------------------------------------

 

In an adjacent hallway, Ares was once again on fire, though instead of it burning him, he was absorbing the controlled self-immolation with practiced ease. Being rejoined with Aryian had its advantages, one in particular being the knowledge of his Force nova, an ability that caused a feedback loop of Force in an individual to essentially allow for an endless well of power to pull from. Ares knew the drawbacks, but didn't care. The old man would be left crippled, not he, and he wasn't about to let Faust slip through his fingers. Finally, he felt the last bit of Aryian's Force reserves melt away, and grinned.

 

Two birds, one stone.

[Ary the Grey]

Laughter rang through the Hunter's ears.

Fallen? I fell long ago. Long before you were born. I am Darkfire...and yet I am not. And better that it was you who tortured her than myself, for my rage is eternal. I would have gladly torn her asunder, if only to make him suffer.i

 

Tendrils of telekinetic Force energy lashed about, invisible to all but Faust, smashing the hallway and its contents in a blind rage, trying to grasp at the Hunter or throw things into his path, to slow him down, to stop his retreat.

[Ary the Grey]

As Faust struck out at him, Ares winced. Physically, he was in no shape to be taking any kind of strikes. Mentally, however, his mind swam in rage. It was blinding, to be sure, but it also guided him, using him as a conduit to express itself upon the physical world. As he was thrown against Fett, it felt cold for a long while, as if Ares was plunged into ice water. For a brief moment, he struggled, and Aryian almost retook control. A great weakness came over him as he was cut off from the Force, the fiery glow surrounding him flickered and waned for a moment as his technique was choked out by that infuriating ysalamir bubble. But then, Fett had thrown it away, and Ares was free once more.

 

Fire surrounded his body, burning brighter and hotter than before, the raw power of the Force animating him and acting through him, its dark will paralleling his own. Electronics up and down the hallway sparked and frazzled out, except within the accursed bubble of the ysalamir, of course, showering down upon all present like a herald of the damned.

 

Rage may be the act of a child, Faust, but you cannot deny as a Sith that it is the most powerful thing in existence. Rage is what fuels me, makes me stronger...rage is what will strike you down today...

 

Of course, Faust would hear none of that while inside the ysalamir's bubble, assuming he still was. Ares didn't particularly care. The Force became as an immense tempest around all present, the very air manipulated into a violent wind through the hallway, as the entire corridor was crushed around Faust through invisible hands, squeezing and destroying, trying ever so hard to trap the insufferable man that had turned Aryian's life into a living hell indirectly over many years. Ares should have thanked him, but it was the rage that drove him, and Aryian's rage that fueled his dark aspect.

 

It was then that Ares noticed Fett and the other soldiers, still firing at Faust. Fett was a longtime ally of Aryian, noted for his skill, and the soldiers backed him up. He was a threat that needed to be dealt with. On his hands and knees, on fire, Aryian looked up at them, screaming with all the unholy might of the Force, blasting them with the raw might of the Dark side. It was at that moment Ares was distracted enough for Aryian to mentally access the implant, trying desperately to contact Fett on the encrypted frequency they used to use.

 

<>

[Ary the Grey]

A wave of pain washed over Ares as Faust's attack washed over him, draining him, sucking the life from him. But a low sound was heard, a chuckling, the first real sound the mutilated body had made since Ares had taken over.

 

"This? You dare to use this pathetic attack on me? You hoped to, what, tap into my life essence, drain me of the impossible power I had, use it for your own means? You know nothing, Hunter...and you will burn."

 

Fett had done something behind him, but Ares didn't care, he was now focused on one thing, and one thing only: the death of Faust. Fire raged around the already torn body as the Force nova kicked into high gear, once more igniting the air around the Grey Master's body in an unholy crimson red. It did nothing but feed them both, charging them to the point of bursting, the amount of raw Force energy crackling now in a very visible manner linking them. What flesh was left on Ares' body began to char, his face twisting to a evil black of burnt muscle and sinew as Hell's own fire began to eat at them both. If Faust didn't use the energy quick, it was sure to consume him, burning him from the inside out as he was filled with raw power and pure hatred.

 

But then, performing the seemingly impossible, Ares reversed Faust's technique, his own power amplified well beyond ten times what it should have been, using the dark energy tendrils to draw upon Faust's power, healing himself and stealing his life essence back.

 

You dare to think yourself as lofty as me, Hunter? I have known pain, and hatred, and anger my entire life...I was born of it...and I SHALL CONSUME YO-

 

It was then that the concussion grenade went off, a thing Ares hadn't even noticed in his blind rage focused purely at Faust. It threw him back down the corridor a good ways past Fett's now dead backup troops, instantly knocking him out, as it had detonated close enough to him to fully engulf his body in the shockwave. Aryian's body quickly stopped burning, its power source cut off, though parts of his robe were still smoldering, and the Grey Master fell into a deep coma. Were he to somehow awaken, however, he would immediately prove to be much more of a match for Faust than the Hunter could have ever dreamed of facing.

 

It was up to Fett to finish the fight.

[Ary the Grey]

((As Saladin))

 

The rocket the tech had fired ricocheted off the wolf spider's tough phrik armor, deflected at the proper angle to send it harmlessly out of the hangar to detonate in the atmosphere. After a few moments, however, Khal had no response, just stood there frozen in fear. Giving the equivalent of a mechanical sigh, it attempted to contact the nearest authority for new orders...that authority defaulting to Fett when Aryian failed to respond.

 

((You have full control of it for now))

[Ary the Grey]

Slowly, painfully, Aryian opened his eyes...and closed them. He was on board a ship, and Fett was nearby, as was an ysalamir. At great labor, he spoke, his voice dry and raspy.

 

"Bacta...painkillers..."

 

After the latter was administered, Aryian let out a long sigh, soft but purposeful. He had seen everything that had happened, helpless to stop it. Ares was once again shut away, the coma and ysalamir giving the Grey Master the upper hand mentally against his dark persona. Hopefully, it would be the last time the rogue 'personality' managed to escape.

 

"We need to talk. Obviously. What do you do, Mand'alor, with the old and feeble in your culture?"

 

With what just happened, Fett wasn't likely to be in a mood to play verbal games with a Jedi, not to mention the fact that he was probably pissed with Aryian, for good reason. Despite Fett not knowing what exactly had happened with the Grey Master, Aryian would still be pissed were he in his boots. Hopefully, Fett would know this was an honest question.

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian chuckled, which turned into a cough, and there was a little blood that came up and spattered down his chest.

 

"Sorry. So...I don't even fit into your culture. I mean, not like I...ngg...even did before."

 

Aryian winced halfway through what he was saying, trying to roll more towards Fett, but it was a bad idea and very painful. Sighing, he laid back down where he was. He wasn't the young spry man he used to be, heck, he wasn't even in his early fifties like when he first met Fett. He'd lost track of his age a long time ago, but if he had to wager a guess, it was late fifties to early sixties, and boy did he certainly feel that old.

 

"I have a problem, my friend. I'm too old to really be of use to anyone anymore, I'm obviously a danger to those around me. Believe me or not, and I don't blame you if you don't, but that...wasn't me back there. I mean...me, me. It's a long explanation, but this only goes to show that I can't contain it as well as I thought I could. And yet, I'm still skilled enough that I can't find an honorable death in battle. I think I'm cursed to either suffer a dishonorable death, or to simply keep walking through this universe until I turn to dust."

 

He closed his eyes for a moment, just trying to push the pain out of his mind, harder than it sounded without the Force.

 

"I know. You hate exposition. Just...I'm sorry. It feels like I'm the reason this whole thing fell to shambles, and it sucks gundark balls. I still value you as a friend and ally, I just...I'm a little afraid of losing that. The last thing I want is Mand'alor himself pissed at me."

[Ary the Grey]

"You know, for someone who has been declared by all rights to be in complete mastery of my emotions, you have absolutely none yourself. I mean, come on. No man is an island, not even you. You either are a sociopath, or you're going to have a serious breakdown someday when some serious shab happens to you, brother. Wouldn't hurt to show the slightest ounce of empathy - or god forbid, sympathy - every once in a while."

 

Aryian sat up, wincing and holding back some of the worst pain he'd ever felt without aid of the Force in his life. Gritting his teeth, and with a mildly pissed off look, he glared a bit at Fett, staring him down briefly before continuing.

 

"Angsty kriffing teenager...seriously? I have warts on my buttcheeks older than you. Well, they're probably burned off now, but still. You're one hell of a warrior, I know your capabilities, but if I'm an angsty teenager then you have an elitist complex."

 

For a moment longer, Aryian glared, before sighing and looking down to gently hold his forehead, a new line of fiery stinging pain flaring up in the taut portions of his still-healing skin.

 

"Sorry. I sound like when Armiena and I used to fight. Just get us there, I'll do my job, and this time around you shouldn't have to worry about 'dark side drake' popping out and going all ishi-tib punk rock."

 

Aryian laid back down, allowing the bacta to do its work. Honestly, he hoped what he'd said about Ares was right, but the fact remained that if it happened this time unexpectedly, there was no telling what could be the trigger of Ares escaping the 'mental prison' again in the future. As it stood, Aryian usually had to exert some kind of minimal concentration as it was to keep him under wraps, and now...well, now he wasn't sure what was necessary. Or if it would work.

 

"And don't ask about how I got the warts. It's a long story that involves a Askajian stripper and an illegal bottle of genetically modified cognac."

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian retched as Fett removed the ysalamir, still feeling the aftereffect ripples of Force from Faust's attack, especially when he was so close to the origin. Other than that...nothing.

 

"It doesn't really work like that all the time. Only in rare cases can one Force user feel another across the galactic expanse, and usually it's only after a very close bond has been made between them. I mean, I can try, but we'd have a better chance of finding it by throwing darts at a cork board with lists of planet names on it. Not to mention...whatever he just did caused huge ripples through the.Force. Anyone who has any kind of training in the Force across the galaxy will only be feeling that for a while...good for covering his track in the short-term, at least."

 

He coughed again, this time there was noticably less blood. At least the bacta was starting to repair his body, small amounts of the gooey red stuff being slowly pumped into his vein through an IV.

 

"Although, you're probably right with your notion. With this kind of capability, I really only think Faust would be headed to one planet now, and this has to be his endgame. Coruscant would be the logical option for him. Dense population to feed on, and it's the seat of the GA. Wiping it out would disrupt if not unseat the most powerful government this galaxy has seen, while simultaneously...well, possibly making him invincible. I've heard references about the technique before, in old Sith holocrons I've managed to collect over the years, something to make those who use it immortal at great sacrifice. But that it actually exists?"

[Ary the Grey]

"Well...every technique takes concentration, and the more complicated it is, the more concentration it would take. I would imagine the smaller scale stuff he did down at the shipyards would take a lot less out of him than something on that large a scale. It could be disrupted, but not indefinitely. It might allow for a small window of opportunity for a larger attack."

 

He thought for a moment, going over tactics, everything he could ever draw on in his experience.

 

"We're going to need the GA."

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian woke up from his coma-like restful sleep, now almost completely healed from his injuries.

 

"We're still here? Shit, let's go chase this sucker down. I bet he's popped his head up by now. As long as he's not involved with one of our aliases, of course."

 

He didn't expect Fett to understand that last bit, but it wasn't that important anyways. What was important was the fact that Aryian's author had stopped being a lazy c***bag and actually wrote a post that was a couple sentences long.

[Ary the Grey]

Ruling for the duel between Tallin Abraxas and Milenko Shiro:

 

A couple things I'd like to point out straight away, things to not do next time. There was some abuse on both sides, and it made ruling on this tough. Firstly, Tallin opens fire on someone not wearing a uniform. Sure, he was the equivalent of coming across a scary clown in an isolated area, but reacting immediately by shooting is a serious stretch. There's a concept called escalation of force that would have been good to see here, and an appropriate response might have been taking up a defensive position, brandishing the weapon, and demanding identification or that the person move on, or any other action than them moving closer.

 

Milenko on the other hand covers a distance of almost 100 feet by going into a side room, cutting through a wall, and ending up behind his opponent in close quarters combat range all in one post. To me, it is completely unfeasible to expect your opponent to not see that you are no longer there (prompting further action on their part, likely an advance or change in position), but also for them to stay where they are long enough, not hearing a lightsaber cut through a durasteel wall or that same wall being bent while they wait, and still have their back to the door that they then get attacked from. All of this in the same post pushes the godmode envelope by not affording your opponent a chance to react when they reasonably should have had that chance.

 

As for the thermal detonators move, I actually did some digging to ensure it wasn't made up on the fly, and it turns out it is a legit thing. Points to Tallin on that. Sneaky attack, good defense. However, by this time both are inside the ysalamiri bubble, so the following posts are difficult to untangle. I tend to weigh rullings a little more toward the end game of a duel, because even if you've been losing the whole time but checkmate in the end, a checkmate is a checkmate. That wasn't the case here. Milenko uses his lightsaber, and Tallin claims to have been kicked back to help him avoid it. While that would normally seem like a good maneuver, someone well versed in a martial art wouldn't make the mistake of putting distance between them and an opponent they intend to strike out at with a deadly melee attack. Which brings me to the end of all this:

 

 

I really like Chad's method of putting the ruling in a spoiler, so I'm stealing this format. It's effective, dramatic, and tends to make people read the entire ruling before seeing who won what. Kudos to you, sir.

 

Back to the ruling, though. The end game we have is Tallin in an awkward position firing with a blaster at someone who is mostly protected from blasters. I looked up spider silk on Wookieepedia, and it specifically says it would deflect blaster pistols, which tells me more powerful blasts from a rifle might damage it. Milenko is also wearing something called 'shadow stalker armor', which I couldn't find where he got the armor in his posts, nor could I find anything on Wookieepedia relating to that.

 

Milenko himself is inside an ysalamiri bubble for two posts at this point, and while he demonstrates his skill with martial arts, would find it impossible to block these shots without aid from the Force, and even if his armor can allow him to practically ignore blaster rifle fire from point blank range (which there is reasonable doubt here but I'm not going to address formally), he would likely have unprotected areas on his body. (EDIT: It was pointed out after this ruling that ShadowStalker armor is listed in Wookieepedia, however it does specifically state that it is designed to cover vital organs, so the concerns here are still valid.) He also has a lightsaber which is obviously immediately deadly to Tallin, whose armor cannot withstand the slashing blade as evidenced in his own post. While it is unclear whether or not the blaster fire would have punctured the armor as Tallin claims, at the least I feel they should have been addressed better.

 

Because of this, both Tallin and Milenko are technically in a position to easily deal the coup de gras in a final post. This is why I was grumbling earlier, as it made it difficult to rule on. However, Milenko's technical mistakes throughout the duel tip this in Tallin's favor. The deciding factor for me was Milenko's post where he cuts through a wall, it was a fairly large abuse to do it all in one post.

 

Tallin Abraxas wins.

 

**But not without cost**, because of the OOC abuse at the beginning. The slash to his left arm turns out to be worse than he initially realized, centimeters from cutting all the way through. Combat adrenaline prevented him from realizing this until after the duel ends. The limb is hanging limp and useless, something a simple bacta patch will be unlikely to heal. He will need time in a bacta tank, or will need a prosthetic, something that he is unlikely to find before the end of this battle.

 

Tallin gets next post.

 

I'd also like to thank you guys for asking me to rule, I feel honored, and hope I broke the duel down well enough and did it justice. Well written, both of you, there was a lot of creativity here which should absolutely be carried out into the future. Don't let this ruling stop either of you from finding creative ways to maneuver your characters in upcoming duels.

[Ary the Grey]

Ruling for Duel: Mordecai vs. Cassandra (Imperial Knights Master NPC)

 

Spoiler

First of all, my only complaint in all this is Mordecai hasn't really updated his character sheet in a bit. But, that being said, it wound up not having any bearing on the duel, because it was so well written that I almost didn't have to go anywhere and check if x, y, or z was plausible (except where Mordecai got the Sith Lords, but it's reasonable they wouldn't have been on his sheet so again moot point). That alone should speak volumes of the quality of both of your writing.

The tactics as well were very cinematic, not incredibly over the top (throwing the lambda wing might have been a bit much in some parts of canon but we see some FU's pulling off crazy stunts in other parts of canon and the attack was dealt with well, so it stands). Both of you were very visual with both the actions happening, as well as the personalities of these NPCs that were likely created for this fight, or at the least may have not had much of a personality prior to this.

 

That being said, at this point the duel is ending in a tie, and here's why. Mordecai posted his own NPC shoving him out of the way to save Mordecai from an attack, and while I love that, I think turnabout is fair play. The lightning that Lord Xahl summoned hits Cassandra, knocking her away from Mordecai's strikes. This is not a fatal blow, but enough to seriously impact her combat readiness, narration depending on Cassandra. Lord Xahl is either dead or too exhausted from this attack to be of much use after this, narration depending on Mordecai.

Cassandra gets next post. From here, you two can either add another post onto the end of this duel if you intend to finish it that way and have me rule on those posts, or there is a break in the battle where Mordecai might escape the other assembled forces of the Imperial Knights on the front line, as obviously may Raven versus the onslaught of invading Sith forces.

For now, there is a lull in the battle, a kind of "dust is clearing" moment that you both may use to extract yourselves from the situation if you don't want to roll the dice on another ruling, yielding the location to the other's narration.

Also, final mention to try to add to the gravity of how rare I decide a duel ends in a tie. This battle belongs in a book somewhere, and would have me biting my nails as I flipped to the next page to see how it ended. You both should be proud, and should consider becoming self published authors. We need storytellers with skills like this for the next generations.

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Ary the Grey